South Africa: Prof Marwala appointed as Rector of UN University

University of Johannesburgs Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Professor Tshilidzi Marwala, has been appointed as the seventh Rector of the United Nations University (UNU) in Tokyo, Japan.

The decision follows consultations with the Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Audrey Azoulay and with her concurrence, United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres.

The Department of International Relations and Cooperation Minister, Dr Naledi Pandor, said she does not doubt that he will do South Africa and the African continent proud by leading the UNU to greater heights.

I wish Professor Marwala well as the incoming Rector of the United Nations University. I have the utmost confidence that through his leadership, the university will further contribute through collaborative research and education to efforts to resolve the pressing global problems of human survival, development and welfare that are the concern of the United Nations, its peoples and the Member States, Minister Pandor said.

The UNU is a global think tank and postgraduate teaching organisation headquartered in Japan.

The mission of the UNU is to contribute, through collaborative research and education, to efforts to resolve the pressing global problems of human survival, development and welfare that are the concern of the UN, its peoples and the Member States.

Marwala will succeed Professor David M Malone of Canada, who has served since 2013.

Previously, he was the Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research and Internationalization, a position he held since 2013. He has also served as the Executive Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment from 2009 to 2013.

Between 2003 and 2008, the Professor was a visiting scholar at Harvard University, the University of California at Berkeley, Wolfson College of the University of Cambridge and Nanjing Tech University.

He holds a doctorate specialising in Artificial Intelligence and Engineering from the University of Cambridge, a Master of Mechanical Engineering from the University of Pretoria and a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering (magna cum laude) from Case Western Reserve University. He is a registered professional engineer, Fellow of The World Academy of Sciences, the Academy of Science of South Africa, the African Academy of Sciences and the South African Academy of Engineering.

Marwala is also a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering and a distinguished member of the Association for Computing Machinery.

The Chair of the University of Johannesburg (UJ) Council, Mr Mike Teke, has also wished Marwala well.

Congratulating Marwala on his appointment, Teke said: On behalf of UJ, we are proud of Prof Marwala for taking the reins of leadership as the first African to assume the role. A university is predicated on the various components that come together to make it work and we have the right systems and staff in place to ensure that this is a seamless transition. We congratulate Prof Marwala on this outstanding achievement, and we are proud that one of our own has attained such an honour.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2022-07-26. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
RTHK: EU plans to slash consumption of Russian gas

The European Union agreed to reduce gas consumption to break its dependence on Russia on Tuesday, as missile strikes on Ukraine's Black Sea coast cast doubt on a grain export deal.

The effort to help Germany wean itself off Russian gas for the winter came as Turkey announced a meeting in Russia next week between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

Erdogan wants Turkey -- on good terms with both Moscow and Kyiv -- at the centre of diplomatic efforts to halt the five-month war, just as the EU took another big step to cut ties to Moscow.

The EU gas use cut, approved by energy ministers in Brussels, was hailed as an effective response to Russia's manipulation of its energy wealth as an economic weapon.

The plan nominally commits EU countries to reduce their gas use by 15 percent during the winter, although exceptions were carved out for some countries and Hungary rejected the deal as "useless".

"We have made a huge step towards securing gas supplies for our citizens and economies for the upcoming winter," said Czech industry minister Jozef Sikela, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency.

"I know the decision was not easy, but I think at the end, everybody understands that this sacrifice is necessary," he added.

Hungary was the only country to oppose the plan, which passed on a majority vote, further isolating Budapest as the only member state reluctant to go further against Russia.

"This is an unjustifiable, useless, unenforceable and harmful proposal that completely ignores national interests," said Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto.

The deal "serves purely communication purposes, and aims to save the credibility of some Western European politicians", he added.

Germany, the EU's economic powerhouse, is hugely dependent on Russian gas. Berlin takes a major share of the 40 percent of EU gas imports that came from Russia last year.

"It is true that Germany, with its dependence on Russian gas, has made a strategic mistake but our government is working... to correct this," German Economy Minister Robert Habeck said.

The plan asks member states to voluntarily reduce gas use by 15 percent -- based on a five-year average for the months in question -- starting next month and over the subsequent winter through March.

The target will be adapted to the situation of each country, taking into account their level of stocks and whether or not they have pipelines to share gas.

Exceptions were given for island states like Ireland, Cyprus or Malta and to Spain or Portugal, which have limited links to the interconnected gas supply grid.

Baltic countries will be exempted if their electricity connections with Russia's grid were to be cut.

In the final proposal, EU member countries also rewrote an earlier European Commission plan to give Brussels -- rather than the member states -- the power to impose gas use cuts in an emergency.

The regulation now foresees the possibility to trigger a "Union alert" that would make the target mandatory, but the decision would lie with member states, a statement said.

The deal landed a day after Gazprom said it is cutting daily gas deliveries intended for Europe to about 20 percent of capacity from Wednesday.

Gazprom claimed technical reasons for choking off supply, but EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson dismissed this claim.

"This is a politically motivated step and we have to be ready for that and exactly for that reason the pre-emptive reduction of our gas demand is a wise strategy," she said. (AFP)

This story has been published on: 2022-07-26. 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
The renowned streamer Netflix has put in motion a sequel to 'The Gray Man', with Ryan Gosling returning to the lead role and Joe & Anthony Russo directing it again. Following the immensely successful release of 'The Gray Man' this weekend, where it debuted as the #1 movie in 92 countries, Netflix is cementing plans for the IP to become a major spy franchise. A sequel to 'The Gray Man', which is already a fan favourite with a 91% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, is now in development with star Ryan Gosling and directors Joe and Anthony Russo set to return. The Russos and AGBO's Mike Larocca will produce along with Joe Roth and Jeffrey Kirschenbaum for Roth Kirschenbaum Films. 'The Gray Man' co-writer Stephen McFeely who has also penned down stories for movies such as 'The Electric State', 'Avengers: Endgame', 'Captain America: Civil War' is writing. A spin-off film, written by screenwriters Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese (Deadpool, Zombieland) is set to explore a different element of The Gray Man universe. The logline is being kept under wraps. The storyline of 'The Gray Man' is based on the best-selling book series by Mark Greaney. 'The Gray Man' is the third film from AGBO to premiere on Netflix, and the company's second consecutive debut at #1 worldwide, with a sequel to follow. AGBO's, 2020's 'Extraction' starring Chris Hemsworth, is the 5th most popular film on Netflix has a sequel to be released on Netflix in 2023. In an interview, Joe and Anthony Russo shared about the development of the sequel, "The audience reaction to The Gray Man has been nothing short of phenomenal. We are so appreciative of the enthusiasm that fans across the world have had for this film. With so many amazing characters in the movie, we had always intended for the Gray Man to be part of an expanded universe, and we are thrilled that Netflix is announcing a sequel with Ryan, as well as a second script that we're excited to talk about soon." "With The Gray Man, the Russos delivered an edge-of-your-seat spectacle that audiences around the world are loving. We're excited to continue to partner with them and the team at AGBO as they build out The Gray Man universe," said Scott Stuber, Head of Global Film at Netflix. (ANI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City), India's maiden International Financial Services Centre (IFSC), on July 29, 2022. The Prime Minister's Office informed that the Prime Minister, during his visit, will lay the foundation stone of the Headquarters Building of the International Financial Services Centers Authority (IFSCA), the unified regulator for the development and regulation of financial products, financial services and financial institutions in International Financial Services Centers (IFSCs) in India. The headquarters building of IFSCA has been conceptualized as an iconic structure, reflective of the growing prominence and stature of GIFT-IFSC as a leading International Financial Centre. The Prime Minister will launch India International Bullion Exchange (IIBX), India's first International Bullion Exchange in GIFT-IFSC. IIBX will facilitate efficient price discovery with the assurance of responsible sourcing and quality, apart from giving impetus to the financialization of gold in India. This shall empower India to gain its rightful place in the global bullion market and serve the global value chain with integrity and quality. This also re-enforces the commitment of the Government of India towards enabling India to be able to influence global bullion prices as a principal consumer. The Prime Minister will also launch NSE IFSC-SGX Connect. Under this Connect, all orders of NIFTY derivatives placed by members of Singapore Exchange Limited (SGX) will be routed to and matched on the NSE-IFSC order matching and trading platform. The said Connect will deepen liquidity in derivative markets at GIFT-IFSC, bringing in more international participants and creating a positive impact on the financial ecosystem in the GIFT-IFSC. Broker-Dealers from India and across international jurisdictions are expected to participate in large numbers for trading derivatives through the connect. Several other key announcements will also be made during the visit of the Prime Minister. Notably, Legislative Assembly elections will be held in Gujarat in December 2022 to elect 182 members of the Gujarat Legislative Assembly. In the last elections, Congress was the main challenger and the party put up a good show against the ruling BJP. This time the BJP will have to face a challenge from the Aam Admi Party and in the wake of the party putting up a stellar show in Punjab, the fight promises to be an interesting one. In the previous elections, the BJP bagged 99 seats in the assembly where the magic number is 92, while the Congress ended up with 77 seats. The occasion will also be graced by the Chief Minister of Gujarat Bhupendra Patel; Union Minister of Home Affairs and Co-operation Amit Shah, Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman; Minister of Finance and Energy of the Government of Gujarat Kanubhai Desai; Union Ministers of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary and Dr Bhagwat Kishanrao Karad. (ANI)
"The NHRC, India has taken suo motu cognizance of a media report that poor quality of food is being served to the prisoners in Begusarai Jail, Bihar," it said in a statement.

The commission has issued notice to DG, Bihar calling for a report in the matter within 6 weeks.

Besides the quality of food, the report should also include the status of other basic facilities for the prisoners in the other jails of the state, said the commission.

The matter came to the notice when a prisoner lodged in the Begusarai Jail approached the Secretary, District Legal Services Authority.

--IANS avr/vd

( 143 Words)

2022-07-25-20:38:03 (IANS)
A single judge bench of the Calcutta High Court on Monday rejected a plea filed by state minister Partha Chatterjee, who has been arrested by the ED in connection with the multi-crore teacher recruitment scam, for deletion of certain observations made by the same bench on Sunday relating to recruitment irregularities in the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC). On Sunday, while directing the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to take Chatterjee to AIIMS Bhubaneswar for medical check-up, the single judge bench of Justice Bibek Chaudhuri made an observation that there have been instances wherein influential ministers of the state government had taken 'shelter' at state-run SSKM Medical College and Hospital to avoid questioning by central probe agencies. The bench also observed that if a person accused of offering government jobs against money adopts this escape route, it will do injustice to those who were deprived of legitimate jobs. Chatterjee's counsel on Monday approached the same bench for deletion of this observation and argued that such views will make it extremely difficult for his client to get bail in any other court. Chatterjee's counsel, Debasish Roy, argued that since it is yet to be proved that his client was a financial beneficiary in the scam, such observations of the bench need to be deleted. However, Additional Solicitor General M.V. Raju, who appeared for the ED, placed counter arguments that if such portions are deleted from the judgement or are amended, the entire judgement will lose its relevance. After hearing both sides, Justice Chaudhuri noted that it is not possible to explain his own judgement every other da, and rejected the plea. --IANS src/arm ( 285 Words) 2022-07-25-20:46:02 (IANS)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday lauded the role played by former Rajya Sabha MP and Samajwadi Party member Harmohan Singh Yadav during Emergency and termed him as a 'soldier' of that struggle. The Prime Minister, while virtually addressing Harmohan Yadav's tenth death anniversary function, said, "When the country's democracy was crushed during Emergency, all the major parties came together and fought to save the Constitution. Chaudhary Harmohan Singh Yadav was also fighting against oppression." He said, "Today is a very big day for our democracy as the new President has been sworn in. For the first time after Independence, a woman from the tribal community is going to lead our country." Modi said that it is the responsibility of every political party to ensure that opposing a party or an individual doesn't go against the nation. Ideologies have their own place, but the country and society should come first. The Prime Minister's address at the function was significant since Yadav was an SP leader known to be close to Mulayam Singh Yadav. However, the SP leadership was not a part of the function. Harmohan Yadav was a towering figure and leader of the Yadav community. Between 1970 and 1990, he held several positions including that of Member of Legislative Council and Member of Legislative Assembly in Uttar Pradesh. He fought for farmers' rights and against the Emergency during which he was imprisoned. --IANS amita/arm ( 247 Words) 2022-07-25-22:06:03 (IANS)
Two people, working as passport agents, were arrested for duping people on the pretext of sending them abroad, a Delhi Police official said Monday. The accused, identified as Jaswinder Singh and Harmesh Chand, were involved in arranging fake Russian visas along with their counterparts in UP and Punjab. They were operating in rural areas of Punjab and were involved in settling down people in Russia by unfair means. Deputy Commissioner of Police, IGI Airport, Tanu Sharma said a complaint was received from the IGI Airport Immigration Department that one passenger came to immigration counter seeking departure immigration to Abu Dhabi. During scrutiny of his travel documents, it was found that a Russian business visa affixed on his passport was fake with no security features. During interrogation, the passenger disclosed that earlier he wanted to go to Russia for work purposes and came in contact with an agent, namely Jaswinder Singh, who took Rs 1 lakh from him and provided him with a fake Russian visa. "In view of the scam of duping people on the pretext of sending them to foreign countries and to bust the whole nexus, a team was constituted with the specific tasks to locate the movement of the accused travel agent and to nab him," the DCP said. The team, after technical and manual surveillance, zeroed down on Jaswinder Singh and subsequently arrested him. "He disclosed that he was working as a sub agent and was in contact with the main agent Harmesh Chand for the last 2 years. He was working as a commission agent for Harmesh Chand, who affixed a fake visa on the passport of the passenger," the official said. During sustained interrogation, it was found that Harmesh Chand was the mastermind of the entire racket. The police team then traced the location of the accused to Jalandhar from where he was nabbed. The official said that Harmesh Chand disclosed that he used to arrange fake visas from an agent who is a resident of Varanasi. Further efforts are being made to trace and arrest him, the official added. --IANS uj/ ( 360 Words) 2022-07-25-22:06:04 (IANS)
The Supreme Court said when power of arrest is exercised without application of mind and without due regard to the law, it amounts to an abuse of power and noted that machinery of criminal justice has been relentlessly employed against the petitioner. The top court made several more observations in its order, which was uploaded on Monday, while granting bail to Alt news co-founder Mohammed Zubair last week. A bench of Justices D.Y. Chandrachud and A.S. Bopanna said arrest is not meant to be and must not be used as a punitive tool because it results in one of the gravest possible consequences emanating from criminal law: the loss of personal liberty. "Individuals must not be punished solely on the basis of allegations, and without a fair trial. When the power to arrest is exercised without application of mind and without due regard to the law, it amounts to an abuse of power," it noted. The bench added that the criminal law and its processes ought not to be instrumentalised as a tool of harassment. "Section 41 of the CrPC as well as the safeguards in criminal law exist in recognition of the reality that any criminal proceeding almost inevitably involves the might of the state, with unlimited resources at its disposal, against a lone individual," it said. The bench said police officers are vested with the power to arrest individuals at various stages of the criminal justice process, including during the course of investigation. However, this power is not unbridled, it pointed out. As counsel for Uttar Pradesh attempted to persuade the top court that the petitioner must be barred from tweeting when he is on bail, the bench said a blanket order directing the petitioner to not express his opinion - an opinion that he is rightfully entitled to hold as an active participating citizen - would be disproportionate to the purpose of imposing conditions on bail. "The imposition of such a condition would tantamount to a gag order against the petitioner. Gag orders have a chilling effect on the freedom of speech," said the bench. The top court noted that bail conditions imposed by it must not only have a nexus to the purpose that they seek to serve but must also be proportional to the purpose of imposing them. "The courts while imposing bail conditions must balance the liberty of the accused and the necessity of a fair trial. While doing so, conditions that would result in the deprivation of rights and liberties must be eschewed," said Justice Chandrachud, who authored the judgment on behalf of the bench. The top court had last week granted bail to Zubair in all the 6 FIRs registered by the Uttar Pradesh Police in different districts over his tweets and clubbed these FIRs with the Delhi FIR. The bench said: "The machinery of criminal justice has been relentlessly employed against the petitioner. Despite the fact that the same tweets allegedly gave rise to similar offences in the diverse FIRs mentioned above, the petitioner was subjected to multiple investigations across the country." The bench said Zubair will be trapped in a vicious cycle of the criminal process where the process has itself become the punishment. "It also appears that certain dormant FIRs from 2021 were activated as certain new FIRs were registered, thereby compounding the difficulties faced by the petitioner," it added. The top court disposed of Zubair's plea by granting him bail in all the UP Police cases and also gave him liberty to move the Delhi High Court seeking the quashing of the cases. The top court clarified that its directions will apply to future cases, registered on the basis of tweets which were part of the previous FIRs. --IANS ss/vd ( 640 Words) 2022-07-25-22:28:01 (IANS)
After six people died in Gujarat on Monday due to consuming illicit liquor, a letter written by a sarpanch of Rojid village in Botad district to the police has surfaced, warning of an imminent hooch tragedy. At least six persons died in Ahmedabad and Botad districts on Monday after drinking illicit liquor, officials said. In both districts, at least 14 to 20 persons fell ill after consuming the illicit liquor. The letter was written in March by Rojid village sarpanch J.D. Dungrani. Addressed to the police, the letter stated, "Country-liquor is sold on a large-scale in the village, anti-social elements are harassing women and even abusing them. If the illegal activity is not stopped and police patrolling is not increased, there is a possibility of a major tragedy in the village." Dungrani said even the Gram Sabha had passed a resolution against the selling and drinking of liquor in the village, but it had little effect. Dungrani on Monday told the local media that not only the police, even the prant officer's attention was drawn, but no action was taken by the authority against the bootleggers. Meanwhile, the Congress has demanded an inquiry into the hooch tragedy by a sitting judge. Criticising the poor implementation of the prohibition policy in the state, Congress Rajya Sabha MP Shaktisinh Gohil said, "The ruling party is protecting such elements for political funds. Now that people have lost their loved ones, the government should appoint a committee headed by a sitting judge to inquire the hooch tragedy." --IANS haresh/dpb ( 270 Words) 2022-07-25-22:38:04 (IANS)
The Supreme Court on Monday pulled up the Allahabad High Court, as it expressed concern at delays in hearing bail application of prisoners languishing in jail, saying it has to think out of the box. A bench of Justices S.K. Kaul and M.M. Sundresh noted that there are 853 pending criminal appeals where petitioners have spent more than 10 years in jail and sought details on these appeals, which should include time prisoners have spent in custody. "If you are finding it so difficult, we will take extra burden and call bail applications. You have to think out of the box like sitting on Sunday or Saturday...". As it was informed that these 853 cases have not been analysed and the UP government's counsel sought time, the top court emphasised that it is dealing with the liberty of the person. It said if the high court is finding it difficult to handle these matters, then it can call bail applications to the top court, and gave two weeks to the state government to bring on record necessary details. After going through the report filed by the high court's registrar, the bench said it should not take weeks to dispose of these applications. The top court scheduled the matter for further hearing on August 17. The bench asked the UP government's counsel to bring on record cases of multiple offences where the state is opposing the bail, or instances of aggravating circumstances. The top court had, on its own, ordered registration of a case to consider laying down guidelines in connection with long pendency of criminal appeals in the Allahabad High Court. The top court had asked the state government to take a stand with respect to single offence cases and those pending for 10 years or more, and emphasised that unless there are special circumstances, all of them can be enlarged on bail. --IANS ss/vd ( 332 Words) 2022-07-25-22:52:02 (IANS)
The Kerala High Court on Monday came down heavily on solar scam accused Saritha Nair over her petition seeking a copy of the confession statement of Swapna Suresh, the prime accused in the gold smuggling case. Her petition for the same submitted before a local court in Kochi was dismissed, after which she approached the high court. When the high court bench asked what right she had to seek Suresh's confession statement, her counsel replied that Nair believed her name was mentioned in it and hence she sought a coopy. Incidentally, ever since Suresh submitted a confession statement before a magistrate in June, she herself has revealed bits and pieces of information mentioned in it, including allegations against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, his wife and their daughter of indulging in malpractices. While those 'close' to Vijayan have been trying to get hold of a copy of the explosive confession statement of Suresh, they have not yet succeeded in their attempt. Nair is accused of having duped several influential people to the tune of RS 70 lakh by offering to make them business partners or by offering to install solar power units for them, and receiving advance payments for the same. --IANS sg/arm ( 218 Words) 2022-07-25-22:54:03 (IANS)
The NIA's Jammu and Kashmir unit on Monday took custodial remand of a person lodged in Siwan jail in a case relating to supplying arms and ammunition to a Jammu and Kashmir-based militant organisation. The accused Yaqub Khan is a native of Basantpur village in Siwan district. A team of the NIA from J&K reached to Siwan on Saturday and interrogated Yaqub for the two days in Siwan before producing in the NIA court on Monday for transit remand. The team headed to Jammu and Kashmir for further investigation. Yaqub Khan's name was revealed after one of his handlers, Irfan alias Chunnu Mian was arrested by Jammu and Kashmir Police a few months ago and interrogated. The NIA officials say Irfan, a a native of Bhanmauli village under Barharia police station in Siwan, has links with banned militant outfit Jaish-e-Mohamad (JeM), and supplied seven 9mm pistols to its operatives. During investigation, it was found there are people in Bihar supplying arms and ammunition to militants in the Kashmir Valley. Sources have said that Yaqub was supplying arms and ammunition to Irfan and he was supplying four persons of Saran who were having links with JeM. --IANS ajk/vd ( 210 Words) 2022-07-25-23:00:04 (IANS)
An extradition request has been moved by the South African authorities against Indian origin Gupta brothers before the competent authorities of the UAE on Monday. Atul Kumar Gupta and Rajesh Gupta, who are facing corruption charges in South Africa had fled to the UAE along with their brother Ajay Gupta, from where the two were arrested. Now South African authorities have placed a request for their extradition. "Today a formal extradition application was submitted to the Central Authority in the United Arab Emirates. This is within the 60-day period from the date of arrest of the Gupta brothers, as set out in the extradition treaty between South Africa and the UAE. "The application, submitted in both English and Arabic, addresses the general requirements for extradition, which, if met, would allow for the extradition to be granted under either the existing extradition treaty or the UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), or both," read a letter issued by Mthunzi Mhaga, spokesperson for National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in South Africa. She said a multi-disciplinary team within the NPA oversaw the legal aspect of the process and worked in a focused and well-coordinated manner with the office of the Director General in the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, designated as the central authority (CA) for extradition processes to prepare and finalise the application. This work included consultation with legal counsels and meeting their counterparts in the UAE to ensure that the request for extradition met all the requirements of the bilateral treaty. "The submission of the formal application for the arrest and extradition of Gupta brothers is an important milestone in the NPA's commitment to hold accountable the perpetrators and uphold the rule of law. It reaffirms our resolve to be the lawyers of the people and seek collective justice for our country. "As this process unfolds, and the extradition application is heard in UAE courts, the NPA will continue to collaborate and support its counterparts in the UAE to ensure that the Gupta brothers are extradited to face justice in South Africa. This process could take several months, as the NPA we will continue with its commitment to deliver for impact," the NPA spokesperson said. What is the case? The Gupta brothers were held in the UAE in June. They are facing corruption charges in South Africa for allegedly using their ties with former president Jacob Zuma for their own benefits. A judicial inquiry had been initiated into the matter in 2018. Soon after this, the Gupta brothers fled from South Africa along with their another brother Ajay Gupta to the UAE. Gupta brothers, who are originally from UP's Saharanpur, had been running a computer business in South Africa since 1997. The firm had a toral turnover of around Rs 97 million. Initially, their firm's name was Correct Marketing, which was later changed to Sahara Computer and Sahara System Private limited. In 2016, they became the seventh wealthiest person in South Africa. Their net worth had touched Rs 10.7 billion. --IANS atk/arm ( 516 Words) 2022-07-25-23:08:03 (IANS)
Jammu and Kashmir government has taken many steps to strengthen four pillars of the electricity system- production, transmission, distribution and connection, UT's Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha informed on Monday. Addressing a programme in the capital city on 'Ujjwal Bharat Ujjwal Bhavishya-Power @2047', Sinha said, "Jammu and Kashmir government has taken many steps to strengthen four pillars of the electricity system- production, transmission, distribution and connection. Illegal connection, theft is the cancer of electricity system and I urge citizens to launch a sustained campaign against it." The Lieutenant Governor highlighted that the Government of India has sanctioned the Phase-1 package of Rs 5641.91 crore for complete revamp, strengthening of the power distribution infrastructure under Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) under both urban and rural areas of Jammu and Kashmir. "Of the amount under phase-1, JPDCL will get Rs 2807.70-crore (Rs 2265.95 crores under loss reduction and Rs 541.75 crore under smart metering) and KPDCL to receive Rs 2834.21 crore (Rs 2329.25 crores under loss reduction and Rs 504.96 crore under smart metering)," he said. The office of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha further informed that under phase 1, projects related to smart pre-paid metering and loss reduction/infrastructure creation will be implemented. "Modernization works will be funded separately under phase-2. It is a fitting tribute to Celebrate "UJJWAL BHARAT UJJWAL BHAVISHYA" Power @ 2047," the office tweeted. Alos, acknowledging the best performance of Andhra Pradesh in the power sector and effective implementation of various Central schemes, the Ministry of Power has selected Visakhapatnam to hold the Ujjwal Bharat Ujjwal Bhavishya - Power @2047 event on July 30. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address consumers of Visakhapatnam virtually. Meanwhile, Punjab Power Minister Harbhajan Singh on Sunday urged the Union Government that the grand finale of the "Ujjwal Bharat Ujjwal Bhavishya-Power @2047", being celebrated under 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav' from July 25-31, should be dedicated to Shaheed Udham Singh, who sacrificed his life for the India's independence. Punjab Power Minister, in a letter to Union Minister for Power and New and Renewable Energy RK Singh, said that it would be a befitting tribute to the great revolutionary and son of soil. The letter read that India is celebrating 'Ujjwal Bharat, Ujjawal Bhavishya-Power @2047' wherein achievements of Central and State Governments in the transformation of power sector including renewable energy sector will be showcased through the celebrations in all the districts of the country. "I had earlier requested you to commemorate the grand finale of these celebrations in the memory of the great martyr and freedom fighter Shaheed Udham Singh, whose Martyrdom Day is observed on July 31 every year," requested Punjab Minister quoting July 21 meeting with the Union Minister. The minister urged that commemorating the legendary martyr's great contribution and sacrifice in the cause of India's independence through these programmes, would be a befitting tribute, if the grand finale of these programmes is dedicated as a tribute to Shaheed Udham Singh. (ANI)
The Extremist Archetypes Scale is a brand-new assessment tool that researchers have created and verified to help distinguish between various psychological characteristics that are found among people engaged in violent extremism. The findings of the research by Milan Obaidi and Sara Skaar of the University of Oslo, Norway, and colleagues the tool and validation results were published in the open-access journal PLOS ONE. People who join violent extremist groups may differ widely in their motivations, knowledge, personalities, and other factors. However, research into violent extremism has often neglected this variation, limiting the scope and usefulness of such research. To help address this issue, Obaidi and colleagues built on earlier research to develop a new scale that captures heterogeneity among extremists. Their new Extremist Archetypes Scale includes five dimensions of extremist archetypes: "adventurer," "fellow traveller," "leader," "drifter" and "misfit." An "adventurer," for instance, may be drawn to extremism out of excitement and the prospect of being a hero, while a "drifter" may seek group belonging. The researchers chose to treat archetypes as dimensions in order to allow for instances in which an extremist does not fall perfectly within a single archetype and to be able to capture a person's transition into an extremist archetype. Next, the researchers conducted several analyses to help validate the Extremist Archetypes Scale. They tested associations between people's scores on the scale and their scores on several well-established scales that evaluate personality traits, sociopolitical attitudes, ideologies, prejudice, and ethnic identification. In addition, they validated the scale's applicability across diverse instances related to gender, political orientation, age, and ethnicity. The validation analyses supported the predictive validity of the scale -- including across political orientation and ethnicity -- as well as the idea that the archetypes consistently reflect the different personality and behavioural profiles. For instance, the "adventurer" archetype was associated with personality traits of extraversion and violent behavioural intentions, and the "misfit" was associated with narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy. The researchers suggest that the application of their scale in future research could help inform counter-extremism efforts. They also note that they focused on group-based extremism, but future research could examine archetypes of extremists who act alone. The authors add: "The current research developed the Extremist Archetypes Scale, which measures different archetype dimensions that reflect different motivations for joining extremist groups and obtaining different roles within them." (ANI)
West Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee, who was taken to AIIMS Bhubaneswar by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday as per the direction given by the Calcutta High Court, has now reached Bhubaneswar airport, after being discharged from AIIMS there. He is being taken to the CGO complex in Kolkata as ED custody was ordered for him till August 3. Notably, Partha Chatterjee and his aide, Arpita Mukherjee, have been sent to Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody till August 3. The Calcutta court also gave orders to conduct medical check-ups of both the arrested accused after every 48 hours. The Court also gave orders to the ED to not interrogate Arpita between 9 pm to 6 am. Partha was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the alleged School Service Commission (SSC) scam in West Bengal on Saturday. The ED unearthed many disproportionate assets of Partha Chatterjee since his arrest, of which were three flats in West Bengal's Diamond City. The arrest of Partha Chatterjee followed Rs 21 crore in cash and jewellery worth above Rs 1 crore being recovered from the Kolkata residence of Arpita Mukherjee, a close aide of the former education minister. On Monday, the Director of AIIMS Bhubaneswar said though Chatterjee is suffering from several chronic illnesses, hospitalisation is not required at this moment. After the check-up, the reports were handed over to the Investigating Officer (IO) of the Enforcement Directorate, Chatterjee's lawyer and the concerned doctor from SSKM Hospital as directed by the Calcutta High Court. On Monday morning, the former Education minister was taken to the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International (NSCBI) Airport in an ambulance. A green corridor was arranged for obstruction-free movement of the convoy. The ED officials along with Chatterjee's lawyer, Anindya Kishor Raut, and a doctor from SSKM had also accompanied the former Education minister as directed by Justice Bibek Chaudhuri. Chatterjee reached the airport at around 8 am. There Airports Authority of India (AAI), Kolkata, had arranged another ambulance to take Chatterjee to the air ambulance as no outside vehicle is allowed on the runway and its adjacent areas. The Enforcement Directorate on Friday (July 23) recovered Rs 20 crore in cash from the house of an associate of West Bengal Minister Partha Chatterjee. The ED raided Arpita Mukerjee's house in connection with an alleged teacher recruitment scam in West Bengal. "The said amount is suspected to be proceeds of crime of the said SSC scam," the probe agency had said in a statement. The search teams are taking the assistance of bank officials for the counting of cash through counting machines. Photos of the house taken during the raid show Rs 2000 and Rs 500 notes that were recovered. Partha Chatterjee, who is presently the minister for industries and commerce, was the education minister when the alleged illegal appointments were made in government-run and aided schools by West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC). The ruling Trinamool Congress described the raids as a "ploy" by the BJP government at the Centre to "harass" its political opponents. (ANI)
Tribal dance troupes from six different states of India performed in honour of the 15th President of India Droupadi Murmu at the National Tribal Research Institute, New Delhi in the presence of Union Minister of Tribal Affairs Arjun Munda and Union Minister of Heavy Industries Mahendra Nath Pandey. On the occasion, a welcome song and colourful dances were presented by the tribal artists. Jharkhand group performed Santhali folk dance, Kunti group performed Mundari folk dance, Orissa group performed Adwasi Santhali Kalash Folk Dance, Howrah, West Bengal group performed Santari Lakchar Anech dance, and Chhattisgarh group performed Panthi dance. In his address on the occasion, Tribal Affairs Minister Munda praised the artists coming from many states for their outstanding dance performances. Further, Munda said that today is a historic day as Droupadi Murmu belonging to the tribal society has become the President of the country. In his address, Mahendra Pandey appreciated the dance performance of all the artists. He said "The daughter of India, who hails from the world of water-land-forest, has today become the President of the country and this new history has been made in the Amrit kaal for the country." He also added that it is a clear indicator of the new thinking of the present government which is giving shape to a progressive India. Droupadi Murmu took oath as the 15th President of India at a ceremony in Parliament's Central Hall in New Delhi on Monday. With this, she has become the first tribal, second woman and the youngest President of India. She was administered oath by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana. Incidentally, she is also the first leader to be elected to the country's top job, who was born after independence. After taking the oath, Murmu delivered her first address as President of India at the Central Hall of President, in which she thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and all the MPs and MLAs who voted for her. In her address, she also mentioned the Santhal Revolution, the Paika Revolution, the Coal Revolution and the Bhil Revolution. In her address, the new President of India also reminisced the tribal contribution to the freedom struggle and named the sacrifice of 'Dharti Aba' Bhagwan Birsa Munda for social upliftment and patriotism. Murmu said, "I will discharge my duties with full loyalty. For me, the democratic-cultural ideals of India and all the countrymen will always be the source of my energy." The oath-taking ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Rajya Sabha chairman and Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu, Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla, members of the council of ministers, governors, chief ministers, members of parliament and other dignitaries and officials. Before taking the oath as President of India, Murmu paid floral tributes at the memorial of Mahatma Gandhi at Raj Ghat. She also met outgoing President Ram Nath Kovind at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Murmu in the July 18 presidential polls defeated joint opposition candidate and former union minister Yashwant Sinha by securing 64 per cent of the total valid votes. The counting of the votes was held on July 21. (ANI)
A Class 12 girl reportedly died by suicide in Tiruvallur district in her hostel room attached to a government-aided school, police officials said. The girl's body was taken to the Tiruvallur government medical college and hospital for postmortem. Police claim she reportedly took the extreme step during the wee hours of Monday. The incident led to protests by a few locals and parents near the school premises amid heavy police deployment. Police said that her parents were daily wage labourers. The victim was studying in a government aided school in Kilacheri village in the district. "On Monday morning, after the girls left for school, the victim had allegedly told her friends that she would come late. However, since she did not return. Anxious about the developments, staff checked on her hostel room and found her hanging from the ceiling," the police said. The school staff informed the police and the body was sent to the Thiruvallur Government Hospital for Autopsy. After preliminary investigations, police said, there was no suicide note retrieved from the hostel. The staff of the hostel said that the victim did not go home for a month. Her friends said that she was gloomy for the past few months, said a senior police officer. Meanwhile, villagers from her native place staged a protest blocking the bus and vehicles in Tiruttani town of the district. The case has been registered at Mappedu police station and has been transferred to the Crime Branch-Criminal Investigation Department (CB-CID). CB-CID Officials are now enquiring the school staff members and hostel warden in the school campus. Gayathri, cousin sister of the victim and Padaiyappa, cousin brother of the victim said, "We have our own apprehensions on her death and we suspect something hidden behind her death. We won't get the body (before her autopsy) and will not know what really happened to her. She is not the kind of girl who would attempt suicide. She is so innocent with a kind heart." "Even on the night of July 24, she spoke with family members. She was sounding normal too. There is a mystery behind her death," they said. M Sathapriya, DIG, Kanchipuram city, "We have properly informed family members of the victim at the time we reached the spot. All the members are here from the morning. Till now, we didn't find any letter or evidence. CB-CID has started the investigation." "To avoid additional problems, we have deployed police protect for the school campus. The truth will be revealed only after investigation," the police official said. Durga, sister in law of the victim, "There is a mystery behind her death. The girl can't opt suicide. She is so innocent. I hope that she will get justice." On July 13, a 16-year-old girl reportedly died in her hostel premises of a private school in Kallakurichi. The girl's parents suspected foul play while police said she allegedly died by suicide. The protests over the girl's death reportedly turned violent on July 17 when the school was damaged, police and school vehicles were set on fire. Around 52 police officials were also injured in the incident. (ANI)
Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi is likely to depose before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) Tuesday for her second round of questioning in the money laundering case linked to the National Herald newspaper. ED on July 22 had issued fresh summons to Congress president to join the probe in the National Herald case on July 26. Initially, she was summoned by the probe agency on Monday but it was deferred by a day. On July 21, the Enforcement Directorate had questioned the Congress chief and the questioning went on for nearly two hours. Sonia Gandhi's daughter and party leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had accompanied her to the ED office. According to sources, Sonia Gandhi was asked over two dozen questions "after which she asked to go home for her medication". ED kept two doctors and an ambulance on standby as a humanitarian gesture on July 21, agency sources said. The central agency also allowed Sonia Gandhi's daughter and party leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra at its office. Congress leaders had protested in different parts of the country over ED summons to the party's interim chief. Seventy-five Congress MPs including Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and several workers were detained by the Delhi Police for demonstrations against the questioning of the party chief. Senior Congress leaders including P Chidambaram, Ajay Maken, Manickam Tagore, KC Venugopal, Adhir Ranjan Chaudhry, Shashi Tharoor, Sachin Pilot, and Harish Rawat. Ashok Gehlot, K Suresh were among those detained. All MPs and leaders of Congress who were detained at New Police Line, Kingsway Camp were later released. The protest by the Congress turned violent in Bengaluru as the Youth Congress workers allegedly set a car on fire, in front of the ED office. Congress workers also stopped a train and blocked railway tracks at New Delhi's Shivaji Bridge railway station. Chandigarh Police also used water cannons to disperse Congress workers and leaders as they protested over the questioning. Last month the ED questioned Rahul Gandhi for five days in the case. The ED had on June 1 summoned Sonia Gandhi to appear on June 8 in the case for the first time in connection with alleged money laundering in the National Herald case. Sonia Gandhi could not appear for questioning after testing positive for COVID- 19. The case to investigate alleged financial irregularities under the PMLA was registered about nine months ago after a trial court took cognisance of an Income Tax Department probe carried out on the basis of a private criminal complaint filed by a former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Subramanian Swamy in 2013. The petitioner had approached the court alleging that the assets of Associated Journals Limited (AJL), which published the National Herald newspaper, were fraudulently acquired and transferred to Young Indian Pvt Limited (YIL), in which Sonia Gandhi and her son owned 38 per cent shares each. The YIL promoters include Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. Swamy had alleged that the Gandhis cheated and misappropriated funds, with YIL paying only Rs 50 lakh to obtain the right to recover Rs 90.25 crore that AJL owed to Congress. Congress argued that YIL is a not-for-profit company under Section 25 of the Companies Act, 1956 that can neither accumulate profits nor pay dividends to its shareholders. Calling it a case of political vendetta, senior Supreme Court advocate and Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi had said, "This is truly a very weird case -- an alleged money laundering case on which summons are issued with no money involved." The federal agency's move followed the questioning of senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge and Congress Treasurer Pawan Bansal in April this year in New Delhi. The National Herald is published by AJL and owned by YIL. Kharge is the CEO of YIL and Bansal is the Managing Director of AJL. The ED is probing shareholding pattern and financial transactions as well as the role of party functionaries in the functioning of AJL and YIL. (ANI)
Tamil Nadu police personnel were seen on Tuesday deployed in numbers outside the Tiruvallur Government Medical College Hospital which began an autopsy of the Class 12 student, found hanging a day ago in her hostel room in a school in the state's Tiruvallur district. The girl was a student of the government-aided Sacred Heart senior secondary school for girls near Kilacheri village in Mappedu and the incident is the second such case in the state in this month. The autopsy is being conducted with full video recording in the presence of CB-CID officials and the family members of the deceased including the mother, brother and the advocates, officials said. The official chiefs including IPS Kannan and IG armed forces also arrived at the hospital this morning. The deceased, a 17-year-old hailed from Tiruttani and her parents are daily wage labourers. On Monday, parents and relatives of the girl staged protests by blocking roads at Tiruttani demanding action into the matter. "We suspect there is something that is yet to be revealed. We won't take her body without knowing what exactly happened to her. She isn't someone who can commit suicide. She spoke to our family last night as well," said Gayathri, sister of the school girl whose body was found in a hostel. The case has been registered at the Mappedu police station and has been transferred to Crime Branch, Crime Investigation Department (CB-CID), Tamil Nadu. According to Madras High Court's ruling, any death inside an educational institution must be investigated by the CB-CID. According to police, on Monday morning the girl had told her friends who were leaving for school that she would come late. However, since she did not return until after the first hour was over, school staff checked her hostel room and found her hanging from the ceiling. The school staff then informed the police and the body was sent to the Thiruvallur Government Hospital for autopsy. After preliminary investigations, police said no suicide note was retrieved from the hostel. Police said the girl did not go home for a month. Her friends told the police that she was gloomy for the past few months. Selvakumar, Deputy Superintendant of Police, CB-CID Thiruvallur district is investigating the case. The incident comes days after the suicide of a Class 12 student in Kallakurichi of the state who died by suicide after alleged torture by teachers. After the death of the student, who purportedly jumped from the terrace of her hostel at a private school in Kallakuruchi there were violent protests in the district, prompting the Salem Police to deploy heavy security around the school and other areas. Section 144 had to be imposed in several areas. The High Court also ordered the police to find out who instigated the violence. The last rites of the deceased girl, who died by suicide after alleged torture by teachers were performed in Tamil Nadu's Kallakurichi Veppur on Saturday. (ANI)
President Droupadi Murmu paid tributes to the martyrs and brave soldiers who fought in the 1999 Kargil War against Pakistan on the occasion of Kargil Vijay Diwas on Tuesday. President Murmu, who assumed the office a day ago, termed the day as a "symbol of extraordinary valour." "Kargil Vijay Diwas is a symbol of extraordinary valour, valour and determination of our armed forces. I bow to all the brave soldiers who laid down their lives to protect Mother India. All the countrymen will always be indebted to them and their family members. Jai Hind!," President Murmu wrote on Twitter. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also took to Twitter to salute all brave sons of the country. "Kargil Vijay Diwas is a symbol of pride and glory of Maa Bharati. On this occasion, my salute to all the brave sons of the country who have accomplished their valor in the defense of the motherland. Jai Hind!," PM Modi wrote on Twitter. Each year, Kargil Vijay Diwas is celebrated on July 26 to honour the valour and sacrifice of the soldiers who laid down their lives in the line of duty during the Kargil War. A wreath-laying ceremony was held at Kargil War Memorial in Drass, to pay tribute to the soldiers who lost their lives. The Indian Armed Forces defeated Pakistan on July 26, 1999. Since then, the day is celebrated as 'Kargil Vijay Diwas' to rekindle the pride and valour of the soldiers who took part in Operation Vijay. The day marks the victory of Indian soldiers in recapturing the mountain heights that were occupied by the Pakistani Army on July 26, 1999, known as the Kargil War. The Kargil War was fought between May 8, 1999, to July 26, 1999, against Pakistan intruders, who in the winters of 1998 transgressed into the Indian territory across the Line of Control and occupied fortified defences overlooking the NH 1A in Kargil's Drass and Batalik Sectors of the Ladakh region with a nefarious aim of dominating all military and civil movements on the highway. Braving unprecedented hardships, overcoming the hazards of near impossible terrain and severe climatic conditions, brave gallant soldiers launched valiant attacks on well-fortified defended localities with relentless valour and enthusiasm, thus attaining an astounding victory. On July 24, several bands performed at a musical show titled "Ek Sham Shahidon ke Naam" in Drass town to pay tribute to Kargil war heroes.Locals and Indian army personnel took part in the music event. Earlier on Sunday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said the abrogation of Article 370 has brought a new dawn of hope to the aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. "India has become a strong and confident nation which is well-equipped to protect its people from anyone who tries to cast an evil eye," said Rajnath Singh during an event organised to commemorate 'Kargil Vijay Diwas' in Jammu on Sunday. (ANI)
President Droupadi Murmu paid tributes to the brave soldiers who laid down their lives in the 1999 Kargil War against Pakistan on the occasion of Kargil Vijay Diwas on Tuesday. President Murmu, who assumed the office a day ago, termed the day as a "symbol of extraordinary valour." "Kargil Vijay Diwas is a symbol of extraordinary valour, valour and determination of our armed forces. I bow to all the brave soldiers who laid down their lives to protect Mother India. All the countrymen will always be indebted to them and their family members. Jai Hind!," President Murmu wrote on Twitter. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also took to Twitter to salute all brave sons of the country. "Kargil Vijay Diwas is a symbol of pride and glory of Maa Bharati. On this occasion, my salute to all the brave sons of the country who have accomplished their valor in the defense of the motherland. Jai Hind!," PM Modi wrote on Twitter. Each year, Kargil Vijay Diwas is celebrated on July 26 to honour the valour and sacrifice of the soldiers who laid down their lives in the line of duty during the Kargil War. A wreath-laying ceremony was held at Kargil War Memorial in Drass, to pay tribute to the soldiers who lost their lives. The Indian Armed Forces defeated Pakistan on July 26, 1999. Since then, the day is celebrated as 'Kargil Vijay Diwas' to rekindle the pride and valour of the soldiers who took part in Operation Vijay. The day marks the victory of Indian soldiers in recapturing the mountain heights that were occupied by the Pakistani Army on July 26, 1999, known as the Kargil War. The Kargil War was fought between May 8, 1999, to July 26, 1999, against Pakistan intruders, who in the winters of 1998 transgressed into the Indian territory across the Line of Control and occupied fortified defences overlooking the NH 1A in Kargil's Drass and Batalik Sectors of the Ladakh region with a nefarious aim of dominating all military and civil movements on the highway. Braving unprecedented hardships, overcoming the hazards of near impossible terrain and severe climatic conditions, brave gallant soldiers launched valiant attacks on well-fortified defended localities with relentless valour and enthusiasm, thus attaining an astounding victory. On July 24, several bands performed at a musical show titled "Ek Sham Shahidon ke Naam" in Drass town to pay tribute to Kargil war heroes.Locals and Indian army personnel took part in the music event. Earlier on Sunday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said the abrogation of Article 370 has brought a new dawn of hope to the aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. "India has become a strong and confident nation which is well-equipped to protect its people from anyone who tries to cast an evil eye," said Rajnath Singh during an event organised to commemorate 'Kargil Vijay Diwas' in Jammu on Sunday. (ANI)
A day before Ram Nath Kovind demitted the office of President of the country, he received a letter from Prime Minister Narendra Modi who lauded the former President for having set "the highest standards of principles, probity, performance, sensitivity and service during his tenure." The former President Kovind today took to Twitter to thank PM Modi for his kind words. "This letter from Prime Minister @narendramodi has deeply touched me. I take his kind and heartfelt words as a reflection of the love and respect fellow citizens have showered on me. I am sincerely grateful to you all," Kovind tweeted. PM Modi in his letter to Kovind, shared by the former President, said: "As your term draws to an end, I join the entire nation in saluting you and extending our deepest gratitude for your outstanding service as the President of our Republic and for a long and distinguished career in public life. You set the highest standards of principles, probity and performance, and of sensitivity and service." PM Modi also paid tribute to Kovind's personal journey from a small village in Uttar Pradesh to the Rashtrapati Bhavan, lauding it as "a parable for our country`s evolution and development, and an inspiration for our society." "As we approach the 75th anniversary of Independence, your remarkable personal journey, from a small village deep in the heartland of our country to Rashtrapati Bhavan, has been a parable for our country's evolution and development, and an inspiration for our society. Through your life and career, you have persevered with determination and dignity, with a deep commitment to the morality and integrity that is at the core of the Indian ethos, and with the highest regard and responsibility towards the principles of our Constitution," said the Prime Minister in the letter. He further said that Kovind upheld and reinforced the ideals of the Constitution and the vitality of democracy with sound judgement, great dignity and extraordinary statesmanship. "In turn, as the highest authority of our country, you upheld and reinforced the ideals of our Constitution and the vitality of our democracy with sound judgement, great dignity and extraordinary statesmanship - and always with the best interests of our Republic as your compass. As the Head of State at a time of unprecedented stress of the pandemic and a world caught in turbulence and conflict, you were a source of calmness, unity and reassurance at home, and a persuasive advocate of India's values and interests abroad," he said. "You were the First Citizen of the country, but I always found you unwavering in your compassion and concern for the welfare of the weakest citizen. Even as you reached the highest office in our land, you remained firmly and proudly rooted in its soil and connected with the people -- happy in their company, sensitive to their problems, perceptive about their expectations, and acutely aware of the needed change," the PM Madded. He said that the former President was a steadfast and passionate champion of social transformation and inclusion, speaking for the poor, the historically excluded and oppressed, and the marginalised, with special attention to the status and role of women. The Prime Minister also lauded his numerous actions, interventions, and speeches, that represented and carried the beat of India to all corners of our country and the world. "During your presidency, in your numerous actions, interventions and speeches, you have represented and carried the best of India to all corners of our country and the world. The themes and issues that you have prioritised - the civic duty in giving hock to society, the commitment to an India that is a confluence of our ancient heritage as well as of modem science, and of sustainable social change driven by increasing and expanded access to education, especially for girl children - have been well thought-out and meaningful. I am proud that my interaction with you goes beyond the Presidency. I have seen you toil among people during your political career," said PM Modi. As a Member of Parliament, you made a mark as an effective Parliamentarian who often raised issues pertaining to social welfare and education. Your gubernatorial tenure in Bihar was outstanding. You made unparalleled efforts to make the Raj Bhavan into a Lok Bhavan, which is accessible to the common people. The Prime Minister also remembered about their tour together to Paraunkh and said he was particularly touched to see how Kovind had donated his family residence to help others, especially those belonging to the poor and marginalised sections of society. "I have always been deeply touched by your humility, grace and generosity. I will never forget our visit to Paraunkh a few weeks ago. I was particularly touched to see how you had donated your family residence to help others, especially those belonging to the poor and marginalised sections of society. It was equally heartening to see you retain the deep connect with your roots and the affection the people showered upon you. Your special gesture of coming to receive me at the helipad will remain etched in my memory forever," said PM Modi. PM Modi also shared how the former President had visited his mother and discussed several issues with her. "Equally special was your gesture of visiting my mother and talking to her on several issues. It showed your deep-rooted commitment to the value-systems integral to our land. Your life and service reflect the dearly held belief that you recently shared with students - never fail to give back to the society which has given you the opportunity to become a successful individual," he said. While concluding the letter, the PM said, "You have always been generous with your time and counsel to me over the past five years, and I will continue to turn to you for advice. It has been a real privilege to work with you, Rashtrapati ji, as your Prime Minister. I join fellow citizens in wishing you a long and healthy life ahead. Jai Hind!" Kovind's term as President of India ended last Thursday and he is succeeded by Droupadi Murmu, who assumed the office of the President of India on July 25. (ANI)
The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear on August 1 a fresh plea of the Uddhav Thackeray-led camp of Shiv Sena seeking a stay on the proceedings before the Election Commission of India on Eknath Shinde group's claim for recognition as 'real' Shiv Sena. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal appearing for the Thackeray group mentioned the case for hearing before a bench of Chief Justice of India NV Ramana saying as the matters are pending before the Supreme Court in the meantime they are trying to make the matter infructuous by moving Election Commission. Till the court decides, they can't go before the Election Commission, Sibal told the apex court. Senior advocate Neeraj Kishan Kaul appearing for the Eknath Shinde group told the top court that the issue before the Election Commission is completely different. It is an intra-party thing as to who represents the party and the symbol, it has nothing to do with matters pending before the apex court, Kaul said. When the CJI Ramana enquired what was the stage of proceedings before the ECI, Kaul replied that notice has been issued for August 8. The bench then posted the matter along with other petitions pending before it. Filing the application, Subhash Desai, the General Secretary of Shiv Sena has said that the Election Commission can't decide the matter since the cases are pending before the Supreme Court. The application was filed against the proceedings initiated by the Election Commission of India on a request made by the Eknath Sinde-led faction for recognition as the 'real' Shivsena and their claim over the party's election symbol - the bow and arrow. It sought to implead the Election Commission of India (ECI) as a party in the petition which challenges the decision of the Maharashtra Governor to invite Eknath Shinde to be the Chief Minister of Maharashtra. It is stated that even though on July 20 the apex court was assured by the counsel appearing for the Speaker that no further proceedings will be conducted in the matter of disqualification under the Tenth Schedule, the Shinde-faction has initiated proceedings under Election Symbols (Reservations and Allotment) Order, 1968 seeking recognition as the 'real Shivesena' by the ECI and also claiming the right to use the election symbol allotted to the Shivsena. On July 22, a notice was served to the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction wherein the Commission had stated that Eknath Shinde and some other persons have sought to be recognised as the 'real' Shivsena and are claiming right over the election symbol, the application said. The ECI had initiated proceedings in complete disregard of the sanctity of the status quo order of the Supreme Court, it added. It further stated that the Uddhav Thackeray-led group said that Shinde-faction cannot be considered as MLAs of Shivsena and their claim and affidavits cannot be relied upon. "Respondents, despite the matter being pending before this Court, in acts of desperation, and to somehow portray a majority are trying to illegally cobble up numbers and fabricate an artificial majority in the organisation. It is submitted that the private Respondents have been indulging in several illegal activities contrary to the Constitution of the Shivsena," said the application. Last week, the Supreme Court 3-judge bench had said that some of the issues involved in the Maharashtra political crisis may require to a larger Constitutional bench for consideration A bench of Chief Justice of India NV Ramana, Justices Krishna Murari and Hima Kohli while hearing cases related to the political crisis in Maharashtra had observed that important constitutional issues arise in the cases which may require adjudication by a larger bench. Earlier, the top court had asked the Speaker of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, Rahul Narwekar not to take any action on the new disqualification notices issued against the members of Shiv Sena. There are various petitions pending before the apex court filed by both the factions of Shiv Sena. Uddhav Thackeray-led faction had approached the top court challenging the Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshiyari's decision to invite Eknath Shinde to form the government and also the Speaker's election and floor test. They had also challenged the newly appointed Maharashtra Assembly Speaker's action recognising the whip of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde group as the whip of Shiv Sena. The plea said newly appointed Speaker has no jurisdiction to recognise whips nominated by Shinde as Uddhav Thackeray is still the head of Shiv Sena's official party. Thackeray camp's Sunil Prabhu had filed a plea seeking suspension from the Maharashtra Assembly of new Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and 15 rebel MLAs against whom disqualification pleas are pending. Shinde group challenged the disqualification notices issued by the Deputy Speaker to 16 rebel MLAs as well as the appointment of Ajay Choudhary as Shiv Sena Legislature Party leader, is also pending before the apex court. On June 29, the top court gave a go-ahead to the floor test in the Maharashtra Assembly on June 30. Refusing to stay the Maharashtra Governor's direction to the then Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to prove his majority support on the floor of the House on June 30, the bench had issued notice on Prabhu's plea against floor test. After the apex court's order, Uddhav Thackeray announced his resignation as the Chief Minister and Eknath Shinde was later sworn in as the Chief Minister. On June 27, the top court had granted interim relief to Shinde and other rebel MLAs to file their reply on disqualification notices issued to them by Deputy Speaker by July 12, 5.30 pm. Earlier, Deputy Speaker had granted them time to file a reply by June 27, 5.30 pm. (ANI)
The rescue operation was being carried out using two ships and a Chetak helicopter.

It was suspected that the 21-year-old married woman had drowned at the RK beach in Visakhapatnam. Ramarao, III Town Inspector, said that a person named Srinivas claimed that his wife went missing at Rama Krishna beach sea shore while taking selfies on Monday evening.

A rescue operation was initiated immediately and assistance of the coast guard was requested.

Coast Guard DSP Trinath Rao said that the local police requested them for assistance in search for a missing person. "Our crew members are engaged in the search operation. We sent two ships and a Chetak helicopter including a speed boat to rescue the missing woman," he added.

The missing woman was identified as Priya, a resident of NAD Kotha road.

Earlier, the Indian Coast Guard had initiated a search and rescue operation at the request of the state administration regarding the missing of a 30-year-old fisherman named Sri Shihab off Urupunya Kavu Beach on July 12. (ANI)
Kerala Finance Minister K N Balagopal has written to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman claiming that the state is undergoing a financial crisis as it had not received GST compensation to the tune of Rs 12,000 crore. "The financial health of the state has been seriously affected by a reduction in the revenue deficit grant to the tune of around Rs 7,000 crore this year and loss due to stoppage of GST compensation of around Rs 12,000 crore. In addition, the Ministry of Finance has arbitrarily, in the name of off-budget borrowing made a reduction of approximately Rs,4000 crores in the net borrowing limits of the State. In all the State Government will have to contend with a reduction of Rs 23,000 crore in the financial resources available to it for financing the budget in the current financial year," Balagopa' said in his letter written on July 22. The Kerala finance minister told Sitharaman that the financial crunch posed a serious threat to the continuation of welfare schemes for the poor, including housing, education and health among others. Unless the realities faced by the state, particularly in the aftermath of the Covid pandemic, are recognised by the Centre, the safety of the socio-economic security a system that the state has worked so hard to build over the last several decades will be in jeopardy, he said. "The composition of the financial liabilities of state governments has changed significantly in the last 25 years. The share of loans and advances from the Centre has declined from over 15.8% of all state liabilities in 2005 to 3 percent in 2020. Kerala is no exception to this trend. The outstanding loans and advances from the Centre to Kerala State as a percentage of Kerala State's total liabilities have reduced from 12.4% in 2005 to 3.3% in 2020. " he said. The Kerala finance minister further wrote that under the declared objective of fixing the net borrowing ceiling for states, Article 293(3) of the Constitution was being used to vitiate their independence and affect their financial autonomy. (ANI)
The crime branch-CID team that has begun investigations into the death of a class 12 student is awaiting the findings of the post-mortem even as it examines the various other aspects related to the case. The autopsy was underway and its proceedings were being recorded. Officials of the CB-CID unit of the police and the deceased girl's mother and brother were present outside the venue as were local political leaders. The class 12 student was found dead inside the hostel of a private school in Kilacheri village of Tiruvalli district. The death sparked angry protests by family members and villagers who suspected foul play. Initially, the police had believed it to be a case of suicide by hanging. However, as protests raged on, an FIR was registered and the case was transferred to the crime branch- CID unit. "There is no problem. We've provided sufficient security arrangements within the district, in the village and the hospital. There are no issues. Post-mortem is being conducted. It will be completed and the body will be taken to their native village", said M Sathya Priya, DIG, Kancheepuram range. The girl's family had yesterday refused to accept her body but there is no issue now, said the police official. She also said that the CB-CID has started an investigation into the case. Earlier, the Madras High Court while hearing the Kallakurichi girl's death case, had ordered that any death inside an educational institution must be investigated by the CB-CID. This is the second time this month that a student has allegedly commited suicide. Earlier, on July 13, a 16-year-old girl reportedly died the hostel premises of a private school in Kallakurichi in Salem district after she was allegedly harassed by two teachers. (ANI)
Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai on Tuesday informed the Lok Sabha that the number of Naxal-affected districts has gone down from 70 in 2014 to 46 in 2021. In a written reply, the Minister also informed that incidents of Left Wing Extremism (LWE) or Naxal violence have also significantly reduced from 1,091 in 2014 to 509 incidents in 2021. Since 2014, Rai said, there has been a substantial increase in the magnitude of assistance provided to LWE-affected states by the government of India under various schemes of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and specific schemes for LWE areas of the other line ministries. Approximately Rs 6,578 crore was released under various MHA schemes from Financial Year 2014-15 to Financial Year 2021-22 as compared to Rs 2,181 crore released from Financial Year 2006-07 to Financial Year 2013-14 for LWE management, said the Minister while giving an answer to a query raised by BJP MPs Sushil Kumar Singh and Sudarshan Bhagat. Giving details of assistance through specific schemes for LWE affected areas, the Minister said the government of India provides assistance for capacity building of such states through various schemes like Security Related Expenditure Scheme, Special Infrastructure Scheme, Special Central Assistance Scheme for the most LWE affected districts, Road Requirement Plan-l, Road Connectivity Project for LWE Affected areas, Skill Development Scheme in 47 LWE affected areas, Kendriya Vidyalaya and Jawahar Nava Vidyalaya, Eklavaya Model Residential School, Mobile Connectivity Project in LWE affected districts, and Financial Inclusion. Under the Security Related Expenditure Scheme, Rs 2,302 crore has been provided to the state governments since 2014-15. Under the Special Infrastructure Scheme, projects worth Rs 991.04 crore have been approved from 2017-21 for upgradation and strengthening of Special Forces, Special Intelligence Branches and for the construction of 250 Fortified Police Stations (FPSs) in LWE affected areas. Under Special Central Assistance Scheme for the Most LWE Affected districts, Rs 3,085.74 crore has been released to the states. Under Road Requirement Plan-l (RRP-I) scheme, 2,134 km have been completed post-May 2014. In Gaya, 205 km road and in Aurangabad, 116 km road has been completed under this scheme. Under Road Connectivity Project for LWE affected Areas, 12,082 km with an estimated cost of Rs 11,780 Crore has been sanctioned. 6,274 km has been completed. 196 km in Gaya and 237 km in Aurangabad districts of Bihar have been completed. Under Skill Development Scheme in 47 LWE Affected Districts, 30 Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and 61 Skill Development Centers (SDCs) have been completed. Post-May 2014, 08 ITIs and six SDCs have been completed. For Gaya and Aurangabad, one ITI and two SDCs each have been made under this scheme. A total of 32 Kendriya Vidyala (KV) and nine Jawahar Nava Vidyalaya (JNVs) have been opened in LWE-affected districts. Construction of two JNVs and two KVs for Gaya and one JNV and two KVs for Aurangabad district in Bihar has also been completed. A total of 207 Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRSs) have been sanctioned for LWE-affected areas. Meanwhile, 1,258 bank branches and 1,348 ATMs have been installed in Most of the LWE-affected districts. Further, 4,903 new Post Offices were opened in LWE-affected districts. 26 Post Offices were opened in Aurangabad and 31 in Gaya. Alongside 38 bank branches and eight ATMs were started in Aurangabad and 66 Bank Branches and 32 ATMs were opened in Gaya. (ANI)
The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) is providing training to security personnel of State security agencies as well as Public Sector Undertakings, Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai told the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. The Minister, while giving a written reply to a query raised by BJP MP Harish Dwivedi, also said that the CISF is presently deployed in 12 private sector institutions and companies. Electronics City, Bengaluru; Hotel terminal 1C CSIA, Mumbai; Infosys Technologies Ltd, Pune; Infosys Technologies Ltd, Bengaluru; Patanjali Food and Herbal Park Pvt Ltd, Haridwar; Reliance Corporate IT Park Private Ltd, Navi Mumbai; Reliance Refinery and Petrochemicals, Jamnagar; Tata Steel, Kalinganagar; Nayara Energy Ltd, Jamnagar; Bharat Biotech International Ltd, Hyderabad; Jio World Centre, Bandra Kurla Complex, Mumbai; and JSW Steel Ltd, Dolvi, Raigad are among those 12 private sector institutions and companies where the CISF is deployed. The CISF, one of the seven Central Armed Police Forces under the Ministry of Home Affairs, came into existence in 1969 to provide integrated security cover to certain sensitive public sector undertakings with a strength of only three battalions. The force has since grown into a premier multi-skilled organization with a present strength of 1,63,590 personnel. The CISF at present provides security cover to 353 establishments throughout the length and breadth of the country. The CISF also has its own Fire Wing which provides services to 104 of the above establishments. The CISF security umbrella includes India's most critical infrastructure facilities like nuclear installations, space establishments, airports, seaports, power and plants. In addition, the CISF also protects important government buildings, iconic heritage monuments and the Delhi Metro. The CISF also has a specialized VIP Security vertical providing round-the-clock security to important protectees. Post the Mumbai terror attack in November 2008, the mandate of CISF was broadened to provide security cover to private corporate establishments also. (ANI)
The team of the Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) at the Kolkata airport started rummaging through the SpiceJet aircraft (SG-743). According to the Officers of the AIU team, the 12 cut pieces of gold bars were found stuck deep inside a hollow pipe of a seat located on the 20th row of the aeroplane, wrapped with black adhesive tape.

The team seized the unclaimed gold and started the further required investigation.

The customs department stated that the Gold recovered on the aircraft were approximately worth Rs. 30,87,000 according to the current value of Gold in the Indian market.

Earlier on July 21, gold worth Rs 18.17 lakh was seized by customs officials at Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport, Varanasi. Weighing 349.500 grams, it was retrieved from three trolley bags of a passenger.

The gold was kept in form of eight nickel-coated rods, concealed in the corners of trolley bags, retrieved from three trolley bags of a passenger. (ANI)
Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Tuesday urged Indians to prefer tourist destinations within the country saying this helps in strengthening the bonds of national unity. Stressing the need for giving impetus to tourism in the north-east, Naidu said that "frequent people-to-people exchanges and interactions can strengthen the unity and integrity of our nation." Vice President Naidu was interacting with the participants of the expedition - 'North East on Wheels' - in which 75 bikers including 5 women from 18 states travelled across all the eight states of the north east. Naidu recalled his own travels to the north eastern states and said that with beautiful landscapes, rich culture and warm hospitality of the people, "the states are truly a traveller's paradise". He lamented that despite the rich experience the region offers, "many people are still unaware and uninformed about it". He urged people who enjoy travelling to "explore North East, to revel in its beauty and to admire the diversity in our culture". The vice president also noted marked improvements in infrastructure in the north east, especially in connectivity, and said that these efforts are "unleashing a new era of growth in the region". Complimenting the organisers for the unique expedition, he also appreciated their focus on the theme of road safety. Expressing concern about the huge loss of lives in avoidable road accidents in India every year, Naidu called for greater all-round efforts to minimise the number of accidents. (ANI)
On the 23rd anniversary of Kargil Divas, J-K Workers Party President Mir Junaid addressed a gathering in Kashmir on Tuesday. Kargil Vijay Diwas is celebrated on July 26 to honour the valour and sacrifice of the soldiers who laid down their lives in the line of duty during the Kargil War. Speaking during an event in a rural region of Kashmir, Mir narrated the stories of brave Army Jawans who sacrificed their lives to protect the sovereignty and integrity of the country. He narrated the stories of the Kabali Raid and explained the sacrifices made by the Indian armed forces in Kargil. This address comes in the backdrop of the Har Ghar Tiranga initiative. 'Har Ghar Tiranga' is a campaign under the Aegis of `Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav' to encourage people to bring the Tiranga home and to hoist it to mark the 75th year of Indian independence. This is a sharp contrast to the time when citizens had a formal relationship with the tricolour. Citizens are now taking the lead to have a personal bond with India's flag as well as to develop a personal commitment to Nation building. Har Ghar Tiranga campaign is realising the dream of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah to see a powerful united India. Notably, the citizens of J-K too are putting their efforts on the ground to make the event a grand success in the region. The event is imbibing and cultivating nationalistic and patriotic fervours among the youngsters. Besides this, Mir Junaid also reviewed the basic preparations and blueprint for the event in this meeting. While talking to the media, Mir said that he is for the first time witnessing such a high level of nationalist enthusiastic fervour in Kashmir in decades. And that he was pleased by it. "As a person who works on the ground, Pakistan's agenda has been defeated. I can attest to it," he said. Mir also requested the religious heads of Kashmir to encourage people to participate in this grand event. Earlier today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid homage to all those who lost their lives in Kargil protecting our nation on Kargil Vijay Diwas. In a tweet, the Prime Minister said, "We remember their sacrifices. We remember their valour. Today, on Kargil Vijay Diwas we pay homage to all those who lost their lives in Kargil protecting our nation. Their bravery motivates us every single day." (ANI)
Haryana Police arrested a total of nine people in July 19 killing of Nuh DSP, the police informed on Tuesday. The Nuh Police arrested three more people in connection with the alleged murder of Deputy Superintendent of Police, Surendra Singh Bishnoi, who was mowed down by a truck while investigating illegal mining in Nuh on July 19. "After arresting the six people in the case of the DSP killing, we have arrested three more people in the past two days. One accused (Tabbir alias Baira) was arrested on July 24 (Sunday), while Arshad (the son of the owner of the dumper truck) and a labourer named Abbas were arrested on July 25," Varun Singla, Superintendent of Police told media persons. "So far nine out of 12 accused have been arrested under different charges. The remaining three will also be arrested soon and the case will proceed further as per the Court's directions," SP Singla added. The main accused in the Nuh DSP killing, identified as Shabir alias Mittar hailing from Tauru, Haryana was arrested after an encounter with the Haryana Police on July 20. He was arrested from the hills of Ganghora, the hill station area of Bharatpur (Rajasthan) where he was hiding after killing the DSP. On July 19, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar announced a compensation of Rs 1 crore to the family of Surendra Singh Bishnoi and said that the culprits will not be spared. He said that strict action will be taken against the mining mafia in the state. "We will control the mining mafia in the state and the culprits will not be spared. Strict action will be taken against them," he said. Khattar said police posts will be created near mining areas and the destination of mining vehicles and their equipment will also be fixed. The Chief Minister said that the state government will provide a job to one family member of the deceased police officer. The Chief Minister also said that the DSP performed his duty with bravery and the dumper truck involved in the incident has been identified. Senior Haryana Police officers had rushed to the spot. Haryana Mining Minister Mool Chand Sharma also said that "strict action" will be taken against the guilty. On Saturday (July 23), the police conducted raids against illegal mining in 24 villages and impounded 236 vehicles without documents. According to the police, the search operation was conducted under Operation Clean, in which around 1,500 police personnel were deployed and they also seized 60 other vehicles for being allegedly involved in the illegal mining. SP Varun Singla informed that they also filed three other cases in the matter and have seized 27 'stolen vehicles' under section 102 of the CrPC (Power of police officer to seize certain property), which will be investigated later in a separate case. Later on Thursday (July 21), the Supreme Court agreed to examine the issue related to the killing of the DSP. Earlier, Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij also said that the state government will conduct a judicial inquiry in connection with the killing of the DSP. (ANI)
A class 12 girl in Tamil Nadu's Cuddalore was found dead at her home, the third such instance in the state this month, according to a police official on Tuesday. The girl allegedly died by hanging at Virudhachalam in the Cuddalore district. A case of suspicious death has been registered by the Police and further investigation is underway. This is the third such incident in Tamil Nadu reported this month. Earlier, a 16-year-old girl reportedly died in her hostel premises of a private school in Kallakurichi. The girl's parents suspected foul play while police said she died by suicide. In the second incident reported in the state, a Class 12 girl reportedly died by suicide in Tiruvallur district in her hostel room attached to a government-aided school. According to the police, in the latest incident, the deceased died by suicide. Speaking on the latest incident, Cuddalore SP S Sakthi Ganesan said, "She committed suicide due to domestic issues at her home." According to the reports, monthly tests were underway at the school, because of which she was upset regarding studies. When the family of the deceased girl found out about the incident, they were stopped by the police from performing the last rites. The police sent the deceased's body for autopsy to Virudhachalam Government Hospital. Meanwhile, Chief Minister M.K.Stalin at a college event said, "Recent incidents (student suicides) in the state are painful. Educational institutes must perceive education as a service and not as a business. Students should be taught to deal with any situation. They shouldn't have suicidal thoughts and must think about achieving more." In the earlier incident in the Tiruvallur district, the girl's body was taken to the Tiruvallur government medical college and hospital for postmortem. Police claim she reportedly took the extreme step during the wee hours of Monday. The incident led to protests by a few locals and parents near the school premises amid heavy police deployment. Police said that her parents were daily wage labourers. The victim was studying in a government-aided school in Kilacheri village in the district. On July 13, a 17-year-old girl reportedly died in her hostel premises of a private school in Kallakurichi. The girl's parents suspected foul play while police said she allegedly died by suicide. The protests over the girl's death reportedly turned violent on July 17 when the school was damaged, and police and school vehicles were set on fire. Around 52 police officials were also injured in the incident. (ANI)
Aam Admi Party (AAP) leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sandeep Pathak on Monday administered the oath to new office bearers of the party at Solan in Himachal Pradesh. While speaking to ANI, Pathak said, "Today, there was an administration of oath where more than 9,000 office bearers have been announced, out of which 8,000 are of Panchayat level. Due to rain, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal & Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann couldn't arrive. Effectively you'll see after this announcement that Aam Adami Party has strengthened its committee at the Panchayat level. We have formed a first-round village committee and now after verifying it in the next 15 days, our teams will be announced in all the villages." On being asked about how strong the AAP party is currently in Himachal Pradesh, Pathak said, "everything depends on the mood of the people. You'll see that people are ready for the change today. People need an alternative option, but they want to see if the option they are choosing is strong or not. AAP has strengthened the organisation that you'll see it has spread to villages. People are ready, party is ready. So, I feel it must be great." Further talking about the future course of action, he said, "our future course of action is very simple. We will hold meetings in every village and Panchayat and at every house, we will go door to door at least 2-3 times. The good governance model of Kejriwal in Delhi and that we started in Punjab, we will make everything understood to every single person and then we will leave it to the people. They need to decide. we will just do our deed and the rest is on the people to decide'. AAP Convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann attended the event virtually due to bad weather conditions. Assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh are likely to be held later this year. (ANI)
National Green Tribunal (NGT) directed the Municipal Corporation of Ludhiana to deposit Rs 100 crores with the District Magistrate related to an incident where seven persons were charred to death in a fire at a garbage dump site in Ludhiana in April earlier this year. The NGT said the Municipal Corporation Ludhiana may deposit a sum of Rs 100 crores with the District Magistrate, Ludhiana, towards interim compensation within one month, to be kept in a separate account, to be utilized for remedial measures in terms of the report which will be overseen by the Monitoring Committee. Tribunal in an order passed on July 25, stated that the Corporation is unable to make such a deposit, it may be done by the State Government. It is open to the Corporation to recover the amount from those contributing to the garbage or those who failed to perform their duties, as per law. The bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel in order further stated that, in view of the preponderance of probabilities that the death of seven persons is attributable to the fire of the dump site, the Municipal Corporation is held liable to pay compensation to their next of kin by way of deposit with the District Magistrate, Ludhiana within one month. Compensation is assessed at Rs 57.5 lacs - Rs 10 lacs each for persons aged above 50 and Rs.7.5 lac each for persons below 20. We direct that the District Magistrate may deposit the amount with a Bank with the direction that a sum of Rs 5 lakh be paid immediately to the sole surviving male member of the family and the remaining be kept in fixed deposit, to be paid at Rs 5 lakh every year with accrued interest till the entire amount is disbursed, the bench added. The State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) and other authorities in the State of Punjab may comply with the directions of the CPCB dated 26.05.2022 with regard to safety measures against fire incidents in dump sites, apart from observations in the report of the Monitoring Committee. In particular, Ludhiana Municipal Corporation may set up requisite facilities/ infrastructure to prevent fires. PPCB may grant necessary Authorization under MSW Rules as per norms. Remediation of legacy waste which has already been delayed beyond timelines under the Rules may now be done without further delay. NGT initiated the hearing on the matter on the basis of a media report in which seven persons were charred to death in a fire at a garbage dump site at Tajpur Road, Ludhiana. Most of the deceased belonged to the rag picker family who were living for the last ten years near the site with a huge dump of 20 lakhs tons. The deceased have been identified as Suresh (55), his wife Rona Rani (50), and their children Rakhi (15), Manisha (10), Chandini (5), Geeta (6) and Sunny (2). (ANI)
Chhattisgarh government led by Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel is gearing up to celebrate 'Hareli Tihar' with great pomp. The state government has undertaken an initiative to celebrate state's popular indigenous festivals like 'Hareli', 'Teeja-Pora', and 'Chher-Chhera' on a grand scale. It has declared a public holiday on Hareli Tihar. CM Bhaghel will also launch procurement of 'go-mutra' (cow urine) on the occasion as part of its flagship schemes--Godhan Nyay Yojana. For connecting people with the rich tradition and culture of Chhattisgarh, these festivals are being celebrated with much fanfare since last three years, as per a statement from the state government. "Chhattisgarh is a state with rich culture, tradition and customs which are unique. It is the need of hour to raise cultural awareness of local traditions in youth by celebrating our state's festivals with great zeal and enthusiasm. We must feel proud about our state's cultural legacy and celebrate 'Hareli' with great fervour", said Baghel. Hareli which marks the beginning of Shravan month is considered to be the first festival of the state and has a special significance for the farmers. This is traditional farm festival and on this auspicious occasion, farmers worship their farm equipment and cows and celebrate this festival with great pomp and show. Procurement of 'gau-mutra' on the occasion aims to promote organic farming and boost income of the cattle reapers and women groups involved in farming. This will according to government strength the rural economy of the state. The procured cow urine will be used to prepare 'Jeevamrit' (organic liquid fertilizer) and pest control products by local women Self-Help Groups. The Chief Minister has launched Godhan Nyay Yojana in the year 2020 on the occasion of Hareli, which has become exemplary for other states due to its success in just 2 years. CM will launch this initiative from village Karsa in Patan block of Durg district on July 28. Besides, the latest agricultural equipment such as drone will also be launched through which the appropriate amount of fertilizer and insecticide can be sprayed in a very short span of time. As a part of 'Hareli' celebrations, traditional games including Gedi Race, spinning top, 'Pitthu', 'Kancha', 'Goli-Chammach', Kho-kho, tug of war, 'Tigga Goti' and 'Gilli Danda' will be organized across the state. Taking a step ahead to promote this popular folk game in schools, the state government has directed to organize Gedi dance competitions in all government and aided schools across the state on Hareli. Preparation for this grand celebration of the festival have been started in full swing at CM House in Raipur. Large number of common people will join the Hareli celebration at CM House where Baghel will perform the customary rituals and worship the agricultural equipment. (ANI)
Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) president Vikas Singh has written a letter to the Registrar of the Supreme Court of India to exclude the name of senior advocate Jagdeep Dhankhar, who is the NDA's vice presidential candidate, from the list of chamber allotments as he Dhankhar wished to voluntarily withdraw from the process. In a letter written by SCBA President Vikas Singh to the Registrar of the Supreme Court of India, the association has urged the top court official to exclude the name of Jagdeep Dhankhar from the list of Chamber Allotment and re-work the same accordingly. The association said that Jagdeep Dhankhar has conveyed his wish to voluntarily withdraw from the process of chamber allotment so that other lawyers in need of a chamber may be allotted the same. "Keeping the interest of the Bar at heart, Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar Ji has conveyed his wish to voluntarily withdraw from the process of chamber allotment so that other lawyers in need of a chamber may be allotted the same," the letter said. "In view of the above, you are requested to kindly exclude the name of Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar Ji from the list and re-work the same accordingly," the letter said. In a list released on July 19, Jagdeep Dhankhar's name was also mentioned for the chamber allotment. Dhankar used to practice at the Supreme Court before his appointment as the Governor of West Bengal. Last week, the National Democratic Alliance's (NDA) vice presidential candidate Jagdeep Dhankhar filed his nomination papers before Returning Officer and Secretary General, Lok Sabha in Parliament. Dhankhar, who is a lawyer by profession, entered politics in 1989. He became the Governor of West Bengal in July 2019 and has made headlines since then over his tumultuous relations with the Mamata Banerjee government. He tendered his resignation as the Governor of West Bengal last week. (ANI)
Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for capital acquisition proposals of the armed forces amounting to Rs 28,732 crore were accorded by the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) in the meeting under Buy (Indian IDDM) and Buy (Indian) categories giving a further boost to "Atmanirbhar Bharat" in defence.

Considering the demand for protection against the threat of enemy snipers to Indian troops deployed along the Line of Control (LOC) and in close combat operations in counter-terrorism scenarios, DAC accorded AoN for bulletproof jackets with Indian standard BIS VI level of protection, the ministry said.

To combat the current complex paradigm of conventional and hybrid warfare and counter-terrorism at the LAC and Eastern Borders, AoN for induction of approximately 4 lakh Close Quarter Battle Carbines for the services have also been accorded by the DAC.

This is set to provide a major impetus to the small arms manufacturing industry in India and enhance "Atmanirbhar Bharat".

In recent conflicts across the world, drone technology proved to be a force multiplier in military operations. Accordingly, to augment the Indian Army's capability in modern warfare, AoN for procurement of Autonomous Surveillance and Armed Drone Swarms has been accorded by the DAC under Buy (Indian-IDDM) category.

DAC also approved the Navy's proposal to procure an upgraded 1250KW capacity marine gas turbine generator for power generation application onboard Kolkata-class of ships through Indian industry.

This will give a major boost to the indigenous manufacturing of gas turbine generators.

In order to enhance the security in the coastal region of our Country, DAC also approved the proposal of procurement of 14 Fast Patrol Vessels (FPVs) for the Indian Coast Guard under the Buy (Indian-IDDM) with 60 per cent IC. (ANI)
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has moved the Delhi High Court challenging the order passed by the trial court that rejected the prayer of the ED to get the accused Satyendar Jain medically evaluated by any independent hospital such as Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital or AIIMS instead of the Lok Nayak Hospital where he is presently admitted. ED stated that Jain who was holding the portfolio of Minister of Health in the govt of NCT of Delhi, continues to be shown prominently on the Home Page of the website of the Lok Nayak Hospital as well as on the plaque in the hospital commemorating the inauguration by the respondent as the guest of honour. ED also challenged the order dated July 19, 2022, in the interim bail application of the Respondent/Satyender Jain when the respondent was again stated to be admitted to Lok Nayak Hospital, and the Directorate of Enforcement raised an objection that he should be shifted to some independent hospital for proper medical evaluation. However, the Special judge in the trial instead of seeking an independent evaluation from any independent hospital adjourned the matter for arguments on July 29 and sought a detailed medical report from the same Lok Nayak Jaiprakash Hospital where the respondent is admitted. The plea stated that the ASG earlier appearing on behalf of the Enforcement Directorate submitted that, the Directorate of Enforcement has a serious doubt as to whether the Lok Nayak Jaiprakash Hospital or even the GB Pant Hospital would be able to independently assess the medical condition of Jain for the reason that these hospitals continue to prominently display the picture of the respondent on their home page. The matter was on Tuesday listed for hearing before the bench of Justice Yogesh Khanna, which later got adjourned for July 29. The trial court of Delhi presently hearing an interim bail plea of Satyender Jain on basis of medical grounds. In the ED case, Delhi Cabinet Minister Satyendar Jain was arrested on 30 May 2022. Besides him, Naveen Jain and Siddharth Jain (Directors of Ram Prakash Jewellers Pvt Ltd), G S Matharoo (Chairman of Lala Sher Singh Jivan Vigyan Trust which runs Prudence Group of Schools), Yogesh Kumar Jain (Director in Ram Prakash Jewellers Pvt Ltd), father-in-law of Ankush Jain and Lala Sher Singh Jivan Vigyan Trust are also on ED radar for assisting Satyendar Jain, the ED informed. The ED on June 6 had seized Rs 2.85 crore in cash and 133 gold coins weighing 1.80 kg from Satyendra Jain's aides during its day-long raid conducted at various places across Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR). The agency had also seized various incriminating documents and digital records during these raids. The ED then said that the total movable assets were seized from "an unexplained source" and were "found to be secreted" in the raided premises. The assets were seized during a search operation carried out under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 at the premises of Satyendar Jain, his wife Poonam Jain, and his accomplices and other persons who had either directly or indirectly assisted him or participated in the processes of money laundering. ED investigation in the case has revealed that one accomplice of Lala Sher Singh Jivan Vigyan Trust had provided accommodation entries for the transfer of land from a company beneficially owned by Satyendar Jain to family members of accomplices in order to alienate the property and to frustrate the process of confiscation. The ED had initiated a money-laundering investigation on the basis of a First Information Report registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on 24 August 2017 under Section 13(2) r/w 13(1)(e) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 against Satyendar Jain, Poonam Jain, Ajit Prasad Jain, Sunil Kumar Jain, Vaibhav Jain and Ankush Jain. The CBI filed a chargesheet on 3 December 2018 against Satyendar Kumar Jain, Poonam Jain, Ajit Prasad Jain, Sunil Kumar Jain, Vaibhav Jain and Ankush Jain. The chargesheet mentioned that Satyendar Jain, while holding the office as a Minister in the Government of Delhi, during the period from 14 February 14 to 31 May 2017, had acquired assets which were disproportionate to his known sources of income. The CBI has accused Satyendar Kumar Jain and others of the commission of offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. Jain was arrested after the ED attached immovable properties worth Rs 4.81 crore, in April, owned by the companies named Akinchan Developers Pvt. Ltd, Indo Metal Impex Pvt Ltd, and others under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 in connection with the disproportionate asset and money laundering case registered Jain, his wife Poonam Jain, and others. (ANI)
An Ahmedabad court, which reserved its order on the bail applications of activist Teesta Setalvad and former DGP RB Sreekumar last week in the 2002 Gujarat riots case, deferred the judgement to Thursday. Both the sides had concluded presenting their arguments last week, following which the court had reserved its order and was likely to pronounce the judgement Tuesday or on Wednesday. The Gujarat Police Crime Branch on June 26 had arrested Teesta Setalvad in connection with a case against her NGO which gave baseless information about the 2002 Gujarat riots to the police. The SIT had filed serious charges against Teesta Setalvad, RB Sreekumar and Sanjeev Bhatt in the case of defaming several people including the then Chief Minister Narendra Modi in the case of petitions to various commissions and the Supreme Court. An SIT report, earlier this month, revealed that Teesta, Sreekumar and former IPS officer Sanjeev Bhatt had accepted Rs 30 lakh from late Congress leader Ahmed Patel, the then political advisor to Sonia Gandhi, to allegedly frame then Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi and destabilise his government following the 2002 Gujarat riots. The SIT was formed to probe Setalvad along with RB Sreekumar for criminal conspiracy and forgery. SIT ACP BC Solanki and Special public prosecutors Mitesh Amin and Amit Patel had filed an affidavit in the sessions court against the bail plea filed by Teesta, Sreekumar in the Sessions Court stating that the accused had entered into a larger conspiracy with the intention of obtaining illegal money and other benefits from the Congress. A metropolitan court in Ahmedabad sent Setalvad and Sreekumar to 14-day judicial custody on July 2. Former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt was arrested by the Ahmedabad Police's Crime Branch in connection with the Gujarat riots case for embezzling funds and forging documents. Last month, the Supreme Court dismissed the plea filed by Zakia Jafri, widow of former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, challenging the clean chit given by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to then Chief Minister Narendra Modi and several others in the 2002 Gujarat riots. Ehsan Jafri was among 69 people killed during violence at the Gulberg Society in Ahmedabad on February 28, 2002. His widow Zakia Jafri challenged the SIT's clean chit to 64 people including Narendra Modi. According to the SIT, Zakia Jafri was used as a tool by Teesta. After 58 pilgrims were burnt alive on the Sabarmati Express train at Gujarat's Godhra railway station on February 27, 2002, riots broke out across the state in which more than 1,000 people were killed. (ANI)
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Jagat Prakash Nadda on Tuesday asserted that instead of importing bulletproof jackets in the country, India is now exporting them and said "Attack and then report to us is the policy now". "It is due to the change in leadership that today you (soldiers) do not have to report at multiple stages but attack and then report to us what you gained by answering the attack that they made on you," Nadda said in his address on the occasion of 23rd Kargil Vijay Diwas at BJP headquarters in New Delhi. Kargil Vijay Diwas is celebrated every year on July 26 to mark India's victory over Pakistan in the 1999 Kargil war. "In the 8 years of the Modi government, 36 Rafale fighter jets have been purchased, 28 Apache Helicopters, 15 Chinook Helicopters, Air Missiles, 145 Ultra light Howitzers, 100 Vajra Artillery Guns and 1.83 lakh bulletproof jackets have helped update and strengthen the Indian Army," he said. "Now India is exporting bulletproof jackets instead of importing. Attack and then report to us is the policy now," Nadda said. "Till 2014, the Indian Armed Forces were lagging 20 years behind as far as ammunition, modernisation, updation (updated ammunition), training are concerned. What was the leader of the nation doing at that time?" Nadda further said that the then UPA government could not design the National War Memorial till 2014 despite the fact that it (UPA) had framed a committee for its construction in 2006 after the concept was put forth in 1960. "In 2014, PM Modi started working on the idea and the National War Memorial was ready in the national capital in 2019," he added. "Until 2014, Indian Armed forces were lacking modern ammunition, bulletproof jackets and many more. What was the leadership of that time doing? Defence deals became scams during that time," Nadda said. The Kargil war was fought between May 8, 1999, to July 26, 1999, against Pakistan intruders, who in the winter of 1998 transgressed into the Indian territory across the Line of Control and occupied fortified defences overlooking the NH 1A in Kargil's Drass and Batalik sectors of Ladakh region with a nefarious aim of dominating all military and civil movement on the highway. Praising the Indian Army, the BJP chief further said, "Both the hardware and the software of the Indian Army are very strong. We are filled with courage as well as skills and that's why no one can compare or compete with the eternal strength of the Indian Army." "The passion to fight for one's nation is hard to find in the army of any country other than India," he said adding that no matter who comes to fight, victory is registered with us. "Leadership has great impacts over anything which can be evident from the outcomes. See the outcome of '62 or '65, we (Indian Army), in the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971, achieved what was not achieved by any other nation after World War II," he added. Earlier Tuesday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also paid homage to the brave war heroes and laid a wreath at the National War Memorial, while President Droupadi Murmu paid homage to them and in a tweet said, "Kargil Vijay Diwas is a symbol of extraordinary valour, courage and determination of our armed forces. I bow to all the brave soldiers who laid down their lives to protect Mother India. All the countrymen will always be indebted to them and their family members. Jai Hind!". Prime Minister Narendra Modi also paid tribute to soldiers who laid down their lives in the line of duty. "Kargil Vijay Diwas is a symbol of pride and glory of Maa Bharati. On this occasion, my salute to all the brave sons of the country who have accomplished their valour in the defence of the motherland. Jai Hind!," he said in a tweet. (ANI)
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Tuesday said that he was pained by the recent incidents of suicides by students and added that he believes educational institutes should also provide youth life skills to tackle "obstacles bravely". "Recent incidents in Tamil Nadu are giving me pain. Education Institutions Management should think of Education as a service and not a business," Stalin, who was attending the Golden Jubilee event at the Guru Nanak College in Chennai, said. The Tamil Nadu chief minister added that colleges and varsities should equip their students with confidence and courage to take on challenges. "Students are coming to Educational Institutions only to get degrees. Education institutions should give self-confidence, courage, and power to students to manage all situations under any circumstances. Tamil Nadu students have to face their obstacles bravely," he added. The Tamil Nadu CM also focused on the sexual abuse aspect. "We won't just sit and see sexual abuse or harassment. We will take strong steps toward sexual harassment accused and they will be brought before the law," he added. The chief minister also urged students to shun suicidal thoughts no matter how hard the situation. "Under any circumstances, students should never have suicidal thoughts. Revive the thought (process) to achieve more," he added. A class 12 girl in Tamil Nadu's Cuddalore was found dead at her home, the third such instance in the state this month, according to a police officer, on Tuesday. The girl allegedly died by hanging at Virudhachalam in the Cuddalore district. Earlier, on July 13, a class XII school girl student allegedly jumped off the third floor of the hostel building at a private school in Tamil Nadu's Kallakuruchi. Police said she left a note that says she was struggling in several subjects and was humiliated by some teachers. Her family alleged that two teachers had mentally harassed and humiliated her. Soon after the incident, parents and relatives of the girl staged protests by blocking roads at Thekkalur demanding action. There were violent protests in the district, prompting the Salem Police to deploy heavy security around the school and other areas. Section 144 was also imposed in several areas. The High Court also ordered the Police to find out who instigated the violence. (ANI)
The Border Security Force (BSF), since the widening of its jurisdiction in Punjab, has achieved success in "curbing the smuggling of drugs" on the borders of the state, seizing Pakistani drones containing contraband items, and arms and ammunition, said Minister of State for Home Affairs, Nityanand Rai in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. The minister was giving a written reply to an unstarred question, in which he presented the data between the date the government had issued the notification of the extension of the territorial jurisdiction i.e. September 10, 2021, till July 15, 2022. The Central government had last year amended the BSF Act to authorise the border guarding force to undertake search, seizure and arrest within a 50 km stretch, up from the previous limit of 15 kms, from the international border in Punjab, West Bengal and Assam. In his written reply, Rai said, "Due to increased territorial jurisdiction, BSF has achieved success in curbing smuggling of drugs and other contraband items and the following items were seized/ recovered in the Area of Responsibility (AOR) of Punjab Frontier of BSF from the date of issue of Notification extending territorial jurisdiction, i.e. September 10, 2021, till July 15, 2022." The minister informed the House that a total of six Pakistani drones and one Indian drone were also seized. The arms and ammunition were also seized including one pistol, two magazine, six detonators, 4.75 kg of RDX. A total of 48 weapons were seized by BSF. The BSF had also seized Indian currency worth Rs 1 lakh from the drones, said MoS in his reply. A total of 314.045 kgs of heroin were recovered by the force during the period. Notably, the Centre, in the month of October 2021, had empowered the BSF to conduct searches, arrest suspects and make seizures up to an area of 50 km inside Indian territory from the International Border (IB) along India-Pakistan and India-Bangladesh borders. (ANI)
Union Minister for State for Health and Family Welfare Bharti Pawar on Tuesday informed the Rajya Sabha that there are no such provisions in the Indian Medical Council Act 1956 and the National Medical Commission Act, 2019 as well as in the regulations to accommodate or transfer medical students from any foreign medical institutes to Indian medical colleges. In a response to a question raised by CPI MP Binoy Viswam, the MoS Health Bharati Pawar has stated that from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) received information about 20,000 Indian students who have returned from Ukraine. Foreign Medical Students/Graduates are either covered under "Screening Test Regulations, 2002" or "Foreign Medical Graduate Licentiate Regulations, 2021". There are no such provisions in the Indian Medical Council Act 1956 and the National Medical Commission Act, 2019 as well as the Regulations to accommodate or transfer medical students from any foreign medical institutes to Indian medical colleges. Pawar further inform the Upper House that no permission has been given by the NMC to transfer or accommodate any foreign medical students in any Indian medical institute/university. As per information received from MEA, the Indian Embassy in Kyiv has communicated with all the concerned Universities in Ukraine for providing transcripts and other documents in a smooth manner to the students. "All details have been provided on the website of the Embassy to assist students to address any related issues'" she added. (ANI)
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has given security clearance to Air India CEO-designate Campbell Wilson, paving the way for him to take charge of the airline, a government official said. The MHA nod came after a thorough background check. The move comes almost two months after Tata Sons, which took over the loss-making airline from the government on January 27 this year, announced Wilson's appointment. The announcement of Wilson appointment as the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Air India was made by Tata Sons on May 12. However, for Wilson to takeover, a nod from the MHA was needed. "The Ministry of Home Affairs has given security clearance to Air India CEO-designate Campbell Wilson," a senior government official told ANI. Under civil aviation rules, MHA clearance is mandatory for the appointment of key personnel at airlines, especially foreigners. An aviation industry veteran with over 26 years of experience, Wilson began as a management trainee with Singapore Airlines. Wilson has also worked as the CEO of Singapore Airlines' wholly-owned subsidiary Scoot Air. He was the founding CEO of Scoot, which he led until 2016. Significantly, Singapore Airlines is a partner of the Tata Group in the joint venture Vistara. Wilson also served as the senior vice president of sales and marketing of Singapore Airlines, where he oversaw pricing, distribution, e-commerce, merchandising, brand and marketing, global sales and the airline's overseas offices, before returning for a second stint as the CEO of Scoot in April 2020. Weeks after taking over the carrier, Tata Sons, on February 14, named Turkish Airlines' former Chairman Lyker Ayci as Air India's MD and CEO. However, Ayci, who was to take over on April 1, declined to join the group amid concerns expressed over his appointment in certain quarters. (ANI)
After West Bengal Minister Partha Chatterjee was arrested for his alleged involvement in the school jobs scam case, BJP on Tuesday hit out at Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee stating that the occurrence of the scam "under her nose" shows "complete administrative failure" of the TMC chief. National spokesperson of the BJP, Shehzad Poonawalla, said that TMC stands for "Too Much Corruption" which the party is trying to portray as "Too Much Coincidence". Mamata Banerjee, on Monday, said that she does not support corruption. Earlier today, Poonawalla tweeted pictures of Arpita Mukherjee who is also arrested and a close associate of Partha Chatterjee, seen sitting on the TMC stage, and said, "Didi, yeh rishta kya kehlata hai? Too Much Co incidence or Too Much Corruption? What was Arpita doing in such programs? SSC scam is a scam by TMC, of TMC, for TMC." Speaking to ANI, Poonawalla said, "TMC stands for Too Much Corruption. Mamata government is making attempts to give it a form of 'Too Much Coincidence'. It is a complete administrative failure of Mamata Banerjee that such a scam took place under her nose. Her senior associate was doing a scam and she was not aware of it." The BJP leader alleged that the corruption has been done not by an individual, but by the TMC. "The pictures of Arpita have also surfaced showing her on the TMC stage. Is this also a coincidence? When Rs 21 crore was recovered from her residence, besides that, envelopes of the state Education Ministry were also found which linked her to Partha Chatterjee. Admit cards were also found there. Is this also a coincidence? Was Mamata Banerjee herself praising Arpita? The way cash has been found shows that it is a corruption done by the TMC," he said. Poonawalla asked the West Bengal Chief Minister to take responsibility for the actions of her Minister. "A lot of proof has come to the fore. No matter how much Mamata tries to shy away from the allegations, now she has to take responsibility. She cannot say that she was unaware of the events taking place. It means that she does not have any control over her government and administration," he said. "The division bench of Calcutta High Court had cancelled the admission of the son of Mamata's Education Minister. What action was taken against the Minister? Has Partha Chatterjee been suspended so far? All of it seems to be a case of 'Too Much Corruption'," Poonawalla alleged. Earlier, Mamata on Monday broke her silence and asserted that she 'doesn't support corruption. "I don't support corruption. I get a Rs 1 lakh pension from Parliament and Rs 2 lakh as a state MLA. Now count how much money I have made in the last 11 years. I have not taken a single penny besides this. My service is voluntary. Friends, I am sad and disheartened at the attitude of some political party in the last two days," said the West Bengal CM. Chatterjee who was arrested by Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday dialled party supremo Mamata Banerjee after his arrests, revealed an official document. ED personnel raided several locations in the state on July 22 as part of their probe into the money trail involved in a teacher recruitment scam at government-sponsored and aided schools. Crores of rupees in cash, along with other items, were allegedly recovered from Mukherjee's residence, sources said. Chatterjee's close associate Arpita Mukherjee was also arrested as part of the ED's investigation into the scam. ED arrested Mukherjee after it recovered huge cash amounting to approximately Rs 20 crore from her residence on Friday. (ANI)
Soon after Indian Youth Congress National President Srinivas BV was allegedly manhandled by police personnel during a protest against the questioning of Congress interim chief Sonia Gandhi by the ED, Delhi Police has given assurance to take disciplinary action against those who were involved in the incident. Delhi Police personnel on Tuesday were seen grabbing Indian Youth Congress chief Srinivas BV by the hair and forcing him into a vehicle during a protest against the questioning of Sonia Gandhi by the Enforcement Directorate in the National Herald case. "We are trying to identify the staff. Disciplinary action would be initiated against the staff after identification," Delhi Police said. Earlier, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi along with several party leaders was detained by Delhi Police at Vijay Chowk during MPs' march to Rashtrapati Bhavan to protest against the party chief. "Around 50 MPs along with Rahul Gandhi were detained from the North fountain near Parliament. They are detained in Kingsway Camp," said the Deputy Commissioner of Police, New Delhi. Rahul Gandhi has been taken to Parliament Street police station after being detained during a protest march from Parliament to Vijay Chowk. Congress leaders are holding nationwide protests against the misuse of Central probe agencies against Opposition leaders. Congress president Sonia Gandhi was on Tuesday questioned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for the second day in less than a week in the National Herald case. She left the ED office here after around six hours of questioning. The first round of questioning was conducted on July 21 when several Congress leaders were detained as the party put a show of strength by staging nationwide demonstrations in support of the party chief. The ED had on June 1 summoned Sonia Gandhi to appear before its investigators on June 8 in the case for the first time in connection with a money laundering case involving the National Herald. The agency had issued similar summons to Sonia Gandhi investigators on June 8 and then on June 21. Sonia Gandhi could not appear for questioning after testing positive and being hospitalised for Covid-19. The Congress leader had developed a mild fever on June 1 evening and was found COVID-19 positive upon testing the next morning. After her discharge from the hospital, she had asked for more time to appear before the agency.The ED wants to record Sonia Gandhi's statements under criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Last month the ED also questioned Rahul Gandhi on several occasions in the case. The case to investigate alleged financial irregularities under the PMLA was registered about nine months ago after a trial court took cognisance of an Income Tax department probe carried out on the basis of a private criminal complaint filed by former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Subramanian Swamy in 2013. The petitioner had approached the court alleging that the assets of Associated Journals Limited (AJL), which published the National Herald newspaper, were fraudulently acquired and transferred to Young Indian Pvt Limited (YIL), in which Sonia Gandhi and her son owned 38 per cent shares each. The YIL promoters include Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. Swamy had alleged that the Gandhis cheated and misappropriated funds, with YIL paying only Rs 50 lakh to obtain the right to recover Rs 90.25 crore that AJL owed to Congress. Congress argued that YIL was a not-for-profit company under Section 25 of the Companies Act, 1956 that can neither accumulate profits nor pay dividends to its shareholders. Calling it a case of political vendetta, senior Supreme Court advocate and Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi had said, "This is truly a very weird case -- an alleged money laundering case on which summons are issued with no money involved." The federal agency's move followed the questioning of senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge and Congress Treasurer Pawan Bansal in April this year in New Delhi in connection with its money laundering probe into the National Herald case. The agency then recorded the statements of both the Congress leaders then under the PMLA. The National Herald is published by AJL and owned by YIL. While Kharge is the CEO of YIL, Bansal is the Managing Director of AJL. The ED is currently investigating the shareholding pattern and financial transactions as well as the role of party functionaries in the functioning of AJL and YIL. (ANI)
The Delhi High Court on Tuesday refused to suspend the Look Out Circular (LOC) and to grant interim permission to businessman Uday Jayant Desai to travel abroad. The court dismissed the application in view of the serious allegations and the amount of the loss allegedly caused by him to a consortium of 14 banks. He is accused of bank fraud worth more than Rs 3,000 crore. He has eight cases being probed by different agencies including CBI and SFIO. Desai had moved an application seeking permission to travel abroad and suspension of Look Out Circular (LOC) issued against him. One of the former key management personnel in M/s. Frost Infrastructure and Energy Ltd. had sought permission on medical grounds as well as his desire to meet his two sisters staying abroad and in light of his advancing years. Justice Yashwant Varma while dismissing the application, said, "The nature of proceedings in which the petitioner stands arraigned, the sheer magnitude of the losses caused to the financial institutions as well as the multiple investigations which are ongoing leaves the Court convinced at this stage that the issuance of the Look Out Circular is clearly justified." The High Court said, "The permission if granted would be detrimental to the economic interests of the country and in any case, the larger public interest would justify the restraint on travel as imposed." The bench noted that there are serious allegations of huge defalcation of funds and loss having been caused to Financial Institutions to the tune of over Rs 3,000 crores. "The Court bears in mind that the 2017 circular which hold the field does not restrict the issuance of a Look Out Circular merely to a situation where a criminal offence may have been committed but also extends the situations where the issuance of Look Out Circular may be warranted bearing in mind the economic interest fo the country as well as larger public interest," the bench observed. Desai had approached the court seeking permission to travel abroad from August 1, 2022 to September 15, 2022 and to suspend the LOC issued against him. (ANI)
In view of this development, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai expressed his deep condolences to the family members of the BJP leader and assured them that justice will be served soon.

"The barbaric killing of our party activist Praveen Nettaru from Dakshina Kannada district is condemnable. The perpetrators of such a heinous act will be arrested soon and punished under the law. May Praveen's soul rest in peace. May God bless his family with the strength to bear this pain. Om Shanti," tweeted Bommai today.

Meanwhile, Bellare police have registered a case and are investigating the matter. (ANI)
Maharashtra has beaten at least 5 states to win a stupendous Rs 2.06 lakh-crore investment by Vedanta Group-Foxconn partnership in the sunrise semiconductors chips and display fabrications sector in Pune, officials said here on Tuesday. The deal, the single biggest investment of its kind in Maharashtra -- coveted by Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana and Himachal Pradesh -- was signed in the presence of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Earlier this year, Vedanta Group -- a mining giant based in Mumbai -- had partnered with the Hon Hai Precision Industry (Foxconn) with plans to invest $15 billion in phases over the next five-ten years to manufacture semiconductor chips and displays in India. Accordingly, Vedanta-Foxconn will invest Rs 166,800 crore and Rs 40,000 crore from other sources for its 1,000-acre proposed manufacturing facility at Talegaon near Pune. The understanding caps a series of meetings held by the state government in the past few months to bag the prestigious deal, including the last one held in June by the erstwhile Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government's former Industry Minister Subhash Desai, preceded by a Vedanta team survey of Pune to set up its plant in February 2022. This mega-project will create around 200,000 direct and indirect jobs, total revenues of GST worth Rs 125,230 crore comprising Rs 37,500 crore State GST and the rest Rs 88,079 as Inter-State GST. The state will provide a slew of incentives including 25 per cent capital subsidy, subsidised water and power supply, and land at concessional rates, and Shinde-Fadnavis assured all other help for the project to come up without hiccups in three years. The Indian semiconductor industry is estimated to grow more than four times to over $60 billion in the next four years, and Fadnavis said the state was keen that this industry - available in only four nations - should come here. Incidentally, when he was the Chief Minister, Fadnavis had visited the Foxconn plant in China in 2015 where the initial discussions were held to bring the electronics giant to India, but its progress got bogged down due to strained relations between India and China. --IANS qn/pgh ( 371 Words) 2022-07-26-20:26:02 (IANS)
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday mocked the Congress over its state unit's recent 'Chintan Shivir' (brainstorming camp), quipping one needs to find out what all happened after their previous such meetings. The state Congress unit had held a Chintan Shivir on Saturday and Sunday where nearly 200 state leaders, besides a few national leaders, took part and it was basically done to enthuse the state unit, which appears to be on a high after the Thrikkakara Assembly by-election victory and to lay the path forward for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Asked about the Chintan Shivir at his media interaction, Vijayan said if he has to say about it, it will take a long time and soon he pulled out a piece of paper and started reading out from it. "The Congress at present is finding to stand on its own legs and is trying to get props from outside, but for that, they need not look towards us. If we look into the past Chintan Shivirs, there have been four national such events with this name and it was first held in 1998. One has to find out what all actions they have taken from these four events," he said. Vijayan also said the two-day event failed to discuss any burning issues that the country is facing or what the state are facing. "It was a meeting which failed to discuss any major issues and we all are seeing on the contradicting positions they take... in Delhi, they oppose the Enforcement Directorate, but here they take a different stand. There was no discussion on any significant issues," he claimed. --IANS sg/vd ( 282 Words) 2022-07-26-20:36:03 (IANS)
The Bihar education department has demanded clarifications from the district education officers (DEO) of Seemanchal region following the Friday weekly holiday in government schools. Education minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary said: "We have a report about Friday being declared as a weekly off in many government schools in Bihar. We have asked the DEOs of the respective districts to submit a clarification on this matter. We have also asked them to clarify who has given the order for the weekly off in government schools on Friday. We will take action after their reply to the department." According to an education department official, Muslim dominated Araria district has 244 government schools and 229 of them have declared Friday as the weekly off in the schools instead of Sunday. Purnea and Kishanganj districts' 200 schools were closed with weekly off on Friday. The report about Katihar is also similar where a large number of schools were shut on Friday, he added. Subhash Kumar Gupta, district education officer of Kishanganj, said that it is a common practice in the Muslim dominated areas in the Seemanchal districts. Districts such as Purnea, Araria, Katihar and Kishanganj have domination of the Muslim community -- 30% to 70% in several localities. The schools in these areas have a Friday off as the Muslims offer "Jumme Ki Namaz" on Friday. The officer said that it is not a recent practice in Bihar. In fact, Friday has been a weekly off in many government schools not only in Seemanchal region but across Bihar for a long time. According to an official of the education department, there is no such policy of Friday as weekly off in the state. The Muslim leaders in the minority dominant areas have forced schools to close on Friday. Sources said that the majority of these leaders belong to the ruling JD-U and the opposition party RJD. They are not objecting to this practice as their vote bank could desert them in the elections. --IANS ajk/bg ( 344 Words) 2022-07-26-21:04:04 (IANS)
Local media quoted the police as saying that two victims were dead and two others were seriously hurt. The suspect was later identified and shot dead by the police, ending a series of attacks police believed were targeted at homeless people in the area.

The police said in an initial statement that one man had been arrested, but updated later that the suspect was shot and pronounced dead at the scene.

The police said they still didn't know the motive behind the deadly incident, nor if there was any relationship between the deceased suspect and the victims.

While the investigation was underway, multiple areas in the city of Langley and Langley Township were closed to the public, media reports said.

Langley is about 50 kilometers southeast of Vancouver, a coastal city in the western Canadian province of British Columbia. (ANI/Xinhua)
The three-judge bench hearing the petition had earlier observed that it needed more clarity to decide on whether to form a full court bench on the matter, Express Tribune reported.

"We need more clarity on certain things to decide on the formation of a full court," said Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, as the apex court resumed hearing on the case after a brief interval.

Justice Ijazul Ahsan, who is part of a three-member bench, remarked that the apex court wanted to hear the matter of the deputy speaker's controversial ruling on merit before deciding about forming a full bench.

The chief justice maintained that a full bench had been formed in the past in the matter of utmost importance and added that it could be formed if the issue lingered on.

"We believe that the full court is only constituted when the matter is complicated," the chuief justice remarked, Express Tribune reported.

Chief Justice Bandial said the main point of contention before the bench was that whether a party head could issue directions to his parliamentary party members.

PML-N's counsel Irfan Qadir told the bench that Punjab CM Hamza Shehbaz and the coalition government wanted a full bench to hear the matter.

--IANS san/arm

( 254 Words)

2022-07-25-22:32:04 (IANS)
The European Union has strongly condemned the execution of Myanmar's former NLD Member of Parliament Phyo Zeya Thaw, prominent activist Kyaw MinYu, as well as Aung Thura Zaw, and Hla Myo Aung by the southeast Asian country's military regime. "These politically motivated executions represent yet another step towards the complete dismantling of the rule of law and a further blatant violation of human rights in Myanmar. The four men were the first prisoners to be executed in Myanmar in more than three decades, a move that is contrary to the overall worldwide trend to abolish the death penalty," the office of the High Commissioner said in a statement, adding that the EU is fundamentally opposed to the death penalty "as an inhumane, cruel and irreversible punishment that violates the inalienable right to life". "The executions are reprehensible acts that show that the military authorities have no respect for the life or dignity of the very people they are supposed to protect. They will only exacerbate the polarisation, violence, and dramatic humanitarian situation in Myanmar. "The EU stands unequivocally with the people of Myanmar and their aspirations for freedom, and urges the military regime to end all acts of violence without further delay and calls for the unconditional and immediate release of all those arbitrarily detained, as well as to return to a democratic path," it said. "We will continue to support all efforts by the United Nations and ASEAN to this end," the statement said. --IANS xc/vd ( 259 Words) 2022-07-25-22:48:03 (IANS)
US President Joe Biden on Monday told reporters that he anticipates having a conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping this week. Asked whether the long-awaited call would take place this week, Biden told reporters, "That's my expectation, but I'll let you know when that gets set up." Biden added that he will let the media know about the conversation once it is set up. Last week, Xi sent a message of sympathy to Biden, wishing him a prompt recovery after acquiring the novel coronavirus, media reported. White House National Security Council Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby confirmed that Xi sent the message to Biden. On Thursday, Biden tested positive for novel coronavirus and is experiencing mild symptoms. The US president is currently working from his residence and will continue to do so for at least five days or until he receives a negative test, the White House said. Biden is likely infected by highly contagious Omicron subvariant BA.5. "Our preliminary sequencing results have returned. The President's causative agent is most likely the BA5 variant. This is the SARS-CoV-2 variant which is responsible for 75-80 per cent of infections in the United States at this time," said President Biden's physician Dr Kevin O'Connor in a memo. Speaking about fear of recession in US ahead of announcement on the nation's GDP on Thursday, Biden said that in his view the United States will not experience a recession. "We're not going to be in a recession, in my view," said US President Joe Biden, further adding, "the unemployment rate is still one of the lowest we've had in history. It's in the 3.6 per cent area. We still find ourselves with people investing..." "My hope is we go from this rapid growth to steady growth, so we'll see some coming down. God willing, I don't think we're going to see a recession," Biden added. It is pertinent to note that US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Sunday that US economic growth is slowing and she acknowledged the risk of a recession. Moreover, US gross domestic product, a broad measure of economic health, shrank at a 1.6 per cent annual rate in the first quarter. Traditionally, recession is defined as a slowdown or a massive contraction in economic activities. US data last week suggested that the labour market was softening with new claims for unemployment benefits hitting their highest point in eight months. (ANI)
India on Monday (local time) raised concern over the resurgence of terrorist activity in Libya at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). In a briefing at UNSC on Libya, Charge d'affaires at India's Permanent Mission to the UN Ambassador R Ravindra said, "We remain concerned at the resurgence of terrorist activity in Libya, and we reiterate that terrorist groups and affiliated entities must not be allowed to operate unchallenged in Libya." However, he welcomed the progress that was made when the Presidents of the House of Representatives and High Council of State met in Geneva late last month (June 28-29, 2022). "It is imperative that all outstanding political issues are resolved peacefully by the parties concerned, keeping in mind the larger interests of the Libyan people," said the Indian envoy. Highlighting the importance of holding Presidential and Parliamentary polls at the earliest, he said, "We hope all parties work together to maintain peace & stability in Libya. An immediate priority for Libya is to hold Presidential and Parliamentary polls at the earliest in a free, fair, inclusive and credible manner." "We look forward to an early consensus between the Libyan parties on the constitutional basis for holding the elections," he added Libya has been suffering violence and unrest ever since the fall of the late leader United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL'S) regime in 2011. Libya has been suffering escalating violence and unrest ever since the fall of the late leader Muammar Gaddafi's regime in 2011. The country 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 as previously scheduled, due to disagreements over election laws among the Libyan parties. (ANI)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday denounced Russia's "overt gas war" against Europe and urged them to boost sanctions against Moscow. "Even despite the concession regarding the Nord Stream turbine, Russia is not going to resume gas supplies to European countries, as it is contractually obligated to do. All this is done by Russia deliberately to make it as difficult as possible for Europeans to prepare for winter," Zelenskyy said in his nightly address. "This is an overt gas war that Russia is waging against a united Europe -- this is exactly how it should be perceived," he added. Meanwhile, Russia's state-owned energy giant Gazprom announced to cut daily gas deliveries to Europe via the Nord Stream pipeline to 33 million cubic metres a day from Wednesday. It is pertinent to mention that Europe is heavily dependent on Russian energy resources. Gazprom's announcement came after Russia last week restored critical gas supplies to Europe through Germany via Nord Stream after 10 days of maintenance, but only at 40 per cent of the pipeline's capacity. "Today we heard new gas threats to Europe... This is an open gas war that Russia is waging against a united Europe," Zelenskyy said, reacting to Gazprom's announcement of a new cut in gas deliveries to Europe. Moreover, the West had accused Moscow of using energy as a weapon in retaliation for the sanctions adopted after Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24. Zelenskyy went on to say the latest move by Moscow was part of a wider scope of actions he said were "forms of terror.""They don't care what will happen to the people, how they will suffer -- from hunger due to the blocking of ports or from winter cold and poverty... Or from occupation," Zelenskyy said. "These are just different forms of terror." (ANI)
The US and Pakistan hosted a "Health Dialogue" on Monday (local time) to identify areas of mutual engagement in establishing a Pakistani CDC, global health security, childhood immunizations, COVID-19, maternal and child health, and non-communicable diseases. The US-Pakistan Health Dialogue provides a framework to sustain and strengthen health sector collaboration. Both sides identified areas of mutual engagement and established an action plan to reach shared goals," read the US Department of State press release. During the dialogue, the US also announced it was donating 16 million doses of pediatric vaccines for COVID-19 to Pakistan in partnership with COVAX, on top of the 61.5 million adult vaccines doses already donated. An additional USD 20 million in USAID funding is also planned to support vaccination efforts. The Dialogue also highlighted the donation of four mobile testing labs by the United States through USAID to Pakistan's National Institute of Health worth a total of USD 4.6 million, added the release. These labs will strengthen Pakistan's ability to diagnose COVID-19 and other communicable diseases, especially in remote and underserved areas. In addition, the US CDC announced the successful transfer of the Pakistan Field Epidemiology Training Program to the government of Pakistan, and that it will build upon this program and other ongoing investments to support and coordinate strong disease surveillance and response systems, said the release. The US side was co-led by U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Assistant Administrator for Global Health Atul Gawande and US Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Assistant Secretary for Global Affairs Loyce Pace, and included representation from Department of State, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Federal Minister of National Health Services, Regulations, and Coordination Abdul Qadir Patel led the Pakistan delegation, which included officials from the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan, Federal Directorate of Immunization, and Ministry of Foreign Affairs. (ANI)
Pakistan, which claims to be a Parliamentary republic, is seeing a spike in attacks on the media which has highlighted the looming threat to fundamental freedoms in the country. According to the World Press Freedom Index 2022 report, Pakistan has slipped by 12 points in the index, from a rank of 145th in 2021 to 157th in 2022. The main purpose of the media is to give voice to the voiceless. Instead, communication outlets in the Islamic Republic have forcibly been transformed into the state apparatus that is being used to reshape the ideologies of the masses. Bilal Baloch, a Pakistani Journalist based in France said that scribes in Pakistan were constantly living under a shadow of threat. "If we see the freedom of press index which was published from very recognized organization reporters without borders Pakistan's level is very low," said Bilal. The oppressive approach against the media in Pakistan, which started under the dictatorship of army general Zia-ul-Haq during the 1980s continues today. Journalists critical of the military are often attacked, threatened, or arrested and there is a long list of cases of intimidation of news reporters by army-related agencies. According to Freedom network, an award-winning Pakistan-based media rights watchdog, at least 86 cases of attacks and violations against press and journalists took place between May 2021 and April 2022. Unfortunately, successive Pakistani governments which are civilian facades used to conceal the iron fist of the army, are involved in crushing dissent and criminalizing dissimilar opinions. Even Opposition parties who demand press freedom are the first to restrict it when in power. Just last year, noted Pakistani Journalist Hamid Mir was taken off air for remarks he made against the military. He was later forced to apologize. Hamid, while protesting against an attack on another independent journalist, had threatened to expose the Army's involvement in such attacks. Many Media professionals who have been forced by the Pakistani Army and intelligence agencies to leave the country are living under threats even on foreign soil. Several Pakistani journalists like Taha Siddiqui are living in exile but still don't feel safe and they have a reason to worry. Exiled Pakistani Journalist, Taha Siddiqui said "Journalists in Pakistan are under threat. They are living under the threat of being kidnapped, they are living under the threat of being attacked, losing their jobs, financial sort of blackmailing that happens." Apart from the powerful forces, there are many other authorities and areas in the south Asian country which are out of the ambit of scrutiny. For instance, Pakistani media in conflict zones are non-existent. Hotspots like Balochistan, Pakistan occupied Kashmir and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have become no-go areas for journalists, with information from these regions reduced to a trickle. Pakistan was never an easy place for journalists to work, but now the very existence of the media is in threat. (ANI)
Heaping praise on the successful running of Indian democracy, Penpa Tsering, President of the Tibetan government-in-exile on Tuesday lauded the elevation of Droupadi Muru for becoming the first tribal woman President of India. "Having come from an ordinary background and served Indian people in various capacities under difficult circumstances... Droupadi Murmu becoming the first tribal woman to be India's President is a forward step for Indian democracy," said Tsering. He said that as a Tibetan, somebody born in India, every Prime Minister and every President is respected and revered by the Tibetans. "They are like our own President and Prime Minister. I definitely have a lot of regard for the election of Droupadi Murmu as the new President of India. Having come from an ordinary background and served Indian people in various capacities under difficult circumstances for her own family," he said. The Tibetan exiled leader further hailed Indian democracy and said that a tribal lady assuming the post of President is real development, a forward step for Indian democracy. "She is the second lady President of India (Pratibha Devisingh Patil served as the 12th president of India from 25 July 2007 to 25 July 2012. She was the first female president of India) and I really wish her the best and hope she will play a very active role in promoting democracy and bringing harmony amongst religions, despite all the diversity in India. With her background, I am sure, she will work for the upliftment of the downtrodden and the people who are suffering or are at the lowest level of society. That will be a big push," said Tsering. Talking about China, Tsering underscored that there are a lot of things that China can learn from India. "There is a lot of things that China can learn from democracy. It always talks about democracy with Chinese characteristics. But, democracy is a concept that is practised by majority of the countries - who value freedom, human dignity," he added. Tsering said that two systems are completely different - Communism and Democracy. "India is going to be the most populated nation in the world, China will become second. So, if democracy can be practiced with such vigour and vibrancy in a country like India, why can it not be practiced in China?" asked Tsering. (ANI)
As murders, and repression of women are on the rise in Afghanistan under Taliban, the Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Afghanistan, Markus Potzel, paid a visit to the central Afghan province of Bamyan, to meet the local authorities to discuss the importance of inclusive representation in the country. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) Acting Head, stressed the importance of inclusive representation, in addition to the discussion on decision-making, as per the UNAMA's news tweet on July 25, Khaama Press reported. Markus Potzel of Germany was appointed as the Deputy UN Secretary-General's Special Representative (Political) for Afghanistan on 17th June after Deborah Lyons's tenure came to an end in mid-June. During his visit to Bamyan, Potzel met the women, civil society, and representatives of the local People's Consultative Commission. This is UNAMA senior official's third official trip to the province following his visits to Khost and Nangarhar provinces. Reiterating that the Taliban should reconsider their decision on the issue of girls' education, he stated that international assistance to Afghanistan will continue, keeping in mind the humanitarian crisis the country is facing. He said, "Girls should go to school and even above grade six and should enjoy the same educational opportunities as boys." As UNAMA has previously voiced concern in a report on the human rights situation in Afghanistan and accused the Taliban of pervasive human rights violations, it is reported that Potzel is going to submit a report on the state of the people and the human rights following his provincial visits, reported Khaama Press. Earlier, UN officials have raised concern over the general amnesty granted to former officials and security forces, noting that the Human Rights Service of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) continues to receive credible reports of arbitrary arrests and detention, ill-treatment and extra-judicial killings. UNAMA also continues to record the impact of attacks on civilians, including in schools, at markets and on public transportation networks. Notably, the Taliban made tall promises of equality and inclusive society, during a press conference when they took over control of Afghanistan in August last year.But the plight of Afghan women has continued to be deplorable in the state. Contrary to the Taliban's claims, girls were stopped from going to school beyond a sixth grade on March 23 and a decree against the women's dress code was issued after a month. There are restrictions on movement, education and freedom of expression of women posing a threat to their survival. Not only this, but the Taliban has prevented women from using smartphones, and the Women's Affair Ministry often extort money for providing essential protection. The lack of female healthcare workers has prevented the women from accessing basic medical facilities, and the international donors, who fund 90 per cent of health clinics, are hesitant to send money because of their fear of the funds being misused. Around 80 per cent of women working in the media have lost their jobs, and almost 18 million women in the country are struggling for health, education and social rights. (ANI)
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar extended greetings to the government and people of Maldives on the occasion of the country's Independence Day today, as he reaffirmed the Neighborhood First policy and special partnership between India and the Maldives. Taking to Twitter, he extended his greetings to Maldivian FM, Abdulla Shahid and said: "Warm greetings to FM @abdulla_shahid and the Government and people of the Maldives on their Independence Day." "We re-affirm our Neighborhood First policy and our special partnership," Jaishankar said. Notably, India and Maldives share ethnic, linguistic, cultural, religious and commercial links steeped in antiquity and enjoy close, cordial and multi-dimensional relations. India was among the first to recognise the Maldives after its independence in 1965 and to establish diplomatic relations with the country. Despite its small size, the Maldives is currently being wooed by a number of developed and developing countries due to the Strategic Importance of the Geographic Location of the Maldives with respect to key International Shipping Lanes (ISLs). The Indian Ocean is a key highway for global trade and energy flows. The Maldives is geographically positioned like a 'toll gate' between the western Indian Ocean chokepoints of the Gulf of Aden and the Strait of Hormuz on the one hand, and the eastern Indian Ocean chokepoint of the Strait of Malacca on the other. It is extremely important for India's strength in the blue economy through sustainable management and utilisation of marine resources. In 2016, an Action Plan between India and the Maldives was signed for "defence cooperation" to enhance the "shared strategic and security interests of the two countries in the Indian Ocean region". While the recent 'India-First Policy' of the Maldives and India's 'Neighbourhood First Policy' are intuitively complementary, the challenge lies in implementing these policies with cultural, geo-economics, and geostrategic sensitivity. Meanwhile, in another tweet, the EAM also extended his greetings to Liberia's Foreign Minister Dee-Maxwell Saah Kemayah and the Government and people of Liberia on their National Day which is also commemorated on July 26. (ANI)
Pakistan's ruling coalition on Monday announced a boycott of the proceedings of the apex court of the country after it rejected the petition seeking the formation of a full bench for hearing the case of the Punjab chief minister's election. Leaders of the ruling parties in the coalition government termed the SC decision "unacceptable", and gathered at a late-night press conference held at the PM Office, chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, to plan their future line of action, the Dawn reported. The top leadership said that they won't acknowledge any decision announced by the three-member bench, alleging that it was inclined towards the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and 'favouring' the party, but were ready to accept the decision of a full court. Rejecting the apex court's refusal to a full court, the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said, "Any verdict announced by the three-judge bench hearing the case would be considered partial," adding, "The government would not appear before this bench." "The government wants no interference in its affairs and seeks a continuation of its policies for which it will also suggest parliament legislate to ensure respect to the people and judiciary's verdicts," the Dawn quoted him as saying. Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) senior vice president Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said the case at hand would be a test for the SC. "Justice demands that if a question has been raised over a bench or judge, they should recuse themselves. This is the supremacy of the law. It is for this bench to decide how their conduct will go down in history," he added. Taking to Twitter, PML-N vice president Maryam Nawaz claimed that people now knew decisions in the country were made over personal likes and dislikes. "When the decisions are not in accordance with the constitution, law and justice, there is a danger from the full court. Because with the involvement of honest judges, the flaws of the decision come to the fore and people know that the decision is not the constitution and the law, but personal preference. It has been done on the basis of dislike. But do anything now, people know!" she tweeted. Resuming the hearing of the government's appeal for the last time after multiple breaks late at night, the court rejected the plea to constitute a full court and adjourned the hearing till Tuesday morning (today). According to the brief verdict of the Supreme Court, the three-member bench -- headed by Chief of Pakistan Justice Umar Ata Bandial, and comprising Justice Ahsan and Justice Munib Akhtar -- will hear the petition filed by the PTI. Speaking at the Press Conference, Maryam Nawaz said there were many respected judges in the apex court, and questioned why they were not hearing cases. "One or two judges, who have always been anti-PML-N and anti-government, are repeatedly included in benches," she remarked, adding that "bench-fixing is as big a crime as is match-fixing," she added. She cited several examples of the PML-N leadership's legal woes and claimed that its leaders were being discriminated against and lamented that court decisions were favouring the PTI despite the fact that it consistently mocked the judicial system. She questioned the state of justice in the country where decisions were handed out in favour of those who "abuse and bully institutions" the most. Speaking of the Court's decision to appoint Hamza as 'trustee' chief minister of Punjab, Maryam questioned, "Have you ever heard of a trustee chief minister?" Since the day Hamza was elected, he was not allowed to work. "He has been shuttling between parliament and courts. What kind of justice is this?" Dawn quoted her as saying. Foreign Minister and PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari asserted that only three people could not decide the country's fate, or whether this country would be run through a "democratic system, an elected system or a selected system". "Certain powers are unable to digest that Pakistan is moving towards democracy and people are making their own decisions," he commented, without mentioning whom he was pointing at. "It has been three months since Khan's ouster as the premier and some powers, people, political parties and conspirators are unable to tolerate... a campaign is being run to keep Imran Khan at the forefront," Bhutto-Zardari alleged, adding that the campaign was a conspiracy against the country's economic progress and democratic journey. "We did not let any conspiracy succeed in the past and we will not let it happen now. We want institutions to remain uncontroversial and function within the ambit of the Constitution," he said. Other senior leaders of the ruling alliance present on the occasion included federal ministers Rana Sanaullah, Ahsan Iqbal, Marriyum Aurangzeb, Sherry Rehman, Khurram Dastgir, Tariq Bashir Cheema, Asad Mehmood, and PM's Adviser Amir Muqam. Meanwhile, on Monday, during the hearing, CJP Bandial had said that the court needed more legal clarification regarding the formation of a full bench to issue a verdict on the case. He also said that he was unsure whether the decision on the said ruling will be made on Monday. Justice Ijazul Ahsan reiterated that the decision to form a full court will be made on merit. Meanwhile, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarrar asserted that there was enough clarification in this regard, reported Geo News. Tarrar added that if the review petition is approved that there will be no need for a run-off election. Continuing his argument, advocate Qadir said that the re-election for the chief minister was held in the light of the court's decisions. "Therefore, if the court refuses to accept the deputy speaker's decision to reject the votes of defecting members, there will be no need for re-election," he said, adding that the basis of this case is the Supreme Court's verdict "which must be reviewed first." CJP Bandial acknowledged that the country was suffering from a continuous crisis since April. "We want the country to run according to the Constitution and democracy; we don't want these differences to continue," he said. The chief justice further added that cases related to the constitutional and public interest cannot be left hanging in the balance, reported Geo News. "Like every citizen, we are also worried about the economic situation," CJP Bandial said, adding that today, the one who took more votes is out and the one who secured 179 votes is the chief minister. CJP Bandial said that in order to retain Hamza as the CM, a solid foundation is needed. "Please, show the written proof that where is it written that directions of an unelected party leader have to be accepted," he said, addressing the counsellors present in the courtroom. The chief justice said, "Is this state of the economy because of the court or because of instability?" The chief justice added he wished to dispose of the case quickly and that the court only had two more judges available at the moment. Earlier in the day, the SC had reserved the verdict on the petitions filed by CM Hamza Shahbaz and other bar associations -- seeking the formation of a full court for the hearing of the case -- after it heard arguments from party lawyers, reported Geo News. (ANI)
Ambassador of France to India, Emmanuel Lenain on Tuesday paid tributes to the brave soldiers of the Indian Armed Forces who laid down their lives in the 1999 Kargil War against Pakistan on the occasion of Kargil Vijay Diwas, when India commemorated 23 years of its victory over Pakistan in the Kargil War. Taking to Twitter the French envoy said, "On #KargilVijayDiwas, I join my Indian friends in paying tribute to the Indian Armed Forces. As exemplified by the Mirage 2000s and now the Rafale jets, France has always stood by India, our foremost strategic partner in Asia." He hailed the strategic partnership between the two countries saying, "France has always stood by India, which is its leading strategic partner in Asia." France is fast growing as India's partner in defence cooperation. The two countries share a strong strategic and defence partnership. As seen in the timely delivery of the Rafale despite the pandemic, the two sides enjoy synergy in the field of defence. In February 2022, India received the eighth batch of three Rafale fighter aircraft from France. "The aircraft were provided aerial refuelling support by the UAE Air Force. With the arrival of these three planes, India has now received 35 of the 36 Rafales for which it had signed a contract with France in September 2016. The 36th aircraft will arrive in India from France by March-end or April first week," said government officials. With this, Rs 60,000 crore contract between India and France for 36 Rafale fighter jets is now nearing completion as only one aircraft is left to be inducted into the Indian Air Force (IAF). It is pertinent to mention here that in September 2016, India ordered 36 Rafale fighter aircraft from France. The addition of Rafale is seen as a major capability booster for the IAF. In September 2021, the Indian Air Force received two-second hand Mirage 2000 fighter aircraft from France, which were brought to the Gwalior airbase as a boost to India's fighter jet fleet. The two aircraft were acquired by the Indian Air Force as part of the programme to make up the number of aircraft in the Mirage fighter fleet to around 50. The IAF had acquired around 51 Mirages in different batches and they form three squadrons which are all based in the Gwalior Air Force station. The Mirages have been in service since the 1980s and have been the mainstay of the force from the Kargil war to the 2019 Balakot airstrikes where they bombed a Jaish e Mohammed terrorist camp in Pakistan. The Mirages also successfully took out Pakistan Army camps and bunkers on the Tiger Hilltop in the Kargil war and changed the face of the war by successfully hitting enemy camps at such high altitudes with pinpoint precision using laser-guided bombs. India and France have built one of the premier strategic partnerships for advancing peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region. They share a vision of a free, open and rules-based Indo-Pacific region, based on a commitment to international law, respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, freedom of navigation and a region free from coercion, tensions and conflicts. Meanwhile, India celebrates Kargil Vijay Diwas is celebrated on July 26 every year to honour the valour and sacrifice of the soldiers who laid down their lives in the line of duty during the Kargil War. The day marks the victory of Indian soldiers in recapturing the mountain heights that were occupied by the Pakistani Army on July 26, 1999. The Indian Armed Forces defeated Pakistan on July 26, 1999. Since then, the day is celebrated as 'Kargil Vijay Diwas' to rekindle the pride and valour of the soldiers who took part in Operation Vijay. The Kargil War was fought between May 8, 1999, to July 26, 1999, against Pakistan intruders, who in the winters of 1998 transgressed into the Indian territory across the Line of Control and occupied fortified defences overlooking the NH 1A in Kargil's Drass and Batalik Sectors of Ladakh region with a nefarious aim of dominating all military and civil movement on the highway. (ANI)
With North Korea in the recent past ramping up its nuclear facilities, New South Korean President Yoon Suk-Yeol has emphasised on the so-called Kill Chain system to counter a possible attack by North Korea. North Korea tested hypersonic missiles in recent months which may narrow down the time Seoul to respond to a pending attack. South Korea is pouring resources into its strategy of deterring any North Korean nuclear attack by preparing for preemptive strikes if necessary, a strategy some experts say may exacerbate their arms race and risks miscalculation during a conflict, The Japan Times reported. The Kill Chain first developed a decade ago when North Korea ramped up its nuclear development, however, according to experts, the system is often regarded as a logical but highly risky and unreliable way to try to counter North Korea's nuclear threat. The implicit threat against North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is particularly destabilizing, said Ankit Panda of the US-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "I can see why leadership decapitation is tempting for South Korea, but threatening to kill the leadership of a nuclear-armed state is uniquely dangerous," he said. Jeffrey Lewis, a missile researcher at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS), called the plans "the most plausible route to a nuclear war on the Korean Peninsula." "This is the *military* plan that is most likely to succeed ..." he said in a post on Twitter. "But it is also the option most likely to create uncontrollable escalation dynamics and start a nuclear war." South Korea is also seeking to develop its own satellites and other technology to detect North Korean targets independently from the United States. Yoon's administration announced the creation of a Strategic Command by 2024 to oversee preemptive and retaliatory strike strategies. It includes a growing arsenal of ballistic missiles, F-35A stealth fighters and new submarines, which have been displayed in increasingly frequent drills. South Korea's strategy is a hedge against US abandonment, European defence researchers Ian Bowers and Henrik Stalhane Hiim said in an academic report last year. "Its deterrent effect, no matter how uncertain, acts as a short-term stopgap if the United States abandons South Korea." Those concerns were heightened when then-President Donald Trump demanded Seoul pay billions of dollars more to support US troops on the peninsula and raised the prospect he could withdraw them. According to Japan Times, Park Cheol-Kyun, who worked on international policy at South Korea's Defense Ministry until May, said developing such capabilities didn't necessarily reflect worries about US commitments. The new Strategic Command would involve a new operating system and new command structure, bringing "synergy" to the weapons used in the Kill Chain and related systems to enhance deterrent and response capabilities, he said. (ANI)
At least five people were killed by unidentified gunmen in the last two days in different parts of North Waziristan tribal district, police and residents said. Police said that the killings took place in the Mirali tehsil of North Waziristan. Unidentified gunmen killed three people on Monday while two others were shot dead on Sunday. The witnesses said that the gunmen killed a man identified as Firdos Khan of Khaderi village in Mirali Bazaar. Hours later, another person identified as Azmar Ali was shot dead in the town. Later, a resident of Omreki village near Mirali was also killed, the Dawn reported. On Sunday, unknown gunmen killed two residents of the Bannu district in Mirali. Notably, there have been several cases of such killings in North Waziristan over the past months. Workers of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl and other political parties have been protesting in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's North Waziristan against the killing of its local leaders and lawlessness in the district. They continued a sit-in protest against lawlessness in Eidek village and demanded early arrest of the killers of JUI-F leaders Qari Samiuddin, Hafiz Nauman and others, Dawn newspaper reported. This comes after a few unidentified gunmen on Monday killed a councillor-elect Malik Murtaza, who was also from Eidak village. He was elected councillor during the second phase of the local body elections. According to Dawn, locals and officials said that the JUI-F leader Qari Samiuddin and his colleague, Hafiz Numan Dawar were on their way home in Eidek village when their car was ambushed on Bichi Road near Mirali town in North Waziristan on July 14. The gunmen shot at the two, leaving them dead on the spot. The relatives of the leader said that Qari Sami had no feud with anyone. Earlier, in June, at least four volunteers of a social organisation were killed when unidentified gunmen opened fire at their car in Pakistan's North Waziristan district. All the deceased activists were part of a social organisation, the Youth of Waziristan. The bodies were shifted to a hospital in Mirali town, reported Dawn. The Pakistani police are also becoming the main target of terrorists. Recently, terrorist activities are on surged in Pakistan border areas, especially in the North Waziristan district. A Pakistani soldier was killed when terrorists targeted security forces in the North Waziristan district of the country's northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the military's media wing Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement. (ANI)
An eight-member delegation of Pakistani ulema, led by a Pakistani cleric Mufti Taqi Usman, reached Kabul on Monday in a bid to persuade Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) to further extend their ceasefire with Islamabad. Senior Taliban officials and Pakistan's ambassador to Afghanistan Mansour Ahmad Khan received the delegation at the Hamid Karzai International Airport, Kabul, the Dawn reported. Head of Wafaqul Madaris Al-Arabia Qari Hanif Jalandhari and Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (Fazl) Senator Talha Mahmood are also part of the delegation. Sources said that senior officials briefed members of the delegation in Islamabad before their departure for Kabul. The ulema would also meet TTP leaders during their stay in Kabul and would try to convince them to soften their stance and extend the ceasefire. The proscribed organization's commanders, including their chief Mufti Noor Wali Mehsud, are in the Afghan capital for talks with the Pakistani officials. Sources said the ulema would also seek assistance from senior members of the interim Taliban government to pressurize the TTP into making the ceasefire effective and softening their pre-conditions for talks. One of the main demands of the outfit is the reversal of the merger of erstwhile FATA with the settled areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, something that the government has already termed 'non-negotiable'. "Our demands are very clear and especially the reversal of FATA with KP is our primary demand which the group cannot back down from," said Noor Wali Mehsud, during an interview with a YouTuber in Kabul in June, the Dawn reported. Pakistan's government and TTP have been holding peace talks for a long time to negotiate on permanently halting cross-border attacks from Afghanistan. Last month, a 57-member jirga of notable tribal leaders visited Kabul to negotiate with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) but it returned to Pakistan without any major breakthrough over the group's demand for the reversal of FATA's merger with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Following the Jirga, the Afghan Taliban announced that the negotiation between Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Pakistani government had concluded with an agreement on an indefinite ceasefire, the Dawn reported. Despite this, Pakistan witnessed frequent attacks on its security forces, particularly in the volatile Waziristan districts. The Afghan Taliban are responsible for most insurgent attacks in Afghanistan, which follow an established pattern of regular low-level ambush and hit-and-run attacks, coupled with periodic high-profile attacks. The TTP has carried out some of the deadliest attacks inside Pakistan in recent years. Although it is not directly affiliated with the Afghan Taliban but pledges allegiance to them. (ANI)
Chinese netizens questioned why the Chinese federal and state leaders took the domestically produced vaccines too late and raised doubts about the efficacy of the same, media reports said. The comments by the Chinese netizens came in the wake of claims of the National Health Commission of China (NHC) in its Weibo account that all Chinese leaders (Federal and State) have been vaccinated against Covid-I9 with domestically produced vaccines. The criticisms by netizens immediately led to the closure of the comment section of Weibo posts so that no one can view or post any critical comments. The NHC statement was aimed at allaying public concerns over the efficacy and safety of the domestically produced vaccines in wake of the recent wave of COVID-19. Things have become murky in China as coronavirus cases are flaring up. China-manufactured vaccines have turned out ineffective, making already-vaccinated people prone to new infections. The helpless Beijing government now has warned of an "explosive" COVID-19 outbreak, reported Asian Lite International. Meanwhile, as ineffective jabs cripple China, successful vaccination brings normalcy to India. The Asian giants - China and India competed with each other to find a vaccine for COVID-19. China was the first to develop COVID-19 vaccines, however, Indian vaccines have proven to be a great success as New Delhi has freed its citizens from lockdowns and other restrictions, reported Asian Lite International. New Delhi implemented its vaccine programme and managed to administer the jabs to the majority of its population. Now, the almost entire population has been vaccinated. Moreover, India remained unaffected when the fourth wave struck in 2021-end and even during the current fifth wave. It clearly suggests that the Indian vaccination programme has been a great success as it tamed the coronavirus spread in the densely populated country, where hygiene and public health cannot be considered at par with the standards defined by the developed world. It was found that the effectiveness of Indian jabs was 99.30 per cent in full-vaccinated people. On other hand, the Chinese vaccines' potency could not go beyond 79 per cent, says World Health Organisation (WHO). A study by the University of Hong Kong has lowered the Chinese vaccines' effectiveness further, limiting it to just 60 per cent. It further revealed that those vaccinated with Sinovac were three times more vulnerable to die compared to those inoculated with the German Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, reported Asian Lite International. Earlier, countries like Brazil, Bahrain, UAE, and Indonesia, which had procured Chinese vaccines questioned the effectiveness of the jabs against COVID-19. A Chinese study published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal has shown that Chinese vaccines were unable to detect Omicron sub-variants, reported Asian Lite International. Chinese authorities have tried every possible measure including the controversial zero-covid policy to bring the viral transmission down. But everything is in vain. The number of cases is rising at a high rate, crippling normal life in China. Around 400 million people in China are affected, which amounts to over a quarter of the country's population. As many as 45 cities including the financial hub of Shanghai were placed under strict lockdown in recent times in the wake of Chinese vaccines' failure to tame the coronavirus. The deteriorating situation in China has negatively impacted global companies as well as local businesses in the country. Many economists fear the economic recession in China now. The high-handed approach of the Beijing government to COVID-19 management has caused huge inconvenience to people who are stuck in their homes. Food shortage and loss of jobs due to forcefully-induced lockdowns have infuriated them. (ANI)
The Taliban's intelligence forces on Tuesday detained radio host and senior reporter Alauddin Erkin, a media report said. The Salam Watandar reporter was interrogated by the Taliban intelligence in the province of Faryab, Khaama Press reported citing the Afghanistan Journalists Center (AFJC). "Aladdin was arrested in Faryab province at 10:30 this morning by the intelligence of this province in Maimana," AFJC said in a tweet. "Local sources told the Afghan Journalists Center that Irkin was investigated because of his procramme 'How to work in the media' and he was released after about 1.5 hours," the tweet added. The Salam Watandar radio service said that Erkin was detained by Talha, the Taliban's deputy intelligence officer, local media reported. The reason behind his detention was not mentioned by the intelligence forces, it added. Earlier, on Sunday, the AFJC expressed concern at the incident in which the female host of Dost Radio in Nangarhar province in eastern Afghanistan, Selagi Ehsaas was attacked by unidentified gunmen. AFJC condemned violence against the media and journalists after the beating of Selagi Ehsaas, who was returning from work on July 20, when she was stopped by unidentified gunmen and pistol-whipped in Moi Mubarak village of Surkh Rod district in Nangarhar province, reported Khaama Press. Over 6,000 journalists have lost their jobs and 287 media outlets have closed after the Taliban came into power in Afghanistan in August last year, local media reported citing a recent report from the Association of Free Journalists of Afghanistan said. According to UNAMA, there have been significant changes in the country's media landscape, including the closure of more than half of the free media, the evacuation of hundreds of journalists, and rising work restrictions, violence, and threats against journalists. Notably, the ever-increasing restrictions against media in Afghanistan have also drawn widespread criticism globally with the United Nations (UN) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) decrying the arrests, demanding the Taliban stop harassing local journalists and stifling freedom of speech through continued detentions and threats. With the consistent arbitrary arrests of journalists by the Taliban, the media in Afghanistan faces several restrictions. In the last year, several blood-curdling incidents of harassment of Afghan journalists and media workers have been recorded. Since the Taliban took over Afghanistan in mid-August last year, it rolled back women's rights advances and media freedom revoking the efforts on gender equality and freedom of speech in the country. Over 45 per cent of journalists have quit since the Taliban assumed power. The Taliban had promised women's rights, media freedom, and amnesty for government officials in the group's first news conference after the takeover in August. However, activists, former government employees, and journalists among others continue to face retribution. (ANI)
Shahbaz Sharif-led Pakistani government has expressed its "lack of confidence" in the three-member Supreme Court bench and announced a boycott of the proceedings related to the Punjab Chief Minister's election after the court turned down their request for a full bench. "Our lawyers recommended a (full court) bench but unfortunately, the bench, instead of reflecting and accepting our advice, rejected it," Pakistan Democratic Movement and JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has said in Islamabad, Daily Times reported. "Therefore, the allies of all parties want to give a clear stance that if (our request for a) full court bench is rejected then we, too, reject this decision of the court. We will not appear before this bench for this case and will boycott it," he has said in a press briefing. "This government wants no institution to interfere in the work that impacts the administrative functioning. Otherwise, we will advise the Prime Minister and the parliament to legislate so that the public's trust in courts (could be restored)," he added. All parties allied under the banner of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) reiterated their demand for the formation of a full court Supreme Court bench to hear a petition challenging the interpretation of Article 63-A of the Constitution by the Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker during the Punjab chief minister elections, Daily Times reported. The leaders of political parties under the PDM, including the movement's chief and Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Fazlur Rehman, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz's Vice President Maryam Nawaz, Pakistan People's Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, and others addressed a joint news conference in Islamabad. According to PPP Chairman Bilawal, they cannot let three people decide the future of the country. He demanded that a full court bench be formed to hear and decide on the petitions filed by all political parties so that everyone acknowledges court verdicts without any issue, Daily Times reported. He added that unless this is done, the political situation in the country could spiral out of control. The PPP chairman further said that PDM only wants that the institutions to be 'uncontroversial'. In contrast, Imran Khan had turned all the institutions into his tiger force to rule unchallenged, he pointed out. "Your selected leader destroyed the economic and democratic framework of the country in his four-year tenure," he said further. Bilawal maintained that the people are aware that Imran Khan drew out loans more than anyone ever did in the 70-year history of the nation which caused an immediate economic collapse. Earlier in the press conference, Maryam Nawaz had expressed reservations about a slew of court verdicts since 2016 adding that contempt of court comes from within the very institution when judgments are contradictory. She said there is a whole list of wrong verdicts, citing the opening of the Supreme Court registry at night to admit a petition of PTI against the election of Hamza Shahbaz as the chief minister of Punjab. (ANI)
The United States has asked China to increase pressure on Myanmar after the military junta executed four democracy activists which drew condemnation from the United Nations. Addressing a press briefing on Monday, US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said no country has the potential to influence the trajectory of Burma's next steps more so than China. "And we've called on all countries to act responsibly to use their influence in a way that is constructive for the interests of the Burmese people, and that ultimately puts Burma back on the path to democracy," he said. Price said the Myanmar regime has not faced the level of economic and in some cases diplomatic pressure that we would like to see. "We are calling on countries around the world to do more. We will be doing more as well," he said Given the escalating violence and human rights abuses in the country, the State Department spokesperson that the junta has carried out, there can be no business as usual with this regime. "We urge all countries to ban the sale of military equipment to Burma to refrain from lending the regime any degree of international credibility, and we call on ASEAN to maintain its important precedent only allowing Burmese non-political representation at regional events," he added. Myanmar's military junta Monday reported the execution of four men in the country's first death sentences carried out in over three decades. According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), the men put to death were Phyo Zeya Thaw, 41; Kyaw Min Yu, known as "Ko Jimmy," 53; Hla Myo Aung; and Aung Thura Zaw, all of whom were convicted after closed trials that fell far short of international standards. Earlier, a military tribunal sentenced Ko Jimmy and Phyo Zeya Thaw to death on January 21 under Myanmar's overbroad Counterterrorism Law of 2014, the group said. Hla Myo Aung and Aung Thura Zaw were convicted in April 2021 for allegedly killing a military informant. "The Myanmar junta's execution of four men was an act of utter cruelty," said Elaine Pearson, acting Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "These executions, including of activist Ko Jimmy and opposition lawmaker Phyo Zeya Thaw, followed grossly unjust and politically motivated military trials. This horrific news was compounded by the junta's failure to notify the men's families, who learned about the executions through the junta's media reports." The volatile situation in Myanmar following the February 1, 2021 coup has increased armed conflict and subsequent population displacement within and across borders, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). The security situation continues to deteriorate in Southeast Myanmar with the intensification of armed clashes reported between the Tatmadaw and ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) or People's Defence Force (PDF) in several areas. The Military continues to deploy security forces and has increased the use of heavy artillery. (ANI)
At least two children were killed and 10 others injured after an explosion took place in Afghanistan's Zabul province on Tuesday, according to media reports. "A group of children found a toy-like object in Mizan district at around noon today and began playing with it when the device exploded, killing two on the spot and injuring 10 others," Xinhua News Agency quoting an official stated. The provincial head of the public health department Abdul Hakim Hakimi has confirmed that two dead bodies and 10 injured children had been taken to a hospital, as per Xinhua. Earlier, Afghan broadcaster Tolo News reported that two civilians were killed and 28 others, including five members of the Taliban, were injured in a bomb blast in last week. The blast occurred in the morning in the Shirgar market in the Ghani district of Nangarhar. The target of the blast was the head of the district health department. The unidentified attackers used a magnetic mine targeting the vehicle of the head. Since the Taliban regime took control of Afghanistan, blasts and attacks have become a regular affair with unabated human rights violations involving ceaseless murder of civilians, destroying mosques and temples, assaulting women, and fueling terror in the region. The call for recognizing the Taliban comes as no country has yet come forward and the country is experiencing the worst humanitarian crisis with over half of the population in need of assistance and eight million more starving. Taliban, who are desperate to seek international recognition are time and again being reminded that respect for women and human rights, the establishment of an inclusive government, and condemnation of terrorism are the preconditions for the recognition set by the international community. (ANI)
China's image as a preferred investor in Asia have suffered due to policies leading to debt traps along with the human rights situation in the country. Countries like Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are among those where questions are being asked about Chinese investments. In Nepal, some Chinese entities were blacklisted in some infrastructure projects due to extreme negligence and delay in work, according to reports. Some of these aspects were also brought forth by a recently published think-tank report. "There is a relatively new revelation that along with debt burden, the major Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) countries are also facing ever-rising trade deficit. Merged with debt trap, the trade trap associated with BRI investments have jolted the financial stability of Pakistan and many other BRI countries," said a Canada-based think tank, International Forum for Rights and Security (IFFRAS). In contrast to a debt trap, a trade deficit trap is a situation being experienced by countries who relied heavily on China for investments. In this situation, a country experiences an ever-widening trade deficit after its newly built infrastructure projects are completed. According to IFFRAS, Pakistan is one among such countries that faces severe deficit in trade balance too, especially with China. Some of the projects in Nepal such as the Kathmandu-Kerung Interstate Railway, Galchhi Rasuwagadhi-Kerung transmission line and Syafrubensi-Rasuwagadhi road section have fallen into disrepair, according to reports. The construction work of the 30 MW Nyadi Hydropower Project on the Ngadi River at Bahundanda in Lamjung, which was started by the Chinese company Chachiang Hydropower Construction and Installation Company in April 2013, is learnt to be delayed. Similarly, the Central China Power Grid International Economic Trade Organization, which delayed the project due to extreme negligence in the construction of the Hetauda-Bharatpur-Bardaghat transmission line is also reportedly on the blacklist of the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA). The NEA has warned the Chinese contractor Kwangsi Hydro and Electrical Construction, which has been entrusted with the 102 MW Madhya Bhotekoshi Hydropower Project in Sindhupalchowk, to be blacklisted, break the contract and pay fines if the work is not completed within the next five years. The Chinese companies have delayed the work not only in Nepal's hydropower and infrastructure but also in the field of aviation. The Pokhara airport, which was expected to be completed in 2021, is also in dilapidated condition. The Pokhara airport built by the Chinese company CAMC on a loan of USD 214.7 million from the Chinese Import-Export Bank (EXIM) is not technically operational immediately. However, the government has already started paying 2 per cent interest on 75 per cent of the Chinese loan, according to reports. China, which once promised to bring prosperity to Nepal through its investments, has now abandoned dozens of large-scale projects. In a quest for rapid progress and development, Bangladesh is falling under the debt trap of China by sponsoring infrastructure projects. As Chinese companies want to build the Metro Rail in Chittagong with their funds, it implies that, after the completion of the project, Chinese technicians will continue to stay in Chittagong under the cover of maintenance of the Metro. It is an attempt by China to strengthen its footstep in Bangladesh, especially in Chittagong which is strategically important. The main target of China is Chittagong Port, which is the main port of Bangladesh from where entire Bangladesh's export and import takes place. China is gradually bringing Bangladesh into its trap as it is already the major supplier of arms to Bangladesh. China has made a hard bargain with Pakistan when it comes to payback on its loans and other investments in Pakistan. In the fiscal years 2021 - 2022, Pakistan paid around USD 150 million towards interest to China for using a USD 4.5 billion Chinese trade finance facility. In the financial year 2019 - 2020, Pakistan paid USD 120 million towards interest on USD 3 billion in loans. (ANI)
Amid the tussle over the Pakistan Supreme Court's verdict in the Punjab Chief Minister's election case, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan has shared a video clip purported to be about the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz's (PML-N) "attack" on the top court in 1997. "This video says it all about the Sharif mafia. Those who can't be bribed must then be eliminated," he tweeted with the video news report about the PML-N's alleged attack on chief justice Sajjad Ali Shah's court, Dawn reported. [{8c431a4f-e0ba-4c10-943b-09e36e0e2b3f:intradmin/Capture.JPGhjh.JPG}] On November 30, 1997, former premier Nawaz Sharif had appeared before the top court along with party workers, members, chief ministers, and constituents to hear the proceedings, The Express Tribune reported, adding that several party workers had stormed into the Supreme Court, forcing Chief Justice Sajjad Ali Shah to remove the findings of contempt against Sharif. PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry demanded the names of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) leaders be placed on the Exit Control List (ECL) for what he called blackmailing the apex court to pressure it, as per local media. Lashing out at PPP leader Asif Ali Zardari, Fawad said the entire Sindh became a dam whenever it rained, but the former president was focused on salvaging the Punjab government by spending Sindh's money, Dawn newspaper reported. The ruling coalition in Pakistan demanded of the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Umar Ata Bandial on Saturday to form a full bench to hear a petition from PTI candidate for CM Punjab Parvez Elahi challenging a ruling from Deputy Speaker Punjab Assembly to reject votes of PML-Q during the election, local media reported. A three-member SC bench comprising Pakistan Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Munib Akhter issued the verbal order during a hearing on PML-Q leader Pervez Elahi's petition. Shahbaz Sharif-led Pakistani government has expressed its "lack of confidence" in the three-member Supreme Court bench and announced a boycott of the proceedings related to the Punjab Chief Minister's election after the court turned down their request for a full bench. "Our lawyers recommended a (full court) bench but unfortunately, the bench, instead of reflecting and accepting our advice, rejected it," Pakistan Democratic Movement and JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said in Islamabad, Daily Times reported. All parties allied under the banner of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) reiterated their demand for the formation of a full court Supreme Court bench to hear a petition challenging the interpretation of Article 63-A of the Constitution by the Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker during the Punjab chief minister's poll, Daily Times reported. The leaders of political parties under the PDM, including the movement's chief and Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Fazlur Rehman, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz's Vice President Maryam Nawaz, Pakistan People's Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, and others addressed a joint news conference in Islamabad. According to PPP Chairman Bilawal, they cannot let three people decide the future of the country. (ANI)
Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) will hold local body elections in the month of September on a party basis after 31 years, local media reported citing the region's poll body. The announcement was made by Chief Election Commissioner Justice Retd Abdul Rasheed Sulehria on Tuesday along with the poll body members in a media conference. "The apex court of AJ&K has given us a deadline to conduct polls before October 12, 2022 however, we are ready to conduct them in the month of September this year," said CEC Justice Retd Sulehria as quoted by The Express Tribune. According to a senior member of the poll body Farooq Niaz, all arrangements have been completed to ensure local bodies' elections. Another member Farhat Ali Mir said that the first phase for the arrangements was delimitation which has been completed on time while the second phase was the completion of voter lists, and the task has already been achieved before the deadline. He added that more than PKR900 million would be spent on the elections and in this connection, the EC has received PKR300 million so far, The Express Tribune reported. More than 5,192 polling stations have been established while in general elections there were only 5,123 polling stations, the Pakistani media outlet reported citing the polling official. Asked about the changes in these elections, Farhat Ali Mir said that there is no change in the local government election procedure and they will be conducted on the same pattern as the 1991 local body polls. In May, Prime Minister Sardar Tanveer Ilyas said that his government would hold the local body (LB) polls in accordance with the direction of the top court. Barrister Sultan Mehmood Chaudhry had asked the election commission to redouble its efforts to hold local body elections in the state in line with the orders of the top court. (ANI)
Ahead of the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) twice-a-decade national congress in November, an intra-party bulletin that updated membership figures of the CCP has ruffled some feathers among some China analysts. Last month, the Organization Department of the CCP Central Committee said that the number of the Communist Party of China (CPC) members surpassed 96.71 million by the end of 2021. The membership was 3.7 per cent up from the 2020 figure, and 15.9 per cent more than the figure when the 18th CCP National Congress was held in late 2012, Xinhua news agency reported. According to the Chinese news agency, more than 4.38 million people joined the CPC last year when the Party marked its centenary, figures from the report showed. The CCP had nearly 4.94 million primary-level Party organizations as of the end of 2021, an increase of 117,000 from the previous year. Xinhua reported that CCP has been making constant efforts to attract new members and become a vanguard to ensure the Party maintains its strong vitality and combat capacity. The composition of Party membership has continuously improved with better levels of education and steady growth in the proportion of female members and those from ethnic minority groups, it added. Writing for The Washington Times, China analyst Jianli Yang, said, "Under China's state propaganda machinery, the 'fact' that party membership increased during the worst period of the pandemic is supposed to imply that ordinary Chinese citizens fully supported the leadership's lockdown measures and were unperturbed by food shortages." Jianli Yang argued that the statistics also reveal a subtle attempt by the leadership to assert that party membership increased the most after Xi Jinping came to power in 2012. The China analyst highlighted how in a short span between 2012 and 2021, the CCP grew by an astounding 21 million members. Notably, Jianli points out that among CCP members, there is an issue of "dual" loyalty: loyalty to the party and loyalty to Xi himself. Since the Chinese Chairman's ascent to power, Jianli argued that Xi has made relentless efforts to assert the CCP's dominance and coerce members to reaffirm their commitment to the party's ideology and "Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era." Xi is more concerned about the party's loyalty to him. "He (Xi) has spent years building an 'imperial' presidency and cult of personality, through his 'anti-corruption' campaigns through which potential rivals were purged or deterred. Party members have been asked to pledge personal loyalty to Mr Xi, reminiscent of Mao's Cultural Revolution," the China analyst added. (ANI)
Striking down the decision by Pakistan's Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker Dost Muhammad Mazari, the country's Supreme Court on Tuesday announced that Pakistan Muslim League (Q) leader Pervaiz Elahi, an ally of ex-PM Imran Khan, would be the new Chief Minister of Punjab province replacing Hamza Shahbaz of PML-N. This is yet another major win for former prime minister Imran Khan after his party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) win against the ruling coalition in the Punjab bypolls. The top court, in its short order, declared all the appointments made by Hamza "illegal" and told the members of his Cabinet to vacate their offices, Dawn reported. All of the advisers and assistants appointed by Hamza were also ordered to be relieved of their duties. Notably, Hamza Shahbaz, son of Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, had defeated Pervez Elahi in the Punjab polls and Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker Mazari had dismissed PML-Q's 10 votes after party head Chaudhry Shujaat urged them to vote in favour of Hamza. Earlier, the Pakistan Supreme Court had allowed Hamza Shahbaz to stay as a 'trustee' chief minister of Punjab till the court resumes hearing. In its order after the day-long hearing, the court said that it cannot leave a province without a chief executive and so, "Hamza will continue to work as a trustee chief minister till Monday." Afterwards, the coalition government demanded a full court bench to hear the case but the apex court after hearing arguments from all sides for nearly eight hours, decided not to form a full court bench, saying that the same bench would hear the case. As the SC decided not to form a full bench, the ruling coalition and the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) decided to boycott the apex court hearing. Following a resounding victory in Punjab bypolls, former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday urged Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikander Sultan Raja to resign, stating that his party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) won the elections despite the misuse of state machinery. Pakistan's ruling PML-N party is set to lose its provincial government in Punjab province, after a decisive win by Imran Khan's PTI in the bye-elections to 20 seats held on Sunday. The Khan-led PTI won 15 seats while PM Sharif's PML-N managed to secure just 4 seats. One seat went to an Independent. At a public address following his triumph in the Punjab province, Imran Khan insisted that early general elections still were the only solution to the country's current woes, the Dawn newspaper reported. The PTI chief said that the CEC tried his best to turn the polls in favour of Shehbaz Sharif's PML-N. "I am disappointed in the chief election commissioner. How could he let all this happen? He is not competent to run [the Election Commission of Pakistan] and is biased towards a political party. Raja should immediately resign." (ANI)
Shortly after the Supreme Court's verdict to place Pervez Elahi as Punjab's Chief Minister while removing Hamza Shahbaz from the province's top office on Tuesday, Pakistan's coalition government, including PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz, strongly reacted to the apex court's order. Pakistan's top court declared Deputy Speaker Dost Muhammad Mazari's ruling in the Punjab Chief Minister's election "illegal" and ruled that PTI's candidate Pervez Elahi will be the new CM of the province. It also declared all the appointments made by Hamza "illegal", the Dawn newspaper reported. The court also ordered Punjab Governor Baligh ur Rehman to administer the oath to Elahi at 11:30 pm (local time), adding that if he refuses to perform his duties, President Arif Alvi will administer the oath. "Judicial coup," PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz said in a tweet after the court order. Hamza Shahbaz from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) last week won the election in the provincial assembly to retain his position as the chief minister of Punjab province, after provincial assembly Deputy Speaker Dost Mazari decided not to count the votes of PML-Q lawmakers. Shahbaz, son of Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, secured 179 votes against 176 votes received by Pervaiz Elahi, a joint candidate of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) of former prime minister Imran Khan and the Pakistan Muslim League (PML). Elahi had received 186 votes, including 176 from PTI and 10 from the PML, but the deputy speaker excluded the 10 votes of the PML after its chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain wrote a letter to his party members not to vote for Elahi. The election was held on the orders of the Supreme Court of Pakistan after the PTI filed a petition in the apex court, saying that Shahbaz has lost the majority in the house. Hamza Shahbaz later filed a petition in Pakistan's top court to constitute a full court on the issue of the election of a CM for Punjab. Earlier on April 16, Shahbaz was elected as the new chief minister of Punjab with 197 votes, including 25 dissidents of the PTI. On May 20, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) de-seated 25 dissident members of the provincial assembly of the PTI for voting Shahbaz in the election against the orders of the party leadership. Later the ECP allocated five reserved seats to the PTI and announced by-elections on the remaining 20 seats on July 17. The PTI won 15 seats while PML-N got four seats and an independent candidate also won the election. Member of the PML Basharat Raja objected to the deputy speaker's decision to exclude votes, saying that it is against the constitution of the country because only a leader in the assembly can pass such orders to its members while Hussain is not the party leader in the house. (ANI)
Ambassador of India to the UN, TS Tirumurti on Tuesday extended his condolences on the death of two Indian peacekeepers in Congo. "India tragically lost two UN Peacekeepers from BSF in the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO). Truly a great loss. My deepest condolences. India is striving its utmost to enhance safety, security and accountability of @UNPeacekeeping and to 'Protect the protectors,'" tweeted Tirumurti. Two Border Security Force (BSF) personnel on a UN peace-keeping mission in the Democratic Republic (DR) of Congo on Tuesday succumbed to fatal injuries they had received during violent protests. The Indian peacekeepers were part of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO). In a tweet, Jaishankar wrote, "Deeply grieved at the loss of lives of two valiant Indian peacekeepers of the BSF in the Democratic Republic of Congo. They were part of the MONUSCO. The perpetrators of these outrageous attacks must be held accountable and brought to justice. Deepest condolences to the bereaved families." A senior BSF officer said that they were in touch with the authorities and reinforcements of the UN Force (Army component) on their way to the site. Earlier, some groups had given a call for week-long agitation throughout DR Congo. The situation turned violent in Goma (about 350 Km South of Beni and a big MONUSCO base) with looting and arson. Both Beni and Butembo, where 2 BSF platoons were deployed, were on high alert. However, on Tuesday the situation in Butembo turned violent. The camp of Morroco Rapid Deployment where BSF platoons were stationed was surrounded by demonstrators. Congolese Police (PNC) and Congolese Army (FARDC) troops arrived but could not control the violent crowd estimated to be over 500. To contain the situation, Congolese troops fired in the air and BSF troops fired smoke to disperse the crowd but they managed to breach the perimeter wall in three different places. The crowd was repelled but they gathered again. There were reports that armed rebels had infiltrated the demonstrators. The second attack was more fierce and was accompanied by fire from small arms (automatics). Morrocan and Indian troops fired in self-defence. Sporadic firing still going on. Two BSF personnel succumbed to fatal injuries. MORRDB also suffered one fatality and one IPOs sustained gunshot injury. Reinforcements of the UN Force (Army component) are on their way. (ANI)
In the accident on the Nain-Isfahan road, a car veered to the left and collided with a trailer coming from the opposite direction, Mohammad Zamani, head of Nain Red Crescent Society, told IRNA.

A passenger was injured in the crash, said Zamani, adding other causes of the accident are under investigation.

More than 20,000 people are killed and 200,000 others wounded in traffic accidents annually in Iran, official figures show. Lack of driving experience and low efficiency of cars and roads are reportedly the top causes. (ANI/Xinhua)
Police said a 16-year-old has been taken into custody in connection with a shooting at the Mount Vernon Walmart on July 17.

The teen turned himself in on Sunday, July 24, and was booked into Skagit County Juvenile Detention, according to law enforcement.

According to the police, three teenage male gang members had a confrontation with rival gang members inside the Walmart at 2301 Freeway Drive in Mount Vernon.

Three of the involved gang members were injured, along with a 76-year-old male customer and a 24-year-old security guard.

All five people were taken to the hospital for treatment.

Numerous guns and evidentiary items were found during the search, the police department said. One of the suspects surrendered and was booked into Skagit County Juvenile Detention.

Police Chief Chris Cammock said, Our community has rightfully expressed alarm at what occurred and wants accountability for these intolerable actions. We share those sentiments and are working at length to bring those responsible before a court.

Police had previously arrested one suspect, and he was also booked into Skagit County Juvenile Detention.

One suspect still remains at large.
(Bloomberg) -- Temasek Holdings Chief Executive Officer Dilhan Pillay runs a $290 billion state-owned investment empire. But every quarter he spends up to two hours chatting to a man in Indonesia about fish.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Those lengthy calls with Bandung-based eFishery, a startup so small it only accounts for 0.01% of Temaseks portfolio, are emblematic of its quiet zeal for the business of food. The precarious state of the worlds food supply, highlighted by sizzling heatwaves that are wilting crops in Europe, China and the US, has found an unlikely crusader in Singapore, a small island with hardly any agriculture at all.

Under its relatively new CEO Pillay and head of agri-food Anuj Maheshwari, Temasek has doubled down on an agriculture strategy involving ambitious investments  including efforts that take control of some businesses  to try and reap profits from solving some of the biggest problems in food production. Since 2015 its quietly grown its life science and agriculture holdings from about $5.7 billion to $26.7 billion as of March this year, spanning everything from plant-based meat maker Impossible Foods Inc. and Bayer AG to Israeli irrigation firms.

When we started looking at this, most of our peers were not focused on this industry because it tends to have government influence, its volatile and it involves land, which can be capital intensive, Maheshwari said in an interview. But if we dont create a system that is more efficient and resilient to climate change the food security of the planet is at risk.

Almost half of the earths habitable land, 70% of its fresh water and 30% of the workforce is used for agriculture, said Maheshwari.

Story continues

Despite such massive resources, this industry produces a third of greenhouse gases, and a third of what it produces actually just goes to waste, Maheshwari said. These are massive challenges that are very ripe for the kind of capital that we bring in.

Singapore produces only about 10% of its food, and while its trying to lift that to 30% by investing in technologies such as offshore fish farms and vertical farming, the only way to guarantee long-term supply in the face of climate change and disruptions such as the war in Ukraine is to build complex and redundant supply chains.

When Malaysia  supplier of a third of Singapores chicken  banned most exports in June to keep domestic prices down, Singapore added suppliers of frozen chicken from Indonesia to supplement imports from Brazil, Thailand and Australia to soften the blow.

Who knew the Ukraine war would happen and we would not have any chicken? Maheshwari said. The reality is its not just a long-term thing but also a short-term thing.

Temasek started systematically backing agriculture ventures in 2015, putting it well ahead of many other state-owned investors, according to Diego Lopez, managing director of Global SWF. Venture capital firm AgFunders 2022 AgriFoodTech Investment Report named Temasek as the worlds fifth-most-active venture capital fund manager in the sector.

The entry of Temasek and big financiers has been incredibly important, with new efforts and technologies being enabled as part of the drive, Lopez said. Commodities and food security have traditionally been a big concern for small nations that do not have enough farmland. Geopolitical crises and deglobalization trends only make it worse.

Temaseks strategy has been to blend financial clout with extensive market and climate analysis and to provide entrepreneurs with one of Asias most potent networking rolodexes.

When US-based Impossible Foods was trying to expand abroad in 2019 for example, Temasek served up its plant-based burgers at the sovereign funds plush corporate box at the citys Formula 1 street race. As Ferrari and Red Bull racecars shot past, Impossibles first employee Nick Halla and his team faced a rapid-fire night of networking with up to a dozen Temasek executives introducing A-list contacts from across the region.

We were able to have weeks worth of follow-up meetings with food companies, supply chain contacts and customers, said Halla, who left the company recently to work on climate change-related ventures. Things like that are really high value.

Maheshwari had tasted a prototype Impossible burger and Temasek was an early investor, supplying growth capital. By 2017 Temasek was leading the startups Series E funding round.

Olam Battle

At other times, Temaseks sheer financial heft has come to the rescue.

When Singapore-based Olam Group Ltd was attacked by short-seller Carson Block in 2012, its shares slumped 20%. Temasek and other investors stepped in, underwriting and purchasing hundreds of millions of dollars in bonds and warrants. And when other activist investors started separate attacks, it spent billions to buy control of the business.

Temaseks support at that critical juncture was very important, said Olam CEO Sunny Verghese.

Today Olam is one of the worlds largest traders of food staples, shipping over 45 million tons coffee, palm oil, rice and other food staples each year. Extreme weather and the war in Ukraine have pushed up commodity prices, helping revenue surge 31% in 2021.

Temasek started life managing government assets, including Singapore Airlines Ltd and Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. But it has tended to avoid acquiring companies outright and for years Olam was an exception.

Under Pillay, though, the strategy is being used more often. One example is the 2020 purchase of an 85% stake in Rivulis, a U.S.-Israeli micro-irrigation vendor.

Temaseks analysis of long-term climate change identified water scarcity as a key issue. Crop irrigation accounts for 72% of all freshwater withdrawals and water demand is increasing at more than twice the rate of population growth.

Rivulis sells drip line systems that run along the ground  a more efficient but also more costly strategy than spraying crops with water. Temasek, halfway round the globe, may not have seemed the obvious choice as a buyer, but Rivulis Chief Executive Officer Richard Klapholz had spent decades working in Asia and knew the firm well.

When the private equity decided to sell and Temasek was one of the potential buyers, I did all I could to channel the acquisition to them, Klapholz said from his office in Israel.

This year Temasek upped its stake to around 100% and Klapholz is buying rivals and building factories around the world to consolidate the industry. In June, Rivulis merged with Indias Jain Irrigation Systems Ltd.s international operation, creating a combined business worth an estimated $1 billion, according to a person familiar with the deal.

Rivulis is a good example of what the company is doing differently under Dilhan, said Maheshwari, adding Temasek had been a long-term investor in Jain. The merger creates a business that is really making a difference in how water is used by agriculture.

Monsanto Pain

Temaseks deals in agriculture havent all worked so well. In 2018 Temasek spent 3 billion euros ($3 billion) helping Bayer finance its takeover of Monsanto Co.  the kind of seismic deal typical of the Singapore group.

But the acquisition went sour after claims that Monsantos Roundup weedkiller causes cancer led to billions of dollars in compensation claims, causing Bayers share price to plunge.

The setback didnt dampen Temaseks appetite for agricultural startups that had the potential to change an industry, even if they came from remote corners of the world.

Three hours east of Jakarta, past verdant rice paddies and corrugated iron huts, the hum of village life is interrupted every few minutes by a robotic dispenser spitting out hundreds of food pellets onto the waiting mouths of hungry fish in a concrete pool.

It may not be Silicon Valley, but the device is key to the rapid expansion of startup eFishery, which aims to revolutionize the centuries-old business of aquaculture.

Co-founder and CEO Gibran Huzaifah, took aquaculture as a subject at Indonesias prestigious Bandung Institute of Technology because it had the reputation as being an easy A grade. Inspired by the course, he set up his own fish farm, and soon discovered the myriad variables involved  too little feed and growth was stunted; too much and the fish could die.

Even when he produced a saleable product, fish mongers and restaurants had established supply chains that made it hard to make more than a tiny profit.

So in October 2013 he launched eFishery, which, for a monthly fee, provides farmers with a dispenser that scatters pellets based on data from thousands of users. Customers buy feed and sell stock via a smartphone app that offers higher prices than most distributors. eFishery sells the fish on in bulk to larger buyers.

The model is profitable and expanding  eFisherys $90 million Series C funding round in January valued it at over $400 million, according to people familiar with the round who declined to be named because the discussions were private. If all goes well, the fish-feeding firm could become a unicorn by next year.

One of several co-lead investors in the latest round, Temasek is helping the company expand, including suggesting potential executives and vital partners in India, Thailand and Vietnam. Four times a year Gibran talks shop with Pillay in a call that Maheshwari organizes; an extraordinarily high level of support for such a small venture.

Temasek is the best and most aggressive agri-tech investor in the world right now, Gibran said, adding it would likely result in the Singaporean firm being offered a much larger allocation in future rounds than its storied peers.

Maheshwari says Temasek isnt trying to take control of food supply, nor directly bolster Singapores food security. It just happens to be that we have taken stakes in positions which are pretty important for the food system, he said.

As climate change disrupts weather patterns and agriculture around the world, we need more and more solutions thrown at the problem, Maheshwari said. Were just seeing the trailer of what can happen.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2022 Bloomberg L.P.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP)  A second 15-year-old boy has been charged with murder in the carjacking and shooting of a United Methodist Church leader in Memphis, Tennessee, police said.

The teenager was charged with first-degree murder, carjacking and other offenses after meeting with investigators Friday to discuss the killing of the Rev. Autura Eason-Williams, Memphis police told The Associated Press late Monday.

Another 15-year-old boy was charged with first-degree murder, carjacking and other charges the day after the July 18 killing, which shook United Methodist Church members in Memphis and elsewhere. A 16-year-old boy has been charged with theft of property between $2,500 and $10,000.

Eason-Williams was found in her driveway with multiple gunshot wounds. She was taken to a hospital, where she died.

Video footage showed that the pastor was approached by two males while she was in her Chevrolet Malibu. The teens pointed a gun at her and ordered her from the car, police said.

Eason-Williams was shot and a teen drove away in her vehicle, police said, citing the footage.

Shelby County district attorney Amy Weirich said Monday that she is pursuing adult charges against the two teens charged with murder. Juveniles between ages 14 and 17 who are charged with serious crimes are eligible for transfer to adult court, Weirich said in a news release.

A Juvenile Court hearing has been set for Aug. 1 for both teens.

Eason-Williams was a wife and the mother of four children, according to a biography posted on her website. She was superintendent of the Metro District of the Tennessee-Western Kentucky Conference of the United Methodist Church.

She also was the pastor of Capleville United Methodist Church and a graduate of the Memphis Theological Seminary.
A two-year-old is dead and his four-year-old brother was hospitalized after the two boys were shot on July 17 at a Georgia apartment complex.

According to a release from the Bleckley County Sheriffs Office, obtained by WMAZ in Augusta, Dahmon Jacquez Lemmon, 23, Jaquiese Stephen Finley, 29, and Kamau Zyon Pasby, 20, all of Cochran, are behind bars for their connection to the toddlers death.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

The shooting happened at Deer Run Apartments on Lucas Road in Cochran just after midnight on July 18. Deputies found 2-year-old Yasir Satterwhite shot and killed, according to WMAZ.

Four-year-old Tamir Satterwhite was transported to a nearby hospital where was taken into surgery.

This investigation took a tremendous amount of dedication from all agencies and I greatly appreciate everyone who assisted the Sheriffs Office in this case, Bleckley County Sheriff Kris Coody said in a release.

TRENDING STORIES:

Lemmon is charged with felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.

Finley is charged with party to the crime of Murder and party to the crime of aggravated assault.

Kamau Zyon Pasby is charged with party to the crime of Murder and party to the crime of aggravated assault.

The sheriffs office says more charges are coming and this investigation is still ongoing, according to WMAZ.

Police said they believed that the shooting was retaliatory, but its unclear if the boys family was the intended target.

[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]

IN OTHER NEWS:
SheKnows

Who should be allowed in a pregnant couples OBGYN sessions? Thats the question a future dad is asking Reddits AITA forum after his MIL decided that she would like to join in. According to the Reddit user, she has always been controlling over her daughter. His MIL has never been happy with the fact that []
Three years before manifesting became the new wellness craze in late 2020, Aaron Rose Philip tweeted that when she was finally signed to a modeling agency, it was going to be OVER for yall. And she was right.

Philip, a transgender Antiguan American model who was born with cerebral palsy, has published a book, been profiled by the New York Times and Vogue, was interviewed by her idol Naomi Campbell, starred in multiple high-profile fashion editorials, served as grand marshal for New York Citys 2021 Pride Parade and performed in a Miley Cyrus music video  all before she turned 21.

So, yes, it was over for all of us the second she decided to pursue the fashion industry when she was a junior in high school.

I am someone who has lived 50 lives in 21 years, she told In The Know. I for sure use fashion as an outlet for my own personal happiness and self-expression.

Philip is now managed by Community New York and Milk Management London and has modeled for almost five years now. But as she continues adding to her already impressive resume, she is still waiting to see disability be made an equal part of the conversation surrounding the need for more diversity within fashion and beauty.

Ive had so many opportunities [in which] the client may revert on their decision to cast me or the job just doesnt work out in general due to them not being able to accommodate my disability, Philip explained.

Physical impairment is the most common form of disability in the U.S.  affecting one out of every seven adults. Fashion is a profit-driven industry that still fails to create adaptive clothing for a significant portion of the population. In a commercial sense, ignoring disability and failing to create adaptive lines loses out on the $13 trillion in disposable income that the Global Economics of Disability annual report claims comes from shoppers with disabilities.

Story continues

Even though some brands have tried to look to the future and be more inclusive, access to adaptive clothing matters too  as exemplified by the backlash Nike faced in April 2021 after increasing the price for its limited release of the first-ever hands-free sneaker.

Disabled people quite literally consume and wear clothes like everybody does, Philip said. [We] deserve regularly to have space and time in fashion.

That space and time also need to be accurate representations of disability, not performative. In a 2021 research paper on diversity in the fashion industry, author Aliyah Walker described how when disability is included in fashion shoots or runway shows, it is overwhelmingly represented through tokenism.

For example, in 2015, Interview magazine featured a photo shoot of Kylie Jenner, who is able-bodied, sitting in a wheelchair. In response to the backlash over the cover, Interview released a statement saying that the photos were intended to get people thinking about image and creative expression.

So disabled models cant get work or advance in the fashion industry, but Kylie jenner can use a wheelchair and be classed as edgy, one Twitter user surmised following Interviews comment.

The hard work is never over, Philip agreed. When other brands decide to do the important work and include disabled talent, then they too will be the future [of fashion].

One of those brands doing the important work is Moschino, the luxury Italian fashion label, which included Philip in its spring-summer 2022 fashion show at New York Fashion Week. To date, Philip describes the experience as her favorite fashion moment.

I cried for several days out of happiness, she said.

Creative director Jeremy Scott had worked with Philip previously  Scott had tapped Philip to be the face of Moschinos fall-winter 2020 campaign. But a runway debut was history-making  both professionally for Philip and because a major New York Fashion Week show had never included a model with physical disabilities before.

Only a year prior, Vogue writer Emily Farra had lamented in the days leading up to New York Fashion Week 2021 that the fashion worlds understanding of inclusivity was limited.

In my almost decade of fashion week reporting, Ive never heard a designer mention how their collection might appeal to someone with limited use of their arms or how a new trouser would work for someone with a prosthetic, Farra wrote. The concern is the same as the one created by decades of exclusively white, size-00 models.

The inclusivity problem isnt solved by having Philip walk a runway. Even in the glow of fulfilling a lifelong dream, Philip still sees how much the fashion industry needs to grow.

[There is] so much work to do in terms of hiring disabled talent, she said. Whether it be being attentive to the needs of disabled talents  having disabled talent behind and in front of the camera, whether it is having a disabled producer on set, having a disabled casting director or disabled talents having a say in casting  these opportunities alone barely exist already in the industry.

For more education on disabilities, inclusivity and the fashion industry, Aaron Rose Philip recommends following these people on social media:

Jillian Mercado: Actress, model. Philip named Mercado one of her fashion inspirations and role models.

Lashaunae Steward: Model.

Devin Halbal: Travel influencer.

Casil Mcarthur: Model.

Julian Gavino: Model.

Dominique Castelano: Model, actress.

Selyna Brillare: Model, musician.

The post Aaron Rose Philip isnt going to wait for the fashion industry to catch up to her: The hard work is never over appeared first on In The Know.

More from In The Know:

Young couple renovating 108-year-old house makes stunning discovery in attic: 'Such an incredible find'

Why are people freaking out over Olivia Rodrigo's 'unlimited' Chipotle card?

This gardening tool lets you weed your yard without bending over  grab it while it's on sale

The most comfortable thongs I've ever worn are wildly marked down at Nordstrom's Anniversary Sale
A Texas judge overseeing the defamation trial that will determine how much money Alex Jones must pay Sandy Hook Elementary School parents for falsely claiming the Dec. 14, 2012, mass shooting in Newtown, Conn., was fake admonished the Infowars founder Tuesday for speaking about the case within earshot of the jury.

"We're not going to have that again," Judge Maya Guerra Gamble told Jones and his attorneys.

During a break in opening arguments, Jones spoke to reporters inside Travis County Courthouse in Austin, where Infowars is based.

"Ladies and gentlemen, if you want to be bamboozled and lose your First Amendment ... go ahead," Jones said. "You're having your rights to a trial by jury to decide if you're guilty or innocent stolen from you. This is a kangaroo court. This is a political act. This is a witch hunt."

Alex Jones. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

The judge reminded Jones that every participant in the trial is "ordered to be silent out of this courtroom, or if there is any member of the jury in sight."

The trial comes after judges in Texas and Connecticut issued default judgments against Jones, finding him liable for defamation for his portrayal of the Sandy Hook massacre as a hoax involving "crisis actors" employed by the government in order to enact stricter gun control. (In both states, judges issued default judgments against Jones without trials because he failed to respond to court orders and turn over documents.)

During jury selection Monday, an attorney for Jones said he has medical issues that could keep him from showing up during parts of the 10-day trial.

On Tuesday, Jones arrived at the courthouse wearing a piece of silver tape over his mouth with the message Save the 1st printed on it. He removed it before entering the courtroom.

Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, the parents of 6-year-old Jesse Lewis, who was one of the 20 first graders and six educators who were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary, were already inside. The parents, who are seeking $150 million in damages, are expected to testify.

Story continues

Distraught parents outside a fire station near Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., after the shooting on Dec. 14, 2012. (Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)

Jones has claimed in court that he has a negative net worth of $20 million, but according to the Associated Press, court records show that Joness Infowars store, which sells nutritional supplements and survival gear, made more than $165 million between 2015 and 2018.

During opening arguments, Mark Bankston, a lawyer for Heslin and Lewis, argued that Jones "used Jesse's death" and the deaths of 19 other Newtown children "to sell supplements."

"Mr. Jones will do or say anything to protect his ability to profit off his lies," Bankston told the jury. "You can put an end to these lies by punishing Alex Jones."

Bankston recalled that in 2017, Heslin sat for an interview with talk show host Megyn Kelly that his client had hoped would put an end to the "crisis actor" conspiracy.

Instead, Bankston said, Jones and Infowars "retaliated against Neil for speaking out."

Jones's attorney opened his defense by arguing that on the day of the massacre in Newtown, he was "1,500 miles away" in Texas, dropping his own children off at school.

"When he heard about the event he was shocked and saddened, just like everyone else in America," Andino Reynal, Jones's lawyer, told jurors. "He was also suspicious.

Alex Jones doesn't trust the government," he added.
By Josh Horwitz and Scott Murdoch

SHANGHAI/HONG KONG (Reuters) -Alibaba plans to add a primary listing in Hong Kong to its New York presence, targeting investors in mainland China as it becomes the first big company to take advantage of a rule change in the financial hub to attract high-tech Chinese firms.

The e-commerce giant's move, announced on Tuesday, comes as both Washington and Beijing sharpen scrutiny over Chinese companies' listings, and after a devastating regulatory crackdown in China left Alibaba with a $2.8 billion fine and scuppered an initial public offering (IPO) of its affiliate Ant Group.

It also comes against the backdrop of an audit dispute between China and the United States, which is threatening to kick out hundreds of Chinese companies listed in New York.

Analysts said the change should give mainland China investors easier access to the shares via a link to the Hong Kong bourse known as the Stock Connect. Secondary listings in Hong Kong, like Alibaba's current listing, are not allowed in the Stock Connect trade.

The shares climbed 4.8% by the close of trading, while the Hong Kong benchmark gained 1.7%.

"Being in Stock Connect means it will be more convenient for mainland Chinese investors to eventually buy the stock, so investors are happy to step in today and buy the stock in Hong Kong," says Louis Tse, managing director of Wealthy Securities.

Already present on the Hong Kong bourse with a secondary listing since 2019, Alibaba said it expects the primary listing to be completed by the end of 2022. Chief Executive Daniel Zhang said the dual listing would foster a "wider and more diversified investor base".

The move comes after the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) in January changed its rules to allow "innovative" Chinese companies - operating an internet or other high-tech business - with weighted voting rights or variable interest entities (VIE) to carry out dual primary listings in the city.

Story continues

Under a VIE structure, a Chinese company sets up an offshore entity for overseas listing purposes that allows foreign investors to buy into the stock.

"Hong Kong is also the launch pad for Alibaba's globalisation strategy, and we are fully confident in China's economy and future," Alibaba's CEO Zhang said in a statement.

SWEEPING CRACKDOWN

Alibaba listed on the New York Stock Exchange in September 2014, marking what was at the time the largest IPO in history.

Since 2020, the company's share price has tanked in both markets, as a sweeping regulatory crackdown by Beijing has battered Chinese tech companies.

At the same time, U.S. regulators have stepped up scrutiny of accounts of Chinese firms listed in New York, demanding greater transparency.

While broad in scope, a core focus of China's crackdown has been regulators seeking to expand oversight of public offerings.

Last year, Chinese authorities launched a probe into ride-hailing giant Didi Global just after it listed in New York, citing data privacy concerns.

The company later de-listed and began preparations to list in Hong Kong, leading analysts to interpret the probe as driven by a desire on Beijing's part for data-rich companies to list domestically.

ANT GROUP DECOUPLING

Alibaba also found itself in similar crosshairs when regulators abruptly halted Ant Group's planned $37 billion IPO in Hong Kong and in Shanghai in late 2020.

Concurrent with the announcement of its dual primary listing, Alibaba said on Tuesday in its annual financial report that several Ant Group executives had stepped down from their posts in the Alibaba Partnership, a top decision-making body for the e-commerce giant.

The departures are part of an ongoing decoupling of the fintech division from Alibaba, spurred by the botched IPO.

Justin Tang, head of Asian research at investment advisor United First Partners in Singapore, said that Alibaba's decision would boost the company's shares due to its potential inclusion in Stock Connect.

"With regards to other tech listings of similar kind, this will be the playbook for companies looking to hedge against regulatory risk that Chinese companies are facing on the U.S. bourses," he said.

In order to switch to a dual primary listing, the HKEX said companies had to have a good track record of at least two full financial years listed overseas, and a capitalisation of at least HK$40 billion ($5.10 billion) or a market value of at least HK$10 billion plus revenue of at least HK$1 billion for the most recent financial year.

($1 = 7.8493 Hong Kong dollars)

(Reporting by Josh Horwitz in Shanghai and Scott Murdoch in Hong Kong; Additional reporting by Anshuman Daga in Singapore; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell)
Reporter: The Japanese government released the Defense of Japan 2022 white paper on July 22, in which Chinas defense policy and military build-up is described as with insufficient transparency. The white paper accused China of attempting to unilaterally change the status-quo in the East and South China Seas, and significantly increased Taiwan-related contents. What is your comment on that?

Senior Colonel Wu Qian, spokesperson for Chinas Ministry of National Defense: The China-related contents in the Defense of Japan 2022 white paper lacks respect for facts and is full of prejudice, which makes irresponsible remarks about Chinas national defense and military development, as well as Chinas normal military activities, deliberately hypes up the so-called China military threat, interfering Chinas internal affairs in a rude manner, and creates regional tensions. China has expressed strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to such wrongful statements, and lodged solemn representations with the Japanese side.

China is unswervingly committed to the path of peaceful development, and follows a national defense policy that is defensive in nature, as well as a military strategy of active defense. Chinas efforts to strengthen its national defense and military development is aimed at safeguarding its national sovereignty, security and development interests, and doing a better job in providing public security products to the international community. The history has proved and will continue to prove that Chinese military is always a staunch force in maintaining world peace. In contrast, instead of making self-reflection and learning the lessons of history, Japan has been engaged in raising groundless accusations against China, plotting to amend its pacifist constitution, significantly increasing defense expenditure, developing offensive combat capabilities, and attempting to break through the postwar international order. Japans moves have aroused serious concern and heightened vigilance of the international community, including China.

The Taiwan question is purely Chinas internal affair that brooks no foreign interference. Compatriots living on both sides of the Taiwan Strait will never forget that Japan once forcibly occupied Taiwan via war of aggression, and committed countless crimes during its colonial rule over the island province of China. Japan bears unshirkable historical guilt to the Chinese people. Japans interference into the Taiwan question through its defense white paper seriously violates the basic norms governing international relations, breaks the solemn commitment it has made to China in regard to the Taiwan question, damages the political foundation of China-Japan relations and intensifies the regional tension in the Taiwan Strait, which is completely wrong and extremely dangerous.

The Diaoyu Island and its affiliated islands are Chinas inherent territory. Therefore, it is legitimate for China to conduct patrol and law-enforcement activities in the waters around the Diaoyu Island, and the Japanese side has no ground to accuse China. China has undisputable sovereignty over the islands in the South China Sea and their adjacent waters, and always respects and protects the freedom of navigation and over-flight enjoyed by all countries in the South China Sea with accordance to the international laws. Japan, who is not a party to the South China Sea issue, chooses to echo with Americans move in this issue to sow discord and stir the pot. To conduct such irresponsible behaviors, the Japanese side surely has ulterior motives. Chinese military has determination, capability and confidence to safeguard national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity, defend the countrys maritime rights and interests, and protect regional peace and stability.

We urge the Japanese side to face up and reflect on its history of aggression, stop confusing the international community by disguising itself as a victim, stop making wrong statements and behaviors on related issues, and take responsible attitudes and concrete actions to earn trust from its Asian neighbors and the international community.
People

"She got her hair done from her Jersey hairstylist and shes the same Teresa that walked in with the cash to pay for the furniture, so yes, I am here for it," the cocktail mogul said on her podcast
SOUTH RIVER  Despite Sundays heat, the community came to pay tribute to a fallen police officer at a garden dedicated in his memory at Volunteer's Park.

The garden, which includes a plaque and benches, was dedicated to the memory of Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, 42, a borough native, who suffered two strokes and died after he confronted rioters at the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection.

Sicknick, who grew up in South River, attended Middlesex County Vocational and Technical Schools East Brunswick Campus and then joined the New Jersey Air National Guard. He deployed to Saudi Arabia in 1999 in support of Operation Southern Watch. After the 9/11 terrorist attacks he served in Kyrgyzstan, in support of the war in Afghanistan. He was honorably discharged in 2003 and joined the Capitol Police.

USCP Photo of Officer Brian D. Sicknick

In the spring of 2021, Ellen Tschopp, a teacher and Interact Club advisor at South River High School and a friend of Sicknick's mom, Gladys, who still lives in the borough, was looking for a way to honor Sicknick.

Tschopp said she first met Gladys more than 15 years ago at Tschopps Jazzercise class. She said Chuck Sicknick, Brians dad, was born and raised in the borough and he and Gladys raised their three sons here.

When Brian died, Tschopp said it was difficult to watch her friend deal with the pain, which is why she tried to think of something that could be done so they would know we all support them.

Earlier:Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick's memory preserved in hometown South River

She reached out to the high school's National Honor Society advisor Valerie Olcott asking if she knew of any students who wanted to start a project in town.

Diana Eleto immediately came forward and took the lead on the Brian Sicknick Memorial Garden project, which was part of a larger project.

Two other students also came forward. Alex Vasilev organized the Brian Sicknick Community Clean Up days, and Connor Kosa led efforts to raise money and supplies that would be donated in Sicknick's nameto a to-be-determined local animal shelter, both of which projects are continuing.

Story continues

Eleto planned the garden, got help from her father building it and her friends helped her plant it, Tschopp said.

Weve been watering it ever since, so its a beautiful little honor for your son and brother Tschopp said.

Tschopp thanked Councilwoman Julie Meira for helping to find a place to plant the garden. She also thanked her friends and fitness friends for their fundraising efforts.

Gladys walks all over town and loves coming to the garden, Tschopp said.

These benches are a wonderful, little tribute as well so she can come and enjoy this garden and have a little peace," she said. "I hope it brings a smile to your familys faces and it makes us happy to do this.

Eleto said she never imagined her leadership project would mean so much to so many people. She said upon learning the story of Brian Sicknick, she knew she wanted to do something special.

Not only do I feel proud to have done something special for Officer Sicknick and his family, but I find great joy in the way this project brought together our community, she said. This garden may have started as a leadership project, but it blossomed into something much more  a tribute to Officer Sicknick.

Sicknicks brother, Ken, said he really appreciated everyone attending the dedication.

He said South River Police Officer Christopher Flores' brother is a Capitol police officer, who was directly involved in trying to resuscitate my brother when he went down.

Thats how small of a world this is, he said.

He said he didnt find out about the South River connection until later.

He said South River is an amazing small town.

Sicknicks brother, Craig, said its astonishing the community reach out weve seen during all of this.

Gladys said her family has a new family  the Capitol police, which we never thought we would have.

They are here for us every step of the way, she said. "Theyre amazing people and theyre always checking up on us.

Mayor John Krenzel read a proclamation declaring July 24, 2022 as Brian Sicknick Day.

Email: sloyer@gannettnj.com

Susan Loyer covers Middlesex County and more for MyCentralJersey.com. To get unlimited access to her work, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick honored in hometown South River
By Jarrett Renshaw and Scott DiSavino

(Reuters) - When U.S. President Joe Biden promised European leaders in March that he would help secure new supplies of liquefied natural gas to offset shortages from Russias invasion of Ukraine, his pledge was greeted with scepticism.

After all, the U.S. LNG industry was already hitting its export limits and the global market is dominated by long-term contracts that can dictate where exported gas would go for twenty years at a time.

It turns out, however, that Biden's promise may have been far too modest.

The United States is on track to blow past Bidens March commitment of an additional 15 billion cubic meters of LNG for Europe this year, according to a Reuters analysis of export data compiled by Refinitiv, and to triple the pledge.

The No. 1 natural gas producer became the top LNG exporter in the world in the first half of 2022, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Monday.

The surge is good news for a Biden administration that has sought to strengthen energy ties with Europe as a way to combat Russia's influence. But given the globe's voracious demand for natural gas, these European imports come at the expense of poorer nations like Pakistan and India, which could face energy deficits or be driven to new deals with Russia.

Through June of this year, the U.S exported about 57 bcm of gas as LNG with 39 bcm, or 68%, going to Europe, Refinitiv data shows. That is compared with 34 bcm, or 35%, of LNG exports shipped to Europe for all of 2021.

That means the United States has already sent more gas to Europe during the first six months of 2022 than it did in all 12 months of 2021. If exports to Europe continue at the same pace through the second half of 2022, the total increase over 2021 would be around 45 bcm.

However, the pace of exports slowed in June after a fire shut Freeport LNG, which provides around 20% of U.S. LNG processing. Full operations are not expected till the year end.

Story continues

Another challenge could be a well-above average Atlantic hurricane season, analysts said.

HIGHER PROFITS IN EUROPE

The unexpected shift is happening because shippers are willing to pay contractual penalties for failing to deliver to countries like Pakistan and diverting the cargoes to Europe, where the high price covers the fee and profit, analysts said.

Analysts who argued earlier Biden's goal was unattainable now say the industry, dominated by companies like Cheniere Energy Inc and TotalEnergies, has proved much more pliable than they expected.

"It has become much more flexible than most thought it could be just three months ago. If you have to do stuff, things get moved," Henning Gloystein, a director of energy and climate at the Eurasia Group, said.

But that has meant falling U.S. LNG imports in countries paying less. Belgium, for example, saw its U.S. imports of LNG swell by some 650% while Pakistan saw its U.S. imports decline by 72%, data showed.

Benchmark gas prices in Europe have averaged $34.06 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) so far in 2022 compared with $29.99 in Asia and $6.12 in the United States.

That compares with average 2021 prices of $16.04 in Europe, $18.00 in Asia and $3.73 in the United States, data showed.

The cargoes are going to go where the market demands it will go, said Ed Hirs, an energy economist at the University of Houston.

STILL NOT ENOUGH

The February invasion by Europes top gas supplier has pushed already-high energy prices to records and prompted the EU to pledge to cut Russian gas use by two-thirds this year by hiking imports from other countries and boosting renewable energy.

Despite the unexpected increase from the United States, the EU still finds itself in a precarious position heading into the high-use winter season as Russia continues to threaten to withhold gas supplies..

The EU urged member states to cut gas usage by 15% until March as an emergency step.

Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also announced a plan to form a task force to cut Europe's reliance on Russian fossil fuels, including gas.

The Commission is set to ensure that the EU is able to receive about 50 bcm of additional U.S. LNG until at least 2030, and the U.S. is on pace to exceed that number this year.

But, analysts say the shift of U.S. cargoes will not last, as Asian and South American prices rise to attract more cargoes and clients seek court action to demand deliveries on contracts.

"The really brutal and harsh reality is that Europe is pricing out large parts of the emerging markets. In the long term, this is not sustainable and it's already causing energy shortages in south Asia," Gloystein said.

"Something has to give," he added.

(Reporting By Jarrett Renshaw and Scott DiSavino; Timothy Gardner contributed to this article; Editing by Heather Timmons and Marguerita Choy)
Associated Press

A judge in Colorado on Tuesday ordered a legal adviser for former President Donald Trump's campaign to travel to Georgia to testify before a special grand jury that's looking into whether Trump and others illegally tried to influence the 2020 election in Georgia. Judge Gregory Lammons in Fort Collins, Colorado, made the decision after holding a hearing on a request from Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to compel testimony from attorney Jenna Ellis. Prosecutors are interested in Ellis's role in helping to coordinate and plan legislative hearings in Georgia and others states where false allegations of election fraud were pushed, according to testimony in court.
Actor Paul Rudd continues to be a real-life hero for a 12-year-old boy after his classmates wouldnt sign his yearbook.

"Hes a really cool kid. I still talk to him," Rudd, 53, told "Extra" in an interview at Comic-Con 2022 after discussing the movie "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania."

The "Ant-Man" star first chatted with the seventh-grade student Brody Ridder of Westminster, Colorado, after his mother, Cassandra, shared the news in a Facebook post in May.



Cassandra said her son, Brody, came home from school upset because his classmates didnt sign his yearbook.

PAUL RUDD SENDS A LETTER TO SEVENTH-GRADE BOY WHOSE CLASSMATES DIDNT SIGN HIS YEARBOOK: 'THINGS GET BETTER'

"My poor son. Doesn't seem like it's getting any better. 2 teachers and a total of 2 students wrote in his yearbook despite Brody asking all kinds of kids to sign it," she shared online, adding a picture of her son's yearbook pages.

"Ant-Man" star Paul Rudd said in an interview that seventh-grade student Brody Ridder is a "really cool kid." Getty Images

After Rudd heard Brody's story, he decided to send him a letter and a signed "Ant-Man" helmet  which his mother shared images of on Facebook.

During the "Extra" interview, Rudd discussed his friendly encounter with Brody and called him a "sweet kid."

"My sister told me this story and I said, Is there a way to get in touch with the family?" Rudd asked.

The Marvel actor noted that it was "months before that story came out. All of a sudden people started calling and emailing" him.

Actor Paul Rudd continues to be a real-life hero for a 12-year-old boy after his classmates wouldnt sign his yearbook. Alexi J. Rosenfeld

Rudd expressed to the outlet that he still keeps in contact with the seventh-grade boy.

Cassandra shared the duos exchange via Facebook in June.

In the social media post, Brody sent Rudd a message that said, "Your my favorite superhero," and the actor responded, "You're mine."

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER

Since then, Brodys story has gone viral online and grabbed the attention of high school students to the Broadway cast of "Dear Evan Hansen."

Older students from Westminster, Colorado, pledged to fill his yearbook autograph pages with signatures and invited Brody to New York City to see a show.
The Hill

Fox News host Tucker Carlson predicted former President Trump will be indicted following a search at his Florida residence last week carried out by the FBI in connection with an investigation into classified information reportedly taken from the White House. Theres nothing to see here, thats the line, Carlson said on his show Monday, naming
Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis are returning to the world of That 70s Show  you know, the same old thing they did nearly 20 years ago.

The couple, who played love interests on the beloved 2000s sitcom as teenagers before marrying in real life years later, will reprise their roles as Kelso and Jackie in Netflixs upcoming spinoff That 90s Show.

Kutcher revealed that he and Kunis decided to revisit their star-making characters out of respect for how the show changed the course of their lives.

Mila and I were contemplating it, the actor told Variety Monday at the premiere of his new movie, Vengeance. We thought, Listen, were only in the position that were in because of that show, so lets just go back and do this. We just went back and had fun for a week. It was so random and fun.

It was really nostalgic to be back on the set, Kutcher continued. Its all the same folks that made That 70s Show, so it was pretty bizarre.

Almost all of the shows original cast members will make an appearance in the spinoff, which picks up 15 years after the final episode of the series. That 70s Show ran for eight seasons on Fox until 2006.

Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis attend the 94th Annual Academy Awards together in 2022. (Photo: David Livingston via Getty Images)

Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis attend the 94th Annual Academy Awards together in 2022. (Photo: David Livingston via Getty Images)

That 90s Show will follow Leia (Callie Haverda), the daughter of Eric (Topher Grace) and Donna (Laura Prepon), who bonds with a new generation of Point Place kids under the watchful eye of Kitty (Debra Jo Rupp) and the stern glare of Red (Kurtwood Smith), while visiting them for the summer, according to the official synopsis.

Sex, drugs and rock n roll never dies, it just changes clothes, the logline reads.

Original cast members Wilmer Valderrama and Tommy Chong will also appear in That 90s Show, while Danny Masterson, who is awaiting trial on three separate counts of rape, will not be a part of the series.

Kutcher teased that the show is really funny and praised the new cast of young actors, which includes Ashley Aufderheide, Reyn Doi, Maxwell Acee Donovan, Sam Morelos and Mace Coronel, as phenomenal.

Story continues

The comedy has received a 10-episode order at Netflix, but currently has no release date.

The cast of

The cast of "That '70s Show." (Photo: FOX via Getty Images)

As for Kutcher and Kunis, the spinoff will be the first time theyve shared the screen since becoming a couple in 2012 after years of friendship and on-screen make-outs.

Yep, in the show [we kissed], with no feelings whatsoever, Kunis said on Marc Marons WTF podcast back in 2018 about filming That 70s Show with Kutcher. Its the weirdest story that nobody believes, but its the Gods honest truth. There was nothing there, and it was like ... whatever.

The two began seeing each other years later, after running into each other at an awards show. At the time, Kunis and Kutcher had experienced separate and very public breakups with Macaulay Culkin and Demi Moore, respectively.

She continued, We would have never been together if we didnt both go through what we went through in order to be the people that we were when we reconnected.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.
Belarusian armored vehicles take part in military training near the Ukrainian border

Read also: Command and staff military drills kick off in Belarus near border with Ukraine

Additionally, military UAVs, taking off from Belarusian airfields, have been conducting aerial reconnaissance over Ukraines Volyn Oblast.

The message also notes that the threat of air and missile strikes from Belarusian territory persists.

Belarus has not been an active participant in Russias war against Ukraine so far but has allowed the Russian military free access to its territory for military movements. Russia has used Belarusian territory to launch deadly missile strikes against targets, both military and civilian, across the country.

Read also: Belarus dictator: Putins Ukraine invasion is not going according to plan

Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has likely been pressuring Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko into attacking Ukraine directly and entering the war fully on Russias side, experts say.

However, the Belarusian dictator has thus far resisted calls to deploy his army in Ukraine, likely due to fears of domestic unrest



Read also: Lukashenko says he decided Belarus should take part in attack on Ukraine long ago

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
U.S. ex-Marine Trevor Reed, who was detained in 2019 and accused of assaulting police officers, stands inside a defendants' cage during a court hearing in Moscow. REUTERS/Tatyana Makeyeva/File Photo

Trevor Reed said the White House is "not doing enough" to free Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan.

The former Russian detainee said he believes the Biden administration is able "to get them out extremely fast."

"They clearly have chosen not to do that," Reed added in the NBC News Now interview airing Tuesday.

Former Russian detainee Trevor Reed said the Biden administration is "not doing enough" to free Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan from Russian custody.

"I can't say 100% what the White House is or is not doing," Reed told NBC News Now's Hallie Jackson in an exclusive interview that aired Tuesday evening. "But, in my opinion, the White House has the ability to get them out extremely fast and they clearly have chosen not to do that."

"So no, in my opinion, they are not doing enough," the former Marine continued.

American detainee Paul Whelan holds a sign ahead of a hearing in Moscow. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov

Reed was detained in Russia  like Griner and Whelan  from 2019 to April 2022. He had been sentenced to nine years in prison before he was released as a part of a prisoner swap with the US.

The 30-year-old, whose declining health seemingly spurred the White House to act, added that he's "extremely grateful that the Biden administration and that President Biden made that decision to get me out."

"I think that that was the ethical decision, and I think that they did the right thing," Reed told Jackson. "He ultimately makes that decision  that decision has to come from the top. And I'm grateful for that. And I appreciate that."

"But I think that he has the responsibility to continue doing the right thing," he added.

Brittney Griner is led to a hearing in Russian court. KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP via Getty Images

In response to Insider's request for comment, National Security Council Spokesperson Adrienne Watson said "The President receives regular updates about the status of our negotiations to secure Brittney's release, as well as the release of Paul Whelan and other US nationals who are wrongfully detained or held hostage in Russia and around the world."

"Months ago, he directed his national security team to pursue every avenue to bring Brittney home safely to her family, friends, and loved ones," she added. "The US government continues to work aggressively, pursuing every avenue, to make that happen."

Story continues

Earlier this month, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said the White House is interested in "government-to-government contact" with Russia regarding both Griner's and Whelan's release. Sources have repeatedly told Insider that their best chances of returning stateside anytime soon involves a prisoner exchange with Russia.

Several experts explained that an unorthodox two-for-one swap for notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout could be the key to securing both Griner's and Whelan's freedom.

DEA agents escort Viktor Bout (center) off the plane after he was extradited to the United States. U.S. Department of Justice via Getty Images

A former Marine-turned-security executive, Whelan was arrested at a Moscow hotel in December 2018 over suspicions that he was an American spy. He was subsequently convicted of espionage and sentenced to 16 years in Russian prison, with the possibility of serving time at a labor camp.

Whelan has been deemed "wrongfully detained" by the US government, as has Griner. The two-time Olympic gold medalist has been detained in Russia since February 17, when she was arrested at a Moscow airport after officials alleged to have found hashish oil and vape cartridges in her luggage.

She has since pleaded guilty to the charges against her. Her trial  which legal experts and hostage negotiators told Insider is a "show trial" with a "predetermined" outcome  has been underway since early July.

Griner competes for Team USA at the Tokyo Olympics. AP Photo/Eric Gay

The President has written a letter to Griner and, along with Vice President Kamala Harris, has spoken to her wife on the phone. Just this week, Biden issued an executive order on "bolstering efforts to bring hostages and wrongfully detained United States nationals home," but legal experts and hostage negotiation specialists alike have suggested the move "won't help" the likes of Griner and Whelan.

Griner's defense team has maintained that the Phoenix Mercury center unintentionally brought the marijuana products with her to Russia, as she was packing quickly and forgot to remove them from her luggage. Her lawyers have also asserted that Griner uses cannabis stateside for medical rather than recreational purposes, pointing to a prescription for medical marijuana she received from an Arizona doctor as evidence.

The 31-year-old's legal representation estimated that she'll be sentenced sometime in August. She faces up to 10 years in Russian prison.

Read the original article on Insider
By Ludwig Burger

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - COVID-19 vaccine maker BioNTech said on Tuesday that it and partner Pfizer have filed a complaint with the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts, seeking a judgment that they did not infringe U.S. patents held by rival CureVac.

The lawsuit, filed Monday, said CureVac is trying to profit from the success of BioNTech and Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccines after CureVac's efforts to create its own vaccine failed.

CureVac earlier this month filed a patent lawsuit in Germany against BioNTech over its use of mRNA technology and did not rule out further legal action against BioNTech's partner Pfizer or rival mRNA vaccine maker Moderna Inc.

BioNTech said that CureVac's U.S. patents were equivalent to German patents invoked by CureVac in the German court case.

BioNTech and Pfizer asked the Boston court to declare that their Comirnaty vaccine does not violate three CureVac patents related to RNA-based vaccines. The companies told the court that Comirnaty does not work in the same way as CureVac's patented technology.

One of the patents concerns messenger RNA (mRNA) connected to lipid nanoparticles (LNPs), which the vaccines use to deliver the molecules safely into the body. Pfizer, BioNTech, and Moderna have been hit with U.S. patent lawsuits by other biotech companies this year over the LNP technology used in their vaccines.

Pfizer has said that it expects $32 billion in revenue from Comirnaty this year.

CureVac said in a statement it was aware of BioNTech's legal action but had not yet been formally served.

"We will review the matter legally in detail and represent our position accordingly," it added.

(Reporting by Ludwig Burger and Blake Brittain; Editing by David Bario and Mark Potter)


The 2nd China-Africa Peace and Security Forum Ministerial Meeting is held via video link on July 25, 2022. Chinese State Councilor and Defense Minister Wei Fenghe attends the meeting in Beijing. (mod.gov.cn/Photo by Li Xiaowei)

BEIJING, July 25 -- The second China-Africa Peace and Security Forum Ministerial Meeting was held via video link on July 25, 2022. Chinese State Councilor and Defense Minister Wei Fenghe attended the meeting.

Wei Fenghe firstly read out the congratulatory letter sent to the forum by Chinese President Xi Jinping, and said that President Xi Jinping attaches great importance to China-Africa peace and security cooperation, and puts forward a major initiative to build a China-Africa community with a shared future in the new era, which has pointed out the direction for China and Africa to strengthen unity and cooperation and achieve common security.

Wei pointed out that at present, as the changes unseen in a century combine with the once-in-a-century pandemic, both China and Africa should uphold the spirit of China-Africa friendship and cooperation, practice the Global Security Initiative, and move toward the promising vision of jointly building a security community.

The two sides should maintain close strategic communication, strengthen equipment technological cooperation, deepen joint maritime training exercises, expand exchanges in professional fields, so as to promote the China-Africa peace and security cooperation to make deeper and substantial progress, Wei said.

Representatives from African countries attending the meeting said that the congratulatory letter sent by Chinese President Xi Jinping reflects the great importance he attaches to Africa-China relations. They said China is a trustworthy good friend, good partner and good brother of Africa, Africa appreciates China for its support and assistance to Africa in the areas of peace and security and look forward to strengthening solidarity and cooperation with the Chinese side and making positive contributions to building a Africa-China community with a shared future.

The forum features the theme of Strengthen solidarity and coordination to achieve common security. Nearly 50 ministerial leaders and senior representatives from the African Union (AU) and African countries attended the forum.



General Wei Fenghe delivers a keynote speech at the 2nd China-Africa Peace and Security Forum Ministerial Meeting on July 25, 2022. The 2nd China-Africa Peace and Security Forum Ministerial Meeting was held via video link on Monday. Chinese State Councilor and Defense Minister General Wei Fenghe attended the meeting. (mod.gov.cn/Photo by Li Xiaowei)
Police in Boston are warning the public of dangerous drugs on city streets following a pair of fatal overdoses.

The overdoses occurred in the Hyde Park area, according to the Boston Police Department.

While no illegal drugs are ever considered to be safe, fentanyl or other unknown substances can be easily mixed with those illegal drugs, which can increase the risk of a fatal overdose, the department warned.

The facts and circumstances surrounding these incidents remain under investigation.

Anyone with information is urged to contact detectives at 617-343-5607 or the Boston Police Drug Control Unit at 617-343-5625. Anonymous tips can also be shared by calling 1-800-494-TIPS or by texting the word TIP to CRIME.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.

Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
The Asian community in New Zealand are calling on the government to enact stronger hate crime laws following a racially motivated attack on a Chinese father in an Auckland supermarket.

The unidentified father was grocery shopping at Pak'nSave Albany on July 24 at around 8:30 a.m. when a man verbally and physically harassed him, reported The New Zealand Herald.

The father reportedly noticed a man staring at him as he approached the supermarkets entrance. He thought he accidentally bumped into the man so he turned to apologize to him, but the man allegedly began to verbally harass him.

According to the victims daughter, the man hurled racist remarks at her father, including go back to where youre from.

More from NextShark: Viral Coughing While Asian Video Shows How Irrational Coronavirus Fear Affects Asians Everywhere

When the father tried to ask the man what he had done to him, the altercation reportedly turned physical. The father was allegedly punched in the face and kicked in the head.

He was trying to shield himself and ended up on the floor. The other man kept on kicking him and hitting him, the victims daughter, a student of North Shore High School, told the Herald.

A witness reportedly called the police. The attacker also threw eggs at the victim before fleeing the scene. The father was reportedly covered in egg residue and had received punches and kicks to his head, chest, stomach and lower back.

More from NextShark: Vietnam War Refugee Shot Multiple Times in Attempted Robbery of Sandwich Shop

He was brought to a nearby clinic for assessment. He reportedly suffered multiple bruises to his head.

The father is a first-generation immigrant who was born in China. He has lived in New Zealand for two decades.

It was really scary. Because this morning I was about to go with him, his daughter said. He was telling the police like hes really lucky he didnt bring me along.

More from NextShark: Elderly Asian woman sucker punched in Manhattan now feels closer to normal, son says

This is a shocking incident and a reminder that abuse or violence of any kind is not acceptable and will absolutely not be tolerated on our premises, Foodstuffs NZ public relations head Emma Wooster was quoted as saying.

Story continues

The police are currently investigating the incident and are calling on anyone with information to reach out.

While we are in the very early stages of our inquiries, we are keeping an open mind into the motivation of this assault, including if it was racially motivated, police told Newshub.

More from NextShark: Oakland Chinatown suffers 2 robberies in 2 days, bystander who intervenes is pistol-whipped

The daughter of the victim noted the rise of racially motivated hate incidents in Auckland.

At school as well, people are not afraid now to bully people that are from different cultures, she said. And they think its normal, because everyone around is also doing the same thing.

The incident has prompted Race Relations Commissioner Meng Foon to call for stronger hate crime laws. He said the COVID-19 pandemic brought on a remarkable spike in racism directed toward the Asian community in New Zealand.

That has quietened down, but its always been there, Foon told the Herald. And that is one of the primary reasons we really encourage the government to actually move on the strengthening of the legislation on hate crime.

We really need them to give more resources to the police. But it still comes with the legislation first. The police are powerless to actually bring the full brunt of the law, he added.

The New Zealand government previously proposed to make changes to their laws governing hate speech last year. The proposal included designating new criminal offenses with harsher penalties and providing more protection for minority groups.

This type of attack is not new to Chinese people, Foon said. Racism actually kills, and thats why its very important that the Government gives law enforcement and the courts all the tools it can to actually stamp out racism.

Featured Image via Google Maps
Frank Skinner has said he is deeply ashamed of his treatment of former footballer Jason Lee, describing his jokes about the sportsman as bullying.

In the Nineties, comedians Skinner and David Baddiel had a BBC show called Fantasy Football League, in which they ridiculed footballers.

Much of their mockery was directed at Jason Lee, the Black Nottingham Forest player. Baddiel would portray Lee as dim-witted, with a pineapple on top of his head to imitate Lees hairstyle. Skinner would put on a strong Northern accent to portray Lees then-manager, Frank Clark.

At one point, Baddiel wore blackface when depicting Lee.

It was bad, yeah, Skinner told The Guardian in a new interview. I spoke to Dave about it recently, from a how-the-f***-did-that-ever-happen point of view. I still dont know how it happened. I know why we took the piss out of him, because Id watched him on Match of the Day missing several goals, so a sketch about him being unable to put a piece of paper into a bin worked.

But when Dave walked out from makeup [in blackface] that night, I still dont know why one or both of us or someone there didnt say what the f*** is happening?

Skinner added: I cant look back on it now without seeing it as bullying. There was a big response to it. People started to send in loads of pictures of pineapples, and so it ran and ran and ran. Looking back, it was a bullying campaign. And its awful. And yeah, Im ashamed of it.

And weve said that to each other without any Guardian journalist to impress. It wouldnt be too much to say were both deeply ashamed.

Frank Skinner, David Baddiel (Shutterstock)

Skinner said hes never done the big public apology because it doesnt sit well with him. He said: They look a bit like union card apologies: I just need to keep working; Ill apologise for anything, just let me keep working. I didnt want to be part of that.

Baddiel has issued a number of apologies on social media, but in 2020 Lee called out the pair for never apologising to him personally.

I never received an apology from Baddiel and Skinner, he said, adding: Its never too late. I think that would be good for maybe my children to hear that, and it would show them that in todays day and age people maybe are more remorseful, and people are having to look at how they act.
Border agents in California rescued 11 illegal immigrants who became lost in the mountains just north of the U.S.-Mexico border on Saturday, officials said.

The El Centro station was notified around 12:20 a.m. of a 911 call from a migrant who stated he was lost with a group of 10 others and needed help, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said Monday.

Agents in the field responded to the phones last known GPS coordinates and located the lost migrants just before 1:30 a.m. one mile north of the U.S.-Mexico border in the Jacumba Wilderness region in Imperial County, the agency said.

No one in the group required medical attention.

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT GOTAWAYS CROSSING US-MEXICO BORDER NUMBER MORE THAN HALF A MILLION, DHS SOURCES SAY

Agents determined that all 11 individuals were Nicaraguan nationals and were in the country illegally, CBP said. All 11 migrants were taken into custody.

The rescue comes just days after Border Patrol agents from El Centro rescued 16 illegal immigrants in the same region after they also called 911 for help.

Border agents have rescued 264 individuals who were lost, in distress or abandoned by smugglers since October, the agency said.

Meanwhile, DHS sources told Fox News on Monday that more than half a million known "gotaways" have snuck into the U.S. since fiscal year 2022 began in October.

The Biden administration has repeatedly claimed the border is "closed," "secure" and under "operational control" despite the growing number of migrants overwhelming the border.

DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas again dismissed claims about the border not being secure while speaking at the Aspen Security Forum last week.

However, law enforcement working at the border and those who live in border communities have since pushed back against Mayorkas claims.
A Cambridge man recently plead guilty to a bill of information, containing one count of drug trafficking, a second-degree felony.

Thomas L. K. Harding Sr. was arrested on May 26 by CODE Task Force investigators from the Guernsey County Sheriffs Office following a surveillance due to complaints of suspected drug activity. Once taken into custody, detectives recovered a large amount of suspected methamphetamine and suspected fentanyl along with an undisclosed amount of cash on him.

According to Guernsey County Prosecutor Lindsey Angler, a bill of information is an alternative way for a person to enter a guilty plea to a felony offense.

"Instead of taking the case through the grand jury, the defendant has already agreed that he is guilty," Angler said. "We are going to be able to skip a pretrial, skip the final status plea trial and and we are going to be able to go right to sentencing."

Harding signed a waiver of indictment in open court on Wednesday.

Prosecutor expects Thomas Harding to spend at least five years in prison

Angler said a joint recommendation was made to the judge for a sentence of four to six years to be served consecutively with a sentence for the time he has remaining on his parole.

"Even though we are recommending a sentence of four to six years, since he is under supervision of the Adult Parole Authority he is going to have more time that that," Angler said. "I expect him to be gone from the community for at least five years, likely more."

kgarabrandt@gannett.com

https://twitter.com/Kristi_G_1223

This article originally appeared on The Daily Jeffersonian: Cambridge man pleads guilty to drug trafficking
On July 24, 2022, Rev. Erik Pohlmeier, the newly-installed 11th Bishop of the Diocese of St. Augustine, knocks to be admitted to his new church home, the Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine, to celebrate his first Mass there. A reception at The Treasury on the Plaza followed the service.

Bishop Erik T. Pohlmeier officially took possession of his cathedral church, the Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine, Sunday morning, pledging to stand in the breach calling on the power of God to protect the flock, and asking them to respond to God with all their hearts.

Pohlmeier, 51, formerly pastor of Christ the King Parish in Little Rock, Arkansas, was ordained as a bishop on Friday and installed that same day as the 11th bishop of the Diocese of St. Augustine. He has been a priest for 24 years. Archbishop Thomas Wenski of the Archdiocese of Miami led the ceremony, which took place at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Jacksonville, the largest church in the diocese.

Pohlmeier succeeds Bishop Felipe J. Estevez who led the diocese for 11 years.

Moving on: Sister Suzan Foster ends 50 years in education, retires from St. Joseph Academy in St. Augustine

Coming soon: Sisters of St. Joseph to restore former segregated school to new St. Augustine community center

The Diocese was founded March 11, 1870, with Agustin Verot appointed the first bishop.

Sundays 11 a.m. Mass at the cathedral began with Pohlmeier raising a mallet and knocking three times on the front door, a sound that resonated through the packed church. The Rev. John Tetlow, rector/pastor of the Cathedral Parish, opened the door and the procession of priests and deacons led Pohlmeier to the sanctuary.

What a wonderful moment this is, Tetlow said in his welcome to Pohlmeier during the Mass. On behalf of the city of St. Augustine, the community of the first parish in the United States, we welcome you with great joy.

Tetlow acknowledged the deep roots of faith in St. Augustine at Mission Nombre de Dios, where the city and the parish were founded on Sept. 8. 1565. He told Pohlmeier the parish looks forward to you leading us more deeply into the sacred mysteries (of the faith).

Honoring tradition

Pohlmeier, in his homily, spoke of the wonderful historic reality of being in St. Augustine where the faith was brought to these shores in 1565.

Story continues

He shared the newness of being a bishop, saying there are literally multiple hats and that I have to know when to put them on and how to keep them on  and where are the best coffee shops around  so many things I am learning as a bishop.

Why does all this matter? Do I really need all these different kind of clothes that I have to wear? Why are there more rules about certain things?

He said they matter because it reminds Catholics that we are part of a bigger, more global community even beyond Our Lord coming to these shores.

On July 24, 2022, Rev. Erik Pohlmeier, the newly-installed 11th Bishop of the Diocese of St. Augustine, celebrates his first Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine. A reception at The Treasury on the Plaza followed the service.

He spoke of the symbol of the crozier, the shepherds staff that bishops carry, symbolic of leading the flock.

At times I will need that staff to fend off the enemy to protect the flock. At other times, I will use it to rein in the sheep.

He called his becoming a bishop an unbelievable honor.

A practical learning for him is how to carry the crozier in one hand and raising his right hand in blessing the people as he walks down the aisle in procession.

As he closed his remarks, he said, Be sure of this: Your life, your needs, will be raised to God by your shepherd.

Later at a reception, he described the day as grace-filled, and said he was ready to get to work.

The Most Rev. Thomas S. Willis, pastor of St. Mark the Evangelist Mission in northwest St. Johns County, is director of liturgy for the diocese of St. Augustine.

He said the ritual of taking possession of the cathedral happens when a bishop is installed in a church or somewhere other than the cathedral church. Different reasons exist for the decision to hold the ceremony elsewhere.

In this case, the cathedral seats just under 1,000 whereas St. Josephs capacity is 2,000-plus, the largest church in the diocese. It allowed for the larger crowd of priests, church dignitaries from Florida, Arkansas and Washington, and Catholics invited to represent their parishes from throughout northeast Florida.

A portrait of the Pohlmeier family on the altar includes the newly-installed Bishop Erik Pohlmeier, center, his brother, Deacon Jason Pohlmeier, left, and his father, Deacon Tom Pohlmeier. On July 24, 2022, Rev. Erik Pohlmeier, the 11th Bishop of the Diocese of St. Augustine, was welcomed into his new church home, the Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine, to celebrate his first Mass there. A reception at The Treasury on the Plaza followed the service.

A family in faith

A diocesan spokeswoman estimated Sundays crowd at 850. Among those attending were Pohlmeiers numerous family members, led by his parents, Sharon and Tom, of Paris, Arkansas.

Sharon Pohlmeier said she never expected her son to be a bishop. When he became a priest, she said, she was not completely surprised because he is always so open to what God wants him to do. I think he will be a great bishop.

Tom Pohlmeier is a permanent deacon at his parish, St. Joseph in Paris, Arkansas. He participated in the Mass.

I was just overwhelmed by all of it. When he knocked on the door, I said, This is the final thing. This is it.

Tom became a deacon after his son was ordained. He had a lot of influence on me. We are proud and sentimental  he is still our son. We know he will do a good job as bishop.

His brother, Jason, also is a deacon and participated in Sundays Mass.

Rev. Mark Stengel, OSB, is a member of Subiaco Abbey in Subiaco, Arkansas, and Pohlmeiers second cousin. The Pohlmeiers live 5 miles from the Abbey.

I played with my cousin on their farm as a boy, he said.

Over the years, they have stayed close. He is excited for him in his new role and believes the people in the Diocese will respond well to his leadership.

Parishioners are pleased

Debbie Walker, an usher at the Mass Sunday, said Pohlmeiers homily was absolutely so light- infusing. I feel like I know this bishop, like he has been my best friend forever. I just want to sit and talk to him. He is funny, smart, good-looking, totally amazing.

Patty Mark, a member of the cathedral choir, said she first heard the news from friends in Little Rock where he was their pastor.

They were sad to lose him but were happy for St. Augustine. I knew it was a good choice, she said. I was impressed by his candor, humility, sense of humor and enthusiasm for St. Augustine and the Diocese.

Cheryl Kavanaugh, a lector and volunteer in Cathedral Parish, said Pohlmeier gave her a sense of trust, energy and motivation. I feel we have a true shepherd. He instilled in us the idea that we need to do more, not just come to church on Sunday, but to reach out every day and help others.

St. Augustine is the mother diocese of the seven in Florida, according to spokeswoman Kathleen Bagg. It has a Catholic population of more than 153,000 in 17 counties in northeast and north central Florida. The Diocese of Little Rock has approximately 154,000 Catholics in Arkansas 75 counties.

This article originally appeared on St. Augustine Record: St. Augustine cathedral welcomes 11th bishop since 1870
SheKnows

Reddit is rallying around a dad who wont pay for school supplies for good reason. He took to the AITA forum to explain that his ex-wife recently took his daughter to buy all the back-to-school necessities. An important note: this ex-wife lives with her boyfriend (with whom she had an affair) and his daughter, who []
A parade unit of the Chinese Armed Forces during the Victory Day military parade in Red Square marking the 75th anniversary of the victory in World War II, on June 24, 2020 in Moscow, Russia. Sergey Pyatakov/Getty Images

China once again warned House Speaker Nancy Pelosi against visiting Taiwan.

The Chinese Ministry of Defense signaled there could be a military response.

"If the US insists on taking its own course, the Chinese military will never sit idly by," a spokesperson said.

China suggested Tuesday that there could be a military response if House Speaker Nancy Pelosi decides to visit Taiwan.

If Pelosi visits Taiwan, it would "seriously violate the one-China principle" and "seriously harm China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and seriously damage the political foundation of China-US relations," Senior Colonel Tan Kefei, a spokesperson for China's Ministry of Defense, said.

Tan said Beijing urges the US to take "practical actions" to uphold its commitment to avoid supporting Taiwan's independence and "must not arrange for Pelosi to visit the Taiwan region."

"If the US insists on taking its own course, the Chinese military will never sit idly by, and it will definitely take strong actions to thwart any external force's interference," Tan added.

The House Speaker was set to visit Taiwan in April but cancelled the trip after testing positive for COVID-19. She is now tentatively planning to travel to Taiwan in August, which was first reported by the Financial Times.

Pelosi's potential trip to Taiwan has sparked a debate in Washington at a time when tensions between the US and China have running high. "The military thinks it's not a good idea right now," President Joe Biden told reporters last Wednesday.

Some Biden officials are worried that China might declare a no-fly zone over Taiwan in an effort to ground Pelosi's flight, which could drastically raise tensions in the region, CNN has reported.

Meanwhile, some Republicans  including close allies of former President Donald Trump  are championing the idea of Pelosi going to Taiwan, arguing that it is necessary to send a tough message to China.

Pelosi has not confirmed that she's traveling to Taiwan, telling reporters that she never discusses travel plans. But she also told reporters last Thursday that "it's important for us to show support for Taiwan," while underscoring that "none of us has ever said we're for independence when it comes to Taiwan." She added, "That's up to Taiwan to decide."

Story continues

If she moves forward with the trip, Pelosi would be the highest-ranking US lawmaker to visit Taiwan in 25 years. China, which regards the self-ruled democratic island as a breakaway province, has expressed vehement opposition to the potential trip, signaling that it would view the visit as offering support to Taiwanese independence.

The US has not had formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan since 1979, when it established official ties with the Chinese government. That said, the US still maintains a robust relationship with Taiwan and is its top weapons supplier. Under the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979, the US is compelled to provide Taiwan with defensive capabilities.

The US government's ongoing support for Taiwan remains a constant point of tension with Beijing. For years, Washington took an intentionally vague approach to the question of whether it would respond militarily if China attacked Taiwan  a policy known as "strategic ambiguity." But Biden has offered mixed messages on this front, which has added to the contentious dynamic with Beijing.

Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine has also complicated matters. Many leading China watchers and foreign policy experts have warned that Beijing is closely watching what happens in the war in terms of how it might approach Taiwan moving forward. Along these lines, the Biden administration is seemingly looking to tread lightly on this issue so as to not exacerbate the already thorny state of relations between the US and China.

Read the original article on Business Insider
BEIJING (Reuters) -The leaders of China and Indonesia pledged to scale up trade and expand cooperation in areas such as agriculture and food security, following a rare visit to COVID-wary China by a foreign head of state.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo met Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang in Beijing on Tuesday. China last hosted foreign leaders during the Winter Olympics in February, with Russian President Vladimir Putin among those who visited Beijing.

The commitment by China, Indonesia's No.1 trading partner, to deepen trade relations and fully back Indonesia's chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) next year is an economic and political win for Jokowi, as the Indonesian president is widely known.

China hailed Indonesia as a model strategic partner, in contrast to its sharp words for the United States in recent months over issues from Taiwan and Ukraine to trade practices and the South China Sea.

"(China and Indonesia) have acted proactively and with a strong sense of responsibility to maintain regional peace and stability," according to the joint statement.

"They have thus set an example of major developing countries seeking strength through unity and win-win cooperation."

Indonesia is an important source of ferronickel, coal, copper and natural gas for the world's second-largest economy.

In the first half of 2022, Chinese imports from Indonesia, mostly commodities, surged 34.2% on year, the most after Russia.

China has expressed commitment to import an additional one million tonnes of crude palm oil from Indonesia, said the Indonesian state palace.

Jokowi met Li and Xi at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, part of a sprawling complex of villas, lakes and gardens where many foreign leaders, including the late U.S. President Richard Nixon, have been received.

As president of the G20 this year, Jokowi has sought to mend rifts within the group exposed by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Story continues

Last month he travelled to Ukraine to meet President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and also to Moscow to hold talks with Putin. Jokowi said Indonesia was willing to be a "communication bridge" between the two.

China, while not condemning its strategic partner Russia for the invasion, has repeatedly called for a cessation of hostilities and has offered to help promote peace talks.

Both Indonesia and Russia are part of the G20, with the former holding the group's presidency this year.

Some G20 member-states have threatened to boycott this year's leaders summit, on the island of Bali on Nov. 15-16, if Putin attends.

Jokowi invited Xi to Indonesia to attend the November summit, according to their joint statement.

"President Xi expressed his gratitude and wished the summit a complete success," it said.

(Reporting by Ryan Woo; Additional reporting by Stanley Widianto in Jakarta and Stella Qiu in Beijing; Editing by Michael Perry, William Maclean and Nick Macfie)
NY Daily News

NEW YORK  Jose Rodriguez was tired, hungry and beaten down when he crossed the border from Mexico into Texas after a two-month journey. He didnt have money, and he didnt have many options. Although he had originally hoped to go to Miami, he heard there was a free bus to New York. Officials told him that if he boarded the bus, thered be help waiting for him. Rodriguez believed there was a ...
ReporterSome media claimed that over the U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosis planned visit to Taiwan, the Chinese side might make military response. Whats the Chinese militarys comments on that?

Chinese Defense Ministry Spokesperson Senior Colonel Tan Kefei: Over the U.S. House Speaker Pelosi's potential visit to Taiwan, Chinese side has repeatedly made clear our firm opposition to the visit. As the third most important figure" of the U.S. government, if Speaker Pelosi visits Taiwan, the move will seriously violate the one-China principle and the provisions in the three China-U.S. joint communiques, severely endanger China's sovereignty and territorial integrity. It will have a critically negative impact on the political foundation of China-U.S. relations, and is bound to cause extremely serious harm to the relations between the two countries and their militaries, and lead to further escalation of tension across the Taiwan Straits.

The Chinese side urges the U.S. side to take practical actions to fulfill its commitment of not supporting "Taiwan independence.", and must not arrange for Pelosi to visit the Taiwan region. Should the US side insist on doing otherwise, the Chinese military will never sit idle by, and will certainly take strong and resolute measures to thwart any interference by external forces and secessionist attempts for "Taiwan independence", and firmly defend Chinas national sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Male same-sex couple getting married

Nine years ago last month, our client Edie Windsor won her long fight to have this country treat her marriage with her late wife, Thea Spyer, with the same respect and dignity as straight marriages. In her case, United States v. Windsor, the Supreme Court struck down section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act, which deprived lesbian and gay couples of the intangible dignity and tangible benefits of marriage under federal law. During argument of the case at our nations highest court, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg famously remarked that there are two kinds of marriage, full marriage, and skim-milk marriage. And Edie deserved a full marriage. Two years later, the Supreme Court, in Obergefell v. Hodges, recognized the constitutional right of gay people to marry nationwide under the Fourteenth Amendment, in a ruling authored by Justice Anthony Kennedy and joined by Ginsburg and three others. But if weve learned one thing this year, it is that no American should take any constitutional right for granted.

Last week, U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler introduced the Respect for Marriage Act, which passed the House on Tuesday, with 47 Republicans voting in favor. The bill is now before the Senate, sponsored by Sen. Dianne Feinstein and cosponsored by Sens. Tammy Baldwin, Susan Collins, and Rob Portman (the latter being a Republican), and passage there will require at least 10 Republican votes. The proposed legislation would repeal section 2 of DOMA by prohibiting states from denying full faith and credit to same-sex marriages in other states.

Some might say we dont need this law because Obergefell guaranteed marriage equality in all 50 states. But as recent news has made clear, the court has dramatically shifted since 2015, and rights that were once considered firmly rooted in precedent are suddenly not so rooted at all. As Professor Leah Litman put in her testimony before Congress this week, the recent decision to overturn Roe v. Wade showcase[s] a selective attention to precedent, to history, [and] to facts. And although there are legal commentators who have suggested that it is hysterical or hyperbolic that the Dobbs ruling could serve as a road map for the demise of other substantial rights, including marriage equality  those commentators have been widely off in their predictions before and may likely be off again.

In fact, we dont need to read too far into the tea leaves to see where the Court may be headed. Although Justice Samuel Alitos opinion in Dobbs paid lip service to the notion that the decision concerned only the right to abortion and no other right, the other 78 pages of his opinion suggest otherwise. The fundamental premise of Justice Alitos Dobbs opinion is that the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution, the clause that gives rise to the fundamental right to marry, does not protect a right to abortion because abortion is not deeply rooted in this Nations history and tradition and implicit in the concept of ordered liberty. In both Windsor and Obergefell, Justice Alito ardently argued against a right to marriage based on this same premise, noting that the right to same-sex marriage is not part of this Nations history and tradition and is not among the deeply rooted rights. So which Justice Alito should we believe? Justice Clarence Thomas has already called for a reconsideration of numerous fundamental rights in his concurrence, including explicitly recommending that the court revisit Obergefell.

If the issue of marriage equality were to make its way up to the Supreme Court soon and Obergefell were to be overturned, we would face a return to state laws that refuse to recognize otherwise legally valid marriages of same-sex couples from other states. A married couple on a road trip with their children from New York to California, for example, would lose legal recognition of their marriage by driving across many, if not most, of the states along the way. That is why Congress must pass the Respect for Marriage Act.

We would be remiss not to mention that almost 10 years ago, we opposed similar legislation. Specifically, after I argued Windsor but before the decision had been handed down by the Supreme Court, a small contingent in Congress wanted to introduce a similar bill. Then, legislation would not have advanced marriage equality but would have lent support to its opponents. During the Windsor oral argument, Chief Justice John Roberts implied that lesbian and gay Americans were so politically powerful that political figures [were] falling over themselves to endorse [their] side of the case. We didnt want to give the Supreme Court the option to sit on the sidelines. And contrary to Chief Justice Roberts's suggestion, at that time, lesbian and gay Americans did not hold extensive political power and the legislation was certain to fail. In fact, when the legislation was introduced after the Windsor decision, it did not even make it out of committee  in the House or the Senate.

It was the right thing to oppose the legislation then, but it is the right time now for it to pass. Not only has there been a sea change in public opinion on marriage equality, but there is a realistic opportunity for Congress to get the job done and safeguard this fundamental right. We cannot make the same mistake twice as we did with Roe and rely on the inconsistent statements of six individuals on the Supreme Court. I implore all the Republican senators currently on the sidelines to think hard  do they really want all their married LGBT friends, family members, and colleagues to risk becoming unmarried simply by crossing state lines?

Roberta Kaplan and Julie Fink are attorneys who represented Edith Windsor in her historic, successful challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act before the Supreme Court.

Views expressed in The Advocates opinion articles are those of the writers and do not necessarily represent the views of The Advocate or our parent company, Equal Pride.

Follow More Advocate News on Pride Today Below
There is a "strong association" between the early outbreak and the sale of live animals in a market, scientists say

Scientists say there is "compelling evidence" that Wuhan's Huanan seafood and wildlife market was at the centre of the Covid-19 outbreak.

Two peer-reviewed studies published on Tuesday re-examine information from the initial outbreak in the Chinese city.

One of the studies shows that the earliest known cases were clustered around that market.

The other uses genetic information to track the timing of the outbreak.

It suggests there were two variants introduced into humans in November or early December 2019.

Together, the researchers say this evidence paints a picture that Sars-Cov-2 was present in live mammals that were sold at Huanan market in late 2019. They say it was transmitted into people who were working or shopping there in two separate "spillover events", where a human contracted the virus from an animal.

One of the researchers involved, virologist Prof David Robertson from the University of Glasgow, told BBC News that he hoped the studies would "correct the false record that the virus came from a lab".

Pandemic epicentre

Two years of scientific effort to understand the virus that causes Covid-19 have provided these researchers with a more informed perspective.

This has enabled them to address a key conundrum in the earliest patient data: That out of hundreds of people who were hospitalised with Covid-19 in Wuhan, only about 50 had a direct, traceable link to the market.

"That was really puzzling that most cases could not be linked to the market," said Prof Robertson. "But knowing what we know about the virus now, it's exactly what we would expect - because many people only get very mildly ill, so they would be out in the community transmitting the virus to others and the severe cases would be hard to link to each other."

This Covid-19 case-mapping research found that a large percentage of early patients - with no known connection to the market, meaning they neither worked nor shopped there - did turn out to live near it.

Story continues

This supports the idea that the market was the epicentre of the epidemic, said Prof Michael Worobey, lead author and biologist from the University of Arizona, with sellers getting infected first and setting off a "chain of infections among community members in the surrounding area".

"In a city covering more than 3,000 sq miles (7,770 sq km), the area with the highest probability of containing the home of someone who had one of the earliest Covid-19 cases in the world was an area of a few city blocks, with the Huanan market smack dab inside it," said Prof Worobey.

That study also zoomed in on the market itself. The scientists created a map of the samples - swabs of fluid from drains and on market stalls - that tested positive for the virus.

"Most of the positive samples clustered around the south-western side of the market," explained Prof Robertson. "And that's the location where we report species like raccoon dogs being sold.

"So we have confirmation of animals we now know are susceptible [to Sars-Cov-2, the virus that causes Covid-19] were sold there in late 2019."

The lab leak theory

Over the last two years, the search for the origin of the deadly pandemic turned from a scientific investigation into a toxic political row.

Viewers in the UK can watch this BBC documentary on the hunt for Covid-19's origins.

One of the subjects of a fierce international blame game - primarily between politicians in the US and China - was a theory that the virus could have been leaked from a Wuhan laboratory, the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

But that hypothesis, said Prof Stuart Neil from Kings College, "can't explain the data".

"We're now as sure as we can be, based on the fragmentary evidence we do have, that this was a spillover event that happened in the market."

Crowded, live animal markets, many scientists agree, provide an ideal transmission hotspot for new diseases to "spill over" from animals. And in the 18 months up to the beginning of the pandemic, a separate study showed that nearly 50,000 animals - of 38 different species - were sold at markets in Wuhan.

Prof Neil said the pandemic was very likely to have been a consequence of an "unhealthy, cruel and unhygienic practice that Chinese authorities had been warned about".

The major risk of being distracted by looking for someone in a laboratory to blame for all this, he added, "is that we run the risk of letting this happen again because we've focused on the wrong problem."
Good Morning America

Authorities in Northern California have announced a new phase in the ongoing search for a teenager who disappeared after a party 11 days ago. Kiely Rodni, 16, was last seen on Aug. 6 around 12:30 a.m. local time near the Prosser Family Campground in the small town of Truckee, some 20 miles north of Lake Tahoe. "Her cellphone went dead and became virtually untraceable shortly after," Angela Musallam, public information officer for the Placer County Sheriff's Office, told ABC News during an interview that aired Aug. 9 on "Good Morning America."
Cristiano Ronaldo has expressed a desire to leave Manchester United this summer (Manchester United via Getty Images)

Cristiano Ronaldo has returned to Manchester United with his agent Jorge Mendes ahead of talks over his future.

The 37-year-old is expected to sit down with manager Erik ten Hag for the first time since informing United of his intention to leave this summer.

Ronaldo was due to return to training with the rest of United's international players on 4 July but remained in Portugal, citing a "family issue".

United accepted Ronaldo's explanation for his absence and the five-time Ballon d'Or winner did not travel with the rest of the squad on the pre-season tour of Thailand and Australia.

Ronaldo is understood to want to join a club with a realistic chance to win the Champions League and compete for major honours but arrived at Uniteds Carrington training base with agent Mendes on Tuesday morning.

United have insisted that the Portugal international is not for sale, that he has a year remaining on his contract at Old Trafford and that he is a key part of Ten Hag's plans.

Ronaldo is yet to work under Ten Hag, who suggested last week that an option in the 37-year-olds contract to extend until 2024 could be triggered.

I am well informed, he also has also an option (of another year), the United manager said.

Yes [he could stay beyond this season], but to be honest, of course, I have signed here for three years, but in football its short-term as well. We have to win from the start, so I dont look that far ahead.

I have a strategy, its a process, it takes time but in the end, we have to make sure from the outset there is a winning team.

Ten Hag has also suggested that Ronaldo may not be considered for selection for Uniteds opening Premier League fixture against Brighton and Hove Albion on 7 August, having not trained with the rest of the squad.

Ronaldo scored 24 goals in all competitions last season following his return to Old Trafford but was part of a side responsible for Uniteds lowest points tally of the Premier League era.
A day care owner was arrested in a Washington, D.C., hotel after she allegedly shot her husband, Black Enterprise reports. The owner, Shanteari Weems, accused her husband of molesting multiple children at her day care.

Daycare owner shoots her husband for allegedly molesting children at the center pic.twitter.com/K3cZEO1SO4  My Mixtapez (@mymixtapez) July 23, 2022

The 50-year-old Maryland native was taken into custody Thursday night. According to WUSA9, the incident began around 7:40 p.m. at the Mandarin Oriental in Southwest D.C. Authorities say at least one shot was fired in the hotel room.

D.C. police confiscated two guns from Weems, and authorities found her husband conscious and breathing.

A report from the Superior Court for the District of Columbia alleges that Weems shot and wounded her husband, who she has been married to for five years, Black Enterprise reports. It also alleges that when the 50-year-old was asked why she shot him, she said because he was a child molester. It states that she said some of the children at the day care and their parents told her of the abuse.

Authorities found a letter in the hotel room that matched Weems story. She allegedly wrote the letter stating she hoped to paralyze her husband for justice.

Regarding what happened in the hotel room, Weems said she confronted him there and things escalated. The situation became violent and when he approached her, she pulled her gun.

According to The Baltimore Sun, Sgt. Gladys Brown, a spokesperson for Baltimore County Police, announced that Weems day care center, Lil Kidz Kastle, is closed as the investigation moves forward.

Brown also noted that Baltimore County will investigate the incident and Weems accusations.

Baltimore County detectives are currently monitoring the recent developments in Washington D.C., she said. Due to the sensitive circumstances leading up to this incident, the Baltimore County Police Department continues to support the families impacted.
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.
The U.S. on Monday condemned Myanmars military regime for executing four pro-democracy activists.

Well talk about the executions. Plus: the lines former President Trump cut from a Jan. 7, 2021, speech condemning the rioters who stormed the Capitol a day prior.

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.

Blinken: Myanmar military executions reprehensible

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday denounced as reprehensible the Myanmar military juntas recent executions of pro-democracy activists and elected leaders.

In a statement, Blinken said the U.S. condemns in the strongest terms the executions of Ko Jimmy, Phyo Zeya Thaw, Hla Myo Aung and Aung Thura Zaw over their exercise of their fundamental freedoms.



These reprehensible acts of violence further exemplify the regimes complete disregard for human rights and the rule of law, Blinken said.

Who was executed? Phyo Zeya Thaw was a former lawmaker who was convicted in January for offenses involving possession of explosives and terrorism, The Associated Press reported.

Ko Jimmy was a former pro-democracy activist who was convicted of violating counterterrorism laws, according to the outlet. Meanwhile Hla Myo Aung and Aung Thura Zaw had been convicted of killing of woman in March 2021.

Attempts to extinguish democracy:The regimes sham trials and these executions are blatant attempts to extinguish democracy; these actions will never suppress the spirit of the brave people of Burma, Blinken said.

The United States joins the people of Burma in their pursuit of freedom and democracy and calls on the regime to respect the democratic aspirations of the people who have shown they do not want to live one more day under the tyranny of military rule, he added.

Read more here.

Trump cut lines from speech condemning rioters

Former President Trump cut lines from a Jan. 7, 2021, address condemning the rioters who entered the Capitol the day prior as not representing him or our movement.

Story continues

A draft of the speech marked up by Trump, shared by Jan. 6 committee member Rep. Elaine Luria (D-Va.), includes additional evidence not shown by the panel during its Thursday hearing, its final one expected this summer.

What got cut? The draft shows Trump used a marker to cross out a line saying, I want to be very clear. You do not represent me. You do not represent our movement.



Trump also cut other lines dealing with the consequences rioters should face.



The prepared draft said he would encourage the Justice Department to prosecute rioters to the fullest extent of the law. We must send a clear message. Not with mercy, but with justice. Legal consequences must be swift and firm.

How did aides respond? A number of top White House aides say they were unsure why Trump made the changes he did, but they did oppose them.

That needed to be stated forcefully, Pat Cipollone, Trumps White House counsel, said in an interview with the committee.

Why Trump gave the speech: Cassidy Hutchinson, an aide to Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows, said the primary motivation for the address was to get out a stronger message condemning the riot than the administration had given had the day before. But there was also concern that the Cabinet might seek to remove Trump from office.

The secondary reason for that was think about what might happen in the final 15 days of your presidency if we dont do this. Theres already talks about invoking the 25th Amendment. You need this as cover, she said in video shared by the committee.

Read more here.

FROM THE WEEKEND: BIPARTISAN HOUSE MEMBERS GO TO UKRAINE

A bipartisan House delegation met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Ukraines capital of Kyiv on Saturday as the countrys war with Russia hits the five-month mark.

Who went to Ukraine? Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) said in a statement along with the four other members of the delegation that they saw firsthand during their visit how Russian President Vladimir Putins war has failed to achieve its goals. The other members of the delegation are Reps. Michael Waltz (R-Fla.), Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.) and Mike Quigley (D-Ill.).

Briefing with Zelensky: Zelensky briefed the members of the delegation on the missile strikes that Russia launched against Ukraine in the past day, specifically targeting the port of Odessa. The city announced that four missiles were launched toward the port, but two were shot down before impact.

Zelensky also told the delegation about the planned reconstruction of Ukraine after the war ends, according to the statement. He said the first step is implementing the Fast Recovery Plan, which would focus on quickly restoring destroyed residential, educational and medical infrastructure.



We appeal to our partners, in particular the United States, with a proposal to take an active part in the implementation of this ambitious but extremely important project, he said.

Their takeaways: The delegation members said the war has violently disrupted the lives of Ukrainian civilians and that they saw evidence of Russian atrocities in Irpin and Bucha, two cities in the province surrounding Kyiv.

Four months since Vladimir Putins unlawful further invasion began, President Zelenskyy and the people of Ukraine continue to inspire the world with their courageous fight for their freedom, sovereignty, and democracy, the delegation said.

The lawmakers said they will continue to seek ways to help Zelensky and the Ukrainian people as effectively as they can as they continue their brave stand.

Read more here.

ON TAP FOR TOMORROW

The Potomac Officers Club will host the 2022 Air Force Summit at 7 a.m.

The Center for Strategic and International Studies will host the Twelfth Annual South China Sea Conference at 9 a.m.

The Department of Defense will host RDER Industry Engagement Day at 9 a.m.

The Business Council for International Understanding will host a roundtable discussion with Roundtable Discussion with Mr. Michael Laychak, Director, Defense Technology Security Administration, at 10:30 a.m.

The American Security Project will host a discussion on NATOs Next Act  A Conversation with Ambassador Doug Lute at 12 p.m.

The Atlantic Council will host A conversation about Taiwan with the 27th US Secretary of Defense Mark T. Esper at 12 p.m.

WHAT WERE READING

US bolsters cyber alliance to counter rising Iran threat

Two Americans dead in Donbas region of Ukraine

Biden keeps his distance from Jan. 6 panel

Thats it for today! Check out The Hills Defense and National Security pages for the latest coverage. See you tomorrow!

VIEW FULL VERSION HERE

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
DeFuniak Springs firefighters Brian Foreman and Austin Arnold demonstrate CPR, one of the Basic Life Support medical interventions that firefighters use on their calls. The department hopes to have approval from the state of Florida by October to begin offering Advanced Life Support (ALS) services.

DeFUNIAK SPRINGS  City firefighters will soon be able to provide life-saving treatments to patients before a Walton County ambulance arrives at the scene.

DeFuniak Springs Fire Chief Ross Sheffield anticipates that by Oct. 1 the Fire Department will have approval from the state of Florida to begin offering Advanced Life Support (ALS) services.

Sheffield said he almost immediately saw a need for ALS services in the city when he took over as chief in 2020. All firefighters are trained as paramedics or EMTs, with about 70% of the department's calls being medical-related.

Sheffield said firefighters commonly encounter people who are diabetic, having breathing issues or chest pains. However, they have been limited on what they can do before an ambulance arrives.

Law firm catches fire: Lightning strike sparks fire at Adkinson Law Firm in DeFuniak Springs; part of Hwy. 90 closes

Traditions at DeFuniak Fire Department: Ever wondered why DeFuniak Springs wear stickers on their helmets?

We had trained personnel on the scene, but we did not have a license from the state of Florida to actually do any treatment on the patient, Sheffield said. We could assess the patient and find out whats going on, but thats as far as we can go; just taking blood pressures and things of that nature.

The Fire Department began taking steps to provide a better service" about a year ago. That work culminated last Tuesday when Sheffield went before the Walton County Board of County Commissioners to request a certificate of public convenience and necessity.

The certificate allows the department to apply for an Advanced Life Support Non-Transport Providers License. County commissioners approved his request, and now Sheffield said the Fire Department is just awaiting approval from the state.

Negative impacts from Healthmark closure: Healthmark's emergency room has been closed for over 100 days. NWFL is feeling the negative effects

The DeFuniak Springs Fire Department will be the third agency certified to provide ALS services in Walton County. The South Walton Fire District and Walton County Fire Rescue also are providers.

Story continues

Sheffield said factors such as an increasing call volume have made it necessary for DeFuniak Springs firefighters to provide ALS services.

The 20-member DeFuniak Springs Fire Department hopes to have approval from the state of Florida by October to begin offering Advanced Life Support (ALS) services.

The extended closure of the emergency room at the Healthmark Regional Medical Center also has put a strain on first responders, who now have to transport patients lengthy distances.

Since the emergency room closed March 18, the number of out-of-county ambulance transports in the Walton County Fire Rescues service zone that includes DeFuniak Springs has jumped 81%, Sheriff Mike Adkinson told the Daily News in July.

DeFuniak Springs firefighters Austin Arnold and Brian Foreman demonstrate CPR, one of the Basic Life Support interventions that firefighters use on their medical calls. The department hopes to get approval from the state of Florida by October to begin offering Advanced Life Support (ALS) services.

Patients who would have been taken to Healthmark Regional are now being taken as far as North Okaloosa Medical Center in Crestview and HCA Fort Walton-Destin Hospital in Fort Walton Beach. Each trip takes an ambulance out of service for about two hours.

Right now the closest hospital is Crestview, which is 31 miles away, Sheffield said. The county is seeing an increase in the time theyre out of service and transporting the patients to the closest hospital, or even to Fort Walton Beach.

Calls rise 101% in last three years: Calls to DeFuniak Springs Fire have risen by 101% since 2019, last year busiest yet

Meanwhile, the DFSFD's call volume has more than doubled. In 2020, firefighters responded to 811 calls. There were 1,624 calls in 2021, and by the end of June, Sheffield said firefighters had already responded to 924 calls this year.

So we made more calls this year in six months than we did the entire year of 2020, he said. My forecast for next year is were going to be over 2,050 calls. This is not without the big growth spurt that were seeing like on the south end of town.

Future growth from new businesses and housing developments such as Bay Springs, Pinehurst Estates and Hunters Ridge is expected to drive more emergency calls.

An automated defibrillator is one of the Basic Life Support (BLS) medical apparatus that DeFuniak Springs firefighters carry with them on calls. The department hopes to have approval from the state of Florida by October to begin offering Advanced Life Support (ALS) services.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the population of DeFuniak Springs was estimated at 6,283 in July 2021. About 15.5% of the population is 65 years or older, and the Fire Department has seen an increase in medical calls among the elderly population.

The ALS license will allow firefighters to administer medications, perform an EKG to check for different heart conditions, and perform other heart-related procedures such as cardioversion, a procedure that restores regular heart rhythm and pacing.

It would reduce their suffering, especially with our patients that go into cardiac arrest, Sheffield said. Instead of just doing CPR, we can also give them medications, and we can defibrillate that patient with a monitor. It gives them a greater likelihood that they will survive.

All DeFuniak Springs firefighters are certified as paramedics or EMTs every two years, meaning they will not have to take on any additional training. Sheffield said he is in the process of hiring a medical director and plans to hire two additional paramedics.

The service will be a great benefit to our citizens and provide them with rapid, reliable Advanced Life Support services that will be inside the city limits of DeFuniak Springs, Sheffield said. Its a service thats much needed in the city."

This article originally appeared on Northwest Florida Daily News: DeFuniak Springs firefighters to provide Advanced Life Support services
A cross. Illustrated | Getty Images

The Republican Party should unabashedly embrace a platform of Christian nationalism, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) said last week in an interview with a conservative website. "We need to be the party of nationalism and I'm a Christian, and I say it proudly, we should be Christian nationalists," she said.

Some observers think the GOP has already adopted that identity. Their evidence? The Jan. 6 riot that tried to overturn the presidential election in favor of Donald Trump. "Men and women waving flags that read 'An Appeal to Heaven' or 'Proud American Christian' surged past Capitol police as the officers tried to halt those entering the Capitol building," Jack Jenkins writes for Religion News Service. The insurrectionists broke into the Senate chamber and "bowed their heads as a self-described 'shaman; associated with the QAnon conspiracy theory movement thanked Jesus for 'allowing' them 'to get rid of the communists, the globalists and the traitors within our government.'"

What is Christian nationalism, and what does it mean for our politics? Here is everything you need to know:

Is 'Christian nationalism' the same thing as being a patriotic Christian?

No. Christian nationalism tends to erase the distinction between "Christian" and "nationalist"  and also the separation between church and state. Adherents believe "that the US was founded as a Christian nation; the Founding Fathers were all orthodox, evangelical Christians; and God has chosen the US for a special role in history," John Blake writes for CNN. Their beliefs are based on a bad reading of history: Some of the Founders were Christian, but others weren't. "They were a collection of atheists, Unitarians, Deists, and liberal Protestants and other denominations."

Christian nationalism takes that bad history and blends it "with nearly 'apocalyptic' views on future threats to that Christian heritage," a trio of scholars writes for the journal Political Behavior. Those supposed threats come from "rapid demographic, legal, and political change"  the rise of LGBTQ rights and Black Lives Matter  and the movement tends to explain those changes using conspiracy theories like QAnon, the theory that America is in the grips of child-molesting elites. There's also a racial component: Researchers often use the term "white Christian nationalism" to describe a movement as an "expression of Christianity that is shaped by White conservative, nativist understandings of what it means to be an American," the sociologist Samuel L. Perry said in an April interview with Religion Unplugged. One survey in 2021 found that support for the racist "great replacement theory" correlates strongly with Christian nationalist views.

Story continues

Perhaps most disturbingly, the Political Behavior scholars' research indicates that "Christian nationalism in the United States is associated with increased support for political violence." Which leads us to the next question.

What did Christian nationalism have to do with Jan. 6?

A lot. "Crosses were everywhere that day in D.C., on flags and flagpoles, on signs and clothes, around necks, and erected above the crowd," attorney Andrew L. Seidel wrote in a special report for the Baptist Joint Committee on Religious Liberty and Freedom From Religion Foundation. Bible verses also dotted the crowd, while a number of rioters paused for prayer during the attack. One of the invaders recorded herself on a social media stream explaining her reasons for participating: "We are a godly country, and we are founded on godly principles. And if we do not have our country, nothing else matters."

Researchers are still trying to figure out what to make of that. "Many Christians at the Capitol on Jan. 6 were part of more conventional, affiliated faith, including pastors, Catholic priests and bused-in church groups," The Washington Post's Michelle Boorstein wrote. But the attack came during an era in which the number of self-identified Christians has been declining precipitously in America, and even the people who identify as Christian tend to be less connected to specific denominations and their long traditions. Instead, Boorstein wrote, "institutional religion is breaking apart" putting more emphasis on individual beliefs and less on "theological credentials and oversight." That resulted in an odd dynamic surrounding Jan. 6: "Americans who have Christian-nationalist beliefs who do not attend church are more likely to have voted for and support Trump."

How big is the movement? How potent?

Depends on how you do the measuring. A 2021 survey by the Pew Research Center identified 77 percent of Republican respondents as "church-state integrationists" who hold a variety of views "consistent" with Christian nationalism. That might be overstating things somewhat. A 2017 survey found that one-in-five Americans hold such views. The scholars at Political Behavior found that "support for the Capitol attacks is a minority position among any slice of the American religious landscape." But they also noted that 17.7 percent "of white weekly churchgoers fall into the joint top quartile of justification of violence, Christian nationalist beliefs, perceived victimhood, white identity, and support for QAnon." That percentage  while relatively small  "would represent millions of individuals."

The movement seems to be gaining an increasing foothold in Republican politics. Reps. Greene and Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) are two of the more famous faces of Christian nationalism, but other politicos are on the way: Doug Mastriano  a former Army officer who chartered buses to ferry protesters to Washington D.C. on Jan. 6, and who has declared the separation of church and state a "myth"  is the GOP nominee for governor in Pennsylvania, and is now running a close race with his Democratic opponent.

One measure of the movement's potency, though, might be in the willingness of Christian nationalists to identify specifically as Christian nationalists. "Even a few months ago, many American Christians who would objectively qualify as Christian nationalists by any sociological measures, rejected the term," Calvin University's Kristine Du Mez writes at her Substack blog. Now it appears that "more Christians openly embrace and defend Christian nationalism." Marjorie Taylor Greene might have made news by openly embracing the term, but she might not be that unusual.

You may also like

The best films of 2022 so far

Is Liz Cheney finished?

What did Christian nationalism have to do with Jan. 6?
Trump and Pence. Illustrated | Getty Images

Former President Donald Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence have gone from unlikely allies to bitter rivals. Here's everything you need to know:

How did Trump's relationship with Pence begin?

Trump decided on Pence at the last minute. According to Politico, Trump "didn't particularly like Pence" when they first met, and "just four days before the [2016] Republican National Convention," the unlikely nominee "was still waffling on who to pick as his running mate." Pence was a top contender, but so were New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie  the first 2016 presidential candidate to drop out to endorse Trump  and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who was still angling for the job.

"I told [Trump] ... he could have two pirates on the ticket or a pirate and a relatively stable and normal person," Gingrich said during a Facebook Live Q&A. Trump liked the sound of that.

Per Politico, the devout Pence helped Trump's poll numbers with evangelicals who were uncomfortable with the mogul's checkered past, but "Pence felt a lot like the medicine Trump didn't want to choke down." However, thanks to the machinations of Paul Manafort and a flat airplane tire that stranded Trump in Indianapolis for an extra night, choke it down he did.

Writing for The Week in 2019, Matthew Walther pointed out that Trump's barnstorming style and populist platform were always an odd match for Pence's plainspoken manner and passe neoconservatism. "This is exactly why Trump chose Pence to be his vice president. He is a throwback, and a useful one," Walther wrote.

What was Pence's role in Jan. 6?

Trump called Pence on the morning of Jan. 6 to urge him, one last time, not to certify Biden's victory. Witnesses said Trump got "heated" and told Pence he would "either go down in history as a patriot" or as "a pussy."

Trump's pleas fell on deaf ears. In a letter to Congress, Pence rejected the idea that "the Founders of our country intended to invest the vice president with unilateral authority to decide which electoral votes should be counted."

Story continues

When the Capitol riot began, several members of the mob chanted "hang Mike Pence," while others erected a makeshift gallows. When Trump heard the chants, he told White House staff that Pence "deserves" it, former aide Cassidy Hutchinson told the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 events. As rioters stormed through the Capitol building, Trump tweeted that Pence "didn't have the courage to do what should have been done."

One White House security official testified that Pence's Secret Service detail began "to fear for their own lives" as they scrambled to secure an evacuation route for the vice president. "There were calls to say goodbye to family members, so on and so forth," the official said. Pence was taken to a secure location but refused to leave the Capitol complex entirely. Just after 8:00 p.m., Pence reconvened the Senate, and by 3:30 a.m., Biden's victory had been certified.

What's happened to their relationship since then?

Nothing good. Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) told CNN in Feb. 2021 that Pence had spoken to him "very favorably about his relationship" with Trump, giving Banks "the sense they speak often and maintain the same personal friendship and relationship now that they have for four years."

Even if that was true at the time, it doesn't seem to be anymore. In Feb. 2022, Pence again rejected the idea that he could have handed the election to Trump. "I heard this week that President Trump said I had the right to 'overturn the election.' President Trump is wrong. I had no right to overturn the election," Pence said at a Federalist Society event. The idea "that any one person could choose the American president" is "un-American," he continued.

The following month, Trump told the Washington Examiner that he had ruled out Pence as a 2024 running mate. "I don't think the people would accept it," Trump said.

Is there precedent for presidents and vice presidents not getting along?

Plenty. In the early years of the republic, whoever received the second most electoral votes would become vice president. This led almost immediately to the acrimonious cohabitation of Federalist John Adams and Democratic-Republican Thomas Jefferson. Then, after attempting to steal the election of 1800, Aaron Burr allegedly tried to start his own country out west and ended up on trial for treason, with Jefferson "fully intending to hang" his former VP, Ranker notes.

The constitution was quickly amended to ensure that presidents could choose their own vice presidents, but egos still clashed. John C. Calhoun resigned as Andrew Jackson's vice president in 1832 after a dispute over states rights. Jackson later threatened to "secede" Calhoun's head "from the rest of your body" if he attempted to lead South Carolina out of the Union. (This technically makes Trump at least the third president to have responded positively to the idea of his ticket-mate being executed).

Several other president-VP relationships were adversarial, but not life-threateningly so. Richard Johnson, who served under Martin Van Buren, was dropped from the ticket in 1840 after disappearing from D.C. for nine months to run a tavern in Kentucky. Franklin Roosevelt got himself drafted for a third term to avoid being succeeded by Vice President John Nance Garner, who opposed the New Deal. Al Gore and Bill Clinton left office on bad terms, with Gore blaming Clinton for his loss in the 2000 election.

What's next for Pence and Trump?

Pence appears to be setting his ambitions higher than another four-year stint at the Naval Observatory. The former VP has pitched himself to the billionaire DeVos family as a potential 2024 presidential candidate and has "repeatedly traveled to meet with donors and operatives" in South Carolina, The Washington Post reported last month. Marc Short, Pence's longtime chief of staff, told the Post that Pence and his family plan to make a decision about 2024 "[a]t some point early next year."

Polls suggest that Pence would struggle to mount a serious challenge against the former president. Trump dominated a recent Morning Consult poll of potential Republican primary candidates, in which he won 52 percent of the vote, followed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis with 21 percent and Pence with just 8 percent.

Pence has also clashed repeatedly with Trump during the midterms, with the two endorsing rival candidates in several primary races. On Friday, the two held dueling rallies in Arizona, with Trump backing former television anchor Kari Lake in the state's gubernatorial primary while Pence threw his support behind businesswoman Karrin Taylor Robson.

The major split between the two candidates is over the 2020 election. Robson has taken a moderate line on Trump's stolen election claims. She's willing to blame liberal judges and big tech companies for tilting the election in Democrats' favor, but "has stopped short of saying Trump lost because of fraud," The Associated Press notes. Lake, on the other hand, is all in. She's even called for Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs (D), who oversaw the 2020 election in Arizona, to be imprisoned.

Pence told the crowd that Trump and his allies "want this election to be about the past" and that if the GOP "allows itself to be consumed by yesterday's grievances, we will lose."

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article incorrectly identified Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) as a congressman representing Arizona. This has since been corrected. We regret the error.

You may also like

The best films of 2022 so far

Is Liz Cheney finished?

What did Christian nationalism have to do with Jan. 6?
Jul. 26EYOTA  Dover-Eyota Public Schools is asking voters to approve a construction bond referendum for more than $21 million this August for improvements around the district's facilities.

Area residents will cast their ballots during the preliminary election on Aug. 9. The total amount of the proposed referendum is $21.73 million, but it is being presented in the form of two questions. The first question totals $17.96 million and the second question amounts to $3.77 million.

The projects included in the second question are contingent on the voters approving the first question.

While the referendum would provide funding for some new space, such as expanding the band room, a lot of the projects include replacing or updating old features and infrastructure.

"It's needed," Superintendent Jeremy Frie said. "It's not a lot of frivolous stuff. It's kind of the stuff you'd do if you were living in a 25-year-old house."

The district has set up a

website chock-full of information related to the proposed projects

; what they are, why they're needed, how they decided what to tackle, and so on.

If approved, the referendum would pay for some space additions and reconfigurations. It would add two new classrooms, expand the early childhood playground, create a STEM lab, convert locker rooms into adaptive physical education space, as well as update the career and technical education spaces.

"The other part that's long overdue and something that we can't do with just an annual budget is the upgrading of our (career and technical education) wing," School Board Chairman Ron Pagel said. "A lot of those spaces are from part of the original building back when I went to school. And if you look at what the economy needs, they need workers."

But, the referendum also would pay for a lot of maintenance items. It would upgrade HVAC systems, replace leaky windows, and transition buildings to LED lighting.

Story continues

Pagel said that although they have addressed maintenance issues as they've come up, the board realized there would be some efficiencies in clumping some of them together.

"We've addressed things as we could going along, but sometimes it's just a way bigger project than we could fund with just our long term facility maintenance funds," Pagel said. "As a board, we had a pretty lengthy discussion about three years ago and decided rather than doing this on a piecemeal basis, let's put these things together into one big project."

The third category of projects the referendum would pay for is that of security and safety. Among other features, it would include the building of a new front office at the middle school/high school "with enhanced entrance security."

According to the district, if voters approved both questions, it would equate to an increase of $9.08 per month for a home valued at $245,000.

The communities of Dover and Eyota are both located on U.S. Highway 14, directly east of Rochester. Together, the district has a student population of 1,080.

Dover-Eyota isn't the only school district in the area that is either trying to pass a referendum or recently did. Stewartville Public Schools is asking its residents to approve a referendum of nearly $38 million; In 2021, Byron voters approved a referendum of $44.5 million. And in 2019, Rochester residents approved more than a $180 million in referendum funding for widescale construction and remodels throughout the district.
Kids play on a Little League baseball field near the Port of Los Angeles in San Pedro. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are a hub of international trade, and also the biggest source of smog-forming emissions in Southern California because of their heavy concentration of diesel-guzzling trucks, ships, trains and cargo-handling equipment.

But leaders of the city-owned ports have for too long treated their pledges to cut air pollution as aspirations rather than imperatives.

Perhaps nowhere is that clearer than in the nearly two-decade-long legal battle over the Port of L.A.s environmental promises at the 142-acre China Shipping North America terminal near the Vincent Thomas Bridge. In a 2004 settlement of a lawsuit by community and environmental groups over an expansion of the terminal, city officials agreed to a slew of measures to cut pollution from ships, trucks and equipment, among other actions at the terminal. More than a decade later, city officials revealed they had failed to carry out many of the requirements  and The Times reported they had even granted the Chinese government-owned shipping company leasing the terminal secret waivers.

It was a shocking acknowledgment of years of broken promises. The L.A. port, under its joint 2006 Clean Air Action Plan with the Port of Long Beach, had pledged to slash emissions that worsen air quality across Southern California and damage people's health in harbor area communities. But when its failures at the China Shipping terminal came to light in 2015, the city argued it was essentially powerless to deliver the air quality improvements it had pledged. The port claimed that because China Shipping, which operates one of the complex's largest terminals under a long-term lease, was not party to the settlement, it could not be forced to comply  and that some of the measures were operationally or economically infeasible anyway.

In 2020 the City Council adopted a revised list of measures for the terminal that eliminated or watered down some of the port's unfulfilled pledges. Community groups and environmentalists filed suit challenging the scaled-back air quality measures for the terminal, along with local air quality officials, who were joined by the California Air Resources Board and state attorney generals office.

Story continues

A recent court ruling in the case found that the citys 2020 approval of a watered-down environmental report violated the California Environmental Quality Act, is "not legally enforceable" and must be set aside. The ruling shows, once again, that the port cannot be trusted to carry out its own pledges to improve air quality and protect public health. While talking about their environmental virtues, city officials have demonstrated over and over that they will prioritize the flow of goods and industry profits over air quality.

Harbor area residents have suffered from years of delays by port and air quality officials and have been forced to live with dirtier air than they were promised. It has now been five years since L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti and Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia pledged to turn the ports into zero-emission operations, by 2030 for cargo-handling equipment and by 2035 for trucks. But there are few indications the ports are making real progress, as they did under their previous 2006 clean-air plan.

Fortunately, there is a solution that would go beyond addressing pollution at a single terminal and hold both ports accountable for their clean-air pledges. The South Coast Air Quality Management District, which spent years in fruitless negotiations with the ports over a voluntary agreement to cut emissions, is developing regulations to force them to act. A final rule is expected in 2023.

Its an important step for an agency that for years talked about using its authority to regulate pollution at the ports but failed to act. One concept under consideration is to apply the rules to terminal operators, bypassing port officials altogether. Setting consistent and enforceable air quality standards, as the South Coast AQMD plans to do, would also address another city and industry complaint: that having tougher clean-air rules for one terminal puts it at a competitive disadvantage to others.

As the China Shipping debacle shows, pledges to cut emissions, without rules to back them up, are little more than words on a page. Port officials can drag out such promises for years, with nothing to show but excuses. It's time to fix that with rules to finally deliver the clean air people have been promised.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Progressive politicians, such as Democrat Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, have attacked pro-life pregnancy centers in the wake of Roe v. Wades overturn, going as far as to call for them to be shut down across the country.

But the women who run these centers say nothing could be further from the truth.

Fox News Digital hopped on a call with four Mississippi crisis pregnancy center leaders for an interview and learned how these centers are supporting the families they serve from pregnancies and beyond.

SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN BLASTED FOR ATTACKING CRISIS PREGNANCY CENTERS: ITS EVIL

Progressive politicians like Democrat Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts have attacked pro-life pregnancy centers in the wake of Roe v. Wade's overturn. Reuters/Elizabeth Frantz

Karen Sims, the executive director for the Hope Clinic of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, said that her clinic has "set the strong foundation of our services and we're just going to grow and expand."

"We are a medical facility at Hope Clinic in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and we offer free pregnancy testing, free ultrasound counseling, and education," Sims said of the services her clinic offers. "We have a program called Connections where we work with young ladies and give them those practical needs, so baby material assistance and mentoring and just following them throughout their pregnancy and helping them."

Shannon Bagly Busby, director of the Center for Pregnancy Choices (CPC) of Vicksburg, Mississippi, told Fox News Digital that their care for expectant mothers is different from pro-abortion clinics like Planned Parenthood because they provide for their patients beyond the "initial desire for the walk in the door."

"So they come to us wanting one thing, but they get all of these other services that are offered to them," Busby said. "They can have sonograms, they have baby boutiques, earn where you learn, that goes anywhere from teaching them about the first trimester to money management."

"They get a partnership with us. They get a place that they can actually come to and after time after time, year after year after year, and we are able to help them and pretty much a lot of their areas," she continued.

Story continues

Busby noted that their clinic also helps place expectant mothers and fathers find jobs to support their new, growing families and that they perform weddings, baptisms, and christenings, as well.

Michelle Johnson, director of client services at CPC of Vicksburg, which receives its funding from local churches, told Fox News Digital that the intersection between faith and the clinic she works for is what makes them "unique."

"We believe that life has great value. And so, because we believe that, we don't just talk to the mom. We don't just talk about the baby," Johnson said. "We talk about the life as a whole. We believe that life is important."

Johnson said that she believes "that's one of the reasons why pro-life people have been misunderstood, because people don't understand" that the pro-life pregnancy centers care for the families after the baby has been born.

PRO-LIFE PREGNANCY CLINIC HIRED 24-HOUR SECURITY, SHUT DOWN MOBILE CLINIC, DIRECTOR SAYS IN SENATE HEARING

For months, the U.S. has faced a baby formula shortage, but stockpiles at pregnancy centers like CPC of Vicksburg have helped to ease the burden on the families they serve.

Busby said, amidst the shortage, CPC of Vicksburg saw "double" their usual traffic for baby formula as store shelves sat bare. She noted that, prior to the shortage, baby formula used to sit on their shelf "for quite a long period of time," but now they "cant keep it on the shelves."

Sarah Smith, executive director of CPC of Meridian, Mississippi, said she worked as a "car seat technician"  helping parents install the car seats given to them by CPC clinics.

Smith also said her clinic offers classes where parents can cash-in points for necessities, like "maternity clothes, baby items, baby gear, breastfeeding equipment, postpartum supplies and toys, and "also cribs, bouncies, all those kind of things."

"But also we recently started working in partnership with the Department of Health because our state has some maternal health equity issues," Smith said. "And one of the things we thought would be good is to start training more people to serve as a doula because we saw a lot of women who came through were single moms and they had nobody."

Warren this month accused pro-life crisis pregnancy centers of "torturing" pregnant women seeking abortion information and called on the federal government to "shut them down all around the country."

"In Massachusetts right now, those crisis pregnancy centers that are there to fool people who are looking for pregnancy termination help outnumber true abortion clinics by three to one," Warren told NBC 10 Boston.

Crisis pregnancy centers, or CPCs, are typically faith-based and offer reproductive health care, prenatal care and counseling to help expecting parents choose life over abortion. Most centers offer free STI testing and treatment, pregnancy testing, prenatal vitamins, ultrasounds, post-abortion care, parenting classes, adoption referrals, and even free baby clothes and diapers once the baby is born. The centers receive funding primarily through private donations and grants from religious organizations, but many states also allocate public money to the centers via programs like "Choose Life" license plates, according to the Charlotte Lozier Institute.

As of 2021, there are approximately 3,000 crisis pregnancy center locations in the U.S., the Charlotte Lozier Institute says. A 2019 study by the institute revealed 8 in 10 locations offer free ultrasounds and nearly all locations offer free material assistance for new families.

CPCs all over the country have reported an uptick in vandalism and threats in the wake of the Supreme Courts overturning of Roe v. Wade, which ended the federal right to an abortion and returned the issue to the states. Within a week of the Courts draft opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization being leaked to the media, at least five CPCs were attacked, and dozens more have been targeted since then. Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America issued a study in June reporting more than 40 "incidents of violence, vandalism and intimidation" since the May 2 leak.

MICHIGAN STORE OWNER SAYS BABY FORMULA SHORTAGE GETTING WORSE: NONEXISTENT RIGHT NOW

Democrats like Warren say CPCs disseminate misinformation about the risks associated with abortion in an effort to persuade women to give birth. She introduced the Stop Anti-Abortion Disinformation Act last month, which would "direct the Federal Trade Commission to prescribe rules prohibiting disinformation in the advertising of abortion services, and for other purposes."

In June, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a bill directing the state health commissioner to investigate CPCs in the state to determine their "impact" on pregnant womens access to care.

Busby said that having discussions in the media helps to combat the "Facebook education" going on in America, noting that the social media giants algorithm "shows you what you want to see."

"I think that also it's our responsibility to educate those who support us, but help them today to do the message as well, because we're just one person representing each clinic and sometimes there might be those who their approach is a little bit more on the aggressive end," Busby said. "And that's what we've been kind of battling sometimes more in-house than anything."

"So I think that it's important for us to show the love and the compassion, but yet the truth at the same time," she added. "And there has to be a balance of that."

Warren's office did not respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Marc Short, who was a top staffer to Republican former Vice President Mike Pence, on Monday confirmed he had testified before a federal grand jury investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

"I did receive a subpoena for the federal grand jury and I complied with that subpoena," Short told CNN. He declined to provide any details on his testimony.

ABC News first reported that Short, who served as Pence's chief of staff, had testified on Friday afternoon. Both ABC's cameras and Reuters cameras captured footage of Short leaving the federal courthouse in Washington, D.C., alongside his attorney Emmet Flood.

Short is the most high-profile official known to have appeared before the grand jury, which is also probing the effort by former President Donald Trump's allies to submit slates of fake electors to overturn the 2020 election.

Short's appearance is a sign the U.S. Justice Department's investigation into the attack on the Capitol and the fake elector plot is heating up.

In the interview with CNN, Short said it was unfair to characterize the pro-Trump mob as simply exercising their First Amendment free speech rights.

"Certainly there were probably some people who foolishly got caught up in the events that were happening on the sixth, but I think it's unfair to describe the rioters as patriots who were merely expressing their First Amendment rights," he said.

Short said although the Secret Service wanted to evacuate Pence from the Capitol, where he was preparing to certify the presidential election results, the vice president wanted to stay.

"The vice president didn't want the image of a 15-car motorcade fleeing the hallmark of democracy for the world to see," he told CNN.

In an interview with CNN earlier this year, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco confirmed the Justice Department had received referrals about slates of alternative fake electors that were sent to the National Archives, and said prosecutors were reviewing them.

Story continues

Copies of the phony electoral slates submitted to the National Archives by pro-Trump Republicans in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, New Mexico, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin were made public in March by the non-profit watchdog group American Oversight, which obtained them through a public records request.

The Office of the Federal Register, part of the National Archives, coordinates some functions of the Electoral College between the states and Congress, including receiving the certificates from the states that identify their electors and receiving the certificates of votes by the electors.

The fake elector plot has featured prominently in multiple hearings of the Democratic-led U.S. House of Representatives committee probing the attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Rusty Bowers, the Arizona state House Republican speaker, testified in June that Trump and his close aides, including his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani and adviser John Eastman, urged Bowers to reject the election results.

In recent months, the U.S. Attorney's office in Washington, D.C., has started issuing grand jury subpoenas to electors, including some who signed the bogus certificates.

According to one subpoena seen by Reuters that is focused on the phony slate of electors in Georgia, investigators are seeking copies of documents from October 2020 related to "any effort, plan or attempt to serve as an elector in favor of Donald J. Trump and/or Mike R. Pence."

They are also seeking copies of communications between would-be electors and any federal government employees, any employees or agents of Trump, as well as communications with a long list of people including Giuliani and Eastman.

Arizona's Republican party chair, Kelli Ward, and her husband, Michael Ward, who both signed their names on one of the slates of alternate electors for Trump, have also received subpoenas.

Alexander Kolodin, an attorney for the Wards, told Reuters earlier this month that the DOJ's investigation is "based on allegations that our clients engaged in core First Amendment-protected activity, namely petitioning Congress for redress of grievances."

(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch and Tim Ahmann in Washington and Karen Freifeld in New York; Editing by Scott Malone and Leslie Adler)
(Reuters) - Parts of the Asia-Pacific continue to face a surge in COVID-19 cases, with Shenzhen telling major companies to set up "closed-loop" systems, while in Australia, hospitalisations hit a record high for a second straight day.

DEATHS AND INFECTIONS

* Eikon users, see COVID-19: MacroVitals https://apac1.apps.cp.thomsonreuters.com/cms/?navid=1592404098 for a case tracker and summary of news.

ASIA-PACIFIC

* The Chinese city of Shenzhen told 100 major companies including iPhone maker Foxconn to set up "closed-loop" systems as it battles COVID-19, according to a document attributed to the local government circulating online.

* China gave conditional approval to domestic firm Genuine Biotech's Azvudine pill to treat certain adult patients with COVID-19, adding another oral treatment option against the coronavirus.

* Hospital admissions for COVID-19 in Australia have reached a new high for a second straight day, data showed on Tuesday, while the daily death toll rose to its second-highest as an outbreak fuelled by a coronavirus sub-variant sweeps the country.

* New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Monday there were early signs that new COVID-19 cases were falling, even as hospitalisations jumped to their highest level since March.

EUROPE

* EU member states should start preparing now for a new wave of the pandemic in autumn and winter, the bloc's health chief said on Monday, saying there had been a "worrying increase" in outbreaks.

AMERICAS

* U.S. President Joe Biden said he was "feeling great," as he recovers from COVID-19, and that he expected to end his isolation and return to normal working conditions by the end of the week.

MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS

* An experimental COVID-19 vaccine in the form of an oral tablet has shown promising immune responses in a small preliminary trial designed mainly to evaluate its safety, according to drug manufacturer Vaxart Inc.

ECONOMIC IMPACT

Story continues

* China will step up financial support for the recovery of the cultural and tourism sectors, which have been hit hard by the pandemic, the central bank and the industry's ministry said.

* Taiwan's trade-reliant economy is expected to have expanded on the back of strong global demand for computer chips, though COVID-19 lockdowns in top export market China and a surge in domestic infections could drag on demand, a Reuters poll showed.

(Compiled by Uttaresh.V; Edited by Shounak Dasgupta)
Good Morning America

As monkeypox continues to spread across the U.S., the number of children infected with the virus is growing as well. At least eight children have tested positive for monkeypox since July in multiple states, from Florida and Maine to California. Children under the age of 8 are among those whom the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention considers at "increased risk" for developing more severe illness if infected with monkeypox, along with pregnant people, people who are immunocompromised and those who have a history of atopic dermatitis or eczema.
Bishop Lamor Whitehead speaking at the funeral of rapper Biz Markie in 2021

A preacher known for his flamboyant lifestyle was robbed of more than $1m (840,000) in jewellery during a livestreamed sermon in the city of New York.

Lamor Whitehead, 44, has vowed that the culprits "won't get away with it"

Among the items taken from the flashy, Rolls Royce-driving clergyman were Rolexes, diamonds and emeralds.

Police are still investigating the incident. No suspects have so far been named or apprehended.

In the video Mr Whitehead is heard asking "How many of you have lost your faith because you saw somebody else die?" moments before several black-clad gunmen entered the church in Brooklyn.

It is not clear how many people were in attendance during the service.

"When I see them come into the sanctuary with their guns, I told everybody [to] get down, everybody just get down," he later said on Instagram.

"I didn't know if they wanted to shoot the church up or if they were just coming for a robbery."

According to Mr Whitehead, the masked thieves escaped in a Mercedes.

Following the robbery, the New York Post reported that the items taken from him and his wife included $75,000 Rolex and Cavalier watches, a $25,000 Episcopal ruby and diamond ring and a $25,000 pair of earrings - and even his wedding band.

"For you to kick in a church door and come with guns in the middle of service - what God is gonna do to y'all is above my paygrade,'' he said of the thieves on Instagram.

The BBC has reached out to Mr Whitehead for comment.

In a statement, New York City mayor Eric Adams - who has known Mr Whitehead since at least 2013 - said that New York Police Department was investigating the crime.

"No one in this city should be the victim of armed robbery, let alone our faith leaders," Mr Adams said.

Mr Whitehead, for his part, has offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.

The robbery isn't the first time that the bishop has been in the news. Just two months ago, he reportedly attempted to negotiate the surrender of a suspect who shot and killed a man on a Manhattan-bound subway train.

The latest incident, however, prompted a torrent of criticism on social media about his luxurious tastes and opulent lifestyle.

"It's not about me being flashy," Mr Whitehead said. "It's about me purchasing what I want to purchase."
An administrative law judge has recommended that the state Department of Transportation rescind a planned multimillion-dollar contract award for providing customer service for Floridas Turnpike Enterprise.

Judge John Van Laningham issued a 55-page ruling Friday in a legal fight among three companies seeking the contract.

>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<

[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]

The department in October said it intended to award the contract to Emovis US, Inc., drawing challenges from Conduent State & Local Solutions, Inc. and Shimmick Construction Co., Inc.

Van Laningham ruled, in part, that Emovis and Shimmick did not meet a requirement that they had 10 years of experience in providing such services.

Read: Congress exploring ways to address election threats & improve security measures

He recommended that the department rescind the planned award to Emovis and take remedial actions. Under administrative law, the issue goes back to the department for a final order.

Emovis proposed a price of $1,878,825 a month, while Conduent proposed a price of $2,749,370 a month and Shimmick proposed a price of $2,793,797 a month, according to the recommended order.

[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.
Jody Abbott, a Memphis resident and former drummer for the bands Fuel and Breaking Point, died on July 20 after a long battle with Huntingtons disease, according to a release from the Huntingtons Disease Society of America (HDSA).

The genetic disease affects the nerve cells in the brain.

From 1994-1998, Jody was a part of four extended plays of Fuel including Small the Joy, Fuel, Porcelain, and Hazleton. One of their tracks Shimmer topped the charts in the Billboard Hot 100.

After leaving Fuel, Jody joined Breaking Point.

The band released their first album in 2001 called Coming of Age.

Their tracks were included in movies such as The Scorpion King, Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug, and Dragon Ball Z: Coolers Revenge.

Symptoms of HD include personality changes, mood swings, depression, forgetfulness, impaired judgment, unsteady gait, involuntary movements, slurred speech, difficulty in swallowing, and significant weight loss.

Read more about Jodys journey with Huntingtons Disease here.

Download the FOX13 Memphis app to receive alerts from breaking news in your neighborhood.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD

Trending stories:
NEW YORK (AP)  Former Vice President Mike Pence will publish his autobiography just after this year's midterm elections and it will be titled So Help Me God.

The book will recount Pence's journey from his Indiana youth to the vice presidency, with stops in the House of Representatives and governor's mansion in between, according to publisher Simon & Schuster. It promises to also discuss his rift with former President Donald Trump on Jan. 6, 2021, when, according to the publisher, Pence kept his oath to the Constitution.

Trump supporters, and Trump himself, denounced him for not intervening on Jan. 6 in Congress formal certification of President Joe Bidens presidential victory. The certification  which Pence had no power to change  was delayed for hours after hundreds of Trump supporters, some chanting Hang Mike Pence!, stormed the U.S. Capitol.

The book will be available on Nov. 15, earlier that initially expected. It was previously announced for next year.

According to a statement from Simon & Schuster, the memoir is the inside story of the Trump administration by its second-highest ranking official and of a profound faith that has guided Pence throughout his life.

In addition to Pence, other Trump administration officials to issue books include former White House advisor Kellyanne Conway, former National Security Advisor John Bolton and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Fox Business host Dagen McDowell and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Steven Ferdman/Getty Images, Joe Raedle/Getty Images

A Fox Business host said Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was "pandering" by sending $450-per-child checks.

The checks are expected to go to around 60,000 Florida families to "offset the costs of rising inflation."

A spokesperson for DeSantis defended the checks, saying the money would be "wasted" if the governor didn't send them out.

Fox Business host Dagen McDowell slammed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for sending $450-per-child checks to some families to offset the costs of inflation, accusing him of "pandering."

"Actually that's worse than pandering, you're just handing out money to people," McDowell said while filling in for Maria Bartiromo on "Mornings with Maria" on Monday.

McDowell ripped the stimulus checks as "a level of moronacy that you see out of [California Governor] Gavin Newsom. We're going to fight inflation by fueling inflation with stimulus checks."

About 60,000 Florida families are expected to receive the checks, which were announced on July 15 as a way to offset rising inflation and are funded using federal money from Biden's American Rescue Plan Act.

Bryan Griffin, DeSantis' deputy press secretary, defended the checks against McDowell's criticism on Twitter. He said the payments would go to foster families  which are just one of the eligible types of families  and the money would be "wasted" if it wasn't used.

In a statement to Insider, a spokesperson for DeSantis clarified Griffin's comments about payments going "specifically" to foster families, saying he didn't say "exclusively."

The spokesperson, Christina Pushaw, said Griffin's Twitter is a personal account but "the content of the tweet regarding the federal dollars and concern about federal money printing causing rampant inflation is in alignment with the governor's position on this matter and previous statements he has made."

A spokesperson for Fox Business didn't offer a statement from the network, but pointed to McDowell's response on Twitter.

Story continues

In her response, McDowell doubled down on her position, calling the checks "bad economic policy" and "extra welfare."

Eligible recipients of the Florida payments include foster parents, relative and non-relative caregivers, and families receiving funds from the Florida Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program or Guardianship Assistance Program, Florida Department of Children and Families spokesperson Laura Walthall, told Insider.

"This one-time payment assists families who are being affected by rising inflation and preparing to send their children back-to-school," Walthall said in a statement to Insider.

Read the original article on Business Insider
FIRST ON FOX: Several Republican lawmakers are pressing Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin about federal funds going to colleges and universities with ties to the Chinese government.

Republican Study Committee (RSC) chairman Jim Banks, R-Ind., led 56 of his colleagues in the letter to Austin, asking the secretary why federal funds were going to schools that are linked to the Peoples Republic of China (PRC).

"During the last administration, Congress finally took important steps to combat Chinas illicit influence efforts at U.S. universities, Banks told Fox News Digital in a statement. "When Republicans retake the majority well be able to protect the progress weve made from a president who seeks to reset our relations with China to the pre-Trump status quo."

The lawmakers wrote they were concerned about the Chinese governments "influence and infiltration in American universities through Confucius Institutes and other partnerships with PRC universities that may pose a national security risk to American universities and the U.S. research and development enterprise."

HOUSE CONSERVATIVES PREPARE FIGHT AGAINST BIPARTISAN CHINA BILL, AS SENATE MARCHES TOWARD PASSAGE

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Republican of California, and Representative Jim Banks (R), Republican of Indiana, holds a press conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, June 9, 2022. (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

Banks and the Republicans wrote that the presence of Confucius Institutes on American campuses "has long raised serious concerns about PRC government influence and infiltration in our higher education and research systems," such as the Chinese government stealing American intellectual property.

"In response to these concerns and potential risks, Congress has introduced legislation and passed various laws to address issues surrounding PRC influence on U.S. higher education and research through Confucius Institutes," the lawmakers wrote.

The lawmakers pointed to the portions of the 2019 and 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)  the supersized bill that funds the military  that banned federal funds from going to institutions that hosted a Confucius Institute, a pro-Beijing education organization with ties to the PRC, on campus.

Story continues

They noted that the 2021 NDAA prohibits "DoD funding for any institution of higher education that hosts a Confucius Institute after October 1, 2023" and that the bills "provisions pressured most American universities to close Confucius Institutes on their campuses."

"Confucius Institutes, however, are far from meeting their demise on our university campuses," the Republicans wrote. "According to a recent report by the National Association of Scholars, while 104 of the 118 Confucius Institutes on American university campuses have closed, at least 28 universities have replaced the Confucius Institute with a similar program and 58 have maintained the partnership with the PRC university reached as a part of the agreement with Confucius Institute."

"The single most common reason universities give when they close a Confucius Institute is that they are replacing it with a new PRC partnership program," they continued.

The lawmakers cited the same section of the 2021 NDAA that broadened the definition of what a Confucius Institute is "as a cultural institute directly or indirectly (emphasis added) funded, or materially supported by the Government of the Peoples Republic of China."

They also noted that, when the 2021 NDAA was introduced into Congress, the "Office of Chinese Language Council International (more commonly known as Hanban), the Confucius Institute parent organization under the PRC Ministry of Education, was promptly rebranded as the Center for Language Exchange and Cooperation in July 2020."

"It then spun off a separate organization  the Chinese International Education Foundation (CIEF), which now funds and oversees Confucius Institutes and many of their reconstituted programs and institutes," the Republicans explained.

"CIEF is controlled by the PRC government, despite its ostensible non-governmental status," they added. "Any CIEF-funded cultural program or institute should be considered a Confucius Institute."

The lawmakers pointed out that the 2021 NDAA section dealing with Confucius Institutes will go into effect on October 1, 2023, "two years after the FY2021 NDAA was enacted."

Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., is one of the 56 House Republicans who signed onto the letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin about federal funds going to universities tied to the Chinese government. Photographer: Rod Lamkey/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty Images

"It provides ample time for universities to sever their link with Confucius Institutes. As such, DoD should stick with the established time frame to implement and enforce provisions in Section 1062 after October 1, 2023, and focus its efforts not only on the Confucius Institutes but also the restructured programs and institutes that continue to serve similar functions and raise similar concerns as the Confucius Institutes," the letter said.

"Yet, we have learned that DoD has awarded funding with contractual periods extending beyond October 1, 2023 to some universities, including a number of major state universities, which have replaced their Confucius Institute with a similar program or institute directly or indirectly funded, or materially supported by the PRC government," the letter continued. "According to National Association of Scholarss recent report, these universities include, but are not limited to, University of Michigan, University of Hawaii Manoa, Michigan State University, University of Minnesota, North Carolina State University, Stony Brook University and the University of Texas at San Antonio."

The lawmakers wrote the funding "raises a number of questions about how DoD will enforce Section 1062 and whether these universities will receive some sort of exemption enabling them to avoid Congresss intent to prohibit DoD funding for any institution of higher education that hosts a Confucius Institute" and noted that several Chinese universities partnered with American campuses "have already been recognized by the U.S. government as posing a national security risk to the United States and have been placed on the Department of Commerces Entity List."

The lawmakers provided the secretary with a litany of questions regarding the funding to Austin with a deadline of August 15, 2022.

Joining Banks on the letter are 56 of his fellow House Republicans, including House Armed Services Committee ranking member Mike Rodgers of Alabama, House Republican Conference chairwoman Elise Stefanik of New York, and Rep. Lisa McClain of Michigan.

A spokesperson for the Pentagon declined to comment on the letter, telling Fox News Digital that, as "with all congressional correspondence, we will respond directly to the authors of the letter."
"Highly credible" whistleblowers have come forward to a senior Senate Republican alleging a widespread effort within the FBI to downplay or discredit negative information about President Biden's son, Hunter Biden, according to letters reviewed by CBS News.

"The information provided to my office involves concerns about the FBI's receipt and use of derogatory information relating to Hunter Biden, and the FBI's false portrayal of acquired evidence as disinformation," GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley wrote FBI Director Christopher Wray and Attorney General Merrick Garland on July 25. "The volume and consistency of these allegations substantiate their credibility and necessitate this letter."

Grassley, the ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the whistleblowers alleged that legitimate streams of information and intelligence about the president's son were characterized as likely disinformation or prematurely shut down leading up to the 2020 presidential election.

CBS News first reported in April that more than 150 financial transactions involving either Hunter or James Biden's global business affairs were flagged as concerning by U.S. banks for further review. CBS News previously reported the U.S. attorney in Delaware has been investigating potential tax fraud, money laundering and foreign influence peddling.

The president has said he has confidence his family did the right thing, and he was not involved in the business dealings of his son and brother.

A spokesperson for Delaware U.S. attorney David Weiss declined to comment on whether he was aware of whistleblower allegations that credible reporting about Hunter Biden was allegedly labeled misinformation by the FBI and whether these allegations had been factored into his probe.

In the correspondence, Grassley cited a 2020 FBI intelligence assessment that was "used by an FBI headquarters team to improperly discredit negative Hunter Biden information as disinformation." He continued, "Based on allegations, verified and verifiable derogatory information on Hunter Biden was falsely labeled as disinformation."

Story continues

In October 2020, one month before the election, "an avenue of derogatory Hunter Biden reporting was ordered closed" by a senior FBI agent at the bureau's Washington Field office. An earlier letter from Grassley identified the agent as Timothy Thibault.

"[T]he allegations provided to my office appear to indicate that there was a scheme in place among certain FBI officials to undermine derogatory information connected to Hunter Biden by falsely suggesting it was disinformation," Grassley claimed.

He said whistleblowers from federal law enforcement came forward to his office after a May 31 letter he had written noted a "pattern of active public partisanship in his then public social media content," in reference to Thibault.

In that May 31 letter, Grassley also accused Thibault of likely violations of "[f]ederal laws, regulations and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) guidelines."

"Whistleblowers have reported to me, that although the FBI and Justice Department maintain policies dictating specific standards requiring substantial factual predication to initiate an investigation, Thibault and other Justice Department and FBI employees failed to comply with these requirements."

The letter also singled out Justice Department official Richard Pilger, identified as the director of the Election Crimes Branch within the Justice Department's Public Integrity Section, who, along with Thibault, were alleged to be "deeply involved in the decisions to open and pursue this investigation," an apparent reference to a probe recently opened into the Trump campaign.

Grassley told Wray and Garland "the opening memo you approved," included media reporting citing research from a "liberal non-profit" when a full investigation of a political nature requires "a heightened factual basis."

Grassley continued, "In light of these allegations, I remain very concerned that political bias by a select group of Justice Department and FBI officials has infected the Justice Department's and FBI's usual process and procedure to open and pursue high-profile and politically charged investigations."

In addition to requesting records from the FBI and the Justice Department by Aug. 8, Grassley complained about the way the bureau and department are being run.

"Attorney General Garland and Director Wray, simply put, based on the allegations that I've received from numerous whistleblowers, you have systemic and existential problems within your agencies," Grassley wrote. "You have an obligation to the country to take these allegations seriously, immediately investigate."

The FBI said it had received the letters but declined any further comment.

Asked for comment on the letter, Justice Department said it had received the letter, declined to comment further, and did not refer CBS News to any counsel for Pilger.

Andres Triay and Robert Legare contributed to this report.

Rob Gronkowski on NFL retirement and honoring the next generation of young athletes

Writer and director Jordan Peele on new movie Nope and creating horror films

Actress and author Danica McKellar on her new children's book "Double Puppy Trouble"
It is usually uneventful when a single insider buys stock. However, When quite a few insiders buy shares, as it happened in SIG plc's (LON:SHI) case, it's fantastic news for shareholders.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

View our latest analysis for SIG

SIG Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when Independent Non-Executive Director Kathryn Durrant bought UK50k worth of shares at a price of UK0.49 per share. That means that even when the share price was higher than UK0.34 (the recent price), an insider wanted to purchase shares. While their view may have changed since the purchase was made, this does at least suggest they have had confidence in the company's future. In our view, the price an insider pays for shares is very important. As a general rule, we feel more positive about a stock if insiders have bought shares at above current prices, because that suggests they viewed the stock as good value, even at a higher price.

In the last twelve months insiders purchased 439.52k shares for UK208k. But insiders sold 208.74k shares worth UK99k. In the last twelve months there was more buying than selling by SIG insiders. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

SIG is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with insider buying.

Does SIG Boast High Insider Ownership?

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Our data isn't picking up on much insider ownership at SIG, though insiders do hold about UK702k worth of shares. But they may have an indirect interest through a corporate structure that we haven't picked up on. It's always possible we are missing something but from our data, it looks like insider ownership is minimal.

Story continues

What Might The Insider Transactions At SIG Tell Us?

There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. However, our analysis of transactions over the last year is heartening. The transactions are fine but it'd be more encouraging if SIG insiders bought more shares in the company. Therefore, you should definitely take a look at this FREE report showing analyst forecasts for SIG.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions, but not derivative transactions.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

Join A Paid User Research Session

Youll receive a US$30 Amazon Gift card for 1 hour of your time while helping us build better investing tools for the individual investors like yourself. Sign up here
An initial hearing for Duane Heard, the 63-year-old Spartanburg County man charged with killing Deputy Austin Aldridge on June 21, has been delayed due to Heard undergoing a surgical procedure.

South Carolina Circuit Court Judge Keith Kelly, who is presiding over Heard's trial, said Monday afternoon the virtual hearing, which was scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday, was cancelled.

The hearing has not been rescheduled. Heard's medical condition and the nature of the surgical procedure have not been released.

Heard is facing nine charges, including five felonies. 7th Circuit Solicitor Barry Barnette announced July 7 Heard will face the death penalty. A trial date should be set 30 days after this notice, per the Solicitor's Office announcement regarding capital charges.

Heard was initially charged by South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) with both murder and possession of a deadly weapon June 22, the day after the incident, which occurred on Chaffee Rd. in southwestern Spartanburg County. Heard was charged July 12 with armed robbery for stealing Aldridge's handgun, Taser, and car keys and two counts of pointing and presenting a firearm.

Austin Aldridge remembered: Fallen Deputy memorialized during Celebration of Life

Sheriff Chuck Wright: Suspect shot Austin Aldridge, tried to flee scene in his patrol car

One firearm presentation incident occurred at the scene on Chafee Rd. against an unidentified victim, and the other after he fled the scene on Anderson Mill Rd. during a traffic stop, which he also fled.

Heard also faces misdemeanor charges of 3rd degree domestic violence and failure to stop for blue lights stemming from the June 21 incident. Additionally, Heard faces two misdemeanors related to an October 2021 arrest where he allegedly harassed and impeded the duties of a mail delivery driver.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Chalmers Rogland, a Wofford College graduate, covers public safety and breaking news for the Herald-Journal. Reach him via email at crogland@shj.com. Find him on Twitter @CRogland.

This article originally appeared on Herald-Journal: Hearing delayed Duane Heard, charged with murder of Spartanburg deputy
Heartland Advisors, an investment management firm, published its Heartland Value Plus Fund second-quarter 2022 investor letter  a copy of which can be downloaded here. Stocks slid into a bear market amid rising rates and inflation, and now investors seem to be wondering whether Federal Reserve rate hikes might trigger a recession. Against this backdrop, the firm believes its more important than ever to focus on well-run, quality businesses with strong balance sheets. Go over the funds top 5 positions to have a glimpse of its finest picks for 2022.

In its Q2 2022 investor letter, Heartland Value Plus Fund mentioned Haemonetics Corporation (NYSE:HAE) and explained its insights into the company. Founded in 1971, Haemonetics Corporation (NYSE:HAE) is a Boston, Massachusetts-based healthcare company with a $3.4 billion market capitalization. Haemonetics Corporation (NYSE:HAE) delivered a 26.60% return since the beginning of the year, while its 12-month returns are up by 14.03%. The stock closed at $67.15 per share on July 25, 2022.

Here is what Heartland Value Plus Fund has to say about Haemonetics Corporation (NYSE:HAE) in its Q2 2022 investor letter:

"Haemonetics, which provides disposables and devices used for blood and plasma collection, appears to be a recession-friendly stock as its products are not economically dependent. Moreover, as households feel economic pressures, they are more likely to donate plasma, for which they are compensated."

national-cancer-institute--Ln-tYivJM4-unsplash

Our calculations show that Haemonetics Corporation (NYSE:HAE) fell short and didnt make it on our list of the 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. Haemonetics Corporation (NYSE:HAE) was in 16 hedge fund portfolios at the end of the second quarter of 2022, compared to 29 funds in the previous quarter. Haemonetics Corporation (NYSE:HAE) delivered a 19.89% return in the past 3 months.

In March 2022, we also shared another hedge funds views on Haemonetics Corporation (NYSE:HAE) in another article. You can find other investor letters from hedge funds and prominent investors on our hedge fund investor letters 2022 Q1 page.

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
A senate panel will mark up two bipartisan bills Wednesday aimed at boosting safety for kids online through design changes and new data regulations.

And in chip news, the Senate voted Tuesday to advance legislation to provide

$52 billion to the domestic semiconductor industry, $81 billion to the National Science Foundation and a 25 percent investment tax credit for semiconductor manufacturing.

This is Hillicon Valley, detailing all you need to know about tech and cyber news from Capitol Hill to Silicon Valley. Send tips to The Hills Rebecca Klar and Ines Kagubare. Someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here.

Senators to debate kids safety bills

Two bills that would revamp how tech companies cater to and obtain data from young users will be in the spotlight Wednesday as a Senate panel debates how to update laws designed before the rise of social media.

The markup has been long awaited by critics who say the existing regulations are no longer adequate for a generation raised on the internet. Support for the issue has snowballed since a Facebook whistleblower leaked bombshell internal documents last year.

The Senate Commerce Committee is slated to discuss two bipartisan pieces of legislation that, taken together, would provide stricter regulations for how online platforms operate for children and teens. In part, the proposals would bring the U.S. closer to the standards put in place by other countries.



We have been saying for a while now that children need both better privacy protections, including privacy protections for teens for the first time, and they need to be protected against manipulative and harmful design that keeps them online too long and exposes them to harmful content. So these bills really work well together, said Josh Golin, executive director of Fairplay, a group that advocates for childrens and teens online safety.

The bills before the committee are the Childrens Online Privacy Protection Act, also known as COPPA 2.0, and the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA).

Story continues

Read more here.

Semiconductor bill pushed forward

The Senate voted 64-32 on Tuesday to advance legislation to provide $52 billion to the domestic semiconductor industry, $81 billion to the National Science Foundation and a 25 percent investment tax credit for semiconductor manufacturing.

The vote brings the semiconductor bill closer to the finish line after more than a year of negotiations.

The Senate passed the first version of the legislation in June of last year, but it stalled after House Democrats objected to several of its provisions, and conference negotiations between the two chambers had bogged down in recent weeks.



Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) saved the bill by dropping several provisions objected to by the House, including a package of trade provisions negotiated by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden

(D-Ore.) and Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) last year.

Read more here.

SMALL BUSINESS GROUP BACKS ANTITRUST BILL

The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) sent Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) a letter Tuesday backing the senators bipartisan antitrust bill aimed at tackling the market power of tech giants.

NFIB vice president of federal government relations Kevin Kuhlman called the bill, the American Innovation and Choice Online Act, a commonsense proposal that seeks to remedy conflicts of interest, foster increased choice in online services, and ensure a level playing field for small businesses and users of platforms covered by the legislation, according to a copy of the letter shared with The Hill.

The proposal would limit tech giants from preferencing their own products and services over rivals.

The legislation advanced out of the Senate Judiciary Committee with bipartisan support earlier this year, but has not been called for a floor vote  despite pressure from Klobuchar and Grassley.

META MULLS COVID MISINFORMATION POLICY UPDATES

Meta, the parent company of Facebook, asked the board tasked with overseeing policy debates on the platform to weigh in on whether it should ease its COVID misinformation policy.

The company asked the Oversight Board, a task force funded by Meta that operates independently, if the companys policy, including to remove posts with false claims, is still appropriate as the pandemic has evolved, Metas President of Global Affairs Nick Clegg wrote Tuesday in a blog post.

Facebook is asking the board to issue an advisory opinion on whether the current measures are appropriate, or if the company should address misinformation through other means such as labeling or demoting content.

Facebook broadened its misinformation policies in January 2020 to include removing posts with misinformation related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The company expanded the policy to remove false claims about the coronavirus vaccine in late 2020, as vaccines became available.

Read more here.

How do you feel about online security? Please take a moment to complete a brief survey from The Hill. As a thank you for your time, well enter you for a chance to win a $250 donation to your favorite charity. Take the survey here.

Toomey, Sinema eye crypto exemption

Sens. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) introduced legislation on Tuesday that would exempt small crypto purchases from a capital gains tax.

The pair of lawmakers introduced a bill that would offer an exemption for personal transactions using cryptocurrency of less than $50 or personal transactions that have gains of under $50 from being subject to a capital gains tax.

The legislation would encourage people to use cryptocurrency for small trades and transactions without worrying about being subjected to typical taxation requirements.



Transactions that use cryptocurrency can be taxed, according to the IRS website, which notes that Taxpayers transacting in virtual currency may have to report those transactions on their tax returns.

Read more here.

UBER EXPANDING EV SERVICES

Uber announced on Tuesday that it is expanding its offerings of electric vehicles to seven additional cities as a step in its efforts to reach zero emissions by 2030.

Conor Ferguson, the mobility communications manager for Uber, confirmed to The Hill that Comfort Electric, the companys fleet of all-electric vehicles, will be offered in Las Vegas; Seattle; Portland, Ore.; Denver; Austin, Texas; Philadelphia; and Baltimore. The company originally launched Comfort Electric in May in San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego.

The news was first reported by Axios.

Ferguson told The Hill that Ubers partnership with the car rental company Hertz is designed to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles throughout the country. He said customers who select the Comfort Electric option will be able to ride in a premium electric vehicle such as a Tesla, Polestar or Ford Mustang Mach-E.

Read more about the announcement.

BITS & PIECES

An op-ed to chew on: Pass the CHIPS Act to seize Americas big semiconductor opportunity

Notable links from around the web:

Tech Antitrust Bill Threatens to Break Apple, Googles Grip on the Internet (Bloomberg / Leah Nylen)

Zuck Turns Up The Heat (The Verge / Alex Heath and David Pierce)

Comcast eyes Vizio and others for smart TV acquisition (Protocol / Janko Roettgers)

 Lighter click: Maybe chips and DIPS next

One last thing: Keeping up with Mosseri

Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri rebuffed criticism Tuesday that the social media platform was rapidly changing to become more like TikTok, telling users that while photo-sharing will always be an integral part of the app, more and more of Instagram is going to become video over time.

After big-name celebrities like Kylie Jenner and Kim Kardashian criticized Instagram for evolving into a TikTok-like service, Mosseri uploaded a video on Twitter to inform users on why he believes the changes were necessary.

Were going to continue to support photos, its part of our heritage. You know I love photos, I know a lot of you out there love photos too, Mosseri said. That said, I need to be honest  I do believe more and more of Instagram is going to become video over time.

Read more here.

Thats it for today, thanks for reading. Check out The Hills Technology and Cybersecurity pages for the latest news and coverage. Well see you tomorrow.

READ THE FULL VERSION HERE

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Honduras on Tuesday extradited Herlinda Bobadilla, a 61-year-old alleged gang leader arrested in a shootout that killed one of her sons, to the United States on drug charges.

A US indictment alleges Bobadilla, also known as Chinda, and two of her sons led the "Los Montes" drug cartel -- one of the largest in Honduras.

Los Montes is "responsible for the distribution of multi-ton quantities of cocaine into the United States valued at millions of US dollars," the indictment said.

The clan matriarch was captured with three other people in the mountainous department of Colon in the country's northeast in May.

One of her sons, Tito, was killed in a shootout. Another fled and is still on the run.

The trio had allegedly taken control of Los Montes after Bobadilla's other son, Noe Montes-Bobadilla, was arrested and extradited to the United States in 2017 and subsequently sentenced to 37 years in jail for drug trafficking.

In handcuffs and surrounded by members of the special forces, Bobadilla was taken Tuesday to the air force base at Toncontin near the capital Tegucigalpa.

She was handed over to six members of the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and escorted onto a plane that took off for the United States.

She will be tried in the Eastern District Court of Virginia on a charge of conspiracy to distribute cocaine to be "unlawfully imported into the United States," according to the indictment.

Honduras is a major transit country for Colombian cocaine and other narcotics headed mainly to the United States.

The US had offered rewards of up to $5 million for information leading to the capture of Bobadilla and her sons.

In April, former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernandez was also extradited to the United States on drug charges just over a year after his brother Tony was sentenced in New York to life in prison.

In May, Honduran former police chief Juan Carlos Bonilla was also sent to the United States to stand trial for allegedly supervising drug trafficking operations on behalf of his boss, Hernandez.

nl/mav/mlr/wd
STORY: Large crowds of demonstrators chanted slogans and called for justice, while holding portraits of the executed activists and deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi of the National League for Democracy party.

Myanmar's ruling military on Tuesday defended its execution of the activists as "justice for the people," brushing off a deluge of international condemnation including from its closest neighbors.

The military, which seized power in a coup last year, announced on Monday (July 25) it had executed the activists for aiding "terror acts" by a civilian resistance movement, Myanmar's first executions in decades.
Internet Society Foundation Announces US$1.5 million in funding to promote Internet resiliency

PR Newswire

RESTON, Va., July 26, 2022

RESTON, Va., July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Internet Society Foundation has launched a second round of grants through its Resiliency program, which aims to help communities enhance preparedness and build Internet resiliency when faced with adverse events. This funding will support projects that increase network resiliency in communities prone to natural and climate-related disasters, ensuring these communities are better able to prepare for and withstand the effects of a disaster on Internet connectivity. A resilient Internet connection is one that maintains an acceptable level of service in the face of faults and challenges to normal operation.

Internet Society Foundation

"Connectivity to the Internet becomes a vital tool when disaster strikes, both for people in need and those responding to the emergency," noted Sarah Armstrong, Executive Director of the Internet Society Foundation. "Through these grants, we aim to support communities to reduce vulnerabilities and build the capacity and resilience to navigate future emergencies."

Examples of the types of projects the Foundation will support include: supporting development of temporary networks for crisis response, protecting data centers and Internet exchange points (IXPs) against environmental threats, fortifying sub-sea cables and/or stations, and supporting Internet service providers (ISPs) to upgrade infrastructure.

Organizations currently implementing projects around the world through the Resiliency grant program include Help.NGO, NetHope, Inc., and Telecoms Sans Frontieres.

The Resiliency program will open for applications between 25 July and 19 August. Grants of up to US$500,000 will be awarded for projects lasting up to 12 months.

More information on the grant including the application process can be found at: https://www.isocfoundation.org/grant-programme/resiliency-grant-program/

Story continues

About The Internet Society Foundation:

The Internet Society Foundation was established in 2019 to support the positive difference the Internet can make to people everywhere. Guided by our vision of an Internet for Everyone, the Foundation champions ideas and enables communities to unlock the Internet's potential to tackle the world's evolving challenges. Focusing in five program areas, the Foundation awards grants to Internet Society Chapters as well as non-profit organizations and individuals dedicated to providing meaningful access to an open, globally connected, secure and trustworthy Internet for everyone.

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/internet-society-foundation-announces-us1-5-million-in-funding-to-promote-internet-resiliency-301593376.html

SOURCE Internet Society Foundation
Several cars are underwater on Interstate 70 in St Peters, Missouri, on Tuesday morning (FOX2)

Record-breaking rainfall in St Louis, Missouri, caused flash flooding that submerged cars on Interstate 70 and left residents trapped in their homes.

St Louis received a record-breaking 8.06 inches (20.3cms) of rain in just seven hours, forcing the closure of I-70 in both directions and breaking a 107-year record for most rainfall in an entire day.

The torrential downpours turned roads into rivers, stranding motorists and forcing residents to shelter in place.

The St Louis Fire Department went to the aid of people trapped in three vehicles that were completely submerged at North Skinker Boulevard.

The flooding also trapped residents in 18 homes across the city.

The fire department saved six people and six dogs using an inflatable Zodiac boat. Another 15 chose to remain in their homes, they said in a tweet.

The City of St Louis said in a tweet that the storm had brought down trees and knocked out street lighting.

If you encounter water-covered roadways, DO NOT drive into the water!

The Missouri State Highway Patrol advised motorists to avoid travelling on the interstates in St Charles County and St Louis County areas until after the morning rush hour.

The NWS said the 8.06 inches that fell in parts of St Louis surpassed the previous record of 6.85 inches that was recorded on 20 August 1915. That rainfall came from the remnants of the Galveston Hurricane.

They also warned more wild weather could be on the way, with isolated thunderstorms, 60mph (97kms) winds and large hail stones expected in parts of southeast Missouri during the afternoon and evening.

The Missouri Department of Transportation said just after 6am that lanes in both directions on Interstate 70 would be closed for at least four hours around Mid Rivers Mall Drive.
A South Carolina spa worker used an intoxicating substance to render a customer helpless, officials said.

Now, the massage therapist is accused of sexual battery, and officers believe more victims could be tied to the case at Forever Yung Day Spa, according to the Spartanburg Police Department.

The therapist  whom officers identified as Dock Anoldis Pilgram  was arrested and charged with a sex crime. Police in a July 25 news release didnt list attorney information for him.

In a statement, Forever Yung Day Spa said its providers are independent contractors, but they are checked to ensure they meet state standards.

Forever Yung Day Spa takes pride in serving clients with excellent customer care, owner Jessica Eason wrote in an email to McClatchy News. Clients come to have a resort close to home experience for rejuvenation. It has been unfortunate that these allegations have been presented in my place of business.

The criminal case dates to July 14, when Spartanburg police were called to a reported sexual assault at the spa. During a scheduled massage session, Pilgram is accused of committing sexual battery and causing a person, without consent, to become mentally incapable and (physically) helpless by administering an intoxicating substance, according to officers.

I am deeply saddened and concerned for the victim about these troubling allegations, Eason wrote in the spas statement. I pray for the families about this situation and I hope they can get comfort during this time.

On July 15, Pilgram was identified and charged with first-degree criminal sexual conduct, police said. The 52-year-old Inman man was taken to the Spartanburg County jail.

An investigation continues, and police believe there could be more victims. People with information about the case are asked to call Spartanburg investigators at 864-596-2065 or 864-809-2273.

Police  who in an earlier arrest affidavit spelled the massage therapists last name as Pilgrim  didnt immediately respond to McClatchy News request for additional information on July 26.

Story continues

If you have experienced sexual assault and need someone to talk to, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline for support at 1-800-656-4673 or visit the hotline's online chatroom.

Teaching assistant accused of soliciting 15-year-old at middle school, SC cops say

School bus driver accused of sexually assaulting teen is out of a job, SC cops say
The occupiers attacked Odesa and Mykolaiv Oblasts

Read also: Erdogan regrets Russian attack on Odesa seaport, but urges Ukraine to proceed with grain agreement

Over nine missiles were fired.

In Odesa Oblast, some of the missiles hit residential houses in coastal villages, including in the popular resort town of Zatoka. The missile strike has resulted in a fire in the area.

Read also: Russian attack on Mykolaiv destroys a hotel, damages a mall

Rescuers are working on the ground. No casualties have been reported so far.

Read also: We will not allow Russia to place their crimes upon us

In neighboring Mykolaiv Oblast, the Russian missiles struck port infrastructure. In addition, Russian invaders used an S-300 air defense system to strike at ground targets in the district surrounding Mykolaiv city from the occupied territory of Kherson Oblast, hitting a auto market and other open areas of the suburbs.

Information about the scale of destruction and victims is being clarified.

Help HB continue reporting on the Russian invasion



Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Today we will run through one way of estimating the intrinsic value of Sureserve Group plc (LON:SUR) by projecting its future cash flows and then discounting them to today's value. The Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model is the tool we will apply to do this. Before you think you won't be able to understand it, just read on! It's actually much less complex than you'd imagine.

Companies can be valued in a lot of ways, so we would point out that a DCF is not perfect for every situation. For those who are keen learners of equity analysis, the Simply Wall St analysis model here may be something of interest to you.

See our latest analysis for Sureserve Group

The Calculation

We use what is known as a 2-stage model, which simply means we have two different periods of growth rates for the company's cash flows. Generally the first stage is higher growth, and the second stage is a lower growth phase. In the first stage we need to estimate the cash flows to the business over the next ten years. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years.

A DCF is all about the idea that a dollar in the future is less valuable than a dollar today, so we need to discount the sum of these future cash flows to arrive at a present value estimate:

10-year free cash flow (FCF) estimate

2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 Levered FCF (, Millions) UK10.7m UK11.0m UK11.3m UK11.5m UK11.7m UK11.8m UK12.0m UK12.1m UK12.2m UK12.4m Growth Rate Estimate Source Analyst x1 Analyst x1 Est @ 2.17% Est @ 1.8% Est @ 1.54% Est @ 1.36% Est @ 1.23% Est @ 1.14% Est @ 1.08% Est @ 1.03% Present Value (, Millions) Discounted @ 5.4% UK10.2 UK9.9 UK9.6 UK9.3 UK9.0 UK8.6 UK8.3 UK7.9 UK7.6 UK7.3

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)

Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = UK87m

Story continues

We now need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all the future cash flows after this ten year period. For a number of reasons a very conservative growth rate is used that cannot exceed that of a country's GDP growth. In this case we have used the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield (0.9%) to estimate future growth. In the same way as with the 10-year 'growth' period, we discount future cash flows to today's value, using a cost of equity of 5.4%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2032  (1 + g)  (r  g) = UK12m (1 + 0.9%)  (5.4% 0.9%) = UK277m

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= UK277m ( 1 + 5.4%)10= UK163m

The total value, or equity value, is then the sum of the present value of the future cash flows, which in this case is UK250m. To get the intrinsic value per share, we divide this by the total number of shares outstanding. Compared to the current share price of UK0.8, the company appears quite undervalued at a 46% discount to where the stock price trades currently. Valuations are imprecise instruments though, rather like a telescope - move a few degrees and end up in a different galaxy. Do keep this in mind.

dcf

The Assumptions

Now the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate, and of course, the actual cash flows. If you don't agree with these result, have a go at the calculation yourself and play with the assumptions. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at Sureserve Group as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 5.4%, which is based on a levered beta of 0.931. Beta is a measure of a stock's volatility, compared to the market as a whole. We get our beta from the industry average beta of globally comparable companies, with an imposed limit between 0.8 and 2.0, which is a reasonable range for a stable business.

Looking Ahead:

Although the valuation of a company is important, it shouldn't be the only metric you look at when researching a company. The DCF model is not a perfect stock valuation tool. Rather it should be seen as a guide to "what assumptions need to be true for this stock to be under/overvalued?" If a company grows at a different rate, or if its cost of equity or risk free rate changes sharply, the output can look very different. What is the reason for the share price sitting below the intrinsic value? For Sureserve Group, we've compiled three relevant elements you should further research:

Risks: We feel that you should assess the 1 warning sign for Sureserve Group we've flagged before making an investment in the company. Management:Have insiders been ramping up their shares to take advantage of the market's sentiment for SUR's future outlook? Check out our management and board analysis with insights on CEO compensation and governance factors. Other Solid Businesses: Low debt, high returns on equity and good past performance are fundamental to a strong business. Why not explore our interactive list of stocks with solid business fundamentals to see if there are other companies you may not have considered!

PS. Simply Wall St updates its DCF calculation for every British stock every day, so if you want to find the intrinsic value of any other stock just search here.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

Join A Paid User Research Session

Youll receive a US$30 Amazon Gift card for 1 hour of your time while helping us build better investing tools for the individual investors like yourself. Sign up here
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel said on Tuesday that its military jets came under Russian anti-aircraft fire over Syria in May but they missed their target, describing the confrontation as a "one-off incident".

The disclosure by Defence Minister Benny Gantz came amid tensions between Israel and Russia over the former's condemnation of the Ukraine war and the latter's scrutiny of a Jewish emigration agency.

Having helped Damascus turn the tide of a more than decade-old civil war, Russian forces in Syria regularly turn a blind eye to Israeli air strikes against suspected Iranian-sponsored deployments and arms transfers.

But Israel's Channel 13 TV reported that, on May 13, a Russian-operated S-300 air defence battery fired on Israeli jets as they carried out a Syria sortie - without hitting any.

"It was a one-off incident," Gantz told a conference hosted by Channel 13, when asked to confirm the report. The Russian launch happened when the aircraft "were no longer around", he said.

The Russian embassy in Israel did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Israel's coordination with Russia over Syria is "a situation that is stable right now, I think", Gantz said. "But we are always reviewing this story as if we only just began it now."

(Writing by Dan Williams; Editing by Nick Macfie)
Apartment blocks are pictured in the Shinagawa district in Tokyo. David GANNON/AFP

In Japan, homes where a death has occurred carry a stigma that can make the home hard to sell.

But some agents are making a career out of getting these "stigmatized" properties off the market.

One expert estimates that some of these houses can have their prices reduced by as much as 50%.

The first time Koji Hanahara stepped into one of Japan's "stigmatized properties," it was the scene of a lonely death. An elderly man had died alone in his apartment, and his body was only discovered two months later.

It was unnerving, but it reminded Hanahara of why he chose to do what he did. As the CEO of Marks Co., a Japanese real-estate company that specializes in cleaning, renovating, and selling stigmatized properties, it's his job to get these houses back onto the market again  despite their history.

"I thought I should be the one to do it. At that time, I realized again that it is my mission to help as many people as possible," Hanahara told Insider.

Building a business around 'accident properties' that are hard to sell

The term "jiko bukken"  which translates to "stigmatized property" or "accident property"  is most commonly used to describe a property where a suicide, murder, or natural death has occurred.

"In Japan, it is said that there are about 30,000 lonely deaths at home, about 13,000 suicides a year, and about 2,000 homicides and fire deaths a year, making it a total of 45,000," Hanahara said. "Not all these properties are rented or sold, but the current situation is that there are a large number of accident properties."

Not only can these houses be hard to clean, but the stigma makes them almost impossible to sell.

"In Japan, many people have the impression that accident properties are 'scary,' 'ghostly,' and 'dirty,' which makes them exclude accident properties when choosing real estate," Hanahara said.

While most real-estate agents want to avoid sharing grisly details, Hanahara does quite the opposite.

Koji Hanahara, the CEO of Japanese real-estate company Marks Co. Marks Co.

After working at a construction company for residential homes, Hanahara started his own real-estate agency, Marks Co., in 2016. He pivoted to specializing in stigmatized properties in 2019.

Story continues

The listing information on his company's site, Jobutsu Real Estate, includes a room description and details of how and when the previous owner died. "Suicide in December 2018" reads one listing currently available for 26.8 million yen, or $194,857. "The former owner died indoors in 2014" reads another that's on the market for 21.8 million yen.

Cheaper to rent or buy

Despite the stigma that's attached to these houses, there's a big plus point for buyers and renters: price.

Hanahara estimates that properties where lonely deaths have occurred tend to have prices reduced by 5 to 10%, while houses where suicides have occurred tend to have prices reduced by 20 to 30%. The prices of houses where murders have occurred can be reduced by as much as 50%, he added.

On the Jobutsu site, a 29-square-meter stigmatized condo apartment in Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, costs 21.8 million yen. A non-stigmatized condo of the same size in the same location costs 27.6 million yen, per data from the Japanese real-estate platform Utinokati.

Google Maps Street View of the apartment block where Pawlus-Ono lived with her family Google Maps

For some young families, the cheap rent is attractive. Kasia Pawlus-Ono, a Polish stay-at-home mom, moved to Japan from Australia with her Japanese husband and their daughter in 2019.

They lived in a stigmatized property in Hanamigawa, in the Chiba prefecture, from March 2019 to May 2021. The former tenant was a young mother who had died in the house, Pawlus-Ono said.

The interiors of Pawlus-Ono's apartment when they were moving in Kasia Pawlus-Ono

"It was around 25,000 yen when it was half-priced," Pawlus-Ono told Insider. "We paid one year of the rent basically up forward, because it was half price from the original because of the stigmatized property status."

In contrast, the average monthly rent for an apartment in Hanamigawa is 56,084 yen, per Utinokati.

"I would say it was a positive experience because our neighbors were fine. It also seemed like they were quite happy that someone moved in because for them it was strange that it was empty for so long," Pawlus-Ono said. She added that her rent went back its regular price  about 50,000 yen  after a year.

Rent may recover over time, but it doesn't mean agents no longer have to notify future tenants about the incident. Japan's Building Lots and Buildings Transaction Business Law prohibits realtors from intentionally withholding facts about the properties they're selling, Hanahara said. And in October, new guidelines from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism specified that brokers must disclose deaths if they had been well-known incidents, involved foul play, or have a significant decision-making impact. Realtors must also disclose all past deaths, regardless of their nature, if tenants ask.

Interior of Rothman's apartment. Scott Rothman

Scott Rothman, a technical director from the United States, moved into a stigmatized studio apartment in Shibuya, Tokyo, in September 2017. He lived there for slightly over three years.

"I got I think two free months of rent and the rent was quite discounted," Rothman told Insider. "The value was way better than I ever could have actually afforded and I even got a couple of free appliances out of it."

The previous tenant was an older woman who had died of natural causes in the house, Rothman said: "I was weighing the pros and cons of the apartment when I thought, 'People have to die somewhere? What's the difference?'"

How to find stigmatized properties in Japan

People can also find stigmatized properties in Japan on a website called Oshimaland.

The site maps stigmatized properties and provides the details and date of the incident that occurred there. However, it's not an official record; anyone can submit entries to the site, website creator Teru Oshima told Insider.

"Landlords have an incentive to check the website since everything that's written on it has a negative impact on the prices of their assets," Oshima said. "They can send me emails, post comments, send direct messages through Twitter or Facebook or any other route to contact me to correct the information if it's not true."

Screen grab of Oshimaland website Oshimaland

Marks Co. receives about two to three notifications about potential property listings in a day, most of which come directly from the relatives of the deceased. The company also works with funeral houses and special cleaning companies to look for more properties, Hanahara said.

In terms of tenants, he's noticed a trend of people in their 20s and 30s, single mothers, and single women living in stigmatized houses. And while the discounted pricing is one reason these apartments can be appealing  Tokyo, for example, is the fourth-most expensive city in the world to purchase property  it's not only about money.

"When you think of living in an accident property, you may have the idea that you are choosing the accident property because you have no money," Hanahara said. But the property might have other appealing perks, such as being located near public transport or in a new building, he added.

Some real-estate agents have reservations about dealing with stigmatized properties.

"I know there is certain demand, but it's really risky," Yuki Yanagita, a sales representative from real-estate company J&F Plaza, told Insider. J&F Plaza specializes in helping foreigners find property in Japan.

Along with a smaller pool of buyers, the cost of deep cleaning the house is borne by the agency  something not every company is willing to take on, Yanagita said. People in Japan often also closely associate stigmatized properties with the paranormal, he added.

But as for Hanahara, his goal is step in and handle exactly the stage of the process that others stay away from.

"We will help those who are willing to sell their accident property right from the stage when the accident occurred," Hanahara said.

Read the original article on Insider
TOKYO (AP)  Japan on Tuesday executed a man who killed seven people in a vehicle crash and stabbing rampage in a crowded Tokyo shopping district in 2008.

Justice Minister Yoshihisa Furukawa told reporters that Tomohiro Kato was hanged at the Tokyo detention center earlier Tuesday.

Japan has maintained the death penalty despite growing international criticism. Furukawa said capital punishment was a justified response to continuing heinous and violent crime and scrapping it wasn't appropriate at this point.

Furukawa said Kato had thoroughly prepared to commit the mass killings  an atrocious act that led to extremely serious consequences and had a major impact on society.

In the attack, Kato drove down his truck on a street in the Akihabara electronics shopping area, slamming into a crowd of people and killing three pedestrians in June 2008. He then got out of the vehicle and stabbed four people to death. He injured or wounded 10 others.

Surveillance footage aired by national broadcaster NHK afterward showed Kato buying hunting knives two days before the attack, laughing with a store worker and at times making stabbing motions with his hands. Media reports also said he had posted on internet message boards several despondent messages and warnings that he was planning to kill people in a mass attack.

Kato, 39, was sentenced to death in 2011 by the Tokyo District Court, and the Supreme Court rejected his appeal in 2015.

Furukawa denied Tuesdays hanging was related to the shooting death of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe earlier this month, which shocked the nation known for strict gun controls and low crime rate.

Tuesday's hanging was the second under the government of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who took office in October.

Japan now has 107 people on death row, including 61 seeking retrials, Furukawa said.

Japan and the U.S. are the only two countries in the Group of Seven advanced nations that retain capital punishment. A survey by the Japanese government showed an overwhelming majority of the public supports executions.

Story continues

Executions are carried out in high secrecy in Japan, where prisoners are not informed of their fate until the morning they are hanged. Since 2007, Japan has begun disclosing the names of those executed and some details of their crimes, but disclosures are still limited.

Three prisoners were hanged in 2021.

In 2018, Japan hanged 15 people, including the guru of the Aum Shinrikyo cult and 12 former followers convicted in the sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway that killed 13 people and sickened thousands.
Jared Kushner is opening up about his past health struggles.

The former White House senior advisor, 41, reveals he was diagnosed with and treated for thyroid cancer during his time working for his father-in-law, former President Donald Trump, in his new book Breaking History: A White House Memoir, according to The New York Times.

"On the morning that I traveled to Texas to attend the opening of a Louis Vuitton factory, White House physician Sean Conley pulled me into the medical cabin on Air Force One," Kushner writes. "'Your test results came back from Walter Reed,' he said. 'It looks like you have cancer. We need to schedule a surgery right away.'"

He recalls telling Dr. Conley: "Please don't tell anyone  especially my wife or my father-in-law."

Kushner notes, according to the Times, that the cancer was caught early, but required removing a "substantial part of my thyroid," which he was warned could cause long-term damage to his voice.

RELATED: Former President Donald Trump Mourns Ex-Wife Ivana Alongside Their Children at N.Y.C. Funeral Service

Jared Kushner

Alex Brandon/AP/Shutterstock Jared Kushner

The Harvard alum kept his diagnosis a secret from everyone but his wife Ivanka Trump, White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney and two of Kushner's aides, scheduling the procedure for a week before Thanksgiving.

"That way, I would miss the least amount of time in the office. My absence might even go unnoticed. That's how I wanted it," he explains.

Ivanka Trump

Mark Wilson/Getty

He writes that he kept himself distracted with work so "not to think about the upcoming surgery or the unwanted growth in my body."

"When I did think about it, I reminded myself that it was in the hands of God and the doctors, and that whatever happened was out of my control," Kushner adds. "At moments, I caught myself wondering whether I would need extensive treatment."

RELATED VIDEO: Ivanka Trump And Jared Kushner Testify At Jan. 6 Hearings

Kushner recalls his father-in-law, 76, calling him into the Oval Office the day before his surgery and asking if he was nervous about the procedure, even though Kushner never told the former president about his diagnosis.

Story continues

"I'm the President," Kushner recalls Donald telling him. "I know everything. I understand that you want to keep these things quiet. I like to keep things like this to myself as well. You'll be just fine. Don't worry about anything with work. We have everything covered here."

Kushner inked a book deal last June with Broadside Books, a conservative imprint of HarperCollins, to write about his father-in-law's presidency.

Since leaving the West Wing, Kushner and Ivanka, 40, have relocated to Miami, where Kushner launched his investment firm Affinity Partners last year.

Breaking History: A White House Memoir is available Aug. 9.
It's that time of year again: our Instagram feeds are chock-full of lavish celebrity vacations and snaps from jealousy-invoking trips. Paris, Italy, unnamed beaches  the stars take their summer break pretty seriously, and Jennifer Aniston is no exception. The actress is soaking up the sun on a beach somewhere and just shared the selfie to prove it.

On Monday, Aniston posted a picture to her grid of herself lounging on a white-sand beach wearing a black bikini, tan straw hat, and clear square sunglasses. She showed off her beach waves that poked out from under her hat, and she gave the camera a soft smile. Behind her, a turquoise ocean looked calm and low clouds peppered the blue sky.

She let the photo do the talking and only used emojis for the caption. "," she wrote alongside the image.

RELATED: The Morning Beauty Ritual Jennifer Aniston Hasn't Skipped In Nearly a Decade

Jennifer Aniston Close Up 2018 "Dumplin" Premiere

Getty Images

The much-deserved R&R comes after a hectic couple of years for the actress-turned-hair-icon-and-mogul. Earlier this year, she wrapped filming on the second installment of her and Adam Sandler's hit Netflix film, Murder Mystery, and last year, she premiered the highly-anticipated Friends reunion, released season 2 of Apple TV+'s The Morning Show, and launched her haircare brand LolaVie. The star recently told us that her secret to relaxation is meditation.

"I meditate every morning and I do write gratitude pages  not every day, but when I think to. But having a mindful morning is very important to me," she said. "Meditation has always been a part of my everyday routine, but it used to be 'meditate and work out.' It was sort of like a checklist and I found that was not working for me. It can't be a checklist. It has to be something that you really are devoted to."
Jesseca Dupart is a business owner and entrepreneur with a charming and inclusive personality. Shes also the wife of famed rapper Da Brat. The two married in Georgia on 2/22/22, a date that symbolizes their bond as twin flames. Since then, the couple has been all smiles, as evidenced on their social media pages.

Who is Jesseca Dupart?

Even though Jesseca Judy Dupart is widely recognized for being Da Brats wife, she is much more than that. She grew up with her parents and three siblings in their New Orleans hometown. She began doing hair as a young girl, using her father to model her unique hairstyles.

Years later, she would become the owner of Kaleidoscope Hair Products, a million-dollar company that provides hair care for women of all backgrounds.

Her Personal Life

Jesseca Dupart is the mother of three children, whom she had when she was just a teenager. Later, she met Da Brat at one of her business events and the rest was history.

Now she is the grandmother of a beautiful baby girl Kenzie, who fans might recognize from her social media accounts. Her nurturing spirit is beloved by her family and especially her wife. And the couple recently announced their plans to extend their family by having a baby in the near future.

But shes not just the wife of a legendary rapper. She is a success in her own right as well. From owning a booming business to starting a career in showbiz, Dupart is the ultimate definition of an IT girl. Here are five things to know about Jesseca Judy Dupart:

She's a natural hair guru

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Jesseca Harris-Dupart (@darealbbjudy)

Jesseca Dupart is the successful business owner of Kaleidoscope Hair Products. In 2013, she opened a hair salon called Kaleidoscope Hair Studio. The salon went from a budding business to a booming business within just six months!

Due to her massive success, she started a line of hair care products, Kaleidoscope Hair Products. The company sells a number of products designed to nourish and strengthen your hair, from moisturizing shampoos to miracle hair serums.

Story continues

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Jesseca Harris-Dupart (@darealbbjudy)

Using her gift of gab and already large social media following, Dupart would go on to sell more than 2.5 million products to women nationwide.

You can find her products at multiple retailers across the country, including Walmart, Target, and CVS.

She reps her community HARD

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Jesseca Harris-Dupart (@darealbbjudy)

As a Black woman and member of the LGBT+ community, Jesseca Dupart carries a heavy and often unfair responsibility to represent her communities. But its no sweat off her back because she goes hard for her communities, both online and in person.

Dupart is open about her sexuality and the love she has for her wife. Her Instagram page is filled with pictures of them documenting their lives together. Not to mention, shes constantly pictured sporting something with a rainbow design, a symbol of LGBT+ social movements. She even incorporated the colors into the branding of her hair care line.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Jesseca Harris-Dupart (@darealbbjudy)

And as a New Orleans native, she has put an incredible amount of time and energy into her city. For example, she allocated $50,000 to provide local police officer recruiters with the proper equipment and resources for duty and training. And she also purchased nearly 6,000 bicycles and toys for underserved youth in the city of New Orleans.

She has the key to New Orleans

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Jesseca Harris-Dupart (@darealbbjudy)

Jesseca Dupart is a New Orleans native who represents her city well. So well that in 2019 she was given the key to the entire city!

On May 20, 2019, the mayor of New Orleans, LaToya Cantrell, awarded Dupart the coveted Key to the City of New Orleans, an honor given to exceptional individuals for their philanthropic efforts in the community.

Some of her contributions include purchasing over 500 bicycles and 5,000 toys for underprivileged children in the city.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Jesseca Harris-Dupart (@darealbbjudy)

The mayor praised Dupart for her efforts, saying, This key truly represents our city. It is a reflection of who we are as a city. Whether you see the horn or the lamp postand that light that you see represents you. And only light can shine out darkness wherever it is, and we need your light. So, thank you for allowing it to shine on our people and our department as a whole.

She's an executive producer

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Jesseca Harris-Dupart (@darealbbjudy)

In 2021, Da Brat and Jesseca Dupart announced their new reality television show Brat Loves Judy. The WE tv docuseries follows the couple as they navigate their new lives together, from purchasing their first home as a couple to scaling their respective careers.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Jesseca Harris-Dupart (@darealbbjudy)

And because the show offers fans a glimpse into their private lives, the duo wanted to ensure they have a say in how their story is told. So both Da Brat and Dupart became executive producers of the show. And with Dupart already managing a successful business and social media following, the role is a perfect fit for her.

She's a success story

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Jesseca Harris-Dupart (@darealbbjudy)

Jesseca Dupart is a superstar talent today, but she wasnt always this successful growing up. She gave birth to her first child at a young age and had two more children before she was 20. Because of this, she was kicked out of her family home to fend for herself.

But instead of giving up, she put up a fight. She enrolled in one of New Orleans most elite cosmetology schools and obtained her license shortly after. From there, she worked tirelessly to improve her skills and create a reputation for herself in the industry.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Jesseca Harris-Dupart (@darealbbjudy)

Eventually, her hard work paid off when she started the Kaleidoscope Brand. Now, shes a successful business owner serving millions of products nationwide. But her greatest achievement is the family she created with her wife, children, and social media fans.
Pedestrians and motorists are seen next to campaign posters for Presidential candidates for Azimio La Umoja (Aspiration to Unite) Raila Odinga (L) and United Democratic Alliance (UDA) William Ruto, in Nairobi on June 30, 2022

Kenya, one of Africa's leading economies, will be electing a new president on 9 August amid a surge in the cost of living and a debilitating drought that will challenge whoever takes up the post. But President Uhuru Kenyatta is backing his deputy's rival to win the poll and secure his legacy.

All its previous elections have led to either disputes and claims of rigging, outbreaks of deadly violence, or both. So Kenyans are hoping that this time will be different.

Who are the candidates?

The four-time failed presidential candidate Raila Odinga is trying his luck again. The 77-year-old former prime minister has a reputation as a formidable campaigner.

His big rival is the 55-year-old Deputy President William Ruto. He has proved a match for Mr Odinga on the campaign trail and has drawn large crowds.

Raila Odinga (L) and President Uhuru Kenyatta (R) have been opponents in the previous two elections

There are two other lesser-known names on the ballot paper.

George Wajackoyah has caught the attention with his proposal to legalise marijuana cultivation and the export of snake venom. David Mwaure Waihiga is running on an anti-corruption message.

Why isn't the president backing his deputy?

Things have got topsy-turvy in Kenyan politics. Mr Odinga was once an implacable foe of the incumbent, President Uhuru Kenyatta. The enmity between them can be traced back 60 years when their fathers, both independence leaders, fell out.

But in a remarkable turnaround the two men shook hands and made up in 2018 and Mr Kenyatta has thrown his weight behind Mr Odinga's campaign.

This left Mr Ruto out in the cold and made for several years of an uncomfortable relationship at the top.

What is the main issue?

Arguably, the deputy president has defined the grounds that this election is being fought on - the economy.

Whereas in recent elections debates about corruption and justice have dominated, this time people are very much thinking about their pockets.

Coming from a modest background, Mr Ruto, who is now a wealthy man, has styled himself as the champion of the poor. In this young nation, he has focussed on policies to tackle youth unemployment and in 2018 coined the phrase "hustler nation" to refer to people struggling to make ends meet.

Story continues

William Ruto casts himself as the champion of the poor

In an imaginative act of political symbolism, alongside the usual election merchandise, he has handed out free wheelbarrows at his campaign rallies.

He has also presented his candidacy as an attempt to end the domination of Kenyan politics by dynastic families: the Kenyattas and Odingas.

Mr Odinga is promising to continue the president's development agenda and improve the lives of vulnerable Kenyans by giving them a 6,000 Kenyan shilling ($50; 40) monthly stipend from a new social protection fund if he is elected president.

He has also pledged to provide affordable healthcare through what he calls "Baba Care", promoting himself as a fatherly figure in a nation of more than 56 million.

Is there an ethnic dimension to this election?

In Kenya, many votes are cast along ethnic lines and in previous years, this has sometimes spilled over into nationwide violence with people being attacked and killed merely on the basis of which community they come from.

The disputed poll of December 2007 was followed by weeks of ethnic-based violence in which 1,200 people died and more than 500,000 fled their homes.

Since then, politicians have been keen to emphasise peaceful democratic engagement. But the issue of ethnic affiliation has not gone away.

Mr Odinga, a Luo, and Mr Ruto, a Kalenjin, will both be relying on the votes of their large ethnic groups to propel them into State House.

But in a calculated move both have chosen running mates from the country's largest ethnic group - the Kikuyu. In Martha Karua, Mr Odinga has also picked the first woman to run on a major political party's presidential ticket.

Concerns remain that in parts of the country ethnic tensions could spill over into violence and some people are moving to areas where their ethnic groups forms the majority to avoid being targeted. But, in light of what happened after the 2007 vote, the authorities have been taking steps to make sure that things are peaceful.

Will it be free and fair?

People will also be watching to see if the electoral commission has straightened out the problems which in 2017 led to the annulment of the initial election result and the whole thing being re-run.

The issue then was that the system to electronically transmit results from every polling station was not working in some places. Opposition lawyers representing Mr Odinga argued successfully that this allowed the vote tallies to be tampered with.

This time the authorities say they have taken measures to make sure that electronic transmission will proceed smoothly.

The speed of getting the election result will depend on how well that system works, but come the night of 9 August every result will be closely scrutinised by the candidates' representatives to make sure that they are not cheated out of the top job.

Are other elections happening?

On polling day, Kenyans will be casting multiple votes.

Alongside the presidential election, people will be voting for MPs and senators to go to the national parliament, county governors and county assembly members.

And women get an extra vote to elect one of 47 women's representatives to sit in the national assembly.

How will the election work?

Polls are due to open for 12 hours from 06:00 local time (03:00 GMT). Anyone still in the queue at closing time will be allowed to vote.

Once closed, officials will start counting the votes at each polling station.

It is not yet clear when the presidential election result will be announced but the electoral commission has a maximum of seven days to count and tally the votes.

To win, a candidate needs more than half the votes cast nationally and at least 25% of the votes cast in each of more than half of the counties.

If that threshold is not reached then the election goes into a second-round run-off between the top two candidates.

Election branding
Crypto exchange Kraken is reportedly under investigation by the U.S. Treasury Department on suspicion it allowed Iranian users to utilize the site's services in violation of federal sanctions.

The New York Times reported Tuesday that the Treasury Department was likely to impose a fine against the exchange, though it did not suggest a timeline for the enforcement action.

Kraken sent CoinDesk a statement from Chief Legal Officer Marco Santori saying that the exchange would not comment "on specific discussions with regulators."

"Kraken has robust compliance measures in place and continues to grow its compliance team to match its business growth. Kraken closely monitors compliance with sanctions laws and, as a general matter, reports to regulators even potential issues," Santori said.

A recent Reuters investigation found that crypto exchange Binance continued to allow Iranian users to place trades despite the sanctions and a company ban on doing business there.

Federal sanctions have long been a tool for the U.S. government to block individuals or nations from accessing the global financial system. Multiple crypto-users and addresses in Iran have been sanctioned in the past.

Several crypto platforms have proactively blocked Iranian users. NFT trading site OpenSea blocked Iranian users earlier this year, while Ethereum incubator ConsenSys blocked Iranian students from a coding boot camp in 2021.

Treasury has also not been shy about fining crypto companies in the past. BitGo, a crypto exchange, and BitPay, a transaction processor, have both faced steep Treasury fines for alleged sanctions violations.

Krakens CEO and co-founder, Jesse Powell, has been vocal about his willingness to challenge regulations he sees as unfair, including international sanctions.

In February, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Powell pushed back against calls to freeze the accounts of Krakens Russian users, tweeting: Our mission at [Kraken] is to bridge individual humans out of the legacy financial system and to bring them into the world of crypto, where arbitrary lines on maps no longer matter, where they dont have to worry about being caught in broad, indiscriminate wealth confiscation.

Story continues

In a corporate culture memo released in June, Kraken also described itself as a company that believes the weaponization of the financial system is immoral and promised to engage in disputes with government agencies where outdated laws are unfairly exclusionary.

UPDATE (July 26, 18:29 UTC): Added statement from Kraken and additional background.

UPDATE (July 26, 18:35 UTC): Added information on Powell's past comments.

UPDATE (July 26, 18:43 UTC): Added information on Reuters report on Binance.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department is seeking help to identify an attempted murder suspect who was recorded on a garage security camera pulling out a gun and trying to shoot a man after a botched robbery in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Sunday.

Authorities said the unidentified suspect approached the victims vehicle as he was parking in a garage and demanded his belongings. The victim then ran across the street, and the suspect followed closely behind, ultimately pulling out a gun and pointing it at the victim.

The homeowner narrowly escapes being shot after the suspect's gun failed to fire, police said.

Las Vegas police said the suspect then entered a nearby vehicle and fled.

NO SHOOTING ON LAS VEGAS STRIP DESPITE MASS PANIC AT CASINOS, OUTSIDE HOTELS: POLICE

Authorities also provided Ring security video of the incident. The dramatic video shows the man run across the street as the suspect chases him. The suspect appears to attempt to fire the gun at the man several times, but the victim is able to run away unharmed.

The suspects vehicle is a newer-model black sedan with black wheels and tinted windows, police said.

Police are encouraging anyone with information on the suspect to contact LVMPD Summerlin Area Command at 702-828-9455. Anonymous tips can also be shared at Crime Stoppers via the telephone, 702-385-5555 or online at crimestoppersofnv.com.
Watch: Student fulfils bucket list dream of reading the weather

Laura Nuttall, a terminally ill cancer patient, has presented a broadcast of the BBC's weather update, ticking another item off her bucket list.

Nuttall appeared on BBC North West Tonight alongside regular weatherman Owain Wyn Evans and presented a segment of the report focussed on Wednesday's weather forecast.

Wyn Evans went on to call her weather presenting 'just brilliant'.

Nuttall was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2018 after going for a routine eye test and it was later found that she had eight tumours.

Laura Nuttall was diagnosed with cancer in 2018. (ITV)

Doctors only gave her 12 months to live but four years later, she is still here after undergoing various treatments including surgery, chemotherapy and immunotherapy.

Nuttall recently graduated from Manchester University with a degree in politics, philosophy and economics. She was studying at university in London when initially diagnosed and later returned to her studies while undergoing chemotherapy.

Read more: Cancer patient praises Peter Kay for raising money for her treatment

Nuttall's mother has previously spoken of her perseverance to complete her degree: "Laura reaching that milestone looked impossible when she was given 12-18 months to live  it was unimaginable pain for the whole family. There have been really tough times over the last three years when she's struggled with sickness and chemo related fatigue."

Laura Nuttall with her family before Peter Kay's fundraising gig. (PA Images via Getty Images)

Since being diagnosed with cancer, Nuttall has made strides to tick things off her bucket list including going for a pint with comedian Peter Kay.

Kay also returned to the stage to help raise money for Nuttall's treatment and did two Q&A events at the Manchester Apollo, tickets for which sold out in 30 minutes.

Peter Kay live on stage. (WireImage)

Meeting Michelle Obama was also on Nuttall's bucket list and something she was able to do in 2019 and she has also gone finishing with Paul Whitehouse and Bob Mortimer and met Fiona Bruce and The X Files star Gillian Anderson.
Jul. 26Jon Romer is a native of Albert Lea, former music professor and chair of the voice department at Gustavus Adolphus College. He worked with the Ojibwe people in northern Minnesota and served as department chair at Lea College for three years. He also collects photos.

"One of our finest music students (Brad Brandt) ... was a very loyal Lea College student and very active in many areas of the college, and then Brad, because of his interest and passion for the college, kept a scrapbook," he said.

That book, which held accounts of athletic and music events, graduations and other activities, was passed on to Romer  who was Brandt's teacher  and Lowell Barr.

Barr and his wife were supportive of the college, so after he, Romer and Al Arends examined the book, they presented it to the Freeborn County Historical Museum, Library & Village last Thursday.

"I just felt it was so important, and there were so many important people like ... Lowell Barr and many others in Albert Lea who were so influential and worked so hard to make the college a special place that it was, that I felt it was really important to preserve that in the museum," Romer said. "I'm really grateful that Freeborn County has the museum."

Many of the photos directly related to Romer's work at Lea College.

"The photos that we had [were] of several graduations of Lea College, of the choir," he said.

Romer admitted he was also instrumental in getting a pipe organ from Bradner, Ohio, which was set up in the field house.

"There's a picture, on the front page I believe, of the scrapbook ... of that pipe organ," he said.

There were also pictures from student parties as well as the Albert House, which was on Broadway and held student activities.

"There was a room within the Albert House, which was called the Spanish Dining Room, so theater productions were held there," he said.

He also donated roughly 300 to 400 photos in the scrapbook.

Story continues

"It's the history of the community, and I think being a teacher I do feel that Albert Lea has always had an important concern, positive concern for the education of people growing up here," he said "It speaks to that

He said those photos spoke mostly directly to activities at the college that impacted Albert Lea's culture, their athletic and musical and theater events and performances.

"Many times ... within the classroom very little of that impacts the community directly," he said. "But one of the things that marked Lea College was its community relationship, and it was important because of what was invested in the college from the community and the people in the community, that they saw and felt and knew what was happening at the college."

According to Romer, the book was initially started in 1967 by Brandt, but the idea of donating the book started around five years ago.

"We didn't want that to disappear," he said. "We wanted it to be part of the ongoing history of education in Albert Lea."

Alrends donated two yearbooks and another scrapbook of the men's basketball teams.

Besides the scrapbook, a CD and DVD were donated. The DVD is a documentary of the final Lea College reunion.

"There's other material in there on this DVD of people, of graduation speakers, of ... student graduates walking across campus going to, I think, the final graduation of the college," Romer said.
By Timour Azhari

(Reuters) - Lebanon's parliament on Tuesday passed long-awaited amendments to a banking secrecy law, according to a Reuters witness, in the first step towards reforms required by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

However, the amendments were watered down from the original proposal, leading one of the architects of the country's economic recovery to say he would seek feedback from the IMF.

Lebanon and the IMF signed a staff-level agreement in April for $3 billion in funding to ease the country's economic crisis, described by the World Bank as among the top three financial meltdowns since the Industrial Revolution.

The aid package is conditional on prerequisites including a banking restructuring strategy, capital controls, a 2022 budget and a reformed banking secrecy law.

The bill, read out in parliament's first general session since elections in May, does not lift banking secrecy as a whole.

It allows some government bodies to lift secrecy specifically in cases of criminal investigations, including in illicit enrichment, money laundering and terrorism financing.

The original bill would have allowed banking secrecy to be lifted to investigate "all financial crimes," but parliament voted to remove that language thus limiting the law's scope.

Deputy prime minister Saade Chami, the architect of the country's financial recovery roadmap, said he didn't agree with the version of the law passed on Tuesday.

He tried to speak several times during the session but was drowned out by lawmakers.

Chami told Reuters he would send the law to the IMF to confirm whether it met its expectations.

The IMF's staff level agreement had called for a new law "in line with international standards to fight corruption and remove impediments to effective banking sector restructuring and supervision, tax administration, as well as detection and investigation of financial crimes, and asset recovery."

(Reporting by Timour Azhari Writing by Maya Gebeily; Editing by Catherine Evans and Mark Potter)
Lil Wayne has paid tribute to the late police officer who helped him when he shot himself aged 12.

The officer, named Robert Hoobler, who died at the age of 65 on Friday (22 July), helped Wayne when he attempted to take his own life as a child.

According to the parishs coroner, Dr Gerry Cvitanovich, Hoobler was found dead at his home in Jefferson Parish, a few miles west of New Orleans.

Details about the cause of death have yet to be revealed.

However, Hooblers grandson Daniel Nelson said that he suffered from lingering health issues stemming from a car accident and struggled with diabetes, which eventually led to both of his legs being amputated.

Everything happens for a reason. I was dying when I met u at this very spot. U refused to let me die, Wayne wrote via Instagram on Monday (25 July). Everything that doesnt happen, doesnt happen for a reason. That reason being you and faith. RIP uncle Bob. Aunt Kathie been waiting for u. Ill love and miss u both and live for us all.

In 2021, Wayne offered to help financially support Hoobler.

The Louisiana police officer told TMZ that Wayne told him he would help him with anything after bumping into each other at a New Orleans concert.

Hoobler said he had not yet taken up the offer but had discussed joining the rappers team in an administrative capacity.

If you are experiencing feelings of distress and isolation, or are struggling to cope, The Samaritans offers support; you can speak to someone for free over the phone, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch.

If you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call National Suicide Prevention Helpline on 1-800-273-TALK (8255). The Helpline is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you.
Jul. 26Longmont residents in the area of Cedar Court and Purdue Drive were ordered to shelter in place for 9 1/2 hours on Saturday while SWAT personnel searched the home of a man suspected of kidnapping a woman and later attempting to run her over with his vehicle.

Curtis Ross, 36, was arrested Saturday and faces charges of felony menacing, domestic violence, third-degree assault, second-degree kidnapping, criminal attempt, obstruction of a telephone service and criminal mischief.

A deputy with the Boulder County Sheriff's Office at 6 a.m. Saturday responded to a report of domestic violence that occurred at the Boulder County Fairgrounds, according to an arrest affidavit.

When deputies interviewed the woman who had made the domestic violence report, they noticed her hands were shaking and that she had been crying, the affidavit said. She also had a large scrape on the back of her left elbow and scrapes on her knees, feet and fingers.

The woman told deputies she had gone to McCarthy's Pub in Longmont on Friday evening with friends and her boyfriend, whom she identified as Ross, the affidavit said. She told deputies Ross asked her to buy him alcohol but she declined. Ross left the bar and went to a nearby liquor store to purchase vodka. She said Ross returned and drank the bottle of vodka while sitting in his vehicle in the parking lot.

When the bar closed, she did not want to leave with Ross, so she went with a friend to Dickens Farm Nature Area. She and her friend smoked marijuana, but eventually she called Ross to pick her up, intending to go back to his house to sleep, according to the affidavit.

When he picked her up, about 5 a.m., she noticed he was intoxicated. The woman said Ross was known to use methamphetamine and that she had seen Ross use meth earlier on Friday.

She said they were driving to his house when he pulled into the Boulder County Fairgrounds parking lot, the affidavit said. She said that he told her they were going to watch the sunrise, but that when she told Ross she did not want to stay at the fairgrounds, he said they were going to talk about what happened the previous night.

Story continues

The woman said Ross started yelling and cussing at her, so she attempted to call 911. Ross grabbed her phone and threw it out his window. She escape from the vehicle's passenger door but that Ross also exited the vehicle, a 2007 GMC Yukon, and chased her. When he caught up to her, he threw her on the ground and pinned her, the affidavit said.

She grabbed his beard, which allowed her to pull free. She began to run away again, and he ran back to his vehicle and drove aggressively after her and ran over her cell phone several times.

Ross accelerated and swerved toward her but then slammed on the brakes, stopping just short of where she was standing, the affidavit said. She then jumped over a nearby fence in order to escape being struck by the vehicle.

During the investigation, police learned that Ross had called 911 about 5:15 a.m. Saturday while sitting in the vehicle in his grandmother's driveway. The vehicle is registered to Ross' grandmother, whose address was redacted from the affidavit.

Carrie Haverfield, spokesperson for the Boulder County Sheriff's Office, said law enforcement attempted to contact Ross at his residence near the intersection of Cedar Court and Purdue Drive on Saturday morning after receiving information that he was at that location. It is unclear if he lived with his grandmother at this location.

Due to the severity of the reported crimes, SWAT personnel executed a search at Ross' home. Residents in the area were alerted and placed on a shelter-in-place order from 7:20 a.m. until about 4:50 p.m., Haverfield wrote in an email. It is unclear whether anything was recovered from the home.

Ross was found later Saturday at another residence and was arrested, Haverfield said.

During an interview with a Boulder County detective, the woman said Ross helped her move about a month ago. After the move, she was unable to find two handguns she owned. She said one gun is a pink .25-caliber semiautomatic handgun and the other is a black 9 mm semiautomatic handgun.

The woman told law enforcement she did not have any ammunition for the 9 mm gun and had an unknown number of rounds for the other gun. She could not recall how many magazines she owned for each pistol and did not have photos of the guns or their serial numbers.

Ross has two separate, active protection orders, the affidavit said. The conditions of both active orders stipulate that Ross cannot possess or consume alcohol or controlled substances and cannot possess or purchase firearms or other weapons.

Ross was previously arrested in Boulder County in 2019 and charged with third-degree assault. He was arrested again in Boulder County in November 2021 and charged with driving under the influence and failure to display proof of insurance, according to online court records.
Louisiana had more workers and the lowest unemployment rate in state history in June 2022, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Louisiana Workforce Commission.

Statewide, Louisiana's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 3.8%, and the state also totaled more than 2 million employed workers, adding nearly 4,000 from May. LWC Secretary Ava Cates said the all-time high for employment was a positive sign even as the state continues to deal with the impacts of inflation and rising costs.

From gas to groceries, the cost of everything is going up and its exciting to see more Louisianians working than ever before, Cates said in a release. As our workforce continues to grow in strength and skill, we have to continue investing in it to ensure people have the resources they need to maintain not just jobs, but family-thriving careers.

The unemployment rate fell 0.2 percentage points from May and has fallen 2 percentage points since June 2021. The seasonally adjusted rate has fallen over the year for 16 consecutive months and has not seen a month-to-month increase since April 2020, early on into the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Re-Entry Job Fair is a job fair targeting people who have previously been incarcerated and was held at the Martin Luther King Jr. Center in Lafayette. Thursday, July 25, 2019.

Since June 2021, the number of employed individuals has risen by more than 77,700. The number of unemployed people fell by nearly 3,700 from May to June and has fallen by more than 41,000.

Louisiana jobs: Thousands more Louisiana workers quit their jobs in May, but firings remain at record low

Read this: What types of jobs are being recruited to Lafayette Parish?

The low unemployment rate has been the result of several combined factors, with gains in employment being one of them. The state, like many others, has also seen many leave the labor force, with Louisiana seeing tens of thousands quit their jobs in each of the last few months,

The state has not seen its labor force participation rate increase at the same pace. The rate, which measures people aged 16 to 64 that are working or seeking work, was at 59% in June 2022, which was around the same as May. Since June 2021, the rate has risen by a little less than 1 percentage point.

Story continues

The state still has thousands of unfilled positions isted on the Louisiana Workforce Commission's website. In June, the state still had high numbers of job openings, according to the BLS data.

There are good opportunities out there for job seekers, and LWC is here to connect them with the resources they need to land the job, Cates said. Job fairs and hiring events are constantly taking place around the state, and employers are eager to hire.

Several industries saw significant gains over the last month, with manufacturing leading the way with 900 more jobs since May. Education and health services added 500 , and other services added 600.

Since June 2021, the leisure and hospitality industry has added 12,200 jobs across the state. Professional and business services companies have added 9,000 positions, and manufacturers have added 6,800 over the year.

Most of the state's nine metropolitan areas saw little movement in their jobs numbers from May to June, but the majority have seen growth over the last year. Hammond's employed total rose 0.2%, as did the Shreveport-Bossier City area's. Since June 2021, Hammond's job total has risen 1.5%, and Shreveport-Bossier's has risen 3.1%.

Alexandria, Houma-Thibodaux and Monroe all saw their total number of employed people stay the same from May to June. Alexandria's employment count has increased 2.6% since June 2021, and Monroe's has risen 0.8%.

The Houma-Thibodaux area is the only one that has lost jobs since June 2021 with a decline of 3.1%.

Baton Rouge's total fell by 0.8% from May to June, while New Orleans's count fell 0.4%. Baton Rouge's job total increased 2% since June 2021, and the New Orleans area saw positions rise 1.1%.

Lake Charles saw its employment numbers fall slightly, around 0.1%, from May to June, but it has had the largest percent-increase since June 2021 in the state with 5%. Lafayette saw the smallest decline from May to June with a drop of 0.05%, but its growth since June 2021 is around 2.8%.

CONSIDER SUBSCRIBING TODAY: Help support journalists like William Taylor Potter

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Louisiana employment reaches all-time high, data says
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia on Tuesday condemned Myanmar's junta for carrying out the execution of four pro-democracy activists, describing the action as a crime against humanity and appearing to make "a mockery" of a Southeast Asian-led peace plan.

Myanmar's military, which seized power in a coup last year, confirmed the country's first executions in decades, accusing the activists of aiding "terror acts" by a civilian resistance movement.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah also questioned the timing of the executions, which came a week before a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The 10-member bloc, which has also condemned the executions, had been pushing for Myanmar to adhere to a five-point peace plan it agreed to last year.

"We looked at (the executions) as if the junta is making a mockery of the five-point consensus, and I think we really have to look at this very, very seriously," Saifuddin told a news conference.

Myanmar should not be allowed to send political representatives to any international ministerial level meetings, he said, widening Malaysia's previous call for junta officials to be barred from ASEAN summits until progress was made on the peace plan.

"We hope we have seen the last of the executions and we will try to use whatever channel that we can to try and ensure that this will not happen again," Saifuddin said, adding that Malaysia would seek to present a framework for the implementation of the peace plan at the ASEAN meeting.

ASEAN should also seek to engage Myanmar's National Unity Government (NUG) and National Unity Consultative Council (NUCC), a shadow administration outlawed by the country's military junta, he said.

Myanmar's junta has repeatedly called on countries not to engage with the NUG, which is made up members of the ousted administration and other military opponents that the junta has labelled as "terrorists".

In May, Saifuddin met his counterpart from the NUG on the sidelines of a summit in the United States, in the group's first open engagement with a Southeast Asian country.

(Reporting by Reporting by Rozanna Latiff; Editing Kanupriya Kapoor and Ed Davies)
A man in rural Pennsylvania died after his massive pet snake constricted him to death, according to local officials.

Elliot Senseman, 27, of Upper Macungie Township, was pronounced dead in an area hospital on Sunday, after suffering from what the Lehigh County Coroners Officed deemed accidental asphyxiation that caused an anoxic brain injury.

Police were called to Sensemans home by a family member on Wednesday afternoon, finding the 27-year-old unresponsive with his 18-foot boa constrictor wrapped around his body.

The snakes head was far enough away from the man that officers decided to shoot the animal.

Its one of those situations where the officers dont have the time, the liberty to ask a lot of questions, Upper Macungie Township Police lieutenant Peter Nickischer told The Independent. They have to act right away and then its a matter of, OK, lets get this person into the ambulance as soon as possible.

The police lieutenant said in his 19 years doing police work, hes seen nothing like this and that the snake, which eventually died, was very long, very thick.

The creature reportedly did not die instantly and slithered away before it was euthanised.

Family members told The Daily Beast that Senseman was an experienced snake handler who was looking after three reptiles whose owners could no longer care for them. The snake that bit him was especially combative, believed to have been mistreated in the past.

This particular snake was aggressive, and that was one of the issues, the family member said With the way that this snake attacked him and how aggressive it became, it wasnt reacting normally.

Others have offered a different interpretation of what happened.

Rudy Arceo, of Schuylkill Countys Venom Institute, told the Morning Call that snakes maintain their grip by wrapping themselves around whatever is holding them.

"If you put this snake around your neck, and youre walking around hanging out with it or whatever, they will wrap around and theyll just basically try to maintain balance," he said. "And unfortunately, if youre not paying attention, they can get around your neck, and then when you try to actually push-pull away from it, it can be really difficult."

Story continues

Neighbours told WPVI that Senseman was often seen in the yard of his home, holding a snake. Others said they saw multiple snakes in the widow.

Such deaths are extremely uncommon.

Only 17 people were killed by large constrictor snakes in the US between 1978 and 2013, according to the Humane Society.
The Monroe County Sheriffs Office announced that authorities saved a man from drowning in the Ocmulgee River.

Just after 10 p.m. Sunday, deputies say they found Taylor Romport floating in the middle of the river.

Using flashlights, deputies say they were able to track the man in the water until the fire and rescue department could arrive with a boat.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

At one point, deputies say that Romport went underwater and began struggling to stay afloat.

Eventually, Romport grabbed a tree branch so that authorities could rescue him on their boat.

TRENDING STORIES:

Deputies and the Monroe County Fire Department helped get Romport onto the boat.

Romport was turned over to emergency medical services for an evaluation.

[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]

IN OTHER NEWS:
NEW YORK (AP)  Mets ace Jacob deGrom will make what could be his final minor league rehab start with Triple-A Syracuse on Wednesday night.

The two-time NL Cy Young Award winner hasn't pitched in the majors since July 7, 2021. The 34-year-old right-hander missed the second half of last season with right forearm tightness and a sprained elbow and has been sidelined since late in spring training by a stress reaction in his right scapula.

DeGrom has made three injury rehabilitation appearances in the minors. He threw 24 pitches over 1 2/3 innings on July 3 and 36 over three innings on July 8, both for Class A St. Lucie, then 42 over four innings for Triple-A Syracuse on July 14.

He threw a 60-pitch simulated game over the All-Star break in Florida, then threw a side session Sunday in New York prior to the Mets' game against San Diego. He'll start for Syracuse on six days of rest since the sim game, which was delayed two days after deGrom experienced minor shoulder soreness.

Max Scherzer is slated to start for New York on Wednesday against the crosstown Yankees. Either he or deGrom could be available to pitch on regular rest when the Mets open a series at Washington on Monday, Aug. 1.

___

More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
In a surprise move Monday, the city of Milwaukee took the novel step of filing a civil lawsuit against what the city argues is one of its worst repeat reckless drivers.

Months ago, the Milwaukee Police Department and various members of the Common Council began exploring ways of filing civil lawsuits against reckless drivers, labeling them a nuisance and subjecting them to penalties such as seizing their car, rather than citations or criminal prosecution.

A drafted ordinance with that goal in mind appeared to be well on its way for approval in March until a last-minute legal opinion from the City Attorneys Office stood in the way. Although council members assured the public they could remedy the situation and see the ordinance pass, the matter has never been discussed again in City Hall and appeared dead.

But the Milwaukee Police Department announced Monday the city agreed to file the civil lawsuit without a specific ordinance on the books, arguing instead that under state law, the drivers behavior could be considered a public nuisance.

If the court agrees and the driver continues to violate rules of the road in the future, it could potentially mean the drivers car would be taken away.

Its a tactic that is not in use in other cities, police officials have said, but follows the same legal logic that allows local governments to seize a residential property when its determined to be a chronic location of drug dealing, illegal alcohol sales or other nuisances.

This new approach of civil litigation against egregious reckless drivers is intended to send a clear message to all the chronic reckless drivers in Milwaukee that we take the safety of everyone on the roadways in our community very seriously," said Chief Jeffrey Norman, who first proposed pursuing civil litigation against reckless drivers.

The target of the lawsuit is Anthony Szablewski, 53, of Milwaukee. It alleges that Szablewski racked up 44 traffic-related citations in the city since 2017, and 14 through the first six months of 2022.

Story continues

The infractions from this year include four speeding violations, running a red light, unsafe passing on the right and eight counts of operating a vehicle with a suspended license, suspended registration or without insurance, the complaint said.

In February, Szablewski was involved in a crash when he tried passing vehicles in a bus lane, the complaint said. In a two-week period in April, he was stopped twice for driving 20 to 30 miles above the speed limit and was seen weaving in and out of traffic lanes.

Its that style of driving that has enraged Milwaukeeans for about the last decade as they watched reckless driving emerge as a top public safety and quality of life issue. In 2020, Milwaukee County set a new record of 107 traffic deaths.

Going forward, drivers who chronically disregard our traffic laws will face consequences far beyond a slap on the wrist, Mayor Cavalier Johnson said in a statement. Thats what the people of our city expect, and thats what I expect.

Nick DeSiato, the chief of staff for the Milwaukee Police Department, has said before that the idea of suing reckless drivers in civil court is meant to target only the citys worst offenders and change their behavior.

The Police Department said in a news release it has identified 20 additional offenders that have been ticketed more than 10 times in the past five years. Each will be notified that they may be subject to the same kind of litigation if they continue driving recklessly.

But DeSiato said the department did not give such a warning to Szablewski because his behavior was so egregious that on its face, he didnt need any warning.

The bottom line is this driving is going to get someone killed, he said. I suspect if you talk to the folks in the mayors office and the council, (they) are going to say it too: were sick and tired of it and the community is demanding more.

Ald. Michael Murphy, who pushed for nuisance ordinance in the spring, praised the lawsuit Monday.

"Im grateful to see the Police Department working collaboratively with the City Attorneys Office and pursing this aggressively," he said. "I think its an important tool for trying to change peoples behavior.

When the civil litigation idea hit a snag with the City Attorneys Office in March, Murphy and Common Council President Jose Perez suggested the office was pushing its own policy agenda and did not believe it was the best way to address reckless driving.

But DeSiato said officials continued working with the City Attorneys Office to find a resolution.

Its continued to be a priority for both the chief and the mayor and after further understanding what the objectives are, understanding the legal validity of this complaint, slowly but surely we were able to find sort of a common ground on what the objectives were and how to achieve them, he said.

Alison Dirr of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this report.

Contact Elliot Hughes at elliot.hughes@jrn.com or 414-704-8958. Follow him on Twitter @elliothughes12.

Stay in the know. Sign up to get NewsWatch delivered to your inbox every afternoon.

Our subscribers make this reporting possible. Please consider supporting local journalism by subscribing to the Journal Sentinel at jsonline.com/deal.

DOWNLOAD THE APP: Get the latest news, sports and more

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: In a novel move, Milwaukee files civil lawsuit against reckless driver
Reuters Videos

STORY: (GFX: Why has polio returned to the United States?)Polio has returned, spreading in London, Jerusalem and New York for the first time in decades.In July, a case of polio in an adult was made public in Rockland County, New York.It marks the nation's first confirmed case in nearly 10 years.Later in August, health officials said the virus was found in New York Citys wastewater.So just how dangerous is the disease?(GFX: Dreaded disease)Polio terrified parents around the world for the first half of the 20th century.Affecting mainly children under five, polio is often asymptomatic but can also cause symptoms including fever and vomiting.Around one in 200 infections leads to irreversible paralysis.And among those patients, up to 10% die.The disease spreads mainly through contact with faecal matter.There is no cure, but polio is entirely preventable through vaccination.Globally, the wild form of the disease has almost disappeared.Afghanistan and Pakistan are now the only countries where the disease remains endemic.(GFX: Different strains)There are two main forms of poliovirus.The wild-type and rare cases of what is known as vaccine-derived polio.Its the second form that was detected in wastewater in New York, with one case of paralysis reported in the state.Rockland County Health Commissioner Patricia Schnabel Ruppert.(GFX: Vaccine-derived polio)Vaccine-derived polio has also recently been detected in London and Jerusalem.It stems from the use of an oral polio vaccine containing weakened live virus.After vaccination, children shed bits of the virus in their faeces for a few weeks.In under-vaccinated communities, this can spread and mutate back to a harmful version of the virus.While countries like Britain and the U.S. no longer use this live vaccine, others do, which allows for global spread, particularly as people began to travel again after COVID.(GFX: Why now?)Experts agree that the major driver behind both vaccine-derived and wild polio outbreaks remains under-vaccinated populations.Vaccine hesitancy was a growing problem before the pandemic and then COVID-19 caused the worst disruption to routine immunization in a generation. Thats according to the United Nations.In 2020, there were 1,081 vaccine-derived polio cases.Thats around three times as many as the previous year.In 2022, there have been 177 cases so far, after major efforts to get polio vaccination campaigns back on track.Health experts say the New York City wastewater findings are still a wake-up call for parents,with one key message: protect your children by getting them vaccinated.
Air ambulance picking up a mountain ranger in Denali National Park. Menno Boermans/Getty Images

A mountain climber who witnessed a 1,000-foot fall from Alaska's Denali in May 2021 said she struggled with guilt.

Sarah Maynard told Insider that the nearly fatal fall deeply affected her: 'Every day I relive it.'

Adam Rawski fell down an icy slope near the summit and spent months in the hospital  but survived.

Sarah Maynard, a mountain climber who witnessed another mountaineer fall from Alaska's Denali, said she grappled with guilt after the harrowing disaster.

Maynard set out to climb North America's highest peak in May 2021, according to a detailed account of the fall by Insider's Kelsey Vlamis.

On the descent, another climber named Adam Rawski fell 1,000 feet down a dangerous slope. He was critically injured but miraculously survived after a helicopter rescue.

Maynard and the other climbers present didn't see or hear his fall. She described the scene as quiet without any wind.

"That's what was so spooky and haunting," she told Vlamis. "I didn't hear his ice axe hit the ground. I didn't hear his body tumble. I didn't hear a yelp from him."

The four climbers involved had tried to summit the mountain that day, but Rawski was showing signs of altitude sickness, prompting them to turn back just over 1,000 feet short of the summit.

On the descent, they approached the Autobahn: an icy slope at 18,200 feet elevation that's notorious for being deceptively dangerous and deadly. Despite Rawski's weakness, he was not roped up with protection. One moment, Rawski was beside them; the next, he was lying still at the bottom of the Autobahn.

"Even now, every day I relive it," Maynard said. "It's the exact same moment of clipping myself into the picket at the Autobahn, and then looking over and Adam's gone."

After Rawski's fall, Maynard visited him in an Anchorage hospital, where he was unconscious in the ICU. He spent two months in a coma and seven in the hospital, recovering from broken ribs, collapsed lungs, and other injuries.

Maynard spent months in therapy working through her guilt over not hearing Rawski fall or making sure he was roped up, even though he wasn't her original partner.

Story continues

Maynard's climbing partner, Grant Wilson, said the fall has only strengthened his resolve to keep other mountaineers safe.

"I was passionate about guiding before and now, more than ever," Wilson said. "I feel called to be on the mountain making sure that the same things don't happen that happened to Adam."

Read the full story of Rawski's fall  and how another climber ended up criminally charged over the incident  here.

Read the original article on Business Insider
NASA says it has not received official word from Russia on plans to stop working on the International Space Station (ISS) after 2024.

The newly appointed head of Russian space agency Roscosmos, Yuri Borisov, made headlines Tuesday when he told Russian President Vladimir Putin that the agency would cease operations on the ISS after 2024.

NASAs Robyn Gatens, who leads the agencys ISS operations, told Reuters she just saw that on Tuesday morning and that there was nothing official yet to confirm Roscosmos was pulling out.

Gatens, speaking at a conference in Washington, D.C., told the news outlet that international agreements required Russia to notify them of any such decision.

The previous head of Russias space agency, Dmitry Rogozin, said in May that Russia would pull out from the ISS in response to international sanctions placed on Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine.

In December, NASA announced plans to extend operations for the orbiting space science laboratory through at least 2030, along with partners including Russia.

As more and more nations are active in space, its more important than ever that the United States continues to lead the world in growing international alliances and modeling rules and norms for the peaceful and responsible use of space, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said at the time.

The ISS, first initiated in 1998, is a joint operation from Russia, the U.S., Europe, Japan and Canada. Russia is a crucial partner because it supplies thrusters that keep the space station above a certain altitude, while the U.S. gives the ISS power through a grid.

Tensions between Russia and the U.S. have escalated after Putin launched an invasion of Ukraine in late February.

The U.S. has ramped up military support as the war drags on, recently sending more than a More than five months later, the two countries are still locked in a deadly war, with the U.S. heavily backing Ukraine financially.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Businesswoman and philanthropist Nicole Shanahan is at the centre of a reported rift between two of the worlds richest entrepreneurs, Elon Musk and Sergey Brin.

Ms Shanahan is the estranged wife of billionaire Google co-founder Mr Brin and had filed for divorce earlier this year. A recent Wall Street Journal report claimed the reason behind the separation was a brief affair between Ms Shanahan and the Tesla chief.

WSJ claimed, quoting people familiar with the matter, Ms Shanahan had a brief affair with Mr Musk in December. The association is what led to the couple filing for divorce in January this year and brought an end to a long friendship between the two billionaires, the report said.

Mr Musk on Monday, however, denied the report and said he had nothing romantic with her.

This is total bs. Sergey and I are friends and were at a party together last night! Ive only seen Nicole twice in three years, both times with many other people around. Nothing romantic, Mr Musk tweeted.

Ms Shanahan, an attorney by profession, married Mr Brin over three years ago.

The Google co-founder filed for divorce in January citing irreconcilable differences and said he and Ms Shanahan had been separated since 15 December 2021.

Ms Shanahan and Mr Brin signed a prenuptial agreement and are presently discussing the terms of their divorce, in which she is seeking over $1bn, according to the WSJ report.

That could put the settlement of her divorce in the same league as those of billionaire philanthropists MacKenzie Scott and Melinda Gates.

Ms Shanahan has also founded ClearAccessIP, a software business that employs artificial intelligence to handle patents. The firm was sold to rival IPwe in 2020.

She has also established her own foundation Bia-Echo in 2019 and dedicated $100m to reproductive longevity aimed at allowing women to have children later in life.

She supports several causes, including social justice and climate solutions, and has backed Democratic political candidates.

Story continues

I want to get the word out that and assure everyone that I am committed as ever to dedicating my lifes work to social justice, climate solutions and a thoughtful, caring democracy, Ms Shanahan said in an interview with Puck this month.

And I actually think that as I move forward out of this separation, I feel very optimistic in how I might grow in this role, she said.

The daughter of Chinese immigrant parents, she is also an attorney and a research fellow at CodeX, the Stanford Centre for Legal Informatics.

Meanwhile, Mr Musk followed up his denial of the WSJ report with accusations that the publication engaged in character assassination numerous times before and alleged that none of the key people involved in these alleged wrongdoings were even interviewed!

This is total bs. Sergey and I are friends and were at a party together last night!



Ive only seen Nicole twice in three years, both times with many other people around. Nothing romantic.  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 25, 2022

Havent even had sex in ages (sigh)  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 25, 2022

While denying the claims, the SpaceX founder, known for his candid tweets, also said he had not had sex for a long time.
The federal investigation of an Erie-based cocaine-heroin ring revealed the six-member operation to be a family affair.

The first of the convicted relatives has been sentenced for his role in the ring, in which he pleaded guilty to trafficking in about 1.5 ounces of heroin in 2018  enough to provide to 150 to 200 doses on the street.

The defendant, Alberto Arroyo-Amaro, 24, was sentenced on Monday to 1 years in federal prison and three years of supervised release. He and the other defendants were accused of being part of a conspiracy that shipped the drugs to Erie from Puerto Rico in the U.S. mail.

Alberto Arroyo-Amaro faced a sentence in the recommended guideline range of a year and nine months to two years and three months. U.S. District Judge Susan Paradise Baxter, whose sentenced Arroyo-Amaro at the federal courthouse in Erie, credited him for pleading guilty and said his young age favored him.

The case of a cocaine-heroin ring is being prosecuted at the federal courthouse in Erie.

But Baxter also said "the scourge of heroin in our community has led to many broken hearts and broken families."

Arroyo-Amaro was fifth-lowest on the list of six defendants indicted in the drug ring in March 2020. Sixth on the list is Arroyo-Amaro's brother, Brayan Oma Arroyo-Amaro. The siblings had lower-level duties in the operation, the government said.

Opioids' damage:Erie County's drug deaths jump in 2021: See the troubling trend

The two are the sons of Orlando Arroyo-Figueroa, who is listed second in the indictment, the government said. Orlando Arroyo-Figueroa was one of three defendants who "constituted the entire managerial elements" of the drug operation, the prosecutor, Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Sellers, said in court documents.

Latest in case:'Dangerous trade': Drug-dealing dad sentenced in Erie family's heroin-cocaine ring

Sellers said in court that the amount of heroin Alberto Arroyo-Amaro was accused of dealing amounted to 150 to 200 doses. Sellers asked Baxter to impose a sentence in the guideline range.

The other defendants are Abimael Arroyo-Garcia, the lead defendant; Braulio Arroyo-Figueroa, listed third in the indictment; and Jonathan Roman Vargas, listed fourth in the indictment.

Story continues

Vargas is the only defendant who has not pleaded guilty or made arrangements to plead guilty, according to court records. Alberto Arroyo-Amaro and his brother are believed to be related to some of the other defendants, in addition to their father, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

The next defendant scheduled to be sentenced in the case is Orlando Arroyo-Figueroa. He goes before Baxter on Wednesday and faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federal prison, according to court records. Brayan Arroyo-Amaro is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 9.

Indictment:Feds indict 6 Erie men in cocaine-heroin ring

The case

The indictment alleged that the six defendants, all Erie residents, conspired to bring the cocaine and heroin to Erie from Puerto Rico for more than two years, ending in February 2020. Investigators as part of the probe seized four kilograms of cocaine, about 8 pounds, worth $250,000; more than 300 hundred grams of heroin, or about 11 ounces; two firearms; and more than $72,000 in cash, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

The Pennsylvania State Police investigated along with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and investigators with the Department of Homeland Security.

Alberto Arroyo-Amaro, who was sentenced on Monday, pleaded guilty in December to a felony count of distributing less than 100 grams of heroin. He had a prior record for a 2018 heroin-related conviction in Erie County Common Pleas Court, according to court records. The father of two, who said he formerly worked as a landscaper, speaks Spanish and apologized via an interpreter in federal court.

"I want to be a better father," Arroyo-Amaro said. "I want to be a better person."

The ring involving Alberto Arroyo-Amaro is one of two large drug operations being prosecuted in U.S. District Court in Erie. In May, a federal grand jury indicted 25 people of conspiring to distribute as many as 220 pounds of cocaine worth as much as $3.2 million in Erie from January 2020 to May 2022.

The drugs were shipped via the U.S. mail from Puerto Rico to Erie, according to the indictment.

Another big drug case:Feds say Erie 'street gangs' helped deal drugs in 25-defendant trafficking case

Contact Ed Palattella at epalattella@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNpalattella.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Heroin-cocaine case: One of 2 brothers sentenced in Erie federal court
On Wednesday evening, Orlando City will be one win away from hosting the U.S. Open Cup finals when they take on New York Red Bulls at Exploria Stadium.

The Lions come off a busy week after hosting a friendly with English Premier team Arsenal at Exploria Stadium last Wednesday, as part of the Florida Cup, and losing to the Philidelphia Union 1-0 on Saturday.

OCSS last played the Red Bulls in a regular season game in April, where the Lions lost 3-0.

But this is the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, where anything can happen.

This year we have seen multiple cupsets, from Union Omaha of USL League One taking down MLS Minnesota United, to Sacramento Republic FC of the USL Championship league beating the LA Galaxy.

All about the magic of the cup 



Back on the hunt for the final in 48 hours 



 https://t.co/tPTrXbzRyT | #DaleMiAmor pic.twitter.com/rnbuANeCx1  Orlando City SC (@OrlandoCitySC) July 25, 2022

And the Lions have made some significant moves since they faced Nashville SC in the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals in June. That game ended in a shootout, with OCSC taking the win 6-5 on penalties.

The team has picked up, Ivan Angulo, a Colombian winger. Angulo arrives on loan from Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras of Brazils Serie A.

They also added United States Mens National Team forward Niko Gioacchini from SM Caen in France. Gioacchini has eight caps for the USMNT.

So while beating the Red Bulls may not be a cupset, it would be the closest the Lions had come to a trophy since the 2021 MLS is Back Tournament, when they lost to the Portland Timbers 2-1.

Story continues

The other semifinal game will include Sacramento Republic FC hosting MLS side Sporting Kansas City.

With a win, the Lions would guarantee a home game in the finals in September.

Click here to download the free WFTV news and weather apps, click here to download the WFTV Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
Deputies secure the area of a 2019 robbery at a Wells Fargo Bank branch near The River in Rancho Mirage. Serial robber Todd Cannady has now admitted to that crime and others.

A Palm Springs man who served more than two decades in prison for a series of armed bank robberies in the 1990s was sentenced Tuesday to nearly 20 more years in prison for a second series of robberies throughout Southern California in recent years.

Federal prosecutors say Todd Eugene Cannady returned to robbing banks a mere four months after being released from state prison in early 2018.

He'd served over 20 years for the first offenses, which started in 1982 and ran into the 1990s.

Now 61, he pleaded guilty to 10 bank robberies in which he stole about $758,000, two of them at the same Wells Fargo branch in Rancho Mirage in 2019 and 2020.

U.S. District Judge Stanley Blumenfeld Jr. said during Cannady's sentencing hearing Tuesday that it is "hard to imagine crimes that are more serious. The court has seen them, but this ranks in the higher order of seriousness."

Cannady was finally arrested after the July 2021 robbery of a Chase Bank branch in Riverside, during which he used a firearm without a serial number, popularly known as a ghost gun, to threaten employees. The U.S. attorney's office said Cannady fled the scene in a rental car, triggering a high-speed pursuit ending in a collision on Interstate 215.

Cannady pleaded guilty to that crime and nine others last October. In addition to the two in Rancho Mirage, he robbed banks in Manhattan Beach, Century City, Torrance, Banning and Carson.

Prosecutors wrote in a sentencing brief that Cannady appeared to take "great joy in his crimes," attempting to align himself with an infamous Depression-era bank robber by yelling during a 2019 armed heist: "John Dillinger lives!"

Christopher Damien covers public safety and the criminal justice system. He can be reached at christopher.damien@desertsun.com or follow him at @chris_a_damien.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Serial bank robber from Palm Springs sent to prison again
The City of Seattle will spend $97 million in funds created through its payroll tax on high-income earners on 1,769 units of affordable housing.

Labeled JumpStart, the tax applies to Seattle companies with payrolls above $7 million. Qualifying companies are taxed .7% for every employee making an annual salary above $150,000 and 1.4% above $500,000. The law has been in effect since 2020 and is projected to raise $277 million in 2022.

62% of those funds will be dedicated towards affordable housing, with other sums allocated for small business development and retention (15%), green new deal investments (9%), and the city councils equitable development initiative (9%).

Last week, the city council announced 17 recipients of funds for affordable housing development, including the Filipino Community of Seattle, El Centro de la Raza, Chief Seattle Club, Downtown Emergency Services Center (DESC), Seattle Chinatown International District Preservation and Development Authority (SCIDpda), the Low Income Housing Institute, and New Hope Community Development, among others.

By creating a sustainable, ongoing revenue source, JumpStart will enable us to continue building out the affordable housing pipeline our community so desperately needs, Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda, JumpStarts sponsor, wrote in a statement.

More news from KIRO 7

DOWNLOAD OUR FREE NEWS APP

These projects are more than just units theyre investments into health, stability, opportunity, and community, and they will have a positive impact in our community for generations to come. This is a win for progressive revenue, and its a win for our community.

All told, the funding will create or refurbish 1,769 units of affordable housing. A majority of the organizations listed as recipients serve the homeless community.

The Office of Housing is making more investments in affordable housing than ever before, thanks to JumpStart Seattle supplementing our longstanding Seattle Housing Levy and other local funds, Maiko Winkler-Chin, director of the Office of Housing, wrote in a statement.

At the same time, we know the need for affordable housing in Seattle is greater than ever. Every dollar counts, and we will continue to do everything we can with the resources available to keep increasing our citys supply of affordable rental and for-sale housing.
Marc Short, who was chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence, spat fire at Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) on Monday after the congressman told students at a conservative conference over the weekend that Pence will never be president.

Well, I dont know if Mike Pence will run for president in 2024, Short told CNNs Erin Burnett. But I dont think Matt Gaetz will have an impact on that. In fact, Id be surprised if he was still voting. Its more likely hell be in prison for child sex trafficking by 2024. And Im actually surprised that Florida law enforcement still allows him to speak to teenage conferences like that. So Im not too worried about Matt Gaetz, thanks.

Short: I dont think Matt Gaetz will have an impact in fact, Id be surprised if he was still voting. Its more likely hell be in prison for child sex trafficking Im surprised law enforcement lets him speak to teenage conferences like that pic.twitter.com/ALuay3VmoI  Acyn (@Acyn) July 25, 2022

During a speech at the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit in Tampa, Florida, on Saturday, Gaetz told the cheering crowd that Our America is proudly ultra-MAGA, not some low-energy roadside RINO safari. (RINO, one of Trumps favorite terms for Republicans who wont do his bidding, stands for Republican in name only.)

On that note, let me just say what everybody here knows. Mike Pence will never be president, Gaetz continued. Nice guy; not a leader.

Gaetz is under federal investigation for alleged sex trafficking and statutory rape of a 17-year-old girl. He was also one of at least five GOP lawmakers who requested pardons from Donald Trump in the final weeks of his presidency for their roles in helping him attempt a coup to stay in the White House.

Cassidy Hutchinson, a former aide to then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, testified last month at a House hearing on the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection that Gaetz had sought a broader blanket pardon that would cover any and all things.

Story continues

Short has been cooperating with the House select committees investigation into the attack on the U.S. Capitol.

The committee recently revealed that rioters came within 40 feet of Pence before he was evacuated from the Capitol, where he had been presiding over the congressional certification of the Electoral College vote. Some rioters were calling for Pence to be hung after Trump publicly attacked him for refusing to try to unilaterally reject the electoral count declaring Joe Bidens presidential victory. Some members of Pences security detail were reportedly so afraid for their lives during the riot that they called their families to say goodbye.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.

Related...
A New York man fired shots at store workers at a North Carolina mall when they confronted him about stolen merchandise, not long after he had stolen items from a home improvement store, police said Monday.

Winston-Salem police said in a news release that Carlton McCrimmon, 33, of Port Washington, New York, tried to steal items from the store at Hanes Mall on Sunday.

ALSO READ: Man shot in head at South Carolina shopping mall, police say

According to police, McCrimmon dropped the stolen items when the workers confronted him and ran out of the store. Moments later, he returned to the store and fired a gun at the store workers before fleeing in a white vehicle, police said. There were no reports of injuries.

A New York man fired shots at store workers at a North Carolina mall when they confronted him about stolen merchandise, not long after he had stolen items from a home improvement store, police said Monday.

Police said McCrimmon was stopped by deputies with the Iredell County Sheriffs Office for multiple traffic violations. An investigation turned up stolen items and a gun, police said.

Multiple charges were filed by Winston-Salem police against McCrimmon, including assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, discharging a firearm within the city limits and discharging a firearm within an enclosure to incite fear. He is being held in the Iredell County jail under a $1 million bond. He is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday.

(WATCH BELOW: Gastonia police share events leading up to Eastridge Mall shooting)




Police are searching for leads in the mysterious murder of 4-year-old Dannarriah Finley who disappeared from her bedroom more than two decades ago.

The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) announced last week that it was doubling the reward to $6,000 for information leading to the arrest of those responsible for the toddler's slaying.

A reward of $3,000 is typically offered for Texas Rangers' cold cases, official said.

JONBENET RAMSEY CRIME SCENE DNA COULD BE IDED IN HOURS, COLD CASE RESEARCHER SAYS AS FAMILY PUSHES FOR ANSWERS

Finley was least seen sleeping in her bedroom in Orange, Texas, alongside her siblings and cousins on July 4, 2002, according to Texas authorities.

The girl's mother, Jaime Arnold, told police that she put her daughter, two other children and three of her cousins to bed at 1:30 a.m. after returning from work. When she awoke at 10 a.m., Finley was gone.

CALIFORNIA MAN ARRESTED IN COLD CASE MURDERS OF WOMEN STRANGLED TO DEATH

Three days later, her mostly nude and partially decomposed body was found by workers 27 miles away near a dredge pipeline ditch in Port Arthur, Texas.



The young child had been sexually assaulted and strangled, officials said.

"Despite intensive investigation into what happened to the young girl, this case remains unsolved and anyone with details regarding the homicide is asked to come forward with information, DPS said in a statement.
Renton police are seeking witnesses to a downtown shooting over the weekend that left one man dead and injured six others.

Nearly 50 officers from multiple agencies and firefighters responded to the 100 block of Logan Avenue South and South Second Street, where more than 100 bullet shells casings were later found.

Multiple people were shot just after 1 a.m. Saturday outside a crowded party at a rental hall.

Police said the crowd was so aggressive that a 32-year-old man who had been shot had to be moved to a different location in an effort to save his life. The Tacoma man died at the hospital.

Police found four guns on the ground, however, it is unclear how many people were shooting.

More news from KIRO 7

DOWNLOAD OUR FREE NEWS APP

One witness said he saw several people who had been shot.

There was people laying there, a guy laying here and a guy laying in that back corner, the witness said. There was people shot in the foot. There was people, the shooters had already gone when the police got here.

Officers said their initial investigation indicates that a dispute outside of a large gathering at a rental hall led to gunfire, possibly by multiple suspects.

The shooting occurred two blocks from where another man was fatally shot on Williams Avenue South, only ten days prior.

Police said the only way for victims to get justice in the case is if witnesses speak up.

Anyone with information about the shooting can leave an anonymous tip at crimetips@rentonwa.gov.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbotts attempts to curtail abortion rights in his state has made him the target of a scathing new political ad.

The ad, released Monday by Mothers Against Greg Abbott PAC, shows a doctor explaining to an expectant couple that their new child will be born with a catastrophic brain abnormality and will only be able to survive a few hours after birth.

If she is to survive, she will live only a matter of hours after birth. During that time, she will experience a multitude of seizures and ultimately aspirate on her own bodily fluids. She will suffer, the doctor explains. A decision will need to be made on termination. I wish I could tell you what to do.

The crying mother then starts to consider the available options only to have the doctor tell her that here is only one person who can make this choice, and that person is Greg.

The father wonders, understandably, who the f**k is Greg?

The doctor then opens a locker with the face of the Republican governor and grabs a red phone and places a call.

After a brief conversation, the doctor hangs up the phone and tells the parents, Yeah, thats gonna be a no. Best of luck to you.

You can see the ad below.

Whose choice?

Texas women no longer have a choice to make their most personal decision. This is wrong! Texans need to fight back and vote for Democrats this November and vote against TxGOP. Vote them out!#WhoseChoice#MAGAtheGood#WomensRights#TxLegepic.twitter.com/vHyHMVbBTa  Mothers Against Greg Abbott PAC (@MomsAGAbbott) July 25, 2022

The groups website explains that it opposes Abbott because he and the Texas Republican Party have neighbors turning against neighbors by putting a bounty on those who seek health care choices that they dont agree with. They are taking our personal freedom over our own bodies!

Story continues

In May 2021, Abbott signed a piece of anti-abortion legislation that banned the procedure at six weeks, which is before many patients even know theyre pregnant.

Last September, he dismissed concerns that the law doesnt allow exceptions for pregnancies resulting from rape or incest, and he claimed it didnt matter because he promised he would get all rapists off the streets of Texas.

The law includes a mechanism that skirts legal challenges by having private citizens and not the state enforce the ban through civil suits. It also offers a $10,000 incentive to individuals who successfully sue a person for aiding and abetting someone seeking an abortion.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.

Related...
LAC SAINTE ANNE, Alberta (AP)  Pope Francis prayed for healing Tuesday from the terrible effects of colonization as he led a pilgrimage to a Canadian lake that has been known to Native peoples for centuries as a sacred place of healing.

The prayer service at Lac Sainte Anne in Alberta was one of the spiritual highlights of the pontiff's six-day visit to Canada to atone for the Catholic Churchs role in running residential schools that forcibly assimilated the country's Indigenous children into Christian society. On Monday he apologized for the catastrophic ways families were torn apart; the following day he transitioned to praying to help them heal from the wounds of violence.

In this blessed place, where harmony and peace reign, we present to you the disharmony of our experiences, the terrible effects of colonization, the indelible pain of so many families, grandparents and children, Francis said on the shore of the lake. Help us to be healed of our wounds.

The ceremony fell on the Feast of St. Anne, the grandmother of Jesus and a figure of particular devotion for Indigenous Catholics, who every year make pilgrimages to Lac Sainte Anne to wade into its waters. Francis highlighted the importance grandmothers have in Indigenous families, and recalled the critical role his own grandmother Rosa had in transmitting the faith to him as a youngster in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Part of the painful legacy we are now confronting stems from the fact that Indigenous grandmothers were prevented from passing on the faith in their own language and culture, he said.

More than 150,000 Native children in Canada were taken from their homes and made to attend government-funded Christian schools from the 19th century until the 1970s in an effort to isolate them from the influence of their families and culture. The aim was to Christianize and assimilate them into mainstream society, which previous Canadian governments considered superior.

Story continues

In his first event in Canada, Francis blasted the residential schools Monday as a disastrous error and apologized at the site of a former school in Maskwacis for the evil committed by so many Christians against the Indigenous peoples.

Emotions were still raw a day later as those words were digested and dissected.

Murray Sinclair, the First Nations chairman of Canadas Truth and Reconciliation Commission, welcomed the apology but said Tuesday that it didnt go far enough in acknowledging institutional blame for the papacys own role in justifying European colonial expansion and the hierarchys endorsement of Canadas assimilation policy.

It is important to underscore that the church was not just an agent of the state, nor simply a participant in government policy, but was a lead co-author of the darkest chapters in the history of this land, Sinclair said in a statement.

Sinclair said church decrees led directly to the cultural genocide of Indigenous peoples by underpinning colonial policy and the Doctrine of Discovery, a 19th-century international legal concept has been understood to justify colonial seizure of land and resources by European powers.

Trip organizers pushed back on his criticism, insisting that Francis had indeed accepted full responsibility for the Catholic Churchs role in the residential school system.

His decision to apologize on Canadian soil, in a year where he faces significant health challenges and has had to cancel other international travel, demonstrates his understanding of the Catholic Churchs institutional responsibility to contribute to the reconciliation journey, Neil MacCarthy, communications chief for the papal visit, told The Associated Press via email.

He added that Canadas Catholic bishops were working with the Vatican on issuing a new statement on the papal bulls associated with the Doctrine of Discovery, even though the Holy See has already said the decrees have no legal or moral authority in the church today.

We understand the desire to name these texts, acknowledge their impact and renounce the concepts associated with them, MacCarthy said.

Gerald Antoine, Dene national and Assembly of First Nations regional chief, said he had hoped the pope might renounce the decrees while in Canada but he was grateful for the attention the visit and apology have brought to a history that his own family experienced.

The world is seeing we are telling the truth, Antoine said. Our family got uprooted, displaced and relocated. This is what our people have been saying. Nobody ever cared to listen.

Francis didnt dwell on the apology or the churchs fraught history during a morning Mass in Edmontons Commonwealth Stadium dedicated to St. Anne and grandparents, which drew some 50,000 people. Due to knee problems, the 85-year-old pontiff celebrated the Mass from a seated position behind the altar.

Thanks to our grandparents, we received a caress from the history that preceded us: We learned that goodness, tender love and wisdom are the solid roots of humanity, Francis said. We are children because we are grandchildren.

He later carried the grandparental theme to Lac Sainte Anne, where an estimated 10,000 pilgrims gathered at and around the shores of the lake amid vast acres of bright yellow canola flowers that bloom at the peak of summer. Some traveled from faraway parts of Canada to participate in the pilgrimage, which was restarting after two years of COVID-19 closures.

I am happy he apologized, said Myles Wood, who came from Saint Theresa Point in remote northern Manitoba with his wife, mother and members of their parish. Ive got a lump in my throat, he said after Francis passed by and blessed the crowd with holy water from the lake.

Francis arrived to the sound of drums and ululating and paused for a minute of prayer at the waters edge. Ahead of the visit, Alberta health authorities issued a blue-green algae bloom advisory for the lake, warning visitors to avoid contact with the blooms and refrain from wading where they are visible.

The lake is known as Wakamne, or Gods Lake, by the Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation who live nearby, and Manito Sahkahiga, or Spirit Lake, by the Cree. The name Lac Sainte Anne was given to it by the Rev. Jean-Baptiste Thibault, the first Catholic priest to establish a mission on the site.

For Lorna Lindley, a survivor of the Kamloops residential school in British Columbia, where the first presumed unmarked graves were discovered last year, the day was difficult. She attended the morning Mass to honor her late parents, who were taken to a residential school at age 5 in a cattle truck.

For myself its really heavy, Lindley said. Its hard. No matter how many times you apologize, it doesnt take away the hurt and pain.

___

Winfield reported from Edmonton, Alberta, and Gillies reported from Toronto.

___

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the APs collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
President Joe Biden was given the honorary Korean name of Bae Ji-sung on Monday during a weeklong event marking the 69th anniversary of the end of the Korean War (1950-1953), in which the U.S. aided South Korea and its troops against the North.

The Republic of Korea (ROK)-U.S. Alliance Friendship Association stated, We, the ROK-U.S. Alliance Friendship Association, are honored to announce and grant U.S. President Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. a Korean name. His name will be Bae Ji-sung.

The association explained that the surname Bae originates from Pyeongtaek, a city located approximately 37 miles south of Seoul and home to a majority of the 28,500 U.S. forces in Korea.

Meanwhile, the first name Ji-sung means territory and star, respectively.

More from NextShark: Coronavirus Not Serious in Kansas County Because It Has Few Chinese People, GOP Chair Suggests

The deeper and significant meaning behind granting the name Bae Ji-sung is to keep considering and maintaining peace on the Korean Peninsula as [Biden] continues to contribute to world peace, the association added.

The name was presented to Kurt Campbell, deputy assistant to the president and National Security Council coordinator for the Indo-Pacific, who accepted the honor on behalf of the president.

Biden is one of several top U.S. officials who have received a Korean name. Former presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump were given the names of Oh Han-ma and Woo Dae-il, respectively.

More from NextShark: First Asian American Sheriff Says SF Won't Help ICE Deport Immigrants

Also included during the event was the dedication of the Wall of Remembrance, which will be the newest addition to the Korean War Veterans Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. On it will be over 41,000 names of American and South Korean service members who were killed during the war.

Featured Image via Getty Images / ROK-US Alliance Friendship Association

More from NextShark: Miss Singapore, Myanmar Use National Costumes to Highlight Racial Violence and Political Turmoil

Enjoy this content? Read more from NextShark!

Indonesian groom gives liter of cooking oil to bride as dowry for their wedding
Federal prosecutors are seeking a 30-day jail sentence for a Capitol rioter accused of having dozens of images that reflect Nazi and white supremacist sentiments on his phone.

Twenty-two-year-old Elliot Bishai, of Fort Mill, South Carolina, pleaded guilty in April to charges stemming from his involvement in the Jan 6 attack to prevent Congress from certifying Bidens victory.

Ahead of Bishais sentencing in Washington, prosecutors have also asked Judge Tanya Chutkan to give him 12 months of supervised release, 60 hours of community service and a $500 restitution in addition.

In a memorandum filed on 21 July, the prosecution said that Mr Bishai stormed inside the Capitol through a shattered window, and yelled Lets go and Civil War 2 as he made his way inside room S145.

Over 80 images found on his cellphone showed content aligned with Nazi and white supremacist ideologies. In addition, he had downloaded over 400 videos by the far-right Internet personality GypsyCrusader.

Poised to paint a very contrasting picture of the former pilot student, Bishais lawyer highlighted his service as a firefighter and in the Army, and downplayed his role in the Capitol riot.

Defendant has already lost an opportunity to serve the United States Army as a pilot in the Army Warrant Officer Flight Program. That has been Elliots lifelong dream and his actions have already cost him dearly, Mr Bishais attorney, Dan Brown, wrote in a separate memorandum filed Friday.

Mr Brown vigorously argued that a prison sentence is not needed as Mr Bashais student pilots license was subsequently revoked by the Federal Aviation Administration.

The defences memorandum did not elaborate on why Mr Bishai drove nearly seven hours from Fort Mill to Washington DC, with his girlfriend and co-defendants Eliaz Irizarry and Grayson Sherril.

At the time, Mr Bishai was as a member of the United States Civilian Air Patrol, a federally supported public entity devoted to public safety.

Story continues

The filing goes on to trivialise Mr Browns reference to a second Civil War, arguing that he became caught up in the moment, and that he doesnt recall uttering those words.

Video circulated in the media proves otherwise.

Mr Bishai (circled in red) drove nearly seven hours from Fort Mill to Washington D.C., with co-defendant Eliaz Irizarry (circled in yellow) (Department of Justice)

The words are embarrassing because Mr Bishai became caught up in the moment outside the Capitol, as others were yelling, and he briefly joined in the yelling fray, for a few moments, unfortunately, the filing reads.

Mr Brown even argued that his client was respectful towards Capitol officers and that he ... fist bumped with several of them.

Inside the Capitol, he did not raise his voice as he had outside the Capitol, and left peacefully after a relatively short period, showing that he was not in any way, shape, or form interested in any sort of Civil War II, Brown wrote.

Mr Bishai has pleaded guilty to charges of entering restricted buildings, disorderly conduct, and picketing in a Capitol building.

He is expected to receive a sentencing on Friday. The Independent has reached out to his attorney for comment.
Geanna Jarosz, events coordinator for Hog River Brewing, isnt content to serve beer out of the small taproom tucked in the rear of 1429 Park St. in Hartford.

She wants Hartfords Living Room to be a catalyst to help bring more Black people, as well as those of other ethnic groups, to donate much-needed blood.

We have this space and this platform where people in the community are coming over and over again, Jarosz said. Why not bring it up in the space and let them spread it that way?

So while she pours a Parkville Lager, a Thingalingaling Sour or an Ask Your Mother Double IPA, Jarosz is thinking of ways to make Hog River a social force in the city.

She plans her Soulful Sundays at the brewery from 2 to 5 p.m. starting Oct. 23 and running until April, featuring six to 10 women and Black vendors, and her plan is to hold a blood drive in November, to encourage Black people, who historically do not give blood in large numbers, to donate. She wants vendors who will draw people in, as a way to spread the word about blood donation.

I feel like theres not enough common places in Hartford where everyone goes, Jarosz said.

She said she plans to give the blood to the Connecticut Blood Center because it supplies blood to Hartford Hospital, keeping it in the local community.

Geanna had reached out to us  with the idea of running a blood drive and it was impressive because she had some general knowledge that those with diverse backgrounds werent donating at the same rate as those identified as white or Caucasian, said Jonathan DeCasanova, spokesman for the Connecticut Blood Center, which opened in October 2021 in the Middletown Plaza, 856 Washington St. Its operated by the Rhode Island Blood Center.

Its an important issue because, along with a general shortage of blood in the country, people need blood from those of their own race, since their blood cells are slightly different from other groups, said DeCasanova, who oversees recruiting donors and blood drives. Donations can be scheduled at the center on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and every other weekend.

Story continues

It comes down to genetics  heredity and genetics, said Jill Alberigo, director of laboratory and special services for the Rhode Island center.

Theres a lot of other proteins on the surface of your red cells, she said. If there are incompatible red cells in the blood, the proteins, called antigens, will summon antibodies.

It will destroy them  it will burst them and that can be toxic, Alberigo said.

This is why blood types A, B, AB and O, whether positive or negative, must be compatible (O-negative is the universal donor for red cells and AB-positive is the universal recipient; others must match). The Rh factor, whether positive or negative, also matters. Type AB is the universal donor for plasma.

But there are subgroups as well, which are related to race.

If youre from a certain race, you share those certain genetic codes, Alberigo said. Anyone in the general population could have a rare type.

All blood from Black donors also is screened for the trait for sickle cell disease, and blood that can be given to those patients is stored separately.

DeCasanova said the blood center does everything from collecting blood, to screening it, separating red cells, plasma and platelets, and supplying it to hospitals, including Middlesex, Connecticut Childrens, Windham and Backus. The center does not transfuse blood to patients.

With donations low in general, the shortage of Black donors is even more apparent, according to Jocelyn Hillard, spokeswoman for the American Red Cross Connecticut and Rhode Island Region, based in Farmington.

In June, the Red Cross collected approximately 12% fewer blood donations than needed to sustain a sufficient blood supply  one of the largest blood donation shortfalls in a single month in recent years, Hillard wrote in an email.

The American Red Cross declared a blood crisis in January, when the omicron variant of COVID-19 began to increase.

While the reason for low blood donation rates for individuals who are Black is currently unknown, studies on demographic patterns of blood donors hypothesize distrust of the health care system, a higher proportion of blood donor ineligibility and different motivators and barriers to blood donation as possible contributing factors, she wrote.

The Red Cross needs blood donors of all races and ethnicities to help ensure a diverse blood supply to support the blood transfusion needs of patients, Hillard wrote.

She said the COVID-19 pandemic, which hit the Black community hard, deterred many donors from giving, and the cancellation of drives at educational institutions and businesses, where most of these donors give, has caused the number of Black individuals who give blood to drop by about half.

Also, Black people are more likely to have type O blood than white people  half of all Black people are type O. O-positive is the most transfused blood type, while O-negative, being the universal donor type, is often in short supply, Hillard said.

The pandemic has reduced the number of blood drives, so Jarosz feels compelled to get the word out.

I think its just a lack of information out there, she said. When I was growing up, I felt like blood drives in your town were in your face. But now, when I bring it up in the taproom, they were not aware there was a blood shortage.

Next spring, Hog River will be moving nearby to a building next to the Parkville Market, where there will be more room  and it will be easier to find.

Sue Lynch, supervisor of donor services at the Rhode Island center, recently participated in a blood drive at Hartford Hospital. Shes been working with the center for 40 years, doing everything from purchasing to driving a forklift to paternity testing.

Its just a positive type of atmosphere, she said of the blood drives, which now feature lounge chairs rather than hard tables.

Any time that you see a tragedy happening in the world or in your own personal world, whether a family member is ill or theres been an accident, oftentimes its going to call for blood, Lynch said. The blood supply is such an important part of peoples lives.

Too often, people give blood when theres a sudden need, then forget to return to give more, Lynch said, even though 99 percent of the time people say, this was so easy.

One time, her daughter needed three units of blood. I was standing there and they said, OK, were going to give you some blood.  I was all choked up. I could have collected that from somebody.

Ed Stannard can be reached at estannard@courant.com.
Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers arrives to testify before the January 6 committee in Washington, DC on June 21, 2022. AP Photo/Patrick Semansky

Rusty Bowers testified at a Jan. 6 hearing about enduring pressure campaign to overturn the 2020 election.

Now, he's facing a Trump-backed primary challenger: former state Sen. David Farnsworth.

Bowers told Insider that he's "running against Donald Trump," who's "propping up" his opponent.

MESA, Arizona  Russell "Rusty" Bowers, the Speaker of the Arizona House, testified before the January 6 committee in June about withstanding a pressure campaign from then-President Donald Trump to reverse the 2020 presidential election results in his state.

Now, Bowers is hoping to withstand another Trump-driven campaign: an August 2 state Senate primary against former Sen. David Farnsworth, a fellow Mormon who's known Bowers for years.

By the time Bowers testified about being pressured to take action to decertify the state's pro-Biden electors  and the harassment campaign that ensued when he refused  his primary had already been underway for a few months.

"I've got a former president running against me. I'm not running against David Farnsworth," Bowers told Insider this month. "I'm running against Donald Trump. It's his name that's propping up Dave Farnsworth."

Term-limited in the House, Bowers is now running in the newly-drawn 10th legislative district centered on Mesa, a city of roughly half a million people just east of Phoenix. Trump endorsed Farnsworth shortly after Bowers appeared before the committee, calling the state House speaker a "longtime political operative" and someone who "must be defeated."

He was also just censured by the Arizona GOP, whose chair, Kelli Ward, has referred to Bowers as "Rusty Bowels."

Farnsworth, for his part, told Insider that he did not seek out Trump's endorsement personally, only saying that there were "at least a half a dozen people in Arizona that told me they were trying to get the Trump endorsement for me."

With Bowers raising more than $320,000 and Farnsworth raising just $70,000  most of which came from a $40,000 personal loan  Farnsworth will largely have to rely on Trump's appeal and antipathy toward Bowers in order to prevail.

Story continues

"Instead of David Christian Farnsworth on his signs, now it says 'David Trump Farnsworth,'" Bowers said, referring to the placement of an endorsement message that obscures Farnsworth's middle name. "All of us look at that, and say... yeah, that says something."

On a yard sign for David Farnsworth, an endorsement message from former President Donald Trump obscures the former state senator's middle name. Bryan Metzger/Insider

Bowers could certainly win the race. Brad Raffensperger, who testified alongside Bowers, handily beat a Trump-backed opponent in his Republican primary for a second term as Georgia secretary of state a week before he appeared on Capitol Hill. Other Republicans, like Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia and Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina, have also recently prevailed against Trump-backed challengers.

But if he loses, Bowers would become the latest addition to the universe of high-profile Republicans who've been excommunicated from the party after crossing Trump, such as Rep. Adam Kinzinger, who's opted to retire rather than face a primary, or Rep. Tom Rice, who faced down a primary and lost.

"I would be, in one way, okay. I've lost before," said Bowers of a potential loss. "And in another way, I'm thinking 'oh my gosh, right when we need adults the most, the thugs take over.'"

'They're all uniformly thankful'

In June, Bowers testified before the January 6 committee about the months of harassment outside his home that he'd endured from supporters of the former president. He also described the deluge of phone and email messages registering disapproval at his refusal to bend to Trump's will.

Now, in the throes of another political campaign, Bowers seems to be used to confrontation.

Bowers now says that "nobody's come by the house of late," though he said some friends had suggested he prepare for the possibility for further demonstrations in light of Trump's recent visit to the state.

And he told Insider that he's continuing to get "basically the same type of harassment online that I've gotten for the last two years," but pays it little mind.

"I don't Twitter," he said. "I told the President that  I don't tweet."

Bowers told Insider that he's received mostly positive responses from people who've approached him about his committee testimony, particularly among fellow members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and in his neighborhood on the northern edge of Mesa.

"Especially in my neighborhood. Ds, Rs, Is, people from space," he said. "They're all uniformly thankful."

Bowers concedes, however, that the most committed party activists in his district are incensed with him.

"The fix is with the district leadership and in the Republican women," said Bowers. "The fix is all in for Trump and Dave, they've been working at it for months."

Bowers has increasingly irked the more right-wing members of his party. Earlier this year, he killed a so-called "election integrity" bill  which would have allowed Arizona's state legislature to overturn the will of the state's voters  by assigning it to all 12 of the chamber's committees, ensuring it wouldn't ever make it to the floor.

"That's why they're so angry at Rusty, because he slapped us in the face by saying, 'I'm not even gonna look at it,'" said Farnsworth.

"We passed 38 bills on election integrity stuff," said Bowers, seeking to defend his record on an issue of increasing importance to the Republican base. "No, we didn't take away people's fundamental right to choose the electors."

Bowers' foes also accuse him of being vindictive and petty. Sen. Kelly Townsend, a Republican from Apache Junction, told Insider that she encouraged Farnsworth to run against Bowers because of long-standing difficulties in working with the speaker, particularly when the two served together in the state's lower chamber.

"I have had trouble with Rusty for four years," said Townsend, a Trump-aligned figure who promotes the idea that the 2020 election was stolen who's now caught in her own contentious primary.

"He killed all my stuff, I had to do a lot of maneuvers just to get my bills across the board," said Townsend. "I just don't want to have to serve with him again."

At a rally in Prescott Valley on Friday night, Trump slammed Bowers for his January 6 committee testimony while touting Farnsworth,

"Rusty Bowers is a RINO coward who participated against the Republican Party in the totally partisan, unselect committee of political thugs and hacks," said Trump. "He disgraced the state of Arizona."

'No animosity, except that he called me a swamp rat'

In an interview at his home in Mesa, Farnsworth, a former state senator, spoke in religious terms as he told Insider about how his own Mormon faith had driven him to come out of retirement to challenge Bowers.

"The whole issue of this race, from my perspective, is that our freedom is being destroyed," said Farnsworth as he sat with the Book of Mormon open in front of him. "And it's the people that are prophesied in this book who orchestrated the theft of the election."

In Farnsworth's telling, Townsend told him that he was the "only one that can beat Rusty" because of their shared Mormon faith, and he said he was running against his one-time acquaintance largely over dissatisfaction with how he handled the 2020 election.

"I have no doubt in my mind that the election was stolen," said Farnsworth. "I can't show you the proof, but I grew up in Arizona, I've seen all the evidence, I've talked to all these people, and in my heart, I know the election was stolen."

Farnsworth said that while he agrees that trying to appoint pro-Trump electors might have been a step too far, he thinks the former president genuinely believes he'd won the 2020 election and that it was Bowers' job to address the widespread lack of faith in the vote, suggesting that he could've held hearings to uncover evidence of fraud.

"Rusty, as Speaker of the House, had the responsibility as a leader in the Arizona legislature, to do whatever it took to restore that trust," says Farnsworth. "That is what this election is all about. He failed in his duty to do what he needed to do."

Farnsworth said that if elected, he wants to hold hearings on the issue himself, though he made clear that he doesn't believe the election itself can be reversed.

"At this point, if you try to put Trump in instead of Biden, you'd probably create a civil war," he said. "It's been too long."

Former Sen. David Farnsworth at his home in Mesa, Arizona on July 13, 2022. Bryan Metzger/Insider

Farnsworth, notably, has said that the QAnon conspiracy theory seems "credible" and said during a recent debate that "some of the things they've said made sense to me." However, he told Insider that he "definitely [does] not follow them" and has never "even googled the name to find out about them."

Bowers contrasts himself from Farnsworth primarily by talking about his ability to work constructively with others.

"Everybody is scared to death of Dave Farnsworth, because he doesn't listen well," says Bowers. "I have no animosity, except that he called me a swamp rat."

Bowers recalled an anecdote from when the two men served together in the Arizona House in the 1990s when Farnsworth voted no on a bill simply because he wasn't sure what was in it.

"He doesn't invest intellectual capital," says Bowers. "You have to be willing to really think things through on a lot of issues, and listen to a lot of voices, and synthesize a course of action from many different interests."

The 'growing fragility of civilization'

Bowers, a sculptor and painter who's now nearing age 70, has gone through a great deal of stress in recent years. His daughter, Kacey, died of a terminal illness at the end of January 2021 as Bowers dealt with protestors accusing him of being a "pedophile" outside his home.

Asked why he's opted to run for another political office  given both his age and the anger he's faced from members of his own party  Bowers spoke of his "love" for Arizona.

"There isn't anybody in the legislature that knows more about this state than me," he said.

But Bowers also warned of what he calls the "growing fragility of civilization."

"The use of emotional violence as a political tool  the biggest tool in the toolbox  is now kind of common," said Bowers. "Just bully them until they can't take it anymore."

He bemoaned the rise of this style of politics at a time when big challenges, including water scarcity driven by climate change, are impacting Arizona hard; when Bowers spoke with Insider, the average temperature in Maricopa County was well over 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

"The policies, the practical governance of a society suffers," he said. "And I'm afraid."

"We are going to need to wisely move quickly to use the resources we've set aside," he continued. "And I think  I want my opponent taking those decisions?"

In his testimony before the January 6 committee in June, Bowers spoke of his admiration for President Ronald Reagan.

A yard sign for Rusty Bowers' state senate campaign with a "Republican in Name Only" sign placed next to it in Mesa, Arizona. Bryan Metzger/Insider

Bowers even cited Reagan in a December 2020 statement declaring that he would not seek to replace the state's pro-Biden electors at Rudy Giuliani's request, quoting the 40th president in calling the peaceful transfer of power "nothing less than a miracle."

But asked whether he thought Reagan still held sway with his party, Bowers demurred. "That's a good question for a sit around, fireside chat type of thing," he said.

He then recounted a trip he once made to Reagan's ranch in California, remarking that he was struck to see that he had read many of the same books as the former president, and that Reagan had used "Head and Shoulders" shampoo in a plywood shower on the property.

"He was a very common man," said Bowers of Reagan. "Whereas now, it's like, we have a  I don't want to use the word cultic, but maybe that would be appropriate  view of these leaders."

Read the original article on Business Insider
BALTIMORE  At the once busy Lil Kidz Kastle daycare in Owings Mills, the playground equipment sits empty and the doors are locked as police investigate multiple allegations that children were sexually abused.

The suspect who faces several felony charges is James Weems, Jr., a retired Baltimore City police officer and the husband of the daycare's owner, Shanteari Weems.

Police have now charged James Weems Jr. with with sexual abuse in Baltimore County while working at a daycare in Owings Mills. His wife shot him at a DC hotel after learning of the abuse. @wjz pic.twitter.com/SaGm65aUci  Mike Hellgren (@HellgrenWJZ) July 26, 2022

Police told WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren that James Weems worked as a bus driver at the facility for at least two years.

"It's horrible," said Kathy Scherr who works nearby. "You can't imagine what it's like as a parent to turn your child over to a stranger and you hope and you pray that they take care of them the best that they can."

James Weems Jr, the retired Baltimore City officer and suspect facing molestation allegations at his wifes daycare in Owings Mills, worked there for at least two years as a bus driver. Baltimore County police say they learned of allegations earlier this month. @wjz pic.twitter.com/JQrGJUVXQC  Mike Hellgren (@HellgrenWJZ) July 26, 2022

"We learned of these allegations earlier this month, and that's when our investigation was launched," said Joy Lepola-Stewart, the Baltimore County police spokesperson. "We're not going to get into the specifics of the allegations at this point since it does remain an open investigation and additional charges may be filed in this matter."

Story continues

Lepola-Stewart said there are allegations involving "at least three" children.

According to court documents, Shanteari Weems reported the abuse to police but kept getting calls from parents. That is when she confronted her husband at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Washington, D.C., last Thursday.

Police said Weems told them the argument got heated, her husband moved toward her and she shot him.

"At this point, he remains hospitalized and in custody pending extradition," Lepola-Stewart said.

"Everyone knows she shouldn't have taken his life into her own hands, but you didn't have your life upended. Her whole entire business is gone. Her marriage is gone," Scherr said. "Those kids are hurt. She obviously cared about them so who knows if it was one of us what you'd be driven to."

Scherr pondered whether James Weems knew that he had been caught and would be going to jail.

"You don't know what he would have done to her," she said. "In addition to anger, she was probably shocked, betrayed. I mean this was her husband. Even if you didn't own a daycare center and you found out your husband was molesting children, that's enough to send you over the edge."

These are allegations at this point as the case makes its way through the court system.

Shanteari Weems still faces charges in the District of Columbia involving the shooting.

Police said she wrote in a notebook that she did not want to kill her husband but hurt him and get justice for the children. Her attorney, Tony Garcia, told WJZ Tuesday this is a case of self-defense.

Supporters are using the Free Shanteari hashtag online and packed a Washington, D.C., courtroom Monday.

"She has made complaints to the proper authorities before. The cries for help went unanswered," said activist Qiana Johnson. "Our government did not keep the children safe."

Police said any families affiliated with the daycare can contact Baltimore County detectives at (410) 307-2020.

Senator Tammy Duckworth calls on Congress to reinstate the assault weapons ban

Federal Reserve announces fourth interest rate hike of the year

9 Mega Millions tickets were a Mega Ball short of winning it all
By Carolyn Cohn and Christoph Steitz

LONDON/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - European companies turning to coal as an alternative to Russian gas face a hit to their environmental, social and governance ratings, leaving them scrambling to impress investors still vocal on sustainability.

Despite an energy crisis following sanctions on Russia, major European investors say they will not relax their investment principles of reaching net zero targets on greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 or earlier.

Investors increasingly use ESG ratings, developed by companies such as MSCI or Sustainalytics, to judge firms' merits. Burning coal, which puts out more carbon dioxide than alternatives like oil and gas, gives companies a black mark.

European countries including Germany and Italy are nonetheless considering bringing back coal due to the Ukraine crisis, which has cut Russian gas flows. Some companies, such as German speciality chemicals maker Lanxess, have also said they may consume more coal.

Companies forced by cost pressures or national policy to use the fuel could make up ground by finding other ways to burnish their environmental credentials, or by focusing on the S and G in ESG, industry sources add.

"When your emissions go up, all other things being equal, you are in more trouble from a ratings perspective," said Sylvain Vanston, executive director, climate change investment research at MSCI. "If you come up with a fantastic new commitment, that could counterbalance it."

But so far, few companies have managed to find a silver bullet to counteract use of the heavily polluting fuel. Lanxess, which has previously acknowledged the hit to its carbon footprint, declined to comment on the potential impact on its ESG rating of burning more coal.

It has however pointed out that if it prices itself out of the market, it could mean plant closures and job losses, potentially affecting the "social" aspect of its operations.

Story continues

There are other options available to companies looking to preserve their ratings. David McNeil, head of climate risk at Sustainable Fitch, said the agency looks at a company's broad ESG impact when assessing it. "If a power utility is issuing a green bond, that is something we would look at," he said.

Some companies such as Italian utility Enel have issued sustainability-linked bonds connected to their overall sustainability performance.

Sustainability-linked bonds and green bonds, which fund specific environmental projects, have however performed poorly in recent months as the prospect of higher interest rates and a possible recession battered corporate debt markets more broadly.

Germany's largest power producer RWE, whose CEO said last month that Germany needed to save gas in its power sector by replacing it with coal, has previously issued green bonds.

A spokesperson for the group said RWE is still focused on expanding its use of renewable energies and hydrogen with a view to further accelerating a coal phase-out, a strategy to which its investors had given "broad approval".

Other companies, such as Europe's top copper smelter Aurubis, also said their aim remains to decarbonise, despite the additional short-term complication of including coal in the energy mix.

Investors insist they are similarly committed. AXA Investment Managers, Allianz Global Investors and Zurich Insurance, which between them manage $1.8 trillion in assets, all said they were keeping to their plans to cut back on coal despite the war in Ukraine.

"We are not changing our position and we are not changing our policy - we are sticking to the course," said Zurich group head of sustainability Linda Freiner.

So far Europe's energy crisis is showing few signs of being resolved. It remains to be seen how far either companies or investors can keep faith in the importance of long-term ESG principles like cutting out coal if the situation worsens.

"Coal throws up an energy security question that in the short term is in conflict with the decarbonisation problem," said Alex Simcox, head of ESG investment at asset manager Mondrian.

"If you are in Germany and Russia cuts off gas, even if you are in the Green party, you should accept that the extension of coal-fired power is a pragmatic answer."

(Reporting by Carolyn Cohn in London and Christoph Steitz in Frankfurt; Additional reporting by Ludwig Burger, Christoph Steitz and Patricia Weiss in Frankfurt, Michael Hogan in Hamburg and Marc Jones in London; Editing by Jan Harvey)
Kristen Meinzer attends the 2020 Audie Awards Gala at Guastavino's (left), and Meghan Markle at Tupou College in Tonga in 2018 (right). Sean Zanni/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images, Kirsty Wiggleworth/Getty Images

Kristen Meinzer said she was wrongly cited as a friend of Meghan Markle in a new book.

In "Revenge," author Tom Bower used Meinzer's quotes which she had given to The Times of London.

Meinzer told Insider that Bower got her pronouns wrong, despite them being in her Twitter bio.

Kristen Meinzer, a royal commentator based in the US, says she isn't friends with Meghan Markle despite being cited as such in a new royal book.

In "Revenge: Meghan, Harry and the war between the Windsors," released on Thursday, author Tom Bower used quotes that Meinzer had given to a news outlet about the racism and misogyny Markle faced upon entering into the royal family, Meinzer told Insider.

Meinzer shared an excerpt from the book on Twitter on Friday, writing that Bower wrongly described her as a friend to the duchess and that she wasn't interviewed for the book.

The excerpt reads: "'No one,' agreed Kristen Meinzer, a friend and a writer, 'could have been prepared for the level of racism and misogyny and vitriol that she's faced.' He/she, as Meinzer describes herself, blamed the 'inbred, messed-up, dysfunctional family' who were up against a 'highly educated self-made millionaire who knew how to do the PR game... A lot of people think you were so lucky to get her, and you blew it.'"

Meinzer's quotes were originally given in an interview with The Times of London ahead of Markle and Prince Harry's Oprah interview in March 2021.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex during a visit to Morocco in 2019. Facundo Arrizabalaga - Pool/Getty Images

"In his new book, Tom Bower claims I'm friends with #MeghanMarkle and that I use the pronouns he/she," Meinzer wrote alongside the excerpt on Twitter.

"If he can't even get these simple facts right, how are we to trust anything he says about the Sussexes?" she added.

Lower down in the Twitter thread, Meinzer responded to a person who asked if she had been interviewed for the book, writing: "Nope!"

Story continues

Representatives for Tom Bower and the Duchess of Sussex did not respond to Insider''s request for comment.

Kristen Meinzer says she calls out racism against Meghan Markle because it's the 'right thing to do,' not because she wants to be friends

Speaking to Insider on Monday, Meinzer said she had no correspondence with Bower as he was writing the book and that she wasn't aware he was "cherry-picking quotes I'd given other outlets."

Meinzer added that her pronouns, "She/her," are in her Twitter bio, and before that they were included in her Twitter profile name as: "Kristen Meinzer, she/her."

Meinzer said that she has "never claimed to be" friends with Markle, and that her motives for calling out the UK tabloids' racist treatment the duchess has received has nothing to do with friendship.

"I don't call out racism and sexism against the Duchess of Sussex because we're buddies," Meinzer said. "I do it because it's the right thing to do. We should all be calling out racism and sexism when we see it."

Meinzer has frequently spoken out about the racism Markle has faced, previously telling Insider the royal has been criticized for doing the same things Kate Middleton has been praised for, such as cradling her pregnant belly or crossing her legs in photos.

"I don't think Meghan would be facing any of these double standards if she were white," Meinzer said.

It's not the first time Bower's book has faced criticism

Meinzer isn't the only person to accuse Bower of twisting the truth in his book. Writing in the letters section of The Times of London on July 19, journalist Sam Kashner denied Bower's claim that he was manipulated by Markle when he interviewed her for Vanity Fair's cover story in 2017.

Bower wrote that Kashner felt "played" by the duchess, who told him, "you're not like a typical journalist," and that she liked him because of his stutter.

In Kashner's letter in The Times, titled "My interview with Meghan Markle," Kashner said Bower "didn't convey my admiration and respect" for the duchess and that he found her "warm and gracious" when they spoke.

"One more thing, I do not have a stutter," Kashner said. "I may hem and haw a bit but a stammer is not a stutter, and as far as I know, Ms Markle never said she liked me because of it!"

Read the original article on Insider
Finland's Imatra border crossing point with Russia. (Reuters)

The Kremlin has threatened to retaliate if Finland starts banning Russian tourists following its invasion of Ukraine.

Moscow said it would react very negatively should its neighbour refuse Russian citizens entry after it emerged there was growing support for this in Finland, Russian news outlet Interfax reported.

Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov said: Russia would, of course, react very negatively to this.

He added: All such actions against Russian citizens would require countermeasures and a response. This should be understandable and expected.

Read more: British YouTuber sanctioned by UK for spreading lies about Russia's invasion of Ukraine

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has warned of consequences should Finland ban Russian tourists. (Reuters)

On Monday, a survey from Finnish news agency STT showed there was strong support from sections of parliament to stop tourist visas for Russians after the country invaded Ukraine on 24 February.

Finnish acting prime minister Aki Linden added he agreed with tightening visas for Russian tourists, news outlet yle reported.

Christina Hietasaari, head of Visit Finland, said last month Russian tourists accounted for as much as 19% of all tourists.

She added there were concerns the country could lose 600m (504m) a year due to the decrease in their numbers caused by issues from the war.

Read more: How Himars could force Russia into an embarrassing collapse in Ukraine

On 5 July, Nato's 30 allies signed an accession protocol for Finland and Sweden, allowing them to join.

The protocol means Helsinki and Stockholm can participate in Nato meetings and have greater access to intelligence but will not be protected by the defence clause  that an attack on one ally is an attack against all  until ratification.

That is likely to take up to a year.

Moscow has repeatedly warned both countries against joining Nato.

Read more: Russian official pokes fun at Johnson resignation and says 'we don't like him either'

Finland's parliament also voted in favour of legislation allowing barriers on the country's border with Russia and enabling the closure of the 1,300 km (800 miles) frontier from asylum seekers in case of exceptional circumstances.

The bill on preparedness, while contested in terms of European Union asylum rules, was passed by a supermajority that allows parliament to fast-track laws, amid fears Russia could retaliate over Finland's plans to join the Nato military alliance.

It will also allow the government to decide to build fences or other barriers near Finnish borders and direct all asylum applications to one or several border crossings, such as an airport.
Ukrainian serviceman stands in a burning field somewhere in Zaporizhzhia Oblast

ISW assessed that Russian forces, including Russian Wagner Group mercenaries, have advanced into Novoluhanske and are taking control of the territory of the Vuhlehirska thermal power plant to the north  likely as a result of a controlled Ukrainian withdrawal from the area.

Read also: Russian army yet to make any major advance to Siversk and Bakhmut, says ISW

Furthermore, Moscows troops continue to suffer from the same fundamental limitations that previously prevented them from rapidly gaining substantial ground during offensive operations in Luhansk Oblast.

Russian Telegram channels began reporting on Russian attempts to advance on Novoluhanske as early as May 25, which means that Russian troops have been unsuccessfully attacking this single location for two months. Novoluhanske is neither a large settlement nor is it characterized by particularly challenging terrain, yet Russian forces have been unable to advance past it for weeks.

ISW analysts say that operations around Novoluhanske indicate that Russian forces are suffering the same limitations in terms of their ability to effectively use battlefield features such as salients to their advantage, which is exacerbated by the extreme difficulty Russian forces regularly have capturing small and relatively insignificant bits of terrain over weeks or months of fighting.

These limitations will grow as Russian units continually degrade themselves during assaults on small villages.

Read also: Russian forces try to seize Vuhlehirska Power Station, but Ukrainian units push them back  General Staff

The Institute also believes that Russian forces will be unable to effectively leverage the eventual capture of Novoluhanske to take Bakhmut, and the continual tactical and operational limitations they are facing on the battlefield will likely contribute to the culmination of the offensive in Donbas before capturing Bakhmut, Slovyansk, or any other major city in Donetsk Oblast.

Other key takeaways of the report:

Story continues

Read also: Russian invaders creating conditions for offensive on Bakhmut, says Ukraine's General Staff

Russian forces conducted limited ground attacks north of Kharkiv City, east of Siversk, and east of Bakhmut;

Russian forces are continuing to fortify and strengthen positions in Zaporizhzhia and Kherson Oblasts in anticipation of the Ukrainian counteroffensive;

Ukrainian forces are continuing to strike Russian strongholds in southern Ukraine;

Russian forces continued to withdraw military equipment from storage in Russias Omsk and face challenges with repairing damaged combat vehicles;

Russian occupation officials are continuing to set conditions for the annexation of occupied territories.

ISW

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine




ZIRUK, Afghanistan, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Living in a China-donated tent, Zarif, 41, believed that U.S. freezing Afghanistan's assets has undermined the local post-earthquake rehabilitation and reconstruction.

A destructive earthquake striking Afghanistan on June 22 killed more than 1,000 people, injured more than 3,000 others and destroyed more than 17,000 houses, mostly in Paktika and the neighboring Khost provinces.

"We have hugely suffered due to the earthquake, have lost our houses and everything we had. We need help but unfortunately, Afghanistan's assets were frozen in U.S. banks, having affected the assistance," Zarif, a resident affected by the earthquake in Ziruk district, Paktika, told Xinhua.

"The blocking of money has increased our miseries, it has badly affected our banking system as we can't withdraw money," said Zarif, who lost a few family members and relatives in the destructive tremor.

The man called on the international community to ask Americans to unfreeze Afghanistan's assets.

"We ask the international community to exert pressure on the U.S. to release our money," Zarif said.

Following the withdrawal of the U.S.-led forces from the Asian country, Afghanistan's assets worth more than 9 billion U.S. dollars were frozen by the United States as part of its sanctions on the new rulers of the war-torn country.

To further mount pressure on the Taliban-run administration, U.S. President Joe Biden signed a decree in February allowing allocating 3.5 billion dollars from the frozen Afghan assets to the families of 9/11 terror attack victims and meanwhile a same amount to humanitarian aid for helping the needy Afghan people.

The decision has been widely condemned by Afghans as utterly unjust, who have urged the White House to unfreeze Afghanistan's assets.

"Afghans will further suffer if the U.S. sanctions are not lifted," Zarif said.

Agreeing with Zarif, Jassim Khan, another local affected by the earthquake, opined that the U.S. sanctions have further worsened the already broken economy of cash-strapped Afghanistan.

"The sanctions have damaged our banking system as neither the individuals nor the donors can send their assistance via bank," Khan said.

On the negative impact of U.S. sanctions on transferring assistance to the quake-affected region, Mohammad Nasim Haqqani, spokesperson of State Ministry for Disaster Management and Humanitarian Affairs, said that the sanctions have undermined the international cooperation with Afghanistan.

"The negative impact of the sanctions is tangible as some institutions can't receive humanitarian aid in cash through bank because of the U.S. embargo and some countries can't send assistance as the banking system has been affected," Haqqani told Xinhua.





Produced by Xinhua Global Service
(Reuters) - The Joint Coordination Centre (JCC), established as part of a landmark deal to resume grain exports from Ukraine, has started work in Istanbul, Russia's defence ministry said on Tuesday

The Russian delegation to the JCC will arrive in Turkey today and begin work in a four-way format, alongside Turkey, Ukraine and the United Nations, the ministry said in a statement posted on social media.

Russia and Ukraine signed a landmark deal last Friday, brokered by Ankara and the U.N., to unblock grain exports from Ukraine's Black Sea ports and ease an international food crisis.

The deal was almost immediately thrown into jeopardy after Russia fired cruise missiles on the port of Odesa, Ukraine's largest, on Saturday morning, just 12 hours after the signing ceremony in Istanbul.

But both Moscow and Kyiv have said they will try to push forward with the agreement - the first major diplomatic breakthrough in the conflict now in its sixth month.

Ukraine and Russia accounted for around a third of global wheat exports before Russia's Feb. 24 invasion.

The Russian delegation to the JCC will be headed by rear admiral Eduard Luik, Moscow said.

"The main task of Russian specialists in the JCC will be the prompt resolution of all necessary issues for the initiative to enter the stage of practical implementation," the defence ministry said.

The Kremlin on Monday called for the U.N. to secure the removal of curbs on Russian fertiliser and grain exports as part of the deal, saying it was still too early to say whether the agreement would be a success.

(Reporting by Reuters; editing by Kirsten Donovan/Guy Faulconbridge)
(Bloomberg) -- Saudi Arabia will set aside 300 billion riyals ($80 billion) for an investment fund tied to the crown princes flagship megaproject, Neom, and plans an initial public offering of the project on the kingdoms stock market as soon as 2024.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The Neom Investment Fund could potentially expand to 400 billion riyals, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told reporters in Jeddah. It will invest in companies that agree to operate at Neom, a new region planned in Saudi Arabias northwestern corner.

The princes announcement on Monday was attended by global investors including Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio, Tim Collins of Ripplewood, Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal and Kuwaiti retail billionaire Mohammed Alshaya.

For the first time, Prince Mohammed also outlined details on how he plans to finance Neom -- one of the largest and most complex construction programs in the world.

The first phase of the project, which runs until 2030, will cost 1.2 trillion riyals, with about half of that covered by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), he said. Officials will seek to raise another 600 billion riyals from other sovereign wealth funds in the region, private investors in Saudi Arabia and abroad, and an initial public offering of Neom itself on the Saudi stock market -- an idea the prince first floated in 2017.

We have big aims to get Saudi Arabia among the top three largest stock markets on the planet, Prince Mohammed said, adding that he expects the Neom IPO to happen around 2024 and possibly add more than 1 trillion riyals to the size of the kingdoms market. He didnt say how large the share sale would be or explain details of that valuation. The Saudi sovereign fund will eventually sell shares in all its companies, he added.

Story continues

Population boost

Announced in 2017, Neom is Prince Mohammeds plan to turn an expanse of desert the size of Belgium into a high-tech region with a linear metropolis, a ski resort and an industrial city that partially floats on water.

Hes billed it as a testbed for new technologies that could revolutionize urban life -- as well as a way to attract foreign investment and diversify Saudi Arabias oil-dependent economy. But five years in, Neom has been plagued by setbacks, many stemming from the difficulties of implementing the princes grand and ever-changing ideas, according to current and former employees.

His latest announcement detailed a plan within Neom for twin skyscrapers that stretch horizontally for more than 100 kilometers, containing within them an entire city of 9 million people. A new exhibit open to the public in Jeddah displays potential designs for modules of the buildings -- to be built in stages -- by global architecture firms including Los Angeles-based Morphosis and UK-based Archigram.

Asked why he wanted to build Neom, the prince told reporters that his plan to remake Saudi Arabia involves increasing its population from around 34 million people currently to between 50 million and 60 million by 2030. Half will be foreigners, he added, compared to the kingdoms current demographic balance of around a third foreigners and two thirds Saudi citizens.

The capital of Riyadh will be overcrowded if it expands too much, the prince said -- hes already declared his intention to double its population -- but Neom will take care of 10 million.

By 2030, hes aiming for 1.5 million people living in The Line -- the twin buildings -- reaching 9 million by 2045, he said.

Neom will start engaging major potential investors by the end of this year, he said. Officials are talking to companies around the planet, and many Chinese firms are already working in Neom, he said.

Saudi Arabia also plans to invest in neighboring Egypt to complement the project, including in the tourist area of Sharm el-Sheikh, which is located across the Red Sea from Neom, he said. Were going to create huge investment in Egypt.

In addition to the 600 billion riyal-backing from the Saudi sovereign fund, Neoms first phase will depend on a government subsidy of 200 to 300 billion riyals, the prince said, without clarifying what form that would take. He eventually wants Neom to be self-sufficient and bring a 13-14% return on investment, he said.

Prince Mohammeds reign as the kingdoms de facto ruler has been characterized by sky-high ambitions and targets, compared to more limited implementation on the ground so far.

He declared his intentions in 2016 for an IPO of state oil giant Saudi Aramco, initially planned for global markets and later scaled back to a domestic share sale in 2019. The prince has repeatedly said that hed be happy if he achieves 50% of what he sets out to do.

(Updates with additional context and details from fifth paragraph.)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2022 Bloomberg L.P.
The Edinburgh galaxy is the latest in a succession of "most distant" observations from Webb

Scottish astronomers have spied what they believe to be the most distant galaxy ever observed, using the new super space telescope, James Webb.

The red smudge is 35 billion light-years away. We see it, as it was, just 235 million years after the Big Bang.

It's a preliminary, or "candidate", result and will need a follow-up study for confirmation.

But for the moment, the University of Edinburgh team is celebrating and marvelling at James Webb's power.

"We're using a telescope that was designed to do precisely this kind of thing, and it's amazing," said Callum Donnan, an astrophysics PhD student in the university's Institute for Astronomy.

James Webb is the $10bn successor to the Hubble Space Telescope and is hunting the first stars and galaxies to form in the 13.8-billion-year-old Universe.

These objects are extremely faint but the new observatory has been tuned specifically to pick up their glow in infrared light.

James Webb

Edinburgh's high mark will almost certainly be short-lived.

Since Webb began science operations at the end of June, astronomers have been finding ever more distant candidates in its imagery.

And if the designed performance is achieved, scientists could eventually see objects with Webb that were in existence perhaps as little as 100 million years after the Big Bang.

So we should expect a succession of announcements in the weeks and months ahead.

The Edinburgh target is called CEERS-93316 and is said to have a redshift of 16.7.

Redshift is the term astronomers use when discussing distances in the cosmos.

It's a measure that describes the way light coming from an object has been "stretched" by the expansion of the Universe to redder wavelengths.

The higher the redshift number assigned to a galaxy, the more distant it is and the earlier it is being viewed in cosmic history.

Recent days have seen a stream of ever larger redshift numbers being reported on the popular arxiv pre-print server.

Story continues

Maisie's Galaxy was found in a wide-field survey being conducted by James Webb

The last 24 hours have been a good example of how fast things can move.

The Edinburgh group pulled its target from a wide-field survey of the sky that Webb is currently conducting called the Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science (CEERS) Survey.

The team that actually runs this survey put out its own far-distant candidate on Monday called CEERSJ141946.35+525632.8.

Dubbed Maisie's Galaxy after an astronomer's daughter, this target has a redshift of 14.3, which means it's being seen about 280 million years after the Big Bang. Not quite as far as CEERS-93316 but still a remarkable prospect compared with the era before James Webb.

There is a big caveat to all this, however. The early candidates announced from Webb observations have yet to undergo full spectroscopic examination.

This process slices up the light coming from a galaxy to reveal its component colours - its spectra. These will give the clearest view of how the light, which was originally emitted at visible wavelengths, has been stretched into the infrared over the course of cosmic history.

Only after this task is completed - and Webb has the instruments to do it - will distance claims move on to a surer footing

Graphic showing how James Webb is able to look back in time

Another benefit of spectroscopy is that it will reveal the composition of objects.

Theory says the very first stars were fuelled just by hydrogen, helium and a small amount of lithium - the elements created in the Big Bang.

Heavier atoms - astronomers call them all "metals" - had to be forged in those pioneer stars and their descendants.

"We can look at the colours in our galaxy in a broad sense, and it's quite blue, which suggests a young stellar population. But it's not blue enough that this galaxy is made up of metal-free stars," Mr Donnan said.

It is Prof Steve Finkelstein, from the University of Texas at Austin, US, who is the proud father of Maisie.

He will be a guest on Thursday's Science In Action programme on the BBC World Service.

"I had heard a quote for this telescope that it is going to be transformative. And I said, 'you know, it's gonna do a lot of really cool things, but is it really going to completely change the way we view the Universe? I couldn't have been more wrong. Textbooks are going to be rewritten on even just the data we've gotten in the first week."

Note on distances: The Universe is expanding. In the time the light from objects takes to reach us, those objects have receded greatly. Their positions today, therefore, are much, much further away than when the light was first emitted.
A business owner expressed his frustration over the repeated graffiti vandalism of his San Francisco restaurant after receiving a violation notice from the city to clean up or be fined.

Viet Nguyen, owner of the soon-to-open Gao Viet Kitchen in the Inner Sunset, told NBC Bay Area that he is tired of his restaurant being targeted by vandals and repeatedly having to paint over the graffiti.

The latest tagging of his restaurant also came with a violation notice from the San Francisco Department of Public Works last week. The notice instructed Nguyen to clean up the graffiti in 30 days or face a $362 fine.

The graffiti, it costs me a lot of money because every tag, Ive got to go paint that thing. I dont actually expect it to stop, but the most frustrating thing is, I keep on getting tagged by the city, but what can I do? Nguyen told ABC7 News. I clean it up, I board it up, or whatever I need to do and it comes back.

More from NextShark: Filipina American Nurse Harassed for Giving Out Water, Masks During BLM Protest in New Jersey

Gao Viet Kitchen is scheduled to open in September. While the owner has been busy transforming the space of his Vietnamese restaurant, he has lost count of the amount of times his business has been tagged.

The San Francisco Department of Public Works paused their enforcement of graffiti code violations during the pandemic. However, enforcement resumed last week after two years, according to Rachel Gordon, a spokesperson for the San Francisco Department of Public Works.

Properties that are hit time and time and time again can do something called applying for a hardship, Gordon informed NBC Bay Area. San Francisco Public Works will use our crews or contractor crews working for us to go and do courtesy abatement for six months.

More from NextShark: Legendary Vietnamese Singer Le Thu Passes Away at 78 After Getting COVID-19

Moreover, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors reportedly gave initial approval for a public works graffiti abatement pilot program on July 20. The proposal includes a $4 million budget for over two years to clean up and help business owners like Nguyen, who often get tagged.

Story continues

The Board of Supervisors will vote for final approval before sending the ordinance to the city mayor for a final signature. The graffiti abatement program in the city could begin this fall if the proposal is officially passed.

Its going to be focused on neighborhood commercial corridors to really try to alleviate  as the supervisor (San Francisco Supervisor Myrna Melgar) wanted to do  a burden on property owners and business owners in those areas, Gordon told ABC7 News.

More from NextShark: Elderly Couple Allegedly Struck With Coronavirus Says Goodbye to Each Other

Its great news for the city as a whole because it means that the tags will be removed quickly, so they dont proliferate, she added.

Featured Image via NBC Bay Area

More from NextShark: Coronavirus Prank Targeting Korean Student Ends in Violent Brawl and Gun Drawn
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Joe Biden on Tuesday welcomed plans from South Korea's second-largest conglomerate SK Group to invest $22 billion in new investments in the United States in semiconductors, green energy and bioscience projects.

During a meeting at the White House with SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, Biden called the investment consequential.

He said it showed that the "United States, Korea and its allies are back and winning the technology competition" of the 21st century.

The investments are in semiconductors, green energy, and bioscience, "creating tens of thousands of new high-tech, high-paying American jobs," SK said in a statement.

They will come in addition to its $7 billion investment to build two new gigafactories in Tennessee and Kentucky as part of a joint venture with Ford Motor, it added.

Biden said some 613,000 manufacturing jobs had been created in the United States since he came into office. The White House has been eager to emphasize the strength of the labor market amid fears by some of a broader economic downturn.

Company executives and administration officials met in the White House Roosevelt Room, while Biden appeared virtually from the White House residence as he continues to recover from COVID-19. He said he was feeling great.

SK Group plans to invest $15 billion in the semiconductor industry through research and development programs, materials, and the creation of an advanced packaging and testing facility.

It will spend another $5 billion on other green energy businesses, including electric vehicle (EV) charging systems, green hydrogen production, battery materials and recycling. Additionally it will invest 'several billions of dollars' in biotechnologies, the company said in the statement.

The $22 billion announced Tuesday is part of the $52 billion SK's chairman said last year it planned to invest in the United States through 2030.

In May, SK Group said it will invest 247 trillion won ($195.24 billion) in the semiconductor, battery and biopharmaceutical sectors over the next five years in South Korea and overseas.

(Reporting by Steve Holland, David Shepardson, Jeff Mason and Jack Kim; Additional reporting by Heekyong Yang and Joyce Lee; Editing by Andrea Ricci)
By Simon Lewis

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The family of slain Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh met U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday to demand justice for the killing of the Al Jazeera reporter during an Israeli raid in the occupied West Bank.

U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price told a regular news briefing that Blinken was meeting the family at the department and would reiterate the need for accountability.

Shireen Abu Akleh was killed on May 11 during an Israeli raid in the town of Jenin in the occupied West Bank.

The State Department said this month that Abu Akleh was likely killed by gunfire from Israeli positions but that it was probably unintentional, citing an investigation by the U.S. Security Coordinator.

Her family and Palestinian officials have criticized the U.S. report and maintained she was deliberately targeted. Israel denies this.

Lina Abu Akleh, Shireen Abu Akleh's niece, posted on Twitter after Tuesday's meeting that family members wanted to meet President Joe Biden himself and that anything short of a U.S. investigation that led to accountability was unacceptable.

"Although he made some commitments on Shireens killing, were still waiting to see if this administration will meaningfully answer our calls for #JusticeForShireen," she wrote of meeting Blinken.

Washington was focused on ensuring investigations by Israel and the Palestinian Authority into the killing are thorough, exhaustive, transparent and end in accountability, Price said during Tuesday's briefing.

Price said the United States wanted to see timely accountability in the case, but declined to give a time frame for investigations to conclude.

The family had accused the United States of providing impunity for Israel over her killing. They unsuccessfully requested a meeting with Biden in person during his trip to Israel this month.

"We will pursue accountability for her murder wherever it may take us," said a statement on Twitter from Lina, Shireen's brother Tony and nephew Victor. "Shireen lived to uncover the truth behind every story, and so shall we."

(Reporting by Simon Lewis; Additional reportng by David Brunnstrom and Kanishka Singh; Editing by Howard Goller)
Eiko Tsuchiya / Shutterstock.com

If youre wondering whether your small business requires a license, the answer is generally yes. Typically, licenses are required so that government entities  be they local, state or federal  can ensure that youre complying with relevant regulations to operate safely and ethically and that youre also paying your taxes.

See Our List: 100 Most Influential Money Experts

Check Out: 22 Side Gigs That Can Make You Richer Than a Full-Time Job

But not all businesses require the same types of licenses, and some may require more than others. How do you know which business license your company should apply for? Read on to learn more.

Types of Business Licenses and Permits

The number of available business licenses and permits is exhaustive. Fortunately, most businesses need just a handful to operate. Basic permits are required by every business; but, depending on the industry your company is in, the products you sell, where you are located and other considerations, you may be required to obtain additional permits. Here are the most commonly required business licenses and permits.

DBA

The term DBA means doing business as. Its used when companies operate under a name different than the one that is officially registered. The DBA name is also known as a fictitious, trade or assumed name. Obtaining a DBA is particularly important for sole proprietors, as without one the business will legally operate under the sole proprietors actual name. For example, if John Smith wants to run a business known as Fashion Shoes, hell have to register that name as his DBA, otherwise it will simply be known as John Smith.

Operating License

An operating license grants your company the legal right to conduct business. This makes it an imperative step for all small businesses. They are issued on the city and state levels, so you may have to get one of each.

Fire Permit

Most businesses with physical locations must be inspected by the local fire department. This is particularly true for companies that handle flammable or hazardous materials. You may be required to get an annual inspection in addition to an initial one before you open your doors.

Story continues

Health Permit

Not all businesses need health permits; but, if you intend to operate any company thats remotely food-based, youll likely need to file for one. Restaurants, grocery stores, beverage outlets and food distribution companies will need local health inspector clearance in order to operate.

Building Permit

If you operate your business out of a physical location, youll need to get a building permit verifying that its safe to occupy. Even if you run a business from home, you may have to get a home occupation permit verifying that youre operating in a legally zoned location.

Tax ID Number

A Tax ID number is one of the primary requirements of operating a business. A Tax ID number, also known as an Employer Identification Number, is a nine-digit number provided by the IRS that essentially tracks your business for tax purposes.

Zoning or Land Use Permit

Zoning and land use permits dictate where certain establishments within a local area can be located. For example, zoning permits often break up cities and towns into business and residential areas, preventing companies from operating in areas where people live.

Sign Permit

It may seem like overkill that your business has to get a permit to hang a sign, but its usually a local requirement. The sign permit outlines the parameters that your sign must follow to be legally attached to your business. For example, if you want to put a 40-foot fish in front of your seafood restaurant, you wont be allowed unless its permitted under local ordinances.

Industry-Specific Licenses

The most common types of business licenses are listed above. But some companies require special licenses to operate. One of the most common of these special licenses is a liquor license. You may be able to operate a restaurant under a certain type of permit, for example; but, if you want to sell liquor, youll also need to file for a liquor license. Gaming licenses for casinos are another type of special license.

How Do I Know Which Licenses My Business Needs?

According to the Small Business Administration, Youll have to research your own state, county and city regulations. Industry requirements often vary by state. Visit your states website to find out which permits and licenses you need. Typically, you can visit websites for these agencies, although you can also visit your local city hall and/or chamber of commerce for additional information.

How Much Does a Business License Cost?

The cost of a business license can vary dramatically based on the type and the location. In Nevada, for example, corporations have to pay $500 for a standard business license, while in California, LLCs have to pay an $800 tax. Liquor licenses can run from $100 in states like Alabama and Arkansas to $16,000 in California.

Generally speaking, the types of operating licenses that most businesses require tend to run a few hundred dollars, occasionally reaching a few thousand dollars. Specialty licenses can cost much more, so check with federal, state and local regulators.

More From GOBankingRates

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Small Business Licenses You May Need To Apply For
Tami Smith is a student in the CNC machining program at GateWay Community College in Phoenix.

Lee en espanol

Tami Smith moved to metro Phoenix from North Carolina earlier this year specifically to enroll at GateWay Community Colleges machining program.

The 54-year-old wanted to shift from low-paying call center jobs to the manufacturing industry and she knew of the Maricopa Community Colleges from her brothers time there. She moved cross-country and started learning machining as the only woman in her cohort.

But paying for the eight-month program isn't easy  shes taken out student loans, worked at a pharmacy and balanced rent and health care costs. Her program ends in December, at which point she plans to get a machining job.

But reskilling at Maricopa Community Colleges is about to get easier for some county residents with a new program in partnership with Phoenix to fund training for career transitions towards high-wage, high-demand jobs.

Beginning this month, students whose jobs or income were affected by the pandemic can receive free tuition, monthly stipends and employment help in a range of workforce programs from manufacturing to health care at the countys 10 community colleges.

Phoenix is using $7 million of its federal pandemic relief dollars to fund the "Route to Relief" program, which will run through December 2024.

We are hoping today is the start to a career transformation for so many Phoenix residents, Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego said at the programs launch Monday inside a spacious lab at GateWays Central City campus, where about a dozen machining students were mid-class.

We have a unique opportunity to help people enter extremely high-wage careers in Maricopa County. We know its been a difficult few years for our residents, but we hope that today we celebrate some silver linings, Gallego said.

A huge deal: The arts in Arizona just got their biggest chunk of funding ever.

Funds for tuition and more

Maricopa Community Colleges Interim Chancellor Steven Gonzales launched a new partnership with the city of Phoenix to help fund students training for high demand workforce areas at GateWay Community College on July 25, 2022.

Eligible students can get up to $5,000 for tuition, fees and books. Training-related expenses, job search expenses and career services in programs like semiconductor, health care, business, manufacturing and information technology also are covered.

Story continues

Students also will get monthly stipends during their studies of up to $1,000-$1,500 for other expenses like child care and transportation.

Maricopa Community Colleges Interim Chancellor Steven Gonzales said the program is an answer to a common challenge expressed by students  that its not just tuition that poses a burden, but also the costs of living while going to school.

The workforce development program is focused on helping residents gain new skills, said Maricopa County Community Colleges District Governing Board member Susan Bitter Smith.

"It provides so many people career opportunities to better their lives," she said. "This really is an opportunity to reskill for people who want to come back into the workforce in a different route.

Phoenix leaders see the partnership as a way to help the city grow a talented workforce for local companies and to expand job opportunities for residents. Most of the programs are certificate and short-term in high-demand career areas.

James Smith, a machining instructor at GateWay Community College in Phoenix, pictured here showing Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego and MCCCCD governing board member Susan Bitter Smith the machining space.

One is the districts new two-week semiconductor technician training program, which prepares students to work in semiconductor manufacturing, a growing industry in the Phoenix area.

This program comes at a pivotal time for North Phoenix as we are poised to staff the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company plant," Phoenix District 1 Councilwoman Ann O'Brien said in a statement.

Who is eligible for program?

Eligible students include Maricopa County residents affected by COVID-19 at any point since March 2020 in any of these ways: their household income was reduced by lost wages or hours, they are or were unemployed, they qualified for unemployment or pandemic insurance benefits, they were laid off or furloughed, they stopped work to care for a sick member of their household, they had a loss of child or spouse support, or they stopped work to care for kids home from school or day care.

It's unclear how many students will benefit because funds will depend on student needs and their programs, Gonzales said. If everyone received the full tuition and stipend, which is not likely, the program could assist over 1,000 students.

Eligible fields were selected based on high workforce need. Industries include: bioscience and health care, financial services, information technology and cybersecurity, manufacturing, construction, early childhood education, community health services, electric vehicle technician and technology, entrepreneurship and small business, and hospitality and tourism.

The CNC machining program that brought Smith to Arizona is one of many eligible programs. Instructor James Smith said the hands-on training gives students the core machining skills they need to work in manufacturing, ranging from aerospace and medical to semiconductor and toys.

I see this (Route to Relief) as us responding to the workforce, and also preparing that workforce  those are two critically important things to do," Gonzales said. "We want to make sure that theyre ready to start on day one."

Students can learn more at www.maricopa.edu/r2r.

Have a story about higher education? Reach the reporter at Alison.Steinbach@arizonarepublic.com or at 602-444-4282. Follow her on Twitter @alisteinbach.

Support local journalism. Subscribe to azcentral.com today.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Maricopa Community Colleges to offer free tuition to some students
Taipei  Air defense drills were held in Taiwan's capital Monday as the military mobilized for annual defense exercises being held throughout the week.

Activity on the streets of Taipei ground to a halt in the early afternoon as police ordered pedestrians to seek shelter indoors, shops shuttered their doors, and vehicles were forced to pull over.

An IDF fighter jet takes off in Taiwan for a combat readiness transition mission on July 25, 2022. / Credit: Jun Wen News Agency reporter Lin Zeting

The military's annual Han Kuang exercises will run through July 29, and include joint land, sea, and air exercises to test Taiwan's defense capabilities against China's much larger and rapidly growing armed forces. According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, the growth of China's military budget has outpaced its overall economic growth for at least a decade.

Increasingly, Taiwan's security has come into focus as Russia continues to wage war in Ukraine, with Beijing's continued refusal to condemn the invasion drawing concern. In April, a Pew Research Center report found that most Americans say the relationship between Russia and China poses serious problems for the U.S.

Air defense forces protect important targets. / Credit: Jun Wen News Agency reporter Lin Zeting

According to Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense, this year's live-fire exercises are based on a war games simulation held in May, modeled after learnings from the Russia-Ukraine war. The exercises are being held amidst heightened tensions with China. Chinese military aircraft have flown hundreds of incursions into Taiwan's air defense identification zone over the past year.

The Chinese Communist Party regards the self-ruling, democratic Taiwan as a province and seeks to reunite it with the mainland.

This year's Han Kuang exercises, first held in 1984, will call up reservists for the first time. Taiwan earlier this year bolstered its reservist training forces to back up active duty forces in the face of increased Chinese military activity around the island. The Ministry of Defense has reported a 50% increase in incursions by Chinese warplanes into its ADIZ from last year.

In January, Taiwan's parliament passed an extra spending bill of $8.6 billion to boost defense capabilities against China, topping an annual record-high defense budget of $17 billion for the island.

Story continues

U.S. stocks tumble over fears of another Fed rate hike

New study suggests depression is not caused by low levels of serotonin

Congress races to get bills passed before recess
The leap second has been used 27 times since the concept was first introduced in 1972 (AFP via Getty Images)

US tech giants and timekeeping authorities have launched a campaign to scrap the leap second, warning of devastating risks if the practice continues.

Amazon, Google, Meta and Microsoft joined the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Frances Bureau International de Poids et Mesures (BIPM) in calling for the extra second that is occasionally added to clocks to be ditched.

The concept was first introduced in 1972 in order to keep Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) in sync with the long-term slowdown of the Earths rotation, making it easier for scientists and astronomers to make observations.

It has since been used 27 times, however the industry effort plans to prevent any further leap seconds from being added in order to avoid major issues that arise with computer networks when one is introduced.

Previous disruption has included a massive outage with Reddit in 2012, as well as problems with web performance firm Cloudflare, whose technology is used to support millions of websites.

Introducing new leap seconds is a risky practice that does more harm than good, and we believe it is time to introduce new technologies to replace it, Meta wrote in a blog post on Monday.

As engineers at Meta, we are supporting a larger community pust to stop the future introduction of leap seconds and remain at the current level of 27, which we believe will be enough for the next millenium.

Meta engineers also warned that the Earths changing rotation pattern could result in a negative leap second at some point in the future, which could cause even more issues.

The impact of a negative leap second has never been tested on a large scale; it could have a devastating effect on the software relying on timers or schedulers, the blog post stated.

In any case, every leap second is a major source of pain for people who manage hardware infrastructures.

The issue will be discussed at a meeting of the International Telecommunications Union next year.
Several Democrats who are seeking election or re-election in states around the country refused to provide a definition for the word "woman" or offer their thoughts on whether men have the capacity to become pregnant.

Fox News Digital reached out to multiple Democratic candidates about the topics and received no responses from the campaigns of Sens. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., and Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., and Senate nominees John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Tim Ryan of Ohio, and Cheri Beasley of North Carolina.

Ahead of the midterm elections, and amid the debate on whether abortion should be protected federally, several individuals, including members of the media, have started defending the contentious notion that men have the ability to get pregnant and have abortions.

In May, Aimee Arrambide, the executive director of the pro-choice nonprofit Avow Texas, was asked by Rep. Dan Bishop, R-N.C., to define what "a woman is" during her testimony on abortion as a Democrat witness before the House Judiciary Committee.

From left: Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., Pennsylvania Democratic Senate nominee John Fetterman, Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., and Ohio Democratic Senate nominee Tim Ryan. Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc, Michael M. Santiago, Eric Lee/Bloomberg, Daniel Acker/Bloomberg

DEM WITNESS TELLS HOUSE COMMITTEE MEN CAN GET PREGNANT, HAVE ABORTIONS

"I believe that everyone can identify for themselves," she responded.

Bishop then asked Arrambide whether she believes "men can become pregnant and have abortions," to which she simply responded, "Yes."

Aimee Arrambide attends Making Virtual Storytelling and Activism Personal during the SXSW Conference and Festivals on March 14, 2022, in Austin, Texas. Hubert Vestil/Getty Images for SXSW

Earlier this month, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., made headlines after he clashed with a liberal University of California-Berkeley professor whom he questioned for her repeated use of the term "people with a capacity for pregnancy" during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the Supreme Court's recent ruling on abortion. Hawley asked Professor Khiara Bridges if she meant to refer to "women" when she repeatedly used the phrase.

"There are also trans-men who have the capacity for pregnancy," Bridges replied, adding that "cis-women" and "non-binary people" do get pregnant from sexual intercourse. Bridges also called Hawley's questioning "transphobic and opens up trans-people to violence."

Story continues

Sen. Josh Hawley during a Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on April 27, 2022. Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

"Here is the modern Democrat Party today," Hawley later told Fox News. "It [deems] that you have to say that men can get pregnant.' And if you don't say it, then you are a bigot and you are responsible for violence."

"That is the party line," he added. "Let's not forget who invited this witness. She was there as a Democrat witness. You didn't see a single Democrat disagree with that. In fact, they're all over social media applauding her and saying, 'Oh, that's exactly right.'"

KETANJI BROWN JACKSON, BIDEN'S SUPREME COURT PICK, REFUSES TO DEFINE THE WORD WOMAN

Following Hawley's exchange with the Democrat witness, Washington Post politics writer Mariana Alfaro lashed out at him. The paper gave credence to Bridges' statements that seemed unwilling to say only biological women could get pregnant. According to Alfaro, Hawley "refused to acknowledge transgender people" by not recognizing the "gender-neutral" language Bridges used.

Hawley's exchange came months after President Biden's Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson, now an associate justice, was asked by Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., to define the word "woman" during her confirmation hearings before the Senate.

"Can I provide a definition? No," Jackson responded. "I can't."

Jackson declared that she is "not a biologist" and concluded that she could not speak to the question at hand.

Fox News' Charles Creitz, Kristine Parks and Jessica Chasmar contributed to this article.
When former President Trump left Washington, D.C., in January 2021 under the cloud of the Jan. 6 riots, his future in the GOP and American politics was uncertain.

On Tuesday, Trump will return to the nations capital for the first time in 18 months with his grip on the GOP steadied and talk of a potential 2024 White House campaign heating up.

Trump will deliver the keynote speech at a summit hosted by the America First Policy Institute, a think tank formed by a band of former Trump administration aides to promote the former presidents policies.

Other panelists attending the summit include former Trump administration officials such as ex-Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe and former economic adviser Larry Kudlow, as well as lawmakers aligned with Trump, Sen. Rick Scott (Fla.), the chairman of the Senate GOP campaign arm; and fellow GOP Sens. Lindsey Graham (S.C.) and Ted Cruz (Texas).

But the focus will be on Trump, who has not been in Washington, since he lifted off on Air Force One the morning of Jan. 20, 2021, without attending the inauguration of his successor, Joe Biden.

When Trump was last in the capital, Republicans like Graham and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) were condemning Trump for his role in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and saying it was time for the party to move on from the former president.

When Trump addresses the audience Tuesday, he will look out on a crowd of Republican lawmakers, former administration officials and conservatives who have wholeheartedly embraced the former president and his record.

Linda McMahon, the former head of the Small Business Administration under Trump and now the head of the America First Policy Institute, used her opening remarks at the summit to highlight Trumps successes in cutting regulations, appointing conservative judges, cracking down on the southern border and investing in the military.

When McMahon teased Trumps speech on Tuesday, the crowd applauded.

Story continues

I think were all looking forward to that, she said.

The prospect of a 2024 campaign will overshadow Trumps remarks Tuesday. Allies have said the former president could announce a third White House bid as early as this summer.

While this weeks policy summit is ostensibly meant to lay out the path forward for ensuring the Trump administrations accomplishments become a cornerstone of the conservative movement, Trump himself has been largely focused on grievances over the 2020 election since departing office.

In a speech in Arizona on Friday, Trump appeared alongside Kari Lake, an Arizona gubernatorial candidate who has been among the most outspoken election deniers running for statewide office.

In Florida on Saturday, Trump blasted the Biden administration over its energy and border policies, and he vowed to reimpose Schedule F, an action that would allow him to fire federal employees with ease and replace them with loyalists.

Trumps return to Washington also coincides with the culmination of eight hearings held by the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, riots at the Capitol. The panel has specifically zeroed in on Trumps role leading up to and during the attack to paint a clear narrative that the former president spread falsehoods about the election, encouraged his supporters to descend on the Capitol and then sat idly by as violence unfolded.

Every American must consider this: Can a president who is willing to make the choices Donald Trump made during the violence of Jan. 6 ever be trusted with any position of authority in our great nation again? committee vice chair Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), an outspoken Trump critic, said at the conclusion of Thursdays hearing.

Trumps speech on Tuesday will also take place as his former vice president, Mike Pence, seemingly lays the groundwork for a potential presidential bid of his own in 2024. Pence been increasingly blunt about the need for Republicans to lay out a forward-looking agenda.

Some people want this election to be about the past, but elections are always about the future. Democrats would love nothing more than for Republicans to take our eye off the ball and focus on days gone by, Pence said in Arizona on Friday in support of Karrin Taylor Robson, a gubernatorial candidate challenging Trumps preferred candidate.

If the Republican Party allows itself to become consumed by yesterdays grievances, we will lose, Pence said. But if we come together, keep our eye on the ball and focus on the future, we wont just win the next election, we will change the course of American history for generations.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
By Djaffar Sabiti and Fiston Mahamba

GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) -Three United Nations peacekeepers and at least 12 civilians were killed during a second day of anti-U.N. protests in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Tuesday, authorities said.

The protests were spurred by complaints that the U.N. mission, known as MONUSCO, has failed to protect civilians against militia violence which has raged for years.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the violence, deputy U.N. spokesperson Farhan Haq said in a statement, adding, "He underscores that any attack directed against United Nations peacekeepers may constitute a war crime and calls upon the Congolese authorities to investigate these incidents and swiftly bring those responsible to justice."

Demonstrations began on Monday in the city of Goma and spread on Tuesday to Butembo, where a U.N. soldier and two U.N. police with the mission were shot dead, Haq told reporters in New York.

In both cities U.N. peacekeeping troops were accused of retaliating with force as hundreds of protesters threw rocks and petrol bombs, vandalized and set fire to U.N. buildings.

A Reuters reporter saw U.N. peacekeepers shoot dead two protesters in Goma, where government spokesman Patrick Muyaya said at least five people were killed and 50 wounded.

In Butembo at least seven civilians were killed and an unknown number wounded, said the city's police chief Paul Ngoma.

U.N. peacekeeping missions have been beset by accusations of abuse for years.

"Obviously if there's any responsibility by U.N. forces for any of the injuries, or any of the deaths, we will follow up on that," Haq said.

U.N. forces were advised to use tear gas to disperse protesters and only fire warning shots if needed, he said.

The protests were called by a faction of the ruling party's youth wing, which has demanded the U.N. mission withdraw over what it describes as its ineffectiveness.

Story continues

Resurgent clashes between local troops and the M23 rebel group in eastern Congo in recent months have displaced thousands. Attacks by militants linked to Islamic State have also continued despite a year-long state of emergency and joint operations against them by the Congolese and Ugandan armies.

"We have been doing our utmost, not just for years, but really for decades to try to bring stability to Eastern Congo," said Haq, adding that U.N. peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix is expected to travel to Congo as soon as he can.

MONUSCO took over from an earlier U.N. operation in 2010. MONUSCO had more than 12,000 troops and 1,600 police deployed as of November 2021, and has been gradually withdrawing for years.

Protesters also stormed the houses of U.N. workers in Goma, spurring the mission to relocate its staff to camps. A Reuters reporter saw staff being evacuated in a convoy with army escort.

India's foreign minister said two of the peacekeepers who died were Indian. Ngoma said the third one was Moroccan.

The U.N. Security Council was briefed on the situation behind closed doors on Tuesday, diplomats said.

(Reporting by Djaffar Sabiti, Fiston Mahamba and Erikas Mwisi Kambale; Additional reporting by Sofia Christensen and Aaron Ross in Dakar and Michelle Nichols in New York; Writing by Nellie Peyton; Editing by Estelle Shirbon, Bhargav Acharya Angus MacSwan and Aurora Ellis)
By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two U.S. senators have urged the U.S. Transportation Department to fine airlines that delay or cancel flights because of staffing or operational issues, the latest push by lawmakers to convince regulators to get tough on the aviation industry.

Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren and Alex Padilla asked Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in a letter released on Tuesday to take a harder line with airlines in the face of thousands of flight cancellations this summer.

The department should use its authority "to impose fines designed to change airlines calculus about harming consumers to pad their own profits," the senators said, noting Buttigieg can order airlines and ticket agents to stop unfair or deceptive practices and may issue fines of up to $37,377 per violation.

The department, Warren and Padilla added, can "take meaningful actions to hold airlines accountable for avoidable delays and cancellations." The department could issue "more concrete rules requiring airlines to offer refunds to passengers whose flights are delayed."

Airlines for America, a trade group representing Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and others, said Tuesday U.S. airlines have trimmed capacity by 16% and are "ramping up hiring initiatives and increasing communication with travelers" while addressing "a range of challenges, outside carrier control, such as inclement weather."

Last month, Senate Budget Committee chair Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, urged Buttigieg "to take immediate action to substantially reduce the number of airline cancellations and delays in our country and to protect the rights of airline passengers."

Some House Republicans in June asked if Buttigieg would use department tools "to ensure the airline industry is able to operate at peak efficiency without stranding millions of families."

Story continues

A department spokesperson said Tuesday "when airlines fail to met their responsibilities, they will be held accountable" and noted the department had completed 10 airline investigations into delayed or withheld passenger refunds.

Buttigieg, who met virtually with airline CEOs in June to demand better performance, told CNN Sunday that since then, airlines have improved their performance.

"You look at cancellation rates for the last couple of travel weekends. They have been around 1.5%, which is getting closer to normal," Buttigieg said."

During the height of summer travel woes, the system was seeing 3-4% cancellation rate and is now seeing 1-2% typically on any given day, officials told Reuters.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
By Mike Stone

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Navy sees its future fleet comprised of more than 350 manned ships and about 150 unmanned ships hoping technology means lower operating costs as it prepares to counter a growing Chinese fleet, according to a Navy report released Tuesday.

The plan for the 2040s and beyond underscored "the need to address long-term competition with China and sustain military advantage against Russia". It forecasts fleet numbers up slightly from a 2021 Navy long-range shipbuilding plan which had a range of 321 to 372 manned ships and 77 to 140 large unmanned vessels.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc and General Dynamics Corp are the largest ship builders in the United States with other weapons makers like Boeing Co working on unmanned ships programs.

Today the Navy has 298 ships in its "battle force" which ignores scores of resupply and logistics ships.

The Navy's proposed fiscal year 2023 budget requested $27.9 billion in shipbuilding funding for eight new ships, including two Virginia class attack submarines, two Arleigh Burke destroyers, and one Constellation frigate.

The U.S. Congress is working to add ships to the Navy's fleet.

(Reporting by Mike Stone in Washington; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
Destroyed Russian equipment

Read also: Ukraine destroys Russian National Guard outpost near Kherson

Specifically, Ukrainian forces destroyed a command post belonging to the Russian 11th Guards Air Assault Brigade near the town of Pyatykhatka.

Attacks were also carried out on the clusters of weapons and military equipment in the Beryslav and Kherson districts of Kherson oblast.

In just one day, Ukrainian forces were able to neutralize:

Read also: Russian losses approach 39,000 troops, Ukrainian figures suggest

48 enemy soldiers;

4 T-72 tanks;

1 152 mm howitzer;

self-propelled artillery system;

3 units of armored vehicles;

3 units of automotive equipment.

"The enemy continues to conduct hostilities, holding on to the fortified lines of defense," informed the command.

Read also: Ukrainian Army hits bridge across Inhulets River near Kherson

It is trying to pull up reserves of manpower and equipment on the Crimean axis. Once again, the enemy forces, numbering company task forces, with the involvement of reserves, tried to carry out offensive actions in the direction from Ishchenka to Bilohirka. Having suffered losses, they retreated.

Help NV continue reporting on the Russian invasion



Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Prominent U.S. senators are trying to free Americans from tracking taxes every time cryptocurrencies change hands, introducing a bill that would exempt them from reporting any transactions up to $50 or any trade in which they earn less than $50.

Sen. Patrick Toomey (R-Pa.) joined with Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) to push the exemption from tax requirements for crypto users making small investments or purchases. Their Virtual Currency Tax Fairness Act matches a similar effort previously introduced in the House of Representatives. The idea of clearing low-level transactions from tax worries has also appeared elsewhere, including in a more comprehensive bill introduced this year by senators Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.)

While digital currencies have the potential to become an ordinary part of Americans everyday lives, our current tax code stands in the way, said Toomey. He has sought to help the crypto industry on multiple tracks before he retires from the Senate at the end of this session.

The latest bill will let people use cryptocurrencies more easily as an everyday method of payment by exempting from taxes small personal transactions like buying a cup of coffee.

The Internal Revenue Service has held a firm crypto policy: When you sell virtual currency, you must recognize any capital gain or loss on the sale, the IRS declares on its website.

That standard has been among the roadblocks standing in the way of cryptos use in the U.S. as an alternative way to pay for things, industry advocates have argued.

This would foster use of crypto for retail payments, subscription services, and micro transactions, said Jerry Brito, executive director of Coin Center, a crypto policy think tank in Washington. More importantly, it would foster the development of decentralized blockchain infrastructure generally because networks depend on small transaction fees that today saddle users with compliance friction.

However, the new legislation faces an uphill climb in a Congress on the verge of a lengthy August recess before the midterm elections. Though there has been some movement on an effort to regulate stablecoins, most congressional insiders predict that crypto is unlikely to see significant progress on legislation until next year.
Jul. 26VERNON  The town has approved two three-year agreements with unions representing town employees from several departments, officials announced.

The contracts, approved and signed last week, were made with AFSCME Locals 818 and 1471, which represent staff in the town's Social Services, Information Technology, Finance, Parks and Recreation, Public Works, Water Pollution Control, and Land Use departments.

The contract with Local 1471, the town's largest municipal employee union, will represent 62 positions and cost the town a total of $321,420.15 over three years, Town Administrator Michael Purcaro said.

The contract with Local 818 will represent 24 positions in total, although there are currently two vacancies, Purcaro said. This contract will cost the town $159,585.80 over three years, he added.

Under the new agreement, these employees will receive a 2.25% general wage increase, as well as market adjustments to wages "where applicable," and enhancement of paid time off.

Additionally, employees will receive a one-time $500 signing bonus, and an additional 2% contribution from the town to the retirement plan of union employees who contribute at least 7.5% of their pay to the plan, officials said.

Town officials said the agreements were reached without the use of attorneys, "saving Vernon taxpayers and union members a significant amount of money in legal fees."

The two new agreements follow the recent three-year agreement with the union representing town department directors, which was approved last month and also did not require the use of attorneys.

"These agreements acknowledge the valuable service town employees provide to our community," said Mayor Dan Champagne, who added, "mutual respect leads to a negotiation process and outcome that benefits everyone."

"Everyone came to the negotiations table with realistic and reasonable expectations as well as a shared commitment to bargain in good faith," said Purcaro.

Story continues

He added that the town can now "offer our valued employees a competitive wage and benefit package that also meets our fiduciary responsibility to our taxpayers."

John Burney, who serves as President of Local 1471 and also as a Traffic Controls Maintainer for the town's Public Works department, said that negotiations were "respectful."

"I strongly advocated for our members and by working together, we reached a fair agreement," Burney said.

Jeremy Whetzel, President of Local 818 and Systems Analyst for Vernon's IT Department, also praised the agreement, calling it a "win-win for both the town and our union."

"We have a lot of great talent that we want to keep here. This contract will help us do that," Whetzel added.

Ben covers Vernon and Stafford for the Journal Inquirer.
Looks like the fans who read the tea leaves in Whoopi Goldbergs statements to Alyssa Farrah Griffin were right.

Variety reports that Griffin, who worked within the Trump administration before becoming an anti-Trumper (but still works as a conservative pundit), is in the final talks to become the permanent conservative voice on The View. She replaces Meghan McCain, who left the series in 2021.

Sources tell 'Variety' that the deal isn't closed yet, but that the announcement should come within the coming weeks.

However, The Views spokesperson told Variety, We do not have a co-host announcement to make at this time. Stay tuned.

Fans said they would boycott if Griffin was hired to replace McCain. MEAWW reported last week that some fans caught on to something Goldberg said regarding Griffins feelings about people coming for her and other former Trumpers in the real world. Goldberg told her, You know what? Weve got your back. This led viewers to believe that Griffin was chosen to replace McCain.

While one viewer said she would quit watching the show if Griffin was hired, others implored the producers to realize that fans are happy not to have McCain or other potentially toxic opinions on their TV screens.

According to one viewer, Do the producers not see how excited we all were when Meghan left?!! I have not missed her for one second!

The View also might lose some guests, since Wanda Sykes turned down an appearance on the series because she reportedly didnt want to help advance a former Trump administration members career post-Trump.
Fire department participates in an emergency response exercise for civilians, providing simulation capabilities at the tactical level of war on June 09, 2022 in Chiayi, Taiwan. Annabelle Chih/Getty Images

Many people in Taiwan, which faces the threat of a Chinese invasion, have been seeking out training since the war in Ukraine began.

Hundreds are participating in civil defense training offered by a national security think tank each month, among other training.

The training teaches people emergency, not military, response.

The war in Ukraine has been a wake up call for many people in Taiwan who say Russia's invasion of Ukraine reminded them of the potential danger they face from neighboring China, which has not renounced the use of force as an option for achieving its unification goals.

Forward Alliance, a Taiwan-based national security and defense think tank, had planned to offer a civil defense training program  which teaches people emergency response during a attack or natural disaster  beginning in August.

But, after Russian invaded Ukraine, the organization decided to begin offering classes immediately and soon had a waiting list of over 1,000 people. They now host around 15 sessions per month with as many as 500 participants.

"I think the Russian war had a deep effect on Taiwanese people," Pei Zhen, a young woman who participated in the Forward Alliance training, told Axios. She said that before the war in Ukraine, people thought that if the Chinese invaded, they would "have to surrender," but now the people of Taiwan have realized they can learn to defend themselves just like the people of Ukraine.

The classes are taught by first responders  such as medics and firefighters  who instruct participants in basic first aid, on how to properly dress a wound or how to rescue a person trapped under debris; however, the classes do not offer military training, as some groups in Ukraine did before the Russians invaded in late February.

"It's not inspiration per se, but what happened in Ukraine kind of gave us an alert that we probably need to learn about what to do in an emergency," one person told Al Jazeera after a civil defense workshop with Forward Alliance.

Story continues

Forward Alliance's founder, Enoch Wu, was a soldier in Taiwan's special forces and the Taipei chair of the Democratic Progressive Party. Wu told The Guardian that Taiwan needs people trained in civil defense because "it's the person next to you that's going to matter most" in an emergency.

"Our goal needs to be that every morning when the Beijing leadership wakes up from their China dream, they realize that today is not the day to take military action in Taiwan," Wu told Australian public broadcasting.

In an interview with the New York Times, Wu said despite offering 15 to 20 classes per month, demand for the training is so high that classes fill within hours of registration opening.

"The lesson every Taiwanese is learning from what we are seeing in Ukraine is that we have to defend ourselves, no one else will fight for our democracy like we can," Kolas Yotaka, spokeswoman for Taiwan's presidential office, told Breaking Defense. In addition to private endeavors, Taiwan has conducted several large civilian defense exercises, some this summer.

Foreign policy experts say Beijing is also closely watching how Russia's war in Ukraine plays out to determine how it might approach Taiwan.

CIA director William Burns said China has likely been "unsettled" by the poor performance of Russian troops and the "strategic failure" of Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine. That said, he added that the chances of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan would be "higher" in the latter part of the 2020s.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Questions are being raised about the safety and overall integrity of a commercial and residential parking deck in Northwest Atlanta.

This comes after two trucks remain stuck in the deck thats located off of Howell Mill Road.

According to witnesses, the most recent truck got stuck a few weeks ago.

Its been here for like three weeks, said Taylor Jones, who works at one of the stores in the complex.

A Walmart delivery truck has been stuck in the parking deck for nearly four months.

I would have thought this happened today, shopper Anchana Dominick told Channel 2s Elizabeth Rawlins.

TRENDING STORIES:

Atlanta fire investigators told Rawlins they were not aware the scene still looks like it did when they first responded to the parking deck in March.

They also said they had no idea it was currently operating around not one but two trucks that are stuck in a potentially compromised structure.

We could all fall and then thats going to come down with it, Jones said.

It looks like something that should have been taken care of a while ago, Dominick said.

Rawlins said she is waiting to hear back from Atlanta fire regarding her questions about safety concerns at the parking deck.

RELATED NEWS:
Wilton Simpson, a multimillionaire egg farmer and state senator from Trilby heavily favored to become the next Florida agriculture commissioner, has a millionaire worm farmer running against him in the Republican primary.

Also, the three Democrats who are vying for their party nomination are long shots to defeat Simpson, with little money or name recognition needed for a state Cabinet position. Whoever wins the Aug. 23 primary will face the Republican nominee.

Simpson, a fifth-generation Floridian who calls himself a common sense conservative, has been endorsed by President Donald Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis. He also has the backing of major business groups and 59 of the states 67 county sheriffs.

Simpson, 56, has raised more than $2 million in his regular campaign account through July 8 and has spent $230,000. He also has four political committees with a combined $39 million in them. And a mysterious committee that wont disclose its donors has spent more than $2 million on TV ads supporting his candidacy.

Term limits prevent him from running again in the Senate, where hes served since 2012. He said hes running for agriculture commissioner because he wants every Floridian to have access to the same opportunities hes had to live the American dream.

One of his biggest accomplishments is getting the 2021 Right to Farm bill passed, which makes it difficult to file what the law calls nuisance suits against farmers.

I wanted to be a player

This is the first political campaign for James Shaw, 62, an organic farmer who operated Uncle Jims Worm Farm in Spring Grove, Pennsylvania, for decades before turning the farm over to his son and moving to Florida. He said he got political after the outcome of the 2020 presidential election and believes Trump was the actual winner.

It opened up my eyes to the political realm, and I wanted to be a player, Shaw said. Hes only raised about $49,000, most of it his own money, and he knows faces long odds. He lists his personal net worth at $4.5 million.

Story continues

Shaws platform includes protecting Floridas food source, protecting its water supply and supporting gun rights.

I am passionate about protecting Florida from far left agendas that are capable of destroying our state if implemented, said Shaw, whose campaign adviser and treasurer is Maria Pycha. She was conservative radio host Dan Bonginos manager when he ran for Congress.

In contrast to Simpsons long family tenure, Shaw said hes lived in Florida for the past 12 years and lists an Okeechobee address as his home, which he bought in 2010. He acquired several adjacent properties and owns property in Indian River County, too.

None of them has a homestead exemption, according to real estate records.

Democrats in the running

Naomi Esther Blemurs Twitter account describes the North Miami resident as a Believer, Wife, Mother, Entrepreneur, Author, Philanthropist  Life Coach & Womens Advocate.

A member of the North Miami-Dade Democratic Executive Committee, Blemur said in a Ballotpedia survey that shes an advocate for small farmers, clean water, renewable energy, gun reform, and making sure everyone has access to the states resources.

Blemur raised $40,000, including a $10,000 loan to herself, and spent $21,000. Shes also filed for matching funds, which requires candidates for Cabinet posts to raise at least $100,000 to qualify.

Jacques Rene J.R. Gaillot, a Green Cove Springs resident who works for AT&T, was born in New York and spent part of his childhood in Haiti. He told Ballotpedia he would focus on consumer protection issues such as price gouging and other predatory practices.

Gaillot ran for office twice before and lost. He ran unopposed in the 2012 Democratic primary for the U.S. House District 3 seat but lost to Republican Ted Yoho. Gaillot lost to Tracie Davis in the 2016 Democratic Primary for House District 13.

Hes raised $13,400, including $4,300 in personal loans as of July 15, and spent nearly $9,000.

Also running is Ryan Morales, a Clermont resident whos been in the entertainment industry most of his life and has a consulting business.

He ran in the 2020 Democratic primary for state House District 32 but lost to Stephanie Dukes. She lost in the general election to Republican incumbent Anthony Sabatini.

Morales raised almost $18,000 since February 2021 when he first announced his candidacy, including more than $3,000 in loans to himself. He spent over $13,000 as of July 15,

He contends hes the most qualified of the three.

I know what the position entails, what you can do and not do, he said. Focusing on cleaning up the environment is biggest part of my campaign.

He also runs a small hemp farm in Clermont and favors legalization of marijuana and wants to promote more computer technology and robotics in agriculture.

Complete primary election coverage can be found at OrlandoSentinel.com/election
A composite image of part of the Nord Stream gas pipeline and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Daniel Reinhardt/Picture Alliance via Getty Images, Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images

Russia threatened to further restrict natural-gas flows to Europe.

Ukraine's president said Russia is waging a "gas war" against Europe and doesn't care how people "suffer."

Russia blames sanctions and pipeline repairs, but European leaders say it's using energy as a weapon.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of waging a "gas war" against Europe after Russia said it would further restrict gas supply to the continent.

Zelenskyy said on Monday that Russia was doing everything it can "to make it as difficult as possible for Europeans to prepare for winter."

"This is an overt gas war that Russia is waging against a united Europe  this is exactly how it should be perceived. And they don't care what will happen to the people, how they will suffer  from hunger due to the blocking of ports or from winter cold and poverty ... Or from occupation. These are just different forms of terror."

Gazprom, the Russian state-owned energy company, said it would cut back its supply to Europe from Wednesday.

It said would cut natural gas flows through Nord Stream 1 to 20% of capacity, having already slashed shipments to 40% of its typical capacity. Natural-gas prices jumped 17% after Gazprom's threat.

The company blamed European sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine and necessary repair works, but European leaders said Russia was using energy supplies as a political weapon, Insider's Harry Robertson reported.

"The gas blackmail of Europe, which only gets worse every month, is needed by a terrorist state to make life worse for every European," Zelenskyy said.

He added that European countries should "hit back" with more sanctions to "limit Russian revenues not only from gas and oil, but also from any remaining exports."

German Economy Minister Robert Habeck told the DPA news agency that Russian President Vladimir Putin "is trying to weaken the great support for Ukraine and drive a wedge into our society," the Associated Press reported.

Story continues

"To do this, he stirs up uncertainty and drives up prices. We are countering this with unity and concentrated action."

Germany's flow of energy of Russia was aided by Canada's returning a turbine that it had been sent for repairs to Germany for the Nord Stream 1 pipeline.

Canada waived its own sanctions to do this, in a move Zelenskyy called "absolutely unacceptable" on Monday.

Read the original article on Business Insider
ALONA MAZURENKO  TUESDAY, 26 JULY 2022, 22:49

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that the Russian Federation has failed to inform its citizens about the death toll among the Russian armed forces. He urged Ukrainian citizens to convey to the Russians that almost 40,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale military invasion.

Source: Zelenskyys video address

Quote: "Nearly 40,000: the number of soldiers the Russian armed forces have lost since 24 February. Tens of thousands more have been injured or maimed.

Everyone who is still in contact with someone in Russia, or has any way of passing on information to Russian society must convey this simple fact to everyone they can reach."
RICHMOND  A month after some members of Congress urged Google to limit the appearance of anti-abortion pregnancy centers in certain abortion-related search results, 17 Republican attorneys general are warning the company that doing so could invite investigations and possible legal action.

Suppressing pro-life and pro-mother voices at the urging of government officials would violate the most fundamental tenet of the American marketplace of ideas, the attorneys general wrote in a letter last week to Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and its parent company.

The effort was led by Republican Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares and Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron.

The Republicans took issue with a June 17 letter to the company from U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Virginia, and Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Michigan, which was co-signed by 19 other members of Congress.

That letter cites research by the nonprofit Center for Countering Digital Hate, which found that Google searches for abortion clinic near me and abortion pill turned up results for centers that counsel clients against having an abortion.

Some of these places, known as crisis pregnancy centers, also have been accused of providing misleading information about abortion and contraception. Many are religiously affiliated.

Directing women towards fake clinics that traffic in misinformation and dont provide comprehensive health services is dangerous to womens health and undermines the integrity of Googles search results, says the June letter, which was authored after the leak of a draft opinion indicating the U.S. Supreme Court would overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion nationwide. The court took that step June 24.

The Democrat-led group asked Google to address what steps it would take to limit the appearance of crisis pregnancy centers in its search results, ads and maps results for users who search for abortion clinic, abortion pill or other similar terms.

The group also asked the company if it would add disclaimers to address whether or not a clinic provides abortions. New York Attorney General Letitia James office also raised similar concerns in a June letter to Google.

The letter from the Republican AGs defends the work of crisis pregnancy centers. It notes that such centers often provide services such as free ultrasounds, pregnancy tests, testing for sexually transmitted diseases, and parenting and prenatal education classes. It also argues that at least some Google users who search for information about abortion expect to find information about alternatives.

They wrote that if the company complies with this inappropriate demand to bias its search results, their offices would respond by investigating whether there had been any violation of antitrust or religious discrimination laws. They also pledged to consider whether new legislation would help protect consumers and markets.

We trust that you will treat this letter with the seriousness these issues require, and hope you will decide that Googles search results must not be subject to left-wing political pressure, which would actively harm women seeking essential assistance. If you do not, we must avail ourselves of all lawful and appropriate means of protecting the rights of our constituents, of upholding viewpoint diversity, free expression, and the freedom of religion for all Americans, and of making sure that our markets are free in fact, not merely in theory, the letter said.

It asked the California-based company to respond within 14 days and explain whether it has or will take any steps to treat crisis pregnancy centers any differently than before the leak of the draft Supreme Court decision.

Miyares, who defeated incumbent Democratic Attorney General Mark Herring in November, recently traveled to the Blue Ridge Pregnancy Center in Lynchburg, which was vandalized after the Supreme Courts ruling, condemning what he called an act of political violence.

Google and other Big Tech companies also have faced recent calls for more stringent privacy controls to address concerns that information about location, texts, searches and emails could be used against people seeking to end unwanted pregnancies.

Google announced this month that it would automatically purge information about users who visit abortion clinics or other places that could trigger legal problems in light of the high courts ruling.
The Rosmann family, of Rosmann Family Farms, and Eric Madsen of Madsen Stock Farm, will host a Practical Farmers of Iowa field day in partnership with Farming for Public Health exploring weed control strategies in organic row crops on Tuesday, Aug. 2, from 1-4 p.m., near Harlan (1222 Ironwood Road).

The event -- "Weed Control Strategies in Organic Corn and Soybeans With Buffalo Cultivators and Planters -- is free to attend and will include lunch. RSVPs are appreciated for the meal by July 27. To sign up, visit the event page at practicalfarmers.org/field-days or call Debra Boekholder at 515-232-5661.

Rosmann Family Farms includes Ron Rosmann and Maria Vakulskas Rosmann; David Rosmann and Becky Tompkins-Rosmann; Daniel Rosmann and Ellen Walsh-Rosmann; and Mark Rosmann and Virginia Lehner-Rosmann.

Rosmann Family Farms is a multi-generational diversified crop and livestock operation on 700 acres of certified organic land. The farm consists of cattle, hogs, egg layers and a range of crops, including popcorn, soybeans, corn, small grains, hay and pasture, annual forages and cover crops. Maria operates the farm store, Farm Sweet Farm. Ellen and Daniel operate FarmTable Delivery and a restaurant, Milk & Honey in Harlan, featuring local foods.

Eric Madsen raises organic crops and livestock near Audubon with his parents, Vic and Cindy, and will join Ron during the field day to provide additional perspective on mechanical weed management.

During the field day, Ron and Eric will share their organic weed control experiences and cultivator know-how while showcasing their Buffalo equipment. Guests will learn how to improve cultivator settings and fine-tune a planter. They will also have a chance to a cultivator field demonstration and learn about cultivating oat stubble.

Cultivator specialist Dale Kumpf, of Global Equipment Company, will be on hand to speak and share his knowledge. Other speakers will include Iowa State University extension organic specialist Kathleen Delate, who will talk about weed control and crop rotations in organic systems, and Olga Reding of the Iowa Organic Association.

Though Buffalo equipment is featured, concepts and strategies discussed will be relevant to any high-residue cultivator. Full event details are available at practicalfarmers.org/weed-control-strategies-in-organic-corn-and-soybeans-with-buffalo-cultivators-and-planters.

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.

The full roster of events -- along with additional information about PFI field day policies and logistics -- is available at practicalfarmers.org/field-days. For questions, contact the PFI office at info@practicalfarmers.org or 515-232-5661.

The field day is sponsored by Albert Lea Seed; Farm Power Implements; Iowa Farmers Union; Iowa Organic Association; Iowa State Organic Ag Program; OCIA International, Inc.; Organic Valley  Organic Prairie  CROPP Cooperative; Riverside Feeds, LLC; Sunrise Foods International; and The Scoular Company.
Disneys successful high school formula usually takes a twist in season two. Summer jobs? Summer camp? Summer romance?

The formula is in play in the third season of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, the mockumentary version of the popular Disney Channel franchise. This time out, East High students are headed to Camp Shallow Lake  a theater camp, naturally  where E.J. (Matt Cornett) is a counselor and the show theyre doing hasnt been released to high schools.

Even better? Corbin Bleu, one of the stars of the original, is filming a documentary about the camp.

Can you say, meta?

There are so many winks and nods in this edition youll wonder who else could turn up. Several stars do, but first E.J. has to get the gang into the idea of going to camp. Kourtney (Dara Renee) and Carlos (Frankie A. Rodriguez) arent buying what hes selling (Best. Summer. Ever.); Ricky (Joshua Bassett) is spending time with a new girlfriend; Nini (Olivia Rodrigo) is pursuing her music career, and Miss Jenn (Kate Reinders) is going on a cruise.

Whos left? Well, theres a relationship between E.J. and Gina (Sofia Wylie) that could move to a front burner. Hot off her success as Belle in Beauty and the Beast, Ashlyn (Julia Lester) is looking to claim more big parts. And several outsiders  part of the Shallow Lake talent pool  could be just the competition the Wildcats need to sharpen their claws.

The camp has all the drawbacks a theater kid could latch onto and that convoluted relationship to the first High School Musical. Bleu totally leans into the concept and promises the students theyll get signed head shots on one of his visits.

Because it takes a snarkier view of the world (Carlos gets the best lines), HSM:TM:TS has great adult appeal. It also boasts a lot of solo numbers, presumably because COVID concerns limited the number of big song-and-dance routines.

Bassett, one of the best in a very excellent bunch, gets a rousing breaking free anthem that he sings (spoiler alert) on the way to joining the others at camp. Lester has a nice turn, too, but its two newcomers (Saylor Bell and Adrian Lyles) who blow the roof off The Barn.

Created by Tim Federle, HSM:TM:TS could easily aim for a more adult audience and win big points. Even the asides (the boys call their bunk The Yurt Locker) seem designed for a more enlightened crowd. Kids, though, should warm to its many messages of acceptance.

It isnt a huge twist on the summer formula, but it does have enough variety to suggest this season could produce a couple more breakout stars. Watch closely and an even bigger game is figuring out who will come back to visit a decade from now.

The characters have a fun, running bit about Zac Efron but hes a big enough star who can take anything.

Ditto: Bleu, who puts the mock into mockumentary.

The third season of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series is now airing on Disney+.
Griffin the dog is as loving as he is handsome, and he wants to charm some humans in a new forever home. Griffin is a 5-year-old male German shepherd who is currently available for adoption at Midlands Humane Society.

Shelter staff members describe him as energetic, playful, friendly and funny. Hes eager to find a loving family to call his own. His adoption fee is $225, which covers altering, age-appropriate vaccines and a microchip.

In other shelter news, Midlands has announced that its annual Wags & Wheels car show fundraiser will take place Aug. 28. It will be the fifth year for the event and people should keep an eye out for details in the near future. Wags & Wheels takes place in the Thunderbowl parking lot, which will be filled with local entry classic cars and other cool rides. Some furry friends like Griffin might even be there looking for a family. Vehicle entries and sponsorship opportunities are still available, and interested parties can get more information calling the shelter.

More information about fostering, volunteering and donation opportunities can be found at midlandshumanesociety.org or by calling 712-396-2270. Like their Facebook page to keep up with daily shelter news. The shelter can also be found @midlandshumane on Twitter and @midlandshumanesociety on Instagram.
We have used your information to see if you have a subscription with us, but did not find one. Please use the button below to verify an existing account or to purchase a new subscription.
The African Unions Peace and Security Council (PSC) encourages the African Atlantic Process initiated in Rabat to consolidate an African framework for cooperation on maritime security and safety.

The AUPSC encourages the African Atlantic Process in Rabat, within the framework of existing regional, sub-regional and inter-regional mechanisms, to contribute to the consolidation of an inter-African framework that takes advantage of mutually beneficial opportunities for cooperation on maritime security and safety, reads a communique issued after a meeting on maritime piracy in the Gulf of Guinea.

The Council also expressed deep concern about the threat that piracy and armed robbery at sea in the Gulf of Guinea pose to the maritime security of the continent, greatly affecting the shipping industry and the economies of coastal states in the region.

The PSC strongly condemned all illegal maritime activities, including piracy and armed robbery at sea; illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing; assassinations, kidnappings and hostage-taking committed in the Gulf of Guinea, and called in this regard on the Member States concerned to strengthen maritime security in their territories and prosecute the perpetrators and those who finance or facilitate such acts, the communique reads.

The Council commended the countries of the Gulf of Guinea region and regional bodies for the collective efforts undertaken to resolve and prevent piracy, and other maritime crimes, which remain a serious threat to security and economic activities in the region.

The PSC also welcomed the national initiatives taken by member states in the region to combat piracy and armed robbery at sea in the Gulf of Guinea, including the existing and new integrated national maritime strategies and Nigerias integrated national security and waterways protection infrastructure (Deep Blue project), as well as the recent convictions for piracy and the legislation adopted to repress piracy and other maritime crimes.

The Council reaffirmed that the responsibility for combating piracy and armed robbery at sea rests with the coastal states concerned. In this connection, it called on the countries of the region to adopt legislation, criminalize these acts in their national laws, and investigate, prosecute, and extradite the perpetrators, while encouraging the conclusion of extradition agreements between the countries of the region.
The Central Bank is preparing a law governing the use of cryptocurrencies in Morocco, which is expected to be submitted to Parliament by years end, a senior official said.

The central bank is benchmarking and examining similar laws elsewhere, Hiba Zahoui director of Bank supervision said at a press conference.

She declined to give details on the content of the law but said that it will offer a clear definition of what is meant by crypto currency assets and the institutions allowed to use them in transactions, exchange or transfer.

During the press conference, Zhaoui noted that the number of bank accounts in the Moroccan banking sector rose by 1.4 million in 2021 bank account to 31.2 million, adding that 53% of Moroccan students now had bank accounts.

In the same year, total loans given by Moroccan banking sector rose 2.8% to 948 billion dirhams.

Deposits grew 5.3% to 1.056 billion dirhams, while non-performing loans surged 6.6% to 85.1 billion dirhams, representing 8.5% of total loans.
When Algeria halted its biggest gas pipeline with Spain in late 2021, decision-makers in Madrid knew that Algiers reliability as an energy supplier was called into question. In a series of self-defeating measures, Algeria has announced a technical problem in the small Medgaz pipeline, effectively halting all exports to Spain and further pushing the country to diminish the share of Algerian gas in its imports.

Experts have warned that the Medgaz 8 bcm pipeline was not enough to meet Algerias gas sales commitments to Spain. In the wake of the closure of the 13 bcm Maghreb-Europe pipeline, Algerian officials gave promises to Spain that they will further expand the capacity of Medgaz to 10 bcm, but the promise was empty.

The technical problem has been foreseen by most experts who urged Spain to diversify its sources.

However, the diplomatic context in which Algiers took the decision leaves many observers questioning the veracity of the technical problem, as in recent weeks Algeria have not shied away from using the gas card to blackmail Spain.

Following Spains support for Moroccos autonomy plan for the Sahara region, Algerian diplomacy lost all sense threatening to cut gas supplies and asking importers to avoid Spanish suppliers.

Whether genuine or fabricated, such technical problems will only lead Spain to further reduce its gas imports from Algeria.

Shrinking market share

Earlier this year, Spain opted for US gas, after Algeria unilaterally halted gas supply through the 13 bcm pipeline that channels gas via Morocco, especially after Algeria, which promised to satisfy Spains needs through the smaller Medgaz pipeline, failed to do so.

In March, after Spain took the sovereign decision of backing Moroccos autonomy plan for the Sahara region, Algeria shot itself in the foot when it threatened to renegotiate prices and even warned to cut gas supplies to Spain altogether if the latter resells Algerian gas to Morocco.

The result of Algerias blackmail was a 41% drop in Algerian gas imports to Spain and a 34% increase in US supplies.

Russian gas supplies, despite the war and boycott context, increased 3.2%, unseating Algeria as the second largest supplier.

Spain is resolutely and gradually replacing Algerian gas by opting for other suppliers including Qatar and Nigeria whose market share is slowly eating to Algerias.

Spain used to be the second largest market for Algerian gas, where it had a competitive edge. The loss of the Spanish market will deal a heavy blow to Algerias gas competitiveness amid a rising domestic consumption and slower new discoveries pace.
Bahrain has officially joined the integrated industrial partnership alongside Egypt, UAE, and Jordan, Egypts Ministry of Trade and Industry said in a statement on Thursday.

The announcement came during the second higher Committee meeting of the integrated industrial partnership, in the Egyptian capital Cairo.

Egyptian Minister of Trade and Industry Nevine Gamea who chaired the meeting reportedly said the industrial partnership between Egypt, UAE, Jordan, and Bahrain will bolster cooperation for the realization of integration of value chains among the four countries.

Gamea reiterated that the Egyptian government is keen on introducing all facilities to support such a partnership, Arab Finance also added. Egypt, UAE, and Jordan launched in Abu Dhabi the integrated industrial partnership initiative for sustainable economic development on May 29.
Libyas envoy to the UN, Taher El-Sonni, has blamed several unidentified international forces for plotting against elections in North African country adding that the stability of the country is not their concern.

There are certain international forces who fear the idea of elections in Libya because their results are not guaranteed, which may not serve their narrow interests, El Sonni told the UN Security Council on Monday evening.

He also, al Wasat notes, indicated that the international communitys attention is focused on three files, the first of which is the continuation of the flow of oil, preventing migration to Europe and combating t

The rest of what is happening in Libya is unimportant and far from international focus on, the Libyan diplomat also said.

The oil-rich country has slid into chaos since 2011 after then leader Muammar Gaddafi who ruled for decades, was ousted and assassinated during a NATO-backed revolution.

Various warring sides have been vying for power with the support of foreign countries. The currently has two rival administration respectively based in Tripoli and Sirte.

UN-backed highly expected elections slated for Dec. 24 last year supposed to endow the country a central leader, failed to take place over multiple disputes.

El-Sonni, al Wasat notes, added that resolving the Libyan crisis requires restoring ownership and leadership to the political process for Libyans and enabling the people to renew the legitimacy of national institutions through elections.

He also reiterated the need for international and regional powers to lift their hand from Libya and not to interfere in the countrys internal affairs in order to achieve a minimum level of national consensus.
Tunisias independent electoral commission, ISIE, Monday indicated that the turnout for the referendum held the same day on the new constitution, stood at 27.5 per cent.

The bodys head Farouk Bouasker, Business News reports, also indicated that only 2,458,985 of 8,929,665 who registered for the referendum casted their votes on the territory.

The turnout rate is the lowest ever registered in the history of the country since 2011 in the wake of the uprising after the country embraced democracy after the ouster of former autocratic leader Ben Ali.

Tunisians were asked to decide over the adoption of a new constitution for a new republic. President Kais Saied proposed a new constitution that his critics believe will bolster his grip on power after he on July 25 last year seized all major powers.

He defended the move as way to restore the country and return power to the people.

His critic including all major opposition parties and civil society groups have called for the referendum boycott. The ISIE did not give the result but Sigma Conseil, a polling service company said 92.3 per cent of those who voted, have approved the new Constitution.
Following a visit to Egypt and the Republic of Congo, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has now (26 July) arrived in Uganda as Moscow aims at strengthening its ties with the continent. Ugandas President Yoweri Museveni has a long history of balancing strong relations with Western allies and good ties with Moscow.

Lavrov has earlier wrapped up his visit to the Republic of the Congo, the second leg of his African tour  one of many African countries that has refused to join Western condemnation and sanctions over the Russian invasion of Ukraine. African countries, which have a complicated legacy of relations with the West and the former Soviet Union, have largely avoided taking sides over the war in Ukraine. This is mainly because the relations are complicated by their dependence on imports of Russian grain and to some degree energy, on the one hand, while, on the other, their need to also buy large quantities of Ukrainian grain and the lure of Western trade ties and aid flows.

Africa is currently also being courted by the West, with French President Emmanuel Macron having just kicked off his three-nation tour of western Africa and US Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa Mike Hammer on his way to Egypt and Ethiopia. Following his trip to Uganda, Lavrov will then head to Ethiopia, where African Union (AU) diplomats said he had invited ambassadors from several member states to a private meeting on Wednesday (27 July), dismaying Western donors. The goal of the meeting was reportedly to deepen cooperation between Russia and African states. According to diplomatic sources from the AU, the planned meeting, which would coincide with Hammers visit, was causing friction among Western donors because it signaled a pivot towards Russia.

In a column published in newspapers in the four countries included in his tour, Lavrov praised Africa for [its] considered position as to the situation in and around Ukraine and for resisting what he called Western attempts to impose a unipolar world order. Western powers have blamed Russia for the crisis, and last week the United States announced a $US 1.3bn package to help tackle hunger in the region. Russia blames Western sanctions for grain supply problems.
Nearly 60% of African countries remain dependent on exports of commodities despite decades-long efforts to diversify. Therefore, a shift especially to technology and financial services, among other sectors, could help them withstand economic shocks, a study recently published by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) argues.

UNCTADs Economic Development in Africa Report 2022 warns that African countries must break their reliance on commodities exports for economic growth and diversify toward higher-value services. The call comes as the price of many key commodities  which skyrocketed over the past year to the benefit of many African export-led economies  have begun to cool off. The UN body also draws attention to the fact that 45 of the continents 54 countries still remain dependent on agricultural, mining and extractive exports, despite decades-long efforts to diversify their economies.

According to the paper, the heavy reliance on commodity exports like oil, gas, minerals, food and agricultural raw materials resulted in highly volatile revenues for low-income nations due to the price boom and bust nature of the market. To that end, the report describes the so-called resource curse, where commodities-rich countries tend to have low growth and development outcomes due to the price instability of their exports. While several African countries have taken steps to boost their services sectors, it was mainly in transport and tourism, but Information technology (IT) and financial services still account for just 20% of Africas services exports, it said.

Investments in new economic areas and moving economic sectors up the value chain, such as in fintech in Mauritius, Nigeria and Kenya, would also bring benefits to support countries existing commodity sectors, for example, through new technologies. The paper also describes how the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) will help new sectors thrive by boosting inter-Africa trade.
The Lincoln County commissioners sorted through 12 applications for COVID-19 State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds on Monday and approved a total of $154,205.

Amber Kuskie, West Central Nebraska Development District executive director, guided the process and the commissioners selected eight of the applicants who received varying amounts. All of the entities are Lincoln County nonprofit organizations who made their needs known.

Communities for Kids received the highest amount with the commissioners awarding them $45,000. The organization will use the funds to help eligible families to cover up to six months of tuition costs for childcare, according to the groups funding application. The children covered will be between the ages of 6 weeks and 8 years and attending a licensed childcare entity.

This is the only application weve had that addresses one of the areas of priority, which is expanded childcare, Chairman Chris Bruns said.

The request from Communities for Kids was for $90,000, which would have covered two years of support for qualified families. The commissioners decided on half to cover one year for the time being.

If it helps get parents into jobs, Micaela Wuehler, commissioner, said, I think its a great investment.

Kuskie explained further that the application indicated a family would receive up to $3,000 maximum of paid tuition. She said the money would go directly to the childcare facility.

The $90,000 grant request helps a minimum of 58 families using the entire six months of awarded tuition, Kuskie said. An average cost of childcare in Lincoln County of $500 per month.

The commissioners voted 5-0 to approve half the original request.

The other requests granted by the commissioners were: Nebraska Youth Center  $5,500; North Platte Senior Center  $20,000; Bridge of Hope Child Advocacy Center  $17,000; Community Connections  $11,705; Families 1st Partnership  $16,000; Grace Ministries Food Pantry  $14,000 and Womens Resource Center  $25,000.

In other business, the commissioners:

Authorized Bruns to sign the 2023 Community-based Juvenile Services and Supplemental Enhancement Grant application for Community Connections.

Authorized Bruns to sign the 2022 Victims of Crime Act Grant Award Year 2.

Authorized Bruns to sign a special designated liquor license application submitted by Good Life on the Bricks for a wedding reception on Aug. 22.

Authorized Bruns to sign the interlocal agreement with Keith County to house inmates at the Lincoln County Detention Center.

Authorized Bruns to sign a special designated liquor license submitted by Feather River Vineyard for a class reunion on Aug. 6 at the vineyard.

Heard the quarterly report given by Brandon Myers, Emergency Management director.

Heard a report from Kent Weems, commissioner, from the National Association of County Officials convention.
Jeremy Davis, 45, of Oshkosh was sentenced to 70 months in federal prison for distribution of 50 grams or more of methamphetamine.

Davis was sentenced Friday by United States District Judge Robert F. Rossiter Jr.

There is no parole in the federal system. After Davis release from prison, he will begin a four-year term of supervised release.

The WING Task Force used a confidential informant to purchase methamphetamine from Davis. On March 5, 2020, the confidential informant purchased 28 grams of methamphetamine from Davis. On March 9, 2020, the same confidential informant also purchased 61 grams of methamphetamine from Davis, according to a press release from Acting United States Attorney Steven A. Russells office.

This case was investigated by the Nebraska State Patrol and the WING Task Force. WING is the Western Nebraska Intelligence Narcotics Group and includes the Nebraska State Patrol, Scotts Bluff County Sheriffs Office, Sidney Police Department, Alliance Police Department, Gering Police Department and Scottsbluff Police Department.
America Leads: An Ideas Summit to tackle pressing issues impacting nation

BENTONVILLE, Ark., July 26, 2022--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Two prominent leaders will join Gov. Asa Hutchinson, at the inaugural "America Leads: An Ideas Summit" in Bentonville on Oct. 19. Dr. Kori Schake and Klon Kitchen, both senior fellows at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), will be featured with other thought leaders and policy makers at the summit to discuss practical, actionable ideas and policies to address major issues being faced by the United States.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220726005053/en/

Klon Kitchen, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (Photo: Business Wire)

Dr. Schake currently works as the director of foreign and defense policy studies at AEI, and she has more than 30 years of experience at major universities, institutes, and in the United States government. She has authored five books on foreign and domestic issues and has been widely published in policy journals and major media, including CNN.com, Foreign Affairs, Politico, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal. After earning her PhD and Master of Arts in government and politics from the University of Maryland, Dr. Schake went on to serve at the United States Department of Defense, the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, the National Security Council and various academic institutions such as Johns Hopkins University. She also worked as a senior advisor for the McCain-Palin presidential campaign in 2008.

Kitchens primary role at AEI is researching how emerging technologies are shaping modern statecraft, intelligence, and warfighting, while also focusing on cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, robotics, and quantum sciences. Before his career at AEI, he served as director of the Heritage Foundations Center for Technology and as a national security adviser to Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska. Kitchen also was a member of the US Intelligence Community for more than 15 years.

Story continues

"Dr. Schake and Mr. Kitchen are two excellent additions to America Leads, as they both have careers full of front-line experience in not only researching foreign and domestic issues, but in making practical recommendations that have helped shape policy," said Gov. Hutchinson. "We look forward to having them join other leaders in discussing national security issues and other challenges facing our nation."

"America Leads: An Ideas Summit" will be held at the Momentary, a contemporary art space for visual, performing, and culinary arts that is a satellite to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, in Bentonville, Ark. The summit is hosted by America Strong and Free, Inc., an education and advocacy organization. More information regarding event details, additional panelists, guest speakers and tickets will be announced soon.

About America Strong and Free, Inc.

The mission of American Strong and Free (ASF) is to advance freedom individually; collectively as Americans; and globally for those who are oppressed. Freedom grows by restraining government. Individual liberty is protected by adherence to our Bill of Rights. Our national freedom depends upon respect for the rule of law and the fair application of our legal system. And globally, we promote freedom by a strong America that supports the defense of our country and the integrity of our borders. In other words, we consider a successful election as one that keeps America Strong and Free.

ASF will promote the principles of limited government, individual responsibility and a strong America through media, online issue advocacy, public commentary, and debate. Our leadership will participate in forums as needed and use the media to educate voters and advocate for common sense conservatism.

About American Enterprise Institute

The American Enterprise Institute is a public policy think tank dedicated to defending human dignity, expanding human potential, and building a freer and safer world. The work of the institutes scholars and staff advances ideas rooted in its belief in democracy, free enterprise, American strength and global leadership, solidarity with those at the periphery of society, and a pluralistic, entrepreneurial culture.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220726005053/en/

Contacts

America Strong and Free, Inc.

media@americastrongfree.com
Ashley Judd is opening up about meeting with her rapist in order to have a "restorative-justice conversation" years later.

On Tuesday's episode of the Healing with David Kessler podcast, the 54-year-old actress said she was raped in 1999 and, years later, "tried to find" her rapist  who "surfaced very easily" during her search.

"To make a long story short, we ended up in rocking chairs sitting by a creek together," she said. "And I said, 'I'm very interested in hearing the story you've carried all these years.' And we had a restorative-justice conversation about that."

"I wanted to share that story because there are many ways of healing from grief, and it's important to remind listeners that I didn't need anything from him and it was just gravy that he made his amends and expressed his deep remorse, because healing from grief is an inside job," Judd added.

During the interview, Kessler explained that people "may not realize" that grief also applies to the fallout of being raped or assaulted: "You lose innocence." Agreeing, Judd added, "One loses safety. I lost a sense of trust," but through recovery she has "regained myself."

Never miss a story  sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human-interest stories.

RELATED: Ashley Judd Discusses Decision to Have an Abortion: I'd Have "Had to Co-Parent with My Rapist"

Judd called the 1999 incident "crazy-making" because she "knew better," explaining, "I was very clear, my boundaries were intact. I was already an empowered, adult feminist woman."

"And that this could happen under these circumstances was unconscionable, unforeseen, and yet I have had a restorative-justice process with this person out of how replete my soul is today," she added.

Despite the conversation with her rapist, the Double Jeopardy actress noted that she "didn't need his cooperation," "for him to make amends" or "for him to do anything differently in order for me to have a process that was independent from that previous asymmetry of power."

Story continues

"Because I had the opportunity to do my trauma work, to do my grief work, to do my healing work, to have all these shifts in my own consciousness and to bond in these female coalition spaces with other survivors," Judd explained.

ashley judd

Mark Kauzlarich/Bloomberg via Getty Ashley Judd

RELATED: Ashley Judd Says Judd Family "Stick Together," but Grieve Differently After Naomi's Death

Judd said in 2019 that she is "a three-time rape survivor," and recalled while advocating for abortion rights how one such incident led to a pregnancy.

"I'm very thankful I was able to access safe and legal abortion," she said at the Women in the World summit in New York. "Because the rapist, who is a Kentuckian, as am I, and I reside in Tennessee, has paternity rights in Kentucky and Tennessee. I would've had to co-parent with my rapist."

Ashley Judd

Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images Ashley Judd

Added Judd, "So having safe access to abortion was personally important to me and, as I said earlier, democracy starts with our skin. We're not supposed to regulate what we choose to do with our insides."

It was unclear at the time whether the rape resulted in a conviction, which would have prevented the attacker from having custody or visitation rights in both Kentucky and Tennessee, according to the National Conference of State Legislature.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.
Straits Research - Market Research Strategy | Strategy Consulting | Business Research | Business Consulting | Market Research

The global Electric Ship Market was valued at USD 4.9 billion in 2021 and is projected to reach USD 12.78 billion by 2030 at a CAGR of 11.24% 2022 to 2030. On the basis of region, the electrical delivery marketplace in Europe is projected to develop the very best CAGR in the course of the forecast period

New York, United States, July 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Electric ships are electrically pushed deliver, not like traditional diesel engine ships. These ships use a battery financial institution as its supply of electricity to force electric powered motor. A variety of battery banks may be utilized in an electric-powered delivery, inclusive of lead-acid batteries, lithium-ion batteries, and gas cells, amongst others. Solar-powered ships also are utilized in lightweight ships that require low electricity output. However, the electricity necessities of shipment ships can't be fulfilled through completely electric-powered machines because of their heavy weight. Therefore, shipment ships are making use of hybrid diesel-electric-powered machines.





Get a Free Sample Copy of This Report @ https://straitsresearch.com/report/electric-ship-market/request-sample





Adoption of Hybrid and Electric Propulsion is Driving the Market

Shipbuilders and operators are shifting in the direction of automation and integration of new-build ships and retrofitting the prevailing ships with hybrid and electric -powered propulsion. This is in reaction to sticking to the IMO 2020 rule. According to this rule, delivery operators should use fuels that must now no longer exceed 0.50% sulfur content material towards the modern restriction of 3.50%. Thus, deliver integrators and proprietors are switching their present diesel-pushed engines with electric powered or hybrid propulsion. Various delivery proprietors of Norway, the US, Greece, China, and France are actively concerned with retrofitting their modern delivery fleet with new technology like hybrid and electric powered. For instance, in January 2019, Wartsila signed a settlement with the Hagland Shipping AS to retrofit its diesel-pushed popular shipment vessels with battery hybrid propulsion for shortsea shipping. North American and European international locations had been already enforcing numerous adjustments to their inland transport, as there's an excessive call for and the first-rate ability for hybrid and absolutely electric-powered passenger vessels in those regions, and the governments are pushing for a cleanser mode of waterway transportation. Additionally, the fee for the operation of an electric-powered vessel is appreciably decreased than that of a diesel vessel.

Story continues





Environmental Concerns Are Driving the Market:

The driving factors of the electric boat and ship market include factors like increased maritime tourism and increased seaborne trade, as most of the worlds goods are carried by ships. As the global economy is dependent on the shipping market, the electric boat market is expected to play a bigger role in this sector as environmental causes have increasingly come to the forefront in this sector. Electric and hybrid types of ships cause less emission and save the environment from getting polluted more. Diesel-operated shipment ships are one of the fundamental contributors to worldwide carbon emissions. Lately, in 2020, Yara International (a chemical employer centered in Oslo, Norway) commissioned a completely electric-powered shipment delivery named Yara Birkeland. The overall value of this completely electric-powered shipment delivery challenge is approx. 30 million USD. Yara Birkeland turned into advanced to transport the freighter among ports and abandon diesel truck usage, for this reason, must be capable of update 40,000 trips in a year. Such surroundings pleasant electric-powered mobility in water is anticipated to enhance the worldwide electric-powered ships market.





Supportive Regulations Are Creating New Opportunities for the Market:

Developing authorities to help to sell the use of electric-powered boats and ships to lessen emissions is probably to assist the marketplace increase throughout the forecast period. For example: In 2020, the South Korean authorities introduced a USD 870 million initiative to inspire the improvement of green transport to lessen pollutants resulting from the countrys marine sector.

The 2030 Green Ship-K Promotion Strategy, a relevant part of South Koreas plans to gain carbon-neutrality through 2050, particularly goals the development and wider use of low-carbon delivery technology, consisting of hydrogen gasoline cells and propulsion systems. The initiative has set an intention of decreasing the countrys transport greenhouse fueloline emissions through 40% withinside the subsequent 25 years and 70% through 2050.

Additionally, worldwide regulations, just like the International Maritime Organization, deployed the worldwide sulfur cap in January 2020. Under this regulation, ships, especially business ships and marine vessels, may also require low sulfur fuels to function outdoor the emission manipulates areas, which may also propel electric-powered delivery adoption.





Report Scope

Report Metric Details Market Size USD 12.78 Billion by 2030 CAGR 12.24% (2022-2030) Historical Data 2019-2020 Base Year 2021 Forecast Period 2022-2030 Forecast Units Value (USD Billion) Report Coverage Revenue Forecast, Competitive Landscape, Growth Factors, and Trends Segments Covered Type, System, Mode of Operation, Ship Type, Power, Range, Tonnage, and End-Use Geographies Covered North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, LAME and Rest of the World Key Companies Profiled/Vendors Kongsberg (Norway), ABB (Switzerland), Wartsila (Finland), Norwegian Electric Systems AS (Norway), Corvus Energy (Canada), General Dynamics Electric Boat (US), MAN Energy Solutions SE (Germany) Vard (Norway), Siemens (Germany), and Leclanche SA (Switzerland), among others. Key Market Opportunities Supportive Regulations Are Creating New Opportunities for The Market Key Market Drivers Adoption of Hybrid and Electric Propulsion Is Driving the Market

Environmental Concerns Are Driving the Market

Buy Now Full Report @ https://straitsresearch.com/report/electric-ship-market/request-sample





Regional Analysis

The electrical delivery marketplace in Europe is projected to develop the very best CAGR in the course of the forecast period, from USD 3,358 Million in 2021 to USD 11,922 Million in 2030 because of the growth in the call for electric-powered ships for completely electric-powered passenger vessels, tugs, yachts, and cruise vessels, amongst others. Countries together with Norway, Finland, and Denmark have actively begun changing traditional passenger ferries with completely electric-powered passenger ferries. Major traits in self-sustaining electric-powered vessels that use gas cells and remotely managed electric-powered vessels also are using the marketplace in Europe to develop.





Key Highlights

The global Electric Ship Market Size was valued at USD 4.9 billion in 2021 and is projected to reach USD 12.78 billion by 2030 at a CAGR of 11.24% 2022 to 2030.

Growing environmental concerns and the adoption of hybrid propulsion systems are driving the market.

The electric ship market can be segmented on the basis of type, system, mode of operation, ship type, power range, tonnage, end-use, regions, and competitors.

By 2030, Europe is anticipated to have the largest market share, with North America emerging as the fastest-growing market.





Get a Free Sample Copy of This Report @ https://straitsresearch.com/report/electric-ship-market/request-sample





Key Players in Electric Ship Market

Kongsberg (Norway),

ABB(Switzerland),

Wartsila(Finland),

Norwegian

Electric Systems AS(Norway),

Corvus Energy(Canada),

General Dynamics

Electric Boat (US),

MAN Energy Solutions

SE(Germany)Vard (Norway),

Siemens(Germany),

Leclanche

SA (Switzerland),





Segmentation of the Electric Ship Market

By Type

Fully Electric

Hybrid

By System

Energy Storage Systems

Power Conversion

Power Generation

Power Distribution

By Mode of Operation

Manned

Remotely Operated

Autonomous

By Ship Type

Commercial

Defense

By Power

<75KW

75-150KW

151-745KW

746-7,560KW

>7,560KW

By Range

<50Km

50-100Km

101-1000Km

>1,000Km

By Tonnage

<500DWT

500-5,000DWT

5,001-15,000DWT

>15,000DWT

By End-Use

New Build and Line fit

Retrofit

By Region

North America

Asia Pacific

Europe

Rest of the World

TABLE OF CONTENT

Introduction Market Definition Market Scope Research Methodology Primary Research Research Methodology Assumptions & Exclusions Secondary Data Sources Market Overview Report Segmentation & Scope Value Chain Analysis: Electric Ship Market Key Market Trends Drivers Restraints Opportunities Porters Five Forces Analysis Bargaining Power of Suppliers Bargaining Power of Buyers Threat of Substitution Threat of New Entrants Competitive Rivalry Market Share Analysis Type Overview Introduction Market Size & Forecast Fully Electric Market Size & Forecast Hybrid Market Size & Forecast System Overview Introduction Market Size & Forecast Energy Storage Systems Market Size & Forecast Power Conversion Market Size & Forecast Regional Overview Introduction Market Size & Forecast America North America U.S. By Type By System Canada By Type By System Mexico By Type By System Latin America By Type By System Europe Market Size & Forecast Germany By Type By System France By Type By System U.K. By Type By System Italy By Type By System Spain By Type By System Rest of Europe By Type By System Asia Pacific Market Size & Forecast Japan By Type By System China By Type By System Australia By Type By System India By Type By System South Korea By Type By System Rest of Asia-Pacific By Type By System Middle East & Africa Market Size & Forecast Saudi Arabia By Type By System South Africa By Type By System Kuwait By Type By System Rest of Middle East & Africa By Type By System Company Profile Kongsberg Company Overview Financial Performance Recent Developments Product Portfolio Wartsila Company Overview Financial Performance Recent Developments Product Portfolio Norwegian Electric Systems AS Company Overview Financial Performance Recent Developments Product Portfolio Conclusion & Recommendation Acronyms & Abbreviations





Table of Content and Figure @ https://straitsresearch.com/report/electric-ship-market/toc





Recent Developments

In October 2021 , Groupe Beneteau introduced the purchase of STARFISHER, which has ended up GB PORTUGAL, thereby strengthening its manufacturing capability for 25 to 35-foot powerboats by organizing itself in Portugal.

In June 2021 , South Koreas first commercialized hydrogen-electric powered boat turned into unveiled at the 2021 Busan International Boat Show, wherein the Hydrogenia vessel is powered through a Danfoss Editron electric-powered drivetrain and sub-system.

In May 2021 , Limestone Boats and Vision Marine Technologies partnered to provide electric-powered outboard vehicles geared up to the powerboats produced through Limestone Boats, with a goal to boom as many as 510 powerboats in 2022.

In December 2020, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering introduced that it obtained an order for a 91,000 rectangular meter-sized Very Large Gas Carrier (VLGC) from a shipowner withinside the The delivery is anticipated to be constructed on the OkpoShipyard and added to shipowners through the primary area of 2023.

News Media

Global Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling Market to Grow Spontaneously at a Healthy CAGR During Forecast Period

Asia-Pacific to Grab Lion's Share in the Global Flywheel Energy Storage Market

Japan and China Significantly Contribute to Asia-Pacifics Tight Hold on the Green Hydrogen Market





Have a Look at the Related Research Report

Thermal Energy Storage Market : Information by Storage Material (Water, PCM), Technology (Sensible Heat, Latent Heat), Application (Power Generation), End-Use, and Region  Forecast till 2026

Flywheel Energy Storage Market : Information by Type (Solid Steel), Application (Distributed Energy Generation), End-User (Industrial and Manufacturing), and Regions Forecast till 2029

Vehicle Electrification Market : Information by Product (Start/Stop System, Electric Power Steering), Hybridization (HEV, PHEV), and Region  Forecast till 2030

Electric Vehicle Battery Swapping Market : Information by Service Type (Subscription Model, Pay-Per-Use Model), Vehicle Type (Two-Wheeler, Buses), and Region  Forecast till 2030





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




The team of CPAs has helped 10,000 businesses claim over $1 billion in refunds.

Featured Image for Innovation Refunds

Featured Image for Innovation Refunds

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa, July 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Backed by BankTech Ventures and co-owned by over 100 banks, Innovation Refunds has emerged as an industry leader, specializing in the Employee Retention Credit (ERC) and payroll tax refunds. In just one year, the Innovation Refunds team has helped over 10,000 businesses claim over $1 billion in refunds since the CARES Act was signed into law in March 2020.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress has issued a variety of programs to assist American businesses. Among them is The Employee Retention Credit (ERC) under the CARES Act. According to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), "The Employee Retention Credit under the CARES Act encourages businesses to keep employees on their payroll. The refundable tax credit is 50% of up to $10,000 in wages paid by an eligible employer whose business has been financially impacted by COVID-19."

Companies are eligible for a payroll tax refund of up to $26,000 per employee, even if they've received Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds. The average refund is $400,000 per qualified business and over 80% of businesses qualify.

Innovation Refunds was launched to help prevent companies from leaving money on the table. For companies that qualify, Innovation Refunds has a team of seasoned Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) and tax lawyers who manage all required documentation for businesses to claim the credit, and compile all required documents into a seamless, turnkey package with no upfront costs.

"Even through the worst of it, many businesses were unaware of the benefits available to them," said Howard Makler, CEO of Innovation Refunds. "In today's economy, these amounts could very well make or break a business. Organizations must leverage the expertise of tax professionals like ourselves to ensure they take advantage of the opportunities afforded to them by the Federal Government."

Story continues

Innovation Refunds' value is derived from its extended network of enterprise partners, financial institutions, cutting-edge technology, expansive resources, and trusted advisors. The team provides its clients with real-time IRS status updates throughout the application process, leveraging industry experience and knowledge to help businesses claim the funds provided by government programs.

For businesses looking to easily determine their eligibility to claim the Employee Retention Credit, or to learn more about Innovation Refunds, visit https://www.innovationrefunds.com.

About Innovation Refunds

Our mission is to assist small and medium-sized businesses to attain cash incentives from federal and state governments.

Our team is mostly comprised of "Big Five" accountants and lawyers who utilize the same methodology used for Fortune 500 companies.

Co-owned by 100+ banks, our value is derived from our extended network of enterprise partners, financial institutions, cutting-edge technology resources, and trusted advisors.

Media Contact

Maria Penaloza

maria.penaloza@newswire.com

Related Images













Image 1









This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com.

Attachment




SAN JOSE, Calif., July 26, 2022--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Morton College, a community college located in Cicero, Illinois, has selected the YuJa Enterprise Video Platform to serve its more than 5,000 students campuswide.

YuJa, a leader in enterprise media and ed-tech solutions, will enable the institution to enhance teaching and learning with capabilities like lecture capture, closed captioning and other accessibility features, and through embedding videos directly into the learning management system, Blackboard Learn. In addition to its ease of use and video features, the Platform provides cloud-based, scalable storage, adaptive streaming, device compatibility, and more.

"Morton College administrators and instructors will appreciate the ease of use provided with the Video Platform, along with the ability to easily integrate digital technology into their classes, create online content and easily implement flipped classroom structures into their methodologies," said Nathan Arora, Chief Business Officer at YuJa, Inc. "The college serves a variety of constituents, and all-in-one tech tools help streamline processes and enhance the learning experience."

ABOUT MORTON COLLEGE

Morton College is a public comprehensive community college recognized by the Illinois Community College Board as District 527. The second oldest community college in Illinois, Morton College was founded in 1924 to meet the educational demands in the growing communities of Berwyn, Cicero, Forest View, Lyons, McCook, Stickney and other near-western suburbs. The College offers Associate in Arts and Associate in Science university transfer programs and Associate in Applied Science and Certificate programs, along with customized workforce training programs for local employers.

ABOUT YUJA, INC.

YuJa is a leader in ed-tech solutions. Our platforms provide organizations of all sizes with the tools to educate, engage, inspire and collaborate. We serve learning enterprises within all sectors, including higher-ed, K-12, government, healthcare, non-profit and corporate.

Story continues

We have legal headquarters in Delaware with primary U.S. offices in Silicon Valley, California, and Canadian offices in Toronto.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220726005337/en/

Contacts

Hannah Johnson

1-888-257-2278
Data Bridge Market Research

The rise in the number of applications in the area of automation across the globe acts as one of the major factors driving the growth of neuromorphic computing market

London, July 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --  Global Neuromorphic Computing Market  the new research report adds in Data Bridge Market Researchs reports database. This Research Report spread across 350 Page, 220 No of Tables, And 60 No of Figures with summarizing Top companies with tables and figures.

The comprehensive Neuromorphic Computing business report helps define commerce strategies to the businesses of small, medium as well as large size. All the data and statistics provided in this market report are backed up by latest and proven tools and techniques such as SWOT analysis and Porter's Five Forces Analysis. This report includes a range of inhibitors as well as driving forces of the market which are analysed in both qualitative and quantitative approach so that readers and users get precise information and insights about this industry. This Neuromorphic Computing market report is an ideal guide for actionable ideas, enhanced decision-making and better business strategies.

The neuromorphic computing market is expected to witness market growth at a rate of 52.50% in the forecast period of 2022 to 2029, and is estimated to reach the value of USD 34.61 billion by 2029. Data Bridge Market Research report on neuromorphic computing market provides analysis and insights regarding the various factors expected to be prevalent throughout the forecast period while providing their impacts on the markets growth. The rise in demand for the technology globally is escalating the growth of neuromorphic computing market.

Request Sample Copy of Neuromorphic Computing Market @ https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/request-a-sample/?dbmr=global-neuromorphic-computing-market&GNW/25July2022

Neuromorphic Computing report is delivered as the most relevant, unique, fair and creditable global market research report to valuable customers and clients depending upon their specific business needs. It facilitates in adjusting the production depending on the conditions of demand which avoids wastage of goods. Market research reports like this one surely helps to reduce business risk and failure. This report highlights numerous industry verticals such as company profile, contact details of manufacturer, product specifications, geographical scope, production value, market structures, recent developments, revenue analysis, market shares and possible sales volume of the company

Company Coverage (Company Profile, Sales Revenue, Price, Gross Margin, Main Products etc.): 

Intel Corporation,

Story continues

IBM,

BrainChip.,

Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.,

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP,

SAMSUNG,

HRL Laboratories, LLC,

General Vision Inc.,

Applied Brain Research,

Vicarious,

Numenta,

Aspinity analogML,

BrainCo, Inc.,

Bitbrain Technologies,

Halo Neuroscience,

Linux Kernel Organization, Inc.,

Nextmind SRL,

Cognixion, Inc.,

NeuroPace, Inc.,

MindMaze and

Innatera Nanosystems

Access Full PDF Research @ https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/checkout/buy/enterprise/global-neuromorphic-computing-market?GNW/25July2022

Important Key questions answered in the Neuromorphic Computing market report:

What are the key factors affecting market dynamics? What are the drivers, challenges, and business risks in the Neuromorphic Computing market?

What are the leading factors likely to hamper the growth of the Neuromorphic Computing Market during the forecast period?

What is Dynamics, This Overview Includes an Analysis of the Scope and price analysis of top Manufacturers' Profiles?

Who Are Opportunities, Risk, and Driving Force of the Neuromorphic Computing market? Knows Upstream Raw Materials Sourcing and Downstream Buyers

Who are the key manufacturers in space? Business Overview by Type, Applications, Gross Margin, and Market Share

What are the opportunities and threats faced by manufacturers in the global market?

Regions reflecting tremendous growth and development opportunities are described in this study

Major Segmentation: Neuromorphic Computing Market

On the basis of offering, the neuromorphic computing market is segmented into hardware and software. Hardware is further segmented into processor and memory.

On the basis of deployment, the neuromorphic computing market is segmented into edge computing and cloud computing.

On the basis of application, the neuromorphic computing market is segmented into image recognition, data processing, signal recognition, object detection and data mining.

On the basis of end-user, the neuromorphic computing market is segmented into aerospace and defense, it and telecom, medical, automotive, industrial and others.

Country Level Analysis:-

The neuromorphic computing market is analyzed and market size, volume information is provided by country, offering, deployment, applications and end user as referenced above.

The countries covered in the global neuromorphic computing market report are the U.S., Canada and Mexico in North America, Brazil, Argentina and Rest of South America as part of South America, Germany, Italy, U.K., France, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Turkey, Russia, Rest of Europe in Europe, Japan, China, India, South Korea, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Rest of Asia-Pacific (APAC) in the Asia-Pacific (APAC), Saudi Arabia, U.A.E, South Africa, Egypt, Israel, Rest of Middle East and Africa (MEA) as a part of Middle East and Africa (MEA).

North America dominates the neuromorphic computing market due to the presence of key neuromorphic chip manufacturers within the region. Europe is expected to witness significant growth during the forecast period of 2022 to 2029 because of the expansion as significant investments are being made in neuromorphic projects in the region.

Browse More about This Premium Research Report at https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-neuromorphic-computing-market?GNW/25July2022

Key Drivers:-

The rise in the number of applications in the area of automation across the globe acts as one of the major factors driving the growth of neuromorphic computing market . The increased demand for artificial intelligence for translation and chatterbots, computer vision and image processing, language processing, nonlinear controls and robotics accelerate the market growth. The advancement of disruptive technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), and rise in demand for the technology owning to the low power consumption, higher speed, and optimum memory usage further influence the market. Additionally, urbanization and digitization, rise in biotechnology sector, expansion of end use industries and cross-industry partnerships and collaborations positively affect the neuromorphic computing market. Furthermore, adoption of neuromorphic computing for security purposes and design and development of neuromorphic chips for brain-based robots and cognitive robots extend profitable opportunities to the market players in the forecast period of 2022 to 2029.

On the other hand, complex algorithms increasing complexity of designing hardware of neuromorphic chips and lack of knowledge about neuromorphic computing are expected to obstruct the market growth. Applications dependent on software compatibility of neural hardware are projected to challenge the neuromorphic computing market in the forecast period of 2022-2029.

How Research Study of DBMR helps clients in their decision-making:

Creating strategies for new product development

Supporting & Adjust Investment/business decisions

Benchmark and judge own competitiveness

Aiding in the business planning process

Serving as a credible, independent check on company internal forecasts

Supporting acquisition strategies

Below is the TOC of the report:

Assumptions and Acronyms Used Research Methodology Neuromorphic Computing Market Overview Neuromorphic Computing Supply Chain Analysis Neuromorphic Computing Pricing Analysis Global Neuromorphic Computing Market Analysis and Forecast by Type Global Neuromorphic Computing Market Analysis and Forecast by Application Global Neuromorphic Computing Market Analysis and Forecast by Sales Channel Global Neuromorphic Computing Market Analysis and Forecast by Region North America Neuromorphic Computing Market Analysis and Forecast Latin America Neuromorphic Computing Market Analysis and Forecast Europe Neuromorphic Computing Market Analysis and Forecast Asia Pacific Neuromorphic Computing Market Analysis and Forecast Middle East & Africa Neuromorphic Computing Market Analysis and Forecast Competition Landscape

For More Insights Get Detailed TOC @ https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/toc/?dbmr=global-neuromorphic-computing-market&GNW/25July2022

Browse More Trending Report:-

Quantum Computing Market , By System (Single Qubit Quantum System, Multiple Qubit System), Qubits (Trapped Ion Qubits, Semiconductor Qubits and Super Conducting), Offering (Systems, Services), Deployment Model (On-Premises, Cloud), Component (Hardware, Software and Services), Application (Cryptography, Simulation, Parallelism, Machine Learning, Algorithms, Others), Logic Gates (Toffoli Gate, Hadamard Gate, Pauli Logic Gates and Others), Verticals (Banking And Finance, Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals, Defense, Automotive, Chemical, Utilities, Others) https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-quantum-computing-market

Affective Computing Market , By Technology (Touch-Based, Touchless), Components (Software and Hardware), Software (Speech Recognition, Gesture Recognition, Facial Feature Extraction, Analytics Software, Enterprise Software, Others), Hardware (Sensors, Cameras, Storage Devices and Processors, Others), Vertical (Academia and Research, Media and Entertainment, Government and Defense, Healthcare and Life Sciences, IT and Telecom, Retail and E-Commerce, Automotive, Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance, Other Verticals), and Country (U.S., Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Rest of South America, Germany, Italy, U.K., France, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Turkey, Russia, Rest of Europe, Japan, China, India, South Korea, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Rest of Asia-Pacific, Saudi Arabia, U.A.E, South Africa, Egypt, Israel, Rest of the Middle East and Africa) https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-affective-computing-market

Healthcare Cloud Computing Market , By Product (Healthcare Provider Solutions, Non-clinical Information Systems (NCIS), Healthcare Payer Solutions), Deployment (Private Cloud, Public Cloud, Hybrid Cloud), Component (Software, Services), Pricing Model (Pay-As-You-Go, Spot Pricing Model), Service Model (Software-As-A-Service, Infrastructure-As-A-Service, Platform-As-A-Service), End User (Healthcare Providers, Healthcare Payers), Country (U.S., Canada, Mexico, Germany, Italy, U.K., France, Spain, Netherland, Belgium, Switzerland, Turkey, Russia, Rest of Europe, Japan, China, India, South Korea, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Rest of Asia-Pacific, Brazil, Argentina, Rest of South America, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Israel, Rest of Middle East and Africa) https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-healthcare-cloud-computing-market

Fog Computing Market , By Computing Solution (Hardware, Software), Application (Connected Vehicles, Smart Grids, Smart Cities, Connected Healthcare, Smart Manufacturing, Building and Home Automation, Transportation and Logistics, Security and Emergencies, Others), Country (U.S., Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Rest of South America, Germany, Italy, U.K., France, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Turkey, Russia, Rest of Europe, Japan, China, India, South Korea, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Rest of Asia-Pacific, Saudi Arabia, U.A.E, South Africa, Egypt, Israel, Rest of Middle East and Africa) https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-fog-computing-market

Edge Computing Market , By Component (Hardware, Gateways, Micro Data Centers, Platform, Solution and Services), Technology (Mobile Edge Computing and Fog Computing), Application (Smart Cities, Location Services, Analytics, Environmental Monitoring, Optimized Local Content, Data Caching, Augmented Reality and Others), Organization Size (Small & Medium-Sized Enterprises and Large Enterprises), Vertical (Manufacturing, Healthcare, Transportation, Government & Public, Media & Entertainment, Energy & Utilities, Telecom & IT, Retail and Others), Country (U.S., Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Rest of South America, Germany, Italy, U.K., France, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Turkey, Russia, Rest of Europe, Japan, China, India, South Korea, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Rest of Asia-Pacific, Saudi Arabia, U.A.E, South Africa, Egypt, Israel, Rest of Middle East and Africa) https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-edge-computing-market

About Data Bridge Market Research:

An absolute way to forecast what future holds is to comprehend the trend today!

Data Bridge Market Research set forth itself as an unconventional and neoteric Market research and consulting firm with unparalleled level of resilience and integrated approaches. We are determined to unearth the best market opportunities and foster efficient information for your business to thrive in the market. Data Bridge endeavours to provide appropriate solutions to the complex business challenges and initiates an effortless decision-making process. Data Bridge is an aftermath of sheer wisdom and experience which was formulated and framed in the year 2015 in Pune.

Data Bridge Market Research has over 500 analysts working in different industries. We have catered more than 40% of the fortune 500 companies globally and have a network of more than 5000+ clientele around the globe. Data Bridge adepts in creating satisfied clients who reckon upon our services and rely on our hard work with certitude. We are content with our glorious 99.9 % client satisfying rate.

Contact Us:-

Data Bridge Market Research

US: +1 888 387 2818

UK: +44 208 089 1725

Hong Kong: +852 8192 7475

Email:- corporatesales@databridgemarketresearch.com




HOUSTON, July 26, 2022--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Orion Engineered Carbons (NYSE: OEC), a specialty chemicals company, announced today that Chief Executive Officer Corning Painter and Chief Financial Officer Jeff Glajch are scheduled to participate in one-on-one meetings at the Jefferies Industrials Conference in New York on August 9. Mr. Painter will also be presenting at the conference at 9:00 am EDT on August 10.

About Orion Engineered Carbons

Orion Engineered Carbons (NYSE: OEC) is a leading global supplier of carbon black, a solid form of carbon produced as powder or pellets. The material is made to customers exacting specifications for tires, coatings, ink, batteries, plastics and numerous other specialty, high-performance applications. Carbon black is used to tint, colorize, provide reinforcement, conduct electricity, increase durability, and add UV protection. Orion has innovation centers on three continents and 14 plants worldwide, offering the most diverse variety of production processes in the industry. The companys corporate lineage goes back more than 160 years to Germany, where it operates the worlds longest-running carbon black plant. Orion is a leading innovator, applying a deep understanding of customers needs to deliver sustainable solutions. For more information, please visit orioncarbons.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This document contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are statements of future expectations that are based on current expectations and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of the particular statement. New risk factors and uncertainties emerge from time to time and it is not possible to predict all risk factors and uncertainties, nor can we assess 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 undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or other information, other than as required by applicable law.

Story continues

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220726005998/en/

Contacts

Wendy Wilson

Head of Investor Relations

Orion Engineered Carbons

Mobile: +1 281-974-0155

wendy.wilson@orioncarbons.com



William Foreman

Director of Corporate Communications and Government Affairs

Orion Engineered Carbons

Direct: +1 832-445-3305

Mobile: +1 281-889-7833

william.foreman@orioncarbons.com
EDITORS NOTE  On July 25, 1972, Jean Heller, a reporter on The Associated Press investigative team, then called the Special Assignment Team, broke news that rocked the nation. Based on documents leaked by Peter Buxtun, a whistleblower at the U.S. Public Health Service, the then 29-year-old journalist and the only woman on the team, reported that the federal government let hundreds of Black men in rural Alabama go untreated for syphilis for 40 years in order to study the impact of the disease on the human body. Most of the men were denied access to penicillin, even when it became widely available as a cure. A public outcry ensued, and nearly four months later, the Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male came to an end. The investigation would have far-reaching implications: The men in the study filed a lawsuit that resulted in a $10 million settlement, Congress passed laws governing how subjects in research studies were treated, and more than two decades later President Bill Clinton formally apologized for the study, calling it shameful.

Today, the effects of the study still linger  it is often blamed for the unwillingness of some African Americans to participate in medical research.

In observance of the 50th anniversary of Hellers groundbreaking investigation, the AP is republishing the original report and a recent interview with her and others on how the story came together.

WASHINGTON (AP)  For 40 years the U.S. Public Health Service has conducted a study in which human guinea pigs, denied proper medical treatment, have died of syphilis and its side effects.

The study was conducted to determine from autopsies what the disease does to the human body.

PHS officials responsible for initiating the experiment have long since retired. Current PHS officials, who say they have serious doubts about the morality of the study, also say that it is too late to treat syphilis in any of the studys surviving participants.

But PHS doctors say they are rendering whatever other medical services they can now give to the survivors while the study of the diseases effects continues.

The experiment, called the Tuskegee Study began in 1932 with about 600 black men mostly poor and uneducated, from Tuskegee, Ala., an area that had the highest syphilis rate in the nation at the time.

One-third of the group was free of syphilis; two-thirds showed evidence of the disease. In the syphilitic group, half were given the best treatment known at the time, but the other half, about 200 men, received no treatment at all for syphilis, PHS officials say.

As incentives to enter the program, the men were promised free transportation to and from hospitals, free hot lunches, free medicine for any disease other than syphilis and free burial after autopsies were performed.

The Tuskegee Study began 10 years before penicillin was discovered to be a cure for syphilis and 15 years before the drug became widely available. Yet, even after penicillin became common, and while its use probably could have helped or saved a number of the experiment subjects, the drug was denied them, Dr. J.D. Millar says.

He is chief of the venereal disease branch of the PHSs Center for Disease Control in Atlanta and is now in charge of what remains of the Tuskegee Study. Dr. Millar said in an interview that he has serious doubts about the program.

I think a definite serious moral problem existed when the study was undertaken, a more serious moral problem was overlooked in the post-war years when penicillin became available but was not given to these men and a moral problem still exists, Dr. Millar said.

But the study began when attitudes were much different on treatment and experimentation. At this point in time, with our current knowledge of treatment and the disease and the revolutionary change in approach to human experimentation, I dont believe the program would be undertaken, he said.

Syphilis, a highly contagious infection spread by sexual contact, can cause if untreated, bone and dental deformations, deafness, blindness, heart disease and central nervous system deterioration.

No figures were available on when the last death occurred in the program. And one official said that apparently no conscious effort was made to halt the program after it got under way.

A 1969 CDC study of 276 treated and untreated syphilitics who participated in the Tuskegee Study showed that seven had died as a direct result of syphilis. Another 154 died of heart disease.

CDC officials say they cannot determine at this late date how many of the heart disease deaths were caused by syphilis or how many additional deaths could be linked to the disease.

However, several years ago an American Medical Association study determined that untreated syphilis reduces life expectancy by 17 per cent in black men between the ages of 25 and 50, a precise description of the Tuskegee Study subjects.

Don Prince, another official in the venereal disease branch of CDC, said the Tuskegee Study had contributed some knowledge about syphilis, particularly that the morbidity and mortality rate among untreated syphilitics were not as high as previously believed.

Like Dr. Millar, Prince said he thought the study should have been halted with penicillin treatment for participants after World War II.

I dont know why the decision was made in 1946 not to stop the program, Prince said. I was unpleasantly surprised when I first came here and found out about it. It really puzzles me.

At the beginning of 1972, according to CDC data, 74 of the untreated syphilitics were still living. All of them, Dr. Millar said, were men who did not suffer any potentially fatal side effects from their bouts with the disease.

Some of them received penicillin and antibiotics in past years for other aliments, Prince said, but none has ever received treatment for syphilis. Now, both men agree, its too late

Recent reviews of the Tuskegee Study by the CDC indicate that treatment now for survivors is medically questionable, Dr. Millar said. Their average age is 74 and massive penicillin therapy, with possible ill side effects, is deemed too great a risk to individuals, particularly for those whose syphilis is now dormant.

However, Dr. Millar, added there was a point in time when survivors could have been treated with at least some measure of success.

"The most critical moral issue about this experiment arises in the post-war era, the years after the end of World War II when penicillin became widely available.

I know some were treated with penicillin for other diseases and then dropped from the program because the drug had some positive effect on the primary disease (syphilis). Looking at it now, one cannot see any reason they could not have been treated at that time.
Battery storage facilities help store the generated energy and dispatch it to the grid, but much more storage capacity is needed.

The grid saw record electricity demand as Texans cranked up their air conditions to be the scorching heat.

Renewable power generation was lower than its potential through Texas brutal heatwave, adding further strain to the already-battered ERCOT power grid.

Wind and solar power generation in Texas was much lower than its potential during this month's heatwave due to weather patterns, straining the Texas power grid at times of record demand. As Texans crank up air conditioners in the scorching heat, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) has asked residents a few times since May to voluntarily conserve energy during peak demand hours in the afternoons and evenings.

But just when Texas needed the most of all its power generation supply, wind and solar power output was well below capacity due to a lack of wind in the high-pressure weather system and cloud cover over much of West Texas. These issues with wind and solar electricity generation highlighted, once again, the dependability of clean energy sources on the whims of weather and the unreliability of consistently dispatching large amounts of power to the grid when consumption hits records.

Battery storage facilities help store the generated energy and dispatch it to the grid when it's needed, but much more battery storage capacity is needed in Texasand everywhere in the worldto solve the reliability issue of renewables as a growing share of electricity is being generated by clean energy sources.

The Reliability Issue

With two more months until the end of the summer, ERCOT's latest warning from mid-July may not be the last warning of rolling blackouts in Texas or other states across the United States. Grid operators have already warned that the electric grid reliability in some parts of the U.S. could be at risk amid high summer demand and possible supply reductions.

Texas tops the nationwide ranking of installed wind power capacity and is second only to California in operating solar capacity, according to the American Clean Power Association. Texas led the country in clean power installations in 2021, installing 7,690 MW, with California a distant second with 2,852 MW installed. Last year, Texas installed enough clean energy to fully power Delaware and Hawaii combined, the association says in its 2021 Annual Market Report.

In addition, operating wind, solar, and energy storage capacity in Texas ranks first among all U.S. states. A total of 24.6% share of all electricity produced in Texas comes from wind, solar, and energy storage power plants.

In theory, Texas has enormous amounts of wind and solar power capacity installations.

In reality, power generation falters without wind and sunshine, leaving the grid exposed to vulnerability just when it needs those renewables the most. While renewables can help the grid during mild weather and normal operations, renewables sometimes fail during peak demand and heatwaves.

This they did in the middle of July, amid record-setting extreme heat and record power demand in Texas.

Wind And Solar Power Generation Faltering

Wind power generation in TexasAmerica's number-one wind power stateslumped during the heatwave that began on July 11, as wind speeds typically plunge during hot, high-pressure systems where the air above stifles winds. So the wind turbines in Texas were generating just 8% of their capacity. Meanwhile, power demand was at a record high.

Related: Russia To Leave ISS As Space Shakeup Continues

ERCOT's July 13 appeal to Texans and businesses for energy conservation noted that factors driving the need for the action by customers included: record-high electric demand, low wind generation compared to what is historically generated in this time period, forced outages in thermal generation exceeding ERCOT forecasts, and a developing cloud cover in West Texas that reduced the amount of solar generation.

On July 13, the date of the latest ERCOT call for energy conservation, the percent of dispatchable energy installed on the tightest hour was at 84%, while solar power was at 68%. Wind was at only 12% at the day's tightest hour, per ERCOT data cited by ABC News.

"The challenge in Texas and elsewhere is on the supply side"

"The challenge in Texas and elsewhere is on the supply side," says James Dobson, Energy Sector Strategist, CIO, UBS Americas.

"Electricity supply and demand must be equal to keep the system balanced. That's the root of the issue. Demand is growing, yet coal plants are running less, renewables like wind and solar that can have variable output has grown significantly, so there is more strain on the supply side," Dobson said last week.

"A utility company could invest enough to plan for one hot July day, but customers wouldn't need those resources during other times, and it would be more expensive year round," the strategist noted.

"We want utility companies to continue to invest in their infrastructure and have adequate supplies but there should be a cost-effective balance. Like many energy supplies around the world, there is a need to balance reliability, affordability and decarbonization, simultaneously."

After the hottest June on record in Houston and spells of record-breaking heat across Texas in July, ERCOT's summer troubles are not over because August could be equally hot.

Next month, a storm could change the scorching hot weather in Texas, meteorologist Matt Lanza of Space City Weather told Houston Chronicle.

"There's a saying in Texas that droughts end in floods," Lanza said.

A major storm or a hurricane could pose another set of challenges for ERCOT, the power lines, solar power generation in Texas, and power grid reliability.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
East Africa seems to be split in favour of and against the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) being built in Uganda and Tanzania. Environmentalists are concerned about the damage the pipeline and the development of an oil and gas industry could cause to the countries. But the governments of the East African states are hopeful about how the industry could support their economies, as oil majors look to Africa to develop new, low-carbon oil operations. In 2015, French oil major Total (now TotalEnergies) and China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) agreed on a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the two governments to develop a 1,443km-long pipeline for the transportation of oil from Uganda to Tanzanias Port of Tanga for export.

Ugandas President Yoweri Museveni strongly supports the expansion of the countrys oil industry, seeing the resource as something that should be developed nationally to support the economy while the global demand is high. The $10 billion development includes the construction of EACOP, the Kingfisher Lake Albert project and Tilenga, the Murchison Falls project. One of the most controversial areas of the project is the planned construction of 10 well pads, a feeder pipeline, and a refinery in and around the Murchison Falls national park, with the potential to be the first oil project within a protected area in East Africa.

Uganda expects to have an output of 230,000 bpd of oil by 2025. The construction of the pipeline will make it easier to transport crude from Uganda to the non-oil-producing state of Tanzania, and for it to be exported to other countries. Ghana and the Democratic Republic of Congo are now looking to Uganda to see how it cultivates its oil sector to learn from in the development own energy industries.

Several political leaders in the region see the development of their oil and gas industries as a means toimprove energy security and support their national economies, to reduce poverty. In addition, after years of resource exploitation from foreign powers, many governments recognise the fleeting potential of oil exploration and production at the national level. Oil majors around the globe are now looking to expand their low-carbon oil operations into new regions that will support the longevity of their production, and it is Africas time to shine and profit.

Some suggest that the benefits of the construction of EACOP could be far-reaching, supporting the aim to bring an end to energy poverty in Africa by 2030, and encouraging job creation, local community empowerment, and wider socio-economic growth. The development of the two countries oil industries is expected to encourage a 60 percent increase in foreign direct investment and encourage development in other sectors.

The Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber (AEC), NJ Ayuk, explains Ugandans and Tanzanians should not have to pay the price for western, developed nations. It makes no sense to oppose the construction of the pipeline. If EACOP fails, there will be no guarantee of employment, with a lot of the population remaining energy poor for years to come, and investment directed towards East African exploration will dry up. Africa does not deserve this. Africa deserves the rights to develop its resources and that includes the EACOP. Targeting environmentalists, he also said, Stop disrupting Africa's development and let's use the EACOP and every other oil and gas project on the continent to drive Africa into a new era of energy and economic success.

Related: SEC Investigates Coinbase Over Securities Listings

But not everyone agrees with this point of view. There are far-reaching environmental concerns around the development of not only EACOP but Ugandas oil industry in general. NGOs worry that EACOP could lead to the displacement of thousands, destroy farmland, and devastate ecosystems across the region. In addition, there are fears of water contamination in the Lake Victoria Basin, which delivers water to over 40 million people. Further, the pipeline is expected to lead to the emissions of 34 million tonnes of CO2 annually, a seven-fold increase on Ugandas current emissions.

The StopEacop movement, based in Nairobi, and supported by 260 civil society organizations, aims to raise awareness around the potential negative effects of the pipeline development. The group has successfully reached out to many potential funders of the project to dissuade them from investing in EACOP, including HSBC, BNP Paribas and Swiss Re and, most recently, Deutsche Bank. Environmentalists have attacked net-zero pledges made by many potential investors, pointing out that the development of EACOP would be contradictory to their climate promises and could therefore damage their reputation.

While politicians and other public figures support the development of EACOP, to support economic development across the East African region, thousands of environmentalists across the region and the world oppose the development due to climate concerns. But with ongoing worries around energy security, is pressure from NGOs and famous activists enough to stop the pipeline from going ahead?

By Felicity Bradstock for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Libya, plagued by port blockades and protests at oil facilities in recent months, has now managed to raise its oil production to 1.1 million barrels per day (bpd), the oil minister of the Tripoli-based government said in a text message sent to Reuters on Tuesday.

Libyas oil production has recovered in recent days after the country resumed oil exports last week. Last Wednesday, the first tankers arrived in Libya to load oil for export, ending a force majeure on key oilfields and ports that had been in place since April.

The force majeure has severely crippled Libyas oil exports in recent months, following weeks of protests and closures amid the new rift in Libyas political class over who should be governing the country.

The most recent rivalry is between Fathi Bashaga, the Prime Minister appointed by Parliament earlier this year, and Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, who was appointed last year through a process backed by the United Nations. Dbeibah refuses to cede power. Bashaga, backed by the east-based Parliament, is now based in Sirte in the east of Libya, while Dbeibah is based in Tripoli.

Libyas National Oil Corporation (NOC) also got a new chief, after Farhat Bengdara was appointed by Dbeibah last week to replace the long-term chairman of the state-oil firm, Mustafa Sanalla.

The National Oil Corporation has said it plans to see oil output rates recover to 1.2 million bpd in less than a month.

The NOC is striving to increase production and bring it back to its normal rates of 1.2 million barrels per day in two weeks, the company said last week after it announced production had jumped to 860,000 bpd after the force majeure on major export terminals was lifted.

Violence is still rife, however, which may interfere with these plans.

The return of most of the Libyan oilalbeit far from certain that this time export rates would remain stableis good news for the tight physical crude market globally amid altered crude flows following the sanctions on Russia over the invasion of Ukraine.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Rising gasoline inventories in the U.S. and China may discourage refiners to further cut gasoline production.

After nearing $60 per barrel in June, the U.S. 321 gasoline crack spread fell last week to $37.57 per barrel.

Summer demand for gasoline in the United States has declined over the past two weeks.

While U.S. refiners are set to post over profit hikes of over 600% for the quarter, and global refiners are also reeling in revenues, the precipitous fall in gasoline prices and consumption over the past two weeks could reverse that going forward.



After nearing $60 per barrel in June, the U.S. 321 gasoline crack spread fell last week to $37.57 per barrel, according to Reuters, with the EIA noting that while refinery production increased in June to take advantage of the high crack spread, gasoline demand began to decline in April.

Summer demand for gasoline in the United States has declined over the past two weeks, and in some parts of Asia, seasonal demand is also down, while gas prices are lowering and stockpiles are growing.

In the United States, gas inventories reported by the EIA last week showed a build, while gasoline prices have declined below a national average of $4.50 per gallon, with slowing summer gasoline demand.

In China, refiners are expected to add to the inventory over the next two months, and inventories have increased across Asia and Europe.

According to Reuters, overall gasoline margins in Asia have fallen by 102% this month, discounted 14 cents against a barrel of Brent and at their lowest for the time of year in over two decades. Asian refining margins down 88 cents per barrel over Dubai crude.

The overall sentiment is that refiners will now have to further cut gasoline production.

That is a reversal of the story about to be told by Q2 earnings for refiners.

Last week, analysts from Tudor Pickering Holt & Co said that U.S. refiners were set to report a 652% jump in average earnings per share (EPS) for a period that has seen the highest U.S. gasoline prices on record, topping $5 per gallon in early June.

Were seeing margins twice as high as the golden age, Charles Kemp, a vice president at energy consulting firm Baker & OBrien Inc, told the Wall Street Journal, in reference to profits booked from 2004 to 2007.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
While fears of a global recession are still very much alive and kicking, oil traders have been opening increasingly bullish positions in the belief that the selloff earlier this month was overdone.

Chart of the Week

- The spread between the worlds two leading crude benchmarks, Brent and WTI, is as wide as it has been in more than three years, moving as far as $8.50 per barrel recently.

- Previous strength in WTI has been tangibly beaten down by weakening gasoline demand and several consecutive stock builds.

- While Europe has plenty of its own demand problems, mostly consequences of Russias invasion of Ukraine, the strength in the prompt months is still there, with the 1-month ICE Brent spread surging to an all-time high of $5 per barrel today.

- US crude exports have seen a substantial drop compared to record highs seen in April-May, but the wide Brent-WTI spread will provide a huge boost to European buying of the American benchmark.

Market Movers

- With Chinese drillers moving into ever more sophisticated offshore projects, state-owned oil firm CNOOC (HKG:0883) has opened bidding for 13 blocks in the South China Sea, actively seeking foreign participation in Chinas upstream industry.

- Despite Trafigura leaving the project earlier this month, Russian state-controlled company Rosneft (MCX:ROSN) started construction of the 600,000 b/d capacity Vostok Oil terminal in the Arctic zone, expected to start operations in late 2024.

- UK energy major Shell (LON:SHEL) made a final investment decision on the Jackdaw gas field, initially rejected by British authorities, and now expects to reach 40,000 boe/d of peak gas production by the mid-2020s.

Tuesday, July 26, 2022

For the second straight week, the main oil futures contracts have seen a marked rejuvenation in open interest, primarily coming from bullish long positions. This suggests that, despite ongoing fears of an economic recession, traders believe that the selloff earlier this month was overdone. This has also translated into the markets largely ignoring the return of Libyan oil. In addition, Europes natural gas woes have strengthened demand prospects for middle distillates, with diesel switching in the winter months now a very real possibility. With the Brent-WTI spread as wide as ever, ICE Brent has been flirting with the $107 per barrel mark in todays trading session.

Gazprom Squeezes Gas Supply Even Further. Russias Gazprom (MCX:GAZP) squeezed pipeline gas supply to Europe even further this week, with Nord Stream 1 flows dropping to 33 Mcm per day as the Russian firm argued that it needed to halt the operation of yet another gas turbine at a compressor station.

OPEC+ Compliance Drops to Lowest in Years. Proving that OPEC+ has been facing difficulties in ramping up new production capacity, the oil groups underproduction rose to a whopping 2.84 million b/d in June, bringing the overall compliance rate to a staggering 320%.

EU Ministers Oppose Gas Cut Mandates. The European Commission is seeking to push through a plan that would require each EU member state to cut their gas use by 15% from August 2022 to March 2023, but opposition from France, Italy, and others will see it softened to voluntary participation.

Libyan Production Is Back on Track. Less than one week after the Tripoli government lifted the blockade of oil ports and infrastructure, production rates in the country have surged above 1 million b/d, almost doubling month-on-month.

US LNG to Europe Still Going Strong. When President Biden vowed to provide European buyers with an additional 15 bcm of LNG this year, the pledge was met with skepticism, but in H1 this year the US sent more than it did in all twelve months of 2021 (39 bcm vs 34 bcm), getting within touching distance of fulfilling the pledge.

Guyana Launches New Licensing Round. With one single Exxon (NYSE:XOM) operated block already wielding 11 billion of oil reserves, the President of Guyana has called on US companies to participate in the upcoming Q3 auction, seeking to avoid dependence on one dominant consortium.

Mexico Maximizes Fuel Oil Exports to the US. Exports of Mexican fuel oil to the United States rose to the highest level on record in H1 2022, averaging 5.3 million barrels a month, as higher residue output has been met with increased US demand, seeking to replace sanctioned Russian volumes.

Gasoline Cracks Plummet Amid Oversupply Fears. Gasoline cracks across the world have fallen by more than 100% over the course of July, with Asian margins dropping to a marginal discount to Brent after hitting a premium of $38 per barrel earlier, with oversupply leading to high stock builds recently.

Germanys Coal Sector Runs into Resource Availability Issues. Coal operators in Germany have run into a series of difficulties in bringing back idled coal plants, coming from low coal availability and aged production units. So far it appears that only one coal plant of the 16 that were planned has been reconnected.

US Energy Authorities Assist GM Battery JV. The US Energy Department announced it would loan $2.5 billion to a joint venture of General Motors (NYSE:GM) and LG Energy Solution (KRX:373220) to finance lithium-ion battery cell manufacturing facilities in Ohio, Tennessee, and Michigan.

Algeria Records Further Two Oil and Gas Discoveries. Italian oil and gas major ENI (NYSE:E) has made another two oil and gas discoveries in Algerias gas-rich Berkine basin, working in a JV between ENI and Sonatrach, only four months after it had reported two significant finds in the same region.

Europe Greenlights Third Party Russia Deals. Brussels has tweaked its Russia sanctions regime, allowing European countries dealing with Russian state-owned companies Rosneft and Gazprom to buy and ship oil to third countries provided they do not reach EU destinations.

US Shale Firms Complain of Growth Headwinds. According to a recent survey by the US Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, almost all oil and gas executives believe the ongoing supply chain delays are having a material impact on new projects, primarily focusing on shortages of labor and soaring equipment costs.

By Tom Kool for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Guyana is hoping there will be more companies taking part in its next oil field tender, scheduled for this quarter, as it seeks greater diversification.

"We are hoping that the participants in the auction... will add diversification," Guyana's President, Irfaan Ali, told Reuters in an interview during his visit to the U.S. "There is no blockage against any company."

So far, Guyana's budding oil industry has been dominated by Exxon, which, together with its partners Hess Corp. and China's CNOOC, made a string of more than a dozen discoveries in the Stabroek block offshore Guyana. The total reserves of crude oil tapped so far have been estimated at some 11 billion barrels of oil equivalent.

As a result of these discoveries, Guyana's oil production has been rising steadily, and so has government revenue from it. According to a recent Rystad Energy report, Guyana's government could soon pass the $1-billion threshold in oil revenues, with those reaching as much as $7.5 billion by 2030.

Guyana is currently producing less than half a million barrels of oil daily but has plans to boost this to 1.2 million bpd by 2027. This would make it a bigger producer than Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador.

The country is in talks with investment companies from the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE, to participate in the development of its oil and gas resources.

Meanwhile, the tiny South American nation has turned into the world's hottest oil discovery spot, with Rystad reporting that since 2015, some 11.2 billion barrels of crude oil equivalent have been discovered in Guyana, representing 18 percent of all the hydrocarbon resources discovered globally in the period and 32 percent of the oil discoveries made globally in the period.

By 2035, the country could be producing 1.7 million bpd, Rystad analysts also said in their report, which would make it the world's fourth-largest offshore oil producer, bigger than Norway, the United States, and Mexico.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
European Union energy ministers agreed to a watered-down version of a Commission proposal to reduce gas consumption across the block by 15 percent starting August and ending next March.

Some EU members would be allowed a lower rate of consumption cuts as they prepare for lower Russian gas flows, Reuters reported.

The agreement comes after days of intense discussions, after the European Commission proposed last week a 15-percent voluntary consumption cut, to be made mandatory in case of a gas supply emergency.

A dozen EU members, including Spain, Portugal, Greece, and Denmark, spoke out against mandatory gas consumption cuts, with Spain's ecological transition minister, Teresa Ribera, saying last week, "Unlike other countries, the Spanish population has not lived above our means from an energy standpoint."

One unnamed European diplomat described the situation during the discussions of the EC proposal as "a total mess".

"While coordination in the spirit of solidarity is indispensable, it cannot be used as a tool for 'mutualising the consequences' of prolonged, systematic over-dependence of some countries on Russian gas and lack of investments in diversification," the diplomat added, as quoted by Euronews earlier this week.

The agreement comes as Russia's Gazprom warned that it will further cut gas flows to Germany via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline from tomorrow, saying it had to halt another turbine while it awaits the return of the now notorious piece of equipment that had to be delivered by Canada amid new anti-Russian sanctions agreed by the federal government of Justin Trudeau.

Flows via Nord Stream 1 are now at 40 percent of capacity, which will be reduced to 20 percent starting tomorrow.

Per the final version of the agreement, countries and industries would be exempt from the cuts should they become mandatory due to the opposition of some member states to the original proposal.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Russias oil giant Rosneft on Tuesday said it had launched construction works on an oil terminal for its Vostok Oil project in the Arctic, expecting the port to become the countrys biggest oil terminal by the end of this decade.

Vostok Oil, in Russias Far East, comprises several groups of oil fields holding an estimated 44 billion barrels of oil. Initial work on the project began in January 2021. The total cost of its development has been estimated at $170 billion over the lifetime of the fields. The Vostok Oil project in Russias Far North is close to the Northern Sea Route that Rosneft wants to use to ship oil to Asia.

Rosneft has also started drilling at the Payyakhskoye field, part of the massive Vostok Oil, the projects chief executive Vladimir Chernov told Russian media on Tuesday. Rosneft expects oil to start flowing from the field in 2024, and the project Vostok Oil to deliver crude via the Northern Sea Route by 2027, Chernov was quoted as saying.

Western analysts, however, doubt that Rosneft will be able to keep the timeline for the massive projects development as Western sanctions are depriving Russia and its state-owned oil and gas firms of access to capital and technology.

Last year, Rosneft was looking to attract some of the worlds largest oil trading houses to the Vostok Oil project, offering them to become investors in exchange for oil supply contracts.

This year, investors are abandoning Russian projects after Putin invaded Ukraine. One of those major traders, Trafigura, said earlier this month that it had exited its 10-percent non-operational passive shareholding in Vostok Oil, selling the stake to a Hong Kong-registered trading company for an undisclosed price.

The Western sanctions, which ban exports of technology for oil and gas to Russia, will also affect the timeline of the Vostok Oil development, analysts say.

The Payyakhskoye field, at which Rosneft started drilling today, could see first production by 2029 instead of in 2024, the Russian giant says, according to research firm Rystad Energy.

Any delays in one part of the huge supply chain involved in the project will lead to the delay of the whole project, Daria Melnik, senior analyst at Rystad Energy, told The Wall Street Journal earlier this month.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
The biggest importer of Russian gas in Germany, energy giant Uniper, saw gas supply from Russia further cut to just a third of nominated and contractually agreed volumes, a spokesperson for the German firm told Reuters on Tuesday.

Russia is further reducing flows via Nord Stream this week, to just 20% of the pipeline's capacity, days after restarting the link at 40% capacity after regular maintenance. The Russian explanation for the lower gas flows to Europe is that another turbine at a compressor station is up for maintenance and repairs, while the one that Canada returned from repairs has yet to be installed.

On Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the turbine Siemens returned would be installed once all formalities are completed, but noted, "We know that we have issues with other turbines, too, and Siemens is well aware of this."

Meanwhile, Russia's single largest gas buyer in Germany, Uniper, continues to struggle to get the contracted supply from Gazprom, days after the German government intervened to rescue the energy group, which has been reeling from reduced Russian supply and soaring prices of non-Russian gas.

Germany and Uniper agreed on Friday on a $15 billion bailout package, including the German government taking a 30-percent stake in the company, Germany making available further capital of up to $7.8 billion (7.7 billion euro) against the issuance of mandatory convertible instruments, and German state-owned KfW bank providing Uniper with an additional $7.1 billion (7 billion euro) in liquidity support through an increase of its existing credit facility.

German companies are also feeling the pinch from low gas supply from Russia and sky-high energy prices this year.

One of every six German industrial companies feels forced to reduce production due to high energy prices, a survey by the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce, DIHK, showed earlier this week. The survey also showed that only half of Germany's industrial companies have covered their annual 2022 gas requirements via contracts. More than a third of industrial firms still have to buy more than 30% of their annual gas needs.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Saudi Arabia plans to create an $80-billion investment fund to help develop the megaproject NEOM for a clean-energy living area in the northwest of the country, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said on Monday.

The futuristic NEOM project, a key pillar of Saudi Arabias Vision 2030 program to boost its economy and diversify it away from oil, will initially have $80 billion (300 billion Saudi riyals) in the Neom Investment Fund, the Crown Prince said at an event in Jeddah, as carried by Bloomberg. Mohammed bin Salman is chairman of the NEOM Board of Directors and has been dreaming of the project for half a decade. The fund could increase to $106 billion (400 billion riyals), the crown prince said.

The Saudi state will fund most of the projects within NEOM, which is itself one of the most complex construction projects in the world.

The first phase of the NEOM construction will receive nearly $160 billion (600 billion riyals) from the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, plus another government subsidy of up to $80 billion, according to the Saudi Crown Prince.

Saudi Arabia also plans an initial public offering (IPO) for NEOM for 2024 to finance part of the enormous costs for building a mega clean-energy city on a plot of land the size of Belgium.

The Crown Prince hopes that NEOM will eventually become self-sufficient and have a 13% to 14% return on investment, Bloomberg reports.

On Monday, the prince revealed the design for THE LINE, the futuristic city with no roads, cars, or emissions, which will run on 100% renewable energy, and 95% of the land will be preserved for nature.

The designs revealed today for the citys vertically layered communities will challenge the traditional flat, horizontal cities and create a model for nature preservation and enhanced human livability. THE LINE will tackle the challenges facing humanity in urban life today and will shine a light on alternative ways to live, the prince said as carried by the Saudi Press Agency.

It remains to be seen how much the NEOM construction will cost and how Saudi Arabia will pay for it.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Trade unions in Australia have extended until August 11 their strike over a pay dispute at the Prelude LNG platform offshore northwestern Australia, extending the period in which the operator Shell would not be able to ship LNG from the facility.

The Offshore Alliance union and the Electrical Trades Union demand more pay in an industrial action that began in June. Shell was exporting LNG from Prelude last month, but production was taking place at reduced rates to match storage capacity amid the disruption of the tanker berthing process for vessels to pick LNG.

Earlier this month, Shell said it was shutting down production at the LNG facility. Shell had already warned at the end of June that shipments out of Prelude would be disrupted due to the industrial action. The floating LNG production facility offshore northwestern Australia has an annual capacity of 3.6 million tons.

Prelude LNG remains shut down as the pay dispute escalates, and the trade unions on Tuesday extended bans for their workers that keep them from performing tasks such as the transfer and supply of hydrocarbons from the platform.

Shell, for its part, declines to resume talks with unions until they call off the work stoppages, Reuters reports, citing a letter from Monday it has seen.

The disruption of LNG shipments from Prelude comes amid high LNG demand, especially in Europe, which is driving spot LNG prices and benchmark natural gas prices higher.

Europe is scrambling to secure more LNG as Russia slashed gas supply via the Nord Stream pipeline to Germany. Russia is further reducing flows via Nord Stream this week, to just 20% of the pipelines capacity, days after restarting the link at 40% capacity after regular maintenance. Russias reasons: another turbine at a compressor station is up for maintenance and repairs.

In addition, the Freeport LNG facility in the United States is shut down after a fire in early June and is not expected to resume full operations for another few months.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Russia's Gazprom has sharply increased pressure along the pipeline that carries natural gas vial Ukraine to Europe, the Ukrainian pipeline operator has warned.

Reuters noted in a report on the news that such sudden spikes in pressure could lead to pipeline ruptures, which is why companies involved in gas transportation need to inform each other of such plans beforehand. Gazprom, according to the Ukrainian company, did not do so.

Despite the war in Ukraine, Russian gas flows through the country have remained more or less steady, with the Monday rate at 41.7 million cubic meters. Flows via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, however, were just cut again earlier this week.

Gazprom said Monday that it would halt a turbine at the main Nord Stream 1 compressor station, which would result in lower gas flows beginning Wednesday.

According to the company, the drop would be some 50 percent from current rates, which in turn stand at about 40 percent of the pipeline's capacity. This means that after the halt of the second turbine, flows via Nord Stream 1 would fall to just 20 percent of capacity, or some 33 million cubic meters daily.

Flows via the key pipeline to Germany were reduced to 40 percent earlier this month amid what is turning into a veritable saga involving a Gazprom compressor station turbine, Canadian sanctions, and a desperate Germany.

The turbine, sent to Canada for repairs by Germany's Siemens Energy, which services Gazprom's equipment, was stuck in the country due to new Canadian sanctions on Russia. Russia said it would be unable to restore normal flows along Nord Stream 1 without the turbine.

After Germany pleaded with the Canadian government to release the turbinewhile the Ukrainian government insisted it holds on to itCanada released the piece of equipment by urgently approving a sanction exemption.

The turbine has yet to reach its home, however.

"Gazprom received from Siemens documents issued by the Canadian authorities. However, after studying the documents, Gazprom had to conclude that they do not eliminate the previously identified risks and give rise to additional questions," the Russian state company said this month, adding "the issues regarding the sanctions imposed by the EU and the UK remain unsolved for Gazprom."

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
The Biden Administration has announced that it is releasing the next Notice of Sale for crude oil from the nations Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) for 20 million barrels.

As part of the Tuesday announcement, the White House cited a new analysis from the Department of Treasure that estimates that the previous SPR releases that the White House pegs at 125 million barrelsalong with the releases of crude oil from foreign partners as wellhas reduced gasoline prices by up to about 40 cents per gallon. Not compared to what they were, but compared to what they would have been absent these drawdowns.

The Biden Administration also announced steps to repurchase oil for the SPR in future years, likely after FY2023 to help encourage more nearterm supply.

The 125 million barrels that the White House cited in the press release includes 70 million barrels that have made their way to buyers already. The rest are planned to be delivered to customers in the weeks and months to come.

The press release stressed the impact the SPR releases have had so far, in response to the energy market disruptions posed by Russias invasion, referring to the Putin price hike.

Todays announcement is for the fifth sale that President Biden has authorized from the SPR. The announcement included a proposal for fixed-price forward purchases of crude to replenish the SPR and encourage short-term production. These fixed price contracts, according to Tuesdays statement, will afford producers the assurance to make investments, knowing that the price they receive when they sell to the SPR will be locked in place, and protecting them from price erosion.

The proposal for the fixed price has yet to be finalized, but the Department of Energy is proposing rulemaking this week to allow for these purchases.

By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP)  One of the four first responders killed in last weekend's New Mexico helicopter crash managed to call 911 before succumbing to his injuries, according to emergency dispatch recordings.

Its not clear which crash victim made the call Saturday evening to San Miguel County dispatchers, according to the recordings that were made public on Tuesday. The call sparked a frantic search for the Bernalillo County Sheriffs Office helicopter in the hills near the northern New Mexico community of Las Vegas.

An unidentified dispatcher said over emergency frequencies that the person who calling said they saw dust when the helicopter hit the ground but no smoke or flames. The person also reported that gas was leaking from the aircraft, which was full of fuel because the crew had refueled before taking off for the trip home.

Searchers took more than 30 minutes to find the wreckage, their work complicated by nightfall and increasing difficulties that the initial survivor had in communicating, the dispatch records indicated.

Subject is in a lot of pain and disoriented, a dispatcher said at one point.

State police officers who arrived at the scene first initially reported there were two unresponsive patients and two who had died.

Authorities have said that the helicopter crew had wrapped up a firefighting mission and were returning home to Albuquerque when the crash happened. They had spent a few hours that afternoon dropping buckets of water on a wildfire burning on private land near Las Vegas.

The crew included Bernalillo County Undersheriff Larry Koren, Lt. Fred Beers, Deputy Michael Levison and Bernalillo County Fire Rescue Specialist Matthew King.

The National Transportation Safety Board said earlier this week that the helicopter came down at a high rate of speed, hitting the ground upright before toppling over. Aerial footage of the scene showed mangled wreckage among pinon and juniper trees.

Federal investigators are expected to release a preliminary report about the crash in a the coming weeks and the full investigation could last a year or more.
LOS ANGELES (AP)  The case involving Roman Polanski, who fled the United States after he forced himself on a 13-year-old girl during a photo shoot, has spanned 45 years, sparking court battles on both sides of the Atlantic. On Sunday, The Associated Press obtained an unsealed court transcript of the former prosecutor in the case testifying that the judge privately told lawyers he would renege on a promise and imprison the renowned director.

Here are some key dates in the long-running case, which has kept Polanski living in exile in Europe:

March 10, 1977  Roman Polanski conducts a photo shoot with a 13-year-old girl at Jack Nicholsons house. As she later testifies, Polanski gives the girl champagne and part of a sedative during the shoot, then forced her to have sex. She says she repeatedly told Polanski no during intercourse, but says she did not fight him because she was afraid of him. The girls mother calls police after finding out what happened.

March 24, 1977  A grand jury indicts Polanski on six felony charges, including rape, furnishing a controlled substance to a minor and sodomy. He later pleads not guilty at arraignment.

August 1977  Polanski pleads guilty to unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor and a judge orders the director to undergo further proceedings.

September 1977  A judge orders the director to undergo a 90-day diagnostic screening at a California state prison to help determine sentencing.

January 1978  The diagnostic screening  completed after 42 days  recommends Polanski be placed on probation.

Feb. 1, 1978  Polanski flees the United States on eve of sentencing after learning that Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Laurence Rittenband intended to send Polanski back to prison. An arrest warrant is issued, confining Polanskis movements to France, Poland and Switzerland. Polanski alleges Rittenband met with a prosecutor who was not assigned to the case  without Polanskis lawyer present  to discuss sentencing.

September 1997  A new judge meets with prosecutors and Polanskis attorney to discuss the case in chambers. The meeting is not reported, and elements of the discussion remain in dispute. Polanskis attorney contends the judge wanted Polanskis sentencing hearing televised, which the judge denies. Prosecutors contend Polanski sought to be sentenced without reporters present, which the director denies.

November 2002  Lawyers for Conde Nast Publications successfully unseal grand jury testimony presented in Polanskis case.

March 2003  Polanski wins the best director Academy Award for The Pianist, but is unable to collect his Oscar in person due to an outstanding warrant for his arrest.

December 2008  Polanskis lawyers seek a dismissal of the charges against him. His motion is supported by his victim.

February 2009  A Los Angeles Superior Court judge rejects Polanskis dismissal motion, stating that Polanski must appear in court to resolve his case. The order goes into effect in May 2009.

July 2009  Polanski appeals the February ruling in his case.

September 2009  Polanski is arrested in Switzerland pursuant to a warrant. Extradition proceedings begin.

December 2009  A California court panel rejects Polanskis appeal, ruling that the director must appear in court to resolve his case.

January 2010  Polanskis lawyers request the director be sentenced without being present in Los Angeles.

February and March 2010  A Los Angeles court takes sealed testimony from Roger Gunson, the original prosecutor who handled Polanskis case, about his recollections of the judges 1977 promises to the director.

May 2010  A judge rejects a motion by Polanskis lawyers to unseal Gunsons testimony.

July 2010  Switzerland rejects U.S. request to extradite Polanski, citing its inability to obtain the Gunson testimony.

December 2014  Polanskis lawyers seek an evidentiary hearing to explore the directors allegations of judicial misconduct in Los Angeles. A judge rejects the motion without conducting a hearing.

February 2015  Polanski appears in a Polish court for hours of questioning on whether a U.S. request to extradite the director is valid.

October 2015  A Polish court rejects an effort to extradite Polanski.

May 2016  Polands new justice minister revives extradition proceedings against Polanski.

December 2016  The Polish Supreme Court rules Polanski will not be extradited to the United States.

February 2017  Polanskis attorney seeks an order in Los Angeles to unseal Gunsons testimony. Later motions by Polanski seek an order confirming the director should not serve any additional time behind bars if he returns to Los Angeles. Polanskis lawyer relies on information included in a lengthy Polish court decision.

April 2017  A Los Angeles judge rejects Polanskis requests to be sentenced without returning to court or for a determination he has served his sentence.

June 2017  Polanskis victim, Samantha Geimer, appears in a Los Angeles court to ask a judge to end the case, calling it a 40-year-sentence imposed on both her and the director.

August 2017  A Los Angeles judge rejects Geimers request to end Polanskis case.

May 3, 2018  The film academy announces it has expelled Polanski and Bill Cosby, who was convicted of a sex offense a week earlier, from its membership.

July 13, 2022  A California appeals court orders the unsealing of Gunson's testimony after Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon dropped longstanding objections his predecessors made to its release.

July 17, 2022  The transcript is provided to The Associated Press showing that the prosecutor believed the judge had broken his promises to Polanski.
NEW YORK (AP)  Former Vice President Mike Pence is becoming increasingly brazen in his willingness to counter former President Donald Trump.

The two will hold dueling events in Arizona on Friday as they stump for rival candidates who offer dramatically different visions of the Republican Party in a critical battleground state. Days later, they will once again cross paths as they deliver major speeches on the same day in Washington, D.C.

The encounters mark a more confrontational phase in the fraught relationship between the former running mates and once close confidantes who could soon find themselves competing against one another in the 2024 GOP presidential primary if they both ultimately choose to run.

I think this is a continuation of the larger message that Pence is trying to embody here, which is the Republican Party should look to the future, said Scott Jennings, a longtime party strategist. This is going to be the existential question for the Republican Party: Are we going to listen to a slightly different view than Donald Trumps? Right now, the standard-bearer for this is Mike Pence.

That description marks a striking turnaround for Pence, who spent his four years in the White House as Trumps most loyal defender. But Trump turned on his vice president when Pence refused to go along with his unconstitutional efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, putting Pence in the crosshairs of a violent mob on Jan. 6.

Now Pence, who has repeatedly defended his actions that day, is taking a more active effort to shape the future of the party. This week, Pence endorsed Karrin Taylor Robson in Arizona's Republican gubernatorial primary, pitting himself against Trump, who has endorsed Kari Lake, a former newscaster who has embraced Trump's election lies.

As Arizona Democrats pursue the reckless Biden-Harris agenda, Karrin Taylor Robson is the only candidate for Governor that will keep Arizonas border secure and streets safe, empower parents and create great schools, and promote conservative values, Pence said in a statement announcing his decision.

Pence backed Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, a top Trump target who easily defeated the former presidents hand-picked challenger this spring. But Pences Arizona move showed a willingness to weigh in on a closer and open race in alliance with the states outgoing GOP governor, Doug Ducey, who also rebuffed Trumps efforts to overturn the election.

Pence is planning to campaign with Robson in Phoenix and southern Arizona Friday  the same day that Trump is set to headline a rally for Lake in Prescott Valley that was rescheduled after the death of his first wife, Ivana Trump. Matt Benson, a Robson campaign spokesman, said Pence would be attending an event at a local employer as well as a briefing on border security while in the state.

A Trump spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment on the events.

Trump and Pence will again cross paths next week as the former president returns to the nation's capital for the first time since leaving the White House. Pence will address the conservative Heritage Foundation on Monday evening and will speak at the Young Americas Foundation's annual National Conservative Student Conference on Tuesday morning. That afternoon, Trump will headline a two-day summit organized by the America First Policy Institute and deliver what organizers said would be a policy-focused speech.

Pence, too, will use his speech before the Heritage Foundation to highlight the policy agenda he released earlier this year and to talk about the future of the party, according to aides. The remarks are expected to offer an implicit contrast with Trump, who has spent much of his energy since leaving office on relitigating the 2020 election.

Pence has urged Republicans to move on, even as he continues to tout the accomplishments of what he often describes as the Trump-Pence administration during his frequent appearances.

Pence also huddled privately Wednesday with the Houses Republican Study Committee, the traditionally conservative caucus he once led as a member of Congress, to discuss his policy agenda. During the meeting, Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, thanked Pence for his actions on Jan. 6, according to a person familiar with the exchange who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the closed-door meeting. Pence also committed to helping the GOP in the midterms and in 2024, though he did not explicitly say what role he intends to play.

He then headed to South Carolina for a speech at a Baptist church in South Carolina to discuss the post-Roe world after the Supreme Court overturned constitutional protections for abortions  a position he has long advocated.

Pence's efforts come as Trump is preparing to launch a third campaign for the White House as soon as this summer while he faces a flurry of investigations into his efforts to cling to power. That includes the House Jan. 6 committee, which on Thursday will hold another prime-time hearing, this time spotlighting Trump's refusal to call off the angry mob that stormed the Capitol and sent Pence and other lawmakers into hiding.

While polls show Trump remains the overwhelming favorite in a hypothetical GOP primary, Marc Short, Pences former chief of staff and a top adviser, argued that even if Trump does announce a run, that doesn't necessarily mean he'll be on the ballot two years from now.

As the committee winds down, I'm sure hes looking for a reset that brings attention back on him. And an announcement does not necessarily mean a commitment at the end of that process to continue forward," said Short. I don't think there's any doubt that the president enjoys being the center of attention. And the announcement puts even additional media focus on him."

Trump, meanwhile, has continued to slam Pence for refusing to go along with his scheme to remain in power. At a gathering of Evangelical Christians in Nashville, Tennessee, last month, Trump again said Pence did not have the courage to act," drawing applause.

When it comes to a potential race, Trump does not see Pence as a threat, according to allies, who are much more consumed with Ron DeSantis. The Florida governor is increasingly seen by conservatives as a natural and younger successor to Trump's MAGA movement who can channel the same anger, but with less baggage.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday predicted Trump will face competition in 2024 if he enters the race.

I think were going to have a crowded field for president, he told reporters.

Asked if Pence should run, Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, a frequent Trump critic, said it's up to Pence, who has said he'll make a decision after the midterms. The more the merrier," Romney said.

Jennings, meanwhile, praised Pence for being willing to stand up to Trump when so many others in the party still refuse to cross him.

What Mike Pence is doing is extremely valuable. And whether he is a viable candidate for president, I dont know. But hes certainly earned the right to make the case for a post-Trump future," said Jennings.

He may end up being John the Baptist to someone else," he added. "Headless but remembered well.

Associated Press writers Farnoush Amiri and Alan Fram in Washington and Jonathan J. Cooper in Phoenix contributed to this report.
A helicopter caused about $270,000 in damage when it took down a power line Monday while spraying crops north of Clarinda, Iowa.

The incident occurred about 6 p.m. in the area of 180th Street and Redwood Avenue, Page County Sheriff Lyle Palmer said. Investigators determined that a helicopter owned by JBI Helicopters of Louisiana and flown by Oren W. Perkins of Abbeville, Louisiana, unintentionally cut a power line with its blade.

Perkins, who was not injured, then returned the helicopter to its landing zone in Montgomery County. Deputies notified the FAA of the incident.

The power line is owned by Mid-American Energy, and the transformer is owned by Southwest Iowa Rural Electric Cooperative.
Two people were found dead in a North Omaha home and a third person was taken to a hospital in critical condition Monday night after police responded to a 911 call about an apparent drug overdose.

Officers were called to a home near 30th Street and Larimore Avenue about 6:30 p.m., according to an Omaha police spokesman. Omaha Fire Department medical personnel found a woman down in the living room and administered Narcan to revive her. She then was taken to the Nebraska Medical Center.

A search of the house located John Layton, 35, and Ashley Newburn, 32, dead in the basement.

In February, two women died and a man and a woman were rushed to an Omaha hospital after a possible drug overdose.

Police and firefighters were called to an apartment building near 70th and Hascall Streets before 3 p.m. Feb. 6.

The two women were found dead and the other two were taken to Creighton University Medical Center-Bergan Mercy in serious condition.
President Joe Biden has arrived in South Carolina to begin what's expected to be at least a seven-day vacation with members of his family. The Bidens will be in Kiawah Island, noted for its private beach and golf resort, through Tuesday, according to Federal Aviation Administration advisories. The White House did not respond to requests to provide details on Bidens vacation schedule, activities or when he planned to return to Washington. While Biden is in South Carolina, the House is set to vote to approve a bill full of his priorities, including the most substantial investment in history to fight climate change, some $369 billion over the decade.
MILAN (AP)  Italian vessels have recovered five bodies and rescued 674 people packed on a fishing boat adrift in the Mediterranean off the Libyan coast, the Italian Coast Guard said Sunday, while European charities reported saving more than 500 more.

Some of the survivors had to be plucked from the sea in the Italian operation Saturday that was carried out 120 miles (190 kilometers) off the coast of Calabria by a Navy mercantile ship, three Coast Guard patrol boats and a financial police boat. All of those rescued were brought to ports in Calabria and Sicily.

The causes of death for the five dead were not immediately known.

The Coast Guard said it was just one in a series of rescues in recent days in the Italian search and rescue area of the central Mediterranean, as desperate people fleeing poverty or oppression seek a better life in Europe. In one case, a helicopter was called to evacuate a woman in need of medical treatment from a migrant boat in a precarious condition, the Coast Guard said.

In separate operations, the German charity Sea-Watch said it rescued 444 migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean on overcrowded, rickety smugglers' boats. The Sea-Watch 3 vessel carried out the five operations over 24 hours, and said the rescued included a pregnant woman and a man who had suffered severe burns.

The charity is asking for permission to bring the rescued people to a safe port, as the rescue ship is unable to accommodate so many people.

In addition, the European charity SOS Mediterannee said its rescue ship Ocean Viking have saved 87 people, including 57 unaccompanied minors, from an overcrowded rubber boat off the Libyan coast. None had life jackets, the charity said.

Migrant arrivals in Italy are up by nearly one-quarter from 2021, with 34,013 recorded through Friday.

While still notably fewer than the 2015 peak year, the crossings remain deadly, with 1,234 people recorded dead or missing at sea by the U.N. refugee agency this year, 823 of those in the perilous central Mediterranean.

Follow all AP stories on global migration at https://apnews.com/hub/migration.
WASHINGTON (AP)  Two decades after his arrest, the suspected organizer of a deadly 2000 al-Qaida attack on a U.S. Navy warship faced the possibility of further delays of his Guantanamo trial after his defense lawyer on Monday pressed to be allowed to leave the case over an alleged conflict of interest.

Guantanamo detainee Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri faces a possible death penalty in the killing of 17 U.S. sailors, who died when an explosives-laden skiff blew up alongside the USS Cole off Yemen.

Proceedings before the military commission have been mired in delays and in legal challenges over admissibility of evidence from the torture-aided interrogations of Nashiri and over other circumstances of his trial and detention. Captured in 2002, Nashiri underwent waterboarding, beatings and confinement in a crate in years of CIA custody at clandestine detention facilities.

Questions over the handling of Nashiri's case, like those of five fellow Guantanamo Bay detainees accused of planning and aiding al-Qaida's 9/11 attacks on the United States, have led to a military court still wading through pretrial hearings, constitutional debates and other problems.

There is increasing talk of plea bargains to end all the cases. But it remains unclear where defendants would serve out any sentences.

On Monday, Nashiri's top military lawyer, Navy Capt. Brian Mizer, pressed Judge Col. Lanny Acosta Jr. to allow Mizer to withdraw as Nashiri's attorney, alleging he had a conflict of interest that should bar him from serving on Nashiri's team.

The alleged conflict concerns Mizer's past defense work for a former Guantanamo detainee, Salim Hamdan, an alleged driver for Osama bin Laden. Prosecutors of Nashiri propose to introduce a statement from Hamdan, who is now in Yemen after serving his sentence. It's expected to allege that Hamdan heard Nashiri talking about arranging the attack on the Cole.

Mizer also had information regarding Hamdan's case that Nashiri's defense team should have, but that he could never ethically disclose given his attorney-client confidentiality with Hamdan, Mizer told the judge.

Red lines have been tripped, said Mizer, who was appointed by the military to defend Nashiri. "I have gone as far as I can ethically go ... to assist this defense team."

Acosta, the judge, grilled Mizer on why he was pressing to withdraw only after years on Nashiri's defense in the now 22-year-old attack.

Raising of this issue now  it's questionable why it's raised now, Acosta said, waving an index finger sternly at one point.

Nashiri, in court in Guantanamo in a shirt and gray jacket, spoke up, with the judge's permission.

Based on my understanding there is a conflict with Mr. Mizer. At the same time, I need him. I do not know how this is resolved," Nashiri said, spreading his hands wide in the air.

The military provided closed circuit video of the Guantanamo proceedings at the Pentagon and elsewhere.

The judge said Monday pretrial consideration of whether Hamdan's hearsay testimony against Nashiri could be used in the case would happen no sooner than February 2023.

Acosta also directed Mizer to tell him by Monday, privately, what confidential information he has from representing Hamdan that makes for a conflict in Nashiri's case.

This story was first published on July 25, 2022. It was updated on July 26, 2022 to correct attribution for a comment questioning a conflict of interest claim. The comment was made by the judge, Col. Lanny Acosta Jr., not a defense attorney, Navy Capt. Brian Mizer.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP)  A Texas jury was selected Monday in a civil trial that will determine for the first time how much Infowars host Alex Jones must pay Sandy Hook Elementary School parents for falsely telling his audience that the deadliest classroom shooting in U.S. history was a hoax.

Opening statements are set for Tuesday.

The trial in Austin  where the conspiracy theorist lives and broadcasts his show  follows months of delays. Jones has racked up fines for ignoring court orders and he put Infowars into bankruptcy protection just before the trial was originally set to start in April.

At stake for Jones is another potentially major financial blow that could put his constellation of conspiracy peddling businesses into deeper jeopardy. He has already been banned from YouTube, Facebook and Spotify over violating hate-speech policies.

The trial involving the parents of two Sandy Hook families is only the start for Jones; damages have yet to be awarded in separate defamation cases for other families of the 2012 massacre in Newtown, Connecticut.

The lawsuits do not ask jurors to award a specific dollar amount against Jones, but attorneys for the families suggested they could seek $100 million or more in compensatory and punitive damages.

Family members of the shooting victims and Jones were not in the courtroom Monday.

Were very glad the day is here, said Mark Bankston, attorney for the families suing Jones. Were looking forward to telling our clients story.

During Monday's jury selection, several in the initial pool of more than 100 jury candidates said they held strong beliefs on free speech and questioned whether any punitive damages would be fair. A few others said they would struggle to assign damages that could reach $100 million or higher. Yet others said that although they also believe in the principles of free speech, they would not have a problem assigning damages  even a large amount of money  for blatant falsehoods that might have caused harm.

It is unclear whether Jones will attend any of the scheduled two-week trial. His attorney, Andino Reynal, said Jones has a medical issue that his legal legal team advised him not to be there for jury selection. Reynal didn't elaborate and said it's up in the air whether Jones will be in court.

In questioning the jury pool, Reynal acknowledged Jones is a very polarizing" and controversial figure, but also noted he'd ask the jury to cap damages at $1.

Most of jury pool raised their hand when asked if they had heard of Jones, and nearly two dozen agreed when Reynal asked who among them had a firm negative impression of him.

A total of 16 people were selected for the Texas jury, which includes four alternates. That total panel includes seven women and nine men.

We're very happy with the jury we've seated, Reynal said. It's a very important First Amendment case. On trial right now is not just people's freedom of speech, but it's also people's freedom to listen. To choose what they watch on television, to make those choices for themselves, instead of having a personal injury lawyer make those choices for them."

Courts in Texas and Connecticut have already found Jones liable for defamation for his portrayal of the Sandy Hook massacre as a hoax involving actors aimed at increasing gun control. In both states, judges have issued default judgements against Jones without trials because he failed to respond to court orders and turn over documents.

The Texas trial begins about two months after a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, which is about 145 miles (235 kilometers) southwest of Austin. It was the deadliest school shooting in the nearly 10 years since Sandy Hook.

The 2012 Connecticut shooting killed 20 first graders and six educators. Families of eight of the victims and an FBI agent who responded to the school are suing Jones and his company, Free Speech Systems.

Jones has since acknowledged that the shooting took place. During a deposition in April, Jones insisted he wasnt responsible for the suffering that Sandy Hook parents say they have endured because of the hoax conspiracy, including death threats and harassment by Jones followers.

No, I dont (accept) responsibility because I wasnt trying to cause pain and suffering, Jones said, according to the transcripts made public this month. He continued: They are being used and their children who cant be brought back (are) being used to destroy the First Amendment.

Jones claimed in court records last year that he had a negative net worth of $20 million, but attorneys for Sandy Hook families have painted a different financial picture.

Court records show that Jones Infowars store, which sells nutritional supplements and survival gear, made more than $165 million between 2015 and 2018. Jones has also urged listeners on his Infowars program to donate money.

Initial testimony Tuesday is expected to include Daniel Jewiss, who was the Connecticut State Police lead investigator of Sandy Hook, and Daria Karpova, a producer at Infowars.
The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission has determined that the animal spotted outside a Wahoo home last week was consistent with being a house cat and not a mountain lion.

Homeowner Jody Hunke disagrees. A former farm girl who has owned cats, including a large Maine Coon, she still thinks it was too big to be an indoor or feral feline.

That would have made that Maine Coon look like a little stuffed animal, she said. That thing was big. A house cat is not big.

Sam Wilson, furbearer-carnivore program manager, said that as a scientific agency, Game and Parks requires verifiable evidence to confirm cougar presence.

He said they often do that by reviewing evidence provided, such as videos, images, scat and hair.

They look for details typical of a mountain lion such as the black tip at the end of the tail; that the tail is long and J-shaped so it doesnt drag on the ground; tan body coloration; black spots on the backs of the ears; and a few other details relating to head-to-body ratio.

Then we are also looking to see if the size of the animal is consistent with a mountain lion. If we cant immediately rule out a mountain lion based on obvious features, we often conduct an on-site investigation to determine that the location/background/date/size are accurate, he said.

Sometimes, he said, investigators will look for evidence of a mountain lions presence such as tracks or kill sites or use a trail camera to try to spot it.

Hunke said Game and Parks brought a full-sized cutout of a mountain lion to their home and took pictures to see how it compared to their video and pictures. It was larger than what the couple saw.

If the size fits for a mountain lion and colorations, tail length/shape, and other evidence fits for a mountain lion, then it gets confirmed, Wilson said. If it lacks details typically seen in mountain lions (or shows details not found in mountain lions) and the size does not fit for a mountain lion, then it does not get confirmed.

Hunke thinks the animal she and her husband spotted across the street from their home was a younger mountain lion that was not fully grown.

Game and Parks encourages people to report possible sightings of mountain lions. They can call the nearest Game and Parks office, which can be found at outdoornebraska.org/locations. People can learn more about mountain lions in Nebraska at outdoornebraska.org/mountainlions.
Lincoln mom Arica Bagley has made it to the quarterfinals of the Maxim cover girl competition.

Shes hoping that she and Kaelynn Partlow from the television show Love on the Spectrum can make it all the way to the end.

The winner among the chosen contestants earns $25,000 plus a cover spot with the international mens magazine, which has a monthly circulation worldwide of about 9 million.

We will see if we win this thing, Bagley said. Itd be cool if we did because itd be the first time in history there would be two cover girl winners on the cover instead of just one.

Bagley, who has two children, said they are the only contestants shes seen who are donating the entirety of the prize money. Partlow is an advocate for kids with autism. Bagley is an advocate for abused children.

Bagley, a hairstylist who also is studying film at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, was plucked from thousands of submissions. She now needs votes over the next week to stay in the competition. Go to maximcovergirl.com/2022/arica-bagley to vote.

We really believe in this mission. This advocacy is very important to both of us and it will bring international awareness to these extremely important topics of autistic children and child abuse, Bagley said. We know what it was like to be a child with no voice. That is why we are fighting so hard for this. To be loud for the voiceless.
Much as this may shock younger readers, there was a time, 40 years ago, when seat belt laws were controversial. The notion that the evil government, whether national, state or local, would mandate seat belts was viewed by some as one step away from communism.

Just as weve seen many times since, the issue of You cant tell me what to do! was way more important than Whats the right thing do?

Some people wouldnt admit to opposing seat belt laws from a personal standpoint. They needed a different excuse  seat belts werent just ineffective, they were dangerous.

Here was their claim: They knew somebody who knew somebody whod been in an auto accident. At the moment of impact, just before the car burst into flames, the driver had been thrown out and landed at a distance. They watched as their car exploded.

The person telling the story would then lean forward, scowl and say, and you know, if that guy had been wearing a seat belt, hed be dead! Thats why Ill never wear a seat belt.

Did this actually happen? Who knows? If the window had been open (and it must have been a mighty big window), the exit angle perfect and the ground as soft as a pile of compost, maybe.

Dont get me wrong. Anything is possible. Wherever youre reading this, a piano might come falling out of the sky and land on your head. But its pretty unlikely.

Today, we know from years of experience that if deaths have occurred from wearing a seat belt, those numbers are far fewer than the lives seat belts have saved. The evidence is so compelling that even those whod sworn never to wear one now strap one on without a second thought.

All of this should come to mind when considering Americas last mass shooting (at the rate were going, therell be more by the time this is printed). A gun-carrying citizen killed the shooter in an Indiana mall. The young man who stopped the shooter was praised.

Gun advocates were quick in their response: You see! The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun!

The facts tell a different story.

According to the Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training Center, fewer than 3% of all active shooter incidents over the past 20 years ended with a civilian firing back. The incident in Indiana, along with the tragic mass shooting in Superior, Nebraska, are exceptions rather than the rule.

The notion that if everyone runs around packing a firearm well all somehow be safer doesnt hold water. Weapons dont fire themselves. Theyre fired by human beings. And if youve been around as long as I have, you know humans do incredibly stupid things.

I grew up around guns in rural Missouri. They were no big deal one way or the other. But no one thought of carrying them in malls, grocery stores, churches or restaurants. Back then, if you insulted someone, cut somebody off in traffic or otherwise crossed someone, the worst youd wind up with was a bloody nose or busted lip. People usually cooled off, shook hands and moved on.

That doesnt happen when a gun is involved.

Lets be honest. Most shootings occur because good, upstanding, law-abiding citizens are placed in overwhelmingly stressful situations. They lose their job. Their spouse cheats. Their partner leaves. Someone cuts them off. They think someone has ripped them off.

Put a gun in the mix and you know what comes next. It happens every day.

Yes, mental health is important, and desperately needs more resources. But its not the primary cause of gun violence. A recent Public Pulse writer lamented the fact that suicide is now the third leading cause of death among American young people.

The number one cause? Gunshot wounds.

Despite what many would like to believe, this isnt because American kids are somehow different. Throughout the developed world, young people watch the same television, the same movies, play the same video games, and listen to the same music. Theyre wracked with the same self-doubts, subjected to the same bullying, and feel the same need to prove themselves.

They just dont kill each other nearly as often.

So if you carry a firearm, at least know the facts. Yes, theres always a tiny chance you may use it to take out a bad-guy. But you are much more likely to use that gun  intentionally or unintentionally  on yourself, a family member or someone you know.

Thats not being anti-gun. Thats just being factual.

And while youre at it, you can go without a seat belt, too. Theres always that slim chance youll get thrown out the window. But dont count on it.

The only difference is, by not wearing the seat belt, the only one who gets hurt is you.
WASHINGTON  The Senate unexpectedly launched a new push Wednesday to protect same-sex marriage in federal law after a surprising number of Republicans helped pass landmark legislation in the House. Some GOP senators are already signaling support.

The legislation started as an election-season political effort to confront the new Supreme Court majority after the court overturned abortion access in Roe v. Wade, raising concerns that other rights were at risk. But suddenly it has a shot at becoming law. Pressure is mounting on Republicans to drop their longstanding opposition and join in a bipartisan moment for gay rights.

This legislation was so important, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said as he opened the chamber Wednesday.

The Democratic leader marveled over the Houses 267-157 tally with 47 Republicans  almost one-fifth of the GOP lawmakers  voting for the bill late Tuesday.

Among Nebraskas House delegation, Rep. Don Bacon voted in favor of the bill. Reps. Mike Flood and Adrian Smith voted against it. All three are Republicans.

I want to bring this bill to the floor, Schumer said, and were working to get the necessary Senate Republican support to ensure it would pass.

Political odds are still long for the legislation, the Respect for Marriage Act, which would enshrine same-sex and interracial marriages as protected under federal law. Conservatives including House GOP leaders largely opposed the bill, and the vast majority of Republicans voted against it.

But in a sign of shifting political attitudes and a need for an election-year win, some Republicans are signaling there may be an opening. Few Republicans spoke directly against gay marriage during Tuesdays floor debate in the House. And Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell was notably silent when asked about the bill, saying he would take a look if it comes to the Senate.

So far, the legislation has just two Senate Republican co-sponsors, Susan Collins of Maine and Rob Portman of Ohio. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Thom Tillis of North Carolina are among others closely watched for possible support.

In all 10 Republican senators would need to join with all Democrats to reach the 60 vote threshold to overcome a GOP filibuster.

Were seeing progress on this, and Ill take progress, Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., the bills chief sponsor, told reporters at the Capitol.

The No. 2 Republican, Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, was doubtful Tuesday, calling the proposed legislation little more than a political message.

Social issues including same-sex marriage and abortion have sprinted to the top of the congressional agenda this summer in reaction to the Supreme Courts action overturning Roe v. Wade, a stunning ruling that ended the nearly 50-year-old constitutional right to abortion access. It set off alarms that other rights conservatives have targeted could be next.

While Justice Samuel Alito, writing for the majority, insisted the Roe v. Wade ruling pertained only to abortion access, it demonstrated the new conservative muscle with three Trump-era justices tipping the courts balance. A concurring opinion by Justice Clarence Thomas, who has gained stature in the new majority, raised questions about gay marriage and other rights.

We take Justice Thomas  and the extremist movement behind him  at their word, said Speaker Nancy Pelosi during the House debate. This is what they intend to do.

Both Pelosi and Schumer criticized Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who said over the weekend that the Supreme Courts 2015 Obergefell vs. Hodges decision upholding gay marriage was clearly wrong.

A Gallup poll in June showed broad and increasing support for same-sex marriage, with 70% of U.S. adults saying they think such unions should be recognized by law. The poll showed majority support among both Democrats (83%) and Republicans (55%).

The Respect for Marriage Act would repeal the Clinton-era Defense of Marriage Act, which put into federal law the definition of marriage as a heterosexual union between a man and woman. That 1996 law was largely overshadowed by subsequent court rulings, including Obergefell vs. Hodges in 2015, legalizing gay marriage nationwide.
Should there be a recession, here's how it may affect your finances and what steps you can take to protect yourself.
BLOOMINGTON  Five Central Illinois counties are getting state funding to improve the technology and resources available for litigants who represent themselves in court.

The Administrative Office of Illinois Courts, through its Access to Justice Office, awarded two Self-Represented Litigant Coordinator grants of almost $32,000 to courts in the Eleventh Illinois Judicial Circuit. Woodford County received a grant for $11,943.22, and $20,000 was awarded to Ford, Livingston, Logan, and McLean counties, officials said.

Of those funds, the McLean County Law and Justice Center received about $2,800 to help upgrade computers in the justice center's law library on the sixth floor, said Eleventh Judicial Circuit trial court administrator William Scanlon.

Livingston County plans to focus grant money on improving the courthouse's information area for self-represented litigants, and Logan County will focus their grant money on an additional litigant workspace.

Ford County plans to add a new computer, scanner and printer that litigants can use. Woodford County plans to add a fourth public access e-filing station along with other improvements to help litigants.

Logan and Woodford counties also each hosted their first JusticeCorps Fellows, who are AmeriCorps volunteers placed in courthouses around Illinois to help people without lawyers navigate the civil justice system.

This is the fourth grant year for the Eleventh Illinois Judicial Circuit.
MOWEAQUA  Mike Potsick didnt have the opportunity to meet his father in person.

Three months before he was born, his father died in the Moweaqua Coal Mine disaster 90 years ago.

But Ive lived here my entire life, he said.

This year marks the anniversary of the disaster, an event that took the lives of 54 miners on Christmas Eve 1932. Potsicks father, as well as one of his older brothers, perished.

West Cherry Street, the road leading up to the monument honoring the mens lives, was dedicated on Sunday, with the name Coal Miners Way.

This is an honorary name, said Moweaqua Mayor Shawn Conlin.

Although only a few community members remember that day, many of those on hand to witness the dedication heard the stories from their loved ones who survived the disaster or lived in the community at the time. Historical information is available at the Moweaqua Coal Mine Museum on South Main Street.

This was during the height of the depression, said Debbie Adams Arnold, whose grandfather, Ira Adams, was one of only two miners who survived that day. Jobs were very hard to find.

The Potsick home was near the opening of where the mine once stood. The last of 17 children, Potsick still lives in the house. Theres probably layers of untold stories in this house, said his daughter Susan Newhouse. Moweaqua is a really tight-knit community. Ive always worried that that part is starting to slip away.

Although she lives in Naperville, Newhouse was raised in the southside home as well. Its a pretty quiet end of town, she said about her childhood neighborhood. To see that recognition really means a lot.

Former Moweaqua Mayor Boomer Neece presented the idea of dedicating the southside corner in honor of the historical event. The seed was planted probably nine months ago, Conlin said. I thought it was a wonderful idea. It was definitely something we needed to do.

The village board passed resolution 2022-R1 on June 14, authorizing the street name.

Newhouses son Roman will be leaving for college soon. Although he was raised near Chicago, he admits he will be taking his heritage with him.

My mom, thankfully, has made it her obligation to make sure I never forget where I came from and where my family came from, he said. Im thankful to have commemorations like this to dedicate to future generations, why its so important that we talk about our past. I know I have a hard working past. I have people in my family that wont give up. It keeps me working.
BLOOMINGTON  Hundreds gathered downtown on Monday to celebrate disability pride and diversity.

It was a turnout that delighted organizers of Marcfirst's annual Disability Pride Parade. The Normal-based agency that assists people with disabilities was joined by several other advocacy organizations in a procession north on Main Street, from Washington to Market streets.

"Its really important to see people with disabilities having fun while representing themselves at the same time," said Jack Pennoyer, Marcfirst transition program coordinator. "Seeing all the people on the sides of the road from the community is neat too."

July is Disability Pride Month, not to be confused with March, which is Disability Awareness Month. Pride month is celebrated every July in recognition of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which was signed into law in July 1990.

Bloomington Police Chief Jamal Simington and Assistant Chief Ken Bays led Monday's procession. "This is good for me," Bays said, smiling. "This is good for my soul."

Simington added, "This is their day, and we're glad to take part in it." He said the parade was an opportunity to "seize the moment, be a part of the community."

Annie Downey, developmental training program director for Marcfirst, said she was pleased with the turnout. "It was so exciting," she said, "because that was something that we were, like, not worried, but also didn't know how many people were going to come out."

Pennoyer said he did not think there would be much of a turnout but was surprised to see everyone show their support and enjoy their morning with a parade downtown.

Despite the overcast skies and the time of the parade, Downey said it was a success. "It's a Monday morning, you don't know how many people are going to come," she said. "So it was great to see community presence."

Downey said Marcfirst has events all month long, including an ice cream social from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. Wednesday at 1606 Hunt Dr. in Normal.

"It's free to the public," Downey said, and they will be serving Carl's Ice Cream.

Mateusz Janik contributed to the reporting.
Watching the Jan. 6 committee hearings, one could be forgiven for believing we're living in the heyday of conspiracy theories, between the Holocaust denialism of the Oath Keepers, the loony pedophilia fears of the QAnoners and the "Stop the Steal" ravings of Sidney Powell, Rudolph W. Giuliani and former President Donald Trump himself.

But don't be too sure. Conspiracy theories have a long history. They date back to the Emperor Nero and the great fire of Rome, for instance, and to the ritual murder accusations against Jews in medieval Europe. They're as American as the witchcraft trials in Salem, Massachusetts.

Assassinations spawn them too, from Abraham Lincoln's (which was a conspiracy but presumably not orchestrated, as some suggested, by either the pope or Secretary of War Edwin Stanton) to John F. Kennedy's (which was carried out by Lee Harvey Oswald, not by Vice President Lyndon Johnson or the CIA).

These days, it's true, people seem especially resistant to expertise, science, the media and elected officials, and have turned to conspiratorial thinking to make sense of the world.

And the rise of the internet and social media have magnified unfounded "alternative versions" of events and spread them through the population.

Did you know, for instance, that the attempted murder in 2012 of Malala Yousafzai, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Pakistani activist, was not orchestrated by the Taliban but by her father and the CIA and carried out by a man who looked suspiciously like Robert De Niro disguised as an Uzbek homeopath?

Some people apparently believed that after misreading a satirical article in a Pakistani newspaper.

Did you know the Denver International Airport sits above an underground city that is the headquarters of the New World Order, a shadowy group planning to take over the world?

Loopy? Of course it is.

But how much more far-fetched are those theories than the assertion from QAnon adherents that a cabal of Satan-worshipping elites who run a child sex ring are trying to control American politics and media? That's as nutty as they come. Yet these tenets are believed by as many as 1 in 4 Republicans, polls show.

Conspiracy theories often focus on news events, such as school shootings or the 9/11 attacks. Over the years, people have believed the moon landing was faked, that alien visitations were hushed up and that Elvis Presley and Osama bin Laden were not actually dead  but Paul McCartney was.

Unfounded rumors have focused on Catholics, Jews, Mormons, the Illuminati and Freemasons, among others.

It's very common that conspiracy theories involve unprovable allegations about a small group of powerful people working secretly to undermine the common good.

Some people believe conspiracy theories because they're searching for a coherent explanation for seemingly incomprehensible events, seeking patterns where they may or may not exist.

Some are deeply skeptical of authority, which they believe has misled them or ill-served them. Why, they ask, should we trust that vaccines will help us or that climate change is real?

Often conspiracy theories get traction because of "confirmation bias," in which people believe things that confirm what they already thought or theorized. So Republicans may believe assertions that Democrats stole the 2020 election, while Democrats are more likely to believe that Russian President Vladimir Putin has a secret file of compromising information on Trump.

Often believers are unmoved by evidence that disproves their theories.

Part of the appeal of QAnon, I think, is that people find it fun. I've spent hours reading the posts of QAnon adherents, and for them, it's like a video game or TV thriller. They're suddenly characters and participants in a drama, part of a community heroically unraveling a mystery and saving the world.

How they've so totally conflated fact with fiction I can't explain.

Are they more likely to be politically to the left or to the right? Apparently there are conflicting studies.

Obviously, it is irresponsible for leaders like Donald Trump to encourage groundless theories  as when he hinted that President Barack Obama was born in Kenya or that Ted Cruz's father was connected to the Kennedy assassination.

Does Trump actually believe this nonsense or is he cynically exploiting it? We may never know. But the damage is done either way.
Leading digital payment solutions provider Network International has announced it will bring WhatsApp for Business banking services to financial institutions across Africa through a landmark collaboration with Infobip.



The full-stack cloud communications company is one of the worlds largest providers of A2P SMS services and will support Network International in its commitment to financial inclusion across Africa.



In addition to helping financial institutions reach their customers through a familiar and reliable channel, the agreement will help them deliver world-class support and seamless services in a personal, timely, and reliable manner.



For individuals this means people can access their money securely and quickly, as well as utilising the latest chatbot technology to help empower customers to take control of their finances.



Commenting on the deal, Network Internationals Hany Fekry, Group Managing Director  Processing, said, We are delighted to introduce WhatsApp banking across Africa with Infobip.



Helping financial institutions reach customers through a secure and familiar app is in line with our goal to increase and improve digital banking services across the continent to improve financial inclusion.



Hana Bilbeisi, Regional Head of Partnerships Sales, Infobip further added, We are delighted to have joined forces with Network International. Empowering individuals and communities through technology and communication is one of our key values at Infobip.



By integrating WhatsApp Business API, Network International customers can now access crucial information anytime, anywhere.



Network International is a leading enabler of digital commerce across the Middle East and Africa, providing a full suite of technology-enabled payment solutions to merchants and financial institutions of all types and sizes.



With offices in Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, and Egypt, Network International has a presence across Africas key markets, and the business operates across almost all other African countries.



Network International has worked closely with governments and financial institutions in Africa to promote financial inclusion, helping to drive digitisation through innovative products and collaborations such as this one.



Earlier this year Network International announced a 33% increase in year-on-year revenue for Q1 2022, and in 2021, Network International acquired DPO Group in a landmark deal for the African payments landscape.



Network International



Network International comprises a group of companies and is the leading enabler of digital commerce across the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region, providing a full suite of technology-enabled payments solutions to merchants and financial institutions of all types and sizes, including acquiring and processing services and a comprehensive ever-evolving range of value-added services. Network International Holdings Plc (LSE: NETW) is the holding company for Network International and the group companies, including the DPO Group.



Infobip



Infobip is a global cloud communications platform that enables businesses to build connections across all stages of the customer journey. Accessed through a single platform, Infobips omnichannel engagement, contact center, chatbot and identity solutions help businesses and partners overcome the complexity of consumer communications to grow business and increase loyalty.



With over fifteen years of industry experience, Infobip has expanded to 70+ offices across six continents. It offers natively built technology with the capacity to reach over seven billion mobile devices and things in 190+ countries, connected directly to over 700 telecom networks. Infobip was established in 2006 and is led by its co-founders, CEO Silvio Kutic, Roberto Kutic and Izabel Jelenic.



Recent recognition includes:



 Omdia Ranks Infobip as Leader in CPaaS Universe Report (May 2022)



 Infobip recognised as the established leader in Junipers Competitor Leaderboard for CPaaS, 2021



 Infobip ranked leading service provider in the mobile messaging space by Juniper Research in its new Competitor Leaderboard, 2021



 Infobip named a Leader in the IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Communications Platform-as-a-Service (CPaaS) 2021 Vendor Assessment (doc #US46746221, May 2021)



 Best A2P SMS provider for the fourth year running by mobile operators and enterprises in ROCCOs annual Messaging Vendor Benchmarking Report 2021



 Best CPaaS Provider of the Year, Best RCS Provider of the Year, and Mover & Shaker in Telco Innovation at the 2021 Juniper Digital Awards

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 High Court in Hohoe in the Volta Region has thrown out one Nana Obiri Kwadjo who is said to be parading himself as the Youth Leader (Nnyasubi Owie) of the Nkonya Wurupong traditional area.



Nana Obiri Kwadjo, whose authority is being challenged filed a Counterclaim after Nana Komla Akploah II, the Adontenhene of Nkonya Wurupong had sued him for purportedly holding himself as the youth leader (Mmratehene).



The plaintiff Nana Komla Akpoah ll Adontenghene of Nkonya Wurupong Traditional Area.in the substantive application is seeking declaratory and injunction reliefs against the Defendant (Nana Obiri) over the legitimacy of his role.



But, moments after entering his appearance, the Defendant (Nana Obiri) filed a Counter application and asked the court to strike out the initial application against him for lack of jurisdiction.



However, his request for the court to strike out the substantive matter was dismissed.



By Court



The court presided over by Justice Ayitey Armah-Tetteh in its ruling on July 5, 2022, dismissed his application.



"The Applicant (Defendant) has not told the court which family or lineage he is from that has the sole right to be made the Mmratehehene of Nnyasubi or Youth leader within the Nkonya Wuropong Traditional area.



"The Youth leader within the Wurupong Traditional area as presently constituted and not hailing from any particular family or lineage within the Wurupong Traditional area cannot be a chief within the meaning of a chief as defined by Article 277 of the 1992 constitution and repeated verbatim in section 57(1) of Act 759 and as such any issue about his nomination, election installation or who has the right to nominated him cannot be a cause or matter affecting chieftaincy as provided for in section 76 of Act 759 section 117 of Act 459."



The court stated further that, "the plaintiff's claim as endorsed on the writ of summons is not a cause or matter affecting chieftaincy and is properly before the court.



"The court will therefore decline the invitation of the Defendant/Applicant to strike out the suit for lack of jurisdiction. The application is therefore declined."



Counterclaim



The Defendant in his Counterclaims sought the following reliefs.



a. A Declaration that the Plaintiff has neither traditional function nor vested power to appoint and install Mbrateahene and or Youth Leader in the Nkonya Wurupong Traditional Area.



b. A further declaration that the power to appoint and or install a Youth Leader and or Mbrateahene is a preserve of the paramount chief of the Traditional Area Nana Kwadwo Asiakwa II and with the aid of his council of elders.



c. A declaration that the Plaintiff as an Adontehene does not have as part of his traditional function the right to appoint and install Mbrateahene in the Traditional Area, neither vested power to appoint and install Mbratehene and for that matter lacked the requisite capacity to bring this action before the court.



d. General damages for affecting the peace and psyche of Defendant.



e. An order of perpetual injunction to restrain the Plaintiff, his family, clan and all other like minds from ever claiming authority and right to appoint and install Mbrateahene of the Nkonya Wurupong Traditional Area.

Your browser does not support iframes.

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 West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has given the assurance that all preparations towards the 2022 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) are on course, with the pre-printing of candidates details on the objective answer cards on-going.



Additionally, WAEC has moved the depots, where examinations question papers will be stored closer to examination centres by increasing the numbers to reduce the time taken in moving the question papers from depots to the centres.



Preparation

The Head of the National Office of WAEC, Wendy Enyonam Addy-Lamptey, who disclosed this to the Daily Graphic said all depots have been inspected and the necessary fortification and refurbishment are being done to ensure that they meet the security requirements.



She said the council was organising fora to sensitise a cross-section of candidates to the rules and regulations for the conduct of the examination.



We are making sure that the schools with high numbers of irregularities last year are included, she said, adding that a webinar would be held on the topic, Promoting examination ethics in our schools.



Mrs Addy-Lamptey hinted that this year, school candidates caught indulging in examination malpractice will be named and shamed during the conduct of the examination.



The council will also give regular updates on the conduct of the examination to ensure the proper education of our public, she added.



Rogue websites



She cautioned candidates and the general public on the activities of rogue websites, WhatsApp and telegram groups, alerting the public that the scammers had already started their ploys to attract candidates.



Some have created sites requesting candidates to download the examination timetable. In doing so, they store the candidates' contact numbers to be able to get to them during the examination.



It has been noted that a number of these timetables have errors. All schools have been provided with hard copies of the timetable, and candidates are urged to use these or access it from the WAEC website, the HNO advised the candidates.



Malpractice



Mrs Addy-Lamptey revealed that WAEC had received a number of letters from students, tutors and some concerned citizens in communities informing it of monies being taken from candidates with promises of helping them during the examination.



She promised that the WAEC would be engaging those schools involved in the act, and would monitor them closely during the examination, saying that a list of the schools would also be submitted to the Ghana Education Service (GES).



Mrs Addy-Lamptey gave the assurance that WAEC was working with all the security agencies to enable it to track and arrest dealers and scammers who might be operating.





We are also appealing to the telcos to readily provide information to the security agencies to facilitate their work, she pleaded.



Advice to candidates



While wishing the candidates success in the upcoming examinations, she assured them that they could pass their examinations without cheating, adding, we urge our candidates to prepare well for the examinations, knowing that it is within their scope.



The key to excellent performance is advance preparation, obeying the rules and regulations of the examination, paying attention to the rubrics in the question papers, reading all your questions before selecting the right ones, and generally not wasting time on one question with the intention of killing the question so to speak, and further advised the candidates.



Mrs Addy-Lamptey called for support from all stakeholders, heads of school, tutors, invigilators, security agencies, media and all others to play their roles and support us promote examination ethics in our schools. It is a collective responsibility.

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
Only 17 per cent of Volta Regions targeted population of 1.34 million have so far been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.



With a total population of 1.95million, only about a quarter of the target population have received one dose of the vaccine, while 11.8 per cent have taken their first booster jabs.



Health authorities have attributed the high level of the COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in the region to widespread misinformation, disinformation and misconceptions about the vaccine among the populace.



The Regional Coordinator of the Expanded Programme in Immunisation (EPI), Emmanuel Bonsu, speaking at a media engagement and stakeholders meeting on COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy in Ho, said as of July 21, the Regional Directorate of Health had received a total 192, 7454 vaccines, comprising Astra Zeneca, Pfizer BionTech, Moderna and J&J (Jansen).



However, 42 per cent of the vaccines expired due to the very low uptake among the people.



Open threats



Throwing more light on the challenges, Mr Bonsu said immunisation teams in the region sometimes faced open threats of harm in some communities from locals unwilling to get vaccinated against COVID-19.



According to him, some people had also misconstrued the presidents easing of the COVID-19 protocols as an end to the pandemic, and for that matter, disregarded the safety precautions.



Mr Bonsu said there was the urgent need to intensify risk communication, social mobilisation and periodic intensification of routine COVID-19 vaccination in the communities and at all health facilities.



A Member of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Health, Charles Agbeve, said the vaccine hesitancy situation in the region was a great cause for worry.



This is more so, considering the fact that a whopping amount of GH200million was recently approved by Parliament to procure COVID-19 vaccines," he said.



Mr Agbeve, who is the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament (MP) for Agotime-Ziope, urged the populace to ignore trending social media fallacies on the vaccine and go for the jab, which may come at a cost in future.



Another member of the select committee, Alex Hortodze, who is the NDC MP for Central Tongu, expressed similar sentiments and said it took healthy citizens to build a strong nation.



The acting Regional Director of Health, Dr Senanu Kwesi Djokoto, pointed out that COVID-19 easily afflicted those with less immunity against it and that made the vaccination important.



The Paramount Chief of Ziavi, Togbe Kwaku Ayim IV, who presided over the meeting, attributed the vaccine hesitancy partly to disrespect for state authority by some citizens.



I have taken the vaccine and I am still alive, so others can also go for it now, he added.

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 Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral Project, Apostle Prof. Opoku Onyinah, has said that there is nothing shrouded in secrecy about the construction of the National Cathedral.



He was unhappy about the misconception peddled by some individuals that is further polluting the minds of Ghanaians about the importance of the project.



Prof. Opoku Onyinah who spoke exclusively to Peacefmonline.com in Kumasi during a temple dedication of the Pentecost International Worship Centre (PIWC Asokwa) noted that the President pledged to do four things in support of its construction, i.e provide land, seed money, an architect and also establish a Secretariat.



All these commitments have been met by the President and that the remaining works are also left in the hands of the Board of Trustees and its Technical Committee.



He further charged the public should not worry about the monetary matters for the construction of the national cathedral.



"The project is being supervised by experienced men of God who will ensure prudent management of financial resources," he noted.



About Asokwa PIWC



The PIWC Asokwa, began its journey in 1986 by holding church service in a classroom block at Yaa Achiaa Girls JHS at Roman Hill in Kumasi with obviously few membership.



Due to difficulties in securing a convenient and conducive place of worship, the church had hold services and meetings in different areas such as Amakom, Asawase and subsequently Asokwa, their current and permanent location.



Today, the church can boast of over 2,500 membership with plans expanding it to reach out to as many as possible through evangelism.



Resident Minister, Apostle Dr. Joseph Ignatius Teye Buertey, in an interview disclosed that with the years ahead, they have resolved to intensify evangelism to win more souls for the kingdom of God.



"We are also keen about deepening the faith of our members to be deeply rooted in the word of God," he added.



Chief of Amakom, Nana Adu Mensah urged the church to consider establishing a school. He said this will help build the human resource of the country for national development.



The Municipal Chief Executive for Asokwa, Hon. Akwannuasa Gyimah also implored on churches in the country to be on high alert and security consciousness in the wake of terrorism threats in neighboring countries.





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
At least five people were killed and about 50 wounded in anti-United Nations protests in Democratic Republic of Congo's eastern city of Goma on Tuesday, a government spokesman said.



A Reuters reporter saw U.N. peacekeepers shoot two demonstrators dead.



The violence took place on the second day of protests against the peacekeeping mission MONUSCO for failing to protect civilians in a region marred by decades of militia violence.



"At least 5 dead, around 50 wounded (in Goma)," government spokesman Patrick Muyaya said in a tweet,



without saying who was responsible.



Hundreds of demonstrators attacked and looted a MONUSCO warehouse in Goma on Monday demanding that the mission leave the country and the protests flared again on Tuesday. read more



The Reuters reporter at the scene said peacekeepers fired tear gas and live bullets at a largely peaceful crowd, killing two and wounding at least two others.



Army and police officers deployed to the scene did not open fire. A soldier and a policeman in a bulletproof vest were also hit by bullets, he added.



A MONUSCO spokesman was not available for comment.



The mission has been gradually withdrawing for years.



Resurgent clashes between local troops and the M23 rebel group in east Congo have displaced thousands. Attacks by militants linked to Islamic State have also continued despite a year-long state of emergency and joint operations against them by the Congolese and Ugandan armies.



MONUSCO - the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo - took over an earlier peacekeeping operation in 2010.



It had over 12,000 troops and 1,600 police deployed in Congo as of November 2021.

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
Mr John Peter Amewu, Member of Parliament (MP) for Hohoe Constituency and Minister of Railway Development, has called on the youth not to be in a hurry to get to the top since there are no shortcuts to anywhere.



Once you identify your talent, the next thing to do is to become patient and learn from successful leaders who have the same character and talent. Take your time, learn your talent, and examine the examples of future leaders with similar talents.



Mr Amewu, addressing students from the St. Francis College of Education, Hohoe E.P Senior High School and the St. Teresas College of Education on leadership during the NUGS Talk maiden edition of the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) in Hohoe.



He said although some young people identified their talents early in life, it does not mean they were ready for the next level.



He said leadership was all about service, adding that it would be a misjudgement on part of the youth to have in mind that they would become leaders in order to lord over others.



Mr Amewu urged the youth to sometimes sacrifice their time, energy and financial resources for the people they were persevering to lead because the people they want to lead, were aspiring to derive some element of satisfaction from the leadership skills the leader identified.



He said although as youth leaders, they were bound to face challenges that could hinder the implementation of their dreams, it was imperative for them to explain themselves in an honest manner to regain the trust of their followers.



Mr Amewu said leadership thrived on trust hence it is important for leaders to exhibit trustworthy life and let their actions reflect their true intentions and they must also become passionate about their visions.



He said it was important for leaders to accept mistakes, take responsibility for their actions and must not apportion blames to their team members adding that leaders must be bold to take risks.



Mr James Etornam Flolu, Afadzato South District Chief Executive (DCE), noted that young people must take advantage of the job market and whatever they decided to do, they must execute it effectively.



He said they must not be pressured to do things they could not do, adding that dont be pressured to start entrepreneurship when you dont know what it takes to start a business.



Mr Flolu advised the youth to take advantage of governments intervention programmes that aimed at developing the youth of the country and make good use of such interventions.



Mr Bright Aboagye Gyasi, the Press and Info Secretary, NUGS, noted that the Union was in collaboration with the National Security Ministry to sensitise their members to become aware of issues of national security and serve as ambassadors.



He said people were now engaged in many activities to the extent that they became unaware of security threats that may be around them.



Mr Gyasi said students must as a matter of urgency say something when they see something as well as alert security agencies in handling security-related issues nationwide.



NUGS Talk editions will be held nationwide to continue to provide a platform to bring on board seasoned speakers to inspire members of the Union to enhance their leadership dreams for the future.





Source: GNA









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has disconnected Obaas Golden Plaza, a hotel operating at New Abirem in the Birim North District of the Eastern Region for engaging in illegal connection.



The Company disconnected power supply to the facility after detecting an illegal meter by-pass last Thursday following a surveillance of the hotel by the Loss Control Unit.



Obaas Plaze therefore been surcharged with an amount of GH58,544.41, being the cost of energy recovered from the illegal connection, while it is expected to settle all its indebtedness to the Company before being re-connected, which is GH546,268.18.



The discovery of the illegal connection came a day after the Company had extended a one-month moratorium to its customers who have indulged in any form of illegal activities to own up and visit the ECG offices for amicable settlement to avoid prosecution.



The General Manager of Eastern Region ECG, Ing. Michael Baah, who made this known in Koforidua on Monday, said the Company will not relent in its efforts to chase individuals and organisations that have engaged in illegal connection in the region.



According to him, the Revenue Protection Unit in the Region, has the mandate to inspect all meters in the region to expose illegal power consumers for naming and shaming as was stipulated in the Moratorium.

This should serve as a warning to all those who have indulged in any form of illegality. We are coming for you.



There is no way you can escape our radar, and once you are arrested, we will hand you over to the law enforcement agencies for prosecution, He added

Source: Michael Akrofi - Despite Media E\R









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
Ken Ofori Atta, the Finance Minister, has revealed that out of the 296 One District One Factory (1D1F) projects undertaken since 2017, 125 are currently operational across the country.



The One District One Factory initiative is a key component of the industrial transformation agenda of the NPP Government



The programme seeks to equip and empower communities to utilize their local resources in manufacturing products that are high in demand, both locally and internationally.



Presenting the mid-year budget review in Parliament on Monday July 25 2022, Finance Minister, Ken Ofori Atta said Akufo-Addos vision to see Ghana producing what we use for ourselves and our neighbours as well is unfolding.



He added that Ghanas industrialisation agenda is progressing steadily and called for more investors.



Ken Ofori Atta also reiterated governments decision to support 1D1F firms with technical assistance, tax incentives and access to credit, including interest payment subsidy.



The Presidents vision to see Ghana producing what we use for ourselves and our neighbours as well is unfolding right before our very eyes.



Out of 296 1D1F projects undertaken since 2017, 125 are currently operational across the country.



Our industrialisation agenda is progressing steadily and we will urge more investors, he said.



To see the current global supply chain challenges as rather an opportunity to invest in Ghana.



Government will continue to support 1D1F firms with technical assistance, tax incentives and access to credit, including interest payment subsidy support to de-risk lending to create jobs, he said.

Source: GNA









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
John Dramani Mahama has said that there would have been a better approach to the handling of the economic mess the country is currently facing had the late former president of Ghana, John Evans Atta Mills, been at the wheel.



The former president explained that instead of the attempts by the incumbent, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, and his officials to downplay the magnitude of hardships in the country, this is something the late former president would have done better, adding a human face to things.



John Mahama was speaking at an event organized by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to mark the 10th anniversary of the passing of John Evans Atta Mills.



Having known Professor Mills quite well, I know that if it was he who was confronted with these problems while he led this country, he would not have chosen the path of obstinacy and denial. Hed have chosen the path of respect for the people of Ghana and he would have taken responsibility to fix the problems.



He would have effected cost corrections and made the changes necessary. Hed have treated Ghanaians with great sensitivity and hed not have sought to shift the blame onto others. hed not have argued with his own people - the people he governs, who are enduring the hardships, and invent the most elaborate and implausible rationalization for why theyre going through those excruciating hardships.



Those to whom the people of Ghana entrust their mandate have much to learn from this distinguished statesman of blessed memory, he said.

















Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, has stated that numerous attempts have been made to get Dome Kwabenya Member of Parliament Sarah Adwoa Safo to return to the country but all proved futile.



In an interview with Accra-based Okay FM, the Suame MP detailed that in of such instance, an unnamed revered person who is a close associate of Sarah Adwoa Safos family went to visit her abroad in a bid to persuade her to return but was unsuccessful.



According to Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, the Dome Kwabenya MP said she did not have time to return to the country.



Post the visit of the revered person, the Majority Leader said that Sarah Adwoa Safo reached out to him saying that her return to the country was imminent however Covid-19 testing abroad was frustrating her.



He stated that he was in contact with Adwoa Safo but failed to return even though she indicated she will be in the country by Easter.



A respected person who is even friends with her father went to see Adwoa Safo [to] appeal to her. The respected person spent two weeks there. In the end, she didnt come. She said she doesnt have time to come to Ghana. She didnt come.



I was the when she called me and told me shes on her way but Covid test [frustrating her]. She sounded like she was at the airport already and it was only left with the Covid test to be done for her but they were saying a lot of things.



They said she didnt come early so unless she goes home and comes the following day before they can do it for her. In the course of that, she said she has moved the test to the weekend. The weekend too she said she thought they will do the Covid test for her. The matter was complicated.



The day she went, it was a public holiday so they couldnt do it for her and for that reason it had to move to the following day again. All this time I was engaging her on that. In the end, I wasnt hearing from Adwoa Safo for 2 weeks on whether or not she has been successful with the Covid test to allow her to come back to Ghana.



During that time, she mentioned that she will come back during Easter. This was in the first meeting of Parliament. She didnt come during Easter. May, June, and July is ending and she hasnt come. When she says shes been politically witch-hunted, I dont understand her, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said.



Sarah Adwoa Safo has been absent from Parliament since the beginning of this year.



According to her, she needs time off to sort out family issues abroad.



Her absence made the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, direct her together with two other MPs to appear before the Privileges to respond to why they have been absent without permission



While the two MPs, Kennedy Agyapong and Henry Quartey appeared, appeared Sarah Adwoa Safo did not appear.











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
Hardly visible to the naked eye: More than 300,000 different RNA molecules are bound in the center of this glass plate, here divided into four spatially separated sections. Credit: Erika Schaudy

Biochips (microarrays) are modern analytical tools that allow thousands of individual detections to be performed simultaneously in a small amount of sample material. A team led by Mark Somoza from the Faculty of Chemistry at the University of Vienna has now presented a new method in Nature Communications. With this method, commercially available DNA chips can be quickly and easily converted into RNA chips, which are otherwise much more difficult to produce. Such RNA microarrays help to elucidate the still unknown functions of RNA molecules in cellsan important prerequisite for advancing the diagnosis and treatment of diseases such as cancer.

DNA and RNA are both nucleic acids; their best known tasks in our cells are the long-term storage of genetic information in the form of DNA, and RNA as an intermediate species in the biosynthesis of proteins. Commercially available DNA microarrays are used by default to perform high-throughput genome analyses. For example, they are regularly used in the diagnosis of various hereditary diseases and cancer. They consist of a solid carrier, for example a small glass plate, on which a large number of different DNA molecules are bound. The special feature is, on the one hand, that for each of these variants their exact position on the surface is known. On the other hand, they can be extremely densely packed, so that hundreds of thousands of different DNA strands can fit on the surface of a thumbnail.

RNA chip production has been difficult up to now

The commercial production of DNA chips is based on the stepwise concatenation of individual DNA building blocks. Although this production method has long been established, it can only be transferred to the synthesis of RNA microarrays to a limited extent. This is because RNA molecules are significantly more unstable. In addition, the individual RNA building blocks bind to each other with less efficiency than their DNA equivalents when building the RNA strand. This effect limits the possible length of the RNA strand. "However, to study the still unknown roles of cellular RNA molecules in particular, chips with significantly longer RNA strands are required than previously achievable with chemical synthesis of RNA microarrays. Our new method now solves this problem," explains first author Erika Schaudy, a young scientist in Mark Somoza's group at the Institute of Inorganic Chemistry at the University of Vienna.

Targeted use of enzymes makes it possible

As the Viennese research team has now shown, the DNA sequences available on commercial chips can be rewritten into their complementary RNA strands in a length-independent manner through the targeted use of enzymes. Further enzymes then selectively degrade the DNA templates resulting in an RNA chip.

"The outstanding thing is that the fabrication method we developed is based solely on commercially available materials and reagents. Specialized laboratory equipment is unnecessary. This now enables researchers from a wide range of disciplines to produce themselves RNA microarrays that are precisely tailored to their scientific questions," says Schaudy.

Mark Somoza, who also heads a research group at the Leibniz Institute for Food Systems Biology at the Technical University of Munich, adds that "with this fast and easy-to-perform methodology, we have also created an important basis for further potential applications. For example, RNA technology could equally help to investigate the influence of food compounds on cellular processes and thus human health."

Explore further First electric nanomotor made from DNA material

More information: Erika Schaudy et al, Simple synthesis of massively parallel RNA microarrays via enzymatic conversion from DNA microarrays, Nature Communications (2022). Journal information: Nature Communications Erika Schaudy et al, Simple synthesis of massively parallel RNA microarrays via enzymatic conversion from DNA microarrays,(2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-31370-9
Vietnam to complete Covid-19 vaccination for children aged 5-12 by August

The Ministry of Health has urged localities to complete Covid-19 vaccinations for children aged between 5-12 by August at the latest.













Illustrative photo



In an official dispatch sent on July 25 to the health ministry and the peoples committees of provinces and cities nationwide, Deputy PM Vu Duc Dam requested the completion of Covid-19 inoculation for children aged between 5 - 11 in August, as well as the administration of the third shot for those aged 12 - 17, as well as the third and fourth doses to people aged 18 and above as soon as possible.



According to a report from the Ministry of Health, Vietnam has so far administered more than 240 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines with large coverage of the first and second doses. The pandemic has been basically brought under control nationwide.



Amid the sharp drop in Covid-19 deaths and infections, more people have ignored booster jabs. Meanwhile, many people who have contracted Covid-19 think they do not need to get booster shots as they have antibodies against the virus. Lots of people have expressed concerns about the complications of the Covid-19 vaccine, which has discouraged them taking further shots.



In his dispatch, deputy PM Dam also noted that many localities and agencies havent worked drastically enough, meaning the vaccination progress has lagged behind schedule.



Currently, up to 21.5 million doses of Covid-19 in Vietnam have not yet been used due to the slow pace of vaccination in many localities.



Meanwhile, the pandemic remains complicated in many countries. Vietnam has continued to record cases of Omicrons new sub-variants, BA.4, BA.5, and BA.2.12.1, and faces the risk of new outbreaks.



Vaccination is one of the most effective measures to fight against the disease, the deputy PM underlined.
One of seven cats that keep the company of the visitors at a new "Miau Cafe" finishes a cake in Warsaw, Poland, Jan. 13, 2018. A Polish scientific institute classified domestic casts as an invasive alien species due to the vast damage they inflict on birds and other wildlife, it was announced Tuesday, July 26, 2022. Some cat lovers have reacted emotionally, putting the key scientist behind the decision on the defensive. Credit: AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski, file

A respected Polish scientific institute has classified domestic cats as an "invasive alien species," citing the damage they cause to birds and other wildlife.

Some cat lovers have reacted emotionally to this month's decision and put the key scientist behind it on the defensive.

Wojciech Solarz, a biologist at the state-run Polish Academy of Sciences, wasn't prepared for the disapproving public response when he entered "Felis catus," the scientific name for the common house cat, into a national database run by the academy's Institute of Nature Conservation.

The database already had 1,786 other species listed with no objections, Solarz told The Associated Press on Tuesday. The uproar over invasive alien species No. 1,787, he said, may have resulted from some media reports that created the false impression his institute was calling for feral and other cats to be euthanized.

Solarz described the growing scientific consensus that domestic cats have a harmful impact on biodiversity given the number of birds and mammals they hunt and kill.

The criteria for including the cat among alien invasive species, "are 100% met by the cat," he said.

In a television segment aired by independent broadcaster TVN, the biologist faced off last week against a veterinarian who challenged Solarz's conclusion on the dangers cats pose to wildlife.

Dorota Suminska, the author of a book titled "The Happy Cat," pointed to other causes of shrinking biodiversity, including a polluted environment and urban building facades that can kill birds in flight.

"Ask if man is on the list of non-invasive alien species," Suminska said, arguing that cats were unfairly assigned too much blame.

Solarz pushed back, arguing that cats kill about 140 million birds in Poland each year.

Earlier this month, the Polish Academy institute published a post on its website citing the "controversy" and seeking to clarify its position. The institute stressed that it was "opposed to any cruelty towards animals." It also argued that its classification was in line with European Union guidelines.

As far as categorizing cats as "alien," the institute noted that "Felis catus" was domesticated probably around 10,000 years ago in the cradle of the great civilizations of the ancient Middle East, making the species alien to Europe from a strictly scientific point of view.

The institute also stressed that all it was recommending was for cat owners to limit the time their pets spend outdoors during bird breeding season.

"I have a dog, but I don't have anything against cats," Solarz said.

Explore further Genetically-enhanced biocontrols could help fight large invasive mammals

 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
An air tanker flies past flames while battling the Oak Fire in Mariposa County, Calif., Sunday, July 24, 2022. Wildfires, floods and soaring temperatures have made climate change real to many Americans. Yet a sizeable number continue to dismiss the scientific consensus that human activity is to blame. That's in part because of a decades-long campaign by fossil fuel companies to muddy the facts and promote fringe explanations. Credit: AP Photo/Noah Berger, File

In 1998, as nations around the world agreed to cut carbon emissions through the Kyoto Protocol, America's fossil fuel companies plotted their response, including an aggressive strategy to inject doubt into the public debate.

"Victory," according to the American Petroleum Institute's memo, "will be achieved when average citizens 'understand' (recognize) uncertainties in climate science... Unless 'climate change' becomes a non-issue... there may be no moment when we can declare victory."

The memo, later leaked to The New York Times that year, went on to outline how fossil fuel companies could manipulate journalists and the broader public by muddying the evidence, by playing up "both sides" of the debate and by portraying those seeking to reduce emissions as "out of touch with reality."

Nearly 25 years later, the reality of a changing climate is now clear to most Americans, as heatwaves and wildfires, rising sea levels and extreme storms become more common.

Last week, President Joe Biden announced moves intended to expand offshore wind, though he stopped short of declaring a national climate emergency. A Supreme Court ruling last month limited the federal government's ability to regulate carbon emissions from power plants, meaning it will be up to a divided Congress to pass any meaningful limits on emissions.

Rocks and vegetation cover Highway 70 following a landslide in the Dixie Fire zone on Sunday, Oct. 24, 2021, in Plumas County, Calif. Heavy rains blanketing Northern California created slide and flood hazards in land scorched during last summer's wildfires. Wildfires, floods and soaring temperatures have made climate change real to many Americans. Yet a sizeable number continue to dismiss the scientific consensus that human activity is to blame. Credit: AP Photo/Noah Berger, File

Even as surveys show the public generally has become more concerned about climate change, a sizeable number of Americans have become even more distrustful of the scientific consensus.

"The tragedy of this is that all over social media, you can see tens of millions of Americans who think scientists are lying, even about things that have been proven for decades," said Naomi Oreskes, a historian of science at Harvard University who has written about the history of climate change disinformation. "They've been persuaded by decades of disinformation. The denial is really, really deep."

And persistent. Just last month, even with record heat in London, raging wildfires in Alaska and historic flooding in Australia, the Science and Environmental Policy Project, a pro-fossil fuel thank tank, said all the scientists had it wrong.

"There is no climate crisis," the group wrote in its newsletter.

Years before COVID-19 set off a wave of misinformation, or former President Donald Trump's lies about the 2020 election helped spur an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, fossil fuel companies spent big in an effort to undermine support for emissions reductions.

People try to keep cool at the Justa Center, a resource center catering to the older homeless population, as temperatures hit 110-degrees, July 19, 2022, in Phoenix. Wildfires, floods and soaring temperatures have made climate change real to many Americans. Yet a sizeable number continue to dismiss the scientific consensus that human activity is to blame. Credit: AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File

Now, even as those same companies promote investments in renewable energy, the legacy of all that climate disinformation remains.

It's also contributed to a broader skepticism of scientists, scientific institutions and the media that report on them, a distrust reflected by doubts about vaccines or pandemic-era public health measures like masks and quarantines.

"It was the opening of a Pandora's Box of disinformation that has proven hard to control," said Dave Anderson of the Energy and Policy Institute, an organization that has criticized oil and coal companies for withholding what they knew about the risks of climate change.

Starting in the 1980s and 1990s, as public awareness of climate change grew, fossil fuel companies poured millions of dollars into public relations campaigns denouncing the accumulating evidence supporting the idea of climate change. They funded supposedly independent think tanks that cherrypicked the science and promoted fringe views designed to make it look like there were two legitimate sides to the dispute.

Since then, the approach has softened as the impact of climate change has become more apparent. Now, fossil fuel companies are more likely to play up their supposedly pro-environmental record, touting renewables like solar and wind or initiatives designed to improve energy efficiency or offset carbon emissions.

Homes are flooded in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida in LaPlace, La., Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2021. Wildfires, floods and soaring temperatures have made climate change real to many Americans. Yet a sizeable number continue to dismiss the scientific consensus that human activity is to blame. That's in part because of a decades-long campaign by fossil fuel companies to muddy the facts and promote fringe explanations. Credit: AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File

Aggressive approaches to address climate change are now dismissed not on scientific grounds but on economic ones. Fossil fuel companies talk about lost jobs or higher energy priceswithout mentioning the cost of doing nothing, said Ben Franta, an attorney, author and Stanford University researcher who tracks fossil fuel disinformation.

"We are living within an extended multi-decade campaign executed by the fossil fuel industry," Franta said. "The debate (over climate change) was manufactured by the fossil fuel industry in the 1990s, and we are living with that history right now."

The impact of that history is reflected in public opinion surveys that show a growing gap between Republicans and other Americans when it comes to views on climate change.

While the percentage of overall Americans who say they're concerned about climate change has risen, Republicans are increasingly skeptical. Last year, Gallup found that 32% of self-identified Republicans said they accepted the scientific consensus that pollution from humans is driving climate change, down from 52% in 2003.

By comparison, the percentage of self-identified Democrats that say they accept that human activities are leading to climate change increased from 68 to 88 over the same time period.

A pumpjack extracts crude at an oil field in Emlichheim, Germany, March 18, 2022. Wildfires, floods and soaring temperatures have made climate change real to many Americans. Yet a sizeable number continue to dismiss the scientific consensus that human activity is to blame. That's in part because of a decades-long campaign by fossil fuel companies to muddy the facts and promote fringe explanations. Credit: AP Photo/Martin Meissner, File

Fossil fuel companies deny any intent to mislead the American public and point to investments in renewable energy as evidence that they take climate change seriously.

ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods told members of Congress last fall that his company "has long acknowledged the reality and risks of climate change, and it has devoted significant resources to addressing those risks." ExxonMobil's public claims about climate change, he said, "are and have always been truthful, fact-based ... and consistent" with mainstream science.

Asked about its role in spreading climate misinformation, a spokesman for the Southern Company pointed to recent expansions in renewable energy and initiatives meant to offset carbon emissions.

The 1998 "victory memo" laying out the industry's strategy was created by the American Petroleum Institute. In a statement emailed to The Associated Press, API spokesperson Christina Noel said the oil industry is working to reduce emissions while also ensuring access to reliable, affordable energy.

"That's exactly what our industry has been focused on for decades," Noel said. "Any suggestion to the contrary is false."

A formerly sunken boat sits high and dry along the shoreline of Lake Mead at the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, on May 10, 2022, near Boulder City, Nev. Wildfires, floods and soaring temperatures have made climate change real to many Americans. Yet a sizeable number continue to dismiss the scientific consensus that human activity is to blame. That's in part because of a decades-long campaign by fossil fuel companies to muddy the facts and promote fringe explanations. Credit: AP Photo/John Locher, File

The 1998 memo is one of several documents cited by climate activists and some Democratic lawmakers who say they could be used to hold them legally responsible for misleading ratepayers, investors or the general public.

"It's time for these companies to answer for the harm they have caused," said Rep. Ro Khanna, D-California.

Republicans, however, have said Democrats want to focus on climate misinformation to distract from failed environmental policies that are driving up gas and energy costs.

Explore further ExxonMobil probed on climate science

 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
A bird flies above an air tanker battling the Oak Fire in Mariposa County, Calif., on Sunday, July 24, 2022. Credit: AP Photo/Noah Berger

Firefighters have significantly slowed the spread of a huge wildfire burning in a forest near Yosemite National Park that burned 55 homes and other buildings and forced thousands from their homes, officials said Monday.

"It was a successful day for aircraft and firefighters, resulting in minimal growth on the fire. Helicopters dropped 300,000 gallons of water on the fire. Crews continue to construct control lines and extinguish hot spots along existing lines," said a Monday night report by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire.

Thousands of residents from mountain communities were still under evacuation orders Monday while smoke from the fire drifted more than 200 miles (322 kilometers), reaching Lake Tahoe, parts of Nevada and the San Francisco Bay Area, officials said.

"It's been just horrendous with the air quality," said Kim Zagaris, an advisor with the Western Fire Chiefs Association, which maps wildfires across the country.

More than 2,500 firefighters with aircraft support were battling the blaze, known as the Oak Fire, that erupted last Friday southwest of the park, near the town of Midpines in Mariposa County. Officials described "explosive fire behavior" on Saturday as flames made runs through bone-dry vegetation caused by the worst drought in decades.

An air tanker drops retardant while trying to stop the Oak Fire from progressing in Mariposa County, Calif., on Sunday, July 24, 2022. Credit: AP Photo/Noah Berger

The blaze had consumed 27 square miles (70 square kilometers) of forest land, with 16% containment, Cal Fire said. The cause was under investigation.

Firefighters on Monday struggled in steep terrain in temperatures that reached the mid- to high 90s.

On Sunday, ground forces protected homes as air tankers dropped retardant on 50-foot (15-meter) flames racing along ridgetops east of the tiny community of Jerseydale.

There are two major blazes burning in California, which is experiencing a fairly typical ramp-up to what is sure to be an active fire year once California's infamous Santa Ana and Diablo wind events begin in September, Zagaris said.

"We've been fortunate. We're not quite as far along as we were at this time last year," he said. "But the fuels, the vegetation, are much dryer than they were last year. It's so dry out there."

An air tanker flies past flames while battling the Oak Fire in Mariposa County, Calif., Sunday, July 24, 2022. Credit: AP Photo/Noah Berger

Zagaris compared the wildfires in California this year to 2008, when few blazes burned early but a mid-summer barrage of lightning hit the state "and before we knew it there were 2,000 fires burning in the northern part of the state."

Evacuations were in place Monday for over 6,000 people living across a several-mile span of the sparsely populated fire zone in the Sierra Nevada foothills, though a handful of residents defied the orders and stayed behind, said Adrienne Freeman, a U.S. Forest Service spokesperson.

"We urge people to evacuate when told," she said.

Jane and Wes Smith lost their home of more than 37 years and Jane had only enough time to load her two horses and flee, according to their son, Nick Smith, SFGate reported.

Wes Smith is a coordinator for the Mariposa County Emergency Services and was working on the fire response as their home burned.

A helicopter drops water while battling the Oak Fire in Mariposa County, Calif., on Sunday, July 24, 2022. Credit: AP Photo/Noah Berger

A helicopter flies above flames while battling the Oak Fire in Mariposa County, Calif., Sunday, July 24, 2022. Credit: AP Photo/Noah Berger

Residents affected by the Oak Fire listen to updates from fire officials during a community meeting in Mariposa County, Calif., on Sunday, July 24, 2022. Credit: AP Photo/Noah Berger

An air tanker drops retardant while trying to stop the Oak Fire from reaching the Lushmeadows community in Mariposa County, Calif., on Sunday, July 24, 2022. Credit: AP Photo/Noah Berger

An air tanker drops retardant while trying to stop the Oak Fire from reaching the Lushmeadows community in Mariposa County, Calif., on Sunday, July 24, 2022. Credit: AP Photo/Noah Berger

A firefighter stands atop a fire engine shortly after coming on duty to battle the Oak Fire in the Jerseydale community of Mariposa County, Calif., on Sunday, July 24, 2022. Credit: AP Photo/Noah Berger

The Oak Fire burns behind a scorched pickup truck in the Jerseydale community of Mariposa County, Calif., early Sunday, July 24, 2022. Credit: AP Photo/Noah Berger

An air tanker drops retardant while trying to stop the Oak Fire from progressing in Mariposa County, Calif., on Sunday, July 24, 2022. Credit: AP Photo/Noah Berger

An air tanker drops retardant while trying to stop the Oak Fire from progressing in Mariposa County, Calif., on Sunday, July 24, 2022. Credit: AP Photo/Noah Berger

An air tanker flies past flames while battling the Oak Fire in Mariposa County, Calif., Sunday, July 24, 2022. Credit: AP Photo/Noah Berger

El incendio cerca de Jerseydale, condado Mariposa, California, el 23 de julio del 2022. Credit: Foto AP/Noah Berger

The couple "have lost everything. 37 years of memories, generations of family treasures and countless more sentimental things," their son said on a GoFundMe page.

Numerous roads were closed, including a stretch of State Route 140 that's one of the main routes into Yosemite.

California has experienced increasingly larger and deadlier wildfires in recent years as climate change has made the West much warmer and drier over the past 30 years. Scientists have said weather will continue to be more extreme and wildfires more frequent, destructive and unpredictable.

Pacific Gas & Electric said on its website that more than 2,600 homes and businesses in the area had lost power as of Monday and there was no indication when it would be restored.

The Oak Fire was sparked as firefighters made progress against an earlier blaze, the Washburn Fire, that burned to the edge of a grove of giant sequoias in the southernmost part of Yosemite National Park.

The latter fire, spanning a 7.5-square-mile (19-square-kilometer) area, was 87% contained on Monday after burning for two weeks and moving into the Sierra National Forest.

Explore further US firefighters race to protect Yosemite's giant sequoias

 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Researchers created a new glass-ceramic that emits light in response to mechanical stress. The highly transparent material is made from a potassium germanate glass matrix embedded with chromium-doped zinc gallate (ZGO) crystals that give the material its mechanoluminescent properties. Credit: Lothar Wondraczek, Friedrich Schiller University Jena

Researchers have created a new glass-ceramic that emits light in response to mechanical stress, a property known as mechanoluminescence. With further development, the new material could be used to create a light source that is switched on by mechanical stress. This could be useful for monitoring stress in artificial joints in the body or providing warnings of dangerous stress or fractures in buildings, bridges and other structures.

"Most materials exhibiting mechanoluminescence have been made as powders, which aren't very versatile," said research team leader Lothar Wondraczek from Friedrich Schiller University Jena in Germany. "We designed a glass-ceramic material with mechanoluminescence, which allows glass-like processing approaches to be used to form virtually any shapeincluding fiber, beads or microspheresthat can be incorporated into various components and devices."

The research is reported in a special issue of Optical Materials Express commemorating the United Nations International Year of Glass 2022, which celebrates the essential role that glass plays in society.

The new highly transparent glass-ceramic is made from chromium-doped zinc gallate (ZGO) crystals embedded in a potassium germanate glass matrix. These crystals give the material its mechanoluminescent properties but are so small that they don't notably affect the visual transparency of the glass.

"Our work could help mechanoluminescent materials find widespread use in a variety of applications, including light-emitting product labels and security codes," said Wondraczek. "It also ties in well with the International Year of Glass by demonstrating the wide versatility and unexpected properties of glassy materials."

A more practical material

In addition to being difficult to form into various geometries, mechanoluminescent powders require extra processing steps such as encapsulation in a matrix material. To create a more practical material, the researchers turned to glass-ceramics.

Glass-ceramics are a relatively new type of material that consists of a crystalline material embedded into a glass matrix. The crystals can be used to give these materials very specific properties while the glass matrix allows them to be shaped with many of the same processes used for glass.

The researchers created the mechanoluminescent glass-ceramic by developing an exceptionally fast and stable crystallization process that allows the tiny ZGO crystals to precipitate homogeneously inside the glass after it has been shaped. They showed that the materials emitted light under mechanical stress by using the ball-drop test, a standard way of imparting a known impact force to a material. "We found that the mechanoluminescence response was reproducible and rechargeable and that it exhibited a direct correlation with the impact energy," said Wondraczek.

Now that they have demonstrated the material's light-emitting properties, they plan to adapt the glass composition so that it can be formed into sheet-like objects, optical fiber and microscale spherical beads and then explore how these could be used in components and devices. They also aim to exploit other features commonly attributed to glass-ceramicssuch as thermal, chemical and mechanical stabilityto gain new functions from the glassy materials.

More information: Jiangkun Cao et al, Mechanoluminescence from highly transparent ZGO:Cr spinel glass ceramics, Optical Materials Express (2022). Journal information: Optical Materials Express Jiangkun Cao et al, Mechanoluminescence from highly transparent ZGO:Cr spinel glass ceramics,(2022). DOI: 10.1364/OME.459185
Researchers at Renmin University of China report that a government agency's media exposure and reputation is a critical factor in determining its chances of survival. Credit: Liang Ma from Renmin University of China

In a democratic system, the media plays a significant role in molding political and administrative organizations. The decisions of legislative bodies, politicians, bureaucrats, and other stakeholders can be significantly influenced by the preferences and agendas set by the media. This might cause agencies to change their structures, processes, and rules and also delay or accelerate policy-making in line with popular media opinion.

Similarly, the ability of organizations to garner media attention determines their legitimacy and survival. Studies have revealed that during public sector reforms, agencies with strong media salience among core voters had a high survival rate, highlighting the impact of the media on the survival of different government agencies. According to a seminal 2010 study by Carpenter, the reputation of an organization is divided into four distinct dimensionsperformative, technical, moral, and procedural. Yet, few studies have explored how these dimensions are affected by the media and how that, in turn, determines the survival or termination of the organization.

In a recent study, a group of researchers led by Professor Liang Ma of the Renmin University of China decided to address these questions in the context of China. "To our knowledge, no quantitative studies have outlined the different types of organizational reputation in the context of media salience and agency termination. Answering these questions is important as it can help agencies learn about how reputation works in agency termination and implement necessary actions to mitigate the risk of termination," explains Prof. Ma. Their findings were made available online on 2 June 2022 in the Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory.

To this end, the team employed machine learning techniques to classify a whopping 495,384 agency-related articles published between 1949 and 2019 in the People's Daily (PD), the official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee, under the four aforementioned reputation types.

While selecting a media outlet like People's Daily, which rarely publishes any negative news regarding government agencies, a question naturally arises: can PD be considered an accurate and reliable tool to measure agency reputation? The researchers provide two reasons to keep this concern at bay. Firstly, studies have pointed out that media coverage, despite its tone and sentiment, is vital for the agency survival. Secondly, neutral communication also helps in setting different reputation dimensions, as different reputation dimensions may attract different audiences.

The team performed event history analyses on the news reports and found that media coverage reduced the risk of agency termination. Media coverage was important for the survival of administrative agencies as the study demonstrated that the total number of media stories adversely affected the probability of agency closure.

But this result wasn't constant across all dimensions. The team discovered that only the procedural dimension consistently reduced the risk of termination. While the performative and moral dimensions were significantly and negatively related to termination in a particular time-period; the technical dimension only slightly increased the likelihood of agency survival during mass reorganizations.

"This study is the first empirical research documenting the changing dynamics of reputation management of central agencies in China. We also established the link between reputation symbols and agency termination," concludes Prof. Ma.

Explore further Continued CPAP use cuts risk for death

More information: Sicheng Chen et al, Reputation Management and Administrative Reorganization: How Different Media Reputation Dimensions Matter for Agency Termination, Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory (2022). Sicheng Chen et al, Reputation Management and Administrative Reorganization: How Different Media Reputation Dimensions Matter for Agency Termination,(2022). DOI: 10.1093/jopart/muac028

Provided by Cactus Communications
A spinning neutron star periodically swings its radio (green) and gamma-ray (magenta) beams past Earth in this artists concept of a black widow pulsar. The neutron star/pulsar heats the facing side of its stellar partner (right) to temperatures twice as hot as the suns surface and slowly evaporates it. Credit: NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center

A dense, collapsed star spinning 707 times per secondmaking it one of the fastest spinning neutron stars in the Milky Way galaxyhas shredded and consumed nearly the entire mass of its stellar companion and, in the process, grown into the heaviest neutron star observed to date.

Weighing this record-setting neutron star, which tops the charts at 2.35 times the mass of the sun, helps astronomers understand the weird quantum state of matter inside these dense objects, whichif they get much heavier than thatcollapse entirely and disappear as a black hole.

"We know roughly how matter behaves at nuclear densities, like in the nucleus of a uranium atom," said Alex Filippenko, Distinguished Professor of Astronomy at the University of California, Berkeley. "A neutron star is like one giant nucleus, but when you have one-and-a-half solar masses of this stuff, which is about 500,000 Earth masses of nuclei all clinging together, it's not at all clear how they will behave."

This 2014 NASA video explains black widow pulsars and how astronomers discovered one called PSR J13113430, the first of its kind discovered solely through gamma-ray observations. Credit: NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center

Roger W. Romani, professor of astrophysics at Stanford University, noted that neutron stars are so dense1 cubic inch weighs over 10 billion tonsthat their cores are the densest matter in the universe short of black holes, which because they are hidden behind their event horizon are impossible to study. The neutron star, a pulsar designated PSR J0952-0607, is thus the densest object within sight of Earth.

The measurement of the neutron star's mass was possible thanks to the extreme sensitivity of the 10-meter Keck I telescope on Maunakea in Hawai'i, which was just able to record a spectrum of visible light from the hotly glowing companion star, now reduced to the size of a large gaseous planet. The stars are about 3,000 light years from Earth in the direction of the constellation Sextans.

Discovered in 2017, PSR J0952-0607 is referred to as a "black widow" pulsaran analogy to the tendency of female black widow spiders to consume the much smaller male after mating. Filippenko and Romani have been studying black widow systems for more than a decade, hoping to establish the upper limit on how large neutron stars/pulsars can grow.

"By combining this measurement with those of several other black widows, we show that neutron stars must reach at least this mass, 2.35 plus or minus 0.17 solar masses," said Romani, who is a professor of physics in Stanford's School of Humanities and Sciences and member of the Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology. "In turn, this provides some of the strongest constraints on the property of matter at several times the density seen in atomic nuclei. Indeed, many otherwise popular models of dense-matter physics are excluded by this result."

If 2.35 solar masses is close to the upper limit of neutron stars, the researchers say, then the interior is likely to be a soup of neutrons as well as up and down quarksthe constituents of normal protons and neutronsbut not exotic matter, such as "strange" quarks or kaons, which are particles that contain a strange quark.

Astronomers measured the velocity of a faint star (green circle) that has been stripped of nearly its entire mass by an invisible companion, a neutron star and millisecond pulsar that they determined to be the most massive yet found and perhaps the upper limit for neutron stars. Credit: W. M. Keck Observatory, Roger W. Romani, Alex Filippenko

"A high maximum mass for neutron stars suggests that it is a mixture of nuclei and their dissolved up and down quarks all the way to the core," Romani said. "This excludes many proposed states of matter, especially those with exotic interior composition."

Romani, Filippenko and Stanford graduate student Dinesh Kandel are co-authors of a paper describing the team's results that has been accepted for publication by The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

How large can they grow?

Astronomers generally agree that when a star with a core larger than about 1.4 solar masses collapses at the end of its life, it forms a dense, compact object with an interior under such high pressure that all atoms are smashed together to form a sea of neutrons and their subnuclear constituents, quarks. These neutron stars are born spinning, and though too dim to be seen in visible light, reveal themselves as pulsars, emitting beams of lightradio waves, X-rays or even gamma raysthat flash Earth as they spin, much like the rotating beam of a lighthouse.

"Ordinary" pulsars spin and flash about once per second, on average, a speed that can easily be explained given the normal rotation of a star before it collapses. But some pulsars repeat hundreds or up to 1,000 times per second, which is hard to explain unless matter has fallen onto the neutron star and spun it up. But for some millisecond pulsars, no companion is visible.

One possible explanation for isolated millisecond pulsars is that each did once have a companion, but it stripped it down to nothing.

"The evolutionary pathway is absolutely fascinating. Double exclamation point," Filippenko said. "As the companion star evolves and starts becoming a red giant, material spills over to the neutron star, and that spins up the neutron star. By spinning up, it now becomes incredibly energized, and a wind of particles starts coming out from the neutron star. That wind then hits the donor star and starts stripping material off, and over time, the donor star's mass decreases to that of a planet, and if even more time passes, it disappears altogether. So, that's how lone millisecond pulsars could be formed. They weren't all alone to begin withthey had to be in a binary pairbut they gradually evaporated away their companions, and now they're solitary."

The pulsar PSR J0952-0607 and its faint companion star support this origin story for millisecond pulsars.

"These planet-like objects are the dregs of normal stars which have contributed mass and angular momentum, spinning up their pulsar mates to millisecond periods and increasing their mass in the process," Romani said.

"In a case of cosmic ingratitude, the black widow pulsar, which has devoured a large part of its mate, now heats and evaporates the companion down to planetary masses and perhaps complete annihilation," said Filippenko.

Spider pulsars include redbacks and tidarrens

Finding black widow pulsars in which the companion is small, but not too small to detect, is one of few ways to weigh neutron stars. In the case of this binary system, the companion starnow only 20 times the mass of Jupiteris distorted by the mass of the neutron star and tidally locked, similar to the way our moon is locked in orbit so that we see only one side. The neutron star-facing side is heated to temperatures of about 6,200 Kelvin, or 10,700 degrees Fahrenheit, a bit hotter than our sun, and just bright enough to see with a large telescope.

Filippenko and Romani turned the Keck I telescope on PSR J0952-0607 on six occasions over the last four years, each time observing with the Low Resolution Imaging Spectrometer in 15-minute chunks to catch the faint companion at specific points in its 6.4-hour orbit of the pulsar. By comparing the spectra to that of similar sun-like stars, they were able to measure the orbital velocity of the companion star and calculate the mass of the neutron star.

Filippenko and Romani have examined about a dozen black widow systems so far, though only six had companion stars bright enough to let them calculate a mass. All involved neutron stars less massive than the pulsar PSR J0952-060. They're hoping to study more black widow pulsars, as well as their cousins: redbacks, named for the Australian equivalent of black widow pulsars, which have companions closer to one-tenth the mass of the sun; and what Romani dubbed tidarrenswhere the companion is around one-hundredth of a solar massafter a relative of the black widow spider. The male of this species, Tidarren sisyphoides, is about 1% of the female's size.

"We can keep looking for black widows and similar neutron stars that skate even closer to the black hole brink. But if we don't find any, it tightens the argument that 2.3 solar masses is the true limit, beyond which they become black holes," Filippenko said.

"This is right at the limit of what the Keck telescope can do, so barring fantastic observing conditions, tightening the measurement of PSR J0952-0607 likely awaits the 30-meter telescope era," added Romani.

Other co-authors of the ApJ Letters paper are UC Berkeley researchers Thomas Brink and WeiKang Zheng.

Explore further Two millisecond pulsars detected in globular cluster NGC 6440

More information: PSR J0952-0607: The Fastest and Heaviest Known Galactic Neutron Star, To Appear in ApJ Letters, arXiv:2207.05124 [astro-ph.HE] Journal information: Astrophysical Journal Letters PSR J0952-0607: The Fastest and Heaviest Known Galactic Neutron Star, To Appear in, arXiv:2207.05124 [astro-ph.HE] arxiv.org/abs/2207.05124
The research vessel Maria S. Merian leaving the harbor of St. John's (Canada). As a participant on Expedition MSM 39 (2014), Lars Max, along with other researchers, obtained the sample material for this study. Credit: MARUMCenter for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen; D. Kieke

Extreme cooling events during the last glacial period, known as Heinrich events in the North Atlantic, are a good example of how local processes change the global climate. While the impacts of Heinrich events on the global glacial environment are well-documented in the scientific literature, their causes are still unclear. In a new study, researchers from Bremen, Kiel, Koln and Sao Paulo (Brazil) have now shown that an accumulation of heat in the deeper Labrador Sea caused instabilities in the Laurentide Ice Sheet, which covered much of North America at the time. The Heinrich events were triggered as a result. The researchers demonstrated this by reconstructing past temperatures and salinities in the North Atlantic. Their results have now been published in Nature Communications.

Heinrich eventsor more accurately, Heinrich layersare recurrent conspicuous sediment layers, usually 10 to 15 centimeters thick, with coarse rock components that interrupt the otherwise fine-grained oceanic deposits in the North Atlantic. Discovered and described for the first time in the 1980s by geologist Hartmut Heinrich, U.S. geochemist Wally Broecker later officially named them Heinrich layers, which has become a standard term in paleoceanography.

The presence of Heinrich layers has been established throughout the North Atlantic, from off Iceland, southward to a line running from New York to North Africa. Such coarse rock debris could only have been transported such a great distance from its point of origin in the Hudson Bay by icebergs.

"The actual significance of these Heinrich events, however, lies in the fact that, along with the melting phase and release of icebergs, large quantities of fresh water were introduced into the North Atlantic," says Lars Max, paleoceanographer at MARUMCenter for Marine Environmental Sciences at the University of Bremen and first author of the study. As part of their work, he and his co-authors reconfigure the interrelationships among Heinrich layers, freshwater supply, and changes in the ocean circulation. A thin freshwater lens lying atop millions of cubic kilometers of water during the Heinrich events is presently considered to be the cause of the disruption of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), or its complete shutdown, with profound regional and global climatic consequences. The AMOC is just one segment of the global conveyor belt of ocean currents that is driven by temperature and salinity and plays a significant role in the climate system.

Deep sea sediment core with coarse ice-transported lithogenic components (Heinrich layer). Credit: Lars Max

"Originally the disruption was considered to be the result of internal instabilities of the ice sheet itself. Our study, however, provides evidence that changes in the ocean had a destabilizing impact on the ice sheet on the North American continent," says Lars Max. The study of a sediment core obtained by the research vessel Maria S. Merian at the outlet to the Labrador Sea in the North Atlantic provides the first solid evidence of recurrent, massive accumulations of ocean heat in the deeper layers of the subpolar North Atlantic. This facilitated the melting of the polar ice sheets from below.

"Using trace-element and isotopic analytical methods, we were, in fact, able to reconstruct temperature and salinity increases at around 150 meters of water depth that always systematically preceded the Heinrich events in time, and that corresponded to times of an already weakened Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation," explains Dirk Nurnberg of the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research in Kiel, who is responsible for the laboratory analyses.

This suggests that changes in ocean circulation triggered the ice-sheet instabilities. A continuous warming of the ocean at this depth was critical for destabilizing the ice shelf from below, and eventually led to the accelerated shedding of icebergsthe Heinrich events.

Planktonic microfossils such as the species Neogloboquadrina pachyderma sinistral carry the isotope geochemical information used to perform oceanographic and climatic reconstructions. Credit: Antonov, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Understanding the processes from Earth's history also enables us to better predict changes that can be expected to accompany the current global warming. "If the overturning circulation should weaken in the future due to anthropogenic climate change," suggests Christiano Chiessi of the University of Sao Paulo, "we would expect an accelerated warming of the deeper subpolar North Atlantic that could negatively impact both the stability of the present-day Arctic glaciers and the freshwater budget of the North Atlantic."

The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Assessment Report (2021) concludes that with continued warming of the climate, there could be a weakening of the overturning circulation in the Atlantic Ocean within this century. Intensified warming of the deeper subpolar North Atlantic and more rapid melting of the Arctic glacial masses could also have the result of further accelerating the global rise in sea level. As Lars Max also points out, however, we can expect that the stability of the Antarctic Ice Sheet will play a significant role in the course of sea-level rise. Further studies are crucially needed in order to better predict to what extent the future deceleration of overturning circulation and possible warming of the deeper ocean could have on the future stability of the Antarctic Ice Sheet.

Explore further Deep ocean warming as climate changes

More information: Lars Max et al, Subsurface ocean warming preceded Heinrich Events, Nature Communications (2022). Journal information: Nature Communications Lars Max et al, Subsurface ocean warming preceded Heinrich Events,(2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-31754-x

Provided by University of Bremen
Credit: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2022), processed by ESA, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO

Hundreds of residents and tourists have been evacuated from the east Aegean island of Lesbos (also known as Lesvos), Greece, after a wildfire broke out on the morning of 23 July. The fire, which has been raging near the coastal area of Vatera, a popular tourist destination, has burned pine forest, shrubland and cultivated fields.

Captured on 24 July, this Copernicus Sentinel-2 image shows the active fire front which stretches for more than four km. Thick billowing smoke is visible in the image blowing in a southwest direction. The burn scars left across the land can be identified as a reddish-brown color and cover an area of around 1700 hectares.

Fifty firefighters along with nine firefighting aircraft are working to extinguish the blaze, along with volunteers and military personnel. In response to the wildfire, the Copernicus Emergency Mapping Service was activated. The service uses satellite observations to help civil protection authorities and, in cases of disaster, the international humanitarian community, respond to emergencies.

Greece, along with many other countries in Europe, has been experiencing a prolonged heatwave with many parts of the country under fire alert. Over 300 firefighters and six aircraft are also trying to contain a wildfire currently burning in Greece's Dadia National Park, Greece's biggest Natura 2000 site, known for its black vulture colony.

Explore further Residents return home as Athens firefighters bring blaze under control
Dukan Dam and reservoir in Iraqi Kurdistan.

Farmers in Iraqi Kurdistan seeking to irrigate crops face seeing their economic lifeline slip away as the waters of Lake Dukan recede and dams upstream in Iran stem the flow.

Bapir Kalkani, who is also a trade unionist, farms near the picturesque lake but has seen marked changes over the past three years as Iraq suffers prolonged drought.

"There was water where I'm standing now" in 2019, the 56-year-old said. "It used to go three kilometers (two miles) further, but the level has retreated."

Sesame and beans are being grown on the plain under a blazing sun, adjacent to the lake which is fed by a Tigris tributary, the Lower Zab river which has its source in Iran.

The large artificial lake was created in the 1950s following construction of the Dukan dam, to supply irrigation and drinking water for the region, as well as to generate electricity.

But for several years both the lake and the river have been shrinkingas have all of the rivers in Iraq.

The country is classified as one of the five nations most vulnerable to the effects of climate change and desertification.

Its water reserves have fallen by 60 percent compared with last year, the government says.

Rainfall becoming rare

With rainfall becoming a rarity and after three successive years of drought, Iraq has been forced to halve the area it devotes to agriculture.

Bapir Kalkani, an Iraqi Kurdish agricultural trade unionist, inspects his wheat farm.

"If we hadn't had a little rain in late spring, there would have been no crops in Kurdistan this year," Kalkani said.

Farmers in the area used to dig shallow wells fed by the Dukan so they could irrigate their crops. But not any more.

"The wells have lost 70 percent of their water," he said.

Sesame farmer Shirko Aziz Ahmed had to dig a well several meters deep so he could access water and raise it using a diesel-powered pump.

"Sesame needs a lot of watering, so I'm going to have to dig even deeper as the water level goes down," he said.

Drought is not the only source of the farmer's water problems.

Iran has built several dams on the Lower Zab, notably the Kolsa barrage.

"The Kolsa dam has caused at least an 80 percent drop in the water levels" of the Lower Zab, said Banafsheh Keynoush of the Washington-based Middle East Institute.

She said Iran is going through one of the worst droughts in its history and has had to revise its irrigation policy.

A Kurdish farmer digs with a shovel irrigation ditches for water supplied from a well, in the Rania district near the Dukan Dam.

Iran 'dam-building spree'

"Iran is on a dam-building spree, and many of its dams are small," she told AFP.

The Dukan dam in Iraq has also been badly affected by the reduced river flow, said its director Kochar Jamal Tawfeeq.

"Now we have only 41 percent, below half of the capacity" of the dam, he said.

It supplies drinking water for "about three million people in Sulaymaniyah and Kirkuk", two major cities downstream, he said.

But at just 300 mm (less than 12 inches) of rainfall last yearhalf the previous annual averagethe skies have not been generous. And Tawfeeq said 2022 is on track to mirror last year's figures.

"We are releasing 90 cubic meters per second," the director said. "When the reservoir is full, we release 200 to 250."

Tawfeeq said farmers were being told "not to grow crops that need too much water".

A pump drawing out water from a farmer's irrigation well in the Rania district, near the Dukan Dam.

He said Baghdad had sent teams to Iran to discuss the reduced flow of the Lower Zab river, but "there's no cooperation from the Iranians".

Iran contends its river flow contribution into the Tigris and Euphrates basin is only about six percent, according to Keynoush.

"What Iran is trying to say is: 'The Euphrates and Tigris problems you have are really between you and Turkey'," where the two main rivers have their sources, she added.

But Iraq itself is not above criticism, said Azzam Alwash, founder of the Nature Iraq non-government organization and presidential adviser.

Iraqi Kurdistan in the north plans to construct new dams but the projects lack any coordination with Baghdad, Alwash said.

Downstream, in central and south Iraq, the situation is being exasperated by a lack of modernisation of water resources and could result in disaster, he warned.

Explore further Key Iraq irrigation reservoir close to drying out

 2022 AFP
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

On July 20, 53 years after Neil Armstrong took one small step for man and one giant leap for mankind, NASA announced target launch dates for the Artemis I mission, the agency's long-awaited first step to returning astronauts to the moon and eventually Mars. Even though there won't be people onboard the Orion spacecraft when it blasts off later this summer, it will carry dozens of tiny tributes to the Artemis team that were created at the University of Houston.

Long Chang, a research associate professor in the Cullen College of Engineering and expert at the UH nanofabrication facility, answered the call when NASA was looking for a way to honor the thousands of people who contributed to the Artemis I mission.

"NASA wanted microchips with everyone's name on them," said Long. "But I had some creative liberties in the design because they didn't really know what we were capable of."

After considering several options that would satisfy NASA's requirements, Long proposed a process that combines electron beam lithography and reactive ion etching to engrave the nearly 30,000 names onto each of the 80 microchips.

And he had a little surprise in store for NASA.

"I figured out how to do this so quickly that I decided to position the names so when you see it, it looks like the NASA logo, the Artemis logo and the European Space Agency logo," said Long. "Each logo is made of those 30,000 names."

Credit: University of Houston

The names include those from NASA, the European Space Agency, industry partners and suppliers who have contributed to the Artemis program by building hardware, developing systems and supporting mission operations. Similar microchips have flown on other NASA missions as part of outreach campaigns that allowed the public to fly their names in space, including Orion's Exploration Flight Test-1 and NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover.

The 8mm x 8mm microchips will be packed in the Orion capsule's storage area for its unmanned test flight around the moon. NASA has set three tentative launch dates of Aug. 29, Sept. 2 and Sept. 5. When the spacecraft returns to Earth, the microchips will be given to key program stakeholders in the U.S. and Europe as a memento of the historic mission and an expression of gratitude for all of their hard work.

Credit: University of Houston

Long hopes this project raises the visibility of the UH nanofabrication facility and brings the world of nanoscale research and engineering to a larger audience. His team of scientists, engineers and technicians provides a wide range of services and support to ensure anyone can use the lab and succeed.

"It's not just microchips were making here," Long said. "We have people working on solar cells, sensors for cancer diagnostics, microscopic electronic and mechanical devices, biocompatible materials and superconductor materials. There's a really wide application for this technology with no limit on the creativity of the person using it."
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

Carrie Jennings flits around the South Fork Crow River like a water bug in the old one-seat canoe she bought years ago for $100, then pauses midstream to peer down at the brown water.

"This is crazy cloudy," she mutters.

She has come to check out this upper reach of the Crow River as it starts its journey through central Minnesota farm country to the Mississippi Rivershowing how one little river can cause so much damage.

The paddle comes as work gets underway on a major new multi-county water quality plan for the South Fork Crow watershed under the state's "One Watershed, One Plan" framework.

The stakes are high.

The state's cherished Mississippi River is clean as it emerges in northern Minnesota and heads south. Then it meets the Crow River, the first major agricultural river emptying into it, and its nutrient pollution doubles, state pollution officials say, adding phosphorous, nitrogen and sediment. You can see the water change at the intersection, some paddlers say.

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency stuck a fat exclamation point on the spot, near Dayton north of the Twin Cities, on its map of the Upper Mississippi.

Jennings, research and policy director with the St. Paul nonprofit Freshwater Society, points with her paddle to some key reasons why.

Large black plastic pipes jut from the banks of the South Fork Crow River near Cosmos in Meeker County, pouring water into it at nearly every bend. It's tile drainage water, coming from under fields that are filled mostly with corn and soybeans here, about 80 miles west of where the Crow joins the Mississippi.

The nearly invisible network of pipes is like a vast underground highway system, draining away water to maximize crop yields. The tile line drainage carries farm chemicalsstate pollution regulators say it's the single biggest source of nitrate in the Mississippi, delivering 43% of it.

Along with the surface runoff, the tile drainage also increases the Crow's volume. High flows claw at its banks, a dynamic only worsened by climate change's heavier rains.

The scouring exposes the roots of mighty cottonwoods and other trees on the banks, many of which have toppled into the river. There should be a sandy, gravelly mix on the Crow's banks and riverbed, Jennings said. Instead there is a thick black mud, like a quicksand, that sucks off shoes.

Scoured river banks, as opposed to fields, have been a growing source of the sediment in the Mississippi River, she said. Top soil washed off fields is still significant, she said, "it's just that the huge increase has been from the non-field sources."

Jennings said she expects to see water that brown in the Minnesota River, the state's notoriously dirty agricultural river to the south, but not in the Crow. And this is just the Crow's start. It only picks up more as it rolls downstream through heavy ag country such as Renville County before joining the main Crow River at Rockford.

From there the Crow runs to the Mississippi, bringing its share of the pollution driving the large and growing oxygen-depleted "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico.

"If our system of agriculture does this to rivers this far up in the Mississippi River watershed, imagine the cumulative damage by the time you reach the Gulf," Jennings said. "This is not a mystery that needs to be solved. We know why these are rivers impaired and we know how to fix them."

Agriculture isn't the only source of the Crow's pollution, but it's a significant one. Waste water treatment plants and city storm water runoff factor in. The bottom line is that the majority of the land in the Crow River's watersheds is in agriculture, as row cropping marches farther north in Minnesota.

At issue are problematic agricultural practices such as overapplying nitrogen fertilizer and manure, excess drain tiling with pipes that dump straight into ditches and streams, and over-tilling the soil. East of Cosmos, where Jennings paddled, the South Fork Crow meanders naturally; upstream it is an unnaturally straight farm drainage channel.

Since the Clean Water Act exempts ag drainage and runoff, environmental regulators rely on convincing farmers to voluntarily adopt best management practices: applying fertilizer more precisely, planting cover crops to capture more nitrogen in the soil and altering tile drain outlets. One fix is draining tile water into a wetland or basin first.

Such practices still aren't mainstream. Change has been slow. It could all take decades, said MPCA watershed project manager Scott Lucas: "So many different things have to change."

Large stretches of both of the Crow's main forks remain impaired for aquatic recreation or fish consumption, and for aquatic life such as insects. While there's been progress over the years cutting phosphorous in the Mississippi River, there's been almost none on cutting nitrate, pollution officials say.

Local farmers say they're aware of the problems and want to be good stewards of the land. But weighing conservation vs. production can be difficult when farm profit margins are thin. And changing entrenched farming practices is hard, said Joe Norman, district technician with the Meeker County Soil & Water Conservation District.

Yet, slowly, practices are evolving. For example, government programs have funded 81 wetland restorations in the South Fork Crow River Watershed since 2004, state data show. However, while they may benefit water quality, most aren't the type designed to collect and treat tile drainage runoff, said David Wall, environmental research scientist at the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.

Doug Adams, who farms 1,500 acres with his family near Cosmos, including land on the South Fork Crow, said he switched to strip tilling, which disturbs the soil less and leaves plant debris on the surface for better soil cover. It cut his fertilizer use by 40%, he said. It also keeps his topsoil in place and reduces runoff into the river, with no change in his crop yield.

But cutting back on his tile drainage system? Not an option. This spring was wet and late, he said. Fields were waterlogged.

"I don't know when we would have been able to plant without the tile," Adams said.

Adams said he doesn't think his tile water is polluted, and that he wouldn't be afraid to drink it.

Cities, too, are making changes. Nearby, Hutchinson is embarking on a multi-million dollar project to address sediment and pollution the South Fork Crow carries into Otter and Campbell lakes, two shallow lakes in the city. That means working with local landowners, shoring up crumbling stream banks, restoring wetlands and adding native buffer plantings, among other things.

The Crow River's impact on the Mississippi River is well known in the watershed world, but it's difficult to make people care, said John Paulson, Hutchinson's project environmental regulatory manager. Communities need to address the problem locally, where they can see it.

That's what Kandiyohi County did. It just finished a decadeslong project to restore a large drained prairie wetland in the headwaters area of the South Fork Crow near Willmar. More than a dozen families sold the state permanent conservation easements to rebuild Grass Lake. It now holds and filters farm drainage and storm water from Willmar, said Kandiyohi County drainage manager Loren Engelby. A large gate valve allows them to manage water levels.

Already, frogs and turtles and birds are returning, Engelby said. Grass Lake's water flows to Lake Wakanda and Little Kandiyohi Lake, impaired lakes that are the official headwaters of the South Fork Crow River.

But you could argue that the river's true source is the old Kandi Mall parking lot in Willmar, said DNR wildlife supervisor Cory Netland, who works in the area. The mall was built over a cow pasture made from a drained wetland, and the parking lot drains into a large ditch that runs to Grass Lake.

Engelby calls Grass Lake "a big kidney" that he expects will significantly reduce nitrate, phosphorous and sediment washing into the South Fork Crow.

"This is a big piece of the puzzle," he said, "but it's a very large puzzle."

Explore further How do we solve the problem of agricultural nutrient runoff?

2022 StarTribune.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Motorcyclists push their vehicles through a flooded street in Pakistan's port city of Karachi.

Shazad Akbar carried his four-year-old daughter on his shoulders Tuesday as he and his wife waded through knee-high water flooding a street in Surjani, a poor part of Pakistan's port city of Karachi.

His wife fell sick overnight, but Akbar couldn't take her to a doctor as heavy monsoon rains fell until morning, causing misery for the city of 15 million.

"I can only manage to come out now," Shazad told AFP as his burqa-clad wife hid behind him.

The monsoon, which usually lasts from June to September, is essential for irrigating crops and replenishing lakes and dams across the Indian subcontinent, but also brings a wave of destruction each year.

This year's monsoon is being felt hardest in cities, where poor infrastructure and services lead to clogged drains and culvertsand the collapse of the sewage system.

The result is widespread flooding, particularly in low-lying areas, and usually in poor neighbourhoods.

In Rahim Goth, a slum in the west of the city, locals were attempting to bail water from their shacks and dwellings using buckets, pots and jugs.

But their efforts appeared futile as they tipped the contents into streets already several feet deep.

Climate change

Sardar Sarfaraz, director of the Pakistan Meteorological Department, told AFP an "unprecedented" 568 millimetres (22.3 inches) of rain had fallen in the city this monthnearly triple Karachi's recent averages and more than four times that of two decades ago.

Karachi residents attempt to bail water from their shacks and dwellings using buckets, pots and jugs.

Environmentalist Arif Zubair conceded monsoons can regularly cause natural havoc, but is clear what is to blame for the worsening situationclimate change.

"(It) has engulfed all of South and Southeast Asia," he told AFP Tuesday.

"The recent (heavy) rains have certainly been an indicator of global climate change."

Pakistan ranks eighth on a list of countries most vulnerable to extreme weather caused by climate change, according to the environment NGO Germwatch.

But the effects of climate change are also exacerbated by the mismanagement and negligence of authorities and policymakers, who critics accuse of being oblivious to the problems ahead.

Coastal Karachi is particularly prone to flooding because the city has expanded with scant planning on a landscape ill-suited to urban development.

"We are sitting on a climate bomb," Arif said.

Rainfall in Karachi this month is nearly triple the city's recent averages and more than four times that of two decades ago.

Over 300 people have died as a result of the heavy monsoon rains this year, which have also washed away more than 600 kilometres (375 miles) of roads and 50 bridges, according to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).

It said more than 10,000 homes had been damagedwith Baluchistan province the worst hit.

In Rahim Goth, many residents have moved to rooftops to escape the flooding, stretching tarpaulin between poles to give them shelter from the incessant rain.

"People (officials) come every year to inquire about us, but every year we are doomed," Afsari Bano told AFP as she tried to cook a family meal.

She said most of the family's belongingsfurniture, bedding and other possessionswere destroyed by flooding two years ago, and they were only just recovering.

Now she was surrounded by water in which floated soiled nappies and other garbage.

Coastal Karachi is particularly prone to flooding because the city has expanded with scant planning on a landscape ill-suited to urban development.

"Swarms of flies and mosquitos will follow now," the 50-year housewife said.

"If someone diesAllah forbid as life and death is in his handit is next to impossible to hold a funeral."

Explore further Monsoon rains kill 77 in Pakistan

 2022 AFP
Argonne scientists conduct a controlled burn on the Konza prairie in Kansas using the Sage monitoring system. Credit: Rajesh Sankaran/Argonne National Laboratory

Multichannel sensing could help in emergencies.

Smokey Bear has lots of great tips about preventing forest fires. But how do you stop one that's started before it gets out of control? The answer may lie in pairing multichannel sensing with advanced computing technologies provided by a new platform called Sage.

Sage offers a one-of-a-kind combination. This combination involves both multiple types of sensors with computing "at the edge," as well as embedded machine learning algorithms that enable scientists to process the enormous amounts of data generated in the field without having to transfer it all back to the laboratory. Computing "at the edge" means that data is processed where it is collected, in the field, while machine learning algorithms are computer programs that train themselves how to recognize patterns.

Researchers using Sage recently completed a demonstration as they successfully monitored a prescribed controlled burnin which a piece of land is carefully burned as part of environmental managementof part of the Konza tallgrass prairie in Kansas. The advanced cyberinfrastructure deployed in Sage, which allows for on-the-spot detection, monitoring and analysis of the burned area, could offer scientists and natural resources officials the ability to get ahead of forest fires with quickly analyzed, multi-instrumented data.

"When it comes to forest fires, time is absolutely of the essence," said Argonne computational scientist and NAISE Fellow Rajesh (Raj) Sankaran. "Often, there's no time to move data from the fieldwhere high-speed connectivity might be an issueto the lab. With Sage, we're getting the pertinent information we need when we need it."

The controlled burn in the Konza prairie gave the researchers a large collection of dataalmost 60 DVDs worthfull of information about the progression of smoke and fire. This data can be used to educate a machine learning algorithm that can make further determinations of the behavior of other fires in real time.

After the success of the Sage network in Kansas, future plans exist for the network to be deployed in California, Colorado, Illinois and Texas as part of a network led by the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON). Eventually, researchers hope to set up a continent-spanning network of smart sensors that could employ Sage technology. "NEON is developing a mobile deployment platform that can complement land-based and aquatic sites all over the country," Sankaran said. "Sage can play a supportive role in many different environments throughout the United States."

Technologically, Sage relies on an open-source wireless sensor platform called Waggle, developed and funded by Argonne. Waggle leverages emerging technology in low-power processors, sensors and cloud computing to build powerful and reliable sensor nodes that can actively analyze and respond to data. "Essentially, Waggle is the base that Sage uses," said Argonne computer scientist and NAISE co-director Pete Beckman, who helped to pioneer Waggle and Sage. "It's basically as if Waggle is a cell phone, and Sage is the network that the phone uses to communicate plus the apps that run on it."

According to Beckman, the team is also pursuing a further research partnership with a researcher at the University of Oregon, who is working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to construct a series of monitoring stations in the Pacific Northwest. Beckman hopes that by including Sage, these monitoring stations can have added functionality in getting ahead of forest fires and other natural disasters by monitoring the environment.

Explore further Fires prompt sage grouse hunting ban in part of Nevada
Credit: University of Bath

Fossils of small plesiosaurs, long-necked marine reptiles from the age of dinosaurs, have been found in a 100-million year old river system that is now Morocco's Sahara Desert. This discovery suggests some species of plesiosaur, traditionally thought to be sea creatures, may have lived in freshwater.

Plesiosaurs, first found in 1823 by fossil hunter Mary Anning, were prehistoric reptiles with small heads, long necks, and four long flippers. They inspired reconstructions of the Loch Ness Monster, but unlike the monster of Lake Loch Ness, plesiosaurs were marine animalsor were widely thought to be.

Now, scientists from the University of Bath and University of Portsmouth in the U.K., and Universite Hassan II in Morocco, have reported small plesiosaurs from a Cretaceous-aged river in Africa.

The fossils include bones and teeth from three-meter long adults and an arm bone from a 1.5 meter long baby. They hint that these creatures routinely lived and fed in freshwater, alongside frogs, crocodiles, turtles, fish, and the huge aquatic dinosaur Spinosaurus.

These fossils suggest the plesiosaurs were adapted to tolerate freshwater, possibly even spending their lives there, like today's river dolphins.

The new paper was headed by University of Bath Student Georgina Bunker, along with Nick Longrich from the University of Bath's Milner Center for Evolution, David Martill and Roy Smith from the University of Portsmouth, and Samir Zouhri from the Universite Hassan II.

Kem Kem plesiosaur silhouettes. Credit: University of Bath

The fossils include vertebrae from the neck, back, and tail, shed teeth, and an arm bone from a young juvenile.

"It's scrappy stuff, but isolated bones actually tell us a lot about ancient ecosystems and animals in them. They're so much more common than skeletons, they give you more information to work with" said Dr. Nick Longrich, corresponding author on the paper.

"The bones and teeth were found scattered and in different localities, not as a skeleton. So each bone and each tooth is a different animal. We have over a dozen animals in this collection."

While bones provide information on where animals died, the teeth are interesting because they were lost while the animal was aliveso they show where the animals lived.

Plesiosaur humerus. Credit: University of Bath

What's more, the teeth show heavy wear, like those fish-eating dinosaur Spinosaurus found in the same beds.

The scientists say that implies the plesiosaurs were eating the same foodchipping their teeth on the armored fish that lived in the river. This hints they spent a lot of time in the river, rather than being occasional visitors.

While marine animals like whales and dolphins wander up rivers, either to feed or because they're lost, the number of plesiosaur fossils in the river suggest that's unlikely.

A more likely possibility is that the plesiosaurs were able to tolerate fresh and salt water, like some whales, such as the beluga whale.

Credit: University of Bath

It's even possible that the plesiosaurs were permanent residents of the river, like modern river dolphins. The plesiosaurs' small size would have let them hunt in shallow rivers, and the fossils show an incredibly rich fish fauna.

Dr. Longrich said: "We don't really know why the plesiosaurs are in freshwater.

"It's a bit controversial, but who's to say that because we paleontologists have always called them 'marine reptiles,' they had to live in the sea? Lots of marine lineages invaded freshwater."

Freshwater dolphins evolved at least four timesin the Ganges River, the Yangtze River, and twice in the Amazon. A species of freshwater seal inhabits Lake Baikal, in Siberia, so it's possible plesiosaurs adapted to freshwater as well.

The plesiosaurs belong to the family Leptocleididaea family of small plesiosaurs often found in brackish or freshwater elsewhere in England, Africa, and Australia. And other plesiosaurs, including the long-necked elasmosaurs, turn up in brackish or fresh waters in North America and China.

Plesiosaurs were a diverse and adaptable group, and were around for more than 100 million years. Based on what they've found in Africaand what other scientists have found elsewherethe authors suggest they might have repeatedly invaded freshwater to different degrees.

"We don't really know, honestly. That's how paleontology works. People ask, how can paleontologists know anything for certain about the lives of animals that went extinct millions of years ago? The reality is, we can't always. All we can do is make educated guesses based on the information we have. We'll find more fossils. Maybe they'll confirm those guesses. Maybe not."

"It's been really interesting to see the direction this project has gone in," said lead author Georgina Bunker. The study initially began as an undergraduate project involving a single bone, but over time, more plesiosaur fossils started turning up, slowly providing a clearer picture of the animal.

The new discovery also expands the diversity of Morocco's Cretaceous. Said Dr. Samir Zouhri, "This is another sensational discovery that adds to the many discoveries we have made in the Kem Kem over the past fifteen years of work in this region of Morocco. Kem Kem was truly an incredible biodiversity hotspot in the Cretaceous."

"What amazes me" said coauthor Dave Martill, "is that the ancient Moroccan river contained so many carnivores all living alongside each other. This was no place to go for a swim."

But what does this all mean for the Loch Ness Monster? On one level, it's plausible. Plesiosaurs weren't confined to the seas, they did inhabit freshwater. But the fossil record also suggests that after almost a hundred and fifty million years, the last plesiosaurs finally died out at the same time as the dinosaurs, 66 million years ago.

Explore further Medical scan reveals the secrets of New Zealand's extinct marine reptiles

More information: Georgina Bunker et al, Plesiosaurs from the fluvial Kem Kem Group (mid-Cretaceous) of eastern Morocco and a review of non-marine plesiosaurs, Cretaceous Research (2022). Journal information: Cretaceous Research Georgina Bunker et al, Plesiosaurs from the fluvial Kem Kem Group (mid-Cretaceous) of eastern Morocco and a review of non-marine plesiosaurs,(2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.cretres.2022.105310
Credit: Frame Stock Footage/Shutterstock

The chance of someone being killed by space junk falling from the sky may seem ridiculously tiny. After all, nobody has yet died from such an accident, though there have been instances of injury and damage to property. But given that we are launching an increasing number of satellites, rockets and probes into space, do we need to start taking the risk more seriously?

A new study, published in Nature Astronomy, has estimated the chance of causalities from falling rocket parts over the next ten years.

Every minute of every day, debris rains down on us from spacea hazard we are almost completely unaware of. The microscopic particles from asteroids and comets patter down through the atmosphere to settle unnoticed on the Earth's surfaceadding up to around 40,000 metric tons of dust each year.

While this is not a problem for us, such debris can do damage to spacecraftas was recently reported for the James Webb space telescope. Occasionally, a larger sample arrives as a meteorite, and maybe once every 100 years or so, a body tens of meters across manages to drive through the atmosphere to excavate a crater.

Andfortunately very rarelykilometer-sized objects can make it to the surface, causing death and destructionas shown by the lack of dinosaurs roaming the Earth today. These are examples of natural space debris, the uncontrolled arrival of which is unpredictable and spread more or less evenly across the globe.

The new study, however, investigated the uncontrolled arrival of artificial space debris, such as spent rocket stages, associated with rocket launches and satellites. Using mathematical modeling of the inclinations and orbits of rocket parts in space and population density below them, as well as 30 years' worth of past satellite data, the authors estimated where rocket debris and other pieces of space junk land when they fall back to Earth.

They found that there is a small, but significant, risk of parts re-entering in the coming decade. But this is more likely to happen over southern latitudes than northern ones. In fact, the study estimated that rocket bodies are approximately three times more likely to land at the latitudes of Jakarta in Indonesia, Dhaka in Bangladesh or Lagos in Nigeria than those of New York in the U.S., Beijing in China or Moscow in Russia.

The authors also calculated a "casualty expectation"the risk to human lifeover the next decade as a result of uncontrolled rocket re-entries. Assuming that each re-entry spreads lethal debris over an area of ten square meters, they found that there is a 10% chance of one or more casualties over the next decade, on average.

To date, the potential for debris from satellites and rockets to cause harm at the Earth's surface (or in the atmosphere to air traffic) has been regarded as negligible. Most studies of such space debris have focused on the risk generated in orbit by defunct satellites which might obstruct the safe operation of functioning satellites. Unused fuel and batteries also lead to explosions in orbit which generate additional waste.

But as the number of entries into the rocket launch business increasesand moves from government to private enterpriseit is highly likely that the number of accidents, both in space and on Earth, such as that which followed the launch of the Chinese Long March 5b, will also increase. The new study warns that the 10% figure is therefore a conservative estimate.

Saudi officials inspect a crashed module in January 2001. Credit: Wikipedia

What can be done

There are a range of technologies that make it entirely possible to control the re-entry of debris, but they are expensive to implement. For example, spacecraft can be "passivated," whereby unused energy (such as fuel or batteries) is expended rather than stored once the lifetime of the spacecraft has ended.

The choice of orbit for a satellite can also reduce the chance of producing debris. A defunct satellite can be programmed to move into low Earth orbit, where it will burn up.

There are also attempts to launch re-usable rockets which, for example, SpaceX has demonstrated and Blue Origin is developing. These create a lot less debris, though there will be some from paint and metal shavings, as they return to Earth in a controlled way.

Many agencies do take the risks seriously. The European Space Agency is planning a mission to attempt the capture and removal of space debris with a four-armed robot. The UN, through its Office of Outer Space Affairs, issued a set of Space Debris Mitigation Guidelines in 2010, which was reinforced in 2018. However, as the authors behind the new study point out, these are guidelines, not international law, and do not give specifics as to how mitigation activities should be implemented or controlled.

The study argues that advancing technologies and more thoughtful mission design would reduce the rate of uncontrolled re-entry of spacecraft debris, decreasing the hazard risk across the globe. It states that "uncontrolled rocket body reentries constitute a collective action problem; solutions exist, but every launching state must adopt them."

A requirement for governments to act together is not unprecedented, as shown by the agreement to ban ozone layer-destroying chlorofluorcarbon chemicals. But, rather sadly, this kind of action usually requires a major event with significant consequences for the northern hemisphere before action is taken. And changes to international protocols and conventions take time.

In five years, it will be 70 years since the launch of the first satellite into space. It would be a fitting celebration of that event if it could be marked by a strengthened and mandatory international treaty on space debris, ratified by all UN states. Ultimately, all nations would benefit from such an agreement.

Explore further Uncontrolled rocket descents pose a 10% risk of killing one or more people over the next ten years

More information: Michael Byers et al, Unnecessary risks created by uncontrolled rocket reentries, Nature Astronomy (2022). Journal information: Nature Astronomy Michael Byers et al, Unnecessary risks created by uncontrolled rocket reentries,(2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41550-022-01718-8

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
A photo of a halo of diamond dust was made on December 12, 2010 in Tampere (Finland). Credit: Marko Riikonen

For the first time in the history of observations, scientists from the Helsinki and Ural Federal Universities, Jarmo Moilanen and Maria Gritsevich, have systematized information about all forms of atmospheric halos recorded by mankind at the end of 2021. From numerous sources of data on observations, the history of which includes 4-5 millennia, 119 different forms of atmospheric halo are known today. There are also extra-atmospheric halos and halos that can be seen on various surfaces. An article describing the work carried out and the conclusions reached was published in the Journal of Quantitative Spectroscopy and Radiative Transfer.

In the study, scientists summarized not only the general information regarding the phenomena, but also the conditions necessary for seeing the optical illusions in the atmosphere (the formation of crystals of ice or other minerals), such as temperature and humidity. In addition, the authors of the article identified knowledge gaps in the study of atmospheric halos and outlined promising methods for observing and processing the data. Among them are new digital photography techniques that are being used to improve the quality of detection of atmospheric halos and that lead to the discovery of their new forms.

Scientists have grouped atmospheric halos into commonly observed and rarely seen categories. It is believed that if a certain form of halo is observed at least once a year, it belongs to the first category; halos with a rare light source configuration, orientation, or unusual crystal shape make up only about 1% of all observed halos.

The frequently observed halos are usually formed by the scattering, refraction and focusing of light by hexagonal ice crystals in a disordered, horizontal or vertical orientation. The main sources of light that cause halos are the sun and the moon, as well as artificial sources. Rare halos, in turn, are divided into those whose origin has been established; and exotic, those that have not yet been sufficiently studied and are not yet amenable to modeling.

"As a rule, halos are formed as a result of the interaction of light with hexagonal crystals of water ice," says Jarmo Moilanen, author of the article, researcher at the Finnish Geospatial Research Institute, Ph.D. student at the University of Helsinki. "However, some of the documented exotic halos cannot be explained in this way. For example, the mysteries of the origin of elliptical halos and Bottlinger rings have not been solved since their discovery at the beginning of the 20th century. Among the mysterious ones is the so-called Moilanen arc, which I first discovered in 1995."

In the case of exotic halos, science is presumably dealing with anomalous crystal shapes (such as cubic water ice crystals), with their heterogeneity, or with crystals of some other minerals scattered in the air. However, what exactly should be the ice crystals and the paths of the rays that pass through these crystals in order to form a halo of one or another exotic form is still unclear.

"The researchers suggest that the unusual shape of exotic halos is due to anthropogenic factors, such as emissions into the atmosphere or the influence of the strong electromagnetic field of high-voltage power lines, which can disrupt the orientation of ice crystals in the air. To unravel such mysteries, samples of ice crystals forming exotic halos were specially collected in the atmosphere, but this experience also gave more questions than answers," says Maria Gritsevich, adjunct professor at the University of Helsinki, senior researcher at the Finnish Geospatial Research Institute and the Ural Federal University.

Finally, the halos formed in the atmospheres of Venus, Mars, Jupiter and their satellites are of interest. Halos have been already extensively documented in the atmosphere of Mars.

"This observation proves that clouds of hexagonal crystals of water ice or other minerals exist in the atmosphere of Mars," says Maria Gritsevich. "There are suggestions that the halos could be formed by carbon dioxide crystals. Monte Carlo modeling of the factors that can lead to the formation of a halo will provide valuable information about the state of the Martian atmosphere."

The oldest mentions of the halo are from 4 to 5 thousand years old: Information about the halos is recorded on cuneiform tablets of the Sumero-Babylonian culture. At the time of Aristotle, at least three halo forms were known. One of the oldest sightings of a halo in Jerusalem dates back to the beginning of the 12th century. By 1820, the number of registered halos was about 20; by 199060.

Significant progress in documenting the halo has occurred in connection with the proliferation of mobile phones with photo and video cameras. The authors of the article call on the public to record the observed halos and thus contribute to the study of these phenomena and the discovery of new ones.

Explore further Cosmic radio pulses probe hidden matter around galaxies

More information: Jarmo Moilanen et al, Light scattering by airborne ice crystalsAn inventory of atmospheric halos, Journal of Quantitative Spectroscopy and Radiative Transfer (2022). Jarmo Moilanen et al, Light scattering by airborne ice crystalsAn inventory of atmospheric halos,(2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.jqsrt.2022.108313
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Lead researcher Dr. Qiang Jiang, a Curtin Ph.D. graduate from Curtin's School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, said the findings were vital to understanding how to prevent future climate disasters.

"Earth's biological cycle has been punctuated by catastrophic mass extinctions, some of which wiped out 90% of all species," Dr. Jiang said.

"The main culprit of these rapid environmental crises were massive volcanic eruptions. What had been puzzling scientists is that some of these gigantic eruptions resulted in severe extinctions, while others only resulted in minor environmental disturbances. We set out to discover why.

"An example of a less-deadly supervolcano is the Kerguelen large volcanic province- an enormous body of lava in the southern Indian Ocean three times the size of France. Its sheer area and volume makes it the second largest series of super volcanic eruptions since complex life began on Earth some 540 million years ago.

"Despite the enormous volumes of outpouring lava, it was not previously believed to be associated with any environmental catastrophe."

Co-researcher Professor Fred Jourdan, Director of the Western Australian Argon Isotope Facility at Curtin University, said new experiments revealed that the Kerguelen province was linked to a comparatively minor global oceanic anoxic event, a time when large expanses of our oceans were depleted in oxygen.

"We used the argon-argon dating technique to date the Kerguelen lava flows, by analyzing a series of black basaltic rocks drilled from the bottom of the sea floor," Professor Jourdan said.

"The new age data revealed that the Kerguelen eruptions were, in fact, active right across the global oceanic anoxic event 120 million years ago. But while they may have rapidly degraded the environment for marine organisms, it did not lead to a deadly mass extinction."

Co-author Dr. Hugo Olierook, also from Curtin's School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, said the amount and rate of carbon dioxide emitted by Kerguelen could explain why these enormous super volcanic eruptions made a comparatively small dent in our environmental and biological cycle.

"Other deadly supervolcanoes wiped out life primarily through rapid release of enormous volumes of carbon dioxide. Perhaps the Kerguelen eruptions emitted much slower or much less carbon dioxide, or both," Dr. Olierook said.

"We studied droplets of magma trapped within crystals in lava to investigate the amount and rate of CO 2 released from the Kerguelen supervolcanoes and found they emitted at least five times less CO 2 and at a rate 30 times slower than volcanic eruptions that wiped out entire lifeforms.

"Earth naturally has mechanisms by which carbon dioxide is taken out of our atmosphere and oceans and stored in rocks and soil, but these processes are gradual over hundreds of thousands of years and work only when the rate of emissions is moderate.

"However, alarmingly our calculations also show that we are now currently emitting carbon dioxide 200 times faster than those supervolcanic eruptions that caused the most severe mass extinctions."

Dr. Jiang said these findings from the past could inform how we combat climate change now and in the future.

"Archives from the past clearly show that slowing down carbon dioxide emissions is crucial to mitigate Earth's climate change and avoid potentially disastrous consequences that are projected based on current human-induced emissions."

The research paper, "Volume and rate of volcanic CO 2 emissions governed the severity of past environmental crises," was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

More information: Qiang Jiang et al, Volume and rate of volcanic CO 2 emissions governed the severity of past environmental crises, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2022). Journal information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Qiang Jiang et al, Volume and rate of volcanic CO 2 emissions governed the severity of past environmental crises,(2022). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2202039119
Credit: Physical Review Letters (2022). DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.128.170401

When studying a complex system, scientists identify smaller pieces called subsystems that they can make sense of. By studying subsystems and the correlations between them, they reconstruct an understanding of the whole.

This approach has been used with great success to explain phenomena and develop applications based on quantum mechanicsthe physics of matter and energy at the scale of the atom or smaller. But it largely describes systems that operate in a world where time is absolute.

It falls short when describing scenarios that consider Einstein's theory of general relativity, where time is relative and tightly interwoven with space into a four-dimensional spacetime.

Now, a theoretical study co-authored by Alexander Smith, adjunct assistant professor of physics, and Shadi Ali Ahmad '22, proposes a new framework for identifying subsystems and correlations in a way that is compatible with general relativity.

Their work may be applied in constructing a quantum description of spacetime, says Smith. Theoretical physicists have long been striving to combine quantum mechanics and general relativity into the unified theory of quantum gravity. Attempts to finally reconcile these fundamentally different theories that describe the universe have been progressing in the last two decades.

The new framework, published in April in the Physical Review Letters journal, builds on previous work on subsystems by the James Frank Family Professor of Physics Lorenza Viola and her collaborators.

"Quantum mechanics allows for correlations that are not consistent with our classical understanding of the world," says Smith. Viola and her collaborators gave us a new way to think about these quirky quantum correlations, he says. In their framework, instead of having composite building parts that are glued together into a larger system, the subsystems arise from the complex system based on the kinds of measurements that one can make.

Smith, Ahmad and their collaborators apply this idea to build a framework for identifying subsystems, which is consistent with relativity theory, and find that the notion of the subsystem is no longer objective.

"The way we partition a system is also relative. It depends on who is looking at it," says Smith. While their method currently applies to simple systems, the authors are working to generalize the framework.

Several theoretical concepts that are driving the emerging understanding of quantum gravity have their origin in quantum information theorya relatively new field that studies how information in a quantum system can be analyzed and manipulated. "Quantum information science has given us this whole new way to think about quantum mechanics itself," says Smith.

Working with Smith and other researchers, Ahmad, who is from Beirut, Lebanon, and majored in physics and mathematics, has used quantum information theory to study a number of different theoretical problems.

In previous work, published in Physical Review D, they were the first to examine how gravitational wavesripples in spacetime caused when massive astronomical objects speed up to extreme levelsaffect entanglement between systems.

Another project, published in Physical Review A, tackles the question of how workthe measure of how much energy is transferred when a force acts on an objectcan be defined at the quantum scale.

Smith says Ahmad is one of the most driven to learn, hardworking, and productive students he has encountered. "Seeing Shadi develop his ability in theoretical physics over the past four years has been very rewarding," he says.

Ahmad won the 2022 Gazzaniga Family Science Award, which recognizes scientific accomplishment of a graduating senior in the sciences. He is also the recipient of the Physics and Astronomy Chair's Prize.

"Quantum information theory is a toolbox that I like to borrow from and use broadly," says Ahmad. The promise of access to undergraduate research opportunities and funding was what drew him to Dartmouth, he says. Now a research fellow at Dartmouth, Ahmad is wrapping up ongoing projects as he prepares to apply to graduate programs.

With classes as a springboard, he sought out research mentors in the physics and mathematics departments, collaborating with them on a wide range of research topics.

"Talking about science with people shapes the way you think," says Ahmad, who already has three publications under his belt. "I think it really sharpens your interest."

Explore further Explaining gravity without string theory
Bavarian Nordic Receives European Approval of Extension of Vaccine Label to Include Monkeypox

Details Category: Vaccines Published on Tuesday, 26 July 2022 10:14 Hits: 1927

COPENHAGEN, Denmark I July 25, 2022 I Bavarian Nordic A/S (OMX: BAVA) announced today that the European Commission (EC) has extended the marketing authorization for the Companys smallpox vaccine, IMVANEX to include protection from monkeypox and disease caused by vaccinia virus. The approval, which follows a positive opinion by the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) on July 22, 2022, is valid in all European Union Member States as well as in Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway.

The label extension was approved after submission of a rolling type-II variation application in June 2022, in alignment between Bavarian Nordic and the European Medicines Agencys Emergency Task Force (ETF), Rapporteurs and the European Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA). The EC approved the full IMVANEX indication as: Active immunisation against smallpox, monkeypox and disease caused by vaccinia virus in adults. The monkeypox indication approval is an example of great cooperation between Bavarian Nordic and the European regulators as such an indication extension normally takes at least 6-9 months to achieve.

Paul Chaplin, President and CEO of Bavarian Nordic said: We are pleased to receive the approval from the European Commission, broadening the label of our vaccine to include monkeypox. The availability of an approved vaccine can significantly improve nations readiness to fight emerging diseases, but only through investments and structured planning of the biological preparedness. The development of IMVANEX was made possible through significant investments from the U.S. government for the past two decades, leading the way for other governments to develop plans and prioritize for the future to protect their citizens against public health threats. With this approval, we look forward to working closer with the EU and its member states to solve this important task.

About IMVANEX

IMVANEX (MVA-BN or Modified Vaccinia Ankara-Bavarian Nordic) is a non-replicating smallpox vaccine developed in collaboration with the U.S. government to ensure supply of a smallpox vaccine for the entire population, including immunocompromised individuals who are not recommended vaccination with traditional replicating smallpox vaccines. The vaccine was approved by the European Commission in 2013 for immunization against smallpox in adults aged 18 years and older and has subsequently gained regulatory approvals in Canada (marketed as IMVAMUNE) and the U.S. (marketed as JYNNEOS) where the approvals have been extended to include the monkeypox indication as the only vaccine having obtained this to-date.

Bavarian Nordic has ongoing supply contracts with USA and Canada and has delivered the vaccine to a number of undisclosed countries globally as part of their national biological preparedness. In recent years, smaller quantities of the vaccine have been supplied in response to sporadic cases of monkeypox. During the ongoing 2022 outbreak of monkeypox, Bavarian Nordic has worked with several governments to fulfil the immediate demand for the vaccine through a number of supply agreements and is working to secure manufacturing of vaccines to fulfil the demand in the medium- to long term.

About Bavarian Nordic

Bavarian Nordic is a fully integrated vaccines company focused on the development, manufacturing and commercialization of life-saving vaccines. We are a global leader in smallpox vaccines and have been a long-term supplier to the U.S. Government of a non-replicating smallpox vaccine, which has been approved by the FDA, also for the protection against monkeypox. The vaccine is also approved for protection against smallpox and monkeypox in Canada, and as a smallpox vaccine in Europe. Our commercial product portfolio furthermore contains market-leading vaccines against rabies and tick-borne encephalitis. Using our live virus vaccine platform technology, MVA-BN, we have created a diverse portfolio of proprietary and partnered product candidates designed to save and improve lives by unlocking the power of the immune system, including an Ebola vaccine, which is licensed to the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson. We are also committed to the development of a next generation COVID-19 vaccine. For more information visit www.bavarian-nordic.com.

SOURCE: Bavarian Nordic
GRANVILLE  Two men were arrested on Sunday in connection with a string of residential burglaries in the village of Granville.

Police were called to a reported burglary at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, and determined two other homes had been broken into as well. Troopers arrested Daniel Valastro, 31, of Whitehall, and an unidentified 18-year-old male, of Granville, still in the area shortly after the crimes were reported.

Valastro and the other male are both charged with three felony counts of second-degree burglary.

Both men were transported to the State Police barracks in Granville. The unidentified man was released after he was arraigned at Washington County Centralized Arraignment and appeared in Whitehall Town Court on Monday. Valastro is a parolee with three prior felony convictions. He was remanded to Washington County Jail to await arraignment.

Police said the investigation is ongoing and anyone with information should contact State Police at Crimetip@troopers.ny.gov.
QUEENSBURY  A 61-year-old Queensbury man who has been arrested multiple times in the last year is facing more felony drug charges.

Norman G. Perry, aka Cowboy, of Corinth Road, is accused of selling crack cocaine to an undercover officer. The arrest followed a lengthy investigation conducted by the Warren County Narcotics Enforcement Unit, according to a news release.

Perry was charged on Monday with one count of third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance and one count of third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance.

Perry was arraigned in Warren County Court and sent to Warren County Jail. Bail was set at $150,000 cash, $300,000 partially secured bond or $500,000 bond because he has numerous felony charges pending.

Perry was arrested in April after following an incident in which police said he chased another man who had forced his way into Perrys residence. Perry was carrying a knife and crowbar in his pursuit of the victim, who police say he knew.

Perry was arrested for allegedly having a muzzle loader and a bag containing 0.9 grams of suspected crack cocaine at his residence.

He faced additional charges a few days later after police obtained a search warrant and found 49 grams of crack cocaine.

Perry was also arrested in January for allegedly having drugs and a collapsible baton.

He was also arrested on Oct. 14 and Dec. 2 on other drug charges.

Perry had been released on his own recognizance with no bail set after each of these arrests. Bail was set at $5,000 cash for the April arrest.
HUDSON FALLS  The Hudson Falls summer enrichment program is designed to allow students entering grades 2 through 6 to take non-credit science, technology, engineering, arts and math, or STEAM, related experiences.

The three-week STEAM enrichment program culminates with a STEAM Showcase on Thursday from 10-11 a.m. at the Hudson Falls Intermediate School.

Community members are invited to come share in this special day as the students display all the unique things they learned from their courses.

The program is not meant to take the place of a regular school curriculum, but rather encourage students to explore additional specialized areas that are of interest.

Courses are designed to engage and offer motivated students hands-on activities that are both challenging and experiential.

Some examples of courses include: Acting, Art, Coding, Experimental Science, Music, Fun with Food, Intro to Spanish and French and more.

The program is coordinated by Chris MacPherson, Director of Educational Technology, and Mike McTague, Kindergarten and Intermediate School Principal.
MONDAY, July 11, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- As the coronavirus continues to evolve, a new highly contagious omicron variant is appearing in India and other nations, including the United States, experts say.

This new mutation -- dubbed BA.2.75 -- is concerning scientists because it appears to spread fast, bypassing the protection offered by COVID-19 vaccines and immunity from previous infection, the Associated Press reported Monday. But whether it can cause more serious disease than other forms of COVID-19 is not clear, the experts said.

"It's still really early on for us to draw too many conclusions," Matthew Binnicker, Ph.D., director of clinical virology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, told the AP. "But it does look like, especially in India, the rates of transmission are showing kind of that exponential increase."

Shishi Luo, Ph.D., is head of infectious diseases for the company Helix, which supplies viral sequencing information to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Luo told the AP that seeing this new variant popping up around the world "is an early indication it is spreading."

In addition to India and three recent cases in the United States, BA.2.75 has been detected in 10 other countries, including Australia, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Canada.

Experts worry that this variant can more easily bind to cells and evade the body's protective antibodies. But vaccines and boosters are still the best defense against severe COVID-19, the news report noted. Reformulated vaccines that target more recent omicron variants should be available in the United States this fall.
One in a series of articles looking at local artists who are contributors to Atlantic City's 48 Blocks mural project.

ATLANTIC CITY  On a drab block of South Carolina Avenue between Atlantic and Pacific avenues, a mural created by local artist Charles Barbin brings a touch of liveliness to a somewhat neglected neighborhood crying out for a little TLC.

Barbin, of Brigantine, created his "Close Encounters Jellyfish" piece in 2018 for the Atlantic City Arts Foundation's 48 Blocks Atlantic City mural program to beautify the community's block.

Barbin, 43, who is a full-time artist and muralist, painted the aquatic-themed scene on the side of an abandoned building in about a month, using a mix of spray paint and exterior paint. Barbin said he chose the jellyfish theme because the fish's unique range of forms and shapes gave him something with which to play.

"I wanted to make something that people are usually repulsed by," said Barbin, who considers himself "an abstract expressionist by trade," but has recently been experimenting with more recognizable imagery. He said he likes creating art from subjects that tend to intimidate people in hopes they instead will see the beauty in those things, despite their off-putting nature. Thus, his choice of jellyfish as the subject of his mural.

Barbin said his appetite for art has "always been whet," and that was only enhanced once he attended the Tyler School of Art and Architecture based at Temple University in Philadelphia. He began creating murals on old buildings straight out of college for the Mural Arts Philadelphia program, which is the nation's largest public art program, according to organization's website. For more than 20 years Barbin has created murals. He is a part of an arts collective of five international artists called Amber Art & Design, to create meaningful public art within marginalized communities with little or no access to art.

Barbin would describe his niche in art as differential mark making, which refers to how lines, patterns and textures are created in a piece. He likes to apply acrylic, latex, oil, spray, and other paints to canvas in different ways while combining multiple techniques to play with varied sizes, shapes and motions for unique artistic concepts. The nine prismatic-colored jellyfish swimming in Barbin's Atlantic City mural add a spirited aspect to the neighborhood.

Barbin's abstract art shape shifted into focusing on more aquatic images after he moved back to the area in 2019 and opened the Dunes Art Gallery in Brigantine, where he features and sells his art, the work of other artists, and even offers group or in-private art lessons.

"The art scene's been steadily picking up," said Barbin, who as a full-time muralist, creates four to six murals a year all over the area, including Atlantic City, Brigantine and Philadelphia. His most recent work can be found on the side of the Pleasantville Bus Station.

"Neighborhoods are getting more responsive to local artists," he said. "They have respect for the time and effort for what artists do."

Barbin said art programs such as 48 Blocks make interacting with the community easier and have also been well received by the community and the city, giving artists more opportunities to showcase their art through beautification.

"Local artists all have their own mission. They're going to make art no matter what," said Barbin. "Art is continuously growing."
EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP  A pair of unidentified YouTubers posing as a 15-year-old girl online led police to arrest a man they say tried luring to them to his boat for sex.

Roger Tomes, 57, of Philadelphia, was arrested at the Graef Boat Yard on Longport-Somers Point Boulevard and is charged with second-degree luring, police said Tuesday.

Police responded to the boatyard after the attempted luring was reported at 5:46 p.m. Sunday.

Once at a boat slip at the yard, officers were approached by the YouTubers, whom police say run a channel to help catch potential child predators.

The pair often go on dating websites posing as underage girls, police said.

The pair directed officers to Tomes, who allegedly, through texts and messages online, lured the fake teenager to his boat for sexual and other illegal activities, police said.

If convicted, Tomes could face a $150,000 fine and five to 10 years in prison. He was charged and released, police said.

The investigation was conducted by Patrolman John Beattes and Detectives Jacob Hunter and Paul Janetta.
OCEAN CITY  The ability to attend municipal meetings remotely began because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Some city residents want to make it a permanent feature.

Since a careful return to in-person meetings more than a year ago, City Council has allowed members of the public to participate remotely, including offering public comment through the now-ubiquitous videoconferencing platform Zoom.

That came to an end Thursday, when there was no longer a remote option. Members of the public want it back, and members of council appear to agree.

I think Zoom should be part of our meetings, said Council member Jody Levchuk at the meeting, with Council member Karen Bergman concurring.

Jodys right. Were in a different world now, and people are in a different space. Why not have them be able to listen to and react to the meetings if they cant get here for some reason? she said.

Several members of the public called for the remote meeting option to be returned, including resident Robert Forman.

North Carolina resident considered person of interest in Absecon racial Zoombomber case ABSECON  Authorities have pinpointed the source of a racist remark during a February City C

Someone razzed me on Facebook, saying if its important, you can show up. Well, Im showing up, he said, speaking through a mask.

Other speakers said parking can be an issue in the summer around City Hall, and other residents may have health concerns that keep them from attending or are out of the area for a meeting.

Now youre blocking them out and thats not going to look good, Rick Birch said at the meeting.

If it were a question of money, resident Bill Hartranft suggested he could take up a collection. He put a $5 bill on the table, and some other speakers joined him in the gesture.

Funding does not seem to be the issue.

Peter Madden, who returned as council president at the reorganization meeting this month, said the meeting format was disorganized, without specific procedures for who would speak remotely on public comment.

'Zoombombing' hits Wildwood municipal meeting Often described as Zoombombing or Zoom raiding, the disruptive intrusion into remote confere

There is an agenda meeting with the city administration next Monday, he said, where the topic could be discussed. There was no vote Thursday, but it appeared that remote meetings had support.

We may need it. We may not need it. There is a consensus among council that we should revisit it, Madden said Monday. We want to make sure that we do it correctly.

That may mean investing in remote meetings, Madden said.

In previous meetings, there has occasionally been remote participation from some residents, whom Madden described as the usual suspects.

Council heard from the public Thursday, he said, and the city would see what could be done to accommodate the request.

In 2020, as COVID-19 rapidly became a national emergency, most New Jersey municipalities switched to meeting in a virtual format. The change was allowed under an emergency ruling that permitted meetings over the phone or virtually.

Guidance from the state Department of Community Affairs said remote meetings could be held, but steps would be needed to ensure the public could participate and comment on the actions of governing bodies.

The remote meetings presented new challenges, including several instances in some towns of Zoom bombing, in which a participant presents disruptive or offensive content through a remote meeting. That happened at a Wildwood meeting, at which someone presented pornographic videos during a public discussion. And during an Absecon meeting in February, someone was heard making a racist remark over Zoom.

The first steps toward returning to normal came with members of City Council meeting at the Ocean City Senior Center instead of City Hall, where there was more room for social distancing.

The public participated remotely at first, then returned in person with requests to maintain social distance. Council meetings are now back in Council Chambers at City Hall on Asbury Avenue.

Some meetings in the region have remained entirely remote, such as the Board of Directors of the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority, which meets via telephone.

But most governing bodies have returned to in-person meetings, with some livestreaming video of meetings through YouTube, Facebook or other online platforms. The residents of Wildwood Crest, for instance, can watch meetings as they happen. Others, including Lower and Upper townships, post videos of meetings soon after they are completed.

Avalon to consider adding video to meetings AVALON  Borough Council has asked for more information about remote video meetings, after a

Ocean City also records video of meetings, which is made available through links on the citys website to YouTube. That included the Thursday meeting.

Residents at the Ocean City meetings suggested expanding access to other meetings as well, including those of the citys Planning and Zoning boards.

The Zoom videoconferencing app was available in 2013, and by 2017, it was a billion-dollar company, but the demands of the pandemic in 2020 led to an explosion of its use for business, government and personal communications, and saw it supplant Skype as the generic term for online video communication.

Churches, families and cocktail parties moved their interactions to the platform in 2020, driving a massive increase in the number of users.
Fundraisers seeking to restore Lucy the Elephant, the Margate seaside attraction, have issued a formal apology for using language long associated with Holocaust remembrance in a fund-raising mailer sent to potential supporters.

The mailer featured a photo of Lucy the Elephant in 1973, when the attraction was threatened with demolition, next to the phrase, Never forget, never again.

Susan Klyman, a resident of Margate and Newtown, Bucks County, and a member of the Philadelphia-based Sons & Daughters of Holocaust Survivors, told The Inquirer last week that she was outraged by the mailer. Sons & Daughters also objected as an organization, noting in a tweet that words matter!

In a statement signed by president Davida Ross, the board said that we now fully understand that saving Lucy did not appear to measure up to using this phrase, no matter how well-intended.

Richard D. Helfant, chief executive of the Save Lucy Committee, said he sent a copy of the statement directly to Klyman on Sunday afternoon.

I appreciate the Save Lucy Committee apology for using this language, the sacred language, the language, Never again, never forget  its sacred language of the Holocaust, and in the universal sense other genocides, Klyman said Sunday. Although Lucy is an iconic, beloved landmark in Margate, this is not a living, breathing human that we save this language for. But I definitely appreciate the apology.

Helfant said the apology was intended as a blanket apology on behalf of the board of trustees to the public at large, of which Mrs. Klyman is a member.

Its a blanket apology for anyone who may have been offended by (the original language). Thats not like who or what the Save Lucy Committee is about, and I think that the apology that was written was well-written, and it states that, he said.

Helfant said roughly 10,000 letters were initially sent out. Any follow-ups or future mailers will not contain the offending language, he said. He said there were no plans to send mailers specifically retracting the language. He cited cost.

The phrase alluded to the time in the 1970s when Lucy was minutes away from the wrecking ball, and we cant ever let that happen again, Helfant said. In retrospect, it probably was not the smartest phraseology to use but there was no malice or ill will intended, of course.

Lucy dates to 1881 and was once a hotel. She is currently enclosed by scaffolding as a $1.4 million restoration has now grown to about $2.2 million, leaving a roughly $800,000 fund-raising shortfall, Helfant said. About $1.2 million of the project is being financed through grants, he said.

Klyman was extremely upset by the original fund-raising letter and asked the committee to apologize for the language.

Sunday, she said that my response to this was never meant to raise big issues or controversy. Rather, she saw it as an educational opportunity.

This was a chance, she said, to make sure that people understand that these words matter. They should not be co-opted for fund-raising.

On behalf of the volunteer board of trustees of the Save Lucy Committee, the board would like to apologize for using the phrase Never Forget Never Again in association with saving and repairing Lucy. We were certainly well-intended and never meant to offend anyone. Although the words have been used in association not only with the Holocaust, but other tragic events such as 9/11, we now fully understand that saving Lucy did not appear to measure up to using this phrase, no matter how well-intended. Lucy is a symbol of joy and survival; she is beloved by millions. We are working very hard to renew her for generations to come as she celebrates 141 years. We all want her to represent equity, diversity, inclusion and good will for all.
SEA ISLE CITY  One South Jersey teenager is making waves in building a statewide community for epilepsy.

Pauls Purple Warriors and the Epilepsy Services of New Jersey hosted their second annual Seize the Wave seminar Tuesday. The event takes young people with epilepsy into the ocean and teaches them how to surf in a welcoming, safe environment.

Paul St. Pierre, of Maple Shade, Burlington County, the namesake of Pauls Purple Warriors, organized the event with the help of his mother, Colleen Quinn. St. Pierre is 15, a rising junior at Eastern Regional High School in Voorhees, Camden County, and was diagnosed with epilepsy when he was in eighth grade.

I really think it means happiness, to see all these people surf and having epilepsy, St. Pierre said.

Its amazing, Liza Gundell, CEO of Epilepsy Services of New Jersey, said of the event.

Epilepsy is a kind of brain disorder that causes regular seizures. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that about 92,000 people and 12,000 children have epilepsy in New Jersey.

Heart of Surfing offers fun in the waves for children with autism ATLANTIC CITY  More than 100 families signed up for a surf day through the organization Hea

About three dozen young people and their families turned out at the beach off 37th Street in Sea Isle. Each surfer received one-on-one lessons from a volunteer instructor who surfed with them and could respond if their students encountered any trouble out on the water. Heritage Surf Shop and Tass Home Remodeling partnered with the organizers to host the event and helped provide the instructors.

Surfing, and most activities in water, are usually considered unsafe for people with epilepsy, with St. Pierre noting that the ocean could be especially scary, making Tuesday a unique opportunity for these kids.

Jared Muscat flew to the Jersey Shore from California for Seize the Wave and was its star guest for the second consecutive year Tuesday. Muscat was diagnosed with epilepsy just before he left for college at 17. Despite his diagnosis, he was determined to continue surfing and has partnered with the Epilepsy Foundation to raise awareness.

Muscat is now 31 with a wife and son and still loves to surf. Pauls Purple Warriors reached out to him via Facebook, and Muscat said he was glad to be able to come out, serving as an inspiration for others.

It means a lot to come out and be friends with these kids and be a support for their parents, a resource they can talk to, Muscat said.

William Reichenbecher, 7, of Point Pleasant, was among the trainees Tuesday. He had attended last years event and was brimming with excitement about riding the waves again.

This is when rip currents are most deadly to you A heat wave that drives you to the shore, warm water temperature that draws you to the surf 

When we saw the event last year, I just cried the whole day, said Sarah Reichenbecher, Williams mother. When you have days like today, with a support community, it normalizes everything, which is super important.

For Liberty Glass, of Middletown, Monmouth County, Tuesday was her first time on the board. She called the experience really fun.

I was surprised how hard it was, Glass said. The people on TV make it look so easy.

Dr. Jeff Geller was the physician on site for the event. His son Dylan, also an Eastern Regional student with epilepsy, participated Tuesday.

Geller said it broke his heart when he struggled to find medicine to treat his sons epilepsy. Dylan now takes CBD, a chemical found in marijuana, which Dr. Geller said is successfully treating his sons symptoms.

Mia Vazquez, a rising sophomore at Arizona State University, was among the trainers for the day, surfing with William Reichenbecher. She said she was glad to help families who may have been afraid to take their children out to the beach find a safe outlet.

Upper Township: Beware of fireworks on beach UPPER TOWNSHIP  Since the start of summer, Township Committee member Jay Newman has made a 

Its all about just the kids and getting them to be able to do something that they havent been able to do, Vazquez said.

Mrs. Brizzles Buns catered the event, and the children could grab hoagies and other lunch food after surfing. Tony Mac, a guitarist from Lititz, Pennsylvania, played live music.

St. Pierres advocacy is not limited to the shore. He went to Trenton to advocate for legislation to make New Jersey schools and businesses more accommodating to young people with epilepsy.

Due in part to St. Pierres efforts, Gov. Phil Murphy signed a law in January 2020 requiring schools to develop individualized health care plans for students with epilepsy or other seizure disorders. It also requires that schools train all personnel to care for said students. The legislation was titled Pauls Law.

Susan Roth, director of special services for Eastern, praised St. Pierre for his resilience and said he was more than deserving of the name warrior.

Quinn, St Pierres mother, has helped him change the landscape of seizure care in New Jersey and has been a source of support for her son as he has grown up with epilepsy. She said she was touched by the solidarity and community on display Tuesday.

Its enough to make you tear up over the camaraderie for all these kids, Quinn said.

Quinn and St. Pierre are currently advocating for legislation to strengthen Pauls Law, requiring school staff to regularly renew their certification in seizure response training. They also are working to advance a bill that would require businesses to post signs about epilepsy response.

Colin Dowling-Ashworth, of Hunterdon County, was another first-time surfer Tuesday and said surfing was just an example of what was possible for those with epilepsy.

Of course, you got to be careful, but you can really do anything you want, Dowling-Ashworth said. Just take precautions and have fun.

Lexi Yeatts, of Cherry Hill, is a Special Olympian with a gold medal in swimming. She has epilepsy, though she said she hadnt had any seizures in two years.

Yeatts was there to surf and praised the experience.

No matter what your disability is, or whats wrong with you, you can still do it, Yeatts said.
Atlantic Cape Community College is hosting an exhibition from the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C., for the next month on one of the most important national topics  voting.

Voices and Votes: Democracy in America is on display through Aug. 13 at the colleges G Building Student Center, 5100 Black Horse Pike, Mays Landing. The exhibit opened on July 11 and is on display from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays to Thursdays and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.

Part of our aim is to have programs that are free and available to the public, said Atlantic Capes dean of professional and liberal studies, Denise-Marie Coulter. A member of the college since 1993, Coulter said she believes this is the first traveling exhibit from the Smithsonian Institute to stop at the college during her time here.

Voices and Votes: Democracy in America explores the nearly 250-year-old American experiment of a government of, by and for the people and how each generation since continues to question how to form a more perfect union, which is from the preamble of the U.S. Constitution.

The display includes archival and educational video, campaign souvenirs, protest material and voter memorabilia, contemporary and historical photos and multimedia interactive displays with short games.

For about a year, Atlantic Cape worked with the New Jersey Council of the Humanities to obtain this exhibit, which is part of the Democracy Conversation Project, Coulter said.

ACCC was one of only six New Jersey community colleges, out of 18, to be chosen to host this exhibit, Coulter said.

Carin Berkowitz, executive director of the New Jersey Council for the Humanities, said she first heard the touring exhibition was available in 2019 and reserved it for appearances in the state. The exhibit is presented by the Museum on Main Street and has been made possible at Atlantic Cape by the N.J. Council for the Humanities.

With Jan. 6 and Ukraine, an exhibit about voting and democracy is even more crucial now than in 2019, Berkowitz said. The goal is to get everyone to collectively talk about our shared investment in democracy... It feels like a really important time to have those conversations.

Many themes are covered including introducing visitors to the context and main controversies behind Americas democratic system; and what does it mean to be a citizen and what are the rights and responsibilities of American citizens.

The college had to abide by certain specifics to land the exhibit, Coulter said. Direct sunlight couldnt hit it. The room had to be large enough and able to accommodate those with disabilities, she said.

There are actual artifacts  magazines, campaign buttons and bumper stickers. Its really neat, Coulter said. What different candidates give away is fun to see.

The League of Women Voters of New Jersey has helped by providing at least a dozen volunteers, but the college also has help from students, faculty and the American Association of University Women, Coulter said.

I hope people will take advantage of an exhibit from the Smithsonian in Southern New Jersey, Coulter said. The topic is so important and current. The exhibit covers the history that led up to the rights we have today as voters.

The 700-square-feet traveling exhibits  three other similar displays are touring simultaneously  are spinoffs from the permanent 7,000-square-foot exhibition titled, American Democracy: A Great Leap of Faith, housed in the Smithsonian.

The permanent exhibit has been on display since at least 2018, and the traveling displays hit the road in July 2020, said Terri Cobb, registrar for Museum on Main Street, a program of the Smithsonian Institute traveling exhibition series.

A couple thousand people usually come to see each exhibit per venue, Cobb said.

There has been a lot of excitement about it, Cobb said about the traveling exhibits. It has been very well received. Its fully booked.
Elis Cheesecake Co. broke ground Tuesday on a $9.5 million expansion of its Northwest Side production facility that will give the iconic Chicago cheesecake-maker space to grow as it builds back from the COVID-19 pandemic.

President Marc Schulman, son of the late legendary Eli Schulman, said the expansion will give the family-owned company some much-needed breathing room.

Advertisement

Things were starting to get very tight here, he said. Elis has made cheesecakes at the facility in the Dunning neighborhood since 1996. But the company has grown since then, adding new products and a gluten-free kitchen. The additional space will allow Elis to say yes to additional growth opportunities down the line, Schulman said. The expansion is the companys first since the 1990s.

Marc Schulman, president of Eli's Cheesecake, displays a cheesecake and cookbook Feb. 2, 2016, in the company's factory on Chicago's Northwest Side. The company broke ground Tuesday on a 42,000-square-foot expansion to its facility and plans to grow from 225 employees to at least 300 employees over two years. (Phil Velasquez / Chicago Tribune)

Construction at the facility, located at 6701 W. Forest Preserve Drive, is expected to be completed in the first quarter of next year, Schulman said. The 42,000-square-foot addition will bring the production facility up to 104,000 square feet, which will include Elis corporate offices as well as the Elis Cheesecake Bakery Cafe.

Advertisement

The company has mulled an expansion for many years, Schulman said.

Despite an exceptionally dire start to the pandemic, when a wave of order cancellations brought business to a standstill, about 90% of Elis employees were back at work within about four months, Schulman said.

Diversification allowed the company to keep going as the pandemic continued, Schulman said; in particular, Elis saw the share of its mail-order business grow to as high as about 10%. Chicagos central location made it easier to ship frozen cheesecakes around the country than if Elis had been based on either coast, he said.

Elis has continued to rebound, hiring about 80 people over the last six months. The company is on track to surpass the number of jobs needed to meet employment targets associated with tax incentives it received for the project, which require Elis to grow from 225 to 300 employees over two years. Well definitely exceed that, Schulman said. All Elis employees are based in Chicago.

Incentives include a $203,250 tax credit from the states Economic Development for a Growing Economy program and a Class 6(b) property tax incentive from the city that will reduce taxes on the property by $386,135 over 12 years.

More than 50 of the companys most recent hires have been refugees from Afghanistan, the company said in a news release. Elis has long emphasized employing refugees.

[ Elis Cheesecake, the iconic Chicago-style sweet, celebrates 40 years, and whatever happens next ]

The Chicago-style cheesecakes  dense and creamy, baked on a butter cookie crust  were served exclusively at Eli Schulmans restaurant, Elis The Place for Steak, until 1980, when the cakes made a smashing success at the first Taste of Chicago.

These days, Schulman estimates about 60% of Elis business comes from the food service sector, including partnerships with airlines such as United and American and chain restaurants including Culvers, which Elis partnered with around the beginning of the pandemic. The rest of the cheesecake business comes from retail sales, including at grocery stores such as Jewel-Osco and Marianos, and mail orders.

Advertisement

Schulman said hes grateful the company has remained family-owned with a focus on quality through its growth and success.

Just because we make more is no excuse to compromise quality at all, Schulman said. Its real people making cakes.
The Silvis Police Department says Desmond V. Williams, 20, was arrested on-scene Saturday evening for an apartment fire at 118 10th St.

Williams, a tenant at the apartment, was charged Monday with one Class X felony count of aggravated arson and one Class 1 felony count of arson. His bond is set at $100,000.

The fire left a tenant with minor injuries, and two firemen were treated for heat exhaustion. The three have since been treated and released from a local hospital.

Silvis Police were responding to a noise complaint when they were made aware of a fire coming from one of the apartments.

Firefighters were on the scene for several hours making sure there were no hot spots that would flame up again.

Residents of the Silvis apartment building were displaced. The American Red Cross of the Quad-Cities and West Central Illinois were called in to help those displaced by the fire. Authorities did not disclose how many people required assistance late Saturday.

Fire departments from Moline, East Moline, Hampton, Colona and Carbon Cliff-Barstow Fire Protection District, and Moline Second Responders, assisted at the scene.

The investigation is ongoing and anyone with information is asked to contact the SPD at 309-792-1841.
Arlington Heights Daily Herald. July 22, 2022.

Editorial: Rule change will make it harder for people who shouldnt have weapons to get them

When the man whom authorities have charged with the murder of seven people and the wounding of more than two dozen others at Highland Parks Fourth of July parade applied for a Firearm Owners Identification card in late 2019, there was insufficient evidence that he was a danger to himself or others to deny his request, the head of the Illinois State Police said days after the mass shooting.

The Highland Park police were called by a family member twice that year -- once claiming the man threatened suicide and later that he threatened to kill everyone -- but both he and his mother denied hed done so. Police did confiscate 17 knives and a sword, until his father told police they were his and reclaimed them.

That all of this is alleged to have happened within months of his application for a FOID card (because he wasnt yet 21, his father sponsored him) tells us there is a problem with the type of information state police can use to determine whether a FOID applicant can handle the responsibility of owning a gun.

This week, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced a change in procedure that would give state police the ability to look at a broader range of information to determine whether an applicant poses a clear and present danger of suicide or violence toward others that could result in denial of a FOID card or even revocation of an existing one.

Pritzker said the change will allow state police to see a fuller picture of an applicants history and keep the people of Illinois safe from those who should not be in possession of firearms.

Its a bit of a semantic issue, but in the past the rule, was that a clear and present danger was defined by an impending, imminent, substantial or significant threat. Modifying that definition gives authorities more latitude in deciding whether to issue a firearms permit.

Weve had to go through some uncomfortable and often unpopular restrictions over two years to try to halt a worldwide pandemic, so it follows that we might have to deal with some uncomfortable measures to get the issue of gun violence under control. And, out of control the issue is. We have an epidemic of gun violence from young men in this country.

Well restate here our long-held belief that the type of high-capacity rapid-fire rifle the suspect is alleged to have used to fire more than 80 rounds onto a festive crowd has no business being in the hands of civilians. Weve advocated that in the absence of a federal or state law banning such laws that municipalities take it upon themselves to do so through local legislation.

Highland Park did just that. The town where the suspect had been living -- Highwood -- has not. The safety net is extraordinarily leaky.

Until we as a nation or state wise up and put an end to the legal purchase of such unnecessary killing machines, we will have disenfranchised young men who will use them to wreak carnage.

Giving the state police more leeway to stop people likely to abuse guns from buying one legally is a small but important step.

Chicago Sun-Times. July 21, 2022.

Editorial: The time to take monkeypox outbreak seriously is now

The demand for the Monkeypox vaccine means people are willing to take the precautions necessary to avoid the virus, but that cannot be done with a slow vaccine rollout.

Monkeypox cases  a majority of them reported among gay and bisexual men  reached 208 in Illinois and more than 2,323 nationwide this week. Public health experts are now struggling to mitigate the spread of the virus and are frustrated with managing supply and demand for the vaccine.

In Chicago, cases increased from 105 last week to more than 180 on Thursday. Worry among the affected community is clear: A line at the Test Positive Aware Network (TPAN) service center in Edgewater stretched for nearly a block on Monday. Dozens lined up hours before the 2 p.m. start time for vaccination, but with only 100 doses available at that location and priority going to high-risk individuals, many were turned away.

I could not believe the line outside, which shows how urgent this is and how afraid people are, and it makes me sick that we have so few doses of the vaccine to offer people, TPAN CEO Kara Eastman told ABC-7 Chicago.

The demand for the monkeypox (MPV) vaccine shows that people are willing to take precautions to avoid the virus. Thats encouraging, after so much hesitancy from some regarding the COVID-19 vaccines. Once more vaccines are available, a swift and efficient rollout is imperative.

The time to take the outbreak seriously is now, as Gov. J.B. Pritzker made clear on Thursday when he called on the federal government to be more aggressive in taking action against the virus and to put more priority on areas with the most significant outbreaks, like Chicago, when it comes to allocating vaccine doses. Illinois now has the third-highest total of monkeypox cases in the country.

We know that a swift response is essential when confronting outbreaks of disease, said Pritzker. And weve learned in the last few years that most people are eager to protect themselves and their communities when given the tools to do so.

High demand, low supply

The federal government has ordered 7 million doses of the vaccine, but a majority of the doses wont be available until mid-2023. Only 156,000 have shipped nationally, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Chicago has received over 5,400 doses of vaccine, according to an update from the Chicago Department of Public Health, and the city expects to receive an additional 15,000 doses in the coming days.

Because vaccine supply is limited, CDPH says it will take some time before health care providers are able to provide vaccines to the general public. For now, in order to effectively slow down community transmission, the focus is to vaccinate those who are at high risk of being exposed.

Those at high risk include men who have sex with other men, transgender women who have sex with men, sex professionals and people who have multiple sex partners. Similar to COVID-19, MPV vaccination requires two shots, so individuals must return for a second injection four weeks after the first.

As the government speeds up vaccine supply, another way to mitigate the spread of the virus is through aggressive educational outreach at the local and federal level. Although the virus has been around for decades, most people arent knowledgeable about its symptoms or how it spreads from person to person.

The monkeypox disease can last between two to four weeks. Symptoms include fever, swollen lymph nodes and blister-like rashes that look like chickenpox. The rashes may begin to appear on the face and later spread to other parts of the body. If the virus is acquired through intimate or sexual contact, the rashes may begin in the genital or anal areas.

Health experts have stressed that MPV is not a sexually transmitted disease, though the most reported form of transmission occurs through skin-to-skin contact. A majority of reported cases have been among men who are intimate with other men  but anyone can contract the virus, regardless of sex or gender.

CDPH said it has engaged diverse partners to bring vaccines to those who are eligible through health care providers. The city plans to continue to raise awareness through weekly engagement with LGBTQ partners, businesses and at summer events.

As MPV cases go up, vaccines will be needed sooner rather than later. In the meantime, the public should take advantage of a current line of defense thats readily available  getting tested. Its the best way to keep safe and stop this virus, now.

Champaign News-Gazette. July 20, 2022.

Editorial: State moving quickly on gun loopholes

Although piecemeal changes are being made to Illinois laws, and others are being considered, no one is calling for a comprehensive review of regulations.

Following up on a loophole exposed by the horrific July 4 parade shootings in Highland Park, the Illinois State Police has proclaimed an emergency rule permitting it to expand the use of clear and present danger reports.

Under the welcome rule that went into effect Friday, clear and present danger reports filed by local police now will be retained and used by state police in evaluating whether a person can obtain a state-issued Firearm Owners Identification Card.

In the Highland Park massacre where seven people were killed and dozens more were injured, accused murderer Robert Crimo was able to procure a FOID card even though local police in 2019 had made a clear and present danger report. The report was reviewed by a trooper, but at the time, Crimo had no pending FOID card application. Shortly thereafter, his clear-and-present-danger designation apparently was deleted from the state police system.

The clear-and-present-danger report is not enough to deny an applicant a FOID card, but it now can be used by authorities to flag potential problems.

The new rule still must be approved by the Legislatures 11-member Joint Committee on Administrative Rules.

Lawmakers separately are building support for individual pieces of legislation in response to the Highland Park shootings. Two bills have been introduced in the House since the incident. One would prohibit a minor who attempts self-harm or harm to another from obtaining or maintaining a FOID card until the age of 24. The other would hold a parent or legal guardian who consents to a minors application for a FOID card criminally liable in cases like Crimos.

Another bill, introduced last winter, would ban assault weapons, .50-caliber rifles or .50-caliber cartridges in Illinois. That legislation has picked up 54 co-sponsors since the July 4 shootings.

Still, no state officials or law-enforcement authorities are calling for a comprehensive review of the kind of regulations and laws that could help avoid future mass shootings in Illinois. That kind of evaluation by a wide range of experts in law enforcement, the judicial system and the mental-health community undoubtedly would be valuable.

END
CAMBRIDGE, Ill.  A Kewanee man has been charged with grooming in Henry County Circuit Court.

Dalton A. Solomon, 22, of 1002-1/2 Lake Street, Kewanee, was charged Monday with the Class 4 felony.

According to the charge, he is alleged to have used a computer online service or a device capable of electronic transmission to solicit or entice or attempt to solicit or entice a child to commit a sex offense on or about July 22.

Judge James Cosby set bond at $30,000 on July 24. Judge Dana McReynolds arraigned Solomon on the charges and penalties on Monday. He faces a prison term of up to three years as well as one year mandatory supervised release if convicted, but the crime is also probationable.

Solomon posted $3,000 bond for his release on Monday. A preliminary hearing was set for Aug. 8; Solomon said he would retain private counsel.
Rock Island-Milan School District No. 41 hosted the annual "Ready to ROCK the School Year!" back-to-school event Sunday, featuring the annual "Bikers 4 Backpacks" motorcycle group.

The event was held from 2 to 4 p.m. at Schwiebert Riverfront Park in Rock Island.

Families were able to register students for the 2022-23 school year at the event, which included a representative from each school in the district.

Rock Island-Milan Superintendent Dr. Reginald Lawrence said the district had to take two years off from the event because of COVID-19. He was happy to see the community back together and looks forward to the upcoming school year.

"This was a great turnout for out first time back," Lawrence said. "This has led to great expectations for the school year; our theme this year is 'One Team, One Goal, One RIMSD.' This is just how we align together as a community, as parents at home and as a school district, looking out for the best for our students. We want to make sure they're not only academically taken care of, but social and emotionally. It's not just about the schools, it's about the community that we live in as well."

Ranesha Vallejo attended the event with her kids. Her son Nazario is an incoming first-grader at Denkmann Elementary School.

"We enjoy the event so much," she said. "This is our second year coming. It's really great for families, and I enjoy that everybody comes together as a community, wanting a to get a good start to the school year."

Several community organizations were present at the event. NEST Cafe, Miguel's Street Tacos and Sweet Shardae Sweet Eats & Cool Treats provided refreshments for the event's attendees.

The Rock Island Library, Quad Cities MetroLINK, the Rock Island-Milan Education Foundation, Two Rivers YMCA, MyPlate.gov, QCSportsNet, C.A.R.E, Youth Services Bureau, the Head Start program, OneDrive Education, Black Hawk College and the University of Illinois Extension set up tents at the event to provide information and resources for students and their families.

Around 100 Bikers 4 Backpacks motorcyclists rode into the event to deliver school supplies to student attendees. Bikers gathered at Kavanaugh's Hilltop Bar & Grill Sunday morning; the "cost" of the ride was a backpack with at least three of the following school supplies: backpacks, gluesticks, scissors, Elmer's glue, calculators, colored pencils, pocket folders, college or wide-ruled notebooks, loose-leaf paper, pencil boxes, markers and 24-count crayons. Cash donations were also acceptable.

"Anybody who goes off to work; if you work in a trade, your tools are what you go to work with," Lawrence said, addressing the crowd after Bikers 4 Backpacks made their entrance. "Well, for our students, backpacks and all that goes inside are their tools to go to work. So I just want to say thank you on behalf of the Rock Island-Milan School District, all of the parents and students that will be impacted by your generosity today and in past years. ... Everything Bikers 4 Backpacks stands for, we appreciate it."

The motorcyclists spent their Sunday riding and making stops around the area for nearly 100 miles before making their grand entrance at the event around 3:15 p.m. The group had been collecting school supplies since May, according to a Bikers 4 Backpacks member who goes by "The Gus."

"We just love seeing the kids. That's the highlight of my day and a lot of everyone's rides, just pulling in there and seeing all the kids dancing and screaming  they love the bikes," he said. "That's the biggest thing for me, seeing the smiles on their faces and just being able to give back. And give some of them a chance at an opportunity they may not have had without us."

He said Bikers 4 Backpacks hoped to donate to other organizations or school districts as the group continued to grow each year.

Bikers 4 Backpacks has been donating to the Rock Island-Milan School District for the past eight years.
A Pennington County judge will hold an evidentiary hearing in August to determine if law enforcement violated Quincy Bear Robes constitutional rights when they arrested him for allegedly shooting a man in March.

Bear Robe, 19, is charged with second degree murder and use of a firearm during the commission of a felony for allegedly shooting Myron Pourier, who was also 19, on March 19 at the Grand Gateway Hotel. The state originally charged Bear Robe with aggravated assault, but elevated his charges to murder after Pourier died from his injuries on April 3.

John Murphy, Bear Robes attorney, filed a motion on June 10 to suppress all statements, observations and physical evidence obtained from Bear Robe after his seizure, detention and arrest by law enforcement.

Murphy told Circuit Court Judge Joshua Hendrickson he is asking everything to be thrown out because the initial seizure was illegal and problematic.

The motion states that law enforcement violated Bear Robes fourth amendment right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure by lacking reasonable suspicion to believe criminal activity was afoot, or probable cause to believe a crime had been committed, prior to seizing, detaining and arresting Bear Robe.

According to the Rapid City Police Department, officers were dispatched to the hotel at 1721 Lacrosse Street around 4:30 a.m. on March 19 for a report of a disturbance. Once on scene, they were notified a gun had been fired in one of the rooms. Officers then found Pourier and rendered first aid. After witness interviews, Bear Robe was arrested.

Murphy declined to comment on the alleged rights' violations beyond the motions wording, but he said the burden of proof is on the state to prove they did not violate his clients rights.

Once you (the defense) have made that allegation, its the states burden to call witnesses to establish that the seizure of the person and the solicitation of statements and search of areas was constitutionally valid, he said.

The evidentiary hearing is set for 8:30 a.m. Aug. 23. Hendrickson said he set aside half of the day for the hearing.

The location of the shooting garnered national attention when Connie Uhre, one of the Grand Gateway Hotel owners, made comments on Facebook stating that Native Americans would be banned from the hotels property and Cheers Lounge after the shooting. Bear Robe is Native American, as was Pourier.

NDN Collective, an Indigenous-led organization based in Rapid City, filed a federal class action civil rights lawsuit against the hotel, its owners, and its parent company after NDN members reportedly attempted to rent rooms at the hotel and were denied.

Uhre has since been charged with three counts of simple assault after video footage showed her spraying demonstrators with Pledge on May 27.
MASKWACIS, Alberta | Pope Francis issued a historic apology Monday for the Catholic Churchs cooperation with Canadas catastrophic policy of Indigenous residential schools, saying the forced assimilation of Native peoples into Christian society destroyed their cultures, severed families and marginalized generations.

I am deeply sorry, Francis said to applause from school survivors and Indigenous community members gathered at a former residential school south of Edmonton, Alberta. He called the school policy a disastrous error that was incompatible with the Gospel and said further investigation and healing is needed.

I humbly beg forgiveness for the evil committed by so many Christians against the Indigenous peoples, Francis said.

In the first event of his weeklong penitential pilgrimage, Francis traveled to the lands of four Cree nations to pray at a cemetery and then deliver the long-sought apology at nearby powwow ceremonial grounds. Four chiefs escorted the pontiff in a wheelchair to the site near the former Ermineskin Indian Residential School, and presented him with a feathered headdress after he spoke, making him an honorary leader of the community.

Francis' words went beyond his earlier apology for the deplorable abuses committed by missionaries and instead took institutional responsibility for the churchs cooperation with Canadas catastrophic assimilation policy, which the countrys Truth and Reconciliation Commission said amounted to a cultural genocide.

More than 150,000 Native children in Canada were forced to attend government-funded Christian schools from the 19th century until the 1970s in an effort to isolate them from the influence of their homes and culture. The aim was to Christianize and assimilate them into mainstream society, which previous Canadian governments considered superior.

Ottawa has admitted that physical and sexual abuse was rampant at the schools, with students beaten for speaking their native languages. The legacy of that abuse and isolation from family has been cited by Indigenous leaders as a root cause of the epidemic rates of alcohol and drug addiction now on Canadian reservations.

The discoveries of hundreds of potential burial sites at former schools in the past year drew international attention to the schools in Canada and their counterparts in the United States. The revelations prompted Francis to comply with the truth commissions call for an apology on Canadian soil; Catholic religious orders operated 66 of the country's 139 residential schools.

Reflecting the conflicting emotions of the day, some in the crowd wept as Francis spoke, while others applauded or stayed silent listening to his words, delivered in his native Spanish with English translations. Others chose not to attend at all.

Ive waited 50 years for this apology, and finally today I heard it," survivor Evelyn Korkmaz said. Part of me is rejoiced, part of me is sad, part of me is numb. She added, however, that she had hoped to hear a work plan from the pope on what he would do next to reconcile, including releasing church files on children who died at the schools.

Many in the crowd wore traditional dress, including colorful ribbon skirts and vests with Native motifs. Others donned orange shirts, which have become a symbol of school survivors, recalling the story of one woman whose beloved orange shirt, a gift from her grandmother, was confiscated at a school and replaced with a uniform.

Its something that is needed, not only for people to hear but for the church to be accountable, said Sandi Harper, who traveled with her sister and a church group from Saskatchewan in honor of their late mother, who attended a residential school.

He recognizes this road to reconciliation is going to take time, but he is really on board with us, she said, calling the apology genuine.

Despite the solemnity of the event, the atmosphere seemed at times joyful: Chiefs processed into the site venue to a hypnotic drumbeat, elders danced and the crowd cheered and chanted war songs, victory songs and finally a healing song. Participants paraded a long red banner through the grounds bearing the names of more than 4,000 children who died at or never came home from residential schools; Francis later kissed it.

I wasnt disappointed. It was quite a momentous occasion, said Phil Fontaine, a residential school survivor and former chief of the Assembly of First Nations who went public with his story of sexual abuse in the 1990s.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who last year apologized for the incredibly harmful government policy, also attended, along with other officials.

As part of a lawsuit settlement involving the government, churches and approximately 90,000 survivors, Canada paid reparations that amounted to billions of dollars being transferred to Indigenous communities. Canadas Catholic Church says its dioceses and religious orders have provided more than $50 million in cash and in-kind contributions and hope to add $30 million more over the next five years.

While the pope acknowledged blame, he also made clear that Catholic missionaries were merely cooperating with and implementing the government policy, which he termed the colonizing mentality of the powers. Notably he didn't refer to 15th-century papal decrees that provided religious backing to European colonial powers in the first place.

Jeremy Bergen, a church apology expert and professor of religious and theological studies at Conrad Grebel University College in Waterloo, Ontario, said Francis made clear he was asking forgiveness for the actions of members of the church but not the institution in its entirety.

The idea is that, as the Body of Christ, the church itself is sinless," he said via email.

"So when Catholics do bad things, they are not truly acting on behalf of the church, Bergen added, noting its a controversial idea on which many Catholic theologians disagree.

Francis said the schools marginalized generations, suppressed Indigenous languages, led to physical, verbal, psychological and spiritual abuse and indelibly affected relationships between parents and children, grandparents and grandchildren. He called for further investigation, a possible reference to demands for further access to church records and personnel files of priests and nuns to identify perpetrators of abuses.

Although Christian charity was not absent, and there were many outstanding instances of devotion and care for children, the overall effects of the policies linked to the residential schools were catastrophic, Francis said. What our Christian faith tells us is that this was a disastrous error, incompatible with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The first pope from the Americas was determined to make this trip, even though torn knee ligaments forced him to cancel a visit to Africa earlier this month.

The six-day visit  which also includes stops in Quebec City and Iqaluit, Nunavut, in the far north  follows meetings Francis held in the spring at the Vatican with First Nations, Metis and Inuit delegations. Those encounters culminated with Francis' apology April 1 for deplorable abuses at residential schools and a promise to do so again on Canadian soil.

Francis recalled that one of the delegations gave him a set of beaded moccasins as a symbol of children who never came back from the schools, and asked him to return them in Canada. Francis said in these months they kept alive my sense of sorrow, indignation and shame but that in returning them he hoped they can also represent a path to walk together.

Event organizers had mental health counselors on hand Monday, knowing the event could be traumatic for some people.

Later Monday, Francis visited Sacred Heart Church of the First Peoples, an Edmonton parish whose sanctuary was dedicated last week after being restored from a fire. The church incorporates Indigenous language and customs in liturgy, and both were on display during the event, with folksongs and drums providing the backdrop to the pope's visit.

Associated Press writers Rob Gillies in Toronto and Holly Meyer in Nashville, Tennessee, contributed.
A Rapid City man accused of shooting at construction workers southwest of Rapid City asked the judge during his arraignment Thursday if he could receive seven jury trials for each aggravated assault charge against him.

Pennington County Circuit Court Judge Jane Wipf Pfeifle said Carl Relf, 53, would have to ask his lawyer about his options, but defendants typically receive one trial for each indictment. She also reminded Relf that she asked him if he had any questions about his rights.

Relf then asked if he would be able to tell the jury about them threatening me with a branding iron.

A grand jury charged Relf on June 16 with seven counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a class three felony, for pointing and firing a handgun at construction workers along State Highway 79 south of Rapid City. Relf pleaded not guilty.

Matthew Stephens, Relfs defense attorney, said he has known Relf for over 30 years and is confident Relf would keep in touch with him if he was allowed out on bond. The state argued that Relf is a danger to the public. Wipf Pfeifle set Relfs bond at $100,000 cash.

If convicted of the charges, Relf could face up to 15 years in prison and a $30,000 fine for each count. If the state is able to prove Relf has three or more prior felonies, the maximum penalty for each count would increase to 50 years and a $50,000 fine.

The state referenced a felony failure to appear conviction from 2016, a receiving a stolen vehicle conviction from 2015 and a felony DUI from 2008.

The law enforcement report regarding the incident is sealed, but the Pennington County Sheriff's Office stated in a press release following the shooting that sheriff's deputies responded to a report of a man shooting at construction workers at 1:30 p.m. in June in the area of Highway 79 and Spring Creek Road south of Rapid City. South Dakota Highway Patrol troopers converged on the area.

No one was injured in the incident. Helene Duhamel, spokesperson for the Pennington County Sheriff's Office, said a construction worker followed Relf after the incident, and then law enforcement located him. Duhamel said there was no indication Relf knew the construction workers.

Relf is currently in custody at the Pennington County Jail. A status hearing is set for 2:30 p.m. on Aug. 18.
After a vehicle chase through Box Elder and Rapid City that ended in a brief foot pursuit, a 37-year-old Rapid City man received a higher bail than prosecution recommended in court Monday.

Pennington County Judge Scott Bogue set Sean Hawk's bail at $15,000 Monday morning during Hawk's initial appearance after the prosecution requested $10,000. Hawk is charged with five felonies and one misdemeanor for the incident that includes an allegedly stolen truck and two teenage girls with gang affiliations.

According to the Box Elder Police Department (BEPD) news release, officers responded to a call at 8 a.m. Friday of a possible stolen vehicle in the Box Elder area. Police attempted to pull the late 1990s Ford pickup truck over at Cottonwood Drive and Line Road. Hawk, who authorities allege drove the vehicle, did not pull over and two BEPD officers pursued him.

Hawk then drove on and off several roads through fields, pastures, fences, and onto Radar Hill Road soon entering the Prairie View Housing subdivision to tear through additional yards and fences," according to the release. While in the subdivision, the truck briefly stopped to allow two juvenile females to get out of the vehicle and run.

Police later found, questioned and arrested the two girls, who were identified as 15-year-old and 17-year-old runaways with gang affiliations. Both are known to police. The girls' names have not been released but were both charged with possession of controlled substances, according to the BEPD.

After the girls exited the truck, Hawk reportedly drove into the Creekside subdivision, back onto Radar Hill Road, lodged the truck into a 6-foot tall chain link fence and drove his truck into a police vehicle.

Bogue said on Monday at Hawks initial appearance that the officer got out of his vehicle before Hawk rammed the truck into it a second time.

The BEPD report states Hawk continued through more fields and a creek bed to the South Interstate 90 Service Road, where it was able to get onto I-90 west into Rapid City. Near Exit 59 at the Lacrosse Street interchange, the truck crossed oncoming traffic to use the eastbound on-ramp to exit the interstate.

On Lacrosse Street the suspect continued to drive in circles, around apartment buildings, further endangering vehicles and pedestrian traffic in the area, the release states.

The truck came to rest after becoming stuck in a drainage ditch against a utility pole near the intersection of Eglin and Lacrosse streets. After a brief foot chase, police tased and arrested Hawk, who is charged with aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, a class two felony; aggregated intentional damage to private property valued between $5,000-$100,000, a class four felony; possession of a stolen vehicle, a class five felony; possession of methamphetamine, a class five felony; aggravated eluding, a class six felony; and driving under the influence, a class one misdemeanor.

However, the complaint against Hawk provides two categories of aggravated assault the state can try to prove: that Hawk attempted to cause serious bodily injury to an officer, or caused such injury, under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life; or that Hawk attempted to cause, or knowingly caused, bodily injury to an officer with a dangerous weapon, referring to the truck.

If convicted of all charges, Hawk could face up to 48 years in prison and $96,000 in fines.

During his appearance, Hawk appeared virtually from the Pennington County Jail. He made a heart shape with his hands, apparently to several people in the courtroom attending in support of him. He also said, Love you, Nadia, to one of the individuals.

Pennington County Deputy States Attorney Alexandra Weiss said Hawk has a prior felony in Colorado for vehicular manslaughter and asked Bogue to set Hawks bail at $10,000 because he is a danger to the community.

Hawks lawyer asked Bogue to grant Hawk a personal recognizance bond for his new charges, so he is able to accrue time served while being held at the jail on existing cases. Bogue set Hawks bail at $15,000.

Hawk was wanted for a non-extraditable warrant out of Oregon for selling marijuana and a felony arrest warrant for a bond revocation on a Feb. 6 possession of controlled substance charge. Hawks pending cases also include three class one misdemeanor charges for impersonation to deceive a law enforcement officer on Feb. 18, May 9 and June 7.

In 2007, Hawk pleaded guilty to a class one misdemeanor charge for impersonation to deceive a law enforcement officer and a class one misdemeanor charge for unauthorized use of a vehicle. He received two 180 day suspended sentences on each charge.

In 2021, Hawk pleaded guilty to driving under the influence, a class one misdemeanor. He was sentenced to 30 days in jail with 21 days suspended and nine days time served. His license was also suspended for 30 days.

A preliminary hearing for Hawks recent charges is set for 2 p.m. Aug. 9.
Student charged in Perm university shooting case faces trial

MOSCOW, July 26 (RAPSI)  Prosecutors approved indictment against Timur Bekmansurov, who stands charged with shooting in the Perm State University that led to the death of 6 people last autumn, and sent the case to court for hearing, the Prosecutor Generals Office reports Tuesday.

The matter is to be considered by the Perm Krai Court.

The young man stands charged with murder and attempted killing of two and more persons, infringement on the life of a law enforcement officer, intended damage to property of another committed from molester motives in a dangerous way.

According to investigators, in September 2021, the student entered the university and did the shooting. As a result of the attack, 6 people died and 37 were injured. Bekmansurov was injured when resisting arrest and taken to hospital.

Later, the defendant pled guilty. He could face life in prison if convicted.

Two officers of the Perm State Road Safety Inspectorate who took down the student were advanced in rank.
Climbing temperatures after a weekend thunderstorm have raised fire danger levels across western Montana, as the Moose fire near the Idaho border threatens U.S. Highway 93.

Although the 23 hand crews and 35 fire engines assigned to the Moose fire made extensive progress containing its northern perimeter, Sunday's storm pushed it downslope toward the highway corridor. Residents on the west side of Highway 93 between Tower Creek and North Fork have been told to evacuate by the Lemhi County sheriff.

The Moose fire has top priority for aircraft support in the nation. It's now charted at 35,739 acres.

The Bitterroot National Forest moved its fire danger level to "Very High" on Monday. On the Lolo National Forest, the Thompson Falls and Superior ranger districts have moved their danger levels to "Very High," while the Missoula, Ninemile and Seeley Lake ranger districts remain at "High."

National forests throughout central Idaho have moved to "Very High" danger status with at least 16 fires. The Wolf Fang fire near the Middle Fork of the Salmon River is the largest and has burned 738 acres in the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness.

"Spring and early summer rains have resulted in a tall, thick crop of grasses that are now starting to dry and cure, increasing the likelihood of a larger, more intense fire," Bitterroot spokesman Tod Mckay said on Monday. "Even in the timbered stands, heavy fuels like standing dead trees and logs are already extremely dry. Continued hot and dry weather is predicted for the next several days including a chance of thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty winds."

The Hog Trough fire in the Sapphire Wilderness Study Area southeast of Hamilton held fairly steady on Monday at 584 acres. It has 116 people assigned along with four helicopters, four fire engines and one skidgine.

Outdoor burning season has ended in Ravalli County. So far, fire crews have responded to six human-caused and 17 lightning-caused fires on the Bitterroot National Forest.
Northwestern Memorial Hospital's Feinberg Pavilion is seen on July 26, 2021. Northwestern is ranked among the top 20 in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)

Two Chicago hospitals  Northwestern Memorial and Rush University Medical Center  are again among the top 20 in the nation, according to U.S. News & World Report.

Northwestern was named as the ninth best hospital in the country, up one spot from 10th last year, and the top facility in Illinois for the 11th consecutive year. Rush earned the title of 20th best hospital in the U.S., down from 19th last year. Rush was named the No. 2 best hospital in Illinois.

Advertisement

A number of Illinois hospitals were also ranked highly, but didnt make the top 20 nationally. University of Chicago Medical Center ranked third in the state; NorthShore University HealthSystem ranked fourth; and Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn rounded out the top five in Illinois. NorthShores ranking included four of its hospitals combined, in Evanston, Glenview, Skokie and Highland Park, because they all share one Medicare ID.

The Shirley Ryan AbilityLab in Streeterville was again ranked the best rehabilitation hospital in the country for a jaw-dropping 32nd time in a row.

Advertisement

U.S. News evaluates hospitals based on their performance across 15 specialties, such as urology, neurology and neurosurgery, and orthopedics, as well as 20 surgeries and conditions. U.S. News evaluates the hospitals performance by looking at data from Medicare, patient satisfaction surveys and the American Hospital Association Annual Survey, among other sources. It also takes reputation into account, as measured by opinion surveys of board-certified physicians.

Many hospitals keep a close eye on their ratings from U.S. News and other organizations, especially in places like the Chicago area where theres a lot of competition among health care providers. Hospitals often tout high marks in their advertising to attract more patients.

Experts say rankings and ratings can be important tools for patients, along with other factors such as physician referrals and insurance coverage, when choosing where to receive care.

I think its just recognition of the great work of those who are serving the patients, said Dr. James Adams, chief medical officer and senior vice president at Northwestern Medicine, of Northwesterns top honors again this year.

He said the last couple of years have been difficult, with the pandemic straining health care workers. But the quest to improve, to innovate, to deliver great care day-to-day is part of the DNA of the organization and the individuals who work here, he said.

Rush is also proud to again be among the top 20 in the nation, especially given the stress of the pandemic, said Dr. Paul Casey, chief medical officer at Rush University Medical Center.

The past couple years have just been so challenging in health care overall, and I think the relentless focus on quality and safety is what has allowed us to accomplish and achieve what weve accomplished in this latest accolade, Casey said.

Advertisement

Rush University Medical Center in Chicago is seen on Jan. 19, 2022. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)

Rush slipped one spot nationally from 19th last year to 20th this year, with Casey noting that the differences in performance between some of the top 20 hospitals are often very small.

He also said that it can be tough for a hospital like Rush to crack the top 10 nationally, given that reputation is one of the measures used. Rush may not have the same national name recognition as some other hospitals.

That, however, may be changing given the attention Rush received from national media and physicians across the country during the pandemic, said Rush spokesman Tobin Klinger. Early in the pandemic, Rush was treating many of the states COVID-19 patients partly because of its unique building design, which allowed it to expand its ICU beds and emergency services. During the first wave of COVID-19, Rush took about 1,000 patients transferred from other area hospitals, Casey said.

Casey also noted that this year 10 of Rushs specialties ranked among the top 50 in the nation, with many of those placing more highly than they did last year. Two Rush specialties ranked among the top 10 in the country, with neurology and neurosurgery ranking fourth, and orthopedics ranking fifth.

Northwestern Memorial also had 10 specialties among the top 50 nationally, with six among the top 10 in the country, including cancer; cardiology and heart surgery; diabetes and endocrinology; gastroenterology and GI surgery; geriatrics; and neurology and neurosurgery.

A number of organizations rank and rate hospitals each year, including U.S. News, the Leapfrog Group and Medicare  sometimes with differing results, given that they use different methodologies. For example, Leapfrog gave Northwestern Memorial a grade of C in its most recent ratings for safety.

Advertisement

Nationally, U.S. News rated the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and NYU Langone Hospitals in New York as the three best in the country, respectively.
Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares said Tuesday that Wawa Inc. has agreed to an $8 million settlement related to a 2019 data breach of customer payment cards.

The attorneys general of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Florida, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia reached the agreement with the chain, which is based in the Philadelphia area. Virginia is getting $682,432.14.

Hackers gained access to the companys computer network in late 2018 through a phishing attack. About 34 million payment cards were compromised, Miyares said in a statement.

The statement said Wawa didnt employ proper security measures to prevent the attack. The company has agreed to put into place various practices to safeguard personal information.
The Hanover NAACP is urging the county board of supervisors to reconsider some of its appointments to the school board, especially newly appointed Mechanicsville representative Johnny Redd.

An open letter from the NAACP this week said the organization is increasingly concerned about changes in the Hanover County School Board over the past few years. Members of the school board have failed to show respect and understanding of history as it relates to a diverse population, especially Black and brown students, the letter said.

Mechanicsville Supervisor Canova Petersons appointment of Redd continues this disturbing pattern, says the letter signed by Hanover NAACP President Patricia Hunter-Jordan.

In a statement to the Times-Dispatch, Redd wrote, Have you done any research on the source of this letter? Does this letter represent the views of the Hanover NAACP or the views of an angry African American lady who holds the title of president of that organization? Check it out  do a little research on Pat Hunter-Jordan  that could result in an interesting story for a truth-seeking investigative reporter. I will not be making any further comment.

Redd, who previously served on the school board from 1980 to 1984, was appointed in May to replace incumbent Sterling Daniel, who was appointed in March 2020 after the sudden departure of Roger Bourassa in December 2019. Redds term took effect July 1.

The Hanover NAACP letter continued on to say that Redd is unqualified to serve on the board.

Hanover County is one of 16 Virginia localities that appoint school board members instead of electing them. Each member is appointed by the Hanover County Board of Supervisors for staggered four-year terms.

Hanover residents have tried for years to change the process, but have not yet collected enough signatures on a petition to begin the process.

The NAACPs letter cites a Times-Dispatch article published before Redds appointment in which Redd said he would use a biblical worldview as the lens through which to analyze policies and curriculum.

There is a shift of attention away from core educational objectives with attention being diverted to social issues like CRT, transgender bathrooms or rights of one group versus the rights of another group, Redd said in the interview published in May, ahead of his appointment. My attention will be focused on returning to the primary purpose of the public schools in Hanover County  education of the students, not indoctrination of the students, not promoting social change that is illogical, immoral and/or ungodly.

The NAACP letter also calls out school board chairman John Axselle, who previously referred to Black people as colored people, according to the letter.

A new direction is needed, states the letter signed by Hunter-Jordan. Hanover Countys future will be brighter and more successful with a school division whose board exemplifies and prioritizes diversity, inclusion and equity.

The Hanover County School Board comprises seven members  six of whom are white men.
Theres a new elementary school in Chesterfield County.

After breaking ground in November 2020, Moseley Elementary School opened on Monday in a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by teachers, families, the Board of Supervisors and School Board members.

Its been incredible watching our school transform into this amazing place where students will thrive and thrive together ... we are thrilled to have so many people supporting our Mustangs, said Principal Karen Dubiel, referring to the schools mascot.

The 104,621-square-foot building will welcome roughly 900 students on Aug. 22. It also marks the 40th elementary school to exist across the district.

In November, school officials projected enrollment at the school to hedge between 92% and 97% in the first year. While planning administrators said there wasnt an ideal capacity in mind, the target is within the 92% and 95% range.

Officials said the school was completed on time and under the $36.2 million budget allocated for construction in the Capital Improvement Plan but did not specify the cost.

In speaking to media and onlookers prior to a tour of the building, Mataoca District Supervisor Kevin Carroll plugged the importance of improving infrastructure across the county, and noted how future school construction in Chesterfield hinges on the upcoming bond referendum.

We have to continue to add infrastructure in order to meet the needs as our population grows, Carroll said. I think our board has shown that we have the capacity to do that.

The upcoming Board of Supervisors meeting on Wednesday is expected to have an update on the $540 million bond referendum that includes the projects expected to be kicked off if residents vote in favor of the measure come November.

Bob Meister, chief finance officer for Chesterfield County Public Schools, said in a June School Board meeting that CCPS has a running start with the $130 million secured through a bond offering from the Virginia Public School Authority.

School Board documents indicate the planned referendum could result in an additional $375 million for school construction projects that officials say are needed to address excessive capacity issues and aging buildings  a problem the Virginia General Assembly estimated could be a multibillion-dollar undertaking statewide.

More than half of the school buildings in Virginia are over half a century old, which can be a safety and health risk. Census data numbers also show Chesterfield growing at a rate that outpaces most of the Richmond area.

From 2010 to 2020, the county boasted a 15% increase in residents, bringing the population to more than 364,000 people.

To help address this, the School Board outlined goals in the 2023-27 Capital Improvement Plan, to build or rebuild: five elementary schools, three middle schools and at least one high school.

Projects already underway include the $92 million rebuilding of Falling Creek Middle School in North Chesterfield, which is scheduled to open in August 2024 and can hold up to 1,800 students. The current building seats 1,435.

Construction is estimated to begin in 2023 with additional site work done after opening. Another middle school named West Area will have a capacity of 1,800 students and is presently in the design phase with a budget of $42 million, according to the county site. Another elementary school is expected to open in August 2025, with Bensley Elementary School following the year after an estimated 2025 groundbreaking.

The projects in the to be determined phase include three elementary schools, two middle schools and two high schools.

Each time we break ground at a ribbon cutting, its clear that Chesterfield is committed to basking in our future, said School Board member Ryan Harter on Monday. Everyone benefits when we work together to serve our students.
In a historic vote, the Richmond City Council on Monday approved a code amendment that gives municipal workers the right to unionize and have collective bargaining. City workers filled council chambers as the affirmative vote was cast and applause erupted.

The approval comes about six months after talks started and two years after Virginia lawmakers approved legislation giving collective bargaining rights to government workers. Mayor Levar Stoney and council members last week announced theyd reached an agreement that would allow employees to proceed in forming a union.

Doris Crouse-Mays, president of the Virginia AFL-CIO, said during the public comment portion of the meeting that city workers will have a voice.

You just need to realize the historical moment that youre about the embark upon and how monumental this is, said Crouse-Mays, one of several supporters who spoke Monday night.

The motion passed unanimously.

Collective bargaining is the process in which an employer and a union of workers negotiate terms and conditions of employment, including details about wages, hours, overtime, paid time off, safety and health.

Richmond Chief Administrative Officer Lincoln Saunders told the council that the move makes the city a workplace of choice and credited officials with striking a compromise and balance.

Its encouraging to see we are all united in wanting to see investment in our workforce, he said.

About 3,000 employees are in the citys workforce.

Larry Christian, 67, a Department of Public Works employee since 1998, said the approval is long overdue. When Christian first started working with the city as a trades helper, his starting salary was $18,000, he said.

Its still bad, man, Christian said before the vote. Weve tried for many years to form an organized union. Thats why I say when the people get fed up, youre going to hear from them and thats what happened with us.

Historically, Richmond has a history of poor wages, pension and health care benefits, according to research groups such as The Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis, a Richmond-based progressive think tank.

Supporters of the city unionization effort said the move will improve conditions for municipal workers. Opponents say it will strain finances and present challenges for administrators.

Christian, a lifelong Richmond resident and married father of three, said hes spent time in the trenches meeting city workers across departments meeting in the library about their struggles as employees and attending City Council meetings

Ive been down [to] City Hall every time since weve been talking about negotiations, said Christian. Every one of them were pushing to allow us to negotiate, but they kept dragging their feet.

Before coming to a ununified agreement, Stoney and City Council debated multiple, competing bills that would allow workers to petition to unionize, which led to multiple delays.

Councilmembers Reva Trammell and Kristen Nye submitted measures that would allow city workers to negotiate with the city for new labor contracts. The mayors administration also prepared a plan of its own.

One notable distinction from past drafts submitted to City Council and the ordinance they agreed to is the list bargaining units recognized by the ordinance.

Although city workers have repeatedly advocated to be represented under one union, the ordinance recognizes five categorical groups:

police employees

fire and emergency services employees

labor and trades employees

professional employees

administrative and technical employees

The ordinance approved Monday defines the role of a labor relations administrator to be a neutral negotiator between the city and bargaining agent.

Once selected, the administrator will serve a four-year term and be contracted by the city.

Workers also will take part in a union election. The petition must show that at least 30% of workers are interested in joining a union. Within 45 days of when the petition is recognized by the labor relations administrator, a mail-in ballot election will be held where employees will vote.

The earliest possible date for a union election would be the fall.

Councilwoman Ellen Robertson said during the meeting on Monday that the approval means employees will have a bigger say.

I know there will not be another budget where your voice isnt heard, she said.

Nye on Monday also expressed her appreciation for her colleagues, city workers and union representatives.

Its fair and its the right thing for us to do for you all to have a seat at the table and to have meaningful dialogue as we move through all the issues that are important to you, said Nye during the discussion period.

Before the 2020 General Assembly vote, Virginia was one of a handful of states that banned public-sector bargaining. In Richmond, teachers were among the first in the city and the state to garner the right to negotiate work contracts.
Eleven Confederate statues have been removed or toppled throughout Richmond since 2020, but a statue of Confederate Gen. A.P. Hill remains upright in the citys North Side. Though the city would like to disassemble it and hand it over to the Black History Museum with the others, a legal fight is blocking the statues removal.

A group claiming to be descendants of Hill says the statue belongs to them. It filed a motion in Richmond Circuit Court this month asking for the monument, which it hopes to relocate.

The city, however, argues the group has no right to the monument that also contains Hills human remains. It says the city should be free to continue with its plan to reinter Hill in a Culpeper cemetery and give away the monument.

Following his death in 1865  a Union soldier shot him outside Petersburg  Ambrose Powell Hill was buried in a cemetery in Chesterfield County. Two years later, his body was moved to Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, where it remained for four more years.

In 1891, his body was reinterred at its current site at the intersection of Hermitage Road and West Laburnum Avenue. When workers moved his body, the coffin had fallen to pieces, and all that was left was his crumbling skeleton and fragments of his uniform, according to the Richmond Dispatch newspaper. The insignia of rank on his sleeve and collar was still preserved.

Hill was placed in a strong oaken case lined with white and interred inside the pedestal. The monument was unveiled May 30, 1892.

While the city has made an effort to pull down city-owned Confederate statues within its borders, it also claims the Hill statue is a traffic hazard. Cars navigate a tight traffic circle around the statue. The city completed the work of removing other Confederate pedestals in the city earlier this year.

City officials have worked for more than a year to arrange for the statues removal, to consult with Hills descendants and to rebury his body.

In May, the city filed a petition in court, asking a judge to allow it to transfer the human remains to a plot at Fairview Cemetery in Culpeper that the city purchased for $1,000. The move has gained the approval of the descendants, the city said.

Richmond officials arranged with Bennett Funeral Home to transfer the remains and for Team Henry to remove the statue and plinth.

The city plans to send the monument and its pedestal to the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia, the same organization set to receive the other Confederate statues. The Black History Museum has said it will consult with the public before deciding on a final destination. Most of the statues are being stored at a water treatment facility in Richmonds South Side.

One statue, of Jefferson Davis, was placed lying down, splattered in pink graffiti, in The Valentine museum downtown.

This month, a group of people claiming to be indirect descendants of Hill objected to the citys decision to give away the statue. Hill has no direct descendants; his children had no children of their own. This group claims the descendants are the rightful owners of the monument because the monument itself is a cemetery neglected by the city.

The group consents to the citys plan of reinterring Hills remains in Culpeper. A lawyer who filed their petition did not respond to a request for comment.

Last week, the citys lawyers responded to the counterclaim, denying that the monument has been abandoned or that the group has any right to the monument. To the citys point, workers have often cleaned the monument when it was marred by protesters graffiti.

A hearing hasnt been scheduled, and a spokesperson for Mayor Levar Stoney did not respond to a request for comment.
A once-enslaved womans neglected, weather-beaten home, deposited in a Shockoe Bottom parking lot for the past two decades, could be moved to a permanent site within the next year.

City officials would like to move the Winfree Cottage, the 19th-century home of Emily Winfree, to city-owned land in Manchester, next to Charles Sydnor Playground at 15th and Maury streets, across from Blackwell Elementary. City Council has budgeted $500,000 for the move, which could take place as early as next spring, pending community feedback, said Kimberly Chen, a city project manager.

We wanted the move to be intentional, not just where we can put it, Chen said Tuesday of the preferred site, near a school and not far from the cottages original site on Commerce Road, between Perry and Porter streets.

The two-room house that was home to Winfree and her children came to the publics attention in 2002, when it was slated for demolition by developers. Preservationists stepped in to save it, saying it was historically significant, representing an area of post-Civil War Richmond where Black people lived and worked.

The cottage was donated to the city and moved out of harms way, to Shockoe Bottom, while a permanent site was found. The clapboard cottage underwent modest repairs a few years ago, but is still boarded up and sits on wooden beams. The Richmond Slave Trail runs nearby. A Slave Trail sign posted in front of the cottage notes it was home to Winfree, one of the thousands of black Richmonders who made the transition from bondage to freedom, and made a life in Reconstruction era Richmond amidst her extended family and neighbors.

Emily Winfrees life story is an intricate narrative of hardship, resilience and triumph which was revealed through the unprecedented rescue of her modest cottage, the sign reads.

Winfree and the cottage are the subjects of a new book, The Life & Legacy of Enslaved Virginian Emily Winfree, by Jan Meck and Virginia Refo. The Richmond Times-Dispatch wrote about the book and the cottage in February.

Im so pleased that the Winfree Cottage has finally found a home, Meck said Tuesday. We will continue to work to make it into an educational venue in Emilys honor.
Newport News animal welfare officers seized more than 80 animals from two Poquoson homes last week, with an investigation now underway.

Acting on a tip, officers seized 88 pets  71 dogs, 10 cats, six hamsters, and a guinea pig  from the homes Wednesday due to unsanitary conditions and a lack of veterinary care, said Newport News City spokesperson Kim Lee.

Many of the animals have medical issues and are being treated, Lee said, adding that charges are pending against the animal owners.

A hearing is scheduled for York-Poquoson General District Court Tuesday to determine whether the city of Newport News can take ownership of the animals. Meanwhile, the seizure has caused local regional animal shelters  many running out of space  to issue a joint statement asking local residents to adopt more pets.

Lee said 68 animals were seized from a home on Curson Court, while the other 20  all dogs  were seized from a house on Trottwood Drive. There was no indication the owners were selling the animals, but instead kept them as pets.

Newport News provides animal services to the city of Poquoson on a contractual basis. Newport News Animal Welfare  a division of city government  carried out the seizures in coordination with the Poquoson Police Department and the Poquoson Fire Department and a Newport News-run animal shelter. The animals were all taken to the Peninsula Regional Animal Shelter, on Jefferson Avenue in Newport News. Thats a city-run facility that serves Newport News, Hampton, York County and Poquoson.

Since the pet owners did not voluntarily surrender them, Lee said the animals are currently on a seizure hold and not available to be adopted out.

In many cases like this one, the owners sign over the animals to us, Lee said. But thats not the case in this situation.

Two seizure cases are listed on the civil court docket on Tuesday involving two Poquoson women.

Lee said Newport News taking ownership of the pets would allow the regional shelter to begin the process to get the pets ready for adoption, with the city working alongside various partner agencies to do so.

The Peninsula Regional Animal Shelter is already full, and has limited space to take on lots of new animals, Lee said. Among the animals currently at the shelter are dogs, cats, guinea pigs, rabbits, a bearded dragon and a dove. That lack of capacity, she said, is typical of shelters around the region.

Many of them are very full, she said.

On Monday, several area animal shelters and humane societies  in Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Newport News, Virginia Beach and Williamsburg  referenced the Poquoson case and issued a joint statement on the urgent need for people to adopt pets. Medium to large dogs are the greatest area of need, the joint statement said.
The FBI is looking into the circumstances under which sexual assault allegations surfaced against then-Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax in 2019, according to a published report.

Fairfax has long accused Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney and former Gov. Terry McAuliffe of fanning the allegations against him  assertions that Stoney and McAuliffe have consistently denied.

I can confirm the report in The Intercept that the FBI is investigating the details of how these false and vicious allegations surfaced, Fairfax said in a statement Monday night.

Investigators have been given evidence of fabrication regarding the accusations and evidence regarding the orchestration of a lengthy smear campaign. For over three years, I have asked for this matter to be investigated because I knew the allegations were patently false and I knew that I would be exonerated.

Kevin Zeithaml, a spokesperson for Stoney, said in a statement Monday night: "Mayor Stoney had never heard of the sexual assault allegations against Justin Fairfax until the story broke in the news in February 2019."

He added: "As the mayor has said repeatedly, there is absolutely no truth whatsoever to this ridiculous accusation against him."

The allegations surfaced as it appeared Fairfax might soon become governor. Then-Gov. Ralph Northam faced widespread calls to resign following disclosure of a racist photo on his page in his 1984 medical school college yearbook.

Vanessa Tyson, a college professor, accused Fairfax of forcing her to perform oral sex in a Boston hotel room in 2004. Meredith Watson accused Fairfax of raping her while the two were students at Duke University in 2000.

In June 2021 a federal appeals court upheld a lower courts decision to dismiss Fairfaxs defamation suit against CBS News regarding 2019 interviews with the two women.

Also in June 2021 McAuliffe easily prevailed in a five-way Democratic primary for governor, topping former Del. Jennifer Carroll Foy, D-Prince William; Sen. Jennifer McClellan, D-Richmond; Fairfax and Del. Lee Carter of Manassas.

In a March 2020 interview, Fairfax had called McAuliffe and Stoney racist and accused them of politically planting the allegations.

At the time McAuliffe and Stoney repeated that they had nothing to do with planting the allegations against Fairfax.

McAuliffe called on Fairfax to resign shortly after the allegations became public in February 2019. McAuliffe said in a March 2020 interview that the first he heard of the accusations against Fairfax was from the news media.

I was in the middle of preparing to run for president and literally the last thing on my mind was Justin Fairfax, McAuliffe said.

McAuliffe announced in April 2019 that he would not seek the Democratic nomination for president. He lost the 2021 election for governor to Republican Glenn Youngkin.

Stoney, who served as McAuliffes secretary of the commonwealth, has long been considered a future hopeful for statewide office. His second term as mayor ends in 2024. Virginians will next elect a governor in 2025.
An exodus of high-tech talent isnt limited to executive leadership at the Virginia Information Technology Agency, which also has lost key employees in cloud services and cybersecurity operations that are critical to operating state government and protecting computer networks from attacks.

VITA, as the state IT agency is known, already had suffered a series of high-profile departures by executives since Gov. Glenn Youngkins inauguration in January, including two chief information officers who had led the department, the chief operating officer and the deputy who temporarily took over for him, and the chief administrative officer.

The agency also has lost all of the staff responsible for helping executive branch agencies receive information technology services through the cloud, a far-flung network of computer data centers that represent a more efficient, less costly way to serve IT networks, according to former employees who asked not to be identified.

Those services are supplied through a six-year, $242.4 million contract that VITA signed four years ago with Unisys, a global IT company based in Pennsylvania, to provide computer servers, storage and data center services, based at its massive data center in the White Oak Technology Park in eastern Henrico County, now home to the state agency.

At least three employees left after former interim Chief Operating Officer Demetrias Rodgers, who had assembled the team under then-Gov. Ralph Northams push for cloud services, resigned in May.

There are no people who are responsible for the cloud services being delivered by Unisys who are at VITA today, said one former employee, who added, Although its a small team, the role it played was significant.

The sources said VITA also has lost several members of its security and risk management group, to which the General Assembly provided funding this year to expand after the legislatures watchdog agency warned last fall that the department was understaffed for securing state government networks from cyberattacks.

VITAs response

VITA spokesperson Lindsay LeGrand acknowledged some internal and external movement in the agencys staff, but said all business needs continue to be met and any needed recruitment processes are underway.

LeGrand did not confirm or comment on departures identified specifically in an inquiry by the Richmond Times-Dispatch, but expressed confidence in the agencys ability to recruit new talent, including almost a dozen new security employees that the assembly budgeted money for it to hire this year.

The VITA team is an engine of information technology talent and continues to foster a highly sought-after workforce, she said in an email statement Tuesday. The agency has experienced attrition rates in line with other technology organizations both private and public sectors; however, VITAs team growth and hiring rates have continued to outpace voluntary departures in 2022, and the team expects that trend to continue.

Cloud, security, and digital support functions remain competitive areas in the technology industry and within VITA, LeGrand said.

The vulnerability of state government computer networks became apparent in December, when the General Assemblys IT networks were penetrated by a criminal enterprise that threatened to shut down the system unless the state paid an unspecified ransom.

The ransomware attack disrupted operation of legislative agencies, including the one that drafts legislation, for weeks before the assembly convened in January.

VITA and an independent IT contractor helped the Division of Legislative Automated Systems set up a backup system that sealed off the infected network and allowed assembly agencies to function.

That really heightened our awareness then, said House Appropriations Chairman Barry Knight, R-Virginia Beach, who said Tuesday that he was not aware of internal staffing problems at VITA.

Departures

High-level departures from VITA began soon after Youngkin took office in mid-January. He replaced Chief Information Officer Nelson Moe, who had led the agency for almost seven years, with former Kansas CIO Phil Wittmer, who resigned less than a month later.

Chief Operating Officer Jon Ozovek resigned several weeks later. He now serves as chief transformation officer at Iron Bow Technologies, based in Reston, one of eight vendors that provide IT services to Virginias 65 executive branch agencies. Last month, Iron Bow hired Moe as sales strategy principal for the companys state, local government and education institution operation.

Rodgers, who served as interim chief operating officer for several months after Ozovek left, resigned in May to become chief technology officer at Planet Technologies, based in Germantown, Md. Chief Administrative Officer Dan Wolf left the agency last week.

Its something thats been on the radar, said Sen. Jeremy McPike, D-Prince William. He blamed the departures on Youngkins new telework policy for making it harder to keep high-tech talent from taking jobs in the private sector that would allow them more flexibility to work remotely instead of in their offices.

Certainly, the telework policy has not been helpful at all, said McPike, a member of the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission, which warned last fall that the lack of sufficient staffing in [Commonwealth Security and Risk Management at VITA] increases the risk of a cybersecurity breach of a state IT system.

Its not the way to keep the best and the brightest here, working for Virginians, he said.

LeGrand said Tuesday that more than 95% of VITA employees requested and were approved for telework.

VITA is not the only state agency struggling to hire and keep employees in a labor market that tightened dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic that began almost 29 months ago and continues because of new virus variants that spread easily in public places.

1,000 state workers

From May 1 through June 30, the state lost 1,066 classified employees by resignation or retirement, according to the Virginia Department of Human Resource Management. It is not clear how that compares with the same period in previous years, especially during gubernatorial transitions that occur every four years.

However, the period corresponds generally to the span between Youngkins announcement of the telework policy on May 5 to its implementation on July 5.

Secretary of Administration Lyn McDermid, a former CIO at Dominion Energy and the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond who oversaw implementation of the telework policy, said this month that the state does not know how many people were working remotely during the pandemic under telework agreements that the new policy voided.

In the 2019 fiscal year, before the pandemic began, only 26% of state executive branch jobs were eligible for telework, or about 15,000 employees. Of those eligible workers, only 19%, or about 2,900, had agreements to work remotely.

Under the governors new policy, 21,314 state employees were eligible to work remotely, and 9,866 of them were approved to telework. Of those, a large majority were approved for one to two days a week, which agency heads and Cabinet secretaries had authority to allow, and 1,687 were allowed to telework three or more days a week. More than two days a week required the approval of Youngkins chief of staff, Jeff Goettman.

The Virginia Governmental Employees Association says that many state employees reported that their agencies discouraged them from applying to work remotely for more than one or two days a week.

We see a huge disconnect between what was said in the policy and what was communicated to employees, said Dylan Bishop, a lobbyist for the association.

For lawmakers, the stability of VITA is essential to protecting state government computer networks from cyberattacks. The agency reported 66 million attempted attacks last year alone and said it blocked more than 50,000 pieces of malware from infecting state computers.

There is a need there, and we have to fund it, Knight said. Were just competing with everybody else to hire these folks.
For a time I was the Mayor of Bughouse Square and last weekend that place, which is the oldest park in the city, was filled with people and dogs. That is often the case and has been the case for generations, ever since some cagey real estate developers in the area thought that having a park would spur sales of their buildings and donated the three-acre plot to the city in 1842.

It sits across from the Newberry Library, between Dearborn and Clark Streets and Walton Street and Delaware Place. Its formal name is Washington Square Park, but it has long been more commonly known as Bughouse Square. Bughouse is a slang term for a mental health facility and for a long time that is what this place often resembled, a sort of outdoor madhouse.

Advertisement

From roughly the 1880s into the 1930s people came to the park and stood on soapboxes or crates and spouted their passions, theories, lunacies and philosophies to anyone who would listen. Some were famous and smart (Carl Sandburg, Emma Goldman, Eugene V. Debs). Many others were anonymous goofs, anarchists, dreamers, poets and preachers. Some of them were insane.

An exterior view Aug. 28, 2018 shows the Newberry Library. (Chris Walker / Chicago Tribune)

In the mid-1980s an event was created to honor those times. The Bughouse Square Debates was conceived by the social historian and author Arthur Weinberg and his wife, Lila, a historian, author and teacher.

Advertisement

Arthur served as the events emcee, the mayor, and after his death in 1989, others filled that role, most dramatically author and activist Studs Terkel, who had spent some of his early years listening to the soapbox orators. As he wrote in his book Touch and Go: I doubt whether I learned very much (at the park). One thing I know: I delighted in it. Perhaps none of it made any sense, save one kind: sense of life.

After Terkels death in 2008, I filled in as mayor and have heard some stirring and remarkable and, yes, seriously nutty orations and arguments.

Thats over and the reason for the change is a good reason.

We are living in a time when there is a lot of screaming at one another and very little listening, says Newberry President and Librarian Daniel Greene.

He is right, of course. One need only turn on a television set or radio or talk to the person next to you on the bus or tavern to realize that there are more than enough heated debates and nasty talk in our everyday lives.

But the Newberry has a very creative staff, so rather than just dump the debates, they have chosen to replace them with what they are calling Chicago Storytelling in Bughouse Square.

The first takes place Saturday afternoon and will include  and the public can participate in some of it  such things as spoken word and poetry from such people as the citys first Youth Poet Laureate, Emon Lauren; main stage storytellers, such as author/professor Bill Savage; music; food and drink; and, on the librarys front steps, performance artist Tim Youd retyping Nelson Algrens Man With the Golden Arm, and talking about his intriguing, ongoing 100 Novels Project.

Author Dawn Turner in the Lake Meadows complex in Bronzeville on Aug. 31. Turner's book, "Three Girls From Bronzeville," has stories of growing up in the community where she and her friends would sit and play along the blue-tiled wall on the grounds. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)

The centerpiece of the afternoon will be the presentation of the first Pattis Foundation Chicago Book Award, presented by this Highland Park-based nonprofit organization.

Advertisement

Lisa Pattis is a member of our board and she and her husband Mark created this award, says Greene. They wanted to promote the Newberry and more specifically the notion of reading about Chicago in Chicago.

A small committee read 47 books and in April got in a room and hashed it out, says Greene.

The winner that emerged is my former Tribune colleague Dawn Turner for her magnificent book, Three Girls in Bronzeville. It comes with an eye-poppingly substantial monetary gift, $25,000, and others will also be honored: Elly Fishman for her Refugee High: Coming of Age in America; Tim Samuelsons Louis Sullivans Idea; William Sites Sun Ras Chicago: Afrofuturism and the City; and Carl Smiths Chicagos Great Fire.

They each receive $2,500, which is more than enough to indulge their literary desires at the annual Newberry Book Fair . Now deep into its third decade, having been on vacation for two pandemic years, the sale takes place Friday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

It is a feast. Inside the library, spread in a number of rooms, you will find something in the neighborhood of 40,000 used books. They are arranged in more than 70 categories such as thrillers, cookbooks, childrens books, mysteries, histories, dance, theater and everything in between, as well as maps, records, CDs, DVDs and postcards. Its a cashless event so only debit and credit cards can be used but there is no admission and many books  all of them donated throughout the year and all proceeds going to the library  can be had for as low as $3.

Newberry Library hosts its annual book fair. (Chicago Tribune)

There are treasures to be found, says Greene.

Advertisement

Born before vast numbers of people started reading books on electronic gizmos, this sale has always been an affirmation of the power of ink on paper, pages between covers.

The Newberry is a place for people who love books, says Greene.

This is an all-volunteer effort. It was run for many years by Dan Crawford, who was the book fair manager. He sorted the books that were donated, organized and priced them.

Years ago, he told me, charmingly, I get to play with books all the time. People drop off boxes or bags and I never know what will be in them. Always surprises. That is also, I think, what attracts people to the fair. At our prices, people can try authors they have never heard of before.

If this weekend is not enough for you, Bughouse Square: A History in Song and Story, comes on Aug. 27. It is to feature food and music and some people talking about the colorful history of the park. I have been asked to say a few words.

Perhaps I will recall the soapbox orator whose topic was Is it OK to punch a Nazi? and was himself punched or maybe I will point out the spot where Studs Terkel and his wife Ida are buried. Yes, this place was so important to him that he chose it for eternity.

Advertisement

rkogan@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @rickkogan
Roanoke law enforcement agencies on Tuesday found and safely returned to his guardians a teenage boy with autism who had left his home shortly after midnight.

Bobby Marshall Curry, 13, was found in northern Roanoke County about 9 air miles from where he went missing, Roanoke Police Capt. Andrew Pulley said.

Our understanding right now is somebody picked Bobby up in a vehicle, a well-intentioned citizen of Roanoke County, Pulley said in a news conference at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday. We understand she was attempting to try and get him home. Once it was realized that he didnt tell her where he lived exactly, she took him back to her residence, where eventually she called us.

Curry was reported missing from his residence in the 100 block of Frances Drive Northwest sometime between 12:30 a.m. and 7 a.m. Tuesday. His guardians saw him going to bed, but his bedroom was vacant when they checked on him in the morning.

When we were alerted, because of the age of the juvenile and because of his autism diagnosis, that pushes it into a different category at the state level and the federal level, Pulley said.

Several law enforcement agencies joined forces to search for the missing boy. Roanokes agencies held a news conference about Currys disappearance at 11 a.m. at the Food Lion on Peters Creek Road, where the parking lot was set up as an emergency operations base.

Pulley said during the briefing that the Roanoke Sheriffs Office, Roanoke Fire-EMS Department, Virginia State Police, and Federal Bureau of Investigation were among the agencies involved in the search.

A bloodhound from the Franklin County Sheriffs Office was also on scene, and the Roanoke County Fire and Rescue Department provided drones.

Roanoke Sheriffs Office Maj. Monica Perkins said Curry was placed in a program called Project Lifesaver with the Roanoke Sheriffs Office on Jan. 18.

The program is used to assist people that have been diagnosed with a cognitive disability, such as autism, dementia, Perkins said during the 11 a.m. briefing.

Through the program, Curry was fitted with a wristband that police could track. But the teen had cut the band off.

We did find it at his residence, Perkins said.

At about 12:30 p.m., Roanokes Star City Alert system released a missing person alert that said Curry had previously walked to Salem and had attended Patrick Henry High School.

Then at about 1 p.m., the Virginia State Police issued a missing person with autism alert for Curry. According to that alert, Curry was last seen on camera walking north of his residence, at 12:30 a.m. Tuesday wearing a T-shirt, pajama pants and multicolored Crocs.

About 20 minutes after state police issued the alert, the Roanoke Fire-EMS Department announced that Curry had been located and was safe.

During a second press conference Tuesday afternoon, Pulley said Curry had been found by a woman, who called 911.

At approximately 12:58 this afternoon, a phone call came in to the Roanoke Police Department teleservice unit from a lady that had located the missing juvenile, Pulley said.

The woman who called in the tip had received the VSPs alert. She realized the child that was with her was Curry and called law enforcement.

Officers from the original search party were immediately dispatched to the womans location and Curry was found. Pulley said the teen initially thought he was in trouble, like any other 13-year-old, but he was unharmed.

He was returned immediately to his guardians back at their residence, Pulley said.

No charges are pending against any parties involved in the incident.
A Covington man was sentenced Monday in Craig County Circuit Court to five years in prison for killing someone he once called his friend.

Jerimiah Christian Bradshaw, 30, was indicted late last year on a first-degree murder charge in the shooting death of Christopher Bud Broughman, 28, also of Covington, on late Aug. 5 or Aug. 6, 2021.

The murder charge was amended to a voluntary manslaughter charge in April, when Bradshaw entered a guilty plea.

On Monday, Judge Joel Branscom sentenced Bradshaw to 10 years in prison with five years suspended, according to Virginias court case information system. Once released, Bradshaw will be placed on supervised probation for four years.

Craig County Commonwealths Attorney Matthew Dunne said Monday that the recommended sentencing range for Bradshaws charge was capped at five years and eight months. The maximum sentence for a voluntary manslaughter charge in Virginia is 10 years.

Dunne said Bradshaws five-year sentence was an appropriate resolution to a unique case.

Bradshaws attorney, Malcolm Doubles, could have argued Bradshaw acted in self-defense when he shot Broughman, Dunne said.

The facts of the case were that the deceased broke into the defendants home and came at him, so to speak, with an axe handle or a hickory stick, Dunne said.

Bradshaw was with Broughmans estranged wife when Broughman entered the residence. Broughman approached Bradshaw, and then Broughman was shot six times.

But Dunne said what Bradshaw did after the violent encounter, but before Broughmans death was reported, didnt support a self-defense claim.

He shot the guy, and the guys laying there bleeding to death, and he steps over the body, walks to the kitchen, grabs food, and then takes the deceased mans wife and the deceased mans truck and goes to the deceased mans house in Covington, where he makes love to the deceased mans wife, Dunne said. Those were all things that were inconsistent with the claim of self-defense, from my perspective. And those are things I pointed out to the judge.

Broughman died at the scene of the shooting, and Bradshaw was arrested later on Aug. 6.

In a statement that Bradshaw made to Virginia State Police, Dunne said, Bradshaw reported using two firearms in relation to the incident.

Bradshaw told police he used a pistol to shoot Broughman and a rifle to fire a shot into the air, Dunne relayed, to dissuade Broughman from advancing farther.

Dunne said whether Bradshaw used both weapons to shoot Bradshaw remains unclear. But he maintained that at least two firearms were manipulated by the defendant.

Dunne said Bradshaw had only two misdemeanors on his record prior to the incident.

Dunne said Bradshaws case originated outside of Craig County.

This was very, very close to the county line of Alleghany, Dunne said. Most of the actors involved really had their roots in Covington. The deceased and the defendant were actually friends prior to this issue.

Bradshaw is currently being held at the Botetourt-Craig Regional Jail.

Botetourt County Sheriff Matt Ward said Monday that Bradshaw had already spent 350 days in the jail. But Dunne said he will soon be transferred to a state facility.
A fourth COVID-19 vaccine, produced by Maryland-based Novavax, will arrive in Virginia in mid-August, the Virginia Department of Health announced, giving adults another option for immunization.

But studies suggest that most people who are unvaccinated have no intention of getting a shot.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention gave its approval of Novavax on July 19, and the federal government has purchased 3.2 million doses of the two-shot series. It allocated 20,800 doses for Virginia.

Novavax, already authorized in more than 35 countries, is not available as a booster or third dose. Its not available for children, either.

In trials, Novavax was 90% effective against lab-confirmed, symptomatic infection and 100% effective against moderate and severe disease. But it wasnt tested against the more transmissible omicron variant, which rewrote experts understanding of what COVID-19 vaccines can and cant do.

Novavax says its shot could generate an immune response to omicron, but scientists are still studying.

Unlike the other three vaccines, Novavax contains a small amount of the COVID spike protein, which elicits an immune response, and an adjuvant, which boosts the immune response.

Other protein-based vaccines have been used widely for decades, as opposed to the mRNA technology of Pfizer and Moderna, which is relatively new. Vaccines to prevent hepatitis B and whooping cough are also protein-based.

Side effects include site tenderness, fatigue, headaches and muscle pain, similar to other vaccines.

The protection Novavax offers seemingly doesnt drop off as quickly as Pfizer or Moderna, Dr. Wes Shepherd, a VCU Health pulmonologist, said in May. That gives the protein-based shot an advantage over the widely used mRNA vaccines. As Americans tire of repeated vaccinations, a longer-lasting shot could be of great importance.

In Virginia, 72% of the population is fully vaccinated  which is still defined as having two shots of Moderna or Pfizer and one of Johnson & Johnson. Experts say people with a booster shot are better protected. A study from the University of Virginia determined the immunity level from Pfizer dropped 40% over several months. Modernas level of immunity dropped slightly less.

Interest in new vaccinations has been low in recent months. According to a recent poll by Morning Consult, 20% of Americans are unwilling to be vaccinated against COVID, a number essentially unchanged over the past year.

Its unclear if Novavax will do anything to change the minds of the vaccine hesitant.

For residents waiting for a vaccine based on a different technology than those available now, we urge you to consider the two-dose Novavax COVID-19 vaccine, state vaccination coordinator Christy Gray said. Novavax is safe and effective and uses technology commonly used for decades.
This article was originally published in the Richmond Times-Dispatch's magazine Discover Richmond in April 2018.

In 1957, Fred Eichelman began teaching seventh-grade history in Roanoke County. He was using a shiny new state-commissioned textbook.

It wasn't long before Eichelman and even some students noticed some peculiarities.

The textbook said slaves were happy, often referring to them as servants. It glorified Confederates. And it said precious little about women beyond Martha Washington and Pocahontas.

"It makes you wonder how we got so many Virginians, with so few women," quipped Eichelman, now 82.

The book was "Virginia: History, Government, Geography," and it was one of a trio of state-commissioned texts  the others were for fourth grade and high school  that taught Confederate-friendly "Lost Cause" ideas to a generation of Virginians and cast the state's segregationist political leaders in a favorable light.

If you were a Virginian between fourth and 11th grades from 1957 to the 1970s, you may well have gotten a dose of this official state history. The books were estimated to reach more than a million students.

Why care about 50-year-old textbooks?

"The ideas expressed in the books, historically unfounded as many of them may be, are still widespread today. They crop up in the debate over Confederate monuments and in other realms of life," said Melvin Patrick Ely, a Bancroft Prize-winning historian at the College of William & Mary who focuses on African-Americans and the South.

As the civil rights movement intensified in the 1960s, the textbooks began to draw heavy criticism, largely for their depictions of slaves and post-Civil War African-Americans. Among other things, "Cavalier Commonwealth," the high school book, said a slave "did not work so hard as the average free laborer, since he did not have to worry about losing his job."

In another example of unexpected historical happiness, the seventh-grade book said contact between English settlers and Virginia's Indians resulted in "a better life for both the settlers and the Indians."

One common thread of the books was adulation of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.

"General Lee was a handsome man" who "sat straight and firm in his saddle," said the fourth-grade text, "Virginia's History." It added that Lee's horse, Traveller, "stepped proudly, as if he knew that he carried a great general."

***

State officials and legislators oversaw the writing of the books in the 1950s, when Virginia's political landscape was dominated by the segregationist Byrd organization, the Democratic power structure named for then-U.S. Sen. Harry F. Byrd Sr.

A central theme of the books was the Lost Cause, a narrative  considered mostly mythical by historians  that holds that slaves were content and that Virginia could have dealt with slavery on its own if not for meddling Northerners whose actions led to the Civil War.

When the books were being developed, the Byrd organization was worried about some new unpleasantness: the civil rights policies of President Harry S. Truman.

There is a clear connection, said Adam W. Dean, a University of Lynchburg historian who specializes in slavery, the Civil War and Reconstruction: The Byrd organization wanted to tell a new generation that Virginians were justified  in the mid-1800s and again in the mid-1900s  in wanting to handle race-related issues on their own.

"Segregationists in very high offices in the state thought that they could use the Lost Cause version of the Civil War to support segregation," said Dean, who wrote about the textbooks in a 2009 edition of the Virginia Historical Society's scholarly "Virginia Magazine of History and Biography."

Dean added: "I think (those overseeing creation of the textbooks) believed this history. They didn't view themselves as lying to people."

Debate over the textbooks began almost immediately and even continues today.

On Amazon.com, where the seventh-grade book is rare enough to sell for more than $100, one reviewer who used the text as a young teacher said: "This book was both informative and correct in how the history was presented. I am not racist and never have been. All slaves were not mistreated. ... My classes were integrated, and there were absolutely no problems using this textbook."

Another reviewer recalled the book "as very racist and somewhat sexist."

She added that when she got a copy in adulthood, "I subjected my husband and adult children to dramatic readings," such as: "Enslaved people were happy to be in Virginia and were better off than they would have been in Africa. Abolitionists lied about slavery in the South. ... After the Civil War, carpetbaggers and scalawags came down to Virginia to oppress white Virginians. However, some 'broad-minded' Northerners came to understand and appreciate true Virginia and came to agree that Negroes were not ready to govern themselves."

For very different reasons, both readers gave the book five stars.

***

Virginia's post-World-War II political leaders felt that children were largely ignorant of state history. Dean added that many politicians feared that Communists were making inroads in the state.

These lawmakers thought that requiring schoolteachers to promote the Byrd organization's view of history would set students straight and keep teachers from spreading socialist or communist ideas.

The General Assembly created the Virginia History and Government Textbook Commission in 1950 to oversee the writing of the three books. Gov. John S. Battle appointed the commission's seven members, which included politicians, historians and educators.

Its chairman was Del. Cecil W. Taylor of Lynchburg, a Democrat with close ties to the Byrd organization, according to former teacher Eichelman, whose 1975 Virginia Tech doctoral dissertation in social studies supervision focused on the textbook controversy.

Each book had multiple authors, chosen by the publishers upon approval by the textbook commission. The authors included historians and teachers.

As the authors prepared drafts of the books, commission members suggested numerous changes, seeking to instill what Taylor called a "Virginia spirit"  a term that was never defined but that clearly included salutes to the Lost Cause narrative and the Byrd organization.

"As the commissioners slogged through draft after draft of the textbooks  over the course of four years  they grew increasingly contemptuous of the authors, who seemed unable or unwilling to produce manuscripts that reflected the proper 'Virginia spirit,'" Carol Sheriff, another William & Mary historian, wrote in a 2012 study.

At one point, textbook commission members debated among themselves whether to use the word "stalemate" to describe the landmark Battle of Gettysburg, which halted Confederate advances in the North and forced Lee to retreat to Virginia from Pennsylvania.

Ultimately, Gettysburg was indeed labeled a defeat. Still, the seventh-grade book said that after the Confederate victory at Cold Harbor 11 months later: "Lee was still undefeated!"

There apparently also were debates over what to call that war between North and South. In the seventh-grade textbook, it's the War Between the States  a term favored by Lost Cause adherents, Dean said, because it indicates that Southern states had the right to secede.

In the high school book, the war is not named. But a key chapter in "Cavalier Commonwealth" is titled "Defense Against Invasion, 1861-1865."

The books didn't ignore slavery in their lead-ins to the Civil War, but there was also a lot of talk of states' rights and other issues. As Dean noted, most historians today believe "slavery caused the war, and the purpose of the Confederacy was to create a slave-holding republic."

Disputes over how to portray state history in "Cavalier Commonwealth" grew so heated that the textbook commission removed Longwood College professor Marvin W. Schlegel from his role as lead author. A Richmond Times-Dispatch article from the era said the commission felt that Schlegel, who was born in Pennsylvania, did not adequately reflect the Southern viewpoint.

Schlegel still retained an author credit, but he was replaced by W. Edwin Hemphill, a historian at the Virginia State Library. Hemphill ran into his own problems when he and co-author Sadie E. Engelberg, a Richmond history teacher, wanted to include an in-depth section on Massive Resistance  Virginia's campaign, beginning in 1956, against federally required school desegregation.

Massive Resistance never made it into the book, although one paragraph mentioned the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court decision declaring school segregation unconstitutional.

"A reader of the textbook would not be aware that any controversy existed over integration if this were his only source of information," Eichelman wrote in his dissertation.

Hemphill said in The Times-Dispatch article: "At times I went farther than I wanted to on the Southern viewpoint, but I felt the good of the book as a whole was worth it."

After some early critics accused the fourth-grade book of peddling myths, one of the seventh-grade book's authors, Williamsburg teacher Spotswood Hunnicutt Jones, defended creative storytelling.

"To explode the Pocahontas legend would be much like saying there is no Santa Claus," Jones said in a 1958 speech.

***

The textbooks were shipped to schools across Virginia in 1957, two years behind schedule. Some black educators took issue with them almost from the start, but criticism from parents, educators and news organizations expanded in the 1960s.

In 1966, a piece in The Washington Post said the books presented "a magnolia-scented adaptation of Camelot" with "more romance than history."

A major point of contention was the depiction of content, well-cared-for slaves  a notion that persists today.

What was the truth? William & Mary's Ely said that on one end of the spectrum  on exceedingly rare occasions  a master took an enslaved woman as his de facto wife, brought her to live with him in the big house and sent the couple's mixed-race children to schools in the North.

On the other end of the spectrum, Ely said, were sadistic owners who tortured and even murdered slaves, with little response from authorities. Those also represented a minority of owner-slave relationships, but a larger one.

Ely said that in the vast middle were owners, almost all of whom  while not sadistic  resorted to whipping and other punishments, kept slaves in degrading conditions, frequently engaged in sexual exploitation, and often broke up slave families.

"Even slave owners who wanted to keep families together often weren't in a position to do so" because of debts and other issues, Ely said. His own research turned up instances in Virginia of children as young as 3 or 4 being taken from their parents and sold.

Enslaved people did in fact sing, tell folktales, worship God and do other things that brought them comfort and pleasure, developing a rich culture despite their bondage, Ely said.

Lynchburg's Dean said slavery "was brutal, even though masters liked to talk about how their slaves loved them and how they were family. I think in their heart of hearts, they knew that wasn't true. The institution depended on brute force and the law to remain intact."

The fourth-grade book was highlighted in the 2007 memoir "Dream Not of Other Worlds," by the late Huston Diehl, about teaching in the all-black Morton Elementary School in Louisa County in 1970. The white woman, then 21, had never lived in the South.

"I understood how crazy, how wrong it was to ask my students to read a history that endorsed the very Confederacy that fought to keep their people enslaved," Diehl wrote.

Years later, she found a copy of the book and was surprised to see that it was published in 1956.

"I had always assumed it must have been written in the 1930s or 1940s, not ... when the modern civil rights movement was seriously challenging Jim Crow," Diehl wrote.

***

After a six-year run, the textbook commission disbanded shortly before the textbooks went to schools in 1957.

The GOP's Linwood Holton became governor in 1970, and his administration clamped down on the books. They were allowed to be phased out, however, and some were still in use in the late 1970s.

Today, local school systems design their own history curricula, which have to adhere to state standards, said state Department of Education spokesman Charles B. Pyle. Textbooks are reviewed by teachers and other experts. The state superintendent of public instruction recommends textbooks for approval based on those reviews.

It's unclear how much young Virginians retained from those earlier state-commissioned histories. What is clear is that many baby boomers got heavy doses of the Lost Cause narrative from these books, as well as from popular culture and other sources.

William & Mary's Ely, 65, studied from the fourth- and the seventh-grade books while attending the old Westhampton School in Richmond. "I think the books are as much a symptom as they are a vector for the misconceptions we may have," he said.

In her study, William & Mary's Sheriff said the three textbooks and the controversy they spawned have not faded from memory.

"I have been struck by the number of people who, when they have seen my copies of the state-commissioned Virginia histories, have remarked that they remember them from their childhoods," she said.

On a recent day in Richmond, two middle-aged women strolled down Monument Avenue to get a close-up look at the 61-foot-tall memorial to Lee. The women chatted pleasantly with two strangers, and then the talk turned to the cause of the Civil War.

It was about secession, not slavery, one of the women said.

Confident in her view, she added: "People need to learn their history."
The FBI is looking into the circumstances under which sexual assault allegations surfaced against then-Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax in 2019, according to a published report.

Fairfax has long accused Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney and former Gov. Terry McAuliffe of fanning the allegations against him  assertions that Stoney and McAuliffe have consistently denied.

I can confirm the report in The Intercept that the FBI is investigating the details of how these false and vicious allegations surfaced, Fairfax said in a statement Monday night.

Investigators have been given evidence of fabrication regarding the accusations and evidence regarding the orchestration of a lengthy smear campaign. For over three years, I have asked for this matter to be investigated because I knew the allegations were patently false and I knew that I would be exonerated.

Kevin Zeithaml, a spokesperson for Stoney, said in a statement Monday night: "Mayor Stoney had never heard of the sexual assault allegations against Justin Fairfax until the story broke in the news in February 2019."

He added: "As the mayor has said repeatedly, there is absolutely no truth whatsoever to this ridiculous accusation against him."

In February 2019 two women came forward and accused Fairfax of past incidents of sexual assault. Fairfax has denied both allegations.

The allegations surfaced as it appeared Fairfax might soon become governor. Then-Gov. Ralph Northam faced widespread calls to resign following disclosure of a racist photo on his page in his 1984 medical school college yearbook.

Vanessa Tyson, a college professor, accused Fairfax of forcing her to perform oral sex in a Boston hotel room in 2004. Meredith Watson accused Fairfax of raping her while the two were students at Duke University in 2000.

In June 2021 a federal appeals court upheld a lower courts decision to dismiss Fairfaxs defamation suit against CBS News regarding 2019 interviews with the two women.

Also in June 2021 McAuliffe easily prevailed in a five-way Democratic primary for governor, topping former Del. Jennifer Carroll Foy, D-Prince William; Sen. Jennifer McClellan, D-Richmond; Fairfax and Del. Lee Carter of Manassas.

In a March 2020 interview, Fairfax had called McAuliffe and Stoney racist and accused them of politically planting the allegations.

At the time McAuliffe and Stoney repeated that they had nothing to do with planting the allegations against Fairfax.

McAuliffe called on Fairfax to resign shortly after the allegations became public in February 2019. McAuliffe said in a March 2020 interview that the first he heard of the accusations against Fairfax was from the news media.

I was in the middle of preparing to run for president and literally the last thing on my mind was Justin Fairfax, McAuliffe said.

McAuliffe announced in April 2019 that he would not seek the Democratic nomination for president. He lost the 2021 election for governor to Republican Glenn Youngkin.

Stoney, who served as McAuliffes secretary of the commonwealth, has long been considered a future hopeful for statewide office. His second term as mayor ends in 2024. Virginians will next elect a governor in 2025.
In a recent commentary to The Roanoke Times (An open letter to Montgomery County Supervisors, July 14), Gunin Kiran wrote to voice opposition to the notion of state funding for vouchers in private school education.

Although Kirans service to the public school system is commendable, and while I do not doubt the sincerity of her arguments, nevertheless, an alternative view needs to be heard.

Kirans most significant objection to the notion of vouchers centers on her assertion that they would divert badly needed funds away from the public school system. The system is underfunded, she says, and what is needed is more money and not less.

But in reply to this objection, Id like to point out that the public school system is part of the government bureaucracy of our country. Bureaucracies, as many know, have the curious tendency to grow in direct proportion to the number of resources available to them. There is also the unfortunate tendency of the mission of the bureaucracy to drift over time. What begins as the laudable goal to provide services as efficiently as possible soon devolves into a mission to perpetuate its own power. And as its influence grows so does its demand for resources. If the growth of government in the last century is any indication, then there is no amount of money that is likely to be available at any time in the future that would satisfy the demands of our public school bureaucracy.

Kiran also notes that public education is free but this is only true in the sense that citizens dont pay for it directly. Instead, it is subsidized by our tax dollars as noted above. It is therefore inevitable that the free cost of public education will only continue to rise and if history is any indication, then this will almost certainly be the case.

And at this point, we would do well to stop and ask ourselves just what we are getting for our money? Kiran points out that public education is the great equalizer. But what is the nature of this equalization?

In 1940 Walter Lippmann, one of the most influential journalists of the last century, delivered a lecture to the American Association for the Advancement of Science titled Education versus Western Civilization. The late Dr. John Robbins points out that Lippmann made five observations about the nature of both public and higher education in America.

First, Lippmann noted that our curriculum of studies has steadily removed the Western culture which produced the modern democratic state. Second, because this is the case, graduates in our country no longer understand the creative principle of the society in which we live. Third, having lost this principle our citizens no longer understand the genius of the development of Western civilization. Fourth, this ignorance is destined to destroy Western civilization and is in fact destroying it. And finally, what is therefore needed is a thorough reevaluation of our educational systems underlying assumptions and purposes.

If Lippmann was correct, then our educational system has indeed become the great equalizer much like a forest fire equalizes the home. This crisis of education has only accelerated over the intervening years and there are many who sense the problem even though they may not be able to articulate it as fully as Lippmann did. Those who do so are looking for alternatives and school vouchers would be a step in the right direction. Making them available to anyone looking for increased educational freedom would help lower the financial barrier to private education that so many of our citizens face. It may even be that over time, the greater educational freedom that vouchers would promote might help drive down overall educational costs by forcing all types of schools, both public and private, to compete for students on the basis of not only quality but value as well.

If we really care about the success of our students as both sides of the debate admit they do, then now is the time to promote greater educational freedom. Now is the time for vouchers.
Thank you for reading!

Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading.
Day-Lewis had some suggestions for Kushner's rewrite, and the new draft, Kushner says, was in part dictated by input from "an immensely intelligent actor. He says he doesn't write but he really should. He has an astonishing gift with words. Anyway, Steven and I had been hanging onto big scenes that we really loved, scenes left over from the end of the first screenplay. Very long scenes. And we couldn't quite let go of them and we'd stopped looking at them. And Daniel said: 'I don't get it. This doesn't make sense. Why is this scene in the film at all?' And hearing it from his perspective, this fresh perspective, suddenly it was like: Sure! I'll let go of it! That gives me 20 pages to do something else!
You have permission to edit this collection.

Edit Close
 "The Effectiveness of Prison Programming: A Review of the Research Literature Examining the Impact of Federal, State, and Local Inmate Programming on Post-Release Recidivism" | Main | Notable reform perspectives via Brennan Center 

January 4, 2020

Despite creating lots of clemency hope, NY Gov Cuomo delivers little clemency relief

This New York Daily News article, headlined "Gov. Cuomo grants clemency to abused upstate woman convicted of murder as advocates call for more action," reports on the clemency grants issued yesterday by New York Andrew Cuomo. Here are the details:

An upstate woman convicted of murder after suffering physical and emotional abuse at the hands of her husband had her 50-year prison sentence commuted by Gov. Cuomo on Friday. Monica Szlekovics, along with her abusive husband, was found guilty of a 1996 murder in Rochester. Szlikovics, 42, had a traumatic childhood and endured extreme, ongoing physical and psychological abuse from her husband, said a statement from Cuomos office. She suffered from complex post-traumatic stress disorder and trauma bonding when her husband forced her to take part in the slaying, the statement said. In her more than two decades behind bars, Szlekovics has expressed remorse for her role in the murder, completed a bachelors degree in sociology, worked as a clerk for the prison college program and participated in domestic violence classes. She also has the support of domestic violence groups and womens justice advocates.... Cuomo also commuted the sentence of Ryan Brice, 32, who turned to crime to make money after his family lost their home and possessions from flooding during Hurricane Irene in 2011. Albany cops caught Brice trying to raise cash by selling a loaded assault rifle for $1,200, leading him to plead guilty to a charge of criminal weapons possession. He was sentenced to prison as a violent offender  even though he never committed any violent acts, the governors office said. Cuomo pardoned nine others convicted of a variety of charges who have remained crime-free since serving their time. Most of those pardoned were convicted of misdemeanor drug charges. He called those who he granted clemency "deserving New Yorkers who have proven their remorse and undergone successful rehabilitation. Advocacy groups say Cuomo has failed to follow through on promises to assist more convicted criminals who have demonstrated remorse and accountability. The Release Aging People in Prison Campaign issued a scathing statement Friday calling on Cuomo to show mercy to more of the thousands of prisoners who have applied to have their sentences shortened.... Since 2011, Cuomo has commuted the sentences of only 21 people  most famously that of Judith Clark, who drove a getaway car in the 1981 Brinks robbery that left three people dead. The commutation in 2016 move made Clark eligible for parole; she was released from prison last June. In 2018, Cuomo issued around 30 pardons, mostly to immigrants who were at risk of deportation. He also commuted the sentences of nine prisoners.

The official statement from Gov Cuomo about the 11 clemency grants can be found here, and the statement from The Release Aging People in Prison Campaign can be found here. Here is an excerpt from that later statement:

As New York celebrates a new year and decade, thousands of New Yorkers continue to languish behind prison bars in 2020 because the governor continually refuses to use his executive clemency power in a meaningful way. While governors in Kentucky, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, California, and other states have recently used their executive power to promote freedom and reunite families, Cuomo continues to keep people in despair and families apart. In 2015, Cuomo invited pro bono attorneys to help incarcerated people put together clemency petitions with the goal of granting more clemencies to worthy candidates. More than 6,000 New Yorkers in prison responded by applying for clemency in ways that demonstrated their remorse, accountability, many accomplishments, family and reentry support, and more. Yet to date, Cuomo has granted only 21 total commutations, an average of two per year since taking office in 2011. If New York is to be a leader in the movement to end mass incarceration and the nationwide effort to resist President Trumps racist agenda, then we need a progressive governor to show bold courage and leadership. Justice for one or two individuals isnt enough.

More than a few notable folks have used Twitter (such as Profs Rachel Barkow and Steve Zeidman) to expresss similar disappointment at Gov Cuomo's failure to walk the clemency walk after having long talked up his clemency powers.

January 4, 2020 at 07:38 AM | Permalink

Comments

Post a comment
 700  3%  7% 25% 27.3 7.6% 7% 188.78  1.66 0.83% 0.99%3%  38005300 9 CTR HOLDINGS 817 HYGIEIA GROUP 817 817  1216 7 8 HENLEY I2.7 25 NOVO LAND71   4818% 2 1360     8232021A0.8 BENG SOON MACH 20 841.15  462.6 THE HENLEY I32 186666
SIOUX CITY  Police have arrested a suspect in a June incident in which shots were fired near a Sioux City park.

Aidan Wabashaw, 19, of Sioux City, was booked into the Woodbury County Jail Monday on charges of intimidation with a dangerous weapon, going armed with intent, assault while displaying a dangerous weapon and felon in possession of a firearm. His bond was set at $40,000.

Wabashaw is accused of threatening a 17-year-old girl with a handgun and firing shots at her during an altercation that began June 12 and continued into the early morning hours of June 13 in the 1000 block of 15th Street near Dale Street Park.

According to court documents, the teen was at a friend's house and they began arguing. Wabashaw intervened and threatened her with gun, holding it inches from her head. The girl left, but returned at about 1 a.m. to reconcile with her friend. Wabasha again got involved, telling the girl, "I'll split your head open, look at my record. I'm violent and a felon."

The girl left and went to Dale Street Park and encountered some male friends, who escorted her back to her friend's home, where they got into a fight with Wabashaw. After the fight, Wabashaw said he'd be back and drove away. The girl and her male friends went back to the park, but she returned to the 15th Street home with one of them about 45 minutes later to retrieve belongings she'd left there. As they arrived, Wabashaw exited the home and pointed a gun at them, court documents said. The girl told police that as she and her male friend ran away, they heard two gunshots.

Hours later, a Sioux City police officer stopped Wabashaw for failing to stop at a stop sign. After Wabashaw consented to a search of his vehicle, police found a 9mm handgun inside a bag, and Wabashaw admitted it was his. Wabashaw was on probation for a July 2021 conviction of three counts of second-degree robbery.
DAKOTA CITY  Big Ox Energy claims actions by South Sioux City caused more than $10 million in damages to its now-closed renewable fuel plant and hurt the company's reputation.

In an answer and counterclaims to a lawsuit filed by the city, the Wisconsin-based company said the city breached its contract by allowing another company to illegally discharge acidic wastewater for treatment at Big Ox, causing the release of sewer gas that seeped into neighboring homes and leading to constant odor complaints and eventual lawsuits that ended in costly settlements.

Big Ox said the root cause of gas releases and odors was the city's failure to properly maintain and operate its sewer system, a violation of the agreement between the two parties.

"As a result of the city's breach of the agreement, Big Ox Energy has suffered damages in an amount to be proven at trial, but not less than $10 million," the company said in its July 18 filing in Dakota County District Court.

The city has yet to file a response.

The city had sued Big Ox and its lenders for breach of contract in December 2020, saying Big Ox misrepresented its abilities to develop the plant, which converted organic waste into methane and also pre-treated the city's industrial wastewater before discharging it across the Missouri River to Sioux City's treatment plant. The city is seeking a judge's order rescinding a 2014 tipping agreement and declaring the city does not owe millions of dollars in unpaid monthly fees that lenders are seeking.

Big Ox removed the lawsuit to federal court in January 2021, and a federal judge remanded it to Dakota County in September. District Judge Bryan Meismer in June denied a Big Ox motion to dismiss it.

Big Ox began operations in the city's Roth Industrial Park in September 2016 and was soon subject to odor complaints from neighbors. The city said Big Ox began failing to fulfill its promises to the city shortly thereafter, when it stopped accepting certain wastewater in an attempt to reduce odors.

In its counterclaim, Big Ox said the city knew, or should have known, that CHS Inc., a former soybean processor in the Roth Industrial Park, illegally released wastewater exceeding acidity standards into the city's sewer system for treatment at Big Ox. The acids reacted with common sulfides in the sewer system, Big Ox said, to cause the release of hydrogen sulfide gas, which began to enter nearby homes hooked to the sewer main in which Big Ox discharged its treated wastewater. CHS closed its plant in 2017, later sold it and paid an $80,000 civil penalty for federal wastewater violations.

Big Ox says the city compounded its breach of contract by routing the waste from Big Ox through that residential sewer main, and the city apparently hadn't checked to see that many of the homes along the main lacked required plumbing systems with safety features to prevent sewer gases from entering their homes.

Big Ox said the city's breaches led to equipment damage at its plant and excessive costs to respond to environmental issues, including numerous violations for gas emissions, sludge spills and solid waste storage.

Big Ox shut down operations in April 2019, when Sioux City declined to renew the company's wastewater treatment permit because of nonpayment of outstanding fees and fines.

In January 2020, Nebraska regulators revoked Big Ox's air and stormwater permits because of failures to comply with state regulations.

The plant remains idled and is for sale.

In August, Big Ox and the city of South Sioux City agreed, along with insurance carriers and other private companies, to a $1.75 million settlement of 16 lawsuits filed by neighboring homeowners who claimed the city and Big Ox knew the city's sewer system was not capable of handling the volume and type of discharges coming from the plant and that odors and gas releases from the plant ruined their homes and caused health problems. Big Ox had previously settled a class action lawsuit filed by other homeowners who said odors had interfered with the ability to enjoy their life and property and had damaged property values. Terms of that settlement were confidential.

Big Ox agreed in September to pay a $1.1 million civil penalty to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy for violations of federal and state environmental regulations.

South Sioux City remains involved in a federal lawsuit filed by Wells Fargo Trust Company, which is seeking more than $3.3 million in payments the city has not made since May 2019 under the tipping agreement it had signed with Big Ox, requiring it to make $225,000 monthly payments. That agreement was an inducement for Wells Fargo to provide financing for construction of the approximately $30 million Big Ox plant.

The city has denied Wells Fargo's claim for payment, saying it should not have to pay for monthly payments since March 2019, when it placed Big Ox in default of the tipping agreement for failing to operate the wastewater treatment facility in accordance with the agreement.
SIOUX CITY  A woman who sold more than 20 pounds of methamphetamine in the Sioux City area has been sentenced to more than five years in federal prison.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Bringman was arrested on Sept. 29 while picking up a 5-pound package of meth that had been delivered by the U.S. Postal Service from her California supplier. Authorities seized another 1.5 pounds of meth from her vehicle and more than $22,000 in cash found in her home. Bringman admitted that during the previous months she had received several packages of meth from California and sold it to others.
DAKOTA CITY  A South Sioux City RV sales company co-owner who already faced 13 charges related to fraudulent sales practices has pleaded not guilty to 37 more.

Douglas Bras, 62, waived a personal appearance in court and on Monday filed a written plea in Dakota County District Court to 18 counts of theft by deception, 10 counts of selling or disposing of a motor vehicle without delivering a title or VIN number, three counts of knowing and intentional abuse of a senior adult, two counts of issuing a bad check and single counts of conspiracy, aiding consummation of a felony, theft by unlawful taking and second-degree forgery.

He previously pleaded not guilty to 13 other fraud-related charges.

Bras co-owns Fremont RV Center, 2405 Cornhusker Drive, with his wife, Shara Bras. The two are accused of a pattern of defrauding customers, using sales proceeds to pay their own bills and not issuing vehicle titles.

Shara Bras, 56, has pleaded not guilty to 50 charges that are similar to those her husband faces.

The two, who live in Hinton, Iowa, are accused of selling campers on consignment but not paying the owner or the owner's bank, never informing the owners the campers had been sold and failing to produce a title to the campers to the buyers.

According to court documents, buyers and sellers of more than a dozen campers or RVs have reported to police that they have received checks for insufficient funds after their campers were sold. Some said they didn't receive their title or payment until several weeks or months after the purchase was made. Customers also reported paying Fremont RV for items that were never ordered and received.
The early impetus behind the Peacock comedy Rutherford Falls started with Michael Schur (who created Parks and Recreation) and actor Ed Helms being kind of surprised and disturbed by the ways that people were clinging to historical narratives and using them really as an excuse to mistreat each other, as opposed to something to learn from, said Helms. So we started kicking around the idea of: Is there a character we can create that has these blind spots in spite of himself? And what does a good person do when confronted with their blind spots?

The resulting show, which was cocreated by Schur, Helms and showrunner Sierra Teller Ornelas, centers on a character named Nathan Rutherford (Helms), who is a descendant of the towns white settler, and his best friend Reagan (played by Jana Schmieding), who is Native American and whose tribe is less than thrilled with Nathans stubborn efforts to idolize his not-so-honorable ancestor.

Advertisement

That was a really good framework for the first season, there were some really big ideas and some larger cultural satire, said Helms. For Season 2, weve been able to move on from that a little and lean into this incredible ensemble and the town dynamics, which we thought we could have some fun with, although theres still a lot of social satire.

Ed Helms as Nathan Rutherford and Michael Greyeyes as Terry Thomas on Rutherford Falls. (Jordin Althaus/Peacock)

Helms became a household name thanks to his role as Andy Bernard on The Office and as the straight-laced, bumbling Stu in the The Hangover trilogy. Hes had so many high points since, including the indie surrogacy dramedy Together Together last year.

Advertisement

When asked about a worst moment in his career, it was a Hangover-related story that came to mind.

My worst moment 

This is on the set of The Hangover Part II, most of which we shot in Bangkok, Thailand, which is an incredible city. We were there for almost five weeks or so.

I remember I was a little skittish about food poisoning because I can be sensitive while traveling. But I also just sort of decided that Im not gonna be precious. I wanted to have an experience and do things and be engaged with this incredible city and I didnt want to be fearful and trepidatious the whole time. So I made the decision to just be confident and have a confident posture moving through my time in Bangkok. And that applied to culinary exploration as well (laughs).

And about a week in, maybe even less, I think we just stepped off the set one evening to grab a bite. It was Zach (Galifianakis) and Bradley (Cooper), me and our first AD (assistant director) Jeffrey J.P. Wetzel, and we went to this little joint, a noodle shop kind of place. I think someone had recommended it to us. It was kind of tucked away and not touristy at all. So we had this fun meal, no big deal, just a quick thing.

And then that night, my body revolted and just went into a full-on war with itself.

Ed Helms (right) looking worse for wear in "The Hangover Part II," co-starring Bradley Cooper (left) and Zach Galifianakis (middle). (Courtesy of Warner Bros.)

And I very quickly realized that bacteria doesnt give a (crap) how confident you are (laughs). I had every symptom simultaneously  both ends. Like a bomb went off. Every orifice was like an outlet for that explosion.

I was the only one who got sick. I have no idea why I got sick and they didnt.

Advertisement

Not to get too graphic, but Im going to give you a visual: Were staying at the Four Seasons in Bangkok, which is a lovely hotel, and the toilets are in their own little closets in the bathroom. And I am having to switch between standing and sitting very rapidly, and on a moments notice. And at one point, I switched too rapidly and I was probably lightheaded anyway, and I bashed my head on the door jam as I was spinning around to switch from sitting to standing (laughs). And when I say sitting to standing, I mean (pooping) to puking.

I now am in a state of deep sickness  with a head injury. Its a good thing I didnt blackout. And I just started having the darkest thoughts. I really went to this place of: Im not going to survive this. Ive never been this sick before in my life. Im far away from all the people who love me and Im going to perish alone in this bathroom.

You go deeply irrational. And I did. I really thought that I was going to die.

So Im getting kind of scared actually and I called J.P., our first AD. The first AD is really the foreman of a production, they really run everything  theyre sort of the directors execution arm. So I called J.P. and I said: I dont know what to do. I think I might need to go to the hospital. Im in really bad shape. Im starting to get dehydrated and Im really scared.

J.P. is one of the best ADs in the business. And he goes: So, your call time is 6:30 a.m. tomorrow. Well see you in the lobby. He comes from the old school where you just get things done and you dont stop production for anything just because your tummy hurts (laughs).

So I was like: J.P.s right, Im not gonna let this get in the way. This is obviously a huge movie, I gotta step up and deal. The next day, Im in the lobby for pickup and Im still just feeling so miserable. Im dissociating and Im outside of myself. Im just a shell of a person trying to get to set and get through the day.

Advertisement

From left: Zach Galifianakis, Bradley Cooper and Ed Helms in the original "Hangover" movie. (Courtesy of Warner Bros.)

The scene we were shooting that day was a riot in the streets of Soi Cowboy, which is one of the red light districts in Bangkok. In this scene I take my shirt off and Im swinging it around and screaming F the police with crowds of people around me. Its a very high-energy scene. If youre a Hangover nerd youll know this as being the footage we see on the tattoo artists cellphone the next day that he shows us and were horrified to find out that we started a riot in Soi Cowboy.

So now its nighttime and its a pretty gritty part of town and I am curled up on the sidewalk in between takes, shivering. And Zach and Bradley took such good care of me, it was so sweet. They were trying to keep me hydrated, and just patting me and soothing me and sitting there with me getting me through this.

And then J.P. would pop over and be like, OK, were ready for another take, and then theyd set off all these fires and pyrotechnics and all the background actors would converge for this riot scene and I would step out shouting.

I was still throwing up between takes. But I think I have a powerful adrenaline response and thats how I got through it. Ive been in lots of situations where my adrenaline got me through things where I look back and think: I cant even believe I did that. And that was the case that night. So much so that it wasnt until a couple of days later, when we were kind of laughing about it, that our director of photography Larry Sher was like: Wait, what? You were sick the night of the riots? And everybody was like, Yeah! Helms was curled up shivering between takes! And Larry was like, I had no idea! You did great that night!

And that was the greatest compliment I had probably ever gotten as a performer. Acting!

But that was one of my lowest points at work.

Advertisement

The scene sounds like the perfect storm of bad for an already nauseous person  a lot of noise, a lot of smells, pyrotechnics, a crowd of people 

Oh my gosh, yes  so overstimulating. The sensory overload! There were these narrow alleys and tons of neon and we had a lot of practical effects going that night with real fire and just people screaming and shouting. By the way, being in a red light district, theres nowhere that feels kind of clean and quiet and calm. So thats why the sidewalk was where I posted up. It was as good a spot as any.

Ed Helms stars as Nathan Rutherford on Rutherford Falls. (Tyler Golden/Peacock)

The anxiety and the fear that comes with such a fast onset of an illness, I was convinced that if I kept getting sick at this rate, I would die. Like, Im not going to survive this. And I really credit Zach and Bradley. Their kindness through that was so sweet. The irony is that the scene we were shooting was the opposite of sweet  it was these characters at their most aggro, worst behavior. And yet these guys were really nurturing me.

The one upside is there werent pages and pages of dialogue I had to deliver. And also, because it was a heightened moment, as opposed to something intimate and poignant, it was probably easier to obscure how I was feeling.

We were in Bangkok for about a month after that and I probably had a little culinary PTSD. I basically ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the rest of the time. Our schedule was so intense, it probably took me a month or two to recover. I wasnt getting enough sleep and I wasnt eating great. It wasnt until I got home and got over my jet lag and had some quiet time that I started to feel like myself again.

But I want to be clear: I loved Thailand and I loved being in Bangkok. Its such a cool, vibrant city. And I loved the experience of making that movie.

Advertisement

The takeaway 

I kind of surprised myself. I really needed that push from J.P. to keep going and I was surprised with how much I could keep going.

And Zach and Bradley nurtured me through it, so the lesson there is: How meaningful it is to support each other in a really tough circumstance. In all those Hangover movies, we shared the sense that we were a team. These productions were really fun but also really demanding and intense and it was important to show up for each other.

There was just a deep shared respect and team spirit. There was an intense professional ethos on those sets that I really appreciated and learned a lot from. It pushed me to rise to the occasion.

Those movies were such a life-altering experience for us all that we felt this kind of brotherhood forged in a shared crazy experience.

Ive seen the best and worst of Hollywood productions, but I feel pretty lucky to have been part of some special stuff with special people.

Advertisement

From left: Jana Schmieding and Ed Helms play best friends in "Rutherford Falls," back for a second season on Peacock. (Peacock)

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.
SIOUX CITY  A resident asked the Sioux City Council Monday to consider adopting an ordinance that would allow all-terrain vehicles and utility terrain vehicles to be legally driven on some city streets.

Gerald Collins, who lives in the Riverside neighborhood, approached the council about the matter during the citizen comments portion of the meeting.

"My goal is not to run up and down Hamilton Boulevard or Stone Park Boulevard. I would just like to ride from my residence to basically where I have a part-time job, which is over in South Dakota," Collins said. "I'm talking six to eight blocks in a residential area, not running on and tearing up city parks."

A new state law, which went into effect on July 1, legalized the use of ATVs and UTVs on a limited number of roadways. Cities are allowed to regulate the operation of such vehicles on two-lane primary and secondary road extensions.

Currently, the City of Sioux City has no ordinances that either restrict or allow ATV/UTV usage on city streets beyond what is indicated in the new state law. ATVs and UTVs can only be used on the following roads: K29 (Old Lakeport Road, south of Derocher Path), D18 (Correctionville Road, east of Camp High Hopes), and D25 (Old Hwy 141, southeast of the entrance to the cemetery).

Mayor Bob Scott said he would not be in favor of allowing ATVs and UTVs on every street in town.

"We have to designate the streets, otherwise they remain illegal in the city limits," said Scott, who noted that he recently returned from a visit to South Dakota's Black Hills, where ATVs and UTVs "are running everywhere." "The problem I've got is half of them didn't appear to have licenses on them, which would be illegal. That's going to be a bigger enforcement issue."

If council members are interested in pursuing an ordinance, Scott said they will need to discuss the issue with Sioux City Police Chief Rex Mueller and find out what his concerns are.

"(Motorcycles) are way more dangerous than UTVs," Collins said. "UTVs have roll cages, safety harnesses, headlights, taillights, turn signals, horns."

Operating an ATV or UTV on streets where the vehicles are not permitted carries a fine of $70. ATVs and UTVs also cannot be used on highways greater than two lanes, regardless of location in the city or county.

Individuals who choose to drive ATVs or UTVs on approved roadways must be at least 18 and have financial liability coverage in effect for the vehicle and carry proof of insurance. They are also required to have such a vehicle's headlamps lit while operating it on a highway, according to the state law.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo has formally invited his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to the Group of 20 summit in Bali this fall although its unclear whether he would attend in person. The invitation came during a meeting in Beijing where the two discussed issues ranging from trade to maritime cooperation. Xi has not left China since January 2020 because of the COVID-19 outbreak, choosing instead to attend major events via video. It is also unclear whether he will attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Bangkok shortly after the G-20 summit in mid-November. The G-20 is considered a valued grouping for China because it includes not only the rich Western countries but also the voices of major middle-income nations such as China, India and Brazil.
BRUSSELS (AP)  European Union nations struggled Monday to find common ground on how to wean the bloc off its reliance on Russian natural gas, seeking to appease wary, stressed consumers at home while upholding unity as Moscow turns down the tap.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has weaponized gas exports to pressure the bloc into reducing its sanctions over the war in Ukraine or to push other political aims. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday called Russias cuts to gas deliveries a form of terror and urged European countries to respond by tightening sanctions on Moscow.

On the eve of an emergency meeting to discuss plans to cut EU gas use 15% over the coming months, envoys on Monday were still brokering a possible compromise that should keep all 27 nations in line by Tuesday night.

This a still a work in progress, said a senior diplomat who asked not to be identified because the talks were still ongoing.

The bloc is bracing for a possible full Russian cutoff of natural gas supplies that could add a big chill to the upcoming winter, leaving nations like economic juggernaut Germany especially exposed. But some other EU countries, like Spain and Portugal, which have little dependence on Russian gas, do not want to force such a major cut on their people.

Russia has cut off or reduced gas to a dozen EU countries so far. On Monday, it said it will slash flows this week through a major pipeline to Germany by another half, to 20% of capacity. The Nord Stream 1 pipeline reductions further endanger goals to fill European gas storage tanks for winter as envoys haggled over EU plans.

It was what European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had seen coming when she announced the plan. She is convinced that Putin will cut off natural gas exports to try to wreak economic and political havoc in Europe this winter.

This is exactly the sort of scenario the president was referring to last week, said Commission spokesman Eric Mamer. This development validates our analysis. We therefore hope that the Council will adopt an appropriate response on Tuesday.

The diplomat said ambassadors had been working nonstop on the divisive issue and had sought to clip the powers of the executive European Commission, which under its plan, could sidestep member countries to impose such reductions.

First and utmost" was the need to put EU nations in charge of deciding when such cuts should become mandatory, the diplomat said. Yielding some of their powers over energy policy to EU officials in Brussels has long been anathema in some national capitals. Hungarian officials were in Moscow last week, reportedly seeking additional energy imports.

Spain and Portugal have already said making mandatory reductions are a nonstarter. They noted that they use very little Russian gas compared with countries such as Germany and Italy and that there are scant energy connections linking them to the rest of Europe.

A one-size-fits-all solution seemed off the table Monday as envoys were looking at exemptions for island nations that are not connected to other networks, for Baltic nations that have close links with the Russian electricity grid, or nations whose industries depend heavily on gas imports.

Reducing EU gas use by 15% between August and next March will not come easy. The European Commission signaled its proposed target would require EU countries as a whole to triple the cuts they have already achieved since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24.

Yet there is a fear of displaying a lack of solidarity, with the rest of the world  especially Russia  looking on.

The world is watching very closely, the diplomat said.

During the war, the EU has approved bans on Russian coal and most oil to take effect later this year, but it did not include natural gas because the bloc depends on gas to power factories, generate electricity and heat homes.

The aim of the commission's proposals is to ensure, in case of a Russian cutoff, that essential industries and services like hospitals can function, while others would have to cut back. That could include lowering heat in public buildings and enticing families to use less energy at home.

Follow the APs coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP)  A southern Indiana judge suspended after being arrested on a felony for hitting someone while a child watched has agreed to resign and won't seek future judicial office, the Indiana Commission on Judicial Qualifications said Monday.

Crawford Circuit Court Judge Sabrina Bell also is voluntarily forfeiting her law license for 150 days, the commission said.

The Indiana Supreme Court suspended Bell in May when felony charges related to a domestic dispute were filed against her by a special prosecutor.

Indiana State Police arrested Bell in May on a charge of domestic battery in the presence of a child less than 16 years old. The charges stemmed from an incident that occurred in Crawford County on April 12. Police did not say who Bell battered.

Bell also served a 30-day suspension in 2019 for her involvement in a downtown Indianapolis fight and double-shooting that followed a night of bar-hopping.

The seven-member commission investigates alleged ethical misconduct by judges. If the commission believes misconduct has occurred, it can file public formal disciplinary charges.
SIOUX CENTER, IOWA  A former nursing student is suing Dordt University over its insistence that he be vaccinated against COVID-19 before taking part in clinical work at Iowa hospitals.

Court records indicate that Andrew Perry of Kansas, an undergraduate student at Dordt, was a junior during the 2021-22 school year at the the Sioux Center college. Until this spring, he was pursuing a nursing degree at Dordt with the goal of becoming a registered nurse.

His academic program required him to spend much of his junior year in clinical rotations at area hospitals, attending to actual patients and providing care under the supervision of Dordt faculty and the hospitals doctors and nurses.

In late 2021, the federal government imposed a requirement that all personnel in any hospital that received funding from the Medicare or Medicaid programs be vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus. The requirement applied to the hospitals that were hosting clinical rotations for Dordt students.

Citing what he calls his sincerely held and firm religious objections to taking the COVID-19 vaccine, Perry applied for a religious exemption from the vaccine requirement. Because he was a nursing student and not a hospital employee, his application for an exemption was made to the school.

According to Perrys lawsuit, filed in June, his request for an exemption was denied by Aaron Baart, Dordts chief of staff and the dean of its chapel. The lawsuit claims Baart stated that in keeping with state guidelines, Perrys beliefs must be religious and not based merely on philosophical, scientific, moral, personal, or medical opposition to immunizations.

The lawsuit claims that Baart said a valid request for a religious exemption would have to include a published copy of the tenets and practices of the recognized denomination of which Perry claimed to be a member. Because Perry failed to provide that, according to his lawsuit, Baart said his request for an exemption was being denied.

Unable to complete clinical rotations in the spring 2022 semester, Perry was dropped from the nursing program.

In his lawsuit, Perry argues that because the school has granted religious exemptions to other students and denied one to him, it has discriminated against him because of his religion in violation of Iowa law.

Perrys lawsuit gives no indication as to what Perrys religion is.

He is represented by Alan Ostergren of the self-described conservative public-interest law firm known as the Kirkwood Institute, which has been pursuing litigation against the state and other governmental agencies on a number of issues.

Dordt University has yet to file a response to the lawsuit and was recently granted an extension of time to do so.
Iowa Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg was elected as the next chair of the National Lieutenant Governors Association at the organizations annual meeting Monday, the Iowa governors office announced.

Gregg will serve for one year as chairman-elect and then become the organizations chairman at the next annual meeting, which will be held in Des Moines in August 2023.

Im honored to be chosen by my peers to assume this leadership role, Gregg said in a news release. The NLGA is a place where lieutenant governors share ideas and best practices to advance opportunities for our states and our constituents. We work to find effective ways to address new problems, foster cooperation between states and generally improve effectiveness in our states.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds is a previous chairwoman of the organization; she served from 2015 to 2016.
The most dramatic moment any crime story can build to is when the killer breaks down and confesses, but in Nanfu Wangs Mind Over Murder, the confessions are just the beginning. The six-part docuseries, the last episode of which hits HBO Max on Monday night, tells the story of the Beatrice Six, who were convicted of the 1985 rape and murder of 68-year-old Helen Wilson in the small town of Beatrice, Nebraska, only to be exonerated by DNA evidence in 2014. The trouble is, several of the six confessed to the crime during the initial investigation, and even after DNA testing conclusively proved the killer was someone else, some are still convinced they were present at Wilsons death. How can people believe they did something they didnt? And what would it take to convince a community, and a family, who spent almost 20 years believing the perpetrators of a vicious crime had been apprehended, to accept a different truth?

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Mind Over Murder opens with auditions for a local theater production that features actors from the Beatrice area portraying figures from the case, and the play takes center stage in the shows final episodea re-enactment that is also an act of communal catharsis. Wang isnt just out to uncover the truth, but to get people to believe it, a process that the series finds has much more to do with what makes for an emotionally involving story than what the facts may or may not show. Its a fascinating wrap-up to a project that has pushed at the boundaries of what a true crime docuseries can do.

Wang spoke to Slate from her home in Montclair, New Jersey, about false confessions, social experiments, and the one family member who just couldnt come around. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Sam Adams: Your interest in the Beatrice Six started with a 2017 New Yorker article by Rachel Aviv, called Remembering the Murder You Didnt Commitwhich, like most New Yorker articles, is pretty thorough. What made you feel like you had more to add to the story, particularly as a documentary filmmaker?

Advertisement

Nanfu Wang: First, the title really attracted me because I was already fascinated by false memory. Two years after we finished shooting my first movie, Hooligan Sparrow [a documentary about a Chinese activist], I showed the main character, Ye Haiyan, the film. And as we were watching, she remembered her life experience as the films version, even when I pointed out that the film has been edited and there are things missing. So it was that experience that really made me think a lot about how fallible, malleable our memory is. The article itself was striking because it was another level to think that somebody could have memory of committing a murder, something so serious, not like I forgot whether I had a conversation or I forgot whether I had breakfast the other day.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

The article also mentioned how many people in the community still had that false belief. If this is the case, what does that say about our society? Mind Over Murder is a social experiment to understand what it would take to change peoples minds. That was the unknown to me. Is it possible to convince the Wilson family, the people who firmly believed that the Six were guilty? Is it possible to challenge them to think differently, or to even consider the possibility, and to examine and explore the alternative? And if so, what would it take? If its not DNA, if its not evidence, if its not facts, then what could we do as a society?

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Realizing that your movies have the ability to, intentionally or not, rewrite peoples memories of their own livesthat seems like a kind of terrifying discovery.

It is. I was fascinated, but also horrified, because I didnt know that, as a storyteller, as a filmmaker, I had such tremendous power to convince somebody of their own memory, their own narrative. And thats terrifying, because I could convince the main person whose own story and the record of what happened in 2013 with herher lifeis no longer is remembered by anyone else except for me, except for what has been documented in the raw footage. And if she lost that memory, the whole world collectively is going to recognize the film as the record of the true events. It wasnt consequential in any significant way, the film hasnt distorted anything, its just clarity, but I was very aware that if anyone did this with authority and power, then you could do something seriously consequential. You could manipulate events and not only revise individual memories, but revise the collective of memory, which is how history is written and which defines a nations identity.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

The way you structure Mind Over Murder falls loosely into three acts, two episodes apiece: First you essentially lay out the original theory of how the Beatrice Six did it, and by the end of Episode 4, we know who the real killer is, which is where most true crime series stop. The remaining two hours are devoted to: Now that we know the truth, how do you get people to believe it?

We wanted people to experience it at the beginning, in 1989, from the law enforcement officers point of view, so that we understood where they came from, how they arrived at their decision. And then, as the story shifts, we experience it as the point of view of the Six, and mostly the one of them who still wanted, for many, many years, wanted to appeal. And after that is the point of view of the team, the task force of the re-investigation, and then the civil trial, suing law enforcement in the county.

Advertisement

One thing that was always clear to me was I wanted the series to announce the exoneration at the very beginning, to put what most interested me, which is there was an exoneration but there are still people who believed that they were guilty, [up front]. We did another restructure [that started the series] without announcing [the exoneration], but I didnt feel like it really reflected what was the most interesting about the story that attracted me.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

One way in which you break pretty forcefully from the true crime template is by incorporating the theater production, which takes the place of using re-enactments. And that was something you helped initiate rather than just documenting. Why was that an important part of the process for you?

As I mentioned, one of the most unknown and intriguing questions to me was what it would take to change peoples mindsand is that possible? If all of those years, all of this reporting and investigation, couldnt really convince people the narrative that is different from what they always believed, then maybe it takes empathy. It takes having people truly experience the story in other peoples shoes, to really put them in the situation, in the scenario, for them to reconsider. For example, a lot of people would say, I would never confess to something I didnt do, no matter what kind of threats that I got. But that is not true. And you would only know its not true if you truly experienced that.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Initially, when I thought about it, I was like, Okay, we can do it with a high school theater program. But quickly, that idea didnt work out because I realized the age group wouldnt be appropriate. Luckily, they have a community theater in this small town. The next step was to convince them to collaborate. That was a huge conversation because they knew how controversial the topic is, and they were afraid that it was going to generate a lot of repercussion and backlash towards the theater. Then, once the theater was on board, then we advertised and promoted it to the community, and that raised a lot of questions. Every time this case is in public, it generates another wave of debate and people are very heated on both sides.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Eventually, people signed up and came to the audition. And it was an unconventional audition. Usually it takes 15 minutes, but we were interviewing each of them for about an hour, to understand who they are and what they think and what their connection to this community, to this case, isbut also to give them an opportunity to ask me questions so I can explain why I wanted to do it this way and to talk through any concerns that they might have so they would feel comfortable participating. We eventually cast 16 people. And I intentionally cast people who believed that the Six were guilty, because we wanted to see, over the course of rehearsal, would they go through a transformation? Would they, after being presented the material and being given the opportunity to go through it and to step into a role of somebody that they might have prejudice against, would they think differently?

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

And it happened. There were several people who came into the audition believing in one way, and gradually through the rehearsal started to question themselves.

You mentioned the idea of empathy, and one of the places where thats so key to Mind Over Murder is with the family of Helen Wilson. Its easy to describe this as a series about the Beatrice Six, but Helen Wilsons family members were victimized by this process as well. When you started making the series, many of them still believed the Six were guilty, or at least involved in Helen Wilsons death somehow. How did you gain their trust? I can imagine theyd have reservations about being involved in a project that might sympathetically treat the people they believe murdered their relative, and their presence is so important to the series.

Advertisement

Their involvement is absolutely important because were telling a story about their grandmother. And if you dont have the familys permission or have them involved, it will be very incomplete. I said the same thing to them as to the Beatrice Six, the lawyers, the original police officersthat I wanted to tell the story from the people who were directly involved, and I wanted to know their experience and the things that theyve witnessed. I said, Your point of view is extremely important and crucial to make the story right, to make the final presentation truthful, because if its missing yours, it would be incomplete. With the family, it took a long series of conversations before sitting down on camera. It was clear very quickly how betrayed they felt by the media, because they felt the media had always been reporting on the Beatrice Six, and gave very little room and space for their own story, especially their belief the Six were guilty. So I went to them, I said, I want to tell story about your Grandma and the truth of what happened to her. And, of course, Im still learning. My plan is to talk to everyone and then to find out exactly what happened. I know that you feel that your story hasnt been covered, and your point of view will be represented here.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

They later told me one moment that made them really trust me. Before we started filming, they played me a cassette tape of Helen Wilson. It was the first time I heard her voice, which is in Episode 1, when she was singing, when she was reading the poem. There was one moment when she was reading the poem and singing that somehow really touched me. I cried, and I was feeling embarrassed that I was crying, so I tried to quickly wipe off my tears. But I think one of them or some of them noticed or saw it. And then they didnt tell me until much later, but it was at that moment that they felt that I truly invested or emotionally resonated with them.

Advertisement

That leaves us with Burt Searcy, the investigator who is responsible for the Beatrice Sixs false confessions. Hes the only major figure from their convictions who agreed to talk to you, but its not clear that hes accepted he did anything wrong. At the beginning of Episode 6 you play him a rough cut of the series so far, and he demonstrably disengages with it, talking over it or playing around on his cell phone. Its only after youve finished your last interview and the main camera is turned off that he starts to crack, and even then you have to press him pretty hardto the extent that you show up on camera for the first time in the series. What is that moment about for you?

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Its a very complex moment. I had shown him the rough cut of the last six episodes with the goal of seeing, if hes presented with nuanced storytelling and with all the points of view of the Six, some of the very personal stories he never was aware ofwould that be enough to make him see something different, to admit that he had made a mistake? It didnt really happen. I felt like he was either on the verge, or just being very reluctant or resistant to open it up and to admit.

Advertisement

The performance of the play had changed a lot of people, but Burt didnt go to the play. [That last interview] was one of the final moments, during that trip. I was leaving the next day or something. And I was relentless, I feel, in a way. I wanted to believe that humans are inherently changeable and good. And so I wanted to go to him, and just give him another chance; also, I was unwilling to give up. The conversation played, instead of an interview, more of an actual conversation and argument between the two of us.

Advertisement

I think there were a few moments that he was close to admitting, not that he was wrong, but that the Six were innocent. But it was also not very clear that he was saying that. The moment that really was actually surprising to me was his wifes attitude. Its not in the cut, I think, but his wife cried. And then I said, Cindy, why are you crying? And Burt was like, Because you are trying to push us to admit that we were guilty. And I said, Im not sure thats true. I wanted to hear from Cindy herself. And Cindy was like, No, I was crying because I feel relieved that you finally said it and I want you to say it from your heart.

Advertisement

Advertisement

That was a surprising moment because Cindy, the whole time up until that moment, always said that she believed that she thought her husband was doing the right thing, and she has always shown tremendous support to his point of view. And a lot of women are like that. [Helen Wilsons grandson] Bob Housemans wife expressed that she actually always disagreed with him [about the Beatrice Six being guilty], but she never expressed to her disagreement because she didnt want to be the one who had the different voice. I felt Cindy is the same.

Advertisement

You get the feeling their wives have been wait 10 or 20 years for an opening to talk about it.

Exactly. And then the one line that [Wilsons grandson] Shane said towards the end  I was hoping that there would be a happy, fully resolved ending, that everybody had a reconciliation and had come to terms with the truth, but when Shane, in the final, final interview, still said, Well, I think they might have known Bruce Allen Smith [Wilsons real killer]. That was a shocking moment. How could you accept that they were innocent but at the same time, still have that doubt? And he said, Our brains are not flipping the switch that you can change overnight. To me, that was a more realistic version to end the story on, even if its unsatisfying that not everybody changed.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Shane comes very close to saying outright that he knows the Beatrice Six have to be innocent, but he has too much invested in their guilt, so hes come up with this unlikely compromise as a way of easing himself into the truth.

Yes. Yes.

It ties into what I think Mind Over Murder is really thoughtful about, which is, on a fundamental level, what is documentary best at? If you just want the facts laid out in front of you, youd be better off reading. Its harnessing facts towards story, and story, not fact, is ultimately what makes us believe. Shane cant just let go of the idea that the Six are guilty because its become part of who he is.

I think really the process of making the series and the play gave me a lot of hope in the power of art and the power of storytelling. Before this moment, because of everything happening in the world, the pandemic and all sorts of things, seeing the direction where our society is going, I always have felt more and more pessimistic. But experiencing this, I was like, its interesting that what really can change people or potentially change the society is connection, and storytelling does have a power, I think, to connect to people.
Joe Bidens approval ratings are in the toilet and the two things he could do to address the problem (make gas 75 percent cheaper or become a younger person) are either practically or literally impossible.

In the upcoming midterms, Democrats might hold the Senate, mostly because Donald Trump cant stop giving out primary endorsements to mega-liars with multiple mystery children (Herschel Walker), TV phonies who dont live in the state where theyre running (Mehmet Oz), and white nationalistadjacent tech-fascist creeps (Blake Masters). But the House is not looking great, and with the White Houses critical race theory task force expected to criminalize pickup trucks by 2023 [ed.: has this sentence been fact-checked?]  well, the point is that Democrats are kicking around the idea of someone besides the current president running in the next election.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Some of the figures getting floated as possible replacement candidates have run for president before or otherwise have established media profiles. They include Stacey Abrams, Cory Booker, Pete Buttigieg, Kamala Harris, and Amy Klobuchar. But most of the contenders are less well-known. Theyre being buzzed about because they have intriguing biographies, or have outperformed other Democratic candidates in previous elections, or are popular in key Electoral College states. Or have histories of going viral, or taking aggressive positions on trending issues, etc.

All that can be helpful when running for president. But none of it guarantees that a candidate will last beyond the first few moments of their first primary debate.

Recall that in 2020 exNew York Mayor Michael Bloomberg spent some twelve hundred trillion dollars on advertising to propel himself into contention in the Democratic raceonly to be simultaneously attacked and exposed so effectively during the partys Feb. 20, 2020, debate, his first, that he ended his campaign by March 4. In the words of one well-regarded writer, his candidacy arrived onstage that night as an ascendant threat and left it as the vanity project of a low-charisma onetime Republican with a history of red-flag positions and behavior.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

One could also point to the veep herself, Harris, who looked like a potential president on paperand had her own early viral debate moment when she attacked Biden over his criticism of 1970s school integration programs. But her chances deflated into a limp pile of plastic as further camera time made clear that she was not capable of coherently forming or explaining her own positions on, among other subjects, school integration.

With this history in mind, Slate reviewed footage of recent debate performances featuring nine of the potential Democratic 2024 contenders who arent yet household names to the partys median voter. The idea was to try and figure out who might popand, more to the point, who might be exposed as a stiffin a still-hypothetical series of primary donnybrooks.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

The hypothetical candidates have been ranked here from least to most adjudged potential.

9. North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper

Why hes being hyped: Keeps winning elections in North Carolina as other Democratseven inoffensive centrist onescome up a few points short, and does so without compromising Democratic values on issues like the bathroom bill.

Footage reviewed: WCNC gubernatorial debate, Oct. 14, 2020

Verdict: I thought I was getting pranked when Roy Cooper appeared on screen. This is what he looks like:

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

This is not a rising-star modern politician. This is the leader of an evangelical congregation in 1966. This is a guy who thinks Jimmy Carter is too rock n roll. This is what it would look like if a sweater designed a human. This is an advertisement you use to scare teenagers into using drugs.

Its not that Cooper was incoherent in his statements about subjects such as raising teacher pay and using science and data to make the tough decisions about COVID. He would probably win some votes from older Americans who arent paying close attention and who might get him kind of conflated in their head with Ronald Reagan. But no. Its not going to happen.

8. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer

Why shes being hyped: Won an election in a swing state by 9 points in 2018 and appears set to win again in 2022 despite the significantly tougher national outlook for Democrats. Stood firm on COVID and has stood firm on abortion without losing reputation as a moderate.

Debate footage reviewed: WOOD TV 8 gubernatorial debate, Oct. 12, 2018

Verdict: As with Cooper, there was nothing alarming about Whitmer and the statements she made about locally relevant issues like road repairs and Great Lakes pollution. Butand it pains me to say this as someone who believes the national Democratic Party needs to continue to learn (from people like Whitmer) that moderation and centrism arent synonymous with caution and surrendershe wasnt a strong performer.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Whitmer, who was struck frequently by Direct to Camera Frozen Smile Syndrome, introduced a story about her mom having cancer with the incongruously humorous and confusing phrase When I was 29 years old, I became a member of the Sandwich Generation. She ended it with the only slightly less confusing statement Make no mistake: Health care is on this ballot  for  governor. And she swallowed in a weird way several times (see minute 4:56 in the video below).

One other thing thats apparent from watching the debate is that Whitmer was spotted an advantage by running against former Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette, whoand Im allowed to say this, because hes from my hometownlooks like a weasel whose eyes are being sewn shut.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Sign Up for the Surge The most important political nonsense of the week, delivered to your inbox every Saturday. We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again. Please enable javascript to use form. Email address: Send me updates about Slate special offers. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms Sign Up Thanks for signing up! You can manage your newsletter subscriptions at any time.

7. Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. (and prospective Sen.) John Fetterman

Why hes being hyped: Has an intriguing backstory (grew up affluent and moved to a down-on-its-luck Pittsburgh-area municipality for AmeriCorps, then stayed there, eventually becoming its mayor). Is a giant guy who, along with his wife, dresses like a Gen X goth hipster, which is to say, he doesnt come off as a snob. Currently favored to defeat televisions Dr. Oz in a crucial Senate race in, yes, a swing state.

Footage reviewed: WPXI Democratic Senate primary debate, April 21, 2022

Verdict: Fetterman didnt jump off the screen or take any aggressive positions. (His efforts to claim that he supports universal health coverage without specifically endorsing Medicare for All were especially uninspiring; heres a clip of him avoiding the issue at a different debate.) He talked quickly and in a monotone without using his face or his hands much. He was slower with facts and anecdotes than other candidates further down this list, and stumbled a bit in his response to questions about his 2013 confrontation with a Black jogger even though he must have known they were coming.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

However! Its harder to look cool and confident when youre taking questions and criticism about tough intraparty wedge issues during a heated primary debate than when youre debating an unpopular incumbent or no-hope challenger from the other party, like a number of the other candidates in this piece had the good fortune of doing. Fetterman was leading his race at the time, and as such he was attacked throughout the debate from both his literal and metaphorical right and left. He avoided making gaffes and did well enough to hold his leadand win.

Advertisement

Part of his appeal, moreover, is that he seems less polished and stage-managed than some other politicians. His plainspokenness and lack of self-consciousness work well in other settings. (See: this University of Pittsburgh talk called The Brevity of Life and How It Can Move You about how being close to a series of deaths in his 20s changed his worldview, in which his tone registers calmness and wisdom.) There is also this video of him wearing a rainbow cape and a plastic hat and sucking on a lollipop while listening to his wife speak at a Pride event. (See video below from minute 4:00 onward. Its worth a few seconds of your time.) And there is something to be said about being able to come off as strong and possessed of conviction without having to raise your voice.

Advertisement

6. California Gov. Gavin Newsom

Why hes being hyped: As the governor of a populous state that is often in the news but also happens to be one of the most Democratic in the country, Newsom has the benefit of being able to enact high-profile, meaningful (or meaningful-looking) measures related to issues of central Democratic voter concern like guns, abortion, immigration, climate, and even, in the case of Junes tax-rebate bill, the dreaded price of gas. In this way, he may appeal in a fantasy daydream way to members of the party who would like it to do stuff besides failing to reach agreements with Joe Manchin.

Footage reviewed: Univision gubernatorial forum, Jan. 25, 2019

Verdict: Newsom is the opposite of Fettermanso smooth and Matthew McConaugheyesque in his elocution, which he accompanies with Inspiring Political Hand Gestures, that its almost comical. The man is good at looking good, and it makes you wonder whether hes more style than substance, which is, in fact, a criticism thats been made of him.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Its also not technically within the scope of this article, but the cause that Newsom was most frequently and passionately defending during the debatemaintaining California as a sanctuary for undocumented immigrantsis a reminder that there would be electability concerns raised about a presidential candidate from the state that many people in the rest of the country imagine as a sexually depraved communist dystopia in which Fancy Nancy Pelosi is worshipped as a god.

5. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis

Why hes being hyped: Appears set to be reelected by a wide margin after establishing a reputation for independence in a blue state (by, for example, ending mask mandates before other Democratic governors). Also appointed the Republican who ran against him in 2018 to a state economic development position, which is the kind of working-together feel-good bipartisan crapola that Democratic primary voters absolutely ate up in 2020. Got very rich in the greeting cards businesshe helped his parents put their company, Blue Mountain, founded in 1971, onlinewhich means he could fund some of his own campaign.

Footage reviewed: Denver7 gubernatorial debate, Oct. 24, 2018

Verdict: Polis is from the Mayor Pete School of Being Extremely, Almost Casually Conversant With the Facts of Any Given Matter. At one point he listed the starting teacher salaries in three neighboring school districts. (See below at 17:10.) He is also handy with positive-seeming technocrat phrases like we need to have a greater offset as a backstop. (This was in reference to the placement of oil and gas drills relative to other structures.) But he was also good at punctuating all the detail with values statements about wanting to, for example, make sure every kid gets a strong start and that money actually reaches the classroom. He did seem, to this nonColorado politics expert, to be a bit evasive and slick about what policies he would actually support in relation to the values about which he spoke so eloquently, which is also a bit Mayor Petelike, if you ask me, although obviously no one asks me.

Advertisement

Advertisement

4. Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy

Why hes being hyped: Murphy represented the House district in which the Sandy Hook massacre took place and has been a Democratic leader on the issue of gun control (or gun safety, if you will), leading the recent negotiations that resulted in the first major gun legislation in decades. He is also just generally one of the few Democratic senators who both 1) seems to have some influence within the party and 2) is good enough at public speaking that normal people occasionally hear about things he says in Congress.

Footage reviewed: WFSB Senate debate, Oct. 26, 2018

Verdict: Murphy is in command of both the facts and the narrative that he wants to highlightdeflecting a question that implied hed been unnecessarily partisan in his Supreme Court confirmation votes, for example, by working the phrase right-wing political groups into his answer multiple times so as to emphasize the extreme character of its most recent additions. He has the air of a trusted adviser, a longtime family lawyer, perhapsserious, a bit frowny. If anything, he seems a little pained, a little beleaguered, by the gravity of the issues hes discussing. This could conceivably be a problem, as voters dont like to vote for a Debbie Downerbut it could also be an asset, as it was for Joe Biden. Especially when considering that, given his history with Sandy Hook and the frustrations of trying to pass gun control laws, Murphys weariness is probably earned.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

3. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker

Why hes being hyped: Pritzker benefits from the same circumstances as Newsom, in that he is the governor of a big and important blue state whose Legislature will actually pass the things Democrats want it to pass (such as spending on early childhood education). He is also a large, old-fashioned looking gentleman who is currently benefiting from a semi-ironic online campaign, led by an account called Socialists for Pritzker, which asserts that Democrats should zag away from their reputation for being bumbling, credulous, overly politically correct, and/or condescending by nominating a Big Beefy Boss Man who Doesnt Care What People Think and will flat out Get Things Done with his big hamburger fists. (This is also a major part of the case for John Fetterman, but with tallness instead of wideness.)

Footage reviewed: ABC7 gubernatorial debate, Oct. 3, 2018

Verdict: First of all, God bless Illinois and Chicago politics. A quarter of the debate reviewed for this was about some sort of scandal related to a favorable tax reassessment that Pritzker had gotten by taking some toilets out of a big house he owned. (He is one of the heirs to the Hyatt fortune.) The words If Mr. Pritzker gets in office and implements his tax plan, theres going to be a giant sucking sound, and it wont be from his toilets were spoken! (See 8:50, below.) Another quarter of the time was spent on other scandals I had never heard of but which apparently had put incumbent Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner into such a state of guaranteed defeat that he had stopped attending to his appearance or hygiene. At least, this is what it looked like. The man was, frankly, haggard. He looked as if he was about to be turned away from a Death of a Salesman audition for looking too dead.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Anyway, J.B. Pritzker was good. He talked like a normal person, but smart, as if his positions were just obvious common sense. Regarding police reform, for instance, he said, When police do it right, we need to stand up for them. But when they get it wrong, when peoples constitutional rights are violated, where theres violence where there shouldnt have been, they need to be held accountable. Now, just reading this on the page, it might look like the kind of low-stakes on-one-hand/on-the-other-hand pandering that should be easy to pull off. But I can assure you as someone who has watched Democratic debates professionally for the past seven years that it is not.

Advertisement

2. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy

Why hes being hyped: Has gotten a lot done in New Jersey despite the states weird/corrupt machine politics. Like Pritzker, combines practically useful personal wealth (he was a Goldman Sachs executive) with a populist outlook (the first two policies he pursued in office were raising taxes on millionaires and raising the minimum wage).

Footage reviewed: Rowan University gubernatorial debate, Oct. 12, 2021

Verdict: Unlike most state-level debates, this one was held in front of a large audience, which moderators and producers did not prevent from cheering and hooting and hollering. This made it much more entertainingand in a weird way, more civically useful and upliftingthan 99 percent of similar events. Both Murphy and his opponent, an Italian guy, thrived in the back-and-forth environment. To quote Murphy, Youre hearin it live and in colah! (Start at 17:10, below, to enjoy that exclamation and the feigned surprise at being booed that preceded it.) This article is getting too long but: He was a good performer, varying his tone from comic to serious as the moment called for and, like the other governors on the list, showing a refreshing familiarity with very granular details.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

1. Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock

Why hes being hyped: Won a Senate election in Georgia as a Democrat campaigning proudly on a platform of social spending.

Footage reviewed: Atlanta Press Club Senate debate, Dec. 6, 2020

Verdict: This guy is a freakin star! He is at ease while speaking, but not too casual. (Hes a minister, so it is not surprising that he is comfortable in this way.) He talks in well-crafted positional sentences but looks like hes actually thinking about what hes saying. Hes good with aphorisms like I think a good sign of what someone will do in office is what they were doing before office, which in this case referred to Republican incumbent Kelly Loefflers pre-politics occupation of being extremely rich and socializing with other rich people, possibly about how to make money off COVID. (For the record, insider trading investigations into Loeffler and other senators of both parties were dropped without charges having been filed.) Warnock can explain what preexisting conditions actually are, and did just that during a health care riff, which more (or all) Democrats should also do.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

The dynamics of the Georgia race also gave Warnock an opportunity to demonstrate how hed respond to the most likely line of attack hed face in a national general electionbeing accused of wanting to defund the police and so forth to advance a radical leftist socialist Marxist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez the Squad agenda. See the exchange beginning at around 23:10 below, in which Loeffler is given the chance to question Warnock directly. He pivots so smoothly around her Marxism-related attack into an answer about free enterprise, life choices, and the people of Georgia coming to get back their seat that she probably wishes she had opted for 30 seconds of silence and/or had never gotten into politics.

Advertisement

If Warnock beats Herschel Walker, which the polls say he could, watch out!

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Now that we have gone through the candidates, lets quickly review the potential objections to my rankings and existence in general.

If you had to go on TV, you probably wouldnt look too good either, would you, Mr. Smart Guy?

Correct. My eyes are too close together and the way I use them to look at the ceiling when Im thinking is distracting. These are among the reasons why I chose the profession I did (spokesman for the Sandwich Generation) rather than trying to be a politician or movie star.

And are you even an appropriate analyst for this type of thing? Whom did you think the Democrats should nominate in 2020, for example?

In 2018, I wrote that it should be Beto ORourke.

And who did you think was the best candidate in the Republican Ohio primary this cycle?

Bernie Moreno.

Who even is that?

He dropped out before the primary happened.

What did we really learn here, then?

That you can take all 3,000-plus words of this with a grain of saltbut that I watched nine debates in three days, which means its an informed grain of salt, and also that I am tired and am ending this article. May the best candidate win (if it turns out that theres actually a race)!
Last week, the Jan. 6 House Select Committee concluded its series of summer hearings on its investigation into the attack on the Capitol. While we learned a lot from these hearingsincluding that Trump knew and welcomed the fact that his mob was armed when he sent them to the Capitol, he angrily demanded his security detail take him to the Capitol to join the mob he had assembled after his rally on the ellipse, and several Republican Congressman and multiple Trump attorneys requested pardonstheres still a good number of things we dont know about what happened on Jan. 6, including facts that have bearing on the possible criminal culpability of President Donald Trump.

Advertisement

Some of these unknowns may be explored in a new series of September hearings that the committee announced last weekthey would likely depend on new witnesses coming forward.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Here are nine of the biggest remaining things we still dont know about Jan. 6.

1. To what extent was Trumps Big Lie premeditated?

The backstory: During the final summer hearing, the committee played audio from Steve Bannon in which the Trump advisoron the eve of the electionadmits that it is Trumps strategy to take advantage of the lag in counting of mostly Democratic mail-in ballots to prematurely declare victory even though that doesnt mean hes a winner. The startling confession was first reported by Mother Jones on July 12. It suggests there was a premeditated plan by Trump to use the late-arriving mail-in votes as a pretext to claim he had won no matter what the outcome.

Advertisement

Advertisement

This would be in line with other testimony the committee presented. For instance, Trumps Attorney General William Barr inferred the pretextual basis for Trumps fraud claims in his own testimony in the second hearing: Right out of the box on election night, the president claimed that there was major fraud underway, Barr said. It seemed to be based on the dynamic that at the end of the evening a lot of Democratic votes came in, which changed the vote counts in certain states, and that seemed to be the basis for this broad claim that there was major fraud. Barr added this was completely bogus: I didnt think much of that, because people had been talking for weeks and everyone understood for weeks that that was going to be what happened on election night.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Trumps campaign manager Bill Stepien testified that he told the president in advance thats how election night would play out. Stepien also testified that he and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy tried to convince Trump to encourage mail-in ballots among his voters that would reverse that dynamic, but that Trump refused. We made our case for why we believed mail-in balloting, mail-in voting, not to be a bad thing for his campaign, Stepien said. But the presidents mind was made up.

Advertisement

Advertisement

What we dont know is this: Its unclear if theres any direct evidence that Trumps specific plan was to use the late-arriving ballots as a pretext to claim victory even if he lost.

Advertisement

Advertisement

When we might get answers: If associates like Bannon, Rudy Giuliani, or Roger Stone decide its in their interests to testify against him, or if Trump is put on trial.

2. What happened to the $250 million Trump raised for his election defense?

The backstory: In the hearings, a committee staffer described how the former president raised $250 million for his election legal defense between election day 2020 and Jan. 6, 2021. Despite being billed as a fundraiser for Trumps official election defense fund, no such fund existed. The committee revealed some of where that money went: $1 million was funneled through his post-election Save America PAC to White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows charitable foundation; $1 million went to a conservative organization that employs former Trump staffers; $204,857 went to the Trump Hotel Collection; and $5 million went to the group that planned the former presidents Jan. 6 rally. Its currently unclear to what extent this bait and switch was legal.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

What we dont know is: Where did the rest of all that moneymore than $200 milliongo, how did those groups spend the money they received, and was any of the spending illegal?

When we might get answers: This is a focus of the Jan. 6 committee, so we may get more answersand a potential criminal referralwhen they resume hearings and release their committee report in the fall.

3. Why did Trump tweet about his wild Jan. 6 rally immediately after White House lawyers shot down a plan to declare martial law and seize voting machines?

The backstory: The committee revealed the extraordinary details of an unhinged White House meeting on Dec. 18 in which Trump was told all of his legal options for challenging the election were gone and White House lawyers shot down his plans to appoint Sidney Powell special counsel and have the military seize voting machines. Immediately after this meeting, Trump sent his infamous 1:42 a.m. tweet Big protest in D.C. on January 6th. Be there, will be wild!

Advertisement

Advertisement

What we dont know is: Why did Trump send this tweet right after this meeting? Were plans for Jan. 6 formulated in this meeting, or at this time?

Advertisement

When we might get answers: If associates who were at the meeting like Powell, Gen. Michael Flynn, former overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne, and Giuliani decide its in their interests to testify against him, or if Trump is put on trial.

4. What did Trump and Bannon discuss on the eve of Jan. 6 and in its immediate aftermath?

The backstory: The committee presented evidence that Trump spoke with Bannon for 11 minutes on the morning of Jan. 5, after which Bannon declared on his podcast that all hell is going to break loose tomorrow, its all converging and now were on the point of attack tomorrow, and its not going to happen like you think its going to happen. Bannon spoke again with Trump for six minutes at 9:46 p.m. that night. They spoke again for seven minutes at 10:19 p.m. on Jan. 6, hours after the riot had ended. Bannon committed two counts of misdemeanor contempt of Congress by refusing to appear to testify about these calls or turn over any documents related to them. He is currently facing up to a year in prison.

Advertisement

What we dont know is this: What did Trump and Bannon discuss on those phone calls, and why is Bannon willing to face prison to cover up for Trump?

Advertisement

Advertisement

When we might get answers: If Bannon ever decide its in his interests to testify against the former president, or if Trump is ever put on trial.

5. What did Roger Stone and Michael Flynn know about plans for violence by associates in right-wing militias, and what did they tell the White House?

Advertisement

Advertisement

The backstory: Stone and Flynn were close associates of the former president who were respectively convicted of and pled guilty to Trump-related felonies as part of the Robert Mueller probe, but were ultimately pardoned by Trump in the aftermath of the election. Stone was intricately tied with two groups that led the assault on the Capitolthe Oath Keepers and the Proud Boyswho served as personal security details for him at various points, including on Jan. 6. The leaders of those groups have since been charged with seditious conspiracy for their roles on Jan. 6. Flynn was provided security by another far-right militia group that the Oath Keepers worked with, the 1st Amendment Praetorian, which was also involved in various Jan. 6-related events. We also know that White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows was instructed by Trump to call Stone and Flynn on Jan. 5. Cassidy Hutchinson further testified that Meadows did call into a meeting at the war room in the Willard Hotel, which is where Stone and Flynn were gathered with Trump attorneys Rudy Giuliani and John Eastman, but the details of that meeting are still unknown.

Advertisement

Advertisement

What we dont know is this: How much did Stone and Flynn know about plans by right-wing militias to attack the Capitol and commit violence on Jan. 6? What might they have conveyed to Trump and/or Meadows about those plans?

When we might get answers: Leaders of the Proud Boys are scheduled to go on trial in December, which will likely reveal new details. Leaders of the Oath Keepers are set to go on trial in Septemberthough they have asked for an additional delayand some members of the group are already cooperating with the government in exchange for plea deals.

6. What happened to those deleted Secret Service text messages?

The backstory: The Department of Homeland Security Inspector General has opened up a criminal investigation into missing Jan. 6 texts from 10 secret service agents. The texts were deleted, according to the Secret Service, as part of a standard data migration on Jan. 27, 2021, but the Department of Homeland Security had been warned to preserve all records from Jan. 6. The details of this investigation are critical, because they could confirm or rebut testimony by Hutchinson surrounding the details of Trumps alleged demands to be taken by his security detail to the Capitol after his Jan. 6 rally.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

What we dont know is this: Why were those texts deleted, was a crime involved, and is there any evidence or testimony that would corroborate Hutchinsons dramatic account?

When we might get answers: The DHS IG investigation will ultimately likely produce more answers and a possible criminal referral.

7. Who did Trump (and Meadows) speak with on the phone on Jan. 6 and what was said?

The backstory: The committee presented White House call logs that contained a 7-hour gap on Jan. 6. Witnesses said Trump was watching TV and making phone calls during much of this period. We know about details of a handful of these calls, mostly due to reporting from outlets like the Washington Post. But there is not a complete record of who Trump spoke with and what was said. Hutchinson also testified that there was a 20 to 25-minute period when the attack on the Capitol had begun where Meadows shut himself in a secure car for a private phone call, but the committee did not reveal who he was talking with.

Advertisement

What we dont know is this: Who was Trump speaking with in these critical hours and what was he saying? (Less critically, but also interesting: who was Meadows talking to in that 25-minute window?)

Advertisement

When we might get answers: If Congressional associates testify against the former president, or if Trump or Meadows is put on trial.

8. Who placed a pipe bomb at RNC and DNC headquarters on the eve of Jan. 6?

The backstory: On Jan. 5 a person wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt, a face mask, gloves, and black and light gray Nike Air Max Speed Turf sneakers with a yellow logo appeared to place what was later discovered to be a pipe bomb outside of Democratic National Committee headquarters. Video evidence also links that suspect to a bomb that was placed outside of Republican National Committee headquarters around the same time. Neither bomb exploded.

What we dont know is this: Who was the pipe bomber?

When we might get answers: The Department of Justice is investigating, but 18 months later it seems the trail has gone cold.

9. Did Trump directly engage in witness tampering?

The backstory: The committee presented evidence that an apparent intermediary for Trump tried to pressure a Jan. 6 committee witness to stay loyal. It was later reported the witness was Hutchinson and the intermediary was her former boss, Meadows. The committee later said that Trump tried to personally call another possible witness after this initial act of potential witness tampering, but the call was not taken. It was instead reported to the committee and ultimately to the Department of Justice.

What we dont know is this: How many of these sorts of calls were made? Who were the recipients? What was said? Did the former president commit felony witness tampering?

When we might get answers: We might learn more at the committee hearings scheduled for September, when the committee releases its report, if associates decide its in their best interests to testify against him, or if Trump is put on trial.
Modified jabs expected after summer.

Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled

Slovakia has begun offering a fourth dose of Covid vaccinations to people over 50.

The Health Ministry announced that anyone aged 50 and over who had a previous booster more than four months ago or who had Covid more than three months ago is now eligible to register for a fourth dose of a vaccine.

The decision follows a recommendation from the ministry's immunisation commission.

Cases highest since April

Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement

So far, fourth doses have been available only to people with compromised immune systems, but it is expected to become available also to immuno-depressed children younger than 12 next week, the ministry announced.

The decision to expand the offer of fourth doses to other groups of the population comes following a rise in positive cases during the current wave of the ongoing pandemic. On July 20, the National Health Information Centre reported 1,159 new cases confirmed with PCR tests - the highest number of daily new cases since the end of April. The positivity rate remains high: the 1,159 cases were out of 2,422 tests performed.

As of July 20, there were seven new Covid deaths, while 396 people are in hospital with the disease.

Updated vaccines expected in September

The vaccine used for the fourth doses is the original version of the Comirnaty vaccine by Pfizer. This vaccine will be used regardless of what vaccine the person received previously.

Health Minister Vladimir Lengvarsky (OLaNO nominee) has said that modified vaccines for the Omicron variant are expected to be delivered to Slovakia in September.

In the Czech Republic, fourth doses have been available since Monday (July 18) for every adult (over 18 years old) whose last vaccination was four months or more ago. The Czech Health Ministry has recommended people over 60 and at-risk groups especially come forward for a fourth dose.

Related article
Emergency was declared in 11 municipalities.

The worst drought is in the upper and lower Zemplin. (Source: TASR)

Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled

Due to the lack of drinking water, an emergency situation was declared in 11 municipalities, reports the Interior Ministry.

The situation concerns themunicipalities of Volica, Dlhe Straze, Baldovce (all Presov Region), Drna, Chramec, Banska Stiavnica (Banska Bystrica Region), Paca, Richnava, Spisska Nova Ves (Kosice Region), Podhorie (Zilina Region), Zubak (Trencin Region).

Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement

The village of Paca had problems with drinking water already in June as local reservoirs were left almost empty after the spring that fed them dried up.

Related article

Related article High temperatures pose risk to nuclear plants, railways, runways Read more

Precipitation deficit

According to the Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute (SHMU), extreme drought currently affects more than half of the territory of Slovakia. In July, two significant heat waves hit the country.

"In both of these waves, new records for the maximum daily air temperature for the month of July were recorded at some meteorological stations," note meteorologists.

"The situation has worsened compared to last week, especially in western Slovakia. Extreme drought currently affects almost 60 percent of the territory, and drought of varying intensity affects almost 99 percent of the territory."

Almost the entire country is experiencing a soil moisture deficit. The highest values of minus 80 to minus 100 millimetres are in the north-west of Slovakia.

"Normal moisture conditions are only on 0.7 percent of the total area in Poprad, Ganovce, and Tisinec (all eastern Slovakia)," says SHMU. Even though monitoring stations indicate a slight improvement in the situation, however, very dry to extremely dry conditions still prevail in Slovakia.

SHMU further reports that in the last 90 days, the precipitation deficit is the highest in Banska Bystrica (minus 192 millimetres), Medzilaborce (Presov Region, minus 176 millimetres), and Svedlar (Kosice Region, minus 175 millimetres).

Related article

Related article Village keeps breaking temperature records. What life looks like there. Read more

Record high temperatures

In July, some meteorological stations recorded the highest temperature in their history of measurements. According to SHMU, the hottest day was July 21 as the temperature in the village of Dolne Plachtince, the Velky Krtis District, reached 40 degrees Celsius.

Record high temperatures were also measured by stations in Viglas-Pstrusa, Ziar nad Hronom, Banska Bystrica (all Banska Bystrica Region) and Prievidza (Trencin Region).

So far, Slovakia has recorded only three days when the temperature rose above 40 degrees Celsius.
As monkeypox breaks out globally, Africa returns to spotlight

Xinhua) 17:11, July 25, 2022

LONDON, July 25 (Xinhua) -- Haunting Africa for years, monkeypox has finally drawn international concern, less than three months after cases exploded in countries such as Britain and the United States.

On Saturday, the World Health Organization (WHO) officially declared the current outbreak outside the traditional endemic areas in Africa as having already turned into a public health emergency of international concern.

In parts of Central and West Africa, monkeypox outbreaks have been occurring since the last century, and African epidemiologists have sounded the alarm, but were largely ignored.

Experts said monkeypox exposes the forgotten patients in areas such as Africa.

PAYING FOR NEGLECT

African researchers said they have long been warning of the potential for the monkeypox virus, which has been behaving in new ways, to spread more widely, the journal Nature said in a June article.

Since 1970, when monkeypox was first identified in humans, cases have been reported in 11 African countries, with most cases in the rural and rainforest regions of the Congo Basin.

Human cases have increasingly been reported from Central and West Africa.

Nigeria has experienced a large outbreak since 2017, with over 500 suspected cases, over 200 confirmed cases and a case fatality ratio of approximately 3 percent, and cases continue to be reported until today, according to the WHO.

It was only after 2017 that many African epidemiologists warned that the virus was spreading "in an unfamiliar way": It was appearing in urban settings, and sometimes infected people who had genital lesions, suggesting that the virus might spread through sexual contact, the Nature article said.

"The world is paying the price for not having responded adequately" in 2017, as the virus proliferates in Western countries through what seems to be close contact with sexual partners, said Adesola Yinka-Ogunleye, an epidemiologist at the Nigeria Center for Disease Control.

"We as European nations and American nations have not really taken it seriously until now, when it has, of course, started to affect us," Jason Mercer, a professor of virus cell biology at the University of Birmingham, who studies poxviruses at both the molecular and cell biology levels, told Xinhua.

"The reality is that monkeypox is a serious problem in African nations," said Mercer, noting that over the last few decades, Africa has seen a massive increase in infections of zoonotic or human transmission.

AFRICA'S SHORTAGE OF MEDICAL RESOURCES

Europe's rapid response to the recent outbreak stands in sharp contrast to the situation in Africa, where the disease has been spreading but vaccination rates are low and health systems remain weak.

"Vaccine inequality between Europe and Africa is very clearly happening again with monkeypox as is with COVID," Mercer said.

Europe and America have vaccine stockpiles to deploy for slowing infection and reducing morbidity, but "in Africa these vaccines just simply aren't available," he said.

"There's been a terrible inequity in vaccination rates," as vaccine distribution and availability around the world are "incredibly unfair," Martin Drewry, director of the London-based NGO Health Poverty Action, told Xinhua.

Besides vaccines, many parts of the world also lack strong functioning health systems to distribute them, Drewry said.

"You also need to have the systems to track and trace people who are infectious and respond quickly in those ways. And there are lots of reasons why the health systems are so weak," he said.

"Unfortunately, the information shared with WHO by countries in West and Central Africa is still very scant," said WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Thursday.

"This inability to characterize the epidemiological situation in that region represents a substantial challenge to designing interventions for controlling this historically neglected disease," he added.

HEALTH INEQUALITY

The number of zoonotic outbreaks in Africa has risen by 63 percent in the decade from 2012 to 2022 compared to from 2001 to 2011, the WHO said.

Certain diseases in Africa, including monkeypox and Ebola, have gone largely unnoticed globally for many years, but as soon as they become a threat to the parts of the world with more resources and wealth, resources are suddenly mobilized to deal with them in those countries, said Drewry.

"Our biggest concern of all is that we will continue to allow health systems in some parts of the world to be so much stronger than they are in the areas where they're almost non-existent," he said.

Britain has 12,500 psychiatrists, while Sierra Leone has only two; in the United States, around 11,000 U.S. dollars are spent each year per person on healthcare, while the figure in Ethiopia is 67 dollars, Drewry noted.

Can Africa tackle these diseases on its own? Mercer asked. "The answer is probably not."

European and American countries need to provide assistance in not only equipment, but surveillance, testing and diagnostics, making sure people are trained sufficiently to identify the disease, and reporting systems, vaccinations as well as antivirals are in place.

Helping underdeveloped countries also benefits developed ones themselves, Mercer said, just like in the COVID-19 pandemic, if populations without immunity are not vaccinated, European countries will end up with variants being re-imported.

"Are we being selfish with regard to vaccine distribution and tackling diseases in underdeveloped countries? In essence, yes," he said.

(Web editor: Liang Jun, Hongyu)
With qualifying action shifting to one day a week on Tuesdays at Woodbine Mohawk Park, the Campbellville, Ont. oval hosted a seven-race session this morning (July 26).

Gaetan Hebert's homebred pacing gelding Shes Watching Me was the fastest winner of the morning. Qualifying for the third time this month after a break in action since mid-April, the four-year-old son of Hes Watching cruised through panels of :27.2, :56.2 and 1:25.2 en route to a 1:54.3 victory by more than three lengths with Chris Christoforou aboard. The Luc Blais-trained North America Cup third-place finisher, Frozen Hanover, returning to home soil after competing in the Meadowlands Pace eliminations two and a half weeks ago, followed loosely in second for Bob McClure.

On the trot, Urntrouble Hanover and Sylvain Filion led all the way through fractions of :29.1, :58.2 and 1:27.3 to score in 1:56.3 by 1-1/2 lengths over Buck Dance, with Profiteer back in third. Clarke Beelby trains the four-year-old roan gelding by Kadabra for Sad Frog Farms of Vancouver, B.C.

Beelby also watched his three-year-old trotting filly Chocolate Parfait, co-owned with Coyote Wynd Farms, debut a winner in 1:58.3, with a :28.1 final frame. Christoforou drove the Muscle Mass-Chocolate Tiara filly, who is a half-sister to Ontario Sires Stakes Gold winner All That Sparkles ($159,964).

The same connections clicked with two-year-old trotting colt Uncle Morris (Resolve-Ally Oop), who is two-for-two in qualifying action with his latest a 2:02.2 mile. A $60,000 yearling purchase from the Lexington Select Yearling Sale, he is half sibling to William Wellwood Stakes champion Seven And Seven ($347,016).

Other two-year-old winners included the John Brennan-trained trotting filly Stonebridge Bravo (Muscle Mass-Stonebridge Epic), whose dam is a half-sister to the Hall of Fame mare Peaceful Way ($3,245,055). She converted a pocket trip into a 4-3/4-length 1:59.4 score with a :28.1 last quarter when making her second qualifying start in rein to Mike Saftic. A $42,000 London Selected Sale purchase, Stonebridge Bravo is owned by Alan Janik of Tecumseh, Ont.

Trained and driven by Ian Moore, two-year-old pacing filly Sis (Sportswriter-Sammys Magic Girl) won her first qualifier in 1:58.4, holding on by half a length over Rose Run Yanna. The $100,000 Harrisburg Sale yearling, who is a half-sister to two-time O'Brien Award winner Scarlett Hanover ($1,078,205), is owned by Wilma and James MacKenzie of Ennismore, Ont.

For complete qualifying results, click on the following link: Tuesday Results (Qualifiers) - Woodbine Mohawk Park.

A replay of the video stream from Tuesday's qualifiers is available below.
The AWARE Foundation released an update at 9 p.m. on Monday:

NANA APPIAH-OFORI has been located and is SAFE! Thanks again for your help. #TheAWAREFoundation

***

Local authorities are searching for an 18-year-old man who disappeared July 21 from Orange, VA.

Nana Appiah-Ofori was last seen at 9 a.m. on that date and left with no extra clothes or money. His phone was pinged at 9 p.m. in Washington, D.C. on the same day he disappeared. There has been no activity on his phone since.

Text messages from his family are returned as not delivered.

According to his family, Appiah-Ofori was set to attend Syracuse University this fall. His disappearance is out of character for him, according to a release from The AWARE Foundation.

Appiah-Ofori was driving a white 2013 Nissan Altima ADR with Virginia license plate number: TYP5096.

Have information on his whereabouts or see his vehicle? Contact the Town of Orange Police Department at 540/672-1234 or call 911.

From staff reports
Members of the Scottsbluff Public Schools Board of Education approved two partnerships that students can take advantage of physically and academically during its meeting Monday.

Executive director of finance Marianne Carlson presented a memo to the board outlining the districts desire to continue its partnership with the YMCA for a pilot program with sixth graders receiving a monthly membership to the Y. The purposes are to engage youth in physical fitness and social responsibility; minimize negative behavior impact of unattended youth at Y facilities; incentivize middle school students to perform academically at school and exhibit good behavior at their school and at the Y; and further develop the districts relationship with the Y.

Last January, we came to the board and asked for permission to do a partnership with the YMCA for our sixth graders at the Bluffs Middle School, Carlson said.

The program was piloted in February 2022 for the spring semester with a lower interest than the district had hoped for, likely because it rolled out in the spring, Carlson said.

Our goal is to roll it out at the start of the school year, hopefully, to gain more interest for our sixth graders, she told the board.

Bluffs Middle School will provide a list of students not eligible to attend the Y that week as it pertains to academic standards, eligibility policy or discipline. However, the reason for ineligibility will not be specified.

Student membership is $20 monthly, with the Ys responsibility of $10 and the districts responsibility of $5. The student would be responsible for $5. If a student qualifies for free-reduced meals, the family can apply for a fee waiver and the district will be responsible to cover the student portion, bringing the districts cost to $10 a month for the student.

School board president Ruth Kozal asked if the opportunity could be marketed to families and students during the Bearcat Bash or during orientation to boost participation.

I think its a great opportunity for our sixth graders, Kozal said. Its very generous for the Y to do that.

The district anticipates around 260 sixth grade students will take advantage of the opportunity. The estimated cost to the district for the school year is $18,000, which would be fully funded with the ESSER III funds.

The program would begin Sept. 1 through May 31, 2023.

The board unanimously approved the partnership.

The board also took action to approve a dual-credit option with Beauty Haus Academy LLC. Within a memorandum of understanding submitted to the board, Scottsbluff Public Schools entered into an agreement for dual-credit enrollment, providing high school students the opportunity to obtain post-secondary credits toward a cosmetology licensure. Scottsbluff High School principal Justin Shaddick told the board the contract is with Beauty Haus since Fullen School of Hair and Design is transitioning ownership and there was not clear detail on the direction they are moving.

Shaddick and Superintendent Andrew Dick toured the Beauty Haus facility in Gering and reviewed the curriculum and instruction.

We were very impressed by their delivery model, but that came with an increased cost, Shaddick said. To be honest, I wasnt sure how Fullen was about to sustain the cost they were charging our students.

Fullens contract charged students $2.25 per credit hour. Students will be registered students at BHA, but the district will pay the tuition at a rate of $3.50 per instructional hour, not to exceed 1,800 hours for the 2022-23 school year.

With that we wanted to honor our seniors  junior students who started the program, Shaddick said. We had four students who wanted to complete the program so by honoring them, in this contract we are willing to pay those seniors so they can finish out.

For the 2023-24 and subsequent school years, the hours cannot exceed 300 and the tuition rate will be renegotiated. Scottsbluff High School seniors will be eligible to enroll in the college freshman cosmetology course and will be responsible for course-related fees and materials. The course will be taught at SHS by a Beauty Haus instructor.

I think that opens the door where our students who want to pursue cosmetology, theyve got 300 hours that is transferrable credit and it just gives them an idea that this is something I want to pursue after I graduate from high school, he said.

As per the agreement, the parties will submit an addendum to the contract, giving a description of the course and curriculum details, the name of the instructor who earned a cosmetology instructor permit and attained a Nebraska Department of Education Career Education teaching certificate and the date, time and location of the instruction. If Beauty Haus obtains accreditation, that opens more opportunities for further partnerships and financial aid.

Families are encouraged to contact a school counselor or cosmetology school with questions about transfer credits for the course.

The board approved the dual credit opportunity.
While judges and lawyers may be the face of the justice system in North Carolina, Chief Justice Paul Newby wanted to recognize the workers inside the courthouse that ensure it runs smoothly when he visited the Iredell County Hall of Justice on Monday.

The last two years, its been very challenging, not just physically, but emotionally. We all could use a word of encouragement, Newby said. My goal is to recognize those that have labored diligently during this pandemic without any prior recognition. They are the unsung heroes of our courthouses and our judicial branch because they are the ones that kept courts open so that we can administer justice without favor, denial or delay.

The North Carolina Supreme Courts chief justice held a ceremonial session of court to speak with and praise everyone from the office staff, bailiffs, custodial workers, and anyone who plays a role in residents having their day in court in Iredell County. He said while lawyers and judges are the show horses of the judicial system, it is the workhorses that allow them to administer justice.

The ceremonial session comes as part of Newbys tour of the 100 counties of North Carolina, which included a visit to the courts in Alexander, Caldwell and Catawba counties on Monday as well. Newbys tour began in May of 2021 and he has now visited more than 70 counties in the state.

Newby also praised the magistrate judges, noting you are the line between government power and individual freedom. Whether its freedom from arrest, freedom from being searched, having stuff seized, we appreciate your jobs.

The chief justice also joked that he is often asked to help get people out of a speeding ticket or jury duty, but the importance of the latter to the judicial process, noting that with only 10% of the world receiving jury trials, much of the corruption comes when people arent judged by a jury of their peers.

Arent we glad that we the people get to be the ones that sit on the juries? If you had a case, what kind of person would you want on the jury? Someone like yourself, probably, Newby said.

He said while the judicial system isnt perfect and strives to improve itself, its the people inside the courthouse that make sure justice is served in Iredell County every day.

The chief justice also presented gifts of appreciation to Superior Court Judge Joe Crosswhite and Clerk of Courts Jim Mixson, and pins were given to employees who had been in state service for 20 years or more.
The Full Bloom Film Festival has opened windows into a world of perspectives through its film selections over the past seven years.

This years festival, set for Sept. 8-10, will be no exception. The festival will showcase 31 films from seven countries, including one from Taiwan in a coveted red carpet slot.

Although foreign language films have always been a part of our festival, this year we will be highlighting a foreign language film for the first time on Saturday evening. We hope to ignite a love for foreign film with this showing, said Full Bloom Chairman Charles Ashe of the selection of the narrative feature Hideout by director Yen Kuang Chen from Taiwan.

Full Bloom shows carefully curated sessions at venues in Downtown Statesville. The films range from narrative and documentary features to short films and animation. The selections also come from as close as North Carolina, and as far as the U.K. and India.

Making the festival a unique experience is the opportunity for festivalgoers to meet and mingle with filmmakers and actors during panel discussions and after parties. Each year, the feedback is overwhelmingly positive about Downtown Statesville venues and the warm welcome residents provide, Ashe said.

It is special that so many filmmakers will be traveling here to see their work  with our community and hospitality as the backdrop, he said.

Several filmmakers from past festivals will be returning this year, including Michael Smith, whose narrative feature Relative will be shown. Smith previously received Best Narrative Feature award for Cool Apocalypse in 2015 and Best Narrative Feature for Mercury in Retrograde in 2017. In addition, Alicia Wszelakis short narrative A Gift for All Ages will be shown this year. Wszelaki received Best Short Documentary in 2019 for Flying Fur.

Another aspect of what makes the festival so special is the incredible community support it receives from local sponsors and businesses, John Koppelmeyer Iredell Arts Council director, said. Director level sponsors for the festival include Iredell Health System, Parlier Heating and Plumbing, Charles Ashe and Brandon Sproul, Jordan Grant & Associates, Gryphos Creative Agency, Mitchell Community College, and the Statesville Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Our community believes in the arts, and that shows with the support each year for the Full Bloom Film Festival, Koppelmeyer said. We could not do this without our sponsors, and it is thanks to them that we are able to bring this unique festival experience to Statesville.

To learn more about the the 2022 festival and see a list of selected films, visit fullbloomfilmfestival.org.

Tickets for the festival are on sale now and can be purchased at fullbloomfilmfestival.org/tickets.

Full Bloom also is planning a Sneak Peek Night at 7 p.m. Aug. 4 at the Iredell Arts Councils Old Jail. The evening will feature teasers for films that will be shown during the festival, as well as announce the recipient of the first annual achievement in film award, titled The Buzz.
The race for Statesvilles mayor and at-large city council seats will finally come to a close Tuesday as the final day for voters to cast their ballots is at hand.

The process began in December when candidates filed for their races, but that process was delayed as the states supreme court put a hold on it as it accessed the legality of the new election maps.

Elections were held in May, but due to the close nature of several Iredell County races, the runoff elections were scheduled for July.

Mayor Costi Kutteh had 33.17% of the vote, but Brian Summers 26.64% share of the vote was enough for him to request a runoff.

In the race for the Statesville City Councils at-large seats, Councilman Steve Johnson lead with 23.91%, but the two finishers behind him were only separated by 11 votes between James H. Pressly (18.05%) and Kim Wasson (17.88%).

Early signs in Statesville show voters are more engaged in these races than they were with a runoff for just the mayors office in 2017. While 1,173 voters were cast in that runoff, 1,691 ballots have already been cast leading into Tuesdays Election Day.

The town of Mooresville also has a pair of races to be finalized as Ward 3 and Ward 4 are up for grabs.

Tommy DeWeese faces Kevin Kasel for Commissioner of Ward 3, while Ward 4s race has Lisa M. Qualls unopposed in that race.

Election day

Statesville voters will get the chance to decide who will sit in the mayors office as well as on the city councils at-large seats on Tuesday.

Polls open at 6:30 a.m. and close at 7:30 p.m. There is no voting at the Board of Elections on election day.

Voters in Statesville vote at their precincts as follows:

ST1  Christ Boulevard Methodist Church at 1947 E. Broad St.

ST2  Forest Park Presbyterian Church at 1026 Davie Ave.

ST3  Cochran Street Bible Church at 964 Cochran St.

ST4  Western Avenue Baptist Church at 1206 Museum Road

ST5  Calvary Community Church at 334 N. Oakland Ave.

ST6  Shiloh AME Zion Church at 1115 Salisbury Road

Voters in Mooresville can vote in their precincts as follows:

CC1  St. Marks Lutheran Church at 454 Fieldstone Road

CC3 War Memorial Building at 220 N. Maple St.

DV1-A  Rocky Mount Methodist Church at 1739 Perth Road

DV1-B  Peninsula Baptist Church at 687 Brawley School Road

DV2-A  Williamson Chapel Church at 589 Brawley School Road

For more information, call the Board of Elections at 704-878-3140 or visit the website at www.iredellcountync.gov/162/Elections.
Breathing is something many of us take for granted, but this seemingly effortless act can be challenging and even painful for some. Luckily, respiratory care professionals treat people of all ages and from all walks of life who have difficulty breathing  from an elderly patient with pneumonia, to a child with asthma, or to a patient with chest trauma.

Helping people take these vital, life-giving breaths is what Bob Noble, director of respiratory care services at Iredell Health System, has done for the majority of his life. And, after 31 years at Iredell Memorial Hospital, Noble is retiring.

As young adult, Noble struggled with deciding what he wanted to do for the rest of his professional life. Eager to see which profession fit best with his personality traits and interests, Noble decided to take an aptitude test.

The aptitude test results revealed that I was good with people and investigative sciences. It listed several professions, and respiratory care was one of them. I remember it said lots of room for advancement and up-and-coming profession, Noble said.

Noble admits that at the time, he had no idea what a respiratory therapist was or what the profession entailed; he had never even been inside a hospital before. Intrigued, the next day he visited a hospital in the mountains of North Carolina, where he was living, and was able to shadow a respiratory therapist for the day.

The respiratory therapist there showed me his worst patient, and when he was treating the patient, I passed out. If that was going to be my profession, I was worried. So, I went back the next day to see if it had the same effect, and I was fine.

Noble decided to pursue respiratory therapy in college. He moved to Charlotte and later graduated from Central Piedmont in 1980.

After graduation, he started his career at North Carolina Baptist Hospital (now Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Hospital), working in respiratory care as a supervisor for six years. He later became a lead therapist at Carolinas Medical Center (now Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center). While he was in this position, Noble obtained his Bachelor of Science in economics.

In 1991, Noble was hired as the director of respiratory care for Iredell Health System, a role he would be dedicated to until his retirement.

When Noble first arrived in Statesville, he did not know the area and had to use a map to find the hospital. He also noted that his first year as director was challenging in figuring out the best way to carry out his new job.

Though initially unfamiliar to him, he quickly began to love Statesville, where he met his now wife, Freda, of 25 years.

As the director of respiratory care, Noble manages the departments day-to-day operations, including overseeing the quality of care, treatment and educational services for patients with respiratory disorders. He also manages staffing and ensures the department has all the supplies necessary to run smoothly and effectively.

The specialty of respiratory care has seen several technological advancements and tremendous growth since Noble began his career. Notable changes include the addition of BiPAP, a ventilator that assists with inhaling and exhaling, and the creation of Vapotherm therapy, which delivers a high flow of heated and humidified oxygen to a patient with respiratory illness.

Most recently, Noble guided his team through the extra stressors and additional roles brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. With many patients on ventilators throughout the worst of the pandemic, Iredell Memorial depended and relied on Noble and his respiratory therapy team.

At the height of COVID, practically every person that came into the hospital had a respiratory problem. We were stretched very thin, and the patients were very sick. Patients could breathe, but they just couldnt get oxygen into their blood, so we had to concentrate on making sure they had adequate oxygen. We developed strong relationships with the nursing departments and adopted new ways of doing things, Noble said.

Reflecting on his time at Iredell, Noble is most proud of being a director for over three decades and continuing to bring high-quality care to patients.

Were a fairly small department, but we have great technology and staff and deliver top-notch respiratory care, he said. Ill most miss the people I have worked with  my staff and all the other department managers.

When short-staffed, Noble is known for helping his team by working on patient floors with them, sometimes on weekends and after hours.

Bob has truly been the epitome of a servant leader. I dont think I know any other director who so quickly jumps into action to help his team and our patients. He has been such a strong advocate for our patients and our community over the past 30 years and will be missed, John Green, president and CEO of Iredell Health System, said.

In his retirement, Noble hopes to spend more time with his family and grandchildren. He also wants to travel and would like to renovate and sell a few houses.

Bob has been a great asset to the Iredell Health System over the past 30 years. He has always been one to jump in and help his staff in any way possible. We will miss Bob and all he has done for our department, but we do wish him the best in his retirement, Jeannie Deal, assistant director of respiratory care, said.

I have a lot of mixed feelings and emotions about retiring because I do love this hospital and spent a good part of my life here. I am sad to be leaving it, but on the other hand, I look at it like Im starting a new chapter, Noble said.
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.

Harassment, burglary  Longview police Saturday arrested Maria Nadine Free, 51, of Longview on suspicion of felony harassment, first-degree burglary and fourth-degree assault.

Robbery, kidnapping  Longview police Friday arrested Charles Kenneth Potter, 57, of Chinook, Washington, on suspicion of second-degree robbery, first-degree kidnapping, unlawful possession of a firearm and witness tampering.

Theft  Longview police Friday arrested Shira Elaine Powell, 38, of Longview on suspicion of second-degree theft and first-degree criminal trespassing.

Fugitive  Longview police Friday arrested Rodolfo Santiago Ferrer, 34, of Longview on suspicion of being a fugitive from justice.

Assault  Kelso police Friday arrested Kaitlyn Therese Stolaroff, 34, of Longview on suspicion of third-degree assault, third-degree theft, resisting arrest and obstructing a public servant.

Theft  Longview police Friday arrested Jordan White, 27, of Chehalis on suspicion of attempted second-degree theft, obstructing a public servant, making a false statement and resisting arrest.

Vehicle prowling  Longview police Saturday arrested Terrence Omar Hawkins, 31, of Longview on suspicion of violating a no-contact order, fourth-degree assault and second-degree vehicle prowling.

Failure to register  Longview police Sunday arrested Casey Lavon Patton, 38, of Longview on suspicion of failure to register as a sex offender.

Assault  Longview police Saturday arrested Torey Antoin Petersen, 33, of Longview on suspicion of second-degree assault, unlawful imprisonment and harassment.

Violation of protection order  Woodland police Saturday arrested Levi Joseph Verstegen, 29, of Vancouver on suspicion of violating a protection order.

Assault  Cowlitz County sheriff's deputies Saturday arrested David Scott Whitmire, 50, of Kelso on suspicion of second-degree assault.

Assault  Longview police Sunday arrested William Matthew Talbott, 48, of Longview on suspicion of third-degree assault, resisting arrest and obstructing a public servant.

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 new gastropub now sits on the corner of 12th Avenue and Hudson Street, thanks to efforts from a former executive chef and caterer who recently moved to Longview to realize her dream of opening a restaurant.

Michelle Kruse, head chef at the newly opened The Lemon Drop, said their Friday the 13th opening date was a good sign.

We needed the luck, Kruse said.

Kruse went to culinary school in San Francisco, then worked as a private chef, caterer and restaurant cook in The Golden City for about five years, and another roughly 20 years in Colorado and Southern California, before moving to Longview.

For the last two years in Longview, she offered catering and personal chef services under the name The Lemon Drop, and attended events like local farmers markets and Squirrel Fest before opening a brick-and-mortar in the spring.

We needed some sunshine in our lives, Kruse said. We needed something thats bright and inviting, like yellow, like lemon drops.

The Lemon Drop gastropub opened May 13, with a menu that often changes as Kruse comes up with new ideas. Kruse said she wants to provide high-quality but affordable meals, and tries to prioritize fresh and local ingredients from nearby farmers markets.

The Lemon Drop Address: 1175 Hudson St., Longview. Hours: 11 a.m.-2 p.m. and 5-8 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays; 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Fridays; noon to 10 p.m. Saturdays. Info: 360-353 5042, thelemondrop.business.site or The Lemon Drop Gastropub on Facebook.

Lemon Drop is a 21-and-older space, where patrons can order one of the several cocktails, draft beers or local wines. Speciality drinks include an absinth, St-Germain and pineapple juice cocktail called the fairy godmother and, of course, lemon drops. Kruse said staff make their own infused vodkas, in flavors like lemon and watermelon, as well as homemade syrups that help take cocktails to the next level.

On the menu customers have options ranging from short rib paninis, vegan Caesar salads to a charcuterie appetizer. Past specials have included black cod and a spinach salad with blue cheese, roasted mushrooms, marcona almonds and sherry shallot vinaigrette. Eating at The Lemon Drop ranges in cost from around $15 to $30.

The new restaurant is placed in the warehouse-style space on 12th Avenue. Kruse said she liked how many windows there were, making it feel like an open and welcome space. Kruse said she wanted to decorate in a more rustic way, though bright yellow furniture accents the industrial approach.

Our mission is to just provide an experience for locals and for travelers that are passing through, or looking for a destination, to have an experience that theyll remember or want to share or want to come back for, Kruse said. And so that is great cocktails, and its great food and its great atmosphere and great music and, you know, just a great vibe.

Kruse started offering lunch earlier this month, giving her an opportunity to add more lunch items and share plates. She has around 10 staff members, and plans to release a new menu in August.

We just want to grow organically, Kruse said.

Editors note: This story has been updated to include more information on speciality drinks and to clarify where Michelle Kruse has worked.
VANCOUVER  Clark County's first confirmed case of monkeypox arrived Monday, according to Clark County Public Health.

Public Health was notified Monday morning that a Clark County resident tested positive for monkeypox  an adult man with no recent travel history. The person is isolating at home and Public Health is investigating, according to a news release.

"While we have identified the first case of monkeypox in Clark County, the risk to the public remains very low," said Dr. Alan Melnick, Clark County Public Health director. "Anyone can get monkeypox. But unlike COVID-19, monkeypox virus does not spread easily between people."

Monkeypox is spread through close contact with an infected person who has symptoms. The virus can spread through direct contact with rashes, scabs or bodily fluids of an infected person; saliva during direct and prolonged face-to-face contact with an infected person; and contact with bedding, clothing or other objects that have been contaminated by body fluids or sores of an infected person.

Interactions that do not involve physical contact are not high risk, according to Public Health.

Clark County Public Health is working with the person who tested positive to identify individuals who were in close contact with him while he was contagious. Public Health will notify those individuals of their possible exposure and facilitate vaccination for eligible close contacts.

The vaccine may prevent infection or reduce symptoms of infection, but it is only recommended for close contacts who have not developed infection, according to Public Health.

Monkeypox illness often begins with flu-like symptoms including fever, headache, muscle aches, swollen lymph nodes and exhaustion. A few days later, a rash develops. The rash then turns into raised bumps that fill with fluid. Typically, the rash is found on the face, arms, legs and hands. However, if a person was infected during sexual contact, the rash might only be on the genitals or anus, according to Public Health.

Symptoms usually begin seven to 14 days after exposure to an infected person but can appear as early as five days and up to 21 days after exposure.

People with monkeypox are contagious as soon as they develop symptoms and continue to be contagious until the rash has fully healed. Most people recover within two to four weeks, but the disease can be serious, especially for people who are immunocompromised, children and pregnant people, according to Public Health.

People who feel sick, have any rashes or sores, or whose partners are sick or have rashes or sores should avoid sex and gatherings, especially if they involve close skin-to-skin contact or prolonged face-to-face contact.

People who are showing symptoms should see a health care provider. Before visiting a medical office, people should notify their provider that they are concerned about monkeypox and whether they recently had close contact with a person who had a similar rash or a person who has been diagnosed with monkeypox.

As of July 22, 83 people have tested positive for monkeypox in Washington, according to the Washington State Department of Health.
PORTLAND  A man who took two girls from Eugene to Vancouver, supplied them with drugs, forced them to have sex and collected payments for it was sentenced to nearly 17 years in prison.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Pamela Paaso said 34-year-old Johnl Jackson used force and coercion to traffic the girls, ages 14 and 15, and mentored another man who also forced the girls to have sex with men for money, The Oregonian reported.

Jackson was arrested in 2019 in Vancouver. Paaso says with two co-defendants, Jackson recruited girls, advertised sexual services, delivered the girls to customers and split the proceeds.

A jury in March convicted Jackson of conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking, sex trafficking of a child, sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, and transportation of a minor with intent to engage in sexual activity.

One of the victims listened to the hearing by phone and provided a written statement to the court, saying in part that Jackson had done the most unspeakable thing to her and that shes glad he wont be able to hurt another young child.

The victims, in separate instances in 2018, eventually were able to escape and call relatives, and in one instance, a 14-year-old girl convinced a man at a Battle Ground barn party  where she had been taken  to help her.

Jacksons lawyer, Per C. Olson, said Jackson doesnt have a criminal history and had a difficult life with his dad in prison, homelessness and drug abuse.

Jackson told the judge he didnt feel like he had a fair trial.
Is your Apple Watch running on watchOS 8.6 or older version? You need to update it NOW, else you will remain at high risk, government warned.

The government has warned Apple Watch users as they are under a big threat of being hacked! The government recently flagged a high severity' risk for Apple Watch users and mentioned that multiple vulnerabilities in these watches make the users an easy target for hackers. The government specifically warned the Apple Watch models running watchOS versions that are older than watchOS 8.7.

The government referred to these vulnerabilities as a high severity rating, which could allow an online attacker to run an arbitrary code on the Apple Watch while bypassing the security check on any targeted Watch running on watchOS 8.6 and previous versions by sending a specially-crafted request.

These detected vulnerabilities exist due to a buffer overflow in the AppleAVD component, an authorization issue in the AppleMobility File Integrity component, and out-of-bounds write in Audio, ICU, and WebKit components. The nodal agency for cybersecurity has also mentioned other possible reasons for these vulnerabilities in Apple Watch including type confusion in Multi-touch component, Multiple out-of-bounds write and memory corruption in GPU Drivers component, out-of-bounds read in Kernel component, and memory initialisation in libxml2 component (sic).

Apple confirmed the HIGH risk vulnerabilities for Apple Watch users

Apple has also confirmed these vulnerabilities on its Apple security support page which highlighted that under AppleAVD impact, remote hackers can cause kernel code execution to leave the Apple Watch user vulnerable. The Apple support page shared a document that describes the security content of watchOS 8.7 along with a long list of impacted areas along with the researchers who reported the issues.

What should Apple Watch users do

To avoid any potential risk and being the victim of any online fraud, the government has suggested Apple Watch to apply necessary patches by updating to the latest available version. Apple Security Updates website also listed the possible vulnerabilities. To update your watch, just simply open the Settings app on your watch, then tap General and go to the Software Update.
A sign at a General Motors facility, Oct. 16, 2019, in Langhorne, Pa. A joint venture between General Motors and South Korean battery company LG Energy Solution is set to receive a $2.5 billion loan from the Energy Department to build battery cell factories for electric vehicles in three states. TCredit: AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File

A joint venture between General Motors and South Korean battery company LG Energy Solution is set to receive a $2.5 billion loan from the Energy Department to build battery cell factories for electric vehicles in three states.

The Energy Department said it has made a conditional commitment to lend the money to Ultium Cells LLC, a joint venture of GM and LG. The loan could help Ultium finance three lithium-ion battery plants planned in Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee, bolstering the Biden administration's efforts to promote electric vehicles and reduce dependence on China for critical components.

The plants will help strengthen U.S. energy independence and support Biden's goal to have electric vehicles make up half of all vehicles sales in the United States by 2030, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said.

Ultium Cells will supply GM as it works to convert its light-duty fleet to all-electric by 2035.

The plants are expected to create up to 6,000 construction jobs and 5,100 operations jobs when completed. Ultium Cells is weeks away from opening its first EV battery plant in Lordstown, Ohio, which it says will help it meet strong demand for electric vehicles.

The joint venture also plans to build battery plants in Lansing, Michigan, and Spring Hill, Tennessee. GM plans to announce the site of a fourth plant this year, CEO Mary Barra said Tuesday.

Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press, Thursday, July 14, 2022, in New York. The economy is a bit wobbly, but General Motors CEO Mary Barra isn't backing off of an audacious prediction: By the middle of this decade, her company will sell more electric vehicles in the U.S. than Tesla, the global sales leader. Credit: AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson

The federal loan would be the first exclusively for a battery cell manufacturing project under the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing program, which provides loans to support U.S. manufacturing of light-duty vehicles, qualifying components and materials that improve fuel economy, the Energy Department said.

Jigar Shah, director of Energy's Loan Programs Office, said Tuesday the loan would "help build a domestic supply chain to meet the growing demand for electric vehicles" and "create thousands of good-paying jobs across three states while enabling improvements in existing lithium-ion battery technologies."

People visit LG Energy Solution Ltd's booth during the InterBattery 2021, the country's leading battery exhibition, at COEX in Seoul, South Korea, , June 9, 2021. A joint venture between General Motors and South Korean battery company LG Energy Solution is set to receive a $2.5 billion loan from the Energy Department to build battery cell factories for electric vehicles in three states. Credit: AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File

Ultium Cells has allotted about $2 billion for construction of each plant, but a GM spokesman said commitments GM and LG have made to fund the joint venture don't preclude them from pursuing a loan under a program designed to advance clean energy technology.

"Assuming the loan is approved, it would have the effect of lowering the amount of capital the joint venture partners would need to fund directly," spokesman Jim Cain said. "Ultium Cells will repay the loans with proceeds earned by selling its cells to GM."

Tesla, Ford and Nissan are among auto companies that received ATVM loans under the Obama administration.

Explore further GM now says it will support union at new battery factories

 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
College Station Fire Department personnel are working to determine the cause and area of origin of a major fire incident at the Holleman Oaks apartment complex near Bright Circle and Anderson Street on Monday morning.

Fourteen occupied units were affected by the fire and 30 people were displaced, according to AJ Renold, executive director for the American Red Cross Heart of Texas Chapter. The Red Cross was assisting displaced residents inside Grace Bible Churchs gym at its Anderson campus.

One resident was injured in jumping from a window, according to CSFD officials. The resident was treated on scene for an injury by paramedics.

Units from the Bryan Fire Department assisted in extinguishing the fire since it was a 2-alarm fire, according to CSFD officials.

It remains an ongoing investigation.

Structure Fire Working | HOLLEMAN OAKS | Cross Streets: ANDERSON ST/BRIGHT CR | 08:20  College Station Fire Incidents (@CSFDIncidents) July 25, 2022

Please avoid the area Holleman Dr and Anderson. @CSTXFire is currently working a major structure fire.  College Station Police Department (@CSTXPolice) July 25, 2022
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine 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
Town police have charged Nicholas A. Davis with driving while under the influence in connection with a three-vehicle collision July 19 that killed two Franklin County residents.

Franklin County residents Melissa A. Holland, 21, and Christian Hernandez, 18, died following the collision, which occurred within the intersection of Virginia 40 and Virginia 122 in Rocky Mount.

Davis, 31, of Glade Hill, has been convicted of numerous traffic infractions in Franklin County over the past decade, according to online court records.

Shortly after 6 p.m. July 19, the Rocky Mount Police Department, Rocky Mount Volunteer Fire Department, Virginia State Police and Franklin County Public Safety responded to a call about the collision. Holland and Hernandez were two of five Franklin County residents involved in the collision, according to a Friday afternoon press release from the town of Rocky Mount.

Holland was driving one of the vehicles involved in the collision and died at the scene. Her passenger, Hernandez, was also pronounced dead after Franklin County Public Safety transported him to Carilion Franklin Memorial Hospital in Rocky Mount.

The press release identified the other two vehicle drivers as Davis and Matthew Carter, 41, neither of whom required medical transportation from the scene of the collision. Carter was traveling with a passenger, who was not identified in the press release.

Town police said the investigation of the event is still underway.
On Saturday, 7/23/22, at 12:57 a.m. ET, Mani Sitaraman wrote:

"Mike, you'll be pleased to hear that I've been conveying, over the years and from over here in Asia, your positive impressions of Keuka Lake and environs to a couple of old friends on the East Coast. This latest, very pretty photograph [he meant the one of Bully Hill] is perfectly timed, as they've just set off to explore the area this weekend!"

And that wasdrum roll!this blog's Official 250,000th Comment (the software keeps track). All of them moderated, ~20k of them "Featured." Comments are one of the best features of this website, to me certainly.

That's 46.7 comments per day for 5,353 days, and 30.1 comments per post for 8,305 posts. Time gets behind us, doesn't it?

A little landmark along the way. I think Mani deserves a prize, don't you? Or a trophy.

Let me know if you're getting tired of seeing random iPhone shots. Took this yesterday. This is right at the limits of the digital zoom. Junior is getting a quick snack, and Mama is saying, "Yo, is that a 13? You should have waited for the 14 to come out."

I've always had fun with cameras. When I was a kid I shot with my Dad's Minox "spy" camera, and my cousin Kate's Kodak Disc Camera that she got for Christmas when she was nine (I used up all three of her discs of film, which shocked her), my friend Paul's Deardorff 8x10, and a Canon Xapshot that the Photo Department at the Corcoran owned. The Xapshot was a very early still video camera. I inherited a Zeiss Contessa from my late Aunt, and I had to take a bunch of pictures with that too. The iPhone fits right in there. Fun. In art school I shot a project (The Great Pigeon Safarieach picture featured a pigeon somewhere in it) with an ancient Kodak Instamatic. You could still get the film cartridges for them then, color negative of course, and then I made large prints on B&W Panalure paper. They looked good, too, although they were very far from sharp.

Mike

Book o' the Week

Grit and Grace: Women at Work in the Emerging World. Unfortunately, this will be the posthumous swan song of the indefatigable documentarian Alison Wright, whose untimely death at 60 in the Azores this year meant she never got to see it published. Wright's photography was inextricably entwined with her life's dedication to social justice, a sense of acceptance of humanity, and a roving search for beauty and color.

Original contents copyright 2020 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)

Featured Comments from:

Sroyon: "Not tired, but when it comes to phone pics, I think I would enjoy seeing more 'good photos' (broadly defined, I don't necessarily mean portfolio-worthy!), and perhaps reading the stories behind them, than photos which illustrate some ability or feature of the iPhone. Perhaps more photos like your tea mug, which to me was a 'good photo,' even if it was presented as illustrating a feature (parallax). Just my two cents!"

Mani Sitaraman: "Egad. When you wrote me an email the other day, Mike, saying that I'd written the 250,000th comment on TOP, I'd didn't realize you meant it literally! I took it to be a figure of speech, to indicate merely that that featured comment had been preceded by myriad user comments in the past on TOP, with its very loyal and active user comment section. I know I've done precisely nothing to deserve this entirely accidental, numerical spotlight, but it is very kind of you to offer me a prize. Being able to read TOP after years of reading Camera & Darkroom and Photo Techniques has been more than reward enough. But 250,000 comments! That's testament to the quality and attraction of TOP to all of us, and the quality of your columns are the reason we write. I am pleased, though, that that 250,000th comment was, fortuitously, about a picture of the very picturesque region of America, the Finger Lakes of New York State, that TOP is headquartered in."

Ray Hunter: "Congratulations on the observation of yet another TOP benchmark! Thanks also for the comments on Alison Wright. I was unfamiliar with Ms. Wright's photography-this book selection, like many you provide, introduced me to work that is new to me. At their best, photography monographs serve to make us want to know more about the person who made the images. I looked up her obituary, as well, and learned a bit more about her exuberant life. So sad to lose a bright star."

Matthew Currie: "Commenting on your 'Book of the Week,' I was sorry to hear, belatedly, of the death of Alison Wright. I went to Bhutan a couple of years ago for a National Geographic photo tour of which she was the leader. Aside from being a good photographer and teacher, she was an amusing storyteller and travel companion, much to be missed. Hoist a 'Dirty Mayor' (Citizen Cider with a hint of ginger that she recommended) in her honor."

Steve Rosenblum: "Thanks for all the bazillion hours of moderating those comments, Mike! The fact that you have kept such close reins on the moderation of TOP is largely responsible for it remaining an island of thoughtful comity in a worldwide sea of internet garbage. That you have done that as the sole proprietor/moderator while also writing thousands of words of posts each day, feeding and walking Butters, and getting a few rounds of pool in is very impressive. Kudos to you!"
President Joe Biden has decided to ban Russian oil imports, toughening the toll on Russia's economy in retaliation for its invasion of Ukraine. The United States generally imports about 100,000 barrels a day from Russia, only about 5% of Russia's crude oil exports, according to Rystad Energy. Last year, roughly 8% of U.S. imports of oil and petroleum products came from Russia. Gas prices have been rising for weeks due to the conflict and in anticipation of potential sanctions on the Russian energy sector. The U.S. national average for a gallon of gasoline soared 45 cents a gallon in the past week and topped $4.06 on Monday, according to auto club AAA. Should the US ban Russian oil imports over Ukraine war?

You voted:
Gloria Steinem is often credited with having uttered the remark, "If men could get pregnant, abortion would be a sacrament." Although the quote more likely originated with an elderly Irish taxi driver in Boston, according to Quote Investigator, the saying is as true today as ever.

In view of new and forthcoming laws banning abortion without exceptions, a related if less clever sentiment aimed at certain men comes to mind: Would that a man could become impregnated by a rapist  or by his Uncle Festus  and be forced to give birth to the little spawn.

In the wake of Roe v. Wade's reversal, state legislators (mostly men, needless to say) have been busy trying to make life as unbearable as possible, not just banning abortion but also making it illegal for women (and little girls) to terminate a pregnancy even in cases of rape or incest.

As though having a baby isn't life-altering enough under the best of circumstances, imagine being raped by a stranger or a family member (incest is rarely consensual) and having to carry the baby for nine months  an incessant reminder of the horror that led to conception.

The recent story of an Ohio girl aged 10, who was raped and became pregnant, brought home the complexities of life in post-Roe America. Because an abortion ban without exceptions was already in place in her home state, the child was taken to Indiana for the procedure. Now, at least, she can focus all her energies on recovering from the trauma of having been raped.

Ohio is but one of 15 states that have new or forthcoming laws prohibiting abortion without exceptions for rape or incest, even though about 75% of Americans support legal abortions in such cases, according to a 2018 Gallup poll. The other states are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, West Virginia and Wisconsin, with others likely to follow.

Seven states that ban abortion but do allow abortions in cases of rape include: Georgia, Idaho, Mississippi, North Dakota, South Carolina, Utah and Wyoming. All but Mississippi also allow abortions in cases of incest. (Would this be because Mississippi's gene pool is overstocked with genius? Answers welcome.)

The poor Ohio child, meanwhile, seemed to get lost in her own story after it became an overnight sensation, providing fodder for demagogues on both sides of the abortion issue. Pro-choice activists didn't hesitate to use her tale to remind everyone of all the horrors that the Supreme Court hath wrought. President Joe Biden, who has never met a sad story he couldn't make sadder, used the child in a July 8 speech on abortion rights.

Some pro-lifers, who apparently cannot stand success, simply doubted the child's existence, probably because she was already born. Their argument was that it was way too convenient for a raped child to suddenly materialize just as exception-free antiabortion laws were being hurried into law. But it seems that Providence not only works in mysterious ways but also allows for coincidence. The abused little girl was (and is) very real.

I don't doubt the sincerity of people who believe that aborting a fetus conceived through rape or incest is just as wrong as any other abortion. The embryo, after all, didn't do anything wrong. But let's not mince words: This is nonsense. Notwithstanding that some people among us were conceived by rape and, perhaps, incest, surely the victim's right to survive and seek sanity overrides all other concerns.

The strictest pro-lifer would argue that all life begins at the same time, no matter the means of conception, and that any interference afterward is unacceptable. The argument has merit. Life's continuum from conception to birth, the same path we all traveled, can't be denied. But sometimes nature imposes difficult choices, such as protecting an injured child (or woman) over an insentient embryo, with which religious belief ought to be compatible.

Inarguably, the state has no business aiding and abetting the suffering of a child. Or that of a woman. That said, no one on this green planet ever envisioned an abortion industry that would proudly defend the destruction of 40 million to 50 million gestating human beings. It should be understood that the draconian measures we're now seeing codified by lawmakers have as much to do with pro-choice fanaticism as with the antiabortion zeal of religious fanatics obsessed with ensoulment.

There's still time to rethink the worst of these unusually cruel laws, and for the mostly male legislators to allow for exceptions. They should remind themselves that they represent the people, not just hard-line pro-lifers  and that they are not themselves deities, as so many seem to think.
U.S. House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn recently received the NAACPs highest honor, the Spingarn Medal, at the organizations annual convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

I am pleased beyond measure and humbled to receive the Spingarn Medal, the NAACP's highest honor. The history of this award speaks to the work done for over a century to ensure the American dream is made accessible and affordable for all her citizens," Clyburn said in an NAACP news release.

From the moment of being elected president of my NAACP Youth Council (Sumter, S.C.) at the age of 12, I was taught that we all have roles to play in our nation's pursuit of perfection, he said.

I look forward to living long enough and serving well enough to prove myself worthy of joining the ranks of previous Spingarn Medal recipients that include Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Justice Thurgood Marshall and my good friend, Congressman John Lewis, he said.

Clyburn is a 1961 graduate of what was then South Carolina State College. He is the third person associated with S.C. State University to receive the Spingarn Medal.

The medals inaugural recipient in 1915 was Ernest E. Just, a pioneering biologist, academic and science writer.

S.C. States second Spingarn Medal recipient was Civil Rights Era and higher education icon Benjamin E. Mays, who was honored in 1982.

Both attended S.C. State in its early years as the Colored Normal Industrial Agricultural and Mechanical College of South Carolina.

In the news release, NAACP officials said the award recognizes Clyburn's tireless work advocating for voting rights, the protection of democracy and the rights of Black and other marginalized communities across America.

Whip Clyburn's contribution to civil rights is extraordinary, NAACP President Derrick Johnson said in the news release. From championing rural and economic development to advocating for the restoration of historic buildings and sites on the campuses of historically Black colleges and universities, Whip Clyburn has been at the forefront of advocating for Black communities and helping to create a more equitable society for decades. The NAACP is proud to present Whip Clyburn with our highest recognition.

Clyburn and his late wife, Dr. Emily England Clyburn, met as students at S.C. State and were married for 58 years before her death in September 2019.

When he came to Congress in 1993 to represent South Carolinas sixth congressional district, Congressman Clyburn was elected co-president of his freshman class and quickly rose through leadership ranks. He was subsequently elected chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, vice chair, and later chair, of the House Democratic Caucus.

Clyburns beginnings in Sumter as the eldest son of an activist, fundamentalist minister and an independent, civic-minded beautician grounded him securely in family, faith and public service.

The Clyburn family has generously supported SC State over the years, including the establishment of the Dr. Emily England Clyburn Honors College Scholarships.

Other previous Spingarn Medal recipients include Cato T. Laurencin, Mrs. Daisy Bates (Little Rock Nine), Myrlie Evers-Williams, Earl G. Graves Sr., W.E.B DuBois, George Washington Carver, Charles Drew, Jackie Robinson, Jesse L. Jackson, Maya Angelou, Oprah Winfrey, Cicely Tyson, Harry Belafonte, Sidney Poitier, Quincy Jones and the Honorable Nathaniel Jones.
To Willie Clay Fields and Angela Fields, their only child  Willie Antoine Fields  was their pride and joy.

The 18-year-old was their world, their everything.

On Monday afternoon, Circuit Judge Roger Young sentenced Lindy Lamont Jones Jr. to 35 years in prison.

Jones pleaded guilty on July 14 to the Aug. 2, 2019 murder of Willie Antoine Fields.

Jones, 22 now, was 19 when he shot the couples only child four times.

They took away just everything from us, Angela Fields told the court on Monday afternoon at Jones hearing.

Losing our son about three years ago, what it has done to me and my family. They took away our only child. They took away all his hopes and all his dreams. They took away all the hopes and dreams we had for him, she said.

It has basically, almost to the point where it has broken us, but thank God for his mercy, it hasnt, she added.

It has been extremely emotional and just really difficult, but we have to keep pushing and going on as hard as it is, she said.

Jones attorney, Jason Turnblad, told the court that Jones grew up in a household without a father figure for most of his childhood.

When Jones was 9, his father was incarcerated. Jones and his younger brother were raised by their mother.

Their mother worked constantly to take care of her sons, Turnblad said.

Jones tried to assume a protective role to his mother and brother while his father was in prison.

But after three attempts at the ninth grade, he dropped out of school.

Jones ended up taking care of his mother when she had some bouts with poor health, Turnblad said.

I just want to apologize to everybody today and everybody who came, Jones told the court.

If I could go back and change my decision, I would, but as a man, I understand. Thats it, he said.

First Circuit Deputy Solicitor Tommy Scott explained that Willie Antoine Fields and Jones knew each other because Jones brother, JayLyn Devanere Jawaun Jones, and the slain man attended grammar school together.

But the two got split up in middle school and theyd not reconnected until about a month prior to Willie Antoine Fields murder.

On the day of Willie Antoine Fields murder, hed arrived at the Chick-fil-A in Orangeburg around 9 a.m. to work.

He left at 4:18 p.m., Scott said.

Angela Fields sent her son a text message, urging him to come home after work due to the threat of bad weather.

She didnt hear from him.

Scott said Fields went to an ATM and withdrew $200 before driving to the Jones family home on Mars Circle in Orangeburg.

Mrs. Fields, when she didnt hear from her son, she went on her phone. They had a Life360 app, which shows you where your family members are, Scott said.

She noticed her sons phone was pinging off two different locations: the Jones residence and Rosewood Drive, Scott said.

She went to the Rosewood Drive location and found her sons car, abandoned.

She also noticed blood inside of it.

She called law enforcement.

By that time, it was beginning to get dark. Investigators searched in the area near the car, but decided to resume searching the next morning.

Investigators found the body of Willie Antoine Fields in the woods the next morning.

Scott alleges that the Jones brothers put Fields body there after transporting him there in the trunk of the slain mans own car.

Moments after Fields arrived at Jones residence, Lindy Jones shot him multiple times. Fields was sitting in his car the entire time.

Scott said Lindy Jones first told investigators that he killed Fields because he was trespassing, but said in a later interview that he shot him because he thought Fields was reaching for something.

The murder weapon was never recovered, Scott said.

JayLyn Jones is facing one count of accessory after the fact to murder. His charge remains pending.

Monday was the second time Lindy Jones was before Young for sentencing.

His first sentencing hearing on July 14 was interrupted when Willie Clay Fields punched him in the right side of his head moments after Jones proceedings got underway.

As a result of that incident, Willie Clay Fields is facing one count each of contempt of court and third-degree assault and battery. Those charges will be handled at an upcoming hearing.

Mr. (Willie Clay) Fields is extremely apologetic for what happened. If he could, hed take it back, his attorney, Rep. Justin Bamberg, D-Bamberg, said after Mondays sentencing hearing.

Again, there aint but so much heartbreak even the strongest of men can withstand, he added.

Bamberg noted that the slain mans father is now enrolled in grief counseling.

As for the Lindy Jones sentence, Bamberg said Theyre still processing everything. I think for them it was just a day that was long coming. This is obviously very emotional, very painful for them.

It never ends. Youre never going to forget, Bamberg said.

If you look at Mr. Willie Fields family. If you look at the defendants family. A lot of lives got shattered with this ridiculous violence that weve been seeing, particularly around Orangeburg, with these young people. I hope people look at themselves and these families, Bamberg said.
Kuntai (North Charleston) Limited Corporation, an automotive parts manufacturer, announced plans on Tuesday to establish operations in Orangeburg County.

The companys $1.5 million investment will create 41 new jobs.

Kuntai (North Charleston) Limited Corporation is excited to open its new floor mats factory in Orangeburg, South Carolina. We chose South Carolina as our new facility location because of the business-friendly environment, its skilled workforce and proximity to our customers, Kuntai (North Charleston) Limited Corporation General Manager Vincent Zhang said in a release.

We look forward to a mutually beneficial relationship and will definitely consider South Carolina for all future projects, Zhang said.

Kuntai specializes in car floor mats and is a supplier for high-end original equipment manufacturers.

Located at 152 Regional Parkway, Building F, in Orangeburg, Kuntais new facility will allow the China-based company to produce floor mats and will be used as a base to further expand its business in the North American market.

Operations are expected to be online by October 2022.

S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster said, South Carolina is home to more than 600 automotive-related companies, and we are proud to add Kuntai to that impressive roster.

S.C. Secretary of Commerce Harry M. Lightsey III said, Kuntais decision to establish new operations in South Carolina is a testament to our world-class workforce.

We are excited for these job opportunities in Orangeburg County and look forward to a strong partnership with Kuntai for many years to come.

Orangeburg County Council Chairman Johnnie Wright said, We are grateful that Kuntai has selected Orangeburg County for its cutting-edge manufacturing operations and its state-of-the-art facility. This announcement by Kuntai brings 30 international companies representing 17 countries to Orangeburg County.

The creation of 41 new jobs will create significant impact for our citizens and the investment in our community. We thank the Kuntai leadership and investors for believing in our people and location  making this another great day in Orangeburg County!

Orangeburg County Administrator Harold M. Young said the county, is proud of the success of our automotive footprint which lends itself to the next era of breakthrough technologies. This announcement demonstrates the impact our county has made as we advance our economic development - spurring a welcome, long-term relationship with Project Vincent, who chose Orangeburg County to bring their business and its related jobs here. We look forward to working together and wish them every success.

Orangeburg County Development Commission Chairman Ken Middleton said, Orangeburg Countys proximity to automotive manufacturers, and the Ports of Charleston and Savannah, continue to be of great value to both the suppliers and the manufacturers. We wish Project Vincent tremendous success and growth in the coming years.

Individuals interested in joining the Kuntai team should email resumes to the company: zhangmingdi@chinakuntai.com
Two thoughts: First, the Republican dog has finally caught the car it's been chasing for years. A band of right-wing zealots in judge's robes has given them the power to fulfill their reactionary daydreams. Hence, their political self-destruction looks assured. It's just a question of time. They won't be able to help themselves.

Second, things are going to get worse, possibly much worse, before they get better. How shocking would it be, for example, to learn that a deranged young man murdered 20 citizens standing in line to vote with his trusty AR-15?

It would hardly even be surprising.

Nor to hear police explain, as journalist Kevin Drum puts it, "that they knew there was a guy with an AR-15 hanging around outside the mall/school/courthouse, but they were constrained from so much as approaching him. Hanging around a mall with an assault rifle is perfectly legal, after all."

Because the Supreme Court says so. Never mind that the phrase "well-regulated" appears in the actual text of the Second Amendment. As I've pointed out in other contexts, nothing so excites the fundamentalist mind as contradicting Scripture. The Founding Fathers clearly intended frequent mass shooting events. Wasn't it Jefferson who wrote, "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants"?

Also, schoolchildren and parade-goers, apparently.

Anyway, here's where triumphalist Republicans are coming from, as reported by Jennifer Rubin in The Washington Post. Witness a tweet from Gov. Tate Reeves of Mississippi: "Today we wake up in a state where the church doors are open and the abortion clinic's doors are closed. All the Glory to God the Father! Amen!"

Politicians like Reeves are the reason we have a long-standing proverb over here in Arkansas: "Thank God for Mississippi." Because whatever embarrassing statistics make us look like the 49th worst state in the union -- poverty, illiteracy, child mortality, etc. -- Mississippi will normally be marginally worse.

During the 50 years I've lived here, far-right Bible-beaters have always made most of the noise during Arkansas political campaigns -- and lost most of the elections. (Remember, Arkansas elected Bill Clinton governor five times; Democrat Mike Beebe was elected as recently as 2010.) People act as if "red states" are a fixed and permanent thing. Not so.

But I digress. My point is that most Americans have no ambition to live in a country where the religious right holds the high cards. In my view, the GOP has already overplayed its hand.

I thought President Joe Biden got it right when, after some crawfishing around, he denounced the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision as "an exercise in raw political power." He criticized Justice Alito's written opinion "for playing fast and loose with the facts," adding that "even 150 years ago, the common law ... did not criminalize abortion early in pregnancy."

Quite right. Biden added that the Dobbs decision "practically dares the women of America to go to the ballot box and restore the very rights they've just taken away."

Ah, but will they? Rubin cites a poll from the Public Religion Research Institute that makes it seem likely. Altogether, 65% of Americans think abortion should be legal almost all the time. Granted, the Republican base of white, evangelical Protestants disagrees.

"By contrast," the poll reports, "64% of white Catholics, 69% of white mainline (nonevangelical) Protestants, 75% of Black Protestants, 75% of Hispanic Catholics, 82% of non-Christian religious Americans, and 84% of religiously unaffiliated Americans support abortion legality in most or all cases."

Several historians have cited the nation's experience of Prohibition during the 1920s as an example of what can happen when moralistic zealots try to regulate people's private behavior. Eventually, the public will rebel. To enforce the kind of national abortion ban the keener Republican moralists are proposing, writes Michael Kazin, a Georgetown University historian, "would require a very different citizenry from the one that inhabits 21st-century America."

It wouldn't take a whole lot of stories about "teenagers forced to bear children that resulted from rape and ... health workers jailed for helping desperate poor women end their pregnancies," Kazin thinks, to "make the anti-abortion movement seem more sadistic than virtuous."

True enough. But corruption-riddled and widely ignored as it was, legal prohibition lasted more than a decade, from 1920 to 1933. Some of us wonder if we have that long before the authoritarians have taken control.

Republicans wielding the Senate filibuster pretty much make it impossible, short term, to pass meaningful legislation restoring women's reproductive autonomy. So Democrats plan to make Republican lawmakers vote on smaller bills -- such as one preventing states from enforcing brazenly un-American laws that forbid women from traveling out of state to end unwanted pregnancies. Put GOP legislators on the record and make them defend their votes come November.

Will it work? Short term, doubtful.

Longer term? Well, it had better.

Arkansas Times columnist Gene Lyons is a National Magazine Award winner and co-author of "The Hunting of the President" (St. Martin's Press, 2000). You can email Lyons at eugenelyons2@yahoo.com.
(TBTCO) - Trao oi voi phong vien TBTCVN, TS. Nguyen Huu Huan - Truong bo mon Tai chinh thuoc Truong ai hoc Kinh te TP. Ho Chi Minh, cho biet boi canh kinh te nua cuoi nam 2022 a co nhung thay oi so voi nua au nam. Trong o, ap luc lam phat a giam bot. Vi vay, Ngan hang Nha nuoc nen can nhac viec noi han muc tang truong tin dung (room) e ho tro tang truong kinh te cuoi nam.
Late on Sunday afternoon, a large-scale fire rescue operation took place as a field caught fire between Christnach and Larochette.

Fire fighter crews from Waldbillig, Larochette, Beaufort, Lintgen, Fischbach, Medernach, Nommern, Ermsdorf, Bettendorf and Colmar-Berg attended the incident, alongside a group of people to evacuate any livestock. No injuries were reported.

Sunday proved to be a busy day for Luxembourg's fire fighters, with fires reported in Beyren and Mertzig on Sunday evening. No one was hurt in any of the incidents.

Meanwhile, two cars were involved in a collision in Niederfeulen at around 5.30pm, leaving one person injured.
The Tavares family lost everything in the fire that destroyed a cafe in Luxembourg City's Bonnevoie district. Less than a week after the life-changing event, they received notice that support from the municipality of Luxembourg City is nowhere near in sight.

Carlos Tavares, who has been living and working in Luxembourg for one year, remembers exactly how it happened. The fire started around 1.30am on July 16 and it was his sister Marcia who first noticed the flames and alerted the family to the imminent threat.

Since the fire affected the cafe on the ground floor of the building, the family was forced to escape through a window on the second floor. They left everything behind, recalls 25-year-old Tavares, still under shock: "I have not been able to sleep well since. As soon as I wake up, I immediately think about the fire. But it could have been worse. I had almost fallen asleep."

Tavares and his two sisters spent the night of the fire at their brother's place rather than opting to find shelter at one of the capital's Foyer homes. As it later turned out, this was a bad decision, as it means that they are no longer eligible for support.

Mila Tavares elaborates: "We later got there and they told us that they cannot help us. 'You have a job', they said, which surprised us. What if we did not have family nearby? Would we have been out on the street? ... We need help and we deserve help from here. But I've only been in Luxembourg for two months, I did not know this rule. We did not know how things work. I am still simply stunned."

The family now lives at a friend's place, sleeping on the couch and on mattresses on the floor.

According to Luxembourg City Alderman Maurice Bauer, there is no prospect of relocation, which has its reasons: "The family told us that they have a nearby solution. Then they returned to find accommodation with us since their alternative was not feasible long-term. Now we have to wait and see, when they came back we had no apartment at our disposal. We will sit down with them and try to find a solution for the future. But that is problematic due to the situation of our housing market. We are not in a position where we can say something to the effect of 'how many apartments do you need, we have enough'."

Family Tavares has now launched a call for donations. They already received clothes and are thankful for any money that people can spare. They hope to eventually use the money to cover the deposit of a new apartment.

Video report in Luxembourgish
The latest reports from the Grand Ducal Police show that two assaults took place last night, one of which involved a wheelchair user.

Shortly before 9pm on Monday, a person in a wheelchair was attacked and mugged at Place de la Gare in Luxembourg City. The victim was first pushed out off the chair before having all their money stolen. Over the course of the evening, police were able to identify a suspect.

In Differdange, a man was assaulted and mugged by a group of people around 6pm. The police were also able to identify suspects in this case soon after.

In Mondorf-les-Bains, police stopped a motorist who tried passing a queue of cars. Officers found that the driver was under the influence of drugs, which a test confirmed, and they further confiscated two joints.
On average, patients received care and support for 32 days in the facility for terminally ill individuals, according to the annual report of Omega 90.

The past year was once again marked by the coronavirus, while the demand for the services of the non-profit remained stable.

The management noticed that the length of stay at Omega 90 has decreased. According to Administrative Director Fabian Weiser, there are two reasons for this: First, people did not know that visitation rights were not restricted at Omega 90. The other reason, however, is that "people were very well cared for at home by the support and care networks".

1,100 people received psychological support from the Omega 90 services in 2021. 70% were adults, 30% children and adolescents. The non-profit points out that the youngest members of society also had to deal with death and grief during the pandemic. In this context, some of them could benefit from the Omega mecht Schoul ("Omega makes school") project. This project has existed for the past ten years and focussed so far on children in Cycle 3. In 2021, courses were also offered to children in Cycle 4, as Diane Duhr, the President of Omega 90, explained to our colleagues from RTL Tele.

During these classes, an Omega 90 contributor helps the children develop techniques that enable them to deal with their grief in a constructive way, which in turn helps them become "more resilient". "They learned what helps them when they feel sad and what they can do to get through this phase," Duhr explained.

The classes were taught by a volunteer worker of Omega 90, who previously worked as a certified teacher for over 30 years. She is one of 77 volunteers that supported the work of Omega 90 in 2021.

Omega 90 recently published a letter to Luxembourg's political parties, in which the non-profit presented three demands.

The PICT (instrument for determining the patient's palliative stage) should be included in the Grand Ducal regulation of 28 April 2009 specifying the procedures for granting the right to palliative care. Omega 90 also demands the introduction of mandatory further training of doctors and nursing staff, and an awareness campaign to promote the usefulness and benefits of a person of trust.

Director Nicole Weis pointed out that since the second law from 2009 on palliative care and euthanasia and the 2014 law on the rights and obligations of the patient, "the person of trust has taken on an important status". "Unfortunately, many people don't know that this concept exists," according to Weis.

Omega 90 also thinks that residents should be able to deposit their documents governing the will at the end of life, namely the ACP (advance care planning), somewhere. For the non-profit, the Shared Care Record (MyDSP) would be the ideal place. Until the platform is fully operational, Omega 90 proposes that residents should be able to save their documents on MyGuichet.

In 2021, Omega 90 had costs of around 6.8 million, 11% of which was funded through donations. The money from the National Health Fund (CNS) and the Ministry of Family Affairs is not enough to cover all costs, according to the non-profit.

The full report by RTL Tele (in Luxembourgish):
Shania Twain reflects on her life and career in a new documentary timed to the digital release of a compilation album. A History special explores the mysterious 2014 disappearance of Malaysian Airlines Flight 370, with 239 lost souls. What We Do in the Shadows visits a supernatural Night Market. A rival podcast puts the Only Murders in the Building heroes on the defensive.

Documentary Premiere

The country pop superstar looks back at the setbacks and many triumphs of her life and career in a documentary peppered with concert footage, video and session clips and testimonials from famous friends including Lionel Richie, Avril Lavigne and Kelsea Ballerini. Not so coincidentally, a compilation album including the title song will be released today.

Documentary Premiere 8/7c

Every aviation disaster invites scrutiny, but the fate of Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 is an enduring, frustrating enigma: After eight years, the remains still havent been found. An engrossing documentary from Vice Studios leans on experts and family members and colleagues of the 239 lost souls who were traveling from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in March 2014 when the aircraft vanished from flight-control screens. Theories abound including terrorism, intentional pilot error or depressurization and hypoxia. As one journalist notes, If we dont find this wreckage, this mystery will stay alive for the rest of time.

10/9c

And these little wacky vampires went to market. The underground Night Market, that is, a safe space for all of demon-kind, the setting for another uproarious episode of the supernatural comedy. While Nadja (Natasia Demetriou) haggles with vendors to find a solution to her wraith problem, human familiar Guillermo (Harvey Guillen) is put on the spot when his hereditary vampire-killer skills come in handy after hes caught up in a gladiator-style battle.

A gallery of guest stars elevates the humor in the Emmy-nominated comedy, with Jane Lynch returning as Charles (Steve Martin) former Brazzos stunt-double Sazz, whos enlisted to get her old buddy out of a sticky personal situation. Tina Fey is also back as the podcasters rival and nemesis, Cinda Canning, currently making things even more uncomfortable for a conflicted Mabel (Selena Gomez). And keep an eye out for a cameo from the indomitable Andrea Martin, whos stealing every one of her scenes on Evil this summer as the feisty Sister Andrea. Elsewhere, the Murders mystery plot leads to an eventful stakeout, and yet another cliffhanger.

Inside Tuesday TV:

Subway Series (7 pm/ET, TBS): The New York City heat wave has broken just in time for the start of a two-game set (continuing on Wednesday) between the Mets, on their Citi Field home turf in Queens, and the Yankees. (A rematch at Yankee Stadium is scheduled for August.)

(7 pm/ET, TBS): The New York City heat wave has broken just in time for the start of a two-game set (continuing on Wednesday) between the Mets, on their Citi Field home turf in Queens, and the Yankees. (A rematch at Yankee Stadium is scheduled for August.) Impractical Jokers Shark Week Spectacular (8/7, Discovery): The pranksters invade Shark Week with a special in which they challenge and dare each other to prove or disprove shark myths. Followed by Jaws vs Kraken (9/8c), Pigs vs Shark (10/9c) and Raging Bulls (11/10c).

(9/8c), (10/9c) and (11/10c). Edge of the Earth (9/8c, HBO): More like edge of the seat, as adventurers attempt a harrowing free-climb ascent of Pik Slesova in Kyrgyzstan.

Facing Eviction (10/9c, PBS, check local listings at pbs.org): A timely edition of Frontline looks at all sides of the eviction issue during the pandemic, from tenants and landlords to judges, when lost jobs and income led to rent relief and a federal ban on evictions, which didnt apply equally everywhere. With bans and relief funds expiring, the eviction crisis could hit a new inflection point.

(10/9c, PBS, check local listings at pbs.org): A timely edition of Frontline looks at all sides of the eviction issue during the pandemic, from tenants and landlords to judges, when lost jobs and income led to rent relief and a federal ban on evictions, which didnt apply equally everywhere. With bans and relief funds expiring, the eviction crisis could hit a new inflection point. Never Seen Again (streaming on Paramount+): The missing-persons docuseries returns for a second season, with loved ones hoping viewers will call in tips through an on-screen QR code.

Snake in the Grass (10/9c, NBC): A first-look sneak peek at a new reality series, bowing on USA on Aug. 1, features alums of Survivor and Naked and Afraid dropped into the wild for 36 hoursone of whom is the snake, a saboteur trying to block them from winning $100,000.

Street Food: USA (streaming on Netflix): The global food series goes stateside to explore delectable street eats in L.A., New York, New Orleans, Miami, Oahu and Portland.
Women are more likely to support Rep. Liz Cheney than men, but her Donald Trump-endorsed challenger Harriet Hageman still leads among both groups, a Casper Star-Tribune poll shows.

The congresswoman also performs better among newer residents of Wyoming and slightly better among younger people.

Cheneys approval rating among women is roughly 10 points higher than it is among men, according to the Star-Tribune poll released earlier this month. On the flip side, six in 10 women disapprove of the congresswoman compared to 72% of men.

The results were similar when respondents were asked who theyd vote for if the primary were held today, with 57% of men saying theyd vote for Hageman and 47% of women. Cheney flipped those numbers  26% of men chose the congresswoman compared to 34% of women.

The question is, why are Republican men more upset with Cheney than Republican women? said Cathy Connolly, D-Laramie, a state representative since 2009 and a professor of gender and womens studies at the University of Wyoming.

Of course we dont really know why, she said. Certainly we get the sense Republicans and particularly Republican men feel very betrayed by her, and its possible women on the other hand are looking more at the bigger picture  including her doing the right thing.

The poll, conducted for the Star-Tribune by Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy, surveyed 1,100 registered Wyoming voters likely to participate in the Republican primary, resulting in a margin of error of plus or minus 3%, according to Brad Coker, Mason-Dixon managing director. Of the respondents, 47% were women and 53% were men.

While the Cheney-Hageman race is one of the nations most closely watched, this is the first independent, public, in-state poll to be conducted. It was performed from July 7 to July 11  shortly after early voting began here.

The poll found that Hageman has a 22-point lead over Cheney among voters who plan to participate in the Republican primary.

Stephanie Murray voted for Cheney in the past. But the 41-year-old Wyoming native says she doesnt plan to vote for the congresswoman again. While she says she understands that Cheney had to pick a side when it comes to Trump and Jan. 6, Murray believes the congresswoman chose the wrong one.

I dont care for the decisions she made, Murray said.

Included in the poll were registered Democrats who plan to participate in the Republican primary, which is possible in Wyoming because same-day voter registration changes are permissible. Mason-Dixon Managing Director Brad Coker, who administered the poll, believes the inclusion of Democrats helped create the gender gap between the two candidates.

By bringing in crossover Democrats, who are disproportionately female, that pumps up the female number, Coker said.

Women are more likely to be Democrats, and men are more likely to vote Republican, both in Wyoming and nationally. But theres evidence that that gap may be tightening.

The gender gap between Cheney and Hageman voters would probably be there, but it wouldnt be as pronounced if Democrats had not been included, Coker theorized.

Trump also appears to have a tighter hold on Wyoming men compared to Wyoming women. The former presidents endorsement makes one-fourth of women more likely to vote for Hageman compared to 34% of men.

Trump having more support among men than women is kind of typical, Coker said. Trump seems to draw more support from men than women.

The poll results were also broken down by age. Hageman drew greater support from people age 50 or older.

Notably, age does not appear to have a significant impact on Cheneys disapproval ratings, while gender still does.

There is only a three-point difference between those over and under 50 who say they disapprove of the congresswoman. Meanwhile, 12% more men than women say they disapprove of her job performance.

With it being Hageman you dont have your basic kind of sexism compared to if a man was running against Cheney, Connolly said.

In Wyoming elections, a candidates length of residency frequently comes up. In fact, Hageman stresses that shes a deep-rooted and fourth-generation Wyomingite. Cheney, meanwhile, has been attacked as a carpetbagger throughout her political career here. While her family has deep roots in the state, Cheney as an adult moved to Wyoming a year before first running for office.

There is a notable gap in support for Hageman based on length of residency. Hageman led Cheney 55% to 29% among voters whove lived in the state for 10 years. Among voters whove been here for less than a decade, Cheney led 36% to 35%.

Cheneys vote to impeach the former president after the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol and her steady criticism of Trump as a threat to democracy and the rule of law have spurred the toughest reelection fight of her career. In September, Trump selected Hageman from several challengers as his pick to take on Cheney, who has become one of his biggest political enemies.

In her previous elections, Cheney has handily beat her primary opponent. And given that Wyoming is one of the nations most conservative states, the Republican House nominee often coasts to victory in the general election.
An emergency hearing to consider a temporary block on Wyomings abortion ban is scheduled for today, the same day the ban is set to go into effect.

Wyoming abortion providers, a Wyoming abortion fund and several Wyoming residents filed a lawsuit against the abortion ban in Teton County on Monday morning and requested a temporary restraining order, which would block its enforcement.

Wyoming abortion ban opponents file lawsuit to keep it from going into effect The plaintiffs argue the trigger ban violates the Wyoming Constitution's guarantee of the right to health care access.

Teton County District Court Judge Melissa Owens granted the plaintiffs request for the emergency hearing on the request later that day. The hearing will be held at 10 a.m. today.

The abortion ban, signed into law this past legislative session and triggered by the U.S. Supreme Courts reversal of Roe v. Wade in late June, would make nearly all abortions illegal, except in cases involving rape or incest, or if the mothers life or health is in serious danger.

People who provide an abortion under the ban could face a felony charge and up to 14 years in prison.

Gov. Mark Gordon certified the ban on Friday. By law, the ban is set to go into effect today, five days after the governors signature.

If granted, the temporary restraining order would stop the ban from being enforced for up to 14 days. That time can be extended later, if the judge decides the plaintiffs have shown its needed.

Theres no way to say that if they grant a temporary restraining order or injunction, that it means a party is going to win, said Casper civil litigator Alaina Stedillie, with Crowley Fleck PLLP. Its frankly on a case-by-case basis.

Eventually, the lawsuit states, the bans opponents would seek a permanent injunction that would declare the ban unconstitutional and unenforceable. But an injunction like that can only come after the case goes to trial or if the court decides the case on a pretrial motion.

The lawsuit will continue whether or not a pause on the ban is granted this week.

Wyoming's abortion ban poised to go into effect after governor certifies law Wyoming's abortion ban is set to go into effect in five days. Then, all abortions, except in cases involving rape or incest, or if the mothers life or health is in serious danger, will be illegal.

In 96 pages of affidavits, the plaintiffs argue that the ban violates the Wyoming Constitutions guarantee of the right to health care access and right to be left alone by the government.

They also argue that the ban would cause irreparable harm to Wyomingites and Wyoming abortion providers; under the ban, patients wont have access to life-saving procedures, or they might have to travel out of state for such care, and providers wouldnt be able to offer essential medical care to patients.

Abortion bans in other states have also been blocked. The abortion ban in Utah, which went into effect the same day as Roes reversal, was temporarily halted the following Monday after Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit against it.

Theres been talk of a potential legal challenge to Wyomings abortion trigger ban ever since the U.S. Supreme Court reversed Roe.

Abortion appointments from Utahns increase at Jackson clinic The Womens Health Center & Family Care Clinic of Jackson  the only clinic in Wyoming that provides abortion services  is feeling the regional impacts of abortion bans following the U.S. Supreme Courts reversal of Roe v. Wade on Friday.

On the same day of the decision, Wellspring Health Access Founder Julie Burkhart, one of the plaintiffs, said in a press conference that she was considering pursuing a lawsuit against Wyomings trigger ban.

Dr. Giovannina Anthony, another plaintiff who heads a Jackson clinic that, for months, was the only provider of abortion care, also said early on that she planned to join a lawsuit.

But not all the plaintiffs had planned to join a legal battle against the ban. Rene Hinkle, the Cheyenne OB-GYN who has testified before the Legislature numerous times about abortion-related bills, said the lawyers working on the lawsuit reached out to her just two weeks ago.

John Robinson and Marci Bramlet, from the law firm Robinson Welch Bramlet LLC, are representing the plaintiffs. The state of Wyoming, Gov. Mark Gordon, Wyoming Attorney General Bridget Hill, Teton County Sheriff Matthew Carr and Town of Jackson Chief of Police Michelle Weber are listed in the complaint as the defendants.
Wyoming joined the three other Upper Colorado River Basin states this week in telling federal officials they will take on additional water conservation efforts, but cannot commit to sending specific volumes of water to downstream states in 2023.

We stand ready to participate in and support efforts, across the Basin, to address the continuing dry hydrology and depleted storage conditions, Upper Colorado River Commission Executive Director Charles Cullom stated in a July 18 letter to the Bureau of Reclamation. The options the Upper Division States have available to protect critical reservoir elevations are limited.

The federal government in June asked for firm, voluntary water conservation commitments among all seven Colorado River Basin states that would keep an additional 2 million to 4 million acre feet of water flowing into Lake Powell and Lake Mead in 2023. Thats the estimated volume of additional water necessary to keep the levels at Powell and Mead high enough to continue generating hydroelectricity next year.

For comparison, the Flaming Gorge Reservoir straddling the Wyoming-Utah border has a storage capacity of 3.8 million acre feet of water.

If unsatisfied with the voluntary commitments, the Bureau of Reclamation and Interior Department are prepared to use their federal authority to implement mandatory water conservation actions, according to Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Camille Touton. Touton issued the challenge to Colorado River Basin states in June, giving them 60 days to submit their voluntary water savings commitments. States have until Aug. 15 to respond.

But for Wyoming, one of the four Upper Basin states along with Utah, Colorado and New Mexico, its impossible to either quantify or guarantee a specific volume of water savings under the ongoing Colorado River Drought Response Operations Plan, according to Wyoming State Engineer Brandon Gebhart.

Mother Nature is the biggest reason behind that, he said. As a headwaters state, Wyomings role in the Colorado River system is that of a supplier, and that supply varies wildly depending on seasonal snowfall, evaporation and soil moisture  even more so than volumes of water used by ag producers, industry and municipalities.

We really are unable to commit to any specific volumes by the deadline [Aug. 15], Gebhart said. The [water supply estimating] process requires forecasting data that isnt available until late winter and early spring of 2023.

Further, Gebhart added, the federal government lacks the authority to force those with water rights in Wyoming to curtail their water use, and the state is reluctant to do so because it would require coordination among thousands of water rights users. We would much rather have the water rights users decide how they want to be involved than for us to go in and regulate.

Wyoming and other Upper Colorado River Basin states should feel an obligation to do a better job of accounting for their water use compared to seasonal water availability, Great Basin Water Network Executive Director Kyle Roerink said. That would help those states set more specific targets in contributing to the system-wide drought response plan.

For right now, the response from the Upper Basin states has been hell no, were not giving up a drop, Roerink said.

The continuing climate change-driven aridification across much of the West has depleted Colorado River reservoirs to historic lows, threatening hydroelectric power generation and water supplies to some 40 million people who rely on the river system. The surface elevation at Lake Powell fell to 3,522 feet in June, the lowest since construction of the Glen Canyon Dam in the 1960s. Water intake ducts at the dams hydroelectric power station would no longer function if the lakes surface level reaches 3,490 feet, according to the Bureau of Reclamation.

Increasing demand for water throughout the southwest combined with climate forecasts suggest the situation will only become worse for those dependent on the river system.

The conditions we see today, and the potential risks we see on the horizon, demands that we take prompt action. Interior Department Assistant Secretary Tanya Trujillo told reporters in May.

The Bureau of Reclamation owns and operates a large complex of reservoirs along the Colorado River and its tributaries that serve as a water banking system. That includes the Flaming Gorge Reservoir on the Green River in Wyoming and Utah. The Green River, the chief tributary to the Colorado River, originates in the Wind River Range, flows to Flaming Gorge Reservoir, then connects with the Colorado River in Canyonlands National Park in Utah.

In June, the Bureau of Reclamation announced it would release an extra 500,000 acre feet of water from Flaming Gorge Reservoir this year, dropping the surface level by an estimated 15 feet sometime in the fall. The agency also plans to withhold 480,000 acre feet of water in Lake Powell, while Colorado River Lower Basin users agreed to increased water conservation measures.

Federal and state officials worry that more drastic measures may be required to maintain critical water levels at Lake Powell and Lake Mead next year and for the foreseeable future.

Despite the actions taken by the [Bureau of Reclamation], significant and additional conservation actions are required to protect the Colorado River system infrastructure and the long-term stability of the system, Commissioner Touton testified to the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources in June.

Rather than committing to sending specific volumes of water downstream, the four Upper Basin states say they need the Interiors help in pushing Congress to reauthorize the 2014 System Conservation Pilot Project. The program offered payments to water rights users who voluntarily cut back on their normal water diversions.

[Reauthorization] is a Congressional action, Gebhart said. And because [the SCPP program] is voluntary, we dont know what amount of participation will occur.

U.S. Sens. John Barrasso, R-Wyoming, and John Hickenlooper, D-Colorado, said they would bring a reauthorization bill to the Energy and Natural Resources Committee this month.

Other elements of the Upper Colorado River Commissions counter-offer, or 5 Point Plan, include asking the federal government to fund better water measurement, monitoring and reporting tools. Combined with reauthorizing the SCPP, Wyoming and other Upper Colorado River Basin states can build a more permanent program to manage water demand, according to Gebhart and the Wyoming Attorney Generals Office.

Setting up a comprehensive conservation plan is the best Wyoming can offer for now, said Chris Brown, Wyoming Senior Assistant Attorney General for the offices water division.

Its something we can do to try to help the system within the time period that the [Bureau of Reclamation] commissioner asked for, Brown said. Well set that up and do what we can to try to incentivize reductions in use.

Committing specific volumes of water savings is logistically impossible to do by the Aug. 15 deadline, he added.

Meanwhile, Gebhart said he and other Wyoming officials will continue to work within Gov. Mark Gordons Colorado River Working Group and with all the Colorado River Basin stakeholders in figuring out how Wyoming can help stabilize the river system under worsening conditions.
THE recent, and perhaps ongoing, difference of opinion between Caribbean Airlines Ltd (CAL) and the Tobago House of Assemblyover the limitations on the national air carriers service on the Tobago routeled me to question whether CAL needs to be responsible for the domestic airbridge.
Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily!

Your notification has been saved.

There was a problem saving your notification.

{{description}}

Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
The magical charm of the Manzanilla-to-Mayaro vista is not the only gift of nature that could be lost to future generations. Natural phenomena combined with the human-induced impacts of climate change are already altering our lives, and are projected to do so in even more drastic and dramatic ways within the lifetimes of most people alive today.
Michael Franti and Spearhead will be back in Tucson on Tuesday, Aug. 2, ready to transform the warm Arizona dusk into one of those nights.

One of those nights involves a lot of making it up as he goes along, the rapper said.

Sometimes I change the setlist during the show, like after the first (song) I change the next five or six songs, Franti said during an interview in late June to talk about his band Michael Franti & Spearheads Rialto Theatre concert. My crew looks at me and is like, Uh-oh, this is one of those nights. Those are usually the best nights.

The Oakland, California, artist, in his first Tucson concert since he played the Rialto Theatre in 2018, said his show criss-crosses his 36-year career including his just released album Follow Your Heart.

To be honest, every night I just go with my mood and go with what I feel like playing, he explained. It always feels fresh to me.

You can picture him smiling as he talks about being back on the scene after two complicated years during which he was forced to play far from his beloved fans.

I went from being a musician who, for the last 30 years, traveled the world, to an unemployed musician, Franti said. Right when the pandemic hit, I got a call from my manager saying, You know Michael, the tour is going to be postponed for 30 days. And I was like, Are you kidding me? Thirty days? What are we going to do? And very quickly we realized the whole tour was going to be canceled. I was sad for 24 hours and then the next day I woke up and I was like, (Expletive), this, lets just do it online. We started with just one camera and by the end of it we had a team of five cameras and lights. I enjoyed it.

Now Franti cant wait to embrace real people once again, although the pandemic hit him and his family pretty hard.

My wife and I own a hotel in Bali and we always thought, you know, if touring ever goes bad, at least we have the hotel to rely on. But then, of course, no one came to the hotel, Franti said. In the middle of it, my father had COVID for a couple of months and then passed away.

That terrible event inspired Franti in writing Follow your heart, which came out on June 3. In Brighter Day he sings Dont give up when your heart is weary, dont give up when your eyes are teary, dont give up when your voice is trembling, when your life needs mending, a hymn that aims to be a house light against the dark moments in life.

Its been a challenging time the last couple of years, but through it all, I found beauty in it, he said. Everyone in the world had to stop for a moment and ask why am I living? Is there anything I can do to feel more fulfilled in life? So all the songs in the album are cheerful songs, but they speak also about a complexity of what the world is going through.

Brighter Day fully represents how music has a healing effect on him.

Throughout my whole life I had to fight depression and anxiety and I had to find ways to counter that, Franti said. Music changes my mood. My writing is a way to process whatever is happening in my life.

Not just the pandemic, but also the war in Ukraine touched Franti deeply, and inspired the songwriter in his new body of work.

The war has eaten my soul, said Franti, who headlined the Oro Valley Music Festival in 2017. ... In my mind, somehow, I felt we were past that one nation invading another nation, but we are not, and the reminder makes me very sad and angry.

Follow your heart has debuted well on the charts, with lead single Good Day For A Good Day marking the bands 10th Top-25 hit.

Franti cant wait to be back in Tucson, a place with which he goes really far back in time.

I remember playing at Rialto many, many years ago and there was nothing around there, just a Greyhound bus station, he said. Now its grown up so much, there are so many amazing restaurants, shops, stores, bars  The thing that I like the most is driving in the city. Seeing the desert, the beauty of the nature. I remember when I was a kid we were driving through Arizona with my family. My adopted father was driving the car. And I said, Im bored. And he was like, Why? I said, Theres nothing to look at out of the window. He pulled over and he said, Come with me. He showed me cacti, rocks, the nature. He showed me theres another way to look at things and appreciate the beauty of it.

Tickets for the 8 p.m. Rialto show, 318 E. Congress St., are $48-$53 through rialtotheatre.com.
Scottsdale resident William Acorn had made occasional donations to conservative candidates in the past but never considered himself an avid political person.

That changed in 2020, after a flurry of emails from then-President Donald Trumps campaign begging supporters to step up and give us the resources to challenge Democrats plans to count ILLEGAL ballots. Acorn became one of tens of thousands of Arizonans who responded with almost 35,000 individual donations to Trumps Election Defense Fund.

The only problem is, no such fund existed.

The campaign actually funneled most of the Election Defense Fund donations to Trumps then-new Save America political action committee, said Amanda Wick, senior investigative counsel for the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., said the Trump campaign misled donors, what she called in a June committee hearing a big rip off.

Acorn, for one, is not feeling ripped off.

I do believe it was stolen, he said of the 2020 election. I believe that people really dont understand the underlying issues going on in this country. This country is being hijacked by ultra-, ultra-liberal elitists.

Acorn, who called the Jan. 6 investigation absolute nonsense, said he bumped up his political contributions after Trumps appeal. Federal Election Commission records show that he had donated $712 to Save America PAC and $5,850 to other Trump-affiliated fundraising committees since September 2016.

That was part of the $1.51 million given by thousands of Arizonans to the Save America PAC, according to the FEC data. Nationally, the political action committee had received $45.28 million contributions from individual donors from late 2020 through June 30, 2022.

Scottsdale led all Arizona cities for donations, giving $247,582, with donors from Phoenix and Tucson close behind. Retirees were by far the biggest group of Arizona donors, accounting for 56% of all contributions from the state to the Save America PAC.

Arizona ranked fifth among states for the total donated, trailing only the much-larger states of California, Texas, Florida and New York, the FEC said.

Save America has disbursed millions of its donations to pro-Trump organizations and other services  including $59,953 for car rentals, $2.1 million to the Trump Hotel and $5,000 to the Kari Lake for Arizona campaign, according to the FEC.

Theoretically, they would and should be upset by that, Frank Gonzalez, a political scientist at the University of Arizona, said of Trump donors. But theyd sort of be saying, Hey, the Big Lie, was just a lie. Democracy was not threatened.

Gonzalez said most of the donors probably saw Trump as just this guy trying to use whatever tools at his disposal to maintain power at all costs, even if it wasnt in the best interest of the majority. A lot of these people, they dont care whether it was in the best interest of the majority.

Whatever their thinking, Trumps haul from Arizona is testament to his continuing popularity in the state, said one Republican consultant.

Its clear that President Trump still is very popular amongst a large segment of the Republican Party, said Chad Willems, a partner at Phoenix-based Summit Consulting Group. Theres a perhaps smaller segment out there that believes the election was stolen.

Willems, who has worked with prominent Republicans like Joe Arpaio, said Trumps team continues to be a force to be reckoned with for its ability to capitalize on politically charged events to bring in donations.

The Trump efforts have really sucked all the money up out there, Willems said. Theyre very, very aggressive, very consistent in their fundraising appeals. And theyre going after that grassroots crowd that contributes to causes like this.

That can not only make it hard for other candidates to raise funds, but it gives greater weight to Trump endorsements, which are highly sought after and can help a candidate in a crowded field stand out.

Arizonans sent Save America PAC $469,460 in the months immediately after the 2020 election. The giving continued in 2021 and 2022, when donations from the state added another $1 million to the PACs coffers. Donations surged in October, one month after the Republican-led audit of Maricopa County election results found that President Joe Biden actually won more votes than originally reported.

Humans are very emotional beings, and they are motivated to believe certain things because it feels comfortable, Gonzalez said of the donors motivation.

It gives you anxiety to think that the things you believe are wrong and so they will do whats necessary, he said. Perception is reality. So they will selectively attend to the facts that fit their worldview.

Acorn said he knows that both Republicans and Democrats have had corruption. But he intends to keep on giving to Trump and conservative causes because he thinks its the right thing to do.
Two brothers were shot and killed during a confrontation at an east-side apartment complex on Sunday night, Tucson police said.

Shortly before midnight, officers were sent to a complex in the 7400 block of East 22nd Street, near South Kolb Road, for reports of a shooting. There they found two men with gunshot wounds.

One of the men was pronounced dead at the scene. He was identified Monday as Michael Espinoza, 34. Officers rendering first aid to the other man who was taken to St. Joseph's Hospital with life-threatening wounds. Shortly after arriving at the hospital, the man was pronounced dead. He was identified as Mark Espinoza, 30.

While at the shooting scene, officers were contacted by an adult male who told the officers he was involved in the incident, police said.

Detectives later determined that the Espinoza brothers were part of a group that had a verbal confrontation with the man who later contacted police. The confrontation turned physical and gunshots were fired, striking the Espinoza brothers.

Currently, there are no outstanding suspects. Detectives are asking anyone who may have witnessed the shooting to call 911 or 88-CRIME. Police did not release any other details about the shooting.

There have been 46 homicides inside the city limits this year, compared to 51 at this time last year, police said.

Man wanted in Tucson shooting dead in apparent suicide A 27-year-old was shot to death at a midtown apartment complex early Saturday morning. The suspect died a day later in an apparent suicide, Tucson police said.

Teen arrested in deadly shooting at Tucson Circle K store An 18-year-old was arrested in the fatal shooting of a 25-year-old man on Tucson's south side earlier this month.

TUSD to make security changes in response to national school violence Tucson Unified School District is assessing campuses for safety needs and will enact new measures for school visitors, its superintendent says.
PHOENIX  Arizona taxpayers will pick up the tab for attorneys hired by Republican lawmakers who successfully killed a 2020 voter-approved plan to tax the states wealthiest residents to fund education.

In a new ruling, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge John Hannah said Arizona law entitles the lawyers hired by Senate President Karen Fann, House Speaker Rusty Bowers and others to some compensation for their work in blocking Proposition 208 from taking effect.

But Hannah rejected as unwarranted the claims by 11 attorneys working at four separate firms that they should get nearly $1 million. And he chided them for also seeking to recoup the costs of routine online legal research and photocopies.

Potentially more significant, the judge said none of the $250,000 he is awarding in legal fees will have to come from Invest in Arizona, the group that put the measure on the 2020 ballot, even though its lawyers did most of the legal work in defending the initiative.

Hannah said giving the firms hired by the legislative leaders what they want  and taking the money from the initiative supporters  would conflict with the fundamental right of the people to legislative by initiative.

Such an award would have an unacceptably chilling effect on the ability and willingness of Arizona citizens to propose, advocate for and defend the initiatives that the executive and legislative branches of the state might oppose, the judge wrote. This is especially true when, as in this case, the citizens who support the initiative have no direct financial stake in its enactment.

That leaves taxpayers to pick up the tab for the successful challenge to Proposition 208, even though a majority of 2020 voters approved the measure.

Bowers: Poke in the eye at us

Hannahs ruling drew derision from Bowers, who said Republican legislative leaders and others sued because they believed Proposition 208 was unconstitutional.

Only thing is, they could not sue Invest in Arizona. Instead, they had to sue the Department of Revenue to block the agency from collecting the voter-approved tax.

But Bowers said the blame lies with  and the legal fees should come from Invest in Arizona for proposing a measure that the Supreme Court eventually found to be unconstitutional.

We went after them because of what it was doing to us, Bowers said, saying the plan to tax only the most wealthy to raise more money for K-12 education was a bad idea for Arizona. He called it disappointing that Hannah decided the state and its taxpayers must pay the bill.

This particular judge is kind of a free spirit, Bowers said, adding that other judges might have reached a different conclusion. Its kind of a poke in the eye at us.

Hannah, however, said theres a good reason to make the state liable for the legal fees.

He said it was the states responsibility, as the named defendant, to make the best legal arguments defending Proposition 208 once it was approved by voters. In fact, Hannah said, the private attorney hired by the Attorney Generals Office focused only on narrow technical legal issues and never addressed the key constitutional question on which the case eventually was decided.

Had Invest in Arizona not intervened, Prop. 208 would have effectively gone undefended on its merits, the judge said. He said it was the organizations attorneys who did most of the heavy lifting in defense of Proposition 208.

Fann: Taxpayers truly won

The fight over the legal fees is all thats left of Proposition 208.

It would have imposed a 3.5% tax surcharge on the incomes of those making more than $250,000  double that for married couples filing jointly  to raise about $900 million for K-12 education.

After foes were unsuccessful in knocking it off the ballot, voters approved the plan by a margin of 51.7%. That resulted in the lawsuit by several Republican lawmakers along with individuals who said their incomes were high enough that the proposal affected them.

Hannah initially upheld the measure. But he was overruled by the Arizona Supreme Court, which said there was no legal way to spend the money Proposition 208 would have raised because it bumped up against a constitutional aggregate expenditure limit on education.

That left it up to Hannah to decide whether it was appropriate to award legal fees to the challengers.

Fann said the lawsuit was justified, regardless of who picks up the tab for the attorneys she and Bowers hired.

The taxpayers truly won because of the millions of dollars we save them in taxes, she said.

Fann rejected the idea that really the only ones who are saving money by killing Proposition 208 are the richest, as the measure did not affect anyone with taxable income of less than $250,000 a year.

All taxpayers win, she said.

Invest in Arizona is not entirely off the financial hook. The judge said the organization is jointly liable with the state for about $3,300 in costs.

That may be about all it can afford: The most recent financial disclosure statements showed Invest in Arizona has less than $1,800 in available cash.

Andrew Gaona, who has been representing Invest in Arizona, said he could not comment on who has been paying the legal bills and other expenses incurred by his law firm.

Separately, Hannah said the state  and only the state  is liable for $30,700 that the challengers spent on hiring a school finance expert.

But he said there is no justification for the challengers attorneys to recoup expenses for online legal research and routine photocopy charges. Big law firms almost certainly pay bulk rates for those services, as opposed to the premium prices that they charge their clients, Hannah said.

RELATED:

Lawyers who helped kill education tax seek $1M in legal fees For Star subscribers: Attorneys who helped put an end to voter-approved Prop. 208, which would have taxed the wealthiest in Arizona to pay for schools, are trying to collect in legal fees that state taxpayers would like need to cover.

Judge blocks voter-approved surcharge on wealthy to fund Ariz. education The judge, expressing frustration with his lack of options, said Friday there is no legal way for Proposition 208's funds to be spent due to a cap on education spending.
A University of Arizona scientist was part of an international research team that has concluded the COVID-19 virus originated with live animals sold at the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan, China.

Michael Worobey, who is a virus evolution expert at the UA, co-authored two peer-reviewed scientific papers published Tuesday in the journal Science that explain these findings.

The first paper focuses on the geographic patterns of the virus in its earliest known period of human transmission: December 2019. Using data gathered by Chinese researchers for the World Health Organization, the authors found that nearly all of the 174 cases (155) from that time originated in Wuhan, and specifically near the Huanan Market.

According to Worobeys and his colleagues findings, many of those early COVID-19 patients had no known interactions with the market but lived nearby.

Thats consistent with the idea that the virus originated in that specific market. Vendors got infected at the market, and as they brought goods to the surrounding community, it spread.

In this 8,000-square-kilometer city, there was this very small area  about a one-third of a kilometer square  smack dab in the middle, Worobey said at a virtual news conference Tuesday. If you understand that, you understand that theres a very, very strong case that the Huanan market was the epicenter.

Later cases, however, were more concentrated around the highest population centers in the city of 11 million people. That change in trend suggests that by that point, the highly transmissible virus had spread from its epicenter at the market to the most densely populated areas across the city.

You really need a big city for a virus like this to take hold and become a pandemic, said Worobey, who explained that an area with a small population wouldnt have been conducive to the COVID-19 virus rapid spread. This is a virus you should expect to emerge in a big city, not a rural place.

A second paper published Tuesday found that the viruss spread from animals to humans likely occurred in two separate instances, from two separate viral lineages, in late November 2019.

Both of those independent events are believed to have happened at the Huanan market, possibly originating from two different species of animals sold there.

What about the lab-leak theory?

To date, the COVID-19 virus has killed 6.4 million people across the globe, including more than 1 million Americans and 29,000 Arizonans.

In the nearly three years since the pandemic took hold, pundits, politicians and social media personalities have offered their speculation about where the virus originated.

One popular, but unsubstantiated, theory is that the pandemic happened after the virus leaked from a Chinese lab.

In May 2021, Worobey and 17 other scientists published a letter, also in the journal Science, calling on the scientific community to take hypotheses about both natural and laboratory spillovers seriously until we have sufficient data.

More than a year later, Worobey is more confident than ever that the so-called lab leak theory is a dead end.

At that point, we didnt have a lot of the evidence we do now, Worobey said Tuesday. It has moved me to the point where I also think its just not plausible that this virus was introduced any other way than through the wildlife trade at the Huanan market.

His co-author, Kristian Andersen, a professor at Scripps Research in San Diego, agreed.

Have we disproven the lab leak theory? No, we have not. Will we ever be able to? No, he said. Andersen added that formal, definitive proofs as they exist in mathematics rarely exist in biology.

But Andersen also cleared up another misconception about what scientists do know about the COVID-19 virus.

There is this general sense that theres no data whatsoever that can tell us anything about the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is just untrue, Andersen said. These two papers in particular say we do have a lot of evidence  importantly, unfiltered early evidence  that tells us a lot about the origin of this particular pandemic.

All of that evidence tells us the same thing. It points right to the market in the middle of Wuhan.

Moving forward, Worobey, Andersen and the many other scientists who are working to further understand the origins and behavior of this pandemic still have unanswered questions.

But to find those answers, Andersen said, the global community will need to stay focused on its end goal.

Importantly, all of this is only possible if we focus on the collaborative aspect of this, Andersen said. If we are trying to place blame for a pandemic, none of this work is ever going to happen.

RELATED:

Arizona researcher provides more proof COVID came from market, not lab New data strongly suggests COVID-19 jumped to humans from a wild animal sold at a Wuhan meat market, not from a Chinese germ lab, says a prominent University of Arizona researcher who specializes in the origins of outbreaks.

Tim Steller's column: UA scientist rebuts 'lab leak' theory in new research on pandemic origins It's an intriguing coincidence that the COVID-19 pandemic started in a city with a virology lab studying similar viruses. But a Tucsonan's new research shows a more compelling coincidence.

New Arizona-led study shows coronavirus began to spread in U.S. later than previously thought Led by a University of Arizona researcher, the study suggests public health officials had even more time to implement aggressive measures to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

Then and Now: UA campus in 50s, 60s, 70s and today University of Arizona campus, 1965 University of Arizona campus, 2016 University of Arizona campus, 1965 University of Arizona campus, 2016 University of Arizona campus, 1966 University of Arizona campus, 2016 University of Arizona campus, 1965 University of Arizona campus, 2016 University of Arizona campus, 1971 University of Arizona campus, 2016 University of Arizona campus, 1972 University of Arizona campus, 2016 University of Arizona campus, 1976 University of Arizona campus, 2016 University of Arizona campus, 1968 University of Arizona campus, 2016 University of Arizona campus, 1966 University of Arizona campus, 2016 University of Arizona campus, 1971 University of Arizona campus, 2016 University of Arizona campus, 1972 University of Arizona campus, 2016 University of Arizona campus, 1965 University of Arizona campus, 2016 University of Arizona campus, 1982 University of Arizona campus, 2016 University of Arizona campus, 1965 University of Arizona campus, 2016 University of Arizona campus, 1966 University of Arizona campus, 2016 University of Arizona campus, 1966 University of Arizona campus, 2016 University of Arizona campus, 1965 University of Arizona campus, 2016 University of Arizona campus, 1971 University of Arizona campus, 2016 University of Arizona campus, 1965 University of Arizona campus, 2016 University of Arizona campus, 1959 University of Arizona campus, 2016 University of Arizona campus, 1965 University of Arizona campus, 2016
MINNEAPOLIS (AP)  The teenage cousin of Amir Locke was sentenced to more than 16 years on Monday for his role in a January murder that prompted police to execute a no-knock warrant on the Minneapolis apartment where Locke was killed by a SWAT team officer.

Mekhi Speed, 18, pleaded guilty in May to aiding and abetting second-degree unintentional murder while committing a felony  namely aggravated robbery  in connection with the Jan. 10 killing of 38-year-old Otis Elder.

Speed, who was 17 when Elder was shot, told the court during his plea hearing that he had a handgun when he and others tried to rob Elder of drugs in St. Paul, and there was a struggle and a shot was fired. Speed said he had no memory of pulling the trigger and didn't know if his accomplice was armed.

As St. Paul police were investigating Elders murder, they identified Speed as a suspect and obtained search warrants for Minneapolis apartments associated with him. Locke, Speeds cousin, was not a target of the investigation and was not named in the warrants, but he was in one of the apartments as a Minneapolis SWAT team entered the unit without knocking on Feb. 2.

Video shows Locke, 22, who was Black, was shot seconds after police entered the apartment before 7 a.m. He was on a sofa wrapped in a comforter, and video shows he was holding a gun in the moments before he was shot. Police said he was shot after he pointed his gun in the direction of officers, but Lockes family has questioned that, and said he was startled awake.

Minnesota prosecutors declined to file charges the against Officer Mark Hanneman, saying his use of deadly force was justified. Locke's killing sparked protests and a reexamination of no-knock search warrants.
MASKWACIS, Alberta (AP)  Pope Francis issued a historic apology Monday for the Catholic Church's cooperation with Canada's "catastrophic" policy of Indigenous residential schools, saying the forced assimilation of Native peoples into Christian society destroyed their cultures, severed families and marginalized generations.

"I am deeply sorry," Francis said to applause from school survivors and Indigenous community members gathered at a former residential school south of Edmonton, Alberta. He called the school policy a "disastrous error" that was incompatible with the Gospel and said further investigation and healing is needed.

"I humbly beg forgiveness for the evil committed by so many Christians against the Indigenous peoples," Francis said.

In the first event of his weeklong "penitential pilgrimage," Francis traveled to the lands of four Cree nations to pray at a cemetery and then deliver the long-sought apology at nearby powwow ceremonial grounds. Four chiefs escorted the pontiff in a wheelchair to the site near the former Ermineskin Indian Residential School, and presented him with a feathered headdress after he spoke, making him an honorary leader of the community.

Francis' words went beyond his earlier apology for the "deplorable" abuses committed by missionaries and instead took institutional responsibility for the church's cooperation with Canada's "catastrophic" assimilation policy, which the country's Truth and Reconciliation Commission said amounted to a "cultural genocide."

More than 150,000 native children in Canada were forced to attend government-funded Christian schools from the 19th century until the 1970s in an effort to isolate them from the influence of their homes and culture. The aim was to Christianize and assimilate them into mainstream society, which previous Canadian governments considered superior.

Ottawa has admitted that physical and sexual abuse was rampant at the schools, with students beaten for speaking their native languages. That legacy of that abuse and isolation from family has been cited by Indigenous leaders as a root cause of the epidemic rates of alcohol and drug addiction now on Canadian reservations.

The discoveries of hundreds of potential burial sites at former schools in the past year drew international attention to the schools in Canada and their counterparts in the United States. The revelations prompted Francis to comply with the truth commission's call for an apology on Canadian soil; Catholic religious orders operated 66 of the country's 139 residential schools.

Reflecting the conflicting emotions of the day, some in the crowd wept as Francis spoke, while others applauded or stayed silent listening to his words, delivered in his native Spanish with English translations. Others chose not to attend at all.

"I've waited 50 years for this apology, and finally today I heard it," survivor Evelyn Korkmaz said. "Part of me is rejoiced, part of me is sad, part of me is numb." She added, however, that she had hoped to hear a "work plan" from the pope on what he would do next to reconcile, including releasing church files on children who died at the schools.

Many in the crowd wore traditional dress, including colorful ribbon skirts and vests with Native motifs. Others donned orange shirts, which have become a symbol of school survivors, recalling the story of one woman whose beloved orange shirt, a gift from her grandmother, was confiscated at a school and replaced with a uniform.

"It's something that is needed, not only for people to hear but for the church to be accountable," said Sandi Harper, who traveled with her sister and a church group from Saskatchewan in honor of their late mother, who attended a residential school.

"He recognizes this road to reconciliation is going to take time, but he is really on board with us," she said, calling the apology "genuine."

Despite the solemnity of the event, the atmosphere seemed at times joyful: Chiefs processed into the site venue to a hypnotic drumbeat, elders danced and the crowd cheered and chanted war songs, victory songs and finally a healing song. Participants paraded a long red banner through the grounds bearing the names of more than 4,000 children who died at or never came home from residential schools; Francis later kissed it.

"I wasn't disappointed. It was quite a momentous occasion," said Phil Fontaine, a residential school survivor and former chief of the Assembly of First Nations who went public with his story of sexual abuse in the 1990s.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who last year apologized for the "incredibly harmful government policy," also attended, along with other officials.

As part of a lawsuit settlement involving the government, churches and approximately 90,000 survivors, Canada paid reparations that amounted to billions of dollars being transferred to Indigenous communities. Canada's Catholic Church says its dioceses and religious orders have provided more than $50 million in cash and in-kind contributions and hope to add $30 million more over the next five years.

While the pope acknowledged blame, he also made clear that Catholic missionaries were merely cooperating with and implementing the government policy, which he termed the "colonizing mentality of the powers." Notably he didn't refer to 15th-century papal decrees that provided religious backing to European colonial powers in the first place.

Jeremy Bergen, a church apology expert and professor of religious and theological studies at Conrad Grebel University College in Waterloo, Ontario, said Francis made clear he was asking forgiveness for the actions of "members of the church" but not the institution in its entirety.

"The idea is that, as the Body of Christ, the church itself is sinless," he said via email.

"So when Catholics do bad things, they are not truly acting on behalf of the church," Bergen added, noting it's a controversial idea on which many Catholic theologians disagree.

Francis said the schools marginalized generations, suppressed Indigenous languages, led to physical, verbal, psychological and spiritual abuse and "indelibly affected relationships between parents and children, grandparents and grandchildren." He called for further investigation, a possible reference to demands for further access to church records and personnel files of priests and nuns to identify perpetrators of abuses.

"Although Christian charity was not absent, and there were many outstanding instances of devotion and care for children, the overall effects of the policies linked to the residential schools were catastrophic," Francis said. "What our Christian faith tells us is that this was a disastrous error, incompatible with the Gospel of Jesus Christ."

The first pope from the Americas was determined to make this trip, even though torn knee ligaments forced him to cancel a visit to Africa earlier this month.

The six-day visit  which also includes stops in Quebec City and Iqaluit, Nunavut, in the far north  follows meetings Francis held in the spring at the Vatican with First Nations, Metis and Inuit delegations. Those encounters culminated with Francis' apology April 1 for "deplorable" abuses at residential schools and a promise to do so again on Canadian soil.

Francis recalled that one of the delegations gave him a set of beaded moccasins as a symbol of children who never came back from the schools, and asked him to return them in Canada. Francis said in these months they "kept alive my sense of sorrow, indignation and shame" but that in returning them he hoped they can also represent a path to walk together.

Event organizers had mental health counselors on hand Monday, knowing the event could be traumatic for some people.

Later Monday, Francis visited Sacred Heart Church of the First Peoples, an Edmonton parish whose sanctuary was dedicated last week after being restored from a fire. The church incorporates Indigenous language and customs in liturgy, and both were on display during the event, with folksongs and drums and providing the backdrop to the pope's visit.

___

Associated Press writers Rob Gillies in Toronto and Holly Meyer in Nashville, Tennessee, contributed.

___
This advertorial is sponsored content provided by the advertiser and printed as is. Any claims, recommendations or errors are the advertisers own and the reader is responsible for evaluating all information contained herein. The reader is responsible for complying with any applicable Terms of Use for Instagram and any other sites.

How many Instagram followers do you have? Do you want more?

There are many ways to increase your engagement on Instagram. The easiest way to increase engagement is when you buy Instagram followers. From there, you can easily engage with a larger audience.

Some websites intend to steal your credit card information or hack into your accounts. It is necessary to choose reliable platforms when making online purchases. That is especially true when shopping for non-tangible things like when you buy Instagram followers.

Here is a list of the seven best and most trustworthy websites that provide many options for buying Instagram followers. They all provide high quality followers.

Not all are active followers but that doesnt mean they are fake Instagram followers. It just means they do not post or necessarily engage with your content beyond the follow:

StormLikes is convenient, easy to use, and offers a wide range of options for boosting engagement from real Insta users and not bot followers.

Price per Follower

The price per follower on Stormlikes is the same as on likes.io including the differences between high-quality and premium followers.

The cheapest package per follower is their 5,000 high-quality follower package that sells at a little under 0.8 per follower. Their most expensive package per follower is their 100 premium follower package which prices each follower at a little under 4.

Options

Stormlikes also has the option to choose between high-quality and premium followers.

High-quality followers are real people. They are delivered either gradually or instantly (as chosen by you) and at no point in the process do they require a password. If you run into any problems, they offer 24/7 live support.

Their premium followers include all of the features above. They also include lifetime refills in case one of the purchased follower un-follows and the accounts are active meaning that they could engage with your content.

Guarantees/Features

When you select premium followers you are redirected to likes.io which is why there are so many similarities between the two sites. Which you use is up to personal preference but they function within the same system.

With a safe and affordable service, Likes is a great option for making your Instagram account stand out.

Price per Follower

When you buy followers on Instagram with Likes you are given a few package choices. They fall between 100 and 25,000 followers.

You can also pick whether you want high-quality followers or premium followers. That changes the price.

The most expensive package is $299.95 for 25,000 premium followers. The cheapest package is $2.97 for 100 high-quality followers.

Options

This site allows buyers to choose between high-quality followers and premium followers. None of these followers are bots. They all have their own content and followers.

Premium followers are more active and likely to engage with your account. When you purchase premium followers you also get lifetime refills for any accounts that get taken down or un-follow you later on.

The cheapest option per high-quality follower is their 5,000 follower package which is less than 0.8 per follower. The smallest package (100 followers) goes for a little under 3 per follower.

The cheapest option per premium follower is a little more than 1 per follower for a total of 25,000 followers. Their 100 follower package results in a little less than 4 per follower.

Guarantees/Features

This site features many of the common features found in other legitimate follower-buying websites including guaranteed instant or gradual delivery and 24/7 live support. They dont require a password to fulfill the order.

Followers is a reputable platform that starts delivering results within minutes.

Price per Follower

Followers.io presents different packages for buying Instagram followers. They all result in a different price per follower. As expected, the followers get cheaper the more you buy.

Their smallest package includes 100 followers for $2.87. It is more expensive per follower than some competitors.

On the opposite end, their largest package has 10,000 and costs $89.97. That falls significantly below other options on the market and allows you to buy cheap Instagram followers.

Options

This website also presents the option of buying Instagram likes starting at around 3 per like with their 50 like package. Their largest package includes 40,000 likes and costs less than 0.7 per like.

For IGTV content on Instagram, this website also allows you to buy Instagram views. The packages range from 500 to 50,000 views. The prices fall between 0.3 and 0.1 per view.

Features/Guarantees

This website does not just send random spam accounts your way. Instead, it presents a targeted approach that boosts engagement with accounts that are focused on your niche.

This results in active users encouraging organic engagement beyond your purchased package.

In simple terms: you do not get fake Instagram followers, instead, you get high-quality followers.

This website has 24/7 support if there is some problem with your purchase. Follower, like, and view delivery can be gradual or instant according to your preferences.

Social-Viral offers a wide range of affordable packages designed to help you grow your popularity on different social media sites with quality followers.

Price per Follower

Packages on Social Viral range from $2.89 for 100 followers to $84.99 for 5000 followers. Like with other platforms, buying Instagram followers is cheaper per follower when you buy larger amounts.

The smallest package charges nearly 3 per follower. The largest charges a little over 1.6 for their cheap Instagram followers.

Options

Social Viral also provides the option of purchasing likes, views, and auto-likes on Instagram. The likes, views, and followers are delivered instantly but the auto-likes are intended to engage with your posts as they are posted. This creates the illusion of organic engagement which is helpful for your algorithm.

Social Viral, unlike other websites, also provides the ability to buy engagement on other platforms including Facebook, Twitter, Spotify, and TikTok. None of these require your password which makes the process significantly safer.

Guarantees/Features

Social Viral, like the rest of the websites mentioned on this list, does not use bot followers. Although this means that it's not guaranteed that the followers will last forever, they do provide free follower refills the week following the purchase.

5. ExploreinLife

Price per Follower

This platform provides two options for followers: high-quality and super-quality.

High-quality follower packages range from 100 to 5,000 followers. The smallest package sells each follower for less than 3. This is the most expensive price per follower. The largest package sells each follower for a little less than 0.8.

Super-quality follower packages have the same range but different prices. The smallest package sells each follower for a little under 5. The largest package sells each follower for around 1.7.

This means the super-quality followers are almost twice as expensive but the price difference is justified.

Options

Although both types of followers include follower refills they have some key differences in their profiles. High-quality followers have profile pictures but no posts.

Super-quality followers occasionally have posts but in general, they are significantly more legitimate-looking profiles.

This makes it more likely for your followers to be reported as bot followers and have your profile banned than with super-quality followers.

Guarantees/Features

Exploreinlife provides a rate of 500 followers per hour with lost follower refills daily. Their follower packages include 24/7 live chat support and guaranteed instant delivery. The platform does not require a password to complete your order.

6. FollowersCart

Price per Follower

Followers Cart provides seven package options ranging from 100 to 10,000 Instagram followers. The smallest package prices each follower at 1.75. The largest prices each follower at a little over 1.

The price difference between packages isnt as great as on other platforms but there isnt as much of a follower quality guarantee.

Their female follower packages are more limited. They range from 250 to 10,000 Instagram followers. The prices for female followers are more expensive. Their smallest package sells each follower for around 2.6. Their largest one charges 1.6 per follower.

Options

This platform, unlike some others, does not have different options for the quality of followers. However, they do sell English followers and female followers.

They also sell pretty much anything else you might need to boost your platform. They provide options for Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.

Instagram alone, they provide the option to buy Instagram comments, views, likes, story views, and IGTV views. This is significantly more expansive than the options provided on other platforms.

Guarantees/Features

This platform does not have as many guarantees about follower quality or customer service. The main feature that makes them stand out is the ability to pick between female and male followers to better cater to your target audience.

7. BoostLikes

Price per Follower

Boost Likes provides the option for buying global Instagram followers and buying UK-specific followers. Both options are sold for the same price.

Their followers are sold in pounds rather than US dollars so consider all the following prices in pounds.

Their smallest package sells 250 followers for 1.2 per follower. Their largest package sells 10,000 followers for a little less than 0.7. In USD, that would be around 1.6 and 0.9 respectively.

Options

The ability to choose between global and UK followers allows you to be more specific to your audience. The site also allows you to boost your engagement on YouTube, SoundCloud, SiteJabber and TrustPilot.

Guarantees/Features

The delivery time, unlike on other sites, ranges from 5 to 6 days. It also doesnt require a password and gives users access to 24/7 customer support. This site also offers a unique money-back guarantee. If within 30 days you are no longer interested in the purchase, you can get a full refund.

FAQ

Why should I buy Instagram followers?

Simple: to boost your online presence. Having more Instagram followers makes your engagement naturally rise. This exposes you to more customers. Thanks to Instagrams data gathering features you can learn more about who your customers are which allows you to better target your marketing.

Plus, it is no longer easy to determine real Instagram followers versus fake followers. Depending on where you buy Instagram followers these IG followers may be active. When you buy active Instagram followers it often results in social media platform growth.

Could I get banned from Instagram?

Accounts that continue to use non-Instagram apps to get more followers may notice that certain parts of their Instagram account are limited. If you use one of these apps to gain likes or followers, your account can be disabled or terminated.

Most of the websites listed above use real, active accounts which means that the engagement is not flagged as suspicious.

When you use websites that dont guarantee organic traffic and real Instagram followers, you are at risk of getting banned.

Does my account need to be public?

No. For most sites, its not necessary to have a public account. If you have a private account, however, the engagement is less likely to be catered to your niche.

Also, a public account will benefit the most from buying Instagram followers, likes, or views because itll cause organic engagement.

What is a red flag to look out for when buying Instagram followers?

Although websites may require different things, none should request your password. It is not necessary for any type of engagement.

The only situation in which a password would be necessary is when hiring a social media manager. Even then, you should ask for references, a portfolio, and a meeting in person or on Zoom.

Websites should not ask for your password.

Can I buy Instagram views?

Short answer: Yes you can.

Not all the options listed above sell Instagram views but most do. The only two options listed that dont sell Instagram views are FollowersCart and BoostLikes.co.

The rest present different options for buying Instagram views. Instagram views will help with engagement overall and will be beneficial for the algorithm.

Can I buy Instagram likes?

Yes. Buying Instagram likes is easier than buying Instagram views since most websites that sell followers also offer this option. Buying views tends to be a little rarer.

When you buy Instagram likes you can occasionally choose to have the likes happen all at once or happen gradually. All websites listed above guarantee quality likes.

This content was produced by Brand Ave. Studios. The news and editorial departments had no role in its creation or display. Brand Ave. Studios connects advertisers with a targeted audience through compelling content programs, from concept to production and distribution. For more information contact sales@brandavestudios.com
PAJU, South Korea (AP)  As a medical student in North Korea, Lee Gwang-jin said he treated his fevers and other minor ailments with traditional herbal medicine. But bad illness could mean trouble because hospitals in his rural hometown lacked the ambulances, beds, even the electricity at times needed to treat critical or emergency patients.

So Lee was skeptical when he heard recent North Korean state media reports that claimed such so-called Koryo traditional medicine is playing a key role in the nation's fight against COVID-19, which has killed millions around the world.

North Korea is using Koryo medicine a lot (for COVID-19)  but it's not a sure remedy, said Lee, who studied Koryo medicine before he fled North Korea in 2018 for a new life in South Korea. Someone who is destined to survive will survive (with such medicine), but North Korea cant help others who are dying.

Like many other parts of life in North Korea, the medicine that the state says is curing its sick people is being used as a political symbol. That, experts say, will eventually allow the country to say its leaders have beaten the outbreak, where other nations have repeatedly failed, by providing homegrown remedies, independent of outside help.

As state media churn out stories about the effectiveness of the medicine and the huge production efforts to make more of it, there are questions about whether people suffering from severe disease are getting the treatment they need.

Defectors and experts believe North Korea is mobilizing Koryo medicine simply because it doesnt have enough modern medicine to fight COVID-19.

Treating mild symptoms with Koryo medicine isnt a bad option.  But the coronavirus doesnt cause only mild symptoms, said Yi Junhyeok, a traditional doctor and researcher at South Koreas Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine. When we think about critical and high-risk patients, North Korea needs vaccines, emergency care systems and other medical resources that it can use to lower fatalities.

More than two months have passed since North Korea admitted its first coronavirus outbreak, and the country has reported an average of 157 fever cases each day in the past seven days, a significant drop from the peak of about 400,000 a day in May. It also maintains a widely disputed claim that only 74 out of about 4.8 million fever patients have died, a fatality rate of 0.002% that would be the worlds lowest if true.

Despite widespread outside doubt about the truth of North Korea's reported statistics, there are no signs that the outbreak has caused catastrophe in North Korea. Some outside experts say the North may soon formally declare victory over COVID-19 in an effort to boost internal unity. North Korea may then emphasize the role of Koryo medicine as the reason.

North Korea calls Koryo medicine juche (self-reliant) medicine, treats it importantly and views it as one of its political symbols, said Kim Dongsu, a professor at the College of Korean Medicine at South Koreas Dongshin University. North Korea doesnt have many academic and cultural achievements to advertise so itll likely actively propagate Koryo medicine.

North Korea officially incorporated Koryo medicine  named after an ancient Korean kingdom  in its public healthcare system in the 1950s. Its importance has sharply grown since the mid-1990s, when North Korea began suffering a big shortage of modern medicine during a crippling famine and economic turmoil that killed hundreds of thousands of people.

Koryo medicine refers to herbal concoctions that sometimes include animal parts, acupuncture, cupping, moxibustion and meridian massages. Such ancient remedies are used in many Asian and Western nations, too. But while in those countries traditional and modern medicines operate independently, North Korea has combined them.

Medical students are required to study both modern and traditional medicine at school, regardless of what they major in. So once they become professional doctors, they can practice both. Each hospital in North Korea has a department of Koryo medicine. There are also Koryo medicine-only hospitals.

Kim Jieun, a defector who is a traditional doctor in South Korea, said she majored in Koryo medicine at school in the North but eventually worked as a pediatrician and internal medicine doctor. She said that South Koreans generally use traditional medicine to maintain or improve their health, but North Koreans use it to treat diverse diseases.

In South Korea, patients with cerebral hemorrhage, hepatocirrhosis, liver cancer, ascites, diabetes and kidney infections dont come to traditional clinics. But in North Korea, traditional doctors treat them, said Kim, who resettled in South Korea in 2002 and now works for Seouls Well Saem Hospital of Korean Medicine.

North Koreas main Rodong Sinmun newspaper has recently published a slew of articles praising herbal medicine and acupuncture for curing fever patients and reducing the aftereffects of COVID-19 illnesses, including abnormal pains, heart and kidney problems, nausea and coughing.

The newspaper also published calls by leader Kim Jong Un to embrace Koryo medicine. Other state media reports said the production of Koryo medicine has quadrupled since last year, while a vast amount of modern medicine has also been speedily delivered to local medical institutions, a claim that cannot be independently verified.

North Koreas nominally free socialist medical system remains in shambles, with defectors testifying that they had to buy their own medicine and pay doctors for surgeries and other treatments. They say North Koreas advanced hospitals are largely concentrated in Pyongyang, the capital, where the ruling elite and upper-class citizens loyal to the Kim family live.

Lee, 29, who attended a medical school in the northern North Korean city of Hyesan, said Koryo doctors reused their acupuncture needles after sterilizing them with alcohol, and hospitals typically charged patients for the use of electricity for a medical examination.

H.K. Yoon, a former North Korean doctor who fled the country in the mid-2010s, said her mid-level hospital in the northeast had no ambulance, no oxygen concentrator and only three to four beds in the emergency room. She said she shared surgical equipment with other doctors, and her monthly salary was the equivalent of 800 grams (1.76 pounds) of rice.

My heart aches when I recall the lack of surgical equipment, said Yoon, who asked that her first name be identified only by initials because of safety worries about relatives in North Korea. When my patients were critical, I wanted to perform surgeries quickly. But I couldn't do it because surgical equipment was being used by someone else, and I worried about how soon I could sterilize and use it.

Some experts earlier predicted that the COVID-19 outbreak could cause dire consequences in North Korea because most of its 26 million people are unvaccinated and about 40% of its people are reportedly undernourished. Now, they speculate that North Korea is likely underreporting its death count to prevent political damage to Kim Jong Un.

Lee, the former North Korean medical student, said people in Hyesan didnt go to hospitals unless they were extremely sick.

When they are moderately ill, they just receive acupuncture or Koryo herbal medicine. They trust Koryo medicine but they also dont make much money and Koryo medicine is cheaper than Western medicine, Lee said.
Americans are less concerned now about how climate change might impact them personally  and about how their personal choices affect the climate than they were three years ago. That's according to a June poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research that shows a wide majority still believe climate change is happening. Many climate scientists told the Associated Press that those shifts are concerning but not surprising given that individuals are feeling overwhelmed by a range of issues, which now include an economy plagued by inflation after more than two years of a pandemic. In addition to being outpaced by other issues, climate change or the environment are mentioned as priorities by fewer Americans now than just a few years ago, according to the poll.
The funds for an early childhood contract that were withheld over an unrelated pending audit of Tulsa Public Schools have been released.

In a Monday afternoon tweet, Secretary of Education Ryan Walters said he had received enough information from the State Department of Education to allay his concerns about TPS potential involvement in a multimillion-dollar state contract with Community Action Project of Tulsa, even though the district was not a party to the agreement.

As a gubernatorial Cabinet member, Walters must sign off on all nonemergency expenses greater than $25,000 for the Oklahoma State Department of Education.

Ive appreciated having the public discussion through the press with Joy Hofmeister regarding transparency and accountability of taxpayer dollars, he tweeted. With the help of Hofmeisters communications office, shes now sending me the information I requested several weeks ago.

Hofmeister, the state superintendent, is running for governor as a Democrat, while Walters is in the Republican runoff to be the next state superintendent.

The Oklahoma State Department of Education confirmed Monday afternoon that early childhood contract funds have been released. However, a representative for CAP Tulsa said Monday afternoon that the organization had not received any notification about the block being lifted or when it would start receiving the delayed dollars.

During the 2022 session, the Oklahoma Legislature allocated $12 million specifically for the Oklahoma Early Childhood Program, which serves children age 3 and younger from low-income families.

CAP Tulsa administers the Oklahoma Early Childhood Program statewide and also provides matching funds for it. The organization bids for the program annually and has run it on behalf of the Oklahoma State Department of Education since 2006.

Documents obtained by the Tulsa World indicate that the early childhood requisition was one of 24 Walters had refused to sign before the end of the last fiscal year, June 30. The requisition for the early childhood contract was sent to Walters office in mid-June and did not include any references to Tulsa Public Schools.

Walters initially sent questions about the contract to the Oklahoma State Department of Education on June 25 and received answers in writing within 48 hours.

He did not reference any concerns or questions about TPS potential involvement until two weeks into the current fiscal year, when he asked via email on July 14 what steps would be taken to ensure that the money was spent in accordance with state law due to pending state audits of both the Tulsa district and the Oklahoma State Department of Education.

Although CAP Tulsa has agreements with TPS for other services and has early childhood sites next door to several Tulsa elementary schools, Executive Director Karen Kiely previously told the Tulsa World that TPS has no involvement at all with the programs covered by the delayed contract.
In Wes Studis potent and pioneering acting career, he has played vengeful warriors, dying prisoners and impassioned resistance leaders. For three decades, he has arrestingly crafted wide-ranging portraits of the Native American experience. But one thing he had never done in a movie is give someone a kiss.

I thought it was about time, yeah, Studi, 74, says chuckling.

In A Love Song, a tender indie drama starring another long-pigeonholed character actor, Dale Dickey, Studi is for the first time cast as a romantic co-star. Dickey ("Winter's Bone," Hell or High Water) plays a woman camping by a mountain lake awaiting the visit of an old flame.

Studi, the Cherokee actor who masterfully played the defiant Huron warrior Magua in Michael Manns The Last of the Mohicans and who got his first big break playing the character credited only as the toughest Pawnee in Dances With Wolves, hasnt been limited entirely to what he calls leather and feathers roles. But its sometimes taken some extra effort. When he heard Mann was making Heat, Studi called up the director and got himself a part as a police detective.

But recently, Studi is increasingly getting a chance to play a wider array of characters. Along with Max Walker-Silvermans A Love Song, which opens in theaters Friday, hes a recurring, funny guest star on Sterlin Harjos Reservation Dogs, the second season of which debuts Aug. 3 on Hulu.

Hopefully it has to do with creating a better understanding of Native people by the general public, Studi said in an interview earlier this summer. It does still exist, the misconception that we were all killed off and we dont exist anymore as peoples.

Thats essentially what I want to work on, and being a godfather to Native people in the industry, he adds.

With that Studi, sitting outside the lobby of his East Village hotel in New York, lets out such a howl of laughter that he nearly doubles over.

Why does that notion, one many would eagerly endorse, strike him as so hysterical? He entered Hollywood at a time when Indigenous people were regularly played by white actors. (Sam Waterston is the one that kills me, Studi says, smiling.) A 2019 honorary Oscar made Studi the first Native American actor ever given an Academy Award.

I cant take myself seriously when I say that, thats why, he answers, wiping tears from his eyes. I guess it could be.

In person, Studi bears little resemblance to his fiercer screen roles. Hes more like his characters in A Love Song and Reservation Dogs. Amiable. Quick to laugh. Self-deprecating. A good storyteller. He exudes a bemused gratitude for the life hes found as an actor despite spending half his life without Hollywood ambitions. Studi grew up outside of Tahlequah, Oklahoma, and spoke only Cherokee until he was 5. His father was a ranch hand.

I had never thought of acting, really, except once early in my life when I asked my dad when I saw Jay Silverheels on The Lone Ranger: Do you think anybody else can do what he does? Studi recalls. He said, Probably not. Most of the actors you find are 6-foot tall, blond and blue-eyed.

At 17, Studi joined the National Guard and volunteered to fight in Vietnam. He served a tour in South Vietnam, and saw heavy action. When he returned home, Studi joined the American Indian Movement, taking part in the 1973 occupation of Wounded Knee. It wasnt until after he divorced in his late 30s that Studi gave acting a shot with a Tulsa community theater company his friend was involved with. Studi thought: What do I have to lose?

Studi performed wherever the theater company could mount a stage or in gaslight dinner theaters. In one play, he co-starred with Will Sampson and David Carradine. After a few years, Studi headed out to Los Angeles. He was in his early 40s.

I still get the feeling of: Will I ever work again? Thats always been a part of it, said Studi. On the other hand, things have worked out that I have continued to work. I dont take that lightly. Im especially grateful that Ive been able to buy a home and stay in a good car for an extended period of time.

Studi remembers the Screen Actors Guild book of actors being a hefty tome while the then-newly founded American Indian Registry for the Performing Arts, listing Native actors, was a thin sliver. The parts available to him were also limited.

The only real opening for a guy who looked like me was in Westerns, says Studi. Thats the only real door that was open to us in that point in time. It was simply a matter of being able to deliver lines and look like you mean it.

After a few roles, Studi landed Dances With Wolves. Two years later, Mann cast him as Magua in The Last of the Mohicans, the cunning Huron warrior who fervently believes in fighting, ruthlessly, for survival. With time, Studis steely, determined performance has only grown more searing.

Any Native thats cognizant of history and the back and forth weve had with the colonizers, if you will, can have empathy with how he felt about things, said Studi. When youre backed into a corner, you gotta fight. Its one way or the other. All those things had an emotional consistency to them that I could identify with having been through the turmoil of the 70s.

When first-time director Walker-Silverman reached out to Studi, he had little reason to expect the actor of Geronimo: An American Legend (1993), The New World (2005), Avatar (2009) and Hostiles (2017), would say yes to a production as small as A Love Song.

What are the chances hed want to come up here, eat my moms food, hang out with my friends and make this tiny film? says Walker-Silverman. But fortunately, Wes loves acting more than anything.

In the film, Studi and Dickey share a gentle duet, with Studi on guitar. Walker-Silverman planned for Studi to play a beat-up acoustic but Studi -- who has toured with his band Firecat of Discord -- came to the set with a red electric and a small amp. Walker-Silverman could tell the electric suited him better. During the Colorado shoot, Studi regularly strummed it with a big smile on his face.

Well over a hundred films between them, the director adds. That this was maybe the first time they had ever kissed someone on screen says perhaps all sorts of sad things about whos been allowed to fall in love in movies.

This story restores dropped letter in graph 9 and corrects spelling in graph 13.

Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP
NEW ORLEANS (AP)  Jury deliberations began Tuesday in the federal trial of New Orleans district attorney Jason Williams, who was indicted on tax charges in 2020  months before he won an election to become the city's top prosecutor.

Williams and Nicole Burdett, who was an attorney in his law practice, were accused in an indictment of conspiring to cheat on Williams taxes during a five-year period ending in 2017. Prosecutors said Williams' tax burden was illegally cut by $200,000.

New Orleans news outlets said prosecutors rested their case Tuesday morning, a week after the trial began. Jurors heard from prosecution witnesses including the tax preparer, Henry Timothy, who was cooperating with prosecutors after pleading guilty to a single tax charge.

The defense rested Tuesday morning as well, without calling witnesses. Williams has long contended that the prosecution was politically motivated. Defense attorneys have portrayed Timothy as a fraud while attacking his credibility, and questioned why others whose taxes were prepared by Timothy weren't criminally prosecuted.

Williams and Burdett each faced a count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, five counts involving preparation of fraudulent returns and four counts of failing to file forms regarding large cash transactions. In addition to a possible prison sentence, Williams would face automatic suspension from his elective post if convicted of a felony, under state law.

Williams was a criminal defense lawyer and member of the New Orleans City Council before he became district attorney. On the council, he was a frequent critic of the hardball prosecution methods of his predecessor, Leon Cannizzaro.

Federal authorities had already filed the tax charges against Williams when he signed up to run for Cannizzaro's seat in July 2020. Cannizzaro opted not run for a third term and Williams was the eventual victor in a field that included two city judges.

He has won praise from many of the criminal justice reform advocates who helped elect him for efforts to review cases for possible wrongful convictions, and for taking a new look at felony convictions based on 10-2 or 11-1 verdicts. Such non-unanimous verdicts are now illegal in Louisiana.

But he has been criticized from various fronts as a pandemic-era violent crime wave has plagued the city. He was accused of going back on a campaign promise when he announced that two 15-year-olds would be charged as adults in a highly publicized homicide case.

Other critics have blasted his prohibition on using habitual offender charges to get longer sentences for people convicted; and, in the first months of his administration, missing deadlines to charge offenders, leading to their release.
The bigoted rantings of a leading Republican state Senate candidate ought prompt more condemnation from members of his party.

Jarrin Jackson finished first in the GOP primary for Senate District 2 (northeast of Tulsa) despite lengthy social media posts filled with antisemitism, homophobia and fringe right-wing conspiracy theories mirroring those in the QAnon movement.

Politics of the past few years and social media have emboldened people with intolerant, hateful and racist beliefs to spew their venom without consequences.

For those who want to take that hostility and rancor into public service, members of the parties they want to represent must stand up to them. In this case, its the Republican Party.

In a story about Jackson detailed by The Oklahoman, he has associated Jews with evil, stated that all Jews will go to hell for not embracing the gospel of Jesus Christ and says hes not beholden to Jews.

The Jews, Illuminati, Covid shots kill. Rothschilds. Communists. Woke pastors. Social gospel. Christ will chuck a bunch of stuff in the fire, he posted. He says hes running for office to defend Oklahomans against further communist infiltration.

His harshest vitriol targets people who are LGBTQ+, calling the term language designed by Satan. He asserts this identification is a gateway to pedophilia and launches a litany of insults such as disgusting, despicable and stupid.

These are not the words of a political outsider. He received 34% of the primary vote over account manager Ally Seifried with 32%. They face each other in an Aug. 23 runoff.

These are not misstatements or wokeness.These are not policy or political differences.

This is bigotry. This is wrong and dangerous.

Jackson, owner of an ammunition business and combat veteran, isnt the first Oklahoma Republican leader to promote prejudice.

Former legislator and Oklahoma Republican Party Chairman John Bennett, who just lost in a primary for Congress, compared pandemic safety measures to the Holocaust and has a history of anti-Muslim rhetoric, calling the religion a cancer.

The intolerance for people who are different is not indicative of the Republican Party. It reflects those who promote hate speech and hold that poison in their hearts.

We appreciate Oklahoma Republican Party Chairman A.J. Ferate saying that any sort of antisemitism that may exist in the Republican Party has no place. Though, he stopped short of making comments about Jackson or the other statements made by him.

Its a start, but not nearly enough.

Bigotry inspires discrimination, division and even violence against others. Extremism like this is what party leaders ought to want out of their tents.

For the future of the Republican Party and Oklahoma, more GOP leaders must confront these ideals, letting it known intolerance wont be tolerated.
Garbage has spent the past year piling up along streets in Vietnams capital Hanoi due to overloaded landfills while waste-to-energy plant projects, many of which have received huge investments, have been behind schedule.

The city produces 6,500-7,000 metric tons of garbage each day, most of which is treated at the Nam Son and Xuan Son landfills in Son Tay Town and Soc Son District, respectively, according to the municipal Department of Natural Resources and Environment.

The two landfills have respective capacities of 5,000-5,500 and 1,500 metric tons of waste every 24 hours, and both are currently filled to capacity.

Behind schedule

The Hanoi Peoples Committee has urged investors to accelerate progress on waste treatment plant projects, including the Soc Son waste-to-energy plant in Soc Son District, the Seraphin waste-to-energy plant in Son Tay Town, and the Dong Ke and Nui Thoong waste treatment plants in Chuong My District.

The expected daily capacities of these plants are 4,000, 1,500, 1,500, and 450 metric tons, respectively.

All of these projects are currently behind schedule.

The Soc Son waste-to-energy plant project operated by Hanoi Thien Y Environmental Energy Joint Stock Company, broke ground in August 2019 with an initial investment of VND7.1 trillion (US$304.6 million) and was expected to be put into operation in October 2020 but that deadline was pushed back due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Investors have blamed the lack of progress on the other waste-to-energy plants on decisions to scale them up.

In 2014, the Hanoi Peoples Committee issued an investment certificate to the Nui Thoong waste treatment plant project in Tan Tien Commune, Chuong My District, which was expected be capable of treating 500 metric tons of garbage daily.

The Soc Son waste-to-energy plant project requiring an estimated price tag of VND7.1 trillion ($304.6 million) lags behind schedule. Photo: M.Thang / Tuoi Tre

Ten hectares of land was handed over for the project.

However, the investor later suggested raising its designed capacity to 2,000 metric tons daily.

The project appears to have totally stalled while the investor is awaiting approval.

Similarly, a waste-to-energy plant project which broke ground in 2016 in Viet Hung Commune, Dong Anh District was initially slated to come on stream in April 2017 with a capacity of 500 metric tons of garbage per day and night.

The site is currently overgrown with weeds.

Residents living in the vicinity of the unfinished plant have complained to local authorities that the site seems abandoned  a slap in the face to the local farmers whose land was appropriated for the project.

Drastic measures needed

Nguyen Huu Sang, chairman of the Peoples Committee of Viet Hung Commune, confirmed to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that the waste-to-energy plant project in the commune remained incomplete.

The commune intends to continue urging the Peoples Committees of Dong Anh District and Hanoi to ask the investor to put it to use.

Leaders of the Hanoi Peoples Committee said that they hope to speed up progress on the waste treatment projects.

The capital city will assign the Department of Planning and Investment to review long-delayed projects and the capability of their investors.

If they fail to ensure the progress of their projects, their investment certificates will be revoked and private or public funds will be used for their completion, the city added.

To remove obstacles facing waste-to-energy projects, the Hanoi administration has sought coordination from the Ministry of Industry and Trade and Vietnam Electricity Group in order to hasten the connection of the Soc Son waste-powered electricity plant to the national grid.

As for the Nui Thoong waste treatment plant project, director of the Hanoi Department of Planning and Investment Do Anh Tuan attributed the slow progress to sluggish site clearance.

Moreover, the investor has proposed scaling up the project but the proposal was not in line with the central governments general waste management planning.

The Department of Planning and Investment has suggested that the Hanoi Peoples Committee consider adjusting its plan.

Phu Quoc mired in garbage crisis Phu Quoc Island off the coast of Kien Giang Province in the Mekong Delta region is also facing issues with waste treatment. The island city discharges some 180 metric tons of garbage each day. A landfill in Cua Can Commune, Phu Quoc City. Photo: C.Hanh / Tuoi Tre Over two years ago, a leader of Kien Giang Province promised to call for investment in a modern waste treatment plant so as to meet the development demand of Phu Quoc over the next 10-20 years. However, the project remains lip service and more than 100,000 metric tons of garbage in the city has piled up in landfills in Cua Duong Commune. Leachate from these landfills has polluted nearby rivers and streams. Earlier, Phu Quoc had used a waste treatment plant in Bai Bon Hamlet, Ham Ninh Commune; however, the plant failed to operate at its designed capacity, resulting in waste backlogs, so local authorities asked the plant operator to cease its operations. The Kien Giang Peoples Committee later took back the project. In populous areas, such as Duong Dong Ward, coastal areas, the An Thoi fishing village, and areas along key roads, garbage has polluted the natural environment, according to the Vietnam Institute for Urban and Rural Planning under the Ministry of Construction. Vo Chi Si, head of the urban management division of Phu Quoc City, said the management authority of Phu Quoc Economic Zone and provincial authorities are calling for investment in a waste treatment project in Phu Quoc with a capacity of 200 metric tons per day. In addition, the waste treatment plant in Bai Bon is being operated on a trial basis. Once it is completed, garbage will be transported to the plant for treatment.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Vietnam is seeing a wave of foreign investment shifted from other countries, and many multinational groups boosted their investment in the country, opening up opportunities for local enterprises to get involved in global supply chains.

Japans Panasonic Corporation already announced the expansion of its production and business of wiring, lighting, and IQA (Indoor Air Quality) devices in Vietnam.

This is the newest event in the shift of investment to Vietnam, making the country the leading destination for Panasonic to realize its strategy to optimize its value chains, after the corporation shut two refrigerator and washing machine factories in Thailand two years ago.

Hoang Thu Thuy, global procurement assistant general manager at Panasonic Vietnam, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that the company's two refrigerator and washing machine factories were built in 2003 and a research and development (R&D) center was established in Vietnam two years later.

This is a world-class R&D center and a nerve center of Panasonic in Southeast Asia responsible for researching and developing household appliances for consumption in Vietnam and export to other Asian countries.

According to international practices, R&D centers are often located near parent companies in Japan," Thuy added.

However, the R&D center of the two refrigerator and washing machine factories of Panasonic was developed in Vietnam.

The center has decided manufacturing activities and adjustments to designs, materials, and products for countries in the region, thus optimizing the manufacturing process and reducing the selling prices of products."

Despite the difficulties triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, many enterprises have increased their investment and expanded their production in Vietnam.

The Vietnam Association for Supporting Industries (VASI) announced that Apple has shifted 11 factories in Taiwan to Vietnam.

Similarly, many other firms, such as Foxconn, Luxshare, Pegatron, and Wistron, have sped up their operation in Vietnam.

Announcements that read 'French enterprises seek manufacturers of hand tools, such as hammers, spanners, and screws' or 'U.S. firms in need of large suppliers of auto accessories' have become more common on the VASI website.

In addition, multinational group Techtronic Industries, which specializes in electrical devices and household appliances with 12 factories worldwide and 76 percent of its products being supplied to the U.S. and Northern Europe, rolled up its sleeves to conduct an investment project worth US$650 million at Saigon Hi-Tech Park in Ho Chi Minh City.

The firm has repeatedly carried out activities to seek more than 200 suppliers in Vietnam in four sectors: plastic injection, molding, electricity, and metal production.

With a long-term investment and development plan, Techtronic Industries expects that 80 percent of its supporting industry products would be produced by Vietnamese companies.

However, the rate has only reached 40 percent so far, the rest imported from China and the U.S..

Fierce competition among Vietnamese suppliers

Despite the advantages ushered in by Panasonics shift of investment to and production expansion in Vietnam, it does not mean that many Vietnamese suppliers can take part in the Japanese company's supply chain.

To date, Vietnamese suppliers have accouned for 51 percent of Panasonics total suppliers but only 35 percent of the firms value.

Panasonic Vietnam currently has seven factories and the firm has a high demand for the development of new products.

However, as its supply chain is available, Panasonic still prioritizes existing suppliers to complete orders after relocating its plants from Thailand to Vietnam.

In the long term, once the demand has increased, we will seek suppliers in Vietnam to ensure the safety and sustainability for the production activities of our entire supply chain, Thuy noted.

But the number of Vietnamese enterprises meeting the requirements of multinational groups is small, just a minority."

Normally, foreign direct investment enterprises in Vietnam will have more opportunities thanks to their better quality management capability and services as well as shorter delivery time.

As for Samsung, it is not easy to develop Vietnamese suppliers to increase the localization rate, especially when it has invested in six factories to turn Vietnam into a leading smartphone factory in the world.

A representative of Samsung Vietnam said the company initially held seminars and exhibitions on supporting industries to look for domestic suppliers.

It has later held programs to provide consulting on improving the labor productivity and the product quality directly instructed by South Korean experts and has trained 406 Vietnamese consultants.

To date, 379 enterprises have received the consulting and seen their productivity increase by an average of 30 percent, some even up to 90 percent.

Nevertheless, the number of Vietnamese first-tier suppliers participating in Samsungs supply chain has reached 51.

According to Do Thi Thuy Huong, a member of the executive board of the Vietnam Electronic Industries Association, there has been a technology wave and Vietnam is standing in front of many opportunities.

The most typical shifts of the foreign investment to Vietnam are seen in the electronics sector.

A dozen Taiwanese and Chinese enterprises which are the manufacturers and suppliers of smartphones and other Apple electronic devices have invested in Vietnam.

Among these are Apples key vendors. In addition, large investors, such as Intel, Samsung, and LG, have beefed up their production in Vietnam regardless of the COVID-19 pandemic over the past two years.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Vietnams low-cost carrier Vietjet Air on Monday started running flights on the Ho Chi Minh City - Busan route.

The maiden flight was warmly welcomed with a water salute at Gimhae International Airport, followed by the launch ceremony for the Busan - Ho Chi Minh City service, the airline said in a press release the same day.

Passengers on all debut flights received welcome flowers and souvenir gifts from the airline.

The inaugural flight of the Da Nang - Busan service already took off on July 20 while the Hanoi/Nha Trang - Busan routes have been back to service from July 1 and July 21, respectively.

The four routes connecting key Vietnamese cities with Busan operate one daily return flight each, with flight time lasting five hours per leg on average.

The new services have been highly anticipated and embraced by travelers for tourism, business trip, and overseas study purposes.

Air tickets on all Busan routes are offered at as low as US$12 per leg, exclusive of taxes and fees.

Along with the four direct routes to Busan, Vietjet currently operates six services from Vienams top destinations, namely Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Da Nang, Phu Quoc, Nha Trang, and Hai Phong, to Seoul with 1-2 return flights on a daily basis and it will increase the flight frequency in the coming time.

While South Korea has resumed the issuance of short-term travel visas, South Korean travelers can now enjoy visa exemption for a stay of up to 15 days in Vietnam.

International visitors are not required to present coronavirus test results or to file health declarations upon arrival in Vietnam.

Busan is a beautiful port city and well known for its beaches, temples, unique colored Gamcheon culture village, romantic Haeundae Dalmaji Hill, Haedong Yonggungsa temple, and other hidden gems.

Located in the heart of Southeast Asia and home to a rich culture, diverse natural landscapes, delicious cuisine, and friendly people, Vietnam has been a rising destination in recent years.

The country is drawing more and more world travelers, including South Korean travelers.

It routinely receives praise from leading global travel magazines.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
In Cu Lao Cham (Cham Island) in Quang Nam Province, central Vietnam, shoals of fish and shrimp have been gifted with new safe man-made shelter and a huge incubator at the bottom of the ocean.

One day in mid-July, a large barge carrying a crane truck and big square-shaped concrete blocks docked at Cu Lao Cham.

These blocks were soaked in the deep sea to create a house for fish and shrimp.

Home built in deep sea

South Koreas Sea Morning Company is the investor of a project to build a home for fish at the bottom of the sea, 20-25 meters deep.

Choi Sang Hack, a South Korean expert, was motioning for the crane operator to drop the blocks into the sea.

Turn left! Turn right! A little bit closer. Okay, drop it down, he shouted, while holding a smartphone that served his task.

At around 11:00 am, half of the concrete blocks were removed from the barge.

Pointing at his underwater camera, Choi said, This camera films the job of dropping concrete blocks into the sea and recording images of underwater operations.

A picture shows a barge carrying a crane truck and concrete blocks to the working site in Cu Lao Cham, Quang Nam Province, central Vietnam. Photo: Tuoi Tre

The camera also stores the images of the stunning undersea world in the Cu Lao Cham Biosphere Reserve.

Moreover, it caught the moments of frogmen steering these concrete blocks toward the right location.

Hard-working underwater jobs

It was not until the final concrete blocks were dropped into the deep ocean that Cho used a special-use device to contact these frogmen in the depth of 25 meters and asked them to take a rest.

After that, two frogmen, Kim Sang Bom and Kim Ky Young, came to the surface of the water gasping for air.

Bom and Young are two of the most skilled frogmen in the group at Sea Morning Company, which is in charge of the project of creating artificial reefs for fish and shrimp, said engineer Nguyen Van Vu, deputy head of the management board of the Cham Island Marine Protected Area.

The group of frogmen has worked on many projects in Vietnam, Bom said, adding that they have been building artificial reefs in the waters off Cham Island since 2021.

To work underwater, these workers must wear a rubber suit, flippers and an oxygen tank, and wrap lead wire around their body.

When concrete blocks are dropped into the water, these frogmen cling to the blocks and position them.

Due to diving and working in the high-pressure deep-sea environment for hours, we often spend much time resting and recovering after work, Bom said.

A South Korea expert motions workers to drop a concrete block into the deep sea to form reefs for fish and shrimp in Cu Lao Cham, Quang Nam Province, central Vietnam. Photo: B.D. / Tuoi Tre

Speaking of the location selected to build the house for fish in Cu Lao Cham, engineer Vu said that despite being a small island, Cu Lao Cham is closely followed by people around the world due to not only its ecosystem but also its importance for aquatic resources.

During the seabed exploration and monitoring process, experts found surrounding Cu Lao Cham are multiple natural reefs which are home to fish and shrimp.

In their breeding season, fish and shrimp use the reefs as a safe haven to lay eggs.

However, fishing has caused inevitable wear and tear on such reefs.

As such, the South Korea Fisheries Resources Agency (FIRA) decided to select Manh Reef in the water off Cham Island to execute a project to develop artificial reefs, which are built with concrete blocks.

Before the launch of the project, experts at the Cu Lao Cham Biosphere Reserve and South Korean frogmen went scuba diving to locations around the island to survey and map out a detailed plan.

Fish live in the man-made reefs, which are their concrete home. Photo: B.D. / Tuoi Tre

We decided to choose Manh Reef, four kilometers from the center of the island, to build the home for fish and shrimp, as the place has a huge reef, a stable seabed, a smooth flow, and perfect natural features," said Vu.

"Dropping blocks will widen the house for fish and shrimp,

600 concrete blocks

The project sponsored by FIRA, with a value of around VND8.5 billion (US$362.2 million), was kick-started in 2020.

The project has been resumed after a long pause because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The man-made reefs comprising a total of 600 concrete blocks are situated at four locations surrounding a big natural reef.

Each artificial reef is shaped into a tower by 150 blocks.

After being completed, the project will be handed over to Quang Nam authorities.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Israeli archaeologists have discovered a 1,850-year-old bronze coin bearing the design of ancient Roman moon goddess Luna, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) said on Monday.

The coin was found off the Carmel coast in northern Israel, the IAA noted, adding this is the first time such a coin has been discovered on an Israeli coast.

The well-preserved coin, recovered from the seabed, also shows the zodiac sign of Cancer below the moon goddess design, according to the IAA.

It is part of a series of 13 zodiac coins, of which 12 depicting the different signs of the zodiac and another the complete zodiac wheel.

The coin was minted in Alexandria, Egypt under the Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius, who ruled between 138 and 161 AD. It thus also bears the date "Year eight", the eighth year of Antoninus Pius's rule.

During his rule, the empire's relations with the Jews in ancient Israel greatly improved and previous decrees were revoked, the IAA noted.

The coin was discovered during a survey conducted by the IAA to locate, document, research and preserve antiquities sites and ancient cultural finds that are being endangered by accelerated marine development.
OSLO -- Danish biotechnology company Bavarian Nordic said on Monday the European Commission had given permission for its Imvanex vaccine to be marketed as protection against monkeypox, as recommended last week by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

The approval comes just one day after the World Health Organization issued a high-level alert declaring the rapidly spreading monkeypox outbreak as a global health emergency.

"The availability of an approved vaccine can significantly improve nations' readiness to fight emerging diseases, but only through investments and structured planning of the biological preparedness," Bavarian Chief Executive Paul Chaplin said.

Bavarian's vaccine, the only one to have won approval for the prevention of monkeypox disease in the United States and Canada, has in the EU so far only been approved to treat smallpox.

But the company has supplied the vaccine to several EU countries during the current monkeypox outbreak for what is known as "off-label" use.

The approval is valid in all European Union Member States as well as in Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway, Bavarian Nordic said in a statement.

The development of Imvanex was made possible through significant investments from the U.S. government during the past two decades, the company added.

Bavarian's share price has risen by 122% in the last three months, driven by strong demand for the monkeypox vaccine.
Here are todays leading news stories:

COVID-19 Updates

-- Vietnams Ministry of Health reported 896 COVID-19 cases on Monday, raising the national tally to 10,768,844, with 9,866,968 recoveries and 43,092 deaths.

Society

-- Public workers in Vietnam will have a total of four days off from September 1 to 4 to celebrate the upcoming National Day (September 2), the Government Office said.

-- Three women from the Mekong Delta province of Ca Mau died of suspected alcohol poisoning after participating in two drinking parties in two days in a row, local authorities confirmed on Monday.

-- The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health will monitor the body temperature and certain symptoms of people entering the city via air and sea to early detect suspected cases of monkeypox.

-- Six more people, including a former high-ranking immigration officer at the Ministry of Public Security, have been arrested for allegedly taking bribes in the organization of repatriation flights during the COVID-19 pandemic last year.

-- A 21-year-old man turned himself in to police officers in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang on Monday after he had allegedly murdered his wife at their rented house in Ho Chi Minh City on Sunday night.

-- The Ministry of Public Security on Monday appointed Colonel Mai Hoang, deputy director of the ministrys Criminal Police Department, as deputy director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Public Security.

-- About 254 people have been fined and nearly 9,000 others have received warnings for smoking at bus stations, ferry terminals, and wharves in Ho Chi Minh City in the past two years, the Center for Health Consultation and Community Development (CHD) said at a conference on Monday.

-- It is expected to be sunny across northern, central, and southern Vietnam on Tuesday, with the highest temperatures ranging from 31 to 37 degrees Celsius, the National Center for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting reported.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Preliminary statistics show that 100 drownings resulted in 142 child deaths across Vietnam in June, the first month of childrens summer holiday in the Southeast Asian country.

The numbers were mentioned during the signing ceremony of a joint effort among ten ministries and agencies to prevent child drownings in the 2022-30 period held on Monday.

Speaking at the event, Dang Hoa Nam, director of the Childrens Department under the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids, and Social Affairs, said that child drowning deaths declined from 3,300 children in 2010 to 1,990 children in 2021.

The average reduction rate was three to five percent per year, equivalent to about 100 children a year.

Child drowning incidents often occur in the summer months, especially at the beginning of the holiday, according to Nam.

Summer vacation often starts in June and ends in August for Vietnamese children.

Delegates shake hands during the signing ceremony of a joint effort among ten ministries and agencies to prevent child drownings in the 2022-30 period in Vietnam, July 25, 2022. Photo: Ha Quan / Tuoi Tre

Elaborating on Nams comment, Le Hai Long, deputy head of the Central Committee of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union, said 100 child drowning incidents caused 142 fatalities in June, equal to the number accumulated throughout the first five months of this year.

Long blamed the heartbreaking statistics on the lack of parents attention and effort to improve childrens swimming skills.

For solutions, Long said the Ho Chi Minh City chapter of the Youth Union plans to put 15 new swimming pools into operation by the end of this year and 25 others next year for teaching swimming safety and drowning prevention, with the first session expected to kick off in September.

Representatives from the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Education and Training pledged to raise the awareness of families, children, schools, and local authorities about the issue.

Their target is to reduce child drowning mortality by 20 percent by 2030.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Police in Ho Chi Minh recently broke up a prostitution ring concealing their illegal operation in a hotel and massage parlor, making a profit of up to VND250 million (US$10,695) per month.

Four hostesses were caught red-handed offering sex services to their customers at Cuong Thanh III Hotel on Cao Thang Street, Ward 12, District 10, early on Sunday morning.

Hotel managers and service employees were aware that hostesses engaged in prostitution but they did nothing to prevent the prostitution, police said.

Each prostitute earned VND2.5-3 million (US$106-128) each time she provided a service and had to pay some of that amount to the general manager.

Cuong Thanh III Hotel, where the prostitution ring had been operating since 2017 before being busted. Photo: Supplied

As per the preliminary statements of these suspects, the hotel had been operating since 2017 and mostly offered erotic massage for VND700,000 ($30) to VND2 million ($85), without counting tips for the hostesses.

There were different types of services the charges of which were based on cost.

To attract potential consumers, the suspects created many secret groups on social media platforms such as Zalo, Telegram, and Facebook, where they posted prostitution-related content, including numerous images and videos of sexy women, pricing, and massage services.

Thousands of people would visit these groups.

The business had more than 30 hostesses but it was constantly full, generating a massive profit for the owner, manager, and hostesses.

This business is controlled by Vu Ngoc Cuong, 54, from District 10, but he rarely visits it.

Instead, he hired Nguyen Van Hiep as the general manager, who oversaw all prostitution and erotic massage activities and reported back to Cuong.

Nguyen Van Hiep, general manager of the prostitution ring at Cuong Thanh III Hotel, is seen in this supplied photo.

A representative of Ho Chi Minh Citys Criminal Police Department said on Monday that police were still investigating the case to clarify the act of sex trafficking at this facility.

Initial estimates indicate that this establishment made VND150-250 million ($6,417-10,695) per month through prostitution.

Cuong and other suspects were taken to the police station for interrogation.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Public workers in Vietnam will enjoy a total of four days off from September 1 to 4 to celebrate the upcoming National Day (September 2), according to the guidance issued by the Government Office.

Laborers in the country are entitled to two days off on National Day (September 2) and one preceding or following day, the guidance quoted Article 112 of the Labor Code as saying.

If these days off coincide with a weekly day off, people will be given an extra day off as compensation.

This years National Day falls on Friday, so public workers will have a total of four days off running from Thursday, September 1, to Sunday, September 4.

This schedule applies to officials, civil servants, and employees of administrative agencies, political organizations, and socio-political organizations.

Agencies and organizations that do not implement a fixed work regime with two days off every weekend should rely on their specific operation plans to arrange a suitable holiday schedule.

Employees who work on National Day are entitled to at least 300 percent of their salary in accordance with the Labor Code.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
TV Tonight speaks with Geoff Paine, who spent just a year with Neighbours.

After a brief return in 1989 it would be 28 years before he asked to return.

Before he joined Neighbours in 1986, Geoff Paine was a Drama student at the Victorian College of the Arts.

In his 3rd Year the students took a visit to the Neighbours studio during its initial run at Channel Seven studios.

We were taken around the corner from South Melbourne to Dorcas Street where they were shooting it, and told, You guys are going into acting. Heres what a television set looks like in terms of shooting. And I thought Im too good for this! Ill never do this! he laughs.

A couple of months later, I was in a gorilla suit in Vermont. Thats what hubris is. The arrogance of youth.

Paine was just 21 years of age when he joined the relaunched series on 10, famously arriving as a gorilla gram. Clive Gibbons initially kept his medical degree a secret from Ramsay St. residents.

The theory was that Clive Gibbons was actually from a very staid medical family, forced into medicine at an early age, a very conservative guy. He basically qualified and then dumped the whole thing and said, I just want to live my life and have the childhood I missed out on, he continues.

I once got the Friday night cliffhanger

I once got the Friday night cliffhanger. In terms of writing the show, you had to have cliffhangers to get people back from the ad break, an episode cliffhanger to get them back tomorrow and a Friday night cliffhanger to get them back on a Monday night.

So that was the famous line where Clive had to look after Max Ramsay (Francis Bell) who was having a heart attack or something. I said, Its okay. Im a doctor and then the credits rolled.

I think that was Clives only Friday night cliffhanger!

Paine quit the show after only a year.

I enjoyed it but I felt the character was getting so sickly sweet that Diabetes Australia was going to ring up and say, Okay, you have to stop now.

I basically quit and just became a jobbing actor

So I basically quit and just became a jobbing actor, grabbing any work I could. I worked in the corporate area, ran a video production company and all that sort of stuff. A few years ago I rang my agent to say Can Clive come back? Initially they thought Maybe but later Clive came back as this very serious CEO at the hospital and I realised, of course, that very few of the writers were actually alive when I was there originally. So they had no memory of the character. They started from scratch.

Gibbons, whose name was not a reference to Bill Oddie despite what Wikipedia suggests, could be readily injected into any Erinsborough scenario.

He had this childish, playful cheeky side, but also this kind Doogie Howser thing going on. One minute hes performing a tracheostomy on a kitchen table, and the next hes hired by people in the street to deliver rhyming couplets to Mrs. Mangel or something.

The joke I make is that Clive put Kylie Minogue on the pill.

Young Doctor Clive was certainly skilled in all things medical, even if there were limits on what could screen in a G classification.

The joke I make is that Clive put Kylie Minogue on the pill. The idea that someone would even talk about the pill was just shocking, he remembers.

I diagnosed Daphne (Elaine Smith) as expecting a baby but I couldnt tell her she was pregnant because of the G classification in those days.

It gave me scope to play and improvise a little bit.

But I do remember one of the writers saying, Clive is so much fun to write for, because you can kind of do anything with him. So it gave me scope to play and improvise a little bit. I was following dear old Francis as a rewriter hed grab a pencil and just make stuff up on the spot and change things. Basically no-one stood up to him. So I thought I could do the same thing.

But things started to change. One of the reasons was because they sold the show to non English-speaking countries, it was much cheaper for them to have the actor stick to the script and have their script translated, than having to go back and monitor what was actually said!

There were romances, notably with Susan Cole (Gloria Ajenstat), plus Sally Wells (Rowena Mohr) and later Sheila Canning (Colette Mann) and Jane Harris (Annie Jones).

Clive proposed to Susan on the crest of a hill but Susan was so taken by it her pram started rolling down the hill. A car that happened to be carrying 4 Neighbours characters swerved and flipped and they nearly ended up being killed, but of course were just badly shaken and bloodied, Paine recalls.

The car not only flipped over once, it flipped entirely over and landed only a few feet from the camera crew.

In 1989 Paine very nearly starred in a spin-off vehicle, with a medical pilot City Hospital set to screen on 10 -until the network was sold by owners Westfield. American television executive Bob Shanks tried to turn around what was then an ailing network and in the process killed off City Hospital before it started.

Paine, who had relocated to Sydney with his newly-married wife, were forced to abandon plans for a Queensland honeymoon.

We had given up our rental in Melbourne, realising we could not afford to live in Sydney. So we drove back to Melbourne. We didnt really have a honeymoon, took our stuff out of storage and started life again. Thats showbiz.

It wasnt until 2017 that Clive Gibbons returned permanently as COO of Erinsbrough Hospital, having grown into the gravitas required of such importance.

As one of the shows heritage characters, how does Paine take stock of the shows exit at 37 years?

Its extraordinary the show ran as long as it did. The fact that (The Age) Green Guide is packed with so much more viewing material is indicative of the way things have changed over the past 30 years. So in a sense, it feels like the end of an era the same way that a car factory closes, or a coal-fired power station closes. The markets made a decision we work as long as we can up until the point where it doesnt make financial sense to someone.

The industry will miss the idea that like any factory, people learnt a bunch of skills.

I do recognise that type of TV has been swamped by basically the 21st century and thousands of hours on YouTube and everything coming down the internet. But the industry will miss the idea that like any factory, people learnt a bunch of skills. For me it was get the script, make some decisions, learn your lines, and dont slow down. It was fast-paced and that is a type of skill in and of itself.

In TV your objective is to make sure that the 20 people looking at you  the crew- are not having their time wasted. The two most important devices in that first year were the alarm clock to get me up and the tape deck that I used to record my lines.

But he also recognises that even in soap, there were inherent social lessons imparted from the vision of creator Reg Watson, a testament to its endurance with viewers in Australia and especially the United Kingdom.

The appeal of almost any show is a group of people who may have ended up together by chance, but grow to develop the kind of qualities of an extended family. They would immediately tell everyone next door, whats going on family secrets are shared, people have to confront each other and all that sort of stuff.

They all liked each other and were kind of equal, in a sunny, sunny world.

An English academic once contacted me with a paper he was writing that suggested that an entire generation moved towards Labor in Britain, courtesy of growing up with a daily dose of a community where an architect could live next door to a plumber, a homemaker, a gorilla-gram. They all liked each other and were kind of equal, in a sunny, sunny world. We know that the world is not like that, but they grew up thinking that could exist.

Indeed. The multi-generational mix was key to Neighbours longevity, with Paine himself, personifying a younger character seeking advice, eventually maturing into one of the shows wiser senior residents.

There were sometimes words of wisdom from the older characters, but then those characters themselves were subject to the same flaws as the younger characters.

Thats the nature of life. Were often very good diagnosing other peoples problems but we have our own.

I think they nailed that.

Neighbours Finale Week:

Wednesday July 27 6:30pm  8pm 10 Peach

Thursday July 28 7.30pm  9pm on 10 and 10 Peach

Attention British fans: TV Tonight will be filing a finale story following the Australian broadcast.
Xi sends congratulatory letter to China-Africa peace, security forum

Xinhua) 08:04, July 26, 2022

BEIJING, July 25 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory letter on Monday to the second China-Africa Peace and Security Forum.

Realizing enduring peace and universal security is a common aspiration of the Chinese and African peoples, Xi said in his letter to the event, held by China's Ministry of National Defense.

Xi noted that China has always worked to develop relations with Africa, with a commitment to upholding the greater good in the pursuit of shared interests and following the principles of sincerity, pragmatism, affinity and good faith. He said the country is ready to work with its African friends to adhere to the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security.

China will work with Africa to safeguard the international system with the United Nations at its core, uphold international fairness and justice, promote the implementation of the Global Security Initiative, and build a China-Africa community with a shared future in the new era, Xi said.

(Web editor: Wu Chaolan, Liang Jun)
Profound Accumulation, Far-reaching Influence, an exhibition, reviews the National Museum's achievements in major archaeological excavations since 1912. [Photo by Jiang Dong/China Daily]

As the National Museum of China celebrates its 110th anniversary, a letter from President Xi Jinping offers encouragement for a bright future in promoting the lessons of history.

A world-class city should have world-class museums that preserve the best examples of culture and civilization.

The National Museum of China, located in central area of Beijing, claims to be one of the largest single-building museums and one of the most-visited cultural destinations in the world. Every year, it attracts millions of visitors who are amazed by the variety of objects in the museum's collection that keep alive the memories of the past and shed light on the journey of human civilization.

Celebrating its 110th anniversary this year, the National Museum views its goal of becoming the world's leading museum as being even clearer and closer than ever-especially with the enhanced motivation encouraged by a recent letter from President Xi Jinping.

Xi, who himself has visited the National Museum several times, sent congratulations to the staff members of the museum on its anniversary. In the letter he stressed better utilization of cultural relics to promote exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations and preservation of the fine accomplishments of Chinese civilization. He noted that museums are important places for the protection and inheritance of human civilization, and that cultural and museum workers have a glorious mission and great responsibility.

The president made the remarks in reply to a letter sent to him earlier by 10 senior experts at the National Museum discussing their work and studies.

The National Museum traces its history to the establishment of a preparatory office of the museum of Chinese history in 1912. Through the decades of evolution, the museum got its current title in 2003 by merging of the National Museum of Chinese History and the National Museum of the Chinese Revolution.

The museum has mounted a diverse program of celebrations throughout the year, including exhibitions and forums.

Xi's letter has generated enthusiastic responses, at the museum and outside, among administrators and experts working at different departments concerning cultural relics and museology. They gathered recently at the National Museum at a panel discussion on the letter and about how to better utilize cultural relics for the benefit of the people.

Wang Chunfa director of the National Museum says the letter offers great encouragement to all those working at the museum, and maps out the direction and routes of its development.

"The past 110 years have seen unremitting efforts made by generations of National Museum staff in achieving progress in terms of assembling an immense collection, carrying out research, mounting exhibitions, developing full-fledged public education programs, improving visitor services and increasing international exchanges," Wang says.
London, Manchester and Glasgow are among the cities offering to host Eurovision in the United Kingdom next year, with the capitals mayor vowing to make it a contest that celebrates the people of Ukraine and shows off the very best of Britain.

Organisers the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) previously decided the event could not be held in the war-torn Ukraine following the Russian invasion.

This was despite Ukrainian entry Kalush Orchestra triumphing at this years competition in Turin, Italy, with the UKs Sam Ryder the runner-up.

Following the news, Ryder said in a video post that it will be Ukraines party and the UK are just inviting them to throw it at our house.

In a message directed at those in Ukraine, he added: We know how to throw a party here in the UK and our excitement is outshone only by our focus on that one sole objective to hold space and be on hand to help wherever needed to host an event that celebrates Ukrainian culture, history and music and to stand in solidarity with the rest of the globe shining a unified light.

The rest of us are just loving facilitators and there is no doubt in my mind that we will all come together in the spirit of unity that Eurovision has always been about to celebrate the wonderful people of Ukraine.

The bidding process will begin this week, with the BBC and EBU jointly making the final decision on which city will host.

Any winner would require a large events space, suitable accommodation and international transport links for the competing countries and their delegations.

Sheffield City Council was among the first to announce a bid, saying on Twitter: Weve told Eurovision wed love to host watch this space.

South Yorkshire mayor Oliver Coppard said the city was the obvious choice because of its international airport and the fact it is twinned with the Ukrainian city of Donetsk.

Story continues

South Yorkshire has a long, proud musical heritage, from the Human League and Def Leppard to Arctic Monkeys, Pulp and Self Esteem. With Tramlines  the biggest urban music festival in Europe  weve just shown what a great show were capable of putting on, he said.

Manchester City Council confirmed it was also putting in a bid, with its leader Bev Craig tweeting: A world class music city, brilliant venues, experience in hosting major events, and of course one of the UKs largest Ukrainian populations  we are confident we will make it a #eurovision to remember.

Its very disappointing for Ukraine that they will be unable to host Eurovision next year. London is ready and willing to step in. We would be honoured to put on a contest that celebrates the people of Ukraine and shows off the very best of Britain. https://t.co/hIXh1JFdIa  Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan (@MayorofLondon) July 25, 2022

Announcing Londons bid, mayor Sadiq Khan said the city was ready and willing to step in with a contest that celebrates the people of Ukraine and shows off the very best of Britain.

Leeds City Council said it makes total sense for them to host next year as they will be the city of culture for 2023, while Swindon said they will not be bidding but look forward to watching next year.

Two of Scotlands largest cities of Glasgow and Aberdeen have also announced they will be vying to host the contest in 2023.

A spokesperson for Glasgow City Council said the city is a safe pair of hands after hosting Cop26 last November while Scotlands First Minister Nicola Sturgeon also previously backed the city to host, tweeting: I can think of a perfect venue on banks of the River Clyde!!

Bookmakers Ladbrokes named Glasgow as the favourite with odds of 8/11, ahead of both London and Manchester, both with odds of 5/1.

It will be the ninth time Eurovision has taken place in the UK  more than any other country.

Ukraine will automatically qualify for the grand final alongside the so-called big five nations  the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain, who each get a free pass because of their financial contributions to the event.

Martin Osterdahl, Eurovisions executive supervisor, said: Were exceptionally grateful that the BBC has accepted to stage the Eurovision Song Contest in the UK in 2023.

The BBC has taken on hosting duties for other winning countries on four previous occasions.

Continuing in this tradition of solidarity, we know that next years contest will showcase the creativity and skill of one of Europes most experienced public broadcasters whilst ensuring this years winners, Ukraine, are celebrated and represented throughout the event.

The EBUs decision in June to rule out Ukraine as the 2023 host prompted its culture minister Oleksandr Tkachenko to issue a statement demanding to change the decision.

Ukrainian state broadcaster UA:PBC also expressed its disappointment at the time and called on all parties to hold further negotiations.

Statement on the #Eurovision Song Contest 2023 from Tim Davie, BBC Director-General https://t.co/CSPCfFNuJS pic.twitter.com/YSRH8AZvZ4  BBC Press Office (@bbcpress) July 25, 2022

Mykola Chernotytskyi, head of the managing board of UA:PBC, said next years contest will not be in Ukraine but in support of Ukraine.

He added: We are grateful to our BBC partners for showing solidarity with us.

I am confident that together we will be able to add Ukrainian spirit to this event and once again unite the whole of Europe around our common values of peace, support, celebrating diversity and talent.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the UK would put on a fantastic contest on behalf of our Ukrainian friends.

He said that in talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky last week they agreed that wherever Eurovision 2023 is held, it must celebrate the country and people of Ukraine.

As we are now hosts, the UK will honour that pledge directly  and put on a fantastic contest on behalf of our Ukrainian friends, Mr Johnson said.

Sam Ryder took second place for the UK in this years competition (PA)

In a statement, BBC director-general Tim Davie said: The BBC is committed to making the event a true reflection of Ukrainian culture alongside showcasing the diversity of British music and creativity.

Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries said: As hosts, the UK will honour the competitions spirit and diversity, and, most importantly, ensure it reflects Ukraines recent Eurovision victory and Ukrainian creativity.

This years contest in May saw Ryder top the jury vote before Kalush Orchestra went on to win overall following a symbolic show of public support which saw them soar to first place with 631 points.

They had been the frontrunners since Russias invasion of Ukraine in February  which prompted organisers to ban the Russian entrant from competing.

It remains unclear whether the BBC will have to fund the contest from its current licence fee allocation or if it will be given further money, although it is talks with Government on the issue.

A spokesperson for the broadcaster said: The Eurovision Song Contest is a co-production of the host broadcaster and participating members of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).

There are a number of funding options to be explored that will contribute towards delivering a fantastic event and great value for licence fee payers.

The biggest love to @SamRyderMusic without his unreal talent the UK wouldnt be hosting the amazing Ukraine next year. Xxx  R Y L A N (@Rylan) July 25, 2022

Rylan Clark, who has commentated on the semi-final rounds for the BBC, praised Ryder for his efforts in securing the contest for the UK.

He tweeted: The biggest love to @SamRyderMusic without his unreal talent the UK wouldnt be hosting the amazing Ukraine next year.
The UK government gave its approval for Shell to develop the field for gas extraction on June 2 (stock pic)

Greenpeace has confirmed it will take legal action against the UK Government over claims it failed to check the environmental impact of burning gas from the Jackdaw gas field off the coast of Aberdeen.

The UK government gave its approval for Shell to develop the field for gas extraction on June 2.

It comes as the UK has faced a summer of unprecedented heat, say campaigners, and Greenpeace warns if gas from Jackdaw is burnt, it could produce CO2 emissions equivalent to more than that of Ghana.

Philip Evans, oil and gas transition campaigner for Greenpeace UK, said: This Jackdaw approval is a scandal.

The Government knows that burning fossil fuels drives the climate crisis, yet theyre approving a new gas field in June, without proper climate checks, and declaring a national emergency over heatwaves in July.

Meanwhile household bills are soaring, and the Government is ignoring common-sense solutions  like home insulation, heat pumps and cheap renewable power.

We believe this is an astonishing dereliction of the Governments legal duty, and we wont let it stand.

So were taking legal action to stop Jackdaw, and whenever we see the government acting unlawfully to greenlight new fossil fuels we stand ready to fight in the courts.

HeraldScotland:

Climate campaigners in Scotland have welcomed the announcement.

Friends of the Earth Scotland say the legal challenge will send a strong message to the Government that climate campaigners will oppose fossil fuel expansion in every way they can.

Freya Aitchison, from Friends of the Earth Scotland, said: Climate scientists and energy experts alike are clear that we cannot afford any more gas extraction if we are to limit dangerous warming, yet the UK Government is ploughing ahead with licensing projects like Jackdaw which will lock us into continued reliance on fossil fuels for decades to come.

The group says the field would produce the equivalent of half the annual emissions of Scotland if burned.

Ms Aitchison added: The fact is that any gas extracted will belong to energy giant Shell, who will sell it on the open market to boost their huge profits, so it wont bring down our soaring energy prices at all. This project cannot be allowed to go ahead.

The UK Government must stop issuing any new fossil fuel licences and instead start planning for a managed phase-out of production, with a just transition for workers and communities.
A man who went on a stabbing rampage killing seven people in Japan has been executed.

Japanese broadcaster NHK reported the government had "carried out the death sentence" of Tomohiro Kato, who ran a truck into a busy Tokyo shopping district before knifing his victims in 2008.

Kato had sent thousands of shoppers fleeing as he rammed the rented truck into a group of pedestrians along the main street of the capital's Akihabara district.

The crime sent shockwaves through the country known for its peaceful way of life.

Kato was sentenced to death for the crime - and his execution was finalised by Japan's Supreme Court in February 2015.

The top court had dismissed Kato's appeal against a lower court sentence, describing his actions as "leaving no grounds for leniency".

The suspect who told police he was "tired of life" said he had gone to Akihabara "to kill people" and he did not care who.

Along with the seven who were killed, at least 10 people were injured. One of them, was a traffic police officer who was helping the pedestrians run over by Kato's truck.

The Akihabara district of Tokyo, was known as a centre for the manga comic and anime film subculture.

Laws on knife ownership were tightened up in Japan after Kato's killing spree.
SHOWS: Foreign Minister

STORY: Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah said Myanmar should be barred from sending political representatives to any international ministerial level meetings.

He was joined by the United Nations' Special Envoy for Myanmar, Noeleen Heyzer, who said it was a "blatant violation to the right to life, liberty and security of person.

Myanmar's military, which seized power in a coup last year, announced on Monday (July 25) that it had executed the activists for aiding "terror acts" by a civilian resistance movement, Myanmar's first executions in decades.

A junta spokesperson has said the men were given due process and insisted those executed were not democracy activists, but killers deserving of their punishment.
Andrew Livesey from Taylors Solicitors

The team at a Blackburn law firm has advised the owners of sailing clothing company Henri-Lloyd, on its sale to a Swiss specialist sport and outdoor brand.

Odlo, which is owned by Switzerland-based Monta Rosa Capital, has acquired the iconic UK sailing and lifestyle brand Henri-Lloyd Group for a substantial undisclosed sum, which is expected to be completed shortly.

The team at Blackburns Taylors Solicitors, led by corporate partners Andrew Livesey and Matthew Catterall, and the firms head of commercial property, partner John Lomax, were on hand to advise Henri-Lloyd on the sale.

Mr Livesey said: Henri-Lloyd is an iconic British brand, and we are delighted to have been able to work with the business over the past few years, culminating in the current deal with ODLO.

It is a pleasure and a privilege to be associated with such a dynamic business and team of individuals, and a brand that is instantly recognised worldwide.

This was a particularly pressurised deal, with a substantial amount of detail to be dealt with in a short timescale.

There were plenty of early starts and late finishes, with all of the professional team fully focused on the task in hand.

Henri-Lloyd was established in Manchester in 1963 and has 85 staff in its UK retail business.

Taylors advised the firm when it last changed hands in 2018, when the brand and valuable assets were acquired out of administration by a group of investors led by Hans Eckerstrom with the aim of re-establishing the company as the premier brand for yachtsmen and sailors around the world.

Chair of Henri-Lloyd, Hans Eckerstrom, said: The acquisition of Henri-Lloyd by Odlo opens up tremendous opportunities for the brand to reach its true potential to the benefit of all shareholders, both current and future.

Joining a family of successful companies that share values and goals will accelerate our growth.

Most importantly that journey will be based on quality, innovation and striving for sustainability  principles the Henri-Lloyd team hold dearly.

Story continues

Henri-Lloyd was founded by Henri Strzelecki, who set out to create the worlds best and most durable waterproof clothing.

He created several world-firsts within technical clothing that have today become industry standards, including seam taping garments for waterproofing and the invention of the nylon non-corrosive zip.

Henri-Lloyd will continue to be located in Manchester and will collaborate with the Odlo group in the development of the brand and a new generation of innovative products.

Odlo chair, Hugo Maurstad, said: We are excited about including Henri-Lloyd into our family of brands. It is an iconic brand with a proud history.

"Together we aspire to further expand its product range and geographic footprint.

Henri-Lloyd and Odlo are both companies that originated from technical innovations in outdoor sport apparel and they will complement each other going forward.

Odlo chief executive, Knut Are Hgberg, added: By leveraging Odlo's comprehensive infrastructure, we can concentrate investments towards the Henri-Lloyd brand and its customers while progressing on the ambitious sustainability agenda of all brands within Odlo International.

We warmly welcome the Henri-Lloyd team to the Odlo family and look forward to working together going forward.
PA Media: Video

Asked about nationalisation, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer told BBC Breakfast: The choice weve made in our plan is that every single penny that is needed for this plan will go directly to reducing the bills of families up and down the country. If you go down the nationalisation route, then money has to spent on compensating shareholders and I think in an emergency like this, a national emergency where people are struggling to pay their bills, I think that the right choice is for every single penny to go to reducing those bills."
Bucks Fizz star Cheryl Baker has suggested Cardiff would be a good place to host the Eurovision Song Contest next year.

The Welsh capital is one of many cities being touted following confirmation on Monday that the United Kingdom will host the event in 2023 on behalf of Ukraine.

Organisers the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) decided the event could not be held in the war-torn country following the Russian invasion.

Cheryl Baker, Mike Nolan and Jay Aston perform at the Arqiva Commercial Radio Awards (Ian West/PA)

Baker was part of Bucks Fizz alongside Bobby G, Mike Nolan and Jay Aston when they triumphed at Eurovision in 1981, winning with their song Making Your Mind Up.

Speaking on BBC Breakfast, Baker, 68, said: It needs to go to a city where theres an international airport, where theyve got a venue thats big enough, where there are enough hotels, so any one of those would work.

I think it would be nice if it didnt go to London although, for me, I live in Kent, Im half an hour from London. So for me, that will be perfect.

But would be nice if it went to (a) regional I fancy Cardiff, I think that would be nice. Like you say, the Land of Song.

Welsh Secretary Robert Buckland also added his voice to calls for Cardiff as the host, telling reporters: Im a fan of Eurovision and I think itd be great to see it here in Wales, the Land of Song.

He added: I think Cardiff would be a great venue because its got the capacity.

The reality is there are only a few places in the UK that have the capacity, there has been talking about the Manchester Arena, Glasgow.

It seems to me that theres a consensus that needs to be out of London, which is a good start, and therefore I think Cardiff definitely needs to be in the running as a major international venue, not just for sporting events, but for cultural events, as well.

I cant think of a better venue for a cultural event of this magnitude than Cardiff so I think we should go for it. And I would urge the BBC to work on that basis.

Bucks Fizz relaunched as The Fizz a few years ago after changing their name because of a legal row with former member Bobby G, and reformed with original members Aston, Baker, Nolan and newest recruit Bobby McVay, who represented the UK at Eurovision in 1983.

Story continues

Ukraine will automatically qualify for the grand final alongside the so-called big five nations, the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain, who get a free pass because of their financial contributions to the event.

It will be the ninth time Eurovision has taken place in the UK  more than any other country.

The bidding process to select a host city will begin this week, with the BBC and EBU jointly making the final decision.

Sam Ryder finished second for the UK at Eurovision (Ian West/PA)

Asked about the significance of the competition coming to the UK, Baker said: I think its fantastic. I mean, its the biggest musical extravaganza in the world and it happens once a year and its coming to the UK.

And I think actually as well, we came second to the Ukraine, it kind of makes sense that it comes here rather than anywhere else.

Obviously, it cant go to Ukraine, and I think it would be lovely for us to host it on behalf of Ukraine.

As long as the Ukraine are completely involved, as long as their presenters, weve basically given them the shell to do it in my opinion, I think their production teams and their presenters and everything should be totally involved.

Its just like were giving them the venue to use, thats what I think.

It comes as several of Britains major cities, including London, Manchester, Glasgow, Liverpool and Leeds, threw their hat into the ring to host Eurovision on Monday.

Liverpool, Sheffield & Glasgow are among the cities to put in bids to host the Eurovision song contest. 'We could fill every single part of this city with brilliant music' Claire McColgan, Director of Culture Liverpool explains why the city would be a great place to host. pic.twitter.com/AtDsy45AVg  Good Morning Britain (@GMB) July 26, 2022

Claire McColgan, director of Culture Liverpool, told Good Morning Britain that the city, which was given Unesco City of Music status in 2016, said the thought of Liverpool doing it with the compassion that Liverpool people have and the fact that we could fill every single part of this city with brilliant music, but also do loads of community work and schools work like we do with all our big events, would just be a wonderful opportunity for Liverpool.

Asked about the funding and short lead time for preparation, she said: I think the kind of key thing about Liverpool is we did the events research programme, where we opened up the first nightclub, we opened up the first festival during Covid, we work very quickly.

And Liverpool has got an infrastructure, where we can put an event on in a really short time that the event is really impactful as well.

So we can shut the whole city down. So even though the show itself is in the arena, weve got all these kind of iconic spaces that are known across the world we could just do some really, really beautiful things that I dont think any other city could do.

Fellow former Eurovision winner Lulu, 73, called for the contest to be held in her home city of Glasgow.

Speaking on BBC Newsnight, she said: It has to be Glasgow because thats where I come from.

Theyre so politically savvy, theyre the most fabulous hosts, they absolutely are music mad.

I think it would be just the most fabulous thing, and I would be there. I just cannot wait.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday offered US assistance in building ties between Armenia and Azerbaijan, encouraging a permanent settlement between the adversaries two years after a Russian-brokered truce.

In separate calls with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Blinken said that the two nations have a "historic opportunity to achieve peace in the region."

Blinken "offered the United States' assistance in facilitating regional transportation and communication linkages," State Department spokesman Ned Price said.

Aliyev and Pashinyan met under EU mediation in May to discuss a future peace treaty. Their foreign ministers followed up with talks this month in neighboring Georgia.

Russia in 2020 brokered a truce that ended a six-week war that claimed more than 6,500 lives. Russia deployed some 2,000 peacekeepers, with Armenia agreeing to cede swathes of territory it had controlled for decades.

The United States, Russia and France -- which all have strong Armenian diasporas -- formed the so-called Minsk group that sought to broker a resolution amid the first war in the 1990s over Nagorno-Karabakh, an Armenian-populated region internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan.

The United States has drastically scaled back contact with Russia since its invasion of Ukraine in February, although Washington has maintained indirect contact with Moscow on some international issues such as Iran.

Price said the United States was ready to engage with "likeminded partners" to support peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

sct/to
As one of the prototypes for the scene in the movie Avatar, the scenery of the central Chinese city Zhangjiajie has attracted a group of overseas students.

"In the past, I had only seen Zhangjiajie in movies and read about it in the news, but this time, when I am there, I have truly felt its allure," said Boukete Grace, a student from the Republic of the Congo, who studies at Hunan Normal University in Changsha.

This July, 30 international students from 15 countries, who all attend the same university, traveled to Zhangjiajie, a renowned tourist city, for a five-day excursion to the surrounding countryside.

The international students' first stop on their study tour was a once impoverished mountainous village located in Zhangjiajie's Cili County. In recent years, the local government has made efforts to improve the living conditions of the villagers.

By building orchards and developing agritainment, the local government has helped the locals by creating more jobs.

The village's fruit growers took the students on a tour of the picturesque countryside and taught them how to identify a peach, a kiwifruit, a peanut, and other popular fruits and vegetables in the village.

"It took a long time for the villagers to find their way, but luckily their hard work and sheer determination paid off. A great number of once-impoverished villagers embarking on the path to success touched me deeply," said Cameroonian student Arthur Vithran.

The villagers also invited the overseas students into their homes. One of the hosts told them how he quit his job in the city and started a new life as an entrepreneur in his hometown. An elderly villager told the students about the dramatic changes they had witnessed, such as modernization, including an improvement in rural sanitation that had occurred in the village over the years.

The villagers put on a variety of performances for the international students before they left the hamlet. Wearing traditional dress, and some with a traditional musical instrument in hand, they sang, played music, and danced for their guests.

"In addition to focusing on improving the economy, there is an emphasis on conserving the culture. Villagers from an ethnic minority group have retained their cultural traditions which attract many tourists," said Malek Alshabi from Yemen.

To learn more about China's experience in conserving its natural resources, the international students also visited Zhangjiajie's breathtaking scenic views in Wulingyuan, which has been included on the World Natural Heritage List of UNESCO.

Students went on an underground karst cave tour in the Huanglong Cave. They were told that one of the tallest stalagmites in the area was insured for up to 100 million yuan (about 14.8 million U.S. dollars) by the local management.

"I think this reflects China's long-standing adherence to the ecological strategy of fostering a community of life for both man and nature," said Nguyen Thi Da Thao from Vietnam.

A number of free-roaming wild macaques in the picturesque surroundings also caught the students' attention. In China, the wild macaque is under national second-class protection. The scenic area management department has been stepping up animal protection by setting up a wildlife protection agency.

"A society's level of civility can be gauged by how much emphasis it puts on preserving its natural environment," Nguyen added.

"It was an exciting trip for sure. The scenery, folklore, history, and culture all made me see things differently," although Malian student Sagara Seydou has lived in China for a number of years, he has primarily resided in the urban area. "This study tour has provided me with a fresh understanding of rural China," he added.
HA NOI  A delegation of Party, State, National Assembly, Government and Viet Nam Fatherland Front leaders on Tuesday offered incense in tribute to fallen combatants at the Martyrs Monument and paid tribute to late President Ho Chi Minh at his mausoleum in Ha Noi for the 75th War Invalids and Martyrs Day (July 27).

The delegation included President Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, former Party General Secretary Nong uc Manh, former NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, and permanent member of the Party Central Committees Secretariat Vo Van Thuong.

They expressed their profound gratitude to the martyrs who sacrificed their lives in the struggle for national liberation, reunification, independence and freedom, for the Fatherland and for the people.

Speed up DNA identification

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh visited the Centre for DNA Identification under the Viet Nam Academy of Science and Technology in Ha Noi on Monday, emphasising the great appreciation people have for martyrs while noting the pain of hundreds of thousands of families still looking for their loved ones remains. He called for the relevant authorities to speed up the DNA identification of unknown martyrs.

Recounting his recent visit to the Viet Nam-Laos International Martyrs Cemetery, where 7,000 out of 12,000 graves hold unknown soldiers, the PM said: Many families are still waiting in pain for information about their loved one's remains.

The PM noted the great appreciation and commemoration of the Party, people and the army forces towards people with meritorious service, including martyrs, wounded soldiers and their families, who have made great sacrifices for independence, freedom, reunification and prosperity of the nation.

The PM said on behalf of the Party and the State, he highly appreciated the work of the centre and three other agencies that are tasked with identifying unknown martyrs, namely the Military Institute of Forensic Medicine under the Ministry of Defence, the National Institute of Forensic Medicine under the Ministry of Health, the Institute of Biotechnology under the Viet Nam Academy of Science and Technology.

Over more than 50 years of fighting for national independence and reunification millions of Vietnamese people, with patriotic spirit and unyielding and indomitable will, made huge sacrifices for the noble revolutionary cause.

The war has receded but the pain is still present, especially for the families of the martyrs. Countless mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters are still haunted by the wish to look for their loved ones who died in the war.

More than a million martyrs fell for the nations independence. That is millions of unfulfilled dreams and promises to return.

There are countless families who now only wish to find their loved ones remains. They never gave up their hope and have been searching for the remains using information given on the death notification letter. Millions of people are still waiting for the results in pain.

He said the support for the people with meritorious services, including the identification of unknown martyrs, was an important political task and the responsibility of the entire Party, people and military.

Noting that this was a very difficult and complex task, he said it was essential to have close coordination between ministries, branches, agencies and localities, as well as the active support of organisations and individuals, because so many martyrs had died since the war against French and they passed away in many different areas, both at home and abroad.

He noted that from 2011-2021, DNA samples of 41,119 martyrs remains were taken, of which 9,403 were analysed and 1,389 martyrs were identified.

The PM said there were many difficulties and challenges in the search, gathering and identification of martyrs remains.

The demand was huge while the capacity is still limited and the information, documents and witnesses of martyrs had been decreasing, as had the quality of samples able to be taken from the deceased, the PM said.

He also noted that improper financial mechanisms and limited human resources, as well as lack of application of information technology, were among barriers to identification work.

The PM addressed 10 recommendations to better fulfil this task.

Regarding funding to build a database of families of martyrs whose graves have not been found, he requested the Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs to coordinate with the Ministry of National Defence, the Viet Nam Academy of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Information and Communications to soon synchronise data to establish the national database on martyrs, serving the DNA assessment task.

Regarding equipment for DNA identification, he ordered the Academy to identify equipment that needs to be upgraded or bought and send a proposal of funding to relevant ministries or report to the Prime Minister if needed.

The PM also made recommendations on other aspects of DNA identification work including personnel recruitment and training, tax exemption for some services, public-private partnership mechanism, the storage of DNA samples of relatives of unknown martyrs, and international cooperation. VNS
ABB to quit Russian market over war in Ukraine, Photo ABB

Russia accounts for only one or two percent of ABB's overall annual turnover and the decision to pull out will have an estimated financial impact in the second quarter of around $57 million, the group calculated.

"ABB has decided to exit the Russian market due to the ongoing war in Ukraine and impact of related international sanctions," the group said in a statement.

Russia accounts for only one or two percent of ABB's overall annual sales and the decision to pull out will have an estimated financial impact in the second quarter of around $57 million, the group calculated.

A large number of major western companies have pulled out of Russia since Moscow invaded its pro-Western neighbour on February 24.

"When the war broke out, ABB stopped taking new orders in Russia," the Swiss group said.

At the same time, it said it continued to fulfil "a small number of existing contractual obligations with local customers, in compliance with applicable sanctions."

Most of ABB's dedicated Russian workforce has been on leave since March "and the company will do its best to support them as it realigns its operations in a controlled manner," it said.

ABB has about 750 people in Russia and two production sites in the country located in the Moscow region and Lipetsk, as well as several service centres.

Separately, the group said that its net profit fell by 50 percent to $379 million in the second quarter, largely as a result of one-off charges, but also the cost of withdrawing from Russia.

Sales, on the other hand, grew by six percent to $7.2 billion in the period from April to June, ABB said.
A girl receives a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in Bangkok, Thailand on July 19, 2022. (Photo:XINHUA)

Bangkok  Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) says it is ready to cope with another wave of COVID-19 pandemic as the city could face tens of thousands of patients by the time it peaks in late August.

Dr Yong Poovorawan, head of the Centre of Excellence in Clinical Virology at the Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, said the number of new infections has been steadily rising during recent weeks, especially in Bangkok where half the nationwide COVID-19 cases are reported, adding that this is the sign of another approaching wave of COVID-19 outbreaks.

The change of the prevalent COVID-19 strain from the BA.2 Omicron subvariant to the BA.5 subvariant is behind the recent surge, he said.

Facing the BA.5 Omicron subvariant outbreak in the capital, Bangkok governor Chadchart Sittipunt said he has ordered four initial measures to cope with the surge of COVID-19 infections.

They comprise adding an extra working day for all 69 Public Health Centres under the BMA on Saturdays, opening walk-in vaccination booths at the centres every Friday and Saturday, proactive COVID-19 screening at schools, and a proactive vaccination campaign targeting vulnerable groups.
National Security Adviser of the RoK Kim Sung-han (Photo: Yonhap News)

Hanoi  President of the Republic of Korea (RoK) Yoon Suk-yeol will hold a summit with his Indonesian counterpart Joko Widodo in Seoul this week and discuss cooperation in defence, infrastructure and other areas, Korean National Security Adviser Kim Sung-han said on July 25.

Widodo will arrive on July 27 and hold summit talks with Yoon on July 28 at the invitation of the Korean President, Kim said during a press briefing, as cited by Yonhap News Agency.

During the summit, the two leaders "will discuss bilateral cooperation in various areas, including defence, infrastructure and economic security," Kim said, adding there will also be "in-depth discussions" on the RoK's upcoming Indo-Pacific strategy and its collaboration with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Kim said Indonesia is the only ASEAN member to have a special strategic partnership with the RoK, accounting for 41% of the bloc's population and 34% of its total gross domestic product.

The country is also a member of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, alongside the RoK, and plays an important role for the stability of supply chains involving core minerals.

Widodo's visit is expected to not only strengthen relations between the RoK and Indonesia but also mark "the proper beginning of the Yoon Suk-yeol government's diplomacy with ASEAN," Kim said.
The first Beijing Culture Forum, which opened on Monday, is expected to fuel cultural innovations and help establish the capital as the nation's cultural center.



With the theme of "inheritance, creativity and mutual learning", the forum included an opening ceremony, a main forum and four subforums, which focused on cultural inheritance and evolution, cultural exchange and cooperation, the integrated development of culture and technology, and the creation and dissemination of high-quality literary and artistic works.

Tours for forum participants along Beijing's Central Axis and visits to the Shougang Industrial Park and Grand Canal Museum, as well as visits to other cultural attractions in the capital, were also arranged for the two-day event.

Huang Kunming, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, urged cultural workers to put people front and center, carrying out high-quality cultural development.

"We should deepen dialogues among civilizations and strengthen the cultural ties between China and other countries," Huang said. "Exchanges and mutual learning are encouraged to tell the stories of China and present the image of Chinese civilization."

Cai Qi, Party secretary of Beijing, addressed the opening ceremony, saying that the forum aims to grow into a platform for displaying outstanding achievements in the city's cultural construction, exchanging experiences in the field, conducting collaboration in cultural innovation and development, and telling China's stories to the world.

Minister of Culture and Tourism Hu Heping gave a speech that emphasized the importance of integrating culture and tourism, saying that diversified cultural resources should be used to upgrade tourism products and enhance tourists' travel experience.

"Meanwhile, tourism development can help revitalize China's fine traditional cultures, carry on the revolutionary culture and promote advanced socialist culture," Hu said, adding that museums, galleries, libraries, theaters and other cultural spaces should be developed into popular tourist destinations.

The event also noted 10 major cultural events in the capital's effort to build itself into a national cultural center. These included an art performance at the National Stadium in Beijing titled The Great Journey, which was held to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China; the archaeological discovery made at the nearly 3,000-year-old city ruins in the Liulihe site in Beijing's Fangshan district; and the first China Internet Civilization Conference in Beijing.

The progress made by Beijing in applying to have the city's Central Axis put on UNESCO's list of World Cultural Heritage Sites, and the fact that the business income of Beijing's cultural industries was 1.76 trillion yuan ($261 billion), a year-on-year increase of 17.5 percent, were also highlighted among the 10 major cultural achievements.

In a roundtable discussion, An Laishun, vice-president of the International Council of Museums, said that Beijing, a city that has 204 museums, seven World Cultural Heritage Sites and more than 3,800 unmovable cultural relics, has the potential to grow into "a city of museums".

Shao Tianshuai, a Kunqu Opera actress of the Northern Kunqu Opera Theatre in Beijing and a forum participant, said that as Beijing has made great efforts to build itself into China's cultural center, Kunqu Opera performers get to enjoy a better environment for creating high-quality works.

The Northern Kunqu Opera International Cultural Art Center, which consists of five theaters and a museum that displays the art form's evolution, is under construction in Beijing's Xicheng district, a move that Shao believes will bring the time-honored art closer to people of various age groups.

Shao said she was most interested in the discussion during the forum on how to conduct international cultural exchanges and how to carry out the integration of traditional arts and new business forms.

"I'm inspired by the event to continue to play an active role in Beijing's cultural construction, showing the world the charms of Kunqu Opera," she added.
Reviewing and sharing tips for candidates to improve their CVs is quite common among many HR platforms. However, the popularity of social media such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and TikTok has recently turned this into an increasingly viral online trend.

Each video reviewing a CV can attract hundreds of thousands of views, therefore turning HR experts into famous key opinion leaders who need to be careful with what they are sharing.

Hoang, an engineering student at a famous university in Ho Chi Minh City said, I got rejected many times when I first looked for a job. I guess it was because my CV was not well organised or it did not sufficiently highlight my strengths. But it was difficult to connect with HR professionals to have my CV looked at. However, since the trend of reviewing CVs on TikTok, my CV can easily be reviewed just by sending an email to the HR experts and career consultants on the platform.

However, this trend could turn into a social media crisis and become out of control if HR influencers exceed their limits.

Recently, a screenshot from a CV with a candidates personal information was publicised by an HR site and the situation became worse when it received a sarcastic and teasing response.

Many netizens expressed their anger against this action as they claimed it was unprofessional due to posting the candidates personal information.

According to Nguyen Thi Thanh Huong, deputy CEO of Talentnet, Social media is a double-edged sword. HR professionals can demonstrate their knowledge, thereby building their personal branding through social platforms. However, if they are not careful, they can lose their professionalism by publicising candidates personal information or becoming increasingly biased with over-emotional inputs. These people should remain professional whether online or offline.

Three tips to navigate the trend of reviewing CVs

Here are the secrets Huong highlighted to help maintain professionalism when sharing and reviewing candidate CVs on social platforms:

- The consent of the candidate  no one wants their personal information to be turned into an open discussion without their permission, even with good intentions. Candidates should be given a heads-up about the pros and cons when sharing their CVs online, thus setting the limits of what to, and what not to, share beforehand.

- Always be objective  subjective comments or over-the-top criticism should be avoided for CVs that do not meet the standards. Commenting on mistakes and providing solutions to improve candidates' CVs will help create a professional image in the eyes of the candidate and others.

- Maintain the utmost confidentiality of candidates personal information  a CV contains various bits of personal information such as name, age, phone number, email, and work experience. The act of sharing this information not only shows a lack of professionalism but can also cause legal issues. Candidates personal information should be covered when shared and focus should be placed on commenting on how the candidate displays their work experience and skills.

Candidates, especially the younger generation, always seek professional guidance to effectively prepare for their career path. Amid the social media boom, sharing and commenting on candidate CVs on social platforms helps to level up the quality of the candidate pool and can add value to the community. However, HR professionals must be recognised as such  dedicated and professional, shared Huong.
Illustrative image (Source: EPA)

Binh Duong  Japans Sharp Corporation would build another large-scale project in the southern province of Binh Duong, specialising in smart, high-tech products, its Senior Executive Managing Officer Yoshihiro Hashimoto has said.

The electronics giant is running two projects in Binh Duong, one at the Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park I (VSIP I) and another at the expanded VSIP II, contributing to the global supply chain, Hashimoto added.

At a recent working session with provincial leaders, Hashimoto commended Binh Duongs attractive investment environment, which, he said, satisfies Sharps requirements.

He called on Binh Duong to help with land, workforce and transport infrastructure for the new project.

Standing Vice Chairman of the provincial Peoples Committee Mai Hung Dung expressed his delight at the groups investment expansion.

Binh Duong now counts 29 concentrated industrial parks, with a combined area of 12,662 hectares. The locality has increased investments in infrastructure, covering transport, water and electricity, to attract more investors.

It is also working to streamline administrative procedures, while paying more heed to personnel training and housing for workers.

In the first half of this year, the province lured more than 2.5 billion USD in foreign direct investment.
The Vietnam Womens Union (VWU) and the Cambodian Women's Association for Peace and Development (CWPD) sign a cooperation agreement for the 2022 - 2027 period. (Photo: VNA)

Phnom Penh  A delegation of the Vietnam Womens Union (VWU) is paying a working visit to Cambodia to further enhance the traditional cooperation with their Cambodian counterparts.

On July 25, the VWU and the Cambodian Women's Association for Peace and Development (CWPD) held a ceremony marking the 55th anniversary of the two countries diplomatic ties and the Friendship Year 2022. They also signed a cooperation agreement for the 2022 - 2027 period.

Reviewing the history of the countries diplomatic ties and solidarity, Men Sam An, Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and President of the CWPD, said for more than 40 years, the VWU has given material and spiritual support and sent technical experts to help consolidate the CWPD and assist needy women in Cambodia.

It has also assisted with personnel training through short- and long-term refresher courses for CWPD officials at all levels, helped build schools, organised health examinations and treatment for the poor, and donated medicine, rice and other supplies to low-income earners affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and natural disasters.

The two sides have also strengthened friendship between their chapters in border provinces through programmes on poverty reduction, vocational training, healthcare, education, and human trafficking, along with many other activities, thus contributing to a border of peace, friendship and development, she noted.

VWU President Ha Thi Nga held that international integration requires stronger and more substantive cooperation between the two organisations at both central and local levels.

She recommended both sides contribute more to international and regional cooperation within the frameworks of ASEAN, the Greater Mekong Subregion and the Cambodia - Laos - Vietnam Development Triangle Area, and work together in fields considerably affecting women.

Amid complex developments in the region and the world, the associations should further reinforce solidarity and mutual support to live up to the sacrifices and contributions made by former generations, thus meeting Vietnamese and Cambodian womens aspirations and interests and helping promote gender equality and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, according to Nga.

At the ceremony, the VWU and the CWPD signed a cooperation agreement for 2022 - 2027. The VWU Committee of Dak Lak province and the CWPD chapter of neighbouring Mondulkiri province signed a similar deal for the period. Meanwhile, the two associations and the INTRACO company inked an agreement to carry out a project on equipping women with energy saving stoves and water purifiers.

The visit by the VWU delegation will last until July 28.
When Ashley Canuteson and Jess Wheeler walk through the halls of Midway High School's new $31.5 million Career & Technology Education wing, they see both the past and the future.

The past is what the public thought CTE was about a decade ago, when Canuteson started as the district's director of college and career readiness: job training for students not going on to college, heavy on agriculture, trade skills and home economics.

The future, which Midway administrators and educators imagined and district taxpayers approved in a $148 million bond issue three years ago, is far more varied.

Computer coding and programming. Robotics. High-tech medical care. Computer-assisted design and prototype construction in makerspace shops. Labs that put current machinery in students' hands to learn by doing. Learning spaces that allow small groups for project planning and creation to form, then reassemble for other needs.

"There have been mindset changes," Canuteson said of the public's view on CTE. "Ten years ago, we were fighting the mindset that CTE was just for the non-college bound. Now, most of these students are planning to go to college."

While increasing specialization of equipment and training might seem limiting or confining to students not yet into the workforce, Canuteson said it's the underlying skills that CTE education teaches  problem-solving, experimentation, project planning and execution, design, learning from mistakes  that are the true benefits in a future where change is guaranteed.

Midway High School's CTE wing, attached to the existing high school, opens to teachers and students next month. Some of the CTE improvements covered in the bond issue are already in place with the expansion of the high school's agricultural science wing last year, which houses ag sciences, welding, veterinary tech, floral design and more.

The two-story wing includes a robotics lab, whose high, vaulted ceiling provides airspace to flight test drones; a health science/hospital lab; computer science and engineering labs; maker spaces; classrooms for forensics and anatomy/physiology with labs; a graphic design classroom with adjoining production space; a "Red, White and Brew" coffee counter/service for culinary arts and business management students; and multiple collaborative spaces with movable tables, chairs, whiteboards and video projection screens.

Wheeler, a former associate principal at Midway High School and an agricultural science teacher earlier in his career, takes over as college and career readiness director this year. In a recent walk-through of the CTE with Canuteson, he exhibited the same excitement over the wing's potential.

He points to a robotics lab that didn't exist 10 years ago. A fully-equipped classroom that once operated out of a reconfigured storage area. A college and career readiness center opening on a main hallway, expanding its visibility and programs such as career counseling and job opportunities to students.

Huckabee Architects and Mazanec Construction Co. involved Midway administrators and CTE teachers early in the design process, using their suggestions to enhance the new wing's functionality, he said.

Canuteson said nearly 90% of the high school's students take CTE classes with the majority going on to pursue college after graduation. Approximately 300 students head straight into jobs after graduation, armed with a diploma and, in some cases, job skill certifications earned in high school.

Both McLennan Community College and Texas State Technical College work with area high schools like Midway to coordinate course offerings with their degree and certification plans. That coordination allows many students to take dual credit classes that they can count toward an associate's degree or a certification program, shortening the time toward finishing those programs on the way to a job.

Midway also participates in the Greater Waco Advanced Manufacturing Academy and the Greater Waco Advanced Health Care Academy, both of which provide job skills training and certifications to area high school students. Canuteson said Midway crafts its classes to complement academy programs.

Across Texas, state and local business input steer CTE and job training programs to address local employment needs. In the Waco area, the combination of tourism, two regional hospitals, emerging businesses and manufacturing translate into a need for workers in hospitality services and culinary arts, healthcare, entrepreneurship and business management.

Midway isn't alone in its attention to CTE. It joins other McLennan County districts in participation in the Greater Waco Advanced Manufacturing Academy and the Greater Waco Advanced Health Care Academy, both within the Waco Independent School District.

T.J. Arndt, CTE specialist for Education Service Center Region 12, which serves schools in a 12-county area, said both the federal and state government continue to increase their support of CTE and similar career education training. Congress and President Donald Trump approved Perkins V in 2018, which reauthorized federal funding of CTE programs for secondary schools and colleges to the tune of nearly $1.3 billion annually.

The Texas Legislature has shaped the state's public schools to make students more intentional in thinking about employment after high school graduation. Eighth grade students must choose one of five endorsement areas, groupings of interest or job skills, or CTE program of study to guide their high school coursework over the next four years. Those endorsement areas are STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics), business and industry, public service, arts and humanities and multidisciplinary studies.

The state also has approved 14 CTE programs of study that break down in a dizzying 53 course offerings, including cybersecurity, business management, entrepreneurship, digital communications, architectural design, food science and technology, agribusiness, healthcare diagnostics, culinary arts, nursing science, lodging and resort management, plumbing, engineering, renewable energy, carpentry, emergency services, information technology, welding, manufacturing technology, animal science, law enforcement, web development, exercise science and wellness, oil and gas exploration and teaching.

That list is shaped by state studies in what fields promise the high-wage, high-skill jobs in upcoming years, Arndt said.

"Vocation education is old terminology," he said. "The pendulum is swinging. CTE is not a stepchild any more."

There's an overlap in attention to STEM education, which often is required in many of those jobs. Arndt points out Texas projects a demand for 1.9 million jobs in STEM-specific fields by 2026.

Just as the Region 12 ESC provides curriculum and resources to support and bolster area districts' CTE programs, it does the same for STEM support from kindergarten to 12th grade, including a lending library, community outreach programs and working with school guidance counselors.

Andrea Parr, math and computer science education specialist with the ESC, said that while many students and parents roll their eyes when mathematics or science are mentioned, feeling they lack aptitude or interest in those fields, they are more open to consider a common thread running through STEM subjects and, for that matter, CTE ones as well.

"All of those emphasize a problem-solving approach, " she said. "We want kids to be problem solvers and creative in their solutions."

Even as CTE programs and STEM emphases provide ever-specialized instruction to prepare students for the job market of tomorrow, they can only go so far.

"Skills are important, but some future jobs have not been created yet," Arndt observed.
La Salle shuttle meeting

Waco Transit System will begin the public participation process to transition the La Salle Circle Shuttle from a free service to a fare-based fixed route with two public information meetings to be held at noon and 5:15 p.m. Aug. 3 at the at Waco Transit offices, 301 S. Eighth St., Suite 100.

Dates and times for other public information meetings and a public hearing are to be determined.

Waco Transit plans to begin accepting fares on the La Salle shuttle Oct. 1. The fare will be consistent with all fixed-route services provided by Waco Transit.

For more information, call 254-750-1900.

Step Up, Scale Down class

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service is launching Step Up & Scale Down, a 12-week weight management program based on the USDA 2010 Guidelines.

The series will kick off from 5:30 to 7 p.m. next Tuesday, Aug. 2, at the county extension office, 4224 Cobbs Drive.

Call 254-757-5180 for information.

Back-to-school barbecue

Waco Family & Faith International Film Festival presents its annual Community Barbecue and Back-To-School Picnic from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Friday at Whitehall Park, 7600 Fresno Road in Woodway.

Guests can enjoy a fresh summer meal and will leave with a backpack stuffed with supplies for the new school year, while supplies last.

China Spring Farmers Market

The China Spring Farmers Market will debut 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Aug. 13 at First Baptist Church of China Spring, 301 Illinois Ave.

The traditional farmers market will not include crafts or food and beverage trucks. New vendors are welcome. Plenty of parking, including handicapped parking, will be available.

Call 925-997-5704 for more information.
Step Up, Scale Down class

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service is launching Step Up & Scale Down, a 12-week weight management program based on the USDA 2010 Guidelines.

The series will kick off from 5:30 to 7 p.m. next Tuesday, Aug. 2, at the county extension office, 4224 Cobbs Drive.

Call 254-757-5180 for information.

Back-to-school barbecue

Waco Family & Faith International Film Festival presents its annual Community Barbecue and Back-To-School Picnic from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Friday at Whitehall Park, 7600 Fresno Road in Woodway.

Guests can enjoy a fresh summer meal and will leave with a backpack stuffed with supplies for the new school year, while supplies last.

Intersections closed

The Texas Department of Transportation crews closed Fifth Street under I-35 Monday as part of efforts realign the intersection. Traffic will be directed to the southbound I-35 frontage road where drivers can use newly constructed 12th Street to cross under I-35 and access Fifth Street from the northbound frontage road. Only the southbound lane on 12th Street will be open to traffic.

Additionally, crews have closed Fourth Street at Dutton Avenue near the Baylor University campus. Traffic will be directed to Baylor Avenue, through the parking lot near Penland Residence Hall, where drivers can turn onto northbound Fifth Street to access the I-35 frontage road. During this time, Fifth Street will temporarily allow two-way traffic between the I-35 frontage road and Penland.

Both streets will be closed for the duration of the work activities and are expected to reopen to traffic mid-August.
EDITOR'S NOTE  On July 25, 1972, Jean Heller, a reporter on The Associated Press investigative team, then called the Special Assignment Team, broke news that rocked the nation. Based on documents leaked by Peter Buxtun, a whistleblower at the U.S. Public Health Service, the then 29-year-old journalist and the only woman on the team, reported that the federal government let hundreds of Black men in rural Alabama go untreated for syphilis for 40 years in order to study the impact of the disease on the human body. Most of the men were denied access to penicillin, even when it became widely available as a cure. A public outcry ensued, and nearly four months later, the "Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male" came to an end. The investigation would have far-reaching implications: The men in the study filed a lawsuit that resulted in a $10 million settlement, Congress passed laws governing how subjects in research studies were treated, and more than two decades later President Bill Clinton formally apologized for the study, calling it "shameful."

Today, the effects of the study still linger  it is often blamed for the unwillingness of some African Americans to participate in medical research.

In observance of the 50th anniversary of Heller's groundbreaking investigation, the AP is republishing the original report and a recent interview with her and others on how the story came together.

BEHIND THE INVESTIGATION

***

The original AP report:

For 40 years the U.S. Public Health Service has conducted a study in which human guinea pigs, denied proper medical treatment, have died of syphilis and its side effects.

The study was conducted to determine from autopsies what the disease does to the human body.

PHS officials responsible for initiating the experiment have long since retired. Current PHS officials, who say they have serious doubts about the morality of the study, also say that it is too late to treat syphilis in any of the study's surviving participants.

But PHS doctors say they are rendering whatever other medical services they can now give to the survivors while the study of the disease's effects continues.

The experiment, called the Tuskegee Study began in 1932 with about 600 black men mostly poor and uneducated, from Tuskegee, Ala., an area that had the highest syphilis rate in the nation at the time.

One-third of the group was free of syphilis; two-thirds showed evidence of the disease. In the syphilitic group, half were given the best treatment known at the time, but the other half, about 200 men, received no treatment at all for syphilis, PHS officials say.

As incentives to enter the program, the men were promised free transportation to and from hospitals, free hot lunches, free medicine for any disease other than syphilis and free burial after autopsies were performed.

The Tuskegee Study began 10 years before penicillin was discovered to be a cure for syphilis and 15 years before the drug became widely available. Yet, even after penicillin became common, and while its use probably could have helped or saved a number of the experiment subjects, the drug was denied them, Dr. J.D. Millar says.

He is chief of the venereal disease branch of the PHS's Center for Disease Control in Atlanta and is now in charge of what remains of the Tuskegee Study. Dr. Millar said in an interview that he has serious doubts about the program.

"I think a definite serious moral problem existed when the study was undertaken, a more serious moral problem was overlooked in the post-war years when penicillin became available but was not given to these men and a moral problem still exists," Dr. Millar said.

"But the study began when attitudes were much different on treatment and experimentation. At this point in time, with our current knowledge of treatment and the disease and the revolutionary change in approach to human experimentation, I don't believe the program would be undertaken," he said.

Syphilis, a highly contagious infection spread by sexual contact, can cause if untreated, bone and dental deformations, deafness, blindness, heart disease and central nervous system deterioration.

No figures were available on when the last death occurred in the program. And one official said that apparently no conscious effort was made to halt the program after it got under way.

A 1969 CDC study of 276 treated and untreated syphilitics who participated in the Tuskegee Study showed that seven had died as a direct result of syphilis. Another 154 died of heart disease.

CDC officials say they cannot determine at this late date how many of the heart disease deaths were caused by syphilis or how many additional deaths could be linked to the disease.

However, several years ago an American Medical Association study determined that untreated syphilis reduces life expectancy by 17 per cent in black men between the ages of 25 and 50, a precise description of the Tuskegee Study subjects.

Don Prince, another official in the venereal disease branch of CDC, said the Tuskegee Study had contributed some knowledge about syphilis, particularly that the morbidity and mortality rate among untreated syphilitics were not as high as previously believed.

Like Dr. Millar, Prince said he thought the study should have been halted with penicillin treatment for participants after World War II.

"I don't know why the decision was made in 1946 not to stop the program," Prince said. "I was unpleasantly surprised when I first came here and found out about it. It really puzzles me."

At the beginning of 1972, according to CDC data, 74 of the untreated syphilitics were still living. All of them, Dr. Millar said, were men who did not suffer any potentially fatal side effects from their bouts with the disease.

Some of them received penicillin and antibiotics in past years for other aliments, Prince said, but none has ever received treatment for syphilis. Now, both men agree, it's too late

Recent reviews of the Tuskegee Study by the CDC indicate that treatment now for survivors is medically questionable, Dr. Millar said. Their average age is 74 and massive penicillin therapy, with possible ill side effects, is deemed too great a risk to individuals, particularly for those whose syphilis is now dormant.

However, Dr. Millar, added there was a point in time when survivors could have been treated with at least some measure of success.

"The most critical moral issue about this experiment arises in the post-war era, the years after the end of World War II when penicillin became widely available.

"I know some were treated with penicillin for other diseases and then dropped from the program because the drug had some positive effect on the primary disease (syphilis). Looking at it now, one cannot see any reason they could not have been treated at that time."

***
"Details will be forthcoming about services and other memorials, and I will ensure the community knows about this," Green wrote. "Please offer some extra grace to the Schmidts' many friends, neighbors, and coworkers as we try to process this horrible tragedy." The Cedar Falls Library was closed Saturday "for the sake of the staff who loved and worked with Sarah," he added.

By Saturday afternoon, more than $63,000 had flowed into a GoFundMe page created for Arlo. The page, which says it was organized by a cousin, Beth Shapiro, states: Arlo is a strong boy, surrounded by family and friends who are supporting him as best we can. The page says the fund will help Arlo now, and help fund his future education.

To find the page, click the hyperlink above, or go online to gofundme.com and then search Arlo Schmidt.

Found at campsite

The Jackson County Sheriff's Office and DCI were called about 6:23 a.m. for a report of a shooting at the park campground, Mike Krapfl, a special agent in charge with DCI, said during a news conference late Friday morning.

"When officers arrived, they located three deceased bodies at a campsite," Krapfl said. He did not have information as of late Friday morning on how the Schmidts were killed.
WATERLOO  A Cedar Rapids man has pleaded guilty to allegedly breaking a water pipe and causing thousands of dollars in damages to a University of Northern Iowa residence hall in October.

Ethan Russell Pilling Wise, 19, who had attended UNI, pleaded to one count of first-degree criminal mischief on Monday in Black Hawk County District Court.

The offense is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, and under a plea agreement prosecutors wont recommend anything beyond a suspended sentence with probation.

Sentencing will be at a later date.

The broken pipe leaked into rooms in the second and first floors and the basement and caused an estimated $123,136 in damage.

UNI officials discovered a break in an exposed pipe on Bender Halls second-floor room at Bender Hall around 2:40 a.m. on Oct. 16, 2021. The pipe was located between rooms 201 and 228 on the buildings south side.

According to court records, witnesses put Wise in the area at the time the damage, and electronic access point data also put his cell phone in the area.

Wise was arrested in January.
The question at the center of an investigation into the killings of three family members  including a 6-year-old girl  at an eastern Iowa state park campground is: Why?

Its a question that, so far, investigators havent been able to answer as they look for any connection between the family and the suspected shooter. They have uncovered little to establish a motive, noting they have not turned up any connection between Anthony Sherwin and those investigators say he killed.

What police have said is that Sherwin, 23, of the Omaha suburb of La Vista, had no criminal history prior to the attack, and investigators said he appeared to target the victims at random. The mans parents, who had been camping with their son, expressed incomprehension that he would carry out such an attack.

The shooting happened early Friday morning, when the victims from Cedar Falls were found shot to death in their tent at the Maquoketa Caves State Park Campground, about 180 miles east of Des Moines. Police have said Tyler Schmidt, 42; his 42-year-old wife, Sarah Schmidt; and their 6-year-old daughter, Lula Schmidt, all died in the attack.

The couples 9-year-old son, Arlo, survived the attack without physical injury, but police have not said whether he was in the tent when the shootings happened. Mitch Mortvedt, assistant director of the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, said Monday that investigators have spoken to the boy, but declined to reveal what the child said.

At this time, theres been nothing discovered as far as anything that precipitated the attack at the campground, Mortvedt said.

Sherwins parents had suggested that he might have heard the shots and grabbed a firearm in the familys vehicle for self-protection, but Mortvedt discounted that theory.

Without getting into the fine details of it, with everything that we have learned, we are confident that everything we have reported is how it played out and that he is responsible, Mortvedt said.

Autopsies on the Schmidts and Sherwin began Sunday and were continuing on Monday, Mortvedt said. The preliminary results are likely to be announced on Tuesday or Wednesday.

The La Vista Police Department in Nebraska released records Monday showing that it had only one prior contact with Sherwin, when he walked into a police station in July 2017 to report someone had tried to use his insurance to get dental work done in Oklahoma. Sherwin later called police to inform them his insurance company had mistakenly sent him someone elses bill.

Sherwins mother, Cecilia Sherwin, in a statement emailed to The Associated Press described her son as kind, sensitive, an exceptional student and an aspiring businessman.

We just arrived home and are trying to absorb the loss of our son and arriving home without him which is unfathomable, she said. I didnt think we had any tears left, but we still find ourselves breaking down and care deeply for the little boy and the loss of his family.

By Monday afternoon, more than $213,000 had flowed into a GoFundMe page created for Arlo. The page, which says it was organized by a cousin, Beth Shapiro, states: Arlo is a strong boy, surrounded by family and friends who are supporting him as best we can. The page says the fund will help Arlo now, and help fund his future education.

To find the page, click the hyperlink above, or go online to gofundme.com and then search Arlo Schmidt.

AP reporter Michael Tarm, based in Chicago, contributed to this report.
Alibaba Group seeks dual-primary listing in China's Hong Kong and the United State's New York, according to the company's Tuesday announcement on its official website.



The move was made "in the hopes of fostering a wider and more diversified investor base to share in Alibaba's growth and future," said Daniel Zhang, chairman and CEO of Alibaba Group.

The company said its board of directors had authorized management to apply for a primary listing on the Main Board of Hong Kong's stock exchange in addition to its New York listing.

The primary listing process, which is stricter than the secondary listing process, is expected to be completed before the end of this year.

After that, Alibaba will become a dual-primary listed company on the New York Stock Exchange in the form of American Depositary Shares (ADSs) and ordinary shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

After Alibaba's dual-primary listing, international investors are expected to allocate more Alibaba Hong Kong stocks, injecting new liquidity into Hong Kong stock market.

Meanwhile, Alibaba's Hong Kong stocks are expected to meet the qualifications for Hong Kong stock connect, which may create more convenience for mainland investors to directly invest in Alibaba, according to The Paper.

As for why Alibaba choose dual-primary listing at this time, analysts believe it complies with the current situation and market expectations and it is the optimized business choice to ensure investors' interests, The Paper said.

The major difference between dual-primary listing and secondary-listing is dual-primary listed companies can be included in Hong Kong stock connect programs, which Alibaba is currently not involved in.

To be included in the Hong Kong stock connect programs, a company can attract A-share investors to improve stock liquidity. It is also conducive to returning to A-shares market in the future to achieve "three-place listing", according to yinsfinance.com.

Alibaba aims to serve users worldwide with localized operations and cross-border commerce with access to Chinese manufacturers and consumers with a goal to serve 2 billion consumers globally by 2036, the company said.

"Hong Kong is also the launch pad for Alibaba's globalization strategy, and we are fully confident in China's economy and future," Zhang added.

Similar to Alibaba, an increasing number of companies have secured or are seeking a dual-primary listing in Hong Kong, demonstrating great confidence in the strong momentum of China's economic development and prosperous future. These companies include Chinese video platform Bilibili, Chinese property agency KE Holdings and Chinese fintech platform OneConnect Financial Technology.
GRUNDY CENTER  Zachary Andersen said he reconsidered his career in law enforcement after he watched Sgt. Jim Smith die in a standoff at a Grundy Center home in April 2021.

I did question if I wanted to continue in this field as a direct result of this incident. Is it worth it? What is being done to support us after a major incident like this? said Andersen, who was a Grundy County sheriffs deputy at the time of the shooting and is now a public safety officer with the Cedar Falls Police Department.

His comments came Tuesday as he testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee in Washington, D.C., as the nation experiences a rise in attacks on law enforcement.

Committee chairman Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois is pushing for a bill to address illegal firearms trafficking. The bill is named after Ella French, a Chicago officer killed with a straw-man-purchased gun during a 2021 traffic stop.

Committee member Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa is proposing his own bill  titled the Improving Law Enforcement Officer Safety and Wellness Through Data Act  to gather more data on violence against police officers, including information about nonfatal assaults.

Other bills in the works would make attacking police a federal offense.

Andersen was part of a team led by Smith, a trooper with the Iowa State Patrol, that entered Michael Thomas Langs home to arrest him after he fought with a Grundy Center police officer in an earlier traffic stop.

Lang shot Smith in the chest and leg with shotgun slugs when Smith opened a door to the kitchen and then fired another slug at a trooper driving an armored vehicle. Lang was convicted for murder in Smiths death during a trial earlier this year and was sentenced to life in prison plus 30 years.

Today I can tell you that Im doing OK, but I know others are not. Actions need to be taken to protect those of us in this line of work.

We need to have the right support and resources opposing defund the police. The image of an officer has been tarnished in recent years. The rhetoric used by the media doesnt do us any favors with clickbait headlines of what an officer did or didnt do without painting the rest of the picture, Andersen said.

Andersen testified at Langs trial and on Tuesday was asked about the shooters motivation in the attack.

He had a clear, known disdain for law enforcement in the community, very well known. And on the day of that incident, he baited an officer into a pursuit purposefully to draw that officer out of town to attack that officer. He had a crazy idea he was going to teach that officer a lesson that day.

Grassley also read into the record a letter by Smiths widow, Kathy Smith, urging lawmakers to take steps to protect officers from attacks.

My husband had a love for justice and was one of the many who swore to protect others. He, along with many others, ended up giving his life for the sake of justice. It is in honor of him and the fallen heroes that I plead with you to do something to help prevent future losses of our law enforcement officer, the letter stated.

Her letter also recounted how her husband had been assigned to a tactical team tasked with protecting the state Capitol during police reform demonstrations where protestors spit on them and hurled frozen water bottles.

The hearing came as reports of violence against law enforcement continued to grow.

Nationwide, 73 officers were intentionally killed last year, the highest number since the 9/11 attacks and a 59% increase from the previous year. Also, 133 officers were shot in ambush-style attacks, an increase of 123% over the previous year.

A main cause of this violence against police is the demonization and disrespect shown to the profession of law enforcement throughout the country. When you allow hatred of a group to spread, people find it easy to justify violent attacks against them, Grassley said.

Other witnesses called to testify at the hearing included Angel Novalez, chief of policing reform for the Chicago Police Department; Commissioner Michael S. Harrison with the Baltimore Police Department; Chief Dwight E. Henninger with the Vail, Colorado, Police Department; Sheriff Michael J. Bouchard with the Oakland County, Mich., Sheriffs Office; and Sgt. Demetrick Tre Pennie, director of the National Fallen Officer Foundation.

In addition to the increase in violence against officers, many talked of the challenge to recruit new officers into field and retain existing officers.
Following the 5:30 p.m. service on Aug. 6, there will be a light catered meal. The meal will begin at 6:15 p.m. and Schneider will be present to greet members and mingle. He will again preach on Aug. 7, and there will be a short introduction of him during the 10 a.m. coffee hour. He served as pastor at the church for 13 years, until 2015.
If the political polls are to be believed, Novembers midterm election will sweep todays Democrats out of power in the U.S. House of Representatives and put Republicans back in charge.

If accurate, House Republicans will have a splendid opportunity to put your tax money where their collective mouth is by implementing their highly detailed, little-publicized Blueprint to Save America, a 122-page, alternate budget introduced by the House Republican Study Committee on June 9.

If youre a small government/fiscal conservative, the blueprint is 200-proof catnip. It attacks dozens of government programs as either socialist, radical or insidious and wastes little ink on ways to reform any. Instead, its favorite alternative is the ax and its prescribed fix is either complete elimination or deep program cuts.

This is especially true when the blueprint starts swinging at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and its farm and ranch support programs. For example, under the deeply red blueprint, the RSC  of which four out of five House Republicans are members would:

Remove nutrition programs from the farm bill.

Eliminate the nations two, duplicative, federal crop insurance programs to save $42.7 billion over 10 years.

Replace both with a single program whose subsidies (would be) 30% instead of todays 60% and would only be offered to pay for catastrophic policies.

And phase out the Sugar Program, prohibit new enrollments in the Conservation Reserve Program (to effectively kill CRP in 10 years) and end the Conservation Stewardship Program.

Additionally, the GOP House group would eliminate the Milk Program, prohibit funding for National School Lunch Standards, eliminate the Rural Water and Waste Disposal Program Account, and dismantle the McGovern-Dole International Food for Education Program.

And thats just a start and just USDA.

The blueprint also urges big tax cuts, deep cuts in environmental oversight, greater defense spending, and privatization of federal agencies like the Animal Plant Health Inspection Service.

Yes, thats right: no milk program, no sugar program, and no CRP.

Also, no federal crop insurance other than a catastrophic policy where farmers would pay 70% of the premium, not todays 40%.

And, yes, remove all nutrition programs  programs like the vast Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program  from the farm bill that would give every nonrural, nonfarming House member the perfect reason to never vote for any farm bill again.

Coincidence or not, two weeks after the blueprint went public the decidedly not conservative and not happy Environmental Working Group released its own analysis of recent federal farm program spending.

It, too, was a stunner because it agrees with the GOP blueprints key assertion: Farm program spending is out of control. The problem, however, claimed the EWG, was the last Republican in the White House  not todays CRP, not crop insurance, not the milk or sugar programs, and certainly not SNAP.

The government paid a record $41.6 billion in a variety of subsidies to farmers in 2020, reported the Food & Environment Reporting Network in reviewing the EWGs analysis, double the amount they received in 2018, when the Trump-era cash gusher began flowing.

And, FERN went on, farmers received a combined $91.6 billion in 2018, 2019, and 2020 from crop insurance, traditional crop supports, trade war assistance, and pandemic relief, under the Trump administration that few  if any  congressional Republicans or Democrats even questioned.

If you add in 2021 data, direct farm program payments for the most recent four years total $115.5 billion. That means 29% of all net farm income earned by farmers, ranchers, and landowners between 2018 and 2021 came from U.S. taxpayers.

Little wonder House Republicans consider USDA a ripe target for spending cuts.

Or do they? If put in charge, would Republicans really cut crop insurance, gut CRP, and eliminate the dairy and sugar programs or is the blueprint more baloney than beef?

Who knows, but when most House Republicans and the Environmental Working Group agree that farm program spending is out of control, farmers and ranchers might have a problem.
Friends, today has lifted my spirits. Honestly! The liberals of Europe have finally shown their faces. In Prague, a forum of free peoples of Russia was held, who signed the Declaration on the decolonization of the Russian Federation. The participants divided the country into 34 countries, which, according to their plan, should appear after the disappearance of Russia. For all the time, the speakers did not say anything intelligible, did not share proposals for the state structure of hypothetical countries, economic development models, and geopolitical benefits from such a plan. All the speakers (Im not exaggerating, friends, thats how it was) simply poured out their hatred for the Russian Federation.

I have told my subscribers hundreds of times about the plans of the West and the United States to destroy Russia. Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin often spoke about this. Our media regularly raised this topic, but there were some skeptics who did not believe in this and believed that the goal of the liberals was to respect human rights. The West made the first encroachment on the integrity of Russia in the Chechen Republic more than 20 years ago, feeding foreign terrorists with money and inventing a legend about freedom. Pierced. The Chechens turned out to be not fools, and in the 2003 referendum they voted for peace with Russia. Now the Chechen Republic has freedom, which the so-called Ichkerians never dreamed of with their republic that does not even exist on paper.

I almost forgot. The participants even suggested a map of the post-Russian space. On the map there are the United (yes, yes, with an error) States of Siberia, Lapland, the Caucasian Confederation (it is not clear why the independent countries included in it were not indicated). In general, there is not enough: Narnia, the Emerald City, Through the Looking Glass, the Far Far Away Kingdom, Atlantis, Lukomorye, Hobbiton. If only Daenerys Stormborn, the mother of dragons, would not be reborn among the abundance of these fabulous kingdoms. And then he will fly to the West  they will not take the Javelin.

In general, gentlemen, pseudo-liberals, I can only thank you for confirming the words of Russias top leadership about the attempts to disintegrate the country. No one would have done it better than you. Now even a hedgehog understands your goals and essence.

But there is one small detail voiced by V. Putin, which you didnt take into account in your plan: We havent really started anything yet.

Kadyrov

People, believe that the west has gone totally stupid mentally. Very sick Western World

WtR
I wonder how the EU peasants are going to feel this winter as they stink from no baths, freeze their private parts off and all the while knowing that there is a unused, yet waiting to be used pipeline to bring them gas? & Their politicians wont allow it to be used!

I dunno

I cannot gather the ability to garner sympathy for the masses in the EU, when they all accept the lies at face value, from their own lying mass media and the strange thing is these masses know that they are being lied to

Seems like suicide EU style, is the in style for the Western World?

Suicide is not a very good answer when there are many viable real options to solve issues

WtR

~~ We will show you Russia! ~~
From war to peace: Vietnam's rubber sandals march on By

AFP-Relaxnews Published

Jul 26, 2022

Made from recycled military truck or aircraft tyres, Vietnam's handmade rubber sandals, the famously rugged footwear of the Viet Cong, have travelled vast distances over the decades.





In the bustling capital Hanoi, all kinds of shoes are on sale: from $1,000 heels to $2 plastic slippers.



But for those seeking a nod to yesteryear, the hard-soled rubber sandals -- evocative of the communist state's resourcefulness under fire -- are available at markets and small stores alike.

- Uncle Ho's sandals -



Van Quang paid $8 for a standard pair at a shop outside a Hanoi museum devoted to the country's revolutionary leader -- and dedicated rubber sandal wearer -- Ho Chi Minh.



"I wore rubber sandals when I was at school, in the 1980s," the 47-year-old from central Quang Nam province told AFP.



"They are of historical value, easy to wear and look nice."



At the museum, the well-worn pair belonging to the former North Vietnam president known affectionately as "Uncle Ho" are displayed in a glass box with his Chinese-style uniform.



Ho's sandals have even been lauded in national songs praising his simple lifestyle.



"These sandals helped Uncle travel a long way, and with them, he overcame difficulties to build the country," the lyrics of one song say.



The Vietnamese first began making rubber sandals in the late 1940s, during the First Indochina War against the French, using tyres from an ambushed army truck.



They found the sandals were cheap to make and survived well in wet, muddy and hilly conditions, as soldiers marched through thick jungle.



, during the Vietnam War, the simple but sturdy footwear became a symbol of the communist Viet Cong forces' ingenuity in their fight against the United States' military might.



Even in peacetime, the design remains popular for sustainability reasons, said Nguyen Duc Truong, who has spent his life crafting the shoes.



"I think there is still much potential for rubber sandals," the 58-year-old said.



- Rising popularity -



Vietnam is one of the world's top four countries for shoe manufacturing and its factories produce pairs for major brands such as and .



The footwear export industry generated nearly $12 billion in the first half of this year, according to government figures.



While the humble rubber sandal does not quite generate the same revenue, it is high on heritage value and its popularity as a casual shoe is rising.



Vua Dep Lop, which started as a small business and became Vietnam's rubber sandal leader, sells the footwear for around $10 a pair.



At its workshop in Hanoi, shoemakers use sharp knives and chisels to craft the sandals from huge tyres that are almost the same height as the workers.



While the traditional black models are bestsellers, a colourful modern twist is helping the sandal appeal to a younger demographic.



Nguyen Tien Cuong took over the business from his father-in-law in 2011, and has sold more than half a million pairs of rubber sandals since then.



"We tried to make them softer and more fashionable. After changing the style and format, we started having more customers," he said.


A few days back a meeting took place in Hyderabads film chamber regarding the problems faced by the industry of late. Several key issues like ticket prices, OTT release, and the daily wage of workers were said to be on the agenda.

Post the meeting, producer council president C Kalyan revealed that several issues were addressed and a special person will be appointed as a committee head to sort out the issue. Now the Active Telugu Film Producers Guild issued a press note that states that the movie shootings will be halted from August 1st.

Till an amicable solution is taken, the shoots will be stopped. The decision is taken amidst the changing revenue situations post-pandemic and increasing costs. With this decision, there is a dilemma about the movie shootings in the industry.

Articles that might interest you:
Weather Alert

...Thunderstorms Chances increasing this Week... * Another surge of monsoon moisture will continue thunderstorm chances across the region this week, with the best chances extending through Thursday before diminishing into the weekend. * Most areas will see a 25-45% chance of storms in the afternoon and early evening hours. Nocturnal showers are possible tonight with a few thunderstorm possible overnight Wednesday. * Impacts will range from lightning, new fire starts, and strong outflow winds with blowing dust, to periods of heavy rainfall and flash flooding. * Ensure you have a way of receiving weather alerts. If you live in a flash flood prone area, especially near a burn scar, be ready to act quickly if heavy rainfall occurs.
A Chinese mainland spokesperson on Monday voiced firm opposition to certain content within Japan's 2022 defense white paper regarding Taiwan, urging Japan to immediately rectify its wrongful remarks.

Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said that Japan hyped up so-called "military threats" posed to Taiwan by the mainland in the white paper, completely disregarding the fact that Taiwan is a part of China.

Zhu noted that, in the 50 years of its colonial rule over Taiwan, Japan committed heinous crimes and caused misery to Taiwan compatriots. She said Japan ought to reflect on its past misdeeds, abide by the four political documents between China and Japan, and handle the Taiwan question with discretion.

Zhu also warned Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party authority and "Taiwan independence" secessionists that their attempts to seek "Taiwan independence" will come to nothing.
James Fisher Renewables (JF Renewables), a technical and operations solutions provider to the offshore renewables industry, and a part of James Fisher and Sons, is further implementing its localisation plan and growing its regional capabilities in the APAC region through two partnerships with Dong Fang (DFO) and Ho Lung Power Engineering (HLPE).



JF Renewables stated that through these partnerships it aims to provide the technical knowledge transfer to selected local teams and provide O&M, termination and testing and other selected services. The company claims it will be able to provide a valuable local content offering to the Taiwanese market, supporting overcoming shortage of skills challenges while enabling customers to optimise their local content requirements.



DFO, one of the largest Taiwanese maritime engineering, procurement and construction contractor, will provide local vessels, crew and project management to JF Renewables for offshore wind projects in-country. This is expected to allow JF Renewables to enhance the construction and Balance of Plant services they can provide in Taiwan.



Polin Chen, CEO, DFO commented: We are looking forward to the cooperation and the setup of the local capacity, together with DFO and HLPE, shows the strong commitment from JF Renewables to establish localization. The combination of expertise of JF Renewables, DFO and HLPE will demonstrate a successful localized competitive solution for long term development in Taiwan.



Through HLPE, a Taiwanese electrical company promoting the development of offshore wind power and onshore power system, JF Renewables will have access to local project teams of skilled personnel and project equipment, to complete services for termination and testing, cable repair and fault finding on Taiwanese offshore wind farms.



Chen, Cheng-Lung, General Manager, HLPE commented: This cooperation brings in foreign expertise to implement the localization of the wind power industry. With JF Renewable's comprehensive solutions, DFO's marine management, and HLPEs power engineering experiences, the leading companies in different fields working together, we can make Taiwan into an Asia-Pacific hub.



Maida Zahirovic, APAC regional vice president, JF Renewables, commented: This is an exciting step forward for JF Renewables in the APAC region as we continue to demonstrate our commitment to in-country development, localisation and investment. Through our strategic partnerships with DFO and HLPE we can support our customers with valuable solutions maximizing their local content points in the round 3 auction, while training local teams and providing knowledge transfer from our global renewables capabilities. In addition, well be recruiting additional local personnel to assist with Balance of Plant services. The Taiwan branch will become the APAC hub for JF Renewables and through this we will be able to bring our comprehensive services further afield.




One sign of the times: You remember the phone number you had as a child but dont know your own kids numbers  at least if you have a smartphone.

These days, you rarely need to dial a number to call loved ones, friends and people whove earned a coveted spot on your handsets contacts list. Instead, you tap a name, search by typing a few letters or ask a digital assistant such as Siri or the Google Assistant to dial hands free on your behalf.

To be sure, we forget things more often as we get older, and most people of a certain age have those senior moments. But something else appears to be at work here: We may be too dependent on our phones, smart speakers and other tech. Or such devices distract us, so we dont process things the way we once did.

Writing recently in the British publication The Guardian, journalist Rebecca Seal asked, Does having more memory in our pockets mean theres less in our heads? Am I losing my ability to remember things  from appointments to what I was about to do next  because I expect my phone to do it for me?

You may be asking the same questions.

Know it already? Don't look it up

A 2015 study at the University of Waterloo in Canada linked reliance on smartphones to lazy thinking. Gordon Pennycook, co-lead author of the study, and then a doctoral candidate in psychology, said people may look up information that they actually know or could easily learn but are unwilling to make the effort to actually think about it.

Before his death from cancer in July 2020, neurologist Dan Kaufer, M.D., of University of North Carolina Health told UNC Health Talk: With smartphones, you have a whole encyclopedia and beyond of information at your fingertips at any point in time. But this results in a much more superficial or shallow way to access information. The more we rely on these types of information aids or sources, the less work and processing our brains actually do.

If you give people the ability to store information remotely, outside of their brain, they become more dependent on that, which actually can have a negative effect on peoples memory, said Kaufer, who was founding director of the UNC Memory Disorders Program.

But some researchers believe the opposite may be true. A recent study at University College London (UCL) published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General concluded that using the phones may improve memory.

We found that when people were allowed to use an external memory, the device helped them to remember the information they had saved into it, Sam Gilbert, an associate professor at the university's Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and one of the studys authors told UCL News. When people had to remember by themselves, they used their memory capacity to remember the most important information. ... Far from causing digital dementia, using an external memory device can even improve our memory for information that we never saved.
On Nov. 5, 1936, Anne Fiyalka was a sophomore at Warren Harding High School in Bridgeport, Connecticut, when Amelia Earhart came to the school to talk to a student assembly. Fiyalka didnt know it, but her life was about to take a very unexpected turn.

Earhart, the renowned aviator, was arguably one of the most famous women in the world at the time. Her exploits in the sky were the stuff of legends: She had become the first woman to fly a plane solo across the Atlantic Ocean in 1932, and subsequently set numerous womens aviation records for speed and distance. Earhart was in the midst of planning an unprecedented flight around the world, and even her personal life was the subject of countless newspaper headlines and newsreel stories. She also was a well-known speaker, appearing at many public events to talk about her adventures.

In addition to talking about her experiences, Earhart spoke to the girls-only assembly about serving as a role model. She said its not only a mans world  its a womans world as well, Fiyalka, now 101, recalled.

The sudden turn for Fiyalka came after the assembly, when she was told she was one of three female honor students chosen to take a flight with Earhart from a local airport. Fiyalka said she had never flown in a plane, which would hardly be unexpected since commercial flights were expensive luxuries at the time.

Her recollections of that event are still clear: The flight occurred almost immediately after the assembly. Fiyalka and her fellow students crawled inside a Lockheed Electra with Earhart, and comfort was not the planes first priority.

It was so noisy that you couldnt talk in the airplane, Fiyalka said. Ill never forget taxiing in the airplane, and then the wheels left the earth.
Page under Maintenance

This page is under maintenance, while being upgraded. Please visit later. Thank you.

[Go Back]
The Albuquerque Police Department has identified the man who was shot and killed by at least one officer last week as Wendel Tagle.

Tagle, 43, does not have a criminal history in New Mexico, according to online court records. Police say he possibly shot his wife at the West Side apartment complex where he lived, and pointed a handgun at several people there, including an APD sergeant. Tagle's wife reportedly had a leg injury but it was unclear if it was a gunshot wound.

Chief Harold Medina said APD's Mobile Crisis Team had contacted Tagle the day before the shooting at his home at the Core Vistas at Seven Bar Ranch apartments near Coors and Alameda NW. He said Tagle had been expressing paranoia and some stress in his relationship but was not suicidal or homicidal so the officers directed him to resources.

Then on July 21, officers were again called to the complex  this time because of reports of a man firing a gun.

Medina said when officers arrived at the complex they heard gunfire. He said a sergeant in his vehicle saw the man point a handgun at him and tried to confront him but the man ran away.

Tagle ran behind a building and was confronted by other officers, said Gilbert Gallegos, an APD spokesman, in a news release. At least one officer fired at Tagle, who died as a result of the gunshot wound.

The Journal could not reach Tagle's family.

Medina said it was unclear if Tagle fired at the officers, but a gun and bullet casings were found at the scene. He said Tagle was wearing tactical-type equipment.

Gallegos said APD will continue to investigate the shooting over the next several months.

After the investigation is complete, APD's Force Review Board will forward the findings to the Superintendent of Police Reform to determine if this incident met the high standards of the Albuquerque Police Department, Gallegos said. The Multi-Agency Task Force will forward its case to the District Attorney's Office to make any determination of criminal charges.
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government launched a public consultation for the chief executive's 2022 policy address on Monday.

HKSAR Chief Executive John Lee is expected to deliver his first policy address on Oct. 19 this year, according to a press release of the HKSAR government.

Lee was quoted by the press release as saying that he and his governing team are pleased to start a new chapter for Hong Kong together with fellow Hong Kong citizens.

The chief executive advocates a people-based governing belief, while pursuing a result-oriented approach to serve members of the public in a pragmatic manner, he said.

"I shall turn my electoral promises and community interests into practical measures to improve governance, strengthen the momentum for development, tackle people's concerns, and unite the community," while leveraging on Hong Kong's unique strengths of having the motherland's support and its connection with the world to build a harmonious and diverse community where development opportunities abound, he said.

Lee invited members of the public to give their views on the 2022 policy address to drive him and his governing team in better serving citizens and the development of Hong Kong.

The HKSAR government will conduct about 30 consultation sessions to listen to views and suggestions of the Legislative Council members, representatives of various sectors and members of the public.

Lee and his governing team will also conduct district visits to meet with members of the public and representatives of different sectors to tap public views through multiple channels.




Copyright  2022 Albuquerque Journal

SANTA FE  About 86% of the thousands of defendants under pretrial supervision by the state Administrative Office of the Courts in a recent nine-month period werent charged with a new crime while being supervised, according to data presented to lawmakers Monday.

About 95% of the defendants  out of a sample of 3,595 cases  didnt face a new violent crime charge while under supervision, and 77% attended all their court hearings.

The Administrative Office of the Courts shared the numbers Monday as legislators debated ways to strengthen New Mexicos criminal justice system amid persistently high crime rates statewide.

Gilbert Jaramillo, pretrial justice manager for the AOC, said the success rates of pretrial supervision demonstrate its effectiveness as a key component of the legal system.

The data covered felony and misdemeanor defendants in two full judicial districts and parts of two others, including Dona Ana, Sandoval and San Juan counties. A study by the University of New Mexico last year found similar outcomes for felony cases in Bernalillo County.

Jaramillo told lawmakers Monday that a complex risk assessment helps determine what level of supervision a defendant can be released on, if a judge approves. Electronic ankle monitors are required in some cases, he said, to enforce curfews or geographic zones the person cannot enter.

The vast majority of our defendants are successful, Jaramillo said.

An electronic monitoring unit that operates seven days a week investigated 22,335 ankle-bracelet alerts in the nine-month period ending June 30 this year  69 of which resulted in bench warrants for a defendants arrest. Most of the warrants were for dead batteries, but 14 were for removing the monitoring equipment, six were for going into a prohibited area and five were curfew violations.

The presentation comes after legislators earlier this year passed a sweeping crime bill that stiffens some criminal penalties, creates new programs to aid in the retention of police officers and makes changes intended to strengthen the supervision of defendants awaiting trial.

The measure was also aimed at making it easier for prosecutors to obtain GPS data for pretrial defendants when needed for a criminal investigation.

Some lawmakers suggested Monday that more changes are in store.

State Rep. Antonio Moe Maestas, D-Albuquerque, said hed like to see tougher consequences for defendants who violate their conditions of release.

We can literally supervise these persons and help them to succeed, he said. But they need to be treated based on reality, based on where they are in life, with public safety in mind.

Mondays discussion came in a meeting of the Courts, Corrections and Justice Committee, a panel of legislators that meets between formal legislative sessions.
Copyright  2022 Albuquerque Journal

A plastic bottle filled with rust-colored water at his side, George Mihalik holds up a water pipe segment from To'hajiilee.

The worn metal looks to be a few decades old.

But it was only used for about 18 months in the Navajo Nation satellite community of 2,000 people west of Albuquerque.

The water is that corrosive, said Mihalik, a project engineer with Souder, Miller & Associates. It smells like rotten eggs.

The engineering firm told state lawmakers at Monday's Water and Natural Resources Committee meeting that a To'hajiilee water pipeline project is on track.

Only one of the community's six wells works. But the water quality and quantity is subpar.

The Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority will build a 7-mile waterline connecting To'hajiilee to the city water system.

Construction is expected to start later this summer, and could take a year to 18 months.

A $7.7 million grant and loan package from the state Water Trust Board is funding the project.

Water supply will come from the San Juan-Chama Project, which diverts Colorado River Basin water into the Rio Grande.

The Navajo Nation will lease San Juan-Chama water rights from the Jicarilla Apache Nation.

To prepare for pipeline connections, the engineering firm replaced most of the community's distribution system with PVC pipe.

That system is in great shape, Mihalik said. We may still update some water meters to meet the water authority standards.

The Navajo government has committed $4 million to the project's capital costs, right-of-way access and water rights leases.

The Navajo Nation is not getting a free ride, said engineer Andrew Robertson.

That money will also allow the chapter to avoid rate shock from the new water supply, Robertson said, by implementing small water bill increases over the next decade.

Sen. Benny Shendo Jr., D-Jemez Pueblo, commended local governments and advocates that pushed for easement agreements with private landowners and pipeline project funding.

It wasn't easy, and we're not done yet, Shendo said. But I'm glad we were able to figure this out to bring clean water to these families.
Copyright  2022 Albuquerque Journal

Jurors on Monday heard from two Albuquerque police officers who played key roles at different stages in the investigation of Victoria Martens' death  the first officer on scene who kicked in the door to the apartment and found the 10-year-old girl dead and on fire in a bath tub, and a cold case detective who brought a fresh pair of eyes to the investigation a year later.

The trial against Fabian Gonzales, 37, continued Monday in 2nd Judicial District Court in Albuquerque. A jury was seated July 13 and Judge Cindy Leos is presiding over the case.

Gonzales is facing charges of child abuse, recklessly caused, resulting in the death of a child under 12, seven counts of tampering with evidence and conspiracy to tamper with evidence. Sgt. Harold Sennett, who was a patrol officer the night Victoria was killed, testified Monday and jurors also watched the graphic video recorded by his on-body camera early the morning of Aug. 24, 2016, when police found Victoria's body.

Police were originally called to the Northwest Albuquerque apartment complex on a reported battery or assault, Sennett said.

He entered a first-floor apartment and found Gonzales and Michelle Martens, Victoria's mother, with a neighbor. Martens was bleeding from her head and Gonzales was holding her hair back. They both told Sennett and another officer that Jessica Kelley, who had attacked them, was still in Martens' apartment upstairs, according to the recording.

When I left to come here she said my daughter's dead, Martens told Sennett, according to the recording.

When officers tried to enter that apartment they said Kelley shut the door on them and then jumped off the balcony. She was quickly taken into custody, which is when officers heard the smoke alarm coming from the apartment.

Sennett kicked in the door to the apartment, busting off the chain lock at the top. He could see and smell smoke and he and another officer started searching for Victoria.

Oh my God, Sennett said as he entered the bathroom and saw Victoria dead and on fire. He grabbed a sheet off the ground and started trying to pat the fire out while another officer poured water on the flames.

I saw that she was dismembered and she was on fire, Sennett said.

He left the apartment and reported over his radio that there was a child 10-7, which is the code police use to report a death. He can be heard repeatedly taking deep breaths.

Deputy District Attorney Greer Staley asked Sennett if that was a difficult moment.

Absolutely difficult, he responded.

Victoria's death rocked the Albuquerque community because of its brutality. Gonzales, Kelley and Martens were originally charged with rape and murder in the case.

About two years after they were arrested, some of the more serious charges against Gonzales and Martens were dropped.

Kelley, 37, has already pleaded no contest to six felony charges, including child abuse, recklessly caused, resulting in the death of a child under 12. She was sentenced to 44 years in prison, although she will be eligible for parole in half that time.

Martens, 40, pleaded guilty in 2018 to child abuse, recklessly caused, resulting in the death of a child under 12. She faces 12 to 15 years in prison. Her sentencing hearing has not been scheduled.

Rich Lewis, a retired Albuquerque police officer, was assigned to the case in 2017. A cold case detective, Lewis brought a new perspective to the criminal investigation, which he said was far and away the largest investigation he had ever been a part of.

I can't even put a scale on it, he said. I've never seen anything like it in 40 years.

He pored over the case records and transcripts before even talking to the police detectives already assigned to the case.

Original investigators sometimes can get so wound up in their investigation that they can't see the whole picture, he said.

For a year and a half, Lewis worked on nothing but the investigation into Victoria's death. It was during that time that investigators and prosecuting attorneys learned the original charges and theory of the case were flawed.

I started seeing something, Lewis said. There might be somebody else involved.

The District Attorney's Office has alleged that an unknown man killed Victoria over a dispute the man had with Gonzales, and that Gonzales and Kelley then tampered with evidence.

Gonzales' attorneys say Kelley killed Victoria and then acted alone to try to clean up the crime scene.

Lewis said that part of the reason the original theory of the case was problematic was because it relied heavily on Martens' interview with police. Lewis said when Martens was asked questions it was almost as if she accepted the question as a fact and then expanded on it to try to please the detectives questioning her. Lewis said Martens has since been diagnosed with a condition that explains that behavior.

She's probably the most difficult person I've had to deal with in my career, he said.

Lewis said because the Office of the Medical Investigator found that Victoria was strangled, he wanted to look for male DNA on her neck, hands and fingernails. But police were not able to find evidence in those samples to prove who killed her. Authorities have indicted a DNA profile in connection with her death.

Victoria fought like a hero for her life, Lewis said.

He will continue to testify on Tuesday morning.
Copyright  2022 Albuquerque Journal

After years as one of the citys largest, most visible and most notorious unsanctioned homeless encampments, Coronado Park is now slated for closure.

Mayor Tim Keller made the bombshell announcement Monday while speaking to a room full of local business professionals.

That situation is absolutely unacceptable, so were going to stop it. In August were closing Coronado Park, he said during a speech to the New Mexico chapter of NAIOP, a commercial real estate development association. It doesnt matter if we know exactly what were doing next. It doesnt matter exactly what the timing is or how were going to do it, but we have to do better than whats happening at Coronado Park.

In an interview after the speech, Keller reiterated that his administration doesnt have the plan solidified.

That includes the exact date in August the city will fence the park, how long it will remain shuttered and whether it will even remain a park. The city could potentially use it as a safe outdoor space test site, the mayors office said. Safe outdoor spaces are managed, organized sites with rules where people who are homeless can legally camp and have access to toilets, showers and more. The City Council recently voted to make such sites legal, though an effort is already afoot to bar them.

An estimated 75-120 people currently camp nightly at Coronado Park, located on Third Street and Interstate 40, Albuquerque Chief Administrative Officer Lawrence Rael said.

Rael said city employees could start posting flyers of the pending closure as early as this week, and that the city will alert occupants to available services and other housing options.

There is a bed for every person (who stays at Coronado) to go, Keller said.

He and Rael specifically noted available space at the citys existing emergency shelter on the far West Side.

A recent city analysis identified 369 open beds across nine local shelters on a single night in June; more than half  215  were at the citys West Side facility, officials said during a City Council meeting, though they acknowledged that some people are reluctant to go there because it is remote, far from other services, and used to be an old jail.

The decision to close Coronado Park marks a change for Keller, who said as recently as June  when a man was fatally shot at the park  that closing it could make things worse. He said campers would likely disperse into the surrounding neighborhoods, which he said at the time was something none of us want to see.

Asked about that reversal Monday, the mayor said the balance had shifted and the park remaining open in its current state is untenable.

Were very concerned about whats going to happen in the neighborhoods, but at this point now, its a question of what is worse  looking the other way at violence, at homicide, at rampant drug use, or trying to deal with the problem a different way, he said. It has reached the breaking point where even if its creating other problems and other brush fires, weve got a better chance dealing with that than we do letting this go.

Max Kauffman, who co-chairs the citys Mental Health Response Advisory Committee, said the mayors announcement came as a surprise. He said that was concerning because the committee is charged with advising the city on issues related to chronic homelessness.

Now were in the position of having to react to it rather than getting ahead of it, helping to make sure that theyre considering all the factors that are relevant to people experiencing homelessness and theyre taking good care in how theyre executing this policy, and whether to execute this policy at all, Kauffman said.

A mayoral spokeswoman said the city has not consulted with MHRAC because the park situation is urgent and unlawful, but that the city will work with partners prior to closing the park to ensure residents have the option to get what they need.

Ricardo Devine, who runs a nearby day shelter that serves about 300-350 people per day, said Coronado Park is not currently safe, but there is no simple answer.

Theres no true solution; I think thats the problem, said Devine, executive director of The Rock at Noonday. We need more housing, we need more services, but I think if you disperse them, where do they go for the services?

Prevailing guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends officials leave encampments in place unless there are individual housing options available, as displacing residents could potentially increase the spread of coronavirus and break their connections to service providers.

Keller said he believes that the situation at Coronado Park is so dangerous today that it supersedes such guidance. In addition to the crime, Rael said some of the parks trees pose risks and need to be cut down or significantly trimmed.

The president of the areas neighborhood association said the city had not alerted the group before announcing the park closure or sought its input.

Its hard for us to take a position on this  whether or not we think its a good or bad idea  if nobody communicates with us and theres no plan, Wells Park Neighborhood Association President Doreen McKnight said.

She said she believes that the closure would send park residents into other parts of the neighborhood. While the mayors office said the Clean City Program that clears illegal encampments would step up patrols in the area, she said she was not sure what effect that would have.

McKnight said she also wants to know what the closure would mean for the daily shelter pickup and dropoffs that occur there. The park has been the citys shelter bus stop for years.

A mayoral spokeswoman said the pickup/dropoff spot would change, but it has not been finalized.

She said the city has not yet sought neighborhood feedback about the park closure because it is still working out the details.

Coronado Park is an issue that frequently comes up with surrounding neighborhoods and businesses. Its an urgent public safety issue and we cant look the other way, mayoral spokeswoman Ava Montoya said in a written response to Journal questions.

The Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce called the announcement unexpected and welcome.

City Council President Isaac Benton, whose district includes the park, said he is pleased with the mayors decision. He said it is not viable to leave the park as it is now.

I see how its gotten worse, and weve got to shut it down, said Benton, noting that he hears constant complaints from constituents about the situation.

Councilor Trudy Jones, who was present for Kellers announcement, said she too is happy about the impending closure but that too much remains unknown.

Do I think its a great idea? Sure  if we have plan B. What are we doing with the people were taking out? she said. If were just shuffling them out of there to shuffle them to another area, thats not what were supposed to be doing.
Copyright  2022 Albuquerque Journal

In New Mexico, where the correlation between high poverty and low literacy has been clear for decades, the state is funding a number of programs and initiatives designed to close the achievement gap between advantaged and disadvantaged students, as well as improve training, salaries and other opportunities for teachers.

In addition, the state implemented several tax credit programs that actually lowered the poverty rates the past couple of years.

Many of the financial commitments to education are aimed at helping fulfill goals of the 2018 Yazzie/Martinez lawsuit, named for the parents of the students who sued the state. In that case, a 1st Judicial District Court in Santa Fe County concluded in a 600-plus page ruling that the state had fallen short of its constitutional duty to provide an adequate education for all New Mexico students.

That failure disproportionately affects Native American students, English language learners and those who come from low-income families or have disabilities. Those four groups represent about 70% of K-12 students, according to the New Mexico Public Education Department.

The 55-page Martinez/Yazzie Discussion Draft Action Plan proposed by the PED quotes statistics from the state Higher Education Department, noting that among high school graduates entering college in 2020 (a COVID year) 25.2% required remediation courses in English, math or both; in 2019, 30.8% needed remedial courses; and in 2018, 35% of new students took remedial English or math.

The draft plan sets targets to reach by 2025 over 2019 levels. These include boosting reading and math proficiency by 50% for groups identified in the lawsuit, increasing high school graduation rates by 15%, and improving diversity rates among teachers by 20%.

Hiring teachers

The investment in teacher salaries and training is aimed at New Mexico being able to attract and retain educators, a move that will ultimately benefit students  particularly disadvantaged students, said Whitney Holland, president of the American Federation of Teachers, New Mexico, which represents 9,000 dues-paying union members and thousands more nonmembers.

As of last September, there were 1,048 teacher vacancies in school districts statewide, according to a report by New Mexico State Universitys Southwest Outreach Academic Research Evaluation & Policy Center. When including positions such as educational assistants and counselors, that vacancy number increased to 1,727.

Some teacher positions are being cut due to decreasing enrollment so its unclear how many teacher vacancies remain for this year.

But any vacancies leave some students without trained classroom teachers. And that shortage disproportionately affects students from disadvantaged families, who, unlike students from families with more economic resources, are unable to afford tutors or outside support programs, Holland said.

Thats where poverty and literacy intersect. I think it goes back to having books at home, having access to libraries and all those other resources, she said. When students enter kindergarten, if they havent been exposed to those literacy behaviors, theyre already starting behind, and that ties into the bigger question about (the need for) universal Pre-K and the resources we are giving our students to make sure theyre starting public school on equal footing.

One problem contributing to the teacher vacancy rate has been that veteran educators arent staying in the field. Many who have been close to retirement have been throwing in the towel early, sometimes even before they were fully able to retire, she said. The other end of that is that students at colleges of education are drying up, so new teachers werent going into the field.

A report prepared for the Legislative Finance and Legislative Education Study committees presents preliminary data that shows, on average, teachers have slightly less experience and do not stay in the profession as long as just a few years ago.

In 2019, teachers averaged nearly 12 years of experience; by 2021, those numbers had slightly dropped to just under 11 years.

A law that went into effect on May 18 allows retired teachers to return to the classroom sooner without losing their retirement benefits.

While its a little early to see the results, Holland said, Ive already heard really good feedback, especially about the return-to-work piece. We have a lot of retirees who, now that theres kind of an incentive to return to work, are looking into that. So well have veteran educators returning to the field in some of these unfilled positions.

In addition to the normal classroom supports and professional teacher development and training, the PED has been holding regular online family literacy academies, where we actually spend time with parents, teaching them best practices and strategies that they can practice at home to promote literacy within the home setting, said Severo Martinez, the literacy and humanities director for the PED.

The 90-minute family academy Zoom sessions allow parents time to go off-camera and work with their child before rejoining the meeting to debrief with a facilitator.

Tax policy

Amber Wallin, executive director for New Mexico Voices for Children, said she was pleased with the states deeper commitment to children and families in recent years. The nonprofit organization has consistently advocated for increased state investment in education, particularly early education initiatives, as well as programs that help lift families out of poverty.

She also pointed to positive tax policy investments for families with kids.

Weve seen a massive increase in our states working families tax credit, which overwhelmingly  about 97%  goes to low income working families with kids, Wallin said. So we saw big increases in 2019 and 2021, where the credit was more than doubled. In addition, a new child tax credit was passed during the 2022 legislative session, she said.

Those tax measures ultimately affect the rate of childhood poverty, and its well known that childhood poverty is a predictor of such things as food insecurity, graduation rates, literacy and the ability to read at grade level, she said.

Combined, all of these investments in education funding and tax policy will hopefully go a long way toward tackling a problem that has been decades in the making, Wallin said.

State educational investments Major 2022 legislative session investments in education include: Teacher salary and training:  A 7% salary increase for teachers and all public education staff beginning July 1, as well as a realignment of starting salaries to $50,000 for level one teachers, $60,000 for level two teachers, and $70,000 for level three teachers.  $15.5 million in teacher preparation programs and residencies to ensure educator diversity, in addition to $50 million for endowed faculty positions in teacher preparation programs at New Mexico colleges and universities.  $500,000 for educator scholarships to apply for national board certification this year. Extended Learning Time:  $22 million for extended learning time programs, including K-12 Plus pilot programs.  $21 million for planning grants that allow districts to work with communities to design K-12 Plus programs. Indian Education:  $15 million to the Indian Education Fund for tribal education departments, school districts and charter schools in providing indigenous language and cultural instruction and other programs.  $1.25 million for indigenous language and culture teachers certified by tribes, nations and pueblos so they can be paid the same as Level 1 teachers.  $2 million for planning and designing new tribal libraries. Literacy:  $11.5 million to expand training in Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling, or LETRS, to teachers in grades 3 through 5. Teachers in kindergarten through second grade have already received the training, which focuses on the science of reading and strategies to support all students, particularly those who experience reading challenges. Community Schools:  $8 million to expand community schools, to continue developing programs and services. Additional appropriations:  $10 million to expand career and technical education and fund additional workplace learning.  $15 million to provide at-risk students with academic and behavioral interventions.  $10 million for technology and informational technology staffing.

Tax policies assist NM families

In addressing the states high poverty rate, the Legislature over the last few years has approved tax credits and rebates that have put more money in the hands of New Mexicans, particularly those in lower and middle income brackets. Among those measures were:  Creating a tax deduction for families with more than one child (2019), saving $28 million for New Mexico families with children.  Increasing New Mexicos Working Families Tax Credit from 10% to 20% (going to 25% by 2023 and saving New Mexico workers $90 million a year).  Expanded tax benefits offered by two existing tax breaks  the Low Income Comprehensive Tax Rebate and the Working Families Tax Credit. The tax credit was also expanded to allow an estimated 41,600 New Mexicans between the ages of 18 to 24 to qualify, as well as expanded to about 10,000 immigrant workers.  A one-time refundable tax rebate included $500 for married couples filing joint returns with incomes under $150,000, and $250 for single filers with income under $75,000.  Expanded the Low-Income Comprehensive Tax Rebate, providing $51 million in benefits to low income filers.  A child tax credit of between $25 and $175 per child, depending on income levels, saving families with children up to $74 million annually.  Exempting Social Security retirement income from taxation for single filers who make no more than $100,000 a year, married couples filing jointly and together making no more than $150,000 a year, and no more than $75,000 for married individuals filing separate returns.  Lowering the states gross receipts tax by 0.25 percentage points  from 5.125% to 4.875%  in a move projected to generate roughly $191 million in savings for New Mexico. (The current tax rate would be restored, however, if gross receipts tax revenue dips below 95% of its current level over the next five years.)  A gross receipts tax deduction for purchase of feminine hygiene products.  A one-time rebate of $250 or $500 for taxpayers who make less than a certain amount.
Copyright  2022 Albuquerque Journal

SANTA FE  Recognition started at Rufus nose and rippled rapidly through the 5-year-old blue heeler until his whole body vibrated with unrestrained joy.

Eleven months ago, Rufus, who is deaf, went through a gate that had not been properly latched and wandered away from the Santa Fe home he had only known for a few weeks.

On Monday, at the Santa Fe Animal Shelter, Rufus, who had been found earlier this month, was reunited with Marisa Martinez, a Santa Fe teacher, who had searched relentlessly for her dog even as hope for his safe return diminished.

Marisa called us every day for 10 months, said Murad Kirdar, the animal shelters public and business relations officer. For a dog to come to us after 11 months is very rare.

Kirdar led Rufus on a leash into the room where Martinez, sitting on the floor, was waiting to see him for the first time since September 2021. The dog was distracted by all the people gathered around to witness the reunion. He did not at first look at Martinez, even though she was directly in front of him.

Then suddenly, Rufus body went rigid with attention. He sniffed the air a few times. He moved closer to Martinez and sniffed again. And then the party was on, as Rufus jumped on Martinez, rubbed against her, rolled on the floor in front of her, barked and grinned like only a dog can.

Im trying not to cry, Martinez said. Its a miracle.

A new wound

Martinez is from Albuquerque originally, but she lived in San Francisco for 15 years. It was in San Francisco that her 9-year-old daughter, Zamora Moon Martinez, died from a rare brain tumor in June 2017.

An Albuquerque friend gave Rufus, then just a few months old, to Martinez in hopes that the dog could fill a small part of the huge hole the death of her daughter had left in her life. Rufus was 1 when a veterinarian confirmed he was deaf, something Martinez suspected.

He would sleep through anything, she said. Although Rufus cant hear anything, Martinez said he understands some sign language.

Rufus lived with Martinez in San Francisco for several years and moved last year with her and her daughters, Xavia and Estrella, now 13 and 3 respectively, to Santa Fe. A month later, Rufus disappeared.

He was with me during a very difficult time, Martinez said. (Losing him) was like a wound opening again.

The Martinez family distributed hundreds of lost dog posters and employed social media to get the word out about Rufus. Team Frijoles, a volunteer-based Santa Fe pet recovery service that gets 50 to 70 lost-pet calls a month, started working the case.

We would get a few sightings, but nothing panned out, said Michelle Lord of Team Frijoles.

100 percent Rufus

Lord, her husband, Paul, and Wendy Katzman, represented Team Frijoles at Mondays reunion.

Michelle Lord said Team Frijoles recommends that pet owners microchip their animals and have good pictures of them in case they get lost. Rufus has a microchip, but the family did not have a good, recent picture of him.

On July 3, however, a man took a picture of a dog running loose about a mile and a half from the Santa Fe Animal Shelter. He posted the picture on social media. That caught the attention of Team Frijoles, which set up humane traps and cameras in the area.

On July 11, Rufus was safely secured in a trap and taken to the animal shelter.

Kirdar said the dog was in excellent health when he was found and may have been finding food at a dump near where he was recovered.

Michelle Lord texted Martinez, who was visiting her father in Barcelona, Spain.

I think this is Rufus, the text read.

It is 100 percent Rufus, Martinez texted back.

The microchip confirmed that.

This story shows that microchips work and that you should never give up, Kirdar said.

Faith restored

Martinez said she planned to spend the rest of Monday cuddling with Rufus. She said finding him restored her faith in life.

Im a deeply sad person, and this makes me happy.

Kirdar watched Martinez walk Rufus to her truck.

Adventures are fun to go on, he said. But its always good to go home.

As Martinez drove away, Rufus sat in the trucks passenger seat, upright but at ease, as if he had been in the vehicle just the day before.

He didnt look back.
Copyright  2022 Albuquerque Journal

The FBI on Monday unveiled a new database listing the names of 177 missing Native Americans from New Mexico and throughout the Navajo Nation, as part of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives initiative, Raul Bujanda, special agent in charge of the Albuquerque FBI Division, said at a news conference.

The fate of these missing individuals remains unknown, but the list is available to the public at fbi.gov/mmip. It contains the persons name, date of birth, the date of last contact and a photo where available, updating what had been a patchwork approach to reporting.

Bujanda said the expectation is that people will access the list and if they know the whereabouts of a missing individual will report it, or if a loved one is missing and is not on the list they can contact local law enforcement and get that name added.

In putting together the new database, an effort that took more than six months, the FBI used information from the National Crime Information Centers computer system, as well as a half dozen other databases, Bujanda said.

The FBI relied on the work of the MMIWR task force in identifying a number of areas that needed to be addressed, not the least of which was the data itself, which was incomplete or outdated because the record was not updated once additional details were made available or if the person was located, he said.

The FBI, which for the time being is administering the as-yet unnamed database, is also working closely with the U.S. Attorneys Office, Bureau of Indian Affairs, the New Mexico Department of Indian Affairs, New Mexico Attorney Generals Office, New Mexico Department of Public Safety, Bernalillo County District Attorneys Office, the Albuquerque Office of Equity and Inclusion and the Navajo Nation.

Alexander Uballez, the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Mexico, said his office is expanding its tribal liaison program. Previously, each pueblo and private nation used to be served by a single tribal liaison, now, each of the designated assistant United States attorneys are assigned as a point of contact, he said.

New Mexicos Secretary of the Indian Affairs Department, Lynn Trujillo, who also chaired the MMIWR Task Force, acknowledged that the list is not comprehensive. We want those in our communities and families to make reports, to continue filing information, which actually will help us better understand the depth of the crisis here in New Mexico, something that the task force at the beginning of their work didnt quite understand, she said.

Also attending the news conference was Justin Hooper, regional agent in charge of the BIAs missing and murdered unit; Jason Bowie, secretary of the New Mexico Department of Public Safety; New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas; and Bernalillo County District Attorney Raul Torrez.
LAC SAINTE ANNE, Alberta  Pope Francis prayed for healing Tuesday from the terrible effects of colonization as he led a pilgrimage to a Canadian lake that has been known to Native peoples for centuries as a sacred place of healing.

The prayer service at Lac Sainte Anne in Alberta was one of the spiritual highlights of the pontiffs six-day visit to Canada to atone for the Catholic Churchs role in running residential schools that forcibly assimilated the countrys Indigenous children into Christian society. On Monday he apologized for the catastrophic ways families were torn apart; the following day he transitioned to praying to help them heal from the wounds of violence.

In this blessed place, where harmony and peace reign, we present to you the disharmony of our experiences, the terrible effects of colonization, the indelible pain of so many families, grandparents and children, Francis said on the shore of the lake. Help us to be healed of our wounds.

The ceremony fell on the Feast of St. Anne, the grandmother of Jesus and a figure of particular devotion for Indigenous Catholics, who every year make pilgrimages to Lac Sainte Anne to wade into its waters. Francis highlighted the importance grandmothers have in Indigenous families, and recalled the critical role his own grandmother Rosa had in transmitting the faith to him as a youngster in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Part of the painful legacy we are now confronting stems from the fact that Indigenous grandmothers were prevented from passing on the faith in their own language and culture, he said.

More than 150,000 Native children in Canada were taken from their homes and made to attend government-funded Christian schools from the 19th century until the 1970s in an effort to isolate them from the influence of their families and culture. The aim was to Christianize and assimilate them into mainstream society, which previous Canadian governments considered superior.

In his first event in Canada, Francis blasted the residential schools Monday as a disastrous error and apologized at the site of a former school in Maskwacis for the evil committed by so many Christians against the Indigenous peoples.

Emotions were still raw a day later as those words were digested and dissected.

Murray Sinclair, the First Nations chairman of Canadas Truth and Reconciliation Commission, welcomed the apology but said Tuesday that it didnt go far enough in acknowledging institutional blame for the papacys own role in justifying European colonial expansion and the hierarchys endorsement of Canadas assimilation policy.

It is important to underscore that the church was not just an agent of the state, nor simply a participant in government policy, but was a lead co-author of the darkest chapters in the history of this land, Sinclair said in a statement.

Sinclair said church decrees led directly to the cultural genocide of Indigenous peoples by underpinning colonial policy and the Doctrine of Discovery, a 19th-century international legal concept has been understood to justify colonial seizure of land and resources by European powers.

Trip organizers pushed back on his criticism, insisting that Francis had indeed accepted full responsibility for the Catholic Churchs role in the residential school system.

His decision to apologize on Canadian soil, in a year where he faces significant health challenges and has had to cancel other international travel, demonstrates his understanding of the Catholic Churchs institutional responsibility to contribute to the reconciliation journey, Neil MacCarthy, communications chief for the papal visit, told The Associated Press via email.

He added that Canadas Catholic bishops were working with the Vatican on issuing a new statement on the papal bulls associated with the Doctrine of Discovery, even though the Holy See has already said the decrees have no legal or moral authority in the church today.

We understand the desire to name these texts, acknowledge their impact and renounce the concepts associated with them, MacCarthy said.

Gerald Antoine, Dene national and Assembly of First Nations regional chief, said he had hoped the pope might renounce the decrees while in Canada but he was grateful for the attention the visit and apology have brought to a history that his own family experienced.

The world is seeing we are telling the truth, Antoine said. Our family got uprooted, displaced and relocated. This is what our people have been saying. Nobody ever cared to listen.

Francis didnt dwell on the apology or the churchs fraught history during a morning Mass in Edmontons Commonwealth Stadium dedicated to St. Anne and grandparents, which drew some 50,000 people. Due to knee problems, the 85-year-old pontiff celebrated the Mass from a seated position behind the altar.

Thanks to our grandparents, we received a caress from the history that preceded us: We learned that goodness, tender love and wisdom are the solid roots of humanity, Francis said. We are children because we are grandchildren.

He later carried the grandparental theme to Lac Sainte Anne, where an estimated 10,000 pilgrims gathered at and around the shores of the lake amid vast acres of bright yellow canola flowers that bloom at the peak of summer. Some traveled from faraway parts of Canada to participate in the pilgrimage, which was restarting after two years of COVID-19 closures.

I am happy he apologized, said Myles Wood, who came from Saint Theresa Point in remote northern Manitoba with his wife, mother and members of their parish. Ive got a lump in my throat, he said after Francis passed by and blessed the crowd with holy water from the lake.

Francis arrived to the sound of drums and ululating and paused for a minute of prayer at the waters edge. Ahead of the visit, Alberta health authorities issued a blue-green algae bloom advisory for the lake, warning visitors to avoid contact with the blooms and refrain from wading where they are visible.

The lake is known as Wakamne, or Gods Lake, by the Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation who live nearby, and Manito Sahkahiga, or Spirit Lake, by the Cree. The name Lac Sainte Anne was given to it by the Rev. Jean-Baptiste Thibault, the first Catholic priest to establish a mission on the site.

For Lorna Lindley, a survivor of the Kamloops residential school in British Columbia, where the first presumed unmarked graves were discovered last year, the day was difficult. She attended the morning Mass to honor her late parents, who were taken to a residential school at age 5 in a cattle truck.

For myself its really heavy, Lindley said. Its hard. No matter how many times you apologize, it doesnt take away the hurt and pain.

___

Winfield reported from Edmonton, Alberta, and Gillies reported from Toronto.

___

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the APs collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
AUSTIN, Texas  The detective who led the investigation into the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School attack testified Tuesday that there are three types of people who deny that it happened and harass the victims families: the mentally ill, those who believed bad or incomplete information, and those who knew the truth but twisted it for their own power or money.

Investigators put conspiracy theorist Alex Jones in that final group.

They were the most dangerous. Thats where we put Alex Jones, Connecticut State Police Detective Daniel Jewiss told the jury on the first day of testimony in a Texas trial to determine how much Jones, who hosts Infowars, owes for defaming the parents of one of the children who died in the deadliest school shooting in American history.

Its absolutely horrific the amount of trauma theyve had to endure in the wake of having lost a loved one, said Jewiss, who called supporting the Sandy Hook families the most honorable thing hes ever been part of.

Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, whose 6-year-old son Jesse was killed in the attack on the Newtown, Connecticut, school, are seeking $150 million for emotional distress and reputational damage that Jones caused them, and more money in punitive damages, their lawyer, Mark Bankston, told the court during his opening statement as Jones looked on, shaking his head at times.

Jones repeatedly lied and attacked the parents of murdered children when he told his Infowars audience that the shooting was a hoax, Bankston said. He created a massive campaign of lies and recruited wild extremists from the fringes of the internet  who were as cruel as Mr. Jones wanted them to be to the families of the 20 first-graders and six educators who were killed, the lawyer said.

Jones tapped into the explosive popularity of Sandy Hook conspiracy stories that became an obsession for the website, even years after the shooting, said Bankston, who played video clips of Jones claiming on his program that the shooting was a hoax and the whole thing was completely fake.  It just didnt happen.

Anticipating that Jones lawyers would argue that what Jones said about Sandy Hook was speech protected by the First Amendment  Jones arrived at the courthouse wearing tape over his mouth with the message Save the 1st printed on it  Bankston told the jury, This has nothing to do with the Constitution. Defamation is not protected by freedom of speech.  Speech is free, but lies you have to pay for.

During the defenses opening remarks, Jones lawyer Andino Reynal called Jones one of the most polarizing figures in this nation, who made statements about Sandy Hook that we dont dispute were wrong. But he said Jones has already been punished for those statements when he was kicked off of Facebook, YouTube, Spotify and Twitter for violating their hate speech policies.

Jones has already been cancelled and lost millions of dollars, said Reynal, who called on the jury to limit the damages to $1.

Reynal painted a picture of a talk show host who tries to give an alternative view but who was duped by some of his guests.

Alex Jones was wrong to believe these people, but he didnt do it out of spite. He did it because he believed it.  He believed a citizen has a right to get on Infowars and talk about what their questions are, Reynal said.

He also called the case an important one for free speech.

I believe in his right to say it, and I believe in every Americans right to choose what they watch, and listen to, and believe, Reynal said.

Between the two sides opening statements, Jones stepped outside of the courtroom to rant to reporters, calling it a kangaroo court and show trial that was an assault on the First Amendment. He didnt return to the courtroom for the afternoon start of testimony, which included Infowars producer Daria Karpova taking the stand.

Jones media company designated Karpova to testify about Infowars audience reach, and some of the video produced by the website after the Sandy Hook shooting. The trial took a break for the rest of the day before she finished planned testimony.

The jury could deal Jones a major financial blow that would put his constellation of conspiracy peddling businesses into deeper jeopardy. In addition to being banned from major social media platforms, he claims hes millions of dollars in debt  a claim the plaintiffs reject.

The Texas court and another in Connecticut found Jones liable for defamation for his portrayal of the Sandy Hook massacre as a hoax involving actors aimed at increasing gun control. In both states, the judges issued default judgments against Jones without trials because he failed to respond to court orders and turn over documents.

In total, the families of eight Sandy Hook victims and an FBI agent who responded to the school are suing Jones and his company, Free Speech Systems.

Jones has since acknowledged that the shooting took place. During a deposition in April, Jones insisted he wasnt responsible for the suffering that Sandy Hook parents say they have endured because of the hoax conspiracy, including death threats and harassment by Jones followers.

Jones claimed in court records last year that he had a negative net worth of $20 million, but attorneys for Sandy Hook families have painted a different financial picture.

Court records show that Jones Infowars store, which sells nutritional supplements and survival gear, made more than $165 million between 2015 and 2018. Jones has also urged listeners on his Infowars program to donate money.

The tribal began Monday in Austin, Texas  where Jones lives and broadcasts his show  following months of delays. It also comes about two months after a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, which is about 145 miles (235 kilometers) southwest of Austin. It was the deadliest school shooting since Sandy Hook.
BANGKOK  International outrage over Myanmars execution of four political prisoners intensified Tuesday with grassroots protests and strong condemnation from world governments, as well as fears the hangings could derail nascent attempts to bring an end to the violence and unrest that has beset the Southeast Asian nation since the military seized power last year.

Myanmars military-led government that seized power from elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021 has been accused of thousands of extrajudicial killings since then, but the hangings announced Monday were the countrys first official executions in decades.

We feel that this is a crime against humanity, said Malaysian Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah, speaking at the side of the United Nations Special Envoy on Myanmar Noeleen Heyzer at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur.

He said the executions would be a focus of the upcoming meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations foreign ministers, which begin in Cambodia in a week.

Myanmar is a member of the influential ASEAN group, which has been trying to implement a five-point consensus it reached on Myanmar last year calling for dialogue among all concerned parties, provision of humanitarian assistance, an immediate cessation of violence and a visit by a special envoy to meet all parties.

With the executions, he said, we look at it as if the junta is making a mockery of the five point process.

Heyzer said that the U.N. sees the executions as a blatant violation of a persons right to life, liberty and security.

In Bangkok, hundreds of pro-democracy demonstrators protested outside neighboring Myanmars embassy, waving flags and chanting slogans amid a heavy downpour.

The dictators used their power arbitrarily, yelled a young man through a bullhorn to the crowd, some of whom waved pictures of Suu Kyi or the four executed men. We cant tolerate this any more.

Myanmars government spokesperson, Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun, firmly rejected the criticism, saying the executions were carried out in line with the countrys law and not for personal reasons.

We knew that there may be criticism when the death penalties were handed down and conducted in line with domestic law, he told reporters. However, we did it for reasons of domestic stability, for the rule of law and order, and security.

He said the executed men were convicted of crimes involving supporting violent terrorists and acts  allegations denied by their defenders  and said their punishment was appropriate.

If we considered leniency for those who committed such crimes it would have been cruel and without sympathy for the victims, he said.

Among the four executed was Phyo Zeya Thaw, a 41-year-old former lawmaker from Suu Kyis party, and Kyaw Min Yu, a 53-year-old democracy activist better known as Ko Jimmy. All were tried, convicted and sentenced by a military tribunal with no possibility of appeal.

The executions were carried out over the weekend, and came as a surprise even to family members.

Phyo Zeya Thaws mother Khin Win May told The Associated Press she had just spoken with her son via video conference on Friday and he had asked her for reading glasses, books and some spending money.

I was a little shocked when I heard about the execution, I think it will take some time, she said.

She said she hoped her son and the others would be seen as martyrs for their cause.

Im proud of all of them as they sacrificed their lives for the country, she said.

The execution of the four activists prompted immediate calls from around the world for a moratorium on carrying out any further sentences, and condemnation for what was broadly seen as a politically motivated move.

Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, announced in June that it was going to resume executing prisoners and has 113 others who have been sentenced to death, although 41 of those were convicted in absentia, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a non-governmental organization that tracks killing and arrests. At the same time, 2,120 civilians have been killed by security forces since the military takeover.

This was a barbaric act by Myanmars military regime, said New Zealands Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta of the four executions carried out. New Zealand condemns these actions in the strongest possible terms.

Australias Foreign Minister Penny Wong said she was appalled by the executions.

Australia opposes the death penalty in all circumstances for all people, she said.

Earlier, Australia and New Zealand had joined the European Union, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Norway and South Korea in a joint statement condemning the executions.

ASEAN denounced the executions as highly reprehensible.

It said the move represented a setback to the groups efforts to facilitate a dialogue between the military leadership and opponents.

We strongly and urgently call on all parties concerned to desist from taking actions that would only further aggravate the crisis, hinder peaceful dialogue among all parties concerned, and endanger peace, security and stability, not only in Myanmar, but the whole region, the group said in a statement.

The militarys seizure of power from Suu Kyis elected government triggered peaceful protests that soon escalated to armed resistance and then to widespread fighting that some U.N. experts characterize as a civil war.

Some resistance groups have engaged in assassinations, drive-by shootings and bombings in urban areas. Mainstream opposition organizations generally disavow such activities, while supporting armed resistance in rural areas that are more often subject to brutal military attacks.

News of the executions prompted a flash-demonstration Monday in Myanmars largest city, Yangon, where about a dozen protesters took to the streets marching behind a banner saying we are never afraid, then quickly slipping away before authorities could confront them.

Similar demonstrations broke out in more rural areas across Myanmar on both Monday and Tuesday.

The last judicial execution to be carried out in Myanmar is generally believed to have been of another political offender, student leader Salai Tin Maung Oo, in 1976 under a previous military government led by dictator Ne Win.

___

Ng reported from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Chalida Ekvitthayavechnukul in Bangkok contributed to this report.
Over 100 exhibitors at the China International Import Expo (CIIE) attended a business cooperation activity in east China's Jiangxi Province from Saturday to Tuesday.

Co-organized by the Jiangxi provincial government and the Ministry of Commerce, the event launched activities to promote exchanges and cooperation in investment, trade and personnel between the guests and the province. A forum on the development of the digital economy was also held.

Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao said he hopes the CIIE event in Jiangxi will help the province open up further and serve as a channel for communication and cooperation.

The fifth CIIE will be held in Shanghai from Nov. 5 to 10, with a total of 260 Fortune 500 companies and industry-leading enterprises confirming their participation.
KYIV, Ukraine  Russia targeted Ukraines southern Black Sea regions of Odesa and Mykolaiv with airstrikes Tuesday, hitting private buildings and port infrastructure with missiles fired from long-range bomber aircraft, the Ukrainian military said.

In the Odesa region, buildings in coastal villages were hit and caught fire, Ukraines Operational Command South said on Facebook. A Ukrainian air force spokesman said long-range Russian Tu-22M3 bombers and Su-30 and Su-35 fighter jets launched the strikes from the Black Sea. In the Mykolaiv region, port infrastructure was targeted despite agreements intended to allow grain grain shipments to resume from Ukraines Black Sea ports.

Hours after the strikes, a Moscow-installed official in southern Ukraine said the Odesa and Mykolaiv regions would soon be liberated by Russian forces, just like the already occupied Kherson region further east.

The Kherson region and the city of Kherson have been liberated forever, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti quoted the regions Russia-appointed official, Kirill Stremousov, as saying.

On the diplomatic front, Russias foreign minister repeated his insistence that Moscow was ready to hold talks with Ukraine on ending the war, though he again claimed that Kyivs Western allies oppose a deal.

We never refused to have talks, because everybody knows that any hostilities end at the negotiating table, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Tuesday during a trip to Uganda.

He said negotiations have gone no further since a meeting between the two sides in Istanbul at the end of March.

While Ukrainian officials have spoken of a possible counteroffensive in the south, the British Defense Ministry reported Tuesday no indication a Ukrainian warship and a stockpile of anti-ship missiles were at Odesas port, as Moscow claimed when it struck the site over the weekend.

The British ministry said Russia sees Ukraines use of anti-ship missiles as a key threat limiting its Black Sea Fleet.

This has significantly undermined the overall invasion plan, as Russia cannot realistically attempt an amphibious assault to seize Odesa, the ministry said. Russia will continue to prioritize efforts to degrade and destroy Ukraines anti-ship capability.

It added, Russias targeting processes are highly likely routinely undermined by dated intelligence, poor planning, and a top-down approach to operations.

In other military developments, Russian shelling over the previous 24 hours killed at least three civilians and wounded eight in Ukraine, the Ukrainian presidents office said Tuesday.

In the eastern Donetsk region, where the fighting has focused in recent months, shelling continued along the entire front, with Russian forces targeting some of the regions largest cities, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Toretsk, the presidential office said.

Donetsk regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko accused Russian troops of using cluster munitions and repeated his call for civilians to evacuate.

There is not a single safe place left. Everything is being shelled, Kyrylenko said in televised remarks. But there are still evacuation routes for the civilian population.

The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, reported that Moscow was using mercenaries from the shadowy Wagner Group to capture the Vuhledar Power Plant on the northern outskirts of the Bakhmut region village of Novoluhanske.

But Russian forces have made limited gains there, Ukraines General Staff acknowledged.

The main regional Russian focus for the moment is on capturing Bakhmut, which the Russian military needs to press its eastern offensive on Ukrainian strongholds in Donetsk, the cities of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk.

Russian forces made marginal gains south of Bakhmut but are unlikely to be able to effectively leverage these advances to take full control of Bakhmut itself, the Institute for the Study of War said.

Russian forces continued to strike civilian infrastructure in Kharkiv, Ukraines second-largest city, and the surrounding region in the countrys northeast.

Kharkiv Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said the strikes on the city resumed around dawn Tuesday and damaged a car dealership.

The Russians deliberately target civilian infrastructure objects  hospitals, schools, movie theaters, Syniehubov told Ukrainian television. Everything is being fired at, even queues for humanitarian aid, so were urging people to avoid mass gatherings.

The Moldovan foreign ministry said Tuesday a Moldovan citizen was killed and another wounded in what it claimed was a Ukrainian attack on Russias border with Ukraine. The unconfirmed report said the attack occurred at a border checkpoint in Russias Bryansk region.

Responding to a comment by Lavrov on Monday that Moscows overarching goal in Ukraine is to free its people from its unacceptable regime, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said the Kremlin wants the complete subjugation of Ukraine and its people.

We must be prepared for this war  which Russia is conducting with absolute brutality, and is conducting in a way that no one else would  to last months, Baerbock said during a visit to Prague.

In other developments:

 European Union governments agreed to ration natural gas this winter to protect against Russian supply cuts. EU energy ministers approved a draft law designed to lower demand for gas by 15% from August through March. The legislation entails voluntary national steps to reduce gas consumption and, if they yield insufficient savings, a trigger for mandatory actions. Russian energy corporation Gazprom said it would cut gas flows through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Germany to 20% of capacity starting Wednesday. In his nightly video address Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused the Russian government of doing everything to make this winter the toughest for European countries. It is necessary to respond to terror  respond with sanctions, he added.

 Russias space chief said the country will opt out of the International Space Station after 2024 and focus on building its own orbiting outpost. Yuri Borisov, appointed earlier this month to lead the state-controlled space corporation Roscosmos, said Russia would fulfill its obligations at the space station before it leaves the project. The move is part of a broader disengagement trend stemming from soaring tensions between Russia and the West over the Kremlins military action in Ukraine.

 Britain imposed sanctions on two national Russian government officials overseeing justice and two top regional officials in Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine. Also facing sanctions are several Syrian military figures accused of recruiting Syrians to fight for Russia in Ukraine.

 German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht said her country has delivered previously announced Mars II multiple-launch rocket systems, along with three more howitzers, to Ukraine. Lambrecht said Germany also has delivered five of a pledged 30 Gepard self-propelled armored anti-aircraft guns, German news agency dpa reported.

 The Russian military announced plans to hold large-scale drills in Russias east, noting that it continues regular troop training despite the action in Ukraine. The Russian Defense Ministry said Tuesday that airborne troops, long-range bombers and military cargo planes will participate in the Vostok 2022 (East 2022) exercise scheduled Aug. 30-Sept. 5.

 U.S. officials said they had not yet seen evidence of Iran supplying Russia with drones for use in the Ukraine war. The White House had previously released satellite images indicating that Russians had visited an Iranian airbase to see weapons-capable drones. But White House national security spokesman John Kirby said Tuesday, We havent seen anything that its been actually effected. Kirby said Moscows interest in the drones shows that sanctions and export controls are impacting Russias military production.

___

Follow the APs coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
Matthew Bernabe, owner of Urban Hotdog Co., stands in the kitchen of his restaurant in Albuquerque. (Liam DeBonis/Journal) The "Spicy Rooster" hot dog from Urban Hotdog Co., which includes avocado salsa and hot sauce. (Liam DeBonis/Journal) Urban Hotdog Co. on Albuquerques West Side is expanding with the planned opening of a second location in Nob Hill. (Liam DeBonis) The Relleno Dog, Urban Hotdog Co.'s take on a traditional chile relleno dish. (Liam DeBonis/Journal) Urban Hotdog Co. on Albuquerques West Side is expanding with the planned opening of a second location in Nob Hill. (Liam DeBonis/Journal) Prev 1 of 5 Next

The dogs will soon be crossing the river.

Well, Urban Hotdog Co. that is.

The West Side-based hot dog shop is set to make the journey east with the planned opening of a new Nob Hill location early next year, according to owner Matthew Bernabe.

Founded in 2012, Urban Hotdog Co. focuses on serving up a childhood favorite food, hot dogs, with an adult spin with menu items like the Chicago Dog and the Relleno Dog with panko-covered hot dog bites topped with chile con queso and green chile.

Bernabe said that he made the decision to open the first location on the West Side since the neighborhood is rife with young, large families, many of whom moved from the East Coast to Albuquerque.

The idea was, you know, lets focus on that demographic of people who have an experience with hot dogs in the past, he said.

While the restaurant has made the West Side its home for the past 10 years, Bernabe said Nob Hill has always been an area he wanted to open up another location in, plus many of the companys food truck customers come from that area.

Ive had a ton of regulars over the 10 years too that have asked for East Side locations, he said.  Ive always kind of been in love with the iconic neighborhoods and the history of that area. It kind of fits the concept, were doing upscale hot dogs and Nob Hill just kind of has that feel to it.

Like the West Side location, the new 3,600-square-foot spot will feature a lineup of their innovative hot dog offerings, but Bernabe said the larger size of the soon-to-be opened space allows for a menu expansion and new additions to the concept.

Bernabe said the Nob Hill spot, which is located in the former Hops Brewery at 3507 Central NE, has an upstairs and a downstairs and he hopes to delve into a cocktail program thanks to a change in the states liquor laws.

Urban Hotdog Co. wont be the only dog on the block.

Once opened, it will join Clowndog Hot Dog Parlor, which is located one block east, as the second hot dog-based business in the neighborhood.

For more information, visit www.urbanhotdogcompany.com
LOS ANGELES  Jack Harlow, Lil Nas X and Kendrick Lamar are top contenders with seven nominations at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards.

MTV announced Tuesday that Lil Nas X and Harlow earned multiple nominations for their collaborative hit Industry Baby, which is nominated for video of the year. Both performers along with Drake, Bad Bunny, Ed Sheeran, Harry Styles and Lizzo will compete for artist of the year.

Lamar, who is nominated for the first time since 2018, has two songs family ties and N95 that will vie for best cinematography. The rapper was also nominated for best hip-hop, direction, visual effects, editing and video for good.

Styles and Doja Cat received the second-most nominations with six. Sheeran, Billie Eilish, Drake, Dua Lipa, Tayler Swift and The Weeknd each pulled in five.

Madonna, who is the most awarded artist in MTV history with 20 wins, becomes the only artist to receive a nomination in each of the VMAs five decades. She earned her 69th nomination for her 14th studio album Madame X.

The awards will have 26 first-time nominees including Baby Keem with four along with Kacey Musgraves, GAYLE and Maneskin  who each have two nominations.

The VMAs will take place Aug. 28 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Fan-voting begins Tuesday across 22 categories at vote.mtv.com.
Copyright  2022 Albuquerque Journal

X-Bow Systems successfully flew its new Bolt Rocket for the first time at White Sands Missile Range on Saturday, marking a major milestone for the companys new, breakthrough rocket-motor technology and launch capabilities.

The Albuquerque-based company has developed a unique 3D printing process for solid-state rocket-motor fuel, along with a new family of launch vehicles for orbital and suborbital flights. Its additive fuel manufacturing process is a first for the space industry, potentially representing one of the biggest technological leaps in rocket-motor fabrication in the past 50 years, said company founder and CEO Jason Hundley.

X-Bow (pronounced crossbow) technology could revolutionize rocket launches, radically reducing the costs and timelines to shoot vehicles into space.

The White Sands launch comes after nearly six years of technology development by X-Bow, which emerged from stealth mode for the first time only this spring.

It was our first flight and we were thrilled with the success we achieved on Saturday, Hundley told the Journal.  This is the first of many new capabilities were developing for suborbital, and potentially orbital, flights. Were working on more launches now with different customers to eventually fly multiple times per year.

The weekend flight included a test payload for Los Alamos National Laboratory, kicking off a collaborative relationship that could lead to many more X-Bow payload launches for LANL, said Charlie Nakhleh, Associate Laboratory Director for Weapons Physics.

(Its) the first example of what we expect to be a fruitful collaboration between the laboratory and X-Bow Systems, Nakhleh said in a statement. This partnership will enable the laboratory to leverage the revolution in commercial space flight, and provide our scientists and engineers with rapid and cost-effective access to experimental flight test data.

Although the company only unveiled its technology and business development publicly this year, its constructed a formidable base of operations in New Mexico. That includes a 5,000-square-foot office in Uptown Albuquerque, and a rocket-motor manufacturing and test hub in Socorro.

It currently employs 70 people, about half in New Mexico, with potential expansion to 100 employees this year.

And it has already snagged many contracts with defense and other government entities. It generated about $7 million in revenue in 2021 and projects $15 million to $20 million this year.

The company is also flush with capital for continued research, development and commercial operations. It raised $27 million in venture investment in April. And, since December 2020, has received about $1.2 million in state Job Training Incentive Program assistance.

The company originally developed its new launch vehicle under a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with Sandia National Laboratories and the Air Force Research Laboratory at Kirtland Air Force Base. Until recently, however, it purchased solid-state rocket-motor fuel from other companies. But that commercial procurement process was excruciatingly slow and costly, with each batch of fuel taking at least six to eight weeks to produce, Hundley said.

So, the company decided to produce its own solid-state fuel, creating a new additive-manufacturing process that cuts fuel development to two or three days, radically reducing costs and timelines. That automated process is encased in shipping containers  which X-Bow calls its Rocket Factory in a Box  allowing the company to independently manage its own make, build and fly production line to offer customers quick turnaround at cut-rate prices.

Weve developed a safer, faster and cheaper process that we believe will reduce the capital cost for production by 90%, and labor costs by between 80% and 90%, Hundley said.

The White Sands launch, dubbed the XL-2 mission, was achieved in a compressed development time frame, said X-Bow XL-2 Mission Manager and Director of Programs Sam McCraw.

The XL-2 launch caps off an impressive and successful three-month effort at X-Bow, McCraw said in a statement. Over this short period, our talented team designed and built a new test site, completed our first large motor static fire, and pulled off an 11-day launch campaign leading to a successful first flight.
LAS VEGAS  Another body has surfaced at Lake Mead  this time in a swimming area where water levels have dropped as the Colorado River reservoir behind Hoover Dam recedes because of drought and climate change.

The National Park Service did not say in a statement how long officials think the corpse was submerged in the Boulder Beach area before it was found Monday by people who summoned park rangers.

Clark County Coroner Melanie Rouse said Tuesday it was partially encased in mud at the water line of the swimming area along the shore north of Hemenway Harbor marina.

The gender of the dead person was not immediately apparent, Rouse said, and it was too early to tell a time, cause and manner of death. Investigators will review missing persons records as part of the effort, Rouse said.

The corpse was the third found since May as the shoreline retreats at the shrinking reservoir between Nevada and Arizona east of Las Vegas. The lake surface has dropped more than 170 feet (52 meters) since the reservoir was full in 1983. It is now about 30% full.

The coroner said her office was continuing work to identify a man whose body was found May 1 in a rusted barrel in the Hemenway Harbor area and a man whose bones were found May 7 in a newly surfaced sand bar near Callville Bay, more than 9 miles (14.5 kilometers) from the marina.

On July 6, the body of a 22-year-old Boulder City woman was found in the water near where she disappeared while riding a personal watercraft. Rouse said it may take several weeks to determine her cause of death.

The case of the body in the barrel was being investigated as a homicide after police said the man had been shot and his clothing dated to the mid-1970s to early 1980s.

The discoveries have prompted speculation about long-unsolved missing person and murder cases dating back decades  to organized crime and the early days of Las Vegas, which is just a 30-minute drive from the lake.

The drop in the lake level comes while a vast majority of peer-reviewed science says the world is warming, mainly because of rising levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Scientists say the U.S. West, including the Colorado River basin, has become warmer and drier in the past 30 years.
YUMA, Ariz.  A man has been arrested in the fatal stabbings of his younger brother and sister-in-law at a Yuma home, police said Tuesday.

Yuma police said 63-year-old Jerry Klahn has been booked into the Maricopa County jail in Phoenix on suspicion of first-degree murder.

It was unclear Tuesday if Klahn has a lawyer yet.

Police said officers responded to a domestic disturbance call around 5 p.m. Sunday and found a man and woman with multiple stab wounds in the backyard of a Yuma home.

The victims were pronounced dead at the scene and were identified as 60-year-old Kenneth Baese and his 57-year-old wife Eileen Baese.

Police said Klahn lives on the property and allegedly stabbed the two homeowners multiple times.

Klahn was found at the home when officers arrived and taken to a Yuma hospital and then flown to a Phoenix-area facility for treatment of knife wounds before he was arrested, according to police.

Its not immediately known if Klahns wounds were self-inflicted.

Police said the case was under investigation.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia  Police tried to learn why a man gunned down four people in a Vancouver suburb as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday he is broken-hearted over the shootings that left the community shaken.

Two people were killed and two were wounded  one critically  over the span of more than five hours early Monday in Langley and in an adjacent township before police shot dead the alleged gunman, Jordan Daniel Goggin, 28.

Authorities initially had said it appeared the attacker was targeting homeless people but later said they werent sure of that. One man was shot to death at a residential complex that provides support for people transitioning out of homelessness. Shootings also occurred at other sites in the predawn rampage, including near a casino, at a bus stop and alongside a highway.

Victim services teams planned to host a community outreach event Tuesday afternoon at an elementary school in response to the shootings, the Langley office of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said. Crisis counselors and a variety of community support groups would offer their services, the RCMP said on Facebook.

Trudeau said on Twitter that this violence has no place in any of our communities.

Im horrified by the news that came out of Langley, BC yesterday, the prime minister wrote on Twitter. My heart breaks for the victims loved ones and communities, and my thoughts are with the people who were injured  were wishing you a speedy recovery.

If investigators learn that Goggin was targeting the homeless, that would mean he went after societys most vulnerable.

Dr. Julian M Somers, a professor at the Faculty of Health Sciences at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, said the homeless are targeted by those  including drug dealers and pimps  who would exploit their vulnerability.

Theyre exposed physically and mentally, often weakened by the conditions that they have to live in. Easy targets, Somers said. If anything, the number of people who are vulnerable has clearly increased.

Reports by the British Columbia government said 7,666 people in the western Canadian province were chronically homeless in 2018, a number that increased to 8,665 in the most recent published annual count, completed in the spring of 2021.

Rachael Allen, a spokesperson for Union Gospel Mission in Vancouver, said violence against homeless people appears to be escalating. She cited recent examples: a person hit in the head with rocks while asleep, a pepper-spray attack and a woman who was set on fire while she was sleeping.

It just underlines for us that every single person deserves dignity and respect and care, regardless of how they might look or where they lay their head at night and what battles theyre facing, Allen said.

Residents of Langley, a town of 29,000 people about 30 miles (48 kilometers) southeast of Vancouver, were rattled when they received a police alert on their cellphones at 6:20 a.m. Monday reporting multiple shooting scenes.

Police swarmed the area and blocked off a major intersection. The windshield of an unmarked police SUV was stitched by more than a half-dozen bullets, with another bullet having punched a hole through the drivers window.

Police Sgt. David Lee, a spokesman for homicide investigators, said police know what kind of weapon Goggin used but are not releasing that information yet. How Goggin obtained the gun was also not disclosed.

The RCMP in Langley said Goggin was from the nearby town of Surrey and was known to police but had non-criminal contact.

Mass shootings are less common in Canada than in the United States. It is illegal to possess an unregistered handgun or any kind of rapid-fire weapon in Canada.

To purchase a weapon, the country also requires training, a personal risk assessment, two references, spousal notification and criminal record checks.
As the New Mexico film industry continues to grow, the goal is to attract businesses to New Mexico.

The latest is Arsenal FX Color, which becomes the first and only full-service post house in the state.

The Santa Monica, California-based production facility opened a satellite office in Albuquerque.

Larry Field, Arsenal FX Colors co-founder, say an opportunity to get into business New Mexico as it becomes a hot spot for production.

The states tax incentive program, combined with its natural beauty, make it a very attractive place to shoot, but it could benefit from more post-production infrastructure, particularly for dailies processing and finishing, Field said.

The Albuquerque office offers dailies, color grading, and finishing to television and film productions shooting in the state.

Field said its first project in New Mexico, the company provided dailies, color and finishing services for Unbroken, a pilot produced by Universal Television and starring Scott Bakula.

The facility is located at Oso Grande Technologies, Inc., located at 725 6th St. NW.

The site features virtual workstations connected remotely to post-production resources and storage at Arsenal FX Colors main facility in Santa Monica. The virtual workstations can be configured to perform a range of dailies and post-production tasks.

We can do virtually anything in New Mexico that we can in Santa Monica, said Josh Baca, chief technology officer, who designed and oversaw construction for the facility. Our location puts virtually unlimited internet resources at our fingertips. We have also implemented biometric authentication and other state-of-the-security measures.

The company is in the process of hiring local artists and support staff.

Were very excited to welcome Arsenal FX Color to our beautiful city, said Cyndy McCrossen, Albuquerque Film Office film liaison. With their high-end talent and lengthy experience in working with studios and independent producers, Arsenal FX Color provides much-needed support to streaming and network series, and independent film productions.

New Mexico has recently hosted series productions for Netflix, Disney+, Paramount+ and AMC.

Founded in 2010, Arsenal FX Color provides post services for television and film with recent projects including Rap Sh*T for HBO Max, Joe Pickett for Paramount +, Greys Anatomy for ABC and With Love for Amazon Prime. The company is currently building a new facility in Santa Monica, California.
JERSEYDALE, Calif.  Firefighters continue to make progress against a huge California forest fire that forced evacuations for thousands of people and destroyed 41 homes and other buildings near Yosemite National Park, officials said Tuesday.

Crews battling the Oak Fire in Mariposa County got a break from increased humidity and lower temperatures as monsoonal moisture moved through the Sierra Nevada foothills, said a Tuesday night report by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire.

After minimal growth Monday and overnight, the blaze had consumed nearly 29 square miles (75 square kilometers) of forest land, with 26% containment on Tuesday, Cal Fire said. The cause was under investigation.

Although good progress continues on the fire, there is much work to be done, Cal Fire said.

Crews were able to strengthen some areas of fire line although steep, rugged terrain was challenging firefighters on the northern and northeastern sides of the blaze, making it inaccessible to bulldozers and requiring fire lines to be cut by hand, Cal Fire said.

Smoke from the blaze also was hampering aircraft, the agency said.

About 6,000 residents from mountain communities were still under evacuation orders, although a few places were downgraded to advisories Tuesday afternoon.

Heavy smoke from the fire drifted more than 200 miles (322 kilometers), reaching Lake Tahoe, parts of Nevada and the San Francisco Bay Area, officials said.

More than 3,000 firefighters supported by two dozen helicopters and 94 bulldozers were battling the blaze that erupted last Friday southwest of the park, near the town of Midpines. It exploded in size on Saturday as flames churned through tinder-dry brush and trees amid the worst drought in decades.

Numerous roads were closed, including a stretch of State Route 140 thats one of the main routes into Yosemite.

California has experienced increasingly larger and deadlier wildfires in recent years as climate change has made the West much warmer and drier over the past 30 years. Scientists have said weather will continue to be more extreme and wildfires more frequent, destructive and unpredictable.

The Oak Fire burned as firefighters also made progress against an earlier blaze that burned to the edge of a grove of giant sequoias in the southernmost part of Yosemite. The Washburn Fire, spanning a 7.6-square-mile (19-square-km) area, was 91% contained on Tuesday after burning for more than two weeks and moving into the Sierra National Forest.

In North Texas, crews are battling a wildfire that destroyed 16 homes and damaged five others amid sweltering temperatures and strong winds. In a Tuesday statement, officials said there were significant hotspots throughout the Chalk Mountain Fire near Glen Rose involving unburned and partially burned fuels. The blaze was 20% contained.
Copyright  2022 Albuquerque Journal

The Rio Grande is drying in Albuquerque, which hasnt happened in nearly four decades.

New Mexico water officials point to legal issues with Texas, extreme drought and a changing climate, thirsty vegetation and a resistance to using less water as some reasons behind the current situation.

The experts encouraged state lawmakers at Tuesdays Water and Natural Resources Committee meeting to act with a sense of urgency.

State Engineer Mike Hamman said limited supply will likely prompt more state enforcement of water rights.

Well be looking at a more active metering program, he said.

New Mexico must deliver a certain amount of river water each year to Elephant Butte Reservoir under the Rio Grande Compact.

At the end of 2021, the state owed more than 127,000 acre-feet  41 billion gallons  of water to downstream users.

Some of that debt is from a 2020 agreement when Texas and Colorado agreed to let New Mexico release more water from El Vado Reservoir in the summer to keep the river wet in the middle valley.

But the state now faces storage restrictions because of the compact debt and El Vado reconstruction. There is little to no river water left for central New Mexico.

The state is on track to hit a 200,000 acre-foot debt.

Reaching that threshold would put the state officially out of compact compliance.

(But) once were out of compact debit, or at least reduced, El Vado Reservoir comes into play for operations for the middle valley, Hamman said.

New Mexico, Texas and the federal government are wading through compact litigation in the U.S. Supreme Court.

Texas alleges that groundwater pumping and surface water diversions in southern New Mexico illegally reduce the amount of water available downstream.

A federal judge has given the states and the federal government time to pursue a settlement.

Failure to settle the case would be disastrous for state finances and water resources, said Phil King, a consultant for Elephant Butte Irrigation District.

One of the obstacles made clear in (Tuesdays) hearing status conference with the judge in the case is that Texas is unwilling to enter into a settlement that depends on the New Mexico Legislature funding it, because they dont think you will do it, King told the committee.

Middle Rio Grande agriculture accounts for about 28% of regional river water use.

That share is 33% for riparian vegetation, including such invasive species as salt cedar and Russian olive.

Several agencies are focused on reducing water consumption in the agriculture sector.

Jason Casuga, chief engineer and CEO of the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District, stressed that compact issues also impact irrigation and the river ecosystem.

Were living as lean as we ever have, he said.

The engineer suggested investing in such infrastructure as the low-flow conveyance channel.

After its construction in the 1950s, the channel helped eliminate a hefty state water debt.

New Mexicos been in a worse place before related to our compact status, Casuga said.

Water diverted into the riverside channel between San Acacia and Elephant Butte has less evaporation than in the Rio Grande, making for more efficient deliveries.

The conservancy district also pays farmers to fallow fields and has shortened irrigation seasons for several years.

But the water experts recognize that a changing climate means less water in the river system.

King is a researcher on the state panel which found that New Mexico is becoming more arid.

In 50 years, statewide average temperatures could increase by 5 to 7 degrees if emissions continue to rise.

Those temperatures could force the state to adapt to less water in rivers and streams, and decreasing groundwater supplies.

The status quo is not an option, King said.
Omnicom Media Group (OMG) India has appointed Anand Chakravarthy as its new Chief Growth Officer. One of the leading digital marketing experts in the country, Anand is set to use his strategic foresight and over two decades of rich industry experience to create new opportunities for growth and play an instrumental role in shaping OMG Indias future trajectory. He will report to Kartik Sharma, Group CEO of OMG India.

With over 24 years of experience in the media and advertising industry and having worked with many reputable businesses, all of which witnessed exponential growth under his guidance, Anand has a deep well of knowledge to draw from. In his previous roles, he has led many profitable businesses, including during his leadership stints at Essence Global, Wavemaker and Reliance Broadcast Network.

With experience in Marketing, Advertising, Media and Entrepreneurship, Anand's strength lies in his ability to formulate crucial strategies that help businesses scale up and become sustainable in an extremely competitive market. Across his repertoire of experience, he has worked with Global and Indian brands, including several leading D2C brands in India.

Speaking on his appointment, Kartik Sharma, CEO of Omnicom Media Group India, said, I am delighted to welcome Anand on board. His extensive knowledge, values-based leadership style and commitment to delivering results will undoubtedly be a great asset to our business going forward. His work speaks for itself and shows that he has the propensity to lead and help companies capitalize on new growth opportunities in an emerging market.

Anand Chakravarthy said, I am thrilled to be a part of OMG India and getting the opportunity to work with Kartik and his leadership team, for whom I have immense respect. OMG is recognized globally for its thought leadership and building future forward capabilities - a critical need in the industry today. Working in this ecosystem with this team and leveraging these capabilities to help brands evolve without any limitations is a fantastic opportunity. I look forward to fully committing to OMGs vision and pushing the boundaries of innovation & growth.
Dominos Pizza, the largest pizza chain in the country, recently launched the Cheesy Rewards Loyalty Program. The first-of-its-kind rewards program allows customers to collect 100 points (1 pie) on every order and, after collecting 600 points, offers the customer the opportunity to get a free pizza. This allows customers to enjoy their favourite Dominos Pizza and get rewarded for their orders from Dominos.

Dominos has kept innovation and consumer-centricity at the centre of its business to provide the best food experience and become a brand synonymous with pizza in India. The brand values its customers and intends to make every single pizza-eating experience not just truly memorable but also rewarding (by offering them free pizza on every 6th order). The Cheesy Rewards Program is meant to reward its customers and provide another reason to love Dominos.

Introducing the all new Domino's #CheesyRewards program. Get a #FREEPIZZA on every 6th order! Enrol now on the Domino's app or store!



Valid on Delivery, Dine-In and Takeaway! #DominosIndia pic.twitter.com/FUzfuLkOpS  dominos_india (@dominos_india) July 22, 2022

Speaking about the Cheesy Rewards campaign, Sandeep Anand, EVP and CMO, Dominos Pizza, said, Customer delight is our constant endeavour. We have created the Cheesy Rewards Program with a vision to nurture, celebrate and reward customer relationships and loyalty.

The launch is supported by a 360-degree campaign which is live across multi-media channels, including TV, print and digital. It will be further amplified on YouTube and social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
English Browne, a leading UK-based hygiene brand, has appointed JD Singh as CEO for the next three years. Singh will assume the new role at the start of Brownes new fiscal year. JD Singh is high profile business executive having experience of around 16 years in sales, strategy and marketing,

The company is a newly public incorporated company and has been in the business since 2019.

Since its inception in 2019, English Browne has been a pioneer manufacturer and exporter of quality hygiene products in the United Kingdom and India.

JD Singh has led the company to win two prestigious awards, namely, Indias Most Innovative Company in Hygiene, 2022 and Indias No. 1 Brand in Sanitary Pad Protection.

I am honored to have been elected as English Brownes new CEO. Its truly a privilege to be a part of a company that focuses on innovation and quality for bettering womens health, said Singh.

In addition to appointing a new CEO, the company is also launching 5 new products in the hygiene space, all of which are under the management and overview of JD Singhs board of directors.
You are here: World

 Flash

The Chinese side will take firm and strong measures to safeguard sovereignty and territorial integrity if the United States insists on going ahead with its House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi's potential visit to Taiwan, a foreign ministry spokesperson said Monday.

"The Chinese side has repeatedly made clear to the U.S. side our serious concern over Pelosi's potential visit to Taiwan and our firm opposition to the visit," spokesperson Zhao Lijian told a regular news briefing.

"We are fully prepared for any eventuality," he said.

The United States must assume full responsibility for any serious consequence arising thereof, Zhao added.
Authored by Moneka Khurana, Country Head and Board Member, MMA India

We, as marketers, constantly obsess over how to deliver the best brand experience - be it for customers, partners, or internal stakeholders. But how do we gauge whether we are on the right track? While customer delight has always been our north star, marketing awards have increasingly become critical in setting benchmarks and evaluating performance.

What makes these awards even more important and special for marketers is the evaluation process. Customer delight is a function of emotion and experience. Awards, on the other hand, evaluate brands campaigns and strategies on measurable business metrics. They are a litmus test to gauge whether the campaigns cut it for specific outcomes. And lets not forget the jurors. When experts from across the industry come together to evaluate and recognise, rest assured, only true brilliance wins.

What should brands consider: Winning ingredients

With so many awards, brands have their work cut out when it comes to shortlisting which ones to participate in. While a brand may be upbeat about entering most award shows, there is an art to determining the category that your brand will be sure to win in. You will want to decide to be part of the mix by looking at competitors and previous winners. Make sure the category relates to the goal and outcomes of the campaign. From that perspective, it is important to form case studies. To qualify, you must have a gripping tale about what makes your campaign unique.

A winning brand will always have four exceptional touchpoints: media choice, consumer experience, adoption of new technology, and measurement. According to Kantars Connect database, only about 20% of brands generate 80% impact by getting the four pillars right. Again, when we gauge the pandemic period, it was found that brands were able to leverage mobile phones to engage with consumers in the most innovative ways. The difference was marked in awards like the MMA Smarties, where the number of winners using cellphone marketing rose from 34% to 87%. These winning entries opened eyes around the marketing world and organisations have since increased their digital spends.

It is important to deliver beyond plain vanilla advertising that we have been used to for so long. Marketing content needs to be integrated and customized, as it delivers effective brand outcomes. As per Kantars Getting Media Right report, about 91% of brands have attached some degree of importance to customized offerings.

The guiding principles

There are global awards like the MMA Smarties and Forbes Marketing Awards which recognise marketing brilliance. What cuts the cake for these awards is the shortlisting process. This is half the battle won. The other half is creating that winning entry. With over a decade of awards experience, here are some guiding principles:

Keep the strategy clear

Keep a clear demarcation between strategy, execution and business impact: It is very important to measure how each metric has worked for a company. A case highlighting strategy is UltraTech, which contextually established its campaign messaging of Chance Na Lo. It banked on the emotional adventure of homebuilding, that involves one's pride, skill, and identity. The company underlined the disconnect between the aspiration and lack of awareness on how to do it. The Baat Ghar Ki ad was introduced with the aim of improving brand awareness as an "expert house building companion."

The brand optimized the entire digital ecosystem to establish the message, educating people about the right choice towards every stage of home building in a way they would relate. The approach was to lay one brick at a time: understanding the pain, creating an educative platform on a website in a form of 77-byte sized videos in seven different languages. The brand partnered with leading media influencers and activated the campaign on an interactive digital platform. While it was a challenge to reach masses in media dark districts, the brand reached out to them on cell phones through 30 sec capsules in voices of famous regional celebrities.

Be creative

Creativity is key when designing a winning campaign. Doves #StopTheBeautyTest is a brilliant example of this. It highlights the Indian custom of arranged marriages that harps on traditional notions of beauty --- an unrealistic stereotyped portrayal of women that triggers for lack of confidence and depression. Through a curated campaign, the beauty soap brand managed to show that beauty should be source of confidence, not anxiety. It killed two birds with one stone --- stereotypes and mental wellbeing.

Measure your outcomes

If your campaign has no measurable outcomes, the entire exercise becomes futile. Always choose an entry with a scoop of measurability. For instance, Swiggys Delivering Happiness At Your Doorstep campaign brilliantly used AI and Machine Learning. The campaign was measured by increase in app installs, number of users, number of orders, and the decrease in cost per acquisition. Swiggy's primary target market for this campaign was the 1850 age group, who have easy access to smartphones, are adept at utilising applications and new services, and depend on online platforms to meet their everyday needs. To fulfil orders according to customers' needs and preferences while maintaining all safety precautions, it used the RevX platform to target users during the most pertinent "day-of-the-week" (weekends), "time-of-the-day" (office hours and late evenings - working class), and pin-code-based ad targeting. Swiggy utilised RevX's creative feeds to develop real-time, data-driven personalised ad formats that helped them cultivate more lucrative consumers that were targeted based on food interests. Throughout the campaign, the brand was able to identify the best performing ad formats and automatically optimized the campaign budget resulting in a better performance and brand resonance with the users.

Avoid campaigns with unclear messaging

While the guiding light is clear, it is equally important for marketing brands to steer away from unclear strategy, non-measurable outcomes and MeToo creatives, to avoid controversy or duality of any kind. After all, it is an exercise that celebrates all that is bright and beautiful in your brands journey towards a successful one. As the famous marketing quote goes --- Master the topic, the message, and the delivery --- and the rest will follow.

DISCLAIMER: The views expressed are solely of the author and Adgully.com does not necessarily subscribe to it.






Star Bharat unveiled a refreshed brand identity, with the tagline  Dil Deke Dekho Zara to reflect the channels evolution. The new brand identity represents the emotion of following ones heart, aims to encourage viewers to fall in love and express themselves. The channel welcomes this change by positioning it as a one-stop destination for content themed around romance. The refreshed identity will reflect in its programming bringing to light stories of love and romance keeping universal relationships at the forefront.

Star Bharat is at a juncture where it needs to reinvent and bring forth refreshed look and feel combined with renewed programming. Romance is a universal language and cuts across age, gender, culture and we are happy to progress in this space. We intend to make television viewing a cohesive experience for our viewers. With the new brand promise we will continue to offer compelling content and create characters and formats that resonate with the masses, said the channel spokesperson.

Star Bharat's programming celebrates the many facets of growing India, and the channel's revamp is a celebration of love and connection. Reflecting the new thought, the programming is built from existing shows like Radha Krishn, Gud Se Meetha Ishq, Woh Toh Hai Albelaa to the recently launched Swayamvar Mika Di Vohti, Channa Mereya and Bohot Pyar Karte Hai, all of which emphasize on love and romance. The channel launched two new shows today: Na Umra Ki Seema Ho a unique love story of pure love that transcends all boundaries of age and social background and Ajooni a beautiful love story between two drastically opposite people and their journey of falling in love. These two compelling stories will strike a chord with the audience and examine the evolution of romantic relationships in modern-day India, from rural to major cities. The new line-up of content will cater to every part of India and feature shows that will reinforce the brand promise. The channel also developed a new anthem that brings alive the new brand proposition.
Javed Jafri (pictured) has been appointed to the position of Southeast Asia and Indonesia ice cream digital, analytics, and commerce hub head, as well as Malaysia and Singapore media lead, located in Malaysia. Jafri has worked with Unilever for over 11 years, most recently as the media and digital hub head for Malaysia, Singapore, Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos. During this period, he oversaw a team of more than 20 people from various countries, handled Unilever's media, and was Unilever's data governance lead for Malaysia.

He was formerly located in Pakistan, where he served as the chief of media for four years. He built media marketing strategies through user mapping, measured the efficacy of digital marketing initiatives, and analysed ROIs and KPIs for over 40 firms. According to his LinkedIn profile, Jafri has over 21 years of expertise leading customer-centric projects in the marketing and media industries, launching brand campaigns and reinforcing brand impressions.

Jafri is also the Vice President of the Malaysian Marketers Association (MAA), a unified organisation that represents advertisers' interests in all aspects of commercial communications. MAA was established in 1964 and now has approximately 102 members. Some of its goals include improving marketing effectiveness, supporting advertising self-regulation, and forming a marketing collaboration with agencies and media.

Meanwhile, while residing in Pakistan, Jafri has worked with corporations such as Telenor, Tapal Tea, and Mediacom. He worked with Telenor for six years, his most recent position being strategic media manager. He was in charge of the company's media strategy, market research, and media analysis and forecasting. He formerly worked for tea manufacturer Tapal Tea, where he oversaw the creation of Tedzum, a combination of high grown Kenyan main leaf grades.

In the meantime, Unilever Malaysia has announced a flurry of new projects and measures to commemorate its 75th anniversary. It unveiled a new anniversary logo with 25 colourful motifs woven together on the figure 75, representing the company's uniqueness and Unilever's mission to make sustainable living mainstream.

Unilever's entire marketing staff has also lately undergone a number of adjustments. Kartik Chandrasekhar, global lead for Lifebuoy, took on the post of head of oral care and skin cleaning for developing and emerging countries, as part of its simplification structure, effective July 1, 2022. Meanwhile, Triveni Rajagopal, global digital director for skin cleansing and oral care, was promoted to personal care digital transformation lead, while Chiradeep Gupta was designated VP, personal care, head of media, and global integrated media strategy lead located in London.
In terms of being the voice of change, those of us with dead and injured family members are, by all appearances, dead and buried ourselves except for the fact that every crackdown and step backward correspond to an increase in the number of Americans who view vaccine safety as a research priority or who suspect the tech is not as safe as claimed. Those shifts were inevitable but hardly victories since the aim had been to better the system before the damage, cost and jaundice spread.

Even with recent successes against removal of personal exemptions in Oregon and Washington, state crusades against vaccine exemptions continue to spread, federal enforcement still looms, and vaccine safety and autism activists seem farther away from original goals . To make matters worse, in the case an individual is disabled by vaccinationan indisputed risk of a technology ruled  unavoidably unsafe  by the Supreme Court and the reason for the existence of the VICP the treatment of the disabled in the US, including disabled veterans , is increasingly lethal and deplorable. And even those few awarded compensation in vaccine court would most likely be ineligible for medical exemptions under progressively narrowing parameters set by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.

But it finally dawned on me that this is the type of reporting that can only happen from the bottomfrom sources with little to lose but themselvesboth because the view from political purgatory has a certain clarity and because activists and analysts who focus on broader political scopes generally have other life and death issues hinging on their ability and agency to get a their perspectives into the wider media. When they go down, so does the range of issues they might be rare voices for.

Like Engelhardt, only moreso, I also feel out of my depth with the issue of militarized  globalization  as it relates to the pharmaceutical crusade against consumer rights. Others have named these things separately and Ive waited patiently for years for leading political analysts and activists to put the pieces together.

Tom Dispatch has been an important media source for the following report and I generally agree with the substance of the article1% elections, demobilization of Americans, privatization of everything and the security state as fourth branch of government. I agree on every count except onethat any of this is new or lacks a name.

Have you ever undertaken some task you felt less than qualified for, but knew that someone needed to do? Consider this piece my version of that, and let me put what I do understand about it in a nutshell: based on developments in our post-9/11 world, we could be watching the birth of a new American political system and way of governing for which, as yet, we have no name.

The plague-stricken town, traversed throughout with hierarchy, surveillance, observation, writing; the town immobilized by the functioning of an extensive power that bears in a distinct way over all individual bodies - this is the utopia of the perfectly governed city. The plague (envisaged as a possibility at least) is the trial in the course of which one may define ideally the exercise of disciplinary power. In order to make rights and laws function according to pure theory, the jurists place themselves in imagination in the state of nature; in order to see perfect disciplines functioning, rulers dreamt of the state of plague.

All of this eventually led me to the realization that the war against balanced public health reporting in the USone that effectively turns the subject into a career-burning swan song for any prominent journalist or public figure who dares to question the paradigm is overwhelmingly political and has far less to do with protecting health or even industry profits than protecting the paradigm itself and its multiple unstated applications.

The use of public health campaigns for purposes other than actual public health could be seen as a sort of coercive tied selling. Except that, with the vaccine program, were arguably getting a side of targeted killings, drones, hegemony and expansionism, mass surveillance, radical economic programs including the privatization of education, an increasingly captured media, and yet another rationale for domestic militarization.

In other words, public health reform isnt merely a secondary cause that would necessarily gain ground on a wave of political reconstruction if only, say, Citizens United were rolled back, if environmental protections were improved, if Halliburton-style privatization schemes were cut from the taxpayer teat, if regulatory capture could be curtailed, or if media and academia reclaimed freedom from corporate bondage, etc. Intead its a linchpin issue and perpetual entry point for the rest to stay as is or grow worse. In the battle to retain rights, addressing those being threatened under the guise of public health is not an avoidable morass but, at this moment, only the dead will name it.





Photograph: Mohammad Sajjad/AP

The Vaccine Programs Suicide by Agenda Ballast

By now, most of the country is aware that those dissenting from official public health doctrine on vaccination are facing potential threats of jail (USA Today, Washington Post, LA Times), segregation (National Public Radio), fines and civil suits (Forbes). The public has seen the media celebrating state child removal as a tool of vaccine enforcement (Daily Kos), along with the chilling proposal that children belong not to parents but to the state (USA Today).

It seems unlikely that all this is happening due to an outbreak of measles that seems to have run its course, was far smaller than last years, has so far involved zero deaths in the US, and is largely attributablelike the 2010 pertussis spike to vaccine failure, not a drop in uptake. The fact that the current rash of state campaigns to remove exemptions followed directly on the heels of several whistleblower disclosures regarding vaccine inefficacy and the link between vaccination and autism suggests triggers other than measles might be pushing the agenda forwardone apparently bent on locking down consumers before whistleblower hearings set for spring potentially lead to mass opt-outs.

Considering that 1/3 of US children are now living in poverty, its disturbing that the same seemingly progressive media outlets decrying municipal violation traps, state child snatching for profit and the criminalization of American life are simultaneously stumping for mandates. Since this is also happening in conjunction with a campaign for a universal adult mandate and tracking program, and while there are nearly 300 vaccines in the approval pipeline, this could eventually push even the most compliant consumers past their limits and into legal standoffs that most cant afford.

But some might argue that, in the post 9/11 disaster capitalism era, triggering mass dissent might be part of the scheme, or at least easily enfolded into it. The list of corporations profiting from prison labor should be a prime illustration. From Truthdig: "Abbott Laboratories, AT&T, AutoZone, Bank of America, Bayer, Berkshire Hathaway, Cargill, Caterpillar, Chevron, the former Chrysler Group, Costco Wholesale, John Deere, Eddie Bauer, Eli Lilly, ExxonMobil, Fruit of the Loom, GEICO, GlaxoSmithKline, Glaxo Wellcome, Hoffmann-La Roche, International Paper, JanSport, Johnson & Johnson, Kmart, Koch Industries, Mary Kay, McDonalds, Merck, Microsoft, Motorola, Nintendo, Pfizer, Procter & Gamble, Quaker Oats, Sarah Lee, Sears, Shell, Sprint, Starbucks, State Farm Insurance, United Airlines, UPS, Verizon, Victorias Secret, Wal-Mart and Wendys."

In our increasingly militarized, scanned, surveilled and economically battered society, the state has means to more easily crush public resistance than at any time in history. The result would certainly be a boon for privatized probation corporations, privatized prisons and privatized foster care used in some regions to balance budgets. But what exactly would it do for faith in preventive medicine?

Borrowing a term from Israeli sociologist Baruch Kimmerling, the current assaults on consumer rights are an act of politicide in two senses one intentional and the other unintended. First, its an attempted integrity assassination of independent science that rightfully watchdogs the safety and efficacy of vaccination, and an attempt to outlaw a diverse consumer safety movement. But its also an inadvertent manual for political suicide on the part of vaccine industrialists and public health authorities responsible for sustaining the vaccine program.

In his novel Dark Green, Bright Red, Gore Vidal wrote all the great impatient men who eventually strangle for lack of air in the stratosphere of indulged will. Men who must tumble down and, in the tumbling, smash, if not themselves, the beloved image of their dreaming. Or put more directly, the vaccine industry and public health proponents, over-ballasted with too many interlocking political and corporate agendas, are in the process of smashing, if not themselves, then any remnant of trust in public health.

The agenda ballast goes far beyond domestic mandates and, consequently, the distrust has gone global. On May 16th, 2014, President Obamas top counterterrorism and homeland security advisor Lisa Monaco penned a letter to the deans of 13 schools of public health vowing that the CIA will cease using vaccine campaigns abroad as cover for military and surveillance missions. Monacos letter surfaced a few days later, on May 18th. From Fox News:

President Obama's top counterterrorism advisor has vowed that the CIA will no longer be able to use vaccination programs as cover for intelligence operations like those the agency carried out prior to the killing of Usama bin Laden in 2011.

Lisa Monaco announced the policy change last week in a letter to the deans of 13 schools of public health. Monaco's letter said that the CIA has agreed to stop using vaccination programs and workers for intelligence purposes. The agency has also agreed not to use genetic material obtained through such programs.

The educators had written to Obama last year protesting the use of immunization programs as a front for espionage. The most prominent program [emphasis added]was run by Dr. Shakil Afridi, who offered hepatitis vaccinations in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad as cover for his CIA-backed effort to obtain DNA samples from children at a compound where bin Laden was later killed during a 2011 raid by U.S. Navy SEALs. Afridi was convicted and sentenced by a Pakistani court to 33 years in prison for treason. The sentence was later overturned and Afridi faces a retrial.

In 2012, the United Nations suspended a polio vaccination effort in Pakistan after gunmen killed several health workers. Taliban militants accused health workers of acting as spies for the U.S

The CIA's use of a vaccine program to spy on bin Laden's compound undercut Obama's own high-profile speech to the Muslim world in 2009, in which he touted U.S. efforts to slash the growth of polio in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria. With Obama administration assurances, Muslim scholars in two international groups issued religious decrees urging parents to vaccinate their children.

Notice the pluralization and time frame from the Fox News excerpt above: vaccination programs as cover for intelligence operationslike those the agency carried out prior to the killing of Usama Bin Laden in 2011.

The BBC reported that backlash against vaccine campaigns abroad before and after the Neptune Spear mission to kill Bin Laden was driven mostly by the reported connection between immunization drives and drone strikes in Pakistanalso plural. Until details are declassified or leaked, were left to envision troops of health workers doubling as spies, gathering local intel throughout target zones in Pakistan or elsewhere to coordinate strikes that have reportedly killed an estimated 1,147 civilian unknowns, including hundreds of children, in order to target an estimated 41 suspected combatants a rate of 28 civilian deaths per presumed combatant.

Justice for 9/11 clearly isnt served by misuse of health programs and further civilian deaths, nor is domestic safety. As Wikileaks recently disclosed, an internal CIA analysis of the drone program rates the so-called targeted killings of High Value Targets as less than a success for reasons other than the unintentional civilian casualty rate. The program, analysts conclude, does not consistently reduce insurgency. Add to this reports that several terrorist attacks have occurred since the National Security Agency has been engaging in mass data collection, and that the CIA Torture Report has concluded that enhanced interrogation techniques techniques such as waterboarding, beatings, isolation, extreme exposure and, as journalist Seymour Hersh charged, rapes of children in front of their mothersdid not prevent a single act of terrorism.

Absent evidence that broken treaties on human rights and medical ethics have been effective in improving the safety of Americans, it might appear that these operations are some kind of vast, maccabre experiment. In fact, about the only thing advanced by the torture program other than acting as a key recruiting tool for militant extremists was government funded research on the science of torture.

By the same token, the one vaccination drive used as cover for a military operation the public knows about the Bin Laden mission couldnt have produced immunity to the disease being vaccinated for. In an article from 2012 titled The Imperial Mind, Glenn Greenwald wrote,

Americans of all types  Democrats and Republicans, even some Good Progressives  are just livid that a Pakistani tribal court (reportedly in consultation with Pakistani officials) has imposed a 33-year prison sentence on Shakil Afridi, the Pakistani physician who secretly worked with the CIA to find Osama bin Laden on Pakistani soil. Their fury tracks the standard American media narrative: by punishing Dr. Afridi for the crime of helping the U.S. find bin Laden, Pakistan has revealed that it sympathizes with Al Qaeda and is hostile to the U.S. (NPR headline: 33 Years In Prison For Pakistani Doctor Who Aided Hunt For Bin Laden; NYT headline: Prison Term for Helping C.I.A. Find Bin Laden). Except thats a woefully incomplete narrative: incomplete to the point of being quite misleading.

What Dr. Afridi actually did was concoct a pretextual vaccination program, whereby Pakistani children would be injected with a single Hepatitis B vaccine, with the hope of gaining access to the Abbottabad house where the CIA believed bin Laden was located. The plan was that, under the ruse of vaccinating the children in that province, he would obtain DNA samples that could confirm the presence in the suspected house of the bin Laden family. But the vaccine program he was administering was fake: as Wireds public health reporter Maryn McKenna detailed, since only one of three doses was delivered, the vaccination was effectively useless. [authors emphasis] An on-the-ground Guardian investigation documented that while the vaccine doses themselves were genuine, the medical professionals involved were not following procedures. In an area called Nawa Sher, they did not return a month after the first dose to provide the required second batch. Instead, according to local officials and residents, the team moved on.

Political media analyst and Manufacturing Consent author Noam Chomsky called the use of vaccination campaigns as cover for military operations  particularly truncated campaigns criminal:

one consequence of their actions was tothere is always in these societies serious concern about what outsiders, Americans, are up to when they come in and start, you know, sticking needles in people and so on. Its always there. Takes a lot of work to overcome that hostility. And it was being overcome in Pakistan. Now its gone. They will not permit people to come in carrying out vaccinations. Polio is almost gone in the world. Pakistan is one of the last places where it survives. OK, were encouraging the spread of polio. And as one commentator pointed outback to the Yemeni in the Senateone of these days, people are going to look at this crippled child and say, "You did it to us." And you can guess whats going to happen then.

The loss of trust in medical philanthropy has already happened for multiple reasons, one of which is the quality of vaccines being distributed in the third world (discussed later). But however understandable the resistance, this dissent has perpetually been doubled back as yet more drone-justifying spin characterizing Muslims and people in developing countries as hysterical, superstitious, a threat to progress, science and survival of the species and therefore expendable. And its been too easy to simply transfer that model to domestic resistance and double it back as further justification to scrap civil freedoms while refusing to address actual complaints.

Its just another example of how seemingly failed policies have been highly successful in terms of unstated goals, much like the Bush administration lie that torture was producing intel on Sadam Huseins production of weapons of mass destruction that was nevertheless effective in getting the US into a war of aggression. Likewise, certain foreign public health operations, while travesties in terms of their stated purposes, were successful in an ulterior sense. Could this also be true for the failures of US public health policy? Is health the real objective of forcing consumers to the biotech trough and, if not, what is?

Global vaccine profits, which have risen exponentially in just a few yearsfrom 6 billion in 2006 to nearly $30 billion by 2013 and with projected profits of $100 billion by 2020only partly explain the intensity of the public health crusade. Taking vaccine industry defender Seth Mnookin at his wordsince he scoffs at the idea that financial incentives could be driving the push to expand the vaccine market there remains a question of whether vaccination has been somehow militarized not just abroad but domestically.

The campaign for compulsory vaccination, if anything, might be an illustration of how some of it goes hand in hand. Part 2 explores the question of whose hands might be drawing the net and why.

Adriana Gamondes is a Contributing Editor for Age of Autism and one of the blogs Facebook administrators.
Its a valid argument that Gates Foundations initiatives, like biofuel exploration are nearly ubiquitous. The same is true for US military operations, as Nick Turse for The Nation reports:

And as it turns out, Gates investment coincided with several ongoing US military operations and installations in countries from the Ukraine to Syria , Yemen and Kenya  openly touted for oil, frackable shale or offshore gas fields. And every one of these countries had been, at one point or another, a subject of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundations and (offshoot) GAVI Alliances various disease monitoring and vaccination drives as well as surveillance of what the organization calls  vaccine confidence .

In February, 2011, less than three months prior to Operation Neptune Spear, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, the worlds leading vaccine philanthropist, pronounced on CNN that vaccine safety critics kill children and are liars. A few weeks earlier, Gates had invested in Neos Geosolutions , a mining technology company backed by Goldman Sachs and Saudi investors that has performed airborne surveys in the Middle East and maintains an office in Abu Dhabi.

Read Part 1 here. Note: We are running one of Adriana's finest series this week while Kim is on a brief vacation until August 1. By Adriana Gamondes

During the fiscal year that ended on September 30, 2014, US Special Operations forces (SOF) deployed to 133 countriesroughly 70 percent of the nations on the planetaccording to Lieutenant Colonel Robert Bockholt, a public affairs officer with US Special Operations Command (SOCOM). This capped a three-year span in which the countrys most elite forces were active in more than 150 different countries around the world, conducting missions ranging from kill/capture night raids to training exercises.

But aside from the ubiquity of certain programs, there are other convergences that make the chain of events leading up to Neptune Spear interesting. Imagining for a moment that Gates, whose foundation has been called a tax evasion shell by philanthropist and accounting expert Sheldon Drobny, has never used medical philanthropy to advance other investments, we should still be asking what Gates and members of his foundationthe prime implementers of third world vaccination drives similar to the one used as cover for the Bin Laden mission, and one of the primary media forces behind domestic mandates may have known leading up to the operation. Was Gates briefed? Were other media and industrial players?

We may never know the answer to this, as Turse goes on to illustrate:

Despite its massive scale and scope, this secret global war across much of the planet is unknown to most Americans. Unlike the December debacle in Yemen, the vast majority of special ops missions remain completely in the shadows, hidden from external oversight or press scrutiny. In fact, aside from modest amounts of information disclosed through highly-selective coverage by military media, official White House leaks, SEALs with something to sell and a few cherry-picked journalists reporting on cherry-picked opportunities, much of what Americas special operators do is never subjected to meaningful examination, which only increases the chances of unforeseen blowback and catastrophic consequences.

The use of illegal domestic propaganda to facilitate military operations has happened more than once in recent history, most notably Judy Millers planting of WMD spin in the New York Times on behalf of the US State Department. And going by a shocking recent court ruling, its just become harder to prove. In a story for The Intercept, Glenn Greenwald reports,

A truly stunning debasement of the U.S. justice system just occurred through the joint efforts of the Obama Justice Department and a meek and frightened Obama-appointed federal judge, Edgardo Ramos, all in order to protect an extremist neocon front group from scrutiny and accountability

This group of neocon extremists was literally just immunized by a federal court from the rule of law. That was based on the claim  advocated by the Obama DOJ and accepted by Judge Ramos  that subjecting them to litigation for their actions would risk disclosure of vital state secrets. The courts ruling was based on assertions made through completely secret proceedings between the court and the U.S. government, with everyone else  including the lawyers for the parties  kept in the dark

But in this case, there is no apparent U.S. government conduct at issue in the lawsuit. At least based on what they claim about themselves, UANI is just a not-for-profit, non-partisan, advocacy group that seeks to educate the public about the dangers of Irans nuclear program. Why would such a group like this even possess state secrets? It would be illegal to give them such material. Or could it be that the CIA or some other U.S. government agency has created and controls the group, which would be a form of government-disseminated propaganda, which happens to be illegal?

One clear takeaway is the fact that any agenda, if combined with military intelligence, now enjoys the unconstitutionally broad, secretive cover afforded to state security. About the only way to find out whether Gates was privy to and abetting government plans would be to somehow sue him for defamation over his CNN statements against consumer advocates and wait for the DOJ to swoop in. Of course anyone doing so would be accused of simultaneously defending Bin Laden and endangering public health, and would come smack against the double accountability shield of the war on terror and the war on disease two things that are equally handy for destroying constitutional protections and rationalizing fallout.

And whether or not Gates participated in illegal propaganda, considering the 47,500 cases of flaccid paralysis following the Gates Foundations live oral polio vaccine campaign in the third world, ethics violations in vaccine trials, reliance on repressive regimes for implementation of those trials (discussed later in the series), in light of the foundations commitment to global vaccine surveillance, and, again, in view of the admission that vaccine drives have been repeatedly used as a cover for military operations, its become apparent that medical philanthropy has not always improved public health in foreign populations. From some of his foundations further investments, its apparent that human health may not even be a driving force for Gates. Drawing from the motives behind US expansionist policies, it may be that these philanthropic medical campaigns are more a classic manner of gathering intelligence and capturing health infrastructure in certain oil, gas or mineral rich target nations as a militarized Trojan horse operation to gain control of populations and resources.

Obviously the spread of vaccine criticism would be viewed as a threat to any compounded operation like this, and the confluence of events should trigger concern, as should media campaigns to spin even the most moderate and reasonable criticism of vaccine safety, efficacy and research integrity as extremist and akin to terrorism. But its not as if disease-mongering in service of military and authoritarian agendas is a new phenomenon and the concern should have been long-standing in the public mind.





The Security State Moebius

In 20th century modernist philosopher Michel Foucaults concept of panoticism, the surveillance state is literally modeled on the city in quarantine, the total control of which is dependent on the existance of a deadly contagion to justify incursons on freedom and privacy.

A panopticon (pan, all; optic, see= all-seeing) was originally conceived as a prison plan by 19th century utopian philosopher Jeremy Bentham to replace corporal punishment with psychological constraint. The panotic prison involves a circular hive of prison cells surrounding a central observation tower whereby every gesture of every prisoner can be supervised around the clock both by guards (the state in Foucaults analogy) and by other prisoners, turning the watched into watchers and creating a system of informants which would presumably normalize conduct and otpimize conformity.

Despite occasional grumbling in the alternative media that the mainstream has repeatedly sensationalized various outbreaks the most recent being SARS, anthrax, Marburg, swine flu and Ebola the most cynical interpretations of it usually stop short at charges that the pharmaceutical industry sells disease for profit or that the media has a stake in stoking panic as distraction and to boost ratings.

Both takes are true, but ten years ago, journalist and Dirty Wars documentarian Jeremy Scahill, the son of healthcare professionals, took a closer look at the phenomenon in Huffington Post, tying disease mongering to WMD spin and war-footing:

Lewis "Scooter" Libby was a busy man in 2002-2003, pushing the lie that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction and targeting those who dared to challenge the Administration. Still, with all the leaking and smearing they were doing, Libby and his "former" boss Dick Cheney found the time to conduct a parallel propaganda war in which they attempted to use the US public as guinea pigs. And once again, Judy Miller served as a crucial PR agent for the cause. In mid-2002, as they struggled desperately to sell the war, these key players in "Plamegate" were engaged in full-out offensive aimed at convincing Americans that the country faced an imminent threat of a smallpox attack. To underscore this "threat," Libby began fanatically pressing to have the entire US population preemptively vaccinated against smallpox (which was declared eradicated in 1980). The proposal was immediately met with opposition from public health experts, including those at the Department of Health and Human Services. They warned Libby that the vaccine could injure, even kill people and that a universal vaccination could in and of itself spark a public health crisis in the US. "The risks of vaccinating the whole country with the existing vaccine were greater than what we saw as the threat," says Jerry Hauer, the HHS official at the time that would have been in charge of implementing the vaccinations. "We felt it was the wrong thing from a public health perspective to do." As the administration did with so many independent experts who said Iraq posed no WMD threat, Libby attempted to sideline those who questioned him.

What Hauer and his colleagues at HHS may not have known is that smallpox was a career-long obsession of Libby's--so much so that his nickname in the administration was "Germ Boy." His 1996 novel, The Apprentice, is about a smallpox outbreak and it was one of Libby's main areas of concern when he worked under Dick Cheney and Paul Wolfowitz at the Pentagon during the Gulf War. In Judy Miller's 2001 book (written with 2 colleagues) "Germs: Biological Weapons and America's Secret War," Libby is described during his time at the Pentagon as "a trim, boyish lawyer" irritated by intelligence reports about Iraqi WMDs containing the words "probably" and "possibly." Miller writes that Libby "told colleagues that intelligence analysts had an unfortunate habit: If they did not see a report on something, they assumed it did not exist."

More than a decade later, Libby was facing renewed frustration with another group of experts challenging his obsession. Hauer says that when he and other public health officials presented their opposition to Libby's "hysterical" universal smallpox vaccination scheme, the pressure from Cheney's office increased.



To make matters worse, a powerful group of Republicans, led by Senator/Dr. Bill Frist, is pushing legislation that would strip people injured by vaccines of their right to sue manufacturers and would virtually eliminate pharmaceutical corporate accountability. The legislation would also make the newly created Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Agency the only federal agency exempt from the Freedom of Information Act.

Now, there is grave concern that the man responsible for coordinating the federal response to a flu pandemic or bioterror attack could well be the next "Brownie." His name is Stewart Simonson--a well-connected, ideological, ambitious Republican with zero public health management or medical expertise, whose previous job was as a corporate lawyer for Amtrak. He replaced Jerry Hauer, the HHS official who stood up to Libby's smallpox vaccination scheme. Hauer says that in replacing him with Simonson the Administration has "somebody they know will go along with pretty much anything they want."

Scahill arguably makes the point that it is at the biowarfare juncture mingling disease management more closely than ever with security interests that reasonable voices in domestic public health are pushed aside for those who would happily militarize the function of health regulatory institutions at the potential cost of public health and trust. Scahill expanded the panoptic theme in an article titled Germ Boys and Yes Men for The Nation:

In early November George W. Bush, struggling to claw his way upward in polls that had acquired the consistency of quicksand after two months of blunders and disasters, launched a new PR blitz. The Administration declared it was taking charge of the nation's health and security with an all-out war on the flu (to be conducted with vaccines provided by well-connected pharmaceutical companies). "Our country has been given fair warning of this danger to our homeland," Bush declared. "It's my responsibility as President to take measures now to protect the American people."

One of the things that happens to any issue given a war on suffix (war on disease, war on drugs, war on terror) is that wars on social problems inevitably identify human enemies. In a paper entitled War as Metaphor, law professor Susan Stuart of Valparaiso University writes,

todays increasing use of militaristic rhetoric by politicians and pundits goes beyond its metaphorical use as a war against an abstraction. Instead, the use of such language is becoming literal, and that rhetorical shift matters. Todays militaristic rhetoric is increasingly identifying fellow citizens as enemies in a literal warwe have crossed the line from the marketing use of the metaphorical militarization to actual militarization. Somewhere in the last thirty or forty years, we have found it too easy to use militarized rhetoric without examining its consequences.

Since former Health and Human Services director Kathleen Sebelius (who, like Libbys pick to replace noncompliant HHS official Jerry Hauer, is a lawyer, not a medical or scientific expert) issued her loose lips sink ships edict in 2010 for censorship of vaccine and public health criticism in Readers Digest, frank interpretations like Scahills have tapered off. Any reporter who presently breaks rank on the subject risks being hounded by astroturf media hordes, branded a danger to the public and shut down.

These are the rules of engagement in actual war. My question is whether the power boost received by public health and the pharmaceutical industry via a military-industrial merger has been somehow reciprocal. Could the idea that the panoptic surveillance state model evolved from the management of contagion partly explain the growing ferocity of pharmaceutical industry PR and captured public health machinery in defending policy like vaccinationparticularly in that this is happening with the emergence of a massive security apparatus? Is it possible that incentives for it extend beyond immediate profits and that an entire militarized globalization scheme could plausibly restmore or less on a protection racket construct fueled by various concepts of contagion, whether literal, figurative or both?

As with anti-terrorism campaigns, a public health protection racket depends on the publics dutiful panic in the face of a deadly menace that appears to be more imminent than (thus supplanting fears of) longstanding human-wrought threats such as pollution and climate change, disasters stemming from genetically modified seed technology, oil spills, fracking disasters and attendant water shortages, etc. To work, the scheme requires absolute dependence on the states role as protector, absolute faith in technology, and grateful relinquishment of rights and privacy in exchange for supposed safety.

But in case the public cant be persuaded to accept the tradeoff, theres always legislation to force the issue that continues to ride the tails of various draconian post-9/11 anti-terrorism policies:

The Project BioShield Act of 2004 (S. 15) became law on July 21 of that year to provide protections and countermeasures against chemical, radiological, or nuclear agents that may be used in a terrorist attack against the United States by giving the National Institutes of Health contracting flexibility, infrastructure improvements, and expediting the scientific peer review process, and streamlining the Food and Drug Administration approval process of countermeasures. The act was also meant to incentivize the pharmaceutical industry to support national security.





The Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (PREP) Act was quietly signed into law by George Bush as part of the 2006 Defense Appropriations Act (HR 2863). It lets the HHS Secretary declare any disease an epidemic or national emergency requiring mandatory vaccinations. Nothing in the Act lists criteria that warrant a threat. Potential penalties arent specified for those who resist but fines and quarantine are likely. The HHS web site also says the Secretary may issue a declaration.that provides immunity from tort liability (except for willful misconduct) for claims of loss caused, arising out of, relating to, or resulting from administration or use of (vaccine or other pharmaceutical) countermeasures to diseases, threats and conditions determined by the Secretary to constitute a present, or credible risk of a future public health emergency.





The Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act (S. 3678), effective December 19, 2006, amended the Public Health Service Act with respect to public health security and all-hazards preparedness and response, and for other purposes.





The Model State Emergency Health Powers Act (MSEHPA) A Collaborative at Johns Hopkins and Georgetown Universities (as) a primary, international, national, state, and local resource on public health law (and) policy for public health practitioners, judges, academics, policymakers, and others.

MSEHPA is now track(ing) legal responses to the emerging international response to the 2009 H1N1 (swine flu) outbreak, including declarations of public health emergency at the international, national, state, and local levels. MSEHPA has been criticized as overly paternalistic.

ACLU continues on the subject of MSEHPA:

Its written in a way that doesnt adequately protect citizens against the misuse of the tremendous powers that it would grant in an emergency. (Its) replete with civil liberties problems. Its three top flaws are that:

(1) It fails to include basic checks and balances (by) grant(ing) extraordinary emergency powers (that) should never go unchecked. (It) could have serious consequences for individuals freedom, privacy, and equality.

(2) It goes well beyond bioterrorism (with) an over-broad definition of public health emergency that may be anything a local or national authority declares for any reason with no conclusive evidence for proof.

(3) It lacks privacy protections (and) undercut(s) existing protections for sensitive medical information.

Massachusetts Senate unanimously passed a pandemic flu preparation bill that rises to the level of martial law. If approved by the House and signed into law, it will mandate among other measures:





vaccination, treatment, examination, or testing of all individuals involved in providing health care  as perhaps step one before ordering the same process for all state residents;





owners or occupiers of all premises to permit entry into and investigation of the premises;





closure, evacuation, and decontamination of all suspected facilities; and restricting or prohibiting assemblages of persons.

By gearing the security state to monitor and manage actual as well as conceptual political contagion, it creates the potential for a strange, moebius strip reality where just as one Trojan horse for incursions on privacy and civil rights gallops away to a safe distance, another rides in, ricocheting the public between bomb threats and outbreaks, etc., etc., in perpetuity. The crisis has no end point and the inescapable state of permanent registration provides what Foucault described as the penetration of regulation into even the smallest details of everyday life through the mediation of the complete hierarchy that assured the capillary functioning of power.

To the best of my understanding, what Foucault means by capillary power, as opposed to central power, are the apparatuses of local enforcementpolice, district courts, regional prisons, etc. that directly reach into the most private aspects of citizens lives. But Foucault also places the term in the historical context of the authoritarian state, where the greatest violence is found "at the extreme points of its exercise, where it is always less legal in character. In other words, on-the-ground enforcement under a panoptic system is by definition brutal. Civil liberties problems, incursions on freedom, privacy and equality, restricted assemblages of persons, entry into and investigations of premisesa perfect state of plague.

Part 3 will look further into the weird coordination of disease themes in todays politicshow theories of viral political ideology used to justify aggressive foreign policy are also wielded domestically against those who resist a prospective entry point (disease-mongering) for permanent registration.

Adriana Gamondes is a Contributing Editor for Age of Autism and one of the blogs Facebook administrators.
You are here: World

 Flash

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro reiterated Monday his opposition to economic sanctions against Russia, in order to retain the supply of Russian fertilizer imports to Brazilian agribusiness.

"We are not going to adhere to sanctions (against Russia). We maintain a balanced position because without Brazil's balance on this issue today, we would not have fertilizers for our agribusiness," Bolsonaro said during the Global Agribusiness Forum 2022 in the city of Sao Paulo.

The president defended the country's decision to maintain trade ties with Russia to ensure food production.

"Without fertilizers, our guarantee of food security and that of 1 billion people in the world would be threatened," he added.

Bolsonaro also noted that in December his government decided to expand the national fertilizer program in search of alternatives to imports.

Brazil, Latin America's largest economy, is the world's leading soybean producer and the world's leading exporter of animal protein.
Alberta stands with the rest of Canada, united in our support for Ukraine during the unjust war being waged in their country. Albertas government has responded quickly to the crisis offering Ukrainian newcomers access to health care, child care, education, emergency financial funding, and guidance to get official documents and find work.

Now we are further expanding social and financial supports to help people meet their basic needs as they rebuild their lives. As Minister of Community and Social Services, I was proud to authorize the signing of a special ministerial order to help Ukrainians. That is why starting on July 25; eligible Ukrainian newcomers will be able to access up to six months of financial supports. Those who require immediate assistance can access emergency supports by calling the Alberta Supports Contact Centre at 1-877-644-9992 or visiting one of our many offices.

With so many people staying in Ukraine to help defend their nation, we expect many arrivals will be single-parent families along with other families who may be in need. To support them, Ukrainian parents can also apply for six months of funding to cover the costs of licensed child care through the Child Care Subsidy Program.

Ukrainian newcomers can visit alberta.ca/ukraine to access information in English and Ukrainian about the resources available to help them settle and integrate into Alberta communities.

As the situation evolves, Alberta will continue to work closely with the federal government, the Ukrainian community and settlement-serving organizations to make sure Ukrainians feel safe and supported as they arrive in our province. We know it will be difficult to rebuild and Albertas government will do all we can to remove as many barriers as possible and support Ukrainian newcomers.
I am not a professional academic but for many years I have been a member of the National Association of Scholars (NAS), a politically conservative academic professional group that has always opposed the Marxist socialist, collectivist invasion of educational and other institutions of Western democracies.

On June 13, 2022, Peter Wood (PhD Anthropology, U of Rochester) President of NAS, released a position paper opposing leftist invasions of American education and culture that are broadly referred to as Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) and Critical Race Theory (CRT) in a long and thorough (more than 4000 words) critique and call to arms and opposition: Regime Change: Repelling the DEI Assault on Higher Education .

I provide some pertinent excerpts from the monograph and some comments.

Dr. Wood Introduces the Position Paper:|

Criticism of American society for its inequitable treatment of blacks and other minority groups has become a focal point of American education at every level of instruction. Sometimes this criticism is historically well-grounded and tempered by recognition of social, political, and economic complexity. But more often this criticism veers into simplistic claims and fictions presented as fact. . . . anti-racist agenda in post-secondary education have not drawn nearly as much attention as they have in K-12 schools. In this essay I intend to address the critique of America on racial grounds mainly at the college and university level, but problems in K-12 schools will necessarily come into the picture. Words Matter Americas racial critics often disarm their opponents by using a vocabulary whose unassuming or technical demeanor hides radical meanings. Anti-racism is a word contrived by Boston University professor Ibram X. Kendi. Kendi and his followers use it to mean racial favoritism toward blacks, deliberate discrimination against whites aimed at compensating for systemic racial injustice, and the suppression of all speech and action opposed to their preferred policies. Systemic racism refers to the supposedly omnipresent racially disparate treatment built into institutions such as law, the real estate market, medical practice, and education. . . . Even individuals who decry racism and are free from any personal racial animus are thus part of systemically racist institutions. Critical Race Theory (CRT) is a branch of neo-Marxist social analysis formulated by Harvard Law School professor Derrick Bell in the late 1970s. . . .Proponents of CRT see themselves as liberating people from their illusions by showing them that American institutions are built on and continue to perpetuate racial oppression. They also believe they have a duty to subordinate all activities of life, and especially education, to the CRTs dis-illusioning project. Diversity was a doctrine first articulated by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Lewis Powell in a 1978 decision. Powell argued that colleges and universities might engage in some racial favoritism toward black students if the schools could show that this would advance the intellectual diversity of college classes and thus benefit all students regardless of race. In 2003, the Supreme Court in a majority decision in the case of Grutter v. Bollinger agreed that diversity was an acceptable reason for racial preferences in college admissions, provided that the use of preferences was somewhat disguised. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) is the contemporary expansion of the diversity doctrine. Equity replaces the older idea of individual equality under the law with the idea that all social goods should be distributed in proportion to each ethnic groups size relative to the total population. Inclusion, which violates the principles of freedom of association and individual merit, requires the extension of group-identity quotas to every part of society, public and private. This fixation on group-identity extends beyond race, as the proponents of DEI increasingly write gender identity into institutional policy. DEI ideologues share with their anti-racist peers the habit of suppressing their critics rather than answering their criticisms. The 1619 Project, a publication of the New York Times . . . has become a condensed way of referring to America as systemically racist in its very origins and of justifying acts of violence against Americans and their property. National Peril The rise of the anti-racist, DEI, CRT agenda in American education had been decried by many on the grounds that it poses a peril to the nation: Ethnic division and strife. . . . Political opportunism. . . . Cultural impoverishment. . . .Historical amnesia. . . . Professional incompetence. . . . International competitiveness. . . . Destructive orientation. DEI is . . . now taking hold in the American economy as the ESG movement (Environmental, Social, and Governance investing). DEI prioritizes race in all contexts and subordinates all other principled considerations. Graduates carry this into the corporate world, where it has now been elaborated as ESG. The perils posed by DEI no doubt vary from time to time and place to place. The factor on this list that is ubiquitous is ethnic division and strife. In all contexts, DEI fosters racial conflict.

Dr. Wood proceeds to outline the problems with our schools at all levels and the difficulties that have developed because teachers have been indoctrinated to DEI and all its permutations outlined above. The Problem is these indoctrinated teachers have a lot of autonomyless in grade schools than upper levels, but still a lot of opportunities to be indoctrinators in grade schools. By the time students arrive at college, Dr. Wood asserts they arrive at college already steeped in CRT and DEI viewpoints so the solution is not just to curtail bad instruction but to replace it with better instruction. But indocrination in higher education is actually more intense.

The NAS is strongly and energetically opposed to racial preferences and reverse discrimination, and against the canard of Diversity that is racialist at its core and climbed from a relatively inconspicuous term in politics and biology to become the master concept of contemporary liberal or progressive thinking.

The NAS is opposed to any ideology that elevates the principle of diversity over individuality, personal freedom, courtesy, fair-mindedness, and even equality.

The plan that NAS proposes to stop the invasion is to Audit the Academic Administrative State and stop the pronouncements of anti-racist and radical reformations, end the DEI leavened mission statements, diversity plans, accreditation and faculty hiring and tenure policies, research and curriculum changes, new bureaucracies and administrative changes intended to promote DEI policies.

Dr. Wood reports that:

A recent study by the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) reported that 21.5 percent of all colleges and universities in a survey already have DEI criteria embedded in tenure standards, and another 38.9 percent have such criteria under consideration. At large universities the trend is even more pronounced, with 45.6 percent already imposing such standards and another 35.5 percent considering thema total of 81.1 percent.

He deplores the DEI filter changes in College Bylaws, hiring quotas, learning goals, admissions standards, funding and other efforts to promote DEI effects. He advocates discarding reverse discrimination based on race, but also eliminating the relaxation of grading and promotion intended to be race based that deemphasize merit and achievement in favor of equitable outcome goalsa cover for the trend to promote and graduate everyone with good grades that mean nothing.

Dr. Wood points out that there would be legal problems with efforts to eliminate curricular changes pushing DEIbut reducing the DEI dominated administrative atmosphere, what he calls the institutional surround, would reduce the negative DEI reverse discrimination academic trends that violate the Constitution and coerce and intimidate faculty and students.

The DEI/CRT antidote recommended by Dr. Wood is to start with Academic Institutional Audits of Wokeness projects-- DEI/CRT/ESG projects in the fabric and structure of the institution. Those audits may be facilitated by encouraging and protecting whistleblowers and victims of the DEI/CRT tyranny. Since DEI and CRT administrative changes violate the First, Fourth, Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution, not to mention the fundamental basis for the anti-discrimination provisions of civil rights legislation, finding the problems should and would lead to action to eliminate discrimination in the DEI / CRT/ESG anti-racism totalitarianism of academia.

The devil is in the details and the details were not neglected by Dr. Woods position paper.

He advocates the following, quoting one law professor who said that the fight against CRT is a fight for national survival. The laundry list is banning Mandatory DEI/CRT training, evaluations, demanding transparency, creating a counter bureaucracy and gearing funding to penalize DEI /CRT persistence.

Dr. Wood notes that vocation and training schools eschew political agendas as a rule and should be recommended as a good alternative to 4 year higher education as good bang for the buck investment. As for higher education, it should be liberal in spirit but conservative and evidence based in method, intended to teach careful and effective assessment of ideas and arguments by a proper examination of the evidence, a real search for truth and avoidance of true believer intellectual tyranny. CRT and DEI as well as all the anti-racism movements have become a noisy and dominating True Believer authoritarian cult that claims it will purify and cleanse America and Western Civilizationthe purification and cleansing could be nothing more than the usual leftist utopian delusions and promises of a post-revolutionary paradise.

Dr. Wood concludes, pointing out that the anti-racist mania doesnt move things in a positive direction:

It prepares students to live in fear, resentment, and recrimination in a society dominated by manipulative elite. We look to our elected leaders to stop these developments now, before the damage of so-called anti-racism becomes irreparable.

Dr. Wood is an anthropologist, knows a lot about the human condition and definitely has a way with words.

John Dale Dunn is a retired emergency physician and inactive attorney in Brownwood, Texas
President Biden has come and gone with little to show for it. But he has, however, left some debris in his wake that will set the stage for Israel's coming election.

While he reaffirmed his support for the Two-State Solution (TSS), he went on to say, "The ground is not right at this moment to restart negotiations," and "The two-state solution is still the best way to ensure peace and democracy for Israelis and Palestinians; however, I don't see a near horizon for this solution."

Prime Ministers Lapid and Gantz share that view. Lapid said, "A two-state solution is a guarantee for a strong, democratic State of Israel with a Jewish majority." Gantz expanded upon this recently with many striking comments at the Aspen Conference in the U.S.

He began by suggesting that "I think the Abraham Accords can today help strengthen the Palestinian Authority, and build a reality of separation and two entities." He continued: "I see this as a Zionist matter, and Israel must be a safe, democratic and Jewish state."

He then made the shocking statement that he was "happy that I blocked the threat of annexation of Judea and Samaria." What?

I think he was referring to his practice, as minister of defense, of enabling illegal Arab construction in Area C. As if that wasn't enough, he offered "gestures" that went far beyond even the legalization of such construction:

 Approval of the registration of 5,500 stateless persons in the Palestinian Population Registry, in addition to the 12,000 already approved.

 Approval of six master plans for Palestinians in Judea and Samaria  confirmation of validity in Hizma, Hermela; permission to settle in Paciks, Hares, Kisan, and Tir.

 Increasing the quota of workers from the Gaza Strip who are allowed to enter labor and trade in Israel by an additional 1,500, to a total quota of 15,500.

 Opening of a new crossing  "Salem"  in northern Judea and Samaria, a mounted crossing for the purpose of the entry of Israeli Arabs into the city of Jenin.

Gantz is actively supporting the Fayyad Plan, which the E.U. is financing and backing politically. The Plan is designed to illegally take over Area C in violation of the Oslo Accords, and so far, it is succeeding.

Thus, both Lapid and Gantz agree that the Palestinians must be separated from Israel in order for Israel to remain a democratic state with a Jewish majority. Neither of them, however, made even the slightest mention of claiming sovereignty over Judea and Samaria, our biblical heartland. Indeed, their combined silence on this issue clearly demonstrates their complete disinterest in doing so.

Despite this goal of ceding the land to the Arabs, Gantz persists in describing it as a "Zionist matter." The prospect of this policy is terribly reminiscent of Herzl's misguided acceptance of the British Uganda Proposal tabled at the Zionist Congress in 1903.

The Jewish Virtual Library records:

While Herzl made it clear that this program would not affect the ultimate aim of Zionism, a Jewish entity in the Land of Israel, the proposal aroused a storm at the Congress and nearly led to a split in the Zionist movement. The Jewish Territorialist Organization (ITO) was formed as a result of the unification of various groups who had supported Herzl's Uganda proposals during the period 1903-1905.

That split remains today.

In fact, the Left in Israel supported, for two reasons, Moshe Dayan's actions in turning over the Temple Mount to the Arabs after conquering Jerusalem in 1967. The first reason was that they didn't want to start a holy war with Islam, which Dayan said would be the result, and the second was because they wanted to undermine the role of the Jewish religion in Israel.

After the War of Independence, Israel extended sovereignty over all land conquered beyond the partition lines pursuant to a law that became known as Ben Gurion's Law. Unfortunately, she declined to do so over all lands conquered in the '67 War. The reason it wasn't done is because the leftist government didn't want to contend with the Arabs living in said lands. As a result, UNSC Resolution 242 was passed.

Today, the center-left supports ridding Israel of Judea and Samaria for the same reason. These people prefer that Israel be a state of all its citizens, rather than a the nation-state of the Jews.

In summary, the left wants to diminish the role of religion in Israel, and it wants to separate from the Palestinians.

Israel's troubles started in earnest with the signing of the Oslo Accords (1993 and 1995), negotiated and approved by the center-left government with a one-seat majority. The worst part of the Oslo Accords was that Israel was required to invite Arafat and 50,000 of his fellow terrorists into Israel. They became the bane of Israel's existence.

The second colossal mistake was disengaging from Gaza in 2005. That action was also promoted by the center-left. As a result, we have been subjected to four inconclusive wars with Gaza.

In 2005, in the lead up to the Disengagement, Olmert said at the Israel Policy Forum, "We are tired of fighting. We are tired of being courageous. We are tired of winning. We are tired of defeating our enemies."

Within a year, he became prime minister and said, "We want them to be our friends, our partners, our good neighbors. And I believe that is not impossible." And "peace is achieved through concessions. We all know that." Do we? What about "peace through strength"?

Does he still believe "it's not impossible"? Do Gantz and Lapid believe that?

Why does the center-left still promote the TSS? Why do these people refuse to learn from the past? Why do they ignore the charters of both the PLO and Hamas, which call for the destruction of the State of Israel? Surely they know that the TSS is a fantasy and will never come to be.

Caroline Glick, in 2014, published The Israeli Solution: A One-State Plan for Peace in the Middle East. In it she proposed that Israel annex all the land west of the Jordan River with the exception of Gaza and offered a path to citizenship to the Arabs.

This was more palatable to the right, as it kept Judea and Samaria for Israel without endangering the Jewish majority. But the center-left rejected it because it wanted separation from the Palestinians.

In July 2022, Al Arabiya, a Saudi news outlet, published "The Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine" by Ali Shihabi.

This proposed enlarged kingdom would include present-day Jordan, Gaza, and the West Bank (areas populated by Palestinians attached in a contiguous manner and physically connected to Jordan)[.]

This a far cry from the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative of the Arab League led by Saudi Arabia.

No doubt, Gantz and Lapid would love it. If there were no alternative, some on the right in Israel might also find it better than the status quo.

But there is an alternative, known as the Jordan Option, which will soon become operational.

It incorporates the same rational as does Ali Shahabi's plan, but it differs from that plan in two key respects  namely, where the western border will be and whether the new entity is a kingdom or a republic.

The Jordan Option requires Jordan to be a republic with the Jordan River as its western border.

My article, "How the Jordan Option will impact Israel," explains it in detail.

Both the left and right in Israel will love it, and so will the Palestinians for the most part.

I predict that the right will promote the Jordan Option during the coming election. Consequently, the resulting contest between the TSS fantasy and the Jordan Option will present the voters with a clear opportunity to choose whether they should continue to tie their fate to the failures of the past, one more time, or to pursue this new option, the Jordan Option, with the new Jordanian Republic.

As a result, the right will win a strong majority of seats and an earnest path toward peace for the Arabs and the Jews alike.

Image via Pixy.
The unfathomable policies of the Cook County State's Attorney's Office  the second-largest prosecutor's office in the nation  under Soros-supported Kim Foxx have released upon the public a man who, in my opinion, is a clear and present danger to public safety. The invaluable website CWBChicago once again chronicles the outrageous dangers inflicted on the public by it.

An Indiana man who was accused of trying to push a stranger into the path of a CTA train at Roosevelt two years ago because he was angry has been sentenced to probation. Kevin Sukraw, 29, pleaded guilty to aggravated battery of a transit passenger and multiple arson counts and received his sentence from Judge Peggy Chiampas this month. Prosecutors dropped an attempted murder charge in their agreement with Sukraw. At around 9:20 a.m. on May 11, 2020, Sukraw followed a woman off an Orange Line train at Roosevelt and tried to push her from the platform, according to court records. The victim "fell, landing within inches of the edge of the platform," a prosecutor said during Sukraw's initial bond hearing. She was not seriously injured.



CPD; Beyond My Ken via Wikicommons via CWBChicago.

While he was sent for a mental health evaluation after being arrested, Sukraw was released without being charged. And there appears to be no mandatory mental health treatment requirement for him as a condition of his probation. So a man who almost pushed a woman in front of a train because he was angry is free to roam the streets and transit platforms. And Chicagoans have one more reason to be terrified about leaving their homes.

But wait, there's more (as the cheesy TV commercials say):

The following month, an arsonist lit a series of dumpster fires in the Chinatown neighborhood. Investigators collected surveillance videos from the area and distributed images of the offender to local patrol officers. Prosecutors said a cop who had previous contact with Sukraw recognized him as the arsonist. Two months later, police caught up with Sukraw after he allegedly shoplifted and battered someone in River North. Prosecutors said Sukraw's name "popped" on the attempted murder and arson allegations while he was in custody.

I thought the point of the justice system was to protect the public. Silly me.

Hat tip: Peter von Buol
China's greater opening-up boosts confidence of global consumer products industry

Xinhua) 08:07, July 26, 2022

A staff member arranges jewelry exhibits during the second China International Consumer Products Expo in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, July 25, 2022. (Xinhua/Chen Jianli)

* The second China International Consumer Products Expo opened Monday on the resort island of Hainan, presenting a unique platform for global consumer products companies to access the Chinese market.

* The six-day expo has attracted 1,107 overseas companies and 1,643 brands from 61 countries and regions, as well as over 1,200 domestic brands.

* It proves a pivotal confidence-booster as the pandemic is still raging across the world and China's consumer spending gradually recovers after the impact of COVID-19 outbreaks.

HAIKOU, July 25 (Xinhua) -- The second China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE) opened Monday on the resort island of Hainan, presenting a unique platform for global consumer products companies to access the Chinese market.

With a larger exhibition area, more participating brands, and a special focus on new and quality products, the expo remains the largest consumer boutique exhibition in the Asia-Pacific region.

The global platform of displaying and trading high-end consumer products showcases China's pledge of a higher level of opening-up. It proves a pivotal confidence-booster as the pandemic is still raging across the world and China's consumer spending gradually recovers after the impact of COVID-19 outbreaks.

HIGHER-LEVEL OF OPENING-UP

The six-day expo has attracted 1,107 overseas companies and 1,643 brands from 61 countries and regions, as well as over 1,200 domestic brands.

The exhibition area has expanded to 100,000 square meters from 80,000 square meters last year, with the international area covering 80 percent of the total exhibition space.

Notably, companies from members of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, including Japan, the Republic of Korea, and Malaysia, have shown particular interest in the expo, with their total exhibition area reaching 5,000 square meters, up nearly 20 percent from last year.

The expo will showcase over 600 new products from more than 200 brands and is expected to attract more than 40,000 buyers and visitors.

Visitors try gaming capsules during the second China International Consumer Products Expo in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, July 25, 2022. (Xinhua/Guo Cheng)

Zhang Xiangchen, deputy director-general of the World Trade Organization, said in a video address that while countries are making efforts for economic recovery, China's hosting of the expo, which focuses on consumer goods, will have a positive impact on boosting consumption, promoting trade and improving the economy.

Fabrice Megarbane, president of L'Oreal North Asia Zone and chief executive officer of L'Oreal China, sees the national-level expo as a signal of greater opening-up of the Chinese market.

China is committed to further opening-up and is increasingly determined to unleash the potential of its market by boosting consumption, said Megarbane.

Tapestry, an American luxury fashion company, attended the expo for the second time.

The success of the first CICPE demonstrated to the world the huge potential and great vigor of China's consumer market, said Yann Bozec, president of Tapestry Asia Pacific, adding that Tapestry's continuing participation in the expo shows its confidence in the Chinese market.

"China is one of the largest consumer markets in the world. We can see the Chinese economy is very resilient and has a lot of market potential," said Bozec. "The development of the Chinese market continues to prop up the global economy, and brings great opportunities for our brands."

A staff member introduces wine during the second China International Consumer Products Expo in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, July 25, 2022. (Xinhua/Hu Zhixuan)

VITALITY, RESILIENCE OF CONSUMER MARKET

Despite the complex, grave situation abroad and COVID-19 resurgence at home, the Chinese economy has increasingly regained its footing, showing resilience and potential amid headwinds.

Consumption has improved as retail sales of consumer goods rallied 3.1 percent year on year in June, following year-on-year drops in April and May. The recovery is expected to continue as China is on a trajectory of consumption expansion, upgrades, and innovations.

Consumption remains strong with huge potential in China and the fundamentals for consumption expansion stay positive, said Sheng Qiuping, vice minister of commerce, adding that the CICPE is conducive to consumption recovery and unleashing its potential.

In order to encourage consumer spending, China has introduced a raft of policies, enticing consumers to open up their wallets and help businesses not just survive but thrive.

Restaurant owners, retailers and other businesses susceptible to COVID-19 have been offered lower rents and platform commissions, as well as stronger financing support. At the local level, governments are handing out billions of yuan in vouchers and subsidies to support local spending.

The expo offers an opportunity for internationally-renowned companies and brands to showcase their products and establish connections with domestic distributors, facilitating their access to the Chinese market, said Xu Xingfeng, an official with the Ministry of Commerce.

Last year, China's import volume of consumer goods rose 9.9 percent year on year to 1.73 trillion yuan (about 256.2 billion U.S. dollars), official data showed.

(Web editor: Wu Chaolan, Liang Jun)
 Flash

The Shiite political blocs in the Iraqi parliament on Monday nominated Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani for the post of prime minister, months after failing to form a government due to a political row.

The Coordination Framework, an umbrella group of Shiite parliamentary parties, said in a statement that the nomination came after a meeting held earlier in the day, during which the leaders of the Framework parties unanimously agreed to nominate al-Sudani for the post.

The Coordination Framework became the largest alliance in the Iraqi parliament after the Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr ordered his followers in the Sadrist Movement, the biggest winner in the elections held on Oct. 10, 2021, with 73 seats, to withdraw from the parliament.

During the past months, the continuing disputes among the Shiite parties have hampered the formation of a new Iraqi government, as the parliament has been unable to elect a new president by a two-thirds majority of the 329-seat parliament under the constitution.

According to the power-sharing system in Iraq after 2003, the presidency should be reserved for the Kurds, the speaker's post for the Sunnis, and the prime minister's post for the Shiites.

However, the dispute is continuing between the main Kurdish parties: the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and the Kurdistan Democratic Party, over the nomination of a new candidate for the president post.

If elected, the president will appoint the prime minister nominated by the largest alliance in the parliament, the Coordination Framework, to form a new government that would rule the country for the coming four years.
One of the most important things that Donald Trump tried to do was block Huawei, the Chinese Communist Party's massive technology company, from gaining a foothold in America. Even Biden signed on to this policy. Now, though, the FBI has announced that, from its perch in America, Huawei can intercept and disrupt America's nuclear and other military communications.

Back in May 2019, Trump issued Executive Order 13873, requiring his Department of Commerce to add Huawei to the Bureau of Industry and Security Entity List. By doing so, Trump blocked Huawei from setting up 5G systems in the United States. Even as he left office in January 2021, Trump was still trying to limit Huawei's ability to gain a foothold in America. Additionally, throughout his presidency, he warned America's NATO allies to keep Huawei out of their networks lest they compromise their and America's security.

In November 2021, Biden reiterated that Huawei wasn't allowed in America's telecommunications arena. However, just a few months earlier, in August 2021, he allowed his Commerce Department to approve hundreds of millions of dollars in special licenses giving Huawei the ability to purchase chips for smart car components.



Image: Huawei's headquarters in Shenzhen, China, by Brucke-Osteuropa. Publishable both under the Copyright Law of the PRC and the copyright holder's having released it to the public domain.

The Biden administration may be regretting giving Huawei even the smallest foothold in America because the FBI has announced that Huawei is here and can interfere with our military's communications:

An FBI investigation has found that China-made telecom equipment can intercept U.S. nuclear communications. The cell towers containing equipment by Chinese telecom giant Huawei is capable of intercepting and blocking high-level U.S. military communications, the investigative agency concluded. "Among the most alarming things the FBI uncovered pertains to Chinese-made Huawei equipment atop cell towers near US military bases in the rural Midwest," CNN reported Saturday. "According to multiple sources familiar with the matter, the FBI determined the equipment was capable of capturing and disrupting highly restricted Defense Department communications, including those used by US Strategic Command, which oversees the country's nuclear weapons," the broadcaster added. The equipment concealed in strategically-placed cell towers can intercept critical data and relay in to China. "U.S. cell towers fitted with [Huawei] gear could capture sensitive information from military bases and missile silos that the company could then transmit to China," Reuters reported Thursday.

As you contemplate Huawei's ability to listen to and interfere with our military, I strongly suggest that, if you haven't already, you read Janet Levy's article, "A Chinese Intelligence Operation in America's Great Plains?" The Biden administration isn't stopping China from buying land immediately next to the Grand Forks Air Base and the Cavalier Space Force Station. If that doesn't make you nervous, you also need to go back and read the bit about the Trojan horse in Virgil's Aeneid.
Encounter Books has just published (posthumously) Angelo Codevilla's last book, America's Rise and Fall Among Nations, which is a fierce and unvarnished criticism of U.S. foreign policy in the 20th and 21st centuries. Codevilla, who worked for U.S. senator Malcolm Wallop in the 1980s, taught international relations at Boston University, Georgetown, and Princeton, and served as a fellow at the Hoover Institution, urges U.S. policymakers to return to the foreign policy realism and restraint of George Washington and John Quincy Adams.

Washington and Adams promoted a foreign policy that sought good relations with all nations, except when those nations threatened U.S. interests. Washington warned against perpetual alliances with any power but understood that temporary alliances for specific circumstances may be necessary. Adams warned Americans against going abroad in search of monsters to destroy but also authored the Monroe Doctrine, which proclaimed America's primary, if not exclusive, interests in the Western Hemisphere. In general, both U.S. statesmen counseled restraint, prudence, and a focus on concrete national interests, and eschewed policies based on emotions or sentiment. Codevilla, borrowing from former U.S. president Donald Trump, characterized the Washington-Adams approach as "America First."

Codevilla contends, for example, that NATO has been obsolete since the fall of the Soviet Union, and that NATO expansion has exacerbated tensions with Russia and, more important, pushed Russia into the arms of China. But one region where Codevilla counseled America's leaders to be more forward-leaning is the Asia-Pacific. Here, he advises U.S. policymakers to form an alliance with Taiwan, which he calls the "geographic" and "military" key to containing China. This is reminiscent of James Burnham's description of Taiwan as the "key link in [America's] western frontier, which runs from the Aleutians down the Japanese Islands, the Ryukyus ... to the Philippines." Abandoning Taiwan to China, Burnham wrote in the 1950s, "would be a staggering disaster for the U.S."

Codevilla harshly criticized the Carter administration for de-recognizing Taiwan. But for Codevilla, an alliance with Taiwan is not enough by itself to stop the advance of China. U.S. naval power in the region must be significantly increased, and the U.S. strategic nuclear deterrent must be modernized and strengthened. He feared that the U.S. was edging toward a situation where China could effectively deter an American defense of Taiwan, and he was convinced that China could win a conventional war against the U.S. in the western Pacific under current circumstances.

Codevilla lamented that fact that America fought two lengthy wars in the Middle East that drained resources and sapped U.S. will for at most peripheral American interests  mainly because the military-industrial complex benefited from those wars. America's "ruling class," Codevilla wrote, acts in its own interest, not America's. Meanwhile, a distracted America failed to understand that NATO expansion and Russian collusion hoaxes pushed a resurgent Russia into a strategic partnership with China.

Interestingly, Codevilla traces the decline of American foreign policy to the abandonment of the Washington-Adams approach in the 20th centuries' two world wars and the Cold War, especially the Cold War struggles in Asia. In World Wars I and II, Codevilla wrote, American leaders portrayed the conflicts as existential fights for democracy instead of wars to restore balances of power in Europe and Asia  as Washington and Adams would have done. But it was in the Korean War, according to Codevilla, that the United States established a paradigm that sought stalemate instead of victory in wars. And this paradigm has manifested itself in virtually every U.S. war since then. The "endless" wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are just the most recent examples of the Korean War model of fighting wars to achieve something other than victory.

The real roots of the Korea paradigm, however, and what historians may one day identify as the pivotal event of the 20th century, was the communist victory in the Chinese Civil War in the late 1940s. The American foreign policy establishment that Codevilla ridicules so much has established as conventional wisdom that nobody "lost" China  certainly nobody in America. If someone is to blame for "losing" China, according to the conventional wisdom, it was Chiang Kai-shek. This conveniently lets the "ruling class" in America off the hook. It also serves to obscure the detrimental influence of American communists on U.S. foreign policy throughout the Franklin Roosevelt and Truman administrations, especially with regard to Asia policy. But even to suggest that possibility is to risk charges of "McCarthyism."

The so-called "wise men" who receive all the credit for the postWorld War II containment policy in Europe, somehow receive little, if any, blame for the utter failure of containment in Asia. What Codevilla called the Korean War paradigm was repeated in Vietnam (and Communist China fought against the U.S. in Korea and supported U.S. enemies in Southeast Asia). And a new book on the first Vietnam War by Christopher Goscha (The Road to Dien Bien Phu) shows conclusively that the Vietnamese communists could not have won that war without China's support, and that Ho Chi Minh's goal was not "nationalism," but rather a communist empire in Southeast Asia.

Codevilla understood that America's most important alliances are now in the Asia-Pacific. Washington and Adams would have focused U.S. foreign policy there instead of Ukraine, an area of at most peripheral interest to America. It is not Vladimir Putin who threatens to upset the global balance of power (he has neither the capability nor likely the intent to do so); it is Xi Jinping. The potential existential threat to the United States is centered in the western Pacific, not in Eastern Europe.

Image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0.
In theory, young people are supposed to have minds like sponges, absorbing as much knowledge as possible  and that should go double for medical students, who are, theoretically, the best and the brightest. However, when universities indoctrinate rather than teach, that means that the best and brightest, being more sponge-like than the rest, are also more indoctrinated than the rest. No wonder, then, that when a pro-life keynote speaker addressed incoming students at the University of Michigan Medical School, although her speech had nothing to do with abortion, dozens of students, in true Maoist fashion, de-personed her by walking out.

During Mao's Cultural Revolution, which led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of Chinese citizens, the main activists behind the movement were students. Mao, like all statists, had spent the previous almost two decades raising up good little warriors, all with those sponge-like brains. Mao took seriously Lenin's famous dictum: "Give me four years to teach the children, and the seed I have sown will never be uprooted." In America, leftists have had access to our children since kindergarten, and, as I noted before, the med students have absorbed all the garbage harder than anyone else.

No wonder, then, that these little Maoists acted as they did when Dr. Kristin Collier, an assistant professor of medicine at the school, stood to address the students. She hadn't even started speaking when the incoming Maoists at the University of Michigan Medical School, offended by the mere fact that someone with her ideas was going to have a voice, acted to de-person her. Thus, dozens of them stood up and walked out:

Incoming medical students walk out at University of Michigans white coat ceremony as the keynote speaker is openly anti-abortion pic.twitter.com/Is7KmVV811  Scorpiio (@PEScorpiio) July 24, 2022

Over 750,000 people have "liked" this bit of totalitarian theater.

Ironically, Collier naively thought she could start her speech by saying that the event was a time for the campus community to come together:

"I want to acknowledge the deep wounds our community has suffered over the past several weeks," Collier started her speech, which could have been a veiled reference to the controversy surrounding the protest or the U.S. Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade. "We have a great deal of work to do for healing to occur," she continued, the National Review reported. "And I hope that for today, for this time, we can focus on what matters most: coming together to support our newly accepted students and their families with the goal of welcoming them into one of the greatest vocations that exist on this earth." [snip] According to the report, Dr. Collier made no mention of abortion, Roe v. Wade, or any political topic during her keynote speech. She simply encouraged students and parents and offered them advice on what to expect as they begin their careers in the healthcare field.

Sadly, none of these students will suffer any consequences for their anti-education, anti-humanist, anti-decency, and anti-free speech action.

It really takes a bit of work to wrap your mind around the thought that these up-and-coming doctors stormed out of a room because they would be in the presence of someone who thinks it's wrong to kill babies. The thought of one day having to go to one of these fascists for medical care is very frightening.

With that kind of ideological closed-mindedness, they have the potential to be dangerous to the point of deadliness. After all, I'm not naming names, but they wouldn't be the first people with "M.D." after their names who turned their skills to death, not life.

Image: Maoist medical students in action. Twitter screen grab.
A few days ago, Homeland Security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, speaking to the global elites at some summit in Aspen, surreally declared that the U.S. border "is secure."

It was garbage, much as everything else he says, given that more than 3 million illegal aliens with zero vetting have crossed into the U.S. on Joe Biden's watch, just as Rep. Andy Biggs pointed out in his excellent op-ed for Townhall here.

Millions of illegal border-crossers, with a record 270,000 apprehended in just the last month, is nothing to brag about, yet that was exactly what Mayorkas was doing, according to former ICE acting director Tom Homan.

Fox News Digital asked Border Patrol agents on the ground what they thought of the Mayorkas declaration  and got this:

"Hundreds of thousands crossing every month is not the definition of secure," one agent said. "They are liars and anyone who believes them are fools."

But perhaps even worse is that some 500,000 got in without any apprehension. The figures are now out on the "gotaways," who are the illegal border-crossers who don't turn themselves into the Border Patrol for the "processing" and freebies that follow.

According to the New York Post:

More than 500,000 known "gotaway" immigrants [sic] have crossed the border into the US but evaded capture since the start of FY 2022, according to a new report. Multiple senior Department of Homeland Security sources confirmed the number to Fox News on Monday, revealing that there has been an average of more than 55,000 known "gotaways" per month. "Gotaways" is a commonly used term for illegal immigrants [sic] who have been spotted crossing the border by agents or on camera but were not caught or processed by officials. With less than three months left in the fiscal year, 2022 has already seen a massive increase in the "gotaway" from the previous year after DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas testified in April that there had been more than 389,000 immigrants [sic] who evaded arrest in FY 2021.

Five hundred thousand people entering in this country with no record of their presence whatsoever is clearly a border out of control, an insecure border, and a very dangerous state of affairs. The Post notes that when combined with the figures from last year, also during Mayorkas's and Biden's regimen, the figure comes to 900,000.

Nine hundred thousand is equivalent of two Minneapolises, or a Portland and a New Orleans.

Two hundred seventy thousand, which is the number that rolled in last month, is a city the same size as Orlando.

Three million, which is the total, is a Chicago, or two Philadelphias.

The figures are phenomenal.

And for obvious reasons, they are very disturbing.

After all, illegal migrants have been incentivized by the Biden administration to turn themselves in to the Border Patrol in order to make fake claims of "asylum." It's a can't lose for them  starting with the ongoing catch-and-release policy, even for illegal migrants coughing with COVID and refusing the COVID vaccine. After that, they get automatic authorization to work in the U.S. for the duration of their asylum claims wending through the system, at a pace of years, and once ordered deported, they won't be deported, owing to having been here for too long and not being "a priority" for enforcement.

The Washington Examiner has a leaked video about what really goes on at the border:

NEW: Federal law enforcement on the U.S.-Mexico border shared an inside look at the immigration crisis unfolding under President Joe Biden in an effort to shine a light on the revolving door of migrant apprehensions and releases that has no end in sight.https://t.co/Icpr74Sm9i pic.twitter.com/ep72G2tt4u  Anna Giaritelli (@Anna_Giaritelli) July 25, 2022

That's just the skeleton stuff. For many illegal border-crossers, the fat is even better, with free housing, free stipends as "refugees," free health care, free education, free defense attorneys, fee-free asylum applications, free food, free transit without the burden of IDs, and a raft of other goodies.

Now consider that having been offered that, plus no practical worries about deportation  and think about the disturbing fact that 500,000 illegal border-crossers have chosen to turn that down, in favor of simply getting into the country for whatever purpose. Who does that?

Obviously, it's people who might be deported because of criminal histories, or people who are actively engaged in committing criminal acts, such as the transport of illegal and lethal drugs from China such as fentanyl. President Trump in his rally to supporters in Arizona over the weekend noted that many countries are now emptying their jails and directing their criminals to head to the States. There are gang members, murderers, rapists, child-molesters, thieves, and every variety of human plague coming to where their best opportunities are in the States. I spoke with radio host Jeff Biggs yesterday at Houston's top drive-time radio station, KTRH, and I recall that he noted that 1,300 criminals were identified in recent sweeps in the battered Rio Grande Valley alone, a figure I found shocking. Thirteen hundred is a very large room full of criminals.

Many, of course, are from Latin America and other high-crime places, so effectively, we are importing Latin America's pervasive crime problem, where women dare not wear jewels in public, housing communities have tall walls and security guards, fancy watches are a no-no, kidnappings from cars after nails are thrown into the road to disable them are common, purses are placed in trunks before driving in cabs to prevent smash-and-grab theft, ATMs on the street are major risks for criminal card readers, and bulletproof cars are a way of life, to name just a few random adjustments to be made for living in Latin America. You can find all of that in places like Mexico, Ecuador, Peru, Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador  where many of these illegal migrants are coming from. I know about these things, having experienced them firsthand in the region.

But worse still, as Biggs notes, some actual terrorists have been found among the apprehended.

The number of individuals encountered on the terrorist watchlist set in Fiscal Year 2021 has already been shattered by multiples in Fiscal Year 2022.

How likely are such people to have been among the gotaways?

When you have an open border, not everyone decides to come for the government benefits. Some people find it even more lucrative to prey on others completely off the government's radar. With an open border, all kinds can come. It's not just future Democrat voters coming to assimilate into the underclass. With "gotaway" figures like these, it's pretty clear that criminals are taking, for them, the Biden opportunity of a lifetime. Who pays? We pay. And who lies about it, telling us that this is "secure"? Alejandro Mayorkas.

Image: Screen shot from Fox News video via YouTube.
The Posse Comitatus Act holds that federal military personnel may not be used to enforce domestic policies within the United States. The National Guard is an exception to that rule and then only if the state's governor or the D.C. mayor requests it. Nevertheless, there are indications that the Pentagon worked with the Department of Justice and the FBI in the lead-up to President Trump's January 6 rally that ended with Antifa activists and other agitators enticing people into the Capitol. That's a big no-no if true.

Julie Kelly, who has been following the events of January 6 with the dogged determination of a bloodhound, sent out a few tweets raising the possibility that the Department of Defense was involved in law enforcement activities leading up to events on January 6. What got Kelly's superb bloodhound nose twitching was something she caught in mid-July  namely, that Adam Schiff tucked into the National Defense Authorization Act a bizarre little amendment hiding evidence the collection of which violated the Posse Comitatus Act.

The story actually began with a Newsweek report in early 2022. Kelly summarizes it this way:

[Acting AG Jeffrey] Rosen made a unilateral decision to take the preparatory steps to deploy Justice Department and so-called 'national' forces," Newsweek reporter William M. Arkin disclosed in a bombshell report earlier this year. "There was no formal request from the U.S. Capitol Police, the Secret Service, or the Metropolitan Police Departmentin fact, no external request from any agency. The leadership in Justice and the FBI anticipated the worst and decided to act independently, the special operations forces lurking behind the scenes." Those assets, according to Arkin, included "commandos" with shoot-to-kill authority. And among them were members of the military.

Well, that's not supposed to happen on American soil. Still, when Rosen testified before the House in May 2021, he bragged about his efforts to prevent Trump from pursuing his election fraud claims, including having the FBI open "a multi-agency operation center, which included the Department of Defense, at FBI headquarters on January 5." Then Rosen refused to discuss the matter.



Image: Mark Milley  what did he know, and when did he know it? YouTube screen grab.

If what Rosen was saying was that the Pentagon acted in a law enforcement capacity, Rosen oversaw a gross violation of the Posse Comitatus Act, and everyone from the Pentagon who signed on to that was complicit. That possibility made Kelly take notice when Adam Schiff acted:

Irrefutably the least trustworthy member of Congress, Schiff tucked an amendment into the massive National Defense Authorization Act that would prohibit any evidence collected in violation of the Posse Comitatus Act from being used in a number of proceedings, including criminal trials and congressional investigations.

In other words, Schiff was notifying the world that he planned to bury evidence that the DOJ, the FBI, the Pentagon, and any other alphabet agencies violated one of the core laws protecting Americans from a government that abuses the military. That's not suspicious or anything... What am I saying? It's super-suspicious.

That was on July 15. Then, the day before yesterday, Kelly reviewed the Department of Defense I.G. report about January 6 and found surprising information. A quick translation before you read her text:

Mr. McCarthy = Ryan D. McCarthy, U.S. Army Secretary

D.C. RFA = Washington, D.C. Request for Assistance (which, under the Posse Comitatus Doctrine, extends only to the National Guard)

USCP = United States Capitol Police

USPP = United States Park Police

DCNG = Washington D.C. National Guard

QRF = Quick Reaction Force

Holy sh*t. This is from DOD IG report on January 6DOJ supposedly was lead agency but in reality it was DOD.



And looks like Milley ran the show: pic.twitter.com/c46DlNzoj0  Julie Kelly  (@julie_kelly2) July 24, 2022

How many feds evaded regular comms channels and used personal devices? Something something missing texts  pic.twitter.com/liuXKaMtze  Julie Kelly  (@julie_kelly2) July 24, 2022

All the above is speculation, as Julie Kelly and others work to fill in the blanks and understand the true scope of the Deep State's involvement with events on January 6.

However, when you add information hinting that the Pentagon might have been involved in planning for January 6 to a few other explicable facts...well, it makes you think. I'm thinking about (a) the masked men's almost military efficiency in taking down all the signage and fencing around the Capitol that would have shown late arrivals they were trespassing and the skill with which they breached the Capitol before the police started inviting people in and (b) the way in which Ray Epps's lawyer carefully and narrowly denied that Epps was part of a "law enforcement" operation.

When the rule of law returns to Congress in January 2023, there needs to be a genuine inquiry into what happened  not just on January 6, but in the days leading up to it. A good start would be an order releasing all 14,000 hours of Capitol building footage. There's no doubt that bad things happened on January 6, but it's beginning to seem as if the January 6 Committee is engaged in one big act of misdirection.
Despite Green propaganda, recent Australian floods were not caused by coal, cattle, or cars. Weather is driven by winds; solar energy powers the winds and draws moisture for them from the oceans. These eternal natural rain-making processes have been aided recently by two extra factors.

Firstly, a big La Nina weather event in the Pacific Ocean has left warmer water closer to Australia.

Secondly, there is increased underwater volcanism in this region, as evidenced by the volcanic eruptions near Vanuatu.

Earth's climate history is written in the rocks. Anyone who cares to read that record will see that recurring Ice Ages, not global warming, pose the greatest threat to life on Earth. Even in today's warm Holocene Era, the Little Ice Age was a time of war, famine, and distress, whereas the Medieval Warm Period heralded a time of peace and plenty.

Earth's weather is driven by winds powered by convection currents, which get most of their energy from the sun.

Eastern Australia is currently under the influence a large La Nina event in the Pacific Ocean. These periodic ENSO (El Nino-Southern Oscillation) weather cycles are Earth's most significant short-term weather events and have been identified in Earth's climate as far back as 1525, well before the Model T Ford and the Watt steam engine.

The great El Nino of 187778 heralded China's Great Famine, brought droughts to Brazil and caused failures of the Nile floods and the Indian monsoon. Even the Titanic was an El Nino casualty when it met an iceberg blown far south by El Nino winds.

Australia's famous weather forecaster, Inigo Jones, was well aware of the natural cycles in climate as far back as 1923  long before coal, cattle and cars could be blamed for "global warming."

ENSO oscillations are not driven by atmospheric conditions or human activities; they react to the beat of a geological drum. ENSO timing and strength are largely determined by volcanic activity and the movement of tectonic plates, particularly along the Pacific Ring of Fire and the mid-ocean ridges splitting both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.

But largely hidden from view is another huge weather-maker  sub-sea volcanoes.

Right now, volcanic activity (mostly sub-oceanic) is melting parts of polar ice sheets as well as releasing volcanic dust and other natural gases into the oceans and atmosphere. The warmed sea water expands, raising sea levels and increasing evaporation, which produces clouds and rain. Right now, the Tonga volcanic eruption is evaporating sea water that is probably adding to the record La Nina rains of Eastern Australia.

Volcanic hot spots can also melt ice-bound methane from the sea floor, thus releasing large unmeasured quantities of methane gas into the atmosphere.

Man's coal, cars, and cattle are puny compared to what nature can do.

Hysterical children and political agitators keep bleating about "man-made global warming." But climate history shows that the real danger to life on Earth is "global cooling": a return of the great continental ice sheets creating a frigid zone north of a line from London to Chicago. Russians and Alaskans know about frozen mammoth bodies in the ice, and they understand this threat, but the Western world continues to worship Saint Greta.

A bleak northern winter approaches. As blackouts beckon and the lights start to flicker, coal is suddenly OK again. But Europeans and Australians still plan a "Net Zero" ritual sacrifice of their farmers on the alarmist altar. None of this sacrifice will deter La Nina, or stop the volcanoes, or feed the people.

Someone should ask the new Green Government of Australia, "If emissions of CO2 are the problem, why have we banned emissions-free nuclear power?"

Image via Picryl.
Frequently, politicians are encouraged to "find common ground." Some might say it is not commonly found.

This appears especially so in the debate about abortion. Some progressives are willing to advocate for legal post-birth termination of life beneath the penumbra of "abortion." Some conservatives are willing to advocate for the extinction of legal abortion.

One says, "Hot," the other, "Cold." When this happens, there is no room for middle ground.

However, there is one category of abortion that both sides should readily agree to oppose: abortions based on pre-natal diagnostic testing where the results show the presence of an abnormality.

They reach agreement via different routes, but all roads lead to the same rock-solid conclusion.

For conservatives, the road to the decision is more direct. Abortion is bad; do not do it, whatever the reason.

For Progressives (including Democrats and liberals), the road to the decision is a bit less direct, but the conclusion is no less certain.

Critical Theory is a major plank in the platform of the Progressives. In a nutshell, Critical Theory "argues that social problems stem more from social structures and cultural assumptions than from individuals. It argues that ideology is the principal obstacle to human liberation."

Critical Theory is a basket. It is not one thing. There are many Critical Theories  e.g., Critical Race Theory, Queer Theory, Fat Studies, Disability Theory.

Disability Theory questions the usual assumptions of disability that result in oppression of the disabled.

Critical disability theory is rooted in a critique of traditional discourses and assumptions of disability which serve to oppress persons with disabilities and infringe on their human rights. The theory is built upon the argument that "disability is not fundamentally a question of medicine or health, nor is it just an issue of sensitivity and compassion; rather, it is a question of politics and power(lessness), power over, and power to". This perspective challenges able-bodied supremacy and the oppression that arises from restricting economic and social benefits to persons with disabilities which are then redistributed as privileges to be negotiated. Critical disability theory moves away from the individual pathology of disability (based on the biomedical model).

Ableism is a prejudice against the disabled.

Ableism "is discrimination and social prejudice against people with disabilities and/or people who are perceived to be disabled. Ableism characterizes people as defined by their disabilities and inferior to the non-disabled. On this basis, people are assigned or denied certain perceived abilities, skills, or character orientations. There are stereotypes which are either associated with disability in general, or they are associated with specific impairments or chronic health conditions (for instance the presumption that all disabled people want to be cured, the presumption that wheelchair users also have an intellectual disability, or the presumption that blind people have some special form of insight). These stereotypes, in turn, serve as a justification for discriminatory practices, and reinforce discriminatory attitudes and behaviors toward people who are disabled. Labeling affects people when it limits their options for action or changes their identity. In ableist societies, the disabled life is considered less worth living, or the disabled people less valuable, even sometimes expendable. The eugenics movement of the early 20th century is considered an expression of widespread ableism."

Prenatal testing is a way to diagnose abnormalities, including disabilities, before birth.



Ten-week fetus (Photo credit: drsuparna, CC BY-SA 2.0 license).

There are three purposes to prenatal diagnosis:

(1) to enable timely medical or surgical treatment of a condition before or after birth, (2) to give the parents the chance to abort a fetus with the diagnosed condition, and (3) to give parents the chance to prepare psychologically, socially, financially, and medically for a baby with a health problem or disability, or for the likelihood of a stillbirth. Prior information about problems in pregnancy means that healthcare staff as well as parents can better prepare themselves for the delivery of a child with a health problem. For example, Down syndrome is associated with cardiac defects that may need intervention immediately upon birth.

Of the three reasons to perform prenatal diagnostic testing, two are in preparation for a live birth. The third is to prevent a disabled life from happening  i.e., abort it.

It is this third reason where conservatives and Progressives should be in complete agreement opposing abortion.

Conservatives because abortion is bad. Progressives because aborting a fetus with an abnormality manifests the prejudice of ableism and is in opposition to their embrace of Disability Theory.

This is not a theoretical concern. The results of the ableists ending the lives of fetuses and embryos, as a practical means of subjugating the disabled (by killing them), is seen in Iceland and Denmark (most prominently), where Down Syndrome has been nearly eliminated by abortion. (See, also, this Atlantic article, "The Last Children of Down Syndrome.")

Once the two groups work together on this clear area of agreement, who knows what else might be possible?

(In the foregoing, all uses of the words disabled, disability, and any variants are as terms of art and not as pejoratives.)
If ever there were a situation that would seem to parallel the old saying that something is like sending "coal to Newcastle"  meaning doing something that is pointless  it would be sending oil to Saudi Arabia. Yet there is a reason why the number-two oil-producer in the world is importing significant and increasing amounts of oil from Russia. And it illustrates the pointlessness and counterproductivity of the sanctions on Russian oil sales spearheaded by the Biden administration that have helped send the price of crude oil soaring.

Oil is sold on a global market. Restricting sales via refusing to buy oil from one producer like Russia does not mean that the Russian oil stays in the ground or accumulates in storage facilities. It just means that the Russian oil will find other buyers who will pay a little less than Russia would have gotten without the sanctions.

But the discount comes off the higher prices set on the world market as the countries imposing sanctions have to turn elsewhere to bid for oil supplies. They have to pay more, and the world market price for oil goes up. Joe Biden likes to call out the "Putin Price hike," and this is what he means.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia is buying the Russian oil at a discount from the higher world prices caused by imposing the sanctions (and the Biden administration's limits on oil exploration, production, and transport in the United States, but that's a separate issue). Saudi Arabia uses the Russian oil as fuel for electricity generation.

And here is the beauty of the situation if you are Saudi Arabia (which Biden promised to make a "pariah state" until he went there to beg for increased output). Saudi Arabia is able to sell the oil it used to use for electricity generation on the world oil market and reap much higher prices than it pays to Russia, and much higher prices than it used to receive before the sanctions were imposed.

Russia wins by evading the sanctions, and by overall receiving much higher prices for its oil (and gas) exports than it did before the sanctions. Saudi Arabia wins by reaping higher overall prices, and by importing cheap oil and selling the oil formerly used for electricity at higher prices than the imports cost it.

So who loses?

That would be you and I, and the oil consumers around the word, especially in the countries that are imposing sanctions on Russia.

The sanctions are, in fact, counterproductive and idiotic  as is true of many of the Biden administration's foreign policy initiatives.

This video from India's First Post explains the situation well in four minutes.



Photo credit: YouTube screen grab.

Hat tip: James Nollet.
 Flash

Ukraine is preparing to start grain exports via the Black Sea ports this week under the grain deal signed last week in Turkiye, Ukrainian officials said on Monday.

Speaking at a media briefing aired on the Ukrainian Infrastructure Ministry's Facebook page, Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said the movement of ships from the Black Sea ports is due to start by the end of the current week.

The demining process will be carried out exclusively in the corridor for the passage of cargo ships, and all ship caravans will be accompanied by Ukrainian rescue vessels, Kubrakov said.

Ukrainian Deputy Infrastructure Minister Yurii Vaskov, who also participated in the briefing, said the first grain deliveries will be made from the port of Chornomorsk.

"We expect the first shipment to be made this week," Vaskov said.

Within two weeks, Ukraine also plans to start exporting grain through the ports of Odesa and Pivdenny, Vaskov added.

According to him, the coordination center tasked with supervising and coordinating the functioning of the humanitarian corridor will start its work on July 27.

The supplies of Ukrainian grain to the global market have been affected in recent months due to the blockade of the Ukrainian seaports by the Russian military.

On July 22, Ukraine and Russia separately signed a deal with Turkiye and the United Nations in Istanbul to resume grain shipments from Ukrainian ports to international markets via the Black Sea.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the deal will enable Ukraine to export 20 million tons of last year's grain harvest and part of this year's harvest.
Users of Googles Chrome browser will want to update to at least version v103.0.5060.114 to avoid falling victim to a zero-day exploit that could easily steal their data.

Identified as vulnerability CVE-2022-2294, the exploit is reportedly still active for users who havent updated. And its already been used to track and steal data from journalists and other high-profile individuals throughout the Middle East. Including Lebanon, Palestine, Turkey, and Yemen.

According to reports, the exploit has chiefly been taken advantage of by Israeli spyware distributor Candiru. Coupled with DevilsTongue spyware, the distributor was able to track primarily journalists using the hugely popular browser.

Advertisement

What is the latest Chrome zero-day exploit and why is it so dangerous?

Now, the biggest problem with the latest zero-day exploit found in Google Chrome is that it takes advantage of a security lapse in WebRTC. Summarily, bad actors can simply compromise a legitimate site or create their own. Unlike some other problematic vulnerabilities, the latest issue doesnt require much action on the part of the user. All users need to do is to visit an impacted website in order to allow the vulnerability to be exploited.

Then the attackers can initiate spyware such as DevilsTongue to enable read/write access to the memory of the target device. That, in turn, garners access to a wide assortment of browser data. In fact, the result was more than 50 data points being accessed. Including time zone, device identifiers, cookies, browser plugins, and more.

Google was informed of the discovery of the exploit on July 1. And it patched the vulnerability as far back as July 4. But, as noted above, this is still a live vulnerability for any user who hasnt updated. Given the insidious nature of known exploits, as of this writing, updating to the latest version of Chrome is the only real solution.
Since 2017, Nokia and Zeiss entered a partnership to help improve the camera quality of the phones. It was one of the major partnerships between a phone brand and a camera company, but its no more. According to a statement to Nokia Mob, future Nokia phones will drop the Zeiss branding.

Phone companies partnering with camera companies arent anything new. Back in 2016, Huawei entered a multi-year partnership with Leica that ended recently. Also, were still talking about the partnership with OnePlus and Hasselblad. These brands offer lenses, calibration, and tuning that help the photography in several ways.

Now, the N0kia Zeiss partnership is now over

Nothing lasts forever; future Nokia phones will no longer feature the Zeiss branding on their cameras. Thus, the phones will no longer have the companys influence. Thats bad news for Nokia fans who enjoyed the photography on their phones.

Advertisement

In a statement to Nokia Mob, the company said that in 2021 ZEISS and HMD Global have mutually agreed not to prolong their non-exclusive partnership which included collaboration for imaging technologies of Nokia branded smartphones with ZEISS as consulting and development partner.

Right now, we dont know if Nokia will seek a partnership with another camera brand in the future. Well have to wait and see what the companys next move is in order to be sure.

The Nokia G50 5G could be your next phone

If youre looking for a new phone, but you dont want to pay top dollar, then Nokia might have a phone just for you. This is a phone that will get you through your day just fine.

Advertisement

The Nokia G50 5G is a phone with decent specs for its price. It runs on Android 11, so youre not getting the newest software, but its still plenty capable. Its powered by a newer version of the Snapdragon 450, and thats the SD 450 5G. As its name implies, this phone can use 5G signals.

It has 4GB of RAM which should be decent, and it has 128GB of storage. This means that youll have plenty of room to store your files. This phone costs $199, and you can buy it from Nokias site.
What is Samsung if not a display company? We know that the Korean giant puts its displays in its own devices (and other companies devices), but that might change with next years Galaxy Watch. According to Naver, Samsung could find a new supplier for its Galaxy Watch 6 displays.

Yes, its weird talking about the Galaxy Watch 6 stuff when were still following rumors on the Galaxy Watch 5. However, this could be a major shift for the company. We know that Samsung is avid about putting its own displays in its devices. Its made a name for itself as the king of displays.

But another company could provide OLED displays for the Galaxy Watch 6

Reports from several business insiders confirm that Samsung reached out to another company to provide the displays for the companys next premium smartwatch. The company is a Chinese-based firm named BOE. This company is the largest display producer in China.

Advertisement

The insiders were able to confirm that Samsung officially signed documentation and is in active collaborations with the company, so theyre working out key details about the production. Theyre talking about subjects such as production time, thickness, etc.

Samsung Display was always the company that produced the displays for the watches, but BOE could manufacture either some or all of the displays for the next smartwatches.

It might not stop at the Galaxy Watch 6

Along with supplying displays for the Galaxy Watch 6, theres also talk about BOE supplying displays for phones next year. Reports say that the company might also supply displays for foldable phones next year. Thats just speculation at this point, as anything that BOE will make will most likely launch more than a year from now.

Advertisement

If Samsung does look elsewhere for its displays, that will be a surprise to most people. This is the company that supplies OLED displays to most of the smartphones out there. Well just have to wait and see if this is part of a larger plan for the company.
We recently learned that Samsungs Galaxy Z Flip 4 foldable may cost more than its predecessor. We now have some information regarding the pricing of the Galaxy Z Fold 4 and its not good news either. It appears the bigger foldable will also debut at a higher price than the 2021 model.

The Galaxy Z Fold 4 may also see a price hike

As spotted by Gizpaw, a European retailer has already listed the Galaxy Z Fold 4 ahead of its launch next month. The listings show a price tag of 1,863 for the 256GB storage variant of the phone, while the 512GB variant is priced at 1,981. Samsung also plans to launch the new foldable in a 1TB storage option. While it hasnt shown up on the retailers website yet, it should be safe to assume that it would cost north of 2,000.

Of course, these arent standard pricing and may just be placeholders for the time being, until Samsung officially announces the prices. However, the placeholders usually dont vary much from the official prices. As such, the 256GB and 512GB Galaxy Z Fold 4 may cost 1,849 and 1,999, respectively. This would represent a price hike of 50 and 100 respectively over the two storage variants of the Galaxy Z Fold 3.

Advertisement

Its worth mentioning here that the same European retailer also listed the Galaxy Z Flip 4 with an identical price hike. And this hike likely wont be limited to the region. The US units of Samsungs fourth-gen foldables may also come costlier than the third-gen ones. The supply chain issues caused by various factors and the induced price increase of components may have forced this hike.

We are hearing that the Korean firm is diversifying its component suppliers to achieve higher cost efficiency. It is using batteries from three different firms  Samsung SDI, LG Energy Solution, and ATL  in the new foldables. These diversifications help in reducing manufacturing costs. But thats seemingly not enough to keep the price at the same level as last year, let alone reduce it.

Samsung has revealed the date for its next Galaxy Unpacked event

After months of leaks, rumors, and speculations, Samsung recently revealed the launch date for its next-gen foldables. The Galaxy Z Fold 4 and the Galaxy Z Flip 4 will break cover on August 10. The upcoming Galaxy Unpacked event will likely also see the company unveil the Galaxy Watch 5 series, although it hasnt officially confirmed that. We are also expecting the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro to debut at the event. We will keep you updated with all the latest information.
Google Play turned ten years old this year and the company is celebrating the milestone with a new logo. Unveiled by Google Play VP Tian Lim earlier today, the new logo has been already appearing in some Google products. The company has also announced a boost to Google Play Points to commemorate this occasion.

Google Play gets a new logo

Google rebranded the Android Market as Google Play in March 2012. In March this year, the service completed ten years without another rebranding, which is rare for many Google products. The company is famous for the frequent re-naming of its products and services. Nonetheless, to mark a decade of Play, the tech giant has introduced a new logo.

The updated logo sees a minor design tweak over the current one. It still features a triangular shape but the vertices are more rounded than before. The internal partitions are also adjusted such that each part looks equal in size. Earlier, the blue part was significantly bigger than the green, red, and yellow ones.

Advertisement

Google has also changed the shades of the four colors that constitute the Play logo. The shades are now darker than before but less vibrant. Perhaps this is a change in line with other Google products. The Chrome logo also got a similar redesign with darker shades. Google Play is finally catching up with the rest of its family members.

The new Google Play logo better reflects the magic of Google and matches the branding shared by many of our helpful products  Search, Assistant, Photos, Gmail, and more, said Lim in a blog post.

As mentioned earlier, the updated logo has been appearing in some Google products for the past several weeks. Most notably, it was spotted inside GPay and Google Pay. Now that the company has made it official, we might soon see it replace the current logo in other places as well, including the Play Store icon. Watch out for a duller Play Store icon on your app drawer in the coming days.

Advertisement

Google offers 10x points on Play purchases

Over the past decade, Google Play has grown to serve more than 2.5 billion people in over 190 countries every month. The platform also has over two million developers on board. Its Google Play Points program, which rewards users for making purchases on the platform, also now boasts more than 100 million members.

To celebrate the new milestone, Google is offering 10x points on all Play purchases. This points booster will be available in all regions where the Play Points program exists. But the start dates will vary. You can check the dates for your region from the Earn tab of Play Points Home.
According to Techradar, Microsoft is reversing the ban on selling open source software in its app store. The decision caused a lot of controversy in the open source community and made Microsoft withdraw from its decision.

Two weeks ago, some sources reported that Microsoft would make some changes in its app store policies. The change aimed to give the company more control over the published apps. But imposing a ban on selling open source software soon became a big mess for the company. Microsoft planned on implementing the new policies on July 16. However, the Microsoft Store General Manager, Giorgio Sardo, said theyre delaying the rollout due to the developers objections.

Microsoft is totally abandoning the plan and will impose no ban on selling open source software in its app store. Giorgio Sardo has announced the news on his Twitter and clarified that the company is officially reversing the ban.

Advertisement

Last month, we shared a few updates to Microsoft Store policies to help protect customers from misleading product listings. We heard your feedback, and today we made a change to policy 10.8.7 and 11.2, Sardo noted.

Microsofts goal in banning the sale of open-source software was to fight against scammers who repackaged open-source apps for a profit. However, this move could also hurt the legitimate developers who were working hard to develop open-source apps for users.

Microsoft keeps open source software in its app store following developers objection

Sardo continued, To clarify our intent, we removed the previous mention to open source pricing. Were committed to building an open Store and enabling dev choice and flexibility.

Advertisement

The Microsoft Store General Manager also asks users to report any intellectual property concerns about an app to the company.

Reversing the ban on selling open-source software is great news for the community. However, Microsoft is also ditching the support for browser engines. As per the companys announcement, it now only provides support for Chromium and Gecko browser engines. Other engines like Apples WebKit are not supported by Microsoft anymore.
Motorola continues to reveal details about its upcoming flagship smartphone, the Moto X30 Pro, bit by bit. Chen Jin, the general manager of Lenovo Chinas mobile division that owns the Motorola smartphone brand, has confirmed that the device will boast 125W fast charging. The Lenovo executive posted a photo showing a 125W charging adapter on the Chinese microblogging platform Weibo.

This isnt the first time Jin has posted this image on Weibo. He shared the same photo featuring a 125W charger against a Hello Moto background in March as well. But back then, he didnt reveal it was the adapter for the Moto X30 Pro. Of course, rumors started circulating soon after and we now have official confirmation too.

The latest Weibo post didnt include any other information about the product. But we now know that the Moto X30 Pro will be the fastest charging Motorola smartphone to date. The Moto Edge X30 launched late last year comes with 68W fast charging. So the upcoming device is getting a huge boost in this department, almost doubling over the previous flagship offering from the company. It will reportedly feature a 4,500mAh battery.

Advertisement

Jin had also recently shared a sample from the Moto X30 Pros 200-megapixel rear camera. It will be the worlds first smartphone to feature a 200-megapixel camera. The device features Samsungs first-gen ISOCELL HP1 sensor. It employs pixel-binning to capture 50-megapixel or 12.5-megapixel images in low-light conditions. You can also use pixel binning while recording 8K videos.

Other rumored Moto X30 Pro specs include a 6.73-inch OLED display with a Full HD+ resolution and a 144Hz refresh rate, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor, up to 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM, up to 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage, a 50-megapixel ultrawide camera, a 12-megapixel zoom camera, a 60-megapixel selfie camera, an under-display fingerprint scanner, and Android 12.

The Moto X30 Pro launches next week

Motorola had originally teased a July launch for its 200-megapixel smartphone. But it recently confirmed that the Moto X30 Pro will debut in China on August 2. It may arrive as the Motorola Edge 30 Ultra in global markets at a later date.

Advertisement

The Chinese launch is still highly anticipated because the flagship smartphone will be accompanied by a new Razr foldable as well. Motorola is returning to the foldable game after a one-year hiatus last year. The Razr 3 will compete against Samsungs upcoming Galaxy Z Flip 4. The latter arrives a week after it, on August 10.
Samsung has hired a semiconductor expert from Apple to bolster its chip tech. According to Business Korea, Kim Woo-pyeong is leaving the Cupertino-based iPhone maker after nine years to join the Korean giant. He will serve as the director of the companys newly established Packaging Solution Center within the Device Solution America (DSA) division.

Kim has a vast experience in the field of semiconductors. He graduated from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and worked for Texas Instruments and Qualcomm before joining Apple in 2014. During his nine-year tenure at Apple, Kim reportedly worked on the companys Bionic processors.

Samsung is now looking to utilize Kims expertise in semiconductors to develop its chip tech. The company has historically struggled to compete against Qualcomm in chip designing, with the latters chipsets always outperforming competing solutions from the former. The Korean firms foundry unit has also always played a second fiddle to TSMC due to its inferior fabrication tech.

Advertisement

However, Samsung isnt giving up, and its making some strategic changes to get its chip business on track. It has stopped making custom CPU cores and also integrated the AMD GPU in its Exynos processors. This poaching of a semiconductor expert from arch-rival Apple is another crucial step for the company towards better mobile processors.

Theres not much info available about what would be Kims responsibilities as the director of Samsungs Packaging Solution Center. It appears he will oversee innovations in chip packaging technologies. As we enter the 3nm era (Samsung recently began 3nm mass production), fabrication processes are getting more difficult due to the chips tiny physical size. Companies are looking to overcome these limitations with advanced packaging technologies. Samsung seems to have entrusted Kim to do that job for it.

These kinds of movement of personnel between Apple and Samsung are rare

Samsung and Apple are among the biggest tech companies in the world. Their relationship is somewhat unusual in the industry. The former is a supplier of various components to the latter even though they compete directly against each other. As such, there have been numerous bitter moments between the two. They have hit each other with patent infringement lawsuits in the past. Even though the cases have been settled, some Apple executives still hold a grudge against Samsung.

Advertisement

All this makes it incredibly rare for these kinds of hirings between the two. People rarely leave one company for the other. As the new report notes, the last notable switch from Apple to Samsung came in 2012 when Luc Julia, who oversaw the development of Siri, joined the Korean firm.
What are the best wireless keyboards for PS5 you might be wondering? Or maybe now that weve proposed the question, you might be wondering why youd ever want to use wireless keyboards with your PS5. Sure, controlling games with the DualSense controller on your PS5 is the main way youll actually play games.

But the keyboard can be handy for certain games, mainly for chat or typing up messages. Well use Final Fantasy XIV as a good example here. While this game plays wonderfully on PS5 using the DualSense, typing up messages using the digital keyboard is slow and honestly not very enjoyable.

As any MMO player will tell you, chatting in-game with friends, clan mates etc. can go fast. So whether youre trying to keep up with replies so your messages dont fall behind or just like to respond quickly, using the onboard digital keyboard that you navigate with the d-pad and thumbsticks is not ideal. This is where wireless keyboards for the PS5 are extremely useful, and weve rounded up the best ones to consider.

Advertisement

Best Wireless Keyboards for PS5

Redragon K621 Horus

Price: $74.99

Where To Buy: Amazon

Were going to start this list off with the Redragon K621 Horus for a couple of reasons. First, its a dedicated gaming keyboard with plenty of keys for everything you need, plus its also pretty affordable for what it is. Mostly though, we chose this keyboard and its first on the list because it is essentially the Logitech G915 TKL.

Advertisement

If you look at the two keyboards, the design is so similar you could easily mix the two of them up with just a quick glance. Normally wed go with the Logitech here, especially since its our favorite gaming keyboard to date. But that one isnt compatible with the PS5. This one from Redragon is though and since it has more or less the same design, its a wonderful alternative.

It has a really slim form factor along with ultra-low-profile keys. And it has everything from macros to RGB lighting. And unlike the G915 TKL, it uses backlighting on the secondary icons for each key. It also charges with USB-C instead of the atrocious micro USB option that Logitech went with for some reason. All-in-all, a great keyboard for PS5 here.

Redragon K621 Horus

Advertisement

Razer BlackWidow V3 Pro

Price: From $139.99

Where To Buy: Amazon, Razer, GameStop

Despite the normally high price of many of its items, Razer makes some pretty damn good gaming peripherals, and the BlackWidow V3 Pro is no different. Since this is wireless you can easily use it with the PS5 and PC. Making it a versatile gaming keyboard if you play on both platforms. You can also keep the keyboard connected through Razers HyperSpeed wireless on PC and Bluetooth on PS5. So you can easily swap platforms just by changing the connection type.

What we really love about it is the comfy wrist rest that comes with it. This is detachable and it uses magnets so taking it off and putting it back on is super easy to do. Beyond the wrist rest, it also has a full number pad and dedicated media controls. This is also normally $230. So the $139.99 price on Amazon right now is a screaming deal.

Advertisement

Razer BlackWidow V3 Pro

Apple Magic Keyboard

It may be designed for Apple computers but it works perfectly fine with other devices. Case in point, you can use this with the PS5 and its a great option. Its probably one of the slimmest keyboards on the planet which makes it ideal for storage purposes. Plus, the slim profile just looks really nice. It also has those really low-profile keys that are really easy to type on.

Advertisement

Granted it has the Apple-specific keys instead of the Windows ones. But thats not a huge deal as you can still use those keys. They just have a different name. If youre looking for a fairly decently priced super slim keyboard thats wireless, you cant go wrong here.

Apple Magic Keyboard

Razer Pro Type Ultra

Advertisement

Price: From $129.99

Where To Buy: Amazon, Razer, GameStop

Razers initial Pro Type keyboard was a favorite of ours and the Pro Type Ultra is simply an improved version of that initial release. With better battery life, super comfortable keys to type on, and a solid white backlighting this is a more subtle option than the Razer keyboard above.

This was also designed to be ergonomic so it puts less strain on your wrists. Which isnt a bad thing if you plan to use this for longer periods of time while you game. Plus, this keyboard also comes with a wrist rest to use if you want a little extra comfort.

Razer Pro Type Ultra

Advertisement

Logitech K360

Price: $48

Where To Buy: Amazon

For a simple wireless keyboard that wont cost a lot, its hard to do better than the Logitech K360. Its compact which makes it easy for storage and is super comfortable to type on. The only downside is that this keyboard doesnt have Bluetooth compatibility. Which means you will need to connect the USB dongle to connect the keyboard wirelessly and that will take up one of the PS5s USB ports.

Still this is one of the best wireless keyboards for PS5 that you can get. Because its affordable, simple, and it works. So if you dont need anything special, this is a great option.

Logitech K360

Razer Turret

The Razer Turret us a spendy keyboard but, if you have your PS5 hooked up to your TV in the living room, then theres few options that might be better than the Turret making this one of the best wireless keyboards for PS5. Quite simply because its a lapboard. So itll mor comfortably sit in your lap for use. It also comes with its own fold out mouse pad and mouse, so if you do plan to use a mouse and keyboard to play games, this makes it much simpler.

Now, this is another 2.4GHz wireless connection option so youll need to use one of the USB ports on the PS5 if you go with this keyboard.

Razer Turret

SteelSeries Apex Pro Mini Wireless

Price: $239.99

Where To Buy: Amazon, Best Buy

This is another pretty expensive option but it is a newer keyboard and it comes with some of SteelSeries latest tech. Like OmniPoint adjustable actuation switches. Granted, thats a feature youll probably only be able to use for PC. But then thats more of a reason to only consider this keyboard if you want something you can use with PC and PS5.

Its also a 60% keyboard which makes it great for storage next to your console or your PC desk. Wherever you decide to keep it when not in use.

You can connect this with a 2.4GHz wireless connection or through Bluetooth. So you can keep the dongle plugged into the PC then use Bluetooth to connect to the PS5. It also features RGB backlighting for the keys and its made from aluminum alloy so it should be pretty durable. Though we still dont recommend trying to test its durability.

SteelSeries Apex Pro Mini Wireless

Logitech K780

Price: $64.99

Where To Buy: Amazon

This isnt too different from the K300 though there are some notable improvements. For instance, the K780 has a nice lip across the top edge that you can slot other devices into. Sort of like a stand. Which works out great for a place to set your phone down while youre not using it.

Now keep in mind the keys on this arent backlit here either. So It may not be the best keyboard if you tend to play PS5 in total darkness. But as long as you have a little light around to see the keys then youre golden.

Logitech K780

Keychron K2

Price: $79.99

Where To Buy: Amazon

At one point we were using this as our main mechanical keyboard for daily use. And we loved it then and still love it now. In fact its precisely the keyboard currently being used for our PS5 typing needs. Now, thats partially due to the fact that we already have this and it works, and dont see the need to update to a new keyboard and spend that money.

This is a mechanical keyboard with RGB lighting, and its wirelessly compatible with Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, PS4, PS5 and more. It also charges via USB-C which is always appreciated. And it can even be used in a wired mode if you want to conserve the battery.

At $80, this is a pretty good option thanks to its versatility.

Keychron K2

Logitech K400

Price: $29.99

Where To Buy: Amazon

Rounding out this list is the cheapest option on here. So if youre really trying to pick up the bare minimum in terms of cost and features, this is a pretty awesome keyboard for the price. Especially if youre only planning on using it for chatting in-game or through PS Messages with friends.

The nice thing is it has a mini touchpad along with a left and right click similar to a mouse. This also uses replaceable batteries instead of a rechargeable one. So when the batteries die, which Logitech says takes about a year, youll just flip a new pair in. Need some basic? Go with this.

Logitech K400
 Flash

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday sent a congratulatory message to Droupadi Murmu on her assuming office as the president of the Republic of India.

In his message, Xi pointed out that China and India are important neighbors of each other, and that a healthy and stable China-India relationship is in line with the fundamental interests of the two countries and their people, as well as conducive to peace, stability and development in the region and across the world.

Xi also said that he attaches great importance to China-India relations, and stands ready to work with Murmu to enhance political mutual trust, deepen practical cooperation, properly handle differences and push bilateral ties forward on the right track.
(ANSA) - ROME, JUL 26 - Piedmont has run out of water reserves due to Italy's severe drought, a regional official said on Tuesday.

"We have to save every litre of drinking water that is available because the reserves have run out," Environment Chief Matteo Marnati told a news conference.

"The water that is coming down is glacier water, which, unfortunately, is due to the melting of glaciers.

"So it's not good news because water is arriving, but we are losing our reserves".

Marnati said Piedmont was preparing a Marshall Pan for its water infrastructure with investments of close of one billion euros up to 2026.

The drought and a series of heat waves is causing massive problems for agriculture, with farmer's association Coldiretti reporting drops in crop yields of up to 45% in some cases.

Last week Lombardy Governor Attilio Fontana said that his region has almost run out of water for agriculture due to the drought.

Veneto Governor Luca Zaia said Tuesday that saltwater intrusion has reached as far as 21 km from the mouth of the River Po for the first time due to the drought.

He said saltwater intrusion usually only reached 300-400 metres from the river mouth.

Scientists say that extreme weather events like the heat waves that are currently hitting many parts of Europe, supercharged storms, flooding and droughts are becoming more frequent and more intense because of climate change caused by human activity.

(ANSA).


(ANSA) - ROME, JUL 25 - Italy's severe drought has caused crop yields to fall by up to 45%, farmers association Coldiretti has said. (ANSA).


(ANSA) - ROME, JUL 26 - Flights to and from Florence airport were suspended on Tuesday because of smoke from a big wildfire in the nearby towns of Lastra and Signa, Tuscany Governor Eugenio Giani said via Telegram.

The governor said a big team has been dispatched to fight the fire.

Italy looks set to record a record number of wildfires this year.

The severe drought Italy is enduring and a series of heat waves have created conditions that make it easier for fires to spread fast.

For example, Italian firefighters conducted 32,921 operations to combat blazes involving forests and vegetation between June 15 and July 21, 4,040 more than in the same period last year, according to data released on Friday.

Drought and heat waves are among the extreme weather events that scientists say are becoming more frequent and more intense due to climate change caused by human activity. (ANSA).


Focus on Higher education at 'Fvg-Austria: future to share' Event by Mitteleuropa Associationan as part of Mittelfest

(ANSA) - UDINE, JUL 26 - The future of Friuli Venezia Giulia and Austria, the scenarios of strategic institutional, political, and economic cooperation, but above all, higher education will be the main issues of "FVG - Austria: a future to share," an economic-cultural forum organized by the Mitteleuropa Association, as part of Mittelfest, taking place on Wednesday, July 27, at Villa de Claricini Dornpacher, in Bottenicco di Moimacco (Udine).



"The forum is dedicated to the most important recipients of our work: young people," underlined Paolo Petiziol, Mitteleuropa Association chairman. Indeed, the meeting will also discuss cooperation between universities, with a "synergy between the universities of Udine, Trieste and Nova Gorica, which has already begun." The cooperation, however, "may soon become a four-way effort also involving the University of Klagenfurt for a full-fledged cross-border higher education project," Petiziol explained. In addition, four members of the Austrian Parliament will also participate in the event.



A second panel will focus on border universities in the run-up to GO!2025. Roberto Pinton, Dean of the University of Udine, Bostjan Golob, Dean of the University of Nova Gorica, and Valter Sergo, vice-chancellor of the University of Trieste., will attend the meeting.



Speakers at the forum include Christian Scheider, Mayor of Klagenfurt, and Elena D'Orlando, Director of the Legal Sciences Department, University of Udine, who will explore real opportunities for collaboration and joint programming between the two universities. (ANSA).





 Copyright ANSA - All rights reserved
Covid: Austria, no quarantine but FFP2 mask for the infected Radical change of course announced

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, JUL 26 - The Austrian government has announced a significant shift in strategy for combating the pandemic. Those who test positive for coronavirus are no longer automatically quarantined; instead, they can leave the house while wearing the Ffp2 mask. The draft ordinance was approved by the commission of experts this morning, according to the daily Der Standard's news portal. The new measures will take effect on August 1st. (ANSA).





 Copyright ANSA - All rights reserved
Slovenia: twelve miners injured in Velenje At the only coal mine operating in the country

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, JUL 26 - Twelve miners were slightly injured when a stope at the Velenje coal mine, in Slovenia, collapsed on Monday, but they were able to escape the pit on their own. They were all referred to the community health centre, the company running the mine, said, quoted by the Slovenian news agency STA. Eleven miners were hurt in the most recent incident in the mine in September 2019. The Velenje mine, Slovenia's sole operating coal mine, will close as the nation prepares to phase out coal by 2033. However, the plans could change in light of the energy crisis, STA noted. (ANSA).





 Copyright ANSA - All rights reserved
ROME - The isle of Kythnos, in the archipelago of Cyclades in Greece, hosts a cultural dialogue exhibit between two photographers, the Italian Cosmo Laera and the Greek Gianni Giannelos. The exhibit received the patronage of the Italian embassy in Greece and of the Kythnos municipality and of the Italian cultural institute in Athens. The pictures from the exhibition 'Stone witnesses', inaugurated on 20 July, 2021 in the courtyards of the churches of Panagia Stratilatissa and Panagia Flambouriani, were inspired by mural art and by traditional landscapes, promoting both the Cyclades and the southern Italian territories.



The event reflects the aim of local institutions to create cultural connections between Kythnos and the world. In this context, the catalyst power of art brings people together and highlights the common roots and traditions, encourages cooperation between countries and improves communication and mutual understanding of each other. The two artists, thanks to their sensitivity and mastery of their craft, cast light on the authenticity of the Mediterranean landscape through humankind's characteristics and its impact on the rural territory. The Greek photographer Giannis Giannelos, in his images of Kythnos, celebrates the ancient dry stone walls, that is ever-present across the Cyclades. The Italian photographer, Cosmo Laera, with his pictures tells the story of the countryside in southern Italy. The pictures show the difficulty of building the dry stone walls as seen through the eyes and stories of peasants and shepherds who, generation after generation, were able to make strips of land fit for cultivation.




EU reaches agreement on gas consumption reduction plan The cut reaches -7%, only Hungary votes against it

(ANSAmed) - BRUSSELLES, 26 JULY - "Ministers reached a political agreement on the reduction of gas demand for next winter". The announcement was made in a tweet by the Czech presidency of the Council of the European Union.



The emergency plan on gas was approved by the EU Energy Council this morning with only one vote against the measure coming from Hungary as referred by diplomatic sources. For the plan to be approved a qualified majority was required, thereby making Hungary's vote against it, irrelevant.



The new amended text for the energy emergency plan provides for an exceptional cut on gas consumption that can go as low as -15% to -7%. The obligatory reduction of the demand by 8 points will be implemented when "Member States show that their interconnection with the others with regard to their technical export capabilities compared to their annual gas consumption rate in 2021 is less than 50% and that the interconnection capabilities toward other member states was used for gas transport at a rate of at least 90% until the previous month", is stated in the text.



The text, in its preamble, also mentions a price cap, as part of the initial 'considerations'. "Following the request of the European Council, the Commission is also exploring, together with our international partners, ways to curb energy's rising costs, including the option of introduction of a temporary price cap on imports while continuing to optimize the functioning of the European energy market", is written in the text, which would also accommodate the Italian requests.(ANSAmed).




BRUSSELS - "Ministers reached a political agreement on the reduction of gas demand for next winter". The announcement was made in a tweet by the Czech presidency of the Council of the European Union.



The emergency plan on gas was approved by the EU Energy Council this morning with only one vote against the measure coming from Hungary as referred by diplomatic sources. For the plan to be approved a qualified majority was required, thereby making Hungary's vote against it, irrelevant.



The new amended text for the energy emergency plan provides for an exceptional cut on gas consumption that can go as low as -15% to -7%. The obligatory reduction of the demand by 8 points will be implemented when "Member States show that their interconnection with the others with regard to their technical export capabilities compared to their annual gas consumption rate in 2021 is less than 50% and that the interconnection capabilities toward other member states was used for gas transport at a rate of at least 90% until the previous month", is stated in the text.



The text, in its preamble, also mentions a price cap, as part of the initial 'considerations'. "Following the request of the European Council, the Commission is also exploring, together with our international partners, ways to curb energy's rising costs, including the option of introduction of a temporary price cap on imports while continuing to optimize the functioning of the European energy market", is written in the text, which would also accommodate the Italian requests.




Ukrainian grain export coordination center opens in Istanbul Hosting representatives from Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the UN

(ANSAmed) - ISTANBUL, 26 JULY - A coordination Center for the Black Sea corridors to facilitate grain exports from Ukrainian ports will open tomorrow in Istanbul. Trt, a Turkish public news broadcaster, made this announcement adding that the center will be located in the building of the National Defense University and that Hulusi Akar, minister of defense, will be present at the inauguration ceremony.



Last week, representatives from Russia and Ukraine separately signed an agreement in Istanbul to unlock grain exports from Ukraine. According to the agreement, the coordination center will be comprised of representatives from Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations. (ANSAmed).




The father of a 12-year-old boy at the centre of a life-support treatment fight has spent a night in hospital after being taken ill shortly before Court of Appeal judges ruled that the youngster could be disconnected from a ventilator, a family spokeswoman says.

Appeal judges were told on Monday that Archie Battersbees father, Paul Battersbee, who is in his 50s, was feared to have suffered a heart attack or stroke outside a courtroom at the Royal Courts of Justice in London.

A family spokeswoman on Tuesday told the PA news agency that Mr Battersbee had spent a night in hospital but was OK now and should be released before the end of the day.

Archie Battersbee (Hollie Dance/PA)

A lawyer representing Mr Battersbee and Archies mother Hollie Dance say they are considering a challenge to the appeal judges ruling.

David Foster, based at law firm Moore Barlow, said Ms Dance and Mr Battersbee, who are separated but both live in Southend, Essex, plan to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights.

Appeal judges Sir Andrew McFarlane, the president of the Family Division of the High Court and the most senior family court judge in England and Wales, Lady Justice King and Lord Justice Peter Jackson on Monday upheld a ruling by a High Court judge who concluded that doctors could lawfully stop providing life-support treatment to Archie.

Judges have heard that Ms Dance found Archie unconscious with a ligature over his head on April 7.

She thinks he might have been taking part in an online challenge.

Hollie Dance (Dominic Lipinski/PA)

The youngster has not regained consciousness.

Doctors treating Archie at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel, east London, think he is brain-stem dead and say continued life-support treatment is not in his best interests.

Bosses at the hospitals governing trust, Barts Health NHS Trust, had asked for decisions on what medical moves were in Archies best interests.

Another High Court judge, Mrs Justice Arbuthnot, initially considered the case and concluded that Archie was dead.

But Court of Appeal judges upheld a challenge by his parents against decisions taken by Mrs Justice Arbuthnot and said the evidence should be reviewed by Mr Justice Hayden.
Jeremy Vine has joked that the BBC 'stole' cardboard cutouts of Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss for the Tory leadership debate on Monday, 25 July.

In a clip posted to the Twitter account of Jeremy Vine's eponymous Channel 5 show, Vine says: "Mystery here at Channel 5.

"Our cardboard cutouts of Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak went missing. Now we know where they ended up."

Read more: Leadership debate viewers confused by 'awkward' cardboard cutouts

The camera then zooms in on a still from the Tory leadership debate of Sunak and Truss standing awkwardly next to each other.

Jeremy Vine pokes fun at the BBC over Tory debate. (Channel 5)

Vine then says "we got them back" as he jogs across the studio to get the cutouts of the two politicians.

The broadcaster and author recently attacked the government for their handling of the Covid-19 pandemic after he contracted the virus.

In June, the number of people who tested positive for Covid rose exponentially with over a million people catching the disease per week.

Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak before taking part in the BBC Tory leadership debate live. (PA)

Vine criticised the British government for not talking publicly about the virus and its impact: "That means there must be a lot of it about. Why isnt the government mentioning it? Why isnt the government saying: anyone vulnerable, you know, stay indoors. Look at my test, theres a big red line there. Theres a lot of it around."

Jeremy Vine with rainbow pictures sent in by viewers of his Channel 5 show. (Dominic Lipinski/PA Images via Getty Images)

He went on to suggest that shielding for vulnerable people should come back: "Shouldnt they be saying 'Lock up your daughters' or 'tie your mother down' or you know, just stay in if you are vulnerable. But weve not heard a peep. I guess theyre too busy."

Vine's co-host Storm Huntley also caught the disease at the same time.

The Jeremy Vine Show airs weekdays on Channel 5 between 9:15am-12:15pm.
Natalia Dyer stars as Nancy in 'Stranger Things'. (Getty Images,)

An aesthetic nurse on TikTok has said she didn't mean to 'offend' Stranger Things star Natalia Dyer after she was criticised for making a video listing the cosmetic procedures the actor could undergo.

Miranda Wilson sparked outrage over the weekend after a video went viral in which she detailed the types of plastic surgery she would give Dyer.

In the now-deleted clip, Wilson also edited Dyer's face to show what she would look like with plastic surgery and listed a number of procedures that would 'slim' Dyer's face and 'open up her eyes'.

Read more: Stranger Things' Jonathan and Nancy are dating in real life

In a new video, Wilson has attempted to explain herself. She says: "I just wanted to come on here and basically clear the air. I did not mean to offend anyone, including Natalia. I was simply just offering suggestions, not on what you have to do, just on what the possibilities are."

Maya Hawke as Robin Buckley and Natalia Dyer as Nancy Wheeler in Stranger Things. (Netflix)

She added: "As an advanced injector that's what we do. We look at faces, we assess and look at the possibilities. Not on what you need to do, or what you have to do, they're simply just options."

Wilson also listed the number of procedures she had undergone including Botox injections, a brow lift and lip and cheek filler.

Wilson also captioned the clip with: "Of course Natalia is absolutely stunning the way she isthats why shes so successful. Her photo was simply an example. I'm sorry if people took that as being mean or rude, that was not my intent at all."

Natalia Dyer as Nanacy Wheeler and Mason Dye as Jason Carver in 'Stranger Things'. (Netflix)

The aesthetician's original video was severely criticised online with Wilson ultimately deleting it but Dyer has yet to respond publicly to the clip.

Dyer currently stars in popular Netflix show Stranger Things as Nancy Wheeler, a role that has been compared to the "final girls" of 1980's horror cinema.

Some of her other notable roles include Coco in Velvet Buzzsaw and Alice in Yes, God, Yes.

Watch below: Up Close with Natalia Dyer
Britains train operators have released plans for how their services will be altered during Wednesdays rail strike.

Only around a fifth of normal services will run, and half of lines will be closed.

Trains will only operate between 7.30am and 6.30pm on Wednesday, and will start later than normal on Thursday.

Lines likely to remain open during the rail strike (PA)

Here is a breakdown of each operators plan for Wednesday:

 Avanti West Coast

A limited service of around a quarter of the normal timetable will operate, with one train per hour in both directions between London Euston and each of Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham and Preston.

A reduced timetable will operate to Glasgow.

Several areas will not be served, such as Blackpool, Edinburgh, North Wales and Shrewsbury.

 c2c

It will operate fewer than a third of normal services.

These will consist of two trains per hour in each direction between London Fenchurch Street and Shoeburyness via Laindon, and the same frequency between London Fenchurch Street and Pitsea via Rainham.

No trains will run via Ockendon or Chafford Hundred.

 Caledonian Sleeper

Caledonian Sleeper services will be suspended (Jane Barlow/PA)

All departures are cancelled for Tuesday and Wednesday nights.

 Chiltern Railways

No trains will run north of Banbury or to/from Oxford station.

There will be one train per hour in both directions between London Marylebone and each of Aylesbury via High Wycombe; Banbury; and Oxford Parkway.

The same frequency will be in place between Aylesbury Vale Parkway and Amersham.

 CrossCountry

No direct services will run between Birmingham and Bristol, Cardiff, Peterborough, Cambridge or Stansted Airport.

A very limited service is planned between Birmingham and Edinburgh via Leeds, York and Newcastle; Leicester; Manchester; and Southampton.

 East Midlands Railway

Just one train per hour will run in each direction between London St Pancras and each of Corby, Nottingham and Sheffield; between Derby and both Matlock and Nottingham; and between Nottingham and both Leicester and Sheffield.

All other routes will be closed.

 Gatwick Express

Services will be suspended. Passengers travelling to or from Gatwick Airport can use Southern and Thameslink trains.

 Grand Central

Just three trains in each direction will run between London Kings Cross and both Northallerton and Wakefield Kirkgate.

 Great Northern

There will be very few trains, with no services east of Ely to Kings Lynn.

 Great Western Railway

Many Great Western Railway trains will be cancelled (Andrew Matthews/PA)

No services will run on many routes, such as all those in Cornwall, branch lines in Devon, between Cardiff and Swansea, and between Bath and Portsmouth.

 Greater Anglia

On strike days, the company will not run any trains on its regional and branch lines.

A very limited service will operate on some routes to and from London Liverpool Street.

 Heathrow Express

Trains will run every half an hour instead of every 15 minutes normally.

 Hull Trains

Trains will only run between Doncaster and London Kings Cross, with five in each direction.

 London North Eastern Railway

Only two trains per hour will operate between Edinburgh and London Kings Cross, and one per hour between Leeds and London Kings Cross, in both directions.

 London Northwestern Railway

Travelling by train this week? Due to industrial action there will be a limited service on Wed 27 July which will also affect Thurs 28 July On Wed 27 only travel by train if absolutely necessary If your journey is essential, please check before you travel @nationalrailenq pic.twitter.com/u3N6h5Lg5O  London Euston (@NetworkRailEUS) July 25, 2022

A limited service will run to and from Birmingham New Street and both Crewe and London Euston.

Other routes will be closed.

 Lumo

Just three trains will run in each direction between London Kings Cross and Edinburgh, with two others doing part of the route.

 Merseyrail

An hourly service will call at selected stations.

 Northern

 RMT union plan to strike on Wednesday 27 July which will cause significant disruption to our network with most services unable to run. Therefore we are advising people not to travel on Wednesday 27 July. Latest info: https://t.co/WPRpJjQAmf pic.twitter.com/4Bg3y2dCcO  Northern  (@northernassist) July 20, 2022

Passengers are urged not to travel as only a small number of routes will have trains.

Routes that will be open include Liverpool to Alderley Edge; York to Leeds; and Darlington to Saltburn.

 ScotRail

No trains will run north of Glasgow or Edinburgh on strike days.

Just two trains per hour will run between the cities via Falkirk High and one per hour via Shotts, in each direction.

There will also be two trains per hour on each of these routes: Edinburgh to Bathgate; Glasgow to Hamilton/Larkhall; and Glasgow to Lanark.

 South Western Railway

A severely limited service will run, and only on some routes.

This includes just four trains per hour between London Waterloo and both Windsor and Woking, and two per hour between London Waterloo and both Basingstoke and Southampton, in each direction.

 Southeastern

Many stations and routes will be closed, and a severely reduced service will operate elsewhere.

There will be no services to or from London Victoria or Charing Cross.

The vast majority of the network in Kent and East Sussex will be closed.

The high-speed route to Ashford International will be open.

 Southern

Much of the network will be shut down.

Services will run on the Brighton Mainline to London Bridge and London Victoria, with additional trains from Tattenham Corner, Epsom Downs, Sutton and West Croydon via Crystal Palace.

 Stansted Express

Train will run hourly between London Liverpool Street and Stansted Airport, instead of every 30 minutes.

No services will run from Stansted Airport to Norwich and Cambridge.

 Thameslink

There will be far fewer trains than normal.

Services will be split north and south, with nothing running between London St Pancras and London Bridge.

 TransPennine Express

There will only be a very limited service, with just these routes open: Manchester Airport to Preston; Manchester Piccadilly to York; Newcastle to Edinburgh; and Cleethorpes to Sheffield.

 Transport for Wales

Most lines will be closed.

An hourly service will run between Cardiff and Newport, with limited trains elsewhere.

West Midlands Railway

A limited service will operate only between Lichfield Trent Valley and Redditch/Bromsgrove via Birmingham New Street; Crewe and Birmingham New Street via Wolverhampton; and Birmingham New Street and Northampton.
London Underground workers are to stage a fresh strike in a long-running dispute over jobs and pensions.

Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) will walk out on August 19.

The RMT is also striking on Network Rail and 14 train operators on August 18 and 20, alongside members of the Transport Salaried Staffs Association on the same days at a number of rail companies.

RMT general secretary, Mick Lynch (Dominic Lipinski/PA)

The RMT said the new Tube strike has been prompted by Transport for Londons refusal to share details of a draft Government proposal they received regarding funding of the transport system in the capital.

The union said it is giving TfL until August 2 to give assurances on jobs, pensions and working conditions.

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: Our members will once again take to picket lines in this important dispute over pensions, jobs and conditions.

They have been messed around by TfL and Mayor Sadiq Khan. And to add insult to injury, they have not seen the detail of this funding letter from Government.

Unless there can be assurances made about jobs, pensions and detrimental changes to working conditions, then our strike on August 19 will go ahead.

Andy Lord, TfL chief operating officer, said: We have not yet received official notification of this action from the RMT.

No agreement has been reached with the Government.

We continue to work closely with our unions, while at the same time talking to the Government to try to ensure that any funding agreement is fair and is the right one for Londons recovery and for our colleagues.

There is significant work yet to be done.

We urge the RMT to call off this action and work with us to support Londons recovery.
Boris Johnson in Downing Street. (Photo: Frank Augstein via PA Wire/PA Images)

Boris Johnson in Downing Street. (Photo: Frank Augstein via PA Wire/PA Images)

Boris Johnson has defended meeting a former KGB agent at an Italian villa without any government officials present.

The prime minister said no official business was discussed as far as I am aware when he met Alexander Lebedev in 2018, when he was foreign secretary.

Johnson admitted the meeting took place while appearing in front of the liaison committee earlier this month.

In a letter to Sir Bernard Jenkin, the committees chairman, giving more details on the visit, he said he had been attending a social event organised by Evgeny Lebedev at his home in Italy.

At the time, the Lebedevs owned the Evening Standard and the Independent newspapers.

The PM said: At this social event, I also met Evgeny Lebedevs father. This was not a formal meeting, nor something that was pre-arranged.

He said his officials were aware in advance about the event and it was not unusual for them not to accompany him.

He said: Contrary to some reports, my visit was in line with established security protocols under successive foreign secretaries.

It would not have been normal practice for civil servants or security staff to have accompanied me to such a private, social occasion. I did not take ministerial papers with me.

Johnson said if ministers discuss official business with an external organisation or individual without any officials present, they would be expected to inform them afterwards.

This was not necessary in this case, he said. As far as I am aware, no government business was discussed.

Johnson has also faced accusations that he ignored security concerns to give Evgeny Lebedev a peerage.

Asked about the allegations in March, he said: That is simply incorrect. But what I can tell you is, it suits Putins agenda to try to characterise this as a struggle between the West and Russia.

It suits his agenda to say that the UK, that we in Nato countries, are anti-Russia, European countries are now anti-Russian.

Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner said: Keeping the British people safe should be a priority of government, but this web of murky relationships shows the Conservatives cannot be trusted with our national security.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost UK and has been updated.

Related...
People are being urged to use water wisely as England faces drought in August if the hot and dry weather continues.

The Environment Agency (EA) convened the National Drought Group (NDG) on Tuesday, bringing together officials from the Environment Department (Defra), water companies, the Met Office, the National Farmers Union (NFU) and others.

Most of England has moved into prolonged dry weather status  meaning the EA is now taking precautionary actions to mitigate impacts.

Nowhere in England is currently considered to be in a drought and most water companies are maintaining good reservoir storage for summer demand.

The EA said that if further measures are required, temporary use bans  more commonly known as hosepipe bans  will be determined by individual water companies.

Officials said recent abnormally high temperatures have exacerbated conditions resulting from lower than normal rainfall so far this year in many parts of England.

The Met Office is forecasting potentially several more dry weeks ahead, particularly in the south and east of the country, so the EA and water companies are now enacting the early stages of their drought plans and calling on everyone to do their bit in managing water use.

People enjoying the hot weather on Bournemouth beach after temperatures topped 40C in the UK for the first time (Steve Parsons/PA)

The EA takes a broad range of measures to manage drought risk, with many already in action.

Measures include helping those areas which are the worst affected by prolonged dry weather by operating water transfer schemes that allow rivers to be artificially maintained and working with the farming sector to provide greater assistance to farmers in prolonged dry weather areas.

Other measures include reoxygenating water and rescuing fish in distress where river flows are especially low, and supporting the Fire and Rescue Service to tackle waste fires and wildfires.

Harvey Bradshaw, EA executive director for the environment and chair of the NDG, said: While last weeks extreme high temperatures are now behind us and there are currently no plans for restrictions on essential water use, we can all do our bit by reducing unnecessary water consumption and following advice from our water company to ensure this remains the case while our rivers are exceptionally low.

We are working very closely with water companies, farmers and other water users to manage the current situation.

Todays meeting was an important step in agreeing joint actions to protect our water resources with further dry weather forecasted for August, including ever-closer working to monitor and manage water supplies and the environment.

Stuart Colville, Water UK director of policy, said: Ongoing warm weather in much of the country follows the driest winter and spring since the 1970s.

Water companies have detailed plans in place to manage water resources for customers and the environment, and are doing everything they can, including working closely with government and regulators, to minimise the need for any restrictions and ensure rivers continue to flow.

(PA Graphics)

As we continue to see extremely high demand, we are urging everyone to carefully consider the amount they are using given the unprecedented conditions.

Much of the country already has low river flows, affecting the quality and quantity of water, with impacts on farmers and other water users, as well as wildlife.

Low groundwater levels, dry soils and low reservoirs have also been seen following months of below average rainfall.

In Yorkshire, the Environment Agency has applied for a drought order for the Holme Styes reservoir in Holmfirth after months of low rainfall, to protect wildlife.

Elsewhere, Southern Water has applied for a drought permit for the River Test in Southampton, Hampshire, amid falling water levels.

The most recent weekly rainfall and river flow summary for England, for the week to Tuesday July 19, said river flows decreased at all but seven sites the EA reports on, with almost all sites classed as below normal and a third being exceptionally low for the time of year.

According to that summary, England has had just 10% of its long-term average (LTA) rainfall for July, with the east and south east recording just 4% of their LTA.

In June, England recorded 74% of its LTA, while the east recorded 67% and the south east recorded 63%.

The last time drought was declared was in 2018.

Country Land and Business Association (CLA) president Mark Tufnell said: Many farmers are already doing everything they can to reduce their water consumption, including investing in water storage, efficient irrigation systems and irrigating crops at night to reduce losses.

Agriculture represents just 1% of total UK water abstraction. The current dry weather comes at a critical time for crops such as potatoes, salads and vegetables which need irrigation if they are to reach the quality standards, so cutting supplies now will risk major impacts.

Farming is on the front line of climate change, and with drought only set to become more prevalent in the UK, the Government must implement measures to build resilience and ensure water for food is prioritised.
Airline passengers are skipping queues at Heathrow by pretending to need a wheelchair after watching a video on TikTok, the airports boss has revealed.

The west London airports chief executive, John Holland-Kaye, described this as the wrong thing to be doing.

He told LBC: For passengers requiring wheelchair support we have more demand than we had before the pandemic.

Why is that happening? Some of this is because people are using the wheelchair support to try to get fast-track through the airport.

John Holland-Kaye said pretending to need a wheelchair at an airport is absolutely the wrong thing to be doing (Yui Mok/PA)

That is absolutely the wrong thing to be doing.

We need to protect that for the people who most need help.

If you go on TikTok youll see that that is one of the travel hacks that people are recommending.

Please dont do that.

A video showing a passenger skipping queues at Ibiza Airport, Spain, by feigning injury to get a wheelchair has been viewed 2.5 million times on TikTok.

The man is shown standing up and walking away after the flight.

Mr Holland-Kaye added that about half of arriving passengers who request assistance only do so once they are on the plane.

He urged people who really need the service to let Heathrow know well in advance so we can make sure there are enough people there to meet your needs.

Many travellers using the airport this summer have faced long queues, with the situation blamed on staff shortages.

A cap on daily departing passenger numbers was introduced earlier this month to ease the pressure.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps is being urged to intervene to try to end the dispute between the RMT and Network Rail.

Scottish transport minister Jenny Gilruth has again written to Mr Shapps demanding action ahead of the latest stoppage by signallers and other Network Rail staff.

A strike planned for Wednesday will mean fewer than a tenth of ScotRail services will be able to run  with disruption also expected on Tuesday evening and on Thursday morning.

Ahead of this Ms Gilruth has written to the UK Transport Secretary, telling him: I once again urge you to instruct Network Rail to engage in constructive negotiations with the trade unions to reach a resolution.

She added: Resolution for staff and passengers is possible, but it will require both political willing and focus.

Transport minister Jenny Gilruth has written to UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, urging him to act (Jane Barlow/PA)

However with the Tories currently going through a leadership contest to find a successor to Boris Johnson, Ms Gilruth claimed that the UK Government continues to appear to be distracted rather than focusing on resolving this dispute as quickly as possible for the benefit of rail users, staff and taxpayers.

She spoke out as David Simpson, the service delivery director at ScotRail, said that industrial action meant only around 190 services could run on Wednesday.

The rail operator had only just returned to operating a full timetable last week, a move which meant the number of services had increased to around 2,100 a day.

However the strike action by the RMT, which is taking place as part of a dispute over pay, means that on Wednesday ScotRail will only be able to run services on five lines in the central belt  with no trains at all running after 6.30pm.

 Due to strike action by RMT members of Network Rail tomorrow (27 July), we're warning customers to expect significant disruption. To help with your questions on pre-booked journeys, refunds & service information, visit our website. Click to view it.  ScotRail (@ScotRail) July 26, 2022

Mr Simpson said it was frustrating the strike was affecting services so soon after ScotRail had ended its temporary timetable  which had been in place because of a separate pay dispute with drivers, which has now been resolved.

Only a very small proportion of services would be able to run, he stated, with only approximately 9% able to go ahead.

He added this was very frustrating given how well things have been running since we were able to get back to normal.

Mr Simpson explained that while the dispute was a national one between Network Rail and the RMT, the action would see signallers go out on strike.

Speaking on BBC Scotlands Good Morning Scotland programme he said: They are critical to operating the trains, which is why we have to reduce the service to just a handful of routes tomorrow.

Mr Simpson said: Tomorrow there will be a service on just five routes across the central belt, and then there will be a later start up to services on Thursday, because of the opening times of the signal boxes.

While Network Rail are able to use staff not taking part in the strike to man some of the signal boxes, he said there was a finite number of those individuals available, with services focused on lines between Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Mr Simpson explained: Away from the central belt its a much more labour intensive activity to staff these locations and that is why we have had to focus services on these routes.

A similar level of service was provided during the three days of rail strikes in June, with the same service model also likely to be used if further action planned for August 18 and 20 goes ahead.

Mr Simpson said: We do know that talks are continuing to take place between the RMT and Network Rail, mostly we all hope to see a solution to those for the good of the industry.

If they are not resolved we can expect a very similar service on those two dates.

Meanwhile a Department for Transport spokesperson said: Network Rail has been constructively engaging with RMT for months, offering daily talks to resolve the dispute as soon as possible, and has offered RMT a fair deal that would see salaries of its members rise by up to 8% after two years.

Its the unions who need to get back round the table and engage in constructive talks, rather than calling further strikes that serve only to bring disruption to people across the country.
The benefits of prescribing outdoor swimming for people with depression as an alternative to medication is being examined in a new study.

Experts at the University of Portsmouth are working with Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust to look at the use of ecotherapy  therapeutic intervention through nature  which is known to boost peoples mood.

Volunteers are being sought for the trial looking at the impact of immersion in cold water, which has been shown to reduce stress levels.

Some participants will be given a swimming course and then be compared to a control group who are receiving their usual care.

Parliament Hill Lido in London (Lewis Whyld/PA)

A university spokesman said: The study, funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), will provide preliminary support for using outdoor swimming as an alternative to antidepressants or talking therapies.

Co-author Dr Heather Massey, from the University of Portsmouths Department of Sport, Health and Exercise Science, said: In this new study we are looking at outdoor swimming as part of social prescribing, which looks to support members of the community who are self-referred or referred by a number of professional organisations to community activities that will support them.

Its a step up in terms of scientific rigour.

Swimming lessons will take place at Parliament Hill in London, Lenches Lake in Worcestershire, and Saunton in north Devon.
A diabetic 10-year-old who fled the Russian invasion of Ukraine has been fitted with a life-changing insulin pump after a priceless donation from a technology company.

Diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 2020, Ukrainian refugee Dasha Makarenko needed at least four injections of insulin per day and constant care from her parents.

After seeing a fundraising campaign for her online, global medical technology company Medtronic contacted Dasha and has now fitted her with an automatic insulin pump  negating the need for manual injections and allowing her to lead a near normal life.

Dasha Makarenko, 10, who has type one diabetes, urgently needed medication after her family fled their home in Chernihiv, northern Ukraine (John Rice/PA)

John Rice, 56, who is from Northampton but has lived in Slovakia for a decade, first contacted the Makarenko family through Facebook after they were forced to flee their home in Chernihiv, northern Ukraine.

Dasha, her father Yehevny, 39, and mother Svetlana, 45, travelled by car for five days with their two cats before they settled at Mr Rices home near Trencin, Slovakia.

Mr Rice set up a fundraising page to cover the costs of Dashas medicine when her parents were unable to find work while they cared for their daughter.

After the original fundraising goal of 5,000 was met in just seven days, Mr Rice was approached by Medtronic who offered Dasha the life-changing treatment.

I could not dream of such a thing even in my most daring and optimistic thoughts, Mr Makarenko told the PA news agency.

Our family is happy that so many people responded to our requests for help  for us, this is priceless.

I want to believe that Dasha will finally be able to start living a full life.

Yehevny (right) and Svetlana Makarenko, with their daughter Dasha fled by car to Slovakia (John Rice/PA)

Injections of insulin with a syringe only allow for a set dosage which meant Dasha would sometimes receive too little or too much.

When this happened she was forced to repeat the injections or compensate for low blood sugar levels with food.

While escaping Ukraine the family almost ran out of food and Dashas parents had to stop eating to ensure there was enough left to raise her blood sugar levels when needed.

Upon learning about Dashas case, a local Medtronic representative called Maria Szarkova drove 200km to meet and reassure the family.

Ms Szarkova, who has been living with type 1 diabetes for 33 years, put the family in contact with a specialist diabetes educator from the Ukrainian branch of Medtronic, who has also been displaced by the war, to provide diabetes support in Dashas native language.

The latest generation insulin pump that Dasha is now using benefits from an advanced algorithm which makes automatic insulin adjustments and corrections (John Rice/PA)

Dasha was then seen by one of Slovakias leading experts on the treatment of children with diabetes who arranged for her to be fitted with Medtronics latest-generation insulin pump system.

The pump uses an algorithm to make automatic insulin adjustments and corrections every five minutes to help stabilise glucose levels.

The Makarenko family have remained close to Mr Rice, despite having moved into their own home nearby, and Dasha has been enrolled in a local school.

Mr Rice told PA: To help a family escape their home country and raise money for them has been incredible.

I am humbled by what they have gone through and how Dasha has adapted to life in Slovakia.

She is now living a near normal life and knowing Dasha, she will make the very most of every opportunity.

I would like to thank again all the generous and kind people who have made contributions towards helping a family who were in crisis.

Before the war, Mr Makarenko was the head of key accounts for a large Ukrainian electronics store and Mrs Makarenko worked in an accounts department.

Mr Makarenko was allowed to leave Ukraine because he is his daughters carer but her dependence on her parents has made it difficult for them to find work.

The success of Dashas new treatment will mean the family can focus on rebuilding their lives.

Mr Makarenko added: Before her illness Dasha attended dance lessons and performed on stage, the disease put an end to that but now she will finally be able to take up dancing again.
Mobile operator Virgin Media O2 is donating an extra 15 million gigabytes (GB) of free data to the National Databank to help people stay connected as the cost of living rises.

The donation means those people who need free data to stay connected to key services but can not afford to pay for it can now receive 20GB of free O2 mobile data a month, up from 15GB.

The National Databank works in a similar fashion to a foodbank, but for free mobile data, calls and texts and can be accessed via community groups across the UK who work with charity the Good Things Foundation, which founded the Databank alongside Virgin Media O2.

The mobile operator has now pledged to donate more than 61 million GB of data by the end of 2025, up from 46 million GB, to enable those in need to continue to access vital online services such as medical appointments, online banking or job interviews and training.

So far, the National Databank has given more than 50,000 SIM cards to community organisations.

According to the operator, two million households across the UK are at risk of digital exclusion because of the rising cost of living.

Virgin Media O2 chief executive, Lutz Schuler, said: As the proud founder of the UKs National Databank, we know how important it is for people most affected by the rise in the cost of living to have access to free mobile data so they can get online and stay in touch with loved ones, and access essential services, from virtual medical appointments, to job interviews and training.

Thats why Virgin Media O2 is providing extra help for people in need by donating even more free data to the Good Things Foundation and the National Databank to ensure people can stay connected during the difficult months ahead.

Its part of our mission to upgrade the UK where we want to end data poverty for good and create a better, more connected country for everyone.

Good Things Foundation group chief executive, Helen Milner, said: Having enough data in our increasingly digital society is not just a nice to have, its an absolute essential.

There are two million households struggling to afford internet access in the UK today, and 10 million adults lack the most basic digital skills.

The National Databank, which can be thought of as a food bank for data, is already doing great work to bridge the digital divide.

Were very proud to be working together with our National Databank founding partners, Virgin Media O2, which is now upping its data pledge to give an extra 15 million GB of free data to the databank.

Together, we can help address the issue of data poverty in the UK once and for all.
Books of condolence have been opened in memory of David Trimble as political leaders, both locally and internationally, hailed his contribution to securing peace in Northern Ireland.

The 77-year-old peer and ex-leader of the Ulster Unionist Party was one of the principal architects of the Good Friday/Belfast Agreement that ended decades of conflict in the region.

Lord Trimble, who jointly won the Nobel Peace Prize with late SDLP leader John Hume, died on Monday following an illness.

His death comes amid another political crisis at Stormont, with the DUP blocking the creation of a powersharing administration in protest at Brexits Northern Ireland Protocol.

The Northern Ireland Assembly will hold a special sitting next Tuesday to pay tribute to Lord Trimble.

His funeral will take place in Lisburn on Monday with the service to be held at Harmony Hill Presbyterian Church at 12.30pm.

During a poignant event at Stormont on Tuesday, current UUP leader Doug Beattie laid a bouquet of flowers underneath a portrait of Lord Trimble, before pausing for a moment of silent reflection.

Mr Beattie then said that Lord Trimble had maintained his passion for politics and for achieving reconciliation in Northern Ireland right up until his death.

Lord Mayor of Belfast Tina Black opens a book of condolence at Belfast City Hall for former Northern Ireland First Minister and leader of the Ulster Unionist Party Lord David Trimble (Liam McBurney/PA)

He said: I would never be able to fill the shoes of David Trimble but Im extremely proud to be the Ulster Unionist Party leader and to be able to look back at the passing of David and say that he was once the leader of this great party.

In the conversations that I had with him, even as frail as hed become in the last number of months, there was a fire in his eyes for politics, there was a fire in his eyes for peace in Northern Ireland and there was a fire in his eyes to try and heal the divisions which blighted this part of the United Kingdom.

He was a great unionist, he was a great politician. Many of those from the party that I have spoken to are genuinely feeling his loss today and will need to come to terms with it over the next number of days.

Books of condolence were opened in Belfast and Londonderry by the mayors of the two cities as well as in a number of other locations in Northern Ireland.

Belfast Lord Mayor Tina Black said people in Northern Ireland today benefitted from the leadership shown by Lord Trimble and others.

Sinn Feins vice president Michelle ONeill spoke about the death of David Trimble during a visit to Cookstown (Sinn Fein/PA)

Sinn Feins Stormont leader Michelle ONeill said Lord Trimble should serve as an inspiration and example to the current generation of politicians at Stormont.

I think that none of us should underestimate what was achieved back in 1998 and David Trimble had the courage to step forward in his leadership role, to bring people with him, to work with others.

I think that should be a message to us all even today, 24 years later. It takes courage. It takes leadership. It takes parties working together actually to achieve things and we need that same determination today as we had back in 1998.

Former US President Bill Clinton said people today are leading better lives because of the sacrifices made by David Trimble.

In a statement Mr Clinton said: Hillary and I are deeply saddened by the passing of Lord David Trimble, a leader of courage, vision and principle whose lifetime of service helped bring peace to Northern Ireland.

Time after time during the negotiations that led to the Good Friday Agreement, he made the hard choices over the politically expedient ones because he believed future generations deserved to grow up free from violence and hatred.

His faith in the democratic process allowed him to stand up to strong opposition in his own community, persuade them of the merits of compromise, and share power with his former adversaries.

His legacy will endure in all who are living better lives because of him today.

Hillary and I send our thoughts and prayers to his wife, Daphne, his entire family, and all the people who loved him and were inspired by his service.

Former US president Bill Clinton jokes with Seamus Mallon and David Trimble when they visited the White House (Paul Faith/PA)

US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said: The United States is saddened to learn of the passing of the former first minister of Northern Ireland, Lord David Trimble.

Lord Trimble personified the integrity and compromise necessary to help Northern Ireland transcend its violent past.

His tenacity during early political negotiations underpinned the strength of his convictions as well as his deep commitment to work across the sectarian divide.

As a strong advocate of powersharing and a key architect of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement, his political legacy is the stability and prosperity that the region enjoys today.

Former prime minister Gordon Brown tweeted that Lord Trimble had been an architect of peace in Northern Ireland.

Saddened to hear of the death of David Trimble who will be remembered as an architect, with John Hume, of the peace in Northern Ireland. Thoughts are with his wife Daphne and their family.  Gordon Brown (@GordonBrown) July 26, 2022

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson described Lord Trimble as a titan of unionism.

Sir Jeffrey quit the Ulster Unionist Party in 2003 and defected to the DUP after he disagreed with his then party leader over the Good Friday Agreement and IRA decommissioning.

But he told the BBC Good Morning Ulster programme: There is no doubt that David was a titan of unionism.

He was someone who believed passionately in the union and I have to say that despite our differences in the latter years when I was in the Ulster Unionist Party, he was someone I got on very well with.

On Monday evening, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Lord Trimbles achievements would never be forgotten.

He was a giant of British and international politics and will be long remembered for his intellect, personal bravery and fierce determination to change politics for the better, he said.

Taoiseach Micheal Martin credited his central contribution in efforts to secure peace and reconciliation on the island of Ireland.

All of us in politics at the time witnessed his crucial and courageous role in the negotiations leading to the Good Friday Agreement and his leadership in building support in his party and his community for the Agreement, he said.

David Trimble was a man of courage & vision. He chose to grasp the opportunity for peace when it presented itself & sought to end the decades of violence that blighted his beloved Northern Ireland.  UUP Leader Doug Beattie MC MLA Read more: https://t.co/oIUswfG3Ix pic.twitter.com/KriyF1Nlv4  Ulster Unionist (@uuponline) July 25, 2022

Irish President Michael D Higgins praised Lord Trimbles life of public service.

Former UK and Irish prime ministers, Sir Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern, both of whom were involved in the intensive Good Friday negotiations, also paid tribute.

Sir Tony said his contribution was immense, unforgettable and frankly irreplaceable while Mr Ahern described him as a courageous leader.

Ex-Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams, a once bitter political adversary of the unionist leader, thanked him for helping to get the Good Friday Agreement over the line in 1998.
Ashley Judd is opening up about her grief in the wake of mom Naomi Judd's death by suicide.

"It was abrupt and painful and my world is upside-down," the actress and humanitarian, 54, told grief expert David Kessler on his Healing podcast that premiered Tuesday.

When Ashley announced The Judds singer's April 30 death, she attributed it to the "disease of mental illness"  and spoke about how her mother, who was 76, had long struggled.

"I look back on my childhood and I realize I grew up with a mom who had an undiagnosed and untreated mental illness," the Double Jeopardy star said. "There are different behavioral expressions, interactions, flights of fancy, choices that she made that I understand were an expression of the disease, and I understand that and know that she was in pain and can today understand that she was absolutely doing the best she could, and if she could have done it differently, she would have."

Ashley said her "most ardent wish" for the iconic singer "is that when when she transitioned, she was hopefully able to let go of any guilt or shame that she carried for any shortcoming she may have had in her parenting of my sister [The Judds' Wynonna] and me because certainly on my end all was forgiven  all was forgiven long ago."

As a daughter, Ashley said she had to work "to understand that her [mother's] mental illness was a disease. I didn't cause it, I couldn't control it and I couldn't cure it."

Ashley Judd with her mom, Naomi, in 2013. (Photo: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)

That meant allowing her mother to make her own decisions when it came to her mental health treatment  even when she didn't personally agree with all of them.

"There were times when she got excellent and expert professional help and choose not to pursue that in the ways that I thought were better for her," Ashley admitted. "I had to respect her autonomy and give her the dignity of making those decisions for herself  even when I thought her thinking was distorted."

With so much out of her control, she admitted she struggled worrying about her mom often.

"'What if she doesn't stay at this medical detox? What if she doesn't get help at this place that treats dual diagnosis? What happens if she doesn't go to these meetings? Oh my god, now she's fired that person...'" she recalled.

She said all that is all part of her own recovery and grieving process. And each family member  including Wynonna and Naomi's husband Larry Strickland  had their own experience as an observer of Naomi's struggles and their own process of healing from her death.

Larry Strickland, Ashley Judd, and Wynonna Judd speak onstage for Naomi Judd: A River Of Time Celebration on May 15, 2022. (Photo: Mickey Bernal/Getty Images)

"One of the things that I think we have done well as a family  meaning my pop, my sister Wynonna and me  is we have really given each other the dignity and the allowance to grieve in our individual and respective ways," Judd said. "And yet we've been able to completely stick together. So we can be at the same supper table and recognize, 'Oh, this one's in anger, this one's in denial, this one's in bargaining, this one's in acceptance, I'm in shock right now.'" She said they "don't try to control or redirect or dictate how the other one should be feeling."

The close-knit family lived in homes near each other and they continue to visit  and lean on each other.

"I have had some of the most sacred and holy experiences with my pop [who] comes over every morning," she said. "I wake up and I do my readings and my writing and my meditation practice and connect with my partner. Then pop comes over and I make his coffee and his breakfast and we sit and we grieve together... Those times are so holy and we may be in slightly different places and yet we're in community."

She talked about how the day before, Wynonna  gearing up for The Judds: The Final Tour amid the sudden loss of Naomi  visited and they spent the day together. She said talked about Naomi  and then her big sister gave her a foot rub.

"She's in a pretty different place than I am right now," Ashley said of her sister, "and we don't have to be congruent in order to have compassion for each other. I had to let go of this controlling notion that yours needs to look like mine. I mean, that's really egocentric."

Naomi Judd, Ashley Judd and Wynonna Judd in 2005 (Photo: Louis Myrie/WireImage)

Ashley said she's still processing the trauma of being the one found her mother that horrible day.

"My mother did die by suicide with a gunshot wound  and I'm the one who found her and was with her and walked her home," she said. "And so this is exceedingly difficult for me... It's going to be with me for a long time."

She talked about recently being at a theme park with her partner in Germany when her trauma was activated and it "transport[ed] me back into that bedroom."

"There was a Wild West show. And there was a stunt show," she explained. "They had lots of gunfire and I couldn't get out of the audience because they had closed it due to the pyrotechnics ... and I became so disregulated. My breathing was rapid and shallow. I got as far away from the stage and the sounds of it as I could."

She said what helped was retreating to the back of the show area and putting in earbuds to listen to soothing music.

"It did a number on me," she admitted. "I'm glad I got through it."

Ashley credited her partner  who she didn't name but is reportedly Martin Surbeck, a Harvard professor and head of Kokolopori Bonobo Research Project camp where Ashley was visiting in 2021 when she was injured  for his support.

"I just looked at my partner and saw the look on my face, like: 'We need to get you out of here,'" she recalled. "It's so helpful to have a congruent compassionate person by your side." She called him "a very safe partner to whom I can turn and say, 'This is hard for me right now,' and he understands and gives me the nurturing that I need."

If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts, call 911, or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-8255 or text HOME to the Crisis Text Line at 741741.
RgStudio / iStock.com

The average Social Security benefit in 2022 is $1,657 per month or right under $20,000 per year, according to AARP. If you're planning to live on just your Social Security check as a retiree in the U.S., it will be extremely difficult with only that amount of money at your disposal. According to International Living, the average retiree household in the U.S. spends about $50,000 per year.

Social Security Schedule: When Benefits Will Arrive in May 2022

Be Aware: 15 Worst States To Live on Just a Social Security Check

However, if you're willing to spread your retirement wings and settle down in another country, you can make your government check go much further -- and even live quite comfortably if you can budget $24,000 per year.

GOBankingRates referenced data collected by International Living for its 2022 Global Retirement Index to find countries where you can live on the cheap. To reap cost-saving benefits like low-cost healthcare to a grocery bill that's much less compared to what you'll pay in the U.S., here are the 10 best countries to live on just a Social Security check.

DavorLovincic / Getty Images

1. Panama

Panama, which is located in Central America, borders Colombia to the southeast and Costa Rica to the northwest. It's considered a tropical destination, with warm, humid weather at sea level and a bit cooler weather in the mountains.

It's also southwest of the hurricane belt, which means you won't have to contend with violent storms.

Panama offers a wonderful value for retired expatriates. Local fruits and vegetables are abundant and amazingly affordable, and household items are about 50% cheaper than what you would pay for the same items in the U.S.

According to International Living, a couple can live in Panama for between $1,224 to $2,935 per month. That includes rent or mortgage on a two-bedroom apartment of $500 to $1,500 and electricity costs of $30 to $150 per month.

POLL: Do You Think the Fed Raising Rates Will Help or Hurt the Economy?

alexeys / Getty Images/iStockphoto

2. Costa Rica

Costa Rica is also located in Central America. The country is bordered by Nicaragua to the north and Panama to the southeast, with the Caribbean Sea to the northeast and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. The weather in Costa Rica depends on where you live, but it varies from hot and humid to hot and dry, with some areas becoming cooler at night.

According to International Living, some retired couples can live well in the country on $2,000 per month, while others require $2,500 to $3,000. Part of the reason the cost of living here is so affordable is because of the universal healthcare system. For a low monthly fee based on income, residents can get all their healthcare, such as doctor visits, prescriptions and surgeries, for no additional costs.

Creative-Family / Getty Images/iStockphoto

3. Mexico

The climate in Mexico is dependent on the area where you reside, but it varies from arid to tropical. The cost of living in Mexico is one of the main reasons retirees move there, and according to International Living, the way to save money is to shop as the locals do.

While you can find brand-name goods that you might be accustomed to using in the U.S., you'll save a lot of money by opting for goods that don't have those familiar brand names. Also, in-season produce is about $1 for 2.2 pounds, and a kilo or 2.2 pounds of avocados is about $1.25 -- the cost of a single avocado in some areas of the U.S.

A couple can expect to live in Mexico for about $1,890 per month, according to International Living. Rent on a furnished two-bedroom home there is about $750.

SeanPavonePhoto / Getty Images/iStockphoto

4. Portugal

Portugal is located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian peninsula. Its climate is warm with wet winters and dry summers. The cost of living for a couple to live in most suburban areas of the country -- such as the city of Estoril, close to Lisbon -- is $2,207, according to International Living.

That cost includes $690 rent for a two-bedroom furnished apartment, a $69 internet package that includes cell phones and TV and a $46 electric bill. However, a couple can live in some of the country's smaller interior cities starting at about $1,700 per month.

Hispanolistic / Getty Images

5. Colombia

Colombia, which is well-known for its rich, high-quality coffee production, is located in northwestern South America with coastlines along the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. Its climate is varied depending on location and includes the four types of regions: warm and tropical, mild, dry and arid or hot and humid.

According to International Living, Colombia has a low cost of living but offers a level of amenities and infrastructure that you would expect in a country with a much higher cost of living. The cost of living will vary depending on where you live within the country. However, it is possible to find a lifestyle that you enjoy that also fits your budget.

A couple can expect to pay between $1,030 and $2,720 per month, which includes $325 to $1,300 rent for two-bedroom, two-bathroom accommodations and a $250 to $400 grocery bill, which excludes alcohol and imported goods.

Alejo Miranda / Shutterstock.com

6. Ecuador

Ecuador is located in the northwestern edge of South America and is bordered by the Pacific Ocean. Like other countries on this list, the climate depends on the area in which you reside, including the mountains, Pacific coastal plains and eastern rainforests.

The cost of living in Ecuador is very affordable; a couple can retire there on $18,000 per year and live very well, according to International Living. And for a few thousand dollars more annually, you can live in the country's Spanish colonial capital of Quito, which is home to some of the country's most exclusive addresses, and enjoy a two-bedroom luxury apartment, maid services, healthcare and plentiful entertainment and dining out for about $1,800 per month.

liseykina / Shutterstock.com

7. Malta

If you'd rather live in Europe than South or Central America, Malta is a small archipelago located in the Mediterranean Sea in Southern Europe. The climate in Malta is relatively mild, with dry heat in July and August with highs in the 90s and temperatures dipping into the mid-50s at times during the winter months. The rest of the year, average daytime temperatures are between 70 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit.

Rent for a one-bedroom averages $750 to $800 per month, and groceries could be around $500 per month if you buy from organic or health food stores, according to International Living. An average monthly cost-of-living expense for a couple in this area of Europe is about $2,331.

Marc Bruxelle / Getty Images

8. France

Most parts of France have cool winters and mild summers; however, the Mediterranean is known for its mild winters and hot summers. Where you choose to live in France will determine the cost of living.

For example, living in Paris is much more costly than other areas of France. According to International Living, a sample monthly budget for two people living in the quieter areas of France, such as the Charentes or the Auvergne, is $2,083 to $2,483, which includes $800 to $1,200 for rent, $48 for electricity and $600 for groceries, including wine.

Maylat / Shutterstock.com

9. Spain

Spain is one of the warmest, sunniest countries in Europe, but the climate will vary depending on the region. If you choose to live in the north, you'll experience milder summers and wet winters, with the opposite occurring in the southern part of the country.

The cost of living in Spain is the lowest in Western Europe, according to International Living. In a mid-sized city like Alicante, a sample budget for a couple is around $2,400 per month, which includes three hours of maid service per week, a $335 grocery bill and rent for a furnished one- or two-bedroom apartment of $744.

Also included is a complete healthcare plan plus dental for a couple, which runs $276 per month. However, it's possible to live on a cheaper monthly budget if needed.

LuckyViks / Getty Images/iStockphoto

10. Uruguay

Uruguay is located on the southeastern coast of South America. The country has four seasons, but because it's located in the Southern hemisphere, January and February are considered the summer season and July and August are considered the winter season. However, you won't see any ice or snow.

The cost of living in Uruguay will vary depending on where you live and your lifestyle. According to International Living, a sample budget for two people renting a two-bedroom apartment in Cordon -- a revitalized area in the capital city of Montevideo -- is $2,500 per month. The budget includes $650 for rent, $800 for home and food supplies, a $160 electricity bill and $400 for entertainment.

More From GOBankingRates

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 10 Best Countries To Live on Just a Social Security Check
FILE PHOTO: People watch a television broadcasting a news report on North Korea's new type of tactical guided weapon test, at a railway station in Seoul

By Josh Smith

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea is pouring resources into its strategy of deterring any North Korean nuclear attack by preparing for preemptive strikes if necessary, a strategy some experts say may exacerbate their arms race and risks miscalculation during a conflict.

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, who took office in May, has publicly given new emphasis to the so-called "Kill Chain" system to counter a North Korean nuclear attack.

First developed a decade ago as North Korea ramped up its nuclear development, Kill Chain calls for preemptive strikes against the North's missiles and possibly its senior leadership if an imminent attack is detected.

The system is a logical but highly risky and potentially unreliable way to try to counter North Korea's nuclear threat, some experts and former officials say.

The implicit threat against North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is particularly destabilising, said Ankit Panda of the U.S.-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

"I can see why leadership decapitation is tempting for South Korea, but threatening to kill the leadership of a nuclear-armed state is uniquely dangerous," he said.

Jeffrey Lewis, a missile researcher at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS), called the plans "the most plausible route to a nuclear war on the Korean Peninsula."

"This is the *military* plan that is most likely to succeed..." he said in a post on Twitter. "But it is also the option most likely to create uncontrollable escalation dynamics and start a nuclear war."

South Korea's Ministry of Defense did not respond to a request for comment on such concerns.

Yoon has previously said boosting the system is vital to making sure North Korea never launches an attack in the first place.

GROWING ARSENAL

This month, Yoon's administration announced the creation of a Strategic Command by 2024 to oversee preemptive and retaliatory strike strategies. It includes a growing arsenal of ballistic missiles, F-35A stealth fighters and new submarines, which have been displayed in increasingly frequent drills.

South Korea is also seeking to develop its own satellites and other technology to detect North Korean targets independently from the United States.

But some experts say it is doubtful a preemptive strike could accomplish its goal.

North Korea in recent months has tested hypersonic missiles and missiles it says could carry tactical nuclear weapons, narrowing the time Seoul would have to respond to a pending attack.

"Kim has ample reason to believe that he can employ his nuclear weapons in a limited way and still survive," Panda said.

A focus on decapitation strikes, meanwhile, may encourage Kim to adopt more dangerous command and control practices in a crisis, such as delegating nuclear authority so North Korea's weapons can be used even if he is killed, Panda added.

U.S. ALLIANCE

At the root of South Korea's strategy is a hedge against U.S. abandonment, European defence researchers Ian Bowers and Henrik Stalhane Hiim said in an academic report last year. "Its deterrent effect, no matter how uncertain, acts as a short-term stopgap if the United States abandons South Korea."

Those concerns were heightened when then-President Donald Trump demanded Seoul pay billions of dollars more to support U.S. troops on the peninsula, and raised the prospect he could withdraw them.

The U.S. deploys around 28,500 troops on the peninsula and retains wartime operational control over the allied forces.

Park Cheol-kyun, who worked on international policy at South Korea's Defense Ministry until May, said developing such capabilities didn't necessarily reflect worries about U.S. commitments.

The new Strategic Command would involve a new operating system and new command structure, bringing "synergy" to the weapons used in the Kill Chain and related systems to enhance deterrent and response capabilities, he told Reuters.

An inconvenient fact for South Koreans wanting to display independent bravado to the North is that any preemptive strike would have to be done in consultation with the United States, a former senior U.S. official with knowledge of the situation said.

"To conduct a preemptive strike would not be an act of self defence, and by definition this would fall under the category of an Alliance decision," the former official said. Firing unprovoked on North Korea would be a "major violation" of the Armistice Agreement in force since the 1950-1953 Korean War ended without an official peace treaty, the official added.

Lt. Colonel Martin Meiners, a Pentagon spokesman, declined to comment on the future deployment of military assets or military planning with South Korea, but said decisions on alliance force posture will be made bilaterally.

"While the United States remains committed to a diplomatic approach, we will continue to take all necessary measures to ensure the security of the United States and our allies," he said.

Self defence is a fundamental principle that includes preemptive strikes if necessary, Mark Esper, a former U.S. secretary of defence under Trump, told Reuters.

"If we had clear intelligence that North Korea was going to launch a nuclear attack on Seoul, that would be a scenario that certainly a preemptive strike might be warranted," he said.

(Reporting by Josh Smith; Additional reporting by Soo-hyang Choi, and Ben Blanchard in Taipei; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)
Human remains were discovered at a beach off Lake Mead in Nevada, marking the third such discovery in recent months as water levels in the reservoir continue to recede.

Park Rangers on Monday responded to Swim Beach, along the western edge of the lake around 4:30 p.m. PT. They established a perimeter around the body of water and then managed to recovered the remains later the same evening, according to a press release from the National Park Service.

The Clark County Medical Examiner is assisting with determining the cause of death. No other information about the remains, including the suspected age and identity, has been released.

Water levels at Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the nation, have dropped at an unprecedented rate in recent months. And while its currently unclear whether the dropping levels resulted in the discovery on Monday, they have played a role in others this year.

A formerly sunken boat sits high and dry along the shoreline of Lake Mead at the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Tuesday, May 10, 2022, near Boulder City, Nev.



A formerly sunken boat sits high and dry along the shoreline of Lake Mead at the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Tuesday, May 10, 2022, near Boulder City, Nev. (John Locher/)

In May, a metal barrel containing human remains were found on the lakes shore. Officials believe the man died some 40 years ago.

Just weeks later, another set of remains were found partially buried in the sand.

Lake Mead, formed by the construction of the Hoover Dam, which was finished in 1935, is at its lowest levels since 1937  which was when it was being filled for the first time, according to satellite images recently released by NASA.
A bank with Cuban American roots in Miami has recently started handling the bank accounts for the Cuban Embassy in Washington, D.C., and the Cuban mission at the United Nations in New York.

First American Bank began handling the accounts in June, according to John Kavulich, the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council president. First American, with headquarters in Illinois, expanded its presence in South Florida after acquiring Miamis Continental Bank in 2019.

Continental Bank was the first Cuban-American-owned bank in the United States, founded in 1974 by Carlos Dascal, who fled Fidel Castros revolution in 1961.

First American Bank acquired Cubas accounts after Centennial Bank, which had been handling the islands accounts in the U.S., severed all business relations with the Cuban government following its support to Russia and its justifications to invade Ukraine, a source with knowledge of the situation told the Miami Herald. The source asked for anonymity to discuss sensitive financial matters.

Thomas E. Wells, chairman and CEO of First American Bank, said the institution does not comment on our client relationships, recognizing their rights to confidentiality.

Centennial had been providing services to the embassy and the mission since 2017 through its acquisition of Stonegate Bank, which received a special license from the Treasury Department to manage the accounts in 2015. Centennial also handled several other accounts of companies doing authorized business with Cuba.

The U.S. Treasury Department authorizes banks to handle transactions of the diplomatic missions of countries under sanctions. Still, at times, Cuba has had trouble finding a bank willing to do so because it is difficult and expensive for banks to navigate the sanctions laws and regulations.

On its annual report filed with the Securities Exchange Commission in February, the company that owns Centennial Bank, Home Bancshares., acknowledged the risk of keeping the Cuban accounts after the acquisition of Stonegate.

We may have a higher risk of non-compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and Anti-Money Laundering rules... and will likely need to more closely monitor transactions related to correspondent accounts in Cuba, potentially resulting in increased compliance costs, the company said.

Centennial Bank did not reply to an email sent to an address listed on its website nor to messages left to its accounts on Twitter and Facebook. Calls to several branches were not answered. The bank does not provide media contact information on its website.

Donna Townsell, senior executive vice president at Home Bancshares, did not respond to voicemails left by the Herald requesting comment.

No direct banking to Cuba yet

Because of the U.S. embargo restrictions, financial transactions involving Cuba usually have to go through another bank in a third country. The Obama administration authorized U.S. banks and companies to open accounts in Cuba for transactions that fall under the law but stopped short of allowing Cuban entities to do the same in the U.S., a relationship known as direct correspondent banking.

First American Bank is currently negotiating with government-operated Banco Internacional de Comercio SA to open a correspondent account in Cuba, the source with knowledge of the matter said.

The Biden administration is working on the regulations to implement policy changes announced in May, including expanding electronic payments and increasing support for U.S. business activities with independent Cuban entrepreneurs. But it is unclear if U.S. officials will go as far as allowing a direct banking relationship with Cuba.

The May announcement received pushback from activists suspicious of any business dealings with Cuba, even if it primarily involves the private sector.

After the Cuban government said last week it would allow foreign investment in certain private businesses, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis directed the Department of Economic Opportunity and Enterprise Florida to issue an alert warning state residents not to let the communist Cuban regime steal their money through a recent scheme seeking to attract foreign investment for the non-state sector, his office said in a statement.

In a first, U.S. government green-lights American investment in private business in Cuba

Kavulich, who heads a company that received a Treasury Department license to invest and provide financing to small private enterprises in Cuba, believes allowing direct banking relations should be the administrations next logical step, given the license he received and the Cuban governments subsequent announcement.

Potential investors and those providing financing in the U.S. to Cuban small private enterprises must have a direct, efficient, and transparent means to send funds to Cuba and receive their investment income, dividends and loan payments, Kavulich said.

It will be nonsensical for the Biden administration to continue to require funds moving from Cuba to the United States to go through banks in third countries  where they then take a fee from every transaction, he added.
Erick Cedeno was among scores of reenactors and historians who embarked on the cross-country trek from Montana to Missouri.

Erick Cedeno received a heros welcome when he rode his bicycle into the front drive of the Missouri History Museum on Sunday after a 1,900-mile, 41-day odyssey.

The 48-year-old, known as @bicycle_nomad on Instagram, had completed an epic feat in honor of another epic feat achieved exactly 125 years before, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch is reporting today.

Cedeno was among scores of reenactors and historians who embarked on the cross-country trek from Montana to Missouri, sticking as closely as possible to the route of their predecessors, the Post-Dispatch reported last week.

In this archive photo, members of the Buffalo Soldier Corps of the 25th Infantry pose at Minerva Terrace, Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone National Park. The Yellowstone trip was one of several that the Soldier Corps took before embarking on the 1,900-mile journey to Missouri. (Photo by F. Jay Haynes, 1896. Montana Historical Society Research Center, Haynes Foundation Photograph Collection, H-3614.)

Their predecessors  20 Black U.S. Army soldiers known as the Buffalo Soldier Bicycle Corps of the 25th Infantry  set out on The Great Experiment on bicycles donated by Spalding Co. in a heavy rainstorm on June 14, 1897. It was a 1,900-mile journey that ended 45 days later on July 24, 1897, in Forest Park, the site of the history museum. Cedenos ride was four days shorter.

Its so epic, what they did, Cedeno said Sunday to the people gathered at the museum. Im so emotional because it was such a hard trip. Its almost superhuman what those guys accomplished.

According to the report in last weeks Post-Dispatch, the Armys experiment was to ascertain whether crossing the country would be easier by bicycle rather than by horse. The Buffalo Soldiers  so named depending on whos telling the story for their dark, curly hair or fighting style  faced harsh conditions.

They walked their 32-pound bikes through thick, gumbo-like mud as well as across mountains and on sandhills. They forded rivers and streams. Mosquitoes and bad water were also problems. Further, they encountered racism, which was greater in Missouri.

Bobby McDonald of Anaheim, California, the Post-Dispatch reported last week, is one of the main organizers of events commemorating the bicycle trek. His father and four uncles were Buffalo Soldiers during World War II. He served in the Navy during Vietnam and has a replica Iron Riders (a nickname of the soldiers) uniform and bicycle.

He biked five miles in June in Missoula, Montana, with 40 other reenactors and reports that it stopped raining about 10 minutes before their departure. There were no roads, back then, he said. It rained, it snowed, it sleeted  all that stuff on them. Sometimes when they rode on railroad tracks, there was no bottom, or rocks or gravel to take the absorption.

Matt Lautzenheiser, the executive director of the Historical Museum at Fort Missoula, a marathoner and a reenactor, told the Post-Dispatch that the story of the Buffalo Soldiers is one that should definitely be told.

I think its a really positive story revolving around African American history. Traditionally, those stories werent told, he said. It helps us move forward as a country and as a nation if we can tell all of our stories, and were not just telling select stories.

TheGrio is FREE on your TV via Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku and Android TV. Also, please download theGrio mobile apps today!

The post Bicycle Nomad and others recreate 1,900-mile ride of Buffalo Soldier Bicycle Corps appeared first on TheGrio.
Boise-area renters, have you noticed a clause in your lease that says your landlord can remove utilities and heat if you fail to pay rent on time? Or one that says your landlord can take your personal property and sell it if you dont?

Jesse Tree, a nonprofit that tries to prevent eviction and homelessness in the Treasure Valley, says ithas found these illegal clauses and more in leases in the Boise area.

Landlords have a lot of power over prospective renters in Boises tight rental market, said Ali Rabe, executive director of Jesse Tree, in an interview with the Idaho Statesman.

The rental market is so competitive that tenants have very little bargaining power in the rental process, and landlords can kind of do whatever, Rabe said by phone.

Jesse Tree helps tenants going through the eviction process. Rabe said illegal and unethical lease clauses it found were from cases Jesse Tree had taken on. The examples of what the organization found are just some of what exists, Rabe said.

In an email, Rabe said illegal clauses include (improper language in italics):.

Wave Property Management: Resident acknowledges that some rooms in the premises may not conform to requirements of City Code for bedrooms, and are therefore nonconforming. Nonconforming includes but is not limited to lack of legal egress for fire escape and lack of closets.



By phone, Joy Luedtke, an attorney for Wave Property Management said the company has a clause in leases saying that some rooms may not conform to city code, because many of Waves units are affordable and do not meet todays building code standards. She said old units were grandfathered in, meaning they were allowed to remain out of compliance when old building codes were updated.

Riverside Management: It is expressly agreed by Resident that in the event of Residents default in payment or rent hereunder, management shall be relieved from all obligation to furnish heat, water or other utilities to residents as long as such default shall continue. Riverside Management did not respond to an emailed request Monday for comment

Realty Asset Management: Landlord will have a lien upon the baggage and other personal property of tenant for rent, accommodations, and services and tenant hereby grants to landlord a lien on all personal property brought in or on said property. Landlord may enforce said lien by entering said Property and removing possessions contained therein and storing them at tenants expense. If after 10 days of enforcement of lien, tenant still owes charges, landlord may dispose of (at landlords discretion) any or all of the personal property as provided herein and apply all monies received against such charges, including moving and storage fees. Any monies in excess of the amount owed will be returned to tenant. The parties agree that there is often a difference of opinion with regard to the value of any property which is abandoned. Therefore, the parties agree, as liquidated damages, that the maximum value of any property deemed abandoned by the landlord shall not exceed $500.00 in the aggregate.



In an email, Trish Callies with Realty Asset Management said, I assure you that we are not disposing of any tenants belongings outside of the law. We rarely experience abandonment of any kind, and this is a nonissue for our company.

Eagle Point Community: To secure payment of rent and other liabilities, landlord shall have an innkeepers lien upon all lessees property in the same manner and for the same purpose as statutory innkeepers liens. The lien applies to personal property left upon or around the some site, and landlord shall have the right to detain the personal property until the amount of unpaid rent, late charges, legal fees and any other amounts due to landlord have been paid in full. If any such amounts are not paid, landlord shall have the right to sell the personal property at public action in compliance with state law.



Eagle Point Community did not respond to an emailed request Monday for comment.

Realty Asset Management and DJW: Each party acknowledges and agrees that any controversy which may arise under this agreement or other transaction documents is likely to involve complicated and difficult issues and, and therefore, each such party irrevocably and unconditionally waives any right they may have to a trial by jury in respect to any legal action arising out of or relating to this lease or rental agreement, the other transaction documents or the transactions contemplated hereby or thereby. Each party to this agreement certifies and acknowledges that (a) no representative of any other party has represented, expressly or otherwise, that such other party would not seek to enforce this waiver in the event of a legal action, (b) such party has considered the implications of this waiver, (c) such party makes this waiver voluntarily, and (d) such party has been induced to enter into this agreement by, among other things, the mutual waivers and certifications in this section.



DJW said in an email that its attorney would be commenting to the Statesman, but the newspaper did not receive a comment by Tuesday.

Rabe said all of the illegal lease clauses Jesse Tree found were from large investment firms.

There are a lot of big investment companies that have come into Idaho in the last few years and bought up a lot of properties and are managing them, Rabe said. So some of them might be newer to Idaho and might not fully understand the laws.

According to the Idaho attorneys generals office, Idaho law says tenants have a right to privacy, and landlords must maintain the health and safety of their units.

The attorney general also says a lease cannot include provisions that:

allow the landlord to seize a tenants personal property if the tenant fails to pay rent

misrepresent or conflict with the tenants right to appear in court and defend against a landlords allegations

require the tenant to pay the landlords attorney fees if a dispute goes to court, unless the judge rules in the landlords favor

allow the landlord to enter the rental unit without providing proper notice as provided by law or the lease agreement.

Idaho law also says that a landlord must provide a written notice of a rent increase at least 30 days before the increase is effective/, and 30 days notice that a tenants lease would not be renewed for any reason. The law places no limit on what rent a landlord can charge or how much the rent can increase.

As Jesse Tree case managers work with tenants facing eviction, Rabe said the managers also points out to landlords when lease clauses are illegal or unethical.

She recommends that landlords make sure they know the laws to ensure their leases are fully legal, and she encourages renters to read their leases and take pictures of their units to make sure the law is not broken in case tenants must go through the eviction process.

Meridian mayor not comfortable spending on affordable housing. What happened next

Idaho lost millions in unused federal rent aid, but some money is flowing back to Boise
A condemned killer on South Carolinas death row deserves a new sentencing trial after a judge failed to consider all favorable evidence for him in the case, a majority of the federal 4th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled.

The 2-1 opinion, released Tuesday by the three-judge panel, said Quincy Allen, who was the last person sentenced to death in Richland County, deserves a new sentencing hearing for a pair of brutal murders he committed with a shotgun in the Columbia area in 2002.

The court said that the judge who sentenced Allen to death after 10 days of testimony in 2005 did not consider all of Allens mitigating evidence and sometimes assigned no weight at all to crucial mitigating evidence that works in favor of the defendant.

Allens death sentence cannot stand, the appeals panel ruled.

Allen, now 42, had a severe mental illness at the time of the killings and the sentence would likely have been different if the judge had not excluded, ignored or overlooked defense testimony concerning it, the panel said.

Lawyers connected to the case said Tuesday that among the possibilities of what happens next are an appeal by the S.C. Attorney Generals office to the U.S. Supreme Court or to bring Allens case back to Richland County for a new sentencing hearing.

We have received a copy of the decision and are reviewing both the majority and dissenting opinions, Robert Kittle, a spokesman for the attorney general, told The State by email. We decline to discuss the possibility of further action in this matter as it is still currently in litigation.

Allen confessed to killing four people in 2002, two in North Carolina at a convenience store and two in South Carolina. He received life sentences without parole for the North Carolina murders.

In the South Carolina killings, he shot and killed Dale Hall and Jedediah Harr, both with a sawed-off shotgun, in two separate incidents. Allen also shot and severely wounded a homeless man lying on a Columbia park bench in Finlay Park with his shotgun, but that was not part of the current case.

Allen was arrested in Texas, brought back to South Carolina, where a Richland County grand jury indicted Allen in 2002 for two counts of murder in the deaths of Hall and Harr.

In 2004, then-5th Circuit Solicitor Barney Giese filed a notice of intent to seek the death penalty. State Judge G. Thomas Cooper presided, and appointed defense attorneys Fielding Pringle, April Sampson, Robert Lominack and Kim Stevens to represent Allen.

In 2005, Pringle and other defense attorneys met with Cooper and came away convinced there was a chance he would sentence Allen to life in prison without parole if Allen forfeited his right to a jury trial and pleaded guilty.

On Feb. 28, 2005, Allen pleaded guilty. The next month, the penalty phase of the trial began before Cooper.

Defense lawyers presented testimony by five specialists who were social worker Deborah Grey, general and forensic psychiatrist Dr. Pamela Crawford, forensic and correctional psychiatrist Dr. Donna Schwartz-Watts, general and forensic psychiatrist Dr. George Corvin, and child psychiatrist Dr. Richard Harding.

All testified about Allens severe mental issues, including schizophrenia, and indicated his mental illnesses made him ineligible for the death penalty.

Prosecutors put up their own specialists, who were forensic psychiatrist Dr. Karla deBeck, forensic psychologist Dr. David Hattem, forensic psychologist Dr. Camilla Tezza, psychiatrist Dr. Majonna Mirza, and forensic psychiatrist Dr. James Ballenger. All countered to a large extent the defense expert witnesses.

On March 18, 2005, after 10 days of testimony, the judge sentenced Allen to death, saying he had not seen convincing evidence that Mr. Allen had a major mental illness at the time of his 2002 killings.

I remember that case well, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott told The State Tuesday. He was one of the most cold-blooded killers Ive ever seen. He was on a killing spree, and we had overwhelming evidence.

The federal appeals panel wrote in its Tuesday opinion that in addition of not heeding serious mitigation evidence, Judge Cooper also overlooked testimony regarding an extremely abusive childhood Allen had suffered.

If evidence concerning Allens history of childhood abuse and his severe mental illnesses had not been overlooked by the judge, the outcome of the sentencing hearing may well have been different, the panel ruled.

Pringle, now a 5th Circuit public defender who helped defend Allen at his 2005 trial, said Tuesday, It is a relief to the trial team to see in this opinion that the well-documented severe childhood abuse and neglect and the history of mental illness suffered by Quincy his whole life has finally led to the appropriate ruling.

In a dissenting opinion, federal Judge Allison Jones Rushing said the majoritys portrayal of Coopers not paying attention to all the mitigating evidence is not accurate because Cooper himself said during the hearing that he had read and heard all the evidence.

The panels majority judges are Chief Judge Roger Gregory and Judge Pamela Harris.

In 2009, the S.C. Supreme Court unanimously upheld Coopers decision. Since then, the case has been wending its way through various courts on appeal.

South Carolinas last execution was in 2011.

The S.C. Department of Corrections has had difficulty getting the necessary chemicals for lethal injections. In addition, defense lawyers have fought vigorously at every stage of the judicial system to challenge death sentences.
A Massachusetts company plans to invest $55 million to build a quarter horse racing track and historical horse racing gambling venue in the eastern part of the state after receiving a license from the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission on Tuesday.

The commission awarded the states ninth horse racing license  only nine are allowed  to Revolutionary Racing Kentucky LLC for the planned development near Ashland.

We are excited to have quarter horse racing back in Kentucky. This project invests $55 million and creates 200 jobs in the northeast corner of our commonwealth, Gov. Andy Beshear stated in a release about the project. Bringing quarter horse racing back to Kentucky is an exciting opportunity to honor a lost Kentucky tradition and contribute to the states economy.

Boston-based CEO of Revolutionary Racing Kentucky Prentice Salter told the commission last month he projects the facility would bring in a handle of $500 million a year, with a net revenue of $40 million.

According to the press release from the governors office, phase one of the project includes construction of a sprint race track, gambling facility, paddock, racing barns with 176 stalls total, a test barn and parking.

Quarter horse races are higher speed sprints, shorter races than Thoroughbred races.

The construction project is scheduled to be completed in 2024.

Fans watched as quarter horse racing returned to The Red Mile in Lexington, KY on July 3, 2004. A new quarter horse track has been approved for the Ashland area.

The companys plans were first reported by the Ashland Daily Independent, which reported in May that Beshears office recommended the companys application. The outlet reported the project plans to include 400 gambling machines.

Last month, the Boyd County Fiscal Court voted to help pave the way for the project by leasing a former Sears building off of U.S. 60 to Revolutionary Racing Kentucky for the gambling parlor. Historical horse racing is a a slots-like game that bases winnings on the results of previously run races.

Ashland is a city of nearly 22,000 people on the Ohio River and included in the tri-state Huntington, W.Va., metro area.

State Sen. Robin Webb, D-Grayson, represents Ashland in Frankfort and is also involved in the horse industry. She said the planned investment is a statement of acknowledgment and commitment to our region of the state.

Letters of support from lawmakers also included area Republican House members Scott Sharp, John Blanton and Patrick Flannery, according to the Ashland Daily Independent.

The Red Mile, a harness track in Lexington that has hosted quarter horse races, also wrote a letter of support to the racing commission.

The commissions vote to approve the project was unanimous, though two commissioners abstained.

Ed Worley, a Richmond businessman who once served as a Democratic state senator, and Frankfort attorney William May recused themselves from the commissions vote for approval due to potential perceived conflict of interest with the applicant.

Worleys son, Preston, an attorney for McBrayer PLLC who also serves the 7th District on the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council, is representing Revolutionary Racing Kentucky.

According to Daily Racing Form, Revolutionary Racing bought a racetrack in Virginia in 2018 and flipped it along with its license to Churchill Downs.

While Beshear lauded the development, Senate Majority Floor Leader Damon Thayer, R-Georgetown, questioned what he called a rushed process for license approval on the project. Thayer is a longtime lawmaker with profession and legislative ties to the horse racing industry.

This ninth license, especially with HRR, is very valuable and it has gone unassigned for 30 years now. I agree that Eastern Kentucky is the one part of the state that doesnt have a track or facility since the closing of Thunder Ridge in Prestonsburg  but I dont like how this process was rushed, Thayer told the Herald-Leader.

Boyd County Judge Executive Eric Chaney said in the governors office release the project will be a boon to the region.

We have all rallied behind this project because we understand what it will mean for our community  from jobs to tax revenues to quality of life, Chaney said.
TALLINN, Estonia  Sitting in her office in Stenbock House, a well-appointed neoclassical building in the heart of Tallinn's medieval Old Town, Prime Minister Kaja Kallas wanted to discuss the last 80 years of European history. But she had only 20 minutes.

An attorney by training and a former member of the European Parliament, Kallas was in a tenuous position when she met with Yahoo News on July 8, so much so that she nearly had to cancel her interview. "Theres a chance I won't be here tomorrow," she said, referring to the collapse of her coalition government days earlier and her round-the-clock negotiations to cobble together a new one, something she managed to do on July 18 after briefly resigning.

Despite the turmoil in her own government, Kallas was intent on sending a message to the rest of the world about yielding to Russian demands on Ukraine.

"I think a fundamental mistake was made after the Second World War," she said, sitting beneath a painting of Moses receiving the Ten Commandments. "While the Nazi crimes were widely condemned, the communists' crimes never were. So we see a strong revival of Stalinism right now in Russia. Seventy percent of Russians support Stalin, despite his having murdered 20 million people, despite the deportations, the prisons camps, war, everything. History books in Estonia were rewritten after communism, whereas Russians are still being taught the same history that we had to read during the Soviet period, which was total crap."

Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas. (Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP via Getty Images)

Kallas is Estonias 13th prime minister since the Baltic country declared its independence in 1991, although arguably the 45-year-old, who was 12 when the Berlin Wall came down, has already proved among the most troublesome for Moscow.

Her government has been staunchly supportive of Ukraine since Russia launched its invasion on Feb. 24. In fact, Estonia, the smallest of the three Baltic states with a population of just 1.3 million, has so far sent more than $270 million worth of military assistance to Ukraine, the equivalent of more than 30% of its annual defense budget.

In addition to armored personnel carriers, antitank mines and a wide variety of small arms, Estonia has been an eager supplier of the U.S.-made Javelin antitank missile system, one of a slew of extremely effective shoulder-launched weapons that have helped Ukraine withstand the initial thrust of the Russian invasion.

Now that Ukraine has moved from a strategy of mobile defense into a grinding artillery war against the Russians, Estonia, a NATO member state since 2004, has helped modernize Kyiv's arsenal with a number of FH70 155-millimeter towed howitzers, plus the MAN Kat 6x6 heavy trucks to tow them. When considered alongside their humanitarian and financial assistance, the Estonians donated the equivalent of 0.81% of their gross domestic product to another nation at war, a staggering metric.

Kallas is keen to emphasize that security assistance is not charity. "I was asked in Parliament by our far-right party why were doing this," she told Yahoo News. "And I answered that Ukraine is literally fighting for us. When Russia is at war with them, they're not at war with us. And we have peace here."

Maintaining that peace is of existential necessity for Estonians, who share an uneasy 182-mile border with a revanchist power currently occupying 20% of Ukraine and threatening to permanently gobble up much, if not all, of that territory. Estonia itself was annexed by the Soviet Union in 1940 when Joseph Stalin and Adolf Hitler agreed to the mutual carve-up of Eastern Europe under the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. Then it was invaded and occupied by the Nazis when Hitler double-crossed Stalin and launched Operation Barbarossa in 1941, his doomed World War II attack on the Soviet Union that included modern Ukraine.

Ivangorod Fortress, on the Russian border with Estonia, in 1941. (Berliner Verlag/Archiv/Picture Alliance via Getty Images)

Until 1991, the Baltic states  Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania  remained under Soviet rule. Tens of thousands were killed, imprisoned or deported to Siberia. Among the deportees in 1949 was Kallass mother, just 6 months old at the time, who was dispatched in a cattle car along with Kallass grandmother to the Russian tundra and raised in exile until she was 10.

Kallass great-grandfather Eduard Alver was a commander of the Estonian Defense League during the 1918-20 Estonian War of Independence, which resulted in the countrys first emancipation from Russia. Her father, Siim Kallas, served as both foreign minister and prime minister of Estonia in the 1990s, after the country gained its independence a second time.

Since then, Estonia has often found itself struggling against geographical fatalism. One can drive the length of the country in just over two hours, and it could be quickly overrun again by its much larger next-door Russian neighbor. In 2004, Estonia joined the European Union and NATO to be firmly in the Western camp and insusceptible to a recurrence of past victimhood  the very ambition that Ukrainians are dying on their native soil to achieve.

Kallass sense of history is inextricably wedded to her own genealogy; her familys suffering can be read in every bullet and flak jacket her government has shipped to Ukraine.

She caused a moderate stir in late June, just before the NATO summit in Madrid, when she told reporters that the alliance had to revamp its plans for fortifying its eastern flank. Under the current strategy, NATO views Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania as trip-wire states that could be occupied for up to 180 days before the alliance moved in to defend them. As Kallas pointed out, Ukraine at that time was only 100 days into its defensive campaign against Russia and thousands of civilians had died, millions had been displaced (including as many as 1.6 million Ukrainians who had been deported to Russia) and cities such as Mariupol had been reduced to rubble. Kallass point was obvious: Given that Estonia is one-13th the size of Ukraine, she might not have a country to lead after 180 days of occupation. Wasn't that the contingency that NATO membership was meant to forestall?

"When I was in Paris, driving around, I saw all those monuments to Napoleon and it made me think: For a small country, war always means destruction, pain," she told Yahoo News. "But for a bigger country, it's not always so. War also means glory, new riches."

Her allusion to France hardly seems accidental. Kallas has been an explicit critic of French President Emmanuel Macron's insistence that the West not "humiliate" Vladimir Putin, something she sees as a dangerous non sequitur. In a March 24 op-ed in the New York Times she wrote, "Putin cannot win this war. He cannot even think he has won, or his appetite will grow."

"I keep reminding my colleagues who want to pick up the phone and talk to Putin," she said, in another unmistakable reference to Macron, "OK, fine  talk to him. But don't forget he is a war criminal. Right now he's stealing Ukraine's grain and threatening famine to get sanctions lifted. His state propagandists talk openly about hunger as Russias last hope. This is who youre dealing with."

The prime minister wholeheartedly agrees with historian Timothy Snyders argument that Putin doesn't require any face-saving concessions to withdraw from Ukraine. He rules in "virtual reality," she said, and because Russias information ecosystem is his plaything, he can pack up his army and go home whenever he chooses and dress up military defeat as a popular victory. "His people will believe him," Kallas said. "Dont worry about Putin's feelings."

The flip side of Putin's capricious fail-safe is that he can also drag out the war as long as he wants and suffer little to no domestic blowback, Kallas added.

"In the Western world, we'd want to recover every one of our soldiers on a foreign battlefield; our instinct is not to leave anyone behind," she said. "In autocracies, they don't care because soldiers' mothers aren't going to protest as they would in democracies."

Russian President Vladimir Putin on July 21. (Pavel Byrkin/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images)

To drive those points home, at a recent meeting with a top foreign diplomat, Kallas offered as a gift a copy of "The Dictators Handbook: Why Bad Behavior Is Almost Always Good Politics," by political scientists Bruce Bueno de Mesquita and Alastair Smith. The books underlying message is crystal clear: You cant deter or outplay the tsar by assuming he will act as you would under similar circumstances.

While debate has erupted in Estonia about how much money and weaponry the government should be sending to Ukraine, Kallas still enjoys overwhelming domestic support on her handling of the situation. "We were thinking eventually that people would get tired and start asking, 'Why do you do all this for Ukraine when we need help over here?'" she said. "But if you look at the surveys we've done, it's something like 91% of Estonians say we have to support Ukraine, we have to help refugees. This is so very clear."

She is markedly less confident that the rest of Europe agrees. For the past five months, the European Union has managed something approaching unity about sanctions against Russia and aid for Ukraine, even as it stares down a particularly cold forthcoming winter owing to Russias energy blackmail. Putin may be fighting one war of attrition on the battlefield, but hes fighting another against the longevity of European resolve.

"I wont mention any names, but the leader of one big country who is very supportive of Ukraine told me, 'My political situation back home is that the overall view is that the war is NATOs fault,'" Kallas said. "Its hard for him to keep the support going because the public pressure is 'give in, stop this.'"

Kallas at an emergency European Union summit in Brussels on Feb. 24, after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine. (John Thys/Pool via Reuters)

Kallas is particularly sensitive to the moral ambiguities and geopolitical contradictions that the West has trafficked in since the war started. "Its very interesting. We went from saying, 'Ukraine must not lose,' to saying, 'Ukraine must win and Russia must lose,'" she said. "But let's be clear about something: if we stop helping Ukrainians militarily, then they won't be able to defend themselves. So on the one hand, we say it's up to them to decide their fate, but on the other, we are making that decision for them with our own policies."

Another concern for Kallas is what will happen politically in the United States  both at the congressional and presidential levels. Could Estonia, along with Lithuania, Poland and the United Kingdom  other stalwart defenders of Ukraine with large degrees of domestic consensus on the issue  supply Kyiv with sufficient weapons and ammunition on their own, should Washington's patronage dry up?

"Probably not," she said.
The Biden administration renewed the federal public health emergency (PHE) for another 90 days, a timely win as Georgia agencies prepared for Medicaid eligibility reviews to resume.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the emergency order allowed states to adjust their policies to prevent people with Medicaid from losing health coverage. In Georgia, only people who died, were incarcerated, moved out of state or asked for their coverage to end had their cases closed, according to the Georgia Department of Human Services (DHS).

By renewing the public health emergency, Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra extended this policy to Oct. 13.

In recent months, DHS asked Medicaid recipients to review and update their personal information on the Georgia Gateway website to be prepared for the PHE to come to an end. The personal information the agency is asking people to update includes:

Phone number

Address

Job or income

Number of people in the household

DHS plans to open an additional 108 offices across the state between August and November 2022, according to a news release. These offices will allow Medicaid recipients to have more fact-to-face interaction with DHS ahead of the emergency declaration ending, the release said.

In Muscogee County, DHS opened the Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS) office on April 1 under a hub structure, spokesperson Kylie Winton told the Ledger-Enquirer. The office serves several counties in Region 8, she said. The Muscogee County office is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

DFCS offices in Harris and Chattahoochee counties will open to the public on Aug. 15, Winton said.

The location in Harris County will be open Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and the Chattahoochee County offices will operate on Tuesdays.

Both locations will be open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Georgia residents can find more information about the Medicaid unwinding process on the DHS website.
A former Harrisonville science teacher fired a year ago for allegedly making racist comments in the classroom contends in a federal lawsuit that the district discriminated against him when it terminated his employment.

John Magoffin filed the lawsuit Monday in the U.S. District Court in Western Missouri against the Harrisonville School District, alleging the district violated his civil rights by retaliating against him and firing him.

Superintendent Paul Mensching, said he was unable to comment about the suit because its a personnel issue and because they have not received formal notification.

The suit centers around the Harrisonville school boards decision to fire of Magoffin for allegedly using the n-word during an AP Biology class, making disparaging remarks about the Black Lives Matter movement and females who wear leggings, and referring to Martin Luther King Day as Black Privilege Day.

His firing came after the district held a public hearing that lasted nearly 12 hours in June 2021.

The Board concluded that Mr. Magoffins use of inappropriate language violated the rules and regulations of the District and was unacceptable conduct for a tenured teacher in the District, the school district said in a statement when it announced its decision on July 1, 2021.

In his lawsuit, Magoffin, who denies using the n-word, contends he was singled out for state sanctioned single-viewpoint discrimination for trying to teach students higher-level of thinking and analytical skills that challenged their viewpoints. He said he was trying to prepare them for real world situations.

He pointed out that as part of the districts freshman and sophomore level courses, students are required to read To Kill a Mockingbird which uses the n-word in its entirety.

He contends he was condemning the use of the word when his discussion about race and language identification with a student was overheard by others.

This benign discussion turned into a federal case because the District was bent on reverse discrimination, retaliating, and canceling a white, male, Christian teacher, who some might label as conservative, from the education culture of Harrisonville for fear of backlash, the suit said.

He contends the district discriminated against him based on his race, color, sex and religion and retaliated against him when he complained that administrators suspended him in April 2021.

The suspension allegedly came within a week after Magoffin had a discussion with the son of Superintendent Mensching about the Mormon religion and opinions about classifying Mormonism as a branch of Christianity.

Magoffin was concerned the superintendent triggered an investigation based on that discussion, according to the lawsuit. He contends his complaint about religious retaliation was not investigated until a month after he was fired.

Magoffin contends his rights were violated under the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and Missouri Human Rights Act. He seeks in excess of $75,000 in damages.
A disease that can kill wild and domestic rabbits with little to no symptoms has been detected in Kansas.

The Kansas Department of Agriculture says a veterinary lab detected the first case of rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus serotype 2 (RHDV-2) in a domestic rabbit in Leavenworth this month.

The departments website lists RHDV-2 as a highly contagious and fatal disease that only affects rabbits. The disease does not affect human health.

If rabbits show symptoms, they could include a fever, not wanting to eat or breathing abnormally, according to a Kansas Department of Agriculture news release. The disease also can cause blood-stained noses from internal bleeding and sudden death.

The disease has also been reported in states west of Kansas including Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Texas.

This was a domestic case, but once it gets out into the wild and we see a positive wild rabbit case, it can become a problem, said Joan Gedraitis, executive director and senior caretaker for Bunny TNT.

Bunny TNT is a rescue organization in Wichita focused on rabbits.

Gradraitis says wild rabbits leave droppings. These droppings can find their way inside a home.

These wild rabbit droppings can end up on your front yard where you step in and out. The precautions I would take as an owner is to take your shoes off, wash your hands and even change your clothes if you can, Gedraitis said.

Gedraitis urges owners to get their rabbits vaccinated in order to protect them from the disease.

Kansas has granted an emergency use of a RHDV-2 vaccine for licensed veterinarians. A list of veterinarians that carry that vaccine in Wichita and Kansas is available online. The only clinic in Wichita that currently has the vaccine is Guptons House vet clinic, 2813 S. George Washington Blvd., the list shows.

Owners can also visit House Rabbit Society, a non-profit organization, which is listed as the nations largest rabbit welfare group, their website says.
A man was arrested in Las Vegas after being accused of taping his puppys mouth shut and leaving the dog inside his car as temperatures inside reached the triple digits, local outlets reported.

Raul Carbajal, of Corona Del Mar, California, was arrested at around 3:20 p.m. on July 20 in the parking lot of the Bellagio, a popular casino and resort on the Las Vegas Strip, The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. He now faces charges of animal abuse.

The puppy, a 3-month-old Siberian husky, had been found in Carbajals car with a piece of electrical tape sealing its mouth shut, KVVU-TV reported. Carbajal was seen on surveillance footage parking the car at around 1:15 p.m. that day and going inside the casino to gamble, the TV station reported citing an arrest report.

Surveillance video from inside the casino shows Carbajal gambling for about an hour before returning to his car, where he was questioned by officers who responded to calls about the trapped dog, the Review-Journal reported.

The temperature inside the car was about 108 degrees when casino security officials rescued the puppy through the vehicles sunroof, KLAS reported. The car was parked in direct sunlight on the roof of a parking garage, and there was no food, water, or air conditioning for the pet, the outlet reported.

Police told KVVU-TV that when Carbajal returned to the car, he didnt say anything to police or ask about the puppy.

Police also found a gaming ticket in Carbajals clothing that showed he cashed out with 75 cents, KLAS reported.

The puppy survived, the Review-Journal reported. Court records show that Carbajal was arrested on a $5,000 bail, according to KVVU-TV.

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment from McClatchy News.

Naked man trapped in vent of vacant restaurant for about 24 hours, CA officials say

Five malnourished huskies - including a puppy - abandoned at Virginia animal shelter

Thousands of beagles will soon need homes after rescue from Virginia breeding facility
South Carolinas six-week abortion law will stay in effect for now after a judge on Tuesday denied a request to temporarily block the ban, punting the ultimate decision to the states highest court.

After a great deal of thought, Judge Casey Manning said that the South Carolina Supreme Court should be the court to decide whether to hear and rule on a new lawsuit brought by Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, Greenville Womens Clinic and two physicians against the state.

This is one of the most fundamentally important constitutional issues I think that will ever be raised by anyone at any time, Manning said in a Richland County courtroom.

The states current abortion law maintains that most abortions cannot be performed after fetal cardiac activity is detected, typically around six weeks. The law does provide exceptions for rape, incest, life of the mother and fetal anomaly.

Passed in 2021, the six-week abortion ban was previously blocked in court over questions of its constitutionality. In the aftermath of Roe v. Wade being overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, Gov. Henry McMaster filed a request to lift the temporary injunction. The law took effect shortly after on June 27.

The defenses table Tuesday was crammed with several attorneys representing top state officials, like McMaster, Attorney General Alan Wilson and Edward Simmer, director of the states Department of Health and Environmental Control.

However, it was Thomas Hydrick, an assistant deputy of the S.C. solicitor general, who asked Manning to transfer the case to the state Supreme Court. He cited the need to transfer on three conditions: original jurisdiction, the case being vital and important, and the need for speedy resolution.

Attorney for the state of South Carolina talk before a hearing in the Planned Parenthood et. Al case agains the state on Tuesday, July 26, 2022. The state asked for the court to be moved to the state Supreme Court, and Judge Casey Manning granted the motion.

On a video call, Solicitor General Bob Cook concurred, saying hes never seen a case more suited for original jurisdiction. Original jurisdiction is the right of a court to hear a case for the first time.

Hannah Swanson, an attorney representing Planned Parenthood, countered, arguing that, If an issue can be decided by a trial court, it should be decided by a trial court.

Swanson said the plaintiffs case is on really solid ground, due to previous precedent set in the 1993 S.C. Supreme Court case, Singleton v. State, which developed protections for bodily autonomy under the constitutional right to privacy.

She also cited the necessity for a temporary injunction, mentioning that South Carolina Planned Parenthood clinics have had to turn away half of their patients who kept their appointments after the six-week ban took effect. A preliminary injunction would be necessary to protect the health and freedom of women in South Carolina, she said.

Planned Parenthood and other groups argue against South Carolina whether a case over South Carolinas new abortion access restrictions would be more appropriate in the South Carolina Supreme Court or district court on Tuesday, July 26, 2022. Judge Casey Manning agreed that the case should be moved to the South Carolina Supreme Court.

After a short deliberation period, Manning returned to the court room to deliver his decision on the case.

Joining a slew of lawsuits being filed around the country against restrictive abortion laws, the Tuesday hearing was the first of a prolonged battle to challenge South Carolinas six-week abortion ban. The plaintiffs, like many other state lawsuits currently ongoing nationwide, have alleged that the state violated its constitutional right to privacy and equal protection.

The plaintiffs are being represented by Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the Center for Reproductive Rights and the Columbia law firm Burnette Shutt & McDaniel.
A Lexington man has accepted a plea deal for a murder charge and more stemming from violent crimes committed in 2018.

Morgan Johnson, 25, was originally charged with murder, kidnapping of an adult, first-degree burglary and first-degree rape after he was accused of killing 19-year-old Christopher Spencer at an apartment off Richmond Road Feb. 7, 2018. Spencer was found on the porch of the residence with multiple gunshot wounds.

Johnson, who was 21 at the time, is also accused of kidnapping a woman he knew and taking her to the Squires Woods Way home, where he sexually assaulted her, according to court records. Johnson, Spencer and the woman knew one another, Lexington Police Sgt. Jervis Middleton said, per court documents.

Monday, Johnson pleaded guilty in Fayette Circuit Court for amended charges of murder, second-degree burglary and first-degree unlawful imprisonment. The charge of first-degree rape was dismissed as a part of the plea agreement.

He faces up to 30 years in prison with restitution to be determined and a 10-year interpersonal protection order. His sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 8 at 1 p.m.

At the time of the shooting, Johnson was arrested by police after several hours of negotiation. A week before the fatal shooting, on Jan. 31, 2018, police also negotiated with Johnson to come out of the same residence after they responded to a call of a suicidal man.

He was taken to Eastern State Mental Hospital after he was coaxed out of the apartment. The institution does not release information on specific patients or cases, so it is unclear if Johnson was admitted and when he was released after police took him to the psychiatric facility Jan. 31.

Throughout the course of the investigation and court proceedings, it was questioned if he was competent to stand trial with an evaluation done by the Kentucky Correctional Psychiatric Center in July 2018. He was ruled competent by Judge Lucy VanMeter in September of the same year.
A man serving a life sentence for a 2006 shooting death was killed Saturday in an attack by two other inmates wielding makeshift weapons at California State Prison, Sacramento, officials said.

About 9:40 a.m., inmates Nicholas Mangelli and Daryl Cull were spotted attacking inmate Wayne Caskey in one of New Folsoms maximum security yards, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation announced Monday in a news release.

Prison staff used less-than-lethal 40mm direct impact rounds to stop the attack. Caskey was taken to the prisons triage and treatment area as staff for called for an ambulance. He was pronounced dead at 10:08 a.m., prison officials said.

Caskey was sentenced to 50 years to life in prison on June 15, 2009 in Sacramento County. Caskey was convicted of first-degree murder with a gun in the fatal shooting of 45-year-old Gary R. Brooks on June 11, 2006, in a south Sacramento electronics business owned by the victims father. Prosecutors said an argument that had occurred between Brooks and Caskey led to the murder.

Caskey, Mangelli and Cull have each been previously convicted and sentenced for violent offenses committed while serving time in prison.

While incarcerated, Caskey was sentenced on March 2, 2017, to serve an additional four years in prison for assault by a prisoner with a deadly weapon or force likely to produce great bodily injury, an in-prison offense as a second-striker, prison officials said.

Mangelli, 32, was sentenced to a life without parole on Feb. 2, 2014, for a conviction of first-degree murder with a dangerous or deadly weapon in Sacramento County. Prison officials said Mangelli was sentenced to eight years in prison on April 13, 2018, for a Lassen County conviction of assault with a deadly weapon, an in-prison offense as a second-striker.

Cull, 56, was sentenced to life with a chance at parole on June 16, 1999, for a San Diego County conviction of first-degree attempted murder with a gun, assault with a semiautomatic firearm causing great bodily injury, and assault with force likely to cause great bodily injury.

Prison officials said Cull was sentenced to an additional four years in prison on Feb. 9, 2012, for a Lassen County conviction of possessing or manufacturing a deadly weapon by a prisoner as a second-striker. Cull was sentenced again to another four-year prison term on Jan. 21, 2016, for a Lassen County conviction of assault with a deadly weapon, an in-prison offense as a second-striker.

Prison staff had limited movement in the yard as prison officials, the Sacramento County District Attorneys Office and the Sacramento County Coroner investigated the homicide. The Office of the Inspector General was notified and the Sacramento County Coroner will determine Caskeys official cause of death.

The prison is a high-security facility in Folsom that houses nearly 1,900 inmates and employs about 1,700 people. The prison houses those serving long-term sentences, those requiring specialized mental health programming, and incarcerated people with high-risk medical concerns.
A mom accused of driving drunk was arrested after a crash that killed her 8-year-old daughter, according to officials.

Jessica Nieto, 33, was driving a 2011 Honda Pilot with her three children in Temecula on Sunday, July 24, according to a California Highway Patrol report. She was traveling west on State Route 79, a two-lane highway, when she lost control of the car.

The woman crossed into the opposing lane and collided head-on with an eastbound 2011 Chevrolet Silverado at State Route 79 and Anza Road, according to the CHP.

The 8-year-old girl was not wearing a seat belt and was pronounced dead at the scene, the CHP reported. Nietos other two children, ages 5 and 12, were taken to Riverside County Regional Medical Center with major injuries, officials said. Nieto was taken to Inland Valley Medical Center with major injuries.

Two of the Silverado passengers, both Thermal residents in their 40s, also suffered major injuries and were taken to Inland Valley Medical Center, the CHP reported. One child in the car, a 12-year-old girl, had minor injuries.

Nieto was arrested on charges of felony DUI, child endangerment and gross vehicular manslaughter, according to the CHP.

Man drove drunk and rear-ended Mercedes in Parkland, killing 72-year-old, charges say

Woman killed, DUI suspect arrested in four-vehicle collision at a Ceres intersection

University Place woman killed in suspected DUI collision identified by medical examiner
The National Weather Service St. Louis issued a flash flood warning for St. Clair County, Madison County and several other metro east areas Tuesday morning.

Some parts of the Missouri side of the region received more than 10 inches of rain.

Belleville appeared to get the most rain on the Illinois side, NWS St. Louis senior service hydrologist Mark Fuchs said.

Some of the data was collected while rain was still falling, Fuchs said, so the total rainfall may exceed what is currently being reported. Additionally, the locations are approximate, and some rainfall measuring sites are a few miles away from city limits.

Flash Flood Warning continues for Belleville IL, Granite City IL and O'Fallon IL until 10:45 AM CDT pic.twitter.com/W7aOdkExpG  NWS St. Louis (@NWSStLouis) July 26, 2022

Check here for flooding road closures across southwestern Illinois

Two amounts may be listed for areas with more than one rainfall gauge. The update times for the automatic gauges vary, but Fuchs said most locations data covered rainfall for the past 24 hours. Locations in bold were updated Tuesday afternoon. The rest are from Tuesday morning, as more recent numbers were not yet available.

Here are rainfall amounts, in inches, from the last 24 hours (unless otherwise noted) by locality, according to National Weather Service St. Louis:

Illinois locations

Belleville: 6.23, 6.33

Cahokia: 7.23

Fairview Heights: 6.16

Freeburg (Silver Creek): 4.16

Hoffman: 3.44

Illinois River at Hardin: 2.57

Live updates: Caseyville nursing home evacuated. Flooding continues in southwest IL

Red Bud: 0.39

St. Libory 3.25

Sparta: 0.14

Ashley: 5.15

Columbia/Waterloo: 0.6

OFallon: 5.08

Smithton: 2.48

Richland Creek: 1.34 (in the last 12 hours)

Mascoutah: 5.78

Fairmont City: 6.25

Granite City: 5.32

Edwardsville: 3.03, 2.98

Troy: 2.15

Maryville: 2.12

Grafton: 3

Mount Vernon: 2.52, 2.81

Missouri locations:

St. Peters: 12.86

St. Louis: 7.79

Lambert International Airport: 8.63 Tuesday, storm total 9.06

Rainfall totals varied immensely across the area. While some locations were shattering records, others saw only a trace of rain. #stlwx #mowx #ilwx pic.twitter.com/hAKnEZVpIB  NWS St. Louis (@NWSStLouis) July 26, 2022

This story may be updated to include new data.
Though Kentuckys trigger law has been blocked for nearly a month and abortion has remained legal, one of the countrys largest providers of financial aid for individual abortions only this week resumed its donations to the state.

In a July 25 email from the National Abortion Federation (NAF) to the Kentucky Health Justice Network provided to the Herald-Leader, NAF said it would resume individually funding abortions beginning Tuesday for pregnant people in Kentucky who cannot foot the full cost of the procedure themselves.

The cost of an abortion in Kentucky begins at about $700. For those who qualify, NAF often provides a few hundred dollars for the actual abortion, and covers tertiary costs, if needed, such as travel expenses.

A NAF spokesperson confirmed in a Tuesday morning email to the Herald-Leader that the organization was once again helping pay for abortions in the state. The national organization halted its funding stream after the states trigger law initially took effect in late June, following the fall of Roe v. Wade.

Kentuckys trigger law bans all abortions except when the life of a pregnant person is at risk.

The states two remaining abortion providers  EMW Womens Surgical Center and Planned Parenthood  promptly sued, arguing that Kentuckys Constitution protects a right to privacy and, by extension, the right to an abortion.

Abortion was banned in the commonwealth for about a week before a Louisville judge issued a restraining order late last month allowing abortion care to lawfully resume. But only after Jefferson Circuit Judge Mitch Perry issued an injunction July 22, blocking the trigger law for even longer, did NAF move to resume its funding of abortion services in Kentucky.

The Friday ruling prohibits state agencies from enforcing the trigger law while a lawsuit brought by EMW and Planned Parenthood challenging its merits works its way through the court system.

The abrupt toggle between legal, illegal and back to legal not only created logistical snarls for abortion providers, but it poses legal and resource allocation challenges for organizations that fund abortion services. In a state like Kentucky, whose trigger law criminalizes abortion providers, groups that pay for those services are proceeding with caution as they consider their legal liability.

University of Kentucky political science professor Stephen Voss said its understandable why groups that have historically funneled money into states that now have trigger laws would reconsider resource divvying in a post-Roe world.

For instance, even though abortion is presently legal in Kentucky, that reality is potentially only temporary.

Weve got the uncertainty surrounding how legal liability might play out, Voss said. You dont want to have assisted in behavior that later on is declared criminal.

More so, these snares serve as a reminder of the far-reaching, nuanced impacts of abortion bans on the most vulnerable, Voss explained.

Even though the trigger law has been suspended, dont think that has meant resumption of normal circumstances, he said. Dont assume that means that poor women are able to obtain these services again while were in limbo.

Each of these sources of friction when it comes to abortion access, he said, has failed to put things back to normal  these funds that have been available for awhile werent actually available. It took time to get the restoration of the resources on which women were relying.

Revoking financial aid for abortion care has only compounded the impact of statewide bans on low-income residents, said Ashley Jacobs, operations director at KHJN, a Louisville-based nonprofit that provides abortion care support services.

Jacobs said NAF informed her of its donation pause shortly after Roe fell. A few days after that, heartened by the June 30 restraining order that restored access, she emailed NAF again, asking about funding.

I am so happy to hear this, the staffer wrote in her response to Jacobs, which she shared with the Herald-Leader. Unfortunately, NAF is still unable to provide funding at (EMW Womens Surgical Center) at this time. I will update if anything changes.

The national group did not explain why it halted its donations to Kentucky for a month. In an emailed statement to the Herald-Leader in mid-July, NAF Chief Operating Officer Veronica Jones said her organization remains committed to helping as many patients as possible access abortion care.

Were not able to discuss the details of our decision-making in each state, but the impact has been that in some states, at different points in time, weve not been able to fund care. And of course thats incredibly difficult for patients that need this care, Jones said, adding that NAF had, at the time, provided funding for nearly 3,000 people since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe in late June.

Disorienting and frustrating

When someone cant pay for an abortion, they can call NAFs Hotline Fund and ask for help. Historically, NAF has reliably provided the bulk of money to pregnant Kentuckians wanting an abortion.

Groups like KHJN regularly refer financially strapped patients to the hotline fund, providing their own smaller donation along the way.

KHJN operates its own financial assistance hotline whose volunteers in any given week field roughly 40 calls from Kentuckians who need help paying for their abortion. Since insurance doesnt pay for the medical procedure in Kentucky, the full cost must be paid out-of-pocket.

Jacobs directed a hotline caller to NAF in mid-June. The Louisville woman was in her late 20s, six weeks along in her pregnancy and said she could only afford to pay $300 of her medical abortion, which cost $700.

Have you contacted the National Abortion Federation, yet? Jacobs asked. Theyre going to give you the largest portion of funding if you qualify.

The Louisville organization, which gets most of its money through donations, pledges $150 for callers fewer than 10 weeks along in their pregnancy, and $200 for those 11 weeks along or later. Jacobs successfully petitioned KHJN this month to increase its individual donations in direct response to the funding hole left by NAF. Other regional groups, like A Fund Inc., the Chicago Abortion Fund and the Hoosier Abortion Fund have also stepped in to fill that deficit.

But at a time when abortion access hangs in the balance in Kentucky, losing any funding stream, even temporarily, is a hit, Jacobs said.

Its definitely disorienting to say the least, because we have callers that are facing so many barriers, and they already have only so many options for abortion in Kentucky, Jacobs said Tuesday. So, when you take away one of those major funding opportunities for people, its really frustrating.
Brian Gadzuk, 56, clears out the trunk of his Jeep to make space for a new air conditioning unit in the parking lot of McLendon Hardware in Renton, Wash., on July 24. (Kori Suzuki / Associated Press)

Temperatures are predicted to soar to 100 degrees in Portland, Ore., on Tuesday, which is expected to be the hottest day of a heat spell that meteorologists believe will be unusually long for the Pacific Northwest region, which rarely sees such scorching weather.

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown declared a state of emergency across much of the state, warning the extreme temperatures may cause utility outages and transportation disruptions.

With many parts of Oregon facing a high heat wave, it is critical that every level of government has the resources they need to help keep Oregonians safe and healthy, Brown said in a statement.

As the northwestern U.S. heated up, the hot spell on the East Coast appeared to have broken, with few areas east of the Mississippi River under heat advisories on Tuesday.

Philadelphia hit 99 degrees Sunday before factoring in humidity. Newark, N.J., had its fifth consecutive day of 100 degrees or higher, the longest such streak since records began in 1931. Boston also hit 100 degrees, surpassing the previous daily record high of 98 degrees set in 1933.

On Tuesday, highs were forecasted for the mid-80s in Philadelphia, New York and Boston.

Residents and officials in the Northwest have been trying to adjust to the likely reality of longer, hotter heat waves following last summers deadly heat dome weather phenomenon that prompted record temperatures and deaths.

In response, Oregon passed a law requiring all new housing built after April 2024 to have air conditioning installed in at least one room. The law already prohibits landlords in most cases from restricting tenants from installing cooling devices in their rental units.

About 800 people died in Oregon, Washington and British Columbia during the 2021 heat wave in late June and early July. The temperature at the time soared to 116 degrees in Portland and smashed heat records in cities and towns across the region. Many of those who died were elderly and lived alone.

While temperatures this week are not expected to get that high, the anticipated number of consecutive hot days has raised concerns among officials.

The National Weather Service in Portland issued an extreme heat warning for large swaths of Oregon and Washington state out of concern that nighttime temperatures won't help residents to sufficiently cool off.

The main reason for that warning is because of those low temperatures only getting into the 65- to 70-degree range, and the fact that this is such a long duration event, said Colby Neuman, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Portland.

The forecasted lows are only happening for one or two hours, right around sunrise. And thats it, said Neuman. There isnt a lot of time for households and apartments to cool off.

Portland seems to be on track to either tying or exceeding previous heat wave duration records, Neuman said. The record stands at six consecutive days of 95 degrees or higher, which has only been reached twice before.

Portland officials have opened cooling centers in public buildings and installing misting stations in parks. Trimet, which operates public transportation in the Portland metropolitan area, will allow passengers who cannot afford fares to ride for free when heading to cooling centers.

Garbage trucks may start their rounds as early as 4 a.m. this week to allow drivers to work in the early morning, reducing exposure to heat and health risks. Many libraries are extending their hours, staying open until 8 p.m. to allow people more time to cool off.

Multnomah County, which includes Portland, plans to open four overnight emergency cooling shelters starting Tuesday so people who can't get cool on their own can spend the night.

Officials hope the outreach efforts will help people facing the greatest heat risks  including older people, those living alone, people with disabilities, members of low-income households without air conditioning and people without housing.

Jenny Carver, Multnomah Countys emergency manager for the Department of County Human Services, said her work has focused on ensuring that these sites are as low-barrier as we can make them.

We ask folks to just give a name and we dont check any identification, said Carver. We make as many resources available as we can.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Planned Parenthood has filed a lawsuit challenging an Idaho law that criminalizes abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy, the third lawsuit the organization has filed over Idaho abortion laws in recent months.

Planned Parenthood Great Northwest, Hawaii, Alaska, Indiana, Kentucky filed the petition with the Idaho Supreme Court on Monday. The petition asks the court to declare Idahos fetal heartbeat protection law illegal and unenforceable.

The law, which was passed last year, would make it illegal to perform an abortion after a so-called fetal heartbeat is detected, typically around six weeks of pregnancy and before many women know theyre pregnant. Medical experts have said the heartbeat is more accurately described as electrical activity, because the structures of a human heart have not yet formed at six weeks gestation.

In a court filing, Planned Parenthood said the third lawsuit was needed because Idaho lawmakers were not satisfied with criminalizing abortion once, and instead passed several laws in recent years.

It is necessary for petitioners to bring this challenge because of the piecemeal and unlawful way in which the Idaho Legislature has attempted to ban abortion, the organization said.

The Planned Parenthood petition argues that the Idaho law violates residents right to privacy, violates the Idaho Human Rights Act by treating men and women differently and violates the Idaho Constitutions due process clause.

To go into effect, Idahos fetal heartbeat law requires that a similar heartbeat law must be upheld in a U.S. appellate court. Planned Parenthood said in its filing that it believes that trigger happened last week, when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit upheld a similar law in Georgia. The Idaho Statesman has reached out to Gov. Brad Littles office to determine whether the decision triggered Idahos law.

The heartbeat law would be superseded by Idahos total abortion ban, which would make it a felony for medical professionals to perform abortions except in instances when the mothers life is at risk, or in cases of rape or incest that are reported to law enforcement.

Last month, Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit to block Idahos total abortion ban from going into effect after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, which established constitutional rights to an abortion.

The organization also sued over a law passed in March that would allow certain family members of a fetus to sue medical providers for at least $20,000 if they perform an abortion after a so-called fetal heartbeat is detected.

The Idaho Supreme Court is set to hear arguments on both previous lawsuits on Aug. 3. Planned Parenthood asked in its Monday filing to add the most recent lawsuit to next weeks hearings.
LONDON  Pope Francis on Monday begged for forgiveness for the Catholic Churchs role in the abuse of Indigenous children in residential schools across Canada  the latest in a growing list of apologies from the church.

In the first event of a weeklong penitential pilgrimage, the pope issued a historic apology to school survivors at a former school near Edmonton, in Alberta.

The pontiff said the church-run schools, which were created by the government to force Indigenous Canadians to assimilate into Christian society to isolate children from their culture, were a disastrous error.

"I am deeply sorry, he said to the crowd. I humbly beg forgiveness for the evil committed by so many Christians against the Indigenous peoples.

Pope Francis sits between grand chiefs during his visit to Maskwacis, Alberta. (Ron Palmer/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

The pope said his apology was a first step and would be followed by a serious investigation. He added: "Although Christian charity was not absent, and there were many outstanding instances of devotion and care for children, the overall effects of the policies linked to the residential schools were catastrophic.  What our Christian faith tells us is that this was a disastrous error, incompatible with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

From the 19th century until the 1970s, more than 150,000 Indigenous children were separated from their families and forced into schools. Many of them were beaten, starved and sexually abused in what has been coined cultural genocide.

In May 2021, the remains of 215 children were discovered at the site of a former school in British Columbia. The bodies belonged to children who were forced into Canadas state-sponsored schools; some are believed to have been as young as 3 years old. More than 1,300 unmarked graves were reportedly found at the sites of former schools.

The popes statement was the latest in a series of public apologies for sins of the Catholic Church. In December 2021, Francis apologized for the way our brothers and sisters have continued the division with Orthodox Christians.

In 2018, the pope begged for forgiveness when a grand jury found that more than 1,000 children had been sexually abused by priests in Pennsylvania. We showed no care for the little ones; we abandoned them, Francis said of the report at the time. In the same year, he apologized for supporting Chilean Bishop Juan Barross alleged covering up of crimes committed by a pedophile priest.

Gerald Gladue holds a photo of his mother, Jeannie, a residential school survivor, while waiting for Pope Francis to arrive at the Sacred Heart Church of the First Peoples in Edmonton, Alberta, on Monday. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images)

The horrors in Canada echo those that happened in Irelands Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home in Tuam. In 2017, the bodies of 796 babies and children were discovered in a sewage tank near the home in the west of Ireland.

Yahoo News spoke with Anna Corrigan of the Tuam Babies Family Group  a nonprofit organization representing survivors and the relatives of those found in the mass grave  about the popes apology tour of Canada.

Those who agree with Pope Francis are still indoctrinated into the church, but remember there are others who burned down churches on the reservations in Canada recently, Corrigan said.

This year, several churches have been vandalized or burned across Canada  eight of which were in Indigenous First Nations territories, the Guardian reported.

"Pope Francis never recognized what happened here in Ireland or the horror of Tuam, Corrigan told Yahoo News. There are also children rotting in unmarked graves around Canada too, but nobody knows how they died and what happened to them and the trauma they went through.

Pope Francis puts on an Indigenous headdress during a meeting with Indigenous communities in Maskwacis. (Gregorio Borgia/AP)

During his tour of Ireland in 2018, Francis neglected to visit the Tuam Mother and Baby Home, instead vowing to study a memo on the atrocities committed there.
Jeremy Ward stands in front of his home last week in the Ridgeview Homes mobile home community in Lockport, N.Y. Ward is one of the residents at Ridgeview participating in a rent strike after new owners of the park announced they were raising rents by 6%. (Lauren Petracca / Associated Press)

For as long as anyone can remember, rent increases rarely happened at Ridgeview Homes, a family-owned mobile home park in upstate New York.

That changed in 2018 when corporate owners took over the 65-year-old park located amid farmland and down the road from a fast-food joint and grocery store about 30 miles northeast of Buffalo.

Residents, about half of whom are seniors or disabled people on fixed incomes, put up with the first two increases. They hoped the latest owner, Cook Properties, would address the bourbon-colored drinking water, sewage bubbling into their bathtubs and the pothole-filled roads.

When that didn't happen and a new lease with a 6% increase was imposed this year, they formed an association. About half the residents launched a rent strike in May, prompting Cook Properties to send out about 30 eviction notices.

All they care about is raising the rent because they only care about the money, said Jeremy Ward, 49, who gets by on slightly more than $1,000 a month in disability payments after his legs suffered nerve damage in a car accident.

He was recently fined $10 for using a leaf blower. Im disabled," he said. "You guys arent doing your job and I get a violation?

The plight of residents at Ridgeview is playing out nationwide as institutional investors, led by private equity firms and real estate investment trusts and sometimes funded by pension funds, swoop in to buy mobile home parks. Critics contend mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are fueling the problem by backing a growing number of investor loans.

The purchases are putting residents in a bind, since most mobile homes  despite the name  cannot be moved easily or cheaply. Owners are forced to either accept unaffordable rent increases, spend thousands of dollars to move their home, or abandon it and lose tens of thousands of dollars they invested.

These industries, including [the] mobile home park manufacturing industry, keep touting these parks, these mobile homes, as affordable housing. But its not affordable, said Benjamin Bellus, an assistant attorney general in Iowa, who said complaints have gone up 100-fold since out-of-state investors started buying up parks a few years ago.

Youre putting people in a snare and a trap, where they have no ability to defend themselves," he added.

Driven by some of the strongest returns in real estate, investors have shaken up a once-sleepy sector that's home to more than 22 million mostly low-income Americans in 43,000 communities. Many aggressively promote the parks as ensuring a steady return  by repeatedly raising rent.

There's also a growing industry, featuring how-to books, webinars and even a mobile home university, that offers tips to attract small investors.

You went from an environment where you had a local owner or manager who took care of things as they needed fixing, to where you had people who were looking at a cost-benefit analysis for how to get the penny squeezed lowest, Bellus said. You combine it with an idea that we can just keep raising the rent, and these people cant leave.

George McCarthy, president and chief executive of the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, a Cambridge, Mass.-based think tank, said parks containing about a fifth of mobile home lots nationwide have been purchased by institutional investors over the last eight years.

McCarthy singled out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for guaranteeing the loans as part of what the lending giants describe as expanding affordable housing. Since 2014, the Lincoln Institute estimates, Freddie Mac alone provided $9.6 billion in financing for the purchase of more than 950 communities across 44 states.

A spokesman for Freddie Mac countered that it had purchased loans for less than 3% of the mobile home communities nationwide, and about 60% of those were refinances.

Soon after investors started buying up parks in 2015, the complaints of double-digit rent increases followed.

In Iowa, Matt Chapman, a mobile home resident at a park purchased by Utah-based Havenpark Communities, said his rent and fees had almost doubled since 2019. Iowa Legal Aids Alex Kornya said another park purchased by Impact Communities saw rent and fees increase 87% between 2017 and 2020.

Many of the folks living in the park were on fixed incomes, disability, Social Security, and simply were not going to be able to keep pace, said Kornya, who met with about 300 angry mobile home owners at a mega-church. It led almost to a political awakening.

In Minnesota, park purchases by out-of-state buyers grew from 46% in 2015 to 81% in 2021, with rent increases of as much as 30%, according to All Parks Alliance for Change, a state association.

U.S. Sen. Jon Tester of Montana, speaking at a Senate hearing this year, recalled tenants complaining of repeated rent increases at a Havenpark development in Great Falls. One resident, Cindy Newman, told the Associated Press that her monthly rent and fees went up $117 to nearly $400 over a year and eight months  equal to the increase over the previous 20 years. The company says the increase was $95 over a three-year period.

On top of rent increases, residents complained of being inundated with fees for a variety of items, including pets, maintenance and fines for clutter and speeding  all tucked into leases that can run upward of 50 pages.

Josh Weiss, a Havenpark spokesperson, said the company must charge prevailing market rates when it purchases a park at fair market price. That said, the company has moved since 2020 to limit its rent increases to $50 a month.

We understand the anxiety that any rent increase has on residents, especially those on fixed incomes, Weiss said. While we try to minimize the impact, the financial realities do not change.

The mobile home industry argues that the communities are the most affordable housing option, noting that average rent increases across parks nationwide were slightly more than 4% in 2021. Spending on improvements was around 11%. Significant investments are needed, they said, to make improvements at older parks and avoid them being sold off.

You have some people coming into the space that give us all a bad name but those are isolated examples and those practices are not common, said Lesli Gooch, CEO of the Manufactured Housing Institute, the industrys trade association.

Both sides said the government could do more to help.

The industry wants Federal Housing Administration financing made available to residents, many of whom rely on high-interest loans to purchase homes that cost on average $81,900. They also want the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to allow housing vouchers to be used for mobile homes.

Advocates for residents, including MHAction, want lawmakers to put a cap on rent or require a reason for an increase or eviction. Such state legislation succeeded in Delaware this year but failed in Iowa, Colorado and Montana.

They also want Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to stipulate in loans they back that rents remain affordable. And they support residents purchasing their communities, a push that started in New Hampshire and has reached almost 300 parks in 20 states.

A Freddie Mac spokesperson said it has created a new loan offering that incentivizes tenant protections and last year made those mandatory for all future mobile home community transactions.

At Ridgeview, it's unclear how the rent strike will be resolved.

Cook, which claims to be the largest operator of mobile home parks in New York and has the slogan Exceptional Opportunities. Exceptional Returns, declined to comment. The company closed a $26-million private equity fund in 2021 that purchased 12 parks in New York, but it was unclear whether one of them was Ridgeview.

Residents, meanwhile, soldier on. Gerald Korb, a 78-year-old retiree, said he's still waiting for the company to move an electric pole and transformer he fears could topple onto his home during a storm.

I bought a place and now they are forcing all this on us, said Korb, who stopped paying rent in protest. They are absentee landlords is what they are.





This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Three suspects have been taken into custody after a shooting in Bath County left one man dead, according to Kentucky State Police.

The Eastern Kentucky shooting happened shortly before 6 a.m. Monday at a home on Adams Road in Bath County. State police said responding troopers found 44-year-old Earl Stephens of Mt. Sterling deceased inside.

Michael Walker, Brittany Reed and Christopher Turner were identified as suspects during the investigation, per state police. Walker, 32, and Reed were arrested sometime before 6:40 p.m. Walker was charged with murder while Reed was charged with complicity to murder.

Just before 11 p.m. state police announced that Turner had been arrested. He is charged with murder, according to state police.

Walker, Reed and Turner are all being lodged at the Rowan County Detention Center.

A GoFundMe page has been created to raise funds for Stephens funeral.
The University of Kansas Hospital is the No. 1 hospital in the Kansas City metro for the 13th year in a row in the annual U.S. News & World Report Best Hospitals ranking released Tuesday.

Saint Lukes Hospital ranked second for a ninth year in a row.

The Top 5 hospitals in Kansas City did not change from last year and also include: North Kansas City Hospital and Saint Lukes East tied for No. 3, followed by AdventHealth Shawnee Mission.

KU, which has led Kansas City through the pandemic with daily medical briefings, was also named the best hospital in Kansas, 11 years running. No other hospital has ever received these honors. The hospital is also nationally ranked among the countrys top 50 hospitals in eight specialties.

Recognition by U.S. News is an incredible honor for our team, Tammy Peterman, executive vice president and chief operating officer of the KU system, said in a statement. They work hard every day to ensure we provide the highest quality, safest care to every patient at The University of Kansas Health System.

We are always honored to be recognized, but the most important reward for our team is knowing the impact we have on the health of our patients every day.

Saint Lukes was named the second-best hospital in Missouri behind Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. North Kansas City Hospital and Saint Lukes East are ranked No. 8 in Missouri.

Both Saint Lukes and Saint Lukes East are recognized among the best hospitals in northwestern Missouri.

This recognition illustrates the commitment and dedication of our Saint Lukes physicians and nurses, and other professionals who bring the highest level of care to patients in our community, Julie Quirin, chief operating officer and senior vice president of Saint Lukes Health System, said in a statement.

Childrens Mercy tied with three other hospitals for third-best childrens hospital in the 13-state Midwest region, including St. Louis Childrens Hospital-Washington University.

U.S. News is known for its national rankings, from colleges and high schools to cruise lines and cars. Its been ranking hospitals for more than 30 years. and for 2022-23 researched more than 4,500 in every state and nearly 100 metro areas.

The hospital rankings are meant to help patients and their doctors find the right hospital for the care the patient needs. The pandemic has underscored the importance of high-quality health care, U.S. News said in releasing the new rankings.

It evaluated 141 hospitals in Missouri. Fourteen met enough standards to make the list.

In Kansas, 150 hospitals were evaluated and three fared well enough to be on the list.

Each hospital is rated on 15 areas of complex care and 17 procedures and conditions such as knee replacements and heart bypass surgery and, new this year, back surgery, diabetes, heart attacks, hip fractures, kidney failure, pneumonia and stroke.

The hospitals are ranked according to patient outcomes, or how well patients fare after theyre treated, as well as issues that directly affect that care. For example: Is the hospital adequately staffed?

This year, KU earned national rankings in eight adult specialties: cancer (No. 46); cardiology (47); diabetes and endocrinology (46); ear, nose and throat (27); geriatrics (31); neurology and neurosurgery (28); pulmonology and lung surgery (32) and urology (39).

It also ranked as high performing in gastroenterology & GI surgery and orthopedics, making it in the top 10% of all hospitals receiving a score in these specialties.

Saint Lukes is ranked 22nd in the nation in cardiology and heart surgery, and earned high performing ratings in 13 common adult procedures and conditions and five adult specialties: gastroenterology and GI surgery, geriatrics, neurology and neurosurgery, orthopedics, and pulmonology and lung surgery.

Saint Lukes East, Saint Lukes South and Saint Lukes North were also recognized for high performance in several common adult procedures and conditions.

This is the third consecutive year Saint Lukes Mid America Heart Institutes cardiology and heart surgery specialty is ranked among the top 25 in the country.

Being continuously ranked among the top 25 heart programs in the nation is a significant honor and speaks to the skill, dedication, and commitment to excellence we strive to deliver every day to our patients, the institutes co-medical director Dr. Matthew Deedy said in a statement.

Among the nations childrens hospitals, Childrens Mercy is ranked nationally in 10 pediatric specialties: neonatology (No. 14); cancer (34); cardiology & heart surgery (19); diabetes and endocrinology (22); gastroenterology and GI surgery (28); nephrology (4); neurology and neurosurgery (18); orthopedics (30); pulmonology and lung surgery (24) and urology (17).

The greatest concentration of top hospitals tends to be in larger urban areas  Los Angeles, Chicago and New York City. But the rankings also spotlight Best Regional Hospitals in areas such as the Ozarks in Arkansas, the Bluegrass region of Kentucky and the Florida Panhandle.

The 20 best hospitals in the country earn a spot on the annual honor roll. The top five hospitals this year are: Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, at No. 1, followed by Cleveland Clinic; UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles; Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore; and Massachusetts General, Boston.

For most illnesses, patients do not need to go to an Honor Roll hospital, which may require traveling away from home and paying expenses for out-of-network care, said U.S. News.

All rankings and ratings should be seen as just a starting point for patients who are considering, with input from their doctors, where to seek care. Individual diagnosis, insurance coverage and personal priorities are important factors in making a personal best choice.
Accused New York City subway shooter Frank James will tentatively stand trial early next year for allegedly opening fire on a Manhattan-bound N train in Brooklyn in April.

A federal judge in Brooklyn on Monday set a trial date for Feb. 27, 2023, after prosecutors disclosed a vast amount of evidence in the case.

"Videotaped post-arrest statements made by the defendant on or about April 13, 2022," along with "videos of the defendant collected from YouTube," will all be part of the case, prosecutors said in a court filing.

Why the cameras weren't working during the NYC subway shooting

The government has collected numerous photos, records and reports and turned them over to James' defense team.

On April 12, James allegedly shot and wounded 10 commuters before he was caught in the East Village following a manhunt through parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn. No one was killed.

PHOTO: Frank James, the suspect in the Brooklyn subway shooting, is escorted from an NYPD precinct in Manhattan, New York, April 13, 2022. (Stephen Yang/Reuters, FILE)

James has pleaded not guilty to federal terrorism charges. He was also charged with discharging a firearm during a crime of violence.

Police said he drove to Brooklyn in a rented U-Haul not too far from the 36 Street station from which he slipped away after the shooting on a train across the platform.

Law enforcement officials set off on a 24-hour manhunt for the suspect right after the shooting. Several callers to the New York Police Department tipline said a man matching the description of the shooter was wandering around the Lower East Side and East Village.

What we know about NYC subway shooting suspect

James himself was one of those people police believe called into the tipline. The caller claimed police were looking for him and he'd be waiting at a McDonald's on Sixth Street and First Avenue. Police responded to the area, and James was arrested without incident shortly afterward.

If convicted, he faces up to life in prison.

ABC News' Teddy Grant contributed to this report.

Trial for NYC subway shooting suspect Frank James tentatively set for 2023 originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Steven Duffey risked his life as a military intelligence contractor working in war-torn areas of Kosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan, before he returned to the states to work as a long-haul truck driver and settled in Pensacola, Florida.

He came home to Columbus in 2019 for Thanksgiving, and looked forward to spending time with his family.

Im headed your way, he told his mother that Nov. 26, and those were the last words she heard from him, because he never made it.

He was riding his Harley-Davidson motorcycle south on Moon Road that afternoon when a northbound 2008 Jeep Grand Cherokee turned left in front of him, at the entrance ramp to the J.R. Allen Parkways westbound lanes.

Security cameras at a nearby bank branch recorded the ensuing collision, capturing video so graphic that prosecutors did not want to play it in court Tuesday as the Jeeps driver pleaded guilty to first-degree homicide by vehicle.

Its like an explosion when the impact happens, said Assistant District Attorney Robin Anthony. Duffey, 56, was hurled from the bike as its front tire jammed under the Jeep, and died at the hospital from extensive trauma, she said.

Police searching the Jeep found that the driver, 21-year-old Maddelyn Everton, had a bag containing seven marijuana blunts, or cigars into which the drug was stuffed. Later tests showed she had the drugs active ingredient, THC, in her blood.

Besides vehicular homicide, she was also charged with driving under the influence of marijuana, misdemeanor possession of marijuana and failing to yield the right of way.

Pleading guilty Tuesday in Muscogee Superior Court, she was handed a 15 year sentence  five years in prison and the rest on probation  and ordered to pay $13,306 in restitution.

She was sentenced as a first offender, meaning that if she successfully completes her probation, her record will be expunged.

An unsung hero

Everton is 24 years old now. Standing before Superior Court Judge Gil McBride, she listened while a victims advocate read statements from Duffeys family, trying to explain their loss.

The country has lost an unsung hero, wrote brother John Duffey, who served alongside his sibling in lands with names most people here cant pronounce.

Steven Duffeys counter-insurgency work saved lives, the brother said: The country has lost an unsung hero... He was a truck driver after he was a warrior.

Another sibling, David Duffey, wrote that Steven Duffey was a jokester and the life of any holiday party, who had called him 20 minutes before the crash, saying he looked forward to their catching up at the family dinner.

In his life, he has helped people become friends instead of enemies, the brother wrote. He made you feel like you were the most important person in the world.

A sister, Pam Baker, wrote that Steven Duffey was logical and scientific and intellectually curious, and no one can replace him in her life. It doesnt help that I have to drive through that intersection where he was killed every day, she added.

Everton tried to address the court, but began to cry, so defense attorney Susan Henderson read her statement. I cannot begin to imagine what you are going through every day, she wrote to Duffeys family, adding, I am sorry he is not here anymore, and I would change that if I could.

Henderson said Everton had planned to become a veterinarian and worked at a veterinary hospital. Some coworkers testified on her behalf Tuesday, as did her mother and stepfather.

A nanosecond of distraction can change everybodys life, Henderson told the court, saying Everton was not significantly impaired when the wreck happened.

Anthony countered that the crash occurred on a clear day when Everton should have seen the motorcycle coming: This wasnt at night. This wasnt a blind curve. This wasnt a hill.

McBride said he had to consider those circumstances in deciding the sentence, along with the evidence of Evertons marijuana use and the loss of life.

You never get over the loss of a loved one in this type of incident, the judge said, adding that the greater the love, the greater the loss: Grief is the price that you pay for love.
Wichita council members are in a tussle with the police department over decriminalizing marijuana.

During a workshop on Tuesday, interim chief Lemuel Moore told council members that even if they repealed the city ordinance on marijuana, officers would have to enforce state law.

We can have discretion when it comes to infractions, but when it comes to the law, the law is the law, Moore said.

The concern for some council members is that police resources would be better spent going after more dangerous crimes than people who have personal amounts of marijuana.

Wichita citizens have a history of trying to decriminalize marijuana, including a failed 2014 petition to make offenses a civil penalty and a voter-approved 2015 petition that would have reduced the penalty for first-time possession of small amounts of marijuana and paraphernalia. The successful petition led to a lawsuit by Attorney General Derek Schmidt and eventually it was dismissed on a technicality by the Kansas Supreme Court.

The states highest court didnt rule on the constitutionality of reducing penalties.

The Kansas Legislature reduced the penalty for first convictions of marijuana in 2016, according to a city presentation to the council, and the city council the next year adopted a $50 penalty in certain marijuana cases.

The proposed changes some council members are considering could make the penalty even lower or remove marijuana from the ordinance altogether. Currently, police have some discretion, Mayor Brandon Whipple said, and there are plenty of cases where people dont end up in jail.

City data showed 1,465 marijuana-related arrested in 2018 and numbers in the 1,200s for the three years after that. Close to two-thirds of the arrests are people under the age of 30, according to city data.

Whipple asked the city to look into and provide a more detailed breakdown showing the demographics of the people arrested.

Removing marijuana from the ordinance would force police to book people in jail, police said. It would also force police to present the cases to the Sedgwick County District Attorney, who likely will not take on low-level drug cases when there is already a large log of violent cases, Whipple said.

Not all council members agree with Whipples views of decriminalization.

Council member Becky Tuttle said taking away all punishment would send the wrong message. She said she recently heard from construction administrators who had concerns about new hires and current employees being able to pass drug tests.

Taking away infractions  with a gateway drug is sending the wrong message in our community and I think it could actually have some unintended consequences of making it even harder for our workforce in our community, she said.

Tuttle also questioned a city statistic that said a majority of Americans favor some sort of legalization. Tuttle said she disagrees with that. Sixty percent of Americans favored medical and recreational marijuana in 2021, according to a Pew Research Center survey.

Whipple said marijuana hasnt been described as a gateway drug since the 1990s, but gateway drug today applies to legal opioids that can lead to people getting hooked on heroin and other drugs.

Police also argued that the personal amounts of marijuana being considered for decriminalization are often involved in violent crimes. Since 2019, there have been 12 homicides during marijuana sales, with the victims ages ranging from 25 down to 14 and the amount of marijuana ranging from $20 worth to 2 ounces, according to Wichita police Capt. Travis Rakestraw.

These are not big amounts that we are talking about, he said. Normally you would think that would be associated with hundreds of pounds, the big kingpin type deals, but oftentimes these are young adults or juveniles.

Rakestraw said there are concerns about how any change in the ordinance could impact children. He said commercial packing of some weed products already target children. He showed pictures of packaged Rice Krispies Treats and fruit snacks that have had THC added to them. The THC in marijuana is what gets people high.

Council member Brandon Johnson said that he likes peach and apple-flavored candies as an adult, so candies do not just target children.

Whipple asked where the edibles came from and what resources went into the bust. Rakestraw said it came from an adult, involved one officer and no arrest was made.

Whipple also asked a city attorney about the resources that case would take up in municipal court. Chief Deputy City Attorney Sharon Dickgrafe said it could involve a court-appointed attorney, trial, fine, drug and alcohol evaluation and could require jail probation.

The city council is expected to talk more about the marijuana ordinance in the coming weeks.
The Northern Ireland Protocol has created a feast or famine economy in the region with some businesses struggling while others thrive, a parliamentary report has found.

A House of Lords committee examining the post-Brexit Irish Sea trading arrangements found that companies involved in trade with the rest of the UK were being hampered by added red tape whereas those more reliant on doing business with Ireland and the wider EU were benefiting.

The committee stressed an urgent need to resolve the issues created by the protocol and called on the EU and UK to reengage in negotiations.

The committees report comes amid a breakdown in relations between London and Brussels over the UK Governments controversial plan to pass legislation at Westminster that would empower ministers to unilaterally rip up the bulk of the protocol.

Lord Jay of Ewelme who chairs the committee on the Northern Ireland Protocol (UK Parliament/PA)

Peers said the two sides needed to rebuild trust and repair damaged relationships and recommit to finding an agreed resolution. They said a mutually agreed solution was the best outcome as they urged compromise.

The protocol was agreed by the EU and UK in 2019 as a way to avoid a hard land border on the island of Ireland.

It did do so by moving regulatory and customs processes to the Irish Sea, creating new checks on goods being shipped from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.

While businesses involved in moving GB goods into the region have been hit by added bureaucracy, those Northern Ireland businesses involved in selling into the EU can do so without restriction, giving them a potential advantage over competitors in the rest of the UK.

Lord Jay of Ewelme, who chairs the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland Committee, said: The committees engagement with businesses trading in and with Northern Ireland has demonstrated that, while much uncertainty remains, the economic impact of the protocol is gradually becoming clearer.

The situation was described to us as feast or famine, whereby businesses able to take advantage of the protocol benefit, while those dependent on trade with Great Britain lose out.

In preparing its report, the committee took evidence from the five largest parties in the Northern Ireland Assembly, the UK and Irish governments, business representatives, academics and civic society representatives.

Peers said the sea border had created increased bureaucracy, resulting in added pressures on companies staff resources, increased costs and longer delivery times.

They said the arrangements had a disproportionately negative impact on small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs).

A Border Force Officer returns papers to a haulage driver at a checking facility at Belfast Port (PA)

The committee said there remained a concern that businesses in GB will ultimately decided to withdraw from the Northern Ireland market.

Examining those businesses that are benefiting from the protocol, the committee highlighted the dairy and meat processing industries, which are dependent on complex cross-border supply chains on the island of Ireland.

They said those sectors would be damaged if access to the EU single market was lost.

The committee identified several solutions that have been advocated by the business community in Northern Ireland.

Those include a call for proportionality in the application of the rules and controls on Irish Sea trade and differential treatment for GB goods whose end destination is Northern Ireland, in comparison to those destined for onward transportation into the EU.

One of the UKs preferred resolutions is the creation of a dual regulatory system whereby businesses could choose to either comply with EU product standards or UK rules.

The committee said there was widespread concern among business about the practical feasibility and implications for cross-border supply chains of this proposal.

The report is a follow-up to an introductory report published by the committee 12 months ago.

Lord Jay added: Business representatives have put forward a number of mitigations and solutions to ease the practical impact of the protocol, and many of these proposals remain unchanged since the Committees July 2021 introductory report.

At that time, we stressed the need for dialogue to resolve the issues arising under the protocol in the interests of the people of Northern Ireland. It is a matter of deep regret that, in the intervening twelve months, the state of political dialogue in relation to the protocol has deteriorated further.

There is an urgent need for a reset of dialogue. We therefore call on the UK and the EU, together with the political parties, and stakeholders in Northern Ireland, and the Irish Government, to make a renewed commitment to work together to put Northern Irelands interests first, participate together in constructive engagement, rebuild trust and engage in effective relationship-building.

As one of our witnesses told us, those who negotiated the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement were able to do so because of their ability to appreciate the perspectives of others and willingness to work together and take risks to achieve a common goal despite historic differences. Such a courageous approach is needed now.
There were more electives

There were better teachers

There were less tests

There were more exciting ways to learn

Other

Vote

View Results
The four poll-bound states have 128 reserved seats for the STs, 47 in MP, 29 in Chhattisgarh, 27 in Gujarat and 25 in Rajasthan

President Droupadi Murmu exchanges greetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during her oath ceremony in the Central Hall of Parliament, in New Delhi, Monday, July 25, 2022. (PTI Photo)

New Delhi: As Droupadi Murmu took charge as Indias 15th President, the BJP is all set to step up its tribal outreach strategy in the four poll-bound states. While Gujarat will be going to the polls later this year, elections in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh are due in early 2023.

According to the 2011 census, Gujarat has a tribal population of nearly 16 per cent, Madhya Pradesh 22 per cent, Rajasthan 15 per cent and Chhattisgarh nearly 30 per cent. Of the four, two are Congress-ruled states. After forming government in Punjab, the Aam Aadmi Party has stepped up its political activities in Gujarat.

BJP leaders have fanned out across the country and are holding rallies to highlight its role in electing the first tribal woman President of India.

That the tribals political assertiveness and ambitions have been growing over the years had become amply clear after the formation of the Bharatiya Tribal Party in Gujarat in 2017. Speculation is rife that the BTP could join hands with the AAP.

The BJPs electoral record in the tribal belt has been somewhat poor, a party leader said. It was pointed out that the four poll-bound states have 128 reserved seats for the STs, 47 in MP, 29 in Chhattisgarh, 27 in Gujarat and 25 in Rajasthan.

During the last Assembly elections we had won only 35 of the 128 reserved seats, the leader said.

In her maiden speech as President, Murmu invoked the countrys tribal legacy and said she was pleased to see that Many museums are being built across the country dedicated to the role of tribal communities in our freedom struggle. Earlier, after nominating Ms Murmu as the NDAs candidate for President, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had asked the party leaders to hold small rallies and meetings in all tribal villages. The Presidents official photographs and her views on tribals will be distributed in all these villages, the BJP leader said.

In Gujarat, after a series of protests by the tribal community, the Centre decided to put on hold its Par Tapi Narmada river linking project. In May, during a BJP Chintan Shivir, discussions were held to increase (its) footprint in the tribal belts in Gujarat.

Besides the state polls, the selection of Murmu as the NDA candidate is also expected to help the BJP make major inroads into the tribal politics. Some party leaders felt that in Maoist-hit states like Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, Murmu taking over as the first tribal woman President would send a major signal. This also highlights the Sangh Parivars concept of an Akhand Bharat coming together with a coalition of castes and the partys faith in sabka saath sabka vikas.
by John Ai

The new rules will come into effect in August. Web service providers will display users IP addresses and the geographic location of online posts. Authorities will also impose harsh restrictions on data flowing abroad. Chinas largest academic journal database is under state security inspection.

Rome (AsiaNews) - Chinese authorities have published new regulations on internet censorship that aim to reveal the identity of users and prevent the flow of data outside China. They are the latest efforts by the government to tighten online control in the name of state security.

A new regulation released by the Cyberspace Administration of China requires web users to provide their true personal information when signing up for accounts for web services, including job occupation, while the internet service providers must disclose users IP addresses. In addition, when registering new accounts that create content in specific professions such as economy, education, medical service and law, the users must provide professional certificates. The new regulation comes into effect in August.

The Cyberspace Administration of China oversees the affairs of the Internet, propaganda and censorship, and it owns the China Internet Investment Fund, which has ownership stakes in major technology firms, involving areas of digital infrastructure, social networks, artificial intelligence, and big data, etc.

With Chinas slack economic growth, authorities have reinforced the censorship on the economic agenda and worry the economic issues may impact social stability. Economists pessimistic analyses and forecasts are targets of censorship. Major Chinese social networks have begun displaying users geographical locations since May.

Deliberate typos, homonyms, symbols and English letters are usually used by Chinese netizens in sensitive posts to circumvent censorship. The new regulation also forbids such conduct.

Real name registration for social networks has been in effect for years, and users are asked to provide ID number and phone number to sign up for a new account. Recently, Chinas Ministry of Industry and Information Technology released an online portal to allow users to look up how many accounts of social networks are associated with their phone number and ID number. At the moment, 11 most used apps are connected to the system and it is expected more services will join this system. The system indicates that cross-platform censorship is possible the authorities have the capability to close a users all accounts on different social media at the same time if necessary.

Another regulation requires the service providers that transfer users personal information or important data abroad to report to the government for security evaluation. The regulation does not define the scope of important data. Analysts say that the new regulation may impose a new challenge for multinational companies for IT structure and additional costs to store the data in China.

China has already tightened the restriction on companies that planned to launch on the foreign stock exchange since last year as foreign companies listed on US exchanges are mandated to disclose more information to meet the auditing requirements. Forced by state security investigation from Chinese authorities, Chinas leading car-hailing service Didi quit the New York Stock Exchange.

Currently the academic area is targeted by state security inspection. Chinas largest academic journal database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) has been under scrutiny by the Cyberspace Administration of China since the end of June. The announcement of the Cyberspace Administration of China claimed that CNKI has important data in key industries and dynamics of the latest technology.
FM spokesperson warns of serious consequence over Pelosi's potential Taiwan visit

Xinhua) 08:09, July 26, 2022

BEIJING, July 25 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese side will take firm and strong measures to safeguard sovereignty and territorial integrity if the United States insists on going ahead with its House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi's potential visit to Taiwan, a foreign ministry spokesperson said Monday.

"The Chinese side has repeatedly made clear to the U.S. side our serious concern over Pelosi's potential visit to Taiwan and our firm opposition to the visit," spokesperson Zhao Lijian told a regular news briefing.

"We are fully prepared for any eventuality," he said.

The United States must assume full responsibility for any serious consequence arising thereof, Zhao added.

(Web editor: Wu Chaolan, Liang Jun)
by Dario Salvi

The prelate recounts a city struggling to be reborn, where extremist ideology still permeates part of society. The memory of Christian homes branded with the letter "N", today a source of pride and belonging. The pope's visit planted a seed of hope for rebuilding of society. Through education "we can fight ignorance".

Milan (AsiaNews) - Dominican Monsignor Michaeel Najeeb Moussa, Archbishop of Mosul since January 2019, describes the difficult journey of Mosul to AsiaNews. Eight years ago this week, the metropolis in northern Iraq witnessed the great flight of Christians due to the advance of the militias of the Islamic State (IS, formerly Isis). The escalation of death and destruction lasted over three years and ended with the liberation following the offensive launched by the Iraqi army, supported by US troops. The road to recovery has begun, but it is a long and arduous one, full of challenges also and above all for the Christian community, an original component of the region but now reduced to a tiny minority, as the prelate recounts.

A real nightmare

"Eight years after the invasion of the Islamic State troops in Mosul, Sinjar and the Nineveh plain," Msgr Moussa emphasises, "Iraq for us today remains a real nightmare. The jihadists who marched to the cry 'Allah Akhbar' have been exterminated, their flags burnt, but the ghost of their racist ideology remains anchored in the minds of a part of society, especially among the less cultured'. The rise of Daesh [Arabic acronym for Isis] coincided with one of the many signs of infamy, the houses of Christians branded with the letters 'N' (Noun in Arabic) to indicate 'Nazarene'.

The prelate continues: "It is a humiliating expression used today in the Koran to indicate Christian 'heretics' in the Arabian Peninsula". Certainly the extremist and radical approach does not characterise the whole of society "and the most enlightened Muslims reject these barbaric acts of Daesh committed against Christians, Yazidis and even Muslims of different inspiration".

Nevertheless, the bishop adds "this letter, a source of humiliation" has been transformed over the years "into a sign of pride and glory for us, placing a cross in the middle of the letter".

These words recall the deep suffering and wounds that have characterised Iraq's recent history, and that take on even more value on the anniversary of the rise of the caliphate. A domination that lasted until the summer of 2017 and was perpetrated with violence, executions in the public square, kidnappings and terror, as well as the devastation of symbolic places such as the al-Nouri mosque and the church of Al-Saa (Our Lady of the Hour).

Two places of worship, Muslim and Christian, that today have been transformed into symbols of rebirth thanks to a reconstruction project financed by UNESCO and the United Arab Emirates, as part of a programme called 'Reviving the spirit of Mosul by rebuilding its historical monuments'.

Slow revival

The archbishop, who has been permanently resident in the city for some time, says "the return of Christians to Mosul, is still minimal and timid." Because corruption is well established in the government, which ends up not supporting its citizens.

There is a lack of job opportunities, the infrastructure is degraded, 60% of the houses are still damaged, 28 churches have been destroyed, only two of which are operational thanks to the efforts of the NGOs that are also involved in the renovation of the houses that are now habitable, able to host the 56 Christian families that have decided to return, showing great courage, under the guidance of one priest and one bishop. Convents and monasteries, three of which date back to the fifth and sixth centuries, are still dilapidated and in ruins'.

Archbishop Moussa knows the reality of Mosul well, having been born there in 1955 while his priestly ordination took place in 1987. He holds a master's degree in Catholic Theology and, since 1990, has served as director of the city's Digital Centre for Oriental Manuscripts, overseeing the preservation and digitisation of over 800 ancient manuscripts in Aramaic, Arabic and other languages, thousands of books and secular letters.

Faced with the advance of the Caliphate militias, the prelate was forced to flee first to the Nineveh plain, then to Iraqi Kurdistan like tens of thousands of Christians. And it was his tenacity in saving this cultural heritage from the jihadist madness that earned him the nomination for the 2020 Sakharov Prize. After the inauguration of the archbishopric, the goal is to rebuild the social fabric, even if the path remains long and complicated.

Signs of hope

Pope Francis visit in March 2021 marked a milestone for the city, because it was able to show shoots of rebirth, unthinkable until a few years ago. The elderly pontiff bowing and asking God's forgiveness for the violence unleashed in the square of the four churches in Mosul; the choral participation of Muslims, Christians, Yazidis and Sabeans, dressed in festive attire, they, the survivors of the uprooting; the shattered walls of the churches under reconstruction, whose monument to the martyrs and those who died in the murderous rampage is blessed, were signs and symbolic gestures charged with meaning.

The bishop confirms, these seeds of hope are reflected in certain initiatives that unite all the souls of the city. "A different, and positive, expectation is being established between the different communities because the ferocity of Daesh has triggered a reaction from citizens against violence and sectarianism. Everyone is working side by side to rebuild or gradually restore homes, as one example among many of solidarity, thanks also to associations and non-governmental organisations present in the area".

The Archbishop of Mosul concludes with a reflection on his own mission "as a Daesh survivor" as he likes to call himself, and his future prospects. "I was born in Mosul, so I cannot only be at the service of Christians. The bishop is a man of peace and reconciliation, a builder of bridges between people and different communities. Among our friends, the Muslim faithful are more numerous than the Christians themselves, they help us in the various projects by renovating churches, participating in activities and celebrations, with open hearts and a desire to share. Despite the difficulties, Christians remain a strong and united reality, they want to remain in this martyred country, witnesses of Christ on earth."

"Through education,' Msgr Moussa concludes, 'we can fight ignorance and through goodwill and tenacity we can stop the hatred and acrimony of fanatics'.

GATEWAY TO THE EAST IS THE ASIANEWS NEWSLETTER DEDICATED TO THE MIDDLE EAST.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO RECEIVE IT EVERY TUESDAY IN YOUR E-MAIL? TO SUBSCRIBE, CLICK HERE.
by P. Ivel Mendanha *

On the feast day of Saints Joachim and Anne, the grandparents of Jesus, the superior of the Redemptorist Vice Province of Majella in India offers his thoughts. For him, Every elderly and infirm confrere is the hidden jewel who must be guarded with care.

Mumbai (AsiaNews) - Today is the liturgical feast day of Saints Joachim and Anne, the grandparents of Jesus. To get the faithful to focus on this day, Pope Francis instituted World Day for Grandparents, which falls on the nearest Sunday.

During last Sundays Angelus recited with journalists on the plane taking him to Canada on his current apostolic journey, he urged young religious and novices develop a relationship with the grandparents of consecrated life rather than forget them.

In Mumbai, Fr Ivel Mendanha, superior of the Redemptorist Vice Province of Majella in India, offered his thoughts on the closeness to elderly religious, which we publish below:

Caring for elderly and infirm confreres is an integral part of the apostolic life of a Redemptorist missionary. No matter what work he does, whether in training, administration, or active preaching, whether he is involved in different aspects of the mission or is confined to his room and bed due to an infirmity and age, he will always be a Redemptorist missionary.

In the last two years, four confreres have gone to God in old age. Each of them was assisted during the period of illness by specially trained nurses who lived and assisted the community day and night, so that the confreres could participate in the daily life of the missionary community even if they were elderly and sick.

The best arrangements were made so that they had all the necessary medical and nursing assistance; above all, confreres were always with them for prayer, the celebration of the Eucharist, personal chats, and community recreation.

I am eternally grateful to you, my dearest Father, for all that you do for me, Fr Antonio Rodrigues told me before he died at the age of 96 a couple of years ago.

Currently the oldest Redemptorist in India is Fr Frankie Menezes, 81, a well-known preacher at missions and retreats and a great communicator. At present he suffers from Alzheimer's and is in institutional care at a nursing home run by the Sisters of St Joseph of Saint Marc in Palghar, a district in Maharashtra, a three-hour drive from the city of Mumbai.

I visit him regularly, at least twice a month, and spend a day with him. While he does not always remember my name, he is delighted to see me and laughs and smiles, and gets emotional when I recount notable aspects of his past life.

The Redemptorists of our community take turns to visit him each month and spend a day with him. I have taken all our younger Fathers to visit him and receive his blessing, including our young seminarians.

A day with him arouses mixed feelings for me: Sadness to see an extraordinary confrere in this state, but also joy to see him smiling and happy, and so well looked after in terms of geriatric care by the Sisters and staff at the home.

Caring for the elderly and infirm confreres, making sure that they are happy and at peace, their needs met and that they have a sense of belonging to the Province, have been and will be a major priority of the Vita Apostolica of our Province.

It is a way to express our gratitude to our senior and infirm confreres, for all that they have contributed to the life of the Province through their prayers, the offering of their sufferings for the intentions of the Province, not to mention, the words of wisdom born of the experience they offer to everyone, especially myself who visit them often.

Every elderly and infirm confrere is the hidden jewel of the Province, hidden because they are no longer in active ministry, but treasures because they are each a gift.

* Superior of the Vice Province of Majella of the Redemptorist Missionaries in India

(Nirmala Carvalho contributed to this article)
Nine women were attacked following the sudden death of Jacob Luke during a walk in the woods. Four were killed while the others are receiving treatment at a hospital and a Catholic health facility. The violence continued even after the businessmans funeral with the homes of the accused set on fire. The women were tortured and locked up in a house, said Auxiliary Bishop Ain. It was terrible.

Wabag (AsiaNews) - Nine women accused of witchcraft causing the death of a well-known businessman have been tortured. Four of them died from their injuries, two are still in hospital in critical conditions and three have been moved to a Catholic health facility.

The incident took place in Enga province, in the highlands of Papua New Guinea, after Jacob Luke, a businessman and community leader in the city of Wabag, was reported missing.

Luke, a well-known public figure, was seen leaving home to go for a walk on 21 July. No one suspected anything since the businessman had the habit of walking in the woods near his village.

Two days later his body was found. It is likely that he died of a stroke or heart attack, but only a post-mortem will determine the actual cause of death. Lukes brother said that an autopsy is set to take place in the nearby town of Lae.

After news of Lukes death spread, some residents of his village immediately lashed out at some women of his clan, accusing them of witchcraft (sanguma).

When I heard the news, I went to pick up Dickson Tanda, coordinator of the local Caritas and we headed to Lakolam, the place where violence broke out, said Mgr Justin Ain, auxiliary bishop of Wabag.

"Upon our arrival at Lakolam, there was a huge crowd of about three to four thousand people and the atmosphere was very tense, the prelate explained. By then the women had already been tortured and locked up in a house. Only a few leaders tried to persuade the perpetrators to release the women but there was no room [for negotiations]; those responsible were adamant.

The police tried to intervene, to no avail. About three or four police vehicles came but without enough men. The road was blocked by a dump truck and the agents were told not to come any closer. Seeing that they were outnumbered, the policemen eventually left.

The women were released around 9 pm, but no one knew where they had taken refuge. Bishop Ain wanted to take them to the hospital for treatment, but the situation became more complicated when, after the funeral, some members of Luke's family set fire to the homes of the families of the women accused of witchcraft. There were no deaths but the houses were reduced to ashes.

On Sunday, after the provincial police moved in, the prelate managed to find the victims. Only five women were still alive. After talking to the villagers and family members, I got them into my car. They had been badly tortured with iron sticks in every part of the body, including the genitals. It was terrible, the bishop said.

I brought them straight to Wabag General Hospital, he added. The two in more serious conditions remained, but since there were no more beds in the hospital, we took the other three to a Catholic health facility in Yampu where Sisters had prepared blankets and basic necessities..

The situation now seems to be back to normal, but the victims remain under observation. Family members of the women confirmed their innocence, saying they were tortured on false charges. Unlike other cases, those responsible for the violence are not close family members. For reason of confidentiality, the identities of the victims have not been made public.
by Fady Noun

The Maronite Church is determined to defend her rights after the archbishop of Haifa and the Holy Land was arrested for bringing money and medicines donated by families separated by war. The accusations of ties with Israel over an exclusively humanitarian action are bogus. The solidarity of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem is necessary to maintain the presence of Christians in the Holy Land and their solidarity with the Christians of the Middle East, writes Archbishop Pizzaballa.

Beirut (AsiaNews)  The confrontation between the Maronite Church and Hezbollah shows no sign of abating, following the arrest a week ago of Maronite Bishop Moussa el-Hage of Haifa and the Holy Land by the General Security in Ras Nakoura.

The prelate was making his monthly visit to Lebanon, bringing money and medicines to dozens of families separated by war on both sides of the border with Israel.

What happened is an insult to the Maronite Church, to the patriarchate, and to me personally, thundered Cardinal Bechara al-Rahi on Sunday, in front of a crowd of faithful and supporters who came to back him at the summer headquarters of the Maronite patriarchate in Dimane, northern Lebanon.

The Maronite patriarch slammed a political system set up by the pro-Iranian party, with the active and passive complicity of the Free Patriotic Movement (CPL) founded by President Michel Aoun, and currently led by his son-in-law, Gibran Bassil.

Patriarch Al-Rahi warned that Lebanon was turning into a "police state, an inquisitorial state in which everyone snoops on everybody amid suspicion and widespread rumours.

Using Israel and solidarity with the Palestinians as a pretext to justify the arrest of a bishop and block humanitarian aid brought to Lebanon is an attack on a long-established right, not only by the Maronite Church, but also the Greek Catholic Church, which also has a bishopric in Haifa.

On Sunday, the patriarch stressed again that the Maronite Church is the victim of political intrigue, noting that questioning a bishop is a serious violation of the principle of legal autonomy enjoyed by the Church and recognised in law.

In any case, the patriarch added, "it is in the national interest of Lebanon" and of Christians in particular, that the Maronite community and people of Lebanese origin in the Holy Land continue to communicate with the wider Arab world to which they belong.

This position is in line with the view expressed by the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. In a statement, Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, says that it is necessary to maintain the presence of Christians in the Holy Land, and their solidarity with the Christians of the Middle East.

The prelate also notes: We are fully in solidarity with Bishop Moussa El Hage in the work of charity that he has been carrying out generously, for a long time, bringing regularly material aid and medicines collected by benefactors in favor of poor Lebanese families of all religions, Christians, Muslims and Druze, who are in great difficulty due to the severe economic crisis that Lebanon is currently going through. We fully support the statement made by the Maronite Patriarch in this regard.

This message of solidarity from the Church of the Holy Land to the Church of Lebanon is fundamental. It may be possible that some of the recipients of the aid that Bishop Moussa el-Hage was bringing might be agents but this must be understood as the exception that proves the rule" and must be treated on a case-by-case basis, Church sources say.

By contrast, banning humanitarian transactions between Israel and Lebanon represents a form of collective punishment for Lebanese forced by events to live in Israel (some arrived as children with their parents) and Maronite communities in the Holy Land.

In his address on Sunday, Patriarch Al-Rahi was determined to challenge what he considers political bans, stressing that he would not be intimidated and that he will carry out the mission of the Maronite Church.

Finally, the Church wants the return of the booty of 460,000 dollars, 4,000 euros, and medicines seized by the Military Court. In an Eastern society steeped in religious principles, taking such money and medicines, seizing them, is an offence to God before it is an offence to humankind.

The money belongs to the poor; it is the alms that every believer, Christian or Muslim, offers for the benefit of their own and those in need. At a time of hardship, shortages, and deprivation, not returning them would mean depriving the poor of sustenance. Yet nothing has been done so far to ensure that what was seized is returned to its rightful owner.
Ouk Savarin was running in the 5 June municipal elections in Pursat province, but was arrested on charges of falsifying documents. His family slams the conditions of his detention. Two other Candlelight Party candidates have been jailed for political reasons In the same province.

Phnom Penh (AsiaNews/Agencies)  A court in Cambodia has sentenced an opposition politician to two years in prison for falsifying documents.

Ouk Savarin was running with the Candlelight Party for a council seat in Ansa Chambok, a city in the western province of Pursat. He was arrested on 10 March, and sentenced by a provincial court last week. The election took place on 5 June.

Ever since he joined the Candlelight Party, he has experienced a lot of oppression and persecution, said his son, Ouk Sao Sopheara, speaking to Radio Free Asia (RFA).

His father was put in an overcrowded jail and has been denied adequate food. The family, for whom the charges are unfounded, will discuss filing an appeal with a lawyer.

Several human rights groups have followed the case, noting that the evidence presented in this case was weak, that the authorities failed to follow normal procedures, preventing the defendants from exercising their rights.

For Chak Chetra of the Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defence of Human Rights, the activities of the political opposition seem to be restricted in the pre-election period, and we see that as more of a political issue than a legal one.

In Pursat province, Ouk Savarin is the third Candlelight Party candidate to be arrested since March. Chhuon Chhoeung, who was running in Sre Stok, and Hem Chhil, a candidate for the Sya city council, also ended up in prison.

Hem Chhil was arrested on charges of illegally pumping water from a pond. His 15-year-old son was also detained for illegal fishing. He was released on 4 May, while Hem was released on bail by the Battambang Provincial Court of Appeal on 21 July.

"It's clear to me that it's a political issue, because I'm not to blame, Hem told RFA. I pumped the water from the pond and others did the same, so why was it only me who was arrested and imprisoned? I still belong to the Candlelight Party; I still help the people and hope that one day we will win.

In the 5 June elections, the Candlelight Party won about 20 per cent of the seats in local municipalities, while most went to the ruling Cambodian People's Party of Prime Minister Hun Sen who has run the country by repressing the opposition for almost 40 years.
Grief over abuses committed in residential schools but also steps for reconciliation in Francis' meeting in Canada with First Nations, Inuit and Metis: "Look at Christ crucified in your children and together with him learn to walk together".

Edmonton (AsiaNews) - "many Christians supported the colonizing mentality of the powers that oppressed the indigenous peoples. I am sorry. I ask forgiveness," appealed Pope Francis yesterday in his meeting with the First Nations, the Inuit and the Metis on the second day of his apostolic journey to Canada. His words were ronounced in the Maskwacis reserve, after a silent pause at the cemetery with the graves of the children who were victims of violence and abuse in the residential schools system for the assimilation of indigenous peoples, a system desired by the local authorities to the detriment of the indigenous peoples and in which the Church collaborated through its educational institutions.

The Pope emphasised the importance of remembering this tragedy, which was also repeated elsewhere. When the European settlers arrived in these lands," he said, "there was a great opportunity to bring about a fruitful encounter between cultures, traditions and forms of spirituality. Yet for the most part that did not happen. Again, I think back on the stories you told: how the policies of assimilation ended up systematically marginalizing the indigenous peoples; how also through the system of residential schools your languages and cultures were denigrated and suppressed; how children suffered physical, verbal, psychological and spiritual abuse; how they were taken away from their homes at a young age, and how that indelibly affected relationships between parents and children, grandparents and grandchildren."

"Although Christian charity was not absent, and there were many outstanding instances of devotion and care for children, the overall effects of the policies linked to the residential schools were catastrophic. What our Christian faith tells us is that this was a disastrous error, incompatible with the Gospel of Jesus Christ".

But asking forgiveness for the past is only the first step in moving beyond this wound. We need to look at how to promote true reconciliation, overcoming the root of the evil that led to those contradictions in the Church. And it is the horizon that the pope indicated in the afternoon when he met again with representatives of the indigenous peoples in the Sacred Heart Church in Edmonton - the church of the altar under the tepee, the tent of the natives, where it is precisely the true acceptance of their cultures that has become the road to a new encounter.

"I imagine the fatigue, in those who have suffered tremendously because of men and women who had to give witness to Christian life, to see any prospect of reconciliation," Francis said frankly. "Nothing can erase the dignity violated, the evil suffered, the trust betrayed. Nor must the shame of us believers ever be erased. But it is necessary to start again, and Jesus does not propose words and good intentions, but the cross, that scandalous love that allows itself to be pierced feet and wrists by nails and pierced head with thorns".

It is precisely this, for the pope, the direction to follow: 'to look together at Christ, the love betrayed and crucified for us; to look at Jesus, crucified in so many residential school pupils. If we want to be reconciled among ourselves and within ourselves, reconciled with the past, with the wrongs suffered and the wounded memory, with traumatic events that no human consolation can heal, our gaze must be raised to Jesus crucified, peace must be drawn from his altar"

But the Pontiff also wanted to give a precise name to the evil that has led men of the Church to commit such serious abuses: he indicated it in the temptation of "worldliness" of those who aim to "impose their own cultural model". "This attitude is hard to die, even from the religious point of view," he commented. "In fact, it would seem more convenient to inculcate God in people, instead of allowing people to approach God. But it never works, because the Lord does not act this way: he does not force, he does not suffocate and he does not oppress; instead, he always loves, frees and leaves free. He does not support with his Spirit those who subject others, those who confuse the Gospel of reconciliation with proselytism. For one cannot proclaim God in a way that is contrary to God'.

And it is precisely to show another way of being together that is the Church's real task. "It is the place where we stop thinking of ourselves as individuals," he said, "to recognise ourselves as brothers by looking into each other's eyes, welcoming each other's histories and culture, letting the mysticism of togetherness, so pleasing to the Holy Spirit, favour the healing of wounded memories. This is the way: not deciding for others, not pigeon-holing everyone within pre-established schemes, but putting oneself before the Crucified One and before one's brother to learn to walk together".

"Jesus, crucified and risen, who dwells in this people of yours who wish to shine through our communities and our cultures," the Pope concluded with an invocation, "take us by the hand and, even in the deserts of history, guide our steps on the path of reconciliation".
An angler tries his luck Monday on the Roaring Fork River below Basalt while three rafts float by. A special arrangement for water releases brokered by the Ruedi Water and Power Authority is raising water levels with colder water from Ruedi Reservoir this week.
Email Newsletters

Get the best of The Aspen Daily News in your inbox. Our newsletters are free, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
GM and Cruise petitioned the NHTSA for approval to deploy the Origin self-driving vehicle.

Share This: Ford and General Motors want to be able to deploy self-driving vehicles without steering wheels and brake pedals, according to a report from Reuters.

The two automakers have asked the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) to grant exemptions to deploy a limited number of self-driving vehicles.

The agency published the separate petitions and opened them for public comment for 30 days.

Ford and GM want to deploy up to 2,500 self-driving vehicles per year, the maximum allowed under the law.

The vehicles will be for ride-sharing and delivery services. Neither automaker has sought approval to sell self-driving vehicles to consumers.

In July 2021, Ford submitted its petition. The automaker said it intends to deploy a self-driving ride-hailing and package delivery vehicle early in this decade.

It also told the NHTSA that for its self-driving vehicles, having active driving controls and communications would introduce an unacceptable risk to safety.

The automaker wants to deploy self-driving hybrid-electric vehicles specifically designed and tailored to support mobility services such as ride-sharing, ride-hailing and package delivery.

A Ford spokesperson told Reuters the petition is an important step toward helping create a regulatory path that allows autonomous technologies to mature over time, eliminating controls and displays that are only useful to human drivers.

GM and Cruise petitioned the NHTSA for approval to deploy self-driving vehicles without steering wheels, mirrors, turn signals or...
Share This: Georgia governments and development authorities offered Hyundai Motor Group more than $1.8 billion in incentives.

In May, Hyundai said it had selected Georgia for its first fully dedicated electric vehicle and battery manufacturing facility. The plan calls for Hyundai to invest more than $5.5 billion in building the facility in the 2,923-acre Bryan County Megasite along Interstate 16, while non-affiliated Hyundai suppliers plan to invest roughly $1 billion in the project.

Hyundai received a 26-year property tax abatement and will begin making "leasehold ad valorem property tax payments" starting in 2026 after it completes the initial construction of its facility. State officials said Hyundai would pay more than $357 million during the period.

Under the deal, Georgia will give Hyundai a $50 million Regional Economic Business Assistance grant---doled out in a pair of $25 million payments---to help pay for site development, building or equipment purchases. It will also give a $112.6 million grant to the Savannah Harbor-Interstate 16 Corridor JDA for wetlands mitigation, additional land acquisition and site clearing and grading.

The state will provide a dedicated Quick Start Training Center, expected to cost $62.5 million. The Peach State will also cover operating costs and training services for five years, at an estimated cost of nearly $5 million per year.

Economic development officials plan to ask state lawmakers to allocate an additional $10.6 million for the Technical College System of Georgia to expand the existing Georgia Quick Start Advanced Manufacturing Training Center in Savannah.

The Georgia Department of Transportation plans to make $200 million in road improvements. Additionally, nearly $6.9 million in state funding will go toward a rail extension to the project site for the Georgia Central Railway, a Genesee & Wyoming subsidiary.

According to state documents, the Savannah Harbor-Interstate 16 Corridor Joint Development Authority is expected to invest more than $71.8 million. The JDA contributed...
Not everyones idea of the perfect vacation is an off-grid tiny home surrounded by wild nature. But this particular one isnt about adventure and adrenaline. In fact, several of the guests who enjoyed it call it a romantic getaway. Its as minimalistic as a tiny home can get, it cant accommodate more than two people at once, and its peaceful design blurs the lines between the beach and the inside.Aptly named House Upon the Sand, this beautiful tiny home located in Seabeck, Washington, is rather mysterious. The owners describe it as a freshly renovated cabin from the 1920s, which was once tucked back into the woods, but unfortunately dont share any other details about its history. Still, its a good example of how small vintage cabins can start a new life by being relocated and turned into off-grid havens.Other than the breathtaking views offered by the beach at the Hood Canal, what immediately stands out about this tiny cabin is its nautical-inspired exterior, with multiple round windows. Inside, the ultra-minimalistic design includes a calm color scheme with a lot of white, and very few pieces of furniture, so that the space doesnt feel crowded at all.The open-space layout reveals the kitchen, the living area, and the dining area. Theres a large, elegant dining table, and the cozy but modern living space includes access to an HD TV. The kitchen is equipped with all the basics, and guests can enjoy their coffee on the charming wooden deck.A contrasting dark wood staircase leads to the monochrome bedroom that seems more like an inviting cocoon, with no distractions. The refined and subtle decorating style is reflected even in the small bathroom, with a vintage-style mirror.Blurring the lines between the inside and the outside, the House Upon the Sand leads its guests to a charming outdoor shower covered in white tiles and a luxurious hot tub. Its easy to see why so many guests consider this tiny home magical. Those who wish to find out for themselves can find out more at Airbnb
The government will fund the conditional loan through the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing (ATVM) loan program, which is expected to close in the next couple of months.Conditional terms of the loan dictate that the Ultium pay workers the prevailing local minimum wage with fringe benefits.The two companies have invested over $7 billion (6.8b euros) via the venture and currently have three facilities under construction. The first is a 2.8 million-square-foot (260,000 sq m) operation in Warren, Ohio, that is expected to begin producing batteries in August. Another facility of the same footprint is under construction in Spring Hill, Tennessee, where production is planned to begin late next year. The third facility to break ground is located in Lansing, Michigan, and is scheduled to open in 2025.Ultium produces a unique modular battery build that provides flexibility with regard to size and capacity to be tailored for different model energy demands. The battery technology is vital to GM's ambitious plan to establish itself in the growing EV market.Ultium said in a statement that "facilities will create more than 5,000 new high-tech jobs in the United States. We are grateful for the consideration and look forward to working with the Department of Energy on next steps." as reported by Reuters.

The U.S Government's ATVM program was established in 2008 and originally planned for the $25 billion (24.4b euros) fund to help automotive manufacturers meet higher gas mileage standards for vehicles built on U.S. soil. The last loans to be granted came in 2009 with $8.4 billion (8.2b euros) in conditional loan agreements for Ford Motor Company; Nissan North America, Inc.; Tesla , Inc., and Fisker Automotive to fund the development of advanced vehicle technologies.
The art of sailing brings to mind old stories of pirates and their infamous bottles of rum. Well, around ten years ago, the first rum barrel to be sail-shipped to British land in over 100 years safely arrived in Falmouth, from the Dominican Republic. It was the achievement of New Dawn Traders, a young company that has been supporting fair trade by sail ever since.The companys founder is Alex Geldenhuys, a chef turned entrepreneur, who has successfully proved that now is the time to revive the lost art of traditional shipping. This can become a great green alternative for niche sectors, with a smaller cargo volume.Todays conventional cargo ships are known for not only being responsible for a significant percentage of the global pollution, but also for operating on what is considered the dirtiest fuel, or bunker oil, according to Cornwall Live. While numerous operators are making efforts to switch to alternative fuels for these giant tankers, smaller businesses can skip fuel altogether and opt for sailing boats instead.Not just any sailboats, but historic ones. For example, the companys latest shipping is carried out by Klevia, a 1936 ketch built in Denmark. New Dawn Traders is working with several classic wooden vessels that are powered exclusively by wind. This is part of a Voyage Co-op where ships, producers, and buyers, can work together for zero-emission shipping. The types of goods that can be efficiently transported this way are olive oil, rum, wine, coffee, and chocolate.New Dawn Traders is not the only company of its kind, and the traditional shipping phenomenon is starting to rise, at least in Europe. After a decade, this UK-based pioneer isnt slowing down one bit. In fact, it plans to soon have its own sailing vessel and to increase the cargo capacity from 70.5 tons to over 130 tons.
For about half a decade, one of the most high-profile civilian single-engine turboprops in existence, the Beechcraft T-6 Texan II, got a military variant. Its called AT-6 Wolverine and will soon be deployed to serve the needs of the American and allied militaries.What could a modern-day military use a turboprop for, you ask? Well, this thing has been designed, as per its maker, Textron Aviation Defense, as a purpose-built machine for light attack, counter-insurgency, and peacekeeping. Meaning you dont get to use it in a full blown war (although, chances are you could), but you send it out to take care of business that would require much more finesse than a jet could provide.The plane has a 1,600 shaft horsepower engine that can take it to speeds of Mach .67. It carries a total of seven hardpoints (six of them at NATO standards) that can house either external fuel tanks or weapons, including machine guns and missiles.Back in 2020, the U.S. Air Force (USAF) became the launch customer for the AT-6E variant of the Wolverine, as it ordered two of them, and the Royal Thai Air Force became the first foreign ally to get it, as it ordered eight such planes last year.This week, Textron announced the plane got Military Type Certification (MTC) from the USAF, and that means well get to see a lot more of them being rolled out for military duty in the near future.
Of course, with the Czech Republic being a fairly wealthy country, German luxury cars could not do the job of projecting fear into the hearts of speeding motorists, so they decided they would need something with a bit more panache. And what car brand out there could be more flamboyant and stylish than a Ferrari?Luckily, they had a Ferrari 458 Italia on hand and readily available for police conversion. Thanks to the diligent work of the criminal investigators, a lot of cars get confiscated each year from wrongdoers. Shockingly, converting the car only cost the Czech police just a tad bit over CZK 300,000. That might sound like much, but its only slightly over $12,000.This speed demon is able to reach speeds in excess of 200 mph (322 kph) thanks to a 4.5-liter V8 with 560 horsepower (570 ps) and 398 lb-ft of torque (540 Nm), that can rev all the way up to 9,000 rpm and launch the car from 0 to 60 mph (96 kph) in just 3.4 seconds. Obviously, this kind of car takes some serious skill to drive to the limit and only specially trained police officers will have the pleasure to do so.The police in the Czech Republic seem to have done an outstanding job in seizing criminal goods and this is confirmed by the Deputy Chief of Police for SKPV, Gen. Tomas Kubik . According to him, they have confiscated around $288 million worth of criminal property, with over 900 vehicles accounting for a considerable portion of that hefty sum. Keep in mind that a lot of that property is sold in order to cover the damages produced by the criminals.However, not all cars are sold and some end up being used as police pursuit vehicles (a common practice across the globe). While not all the cars are exotic and luxurious, the Ferrari 458 Italia is and will be used nation-wide. Among its duties, performing supervision on suspected tuner events and combating illegal car races sound the most fitting (hopefully not being left in the dust like the Ferrari in the first Fast and Furious).
In the directive released today, the FAA outlined in an email concerns about the potential of electrical discharge in the fuel tanks of certain Boeing 777 aircraft in the event of a lightning strike or short circuit.In addition to performing detailed inspections, Boeing and operators are to take corrective action by installing a Teflon sleeve on certain wire bundles in close proximity to fuel sources that may become chafed and increase an incident potential.While the thought of the potential for sparks near a fuel source sounds rather scary, the risk is not seen as that high. The original general directive dates back to 2001, when the administration wanted to ensure airlines and aircraft manufacturers had systems in place to minimize sparks near fuel systems.Boeing and airlines have 60 months to comply with the latest directive thought to involve up to 1,700 777 aircraft in service.The Teflon sleeve corrective measure was mandated in a 2017 directive by the FAA for installation on some 777 models. Boeing reported in late 2021 that additional 777's could use Teflon sleeves. The administration followed Boeing's recommendation and issued the directive.The news comes as Boeing is celebrating a successful run at last week's Farnborough air show while nervously awaiting some good news, especially regarding the government's certification of their new 737 MAX 10 . There is a December deadline to meet for certification before modifications to the cockpit's systems take effect in 2023.The wiring is not the only corrective action the FAA has taken on the 777. Back in December of 2021, they issued a directive addressing problems with Boeing 777-200 aircraft equipped with Pratt & Whitney 4000 engines. The FAA investigated an engine failure on a 777-200 Hawaii-bound plane taking off from Denver and found fan blade failure to be the cause.The December 2021 directive called for the strengthening of the engine cowlings, enhanced engine fan-blade inspection, and examination of other systems and components.
Even with the introduction of the hybrid-assisted 296 GTB and its open-top cousin, the Prancing Horse of Maranello has a problem. The carbon emissions generated by its current lineup are pretty high compared to automakers that rely on volume rather than specialness. The 296 GTB and Toyota Prius, for example, emit 149 and 28 grams of CO2 per kilometer.

17 photos
Filmed not long ago, presumably, and with the video making its way online earlier this month, the vehicle in question was allegedly leaving a car meet, when the predictable happened.The clip embedded at the bottom of the page starts by showing a black Mustang, supposedly the normal V8-powered GT, making a left turn onto the main road. Shortly after, the GT350R follows it, with the driver feeling the need to show off. As a result, he pinned the throttle to the floor, and the cars tail started shaking.Next up, it did a 180-degree turn, subsequent to the driver hitting the brakes, biting into the curb, and slamming that pretty rear end into a pole . The crash not only sounded expensive, but it also was, as we reckon that the car suffered damages to its suspension, brakes, tires, and wheels. Moreover, since it had a close encounter of the third kind with the aforementioned pole, it will likely need to pay a visit to the plastic surgeon, too.With a piece of the rear bumper barely hanging on, the vehicle left the grass for tarmac, pulling up in the parking lot of a nearby motel, probably for the person driving it to assess the damages. And they are pricey, as we already mentioned. Add a massive blow to the drivers ego to the list too, as we are almost certain that they will think twice before abusing the throttle of their otherwise exciting muscle car in the future.Before wrapping it up, weve got to tell you that if you have a thing for seeing Mustangs crashing (for whatever reason), then you should check out our dedicated category here , after watching the video shared down below, of course.
Youve probably seen at least one Lambo in your life. Many people know the carmaker with the raging bull on the hood, yet not everybody knows the man behind the brand. The Italian businessman who would become synonymous with high-performance supercars was born to grape farmers in Renazzo.In the post-war Italy of 1947, Lamborghini saw the countrys need for an agricultural revival. Thanks to his mechanical know-how and entrepreneurial spirit, he started Lamborghini Trattori, which would become an important player in the agricultural equipment space later on.In 1959, Ferruccio Lamborghini was apparently unhappy with his brand new Ferrari 250GT, which had a faulty clutch that needed repeated repairs.Mad about it, he went to the village of Maranello, intending to speak to Enzo Ferrari. There are multiple versions of the dialogue between the two, but ultimately, Ferrari wouldnt listen to Lamborghinis complaints because he was a farmer. That started the rivalry between two of the best supercar makers the world has ever seen, and the rest is history.The man was so passionate about fighting bulls that, after visiting the ranch of a renowned breeder  Don Eduardo Miura  he decided to adopt a raging bull as the emblem for Automobili Lamborghini.After many years  and many models produced  Lamborghinis contribution to the automotive world is immeasurable. His desire to always do better led to the creation of such iconic cars as the Miura and the Countach , among many others.July 21 marked the day when Ferruccio Lamborghini cemented his place in history. At the 2022 Induction & Awards Ceremony, Lamborghini was awarded his permanent spot in the Automotive Hall of Fame. The event took place at The Icon, in Detroit, MI.
The Pattaya News reported locals noticed the super yacht just off Jomtien Beach yesterday evening.Last week, Koh Samui officials gushed over the arrival of the super yacht as a sign that high-net-worth tourists were beginning to return to the kingdom.This past weekend others in Thailand had mixed feelings about the presence of a yacht owned by a Russian banker with alleged ties to President Putin. Despite U.S.-led sanctions and seizures against Russian oligarchs and billionaires, Thailand has expressed neutrality in the wake of Russia's aggression against Ukraine. Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha's official position would mean the yacht would not be subject of seizure.As of May, at least thirteen Russian-owned luxury yachts , ranging in value from $8 million (7.8 million euro) to $606 million (593 million euro) have been seized in Europe.In May, Fijian law enforcement seized a $300 million (293 million euro) yacht owned by another sanctioned Russian oligarch, Suleiman Kerimov. The Fijian government did not have the resources to maintain the yacht so the 106-meter luxury Amadea was delivered to San Diego.The name Cloudbreak comes from the world-class wave that breaks in Tavarua, a small heart-shaped island off the coast of Fiji's main island of Viti Levu.The Cayman Islands-registered $200 million (199.5 million euros), 246-foot (75 meter) super yacht was built in 2016 by German boatbuilder Abeking & Rasmussen. She can accommodate 12 passengers in six luxurious staterooms and maintains a 22-person crew. The master cabin has two balconies with one being completely open.She has a wellness center, a fully equipped gym, and a helicopter pad. The hull is constructed of steel, and the boat is powered by two Caterpillar diesel engines capable of cruising at 12 knots with an 8,500 nautical mile (9,781 miles/17,741 km) range.
Just recently, the Swiss brand unveiled two special edition Monaco pieces in the so-called Dark Lord and an updated variant of the Monaco X Gulf. The latter was presented at Watches and Wonders a few months back, where it resonated strongly with motorsport enthusiasts who also love having something classy to weigh down their wrist.Well, now we have yet another special edition variant of the Monaco to show you, and its limited to just 500 units. Its called the Monaco Purple Dial and it looks quite fetching, especially if youre into subtly vibrant hues  yes, I just made up that term.Anyway, the purple background creates a powerful contrast together with the rhodium-plated indexes and hands, the latter featuring white Super-LumiNova coating. Also, more purple details can be found on the column-wheel chronograph movement. Meanwhile, the 39-mm stainless steel case is, of course, water resistant to 100 meters.As for price, the TAG Heuer Monaco Purple Dial will set you back $7,100, and its available exclusively in the brands boutiques and retail stores, according to Watchtime Now, I should reiterate that if you fancy any type of Monaco from TAG Heuer , and youve got the over $6,000 needed to buy into the range, you should probably just go ahead and complete the purchase, because theres literally nothing else out there that looks and feels like a Monaco. You wont find any alternatives, just homage pieces, which are a lot cheaper and less exclusive.By the way, this purple variant would look absolutely amazing next to somebodys Lantana Purple McLaren 570S or 720S. Its almost a match made in heaven.
SUV

First and foremost, the local media reveals that someone tried to steal hisin early July, but as it turns out, the thief failed to get away with the vehicle.So what they did instead was to cause expensive damage, breaking the passenger window and even hitting the steering column as they tried to drive away with the Hyundai For some reason, owner Joshua Wylie had a premonition that this wouldnt be the only attempt to steal his Santa Fe , so the man decided to install a surveillance camera in his apartment window specifically to keep an eye on his vehicle 24/7.And because a surveillance camera wouldnt be able to help recover the SUV if it gets stolen, he also planted an Apple AirTag in the vehicle. The AirTag is a GPS tracking device the size of a coin, and it uses the iPhone network to send signals to the owner, therefore being able to share its location in real-time.Wylie was right; his Santa Fe was indeed a thief magnet, so a second attempt to steal the car took place approximately one week ago. The whole incident was even captured on camera, but the worse thing is that this thief knew precisely what they were doing.As a result, they drove away with the vehicle, however, without knowing that their every move was actually being tracked. The owner of the Hyundai reached out to the police immediately and provided the officers with both the recording and the real-time location of the vehicle.Hours later, the vehicle was found with the help of the Memphis Police, proving once again that Apples AirTag, despite sometimes being terribly misused , is still a super-valuable device that could definitely come in handy.
Those who want to add one to their collection now have the perfect opportunity. Thecollectables is selling an unrestored, factory new 1978 example. It has just 31 km (19 miles) on the odometer and has always been kept in a heated room.The history of this model is connected to Adolf Hitler. He gave the order to build a car for the people, and the man entrusted with this task was none other than Ferdinand Porsche.This eventually led to the Volkswagen Type 1, better known as the Beetle. An affordable car with room for five and an engine in the back. This was a typical four-cylinder boxer engine with a capacity of 1.1 liters.Although the Beetle dates from before World War II, production really took off after the war. The Beetle kept rolling off the assembly line until 2003. That means this model has been in production for no less than 65 years. In total, more than 20 million cars were built.Back to our advert, this one refers to a truly special example. This Volkswagen Beetle is still factory new. The protective plastic is still on the seats. It's only covered 31 km (19 miles) and has been kept in a heated garage which has helped the car look like a real-time capsule.This is a 1978 Beetle 1200. The last German-made cars had already left the factory. However, production continued in Mexico and other countries. Because there was still demand for the Beetle in the Netherlands, importer Pon decided to bring 500 examples from Mexico.The owner managed to get hold of one of the 500 examples of the series called "Mexico Beetle" from the 1970s, and it was to be the spare car for his mother. She was already driving a 1974 Beetle and was very attached to it. Only that car never broke down, so there was no need for the new one.There is an auction going on right now that will last another 8 days. The current bid is 10,000 (10.100 dollars).
The 354th Fighter Wing , the host wing of the Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska, is used to such displays of power. It routinely trains to rapidly mobilize and launch aircraft from its strategic arctic location, taking out on the runway, at the same time, its fleet of F-35A Lightning IIs and F-16 Fighting Falcons.The last time it did so was back in May, during such a routine readiness exercise. As usual, and as clearly shown in the images from the drill the U.S. Air Force (USAF) recently released, the sight was impressive.An impossible-to-count number of fourth- and fifth-generation fighter aircraft are lined up on the runaway of the Alaska base, all suited and geared up as if war was imminent. Of the two breeds of aircraft though, one clearly stands out more than the other, including in terms of numbers: the F-35 The 354th Fighter Wing fields one of the largest F-35 fleets. A total of 54 such beasts are deployed in its pilots hands, with the latest units entering service earlier this year. Pilots get to play with them above the worlds largest training range, the 67,000 square miles (174,000 square km) Joint Pacific Alaskan Range Complex ( JPARC ).Our location is a big asset, said Col. David Berkland, 354th FW commander back when the readiness exercise was held.Were able to provide world-class training because of our proximity to the Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex, and we can support the projection of all kinds of aircraft, including our permanently-stationed F-35s and other strategic airpower, all over the world. We are ready to answer the call.
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.
Azerbaijan has been our red line right from the beginning, Erdogan told Turkish media on Monday. We have said that we will open our doors [to Armenia] after problems with Azerbaijan are solved.

I am glad that [Prime Minister Nikol] Pashinian shares our view on regional peace and partnership, he said. We now expect that apart from making statements Yerevan will take concrete steps in the settlement process.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu likewise demanded such steps last week when he commented on prospects for normalizing Turkish-Armenian relations. He said Yerevan should specifically negotiate a peace accord sought by Baku and open a land corridor to Azerbaijans Nakhichevan exclave.

Pashinian, his political allies and members of his government say they want an unconditional opening of the Turkish-Armenian border and establishment of diplomatic relations between the two neighboring states. Their political opponents claim that Pashinian is ready to make sweeping concessions to both Ankara and Baku.

Erdogan and Cavusoglu reaffirmed the Turkish preconditions for normalizing ties with Armenia after four rounds of negotiations held by Turkish and Armenian envoys this year.

During their last meeting held in Vienna on July 1, the two sides agreed to open the Turkish-Armenian border to citizens of third countries and to allow mutual cargo shipments by air. The Turkish and Armenian foreign ministries said this will be done at the earliest date possible. But they set no concrete time frames.

The Turkish envoy, Serdar Kilic, reportedly, visited and inspected over the weekend a Turkish checkpoint on the Armenian border.

Eduard Aghajanian, a senior Armenian lawmaker from Pashinians Civil Contract party, on Tuesday described Kilics trip as good news. This is welcome and shows that [Turkish-Armenian] arrangements are already entering a practical stage, he said.

Aghajanian said late last week that Cavusoglus latest statement on Turkish-Armenian relations should not be seen as preconditions.
We have said that we are ready to use the [OSCE] Minsk Group as a platform, Tracy told RFE/RLs Armenian Service in an interview. That offer remains open. We have not seen our Russian colleagues responding to that offer.

The United States, Russia and France have for decades spearheaded international efforts to end the conflict in their capacity as the Minsk Groups co-chairs. Moscow says Washington and Paris stopped working with it in that format following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Karen Donfried denied this during a visit to Yerevan last month. She insisted that the Minsk Group remains a very important format for Washington.

The Russian Foreign Ministry dismissed Donfrieds assurances. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov claimed later in June that the Minsk Group stopped its activities at the initiative of the American and French co-chairs.

In the words of Tracy, the U.S. still hopes that Russia will re-engage in this format.

We certainly continue to the see the Minsk Group as a forum, a platform that has an international mandate to address the situation of Nagorno-Karabakh, said the ambassador. We will continue to look for ways to use that forum. We will also work bilaterally with the parties in the region.

Washington, she went on, is coordinating its Karabakh peace efforts with the European Union, whose top official, Charles Michel, has hosted three meetings of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev in Brussels since December.

U.S. Secretary of State Blinken spoke with Aliyev and Pashinian by phone on Monday. He tweeted afterwards that he sees a historic opportunity to achieve peace in the region.

According to a U.S. State Department spokesman, Blinken told the two leaders that the U.S. government is ready to help Armenia and Azerbaijan restore cross-border transport links.

Some of what we are exploring with the governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan is some technical support, some technical assessments that are ultimately aimed at unblocking regional transportation connections, explained Tracy. She did not elaborate.

The Russian-brokered ceasefire that stopped the 2020 war in Nagorno-Karabakh commits Armenia to opening rail and road links between Azerbaijan and its Nakhichevan exclave. Aliyev has claimed that it calls for an exterritorial land corridor that would pass through Syunik, a strategic Armenian province that also borders Iran. He has threatened to take military action to open the corridor.

Armenia has rejected Aliyevs demands, saying that it must retain full control over all transit links on its territory.

Iran has likewise signaled strong opposition to the idea of the Zangezur corridor advanced by Azerbaijan as well as Turkey. Its supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warned last week that Tehran will not tolerate attempts to block the Armenian-Iranian border.

Because of its location Syunik has been a very strong and appropriate focus of concern for its security, Tracy said in this regard. But at the same time I would just note, based on a number of trips that Ive made, that I also see positive things happening there.

The diplomat pointed to socioeconomic development projects implemented in Syunik by the Armenian government and the provincial administration.

Asked how the U.S. would react to a possible attack on Syunik, Tracy said: I dont want to get into hypotheticals or speculate. I think this is why we are so focused on the diplomatic track and maintaining these direct conversations of encouraging progress on a number of fronts: peace negotiations, the [Armenian-Azerbaijani] border commission, unblocking regional transportation linkages. That is, I think, one of the best safeguards for the security of all in the region.
Bakersfield, CA (93308)

Today

A few passing clouds, otherwise generally clear. Low 81F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

A few passing clouds, otherwise generally clear. Low 81F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph.
Former monsignor Craig Harrison settled a lawsuit against the Roman Catholic Bishop of Fresno and its former spokeswoman after accusing them o
You can reach Ishani Desai at 661-395-7417. You can also follow her at @_ishanidesai on Twitter.
TEHRAN, July 26 (Xinhua) -- The Iranian police have seized 697 kg of illicit drugs and killed six armed smugglers in an operation in the southern province of Kerman, provincial police chief Abdolreza Nazeri said on Tuesday.

Additionally, three assault rifles and large quantities of ammunition were discovered from the smugglers, Nazeri was quoted as saying by state TV.

In the operation, one police officer was killed and five others were injured by the armed drug traffickers, he added.

Iran has been suffering from drug trafficking given its location at the crossroads of international drug smuggling from Afghanistan to Europe.

Over the past few decades, Iran's eastern and southeastern borders have seen deadly clashes between Iranian security forces and armed drug smugglers. 
It is basic human nature to tell stories. We are drawn to novels and movies that conjure up imagined narratives. We are also drawn to non-fiction and documentaries, stories that are truthful. But what exactly is truth? Ultimately, someone is telling a story, and that story is shaped by the experiences of the storyteller. Ask 10 people what happened at an event and one will get 10 different answers.

So, how does one find a storys truth? Keliy Anderson-Staley is an obsessive seeker and masterful visual storyteller who understands that truth is subjective, that it is found through obsessive questioning. Her latest exhibition, Documents & Dwellings, at the Art Museum of Southeast Texas through Sept. 18, is a fascinating glimpse into the storytelling process.

Anderson-Staley grew up in an off-the-grid cabin in Maine built by her parents, Tom and Ginny. When she was 12, she found out Tom was not her biological father. This led her to reevaluate what she knew about her life -- a reevaluation that continues through her work.

An Incomplete Family Story: Baking Pan Series, from 2000, is the earliest work in the show. The work is stunning in its simplicity. Using a liquid light process, where she adds liquid silver emulsion to a surface, Anderson-Staley has incorporated photographs of people gathering, playing, posing  the sorts of photos that can be found in albums in every home. She collected the baking pans over two years from stores, friend's parents kitchens and from trash. The images often are decayed or difficult to discern exactly what is happening. They are captured memories but in the way that memory loses its sharpness over time and becomes less clear. Some do not have photographs on them and just show the rusted patina of age.

One baking pan stands out primarily because of its absence. The pan comprises two edge pieces that contain no more than 20% of the whole, the rest lost to time. It perfectly captures the missing elements of a story that will never be recovered, lost to history. Anderson-Staley said she deliberately left it blank to represent the father she never knew.

In 2014, she connected with her biological father Bill, and he appears in Father, Dad: Bill, Tom (Grid of 44), a collection of tintypes of the two men. The pair are physically similar, and the collected images are often dark or unclear, forcing the viewer to carefully examine each image. Who are these men? What made them tick?

There is a nature vs. nurture aspect to the piece. Anderson-Staley was influenced by these two men in very different ways, yet what part of her personal narrative does she draw from each? I find myself thinking of this piece often. The tintype process requires the sitter to be completely still for 20 seconds, which is why people in old photos look so serious (it is hard to hold a smile that long). The lack of emotion in the 44 images adds to the enigmatic quality of the piece.

Another standout (in a show of standouts) is the newest piece, which Anderson-Staley completed recently.

Origin Stories with Double Sun works on multiple levels. From a distance, the composition is affecting and engaging. Anderson-Staley said that when she composes the works, she concerns herself with the visual presentation rather than the meaning of each component part. And the visual is certainly appealing. The collages blues and muted yellows form a patchwork that looks like a quilt, which is an appropriate analogy as quilts are often a collection of treasured fabrics, hand-me-downs that embody family stories.

When one gets closer, one is confronted with a collage of images and texts collected from Toms archives. Anderson-Staley collected the materials before the original log cabin was burned down by new owners. She said she was looking for a way to present the archive, to tell her version of the story, and the pandemic gave her the opportunity to spend time sorting through the material. Using color prints, inkjet prints, black and white photos, cyanotypes, silkscreens on new and found paper, Anderson-Staley said she is re-envisioning a family legacy that was passed out in pieces  chapters from a longer story.

During the gallery talk, Anderson-Staley pointed out the meanings, but not having the artist there to explain it doesnt detract from the power of the piece. It is enough for the viewer to allow the imagery and text to work together. It is the artists story, but the idea of the story is universal.

The show is worth a visit just to see Shelter in Place -- a wooden stick frame building covered in 540 tintypes that Anderson-Staley created after Tropical Storm Harvey. The work represents the damage her home and studio suffered during the storm (while echoing the loss of her family cabin) as well as a visualization of what community can look like. It is an impressive and imposing work but dont let it distract you from the complexity of the collages.

Documents & Dwellings is as much an intellectual feast as it is visual, although there is plenty to satisfy the eye. I recommend several visits. Like a good book, there is much to savor in Anderson-Staleys epic story  and the telling of it is marvelous.

Documents & Dwellings is on display at the Art Museum of Southeast Texas, 500 Main St. in downtown Beaumont, through Sept. 18. A catalogue is available.
BOSTON (AP) 

Legislation to ban discrimination based on natural and protective hairstyles  such as Afros, cornrows or tightly coiled twists  in workplaces, school districts and school-related organizations in Massachusetts was signed into law Tuesday by Republican Gov. Charlie Baker.

Black women in particular have faced pressure in school and on the job to alter their hair to conform to policies that are biased against natural hairstyles, according to supporters of the law.

The bill had been unanimously approved by the Democrat-controlled Massachusetts House and Senate. The new law defines natural and protective hairstyles as including braids, locks, twists, Bantu knots and other formations, and tasks the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination with enforcing the protections.

Policies that limit or prohibit natural hairstyles in all school districts are now banned. The law also prohibits hair discrimination in employment, business, advertising and public spaces.

Massachusetts is the 18th state to adopt a version of the the bill  known as the Crown Act  into law, legislators said.

The law has its roots in the case of a Massachusetts charter school that came under fire in 2017 for a policy of banning hair braid extensions.

The issue came to light when the parents of then-15-year-old Black girls said their twin daughters  Deanna and Mya Cook  were punished for wearing extensions, while white students hadnt been punished for violations of hairstyle regulations.

After intense criticism, including from Democratic Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, the school abandoned the policy.

The sisters attended Tuesday's bill signing.

It really took me back to that first time when I got my detention. I was thinking about how hard this would be, Deanna said before becoming emotional, adding that no one will go through that again.

Mya pointed to what the law's supporters say will be its far-reaching effects.

It feels amazing to know that weve changed so many lives, she said.

In 2019, California became the first state to ban workplace and school discrimination against Black people for wearing hairstyles such as braids, twists and locks.

In March, the U.S. House approved a similar bill that would bar discrimination against Black people who wear hairstyles like Afros, cornrows or tightly coiled twists in society, school and the workplace. The federal bill would explicitly say such discrimination is a violation of federal civil rights law. President Joe Biden has said he would sign the federal bill.

U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley co-sponsored the House bill. The Massachusetts Democrat praised state lawmakers for adopting the law.

For far too long, Black folks have been punished for the hair that grows on our heads and the way we move through and show up in this world," Pressley said in a written statement.
This week is Discovery Channel's Shark Week and while many eyes turn to the network to see what new science has been discovered on the various historic fish species, some forget there are many sharks swimming just off the shores in the Gulf of Mexico.

An online platform called the Ocearch Shark Tracker locates tagged sharks around the globe to track their whereabouts, according to the nonprofit's website. As part of the research effort, Ocearch partners with scientists across the U.S. and abroad to collect oceanic data on shark movements and patterns.
The potential of a monkeypox outbreak in Southeast Texas is high, even as none of the state's some 183 cases come from Southeast Texas, said Beaumont Public Health Department Director Kenneth Coleman.

"The probability is high for the simple fact that it is in Houston, it's already in our public health range... so it's right around us," he said. "We live in such a mobile society, people travel all the time. Who's to say it's not here now?"

Texas ranks sixth in number of cases confirmed across the nation, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The monkeypox virus is in the same family as smallpox, although unrelated to chickenpox, according to the CDC. The viruses have similar symptoms. However, monkeypox is milder and is rarely fatal.

Even so, the World Health Organization last week declared monkeypox a global health emergency.

Monkeypox symptoms include a rash that looks like pimples or blisters, swollen lymph nodes, fever, aches and chills. It is spread through direct contact and respiratory secretions.

"Most monkeypox cases in Texas have been transmitted through direct skin-to-skin contact with the monkeypox rash of an infected person," a Texas Department of State Health Service news release states. "The illness is largely circulating among men who have sex with men, though there have been cases outside this population."

In fact, just three of Texas's cases have been confirmed in women.

RELATED: July COVID-19 cases in Beaumont are already 7 times higher than April

The state public health department region including Southeast Texas and Houston has confirmed 51 monkeypox cases.

Coleman said the Beaumont Public Health Department is in conversation with the Department of State Health Services to create a plan for the local department's role in the case of a monkeypox outbreak.

"Right now, we don't know exactly what that plan is as it as it relates to public health," Coleman said. "But of course, we send out information to make the community aware of monkeypox symptoms and are encouraging them to go to a primary care physician if they think they have monkeypox or they themselves have been in contact with someone with monkeypox."

Houston and Harris County received approximately 5,000 doses of the JYNNEOS monkeypox vaccine, according the news release.

The vaccine is available for those who have been exposed to the virus "to help protect them and keep them from spreading the disease to others," the release states.

"A dose of vaccine can prevent the disease from occurring if given soon after a person is exposed, ideally within four days," the news release states. "If given five to 14 days after exposure, vaccination may reduce the symptoms but may not prevent the disease entirely. People need two doses of the JYNNEOS vaccine to be fully vaccinated."

Coleman said as monkeypox continues to spread, it is important to be careful.

"We're just asking people to really be careful, you know, understanding what is monkeypox, the mode of transmission for monkeypox and what symptoms to look out for," Coleman said. "We're just trying to educate our community, as as we do with most, if not all, infectious diseases."
Inmates incarcerated at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) regularly live within 110-degree temperatures during the summer months, with a temperature of 149 degrees recorded in one prison unit, according to a July report from the Texas A&M University Hazard Reduction & Recovery Center.

In Texas, 70% of the housing prison units are not fully air-conditioned, the report states, adding that the TDCJ mitigation practices when high temperatures occur include limited access to cooling beds, separate air-conditioned housing areas, supplied drinking water and ice, fans and additional showers to cool down.

Excessive crowding conditions and inadequate staffing contributed to the challenges associated with providing inmates with access to water, the report states, adding that there were not enough water coolers to meet demand and inadequate staffing to keep the water coolers full.

In a section of the report's executive summary titled "Crowding, Staffing and Broken Infrastructure," the report states that "participants frequently described that there [were] not enough water coolers to meet the actual demand of the large number of persons in the dorms," adding that the "low levels of staff in Texas prisons also exacerbated this problem because staff were preoccupied with other tasks or they may not be enough staff persons to refill the coolers as frequently as they needed to be."

What was described as a "broken" overall infrastructure was listed as a "significant obstacle," and staff also detailed "purposefully withholding resources from incarcerated people."

"Incarcerated people have described the environment of extreme heat as a 'living hell,'" reads a portion of the report.

According to a U.S. News & World Report article, earlier this month, the head of the Texas prison system told Texas lawmakers that the "oppressive working conditions caused by the lack of air conditioning in many of the states units is likely contributing to difficulties officials are having in filling 7,000 prison job vacancies."

Without air-conditioning or regulated temperatures, The Texas A&M University Hazard Reduction & Recovery Center report stated that the system would continue to operate under "extreme stress," adding that members of the TDCJ population would remain on the "brink of potential health emergencies" as a result.
This is Concierge Confidential, a series in which we learn about a citys best-kept secrets from people who specialize in exactly that: long-serving concierges from the best hotels in town.

The Pfister Hotel opened in 1893 and remains a Milwaukee gem. With an ornate lobby and huge Victorian art collection, its an excellent HQ for exploring the city. As the Pfisters Chef Concierge (so-called because chef is French for head concierge), Briana Greer oversees a team of Milwaukee experts, on hand to give visitors all the inside skinny on everything that the city has to offer. A singer and actress turned professional concierge, Greer spilled all her local secrets.

InsideHook: Where can I get a cup of coffee near the hotel and go for a good walk?

Briana Greer: I would be a terrible employee if I didnt suggest stopping by the Pfister Cafe for a cup of coffee and pastries by our pastry team, because you are getting great Starbucks coffee and homemade treats. However, I do love going over to Andiamo Coffee & Tea next to Lupi & Iris. Recently opened in the 777 building on North Van Buren Street, you can sit outside and then take a walk over to the lakeside.

Where do singles hang out?

Havent been one of those in a while, but when I do get a chance to go out with my fun, young colleagues it is always in the Third Ward. It has fun bars, great restaurants (Bavette is so good), great rooftops like The Outsider, and more.

How about a restaurant where only locals go?

Amilinda is the place. Chef Greg is a huge supporter of Milwaukees growth. He cares so much, and you can always tell by his restaurant and the outreach programs he works with that he is a real part of our community.

Late night spot where I can get into a bit of trouble? (But not too much trouble?)

Bryants Cocktail Lounge is the best place for any kind of drink imaginable. Open until 2 a.m. on the weekends, this spot has been around forever. Its got a cool, speakeasy vibe that truly makes the best signature cocktails. Too good, so that you forget that you mixed and matched and drank more than you should  but so worth it!

Best cheap eats in town?

A great way to find a plethora of choices that are not expensive is to go to the 3rd Street Market Hall on Wisconsin Ave.

Where can I go for the best dessert?

This is tough. There are so many amazing spots for dessert, but I love Buckleys for everything they make, especially the Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake. Pam Buckley is by far my favorite baker in town.

Best place for a sunset cocktail?

No question about it, Blu Bar & Lounge, The Pfister Hotels very own cocktail lounge located on the 23rd floor. It really has a magical view

Where should I go in the area for a day spent outside?

I would head over to the Deer District for some lunch and then hop on a Milwaukee Boat Line Tour. Thats a perfect way to see the architecture of Milwaukees buildings while boating along the river, to the lakeside, and back to the river.

Best neighborhood to take a four-hour stroll if I want to get acquainted with a more authentic side of the city?

Walkers Point is truly one of my favorite spots to get lost in. One of the most diverse neighborhoods in Milwaukee, they have some amazing restaurant spots (Morel is a must). Walkers Point is also known for a very lively and fun nightlife scene

Whats the easiest way to get around town, in terms of transportation?

Milwaukee offers the Hop, which is a free streetcar, a really great way to see some of the areas of Milwaukee. Uber and Lyft are also very reliable and reasonably priced as well.

Whats a lesser-known cultural institution worth visiting?

Frank Lloyd Wrights Forgotten House is in a quaint area north of Milwaukee called Shorewood. In 2015, the Elizabeth Murphy House made national news as a rare newly rediscovered house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. I love visiting this forgotten home, driving along the lakeside and having a picnic on the water. Its a great Sunday afternoon thing to do.

Whats the best thing you can only get in your city?

Cheese curds. A huge Canadian treat that is now ours, it is known that Wisconsin is the only place to get the best cheese curds in the Midwest.

Whats the best thing you can only do in your city?

Take a picture of the Bronze Fonz!

Whats something I can say or do to endear myself to locals?

Up North refers to northern Wisconsin. We will never be specific, we are always merely going Up North.

Whats something that tourists tend to do that really annoys locals?

Take up parking spots! There are approximately 100 parking spots for 500,000+ people in Milwaukee. So when we have extra people visiting, its crowded.

Whats an item or activity that tourists tend to get ripped off on? Any tips on how to avoid that?

The only thing that frustrates me about my city is the cab situation. I always suggest Uber or Lyft for my guests who use the apps. Both are very reliable and reasonably priced in Milwaukee.

Im looking for a low-key brunch. Where to?

Toast! This place is my favorite. I just love the food, drinks and the people. The overstuffed croissant is a must.

This article was featured in the InsideHook Chicago newsletter. Sign up now for more from the Windy City.

The post A Hotel Insider on Where to Eat Cheap (and Well) in Milwaukee appeared first on InsideHook.
Inside Hook

Its been a banner year for mishandled baggage, enough to make you never want to check a bag again. In fact, some airlines are even advising against it or, alternatively, straight up refusing to do it. But in the midst of all the brouhaha, Alaska Airlines has emerged with a solution to a problem rather than, well, just a problem.

Last week, Alaska announced that it would become the first U.S. airline to launch an electronic bag tag program, which will begin its rollout later this year. In lieu of printed bag tags, passengers will be able to activate their respective electronic tags up to 24 hours ahead of departure via the airlines mobile app. Using Bluetooth technology, all relevant information will be downloaded onto the tag, which features an e-paper screen  not unlike that of a Kindle device, as Bailey Berg suggests at Afar  that will then display the passengers details. And while it may not do much to remedy the mishandled baggage situation directly, it will help to streamline operations.
Im calf-deep in a tide pool at Estero Bluffs State Park, just north of Cayucos on Californias Central Coast. My eyes are down, on the lookout for a choice ribbon of kombu or ruffle-edged piece of sea lettuce. My guide, Spencer Marley of Marley Family Seaweeds, alerts me to a lime-colored shape beneath the surface, slowly moving away from shore. Theres a great piece! he says, and I enthusiastically slide my net into the water, scooping up a long but delicate-looking strand of Ulva, or edible green algae.

Sea lettuce is my second favorite seaweed and what the Cantonese were farming here back in the late 1800s, he explains, as he tears off a little piece for me to taste. It has a crisp, ever-so-slightly bitter but pleasing saltiness  a real Neptunes kiss. Marley mostly eats it with eggs, chopping it up into omelets or frittatas, and says his kids also think its freaking delicious.

These days, chefs and bartenders love anything and everything hyper-local, so wild edible ingredients are still enjoying a major culinary moment. But with a chance to forage seaweed firsthand, I wasnt sure quite what to expect. It turns out that the twice-daily high tides  which rip or glean pieces of kelp and other seaweed varieties from the rocks and push them ashore  do most of the work.

See that really big one? Theres some nori right there!

Marley commends my netting intensity as I scoop a less attractive dark green mass from the water. He tells me its what sushi rolls are wrapped with, except in its then-processed form. Mashed up and flattened into sheets, flavored with MSG and fried, those wafers are less superfood and more seaweed potato chip snack, he says. Looking decidedly less appetizing in its natural state, we add it to the basket for later.

Unlike mushrooms, Marley explains no seaweed species are toxic, although you should steer clear of old piles on the beach. People used to cut kelp to harvest it, but due to climate change and the urchin population exploding, he says kelp beds are 10% of what they were just five years ago. Theyre shrinking, so cutting is a no-no when foraging, he says, but if its just washed up or free-floating, you can take it. Another of my netted treasures is a red algae called Turkish Towel. Marley says an organic compound called algin acts like a natural moisturizer making them great for exfoliating. You dry these out but rehydrate them in the shower  basically, a natural loofah.

Scooping up that wild, foraged seaweed Marley Family Seaweeds

With end-of-day sunshine, still-blue skies and just a slight onshore breeze  net poised, eyes peeled  its all rather zen wading through the gradually incoming tide. Despite visiting this part of California for over a decade (both sets of my boyfriends parents live locally), I realized its the first time Ive ever put my feet in the ocean here. Most people come to this stretch of the Golden State for the wineries in Edna Valley and Paso Robles, perhaps a tour of Hearst Castle, or to see the elephant seals at San Simeon a few miles north on Cabrillo Highway. Its seen as a weekend getaway or a one-night stopover when road-tripping along the iconic Highway 1 in either direction.

But Marley is helping put SLO CAL on the map among a different demographic. The merchant marine turned commercial fisherman turned seaweed specialist started harvesting kelp to sell at local farmers markets before launching his foraging tour via Airbnb Experiences in 2018. It was a creative and informative way to share a love of the ocean and passion for seaweed with visitors  families, hip L.A. couples and Bay Area tech types  keen to experience a different side of the area. Part foraging experience, part Phycology 101 (aka marine algae science), each intertidal adventure wraps with a beachside bowl of ramen made with some of the just-harvested seaweed.

He chops an onion and some garlic, adds a dash of soy and a ribbon of kombu to flavor the broth. Kombu is used to make dashi, which forms the base of Japanese dishes like miso soup; when it turns from dark red to bright green, its time to remove and pop in the noodles. Seaweed is the only vegetarian source of DHA and EPA, Marley tells me, slicing up some wakame as a garnish. Its packed with iodine, iron, manganese and calcium, while red algae has 30 times the vitamins and minerals of any terrestrial vegetable. Its never going to be the main event in cooking, but its a super healthy, sustainable source of nutrition and we should all be eating a lot more of it.

Another local seaweed advocate is Melissa Hanson. The daughter of an oceanographer and wetland scientist who fell in love while diving for lobsters in Florida, she grew up crabbing and fishing on Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. I spent a lot of time in the water gathering food with my family and learned how to feed myself from the ocean at a young age, she says, Its a huge part of who I am.

But it was randomly listening to a podcast about kelp farming and the environmental benefits of eating domestic seaweed that led to a pre-pandemic life and career pivot. Joining forces with Jules Marsh (a civil engineer and like-minded mom who was also jazzed about seaweed), they founded Kelpful in 2019. Creating a range of edible seaweed products using wild-harvested native varieties, including Sea Sprinkle toppings and an Immunity Broth mix, Hanson says they were excited to make $280 on their first day at the farmers market.

Kelpful has since expanded, adding a self-care line of bath salts and scrubs, although their latest food shop item, a popcorn, just became a huge hit. Between March and September, the ladies harvest around 100 pounds commercially each week at different spots across San Luis Obispo County. Nori and kombu are top for culinary endeavors, while kelp and rockweed are better for skincare.

While theyre currently stocked at SLO Natural Foods Co-op, SLO Provisions and SLO General Store, Kelpful products are also still available from local farmers markets. As for online sales, California has always been a good market, but theyre starting to ship more out of state to places like Missouri. Whether its as a skincare ingredient or food source, Hanson says the mission has always been to educate people about the benefits of seaweed. A previous job in sustainable farming introduced her to the new ways society is starting to look at food production.

Ive always been on a mission to maximize my positive impact in the world, and with land-based farming depleting soil and water resources, I believe the future of our food systems is in the ocean, she says. Far from reducing resources, growing things like seaweed is a brilliant way to regenerate ecosystems, Hanson explains; certain species of marine algae can even reduce seawater acidification induced by climate change.

In October, Hanson, Marsh and fellow Kelpful founder Austin Rogers hope to begin a two-year study to collect data alongside the National Science Foundation and regenerative ocean farming pioneers Sunken Seaweed. Upon completion, the resulting environmental impact report template will bring their dream of creating a kelp farm in California  and those of like-minded others  one step closer to becoming reality.

Theres a former abalone facility in Cayucos that were hoping to get granted access to with the long-term plan being to start a land-based seawater aquaculture system in partnership with Cal Poly University and nonprofit Harmony Coast Aquaculture Institute, she says. People should get ready to eat a lot more seaweed.

This article was featured in the InsideHook SF newsletter. Sign up now for more from the Bay Area.

The post Our Seaweed Future Is Growing Along Californias Central Coast appeared first on InsideHook.
UNITED NATIONS, July 25 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Monday welcomed the efforts the Libyan parties are making to ensure the normal order of oil production in the country.

"China welcomes that the Libyan parties are working to remove political interference, negotiate and resolve differences in the management of the oil sector and revenue distribution, and ensure the normal order of oil production in Libya," Dai Bing, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, told the UN Security Council briefing on Libya.

Describing Oil as "an important source of income for national reconstruction and livelihood improvement in Libya," Dai said, "Libya's oil industry should continue to be managed by the country, and all oil revenues be used for the benefits of its people."

"Frozen assets are an important resource for national reconstruction. And the countries concerned should ensure the integrity of the frozen assets in strict accordance with Security Council resolutions," he said.

On the political situation in Libya, Dai said that since Dec. 24 last year, the political transition in Libya has continued to face challenges, and the negative impact on the situation in the country is gradually emerging.

Speaking about the mandate of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya's (UNSMIL), Dai said, "considering that the political process in Libya is at a critical stage, China supports the extension of UNSMIL's mandate."

"The Security Council should continue to maintain the frequency of its deliberations and devote its attention to the issue of Libya," he said. 
Burmese nationals chant slogans against their countrys junta during a rally outside the Myanmar Embassy in Bangkok to protest Naypyidaws execution of veteran democracy activist Ko Jimmy and three other political dissidents, July 26, 2022.

Updated at 5:24 ET on 2022-07-26

ASEAN on Tuesday issued its harshest criticism of the Burmese junta yet, calling Myanmars execution of four political prisoners highly reprehensible and saying it displayed a gross lack of will to return the member-state to normalcy.

Malaysia, an outspoken member of the Southeast Asian bloc, separately called their killings a crime against humanity. The top Malaysian diplomat said no Myanmar military regime representative should be allowed at any meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, including the next ASEAN foreign ministers gathering, scheduled for Aug. 3.

This was a rare rebuke of one of the members of the 55-year-old bloc, which operates mostly by consensus, as ASEAN and member-state governments joined a global chorus of condemnation over the executions of the four by the junta. Its forces have also killed more than 2,000 people since the generals seized power by toppling an elected government last year.

The executions have caused ASEAN to distrust Myanmar, said Indonesia  next years chair of the 10-nation bloc  with Indonesian human rights representative Yuyun Wahyuningrum wondering whether the renegade members standing in the regional bloc was now shaky.

Cambodia, the 2022 holder of the ASEAN chair, issued a statement saying that ASEAN denounces and is strongly disappointed by the execution of four opposition activists, despite appeals by Cambodian leader Hun Sen for Myanmar to reconsider the sentences.

The first judicial executions in Myanmar since 1976 came despite a direct appeal on June 11 by Hun Sen to Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, the junta leader.

The implementation of the death sentences, just a week before the 55th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting is highly reprehensible because it dealt a blow to ASEAN efforts to expedite the implementation of the blocs consensus on Myanmar, the chairs statement said.

The executions mark a setback in expediting progress on the implementation of the Five-Point Consensus (5PC), namely in building trust and confidence to engender a dialogue among all parties concerned, in order to end violence and alleviate the suffering of the innocent people, Cambodia said in a statement as ASEAN chair.

The junta has reneged on a five-point consensus it agreed to with ASEAN in April 2021 to put the country back on the path to democracy. The consensus called for an end to violence; constructive dialogue among all parties; the mediation of such talks by a special ASEAN envoy; the provision of ASEAN-coordinated humanitarian assistance and a visit to Myanmar by an ASEAN delegation to meet with all parties.

The Burmese junta put to death veteran democracy activist Ko Jimmy (whose real name is Kyaw Min Yu), former National League for Democracy lawmaker Phyo Zeya Thaw, as well as activists Hla Myo Aung and Aung Thura Zaw, likely on Saturday, but announced their executions on Monday.

A military court had convicted them over terrorist acts and they lost appeals against their death sentences. The junta had also rejected the possibility of a pardon for the condemned men.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah (right) and the U.N. Secretary-General's Special Envoy on Myanmar, Noeleen Heyzer, attend a press conference at Parliament House in Kuala Lumpur, July 26, 2022. (Handout photo from Malaysia's Department of Information via AP)

It seems that the Myanmar junta is making a mockery of the five-point consensus, Malaysian Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah said during a joint press conference with Noeleen Heyzer, United Nations special envoy on Myanmar, after they met in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday.

I believe the foreign ministers when we meet in Phnom Penh on Aug. 3 will look into this, he told reporters.

Myanmar should not be invited to send political representation to all ministerial level meetings. This is to show that we are very serious on the issue of political representation.

A direct rebuke of ASEAN

Indonesia, too, indicated that the Southeast Asian bloc could no longer carry on with business as usual.

With these executions, ASEAN is increasingly distrusting Myanmar. Does Myanmar have good intentions to implement the consensus? Yuyun Wahyuningrum, representative of Indonesia to the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights, told BenarNews.

Will there be more serious implications in ASEAN for Myanmar or not?

During a press briefing in Washington on Monday, Ned Price, spokesman for the U.S. State Department, which had pressed ASEAN to take action the Burmese regime, characterized the executions as a direct rebuke of appeals made by the regional bloc and others.

A Burmese protester gestures in anger over Myanmars execution of four dissidents, during a demonstration outside Naypyidaws embassy in Bangkok, July 26, 2022. [Subel Rai Bhandari/BenarNews]

Elsewhere, a Cambodian academic concurred with Washingtons views.

The execution of the four Burmese political prisoners reflects that the junta government does not respect ... and give value to Cambodias ASEAN chair, who has urged them not to execute political prisoners, Van Bunna, a research fellow at the Cambodian Center for Cooperation and Peace, told Radio Free Asia (RFA), an online news service affiliated with BenarNews.

It also reflects that the junta government does not care about the ASEANs 5-point consensus. The execution sentence also proves that the junta government does not care what the international community says about them, Van Bunna added.

A protester addresses the crowd during a rally outside the Myanmar Embassy in Bangkok to condemn the Burmese juntas execution of four political prisoners, July 26, 2022. [Subel Rai Bhandari/BenarNews]

Meanwhile in Thailand, some 500 young Thai and Burmese protestors rallied outside the Myanmar Embassy in Bangkok to vent their anger over the executions. They waved Myanmar flags and banners, and chanted slogans against Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing.

One of the protesters, Saw Kyaw Aie Paing, 19, had fled Myanmar with her mother after the coup in February 2021.

She said she wanted the world community to stand with the people of Myanmar and give them humanitarian aid. She also urged the Thai government not to deal with the Burmese junta.

In a statement about the executions, the Thai government, via its foreign ministry, said it was profoundly concerned about such and other developments that could foreclose all efforts towards achieving peace.

We regret so deeply the loss of four lives which aggravates the vexing problems of Myanmar. Use of force, cruelty and violence could never settle political differences, Tanee Sangrat, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in the statement on Tuesday.

The use of force, cruelty and violence could never settle political differences. We call upon all parties to the conflict to seek, with all their might, a durable political resolution so no more lives would be wasted, and the people of Myanmars rights to live in peace are respected.

Muzliza Mustafa in Kuala Lumpur, Alvin Prasetyo in Jakarta, and Subel Rai Bhandari and Nontarat Phaicharoen in Bangkok contributed to this report.
Families of some people arrested under SOSMA gather with opposition party members and NGO representatives outside the parliament building to protest against a provision in the act that allows for detention without trial, in Kuala Lumpur, Nov. 21, 2019.

Malaysias parliament on Tuesday reinstated a controversial provision of a law that empowers authorities to hold suspects for up to 28 days without charge for alleged national security offenses, despite strong resistance from opposition lawmakers.

The provision, which critics say often is misused for political reasons, had been repealed a few months ago but was renewed for five years after 111 members of parliament voted for its extension on Tuesday, compared with 88 who voted against it.

If we want to argue about the concept of justice ..., this act (SOSMA) also provides justice for people who are detained, such as the opportunity to see a lawyer and these cases of security offenses are also tried in the High Court, Home Affairs Minister Hamzah Zainudin said at the lower house, while defending the move to reinstate the provision in the Special Offenses (Security Measures) Act  otherwise known as SOSMA.

Although the act provides for 28 days to investigate, the police however only have 21 days to do so because they must submit complete investigation papers to with the attorney-general seven days before the end of the 28-day period, the minister noted.

When SOSMA first came into effect on June 22, 2012, officials had said its special measures would deal with threats to national sovereignty such as terrorism, and that it would replace the much dreaded Internal Security Act (ISA), which was in place for decades.

The minister first presented the extension motion on March 23, but failed to get the support of a majority of MPs. And then, in a major embarrassment for the government, the lower house of parliament voted down the proposal.

Meanwhile, Maria Chin Abdullah, a Member of Parliament for Petaling Jaya who was once arrested under SOSMA spoke in parliament against its extension.

I still cannot accept how an act that has been cancelled can be reinstated with a very weak explanation. ISA and SOSMA are Acts and procedures that ignore the rule of law, she said.

Under SOSMA, the rule of law is not respected because the trial court cannot order the Public Prosecutor to submit any statement or summary of information that is considered sensitive, or harmful to national security. This makes defense very challenging. The most unfair part of SOSMA is that the accused can be held in jail until the final appeal is over even if the trial court has acquitted the prisoner.

Abdullah said she was not against efforts to control and deal with terrorism, but she believes that the countrys existing laws are strong enough to deal with those threats.

In 2020, Malaysia had detained 1,032 individuals without trial by August, according to the U.S. State Departments Country Report on Malaysian human rights practices.
Bennington, VT (05201)

Today

Partly cloudy skies this evening will give way to occasional showers overnight. Low around 60F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies this evening will give way to occasional showers overnight. Low around 60F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%.
A member of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of China is pictured while working on a military medical train during the "Peace Train-2022" joint humanitarian medical rescue exercises and medical service activities between the Chinese and Lao militaries in Phonhong of central Laos' Vientiane Province, July 25, 2022. (Photo by Kaikeo Saiyasane/Xinhua)

VIENTIANE, July 26 (Xinhua) -- The "Peace Train-2022" joint humanitarian medical rescue exercises and medical service activities between the Chinese and Lao militaries are being held in Phonhong of central Laos' Vientiane Province.

The event launched on Monday marks the first time for the military medical train of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of China to operate abroad, and to collaborate with a foreign hospital while handling medical treatment and epidemic prevention at the same time.

Yu Min, director of the joint exercises on the Chinese side, told reporters on Monday that apart form the hospital train, the exercises also involve medical equipment including the negative pressure ambulance and the mobile COVID-19 lab.

The joint exercises aim to strengthen the ability of medical departments of the Chinese and Lao militaries to collaborate in bringing succor to the sick and the wounded, and improve the related mechanism and process, according to Yu.

Khampheng Phoummakeo, head of military medical department of the Lao People's Armed Forces' General Logistics Department, said in his speech at the launch ceremony that the joint exercises will not only enhance the professional ability of the two militaries' medical and logistics departments, but will further promote the traditional friendship and comprehensive cooperative relations between the two militaries.

Chen Chi, deputy head of the Logistic Support Department of the Central Military Commission of China, said in his speech at the launch ceremony via video that the joint exercises and medical service activities are efforts to implement the important cooperation consensus between the two countries and the two militaries.

Lao Deputy Defense Minister Vongkham Phommakone told reporters during the joint exercises on Monday that the exercises mark the fourth time for the medical team of the Chinese PLA's "Peace Train" to come to Laos, noting that the previous series of "Peace Train" activities have achieved tremendous and far-reaching results.

During the event on Monday, a ceremony was also held for the handover of the nucleic acid testing equipment and reagents, masks and other anti-COVID-19 supplies donated by the PLA to the Lao side.

The China-Laos "Peace Train-2022" joint exercises and medical service activities will last to July 28. 

Medical personnel of the Lao military transport the "wounded" during the "Peace Train-2022" joint humanitarian medical rescue exercises and medical service activities between the Chinese and Lao militaries in Phonhong of central Laos' Vientiane Province, July 25, 2022. (Photo by Kaikeo Saiyasane/Xinhua)

Medical personnel of the Lao military transport the "wounded" during the "Peace Train-2022" joint humanitarian medical rescue exercises and medical service activities between the Chinese and Lao militaries in Phonhong of central Laos' Vientiane Province, July 25, 2022. (Photo by Kaikeo Saiyasane/Xinhua)

Medical personnel of the Lao military transport the "wounded" during the "Peace Train-2022" joint humanitarian medical rescue exercises and medical service activities between the Chinese and Lao militaries in Phonhong of central Laos' Vientiane Province, July 25, 2022. (Photo by Kaikeo Saiyasane/Xinhua)

Aerial photo taken on July 25, 2022 shows a view of the "Peace Train-2022" joint humanitarian medical rescue exercises and medical service activities between the Chinese and Lao militaries in Phonhong of central Laos' Vientiane Province. (Photo by Kaikeo Saiyasane/Xinhua)

Medical personnel of the Lao military transport the "wounded" during the "Peace Train-2022" joint humanitarian medical rescue exercises and medical service activities between the Chinese and Lao militaries in Phonhong of central Laos' Vientiane Province, July 25, 2022. (Photo by Kaikeo Saiyasane/Xinhua)

Chu Lingling, deputy head of a medical team of the People's Liberation Army of China, delivers a speech at the Lao Military Hospital 103 in Vientiane, Laos, July 27, 2022.

The "Peace Train-2022" joint humanitarian medical rescue exercises and medical service activities between the Chinese and Lao militaries are being held in Phonhong of central Laos' Vientiane Province, and will last to July 28. (Photo by Zeng Li/Xinhua)

Lao military medical personnel attend a lecture launched by Chinese military medical experts at the Lao Military Hospital 103 in Vientiane, Laos, July 26, 2022.

The "Peace Train-2022" joint humanitarian medical rescue exercises and medical service activities between the Chinese and Lao militaries are being held in Phonhong of central Laos' Vientiane Province, and will last to July 28. (Photo by Zeng Li/Xinhua)
Authorities say a woman fired several gunshots, apparently at the ceiling, inside of Dallas Love Field Airport before an officer shot and wounded her
PITTSFIELD  A judge Tuesday found Myron Crapps guilty of shooting a 43-year-old woman on Kent Avenue in Pittsfield in the summer of 2020.

Crapps, 31, of Springfield, was convicted by Berkshire Superior Court Judge John Agostini of assault and battery with a firearm and illegal possession of a firearm after a two-day bench trial.

Crapps was found guilty of opening fire in daylight in downtown Pittsfield, striking a woman multiple times just before 2 p.m. on July 7, 2020. Police said he was in a car that stopped on Kent Avenue and whose occupants sexually propositioned two females including, the Berkshire District Attorney's Office said, a preteen girl.

The mother of one of them confronted the males, and after an argument, was shot three times by Crapps, a spokesman for the office of Berkshire District Attorney Andrea Harrington said.

Pittsfield police obtained a warrant for Crapps arrest after interviewing witnesses, and Crapps was arrested on July 13, 2020, in Springfield.

Harrington said the victim and witnesses gave "powerful" testimony.

Archives Springfield man arraigned in shooting of Pittsfield woman

"My office prioritizes holding those who commit violence in our community accountable for their actions," she said in a statement.

Crapps is due to be sentenced Sept. 28, the DA's office said. The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Joseph Yorlano. Crapps was represented by defense lawyer Kedar Ismail.
PITTSFIELD  An additional $1 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding is coming Pittsfields way, to the Berkshire Innovation Center.

The U.S. Department of Commerce will give the center $914,465 over two years to establish a manufacturing academy thats meant to spur growth, and jobs, in that business sector.

The center opened in 2020 and is located at the William Stanley Business Park.

Federal money will be matched by $330,000 in state and local funds.

The project seeks to spur growth in Berkshire Countys advanced manufacturing sector. It is expected, over time, to create 270 jobs, retain 153 positions, and generate $12.6 million in private investment, according to a news release.

Those jobs numbers are based on projections that the center received from companies participating in the initiative, according to the centers executive director, Ben Sosne.

Those firms include General Dynamics Advanced Mission Systems, Boyd Technologies, Interprint Inc., Sinicon Plastics, Modern Mold & Tool, Hi-Tech Mold & Tool, LTI Smart Glass and SolaBlock. All those Berkshire companies are heavily invested in advanced manufacturing.

The job figures are longterm projections, Sosne said, and are not expected to be achieved in two years.

The EDA projects these four or five or six years out, Sosne said. Theyre trying to stimulate something that fuels continued growth. This is going to help them achieve these goals.

We need to use this as a spark to launch something thats sustainable, he said.

The academy will seek to solve persistent challenges facing the manufacturing economy in the Berkshires. One goal is to close the gap between local supply chain capabilities and the needs of larger manufacturers. That would be brought about, proponents say, through education, training, and technology assistance.

The BIC will host and manage the initiative, along with the Massachusetts Institute of Technologys Initiative for Knowledge and Innovation in Manufacturing.

The lead industry partner is a BIC-member company, General Dynamics. The project is also supported by Berkshire Community College, Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, the MassHire Berkshire Workforce Board and 1Berkshire.

Sosne said discussions about forming the academy began 18 months ago. Laura Brennan of the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission played a key role in getting the initiative established. Sosne said the academy is expected to start in September.

Among its offerings: technology bootcamps; a regional apprenticeship program using curriculum developed with MIT; and creation of a pool of training materials for participating firms.

The project received praise Tuesday from state and national politicians, including U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield.

Massachusetts is at the forefront ... when it comes to innovation thanks in large part to partners like the Berkshire Innovation Center, Neal said in a statement. This funding will stimulate economic activity throughout the First Congressional District for years to come.
PITTSFIELD  Attorney General Maura Healey endorsed Berkshire District Attorney Andrea Harrington in her reelection bid Monday. The endorsement came days after Harrington hosted Healey during a visit to the county as part of Healey's campaign for governor.

Healey's thrown her support behind Harrington over challenger and local defense attorney Timothy Shugrue.

Healey said in a statement that the first-term district attorney has been a "great partner" and that her support for Harrington's reelection came from the district attorney's "commitment to equity, justice, and public safety that we need right now."

"She's tackled violent crime, lifted up and protected victims and survivors, and worked to make our criminal justice system fairer for all," Healey said. "I'm proud to endorse her today and look forward to partnering with her in the years ahead."

It's the second time Harrington has earned the attorney general's endorsement. In 2018, Harrington won the Democratic primary only to face a write-in challenge from then incumbent DA Paul Caccaviello.

Healey chose Harrington over Caccaviello in that race, telling The Eagle's editorial board at the time that she believed in Harrington's vision and ability to form partnerships in the office.

Harrington, in turn during the 2018 race, cited Healey's first campaign for attorney general as one of the impetuses for her own civil service saying Healey's efforts "planted the seed" with her.

In response to the endorsement, Harrington said in a statement she was "incredibly honored" to receive the support of "a champion for Massachusetts."

"Maura and I have worked closely on a host of issues together, from tackling the opioid epidemic to standing up for reproductive rights, promoting environmental justice, and protecting our seniors from fraud," Harrington said. "I look forward to campaigning alongside her in my re-election campaign."

Voters will choose between Harrington and Shugrue on Sept. 6 during the Democratic primary.
BEIJING, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Tuesday sent a message to Dinesh Gunawardena to congratulate him on taking office as Sri Lankan prime minister.

In his message, Li said that China and Sri Lanka enjoy a profound traditional friendship, and are friendly neighbors and strategic cooperative partners.

Since the establishment of their diplomatic ties 65 years ago, the two sides have always treated each other with respect and as equals, continuously strengthened mutual political trust and promoted mutually beneficial cooperation, and joined hands to deal with difficulties and challenges, said Li, adding that bilateral relations have maintained sound and steady development.

The Chinese side firmly supports the friendly cooperation between China and Sri Lanka, empathizes with the Sri Lankan people regarding the current difficulties facing them, and stands ready to continue to provide them support and assistance within its capacity, Li said.

The Chinese premier said he would like to work with Prime Minister Gunawardena to strengthen solidarity and mutual support among developing countries, and deepen practical cooperation in various fields, so as to bring more benefits to the two countries and their peoples. 
NORTH ADAMS  The Mohawk Theater does not have a potential new owner.

By Tuesdays due date, no prospective buyers submitted proposals to redevelop the long-empty theater, according to Mike Nuvallie, director of the citys Office of Community Development.

While its a little discouraging, its not the end of the road for the Mohawk Theater, Mayor Jennifer Macksey said at Tuesdays City Council meeting.

The city got a slew of questions after tours of the building, Macksey said. Were to regroup and were a little disappointed, but were going to take pulses on all the people that did tours and try to figure out why there were no applications.

The building nearly sold last year to a developer who proposed an event and performance space. But after Macksey took office, she turned down the proposal, citing the need for more community input and a discovery that the city still owed about $52,000 on an existing loan on the building.

Macksey held meetings earlier this year to get more public comment and in June the city put out a call to redevelop the building. She was not available for an interview Tuesday afternoon.

An open house last month drew few people to the building. The theater originally opened in 1938 and closed in 1991.

Buyers had to offer at least $100,000 for the property, which is worth about $466,000, according to the 100-page proposal published in June.

We might have out-priced ourselves, Macksey said. But again, Im not going to give that building away.

The required $100,000 minimum bid is not what deterred Veselko Buntic, the sole bidder last round, from trying again this summer.

He said he decided not to bid after his previous proposal was rejected in a drawn-out process that involved a disagreement between the City Council and then-Mayor Tom Bernard.

The whole process didnt sit well with me, he said Tuesday.

Buntic says he also decided not to stand between community views about the theater and his own vision for the place.

I saw that people in the community were very close to it. And it was going to be difficult to do things, he said. Its very difficult to make it financially valuable and sustainable if too many people are involved.

He will instead focus on developing the two properties he already owns downtown  one on Eagle Street that he plans to turn into apartments and one on Main Street that he wants to turn into a hotel.

This story has been updated to include Mayor Jennifer Mackseys comments at City Council
WILLIAMSTOWN  Steve and Monica Lawrence marked the 20th anniversary of their well-known Williamstown restaurant, the Spice Root on Spring Street, by purchasing another.

The couple now runs the Chefs Hat, at 905 Simonds Road, and promise to leave it largely unchanged, to the relief of staff and regular customers.

Upon the closing of the sale this month, the Lawrences say they knew the staff at the Chefs Hat would wonder whether they would keep their jobs. The new owners made a point to let them know that the menu would remain, as would all the staff.

Mind you, with upgrades made to the building and appliances, and other items replaced, such as plates and flatware.

We are not just owners, we are part of the team, said Steve Lawrence. You have to support each other  were not here just to make money, were here to create community.

Fans of the Chefs Hat neednt worry about major changes, says Monica Lawrence. We dont want to change it because there are so many people with memories of this place, and some of them have been coming here since they were young, she said.

Steve Lawrences father is a chef in India. Monicas father is a food inspector in India. They feel they were meant to be in the restaurant business.

And they welcome the idea of running two restaurants with widely different cuisines: Spice Root features Indian dishes, while the Chefs Hat is mainly a diner featuring traditional American meals.

As a chef, said Steve Lawrence, I like to work with different palates, different spice groups.

The couple says they enjoy the restaurant business mostly because they get to meet people and make friends.

This is my passion, my whole life, Steve Lawrence said.

He really is a people person, said Monica Lawrence. We both are.

The couple bought the Chefs Hat for $165,000 from previous owner Dave Rock. They plan on investing more than $100,000 in the building and equipment over several phases.

The building has housed food service businesses for years, including an ice cream shop and the Star Diner. It has been the Chefs Hat for about 14 years.

We are local people, we have many friends here, Monica Lawrence said. And we are happy to accommodate all kinds of people. Everyone should feel like this is their place.

The Lawrences plan an opening party from noon to 2 p.m. Aug. 6 featuring free hot dogs and burgers and ice cream.

Were doing this to say thank you to the community, said Steve Lawrence. This isnt our restaurant. It is the communitys restaurant.
GREAT BARRINGTON  Proposals to revive the building that once housed the Housatonic school in the heart of this village are in.

They range from apartments by a Berkshire developer who vows to keep rents affordable for middle-income residents to a hair and makeup museum.

Theres also a proposal by the Berkshire Innovation Center for a South County hub, or BIC South, that would feature technology labs like a digital design studio.

It will be a hub for coding, gaming, and robotics competitions and hackathons, wrote B. Stephen Boyd, board chair of the center, located in Pittsfield.

The four proposals come in response to a third try by town officials to find a new use for a historic building, a place packed with nostalgia for residents.

These proposals come 16 years after the school district moved students to new schools off Route 7. The building was used for various purposes for a time before it was abandoned. It began a long slide into disrepair that has cost the town many tens of thousands.

The former Housatonic School has been a leaking eyesore. But a recent request for proposals seems to have piqued some interest Will a third time be the charm? Since it began a new push for developers to come forth, Great Barrington officials are seeing lots of interest in the former Housatonic School.

Other attempts to redevelop the building flopped. Residents and town officials toyed with knocking the building down and establishing a park.

Sign-up for The Berkshire Eagle's free newsletters Sign up

Next steps

The Select Board will review the proposals at an coming meeting and arrange for times when people can comment.

The four proposals are described below. Click the links to see proposal details.

WDM Properties, LLC: 10, two-bedroom, market-rate residential apartments targeted towards middle income residents, at a monthly rent of $1,750. The company owns and runs other complexes in the Berkshires. Recent projects by WDM are new apartments at St. Marys church in Pittsfield and Wayfairs new space at the Clock Tower Business Center. It would plan to begin construction in mid-2023 with a budget of $3.5 million that would include some public funds.

Arete Venture Partners, LLC: 14 market-rate apartments, with three possibly designated affordable, and a community flex-space on the main floor wherein one retail business shall operate, and various community groups and not-for-profits shall have shared access thoroughly the year. Construction would begin in mid-2023.

The Mason Museum of Body Arts: It would be, the developers claim, the first museum in the world to focus on head and body decoration, and serve as a permanent cultural institution that will engage the community in new and creative ways. Founder Linda Mason, a makeup artist and entrepreneur who began her career in Paris working on runway shows, says the site would be a Mecca, so to speak, for those in the industry seeking inspiration. The museum would have permanent displays and ongoing artist programs, conferences, retail and a cafe. Mason proposes a 2025 opening.

Berkshire Innovation Center: The company is looking to grow after establishing the first BIC in Pittsfield in 2020, as a central hub for advanced manufacturers and other technology-focused businesses in our region. BIC also wants to expand to North Adams for a BIC North. By expanding in the county, it will help students and businesses outside of Pittsfield engage with the BIC, wrote B. Stephen Boyd, BICs board chair. Boyd is asking for a two-year exclusivity contract with the town to plan the project and pull together $10 million for it.
Former Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., leaves the Capitol after announcing his resignation in Washington on Dec. 7, 2017.
William S. Klein is a political consultant who has worked with campaigns at the local, state and national level since the 1980s. He lives in Canaan, N.Y.
You have permission to edit this article.

Edit Close
Gov. Charlie Baker, who despite being a pro-choice Republican, has expressed some uneasiness in the past with expanding access to later-in-pregnancy abortions. He said Tuesday he is hoping to pass the compromise bill passed by the House and Senate this week.
UNITED NATIONS, July 26 (Xinhua) -- China on Tuesday called for a more influential international peace conference to address the Palestinian issue.

"China calls for a larger, more authoritative, and more influential international peace conference, in which permanent members of the Security Council and all stakeholders in the Middle East process are invited to participate in exploring effective ways and means to politically resolve the Palestinian issue," Geng Shuang, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, told the UN Security Council briefing on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question.

Geng underscored that the Middle East peace process is "still at a standstill" and relevant UN resolutions have not been implemented for a long time, and the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people have been continuously violated.

"The question of Palestine is the core of the Middle East issue that bears on regional peace and security. It should not be marginalized, much less forgotten," he said.

Geng called for reversing the situation on the ground, noting that Israel continues to expand its settlement activities in the occupied territories, thus continuing to squeeze the living space of Palestinian people and undermining the continuity of the occupied Palestinian territory and the prospect of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state.

"We urge Israel to abide by international law, implement Security Council Resolution 2334, and immediately stop all settlement activities," he said.

Geng highlighted the importance of achieving common security as well.

Since the beginning of this year, violent incidents have occurred one after another in occupied territories and it is disturbing that clashes happened in Gaza, he said.

"The security of Israel and Palestine is interdependent and indivisible. The two sides should uphold the common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security concept, and find a way to live side by side in peace," he said. "Seeking absolute security by using one's advantageous position can only lead to greater security dilemma."

"Advancing the two-state solution brooks no delay," said Geng.

"The question of Palestine has dragged on for more than 70 years. Piecemeal crisis management is no substitute for a comprehensive and impartial solution. The international community should work earnestly to promote the Middle East peace process," he said.

"Countries that have influence on Palestine and Israel should shoulder the due responsibilities, uphold an objective and impartial position, and play the due role in promoting the early resumption of peace talks between the two sides," he said. 
Chinese President Xi Jinping holds talks with visiting Indonesian President Joko Widodo at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, capital of China, July 26, 2022. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei)

BEIJING, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday held talks with visiting Indonesian President Joko Widodo in Beijing. The two presidents had a comprehensive and in-depth exchange of views and reached a series of important common understandings on China-Indonesia relations and on international and regional issues of mutual interest.

Expressing his delight that the two sides have decided on the overall direction of building a China-Indonesia community with a shared future, Xi said China will work with Indonesia to cement strategic mutual trust and firmly support each other in defending sovereignty, security and development interests, in exploring development paths in line with national conditions, and in growing the economy and bettering people's lives.

RESILIENCE, VITALITY OF BILATERAL TIES

Noting Widodo is the first head of state China hosts after the Beijing Olympic Winter Games, Xi said this speaks volumes about the strong commitment of the two sides to growing bilateral ties.

Xi said the China-Indonesia relationship has enjoyed robust growth under the joint guidance of the two presidents in recent years, demonstrating great resilience and vitality. Strategic mutual trust has been further consolidated, and the four-pillar cooperation, namely political, economic, people-to-people and maritime cooperation, has kept deepening, said Xi.

The two sides have acted proactively and with a strong sense of responsibility to maintain regional peace and stability and promote international unity and cooperation, Xi said, adding the two countries have thus set an example of major developing countries seeking strength through unity and win-win cooperation.

"Facts have proven that a sound China-Indonesia relationship not only serves the shared long-term interests of the two countries, but also has positive, far-reaching impacts regionally and globally," said Xi.

Currently, the Chinese people are working toward the second centenary goal of building a great modern socialist country in all respects, while the Indonesian people are actively pursuing Vision 2045, Xi said, expressing his readiness to work with President Widodo and continue steering the steady and sustained growth of bilateral relations from a strategic height and a long-term perspective, in order to bring greater benefits to the two peoples and make greater contribution to peace and stability in the region and beyond.

For his part, Widodo said Indonesia and China are comprehensive strategic partners with an important goal of jointly building a community with a shared future, adding their cooperation is mutually beneficial, not only serving the two peoples well but also contributing significantly to peace and development in the region and beyond.

Noting the sound cooperation between Indonesia and China has demonstrated the strategic nature of the bilateral relations, Widodo said Indonesia will work with China to keep deepening comprehensive strategic partnership and make still greater contribution to regional peace and global development.

CHINA-INDONESIA COMMUNITY WITH A SHARED FUTURE

Xi noted that China and Indonesia are at similar development stages, have entwined interests, follow similar philosophies and development paths, and share a closely connected future. "Building a China-Indonesia community with a shared future is the common aspiration and expectation of the two peoples," Xi said.

The two sides need to further deepen high-quality Belt and Road cooperation for more fruitful outcomes, strive for completing the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway on schedule and to high standards, and ensure good implementation of such major cooperation projects as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Corridor and the "Two Countries, Twin Parks," Xi said.

Xi said China will continue to fully support Indonesia in building a regional vaccine production hub, and will step up public health cooperation with Indonesia.

Xi added China is willing to import more commodities and quality agro- and by-products from Indonesia, take an active part in the development of Indonesia's new capital and the North Kalimantan Industrial Park, expand cooperation in development financing, and cultivate new growth drivers in digital economy and green development, among other areas.

Widodo said China is welcome to take an active part in the development of Indonesia's new capital and the North Kalimantan Green Industrial Park, and seek greater strategic synergy between the Global Maritime Fulcrum and the Belt and Road Initiative, adding Indonesia is ready to work with China to ensure that the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway is completed and put into operation on schedule and becomes another milestone in bilateral friendship.

STAND TOGETHER IN SOLIDARITY

Facing changes in the world that are unfolding in ways like never before, Xi said China and Indonesia need to stand together in solidarity, fulfill the responsibilities of major developing countries, follow true multilateralism, uphold open regionalism, and contribute Oriental wisdom and Asia's input to the development of global governance.

China fully supports Indonesia in hosting the G20 Bali Summit, and will increase coordination and cooperation with Indonesia for a full success of the Summit, Xi said. China will give full support to Indonesia's ASEAN chairmanship next year, and will enhance solidarity and coordination with ASEAN, with a focus on the five proposals on building our home together, to further unleash new dynamism of the China-ASEAN comprehensive strategic partnership, Xi said.

Noting that China welcomes Indonesia's continued active participation in "BRICS Plus" cooperation, Xi said China appreciates Indonesia's support for and commitment to the Global Development Initiative and the Global Security Initiative, and is ready for closer communication and cooperation with Indonesia in this regard.

Widodo thanked China for supporting Indonesia's G20 presidency, adding that Indonesia will maintain close coordination with China for the success of the G20 Bali Summit. As the ASEAN rotating chair next year, Indonesia is ready to make active efforts for the growth of ASEAN-China relations, Widodo added.

The two presidents also exchanged views on issues including the Ukraine crisis. They shared the view that the international community should create conditions for peace talks, play a constructive role in deescalating the situation in Ukraine and stabilizing the global economic order, and work together to maintain the hard-won peace and stability in the region.

The two sides issued a Joint Press Statement on the Bilateral Meeting between President of the People's Republic of China and President of the Republic of Indonesia. They also signed an MOU on jointly promoting cooperation between the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road Initiative and the Global Maritime Fulcrum, and other cooperation documents covering such areas as vaccine, green development, cyber security and ocean. 




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
All revenue-generating functions will report to Bhatia

Phable announced the appointment of Sanil Bhatia as Sr Vice President - Revenue. With this appointment, Phable focuses on strengthening its full-stack and value-driven chronic disease management offerings and accelerating market expansion to create India's first comprehensive healthcare ecosystem to assist patients in better managing their condition.



Before joining Phable, Bhatia founded and led the Healthcare Vertical at udaan.com. He was also an early member of Uber India & Flipkart, where he has built and scaled ride-sharing & e-commerce categories. Daniel brings in over 13 years of experience, managing large-scale P&Ls and teams for B2C & B2B technology companies. He has a demonstrated track record of delivering long-term business results by building passionate teams in a high-energy entrepreneurial culture. He has supported businesses in gaining market prominence by setting up successful teams, systems, and processes in countries like Iran and the US.



At Phable, all revenue-generating functions will report to Bhatia. To achieve the desired business outcome, he will work directly with the founders - Sumit Sinha and Mukesh Bansal - and Functional Heads. As the Vice President of Revenue, he will oversee and lead categories such as medicine, lab tests, programmes, health and wellness, and devices.
IMPROVING AIR QUALITY QUOTIENT WITH TECH

Air quality affects all living organisms in diverse ways. Airborne pathogenic microbes are associated with many infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), avian flu, anthrax, and SARS-CoV-2. In particular, the COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the real need for mechanisms to control the spread of airborne respiratory pathogens. Thus, preventing the spread of disease from pathogens has come to the forefront of the public consciousness. And this has brought an increasing demand for novel technologies to prioritise clean air by both big and small players. Startups are flaring up with innovations and technology that have the potential to change the situation, providing methods to combat air pollution and related infections sustainably, intelligently and in an affordable manner.

For Feedback, please email us at: communications@mmactiv.com
Remote working in South Africa seems to be a point of contention, including in the advertising and media industry.

Source:  Ola Dapo pexels The Great Return: Some love remote working, others miss the office environment

Do a quick Google search and youre going to find many articles with conflicting opinions.

When I did a quick poll on my Linkedin page, I got a similar response. Some say that their businesses are fully remote and theyre happy about it, some say that they dont trust their workers enough to keep them remote, noting dips in productivity.

On the side of the workers, there is a lot of conflict too. Some miss the interactions they had with colleagues, others find the home office environment a more productive space. There are a lot more factors, but that isnt the crux of the matter.

The real issue

What is the crux of the matter is that because remote work is so prevalent internationally, overseas businesses have recognised South Africa as a market ripe with cheap resources.

To give you an example, a community manager earns around $50,000 p/a in the US. In South Africa, a similar resource will cost you R180,000 a year.

In other words, if youre working from home for a US business, youre earning R800,000 a year. US businesses can pay a South African somewhat less and get the same level of competence. Its a no-brainer.

The ramifications are obvious. Local businesses are losing resources to international companies. Its just impossible to compete with those kinds of salaries.

This creates a scarcity of local staff resources, making recruitment a protracted process, putting pressure on existing staff to fill the gap.

This in turn drives existing staff to also look for international remote work as well. Its a self-perpetuating cycle.

Lets recap, youre earning triple your salary, youre working fully from home, and in many instances you are working shorter hours. Why would you keep working at a South Africa business?

Fear of the unknown

Fortunately, there is one reason, and its a bit of a nasty one: fear of the unknown. People are less inclined to make dramatic changes when there is very little drive to do so.

What this boils down to is that the happier your staff, the less inclined you are to lose them. A no-brainer, right? Why is it so difficult for local businesses to get right?

This research may be a little bit old, but in 2019 CareerJunction published a piece of research highlighting why most South Africans quit their jobs.

Trust, approachability, favouritism, and taking credit for work done by others were just a few of the reasons given.

Granted, compensation played a role, but it was dwarfed by the softer, more relationship-based variables.

What is the perception that were so bad at people management? Is it a lack of access to cost-effective managerial courses?

Is it the assumption that when you reach a certain age youll have the wisdom to lead people effectively? Perhaps it isnt a problem thats native to South Africa.

I cant tell you. What I can tell you is that if youve been punting the people first narrative in your organisation, nows the time to walk the talk.
The 2022 African cardio oncology conference hosted by the Cardio Oncology Society of Southern Africa (Cososa) recently emphasised early identification of cardiotoxicity risk and multidisciplinary collaboration at its recent meeting, attended by leading local and international experts.

It is no use successfully treating cancer, only to allow the cancer patient to succumb to a cardiac event, says convenor of the meeting, cardiologist and cardiooncologist Dr Y.T. (Trishun) Singh of the cardio oncology centre at Netcare uMhlanga Hospital, the first such unit to be established in Southern Africa.

International attendees included the president of the British Cardio Oncology Society, Professor Alexander Lyon of the Royal Brompton Hospital in London, United Kingdom; Dr Susannah Stanway of the Royal Marsden Hospital in London; and Professor Sebastian Szmit, president of Cardio Oncology, Poland.

The inaugural Cososa meeting was held just before South Africa entered the first Covid-19 hard lockdown on 7 March 2020. We are very pleased that this second meeting could be hosted in a hybrid format, allowing our colleagues from beyond our borders and around the world to participate through in-person or virtual attendance, says Singh.

Internationally, cardio oncology is well established as a field of medicine with specialised units in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia, points out Singh, who is the only International Cardio Oncology Society (Icos) certified cardio oncologist in Southern Africa.

In Southern Africa we have a great need to develop more capacity by establishing more cardio oncology centres and developing local expertise."

Oncologists, haematologists, and cardiologists would benefit from skills that would enable them to implement cardio oncology principles in the daily practices of cancer care.

Topics covered during the 2022 conference, held at the Premier Hotel uMhlanga in Durban, included:

Cardiotoxicity of cancer therapy and early recognition;

Baseline cardio oncology assessment of the patient before commencing chemotherapy or radiation;

Thromboembolism and anticoagulation in cancer patients;

The need for a multidisciplinary approach in cancer treatment with particularly close co-operation between the cardio oncologist and oncologist;

How to establish a cardio oncology centre in South Africa or elsewhere on the African continent; and

Imaging tools in cardio oncology.

With earlier detection and more advanced treatments, oncology medicine is increasingly successful in treating paediatric and adult cancer patients with modern chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or in combination, Singh says.

Nearly all classes of chemotherapy and radiation to the chest may have side effects that put patients at greater risk of heart problems, known as cardiotoxicity.

Cardiotoxicity does not just involve the heart muscle, but may also include heart rhythm disturbances, the vasculature (arteries and veins), heart valves, pericardium, and conduction system.

"Cardiotoxicity in people being treated for cancer is aggravated if underlying cardiac disease already exists, or if the patient has comorbidities such as diabetes, hypertension, or dyslipidaemia, he explains.

"The Cososa meeting emphasised that all patients due to have potentially cardiotoxic cancer therapy must have a baseline cardio oncology assessment by an appropriately skilled cardiologist.

Following the guidelines and protocols by recognised cardio oncology societies such as Icos, ongoing cardio oncology assessment during cancer therapy and post-therapy surveillance is considered mandatory, Singh says.

The damage to the heart muscle, heart valves, coronary arteries and pericardium due to radiation to the chest, can manifest a few years after completion of chest radiation and these patients need careful surveillance as guided by the protocols.

We also observed that childhood cancer survivors need very careful post-therapy surveillance, as they may present many years later with premature heart failure and ischaemic heart disease, Singh says.

Cososa also resolved that a basic foundation in cardio oncology should be introduced in cardiology, oncology and haematology fellowship training programmes, and cardiologists must have at least a level two cardio oncology training and certification to provide cardio oncology opinions for cancer patients.

It is imperative that cardio oncologists, oncologists and haematologists work together for better outcomes for people being treated for cancer. The earlier high-risk cancer patients are identified for cardiotoxicity, the sooner therapy to mitigate against cardiotoxicity can be started.

Now that Covid-19 is settling, Cososa can pursue our teaching programme, sharing awareness and upskilling all those who are involved in cancer care about cardio oncology for better long-term outcomes for cancer patients, Singh concluded.
The 8th Annual Future of Education Summit, hosted by CNBC Africa in partnership with Forbes Africa, has announced its speaker line-up for its virtual event to be held this Friday, 29 July, under the theme 'The Pathway to Digital Transformation'.

Dr Rakesh Wahi, co-founder of the ABN Group and founder of the Future of Education Summit

Were very excited to welcome global leaders who have navigated digital platforms and are advancing the access and functionality of this space for the continent, said Dr Rakesh Wahi, co-founder of the ABN Group and founder of the Future of Education Summit. The time for adopting digital solutions is now, but navigating a path that overcomes the challenges faced by the continent requires collaboration. Thats why were so looking forward to the solutions-driven approach of our speakers.

The 2022 Future of Education panellists

Panel discussion: Technology Challenges in Teaching and Learning

Bradley Pulford, Managing Director for HP

Dan Adkins, Group CEO for Transnational Academic Group

Prof Barry Dwolatzky, Emeritus Professor and Director of Innovation Strategy at the University of Witwatersrand, and Director and CEO of the Joburg Centre for Software Engineering

Suraj Shah, Lead for the Regional Centre for Innovative Teaching and Learning at Mastercard Foundation

Panel discussion: Digital Transformation in Education

Prof Gary Martin, CEO and Executive Director of the Australian Institute of Management

Dr Kirti Menon, the Senior Director for the Division for Teaching Excellence at the University of Johannesburg

Prof Seth Kunin, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Curtin University

Prof Mark Smith, President and Vice-Chancellor University of Southampton

Panel discussion: Lessons from Covid & Developed World Transformation Strategies for African Education

Prof Stan du Plessis, COO and Economics Professor and Stellenbosch University

Prof Kirk Semple, Director of International Engagement of Lancaster Environment Centre at Lancaster University

Prof Zeblon Vilakazi, Vice-Chancellor and Principal at the University of the Witwatersrand

Adetomi Soyinka, Director of Programmes and Regional Portfolio Lead for the British Councils Higher Education Programme in Sub Saharan Africa

Panel discussion: Transformation of Higher Education Leadership

Prof Malcolm McIver, CEO and Provost of Lancaster University in Ghana

Jon Foster-Pedley, Dean and Director of Henley Business School in Africa

Jaye Richards-Hill, Director of Education Industry for Middle East and Africa, Microsoft Corp

Panel discussion: The Schools Business: Digital Transformation in Formal K-12 Schooling and Supplementary Tutoring

Edward Mosuwe, Head of Gauteng Department of Education

Stacey Brewer, Co-founder and CEO of Spark Schools

Dean McCoubrey, Founder of the multi-award-winning EdTech Digital Citizenship Program and MySociaLife

Yandiswa Xhakaza, Director and Principal of UCT Online High School

The 2022 Future of Education individual speakers

This years keynote address will be given by Prof Andy Schofield, Vice-Chancellor of Lancaster University and an award-winning theoretical physicist.

Keynote speaker Prof Andy Schofield, Vice-Chancellor of Lancaster University

Bello Tongo, CEO of Tongston Entrepreneurship, will discuss the topic Incorporating Entrepreneurship Thinking in Education from Primary to Tertiary Levels.

Prof Tshilidzi Marwala, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Johannesburg and recently appointed Deputy Chair of the Presidential Commission on the Fourth Industrial Revolution will discuss Transformation in the Education Sector.

Robert Paddock, the CEO and Founder of Valenture Institute

Dont miss out on these dynamic discussions that unlock technological potential for the tertiary education space. To book your place at the free-to-attend Future of Education webinar, register here https://hopin.com/events/future-of-education-summit-29-july-2022.
With an extensive background in performative storytelling as a writer and director, MoKoena's desire to write has always stemmed from an observation analysis point of view. She has used her curiosity to explore and articulate social dynamics through narrative in a variety of mediums including poetry, theatre, film and creative journalism.

A passionate writer, MoKoenas creative style is inspired by stories that have been lived as well as characters that live among us. Her voice is a unique amalgamation of western creative narrative and poetry that is deliberately grounded in elements of indigenous knowledge systems and traditional folktale.

As an alumni of the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy in Johannesburg as well as Skidmore College in New York where she studied Theatre and Anthropology, MoKoena now works with narrative development and communications across multiple mediums over various industries.

Her eclectic background lends itself as a rich experiential resource which allows her the ability to deeply connect and resonate with a diversity of writing formats, styles and communication needs.

We look forward to taking our work to even greater heights with Azania on our team, said Migrations creative lead, Koyal Singh. Her unique creative style and passion for writing is certainly exciting to us.

Everyone at Migration is very excited to have MoKoena join the team and are sure that her diverse experience in creating and developing narrative will be a great addition to the creative team.




Clockwork is thrilled with its recent appointment as the digital strategic partner of Bob Martin, a pet care, food, and health products company. The retainer appointment includes the strategy and roll-out of social media and digital executions for seven of the company's sub-brands, namely Bob Martin, Husky, Beeno, Bon Appetit, Pamper, Olympic Professional, and Butch.

Clockwork will be working alongside the pet care company with the aim of re-positioning each sub-brand and creating exciting content for their pet-loving digital consumers.

Bob Martins marketing executive, Su-Lise Tessendorf-Louw, stated: We felt that Clockwork came into the pitch process with an already aligned approach to our brands, both strategically and creatively. We are excited to walk this path with them.

Clockworks co-CEO, Tom Manners, had this to say about the account win: As massive pet lovers, we at Clockwork are delighted to partner with Bob Martin on delivering effective digital solutions across its esteemed stable of brands. We cant wait to get started.

Bob Martin is one of South Africas most beloved pet care ranges. Founded in 1892 by Robert Martin, the company is still family-owned and run 130 years on. The company is constantly exploring ways to make pet care easier and more effective. Working with pet experts and experienced vets, Bob Martin makes great pet products and invaluable pet care advice available to everyone, everywhere, whenever they need it.

Already in the strategic phase of Bob Martins 2022 re-brand, the pet-crazy team at Clockwork is feeling inspired about bringing the best possible digital content to the client.

Clockwork is a full-service, independent agency with branches in Johannesburg, Cape Town and the UK.

Clockworks clients include Microsoft, Netflix, Standard Bank, LG, and Meta.

Clockwork employs approximately 150 staff members and is a BEE Level 1 company.




Are you ready to gather all your closest girlfriends and celebrate the almost-start of hot girl summer at South Africa's biggest workout party? We are!

Saturday Night Fitness is launching its best-in-class workout party this August at Montecasino. If spending two years training in our bedrooms has taught us anything, its that there is great power in a group workout. And the experts agree  fitness is built on community. Yes, its also built on consistency and a side of discipline but getting to sweat within a community keeps you accountable and makes it fun! Thats where Saturday Night Fitness steps in  we have super-sized the group exercise experience. Your fitness community at Saturday Night Fitness is 3,000-women strong. Its lights, music, staging, sound and six of the hottest express workouts you can pack into a single evening.

The workout party to be at

Join the fun on Saturday, 13 August, at the Montecasino Outdoor Events Arena in Johannesburg or on Saturday, 29 October, at GrandWest in Cape Town. This event is for all shapes, all sizes, all fitness levels  yes even the most beginner of beginners will have the time of their lives. The classes  six in total  are all equipment-free, so its just you and your besties getting to dance, stretch, move and groove  and burn some calories while youre at it! We do recommend bringing a yoga mat or towel to sit on. Gates open from 1pm, so you can grab a spot and enjoy the building atmosphere and the stands from our sponsors.

The line-up

As with any workout, weve thought about pacing! So, youll kick off Saturday Night Fitness with a fun workout routine before moving onto an unbeatable HIIT class by one of our favourite fitness MVPs, Queen Fitnass Mapule Ndhlovu. This will roll into a chilled sunset yoga session with Wardah Hartley, a fun dance class and some easy movement from Planet Fitness, before finishing off the night with SWEAT 1000 and DJ Junglegum.

The partners

Saturday Night Fitness is powered by Mr Price Sport, along with Powerade, Planet Fitness and Rethink CBD. All participants will receive a goodie bag that includes a workout vest, unlimited hydration from Powerade and vouchers from our sponsors. Tickets can be booked at here and cost R390.

Contact details

Francois Malan, head of events, Media24 Live: moc.42aidem@nalam.siocnarf.




South Africa has formally asked the United Arab Emirates to extradite Rajesh and Atul Gupta, brothers who face corruption charges relating to former president Jacob Zuma's time in power, the justice minister said on Monday, 25 July 2022.

Image source: Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels

"We can confirm that the extradition request has been duly submitted to the United Arab Emirates' central authority today," Ronald Lamola told reporters.

South Africa had 60 days to submit the request, after Dubai police arrested the Guptas in June.

The brothers are accused of using their connections with Zuma, head of state from 2009 to 2018, to win contracts, influence cabinet appointments and siphon off state funds. Zuma and the Guptas have denied all wrongdoing.

South Africa's National Director of Public Prosecutions Shamila Batohi said the extradition process could take several months, declining to give a more precise timeframe.

She said the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) viewed the submission of the extradition request as an important milestone in attempts to hold accountable perpetrators of corruption.

"What I want to assure the people of South Africa is that as the NPA we do not bring cases unless we ourselves are satisfied that it meets the standard of reasonable prospects of a successful prosecution," she said.

Dubai police arrested the Guptas on the basis of an Interpol "red notice," a request to law enforcement officials worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest someone pending extradition.

The UAE ratified an extradition treaty with South Africa in April 2021, a move that the South African government hoped would lead to the return of the Guptas to face charges.
2nd China International Consumer Products Expo opens in Hainan

Xinhua) 08:13, July 26, 2022

A staff member arranges jewelry exhibits during the second China International Consumer Products Expo in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, July 25, 2022.(Xinhua/Chen Jianli)

HAIKOU, July 25 (Xinhua) -- The second China International Consumer Products Expo kicked off on Monday in Haikou, capital of south China's Hainan Province.

The six-day expo has attracted 1,107 overseas companies and 1,643 brands from 61 countries and regions, as well as over 1,200 domestic brands.

The exhibition area has expanded to 100,000 square meters from 80,000 square meters last year, with the international area covering 80 percent of the total exhibition space.

As the guest country of honor, France participates in the expo with nearly 50 enterprises and 250 brands.

The expo will showcase over 600 new products from more than 200 brands, organizers said.

Co-hosted by China's commerce ministry and the Hainan provincial government, the expo is expected to attract more than 40,000 buyers and visitors.

A staff member decorates an exhibition booth during the second China International Consumer Products Expo in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, July 25, 2022.

The second China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE) opened Monday on the resort island of Hainan.

The six-day expo has attracted 1,107 overseas companies and 1,643 brands from 61 countries and regions, as well as over 1,200 domestic brands.

The exhibition area has expanded to 100,000 square meters from 80,000 square meters last year, with the international area covering 80 percent of the total exhibition space. (Xinhua/Chen Jianli)

A visitor poses for photos during the second China International Consumer Products Expo in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, July 25, 2022.

The second China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE) opened Monday on the resort island of Hainan.

The six-day expo has attracted 1,107 overseas companies and 1,643 brands from 61 countries and regions, as well as over 1,200 domestic brands.

The exhibition area has expanded to 100,000 square meters from 80,000 square meters last year, with the international area covering 80 percent of the total exhibition space. (Xinhua/Zhang Liyun)

A visitor takes photos of exhibits during the second China International Consumer Products Expo in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, July 25, 2022.

The second China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE) opened Monday on the resort island of Hainan.

The six-day expo has attracted 1,107 overseas companies and 1,643 brands from 61 countries and regions, as well as over 1,200 domestic brands.

The exhibition area has expanded to 100,000 square meters from 80,000 square meters last year, with the international area covering 80 percent of the total exhibition space. (Xinhua/Zhang Liyun)

A staff member arranges jewelry exhibits during the second China International Consumer Products Expo in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, July 25, 2022.

The second China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE) opened Monday on the resort island of Hainan.

The six-day expo has attracted 1,107 overseas companies and 1,643 brands from 61 countries and regions, as well as over 1,200 domestic brands.

The exhibition area has expanded to 100,000 square meters from 80,000 square meters last year, with the international area covering 80 percent of the total exhibition space. (Xinhua/Chen Jianli)

A staff member introduces souvenirs of the second China International Consumer Products Expo during the expo in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, July 25, 2022.

The second China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE) opened Monday on the resort island of Hainan.

The six-day expo has attracted 1,107 overseas companies and 1,643 brands from 61 countries and regions, as well as over 1,200 domestic brands.

The exhibition area has expanded to 100,000 square meters from 80,000 square meters last year, with the international area covering 80 percent of the total exhibition space. (Xinhua/Hu Zhixuan)

People visit the second China International Consumer Products Expo in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, July 25, 2022.

The second China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE) opened Monday on the resort island of Hainan.

The six-day expo has attracted 1,107 overseas companies and 1,643 brands from 61 countries and regions, as well as over 1,200 domestic brands.

The exhibition area has expanded to 100,000 square meters from 80,000 square meters last year, with the international area covering 80 percent of the total exhibition space. (Xinhua/Zhang Liyun)

Visitors try gaming capsules during the second China International Consumer Products Expo in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, July 25, 2022.

The second China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE) opened Monday on the resort island of Hainan.

The six-day expo has attracted 1,107 overseas companies and 1,643 brands from 61 countries and regions, as well as over 1,200 domestic brands.

The exhibition area has expanded to 100,000 square meters from 80,000 square meters last year, with the international area covering 80 percent of the total exhibition space. (Xinhua/Guo Cheng)

Exhibitors show how to operate rowing machines during the second China International Consumer Products Expo in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, July 25, 2022.

The second China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE) opened Monday on the resort island of Hainan.

The six-day expo has attracted 1,107 overseas companies and 1,643 brands from 61 countries and regions, as well as over 1,200 domestic brands.

The exhibition area has expanded to 100,000 square meters from 80,000 square meters last year, with the international area covering 80 percent of the total exhibition space. (Xinhua/Hu Zhixuan)

A staff member introduces wine during the second China International Consumer Products Expo in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, July 25, 2022.

The second China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE) opened Monday on the resort island of Hainan.

The six-day expo has attracted 1,107 overseas companies and 1,643 brands from 61 countries and regions, as well as over 1,200 domestic brands.

The exhibition area has expanded to 100,000 square meters from 80,000 square meters last year, with the international area covering 80 percent of the total exhibition space. (Xinhua/Hu Zhixuan)

People visit the second China International Consumer Products Expo in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, July 25, 2022.

The second China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE) opened Monday on the resort island of Hainan.

The six-day expo has attracted 1,107 overseas companies and 1,643 brands from 61 countries and regions, as well as over 1,200 domestic brands.

The exhibition area has expanded to 100,000 square meters from 80,000 square meters last year, with the international area covering 80 percent of the total exhibition space. (Xinhua/Zhang Liyun)

An exhibitor takes a slice of Spanish ham during the second China International Consumer Products Expo in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, July 25, 2022.

The second China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE) opened Monday on the resort island of Hainan.

The six-day expo has attracted 1,107 overseas companies and 1,643 brands from 61 countries and regions, as well as over 1,200 domestic brands.

The exhibition area has expanded to 100,000 square meters from 80,000 square meters last year, with the international area covering 80 percent of the total exhibition space. (Xinhua/Guo Cheng)

An exhibitor puts exhibits in place during the second China International Consumer Products Expo in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, July 25, 2022.

The second China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE) opened Monday on the resort island of Hainan.

The six-day expo has attracted 1,107 overseas companies and 1,643 brands from 61 countries and regions, as well as over 1,200 domestic brands.

The exhibition area has expanded to 100,000 square meters from 80,000 square meters last year, with the international area covering 80 percent of the total exhibition space. (Xinhua/Guo Cheng)

An automobile exhibitor arranges the booth during the second China International Consumer Products Expo in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, July 25, 2022.

The second China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE) opened Monday on the resort island of Hainan.

The six-day expo has attracted 1,107 overseas companies and 1,643 brands from 61 countries and regions, as well as over 1,200 domestic brands.

The exhibition area has expanded to 100,000 square meters from 80,000 square meters last year, with the international area covering 80 percent of the total exhibition space. (Xinhua/Guo Cheng)

People visit the second China International Consumer Products Expo in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, July 25, 2022.

The second China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE) opened Monday on the resort island of Hainan.

The six-day expo has attracted 1,107 overseas companies and 1,643 brands from 61 countries and regions, as well as over 1,200 domestic brands.

The exhibition area has expanded to 100,000 square meters from 80,000 square meters last year, with the international area covering 80 percent of the total exhibition space. (Xinhua/Guo Cheng)

Photo taken on July 25, 2022 shows a fashion exhibition booth at the second China International Consumer Products Expo in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province.

The second China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE) opened Monday on the resort island of Hainan.

The six-day expo has attracted 1,107 overseas companies and 1,643 brands from 61 countries and regions, as well as over 1,200 domestic brands.

The exhibition area has expanded to 100,000 square meters from 80,000 square meters last year, with the international area covering 80 percent of the total exhibition space. (Xinhua/Guo Cheng)

People visit the second China International Consumer Products Expo in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, July 25, 2022.

The second China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE) opened Monday on the resort island of Hainan.

The six-day expo has attracted 1,107 overseas companies and 1,643 brands from 61 countries and regions, as well as over 1,200 domestic brands.

The exhibition area has expanded to 100,000 square meters from 80,000 square meters last year, with the international area covering 80 percent of the total exhibition space. (Xinhua/Zhang Liyun)

A visitor learns about fishing gear during the second China International Consumer Products Expo in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, July 25, 2022.

The second China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE) opened Monday on the resort island of Hainan.

The six-day expo has attracted 1,107 overseas companies and 1,643 brands from 61 countries and regions, as well as over 1,200 domestic brands.

The exhibition area has expanded to 100,000 square meters from 80,000 square meters last year, with the international area covering 80 percent of the total exhibition space. (Xinhua/Guo Cheng)

Aerial photo taken on July 25, 2022 shows the Hainan International Convention and Exhibition Center, the venue for the second China International Consumer Products Expo, in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province.

The second China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE) opened Monday on the resort island of Hainan.

The six-day expo has attracted 1,107 overseas companies and 1,643 brands from 61 countries and regions, as well as over 1,200 domestic brands.

The exhibition area has expanded to 100,000 square meters from 80,000 square meters last year, with the international area covering 80 percent of the total exhibition space. (Xinhua/Yang Guanyu)

(Web editor: Wu Chaolan, Liang Jun)
PARIS, July 26 (Xinhua) -- The ongoing China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE) in the southern Hainan Province, as a signal of China's greater opening-up, is of great significance and contributes to promoting consumption, said the chief executive officer of L'Oreal China, one of the leading French brands present at the expo.

"The CICPE helps promote high-level opening up, contributes to dual circulation new development pattern by enabling global consumer product brands to get access to China's huge consumption market, and facilitates consumption upgrading and consumption return," said Fabrice Megarbane, who is also the president of L'Oreal North Asia Zone, in an interview with Xinhua on Tuesday.

China has a dynamic market, in terms of both scale and growth speed, with a strong digital ecosystem enabling "online + offline" shopping experience, and Chinese consumers are the most sophisticated consumers in the world, noted Megarbane.

"The development of open innovation has contributed to a dynamic market in China and indeed China has a unique open innovation ecosystem," he said.

Bringing its 16 brands to the expo for the second time, L'Oreal Group will release a number of debut products in Hainan this week.

"Hainan Province's strategic position helps unleash the great potential of the Chinese consumption market," said Megarbane, adding that "Hainan's newly upgraded duty-free consumption policy and free trade port policy have accelerated the boom of the beauty industry."

He believed that the CICPE will help the Hainan free trade port become a circulation place for domestic and foreign goods and factors, boost consumption and promote the high-quality lifestyle in local and international markets.

The six-day expo has attracted 1,107 overseas companies and 1,643 brands from 61 countries and regions, as well as over 1,200 domestic brands.

As the guest-of-honor country, France brought some 50 enterprises with 244 brands to the expo, covering fragrance, clothing, jewelry, food, wine, and trade in services.

"As a French company, L'Oreal expect to see more economic and trade cooperation between the two countries," said Megarbane. 
SA President Cyril Ramaphosa, in his address to the nation on Monday, announced that the national electricity grid will remain owned by the State, and that Eskom will continue to be the mainstay of our country's energy industry.

To this end, he announced the launch of the National Energy Crisis Committee, chaired by the Director General in the presidency, members of which will report directly to him on a regular basis.

The committee brings all departments and entities involved, such as the Department of Public Enterprises, the Department of Fisheries Forestry and Agriculture, the Department of Minerals and Energy, Treasury and the police.

"They will move quickly to implement the actions announced today," he said, "which aim to not just address our immediate constraints to ensure energy stabilisation in our country, but have as their objective long-term energy security".

Ramaphosa spoke of Eskom taking additional actions to add new generation capacity to the grid on an urgent basis over the next three months .

"We will be tabling special legislation in parliament on an expedited basis to address the legal and regulatory obstacles to new electricity generation capacity for a limited period."

"The process from design to commercial [energy] operation has tended to take more than three years, almost 1000 days, due to lengthy regulatory processes and red tape. While existing legislation is sufficient in ordinary times the current crisis requires that we act decisively and speedily," Ramaphosa said.

"We raised this matter this morning with legal representatives of political parties sitting at the National Assembly. There was broad agreement that this process should be hastened once the special legislation has been approved by Cabinet and tabled in Parliament.

"We will in the meantime waive or streamline certain regulatory requirements where it is possible to do so within existing legislation. This includes reducing the regulatory requirements for some solar projects in areas in low- to medium environmental sensitivity.

"It also means Eskom can expand power lines and sub-stations without needing to get environmental authorisation in areas of low- to medium sensitivity and within the strategic electricity corridors.

"We're also establishing a single point of entry - a 'one stop shop' for energy project applications to ensure there is co-ordination of approval processes across government, so those applying should not be moving from one department to the next and thus facing months and months of delays.

"I have instructed departments and entities to review all existing timeframes and to ensure that we process all applications on an urgent basis so that we do not have these elevated delays," Ramaphosa said.

Ramaphosa said these measures are preferable to declaring a State of Disaster or even emergency as some have suggested.

"These interventions will allow us to do what is necessary to accelerate new generation capacity while protecting the rights of all South Africans."

Ramaphosa added that to incentivise greater uptake of rooftop solar, Eskom willl develop rules and a pricing structure known as a feed-in tariff for all commercial and residential installations on its network. This means those who can and already have installed solar panels in their homes and businesses will be able to sell surplus power that they do not need to Eskom.

Broader reforms to establish a competitive electricity market will also be expedited from the finalisation of the Electricity Amendment Bill to enable private sector investment.

"Surplus capacity will be bought from existing independent power producers," he said.

He added that SA would use climate funding to invest in the grid and re-purpose old power plants.

"These changes will radically transform the structures of the electricity sector for future generations," he said.

"If we work together, if we hold each other to account, if we meet our deadlines and fulfil our commitments, we will end the energy crisis and create the conditions for growth and job creation."

Read Ramaphosa's entire address here.
A local businesswoman in KwaDukuza received a welcome boost to her business on Friday, 15 July, when she took delivery of a brand-new bulldozer and front-end loader at the Sappi Stanger Mill in KwaZulu-Natal. Thanks to Sappi's active Enterprise Supplier Development (ESD) programme which aims to integrate local and emerging entrepreneurs into its supply chain, an attractive financing deal was structured for Ms. Mpume Gumede, Director of Thuba Construction with the Ithala Development Finance Corporation Limited (IDFC),

Thuba Construction was awarded a five-year contract by Sappi to provide bagasse handling services at its Stanger Mill - a core service critical to the operations of the mill where Sappi produces its well-known Typek office paper brand. The mill utilises approximately 100,000 tons of bagasse a year  the only one of its kind in South Africa using industrial sugar cane waste - as its basic raw material in the manufacture of office paper and tissue wadding, which is obtained from the adjacent Gledhow Sugar Company.

Sappi and the IDFC signed an MOU on 23 June 2022, where it was agreed that they would collaborate in providing financial and non-financial assistance to emerging entrepreneurs from Sappis local communities who had been awarded contracts by Sappi. The first result of this partnership is the successful funding of Thuba Construction, and a grateful Mpume comments: Ithala went above and beyond to assist in getting me the funding I require to fulfil my contractual obligations. They held my hand throughout the process to ensure that my application was successful and within the parameters of their funding policy. She went on to say, I had such challenges in sourcing funding from traditional funding institutions, but Sappi were very patient and helpful and introduced me to their partner Ithala and with their help, we were able to get this wonderful new equipment from John Deere, who have been really great in providing training and support for our operators. I cried tears of joy when the loan was approved, because now I know I will be able to fulfil my contract to Sappis specifications, she said.

Commenting at the event, Mthokozisi Jali, general manager of Sappi Stanger, highlighted the importance of empowering the communities in which Sappi co-exists, saying: Sappi has always been supportive of investing in our local communities, as this creates harmony and mutually beneficial growth of the economy on all fronts. Through this, we are able to grow together and yield outcomes that are not just beneficial to the community, but South Africa as a whole. His words were echoed by Lesiba Lamola, Sappis ESD and Regional Sourcing Manager who reiterated that Sappi strives to be part of the solution in stimulating a culture and spirit of entrepreneurship from its local communities. Bringing on board a partner such as IDFC to support us in our endeavours of incorporating the community into our business is really bearing fruit. This is just the start to what we hope will be long and prosperous partnership with Ithala, he said.

With the last two years characterised by notable challenges in a number of different sectors of business activity across South Africa  including economic weakness, constrained fixed investment, the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and the July 2021 unrest - these events have had a ripple effect on both consumers and business.

These conditions have necessitated heightened efforts on our part in advancing the delivery of our developmental mandate. Remaining close to our customers and partnering with the private sector who share our values of driving socio-economic transformation in the province is a key ingredient in supporting the provincial governments economic recovery plan. In addition to ensuring they are able to repay their loans, their success means capital repayments are re-invested in further lending operations, thus growing our economic impact, said Manqoba Mbatha, business finance marketing manager of IDFC.

The KwaZulu-Natal provincial government Economic Recovery Strategy places a high value on entrepreneurial growth as government views entrepreneurship as a critical driver to stimulate growth and provide jobs. In support of the strategy, IDFC have taken the responsibility for facilitating the development and empowerment of KwaZulu-Natal-based business enterprises, and in addition to promote job creation in the province. IDFC will continue to work diligently to bring the much-needed economic growth in our provincial economy.

In closing Mbatha commented: Through IDFCs business finance solutions, we are pleased to constantly provide financial muscle and support the entrepreneurial spirit of KwaZulu-Natal businesses. We want to thank Sappi for entrusting us with the task of being a strategic partner in transforming the lives of ordinary citizens in our province. We are critically proud of the fact that Thuba Construction is 100% women owned, which forms part of the strategic imperative of empowering women. We wish her all the best in her business and look forward to a fruitful and mutually beneficial relationship with both Thuba Construction and Sappi.




Future Females has announced the launch of an online e-learning platform and community forum called Future Females Platform.

Think community-driven courses, events, discussions, and incubation to help entrepreneurs build their future business and life, all in one place, says Future Females co-founder Lauren Dallas.

This latest venture is a learning experience built for women in business. Earlier this month, the company announced this new direction and opened the waitlist to the Future Females Platform.

More than 5,000 entrepreneurs have already signed up for the waitlist and are hoping to be amongst the first to test the new platform. Dallas also explained that the most engaged women on the waitlist will become founding members of this new venture.

Founding members will not only contribute to the development and design of this new way of online learning, but they will also have first access to key product features of the platform such as courses, events, challenges, groups, and the Future Females Fund.

Members can contribute to and be eligible to receive money, mentorship and incubation through the Future Females Fund.

Its our ambition to create a platform that has the most comprehensive but succinct business courses available, to allow as many female entrepreneurs as possible to upskill and have access to the resources, networking, and courses they need to be wildly successful in their business, in less time, with more joy," Dallas said.

Learning from the best

Influencer Babalwa Mcaciso is one of many South African creators and entrepreneurs to join the platform and teach its community members her strategies around personal branding. Mcaciso has not only built a thriving community of 267,000 followers but also started her own business in 2021, a successful loungewear brand called BNM.

Creative director Mike Sharman brings his unique storytelling to the platform to provide insight into creating viral brand campaigns and building a business with commercial cult status. The co-founder of Retroviral and author of Brandalism knows a thing or two about brand building, having helped more brands go viral, globally, than any other African agency.

Winner of the Forbes Women in Africa Technology and Innovation Award and one of Africas 20 New Wealth Creators, tech-entrepreneur Arlene Mulder is another contributor featured on the new platform. She will share her secrets to captivate a room and secure millions in funding in less than an hour through her tried-and-tested pitching process.

Devon Krantz is an experienced blockchain consultant throughout Africa and Europe. As a CEO and co-founder of Linum Labs, Krantz wants to see more women be successful in the blockchain industry. As part of the e-learning experience Devon will teach a course on How to stay ahead of the curve by setting your business up for the future.
Independent truckers shut down the Port of Oakland as a protest against a labor law signed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Since Monday, California truckers have been blocking access to the Port of Oakland with a protest against Assembly Bill 5 (AB5). The truck drivers successfully stopped operations at the Oakland port from Wednesday through Friday.

The Port of Oakland said in a Wednesday statement, "Trucker protests that started Monday over the implementation of AB5 have effectively shut down operations at shipping terminals at the Port of Oakland. The shutdown will further exacerbate the congestion of containers dwelling at the Oakland Seaport as port officials urge terminal operations to resume."

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 10 president Farless Dailey told CNBC, "Every day, ILWU workers are getting up at 5 am to drive to the dispatch hall and fill jobs at the port. But when they get to the terminals, the trucker protests are creating conditions which make it unsafe for workers to pass through the gates and do our jobs."
A man who allegedly attacked Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., with a sharp object at a campaign stop in Perinton, New York, Thursday evening was charged with a felony and released from custody within hours of his arrest, the Monroe County Sheriffs Department said.

The suspect, identified as David G. Jakubonis, 43 of Fairport, N.Y., was charged with attempted assault in the second degree.

He was arraigned in Perinton Town Court and released on his own recognizance, the sheriffs department said.

Zeldin, who is the Republican candidate for governor in New York, predicted the alleged attacker would be released.

"His words as he tried to stab me a few hours ago were youre done, but several attendees, including @EspositoforNY, quickly jumped into action & tackled the guy," he tweeted early Friday. "Law enforcement was on the scene within minutes. The attacker will likely be instantly released under NYs laws."

Zeldin was giving a speech about bail reform at a Veterans of Foreign Wars post when the alleged assault happened.

Jakubonis was tackled by AMVETS national Director Joe Chenelly, according to witnesses.

"His right hand came up, I assume out of his pocket, and he had a blade on his hand," Chenelly told Fox News Digital. "His fingers were like two finger holes in the blade and lunged at the congressman. And Congressman Zeldin blocked the first lunge. And then as he tried to lunge again, I grabbed him from behind and tackled him down to the ground and held him on the ground."
The war on food is part of the larger war to conquer the world. It is now patently obvious that it is an intentional attack. UN Technocrats use fear to drive the world to Sustainable Development, aka Technocracy. TN identified the intensification of Technocracys war in 2015 and has been documenting it ever since.  TN Editor

The United Nations 2030 Agenda for sustainable development informs government policies to restrict farming and transform the food systems in different parts of the world, said Alex Newman, an award-winning international journalist who has covered this issue for over a decade.

The 2030 Agenda is a plan of action devised by the United Nations (U.N.) to achieve 17 sustainable development goals (SDG). The goals and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development were adopted by all UN member states in 2015.

Then-Secretary General of the U.N. Ban Ki-moon called the 2030 Agenda the global declaration of interdependence, (pdf) Newman said in a recent interview on EpochTVs Crossroads program.

In my opinion, [it] was a direct swipe at our Declaration of Independence  So instead of being independent nations, we will all be now interdependent.

The 2030 Agenda covers every element of human life, every element of the economy, including global wealth redistribution not only within the nations but also among the nations, Newman commented. The Agenda specifically says that we need to change the way that we consume and produce goods, he added.

Goal number two on the 2030 Agenda deals specifically with food, Newman said.

In September 2021, the U.N. held the Food Systems Summit, which emphasized the need to leverage the power of food systems for the purpose of achieving all 17 sustainable development goals by 2030, according to a U.N. statement.

Everyone, everywhere, must take action and work together to transform the way the world produces, consumes, and thinks about food, the statement said.

Taking Over Farmland

The sustainable development agenda emerged in the 1970s when the United Nations tried to define it at a conference in Vancouver, Canada, in 1976. Newman said.

The conference, which was the first U.N. Conference on Human Settlements known as Habitat I, adopted the Vancouver Declaration (pdf), a report that provided recommendations for U.N. member states.

Newman quoted an excerpt from this report: Land cannot be treated as an ordinary asset controlled by individuals and subject to the pressures and inefficiencies of the market. Private land ownership is also a principal instrument of accumulation and concentration of wealth, therefore contributes to social injustice.

Newman said that, in his view, the U.N. ultimately wants to get rid of private land ownership. We see this all over the world. This is not just happening in the Netherlands.

He thinks that a war is taking place against farmers and ranchers, especially those who are independent or those who are not part of the system. They want to remove small farmers, even medium farmers, from their land, and they want to bring it all under the control of theseI think theres no other term to describe itfascistic public-private partnerships.

Newman noted some examples to illustrate his opinion: The Chinese regime forces peasants to move to megacities, farmers are killed in South Africa, and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the United States proposed a new rule that could bankrupt small and medium farmers.

In March 2022, the SEC proposed a regulation that would mandate publicly traded companies to report on their carbon emissions and other climate-related information, as well as report similar information from any companies with which they do business, according to an SEC statement.

As a consequence, all companies in the business supply chain of a publicly traded entity would have to report their carbon emission and climate-related data.

U.S. Sens. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and John Hoeven (R-N.D.) led 30 lawmakers to urge SEC to repeal its proposal, calling it a regulatory overreach.

Imposing regulatory overreach on farmers and ranchers falls outside of the SECs congressionally provided authority, the senators said in a statement. This substantial reporting requirement would significantly burden small, family-owned farms.

The American Farm Bureau Federation said in a statement that the proposed rule could create substantial costs for farmers because they do not have teams of compliance officers or attorneys like large corporations. Moreover, it may push out of business small and medium-sized farmers and force food-processing companies to look for agricultural raw products outside of the United States, the statement asserted.

If you control the food supply, you control everything, Newman said.

Read full story here
TEHRAN, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani on Tuesday reiterated his country's demand from the United States for economic "guarantees" under a possible agreement for restoration of the 2015 nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

"Iran has been and still remains a JCPOA member. The party that needs to prove 'good faith' and 'seriousness' to 're-enter' the deal is the United States," Kanaani said in his tweet.

He also repeated Tehran's commitment to reaching a "good, strong and lasting agreement that guarantees JCPOA-envisioned benefits for Iran."

Negotiations between Iran and the remaining parties to the JCPOA to revive the pact started in April 2021 but were suspended in March.

Recently, EU-mediated bilateral talks between Iran and the United States were held in the Qatari capital Doha, however, the first round of the indirect talks did not bear tangible results. 


Borsa Italiana non ha responsabilita per il contenuto del sito a cui sta per accedere e non ha responsabilita per le informazioni contenute.

Accedendo a questo link, Borsa Italiana non intende sollecitare acquisti o offerte in alcun paese da parte di nessuno.

Sarai automaticamente diretto al link in cinque secondi.
NAIROBI, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Three Kenyan police officers were injured Monday when al-Shabab militants attacked a security camp in the border region of Mandera, local police said Tuesday.

Northeastern Regional Police Commander George Seda said Tuesday the officers were at the El-Ram Anti-Stock Theft Unit camp when they were attacked by the terrorists at about 2 a.m. in Kutulo area.

"The injured police officers are out of danger," Seda told Xinhua on the phone, noting that the police officers were hit by bullets in the legs and stomach.

Seda said the officers in the camp fought back and repulsed the attackers who reportedly escaped toward the Kenya-Somalia border. Search for the attackers continued along the porous border following the deployment of more security forces.

On July 22, a team of security agents escaped death narrowly when their two vehicles ran over an explosive device in Mandera County. The team was driving from Fino toward Sheikh Barrow when their vehicles were hit by an improvised explosive device at intervals. The officers, however, survived and jumped out amid a gun attack by suspected al-Shabab terrorists who were waiting near there.

The terrorists have also been targeting communication masts in a series, destroying them in the same area. In the recent past, there have been numerous attacks involving landmines, grenades, or other explosive devices in northeast Kenya.

Most of these attacks occurred in northeastern Kenya, mainly in Wajir, Garissa, and Mandera counties as well as along the Kenyan coast. 
TRIPOLI, July 26 (Xinhua) -- The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Tuesday that 446 migrants were rescued off the coast of Libya and sent back to the country from July 17 to 23.

So far in 2022, a total of 11,057 migrants have been rescued and returned to Libya, including 698 women and 422 minors, IOM said in a statement.

According to IOM, 180 migrants died and 648 others went missing on the Central Mediterranean route this year.

Libya has been suffering insecurity and chaos since the fall of the late leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, making the North African country a preferred point of departure for irregular migrants who want to cross the Mediterranean Sea to European shores. 
Lathan Warlick- Look Up to the Sky | Merge PR

22 July 2022 - NASHVILLE, TN - Lathan Warlick, the genre-bending artist, rapper, songwriter, and viral music sensation, announces today's release of his new single, "Look Up To The Sky (feat. Blessing Offor)." Click HERE to listen. As the first single to release from his upcoming EP, Let's Be Honest, dropping August 12, the EP's pre-order begins today. Click HERE for more information.

'Look Up To The Sky' was a song to encourage the listeners," Warlick shares. "We all go through difficult situations or have to face something tough, so I wanted to give the listeners a song that will give them the motivation to keep their head up and push through. With my upcoming Lets Be Honest EP, it's me being 100% transparent with the audience about things Ive faced since coming into the music industry. This project also highlights my faith and is overall just uplifting."

Signing to the label RECORDS in 2020, a joint venture with Sony Music, Warlick has been releasing music for years, making a name for himself through collaborations within various genres. His debut EP, 2020's My Way, showcased duets with country artists such as Tyler Hubbard (FGL), Lauren Alaina, Russell Dickerson, and RaeLynn, while he has shared the stage with Kirk Franklin, Morgan Wallen, Jimmie Allen, Nelly, BRELAND, among others.

It's clear that Warlick's music and message steer clear of genre labels, instead allowing others to form their own opinions about his style. I want to make music that still points you to God, but that you dont have to only play in church, he says.

It was one life-changing day in 2011 after coming face-to-face with a 45-caliber pistol when he was awakened to his creative purpose. Identifying himself now as a "positive artist" who reflects on his upbringing in a rough neighborhood, Warlick has gained a transformative perspective as a Christ-follower, husband, and father of two in his music. Warlick has been featured in major outlets such as Forbes and People, and to date, he has 1.7M followers on TikTok.
Rend Collective- Whosoever | Merge PR

NASHVILLE, TENN. (JULY 22, 2022) The worship band from Northern Ireland, Rend Collective, announces the release of their new album, Whosoever, available on August 26th. Today fans can pre-order the album as well as get a new song, "Let It Roll" (click here). Celebrating the release of "Let It Roll," the band premiered a live performance video filmed in Ireland - watch below.

"This record is about the wide, generous embrace of God," shares Rend Collective. "Wide enough for prodigal sons stumbling home, wide enough for cynical older brothers: wide enough to wrap around any label we might apply to ourselves or others. The bold, soaring claim of John 3:16 is that God so loved THE WORLD so that WHOSOEVER believes in Him shall not perish. This offer is extended with no asterisks or fine print, transcending the silly tribal lines we draw between each other. This gospel is for WHOSOEVER. And thats good news because it includes all the people we love. And, scandalously, the ones we struggle to love. This is a story big enough, hopeful enough, and inspiring enough to keep us singing forever.

"Earlier this summer, Rend Collective released their song, "Plans," which is also part of this upcoming album and is the band's current radio single. "Plans" aims to remind their listeners that even in the hardest timesa global pandemic, a loss, a health struggle, and when you haven't seen the answers to your prayerGod has plans for you.

With more than 750 million career streams, a No. 3 Billboard Top Christian / Gospel album debut with their album Choose to Worship, a Top 5 radio single, "Counting Every Blessing," and an RIAA Gold and Platinum single with "My Lighthouse," Rend Collective is an authentic worship experience.

From a small, coastal town in Northern Ireland, Rend Collective forged a new palette for worship music. Trading synths for ukuleles and big halls for campfires, Rend Collective scuffed up the pristineness of modern worship, speaking directly to those who werent knocking on the churchs door. Now, they bring this same unique music to the world, leaving their sold-out audiences filled with joy, unity, and an authentic worship experience.

With career sales of nearly 800,000 albums, the group has seen many successes, including radio hit, Counting Every Blessing which hit the Top 5 on the National Christian Audience Chart, and their album CHOOSE TO WORSHIP charted at No. 3 on the Billboard Christian Albums Chart in the first week of its release.

The band has been a part of several major tours with top artists such as Chris Tomlin, Kari Jobe, Lecrae, and most recently, Mercy Me. Rend Collective is: Gareth Gilkeson, Chris Llewellyn, Ali Gilkeson, and Stephen Mitchell.
Royal Company- Costly | DREAM Label Group PR

Los Angeles, CA (July, 2022)  Oklahoma City team Royal Company releases new album Costly (DREAM Worship) featuring a collection of previously released songs, re-worked acoustic versions and new self-titled single Costly. Songs from the album were produced by Life.Churchs David Wellman.

Our new song Costly is a simple prayer of surrender. To truly worship Jesus, you have to put Him above all other things. That means it will cost you your heart. Its a beautiful depiction of finding great value in a relationship with Jesus and giving up the old life for a new one. Costly, the album, is our sacrifice and expression of worship to Jesus. May they be pleasing to Him and all that encounter them. - Chad Dorough, Royal Company

Songs from the album have seen support from the retail community as they have been added to Spotify's New Music Friday Christian and Top Christian & Gospel playlists, Risers on Apple Music, New Christian Music Now, Indie River and This Year In CCM on Pandora, Fresh Christian on Amazon and SOZOs Top Christian Hits.

We are Royal Company. Our music is a reflection of the love and acceptance we find in Jesus. We want to change the world through love. If youve ever felt lonely, worthless, or have longed for something more, then welcome to the family. Its ok to be broken and misunderstood. Youre loved, not judged. You belong even before you believe. Our music strives to better the world not only for ourselves but for the future. Enjoy the jams and share it with someone who needs some hope today.
Leading tobacco-control experts have urged the federal government to join New Zealand in pursuing endgame reforms that could eliminate smoking and dramatically close the gap in life expectancy between Indigenous and white Australians.

As the Ardern government introduced legislation designed to make tobacco products non-addictive and prohibit the sale of cigarettes to future generations on Tuesday, anti-tobacco campaigners said the Australian government needed to shake a decade of complacency and resume its global leadership role.

Tobacco-control campaigners have called on the Australian government to take a tougher approach to reduce smoking rates. Credit:Tamara Voninski

While adult smoking rates in Australia are among the lowest in the world, rates among Indigenous Australians remain lethally high. Tobacco-related disease kills more than one-third of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

We are talking about a significant opportunity for change, said ANU researcher Raglan Maddox. If we are talking about closing the gap, eliminating or reducing as far as possible tobacco use is a massive step in the right direction.
A Melbourne cosmetic surgeon will stand trial on allegations that he kicked and stomped on a mans head in an unprovoked attack.

Dr Daniel Darbyshire, who worked for controversial celebrity cosmetic surgeon Daniel Lanzer, is accused of knocking over a 66-year-old man in Chapel Street, South Yarra, at about 10.30pm on December 17 last year. It is alleged he then kicked and stomped on the man while he was on the ground.

Cosmetic surgeons Daniel Lanzer (left) and Daniel Darbyshire at work.

Police said at the time that the man suffered critical injuries.

Darbyshire, 30, appeared before Melbourne Magistrates Court on Tuesday and pleaded not guilty to intentionally causing serious injury in circumstances of gross violence.
For more than 40 years, Mark Billings family has carefully selected the genetic profiles of their milking cows, ensuring their physical attributes and production potential are finely matched to the conditions at his Colac farm in south-western Victoria.

But dairy farmers such as Billing fear their hard work over generations will be lost if the foot and mouth livestock disease ravaging Indonesia arrives in Australia.

Colac dairy farmer Mark Billing, a fourth-generation farmer, says he would need to euthanise all 420 of his cows if foot and mouth disease appeared on his farm. Credit:Jason South

If there was an outbreak on his farm, Billing would have to euthanise all 420 cows in his milking herd, which produces more than 3 million litres of milk a year. Billing said he could not imagine the emotional toll of losing his animals.

It would take years to get back to our productivity level, he said. I dont know how Id take it.
Australian university researchers and staff are critically important. Its time they are given job and income security.

The era of exploitation of their vast knowledge and commitment must end now.

The Age and the Heralds excellent investigation has exposed the enormous brain drain our industry is experiencing with generations of researchers being forced to leave.

the proliferation of insecure work in Australian higher education has created dire conditions for tens of thousands of university workers, not just researchers. Credit:Erin Jonasson

But as it correctly outlined, the proliferation of insecure work in Australian higher education has created dire conditions for tens of thousands of university workers, not just researchers.
A Brisbane councillor taken to court by his own council over a four-person protest in the CBD has been found not guilty of one charge but guilty of another.

Gabba Ward councillor Jonathan Sri was put before court by Brisbane City Council after he and three others carried out a 15-minute protest in Queen Street Mall on September 25, 2020.

Jonathan Sri (centre, pink shirt) is captured by Queen Street Mall security cameras at the 2020 protest.

They were demonstrating against the rollout of the then federal Liberal governments cashless welfare card. The new Labor government has already started to abolish the scheme.

Police took no action against the demonstrators, but council staff monitored the protest.
A former boss of Queenslands biggest public hospital service is facing corruption charges after an alleged nepotism scandal involving his daughter.

Ex-Metro North Hospital and Health Service chief executive Malcolm Frederick Stamp, 69, flew in from the United Kingdom to appear in Brisbane Magistrates Court on Tuesday, four years after a warrant was issued for his arrest.

Malcolm Stamp was suspended in September 2014 from his position as chief executive of the Metro North Hospital and Health Service. Credit:Queensland Health

Former Queensland Health executive Scott McMullen told the committal hearing Stamp encouraged him to get a role for his daughter in 2014.

He said Stamp even told him to offer incentives to a Metro North consultant to hire her for a media and communication services job on a taxpayer-funded contract.
A Gold Coast tourism campaign once urged visitors to come back and play, but new population data reveals many Australians are instead deciding to stay.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics has released figures on population changes in the cities and regions between 2011 and 2021, and they show Queenslands holiday hotspot saw the biggest boom outside the capitals.

More people are being drawn to the Gold Coast, and not just for holidays. Credit:Getty

The Gold Coast suburb of Coomera saw the biggest growth, with 11,500 extra people, while Pimpama had the highest rate of expansion  600 per cent.

Regional Australias population grew by 832,000, or 11 per cent, while the number of people living in the capitals rose by 2.5 million, or 17 per cent.
DHAKA, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Bangladesh and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) called for united and urgent action on the issue of climate-induced migration during a policy dialogue held in the capital Dhaka Monday.

Speaking as the chief guest, Bangladeshi Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen said that the international community cannot afford to remain oblivious to the issue of climate migrants.

The number of Bangladeshis displaced by the impacts of climate change could reach 13.3 million by 2050, making it the country's number-one driver of internal migration, according to the World Bank.

Bangladesh's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that the government has begun mainstreaming climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction into its development planning frameworks.

Ugochi Daniels, IOM's deputy director general for operations, said the IOM works as a "convening agency for climate migration," as reflected in the agency's Institutional Strategy on Migration, Environment and Climate Change 2021-2030.

"IOM is strongly committed to developing solutions for people impacted by climate change, including people on the move, people seeking to move and those seeking to stay," Daniels said. 
A domestic violence survivor who suffered a significant assault by her partner was told by a police officer that her complaint wasnt valid and to focus on being a good mother, an inquiry has heard.

The woman told the Independent Commission of Inquiry into Queensland Police Service Responses to Domestic and Family Violence about her experience with an officer, which happened before she became familiar with the system and later took out a DVO.

She said she suffered a significant assault one morning and went to police saying she wanted to put the incident on the record.

The woman said the officer listened but told her she wasnt prepared to just leave it as a statement and wanted to go and speak with the perpetrator.
A 76-year-old man has been charged with aiding a suicide after a woman was found dead in a Far North Queensland home.

On Sunday, emergency services were called to an Upper Barron Road address at Upper Barron, about 80 kilometres south-west of Cairns, where the 74-year-old woman was pronounced dead.

The man was found suffering from wounds when police were called to the Upper Barron home.

The man, who was found at the house suffering from injuries, was taken to Atherton Hospital before being transferred to Cairns Hospital, where he was treated and later discharged.

The man, who was known to the woman, was on Tuesday charged with one count of aiding a suicide and will appear in the Cairns Magistrates Court.
The latter, a mountainous enclave which had long been a cauldron of simmering tension between Azerbaijan and Armenia, had become the site of a hot war between those two countries, now freed from the Soviet yoke. As with many other remote places, the facts on the ground hadnt caught up with political change and a nearby Russian base remained, its soldiers occasionally caught in the cross-fire. Our visits to these far-flung bases were not officially sanctioned. When wed approached the Russian Defence ministry, the answer had been a firm Nyet. So, like journalists everywhere, we decided to wing it (making sure to pack some particularly fine bottles of vodka as a potential ice-breaker). The interviews we obtained with these military men were stunningly frank: reflective, and angry. There was bewilderment among them, and a sense of humiliation, that an institution that had once been the pride of the Soviet family (as they saw it) was now a plaything of politicians. Looking back on those interviews across the chasm of 30 years, I believe you can see, at least in part, the seeds of discontent  particularly within the military and security apparatus  from which Putinism and todays brutal war between Ukraine and Russia would start to grow. One of the most memorable interviews was with Colonel Alexander Garkusha, the commander of a Russian army base which was slowly being squeezed out of the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, by local authorities. A quietly spoken man, he stood out on screen by virtue of the livid scar snaking across the centre of his forehead.

Colonel Alexandar Garkusha, Russian army base commander in Vilnius, 1992 Credit:ABCTV Peter Curtis Garkusha told me that many of his men, their wives and their children, had no homes to go to in Russia. They had lived on these bases for years. The values we were brought up with have been torn away, Garkusha said. The goodwill and support of the Motherland  friendship, honour and dignity  all torn away by politicians aiming at only one goal, the grabbing of power. Lieutenant-Colonel Leonid Rudakov spoke of the difficulty of unscrambling the omelette that had been the Soviet army. We have many men whose mothers, say, come from Kazakhstan, whose fathers live in Ukraine; they might have been born and raised in Uzbekistan, studied in Moscow, and their wives come from Leningrad. Our families can be made up of not one or two nationalities, but four or five.

A third officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Stanislav Perekhov, bemoaned the fact our army was always the most powerful in the world, but now, its nothing, thanks to politicians. Others warned, presciently, of the potential for greater conflict between former Soviet neighbours. Id like to think we could get by without bloodshed, said Lieutenant-Colonel Andrei Akeshian. But with conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, Moldova, and now between Russian and Ukraine [where tensions were already rising over possession of the Crimea], I have my doubts. Lieutenant-Colonel Yevgeny Bolitshev told us: We always used to say that the army was a binding of peoples and nations. Now, there is a very abrupt unravelling of the army along national lines. It will lead to a sharpening of inter-ethnic relations. Why do I return to these interviews now? In large part because Ive only recently been able to see them again, thanks to the 30th anniversary special that ABC TVs Foreign Correspondent team will air on Thursday night.

My reports were among some of the earliest for the program, which kicked off in 1992. Seeing these stories again after so long was a gift of recovered memory. I was particularly struck by the Soviet Army story because of the carnage being wreaked in Ukraine today. It was a report tailor-made for Foreign Correspondent  the kind of story that could only have found a proper home on a program designed to appeal to those with a thirst for knowledge about the world beyond our shores. My last words in that report were as follows: There will be a growing temptation for military men to throw their weight behind a new force in politics here, perhaps an aggressively nationalistic one. If that happens, Russia could find itself marching to a dangerous new tune. Little did I, or anyone else at that time, anticipate that an obscure former spy named Vladimir Putin, then working as right-hand man to the mayor of St Petersburg, would rise to become the face of a new Russian authoritarianism.

The footage in these reports, captured by skilled ABC cameramen like Peter Curtis and Andrew Taylor, with whom I worked day in and day out, remains  like the work of so many later colleagues  a priceless archival record, a first draft of that tumultuous history. Deborah Snow reporting from Moscow in 1992. Credit:ABC The freedom we had as reporters in those first couple of years across former Soviet territory was immense. People from all stations of life, whod been forbidden contact with foreign media for decades, fell over themselves to tell us their stories  even army officers on military bases. We had no email, no mobile phones. We would often land with little idea of what we would find on the ground until we got there. The old rule book had been thrown out and no one was sure what the new rules were. The sense of discovery was limitless. These days, of course, the Kremlin has pulled up the drawbridge and the ABC no longer has an office in Moscow. When Yeltsin stepped aside in late 1999, naming Putin his preferred successor, he expressed the hope that Russia would enter the next millennium with ... new, smart, strong and energetic people.

Instead Putin has reinvented himself as a new all-powerful tsar, deriding Ukraines very right to an independent existence, grinding down political opponents and obliterating dissenting media voices, especially since launching the assault on his neighbour in February. Loading Its hard to know exactly how the war is being seen inside Russia by the mass of ordinary citizens. Whatever version of the truth they are being fed by state-owned media outlets  stories of Ukrainian Nazis and the like threatening the security of the motherland  the body bags coming home and the growing impact of international isolation will soon start to tell their own story. Putins reluctance to declare a general military mobilisation suggests the war is not as popular with his people as he proclaims. NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg warns the conflict could drag on for years. Onetime Cold War statesman Henry Kissinger believes therell be an attempt at a negotiated settlement in coming months and warns against the war being fought to the absolute exhaustion of all participants.
First, because science is accumulative. Imagine the true number for long COVID risk is a red bullseye, says University of Sydney epidemiologist Professor Alexandra Martiniuk. Each attempt at measuring that number is like throwing a dart. Imagine the true number for Long COVID risk is a red bullseye, says University of Sydney epidemiologist Professor Alexandra Martiniuk. Each attempt at measuring that number is like throwing a dart. Credit:James Davies JGD When studies start, they are all over the place, the arrows land in the bushes, she says. Eventually, study problems will be fixed and larger numbers of people will be included. And over time, you get closer to the truth. Problem two: scientists are yet to fully agree on a definition of long COVID, in part because it presents so differently in different people (one study included 115 different symptoms).

Problem three: theres no consensus across studies of how long long COVID is. Is it symptoms that last two weeks? A month? A year? Problem four: many studies ask people to self-report their symptoms rather than objectively measuring them. Some people are less likely to notice and report symptoms than others  think of your grumpy old uncle who refuses to ever go to the doctor. And the final, big problem: the lack of a control group. Without one, we cant tell whether the persistent symptoms are caused by COVID or something else. If you survey anyone, some are going to say they feel fatigued, says Associate Professor Bette Liu, an epidemiologist at the University of NSW. Martiniuks perfect study of long COVID would look like this: randomly select a few thousand people who have never had COVID and follow them over several years. Then compare the people who get long COVID to those who get the virus but dont get long-term symptoms and, voila, you can work out the true risk. Three years and a bunch of new variants into the pandemic, such a study is now impossible. That means our data is necessarily imperfect  making it hard to know if weve ever truly hit the bullseye.

Lets return to the Lancets 5 per cent estimate of local prevalence, which has made its way into a lot of media reporting. That estimate is based on self-reported symptoms and theres no control group. As such, it would be reasonable to conclude that real prevalence in the population may well be less than that, says Liu, who was first author on the study. A study hot off the presses in Nature tries to solve many of these problems. It concluded that three months after infection with COVID, 4.9 per cent of people reported at least three symptoms, compared to 4 per cent of people who had never been infected. I think, says Martiniuk, that we are a long way off the bullseye. One disease or several? Theres another potential problem: what if were not looking at one condition?

The wide variety of symptoms reported hint that there might be multiple different disease processes going on, says Martiniuk. This may explain why different studies come to different conclusions: theyre actually looking at different diseases. You dont try to understand breast cancer prevalence by looking at pancreatic cancer prevalence, she says. It also seems at least plausible that a proportion of long COVID is really just recovering from a nasty illness. COVID can leave us badly damaged. So can its cure. An intensive care unit in general is not a place you ever want to be. Patients in ICU lose a huge amount of muscle; their lungs need to recover from having a machine breathe for them. Many are left with psychological damage. Some 25 per cent of patients in ICU  this is without COVID - will get Post-intensive Care Syndrome, according to one estimate. Now consider this large study published in peer-reviewed medical journal PLOS Medicine. It found 73.2 per cent of people who were in intensive care for COVID ended up with long COVID.

Loading Some amount of long COVID is just what wed expect from people whove had an ICU admission, says University of Wollongong epidemiologist Gideon Meyerowitz-Katz. Where does all this land us? To be honest, Im not sure. None of the estimates we have seem likely to be very accurate  although every expert I spoke to was leaning towards the true rate being low, not high. At this stage, the true risk of long COVID seems to still be a pandemic mystery.
Maybe its the pandemic, but Melbournes idea of the hottest ticket in town seems to have changed.

Julia Gillard is looking back on her famous clash with Tony Abbott. Credit:John Shakespeare

Former prime minister Julia Gillard, who doesnt sing a note, dance a step or even act, has sold out the Arts Centres Hamer Hall  capacity 2500  within minutes of going on sale this week.

The two-woman show, Not Now, Not Ever, hits the hall on October 4 and features Gillard in conversation with former SBS newsreader Indira Naidoo, commemorating the 10-year anniversary of the famous misogyny speech in 2012 when Gillard roasted then opposition leader Tony Abbott over his attitude to women.

Ticket sales for the Sydney show are also tracking quite nicely, but promoter Michael Cassell Group tells us seats are still available in the 4700-capacity Aware Super Theatre for the October 5 event.
The head of one of Victorias most prominent industry groups has apologised to staff after making two comments that were perceived to be racially offensive by a colleague.

Danni Hunter, executive director of the Property Council of Australias Victorian division, made the remarks at the councils gala dinner at Crowns Palladium on June 23.

The Property Council of Australias Victorian executive director, Danni Hunter. Credit:Wayne Taylor

The staff member who made a formal complaint has since left the company. The senior employee, whose identity The Age has withheld for privacy reasons, quit partly in response to Hunters behaviour, two sources familiar with the episode confirmed.

The Age has chosen not to publish the racially insensitive comments to protect the privacy of the people involved.
Nine newsreader and former Today show co-host Tracy Vo has been targeted in a racist confrontation while eating breakfast at a cafe.

Vo was enjoying her morning off work with partner Liam Connolly on Monday when a woman demanded to know where she was from.

Tracy Vo was subjected to vile racist questioning. Credit:Nine News Perth

I was having a lovely breakfast, enjoying the winter morning outside our local cafe in Perth, when a lady approached our table, Vo said.

She asked where I was from, and I replied Australia.
Cannons roared, ceremonial and artillery smoke drifted, political combatants shook hands across a church aisle, the governor-general rolled up in a Rolls-Royce and face masks emerged as the new political divide.

The 47th Australian parliament opened with much circumstance to a new Labor government  only the eighth time government has changed hands since World War II  and a composition of MPs unlike any before.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his partner Jodie Haydon during an ecumenical service at St Andrews Presbyterian Church to mark the start of the 47th parliament. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

A peculiarly pandemic-era approach to distinguishing the political victors from the vanquished revealed itself as the ranks of parliamentarians assembled.

While all MPs in the new government of Labor Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, plus all teals and Greens, wore face masks, almost all Liberal and Nationals MPs were bare-faced  first in the pews at the ecumenical service at St Andrews Presbyterian Church and then on the opposition benches.
The proportion of Australians living in capital cities has fallen for the first time in living memory as people fled to coastal and regional centres to avoid COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns.

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows Melbourne alone lost 85,000 residents over 12 months while Sydney shed 27,000 between mid-2020 and mid-2021 during the depths of COVID-19 restrictions, including the closure of the international border.

Melbourne lost 85,000 residents in a year as people moved to regional and coastal centres. Credit:Wayne Taylor

After peaking at 67.4 per cent as the country entered COVID-19, the proportion of Australians living in capital cities slipped to 67.2 per cent last year  the first decline this century.

That was due to a net drop of almost 50,000 people in capitals through the 12-month period compared to an 80,000 lift in Australians outside the capital cities.
Labor womens caucus chair, Sharon Claydon, has vowed to work across party lines to ensure all women can access safe and affordable abortions.

While Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has ruled out forcing state hospitals to provide abortions, Claydon said there were things that sit squarely in the federal sphere that we can get to work on and calls for Medicare to fully cover the cost of terminations were worthy of looking at.

Labor MP Sharon Claydon says the overturning of Roe v Wade by the US Supreme Court should be a wake-up call. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

We need to ensure that were actively moving to provide both safe and affordable reproductive health options, whether that is termination, improved access to contraception, good public health education, Claydon said in an interview.

The fee for a surgical abortion starts at $620 and can be as high as $8000 for those without a Medicare card or in cases of late-stage pregnancy.
CANBERRA, July 26 (Xinhua) -- The number of Australians in hospital with coronavirus has reached the highest number since the start of the pandemic.

According to data from the Department of Health, there were 5,433 COVID-19 cases in hospital on Monday, up from 5,001 a week earlier.

It marks a new high point for COVID-19 hospitalizations, beating the previous record of 5,390 in January.

It comes as Australia's winter wave of COVID-19 infections is expected to peak in the coming weeks, increasing pressure on the hospital system.

Chris Moy, vice president of the Australian Medical Association (AMA), described the figure as "massive", calling for more government leadership on health measures including mask mandates.

"The average public hospital has 600 to 700 beds, so we are talking eight major public hospitals," he was quoted as saying by the Guardian Australia on Tuesday.

"The bottom line is on the ground, my colleagues are angry, desperate, fatigued and they have a terrible situation where there are not enough beds or nurses."

Australia on Tuesday reported more than 40,000 new COVID-19 cases and more than 90 deaths.

As of Monday afternoon, a total of 9,139,047 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Australia, including 11,200 deaths, and approximately 377,550 active cases, according to the latest figures from Department of Health. 
Still, I loved watching member after member get called up, in their first-day best. Smart jackets. Well-ironed shorts, a tiny bit too much coughing for my liking (please let this not be a superspreader event).

There is a somewhat job-lot mentality on the first day of parliament. Groups of members are called up to make either oaths or affirmations. Let me give you the shorthand version  its about promising to put the Queen first and doing it under Gods eye. And you can do that by swearing on the holy book, whichever one you pick, or just by gently affirming (no god required).

Credit:Illustration: Matt Golding

I am completely puzzled why we should continue to have either. Lets rewrite these verses to put the people of Australia first. Ditch the Queen, at least in parliament but also in general. Ditch gods, at least as part of state operations. Fine to have them in places of religion, the only place they belong. (I tried to see who was oath-ing or affirming as they were sworn in on Tuesday, but the camera sight lines did me no favours. Certainly, the holy book users sounded louder, but maybe thats just a hangover from the last parliament, where it was the fashion to be godly.)

Youd imagine that, in 2022, there would be a rush of politicians affirming enthusiastically, in a mirror image of the people they represent. The last census shows a distinct uptick in Australians identifying as having no religion and a real slump in Christianity. The last time those saints in the parliamentary library published anything on oaths versing affirmations, the affs were rising hell for leather (in the Reps, 25 per cent in 2010; Senate, 39 per cent. In 1901, just about the entire parliament believed in gods).
Building inspectors working for the state construction watchdog say they are being pressured not to complete thorough inspections and to avoid finding faults on projects so they can meet high performance targets.

A leaked WorkSafe report handed to the Victorian Building Authority (VBA) last week found that the authority was placing its 40 building and plumbing inspectors at risk by demanding they finish at least three inspections a day and, in the case of plumbing inspectors, five a day.

A leaked WorkSafe report finds building inspectors working for the state construction watchdog are pressured not to complete thorough inspections. Credit:Paul Jeffers

WorkSafe investigators talked to three VBA inspectors who said they had been told by managers to alter the inspection outcome (such as providing a risk rating of low risk) to reduce administrative obligations or had been discouraged from identifying non-compliance in order to complete work at a faster pace.

Management place greater emphasis on meeting performance measures than on quality of work or occupational health and safety, WorkSafes report said.
The broad scale relaxation of planning rules leads to a significant increase in housing supply, new research into New Zealand planning changes has found.

A similar approach could help property prices and rents in Australia fall by as much as 12.5 per cent, making housing more affordable, economists said.

Auckland increased its housing stock by 5 per cent in five years thanks to relaxed planning laws. Credit:Bloomberg

Auckland up-zoned about three quarters of the city in 2016 in response to a housing affordability crisis, which meant the planning laws allowed for the construction of townhouses, terraces and units within 20 kilometres of the CBD.

In the past five years, New Zealands second-largest city has built an extra 5 per cent  or 26,903  homes, the report, The Impact of Up-zoning on Housing Construction in Auckland from the Cowles Foundation for Research in Economics at Yale University, found.
The pre-flight announcements on Qantas planes ask us to respect each others choices. How about enforcing the law? Whats the connection with FMD? Perhaps asking some young Aussies travelling back from the hedonism of Bali to behave responsibly is a stretch.

Then I was stuck for the duration of the six-hour flight back to Sydney next to a teenage mask-brat who repeatedly took hers off or pulled it down over her chin, despite having been politely asked by crew members several times to wear it.

Indonesia, including the holiday island of Bali, has been grappling with an outbreak of foot and mouth disease. Australia has been free of the disease for more than a century and just one positive case could shut down the $27 billion livestock export trade. Credit:Bloomberg

Despite official airport requirements, teenagers and young adults were unmasked, coughing and sneezing as they queued for food, meeting loud comments to mask-up from other passengers with sneers and eye-rolls.

Australias chances of keeping foot and mouth disease out of the country are close to zero if the behaviour of young Aussies at Denpasar airport before my recent return from Bali is anything to go by.

What are the chances of them leaving their designer thongs behind or admitting on the arrivals cards that they trekked through paddy fields or got soaked in white-water rafting outings? Both, by the way, are covered by tickable boxes on the arrivals forms.

However, if it means a moments delay before they head home from airports, then you can forget it. Who can prove that they never stepped off bitumen? Is the Australian government likely to go hard-core on this and shut the borders until the FMD threat is resolved (if it can ever be)? That would be harsh on Bali which is just recovering from its own COVID closures. Taxi drivers, street vendors and waiters thank you for going back there. And you can see why. Pre-COVID, more than a million Australians travelled to Bali every year.

By the way, the locals we asked about foot and mouth disease had no idea what we were talking about. Its simply not on their radar. Is there a solution that would keep Balis tourism alive while protecting Australia from a disease that could punch an $80 billion hole in our own recovering economy? A radical plan is required.

Loading

Maybe returning passengers should be forced to leave their shoes there. And if you try to smuggle your designer Nikes back, youd get the same fines as if you were trying to import live monkeys. Foot and mouth disease can be transmitted on shoes and clothes. So perhaps an empty suitcase policy is required; take as much clothing as you want but leave it all behind when you return.
London: A live debate between the two candidates vying to replace Boris Johnson as Britains prime minister was dramatically halted after the presenter grilling the pair fainted on-air.

The moment was not broadcast but the reaction to it was illustrated by a visibly horrified and shocked Liz Truss, who was speaking at the time about standing up to Russias Vladimir Putin over his invasion of Ukraine.

Britains Foreign Secretary Liz Truss reacts to the collapse of presenter Kate McCann.

Kate McCann, the political editor of TalkTV, was hosting the debate for the channel and for The Sun when she collapsed midway through the questioning of former chancellor Rishi Sunak and the foreign secretary.

Oh my god, Truss said, as a loud crash was heard in the background.
Latest News Asset finance applications tumble But business loan demand up, says credit bureau

Reserve Bank announces two key appointments One becomes head of international department, the other of the financial stability department

Supply chain disruptions along the east coast, wet weather and the flu are affecting the asset finance space, according to Sydney non-bank lender Grow Finance.

These factors are making it challenging to secure more goods and materials to distribute across Australia as domestic supply chain issues continue.

Grow Finance executive directors Gregory Woszczalski (pictured above left) and David Verschoor (pictured above right) said they were seeing a lot of demand in the short term for used trucks, trailers and material handling goods.

The increase in debt financing requirements to reduce cash flow pressures is increasing and as more used assets are being financed out, access to new trucks and vehicles is something we need in the market, Verschoor said. Used assets have a higher residual value as a result, pushing the demand for them higher.

Read next: Grow Finance flags steady demand for alternative working capital

Verschoor said across the board no matter what sector of finance, it was important for clients to obtain pre-approval first.

By knowing you have funding ready to go means you only need to worry about finding the right truck, trailer or car and you can focus on securing the deal rather than finance, he said. As used assets are getting snapped up quick at the moment, my advice is to be a price maker and not a price taker by having control when purchasing.

Woszczalski said brokers were an important part of SME lending as they have been educated to diversify income streams.

At Grow Finance, we support this strategy and constantly support bodies that help brokers be aware of what products are available in the market, Woszczalski said. We are very much a business-focused non-bank. My advice is to keep it simple, understand the requirements, allow the broker to take the quantum step of building commercial SME financing requirements, which is something we are happy to work with brokers on.

Verschoor said Grow Finance was there to support mortgage brokers after recently launching its new real-time app through its broker portal, which provides instant decisioning.

Read more: Is a business line of credit better than a loan?

The app was designed to provide an application outcome within two hours from submission, which the directors said more than 80% of app users received.

It is a custom-built portal by our team and we have enabled any accredited broker to be able to login and submit a client's application to us, Verschoor said. From our standpoint, it gives us a huge edge in taking data requirements and pushing them through a platform to allow us to provide almost instant client approval. With that decision occurring, we have seen an uptick in volume from brokers on our product and seeing them benefit.

Woszczalski said it was important for Grow Finance to make the application process as seamless as possible.

We want to be the number one non-bank for businesses and we achieve this by providing a broad basis of products from asset finance, business loans, trade finance and floorplan finance, Woszczalski said. Right now, we are providing most products SMEs would use and are considering what products in the current market climate would make business easier for SMEs. Business is hard enough at the moment so we want to help where we can.
Latest News Asset finance applications tumble But business loan demand up, says credit bureau

Reserve Bank announces two key appointments One becomes head of international department, the other of the financial stability department

NAB, Australias largest business bank, has become the most certified Microsoft customer in Australia and New Zealand as it works toward building a multi-cloud ecosystem for the bank.

To date, the number of NAB employees who have obtained a Microsoft Certification reached nearly 1,800  the highest number of any organisation in Australia outside of Microsoft.

Microsoft certifications are globally recognised and industry-endorsed evidence that learners have mastered the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in todays digitally led world, including the ability to use products such as Microsoft Azure, Microsoft Power Platform, Microsoft 365, and Microsoft Teams.

NABs cloud guild has been working with Microsofts worldwide learning team since 2020 to amplify learning opportunities for the banks employees. These opportunities include customised training programs and private hackathon-style events for NAB personnel, as well as a Teams channel that fosters continued collaboration between the banks staff and Microsofts expert training instructors.

We are continuing to evolve our industry-leading cloud journey and as we do that, its vital that we invest in our colleagues to thrive in this new environment, said Steve Day, chief technology officer at NAB. Over the last four years, weve trained more than 7,000 of our people in cloud technology, and that continues across our workforces in Australia, Vietnam, and India. Our partnership with Microsoft has ensured that our significant investment in technology is well-supported by a significant investment in our people, which ultimately leads to better customer experiences.

NAB has also recently become one of the first companies in the world to train its employees using a blended learning program for the Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator certification. Delivered over four weeks for groups of 200 participants, the program combines on-demand learning modules with instructor-led sessions so that participants can learn at their own pace. The program also provides participants with a social community of learning on Teams where they can engage with their instructors and classmates.

Over the next 18 months, NAB plans to train an additional 4,000 employees in Australia and overseas  including more than 500 engineers and interns  through Microsofts learning programs.

On behalf of Microsoft, I would like to congratulate NAB on its amazing learning achievement, said Paula Matthews, chief learning officer at Microsoft Australia. NAB is at the forefront of innovation in Australia, and we look forward to continuing to help its workforce keep pace with todays technological landscape.
QALAT, Afghanistan, July 26 (Xinhua) -- At least two children were killed and 10 others wounded when an explosive device left over from past wars went off in the country's southern Zabul province on Tuesday, a local official said.

"A group of children found a toy-like object in Mizan district at around noon today and began playing with when the device exploded, killing two on the spot and injuring 10 others," the official told Xinhua but declined to be named.

In the meantime, provincial head of public health department Abdul Hakim Hakimi has confirmed that two dead bodies and 10 injured children had been taken to a hospital.

This is the second incident of its kind in the southern region over the past five days.

A similar incident in neighboring Helmand's provincial capital Lashkar Gah claimed the life of a child and injured three others on Friday.

Afghanistan has been regarded as the most mine-contaminated country in the world as mines and unexploded ordnances left over from the war often claim the lives of people, mostly children. 
Switzerlands ExcellGene SA has announced its role in the recently approved consortium funding through the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) for co-developing a variant-proof with Indias .

The consortium is developing or designing a new concept that confers highly cross-reactive protection against numerous SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern as well as other betacoronaviruses.

Betacoronaviruses are one of the four genera of coronaviruses  alpha, beta, gamma and delta. The natural reservoirs for betacoronaviruses are bats and rodents. There have been multiple betacoronavirus outbreaks in humans since the early 2000s.

Chairman and MD Krishna Ella said: The global threat of SARS-CoV-2 is continuing with new infections over and over again, irrespective of prior infections or vaccinations. Thus, more applied research has to be done, both in laboratories like those of Prof. Triccas, and in a company like ExcellGene, that can provide entirely new antigen concepts that combine insights into SARS-CoV-2 gained over the last two and a half years.

ExcellGene will produce complex chimeric spike antigens using its engineered CHOExpress cell-based technology. Along with Bharat Biotech, and Jamie Triccas of the Sydney Institute for Infectious Diseases and his team at the University of Sydney, Australia, ExcellGene will generate and screen a large and diverse library of chimeric spike proteins to identify highly cross-reactive antigen structures that recall past and possibly future variants. Earlier, ExcellGene had conducted research in an EU-Horizon 2020 funded project on an Ebola candidate antigen molecule that resulted in sterilising immunity in pre-clinical challenge models.

The award to the consortium is the latest that CEPI made under its $200-million programme to advance the development of vaccines that would provide broad protection against Sars-CoV-2 variants and also other betacoronaviruses. It has so far funded nine such projects.

Under this initiative, CEPI will provide up to $19.3 million in funding to develop a variant-proof SARS-CoV-2 candidate for phase I clinical trials.
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
The shutting down of Vedanta's copper smelter plant at Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu since May 2018 has resulted in a consolidated loss of around Rs 14,749 crore to the economy, according to a report.

The report comes a month after putting on sale its copper unit which was shut four years ago after 13 people were killed in a police firing on protestors agitating against alleged pollution by the unit.

According to a synthesis report by CUTS International, "Through the data collected and analysed for the purpose of this report, the consolidated loss to the economy owing to closure of the copper plant on all stakeholders is estimated to be around Rs 14,749 crore since its closure in May 2018."



The cumulative loss for the entire period of plant closure is roughly around 0.72 per cent of the State Gross Domestic Product (SGDP) of Tamil Nadu.

The report further said that closure of plant has amounted to a loss of around Rs 4,777 crore to the company.

The government is also losing considerable revenue in the form of taxes and duties, said the report which was carried out with the financial support of NITI Aayog and conducted by Consumer Unity & Trust Society, Jaipur.

These grave economic impacts on the varied stakeholders offers a pressing need to find better alternate remedies to balance matters concerning the development-environment conflict in the instant matter, it said.

The Tamil Nadu government had ordered the permanent closure of the unit in the port city of Thoothukudi in May 2018 following violent protests.

The company had in past repeatedly denied allegations of its plant polluting the local environment and had moved the Supreme Court for the opening of the unit.

But the apex court had so far not given a clear go-ahead.

A company spokesperson had said the Tuticorin plant is a national asset that has been catering to 40 per cent of the domestic demand for copper and has played an integral role in the country's self-sufficiency in copper.

(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.)
French operator Eutelsat and key shareholders of Bharti-backed OneWeb have inked a pact for merger, entailing all-share transaction, a statement said on Tuesday.

Post closing of the deal, Bharti Group will be the single largest shareholder of Eutelsat.

The transaction values OneWeb at USD 3.4 billion (over Rs 27,000 crore), according to a joint statement.

Eutelsat will combine its strong fleet of 36 Geostationary Orbit (GEO) satellites with OneWeb's constellation of 648 Low Earth Orbit satellites, of which 428 are currently in orbit.

The announcement has a takeaway for the India market as well, where OneWeb had received the letter of intent for the GMPCS (Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite) licence from the Department of Telecom.

Earlier this year, OneWeb also inked a pact with the Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) commercial arm for launching satellites.

"With its uniquely superior GEO/LEO offerings, complementing high throughput with low latency, the combined entity will help bolster the communication capabilities of the nation, catering to the varied range of needs of the private industry as well as the government," the statement said.

Coming at a crucial time when the Indian space policy is on the anvil, the new entity would provide further impetus to the recently-signed agreement on space coordination between India and France.

"As the largest shareholder in the combined entity, Bharti will continue its full interest in OneWeb, via Eutelsat. Sunil Bharti Mittal shall be the Co-chair of the combined listed entity and Shravin Bharti Mittal as the second Bharti Director," the statement said.

It however did not offer details of the specific holding of Bharti Group post deal-closing.

OneWeb India will also become a subsidiary of the Eutelsat JV post FDI clearances, "and with its unique capabilities of covering all unconnected white spaces, is confident of furthering the objective of a digitally connected India".

The statement said operations of Eutelsat and OneWeb are highly complementary. A clear roadmap has been designed to develop over time a complementary GEO/LEO service including a common platform, hybrid terminals and a fully mutualised network.

Low Earth Orbit or LEO satellites are located closer to Earth, compared to GEO satellites. LEO fleet of satellites continuously orbit the earth and are not fixed to a point like GEO satellites.

Dominique D'Hinnin would be proposed as Chairman of the combined entity and Sunil Bharti Mittal as Co-Chairman (Vice-President). Eva Berneke would continue as CEO of the combined entity.

"The transaction would be structured as an exchange of OneWeb shares by its shareholders (other than Eutelsat) with new shares issued by Eutelsat, such that, at closing, Eutelsat would own 100 per cent of OneWeb (excluding the 'Special Share' of the UK Government)," the statement said.

Eutelsat holds 23 per cent stake in OneWeb.

OneWeb shareholders would receive 230 million freshly-issued Eutelsat shares representing 50 per cent of the enlarged share capital.

So, Eutelsat shareholders and OneWeb shareholders would each hold 50 per cent of the Eutelsat shares.

The transaction, which is subject to regulatory approvals, is expected to close by the end of first half of 2023.

"Representing a transformational transaction, built on the strong foundations established in April 2021 with Eutelsat's initial investment in OneWeb, this combination creates a global leader uniquely positioned to capture the connectivity market with complementary GEO/LEO offering," it said.

The combination offers "compelling" financial profile with "potential for double-digit" revenue and EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization growth) compound annual growth rate over the medium to long term.

"...Over Euro 1.5 billion potential incremental value-creation after tax (net of implementation costs) stemming from revenue, capex and cost synergies," the statement said.

A balanced board and governance structure would include Eutelsat's Chairman and its CEO, OneWeb's Chairman, and a significant number of independent directors proposed by Eutelsat and OneWeb's shareholders, at Extraordinary General Meeting.

Eutelsat would continue to be listed on Euronext Paris and apply for admission to standard listing on the London Stock Exchange.

OneWeb's Executive Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal, said he is "excited" about the possibilities of connecting the unconnected.

"The combination of Eutelsat and OneWeb represents a significant development in that direction as well as a unique GEO/LEO combination.

"The positive early results of our service together with our strong pipeline represent a very exciting opportunity in the fast-growing connectivity segment, especially for customers requiring a high speed, low latency experience," Mittal said.

He added: "Our customers are actively seeking a combined GEO/LEO offering leading us towards this important step".

Trading under its existing name, OneWeb will continue to operate the LEO business, with OneWeb's headquarters remaining in the UK.

Eutelsat will continue to be headquartered and domiciled in France.

(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.)
Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund (Franklin MF) on Tuesday announced the launch of Franklin India Balanced Advantage Fund (FIBAF) -- the US-based asset managers first new scheme since a regulatory crisis following its decision to wind up six of its debt schemes in April 2020.

We believe in growing assets by delivering performance. Having said that, this is one category that is large and we are not present in it. We want to plug that gap, said Anand Radhakrishnan, managing director & chief investment officer-emerging markets equity (India), Franklin Templeton. The last NFO (new fund offer) in the equity category that the fund house launched was over 10 years ago.

The balanced advantage fund is one of the largest scheme categories with assets under management of over Rs 1.7 trillion.

The response to Franklin MFs NFO shall be keenly watched by industry players to gauge the impact of the regulatory troubles on investor sentiment.

We are eagerly looking forward to embarking on a new chapter of growth in India, and the launch of FIBAF represents a first of many steps to this end, said Avinash Satwalekar, president, Franklin TempletonIndia, conceding that the fund houses brand image has taken a bit of a beating and it is working on rebuilding investors trust.

Satwalekar, who took charge as head of the fund house in June 2022 replacing Sanjay Sapre, reiterated Franklin Templetons commitment to the Indian market. I want to say categorically that we are not leaving India, he said.

There were rumours that the fund house may exit India after strict regulatory action against it last year.

In June 2021, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) imposed a penalty of Rs 5 crore on the fund house and directed it to disgorge over Rs 500 crore for several irregularities in the running of its six debt schemes that were wound up in April 2020. The regulator also directed the fund house to return over Rs 450 crore collected as 22-month investment management and advisory fees. Further, it imposed a two-year ban on the launch of new debt schemes for the alleged irregularities.

Franklin Templeton has challenged Sebis order before the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT), where arguments are expected to begin soon. The fund house has also obtained an interim relief from the SAT, which includes the removal of the ban on launching new schemes.

The fund house, however, has said it will not launch any new fixed-income schemes until the regulatory matter is resolved. The proposed new scheme falls in the equity-oriented fund category.

The NFO for the scheme opens on August 16 and closes on August 30.

Following the lifting of the NFO ban earlier this month, a slew of new schemes is being launched by fund houses. Satwalekar said bunching up of several NFOs may impact subscriptions, but it is difficult to quantify how much.
Ace investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala-backed on Tuesday said it will start operating flights on the Bengaluru-Mumbai route from August 19.

The new carrier will launch commercial flight operations on August 7 by running its first service on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad route. On August 13, the airline will start operations on the Bengaluru-Kochi route.

"With this, will have completed the inaugural phase of its network development across key cities like Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Kochi and Bengaluru, making a total of 82 weekly flights available within the first few weeks of its operations," the airline said in a statement.

While the Mumbai-Ahmedabad flights will operate 26 times a week, services on the Bengaluru-Kochi route and Bengaluru-Mumbai route will operate 28 times per week, it said.

Flying with the airline code QP, will begin commercial operations with two aircraft from August 07, it mentioned.

The carrier said it will add two aircraft each month, and by the end of 2023, it will have 18 aircraft inducted into its fleet.

The airline plans to add another 12 to 14 planes every 12 months, which will make up its order of 72 Boeing 737 Max aircraft, delivered over five years, it mentioned.

New route update! 

Connecting #Bengaluru to #Mumbai, starting 19th August!



We are progressively expanding our network and connecting more cities. Know more: https://t.co/CFLUPf0aEF pic.twitter.com/ZXVVUge4WW  Akasa Air (@AkasaAir) July 26, 2022

The carrier had on July 7 received its air operator certificate from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.

(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 home ministry has given security clearance to CEO-designate Campbell Wilson, paving the way for him to take charge of the airline, according to a senior official.

The appointment of Wilson as the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of was announced by on May 12.

took over the loss-making carrier on January 27.

The senior official on Tuesday told PTI that the home ministry has given the security clearance to Wilson.

Specific details could not be immediately ascertained.

There was no immediate response to a query sent to an spokesperson on the matter.

Under civil aviation rules, clearance of the home ministry is mandatory for the appointment of key personnel at airlines, including foreigners.

Weeks after taking over the carrier, Tata Sons, on February 14, named Turkish Airlines' former Chairman Lyker Ayci as Air India's MD and CEO. However, Ayci, who was to take over on April 1, declined to join the group amid concerns expressed over his appointment in certain quarters.

Wilson was the CEO of Singapore Airlines' wholly-owned subsidiary Scoot Air. Singapore Airlines is a joint venture partner of Tata Group in full-service carrier Vistara.

He then worked for the carrier in Canada, Hong Kong and Japan before returning to Singapore in 2011, as the founding CEO of Scoot, which he led until 2016.

He also served as the senior vice president sales and marketing of Singapore Airlines, where he oversaw pricing, distribution, e-commerce, merchandising, brand and marketing, global sales and the airline's overseas offices, before returning for a second stint as the CEO of Scoot in April 2020.

An aviation industry veteran with over 26 years of experience, he started off as a management trainee with Singapore Airlines.

In a message to Air India employees on June 20, Wilson said the airline's "best years are yet to come" and that the journey to make it a world-class airline will require efforts that are "big and small, easy and difficult".

According to sources at the airline, in recent weeks, Wilson has been visiting various offices of Air India and meeting staff.

In October last year, through a competitive bidding process, the government sold Air India to Talace Private Limited, a subsidiary of for Rs 18,000 crore.

Air India was started by the Tata Group in 1932 and the carrier was nationalised in 1953.

(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.)
(SII) is in talks with Danish firm Bavarian Nordic to import a small batch of vaccines to deal with monkeypox cases in the country, company CEO Adar Poonawalla said on Tuesday.

In case of a collaboration it could take two to three months to import the vaccine into the country, Poonawalla said in an interview to channel NDTV.

With only a handful cases of monkeypox in the country at the moment, he said for initiating local development of the vaccine SII would have to wait and watch for a few months to assess the real demand scenario.

India has reported four cases monkeypox, including three in Kerala, so far.

"I am ready to do that immediately as a security to our nation. As soon as we can have some sort of commercial tie up to import it and based on availability from Bavarian Nordic, we are hoping to do so," Poonawalla said when asked how soon SII could import the monkeypox vaccine into the country.

Danish firm Bavarian Nordic has already developed a vaccine against monkeypox and is available in different markets under brand names Jynneos, Imvamune or Imvanex.

Poonawalla further said: "My team is talking to them right now. For larger volumes we take a call based on true demand and necessity."



SII is ready to import some batches on its own cost initially, he said but added the government would have to decide how to go about for larger volumes.

"There are a handful of cases and so there is no need for knee jerk reaction and order million of dosages and do all of that..we need to watch closely over the next few months...have collaborated very well with the government earlier and we need to have that close coordination even now," he added.

Poonawalla noted that even if they started the process now for manufacturing the vaccine locally, it would probably take a year before they come out with a market ready product.

"To make it from scratch is difficult as it would take time and investment.. not sure if we will be able to do it..it would have to be with someone else..," Poonawalla said.

"As a manufacturer, we really need to see if there is a demand or in 4-5 months it is going to fizzle out and treatments that are there are going to take care of the disease like this so we will have to wait and watch," he added.

On the other hand, the company can bring in bulk supplies of the vaccine which would be adequate for monkeypox as it is not going to be a global pandemic, he noted.

"You don't need to vaccinate the entire population..in certain regions where spread is there you would like to vaccinate over there..and we are talking about importing some vaccine doses as finished product just over the next few months as abundant precaution if the country needs it..," Poonawalla said.

He said there was no need to panic due to the detection of a few cases as the disease has been there for decades.

"We need to be vigilant and we need to follow WHO guidelines that have been set out in these particular areas and particular communities to follow so that we can reduce the spread as much as possible," he stated.

Last week, the WHO declared monkeypox as a global public health emergency of international concern.

Monkeypox virus is transmitted from infected animals to humans via indirect or direct contact. Human-to-human transmission can occur through direct contact with infectious skin or lesions, including face-to-face, skin-to-skin, and respiratory droplets.

Globally, over 16,000 cases of monkeypox have been reported from 75 countries and there have been five deaths so far due to the outbreak.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
on Tuesday posted a nearly 90 per cent jump in its consolidated net profit to Rs 883.54 crore for the April-June quarter of the current fiscal driven by higher income.

The company had posted a net profit of Rs 465.69 crore in the same quarter of 2021-22, said in a BSE filing.

Its total income increased to Rs 14,638.78 crore in April-June FY23 from Rs 10,310.21 crore in the year-ago period.

Expenses were also higher at Rs 14,660.14 crore against Rs 9,479.80 crore in the April-June period of the preceding fiscal.

In a separate statement, the company said it plans a consolidated capex of Rs 14,000 crore in 2022-23, including a Rs 10,000 crore investment in the renewables sector.

CEO and MD Praveer Sinha said the company's all "business clusters" namely generation, transmission, distribution and renewables performed well.

"This is aptly reflected in our 11th consecutive quarter of PAT (profit after tax) growth. We have a robust growth trajectory with stable long-term cost structures and competitiveness across businesses. As a future-ready EaaS (The Energy Storage as a Service ) company, we are well poised to contribute towards India's green energy transition," he said.

According to the statement, the company in the renewable energy sector has signed a memorandum of agreement (MoU) with the Tamil Nadu government for setting up a 4-gigawatt solar cell and module plant with an investment of Rs 3,000 crore.

The total renewable capacity of the company is 5,524 MW, with an installed capacity of 3,634 MW and 1,890 MW under various stages of implementation. The company also installed over 75,000 solar pumps in various states.

In the transmission and distribution (T&D) segment, the company "completed acquisition of 100 per cent of stake in NRSS XXXVI Transmission Ltd on 4th April through Resurgent Power."



Tata Power installed 2,90,000 smart meters in Delhi and 60,000 in Mumbai. It also added 18,102 green consumers having annualized consumption of 194 million units in Mumbai.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
on Tuesday reported a 103.2 per cent increase in its consolidated net profit to Rs 794.60 crore in the April-June 2022 period (Q1), beating street estimates by a wide margin. Bloomberg consensus estimates had pegged net profit at Rs 461 crore for the quarter.

In the year-ago period, reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 391.03 crore.

Revenue from operations increased 43 per cent to Rs 14,495.48 crore, ahead of street estimates, which had pegged revenue at Rs 12,035 crore for the period. had posted a revenue of Rs 10,132 crore in the corresponding period last year.

The companys earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (Ebitda) came in at Rs 2,107 crore in Q1 as compared to Rs 2,365 crore in the year-ago period. Bloomberg consensus estimates had pegged Ebitda at Rs 2,200 crore.

In Q1, the company said, it had reassessed the recoverability of unabsorbed tax depreciation and had recognised deferred tax assets amounting to Rs 111 crore.

In a separate statement, Tata Power said it planned a consolidated capex of Rs 14,000 crore in 2022-23 (FY23), including a Rs 10,0000-crore investment in the renewables sector.

The company said it had set up a network of more than 2,350 public and semi-public EV chargers with another 1,400-plus chargers in various stages of installation. It has also installed 18,500 home chargers and 240 bus charging points across India.

Praveer Sinha, MD and CEO at Tata Power, said, We have started the new fiscal year on a solid note with all of our business clusters  generation, transmission, distribution, and renewables  performing well. As a future-ready company, we are poised to contribute towards India's green energy transition.

Shares of Tata Power Company closed trade 2.73 per cent down over the previous days close on the BSE, at Rs 226.15 apiece.
JAKARTA, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia considers authorizing the second COVID-19 vaccination booster shot for healthcare workers after a rising number of new daily infections amid concerns over new omicron sub-variants.

The country's Health Ministry on Tuesday reported 6,483 new infections with 13 deaths in the past 24 hours.

"We are now studying the next booster shots for healthcare workers as some healthcare workers are getting infected," Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said during the launching of Satusehat, an application for healthcare data integration, here on Tuesday.

He added that the issue still needs insights from the experts.

Sadikin further emphasized that he has not set a target of when the second booster shot program will start, saying he needs to report to President Joko Widodo who is currently on his regional tour in East Asia.

Authorities in the country has continued to accelerate its national vaccination programs with more than 202.26 million people having received their first dose of vaccines, while over 169.88 million have taken the second dose.

At least 54.94 million people have received booster shots.

Home to more than 270 million people, Indonesia started mass COVID-19 vaccinations in January last year after the authorities approved the emergency use of China's Sinovac vaccine. 
Tata Steel Europe  which has steelmaking operations in the UK and  surprised all in Q1 of FY23 with its best-ever quarterly earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda). However, the UK operation continues to be fragile with an impending transition to greener steel. and chairman, N Chandrasekaran, indicated in a recent interview to Financial Times that without government aid there could be closure of sites. T V Narendran, managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO), Tata Steel, tells Ishita Ayan Dutt that there is a case for the UK government to support the transition because it involves carbon footprint reduction. Edited excerpts:

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
At least 17 people were killed and 12 others injured in separate lightning incidents in .

The fatalities were reported from Prayagraj, Banda, Chitrakoot, Mahoba, Kanpur, Mau and Ghazipur districts, according to official sources.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has expressed grief over the loss of lives and instructed to immediately disburse Rs 4 lakh to the families of each victim, the state government said in a statement.

Officials of the respective district administrations have been directed to make arrangements for treatment of the injured.

The latest incident took place in Prayagraj on Monday when four people died and 12 others were injured while they were working in the fields during heavy rain.

A other deaths occurred while the victims had taken shelter under trees during rain.

--IANS

amita/ksk/

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Two persons including a woman were killed when lightning struck them in Jharkhand's Palamu district, police said on Tuesday.

The victims Balram Yadav (56) and Manmati Devi (45) were grazing cattle in a field when thunderbolt struck, killing them on the spot on Monday, the police said.

The bodies have been sent to Medinirai Medical College and Hospital for post-mortem.

Deputy Commissioner Anjaneyulu Dodde told PTI that a compensation of Rs 4 lakh would be provided to the victims family from Disaster Management fund.

(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 Lucknow bench of the on Tuesday rejected the bail plea of Ashish Mishra alias Monu, son of Union minister Ajay Mishra 'Teni', in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case which had left four farmers dead.

The Justice Krishna Pahal bench said Ashish is politically so influential that he could influence the witnesses and affect the trial.

The bench had reserved its order on July 15 after completing the hearing.

On February 10, the Lucknow bench had granted bail to Ashish but the Supreme Court cancelled it and directed the high court to decide his plea after affording adequate opportunity to the victims.

Accordingly, the high court heard his bail petition afresh.

Mishra is a co-accused in the killing of four farmers and a journalist at Tikunia in Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur Kheri district on October 3 last year.

The farmers and the journalist were mowed down by a speeding vehicle. In the ensuing violence, two BJP workers and the driver of a vehicle were killed by an agitated mob.

Two FIRs were lodged in connection with the violence.

(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 Class 12 student committed suicide at her home in Tamil Nadu's Cuddalore on Tuesday, the third such death in the state in the last two weeks.

The Cuddalore district superintendent of Police told IANS that the student had a rift with her mother and in a fit of fury she entered her room and committed suicide.

This is the third incident of a Plus two student committing suicide in in a span of two weeks.

On July 13 a Class 12 student in Kallakurichi jumped to death from the third floor of the hostel of a private school. The suicide of the girl sparked violence in Kallakurichi with hundreds of protesters vandalizing the school building, torching school buses, burning a police vehicle, and destroying and burning down several two-wheelers on July 17.

Intense stone and bottle pelting also took place at the spot against the police, injuring senior IPS officers, including Inspector General of Police, B. Pandyan, and Superintendent of Police, R. Selvakumar. The Chief Minister sent a fact-finding team comprising state police chief and home secretary to ascertain the facts and to report to the home department.

In a similar incident, a Class 12 student of Tiruvallur district hanged herself to death in her hostel room on Monday (July 25). The family and relatives of the girl protested in front of the school and were not ready to take the body. They finally relented after police and district administration put pressure.

Chief Minister, M.K. Stalin has ordered a comprehensive inquiry into the factors leading to the of these three girls.

--IANS

aal/dpb

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The due to the consumption of spurious liquor in Gujarat's Botad district has gone up to 28, a senior police official said on Tuesday.

A primary investigation has revealed that some small-time bootleggers including a woman from different villages in Botad had made the spurious liquor by mixing water with methyl alcohol (methanol), which is highly poisonous, and sold it to villagers for Rs 20 per pouch, as per a First Information Report (FIR) registered in the incident.

Blood samples of the deceased confirmed that they had consumed methanol, Director General of Police Ashish Bhatia told reporters in Gandhinagar.

Three FIRs have been registered against 14 main culprits under Indian Penal Code Sections 302 (murder), 328 (causing hurt by poison) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and most of them have been detained, he said.

The matter had come to light early Monday morning when some people living in Rojid village in Botad and other surrounding villages were referred to government hospitals in Barvala area and Botad towns after their condition started deteriorating.

Twenty eight people have so far died after consuming the spurious liquor. Of them, 22 belonged to various villages in Botad district while six were from three villages in neighbouring Ahmedabad district, Bhatia said.

Besides, more than 45 people are currently admitted to hospitals in Bhavnagar, Botad and Ahmedabad, he said.

"A forensic analysis has established that the deceased consumed methyl alcohol. We have booked 14 people on charge of murder and other offences and already detained most of the accused for further investigation," Bhatia said.

The Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) and the Ahmedabad crime branch have also joined the investigation.

Meanwhile, the Home Department has formed a three member committee, headed by senior Indian Police Service officer Subhash Trivedi, to conduct a detailed inquiry into the incident and submit a report within three days, a state government release said.

The other two members of the committee are Prohibition and Excise Director M A Gandhi and Gujarat Forensic Science Laboratory Director H P Sanghvi.

Police investigation has so far revealed that a person named Jayesh aka Raju had stolen 600 litres of methyl alcohol from a godown in Ahmedabad where he worked as a manager and then sold it to his Botad-based cousin Sanjay for Rs 40,000 on July 25, Bhatia said.

"Despite knowing that it's an industrial solvent, Sanjay sold the chemical to bootleggers from different villages of Botad. These bootleggers mixed water in the chemical and sold it to people as country-made liquor. This led to the death of 28 people," the official said.

As per an FIR lodged at Barvala police station in Botad, bootleggers sold this chemical-laced hooch in pouches to several people on July 25 in Rojid, Ranpari, Chandarva, Devgana, Chokdi and some other villages in Botad district.

The deceased also included people from Dhandhuka taluka of neighbouring Ahmedabad district as they had come to Botad to consume liquor.

In Rojid village, the epicentre of the tragedy, a bootlegger named Gajuben Vaddariya told the police that she had purchased 20 litres of methanol for Rs 2,000 from one Pintu Devipujak and sold it to several people by mixing water in it for Rs 20 per pouch, the FIR said.

The FIR said as many as 10 people from Rojid village died after consuming the hooch on Monday.

Bhatia said blood samples of the deceased confirmed that they had consumed methanol.

"We have so far seized 460 litres of the chemical. Following a clampdown on manufacturers of illegal liquor, bootleggers decided to acquire this readymade chemical and sell it as country-made liquor by just mixing water in it," he said.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is on a visit to Gujarat where the Assembly polls are due later this year, on Monday alleged that illegal liquor is being sold in large quantities in Gujarat where prohibition is in place.

He alleged that people selling illicit liquor are enjoying political protection and demanded a probe into the "trail" of money generated by selling booze.

Kejriwal on Tuesday said he will visit a hospital in Bhavnagar where some of those who consumed the spurious liquor were admitted.

(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.)
Police has launched a special drive against drunkards to restrain the consumption of alcohol in public places and to curb crime and offences due to liquor consumption. During this drive, police took stringent action against 619 people who were found consuming alcohol in public places.

On the directions of Deputy Commissioner of Police Outer District Sameer Sharma regarding action against public drinking, the staff of Outer District of Police have conducted a special drive against drunkards at public places on weekend days i.e July 22 (evening), July 23 and July 24 (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) to restrain the consumption of alcohol at public places and to curb crime/offences due to consumption of alcohol. During this drive, action has been taken against 619 persons who were found consuming alcohol in public places, the police informed.

"Drinking in public often creates a nuisance and disturbs the peace and tranquility of the area and hence, it is punishable by law. Therefore, in order to control the crime rates and for the health of the people, as per the directions of Sameer Sharma, during the weekend days special drives are being conducted in the jurisdiction area of all 10 Police Stations of Outer District," the police said.

"It has been observed that these offenders often after consuming alcohol, quarrel with their wife, family members and neighbours. More often they have been observed committing crimes under the influence of alcohol," the police said.

As a result of the drive, it has been noticed that the number of PCR calls received in the District in connection of domestic violence and quarrels during weekend days had reduced in comparison to other days.

Strict directions have been passed by Sameer Sharma, DCP Outer District to curb the selling of illegal liquor and consumption of liquor at public places in the Outer District and further SHOs of all the 10 police stations have been directed to be more vigilant and to increase beat staff patrolling and to take strict action against sellers and drunkards at public places. Such practice is being adopted to create a sense of safety and security for general public, especially for women.

Notably, Delhi's new liquor policy has been at the Centre of controversies ever since it came into effect, with the Opposition -- the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress -- holding regular protests over it.

However, a new tussle has now emerged between the policy maker -- the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government -- and the license holders after the government placed a ban on discounts and rebates given by liquor shops, finding the decision arbitrary and against the policy.

To stop overcrowding and long queues outside liquor shops, the government on February 28 this year had issued an order to all the license holders to stop discounts, rebates and concessions given on the MRP. Recently, when the retail vendors license holders filed a petition against the government, the state counsel said that the discounts lead to a drinking problem in the city.

"It has been brought to notice of the department that as a result of the discounts being offered by the licenses through their retail vends, there are instances reported of large crowds gathering outside liquor shops leading to law and order problems and causing inconvenience to the local population of the area. It is also to be kept in mind that the covid situation is not over yet and danger of the covid still persists and therefore huge crowds are likely to aggravate the rise of covid cases in the city," the order by Delhi government read.

On March 8, the Delhi High Court on Tuesday dismissed pleas seeking to stay the decision of the Delhi government prohibiting any discount on the MRP of liquor in the city.

Recently, Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena on Friday recommended a CBI probe into the Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22 over alleged violations of rules and procedural lapses. The LG has found "substantive indications" of "financial quid pro quo" at the "top political level" wherein the excise minister "took and got executed major decisions in violation of the statutory provisions" and notified the Excise Policy that had "huge financial implications".

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The on Tuesday recorded Congress president Sonia Gandhi's statement on the second day of questioning in a linked to the Herald newspaper, officials said.

Sonia Gandhi, who was questioned for 2.5 hours before lunch and rejoined after a break, had reached the ED office in central Delhi around 11 am accompanied by her Z+ armed security and her children Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

While Priyanka Gandhi stayed back with her, Rahul Gandhi left soon after and joined the Congress protest at Vijay Chowk before being detained by the police.

The 75-year-old Congress president left the ED office around 2 pm and returned around 3.30 pm, officials said.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was in a separate room at the ED office so she could meet her mother to provide medicines or medical assistance if necessary, they said.

Sonia Gandhi's questioning and recording of statements began around 11.15 am after initial formalities, including the verification of summons and signing the attendance sheet, were completed.

She was questioned for over two hours on July 21. She replied to 28 questions put forth by the agency.

The Lok Sabha MP from Rae Bareli is understood to have been asked questions pertaining to her involvement with the Herald newspaper and the company under scanner in the case, Young Indian Pvt Ltd.

Tuesday's questioning session could see the agency asking questions on the functioning and running of the newspaper, the role of its various office bearers, and her and her son's participation in the affairs of the Herald and Young Indian.

The agency will also match her statement with that of Rahul Gandhi as both are majority stakeholders in Young Indian, officials said.

The questioning of the Gandhis pertains to the charge of alleged financial irregularities in the Congress-promoted Young Indian, which owns the National Herald newspaper.

The Congress has slammed the agency's action against its top leadership and termed it "political vendetta".

Delhi Police deployed a huge force, including CRPF and RAF personnel, and barricaded the entire over one kilometre stretch between her residence and the ED office. Traffic restrictions were also imposed in the area.

The ED questioned Rahul Gandhi last month in sessions that clocked over 50 hours over five days.

The move to question the Gandhis was initiated after the ED late last year registered a fresh case under criminal provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

This was after a trial court here took cognisance of an Income Tax department probe against Young Indian based on a private criminal complaint by BJP MP Subramanian Swamy in 2013.

Sonia and Rahul Gandhi are among the promoters and majority shareholders in Young Indian. Like her son, the Congress president too has 38 per cent shareholding.

Swamy had accused the Gandhis and others of conspiring to cheat and misappropriate funds, with Young Indian paying only Rs 50 lakh to obtain the right to recover Rs 90.25 crore that Associate Journals Limited owed to the Congress.

In February last year, the Delhi High Court issued a notice to the Gandhis seeking their response to Swamy's plea.

Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Pawan Bansal were questioned by the ED in the case in April.

The Congress has maintained there has been no wrongdoing and Young Indian is a "not-for-profit" company established under section 25 of the Companies Act and hence there can be no question of money laundering.

It is understood that Rahul Gandhi, during his deposition before the ED, stuck to the position that there was no personal acquisition of assets by himself or his family.

According to the ED, assets worth about Rs 800 crore are "owned" by the AJL and the agency wants to know from the Gandhis how a not-for-profit company like Young Indian was undertaking commercial activities of renting out its land and building assets.

(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 of India is a set of laws and conventions concerning the use, display, and hoisting of the Indian national flag in the country. It was brought into effect on January 26, 2002. Quite recently, the Indian government amended some its provisions. Here are details about the and the changes made to it.

What does the say?

The Flag Code of India, 2002, states that a member of the public, private organisation, or educational institute is allowed to hoist the national flag on all days and occasions, ceremonial or otherwise, consistent with the dignity and honour of the flag.

The code has been divided into three parts. The first part contains a general description of the national flag. The second part talks about the display of the flag by members of the public, private organisations, and other institutions. The third part is about the display of the national flag by central and state governments, and their organisations/agencies.

Before the 2002 code was introduced, the display of the national flag was governed by provisions of The Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950, and the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971.

What are the amendments to the code?

On July 20, 2022, the Centre amended the Flag Code of India, allowing the national flag to be flown both in the day and at night if it is displayed in the open or on the house of a member of the public. Earlier, the tricolour could be hoisted only between sunrise and sunset.

In an earlier amendment dated December 30, 2021, the government had allowed the use of machine-made and polyester flags. Previously, such flags were not allowed to be used.

Governments appeal to public

The Centre is encouraging citizens to hoist the national flag on their houses between August 13 and 15, as part of the Har Ghar Tiranga campaign.

In the 75th year of Independence, citizens should pledge to re-dedicate themselves to the tricolour for the development, bright future and security of the country, by hoisting the Tricolour in their homes between August 13 and 15, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said in a statement.

Why are the amendments being criticised?

A section of Khadi weavers is protesting against the amendments made to the flag code, saying that the demand for khadi flags has suffered due to a new rule that permits the use of machine-made and polyester flags. The Karnataka Khadi Gramudyog Samyukta Sangha (KKGSS), a unit that spins the fabric used to make the national flag, halted operations and called a nationwide protest against the amendment, The Indian Express reported.

Leaders of the Congress party have also slammed the government for the move.

By allowing the import of Tricolour made of polyester, an arrangement has been made for China-made Tricolour in every home  the very China that is encroaching on our land, said Congress leader Jairam Ramesh.

A brief about the Indian national flag

The Indian national flag is rectangular, with stripes in three colours: saffron, white, and green. It has a 24-spoke navy blue wheel known as the Ashok Chakra at its centre. It was adopted at a meeting of the Constituent Assembly on July 22, 1947.
The Lok Sabha last week passed the Indian Bill 2022 to assist in protecting the frozen continent where India operates two research centres and is part of several scientific explorations.

During a discussion on the bill, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Earth Sciences, said, "the main aim is to ensure de-militarisation of the (Antarctic) region along with getting rid of mining or illegal activities."

is the southernmost continent and does not have any indigenous population. The entire region is demilitarised and is used for scientific and peaceful purposes as per the Treaty that came into force on June 23, 1961.

What is the treaty?

The Antarctic Treaty was signed on December 01, 1959, by 12 countries: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Chile, France, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, the USSR, the UK and the US. Their objective was to demilitarise Antarctica, promote international scientific cooperation, and to set aside territorial sovereignty disputes.

In the following years, more countries joined the Antarctic treaty. There are now 54 members, of which 29 countries have consultative (voting) status in the Antarctic Consultative Meetings held annually and 25 countries have non-consultative membership. India became a member of the Antarctic Treaty on August 19, 1983, and on September 12 of the same year, it received consultative status.

Following the Antarctic treaty, member countries signed the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources at Canberra in 1980 which India ratified in 1985. The countries also signed the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty (the Madrid Protocol) in 1991, which designates the continent as 'a natural reserve, devoted to peace and science.'

Research stations in Antarctica

Though there is no permanent human habitation in Antarctica, there are over 70 research stations scattered across the region from 29 countries, that are signatories of the Antarctic treaty. These countries are obliged to protect and preserve the well-being of the environment and to cooperate with fellow researchers.

India currently has two operational research stations in -- Maitri (Commissioned in 1989) and Bharati (Commissioned in 2012). It has also successfully launched 40 annual scientific expeditions to date. With Himadri station in Ny-Alesund, Svalbard, above the Arctic circle, India is among the elite set of nations that have multiple research centres in the polar regions.

With a growing number of Indian scientists in Antarcticas research stations and in accordance with India's commitment to the Antarctic treaty, the centre introduced the Indian Antarctic Bill, 2022.

What is the Indian Antarctic Bill?

The bill provides a regulatory framework for Indias Antarctic activities through legal mechanisms which will help in the efficient operation of the Indian Antarctic Programme. It confers jurisdiction on Indian courts to deal with crimes and disputes committed by Indian citizens in parts of .

Legislation of such a kind will bind the citizens to the policies of the Antarctic treaty system. This will also be useful in building credibility and enhance the status of the country globally, said the Ministry of Earth Sciences.

The bill plans to facilitate Indias involvement in the management of tourism in the Antarctic and the sustainable development of fisheries. It also aims to increase Indias international visibility and credibility in Polar governance for cooperation in scientific studies and logistics.

The Bill plans to set up Indian Antarctic Authority (IAA) as an apex decision-making authority under the Earth Sciences Ministry, to provide an accountable process for supervision of Antarctic research and expeditions.

IAA will ensure the protection and preservation of the Antarctic environment, and will ensure compliance by Indian citizens engaged in the Antarctic programs and activities with relevant rules and internationally agreed standards, the Centre said in a statement. IAA will be headed by the secretary of the Ministry of Earth Sciences and will have members from other relevant ministries.

The Bill prohibits activities that contaminant the Antarctic continent including, nuclear explosion and radioactive waste disposal, introduction of non-sterile soil, and discharge of plastic, garbage and other substance into the sea.

Indian Antarctic Expedition

Indias Antarctic expeditions started in 1981 with a team of 21 scientists and support staff. Thereafter, India launched 40 annual expeditions to the continent and set up the Antarctic Scientific Division and the Antarctic Logistics Division.

India has conducted a wide range of research on topics including the climate process and its connection with climate change, environmental processes and conservation, terrestrial ecosystem, observational research, and polar technology in the Antarctic. The entire Indian Antarctic program is managed by the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR) in Goa.

On November 15, 2021, India launched its latest exploration in the Antarctic with two major programs which aim to explore the link between India and Antarctica in the past and to understand the Antarctic climate.
SYDNEY, July 26 (Xinhua) -- The Australian state of Victoria has increased its investment into a home-based care system, designed to relieve pressure from the state's COVID-embattled hospital system.

On Tuesday, Victoria state Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas said nearly 56,000 people had received home visitation medical care through the "Better at Home" program.

"We're investing heavily to help reduce pressure on the health system amid the ongoing effects of the pandemic, winter respiratory illnesses like the flu, two years of deferred care and many sick healthcare workers," said Thomas.

So far it has diverted more than 71,000 days of care that would otherwise be spent at hospital -- freeing up an extra 200 hospital beds across the state.

This year the state government announced a further 698 million Australian dollars (486 million U.S. dollars) of funding for the program, which would expand the service to 15,000 more residents.

Throughout the pandemic Victoria has in many respects been Australia's worst affected state. The latest "winter wave" of COVID-19 has seen the system thrown into new levels of distress.

Hospitals have reported resorting to "ICU exit block", wherein patients are sent directly home from the intensive care units, and one of Melbourne's largest hospitals, the Alfred Hospital, made a pause on elective surgery earlier this month.

There are currently 869 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in the state. The state reported on 12 p.m. local time Tuesday 12,339 new cases and 40 deaths from the pandemic in the past 24 hours.

Similarly the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) has seen a surge in hospitalizations in recent weeks. NSW reported 2,344 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in the past 24 hours till 4 p.m. local time Monday, among the highest levels since its January peak.

Authorities across the nation have urged residents to stay up to date with their vaccinations, stay home when unwell and wear masks in indoor places but have not yet moved to re-introduce public health mandates. 
With six states reporting more than 1,000 average daily Covid-19 cases, the Centre is now trying targeted communication in them to improve vaccination coverage rapidly. There has already been a sharp rise in demand for precaution doses after July 15 when the Centre announced free precaution shots for all adults.

From a daily average of 4.7 lakh doses per day till July 15, the number of precaution shots went up to 20.4 lakh per day (from July 15 till date). The number of total doses has gone up from 12.3 lakh per day (till July 15) to 27 lakh per day (since July 15).

According to the health ministry, the coverage for precaution doses has gone up from 8 per cent (July 14) to 11 per cent (as of July 25) thanks to the Amrit Mahotsav campaign.

The ministry on Tuesday said that Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Odisha and Karnataka are reporting more than 1,000 average daily cases. Kerala contributes 11.38 per cent of the national Covid-19 cases, while Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu contribute 10.6 per cent and 10.3 per cent respectively. Also Read: Bharat Biotech, ExcellGene consortium progress to develop variant-proof vax

Lav Agarwal, joint secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, said the Centre was keen on ensuring vaccination coverage, especially of precaution doses, picked up in areas where the rate of infection is high. We have started targeted messaging to the districts and states where the caseload is high. This would help to increase our coverage for vaccines, he said.

As of July 25, 181 districts in India are reporting a weekly positivity rate of more than 10 per cent, and 107 districts are recording 5-10 per cent weekly positivity rate.

Assam, West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh have the highest number of districts with more than 10 per cent positivity rates.

The Centre has launched a 75-day free precaution dose campaign for all adults till the September-end. Agarwal said there was a certain amount of complacency among citizens about Covid-19 infection, and that they have let their guards down.

India has already covered 96 per cent of its population above 12 years with the first dose. For the second dose, the coverage is 88 per cent. However, the ministry noted that only 75.8 million precaution shots have been administered. The coverage is around 68 per cent for the second dose among the 15-18 year age cohort.
The Centre on Tuesday refuted opposition's Vice-Presidential candidate Margaret Alva's phone tapping allegation.

Taking to Twitter this morning, Alva said: "The fear that 'Big Brother' is always watching & listening permeates all conversations between politicians across party lines in 'new' India. MPs & leaders of parties carry multiple phones, frequently change numbers & talk in hushed whispers when they meet. Fear kills democracy."

On Monday she had tweeted: "After speaking to some friends in the BJP today, all calls to my mobile are being diverted & I'm unable to make or receive calls. If you restore the phone. I promise not to call any MP from the BJP, TMC or BJD tonight."

Responding to her allegation, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi, said: "Why should be tap her phone? We are confident about the result of the Vice-President election. She may call anybody. She is very senior person and should not make such allegations."

As part of her campaigning, Alva is reaching out to leaders from across political parties. She also spoke to Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswas Sarma.

--IANS

miz/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.)
India witnessed a power shortage of one per cent in the April-June period this fiscal, with an electricity supply of 400.65 billion units (BU) against the requirement of 404.76 BU, Parliament was informed on Tuesday.

"Further, during 2022-23 (April-June), against the requirement of 404.76 Billion Units (BU), the energy supplied was 400.65 BU. There was a shortage of 1 per cent of energy requirement," Union Power Minister said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.

The minister explained to the House that the gap is generally on account of factors other than inadequacy of power availability in the country, such as constraints in the distribution network, financial constraints, commercial reasons, forced outage of generating units etc.

In another reply, the minister told the House that 325.62 BU or 75 per cent of the total power generation was from thermal projects, which include coal, lignite, gas and diesel.

Renewable energy, including large hydro plants, output was 92.85 BU or 21.6 per cent of total power generation in the country.

About the coal shortage, the minister informed that as of March 31, 2022, the coal stock was 25.6 Million Tonnes (MT) and has increased to 28.4 MT as of July 17, 2022, which is about 50 per cent of the normative coal stock required to be maintained by the TPPs (third-party providers).

The coal stock available as of July 17, 2022, is sufficient to run these power plants for an average of 10 days at 85 per cent plant load factor (PLF), the minister stated.

The coal stock available with the thermal power plants, including import, is monitored by Central Electricity Authority (CEA) on daily basis.

In another reply, the minister said that a scheme for viability gap funding for Battery Energy Storage Systems (BEEs) and Pump Storage Projects (PSP) is under consideration by the government.

The PLF (plant load factor or capacity utilisation) of coal/lignite-based power plants of capacity 25 MW and above during the year 2021-22 was 58.87 per cent.

In 2022-23, the electricity demand has increased and power plants are generating electricity as per the schedule given to them. The PLF for coal/lignite-based power plants in 2022-23 up to June 2022 is around 69.5 per cent, the minister stated.

(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 Allahabad High Court will deliver its verdict on Tuesday on the bail plea of Ashish Mishra alias Monu, the son of Union Minister of State for Home minister Ajay Mishra, in connection with the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case. A bench of Justice Krishna Pahal had reserved its order on July 15 after completing the hearing. The Lucknow Bench of Allahabad High Court had granted bail to Ashish on February 10, 2022. But, later the Supreme Court cancelled the bail and directed the HC to decide his bail plea after affording adequate opportunity to the victim side.

The spectrum auction will begin on Tuesday with four players, including and Bharti Airtel, set to bid for 72 GHz of radiowaves worth Rs 4.3 trillion on offer. The bidding process is scheduled to start on Tuesday from 10 am and go on till 6 pm. The number of days of auction will depend on the actual demand for radiowaves and strategy of individual bidders, sources in the Department of Telecom said.
Prime Minister will visit and on July 28-29 to attend various events, including inauguration and laying the foundation stone of several projects, the PMO said on Tuesday.

Modi will launch multiple projects of Sabar Dairy at Sabarkantha in on Thursday and will then travel to Chennai to declare open the 44th Olympiad at the JLN Indoor Stadium in the evening.

On Friday, the prime minister will attend the 42nd convocation of the Anna University and will then travel to Gandhinagar to visit GIFT City, where he will launch and lay the foundation stone of various projects, his office said.

The PMO noted that a key priority of the government has been boosting the rural economy and making agriculture and allied activities more productive. In a step towards this, he will launch projects worth Rs 1,000 crore at Sabar Dairy, it said, adding they will empower local farmers and milk producers and increase their income. This will also give a boost to the rural economy in the region



One of the projects to be inaugurated is the powder plant at the dairy with a capacity of around 120 million tonnes per day (MTPD). The total cost of the entire project is more than Rs 300 crores. The layout of the plant meets global food safety standards, the PMO said, adding that it is highly energy efficient with almost zero emission. The plant is equipped with the latest and fully automated bulk packing line.

Another project is Aseptic Milk Packaging Plant at Sabar Dairy. It is a state-of- the-art plant having capacity of 3 lakh litre per day, and the project has been executed with a total investment of around Rs 125 crores.

The PMO said the plant has the latest automation system with highly energy efficient and environment friendly technology. The project will help ensure better remuneration to milk producers.

He will also lay the foundation stone of the "Sabar Cheese & Whey Drying Plant" having an estimated outlay of around Rs 600 crores. It will manufacture cheddar cheese (20 MTPD), mozzarella cheese (10 MTPD) and processed cheese (16 MTPD). Whey generated during manufacturing of cheese shall also be dried at the plant, having capacity of 40 MTPD, it said.

Sabar Dairy is a part of the Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), which makes and markets a whole range of milk and milk products under the Amul brand.

Noting that GIFT City (Gujarat International Finance Tec-City) in Gandhinagar was envisaged as an integrated hub for financial and technology services not just for India but for the world, the PMO said Modi will lay the foundation stone of the headquarters building of the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA), the unified regulator for the development and regulation of financial products, financial services and financial institutions in International Financial Services Centres (IFSCs) in India.

The building has been conceptualised as an iconic structure, reflective of the growing prominence and stature of GIFT-IFSC as a leading international financial centre, it said.

He will also launch the India International Bullion Exchange (IIBX), the country's first International Bullion Exchange in GIFT-IFSC, and NSE IFSC-SGX Connect, a framework between NSE's subsidiary in the IFSC and the Singapore Exchange Limited (SGX).

Under 'connect', all orders on NIFTY derivatives placed by members of Singapore Exchange will be routed to and matched on the NSE-IFSC order matching and trading platform. Broker-Dealers from India and across international jurisdictions are expected to participate in large numbers for trading derivatives through the connect, it said.

It will deepen liquidity in derivative markets at GIFT-IFSC, bringing in more international participants and creating a positive impact on the financial ecosystem in the GIFT-IFSC, the PMO added.

During his visit to Tamil Nadu, Modi will declare open the Olympiad, his office said, noting that he had also launched the first-ever Olympiad Torch Relay at the Indira Gandhi Stadium in New Delhi on June 19.

The torch travelled to 75 iconic locations in the country for over a period of 40 days, traversing close to 20,000 km and culminating in Mahabalipuram, before heading over to the FIDE Headquarters, Switzerland.

The 44th Chess Olympiad is being held in Chennai from July 28 to August 9, 2022. The prestigious competition, which has been organised since 1927, is being hosted in India for the first time and in Asia after 30 years. With 187 countries participating, this will be the largest participation in any chess olympiad. India is also fielding its biggest ever contingent in the competition comprising 30 players across six teams, the PMO said.

During the convocation at the Anna University, Modi will award gold medals and certificates to 69 gold medallists and address the gathering.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Prime Minister on Tuesday held a meeting with cabinet members to discuss the government's strategy in Parliament amid face-off with the opposition over suspension of four Lok Sabha MPs for the entire Monsoon session for "misconduct".

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi, Minister of Information & Broadcasting Anurag Singh Thakur, Law Minister Kiren Rijiju were among those who attended the meeting.

Notably, four Congress MPs were suspended for the entire Monsoon session on Monday over unruly behaviour.

Manickam Tagore, Ramya Haridas, Jothimani and T.N. Prathapan have been suspended for the entire Monsoon Session ending August 12 for holding placards inside the House while protesting.

Speaker Om Birla had earlier warned them against it.

On Monday, as the House assembled 2 p.m. after the swearing-in ceremony of President Droupadi Murmu, the opposition members started sloganeering on the issues of price rise and hiked GST rates. Some of them were seen holding placards and banners, while rushed to the Well of the House.

Stating that the government was ready to discuss the issues, the Speaker warned them against waving placards as it violated the rules of the House.

When his constant requests were not paid heed to, he suspended the four Congress Members for the remaining part of the session.

--IANS

miz/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.)
Prime Minister has congratulated Sri Lanka's newly-elected President Ranil Wickremesinghe and said that India will continue to be supportive of the quest of the people of the island nation for stability and economic recovery, through established democratic means, the Indian High Commission said on Tuesday.

Wickremesinghe, 73, was on Thursday sworn in as Sri Lanka's eighth president after he was elected by lawmakers.

"PM @narendramodi sent a congratulatory letter to H.E President @RW_UNP on his election," the High Commission of India in Colombo said in a tweet.

"PM reiterated that India will continue to be supportive of the quest of the people of for stability and economic recovery, through established democratic means, institutions and constitutional framework, it said.

The Prime Minister also conveyed that he looked forward to working closely with the Sri Lankan President for the mutual benefit of people and strengthening the age-old, close and friendly relations between India and Sri Lanka, it added.

In Colombo, Indian High Commissioner Gopal Baglay on Tuesday paid a courtesy call on newly-appointed Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena and conveyed greetings from the leadership, Government and people of India.

"High Commissioner thanked the PM for his guidance in various capacities to strengthen the long-standing and close India-Sri Lankan relations in all areas of engagement. High Commissioner also thanked him for his whole-hearted appreciation for India's unprecedented support to the people of Sri Lanka, the Indian mission tweeted.

The Indian government assistance to has reached almost USD 4 billion since January this year.

needs about USD 5 billion in the next six months to cover basic necessities for its 22 million people, who have been struggling with long queues, worsening shortages and power cuts.

(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 Congress president and several party MPs were detained by police at Vijay Chowk on Tuesday after they staged a protest against the ED questioning of .

and other Congress MPs gathered at Vijay Chowk to march towards the Rashtrapati Bhawan to draw the President's attention to the alleged misuse of agencies by the government.

Gandhi was put in a police bus but officials did not disclose where he was being taken.

Several other Congress MPs at the Vijay Chowk protest site were detained and taken away in separate police buses.

"India is a police state, Modi is a king," alleged.

He said discussions were not being allowed in Parliament.

"I am not going anywhere. We wanted to go towards the President's house. But the police are not allowing us," Gandhi said.

The Congress MPs had earlier gathered at Parliament to decide on the party's strategy as appeared before the Enforcement Directorate for questioning in a money laundering case pertaining to the Herald newspaper, for the second time.

Rahul Gandhi has earlier appeared before the probe agency for questioning in the same case.

(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 samples of a 35-year-old man, who came to from abroad, tested negative for monkeypox, a senior doctor at a government-run hospital here said on Tuesday.

Dr K Shankar, superintendent of Government Fever Hospital which is the nodal hospital to treat patients of the emerging virus, told PTI that the samples sent to Institute of Virology in Pune have come out negative.

"There is nothing to panic about. The samples turned out to be negative for monkeypox," Dr Shankar said.

The man, who returned from abroad to Kamareddy district in Telangana, had shown symptoms of monkeypox.

He came from Kuwait on July 6 and developed fever on July 20.

(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 recent hooch tragedy in the state of has caused a furore in the country. With political parties training their guns on the BJP-led central government, as many as 28 people have died so far after consuming spurious liquor, while 40 others have been hospitalised. But, this is not the first time that India has reported an incident of people dying after consuming . A similar case was reported from Bihar, wherein 32 people died since Holi due to .

What is Hooch?



Hooch is a kind of liquor which is cheap, brewed in small unregulated shanties and does not attract excise tax. This inferior quality drink is usually made after mixing chemicals with water, which is then consumed by the people. It is more so commonly sold in states that have imposed a full ban on liquor in the state, thereby, making more people fall prey.

In India, the number of hooch tragedies has only gone up. According to a report in ABP live, India reports 3 people dying every day due to hooch. In 2016 august, a hooch tragedy occurred in Bihar, just months after Nitish Kumar's govt imposed a complete ban on the sale and consumption of alcohol. The incident claimed 19 lives and brought attention to the rise in the number of illegal liquor sales in the country.

Here is a list of the states which have imposed a complete ban on liquor in India:

Mizoram Gujarat Bihar Nagaland Lakshadweep

According to Lok Sabha data released on July 19, 2022, these five states reported the maximum deaths due to consumption of illegal and between 2016 and 2020:

Bihar: The state reported a total of 21 deaths due to the consumption of illegal liquor.

Chhattisgarh: Chhattisgarh logged a total of 505 deaths in 5 years.

Madhya Pradesh: recorded over 1,200 deaths with the maximum number of deaths reported in 2018.

Karnataka: logged a total of 909 deaths.

Punjab: Punjab reported 725 deaths.

According to the data, India reported over 6,000 deaths in 5 years between 2016 and 2020 due to the consumption of spurious liquor. India logged the lowest number of deaths in 2020 with 947.
PHNOM PENH, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia's Ministry of Post and Telecommunications (MPTC) on Tuesday announced a ban on the use of signal boosters and repeaters in households, saying that these devices have severely affected the quality of mobile services in the user home's surrounding areas.

In its statement, the MPTC said that through radio frequency drive tests and mobile service assessment at townships in the capital Phnom Penh, it has identified that the use of signal boosters and repeaters have caused signal interferences and severely affected the quality of mobile services in the surrounding areas.

"As such, MPTC would like to request households currently using signal boosters and/or repeaters to dismantle, remove, and cease the uses of these devices at their respective homes," the statement said.

"MPTC would also like to request all related parties to immediately cease the import of signal boosters and/or repeaters that have yet been granted type approval from the Telecommunication Regulator of Cambodia to avoid legal implications," it added.

Meanwhile, the ministry also encourages mobile network operators to upgrade their equipment and technology as well as to construct additional base transceiver stations in order to expand cell coverage and improve the quality of service.

According to the ministry, the Southeast Asian country currently has five mobile phone operators, one fixed phone operator, and 44 internet service providers.

The country has approximately 19.3 million phone subscribers and 17.7 million Internet users, the ministry said. 
India is now developing its indigenous test kit for monkeypox after four laboratory (lab)-confirmed cases of the disease in the country. Meanwhile, Pakistan ramped up its imports from India despite Islamabads ban on trade with its eastern neighbour in the April-May period. Read more on these in our top headlines.

India working on indigenous kit to test monkeypox as cases on the rise

India is now developing its indigenous test kit for monkeypox after four laboratory (lab)-confirmed cases of the disease in the country. Makers of the TrueNat real-time polymerase chain reaction, the worlds only point-of-care platform used by the World Health Organization (WHO) to detect tuberculosis, is developing the test kit for monkeypox, indicated government sources. Read more



Merchant discount rate on UPI-RuPay credit cards likely to be 2%

Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and banks have hammered out the contours of the pricing of credit-card transactions on the RuPay-Unified Payments Interface (UPI). In talks held last week, the consensus veered to a merchant discount rate (MDR)  the charge paid by merchants to the card-issuing bank for card transactions  of 2 per cent. Read more



Divestment push: RBI allows bidders to own more than 40%

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is learnt to have accepted the Centres request for allowing non-financial institutions and non-regulated entities to own more than 40 per cent of IDBI Bank, as the Union government and Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) look to sell 51-74 per cent stake in the lender through the strategic divestment process. Read more



Despite trade ban, Pakistan imports from India jump 2x in April-May

Coinciding with the change in government in Pakistan in April, the country ramped up its imports from India despite Islamabads ban on trade with its eastern neighbour. Indias exports to Pakistan more than doubled to $142 million in the April-May period, from $70 million during the same period a year ago, trade data available on the commerce ministry website showed. Read more



appoints Indian Indermit Gill as chief economist

The has appointed Indermit Gill, an Indian national, chief economist and senior vice-president for development economics at the multilateral development bank. His appointment will be effective September 1, 2022. Read more
Buoyed by higher demand for and imported coal, recorded a growth of 11 per cent in traffic during the April-June quarter of 2022-23. This shows that the economy is opening up, a report by DAM Capital said.

The volume increase assumes significance since both prices of and imported have been soaring this year. Indian companies were pressed for supply amid a thermal crisis earlier in the year.

Between major and non-major ports, 366 million tonnes (mt) of traffic saw movement in the first three months of the fiscal year. Of this, major ports, which are owned by the central government, accounted for over 197 mt.

Both coal and grew 16 per cent year-on-year (YoY), accounting for 105 mt and 65 mt of traffic in the first quarter, even on the back of record high prices.

A larger share of crude oil was moved by private and other ports, with major ports accounting for 41 mt of crude traffic during the quarter. However, YoY crude oil traffic growth at major ports is over 20 per cent during this period.

While the container volume is dependent on export volumes, coal and crude are driven by domestic consumption. We expect volume for FY23 to grow at 8-9 per cent, the report said.



Recent reports and government data suggest that Indias crude from Russia saw a significant leap ever since the Ukraine invasion. Indias cumulative crude rose by 21 per cent in June.

The considerable surge in coal traffic comes on the back of several power companies opting for the much-costlier imported coal during the peak demand season. This was because of a shortage in domestic supplies.

Moreover, the shortage also forced the coal ministry and railways to curtail coal supply to unregulated/non-power sectors.

This ensured adequate stocks at thermal power plants.

The ministry of power had also asked power companies to place orders for imported coal for blending in case of a shortfall during the peak season.

Union minister RK Singh recently informed Parliament that these power companies have so far placed imported coal orders of over 9.2 mt.

Meanwhile, the Centre has also been trying to push for coastal shipping of thermal coal to ease pressure off the Indian Railways. The railways transports most of the power sectors coal, and had to cancel over a 1,000 passenger trains in May to prioritise coal supply.

In iron ore, both the railways and ports have seen a decline in the movement. Data shows that YoY, iron ore traffic fell 17 per cent in the first quarter of 2022-23.
The on Tuesday approved the procurement of military equipment and weapons worth Rs 28,000 crore, including swarm drones and close-quarter battle carbines, to bolster the overall combat prowess of the armed forces along the northern and western borders.

The procurement proposals were cleared by the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) headed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

"The Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for capital acquisition proposals of the armed forces amounting to Rs 28,732 crore were accorded by the DAC," the said in a statement.

The approval to the new procurement proposals came amid India's lingering border row with China in eastern Ladakh.

The ministry said the approval to procure four lakh close-quarter battle carbines was granted to combat the "current complex paradigm of conventional and hybrid warfare" and terrorism at the borders.

"To combat the current complex paradigm of conventional and hybrid warfare and counter-terrorism at the borders, AoN for induction of approx. 4 lakh of close quarter battle carbines for the services have also been accorded by the DAC," it said.

The ministry said the decision is set to provide a major impetus to the small arms manufacturing industry in the country and enhance "Atmanirbharta" (self-reliance) in small arms.

"Considering the demand for enhanced protection against the threat of enemy snipers to our troops deployed along the Line of Control, and in close combat operations in counter-terrorism scenario, the DAC accorded AoN for bulletproof jackets with Indian Standard BIS VI level of protection," it said.

On the procurement of the armed swarm drones, the ministry said these are being acquired as drone technology has proved to be a force multiplier in military operations.

"In the recent conflicts across the world, drone technology proved to be a force multiplier in military operations. Accordingly, to augment the Indian Army's capability in modern warfare, AoN for procurement of autonomous surveillance and armed drone swarms has been accorded by the DAC under Buy (Indian-IDDM) category," it said.

The DAC has also approved the Navy's proposal to procure an upgraded 1,250-KW capacity marine gas turbine generator for power generation application onboard the Kolkata class of ships through the Indian industry.

"This will give a major boost to the indigenous manufacturing of gas turbine generators," the ministry said.

It also cleared a proposal to procure 14 fast patrol vessels for the Indian Coast Guard.

"In order to enhance the security in the coastal region of our Country, DAC also approved the proposal of procurement of 14 Fast Patrol Vessels (FPVs) for the Indian Coast Guard under the Buy (Indian-IDDM) with 60 per cent indigenous content," the ministry 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.)
Chief Secretary Sanjeev Kaushal has directed all deputy commissioners in the state to expedite pending cases related to Right of Way (RoW) permissions for installation of towers for mobile and internet service.

He was holding a review meeting on the issue of RoW with all the Deputy Commissioners through video conferencing here on Monday.

Kaushal gave special directions to the Deputy Commissioners of Rohtak, Ambala, Kaithal, Karnal, Sonipat, Panipat, Yamunanagar, Nuh, Hisar and Kurukshetra districts, where the percentage of cancellation of applications for RoW is high.

He said that all those service providers may also be directed to ensure that they submit their documents and prescribed fee within seven to 10 days so that the pending cases can be completed at the earliest.

RoW permissions are needed for overhead and underground telecom infrastructure, including laying of telecom fiber.

Kaushal said that the state government is committed to increase the communication and mobile connectivity infrastructure.

In the districts where there is still any problem related to mobile signal and internet connectivity, the DCs were directed to contact the Department of Telecommunications for immediate installation of telecom towers in those districts, according to an official statement here.

It was informed in the meeting that more than 5,700 applications have been approved in the districts related to RoW permissions.

Presently 1,091 cases are pending. There are some cases where the service providers have not submitted the required documents or in some cases the prescribed charges have not been paid.

It was informed in the meeting by the officials that some cases are pending due to non-submission of 'radiation' certificates.

The chief secretary apprised the deputy commissioners that according to the policy of communication and connectivity infrastructure, radiation certificate has to be submitted within 30 days of installation of tower, so there should not be any delay in grant of permission due to this certificate.

In the meeting, the Director General (Telecom), Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications, Government of India, connected through video conferencing and said that they will establish contact with the service providers and ensure that they get the required documents submitted within the stipulated time as well as pay the fixed charges, as per the statement.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In April 2018, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a project named iDEX (Innovations for Defence Excellence), billed as the Ministry of Defences (MoDs) flagship for technological innovation. iDEX was to encourage start-ups and provide them a platform for co-creation and co-development in defence and aerospace technology.

On Tuesday, iDEX signed its 100th contract in New Delhi with a firm called Pacify Medical Technologies Pvt Ltd.

Speaking on the occasion, Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar said, We are confident that iDEX will make India the biggest defence innovation ecosystem in the world.

On its website, iDEX is defined as an ecosystem to foster innovation and technology development in defence and aerospace by engaging innovators and entrepreneurs to deliver technologically advanced solutions for modernising the Indian military.

iDEX is funded and managed by the Defence Innovation Organization (DIO), which is a not for profit company as per Section 8 of the Companies Act 2013. Its founder members are the two biggest defence public sector undertakings (DPSUs): Ltd (HAL) and Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL).

iDEX will function as the executive arm of DIO, carrying out all the required activities while DIO will provide high level policy guidance to iDEX, stated the iDEX website.

With these actions of the Government, the expenditure on defence procurement from foreign sources which used to be 46 per cent of the overall expenditure has reduced to 36 per cent in the last four years i.e. 2018-19 to 2021-22, the MoD stated in Parliament on Monday.

Defence start-ups and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are encouraged to present technological solutions to functional problems that the military periodically raises as challenges.

Innovations judged to be technologically viable are considered for funding and for being accorded an acceptance of necessity (AoN), which is the entry into the militarys potentially lucrative procurement pipeline.

In a little over four years iDEX, has sought to be a game changer in the defence acquisition eco-system through highly publicised programmes such as the Defence India Start-up Challenges (DISC), and Prime and Open Challenges.

DISCs are launched with problem statements (PS) from armed forces and Ordnance Factory Board/Defence Public Sector Undertakings (OFB/DPSUs) for resolution by innovators, says the iDEX website.

Open Challenges are directed at Indias next generation of engineers, capable of developing technologies in autonomous systems, intelligent machines, advanced materials, predictive algorithms, or even rocket engines, for the most sophisticated applications in defence and aerospace domains.

The iDEX Open Challenge seeks out their technology capabilities. If you think you have an idea, technology or a product that has use in defence and aerospace, then iDEX Open Challenge is the right opportunity for you to grab, states the iDEX website.

Innovators, startups and MSMEs are encouraged to engage directly with the military through the iDEX Open Challenge and to showcase what they have to offer. Selected applicants are offered a chance to pitch to the iDEX grand jury and qualify for grants and investments.

Similarly iDEX Prime (Sprint) provides an opportunity for innovators to design and develop specified military equipments, such as boats for Special Forces, with the MoD paying half the development cost, up to a ceiling of Rs 10 crore.

The technology development head in the defence budget has traditionally been allocated single-digit, or double-digit, amounts for these high-tech development projects. This year, however, in the 2022-23 capital budget, a substantial Rs 1,365 crore has been allocated.

Till date, iDEX has launched iDEX Prime, seven rounds of DISC (including DISC SPRINT) and five rounds of OC, receiving more than 4,000 applications from individual innovators, MSMEs and start-ups. More than Rs 250 crore worth of projects have been allocated and procurement of 14 items worth over Rs 400 crore have been cleared. iDEX has also been able to generate thousands of jobs and attract Indias talent back to the country, said the MoD in a statement on Monday.

In the last four years, 17 start-ups in 14 projects have already been accorded the Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) by Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) for trial and procurement. Projects from balance of DISC 1 & 2 and some from DISC 3 are nearing completion and may be accorded AoN by DAC by end of current Financial Year.

Defence ministry approves arms procurement proposals worth Rs 28,732 cr

1) Bullet-proof Jackets with level BS VI protection

2) 400,000 Close Quarter Battle (CQB) carbines

3) AoN accorded for surveillance and armed swarm drones

4) 14 Fast Patrol Vessels (FPVs) for the coast guard with 60 per cent Indian content.

5) Upgraded 1,250 KW capacity marine gas turbine for Kolkata-class destroyers
Delhi Chief Minister on Tuesday offered prayers at the famous Somnath temple near Veraval town in Gujarat, where the Assembly polls are due later this year.

Talking to the reporters outside the temple, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener said he prayed for the country's progress and people's well-being.

He also expressed grief over the death of 21 people after consuming spurious liquor in Botad town of the state.

"I prayed for Gujarat's progress, our country's progress, peace and people's well-being. May the departed souls (following the hooch tragedy) attain peace and those currently admitted to hospitals get well soon," Kejriwal said.

The AAP leader then left for Rajkot to hold a meeting with traders.

From Rajkot, he will visit a hospital in Bhavnagar where some of the people were admitted after consuming the spurious liquor, the AAP said in a release.

Kejriwal had on Monday termed the hooch tragedy in "unfortunate" and alleged that people selling illegal liquor in the 'dry' state were enjoying political protection.

He also demanded a probe into the "trail" of money generated by selling illegal liquor.

(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.)
Delhi Chief Minister will offer prayers at the Somnath temple and interact with traders in Rajkot on Tuesday during his third visit to where are due this year.

The national convener of the (AAP) reached on Monday evening.

He is scheduled to offer prayers at the temple of Lord Somnath in the state's Gir Somnath district before holding a town hall in Rajkot city.

After his visit to Ahmedabad and Surat this month, his focus is now on the Saurashtra region, which accounts for around 50 out of the total 182 Assembly seats in the state.

Kejriwal had interacted with people of the state on July 3 over the issue of free electricity in Ahmedabad.

He later promised up to 300 units of free electricity per month if the AAP is voted to power in Gujarat, on the lines of Punjab where the party recently formed government.

Ahead of the Assembly polls due in December this year, the AAP has been positioning itself as an alternative to both the ruling BJP and opposition Congress.

Kejriwal has claimed the AAP's worker base has grown larger than the Congress in Gujarat.

(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.)
Competition Commission has approved Axis Bank's proposed acquisition of Citi's consumer business in India, one of the largest deals in the country's financial services space.

Under the deal worth Rs 12,325 crore, announced on March 30, would take over Citi's credit cards, personal loans and wealth management businesses that are focused on the affluent segment.

In a tweet on Tuesday, the regulator said it has cleared the "acquisition of Citibank, N.A.'s and Citicorp (India) Limited's undertakings comprising of their consumer banking activities by Axis Bank".

Deals beyond a certain threshold require approval of the (CCI), which keeps a tab on unfair business practices across sectors.

In March, and Citi had signed a definitive agreement for the deal, which is expected to be completed by September 2024 and would help gain access to 30 lakh new customers.

The parties involved in the deal are Axis Bank Ltd, Citibank, N.A. (acting through its India branch) and Citicorp (India) Ltd.

"The transaction involves the proposed slump sale by Citi of an undertaking comprising its consumer banking activities to the acquirer on a going concern basis and the proposed slump sale by Citicorp of an undertaking comprising its consumer banking activities to the acquirer on a going concern basis," as per the summary of the transaction available on CCI website.

(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 amount involved in fraud cases reported by (PSBs) has come down to Rs 3,204 crore in the last fiscal from Rs 28,884 crore in 2017-18, Parliament was informed on Tuesday.

As per the data, PSBs reported 5,624 cases of fraud in 2017-18, involving Rs 28,884 crore. In 2018-19, a total of 9,092 cases were reported amounting to Rs 26,720 crore, while in 2019-20, the number of frauds rose to 11,074, involving a monetary value of Rs 21,170 crore, Minister of State for Bhagwad Karad said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.

In 2020-21, PSBs reported 4,680 fraud cases of Rs 7,306 crore, which declined to 2,369 cases corresponding to Rs 3,204 crore in 2021-22, he added.

Karad said an online searchable database of frauds reported by has been set up in the form of the Central Fraud Registry.

It has enabled timely identification, control and mitigation of fraud risk and also to carry out due diligence during the credit sanction process, he said.

Various steps have been taken by the in fraud detection, such as issuing directions to on prompt reporting of such cases, reporting deficient third-party services and implementation of security and operational controls by banks.

The minister said the government, in 2015, issued a framework for banks for timely detection, reporting, and investigation relating to large-value involving money in excess of Rs 50 crore.

" (PSBs) have been advised to strictly ensure rotational transfer of officials/employees," Karad said.

In a separate question on the profitability of PSBs, the minister said their net profit increased to Rs 66,519 crore in 2021-22 against Rs 31,820 crore in 2020-21.

The gross NPAs (non-performing assets) of these banks fell to Rs 5,41,750 crore from Rs 6,16,616 crore in 2020-21, Karad said.

"Profit earned and retained by banks adds to their capital and enables them to support further loan growth while maintaining required capital adequacy ratios. In addition, banks raise capital from the market to strengthen their capital base," the minister said in his reply.

Providing data, Karad said capital raised by the PSBs from the market in the form of both equity and bonds in FY22 stood at Rs 50,719 crore.

It stood at Rs 58,697 crore in 2020-21 and Rs 32,293 crore in 2019-20.

(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.)
World mustn't pay for Japan's irresponsible act: China Daily editorial

Chinadaily.com.cn) 08:19, July 26, 2022

On Friday, the Japanese Nuclear Regulation Authority officially approved Tokyo Electric Power Company's plan to release contaminated water from the damaged Fukushima nuclear reactors into the Pacific.

Japan's claim that it would treat the 1.25 million tons of radioactive water at the plant to make it safe before disposing of it is nonsense, and has long been refuted by scientists.

How to deal with the nuclear waste water in Fukushima is not just a private matter of Japan. It has been calculated that it will take only 57 days for the contaminated water to reach the other side of the Pacific and just 10 years to spread to every corner of the world.

It will take even fewer days to reach China and the Republic of Korea, as well as other countries neighboring Japan. Japanese fishermen, who rely on the harvest from the sea for their livelihoods, have protested the move as well as they will also be victims of the plan, and Japanese residents gathered at the Nuclear Regulation Authority office building in Tokyo on Friday to express their concern about its decision.

Since the plan has been met with fierce opposition both at home and abroad, a responsible nation would discuss with others the other options for disposing of the contaminated water with a view to identifying the best means to minimize the possible negative effects on the environment. Yet the Japanese government has adamantly refused to do so.

Upon announcing the plan in April 2021, Taro Aso, then Japanese deputy prime minister and finance minister, claimed that the contaminated nuclear water was "drinkable", yet he has never put a glass to his lips to prove the veracity of that claim.

The Japanese government also claimed they had an Advanced Liquid Processing System to remove the radioactive elements in the water before releasing it into the ocean, which was refuted by their recruiting technologies to get rid of tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen in the water in June 2021.

They even claimed the release plan has the support of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Yet the IAEA has raised doubts and challenged the plan.

ROK environmental protection organizations have even said the plan is like "a nuclear terrorist attack". According to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, to which Japan is a party, every nation is obliged to protect the sea and the ocean.

If Tokyo presses ahead with its irresponsible act, the affected countries have every right to claim compensation for their losses through legal means.

Japan has caused enough trouble to the world in history. It should not make that record longer.

(Web editor: Wu Chaolan, Liang Jun)
JAKARTA, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Indonesian Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan inaugurated on Tuesday the first export of Indonesia-produced structure and plate steel to New Zealand.

The 3,800 metric tons of steel products worth 4 million U.S. dollars were produced by PT Gunung Raja Paksi (GGRP), a member of Gunung Steel Group, one of Indonesia's largest private steel companies with a production capacity of 2.2 million tons per year.

Hasan said that the exported steel would be used to establish a hospital in New Zealand.

"I really appreciate the GGRP for its hard work to improve Indonesia's steel production, even amid the pandemic. We have to be grateful that we can still push our exports," Hasan said in a written statement after the inauguration.

He said that steel was one of the commodities with the largest export values in Indonesia.

In 2021, the value of Indonesia's iron and steel exports reached 21.4 billion dollars, up by 90.2 percent from 11.2 billion dollars in 2020, according to data from the trade ministry.

The export values of iron and steel have reached 12.5 billion dollars during the January-May period.

"The significant growth that we have made has proved the success of the government's policy to focus on the downstream industry," Hasan said. 
The amount of unclaimed deposits is on the rise despite repeated public awareness campaigns undertaken by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the .

is now encouraging people who have not claimed their deposits to reach out to the respective for such deposits. Unclaimed deposits are on the rise mainly due to non-closure of savings / current accounts which depositors do not intend to operate anymore; due to not submitting redemption claims with for matured fixed deposits; or nominees/ legal heirs of deceased depositors do not come forward to make a claim.

defines unclaimed deposits as balance in savings, current accounts, or term deposits which are not claimed for within ten years from date of maturity. These amounts are transferred by banks to Depositor Education and Awareness (DEA) Fund maintained by .

 banks already host the list of Unclaimed Deposits on their website with some identifiable details. Members of the public are encouraged to identify and approach the bank concerned for claiming such deposits, RBI said.
The (RBI) has made it mandatory for cheques worth Rs 5 lakh or above to follow the Positive Pay System (CPPS) to be encashed. If the rules are not followed, the are allowed to refuse clearance of such cheques. Several including the Bank of Baroda (BoB) and the State Bank of India (SBI) have issued notifications to help the customers complete the PPS formalities.

What is the Positive Pay System?

"The concept of Positive Pay involves a process of reconfirming key details of large value cheques. Under this process, the issuer of the cheque submits electronically, through channels like SMS, mobile app, internet banking, ATM, etc., certain minimum details of that cheque (like date, name of the beneficiary/payee, amount, etc.) to the drawee bank, details of which are cross-checked with the presented cheque by CTS," the website reads.

Under this, the person who issues a high-value cheque will be required to submit the details including the date of issuance, name of beneficiary etc to the drawee bank. This can be submitted electronically via email, mobile banking app, and internet banking.

Later, when the cheque is presented to another bank for payment processing, the details will be verified. If the details match, the return will be given to the depositor. Otherwise, the cheque will be returned unpaid.

This process is developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).

What is a 'high-value cheque'?

Under the PPS, the had said that the cheques for amounts of Rs 50,000 and above will have to be compliant with the PPS. However, it was not made mandatory. This rule came into effect on January 1, 2021.

"While availing of this facility is at the discretion of the account holder, may consider making it mandatory in case of cheques for amounts of Rs 5,00,000 and above", the had added.

Following this, several banks have set the limit of Rs 5 lakh or above for mandatory PPS registration, effective August 1, 2022.

BoB issued a notification saying, "As per the RBI directive, Positive Pay System (CPPS) will be mandatory w.e.f. 01.08.2022 for cheques issued for Rs 5 lakh & above. Such cheques will be rejected w.e.f. 01.08.2022 if Positive Pay confirmation is not provided."

Which details are required to be furnished with the bank?

Account number Cheque number Date of cheque Amount Transaction code Beneficiary name MICR code

How can customers register under PPS?
plans to add a primary listing in to its New York presence, targeting investors in mainland China as it becomes the first big company to take advantage of a rule change in the financial hub to attract high-tech Chinese firms.

Also, Group has removed all executives of financial affiliate Ant Group from its partnership, shaking up a key structure that maintains control of the e-commerce giant.

The Hangzhou-based company removed Ant executives, including Chairman and CEO Eric Jing, Chief Technology Officer Ni Xingjun and five others from its partnership, according to an annual report published on Tuesday.

The e-commerce giants primary listing move comes as both Washington and Beijing sharpen scrutiny over Chinese companies listings, and after a devastating regulatory crackdown in China left with a $2.8 billion fine and scuppered an initial public offering (IPO) of Ant Group.

It also comes against the backdrop of an audit dispute between China and the United States, which is threatening to kick out hundreds of Chinese listed in New York.

According to analysts, JD.com and Baidu are among Chinese firms that may follow Alibaba Group in applying for a primary listing, as they seek to attract mainland investors and hedge against the risk of being kicked off US exchanges..

Alibaba rose as much as 6.5 per cent in Hong Kong on Tuesday, while its US-listed stock rose 3 per cent as trading opened in New York.

"Being in Stock Connect means it will be more convenient for mainland Chinese investors to eventually buy the stock, so investors are happy to step in today and buy the stock in Hong Kong," says Louis Tse, managing director of Wealthy Securities.

Already present on the Hong Kong bourse with a secondary listing since 2019, Alibaba said it expects the primary listing to be completed by the end of 2022. Chief Executive Daniel Zhang said the dual listing would foster a "wider and more diversified investor base".

The move comes after the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) in January changed its rules to allow "innovative" Chinese - operating an internet or other high-tech business - with weighted voting rights or variable interest entities (VIE) to carry out dual primary listings in the city.

Under a VIE structure, a Chinese company sets up an offshore entity for overseas listing purposes that allows foreign investors to buy into the stock.

"Hong Kong is also the launch pad for Alibaba's globalisation strategy, and we are fully confident in China's economy and future," Alibaba's CEO Zhang said in a statement.

SWEEPING CRACKDOWN

Alibaba listed on the New York Stock Exchange in September 2014, marking what was at the time the largest IPO in history.

Since 2020, the company's share price has tanked in both markets, as a sweeping regulatory crackdown by Beijing has battered Chinese tech .

At the same time, U. S. regulators have stepped up scrutiny of accounts of Chinese firms listed in New York, demanding greater transparency.

While broad in scope, a core focus of China's crackdown has been regulators seeking to expand oversight of public offerings.

Last year, Chinese authorities launched a probe into ride-hailing giant Didi Global just after it listed in New York, citing data privacy concerns.

The company later de-listed and began preparations to list in Hong Kong, leading analysts to interpret the probe as driven by a desire on Beijing's part for data-rich companies to list domestically.

ANT GROUP DECOUPLING

Alibaba also found itself in similar crosshairs when regulators abruptly halted Ant Group's planned $37 billion IPO in Hong Kong and in Shanghai in late 2020.

Concurrent with the announcement of its dual primary listing, Alibaba said on Tuesday in its annual financial report that several Ant Group executives had stepped down from their posts in the Alibaba Partnership, a top decision-making body for the e-commerce giant.

The departures are part of an ongoing decoupling of the fintech division from Alibaba, spurred by the botched IPO.

Justin Tang, head of Asian research at investment advisor United First Partners in Singapore, said that Alibaba's decision would boost the company's shares due to its potential inclusion in Stock Connect.

"With regards to other tech listings of similar kind, this will be the playbook for companies looking to hedge against regulatory risk that Chinese companies are facing on the U. S. bourses," he said.

In order to switch to a dual primary listing, the HKEX said companies had to have a good track record of at least two full financial years listed overseas, and a capitalisation of at least HK$40 billion ($5.10 billion) or a market value of at least HK$10 billion plus revenue of at least HK$1 billion for the most recent financial year.
Group Holding Ltd. has removed all executives of financial affiliate Co. from its partnership, shaking up a key structure that maintains control of the e-commerce giant.



The Hangzhou-based company removed Ant executives including Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Eric Jing, Chief Technology Officer Ni Xingjun and five others from its partnership, according to an annual report published on Tuesday. Two executives from Simon Hu and Wang Shuai also retired, taking the total number of partners to 29 from 38.

said that as part of a recent amendment, only its own staff will be allowed to become partners. The changes were made by the end of May, according to its annual report.

Ant said in an emailed statement that the move was made as part of its continuous efforts to enhance corporate governance.

Alibabas partnership, which was formed in 2010, became a key method for company founders and executives to maintain control of the entity during its mega initial public offering four years later. The arrangement allowed top management to nominate a majority of the board for approval by shareholders.

Ant has also revamped its board in recent months, increasing the number of independent directors to 4, or 50% of its board. It reduced the number of non-executive directors from Alibaba to two from three.

Jack Mas twin empires have been recasting themselves amid closer scrutiny by Chinas watchdogs on everything from corporate governance to dealings among affiliates. More than half of the market value of Alibaba has been wiped out after Beijing began a broad regulatory campaign aimed at the sector in late 2020.

The Chinese Communist Partys evolving stance toward the private sector has become one of the most closely watched developments in global markets in recent years, with some observers even calling Chinas sprawling internet sector uninvestable. Investor sentiment has swung wildly in recent months amid debates over the possible easing of the crackdown.

Alibaba said on Tuesday that it would apply for a primary listing in Hong Kong, which could allow it to be included in the stock connect link with Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges.

Ants record IPO was torpedoed by regulators in 2020. While it said in June it has no plans to initiate an IPO, the companys Chairman Jing said last year that it would eventually go public.
Alibaba, the world's biggest e-commerce company by sales, announced plans Tuesday to change the status of its shares traded in Hong Kong, making them more accessible to Chinese investors at a time when Beijing is pressing tech to share their wealth with the public.

The primary listing in is expected to be completed by the end of 2022, which would make a dual-primary listed company on the Stock Exchange and the Stock Exchange.

CEO Daniel Zhang said was pursuing another primary listing venue to foster a wider and more diversified investor base.

and are both major global financial centers, with shared characteristics of openness and diversity, Zhang said in a statement. Hong Kong is also the launch pad for Alibaba's globalization strategy, and we are fully confident in China's economy and future.

The move will give millions of mainland Chinese investors access to Alibaba's shares, as its shares could then be included in the Stock Connect investment channel that allows mainland Chinese investors to buy stocks listed in Hong Kong and vice versa for Hong Kong and overseas investors.

Alibaba's decision to seek a primary listing in Hong Kong also comes as U.S. regulators have threatened to delist U.S.-listed Chinese unless they follow auditing requirements, which in turn triggered a selloff of Chinese stocks listed in the U.S.

The Hangzhou-headquartered firm went public in in September 2014 in what was the biggest initial public offering at the time, and later completed a secondary listing in Hong Kong in November 2019.

It was once the darling of many technology stock investors, but its stock price has plummeted following Beijing's regulatory crackdown on China's technology industry.

In the past year, Alibaba's New York stock price has plunged 47 per cent. Ahead of the announcement, its stock price closed at USD 101.06 Monday.

(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.)
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro reiterated his opposition to economic sanctions against Russia, in order to retain the supply of Russian fertiliser imports to Brazilian agribusiness.

"We are not going to adhere to sanctions (against Russia). We maintain a balanced position because without Brazil's balance on this issue today, we would not have fertilisers for our agribusiness," Bolsonaro said on Monday during the Global Agribusiness Forum 2022 in the city of Sao Paulo.

The President defended the country's decision to maintain trade ties with to ensure food production, Xinhua news agency reported.

"Without fertilisers, our guarantee of food security and that of 1 billion people in the world would be threatened," he added.

Bolsonaro also said that in December 2021 his government decided to expand the national fertiliser programme in search of alternatives to imports.

Brazil, Latin America's largest economy, is the world's leading soybean producer and the world's leading exporter of animal protein.

--IANS

int/khz/

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov announced that the first Gepard air defence systems from have arrived in the war-torn nation.

"Today, the first three Gepards officially arrived. These are anti-aircraft systems, for which we have received tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition," Ukrayinska Pravda quoted the Minister as saying on Monday.

"We are waiting for the first 15 Gepards. Three arrived in today. They are already at the disposal of the Armed Forces of Ukraine," he added.

Earlier this month, had announced an official list of weapons it planned to send to Ukraine, including 30 Gepard air defence systems.

The supply of ammunition for Gepard was previously considered a problem, as only slightly fewer than 60,000 35 mm shells were available.

After several weeks, the German government and the Norwegian Ministry of Defence found a manufacturer that could produce additional ammunition.

Previously, the manufacturer trained Ukrainian soldiers in on how to use the systems.

--IANS

ksk/

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the former Sri Lankan President who secretly fled the country on July 13 amid violent protests in the wake of the island nation's ongoing economic crisis, is set to return, a Minister said on Tuesday.

When asked by reporters on fleeing Sri Lanka, Media Minister Bandula Gunawardena refuted that the former leader was hiding in and said that he would return.

"I don't agree that the former President is in hiding in because he had followed the official procedure and gone to obtaining an legitimate visa," the Minister said.

"I was aware that he would return and the authorities in our country would take necessary precautions to prevent any harm to the former President."

Meanwhile, G.L. Peiris, Chairman of the Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), the party formed by the Rajapaksas to win the 2019 Presidential election, also said that Gotabaya will return to the country and would be entitled to all the perks and privileges that are due for any former head of state.

In Sri Lanka, former Presidents and their family are entitled to a residence in Colombo, vehicles and security, including military and police, in addition to other perks and privileges.

According to media reports, Gotabaya Rajapaksa's escape had been brokered by the Maldivian Parliament Speaker and former president Mohamed Nasheed.

Amid the unprecedented economic crisis, the worst since gained independence in 1948, triggered severe shortages of food, fuel, medicines and other essentials.

In response, the public first took to the streets on March 31 and surrounding the former President's private residence.

On April 2, the protesters occupied the entrance to the President's office

And on July 9 despite heavy security presence in Colombo, anti-government protesters took over the President's official house, his office and later the rime Minister's residence, triggering Gotabaya to go into hiding and finally announced his resignation on July 14.

From the Maldives, he fled to Singapore.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was named acting President.

The Truth and Justice Project (ITJP), a South Africa-based rights group, has filed a complaint with the Attorney General of Singapore demanding the arrest of Gotabaya Rajapaksa for war crimes allegedly committed during the final days of the over two-decades long Civil War.

(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 gunman targeting homeless people fatally shot two men in a Vancouver, British Columbia, suburb and wounded two before being shot and killed by police, authorities said Monday.

Evidence of the rampage was scattered around the bedroom community of Langley, including an overturned bicycle spilling person possessions onto a street and a shopping cart with someone's belongings.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said an emergency response team confronted the suspect not far from where a man was found with a gunshot to his leg. During an interaction with police, the suspect was shot and pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said.

Police Chief Superintendent Ghalib Bhayani said authorities don't know the motive behind the shootings or if there was a relationship between the shooter and the victims.

Such attacks are rare in Canada, which has strict gun laws.

Besides the man with the leg wound, a woman was also wounded and was in critical condition, police said.

The shootings roiled Langley, a town of around 29,000 located about 30 miles (48 kilometers) southeast of Vancouver. The town features a variety of shops and restaurants and boasts almost 350 acres (142 hectares) of parks. Many residents moved to Langley for its less expensive housing and commute to Vancouver, the largest city in the province of British Columbia.

Early in the morning, police issued a cellphone alert saying they were at the scene of several shootings involving transient victims. While most of the shootings were in downtown Langley, one reported shooting was in neighbouring Langley Township.

After the shooting began, ambulances and police vehicles converged at a mall. The area was cordoned off with yellow police tape and a major intersection was closed. A black tent was set up over one of the crime scenes. A homicide team confirmed on social media that its investigators deployed to Langley to help.

An unmarked police SUV at one of the shooting scenes, near a bus depot, had at least seven bullet holes in the windshield and one through the driver's window.

Mass shootings are less common in than in the United States. The deadliest gun rampage in Canadian history happened in 2020 when a man disguised as a police officer shot people in their homes and set fires across the province of Nova Scotia, killing 22 people.

The country overhauled its gun-control laws after an attacker killed 14 women and himself in 1989 at Montreal's Ecole Polytechnique college.

It is now illegal to possess an unregistered handgun or any kind of rapid-fire weapon in . To purchase a weapon, the country also requires training, a personal risk assessment, two references, spousal notification and criminal record checks.

(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 issued a level-one alert against monkeypox as the first case was detected in the country, according to local media.

The alert level, the lowest on the country's four-tier scale, was issued earlier on Monday, ahead of the announcement late evening that the Health Ministry here had detected the first case of the disease in the Tokyo area, Xinhua news agency reported.

Amid a global outbreak of the virus, declared a global health emergency by the World Health Organisation on Saturday, the Japanese government has asked its citizens overseas to take extra precautions against contracting the disease.

The government has also warned citizens here who plan to travel abroad or remain outside to be especially careful, according to public broadcaster NHK.

A task force to deal with the outbreak of monkeypox, a tropical disease with symptoms similar to smallpox, has been formed in and is headed by Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary for Crisis Management, Takashi Murata.

The task force held their first talks on Monday and outlined its strategy to fight the arrival of the disease.

Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihiko Isozaki, meanwhile, told a press briefing on the matter on Monday that "the task force will work with organisations to collect data on monkeypox patients outside Japan to learn how other countries are dealing with the disease," NHK said.

According to NHK, the task force will prepare for Japan's suspected cases of monkeypox "by determining testing methods for the disease and setting up medical institutions that accept patients".

Isozaki said that Japan had strengthened its monitoring of the disease at its borders and that visitors to the country are being encouraged to report any possible symptoms of the disease to authorities.

--IANS

int/khz/

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
KUALA LUMPUR, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia is working to push forward its semiconductor sector in the face of challenges that have affected the supply of chips worldwide, said an industry veteran.

Among the near-term challenges faced by the sector include high demand, supply chain disruptions and manpower shortages, Malaysia Semiconductor Industry Association president Wong Siew Hai told Xinhua in a recent interview.

"Due to digital transformation (and) online business, everything is online, and everybody has to work at home. And so the demand for the chips went up," Wong said.

Intermittent closures of manufacturing operations during the pandemic, disruptions caused by weather events in Malaysia, including floods, and continued difficulties in sourcing workers for factories are great challenges to the industry.

"When you have disruptions like this, it is extremely difficult for you to have all the parts at the same time and because you don't have one or two parts, you can't ship the product; you're gonna wait for the part to come in. So all the lead time has increased," he said.

"This supply chain disruption is still happening. Maybe not as intense as last year, but it's still happening," he added.

Wong explained that disruptions affecting Malaysia have a wider impact as the country produces about 7 percent of the global supply and hosts 13 percent of the back end, including the assembly and testing.

According to Malaysia's Ministry of International Trade and Industry, electrical and electronics products worth 455.7 billion ringgit (102 billion U.S. dollars) were exported in 2021, up 18 percent from 2020 and representing 36.8 percent of Malaysia's total exports.

Despite the challenges, Wong remained positive about the future of the sector, which he said would recover and expand in the coming years.

Surging demand brings not only challenges, but also great opportunities, Wong said, with the development of emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, automatic driving and so on.

Malaysia is working to expand its capacity in chip manufacturing by building more factories, he said, adding that the number of factories in the country is expected to grow exponentially over the coming decade.

He added that steps to alleviate the situation include talks with the government to facilitate the entry of more foreign workers and a pilot program to train local school graduates on the job.

"That's why you see a lot of expansion, at least in Malaysia ... and then Malaysia is also able to attract new investors in the electronics industry," he said.

"If they are investing, that means that they are projecting that the semiconductor growth will be there," he said, "So most companies now are still investing for a longer term." 
President decried his predecessor for failing to try and stop last year's deadly mob attack on the Capitol, saying Monday that lacked the courage to act as hours of medieval hell unfolded.

Every day we rely on law enforcement to save lives. Then, on Jan. 6, we relied on law enforcement to save our democracy," Biden said in a prerecorded speech to the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives' annual conference in Orlando, Florida.

Biden, who remains in isolation in the family quarters of the White House after testing positive for COVID-19 last week, has previously slammed Trump for helping to incite the mob on Jan. 6, 2021, with a web of lies about the 2020 presidential election being marred by widespread voter fraud that never actually occurred.

But his comments to the conference were the clearest link Biden has made between Trump and the insurrection since a House committee investigating the attack on the Capitol began holding hearings in June as part of its work to get to the bottom of all that occurred.

You saw what happened. The Capitol police, the D.C Metropolitan police, other law enforcement agencies were attacked and assaulted before our very eyes. Speared, sprayed, stomped on, brutalized, said Biden, whose voice is still raspy and deeper than usual as he recovers from the effects of the coronavirus. Lives were lost. And for three hours, the defeated former president of the United States watched it all happen as he sat in the comfort of the private dining room next to the Oval Office."



He added that while Trump was "doing that, brave law enforcement officers are subject to the medieval hell for three hours.

That referenced Cassidy Hutchinson, a former Trump administration White House aide, testifying before the House Jan. 6 committee about Trump's temper as he sat in his dining room and watched TV as his plans to overturn the election fell apart.

Biden didn't mention the committee's work specifically during the taped address and has previously largely avoided the topic. He said after its opening hearing that the work was about allowing no one to place a dagger at the throat of our democracy," but also noted then that he'd not had time to watch the first installment.

The committee held its final summer hearing last week, which focused on Trump's failing to help disperse attackers overrunning the Capitol even as top aides and members of his family implored him to call for an end to the violence.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre had suggested previously that, while Biden had been able to tune in occasionally to the committee's work, he hadn't been able to focus much on the proceedings as he concentrated on doing his job as president. Whether Biden has had more time to watch as he recovers from COVID-19 is unclear.

Trump plans to be in Washington on Tuesday to address the America First Agenda Summit, the first time he's returned to the nation's capital since leaving office. Jean-Pierre offered no comment about that speech on Monday, saying, I don't know what he's coming to talk about."



In his pre-taped comments, Biden noted that law enforcement officers during the insurrection were dripping in blood, surrounded by carnage, face-to-face with a crazed mob that believed the lies of the defeated president.

The police were heroes that day. lacked the courage to act, the president said. The brave women and men in blue all across this nation should never forget that. You can't be pro-insurrection and pro-cop. You can't be pro-insurrection and pro-democracy. You can't be pro-insurrection and pro-American.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
will probably wish he was hydrofoiling in Hawaii on Wednesday instead of revealing Meta Platforms Inc.s second-quarter earnings. Analysts have curbed their estimates for the social giant, and Zuckerbergs own foreboding comments to staff suggest the numbers wont be good. He also will have to face a stark reality about the aimlessness of WhatsApp, his biggest to date.

Challenges abound across Zuckerbergs conglomerate. is mired in trying to copy ByteDance Inc.s TikTok, with mixed success. Young people dont want to use Facebook, whose overall growth has slowed, and Apple Inc. is blocking advertisers on Facebooks app from targeting people.

But then theres . The little green app that never really went mainstream in the US is the most popular messaging service for most of the rest of the world. Approximately 2 billion people actively use WhatsApp, but in Zuckerbergs universe it has been more of a defensive ploy and earnings void than a money maker like .

The contrast couldnt be more stark: Zuckerberg bought for $1 billion in 2012 and the app contributed $20 billion to Facebooks revenue in 2019 alone. He bought for $19 billion in 2014, and it has contributed pennies by comparison.

Its astonishing that eight years after Zuckerberg made the acquisition, he has yet to turn into a remotely viable business. Founded in 2009, WhatsApp initially made money from a 99 cent annual subscription because its founders despised ads. After the sale, both eventually quit over how Meta was trying to monetize the app with advertising. But by 2020, Meta had backed away from that idea, and said it would try charging businesses to engage with customers on the app instead.

It looked for a while as if WhatsApp might actually become central to Facebooks future as a business. In March 2021, Zuckerberg announced his privacy-focused vision for social networking and predicted a future where communication would shift to private services like WhatsApp.

But seven months later, Zuckerbergs vision had changed. He announced that the future of the internet lay in the immersive world of the metaverse, representing the next chapter for newly named Meta. Beyond an announcement about the launch of a new customer chat service on WhatsApp in May, Zuckerberg has said little about messaging since.

WhatsApps place within the Meta hierarchy has bobbed up and down like a hydrofoil board. And now, with Zuckerberg resolved to pivot to virtual reality, the apps real value is likely to come from something more ignoble than making money as a viable business. It will probably be the sacrificial offering that Zuckerberg needs to fend off antitrust regulators.

That would explain Zuckerbergs lack of drive to turn WhatsApp into a going concern. The problem has never been that its too difficult to make money from messaging. After all, Tencent Holdings Ltd.s WeChat  a messaging competitor in China  generated more than $500 million in June 2022 alone, according to an estimate by market intelligence firm Sensor Tower, largely from payments, advertising and acting as a gateway to games.

The problem was that Zuckerbergs primary motivation for buying WhatsApp in the first place was to fend it off as a competitive threat, according to mounting evidence from antitrust regulators like the US Federal Trade Commission. executives even fretted about how WhatsApp might threaten Facebooks business after it had been acquired by the firm, according to a Bloomberg news report last week. That hardly sounds like a parent company with grand visions for its subsidiary.

Now to deal with the FTCs attempt to force the company to divest both WhatsApp and Instagram as part of a lawsuit against the firm, Metas lawyers may push for a settlement that includes divesting just one. If they do, you can probably guess which company Zuckerberg would prefer to carve off.

How might a sale of WhatsApp work in practice? With no substantial revenue, an IPO would be off the table. Meta could sell the company to a private equity consortium, or a company like Microsoft Inc., which has indicated an interest in buying a messaging business before, and (somewhat oddly) has managed to make an array of big acquisitions over the last few years without evoking real scrutiny from antitrust officials. If Softbanks eventual IPO of Arm Holdings proves fruitful, and Masayoshi Son decides to shift his own focus from artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things to the world of messaging, he could be a potential buyer, too.

But closing that chapter on WhatsApp will highlight an unsettling truth for Metas investors: The company cant seem to make money from anything other than traditional online advertising.

Digital advertising makes up approximately 98% of Metas revenue. Meta  like Alphabet Inc.s Google  is hooked on the business. While Microsoft and Amazon Inc. have managed to diversify into cloud computing and gaming, Meta has failed to do the same with cryptocurrency, e-commerce and, of course, messaging.

Maybe the metaverse will be different, and Zuckerberg will find a way to pivot his thriving ad business to virtual reality. But the humbling shift in WhatsApps value from potential business to Metas most likely regulatory offering underscores how much that vision is on shaky ground.
President Biden visited Israel and recently. As a Presidential candidate, he had criticized the role of the Crown Prince in Khashoggi murder and threatened to turn his country into a pariah state. The overriding compulsion for a change in this position was a sharp increase in oil prices since the outbreak of the Ukraine crisis. If the sanctions against Russian exports are to be successful, alternate supplies have to be found. Otherwise, the increase in the price would have political costs for Biden Administration in the coming Congressional elections. The petrol price at the pump has already crossed the comfort level of $ 4 per gallon to reach a US-wide average of $ 5 per barrel. Ironically, immediately after the visit, the crude price went up from $ 104.39 to $ 110.27 per barrel before settling down to $ 107.50 per barrel. The price of the Indian crude basket has gone up to $ 104.10 per barrel from $104.10 per barrel a year ago.

Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman mentioned in his speech at the Jeddah meeting that will increase its production to 13 million barrels per day. The current Saudi production stands at 10.6 million barrels per day according to the report. However, this increase will be brought about by 2027. Though US officials had cautioned that changes will take a few weeks, this time frame bears no relation to the immediate context. The EU sanctions against Russian exports are to go into effect by end of this year. The US Congressional elections are to take place in November. The Saudi oil minister also linked the decision to the demand-supply situation and the position of OPEC+ which includes Russia.

The trend of increase in oil prices had begun much before the Ukraine crisis erupted in February 2022. This was partly a function of recovering global demand in the post-Pandemic phase. A longer-term factor behind price increase is the restrictive production policy followed by + group of countries. Before Bidens visit, the production ceiling was relaxed with an increase of 6,48,000 barrels per day from July onwards, instead of 4,32,000 barrels per day decided earlier. was careful in projecting this as a collective decision of OPEC+, rather than a unilateral increase on American request.

An increase in + production quota by 2,12,000 barrels per day cannot neutralize the loss of 3 million barrels per day of Russian crude exports if the EU ban proves effective. Its immediate effect will be trade diversion. Russia will look for alternate to absorb the quantities hitherto exported to the EU, while the EU countries look for non-Russian sources to meet their demand. Since global production cannot be increased on such a scale in foreseeable future, it will lead to higher prices.

As of now, there are no secondary sanctions by the EU or the US which may affect third countries buying Russian crude. However, if the EU and UK go ahead with a ban on marine insurance for Russian crude exported through sea route, this will have an impact on third countries. Marine insurance for trade worldwide is largely controlled by a small number of European companies. This will affect not only the 3 million barrels per day going to the EU but Russias global exports.

The US has been the guarantor of the Kingdoms security in return for a promise to meet Americas oil demand. The growth of Shale oil in the USA has changed this equation. America is no longer dependent upon Saudi oil. Shale oil has reduced the Kingdoms market share. The old benefactor has turned into an economic competitor.

Weather and geopolitics are twin drivers of LNG prices. LNG price spiked to $ 54.71 last year as North Sea winds dropped impacting the wind power supply to the European grid. It reached $ 84.44 per BTU in March as the Ukraine crisis erupted. Unlike oil imports, LNG imports require extensive infrastructure in terms of liquefaction and regasification plants at exporting and importing ends. The EUs position is in terms of LNG supplies. While the EU imports 155 BCM of gas from Russia annually, the US supplies will reach 30 BCM per annum by 2030.

The LNG prices have gone up from $ 14.59 per MMBTU to $ 38.09 per MMBTU in a year. The EUs attempt to diversify by switching from Russian gas to LNG imports will put further upward pressure on LNG prices. India imports around 26 million tons of LNG annually. Its imports may go up in the future as the country moves towards the net zero emission stage. There is a need to explore the option of importing piped gas. There are at least three options for bringing piped gas from Iran, Oman, or UAE through a sub-sea pipeline to India. An Indian company  SAGE has done extensive preparatory work. Given our growing energy demand, both LNG and piped gas imports are needed.

Ironically, crude oil is commanding a premium as the age of fossil fuel draws to a close. The paradox is explained by a combination of two trends. Change in consumer behavior takes time. On the other hand, the rising concerns over have driven down investment in oil field exploration from $749 billion in 2014 to $350 billion in 2021. This makes it difficult to find even replacement oil on account of the decline in production in the aging fields, let alone cater to the increase in demand.

The author is India's former Ambassador to Iran and has served in Saudi Arabia and Libya. He has also been associated as Senior Advisor to OVL and Director at GAIL
Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc named oil-industry veteran Tufan Erginbilgic as its next chief executive officer, replacing Warren East when he steps down at the end of this year.



Erginbilgic, 62, spent 20 years at BP Plc, and in his most recent role before leaving in 2020 led the firms downstream business, responsible for refining, petrochemicals and service-station activities, London-based Rolls said in a statement Tuesday. He is currently a partner at private-equity firm Global Infrastructure Partners.

The shares were little changed in early trade in . The stock has fallen since Rolls announced East would step down, amounting to a 25% drop so far this year.

The company said in February that East was set to leave at the end of 2022 after more than seven years at the helm, during which he led the jet-engine maker through a punishing period capped by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Erginbilgic will take up his new role on Jan. 1.

The appointment continues the British enginemakers practice of recruiting from outside the aerospace industry to fill top management positions. East, who led the company while tackling issues such as engine reliability, sweeping job cuts and the coronavirus, joined Rolls-Royce from UK chipmaker .

Rolls Chairman Anita Frew had previously said the new CEO did not need to have an aerospace background but must show an ability to unlock value from different business segments after the hit to profitability during the pandemic. Rolls also faces the challenge of modernising a business which has historically been focused on gas turbines, with future aircraft set to be powered by electricity or hydrogen.

Erginbilgic left BP amid a broader management shakeup in early 2020. The unit he ran expanded in new markets like electric-vehicle charging under his tenure, according to a company statement at the time.
will set aside 300 billion riyals ($80 billion) for an investment fund tied to the crown princes flagship megaproject, Neom, and plans an initial public offering of the project on the kingdoms stock market as soon as 2024.

The Investment Fund could potentially expand to 400 billion riyals, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told reporters in Jeddah. It will invest in companies that agree to operate at Neom, a new region planned in Saudi Arabias northwestern corner.

The princes announcement on Monday was attended by global investors including Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio, Tim Collins of Ripplewood, Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal and Kuwaiti retail billionaire Mohammed Alshaya.

For the first time, Prince Mohammed also outlined details on how he plans to finance -- one of the largest and most complex construction programs in the world.

The first phase of the project, which runs until 2030, will cost 1.2 trillion riyals, with about half of that covered by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), he said. Officials will seek to raise another 600 billion riyals from other sovereign wealth funds in the region, private investors in and abroad, and an initial public offering of itself on the Saudi stock market -- an idea the prince first floated in 2017.

We have big aims to get among the top three largest stock markets on the planet, Prince Mohammed said, adding that he expects the Neom IPO to happen around 2024 and possibly add more than 1 trillion riyals to the size of the kingdoms market. He didnt say how large the share sale would be or explain details of that valuation. The Saudi sovereign fund will eventually sell shares in all its companies, he added.

Population boost

Announced in 2017, Neom is Prince Mohammeds plan to turn an expanse of desert the size of Belgium into a high-tech region with a linear metropolis, a ski resort and an industrial city that partially floats on water.

Hes billed it as a testbed for new technologies that could revolutionize urban life -- as well as a way to attract foreign investment and diversify Saudi Arabias oil-dependent economy. But five years in, Neom has been plagued by setbacks, many stemming from the difficulties of implementing the princes grand and ever-changing ideas, according to current and former employees.

His latest announcement detailed a plan within Neom for twin skyscrapers that stretch horizontally for more than 100 kilometers, containing within them an entire city of 9 million people. A new exhibit open to the public in Jeddah displays potential designs for modules of the buildings -- to be built in stages -- by global architecture firms including Los Angeles-based Morphosis and UK-based Archigram.

Asked why he wanted to build Neom, the prince told reporters that his plan to remake Saudi Arabia involves increasing its population from around 34 million people currently to between 50 million and 60 million by 2030. Half will be foreigners, he added, compared to the kingdoms current demographic balance of around a third foreigners and two thirds Saudi citizens.

The capital of Riyadh will be overcrowded if it expands too much, the prince said -- hes already declared his intention to double its population -- but Neom will take care of 10 million.

By 2030, hes aiming for 1.5 million people living in The Line -- the twin buildings -- reaching 9 million by 2045, he said.

Neom will start engaging major potential investors by the end of this year, he said. Officials are talking to companies around the planet, and many Chinese firms are already working in Neom, he said.

Saudi Arabia also plans to invest in neighboring Egypt to complement the project, including in the tourist area of Sharm el-Sheikh, which is located across the Red Sea from Neom, he said. Were going to create huge investment in Egypt.

In addition to the 600 billion riyal-backing from the Saudi sovereign fund, Neoms first phase will depend on a government subsidy of 200 to 300 billion riyals, the prince said, without clarifying what form that would take. He eventually wants Neom to be self-sufficient and bring a 13-14% return on investment, he said.

Prince Mohammeds reign as the kingdoms de facto ruler has been characterized by sky-high ambitions and targets, compared to more limited implementation on the ground so far.

He declared his intentions in 2016 for an IPO of state oil giant Saudi Aramco, initially planned for global markets and later scaled back to a domestic share sale in 2019. The prince has repeatedly said that hed be happy if he achieves 50% of what he sets out to do.
The claimed that the security situation in has been solved and urged its minorities - Hindus and Sikhs to return back to the country.

The assertion comes after the Director General of the Office of the Minister of State of the Taliban, Dr Mullah Abdul Wasi met with a number of members of the Hindu and Sikh Council of on July 24th, tweeted the Office of Chief of Staff, .

Wasi met with a delegation of Hindu and Sikh leaders in Kabul and reminded all Indian and Sikh compatriots who left the country due to security problems can now return to Afghanistan as security has been established in the country.

As per the release, Sikh leaders thanked the for preventing the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) attack on Gurdwara in Kabul.

On June 18, Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) attacked Karte Parwan Gurdwara in Kabul. During the deadly attack two people, including a Sikh, lost their lives.

According to sources, around 25 to 30 people were present inside the gurdwara complex for their morning prayers when the attackers entered the premises. Around 10-15 people managed to escape but the gurdwara's guard, identified as Ahmad, was killed by the assailants.

Religious minorities in Afghanistan, including the Sikh community, have been targets of violence in Afghanistan.

In October, last year 15 to 20 terrorists entered a Gurdwara in the Kart-e-Parwan District of Kabul and tied up the guards.

In March 2020, a deadly attack took place at Sri Guru Har Rai Sahib Gurudwara in Kabul's Short Bazaar area in which 27 Sikhs were killed and several were injured. Islamic State terrorists claimed responsibility for the attack.

Meanwhile, the Taliban-led Afghanistan government has decided to renovate Gurdwara Karte Parwan in Kabul which suffered damage in a terror attack.

Sources reveal that a high-level delegation from the Ministry of Interior (MoI) paid several visits to Gurdwara to express their condolences to the families of the victims.

A technical team was also assigned to assess the level of damage caused to the last remaining functioning Sikh Gurdwara in the capital city. It is revealed that the government will spend a sum of 7.5 million Afghani to renovate the building.

(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 appeal of Ukraine's first war crimes conviction was adjourned on Monday, as prosecutors keep pushing to hold legally accountable for atrocities even as fighting rages in the south and east of the country.

Thin and subdued, Vadim Shishimarin, a 21-year-old captured Russian soldier who pleaded guilty to killing a civilian and was sentenced in May by a Ukrainian court to life in prison, sat in a glass box in the courtroom as he faced news cameras. The hearing was postponed until July 29 due to his lawyer's ill health.

Around Ukraine's capital region, where Russian forces pulled out four months ago, much of the work of documenting crime scenes and interviewing witnesses has been done. Now a more difficult phase in the search for accountability is underway: Finding those responsible.

While conducting searches in the previously occupied region, we regularly find documents, passports and lists with names of participants of the units, with their complete data, including sites of birth and dates of births, Andrii Nebytov, head of the Kyiv regional police, told The Associated Press.

All of this information is being transferred to the relevant law enforcement. The investigators are working with the victims, trying to identify the people who committed crimes against them.

Shishimarin's case is unusual in that Ukrainian authorities quickly found evidence to link him with the shooting of a 62-year-old man in the northeastern Sumy region on Feb. 28. That's not the case for most war crimes cases now under investigation.

Ukrainian prosecutors have registered over 20,100 potential war crimes, and police in the Kyiv region have exhumed more than 1,300 bodies.

But as of July, prosecutors in have only been able to identify 127 suspects, according to the prosecutor general's office. Fifteen of them are currently in as prisoners of war while the rest remain at large. Those suspects include three accused of sexual violence and 64 accused of willful killing or ill-treatment of civilians.

Shishimarin is one of 10 people to face war crimes trials so far in Ukraine, in cases involving indiscriminate shelling, willful killing, sexual violence, robbery, ill-treatment of civilians and attacks on civilian objects. Six have been convicted, according to the prosecutor general's office.

The speed of justice in has been unusual. War crimes prosecutions are rarely conducted during an ongoing conflict.

Ukraine's top prosecutors have long argued for speedy trials in part to meet a seething public hunger for justice even as they work to maintain judicial standards that will satisfy domestic watchdogs and allies in the U.S. and Europe.

The prosecutor general behind this effort, Iryna Venediktova, was dismissed last week along with the former chief of Ukraine's SBU security service, Ivan Bakanov, for reportedly not doing enough to tackle collaborators and traitors in their departments. Her replacement is expected to be announced shortly.

Even as the hunt for war crimes perpetrators intensifies, the daunting work of documenting atrocities continues.

Victims of chaos and carnage in the early weeks of war in Ukraine were buried haphazardly. All those bodies had to be dug up for forensic examination. Kyiv regional police have exhumed 1,346 bodies, but more than 300 people are still missing, according to Nebytov.

Concerning the exhumations, I am sure that we are far from finishing it, he said in an interview Thursday. This week we found a man who was executed with his hands tied behind his back and a hat over his head. The expert says that during the execution the man was on his knees.

More than half of the victims police have found so far were shot dead; 38 of them were children. Kyiv police have found 13 mass graves in the region.

Nebytov said he has documented a litany of horrors: babies shot dead as their families tried to escape in civilian convoys, a man kidnapped as he gathered wood to make a fire and executed, civilians taken in for interrogation by Russian forces whose bodies were found with hands and eyes bound with tape, shot in the knees and shot in the head.

With the intelligence at my disposal, I can say that there's no specific military strategy in sight. It is not a military strategy but rather terror, he said. It is a concentration of evil, violence and cruelty.

Ruslan Kravchenko, chief regional prosecutor in Bucha, which lies just north of Ukraine's capital, told AP that he has sent over 2,000 cases to Ukraine's security services for further investigation and that new cases continue to come in every day now, mostly for property damage.

Bucha, once a desirable, leafy town outside Kyiv, has become a symbol of the carnage of the war started by in February. Kravchenko said of the 327 murder victims in Bucha his office has documented, just three were soldiers and one was a police officer.

I have never seen so many bodies, said Kravchenko, who worked in Crimea, which annexed in 2014, and the Donbas, where Russia-backed separatists have been fighting the Ukrainian government since 2014, before moving onto Bucha. I can see only one pattern: Where Russians saw civilians, they shot them immediately without explanation.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday denounced Russia's "overt gas war" against Europe and urged them to boost sanctions against Moscow.

"Even despite the concession regarding the Nord Stream turbine, is not going to resume gas supplies to European countries, as it is contractually obligated to do. All this is done by deliberately to make it as difficult as possible for Europeans to prepare for winter," Zelenskyy said in his nightly address.

"This is an overt gas war that is waging against a united Europe -- this is exactly how it should be perceived," he added.

Meanwhile, Russia's state-owned energy giant Gazprom announced to cut daily gas deliveries to Europe via the Nord Stream pipeline to 33 million cubic metres a day from Wednesday.

It is pertinent to mention that Europe is heavily dependent on Russian energy resources.

Gazprom's announcement came after Russia last week restored critical gas supplies to Europe through Germany via Nord Stream after 10 days of maintenance, but only at 40 per cent of the pipeline's capacity.

"Today we heard new gas threats to Europe... This is an open gas war that Russia is waging against a united Europe," Zelenskyy said, reacting to Gazprom's announcement of a new cut in gas deliveries to Europe.

Moreover, the West had accused Moscow of using energy as a weapon in retaliation for the sanctions adopted after Russia invaded on February 24.

Zelenskyy went on to say the latest move by Moscow was part of a wider scope of actions he said were "forms of terror.""They don't care what will happen to the people, how they will suffer -- from hunger due to the blocking of ports or from winter cold and poverty... Or from occupation," Zelenskyy said. "These are just different forms of terror.

(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 Relief and Works Agency for Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has expressed "deep appreciation" for India's contribution of USD 2.5 million that will go directly to serve the schools, health centres and other basic services run by the organisation to support Palestinian refugees.

"Yes we received on Friday the first half (2.5 million) of the annual contribution of (total 5 million) for which we are very grateful. The Indian contribution helps support the main (core) budget of UNRWA -- which means that the funds will go directly to our schools, health centres and other basic services to refugees," Tamara Alrifai, UNRWA's spokesperson, told PTI.

"Since 2018, the Government of has given UNRWA 20 million US dollars," she added.

Sunil Kumar, Director of the West Asia and North Africa (WANA) Division at the Ministry of External Affairs, presented the cheque of India's contribution to UNRWA officials in Jerusalem last Friday.

"This timely contribution is a strong demonstration of India's unwavering support to the work of UNRWA and commitment to the well-being of refugees. On behalf of UNRWA, I would like to express our deep appreciation for the Government of for its continued funding to the Agency and its backing of Palestine refugees across the Middle East," Karim Amer, Director of Partnerships at the Department of External Relations of UNRWA, said.

"It is thanks to the consistent support of donors like the Government of India that the Agency is able to provide vital services to Palestine refugees across the Middle East in the face of its continuing challenges. India did not forget us even during the pandemic," another senior official who has served the organisation for several years told PTI.

During an Extraordinary Virtual Ministerial Pledging Conference for UNRWA held on June 23, 2020, Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan had announced that India would contribute USD 10 million to UNRWA over the next two years.

UNRWA is facing an increased demand for services resulting from a growth in the number of registered Palestine refugees, the extent of their vulnerability and their deepening poverty.

It is a agency established by the General Assembly in 1949 and mandated to provide assistance and protection to some 5.6 million Palestine refugees registered with UNRWA across its five fields of operation.

Its mission is to help Palestine refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, West Bank, including East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, achieve their full human development potential, pending a just and lasting solution to their plight.

UNRWA services encompass education, health care, relief and social services, camp infrastructure and improvement, protection, and microfinance among Palestinian refugees.

During the first-ever Indian Prime Minister's visit to Palestine in February 2018, India increased its annual financial contribution four-fold to the UNRWA core budget, from USD 1.25 million to USD 5 million.

India has also made a strong appeal to other traditional donors of UNRWA to consider enhancing their contributions as well as to non-donor member states to consider contributing to the agency in solidarity with the Palestine refugees.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed charges against several Indian-Americans in connection with three separate schemes that together yielded more than $6.8 million in illicit gains.

The SEC alleged that Amit Bhardwaj, the former chief information security officer (CISO) of Lumentum Holdings, along with his friends, Dhirenkumar Patel, Srinivasa Kakkera, Abbas Saeedi, and Ramesh Chitor, traded ahead of two corporate acquisition announcements by Lumentum, thereby generating more than $5.2 million in illicit profits.

In addition, the SEC's complaint sought disgorgement of illicit profits with prejudgment interest from relief defendants Gauri Salwan, the Kakkera Family Trust, All US Tacos Inc, and Janya Saeedi.

In another action, the SEC alleged by investment banker Brijesh Goel and his friend Akshay Niranjan, who was a foreign exchange trader at a large financial institution.

Late Monday night, the SEC said in a statement that the two men, close friends from business school, made more than $275,000 from illegally trading ahead of four acquisition announcements in 2017 that Goel learned about through his employment.

"If everyday investors think that the market is rigged at their expense in favour of insiders who abuse their positions, they are not going to invest their hard earned money in the markets," said Gurbir S. Grewal, Director of the SEC's Enforcement Division.

The SEC's complaints charge all nine defendants with violating the antifraud provisions of the securities laws and seek permanent injunctive relief, disgorgement with prejudgment interest, and civil penalties.

At Lumentum, Bhardwaj learned material nonpublic information (MNPI) about the company's plans to first acquire Coherent, Inc. and later acquire NeoPhotonics Corporation.

Based on this inside information, Bhardwaj allegedly purchased Coherent securities ahead of the January 2021 announcement of Lumentum's agreement to acquire Coherent and tipped his friend Patel, with the understanding that Patel would later share some of his ill-gotten gains.

During October 2021, Bhardwaj shared the inside information about Lumentum's planned acquisition of NeoPhotonics with his friends Kakkera, Saeedi, and Chitor, who then amassed large positions of NeoPhotonics based on Bhardwaj's tips.

"After the November 2021 announcement of the NeoPhotonics acquisition, Chitor indirectly transferred funds to Bhardwaj's relative in India, as instructed by Bhardwaj," said the SEC.

--IANS

na/ksk/

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
QALAT, Afghanistan, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Four commuters were killed and 48 others injured as a passenger bus turned turtle in Afghanistan's southern Zabul province on Tuesday, a traffic police officer said.

The accident took place in Shahr-e-Safa district in the wee hours of Tuesday, said the official on condition of anonymity, without giving more details.

In the meantime, director of provincial Public Health department Abdul Hakim Hakimi confirmed that four dead bodies including three women and 48 injured people including women and children had been taken to hospital.

Reckless driving and congested roads often lead to deadly road mishaps in war-torn Afghanistan, according to traffic police officials. 
A woman opened fire inside a teminal of the Dallas Love Field Airport in the US state of before a responding police officer shot her, authorities said.

No one else was injured in the shooting and the terminal is secure, Dallas Police Chief Edgardo Garcia told a news conference on Monday.

The 37-year-old woman, whose name has not been released, was shot in her lower extremities and taken to a hospital in unknown condition following the gunfire, Garcia said.

She had been dropped off at about 10:59 a.m., went into the terminal and ducked into a restroom near the Southwest Airlines ticket counter, he added.

She allegedly came out in different clothing, possibly a hoodie, and fired several shots into the air, Xinhua news agency reported.

"She produces a handgun and begins firing," Garcia said.

"At this point, we don't know where exactly the individual was aiming. The most we were seeing now she was aiming at the ceiling," the Police Chief added.

A ground stop was put in place at the airport and scheduled to be lifted at 1:30 p.m., according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

Patricia Mancha, a spokeswoman for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), said the TSA is "working to get travellers through airport security checkpoint and in from the heat".

Dallas Love Field is a city-owned public airport about six miles northwest of downtown Dallas.

--IANS

int/khz/

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Symphony advanced 2.33% to Rs 950 after the company's consolidated net profit surged to Rs 29 crore in Q1 FY23 from Rs 6 crore in Q1 FY22.

Revenue from operations increased by 43% YoY to Rs 329 crore during the quarter.

Gross margin was 45.6% in Q1 FY23 as against 43.5% in Q1 FY22. Profit before tax in Q1 FY23 stood at Rs 38 crore, which is significantly higher as compared with Rs 10 crore recorded in Q1 FY22.

As compared with Q4 FY22, the company's net profit and revenue are lower by 54.7% and 14.3%, respectively.

Nrupesh Shah, executive director of Symphony, commented: The channel inventory across the country is now normal and negligible. All channels viz. general trade, modern trade, regional chain formats, D2C & E-Commerce, and rural markets posted strong performance.

Newer channels namely D2C and E-Commerce continued to deliver robust incremental sales growth. D2C and E-Commerce platforms were initiated globally viz. in the USA, Mexico and Australia. They are having huge potential due to ground presence through fully operational subsidiaries, and local as well as global models.

Large Space Venti-Cooling (LSV) business has been generating a strong position traction driven by new models, wider distribution network and indigenization of product manufacturing.

There is a decent visibility of consumer sales in the domestic market, with complete normalization of trade inventory and demand picking up.

Symphony manufactures evaporative air coolers for domestic, commercial, and industrial customers in 60 countries across the globe.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
With the fourth confirmed case of the monkeypox virus in the national capital, and the World Health Organisation declaring it a global emergency, it is critical for the government to respond quickly. The Covid-19 experience has offered salutary lessons on what needs to be done and if the public health system swings into action early, there is no reason to fear the virus. Though monkeypox is not Covid-19, and particularly not Omicron  which is, by any standards, an unusually contagious virus -- the Indian response should be measured but swift and resolute, the top edit says. Read it here In other views:

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
With corporates asking their employees to return to office, or work at least partly out of office, occupancy levels are rising. This bodes well for commercial real estate (CRE). According to ANAROCK Research, net absorption of office space was 34.06 million square feet (sq. ft.) in FY2021-22 across Indias top seven cities, up 60 per cent over FY2020-21, and at almost 80 per cent of the pre-Covid-19 level of 43 million sq. ft. in FY2019-20. Besides real estate investment trusts (REITs), an upcoming route that retail investors can take to participate in CRE is fractional platforms.

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
Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai on Tuesday informed the Lok Sabha that as per information provided by the Government of Jammu and Kashmir, no Kashmiri Pandit working under the Prime Minister's Development Package has resigned recently in protest of the killing of a Kashmiri Pandit in the Valley.

MoS Home Nityanand Rai in a written reply to Lok Sabha on the question of Shiv Sena MPs Arvind Sawant and Vinayak Raut said that "as per information provided by the Government of Jammu and Kashmir, no Kashmiri Pandit working under the Prime Minister's Development Package has resigned recently in protest of the killing of a Kashmiri Pandit in Kashmir Valley."

MoS Home further inform the Lower House that the Government has taken several measures to ensure the safety of in the valley.

"These include a robust security and intelligence grid, day and night area domination, proactive operations against terrorists, round the clock checking at Nakas, patrolling in the areas where the reside, deployment of Security Forces at strategic points to thwart any terrorist attack," Rai said.

"Under the Prime Minister's Development Package (PMDP), 5502 Kashmiri Migrants have been provided Government jobs. Government has also approved construction of 6000 transit accommodations for Kashmiri Migrant employees engaged/to be engaged in different departments of Govt. of in the valley" he added.

Recently, staged protests in Srinagar amid the recent killing of pandits in the Valley.

A teacher from the Jammu division's Samba was shot dead by the terrorists in the morning at the High School Gopalpora area of Kulgam. Rahul Bhat, an employee of Chadoora Tehsil Office, was also shot dead by terrorists on May 12 in his office.

On October 5 2021, chemist M L Bindroo was killed in his shop, prompting outrage in .

Two days later, Supinder Kour, principal at Government Boys Higher Secondary School, Sangam, and Deepak Chand, teacher at the school, were gunned down after assailants checked identity cards of the school staff.

Earlier, Rai had informed Rajya Sabha that no Kashmiri Pandit migrated from the Valley post-August 5, 2019, when the special status of was revoked by Parliament.

In a written reply, Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai said that 118 civilians have been killed in various terror incidents in Jammu and Kashmir from August 5, 2019- July 9 this year, which includes 21 Kashmiri Pandits, Hindus and Sikhs.

"The Government has a policy of zero tolerance against terrorism and the security situation has improved significantly in Jammu and Kashmir," he added.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Congress leader hit out at the Centre over the latest revision in Goods and Services Tax (GST) on scientific instruments claiming that the step would prove detrimental to the interests of the research eco-system in the country.

"Don't let suffer because of your 'Gabbar Singh Tax', Prime Minister. Roll back the on scientific equipments," the Congress leader said in a Facebook post on Monday.

Gandhi claimed that the hike in the rate was a worrisome sign.

"Scientific advancement is the cornerstone for the development of any nation. The pattern of reduction in the allocation of funds for scientific research by the BJP govt is a worrisome sign for the research ecosystem in India," he added.

At a Council meeting held in Chandigarh last month, members had recommended raising the GST on scientific and technical instruments supplied to public-funded research institutes to 12 to 18 percent from the prevailing 5 percent.

"Now, by increasing the GST rates from 5 percent to 18 percent on scientific instruments, the government is displaying its thoughtless approach and further reducing funds and resources available for labs involved in scientific work across the country," the Congress leader added

Gandhi said the government had already cut the Union Ministry of and Technology ministry's budget by 3.9 percent this year.

On Sunday, Congress leader and former Union minister P Chidambaram also criticised the government for the GST rate hike.

"The Government perhaps believes that all the scientific knowledge that we need can be gathered by gazing at the sky and re-imagining our past," he had said.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
on Tuesday conducted Question Hour proceedings amid protests by over various issues including price rise, and a brief adjournment.

Soon after the house met at 12 noon after the first adjournment in the morning session, Deputy Chairman Harivansh urged the protesting members from such as Congress, TMC, DMK and AAP to return to their seats and allow the Question Hour to proceed.

As the members continued with their protest, he adjourned the house briefly for about 15 minutes till 12.20 PM.

Members of the AAP and the TMC had entered the Well and created an uproar, holding placards and raising slogans against the government.

Opposition MPs have been demanding an urgent discussion on issues like price rise and GST hike for the past many days, leading to disruptions in the House.

The opposition is demanding that the discussions be held under rule 267 (Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Rajya Sabha). Under this rule, the issue being raised is taken up by suspending the listed business of the day.

When the House met again at 12.20 pm, Harivansh asked about dozen opposition MPs, who were in the well, to return to their seats, but they continued protesting and raising slogans.

However, the deputy chairman decided to move ahead with the Question Hour.

The protesting MPs were raising slogans in various languages, including English, Hindi, Tamil and other regional languages.

"Modi ji jawab do"; "GST wapas lo", "Gujarat CM resign karo" were some of the slogans being raised by the Opposition members.

Derek O'Brien (TMC) wanted to ask a supplementary question, but Harivansh told him to first ask his party members to return to their seats.

In all, the upper House took up seven listed questions during the Question Hour.

Earlier, the several opposition party MPs, from both and Lok Sabha, staged a near the Mahatama Gandhi statue in the complex. Among other things, they were demanding revocation of suspension of Lok Sabha members as well as taking back GST on essential items.

The also raised the issue of Gujarat hooch tragedy which reportedly took lives of 27 people. They sought compensation for the families of the deceased persons and resignation of the Gujarat chief minister.

Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi too participated in the dharna.

(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.)
Nineteen opposition MPs, including seven from the TMC and six from the DMK, were suspended on Tuesday from attending the sitting of the for the entire week for disrupting the House proceedings.

The opposition MPs, who have been stalling the proceedings since the start of the monsoon session on July 18 over price rise and the levy of the GST on daily essentials, were suspended as they did not heed to Deputy Chairman Harvansh's repeated pleas to leave the Well of the House and go back to their seats.

Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs V Muraleedharan moved a motion to suspend 10 MPs, but when it was adopted by a voice vote, Harivansh read out the names of 19 members who have been suspended for the rest of the week.

While seven of the suspended MPs belonged to the Trinamool Congress (TMC), six were from the DMK, three from the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), two from the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and one from the Communist Party of India (CPI).

Sushmita Dev, Mausam Noor, Shanta Chhetri, Dola Sen, Santanu Sen, Abir Ranjan Biswas and Nadiumal Haque of the TMC were suspended.

DMK's M Mohamed Abdulla, Kanimozhi NVN Somu, M Shanmugam, S Kalyanasundaram, R Girirajan and N R Elango were also suspended.

B Lingaiah Yadav, Ravichandra Vaddiraju and Damodar Rao Divakonda (TRS), V Sivadasan and A A Rahim (CPI-M) and Sandosh Kumar (CPI) were the other MPs who were suspended.

Harivansh said the MPs were suspended for showing "utter disregard" to the House and the authority of the Chair.

The Chair asked the suspended members to leave the House, but they kept protesting in the Well, leading to two adjournments.

The proceedings were first adjourned for 15 minutes and then for an hour after the suspended members refused to leave the House when it met again.

(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 Kolkata court on Monday granted 10 days' (ED) custody of minister and his alleged associate Arpita Mukherjee, who were arrested in connection with its probe into the school jobs scam.

The ED had prayed for 14 days' custody of Chatterjee, stating that AIIMS, Bhubaneswar has said in a report after medical examination of the minister on a Calcutta High Court order that no active intervention is required over his health.

Rejecting a bail prayer of the minister, special ED Court judge Jibon Kumar Sadhu at Bankshall court here granted ED custody of the minister and also of Mukherjee till August 3.

The court directed in its order which came around 11 pm that the two accused persons, who were arrested on July 22, be produced before it again on August 3.

The ED prayed for 14 days' custody of Chatterjee claiming that he has been in state-run SSKM Hospital allegedly faking illness and thus the agency could not question him during the two-day remand granted by the CMM in-charge court on Saturday.

The agency also prayed for Mukherjee's custody for 13 days.

Calcutta High court on Sunday directed that Chatterjee be taken to AIIMS, Bhubaneswar, for a medical check-up by specialists of various departments on Monday morning.

The judge directed that medical examination be conducted of both the accused every 48 hours of their detention in ED custody.

The court directed the investigating officer not to inflict torture upon the accused persons.

The investigating officer was directed not to subject Mukherjee to custodial interrogation between 9 PM and 6 PM.

(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.)
BERLIN, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Sentiment among German exporters has "darkened again" as their expectations fell from plus 3.4 points in June to minus 0.5 points in July, the Munich-based ifo Institute for Economic Research said on Tuesday.

"The gas shortage is putting a strain on German exports," ifo President Clemens Fuest said. Around half of the companies surveyed by ifo expected exports to shrink.

Russian energy giant Gazprom said on Monday that it would further reduce gas flows via the strategically important Nord Stream 1 pipeline. Due to a missing turbine, from Wednesday volumes are to be lowered from 40 percent to 20 percent of capacity, or 33 million cubic meters per day.

There is "growing skepticism about export markets" in many sectors of Europe's largest economy. German automotive companies and manufacturers of machinery and equipment, on the other hand, still expect "moderate" export growth, according to the ifo Institute.

As in previous years, motor vehicles and parts were Germany's most important exported products in 2021, accounting for 15.3 percent of total exports with a value of 210.2 billion euros (213 billion U.S. dollars), according to official data.

International automotive markets showed a "mixed overall picture" in the first half of the year, according to the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA). Passenger car markets in the United States, Europe and Japan were down significantly, while China recorded growth.

"Disrupted value and logistics chains continue to impact markets and production, with the shortage of semiconductors in particular having a limiting effect," the association said. The high price dynamics in the United States and Europe were "additionally burdening the markets."

Nevertheless, German manufacturers of data processing equipment and electronic as well as optical products even expected "major increases in exports."

According to the German Electro and Digital Industry Association (ZVEI), exports in May were up 11.9 percent year-on-year and reached 19.1 billion euros. "This was the industry's first double-digit export growth in the current year," ZVEI chief economist Andreas Gontermann said.

Exports of the German electrical and digital system producers to China, the industry's top customer country, rose by 9.2 percent to 2.2 billion euros in May, according to ZVEI. (1 euro = 1.01 U.S. dollars) 
The Centre has assured that it will not implement the notification on Kasturirangan report on declaring eco-sensitive zones in until the recently set up committee to address the concerns of states submits its report, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said on Monday.

The chief minister led a delegation of state leaders, including ministers and MPs, from Malnad region to apprise Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav of their concern over the draft notification declaring 20,668 sq km of the as eco-sensitive area in .

Union Minister of State for Agriculture Shobha Karandlaje, Home Minister Araga Jnanendra, Dakshina Kannada MP Nalin Kumar Kateel, Shimoga MP B Y Raghavendra, Kodagu-Mysuru MP Pratap Simha, BJP general secretary C T Ravi and others were part of the delegation.

Briefing media after the hour-long meeting, Bommai said, "We shared our views about Kasturirangan report... The basic objection we put forth was that the report was prepared without undertaking any ground survey and without taking opinion of gram panchayats."



The Kasturirangan Committee has declared eco-sensitive areas in without distinguishing the cultural and natural landscape, he alleged, adding that besides Karnataka, Kerala and other states too have similar objections.

Environment Minister Bhupender Yada, in the meeting, said a new panel has been set up to examine the suggestions of the states and that it will visit each state to take local people's opinion, he said.

The Union minister also said that the committee will study in detail and submit a report. He also assured that "till such time, the notification will not be implemented," the Karnataka chief minister told media.

On April 16, Union environment ministry had set up a committee headed by retired IFS officer Sanjay Kumar to examine the concerns of Karnataka, Kerala, Goa, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Gujarat in respect of declaration of ecological sensitive areas in Western Ghats region.

Bommai also mentioned that a high-level state committee will be set up on the terms of reference of the central committee to assist the latter during its visit to the state.

The Kasturirangan report was "very unscientific", Bommai said and added the state will take measures to ensure the report prepared by the new central committee is scientific.

Last week, the state cabinet opposed the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests draft notification declaring 20,668 sq km of the Western Ghats as eco-sensitive area as per the recommendation of Kasturirangan Committee and urged the Centre to withdraw the notification.

The ministry had recently issued a draft notification announcing 46,832 sq km as eco-sensitive area in five states along the Western Ghats as per the recommendation of the Kasturirangan Committee.

Of these, Karnataka has the highest area (20,668 sq km). All states concerned have been given three months to file objections.

(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 will deliver its verdict on Tuesday on the bail plea of Ashish Mishra alias Monu, the son of Union Minister of State for Home minister Ajay Mishra, in connection with the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case.

A bench of Justice Krishna Pahal had reserved its order on July 15 after completing the hearing.

The Lucknow Bench of had granted bail to Ashish on February 10, 2022.

But, later the Supreme Court cancelled the bail and directed the HC to decide his bail plea after affording adequate opportunity to the victim side.

Accordingly, the HC heard his bail plea afresh.

Meanwhile on May 9, the High Court rejected the bail pleas of co-accused Lavkush, Ankit Das, Sumit Jaiswal and Shishupal.

While rejecting their pleas, the High Court had observed that the four accused were actively involved in planning and participation of the heinous offence committed in a "cruel and inhuman manner" and as such did not deserve bail.

The bench had further observed, "These four accused and the main accused, Ashish Mishra alias Monu belonged to very influential political families as said and apprehension of the prosecution that they would interfere with the course of justice, tamper with the evidence and influence the witnesses, cannot be ruled out at this stage."



Ashish Mishra is a co-accused in connection with the killing of four farmers and a journalist at Tikunia in Lakhimpur Kheri district of Uttar Pradesh on October 3 last year.

The farmers and the journalist were mowed down by a speeding vehicle. In the ensuing violence, two Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers and the driver of a vehicle were also killed by an agitated mob.

Two FIRs were lodged in connection with the violence.

(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 ramped up its efforts to develop a self-driving car, and has filed several new patents in software and hardware related to riding comfort such as seats and suspension, the media reported on Monday.

The iPhone maker is also working on vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology, which allows cars to communicate with each other and connect to the Internet of Things (IoT), reports Nikkei Asia along with analytics company Intellectual Property Landscape.

The report found that from 2000 till June 1 this year, applied for and published 248 automobile-related patents.

While most of Apple's applications in 2021 have yet to be published, eight were published.

In January 2021, Hyundai Motor was said to be in talks with for self-driving technology. The South Korean automaker later denied this.

Apple remains tight-lipped about its self-driving ambitions.

Thye company has reportedly hired veteran Ford executive Desi Ujkashevic, as the iPhone maker plans to launch an electric car in 2024.

Ujkashevic, who is Ford's global director of safety engineering, will join Apple to help it develop a fully electric autonomous car.

She worked on a range of Ford and Lincoln SUVs, as well as Ford's Fiesta and Focus compact cars.

According to a report in TheElec earlier this year, Apple partnered with a South Korean outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) company to develop its car's autopilot technology.

Apple Car is also expected to use LED screens all over the vehicle to inform other drivers what the self-driving system is doing.

The display would show braking information, the speed of the car and other messages in the form of graphics as well as video.

The upcoming Apple Car is expected to use a 'C1' chip based on the A12 Bionic processor, with in-cabin AI capabilities such as eye-tracking.

--IANS

na/

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
As India toughens its stand on Chinese smartphone brands, Shenzhen-based Honor, formerly under Huawei, has pulled out its team from the country.

According to South China Morning Post, the company's business in India will remain in operation, managed by local partners, but the brand will adopt a "very safe approach."

CEO Zhao Ming told state-run newspaper Securities Times that

formed the India team a few years ago but chose to leave for "obvious reasons".

The development came as Indian authorities like the (ED) and Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) have conducted raids and investigations of major Chinese smartphone players like Vivo, OPPO and Xiaomi.

once held a 3 per cent market share in India during its peak in 2018 but fell out after the US put sanctions against .

Struggling to keep its consumer business afloat in the wake of the US sanctions, Chinese conglomerate in November sold off its Honor smartphone business assets to China-based Shenzhen Zhixin New Information Technology Co Ltd.

Honor smartphones were hit by US sanctions that prevent from doing business with the US companies.

Since its creation in 2013, the Honor brand has focused on the youth market by offering phones in the low- to mid-end price range.

In the next seven years, Honor developed into a smartphone brand that shipped over 70 million units annually.

In India, Honor had entered the laptop market and expanded its wearables portfolio in the country.

--IANS

na/dpb

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
on Monday announced a collaboration with chip-maker to bring latest technology advancements for comfortable, safe and intelligent driving experiences in its all-new Scorpio-N vehicle.

The chip-maker will work with automotive electronics company Visteon Corporation to bring world-class, transformative in-vehicle experiences to the all-new Scorpio-N, using its 3rd Generation Snapdragon Cockpit Platforms.

"We are applying over two decades of auto expertise to transform the Scorpio-N into a digitally advanced and feature-rich SUV," said Uday Dodla, Senior Director, Business Development, India.

The 3rd Generation Snapdragon Cockpit Platforms are designed to support higher levels of computing and intelligence needed for advanced capabilities featured in next-generation vehicles, helping to enable contextual safety use cases for drivers and passengers.

It includes facilitating driver monitoring and object detection, as well as helping to ensure the security of personal and vehicular data.

Additionally, the 3rd Generation Snapdragon Cockpit Platforms feature an advanced suite of wireless technologies to support multi-mode cellular connectivity, Wi-Fi 6, as well as enhanced Bluetooth technologies, said the company.

"Using the advanced capabilities of the Snapdragon Automotive technologies integrated in our SUVs, we are reimagining the standard for an intelligently connected vehicle and delivering a safer and engaging driving experience," said R Velusamy, President, Automotive Technology and Product Development, M&M Ltd.

The Scorpio-N offers a cutting-edge driving and ownership experience provided by Mahindra's connected artificial intelligence (AI) technology, which utilises Visteon's SmartCore cockpit domain controller technology based on the Snapdragon Cockpit Platforms.

The Scorpio-N features a 17.78 cm colour driver information display and 20.32 cm infotainment system with navigation.

offers advanced automotive technologies through the 'Snapdragon Digital Chassis', which is a suite of cloud-connected platforms for telematics, digital cockpit solutions, advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS)/autonomous driving, cellular vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X), and car-to-cloud solutions.

--IANS

na/

(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 laser marked graffiti on Martian rocks to identify rock samples that will be brought to Earth for study.

NASA's Perseverance rover is currently collecting Martian samples from the 45 kilometres- wide Jezero crater for future return to Earth, along with hunting for signs of ancient life.

The samples will be brought to Earth, perhaps as early as 2031, by a joint NASA-European Space Agency mission campaign.

However, for the rock collection, original orientation is necessary, said Roger Wiens, Principal Investigator, SuperCam/Co-Investigator, SHERLOC instrument at Purdue University, in a statement.

It is majorly because samples taken from fine-grained surfaces are difficult to distinguish.

"For each rock core sample that is returned, we need to know its original orientation," Wiens said.

"If the surfaces of those core samples have easily recognisable features, that's no problem. That has been the case with the cores collected, so far. However, if the surface is fine-grained, there may be nothing to distinguish its rotational orientation.

In that case, we need to make artificial markings on the surface.

"We don't have a dark marker pen, but we do have a pulsed laser," he added.

Wiens also revealed that the first alphabet to be engraved was 'L'.

"If your name begins with "L" you will like this post about the first letter to be laser engraved on Mars," he said.

In June, Perseverance used a laser that's part of its mast-mounted SuperCam instrument to zap three dots in the shape of the letter L into a rock.

"With the dry run successful, we are ready to use the procedure to mark future samples," Wiens said.

The rocks brought back could also help researchers reconstruct the history of Mars' magnetic field and its impact on the planet's atmosphere.

--IANS

rvt/sks

(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.)
South Korean tech giant has reportedly roped in expert Kim Woo-pyeong from Apple, who will serve as the company's director for a new packaging solution center.

The company established the Packaging Solution Center in Device Solution America (DSA) in July and hired Woo-pyeong as its director, reports Business Korea.

After studying at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Woo-pyeong worked for Texas Instruments and Qualcomm before working for for about nine years in 2014.

Experts said that the appointment is somewhat unusual considering the special relationship between and Apple, as the two cooperate and compete with each other at the same time, the report said.

It is not easy to find similar cases except for Samsung's recruitment in 2012 of Luc Julia, who oversaw Siri development at for nearly a year, it added.

Packaging is one of the fields where Electronics is focusing on technology development.

As the difficulty of developing ultra-micro fabrication processes increases, chipmakers are moving toward enhancing packaging technology to surmount physical limitations.

--IANS

vc/ksk/

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
New Delhi [India], July 26 (ANI/NewsVoir): In times when digitization is disrupting the conventional methodology of most industries globally, the MSME retail sector in India remains no exception.

The Indian retail market is one of the fastest growing markets in the world, estimated at USD 600 billion - out of which almost 90 per cent are MSMEs and SMB retailers.

SignCatch and Worldline India have partnered to bring together the Merchant Digitization Program (MDP), to enable digital retailing for small retail stores, brands and wholesalers across India. With Bech (Bech.App), SignCatch and Worldline India have envisioned to empower SMBs across key cities in India and multiple retail categories such as Electronics, Mobile, Hardware, Pharmacies, Fashion, Grocery, Cafes and Restaurants.

This exciting partnership allows Worldline India to leverage the process to payments capability of SignCatch's new Bech platform, which has been specifically built to enable digital commerce between local brands, wholesalers and retail stores in any given region.

Bech app is thoughtfully designed to provide all the digital value-added services required by a small business owner on a single mobile app, like - Digital Payments, Supply Chain Credit, Last Mile Delivery, Free Online Catalog Builder, B2B Purchasing Platform, Social Media Selling, Marketing, Billing, GST Ready Reports along with Staff Management features. In addition, merchants can also access Instant Credit, Business Loans on the Payment acceptance PoS Terminals powered by Worldline India and many more similar services being added on the go as per the requirements of running a small retail business, on this Super App. The Bech platform currently caters to more than 50k MSMEs across India, who are leveraging the omni-channel capabilities of the app.

"In this time of rapid digital evolution, Worldline India and SignCatch are pleased to empower the Micro and SME segment of brands and retailers through a new age integrated technology solution. Unique insights provided by 360-degree business transactions on the Bech platform supports Worldline India to offer more customized digital payment products and services to the MSMEs. We would initially be launching the solution in selected cities, however, given the massive scale and opportunity in this space, we shall soon be expanding this offering pan India,'' said Vishal Maru, Executive Vice President - Financial Institutions and Merchant Services, Worldline India.

Speaking on the partnership, Sumit Duggal the Founder and CEO of SignCatch, said, "Despite the emergence of large B2B eCommerce aggregators, 85-90 per cent of the wholesale supplies are primarily managed by local brands, wholesalers and stockists. SignCatch has launched its Bech platform specifically to cater to this large market opportunity and democratize digital retail. The Bech App enables a zero tech small brand, wholesaler or retailer to acquire the omnichannel tech capabilities of organized retail simply through their smartphones." He further added that SignCatch is also integrating with the ONDC (Open Network for Digital Commerce) stack, which would open up a multitude of new sales channels for small brands, wholesalers and retailers on Bech.

Follow SignCatch on Social Media

Website: (www.signcatch.com)

Facebook: (www.facebook.com/SignCatch)

Twitter: (twitter.com/SignCatch)

Instagram: (www.instagram.com/signcatch)

Follow Bech on Social Media

Website: (www.bech.app)

Facebook: (www.facebook.com/BechApp)

Twitter: (twitter.com/bech_app)

Instagram: (www.instagram.com/bech.app)

This story is provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/NewsVoir)

DISCLAIMER

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Clouds of recession gathering over the US skies are increasingly casting a dark shadow over its domestic consumption and imports. And the effect is also being felt about 12,000km away in India, where the export industry is bracing for harsh weather. Some exporters are already seeing a dip in new orders while the margins of the IT sector are declining. So, should the Indian exporters worry?

Meanwhile, unperturbed by these headwinds and riding high on tariff hikes, Reliance Jio logged a 24% jump in its net profit in Q1. And now, the countrys largest telecom services provider and three other operators are set to lock horns in the auction for 5G spectrum. So, will this be an aggressive battle or a muted affair? Will this be a turning point for India? Business Standards Nivedita Mookerji does a status check.

A status quo for Indias IT industry would have been great news. But its not. The June quarter results of top-tier IT companies were disappointing as the profitability margins came lower than estimated. The underperformance was led by the usual culprits of persistent attrition and high wage costs. With a looming on the horizon, are there reasons to worry about the sector's health?

On Monday, Bloomberg reported that Chinese authorities had forced some of the biggest companies, including iPhone maker Foxconn to operate within a closed loop restricted system for seven days to battle a Covid outbreak in Shenzhen. Such unpredictable regulatory crackdowns have forced a rethink about across the world. Such actions have wreaked havoc on the global supply chains, due to which the China-plus-one strategy gained traction. Large companies in the West are increasingly exploring alternatives to . This episode of the podcast talks more about this plan and why India is struggling to register its name in the list of favourite investment destinations.
Despite decent revenues, profitability of large-cap IT companies took a hit in the April-June quarter amid higher-than-expected margin erosion.

Barring TCS, whose profit grew slower than expected, Wipro, HCL Tech and Infosys reported a sequential decline of 6-17% in net profits.

The reason behind this remained the sharply elevated rates and rising employee retention costs.

levels for the tier- 1 companies continued to be around 20% or more this quarter with Infosys in the lead among peers. Wipro reported a marginal drop, while others recorded a significant rise from the March quarter.

The rate, analysts say, could soon be bottoming out.

Independent Market Analyst Ambareesh Baliga says channel checks hint attrition could be dropping out. Discretionary client budget could be slashed in case of a slowdown, while weakness to continue in next two quarters. IT companies likely to pick pace post-Dec.

That said, experts believe that the remains a positive bet given the recent .

According to HDFC Securities, Risk-reward is presently favourable for tier-1 IT companies as current valuations imply a modest growth ask-rate; while, mid-tier IT firms will sustain their growth premium

Sharing a similar view, Mitul Shah of Reliance Securities says that the valuations of the sector have become inexpensive.

Mitul Shah, Head of Research, Reliance Securities says valuations near long-term average. has made the sector inexpensive. He advises to accumulate on every decline and hold a positive long-term view.

Today, market action will be guided by the earnings season. Asian Paints, Bajaj Auto, L&T, Sanofi and Tata Power will be on the radar ahead of their Q1 results.

Among other key events, the much-awaited two-day policy meeting of the US Fed will begin later today.
ATHENS, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Greece and Saudi Arabia will explore further bilateral cooperation in many sectors with emphasis on energy, as announced by the two sides during the two-day visit of Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz to Athens on Tuesday.

"We would like to explore further opportunities between our two countries and our two economies to partner and to attract more Saudi investment into Greece," Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in statements welcoming the Saudi Crown Prince, according to Greek national broadcaster ERT.

"Linking the grid of electricity, we can provide Greece and southwest Europe through Greece much cheaper renewable energy ... Also, we are working about hydrogen and how to turn Greece as a hub for Europe for hydrogen. That is a game changer for both of us," Mohammed said on his part.

Trade and security are also on the agenda of discussions during his visit, he added.

Greek and Saudi private business groups are expected to sign a series of agreements in the fields of maritime transport, aquaculture, waste management, culture, food and agricultural products, construction and defense technology, Greek national news agency AMNA reported. 
Coined way back in 2013, it is a global business strategy. China-Plus-One, or just Plus One refers to a strategy in which companies avoid investing only in and diversify their businesses to alternative destinations.

Where did the need for it arise from? For the last 30 years, Western companies have invested heavily in China, attracted by its low labour and production costs, as well as the considerable and growing size of its domestic consumer market. Leading to an overconcentration of their business interests in .

In late July, a grouping of 18 economies, including India, the US, and the European Union, unveiled a roadmap for establishing collective supply chains that would be resilient in the long term. The roadmap also included steps to counter supply chain dependencies and vulnerabilities. This can be seen as a part of the overall China-plus-one strategy.

Officials and companies in Japan and the United States had begun mulling a diversification strategy away from as early as 2008. However, it was only towards the end of the last decade, when US-China trade tensions were at their peak, that China-plus-one gained steam as an alternative strategy for MNCs. The driving factors range from China's cost advantage diminishing in recent years to growing geopolitical distrust between China and the West.

Other business challenges have also emerged. For example, foreign technology companies have been exiting or downsizing their presence in mainland China because a strict data privacy law that specifies how they collect and store data has been brought in. China's Personal Information Protection Law came into effect in November last year. Among other requirements, companies must now get permission to send personal user information abroad. The new regulation has raised compliance costs and created uncertainty. Also, companies that break the restrictions will face hefty fines.

And then the Covid-19, which continues to make its presence felt. Chinas continuing Zero-Covid Policy meant that there was industrial and supply chain disruption. Then there was the associated container shortage. All of a sudden, lead times went up and the global supply chain's reliability took a hit. As a result, the US and Europe, with their sourcing dependence on China, were forced to look at other locations for both reliable supplies of components and materials and production cost advantages.

Beijings Zero-Covid policy, the resultant supply chain disruptions, and high lead times from China ended up giving a fillip to the China-Plus-One strategy for many global firms.

Clear winners of the China-plus-one model have been the EU, Mexico, Taiwan, and Vietnam, across sectors such as machinery, automobiles, and transport and electrical equipment. According to experts, apart from marginal gains in the machinery sector, India, however, did not significantly benefit from this trade diversion.

But why? Indias declining participation in global value chains has been one of the reasons. Its trade policy has been more protectionist than the other developing countries and has not been driven by the objective of integrating with global value chains. India has also been hesitant in forging preferential trade agreements. It shied away from regional trading arrangements. Clearly, India must reorient its trade policy to take advantage of the increasingly popular China-plus-one strategy.
Kaseya today announced plans to establish a new Centre of Excellence in Dundalk, creating 250 jobs over the next three years.

The global provider of unified IT management and security software for managed service providers (MSPs) and mid-market enterprises (MMEs) will be seeking engineers, technical support and sales, specifically new customer acquisition, as well as positions across corporate services.

Kaseya will work closely with university partners in the area to help train students for the positions and foster the next generation of technology professionals in the region. Kaseya successfully executed a similar program in the US, in Miami, Florida where the company is headquartered.

In two years, Kaseya has grown its Miami operation from 150 people to more than 600 and now occupies over 150,000-sq-ft to support its growth plan of having over 1,200 Kaseyans in Miami by 2023. Modelling after this successful program, with support from IDA Ireland, Kaseyas leadership is confident this initiative will be another success that brings economic growth to the region.



"We saw tremendous opportunity to expand the tech ecosystem in Ireland  we're already in Dublin  and decided to open a second office in Dundalk," said Kaseya CEO Fred Voccola. "We are planning to attract top tech talent and generate a robust workforce pipeline in the local community. We are excited about this partnership that will expand Kaseyas footprint in Ireland, where Kaseya has its roots. The company first established its EMEA headquarters in Dublin in 2016."



The investment has been welcomed by Tanaiste & Minister for Enterprise Trade & Employment, Leo Varadkar. "This is excellent news. It really demonstrates Kaseyas commitment to Ireland and the attractiveness of Dundalk as a place to invest," he said. "Its also a real vote of confidence in Kaseyas existing team here - Im sure it was their hard work that gave the company the confidence to expand further. Kaseya has witnessed remarkable growth over recent years, and I wish the team every continued success with the new Dundalk office."



Source: www.businessworld.ie
China exported 362,200 NEVs in the first half, more than double from the previous year

Western Europe and Southeast Asia became the main destinations for Chinas new energy vehicle (NEV) exports, accounting for nearly half of all cars sold overseas during the first six months this year, according to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).

China exported 362,200 NEVs in the first half, more than double from the previous year, Cui Songshu, secretary general of the CPCA, said over the weekend citing customs data. Exports to Western European countries reached 122,700 autos, accounting 34% of total exports, while sales to Southeast Asia came to 58,400 units, or 16% of the total, Cui said.
Bright side Lounge Charity Golf Tourney Slated The 8th Annual Brightside Lounge Charity Golf Tourney will be held at the beautiful Cherokee Golf Course on Saturday, August...

ISUs McDonald IV, Downing on Lombardi Award Watch List AMES, Iowa  Iowa State defensive end Will McDonald IV and offensive lineman Trevor Downing have been named to the 2022 Rotary Lombardi...
French President Emmanuel Macron is welcomed by Cameroon's Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute at the start of his three-nation tour of western Africa AFP

Emmanuel Macron embarks on African tour 3 months after his re-election

DOUALA, Cameroon (AA) - French President Emmanuel Macron was welcomed Monday by Cameroons Prime Minister Joseph Ngute and other local authorities in the capital Yaounde, where he will be staying for the next two days.

Macron will meet with his Cameroonian counterpart Paul Biya for a one-on-one discussion Tuesday and hold a press conference afterwards.

"This visit gives the two heads of state the opportunity to reaffirm the solidity of the Yaounde-Paris axis in listening and mutual respect," according to the Cameroonian presidency, which said it appreciates "at its true value the support of France to its development efforts.

The French president will extend his first visit to the central African country until July 27 with a program of debates on food security, noting the role of the private sector; a meeting with youths on climate issues and local participatory democracy; a working session between French and Cameroonian ministers; and a meeting with the French community.

The last visit of a French head of state to Cameroon dates back to July 3, 2015 with President Francois Hollande.

Macron's arrival has elicited mixed reactions at the national and international levels since its announcement.

He is coming to defend French interests at the invitation of the Cameroonian president, according to Cameroonian lawmaker Cabral Libii.

Cameroon and France should strictly discuss mutual state interests under the rigorous prism of a win-win paradigm, according to Libii.

France and its former colony established diplomatic relations in 1960, the year of Cameroon's independence.

In terms of trade partnerships, France is Cameroon's second largest supplier after China.

Cameroon is France's 72nd trading partner and 80th supplier.

The French presence in Cameroon is marked by 200 companies in various fields owned by French nationals

Officially, the number of Cameroonian nationals holding residence permits in France is estimated at 60,000. More than 6,400 French nationals are registered in Cameroon and a little more than 700 Cameroonians are studying in France.

The two countries maintain security and defense cooperation mainly focused on training.

France also supports humanitarian projects in Cameroon. In this respect, Amnesty International researchers believe that the human rights situation has worsened.

"This is why it is crucial that the French president goes beyond strengthening economic, political and cultural relations between the two countries and expressing France's solidarity in the conflict that has pitted Cameroonian security forces against the armed group Boko Haram in the Far North region since 2013," Ilaria Allegrozzi and Fabien Offner, two of the group's researchers, said in a recent opinion piece.

According to them, the French president in his meeting with Biya should clearly express his concern about the human rights violations committed by the security forces in the two English-speaking regions of the North-West and South-West since 2016 and the repression against anyone in the country who dares to criticize the government.

Macron will continue his African tour in West Africa on Wednesday starting in Benin, which according to the French presidency wants French support in terms of air support, intelligence and equipment. The African country has recently become the target of terrorist attacks.

The French leader will visit Guinea-Bissau the next day to deal with "governance issues and the rule of law.

Aurore Bonny/AA
BERLIN (AA) - European countries must end their dependence on Russian oil and gas, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Tuesday.

Speaking at a news conference in Prague with her Czech counterpart, Baerbock argued that Russian President Vladimir Putin is using energy as a weapon in a hybrid war on Ukraine and the West.

Therefore, its very important for us to end dependence on Russian fossil fuel imports, she said, adding that the EU member states will continue to take steps towards that goal, maintain their unity and determination.

Baerbock also welcomed an agreement reached by EU energy ministers to reduce gas use across the bloc, in order to prepare for possible disruptions of gas supplies this winter.

In this way we underscore our unity, demonstrate that we will not be divided, she stressed.

Member states agreed to reduce their gas demand by 15% compared to their average consumption in the past five years, between Aug. 1, 2022 and March 31, 2023.
News at 4Cs

Cape Cod Community College Awarded $735,000 Workforce Training Grant

Cape Cod Community College has been awarded $735,000 in workforce training funds as part of the Baker-Polito Administrations $15 million program to support the Commonwealths 15 community colleges. Workforce training grants are used to create and expand training programs for high-demand industries.

Locally, the Colleges Center for Corporate and Professional Education (CCAPE) will be using the grant funding to create programs offering industry-recognized credentials in Hospitality and Culinary Arts, Behavioral Health, Engineering, Healthcare, and Information Technology. Each training program will be in direct alignment with the regions fastest growing industry sectors, providing pathways to crediting bearing certificates and degree programs at the College.

We are once again extremely appreciative of the Baker-Polito Administration and our local legislature for investing in workforce training grants for community colleges like ours, said John Cox, President of Cape Cod Community College. These grants literally change lives, providing access to programs that immediately lead to careers and pathways to degree and certificate programs. We look forward to keeping our momentum going in the communities on the Cape and Islands, bringing these in-demand programs to the folks who need them.

Career Training Programs through CCAPE will begin mid-Fall 2022 with educational tracks in Hospitality and Culinary, Direct Care Workforce, CAD Designer, and Computer Systems Support Technician. The grant will provide base funding to support staffing and operational capacity as well as coverage for all student costs related to the programs.

These programs are designed to uplift populations on the Cape and Islands who have traditionally experienced higher rates of unemployment and barriers to employment, said Tammi Jacobson, Director of Workforce Development and Training at Cape Cod Community College. These funds can help take you from unemployment or underemployment straight into the program and then the workforce at little to no cost. Its a tremendous boost for our communities and we are very thankful to be offering more programming this Fall.

Cape Cod Community College is currently seeking employer and community-based organizations for partnerships and collaborations to deliver these programs. If you are interested in partnering, please contact Tammi Jacobson at tjacobson@capecod.edu or call 508-375-5011. For more information on CCAPE and current program offerings, please visit their website here.
Netflix head of adult animation Mike Moon will leave the company at the end of the month to pursue other opportunities.

Details:

Moon is a long-time animation industry veteran who has worked in film and TV at Sony Pictures Animation, Disney Television Animation, and Cartoon Network. Hes been with Netflix for the past four-and-a-half years.

Unlike many TV animation executives, Moon comes from an artistic background and worked for more than 15 years as an animator at companies such as Warner Bros., Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, and Hanna-Barbera.

According to a Deadline report, Netflix is currently searching for Moons successor, and remains committed to original adult animation content and Vine Studios, an animated series production facility in which Moon was heavily invested.

The report also indicates that Moons departure is not related to the recent changes in Netflixs animation unit, including Melissa Cobb stepping down as VP animation film and Karen Toliver replacing her.

Netflixs adult animation slate under Moon includes shows such as Human Resources, Inside Job, The Midnight Gospel, and the upcoming Entergalactic from Kenya Barris and Kid Cudi, Agent King from Priscilla Presley and John Eddie, and Exploding Kittens from Mike Judge and Greg Daniels.

News of Moons departure was first reported by Deadline.
Photo: The Canadian Press Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos makes an announcement in Ottawa on Thursday, June 30, 2022.

The federal government has asked the private sector to weigh in on how companies could play a role in Canada's national dental-care plan.

The Liberals set aside $5.3 billion over the next five years to launch a dental-care program for uninsured low- and middle-income families.

They have committed to starting with kids under the age of 12 in households with an annual income of less than $90,000 by the end of this year, with plans to extend coverage to under-18-year-olds, seniors, and persons living with disabilities in 2023.

The program is a key part of the confidence and supply deal the Liberals signed with the NDP to stave off a potential election until June 2025.

NDP health critic Don Davies said in a statement that the two parties recently agreed on an implementation plan for national dental care that includes learning from "stakeholders with expertise in claims processing."

The government issued a formal request for information, seeking input from industry players between now and Aug. 22.

"Canada is exploring different models to deliver on this commitment  including a federal direct delivery option, whereby Health Canada would deliver the program itself with the support of one or more third-party benefits providers," the government said in the document.

The government could also give cash to the provinces along with a list of coverage they have to provide.

Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos reiterated that the government hasn't yet settled on which form the program will take. The responses from various companies, along with consultations with provinces and territories, will inform federal decisions about how to proceed, he said.

The NDP and Liberals agreed the program would be expanded to include all uninsured family members under the $90,000 income threshold before the term of the deal runs out.

In the request-for-information document, the government estimates seven to nine million Canadians would be eligible for the program once it's fully phased in. If the Liberals contract the program out to a private firm, there would be a six-month startup phase between when the contract was awarded and when it would begin.

That would make it impossible for the Liberals to meet the end-of-year deadline to fulfil their promise to the NDP in the confidence and supply agreement between the two parties.

In the document, the government asks companies to explain whether they have the capacity to handle claims from the millions of Canadians who will qualify for coverage.

The Liberals also want to know if an "off-the-shelf" insurance plan already exists that the government could adapt to suit its needs, and how quickly that could come together.

The document asks companies to answer key questions, like what basket of services should be covered and how the program would be best delivered.

The government has also solicited advice about how to handle the complicated industry landscape, which includes provincial and territorial programs and private insurers.
Photo: The Canadian Press Brian Maci from New York receives a monkeypox vaccine at an outdoor walk-in clinic in Montreal.

Monkeypox cases in Montreal appear to be hitting a plateau, but authorities say they're worried that soaring infections in the United States and a low vaccination rate could help the disease surge anew in the city.

Dr. Genevieve Bergeron of Montreal public health says that while the situation in the city has stabilized in recent weeks, she fears the busy tourist and travel season could compromise efforts to contain the disease.

"We're concerned we might see an increase over the coming weeks because of travel and how connected we are with different countries, so we are being quite vigilant with the progress pattern that we see right now," she said Monday in an interview.

Last month, public health officials described Montreal as the epicentre of the monkeypox outbreak in North America and expanded vaccination against the disease to all men who have sex with men.

Bergeron said that getting an early start to vaccination was helpful in the efforts to control the disease, but the city "still has a lot of work to do" when it comes to promoting vaccination.

She said that only between a third and half of those eligible to be vaccinated have received a shot. Demand for the vaccine has slowed somewhat, she said, although there has been an uptick since the World Health Organization declared the disease a global emergency on Saturday.

The provincial government has described the monkeypox outbreak in the province as "relatively contained," with 331 cases as of last week and no hospitalizations. More than 13,000 people have been vaccinated.

In contrast, the Public Health Agency of Canada says cases across the country have continued to rise, to a total of 681. "Since July 1, we have also seen a doubling of cases to date, the first case in a female, and the first cases in Saskatchewan," the agency wrote on Saturday.

Bergeron said the city is working with different levels of government and with community organizations to raise awareness around monkeypox and to promote vaccination. That includes pop-up notifications sent out via dating apps, mobile vaccine clinics and soliciting the support of influencers, including a popular drag queen, to raise awareness.

Dr. Michael Libman, an infectious and tropical diseases specialist at the McGill University Health Centre, said his impression is that monkeypox numbers in the city "are controlled and maybe turning around."

He says that for now, the disease is mainly being transmitted among a small segment of the population  men who report intimate contact with men  which makes it controllable as long as health officials act quickly. But he notes that anyone can get monkeypox, which is spread through prolonged close contact via respiratory droplets, direct contact with skin lesions or bodily fluids, or through contaminated clothes or bedding.

If it isn't brought under control, "inevitably it will get out to other sexually active communities and eventually to households if we dont succeed in controlling it," he said.

Dr. Rejean Thomas, who works at the l'Actuel medical clinic in Montreal, said he's "very surprised" by the number of sexually active patients who aren't vaccinated. He thinks public health messaging may need to be strengthened to better reflect the seriousness of the situation, without being alarmist.

He believes some people may have been inadvertently led to believe the disease is "benign" just because it is rarely fatal.

"But the cases we see are pretty serious: big ulcers in the mouth, the tongue, the chin, the genital organs," he said. "People are suffering a lot."

A study published last week in the New England Journal of Medicine that analyzed over 500 cases in 16 countries found that 98 per cent of those infected were gay or bisexual, 75 per cent were white and 41 per cent had a prior HIV diagnosis. However, the study noted that while the current outbreak disproportionately affects men who have sex with men, monkeypox can affect anyone, and heterosexual transmission was also reported.

Spread to other populations is anticipated, the study added.

Bergeron said the vaccine is available in Montreal to people who have had direct contact with someone who has monkeypox, or with potentially contaminated objects or bedding. It is also available to men and members of the gay, bisexual and trans communities who have sex with at least one male partner in Montreal, other than a single regular partner.
Photo: The Canadian Press A corn dog vendor is seen at the 140th annual Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto.

The Canadian National Exhibition is returning to Toronto next month after a two-year hiatus.

CNE organizers say there will be several new attractions as well as familiar favourites.

The new features include a nightly drone show and a Celtic food truck festival.

The CNE says it is also reviving previously popular events such as the Celebrity Kitchen Stage, which last took place in 2017.

The CNE was founded in 1879 and organizers say it drew about 1.4 million visitors in 2019.

It's set to take place between Aug. 19 and Sept. 5 .
Photo: MARIO BARTEL/THE TRI-CITY NEWS. Carol Todd arrives at BC Supreme Court in New Westminster on Tuesday as crown counsel prepares to wrap its case agains the man accused of cyberbullying her daughter, Amanda.

The Crown closed its case this morning (Tuesday) in the sextortion case involving Port Coquitlam student Amanda Todd.

And, in the eighth week of the trial at BC Supreme Court in New Westminster, defence counsel Joe Saulnier told Justice Martha Devlin and the jury he would not call evidence in the prosecution of his client, Aydin Coban.

At the start of Crowns closing argument, prosecutor Kristen LeNoble offered a road map to the jury that, she says, will link Coban to 22 online aliases used to harass, exploit and lure the teenager with child pornography of her that he knowingly possessed.

Coban of the Netherlands is charged with five counts:



extortion



importing and distributing child pornography



possession of child pornography



communicating with the intent to lure a child



criminal harassment





None of the allegations is proven in court; Coban has denied the charges.

LeNoble said the Crowns theory  as presented by 30 witnesses, including nine experts from around the world, and 80 exhibits  is that digital messages sent by the fake aliases to Todd, as well as her friends and family, about her caused her to fear for her safety.

TIMELINE

In the Crowns closing address, which is expected to last two days, LeNoble laid out the timeline in which the offences are alleged to have happened.

The first encounter came in November 2009, when Todd was 12, via Facebook from an account user named Daimon Luci. In the message, which included a video URL of Todd, he demands that Todd give him her Skype address or I will send this video to all the Todd family.

Dont delete this account or I send it instantly. I have saved them all really so pointless. Give me your Skype and get on it, Luci orders her.

About a month later, the Crown told the jury, Todd received a Skype message from a user named marzattack1, who again threatened to expose her to her family, peers and local newspaper with the release of a video of her.

Todd was also lured by a Facebook user named Tomas Coco Pops and a Skype user named zackzoof whose aim was to gather content about Amanda Todd, make sexual references and lower her inhibitions, LeNoble alleged.

The sledgehammer came in December 2010, LeNoble told the court, when Todd received messages from users named whatsthisman11 (YouTube), toddtit (Skype), Alice Mcallister (Facebook) and Kody Maxson (Facebook).

The latter two users then distributed child pornography to Todds family and friends, as well as her school in Maple Ridge, on Dec. 22, 2010, the Crown alleged.

LeNoble said the evidence shows overlapping messages between Todd and some of the account users  that is, communication happening at the same time  as well as references to names on her social media platforms.

In a message with toddtit, Todd, who went by the name cutiielover, asks the user to give her the video of her flashing her breasts.

What do I have to do so u wont show anyone? she asks.

Once a week we just do fun stuff on cam is all before the messages become more demanding for intimate content from her, LeNoble said.

On YouTube, whatsthisman11 writes to Todd: Look camwhore, enough nice guy act. You gonna do as your told or I fuck up your life bad, you got that bitch? and orders 10 shows.

LeNoble said Alice Mcallister sent 16 messages with the motherless.com link to Todds family and friends, posing as an independent online child protection agency worker.

There are videos and pictures of Amanda (Todd) showing herself naked and doing very sexual things in front of hundreds of guys on BlogTV and TinyChat, Skype, MSN, etc.

On Dec. 23, 2010, LeNoble said, a Facebook account was registered in the name of Kody Maxson sent out a similar message  with video links  to 99 Facebook users, of which 28 were family and friends of Todds.

And while some people defended her, including one who called him a creep, other online friends piled on with the harassment of Amanda Todd who was fearing for her own psychological and emotional safety, LeNoble said.

The trial continues.
Lehigh Hanson Inc 'tops-off' the steel section of its Mitchell stack

26 July 2022

Lehigh Hanson Inc (HeidelbergCement) is pleased to announce the placement of the final section of steel for the stack at its new state-of-the-art Lehigh Cement plant in Mitchell, Indiana, USA. The Lehigh plant hosted a topping out ceremony on Friday, 22 July 2022, where Lehigh employees, representatives from the construction team, contractors and local dignitaries signed the steel section before it was hoisted to top out the stack.

A topping out ceremony is a long-standing tradition of construction workers, particularly steel workers, to commemorate the completion of a buildings structure, specifically the placement of the final steel. In keeping with the tradition, as the stack section was being lifted, an American flag was unfurled on the structure.

With todays topping out ceremony, we are another step closer to realising the completion of this monumental project, said Tracy Crowther, Lehigh cement plant manager. Thanks to the efforts and support of our employees, contractors, vendors, trade workers and the Mitchell community, this amazing new plant will be ready to begin production in the very near future.

In October 2019, the company broke ground on the construction of the new plant in Mitchell that will replace the existing facility. Following a delay caused by COVID-19, construction resumed in September 2020 at an accelerated pace. The new facility is expected to be commissioned in early 2023.

The new Mitchell cement plant will allow for a substantial increase in production capacity while significantly reducing energy usage, fuel consumption and emissions per ton of cement produced through modern equipment and the latest in cement production technology.

Published under
BUA approves dividend and sets 2023 deadline for current expansion projects

26 July 2022

BUA Cement Plc shareholders have approved dividends of NGN88.047bn (US$96.3m) for the financial year ended 31 December 2021 at NGN2.60k per ordinary share of 50k each. This approval was given during the companys 6th Annual General Meeting held in Abuja and comes on the back of a strong financial performance in the year under review, which recorded revenue growth of 22.9 per cent from NGN209.4bn in 2020 to NGN257.3bn in 2021. Profits after tax also rose by 24.5 per cent YoY to NGN90.1bn in 2021.

Speaking at the Annual General Meeting, Abdul Samad Rabiu, chairman of the Board of Directors of BUA Cement Plc, commented: Our performance in 2021 gives credence to our sound business model, value proposition, and the excellent team who responded to the challenges and opportunities that were confronted in the year under review. In the meantime, the BUA Cement brand continues to grow stronger in the marketplace. Our aim is to invest more in the cement industry until Nigeria is self-sufficient, and cement is readily available, accessible, and affordable for all Nigerians. We expect to continue this excellent performance for the foreseeable future.

Furthermore, Mr Rabiu disclosed that the companys ongoing projects will be completed in 2023. They will increase the cement companys installed capacity to 17Mta, which will solidify BUAs position in the Nigerian cement industry as well as position the company to take advantage of export opportunities.

Engr Yusuf Binji, the company's MD, added that when the installed capacity of the company increases by 2023, BUA Cement will be better positioned to increase existing export volumes and, in the process, take advantage of some of the benefits of the African Continental Free trade Area.

During the year under review, BUA Cement made significant progress on cleaner energy mix through its transition from heavy fuel oils to liquefied natural gas in its Sokoto plants. The company completed the installation of a 50MW gas power plant together with the modification of its kilns to enable the full substitution of imported coal with LNG, resulting in the reduction of the company's carbon footprint.

Published under
We know that Hamilton County Democrat voters successfully upended the Republican primary. The professionals of election data have assigned voter ID to all voters based upon their participation in primaries. Did you pick up a Republican or Democrat ballot, it is known through records? The data supports that 30 percent of Republican primary voters or 8,000 voters had Democrat voter ID.

In short, these collective Democrats, probably Pam Sohn of TFP readers in my opinion, tilted what was the anticipated outcome in the Republican primary.

As a result, the Republican primary winner for county mayor represents only 14,428 of 40,709 votes.

In states with open primaries, like Tennessee, the Democrats have worked on a national level to upend Republican primaries. You got to give the Democrats credit where credit is due. The mission was to upend the Republican primaries, and mission accomplished.

For the first time in many decades, the Democrats are well positioned to take the highest level Hamilton County offices. Yet, I wonder if the same Democrats that upended the Republican primary will vote for the Republicans, or vote for their own Democrat party candidates that resulted in the history making low 12 percent participation in the Democrat primary.

If the local Democrats put the same turbo turnout in the Republican primary into the August 4th election, they potentially could take the highest county offices. In decades past, it was generally accepted that only a Republican could capture the countys highest offices. That is no longer the case. I believe that Hamilton County is inching away from Republican control.

The Democrats have a window to take the highest offices, but will they vote for a Republican instead? That is not clear, unless you are an insider. This is Issue One.

Do we have another 8,000 Democrats voting Republican again? Who knows?

As an independent conservative, I am voting for several Democrats on the August 4th ballot, simply because they are the better candidates. It appears this election will be scrambled eggs for me and loved ones, as we vote in lockstep too.

Please take five minutes on August 4th to speak your mind with your vote. It does not take long.

April Eidson

* * *

While we respect everyones ability to opine their beliefs, I find Ms. Eidsons remarks to be particularly peculiar.





Keeping the chickens in the wheelbarrow can be hard as a party chairman and dealing with factions and groups with divergent Republican views is certainly a chore to navigate on occasion but this chairman is proud to have the opportunity to help Good Republicans make positive changes in our lives.





We have been successful here because of our ability to connect with voters on issues of low taxes, public safety, education and family values. Those tenets will never change. We are united in those beliefs.





Republicans in Hamilton County have always held high offices because of their ability to lead and connect with our communities and I certainly dont expect that to change with the new faces coming in.





The Hamilton County Republican Party has always prided itself in banding together to support Conservative ideals in general elections and the numbers seem to continue to show that ahead of August 4th. We would love to have you join our team.





We are proud of the leaders we have here in our beloved county. Soon, we will have a new Republican county mayor, a Republican district attorney and a Republican-led County Commission. I am and you will be incredibly proud of the crop of folks we have taking the helm.





Thanks, Ms. Eidson, for helping with our Get out The Vote Campaign. I'm sorry your candidates didn't win in May but dont fret, ours will win next week if they keep working. And I know they will.





I implore all Republicans in Hamilton County to get out and support our slate on the ballot. Early voting is going on now through Saturday, July 30, with Election Day Thursday, Aug. 4.





We look forward to sprinting through the finish line.





Arch Trimble, IV

HCGOP Chairman

* * *
Charles Reif, brewer and bottler at Chattanooga, was among those living very close to downtown in the 200 block of Poplar Street on Cameron Hill.

The Reifs were originally from Cincinnati, but had arrived in Chattanooga by 1890. George Reif Sr. was from the Kork province of Baden, Germany. He and his wife, Louisa Elizabeth Mueller, lived with their son, George Reif Jr., at 327 Poplar. Charles Reif lived for many years at 507 Chestnut St. before moving to Poplar.

The Reifs were originally in the butcher trade, but at Chattanooga they became part owners of a large brewery on lower Broad Street that had been established by Conrad Geise & Company. It had the capacity for producing 50,000 barrels of beer a year. The brewing house itself was six stories high and was made of brick. The brewery complex also included an ice factory, a building for stables and bottling, and a large wagon house.

The Reifs renamed it the Chattanooga Brewing Company. George Reif Sr. was president until he died in 1899. His very capable wife then became president. It is said that she "was respected as being shrewd, efficient and one of the ablest women of Chattanooga. Louise Mueller Reif was said to have done more charity than any other woman of Chattanooga."

George Jr. and Charles worked their way up in the brewery. Charles became president after his mother's death in 1907. One of the productions while under his control was "Reif's Special." The brewery was closed by Prohibition and the massive structure was eventually dismantled. Reif turned his attention to his Chattanooga Tripure Water Company and Purity Extract and Tonic Company. The latter company produced "Grape Fizz" and "Tripure Cola," both of which were produced in unique three-cornered bottles.

Charles Reif also headed the Chattanooga Glass Company that was established at Alton Park. It was Tennessee's only glass works. The glass company was set up mainly to produce beer bottles for the Chattanooga Brewing Company. Afterward, thousands of Coca-Cola bottles were made there. Reif was also involved with the Chattanooga Pipe and Foundry Company and the Co-Operative Overall Company.

The Charles Reifs lived at 610 Cypress St. while a charming two-story home was being built for them at 219 Poplar St. next to the Grotes. There was a limestone wall out front and a set of steps leading to the hillside home. The house had a tile roof, several large awnings and several rooms that rose above the sleek roof line.

Charles Reif was known for his "generosity and human sympathy." In 1904, with the country trying to recover from another economic downturn, he was named the president of the Spring Festival Association. He was the perfect choice as he was "a great devotee of fun and wholesome sport."

He was first married to Rosa Wagner, of Newport, Ky. After her death he married her sister, Alma.

The Reifs had bought a house on Pied Piper Trail in the Fairyland subdivision on Lookout Mountain at the time of his death. He had been to the city and had put his car in the garage. He had locked the garage door and turned to enter the house when he died from a heart attack.

S.C. Klaus was enjoying the Reif house on Poplar Street near the time of Cameron Hill's doom.
After two failed searches for a town manager and two interim city managers since the retirement of Boyd Veal, Elaine Brunelle has been hired to fill the position. In the agreement with the town, compensation will be an annual salary of $110,000 and the same benefits provided to other employees, 10 vacation days and a $600 per month vehicle allowance. A unanimous vote of the council approved the contract at the meeting Monday night.

Items that were discussed at the council work session include a review of the towns oversight of the Signal Mountain Elementary Preservation Fund (SMEPF), which is currently running the Mountain Arts Community Center (MACC). In October 2021, the town entered into a Memorandum of Agreement with the SMEPF for daily operations and management of the Mountain Arts Community Center, formerly managed by a MACC Board. With the new agreement the MACC board was suspended until further discussion, which took place on Monday.

The council is happy with the programming and work done to the building, but not with the financial reporting. From the financial report it received, the council was unable to know what was spent on the programming and what was spent on the building. When the agreement was made, the town council gave the Preservation Fund authority to make decisions without the councils approval, but some financial responsibilities are taken care of by the town which also owns the property and building and leases it to the Preservation fund. To ensure that arts programming continues there for a long time in a manner that the town wants, the council wants to have some oversight. The question is if that comes from filling the MACC board and if so with how many members, or if oversight should come from directly from the council in some form. No permanent decision was agreed upon, and it will be addressed again in six months. Until then, Council Member Elizabeth Baker will be the council representative to meet with the Preservation Fund to let them know the councils concerns.

The Municipal Technical Advisory Service (MTAS) ,which provides assistance to cities and towns in Tennessee, is helping Signal Mountain with two studies. It has been a long time since the city codes were updated and that is needed. The process to update each code is lengthy since each one is gone over line by line to see if it continues to be relevant and to make revisions. The town will pay $7,300 for the detailed in-depth look into the code.

MTAS will also be conducting a study for each of the towns departments. Prioritized by the council, the first department to be reviewed will the Fire Department, followed by Building Codes, the Parks and Recreation and the Police Department. The administrative and finance departments will be studied last.

Signal Mountain is planning to develop a social media policy and at the council meeting the board made suggestions of what guidelines to include. Suggestions include a way to remove people using false identification such as comments that come from a fake person. Which platforms to select, such a Facebook or Twitter, and the ability for the towns boards to have a page.

Signal Mountain will be acquiring equipment so meetings can be live streamed or recorded for posting later. Another feature that would be useful is to be able to project content from a computer onto a screen for all present to see, such as for conducting interviews. Some sound equipment is already available, but cameras and streaming equipment is needed and the old and new can be used together. The council members are looking for multiple cost estimates. Ease of operation for the system will be important. Itemizing the cost of each element is wanted so it will be known which elements are too expensive.

There was also a discussion about if bonds are needed for elected officials and clerks. Per the city code, council members, town manager and recorder must have a $250,000 surety bond. Employees who handle and disperse money must have a $100,000 bond. This went into effect in 2005 but the town has been out of compliance with no employees bonded. Before voting on authorizing purchase of the bonds, the city manager was asked to find if they were transferable if a new person took over a position, and if the towns insurance would provide the same coverage. Ms. Brunelle was also asked to find if this is required by the state law and, if so, for which positions.

Public Works Director Loretta Hopper had to come back to the council for an additional $25,000 to buy a tractor with a boom arm that was approved previously. When the order was being placed, she was told the company had inadvertently sent the quote for the wrong type of tractor. This piece of equipment will replace one that is no longer functional. The additional cost was approved for the tractor that will take six-eight months to receive. In the meantime, one is on loan from Hamilton County to mow and trim.

An interconnection between the Signal Mountain Water Company and Walden Ridge Utility District has been suggested for the two communities to ensure the availability of water in the case of an emergency. The council approved for Matt Justice, water utility director, to offer $60,000 toward the cost, with Walden contributing labor which is about the same value. This will leave enough money that comes from the state to help make repairs on Signal Mountains pump station.

Signal Mountain has 1,200 customers on the WWTA sewer system. Who will do billing for sewer services is in the process of being decided. Currently, sewer fees for those customers are being included on the towns water bill. At this time, there is no formal agreement between WWTA and Signal Mountains water company for the cost of this billing service. Until there is a written agreement, Signal Mountain will charge WWTA $4,500 a month to bill the sewer customers on Signal Mountain, Mr. Justice told the council. He and the city manager will negotiate the best rate they can for doing the billing. If WWTA ends up doing their own billing, the customers will begin to receive two separate bills, one for water and another for sewer.

The next Signal Mountain Council meeting will be August 8 at 6 p.m.
Continuing his winning streak with more money Monday, Jonathan Davenport of Blairsville, Ga. pounced on the World of Outlaw Late Models at Boone Speedway to the tune of $20,000 for the Hawkeye 50.

JD grabbed the lead early from fourth finishing Tyler Bruening of Iowa and was never seriously threatened, even when a lap 40 caution reset the field behind the "Nutrien Ag Solutions" racer.

Series points leader Dennis Erb Jr of Illinois rallied to second just ahead of Tennessean Mike Marlar.

Bobby Pierce (IL) rounded out the top five finishers officially.

Georgian Shane Clanton was eighth and Tennessean Jimmy Owens finished tenth overall.

Tuesday race teams head to Davenport (of no relation) Speedway in Iowa for a $10,000 to win Mid-Atlantic Racing Series event.

Also down in Georgia, the Toccoa Speedway hosts a $10,067 to win Tuesday nighter with the Schaefer's Oil Southern Nationals series.

Both Tuesday events will be broadcast live of Floracing.com for subscribers.
A man who was shot and killed at the City View Apartments on June 12 caught a stray bullet as he lay in bed in his unit playing cards on his computer, police said.

Detectives said Jamaal Cameron Lee White, 22, fired a barrage of shots at a vehicle after seeing a woman get out of his car and go into the other vehicle.

Police responded to the City View Apartments at 2709 Citico Ave. at approximately 10:30 p.m. on June 12 on report of a person shot.



Police found Cecil Scoffield in an apartment in Building B suffering from a gunshot wound to the torso. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

A woman was located nearby in her blue Nissan Sentra with a gunshot wound to the back. Another woman was in the vehicle, and confirmed to be a passenger in the vehicle at the time of the shooting. The vehicle had numerous bullet holes to multiple sides of the vehicle and officers located multiple spent 9mm casings and evidence of shootings at the scene.



Investigators collected 17 shell casings and a side mirror from the blue car, which was several hundred feet from the apartment. Investigators found the side mirror to be missing from the Nissan Sentra, and multiple bullet holes in the hood, windshield and driver's side.

Police said evidence and a timeline indicated the Nissan was traveling west down the hill close to Buildings G and H when it was fired on. It appeared the shooter "tracked" the Nissan as it passed by, resulting in rounds being fired in multiple directions, including downhill towards Building B. One round fired toward the Nissan appeared to have traveled downhill, passing through Cecil Scoffield's computer screen, striking him as he sat on his bed playing cards.

Witnesses on scene told investigators the shooter was White, a resident of Building H. Witnesses said he owns a gray BMW 328i and that on that day, White saw a person inside his vehicle without permission. They said that person then got into a nearby vehicle and attempted to flee the scene. Witnesses said White then positioned himself between that vehicle and any available exit and proceeded to fire on that vehicle as it attempted to flee.



Upon further investigation, police determined the passenger in the Nissan was the person who had been inside White's vehicle.



Police made numerous attempts to reach White between June 15 and July 20, but he did not respond. Police said during this time, White's family members gave police false information about his whereabouts. On July 20, White was observed driving his gray BMW in Gwinnett County, Ga. and was detained by officers there.



White is charged with criminal homicide, two counts of attempted first-degree murder and reckless endangerment of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
Tennessee Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III is leading a 22-state coalition along with Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokit that "seeks to stop the Biden Administration from enforcing an expansive and unlawful interpretation of federal anti-discrimination laws under the threat of withdrawing key food assistance program funding."

The states filed a lawsuit concerning a mandate on "gender identity discrimination" on Tuesday in the Eastern District of Tennessee.

In the complaint, the multi-state coalition "challenges new regulations issued by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) that attempt to force states and schools to adopt a new and unlawful application of the Supreme Courts decision in Bostock v. Clayton County as it applies to anti-discrimination requirements.

These transformative changes were made without providing the States and other stakeholders the opportunity for input as required by the Administrative Procedures Act (APA)."

On June 14, a coalition of 26 attorneys general called on President Biden to withdraw the USDAs guidance in this letter.

This case is, yet again, about a federal agency trying to change law, which is Congress exclusive prerogative, said General Slatery. The USDA simply does not have that authority. We have successfully challenged the Biden Administrations other attempts to rewrite law and we will challenge this as well.

Tennessee challenged similar guidance issued by the U.S. Department of Education and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The District Court recently enjoined the federal government from enforcing that guidance as applied directly to schools and employers.

The multi-state coalition asks the Court to declare the USDA memoranda and rule invalid and unlawful and to prohibit enforcement.

Joining Tennessee on the lawsuit are the attorneys general from the following states: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and West Virginia.
The Morning Pointe Foundation, with guest speaker Matthew Kodsi, Ph.D., vice president of medical affairs for CHI Memorial, will offer a webinar, Understanding Alzheimers and Dementia, on Sept. 7.

Dr. Kodsi is a neurologist with more than 25 years of experience.



The presentation will be the latest in the Morning Pointe Foundations Caregiver Cafe series,

free, registration-only webinars providing education for seniors, their families and other

caregivers.



The session will include information on signs and symptoms of Alzheimers disease to watch for,

treatments and interventions, as well as the latest research finds on the disease. Dr. Kodsi will

address topics such as the difference between Alzheimers and other types of dementia, risk

factors for Alzheimers, the three stages of Alzheimers and what resources are available to help

families dealing with a diagnosis.



Caregiving for a person with dementia is a very personal journey, and can be quite lonely,

said Amy French, senior manager of programs and education for the Alzheimers Association

office in Chattanooga. That's why it's so important to connect with others who travel a similar

path, to learn and grow together and to support each other along the way. The Alzheimer's

Association has partnered with Morning Pointe for over 20 years through education and

support programming that is inclusive of everyone, in all communities. We hope you'll join us

on Sept. 7 for an evening of learning and meaningful connection with Dr. Matt Kodsi.



To register, go to morningpointe.com/caregivercafe. The ongoing Morning Pointe Caregiver

Cafe wellness series connects experts on senior living and care with those experiencing the

physical and mental effects of aging for free. The site also shows the full calendar of scheduled

speakers. The Morning Pointe Foundation Caregiver Cafe takes place every other month.



Registrants can watch the webinar live or register and watch later at their convenience.
Days after Chattanooga native Sania Khan was tragically killed by her ex-husband in Chicago, former classmates developed a memorial scholarship in her memory.

After recoiling from and continuing to process this traumatic news, friends of Sania concluded that the best way to honor Sanias memory would be to develop a memorial scholarship in her name.

Her friends said, during Sania's life she led by example. She was a role-model to everyone she met. She shattered social norms in many ways. Sania empowered women by not being afraid to be who she was. She was too strong of an energy to put herself in a box. She didn't follow the status quo. She was a rebel, and a force to be reckoned with. She wasn't afraid of ruffling any feathers while being who she was. She was a freethinker.

Former classmates of Sania and co-advisors to the Sania Khan Memorial Scholarship, James R. Cummins and Cora-Leigh ONeal, reflect on their decision to develop the fund and who it would benefit:

Sania was whip-smart, wise, and kind to everyone. Her passion and thirst for life were palatable to anyone who came in contact with her. Sania studied Psychology and Women Studies at UTC- although her passion always was photography. We thought the best way to remember her with a scholarship was to have one based off her passion.

One of Sania's former teachers, Carmen Veller, remembered Sania as, "a beacon to many communities." She further states, "CSAS is grieving mightily as we remember our beautiful, brilliant, and curious girl! It is no surprise to those of us who taught her that she spent her life recording the beauty in others' lives; her talent has always been celebrating the joy and radiance of others."

In the spirit of Sania, the Sania Khan Memorial Scholarship will be awarded to a female graduate of Chattanooga School for Arts & Sciences with a minimum high-school GPA of 3.5 and a desire to further her education in fine arts through the UT system.

Contribute to the Sania Khan Memorial Scholarship fund here: https://generositytrust.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create/fund?funit_id=2041

Donors can choose a one-time or monthly donation.



A statement from Sanias friends: "Due to the nature of Sania's passing, we, her friends, feel that an announcement of this nature would not be complete without mentioning resources for those who are victims of domestic violence. If you or someone you know is a victim or potential victim of domestic violence, please reach out for help from the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233 or by texting 'START' to 88788.

"Additionally, we would like to mention the organization Sakhi for South Asian Women, who assist those suffering from or who are survivors of domestic violence. This movement is committed to serving survivors through a combination of efforts including -but not limited to- direct services, advocacy, organizing, housing and technical assistance, and community outreach. Their helpline can be reached Monday-Friday from 10 a.m.-10 p.m. at (212) 868-6741 or by text at (305) 204-1809.


July 25, 2022 (Morning Star News)  Severe persecution of Hmong Christians is underway in Nghe An Province in Vietnam.

In the central Vietnam province, officials vying with each other to create Christian-free zones operate with no conscience or humanity, as if they were in a different country than the one whose religious freedom measures they are violating, Christian leaders say.

Authorities put immense pressure on animist relatives to drive Christians from their homes, exiling them from family, livelihood and community with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Some Christians have been forcibly separated from spouse and children, home and fields, sometimes even their wedding rings, if they persist in their faith. Then officials wash their hands and say these outrages are purely family matters.

The only way out is for the offending Christians to recant and revert to the animistic practices of their ancestral religion. Most steadfastly refuse to give up their new-found faith, which they testify has freed them from demonic oppression.

More often than individuals, it is entire extended Christian families who are driven from their homes, but earlier this month one mother was separated from caring for her two sons. Though only 33, Lau Y Pa has two teenage sons whom she was unable to contact. When Morning Star News met with her on July 10, wet tissues were piled in front of her as she had just learned that another newly Christian relative, Lay Y Tong, had suffered the same fate.

Such suffering, which has been quietly going on for years (especially in Nghe An Province), has hit mainly members of the not-yet-legally recognized Vietnam Good News Mission Church (VNGNMC) and the officially recognized Evangelical Church of Vietnam-North (ECVN-N).

The VNGNMC connects its victims with congregations and Christians able to shelter them in the provincial capital of Vinh, or in Saigon or Hanoi.

Both church organizations report the worst violations of religious liberty are taking place in the Ky Son District communes of Huoi Tu and Na Ngoi. Two extended families of 13 and 19 people in the Na Ngoi commune villages of Khu Kha I and Ka Duoi respectively have been regularly pressured and persecuted since April, when they were officially accepted as members of the government-recognized ECVN-N.

Gangs of top local officials and police officers, numbering up to 20, come repeatedly, sometimes in the middle of the night, browbeating and bullying them and threatening worse unless they return to spirit worship. Refusal to recant for these families has meant the seizing of their livestock, crops, fields and farm machinery and tools, the ransacking of their homes and cutting off their electricity. It has resulted even in refusal to let their neighbors charge their cell phones.

In the worse cases, villagers are pressured into seizing all the Christians property and driving them out of their community. This has happened regularly to ethnic minority families in various parts of northern Vietnam in recent years; such treatment leaves less photographical evidence than beatings but has graver consequences.

ECVN-N leaders have appealed to local officials and federal agencies for redress by phone and in writing, pointing out that government officials are breaking specific articles of the national Law on Belief and Religion. Church leaders attempts to visit the persecuted have been blocked, and they have received no response from any government agency.

The VNGNMC has written and/or phoned the commune, four district level agencies, four provincial level ones, and five federal ones. These appeals cite provisions of Vietnams religion law that authorities have broken. Church leaders have received no reply, leading them to believe they have no redress.

The VNGNMC also has just reported the case of Vu Ba Sua; because of her faith, officials have refused to register the birth of her baby, now over 2 months old. This makes the child ineligible for social benefits.

Sua took the child to the Ky Son hospital for a lung infection but was refused help. The hospital informed her that no Christians in Ky Son District were eligible for any government assistance. Further, because Sua and her husband made it clear they would not give up their faith, officials came to their home and confiscated livestock the government had earlier provided them.

Nghe An Province is the birthplace of Ho Chi Minh and thus proudly considered the cradle of the communist revolution. Officials compete for the honor of calling their jurisdiction a Christian-free zone.

Church leaders have found that they are sometimes better off working out problems quietly with local officials rather than reporting abuses for international exposure and advocacy. At this point, without any response to months of patient and polite requests for redress, the church leaders are left with no choice but to ask for international assistance and pressure. The serious religious liberty abuses in Nghe An Province, completely contrary to Vietnams own laws, beg for an international spotlight.

It is easy to blame solely recalcitrant local outlier officials, but the refusal of any Vietnamese authority to intervene is inexcusable and argues for embarrassing exposure and international accountability.

The urgent request of church leaders was, Please intervene for our persecuted Christians now!

If you would like to help persecuted Christians, visit http://morningstarnews.org/resources/aid-agencies/ for a list of organizations that can orient you on how to get involved.

If you or your organization would like to help enable Morning Star News to continue raising awareness of persecuted Christians worldwide with original-content reporting, please consider collaborating at https://morningstarnews.org/donate/?

Article originally published by Morning Star News. Used with permission.

Photo courtesy: Sam Williams/Unsplash
The field is set for Nigerias 2023 presidential election, leaving its Christian citizens in a quandary.

In selecting candidates to replace the current head of state, Muhammadu Buhari, one dominant political party ignored customary protocols ensuring geographic rotation of power, while the other partyin the face of severe warningsabandoned the customary commitment to religious representation.

Believers may desert them both.

Africas most-populous nation is roughly divided between a majority Muslim north and a majority Christian south. An unwritten agreement has rotated the presidency between the two regions. Buhari, a Muslim, hails from Borno State in the northeast.

The first transgression, by geography, happened in May when the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) nominated Atiku Abubakar from Adamawa State, also in Nigerias northeast. A Muslim, he chose as his vice-presidential running mate Ifeanyi Okowa, the Christian governor of Delta State in the south.

One month later, the incumbent All Progressives Congress (APC) nominated Bola Tinubu, the Muslim former governor of Lagos State in the south. But since he hails from a Christian region, fears were raised that his Muslim rival for president might sweep the northviewed by many as a more reliable voting bloc. Speculation was rampant he would choose a Muslim vice-presidential candidate to compensate.

We will consider such action as a declaration of war, warned the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), which represents almost all the nations Protestants and Catholics. We  will mobilize politically against any political party that sows the seed of religious conflict. CAN also opposes any Christian-Christian political ticket as well.

Similar statements were issued by two of CANs five blocs: the Pentecostal Fellowship of NigeriaMeet us at the polls, it saidand the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria.

Opposition extended beyond religion.

The civil society Middle Belt Forum warned the APC against breaking Nigerian unity. And a leaked security reportdenied by Buharisaid such a choice would destabilize the nation and risk Christian lives.

Tinubu defied them all.

I believe this is the man who can help me bring the best governance to all Nigerians, he said on July 10, defending his selection of the Muslim former governor of Borno, Kashim Shettima. In this crucial moment, where so much is at stake, we must prioritize leadership, competence, and the ability to work as a team over other considerations.

The vice president of Nigeria holds no formal power. But Christians were aghast at the affront.

In a country with 100 million people in each religion, are you saying there is no competent Christian who can be your partner? asked Samson Ayokunle, the outgoing president of CAN. If you are picking a Muslim, it means you have an agenda.

Ayokunle, a Baptist, assured that CAN, which this week will rotate to new leadership, has no preference in terms of political parties. Tinubu governed Lagos well, he said, and Abubakar has never picked a fight with Christians.

However, CAN said loud and clear that we will teach a lesson to any party with a Muslim-Muslim ticket, Ayokunle told CT. The only complication? Christians have not been voting enough.

It may be about to change.

Denominations across Nigeria have launched voter registration campaigns. Some churches have even barred Christians from Sunday worship until they present their personal voter card, said Joseph Hayab, CAN chairman for Kaduna State in Nigerias north.

Government was instituted by God, he said. I would be an irresponsible child to not be involved, as I have to take care of my Fathers property.

A Baptist, Hayab said the Nigeria Baptist Convention first centered this issue in its 2018 general assembly, seeking to reverse a mentality that originated with foreign missionaries 150 years ago. Back then, Hayab said, Nigerian Christians came to learn that politics was dirty, to be left to those less strong in the faith. And over time, Nigerian Muslims took over.

Today Hayab urges believers to join all political parties, in order to change them from within. While critical of the APC decision, he called also for introspection.

Perhaps it is the Christians in that party that are incompetent, he said, in their capacity to mobilize support for their party.

But if the vice-presidential choice will motivate Christians against the APC, the PDP also faces a religious hurdle. Last May, Abubakar deleted a tweet condemning the mob murder of Deborah Samuel, who was accused of blasphemy against Islam, when he faced Muslim pushback in the north.

One comment claimed the condemnation would cost him one million votes in Sokoto, home to Nigerias ancient sultanate, despite the Muslim council condemning the killing. Earlier this month at the International Religious Freedom Summit in Washington, an official representative of the sultan signed a Declaration for a Peaceful and Secure Nigeria with Ayokunle.

People feel they might not be able to vote for someone who cannot stand firm, the CAN president said of Abubakar. Others feel that all previous governments have failed, so why vote for anyone?

The youth wing of CAN vowed to withhold votes from any candidate who does not clearly condemn Samuels murder. Tinubuwhose wife is an ordained pastor in the Redeemed Christian Church of God, a prominent Pentecostal denominationhas kept mum.

Gideon Para-Mallam has not.

At the time, the former Jos-based Africa ambassador for the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students called for calm as he joined protests against the killing. He laid blame on the Buhari administration, and his words are even stronger now.

The party is a disservice to Nigeria and humanity, said Para-Mallam. Another APC presidency will usher in full genocide.

The problems predate Buharis eight years in power. Since 1999, Christian advocates blame militants among the Fulani herdsmen, who are predominantly Muslim, for the deaths of over 20,000 mostly Christian farmers and the displacement of hundreds of thousands. Since 2009, Boko Haram, a jihadist terrorist group, has killed 35,000 Muslims and Christians alike.

But in recent years, attacks on churches have escalated: 18 tallied in 2020, and 31 the following year. The first six months of 2022 have witnessed 23. Open Doors ranked Nigeria an ignoble No. 1 in its annual global tally of Christians killed (4,650) or abducted (2,510), as well as Christians homes and shops attacked (a symbolic tally of 1,000 each), for faith-based reasons.

Nigeria is ranked No. 7 overall on the World Watch List of the 50 countries where it is hardest to be a Christian. Open Doors USA recently highlighted 10 Nigerian martyrs over the past decade, most within the past few years.

Though there are honorable politicians within the APC, at the national level it is full of bigotry, a party of deceit, said Para-Mallam. Bringing the latter somewhat out into the open, one APC official said the factors in choosing a vice-presidential candidate went beyond their competency.

Politics is all about strategy for winning election, said Usman Garba, from Kaduna. In the current situation, it is strategic to pick a Muslim from the North.

Such an arrangement was last attempted three decades agoand won. But it was quickly scuttled by a military coup, and democratic governance did not return until 1999.

I will not and cannot ignore the religious concerns and ethnic sensitivities of our people, said Tinubu in a 35-point statement. Yet, he argued, The spirit of 1993 is upon us again in 2023.

Will it work? Para-Mallam counsels Christians and fair-minded Muslims to cast their ballot for Peter Obi, the presidential nominee of the smaller Labor partyfor his competency, not for his faith or ethnicity. From Anambra State in the southeast, the Catholic politician has chosen Muslim former senator Yusuf Baba-Ahmed, from Kaduna, as his running mate.

Some media reports have touted the 60-year-old candidate as popular with the youthcompared to the 75-year-old Abubakar or the 70-year-old Tinubu. Though infrequent at the polls, Nigerias younger voters could represent up to 70 percent of the electorate if mobilized.

Obi may have difficulty winning over other demographics, however. Baba-Ahmed was criticized for his comments stating he wants to be known for his qualifications, not as a Muslim or a northerner.

Christian sources validated this perspective to CT; however, they also say it is not yet viable at the national level.

Ordinarily, there would have been nothing wrong with a Muslim-Muslim or Christian-Christian ticket in a democratic dispensation if  the overriding desire for seeking political office is the fostering of the common good, stated the Catholic Secretariat. But one cannot really say so of our country at the moment.

Last month, dozens were killed in a terrorist attack during Mass.

With seven months until the first round of presidential elections, time remains for voters to gravitate to the outsider Christian contestant, the PDPs split religious ticket, or the APCs Muslim-Muslim duo. A runoff will take place unless one candidate tops 50 percent overall, with at least 25 percent of votes in 24 of Nigerias 36 states.

Many people are saying it is not the turn of Muslims to take over from a Muslim, said Ayokunle. We have seen eight years of instability; we need fresh water.
South Africa: Over 350 000 online school applications processed in Gauteng

The Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) says 350 207 Grade 1 and 8 online admission applications have been successfully processed since the start of the application period on Friday, 22 July.

As of Monday, the department said its Online Admissions System recorded a total of 151 949 applications made for Grade 1 and 198 258 applications made for Grade 8. This brings the total of applications made to 350 207.

On 22 July, the GDE call centre received an average of 1 700 calls per hour related to the 2023 online admissions.

Today, about 350 calls were attended per hour. In addition, on Friday, the GDE WhatsApp line received about 3 200 messages, while today, about 7 200 enquiries were recorded.

Accordingly, all these enquiries were efficiently managed by our team. It looks like the WhatsApp line is a game changer, as more people prefer sending their enquiries through that medium, the GDE said on Monday.

The 2023 Online Admissions application period for Grade 1 and 8 will close on 19 August 2022 at midnight.

To apply, parents and guardians must visit www.gdeadmissions.gov.za and register to create unique login credentials for their application profile.

The department has urged all parents to either submit certified copies of the required documentation to the schools they applied to, or upload the documents onto the Online Admissions System. Applicants cannot submit at schools and upload onto the system.

Gauteng Education MEC, Panyaza Lesufi, said the department is pleased at the progress its system has made in processing the large amount of applications.

Indeed, improvement introduced to the system played a significant role in the smooth running of the system. Parents and guardians can reach out to us on our respective platforms if they need assistance with applying, said Lesufi.

For assistance with applying, applicants are welcome to contact the departments call centre on 0800 000 789 or WhatsApp on 060 891 0361.

Applicants, who do not have internet access or the resources required to apply, are urged to visit their nearest district office or the departments decentralised walk-in centres to be assisted.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2022-07-26. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Chinese FM stresses peace, stability in South China Sea for regional development

Xinhua) 08:41, July 26, 2022

BEIJING, July 25 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said here on Monday that peace and stability in the South China Sea are important prerequisites for regional development.

Wang made the remarks when addressing the opening ceremony of a seminar commemorating the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) by video.

The DOC is the first political document signed by China and ASEAN countries on the South China Sea issue. It establishes the basic principles and common norms for all parties to handle the South China Sea issue, Wang noted.

Stressing that regional countries are the real parties that are responsible for properly handling the South China Sea issue, Wang called on all parties to continue to keep the bottom line of peace in the area.

All sides should firmly support all efforts that are conducive to peaceful settlement and management of disputes, oppose any words and deeds that create tension and provoke confrontation in the region, Wang said.

Wang also called for improving bilateral and multilateral maritime-related dialogue mechanisms, establishing and advancing the cooperation mechanism between coastal countries, actively promoting practical cooperation in scientific research, environmental protection, search and rescue and other fields, and the discussion of the joint development of resources.

Calling for stronger institutional guarantees for managing differences and promoting cooperation, Wang said China will continue to uphold the principle of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness in its neighborhood diplomacy, and work with ASEAN countries to be a defender of maritime peace, a builder of maritime order, a promoter of maritime cooperation, and a contributor to maritime development.

(Web editor: Wu Chaolan, Liang Jun)
Louisiana withholds $39M from New Orleans' Sewage & Water Board for not enforcing abortion ban

Louisiana's Bond Commission has agreed to withhold a $39 million line of credit from New Orleans over city officials' refusal to enforce the state's abortion ban.

Last week, the commission voted 12-2 to withhold the line of credit for a Sewerage & Water Board New Orleans power plant while allowing millions of dollars to go to other projects, according to local media outlet WWL-TV.

New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell called the decision "disappointing and appalling," stating that "abortion remains legal statewide" due to an injunction.

"What also remains is the fact that we are in the middle of another above-average hurricane season, in which this city needs its entire Sewerage and Water Board system performing at its peak in order to protect vital assets, businesses and residents from flooding," Cantrell said.

Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry said in a statement that it is a matter of making sure that New Orleans, which may get the line of credit approved next month, follows state law.

"The same folks who have turned the Crescent City into America's murder capital by refusing to prosecute violent crime must now choose whether they prioritize playing partisan politics over granting basic amenities for their constituents," stated Landry.

"I hope they come before the Bond Commission to explain why New Orleans should continue to receive millions of taxpayer dollars while refusing to comply with the laws enacted by our Legislature as required by our State Constitution."

Louisiana is one of several states to pass a trigger law, a near-total ban on abortion that went into effect after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the 1973 decision Roe v. Wade, effectively allowing states to ban abortion.

Pro-choice groups filed a lawsuit against Louisiana in an attempt to prevent the trigger law from taking effect.

Last week, Judge Donald Johnson in Baton Rouge issued a preliminary injunction against the ban, which will remain in effect until the litigation is resolved and allows for the state's three abortion clinics to continue operating.

Abortion bans are in place in states neighboring Louisiana, including Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina.
Disney Plus breaks promise to stay family friendly, adds R-rated movies

A conservative media watchdog group is slamming Disney Plus for breaking its promise not to add R-rated movies to the streaming platform.

On Friday, Parents Television and Media Council announced that Disney Plus made R-rated Deadpool, Deadpool 2, and Logan available to subscribers today.

In 2019, the blog Whats On Disney Plus reported that Disney Plus would only include content with ratings of PG-13 or softer and that more adult-oriented content the Walt Disney Company acquired from its purchase of 20th Century Fox would be distributed on its other streaming platform, Hulu.

Three years ago, the Walt Disney Company made a promise to families, PTC President Tim Winter recalled. No R-rated movies on Disney+, they said. Its a family focused platform, they said. We have Hulu for our edgier adult fare, they said. It turns out they were lying to us. After decades of corporate brilliance establishing itself as the worlds most trusted brand for families, todays C-level suite at Disney has decided to flush it all down the toilet.

Noting that Disney+ points subscribers to its parental controls, Winter insisted that the mere presence of R-rated and TV-MA rated content violates the trust and sensibilities of families. He expressed disappointment that what took decades to build is now taking mere months to erase.

One day in the no-too-distant future, business schools will point back to this corrupt corporate U-Turn as they analyze what happened to the once-great Walt Disney Company, he predicted. In the meantime, families will continue to be woefully underserved by Hollywood.

Melissa Henson, program director for the PTC, elaborated on her concerns with Disney Plus embrace of R-rated programming in an interview with The Christian Post.

People who are looking for MA-rated content have  an abundance of streaming platforms that offer that kind of content, she said. There are very few streaming platforms that offer only family-friendly content. Disney Plus was one of them. And now, no longer Disney Plus. So, there are fewer and fewer really truly safe options for families.

Henson told CP that there are a few competitors out there, specifically mentioning the video filtering service VidAngel, which can be used on top of an existing streaming service such as Disney Plus.

That allows you to apply content filters so that you can block specific types of content that you dont want your child to see, whether its language, whether its sexual situations or violence, drug use, alcohol use. You have the option to turn on filters so that it will skip  over that content so that your kids arent seeing it, she explained.

Additionally, Henson pointed to Angel Studios and UP Faith & Family as family-friendly streaming services available to parents dissatisfied with the programming available on existing streaming platforms. She urged consumers to put pressure on these streamers to provide more consistency in how the ratings are applied, to have more consistency in how the parental controls are applied and to make sure that there are safe spaces in the streaming universe for family audiences.

Disney Plus embrace of R-rated content is not the first time the streaming service has faced criticism for the material available on the platform. Earlier this year, Disney Plus added six Marvel television series with ratings of TV-MA to the collection. The TV-MA rating is the equivalent of an R rating, indicating that the material should be available to mature audiences only.

Even before Disney Plus began content explicitly designed for adults, the company had started to incorporate topics described by critics as inappropriate for young children into programming marketed as family-friendly.

Last year, the streaming service announced that a reboot of the animated series The Proud Family would feature same-sex parents as characters. In 2020, the short film Out, which included a gay main character, premiered on the platform.

The reboot of The Proud Family is not the only example of the Walt Disney Company working to introduce LGBT ideology to children. A lesbian was one of the main characters in Onward, an animated feature film produced by Disneys Pixar Animation Studio.

Additionally, the Walt Disney Company created a Pride Collection line for children ahead of June, which is recognized by LGBT activists as Pride Month. Sweaters, T-shirts and baby clothes bearing the rainbow flag that has come to symbolize the LGBT movement are available for purchase in the shopDisney online store, retail shops and at theme parks.

Leaked video footage obtained by Christopher Rufo of the Manhattan Institute and City Journal reveals Disney officials admitting to regularly adding queerness to childrens programming.

The video footage was taken shortly after Disney emerged as an outspoken critic of a Florida law derided by critics as the Dont Say Gay Bill, which prevents school officials from discussing topics related to sexual orientation and gender identity with students in kindergarten through third grade.

Henson cited the integration of LGBT ideology into childrens programming and Disney Plus addition of R-rated content to its portfolio as evidence that there seems to be a general movement from Disney away from its roots. She recalled that founder Walt Disney wanted to bring families together by producing content that would bring families together and unite families.

It seems that the current leadership of Disney is moving away from that and instead choosing programming thats divisive, that is going to cause families to split up and go to separate corners of the house, she added.

Henson maintained that this phenomenon has led to mom and dad in one room watching the R-rated content, [and] the kids in another room watching the G-rated content, instead of trying to provide a place where families can sit down and enjoy the same content at the same time.
Gunmen rob pastor, congregants of over $1M in jewelry during service, leaving them traumatized

Popular Brooklyn Bishop Lamor Whitehead, who has often been criticized for being too flashy because he drives expensive cars and adorns himself with jewelry, says his family and congregation were left "traumatized" Sunday after multiple masked gunmen entered their church and stripped them of more than $1 million worth of jewelry before fleeing the scene.

Whitehead, who leads the Leaders of Tomorrow International Ministries, says the brazen attack caught on video made him "hurt" because "my church is hurt."

"The women and children that were in my church, my daughter, she's traumatized. Right now, she's still not even talking because of that experience. They had the gun in my 8-month-old's face. The women of my ministry, my wife, everybody is traumatized," Whitehead revealed to his 1.6 million followers on Instagram and Facebook in the aftermath of the attack.

Information from the New York City Police Department cited by The New York Post said three masked gunmen burst into Whitehead's church at around 11:14 a.m. The video of the incident shows Whitehead quickly surrendering to the gunmen as they relieved him, his wife and their congregation of their precious stones.

Police sources told The New York Times that more than $1 million in jewelry was stolen.

"As I was preaching, I seen three to four armed men come in," explained Whitehead, who said he quickly indicated to his congregants that they should get down as the gunman entered.

"I didn't know if they just wanted to shoot the church up or were just coming for a robbery. And they were all black men. They had masks, and they came in, and they took all of my wife's jewelry and all of my jewelry," Whitehead said.

"When I laid down on the floor and the young man came, the young man came and put the gun into my back, as you all see on the video. He took my watch, took my jewelry, took my bishop's ring, took my wedding band, and then they took my bishop's cross, and then I had my other chains underneath my shirt. And he tapped my back  and ripped my collar off just to get to my jewelry."

The New York City preacher, who said he turned his life around after an unfortunate encounter with the legal system and life in the streets, says he has been using his ministry to help his community, including gang members. But he said his ministry had been coming under attack from Satan recently.

"The enemy has been attacking Leaders of Tomorrow International Ministries for some time now. I don't put all of my business out, but we are a young, thriving ministry that we connect not only with the church but we connect with the streets. We connect with people that need help. I've helped so many gang members, so many just regular people in this ministry," he said.

Whitehead, who has in the past received support from NYC Mayor Eric Adams, was arrested in 2006 for a $2 million identity-theft scam. He served five years in prison but was released in 2013. He claims he was "falsely convicted and arrested for a crime I did not commit." The Brooklyn pastor had been sentenced to 11 1/3 to 34 years in prison for the crime.

"A few weeks ago, I was troubled with a phone call that there were speculations that there were guns in my church, and I had to let my attorney go handle that and deal with that. And I don't know if this is connected, but it is what it is," Whitehead said.

The pastor said that when the gunmen entered, they did not factor in that cameras would be recording. While he appealed to the public to help the NYPD catch the gunmen, he expressed faith that God's justice will prevail.

"I'm going to be straight with you guys. Everybody that knows me from the streets, you all know who I am. And if you have any information, inbox me because I'll rather them turn themselves in because those are the material things. It was hundreds of thousands of dollars in jewelry that was taken from me. And I say hundreds of thousands of dollars, and they knew it because they've been watching," he said.

"I need you all to understand who I am in the body of Christ. I don't care if you don't like me  but when you are anointed by God, when you are appointed by God, God will avenge. I don't have to do anything. God will avenge. That's why we know what car you were in, and that's why we know what you already look like," Whitehead said in his message to the gunmen.

Whitehead, who took many long pauses to restrain his anger, pointed to his history of being around criminals. He said that he had never been the victim of a robbery before the attack at his church on Sunday.

"To run inside of a church where all we do is praise the Lord, you can't say, 'I'm gangster this, I'm gangster that.' I'm in the church, preaching, right? If this would have happened in another setting, then it's still wrong. It is what it is. But to come into a church and to traumatize young women and children, the children are still crying, the women are still crying, my wife is crying. You did this to the church. The church where I'm sure your grandmother praised God," he said.

"You all brought guns in the church to do harm and to take something from a man of God and a woman of God," he added.

"I've been on these streets a long time, and ain't nobody never take nothing from me," he said after a long pause. "When I went to prison illegally, and they sentenced me to 11 1/3 to 34 years, ain't nobody take nothing from me. I was around every gangster, murderers, robbers, gang members. Ain't nobody never take nothing from me. And you all wait till I have a collar on in the pulpit preaching the word of God, preaching deliverance."

The attack on Whitehead's church came about two months after thieves decapitated angel statues and ripped a centuries-old solid gold tabernacle worth $2 million from the altar of St. Augustine Catholic Church, located at 116 6th Ave. in the Park Slope section of the New York City borough. The attack on that church happened when no one was inside.
Witches and warlocks: Meet the pastors who shared the Gospel for a decade in a hotbed of witchcraft

Two pastors who led a unique and fascinating ministry in Salem, Massachusetts  a hotbed of witchcraft and spiritual activity  believe Christians need to turn to unconditional love when trying to reach people in difficult or uncomfortable situations.

Guy and Tana Miller, the husband and wife who planted Remix Church in Salem in 2011 and ministered there 10 years before leaving, recently joined The Playing With Fire Podcast to discuss how they interacted with witches, Satanists and others in the community  and what some Christians get wrong when trying to reach these groups.

READ ALSO: Requests for Exorcism Reportedly Booming as Culture Dabbles in Occult

Their ministry, called Remix Church, came about after the couple felt prompted by God to provide pastoral care in Salem.

I was shocked to find out  there was only a couple, very small but faithful outreaches going on, Guy said. There wasnt a lot of evangelical  witness in Salem, and I was blown away.

Tana added, God clearly spoke to us to go into Salem.

Listen to Guy and Tana discuss their fascinating ministry in Salem:

The couple said, when they arrived, there had been a lot of damage done to biblical witness in the community, as extremists would often come into the area preaching hate. This would sometimes happen during the Halloween season when tourism is intense.

There was witness, and it was just the wrong kind, Guy said, explaining some ministers came during October and riled the community by preaching God hates witches and God hates gays.

So, the Millers launched their church and dove into one of the most exciting ministry experiences imaginable. Their first step, in light of the aforementioned divide, was to take a relational approach. They began to meet people, interact, show love, and make friends with some surprising people.

From transvestites to people who identified as mermen and warlocks, there was no shortage of individuals with whom to meet and get to know. They even ended up living next door to the official witch of Salem and also built a relationship there.

The Millers, who didnt sacrifice their beliefs or values in the process, said they relied on loving and listening to peoples stories, especially amid the natural tensions that followed.

You know how we handled that? Tana rhetorically asked. Unconditional love.

She continued, We wanted to meet everyone, love everyone, and get to know everyone personally, regardless of what they believed in.

Guy and Tana said their goal in heading to Salem wasnt to reach the witchcraft community specifically but a much broader effort of ministering to the city as a whole. Still, the many interactions they had with people from divergent backgrounds and beliefs left a mark.

I believe that whole time that we were there, that God placed us in Salem to plant seeds, Tana said, adding that another Christian couple is considering heading back to Salem to harvest those seeds.

READ ALSO: Transferred From the Kingdom of Darkness Into Light: Real-Life Teen Witch Who Should Be Dead Went From Casting Spells to Worshipping Jesus

Guy and Tana also explained some of the challenges of their decade-long ministry in Salem. While they didnt interact with any of the deep, dark evil that rages in underground elements of the city, they sometimes felt the spiritual heaviness.

This was the first time in our ministry lives when I would wake up in the middle of the night and just really feel an evil and have to pray it through, Tana said.

As for the witchcraft and other elements that rage in parts of Salem, Tana said its definitely real and that Christians need to be wise and on guard.

But these elements, the couple argued, arent dangerous for Christians rooted in truth.

First of all, its not dangerous to us, because we have the power of our testimonies and the blood of Jesus, Tana said.

Guy added that Gods not threatened by any of these practices  elements Christians are called not to partake in.

He said, the Holy Spirit is up to the task and pointed to realities about spiritual warfare that are detailed in Ephesians 6: mainly, the reality God gives believers the power to triumph amid spiritual battles.

Listen to Guy and Tana discuss their journey here.

This article was originally published on Faithwire.
Historic Presbyterian church cancels in-person worship after receiving threats

A prominent Presbyterian congregation in Texas, which traces its roots to the 19th century, was forced to cancel in-person worship due to threats against the church.

First Presbyterian Church of Dallas announced Saturday that it was closing down that weekend because an unnamed person had sent threatening messages to the Church indicating the potential for future harm.

Pastor Amos Disasa, who wrote the announcement, explained that last week, a person who had worshipped at FPC Dallas had sent a message via email that we perceived to threaten the safety of our community.

In response to the message, according to Disasa, the church contacted the Dallas Police Department, who reached out to the person about their threatening messages.

Upon review, their recommendation was to take immediate action to cancel weekend, in-person programming, including worship, which would allow DPD additional time to locate the person and assess the threat, said Disasa.

Disasa said that he was relieved to report that this isolated event has been addressed and that the person in question would not be permitted access to the church in the future.

Going forward, the person will be restricted from accessing our campus at any time by our security team. For the immediate future, and in addition to our private security staff, a DPD officer will be present during operating hours, he continued.

The pastor denied earlier local media reports that a bomb threat was made against the church and said it would operate under a regular schedule on Monday.

FPC Dallas still held a livestream service, which featured music from their Music Director Zach Light-Wells, plus a sermon by Disasa, who also explained the situation to those watching.

I am happy to report that God did not forget about us, said Disasa during the service. We are here in body, in spirit, prepared to receive the comfort of the Holy Spirit. Let us worship God.

FPC Dallas traces its origins to eleven people who first met in 1856, shortly after Dallas was incorporated into a city. The church got its first building in 1873 and its current building in 1913.
Bidens visit to the Middle East: One hit, many misses

During President Joe Bidens recent trip to the Middle East, he got one thing right: He affirmed the Abraham Accords.

These accords were a historic Trump administration accomplishment, achieving unprecedented peace between Israel, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. They had an immediate and dramatic effect  enabling, for instance, the first commercial flight from the UAE to Israel.

But he dramatically undercut this foreign policy success by backing a two-state solution and restoring American taxpayer-paid funding to Palestine.

Its important to understand what is at stake here: What has been gained, what we stand to lose, and why.

First, the Abraham Accords benefited the entire region, not just Israel. The entire region has enjoyed increased economic and academic benefits, not to mention the improvement in overall security. Trade between the UAE and Israel was greater than $1 billion in 2021  and that figure, of course, excludes the trade encouraged between the other nations of the Middle East.

Morocco and Israels national libraries settled on a cooperation agreement as travel between the nations picked up. Artists and scholars are traveling freely. These are undeniable successes. Biden was wise to praise the accords that made this all possible.

The two-state solution, on the other hand, would put regional stability at risk. As others have pointed out, a sovereign Palestine would quickly pose a severe security risk for both Israel and Jordan. Extremists are not marginal figures in Palestine  they are in control.

Whats more, Palestinian violence toward Israelis has risen in recent days as the influence of Hamas increases. Emboldening them by extending international legitimacy to the two-state solution while failing to condemn their actions isnt just imprudent, its dangerous.

Israel has a God-given right to defend itself on its own land. U.S. commitment to a dangerous, fragile, outdated geopolitical compromise undermines their ability to do so.

What makes matters worse is Bidens decision to award Palestinians with U.S. taxpayer dollars. America has funneled nearly half a billion dollars into Palestine just since April 2021. That aid ostensibly goes toward humanitarian work, civil relief efforts and advancing the rule of law, but vast amounts of it in fact fund terrorist organizations.

Its unfortunate that it must be said, but funding terrorist organizations is an egregious misuse of taxpayer dollars. It is also a grave foreign policy mistake, as it props up some of the most determined enemies of Israel, among our most precious and reliable allies.

Israel is the only true democracy in the Middle East, and a critical regional presence. It is the home of Judaism and Christianity, as well as a key strategic partner abroad. Its citizens deserve safety, and the whole world would benefit from a stable Middle East.

We must support Israel now, as we have done in the past. We cannot risk their safety  or the possibility of a stable, flourishing Middle East  for the sake of appeasing political radicals here in America.

Endorsing the two-state solution and providing taxpayer-funded aid to Palestinian extremists are unacceptably dangerous positions for a U.S. leader to take. Fewer than one in four Americans are confident in the presidency right now  and, it seems, for good reason.
Lambeth Conference nixes resolution language reaffirming biblical definition of marriage

Anglican Communion leaders will no longer consider a measure that would reaffirm the biblical definition of marriage as being between one man and one woman at their decennial conference following an outcry from theological liberals.

Shortly before the beginning of the Lambeth Conference in London, a major gathering of Anglican bishops that happens roughly every ten years and will run from July 26 to Aug. 8, organizers announced significant changes to a resolution that would have reaffirmed a 1998 statement opposing same-sex marriage.

In the days leading up to the conference, there was much outcry from liberal attendees over the inclusion of a call  similar to a resolution  that would define marriage as being exclusively "between a man and a woman."

The original draft language of the resolution in question, known as the Lambeth Call on Human Dignity, called for "a reaffirmation of Lambeth I.10 that upholds marriage as between a man and a woman and requires deeper work to uphold the dignity and witness of LGBTQ Anglicans."

In an announcement Tuesday, the conference shared updated language of the Lambeth Call on Human Dignity that is more neutral in rhetoric, noting that some provinces in the communion affirm same-sex marriage while others do not.

"Many Provinces continue to affirm that same gender marriage is not permissible. Lambeth Resolution I.10 (1998) states that the 'legitimizing or blessing of same sex unions' cannot be advised," states the present text.

"Other Provinces have blessed and welcomed same sex union/marriage after careful theological reflection and a process of reception. As Bishops we remain committed to listening and walking together to the maximum possible degree, despite our deep disagreement on

these issues."

The revision came in response to "widespread responses from bishops and others."

At first, attendees were told they could only respond to the call by either accepting it or saying that they felt it "requires further discernment."

Lambeth Conference organizers revealed that a third option would be given for attendees to choose from. The third response option states: "This Call does not speak for me. I do not add my voice to this Call."

Bishop Tim Thornton, the chair of the Lambeth Conference's Lambeth Calls subgroup, said in a statement that the committee listened "carefully and prayerfully to what bishops and many others have said in response to the draft Calls, especially that on Human Dignity."

"Archbishop Justin has invited the bishops of the Anglican Communion to come together as a family to listen, pray and discern  sometimes across deeply-held differences," Thorton said.

Jayne Ozanne, an LGBT activist in the Church of England, told The Guardian that while she supported the changes, she is "still deeply troubled by the tone of this communique."

"It does not appear to address any of the concerns relating to process that so many have flagged up, nor does it recognise the breakdown in trust that there is now in relation to the [discussions on sexuality and identity] here in England," said Ozanne.

Over the past several years, an increasingly divisive debate has hit the Anglican Communion's member churches related to the issues of homosexuality and gay marriage.

Although many members, like the United States-based Episcopal Church and the Church of Scotland, have embraced same-sex marriage, the fastest growing churches of the communion continue to reject same-sex marriage.

Among those in opposition to the original language of the Lambeth Call on Human Dignity were bishops of The Episcopal Church.

In 2016, a meeting of Anglican Primates hosted by Archbishop Justin Welby voted to suspend The Episcopal Church from its membership rights in the communion for three years due to its theologically liberal stance on homosexuality.

"The traditional doctrine of the Church in view of the teaching of Scripture, upholds marriage as between a man and a woman in faithful, lifelong union. The majority of those gathered reaffirm this teaching," stated the Primates in 2016.

"Recent developments in The Episcopal Church with respect to a change in their Canon on marriage represent a fundamental departure from the faith and teaching held by the majority of our Provinces on the doctrine of marriage. Possible developments in other Provinces could further exacerbate this situation."

The last Lambeth Conference was held in 2008. The 2020 conference was postponed two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This is the first Lambeth Conference led by Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby.
Canadian PM Trudeau denounces church burnings after graves discovered at Catholic schools

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has denounced the arson attacks on Catholic churches in the country following the discovery of hundreds of unmarked graves at former residential schools.

Recent discoveries of approximately 1,100 unmarked graves at three residential schools for indigenous people overseen by Catholic churches are thought to be the reason for an uptick in the destruction of church buildings.

Trudeau, a member of the Roman Catholic Church who has called on Pope Francis to issue a formal apology for the treatment of indigenous children at the schools, told a recent news conference that the church vandalism could not be justified.

I understand the anger that is out there against the federal government and institutions like the Catholic Church. Its real and it is fully understandable given the shameful history we are all becoming more aware of and engaging ourselves to do better, stated Trudeau last Friday.

I cant help but think that burning down churches is actually depriving people who are in need of grieving and healing and mourning from places where they can grieve and reflect and look for support.

The prime minister said, "we shouldn't be lashing out at buildings that can provide solace to some of our fellow citizens." He said Canadians should instead be committing themselves to the "hard work that we need to do to rebuild a path forward that reflects the terrible intergenerational trauma and present-day realities, the suffering that we are all collectively responsible for."

In addition to attacks on churches, statues have been vandalized, including statues of Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth located on the grounds of the Manitoba legislature. They were torn down and the Queen Victoria statue was covered with red paint.

Arlen Dumas, grand chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, told AP that while he personally wouldnt have participated in the vandalisms, he believed that it has been a very triggering time over the past few weeks.

Its unfortunate that they chose to express themselves the way that they did. But its actually a symbol of the fact that there is a lot of hurt and that theres a lot of frustration and anger with just how things have happened, added Dumas.

In May, the remains of 215 children were found buried in unmarked graves under an area on which Kamloops Indian Residential School stood in British Columbia, which closed in 1978.

The residential school, tied to the Catholic Church, was part of a national system overseen by the Canadian government and churches that tried to assimilate indigenous communities of Canada.

Soon after, an additional 751 unmarked graves were located near the former Marieval Indian Residential School in Saskatchewan, which was also under the Catholic Church administration.

Last week, news emerged of the discovery of 182 human remains in unmarked graves near the site of the former Catholic-run St. Eugene's Mission School in Cranbrook, British Columbia.

According to reports, more than 150,000 First Nations children attended state-funded Christian schools. They were reportedly forced to convert to Christianity and not allowed to speak their native languages.

Since backlash over the graves began, at least nine Catholic and Anglican churches across Canada have gone up in flames, Fox News reports. Last month, at least four churches located in indigenous territory in British Columbia were damaged or destroyed by fires authorities believe to have been suspicious in nature.

Chief Keith Crow of the Lower Similkameen Indian Band told local media that he adamantly opposed the destruction of the churches, referring to the incidents as heartbreaking since members of his tribes belonged to the congregations.

Luckily, no one was injured and the fire here was contained before it spread to any of the neighbouring homes, Crow told The Vancouver Sun in an interview last month.

If youre hurting at this time, please reach out to somebody and make the call. There is a lot of upset people.

In response to the discovery of the unmarked graves, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops issued an apology that expressed commitment to walking side by side with Indigenous Peoples in the present, seeking greater healing and reconciliation for the future.

The news of the recent discovery is shocking. It rekindles trauma in numerous communities across this land. Honouring the dignity of the lost little ones demands that the truth be brought to light, stated the CCCB.

We lift up prayers to the Lord for the children who have lost their lives and pledge our close accompaniment of Indigenous families and communities.
Pope meets with Native American leaders, apologizes for Canadian residential school abuses

Pope Francis apologized to indigenous communities in Canada for the alleged abuses at government-supported Catholic residential schools as he met with Native American leaders on Monday.

As part of his official trip to Canada, the pontiff addressed representatives of Native American tribes in Canada, including many survivors of the residential school system.

"I am here because the first step of my penitential pilgrimage among you is that of again asking forgiveness, of telling you once more that I am deeply sorry," said the pope, who issued an initial apology earlier this year.

"I ask forgiveness, in particular, for the ways in which many members of the [Catholic] Church and of religious communities cooperated, not least through their indifference, in projects of cultural destruction and forced assimilation promoted by the governments of that time, which culminated in the system of residential schools."

While Francis noted that "Christian charity was not absent" in the residential school system and that "there were many outstanding instances of devotion and care for children," he concluded that "the overall effects of the policies linked to the residential schools were catastrophic."

"What our Christian faith tells us is that this was a disastrous error, incompatible with the Gospel of Jesus Christ," he continued. "It is painful to think of how the firm soil of values, language and culture that made up the authentic identity of your peoples was eroded and that you have continued to pay the price of this."

The pontiff also said that he considered the apology to be "not the end of the matter" but rather "the starting point," which will include "a serious investigation into the facts of what took place in the past and to assist the survivors of the residential schools to experience healing from the traumas they suffered."

Francis' trip to Canada came in response to recent revelations of abuse at Catholic schools tied to Canada's residential school system, including the claims of mass graves.

Last year, anthropologist Sarah Beaulieu claimed 215 graves of indigenous children were discovered on the property of the Kamloops Indian Residential School in British Columbia, which closed in 1978. Her ground-penetrating radar found areas that showed soil disturbance that she assessed to be graves. She later revised the number to 200, but added that only excavation and forensic investigation could determine what the radar found.

No excavations were ever done and none are planned, however.

Soon after, another alleged mass grave of 700 individuals near the former Marieval Indian Residential School in Saskatchewan made headlines.

The discoveries prompted a wave of vandalism against Catholic churches and other denominations and demands from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that Pope Francis come to Canada and offer an apology for the past abuses.

"I have spoken personally directly with His Holiness Pope Francis to press upon him how important it is not just that he makes an apology but that he makes an apology to indigenous Canadians on Canadian soil," said Trudeau, himself a Catholic, at a press conference in June 2021.

"I know that the Catholic Church leadership is looking and very actively engaged in what next steps can be taken."

Some scholars have been skeptical about the claims of mass graves.

Jacques Rouillard, professor emeritus in the Department of History of the Universite de Montreal, released a review of the mass grave claims in the Dorchester Review in which he said the Marieval site is part of an official cemetery.

"According to the register of baptisms, marriages and burials from 1885 to 1933, there are certainly graves present on site of children who died at the residential school, but also those of many adults and children under five years of age from the surrounding area," he wrote.

Rouillard added, "As residential school cemeteries have been abandoned, neglected, and even forgotten after their closure, they have blurred into the background. ... The Commission rightly proposed that they be documented, maintained, and protected."

"It is hard to believe that a preliminary search for an alleged cemetery or mass grave in an apple orchard on reserve land near the residential school of Kamloops could have led to such a spiral of claims endorsed by the Canadian government and repeated by mass media all over the world. It gives a terrible and simplistic impression of complex issues in Canadian history."
Archbishop expresses deep sadness after remains of 215 children found in mass grave at school

Flags on federal buildings were lowered to half-staff in Canada on Sunday after the remains of 215 children, some as young as 3 years old, were found buried at the site of what was once that countrys largest state-run residential school set up to assimilate indigenous people.

The mass grave was found buried under an area on which Kamloops Indian Residential School stood in British Columbia, which was part of the Canadian Indian residential school system and closed in 1978, BBC reported.

To honor the 215 children whose lives were taken at the former Kamloops residential school and all Indigenous children who never made it home, the survivors, and their families, I have asked that the Peace Tower flag (in Ottawa) and flags on all federal buildings be flown at half-mast, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wrote Sunday on Twitter.

The school opened under the Roman Catholic administration in 1890 and housed as many as 500 students in the 1950s.

Archbishop J. Michael Miller of Vancouver issued a statement, saying he was filled with deep sadness, Vatican News reported.

The pain that such news causes reminds us of our ongoing need to bring light to every tragic situation that occurred in residential schools run by the Church, he added. The passage of time does not erase the suffering that touches the Indigenous communities affected, and we pledge to do whatever we can to heal that suffering.

Many students were beaten and verbally abused, and about 6,000 are believed to have died at the school, according to Los Angeles Times, which also reported that the Canadian government had admitted that physical and sexual abuse in the schools was rampant, and apologized in Parliament in 2008.

Canadas residential school system separated some 150,000 indigenous children from their families, according to The Wall Street Journal, which quoted an inquiry report from 2015 that estimated that 4,100 children died of disease or by accident while in the system and went on to call the school system akin to cultural genocide.

"The school in Kamloops operated for nearly nine decades, until 1978, under the administration of the Roman Catholic Church," the Journal added.

Kamloops Bishop Joseph Nguyen also issued a statement.

I humbly join so many who are heartbroken and horrified, he said. On behalf of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kamloops, I express my deepest sympathy to Chief Rosanne Casimir of the Tk'emlups te Secwepemc Nation and to all who are mourning this tragedy and an unspeakable loss. No words of sorrow could adequately describe this horrific discovery.

Chief Rosanne Casimir of the Tkemlups te Secwepemc First Nation held a press conference on Friday, saying, Were still grappling through the effects. This loss is absolutely unthinkable.

Chief Casimir added, Its a harsh reality. Its our history. This is about the truth coming out and honoring those children.
Justin Trudeau demands apology from Pope Francis after 751 more graves of indigenous children found

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has asked Pope Francis to visit Canada and apologize after 751 more unmarked graves were found at the site of what was once that countrys residential school under the administration of the Roman Catholic Church to assimilate indigenous people.

I have spoken personally directly with His Holiness Pope Francis to press upon him how important it is not just that he makes an apology but that he makes an apology to indigenous Canadians on Canadian soil, Trudeau told reporters in Ottawa Friday, the day after a preliminary report revealed that an additional 751 unmarked graves were found near the former Marieval Indian Residential School in Saskatchewan, bringing the number to 966, Reuters reported.

I know that the Catholic Church leadership is looking and very actively engaged in what next steps can be taken, Trudeau added.

Last month, the remains of 215 children, some as young as 3 years old, were found buried under an area on which Kamloops Indian Residential School stood in British Columbia, which was part of the Canadian Indian residential school system that was closed in 1978, the BBC reported at the time.

I recognize these findings only deepen the pain that families, survivors and all Indigenous peoples and communities are already feeling, and that they reaffirm a truth that they have long known, Trudeau added in his statement, according to the CBC.

The hurt and the trauma that you feel is Canadas responsibility to bear, and the government will continue to provide Indigenous communities across the country with the funding and resources they need to bring these terrible wrongs to light. While we cannot bring back those who were lost, we can  and we will  tell the truth of these injustices, and we will forever honor their memory, he added.

The school opened under the Roman Catholic administration in 1890 and housed as many as 500 students in the 1950s.

Many students were beaten and verbally abused, and about 6,000 are believed to have died at the school, according to the Los Angeles Times, which also reported that the Canadian government had admitted that physical and sexual abuse was rampant at the schools, and apologized in Parliament in 2008.

Canadas residential school system separated some 150,000 indigenous children from their families, according to The Wall Street Journal, which quoted an inquiry report from 2015 that estimated that 4,100 children died of disease or by accident while in the system and went on to call the school system akin to cultural genocide.

Marion Buller, who served as chief commissioner of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, has suggested that Trudeau needs to do more for the indigenous people.

Its a nice statement. A very well-crafted statement of sympathy and empathy, but theres no action there, CBC quoted her as saying.
Florida school board rejects 2 sex-ed books after parents voice objections

Parents are praising a Florida school board after it rejected two textbooks initially slated to be taught as part of the district's sex-ed curriculum for middle and high school students.

In a 5-4 vote Wednesday, the Miami-Dade County School Board reversed its initial decision to adopt the two textbooks, titled Comprehensive Health Skills for Middle School and Comprehensive Health Skills for High School, as new sex education textbooks for the 2022-2023 school year.

The vote came after a public meeting where parents and residents were allowed to speak about the textbooks and sex-ed curriculum. Several people were escorted out of the building as a discussion took place about the books' content, the Miami Herald reported.

Parents who opposed the books feel the content about sexual orientation and gender identity were inappropriate and violated Floridas Parental Rights in Education Bill that was signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis earlier this year. The legislation prohibits schools from discussing sexual orientation and gender identity with students under certain circumstances and requires schools to inform parents of changes to their childs well-being.

The textbooks also included a section on sexually transmitted diseases, gender identity, contraception and abortion, according to CBS Miami.

More than 40 community members spoke during the meeting, with many in favor of the books. School board members Christi Fraga and Mari Tere Rojas told the Miami Herland that although all but two community members spoke in favor of the books, that was not reflective of the many emails from parents who voiced their concerns about the textbooks. They contended that the number of people who showed up at the meeting does not necessarily represent how the community as a whole feels about the textbooks, the Herald added.

Opponents of the books reportedly filed 278 petitions against them, which resulted in a June 8 hearing to address their concerns. The hearing officer recommended at that meeting to deny the petitions and proceed with the adoption process.

Meg Kilgannon, senior fellow for education studies at the socially conservative nonprofit organization Family Research Council, told The Christian Post that she is glad parents of older children are taking this issue seriously.

Each individual parent is an expert on their child and what their child is ready to know in terms of where they are in their maturity level to handle that kind of information, Kilgannon told CP.

And there is nothing to stop the parents who have no problem with that curriculum from teaching those things to their children right now, she added. With or without that book, they are free to do that. But they absolutely cannot impose it on my child in a classroom setting.

Kat Duesterhaus, a board member of the Florida National Organization for Women and the Miami Coalition to Advance Racial Equity, expressed disappointment with the school boards decision. She told the Herald that she wished the board would step up to protect youth in times of crisis.

We need to equip youth with the ability to navigate their own bodies and consensual situations, Duesterhaus said. Were leaving them ill equipped to have agency of their sexuality and bodies.

Maxx Fenning, president of the LGBT advocacy group PRISM Florida, made similar statements to the Herald. Asserting that comprehensive sexual education saves lives, he described the curriculum as necessary to give young people the tools they need to protect themselves if and when they decide to be sexually active.

Kilgannon agreed that it's a human right for someone to know how their body works, but she advocates for natural family planning, a method that involves monitoring different fertility signals to avoid pregnancy or to help women become pregnant.

You have a right to know how your body works. It is fearfully and wonderfully made and it is a real extension of you, she said.

The idea that we can somehow neutrally decide to give sensitive information about human sexuality to children under some blanket understanding of our shared values on human sexuality is just absurd, she continued.

Kilgannon noted that the topic at hand is an act so powerful that it literally generates another human into existence.

So I would think that wed be taking a lot of care around this topic instead of just this idea that children have a right to bodily autonomy or some kind of ridiculous concept that is a word salad that gives them no respect and the dignity of the human person and could be used by adults for our agendas.

Alex Serrano, who serves as executive director of County Citizens Defending Freedoms Miami-Dade County affiliate, has voiced concerns about the textbooks, specifically that the books content is too explicit.

We are not against sexual education or human reproduction and sexual education books, Serrano insisted. We are for statutory compliance and age appropriateness in the content ... and compliance with parental rights law.

He maintained that discussions regarding gender identity do not belong in the books, calling it ideology. The board removed the chapter titled, Understanding Sexuality, which contained the topics of gender identity and sexuality, from both versions of the textbooks back in April.
10 reasons why we need to release the church in the workplace

In the early church, there was no separation between the clergy and laity. This separation happened when the church began to imitate Rome and, as a result, became an institution in the 4th century. Every believer in the early church was expected to be a witness for Christ. Most congregations met in homes or apartments, and many had their place of business in the same location where they resided.

Consequently, they used the workplace as their primary platform to share the Gospel. They did not depend upon a professional pastor to share the word on Sundays inside a so-called sacred building.

Historically speaking: In the first century, Jesus started a way of life. Then, the Greeks made Christianity a philosophy in the second century. In the third century, faith was defined as a creed. Later, in the fourth century, Christianity became an institution. In the Middle Ages, it became a religion. The Protestant reformation made it a national culture. In the 18th century, the Pietistic movement made the faith a personal experience. The liberal 18th century made Christianity an opinion. In the early 20th century, the fundamentalist movement made it a legalistic lifestyle. In the mid-20th century in the United States, Christianity became an enterprise.

To have the greatest global impact, we must restore the church to the way of Jesus and His apostles of the first century. Part of the way of Jesus is ending the bifurcation between the workplace and church place so that the church gathered on Sunday becomes the church scattered on Monday!

The following are ten reasons why we need to release the church in the workplace:

1. Jesus chose 12 marketplace leaders, not 12 religious leaders.

He chose people with practical leadership skills who knew how to manage their time, relate to people, and create wealth as entrepreneurs. (Two sets of brothers owned fishing businesses, one was a tax collector and knew how to handle money. At least one was a zealot involved in politics; even Judas had experience in managing money since he was the treasurer for the Jesus movement (John 13:29).) Many of the most influential pastors in the world I have met have a business background.

2. Jesus Called the Church to plant the Gospel in cities, not buildings (Acts 1:8-9).

Jesus commanded the church to be His witnesses in cities, not merely in buildings on Sundays.

3. We are called both kings and priests.

Priests bring men to God; however, kings represent the government of God to people on earth. 1 Peter 2:8-9 calls believers a royal (kingly) priesthood. Revelation 1:6 calls the church a kingdom of priests (kings and priests in the KJV).

We are called to reign in this life with Christ according to Romans 5:17. Thus, all believers are called as kings to represent Gods reign in the marketplace, as well as priests who bring people to Christ.

4. Most of the miracles took place outside of the synagogue.

Just a cursory reading of the Gospels illustrates that most of Jesuss miracles were done outside the synagogue. Jesus preached on boats, sitting on mountains, and walking in the streets. In the book of Acts, many people were saved, healed, and delivered before they went into the temple or house church meeting (Acts 3:1-8; 8:1-5; 14:1-8; 19:1-23).

Paul reasoned with people in the marketplace when he was in Athens, and as a tentmaker, he made friends with other tent makers and discipled them (Acts 17; 18:1-3)

5. Jesus told us to pray for His kingdom to come on earth.

What is His Kingdom? His rule emanates from the throne of God (Psalm 103:19). What is the earth? The earth includes not only every geographic area but also every sphere of life; hence, there is no separation between the church place and workplace in The Lords Prayer.

6. Jesus called his church to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world (Matthew 5:13-16).

Jesus did not call believers the salt and light of the church. We are called to bring Gods truth to every aspect of creation. History has shown that the greatest scientists, composers, universities, and hospitals came out of the church. This is why the church is called the pillar and ground of the truth (1 Timothy 3:15).

7. The early church turned the world upside down.

Acts 17:6 says about the apostles, These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also... The word world in Greek means not only the people in the world but also the civilization and systems that support the people.

8. The Church is not called to escape the earth but work with Jesus to renew it (Revelation 21:1-2).

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

The word new in Greek is Kainos which means to renew. The church, as the heavenly Jerusalem, is called to participate with Jesus for the renewal of all things in creation (Galatians 4:26).

9. The apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, and teachers (APEST) are called to equip the saints for their ministry in the workplace (Ephesians 4:10-12).

He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things. And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry.

Thus the context for ministry has to do with Jesus as the last Adam equipping His followers through the ministry gifts to fill all the things on the earth (1 Corinthians 15:45). This is a reference to the cultural mandate to fill the earth, subdue it, and influence every aspect of the created order (Genesis 1:28).

10. The Church is called to disciple people groups (Matthew 28:19-20).

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them... teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you...

Nations does not refer to one ethnic person but gentile people groups. Here, Jesus commands His Jewish disciples to bring the good news to gentile tribes and nations. Consequently, cultural transformation occurs when a disciple-making movement changes the identity of gentile nations when a critical mass joins the Jesus community via baptism.
Will Southern Baptists survive the secular storm?

Splits and splintering have occurred throughout Christian history. From antiquity until present-day, religious groups have polarized and popped, leaving splinter groups behind to fizzle or flourish.

American history recounts regionally-based church divisions over slavery as Methodists split in 1844, Baptists in 1845, and Presbyterians splintered in multiple ways between 1857 and 1861.

A polarizing tug-of-war

It continues today. Tom Gilson, author, speaker, and Stream senior editor, has written a very helpful piece identifying two groups within the polarizing tug-of-war within contemporary American evangelicalism. He tags them the Anchored and the Accommodationist. These terms help explain what is going on in the Southern Baptist Convention today.

The Anchored, Gilson says, are Christians who anchor their truths in the Word of God. Its not their single source of truth, but they are convinced that where the Bible speaks, it speaks truly and with authority. Their goal is to understand the Bible properly and follow it faithfully. They know they fall short, but the goal remains for them regardless.

The Accommodationist will offer honor to the Word of God but they want their message to fit in better with the world somehow  they dont mind altering their message to make it more accommodating to the world. This group comes in several flavors, but Progressive Christianity is the most obvious. Progressives become jittery when Gods Word makes people or certain groups uncomfortable. They can come up with creative new interpretations, according to Gilson.

What do Southern Baptists say about the scriptures?

Southern Baptists official statement on the Bible is clear and it is well anchored.

The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is Gods revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. Therefore, all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy. It reveals the principles by which God judges us, and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried. All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine revelation.

That being said, the question remains, how does an alarmed mom at a school board meeting or a pastor in the pulpit apply the Bible to real-life issues as the progressive Left seeks to shred our moral values?

Dr. Lee Brand, the former first vice president of the SBC, in an open letter to Southern Baptists makes a relevant point:

There is a great storm brewing within the SBC, and we cannot afford to get this weather report wrong. Our battle is not between our various shades of brown, but between those who will say the Bible is sufficient in their proclamation and show its sufficiency in their practice, and those who will try to merge some measure of biblical principle with a palatable amount of worldly philosophy.

Notice the word sufficiency. It means that God has communicated to us all that we need to know for salvation and to live in a manner that pleases Him. The Bible is sufficient in helping us evaluate every claim (secular or spiritual) of authority because, All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Tim. 3:16-17, NKJV).

The scriptures are sufficient

I wish to contend that the Anchored in the SBC have a better handle on sufficiency.

One very current example: Progressives are enjoying Baptists current theological tussle over the question: Did King David rape Bathsheba? Conservative cultural reporter Megan Basham tweeted recently,

Claiming David raped Bathsheba is a perfect example of twisting Scripture to make a story about sin into one about power dynamics. It is creating interpretations God did not in order to fit modern political narratives & agendas.

The Scriptures help us frame a Christian worldview, allowing our beliefs and behavior to function under the Lordship of Christ, with the Scriptures as sufficient guide  not personal feelings, social pressures, falsehoods, experience, completely divorced from godly wisdom, natural law, common sense, and facts.

The Anchored know the power of shining the searchlight of Scripture on society, thereby rescuing a culture from suffocating in its own sin. When evil shows up as insanity  like a drag queen preaching to 1st graders, only then do normal people start smelling the stench of our sick society. The Anchored wake up each morning with certain core convictional beliefs based on Scripture and they shall not be moved. Accommodationists awaken to all the clamoring voices in our pluralistic society and are easily swayed by social media top-talkers.

Standing up to attacks from the cultural elites

When cultural elites attack the Anchored for speaking out, the Accommodationists get weak-kneed and worry that the watching world may not like them. They fear being socially shamed and being marked with labels like: Christian Nationalist, homophobe, Fundamentalist, transphobe, misogynist, racist, or Uncle Tom. Thus triggered, Accommodationists are more prone to renounce conservative believers than stand in the way of todays social justice warriors and their collectivist zeal to tear down America and their church.

Dr. Voddie T. Baucham, Jr. is an evangelical pastor and conference speaker whose popularity dipped when he began expressing Anchored, un-woke views. He delivers a razor-sharp critique of Americas social justice movement in his book Fault Lines. With a high view of Scripture, Baucham states,  there is not a book in the world that is better suited to address men on the issue of race than the Bible. He believes the Bible is sufficient and offers answers not only on race, but on every ethical issue man has faced, or will ever face.

Baucham specifically tackles the issue of critical race theory as it came up at the 2019 Southern Baptist Convention, where a California pastor brought forth the now famous Resolution #9. Baucham unveils what he describes as the clearest evidence of certain SBC leaders willingness to compromise on that resolution, changing the language of the pastors text from a biblically-based statement to more accommodating wording. Baucham called it a deliberate act of duplicity.

For example, in its original form the resolution had said,

Whereas, critical race theory and intersectionality are founded upon unbiblical presuppositions descended from Marxist theories and categories, and therefore are inherently opposed to the Scriptures as the true center of Christian union

Before the messengers (i.e., delegates) to that convention had a chance to see that version, though, the Baptist committee presenting the resolution had changed it to read,

Whereas, critical race theory and intersectionality alone are insufficient to diagnose and redress the root causes of the social ills that they identify, which result from sin, yet these analytical tools can aid in evaluating a variety of human experiences 

Dont attach identity politics to the sufficient scriptures

Its just one instance, but its telling, and there are many others like it. Baucham rightly sees it as showing serious problems with some Southern Baptists understanding of the Scriptures sufficiency. Agreeing with Dr. Baucham, Pastor Josh Buice later wrote:

You cannot attach identity politics to the sufficient Scriptures and still claim to be champions of sufficiency. Gods Word must stand alone. Like a confident lion walking in the afternoon sun on the African plains  it doesnt need assistance to diagnose and address the social ills of a depraved society. What the SBC did, in passing this resolution, is make a clear statement to the watching world that we believe the Bible is not quite capable of addressing the lived experiences of broken people and may need the assistance of CRT and intersectionality.

The Anchored and Accommodationist have grappled for leadership in each of the three worlds that I analyzed in my last piece. In 1991, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF) split-away in opposition to the more conservative theology and practice of the SBCs Conservative Resurgence.

The CBF Governing Board voted on (Feb. 9, 2018) to open some positions with CBF to Christians who identify as LGBT. They also voted to continue to restrict leadership positions in ministry and missionary roles to believers who practice a traditional Christian sexual ethic. Nevertheless, they serve as canaries in the coal mine, showing the dangerous places Accommodationism may take the Baptists.

We live in the midst of a cosmic war over worldviews. Accommodationists will crumble under pressure. The Baptist statement on the Scriptures still rightly recognizes the Bible as our perfect treasure of divine instruction. The Anchored must hold the line.

Originally published in The Stream.
Antony Gormley: Id like to make sure that in this last period I make things that can be part of everyday experiences rooted in a community and a place

As he nears the age of 72, the British sculptor is extremely busy  and more passionate than ever about making art that connects with people and places. Harry Seymour visits him in his London studio

Antony Gormleys north London studio, hidden from public view by a large grey gate, consists of several interconnected warehouses surrounding a vast courtyard. This is my play room, says the artist. My experimentation space. Gormley built the 24,000-square-foot workshop with the help of the architect David Chipperfield in 2004, three years before work began on the transformation of Kings Cross from an area of post-industrial neglect to an increasingly chic neighbourhood of penthouses, restaurants and boutiques. A nearby nightclub, famous for being one of the few in the city to hold a 24-hour licence, is perhaps the last remnant of the areas seedier past. Inside the studio, its pristine white. Across a floor reinforced with 140 tonnes of steel, the artists team of 20 slide huge sculptures  human figures exploded into geometrical blocks  with such coordination and grace as to be almost balletic. Above them, more metal bodies are suspended from the rafters, cocooned like silkworms in protective wrapping. The room has a meditative atmosphere  fitting for an artist who was schooled by Benedictine monks and who spent several years in India and Sri Lanka training in Buddhist mindfulness (a poster above his computer reads: Keep Calm and Attain Moksha).

Open a larger version of this image Antony Gormley in his drawing studio. Photo: Stephen White & Co.

Yet despite the tranquillity of Gormleys atelier (one of three studios  he also has a foundry in Northumberland and a workspace at his home in Norfolk), he must be one of the busiest artists in the world. In 2022 alone, he has exhibitions open in Singapore, Hong Kong, Germany and the Netherlands. Two venues in Italy include a show alongside Lucio Fontana in the Carlo Scarpa-designed Olivetti Showroom on Piazza San Marco, open during the 59th Venice Biennale. In fact, over the past five years  and despite the world having been plunged in and out of lockdown for much of that time  Gormley has opened 29 solo shows: an average of roughly one every two months. If you take into account the number of group shows he has participated in over the same period, it brings the total to more than 70. Pressed on the matter, Gormley  who is about to turn 72  insists that the pandemic has actually helped him to slow down. It taught us how we can work more effectively [online] with Zoom and Teams, he says. And it was good because there wasnt that thing of the work going immediately out the door. We were able to listen to what it was trying to tell us. We lived with it, and that was fantastic.

I use technologies to pull things out into the palpable, the real. But the idea of disappearing forever into some kind of metaverse is really scary  Antony Gormley

All of Gormleys sculptures begin their lives as a drawing. Pulling out a passport-sized sketchbook from his back pocket, he reveals pages filled with black-ink stick men and abstract shapes, along with lines of text in tiny handwriting. These are odd continuations of how block-works might go, he says, pointing to one illustration. I am trying to get a feeling, trying to get a fix on a state of mind carried in a body. Generally speaking, he explains, it takes around 18 months for one of these drawings to be realised as a sculpture. After that, he says, Most of the things have to spend at least three months living outdoors, getting their oxidisation. The weathers effect on the surface of his works is a key element in how Gormley visualises them. When Gormley talks about his processes he can sound like a modern-day alchemist. He describes how he experiments with placing sand on tables that vibrate at a frequency of 18 hertz so that the grains organise themselves into new shapes, and pours iron heated to 1,400 degrees Celsius into vacuums, vaporising their interiors.

Open a larger version of this image Antony Gormley, Frame II, 2021. Aluminium, square tube 5 mm. Installation view, Galleria Continua, San Gimignano, Italy. Photo: Ela Bialkowska, OKNO Studio.  the artist

Surprisingly, casting can be one of the quickest steps in the realisation of a sculpture, taking as little as 60 seconds. But with the power to create something that will last hundreds of years, Gormley adds, comes a responsibility to make sure that its worth doing. Gormley spent much of his career famously  and uncomfortably  making iron casts of his own body, for works such as Testing a World View (1993), which won him the Turner Prize in 1994. These days, he prefers to use digital scanning technologies to create his forms. This transition was aided by Roberto Cipolla, Professor of Information Engineering at Cambridge University, who happens to drop by the studio during our conversation. Cipolla is here to show Gormley one of his sculptures in augmented reality. On his iPhone screen, he places the work in the middle of the room, then walks from one side to the other, demonstrating how it can be viewed in the round. Thats amazing, exclaims Gormley with a laugh. Now you can sell this as an NFT!

Open a larger version of this image Installation view of Lucio Fontana / Antony Gormley, Negozio Olivetti, Venice, Italy, 2022. Photo: Ela Bialkowska, OKNO Studio.  the artist

But the idea of exhibitions being made redundant is one that the artist finds dispiriting. Is his worry that, for all the wonders of augmented reality, audiences wont be able to appreciate his works materiality? Of course, he says. I use these technologies to pull things out into the palpable, the real. But yes, the idea of disappearing forever into some kind of metaverse is really scary. We have this reflective faculty, but on the whole thats not what virtual reality does. It does the opposite  it tricks us into thinking that we are in particular spaces. My basic philosophy on this is: use whatever tools you are offered, but use them to bring things into the world and not to virtualise them. Isnt this technology at least a useful tool for reaching new audiences? Sort of. Id rather they looked at a photograph of my work and then went and viewed the work, if they liked what they saw.

Open a larger version of this image Antony Gormley (b. 1950), Another Place, 1997. Cast iron. 100 elements: each 189 x 53 x 29 cm. Installation view, Crosby, Merseyside, UK. Photo: Stephen White & Co.  the artist

Accessibility is at the forefront of Gormleys mind as he grows older. He says he wants to create more site-specific sculptures. If Ive got a fifth or a sixth of my life left to live, Id like to make sure that in this last period I make things that can be part of everyday experiences. I would like to do far more works rooted in a community and a place. If I think of what I am most proud of and most engaged by, its the works that have somehow taken their place  whether thats Another Place (1997), Exposure (2010) or Angel of the North (1998)  in a landscape and a collective imagination. Gormley also wants to create more permanent works in order to reduce his carbon footprint. Thats part of my responsibility in terms of facing the truth of climate change and the sixth great extinction. Works that are embedded are more justifiable. With longevity in mind, does he have any plans for a Fondazione Gormley of the kind some artists have established in Venice? No, he responds without hesitation. We have already endowed a charity called The Foundation Foundation. Its present responsibilities are to encourage and support emerging artists first exhibitions in a museum or public gallery.

Sign up today Christies Online Magazine delivers our best features, videos, and auction news to your inbox every week Subscribe
HONG KONG (AP)  Alibaba, the worlds biggest e-commerce company by sales, announced plans Tuesday to change the status of its shares traded in Hong Kong, making them more accessible to Chinese investors at a time when Beijing is pressing tech companies to share their wealth with the public.

The primary listing in Hong Kong is expected to be completed by the end of 2022, which would make Alibaba a dual-primary listed company on the New York Stock Exchange and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

CEO Daniel Zhang said Alibaba was pursuing another primary listing venue to foster a wider and more diversified investor base.

Hong Kong and New York are both major global financial centers, with shared characteristics of openness and diversity, Zhang said in a statement. Hong Kong is also the launch pad for Alibabas globalization strategy, and we are fully confident in Chinas economy and future.

The move will give millions of mainland Chinese investors access to Alibaba's shares, as its shares could then be included in the Stock Connect investment channel that allows mainland Chinese investors to buy stocks listed in Hong Kong and vice versa for Hong Kong and overseas investors.

Alibaba's decision to seek a primary listing in Hong Kong also comes as U.S. regulators have threatened to delist U.S.-listed Chinese companies unless they follow auditing requirements, which in turn triggered a selloff of Chinese stocks listed in the U.S.

The Hangzhou-headquartered firm went public in New York in September 2014 in what was the biggest initial public offering at the time, and later completed a secondary listing in Hong Kong in November 2019.

It was once the darling of many technology stock investors, but its stock price has plummeted following Beijings regulatory crackdown on Chinas technology industry.

In the past year, Alibabas New York stock price has plunged 47%. Ahead of the announcement, its stock price closed at $101.06 Monday.
DETROIT (AP)  General Motors' second-quarter net income fell 40% from a year ago as computer chip and parts shortages hobbled factory output and drove the company's U.S. sales down more than 15%.

The Detroit automaker earned $1.67 billion from April through June, in part because it couldn't deliver 95,000 vehicles because they were built without one part or another. A year ago, it made $2.79 billion.

Although the company said it's preparing for an economic downturn, it stuck to its prior earnings guidance for the full year.

Unlike Walmart, which on Monday lowered its profit outlook for year and said that consumers are cutting back on discretionary spending, GM said demand remains strong for its vehicles.

Right now, we can't build enough full-size trucks and SUVs, CEO Mary Barra told analysts Tuesday. A lot of these vehicles, we have customers waiting for them.

And even when pent-up demand starts to wane, Barra said GM still has to build inventories more toward normal levels. The company has a only a 10- to 15-day supply on dealer lots, when automakers used to target having 60 days. Barra said GM will restore inventories, but not to traditional levels as it tries to move more toward a customer-ordering model.

GM expects full-year sales to dealers to rise 25% to 30% over last year as the supply of semiconductors improves through the year and into 2023.

But it's not certain that the year will go exactly as planned. Barra said there are economic concerns, so GM is taking steps to manage costs, including reducing discretionary spending and limiting hiring to critical positions needed to support growth. We also have modeled many downturn scenarios and we are prepared to take deliberate action when and if necessary, Barra said in a statement.

Chief Financial Officer Paul Jacobson said the company already has started to clear out vehicles that were built without some components and would have them all sold by year's end.

He said the company restructured years ago, so it doesnt foresee any layoffs like Tesla, Rivian and other automakers. Crosstown rival Ford reportedly is considering salaried worker cuts to help fund the transition to electric vehicles.

Despite the profit drop, GM held its full-year net income guidance steady at between $9.6 billion and $11.2 billion. The company still expects pretax income of $13 billion to $15 billion.

Shares of GM fell 2.4% in early trading Tuesday.

The company reported an adjusted profit of $1.14 per share, falling short of Wall Street expectations for $1.27. Revenue for the quarter was up 5% to $35.76 billion on strong pricing, beating estimates of $33.9 billion, according to FactSet.

J.D. Power estimates that the average sales price of a new vehicle for the first six months of the year hit nearly $45,000, a record that is 17.5% higher than a year ago.

Like other automakers, GM has been forced to slow its factories since late in 2020 largely due to a global shortage of semiconductors, but GM was hit particularly hard in the second quarter.

GM made $2.3 billion before taxes in North America, its most profitable market, a 21% tumble from a year ago. The company said strong demand, coupled with production cuts, continues to limit dealer inventory.

The company reported a $100 million equity income loss during the quarter from its joint venture in China, largely driven by pandemic-related lockdowns. But GM said production began to recover in June.

The companys liquidity, measured by cash and available credit lines, fell by more than 10% since the end of the year to $33 billion.

Jacobson said the cash burn was temporary, much of it caused by timing of expenditures, including increased capital investment. The company started the quarter thinking it would produce more vehicles than it did, he said. Essentially all of those vehicles will come back in the second half, he said.

More patience will be needed before GM shares, which are down over 40% this year, turn a corner, wrote CFRA Analyst Garrett Nelson.

We now see full-year results coming in at the lower end of guidance as it struggles with inflation, supply chain issues, and weaker volumes than a year ago, Nelson wrote.

Also Tuesday, GM announced that is has commitments for all the raw materials needed to reach its goal of building 1 million electric vehicles per year by the end of 2025.

The company also said it has a deal with LG Chem to supply nickel, cobalt, manganese and aluminum to make electric vehicle battery cathodes. LG Chem will supply over 950,000 tons of material during the next eight years . The two companies will explore a cathode materials production facility in North America by the end of 2025, they said in a statement.

GM also announced a contract with Livent to supply battery-grade lithium hydroxide from a brine operation in South America over a six-year period starting in 2025. The Philadelphia company's lithium also will be used in cathodes.

Cathodes are the negative terminal of a battery.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP)  A California federal judge has rejected a legal push to require Uber to provide wheelchair-accessible vehicles, finding that such a mandate would be too onerous on the ride-hailing company.

U.S. District Chief Judge Richard Seeborg ruled Monday in San Francisco against Scott Crawford of Mississippi and two co-plaintiffs from New Orleans who had argued that Uber's lack of wheelchair-accessible vehicles in New Orleans and Jackson, Mississippi, violated the Americans with Disabilities Act.

But Seeborg wrote that the plaintiffs failed to present a reasonable modification of Uber's services and didn't provide adequate evidence that the company had violated the law.

The ruling followed a bench trial that lasted nearly five years. The two New Orleans residents were the first to sue the company, alleging that the absence of wheelchair-accessible vehicles in the city was a violation of the ADA, WLBT-TV said. Crawford then used the same argument in calling for the vehicles in Jackson.

Uber made no sincere attempt to provide accessible service, but instead claimed it was too burdensome, he said. This could have been economically resolved years ago.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs argued that Uber has a deep-rooted accessibility problem and treats accessibility as an afterthought.

Attorneys for Uber said the programs would cost too much and would not be workable in either municipality. According to estimates obtained by Uber and cited in the decision, the cost for providing the service would cost $800,000 per year in New Orleans and $550,000 in Jackson.

The decision said costs were based on 16 hours of service on weekdays and 10 hours per day on weekends. Even with three vehicles equipped to provide the service available at any given time, some ride requests might go unfulfilled.

Uber offers services to accommodate wheelchair users in several other cities, including New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Boston. The company uses commercial operator agreements to fulfill the service in each city, WLBT-TV reported.

Court records state that New Orleans considered an ordinance requiring Uber to provide the service, but Uber lobbied against that ordinance."

Crawford, a disability rights activist, decried the arrival of the decision on the eve of the anniversary of the ADA's signature into law. President George H. W. Bush signed the act on July 26, 1990.

Crawford said state lawmakers during next year's legislative session should mandate that ride-hailing services provide wheelchair-accessible vehicles. He is considering appealing the court's ruling but said he hasnt made a final decision.
DALLAS (AP) _ Texas Instruments Inc. (TXN) on Tuesday reported second-quarter earnings of $2.29 billion.

On a per-share basis, the Dallas-based company said it had profit of $2.45.

The results topped Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of nine analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $2.07 per share.

The chipmaker posted revenue of $5.21 billion in the period, which also beat Street forecasts. Nine analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $4.53 billion.

For the current quarter ending in October, Texas Instruments said it expects revenue in the range of $4.9 billion to $5.3 billion. Analysts surveyed by Zacks had expected revenue of $4.84 billion.

_____

This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on TXN at https://www.zacks.com/ap/TXN
Update: Kendrick Lamar gives shoutout to Houston security guard who cried at his concert

A security guard working at the Houston Toyota Center has gone viral after a video surfaced of him weeping at a Kendrick Lamar concert over the weekend. The Compton rapper made a stop in the Bayou City Friday for his ongoing "The Big Steppers" tour.

In a now-viral TikTok that has been widely circulated online, security guard Devyn Sanford can be seen standing just off stage, wiping away tears from his face and quietly singing and bobbing his head along to Lamar performing "Love," the Zacari-featured track from his 2017 album "Damn."

The clip has garnered over 11 million views on TikTok since it was posted. Lamar fans have also since reacted to the tender moment, one commenting, "MY HEART. The way music touches our souls in ways like this ugh love this." Another wrote: "BUT WHY DID THIS MAKE ME CRY." One person commented that "getting paid and having a spiritual experience" is a win.

After being made aware of fans' reactions to the video, Sanford also commented, writing: "Thats me in the post yall this song means EVERYTHING to me and I was feeling everybody around me emotions definitely love getting paid to do this."

In an interview with Fox 26, Sanford, who works for a private events staffing company, said he had no idea that the moment had been captured until after the concert. "I woke up the next day and it was everywhere," he said. "I'm still taking it all in right now."

Sanford told Fox that Lamar is one of his favorite artists so he made sure to find a way to be at the Houston concert. "I debated about whether to buy tickets or work the show and I decided to work it and it was still just as impactful to me," he said, adding that the song "Love" holds significant meaning for him.

"It brought me back to when the song first came out. I was going through a tumultuous time in my life at that point," he told Fox. "The words, the crowd around me, everyone was screaming and reaching for Kendrick and crying and I kind of like absorbed everybody's emotions. I was trying my best to hold it together and I just cracked." Sanford said Lamar's team has since reached out to him to send him free merchandise.

Lamar's tour, which kicked off in June, had stops in Houston, Dallas and Austin last week. The ongoing tour supports his fifth studio album "Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers," which was released in May.
Rebel with a Clause: Tales and Tips from a Roving Grammarian

By Ellen Jovin

Mariner. 400 pp. $26.99

- - -

I invited Rona Jackson, my former roommate, and my boss to the party. How many people did I invite? Two or three?

The answer depends on what role the second comma is playing. Is it an Oxford comma? Or is it there to enclose a restrictive appositive (in other words, to tell us that Rona used to be my roommate)? In "Rebel with a Clause" Ellen Jovin offers this example to show how, even when grammar rules are applied rigorously, we can still run into trouble. Besides, even the rules are merely conventions. "There's no official, is the great thing about English," she writes, in a sentence that wryly practices what it preaches. "It's like the Wild Wild West."

But, of course, clarity and tone matter. For two decades, Jovin has run a communication skills company aimed at business professionals, training them to express themselves more effectively. Then, in 2018, she decided to bring her expertise to the public at large. Packing her style guides and a folding table, she hit the road, parking herself on sidewalks across the country - 47 towns in 47 states before covid intervened - and offering grammatical instruction to passersby. Part-manual, part-travelogue, "Rebel with a Clause" is the story of the Grammar Table, a kind of linguist's version of Lucy's Psychiatric Help stall in "Peanuts."

As far as advice goes, Jovin situates herself at the less prescriptive end of the grammar spectrum. "Mine is not the Grammar Judgment Table," she writes, and whether it's the great fewer/less debate or the abbreviations of online conversation, Jovin remains generously noncommittal. "You can do it either way," she says of whether to use the Oxford comma, and she refuses to denounce the "Ghostbusters" for using who instead of whom or the makers of "Star Trek" for boldly splitting their infinitive.

Not everyone Jovin encounters, however, has such a Zen approach to the language. In many of the book's anecdotes, people approach the Grammar Table in groups, calling on Jovin to officiate a dispute. Others vent about family members or friends (who may or may not be standing right next to them). And yet, as Jovin presents them, these grievances sound rehearsed, well-aired, largely cheerful. In terms of low-key rage, they belong to a different order from the colleague taking credit for your work or the neighbor parking in your space. In Jovin's transcriptions, grammar quibbles seem on the whole to be implicitly ironic, or at least aware of their inconsequentiality. They are reliable staples, just some of the ballast with which families and long-standing friendship groups make up their daily conversation. Maybe, even, they are stand-ins, part of the psychopathology of everyday life. Perhaps that irritation with your husband who pronounces nuclear as nucular, or with the aged relative who still types two spaces after a full stop, is simply the visible tip of a deeper frustration. In New York, someone tells Jovin that she fired her therapist for saying "between you and I" (using the subject pronoun I instead of the object pronoun me). I would love to know how the therapist interpreted that.

The format of "Rebel with a Clause," however, does not lend itself to sustained contemplation. Jovin's journey is narrated in brief vignettes that highlight her own dogged buoyancy and the competitive pedantry of the people she meets. The most interesting moments are when her patients, such as they are, begin to consider their relationship to grammar: often a sense of memory fading, of knowledge lost, the wistfulness that a middle-school sharpness has become blunted with time. Some, to their surprise and Jovin's delight, pull up mnemonics acquired decades ago (fanboys for the coordinating conjunctions for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so); others are suspicious of novelty, as when Jovin defends her up-to-date "Chicago Manual of Style" only to be told that her interlocutor's mother would "probably prefer an older edition because it would be more purist." There is so much about language and authority rolled up in this statement, but Jovin's narrative has already moved on to the next scene.

For a book on grammar that runs to nearly 400 pages, actual advice is fairly scanty. Many of Jovin's 49 chapters squeeze considerable mileage out of relatively minor points: past vs passed; than vs then; affect vs effect. Jovin has written usage manuals, but with its folksy, peripatetic arrangement, "Rebel with a Clause" isn't quite one of them. Strong on charm, then, but without enough of either prescription or reflection, the "Grammar Table" finds itself falling between two (grammar) stools.

- - -

Dennis Duncan is a lecturer in English at University College London and author of "Index, A History of the."
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

After a court agreed that Alex Jones committed defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress on two parents whose children died in the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre, a trial is being held in Texas to determine the penalty for that defamation.

The trial started with jury selection on last Monday and opening arguments on Tuesday. Sandy Hook parents Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis seek $150 million in defamation damages from Jones, with their legal team questioning Infowars employees and showing clips from Infowars to try to show the extent of the emotional distress inflicted on the parents.

The parents went into isolation under the protection of security on Monday due to unspecified encounters in Texas that have caused them to fear for their lives, their attorney said.

Jones attorneys have argued the Infowars host has already been punished by losing all his assets  millions of dollars. They argue he didnt intend to inflict emotional distress.

Time stamps are dated for Eastern Standard Time.

Reporter John Moritz is reporting from the courtroom in Texas, while Jordan Nathaniel Fenster is covering the trial from Connecticut.

Attorneys, parents gather in courtroom for potential verdict

5:50: The jury has reached a verdict awarding $45.2 million in punitive damages to the parents. Alex Jones attorney challenged the verdict on the grounds that Texas has a cap of $750,000 in punitive damages.

I'm sure the judgment will properly conform with the laws of Texas in that regard, Judge Maya Guerra Gamble said.

The parents attorney has said hes prepared to fight any cap.

5:30: The parents, their attorneys and Jones attorneys have gathered in the courtroom, where a jury could announce a verdict before the end of the business day. If the jury does not reach a verdict, deliberation will continue on Monday.

JT Lewis, oldest son of Scarlett Lewis and Neil Heslin, placed a lucky penny on the bar next to his mom.

Jury to begin deliberating punitive damages

Briana Sanchez/AP

1:25: The jury was released to the deliberation room.

Attorneys give closing arguments

12:54: Reynal asks for a punitive judgment of $270,000. The parents attorney requested a judgment of $145.9 million. With the $4.1 million the parents received in Thursdays verdict, that would bring them to the $150 million they requested.

12:40: Sandy Hook attorney Wesley Ball delivered his closing arguments. Andino Reynal, attorney for Alex Jones, is giving his closing arguments.

Judge reads instructions to jury ahead of deliberation

11:49: The judge has overruled Jones attorneys objection and called the jury back into the courtroom to continue reading the jury instructions. The jurors verdict must be unanimous.

11:41: In the midst of the reading the jury instructions, Alex Jones attorney had an objection to the charge. The judge sent the jury out of the room for a short break so that she and the attorneys may discuss. The parents lawyer argued Jones attorneys objection.

After a few moments of silence, the judge has left the courtroom.

I will return in a minute, she said.

11:35: Economist Bernard Francis Pettingill, Jr. has come down from the stand. The judge is reading the instructions to the jurors before they go into deliberation to determine punitive damages.

Economist testifies Alex Jones net worth could be as high as $140M

11:32: You cannot separate Alex Jones from the companies. He is the company, Pettingill said.

Briana Sanchez/AP

10:41: Alex Jones has been siphoning money from Free Speech Systems, in addition to his annual salary, over the course of years, Pettingill testifies. He estimates it at $70 million in total.

Using that data, Pettingill testifies that Alex Jones net worth could be as high as $140 million.

10:37: Pettingill testifies that Free Speech Systems' net worth is $150 million minimum.

10:35: Jurors seem to be more diligent taking notes on this phase of the trial

10:34: Pettingill testifies that the deplatforming Jones claims hurt his business, did not in any way actually lower Infowars revenue.

10:30: Pettingill testifies that the day of the default judgment in the defamation case, Free Speech Systems started paying down its debt to PQPR at the rate of $11,000 day.

10:25: Pettingill discusses the $54 million debt Free Speech Systems owes PQPR, another Jones-controlled company. This debt is key to the Free Speech Systems filing for bankruptcy last week.

On the books, Alex Jones is carrying this giant note, when in reality hes using that note as a clawback to pay himself back, Pettingill said. Its a very convenient way of doing business.

"That's why he can say he's broke, he has no money."

The Sandy Hook families in this case and two others have called this debt fabricated in an objection submitted as part of the bankruptcy filing.

Annual revenue to Free Speech Systems was $70 million, Pettingill, says.

10:15: Bernard Francis Pettingill, Jr., an economist, says Alex Jones was making $70 million a year in 2018.

"We can't really put a finger on what he does for a living, how he makes his money, Pettingill said.

"As much as an outsider as he is, he is a very successful man, he added.

Briana Sanchez/AP

He didn't ride the wave, he created the wave."

Court resumes on Friday morning to determine punitive damages

10:10: The judge and attorneys have arrived in the courtroom on Friday morning ahead of additional testimony that will help the jury determine punitive damages against Alex Jones. Jones is sitting in the courtroom with his attorneys.

The first witness is Bernard Francis Pettingill, Jr., an economist with a Ph.D who is an expert in valuing the net worth of companies, including the Monsanto Company in its legal cases.

Jury awards parents $4 million

5:30: A jury has awarded about $4 million to Sandy Hook parents Scarlett Lewis and Neil Heslin. The jury will return on Friday morning to hear from more witnesses to help them reach a separate verdict on punitive damages.

Jan. 6 committee has asked for Jones cellphone records, attorney says

11:04: Bankston says hes been asked by the Jan. 6 committee to turn over the records and he intends to unless the judge tells him not to. The judge says she doesnt think she could prevent him from giving the records to the committee anyway.

11:01: Judge Gamble is ruling on whether or not the records obtained through the mistaken release of Jones cell phone.

Briana Sanchez/AP

Im not going to seal the entire quantity of information, she said.

Medical information will not be allowed, she said, but the rest of it really depends on whats in there.

I dont think its a mistrial based on this, she said.

10:58: Bankston says included in the phone records were intimate messages with Roger Stone. Stone is an associate of former President Donald Trump. Stone and Jones were subpoenaed last year by the U.S. House Jan. 6 Committee investigating the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

10:50: The judge is holding a hearing to discuss Jones cell phone records.

The parents attorney on Wednesday revealed that Jones lawyer mistakenly sent him a digital copy of Jones personal cellphone containing years worth of emails and text messages. Mark Bankston, the parents attorney, suggested the cellphone records show Jones perjured himself on the stand.

In the hearing, Jones attorney, Andino Reynal, claims he asked for the records to be returned.

Bankston said Reynal is using a fig leaf to cover his own mistake.

Jury deliberates on Thursday

10:25: The jury is deliberating after six days of testimony in the trial. Sandy Hook parents Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis are in the courthouse, waiting in a room reserved for attorneys and parties to the lawsuit. Reporters are in the courtroom.

Jury to begin deliberating on Wednesday

BRIANA SANCHEZ /AP

5:36: The jury has left the courtroom to begin deliberation. Jurors are not expected to come up with a verdict before the end of the business day on Wednesday. The judge said jurors may return to deliberation as early as 8:30 a.m. Thursday.

Closing arguments wrap up

5:25: Kyle Farrar, attorney for the parents, responds to Jones lawyers closing arguments.

5:11: Reynal has wrapped up his closing arguments. The judge sent the court on a break.

Closing arguments begin

4:33: Reynal says Heslin and Lewis are tremendously sympathetic, but the jury must decide its verdict based on the facts.

4:14: Andino Reynal, Jones, attorney, begins his closing arguments.

3:50: Reynal, Jones attorney, is eyeing the jury during the parents attorneys closing arguments to gauge their reactions.

3:35: Jones just turned to face the parents attorney, Kyle Farrar, as he repeated Infowars producer Daria Karpovas claim that people now think Alex Jones committed the massacre. Nobody thinks that Alex, nobody does, Farrar said, facing Jones.

3:03 p.m.: An attorney for the Sandy Hook parents has begun closing arguments after Alex Jones finished testifying and a lunch break.

Jury submits questions for Alex Jones

1:26: Jones says in response to a juror question that "Any compensation above $2 million will sink us and shut us down.

He ultimately said that the jurors should award what they think is right.

1:17 p.m.: When asked by a juror why he thinks Sandy Hook was staged, Jones said I have seen so many other things in history that have been staged. When youre a hammer everything looks like a nail.

I did used to go overboard and believe everything was staged, he said.

I do not want to be the Sandy Hook guy, Jones added.

Parents attorney questions Alex Jones

12:30: Infowars was making $800,000 a day on some days, Bankston said.

On redirect, Reynal asked Jones if he trusted his lawyers to do their jobs in turning over evidence.

When asked if he has any more questions for Jones, Banktson said I think we are done with Mr. Jones.

12:25: Bankston, grilling Jones about his emails and text messages, says When your attorneys sent me your whole phone, they didnt mean to do that.

Jones attorney later declined to comment.

I do my talking in the courtroom, attorney Reynal said.

11:50: Attorney Bankston questions Jones about his comments on other tragedies that hes claimed are false flag operations or doubted in some way. This includes the Boston Marathon bombings, the Parkland shooting, and Sutherland Springs church shooting in Texas.

Parents attorney aims to introduce Infowars clip

11:32: After the break, attorney Mark Bankston, representing the parents, plays a July 29 clip from Infowars where Jones former lawyer says this case is following a script. He is showing the clip to prove that Jones should be impeached.

Judge Maya Guerra Gamble lets out a small chuckle as she's handed a picture of herself on fire that's aired on Infowars. That's Justice on fire, Jones said, adding that he hadn't seen the picture aired before.

June Gamble admits the photo into evidence.

Briana Sanchez /AP

A couple of jurors also laugh as Jones tries to explain the context behind photo of the judge on fire.

11:15: The jury goes on break as the judge and the attorneys discuss the introduction of a new Infowars clip that the parents attorney wants to present.

Alex Jones returns to the stand Wednesday morning

11:05: Jones said he believes Sandy Hook happened and it was a terrible event. He then suggested there was a government cover-up involved. Parents Scarlett Lewis and Neil Heslin looked directly at him.

11 a.m.: Jones said Infowars lost money due to its Sandy Hook coverage. He compared being de-platformed on the internet as a prison.

10:57: Jones said it was an oversight that Owen Shroyer discussed Sandy Hook on his Infowars program. Shroyers questioning of Heslins story of holding his dead son has been a key part of the trial.

Jones called Heslin nice and Lewis excellent.

I agree weve got to choose love and fix this evel thats ripping our country apart, said Jones, referring to the Choose Love organization that Lewis started after her sons death.

I do acknowledge that I unintentionally took part in things that did hurt peoples feelings, and Im sorry for that, Jones said.

10:42: A video of Jones talking about the 2018 Megyn Kelly broadcast and his views on Sandy Hook is played for the jury. Jones is looking ahead, making occasional glances at the screen.

10:32: Reynal asks Jones about the filming of a Megyn Kelly broadcast where Jones and the Sandy Hook father were interviewed.

Jones said he agreed to be interviewed by Kelly after she called him a lot because I was told that I would be allowed (to say) that I thought Sandy Hook happened and apologize to the families.

He claimed that didnt turn out to be the case.

10:21: Jones said he was wrong to trust people who doubted the Sandy Hook shooting happened and was under pressure at the time.

Jones insisted that he now understands the Sandy Hook shooting happened.

Especially since I met the parents, its 100 percent real as I said yesterday, Jones said.

Briana Sanchez / Associated Press

He said he stopped covering Sandy Hook prior to this lawsuit once he realized he had been wrong and got his head cleared up after he stopped drinking and finalized his divorce.

10:15: Jones said that the Sandy Hook shooting was not one of our main topics in the early years after the shooting. He estimated Infowars covered it for about 2 1/2 hours in 2012.

10:10: Jones attorney asks where Jones was on the day of the Sandy Hook massacre and what his feeling was that day. Jones describes feeling shock, especially as a father.

That somebody could do something like that, just that it was possible, its hard to believe, Jones said.

10:05: Alex Jones has taken the stand to continue his testimony on Wednesday morning. Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, parents of Jesse Lewis, who was killed in the Sandy Hook massacre, are in the courtroom.

The first question from Jones attorney, Andino Reynal, is about truthers.

Jones apologies to parents after judge leaves courtroom on Tuesday

6 p.m.: Soon after the judge left the courtroom, the Sandy Hook parents spoke with Alex Jones.

Scarlett Lewis approached Jones first, and then Neil Heslin walked over.

I let your son down and I apologize about everything, Jones said, shaking Heslins hand.

The parents attorney, Mark Bankston, asked if Jones would apologize for calling Heslin slow. This led to shouting between the attorney and Jones.

Attorney Wesley Todd Ball, representing the parents, stepped in and separated the two sides, saying, that's not what's going to happen right now...Thats not the way this goes.

Judge tells Jones he must tell the truth

5:50: Attorney Mark Bankston, representing Lewis and Heslin, asked the judge once the jury left the room for the day to sanction Jones after he slipped in that he was bankrupt when Jones lawyer asked a question about how many employees he would need to respond to the emails Infowars receives.

Bankston also accused attorney Andino Reynal of trying to solicit testimony from Jones that the judge has barred from being discussed in front of the jury. Gamble said she would address sanctions after the trial.

You may not tell this jury you are bankrupt, that is not true, you may have filed for bankruptcy but that doesnt make you bankrupt, Gamble told Jones.

It seems absurd for me to tell you, you must tell the truth while you testify, Gamble said before instructing him to answer the exact question he was asked. The judge also accused Jones of breaking his oath to tell the truth twice while on the stand.

Alex Jones takes stand

5:12: I've made a lot of mistakes and I've learned a lot in that process, Jones said, adding that he is shifting the focus of his show toward Christianity and self-help, rather than discussing news and politics.

4:42: Interjecting at the start of his testimony, Jones interrupted his own attorney.

I just want to say this on record: I am sorry, he said.

Rebuked by the judge, Jones says about Lewis, So she got to monologue and I dont

I never intentionally tried to hurt you, Jones said of Lewis.

4:38: Alex Jones has taken the stand, with his attorney, Andino Reynal, beginning questioning. His wife, Erika, is in the courtroom.

Sandy Hook mom says she forgive(s) Jones but he should still be held accountable

4:22: Lewis said she would absolutely welcome Jones and his family into her Choose Love movement if they wanted to join.

Another juror asked if she would forgive Jones if he genuinely apologized.

I have said that I forgive Alex, Lewis said. Ive said that I forgive Adam Lanza, and I feel compassion for him, and I forgive Alex and I feel compassion for you.

But she added that forgiveness starts with a choice and forgiveness is a process.

It doesnt mean you dont hold the person that youre forgiving accountable, she said. Theyre still responsible for what they did.

4:17: The jurors are permitted to submit questions to Scarlett Lewis for the judge to read. One parent asks how losing her son has affected how she has parented her older son, JT Lewis. She said she has become more protective, wanting to keep him in bubble wrap.

You have a little bit of guilt that you sent them to school, Lewis said of her son, Jesse.

Alex Jones attorney questions Sandy Hook mom

3:41: Jones attorney Adino Reynal, questioning Lewis, asked her several times how much she spends on therapy. When she answered that she does not know, he begins trying to drill down to how much she spends a month or a week.

Then Reynal asked Lewis about speaking fees, and how many books shes written.

One hundred percent of the proceeds from all three of my books as well as 100 percent of the proceeds from everything I do goes to the Choose Love movement, she said. Lewis is referring to the nonprofit organization she started in honor of her son. The organization develops social emotional learning programs for schools.

Do you think Im an actress?

3:20: In some way, you've impacted every day of my life, negatively, almost since Jesses murder, Lewis said, her hands folding together to get her point across. I'm so glad this day is here, I'm relieved actually.

3:10: Alex Jones was looking ahead as attorneys started playing a video that begins with old home videos of Jesse Lewis. Id like you to watch it Alex, please, Lewis said promoting Jones to turn toward the screen.

2:59: Do you think Im an actress? Lewis asked Jones while testifying.

No, I dont think youre an actress, Jones said before Judge Gamble cut him off and told Jones he does not get to speak during her testimony.

Im sorry, Lewis said. I asked him a question.

Sandy Hook mom returns to the stand

2:55: At least one member of the jury cries as Lewis describes her last memory and last photo she took of her son.

2:45: Speaking directly to Jones in the courtroom, Lewis says, I wanted you to know that I am a mother and my son existed.

Jones, she said, has been saying on the air today that Im an actress, that Im deep state, she said, calling truth vital and what we base our society on.

Sandy Hook was a hard truth, she said. I know you believe me and yet youre going to leave this courthouse and do it again on your show.

Jones shakes his head, to which Lewis replied, Youre saying no, but you just did it.

Do you have empathy? she asks Jones later.

2:40: Scarlet stares directly at Jones as she says that she's pleased that she now gets to look Jones in the eye

Alex Jones arrives in the courtroom

2:33: Plaintiffs attorneys have said after a lunch break that Jones discussed the trial on his radio show, and specifically mentioned Heslin and Lewis.

Hes a nice man and its not an act, Jones said of Heslin on the show. He is being manipulated by some very bad people. Hes slow, his ex-wife is not.

Neil Heslin stared directly at Jones while they played the tape of Jones calling him slow.

Jones, in court this afternoon, was chastised for chewing gum but told the judge he was actually chewing gauze.

Then he leaned forward and stuck a finger in his mouth, pulling aside his lip to show Judge Gamble the hole where he said he recently had a tooth pulled.

I don't want to see the inside of your mouth, Judge Gamble said.

Court breaks for lunch

1 p.m.: Court has taken a lunch break.

Sandy Hook mom Scarlett Lewis takes the stand

12:59: Lucy Richards, who has been convicted for making death threats against the Pozner family, who also lost a child in the Sandy Hook massacre, has been told by a court not to listen or watch the Alex Jones show, plaintiffs lawyers say.

Lawyers then argued whether or not it is relevant to listen in court to Richards threats.

Death is coming to you real soon, Richards says on the tape. Youre going to die.

12:50: Do you feel unsafe at your own house? attorney Ball asked Lewis.

I have, yes, she replied.

When asked why she keeps a gun at her home, she said, I am a single mother and responsible for the safety of both of my boys, and I was not able to keep one of them safe so I am going to keep my surviving son safe. 

12:30 p.m. Scarlett Lewis on the stand says after the massacre she did not want to go home to the home in which she had raised her son, Jesse.

There was hushed whispering, she said. There was someone saying the tragedy hadnt happened.

Lewis said after that, months later, the Sandy Hook Elementary School choir had been invited to the Superbowl to sing America the Beautiful with Jenifer Hudson.

Then I saw a picture with an overlay of them, she says, and the plaintiffs attorney brings up the photo, which had Jesse Lewis name overlayed.

It was deeply unsettling, she said. Its so out of touch with reality that its scary.

Sandy Hook dad finishes testimony

12:22: Neil Heslin has finished his testimony after answering submitted questions from the jury. He hugs attorney Wesley Todd Ball

Jury to submit questions for Sandy Hook dad

11:34: Attorneys have finished questioning Neil Heslin, father of 6-year-old Jesse Lewis, who was killed in the Sandy Hook massacre. Court has taken a break so that jurors can write and submit questions that the judge will read to Heslin.

Sandy Hook dad Neil Heslin takes stand Tuesday morning

11:12: Alex started this fight and I'll finish this fight, said Heslin, adding his battle is with nobody but Jones, Infowars and Infowars host Owen Shroyer.

Alex was the person with a match who started the fire, Heslin said. People are bringing wood to throw on the fire.

10:58: Alex Jones attorney Andino Reynal begins questioning Heslin. Reynal says he has a 6-year-old and is very, very sorry about Jesse.

Reynal asks whether Heslin has chosen to watch the rest of Alex Joness broadcasts that have been entered into evidence.

I don't know if it's all of them, I have watched a large number, numerous ones.

10:56: Jesse would be 16 if he hadnt been killed.

Hed be riding a car instead of riding a bike, Heslin said.

10:53: Any apology from Jones would be worthless, Heslin said.

At this stage, any apology would not be sincere, said Heslin, adding it would come too late

He said theres got to be a strong deterent to stop Jones from peddaling these things. He added he views the monetary damages that he and Scarlett are seeking as the only way it will stop.

10:50: Around the time the original trial was delayed in April, Heslin said someone drove by his house and shouted Alex Jones along with what he said sounded like gunshots.

Anxiety attacks also cause Heslin to wake up frequently in the night, he said. Several weeks ago he ended up in the hospital with chest pains, he said.

Attorney Mark Bankston has moved back to sit by Scarlett Lewiss side.

10:47: This trial is the only way I can restore my credibility and reputation, Heslin said.

10:45: Almost every member of the jury stared at Heslin as he described seeing his sons body with a grazing bullet wound on the side of his head, along with the fatal shot to his forehead.

It shattered his skull, Heslin said. The exit wound was about the size of a softball.

Heslin said that he is forced to replay those images every time his story about holding his sons body is questioned by Jones followers.

10:34: I wouldn't wish upon Alex or anybody the loss that I sustained, the loss of a child, Heslin said.

10:25: I heard the name Alex Jones, Heslin said, early on, in 2013, though he didnt immediately put Jones and Infowars together.

Heslin says he still has encounters with people who believe Sandy Hook never happened to this day.

After a while, he said, encountering people who questioned the reality of Sandy Hook, became a way of life.

10:20: Attorney Wesley Todd Ball brings up Jesse Lewis first grade class photo, which brings a big smile to Heslins face as he wipes away tears.

10:17: Scarlett Lewis, Jesses mother, is in the courtroom as Heslin testifies. She nods along whenever he begins to choke up or stumble.

10:14: I wish it was true, I wish that Jesse was alive. But that's not the case, Heslin said, beginning to choke up as he goes on, before regaining composure.

10:10 a.m.: Neil Heslin, father of 6-year-old Jesse Lewis, who was killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, has taken the stand on Tuesday morning.

Today is very important to me, Heslin said. Its been a long time coming. I feel very good about being here today to face Alex Jones.

Jones is not present in the courtroom, and Heslin calls it disrespect and a cowardly act.

10 a.m.: Heslin walked into the courtroom with his attorney, Wesley Todd Ball. They paused briefly outside the door, and Ball had his arm around Heslins shoulder.

Lets go, Heslin said, and they entered the courtroom.

Alex Jones to testify in trial

5:44: Yes your honor, we will be calling Alex Jones, the Infowars hosts attorney tells the judge after speaking to his client outside the courtroom.

Jones is expected to take the stand on Tuesday, following testimony from parents Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis. The parents attorney visibly smiled

The judge said closing statements could be Wednesday.

5:41: Attorney Andino Reynal has left the courtroom to call Alex Jones to see whether hell testify in the trial. Parents Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis are expected to testify on Tuesday. Their attorneys originally planned to call JT Lewis, the parents college-age son, to testify, but their lawyer told the judge they no longer plan to.

Jury is released early for the day

5:28: The jury has been released early on Monday after the questioning of the psychotherapist wrapped up. The judge and the attorneys will now discuss the schedule for Tuesday and instructions for the jury.

Psychotherapist takes the stand

4:36: Crouch, who serves as Heslins therapist, says there was a period of time where the father was ignoring Jones and choosing not to dignify what he said. Thats a symptom of trauma, Crouch says.

Jones attorney asks if thats healthy.

I would suggest no, not in Mr. Heslins case because it kept the injury alive, Crouch says.

4:21: Crouch describes the belief that the Sandy Hook massacre was a hoax as a new injury for the parents. He explains to the jury why this trial is so important to Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis.

They need to know and to let the world know that their son mattered, that he lived, Crouch says.

The parents would still be grieving the loss of their son without Alex Jones, he says.

But they wouldnt be so scared as they are right now, Crouch says. They wouldnt have to fight this or as significantly fight this belief that Sandy Hook was a hoax.

3:50: Up next on the stand for the plaintiffs is psychotherapist Michael Crouch, who said he lives in Norwalk, Connecticut.

Originally from Kansas, Crouch said he came to the East Coast in order to pursue a career on Broadway but took up training in psychotherapy when that didnt pan out.

Judge tells Alex Jones attorney to follow the rules

3:15: Bankston, for the plaintiffs, tells the judge that defense attorney Reynal is Actively trying for a mistrial.

The judge asks Reynal to follow the rules.

Im not asking you to do anything but follow the rules, she said to Reynal. You've chosen not to follow them on occasion.

Alex Jones attorney questions psychiatric expert

2:55: Attorney Andino Reynal asks Lubit if he understands the term malingering, and if the motivations can be monetary or seeking revenge.

Some benefit comes out of a horrible thing, Lubit said.

Heslin, Reynal said, has a vendetta against Jones.

Might a grieving parent take up gun control as a mission after a school scooting, Reynal asked.

And someone could also find meaning in destroying Alex Jones, Reynal suggested.

Court breaks for lunch

1 p.m.: The court is taking a lunch break for 1 1/2 hours.

Doctor describes symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder parents have faced

12:40: On redirect, defense attorney Reynal begins by focusing on Lubits testimony, asking him if providing expert testimony in court is appropriate for psychiatrists.

Lubit owns a home in Southport, along with a friend of his, he confirms. Reynal mentions that Lubit ran for U.S. Congress as a Democrat in Connecticut.

The fact is you dont like Alex Jones, Reynal said, asking if helping to take down Alex Jones would win him friends.

I have no expectation of ever going back into politics, Lubit said.

12:27: Lubit said the parents increase their personal risk by bringing this suit, but they decided to do it, in part, because theyre compassionate people who didnt want anyone else to go through what they have.

Other parents shouldnt have to suffer the death of their child or the sort of inappropriate attacks that they have suffered, he said.

Thats who they are, theyre remarkably compassionate people, he added later.

12:23 p.m.: Lubit testified that he was surprised that Lewis and Heslin were concerned about the family of the gunman in the Sandy Hook massacre.

The gunman killed his own mother, in addition to the 26 children and teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary School, and Heslin and Lewis are adamant that there were 28 victims, not 26, Lubit said.

They lost a child, too, Lubit said Heslin told him.

11:50: Lubit says Lewis and Heslin are suffering from complex PTSD, which he describes as a result of long-term traumas, such as child abuse or being in a war zone.

Lubit described it as constant draining threat and anxiety, he said, and the amount of anxiety they have is immense.

Theyre terrified, he said.

These symptoms are the result of Alex Jones, not the loss of their son, Lubot testified. They were doing better, Lubit said of Heslin and Lewis.

11:30: Mark Bankston, an attorney for a Heslin and Lewis, said that both parents were advised by the doctor and another therapist to leave the room during his testimony in order to avoid any negative impacts on their ongoing treatment.

11:15: Did the negative social support parents Heslin and Lewis experienced affect them differently? Lubit says there were some similarities, including significant anxiety.

Lubit is describing symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, from which he says Heslin and Lewis suffer.

Withdrawing from life and avoidance, as well decreased ability to concentrate are among other symptoms Lubit says Lewis and Heslin display. Lewis has experienced periods of episodes of dissociation, where he said she cant think, cant function.

Its on their mind, all the time, Lubit said. The threats and attacks on their son, denying that he existed.

When asked if these symptoms stem from Alex Jones, Lubit said yes.

10:53: Dr. Roy Lubit, a forensic psychiatry expert, is questioned by Bill Ogden, attorney for the parents.

Father Neil Heslin has left the courtroom, followed a few minutes later by mother Scarlett Lewis.

When asked if people ever heal from the loss of a child, Lubit says it depends on what you call healing.

After a few years people are able to move on to some degree, he says.

Depositions from Infowars employees play

10:42: The jury has viewed two video depositions of two Infowars employees, pre-recorded by the parents attorneys. The first was of Adan Salazar and saw the parents attorney question him about Infowars coverage of the Sandy Hook massacre. The second was of Brittany Paz, the corporate representative of Free Speech Systems, LLC (Infowars).

Sandy Hook parents arrive in courtroom on Monday

9:45 a.m.: Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis are in the Travis County courtroom in Texas on Monday, when they could testify to the emotional distress they say they suffered from Alex Jones false claims that the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting was a hoax. Their 6-year-old son, Jesse, was among 20 first graders and six educators killed in the 2012 massacre.

The parents seek $150 million in defamation damages from Jones. He is not yet in the courtroom.

Jones sues his parent company

As the first week of the Texas trial was concluding, attorneys got word that Jones had filed a suit in Connecticut against his own parent company Free Speech Systems, which was found liable along with Jones for defamation against an FBI agent and eight Sandy Hook families in 2021.

Although the filing is not expected to affect the second week of trial in Texas, it could derail the start of jury selection in the Connecticut trial on Aug. 2. In Connecticut, Superior Court Judge Barbara Bellis said she would address the timely cross-claim on Tuesday.

Attorneys for the Sandy Hook families in Connecticut said in an objection, filed Friday Alex Jones will do anything to delay trial in this case, including effectively suing himself, calling it yet another bad faith tactic meant to obfuscate, to delay, and to create a false issue in this record in preparation for a new abusive bankruptcy filing.

Jury dismissed for the weekend

6:30 p.m.: The jury was dismissed for the weekend, with a reminder from the judge to avoid media coverage or discussion of the case.

The weekend is going to be hard, she said. You cant talk about the case.

The jury was asked to return at 8:45 a.m. Monday.

Sandy Hook family to testify next week

6 p.m.: Mark Bankston, attorney for Sandy Hook parents Scarlett Lewis and Neil Heslin, said the parents and their son, JT Lewis, will testify next week.

Communications expert takes the stand

5:44: Reynal calls the poll claiming that 24 percent of the U.S. population believe Sandy Hook never happened, clickbait.

He raises questions on the sample size of the poll, and questions Lewis knowledge of the poll.

Its fair to say you just didn't check your sources on this poll, he said. Sure, she replied.

On redirect, Bankston asks about the sample size of the poll. Have you ever heard the phrase lawyers who lie should lose? Bankston said, calling back Reynals opening remarks.

The sample size is over 1,000 people, Lewis said, with a margin of error of 3 percent.

5:35: Asked how much she is paid, Lewis said $3,000 for 20 hours of work.

When Reynal asked her if she hates Alex Jones, Lewis begins to say that through the course of watching hundreds of hours of work she has come to believe he is harmful.

Reynal raises tweets from Lewis in which she said the Republican Party is a white supremacist organization, accusing her of confirmation bias.

In this case you already believed in your heart of hearts that Alex Jones was a bad guy, Reynal said.

She replied that its quite the opposite. She simply looked at the content and drew a conclusion, and that her academic publications have been peer reviewed.

4:20: Becca Lewis is now on the stand. She is not related to Scarlett Lewis.

Her field of expertise is communication, specifically looking at disinformation and conspiracy theories and how they travel online.

Lewis has degrees from Columbia and Oxford Universities.

She is currently teaching at Stanford University, and a doctoral candidate. Her dissertation centers around disinformation campaigns and conspiracy theories, including the history of right-wing disinformation campaigns.

Infowars employee doesnt recall fact-checking

4 p.m.: Plaintiffs are now showing a video deposition of Infowars employee Kit Daniels.

When asked in the video if he was made aware of any journalistic standards or fact-checking, Daniels replies repeatedly I dont recall.

Daniels, he says in the video, reviews the accuracy of articles on Infowars website, including context.

When asked how he reviews context, Daniels replies repeatedly that he does not understand the question.

When asked what determines his methods, Daniels says it sounds like youre talking in riddles.

Jurors submit questions for journalism expert

3:50: As the court comes back from a break the jurys questions for Fred Zipp are about the nature of journalism and whether or not Infowars staff practiced responsible journalism.

For example, were the titles of Infowars accurate compared to their contents?

Debate over evidence

3 p.m.: The judge sent the jury on a break so that evidence could be reviewed. Attorneys for the Sandy Hook parents objected to the inclusion of evidence that Jones lawyers want to present, arguing they cannot vouch for its authenticity.

I do think there is an authentication problem, Judge Maya Guerra Gamble said.

With the jury out of the room, the video evidence was played for expert witness Fred Zipp, who said he did not recall seeing it as part of the evidence he was asked to prepare for as part of the trial.

The judge determined the video would not be played for the jury, which were then brought back from break.

Alex Jones attorney questions journalism expert

2:35 p.m.: Court has resumed after lunch, with Jones attorney continuing to question Fred Zipp, director of the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas.

Court breaks for lunch

1 p.m.: Court has taken a lunch break

Journalism expert testifies

12:37 p.m.: During questioning from Jones attorney, F. Andino Reynal, Zipp says Jones carries himself as a journalist and adopts sort of the guise of a journalist while engaging in activities that are contrary to journalism.

11:35: Fred Zipp is testifying on the stand as an expert in journalism.

Plaintiffs attorney Bill Ogden, began by establishing Zipps credentials, in addition to being the director of the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas.

In an affidavit filed in the case, Zipp said he believes Jones and Infowars defamed Heslin.

Jury views taped depositions from Infowars employees

11:20: Plaintiffs are showing a taped deposition given by former Infowars producer and reporter Dan Bidondi.

Bidondi attended a Newtown Board of Education meeting in 2014 at which Sandy Hook denier Wolfgang Halbig was also present wearing a mock 1800s outfit.

Bidondi testified that he had been alerted that the meeting was going to be a circus.

11:10: Plaintiffs are showing a taped deposition given by former Infowars employee Robert Jacobson.

Jacobson, in his deposition, said he repeatedly warned Infowars staff about their coverage of Sandy Hook.

It actually bothered me, Jacobson said in the deposition. I did my best to make writers and staff aware that what they were doing was speculation based on not enough information.

I would make it my business to go in to the writers and explain to them as clearly as possible that there is journalist ethics, and I tried to demonstrate what those ethics are and why they are violating them and what the damage could possibly be, Jacobson said. In fact, I remember, I must have been in that room four to five times, at least, and only to be received with laughter and jokes.

Jury submits questions for Infowars host

11:05: In response to a question from a juror on how often Shroyer or Jones feels guilty about airing the views of unstable guests, he replied, If we make mistakes we apologize.

In response to a question of if he has learned anything from the experience, Shroyer said, yes.

When asked if he would recant anything, Shroyer said, he would Probably not have covered it at all. That four minutes of my life has caused tremendous negative effects on my career.

When asked if he believed the judge or jurors are hired actors, Shroyer said no.

(Earlier in the trial, Infowars producer Daria Karpova was asked, Do you believe this whole trial is somehow a staged event? Karpova answered, To a large extent, yes.)

When asked if Infowars should be exempt from any consequences for recklessly airing harmful lies, Shroyer said he believes there should be a fair application when media outlets report things that are not true.

I would say the laws on the books, he said, are fair.

11 a.m.: Juror questions are beginning, with several focused on if Infowars feels guilty about airing the views of mentally unstable people.

Are yall considering it a learning experience? was one question.

Several questions involve fact checking, and if Infowars should do more of it.

One question: Is there anything you should recant about your coverage of the Sandy Hook case.

Another question asks if in Shroyers opinion, is the judge a hired actor, and if jurors are hired actors.

Court breaks for jury to form questions for Infowars host

10:37: In the hallway during break, Infowars host Owen Shroyer gave a small nod to Sandy Hook dad Neil Heslin as the dad walked by. Heslin kept walking and didnt look at him.

10:30: Jones attorney wrapped up questions for Shroyer, and the jury must now submit their own questions for them.

Alex Jones Sandy Hook trial resumes on Friday

10:20 a.m.: Infowars host Owen Shroyer is back on the stand, now being questioned by Andino Reynal, who is representing Infowars and Jones.

Did you intend your broadcast to be inflammatory? Reynal asked Shroyer.

Absolutely not, he said.

This argument appears to address the question of whether or not any emotional distress was intentional.

10 a.m.: Court has resumed on Friday morning with testimony from Infowars host Owen Shroyer, host of Infowars The War Room who was found liable for defamation, along with Jones. He admitted in his Thursday testimony that he did not fact-check his false claims that Sandy Hook dad Neil Heslin didnt hold his dead son Jesse in his arms after the shooting.

Sandy Hook parents Scarlett Lewis and Neil Heslin are in the courtroom, but Infowars house Alex Jones is not. Lewis and Heslin are the parents of 6-year-old Jesse Lewis, who was killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre. They are seeking $150 million in defamation damages from Jones.

Judge scolds Jones attorney after testimony wraps up on Thursday

6 p.m.: The third day of the trial ended with Judge Maya Guerra Gamble again scolding Alex Jones legal team after she learned Jones and Infowars host Owen Shroyer discussed the case on air this week.

In doing so, they disobeyed her orders that witnesses not discuss the case with anyone other than attorneys, under penalty of contempt of court.

Gamble made Jones lead attorney, Andino Reynal, admit that he didnt follow her instructions. He told the judge he could assure her that no evidence or witness testimony from the trial was discussed on Tuesday by Jones and Shroyer.

The judge replied that it would be easy enough to find out whether that was true. She plans to watch the Infowars episode in question.

Asked afterward by a Hearst Connecticut Media reporter whether hes told Jones to stop posting about the case on Infowars, Reynal said, Alex is who he is, hes got every right to speak to who he wants to and the media.

Later, he added, its a free country.

Infowars host: I never called Neil Heslin a liar

5:45: Infowars host Owen Shroyer looks directly at Sandy Hook parents Scarlett Lewis and Neil Heslin to say yes they deserved better than the coverage he gave to their loss. Heslin looks back at Shroyer, while Lewis looks into her lap. Neither visibly reacted to the comment.

5:36: Lewis leans over, whispers in Heslins ear and scoffs as Shroyer explains he doesnt understand why people are still talking about the false claims that Heslin never held his child.

5:17: During questioning from the Sandy Hook attorney, Shroyer says, I never called Neil Heslin a liar. I never said they were crisis actors.

Shroyer admitted under heavy questioning that he could have done a better job at vetting news sources but refused to admit that he questioned Heslins story.

The plaintiffs attorney continued to press Shroyer, showing clips in which he raised doubts, but Shroyer refused to say that he had in any way called Heslin a liar or that the Sandy Hook massacre never happened. 

I am taking a neutral approach to this, he said.

Infowars host Owen Shroyer takes the stand

5:01: The jury watches a clip from Infowars where Shroyer questions Heslins account of holding his dead son Jesse. Heslin does not watch the clip, looking away at nothing in particular. Scarlett Lewis, mother of Jesse Lewis, moved closer to Heslin as the clip started to play and watches him with a concerned look.

4:58: Heslin looks directly at Shroyer during an exchange about whether Shroyer vetted claims about Heslin not holding his son after the shooting. Jones, meanwhile, says something to his lawyer.

4:50: When asked, Would you agree with me that it is not right for a journalist to edit video clips to fit an agenda, Shroyer said yes.

When asked if he considers himself a journalist, Shroyer said, Sometimes.

When asked if he considers himself a conspiracy theorist, Shroyer said, Sometimes.

4:35: Up next is Owen Shroyer, host of Infowars The War Room who was found liable for defamation, along with Jones. He is expected to testify about his role in a 2018 Infowars report that falsely claimed Sandy Hook dad Neil Heslin did not hold his dead son Jesse in his arms.

Shroyer also faces disorderly conduct and other charges in connection with the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.

Attorney Kyle Farrar, representing the Sandy Hook parents, has taken over questioning.

Infowars producer answers questions

4:30: Karpova was asked three times, Do you believe this whole trial is somehow a staged event?

The first two times she attempted to evade, only to have the judge in the case instruct her to answer the question.

Finally, Karpova answered, To a large extent, yes.

Questioning of Karpova is complete after three days.

4:25: One juror asked Karpova to define Infowars as either a trustworthy news source or infotainment. She replied neither.

The next question asked her, if it was neither, to say under oath that Infowars is not a trustworthy source of information. Karpova replied I would not say that.

4:22: The jury returns to the courtroom, and the judge reads questions from the jurors to Infowars producer Daria Karpova. In response to a question from a juror, Karpova said she is paid a salary of $125,000 a year.

Court resumes after break

4:12: The judge and attorneys have returned to the courtroom after a break. Neil Heslin, the Sandy Hook dad who was not in the courtroom prior to the break, is back.

Court takes a 30-minute break

3:42: The opposing attorneys finish questioning Infowars producer Daria Karpova. Her testimony began on Tuesday afternoon.

Jurors have the opportunity to submit their own questions for Karpova. Those questions will come after an about 30-minute break.

During the break, Jones is heard telling his security detail that hes staying at the courthouse for the rest of the day.

Megyn Kelly broadcast on Jones shown

3:31: Mother Scarlett Lewis gives Jones a hard look as a clip plays of Megyn Kelly and Alex Jones going back and forth on Sandy Hook, with Jones refusing to fully back away from his claims.

3:27: A couple jurors smirked as they watched a clip of a shirtless Jones hocking diet pills.

3:19: A 17-minute video of a Megyn Kelly broadcast on Alex Jones is played for the jury.

Infowars producer says Jones has suffered

3:15: Alex Jones shakes his head as Bankston attemps to make the point that Infowars believed that the things it did it is allowed to do again.

3:08: Karpova says that Jones has suffered health effects due to the backlash he has received from his statements about Sandy Hook. In defense of Jones, she acknowledges that peoples well-being is affected when people lie about them.

Do you understand the irony and hypocrisy of making that statement? Do you understand that right now? asks the familys attorney, Mark Bankston. He has resumed questioning of Karpova.

Jones legal team asks about Infowars products

3:03: Jones attorney asks Karpova about the products that Infowars sells. She glances at Jones as she launches into a lengthy defense of the supplements and pills he sells to support his platform. Jones looks ahead at her.

In response to a question from the attorney, Karpova says that Jones doesnt and couldnt track how much product he sells based on whats discussed on his show.

In 2017 video, Jones expresses condolences to families

2:55 p.m: Jones legal team plays a video of Jones from around Fathers Day 2017 expressing condolences to the families whose loved ones died in Sandy Hook.

I dont believe the parents ever saw that video, to be frank, Karpova says.

Sandy Hook mother Scarlett Lewis looked directly at Karpova as she talked about how the parents never reached out about going on the show.

Alex Jones returns to the courtroom

2:45 p.m.: Daria Karpova says that in 2015 Jones ordered his staff to stop writing or talking about Sandy Hook. As she said this, Alex Jones and his security team walked back in the room, and several jurors turned their attention toward him.

Court resumes after lunch break

2:33 p.m.: Court has resumed after lunch break. Sandy Hook father Neil Heslin did not return to the courtroom after lunch. Jones, who left earlier in the morning, also did not return.

Jones attorney, Andino Reynal, has resumed questioning of Infowars producer Daria Karpova.

Court takes lunch break

1 p.m.: Court is on a lunch break after the jury watched another video of Alex Jones discussing the Sandy Hook shooting on Infowars.

Infowars producer returns to the stand

12:25: Following the video, Karpova is back on the stand, listing people other than Alex Jones who have said the Sandy Hook massacre never happened.

James Fetzer, for example, wrote a book called No one died at Sandy Hook. In 2019, a Wisconsin jury awarded Sandy Hook father Leonard Pozner $450,000 in defamation damages from Fetzer.

Defense attorneys have argued that 24 percent of the population believed there was a cover-up of some kind, and that Jones was a primary driver of that belief.

The defenses line of questioning seems to be designed to refute Jones impact.

Jones walks out of courtroom before video of him plays

11:55: The jury is watching a video of Jones on the day of the shooting in 2012, live reporting events as they happen.

Jones, in the video, talks about how events like this are sometimes staged and blames video games, among other reasons.

There was no real visible reaction from Heslin and Lewis to watching the video. The jury is watching intently, with a few taking notes.

11:16: Alex Jones walked out of the courtroom just before his attorney began to play an Infowars video of him discussing the Sandy Hook massacre as the news was developing the day of the shooting.

Infowars producer back on the stand

11:10: Reynal asked Karpova to draw distinctions between calling something staged and a false flag, and saying that no one was killed.

Karpova said that if something is staged or a false flag Doesnt necessarily imply that no one was killed.

A patsy, she said, is a real person being used by the government or someone else.

They would end up being the fall guy, she said.

DARPA, she said answering Reynals question, is an agency that deals with research development of weapons.

11:05: The jury is back in the courtroom. Infowars producer Daria Karpova has returned to the stand for the third day in a row. Jones attorney continues to question her.

Judge denies Jones efforts to introduce new evidence

11:04: Judge denies Jones' last-minute effort to introduce videos that the parents' attorneys objected to.

Among the parents' attorney's objections was that they couldn't verify the authenticity of the videos, Bankston said, "I don't have any way of knowing what they did to those videos."

Alex Jones attorney apologizes after Wednesdays heated exchange

10:20: Judge Gamble began day three of the proceedings with an admonition for both sides following the previous evenings theatrics.

The next time anyone wants to have an argument, take it outside, the judge said.

Jones attorney, F. Andino Reynal, who was seen raising his middle finger to the parents attorney on Wednesday, stood and asked to address the court, only to have Gamble deny his request.

Later, Reynal offered an apology to the court as he continued to make his case for introducing new video evidence.

I apologize, he said.  It wasnt appropriate. I took to heart what your honor said. I wrote an email to the (parents') attorney that I apologized and hoped we could work together cooperatively.

A break was called to review evidence that Reynal would like admitted to court.

Opposing attorneys argue over presenting certain evidence

10:15: After a tense, argumentative evening, attorneys are arguing about what evidence should be allowed.

I dont think the jury can consider the atmosphere of paranoia if there was one, without reviewing all the emails, Jones attorney Andino Reynal said.

When asked if some videos were previously disclosed to the plaintiffs, Reynal said yes, though the judge asked if they were disclosed appropriately.

Was this another time in which your clients chose not to comply with discovery? she asked.

Alex Jones, Sandy Hook families arrive in the courtroom Thursday

10:08: Judge Maya Guerra Gamble asked Jones if he was chewing gum. He said he wasnt.

10 a.m. Thursday: Infowars host Alex Jones, as well as Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, parents of 6-year-old Jesse Lewis, who was killed in the Sandy Hook shooting, have arrived in the Texas courtroom for the third day of testimony in the defamation damages trial. With the parents are their son, JT Lewis, older brother of Jesse.

Heslin and Lewis attorney, Mark Bankston, is in the courtroom with them. Jones attorney, F. Andino Reynal, arrived in the courtroom after Jones.

Reynal and Bankston got into a disagreement on Wednesday evening over Reynal wanting to introduce additional video exhibits, leading to the Jones attorney calling Bankston a liar and giving him the middle finger.

Heated exchange between the attorneys wraps up day on Wednesday

6 p.m. Wednesday: Emotions ran high after the judge left the room on Wednesday, with Alex Jones attorney giving the finger to the Sandy Hook parents attorney.

The incident came after a tense discussion between the judge and the attorneys once the jury left the courtroom. F. Andino Reynal, Jones attorney, wanted to introduce new video evidence  something Mark Bankston, attorney for the parents, opposed because he said he wouldnt have time to review the videos.

Judge Maya Guerra Gamble ordered them to look over the videos and determined that they would discuss the evidence again Thursday morning. The attorneys and judge will meet at 9 a.m., and the jury will be called in later, she said.

In another exchange, Reynal called Bankston dishonest after the familys attorney objected to being called a personal injury lawyer during court. The judge scolded Reynal, saying she would assume that its been a rough day and told him to review the attorney code of conduct.

After the judge left the room, Bankston walked over to talk with Reynal about the exhibits. During the conversation, Reynal got close to Bankston's face and called him a liar, and flipped him off.

Bankston began telling Reynal to back off, before fellow attorney Bill Ogden defused the situation by getting the two sides to have a phone call later after they had calmed down.

My clients are extremely pleased with how the proceedings are going, Bankston said afterward. We look forward to continuing a public airing of Mr. Jones misdeeds.

Reynal declined to talk about the scuffle after court ended.

Jury is let go for the day

5:46: The judge has let the jury go for the day.

Alex Jones attorney questions Infowars producer

5:25: The plaintiffs examination of Karpova has begun, with a bit of an explanation of who she is and where she works.

She said she began working at Infowars in 2014, though she grew up playing music. After exiting the military she looked for a way to remain in music, and learned sound design which led to a role at Infowars.

Sandy Hook attorney finishes questioning Infowars producer

5:17 p.m.: Sandy Hook attorney Mark Bankston has wrapped up questioning of Infowars representative Daria Karpova. He had started questioning her on Tuesday and continued to do so all day on Wednesday, with some breaks for the jury, judge and attorneys in between.

F. Andino Reynal, attorney for Alex Jones, began questioning Karpova directly afterward.

Alex Jones doesnt return to courtroom

4:33 p.m.: Alex Jones does not return to the courtroom after a break. He had gotten into the elevator as everyone else was preparing to return to court. The Sandy Hook parents are present and watching their attorney continue to question an Infowars representative.

Alex Jones waves at Sandy Hook dad outside courtroom

4 p.m.: During a break just outside the courtroom, Jones was talking with his security person by the elevators when Sandy Hook dad Neil Heslin walked by. Jones smiled and waved at him. Heslin looked at him in apparent disbelief but didn't otherwise acknowledge him and kept walking by.

Alex Jones reacts in the courtroom

3:52: Attorney Bankston asked Infowars representative Karpova whether Jones statements about the school were false  Karpova turned her eyes at Jones for just a second before answering, Yes, they were.

3:48: Sandy Hook father Neil Heslin watched Jones as a clip from Infowars played from the jury. Jones, meanwhile, looked down at the table, then at the screen.

3:44: Jones shakes his head after Bankston said he was on notice about his producers concerns about the Sandy Hook conspiracy theories.

Judge says Infowars producer is considered corporate representative

3:25: The judge excused the jury for a few moments to discuss with lawyers Karpovas role.

It is the defenses position that Karpova is not a corporate representative of Free Speech Systems, and was not an employee at the time of the shooting and the years immediately following.

The judge, however, said she is the corporate representative for the issues she was specifically asked to testify about.

During the discussion, Jones attorney said, "I'm uncomfortable with (Bankston's) line of questioning. It makes Free Speech Systems look unprepared for trial."

The judge responded: "Nobody can do that but Free Speech Systems."

When the jurors returned and Karpova took the stand again, she smiled at Jones, who is sitting next to his lawyer.

Sandy Hook parents Scarlett Lewis and Neil Heslin have been watching Karpova closely during her testimony.

Infowars producer questioned about emails to and from Sandy Hook denier

3 p.m.: Attorney Bankston questions Karpova again about the email Sandy Hook denier Wolfgang Halbig sent to mother Scarlett Lewis.

Bankston attempted to get Karpova to admit that the email is harassment. She replied that she cannot comment.

Bankston asked about another email sent from the Diocese of Bridgeport to Halbig threatening legal action if he continued to go onto school grounds.

Halbig believed that the St. Rose of Lima School in Newtown, Bankston said, were the so-called crisis actors who had portrayed students at Sandy Hook Elementary.

Karpova blocked all questions, refusing even to say that the email came from the Diocese of Bridgeport, despite seeing letterhead on the screen in the courtroom.

Alex Jones back in court after lunch

2:35 p.m.: Infowars host Alex Jones returned to the courthouse after the lunch break, wearing jeans and a dark blue suit jacket.

The parents attorney, Mark Bankston, has resumed questioning Daria Karpova, Infowars producer.

Court takes lunch break

1 p.m.: The judge then called for an hour-and-a-half lunch break.

Infowars producer says jury will believe the truth is on our side

1 p.m.: The attorney for the plaintiff shared an email from Wolfgang Halbig sent to plaintiff Scarlett Lewis on March 10, 2015, in which he tells her, The scam is up.

The email was provided to plaintiffs attorneys by Infowars. Karpova, asked if that counts as harassment, did not reply.

12:30: When asked if she believes Heslin and Lewis are fake parents, Karpova said no.

I believe their grief is being used, she told attorney Bankston. Youre using their grief to make bank.

She continued that I believe this reasonable jury will believe that the truth is on our side in this case.

Judge rebukes Infowars producer during questioning

12:25: Another rebuke from the judge: Mr. Reynal will ask questions later. Right now you have to answer Mr. Bankstons questions, she told Karpova.

When asked if Jones had displayed maps that showed where Sandy Hook parents were getting their mail, Karpova was evasive, and the judge agreed she was being unresponsive.

12:05 p.m.: As shown in a video in the courtroom, Jones claimed on his show that former Mayor Michael Bloomberg sent an email to gun control groups 24 hours before the shooting that an event was going to be staged.

Bankston repeatedly asks Karpova to comment on videos, and she repeatedly responds that she cannot, despite being asked to prepare testimony on a series of videos.

11:26: I dont want your apologies, the judge told witness Karpova when she refused to answer if she remembered being deposed on a specific document.

Karpova, a producer at Infowars, said she could not truthfully answer the question, and apologized, a response the judge said was not acceptable.

Testimony begins on Wednesday in Alex Jones Sandy Hook trial

11:05: Bankston continues to show Karpova a series of videos in which Jones claims there are photos of children alive who officials said had died in the shooting, among other allegations.

Bankston appears to be attempting to demonstrate that Jones continued to raise doubts about the fact of the massacre, using Halbig and others to support those claims, and never fact-checked any of his claims.

This stinks to high heaven, Jones said on video.

Karpova responds by placing blame on Halbig, and claiming that Jones believed what he was saying at the time.

I know for a fact that he wasnt lying in that video, Karpova said. If he remembered wrong thats another matter.

10:38: When asked why Wolfgang Halbigs credentials were not checked, Karpova said I am not the arbiter of ultimate truth, and claimed its not possible to go through every email the company gets.

Halbig, a guest on Alex Jones show, was vehement that the Sandy Hook shooting was staged.

10:25 a.m. - Infowars producer Daria Karpova is back on the stand today, with attorney Mark Bankston, representing parents Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, going through videos posted by Infowars in which they claimed there were crisis actors and that the Sandy Hook massacre was an Obama gun grab.

Karpova blamed contradictions in the media.

Video titles, she said, like Crisis actors used at Sandy Hook, are Meant to grab a persons attention.

Jurors released for the day on Tuesday

6 p.m.: The parents attorney says he plans to call two to three witnesses on Wednesday. The judge, attorneys and others in the courtroom leave for the day.

5:58 p.m.: The jurors are released for the day. Alex Jones attorney requests a mistrial, which the judge quickly denies. The judge says the plaintiffs have used more than three hours of time, while the defendants have used over an hour of time.

Infowars producer takes the stand

5 p.m.: Infowars producer Daria Karpova is on the stand, acting as corporate representative.

Asked to analyze analytics for Infowars, Karpova refused to confirm why Infowars collects statistics on its website traffic, or even confirming that it does.

Karpova was asked if she was asked to prepare information on audience reach. She replied that its very hard to determine reach.

Attorney Mark Bankston appears to be attempting to show that Infowars is an influential media site on a variety of platforms, including radio, television, websites and social media.

This is counter to the claim of Jones attorneys that he and Infowars have been deplatformed.

Sandy Hook mom thanks witness

4:48: As he left the courtroom, Jewiss, the lead investigator in the shooting, leaned over the bar to embrace Scarlett and shake Heslins hand. She whispered thank you to him.

Jury questions witnesses

4:30: Questions from the jury to witnesses have been submitted to the court.

The judge is determining which questions are relevant, such as How many hours or days after the shooting did you first see the scene of the crime?

One question asked Jewiss In his experience and observation did Mr. Heslin and Ms. Lewis experience greater trauma from the harassment than from the loss of their son. That question will not be asked after an objection from attorneys.

Another question was In the aftermath of school shootings what if anything brings the most solace to a mourning family?

Alex Jones attorney questions Sandy Hook investigator

3:50: When asked who also harassed families, including former Florida police officer Wolfgang Halbig, Jewiss was not sure how to answer.

It is OK to say I dont know the answer to that, Judge Gamble said. Its a lawyer thing. I used to do it all the time.

As I sit here today I know that Alex Jones talked about Neil Heslins interview with Megyn Kelly, Jewiss replied.

3:35: Reynal asked Jewiss what time he reported to Sandy Hook Elementary on the day of the shooting. Jewiss replied that he did not go to the school on the day of the shooting but reported to the Newtown Police Department.

Reynals questions are focused around the difficulty preserving evidence at the scene, specifically whether or not he knew that Heslin had access to his sons body.

When asked about the relevance of that line of questioning, Reynal said he is trying to show that it is reasonable to assume that some Infowars watchers could conclude that the massacre did not happen according to the media narrative.

This argument goes to the intentional infliction of emotional distress charge, against which Reynal is arguing that any emotional distress Jones may have caused was not necessarily intentional.

3:20: When asked why it was important for Jewiss to be present, he responded that, Its still our job to support those families in every way possible and its absolutely horrific the amount of trauma they've had to bear in the wake of losing a loved one.

Ill continue to support them any way they can, he said, calling it the most important thing Ive ever done in my career.

Attorney Reynal, representing Jones, is now cross-examining Jewiss.

Sandy Hook parents attorney questions investigator

3:18: Jurors focused closely on Jewiss testimony closely, with several scribbling notes in white legal pads.

Shortly after taking the stand, Jewiss flashed Lewis and Heslin a friendly smile as their attorney asked whether he was familiar with the family.

3:10: Jewiss, the investigator, is going through documents related to the Sandy Hook massacre and the role that Alex Jones played after the trial.

The file includes lab reports, written reports from police officers, 911 calls and more. That file was available on the internet, Jewiss confirms.

2:50 p.m.: Following a break for lunch, Attorney Mark Bankston, representing the Sandy Hook parents, ask questions of Daniel Jewiss, an instructor and investigator at the Dolan Consulting Group who was the lead investigator in the Sandy Hook shooting.

Alex Jones does not return to court after lunch

Alex Jones spoke to members of the media outside the courthouse during the lunch break. He then went across the street to Phoebes Diner.

Alex Jones attorney says Jones regrets what he said about Sandy Hook

12:55: Alex Jones has already been punished, Reynal said. He regrets what he did and hes paid a price for it.

Jones, Reynal said, gets chased down the street and told he is responsible for the death of the children in the massacre, but because he has been canceled his side of the story cannot be told.

12:35: Attorney Reynal points to other individuals in what he called the trurther community, including James Fetzer and Wolfgang Halbig, who questioned the fact of the Sandy Hook massacre.

Alex Jones has apologized repeatedly for the coverage he gave to the truther community, Reynal said. He trusted people he shouldn't have trusted.

He regrets that now, and he has said so, Reynal said. He was looking at the world through dirty glasses, and if you look at the world through dirty glasses, everything is dirty.

Alex Jones attorney begins opening arguments

12:21 p.m.: With the attorney for Heslin and Lewis finishing opening statements before a break, the attorney for Jones begins by telling the jury they have been lied to: The most important rule I heard as a young lawyer. Do not lie to the jury if you hope to get the verdict that you requested. What we heard was a conspiracy of lies.

I am honored to represent Jones, attorney Andino Reynal said.

Reynal begins by telling the jury that Jones has been deplatformed, and that his influence is far smaller than the attorney for plaintiffs suggested.

Alex Jones speaks to media during the break

Noon: During a break, Jones spoke with the media, which the judge in the case was not happy about.

We are not going to have that again, she said. She told both defense and plaintiffs that they are not allowed to speak to the press on the fifth floor, where the jury might hear, and limited those conversations to the first floor lobby or outside the courthouse.

Court takes a 20 minute break

11:48: Attorney Mark Bankston finishes his opening statement, and the judge called for a 20 minute break.

Attorney Bankston describes the harassment Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis faced

11:45: As Bankston turned his attention directly at Jones, accusing him of lying in order to sell supplements, a few of the jurors made quick glances over at the defense table, where Jones whispered something to his attorney.

11:34: More likely true than not true. Thats how attorney Bankston described the standard of proof used in this trial, as in all other civil trials. The standard, he said, is preponderance of evidence.

Bankston said that 24 percent of the population, one in four Americans, believed that the Sandy Hook massacre was staged.

Youre going to hear that Mr. Jones was the exclusive driver of that belief, Bankston said, which encouraged Jones followers to accost and harass Heslin and Lewis.

He intended to inflict emotional distress, Bankston said of Jones. And now he wants to pay a dollar for it.

11:30: Jones continued looking ahead or down at the table, shaking his head, as Bankston displayed a photo of six-year-old Jesse Lewis on a large TV screen in the courtroom. Jones did not look at the screen.

Lewis' parents, meanwhile, stared intently at their son the first time his image was shown to the courtroom.

11:15: Heslin and Lewis, parents of Jesse Lewis who died during the 2012 massacre were at their breaking point in 2017 when Heslin went on Megyn Kellys show to plead for the harassment to stop.

On June 24, 2017, Infowars struck back directly at Mr. Heslin, attorney Bankston said.

Attorney for Sandy Hook parents shows clips of Jones on Infowars

10:55: I knew they had actors there though I thought they killed real kids, Alex Jones said on television, as attorneys showed in court.

The familys attorney, Bankston, is showing clips of Jones claiming over the course of years that the Sandy Hook massacre was fake and a false flag operation.

Mr. Jones is going to keep repeating the same false claims, Bankston said.

Scarlett Lewis appeared to swallow and clench her jaw as her attorney played an Infowars clip in which Jones said of Sandy Hook, "the whole thing is a total hoax."

Jones, meanwhile, occasionally nodded or shook his head while Bankston described how his operation went from a local radio call-in show to a pioneering internet media outlet that spread conspiracy-laced videos to "billions" of viewers.

Attorney for Sandy Hook parents say Jones broke the rules in a way the world has never seen before

10:44 a.m.: Its about guns. Attorney Bankston says Jones played on the fear that then-president Barack Obama staged Sandy Hook in order to generate the fear that the government was planning on taking away his viewers guns.

10:26 a.m: The Sandy Hook parents attorney, Mark Bankston, began by sharing some rules with the jury. You cant recklessly tell lies about someone, he said. Jurors are here, he said, because those rules were broken, and they were broken in a way the world has never seen before.

Jones, Bankston said, was one of the first media personalities who understood the internet. The primary way this business operates is to sell products, Bankston said.

Those products dictate the kind of news that is shared on Infowars. He is trying to convince viewers that powerful entities are trying to hide the truth, and Jones role is to reveal the truth.

In 2012, Mr. Jones made a choice that day to go on the air and claim the Sandy Hook massacre was a false flag, the attorney said.

Alex Jones Sandy Hook trial proceedings being

10:21 a.m.: Proceedings are getting underway in Austin, Texas. Both sides  Alex Jones and Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis are in the courtroom today.

Yesterday, Jones lawyer said not to expect him in court due to illness. Photos from outside the courthouse show Jones arrived with tape on his mouth that says Save the 1st and advertises his Infowars show. Jones has said that he has the First Amendment right to be wrong about his false claims regarding the Sandy Hook massacre.

Alex Jones, parents of Jesse Lewis appear in court for opening arguments

10:15 a.m.: Jones is staring straight ahead or conferring with his attorneys for the trial begins.

9:40 a.m. Tuesday: Alex Jones walked into the fifth floor courtroom at the Heman Marion Sweatt courthouse in downtown Austin around 20 minutes before the trial was set to begin on Tuesday, wearing a brown plaid suit and a short beard. While he wore tape over his mouth as he entered the courthouse, it had been removed by the time he reached the courtroom.

Neil Heslin, the father of Sandy Hook victim Jesse Lewis, watched Jones as he took his seat. Lewis' mother, Scarlett Lewis, stared straight ahead.

Jones did not say anything to the plaintiffs or the courtroom audience as he walked in.

Attorneys began squaring off Tuesday even before the judge gaveled in the first day of Jones' trail to decide damages in the defamation lawsuit brought by Sandy Hook families.

Andino Reynal, Jones' lawyer, brought several large cardboard cutouts into the courtroom before Jones made his entrance.

Mark Bankston, the lawyer for Lewis and Heslin, caught a glimpse of one of the cutouts and said "No, we're going to object to that."

The images on the cutouts were not viewable from the gallery. Shortly afterward, attorneys for both sides entered the judges chambers for a brief conference.

- John Moritz

Day 1 of jury selection wraps up

7 p.m.: Judge Maya Guerra Gamble and the attorneys discuss the plan for Tuesdays opening arguments. Each side will have an hour for opening statements.

She said the attorney teams will have access to two board rooms and other spaces in the courthouse.

If I find out you make a mess, you leave food, trash on the table, anything, youre going to get kicked out of the room and you wont get back in, she said.

Jurors sworn in for Alex Jones Sandy Hook trial

6:50 p.m.: Judge Maya Guerra Gamble announced the jurors who were selected for the trial.

The judge read the rules that the jurors must follow, such as discussing anything about the case, including with their spouse, friends or among themselves. She reiterated this point.

You can say youre on a jury, thats it, the judge said.

She urged the jurors not to watch or read the news due to the anticipated extensive media coverage of the case.

We want a trial based only on the evidence presented in court, she said.

She said the trial will begin at 9 a.m. Tuesday and last two weeks.

One juror says she has a bias against people like Alex Jones

4:45: One juror tell lawyers that her dad was murdered and that as part of a settlement, I got a million dollars. She used that money to start a school in Costa Rica, she said.

She expressed a sense of bias against people like Alex Jones.

Alex Jones may not be in court through parts of the trial, attorney says

4:30: Jones himself may not personally appear in the courtroom much over the course of the trial, as attorney F. Andino Reynal said: Alex, You may have noticed is not here, like the plaintiffs. He may not be here through parts of the trial.

Jones, Reynal said, has medical issues that prevent him from being present and that he has no obligation to be here.

Jones attorney asks if jurors have heard of the Infowars host

4 p.m.: Jones attorney F. Andino Reynal asked potential jurors how many had heard of Alex Jones and of those, how many formed a firm negative impression based on what they had read or seen.

Many potential jurors responded that, yes, they had heard of and developed a negative impression of Jones before this trial.

Court resumes after lunch

3:10: Back from a break, an attorney for Alex Jones is asking the jury what the phrase justice is blind means to them. When were looking for jurors, you dont check your common sense at the door.

Judge calls for lunch break

1:40: Judge Gamble calls for a one-hour lunch break.

Jurors discuss defamation, cancel culture, and their opinions related to Jones

1:32: One juror asks if there is a definition of defamation, and is told that the court has already determined that there was defamation. The question before her is, would she be able to calculate the damages required by defamation, to which the juror replied I dont know.

1:30 When asked if anyone believes Alex Jones and his company have been treated unfairly in the media, no juror replied in the affirmative.

1:22: When asked if there were any problems with being on the jury, one potential juror said she has Strong feelings about the person who is on trial and strong feelings about the people who follow that person.

Attorney Ball then asked another juror about her feelings on cancel culture, to which she responded that she believes people can be held accountable for her public views.

Judge, attorney describe the standard the jury must use

12:53 p.m.: The standard being used by the jury to determine the award in this case is preponderance of the evidence, as opposed to other standards such as beyond a reasonable doubt. After a break, Attorney Wesley Ball asks the jury if that standard might make it difficult for them to determine an award.

When asked if any jurors might have trouble making a determination based on that standard, specifically when it comes to a question of mental anguish, at least five jurors agreed that they would have difficulty.

Judge Maya Guerra Gamble also noted that the questions being asked are penalties for  committed defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Hurt feelings is not a cause of action, she said.

Jurors, attorney discuss free speech, politics

12:10 p.m.: I believe in free speech but the media needs to be held accountable, one juror said. Jurors are discussing with attorney Ball their beliefs about the freedoms of speech and what penalties, if any, a member of the media should bear for knowingly sharing incorrect and misleading information.

One juror argues that there may be a limit to those penalties. I dont know what the threshold is, but I dont think it should be $100 million or something like that.

11:52 a.m.: Attorney Ball asks the jury if they have been following other, similar trials, including any with large, multimillion dollar penalties, or the contempt of Congress case against Steve Bannon. A few jurors respond in the affirmative.

11:45 a.m.: Words can hurt, one juror said, but to take it to this level I think its a little silly. Attorney Ball asked the juror if he felt that opinion would make it difficult to be a part of the jury and sit in judgment, to which the juror said yes.

11:30 a.m.: Juror number 75 asked if being a conservative Republican might exclude him from the jury. Ball replied that no, being a conservative Republican politically would not immediately preclude a juror.

Jury selection begins

11:15 a.m.: Jury selection has begun with attorney Wesley Ball, who is representing Sandy Hook parents Neil Heslin and Scarett Lewis laying out the facts of the case and beginning to ask potential jurors some questions.

CORRECTION: An original version of this article incorrectly identified the name of the Sandy Hook parents attorney who spoke to jurors on Monday. The attorneys name is Wesley Ball.
On a remote dirt road in northwest China's Qinghai Plateau, a four-piece band dressed in hazmat suits and gas masks launches into a thrash metal number about the dangers of burning trash.

"A person's life is but a single breath, a breath laced with garbage," the singer death-growls through his mask in videos of the performance.

The unusual concert is part of a countrywide series conceived of and led by the Chinese artist known as Nut Brother, who stands in front of the band dressed in camouflage, gently nodding his head to the distorted eight-string guitars.

In recent years, the 41-year-old, who prefers not to reveal his real name to avoid additional scrutiny from authorities and online critics, has developed a knack for highlighting overlooked environmental and social issues in China using quirky, social media-ready performance art that can slip through the cracks in China's tightly controlled media environment.

Designed to draw attention to water, air and soil pollution in remote areas of the country, the "heavy metal" tour - pun intended - was Nut Brother's most ambitious project. Backed by a loose coalition of 30 people conducting research, writing lyrics and composing hardcore bangers, he set out to visit 11 sights across the country last year, but the tour was cut short as coronavirus restrictions were tightened.

In written responses to questions, Nut Brother called his work "emergency response" art featuring projects that tap into urgent social issues he considers chronically overlooked by mainstream Chinese society.

He added that the work is risky and takes place in a "rapidly changing and complex environment" where local governments and polluting companies often take offense at their failures being highlighted. His response is to be as open as possible, publishing all the pushback he faces, including bribes from polluters and letters from local governments demanding retractions.

"Our projects are not really radical; we don't get things moving through confrontation, but rather we move things forward through imagination," he said.

Nut Brother is an early social media username of the Shenzhen-based artist who became famous in 2015 when he wandered the streets of Beijing dragging a large vacuum cleaner, its nozzle held up toward the city's smoggy skies, during a high point for public attention to China's "airpocalypse" problem.

In 2014, Premier Li Keqiang declared "war on pollution" following years of mounting concern about off-the-charts levels of particulate matter in the air. A documentary by a Chinese state media journalist - called "Under the Dome" and released in February 2015 - directly implicated state-owned fossil fuel giants, drawing hundreds of millions of views before it was censored.

At the time, air pollution's pervasiveness and official acknowledgment led to cultural attention on the issue. Some artists who tackled smog were mostly trying to convey a feeling of frustration, depression or hopelessness, but others, like Nut Brother, began to think about the social impact of their work, said Kathinka Furst, a researcher at the Norwegian Institute for Water Research, an environmental foundation.

This type of artwork still struggles to reach a large audience in China, but the ambiguity of art, where the intent is up to interpretation, gives people like Nut Brother greater leeway to publicly tackle sensitive topics that activists might shun for fear of official censure.

"They aren't NGOs, they aren't protesters, they're not directly involved," said Furst, who interviewed many of the leading Chinese artists depicting air pollution about five years ago. That flexibility creates a small, if fragile, space to draw attention to local problems without being perceived to be directly challenging the top leadership.

In recent years, improvements in China's air quality have been dramatic. From 2013 to 2020, pollution levels in Beijing dropped by over 50%. In 2021, the capital for the first time met China's national air quality standards.

But environmentalists fear that problems of soil and water contamination are comparatively overlooked and may be harder to clean up than gray skies. In remote areas, poor industrial practices like burying copper-laced sludge, burning trash or spraying chemical fertilizers mean that about one-fifth of China's arable land is contaminated with heavy metals.

One reason these problems aren't addressed is because they are often invisible to wealthy urbanites. "Small places have no power to speak out," Nut Brother said. "In the mainstream, their voice is so small it's imperceptible."

Nut Brother's work often highlights this tendency to react with apathy to faraway environmental disasters. When he sucked particulate matter from the Beijing skies, passersby for the most part ignored the man dragging an industrial-sized vacuum on a cart.

Despite the seriousness of the topics confronted, Nut Brother's work is tinged with irony and humor. When he turned a muddy canal into a giant "hot pot" soup of inflatable fish in the eastern city of Zibo, the installation quickly became an attraction on Chinese restaurant rating site Dianping.com thanks to a flood of positive reviews from fans.

Furst said that this style creates a draw for observers to engage and make a human connection with the artist and the issue. "It gives an opportunity for other people to play with the idea," she said.

Building an audience remains an uphill battle, however. The thumping drums and distorted guitar licks of the "heavy metal" tour drew attention from young music fans but didn't always land well with locals. The bands played to empty fields or bemused villagers. In one instance, the concert had to take place in a hotel room after local authorities heard of the group's arrival and shut down the performance.

"We met many villagers who basically have no channels to redress rights violations other than to petition or call the relevant authorities to complain," Nut Brother said. "Villagers who suffer are the most voiceless group. It is hard to hear their voices in the outside world. In life, they don't clasp to fantasies or miracles, otherwise they suffer more."

The same is true of Nut Brother's most recent project to draw attention to chemical waste in Huludao, a coastal town in northern Liaoning province. In a symbolic portrayal of local struggles to get the message out, Nut Brother commandeered one of the few remaining public pay phones in Beijing as a listening post for strangers to come hear about the health problems Huludao residents face.

"Nut Brother's campaigns are great, and they make more people aware of the things happening in Huludao. But many domestic journalists are still under a lot of pressure and are afraid to report on this matter," said a 39-year-old Huludao resident, who only gave his surname, Lei, out of concerns for repercussions for speaking to foreign media.

Lei said the smell of exhaust gas from chemical plants in Huludao's Longgang district is noticeable almost every day. "Sometimes there isn't a noticeable odor but it just chokes you and makes you want to cough," he said.

In recent months, Lei and other residents had discussed arranging a protest, but their online discussion led to summons from the police. "They don't solve the issue. They only 'solve' those who find and raise the issue," he said.
Terryln Hall was just 6 years old when her mother, Faith, was fatally shot by a former boyfriend.

Now, nearly 30 years later, Hall and her sister  along with their uncle  oppose Alabamas plan to execute the man who killed their mother. Unless a judge or the governor intervenes, Joe Nathan James Jr., 49, will will die by lethal injection Thursday evening at a south Alabama prison.

We thought about it and prayed about it, and we found it in ourselves to forgive him for what he did. We really wish there was something that we could do to stop it, Hall said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press.

Faith Hall briefly dated James, but he became obsessed with her, prosecutors said. On Aug. 15, 1994, he forced his way inside an apartment, pulled a gun from his waistband and shot her three times. A Jefferson County jury convicted James of capital murder in 1996 and voted to recommend the death penalty, which a judge imposed.

The conviction was overturned when the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals ruled that a judge wrongly admitted some police reports into evidence. James was retried and again sentenced to death in 1999, when jurors rejected defense claims that he was under emotional duress at the time of the shooting. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied James' request for a stay of execution Tuesday.

Faith Hall was 26 when she died, leaving behind two young daughters. Six-year-old Terryln Hall struggled to understand what had happened to her mother.

I knew that she wasnt coming back, but I just never understood why. Why would he do that? Thats still a question that I want to know to this day: Why? she said.

Hall said her only real memory of her mother is as a hard worker who took care of her daughters and whoever else was around.

"He took a big piece of us away, a big piece of our heart away, she said.

The road to forgiveness was a long process for Hall.

I did hate him. I did. And I know hate is such a strong feeling word, but I really did have hate in my heart. As I got older and realized, you cant walk around with hate in your heart. You still got to live. And once I had kids of my own, you know, I cant pass it down to my kids and have them walk around with hate in their hearts, she said.

State Rep. Juandalynn Givan sent a letter to Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey relaying the familys request to stop the execution.

In this case, the Hall family, with deep prayer, consideration, and conviction, is asking you to have mercy by sparing the life of Mr. James, Givan said in a statement.

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall urged Ivey to let the execution proceed, despite the request from the victim's family, writing that, it is our obligation to ensure that justice is done for the people of Alabama.

The governor has not indicated what she plans to do. Ivey spokeswoman Gina Maiola wrote in an email that the governor will carefully review all of the facts and information surrounding the case.

Hall realizes that asking the state to spare the life of the man who killed her mother may seem counterintuitive, but she's compelled by deeply held beliefs.

I know it may sound crazy. Like, you really want this man to live? But ... I just feel like we cant play God. We cant take a life. And its not going to bring my mom back, she said.
YAOUNDE, Cameroon (AP)  France will help some African nations increase food production as Russias war in Ukraine is responsible for global food and fuel shortages that are causing untold suffering across the continent, French President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday.

Speaking at a news conference in Yaounde after talks with Cameroon President Paul Biya, Macron said he's particularly concerned that the consequences of the war will be felt more in Africa where food and fuel shortages have led to unprecedented price increases.

European economic sanctions on Russia that are now affecting Africa are intended to stop Russias attack of Ukraines sovereignty and not to punish Africans," Macron said. France will assist African countries to face the shocks caused by the war by encouraging local investments in agriculture to increase food production.

Macron didn't specify how much funding France would earmark, but said Cameroon is one of the countries selected for such assistance.

The French president said he fully backs a call by other European Union leaders for Russia to immediately stop targeting Ukrainian agricultural facilities and to permit the export of Ukrainian grain.

Macron is on the first leg of his tour of three African nations that also includes Benin and Guinea Bissau.

The EU is finalizing plans to mobilize $634 million to support countries affected by Russias war in Ukraine, he said, calling for more efforts by Western countries to support Africa in copying with the consequences of the crisis.

The United Nations said that Africa depends on Russia and Ukraine for more than 50 percent of its wheat imports.

Yaounde University economist Yves Tsala said Macron is also looking to gain more support from African nations at the U.N. Eight African countries, including Cameroon, abstained during a U.N. emergency session earlier this year in a vote for a resolution condemning Russias invasion of Ukraine.

Macron said France will not relent in its efforts to stop Boko Haram and the spread of jihadist ideology, and that France will give military assistance if requested.

Attacks by the Islamic extremist rebels have resulted in the death of thousands of people and the displacement of 2 million in Nigeria, Chad and Cameroon during the group's 10-year insurgency. The central African state also faces separatist conflicts that have killed at least 3,300 people and displaced more than 750,000 in 5 years according to the U.N.

Biya said he's pleased with France's pledges for assistance, adding that living conditions will improve in Africa once terrorism is dealt with and western countries negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine.

France has agreed to assist not only Cameroon but the entire African continent to fight against security threats and I am happy about that, Biya said. Support from France will enable Cameroon to totally destroy Boko Haram.

Biya said he's pursuing dialogue to end the separatist crisis in Cameroon, where English-speaking regions seek political autonomy.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

PRAGUE (AP)  Hundreds of firefighters were battling wildfires in eastern Germany and neighboring Czechia on Tuesday as tourist regions and residential areas were being evacuated.

A large wildfire was spreading quickly in the eastern German state of Brandenburg in a region with lots of bone-dry pine forests where firefighters have to be especially careful because of old World War II ammunition thats still buried there, German news agency dpa reported.

The large fire in the Elbe-Elster district has already destroyed an area of about 850 hectares and continued to spread quickly because of gusty winds blowing from changing directions.

Seven firefighters were injured, four of whom had to be treated in a hospital for smoke inhalation. No residents were injured, but a pig breeding farm burned down and several animals died.

The states explosive ordnance disposal service has designated a small area near the village of Rehfeld as a site where old ammunition could be buried, deputy forest fire protection officer Philipp Haase told dpa. Two German military firefighting helicopters were on site trying to extinguish the flames from the air because firefighters were not allowed to access the area for fear that the ammunition could explode.

Authorities said it was not clear when the fire could be brought under control. More than 350 firefighters were battling the flames and around 300 people from various villages had to be evacuated.

The situation is still serious. We still have pockets of fire, local district fire chief Steffen Ludewig told dpa.

Further southeast, firefighters from several countries have joined forces to battle a fire in a national park in northern Czech Republic that has spread to the state of Saxony in neighboring Germany.

The fire in the Bohemian Switzerland park broke out on Sunday and was mostly contained before windy weather caused it to spread again on Monday afternoon and overnight. Despite their efforts, firefighters said the fire had spread from 30 hectares earlier Tuesday to 1,000 hectares.

No injuries have been reported, but around 100 people had to be evacuated Tuesday evening from the Czech town of Vysoka Lipa.

Earlier, some 80 people have been evacuated from the border town of Hrensko, and more from the village of Mezna, where the flames have destroyed or damaged several homes, firefighters' spokesman Lukas Marvan said.

Dozens of German children were evacuated from a summer camp on the Czech side of the border and transported back to Germany.

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala and Interior Minister Vit Rakusan were visiting the area on Tuesday.

Rakusan said some 400 firefighters have been in action and the blaze was not under control by midday Tuesday.

"The situation is very serious, Rakusan said adding that several neighboring countries had responded to the Czech Republic's call for help to extinguish the fire.

Poland and Slovakia said they were sending helicopters while Italy offered special Canadair planes designed for firefighting.

The German military announced it would send four helicopters to the border region to help fight the flames, dpa reported.

The Czech Hydrometeorological Institute said the smoke has spread 100 or more kilometers (60 miles or more) from the fire.

___

Kirsten Grieshaber reported from Berlin.

___

Follow APs climate coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP)  The use of public correspondence school funding allotments to pay most or all of a student's private school's tuition is almost certainly unconstitutional, according to an opinion released Monday by the Alaska attorney general's office.

The opinion by Deputy Attorney General Cori Mills finds as likely constitutional the use of allotments for discrete services or materials, such as private tutoring or an extracurricular activity.

There will be situations that fall into a gray area, and the state education department and school districts should consult legal counsel when such cases arise, the opinion states.

Attorney General Treg Taylor recused himself from the matter in May. His wife, Jodi Taylor, had written about school choice and allotments in a May 16 post on the Alaska Policy Forum website.

Mills said questions around the program came up last year, as well as when Jodi Taylor's opinion piece came out and around a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision. She said it was seen as important to issue a formal opinion on the program overall.

Mills said she believes the framers of the state's constitution were concerned with supplanting a public education with a private education. ... That is different than supporting or supplementing a public education with the use of some private school resources.

The state constitution says no money shall be paid from public funds for the direct benefit of any religious or other private educational institution.

According to the opinion, correspondence schools are publicly funded and subject to state regulatory oversight. The state education department or school districts must provide correspondence students with individual learning plans. A 2014 state law allows districts to provide an annual allotment to the parents of students in a correspondence program for instructional expenses, the opinion states.
BOSTON (AP)  Massachusetts lawmakers approved a sweeping abortion bill Tuesday aimed in part at building a firewall to protect access to the procedure after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last month.

The bill would protect abortion providers and people seeking abortions from actions taken by other states, including blocking the governor from extraditing anyone charged in another state unless the acts for which extradition was sought would be punishable by Massachusetts law.

The bill also states that access to reproductive and gender-affirming health care services is a right protected by the Massachusetts Constitution; requires the states Medicaid program, known as MassHealth, to cover abortions; allows over-the-counter emergency contraception to be sold in vending machines; and requires public colleges and universities to create medication abortion readiness plans for students.

A unique Texas law banning most abortions after about six weeks is enforceable through lawsuits filed by private citizens against doctors or anyone who helps a woman obtain an abortion.

Another item in the Massachusetts bill addresses the question of permitting an abortion for a pregnancy the has lasted 24 weeks or longer.

Under the bill, the abortion would be allowed if, in the best medical judgment of a physician, it is: (1) necessary to preserve the life of the patient; (2) necessary to preserve the patients physical or mental health; (3) warranted because of a lethal fetal anomaly or diagnosis; or (4) warranted because of a grave fetal diagnosis that indicates that the fetus is incompatible with sustained life outside of the uterus without extraordinary medical interventions.

The vast majority of abortions occur before 20 to 21 weeks of pregnancy, experts said. In 2019, almost 93% of abortions occurred at or before 13 weeks gestation, while only 1% of abortions occurred at 21 weeks or later, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Other portions of the bill would allow any licensed pharmacist to dispense emergency contraception and require the Public Health Department to identify areas in the state without access to abortion within a 50-mile radius and recommend ways to ensure access to abortion in those areas.

The House approved the bill on a 137-16 vote. The Senate backed the measure 39-1.

The bill now heads to Republican Gov. Charlie Baker's desk.

Baker, who supports abortion rights but has differed with lawmakers on specific policies, said he's hoping to hold a signing ceremony.

Ive only read about half of it, but Im hoping that well be able to have a ceremony for that one too," Baker told reporters as lawmakers were debating the bill, adding that one piece of the bill he hadn't yet read was the portion dealing with abortions at 24 weeks and longer.

The bill in part echoes an executive order signed by Baker immediately after the Supreme Court decision barring state agencies from assisting another states investigation into people or businesses receiving or delivering reproductive health services that are legal in Massachusetts.

Abortion rights advocates praised the bill.

The overturning of Roe v. Wade was a direct attack on a persons fundamental right to make decisions concerning their own body," Amy Rosenthal, executive director at Health Care For All, said in a written statement, calling the bill approved by lawmakers a bold step to guarantee that residents in Massachusetts will continue to have access to all the health care services they need.
A Midland woman was jailed on an alleged felonious assault charge Saturday after threatening a woman with an ax.

Adrianna Hackworth, 31, was arrested at about 12:30 p.m. Saturday without incident.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 1 of 3 Scott Sommerdorf/AP Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Scott Sommerdorf/AP Show More Show Less 3 of 3





SALT LAKE CITY (AP)  Miniature bottles of alcohol could return to liquor stores in deeply religious Utah by the fall, after the state agency that oversees alcohol approved a rule change Tuesday.

Members of the state's Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services Commission voted unanimously to allow spirits to be sold in sizes slightly larger than the average shot or glass of wine, Fox 13 reported. The commission plans to open the proposed rule change to public comment and, barring concerns, could institute it by fall.
BIG RAPIDS  Engaging with its community is important to many local police department officials and the Big Rapids Department of Public Safety is bringing National Night Out back to town in an effort to strengthen bonds between residents and public officials.

On Tuesday, Aug. 2, the residents of Big Rapids and the surrounding communities are being invited out to join forces with thousands of communities nationwide for the 39th Annual National Night Out (NNO) crime and drug prevention event National Night Out.

From 5-8 p.m., residents from Big Rapids and across the nation are asked to lock their doors, turn on outside lights and spend the evening outside with neighbors and police. NNO will be held in downtown Big Rapids on Michigan Avenue. The street will be closed off from Pine Street to Elm Street for the event.

BRDPS community relations officer William Sell said the past events have shown an improvement on communication between residents and local officials.

We get great reception from the community, Sell said. We usually have a really good turnout, and last year we made the decision to move it downtown, get it away from the actual department here and get the businesses involved downtown. They did and I think more and more businesses will be involved this year. It's just a good way for us to reach out and get people downtown and get them having fun with us basically.

The event is also sponsored by the National Association of Town Watch (NATW), will involve over 16,400 communities from all 50 states, U.S. territories, Canadian cities, and military bases around the world.

According to a BRDPS news release, National Night Out is designed to heighten crime and drug prevention awareness, generate support for, and participate in, local anti-crime efforts, strengthen neighborhood spirit and police-community partnerships, and send a message to criminals letting them know neighborhoods are organized and fighting back.

Sell said the event is a good opportunity for residents to meet their local officers.

It gets us out there so they see us and they are able to interact with us in a positive light, Sell said. Usually law enforcement gets out and sees somebody in, it's either on a traffic stop or something like that. That can be held in a negative view, where this is a good, positive thing that we can get out there and just say hi, and have fun with them and get to know the people that we serve and let them get to know us as well.

The entire event is free to all who attend.

Questions can be directed to officer William Sell at 231-527- 0005.
Two new studies provide more evidence that the coronavirus pandemic originated in a Wuhan, China market where live animals were sold  further bolstering the theory that the virus emerged in the wild rather than escaping from a Chinese lab.

The research, published online Tuesday by the journal Science, shows that the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market was likely the early epicenter of the scourge that has now killed nearly 6.4 million people around the world. Scientists conclude that the virus that causes COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, likely spilled from animals into people two separate times.

All this evidence tells us the same thing: It points right to this particular market in the middle of Wuhan, said Kristian Andersen a professor in the Department of Immunology and Microbiology at Scripps Research and coauthor of one of the studies. I was quite convinced of the lab leak myself until we dove into this very carefully and looked at it much closer.

In one study, which incorporated data collected by Chinese scientists, University of Arizona evolutionary biologist Michael Worobey and his colleagues used mapping tools to estimate the locations of more than 150 of the earliest reported COVID-19 cases from December 2019. They also mapped cases from January and February 2020 using data from a social media app that had created a channel for people with COVID-19 to get help.

They asked, Of all the locations that the early cases could have lived, where did they live? And it turned out when we were able to look at this, there was this extraordinary pattern where the highest density of cases was both extremely near to and very centered on this market, Worobey said at a press briefing. Crucially, this applies both to all cases in December and also to cases with no known link to the market  And this is an indication that the virus started spreading in people who worked at the market but then started to spread into the local community.

Andersen said they found case clusters inside the market, too, and that clustering is very, very specifically in the parts of the market" where they now know people were selling wildlife, such as raccoon dogs, that are susceptible to infection with the coronavirus.

In the other study, scientists analyzed the genomic diversity of the virus inside and outside of China starting with the earliest sample genomes in December 2019 and extending through mid-February 2020. They found that two lineages  A and B  marked the pandemics beginning in Wuhan. Study coauthor Joel Wertheim, a viral evolution expert at the University of California, San Diego, pointed out that lineage A is more genetically similar to bat coronaviruses, but lineage B appears to have begun spreading earlier in humans, particularly at the market.

Now I realize it sounds like I just said that a once-in-a-generation event happened twice in short succession, Wertheim said. But certain conditions were in place  such as people and animals in close proximity and a virus that can spread from animals to people and from person to person. So barriers to spillover have been lowered such that multiple introductions, we believe, should actually be expected, he said.

Many scientists believe the virus jumped from bats to humans, either directly or through another animal. But in June, the World Health Organization recommended a deeper probe into whether a lab accident may be to blame. Critics had said the WHO was too quick to dismiss the lab leak theory.

Have we disproven the lab leak theory? No, we have not, Andersen said. But I think whats really important here is there are possible scenarios and there are plausible scenarios and its really important to understand that possible does not mean equally likely.

The pandemic's origins remain controversial. Some scientists believe a lab leak is more likely and others remain open to both possibilities. But Matthew Aliota, a researcher in the college of veterinary medicine at the University of Minnesota, said in his mind the pair of studies kind of puts to rest, hopefully, the lab leak hypothesis.

Both of these two studies really provide compelling evidence for the natural origin hypothesis," said Aliota, who wasn't involved in either study. Since sampling an animal that was at the market is impossible, "this is maybe as close to a smoking gun as you could get."

___

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.
NEW YORK (AP)  A New York City jury was asked Tuesday to consider whether a neurologist used his thriving pain-management practice to sexually prey on six patients or if he is a victim of accusers with false stories.

The case against Dr. Ricardo Cruciani relied on survivor stories of six very different women, assistant District Attorney Shannon Lucey said in closing arguments at Crucianis trial.

This is a trial about a doctor who raped, sodomized, hugged and manipulated his patients, Lucey said.

The prosecutor argued the evidence showed that Cruciani groomed patients by overprescribing pain killers, sometimes to treat serious injuries from car wrecks and other accidents.

The accusers testified that the sexual abuse often occurred behind closed doors during appointments in 2013 at a Manhattan medical center, where the doctor would expose himself and demand sex.

He didnt finish writing my prescriptions until I did something for him, one said.

The behavior was just pure evil, she said, adding, This defendant is nothing but a drug dealer who used his prescription pad as a weapon.

Defense attorney Fred Sosinsky countered by arguing the witnesses were unreliable, telling jurors, You should have every reason to doubt these accusations.

He added that the witnesses were willing to lie and dispute the indisputable.

Hospital records undercut the witness timelines for the assaults and supported defense claims that they were getting proper care, Sosinsky said. The lawyer also cited loving notes some witnesses had written to their alleged assailant, including one that read in part: I hope you have a nice holiday.  Youve truly been the best doctor Ive ever had.

Cruciani, 68, has pleaded not guilty to multiple charges, including rape, sexual abuse and predatory sexual assault.

The jury worked for about an hour late Tuesday without reaching a verdict. It was to resume deliberations on Wednesday morning.

Among the witnesses at a trial that began seven weeks ago was Hillary Tullin, who helped fuel the case by calling a sexual abuse hotline in 2017 and reporting that Cruciani had abused her between 2005 and 2013. Tullin told The Associated Press in 2018 after the doctor's arrest that he needs to be locked up.

The AP does not typically identify people who say they are survivors of sexual assault unless they grant permission, which Tullin has done.

Cruciani is also facing federal charges in an indictment accusing him of abusing multiple patients over 15 years at his offices in New York City, Philadelphia and Hopewell, New Jersey.

The federal charges and state trial follow years of public complaints by Crucianis accusers that authorities in some places werent taking his crimes seriously, particularly in Philadelphia, where he pleaded guilty to relatively minor misdemeanor groping counts involving seven patients.

Lucey, the prosecutor in the New York case, said Tuesday that Cruciani's accusers should be credited for having the courage to come forward.

They get to take back some of the power and control that he took from them, she said. Each were broken. Each are rebuilding.
NEW YORK (AP)  The Rockefeller Foundation, created with wealth generated from the oil industry more than a century ago, plans to make the fight against climate change central to all of its work, including its operations and investments.

In a public letter released Tuesday, foundation president, Dr. Rajiv J. Shah, acknowledged the irony that his organization's founder John D. Rockefeller made his fortune by fueling a growing United States with carbon.

Speaking to The Associated Press in advance of the announcement, Shah said that all institutions that benefited from the development driven by fossil fuels have a responsibility to battle climate change.

Obviously, an institution like the Rockefeller Foundation has an even higher level of responsibility because were an even bigger beneficiary of that process, he said. The Rockefeller Foundation funds part of The Associated Press coverage of climate change.

The commitment builds on the foundations decision to divest its more than $6 billion endowment from fossil fuels starting in 2020, though it still has what Shah called negligible exposure. The foundation also partnered with the Ikea Foundation and the Bezos Earth Fund to launch an international consortium to accelerate the transition to renewable energy, with all three nonprofits giving $500 million. The consortium has since raised around $10 billion in additional funds, the foundation said.

Partnerships like that reflect the Rockefeller Foundations belief that it can alter the course of history by amplifying the scope of its work and its resources.

The reason for doing this is basically to put down a marker about our ambition, our sense of urgency and our willingness to be transformational in order to deepen our partnerships with others, to try to actually change the course of the climate equation on this planet, Shah said.

The Rockefeller Foundation plans to take a year to study where it can make the most impactful partnerships and investments.

Our process is really less about closing, locking ourselves in a closet and reading and modeling spreadsheets, and more about listening to and speaking to leading individuals, institutions, heads of state and the people we ultimately serve, Shah said. And understanding how philanthropy can best marshal support for their boldest and most urgent ideas.

The foundation remains committed to its current grantees, a spokesperson said, adding Because climate change is the biggest threat of our time, it requires us to remain adaptable and learn alongside our grantees and partners.

It argues that the new commitment does not represent a change from its mission to promote the well-being of humanity throughout the world. Established in 1913, the foundation focused on public health, including mass vaccination campaigns and the founding of public health authorities around the world. Its first environment related program launched in 1969. The foundation's current work continues to focus on public health as well as access to renewable energy, economic equity and food access. In 2021, the foundation said it had distributed the equivalent of $22 billion in its history.

However, Shah says a response to the climate crisis is urgent. Data shows philanthropic giving to climate change mitigation represented just 2% of total global philanthropic giving in 2020, according to an analysis by the organization ClimateWorks Foundation.

Combine that with the lack of action happening at the requisite levels of governments and businesses and then the trillions that need to be unlocked, said Shawn Reifsteck, vice president for ClimateWorks. We need essentially more and more funders doing more things at increased levels.

Increased philanthropic involvement cannot come too soon according to the worlds top body of climate scientists. In April, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change issued a report that warned of an unlivable world unless greenhouse gas emissions are cut faster than countries current commitments.

Marion Gee, co-executive director of Climate Justice Alliance, said it was encouraging that a large foundation would want to make confronting climate change central to their work but said foundations also need to challenge the economic system that perpetuates it, including divestment.

How are you moving that money out of Wall Street where a lot of the problems that we are facing today have been caused by these corporations, and moving the funds into local, sustainable economies, Gee asked.

ClimateWorks' analysis does show foundations donating more to climate change mitigation on an annual basis in the last five years, with the total increasing from $900 million in 2015 to $1.9 billion in 2020.

Were hopeful that that continues and in fact, accelerates, Reifsteck said.

___

Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and non-profits receives support through the APs collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of APs philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.
ALTON  The Riverbend received only a glancing blow from the Monday and Tuesday storms that swamped much of the St. Louis region.

According to the National Weather Service, as of 7 a.m. Tuesday most of the Metro East had received no more than 3 inches of rain.

Cahokia Airport reported 6.03 inches of rain, and the NWS reported 3.37 inches in Medora as of 7 a.m. Tuesday. Other readings included 2.98 inches in Edwardsville and 2.45 inches in Jerseyville.

Additional rain fell Tuesday in the Riverbend, with precipitation chances prominent in the forecast through Thursday.

Several cars slid off rain-soaked roads across the area. Just before 8 a.m. Tuesday, the driver of a BMW was injured after he slid off the southbound lanes of the Homer Adams Parkway in Alton just west of the College Avenue exit. The vehicle broke a metal post for an exit sign and crashed into the tree line.

Alton firefighters used a sling to carry the driver to a waiting Alton Memorial Ambulance. He was reported to have received non-life-threatening injuries.

At about 9 a.m., Roxana Police and the Roxana Street Department used barricades to close Old St. Louis Road from West Thomas Street to Elm Street because of flooding. Water covered the northbound lane and part of the southbound lane. The adjacent ditches were flooded completely to the shoulders along Old St. Louis Road.

Shortly after 9:30 a.m. two accidents involving three cars occurred on Illinois 255 in Roxana just north of Madison Avenue. The crashes sent two vehicles sliding into the median; a third stopped in the southbound lane, with heavy front end damage. A woman who had been in one of the cars could be seen clutching a guardrail for safety as Roxana firefighters assessed her injuries.

Heavier rainfall was recorded on the Missouri side of the Mississippi River late Monday and early Tuesday.

National Weather Service meteorologist Marshall Pfahler said a storm that moved into the St. Louis area around midnight stalled and kept pouring water over the same relatively narrow band.

"You have this swath of up to 10-inch amounts, and a county or two south they had a trace or even less," Pfahler said.

More than 11 inches of rain fell in parts of St. Charles County, with up to 10 inches elsewhere in the St. Louis metropolitan area. By 8 a.m., 8.3 inches of rain had fallen at Lambert Airport, demolishing the previous daily record of 6.85 inches set Aug. 20, 1915, when remnants of the Galveston, Texas, hurricane moved north to St. Louis.

One person died when a car in St. Louis was found covered in more than 8 feet of water. Several puppies drowned when water got into a building at Stray Paws Adoptables, a stray dog rescue operation in St. Peters.

Firefighters across the St. Louis region were busy with water rescues Tuesday. A section of Interstate 70 was closed in St. Peters, and many other roadways were flooded. Some vehicles were completely submerged.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol on Twitter urged drivers to avoid I-70. Some motorists took to social media to report being stranded for several hours.

At one point, sections of interstates 64, 55 and 44 also were closed in the St. Louis area.

Residents of Nashville, Illinois, 70 miles southeast of the Riverbend, received an alert late Tuesday morning from the Washington County Emergency Management Agency warning them the secondary dam of the Nashville Reservoir had failed.

Authorities said the reservoirs primary dam was holding but the breach did flood about 40 acres, including Illinois 15, which is closed from the East side of Nashville to Ashley.

Rain chances remain in the Riverbend through early Friday. Showers and thunderstorms are expected Wednesday, mainly before 7 a.m. A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms also were in the forecast for Wednesday night and Thursday.

Partly sunny skies are forecast for Friday and Saturday before rain chances return Saturday night.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

KYIV, Ukraine (AP)  Russia targeted Ukraines southern Black Sea regions of Odesa and Mykolaiv with airstrikes Tuesday, hitting private buildings and port infrastructure with missiles fired from long-range bomber aircraft, the Ukrainian military said.

In the Odesa region, buildings in coastal villages were hit and caught fire, Ukraines Operational Command South said on Facebook. A Ukrainian air force spokesman said long-range Russian Tu-22M3 bombers and Su-30 and Su-35 fighter jets launched the strikes from the Black Sea. In the Mykolaiv region, port infrastructure was targeted despite agreements intended to allow grain grain shipments to resume from Ukraine's Black Sea ports.

Hours after the strikes, a Moscow-installed official in southern Ukraine said the Odesa and Mykolaiv regions would soon be liberated by Russian forces, just like the already occupied Kherson region further east.

The Kherson region and the city of Kherson have been liberated forever, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti quoted the region's Russia-appointed official, Kirill Stremousov, as saying.

On the diplomatic front, Russias foreign minister repeated his insistence that Moscow was ready to hold talks with Ukraine on ending the war, though he again claimed that Kyivs Western allies oppose a deal.

We never refused to have talks, because everybody knows that any hostilities end at the negotiating table, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Tuesday during a trip to Uganda.

He said negotiations have gone no further since a meeting between the two sides in Istanbul at the end of March.

While Ukrainian officials have spoken of a possible counteroffensive in the south, the British Defense Ministry reported Tuesday no indication a Ukrainian warship and a stockpile of anti-ship missiles were at Odesa's port, as Moscow claimed when it struck the site over the weekend.

The British ministry said Russia sees Ukraines use of anti-ship missiles as a key threat limiting its Black Sea Fleet.

This has significantly undermined the overall invasion plan, as Russia cannot realistically attempt an amphibious assault to seize Odesa, the ministry said. Russia will continue to prioritize efforts to degrade and destroy Ukraines anti-ship capability.

It added, Russias targeting processes are highly likely routinely undermined by dated intelligence, poor planning, and a top-down approach to operations.

In other military developments, Russian shelling over the previous 24 hours killed at least three civilians and wounded eight in Ukraine, the Ukrainian presidents office said Tuesday.

In the eastern Donetsk region, where the fighting has focused in recent months, shelling continued along the entire front, with Russian forces targeting some of the region's largest cities, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Toretsk, the presidential office said.

Donetsk regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko accused Russian troops of using cluster munitions and repeated his call for civilians to evacuate.

There is not a single safe place left. Everything is being shelled," Kyrylenko said in televised remarks. "But there are still evacuation routes for the civilian population.

The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, reported that Moscow was using mercenaries from the shadowy Wagner Group to capture the Vuhledar Power Plant on the northern outskirts of the Bakhmut region village of Novoluhanske.

But Russian forces have made limited gains there, Ukraines General Staff acknowledged.

The main regional Russian focus for the moment is on capturing Bakhmut, which the Russian military needs to press its eastern offensive on Ukrainian strongholds in Donetsk, the cities of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk.

Russian forces made marginal gains south of Bakhmut but are unlikely to be able to effectively leverage these advances to take full control of Bakhmut itself, the Institute for the Study of War said.

Russian forces continued to strike civilian infrastructure in Kharkiv, Ukraines second-largest city, and the surrounding region in the country's northeast.

Kharkiv Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said the strikes on the city resumed around dawn Tuesday and damaged a car dealership.

The Russians deliberately target civilian infrastructure objects  hospitals, schools, movie theaters, Syniehubov told Ukrainian television. Everything is being fired at, even queues for humanitarian aid, so were urging people to avoid mass gatherings.

The Moldovan foreign ministry said Tuesday a Moldovan citizen was killed and another wounded in what it claimed was a Ukrainian attack on Russia's border with Ukraine. The unconfirmed report said the attack occurred at a border checkpoint in Russia's Bryansk region.

Responding to a comment by Lavrov on Monday that Moscows overarching goal in Ukraine is to free its people from its unacceptable regime, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said the Kremlin wants the complete subjugation of Ukraine and its people.

We must be prepared for this war  which Russia is conducting with absolute brutality, and is conducting in a way that no one else would  to last months, Baerbock said during a visit to Prague.

In other developments:

 European Union governments agreed to ration natural gas this winter to protect against Russian supply cuts. EU energy ministers approved a draft law designed to lower demand for gas by 15% from August through March. The legislation entails voluntary national steps to reduce gas consumption and, if they yield insufficient savings, a trigger for mandatory actions. Russian energy corporation Gazprom said it would cut gas flows through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Germany to 20% of capacity starting Wednesday. In his nightly video address Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused the Russian government of doing everything to make this winter the toughest for European countries." It is necessary to respond to terror - respond with sanctions, he added.

 Russias space chief said the country will opt out of the International Space Station after 2024 and focus on building its own orbiting outpost. Yuri Borisov, appointed earlier this month to lead the state-controlled space corporation Roscosmos, said Russia would fulfill its obligations at the space station before it leaves the project. The move is part of a broader disengagement trend stemming from soaring tensions between Russia and the West over the Kremlins military action in Ukraine.

 Britain imposed sanctions on two national Russian government officials overseeing justice and two top regional officials in Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine. Also facing sanctions are several Syrian military figures accused of recruiting Syrians to fight for Russia in Ukraine.

 German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht said her country has delivered previously announced Mars II multiple-launch rocket systems, along with three more howitzers, to Ukraine. Lambrecht said Germany also has delivered five of a pledged 30 Gepard self-propelled armored anti-aircraft guns, German news agency dpa reported.

 The Russian military announced plans to hold large-scale drills in Russias east, noting that it continues regular troop training despite the action in Ukraine. The Russian Defense Ministry said Tuesday that airborne troops, long-range bombers and military cargo planes will participate in the Vostok 2022 (East 2022) exercise scheduled Aug. 30-Sept. 5.

 U.S. officials said they had not yet seen evidence of Iran supplying Russia with drones for use in the Ukraine war. The White House had previously released satellite images indicating that Russians had visited an Iranian airbase to see weapons-capable drones. But White House national security spokesman John Kirby said Tuesday, We havent seen anything that its been actually effected. Kirby said Moscows interest in the drones shows that sanctions and export controls are impacting Russias military production.

___

Follow the APs coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

AUSTIN, Texas (AP)  The detective who led the investigation into the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School attack testified Tuesday that there are three types of people who deny that it happened and harass the victims' families: the mentally ill, those who believed bad or incomplete information, and those who knew the truth but twisted it for their own power or money.

Investigators put conspiracy theorist Alex Jones in that final group.

They were the most dangerous. Thats where we put Alex Jones, Connecticut State Police Detective Daniel Jewiss told the jury on the first day of testimony in a Texas trial to determine how much Jones, who hosts Infowars, owes for defaming the parents of one of the children who died in the deadliest school shooting in American history.

Its absolutely horrific the amount of trauma theyve had to endure in the wake of having lost a loved one, said Jewiss, who called supporting the Sandy Hook families the most honorable thing hes ever been part of.

Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, whose 6-year-old son Jesse was killed in the attack on the Newtown, Connecticut, school, are seeking $150 million for emotional distress and reputational damage that Jones caused them, and more money in punitive damages, their lawyer, Mark Bankston, told the court during his opening statement as Jones looked on, shaking his head at times.

Jones repeatedly lied and attacked the parents of murdered children when he told his Infowars audience that the shooting was a hoax, Bankston said. He created a massive campaign of lies and recruited wild extremists from the fringes of the internet ... who were as cruel as Mr. Jones wanted them to be to the families of the 20 first-graders and six educators who were killed, the lawyer said.

Jones tapped into the explosive popularity of Sandy Hook conspiracy stories that became an obsession for the website, even years after the shooting, said Bankston, who played video clips of Jones claiming on his program that the shooting was a hoax and the whole thing was completely fake. ... It just didnt happen.

Anticipating that Jones' lawyers would argue that what Jones said about Sandy Hook was speech protected by the First Amendment  Jones arrived at the courthouse wearing tape over his mouth with the message Save the 1st printed on it  Bankston told the jury, This has nothing to do with the Constitution. Defamation is not protected by freedom of speech. ... Speech is free, but lies you have to pay for.

During the defense's opening remarks, Jones' lawyer Andino Reynal called Jones one of the most polarizing figures in this nation," who made statements about Sandy Hook that we dont dispute were wrong. But he said Jones has already been punished for those statements when he was kicked off of Facebook, YouTube, Spotify and Twitter for violating their hate speech policies.

Jones has already been cancelled and lost millions of dollars, said Reynal, who called on the jury to limit the damages to $1.

Reynal painted a picture of a talk show host who tries to give an alternative view but who was duped by some of his guests.

Alex Jones was wrong to believe these people, but he didnt do it out of spite. He did it because he believed it. ... He believed a citizen has a right to get on Infowars and talk about what their questions are," Reynal said.

He also called the case an important one for free speech.

I believe in his right to say it, and I believe in every Americans right to choose what they watch, and listen to, and believe," Reynal said.

Between the two sides' opening statements, Jones stepped outside of the courtroom to rant to reporters, calling it a kangaroo court and show trial that was an assault on the First Amendment. He didn't return to the courtroom for the afternoon start of testimony, which included Infowars producer Daria Karpova taking the stand.

Jones' media company designated Karpova to testify about Infowars' audience reach, and some of the video produced by the website after the Sandy Hook shooting. The trial took a break for the rest of the day before she finished planned testimony.

The jury could deal Jones a major financial blow that would put his constellation of conspiracy peddling businesses into deeper jeopardy. In addition to being banned from major social media platforms, he claims he's millions of dollars in debt  a claim the plaintiffs reject.

The Texas court and another in Connecticut found Jones liable for defamation for his portrayal of the Sandy Hook massacre as a hoax involving actors aimed at increasing gun control. In both states, the judges issued default judgments against Jones without trials because he failed to respond to court orders and turn over documents.

In total, the families of eight Sandy Hook victims and an FBI agent who responded to the school are suing Jones and his company, Free Speech Systems.

Jones has since acknowledged that the shooting took place. During a deposition in April, Jones insisted he wasnt responsible for the suffering that Sandy Hook parents say they have endured because of the hoax conspiracy, including death threats and harassment by Jones followers.

Jones claimed in court records last year that he had a negative net worth of $20 million, but attorneys for Sandy Hook families have painted a different financial picture.

Court records show that Jones Infowars store, which sells nutritional supplements and survival gear, made more than $165 million between 2015 and 2018. Jones has also urged listeners on his Infowars program to donate money.

The tribal began Monday in Austin, Texas  where Jones lives and broadcasts his show  following months of delays. It also comes about two months after a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, which is about 145 miles (235 kilometers) southwest of Austin. It was the deadliest school shooting since Sandy Hook.
(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.)

Tharaphi Than, Northern Illinois University

(THE CONVERSATION) The current conflict in Myanmar raised new international concern when the countrys military announced on July 25, 2022, that it had executed four pro-democracy activists and political prisoners.

The high-profile killings were the latest signal that the civil conflict in the Southeast Asian country is deepening, almost 18 months after the military staged a coup and overtook the democratically elected government in February 2021.

The military killed two leading political leaders who opposed the junta  Kyaw Min Yu, a writer and activist known as Jimmy, and Phyo Zeya Thaw, a hip-hop musician turned lawmaker under the old political regime  citing counterterrorism charges.

Two other people  Hla Myo Aung and Aung Thura Zaw  were executed after they were convicted of killing a woman who they reportedly thought was a military informer.

The executions follow a recent report from human rights group Amnesty International that the military is laying land mines in residential areas to hurt and kill civilians.

I am a scholar of Myanmar politics and culture. Here are four key points to help untangle the countrys complicated conflict and the meaning behind the executions.

The military government is sending a message

The political executions of these activists were the first in many decades for Myanmar, which has vacillated from military control to emerging democratic leadership over the past few decades. The military wants to send a message to other citizens  and to the world  that it is in charge.

But behind a thin veneer of control, the militarys fears of public opposition and uprisings can be detected by people in Myanmar and outside observers alike.

Soldiers overthrew Aung San Suu Kyi, the former leader and foreign minister of Myanmar, in early 2021 and first placed her under house arrest.

The coup sparked a wave of protests across the country  over 4,700 anti-coup events were reported by the end of June 2021. The military responded with conducting mass arrests and killing civilians.

The military then sent Aung San Suu Kyi to prison on multiple corruption charges in April 2022 that the nonprofit Human Rights Watch has called bogus.

Executing four revolutionary leaders will likely escalate nationwide resistance to the military.

The conflicts complicated back story

When the military staged the 2021 coup, the generals made a miscalculation.

Aung San Suu Kyis political party, the National League for Democracy, had won a landslide victory against the military-backed opposition in November 2020. Military generals demanded another election, offering little evidence of irregularities, but recognizing that power was slipping from their hands.

Military representatives still held an allocated 25% of parliament seats because of the constitution, but without their allied political parties, their political leverage was limited.

At the time, there was a global pandemic. The economy slowed down.

The generals likely hoped that the coup would be merely a smooth transition back to the old system  before Aung San Suu Kyis party was first elected in 2015  when the different generations of generals had controlled everything, from 1962 onward.

But the National League for Democracys ascension to power brought about many positive changes, particularly in the countrys heartland, where a major ethnic group, Bamar, lives. The countrys gross domestic product, an indicator of economic growth, was also at an all-time high in 2020.

Many could see life was improving for them and for their children. The generals did not foresee the outrage that would follow the coup.

How political resistance has played out

Early days of peaceful demonstrations after the coup quickly turned to armed resistance when the army did not respect the peoples demands to return power to the government they elected.

U.N. human rights experts have said the military junta is a criminal enterprise that is systematically committing murder, torture and forced disappearances. The junta has also blocked access to many social media sites, like Facebook, and engaged in widespread human rights violations, including attacks on civilians, according to the U.N.

Many young people joined ethnic revolutionary groups, many of which had been fighting the army since 1948, when Myanmar  then known as Burma  became independent from British rule.

Ethnic armies supported the young people who decided to join the resistance, and housed, fed and trained them.

Some Myanmar citizens, meanwhile, have donated their incomes, houses and cars to help support revolutionary groups. Its become popular for people to visit websites and play online games created by Myanmar tech developers  generating money that goes to these groups.

This bypasses the militarys crackdown on mobile money transfers to members of the armed groups, and the closure of many banks.

The military is also losing some territorial control, as more and more regions slowly form their own administrations, which the military does not recognize.

Other countries are mostly staying out of it

The United States and other major powers have largely been absent as Myanmar has experienced a coup and subsequent political and economic crisis.

While the Myanmar army continues to get support and military supplies from Russia, other countries have taken a wait-and-see approach.

One reason is that Myanmars situation is internal, and its military is not fighting other countries. Now, hundreds of internal groups in Myanmar are fighting over their vested interests, including territory.

I believe no clear winner will walk away from this civil war  and staging little to no interference has been the international communitys general position. People of Myanmar have interpreted this stance as willful ignorance to their plight.

There are, however, some symbolic victories for the opposition by way of international engagement.

Ousted political leaders from the National League for Democracy and others against the junta formed a new shadow government, the National Unity Government, in May 2021. Most of their top members operate undercover or through members based abroad, according to CNN.

The U.N. has not formally recognized the National Unity Government but has allowed representatives to speak at the U.N. on behalf of Myanmar.

The U.S. has hosted National Unity Government delegationsseveral times  but it has yet to unfreeze the US$1 billion the previous Myanmar government held at a U.S. Federal Reserve bank.

Both the National Unity Government and the military claim rights to this money.

An uncertain future

The coup triggered an economic collapse, plunging Myanmars currency to an all-time low.

Many Myanmar citizens feel trapped in the entrenched war.

The country is fast-forwarding into the past, when it was deeply isolated from the world. And there is no clear end in sight to the conflict.

The military hosted peace talks in April and May, but fewer than half of the countrys major 21 ethnic armed groups attended.

Many of these groups together with the newly formed armed Peoples Defense Forces, part of the National Unity Government, have vowed to fight on, especially after the executions. Because of their determination, many people in the country feel that the future is uncertain  but not hopeless.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article here: https://theconversation.com/top-democracy-activists-were-executed-in-myanmar-4-key-things-to-know-187671.
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP)  A conservative-backed initiative to publish voter registration records from across the country online for public consumption can move forward over the objections of New Mexico election regulators, a federal judge has ordered in a preliminary opinion.

Albuquerque-based U.S. District Court Judge James Browning issued an order last Friday preventing New Mexico state prosecutors from pursuing allegations of possible election code violations against the creators of VoteRef.com.

The VoteRef.com website provides searchable access to voter registration records by name and street addresses, often indicating when people voted in past elections.

The online records do not say for which candidates the people voted or how they voted on initatives. Party affiliation is listed for voters in some states but not all.

The Voter Reference Foundation that created the website advocates for voting accountability by making voter information more accessible to the public.

Following the ruling, the foundation said it would post New Mexico voter rolls online starting Tuesday.

The decision doesn't apply to New Mexico voters enrolled in a confidential address program aimed at protecting victims of domestic violence and stalking.

New Mexico election regulators contend that the effort violates state restrictions on the purchase and dissemination of voter registration records  and is likely to discourage voter participation because people may opt out if they know that some of their voting information is being made public.

New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver, a Democrat, in March referred the matter the attorney generals office for possible prosecution of the Voter Reference Foundation, which published New Mexico registration records online at the time after obtaining them through an out-of-state business. State law restricts the use of voter registration information to political campaigning and election- or government-related activities.

The foundation  backed by former GOP Senate candidate Doug Truax of Illinois  took its New Mexico records offline in response and sued the state in federal court, alleging violations of due process and free speech guarantees.

The judge's order blocks prosecution while the case advances toward trial and said that the Voter Reference Foundation is likely to prevail in its claim as the victim of viewpoint discrimination by election regulators. Browning said New Mexico state law does not prohibit Voter Reference  or any organization  from posting voter data online.

The creators of VoteRef.com are substantially likely to succeed on the merits of their claim that the Secretary of States referral of Voter Reference to the Attorney General for criminal prosecution and her public statements about the referral are an unconstitutional prior restraint on protected speech, Browning said.

Truax, founder of the Restoration of America organization that funds VoteRef.com, said his group "wont be intimidated by politicians who, for some reason, dont want to give the people of their state easy access to election records they pay for. He is an advocate for limiting voting access largely to in-person voting on Election Day with photo ID requirements and no same-day registration.

VoteRef.com already publishes voter registration information online from at least 28 states and Washington D.C.

Toulouse Oliver spokesman Alex Curtas called the judge's opinion a blow to protecting the privacy rights of every New Mexican voter.

The fear now is that voters will be less likely to participate in our elections because their voting information  name, residential address, party affiliation, voting history, and year of birth - will be made easily available online for anyone to obtain and potentially manipulate, Curtas said.

Some New Mexico neighborhoods this year have been the focus of door-to-door canvassing by volunteers for a group called New Mexico Audit Force that promotes unproven conspiracy theories about the 2020 election.

The door knocking  ostensibly to verify individual voter registrations at peoples' homes  has generated voter intimidation concerns and counterclaims of threats against canvassers.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP)  As West Virginia's Republican supermajority continued advancing a sweeping abortion ban bill Tuesday, Democrats failed for the second time in two days to garner enough support to add exceptions for rape and incest victims.

During an hourslong meeting Tuesday, House Judiciary Committee Republicans overwhelmingly rejected Democrats' amendment for a rape and incest exception, sending the abortion ban to the full House of Delegates. A similar proposal failed Monday in a different House committee.

Men perpetrating such horrific acts makes me unsettled at times, said Republican Del. Pat McGeehan, who noted he has a daughter. He voted against the exception. Its very disturbing and these are contentious questions we have to deal with. However, when we confront such evil, we cannot participate in evil itself.

McGeehan said by creating exceptions, even for rape and incest, lawmakers would be sending the message that the value of life is not unconditional.

An innocent life is still an innocent life, regardless of the evil act, he said. We have to have moral absolutism. The real question here is: Is it ever just to punish an innocent person for a crime committed by someone else? My answer is absolutely not.

The House, comprised of 78 Republicans and 22 Democrats, is next scheduled to meet Wednesday after a public hearing on the abortion bill.

Lawmakers were called by Gov. Jim Justice into a special session starting Monday to consider reducing the states income tax. As lawmakers were gaveling in, he abruptly added the abortion law to the agenda. The session began week after a Charleston judge barred West Virginia from enforcing an 1800s-era abortion ban, ruling it unenforceable and superseded by a slew of conflicting modern laws.

On Monday, Justice asked legislators to clarify and modernize the state abortion laws.

Similar to the 1800s-era ban, Republicans new proposal would bar abortion in almost all cases and makes performing one a felony. Physicians who provide abortions could face three to 10 years in prison.

The bill provides exceptions for an ectopic pregnancy, a nonmedically viable fetus or a medical emergency.

When Republicans greenlit the bill in the Judiciary Committee, Democratic Del. Kayla Young pointed out she's one of only three women in the group of 25 lawmakers. There are no people of color on the committee, and she said women and people of color will be impacted the most by a statewide abortion ban.

Were never going to have to deal with this because were incredibly privileged people, she said. We are making decisions about other people, and we shouldnt do that. If its your religious belief, if its your moral belief, that is great for you. But get it away from me, get it out of my body, get it out of my uterus.

Also during Tuesday's meeting, Democrats sharply rejected one GOP lawmakers proposal for a rape and incest exception that would have permitted abortion up to six weeks gestation and required the assault to be reported to law enforcement.

They said the time frame was too short to help most victims, who may not be able to immediately report to law enforcement. Some victims are children, and confiding in adults might not be safe. And, many people don't even find out they're pregnant until after six weeks, they said.

It may be well-intended, but I think this is a slap in the face, Democratic Del. Joey Garcia of Marion County said.

Republican Del. Steve Westfall of Jackson County said he limited his proposal to six weeks because he believes life begins when a fetus develops a heartbeat. He said he understood how the narrow time frame might prohibit victims from getting abortions, but that he sought a compromise.

I think unlimited time is too long, but Id like to see rape and incest get in there," he said.

Westfall said he doesnt support abortion, but would want his four daughters to have a choice if they were ever victims of assault.

Movement on the abortion bill came as work slowed on Justices proposal to reduce the state income tax rate by 10%. The bill was scheduled for a second reading Wednesday in the House. If it passes, it would move to the Senate.

Senate President Craig Blair prefers a cut in the state personal property tax. But the state constitution allows only addressing legislation specifically mentioned in the governors special session proclamation, so the Senate cant address those taxes this week.

A 10% reduction is the maximum cut allowed while remaining in compliance with funding stipulations in the American Rescue Plan Act, he said. Justice said the proposal would be retroactive to Jan. 1 and would put $254 million back into residents pockets when they file their 2022 taxes.

The governors pitch is the third attempt to cut personal state income taxes in the past year.

-

Associated Press writer John Raby contributed to this report.
SEATTLE (AP)  People age 18 and under will ride buses, water taxis and streetcars for free in Washington states most populous county starting Sept. 1.

The King County Council on Thursday unanimously approved the plan, The Seattle Times reported.

Introduced by Executive Dow Constantine, the vote kicks off an effort to get as many public transit cards  known as ORCA cards  into the hands of young people as possible. The new policy comes after state lawmakers passed a nearly $17 billion transportation funding package in Washingtons 2022 legislative session, with almost exclusively Democratic votes.

The state transportation package includes $3 billion for transit, about half of which only goes to local transit agencies if they adopt policies to make ridership free for young people. This includes local buses, as well as Amtrak trains and Washington State Ferries.

So far, every local transit agency in the state has indicated they will adopt free fares for youth in order to become eligible for state funding. Transit is already free for young people in Everett. Community Transit, Kitsap Transit, Pierce Transit and Sound Transit will similarly go fare-free for youth by the start of this school year.

King County is eligible for an estimated $31.7 million in new transit funding as a part of the state transportation package, which could go toward expanding bus service or improving facilities. The cost estimate of making transit free for everyone under 19 is about $10 million.

Weve had great debates about fare evasion for youth, said Councilmember Dave Upthegrove. All those debates and all that hassle goes away because young people can now ride transit whenever they need to beginning this fall at no cost.

General Manger of King County Metro, Terry White, said the agency will launch a wave of advertising to get ORCA cards into the hands of the roughly 300,000 newly eligible young people. In the meantime, youth can use their school identification when boarding. If a young person lacks an ID, they will still be allowed to ride for free.
SHELBY, Mich. (AP)  A 10-year-old western Michigan boy who was shot by his mother before she turned the gun on herself home has died, authorities said Tuesday.

Tests performed on Ethan Anewishki of Shelby, found no brain activity, the Oceana County Sheriffs Office said.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

BANGKOK (AP)  International outrage over Myanmar's execution of four political prisoners intensified Tuesday with grassroots protests and strong condemnation from world governments, as well as fears the hangings could derail nascent attempts to bring an end to the violence and unrest that has beset the Southeast Asian nation since the military seized power last year.

Myanmar's military-led government that seized power from elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021 has been accused of thousands of extrajudicial killings since then, but the hangings announced Monday were the country's first official executions in decades.

We feel that this is a crime against humanity, said Malaysian Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah, speaking at the side of the United Nations' Special Envoy on Myanmar Noeleen Heyzer at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur.

He said the executions would be a focus of the upcoming meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations foreign ministers, which begin in Cambodia in a week.

Myanmar is a member of the influential ASEAN group, which has been trying to implement a five-point consensus it reached on Myanmar last year calling for dialogue among all concerned parties, provision of humanitarian assistance, an immediate cessation of violence and a visit by a special envoy to meet all parties.

With the executions, he said, we look at it as if the junta is making a mockery of the five point process.

Heyzer said that the U.N. sees the executions as a blatant violation of a person's right to life, liberty and security."

In Bangkok, hundreds of pro-democracy demonstrators protested outside neighboring Myanmar's embassy, waving flags and chanting slogans amid a heavy downpour.

The dictators used their power arbitrarily, yelled a young man through a bullhorn to the crowd, some of whom waved pictures of Suu Kyi or the four executed men. We can't tolerate this any more.

Myanmar's government spokesperson, Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun, firmly rejected the criticism, saying the executions were carried out in line with the country's law and not for personal reasons.

We knew that there may be criticism when the death penalties were handed down and conducted in line with domestic law, he told reporters. However, we did it for reasons of domestic stability, for the rule of law and order, and security.

He said the executed men were convicted of crimes involving supporting violent terrorists and acts  allegations denied by their defenders  and said their punishment was appropriate.

If we considered leniency for those who committed such crimes it would have been cruel and without sympathy for the victims, he said.

Among the four executed was Phyo Zeya Thaw, a 41-year-old former lawmaker from Suu Kyis party, and Kyaw Min Yu, a 53-year-old democracy activist better known as Ko Jimmy. All were tried, convicted and sentenced by a military tribunal with no possibility of appeal.

The executions were carried out over the weekend, and came as a surprise even to family members.

Phyo Zeya Thaw's mother Khin Win May told The Associated Press she had just spoken with her son via video conference on Friday and he had asked her for reading glasses, books and some spending money.

I was a little shocked when I heard about the execution, I think it will take some time, she said.

She said she hoped her son and the others would be seen as martyrs for their cause.

I'm proud of all of them as they sacrificed their lives for the country," she said.

The execution of the four activists prompted immediate calls from around the world for a moratorium on carrying out any further sentences, and condemnation for what was broadly seen as a politically motivated move.

Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, announced in June that it was going to resume executing prisoners and has 113 others who have been sentenced to death, although 41 of those were convicted in absentia, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a non-governmental organization that tracks killing and arrests. At the same time, 2,120 civilians have been killed by security forces since the military takeover.

This was a barbaric act by Myanmar's military regime, said New Zealand's Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta of the four executions carried out. New Zealand condemns these actions in the strongest possible terms.

Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong said she was appalled by the executions.

Australia opposes the death penalty in all circumstances for all people, she said.

Earlier, Australia and New Zealand had joined the European Union, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Norway and South Korea in a joint statement condemning the executions.

ASEAN denounced the executions as highly reprehensible.

It said the move represented a setback to the group's efforts to facilitate a dialogue between the military leadership and opponents.

We strongly and urgently call on all parties concerned to desist from taking actions that would only further aggravate the crisis, hinder peaceful dialogue among all parties concerned, and endanger peace, security and stability, not only in Myanmar, but the whole region, the group said in a statement.

The militarys seizure of power from Suu Kyis elected government triggered peaceful protests that soon escalated to armed resistance and then to widespread fighting that some U.N. experts characterize as a civil war.

Some resistance groups have engaged in assassinations, drive-by shootings and bombings in urban areas. Mainstream opposition organizations generally disavow such activities, while supporting armed resistance in rural areas that are more often subject to brutal military attacks.

News of the executions prompted a flash-demonstration Monday in Myanmars largest city, Yangon, where about a dozen protesters took to the streets marching behind a banner saying we are never afraid, then quickly slipping away before authorities could confront them.

Similar demonstrations broke out in more rural areas across Myanmar on both Monday and Tuesday.

The last judicial execution to be carried out in Myanmar is generally believed to have been of another political offender, student leader Salai Tin Maung Oo, in 1976 under a previous military government led by dictator Ne Win.

___

Ng reported from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Chalida Ekvitthayavechnukul in Bangkok contributed to this report.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

AUSTIN, Texas (AP)  Testimony is set to begin Tuesday in a Texas lawsuit to decide how much Infowars host and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones must pay Sandy Hook Elementary School parents for falsely telling his audience that the deadliest classroom shooting in U.S. history was a hoax.

The jury could deal Jones a major financial blow that would put his constellation of conspiracy peddling businesses into deeper jeopardy. He has already been banned from YouTube, Facebook and Spotify for violating their hate-speech policies and he claims he's millions of dollars in debt  a claim the plaintiffs reject.

The trial involving the parents of two Sandy Hook families is only the start for Jones. Damages have yet to be awarded in separate defamation cases for other families of the 2012 massacre in Newtown, Connecticut.

Jones was in the courtroom Tuesday after not attending jury selection on Monday. His attorney said Jones has a medical issue that might keep him away from some of the scheduled 10-day trial, but he didn't elaborate.

Jones arrived at the courthouse wearing a piece of silver tape over his mouth with the message Save the 1st printed on it  a reference to the First Amendment right to free speech. He removed it before entering the courtroom.

To take his seat at the defense table, Jones walked directly behind Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, the parents of 6-year-old Jesse Lewis, who was one of the 20 first graders and six educators who were killed at Sandy Hook. Heslin and Lewis were escorted by plainclothes security to the courthouse and to the courtroom.

The lawsuits do not ask jurors to award a specific dollar amount against Jones. But in questioning the jury pool on Monday, attorneys for the families suggested they could seek $100 million or more in compensatory and punitive damages.

Opening statements and testimony were set for Tuesday before the 12 jurors and four alternates who were selected Monday from a jury pool of more than 100.

Were very glad the day is here, said Mark Bankston, attorney for the families suing Jones. Were looking forward to telling our clients story.

Initial testimony Tuesday is expected to include Daniel Jewiss, who was the Connecticut State Police lead investigator of Sandy Hook, and Daria Karpova, a producer at Infowars.

In questioning the jury pool, Jones' attorney Andino Reynal acknowledged that Jones is a very polarizing and controversial figure, but he also said hed ask the jury to cap the damages at $1.

During jury selection, most in the jury pool raised their hand when asked if they had heard of Jones, and nearly two dozen agreed when Reynal asked who among them had a firm negative impression of him.

Were very happy with the jury weve seated, Reynal said. Its a very important First Amendment case. On trial right now is not just peoples freedom of speech, but its also peoples freedom to listen. To choose what they watch on television, to make those choices for themselves, instead of having a personal injury lawyer make those choices for them.

Courts in Texas and Connecticut have already found Jones liable for defamation for his portrayal of the Sandy Hook massacre as a hoax involving actors aimed at increasing gun control. In both states, judges have issued default judgments against Jones without trials because he failed to respond to court orders and turn over documents.

In total, the families of eight of the Sandy Hook victims and an FBI agent who responded to the school are suing Jones and his company, Free Speech Systems.

Jones has since acknowledged that the shooting took place. During a deposition in April, Jones insisted he wasnt responsible for the suffering that Sandy Hook parents say they have endured because of the hoax conspiracy, including death threats and harassment by Jones followers.

Jones claimed in court records last year that he had a negative net worth of $20 million, but attorneys for Sandy Hook families have painted a different financial picture.

Court records show that Jones Infowars store, which sells nutritional supplements and survival gear, made more than $165 million between 2015 and 2018. Jones has also urged listeners on his Infowars program to donate money.

The Texas trial begins about two months after a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, which is about 145 miles (235 kilometers) southwest of Austin. It was the deadliest school shooting since Sandy Hook.

___

Associated Press writer Paul J. Weber contributed to this report.
VIEW press/Corbis via Getty Images

Americans are crossing the Texas-Mexico border to buy gas at in unprecedented numbers as U.S. gas prices continue hovering around record highs, Bloomberg reported Monday.

A gallon of gas currently costs less than $1 U.S. dollar in Mexico, according to Bloomberg. Meanwhile, soaring gas prices in Texas and across the U.S. have Americans scrambling to keep their cars fueled: after hitting a record high price of $4.34 for a gallon of regular unleaded on June 2, prices have gone down somebut Texans are still paying $3.82 a gallon on average about three weeks later.



"For their whole lives, people herebusinessmen and everyone elsehave gone to buy gas in El Paso, Ivan Escondido, who pumps gas in Ciudad Juarez, just across the border from El Paso, told Bloomberg. Now the tables have turned.
The Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District board of trustees voted Monday to approve a resolution calling for Texas lawmakers to increase the legal assault rifle purchase age from 18 to 21, the Texas Tribune reported.

The vote comes a few months after gunman Salvador Ramos killed 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas using an automatic assault rifle and ammunition that he bought just days after turning 18.

The board's resolution echoed a July 13 vote from Uvalde County commissioners pushing Gov. Greg Abbott to call a special legislative session aimed at increasing the legal age for buying assault rifles from 18 to 21. Uvalde commissioners also urged Texas lawmakers in June to form special committees dedicated to making policy recommendations related to gun control in the wake of the May 24 shooting.

The governor is the only public official with the power to call special legislative sessions outside of Texas normal bi-annual legislative sessions.

A spokesperson from Abbotts office said the governor has taken immediate action to address all aspects of the massacre in Uvalde in an email response to the Texas Tribune.

As Governor Abbott has said from day one, all options remain on the table as he continues working with state and local leaders to prevent future tragedies and deploy all available resources to support the Uvalde community as they heal, the spokesperson told the Tribune.

More announcements are expected in the coming days and weeks as the legislature deliberates proposed solutions.

UCISDs vote comes a week after the Texas House of Representatives investigators released a report documenting the results of the Houses investigation of authorities responses to the shooting. The report details law enforcements systemic failures across local, state and federal agencies.
The Mothers Against Greg Abbott PAC has released a new political ad targeting the Republican governor, this time criticizing his anti-abortion stance and his efforts to curtail abortion care in the Lone Star State. The ad, released on Monday, shows a doctor informing an expectant couple that their child will be born with a "catastrophic brain abnormality" and will not survive after birth.

"Your daughter, if she is to survive, will live only a matter of hours after birth," the doctor explains. "During that time, she will experience a multitude of seizures and ultimately aspirate on her own bodily fluids. She will suffer. A decision will need to be made on termination. I wish I could tell you what to do but there is only one person who can make this choice..."

The tearful mother then begins to ask how much time she has, only for the doctor to continue and say: "and that person is Greg." The father, confused, asks, "Who the f-ck is Greg?"

The doctor then claps his hands and proceeds to open a nearby lit-up cabinet with a photo of Abbott on it, revealing a red phone which he picks up and uses to place a direct call to the governor. Following a brief conversation, the doctor hangs up and tells the couple: "Yeah, that's gonna be a no. Best of luck to you."

The ad ends with a question appearing on the screen: "Whose choice should it be? Don't let Greg decide." On Twitter, the group captioned the video: "Whose choice? Texas women no longer have a choice to make their most personal decision. This is wrong! Texans need to fight back and vote for Democrats this November and vote against TxGOP. Vote them out!"

The new ad has gone viral across platforms, garnering more than three million views as of Tuesday morning. It's the second ad the group has released against Abbott in less than two weeks. In a previous ad, which also went viral, the group listed reasons why Abbott should be ousted from office in the upcoming November 2022 election.

Among the reasons mentioned was the passage of Senate Bill 8, a measure that banned abortions in the Lone Star State after about six weeks of pregnancy with no exceptions in cases of rape or incest. The law, which went into effect in September 2021, allows private citizens to bring civil suits against those suspected of providing or abetting an abortion conducted after fetal cardiac activity can be detected. Those who successfully file a suit could win a $10,000 bounty.

The group's website states it opposes Abbott because he and the Texas GOP "have neighbor turning against neighbor by putting a bounty on those who seek health care choices that they don't agree with. They are taking our personal freedom over our own bodies!"

Abbott along with other Texas Republican leaders celebrated the U.S. Supreme Court's historic decision in June to overturn Roe v. Wade, which had guaranteed a constitutional right to an abortion for nearly 50 years. Following the ruling, Abbott issued a statement that read: "Texas is a pro-life state, and we have taken significant action to protect the sanctity of life."

The Texas Supreme Court has since allowed the state to enforce an abortion ban from 1925. Texas also has a pending ban under a trigger law that was passed by the state legislature in 2021 and is expected to soon go into effect. The measure bans abortion with exceptions made only for women who face death or a "substantial impairment of major bodily function" if an abortion is not performed.

In a recent interview with MSNBC, the group's founder Nancy Thompson said: "We've just spent years trusting male politicians with our rights, and they've failed us. So it's time for us women and just regular moms out there and regular women out there and female politicians to stand up and fight for our own rights."
Update: Olivia Julianna says she has raised more than $250,000 for abortion funds as of Wednesday afternoon following her exchange with Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz.

Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz's targeting a teen activist online appears to have backfired. Olivia Julianna, a 19-year-old Houston activist who works as a political strategist with Gen-Z for Change, announced Tuesday that she's raised more than $50,000 for abortion funds after Gaetz tried to bully and body shame her on Twitter for criticizing his speech mocking abortion advocates.

Julianna announced on Twitter Monday that she started fundraising for the youth-led nonprofit's abortion fund "in honor of Matt Gaetz publicly body shaming me" and documented the progress as the donations rolled in overnight. The contributions will be split among 50 different funds across states where services are needed most, Julianna said.

"When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade," Julianna said in an emailed statement. "When a sitting congressmen tries to weaponize your appearance because youre an abortion rights activist, you raise money for a cause he hates. Im a political strategist, but first and foremost Im a Texas activist, and my work will always come first. So whenever I have a chance to share it I will."

The Florida Republican faced backlash after he shared an article on Sunday from conservative media outlet Newsmax that described his rant about abortion rights advocates over the weekend as "sure to raise [the] dander of his political opponents," along with a photo of Julianna. "Dander raised..." the congressman captioned it.

Julianna has since accused Gaetz of directing his followers to harass her. "This is what happens when a sitting Republican congressman body shames and blasts you on social media," she tweeted along with a screenshot of an explicit message she received after Gaetz shared her photo.

Gaetz's attack came after Julianna blasted him online for comments he made at the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit in Tampa, Fla., on Saturday. "Why is it that the women with the least likelihood of getting pregnant are the ones most worried about abortions? Nobody wants to impregnate you if you look like a thumb," Gaetz told the audience of students. "These people are odious from the inside out... They're like 5-2, 350 pounds, and they're like, 'Give me my abortions or I'll get up and march and protest.'"

Julianna responded to Gaetz on Twitter, writing: "I'm actually 5'11. 6'4 in heels. I wear them so small men like you are reminded of your place." She also brought up the fact that Gaetz is currently under federal investigation for allegations of sex trafficking a 17-year-old girl.

Meanwhile on TikTok, a platform where Julianna has more than 250,000 followers, she called out the Republican in a video that has since gone viral, having now been viewed more than a million times since Monday.

Julianna said she's also gained more than 20,000 followers across her social platforms following her rebuttal. "Let this serve as a lesson to all the Republican politicians out thereif its a battle of wit against me, youre going to lose," she wrote.

Despite the backlash, Gaetz has since doubled down on his comments about abortion rights activists, telling a reporter from WEAR-TV in Pensacola, Fla., on Monday that he believes all women who attend abortion rights rallies are ugly and overweight. "I find these people who go out in these pro-abortion, pro-murder rallies, odious and just, like, ugly on the inside and out," Gaetz said, "and I make no apology for it."

Asked what he would say to people who think those comments are offensive, Gaetz responded, "Be offended."

In a statement to Insider, a spokesperson for Gaetz responded to the Julianna's fundraiser, saying: "With Roe v. Wade overturned, America is now a pro-life nation. No amount of solicitations will change that."
WFO PENDLETON Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Friday, July 29, 2022

_____

EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING

URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE

National Weather Service Pendleton OR

442 AM PDT Tue Jul 26 2022

...EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 11 PM PDT

FRIDAY...

* WHAT...Dangerously hot conditions with temperatures up to 108.

* WHERE...Portions of central, south central and southeast

Washington and central, north central and northeast Oregon.

* WHEN...Until 11 PM PDT Friday.

* IMPACTS...Extreme heat will significantly increase the

potential for heat related illnesses, particularly for those

working or participating in outdoor activities.

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.

...EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 11 PM PDT FRIDAY...

* WHAT...Dangerously hot conditions with temperatures up to 105.

* WHERE...East Slopes of the Washington Cascades.

* ADDITIONAL DETAILS...

_____

Copyright 2022 AccuWeather
WFO SPOKANE Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Friday, July 29, 2022

_____

EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING

URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE

National Weather Service Spokane WA

738 AM PDT Tue Jul 26 2022

...EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 11 PM PDT FRIDAY...

* WHAT...Afternoon temperatures will range from the mid 90s to 105

degrees today then continue to steadily rise a few degrees

throughout the end of the week. High temperatures Wednesday into

Friday will range between 100 and 111 degrees with the hottest

conditions expected on Thursday and Friday. Overnight temperatures

will only cool into the mid 60s to mid 70s.

* WHERE...Loomis, Quincy, Winchester, Brewster, Waterville, Methow,

Nespelem, Ephrata, Wenatchee, Holden Village, Conconully, Telma,

Mansfield, Plain, Okanogan, Othello, Winton, Moses Lake,

Bridgeport, Omak, Stehekin, Leavenworth, Dryden, Malott, Mazama,

Lucerne, Cashmere, Peshastin, Entiat, Winthrop, Nighthawk,

Carlton, Monse, Twisp, Palisades, Oroville, and Chelan.

* WHEN...Until 11 PM PDT Friday.

* IMPACTS...Extreme heat will significantly increase the potential

for heat related illnesses, particularly for those working or

participating in outdoor activities. Residents without air

conditioners will experience a build up of heat within their home

through late in the week.

* ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Temperatures will continue to climb this

week. Meanwhile, overnight lows will become increasingly warmer

making it challenging for people without air conditioning to cool

off each night.

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.

Take extra precautions when outside. Wear lightweight and loose

fitting clothing. Try to limit strenuous activities to early morning

or evening. Take action when you see symptoms of heat exhaustion and

heat stroke.

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.

...EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM THIS MORNING

TO 11 PM PDT FRIDAY...

* WHAT...Afternoon temperatures will reach the mid 90s to lower 100s

today and then continue to warm through the end of the week.

Friday will likely be the hottest day with highs ranging from the

upper 90s to around 108. Overnight temperatures will be in the

60s to lower 70s.

* WHERE...Portions of North and North Central Idaho. Portions of

East Central, North Central, Northeast, and Southeast Washington.

* WHEN...From 11 AM this morning to 11 PM PDT Friday.

conditioners will experience a build up of heat within their homes

Do not leave young children and pets in unattended vehicles. Car

interiors will reach lethal temperatures in a matter of minutes.

_____

Copyright 2022 AccuWeather
We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on!

Go to form
What Canada is doing to reduce delays for air travellers

What Canada is doing to reduce delays for air travellers The Canadian government outlines recent efforts to address delays at Canadian airports.

What Canada is doing to reduce delays for air travellers The Canadian government outlines recent efforts to address delays at Canadian airports.

What Canada is doing to reduce delays for air travellers The Canadian government outlines recent efforts to address delays at Canadian airports. Shelby Thevenot Aa Accessibility Font Style Serif

Sans Font Size A

A

The Canadian government is making efforts to reduce traveller wait times and other issues at Canadian airports.

A combination of increased demand to travel and decreased airport staff has left many air travellers facing delays, cancellations, lost baggage and a host of other problems. On July 22, Transport Canada released some stats on the situation at Canadian airports, and how the government is addressing the issues.

According to the release, 81% of passengers were screened by security within 15 minutes between July 11 and 21.

Discover if You Are Eligible for Canadian Immigration

Torontos Pearson International Airports wait times increased during the week of July 18 to 21, when 82% of passengers were screened within 15 minutes. The week before, 78% of passengers were screened in this time. Calgary also saw improvements during the reference week. Montreal however experienced a slow down to 68% of its passengers screened in 15 minutes.

Less than 2% of passengers across all of Canadas airports waited more than 45 minutes to be security screened for the week of July 11 to 17.

Traffic at airports was higher than levels observed pre-pandemic in 2019. About 89,000 passengers arrived at Canadian airports for the week of July 11-17, an increase of 76% compared to the same week in 2019. Departures were up about 83% year over year.

The number of aircraft being held at Torontos airport decreased significantly since early May. Between July 11 and 17, 58 aircraft were held on the tarmac compared to the peak of 373 during the week of May 23 to 29.

This decrease shows the significant progress that has been made to date to address bottlenecks and to streamline passenger flows at Canadas largest airport, by adding more Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officers and more kiosks and eGates in the CBSA hall at Terminal 1, the government webpage says.

Canada and air industry partners have been collaborating to reduce wait times and help keep travellers moving. Some of their efforts include:

Collaborating with air industry partners

Transport Minister Omar Alghabra is meeting with leaders at airports and airlines of all sizes across the country to help address bottlenecks affecting travel.

On July 21, the minister met with the leadership of the Edmonton International Airport to discuss the solutions to mitigate congestion and wait times. Alghabra also had similar meetings with officials from the Vancouver, Kamloops and Prince George airports in British Columbia.

Moving random mandatory testing out of airports

As of July 19, mandatory random testing resumed for those who qualify as fully vaccinated travellers at Canadas four major international airports: Toronto Pearson, Vancouver, Calgary, and Montreal-Trudeau. All testing for air travellers arriving in Canada is now being completed outside of airports.

All air travellers required to undergo on-arrival testing will receive an email within 15 minutes of completing their customs declaration. The email contains information to help travellers arrange for their COVID-19 test with a provider in their region.

The government says resuming mandatory random testing outside of airports allows officials to respond to new variants of concern, or changes to the epidemiological situation while helping to alleviate congestion issues at airports.

Increasing staffing for security screening and customs processing

Since April, more than 1,500 airport screening officers have been hired across Canada. The number of officers at Toronto Pearson International Airport and Vancouver International Airport has now reached summer target levels.

Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) is making more border services officers available at the most congested airports by temporarily re-hiring retired officers and additional student border services officers.

Streamlining customs processing at Toronto Pearson International Airport

The Greater Toronto Airports Authority and the CBSA are adding more kiosks and eGates at Toronto Pearson International Airport. In addition, CBSA continues to monitor and prepare for peak arrival times to maximize efficiencies.

Improving ArriveCAN

Travellers arriving at Toronto Pearson International Airport or Vancouver International Airport, and later this month at Montreal-Trudeau International Airport, can save time by using the Advance CBSA Declaration optional feature in ArriveCAN to submit their customs and immigration declaration in advance of arrival.

Frequent travellers are also encouraged to take advantage of the saved traveller feature in ArriveCAN. It allows a user to save travel documents and proof of vaccination information to reuse on future trips.

New information resource for passengers experiencing flight delays, cancellations and lost or delayed baggage

The Canadian Transportation Agency developed a new information resource to help passengers who are experiencing issues during their travel. It is a guide that provides answers to many frequently asked travel questions and advises passengers of their rights under the Air Passenger Protection Regulations should their flights be delayed or cancelled, or in the event their baggage is lost, damaged, or delayed.

Discover if You Are Eligible for Canadian Immigration

 CIC News All Rights Reserved. Visit CanadaVisa.com to discover your Canadian immigration options.
Primeste notificari pe email

Contractare si Achizitie Bunuri Anunturi de Angajare Granturi - Finantari Burse de studiu Stagii Profesionale Oportunitati de voluntariat Toate Articolele
The British Museum's income fell last year, despite it largely reopening to visitors, as donations and legacies fell by 65%, according to recently filed documents.

According to the exempt charity's latest accounts, it received 13m in donations and legacies in the year ending 31 March 2022, compared to 39m a year earlier.

The British Museums overall income fell by 11% year-on-year from 123.7m to 109m, while its fundraising income fell by around 57% from 40.4m to 17.2m.

However, the museums fundraising income for 2020-21 was an anomaly, with a median of 23.3m in fundraising income for the three years before the Covid-19 pandemic.

'Donations in 2020-21 were particularly high'

A spokesperson from the British Museum told Civil Society News: The Museum is grateful to its many donors, whose support plays a vital role in enabling the Museum to maximise its public benefit.

Donations in 2020-21 were particularly high as a result of a small number of significant donations. Single gifts can be millions of pounds, and are often one-off, so year-on-year variances are expected. Two large gifts accounted for the higher level in the previous year.

The report states that the value of donations for capital expenditure and collection acquisitions can vary significantly from year to year.

Six legacies were bequeathed to the British Museum group this financial year, compared to only three the year prior. However, the amount and timing of these payments are uncertain with some gifts not being formally accepted yet.

The report reads: The British Museum trustees have agreed a strategy which aims to increase the net contribution from fundraising sustainably over the long-term. No agents are used for fundraising.

Admissions income recovers gradually from the pandemic

In the 2020-21 financial year, the British Museum saw its income drop substantially due to a 97% fall in visitor numbers due to lockdown closures.

Visitor numbers have recovered gradually according to the report, with an admissions income of 2.8m compared to 0.3m the year prior.

However, admissions income and trading income remain below pre-pandemic levels.

The report reads: Together with government support, the Museum has adequate remaining reserves, sufficient cash and readily realisable investments, and a history of success in generating income which is expected to continue and recover once visitor numbers return to previous levels.

The trustees are satisfied that the Museum will continue to operate for the foreseeable future, being a minimum of twelve months from when these accounts were approved, and accordingly have applied the going concern basis for preparing its accounts. The trustees continue to monitor the situation closely.

The Museum continues to have unavoidably high fixed costs

Grant-in-aid donations to the museum increased by over 1m this financial year, from 65.4m to 66.6m.

The report reads: Additional funding was received from DCMS within the year, and the trustees are very grateful for the support. In addition, the BM Group was able to make savings in discretionary spend and reduce costs associated with commercial trading activity.

However, the Museum continues to have unavoidably high fixed costs due to its obligation to care for and secure the collection. While direct trading costs within the trading subsidiaries could be reduced, many of the obligations such as overheads, pension deficits and estate costs have remained or even increased. The BM has substantial restricted reserves however these cannot be used for general spend or to mitigate the impacts of the pandemic.

sign up to receive the Civil Society News daily bulletin here . For more news, interviews, opinion and analysis about charities and the voluntary sector,




Equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) initiatives are a waste of money, a charity sector consultant has said.

Speaking at Fundraising Everywheres open mic conference earlier this month, Martha Awojobi argued that while some charities had introduced effective EDI strategies, most did not go far enough in tackling anti-racism.

They said that EDI initiatives were not a useful framework to liberate oppressed people and that they whitewashed true anti-racist work.

Charities must go beyond EDI to tackle racism

Though Awojobi said there is some good EDI work done in the sector that considers anti-racism, such as that undertaken by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and Bond, they were largely critical of the term.

Through reading large charities' EDI policies, Awojobi said many failed to mention the terms white supremacy, structural racism and one did not even name racism.

If you're not talking about white supremacy, and you're not talking about capitalism, you're not doing anti-racist work, they said.

Awojobi, chief executive of JMB Consulting, said that although EDI work was well-intentioned, it doesn't go far enough in tackling anti-racism.

Organisations will claim to care about racism and at the same time, take money from organisations that are responsible for the exploitation, the denigration and the death of Black and brown people. They cant say they are aspiring to be anti-racist and have that kind of framework.

Awojobi said anti-racism was often falsely conflated with EDI in the charity sector.

They added: Most people I've met who do EDI work cannot give me a decent working definition of race or racism, with many thinking that race is the kind of biological phenomenon rather than a socio-political one.

Awojobi said they are often approached to deliver EDI work for charities, which they decline.

Most of my PAs job is telling people that we don't do EDI. Bless her, but it's an absolute waste of money, they said.

Anti-racism work is whitewashed under the label of EDI'

Awojobi previously held senior roles in fundraising at large charities such as Refuge, Money4YOU, and Ronald McDonald House Charities. They also used to be part of the #CharitySoWhite organising committee.

They said they felt that true anti-racism work such as theirs was being whitewashed under the form of EDI.

EDI is kind of watering down the revolutionary potential of anti-racism as it tries to fit it into a white framework; its white supremacy working in action. White supremacy always finds a way to hide in plain sight, it shifts, it co-opts language, they said.

EDI props up white supremacy

They gave an example of why they disagree with EDI through an image of the original lineup of Conservative party leadership candidates, with many being from ethnic minority backgrounds.

My thoughts on EDI are summed up kind of perfectly in this image, Awojobi said.

As you can see, these Black and brown people have been held out as a way to prove that racism no longer exists. However, every single one of these candidates support the racist Rwandan policy. And I think this is a brilliant example of how equality, diversity and inclusion actually props up white supremacy, while at the same time claiming that Black and brown faces in high places means an organisation is not racist.

Awojobi went on to quote poet and activist Audre Lorde, who said The master's tools will never dismantle the master's house.

sign up to receive the Civil Society News daily bulletin here . For more news, interviews, opinion and analysis about charities and the voluntary sector,
A year ago this week, Vivian Yee, a reporter at the New York Times, was abruptly summoned to the presidential palace in Tunisia for an audience with Kais Saied, the countrys president. Welcome to Tunisia, where freedom of speech is protected with no interference in personal freedoms at all, he said. Yee was wearing sandals, so the presidents chief of protocol sent for heels and requested that she wear them even though they were two sizes too big. She thought shed be getting an interview, but instead, Saied, a former law professor, gave her a lecture, brandishing a paper-clipped copy of the US Constitution (which he used to teach) and comparing himself to Abraham Lincoln, who, in order to defend the Constitution, Saied said, had to go to extraordinary lengths. Saied also quoted Alexis de Tocqueville and Charles de Gaulle, channeling the latter by asking, Why do you think that, at sixty-seven, I would start a career as a dictator?

Yee was in Tunisia because, just days earlier, Saied had suspended the countrys Parliament and sacked its prime minister, among other repressive steps. Media workers had been among those affectedincluding Yee, who, along with two colleagues, was briefly detained in a neighborhood of Tunis, the capital, before being let go with an exhortation not to report there. Elsewhere, at least twenty security personnel, citing judicial orders, raided the Tunis bureau of Al Jazeera, expelling staff and seizing equipment, while at least six journalists were harassed and/or assaulted by either police or protesters as they covered demonstrations.

ICYMI: The convictions of Steve Bannon

Since then, Saieds power grab has persisted, and so have threats to the press. In October, authorities also raided Zaytouna TV, a private network, and arrested Amer Ayad, a talk-show host, after he read out a satirical Iraqi poem about dictators on air. The same month, officials ordered the closures of Nessma TVanother network, whose founder, Nabil Karoui, had run against Saied for presidentand of the radio station al-Quran al-Kareem, citing licensing irregularities and seizing broadcast equipment. Last month, the journalist Salah Atiyah was arrested after claiming on TV that Saied had tried to shutter the offices of a powerful union. (The unions leader denied this.) According to Al Jazeera, Atiyah recently initiated a hunger strike.

This state of affairs has represented something of a departure for Tunisia, which emerged as a relatively hopeful story for global democracy following the region-wide Arab Spring protests, which began in Tunisia in December 2010 after the fruit vendor Mohamed Bouazizi self-immolated in protest of his treatment by the state. As Layli Foroudi, a journalist who has reported from Tunisia, told me last year on the tenth anniversary of the fall of the Tunisian dictator Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, freedom of expression was one of the gains of the revolution, even if some old, corrupt practices died hard. In 2019, Foroudi reported for CJR on the situation at Tunis Afrique Presse, the state news agency, amid hopes that a new generation of leaders would seal its messy, ongoing transition from official mouthpiece to independent news outlet.

A few weeks after Foroudis article was published, Saied won a landslide election victory. Quickly, journalists complained of limited access and of aggressive treatment by Saieds guards. In 2020, two bloggers were prosecuted for criticizing Tunisias COVID response. Last spring, many journalists at TAP volubly protested after the government attempted to appoint Kamel Ben Younes as its new leader, warning that Ben Younes would threaten their editorial independence and citing his past ties to the propaganda apparatus of the Ben Ali regime. Staffers tried to block Ben Younes from entering their offices to take up his post; the protest was dispersed by police, but with journalists pledging to go on strike, Ben Younes resigned a few days later.

Sign up for CJR 's daily email

In theory, at least, press freedom has been legally protected in Tunisia since the revolution, and was enshrined into a new constitution that came into effect in 2014. That constitution took a serious blow a year ago after Saied moved to accumulate power. This week, he finalized his move to finish it off altogether, calling a referendum on a new constitution that would formalize his consolidation of presidential authority. Voting took place yesterday. A draft of the proposed new constitution again nodded at press freedom, but it also made all enumerated rights contingent on a number of vague conditions, including public security; following criticism, Saied reworded that provision to make it sound more democratic, but Reporters Without Borders, among other observers, viewed the added language as insufficient, arguing that the rights afforded by the new constitution will still rest on presidential goodwill. For the press, the danger of the new constitution is all in the ambiguity, Thameur Mekki, the editor in chief of the news site Nawaat, told Al Jazeera recently, with the text leaving a wide margin of interpretation that anyone in power can use if they see fit.

Earlier this month, Sadok Belaid, a jurist whom Saied had tapped to oversee the writing of the new constitution, disowned the draft published by Saied, warning that it departed from his recommendations and could lead to a disgraceful dictatorial regime. Protesters took to the streets to oppose the document; last Friday, police used force to disperse demonstrators and media workers, with a police officer slapping one journalist, Yousra Chikhaou, and tear-gassing another, Mehdi Jelassi, the leader of a national journalists union, at close quarters. Yesterday morning, as voting began, various journalists complained to the union and online that officials had obstructed their coverage at numerous polling sites. In the run-up to the referendum, coverage on public TV and radio had skewed in favor of proponents of the new constitution; yesterday was supposed to bring an electoral silence in the media while people voted, but Saied violated it after himself votinggoing on TV, hailing people power, and referencing Rousseau and Montesquieu. In the end, turnout was not much higher than twenty-five percent, with many, though not all, opposition groups boycotting the vote. At time of writing, the result was not yet official, but the constitution is expected to be approved by a crushing margin, with exit polls putting the yes vote as high as ninety-three percent. Saied is already celebrating the outcome.

The boycott and low turnout have already, rightly, put the legitimacy of the outcome in question. Not that Saied is likely to concede the point; indeed, since before taking power, he has styled himself as a populist opposed to what he has characterized as corrupt liberal elites. (There has even been some suggestion that he scheduled the vote for July since wealthier Tunisians who were likelier to oppose his project would be on vacation then.) In the runup to the referendum, various news organizations ran interviews with voters who still support Saied as a strong leader they see as working to break through the countrys economic stagnation and post-2010 political chaos. But a broader theme in no few of these stories has been a wider sense of disaffection among many Tunisians. In a fresh dispatch yesterday, Yee, of the Times, reported that Saied has fallen in popularity since this time last year. Were discussing here the fate of a nation, Amine Ghali, the head of a Tunis-based democracy-transition center, told Yee, yet a lot of people have lost interest and faith in this entire process.

A year ago, when Yee went to the presidential palace, one of her colleagues started to translate Saieds words for her, but was ordered to stop. It turned out he was interfering with the filming of the meeting by a government camera crew that would later upload the whole thing to Saieds Facebook page. We were only props, Yee wrote afterward. Since then, Saieds government has treated other journalists even worse than that as he has has sought to stage-manage his consolidation of power. Contrary to his quoting of de Gaulle, Saied is only sixty-four. Tunisias democracy and media could be in an even darker place by the time hes sixty-seven.

Below, more on media freedom around the world:



Other notable stories:

ICYMI: The January 6 committee revolutionizes democratic storytelling

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.
An Illinois freight broker has filed a lawsuit accusing Liberty Mutual of overcharging it by demanding payment of workers compensation premiums for independent contractors who are ineligible for benefits.

Virnich Corp., which does business in West Chicago, says in a civil complaint filed in Cook County Circuit Court on July 18 that the insurer is seeking $134,576 in extra premium after auditing the companys 2019-20 and 2020-21 policies. Liberty Mutuals illegal premium calculation includes individuals and companies who are independently licensed motor carriers, not employees, the company says.

Virnich does not assign jobs to these independent contractors, the lawsuit says. Rather, Virnich tenders offers to these motor carriers to perform transportation services under negotiated freight terms.

Virnich said Liberty Mutual made a similar demand in July 2020 after auditing its 2019-20 policy. The carrier initially asked for $303,366 in premiums for classification 7219, which covers trucking employees, but dropped its demand after Virnich disputed the audit. The carrier reduced the premium to $5,608.

But last July, Liberty Mutual conducted a new audit of the 2019-20 policy and the 2020-21 policy. It demanded that Virnich pay an additional $134,576.

The company said the insurer once again sought to collect premium for independent contractors who could not make a workers compensation claim.

Liberty Mutual charged Virnich the same for these trucking companies as they would charge fro trucking employees that were direct, W-2 employees of a trucking company, the lawsuit says.

The lawsuit says Liberty Mutual has notified Virnich that it also intends to audit its 2021-22 policy. Virnich said the premiums violate the Illinois insurance law because they are excessive. The lawsuits says the company has refused to pay the extra premiums and Liberty Mutual has threatened to sue to collect.

The company seeks a declaration from the court that Liberty Mutual cannot charge premiums for independent contractors.

Virnich is represented by attorneys Howard L. Teplinsky and Katherine A. Grosh with the Levin Ginsbury firm in Chicago and by attorney Scott M. Priz in Riverside.
Dealing with Medicare-related issues in a workers compensation claim has never been anyones idea of a good time from the employer and insurers perspective. From the challenges Medicare creates with settlement, to the uncertainty faced when submitting Medicare Set-Asides (MSAs) to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), it is fair to say that most people on the defense side of workers compensation claims do not do a happy dance when they realize their claim has a Medicare-component. Unfortunately, although we already have enough to deal with related to the usual Medicare issues, private, third-party actors are poised to further disrupt the claims process by seeking to enforce the Medicare Secondary Payer (MSP) Act compliance even more than the federal government.

Medicare Secondary Payer Act in Workers Compensation Claims

The MSP Act provides, in part, that employers and insurers in workers compensation claims cannot pass along claim-related medical costs to Medicare. Generally speaking, employers and insurers accomplish this goal by funding MSAs when appropriate and addressing any conditional payment issues as part of a settlement. A conditional payment is a payment made by Medicare for a claim-related condition, for which Medicare seeks repayment. Typically, conditional payment information is requested directly from CMS, usually in the process of obtaining an MSA and getting it approved. However, CMS only provides data and seeks recovery for Medicare Parts A (inpatient or hospital treatment) and B (such as outpatient services, doctors visits and durable medical equipment). CMS does not have information or data on any payments made by private health insurance plans, such as Medicare Advantage Plans. These plans offer an insurance-like alternative to traditional Medicare plans and are known as Medicare Part C. Medicare Part D plans provide prescription coverage.

The MSP provides a private cause of action when a primary payer, such as a workers compensation employer or insurer, fails to reimburse Medicare for conditional payments, and if successful, the recovery is double the amount due.

Private Entities Funding Lawsuits to Recover Double Damages

In a series of federal court cases between 2012 and 2016, the private cause of action established by the MSP was extended to the private Medicare plans, Parts C and D. Previously, the administrators of such plans pursued recovery through traditional subrogation and contract theories. Following this series of decisions, private entities began filing lawsuits against insurance carriers on behalf of Part C and D plans in an effort to recover double damages on conditional payments not reimbursed. These private entities are backed with significant equity and have deep pockets from which to fund these lawsuits, with the obvious goal of a substantial recovery. After all, as a reminder, the potential damages in these causes of action are double the conditional payments.

As of the publication of this article, the vast vast majority of these private causes of action are being pursued against general liability or automobile policies. The speculation is that, given their success in the suits already being pursued, these third-party, private parties are poised to set their sights on the workers compensation industry next.

Emerging Risk Area for Workers Compensation Claims

The reason why these private actors would pursue these claims against workers compensation carriers is obvious: money. According to CMS, as of October 2021 there were nearly 28 million enrollees in Part C and D plans, which is approximately eight percent of the total United States population. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has estimated that there are nearly 3,000,000 non-fatal work-related accidents and injuries each year. While by no means a scientific estimate, if we take the above figures together, it is reasonable to assume that there are 210,000 Medicare Parts C and D beneficiaries each year who are injured in work accidents. If we further assume that in each of those cases there is a minimal conditional payment of $50.00, this problem could potentially be a $21 million problem for employers and insurers. (In reality, it could be substantially higher as in practice, health insurers generally, which includes any Medicare plan, but specifically Parts C and D, quite commonly pay for treatment and/or prescriptions inadvertently without knowing there is a primary payer.)

While there is no evidence at this point that the suits that have threatened the commercial and auto insurance industry, it seems rather obvious that, given the potentially large pool of recovery that these third parties are considering pursuing, these claims against employers and insurers in workers compensation claims.

How Employers and Insurers Can Protect Against these Costly Claims

So how do employers and insurers prevent and address these issues? They should seek to identify if the injured worker is a Part C or D beneficiary, and if so, make sure that conditional payment information is requested from those carriers. (Again, since this data is not kept by CMS, it is not something the workers compensation carrier would know about unless it proactively makes a request from the Part C or D carrier.) If there are Part C or D conditional payments, they should be paid for as part of any settlement or otherwise addressed in the settlement of the claim. The risk of failing to do so could be substantial and could result in the re-opening of a claim that was long thought to have been closed or resolved. Employers and insurers want certainty in the resolution of their claims, and without seeking to determine if there are Part C or D conditional payments (in addition to the traditional Part A and B searches), no certainty can be achieved.

Proposed Legislation to Curb MSP Litigation

While the above steps can ensure that workers compensation employers and insurers are protected from these private causes of action, Congress is contemplating legislation that could eventually address this issue. The Repair Abuse in MSP Payments (RAMP) Act was introduced as a bipartisan piece of legislation earlier this year. If passed, it would eliminate the private cause of action provision of the MSP and would apply to all primary payers, including workers compensation employers and insurers.

Conclusion

There has long been a saying in the claims industry that a good claim is a closed claim. Claims handlers want to know what when they close a claim, it is closed for good. The rise of these third party causes of action in commercial and auto claims, and the threat of them intruding into the workers compensation system, poses an obstacle to having the certainty that when a claim is closed, it is closed for good. By taking the above steps, we can ensure that they are.

Hopefully, Congress will act in the near future to put this issue to bed for good, but in the meantime by taking appropriate action employers and insurers can avoid having to re-open their claims and potentially pay double damages for Part C and D conditional payments.
China's space tracking ship Yuanwang-3 back from missions

Xinhua) 08:44, July 26, 2022

BEIJING, July 25 (Xinhua) -- China's space tracking ship Yuanwang-3 returned to its homeport on Monday morning after completing three maritime monitoring missions.

During the 60-day voyage, the vessel has sailed more than 16,000 nautical miles, completing missions including tracking and monitoring the launch of the Shenzhou-14 crewed spaceship, which was the vessel's 100th mission.

After docking at the port, it will undergo maintenance to prepare for further missions.

Commissioned on May 18, 1995, the vessel is a second-generation Chinese space tracking ship. It has undertaken maritime tracking and monitoring tasks for spacecraft, including the Shenzhou spaceships, Chang'e lunar probes and BeiDou satellites.

(Web editor: Wu Chaolan, Liang Jun)
The state awarded $21.5 million in grants to child care organizations across Colorado to help address challenges that arose out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Department of Early Childhood distributed the money through the Community Innovation and Resilience for Care and Learning Equity (CIRCLE) Grant program, funded by federal COVID-19 relief funds from the American Rescue Plan Act and the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act.

Nearly 200 organizations in 52 counties received the one-year grants, averaging more than $110,000 each. The funds went to 106 early care and education providers, 19 early childhood councils and 63 statewide and local nonprofit organizations.

On the heels of the pandemic, this support is absolutely critical, said Dr. Lisa Roy, executive director of the Colorado Department of Early Childhood. The Department of Early Childhood is thrilled to fund projects promoting innovation and equity across our early childhood system, ensuring the organizations that care for our youngest Coloradans and their families are well-supported.

Grant recipients may use the money to fund projects to make child care more affordable, fill gaps in infant and toddler care, boost the child care workforce, expand business support and promote the health, development and education of children.

This comes as Colorado struggles through an acute child care shortage that the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated.

In Colorado, an average family with two young children spends $28,600 on child care annually, according to federal data, and single parents pay on average 49.5% of their income on infant child care, according to a Child Care Aware of America report.

Some families can't find child care at all.

In Colorado, 51% of residents live in child care deserts, where there are more than three times as many children as there are licensed child care slots, according to Mile High United Way.

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic closed around 7% of licensed child care centers in Colorado, providers only had the capacity to serve 62% of the state's 246,000 kids under 6 whose parents both work, according to a report that cited 2019 figures. That meant a shortage of more than 90,000 child care slots statewide.

The CIRCLE Grant program was one of four child care grant programs created by Senate Bill 236, which lawmakers passed in 2021. This is part of a wave of recent legislation policymakers approved to boost the child care industry, including a $100 million investment that went into effect this month.

We are proud to partner with Gov. Polis and the Colorado Department of Early Childhood to support the CIRCLE initiative, said Jennifer Stedron, executive director of Early Milestones Colorado, which administered the grants. This important investment advances innovation and equity for our states young children, their families and the providers who serve them every day.

The CIRCLE program will distribute another round of grants in August.

Licensed early child care and education organizations can apply for the grants from Aug. 1 through Aug. 26 at earlymilestones.org or by emailing circle@earlymilestones.org.
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.

Gorge Social

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.
Bio Box

Age: 48

Hometown: Columbia

Website: angelapetersonforjudge.com

Facebook: Angela Peterson for Judge

Education: Bachelor of science in accountancy in 1994 from MU; master of accountancy in 1996 from MU; law degree in 1999 from MU.

Occupation: Attorney for Columbia Family Law Group LLC.

Background: Peterson was appointed by the state Supreme Court to serve on the Committee for Access to Family Courts and volunteers as an application assistant for Missouri's Safe at Home program.
More Information

Job: Presiding Boone County commissioner

Term: Election to a four-year term occurs in November 2022. Commissioner term begins Jan. 1.

Salary: $108,929

Job requirements: This is one of three county commissioners responsible for establishing county policies; adopting the annual budget for all county operations; approving expenditures for each county department; ensuring county compliance with statutory requirements and acting as liaison with county boards, commissions and other governmental agencies.
The Missourians Opinion section is a public forum for the discussion of ideas. The views presented in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Missourian or the University of Missouri. If you would like to contribute to the Opinion page with a response or an original topic of your own, visit our submission form
Droupadi Murmu takes oath as new President of India

Droupadi Murmu was yesterday sworn in as Indias 15th President at the historic Central Hall of Parliament.

Murmu took the oath of office in the name of God in Hindi to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution and the law.. Photo courtesy: Twitter/@narendramodi

Hailing from the Santhal community, Murmu is the first tribal leader to assume the office of the President.

Chief Justice of India NV Ramana administered the oath of office to Murmu in the presence of Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Union ministers, governors, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and a host of dignitaries.

Former President Pratibha Patil, and Chief Ministers Naveen Patnaik, Eknath Shinde, Jairam Thakur, Yogi Adityanath and N Biren Singh were among the dignitaries present.

Dressed in a white saree with green and red border, Murmu took the oath of office in the name of God in Hindi to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution and the law.

Murmu was given a 21-gun salute after which she signed the oath register amid a thunderous applause and thumping of desks.

The oath-taking ceremony was marked by pomp and grandeur, and began with the arrival of outgoing President Ram Nath Kovind and Murmu in a procession from the Rashtrapati Bhavan to the Parliament Building.

After the short ceremony, Murmu and Kovind were escorted out of the Central Hall amid the roll of drums and blowing of trumpets.

After a national salute by the Presidents Bodyguard at Gate No 5 of the Parliament, the new President and her predecessor left in a ceremonial procession to the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

At the forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the new President inspected the tri-services guard of honour.

Read more India News and Political News here
Zespri Kiwifruit launches Recharge Staycation Contest in Singapore

Zespri Kiwifruit launched 'Recharge with Zespri' contest to remind consumers in Singapore to take breaks and keep healthy. Just a minimum SGD 5 purchase of Zespri Kiwifruits will give eight lucky contest entrants the chance to win a staycation at Pan Pacific Singapore each.

Whether its eating better with a refreshing and nutritious snack like Zespri Kiwifruit, or making the time for a short walk at a park, Zespri hopes to drive home the message that conscious efforts to live better in our everyday are vital to avoid fatigue.

Stay at Pan Pacific Singapore. Photo courtesy: Zespri

This contest is a reminder to consumers to incorporate little breaks into their lives in their own ways. From now t0 August 31, 2022, consumers have to spend a minimum SGD 5 on any Zespri Kiwifruit purhase in a single receipt and share how they recharge (via QR code), along with an image of the receipt and relevant particulars, for a chance to win a staycation at Pan Pacific Singapore.

Scan and Win. Photo courtesy: Zespri

Winners will be able to enjoy a one night stay at the Pacific Club Room at Pan Pacific Singapore worth at least SGD 810 per night, and engage in activities that recharge them, whether its lounging at the pool or enjoying the impressive city views from their luxurious room. The stay is inclusive of full Pacific Club privileges that include exclusive access to the Pacific Club Lounge where winners will be able to indulge in perks including champagne breakfast, afternoon tea, alongside an array of benefits to elevate the rejuvenating stay.

To stand a chance to win, simply:

Purchase a minimum of S$5 worth of any Zespri Kiwifruit in a single receipt from 7th July to 31st August 2022.

Enter details and upload receipt in the form

Share with Zespri how you keep yourself recharged on the same form.

About the contest*:

There are eight prizes (1 night stay at Pan Pacific Singapore in Pacific Club Room, inclusive of Pacific Club access).

Every SGD 5 entitles entrants to 1 chance to participate in the contest (i.e. SGD 10 = 2 chances).

8 winners will be picked by Zespri based on completeness and accuracy of information provided and the responses provided to the contest question.

Read more Singapore News, Entertainment News and Event News here
On 26.03.2022 she tried to cross the border illegally to reach Mumbai to re-join her work as she was not able to find a job in Bangladesh. On 27.03.2022 the victim was produced before the Basirhat Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Court. The magistrate sent her to the Dum Dum Central Correctional Home for 14 day jail custody.

As per the Article number 2 under II definition MOU of between the Government of the Republic of India and the Government of the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh on Bilateral Cooperation for Preventing of Human Trafficking especially trafficking in Women and Children; signed by both countries on 30th May 2015, trafficking in women and children shall mean selling, buying, recruitment, receipt, transportation, transfer or harbouring of any person for the purpose of sexual exploitation, labour exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery servitude or the removal of the organs or any other form of exploitation. Then how was she treated as accused?

Rukaya Khatun along with her two children are the Bangladeshi nationals, who were trying to enter India from Bangladesh on 26.03.2022 at around 01:00 p.m they were apprehended by BSF personnel attached with D coy of 112 Battalion, Bithari BOP and at around 11:15 p.m handed over them to the Swarupnagar Police Station. According to the requisition letter of FIR of the BSF, in 2003 Rukaya along with her parents illegally entered India in search of a job. Her father worked as a daily labourer for livelihood in Kalyani, Nadia.

At that time, she got married to a Bangladeshi man and with the help of a local tout illegally went back to Bangladesh. On 26.03.2022 she along with her children tried to enter India to meet her parents. Here the incident occurred and apprehension of those accused persons by the BSF on 26.03.2022 at about 1:00 p.m but BSF informed the police after 10 hours i.e, at 23.15 hrs dated 26.03.2022.

For more than 10 hours these victims were under BSF custody whereas the distance between the said BOP and the police station is 15 kilometers. General rule is BSF has to inform the concerned police regarding the apprehension of any accused as early as possible after his apprehension. On 27.03.2022 the victims were produced before the Basirhat Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Court.

The magistrate sent them to the Dum Dum Central Correctional Home for 14 day jail custody. Tabiya khatun, daughter of Rukaya is a minor girl, Aged- 8 years. According to the Juvenile Justice (JJ) Act every child who comes in contact with law under the juvenile justice system is a child in difficult circumstances who has fallen out of the protective net at some point and has been robbed of an opportunity of a safe and secure childhood.

Children in conflict with law should be treated as children in difficult circumstances and the approach of the juvenile justice system should be aimed at addressing the vulnerabilities of children and ensuring their rehabilitation. According to Section 10 of JJ Act, As soon as a juvenile in conflict with law is apprehended by police, he/she shall be placed under the charge of the special juvenile police unit or the designated police officer, who shall produce the juvenile before the Board without any loss of time but within a period of twenty-four hours of his/her apprehension.

Then why Tabiya was not produced in JJB instead of ACJM Basirhat court. Rafi Seikh, son of Rukaya, only 2.5 years old. According to Section 82 of the Indian Penal Code, it says Nothing is an offence which is done by a child under seven years of age. Under the age of 7 years, no infant can be guilty of a crime; for, under that age an infant is, by presumption of law, doli incapax, and cannot be endowed with any discretion. Then how can the police register an FIR on him? Moreover, how the magistrate gave order to send these two minors to Central Correctional Home.

Case 2:

In connection with Swarupnagar Police Station Case no. 302/2022 dated 01.04.2022 under section 14 of Foreigners Act, the following Bangladeshi woman along with her grandson were arrested:

1. Ms. Khadija Begum, wife of Late Churab Biswas Aged - 45 years, residential address: - Village  Piprai, Post Office  Jamribazar, P.S  Phooltala, District - Khulna, Bangladesh along with her grandson namely Jishan Sheikh, Aged  4 years.

The victims were the Bangladeshi nationals, who were trying to enter India from Bangladesh on 31.03.2022 at around 12.05 hrs. when they were apprehended by BSF personnel attached with 'A' Company of 112 Battalion, Tarali BOP and later handed over to the Swarupnagar Police Station. The victims were produced before the Basirhat ACJM court on 01.04.2022 and sent to the Dumdum Central Correctional Home for 14-day jail custody.



The victims, including the child, should be transferred to an appropriate home from the correctional home at the earliest



In this case the age of the minor victim is 4 years then why people registered an FIR against him? This approach is violating Section 82 of the Indian Penal Code. Here also the magistrate of ACJM, Basirhat court gave order to send the minor to Dumdum Correctional Home.

According to the office memorandum of the Ministry of Home Affairs (Foreigners Division) Government of India Dated 1st May, 2012 it clearly instructed about the procedure of dealing with the victims of trafficking. The memorandum stated that if the women and children victims were found without a valid passport or visa then they have to repatriate to their country of origin through diplomatic channels.

Till the repatriation they must be kept in an appropriate childrens home, or Ujjawala home or appropriate shelter home. In reality, police or BSF personnel or the concern court never attempt to initiate to investigate whether those Bangladeshi persons are the victims of human trafficking or not. Additionally, the victims are kept in the correctional home.

From other several instances it also found that the people of Bangladesh illegally enter India for the purpose of medical treatment as they have very limited facilities in their native place. Cross border trafficking is very organized crime where touts or middlemen are operating this crime in connivance with border guards of both sides, India and Bangladesh. These helpless Bangladeshi persons enter India for better livelihood or for medical treatment purposes but when they are arrested; they are treated as accused under the Foreigners Act.

This approach is also violating the Article 6, 7, 8, 11 and 12 of the MoU between the Government of the Republic of India and the Government of the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh on Bilateral Cooperation for Preventing of Human Trafficking especially trafficking in Women and Children; signed by both countries on 30th May 2015.

The incidents are not only violating the advisory of Government of India but in violation of Goal Number 16 of Sustainable Development Goals of UN, Government of India is a party to set the goals and obliged to adhere to the same.

Under the circumstances I request your urgent intervention in this case to bring justice to the victims by taking the necessary actions:

The police or BSF personnel or the concern court must initiate to investigate whether those Bangladeshi persons are the victims of human trafficking or not

The victim persons including the child should be immediately repatriated to their own country and the criminal charges against them must be withdrawn at the earliest

The victim persons including child should be transferred to an appropriate home from the Dumdum correctional home at the earliest

Government should initiate a series of sensitization programs for police personnel, BSF personnel and other legal authorities in the area of human rights, trafficking, repatriation and restoration and JJ Act.

The matters must be handled by the police or the BSF personnel with care Here the incident occurred and apprehension of those accused persons by the BSF on 31.03.2022 at around 12.05hrs but BSF informed the police after more than 12 hours i.e, at 00.05 hrs dated 01.04.2022 but reason behind this delay was not mentioned in anywhere. For more than 12 hours that woman, including her minor grandson, was under BSF custody.In this case the age of the minor victim is 4 years then why people registered an FIR against him? This approach is violating Section 82 of the Indian Penal Code. Here also the magistrate of ACJM, Basirhat court gave order to send the minor to Dumdum Correctional Home.According to the office memorandum of the Ministry of Home Affairs (Foreigners Division) Government of India Dated 1st May, 2012 it clearly instructed about the procedure of dealing with the victims of trafficking. The memorandum stated that if the women and children victims were found without a valid passport or visa then they have to repatriate to their country of origin through diplomatic channels.Till the repatriation they must be kept in an appropriate childrens home, or Ujjawala home or appropriate shelter home. In reality, police or BSF personnel or the concern court never attempt to initiate to investigate whether those Bangladeshi persons are the victims of human trafficking or not. Additionally, the victims are kept in the correctional home.From other several instances it also found that the people of Bangladesh illegally enter India for the purpose of medical treatment as they have very limited facilities in their native place. Cross border trafficking is very organized crime where touts or middlemen are operating this crime in connivance with border guards of both sides, India and Bangladesh. These helpless Bangladeshi persons enter India for better livelihood or for medical treatment purposes but when they are arrested; they are treated as accused under the Foreigners Act.This approach is also violating the Article 6, 7, 8, 11 and 12 of the MoU between the Government of the Republic of India and the Government of the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh on Bilateral Cooperation for Preventing of Human Trafficking especially trafficking in Women and Children; signed by both countries on 30th May 2015.The incidents are not only violating the advisory of Government of India but in violation of Goal Number 16 of Sustainable Development Goals of UN, Government of India is a party to set the goals and obliged to adhere to the same.Under the circumstances I request your urgent intervention in this case to bring justice to the victims by taking the necessary actions:

In connection with Swarupnagar Police Station Case no. 282/2022 dated 26.03.2022 under section 188 IPC and 12 PP and 14 of Foreigners Act, the following Bangladeshi women with children were arrested:1. Ms. Safiya Akhtar Sekh, wife of Late Akhtar Haldar, Aged- 45 years, residential address:- Village  Kalkini, Post Office and Police Station  Kalkini, District  Madaripur, Bangladesh2. Ms. Rukaya Khatun, wife of Nahid Sardar, Aged- 22 years, residential address: - Village  Boladanga, Post Office  Jhaudanga, P.S  Satkhira, District - Satkhira, Bangladesh along with her two children 1. Musammad Tabiya Khatun, Aged - 8 years, 2. Rafi Seikh, Aged  2.5 years.Ms. Safiya Akhtar is a Bangladeshi national, who was trying to enter India from Bangladesh on 26.03.2022 at around 08:05 a.m. when she was apprehended by BSF personnel attached with D coy of 112 Battalion, Bithari BOP and on the same day at 23:15 p.m she was handed over to the Swarupnagar Police Station. For more than 15 hours she was under BSF custody whereas the distance between the said BOP and the police station is only 15 kilometers.For this reason she could not be produced before the concern court within 24 hrs. General rule is BSF has to inform the concerned police regarding the apprehension of any accused as early as possible after the apprehension. According to the requisition letter of FIR of the BSF, Ms. Akhtar lost her husband 20 years before.In 2018 for the first time she came to India by illegally crossing the IB and went to Mumbai in search of a job. However, she managed to find a job and worked as a domestic helper in Null Bazar, Mumbai. Before one year she returned back to Bangladesh to meet her relatives.
In February the Health Minister issued an ultimatum -- get the booster shot or else forgo the vaccination status



There were cases of the old and young, all jabbed with the Covid-19 experiencing and with some dying of heart attacks. The ruling government meanwhile remained nonchalant about these deaths.

It was not just Khairy doing the pitching in favour of the Covid-19 vaccines. The chief executive officer of ProtectHealth Corporation Sdn Bhd (which comes under purview of the Health Ministry) Anas Alam Faizli reported that 27 in one million recipients suffer from severe Aefi (adverse events following immunisation). And Anas tweeted that vaccines are safe.

Malaysians who have been Covid- 19 vaccine harmed or injured have for reasons best known to them stayed silent.

To make matters worse, doctors in the country are not mandated to report the AEFI cases. It is left to the individuals to do so to the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA) AEFI Repository.

In May, the Magistrate's Court ordered Liyana Razali to undergo psychiatric observation after she alleged two students died after being vaccinated with Covid- 19 vaccines last year.

The prime minister, Ismail Sabri Yaakob, is now urging Malaysians to get boosted yet again. Many who were unwilling then are now doing so citing fear of yet another new sub-variant.

Someone I know swears by the belief that "ignorance is pain and misery". Yet most Malaysians have chosen to remain ignorant and instead rolled up their sleeves for yet another mRNA shot.

Is ignorance the easy way out for Malaysians who then end up regretting having taken the Covid-19 vaccine?

Like many others the world over who rushed to get vaccinated against Covid- 19, most Malaysians too feel familiarity is no contempt when it comes to Covid- 19 vaccines and face masks.

Should we see this as the new normal for Malaysians or ignorance all the way? The unrelenting threats and ultimatums left an already dazed Malaysians in a state of disarray. Yet, they obliged for the booster shot, only to regret later after their health took a turn for the worse.There were cases of the old and young, all jabbed with the Covid-19 experiencing and with some dying of heart attacks. The ruling government meanwhile remained nonchalant about these deaths.

---

*Journalist based in Malaysia

It was astounding that a so-called pandemic succeeded in bringing the world and humanity to its knees. Life literally came to a standstill with the world baffled at how best to tackle the coronavirus disease 2019 or Covid- 19.Governments the world over did the unbelievable and unexpected --forcing the people into taking the mRNA untested Covid- 19 vaccines, protecting instead the vaccine makers and not the end users.For those refusing to buy into the Covid-19 narrative, be it wearing the face mask in public spaces or be vaccinated, the government threatened to make life difficult for them.The drill back in Malaysia, a country of 32.37 million people, was no different. Lockdowns, face masks and vaccination were topmost priority.While the Malaysian government held back from making Covid-19 vaccination mandatory, breathing easy was nowhere on the horizon. Face masks became a regular feature in public spaces and places of prayer. So was the deal with vaccination  it became the peoples identity.In fact, churches had their prayers interrupted when overzealous authorities turned up to ensure the standard operating procedure (SOP) was adhered to.For individuals refusing the Covid-19 vaccines, Malaysias Health Minister Khairy Jamaludin unreservedly threatened to make life difficult for them.A misfortune that the threats and intimidation bore results. On May 22, Khairy was quoted by national news agency BERNAMA as congratulating Malaysians on their good behaviour in the "transition to endemic" phase."We see in terms of the very good behaviour of Malaysians who still wear masks when they are in an open area or outside during the transition to endemic phase."This means Malaysians already know how to live with Covid- 19. They also know that if there are symptoms they shouldn't go out, shouldn't mingle...or they will isolate themselves."Khairy also credited the high vaccination rate as a factor that aided in controlling the infections in the country -- some 27.4 million Malaysians have been vaccinated against Covid-19.In February, Khairy via a tweet had this to say about booster shots: "Any booster is better than no booster. Although the MOH recommends a booster dose of Pfizer or AZ (AstraZeneca) for the best top-up protection, some as still asking for options."We will strongly recommend a Pfizer or AZ boost. But something is better than nothing."It was also in February that the Health Minister issued an ultimatum to Malaysians -- get the booster shot or else forgo their vaccination status.Then he declared that there would be no benefits for those refusing the booster shot.
Helsinki-based cybersecurity vendor WithSecure (formerly F-Secure Business) says it has discovered an operation, dubbed DUCKTAIL, that uses social media-based spear phishing attacks to gain access to Facebook Business accounts.

The company said that it has high confidence that a Vietnamese threat actor is behind the attacks, which aim malicious messages at LinkedIn users who are likely to have admin access to their companies Facebook accounts. The threat actor also targets email addresses of potential victims directly.

What makes the attack unique, according to WithSecure, is the infostealer malware component, which is designed specifically to gain access to Facebook Business accounts. Previous attacks targeting Facebook did not target Facebook Business accounts in particular. If a victim can be induced to open a malicious link, the malware scans the infected computer for browsers and extracts cookies that indicate authenticated Facebook sessions for use in gaining access to those accounts. Command and control is handled via the Telegram messaging service, using the Telegram Bot system, and private data is also sent back to the hacker in this way.

Hacked accounts can provide the bad actor with a wealth of information, including 2FA codes, IP addresses and geolocation, financial details and credit card numbers, and much more. It can also compromise Facebook advertising accounts.

Mohammad Kazem Hassan Nejad, a researcher for WithSecure, said that the malicious actor behind the DUCKTAIL attacks has been careful in selecting the malwares targets.

We believe that the DUCKTAIL operators carefully select a small number of targets to increase their chances of success and remain unnoticed, he said in a statement announcing the companys findings. We have observed individuals with managerial, digital marketing, digital media, and human resources roles in companies to have been targeted.

The company has been tracking the DUCKTAIL attacks since earlier this year, and said that that the malware has been under continuous development since the second half of 2021, adding new feature sets as Facebook updates its security measures.

According to WithSecure, Facebooks security has been stalwart enough to ward off many attacks that have been attempted over the years, but it and other social media networks remain tempting targets for bad actors, thanks to the near-universal userbase that such platforms provide.
The headline read, How an unqualified sex worker allegedly infiltrated a top Air Force lab and our eyes immediately rolled as we read the bizarre case of Dr. James Gord. He maneuvered a 32-year-old sex worker into a position of trust within Spectral Energies, a government contractor associated with the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory located at Wright Paterson Air Force Base. His motivation? He wished to keep his sexual liaison sub rosa.

Stuff right out of Ripleys Believe It or Not. While we sit and smirk at the ridiculousness of the situation, a deeper dive gives CISOs and their organizations food for thought as we dissect how Gord was able to manipulate his business partner and others to successfully place an individual within his company who had no business being there. Specifically, it underscores the value of background checks on individuals being placed into sensitive roles.

The tale has many unanswered questions that will remain unanswered as Gord passed in 2021 due to unnamed causes. We do know that he was a well-respected research scientist involved in advanced propulsion technologies. According to ResearchGate, he contributed to 502 scientific papers/publications and his work has been referenced in excess of 7,900 times.

The unqualified administrative technician

He also had an affinity for prostitutes, with whom he would visit while traveling. In Cincinnati Gord was a frequent client of a $400/night escort whom he met through Discreet Desires. He paid for this womans services and those of others using his government credit card to keep his liaisons off the familys credit card bill and having his spouse discover his activities.

Realizing this was unsustainable, he came up with a cover story for the CEO of Spectral Energies where he described a woman whom he recently met on a flight and her technical expertise and academic pedigree would be a great match for the companys need for an administrative technician.

The company CEO acquiesced, and she was hired.

Every insider threat program manager is saying to themselves, What was this academic pedigree? According to Gord, the woman attended University of Tennessee, University of South Florida, and University of Cincinnati. Did the CEO have that pedigree checked? Apparently not. The Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI) later did, and they determined in less than 24 hours the individual never matriculated at any of the identified universities.

Intent on making the charade viable, Gord arranged for her to chair a scientific panel at an upcoming Research and Applications of Photonics in Defense (RAPID) conference as a technical expert.

It did not take long for the womans lack of expertise to percolate to the top and the CEO noted that not only was she not competent in their field, but she also lacked basic office skills, such as using Microsoft Word.

The CEO and Gord had words; Gord admitted his ruse. The CEO consulted an employment attorney about his intent to terminate the woman for substandard performance and inappropriate relationship with the program manager. Gord then threatened the CEO, saying that Gord was a senior research scientist at AFRL, and that as the CEO, of Bangladeshi descent, was an immigrant the old boys club at AFRL would never believe him if he disclosed the information about a scientist as well respected as Gord.

At this point, March 15, 2019, the CEO of Spectral Energies brought the AFOSI into the mix with the claim, Gord was regularly soliciting prostitution while on the installation and while traveling on official U.S. Air Force business. The federal search warrant issued, under seal, in late-2019, details just how fortunate the AFRL was that Gords interest was strictly hedonistic, as a means to fund a continued engagement with the prostitute and not a third partys effort to infiltrate Spectral Energies and by extension the AFRL.

How Gord created a national security risk

Looking back through the clear-eyed view of 20/20 hindsight, we see weaknesses that Gord exploited by to facilitate the woman obtaining a position of trust. First and foremost, he used his personal relationship with the CEO of the firm to influence the hiring decision. A routine background check would have discovered the falsification of her resume and put an end to the shenanigans immediately.

Then we have Gords desire to educate her on the ins and outs of working with the Air Force at Wright Patterson, he provided to her the organizational structure of the Combustion and Laser Diagnostics Research Complex (CLDRC) at the AFRL and the layouts of various areas within the lab associated with the companys work. While not classified, nor particularly sensitive, it was necessary as part of the charade.

Additionally, Gords government-issued laptop when reviewed in August 2019 by AFOSI showed years of illegal activity being memorialized in files, to include his alleged relationship with escorts who were foreign nationals associated with countries considered to be a U.S. national security risk. Gord, who enjoyed the trust and confidence of the nation, carried a national security clearance. One of the requirements every cleared individual has is to identify contact with foreign nationals. The court document indicates these individuals were discovered during August 2019 review.

The fact that Gord used the government issued device to conduct his activities begs the question of why the IT team responsible for monitoring and maintaining Gords device did not discover his misuse of the device.

What ifs surrounding the Gord insider threat case

What if this was a competitor or nation-state-sponsored activity using a well-qualified individual? Add all the above together and it isnt a stretch to this same scenario being used as a means to:

Infiltrate a competitor or a nation-state actor into the mix with the goal to exploit the access the company enjoyed with the U.S. Air Force. Use Gords behavior (or others within the AFRL community who had relations) as a linchpin to a coercive pitch to provide classified materials to hostile intelligence service or competitor.

The value of having a formal onboarding process that includes background checks cannot be overemphasized. Having such a process would have revealed the subterfuge and any threat (if any) caused by the individual would have been neutralized.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

It was a stunning image: Pope Francis briefly wearing a full Indigenous headdress, its rows of soft white feathers fastened in place by a colorful, beaded headband after he apologized for the Catholic Churchs role in Canadas disastrous residential school system for Indigenous children.

Chief Wilton Littlechild, a residential school survivor himself, gave Francis the headdress Monday, placing it on his head amid cheering by an audience in Maskwacis, Alberta, that included many school survivors.

The Vatican and the pope clearly appreciated the gesture: Francis kissed Littlechilds hands after receiving the headdress, something he has done in the past as a sign of respect for Holocaust survivors, and has done on this trip for residential school survivors.

The Vatican obviously understood the symbolic significance of the moment, putting the photo on the front page of the Vatican newspaper LOsservatore Romano under the headline I humbly beg forgiveness.

Headdresses historically are a symbol of respect, worn by Native American war chiefs and warriors. For many Plains tribes, for example, each feather placed on a headdress has significance and had to be earned through an act of compassion or bravery. Some modern-day Native American leaders have been given war bonnets in ceremonies accompanied by prayers and songs.

Yet this revered regalia also represents an image that has been co-opted from tribes in popular culture for decades, feeding stereotypes in everything from Hollywood films, to fashion runways to Halloween costumes.

Some members of Indigenous tribes said they found the gesture incongruous with the past transgressions at church-run schools that Francis apologized for.

Russ Diabo, a member of the Kahnawake Mohawk tribe in Canada and an Indigenous advocate and policy analyst, described the scene as pageantry and the pope's statements as facile."

Diabo said on Twitter it was "the Catholic Church and Canada collaborating in creating a mythology for a shared Reconciliation agenda narrated by prominent federal collaborators/residential school survivors!

I have so much to say about this, and all of it negative," tweeted Joe Horse Capture, vice president of native collections and curator of Native American History and Culture at the Autry Museum of the American West in Los Angeles.

"I am practicing If you cant say anything positive, dont say anything at all mantra. But Ill be honest, its difficult!, added Horse Capture, a member of the Aaniiih Nation.

More than 150,000 Native children in Canada were forced to attend government-funded Christian schools from the 19th century until the 1970s in an effort to isolate them from the influence of their homes and culture. The aim was to Christianize and assimilate them into mainstream society, which previous Canadian governments considered superior.

The discoveries of hundreds of potential burial sites at former schools in the past year have drawn international attention to the schools in Canada and their counterparts in the United States.

Leading U.S.-based Indigenous news outlet ICT made a deliberate decision to not make the war bonnet a focus of their papal visit coverage.

When I saw the headdress being placed on the Pope, I immediately thought absolutely not. We are not running that photo, said Jourdan Bennett-Begaye, editor of ICT, formerly Indian Country Today. It distracts readers from the Popes apology and survivors stories who sat in those chairs listening to his every word. Something theyve been waiting for, for decades.

It creates unnecessary noise regarding Indigenous peoples choices where the real scrutiny should be placed on the Pope and that entire institution.

Maka Black Elk, executive director of Truth and Healing at Red Cloud Indian School in Pine Ridge, South Dakota, described the scene on Twitter as a "#toosoon moment.

The discourse around the #PopeFrancis headdress is unfortunate," wrote Black Elk. "He did not request that. It wasnt his fault. But its also clear the givers did not consider how it would make other Indigenous people feel.

Black Elk said later in a telephone interview that the mixed reaction to the headdress being placed on the pope's head reflects the reality of native people and our need for more dialogue about the past.

I do think that Chief Littlechild felt it was important to honor this moment, and this was a significant moment, he added.

A spokeswoman for Littlechild didnt immediately respond Tuesday to a message seeking comment.

But Keeshon Littlechild used a Facebook post to defend his grandfather for giving Francis one of his own many headdresses.

Bugs me to see people bashing my grandfather and I understand how much respect is needed to be gifted one but at the end of the day that was him showing the pope respect for coming all the way to maskwacis to apologize, he wrote.

Among those coming to Littlechild's defense was Phil Fontaine, a former Assembly of First Nations chief and a residential school survivor.

Chief Littlechild followed his protocols, Fontaine said. "There is a protocol for that kind of gift. He went to the elders, he went to the leadership and requested permission to present that gift. It is entirely consistent with the way they follow their customs and protocol here.

Jon Crier, a First Nations elder and school survivor, said during a news conference after the apology that the gesture meant tribal leaders adopted him as one of our leaders in the community.

"Its an honoring of the man, its an honoring of the work he has done and its also recognizing  heres a man that belongs in our tribe, Crier said.

Marie-Anne Day Walker Pelletier, former chief of Okanese First Nation, told CTV, I thought it was pretty cool. The chief of all chiefs now I guess.

-

Nicole Winfield and Peter Smith in Maskwacis, Alberta, and Rob Gillies in Toronto contributed reporting. Snow reported from Phoenix.



Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the APs collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

WASHINGTON (AP)  A joint venture between General Motors and South Korean battery company LG Energy Solution is set to receive a $2.5 billion loan from the Energy Department to build battery cell factories for electric vehicles in three states.

The Energy Department said it has made a conditional commitment to lend the money to Ultium Cells LLC, a joint venture of GM and LG. The loan could help Ultium finance three lithium-ion battery plants planned in Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee, bolstering the Biden administrations efforts to promote electric vehicles and reduce dependence on China for critical components.

The plants will help strengthen U.S. energy independence and support Bidens goal to have electric vehicles make up half of all vehicles sales in the United States by 2030, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said.

Ultium Cells will supply GM as it works to convert its light-duty fleet to all-electric by 2035.

The plants are expected to create up to 6,000 construction jobs and 5,100 operations jobs when completed. Ultium Cells is weeks away from opening its first EV battery plant in Lordstown, Ohio, which it says will help it meet strong demand for electric vehicles.

The joint venture also plans to build battery plants in Lansing, Michigan, and Spring Hill, Tennessee. GM plans to announce the site of a fourth plant this year, CEO Mary Barra said Tuesday.

The federal loan would be the first exclusively for a battery cell manufacturing project under the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing program, which provides loans to support U.S. manufacturing of light-duty vehicles, qualifying components and materials that improve fuel economy, the Energy Department said.

Jigar Shah, director of Energys Loan Programs Office, said Tuesday the loan would help build a domestic supply chain to meet the growing demand for electric vehicles" and create thousands of good-paying jobs across three states while enabling improvements in existing lithium-ion battery technologies.

Ultium Cells has allotted about $2 billion for construction of each plant, but a GM spokesman said commitments GM and LG have made to fund the joint venture don't preclude them from pursuing a loan under a program designed to advance clean energy technology.

Assuming the loan is approved, it would have the effect of lowering the amount of capital the joint venture partners would need to fund directly," spokesman Jim Cain said. Ultium Cells will repay the loans with proceeds earned by selling its cells to GM.

Tesla, Ford and Nissan are among auto companies that received ATVM loans under the Obama administration.

___

AP auto writer Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to this story.
AUSTIN, Texas  A Texas jury heard opening arguments Tuesday that Alex Jones is responsible for one-quarter of Americans doubting that the Sandy Hook shooting happened and therefore should pay $150 million in damages to the parents of a slain boy Jones defamed.

This is the most despicable and vile campaign of lies and defamation in American history, the parents attorney Mark Bankston told a jury of 12 at 459th Civil District Court  in the hometown of Jones Infowars conspiracy and merchandising platform.

Jones winced visibly as he sat between lawyers as jurors looked on. Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, the parents of Jesse Lewis who was among the 26 first graders and educators killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012 sat intently and composed in the courtroom as Bankston wrapped up his opening statement.

The number of people who believe Sandy Hook was definitely or possibly staged is 75 million  so we believe a fair measure of the level of harm done to Neil and Scarlett is one dollar for every one of those people in emotional damage  and another $75 million for the damage to their reputation, Bankston said. That is a huge verdict for sure, but it will do justice to the level of harm that was done.

F. Andino Reynal, Jones lead attorney, rebutted that argument during his opening remarks, saying Jones has apologized repeatedly  and has already been punished by losing all his assets  millions of dollars.

Reynal did not elaborate about Jones financial losses. Jones who made $79 million in 2019, has paid at least $10 million in legal fees and lost at least $20 million as a result of three Sandy Hook defamation lawsuits he lost to families in Texas and Connecticut, his representatives said when he sought bankruptcy protection for three shell companies earlier this year.

Reynal told the jury that it was the chaos of the Sandy Hook shooting scene, inaccurate media reporting, polarization of the country and the existence of thousands of Sandy Hook truthers that was responsible for the segment of Americans who doubt the worst crime in modern Connecticut history happened. Reynal argued it was the Sandy Hook shooter, and not Alex Jones, who was responsible for the mental anguish that is honestly suffered by Mr. Heslin and Ms. Lewis.

Alex Jones is a human being just like every one of us and I want you to ask yourself, Reynal said to the jury, whether this is this an honest attempt by a personal injury lawyer to get just compensation for damages that were actually (suffered) or a cynical attempt by personal injury lawyer to enrich himself while silencing a political opponent and limiting every Americans right to choose what they listen to and what they believe.

In and out of the courtroom

Heslin and Lewis are expected to testify during the trial, but Jones appearance on Tuesday came as a bit of a surprise. His attorney had told jurors on Monday that Jones medical issues could prevent him from being at parts of the trial.

Jones showed up outside the courthouse wearing a piece of tape over his mouth that advertised his Infowars show and said Save the 1st, a reference to the First Amendment. He had taken the tape off by the time he got into the courtroom. Heslin watched Jones take his seat, while Scarlett Lewis, stared straight ahead.

Scarlett Lewis appeared to swallow and clench her jaw as her attorney played an Infowars clip in which Jones said of Sandy Hook, the whole thing is a total hoax.

Jones, meanwhile, occasionally nodded or shook his head while Bankston described how his operation went from a local radio call-in show to a pioneering internet media outlet that spread conspiracy-laced videos to billions of viewers.

Jones did not return to the courtroom after lunch, but told a Hearst reporter that he expects to be in court for some of the trial.

Introducing evidence

Attorneys were scheduled to introduce evidence Tuesday afternoon in a defamation awards trial thats expected to set the pace for two upcoming jury trials to award damages to Sandy Hook families Jones defamed in Texas and Connecticut.

The jury will hear evidence about how Heslin and Lewis suffered when they were defamed by Jones, who called the shooting of 26 first-graders and educators at Sandy Hook Elementary school staged, synthetic, manufactured, a giant hoax, and completely fake with actors.

Alex Jones ruined the memory (of the parents slain boy) ... so that now every time Neil Heslin has to think about his last moment with Jesse this horrible, disgusting series of lies will forever be tied to his sons legacy... and there will always be this contingent of people who come out of the woodwork to confront Neil and Scarlett, Bankston told the jury.

The jury, which was selected Monday from a pool of Austin residents, will hear from Jones attorneys that the parents must prove damages they seek.

You are still allowed to decide how much damage Alex Jones caused, Reynal told the jury. In doing so, you can assess whether his words made their way to the ears of the (parents) and you can assess whether anybody was moved to act by anything Alex Jones said. The evidence will show he did not cause the harassment.

The jury will not hear evidence about the defamation case itself, which Jones lost by default with two other Sandy Hook cases in 2021. Instead, jurors will weigh how much in compensatory damages and how much in punitive damages Jones must pay.

Among the witnesses to take the stand was Daniel Jewiss, an instructor and investigator at the Dolan Consulting Group who was the lead investigator in the Sandy Hook shooting.

When asked why it was important for Jewiss to be present, he responded that, Its still our job to support those families in every way possible and its absolutely horrific the amount of trauma theyve had to bear in the wake of losing a loved one.

Ill continue to support them any way they can, he said, calling it the most important thing Ive ever done in my career.

As he left the courtroom, Jewiss leaned over the bar to embrace Scarlett Lewis and shake Heslins hand. She whispered thank you to him.

Stay tuned all week for updates.

rryser@newstimes.com 203-731-3342
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 4 1 of 4 Peter Hvizdak / Hearst Connecticut Media Show More Show Less 2 of 4 Arnold Gold / Hearst Connecticut Media Show More Show Less 3 of 4 Google Streetview / Contributed Show More Show Less 4 of 4







U.S. News & World Report released its annual report of best hospitals in Connecticut, which assessed 41 hospitals in the state. According to the report, three met "high U.S. News standards and are ranked in the state." One was named the top hospital in Connecticut: Yale New Haven Hospital.

Other hospitals in Connecticut received national rankings for either treatment in specialty care areas, like life-threatening or rare conditions, or treatment for commonplace procedures or conditions, like hip replacement or heart failure, according to the report.
If you have, over the last few years, noticed a reduction in the number of deer, raccoons, rats, or other populace critters that hang around the woods and cities of Connecticut, bobcats could be behind it.

The bobcat, or Lynx rufus, is the most common wildcat in North America. And for the last 50 years, those signature tufted ears and furry cheeked felines have gone from near nonexistence in the Nutmeg State to an elusive ubiquity.

File photo

Were finding out a lot more about them and how they are such an amazing and adaptable animal, Jason Hawley, a wildlife biologist with the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, said. We used to think they needed undisturbed habitat to persist. But through research over the years, were finding theyre incredibly adaptable and able to thrive during urban development, which is important because Connecticut development isnt going anywhere.

Since 2017, DEEP has used GPS collars and telemetry to track about 150 bobcats throughout the state. Hawley said Connecticut's urban cores connected by streams and greenspaces have created routes for bobcats to find new hunting grounds. One has even been tracked between New Haven and Bridgeport, where it's found a veritable feast in an abandoned Remington Arms munitions facility.

"It's grown into thick, brushy, nasty stuff that you and I would look at and think 'I don't want to walk through that,'" Hawley said. "But for bobcat it's like a little piece of heaven."

Most active from dusk until dawn, Hawley said Connecticuts bobcats have become integral to the urban ecosystem as nocturnal vigilantes of sorts  de facto dark knights, watchful protectors often mistaken for the much more dangerous mountain lion, which is not found in Connecticut.

Sean Crane

They are providing a service to the health of the ecosystem, Hawley said. In our research we found them picking up common Norway rats. Controlling populations of raccoons, possum, deer. All those things you think of that you see everywhere.

Hawley said the critters bobcats hunt tend to reproduce with impunity. And while that might be good for an individual species, out of control population growth can be bad for an ecosystem. But bobcats are a territorial, food-driven species. That means they self-regulate. So, while theyve made a remarkable comeback, Hawley said those numbers will level off.

DEEP / Contributed photo

So far this year, nearly 2,500 bobcat sightings have been reported to DEEP from nearly every town in the state. You might not see them, but they are there, he said, waiting in tall grasses and thick brushes, lurking in shadows, waiting to pounce on its next prey.

People walk in close proximity to them all the time and never know theyre there, Hawley said.

Bobcats mate around February or March, then give birth during spring. For the first few months, the small litter of kittens nurse from the mother. But by mid-summer, those kittens are eating meat. Mother bobcats are especially active during these times because theyre hunting for two, and up to four, bellies.

Andy Dobos / Contributed photo

That means your chances of spotting a momma bobcat is a bit higher in the summer.

A lot of the easy meals happen to be close to houses, Hawley said. If you think about it, everyones backyard is the perfect hunting ground for a bobcat. They can ambush predators and find good cover in brushy habitats.

Hawley said bobcats will often hang around the edge of a yard and wait for a cottontail to hop across, or a squirrel to go to a bird feeder.

Wild they may be, bobcats are still considered small cats. Females grow to about 20 lbs., while males can get up to 35. Usually, theyre only two to three times the size of your typical house cat. Hawley said they dont hunt house pets and generally steer clear of humans.

When calls come to DEEP about missing cats, thats more likely the work of coyotes, who hunt for animals like cats.

Most sightings occur from within a home or seeing one run quickly across the road. Their signature bobbed tails often blur into their hind legs, making it appear as though they might be a mountain lion. But DEEP said the last confirmed mountain lion sighting was in 2011 when one was killed on the Merritt Parkway. Before that, itd been a few hundred years.

Contributed Photo / Pam Rasmidatta

Unlike mountain lions, which grow to be about five-times as big, bobcats dont mess with humans. Its rare, but Hawley said you can sometimes run into a bobcat chasing a squirrel across in a forest near a hiking trail. And if you do run into one, Hawley recommends drinking in the moment.

Stop where you are and enjoy getting to see a pretty elusive animal in its natural habitat, he said. The best thing to do is try to kind of remain still so you can not spook the bobcat and watch it and observe it for as long as you can.

But if the bobcat spooks you before you spook it, a crisp clap should send it away.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

The question at the center of an investigation into the killings of three family members  including a 6-year-old girl  at an eastern Iowa state park campground is: Why?

Its a question that, so far, investigators havent been able to answer as they look for any connection between the family and the suspected shooter. They have uncovered little to establish a motive, noting they have not turned up any connection between Anthony Sherwin and those investigators say he killed.

What police have said is that Sherwin, 23, of the Omaha suburb of La Vista, had no criminal history prior to the attack, and investigators said he appeared to target the victims at random. The mans parents, who had been camping with their son, expressed incomprehension that he would carry out such an attack.

The shooting happened early Friday morning, when the victims from Cedar Falls, Iowa, were found shot to death in their tent at the Maquoketa Caves State Park Campground, about 180 miles east of Des Moines. Police have said Tyler Schmidt, 42; his 42-year-old wife, Sarah Schmidt; and their 6-year-old daughter, Lula Schmidt, all died in the attack.

The couples 9-year-old son, Arlo, survived the attack without physical injury, but police have not said whether he was in the tent when the shootings happened. Mitch Mortvedt, assistant director of the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, said Monday that investigators have spoken to the boy, but declined to reveal what the child said.

At this time, theres been nothing discovered as far as anything that precipitated the attack at the campground, Mortvedt said.

Sherwin's parents had suggested that he might have heard the shots and grabbed a firearm in the familys vehicle for self-protection, but Mortvedt discounted that theory.

"Without getting into the fine details of it, with everything that we have learned, we are confident that everything we have reported is how it played out and that he is responsible, Mortvedt said.

Autopsies on the Schmidts and Sherwin began Sunday and were continuing on Monday, Mortvedt said.

The La Vista Police Department in Nebraska released records Monday showing that it had only one prior contact with Sherwin, when he walked into a police station in July 2017 to report someone had tried to use his insurance to get dental work done in Oklahoma. Sherwin later called police to inform them his insurance company had mistakenly sent him someone else's bill.

Sherwin's mother, Cecilia Sherwin, in a statement emailed to The Associated Press, described her son as kind, sensitive, an exceptional student and an aspiring businessman.

We just arrived home and are trying to absorb the loss of our son and arriving home without him which is unfathomable, she said. I didnt think we had any tears left, but we still find ourselves breaking down and care deeply for the little boy and the loss of his family.

___

Associated Press reporter Michael Tarm in Chicago contributed to this report.
A co-pilot accused of trying to help smuggle some 1,700 kilos of cocaine into the United States from Venezuela in 2016 has been extradited to face charges in U.S. Federal Court in Connecticut.

Ronier Sanchez Alonso was arraigned Monday afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas O. Farrish in Hartford, the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Connecticut said.

On Dec. 14, 2016, Sanchez, 46, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Bridgeport, charging him and other defendants with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine.

The charge against Sanchez stems from a law enforcement investigation into a drug operation in Wolcott, according to a federal filing in the case. Authorities allege that between 2015 and 2016 the group was responsible for acquiring and transporting large quantities of cocaine from Venezuela and Colombia, a government filing states.

Sanchezs duties within this drug trafficking organization primarily focused on his role and expertise as a pilot, which would further the DTOs smuggling routes between Venezuela, Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras and the Dominican Republic.

Sanchez, who is from Mexico, has been held by authorities in Paraguay since his arrest there in March 2021, the U.S. attorneys office said.

As alleged in court documents, Sanchez conspired with others to transport approximately 1,700 kilograms of cocaine from South America to the U.S, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said Sanchez and Rupert De Las Casas flew a private jet, which was registered in the U.S., from the Dominican Republic to Venezuela where the cocaine was to be loaded onto the jet on Aug. 6, 2016.

Sanchez was the co-pilot onboard the jet, prosecutors said.

The pilots planned to fly to Honduras, where the drugs would be offloaded onto trucks that would drive through Mexico and then the narcotics would be smuggled into the United States.

However, the jet crashed near a landing strip in Venezuela, according to the U.S. attorneys office. The two pilots and third person involved in the conspiracy were able to avoid capture, while the cocaine was diverted back to Colombia, the office said.

Sanchez then fell off the radar. Federal authorities believe he returned to Mexico in the years after the mishap, according to the governments court filing.

In March 2021, DEA agents learned he had arrived in Paraguay. He was arrested that month on a United States Extradition request, the filing states. He fought the extradition in court, but ultimately lost and was deported. He was brought to Miami in the company of U.S. Marshals on Friday, the filing states.

The government moved to have Sanchez remain in custody, calling him a flight risk and danger to the public. Assistant U.S. Attorney Rahul Kale also noted in the governments filing that the charge against Sanchez carries a a sentence of 10 years to life in prison.

Two others involved in the scheme, including De Las Casas, have already been convicted.

Prosecutors said De Las Casas pleaded guilty and is in custody awaiting sentencing.

A third person involved, Arrinson De La Cruz, was charged separately after authorities alleged he helped arrange for the jet to pas unimpeded through an airport in the Dominican Republic.

De La Cruz, a Dominican Republic citizen who had lived in Wolcott, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 12 years in prison, prosecutors said.
Bears

Newtown, Harwinton, Granby

Connecticut wildlife biologists rescued a bear cub that was found in Connecticut last week with a clear plastic container stuck on its head.

An off-duty Ridgefield police officer shot and killed a bear in Newtown on May 12.

An investigation into the death of the bear  known as Bear #217 to the state wildlife officials, but Bobbi to the local community  found insufficient evidence to charge the officer, who officials with the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, or, DEEP, said feared for the safety of his family, for himself, and for his livestock.

For the majority of the time the bear was spotted or interacted with humans over a four-year time frame prior to her death, she did not cause damage or attack people or livestock, according to an activity report included in the investigation and obtained from DEEP by Hearst Connecticut Media through a Freedom of Information Act request.

In other bear-related news, first responders helped rescue a bear cub that was stuck in a storm drain on July 14. The cubs mother was in the area too and was "stressed", the fire department said in Facebook post.

By that evening, the fire department took back to social media to let the public know that everyone has been reunited and heading off into the woods.

Speaking of bears getting caught in odd circumstances, state wildlife biologists rescued a bear cub that looked like a furry alien in a bubble helmet, but was actually in danger of asphyxiation.

Wildlife biologists waited for the bear to come down from a tree before tranquilizing it and removing the container. Once freed, the cub quickly found its mother waiting nearby.

- Trevor Ballantyne, Liz Hardaway, Jesse Leavenworth
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

KINSHASA, Congo (AP)  At least 15 people were killed and dozens of others injured during two days of demonstrations in Congos east against the United Nations mission in the country, officials said Tuesday.

The United Nations said one peacekeeper from Morocco and two international policemen from India serving with the U.N. peacekeeping force were slain and a policeman from Egypt was injured at the U.N. base in Butembo in North Kivu province when violent attackers snatched weapons from Congolese police and fired on U.N. personnel.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly condemned the Butembo attack and violence targeting multiple U.N. bases across North Kivu since Monday, U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said.

Haq said that on Tuesday hundreds of assailants attacked bases of the U.N. force in Goma and other parts of North Kivu, fueled by hostile remarks and threats made by individuals and groups against the U.N., particularly on social media.

Mobs are throwing stones and petrol bombs, breaking into bases, looting and vandalizing, and setting facilities on fire, Haq said. We are trying to calm things down including by dispatching quick reaction forces but there is no evidence the violence has ended.

In addition, Haq said at least four incidents targeted the residences of mission staff, who have now been relocated to U.N. camps. A mob also tried to enter the compound of the U.N. Development Program Tuesday but was rebelled by security guards, he said.

Demonstrators on Monday set fires and forced entry into the U.N. mission offices in Goma, accusing the peacekeeping force of failing to protect civilians amid rising violence in Congos eastern region. They are calling for the U.N. forces, present in Congo for years, to leave.

Congos police said at least six people were killed in Goma on Monday, and eight civilians in Butembo. Earlier, government spokesman Patrick Muyaya said at least five people were killed and about 50 wounded by Monday.

Protesters blamed shots fired by the peacekeepers for the deaths.

The secretary-general regrets the loss of life of demonstrators" and affirms the U.N. peacekeeping mission's commitment to work with Congolese authorities to investigate these incidents, Haq said.

Guterres underscored that any attack directed at U.N. peacekeepers might constitute a war crime and called on Congolese authorities to swiftly investigate the killings and bring those responsible to justice, the spokesman said.

Congos mineral-rich east is home to myriad rebel groups and the regions security has worsened despite a year of emergency operations by a joint force of the armies of Congo and Uganda. Civilians in the east have also had to deal with violence from jihadi rebels linked to the Islamic State group.

The government spokesman didnt say what caused the deaths but on Twitter, he described the response by security forces and peacekeepers as warning shots to disperse the demonstrators and prevent any attack" on U.N. installations.

The government has instructed the security forces to take all measures to ensure a return to calm and the normal resumption of activities in Goma, he said. He also reiterated that steps are already being taken for the peacekeeping forces to be withdrawn.

In June 2021 and June 2022, the peacekeeping mission closed its office in Congos Kasai Central and Tanganyika regions. The mission has more than 16,000 uniformed personnel in Congo, according to the U.N.

The protests are taking place as fighting has escalated between Congolese troops and the M23 rebels, forcing nearly 200,000 people to flee their homes. The M23 forces have shown increased firepower and defense capabilities, according to a report by Human Rights Watch.

Khassim Diagne, acting head of the peacekeeping mission, and Haq condemned the killings of U.N. personnel. Haq said U.N. peacekeeping chief Jean Pierre Lacroix, who is currently in Mali, will be traveling to Congo at his earliest opportunity.

Diagne described the violence against the U.N. as absolutely unacceptable and counterproductive, given the U.N. force's mission to protect civilians, deter armed groups and build the capacity of state institutions and services.

Haq responded to a question asking whether the U.N.s effort had been a failure because armed groups still roam the country saying our presence has provided protection but it has not solved the problem which involves the region and armed groups vying for control of mineral and resource-rich regions.

Within that, he said, the U.N. has been doing our best to ensure that peoples lives and basic freedoms arent taken away.

Haq said the U.N. has had plans to draw down its peacekeeping force and even withdraw from Congo but we have stayed because the situation on the ground is is far too dangerous for us to contemplate leaving and putting that many people at risk.

Guterres later reaffirmed the U.N.'s strong commitment" to Congo's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and the U.N. peacekeeping mission's support for the Congolese government and people in their efforts to bring about peace and stability in the east of the country."

___

AP writers Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations and Al-Hadji Kudra Maliro in Beni, Congo, contributed to this report.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

AUSTIN, Texas (AP)  A Texas jury was selected Monday in a civil trial that will determine for the first time how much Infowars host Alex Jones must pay Sandy Hook Elementary School parents for falsely telling his audience that the deadliest classroom shooting in U.S. history was a hoax.

Opening statements are set for Tuesday.

The trial in Austin  where the conspiracy theorist lives and broadcasts his show  follows months of delays. Jones has racked up fines for ignoring court orders and he put Infowars into bankruptcy protection just before the trial was originally set to start in April.

At stake for Jones is another potentially major financial blow that could put his constellation of conspiracy peddling businesses into deeper jeopardy. He has already been banned from YouTube, Facebook and Spotify over violating hate-speech policies.

The trial involving the parents of two Sandy Hook families is only the start for Jones; damages have yet to be awarded in separate defamation cases for other families of the 2012 massacre in Newtown, Connecticut.

The lawsuits do not ask jurors to award a specific dollar amount against Jones, but attorneys for the families suggested they could seek $100 million or more in compensatory and punitive damages.

Family members of the shooting victims and Jones were not in the courtroom Monday.

Were very glad the day is here, said Mark Bankston, attorney for the families suing Jones. Were looking forward to telling our clients story.

During Monday's jury selection, several in the initial pool of more than 100 jury candidates said they held strong beliefs on free speech and questioned whether any punitive damages would be fair. A few others said they would struggle to assign damages that could reach $100 million or higher. Yet others said that although they also believe in the principles of free speech, they would not have a problem assigning damages  even a large amount of money  for blatant falsehoods that might have caused harm.

It is unclear whether Jones will attend any of the scheduled two-week trial. His attorney, Andino Reynal, said Jones has a medical issue that his legal legal team advised him not to be there for jury selection. Reynal didn't elaborate and said it's up in the air whether Jones will be in court.

In questioning the jury pool, Reynal acknowledged Jones is a very polarizing" and controversial figure, but also noted he'd ask the jury to cap damages at $1.

Most of jury pool raised their hand when asked if they had heard of Jones, and nearly two dozen agreed when Reynal asked who among them had a firm negative impression of him.

A total of 16 people were selected for the Texas jury, which includes four alternates. That total panel includes seven women and nine men.

We're very happy with the jury we've seated, Reynal said. It's a very important First Amendment case. On trial right now is not just people's freedom of speech, but it's also people's freedom to listen. To choose what they watch on television, to make those choices for themselves, instead of having a personal injury lawyer make those choices for them."

Courts in Texas and Connecticut have already found Jones liable for defamation for his portrayal of the Sandy Hook massacre as a hoax involving actors aimed at increasing gun control. In both states, judges have issued default judgements against Jones without trials because he failed to respond to court orders and turn over documents.

The Texas trial begins about two months after a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, which is about 145 miles (235 kilometers) southwest of Austin. It was the deadliest school shooting in the nearly 10 years since Sandy Hook.

The 2012 Connecticut shooting killed 20 first graders and six educators. Families of eight of the victims and an FBI agent who responded to the school are suing Jones and his company, Free Speech Systems.

Jones has since acknowledged that the shooting took place. During a deposition in April, Jones insisted he wasnt responsible for the suffering that Sandy Hook parents say they have endured because of the hoax conspiracy, including death threats and harassment by Jones followers.

No, I dont (accept) responsibility because I wasnt trying to cause pain and suffering, Jones said, according to the transcripts made public this month. He continued: They are being used and their children who cant be brought back (are) being used to destroy the First Amendment.

Jones claimed in court records last year that he had a negative net worth of $20 million, but attorneys for Sandy Hook families have painted a different financial picture.

Court records show that Jones Infowars store, which sells nutritional supplements and survival gear, made more than $165 million between 2015 and 2018. Jones has also urged listeners on his Infowars program to donate money.

Initial testimony Tuesday is expected to include Daniel Jewiss, who was the Connecticut State Police lead investigator of Sandy Hook, and Daria Karpova, a producer at Infowars.

___

Associated Press reporter Paul J. Weber contributed to this report.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 1 of 3 Saul Loeb / AFP / Getty Images Show More Show Less 2 of 3 J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press Show More Show Less 3 of 3





Alex Jones attorney says the Infowars host may not be in the courthouse much during his trial in Texas to determine how much he owes in defamation damages to the parents of a slain Sandy Hook boy.

Alex, you may have noticed is not here, like the plaintiffs. He may not be here through parts of the trial, said F. Andino Reynal, attorney for Jones, during jury selection on Monday.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

MADISON, Wis. (AP)  A year and a half after Joe Biden's presidential inauguration, Donald Trump is still pushing for decertifying Biden's win, particularly in Wisconsin.

One of the loudest advocates in the battleground state, a Republican state lawmaker who is running for governor, wants the Legislature to rescind Biden's 10 Electoral College votes from Wisconsin. The resolution on decertification that he hopes to submit in August claims, despite the evidence, that there was widespread fraud in the election. He said he is not seeking to undo victories by anyone else in 2020, including his own race.

Legal experts, including Republican attorneys, say there is no legal means to decertify the past election and no evidence to support such action.

Nevertheless, decertification continues to be a rallying cry among many Republicans in Wisconsin and elsewhere. Here's a look at what's happening.

___

IS DECERTIFICATION POSSIBLE?

Trump continues to make baseless claims about widespread fraud in the 2020 election, even though dozens of lawsuits have failed and multiple reviews, recounts and audits have upheld Biden's win.

Trump's latest effort to reverse his loss is focused on Wisconsin, where Biden beat him by about 21,000 votes. The Wisconsin Supreme Court, in a 4-3 ruling this month, said absentee ballot drop boxes are illegal. Those are secure containers that absentee voters can use, usually set up at such locations as government buildings. An Associated Press survey of state election officials nationwide showed that an expanded use of drop boxes due to the coronavirus pandemic did not lead to any widespread problems, including in Wisconsin.

Trump and his supporters argue the recent state Supreme Court ruling means ballots cast in drop boxes in Wisconsin in 2020 were invalid.

When the ballot drop boxes were used illegally, anything and all things that went into them made them null and void the moment they went into the box, said Wisconsin state Rep. Tim Ramthun, a candidate for governor, when arguing for his resolution to decertify the election.

Not true, said law professor Rick Hasen, director of the Safeguarding Democracy Project at the UCLA Law School. The court ruling does not apply retroactively, and even if it somehow did, there is no mechanism in the Constitution for decertifying an election after Electoral College ballots have been certified, he said.

The whole theory is ludicrous," Hasen said. Even accepting the idea that the use of most drop boxes was illegal in 2020, that would do nothing to call into question the validity of the votes that were cast through drop boxes. Theres been no indication whatsoever that drop boxes were used to facilitate any amount of fraud.

Edward B. Foley, a law professor who heads The Ohio State Universitys election law center, said the claims dont seem serious from a legal perspective.

The presidential election is the one where its most clear that decertification is impossible, Foley said. Once a president is inaugurated, impeachment is the only way to remove the incumbent president from office.

___

WHAT DOES TRUMP SAY?

Trump has argued that it would have been impossible for other Republicans to win in 2020 and for him to lose.

People that thought they were going to lose races, they won races  Republicans," Trump told The Associated Press in a telephone interview last December. And they say the only reason they won is because I was at the top of the ticket. I brought people in like theyve never seen before, and they won a race that they didnt think they were going to win.

Earlier this month, he posted on social media and targeted Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, a Republican who is not in favor of decertification. Trump posted that the court's ruling meant it was time to act!

Robin, dont let the voters of Wisconsin down! Trump wrote.

Trump then personally pushed for it in a phone call with Vos.

He would like us to do something different in Wisconsin, Vos told WISN-TV about the conversation. I explained its not allowed under the Constitution. He has a different opinion.

___

WHAT ABOUT ALL THE OTHER RACES?

Trump and his supporters pushing for decertification are not trying to overturn the results of any other races on the 2020 ballot, including scores of them won by Republicans.

Drop boxes also were used in the 2016 election, which Trump won. But no one is calling for those results to be overturned. When asked why, Ramthun, the state lawmaker pushing for decertification, said, That's an interesting question.

He said he wanted to wait and see what happened with his resolution to undo the 2020 election. The two other Republican candidates running for governor are not calling for decertification.

When asked why he is pushing to decertify only the presidential results and not every other race that was on the 2020 ballot, Ramthun said that was the only statewide contest that year and because the Electoral College applies only to the presidential race.

Foley, the Ohio State law professor, said he was reluctant to even discuss Ramthun's argument because it was so ridiculous.

Thats obviously not logical or theoretically consistent, he said. If theres something wrong with a ballot thats put in a drop box, it affects everything on the ballot.

There are strict rules and timelines for how and when to bring challenges, and that time has long passed, Foley said.

An Associated Press review in 2021 of all cases of potential voter fraud in the six battleground states where Trump disputed his loss found just 31 cases in Wisconsin, representing about 0.15% of Bidens margin of victory in the state. To date, 24 people have been charged with election fraud-related crimes stemming from the 2020 election in Wisconsin.

___

WHAT ARE OTHER REPUBLICANS SAYING?

Wisconsin is not the only place where prominent Republicans are calling for decertification.

In Arizona last week, Republican secretary of state candidate and state Rep. Mark Finchem tweeted TRUMP WON. He called for decertifying results in two counties won by Biden and a third that Trump won but where a man was convicted for illegally collecting four ballots early in the 2020 primary.

Another Republican, Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers, testified at a June meeting of the congressional Jan. 6 committee about phone calls from Trump and his allies asking him to decertify Arizonas legitimate electors and replace them. He made no such effort. Bowers said he repeatedly asked Trumps attorneys to show evidence of widespread fraud, but they never provided any.

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger also rejected Trump's call to find 11,780 votes that could flip the state to prevent Bidens victory. Georgia House Speaker David Ralston said in January 2021 that a week after the election Republicans lawmakers there had been discussing fraud and the possibility of a redo." And I said, Well Ill tell you one race youre not going to redo, and thats mine.

He also noted that Georgia's election results had been subject to three counts, an audit and at least six lawsuits that had all been dismissed: Which kind of begs the question: Well, if there were in fact significant wrongdoing, would it not have been disclosed?

___

Associated Press writer Christina A. Cassidy in Atlanta contributed to this report.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP)  As one of two Republican members of Congress from Washington to have voted to impeach former President Donald Trump, Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler faces one of her toughest primaries since she was first elected to represent the southwest region of the state in 2010.

The number of Republicans in the race  including a former Green Beret endorsed by Trump  and the anger that the six-term congresswoman sparked among some in her party with her impeachment vote means Herrera Beutler could face a scenario that seemed unfathomable in her previous re-election bids: not making it through the primary.

For me and my team and the way we look at it, its another tough election, Herrera Beutler told The Associated Press. Im not changing course. Im still the same Republican Ive always been.

Under Washingtons primary system, the top two vote getters in each race Aug. 2 advance to the November election, regardless of party. Washington is a vote by mail state, and voters dont have to declare a party affiliation.

Rep. Dan Newhouse, a four-term congressman in the 4th Congressional District, is the other Washington state member of Congress who has drawn Republican challengers, including one endorsed by Trump, due to his vote.

Perhaps the best known outside candidate in Newhouses intraparty feud is Loren Culp, a former small town police chief who lost the 2020 governors race to Democrat Jay Inslee but refused to concede. He won Trumps endorsement in February, but has lagged other candidates in reported fundraising figures.

Due to the nature of the top-two primary, the vote in the 3rd Congressional District could cut in a variety of ways, including the incumbent advancing to the general election against a fellow Republican or against a Democratic challenger  in previous elections Democrats have always captured enough of the primary vote to advance to November. But Herrera Beutler could also be edged out.

It all comes down who turns out to vote and how much power the Trump endorsement holds, said Mark Stephan, an associate professor of political science at Washington State University-Vancouver.

The 3rd District taps into that national story of, where is the Republican Party headed, he said. How much continued influence does President Trump have over the party?

Trump had vowed revenge against the 10 House Republicans who crossed party lines to impeach him but has had mixed results in the primaries to date.

Rep. Tom Rice, a five-term congressman, was ousted by a Trump-endorsed state lawmaker in last months South Carolina primary. Rep. David Valadao of California advanced from that states top two primary to advance to the general election with a Democratic state lawmaker, surviving a challenge from a fellow Republican who faulted the congressman for his impeachment vote.

The impeachment vote came in the wake of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by a pro-Trump mob that supported the presidents efforts to have the 2020 election overturned, driven by false claims of widespread voter fraud.

Hererra Beutler says she has no regrets about her impeachment vote  and stands by her comments made both on the floor and on Twitterafterward  including her revelation that Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy told her he spoke with Trump as rioters were storming the Capitol, and that according to McCarthy the president said: Well, Kevin, I guess these people are more upset about the election than you are.

But she said her focus since then has been on issues related to the district, like prescription drug prices and protecting salmon populations.

I would hope anybody, whether they agree with me on the vote or not, would understand that you want a representative who feels their obligation is to their oath, which is an obligation to the Constitution, she said.

Trump has endorsed Joe Kent, a regular on conservative cable shows who echoes the former presidents grievances about the 2020 election outcome.

Heidi St. John, a Christian author and home-school advocate who shares those views, rescinded a pledge to drop out of the race and support whomever Trump endorsed and has attacked Kent, saying shes the only true conservative in the race.

The main Democrat in the race, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, has secured the support of key Democrats in the region.

Kent says the impeachment vote is what led him to get into elected politics. He had already established a relationship with the former president, whom he first met at Dover Air Force Base days after his wife, Navy cryptologist Shannon Kent, was killed by a suicide bomber in Syria during a mission to fight the Islamic State in 2019. Kent, who moved to Portland with his two young sons to be closer to family, ultimately moved across the border to Washington state the following year.

Kent said hes part of the America First movement, and said that when he talks to voters, he contrasts himself against not just Democrats, but traditional Republicans as well. Kent said if Republicans win the majority in Congress, he would push for the impeachment of President Joe Biden and an investigation into the 2020 election.

We are in the midst of the Republican civil war and America First is going to win that civil war and we are going to take over the Republican party, he said.

Trump garnered about 38% of the statewide vote in 2020 but won the 3rd District with 50.6%. Shes fallen under 50% in crowded primaries before, most recently in 2018, but has never been at serious risk of not clearing the primary in her previous re-election bids.

St. John said some of his public stances and the fact he was registered as a Democrat and voted for Bernie Sanders in Oregons 2020 presidential primary  which Kent said he did to help Trump since he felt Sanders would be a weaker candidate against Trump than Biden  is among the reasons why shes decided to stay in the race.

Im more concerned about electing a good representative than this narrative about splitting the vote, she said. St. John  who is trailing in fundraising behind Herrera Beutler and Kent  is benefiting in more than $1.3 million in outside spending from a newly created political action committee called Conservatives For A Stronger America.

For Gluesenkamp Perez, she sees the Republican infighting as an opportunity for Democrats who havent held this seat since Herrera Beutler first won it 12 years ago.

Im the only candidate who understands what its like to navigate America as a small business owner working in the trades, and thats what this district looks like, said Gluesenkamp Perez, who own an auto shop with her husband across the border in Portland.

Ballots were mailed to the states nearly 4.8 million registered voters last week, including the more than 499,000 in the 3rd Congressional District, whose borders changed recently under redistricting.
alberto clemares expAsito/Getty Images/iStockphoto

FOGELSVILLE, Pa. (AP)  A man's pet boa constrictor wrapped itself around his neck, sending him to a hospital, where he died several days later, authorities in Pennsylvania said.

Elliot Senseman, 27, died Sunday morning at Lehigh Valley Hospital, Cedar Crest, the Lehigh County coroner's office said. The cause of death was was listed as anoxic brain injury due to asphyxiation by constriction, and the manner of death was ruled accidental.
(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.)

Iain Boyd, University of Colorado Boulder

(THE CONVERSATION) Russia is building a new ground-based laser facility for interfering with satellites orbiting overhead, according to a recent report in The Space Review. The basic idea would be to dazzle the optical sensors of other nations spy satellites by flooding them with laser light.

Laser technology has evolved to the point where this type of anti-satellite defense is plausible, though there is limited evidence of any nation successfully testing such a laser.

If the Russian government is able to build the laser, it would be capable of shielding a large part of the country from the view of satellites with optical sensors. The technology also sets the stage for the more ominous possibility of laser weapons that can permanently disable satellites.

How lasers work

A laser is a device for creating a narrow beam of directed energy. The first laser was developed in 1960, and since that time, there have been several types created that use different physical mechanisms to generate photons, or particles of light.

Gas lasers pump large amounts of energy into specific molecules such as carbon dioxide. Chemical lasers are powered by specific chemical reactions that release energy. Solid-state lasers use customized crystalline materials to convert electrical energy into photons. In all lasers, the photons are subsequently amplified by passing them through a special type of material called the gain medium and then focused into a coherent beam by a beam director.

Laser effects

Depending on the photon intensity and wavelength, the directed beam of energy formed by a laser can create a range of effects at its target. For example, if the photons are in the visible part of the spectrum, a laser can deliver light at its target.

For a sufficiently high flow of high-energy photons, a laser can heat, vaporize, melt and even burn through the material of its target. The ability to deliver these effects is determined by the power level of the laser, the distance between the laser and its target, and the ability to focus the beam on the target.

Laser applications

The various effects generated by lasers find widespread applications in everyday life, including laser pointers, printers, DVD players, retinal and other medical surgery procedures, and industrial manufacturing processes such as laser welding and cutting. Researchers are developing lasers as an alternative to radio wave technology to boost communications between spacecraft and the ground.

Lasers also find widespread application in military operations. One of the best known is the Airborne Laser (ABL), which the U.S. military intended to use to shoot down ballistic missiles. ABL involved a very large, high-power laser mounted on a Boeing 747. The program was ultimately doomed by the challenges associated with the thermal management and maintenance of its chemical laser.

A more successful military application is the Large Aircraft Infrared Counter Measures (LAIRCM) system, which is used to protect aircraft from heat-seeking antiaircraft missiles. LAIRCM shines light from a solid-state laser into the missile sensor as it approaches the aircraft, causing the weapon to become dazzled and lose track of its target.

The evolving performance of solid-state lasers has led to a proliferation of new military applications. The U.S. military is mounting lasers on Army trucks and Navy ships to defend against small targets such as drones, mortar shells and other threats. The Air Force is studying the use of lasers on aircraft for defensive and offensive purposes.

The Russian laser

The reputed new Russian laser facility is called Kalina. It is intended to dazzle, and therefore temporarily blind, the optical sensors of satellites that are collecting intelligence overhead. As with the U.S. LAIRCM, dazzling involves saturating the sensors with enough light to prevent them from functioning. Achieving this goal requires accurately delivering a sufficient amount of light into the satellite sensor. This is no easy feat given the very large distances involved and the fact that the laser beam must first pass through the Earths atmosphere.

Accurately pointing lasers over large distances into space is not new. For example, NASAs Apollo 15 mission in 1971 placed meter-sized reflectors on the Moon that are targeted by lasers on Earth to provide positioning information. Delivering enough photons over large distances comes down to the laser power level and its optical system.

Kalina reportedly operates in a pulsed mode in the infrared and produces about 1,000 joules per square centimeter. By comparison, a pulsed laser used for retinal surgery is only about 1/10,000th as powerful. Kalina delivers a large fraction of the photons it generates across the large distances where satellites orbit overhead. It is able to do this because lasers form highly collimated beams, meaning the photons travel in parallel so the beam doesnt spread out. Kalina focuses its beam using a telescope that has a diameter of several meters.

Spy satellites using optical sensors tend to operate in low-Earth orbit with an altitude of a few hundred kilometers. It generally takes these satellites a few minutes to pass over any specific point on the Earths surface. This requires Kalina to be able to operate continuously for that long while maintaining permanent track on the optical sensor. These functions are carried out by the telescope system.

Based on the reported details of the telescope, Kalina would be able to target an overhead satellite for hundreds of miles of its path. This would make it possible to shield a very large area  on the order of 40,000 square miles (roughly 100,000 square kilometers)  from intelligence gathering by optical sensors on satellites. Forty thousand square miles is roughly the area of the state of Kentucky.

Russia claims that in 2019 it fielded a less capable truck-mounted laser dazzling system called Peresvet. However, there is no confirmation that it has been used successfully.

Laser power levels are likely to continue to increase, making it possible to go beyond the temporary effect of dazzling to permanently damaging the imaging hardware of sensors. While laser technology development is heading in that direction, there are important policy considerations associated with using lasers in this way. Permanent destruction of a space-based sensor by a nation could be considered an act of aggression, leading to a rapid escalation of tensions.

Lasers in space

Of even greater concern is the potential deployment of laser weapons in space. Such systems would be highly effective because the distances to targets would likely be significantly reduced, and there is no atmosphere to weaken the beam. The power levels needed for space-based lasers to cause significant damage to spacecraft would be significantly reduced in comparison to ground-based systems.

In addition, space-based lasers could be used to target any satellite by aiming lasers at propellant tanks and power systems, which, if damaged, would completely disable the spacecraft.

As technology advances continue, the use of laser weapons in space becomes more likely. The question then becomes: What are the consequences?

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article here: https://theconversation.com/russians-reportedly-building-a-satellite-blinding-laser-an-expert-explains-the-technology-186890.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

BRIDGEPORT  Colleagues of the 41-year-old Westport woman who was killed Sunday in a wrong-way crash described her as a loving mother who brought joy and kindness to everyone she knew.

Monica Wilson, the longtime office manager at Broad River Animal Hospital, will be laid to rest Friday following services at Raymond Funeral Home in her hometown of Norwalk, according to a funeral notice.

She was our cheerleader, said Michele Mason, who worked alongside Wilson for nearly two decades at the animal hospital. She handled everything. Even if it wasn't part of her job, shed try to do what she could to help you  shed even go out of her way.

Wilson, who died a day before her 42nd birthday, was among two killed in the four-vehicle collision on Route 8 near Exit 2. Police said the car she was driving was struck head on by a van driving the wrong way on the highway.

The passenger of the van, Ananias Castillo-Icabalzeta, 46, of Bridgeport, was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver, 35-year-old Wilber Martinez, was rushed to a hospital in critical condition, according to a state police report.

The drivers of the two other cars involved in the crash sustained minor injuries and were taken to local hospitals, police said. Two of Wilsons young children, who were passengers in her vehicle, were also injured and transported to a local hospital. Police have said their injuries are not considered life-threatening.

The crash comes as Connecticut continues to endure a surge in fatalities from wrong-way collisions. According to state data analyzed by Hearst Connecticut Media Group, more people have already died in wrong-way crashes this year than in each of the previous three years.

Dr. Michele K. Lamothe, who hired Wilson more than 18 years ago, called her the heart and soul of the animal hospital and said she was heartbroken by her colleagues untimely death.

She cared about everyone, Lamothe said. She cared about the pets. She cared about the people that worked here. She cared about her family. She just was a caring person.

Mason echoed Lamothe, calling Wilson a devoted mother who went to great lengths to ensure her three children had the best upbringing she could provide.

I dont think anybody out there could say a bad word about her, Mason said.

In a series of Facebook posts, Broad River said the hospital closed Monday in response to Wilsons death and to ensure the wellbeing of her colleagues. Hospital officials praised her endless enthusiasm and described her as our glue.

She touched everyone she knew, hospital officials wrote. We are saddened more than any words can describe and we send our deepest condolences to her sons and her friends and family outside of her Broad River family.

Dr. John A. Stramaglia, who said he shared Wilsons playful sense of humor, described her as deeply compassionate. He said she was uniquely skilled at working with clients who were worried or concerned about their beloved pet.

Monica was exceptional, he said. She would leave her problems at the door, and just be so professional and so upbeat.

Mason, who serves as the Broad Rivers client care coordinator, said the animal hospital has been flooded with messages from people mourning Wilsons death, including longtime clients who for years enjoyed Wilsons cheery and buoyant attitude.

It's just not the same without her, Mason said. We dont even want to go to work anymore. She was our sunshine.

richard.chumney@hearstmediact.com
NEW LONDON  The aunt of a child who survived an arson-murder last week plans to take in the baby and is looking for financial help.

Sylvonna White started a GoFundMe fundraiser to get her home ready for the boy, who is 13 months old. Her sister, Shelby Dodson, 23, was killed.

White had raised more than $6,000 of her $8,000 goal as of early Tuesday morning. The money will go toward baby equipment such as a crib, changing table and highchair, she said.

It also will cover the cost of her to travel to Connecticut to pick up the young boy and bring him to her home in Tennessee.

It is truly heartbreaking to know what happened, but we are all overjoyed that, at least, [his] physical health is okay, she wrote of the baby on the fundraising page. He is due to move to his aunt's home soon, but before that happens, the home must be set up to receive a 1-year-old.

Last Wednesday night, according to New London police, George Dodson fatally bludgeoned his wife with a hammer, set fire to the room and two others in his Sherman Street house and slashed his own throat.

Dodson, a U.S. Navy member, who police say confessed to the crime, said he did it out of jealousy, according to an incident report.

He said they had opened up our relationship, and she found another man she loved more and I could not stand the thought of it so I killed her, according to a police report. In addition to using the hammer and setting the room on fire, Dodson told police he also stabbed his wife, the report stated.

The baby was rescued from the burning home and taken to the hospital, but the boys mother was pronounced dead.

An autopsy shows she died of blunt injuries of the head, a spokesperson at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner said Monday.

Dodson, a second-class petty officer and nuclear-trained electronics technician, faces murder, arson and other charges.

White said on the GoFundMe page that any contribution you can make is greatly appreciated, as it eases the tension of this already horrible situation.
China Development Bank offers loan support for Yellow River protection

Xinhua) 08:50, July 26, 2022

BEIJING, July 25 (Xinhua) -- China Development Bank, one of the country's policy banks, has provided financial support for ecological protection and high-quality development in the Yellow River basin.

A total of 86.3 billion yuan (about 12.78 billion U.S. dollars) in loans was issued in the first half of 2022, providing support for critical areas in the Yellow River protection efforts, according to the bank.

These include comprehensive management of the Yellow River basin, water security, construction of a modern industrial system, preservation and promotion of the Yellow River culture, and the improvement of people's livelihood, among others.

The policy bank will continue to solve the financing problems by market means and increase credit supply to support the ecological protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River basin.

(Web editor: Wu Chaolan, Liang Jun)
Advertisement

New Zealand Dollar Outlook:

The Kiwi may be on the precipice of a more significant turn higher as the Reserve Bank of New Zealand appears ready to continue its rate hike cycle.

NZD/JPY rates are consolidating in an ascending triangle after an uptrend, while NZD USD rates have just broken out of a bullish falling wedge to the upside.

According to the IG Client Sentiment Index , the New Zealand Dollar has a mixed bias in the near-term.

Ready to Take Flight?

In part thanks to increasing rate hike odds for the Reserve Bank of New Zealand and in part thanks to improving risk appetite in global equity markets, the Kiwi finds itself positioned to extend its recent rally. More Japanese Yen and US Dollar weakness is necessary, no doubt, but the New Zealand Dollars technical posture has improved in recent days. NZD/JPY rates are consolidating in an ascending triangle after an uptrend, while NZD/USD rates have just broken out of a bullish falling wedge to the upside.

NZD/JPY RATE TECHNICAL ANALYSIS: DAILY CHART (July 2021 to July 2022) (CHART 1)

NZD/JPY rates have been rangebound since early-June, but the consolidation is contained with a more significant pattern: a symmetrical triangle thats been forming since early-April, which developed after a sharp uptrend at the start of 2022. The directional bias would be for a move to the upside, given the preceding move. NZD/JPY rates are above their daily 5-, 8-, 13-, and 21-EMA envelope, which is in bullish sequential order. Daily MACD is trending higher above its signal line, but daily Slow Stochastics have eased out of overbought territory. A move above 86.81 would end the series of lower highs and lower lows since early-June, increasing the likelihood of a return to the yearly high at 87.35.

NZD/USD RATE TECHNICAL ANALYSIS: DAILY CHART (July 2021 to July 2022) (CHART 2)

NZD/USD rates have suffered more than their NZD/JPY counterpart in recent weeks, no doubt a result of the rampant strength in USD/JPY rates. But the decline may be over, insofar as a bullish falling wedge has formed against the April (2022 high) and June swing highs. Clearing out the confluence of Fibonacci retracements (61.8% of 2020 low/2021 high at 0.6231 and 23.6% of 2014 high/2020 low at 0.6264) would give great confidence in a more significant bullish reversal developing. A drop below the daily 21-EMA (one-month moving average) would see a return into the falling wedge, which would constitute a failed breakout and thus open the door for a return back to the yearly low beneath 0.6100.

IG Client Sentiment Index: NZD/USD RATE Forecast (July 25, 2022) (Chart 3)

NZD/USD: Retail trader data shows 68.39% of traders are net-long with the ratio of traders long to short at 2.16 to 1. The number of traders net-long is 8.90% higher than yesterday and 10.17% lower from last week, while the number of traders net-short is 8.89% higher than yesterday and 0.68% higher from last week.

We typically take a contrarian view to crowd sentiment, and the fact traders are net-long suggests NZD/USD prices may continue to fall.

Positioning is more net-long than yesterday but less net-long from last week. The combination of current sentiment and recent changes gives us a further mixed NZD/USD trading bias.

--- Written by Christopher Vecchio, CFA, Senior Strategist
'I really, genuinely care about looking good,' Kim Kardashian said in a recent interview with Allure Magazine. And while the reality star refutes rumors of having any plastic surgery, she does admit to getting non-invasive procedures.

To look her best without going under the knife, Kim turns to California-based cosmetic dermatologist, Dr. Simon Ourian. A former sculptor, Dr. Ourian has the creative tools and vision to create walking works of art.

'When I look at someone's face, I automatically have in my mind what I can do to improve it and I have been ever since I was a kid,' Dr. Ourian told DailyMail.com.

To look her best without going under the knife, Kim Kardashian turns to California-based cosmetic dermatologist, Dr. Simon Ourian

A former sculptor, Dr. Simon Ourian, is a master at creating works of art

From performing a non-surgical nose job to contouring the jawline and cheeks, Dr. Ourian - whose clientele includes the Kardashian-Jenner family, models, actors, musicians, and many of the worlds royalty - can do just about any beautifying procedure without a scalpel.

'Before I became a doctor my background was in art and sculpting, so it was serendipitous that I got into the realm of aesthetic medicine,' said the sought-after doctor.

'I liked aesthetics and beautiful things and thought there must be a better way to do this without surgery.'

Dr. Ourian explains that there are three facial features that seem to be universally considered beautiful: symmetry, proportion and healthy skin

While they say beauty is in the eye of beholder, Dr. Ourian explains that there are three facial features that seem to be universally considered beautiful: symmetry, proportion, and healthy skin.

'The more the right and left side of the face are symmetrical, the better,' said the A-list doctor who, thanks to his skills and impressive 3.5 million Instagram followers, has become a celebrity himself.

In addition to symmetry, proportion matters.

'From the forehead to the chin, the face is divided into thirds (upper, middle and lower). Faces considered attractive tend to possess equal size thirds, and thus are more proportional,' he explained.

'All these things are related to us believing that a person is healthy and youthful. It's been programmed in our head.'

 Slide me  'From the forehead to the chin, the face is divided into thirds (upper, middle and lower). Faces considered attractive tend to possess equal size thirds, and thus are more proportional,' explained Dr. Ourian

According to Dr. Ourian, Kim's face is very symmetrical, with the left and right sides looking almost identical

According to Dr. Ourian, Kim's face is very symmetrical, with the left and right sides looking almost identical.

'Her face is also very proportional, and all her individual facial features are very proportional to each other.

'There's nothing that you look at that you think is too big or too small, and she has learned how to maintain and take care of it better than anyone else.

'She has a very clean vision of how a person should look. She takes care of her face.'

Like an artist before he starts to sketch a portrait, Dr. Ourian starts his procedures by measuring the face.

'What I do with measuring and creating diagrams of the face are what sculptures have done for the past thousands of years,' explains the expert.

The goal is to create symmetry, which as a former artist, comes natural to the Persian dermatologist.

'If someone has a smaller lower face, I try to make it larger to match the upper face; if someone's forehead is too large, I try to make the face wider to match the length of the face.'

According to Dr. Ourian, non-surgical procedures are becoming a lot more advantageous because they offer similar results to surgery but with a safer outcome.

'The huge advantage of cosmetic dermatology is that you can pick and choose and make your own menu as you go,' he said.

Adding: 'In surgery you wake up and hope everything is going to be ok; when you're awake in a doctor's office like mine you work as a team with your doctor. You can say "I like my cheeks the way they are, I want to lift this.."

Dr. Ourian has his own line of skincare products. Shop Left: 3 Step Beauty Ritual, $190; mdo-skin.com. Right: Sheet Mask Power Duo | 10 Sheet Masks, $99; mdo-skin.com

A few of the most requested procedures at his Beverly Hills practice located on 444 N Camden Drive, are cheekbone filler and lip augmentation, as well as facial and body contouring.

Like the rest of the world, Dr. Ourian learned the buzzword "contouring" from Kim's makeup artist, Mario.

'We were on a trip together and Mario kept saying the word contouring. I told him we do the same thing permanently and he had no idea. I decided that's what I'm going to call it: Permanent Contouring.'
A group of women living in a care home had a wonderful time honing their art skills in a life-drawing session with a male nude model.

Members at the Sherwood Grange residential home in Kingston Vale, West London, sat down on Wednesday for their life drawing class - and photos show the residents were very happy with their subject.

Rosemary Lester, one of the residents in the session, was pictured closing one eye so she could properly focus on her subject while he posed with one leg propped up on a stool and carrying a ski pole.

Another resident, Mollie Wheeldon, was pictured with a subtle grin on her face while one of the care home staff put her arm around her.

Residents at the Sherwood Grange Care Home in Kingston Vale, West London, spent the afternoon in a life drawing class. Pictured: Jenny Proudlove, seeming totally unfazed by the nude model

Budding art student Rosemary Lester closed one eye to get a better look at her subject and to ensure she produced an accurate work

Pencil in hand, Rosemary observed the model, who was posing with a ski pole and his leg raised on a stool

Stay there and don't move! Rosemary needed to make sure the angle she was capturing was perfect

Later when Mollie was asked what she most enjoyed about the session, she replied: 'I can't answer that!'

She added: 'It was great fun to do something different - I found it very relaxing.'

Keeping things professional, budding art prodigy Jenny Proudlove was pictured diligently getting on with her drawing - while a well-placed glass in the shot covered up the model's private area.

The art students, who were all women, were pictured proudly displaying their artwork at the end of their session.

Resident Mollie Wheeldon smirked as she took a closer look at her subject, while a staff member looked at her knowingly

Mollie (pictured second from right), said she found the session 'relaxing'

The art prodigies looked deep in concentration as they focused on creating their masterpieces

At the end of the session the students proudly displayed their works of art for the camera - and have been promised they'll be able to take another life drawing class soon

Kristina Jacunskiene, manager of Sherwood Grange, said the afternoon had been 'memorable' for residents and staff alike.

She said: 'Life in our care home is all about helping people to enjoy more independent and fulfilling lives - and today that meant doing something out of the ordinary and creating a memorable experience.

'Sadly the session had to draw to a close - but based on the response we had from the residents and the fabulous drawings they created, we will certainly be welcoming more models in the future.'

Sherwood Grange, which is run by Care UK, has an outstanding rating from the Care Quality Commission.

Its website says residents 'enjoy a truly wonderful lifestyle, full of varied and enriching creative activities and experiences'.
A psychologist has shared the three main characteristics of codependency, including neglecting yourself and not being able to see yourself clearly.

London-based therapist Abby Rawlinson regularly shares information about mental health topics with her some 120,000 followers on Instagram.

In a recent post, she discussed codependency, including what the terms actually means, and how you can recognise codependent behaviour.

Abby wrote: 'The term codependent is tossed around a lot these days, but what does it actually mean?

A therapist has explained what a codependent relationship is, outlining some of the characteristics of codependent people (stock image)

'Well, the truth is, its complicated! There is no single, clear definition agreed upon by experts.

'In its simplest terms, a codependent relationship is when one partner needs the other partner, who in turn, needs to be needed.'

She added that the codependents self-esteem and self-worth 'will come only from sacrificing themselves for their partner, who is only too glad to receive their sacrifices'.

Abby noted that the bond does not have to be romantic, and other relationships, such as those between parent and child, friends, and family members can be codependent.

Three characteristics of co-dependency 1. Putting responsibility in the wrong place. According to Abby's post, codependents see themselves as responsible for everyone else's behaviours, but don't take responsibility for their own. 2. Neglecting themselves in favour of others. Because they focus on other people's behaviour, codependents struggle to take care of themselves or let others help them according to Abby. 3. Being unable to see themselves clearly. Codependents have repressed their feelings, needs and personality for so long that they can't receive help or take responsibility. Source: therapywithabby, based on Therapy No More by Melody Beattie Advertisement

The therapist listed three major characteristics, which she said were based on the book Codependent No More by Melody Beattie.

According to Abby's post, the first is putting responsibility in the wrong place.

She explained that 'codependents see themselves as responsible for everyone else's behaviours, but don't take responsibility for their own'.

This can manifest in codependents taking care of others' needs over their own, obsessing over and trying to control others' behaviour, and believing they know best and getting angry when others don't listen.

The second major characteristic of codependency that Abby listed in her post was neglecting themselves in favour of others.

She explained that because they focus on other people's behaviour, 'codependents struggle to take care of themselves or let others help them'.

This can be seen by codependents having low self-esteem and relying on others to boost self-worth through compliments, having weak boundaries, and not being able to trust others or let them help.

Finally, the third characteristic listed by Abby was that codependents are unable to see themselves clearly.

'Codependents have repressed their feelings, needs and personality for so long that they can't receive help or take responsibility,' the post explained.

The three ways this characteristic can manifest is repressing their feelings and losing sight of their personality, wants and needs, being able to understand or communicate what they really mean, and refusing to admit anything is wrong.

One commentator on the post said they could identify with some of the behaviour outline in the post.

They wrote: 'I used to do this and still unlearning some. But now I also realize how many people do this!! It's kind of sad!'

Another noted that the information was 'too real', writing: 'Oh b***** hell. This is too real.'
Beneath the highceilings of the grand salon at 30 Avenue Montaigne in Paris, the creme de la creme of French society were on the edge of their seats as Christian Dior unveiled his 1949 autumn-winter collection.

Only two years had passed since the haute couture designer had revolutionised the post-war fashion world with his extravagant, ultra-romantic New Look.

Among those who snapped up outfits from the designers latest, eagerly awaited Milieu du Siecle collection was French diplomats wife Adeline Barbusse, who settled on a sumptuous black strapless evening dress to take to Damascus, Syria, for her husbands latest posting.

Little did she realise that one day, more than seven decades later, the stunning hand-stitched silk velvet and taffeta gown would take centre stage in an extraordinary and bittersweet family story; a tale marred by tragedy but ultimately redeemed by love.

When Adeline died in 1956 at the age of 38, after pricking her finger on a sewing needle and developing sepsis, the dress was stashed in a suitcase in the attic of the familys home in the South of France.

Eventually, decades later, it was given to Adelines British grand-daughter.

Named after the grandmother she never met, Adeline Vining, from Edlesborough, Buckinghamshire, guessed from the label and serial number that the gown was special. But it was only after turning detective a couple of months ago that the 36-year-old mother of two discovered the astonishing story behind the heirloom.

Adeline Vining, 36, wearing the unique Dior dress from 1949/50 which belonged to her late French grandmother. Adeline's grandparents were posted to Syria soon after the dress's purchase, where her grandfather was a cultural attache

As one of Diors earliest creations  and with only one other known example in existence  the Hortense dress has been valued at a staggering 30,000 to 35,000. But for Adeline, the true worth of the 73-year-old garment is that it has resurrected forgotten memories of her grandmother.

I dont think I could part with it, even though the money would be nice, says Adeline, a cafe-owner. I love the dress too much to let it go. Its absolutely beautiful, and just putting it on lifts my mood. It has enormous sentimental value.

The dress was first discovered in the months after Adelines grandfather, French diplomat Pierre Barbusse, died in 1995. Adelines mother, Laurence, the fifth of the Barbusse children, who was only two when her mother died, found it while sorting through the attic of the vast 19th-century house in the village of Aimargues, which is still owned by the family.

She set it aside for her own daughter  then aged ten  thinking she might wear it one day.

I always knew it was old, says Adeline, who cant remember exactly when her mother gave it to her, but says shes had it for more than a decade. But I didnt know when or where my grandmother had bought it. I just hoped that I might be able to wear it one day.

Its incredible that it has stayed in such good condition and didnt get nibbled by mice or insects during all those years it was lying forgotten in the attic.

Recently, having tried on the dress and finding to her delight that it fits perfectly, Adeline turned to social media  posting clips of the dress on TikTok  in the hope of discovering more about it.

Journey to the past: Adeline's grandmother Adeline Barbusse is pictured circa 1950 wearing the dress while dancing with an unknown man at an official function

She was put in touch with fashion historian and costume designer Henry Wilkinson, who discovered another example of the Hortense dress  Dior named all his designs  at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, confirming his belief that it had come from Diors 1949 autumn-winter collection.

Because it was haute couture, each dress would have been custom-made, says Henry. The client would have had a certain amount of say about small changes  a different colour or trim  as long as they didnt challenge the integrity of the design.

The key to this information is the unique serial number on Adelines dress  07675  which would have been written in a log book at the Dior Atelier, along with information about its owner.

Adeline has contacted Dior for assistance in obtaining information about the gown, but has yet to hear back from the brands archivist. However, according to Oriole Cullen, senior curator in the fashion and textiles department of the V&A museum in London, the dress is a wonderful find and would have been incredibly expensive  even in 1949. While the exact price Adelines grandparents paid isnt yet known, in the 1950s, Diors most elaborate evening gowns could cost as much as 2,000  the equivalent of 24,000 today.

Its from a really interesting collection, says Oriole. The construction almost looks like a large, square tablecloth with a hole in the middle over a taffeta underskirt, which would have made a wonderful sound as it moved.

It was 1949, the eve of the middle of the century. For Dior, the Milieu du Siecle collection was about looking to the future. Those who had lived through the war were happy to leave the 1940s behind.

According to Oriole, the same collection formed part of Diors first show in London at the Savoy in April 1950. The following day, the dresses were modelled for the Queen Mother and Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret at a private showing at the French Ambassadors residence.

Last month, Adeline took the dress to Kerry Taylor Auctions in East London, which specialises in vintage fashion.

What made her cry, she says, was not discovering how much it was worth, but the fact they confirmed it had been worn.

Before then, I wasnt even sure if my grandmother had ever had the chance to wear the dress, says Adeline. She died so young, and my mother, who was only two when she lost her, had no memories of her. I was so overwhelmed.

Adeline got in touch with her extended and now far-flung family, begging her uncles and aunt to look for photographs of her grandmother in the Dior dress.

After weeks of searching, a photograph was finally unearthed of Adeline wearing it while dancing with an unknown man at a party in Damascus, to which her husband Pierre had been posted as the French governments cultural attache in 1949.

It was a time of political and social instability in Syria which, having been governed by French mandate since the end of World War I, had recently gained independence. Pierres soft diplomacy role was to uphold his countrys ongoing interests in Syria.

As his wife, nothing could have been more fitting than for Adeline to promote French culture by wearing the creations of their nations most talked-about haute couture designer. Captured by the photographer mid-twirl, her dress  along with its luscious, handkerchief-style skirt  can be seen in all its glory.

It couldnt be a more perfect photo, says Adeline. Its wonderful to see her dancing and looking so happy in the dress.

Apparently my grandfather said she loved socialising and was a real party animal in her day, but she was also utterly devoted to her husband and children. The discovery of the photograph encouraged Adeline to get in touch with her eldest aunt, Marie-Helene, who lives in France and is now in her 80s. She was 15 when her mother died, and she remembers both the dress and the devastating events around her death.

My aunt had blocked out a lot of memories and she wishes she remembered more, says Adeline.

But she does remember the dress being bought in 1949 for the trip to Syria.

It was an important, special purchase, even for my grandmother. Life in the Syrian capital was both frantic and glamorous for the Barbusse family. By 1949, Adeline had four children under the age of ten. There was an eight-year gap before she gave birth to Laurence  Adelines mother  in Damascus in 1954.

By 1956, she was pregnant again with her sixth child. A keen dress maker, Adeline was sewing a prom-style gown for her eldest daughter when she pricked her finger with a needle.

My aunt said she was sewing at night to try to finish it and the light was bad, says Adeline. Her finger became infected and she had it treated in Syria, but she had problems with it for some time.

My grandfather had lots of important people visiting and among them was a man whom my aunt says was either the health secretary or the chief medical officer. He took one look at my grandmothers finger and said: Thats gangrene. We need to get you back to Paris. 

Pierre and Adeline flew home, where doctors amputated her finger, only to find she had developed sepsis, which spread to her brain.

They performed an emergency Caesarean to save her baby, but it was too late to save my grandmother, says Adeline.

In the aftermath of this catastrophic loss, the Barbusse family struggled with their grief. Marie-Helene took charge of running the family home and caring for the elder children.

Adelines mother was brought up by an uncle and aunt  moving to London as a teenager, where she married  while the newborn baby girl was raised by her maternal grandparents.

Pierre was left heartbroken by the loss of his beautiful, vivacious wife, whom he had met at a family wedding when she was just 11  and he never remarried.

Years later, Pierre, a recipient of the Legion dHonneur, became French Ambassador to Ecuador. In 1973, a photograph of him featured in several British newspapers kissing the hand of Princess Anne, who visited the country while on honeymoon with Captain Mark Phillips. Pierre lived on without his beloved Adeline for nearly 40 years, ending his days in the house in Aimargues.

Today, says Adeline, it is a time capsule, filled with 18th-century furniture and paintings. Who knows what other secrets it may yet give up?

As for the dress, Adeline was told by the expert who valued it that it shouldnt be worn. But while she is determined to keep it safe, she finds herself inexorably drawn to it and lives in hope that one day she may be invited to an event at which she might wear it.

I love the weight of it; the rustle of the skirt when I move, she says. Its a connection to my grandmother and to the past.

I wish I could have met her, but having her dress is joyous.
A woman, obsessed with Japanese culture, is opening her home to a man she met online who has already told her lies, sparking concerning among her family and friends.

Victoria, 31, from Wolverhampton, is appearing on the brand new series of a 90 Day Fiance UK, which drop every Sunday on discovery+.

She has been 'in a relationship' with Japanese mystery man Shaun for two years, despite him living nearly 6,000 miles away and never physically meeting him.

In the episode she revealed the relationship to her friend Rosie, who was more than sceptical after learning that Shaun had lied about his age and kept his first marriage a secret.

Victoria, 31, (pictured) from Wolverhampton met her boyfriend Shaun two years ago online. Their long distance relationship is featured in the series of 90 Day Fiance UK

Victoria met Shaun (pictured) online two years ago. The programme follows how her family and friends are sceptical of the relationship, after Shaun withheld his age and previous marriage

Victoria revealed that she is obsessed with Japan and Japanese culture, an interest that she's had for years.

She said: 'I love Japan and Japanese culture. I genuinely don't know how it started; it just crept up on me and there it was.'

She said that there is no Japanese scene in Wolverhampton but she's visited her favourite country Japan twice with her friend Libby.

Yet it wasn't on her travels that she met Shaun - it was over online dating two years ago.

Victoria is obsessed with everything Japanese and revealed that she is addicted to Pokemon GO, which she plays with Shaun

When Victoria first saw Shaun's profile pictured (pictured) she thought that he wasn't much older than her, it wasn't until later that she found out that he was 42 and looked nothing like this picture

The Pokemon GO enthusiast said: 'There's a certain type of Japanese man that I'm quite attracted to. I like the way they dress.'

Shaun's profile picture on social media was what first caught her eye.

She revealed: 'Shaun's profile picture was a very suave looking guy, sunglasses on, sort of looking into the distance. He looked quite cute and young.'

But then she quickly let it slip that this was an old picture, which he said he took in 2018, but clearly didn't.

Victoria thought that this man she had fell for was her age but it turned out that he was actually 42.

This revelation startled her friend Rosie, who was quick to question how much Victoria really knew about the man she plays Pokemon GO with.

Throughout the programme Victoria constantly defended Shaun even when she found out that he had previously been married

Yet, Victoria was adamant that Shaun didn't lie and said that 'he just withheld information about himself.'

Before telling Rosie about Shaun, Victoria nervously said: 'Im worried to tell Rosie that Ive met a man online, because I think she would probably think that was quite a crazy thing to do.'

Going straight in, she said to Rosie: 'So, I met someone online. His name is Shaun, He is Japanese.

'He is actually coming here in a couple days. We are going to live together.'

Her friend Rosie (pictured) was sceptical of the relationship from the beginning and asked blunt, uncomfortable questions to find out more about this mystery man

Victoria giggled awkwardly throughout the dinner admitting that she didn't really know Shaun all that well and that she didn't even know what he did for a living

Rosie was full of questions: 'How well do you know this person?'

On the defensive Victoria revealed: 'Not that much, I've been learning quite a lot over the the last couple of months. I like this guy, I really do want to be with him.'

She was disappointed with Rosie's reaction, admitting that it wasn't what she had hoped for and didn't like the fact Rosie wasn't enthusiastic.

Concerned, Rosie interrogated her friend, questioning Shaun's decision to lie about his age.

Rosie asked Victoria what her family thought of the relationship, to which Victoria revealed that they were also concerned about it, especially her father

Rosie sternly warned her friend to be careful of Shaun and asked if Victoria thinks he has any skeletons in his closet

Then more worryingly, Victoria admitted to Rosie that, despite speaking to Shaun for two years, she has no idea what he does for living.

'I'm not completely certain,' she revealed. 'He never seemed to be working when I was talking to him. He does have a lot of credit cards.'

Victoria got more giggly and nervous as the meal went on, whereas Rosie didn't see what there was much to laugh at and remained composed as her friend went on.

'Shaun is definitely a man of mystery,' she said. 'Hes open, but he just gives you enough information to be interested, but he wont actually tell you the full story.'

Victoria said their relationship has continued to blossom and the pair want to live together in the UK, so that they can give their relationship a real chance.

Back at dinner Rosie asked Victoria about her family's opinions on Shaun, to which, she admitted 'they're sceptical'.

'My mum's more happy than my dad; my dad's very worried.' she said.

Changing tack, Rosie asked Victoria if she gets good vibes from Shaun or if she thinks he may have 'so many skeletons in the closet that he can't close the door.'

Despite her friend's concerns, Victoria remained adamant that Shaun would come over to the UK for them to live together and make a go of their relationship

Despite telling Rosie that she does have a good feeling about him, Victoria revealed that she only recently found out that he used to be married.

To a stunned Rosie she said: 'He's not married in Japan, that's all he will say - "I'm divorced in Japan." I know that his ex-wife is from another country.'

Shocked, Rosie sternly warned her friend to be careful, saying: 'I might have been reading and watching a bit too much real crime, but you do always need to be careful.

'Have you done any online checks to check what hes about and maybe check he hasnt got any criminal records?'

Victoria dismissed her friend and was adamant that she trusts Shaun isnt up to no good.

When Victoria admitted that Shaun was moving too quick for her, Rosie asked if he was only coming to the UK for a passport

Defending his reputation, Victoria reiterated that Shaun has 'never lied' to her, but admitted that he has been economical with the truth.

Seeing how far Victoria is willing to take the relationship, Rosie bluntly asked how serious she is about Shaun and if she sees herself sharing a future with him.

Victoria's response was surprisingly: 'He does move quite quick for me.'

This prompted Rosie to ask if there might be a chance that Shaun is only coming for a passport.

Victoria wasn't shocked by this blunt question and said: 'Youre not the only one who is concerned about that. My family has mentioned that too.'

Despite her friends concerns, Victoria knows Rosie is only looking out for her.

She said: 'Rosie has made a good point to be concerned. I dont know much about him other than what hes told me.

'So, I am just hoping that what hed told me is true. I hope hes being honest with me.'

The brand-new series of 90 Day Fiance UK is available to stream now exclusively on discovery+, with new episodes dropping every Sunday
Advertisement

Racegoers have descended on Goodwood racecourse dressed in all ther finery on the first day of the Qatar Goodwood Festival 2022.

Revellers who might have been expecting a scorcher ended up with much milder weather on day one of the Festival, with temperatures in Chichester, West Sussex predicted to hit highs of 22C.

However they didn't let it stop them donning their stunning summer dresses - and many still accessorised with sunglasses for when the rays broke through the clouds.

Feeling chilly, home secretary? Cabinet member Priti Patel, 50, wore a pale pink Cordings coat over her white dress as she arrived at the Qatar Goodwood Festival 2022

These glamorous racegoers opted for monochrome outfits, looking beautiful in large polka-dots and more delicate patterns - while their headpieces stole the show

These pals posed for the camera in their black-and-white outfits, accessorised with heeled sandals and clutch bags

In contrast these guests opted for bold colours, with clashing hot orange and pink shades and bright blue. Two of the guests flashed their Yves Saint Laurent handbags as they smiled for photos

Home secretary Priti Patel even made an appearance - but the MP for Witham came prepared in a 185 pale pink coat from Cordings for the milder weather coupled with a 650 Mayfair Bag from Aspinal of London.

Her pearled, crescent moon headband appears to be the Alemona design from Jane Taylor - made to order and costing around 1,595.

Underneath the cabinet member's coat it was possible to catch a glimpse of her ballerina-length white netted dress.

She accessorised her look with a string of pearls around her neck and pearl earrings, complete with a pearl brooch on her coat.

While the home secretary opted for milder pastel colours, other racegoers donned bright blues and oranges - while some kept things monochrome in stylish black-and-white.

One such guest was former ballet dancer and Strictly Come Dancing judge Darcey Bussell, 53, who represented the high street in a white frock with a black pattern from Next.

She accessorised her look with an extravagant black feather fascinator.

The home secretary beamed as she arrived all wrapped up, accessorising her dress and coat with a string of pearls around her neck, pearled earrings and a pearl brooch

Ms Patel's pastel-coloured outfit stood out in a sea of navy, black and dark grey suits as she strolled into the festival while carrying a Mayfair bag from Aspinal of London

The politician was later snapped looking as though she were gasping in delight as she watched the action on the track, alongside defence minister Ben Wallace

Perfect pear-ing! This zany couple looked colourful in their floral-patterned dress and suit - with the woman's fascinator featuring pieces of fruit

Strictly black and white! Ex-ballet dancer and Strictly Come Dancing judge Darcey Bussell kept up the monochrome theme

The professional dancer, 53, accessorised her monochrome dress from Next with an extravagant feather fascinator

Feeling fruity: this racegoer drew inspiration from nature when picking her strawberry-themed headgear for the event

This stylish guest, who was perhaps anticipating a long day, sensibly opted for flat sandals with her white pencil skirt and blue and white pinstriped shirt

Colourful: A trio of models wearing Molly Goddard dresses in bright shades of red and yellow rocked up to day one of the event

Meanwhile, vintage swing and modern day pop band Elle and The Pocket Belles cut stylish figures in their coordinating black, white, and colour pop outfits

Of course, the focus of many outfits was the hats and fascinators donned by guests, who ensured their headpieces stole the show.

Today marks the first day of the Qatar Goodwood Festival 2022, known as 'Glorious Goodwood' which takes place over five days.

The third day of the festival typically marks Ladies' Day, where all eyes are on the women of the festival and their stunning outfits.

Ladies' Day kicks off with the ladies' amateur jockey race - proceeds of which have previously gone towards supporting charities dedicated to women and children.

The Glorious Goodwood dress code celebrates 'quintisentially British style' which can be anything from high fashion to a more relaxed look.

In particular, the festival's website notes the event is known for linen suits, Panama hats and chic dresses.

After a year out in 2020 due to the Covid lockdown, the Goodwood Festival returned in 2021 to welcome racegoers back to the Chichester circuit.

Guests were pictured walking into the race course in all their finery as the Qatar Goodwood Festival 2022 kicked off

It's never too early! This guest looked cool and collected as she donned her sunglasses to sit down with a glass of bubbly in the afternoon

These guests beamed as they arrived at Glorious Goodwood, with one opting for a green floral dress while the other looked chic in a white suit
A Texas college student has adopted a baby he found in the trash who was covered in ants and distressed while he was on vacation in Haiti.

Brave Jimmy scooped up the baby and took him home to his mother Elicie Jean, 66, where they washed, clothed and fed him milk, before taking him for medical help.

Jimmy and his mom then reported the instance to the police and when the police couldn't find the baby's birth parents, a judge asked Jimmy to become legal guardian to the baby - which Jimmy called Emilio Angel Jeremiah.

In December 2017, Jimmy came home to visit his mom in Haiti during a study break from Texas State University.

Since he was a teenager, Jimmy has helped out at the orphanage next to his home, and on this trip, he'd brought back presents for the children.

He was on his way to the orphanage when he came across a large group of people huddled round a trash can.

Jimmy Amisial, now 27, was visiting his hometown in Haiti when he came across a four-month-old baby in a trash can covered in ants

The Texas State University College Student scooped up the baby and took him home to his mother Elicie Jean, 66, where they washed, clothed and fed him

Elicie and Jimmy then contacted the police who were unable to find the baby's birth parent's so a judge asked Jimmy to adopt the baby he called Emilio Angel

Jimmy made his way to the front of the commotion, and, to his disbelief, there was a four-month-old baby inside.

No one knew how the baby ended up there, and to this day, no one knows who his birth parents are, Jimmy said.

'When I woke up that day, I was totally unaware that my life was about to change forever,' Jimmy said.

'People were crowding round this bin and I heard them arguing about what to do with this tiny baby.

'Everyone was just staring at him - not a single soul wanted to help.

'He was crying and had no clothes on and I could see the pain in his eyes - I had to do something.'

Jimmy picked up the four-month-old and took him to his mother's home.

She was shocked but was immediately willing to do everything she could to ease his pain and suffering.

Together, they washed, clothed and fed him milk, and took him to the doctors for a check-up, as he was covered in ant bites from the trash.

Although the police launched an investigation to find the boy's parents, but they were never traced.

Although it was a difficult decision, Jimmy ultimately decided to agree to care for the child with the help of his mother and is raising money to legally adopt him

Jimmy has been splitting his time between the States and Gonaives, Haiti, where Emilio is being cared for by Elicie

Now Jimmy has applied to formally adopt Emilio, to officially become his dad and added that the experience has been 'rewarding'

A few days passed, and after a hearing on what was to be done about the baby, a judge asked Jimmy, then 22, if he would become legal guardian to the baby Jimmy called Emilio.

Jimmy said: 'When I was asked to raise him, I stayed awake for days tossing and turning, trying to make a decision.

'I was already behind on my university fees and my family has always struggled to make ends meet.

'But I didn't have a dad growing up, and this poor child was facing a lifetime of instability and uncertainty.

'Something inside was telling me that this had happened for a reason - so I took a leap of faith.

'Sometimes you don' have to know what to do, you just have to be ready, to do it.'

After thinking long and hard about the judge's request, Jimmy agreed to raise him with the help of his mother.

He named the baby Emilio, and four and a half years on, the two of them have developed an inspirable bond.

Elicie has been an important part of their journey, looking after Emilio while Jimmy is studying at college and working.

Ever since, Jimmy, who is studying at Texas State University, has been splitting his time between the States and Gonaives, Haiti, where Emilio is being cared for by Elicie.

Now Jimmy has applied to formally adopt Emilio, to officially become his dad.

Jimmy, who is studying communication and electronic media, said: 'When I found him, he was four-months-old - now he's nearly five.

Emilio Angel Jeremiah is now nearly five years old and the two have formed an inspirable bond and Jimmy said Emilio is 'a special little boy'

Emilio, who started school this year, is a bright spark and loves music. He wants to be a musician when he's older

'It's been an incredible journey and watching him grow up has been so rewarding - I'm very proud of him.

'I had to do what I had to do when no one else wanted to do it, and I'm so grateful for the past four and a half years.

'I truly do feel like a father, and I'm excited to put pen to paper and make Emilio my son - I just need to raise the money first.

'I'm glad I got the opportunity to transform his life from being abandoned in the trash to being a wonderful treasure.'

To provide for his family, Jimmy has had to take considerable amount of time off from his studies, but is now gearing up to start his third year in September.

Emilio, who started school this year, is a bright spark and loves music. He wants to be a musician when he's older.

Jimmy started the formal process of legally adopting Emilio in 2020, but needs to raise $30,000 to complete the adoption.

Until he has the money, he will not be given a date for completion.

'It's been fun seeing him grow - he's a joy to be around,' Jimmy said.

'Mom loves him, the kids in the orphanage love him, and I love him as if he were my own. He really is a special little boy.'
A British communist scientist who wanted face masks to be worn forever has been handed an influential role at the World Health Organization.

Professor Susan Michie  a longstanding member of the Communist Party of Britain and Labour donor  was yesterday made chair of the WHO's behavioural advisory group.

She will advise the organisation on how to boost compliance with vaccine rollouts and other interventions that help shape national health policy.

Her appointment raised eyebrows on social media, given Professor Michie's hardline views during the Covid pandemic.

She famously called for masks and social distancing to remain 'forever' in an interview with Channel 5 last year and regularly spouted alarmist predictions on BBC News, which sparked questions about the broadcaster's objectivity.

There were concerns about her conflict of interests when it emerged she was simultaneously a member on the Government's SAGE committee and a leading figure in an independent pressure group that called for Chinese-style lockdowns.

Ms Michie was said to have been nicknamed 'Stalin's nanny' by her contemporaries at Oxford University because of her radical views.

Professor Susan Michie  a longstanding Communist Party member and Labour donour  has been appointed chair of the WHO's behavioural advisory group

The appointment was announced on Twitter on Monday by University College London's psychology department, where she is a professor. The news was met with a mixture of fury and astonishment

Michie's appointment to the WHO was announced on Twitter by University College London, where she is a professor in health psychology.

The news was met with a mixture of fury and astonishment.

One Twitter user said: 'I thought the WHO was an appalling discredited organisation before this announcement. It is now even worse if that was possible!'

Another wrote: 'Oh look, you just happened to choose a 40-year member of the British Communist Party and advisor to UK SAGE's nudge unit on Covid.'

WHO IS SUSAN MICHIE? Susan Michie has been a member of the Communist Party of Britain for almost 50 years. It was at Oxford University, where she obtained a BA Honours in experimental psychology in 1976, where she forged a reputation as a fervent Communist. A man who claimed to have known Michie at the time told the Spectator in 2019: 'Michie was famous when I was at university for being a no-holds-barred Soviet sympathiser known as Stalins nanny.' In March 2018, she spoke at a public meeting saying that communists should be 'working full tilt' for the election of Jeremy Corbyn as prime minister. She made a 14,000 donation to Labour under Corbyn's leadership. In 2009, Michie became a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) and convened its subgroup, the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Behaviour group. In 2020, she became a participant in the COVID-19 SAGE's Scientific Pandemic Insights group on Behaviour (SPI-B). The subcommittee was responsible for feeding advice to Government about how to boost compliance with Covid rules and how people would react to certain measures. She also sits on the Independent SAGE committee, a hard-left pressure group that used to endorse the Zero Covid strategy that has left China trapped in an endless cycle of lockdowns. Advertisement

A third user said: 'Surely this is satire? Please let this be satire. Please please pretty please.'

Her new brief will be to advise the WHO 'on how to adopt behavioural insights and science perspectives' to support its health policies.

It is unclear whether her new role will be paid or voluntary.

The Technical Advisory Groups on Behavioural Insights and Sciences for Health was set up in February 2020 at the start of the pandemic.

So far it has produced two reports  looking at ways behaviour affects uptake of Covid vaccines and compliance with pandemic restrictions.

The appointment will cause further anger among critics who have accused the WHO of being too 'China-centric'.

The global health agency initially heaped praise on China's communist party for its response to the Covid outbreak, despite stripping away the freedoms of its citizens.

At the same time it regularly criticised governments in the UK and US  two of its biggest donors  for their responses to the pandemic.

Former US President Donald Trump retaliated by cutting off $400million (324m) of annual funding in 2020  a move that was reversed a year later by the incumbent President Joe Biden.

The UK donated about 114million to the WHO in 2020-2021.

Professor Michie made headlines last year after pushing for a 'maximum suppression' Covid strategy.

Speaking about the need for face masks and social distancing, she told Channel 5 on June 5, 2021: 'We'll need to keep these going in the long term.

'And that will probably be good not only for Covid but to reduce other diseases at a time when the NHS is...'

She was cut off by presenter Claudia-Liza Armah, who asked her: 'When you say the long term, what do you mean by that  how long?'

Professor Michie replied: 'I think forever, to some extent.'

Later in the programme she likened the social restrictions to wearing seat belts and said masks should become an every essential.

She said: 'I think there's lots of different behaviours we've changed in our lives. We now routinely wear seat belts, we didn't use to.

'We now routinely pick up dog poo in the park, we didn't use to.

'When people see that there is a threat and there is something they can do to reduce that... themselves, their loved ones and their communities, what we see now over this last year is people do that.

'And I think we can just begin to adopt routines. When we go out of the house we check we've got our phone, we've got our keys, we've got tissues, we've got a face mask in case we need to use it.

'It's not going to be a huge big deal the kind of changes we're talking about and I think we also need to think about the way we plan our cities, our transport our lifestyles.

'Instead of going back to huge long commutes, have more local working hubs where people don't have to travel so much  good not only for the health, but the environment.'

Months later she caused an uproar when she appeared on BBC News on November 27, criticising the Government for not making masks mandatory in all public buildings or reintroducing social distancing.

Scientists at the time accused the BBC of lacking objectivity on the issue and questioned why a behavioural scientist was interviewed about microbiology.

She is a member of the Independent SAGE pressure group that called for a Christmas lockdown.
Advertisement

Functioning on a measly four hours of sleep a night used to be a badge of honour for high-powered CEOs and world leaders.

Part of Margaret Thatcher's fearsome reputation came from how little she slept. Donald Trump used to brag that some nights he would only get three hours.

But a wealth of scientific studies in recent years have unequivocally shown that not getting enough shut eye can lead to a host of life-threatening diseases.

Yet two-thirds of adults throughout all developed nations fail to get the recommended eight hours.

There is a tiny subset of the population  about one in 4million of us  born with a gene that allows them to thrive on half of that amount.

But for the vast majority, routinely sleeping less than six or seven hours a night demolishes your immune system and significantly raises your risk of developing numerous forms of cancer.

A study of 60,000 middle-aged and elderly Britons, published this week, found those who regularly need to nap during the day were 12 per cent more likely to develop high blood pressure than their peers.

The researchers concluded the naps themselves were not the problem, and suggested they were a sign of poor quality sleep at night.

Even moderate reductions in sleep for just a week can disrupt blood sugar so profoundly you would be classified as pre-diabetic.

Sleep deprivation also increases the risk of your coronary arteries becoming blocked and brittle, setting you on a path towards cardiovascular disease, stroke or heart failure.

Maybe you've noticed you crave junk food when youre tired? Too little sleep swells concentrations of a hormone that makes you feel hungry, while suppressing a hormone that tells you you're satisfied.

Routinely sleeping less than six or seven hours a night demolishes your immune system and significantly raises your risk of developing numerous forms of cancer. Even moderate reductions in sleep for just a week can disrupt blood sugar so profoundly you would be classified as pre-diabetic. Short sleeping also increases the risk of your coronary arteries becoming blocked and brittle, setting you on a path towards cardiovascular disease, stroke or heart failure. Perhaps you have noticed you crave junk food when youre tired? Too little sleep swells concentrations of a hormone that makes you feel hungry, while suppressing a companion hormone that signals food satisfaction

Sleep also seems to be a key lifestyle factor that determines whether or not you will develop Alzheimers disease  with getting too much or not enough both linked to the disease.

Sleep disruption may also contribute to major psychiatric conditions, including depression and anxiety. It has even been linked to suicide.

So, how do you know whether youre routinely getting enough sleep? A good rule of thumb is to ask yourself if you could fall back asleep at 10am or 11am. If the answer is yes, you are probably not getting the sufficient quantity and/or quality of sleep.

Cancer

Routinely not getting enough sleep has been linked to greater 'wear and tear' on our cells. This type of disruption to our genes is thought to give rise to cancerous tumours.

A 2019 study found people who work night shifts have 30 per cent more damage to their DNA compared to those who work normal hours.

HOW MUCH SLEEP SHOULD YOU GET? AND WHAT TO DO IF YOU STRUGGLE TO GET ENOUGH - Preschool (3-5 years): 10-13 hours - School-age (6-13 years): 9-11 hours - Teen (14-17 years): 8-10 hours - Young adult (18-25) 7-9 hours - Adult (26-64): 7-9 hours - Older adult (65 or more) 7-8 hours Source: Sleep Foundation WHAT CAN I DO TO IMPROVE MY SLEEP? 1) Limit screen time an hour before bed Our bodies have an internal clock in the brain, which regulates our circadian rhythm. Mobiles, laptops and TVs emit blue light, which sends signals to our brain to keep us awake. 2) Address your racing mind Take 5-10 minutes before you go to sleep to sit with a notebook and write down a list of anything that you need to do the following day. 3) Avoid caffeine after 12pm If you want a hot drink in the afternoon or evening, go for a decaffeinated tea or coffee. 4) Keep a cool bedroom temperature Keep bedroom thermostats to around 18C. During spring/summer try sleeping with your bedroom window open to reduce the temperature and increase ventilation. 5) Limit alcohol in the evenings While you might initially fall into deep sleep more easily, you then wake up frequently during the night and have poorer deep sleep overall. 6) Supplement vitamin D Vitamin D plays a role in sleep. Vitamin D is widely available online and from most pharmacies. If you are unsure if this is appropriate or how much you need, seek advice from your GP. 7) Ensure sufficient intake of magnesium and zinc Foods high in magnesium include spinach, kale, avocado, bananas, cashews, and seeds. Foods high in zinc include meat, oysters, crab, cheese, cooked lentils, and dark chocolate (70%+). Advertisement

Researchers from the University of Hong Kong looked at around 50 doctors from two local hospitals, half of whom had to work during the night and only got two to four hours of sleep. The rest got seven or more.

In a 2010 study, researchers in Ohio linked sleeping less than six hours a night to a 50 per cent increased risk of bowel cancer.

With this type of cancer being the second deadliest in the UK and US, the Case Western Reserve University study concluded that short sleep is a 'public health hazard'.

In addition to DNA damage, insufficient sleep may affect cancer by suppressing levels of key hormones in the body.

Melatonin is key to making us feel sleepy. Throughout the day, levels of the hormone remain very low in the body but as the day wears on, its production increases and the end result is that you feel tired.

But melatonin levels can be suppressed by not enough or fragmented sleep.

A lack of sleep may also indirectly heighten cancer risk - by making us hungrier and fatter.

In 2012, research published in the journal PLoS One looked at the cancer risk in nearly 25,000 middle-aged adults across Europe.

It found people who slept less than six hours per night were 43 per cent more likely to develop cancer in their lifetime than those who got seven or more hours.

A separate 2019 study found patients who slept six or less hours a night were nearly three times more likely to die from cancer within 30 years than those who got seven hours or more.

Researchers from Penn State University looked at 1,654 adults aged 20 to 74 who had a history of heart disease or stroke.

Those who were sleep deprived had a 2.92-times greater risk of dying from any cancer within three decades than those who got sufficient rest, according to the paper published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

Heart problems

The link between an unhealthy sleeping pattern and an unhealthy heart is becoming undeniable.

As we approach midlife, and our body and health begin to deteriorate, the impact of insufficient sleep on the cardiovascular system escalates.

Adults aged 45 or older who sleep fewer than six hours a night are 200 per cent more likely to have a heart attack or stroke during their lifetime, compared with those sleeping seven to eight hours a night.

This finding, from a 2012 study by Chicago University, emphasises how important it is to prioritise sleep in midlife  which is unfortunately the time when family and professional circumstances encourage us to do the exact opposite.

It doesnt take much sleep deprivation to impact your cardiovascular system. One night of modest sleep reduction  even just one or two hours  will promptly speed the contracting rate of a persons heart, hour upon hour.

This also causes a significant increase in systolic blood pressure, which puts greater strain on the heart and blood vessels.

You will find no solace in the fact that the experiments that confirmed this were conducted in young, fit individuals, all of whom started out with an otherwise healthy cardiovascular system just hours before.

Beyond accelerating your heart rate and increasing your blood pressure, a lack of sleep damages those strained blood vessels.

The coronary arteries, which supply the heart with blood, are especially affected. These need to be clean and stay open wide at all times.

If these passageways are narrowed or blocked, your heart can suffer a comprehensive  and often fatal  attack caused by blood oxygen starvation.

Donald Trump famously got as little as three hours of sleep per night - but rumour has it he made up for his lack of sleep by napping during the day

One cause of a coronary artery blockage is atherosclerosis, where hardened plaques which contain calcium deposits build up in the arteries.

There is also a yearly global experiment that involves 1.5 billion people and highlights the link between a poor night of sleep and our heart health.

In the Northern Hemisphere, the switch to daylight saving time in March results in most people losing an hour of sleep.

Researchers have tabulated millions of hospital records and discovered that this seemingly trivial sleep reduction comes with a frightening spike in heart attacks the following day.

It works both ways. In the autumn, rates of heart attacks plummet the day after the clocks go back, when we gain an hour of sleep.

A similar rise-and-fall relationship can be seen with the suicide rate, as well as the number of traffic accidents.

This proves that the brain, by way of attention lapses, microsleeps and emotional instability, is just as sensitive as the heart to very small disruptions in sleep.

WHY DO WE NEED SLEEP? Sleep dispenses a multitude of health-ensuring benefits  and theyre yours to pick up as a repeat prescription every 24 hours, should you choose. It enriches a diversity of functions within the brain, including our ability to learn, memorise and make logical decisions. Sleep also recalibrates our emotional brain circuits, allowing us to navigate the social and psychological challenges of the next day with cool-headed composure. We are even beginning to understand the most impervious of all conscious experiences: the dream. Dreaming provides a unique set of benefits, including soothing painful memories and inspiring creativity, as I will be explaining next week. Downstairs in the body, sleep restocks the armoury of our immune system, helping to fight malignancy, preventing infection and warding off all manner of illnesses. Sleep also reforms the bodys metabolic state by fine-tuning the balance of insulin and circulating glucose. It regulates our appetite, helping to control body weight by encouraging healthy food selection rather than impulsive choices. It is also needed to maintain a flourishing microbiome within your gut, where so much of our nutritional health begins. Adequate sleep is also closely tied to the fitness of our cardiovascular system, lowering blood pressure while keeping our hearts in fine condition. Recall the last time you had the flu. Miserable, wasnt it? Runny nose, aching bones, sore throat, heavy cough and a total lack of energy. You probably just wanted to curl up in bed and sleep. As well you should. Your body is trying to sleep itself well. Sleep fights against infection and sickness by deploying weaponry from your immune arsenal and cladding you with protection. When you do fall ill, the immune system actively stimulates the sleep system, demanding more bed rest to help reinforce the war effort. Reduce sleep for even a single night, and that invisible suit of immune armour is rudely stripped from your body. Advertisement

Dementia

A growing body of evidence shows not getting enough sleep in middle-age is linked to dementia later in life.

It's thought that when we don't sleep long enough, we don't give the brain the time to drain away beta amyloid and other plaques.

This allows the substances to continue to accumulate, day after day, until they cause the memory-robbing disorder.

A study of 8,000 Britons aged 50 to 70 last year found those who got fewer than six hours sleep a night in middle-age had a 30 per cent higher risk of late-onset dementia.

And separate research by Cambridge University in 2021 found people who got more or less than seven hours per night scored worse in tests for thinking speed, attention span, memory and problem-solving - all early hallmarks of dementia.

The researchers examined data from 498,277 adults aged 38 to 73, gathered from the UK Biobank  a database of patients monitored for 10 years.

Similar results were produced by researchers at Stanford University, who followed Americans aged 65 to 85 in a study published last August.

Because dementia itself usually disrupts people's sleep, there is still a questions about whether the lack of sleep caused the disease in the first place or is simply a symptom of it.

Obesity

Short sleep duration may lead to obesity through an increase of appetite via hormonal changes caused by sleep deprivation.

Lack of sleep produces ghrelin, a hormone which, among other effects, stimulates appetite.

Sleep deprivation is also associated with growth hormone deficiency and elevated cortisol levels, both of which have been linked to obesity.

Insufficient sleep can also slow down your metabolism.

A 2006 study of 75,000 children and adults by the University of Warwick's Medical School found those who sleep less have a greater increase in body mass and waist circumference over time.

At all ages short sleepers gained more weight and overall were up to twice as likely to become overweight or obese. Short sleepers were defined as having less sleep than the reference category for their age.

Meanwhile, a study published earlier this month found sleeping with a light on at night were 80 per cent more likely to be obese than those who slept in darkness.

The research, by Northwestern University experts, looked at 552 people between the ages of 63 and 84. Having lamps on at night can disrupt the body's natural circadian rhythm and melatonin production, which decreases the quality of our sleep.

Darkness prompts the pineal gland to start producing melatonin while light causes that production to stop. Sleep also reforms the bodys metabolic state by fine-tuning the balance of insulin and circulating glucose.

It is also needed to maintain a flourishing microbiome within your gut, where so much of our nutritional health begins.

Weakened immunity

It's happened to us all. You don't get enough sleep for a few nights in a row and all of a sudden you come down with a nasty cold.

It's not a coincidence.

Sleep restocks the armoury of our immune system, helping to fight malignancy, preventing infection and warding off all manner of illnesses.

When you do fall ill, the immune system actively stimulates the sleep system, demanding more bed rest to help reinforce the war effort.

Reduce sleep for even a single night, and that invisible suit of immune armour is rudely stripped from your body.

Sleep deprivation has been shown to suppress the production of antibodies and T-cells, which are vital for fighting infections.

In 2019, scientists at the University of Tuebingen in Germany compared T cells from volunteers who were allowed to sleep for eight hours and those who stayed awake all night.

They found levels in the sleep deprived group had a much lower ability to bind to a key molecule featured in the immune response.

A separate study found levels of a key immune cell called a 'natural killer' cell were reduced by more than 70 per cent in people who don't get enough sleep.

Research has even shown that under-slept people are less likely to get a full immune response from vaccines.

In 2002, scientists showed adults who were immunised against flu developed antibody concentrations half the level of their well-rested peers.

Researchers have also found that people who slept fewer than six hours per night are, on average, far less likely to mount an antibody response to the hepatitis B jab.

They were nearly 12 times more likely to be unprotected by the vaccine than people who slept more than seven hours, according to the 2012 study.

Low sex drive

For the long-suffering wives of workaholic men it may well come as no surprise.

Not getting enough sleep at night may kill men's sex drives.

A study by the University of Chicago in 2011 found those who sleep for less than five hours a night for periods of longer than a week have significantly lower levels of testosterone than those who get a full night's rest.

And with testosterone affecting men's libido and energy levels, those who miss out on sleep are much more likely to be put off sex.

The affect is so drastic it reduces the hormone to levels more akin to someone 15 years older, they reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Another study in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine found a third of men with sleep apnoea also experience lower testosterone levels.

In young, healthy men, testosterone levels were decreased by 10 to 15 per cent after a week of sleep restriction to five hours per night.

The researchers found that the effects of restricting sleep on testosterone levels were especially evident between 2pm and 10pm the next day.

Low testosterone levels are associated with reduced well-being, vigour and erections.

Diabetes

Research shows that poor or not enough deep sleep has a dramatic effect on the body's metabolism and the conversion of sugar into energy, heightening the risk of diabetes.

Just three nights of disrupted sleep can have the same effect on the body's ability to control sugar levels as putting on more than two stone in weight and being in a pre-diabetic state.

In April this year, Bristol University researchers collected data on more than 330,000 adults from the UK Biobank, most of whom were in their 50s.

People who said they regularly struggled to sleep had higher blood sugar levels  a marker of type 2 diabetes.

The team calculated that treating insomnia could trigger a drop in blood sugar levels comparable to losing 14kg (2st 3lbs).

They didn't suggest a biological mechanism for their findings, published in Diabetes Care.

But earlier studies have found sleep deprivation increases insulin resistance, levels of stress hormone cortisol and inflammation in the body, all of which can have an effect on blood sugar.

A 2007 study by the University of Chicago study in 2007 looked at the effect of sleep quality on the body's ability to produce insulin, the hormone needed to control blood glucose or sugar levels.

Nine healthy young men and women were monitored during five nights of sleep.

During the first two nights, they were allowed to sleep normally. After that, their sleep was regularly disrupted by noises calculated to be loud enough to draw them out of deep sleep without fully waking them.

The disruption to deep sleep was equivalent to that seen during the ageing process, with the young volunteers experiencing a quality of sleep more usually seen in people in their 60s.

After normal sleep and interrupted sleep the volunteers were given injections of glucose and their blood was sampled to measure how well the sudden influx of sugar was being controlled.

Analysis showed that sleep quality had a big effect on the body's ability to use insulin to control blood sugar levels, with levels rising by an alarming 23 per cent after just three nights of interrupted sleep.

Such an inability to use insulin - or insulin resistance - is thought to be the main cause of type-2 diabetes, which is linked to obesity and affects more than one million Britons.
Age-related loss of the Y-chromosome  the part of human DNA that is unique to males  raises mens risk of potentially life-threatening heart problems as they get older, new research suggests.

The discovery, detailed in the journal Science, paves the way for a simple test to identify men whose Y-chromosome count puts them at higher risk of conditions such as heart failure, in which an ailing heart struggles to pump blood around the body.

Humans have two sex chromosomes, X and Y. Males typically have one of each, while women have two X-chromosomes.

Scientists have known for decades that some men start to lose Y-chromosomes from their cells as they get older.

Age-related loss of the Y-chromosome  the part of human DNA that is unique to males  raises mens risk of potentially life-threatening heart problems as they get older, new research suggests

For example, a previous study of thousands of men in the UK found the chromosome to be absent in about a fifth of those aged 40 to 70 years old. This phenomenon, known as Y-loss, has been linked to a range of health conditions including cancer, cardiovascular disease and Alzheimers disease, as well as a shorter lifespan.

However, scientists were unable to determine whether loss of the Y-chromosome was directly causing disease or whether, like wrinkles or greying hair, it was simply a sign of ageing.

Did you know? Migraine medicines can curb appetite and ward off obesity. U.S. scientists found obese mice ate less and lost weight when given a daily dose of triptans, a treatment for migraine. Those given frovatriptan lost 3.6 per cent of their weight, on average, in less than a month, which the researchers from UT Southwestern Medical Centre say was impressive. They suspect triptans target the serotonin 1B receptor, a protein thought to play a role in appetite. Advertisement

Now, for the first time, scientists have shown that Y-chromosome loss can harm the heart. (Women experience a loss of their sex chromosomes, too, but this has not been associated with shorter lifespan and disease.)

The scientists, from the University of Virginia in the U.S. and Uppsala University in Sweden, first proved the link in mice.

They showed that mice lacking the Y-chromosome from their white blood cells (Y-chromosome loss is easiest to measure in white blood cells) died earlier than mice that still had their Y-chromosomes.

The mice low in Y-chromosomes also developed more fibrosis  or thickening  of their heart muscles. This thickening stiffens the heart and makes it harder for it to pump blood.

The researchers then moved on to people and looked at medical and genetic information on more than 223,000 men who gave blood samples to the UK Biobank, a large health database.

TheY found that men who had lost the Y-chromosomes from more than 40 per cent of their white blood cells were 31 per cent more likely to die from cardiac conditions, including heart failure, over the following 12 years than those who didnt have Y-loss.

The researchers concluded that, together, these results indicate that Y-loss contributes to fibrosis of the heart muscle, cardiac dysfunction and mortality in men.

They speculate that the loss of the Y-chromosome affects how some cells in the heart work, causing fibrosis and heart disease.

Professor Kenneth Walsh, who led the study, told Good Health: As we age, one of the things that happens is that we develop fibrosis in various tissues and organs, including the heart, kidneys and lungs. And that process is accelerated by loss of the Y-chromosome.

Rate of Y-chromosome loss varies, however. Some men lose it very fast  they are super-losers  but others dont, and we dont yet understand why that is, says Professor Walsh.

In future, testing for Y-chromosome loss could lead to the super-losers being identified.

If you happen to be one of those men who are losing a lot of their Y-chromosomes, then that might be an indication to see a specialist who could do a cardiac MRI scan to measure the extent of fibrosis, says Professor Walsh.

Although there is currently no treatment for cardiac fibrosis, scientists are working on new drugs to reverse the damage.

Professor John Perry, a geneticist at the University of Cambridge who has studied Y-loss, said the findings were interesting but urged men not to worry, saying: It is a very modest risk factor for heart disease compared with other factors that are more significant, such as blood pressure, weight and bad LDL cholesterol.

These other factors are modifiable, while you cant really do anything about Y-loss, he says.

The only thing that theres slight evidence for is that if you smoke and you stop smoking, rates of Y-loss can go down a bit.

The ultimate hope here is that we can tackle Y-loss, that we can neutralise the effects of Y-loss and have healthy hearts as a result, adds Dr Mikhail Spivakov, a geneticist at Imperial College London.
The Government 'does not know' whether its Covid traffic light system worked, MPs have claimed.

Almost 500million was spent on implementing the controversial system, designed to simplify international travel during the pandemic.

The system, introduced in May 2021, set the rules for UK arrivals from countries, depending on whether they were listed as red, amber or green. It aimed to slow the spread of the virus and reduce the risk of new variants.

Under the strictest requirements, arrivals from red-listed countries had to stay in a quarantine hotel for at least 10 days at a cost of up to 2,200 per person.

But in a damning report today, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) claimed No10 has no idea if the policies had any effect.

Taxpayers picked up bill of around 486million for the scheme, which less than half of Britons knew about and a third failed to comply with, MPs said.

They hit out at the Government for changing travel rules 'at least 10 times' within a year and giving the industry 'little time to adapt'.

Airlines and holiday companies blamed ministers for the limited recovery of foreign travel due to the rules, with many European countries imposing fewer restrictions.

The Government has failed to learn lessons fast enough to deal with future crises, such as new Covid variants or the monkeypox emergency, the report warned.

The traffic light system was introduced in May 2021 (Steve Parsons/PA)

WHAT WERE THE TRAFFIC LIGHT RULES? The system, introduced in May 2021, set the rules for UK arrivals from countries, depending on whether they were listed as red, amber or green. Under the strictest requirements, arrivals from red-listed countries had to stay in a quarantine hotel for at least 10 days at a cost of up to 2,200 per person. Green List Arrivals Not required to self isolate in the UK Must fill in a Passenger Locator Form Provide proof of a negative test before travel Take a Covid test on day two in the UK Amber List Arrivals Quarantine at home for 10 days Must fill in a Passenger Locator Form Provide proof of a negative test before travel Take a Covid test on day two and eight in the UK Negative test on day five can release early from quarantine Red List Arrivals Must fill in a Passenger Locator Form Test three days before travelling Book and pay for quarantine hotel package before arriving in UK Quarantine in a hotel for 10 days Advertisement

The traffic light system was billed as a way to open up foreign travel while reducing the risk of a new variant entering the UK.

But ministers failed to communicate changes to the rules to the public, with only four in 10 people knowing the self-isolation rules, the report stated.

And nine per cent of arrivals between May and December 2021 (2.5million people) were exempt from the traffic light rules.

The exemption applied to specific workers, such as air crew and international sportspeople, as well as those attending certain events or travelling for medical reasons.

But the Government 'does not know' how exemptions affected infection rates.

And the approach, which saw London Fashion Week and Euro 2020 exempt, undermined 'people's willingness to comply with the rules'.

Meanwhile, taxpayers subsidised 329million of the total 757million cost of quarantine hotels, the report states.

That is despite the bill for a single adult rising to more than 2,200 by August 2021.

Only two per cent of guests in hotel quarantine went on to test positive.

The report stated: 'Managing cross-border travel was an essential part of health measures introduced by Government during the pandemic.

'Despite spending at least 486million on implementing its traffic light system to manage travel during the pandemic, Government did not track its spending on managing cross-border travel or set clear objectives, so does not know whether the system worked or whether the cost was worth the disruption caused.'

Labour MP Dame Meg Hillier, who chairs the PAC, said: 'The approach to border controls and quarantine caused huge confusion and disruption with 10 changes in a year.

'And now we can see that it is not clear what this achieved.

'We can be clear on one thing  the cost to the taxpayer in subsidising expensive quarantine hotels, and more millions of taxpayers' money blown on measures with no apparent plan or reasoning and precious few checks or proof that it was working to protect public health.

'We don't have time and it is not enough for Government to feed these failures into its delayed public inquiry.

And despite spending 100million on contracts for home visits to those who were supposed to be, around one-third of arrivals didn't comply, the report stated.

'It is not learning lessons fast enough from the pandemic and is missing opportunities to react quickly to future emergencies or even current events like new variants of Covid or the spread of monkeypox.'

MPs also hit out at the Department of Health's 'failure to properly set up the market for travel tests', putting the public 'at risk of fraud and poor quality of service'.

Paul Charles, chief executive of travel consultancy The PC Agency, said: 'Government departments should be ashamed of the suck-it-and-see approach they took regarding travel measures during Covid.

'The constantly changing policies not only caused enormous damage to the travel sector in terms of financial harm, but also hurt UK plc's image around the world.

'Urgent steps need to be taken to ensure the country's borders are kept open should another variant emerge, and that Government has a more positive policy in place to enable airlines, airports and other travel businesses to keep functioning so as to protect jobs and livelihoods.'
Drinking too much alcohol really does age you, researchers say.

Scientists at the University of Oxford believe anything more than five glasses of wine a week speeds up the body's biological clock.

Experts examined data from nearly 250,000 people and found those who drank over 17 units of alcohol per week had shorter telomeres.

Telomeres are biological caps found on the ends of chromosomes which protect the DNA in them from damage  much like how the 'caps' on the ends of our shoelaces prevent fraying.

They naturally get shorter as we age, leading to DNA becoming damaged and raising the risk of developing problems such as Alzheimer's, diabetes and heart disease. Research has also linked having longer telomeres to looking younger.

Scientists only observed the link in people who drank at least 17 units a week.

In the UK, Britons are urged not to drink more than 14 units a week on a regular basis - the equivalent of six pints of lager or 10 small glasses of wine.

Americans are advised not to drink more than 14 bottles of beer a week for men and seven small glasses of wine for women.

Oxford experts have found drinking more than five glasses of wine a week could speed up the ageing process (stock image)

The NHS recommends that adults drink no more than 14 units each week  that's 14 single shots of spirit or six pints of beer or a bottle and a half of wine

The Oxford scientists examined genetic and health data from 245,000 adults from the UK Biobank.

Participants were split by gender and had an average age of 57, for the study in the journal Molecular Psychiatry.

Most were current drinkers. Only 3 per cent claimed to have never consumed alcohol.

Heavy drinking during pandemic may add billions to hospital tabs and lead to tens of thousands more deaths Drinking habits picked up during the pandemic could kill tens of thousands of people in the US and UK and lead to billions more in hospital bills, scientists have claimed. A study by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston project 28,000 excess alcohol deaths by 2040. Broken down, they warned of 8,000 additional deaths from alcohol-related liver disease, 18,700 cases of liver failure, and 1,000 cases of liver cancer by 2040. In the short term, alcohol consumption changes due to COVID-19 are expected to cause 100 additional deaths and 2,800 additional cases of liver failure by 2023. Using data from a national survey of U.S. adults on their drinking habits that found that excessive drinking (such as binge drinking) increased by 21 per cent during the Covid pandemic, the scientists simulated the drinking trajectories and liver disease trends in all U.S. adults. The CDC estimates the US economy loses $249 billion a year because of alcohol-related problems, with $179 billion squandered through a dip in workplace productivity and $28billion on healthcare bills. Meanwhile, a British study warned alcohol-related health problems could cause 25,000 excess deaths and cost the NHS 5.2billion over the next 20 years. It was commissioned by NHS England and led by researchers from the University of Sheffield. The team found that over the pandemic, heavy drinkers drank more  and may never return to their previous levels. Over-45s who were drinking at risky levels before the pandemic were the most likely to increase their drinking when Covid hit. Researchers said that in the best-case scenario  where all drinkers return to their 2019 levels of drinking this year  there would still be an extra 42,677 hospital admissions and 1,830 deaths over 20 years due to alcohol. In the worst-case scenario, this rose to 972,382 extra admissions and 25,192 deaths, costing the NHS 5.2billion. It is most likely that, in the next 20 years, 207,597 more people than usual will be hospitalised, and 7,153 will die, costing 1.1billion. The team said heavier drinkers and those in the most deprived areas, who already suffer the most harm related to alcohol, would be the hardest hit. Advertisement

Scientists looked for tell-tale genetic markers in the participants that had previously been associated with alcohol consumption and alcohol disorders.

Analysing the data, the researchers found a significant association between high alcohol intake and shorter telomere length.

For example, those who drank 29 units of alcohol a week, about 10 large glasses of wine, were one to two years older in terms of telomere length than those who drank less than six units per week, about two large glasses of wine.

Participants who had been diagnosed with an alcohol use disorder, and therefore likely to have been heavy drinkers, were found to have significantly shorter telomeres than controls, equivalent to between three to six years of biological ageing.

However, the researchers found the association between telomere shortening and alcohol intake only kicked in for people who drank more than 17 units per week, equivalent to just over five glasses of wine.

This suggests those who drink under this amount would not be at risk of drink related telomere shortening.

Lead author, Dr Anya Topiwala, an expert in psychiatry, said the results suggested alcohol, particularly at excessive levels, shortened telomeres.

'Our results provide another piece of information for clinicians and patients seeking to reduce the harmful effects of excess alcohol,' she said.

'Furthermore, the dose of alcohol is important  even reducing drinking could have benefits.

How exactly drinking could shortens telomeres is unknown.

But the researchers suggest it could be related to increased oxidative stress and inflammation that can damage DNA as the body processes alcohol.

Dr Richard Piper, chief executive of charity Alcohol Change UK, welcomed the findings.

'This particular study shows clear links between consuming alcohol and ageing, and points towards a possible link between alcohol and Alzheimers,' he said.

'The researchers are transparent that this study does not prove a causal link, but they also make a well-argued case about the likely biological mechanism.'

'In general, there is an ever-larger body of science showing how, exactly, alcohol causes so much ill-health and so many early deaths.'

NHS recommendations state adults shouldn't drink more than 14 units each week  that's 14 single shots of spirit or six pints of beer or a bottle and a half of wine.

They should also spread their drinking over three or more days to avoid bingeing.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises Americans do not drink more than 14 standard alcohol drinks per week for men and seven for women.

A standard alcoholic drink includes 12oz of 5 per cent beer, 8oz of 7 per cent malt liqour, 5oz of 12 per cent wine or 1.5oz of spirits including rum, gin, vodka or whiskey.

Drinking excessive amounts of alcohol over many years is already linked to a plethora of health issues such as high blood pressure, stroke risk, and range of cancers.

Alcohol-related harm is estimated to cost the NHS 3.5billion per year in England alone, and nearly 9,000 booze-related deaths were logged in the UK in 2020.

The CDC estimates the US economy loses $249 billion a year, with $28billion on healthcare and $179 billion squandered through a dip in workplace productivity.
IVF babies don't end up being smaller than children conceived naturally, research claimed today.

Fertility experts found differences in height, weight or body size normally even out once they hit their late teenage years.

Parents should be 'reassured' by the 'important work', the University of Bristol team claimed.

IVF babies end up no different in height, weight or body frame than those born from natural conception, a study led by the University of Bristol claimed today

HOW DOES IVF WORK? In-vitro fertilisation, known as IVF, is a medical procedure in which a woman has an already-fertilised egg inserted into her womb to become pregnant. It is used when couples are unable to conceive naturally, and a sperm and egg are removed from their bodies and combined in a laboratory before the embryo is inserted into the woman. Once the embryo is in the womb, the pregnancy should continue as normal. The procedure can be done using eggs and sperm from a couple or those from donors. Guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends that IVF should be offered on the NHS to women under 43 who have been trying to conceive through regular unprotected sex for two years. People can also pay for IVF privately, which costs an average of 3,348 for a single cycle, according to figures published in January 2018, and there is no guarantee of success. The NHS says success rates for women under 35 are about 29 per cent, with the chance of a successful cycle reducing as they age. Around eight million babies are thought to have been born due to IVF since the first ever case, British woman Louise Brown, was born in 1978. Chances of success The success rate of IVF depends on the age of the woman undergoing treatment, as well as the cause of the infertility (if it's known). Younger women are more likely to have a successful pregnancy. IVF isn't usually recommended for women over the age of 42 because the chances of a successful pregnancy are thought to be too low. Between 2014 and 2016 the percentage of IVF treatments that resulted in a live birth was: 29 per cent for women under 35 23 per cent for women aged 35 to 37 15 per cent for women aged 38 to 39 9 per cent for women aged 40 to 42 3 per cent for women aged 43 to 44 2 per cent for women aged over 44 Advertisement

Lead author Dr Ahmed Elhakeem, an epidemiologist, said: 'In the UK just over one in 30 children have been conceived by assisted reproduction.

'So we would expect on average one child in each primary school class to have been conceived this way.

'Since the first birth of a child by IVF, concerns have been raised about the risks to the children conceived.

'Parents and their children can be reassured that this might mean they are a little bit smaller and lighter from infancy to adolescence, but these differences are unlikely to have any health implications.'

The study, published in JAMA Network Open, tracked more than 158,000 children into adulthood.

It included roughly 2.5 per cent who were conceived through assisted reproductive technology, such as IVF.

They looked at height, weight and BMI data in children born via natural conception or 'assisted reproductive technology' at different ages.

Their bodyfat percentage and waist circumference were also compared.

Children came from countries in Europe  including the UK  as well as Australia, New Zealand, Canada, China and Singapore.

Statistical analysis showed children aged less than three months old were around 0.27cm shorter, on average, than those born via natural conception.

But as they got older, the difference got smaller, with naturally-conceived children only 0.06cm taller by the time they were 17, on average.

A similar trend was spotted for weight, with babies born 0.27kg lighter if they were conceived through artificial methods, on average.

In adulthood they were actually 0.07kg heavier, however.

Children born through fertility treatment had a BMI that was 0.09 marks higher by the time they turned 17, despite being 0.18 lower as an infant.

Peter Thompson, chief executive of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), said: 'Around one in seven couples have difficulty conceiving in the UK which leads to around 53,000 patients a year having fertility treatment (IVF or donor insemination).

'The findings from this study will come as a welcome relief to these patients who begin treatment in the hope of one day having healthy children of their own.

'Health outcomes in children conceived using assisted reproductive technology is a high priority for the HFEA and we monitor the latest research and provide information for patients and professionals.

'Anyone considering fertility treatment can access this and other high-quality impartial information on fertility treatments and UK licensed clinics at www.hfea.gov.uk.'

Women under 42 who are struggling to conceive should be given three cycles of IVF under NHS guidelines.

But local health chiefs decide who can access funded treatment, leading to a 'postcode lottery' across Britain.

Some trusts offer the recommended cycles, others don't.

The Government's long-awaited Women's Health Strategy published last week aims to reduce this imbalance, while broadening who is able to get it for free.
Advertisement

America will have the biggest monkeypox outbreak in the world within days, statistics suggest amid ramped up testing that is picking up the disease in areas where it had previously spread 'uninterrupted'.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said 3,487 cases of the rash-causing virus had been detected as of Tuesday, behind only Spain with 3,596 confirmed infections.

But by population  which takes into account the U.S. having seven-times more people  America's has about one case per 100,000 people compared to Spain's tally of seven per 100,000. Its infection rate is also below many other European countries including the UK and Germany (both at three per 100,000).

The U.S. may also now be carrying out more tests for the disease than its European neighbors  meaning it is more likely to detect cases, after it expanded capacity from 10,000 to 80,000 swabs per week.

Dr Bill Hanage, an epidemiologist at Harvard University, warned that it was 'reasonable' to suggest America's cases tally would 'outpace' those in other nations. He said the surge was in part down to the surge in testing, which was detecting monkeypox in areas where it had previously spread under the radar.

Experts fear the disease has already spilled over into more vulnerable groups, such as children under eight years old that health officials say are at high risk of severe disease. Two children  in California and 'transiting through' D.C.  have tested positive for monkeypox to date, the CDC says.

America's response to monkeypox was slammed for being too slow to roll out tests and vaccinations at the start of the outbreak, especially to gay or bisexual men where most cases are being recorded. No deaths have been registered to date but several patients have been hospitalized.

The above graph shows the cumulative tally of cases in the US, and the current total compared to that in other nations worldwide. The US only reports cases during weekdays, and not at weekends. Its latest figure is for July 25, while that for Spain  which has the largest outbreak  is for July 22.

The above map shows monkeypox cases across the U.S., as reported to the CDC. Only four states  Maine, Montana, Vermont and Wyoming  are yet to pick up the virus

The above graph shows the cumulative tally for monkeypox cases in the five countries that have reported the most infections in the world. It reveals Spain has the most cases, followed by the United States and Germany

But when the data is shown per population  as revealed by the above graph  it shows the outbreak in Spain far outpaces that in America. The U.S. has about one case per 100,000 people, putting at the bottom of the five countries with the most cases reported to date. Spain's outbreak is far ahead of that in other nations

The United States has been updating its monkeypox tally every weekday, with the latest figures up to July 25.

But Spain has been publishing its tallies every two to three days, with the latest data only from the date July 22. On July 19, Spain reported 3,125 cases.

DailyMail.com averaged the daily rise in cases over the latest seven days available to calculate how fast they were ticking up every 24 hours. This showed the U.S. is currently recording about 216 monkeypox cases a day on average, while in Spain 108 per day are being detected.

Washington D.C. joins New York city in delaying second monkeypox jabs Washington D.C. has postponed its roll out of second doses of the monkeypox, joining New York City. Its Department of Health revealed the move Monday, citing 'very limited' supplies of the jabs and a fast increase in cases. They said: 'This is extremely important because getting more individuals vaccinated with their first shot will help us contain the virus.' America is rolling out the two dose Jynneous vaccine to fight monkeypox, with the second dose due to be given four weeks after the first. But some experts say it is possible to widen the gap  as was done with the Covid vaccine in other countries  to ensure more people can be inoculated first. A Food and Drug Administration vaccines adviser has warned against the move, however, saying no studies have been carried out to determine whether it will ensure the jabs are still effective. Both New York City and Washington D.C. are offering monkeypox jabs to gay or bisexual men with multiple sexual partners. Advertisement

Based on these figures, America's tally could rise above Spain's as early as Saturday this week. It is unlikely that another European nation will surge ahead as experts say many  including the UK  are now seeing their outbreak start to peak.

Asked whether the U.S. would soon have the worst outbreak, Hanage said: 'The U.S. was slow to kick off widespread testing, and so now is detecting transmission chains that have been carrying on uninterrupted for some time. We don't know how much increased awareness, especially in the core communities of gay and bisexual men, will slow transmission down.

'But it is reasonable to suggest that the U.S. case count will continue to grow and will outpace the outbreak's elsewhere.'

Spain is at the center of Europe's monkeypox outbreak, being among the first country's to report the disease  with early cases linked to unsafe sex among gay or bisexual men at a venue outside the country's capital, Madrid, and a Pride event in the Canary Islands.

Since then the vast majority of cases have been detected in the same group, but some have been spotted in women  often those living with gay or bisexual men. A three-year-old also tested positive for the virus.

Health authorities in the country have rolled out vaccines to close contacts in order to curb cases, but there have been problems getting hold of doses. Spain  like the U.S.  is using the Jynneous vaccine, but only had 200 doses available in early July. It has said more doses will be ordered, but has not specified a number.

In the U.S. cases were initially mostly linked to international travel, particularly to Europe, but many are now being detected in people who became infected in the country. Experts suggest the virus may have been transmitting for a while before it was detected.

Hotspots New York City and Washington D.C. are rolling out vaccines against the virus to gay or bisexual men with multiple partners in two weeks to put a lid on the virus, but these programs have hit a brick wall with too few doses being supplied by the Federal Government. Both cities are now delaying second doses, due four weeks after the first, due to demand.

A total of 5million vaccines have been ordered so far, on top of the more than one million that were available when the program began.

Testing has also been ramped up after it was slammed early on for the stringent guidance on which samples could be tested leading to just 23 swabs being checked for the virus a day early in the outbreak.

Five commercial labs have been brought onboard now with a combined capacity for about 80,000 swabs per week.

Daily tallies have rocketed since, with the biggest daily increase yet reported last Thursday with 298 cases spotted within 24 hours.

Over Friday, Saturday and Sunday another 596 cases were recorded  or 198 per day , CDC figures show, but capacity is generally lower on weekends because many people are away from their desks.

Breaking the data down by area shows New York City currently has the largest outbreak at 1,040 confirmed infections according to its Department of Health. The CDC says the state has 990 infections at present. It was followed by California, at 356, and Illinois, with 341.

Only four states  Maine, Montana, Vermont and Wyoming  are yet to detect a single infection with the disease.

It is not clear whether other states  alongside New York  are preparing to start vaccinating gay or bisexual men where most cases are being detected to get a handle on the outbreak.

Monkeypox is normally confined to West Africa, but earlier this year it was picked up at a Pride festival in Spain.

Since then more than 40 countries worldwide  mostly in Europe  have spotted cases of the disease, which are mostly among gay or bisexual men.

Unlike in previous outbreaks, the disease appears to mostly be spreading via sexual contact with lesions  which allow transmission  initially appearing on the genital and anal regions.

Experts say the disease has likely already spilled over into other groups, however, which are more at risk. In the U.S., two children were found to have been infected last week.
Advertisement

A majority of parents with children between the ages of six months and five years old are not planning on getting their young child vaccinated against COVID-19, a rebuke of the FDA and CDC's controversial decision to authorize the shots earlier this year.

According to a survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) a combined 56 percent of parents report not wanting to get their child jabbed - with 43 percent saying they definitely would not and 13 percent noting they would only do so if required.

The most common reason cited for the hesitation are worries about side-effects and lack of research and testing that went into the development and rollout of the jabs.

American's overall concern with the pandemic seems to be falling and the feared BA.5 summer surge may already have failed to materialize. Daily infections caused by the virus are down 10 percent over the past week to 127,251 per day, with deaths having dropped 17 percent to 440 daily during that period.

A majority of parents do not plan to get their child between the ages of six months and five years old the COVID-19 vaccine unless it is mandated, a KFF survey finds

Around one-in-five parents are concerned that the jab for children has not been tested enough to be used yet. Some health experts raised similar concerns upon the approval of the shots last month

U.S. parents are more likely to believe that the COVID-19 vaccine poses more risk to their children than the virus itself does, the survey finds

The KFF Vaccine Monitor included 1,585 American parents. The Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines in question were approved by health officials in late-June.

The decision to make the shots available by officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was slammed by some experts as not following science and instead just making the shots available for the sake of clarity.

Many parents of young children seem to agree. A vast majority of U.S. adults are vaccinated themselves - with the CDC reporting around 90 percent have received at least one shot of the vaccine - but they may not be as eager to get their children the shots.

The survey finds that only seven percent of parents have gotten their child the shot, with ten percent saying they planned to get them the shot right away.

The most popular response was parents who said they would 'definitely not' get their child the jab, at 43 percent. Another 13 percent said they would only get their child vaccinated if some sort of requirement was set.

More than one-in-four parents responded that they would 'wait and see' before getting their child vaccinated.

Vaccine hesitancy rates actually increased when the shots were approved by regulators. In April, the last time KFF posed the question, only a combined 38 percent of parents said they either would not get their children the shot or would only do so if they were required to.

Parents who do not want their child jabbed are overwhelmingly Republican - with 64 percent saying they would definitely not get them the shot compared to only 21 percent of Democrats - and unvaccinated themselves, also at 64 percent.

They seem most concerned about the lack of testing and research that went into the shots, with nearly one-in-five citing it as a reason they would not vaccinated their young child.

Many health experts cited similar concerns when the jabs were first approved in June.

Dr Vinay Prasad, an associate professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of California, San Francisco had strong criticism for the data being used to promote the vaccine and its efficacy in young children.

In a YouTube video, he pointed to a claim that the Moderna vaccine is 38 percent effective against the virus. He says that when data was adjusted by the firm to account for at-home testing - in which some cases do not get recorded properly - the effectiveness drops all the way to 27 percent.

He also said that there is little data available backing the claim that Pfizer's vaccine is 80 percent effective at preventing infection.

'We need to be honest about these,' he said.

Dr Marty Makary, a public health expert at Johns Hopkins University wrote on Twitter, in response to the CDC's approval of the shots:

'A more honest announcement would have been: 'We approved the vax for babies &toddlers based on very little data. While we believe its safe in this population, the study sample size was too low to make a [conclusion] about safety. Note that studies were done in kids w/o natural immunity''

The KFF poll also found that 53 percent of parents believe that the shot itself poses a more of a risk to their children than the virus does.

While the shot has been deemed safe and effective by officials worldwide, children do face little risk from the virus.

The CDC revealed earlier this year that three-in-four U.S. minors have likely been infected with COVID-19 at some point over the past two years, the highest rate of any age group.

Despite that, they make up 0.1 percent of deaths recorded in America. They are also significantly less likely to experience significant symptoms from Covid.

The data also comes as it seems like BA.5 outbreak many predicted to overwhelm the nation this summer seems like it may not come to fruition.

The BA.5 variant is feared to be the most transmissible version of the virus to take hold in the U.S. yet by health officials.

It is also immune-evasive and can get around protections a person may have from previous Covid infection. Experts believe that a person could be re-infected with BA.5 within weeks of recovering from a different version of the Omicron variant.

This is a potentially worrying prospect that changes the understanding many have of the pandemic.

BA.5 has quickly grown in its prevalence across America and now makes up four of every five cases in the U.S.

While is has caused cases to rise in recent weeks, experts are not panicking yet.

'The good news here is our tools, our vaccines if you are up to date, if you've been vaccinated recently if you get treatments, those continue to work really well,' Dr Ashish Jha, the White House's COVID-19 response coordinator told ABC's This Week last weekend.

'This is an area of concern but we know how to manage this.'

He noted that people over the age of 50 - who suffer the most risk from the virus - should receive their fourth vaccine dose if they have not already.

The shots, which are the second booster after the original two-dose regimen of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, were made available earlier this year in an effort to shore up protection for the most vulnerable to the virus.
A toddler with a rare genetic disorder that leaves him unable to play with other children - forcing him to live in a sanitized 'bubble' - is being denied a cure for his condition because drug companies say it is not profitable enough.

Jakob Kamil Guziak, from Alberta in Canada, was diagnosed with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) shortly after birth, a condition that robs children of a functioning immune system.

The rare condition is normally a death sentence with just one in five sufferers surviving to their 20th birthday, but in recent years scientists have developed treatments that are up to 95 percent effective against it.

But these are now hard to come by after drug companies including UK-based Orchard Therapeutics pulled the plug on them after it was unclear how the several-million-dollar-a-go procedures would turn a profit. Massachusetts-based Mustang Bio is also working on a procedure, but will price it in the millions.

Jakob's mother Andrea said she had dreamed of her son starting school and doing swimming lessons before he was born. But now  after being left unable to secure a treatment  he will have to begin preschool at home this September.

Jakob Kamil Guziak, from Alberta in Canada, was born with a genetic condition that left him without a functioning immune system. It means he is yet to be allowed to play with other children and must have three injections a week

Mother Andrea, pictured, is frustrated that treatments for her son's condition have been developed but that none are available because pharmaceutical companies fear they won't turn a profit. Also shown is Jakob and father Kamil

Jakob's condition is called severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID), which robs children of a functioning immune system. About one in five sufferers make it to their 20th birthday

About one in 58,000 babies are born with SCID in the U.S. every year, which is caused by an inherited genetic disorders.

Youngsters with the condition initially seem healthy but this is only because their mother's immune system is protecting them. As this wanes, common infections and even vaccines could prove life-threatening to them.

To avoid exposing patients to everyday germs many patients have been put in plastic enclosures in the past  earning the condition the nickname 'bubble' syndrome  to protect them.

Today many are kept in effective lockdown at home  like with Covid  to protect them. They are also injected with enzymes to boost immunity.

WHAT IS SEVERE COMBINED IMMUNODEFICIENCY? Severe combined immunodeficiency is a group of rare, inherited disorders that cause abnormalities of the immune system. This puts patients at a greater risk of life-threatening infections. It affects one in every 50,000 to 100,000 births in the U.S. and UK every year. SCID-affected babies typically become ill within the first few months of their lives. They are partially protected during the first few weeks due to antibodies passing from their mothers during the late stage of pregnancy. Although patients used to die within the first year, modern treatment means the risk of infection can be reduced and many cases can be cured. SCID occurs when immune cells, known as white blood cells, are missing or malfunctioning due to a genetic mutation. Affected babies are more likely to suffer from coughs or colds during the first few months, which are often severe and long lasting. Oral thrush, chronic diarrhoea and failure to gain weight are also common. The first step in protecting patients is to provide a sterile environment that protects the child from infection. Although parents can stay with the child, visitors must be kept to a minimum. Antibiotics, antiviral and anti-fungal drugs are given, usually via syrups, to prevent and fight any infections. Regular immunoglobulin therapy is also required to provide the youngster with antibodies from donors. But this is only a temporary fix with a stem cell transplant or gene therapy then being required to 'cure' the condition. Source: GOSH Advertisement

Jakob has barely left his parents' home since he was discharged from hospital in October 2019 when routine tests picked up the condition, reports the Insider.

The only people allowed to visit him have been his grandparents and a few family friends who have no kids or pets.

To keep their son safe, his parents change their clothes and shower whenever they come in from work.

On walks round the neighborhood if Jakob sees a dog he is only allowed to pet it twice, before his mother applies liberal amounts of hand sanitizer.

'Right now, we are buying time,' Andrea told the publication. 'We cannot wait forever.'

Treatments have been developed for the condition, but they are not on the market because of the multi-million costs and drug companies failing to see how to profit from them.

Current procedures rely on gene therapy, where stem cells are removed from the bone marrow, treated in the lab to repair their genes, and then returned to patients to rebuild the immune system.

Tests have shown they are up to 95 percent effective, but thanks to the hefty price tags drug companies have largely steered clear.

British pharmaceutical giant GSK pioneered Strimvelis in the 2000s to help patients with the condition.

But  after offering it to only 17 patients  they sold the rights, following difficulties turning a profit.

It was bought by Orchard, a biotechnology startup which was working on another gene therapy for the condition with Dr Donald Kohn, an immunologist at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Kohn developed a separate treatment for the condition  called Kohn's therapy  which also used gene therapy. Tests showed all 50 patients who received it were still alive at least two years later, and 95 percent needed no further treatment.

But  like at GSK  it was also eventually dropped by Orchard.

A spokesman for the company told the Mail the decision was due to 'manufacturing requirements' for the treatment as well as other treatments already being on the market. Their decision came after stocks tumbled 90 percent.

A third gene therapy is also being developed by Massachusetts-based Mustang Bio for patients, which they expect to give a multi-million dollar price tag to ensure they can claw back the investment.

Major barriers to companies developing these treatments have included their hefty price tags and because they target rare conditions, meaning there are few potential patients.

But in the case of SCID treatments have now actually been developed, but there is difficulty accessing them because drug companies have shifted away.

Orchard has passed the rights for Kohn's treatment to the inventor, who has raised $4million to keep carrying it out  but he told the Insider this was only enough to treat another three patients.

In her mission to get her son treatment, Andrea has learnt all about gene therapy and how drugs are developed.

She said: 'I feel emotionally exhausted.

'I have been working tirelessly. Let's go on TV, let's gon on the radio. It's a lot.

'[But] Jakob keeps me going. When I look at him, I don't want to stop. the work is not done until it's done.'

It comes after after a British mother's son died five days before his first birthday when a catalogue of delays led to his condition being missed for months.

Jakob pictured with his father Kamil at home in Edmonton, Alberta which is in Canada

Jakob pictured with his mother Andrea. She has recently been diagnosed with cancer, and said it has been a battle to get her son to this stage, but she has no plans to stop until he gets treated

Proud mother Susie Thorndyke had been showing off her baby boy, passing him to friends and family for a cuddle.

But two months later Susie learned that those cuddles had caused irreparable damage to his immune system because he had SCID.

If diagnosed at birth, children with the condition can be protected until they are ready to receive a bone marrow transplant to repair their immune system.

With this treatment, 90 per cent of so-called bubble babies will have a normal, healthy life, says Bobby Gaspar, an honorary professor in pediatric immunology at University College London.

Because he was not diagnosed straight away, every person who saw James made him more poorly  the bugs that are harmless to most babies were deadly to him, says Susie, 38.

For Susie and Justin, 45, a farmer from Norwich, their ordeal has been made worse by the fact that Jamess death was avoidable: there is a $3 test that can check for this condition.
A young boy suffering from a condition described as a combination of Alzheimer's and Pakinson's is hoping for a miracle after clinical trials for a drug to treat his condition were cut short - leaving him reeling.

Leo Vauclare, 6, is suffering from infantile neuroaxonal dystrophy (INAD), a condition caused by a missing enzymes in a person's body or a dangerous build up on iron. He was diagnosed at age two.

The rare diagnosis only affects around 150 children worldwide, Vauclare's parents told Insider, and its rarity also means that there are little options for treatment available.

One option did emerge for the young child, and he was enrolled in a trial of a drug that was believed to be able to treat his rare affliction. Unfortunately, the company running the trial went bankrupt and cut it short. His condition was too far developed for him to re-enroll later.

With little options remaining, Vauclare's parents, his mother Deborah and father Antoine, and young sister, Eva, are hoping that something emerges to treat him before he likely dies by the age within the next six years.

Leo Vauclare (pictured), 6, is suffering from infantile neuroaxonal dystrophy (INAD)

The disease afflicting Leo (pictured) will usually lead to death within five to 10 years of the child's diagnosis

'We try not to say 'poor boy' in front of Eva,' Deborah Vauclare, 41, told Insider.

'But it's something we often say because the life that he lives is unimaginable.'

The family is from New York but currently resides in France. Deborah says that Eva has become a helper of sorts for her brother, but does not exactly know the dire situation her brother is in.

'She'll kiss him and help me if his head falls... she doesn't understand because she's only 3, but she likes to be with him,' she explained.

He first started showing signs when he was 14 months all. His parents noted that he had poor balance and that he missed some crucial speech development milestones.

Care from therapists and routine testing did not detect the condition. In 2018, he took a genetic test that revealed his INAD diagnosis.

Leo's (left) parents say that his younger sister Eva (right), 2, has acted as his helper even as she does not know why exactly her brother is sick

Leo's family (pictured) enrolled him in a drug trial for a potential INAD treatment candidate, but it was cut short after the company went bankrupt in 2021

The National Institutes of Health describes the condition as a rare neurological disorder that affects the brain's axons.

It slowly causes the afflicted person to lose their vision, mental skills and muscular control - hence why it is compared to Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

The disease will often appear within the first two years of a child's life. Its basic causes are not known.

There are also no treatments or cures available that can slow its progress over time.

'We thought, 'How can this be?...How could our child  or any child  be given this life, which is really not much of a life?'' Deborah said.

Deborah was pregnant with Eva when Leo was diagnosed with INAD, leaving the family fearing that their unborn child would be struck with the condition as well - with doctors estimating a 25 percent chance of such.

'I was a complete wreck... I couldn't sleep. I couldn't eat and felt nauseous all the time from nerves,' she described.

Testing on Eva before she was born showed that she would likely be healthy, though, a relief for the family.

The family joined forces with the INADcure Foundation in an effort to find a cure for the condition.

The family launched a foundation for Leo, hoping to raise funding to develop a gene-therapy treatment that could stop the progression of INAD

Leo's mother Deborah (center) fears that even if a treatment is developed it will be too late to save her son

The Bisous for Leo - kisses for Leo in French - campaign was then launched. In the months following his diagnosis, the young child was also enrolled in a drug trial for a promising treatment candidate for the condition.

In 2021, the company holding the trial ran into financial difficulties and filed for bankruptcy - halting the trial.

When his family tried to enroll Leo in a follow up trial they were told his condition has deteriorated so badly the drug may hurt him more than it would help.

His family says that he is barely conscious of his surroundings anymore. He requires a feeding tube and uses a molded seat that supports his body and keeps him upright.

The foundation likely needs around $7 million to launch a new gene-therapy treatment for the condition, but even if the money does come it could be too late for Leo.

'They say it's going to be ready in 18 to 24 months... will he be eligible for the trial? Does he have another 18 to 24 months to live?' Deborah said.
We published an article on 5th April which followed up on reports in other media outlets that the Bank of Englands logo rebrand had been funded by taxpayers money. We are happy to clarify that although the bank is a public body it does not receive funding from HM Treasury, and we have amended the article to reflect this.

To report an inaccuracy, please email corrections@mailonline.co.uk. To make a formal complaint under IPSO rules please go to www.mailonline.co.uk/readerseditor where you will find an easy-to-use complaints form. You can also write to Readers' Editor, MailOnline, Northcliffe House, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TT or contact IPSO directly at ipso.co.uk
Virgin Media O2 is handing out an extra 15million GB of free data to the National Databank to help people in need stay connected during the cost of living crisis.

Nine in 10 low income households say they are worried about their finances and with the the cost of essential bills such as food and energy rising, some say they may be forced to ditch the internet connection to save money.

Around 2million homes are at risk of digital exclusion due to rising costs, despite 85 per cent of households saying connectivity is vital.

Virgin Media O2 is donating 61 million GB of free data to the National Databank to help people in need stay connected to essential internet services during the cost of living crisis

The National Databank, founded by Virgin Media O2 and digital inclusion charity, Good Things Foundation, has been described as a foodbank but for free mobile data, texts, and calls.

Virgin Media O2 launched the free data boost one year ago for households struggling with staying connected, originally pledging to help over 200,000 people get connected by the end of 2023.

Since it launch, it has handed out 50,000 SIM cards and more than 10,000 O2 voucher codes have been issued. You can find out here if you're eligible to benefit from free data on the National Databank website.

The telecoms giant said the initiative has helped those at risk of data poverty to stay connected, to access online services such as medical appointments or benefits such as Universal Credit, and to apply for jobs or attend virtual job interviews.

The data pledge extends Virgin Media O2's original commitment to the National Databank from 46million to more than 61million GB of data donated by the end of 2025.

It means that people most affected by the rise in the cost of living can now receive 20GB of free O2 mobile data per month  an increase from 15GB per month, available via the National Databank.

One of the households that has benefitted from the free mobile data scheme has said the support has lifted a huge weight off her shoulders.

Kay is severely dyslexic, which she has said has impacted her work options as she struggles to read and write. As well as working in retail, Kay is also a part time carer to her husband Paul who is battling several illnesses.

She was put in touch with the National Databank when her Paul's other carer suggested they reach out for help, after Paul was forced to save up his data in order to contact his doctor.

Kay said: 'Once Paul had data from Virgin Media O2, he thought I would get a lot out of this service as well. So, he called the National Databank on my behalf to get me set up with an O2 SIM card as well.

Kay found the National Databank through her partner's carer, and has said that the support has changed both of their lives, helping them stay connected without worrying about the cost

'I need data to live - I need it to speak to my kids. It keeps me sane. I need it to work - without it I couldn't manage my job.

'Knowing that this monthly expense is taken care of is such a huge weight off my shoulders'.

Kay said the process for getting set up with the charity was simple: 'Everyone at the centre was incredibly kind and helpful, and even came to our house to walk us through the process of getting set up.

'Then they called to check in on us regularly and make sure we had everything we needed. The support from the National Databank has helped me in a lot of ways.'

Since receiving free mobile data from the National Data bank, Kay can now access a dyslexia translation app on her phone that can read messages to her, and allow her to craft and compose messages, which she said has changed her life.

'Having the data from Virgin Media O2 means gives me more independence. I don't have to lean on my partner or family for something as simple as going to the shops.

'Before getting the O2 SIM card from the National Databank my partner always had to come to the shops with me to read the food labels. Now I can do that on my own!

Knowing this monthly expense is taken care of is a huge weight off my shoulders. I have more freedom and independence.

She advises that for those who are struggling, they shouldn't be scared to reach out to the organisations who offer support.

Kay said: 'Don't be scared to ask for help.

'There are so many things in place like the National Databank that can help you.

'Having a disability can be frustrating and make you feel alone.

'But thanks to the National Databank I can take better care of my family. I also have much more freedom and independence. The O2 data is a lifeline - I'd recommend the Databank to anybody who asks.'

Kay, who is severely dyslexic, said the free mobile data has helped her with her job, and day to day life, and urges others in the same boat to reach out to the organisations offering support

The National Databank is open to all mobile operators and provides a central hub where community groups can access free 'data voucher codes' and SIM cards for anyone who needs them.

And, as a growing number of households struggle to afford data, the initiative is calling other mobile networks and businesses to join the National Databank.

Earlier this summer, Greggs Foundation signed up to the National Databank, and Virgin Media O2 announced it had re-homed 10,000 smartphones to people who need them via its Community Calling initiative with environmental charity, Hubbub.

Those accessing free data have also be offered additional support, including digital skills training and signposting to other essential services.

Helen Milner OBE, group chief executive of Good Things Foundation, said: 'Having enough data in our increasingly digital society is not just a nice to have, it's an absolute essential.

'Together, we can help address the issue of data poverty in the UK once and for all.'

While Lutz Schuler, chief executive of Virgin Media O2, added: 'We know how important it is for people most affected by the rise in the cost of living to have access to free mobile data so they can get online and stay in touch with loved ones, and access essential services, from virtual medical appointments, to job interviews and training.

'It's part of our mission to upgrade the UK where we want to end data poverty for good and create a better, more connected country for everyone.'

Another way to save on internet bills is by checking out social tariffs on offer from telecoms giants.

Millions of households could save up to 144 a year on broadband by taking advantage of 'social tariffs', but have yet to claim.

Just 1.2 per cent of those eligible have applied for the discounted broadband scheme meaning they are paying more for internet connection than they need too.

Only 55,000 households have applied for the specially discounted broadband, available to 4.2million households currently on Universal Credit, Ofcom says.
Advertisement

Police in the Czech Republic have turned the tables on criminals by not only seizing a Ferrari 458 from them but keeping it for themselves to use as a patrol car.

The 2011 supercar, which is worth around 150,000 today, has been modified into one of the fastest police vehicles in Europe, with the authorities saying the 202mph motor will be used to chase stolen vehicles and crack down on illegal street racing in the country.

Respraying the Ferrari in the official police colours, fitting sirens and flashing lights and installing all the necessary equipment needed by officers came to a total bill of CZK300,000 - around 10,300.

In a statement, the Police of Czech Republic said the modification cost less than purchasing a new Skoda, which would be around 80mph slower than its prancing horse patrol car.

Good luck trying to outrun officers in this: Czech police have this week started using a new patrol car - it's a 202mph Ferrari 458 Italia that was recently confiscated from a criminal. The force has spent 10,300 turning it into their own pursuit vehicle

Police said the Ferrari began its service on Monday, with it being 'deployed against the most aggressive drivers on Czech highways'.

This means it will be utilised to locate and chase stolen vehicles and attend tuned car events, which often result in illegal high-speed street racing.

The force said there were some 30 cases of reported illegal street racing in the country in 2019 in which high-performance cars reach extreme speeds on public roads that a 'normal patrol vehicle cannot fully compete with'.

The 2011 supercar, which is worth around 150,000 today, is one of the fastest police vehicles in Europe. It will be used to chase stolen vehicles and to crack down on illegal street racing in the Czech Republic

Originally painted traditional Ferrari red, the car had a complete police makeover, receiving a silver spray job before adding yellow and blue reflective stripes for the fully-authentic look

A light bar has been installed on the roof for the blues and twos, as well as a siren and digital display board that will be used to communicate with fellow motorists

The 458 Italia cost from 178,500 when new. Today, a 2011 model like this is worth around 150,000, with collectors desperate to get their hands on the last naturally-aspirated V8 powered supercar Ferrari produced.

Under the glass panel at the back is a snarling 4.5-litre, eight-cylinder petrol powerplant that develops a whopping 562bhp.

It can accelerate from zero to 62mph in 3.4 seconds and has a top speed in excess of 202mph, meaning few offenders will be able to escape its clutches in a pursuit.

Specially-trained officers will also use the Ferrari when 'supervising the safety and flow of traffic on highways' and for public appearances to promote police work in the Czech Republic.

Ferrari 458 Italia Built: 2009-2015 Price when new: 178,500 Value today: Around 150,000 (very collectible as it is the last Ferrari supercar to feature a naturally-aspirated V8 engine, with successors having turbochargers) Engine: 4.5-litre V8 petrol Power: 562bhp Torque: 398lb-ft Transmission: 7-Speed dual-clutch semi-automatic 0-62mph: 3.4 seconds Top Speed: Over 202mph

Deputy Chief of Police, General Tomas Kubik, said: 'If I were to mention one of the activities in which we significantly succeed in using legal authorisations, I must mention the securing of assets originating from criminal activities.

'Last year alone, we secured assets worth almost CZK 7billion [almost 240million] in this way, and I am personally convinced that we will be similarly effective in the future.'

Originally painted traditional Ferrari red, the car had a complete police makeover, receiving a silver spray job before adding yellow and blue reflective stripes for the authentic look.

A light bar has also been installed on the roof for the blues and twos, as well as a siren and digital display board that will be used to communicate with fellow motorists.

The total cost of retrofitting the Ferrari came to less than the price of a new Skoda Scala, which is one of the models currently used by the Czech police as a patrol car.

These have a top speed of just 120mph - some 82mph slower than the supercar.

The national police force says the Ferrari isn't the most valuable or rare motor it has seized from criminals, saying it has captured almost 900 vehicles in total in the last 12 months.

The vast majority of cars it confiscates are sold and the proceeds used to cover the damage caused by the offender.

However, it does keep some vehicles for official duties, which are then used to combat serious criminal activity throughout the Czech Republic - though none as luxurious as its new Ferrari.

The Czech police force is not the first to use a supercar as a patrol vehicle - though it is the first known to use one that's been taken out of the hands of criminals.

Italian officers have a partnership with Lamborghini, which most recently saw the Polizia issued with a Huracan to transport urgent blood supplies to accident sites.

Police in Dubai are also known to have a fleet of supercars to patrol its roads.

Czech police said the cost to modify the Ferrari was less than the purchase price of a new Skoda Scala (pictured), which it currently uses in its fleet. The Skoda has a top speed of around 120mph - that's some 82mph slower than the 458 Italia

The Czech police force is not the first to use a supercar as a patrol vehicle. Authorities in Italy have a partnership with Lamborghini
A satellite firm rescued by taxpayers is in talks to merge with the French as it battles to compete with rivals such as Elon Musk's Starlink project.

The deal would see London-based OneWeb join forces with France's Eutelsat, in which China's sovereign wealth fund has a 6pc shareholding.

It is also expected to represent a paper profit of around 80m for the Government, with the stake it bought for 420m two years ago valued at around 500m.

Lift-off: A rocket heads for space with 36 OneWeb satellites

The deal is likely, however, to face political scrutiny at a time when Britain's stance on Chinese investment is under the spotlight during the Tory leadership election.

OneWeb is a pioneer of networks of so-called lower-earth orbit (LEO) satellites, aimed at allowing access to high-speed internet where traditional ground infrastructure is hard to reach.

Applications can include broadband on aeroplanes and remote locations such as parts of the Third World, as well as the farthest-flung reaches of the UK. OneWeb needs 1.7bn to 2.5bn of investment to complete its network and update its technology and the deal is seen as helping to accelerate that process.

Taxpayers would own around 10pc of the company, and have a seat on the board, with France  a big shareholder in Eutelsat  having a slightly larger stake. The combined entity, while having its primary listing in Paris, would also be expected to launch a secondary listing in London.

After the all-share deal, which would involve the issue of new Eutelsat shares, China Investment Corporation's stake in the merged entity would be 1.8pc. OneWeb itself would remain a UK-based company within the larger group and the Government would retain its 'special share' allowing it to veto any move abroad.

Britain would have the power to block sales for national securityrelated applications and relationships seen as compromising its relationships with the US, Australia, Canada and New Zealand, the other countries in the 'Five Eyes' intelligence-sharing network.

The deal with Eutelsat is being seen as vindication for the decision by the Government to plough taxpayers' money into the company to rescue it. The investment, said to have been championed by Boris Johnson's former adviser Dominic Cummings, was reportedly made in spite of opposition from senior officials.

Eutelsat confirmed yesterday it was 'engaged in discussions' with fellow shareholders in OneWeb  in which it already owns a 23pc stake  about a deal. Those include Bharti, led by billionaire Sunil Mittal, chairman of OneWeb. Investors gave the plan the thumbs down yesterday with Eutelsat stock falling by 17.8pc, or 1.86, to 8.57.

Analysts at Credit Suisse said: 'From an anti-trust point of view, this deal is likely to be scrutinised heavily and will also likely need political consensus from both the UK and EU at a time when the UK is choosing a new Prime Minister.' A government spokesman said its 'strategic investment in OneWeb demonstrates a commitment to the UK space sector for the long term'.
The brand is available in major grocers including Sainsburys, Tesco, Asda and Morrisons and is expected to hit sales of 17.3m this year

Food writer Anjum Anand and husband Adarsh Sethia founded the firm in 2010

A couple banked a handsome windfall after Premier Foods bought their Indian and Thai meal kit brand The Spice Tailor for 43.8m.

Food writer and TV chef Anjum Anand and husband Adarsh Sethia founded the business in 2010.

They each own between 25per cent and 50 per cent, putting them in line for a payout from Premier of at least 21.9m.

Food writer and TV chef Anjum Anand, pictured, and husband Adarsh Sethia founded the business in 2010

The Sharwoods and Loyd Grossman sauces owner will also pay up to 28.7m over the purchase price depending on Spice Tailors performance.

The business makes products including a Mangalore Roasted Coconut curry that can be cooked in three steps.

The brand is available in major grocers including Sainsburys, Tesco, Asda and Morrisons and is expected to hit sales of 17.3m this year.

Anand, 50, has published six cookbooks and her TV appearances led to her being dubbed the Nigella Lawson of Indian cuisine. Anand and Sethia said they were very pleased at the takeover and that Premier Foods is a perfect fit for their business.
Competition watchdogs will probe Inmarsats 5.4bn takeover by a US rival.

The British satellite firm, which provides in-flight wifi for airlines and internet connections for boats  including the prestigious Volvo Ocean Race, agreed to the takeover in November.

It was approved by Viasat shareholders last month. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said yesterday it was investigating whether the deal may result in a substantial lessening of competition in the UK.

Making waves: An Inmarsat unit on a Volvo Ocean Race yacht

Viasat boss Rick Baldridge flew to Britain this year to win political support for the deal. In March, Viasat and Inmarsat said they had agreed to a number of legally binding commitments with the Government.

They included pledges to increase the number of highly skilled jobs, raise R&D spending and keep key operations in Britain. Founded in 1979, Inmarsat began life as a UN agency helping distressed sailors send SOS signals.

It employs around 1,800 staff across the world, including 860 in London. Its technology is used in everything from climatechange tracking to keeping rural cattle farmers connected to the internet.

Annual results showed revenues up 6pc to 1bn in 2021 and a profit of 13m, after a loss of 139m the year before.
Games Workshop Group has once again posted a jump in pre-tax profit and revenues for the financial year.

The Warhammer creator saw pre-tax profit rise 3.7 per cent to 156.5 million in the year to May 2022, with revenue climbing 12.25 per cent to 414.8 million over the same period.

Since the start of the Coronavirus pandemic, the Nottingham-based company has seen record levels of trade as people have looked to occupy themselves while spending more time at home.

Analysts expect the company's success to continue despite the economic conditions as hobbies tend to be 'resilient during recessions'.

In its most recent half year results Games Workshop generated revenue of 191.5million compared to 148.4million in the equivalent period two years ago, thanks to solid growth in purchases online and sales to trade customers.

Over the past year dividends per share soared 54 per cent to 285 pence from 185 pence at May last year.

Kevin Rountree, CEO of Games Workshop said: 'It's been another astonishing year. I once again take great comfort that some things don't change - our staff and customers love Warhammer. I thank you all for helping make this another very successful year.'

Core revenue jumped 9.5 per cent to 386.8million over the period.

Games Workshop estimates that it missed out on around 4million in net revenue over the year as a result of suspending trading in Russia, following the country's invasion of Ukraine in February.

While the firm opened 10 new stores worldwide over the year, including relocations, it closed 15, taking its total to 518.

It also reported a 3 per cent drop in online sales compared to the previous year, as in-store sales volumes normalised.

Games Workshop shares fell 2.12 per cent in early trading to 7,335p, bringing losses to 27.3 per cent since the start of 2022.

The board of Games Workshop said: 'We are on the front foot, have a clear strategy for our core and licensing business, a culture built on long standing proven principles, a pretty good operational plan building on the progress we have made, a work ethic built on trust and a hobby that is fun and engaging.

'We look forward with a great deal of confidence. Our goal remains the same to deliver our strategy and share our love for Warhammer, globally.'

Previously the company has come to blow with fans over its insistence on protecting its intellectual property. This included tactics such as lawyers sending letters to online fan forums accusing their members of breaching copyright.

In an analyst note, investment bank Peel Hunt praised Games Workshop's results: 'Full-year profits increased by 4 per cent to 156.5m and by 6 per cent in constant currency, which is a good result given the pressures of Covid, supply chain disruption and higher freight costs.

'The company has announced a dividend of 90p, which corresponds to the cash payments from last year and demonstrates a continued good profit and cash performance.

'The company aims to grow sales and maintain margins. Hobbies tend to be pretty resilient during a recession (as evidenced in the GFC) and Games Workshop has plenty of new product to engage its hobby base. There continues to be considerable opportunity to grow in North America and (longer-term) Asia, as well as monetise the IP.'
A 'callous' teenager who used nude photos and videos to blackmail the friends of women and girls as young as 17 after hacking into their Snapchat accounts has been jailed for two years.

Jasin Bushi, 18, 'completely violated' the victims' privacy by hacking into the accounts of at least seven women and girls aged 17 to 35 between December 2020 and February last year and changing their passwords to lock them out.

Bushi, of Aldenham Street, Camden posed as the victims and sent messages to their friends asking for around 200 or 300 in rent money so they wouldn't be kicked out of their home.

When some of the targets realised something wasn't right and called out the hacker, Bushi, who was 17 at the time, threatened to send naked pictures of the victim he was posing as to all their contacts unless they paid money into his PayPal account.

Jasin Bushi (pictured), 18, of Camden, was sentenced to two years in prison after pleading guilty to three counts of blackmail and fraud by false representation at Wood Green Crown Court

The court heard that between December 2020 and February 2021, Bushi, who was 17 at the time, hacked into seven women's Snapchat accounts, posed as the victim and messaged their friends. Pictured: An example of his messages

Intimate pictures and videos of victims were posted publicly on numerous occasions and were seen by the victims' family, friends and colleagues.

Bushi denied actually posting them, and that was accepted by the Judge.

Police from the Met's Cyber Crime Unit first got involved in May 2021.

Detectives found fake PayPal accounts with fictional personal details and email accounts tied to the victims' names.

They linked Bushi to the fake accounts through two mobile numbers that he was using.

When officers searched his home address in Camden, north London, they found on his phone some of the victims' compromised personal banking details, emails and passwords and a note that read: 'Hey, I'm struggling with rent.

'I'm literally short and I'm probably going to get kicked out if I can't pay. I'll pay back on Monday.'

One victim, whose friends, family and colleagues saw the posts, said she suffered a variety of negative psychological consequences since the hacking.

She said she has felt humiliation and shame when she has had to face her family, has withdrawn socially at work and thinks her staff have lost respect for her.

She added: 'Snapchat was a social media platform where I had years of stored treasured memories of photos and videos of my child, and I now feel nauseated using the app.

'I had a friend who, thinking she was helping me, lost a significant amount of money due to this incident and I feel indebted to her.

'I was fortunate enough to not be physically injured by this incident, but the long-lasting psychological effects impact me every day, and I feel that this is likely to be the case for a long time in the future.'

Another victim found out about private intimate images of her being posted in Snapchat while she was at work after her colleagues informed her.

She said: 'I felt embarrassed, I left the office straight away in tears and had a few days off work because I felt I couldn't face the people who have seen those private images.

'The feeling still haunts me now of when I first saw those photos on my public story, I would never wish that feeling upon anyone.'

'Snapchat was a social media platform where I had years of stored treasured memories of photos and videos of my child, and I now feel nauseated using the app,' said one of Bushi's victims

Bushi pleaded guilty at Wood Green Crown Court to unauthorised access to a computer to facilitate the commission of an offence, fraud by false representation, possession of articles used in fraud and three counts of blackmail.

He pleaded not guilty to three counts of disclosing private sexual photographs or films, with intent to cause distress, but those charges were left to lie on file.

Detective Constable Ed Sehmer, investigating officer from the Met's Cyber Crime Unit, said: 'Bushi completely violated the victims' privacy all in an attempt to make a quick bit of cash.

'When his deception did not work, he resorted to blackmail. He is extremely cruel, callous and it was absolutely devastating for the victims who had their intimate images publicly posted.

'I'd like to thank the victims for courageously helping us with our investigation and I hope Bushi's conviction offers them a small measure of comfort.

'This crime type often goes underreported as victims can often feel shame or embarrassment. There is nothing to feel ashamed about.

'I urge anyone to come forward and report to the police if this has happened to you. We will fully support you and treat you with sensitivity and dignity.'

He added: 'To help prevent social media account compromises I recommend everyone uses two factor authentication and does not reuse passwords for various social media accounts.

'Good password hygiene involves changing passwords regularly, making them long, alphanumeric and containing upper- and lower-case letters with special characters.'

The court heard that Bushi was not phased by the friends' concerns of the legitimacy of his requests, and promptly admitted to not being the victim, but stated if money is not sent to the requested PayPal account he will send nude pictures of the victim to all their contacts. Pictured: Wood Green Crown Court (file image)

Andrea Simon, Director of the End Violence Against Women Coalition, told MailOnline: 'This alarming case highlights the multiple ways women and girls can be targeted online and is becoming concerningly common.

'Women are 27 times more likely than men to face harassment and abuse online and the threat of image-based sexual abuse has far greater consequences for women and girls, due to the unequal standards and expectations society holds us to.

'Perpetrators can use technology to carry out abuse such as stalking and domestic abuse, but online spaces are also creating a context for new ways to harass and abuse women, including through non-consensual sharing of intimate images, doxxing, cyberflashing, nudification apps and other harms.

'We're calling for tech companies to have to comply with a code of practice on violence against women and girls, so they can be held to account for facilitating abuse they ultimately profit from.

'The government has an opportunity to do this in the Online Safety Bill, but so far has failed to address online violence against women and girls in a comprehensive way which would make the internet a safer space for women and girls.'

A spokesperson for Snapchat said in a statement to MailOnline: 'Our hearts go out to the victims of these crimes. Using Snapchat to blackmail someone, send nudes or sexually explicit content is against our rules - no matter how old they are.

'If we become aware of any sexual content involving minors we immediately remove it and report it to the authorities, whether it's identified through our detection technology or reported to us through our in-app reporting.'

They also added that Snapchat has been 'built to be private' and 'safe for younger users' as account holders need to accept a friend request before they can exchange messages or send pictures.

'We also have measures in place to help protect against hacking and encourage people to set up two-factor authentication to keep their accounts secure,' the spokesperson said.
Jury selection began Monday in a trial that will determine for the first time how much Infowars host Alex Jones must pay Sandy Hook Elementary School parents for falsely telling his audience that the deadliest classroom shooting in United States history was a hoax.

The trial in Austin, Texas - where the conspiracy theorist lives and broadcasts his show - follows months of delays.

Jones has racked up fines for ignoring court orders; he also put Infowars into bankruptcy protection just before the trial was originally set to start in April.

At stake for Jones is another potentially major financial blow that could put his constellation of conspiracy-peddling businesses into deeper jeopardy.

He has already been banned from YouTube, Facebook and Spotify over violating hate-speech policies.

Jury selection began Monday in a trial that will determine for the first time how much Infowars host Alex Jones (pictured) must pay Sandy Hook Elementary School parents for falsely telling his audience that the deadliest classroom shooting in United States history was a hoax

Veronique De La Rosa, mother of Noah Pozner, who was killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, wipes away tears during a news conference

Scarlett Lewis, the mother of Jesse Lewis, the Sandy Hook first grader shot and killed by Adam Lanza after telling his classmates to run

The trial involving the parents of two Sandy Hook families is only the start for Jones; damages have yet to be awarded in separate defamation cases for other families of the 2012 massacre in Newtown, Connecticut.

The lawsuits don't ask jurors to award a specific dollar amount against Jones.

During the first round of questioning from attorneys for the families, several potential jurors in the initial pool of more than 100 said they held strong beliefs on free speech and questioned whether any punitive damages would be fair.

A few others said they would struggle to assign damages that could reach $100 million or more.

Yet others said that although they also believe in the principles of free speech, they would not have a problem assigning damages - even a large amount of money - for blatant falsehoods that might have caused harm.

Jones speaks outside of the Dirksen building on Capitol Hill in Washington, Sept. 5, 2018

Neil Heslin, whose son, Jesse Lewis, was killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, speaks with US Vice-President Joe Biden

Heslin holds a picture of him with Jesse as he testifies during a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee

Jones wasn't in the courtroom Monday. His attorney, Andino Reynal, said his client has a 'medical issue' and that Jones' doctor and legal team advised him not to be there. Reynal didn't elaborate on the medical issue.

Reynal also said he intends to ask the jury to award no more than $1.

'This is an extraordinarily important case to free speech systems,' Reynal said, while acknowledging his client is 'very polarizing.'

'Alex Jones is a very controversial figure,' Reynal said.

Courts in Texas and Connecticut have already found Jones liable for defamation for his portrayal of the Sandy Hook massacre as a hoax involving actors aimed at increasing gun control.

Infowars host and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones appears at Capitol Hill in Washington on Dec. 11, 2018

Andino Reynal, attorney for Alex Jones, said he intends to ask the jury to award no more than $1

Lenny Pozner, father of Sandy Hook school shooting victim Noah Pozner, has been disguised with makeup and a wig because he continues to receive death threats due to the alleged 'hoax'

In both states, judges have issued default judgements against Jones without trials because he failed to respond to court orders and turn over documents.

The Texas trial begins about two months after a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, which is about 145 miles southwest of Austin.

It was the deadliest school shooting in the nearly 10 years since Sandy Hook.

The 2012 Connecticut shooting killed 20 first graders and six educators. Families of eight of the victims and an FBI agent who responded to the school are suing Jones and his company, Free Speech Systems.

Jones has since acknowledged that the shooting took place. During a deposition in April, Jones insisted he wasn't responsible for the suffering that Sandy Hook parents say they have endured because of the hoax conspiracy, including death threats and harassment by Jones followers.

'No, I don't (accept) responsibility because I wasn't trying to cause pain and suffering,' Jones said, according to the transcripts made public this month.

He continued: 'They are being used and their children who can't be brought back (are) being used to destroy the First Amendment.'

Jones claimed in court records last year that he had a negative net worth of $20 million, but attorneys for Sandy Hook families have painted a different financial picture.

Court records show that Jones' Infowars store, which sells nutritional supplements and survival gear, made more than $165 million between 2015 and 2018. Jones has also urged listeners on his Infowars program to donate money.
Firefighters in Alaska are battling hundreds of wildfires across the state, as the typically resilient region reels from the constant outbreak of new blazes.

So strong are the fires ripping through the forests, burning an area the size of Connecticut, that smoke has been blown hundreds of miles into the historic gold rush town of Nome on the Bering Sea - one of the most westerly settlements in the continental United States.

While little property has burned, some residents have been forced to evacuate and a helicopter pilot died last month when he crashed while attempting to carry a load of equipment for firefighters.

Douglas Ritchie, 56, of Wasilla, was the first person to die in Alaska's wildfires in 22 years.

Recent rains have helped, and Jon Norman, spokesman for operations at the Denali borough of Alaska's department of forestry and fires, said they were happy with the current trajectory.

'The fire is looking real good,' he said in his Monday briefing, explaining that aerial patrols were continuing.

A tundra fire is seen burning near the community of St. Mary's, Alaska, last month, with smoke pouring across the Yukon River

An area the size of Connecticut is now ablaze in Alaska, with smoke reaching the far west of the state

Jon Norman, spokesman for operations at the Denali borough of Alaska's department of forestry and fires, said on Monday they were making good progress in combatting the fires

Bulldozers were digging ditches and clearing paths to prevent the fires from spreading, he added.

But longer-term forecasts are deeply concerning, and showing a pattern similar to 2004 - when July rains gave way to high-pressure systems, hot days, low humidity and lightning strikes that fueled Alaska's worst fire year.

In 2004, the acreage burned by mid-July was about the same as now.

But by the time that fire season ended, 10,156 square miles were charred.

'The frequency of these big seasons has doubled from what it was in the second half of the 20th century,' said Rick Thoman, a climate specialist with the Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy, based at the University of Alaska's International Arctic Research Center.

'And there's no reason to think that's not going to continue.'

Heat waves and droughts, which are exacerbated by a warming climate, are making wildfires more frequent, destructive, and harder to fight in many places.

This month, wildfires have torn through Portugal, Spain, France, England and Germany, which have seen record-high temperatures.

California has recorded its largest, most destructive and deadliest wildfires in the last five years and with the state deep in drought authorities are girding for what may be a late summer and fall filled with smoke and flames.

Alaska, the nation's largest state, also has been dry.

Parts saw an early snow melt and then a largely rain-free June that dried out the duff layer - the band of decaying moss and grasses that blankets the floors of boreal forests and the tundra. This organic matter can be up to two feet thick, but in various stages of decay.

Bulldozers clear the area between smoldering trees to try and stop the fire spreading

Alaskan officials are seen on Monday trying to stop the fire spreading

Anchorage, Alaska's largest city, is seen swathed in smoke last month

On May 31, a lightning strike on the duff layer in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta started the East Fork fire, an area in southwest Alaska that rarely burns.

Two communities with a combined population of about 700 were threatened but no mandatory evacuations were ordered in what became the largest wildfire ever in the delta at 259 square miles.

Firefighters were able to protect the communities.

A fire like that one was directly attributable to climate change, Thoman said.

There is now more vegetation growing on the tundra, willow and alder trees are thicker in the transition area between the tundra and forests, and spruce along river valleys are growing thicker and moving farther uphill from those valleys.

'There's been a significant increase in the amount of fuel available, and that's from decades of warmer springs and summers in the region, direct result of a warming climate,' he said.

'And, of course, fires with more fuels available burn hotter. They burn longer. They're more resistant to changes in weather.'

In Alaska, a little more than half of all wildfires are started by lightning and the rest are caused by humans accidentally, intentionally or through negligence.

Of the 4,687 square miles burned so far this year, only two square miles have been from human-caused fires.

A fixed-wing aircraft drops water on the Clear Fire near Anderson, Alaska, on July 6

It isn't feasible or necessary to try to fight all Alaskan wildfires.

Fire play a key role in the state's ecology by cleaning out low-lying debris, thinning trees and renewing habitats for plants and animals, so Alaska typically lets most burn themselves out or wait until rain and snow does the job. Firefighting resources are used to battle fires in populated areas.

So far this year, there has been about 145,000 lightning strikes in Alaska and adjacent areas of Canada, as counted by the Bureau of Land Management's lightning detection network.

A staggering 42 percent occurred between July 5-11 when weather systems produced rain but about 50 fires also were started.

'Having concentrated lightning, where we get a significant fraction of the entire season's lightning in a row in a few days - that's actually fairly typical for Alaska lightning,' Thoman said.

'Lots of lightning in that concentrated area that did spark quite a few fires in areas that had not had fires up to that point.'

While there's been little loss of property, smoke from the fires has caused dangerous breathing conditions.

In one case, two fires burning near Lake Iliamna joined and in one day burned about 75 square miles of boreal forest, creating smoke and ash that strong winds transported hundreds of miles northwest to Nome, pushing the air quality index into the extremely unhealthy category.

'I would never have thought that you could get that poor of air quality back 400 miles from the active fires,' Thoman said.

'That is a testament to how hot those fires were.'
An Uber Eats driver is suing the food delivery service on grounds that its facial recognition app is 'racist'.

Pa Manjang, who is black and moved from the Gambia in 2011 to the UK, explained that drivers using the food delivery app must take photos every day to verify that they are the one doing deliveries.

This picture is then compared via an automated system to his original ID but Mr Manjang claims on multiple occasions the software wrongly decided his selfies were someone else and that it is 'racially biased'.

He also says he was 'asked to take photos of myself multiple times a day' before being told by Uber Eats in an email in April 2021 that he was permanently suspended for 'sharing' his account after failing Face API, a Microsoft recognition software.

He said there is a 'plethora of research' that shows the software 'places ethnic minority groups at a disadvantage in that false positive and false negative results are greater in individuals from ethnic minority groups'.

Uber Eats, along with Uber London Ltd and Uber Portier BV, has tried to have the case thrown out after the driver brought claims of race harassment and race discrimination to an employment tribunal.

But a judge in East London has now dismissed their application and allowed the case to proceed.

Pa Manjang said that on multiple occasions the software wrongly decided his selfies were someone else and that it is 'racially biased'

Mr Manjang, who is black and of African descent, said he was 'asked to take photos of myself multiple times a day' into the automated system to check his ID which is then compared to his profile as he was not recognised by the online system. Pictured: The photos uploaded to the system and compare to his original image

How does facial recognition software work? Uber uses Face API, part of Microsoft Cognitive Services. The company says the idea was to have drivers take a selfie so that Uber could compare the drivers selfie with the photo on file. The technology uses facial recognition software to compare two face images to evaluate whether they are similar. The technology is used for a variety of purposes, from signing a user into their phone to searching for a particular person in a database of photos. It uses computer-generated filters to transform face images into numerical expressions that then are compared. By using artificial neural networks to process data, filters are generated by using deep 'learning'. Facial recognition has been used by Amazon, Deliveroo and Uber among others to make verify the ID of its drivers and prevent fraud. It requires drivers to snap selfies while working and these are then compared to their account picture so the company to make sure those delivering are the worker signed into their apps. Credit: Centre for International Strategic Studies/ Microsoft Advertisement

London-based courier Mr Manjang began working for Uber Eats in November 2019.

In April 2020, Uber introduced an automated system to check the ID of drivers whereby they must take a selfie and then it is compared with the one on their profile.

Mr Manjang, whose case is supported by the Equal Opportunities Commission and the App Drivers & Couriers Union, told Uber Eats: 'Your algorithm by the looks of things is racist and this needs to be addressed as it is not able to recognise and verify my photos which is probably why I get asked to take photos of myself multiple times a day.'

He also argues 'such is the discriminatory impact of the facial recognition process that large organisations including Amazon, IBM and Axon have reviewed their practices'.

Mr Manjang also complained over how his requests for a human review of his photos were handled by Uber Eats.

Uber Eats admitted there were 'unfortunate shortcomings' in how his dismissal and communication was handled and that the correct reasons for his account deactivation were not given to him at the time.

Uber Eats subsequently said it deactivated his account over 'unusual activity' which suggested more than one person was trying to log in.

The delivery company said his account was reviewed and the account was reinstated six months later in September 2021 - after Mr Manjang brought legal action.

Mr Manjang also accuses Uber Eats of subsequently giving contradicting explanations over his dismissal and being 'clandestine' about reinstating him six months later after he had launched legal action.

His lawyer said his treatment felt 'Kafkaesque', referring to the celebrated 20th century novelist Franz Kafka whose stories often depicted people facing bizarre predicaments and bureaucratic powers.

At the tribunal, Uber Eats tried to argue Mr Manjang's case had 'no reasonable prospects of success' and to have Uber London removed from proceedings.

How the Uber Eats application works by asking you to upload a submission and compare it to a base photo you made your account with

But Employment Judge Alison Frazer refused the applications and said the evidence needs to be assessed.

Judge Frazer said: 'This is a case for race discrimination which will necessarily be fact sensitive and dependent on evidence.

'Given Mr Manjang's asserted lack of clarity surrounding the reasons for the deactivation process it would be necessary for there to be full disclosure on this issue before any determinations of the claims can be made.

'In the circumstances I do not consider that I am able to say that the claims have little or no reasonable prospects of success and for that reason I make no order for strike out or a deposit in this case.'

It will now proceed to a full hearing.
This is the petrifying moment passengers sat in a brace position before a pilot made an emergency landing in Colombia on Monday morning.

Avianca flight 9351 was heading from Medellin to the Colombian capital of Bogota when the pilot detected a failure with one of the Airbus 320 aircraft's engines, the airline said.

One of the more than 100 passengers aboard the airplane recorded the rest of the travelers leaning forward against the front backrest and resting their heads over their arms.

The entire plane subsequently burst in loud claps and cheers when the pilot landed on the southern tarmac at El Dorado International Airport without any issues.

Passengers on Avianca flight 9351 sit in a brace position as the pilot was preparing to land the Airbus 320 aircraft at El Dorado International Airport in Bogota, Colombia. The airline said one of the engines had failed mid-flight, which caused the pilot to request permission for the emergency landing less than an hour after taking off from Medellin. No injuries were reported

Avianca said there was 'an alert in one of the aircraft's systems' after the engine on flight 9351 failed. A pilot manning the Colombian airline's aircraft detected the issue after entering Bogota's airspace

'Flight AV9351, which was covering the Medellin-Bogota route on July 25 had an alert in one of the aircraft's systems and following the airline's security protocols in these cases, the captain requested an emergency landing at El Dorado Airport,' Avianca said in a statement.

Flight 9351 was scheduled to depart Jose Maria Cordoba International Airport at 7:43am but left at 8:07am.

It's unknown what provoked the late departure.

The airplane was met by emergency first responder crews on the tarmac. No injuries were reported

The pilot noticed the engine malfunctioned moments after entering Bogota's airspace and landed safely at 9:01 a.m. in El Dorado.

The airplane was met by emergency first responder crews on the tarmac. No injuries were reported.

The Colombian Civil Aviation Authority said the incident didn't cause delays to departures and arrivals at the airport.

In an interview with weekly news magazine Semana, Caracol Radio reporter Yamit Palacio said he heard a loud noise from the airplane's engine which later became 'annoying but constant.'

Palacio lauded the captain and the rest of the crew for keeping all of the passengers calm.

'Fortunately, the forced landing was flawless, the captain conveyed calm and confidence, and the on-board staff handled everything professionally,' Palacio said.

'Luckily, there was no episode of panic, although there were frightened faces and some tears. It made the (emergency landing) less traumatic.'
Children who have lost a parent to the COVID pandemic could qualify for financial assistance thanks to a $100 million fund set up in California - the first state in the country to commit to a trust fund scheme.

The money will be distributed to low-income families, and deposited into an interest-accruing account accessible once the child turns 18.

The sums have not yet been decided, but one early proposal would give younger children $4,000 and older teenagers $8,000 - meaning that there would be enough to provide funding for about 16,000 young people.

Martin Basulto, a 44-year-old truck driver (left), believed he caught the virus while working, and his wife Rosa Garcia Cortez, 46 (center), caught COVID while caring for him. The pair died within weeks of each other in January 2021. Their son Martin, now 27, moved back home from Fresno to look after the family home and care for his sister Miranda, now 17 (top right), and his brother Angel (bottom right). Now the orphaned family may benefit from California's new scheme

Nancy Skinner, a Democrat state senator from Berkeley and chair of the Senate Budget Committee championed the scheme, and said it was designed to address the state's massive inequality.

'The great irony of California especially, but the nation as a whole, is we have such wealth but it's so concentrated,' she said. 'Whatever we can do that can address that income inequality is essential to do.'

California is using some of its record-setting budget surplus to fund the program, and Skinner said that the California legislature will monitor the scheme closely, and assess whether it is effective.

The state treasurer's office will manage the money in interest-bearing accounts.

Once the recipients become adults, they can spend the money however they want, but advocates hope they'll use it for things like a down payment for a house, college tuition or a car.

The details of the scheme, passed last month as part of the budget, will be finalized in the coming months.

Eligibility will most likely be tied to enrollment in Medi-Cal, the state's health insurance system for low-income Californians.

Among those thought to qualify are the three Basulto siblings, who lost both their parents to COVID in January 2021.

Martin Basulto, a 44-year-old truck driver, believed he caught the virus while working, and his wife Rosa Garcia Cortez, 46, caught COVID while caring for him. The pair died within weeks of each other.

Their son Martin, now 27, moved back home from Fresno to look after the family home and care for his sister Miranda, now 17.

'In the beginning, I didn't care about school. I was so angry,' she told Cal Matters. 'We are all going to die someday so what is the point of trying in life?'

She said her attitude changed when someone asked her if she wanted to die without living up to her full potential.

'That hit me because I know my parents wanted to do a lot of things in their life they couldn't do,' she said.

'So, I want to live my life to the fullest potential.'

Miranda is now on the honor roll now and looking forward to college, as her father had wished for her.

Martin told the website that the money would be vital for his family.

'The smallest amount can go a long way,' he said.

'I want her to be prepared for when she goes to college and I'll help in any way I can so any other help available is greatly appreciated.'

Martin Basulto Sr and his wife Rosa died within weeks of each other. Now their three children may benefit from California's pioneering scheme

The activist group COVID Survivors for Change posted a photo of Miranda and Martin Basulto, and said: 'We applaud California for creating a trust fund to help the 32,000 children who have experienced the death of a parent or primary caregiver from COVID-19 in the state.'

Another child who may benefit is Emilia Guerra, now two, whose father Rigo Guerra died from COVID on Christmas Eve in 2020.

Laura Guerra and her daughter Emilia, 2, play at their home in Riverside, Calif., on July 11

The pair are reflected on her husband US Marine Lance Cpl. Rodrigo 'Rigo' Guerra's uniform, framed at their home. He died on December 24, 2020 from COVID

Emilia's mother, Laura, has been advocating for the trust funds as a member of COVID Survivors for Change.

'As a mom, this gives me a little bit of that security back,' Guerra said.

'I don't want her to continue to be a victim of this virus forever.'

Guerra said she cannot predict how her daughter would use the money once she's old enough to spend it, but hopes that she puts it towards something useful.

'I do whatever I can to steer her in the right direction and to make her a good human being, right?' she said.

Hillary Porter, an activist who campaigned for the trust fund, told Cal Matters that she was reassured by the presence of the finance, even if her daughter, MacLemore, doesn't qualify.

Her husband, Lloyd, with whom she ran a bakery in the Bed-Stuy neighborhood of New York City, died of COVID in May 2020 - a month before the family was due to move back to California, where they had met and lived before crossing the country.

Hillary Porter is seen with her husband Lloyd and their daughter, MacLemore. He died in May 2020, shortly before they were packing up to return to California - where Hillary and MacLemore now live

MacLemore Porter is seen kissing her father, who died shortly before they moved back to California from Brooklyn

'He really fought the good fight. He kind of rallied back,' Hillary told Cal Matters. 'I was in the process of planning rehab for him and suddenly he was gone.

'Because my husband passed away in May of 2020 we couldn't have a funeral, couldn't gather with friends or family. It was very much that we were in a bubble.

'That adds another layer of trauma or grief.'

She said she's hoping the trust fund will help young people with mental health support as well as college.

'The kids, when they are turning into adults, can now dream a little bigger,' she said.

'It could change the trajectory of their goals at 18.'

The first US savings bonds were introduced in the 1930s to raise money for the government and give ordinary Americans an opportunity to invest.

Those bonds were nicknamed 'baby bonds,' because parents would often buy them for their children.

These modern-day baby bonds are different in that, instead of being purchased by parents, the government gives the money to children from low-income families for free.

Advocates have held up the idea as a way to help close the racial wealth gap between white and minority families, who were largely excluded from the federal wealth-building programs during the Great Depression.

Hillary Clinton briefly included a baby bonds proposal in her 2008 presidential campaign platform, and Senator Cory Booker introduced a national baby bonds bill in Congress that has yet to pass.

The Washington DC City Council passed a baby bond program in 2021, committing to give low-income children $500 plus another $1,000 each year that their parents remain below a certain income level.

Last year, Connecticut was the first state to approve a statewide baby bonds program  although it hasn't been funded yet.

California's is the first to provide for young people directly affected by COVID bereavement.

'Income and wealth are different things,' said Michael Tubbs, the former mayor of Stockton who is now an advisor to Gov. Gavin Newsom and founder of the advocacy group, End Poverty in California.

'People should have the wherewithal to pay their bills today - but the next generation shouldn't have to live paycheck to paycheck.'

The group hopes California's baby bonds program is just a first step.

Its goal is to eventually have the state give trust funds to every child in the state born into a low income family.

'The goal has always been, 'How do we help best set up low income children for their future?' said Shimica Gaskins, president and CEO of Grace.

'We had really relied on educational pathways, but also know that cash and cash assistance and opportunity are equally important.'

On social media, many praised the program as a good use of the budget surplus.

Dr. Ian Weissman, a radiologist at the Milwaukee VA Medical Center, tweeted: 'Well done California!'

One man tweeted: 'California proving how easy it is to have fantastic quality of life and great governance if Republicans are completely removed from the picture.

'Contrast with Texas or Florida, where electricity doesn't work and governors fight with Mickey Mouse because they think math is 'woke'.'

Yet others were less sure.

'No wonder why those who pay taxes are fleeing California and what they gonna do when the revenue no longer exist to cover California's bills,' said one man.

Another commented: 'Ridiculous idea to just hand out money. Unless it's used for tuition, it's a stupid idea.'
Advertisement

Homeowners have been left distraught after a grass fire apparently sparked by a mower swept about 300 yards across a tinder-dry open field to a suburban Dallas subdivision, burning through wooden fences and torching as many as 20 houses.

The blaze in Balch Springs was the latest in drought-stricken North Texas, which has been vulnerable to explosive wildfires for at least two weeks.

The mower was being used in the open field to trim the brush when its blade struck some debris and generated a spark that ignited the blaze, said Balch Springs Fire Marshal Sean Davis.

The fire spread quickly north from the shoulder of Interstate 20 to the subdivision about 4 pm on Monday, causing varying degrees of damage to 14 to 20 homes before the flames were contained, Davis said.

There were no immediate reports of injuries, he said.

Aerial video showed the fire spread up and down the street as firefighters and homeowners working in 103-degree heat tried to prevent the fire from spreading to more of the bricked frame homes.

Aerial video showed the fire spread up and down the street as firefighters and homeowners working in 103-degree heat tried to prevent the fire from spreading to more of the bricked frame homes

Aerial video shows dozens of homes burning next to the charred grass land in Dallas

Video shows firefighters trying to stem the flames so that the fire does not spread to any more homes in Dallas

The blaze in Balch Springs was the latest in drought-stricken North Texas, which has been vulnerable to explosive wildfires for at least two weeks

The mower was being used in the open field to trim the brush when its blade struck some debris and generated a spark that ignited the blaze, said Balch Springs Fire Marshal Sean Davis

Miguel, right, and Patricia Quinonez wait as firefighters put out a large grass fire that spread into their Balch Springs neighborhood where it burned multiple homes beyond repair including theirs on Monday, in Balch Springs, Texas

Firefighters put out hot spots on a home that was one of several that burned when they caught fire from a nearby grass fire in Balch Springs, Texas, on Monday

One end of the fire spread to a home where a panicked dog ran back and forth before running through a pet door at a neighboring home. The fate of pets was not immediately known, Davis said.

Fire crews from Dallas and other nearby suburbs have gone to the scene to assist Balch Springs crews.

Firefighting teams have thrown dozens of extra crew members into the fight over the weekend against a North Texas wildfire that has destroyed 16 homes and damaged five others, officials said Monday.

The crews have held the Chalk Mountain Fire effects in check at 10 1/2 square miles (27 1/4 square km) since last week, according to the Southern Area Blue, Type-I Incident Management Team.

Team leaders say they have added 126 firefighters and extra fire engines and bulldozers to the 190 already clearing fire lines over the weekend 50 miles (80 km) southwest of Fort Worth, expanding the containment from 10% to 20%.

Firefighters put out hot spots on a home that was one of several that burned when they caught fire from a nearby grass fire in Balch Springs

Aerial footage shows firefighters working to put out the fire which ripped through dozens of homes in Dallas

Video shows firefighters trying to stem the flames so that the fire does not spread to any more homes in Dallas

Smoke rises from the ashes after firefighters extinguished a large grass fire that spread into a Balch Springs neighborhood

Firefighters from multiple departments work on putting out hot spots when a nearby grass fire burned several homes in Balch Springs, Texas

Firefighters put out hot spots on a home that was one of several that burned when they caught fire from a nearby grass fire

Firefighters put out hot spots on a home that was one of several that burned when they caught fire from a nearby grass fire

Smoke rises from the ashes after firefighters extinguished a large grass fire that spread into a Balch Springs neighborhood

Firefighters from multiple departments work on putting out hot spots when a nearby grass fire burned several homes

Meantime, firefighters are mopping up the Possum Kingdom Lake fire that destroyed five homes 70 miles (112km) west of Fort Worth. That fire is now 95% contained, team leaders said Monday.

This year has been plagued by wildfires fostered by severe to extreme drought throughout the West.

In California, a huge wildfire spread to a forest near Yosemite National Park, forcing thousands of residents to evacuate mountain communities. The fire is the second to strike the area. Another fire that broke out in the area earlier this month burned to the edge of a grove of giant sequoias.

In New Mexico, a prescribed burn in early April got out of control and grew to the biggest wildfire in the state's history, blackening more than 500 square miles (1295.00 square km) in the north of the state.
Travel chaos at airports will only get worse as baggage handlers prepare to strike after their pay deal talks ground to a halt and another security issue hit check-in counters.

Sydney Airport was reportedly struck by a new computer glitch on Tuesday morning, impacting security screening and causing more check-in delays.

And a damning memo has revealed the safety fears of airport ground crew bosses during the current mayhem, which has seen foreign workers shipped in to help.

Travel chaos at airports is set to worsen as baggage handlers prepare to strike after pay deal talks ground to a halt and another crippling security issue hits check-ins

Emirates-owned Dnata is the third party ground crew firm used by 20 airlines, including Qantas, Etihad and Singapore Airlines, after many axed their own staff during the pandemic.

But Dnata has now told their crews to ignore pressure from airline staff to work faster or cut corners after a series of incidents and accidents in the past fortnight.

Handlers buckling to demands to rush their work had caused 'aircraft damage' and 'serious damage' to ground crew transport, according to the leaked memo to staff.

'The expression "Under the pump" needs to be removed from our collective vocabulary, especially where it is used to try and explain unsafe behaviours,' the memo read, reported by the Daily Telegraph.

Ground staff at Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane will now vote at lunchtime on Tuesday on whether they should walk off the job over the safety concerns and a proposed pay deal.

There were similar scenes at Sydney Airport on Monday when early morning fog and tech issues saw hundreds forced to queue up outside the terminal.

Technical issues and early morning fog on Monday meant travellers had to wait outside the terminal as huge queues formed

Huge lines formed outside the terminal that then traced into the building on Monday

The airport apologised on Monday and said a technical issue caused one of its security lanes to stop operating.

'We're so sorry for the inconvenience. A technical issue has meant we're temporarily operating one less security lane than normal in T2. We are working with airlines to get everyone on their way, thank you for your patience,' the airport tweeted.

Travellers said trying to board their flights on Monday was a 'total nightmare'.

'Worst security queue I've seen in 30 years of travel,' one tweeted with a photo of a line stretching several hundred metres long.

'I'll probably be in the queue to get through security longer than I'm in the air,' said another.

'I'm in the car park standing in the line for security check in. I reckon I'm about an hour away from actually getting though. Travel actually sucks,' a third said.

Qantas also warned of delays for passengers travelling on Monday

A strike among Dnata workers would threaten to bring almost all international air travel to a halt with airlines virtually unable to operate out of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane airports.

'It's awful that the union is taking whatever action they're proposing,' said Qantas Domestic and International CEO Andrew David.

'Everybody in this country has been locked up for two years or more. They want to get home they want to go and see family. They want to go and see friends.

'If the union is going to take this action then it will impact all of those airlines and it will impact everybody in our international airports.'

A damning memo has revealed the safety fears of airport ground crew bosses during the current mayhem which has seen foreign workers shipped in to help

He dismissed safety fears and said the airline would always put safety first even if it meant flights were delayed as a result, but apologised for the current chaos.

'We know we've got more work to do,' he told Nine's Today show.

'I absolutely accept that people hold us to a higher standard. We hold ourselves to a higher standard.

'And we haven't been meeting those standards. I apologise to all your viewers because we are working hard on that.

'We are seeing improvements - our mishandled baggage rate is almost at where it was pre-Covid Our call center rate is better than it was pre-Covid.

'Our cancellation rates are better or getting close to where they were pre-Covid. We know we've got more work to do on our on time performance. It is improving.'

A strike would threaten to bring almost all international air travel to a halt with airlines virtually unable to operate out of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane airports

Workers claim poor pay and conditions have left airports critically understaffed and the situation won't improve unless more secure work and better wages are brought in.

The Transport Workers Union is now set to apply to the Fair Work Commission to vote for a strike after talks with management collapsed.

Union bosses claimed the proposed pay deal would leave experienced staff facing pay cuts and wages below the award minimum.

They claim Dnata brought in extra workers from the Philippines to ease the crisis but refused to allow local part-time workers to do extra shifts or create more full-time jobs.

'Rather than lift standards or guarantee workers more hours in their contracts, Dnata tried to bring in overseas workers at great expense,' said TWU national secretary Michael Kaine.

'Workers successfully knocked back that plan, but are now faced with the likelihood of having to take strike action to achieve fair pay increases and job security.'

Dnata catering staff are also on the verge of separate strike action over pay, which they claim is below award rates for some employees.
After he took to Twitter, tagging the HMWS&SB, the staff visited the apartment and assured they would resolve the issue. (Representational Image/DC)

HYDERABAD: Residents of Anandnagar Colony, located in the vicinity of the water boards head office in Khairatabad, alleged that they fell ill due to consumption of polluted water. A resident of the colony, Sanjay Bora, told that he and his neighbours fell ill over the past few days.

Ever since these incessant rains started, we have been receiving contaminated water. Despite having a water purifier, I fell sick after consuming it. I had to visit a nearby clinic after I started loose motions. People are suffering from diarrhoea, he said.

After he took to Twitter, tagging the HMWS&SB, the staff visited the apartment and assured they would resolve the issue. Such complaints have been pouring in from multiple localities in the city. This type of water seems to be (supplied) in most parts of the city, including my area, across the Erragadda division, near Don Bosco School Road..., said Mohammed Imran, a resident of Erragadda.
A grieving widow has shared the heartwarming gesture she received from local police after her husband lost his life in a horror crash.

Dad-of-two Sean Sutton, 31, tragically died after he lost control of his ute and crashed into a tree at an intersection near Busselton in Western Australia's south-west last Wednesday.

His death came just four months after he and his wife Monica celebrated their first wedding anniversary.

Family and friends rallied around Monica and their two children, aged six and four, as they struggle to come to terms with their unimaginable loss.

Ms Sutton broke her silence on Monday to share the heartwarming compassion of Busselton police officers investigating the crash.

Father-of-two Sean Sutton (pictured with his wife ) was killed in a horror crash in WA's south-west last Wednesday night

Sean's wife Monica has shared the heartwarming handwritten note from Busselton Police

She shared photos of an officer spending time with her grieving children, along with a heartwarming condolence card and a bouquet of flowers from the police.

'We are so sorry for your loss and hope you and your children are surrounded by love at this time,' the handwritten note said.

Ms Sutton also visited the place Sean died with her children, posting a poignant photo of the three of them looking down at a bouquet of flowers placed on the tree.

'Our hearts are broken, we love you, we miss you. The support and love is just simply incredible and I am speechless,' she captioned the post.

A statement issued on behalf of the family thanked everyone for their overwhelming support, phone calls and messages.

'We are helping the family through this extremely traumatic time,' the statement said.

Mr Sutton death rocked the close-knit Cowaramup community, where he and his wife lived and worked.

The town has a population of less than 1,600.

Sean worked as a mechanic at Cowaramup Tractor for the past 12 years while his wife works at a local ice creamery.

'This has tragically left behind a local family who are heartbroken and gut wrenched,' an online fundraiser stated.

'Sean and Monica are well known throughout the Cowaramup community and the South West.

'They are the most beautiful caring family who would do anything for anyone.'

More than $41,000 has been raised within three days as the shattered family tries to comes to terms with the devastating loss.

Sean (right) leaves behind wife Monica (pictured left) and two children aged six and four

'With this most devastating circumstance, the bills and living expenses will not stop coming in and without the main source of income coming in and them already struggling financially and everyone asking what they can do to help,' the GoFundMe read.

'A donation to Monica, her children and the grieving family to pay for funeral costs for Sean and the living costs of raising two children without their loving father.'

Police launched a major investigation into the crash, which happened at the intersection of Queen Elizabeth Avenue and Don Road around 10pm last Wednesday night.

Anyone who saw the crash or has dashcam of a Toyota Landcruiser travelling in the Chapman Hill area prior to the crash is urged to call Crime Stoppers.
The 'hype' around an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease that could cost the cattle industry $80billion if detected is actually distracting from a greater threat.

Sanitation mats were rolled out to all of Australia's international airports this week in an effort to stop foot-and mouth-disease entering the country after the disease was recently detected in the holiday hotspot of Bali.

But Cattle Council of Australia president Lloyd Hick said the threat of lumpy skin disease was far greater and would likely require the inspection of every piece of luggage arriving from Indonesia.

The disease, which is transferred to cattle via vectors such as mosquitos, feedstock and contaminated equipment has already spread from Africa to Indonesia in less than a decade.

Infection from lumpy skin disease can give livestock fever, depression, and characteristic skin nodules. There may also be a marked reduction in milk yield as well as abortion in pregnant animals.

If lumpy skin disease (LSD) was to hit Australia, the nation would suffer substantial trade impacts because it would no longer be a country recognised as LSD free.

Foot-and-mouth disease can be spread by contaminated meat products and has been found just off Australia's shores, but the agriculture industry warned there is a bigger threat (stock image)

Mr Hick told The Courier Mail the disease would 'be very hard for the industry to get a hold of' if it was found in Australia and said the 'hype' around foot-and-mouth disease could be a distraction.

He said it was already 'less than 100km from Australia's northern border' and could 'quite conceivably blow across in the wind' during summer when winds from the north were strong.

Measures by the federal government to prevent an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease on Australian shores were ramped up this month.

Agriculture Minister Murray Watt said all mail coming from Asia would be screened because contaminated meat products were a huge concern.

'We have now increased our surveillance of mail from Indonesia and China so that every parcel is screened and so we can identify any potential biosecurity risks,' he said.

Indonesia has been already grappling with the spread of foot-and-mouth disease, which was recently detected in Bali, a popular holiday destination for Australian travellers.

If it hits Australian shores, the disease is predicted to cause an $80 billion hit to the economy over ten years.

Travellers from Bali will have to walk over mats containing citric acid at Australian airports from this week (pictured) in a biosecurity measure

Citric acid mats were rolled out in Australian international airports this week and will add another layer of defence against an outbreak.

But Australians returning from the region should still clean their shoes and clothing, or leave their footwear overseas if possible, Senator Watt said.

'There is no biosecurity silver bullet,' he said in a statement on Wednesday last week.

'Our biosecurity controls rely on a multi-layered approach to mitigate the risk of FMD (foot and mouth disease).'

The mats will be a physical reminder to travellers about the risk of the disease, Senator Watt said.

The agriculture industry has warned Lumpy Skin Disease which cattle catch via mosquitos, insects and feedstock has travelled from Africa to Indonesia over 10 years and could reach Australia by summer (file image)

Travellers arriving in Australia from Indonesia will be asked to walk across the mats to sanitise their shoes.

The mats contain a citric acid solution, designed to dislodge any dirt from the sole of the shoe and cover it in the acid.

Other biosecurity measures include passenger declarations, profiling of all travellers entering from Indonesia, real time risk assessments, questioning and shoe cleaning.

A $14 million biosecurity package was announced by the government last week for more frontline defences in airports and mail centres as well as support for Indonesia and neighbouring countries to combat the spread.

Agricultural Minister Murray Watts (pictured) said the sanitation mats would help keep Australia secure
Republican Rep. Glenn Thompson of Pennsylvania attended his gay son's wedding three days after he voted against legislation to protect same-sex marriages.

Thompson's son, who is not being named as he is a public figure, told NBC News on Monday that he 'married the love of [his] life' on Friday and that his 'father was there.'

Thompson's office confirmed the lawmaker's presence at the nuptials.

'Congressman and Mrs. Thompson were thrilled to attend and celebrate their son's marriage on Friday night as he began this new chapter in his life,' Thompson's press secretary Maddison Stone said in a statement.

She noted the Thompsons are 'very happy' to welcome their new son-in-law 'into their family.'

Thompson and his wife, Penny Ammerman-Thompson, have three adult sons, Parker, Logan, and Kale, according to his official Congressional bio.

Republican Rep. Glenn Thompson of Pennsylvania attended his gay son's wedding three days after he voted against legislation to protect same-sex marriages

Rep. Glenn Thompson with his family at his January 2011 swearing-in ceremony for Congress

Republican Rep. Glenn Thompson and his wife Penny wear matching Trump masks at the White House on August 27, 2020

The Respect for Marriage Act, which Thompson voted against, would codify federal protections for same-sex couples.

The Supreme Court upheld the same-sex marriages as a right guaranteed under the 14th Amendment in its 2015 ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges.

Same-sex marriage remains legal but there were worries such unions could be outlawed in some states after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, which had legalized abortion.

In Justice Clarence Thomas's concurring opinion in that ruling, he wrote that Obergefell and other similar cases should be reconsidered.

If Obergefell is overturned, same-sex marriages would become illegal in at least 25 states, according to PolitiFact, and it would likely become illegal in seven others.

The Respect for Marriage Act passed the House last week with 47 Republicans joining Democrats in supporting the legislation.

But it still needs to pass in the Senate, where it's a tough vote for Republicans.

Most Americans - 71% in a Gallup poll out last month - support same-sex marriage. But many social conservatives see marriage as between a man and a woman.

The Respect for Marriage Act would repeal a law from 1996 that defines marriage as a heterogeneous relationship between a man and a woman.

It would also provide legal protections for interracial marriages by prohibiting any state from denying out-of-state marriage licenses and benefits on the basis of sex, race, ethnicity or national origin.

The 1996 law, the Defense of Marriage Act, had basically been sidelined by Obama-era court rulings, including Obergefell v. Hodges.
The Australian Defence Force is forking out up to $14million a year to buy uniforms and equipment from China because it can be made cheaper than on home soil.

Chinese textile workers make dress and ceremonial pants, skirts, shirts, trousers and jackets for the ADF, air force and navy, sparking calls to get the apparel from other like-minded democracies.

The ADF even gets ceremonial clothing, sporting attire, wet weather gear, some footwear, safety goggles, gloves and PPE from the superpower.

Experts have said given China's restrictions on Australian products in recent times, including crippling tariffs on wine, beef and barely, it would 'be really smart to shift [away] further'.

Scroll down for video

Ceremonial clothing (which could be similar to the ones pictured during a medal ceremony in Townsville earlier this year) is made in China

General personal protective clothing including hi-vis vests and coveralls are also made in China, (pictured, textile workers in Huaibei, Anhui Province, East China)

Michael Shoebridge from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (pictured) told 3AW on Tuesday it 'was really smart to shift further' as the country has been moving away from relying on China over the years for military clothing

Michael Shoebridge from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute told 3AW the country should try harder to move away from relying on China.

'Still you've got to think to yourself, a country that will stop lobsters going into China from Australia in times of political tension could well stop supplies to our military coming towards us in times of crisis, so it's really smart to shift even further and to have alternatives,' Mr Shoebridge said on Tuesday.

'You don't want to find these little inputs that get in the way when you need to operate in times of crisis or even war.'

Out of the ADF's yearly $90-100million defence clothing budget, about 14 per cent lands in China, making up Australia's largest foreign imports for defence clothing.

General personal protective clothing including hi-vis vests and coveralls are also made in China, largely hailing from the Shandong province in East China.

Defence experts are calling for ADF members (pictured, during an Anzac ceremony this year) to have their clothes made elsewhere, given the security threat China has become

All standard combat uniforms made for the army, navy and air force are made in Australia as a rule, including the celebrated slouch hat.

Boots used in combat and parades are also made in Australia, including safety boots.

China's textile industry also provide apparel for the Australian Federal Police - with more than a third of its personal equipment and uniforms.

The agency is tasked with protecting the national security and work to counter foreign interference.

The contract was issued to Chinese companies in 2016, with defence saying it offered the best 'value for money'.

In a hopeful development in the relationship between the nations, China appears set to end its disastrous ban on Australian coal with share market traders pricing in an imminent change in policy.

Beijing blocked the commodity in November, 2020, to punish Canberra for suggesting an international inquiry should be held into the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic which began in Wuhan.

The Chinese campaign of economic coercion - which also saw similar bans on key export sectors like barley, wine, cotton, seafood, timbre and copper - was meant to punish Australia for speaking out.

But the economic threat spectacularly back-fired on the authoritarian nation leaving China with widespread blackouts - as it generates more than half of its electricity through coal.

Foregin Minister Penny Wong met with her counterpart Wang Yi in Bali on July 8, where it's believed the two discussed the coal ban

Australian coal mining companies saw significant jumps in stock prices on Thursday - with rumours swirling the Communist nation could end its ban as soon as August.

The ban, meant to cripple Australia's finances, instead saw tens of millions of Chinese suffering consistent blackouts in frigid winter months.

Beijing were then forced to look to countries including Japan to buy Australian coal second hand, sending costs through the roof.

They had been paying around $590 per million tonnes of coal through the ban - compared to the $370million they were paying prior to the embargo.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong met with her counterpart Wang Yi in Bali earlier in July, where it's believed the two discussed the coal ban among other key topics.

'I welcome our discussion of issues of concern between our two countries as well as our discussion on the prosperity, security and stability of the region,' Ms Wong said after the G20 Summit meeting.

'We spoke frankly and we listened carefully to each other's priorities and concerns. As you would expect, I raised a number of issues in relation to bilateral, regional and consular issues.'

The impact appears almost immediate, with coal company stock prices signalling an impending conclusion to the standoff and an embarrassing backflip from the communist superpower.

A Defence spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia the ADF gets its clothing, footwear and accessories via various 'standing offer deeds' with Aussie suppliers, established over the last decade.

'Approximately 70 per cent of the ADFs current clothing budget is spent in Australia,' they said.
Joe Rogan declared on Saturday's edition of 'The Joe Rogan Experience' said he's a 'bleeding-heart liberal' on certain political issues.

Rogan was interviewing fellow comedian Andrew Schulz when he made the remarks.

The comedian's personal politics have long been a source of discussion and debate as he has welcomed controversial figures from the alt-right movement as well as COVID-19 deniers on his influential show.

Speaking about politics on his Spotify podcast, Rogan said: 'Like I was on welfare as a kid. I think its important. I think having a social safety net is crucial. We should help each other. Were supposed to be one big community. Im a bleeding-heart liberal when it comes to a lot of s**t.'

Earlier Rogan took aim at Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who recently said that the US Supreme Court was 'clearly wrong' in their decision to affirm gay marriage.

'Its not just abortion rights, but now theyre going after gay marriage too, which is so strange to me,' the comedian said. 'Gay marriage is not silly. Its marriage  its marriage from people that are homosexual and its, for them, its important. They want it.'

The former 'Fear Factor' host went on: 'They want to affirm their love and their relationship. And the fact that theyre going after that now almost makes me feel like they want us to fight. They wanna divide us in the best way they can. And this is the best way for them to keep pulling off all the bulls**t theyre doing behind the scenes is to get us to fight over things like gay marriage or get us to fight over things like abortion. Its just like, why are you removing freedoms?'

Schulz responded by saying: 'Yes, if you are gonna say that marriage is an important cultural institution to the fabric of America, you can't remove it from Americans.'

Rogan took aim at Texas Sen. Ted Cruz who recently said that the US Supreme Court was 'clearly wrong' in their decision to affirm gay marriage

Schulz told Rogan: 'If you are gonna say that marriage is an important cultural institution to the fabric of America, you can't remove it from Americans'

Rogan answered: 'Its so homophobic. Because youre saying theres something wrong with being homosexual by saying that you are opposed to gay marriage. Youre saying youre opposed to gay people.'

The controversial host spoke about what keeps him from being a Republican, saying: 'The fact that theyre going after that now, like thats the kind of s**t that keeps me from being a Republican. Its only one of the kind of  theres a bunch of s**t that keeps you from being a Republican.'

Rogan also took aim at those who think they have his politics figured out: 'People will say like, "Oh, you know, youre a secret conservative." Like, you can suck my d**k. You dont know what the f**k youre talking about. Im so far away from being a Republican. Just because I believe in the Second Amendment and just because I support the military and just cause I support police.'

Rogan also shot down the rumor that he moved from California to Texas because of tax issues. 'I moved to Texas because I want f**king freedom,' he said.

In 2020, Rogan signed a $200 million exclusive deal with Spotify, where his show is hosted. The deal saw music legends like Neil Young and Joni Mitchell pull their music from Spotify due to their disapproval of Rogan's coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic.

His Saturday comments came just days after the comedian joked about shooting homeless people.

Rogan spoke with comedian Tom Segura about California's ongoing homeless crisis with Segura commenting that you would get arrested for removing a homeless person's belongings from a public area.

Rogan attracted criticism recently for saying on his podcast: 'Maybe you should just go shoot the homeless people'

The UFC host responded by saying: 'Youd get arrested. Hilarious. But, they wouldnt arrest you if you shot somebody. Maybe you should just go shoot the homeless people.'

In that same interview, Rogan described Canada as a 'communist' country. While talking about Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Rogan said: 'They're f**ked. They gotta get rid of that guy.'

Although he conceded: 'I don't know how their system works up there. I have zero understanding of their system. I never looked into it at all.'

The concession didn't stop Rogan from calling Trudeau a 'f**king dictator' adding that he felt the Canadian PM was 'gross' and a 'sketchy guy.'

He also accused Trudeau of 'trying to shut down criticism by saying that all your critics are misogynists and racists.'

Previously, Rogan canceled a Vancouver performance over the country's requirement that foreign visitors get vaccinated against the Covid-19 virus.

He said at the time: 'I don't even think I can get into the country. I'm not vaccinated. I'm not gonna get vaccinated.'

Rogan recently called Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau a 'f**king dictator' adding that he felt the Canadian PM was 'gross' and a 'sketchy guy

One Canadian citizen wrote following Rogan's comments: 'If we have a PM that keeps Fox News and Joe Rogan upset: It's a good thing.'

YouTube star Liana Kerzner said: 'Dear Joe Rogan: Trudeau is not a dictator. In fact, he is the leader of a political party who can throw him out at any time, who holds the most seats in a minority parliament which could fall at any time. He doesn't even have veto power.'

Back in 2012, Rogan endorsed libertarian Ron Paul for president, in 2016 he voted for Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson.

Early in the 2020 election cycle, Rogan encouraged Rep. Tulsi Gabbard to run for president. Closer to the election, Rogan endorsed Senator Bernie Sanders. When Sanders dropped out, Rogan said that he was more likely to vote for Donald Trump than for Joe Biden.

During the campaign, Rogan publicly questioned Biden's senility. In one instance, Trump retweeted a message from Rogan in which the comedian spoke about Biden's mental fitness.

On the night of the election, Rogan said that he voted for libertarian Jo Jorgensen.

With a view toward 2024, Rogan has said Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis 'would work as a good president.'

Rogan has said Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis 'would work as a good president'

In 2020, Rogan endorsed Sen. Bernie Sanders for president, citing the Vermont socialist's 'consistency' on issues

The podcaster had also made comments saying that he has refused to have ex-President Donald Trump on his show.

Rogan declared on an episode of 'The Lex Fridman Podcast': 'I have had the opportunity to have him on my show, more than once, and I have said no every time. I don't want to help him, I'm not interested in helping him.'

The feeling from the Trump camp appears to be mutual. In July, Trump's former advisor Steve Bannon said on an episode of his 'War Room' podcast: 'Youve got Joe Rogan over there trash talkin Trump, I dont want to give Trump any platform  no offence, he doesnt need your platform. He doesnt need your low-information voters, okay? Trump deals with high-information people.'

Bannon, who was recently convicted of contempt of congress, continued: 'Your audience couldn't handle 'War Room.'... couldn't follow it, start talking, um, inverted yield curve, your eyes would cross.'
President Joe Biden slammed his predecessor Donald Trump on Monday for his 'lack of courage' to act while 'medieval hell' broke out during the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riots.

In his fiercest criticism yet of the former-President's role in the insurrection attempt, Biden said Trump watched the events unfold 'in the comfort of the [White House] private dining room' while law enforcement officers were attacked by his supporters.

'Every day we rely on law enforcement to save lives,' Biden said in a prerecorded speech to the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives' annual conference in Orlando, Florida.

'Then, on Jan. 6, we relied on law enforcement to save our democracy,' he said.

Biden, who remains in isolation in the family quarters of the White House after testing positive for COVID-19 last week, has previously slammed Trump for helping to incite the mob on Jan. 6, 2021, with a 'web of lies' about the 2020 presidential election being marred by widespread voter fraud that never actually occurred.

But his comments to the conference were the clearest link Biden has made between Trump and the insurrection since a House committee investigating the attack on the Capitol began holding hearings in June as part of its work to investigate the riots.

President Joe Biden slammed his predecessor Donald Trump on Monday for his 'lack of courage' to act while 'medieval hell' broke out during the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riots. Pictured: President Biden delivers virtual remarks to the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives Conference

In his fiercest criticism yet of the former-President's role in the insurrection attempt, Biden said Trump watched the events unfold 'in the comfort of the [White House] private dining room' while law enforcement officers were attacked by his supporters (pictured)

'You saw what happened. The Capitol police, the D.C Metropolitan police, other law enforcement agencies were attacked and assaulted before our very eyes.'

Officers were 'Speared, sprayed, stomped on, brutalized,' said Biden, whose voice is still raspy and deeper than usual as he recovers from the effects of the coronavirus.

'Lives were lost. And for three hours, the defeated former president of the United States watched it all happen as he sat in the comfort of the private dining room next to the Oval Office.'

He added that while Trump was 'doing that, brave law enforcement officers are subject to the medieval hell for three hours.'

That referenced Cassidy Hutchinson, a former Trump administration White House aide, testifying before the House Jan. 6 committee about Trump's temper as he sat in his dining room and watched TV as his plans to overturn the election fell apart.

Biden didn't mention the committee's work specifically during the taped address and has previously largely avoided the topic.

He said after its opening hearing that the work was about allowing 'no one to place a dagger at the throat of our democracy,' but also noted then that he'd not had time to watch the first installment.

The committee held its final summer hearing last week, which focused on Trump's failing to help disperse attackers overrunning the Capitol - even as top aides and members of his family implored him to call for an end to the violence.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre had suggested previously that, while Biden had been able to tune in occasionally to the committee's work, he hadn't been able to focus much on the proceedings as he concentrated on doing his job as president.

Whether Biden has had more time to watch as he recovers from COVID-19 is unclear.

Biden remains in isolation in the family quarters of the White House after testing positive for COVID-19 last week. Pictured: Biden listens as he attends virtually an event in the South Court Auditorium on the White House complex in Washington, Monday, July 25, 2022

In this image provided by the White House, President Joe Biden speaks on the phone with White House chief of staff Ron Klain from the White House Truman Balcony, Monday, July 25

Trump plans to be in Washington on Tuesday to address the America First Agenda Summit, the first time he's returned to the nation's capital since leaving office.

Jean-Pierre offered no comment about that speech on Monday, saying, 'I don't know what he's coming to talk about.'

In his pre-taped comments, Biden noted that law enforcement officers during the insurrection were 'dripping in blood, surrounded by carnage, face-to-face with a crazed mob that believed the lies of the defeated president.'

'The police were heroes that day. Donald Trump lacked the courage to act,' the president said.

'The brave women and men in blue all across this nation should never forget that. You can't be pro-insurrection and pro-cop. You can't be pro-insurrection and pro-democracy. You can't be pro-insurrection and pro-American.'

Trump will address the America First Policy Institute's two-day America First Agenda Summit as some advisers urge him to spend more time talking about his vision for the future and less time relitigating the 2020 election as he prepares to announce an expected 2024 White House campaign.

'I believe it will be a very policy-focused, forward-leaning speech, very much like a State of the Union 5.0,' said Brooke Rollins, AFPI's president.

Composed of former Trump administration officials and allies, the nonprofit is widely seen as an 'administration in waiting' that could quickly move to the West Wing if Trump were to run again and win.

Trump's appearance in Washington comes as his potential 2024 rivals have been taking increasingly overt steps to challenge his status as the party's standard-bearer.

Trump plans to be in Washington on Tuesday to address the America First Agenda Summit, the first time he's returned to the nation's capital since leaving office. Pictured: Trump speaks to his supporters at a rally outside the White House on January 6, before the riots began

They include former Vice President Mike Pence, who has been touting his own 'Freedom Agenda' in speeches that serve as an implicit contrast with Trump.

'Some people may choose to focus on the past, but I believe conservatives must focus on the future. If we do, we won't just win the next election, we will change the course of American history for generations,' Pence had planned to say in a speech at the Heritage Foundation in Washington on the eve of Trump's visit.

Pence's appearance was postponed because of bad weather, but he will be delivering his own speech Tuesday morning before the Young America's Foundation not far from the AFPI meeting.

Trump has spent much of his time since leaving office fixated on the 2020 election and spreading lies about his loss to sow doubt about Biden's victory.

Indeed, even as the Jan. 6 committee was laying bare his desperate and potentially illegal attempts to remain in power and his refusal to call off a violent mob of his supporters as they tried to halt the peaceful transition of power, Trump continued to try to pressure officials to overturn Biden's win, despite there being no legal means to decertify the past election.

On Tuesday, he plans to focus on public safety.

'President Trump sees a nation in decline that is driven, in part, by rising crime and communities becoming less safe under Democrat policies,' said his spokesman, Taylor Budowich.

'His remarks will highlight the policy failures of Democrats, while laying out an America First vision for public safety that will surely be a defining issue during the midterms and beyond.'

Pictured: Trump supporters are seen on the steps of the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6

Pictured: Trump supporters clash with riot police outside the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6

Beyond the summit, staff at the America First Policy Institute have been laying their own groundwork for the future, 'making sure we do have the policies, personnel and process nailed down for every key agency when we do take the White House back,' Rollins said.

The nonprofit developed, she said, from efforts to avoid the chaotic early days of Trump's first term, when he arrived at the White House unprepared, with no clear plans ready to put in place.

As Trump was running for reelection, Rollins, then the head of Trump's Domestic Policy Council, began to sketch out a second-term agenda with fellow administration officials, including top economic policy adviser Larry Kudlow and national security adviser Robert O'Brien.

When it became clear Trump would be leaving the White House, she said, AFPI was created to continue that work 'organized around that second term agenda that we never released.'

The organization, once dismissed as a landing zone for ex-Trump administration officials shut out of more lucrative jobs, has grown into a behemoth, with an operating budget of around $25 million and 150 staff, including 17 former senior White Houses officials and nine former Cabinet members.

The group also has more than 20 policy centers and has tried to extend its reach beyond Washington with efforts to influence local legislatures and school boards.

Pictured: Police officers try to hold back the mob of Trump supporters on Jan. 6

An 'American leadership initiative,' led by the former head of the Office of Personnel Management, Michael Rigas, launched several weeks ago to identify future staff loyal to Trump and his 'America First' approach who could be hired as part of a larger effort to replace large swaths of the civil service, as Axios recently reported.

The group is one of several Trump-allied organizations that have continued to push his polices in his absence, including America First Legal, dedicated to fighting Biden's agenda through the court system, the Center for Renewing America and the Conservative Partnership Institute.

The summit is intended to highlight AFPI's 'America First Agenda,' centered around 10 key policy areas including the economy, health care and election security.

It includes many of Trump's signature issues, like continuing to build a wall along the southern border and a plan to 'dismantle the administrative state.'

In a speech Monday, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, whose 'Contract with America' has been credited with helping Republicans sweep the 1994 midterm elections, praised the effort as key to future GOP victory.

'The American people want solutions,' he said.
Republicans have thrown their support behind Speaker Nancy Pelosi's reported upcoming trip to Taiwan despite China warning of consequences if she visits.

Newt Gingrich, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Republican Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska are among those encouraging Pelosi to visit the island - a proposed trip that is causing a rift between the speaker and President Joe Biden's administration.

It's unusual show of support from Republicans for the Democratic speaker and comes as amid concern China could move against the island nation soon.

Pelosi has not confirmed the trip publicly. The White House refuses to comment on a trip that has not been announced even as Biden said the idea of Pelosi going is 'not a good idea right now.'

China considers democratic, self-ruling Taiwan its own territory and has raised the prospect of annexing it by force. Officials there have warned Pelosi of Beijing's 'firm opposition' to her visiting.

Biden administration officials are worried Beijing could make a move against Taiwan independence over the next year and a half, the New York Times reported. China could try to cut off access to all or part of the Taiwan Strait, through which U.S. naval ships regularly pass.

Pelosi would be the first speaker to visit Taiwan since 1997.

Gingrich, the last speaker to make such a visit, encouraged Pelosi to go and to tell the Biden administration to shup up about it.

'I would say she absolutely has to go,' he told Fox News.

'She cannot allow the Chinese communist dictatorship to think that it can bully an American Speaker of the House. And frankly, she ought to tell the Pentagon and the State Department to shut up. They're always timid. They're always risk-averse. And they don't get it. It's very important to show strength,' Gingrich said.

Republicans have thrown their support behind Speaker Nancy Pelosi's reported upcoming trip to Taiwan despite China warning of consequences if she visits

Newt Gingrich told Fox News that Nancy Pelosi should go to Taiwan and she 'sought to tell the Pentagon and the State Department to shut up' about it

Republican Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, also said Pelosi should go.

'Speaker Pelosi should go to Taiwan and President Biden should make it abundantly clear to Chairman Xi that there's not a damn thing the Chinese Communist Party can do about it,' he told the Associated Press.

'No more feebleness and self-deterrence. This is very simple: Taiwan is an ally and the speaker of the House of Representatives should meet with the Taiwanese men and women who stare down the threat of Communist China.'

Biden is expected to talk to Chinese President Xi Jinping this week, he's said, even though he's tested positive for covid and has been working from the White House residence.

The White House has repeatedly publicly declined to comment on the Pelosi's trip.

'The administration routinely provides members of Congress with information and context for potential travel, including geopolitical and security considerations,' White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, noting she wouldn't comment on a trip the speaker hadn't announced. 'Members of Congress will make their own decisions.'

State Department spokesman Ned Price also declined to comment on the trip.

'I will just restate our policy, and that is that we remain committed to maintaining cross-strait peace and stability and our 'One China' policy,' said Price, referring to the U.S. position that recognizes Beijing as the government of China but allows for informal relations and defense ties with Taipei.

Meanwhile China warned on Monday it was getting 'seriously prepared' for Pelosi's trip.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian made clear Beijing opposes her travel.

'The Chinese side has repeatedly made clear to the US side our serious concern over Speaker Pelosi's potential visit to Taiwan and our firm opposition to the visit,' Zhao said.

The island's capital of Taipei staged its annual air raid drills on Monday, as its leader warned the drums of war are growing louder by the day.

Taiwan's military also mobilized for routine defensive exercises as fears mount of a forceful response to Pelosi's visit from Beijing.

In private, the Biden administration is particularly concerned that a convergence of upcoming events could make a Chinese response to a Pelosi visit even stronger and more animated than it might otherwise be, according to officials.

The Chinese Communist Party Congress, expected in November, at which Xi intends to further cement his hold on power, is one of those events.

International events in the coming months also could prompt China to react more forcefully than it has in the past if it believes its concerns are being ignored or its president is being disrespected, the officials said.

Those include the annual U.N. General Assembly in September and several summits in Asia - the G-20 in Indonesia, the East Asia Summit in Cambodia and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Thailand - set for October and November. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the administration's perspective.

The U.S. officials said the administration doubts that China would take action against Pelosi herself or try to sabotage or otherwise interfere with a visit, but they said the administration does not rule out the possibility that China could escalate provocative overflights of military aircraft in or near Taiwanese airspace and naval patrols in the Taiwan Strait should the trip take place.

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Republican Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska support Pelosi going to visit Taiwan

Taiwan's military mobilized for routine defensive exercises as fears mount that Beijing could make a move - U.S. officials fear that could happen in the next year to year and a half

The officials also said the administration does not preclude that China might also step up its actions outside the immediate area of Taiwan as a show of strength, thus possibly expanding military operations in contested areas of the South China Sea.

The Chinese in general don't fully appreciate or understand the concept of the separation of powers between the executive, legislative and judicial branches. Those distinctions to them are muddied further because the last time a speaker of the House visited Taiwan, Newt Gingrich, he was the speaker of a Republican-controlled House under a Democratic president.

Pelosi would be visiting at a time when the Democrats control the House, Senate and the White House, so there are concerns that the Chinese may see this as an administration move.

Mark Esper, a defense secretary during the Trump administration, said Monday that he had recently returned from Taipei and that more high-ranking U.S. officials should visit to help shape U.S. policy in the region. He also stressed that China should not have veto power over where U.S. officials travel.

'I think if the speaker wants to go, she should go,' Esper said on CNN's 'New Day.'

Meanwhile, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, a Republican who served in the Trump administration, tweeted on Sunday: 'Nancy, I'll go with you. I'm banned in China, but not freedom-loving Taiwan. See you there!'

Biden last week raised the U.S. government concerns about Pelosi's possible visit, telling reporters after returning from Massachusetts that the military thinks her trip is 'not a good idea right now.'

Asked about Biden's comments, Pelosi replied, 'I think what the President was saying is that maybe the military was afraid of my plane getting shot down or something like that by the Chinese. I don't know exactly.'

She also declined to confirm the trip, stating, 'You never even hear me say if I'm going to London, because it is a security issue.'

A spokesman for Pelosi again declined to comment on Monday, citing security protocol.

Last week Pelosi said it was 'important for us to show support for Taiwan' and that she believed Biden meant 'maybe the military was afraid our plane would get shot down or something like that by the Chinese.'

Pelosi has positioned herself as a lawmaker unafraid to confront Beijing almost since the moment she was sworn into Congress in 1987. When she visited Tiananmen Square two years after the 1989 massacre, she defiantly unfurled a banner that read 'To those who died for democracy in China.'

Three years ago, Pelosi voiced support for pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong, again triggering the ire of the Chinese government.

She had planned to visit Taiwan in April, but postponed the trip after testing positive for COVID-19.
Rishi Sunak is pictured at tonight's fiery Tory leadership debate in Stoke-on-Trent

Rishi Sunak's plan to detain Channel migrants on cruise ships was branded 'hare-brained' as Whitehall officials, including at the Treasury, roundly mocked the idea, reports say.

The ex-Chancellor and candidate for No 10 announced the hardline proposal in the Sunday Telegraph as a possible alternative to the 5million spent on hotels daily.

Mr Sunak said the Government could solve the 'hotel farce' with 'existing and novel solutions, including the use of cruise ships'.

The Truss campaign claimed the proposal would breach international law and human rights legislation, which has also put a stop to the Government's Rwanda plan.

Whitehall officials said holding undocumented migrants on cruise ships would breach the 1951 Refugee Convention, preventing 'arbitrary detainment'.

'The security would be a nightmare and hugely expensive', a senior Whitehall source told The Times.

Mr Sunak first suggested the idea in 2020, but it was soon slapped down by colleagues.

Another official added: 'It was ruled out by the Treasury on cost grounds.'

Home Secretary Priti Patel's Rwanda plan has failed to offshore a single unprocessed migrant

Home Secretary Priti Patel ultimately launched the Government's Rwanda plan in April, but it has so far failed to offshore a single migrant for processing.

A third official said of the cruise ships idea: 'It was a hare-brained idea that went round and the cabinet turned it down because the costs would have been astronomical.

'It was so early-days and it was laughed off the table across government at civil service and at Cabinet level. It was quickly ditched in favour of using other countries because you've got space, but on cruise ships, how would you manage that?'

Truss has suggested bolstering the sputtering initiative with more 'third country processing partnerships' and the appointment of a Border Force minister.

An Estonian ferry which carried Ukrainian refugees to Scotland is pictured docking at Leith

Turkey was mulled as a potential host nation, though Ankarra has repeatedly claimed it does not have the capacity to deal with any more refugees.

The officials' criticism tonight of Mr Sunak's proposal has sparked another briefing war between the two candidates for Downing Street, with a spokesperson for the ex-Chancellor pointing the figure at Truss's Foreign Office for the spate of crossings.

But Government sources said Mr Sunak blocked Home Office and Cabinet Office plans for new accommodation for 8,000 migrants.

It came within a couple of hours of a fiery television debate between Ms Truss and Mr Sunak.

Sunak claimed Truss's tax plans would 'push millions of people into misery', while the Foreign Secretary accused the former Chancellor of 'scaremongering' and peddling 'Project Fear'.
As Anthony Albanese prepares for his first day in parliament as prime minister his party is already under pressure to amend its climate change commitment after negotiations with the Greens.

Labor is hoping to get the support of the Greens to pass more ambitious climate change targets but the minor party has indicated it wants the legislation to be even tougher during intense behind-the-scenes negotiations.

Although the Labor government has a majority to pass laws in the House of Representatives, it will need to woo votes in the Senate to successfully implement its agenda, including the emissions reduction law.

Labor's bill sets a target of a 43 per cent cut to emissions by 2030 and net zero by 2050.

The Greens want a 75 per cent cut to emissions by 2030 and to stop all major new gas and oil projects.

While these conditions won't be met Labor's climate change minister Chris Bowen has adjusted the climate bill to make it clear all future targets must go beyond the 43 per cent 2030 baseline.

The bill will also strengthen the Climate Change Authority to act independently and advise on progress towards meeting climate goals to make the government more publicly accountable.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and partner Jodie Haydon take their places during a church service before the first sitting day of parliament for the new Labor government

Mr Albanese is seen at St Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Canberra on the opening day of the new parliament

The Greens might assent to Labor's lower target if the bill has a so-called ratchet mechanism, which would allow a minister to increase targets without having to pass new laws.

They also want climate triggers in the planning approval processes meaning that the climate impact on global warming must be a factor before major projects can be green lit.

However, before matters of legislation could be considered politicians of all stripes began the first day of the sitting of the new parliament by contemplating a higher power.

Mr Albanese and opposition leader Peter Dutton were among the MPs attending an early church service in Canberra.

The two leaders shook hand across the aisle before taking up front row pews.

Ceremonial matters will take up the majority of the first day of Parliament since the May election saw Labor elected to take office.

MPs also attended a smoking ceremony outside parliament house before a welcome to country to mark the opening of the 47th parliament.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at a smoking ceremony during the opening of the 47th Federal parliament in Canberra

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton shakes hands during the opening of the 47th Federal parliament at Parliament House in Canberra

The Governor-General will give a speech to both houses of parliament to outline the government's agenda and new MPs to be sworn in.

Then will be down to business for a busy week of parliament where Labor intends to introduce 18 pieces of legislation including the climate bill

Greens leader Adam Bandt has called Labor's promised target 'weak'.

'We've got a number of issues with the bill that has been released,' he said.

'The target is very weak. The target means the Great Barrier Reef will keep bleaching, crops will fail and we will see worse fires and floods.

'(The target) can't be a ceiling .... The legislation doesn't compel the government to do anything. We want to know what teeth it will have.'

Mr Bowen is reported to be in negotiations with the Greens and he told The Australian that the government's goal is a starting point.

'The bill makes it clear that 43 per cent is our minimum commitment and does not prevent our collective efforts delivering even stronger reductions over the coming decade,' Mr Bowen said.

'The government is giving the parliament the opportunity to end the climate wars. The bill  provides a platform for collaboration to drive down emissions while ensuring reliable energy supplies.'

Mr Albanese and opposition leader Peter Dutton (pictured right) shake hands before the service in Canberra

Mr Albanese and his partner Ms Haydon leave the church service in Canberra

Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen is negotiating with the Greens to get the climate change bill through both houses of Federal parliament

Agencies such as the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, Export Finance Australia, Infrastructure Australia, and the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility will also be required to adopt the climate goals.

If Labor gets the support of the 12 Greens senators and ACT Independent Senator David Pocock, it can pass the climate bill through the Senate.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks at the welcome to country ceremony on the first day of the 47th parliament

Greens leader Adam Bandt wants to see tougher action taken on climate change

Although Mr Bandt has authority to negotiate on behalf of the Greens with Mr Bowen, the partyroom will have to agree to any deal.

The Greens are likely to put forward amendments when the bill reaches the Senate and could refer it to a committee inquiry.

While Mr Dutton opposes Labor's climate bill some moderate Liberal MPs may consider crossing the floor to support it.
Byron Bay locals have taken aim at Splendour in the Grass revellers who left their idyllic coastal town strewn with rubbish - with NIMBY residents of one of the nation's most expensive suburbs lamenting that the music festival is 'all about the money'.

Angry Byron locals are calling for the party to end as images from the festival sites show discarded tents, piles of trash, deflated mattresses and thousands of pairs of filthy boots left behind for people to clean up.

The first Splendour in three years was marred by disastrous weather, poor planning, extensive cancellations and allegations of incompetence from patrons.

Attendees evacuated the campgrounds and town en masse on Monday - leaving thousands of pieces of rubbish and unwanted belongings behind.

Locals took to social media to rip into the festival guests, while environmentalists have slammed the festival as 'unsustainable'.

'Every year there's entire tents, Eskys, chairs and all sorts of perfectly usable equipment just dumped because grubs lack the brain cells to know how to pack it up or take it to the donation spots,' one resident fumed.

'I wish there was some sort of way to avoid this.'

Angry Byron Bay locals have labelled Splendour in the Grass revellers 'grubs' after the idyllic coastal town was turned into a garbage tip following the controversial festival

Images from the festival sites shows discarded tents, piles of trash, deflated mattresses and thousands of pairs of filthy boots left behind for people to clean up

Hundreds of boots have been left behind after patrons cleaned out local shops when the festival descended into a mud pit

Splendour patrons left the campsite in a worse condition than it was on Friday when organisers closed the area to any new arrivals

Some locals have called for the music festival for it to be permanently moved from the area due to the damage it is having on the environment.

'In these times they shouldn't be able to run it without some strict environmental guidelines,' one resident said. 'But it's all about the money... as usual.'

The calls to cancel Splendour forever came after the Byron Shire Council area in April became the first regional area to have a median house price above $2million - putting it in the same league as Sydney's north shore following a 21.1 per cent annual surge.

The CoreLogic data showed that, in Byron Bay itself, the median house price is $2.8million.

A Byron Bay house typically costs $1,230 a week to rent making it dearer than beachside Coogee in Sydney, SQM Research data showed last month.

Greens candidate Sue Higginson said Splendour at its heart is about 'mega money, environmental destruction and local community pain and suffering.'

'The land is the home of endangered ecological communities, 28 threatened species and is the site of significant aboriginal cultural heritage,' she wrote to Facebook.

Festival workers now have the unenviable task of cleaning up thousands of pieces of discarded belongings

Local volunteers are taking people's unwanted items to recycle

'The site of Splendour in the Grass is part of the most easterly significant wildlife corridor in Australia. It is the only intact corridor that connects the Gondwana Wollumbin ancient deep time forests to the unique subtropical coastal lowlands.

Splendour patrons left the campsite in a worse condition Monday than it was on Friday when organisers closed the area to any new arrivals - with garbage littered throughout the parklands.

The trail of destruction even found its way into town, with notoriously unwelcoming locals saying people had left their dirty shoes strewn throughout its streets 25kilometres from the festival site.

'I notice there's a trail of muddy shoes and gumboots around town this morning where people have ditched them in the gutters and on footpaths,' a resident posted on Facebook.

A pair of muddy boots were found left on the side of the road in town in Byron Bay after Splendour finished on Sunday night

What is a NIMBY? NIMBY, an acronym for 'Not In My Backyard,' describes the attitude of residents of neighbourhood about inappropriate or unwanted people in their local area. Byron Bay citizens are infamous for their Nimbyism, constantly fighting with officials over holding major events including festivals. They are also often abrasive to the holidaymakers who descend on its idyllic shores in the summer months. Advertisement

'You guys are coming back to pick this up right?' another said.

On Splendour's website, it claims it has a 'heap of environmental programs' to help every patron 'become a waste and eco-warrior during your time' at the festival.

'In 2019, Splendour in the Grass won a green gong at the NSW Government Green Globe Awards, an event that recognises sustainability leaders across NSW, as well as projects and events that events that encourage others to achieve positive change for the environment,' organisers said.

'From encouraging you to catch the bus or share a ride, to promoting initiatives on waste reduction, BYO bottles and reusable cups, we're always on the hunt for more ways to help keep our footprint light. Spread the environmental good vibes and lead by example.'

Ms Higginson said locals continue to fight against Splendour being held in North Byron Parklands. Daily Mail Australia has contacted her for comment.

In a final statement on Monday, Splendour Co-CEOs Jessica Ducrou and Paul Piticco thanked the 'best festival team' in the country for their efforts over the weekend.

Revellers packed up and left the muddy campsite on Monday after a tumultuous weekend of weather at Splendour

Hundreds of tents have been discarded in the campsite with a massive clean up effort now underway

'We apologise for any inconvenience you may have experienced at our 20th Splendour. It certainly wasn't our easiest show but even with the trials and tribulations we are so happy to be back with our Splendour family of patrons, our awesome event team, and our Australian music industry colleagues,' they wrote.

'As always, we really did try to provide the best experience possible under some extremely tricky conditions. The sheer collective spirit lifted us out of the mud and put music back on our stages where it hasn't been for years. We thank all the patrons that held onto their tickets for so long.

'We also acknowledge all the first-time festival goers and those who hadn't experienced a rain effected event before, we understand it was a lot for you.

'We have the best festival team in the country and we did everything we could considering the circumstances. We have consulted the weather gods and they tell us it will be great in 2023.'

About 50,000 revellers descended on the three-day festival near Byron Bay at the weekend - but the excitement quickly turned to frustration with the wild weather kicking off unlivable conditions and lengthy bus delays to leave the event.

Those left on Monday, the campers, were some of the worst-hit with heavy rains triggering floods and thick mud at campsites.

The horror conditions also mean thousands were left wondering how to get their cars out of the festival grounds, which turned to mush just hours into Splendour's start.

'I would say like 50 per cent of the cars down here are going to need to be pushed out ... We've already spoken to the girls down the road in the campervan and they're pretty bogged,' festival attendee Ewan Roxborgh told the ABC.

The first Splendour in the Grass in three years has been marred by disastrous weather, comical planning, extensive cancellations and allegations of miscare from patrons

Splendour in the Grass issued a second grovelling apology after its blunt explanation for six-hour wait times for buses was slammed by fed up revellers

Splendour had its opening day cancelled on Friday after torrential rain turned the site into a marsh.

The rain eased on Saturday but took another turn for the worse about 11pm as thousands of attendees tried to get back to their accommodation for the night.

Frustrated patrons took to social media to complain after they waited as long as six hours for a bus to pick them up, with some still stranded on the grounds at 6am.

In a statement on Sunday morning, organisers said everyone was off the premises by 3:30am, with people heaping further criticism after the response.

Scrambling to repair its image, management sent out another apology on Sunday evening, saying they brought in 'toilets and water' as 'extra measures'.

Frustrated attendees took to social media to complain they waited as long as six hours for a bus to pick them up

Scrambling to repair its image, management sent out another apology on Sunday evening, saying they brought in 'toilets and water' as 'extra measures'

'We know last night's journey home was sh*tty for some of you. It usually takes some time to get everyone out of the venue, we're so sorry you had that experience at Splendour,' the statement said on Sunday.

'While it doesn't excuse the delay, the fact is some of the buses we ordered didn't show up and that had a significant impact.

'We've been on the phones all day to pull in as many additional transport options as we can. There will likely be wait times again tonight, but we will have extra measures in place to support you including toilets and water.

'We are doing our best to get you all home safe and as quickly as possible.'

Initially Splendour organisers had blamed the problems on its Tweed routes and said 90 per cent of its patrons had left the site by 3:30am - the same as it was in 2019.

Attendees said they were lacking responsibility over a perceived lack of logistical planning after thousands were forced to move to offsite campgrounds.

The latest apology fell upon deaf ears, with people saying the improvements were nothing but a 'basic human requirement'.

Initially Splendour organisers had blamed the problems on its Tweed routes and said 90 per cent of its patrons had left the site by 3:30am - the same as it was in 2019

Attendees said they were lacking responsibility over a perceived lack of logistical planning after thousands were forced to move to offsite campgrounds

Revellers said they were forced to wait till 6am for a bus to get out of Splendour

'To say sh*tty for some of you, it's usual, blame the bus company, then make out how amazing you are being on the phone all day is NOT owning your stuff Splendour!!! Such a lack of compassion for the people who are paying you who you literally left out in the mud, hungry and cold all night,' an attendee responded to the latest apology.

''Toilets and water' arent an extra measure.... pretty sure everyone was aware it was a basic human requirement. take a bow splendour!' a woman replied.

Another said: 'Dear Splendour on top of everything else, your PR, media and comms teams have produced an epic series of how-not-to-do-it announcements and messaging.'

A man claimed a bus driver said it was organisers who had significantly underestimated the amount of vehicles needed - particularly after the campgrounds were closed on Friday.

'Our bus driver roped in two other busses that had to follow him because they didn't know the bus route to tweed via the coast line. The bus drivers were absolute legends and after they dropped us off at 5am were on their way back after organisers were pleading to them over walkie talkies,' he said.

'Come on Splendour we deserve better than that and so do the bus drivers that were out there all night! More toilets and water isn't going to fix a thing, especially those that couldn't make it today because of getting home at a time when the rest of the state is waking up. What a slap in the face.'

Splendour in the Grass revellers were forced to wait as late as 6am to get a bus out of the festival grounds on Sunday morning

In a statement on Sunday, organisers said everyone was off the premises by 3:30am, with people heaping further criticism after the blunt response

The initial statement drew an avalanche of criticism with people saying the organisers were showing a lack of accountability.

'There is a limit of what number of excuses you can continue to use. Accept responsibility that you have not run the festival properly and apologise for that,' a woman replied.

'While the music was incredible, your festival sucks. It was so poorly organised it appears you don't actually care. Caring means resourcing the event adequately. You have to over resource so you have contingency to fall back on,' another commented.

'I knew this was going to be an issue on Friday, when you had TWO buses to transport thousands of people to and from the venue,' a man added.

Some even suggested the lack of planning was 'dangerous' and that she heard 'desperate cries for medics' after people desperately stampeded for buses.

Frustrated attendees took to social media to reveal they waited as long as six hours this morning for a bus to pick them up

'I was so frightened of being crushed in the bus crowd last night with peoples desperation escalating as the morning approached. No crowd control and no staff in sight! Thank god there were no casualties,' she wrote.

People took to social media after some waited as long as six hours to get transport back to their accomodation.

'When you've been in the bus line for four hours and still have so far to go,' one woman wrote on TikTok alongside a video of crowds packed in the freezing cold waiting for transport.

'This is so grim, shame on the organisers! What do they expect not allowing people to be picked up and no parking - total scam artists,' another wrote.

'Splendour should be so ashamed of themselves.'

According to attendees, workers at the festival didn't provide water or warmth for the shivering crowds.

'Don't let them fool you, we had to beg for water. There was no communication from anyone as we stood there for hours. They said they would bring blankets and never did,' a frustrated reveller wrote.

'There's people here without shoes, jackets, food and the amount of buses in comparison to people is ridiculous.'

The rain eased on Saturday but again took another turn for the worse at around 11pm as thousands of attendees tried to get back to their accommodation for the night

Other festivalgoers slammed the organisers' poor planning, complaining they were still waiting for a bus by the time the sun was rising.

'Not to mention it's a PREBOOKED bus ticket  like they knew how many people needed to go home,' one woman in the group wrote.

'Update: just got home. It's 6am. The sun is UP.'

One woman said organisers should rethink their decision to go from a 40,000 capacity to 50,000 as there weren't enough resources for that many attendees.

'I understand there are so many factors playing a part in things going wrong but previously when it was capped at 40,000 waiting time to get home was never that long, two hours max,' she wrote.

Other ticket-holders said they would boycott the festival on Sunday to avoid waiting in six-hour lines to get home again.
The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) officials claimed that lack of funds left the nala works incomplete, else they could have provided a permanent solution to the problem. (DC Image)

HYDERABAD: An open drain at Deendayalnagar in Malkajgiri circle has been left unattended for two years, badly affecting business establishments in the area, allege the residents.

According to shopkeepers, drain water has been overflowing into their shops, preventing customers from entering, even after a light rainfall. They said the water, as high as three feet, entered the shop and damaged the property every time it rained.

However, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) officials claimed that lack of funds left the nala works incomplete, else they could have provided a permanent solution to the problem.

"I have been running a stationery shop in the area. Even during a light rainfall, about three feet of water enters the shop. I have been disconnected from the neighbourhood and my shop is left unapproachable, B. Sreedhar, who runs a shop in Deendayalnagar, said.

G. Venu, owner of a bike repair shop in the locality, said, I have been running this bike point for 12 years. For the past two years, I have been facing water-logging in the monsoon season. I am forced to close the shop until the water recedes. Despite numerous complaints lodged with the GHMC, it is yet to resolve the issue.

When questioned about the same, executive engineer of Malkajgiri circle R. Laxman said multiple issues had been causing the delay in nala works. He said contractors went on a strike due to non-payments and added that utility shifting also played a spoilsport. Laxman said the water-logging issue could be resolved only with the release of funds by the GHMC.
Residents breathed a sigh of relief last night when an alarm in a former police station was finally turned off after ringing out for more than 50 hours.

Bosses at a nearby boutique hotel in Bakewell, Derbyshire, had to turn guests away because of the incessant noise which began at 11am on Saturday.

Business owners called police but were reportedly told there was only one keyholder who would not be available until Monday. It was finally silenced shortly before 4pm yesterday.

Councillor Wakeman, said: The nearby hotel has been the worse affected as theyve lost business and had people walking out.'

Town councillor Mark Wakeman described the noise as awful, adding: Its just not good enough. They simply went in, turned it off and left. No apology.

The police station  the last in the Peak District  was closed in 2015.

The issue caused such a stir that the local newspaper even started a live blog on its website about the alarm before it was finally silenced.

Councillor Wakeman, added: The nearby hotel has been the worse affected as theyve lost business and had people walking out.

Ive always spoke highly of our police but after this weekend Ive lost all faith.

Business owners called police but were told there was only one keyholder who would not be available until Monday so the alarm was finally silenced shortly before 4pm on Monday

Helen Butterworth, who works in the Granby Cafe, directly around the corner from the station, said: What makes it worse is that [it was] market day, which is one of the busiest days in Bakewell, so all the outdoor traders have had to listen to it.

Im sure if it was a business, the police would be up in arms and out straight away responding to complaints.

Charlie Marsden from The Boutique Hotel in Bakewell said the alarm was so loud that it had had to stop selling rooms that were nearest to the station.
A pioneering drone lifeguard service rolled out across Spanish beaches saved the life of a 14-year-old boy this month as he struggled against a powerful tide off a beach in Valencia, its operators have said.

The drone dropped a life vest into the sea that was able to keep the teenager afloat just as he started to sink below the waves, until a physical lifeguard team arrived moments later.

'When we arrived what we saw was a kid that was in very bad shape, with almost no energy to keep floating, so I sent over the life vest,' Miguel Angel Pedrero, drone pilot for General Drones, the firm that supplies the technology, told Reuters.

'Because of the heavy waves it was a complicated manoeuvre, but we finally managed to give him the vest and he could float until the lifeguards reached him by jet ski.'

The pioneering drone service is credited with saving the life of a 14-year-old boy off the coast of Valencia (pictured) and has been rolled out across Spain's beaches

Valencia-based General Drones started supporting Spanish lifeguard staff in 2017 in the town of Sagunto just north of Valencia.

Now, it has more than 30 pilots and their drones working with the lifeguards at 22 beaches across Spain, providing rapid reaction support in the critical moments of a potential drowning before lifeguards can physically reach the scene.

'These extra seconds are vital in some cases and also allows the rescue teams to approach the person more calmly and cautiously,' Pedrero added.

After being rescued, the 14-year-old, who has not been identified, was sent to a local hospital after ambulance personnel provided him with oxygen. He was discharged 24 hours later.

A total of 140 people have died from accidental drowning in Spain in the first six months of 2022.

This figure represents and increase of 55 per cent compared to the same period in 2021, according to the Royal Spanish Lifesaving and Rescue Federation.
Stephanie Davies-Arai said: There needs to be an urgent inquiry into how an organisation with this extreme ideology has been allowed to influence schools'

LGBT+ charity Stonewall tonight clarified a tweet posted over the weekend in which it claimed children as young as two can recognise they're transgender.

The pro-trans group shared a Metro article about a 'non-conforming' four-year-old whose nursery doesn't respect their attitudes.

Stonewall wrote: 'Research suggests that children as young as 2 recognise their trans identity.

'Yet, many nurseries and schools teach a binary understanding of pre-assigned gender.

'LGBTQ-inclusive and affirming education is crucial for the wellbeing of all young people!'

That divided Twitter, with campaigners claiming the tweet was evidence of Stonewall's 'extreme ideological belief' that biological sex doesn't matter.

Stonewall wrote: Research suggests children as young as 2 recognise their trans identity' (file)

Transgender Trend director Stephanie Davies-Arai said: There needs to be an urgent inquiry into how an organisation with this extreme ideology has been allowed to influence schools.

But Stonewall responded tonight with a statement clarifying the original tweet, The Telegraph reported.

They wrote: 'We were commenting on an article written by a parent reflecting on how their child was being cared for at nursery. The parent was worried that their child was being pressured to fit in with stereotypes about boys and girls.

'While we dont actively work on nursery education, we believe that young children should be able to play, explore and learn about who they are, and the world around them, without having adults ideas imposed upon them.

'We support existing provisions to ensure primary and secondary school pupils learn about LGBTQ+ identities in an age-appropriate and timely manner.'

The news came as Government departments and public institutions have pulled out of Stonewall's Diversity Champions scheme to promote workplace equality.

Stonewall chair Sheldon Mills is a frontrunner to lead the Competition and Markets Authority

Tory MPs and Cabinet ministers have expressed concerns over the group's pro-trans agenda.

Its chairman, Sheldon Mills, is a frontrunner to become head of markets commission the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).

But Mr Mills faces opposition among ministers, who must sign off on his appointment to the 195,000-a-year post.
Two Dallas women are seeking $1 million in damages from Taco Bell after a store manager poured boiling water on them causing permanent skin damage and a lifelong change to their appearance, according to a new lawsuit.

The lawsuit names the plaintiffs as Brittany Davis and her niece, named only as C.T., 16, in documents.

One section of the lawsuit says that C.T.'s facial injuries are so severe her mother, Kira, has removed all of the mirrors from their home because her daughter can't 'bear to see her own face.'

The incident occurred on June 17 at the Taco Bell location in the 11800 block of Abrams Road, just off of Interstate 635, in northeastern Dallas.

The lawsuit was filed on July 13. The pair are being represented in the lawsuit by high-profile civil rights lawyers, Ben Crump and Paul Grinke.

Video from the June 17 incident shows an employee on the phone while filing up the bucket

Brittany Davis is shown here in a discussion about her food order with a member of staff

Videos shows steam rising up from the water after it's thrown at Davis and her niece

After the water is thrown, video shows the two women running for the exit

The video shows an employee on a phone and filling up a bucket full of water in the restaurant's kitchen. She walks from the kitchen to the counter-area, where she apparently flings the water at the two women.

The employee then marches back to the kitchen and fills the bucket again before throwing more water at the two.

Crump said in a statement that Davis and her niece were locked in the restaurant by staff as they tried to resolve an issue with the order. The pair say they received the wrong order three times and complained. The order was worth $30.

The plaintiffs were going through the drive-thru when the dispute began, but Davis went inside with her niece after the order came back wrong.

Once inside, they allege that one employee challenged the minor to a fight.

The manager wasn't involved in the original discussions, which had gone on for around 10 minutes. She only became involved when she went to get the scalding water, according to documents.

The incident occurred at this Taco Bell location in the 11800 block of Abrams Road, just off of Interstate 635, in northeastern Dallas

The two women were left 'wondering why the employees could not simply go back and prepare the food that they had paid for. The employees refused to do so and became combative,' the lawsuit states.

Davis and her niece were both hit in the face and chest with the water soaking into their clothes. They attempted to leave the restaurant, but were locked in.

The manager went to the back again to get more water, but the pair managed to escape to their car where family members were waiting and were not hit a second time. They then managed to unlock the door.

'As this family was leaving the parking lot, a Taco Bell employee came outside the front door, laughing, clapping, and taunting the family,' the lawsuit reads. 'The burns on her face will cause discoloring and scarring that will forever impact her self-image.'

Another section of the filing reads: 'Not only did Brittany and C.T. suffer physical trauma because of the burns but they will now live with the psychological trauma that comes with an attack like this.

'The Taco Bell store manager violently and without warning poured a bucket of boiling water over C.T.s and Brittanys heads, shoulders, breasts and legs, causing excruciating second and third degree burns on their body.'

Crump alleges that one of the employees had a gun under his shirt. One of the employees claims to have been assaulted by one of the victims.

Paul Grinke, one of the lawyers for the plaintiffs, told NBC News: 'It is hard to imagine a scenario where it would be OK to pour scalding water all over a female minor.'

As the two victims were driven to the hospital, Davis suffered a seizure and was later transferred by helicopter to a specialized burn unit. Lawyers say that Davis suffered 10 seizures in total due to the incident, causing 'significant' brain injury.

'Our hearts break for these two victims whose lives are forever changed because of the horrific and damaging actions by the Taco Bell manager and the larger entities that failed to protect (them),' lawyer Ben Crump said.

Taco Bell responded, saying: 'We take the safety and wellbeing of team members and customers seriously. Taco Bell is in contact with the franchise owner and operator of this restaurant on this matter.'

Two employees, Taco Bell's parent company Yum! Brands, and the Taco Bell restaurant #22872, are named in the lawsuit.

No criminal arrests have been made but the case has been referred to a grand jury by the Dallas Police Department.
Australian adolescents could soon have access to Covid-19 vaccine Nuvaxovid after the national medical regulator provisionally approved its use for children aged between 12 and 17 years old.

The news, announced on Monday by the Therapeutic Goods Administration, follows provisional approvals for Nuvaxovid, made by Novavax, in adults in January.

Nuvaxovid is a protein-based vaccine. This type of vaccine contains part of the coronavirus spike protein.

Australian adolescents could soon have access to Covid-19 vaccine Nuvaxovid after the national medical regulator provisionally approved its use for children aged between 12 and 17 years old

Nuvaxovid (pictured) is a protein-based vaccine that uses a genetic code called RNA to make your body's cells produce an immune response to the coronavirus's spike protein

Adolescents aged 12 years and older can at present receive either the adult Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine or the Moderna jab.

Both Pfizer and Moderna are mRNA vaccines. This type of vaccine uses a genetic code called RNA to make your body's cells produce an immune response to the coronavirus's spike protein.

The AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine (Vaxzevria) and Novavax's Nuvaxovid are not currently registered for use in people under 18 years of age.

The next step is for the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation to give the green light for the Nuvaxovid vaccine to be used in adolescents.

The next step is for the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation to give the green light for the Nuvaxovid vaccine to be used in adolescents

They are expected to make a decision within weeks.

Australia's death toll from the virus has now surpassed 11,000.

Seventy fatalities with Covid-19 were reported in NSW and Victoria alone in the latest data released on Tuesday.
Photos from the first day of Parliament since Anthony Albanese was elected prime minister show the stark divide in Covid policy between the major parties.

Mr Albanese and Opposition Leader Petter Dutton shook hands at St Andrews Presbyterian Church during the traditional service before the opening of Parliament.

The prime minister wore a black mask over his face, while Mr Dutton was bare faced - as he was throughout the service.

Hours later, the divide was even more stark as while every Labor MP wore a mask in the House of Representatives, just five Coalition members followed suit.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Petter Dutton shook hands at St Andrews Presbyterian Church during the traditional service before the opening of Parliament. Mr Albanese wore a mask but Mr Dutton did not

The divide was even more stark as while every Labor MP wore a mask in the House of Representatives, just five Coalition members followed suit

Coalition members in masks were Darren Chester, Andrew Gee, Karen Andrews, Rowan Ramsey, and Andrew Wallace.

Most crossbench MPs were also masked up including the seven 'teal' independents, but notably not Covid vaccine sceptic Queenslander Bob Katter.

MPs, even Covid-zealot Greens leader Adam Bandt, took off their masks while being sworn in at the centre of the House floor, but put them back on again when they sat down afterwards.

Meanwhile in the Senate, just Jim Molan and Paul Scarr wore masks on the Coalition benches while again all Labor senators did.

Mr Albanese and his Cabinet notably also wore masks at a meeting on Monday, and again at a meeting of the whole Labor caucus later that day.

The prime minister has strongly supported recommendations from health officials that Australians should wear masks indoors over winter.

Meanwhile in the Senate, just Jim Molan and Paul Scarr (circled) wore masks on the Coalition benches while again all Labor senators did

Mr Albanese and his girlfriend Jodie Haydon wore masks throughout the church service

Covid cases rose to among the highest levels in the pandemic in recent weeks, with 36,506 reported on Monday with an estimated 377,550 active infections.

Mr Dutton has not made similar strong calls for masks to been worn indoors, other than to stridently oppose the return of mandates - which the PM doesn't want either.

Instead, he said Australians should make their own minds up about what Covid precautions to take.

He last month called for the mask mandate on planes to be scrapped, as it was in the US recently, along with Australian airport terminals, as it 'doesn't pass the pup test'.

'We've taken a decision to take the health advice, that's always prudent. But if you've got a situation where on one leg of the flight you've got to wear a mask, but not the other, that just doesn't make sense,' he said.

Mr Albanese and his Cabinet notably also wore masks at a meeting on Monday, and again at a meeting of the whole Labor caucus later that day

Mr Dutton agreed with an assertion the mandate was a 'handbrake' on the economy, with people potentially avoiding flying to Australia if they must wear a mask on the flight.

'People have a choice. If you want to wear a mask, if you want to have your kids wearing a mask as well, that's a decision for you... but I don't support a mandating of it,' he said.

Despite policy differences, the pair appear to be fairly friendly, walking to Parliament while chatting together on Monday morning.

The PM in the past said he had a much better working relationship with Mr Dutton than his Liberal leader predecessor Scott Morrison.

'Peter Dutton though, I must say, I have a much better relationship with Peter Dutton than I had with Scott Morrison,' he said days after the election.

'Peter Dutton has never broken a confidence that I've had with him.'

Mr Albanese does not support a renewed mask mandate, despite calls from doctors and some health experts.

'The clear decision of the AHPPC, the peak body where you get all the state and territory chief health officers together with the chief medical officer, Professor (Paul) Kelly, haven't advocated that to me at all,' he said last week.

The prime minister has strongly supported recommendations from health officials that Australians should wear masks indoors over winter

However, Mr Albanese was still attacked by his own supporters on Monday for only wearing a surgical mask, instead of the more protective N95 or P2 ones.

'Not many N95s in this picture... which would have been better for both the public health message and, you know, not spreading Covid around the ministry,' one wrote.

Another added: 'Few seem to have pressed the metal bar to ensure a good over nose fit either...'

The mask display at the Cabinet meeting also infuriated many who are sick of the constant demands to revert back to lockdown-type conditions.

'Why mandate masks? What's wrong with personal responsibility?' raged one on Twitter. 'I don't need Albanese to tell me to put one on. I can think for myself.'

Another added: 'Albo's been on an international tour since the election hugging world leaders but now it's mask time. Not only theatre but bad theatre.'
Tim texted his mother that he was 'dizzy' all the time and hadn't slept in hours

Staff believed he was homesick while doctors cited gastro and homesickness

Days before he died on a school trip to Europe, a fit and healthy teenage boy who teachers thought was suffering from homesickness texted his mother.

Timothy Fehring, 15, told her he hadn't slept 'in hours' and was 'always feeling dizzy' since flying into Europe from his home city of Melbourne.

The Blackburn High School student had unknowingly developed an infection in his blood and lungs that turned into sepsis, which killed him six days after he landed.

Some of Tim's final messages to his family on that fateful trip can now be revealed, as the coroner and loved ones push for major changes to school excursion policies - including a better staff-to-student ratio.

Tim Fehring (pictured) died on July 28, 2019 on the sixth day of a school trip across Europe. It was revealed that he had developed an infection in his blood and lungs that turned into sepsis

The 15-year-old's final text messages (pictured) to his mother have been revealed amidst the release of the coroner's report including one where he said he was always feeling 'dizzy'

Over the course of six days of the trip, Tim lost 5kg, threw up repeatedly in roadside bins and struggled to walk.

However, two teachers accompanying 16 students on the holiday believed he was simply suffering from home sickness, rather than being seriously ill.

Now his family have released messages showing Tim informed his mother, Barbara, not long after arriving in Berlin on June 23 that he was feeling unwell.

His condition was initially chalked up to the spicy food he was given to eat on the Thai Airlines flight he was on.

'I almost threw up and am working on getting better so I can have a better time,' he texted.

In his next message Tim said: 'I'm going to sleep like a baby because it might be exhaustion.

'I have not slept in hours and I always feel dizzy.'

As the days went on and the group travelled from Germany to Vienna, Tim's condition grew worse. He died on June 28 in a hospital in Vienna, less than a week after he'd left Australia.

In coronial findings handed down recently, Coroner Simon McGregor said staff should have 'sought, and then followed, medical advice about Tim's wellbeing' during the excursion.

Tim was taken to Munich Children's Hospital on day four of the excursion and was examined by a doctor.

But the doctor said constipation and homesickness was likely the reason for his vomiting and suggested Tim drink water and eat fruit to 'feel better'.

Coroner McGregor said the doctor needed to do a physical exam to examine other possible reasons for Tim's illness.

'Dr Schrems should have conducted a physical examination, including taking of blood pressure or use of a stethoscope, for a first-time patient prior to writing a script for anxiety medication,' the report said.

He also wrote that school staff should have kept an open mind about what he was suffering from, with teachers even suggesting to the doctor it may just be homesickness.

Tim (pictured) departed for Europe from Melbourne with his fellow students and two teachers. He arrived in Berlin on June 23 and began to immediately feel sick

Coroner Simon McGregor had made two recommendations to the Department of Education and Training including increasing staff numbers on overseas trips and review excursion policies. Tim's school, Blackburn High School, accepted the changes (pictured, Tim with his sister)

Coroner McGregor found that staff - two teachers, including the assistant principal and business manager - had made the 'wrong judgment' in treating Tim.

He recommended an increase in staff numbers attending overseas trips and a review of excursion policies.

The coroner outlined how increasing the ratio of staff to students would give chaperones 'more flexibility' to manage remaining students if someone fell ill.

Blackburn High School has since accepted the recommendations and have already increased staff numbers for excursions.

'He didn't like making a fuss'

Tim's mother Barbara Fehring said her son was a happy and healthy child who couldn't wait to go on the trip, but added nobody listened to him when he tried to tell him how unwell he was.

'The people in charge thought he was homesick but he wasn't. He couldn't wait to go away, but he didn't like making a fuss,' she told Daily Mail Australia.

'He was a very fit, healthy and energetic kid who was always happy and always wanted to make those around him happy.'

The Coroner's report said that the 15-year-old was vomiting on the first day the group arrived in Berlin.

On the second day, Tim woke up with stomach cramps and after not eating he vomited at lunchtime, and again at dinner.

Teachers initially thought he was suffering the effects of jetlag, different food, the heat, and a change in climate.

They had informed his mother he was feeling sick but suspected it was due to being homesick, the coroner's report said.

On June 26, he woke up early and texted his mother asking her to bring him home.

'He expressed dissatisfaction about how he was being treated and disbelieved about his sickness,' the coroner's report said.

Coroner McGregor said staff had made the 'wrong judgement' in treating Tim (pictured with his sister and dad)

Teachers initially thought Tim (pictured with his father) was suffering the effects of jetlag, different food, the heat, and a change in climate

His mother Barbara spoke to one of the teachers and said Tim needed to see a doctor.

He was eventually taken to Munich Children's Hospital after going on a walking tour where he appeared 'exhausted, visibly pale and had noticeably lost weight'.

'(One of the teachers) mentioned to the doctor that Tim was homesick, and the doctor confirmed that his symptoms could be connected to this,' the coroner's report said.

Tim was at the hospital for between four and six hours, and the doctor said constipation and homesickness was likely the reason for his vomiting.

The following day the group travelled to Austria and went on another walking tour.

'Tim walked around carrying a 'vomit bag' although he asked not to go at all,' the coroner's report said.

'He had not improved and was walking slowly and looked puffed out and tired. He was pale and had black circles under his eyes.

'Tim had told the staff that he wanted to go to hospital, but staff considered that he was trying to avoid doing the planned activities such as the afternoon's walking tour.'

Ms Fehring said she couldn't understand why Tim wasn't taken to hospital on June 27, despite telling the teachers he was feeling so terrible.

'The teachers didn't know him, they never taught him so they didn't know that Tim didn't put things on.'

On the evening of June 27, staff decided Tim would fly home alone as his condition had not improved.

The next day, on June 28, Tim was taken to get a doctor's certificate to confirm he was able to travel.

While he was there, Tim was not examined or given any tests and the doctor was told to prescribe him anxiety medication at the request of one of the teachers, the coroner's report said.

The doctor also deemed Tim fit to travel. (Ms Fehring said he was not).

While the teacher was paying for the appointment, Tim walked out of the doctor's office into the hallway, complaining it was 'hot and stuffy' but moments later was found unresponsive on the floor.

Vomit was splattered all over his clothes and his nose was bleeding, the report said.

Tim was given CPR before he was rushed to the Vienna Centre for Social Medicine, Paediatric Intensive Care Unit in an ambulance.

His pupils were at 'maximum dilation' at the hospital and a CT scan found severe swelling to the brain, the report said.

On the evening of June 27, staff decided Tim would fly home alone as his condition had not improved

Ms Fehring understands Tim had gone into sepsis and when he collapsed onto the floor he went into cardiac arrest.

Tim was unable to be saved. His mother had been on a flight back to Melbourne at the time and was only informed about her son's death by close friends who'd gone to meet her at the airport when she landed.

Autopsies showed Tim had a highly acute infection in his blood and lungs which may have led to heart failure.

Ms Fehring said she supports the recommendations put forward by the coroner and has suggested a registered nurse be present on every trip.

'For Tim to have left us so happy and excited to go away and within a matter of days deteriorate so fast, it astounds us,' she said.

'We are not wanting this ever to happen to any other child or for any family to go through what we have and are still going through.'
Australian business owners are taking drastic measures to lure new employees with some offering up to $10,000 in sign-on bonuses and other incentives.

Post-pandemic worker shortages have crippled industries across the country including trades and services, healthcare, transport, construction, logistics and manufacturing.

Desperate employers are trying to combat the worker shortage by offering people thousands of dollars to work.

Christian Sutton (pictured) from Conquer Fitness in Queensland said it was difficult finding qualified and skilled workers in regional areas and is offering a $2,500 to $5,000 bonus for a new personal trainer

Christian Sutton from Conquer Fitness in Kingaroy, located 220km north-west of Brisbane, said finding employees in regional areas was 'incredibly difficult' with 'slim pickings [to find] skilled workers'.

The Queensland gym is offering a $2,500-$5,000 bonus for a new personal trainer.

'There are so many avenues that we are offering in the incentive package, to get people out there,' Mr Sutton told Sunrise.

'It's been a real struggle to find qualified and skilled workers to come and be personal trainers in the gym, for sure.

'I think in the regional areas it's hard to get people and that's why we have such a large package to get people drawn out from those more city-based areas.

Head of TX Winning Group Ed Brenac said businesses in the CBD are also suffering from worker shortages and ha offered bonuses ranging from $1,000 to $2,000 for all new starters

However, businesses in the heart of Sydney's CBD are also facing the pressure of worker shortages and are enticing new staff with bonuses.

Head of TX Winning Group Ed Brenac is offering bonuses for all new starters ranging from $1,000 to $2,000.

'We're struggling in those entry-level roles and those customer-facing roles ... we're always looking for people with a great attitude,' Mr Brenac said.

'We are also offering a $1,000 bonus for all new starters, and in our online call centre.

'In transport and logistics we are offering the $2,000 bonus for truck drivers, trades, and warehouse workers, and in our retail stores as well.'

In Melbourne, one Grill'd franchise said it was ready to pay someone $10,000 just to sign on.

Grill'd Chief Operating Officer Aaron Fitzgerald told reporters that finding new employees was challenging.

'We are doing everything we can do to find talented and capable people, and talented leaders to join our restaurants,' Mr Fitzgerald said.

Data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed there are nearly as many job vacancies as there are unemployed Australians.

More than 480,000 roles are available nation-wide while the number of Australians who classify themselves as unemployed stands at 548,100.

The record number of available employment opportunities is up 14 per cent from February, and more than double the number of jobs on offer in February 2020.

There are more than 480,000 roles unfilled, while the number of Aussies who classify themselves as jobless stands at 548,100, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (pictured, people queue outside a Centrelink centre in Melbourne)

Bjorn Jarvis, head of Labour Statistics at the ABS, said the number of businesses looking to hire at least one more staff member has also boomed.

'A quarter of businesses reported having at least one vacancy in May this year,' he said.

'This rate was more than double the pre-pandemic level in February 2020 (11 per cent), which highlights the extent to which businesses are finding it more difficult to find staff.'

Victoria saw job vacancies jump by 18 per cent in just three months, while positions available in NSW increased by 12 per cent.

2GB radio host Ben Fordham said there are Australians who should be working but won't and have become addicted to welfare

In April, 2GB radio host Ben Fordham partly blamed Centrelink recipients for a massive shortage in workers.

'But let's be real here - not everyone is looking for a job,' Fordham said.

'Not everyone wants a job and the measures in place are not working. Every day we hear another story about staff shortages.'

The radio host said despite moves to bolster the workforce with 175,000 foreign workers, backpackers and international students, it wouldn't fix the issue.

'The truth is, there are Australians who should be working but won't. They've become accustomed to welfare, they've become addicted to it,' he said.

'We've made it too easy for people to sit around while others do the heavy lifting and the workers are paying for it.'

Centrelink recipients have recently been blasted by job recruiters for submitting applications for roles they have no intention of working in just so they could receive welfare payments

Job recruiters have recently blasted some Centrelink recipients for submitting applications for roles they have no intention of working in just so they could receive welfare payments.

One resume seen by Daily Mail Australia was from a person who admitted to running their own business and applying for the job because 'in the current climate I need to be on Centrelink'.
Republican Senator Chuck Grassley is holding the FBI and Justice Department's feet to the fire on Hunter Biden, demanding the agencies answer claims from a whistleblower they downplayed negative information on Hunter Biden in the lead up to the 2020 election.

Grassley revealed on Monday that 'highly credible' whistleblowers have come forward alleging a widespread effort within the FBI to discredit negative information about President Joe Biden's son.

'The information provided to my office involves concerns about the FBI's receipt and use of derogatory information relating to Hunter Biden, and the FBI's false portrayal of acquired evidence as disinformation,' Grassley wrote FBI Director Christopher Wray and Attorney General Merrick Garland.

'The volume and consistency of these allegations substantiate their credibility and necessitate this letter,' he noted.

Grassley, the ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee which oversees the agencies, says the whistleblower alleges that was a 'scheme' among some FBI officials to 'undermine derogatory information connected to Hunter' by falsely flagging it as disinformation.

And, he claims, this all happened in the lead up to the 2020 presidential election.

Republican Senator Chuck Grassley (left) is demanding FBI and Justice Department answer claims from a whistleblower they downplayed negative information on Hunter Biden (right) in the lead up to the 2020 election

Republican Senator Chuck Grassley wrote FBI Director Christopher Wray (left) and Attorney General Merrick Garland (right) demanding answers

In October 2020, one month before the election, 'an avenue of derogatory Hunter Biden reporting was ordered closed' by a senior FBI agent at the bureau's Washington Field office, Grassley claims.

'[T]he allegations provided to my office appear to indicate that there was a scheme in place among certain FBI officials to undermine derogatory information connected to Hunter Biden by falsely suggesting it was disinformation,' Grassley wrote.

His letter came after revelations last week that the federal investigation into Hunter Biden reached a 'critical juncture' and investigators are weighing whether to charge the president's son.

The Department of Justice probe in Delaware has intensified in recent weeks over whether to bring charges on tax violations or making false statements on purchasing a gun, sources told CNN.

Hunter would have been prohibited from buying a gun at the time because of his well-documented struggles with drug addiction.

He revealed after the 2020 election that he was being investigated on tax issues but denied any wrong doing.

Donald Trump tried to make Hunter Biden's business dealings an issue in the 2020 election - a charge that pleased his supporters at campaign rallies but failed to stop Biden from winning the presidency.

President Biden has denied any knowledge of his son's business dealings and the White House has said they will stay out of any Justice Department investigations involving Hunter.

Republicans are expected to probe Hunter's business deals if they retake control of Congress in the November midterm election.

David Weiss, the U.S. Attorney in Delaware, is leading the federal probe, which dates back to as early as 2018. President Biden kept Weiss on after Trump left office to continue the investigation.

Hunter has not been charged with any crimes and has denied criminal wrongdoing.

The FBI and IRS' criminal division are among the agencies who have been involved in moving the investigations, and there have also been discussions over whether his past drug abuse could weaken their case, CNN reported.

Hunter could argue that he wasn't aware of his actions because he was high on drugs.

The probe is a political hot potato for Attorney General Merrick Garland.

The Justice Department has an unwritten rule to avoid bringing politically sensitive cases within 60 days of an election, officials have noted.

But Garland would faces charges of Democratic favoritism if he holds back on Hunter with some officials arguing that rule doesn't apply since Joe Biden's name isn't on the midterm ballot, which determines which party controls Congress.

Investigators were reportedly looking into allegations that Hunter (left) used his father, President Joe Biden (right), to secure business deals and lobby overseas

The intense four-year probe revealed many alarming details about the president's son

Among them was Hunter's drug use. Pictured: Hunter with a crack pipe in his mouth

Earlier this summer, DailyMail.com revealed a 2018 voicemail recording from the junior Biden's hard drive stating the president did know about the dealings.

Joe Biden called Hunter on December 12, 2018, saying that he wanted to talk to him after reading a New York Times story about Hunter's dealings with the Chinese oil giant CEFC.

During a July 5 White House press briefing, Biden's spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre refused to comment on the voicemail to reporters.

'From this podium, I am not going to talk about alleged materials from the laptop,' Jean-Pierre repeatedly shot back when asked.

When further pushed on the contents of voicemail and if the administration is being open with the American people, she said, 'I cannot comment on any materials from the laptop.'

Files on Hunter's abandoned laptop previously disclosed and verified by DailyMail.com show that he struck a deal with the Chinese company worth millions of dollars after touting his family connections.

The Times' 2018 story pointed out CEFC chairman Ye Jianming had been arrested in China and his top lieutenant, Patrick Ho, had been convicted in the US for bribing African officials to help Iran evade oil sanctions.

It revealed that Ye had met with Hunter at a Miami hotel in 2017 to discuss 'a partnership to invest in American infrastructure and energy deals.'

The Times reported that when Ho was arrested, he called Joe's brother Jim Biden  who told the newspaper that he believed the call was meant for Hunter.

The Gray Lady said it was 'unclear whether Hunter Biden struck any business deals with CEFC', not knowing at the time the depths of his connections with his Chinese business partners.

After seeing the story online, Joe called Hunter and left a voicemail.

'Hey pal, it's Dad. It's 8:15 on Wednesday night. If you get a chance just give me a call. Nothing urgent. I just wanted to talk to you,' he said.

'I thought the article released online, it's going to be printed tomorrow in the Times, was good. I think you're clear. And anyway if you get a chance give me a call, I love you.'
A private investigator will be engaged in the hope of solving the baffling disappearance of a grandmother who vanished after a car crash.

Colleen South was last officially seen alive at Renown Park, in Adelaide's inner north, on July 1 about 3.30pm, driving off in her silver Hyundai Getz hatchback.

Her damaged car and belongings were discovered days later in Wycheproof, in northern Victoria, including her journal which contained a handwritten note with the words 'help me please'.

Veronica South (pictured right with her mum Colleen) insists her mother's disappearance is out of character and should be treated as suspicious

A sign post located at the road where Ms South's car was found incorrectly states Swan Hill is that way

Ms South's niece, Australian actress Farah Mak (pictured) will travel to Wycheproof on Tuesday to help in the search

Her desperate family now hope to raise $10,000 through a GoFundMe page in the hope of employing a sleuth to continue the search.

Ms South's relative, Courtney Rose, now claims a witness saw Ms South alone in her car in the Victorian Mallee town of Ninyeunook, on Jeruk River Road, between 3pm and 3:30pm on Sunday, July 3 - two days after her official last sighting in Adelaide.

'The description of the driver obtained by the witness matches that of Colleen South,' Ms Rose stated on the fundraiser page.

A farmer then found her 2006 Hyundai Getz hatchback abandoned at Bunguluke, near Wycheproof in Victoria, at 4pm the same day.

Victoria Police last week returned to the remote area to continue its search for the 58-year old after initially abandoning it.

They were joined by Ms South's family and friends, who have continued to scour the area for clues.

All funds raised from the GoFundMe page will be used to hire a private investigator and assist with the cost of expenses while Ms South's loved ones continue to search for her.

Ballarat woman Karen Gilligan went missing in Wycheproof in March 2010. Her skull was found years later 30kms away

Daily Mail Australia revealed last week the car of Ballarat mum Karen Gilligan was found abandoned in Wycheproof in March 2010, baffling police and her four children.

She was last seen putting fuel into her car in Avoca on March 26, 2010  the day after her family reported her disappearance.

What happened to her remains a mystery to this day, with Ms Gilligan's skull found 30kms away on the banks of the Avoca River in Charlton two years later.

Like Ms South's case, police at the time did not class Ms Gilligan's disappearance and death as suspicious.

Ms South's frantic family believe foul play is involved in their loved one's disappearance.

Her possessions, which were located a short distance from her wrecked car, contained a crumpled map that appeared to indicate she may have been on her way to Swan Hill - located about 100kms north of Wycheproof.

Shotgun shells had been located at Ms South's last known location, which police dismissed as the remnants of fox hunters.

Family members believe Ms South may have been misled by a sign post, which incorrectly directed her along the lonely road where her car was found abandoned with its airbags deployed.

Medication found by Veronica South and her friends in the area where her mother disappeared

WHAT IS KNOWN ABOUT COLLEEN SOUTH'S LAST MOVEMENTS CCTV footage captured Ms South visiting a Liquorland at St Agnes at about 11.50am on July 2, with police believing she then made her way to rural northern Victoria. The last reported sighting was made the following day, when a witness spotted her behind the wheel of her Hyundai Getz in Ninyeunook, 267km north of Melbourne. Around an hour later, a farmer noticed Ms South's car abandoned parked under a tree off the side of Mackies Road, 26km away in Bunguluke. Two days later, the farmer called police after realising the car had crashed into a ditch and sustained damage, with airbags deployed. Ms South's belongings were found about 20 metres from the car, including her handbag, purse, keys and a journal. On Saturday, the group found Ms South's essential medication, downtrodden grass, a pen, footprints and a recently lit campfire. Ms South is described as 154cm tall with a heavy build, green eyes and brown hair. She was last seen wearing blue jeans, black and white striped shirt. Advertisement

It remains unclear why Ms South would have detoured so far south from her origin to reach Swan Hill, which is located just south of the New South Wales border.

While Ms South had a mobile phone with her, it was believed to have been in bad shape and has not 'pinged' a phone tower since she vanished.

Ms South's niece, Australian actress Farah Mak, told Daily Mail Australia the map had been specific to the Swan Hill area.

'She has got other relatives in Swan Hill so we believe that she was headed in that direction,' she said.

Ms Mak said locals claimed a sign post pointing in the direction where the grandmother's car was found had wrongly indicated Swan Hill was that way.

It is an issue that has been repeatedly raised with the local council to no avail.

'It's a sign that's saying Swan Hill this way, but you can't. It sends you off track so there's every chance that that's what's happened,' Ms Mak said.

Ms Mak will on Tuesday join family members and sections of the Wycheproof community to continue their search.

Victoria Police is also in the process of setting-up an information caravan in the hope members of the public might come forward.

It is understood Ms South locked her car and walked about 20 metres away to rest under a tree before vanishing without a trace.

A concerning note asking for help was found inside Ms South's journal near her abandoned car

It's been almost three weeks since Colleen South (pictured) was last seen by loved ones

Ms South's personal items, including bags and keys, were found 20 metres from her car

Photos taken from the scene also indicate Ms South had been taking Aripiprazole - a drug primarily used in the treatment of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Ms Mak said while her aunt had struggled with depression and anxiety, she had never expressed any suicidal thoughts or made previous attempts.

'It wouldn't have been out of the ordinary for her to take a couple of days off to relax, but she would always let Veronica (her daughter) know. That's the part that's out of character,' she said.

As the days and weeks drag on, Ms South's family are desperate for someone to come forward with any information that may help locate her.

Anyone who sees Colleen or has any information is urged to contact police or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Ms South was last seen by a witness in her Hyundai Getz (pictured) on July 3. The car was found abandoned an hour later
Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao congratulates Deepika Reddy who was appointed chairperson of the elangana State Sangeeta Nataka Academy. (DC)

Hyderabad: The state government on Monday appointed prominent Kuchipudi dancer Deepika Reddy as chairperson of Telangana State Sangeeta Nataka Academy.

Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao took a decision to this effect, a press release from Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said. She will hold the post for two years.

Deepika Reddy is a recipient of National Sangeet Natak Akademi award, besides numerous other awards and felicitations. She met the Chief Minister at Pragathi Bhavan after receiving the appointment order and thanked him.
A popular television presenter has shared how she was racially abused while having breakfast with her partner.

Channel Nine Perth newsreader Tracy Vo, 38, was inundated with support from colleagues and viewers after taking to Twitter on Tuesday to recall the shocking encounter and her classy response.

Born to Vietnamese parents, who arrived in Australia before she was born, the journalist was at a cafe with her partner Liam Connolly on Monday when the couple were interrupted and confronted by a stranger.

She said the woman labelled her family communists before turning to Vo's partner, who politely asked the heckler to leave them alone.

Vo said she remained calm and kept a smile on her face during the ordeal.

Liam Connolly (left) leapt to the defence of his partner Tracy Vo at a cafe on Monday

Channel Nine presenter Tracy Vo recalled the harrowing ordeal and her classy response

'To the lady who reminded us that intolerant and close minded people still exist, sorry for ruining your day,' Vo's tweet thread began.

'When you tried to ruin a lovely breakfast I was having with my partner at our local cafe yesterday, you didn't. When you labelled my family communists, I laughed it off

'When you tried to convince my partner, who's of Irish heritage, to "not be had by this Asian woman", he politely asked you to move along. He was calm and I was smiling "sorry lady, we won't be had by you".'

Vo was quickly inundated with support.

'I'm so sorry this happened to you TVo. Absolutely vile,' Channel Nine colleague Natalia Cooper commented.

Another person added: ' I think the lady was just jealous that you are so beautiful and you have a fantastic partner'.

The popular newsreader has been with Channel Nine in various roles since 2007

Others congratulated Vo and her partner on their classy response.

'Good on you for keeping calm! Stay strong!' one fan wrote.

Another added: 'Good on your partner not sure I would have remained as calm'.

Last week marked 44 years since Vo's parents arrived in Perth as refugees after fleeing Vietnam in the late 1970s.

Vo is proud of her origins and previously wrote a book titled 'Small Bamboo' detailing her parents' experience of fleeing Vietnam after the war.

Tracy Vo was born and raised Perth after her parents arrived in Australia in 1978

She spent her early journalism days in radio and with Sky News Australia but has been with Channel Nine since 2007.

In early 2020, Vo relocated from her hometown of Perth to Sydney after she was promoted as newsreader to the Today show.

But the role was short-lived after Vo returned home to Perth just before Western Australia slammed its borders shut due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Her decision to move back was prompted by her elderly father suffering from Morvan Syndrome, a rare autoimmune disease.

'I really miss the Today show guys and it was just a family decision, purely a family decision,' Vo said at the time.

'I'm still part of the family and I really miss them  but it was just one of those things, I had to do it, you know.'
She became deputy leader of the NSW Labor party after Chris Minns took over

A young Labor MP diagnosed with deadly kidney cancer has revealed how she initially dismissed her headache and tiredness as 'being a working mum'.

NSW deputy Labor leader Prue Car, 39, is taking an extended period of leave to fight the large tumour found on her kidney.

Speaking to 3AW's Ben Fordham about the 'minor' symptoms that lead her to get herself checked out, she said anyone worried about their health should seek immediate help.

Ms Car said her symptoms of tiredness and headaches didn't ring any alarm bells, as she initially put them down to 'being a mum and working full time'.

'That is the message: Go to the doctor if you're not feeling 100 per cent right,' the mother-of-one said on Tuesday.

'In my case, it sounds like they have found it early enough to deal with it and they can hopefully operate - and then I can get back to causing trouble for the Liberals in NSW.'

She also revealed that a member of her electorate of Londonderry, in Sydney's north-west, rang to generously offer their own kidney after the news.

NSW Labor's Deputy Leader Prue Car (pictured in March this year) has revealed one of her constituents offered her their kidney after her diagnosis announcement on Monday

'That was a bit of a surprise,' she explained.

Speaking about the moment she was told she had cancer, Ms Car detailed the horror of hearing that fateful word - and it what it meant for her family.

'It's more the shock about what was going to happen, making sure you take care of everyone,' she said.

'Hopefully I will be back on board, ready for the state election next year.'

Ms Car (pictured in 2019 in Marrickville) said she was in shock to hear 'that word' cancer

Ms Car took to social media on Monday to say she will take extended leave as she prepares to fight the large cancerous tumour doctors found on her kidney.

She tweeted: 'Friends, I have some hard news to share. Following some recent tests I was found to have a large tumour on my kidney.'

'It would be no surprise for me to tell you this was quite a shock,' she said. 'I look forward to being back out and about soon fighting for our community.'

'I am buoyed by such loving support from my wonderful family, friends, colleagues and my beloved local community - thank you for your support,' she added.

Ms Car took to social media on Monday to tell the world about her shock diagnosis (pictured)

Ms Car (pictured, centre in 2021) was elected to parliament in 2015 and was announced as deputy leader of the NSW Labor party in June 2021 after Chris Minns took over from Michael Daley

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, fellow Labor MPs and councillors expressed their support and well wishes to Ms Car.

Mr Albanese tweeted: 'Wishing you all the best Prue.'

'Sending love @pruecar - were all here for you if you need anything at all. Youre strong and youve got this,' wrote City of Sydney Labor councillor Linda Scott.

Port Stephens Labor MP Kate Washington said: 'Sending you strength and love Prue.'

'All my love and strength to you Prue. You need to take care of you now, so you can continue your outstanding care and service to your community ASAP,' added Maitland Labor MP Jenny Aitchison.

'Your team is fabulous and we are all behind you.'

Ms Car was elected to parliament in 2015 and was announced as deputy leader of the NSW Labor party in June 2021 after Chris Minns took over from Michael Daley.

She was previously a Penrith councillor.

The 39-year-old mother-of-one (pictured) said in a statement on social media that she was taking time off for treatment
Former prime minister Scott Morrison will be absent from parliament until August with one critic demanding he be fined $13,320 for his no-show.

Australia's 47th Parliament opened in Canberra on Tuesday with photos showing Mr Morrison's new seat on the opposition backbench conspicuously vacant.

The elected representative for the seat of Cook, in Sydney's Sutherland Shire, is visiting Tokyo for a conference with other former conservative world leaders.

Mr Morrison on Tuesday shared a photo alongside his wife Jenny at an event with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his wife Yuko.

Mr Morrison's empty seat on the opposition backbench (bottom left) on Tuesday as Parliament resumed

The ex-PM jetted off to Tokyo where he attended a breakfast with Japanese PM Fumio Kishida and their wives

'It was an honour this morning for Jenny and I to be hosted by PM and Mrs Kishida at their residence in Tokyo for breakfast,' he wrote.

Hours earlier, Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) boss Sally McManus slammed the ex-PM's absence from parliament.

'If a worker refused to turn up to work it's called 'unprotected industrial action' and they would be fined $13,320 and have their pay docked for the week,' she said.

Mr Morrison will return to Australia for the second parliamentary sitting week from August 1 and said he had already booked the Tokyo trip before Canberra's dates were announced.

But some questioned whether Mr Morrison would be content relegated to new digs in the outer corridors of Parliament House.

'Is it possible he might not be back in parliament at all?' political commentator Michelle Grattan tweeted.

Mr Morrison is still the elected representative for Cook but some have questioned whether he will remain in Parliament until the next election

NSW Liberal sources also spoke to the Sydney Morning Herald about internal party speculation, on the condition of anonymity, and said many expected Mr Morrison to not stick around until the next election.

While Mr Morrison has made no public indication he will leave parliament, a by-election would need to be held for the traditionally safe Liberal seat of Cook if he did quit politics.

'He has been talking to local members, telling them he is in no rush to leave,' one NSW Liberal insider said.

'Our estimates are that he will be around for another 12 months'

Another Liberal said it was 'just a matter of when [Morrison] decides to go'.

Mr Morrison on Monday publicly revealed the Tokyo trip in a statement, saying it was planned before he knew when parliament would commence.

'Prior to the new government advising the sitting schedule for the remainder of 2022, I had already accepted an invitation to join other former prime ministers from Canada, the UK and New Zealand to address an international event to be held in Tokyo this week,' he said.

'As a consequence I will be unable to attend the first three sitting days of the new parliament this week.

'Both the prime minister and leader of the opposition were advised of my intended travel and absence from the parliament this week.'

ACTU boss Sally McManus (pictured) demanded Mr Morrison be fined more than $13,000 each week he is absent from Parliament

Mr Morrison said he would give an address on the importance of the Quad in 'promoting stability in the Indo-Pacific' as well as attending meetings with Japanese political and business leaders.

'I will be holding a series of meetings with Japanese political and business leaders and will have the opportunity to join other former leaders to express my condolences for the passing of Prime Minister Abe following his assassination,' he said.
Advertisement

Elon Musk continued to show aggravation with The Wall Street Journal's investigations editor on Monday, tweeting that he's trying to avoid the 'supernova' level of attention on him in the wake of rumors he slept with the co-founder of Google's wife.

Musk, 51, tweeted a photo of himself partying with Sergey Brin on Sunday in an effort to disprove the newspaper's bombshell claim that he slept with Brin's wife, Nicole, and that it served as a catalyst for their divorce.

Replying to Investigations Editor Michael Siconolfi, Musk shared the photo and long with pants and fire emojis in a playful reference to the childish saying 'liar, liar, pants on fire.'

The billionaire Tesla CEO continued to bemoan the coverage Monday evening, tweeting: 'The amount of attention on me has gone supernova, which super sucks. Unfortunately, even trivial articles about me generate a lot of clicks.'

'Will try my best to be heads down focused on doing useful things for civilization,' he added.

The Wall Street Journal said it was standing by its story, which claims Musk and Shanahan were romantically involved at Art Basel in December last year, and that it not only chilled Musk's friendship with Sergey, but served as the catalyst for their divorce.

'We are confident in our sourcing, and we stand by our reporting,' a spokesman for the newspaper told DailyMail.com.

Musk's photo shows him standing with Sergey and two other women. It's unclear where exactly it was taken - Musk was last seen in Mykonos last week - but his jet flew from Austin, where he lives, to San Jose on Saturday. It flew back to Austin on Sunday, landing at 11 p.m.

Elon Musk continued to show aggravation toward The Wall Street Journal's investigations editor on Monday, tweeting that he's trying to avoid the 'supernova' level of attention on him in the wake of rumors he slept with the co-founder of Google's wife

Musk, 51, earlier Monday tweeted a photo of himself partying with Sergey Brin (pictured right) on Sunday in an effort to disprove the newspaper's bombshell claim he slept with Brin's wife, Nicole (pictured left), and that it was the catalyst for their divorce

Elon Musk tweeted this photo in response to a Wall Street Journal editor on Monday after the paper claimed he and Sergey Brin were not on speaking terms because of Musk's apparent affair with Brin's wife

Musk was replying to Michael Siconolfi's tweet praising the paper's reporters for the exclusive story that Musk now denies

Earlier, he had denied the entire Journal report, which claimed he slept with Shanahan at Art Basel in Miami last December.

We are confident in our sourcing, and we stand by our reporting' Wall Street Journal

Google founder Brin filed for divorce in January, citing irreconcilable differences as the reason for their split.

The couple share a four-year-old daughter.

Neither Brin nor his estranged wife, Nicole, have commented on the Journal's claims.

Musk has, however, been on a Twitter frenzy, accusing the newspaper - which is owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp - of launching 'hit pieces' against him all year.

'WSJ should be running stories that actually matter to their readers and have solid factual basis, not third-party random hearsay.

The character assassination attacks have reached a new level this year, but the articles are all nothing-burgers. I work crazy hours, so there just isnt much time for shenanigans.

Musk with Brin (far right) in the early 2000s. The Wall Street Journal claimed the 'affair' brought an abrupt end to the Brins' marriage

Musk's Twitter defense: The 51-year-old repeatedly denied the allegations in the Wall Street Journal report on Monday

Musk denied The Wall Street Journal's report, calling it 'more shortseller fud'. The billionaire claimed the newspaper had been running 'hit pieces' and 'character assassinations' on him all year

Sergey Brin and Nicole Shanahan are shown on Lake Como in July last year. She said in January when their divorce was announced: 'I hope for Sergey and I to move forward with dignity, honesty and harmony for the sake of our child. And we are both working towards that.

Shanahan works for the firm Bia-Echo, an investment firm whose interests include 'reproductive longevity and equality'

'None of the key people involved in these alleged wrongdoings were even interviewed!'

Shanahan in the June 2021 issue of Silicon Valley magazine

'The real problem here is that Michael Siconolfi has zero journalistic integrity.'

Siconolfi hasn't responded.

The article also claimed that Brin was selling off all of his interests in Musk's companies.

The pair have been friends for years, with Brin giving Musk $500,000 in 2008 to help him fund Tesla at the peak of the Global Financial Crash.

He also lent Musk the Google Party Plane for the Tesla CEO's wedding to actress Talulah Riley in 2010.

Sergey and Nicole were married for four years before he filed for divorce in January. He is the eighth richest man in the world with a net worth of $95billion.

Brin is said to own multiple interests in Musk's many businesses, all of which he has ordered his aides to sell.

When the divorce proceedings were launched in January, Nicole told Puck: 'I hope for Sergey and I to move forward with dignity, honesty and harmony for the sake of our child. And we are both working towards that.'

She is a Stanford-educated lawyer who works at the firm Bio-Echa, an investment firm that pours money into projects like bolstering 'reproductive longevity.'
The glamorous ex-girlfriend of fugitive bikie boss Mark Buddle has been detained in Turkey on visa issues.

Mel Ter Wisscha has spent three days in an immigration detention centre outside Istanbul after more than a dozen police officers stopped her last Friday as she tried to leave a resort in the seaside town of Bodrum where she had been staying.

It is believed that her former links to Comanchero boss Buddle are related her capture.

Ms Ter Wisscha had previously been pictured modelling handbags and enjoying the facilities at Turkey's $11,000-a-night D Maris Bay Resort in recent weeks.

Last week, she revealed that she had broken up with Buddle, 44, who was arrested in Cyprus on July 9 in a secret mission with the help of Interpol and then transferred to a Turkish prison.

A source close to Ms Ter Wisscha told the Daily Telegraph that she had not seen Buddle for close to a year, that their relationship was over and that she was 'very upset' at being detained.

'She was leaving a hotel in Bodrum and about 15 police pulled her over and began going through all her stuff, and checking passports,' they said.

Buddle (pictured with Ter Wisscha) is facing extradition from Turkey to Australia

Mel Ter Wisscha posted this photo from a daybed resort in Bodrum Turkey after Buddle's arrest

'They made her sign something in Turkish, even though she couldn't understand it, but she's not under arrest - she kept asking them 'am I under arrest' and they said no.

'Basically they've said to her that she's a risk because of her husband. She told them they aren't together and haven't seen each other in a year, but they took her to a police station and then to an immigration centre.

'She's very upset and very confused.'

Ms Ter Wisscha had been living in the suburb of Bitez, about four kilometres east of Bodrum.

The upmarket Bitez is a wealthy, residential enclave filled with luxury villas and popular beaches.

After being questioned, Ms Ter Wisscha was then taken to a detention centre in south-western Turkey.

The centre is secured by armed guards around the perimeter and holds adult men and women, children and disabled people. It has a capacity for 88 detainees.

Senior government sources said they were aware she had been detained and she said she had been deemed a foreigner who was inconvenient for public order or security.

Her family are said to have been using visits of 15 minutes a day to support her and to drop off fresh clothes.

Ms Ter Wisscha and the Comanchero kingpin moved to Dubai in 2016 with their two children after the bikie found himself in the crosshairs of Australian police.

But after spending five years together in the United Arab Emirates, Ms Ter Wisscha said the couple went their separate ways in July 2021 as she moved to Bodrum in Turkey and he went to Northern Cyprus.

'I haven't seen Mark for a year. He's the father of my children. They see him, I don't,' Ms Ter Wisscha told The Daily Telegraph.

'I haven't left Turkey.

Mel Ter Wisscha (pictured) said she has broken up with Mark Buddle and has not seen the father of her children for a year

Buddle left Dubai after video emerged showing him fighting tourists at resort pool. He then hopped between numerous countries before settling in Cyprus

Buddle (pictured in Comanchero gear) fled Australia in 2016 after becoming the bikie gang leader in 2009

'My kids have gone to and from (Northern Cyprus) but I have stayed away.'

Buddle, 44, who fled Australia in 2016 after being wanted in connection with several murders, was captured while returning to his hideout on the Mediterranean island on July 9 and was then transferred to a Turkish prison.

Australian authorities have been working tirelessly behind the scenes to extradite Buddle.

But as it currently stands, no Australian law enforcement agency has a warrant out for his arrest - even though he is often dubbed Australia's most wanted man.

Without charges it will be impossible under international law to extradite the notorious underworld figure.
The pair were involved in an ugly incident with news cameramen on Saturday

The new girlfriend of former NSW deputy premier John Barilaro was working for the public service body during the selection process that appointed him to the plum trade ambassador role in New York.

Jennifer Lugsdin was given a senior media advisory role at Investment NSW while the agency was seeking a candidate for the New York job, which eventually went to Mr Barilaro.

Ms Lugsdin was with the former Nationals MP when the pair had an unseemly scuffle with news cameramen on Saturday night in Sydney's northern beach suburb of Manly.

She spent a year as Mr Barilaro's media advisor when he was NSW deputy premier but left that job in August of 2021 before immediately being offered a senior media advisor role at NSW Investment, which she did for five months.

During that period it was revealed that she and Mr Barilaro were romantically involved after the pair had left their respective marriages.

Jennifer Lugsdin was on contract in a senior role at Investment NSW while the agency was seeking a candidate for the New York job, which eventually went to Mr Barilaro

Mr Barilaro stood down from his appointment as NSW trade commissioner in New York last month following backlash over the appointment but how he got the job has been the subject of a NSW parliamentary inquiry, which has heard sensational evidence

It was also the period where the $500,000 NSW trade position in New York was verbally offered and later taken off senior NSW Investment public servant Jenny West before Mr Barilaro claimed it.

Mr Barilaro stood down from the posting last month following backlash over the appointment but how he got the job has been the subject of a NSW parliamentary inquiry, which has heard sensational evidence.

Ms West testified earlier this month that Investment NSW CEO Amy Brown told her that the job was to be offered as a 'gift to someone' and former Barilaro staffers have testified he intervened during the selection process.

Investment NSW defended the appointment of Ms Lugsdin, who it says worked for a contractor, in a statement sent to Crikey.

Ms Lugsdin reportedly was not ready to move to New York if John Barilaro secured the trade commissioner job

'Investment NSW engaged the services of an external recruitment agency in late July 2021 to provide a contingent labour resource to support the media team in a newly created agency,' it said.

'The short-term engagement with the agency supplier, who was the employer of Ms Lugsdin, ended in December 2021.

'The agreement with Ms Lugsdin's employer was in accordance with the NSW government Pre-qualification Contingent Workforce scheme, with Ms Lugsdin assessed as the most qualified and skilled candidate following the review of a number of applicants put forward by four pre-qualified suppliers.'

Mr Barilaro also had the 25-year-old daughter of then National Party leader Barnaby Joyce, Bridgette Joyce, on his staff as a senior adviser.

Shocking new footage has emerged showing John Barilaro and his new girlfriend lunging at camera crews after being confronted outside a bar on Sydney's northern beaches

Ms Lugsdin reportedly told friends she wouldn't move to New York with Mr Barilaro if had secured the trade ambassador role because she didn't want to unsettle her two adolescent children in the aftermath of her marriage breaking down.

'Jennifer would never have left her children and she was never going to uproot them and move them to the US and away from their father,' a source source told the Daily Telegraph.

Mr Barilaro's 26-year-old marriage ended last year.

Hee and his wife Deanna have three daughters, one aged six and two in their 20s.

Mr Barilaro was involved in an altercation with news cameramen in Manly on Saturday outside a bar.

The incident occurred after a Channel Seven reporter approached him over Labor blocking his attempts to appear in front of the parliamentary inquiry into how he got the New York job.

The former NSW Nationals leader initially dismissed questions, saying: 'It's a night out mate, it's all good', before the incident turned ugly.

Mr Barilaro repeatedly swiped at two cameramen before his new girlfriend, a former media advisor, attempted to grab the expensive equipment.

The freelance videographer said he was 'scared' for his safety after Mr Barilaro and his party lashed out at him.

'You can't behave like that no matter who you are,' Matt Costello said.

Mr Barliaro was flanked by a security guard and joined by his new girlfriend and another friend at a bar in Manly on Saturday night

Mr Barilaro was pictured earlier in the evening having pizza and drinks at a bar on Manly Wharf, flanked by a security guard.

After leaving the venue he was confronted by the Channel Seven team, where the former deputy premier initially dismissed their questions.

As the reporter continued to press Mr Barilaro, the former MP lashed out at the camera before his security guard threw a microphone into a bush.

Ms Lugsdin appeared to be restraining him from approaching the journalist, before he walked towards the second camera and lunged at it.

The pair then moved towards the cameraman again, both repeatedly attempting to knock the equipment out of his hands.

Mr Costello attempted to continue filming while blocking Mr Barilaro with his other hand, as the former deputy premier continued to swipe at him.

The group then walked away from the fracas, before Mr Barilaro appeared on 2GB on Monday morning claiming the 'microphone and camera' were shoved in his face.

Police are investigating footage that appears to show former deputy premier John Barilaro locked in a scuffle with a cameraman

The video captured the incident unfolded outside of a bar in Manly, on Sydney's northern beaches, on Saturday

'The reality is people are now piling on, harassing, intruding, not allowing me to get on with my life, I'm a private citizen,' Mr Barilaro said.

'They've turned up with a cameraman, I don't know who it was, all I know is you could see a bright light shining in my bl***y face.'

Mr Barilaro added: 'All I did was push a camera out of my way, did not manhandle an individual.

'I'll tell you what, some of those people who were at dinner with me, they were pushed and barged out of the way.'

Mr Barilaro challenged the Labor Party to call him up to the parliamentary inquiry with the former deputy premier currently not scheduled to make an appearance.

'I'm calling out, today, I'm available to turn up to an inquiry here this week to tell my side of the story, and let's do that before this gets even uglier,' he added.

'What occurred on Saturday night isn't pleasant for me, nor the cameraman. At the same time, I have every right to defend myself and protect myself and my friends.'

NSW Police told Daily Mail Australia an investigation had been launched into the incident.

'Officers attached to Northern Beaches Police Area Command are investigating an incident that occurred about 7.30pm... outside a bar in Manly,' a spokesperson said.

Mr Barilaro claimed he was being hounded by media as a parliamentary inquiry continues into his appointment to a lucrative New York trade commissioner's post

'Inquiries into the incident are ongoing and there is no further information at this stage.'

Joseph Brayford, a senior policy adviser in Mr Barilaro's office from 2019 to 2021, gave evidence in private to the upper house inquiry last Tuesday.

Mr Brayford said he received a text from Mr Barilaro last August about the plum trade role, according to a transcript published on Thursday.

He said his boss asked him to contact Investment NSW head Amy Brown 'ASAP' to 'request a cabinet submission converting the commissioner roles to ministerial appointments'.

The request was the first time in two-and-a-half years working for Mr Barilaro that he had received a text message from his boss asking him to prepare an urgent cabinet submission, he said.

'Nothing really surprised me with John,' Mr Brayford told the committee.

John Barilaro requested a change that would make the the US trade position a ministerial appointment, a senior advisor in his office told an inquiry last Tuesday

He added Mr Barilaro then told him he also wanted the London and Tokyo trade roles to be changed to ministerial appointments.

The proposition to change the way trade commissioners were appointed was put to cabinet in late September, shortly before Mr Barilaro's October announcement he would be quitting politics at the end of the year.

Mr Brayford described his former boss as an 'interesting character' and said he had never 'worked with someone so keen and so ambitious'.

Mr Barilaro said he would not comment on the claims until he was asked to appear at the inquiry. He is not currently scheduled to testify.
Advertisement

A furious father has slammed Wisconsin Democratic leader Janet Bewley for not reaching out to him after she was involved in a car crash which killed his five-year-old daughter and her mother.

Heartbroken marine Brandon Fink blasted Bewley for not reaching out to him after the fatal collision in Pennsylvania, raging great people we elect.

Bewley, 70, had undergone cataract eye surgery the day before the crash which killed Alyssa Ortman, 27, and her daughter Kali.

According to the Ashland Police Department, Bewley pulled out of the Maslowski beach parking lot and straight into the path of Ortmans car at 12.30pm on Friday.

When the two cars collided, Ortmans vehicle spun across Highway 2 before being hit by Jodi Munson, 45, in another vehicle.

Little Khali was pronounced dead at the scene, while her mother was transported to a nearby hospital where she later died.

Furious Fink says that Bewley has still failed to reach out to him after the tragedy, writing online: Wow... my daughter was taken from me after a US Senator, Janet Bewley for Wisconsin , hit her and her mother into traffic and to their demise.

Hasn't even reached out... great people we elect.

Khali's father, Brandon Fink, has slammed Bewley for not reaching out to him. He wrote an emotional Facebook post paying tribute to his daughter, who he described as a 'hilarious, insanely beautiful, and smart girl that had a drive for life that touched so many'

Wisconsin Senate Democratic Minority Leader Janet Bewley said she had undergone cataract eye surgery the day before the accident

Alyssa Ortman, 27, with her five-year-old daughter Khali. The pair were killed when their car was struck by Wisconsin Senate Democratic Minority Leader Janet Bewley's car on Friday

When Ortman's car collided with Bewley's at 12.30pm on Friday, it spun across Highway 2 and was hit by another vehicle. Pictured: The scene

The accident occurred when Bewley, 70, pulled out of the Maslowski beach parking lot in Ashland and into the path of a car driven by Alyssa Ortman, 27, according to the Ashland Police Department

Ortman was a certified clinal medical assistant and for the past four years worked as an Order entry specialist at Lincare, a company which supplies respiratory-therapy products and services for patients at home.

Fink paid an emotional tribute to his daughter, describing her as a 'hilarious, insanely beautiful, and smart girl that had a drive for life that touched so many.'

He wrote: 'You lit up my life and gave me an ambition and drive I didn't know was possible.

'No matter what we just giggled out way through.. my life feels so empty without these giggles.

'Nothing will make this ok. Nothing will make me feel better and no I don't need anything.

'I was supposed to get my daughter home here, at her house and be hearing silly stories about vacation.. instead I got calls from the funeral home... I turn on the Switch and a game of Mario Smash bros pops up mid battle that I will never get let you win.

'I see the purse you got from Aunt Annie, half colored that you'll never get to complete... and I see our Daddy Pig painting half finished that you will never get to complete and sit beside the Peppa Painting we did together so we'd have the Daddy and Daughter Pig.

'You were/are just so incredible little Khali, Daddy misses you so flippen much and I just cant believe you were taken from me, we had so much planned and started that's it's so unfair you will never get to finish.. this just can't be real.'

Alyssa Ortman, 27, and her five-year-old daughter Khali. The pair were killed in a car accident on Friday

Alyssa Ortman's 5-year-old daughter, Khali, was pronounced dead at the crash scene. Ortman was transported to a nearby hospital where she later died, according to police

Cataract surgeries are fast and safe but doctors recommend NOT to drive for 24 hours after the operation Cataract surgery is a routine surgery where a person has the lens of their eye removed and sometimes replaced with an artificial lens It is used to treat cataracts, which is when the lens of a person's eye becomes clouded for any reason and obstructs their vision It is generally considered a safe surgery with limited risks The procedure takes around 15 minutes and the patient is usually able to go home right after without requiring long-term medical care A person who has just received the surgery may have blurry vision as their eye recovers and adjusts to a new lens Patients are advised not to drive a car for at least 24 hours after receiving the surgery There are known risks for a person who just received the surgery to suffer from inflammation, infection, swelling, drooping eyelid and other side-effects Source: Mayo Clinic, Better Vision Guide Advertisement

A memorial set up for Alyssa and Khali has so far raised $1,805, and will be used to bring the mother and daughter home to be buried.

The page also revealed that Alyssas mother Ginger has suffered double heartache after losing her son Chris to a drunk driver in October 2020.

State police charged Warren Miller with a felony count of vehicular homicide for the death of Chris Ortman, after his Chevrolet Malibu smashed into Ortmans Mercury Sable.

Ortman was then hit by another car after being pushed into the road, and was rushed to hospital but died after suffering a cardiac arrest.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that Bewley fell silent mid-sentence during her phone interview with intern Ben Baker, after revealing the cataract surgery she'd received Thursday, just the day before the fatal wreck.

When asked by the interviewer if she was okay, Bewley said she was, but sounded shaken.

'Yeah, I'm OK,' she said, 'This is not a good accident.

According to the Mayo Clinic and the American Optometric Association, patients are often advised not to drive for at least 24 hours following the procedure, which removes the natural lens of the eye and replaces it with an artificial lens.

Some doctors even suggest not getting behind the wheel until a patient receives the go-ahead in a follow-up appointment.

Ashland Police Chief Bill Hagstrom told the Ashland Daily Press that Bewley wasn't injured in the crash and State Patrol was reconstructing the scene.

Hagstrom said: 'We'll be sitting down with them and going over everything as far as determining how it all actually happened.

'Then we'll forward everything to the district attorney for their review because it was a fatal accident.

'There's nothing suspected as far as alcohol or foul play or anything.

In a post made on Monday afternoon, Fink wrote that Bewley (above) had not reached out to him about the accident

Authorities have also said they don't suspect foul play in the accident, and no charges have yet been filed.

Ashland County District Attorney's office told DailyMail.com they were unable to comment as the investigation is ongoing.

In a statement about the wreck on Monday, Bewley's office made no mention of the cataract surgery.

They said: 'Senator Bewley was involved in a three-vehicle accident in Ashland, Wisconsin on Friday, July 22nd. Tragically, two people lost their lives. This is a heartbreaking event for the community.

'Our thoughts and prayers are focused on the individuals involved, their families and their loved ones.

'Senator Bewley, who was not seriously injured in the accident, wants to thank all the dedicated law enforcement and emergency medical personnel who helped in the aftermath of the accident.

'A police investigation is ongoing. Out of respect for that investigation and the privacy of all the families involved, our office will be withholding further comment at this time.'

Bewley, a member of the Senate since 2015, is not seeking reelection because she wants to spend more time with her recently retired husband and grandchildren.
A grieving widow has shared a heartbreaking photo with her two young children as they visited the exact spot where the beloved husband and dad spent his final moments.

Dad-of-two Sean Sutton, 31, was killed when he lost control of his ute and crashed into a tree at a Chapman Hill intersection near Busselton in Western Australia's south-west last Wednesday night.

Family and friends rallied around his shattered wife of 14 months Monica and their two children Damon, 6 and Sophie, 4, as they struggled to come to terms with their unimaginable loss.

Ms Sutton spoke to Daily Mail Australia on Wednesday to pay tribute to Sean, describing him as the 'best husband and father' with his 'cheeky smile and beautiful kind nature'.

She shared a poignant photo from an emotional visit she made to the exact spot her husband died, placing a protective arm around their two kids and looking down at a bouquet of flowers placed on the tree, which had lost some of its bark.

Monica also wanted to pay a special tribute to the compassionate Busselton police officer, who was the first responder to the scene, saying he had since gone above and beyond to support her and the family.

Her husband's death rocked the close-knit Cowaramup community, where the couple lived and worked.

Sean's wife Monica Sutton shared with Daily Mail Australia a poignant photo of her emotional visit to the crash site with their kids

Sean Sutton was remembered as the best dad to daughter Sophie, 4 and son Damon, 6

'Our hearts ache for the most beautiful human that was taken from this world far too soon,' Monica said.

'The best father to Damon and Sophie, the best husband to Monica and the best son and brother to Natalie and Steven and Peter.

'Sean was known throughout the whole of south-west, particularly for his cheeky smile and beautiful caring kind nature.

'Sean was a true farm boy who would do anything for anyone and cared deeply about his community of Cowaramup and beyond.'

Ms Sutton also thanked Busselton police officers investigating the crash for their compassion and singled out a special shout-out to one dedicated officer.

The first responder at the scene, Nathan Smith, went out of his way to deliver flowers and a condolence card to the family on behalf of the station.

'We are so sorry for your loss and hope you and your children are surrounded by love at this time,' the handwritten note said.

It's understood the officer also personally contributed to the online fundraiser set up for Mr Sutton's family.

'This officer attended the scene and pulled the deceased from the vehicle then had to tell the wife, children and family just hours later,' a family member said.

'He then delivered flowers and has put every bit of love and care into making sure the family is okay.

'The boys in blue are true heroes and Nathan will always be a special part of an incredibly hard journey. Another big thankyou to the major crash investigators and every officer that attended that night.'

Busselton police officer Nathan Smith (pictured right with Sophie and Damon) has been praised by Sean's heartbroken family for going above and beyond

Mr Sutton worked as a heavy diesel mechanic at Cowaramup Holbens Service Centre for 14 years.

'They are missing him dearly as he was the longest serving mechanic of 14 years. Our hearts go out to Peter and Tom Holben who had Sean from an apprentice,' Monica said.

'We are lost for words on how incredibly loved and supported they have felt. From family, friends, people they know, people they dont know, communitys, towns and cities.

'Please know that the kindness, support and love will forever be cherished and always appreciated and they thank each and every person so much.

Father-of-two Sean Sutton (pictured with his wife ) was killed in a horror crash in WA's south-west last Wednesday night

Sean's wife Monica has shared the heartwarming handwritten note from Busselton Police officer Nathan Smith

A statement issued on behalf of the family thanked everyone for their overwhelming support, phone calls and messages.

'We are helping the family through this extremely traumatic time,' the statement said.

The community started a GoFundMe to support the family.

'This has tragically left behind a local family who are heartbroken and gut wrenched,' an online fundraiser stated.

'Sean and Monica are well known throughout the Cowaramup community and the South West.

'They are the most beautiful caring family who would do anything for anyone.'

More than $41,000 has been raised within three days as the shattered family tries to comes to terms with the devastating loss.

Sean (right) leaves behind wife Monica (pictured left) and two children aged six and four

'With this most devastating circumstance, the bills and living expenses will not stop coming in and without the main source of income coming in and them already struggling financially and everyone asking what they can do to help,' the GoFundMe read.

'A donation to Monica, her children and the grieving family to pay for funeral costs for Sean and the living costs of raising two children without their loving father.'

Police launched a major investigation into the crash, which happened at the intersection of Queen Elizabeth Avenue and Don Road around 10pm last Wednesday night.

Anyone who saw the crash or has dashcam of a Toyota Landcruiser travelling in the Chapman Hill area prior to the crash is urged to call Crime Stoppers.
Radical climate activists have stormed Parliament House and sung a protested song on the steps of the foyer.

Dozens of young protesters from the Tomorrow Movement crammed on to the marble stairs early on Monday afternoon until police dragged them away.

'Whose side are you on?' they repeatedly belted out, appearing to ask politicians whether they represented the people or big business.

'History will remember, which side are you on? Will you stand with us or the wealthy few?' they continued.

Dozens of young protesters from the Tomorrow Movement crammed on to the marble stairs of Parliament House early on Monday afternoon until police dragged them away

The sudden, loud protest caused chaos just as police and security were preparing for the arrival of Governor-General David Hurley to open Parliament.

'Police have stopped young people who have traveled to Canberra from sharing their stories in Parliament. Labor needs to listen to the community and deliver real solutions to climate, jobs and housing crisis,' the group said.

'History will remember you, Albo.

'Our voices weren't allowed in the building today. But will you listen to the young people who need so much more than weak targets? We need a real plan to address the climate, jobs and housing crisis.

Outside up to 100 more protesters were joined by Greens MPs to demand Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's government do more to tackle climate change.

'Whose side are you on?' they repeatedly belted out, appearing to ask politicians whether they represented the people or big business

Security moves to break up the protests within seconds of the group starting to sing

Greens senator Jordan Steele-John and independents Monique Ryan, Larissa Waters, and David Pocock spoke with the protesters, and Greens senator Peter Whish-Wilson made a speech in support.

'Fires, harvests ruined by floods and families still living on ovals. That's the cost of living with climate inaction,' he said.

Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi added her support on Twitter: 'Young people are showing the rest of us, through action, how to secure their future and oppose the politicians that seek to destroy it.'

Tomorrow Movement thanked the minor parties and independents who came out to meet them, and slammed Labor for ignoring them.

'Despite being dragged out of Parliament, a lot of politicians did come outside to listen to the young people demanding real solutions to the climate, jobs and housing crisis,' it said.

'But do you notice who is missing? The Australian Labor Party.'

A protester is marched out of the Parliament House foyer by police as the protest is broken up

Police swap the stairs as the protesters refuse to go quietly, dragging out the ones who won't walk out

Senators Peter Whish-Wilson (left) Larissa Waters (second from left), Jordan Steele-John (second from right) and Monique Ryan (right) spoke with the protesters

The protesters also received the support of the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union.

'Casual reminder to everyone who cares that economic justice is a core part of climate justice,' it tweeted.

'When technocrats chide us about a "pragmatic climate target" what they really mean is they're absolutely fine with a significant percentage of poor people suffering and dying.'

The protesters claimed they were being silenced by being removed from Parliament after they blocked the stairs and caused chaos.

'This crisis is a matter of life and death and time is running out. Parliament is where the voice of the people is meant to be heard,' it said.

Outside up to 100 more protesters were joined by Greens MPs and independent Monique Ryan (centre) to demand Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's government do more to tackle climate change

Tomorrow Movement thanked the minor parties and independents who came out to meet them, and slammed Labor for ignoring them

'But our cries for action are being drowned out by fossil fuel billionaires and big business making record profits while the rest of us struggle to get by. While lobbyists get to stalk the halls we are forced outside.'

Tomorrow Movement wants Labor to support a Senate inquiry into 'the climate, jobs and housing crisis' and mobilise every secotr of the economy to fight climate change.

'Labor need to cut their ties with fossil fuel billionaires and stand with the people. We can solve the climate crisis by rebuilding our public service and guaranteeing good jobs to everyone who needs one,' it said.

'[Labor's 43 per cent emissions reduction target] isn't a plan, it's a death sentence. It's not even close to what experts say is needed to survive this emergency.

Independent senator David Pocock also posed with the protesters in their demands for climate jobs

'How can we take you seriously as leaders when you propose utterly unacceptable so-called plans like this?

'Australians want good jobs, we want public services that meet the needs of our communities. We want affordable housing and we want a safe climate.

'Labor wants us to believe that better than nothing is good enough. But we're setting the bar at what it would actually take to give us a shot at a future, not the bare minimum. It's what we need and it's popular too.

'Public opinion is on our side and the winds of history are at our back. Labor can't ignore our demands for a real plan forever.'

Anthony Albanese closes in on climate target legislation, but Greens leader Adam Bandt wants more

Australian Associated Press

The Albanese Government intends to speed its signature climate legislation through the lower house within the next fortnight, but does not expect it to pass the Senate until at least September.

Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen will on Wednesday introduce a bill to enshrine a 43 per cent cut in emissions by 2030 and net-zero by 2050, as promised at the election.

In a bid to garner more support for the bill, Mr Bowen said it would make clear all future targets submitted to the United Nations would need to be a step up from those previously committed to.

And targets would be incorporated into the objectives and functions of a range of key government agencies including the Australian Regional Energy Agency, the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, Infrastructure Australia and the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility.

Tomorrow Movement wants Labor to support a Senate inquiry into 'the climate, jobs and housing crisis' and mobilise every secotr of the economy to fight climate change

Greens leader Adam Bandt, who is leading negotiations on the bill with the government, welcomed the additions but remains strongly opposed to new coal or gas projects.

There are an estimated 114 such projects in the pipeline across Australia.

When asked if allowing coal and gas development was a deal breaker, Mr Bandt said the Greens did not take 'ultimatums' into discussions.

'Everyone is going to have to give a bit,' he told reporters.

'We are up for that and we've made it absolutely crystal clear that we are up for shifting.

'We understand that we may not get everything we want.'

Mr Bowen said 43 per cent represents a floor and not a ceiling to future emissions-reduction measures.

'We hope and expect Australia can do even better than that with the combined efforts of industry, unions, communities, governments, state and federal,' he said on Tuesday.

The protesters claimed they were being silenced by being removed from Parliament after they blocked the stairs and caused chaos

Mr Bandt said it was important the laws did not allow a backward step on emissions cuts.

'If we're going to pass targets and put them into law, we want to make sure it's (opposition leader Peter) Dutton-proof so it's not something that can be unwound at a future date,' he told the ABC.

Meanwhile, Tasmanian Liberal MP Bridget Archer said she is open to crossing the floor to support Labor's bill.

'This is an issue important to Australians, we are facing many threats as a result of climate change,' she told ABC radio.

The bill would also task the independent Climate Change Authority with giving public advice on the nation's advances in reducing emissions, while the climate change minister would have to table a response if disagreeing with the advice.

The authority must also make suggestions for future targets at least once every five years, including new aims under the Paris Agreement which will contain one for 2035.

A review of the law will take place within five years, and another 10 years later.

Greens leader Adam Bandt, who is leading negotiations on the bill with the government, welcomed the additions but remains strongly opposed to new coal or gas projects

To pass the bill, the government will need the support of all 12 Greens plus at least one crossbencher in the Senate.

Mr Bandt said while the government had a mandate to introduce the 43 per cent target in the lower house, negotiations were needed for the upper house.

'My energy at the moment is focused on having discussions with the government to try and address those issues of coal and gas, (and) look at how we make sure the target can be lifted,' he said.

In response to a question about Liberal colleagues potentially crossing the floor over the issue, opposition spokesman Angus Taylor said the party would not back legislating targets.

'This is what we went to the Australian people with,' he told Sky News.

'This is our position. It's very clear.'
Matt Gaetz laughed off anger at his claim that all abortion rights protesters are too unattractive and overweight to get pregnant, telling those upset by his comments: 'Be offended.'

The Florida congressman on Saturday joked about the demonstrations against the Supreme Court's repeal of Roe v. Wade, mocking those who wanted to protect access to abortion nationwide.

'Why is it that the women with the least likelihood of getting pregnant are the ones most worried about having abortions?' Gaetz told college students at the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit in Tampa.

'Nobody wants to impregnate you if you look like a thumb.'

On Monday, he was asked to explain his comments.

'I'm very pro-life and I make no apology for it,' the 40-year-old said.

Matt Gaetz on Monday said he stood by his labelling of pro-choice activists as 'ugly and overweight'

The 40-year-old on Saturday told the Turning Point summit (pictured): 'Why is it that the women with the least likelihood of getting pregnant are the ones most worried about having abortions? Nobody wants to impregnate you if you look like a thumb'

'I'm grateful that Roe has been overturned and that Dobbs is now the jurisprudence on abortion. I find these people that go out in these pro-abortion, pro-murder rallies odious - and just, like, ugly on the inside and out. I make no apology for it.'

He said he didn't think everyone who disagreed with him was 'an ugly person', but condemned those who protested outside the homes of the Supreme Court justices and called for a 'night of rage' in Washington DC.

Gaetz was asked by Channel 3: 'Is it safe to say that, based off your comments, you're suggesting that these women at these abortion rallies are ugly and overweight?'

'Yes,' he replied.

Asked: 'What do you say to people who think those comments are offensive?' the congressman replied: 'Be offended.'

Gaetz, who is currently under federal investigation for the sex trafficking of a minor, on Saturday heaped scorn on women demanding abortion access.

Gaetz has denied the sex-trafficking allegations, and no charges have been filed against him. The New York Times first reported the existence of the federal investigation into Gaetz in March 2021.

'These people are odious on the inside and out,' Gaetz said at the summit. 'They're like 5'2", 350 pounds and they're like, "Give me my abortions or I'll get up and march and protest." And I'm thinking, "March?" You look like you got ankles weaker than the legal reasoning behind Roe v. Wade.

'A few of them need to get up and march. They need to get up and march for like an hour a day, swing those arms, get the blood pumping, maybe mix in a salad.'

Members of the Democratic Women's Caucus and leaders from CPD Action affiliate organizations march on July 19 to demand abortion access

Activists and politicians protest in Washington DC on July 19

Demonstrators are seen in front of the Indiana State Capitol on Monday

The decision to repeal Roe v. Wade has sparked angry protests nationwide

Crowds of both anti-abortion and abortion rights protesters are seen inside Indiana's state senate on Monday

It's not the first time he has ridiculed those campaigning to uphold Roe v. Wade.

In May, when the draft Supreme Court decision leaked, Gaetz made his disdain for their activism clear.

'How many of the women rallying against overturning Roe are over-educated, under-loved millennials who sadly return from their protests to a lonely microwave dinner with their cats, and no bumble matches?' Gaetz tweeted.
A Maryland daycare owner is behind bars after shooting her retired cop husband in the head in a swanky hotel room having just been told by some of her clients that he was molesting their children.

Shanteari Weems, 50, shot her husband James Weems Jr., 57, on Thursday in their room at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Washington DC.

The couple from Baltimore were staying at the hotel for Weems to attend an event, when Shanteari received texts from parents of some of the children she teaches at Lil Kidz Kastle Daycare, claiming that he had molested their kids.

The couple argued in their room and Shanteari produced a gun, firing it at her husband of five years and wounding him.

He survived, as did she, and the pair were coaxed out of their room after a standoff with police.

Now, Shanteari is behind bars on domestic violence and gun charges for shooting her husband, and her husband has been arrested for sexual abuse of children.

He was arrested in the hospital on Thursday on suspicion of abusing three girls while working at his wife's daycare.

Baltimore County Police Department say they were investigating Weems when he was shot, after receiving reports from the parents.

It's unclear what kind of condition he is now in.

Daycare owner Shanteari Weems, 50, is shown being taken into custody on July 20 after shooting her husband in the head. She had just been told that he was molesting some of the kids in her daycare

Shanteari Weems, 50, is the owner of Lil Kidz Kastle in Owing Mills, Maryland

After police were called to the hotel on Thursday, the couple stayed inside the room for an hour before emerging.

Once inside the hotel room, police found notes he had scribbled in which she said: 'd 'I want him to face the world as scum', 'I hope he gets beat up in jail, and I'm [going to] paralyze you.'

In other notes, she wrote 'I want these kids to get justice, and you gonna pay' and 'My only regret for me is that I didn't put the bullet in your head.'

There is an ongoing public campaign for her to be freed.

A GoFundMe page set up to pay for her defense raised $3,000 before the website took it down, and people are now inundating the daycare's Facebook page demanding for her to be released.

Her next court appearance is on Friday.

He is thought to have been attending the National Urban League Conference, which was hosting a two-day event at the hotel when the pair were staying there.

After retiring from the police, Weems worked as a private security guard.

A Baltimore PD spokesman told DailyMail.com on Tuesday: 'James Weems, Jr. retired from the Baltimore Police Department in 2005.

'He continued to work for the department as a contract specialist until 2008.'

According to police, around 7:40 p.m. on July 21, a fire alarm went off in room 853 in the hotel. Weems said that when she made the accusations against her husband he made a move 'toward' her.

That's when she says she took a gun from her purse and shot him.

The shooting occurred here at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Washington DC

The couple had been at the $400-a-night hotel in Washington DC for James, a retired cop, to attend an event

A GoFundMe page set up to pay for her defense raised $3,000 before the website took it down, and people are now inundating the daycare's Facebook page demanding for her to be released. Her next court appearance is on Friday.

The daycare center is inside this multi-business building in Maryland

Responding officers were able to communicate with Weems through the door.

They asked to enter the room in order to check on the condition of her husband.

An hourlong standoff with a SWAT team ensued with Weems allegedly telling officers: 'If you come in, I'm going to shoot myself' and in reference to her husband: 'F**k him, he's a child molester.'

Her husband shouted to officers that he had been shot in the head and leg.

Weems then told him: 'Shut the f**k up, I will kill you.'

Eventually, officers stormed the hotel room and arrested Weems. They found a gun in her purse and another in the room's safe.

It's unclear if the gun was registered to the wife or her husband, and why she brought it with her.

There was a one-hour standoff with police inside the hotel, during which the woman told police how she wanted her husband to go to prison

The reports of the shooting prompted a massive police response to the scene

Her husband suffered non-life threatening injuries.

According to now-deleted LinkedIn page, James Weems served as an infantryman in the US Marine Corps between 1983 and 1987 before joining the Baltimore Police Department in 1996.

The couple have been married for five years. They live in Baltimore. Weems told police she has reported to her husband to authorities.

In a notebook, the suspect had written: 'I'm going to shoot [the victim],' 'I'm going to paralyze you,' 'I want [the victim] to face the world as scum,' 'I hope [the victim] to get beat up in jail,' 'I want these kids to get justice, and you gonna pay' and 'My only regret is that I didn't put a bullet in your head.'

In another letter, Weems wrote an apology to her husband's alleged victims whom she referred to as her 'babies.'

Weems also said that she didn't plan to kill her husband but that she had thoughts of self-harm.

She also said that she does not normally handle guns.

Lil Kidz Kastle will be closed until the investigation is complete.

On the daycare's website, Weems is quoted as saying: 'I build our kids for them to be better people.'

The page also says: 'With a structured staff, love and good character, Mrs Weems leads the charge of the future generation at Kidz Kastle CDC!'

A GoFundMe page was set up for Weems by her son and stepdaughter raised $3,000 before being removed. The goal of the page was $200,000.
A 33-year-old man was found dead in his apartment just two days after he visited the dentist for a tooth infection and was sent home with Panadol.

Bradley Tucek, who lived alone in North Sydney, told his family on July 13 that he was in 'agony' with toothache.

He visited the dentist the next day and was told he had an infection. He was given antibiotics as well as painkillers, which his family has since branded 'inadequate'.

Bradley was booked in for an operation to get the tooth removed the following week but died two days later.

Police believe he died on Saturday, July 16 but his body was only discovered when concerned colleagues visited his house on Monday to check on him.

His family said he had suffered a 'great deal of pain and suffering' before dying alone on his kitchen floor.

It's unclear how he died, with a post-mortem expected to take weeks.

Bradley Tucek with his sister Ally Valentine, who revealed his tragic death on a GoFundMe page

Bradley (pictured with his father Greg) told his family on July 13 that he was in 'agony' with toothache

Sister Ally Valentine revealed her brother's tragic death on a GoFundMe page she set up to help pay for his body to be transported to Perth where his parents live.

She wrote: 'Our lives were ripped into a billion pieces this week with the devastating news our dearly loved son, brother, brother-in-law, uncle, grandson, cousin, nephew and friend passed away suddenly and unexpectedly.

'We are hurting so much and have a logistical nightmare ahead of us over the coming weeks.

'The circumstances of Brad's death are heart-wrenching. Brad lived by himself in Sydney, while his parents and sister live in Perth.

'He spent much of the pandemic alone due to border closures and working from home.

'Last week he fell ill with a toothache and was sent home from a dentist with antibiotics and an inadequate level of painkillers.

'Brad endured a great deal of pain and suffering before dying alone in his home, on his kitchen floor.'

She also questioned how he could have died from 'a simple toothache'.

'We are utterly devastated by this and don't want Brad to be alone any longer,' she said. 'His body is currently with the NSW coroner so a postmortem can be conducted.

'We want answers as to how a simple toothache can lead to a devastating loss of life, and this process may take weeks.'

She added that NSW Police had ruled out suicide or foul play.

The family, who have flown to Sydney from their home in Perth, are waiting to see what the NSW Coroners Court findings are.

Bradley (with his mother Rose) was booked in for an operation to get the tooth removed but died days after visiting the dentist

Bradley Tucek, who was a talented artist according to his family, with his niece and nephew. His cause of death is unknown

Ally set up the page to help pay for his body to be transported to Perth where his parents live

Ally said her brother was suffering, telling 9 News that he told their mother he was in the 'worst pain' he'd ever been in.

During their final conversation, Bradley, who worked as a tech analyst and was a talented artist, told her he was too sick to talk.

'There is no other human being on this earth, there's nobody else like him,' Ally said, paying tribute to her brother.

'He was really set in his ways, he was really stubborn, he knew what he wanted and he would fight for it.

'He had a larger than life personality and he was just adored by everyone.

'He was super social. He would go and spend time with his friends, he loved a drink and was the last person to leave.'

The family is now raising money to get Bradley's body to Perth.
A man who posed as an Uber driver and sexually assaulted two women has been spared jail - a decision one of his victims is calling 'absolute bulls**t'.

Kais Dahdal sat quietly in Wollongong Local Court on Tuesday with his wife by his side and a translator while awaiting his sentence for sexually assaulting two women on October 23, last year.

The 35-year-old doctor from Syria was fined $350 for driving without a licence and given a seven-month intensive corrections order for two counts of sexually touching without consent.

One of his victims, Ashleigh Rauicava, fired up her Instagram as she left the hearing to slam the verdict.

Kais Dahdal (pictured) was sentenced to a seven-month intensive corrections order for two counts of sexually touching without consent after he lured women into his wife's car by pretending to be an Uber driver

Ashleigh Rauicava (pictured) has slammed the verdict as 'absolute bulls***.

'So weve just got out of court and another grubby man gets to walk free today, so f***ing good job justice system,' Ms Rauicava said in a video.

'Well done.

'Absolute bulls**t.'

Speaking to reporters outside court, Ms Rauicava said it 'was not right' Dahdal was able to 'walk free'.

'He gets to walk free and live his life like he has done nothing wrong [and] get counselling, the rest of us are going through therapy now,' Ms Rauicava told ABCNews.

'It has been more than a year and I am still absolutely destroyed inside, and he gets to walk free - it's not right.'

However, once Ms Rauicava got home she shared another video saying 'theres not really much we can do now but heal and move on'.

'But as one door closes, another one opens,' she said.

'And I got home to an email to say I have been offered a full time position at the sports entertainment network and I am so excited.

'So f** you Uber driver who wasnt really an Uber driver. Im still kicking goals.'

Before heading to Wollongong Local Court, Ms Rauicava, thanked the public for their support and said she was standing up for what is right.

One of his victims, Ashleigh Rauicava (pictured), who was present in court, said the sentence was 'not right' and Dahdal should not be allowed to 'walk free'

'I've seen one man walk free from something like this before, so hopefully today changes,' Ms Rauicava said in an Instagram live story.

Ms Rauicava was on the verge of tears and told herself to 'pull it together' before blowing a kiss to her followers for their support.

'We got this, giving my love to all other women out there who have been through something similar,' Ms Rauicava said.

'It's time to stand up and do what's right. Thank you everyone for your support, it really means a lot.'

Dahdal took his wife's car out in Wollongong on October 23, 2021, looking for women who needed a safe way to get home.

Upon approaching his first victim, Dahdal said he was an Uber driver and offered to give her a lift.

But instead of dropping her off, Dahdal told her 'we are just going for a drive' then squeezed her thigh and kissed her on the lips.

'Want to have some fun?' Dahdal then asked the woman, according to court documents.

Ms Rauicava said she was standing up for what is right and thanked the public for their support in an Instagram live story (pictured) before heading to court to hear Dahdal's sentence

The terrified woman asked Dahdal what he meant by 'fun', to which he replied: 'Want to f***?'

The woman turned him down, paid him cash for the ride, then jumped out of the vehicle when it arrived in her street.

Dahdal then drove to a Keira Street, the city's restaurant strip, where Ms Rauicava was leaving a venue after spending the night drinking with friends.

After luring her into the vehicle under the guise he was a professional driver, Dahdal touched Ms Rauicava on the thigh and told her 'you can pay me in sex' before she leapt out of the vehicle and escaped.

In court on July 18, Ms Rauicava gave a powerful victim impact statement detailing how that night 'changed everything' for her as 'a woman, a mum, and in my work life'.

'I thought I was tough, I'm a single mum. We can get through everything because we are strong for our children's sake. But that night showed me that I am most definitely not,' she said.

Magistrate Claire Girotto said Dahdal, while pretending to be an Uber driver, breached the trust that people have when using a taxi or ride-share service.

Magistrate Girotto noted Dahdal had no criminal history and had feelings of 'self-worthlessness' because he wasn't able to practice as a doctor in Australia.

In sentencing, Magistrate Girotto referenced a mental health report which showed Dahdal was 'highly anxious, with an inability to recognise verbal and non-verbal cues'.

The court heard the 35-year-old doctor from Syria (pictured) expressed 'deep remorse' for his actions and was committed to ongoing rehabilitation

'He was also consumed by receiving attention from the opposite sex and had lost all impulse control,' Magistrate Girotto said.

In handing out his sentence, Magistrate Girotto took into consideration Dahdal's commitment to ongoing rehabilitation and a letter he wrote to the court outlining his 'deep remorse' for his actions.

Ms Rauicava said an apology letter to the court was not enough and did not take into consideration the victims.

'What about the women you have destroyed that go to bed every single night absolutely terrified, things play over in my head over and over again,' Ms Rauicava said.

Dahdal will serve the order in the community under strict supervision.
Avocado growers are pleading with consumers to eat their produce up as Australia is overloaded with the popular fruit, sending prices to an all-time low.

Increases in supply have caused a drop in prices at the register to around $1 each - almost 50 per cent compared to the five-year average.

The green favourite smashed it in growth between 2017 and 2019, with thousands more trees planted across the country and they had now reached full maturity, producing a bumper crop which has caused a supply glut.

There was an estimated 26 per cent increase in supply this year - or 22 avocados for every Australian.

The Aussie avocado oversupply has seen record low prices for the fruit, with production tipped to continue to soar for the next five years

With all regions also expecting production growth over the next five years, Australia will need to both consume and export more avocados

An agribusiness report said that increased supply was likely to continue for the next five years, meaning low prices are here to stay.

Rabobank's avocado outlook was forecasting a 40 per cent increase by 2026, reaching 173,000 tonnes.

However the report says significant weather events and the recent varroa mite incursion may pose a threat to that increase.

Author Pia Piggott says the abundant supply has lead to the all time low prices, with avocados retailing at a dollar each in June last year and again early this month.

The discounting has been welcomed by consumers but put considerable pressure on growers.

'Overall we are going to be well supplied, as the per capita supply is increasing we will definitely see that price remain low,' Ms Piggott told AAP.

The abundant supply has lead to the all time low prices, with avocados retailing at a dollar each in June last year and again early this month, report author Pia Piggott (pictured) says

Bumper crops in Western Australia have reached a whopping 265 percent in production

The report concluded a significant maturing of trees in the past season, primarily in Western Australia and Queensland, has lead to the national oversupply.

Ms Piggott said Australia's production for 2021 and 2022 is estimated at 124,000 tonnes, which combined with imports of around 12,500 tonnes for the year has meant abundant supplies.

A bumper crop in Western Australia was a turning point, with the state's estimated production up a staggering 265 per cent. This was driven by a 21 per cent increase in the hectares of trees that reached maturity and produced fruit, coupled with optimal conditions,' Ms Piggott said.

'The low trade prices are definitely a negative for avocado growers,' she said. 'It's really tightening margins for growers because they're already being squeezed by high input costs and labour shortages.'

WA, along with imports from New Zealand, supplies the majority of Australia's avocados during spring and summer.

All other Australian growing regions, except North Queensland, which saw a record harvest the previous year, have also had slight year-on-year increases in production, the report said.

With all regions also expecting production growth over the next five years, Australia will need to both consume and export more avocados, it found.

Ms Piggott says consumer appetite remains healthy both domestically and abroad.

While the average volume of avocados consumed by each Australian household increased 31.2 per cent on the previous year, they spent 29.1 per cent less on them, due to lower prices.
The 'strongest biosecurity response' in Australia's history to prevent a devastating foot-and-mouth disease outbreak, including airport arrivals walking across two wet mats, has left many wondering whether the response will be enough.

The citric acid wet mats have been placed at international airports with travellers from Indonesia required to step across them after the disease - which hasn't been in Australia for a century - was recently detected in Bali.

The farming industry has warned if foot-and-mouth was detected on Australian farms it could cost the cattle industry $80billion over a decade as the country would lose its FMD-free designation.

Agriculture minister Murray Watt said the government was taking unprecedented measures to stop the disease from crossing the country's borders.

Australia's new agriculture minister said the biosecurity measures were unprecedented

Citric acid wet mats have been placed at Australia's international airports (pictured)

But many commenters were unimpressed by the measure (pictured)

'Sanitation foot mats now in place in our international airports to greet passengers from Indonesia,' he tweeted on Tuesday.

'Never done on this scale by any Australian Government, despite past outbreaks. All part of the strongest biosecurity response in our history.'

The wet mats are designed to dislodge dirt from passengers shoes and cover it in the citric acid, destroying any contamination.

But many commenters on the announcement were less-than-impressed.

'How does this address the other two pairs of shoes in my luggage?' one person wrote.

'Pats on the back for taking over a month to roll out basic, common sense initiatives?' another said.

But others supported the measure and said farmers were finally being listened to.

'Excellent work Murray. Also brilliant you are keeping our borders open to our friends and trading partners in Indo. This has to be managed properly.'

'I'd love to understand what prep (previous Agriculture Minister) David Littleproud had put into place as he obviously was aware about it whilst in power?

With farmers warning of the threat for weeks, some questioned why it took so long to put the mats down (pictured)

A Marine and Agricultural Food Security officer inspects a cow at a cattle shop to prevent the spread of foot-and mouth-disease in North Jakarta, Indonesia on June 24, 2022

Mr Watt said other measures were also being implemented including that all mail coming from Asia is to be screened over fears about contaminated meat products.

'We have now increased our surveillance of mail from Indonesia and China so that every parcel is screened and so we can identify any potential biosecurity risks,' he said.

Other biosecurity measures include passenger declarations, profiling of all travellers entering from Indonesia, real time risk assessments, questioning and shoe cleaning.

A $14 million biosecurity package was announced by the government last week for more frontline defences in airports and mail centres as well as support for Indonesia and neighbouring countries to combat the spread.

Thousands of Aussies are returning from Bali every week, heightening the risk of foot-and-mouth disease crossing Australia border (file image)

Indonesia has been already grappling with the spread of foot-and-mouth disease, which was recently detected in Bali, a popular holiday destination for Australian travellers.

He added that Australians returning from the region should still clean their shoes and clothing, or leave their footwear overseas if possible, Senator Watt said.

'There is no biosecurity silver bullet,' he said in a statement on Wednesday last week.

'Our biosecurity controls rely on a multi-layered approach to mitigate the risk of FMD (foot and mouth disease).'

The mats will be a physical reminder to travellers about the risk of the disease, Senator Watt said.
We all have horror stories about airline food - but perhaps nobody can lay claim to a story as stomach-churning as this airline steward.

That's because the unfortunate SunExpress employee found a severed snake's head in their lunch, but only after eating most of the meal.

The revolting video shows how the head was found on a flight from Turkey to Germany last week, concealed at the bottom of a dish of ravioli and leafy greens.

Airline crew were working an early flight from the Turkish capital Ankara to Dusseldorf on July 21 when the grim discovery was made.

Taking off at 3.30am local time in Turkey, the budget airline Flight XQ794 was making a three hour 45 minute trip to western Germany.

A SunExpress steward was eating a meal on board a flight from Turkey to Germany. After finishing most of the dish, they discovered a severed snake's head in their food

The revolting video shows how the head was found on a flight from Turkey to Germany last week, concealed at the bottom of a dish of ravioli and leafy greens

The unfortunate steward in question had eaten about half of their meal when they discovered the reptile head at the bottom of the food container. Well-disguised among the greens, the snake's head appears about the size of a large grape and has been severed from the body just below the skull

While in the air, crew sat down to eat breakfast - which appeared to consist of a drink, side salad, bread roll, and a hot dish of ravioli and greens.

The unfortunate steward in question had eaten about half of their meal when they discovered the reptile head at the bottom of the food container.

Well-disguised among the greens, the snake's head appears about the size of a large grape and has been severed from the body just below the skull.

What little remains of its body appears dark green or black in colour and has distinctive yellow stripes running along its length.

Turkey is home to several dozen native species of snake - some of them venomous - though none obviously matches the one found on the flight.

SunExpress said it has suspended its catering company, named by local media as Sancak Inflight, until an investigation can be carried out.

It is not the first time problems have been flagged with the company's meals, with snails and mold found by staff previously, Gazete Duvar reports.

A spokesman for the airline said: 'It is our top priority that the services we provide to our guests on our aircraft are of the highest quality and that both our guests and employees have a comfortable and safe flight experience.

Stock photo: SunExpress said it has suspended its catering company Sancak Inflight. The catering company flat-out denied that the snake head came from one of its facilities, and said it must have been introduced to the meal after it left the factory

'The allegations and shares in the press regarding in-flight food service are absolutely unacceptable and a detailed investigation has been initiated.

'Until the research process is concluded, all preventive measures and actions, including stopping the supply of the relevant product, have been taken immediately.'

But Sancak flat-out denied the snake head came from one of its facilities, and said it must have been introduced to the meal after it left the factory.

A spokesman said: 'SunExpress Airlines is a valuable client in our country and a popular airline in Europe, which recently decided to further expand its fleet and route network. They again announced a tender for catering services on board.

'We did not use any of the foreign objects that were supposedly in the food when cooking (due to the technical and thermal conditions used in the in-flight catering facilities).'
Advertisement

Britain's busiest travel hub has blamed TikTok users for the ongoing airport chaos and claimed passengers are pretending to be disabled to avoid horrific queues during the summer getaway mayhem.

Bosses at Birmingham airport also said there was a 20 per cent rise in people asking for assistance and it has had to buy more wheelchairs and take on extra staff to push them.

Heathrow chief executive John Holland-Kaye said today that 'demand has significantly increased' for travellers who require wheelchair support amid ongoing travel chaos that has left much of the UK's aviation sector paralysed.

TikTok's 'step-by-step hack' to avoiding lengthy queues across Britain's airports: Today, Heathrow chief executive John Holland-Kaye said support for disabled passengers is at an 'all-time high' because many passengers are attempting to 'fast-track lanes' by faking needing wheelchair assistance. Brazen social media users have bragged about skipping long queues at check-in desks and security - with some even getting 'priority boarding' to their flight. Below is TikTok's step-by-step guide on how to make the disability scam convincing enough to fool aviation staff: Step One: Find a public wheelchair at the airport you are travelling from and request extra assistance at a help desk. Step Two: A staff member from the airports support team will help you sail past the queues at check-in and security so you can enjoy the departure lounge until your gate opens. Step Three: You - including anyone you're travelling with - will get priority boarding and be allowed on the plane first to get yourself settled before airline staff call other passengers for their seats. Step Four: For the remainder of the flight, TikTok users urge you to 'act cool' so you do not arouse any suspicion during the flight - as when you reach your destination, you will be once again assisted off the flight to beat the queues for baggage reclaim and security. Advertisement

He said users on TikTok are 'recommending' the 'travel hack' so they can skip queues at security and use fast-track lanes and get help through immigration, customs and baggage reclaim.

Disabled passengers also have the option to be transported to their gate from departures via an electric buggy.

One user 'faked hurting his leg to get through security quicker' on a plane home from Ibiza, while another posted a 'step-by-step' guide on social media showing how to make the 'hack' convincing.

Speaking on LBC this morning, Mr Holland-Kaye said: 'We do have as many people now working in our passengers requiring support team as we had before the pandemic. We've seen demand has gone up significantly.

'For passengers requiring wheelchair support, we have more demand than we had before the pandemic. Why is that happening? Some of this is because people are using the wheelchair support to try and get FastTrack through the airport, and we need to protect that for the people who most need help.

'If you go on TikTok that is one of the travel hacks people are recommending - please don't do that we need to protect the service for the people who need it most. The second thing is half of all the people who ask for the service only ask once they're on the plane. If you really need the service, you'll be better letting us know well in advance so we can make sure there are enough people there to meet your needs.'

Meanwhile, Heathrow reported a pre-tax loss of 321million in the first half of the year despite maintaining its daily limit on flights until after the October half term.

Overall, revenues jumped for the airport as people travelled abroad for leisure and business - but ultimately costs have significantly risen.

The airport said its first-half adjusted loss before tax reduced by 466million to 321 million as a result of higher passenger numbers, and said it was still struggling with a lack of ground handlers.

Yesterday, travel chiefs blasted Heathrow airport for failing to prepare 'appropriately' for Britain's busiest summer period in a decade.

Pictured: Alfred Boling 'pretended to be disabled' so he could get 'private boarding with the boys' and posted a four-step process to 'boarding easily'. He said step one was to find a public wheelchair at the airport you are travelling from and request extra assistance

The second step of the scam involved Mr Boling's friends 'pushing him around' to make the fabricated act look 'real' - so he could sail past the queues in check-in and security

During the video, the group took turns to sit on the wheelchair while smiling, whilst the caption read 'Step three: Get private boarding with the boys' - meaning they will be allowed on the plane first to get settled before airline staff call other passengers for their seats

Meanwhile, Mr Boling wrote that the last step in the 'airport scam' was to 'act cool' to not arouse any suspicion - as when you reach your destination, you will be once again assisted off the flight to beat the queues for baggage reclaim and security

Social media users have been posting their 'travel hacks' on TikTok amid lengthy queues at airports across the country. Pictured: Wolf Jenkins, a 28-year-old student, boasted how he got priority over other passengers for 'faking an injury'

Mr Jenkins 'faked hurting his leg to get through security quicker' on a plane home from Ibiza and posted a video to TikTok to show off the scam

Chief executive John Holland-Kaye (pictured) said 'demand has significantly increased' for travellers who require wheelchair support amid ongoing travel chaos that was seen this morning

HEATHROW: Chief executive John Holland-Kaye said 'demand has significantly increased' for travellers who require wheelchair support amid ongoing travel chaos that was seen this morning

HEATHROW: This morning lengthy queues were seen at Heathrow as Britain's biggest summer getaway gets underway

HEATHROW: Passengers queue to check-in at Terminal 2 at Heathrow Airport as families embark on getaways at the start of the summer holidays for many schools in England and Wales

HEATHROW: A busy Terminal 3 is pictured this morning as passengers queue to go through security

HEATHROW: A packed Terminal 3 was pictured this morning as passengers queue to go through security

HEATHROW: Passengers were pictured in lengthy queues at Heathrow's Terminal 3 on Tuesday morning

Finance chief of Ryanair, Neil Sorahan, 50, accused airports and 'various governments' for being guilty of 'not staffing up appropriately' despite having 'had the schedules months in advance'.

He said: 'You have to hold ANSPs [air navigation service providers] and various governments to account in relation to not staffing up appropriately for that. Equally the airports themselves, they had one job to do to and that was to make sure they have sufficient handlers and security staff. They had the schedules months in advance.

Mr Sorahan told BBC's Today programme on Monday: 'We managed to staff up for 73 additional aircraft well in advance and it's incumbent on the airports to get their planning better next year.'

HEATHROW: Revenues jumped for the airport as people travelled abroad for leisure and business - but ultimately costs have significantly risen

HEATHROW: The airport said its first-half adjusted loss before tax reduced by 466million to 321 million as a result of higher passenger numbers, and said it was still struggling with a lack of ground handlers

HEATHROW: The travel hub's CEO said the airport was 'running smoothly' and that is 'what passengers ultimately want'

HEATHROW: Passengers queue to check-in at terminal 2 at Heathrow Airport, London yesterday afternoon

Do you know any of the TikTok pranksters? Email kaya.terry@mailonline.co.uk Advertisement

However Mr Holland-Kaye hit back at the Ryanair chief this morning and said their accusation was 'bizarre' and was like 'accusing an airport of not having pilots' because it is actually the 'airlines' issue.

He said: 'It's bizarre that they should accuse airports for not hiring enough ground handlers - they're provided by airlines themselves. It's like accusing us of not having enough pilots.

'Passengers don't care who is to blame, what they want is a good service and that's why we have taken the decline to make sure we can keep supply and demand in balance. It wasn't an easy choice to make.'

Heathrow's CEO said the airport was 'running smoothly' and that is 'what passengers ultimately want' .

He added: 'The summer has got off to a really good start and I want to thank all of my colleagues, airlines, and handlers for the fantastic work they're doing to get millions of people away on their holidays.

'We had a good Easter, good Jubilee bank holiday when a lot of airports had difficulties. We've taken action to make sure that doesn't happen here. I'm in Terminal 5 as we speak, and it is running smoothly and that is what passengers want - they want confidence they will get on holiday this summer and that is what we can offer them.

HEATHROW: A letter to airlines seen by the Telegraph , Mark Powell, Heathrow's director of operational planning, said the travel hub had already introduced 'contingency' measures to avoid 'dangerous' overcrowding in its terminals

HEATHROW: Britain's busiest travel hub has experienced lengthy queues, flight cancellations and delays since the start of the year. Pictured: Passengers inside Heathrow on Sunday

HEATHROW: An interior view of Heathrow Airport as the holidaymakers face with an international travel chaos across Europe due to chronic staff shortages on Sunday

HEATHROW: An interior view of Heathrow Airport as the holidaymakers face with an international travel chaos across Europe

HEATHROW: Mr Holland-Kaye said: 'Passengers don't care who is to blame, what they want is a good service'

HEATHROW: The airport travel hub even threatened to sue airlines which fail to adequately reduce capacity as part of their legal duty to maintain 'safe and resilient' travel for passengers

Why is Heathrow imposing a daily passenger cap? Airlines were able to take advantage of a Government scheme which meant they could cancel summer flights without losing their future rights to the valuable take-off and landing slots. But even with this measure, Heathrow believes airlines still planned to operate flights carrying 4,000 more daily passengers than could be processed in an acceptable manner. Heathrow said: 'On average only about 1,500 of these 4,000 daily seats have currently been sold to passengers, and so we are asking our airline partners to stop selling summer tickets to limit the impact on passengers. 'We recognise that this will mean some summer journeys will either be moved to another day, another airport or be cancelled and we apologise to those whose travel plans are affected. 'But this is the right thing to do to provide a better, more reliable journey and to keep everyone working at the airport safe.' Heathrow insisted the capacity cap is 'in line with limits implemented at other airports'. It added that airlines have 'discretion as to how they implement this in their individual schedules'. Advertisement

The west London airport is understood to have told carriers that limits on both inbound and outbound flights will be in effect until at least October 29, owing to staff shortages and absences.

The travel hub even threatened to sue airlines which fail to adequately reduce capacity as part of their legal duty to maintain 'safe and resilient' travel for passengers.

Speaking on BBC's Today Programme this morning, Mr Holland-Kaye added: 'What we started to see towards the end of June was things going in the wrong direction. We started to see planes being late coming off the stand, late to get bags on and off planes and in some cases, planes leaving without any bags and even cancellations at the last minutes. That trend was getting worse as punctuality was deteriorating and all of this is because there is not enough ground handling capacity employed by the airlines to make sure they can service the demand.

'That's why we had to put a cap in place - and that has worked. We've seen a material improvement in performance since it came into place. Punctuality has improved, baggage performance has improved and that show the difficult decisions we took two weeks ago are having the impact so passengers can have the confidence to travel from Heathrow this summer.'

It comes as a letter to airlines seen by the Telegraph, Mark Powell, Heathrow's director of operational planning, said the travel hub had already introduced 'contingency' measures to avoid 'dangerous' overcrowding in its terminals.

One passenger today said they missed their flight at Heathrow while waiting in queues for check in and security - despite arriving four hours ahead of their departure time.

Passengers at Gatwick have also reported problems this morning, with one holidaymaker claiming their flight was delayed by more than 24 hours, 'ruining their holiday.'

In Edinburgh, one fuming traveller branded the situation a 'shambles' as they tweeted a picture of a packed-out baggage reclaim area, writing: 'This is the capital's airport... no ground staff when we arrived, queues everywhere, convoluted walkway... you need to get your act together!'

And things could soon get worse as airline workers join Britain's summer of strikes, including refuelling staff, who are set to walk out for three days starting next week.

The walk out will come at the start of school summer holidays and will affect airlines Emirates, Virgin Atlantic, Delta and KLM.

Spanish workers for EasyJet and Ryanair are also threatening industrial action, potentially wreaking even more havoc on Brits' holiday plans.

HEATHROW: A busy Terminal 2 at Heathrow Airport as people face delays in checking in for their holidays on Monday

HEATHROW: Many holidaymakers arrive at the airport at 5am to make sure they catch their flights on time

HEATHROW: Lengthy queues were pictures on Monday morning as Britons embark on their summer getaways

HEATHROW: Terminal 2 at Heathrow Airport packed with queuing passengers on Monday as Britons face delays in checking in for their holiday

Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary says UK workers won't plug post-Covid staff shortages blamed for airport chaos British people do not want to be baggage handlers, Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary has said amid staff shortages and planned strikes at Heathrow Airport. The low budget airline has been 'completely unaffected' by airport chaos this summer which has seen others British airlines cancel thousands of flights due in part to staff shortages. In contrast, Mr O'Leary said Ryanair was prepared for the return of pre-Covid levels of travel because it could see the 'recovery coming' and got its staff back to work early. He also claimed unlike his competitors, his Irish company can take advantage of the European Labour market and not be faced with British workers who do not want to 'pick fruit or work in hospitality, security and baggage handling at airports'. He added: 'I'm not re-campaigning on Brexit, but the UK is going to have to find a way to open up the Labour market between the UK and Europe, to get people in here to do the jobs which frankly British people don't want to do. 'They don't want to pick fruit, they don't want to do agricultural labour, they don't want to do hospitality or security or baggage handling at airports.' Advertisement

Heathrow was already under fire this week after it took the drastic decision to cap the number of daily departing passengers to 100,000 until at least September 11.

Under the new plans, the number of daily flights leaving and arriving to Heathrow will be capped at 1,100 until August 31.

The figure will then climb to 1,150 between September 1 and 30, before reaching 1,200 between October 1 and 29.

In the pre-pandemic era, Heathrow was handling 1,350 flights per day.

Paul Charles, chief executive of travel consultancy the PC Agency, said: 'These further limits on flight numbers will lead many to question why Heathrow is unable to get a grip on its staffing crisis before October at the earliest.

'Consumers will be concerned about booking half-term trips if they know that Heathrow is continuing to limit passenger numbers towards the end of the year.'

The airport defended limiting its schedules 'to ensure a continued safe operation and to mitigate risk of uncontrolled demand increases leading to potentially dangerous levels of congestion or crowding'.

It added: 'During the last few weeks, Heathrow has had to deploy contingencies to avoid safety events and overcrowding in the terminals including access control/call forward required to ensure the safe management of passengers queueing in landside areas.'

The measures were blamed on 'continued higher absence levels and reliance upon overtime across Team Heathrow' which meant 'there is volatility in resourcing levels, impacting resilience, safety, passenger experience and performance'.

The Telegraph reported that airlines have been issued legal letters, warning them they could face 'restricted usage or no further usage of the airport' if they fail to cancel flights.

An airport source told the paper: 'There are legal routes we can use. As part of the licence to operate at Heathrow, airlines need to run a safe and resilient schedule.'
A former BBC employee was 'warned off making a bullying complaint about DJ Tim Westwood' over his 'unacceptable' behaviour.

The ex-colleague claimed they were 'warned against taking further action' against the presenter and described the culture at Radio 1 as a 'sexist boys' club' during Westwood's 19 years as a DJ.

A BBC executive is alleged to have said they would 'work out what next steps might be needed' - but after the employee spoke to another senior boss, they were told to be 'really careful about saying the term 'duty of care''.

The former employee, who has not been named, said they felt they were being 'silenced'.

It comes after the BBC revealed it was reviewing six misconduct complaints against DJ Tim Westwood, including one that has been referred to the police.

A former BBC employee was 'warned off making a bullying complaint about DJ Tim Westwood' over his 'unacceptable' behaviour, it has been claimed. Pictured: Westwood Global's Make Some Noise Night in November 2017

In an alleged email to a BBC executive that was seen by The Guardian, the staff member wrote: 'I have already had a conversation with you about the ongoing difficulties we're having with Tim's staffing/duty of care. We're in a real pickle now as essentially, there's no one who wants to work on that show.'

A BBC spokesperson told MailOnline: 'We are taking this incredibly seriously and want to understand what happened with regard to the BBC.

'At the beginning of the month we confirmed we had received a number of complaints relating to allegations of bullying and sexual harassment. As we have set out we are fully committed to investigating them and when that work has concluded we will publish findings.'

Despite insisting it wasn't aware of any concerning behaviour, the broadcaster now say they have received a number of bulling and sexual misconduct accusations lodged against the DJ.

Former Radio 1 DJ Westwood, 64, denies any wrongdoing - and the BBC's director general Tim Davie said earlier this year that he had 'seen no evidence of complaints.'

But now six allegations, relating to the period from 1994 to 2013, are being probed as part of a review launched into Westwood's career at the broadcaster.

The claims relate to his alleged bulling and sexual behaviour - with some referring to his conduct outside of the BBC.

Some of the complaints were in the past and were found in BBC files  including the one referred to the police.

The ex-colleague claimed they were 'warned against taking further action' against the presenter and described the culture at Radio 1 as a 'sexist boys club' during his 19 years as a DJ. Pictured: At the Snoop Dogg in concert at the Shepherds Bush Empire in Shepherds Bush Empire, London, 2010

Regarding the issue that was referred to the police, the spokesperson added: 'This is an historic case that the BBC has found in its files.

'We are establishing the facts around it. It did not relate to conduct at the BBC, BBC premises, or conduct towards a BBC staff member, nor was it an accusation of physical assault.'

The BBC did not say whether the other five other complaints were received before or after Mr Davie's statement was issued in April.

And the broadcaster said Mr Davie had set out the position as he understood it at the time.

A BBC spokesperson previously said: 'As we have said, if people have things that they want to raise with the BBC, then they should do so.

'People have now done so and we will continue to investigate. We also said that we would dig into what happened in the past. We are doing that with great care. All of that work hasn't concluded and is ongoing. We said we would take this seriously, and we are. When that work has concluded, we will say more.'

This comes after the Guardian and BBC published testimonies in April from seven women who made allegations of predatory sexual behaviour against Westwood.

In a response, a spokesperson for the DJ said at the time that he vehemently denied the allegations.

They said: 'Our client confirms that there has never been any complaint made against him, whether officially or unofficially, relating to claims of inappropriate behaviour of the nature described.

'No complaint has ever been made to the police, and nobody has ever raised these matters, or any colourably similar, with him directly or with his representatives.

Westwood (pictured) has denied all allegations that were lodged against him

'There has been no investigation in relation to him of any nature whatsoever, whether by the police, his employer or indeed any other authority.'

Earlier this year, Westwood was heard in unearthed clips urging a fan to stay in her bra as he ogled her on stage in the BBC3 film Tim Westwood: Abuse of Power.

The DJ was accused of groping black women at gigs in the scathing documentary.

The 64-year-old son of the former Bishop of Peterborough was filmed cat-calling a woman as she scrambled to cover up as he shouted from the decks: 'Yo baby you don't have to put your top back on'.

He was also caught clutching a woman while looking down her top and asking: 'I like your rack  is it real?'.

The documentary also showed him refusing to let go of a woman's arm after he apparently whispered something sexual in her ear while backstage at a festival.

And another clip shows Westwood interviewing rapper Cardi B during a 2017 interview for Capital FM.

The American artist asks him: 'Do you have sex with a lot of like, you know, black girls?' Westwood replied after a pause: 'Not as much as I'd like to' in an interview where he was accused of being inappropriate towards the star.
A millionaire ex-banker who tried to sue his own legal team after his royal toymaker wife walked away with more than 2million in their divorce settlement has had his claim thrown out at the High Court.

Mark Nieman, 63, took Withers LLP to the central London court to argue that his ex-wife Jeanette Nieman, 47 - whose swing set was once bought as a gift for Prince George - received 1million too much due to the firm's 'negligent' advice.

Mr Nieman, a former stockbroker for UBS, had held onto the 3million family home and a sprawling farm near Canterbury - home to a luxury Airbnb business - in the deal, as well as cash and around 1million in company shares.

But he felt his wife was awarded too much after walking away with three cottages, her 800,000 new home, a holiday house in Norway, her gifts company, a 400,000 share of his UBS pension and a lump sum cash payment of 695,000.

Withers LLP, however, said it was a 'classic case of hindsight' in which a client wished they had done things differently 'for a better result' , adding that Ms Nieman had been awarded 39 per cent of the family's total assets, which is far lower than the more common 50-50 split for long marriages such as theirs.

Mr Justice Andrew Baker agreed, ruling that Mr Nieman could not blame his lawyers, especially after thrashing out key parts of the 2017 deal with his ex himself 'over the kitchen table' - including agreeing in private to pay her a 1m lump sum and signing the agreement without telling his legal team.

Mark Nieman (pictured), 63, took Withers LLP to the High Court in central London to argue that his ex-wife Jeanette Nieman, 47 - whose swing set was once bought as a gift for Prince George - received 1million too much due to the firm's 'negligent' advice

Mr Nieman felt his ex-wife (pictured) was awarded too much after walking away with three cottages, her 800,000 new home, a holiday house in Norway, her gifts company, a 400,000 share of his UBS pension and a lump sum cash payment of 695,000

Prince George pictured on his swing in 2016, created by the Oak and Rope Company founded by Ms Nieman

Mr Nieman must now pay the law firm 35,000 in unpaid bills after they successfully filed a counter-claim.

The court had heard how Mr Nieman had a successful 20-year career in the City as a stock-broker, in later years working for investment bank UBS, where he met his future wife Jeanette - a high-earning accountant - in 1998.

They married in 2000 and had two children, enjoying a 'very good standard of living' with a nanny, private schooling and expensive holidays.

Following the birth of their children, Ms Nieman gave up her job and devoted herself to the family, and in 2005, Mr Nieman - then in his 40s - retired to Kent to 'pursue the country life and less stressful interests.'

There, Ms Nieman set up her now thriving business, The Oak and Rope Company, which specialises in 'high-quality gifts' made from oak and rope, the judge said.

'The company became successful. Its products are popular. It has contracts with the John Lewis Partnership and even a purchase by the royal family of a swing as a birthday gift for Prince George,' he said.

However, the marriage faltered and, in the summer of 2015, Ms Nieman told her husband - who was in ill health and 'extremely distressed' at the news - that she wanted a divorce.

The court heard minimising the lawyers' bills associated with divorce had been at the forefront of Mr Nieman's mind when he approached Withers LLP to advise him through to a settlement.

'Keeping costs down was a significant concern of his throughout,' said the judge, adding that the firm had been instructed to act in the background as Mr Nieman wanted a 'kitchen table' divorce, negotiated directly between the former couple.

Aerial photo shows the farm near Canterbury, which Mr Nieman held onto in the 2017 divorce settlement agreed with his now ex-wife. It is home to a luxury Airbnb business

The farm in Canterbury owned by Mr Nieman is home to a luxury treehouse (pictured), available on Airbnb for upwards of 120-a-night

But the pair were unable to come to a complete agreement until after Ms Nieman issued a legal claim, resulting in a court-approved settlement in 2017 which left her with assets and cash worth over 2million.

The deal resulted in Mr Nieman getting the 3m family home and a farm near Canterbury, as well as cash and about 1m worth of shares in various companies.

Ms Nieman got three cottages, her 800,000 new home, a holiday house in Norway, her gifts company, a 400,000 share of his UBS pension and a lump sum cash payment of 695,000.

Suing the law firm, Mr Nieman claimed that the result was unfair and that he should not have ended up sharing his UBS pension with his ex or paying her more than 100,000 as a lump sum.

His lawyers had failed to 'properly advise' him about the distinction between assets brought into the marriage and those built up during the relationship, causing him to agree a worse deal than he should have got, he claimed.

But acting for Withers, barrister Amanda Savage QC denied that his lawyers were negligent, pointing out that Mr Nieman had done most of the negotiating himself and signed without telling them.

The court had heard how Mr Nieman had a successful 20-year career in the City as a stock-broker, in later years working for investment bank UBS, where he met his future wife Jeanette (pictured) - a high-earning accountant - in 1998

He had in 2016 agreed, without telling his lawyers, to pay Ms Nieman a 1million cash sum, and Withers had managed to help him negotiate that down to 695,000, plus a share of his pension, she said.

'It is a notable feature of this case that Mr Nieman did not wish or instruct Withers to act on a 'wholesale' basis, but wanted them to advise him in the background with a view to negotiating the divorce settlement with Jeanette directly, 'over the kitchen table', using a mutual friend as an intermediary at times,' she told the court.

'The fact and detail of these direct discussions was often not relayed to Withers either at all or until after concessions had been made in the negotiations.'

She added that Withers LLP had often been asked to comment on matters which had already been discussed or even agreed between Mr and Ms Nieman, and often on the basis of incomplete information.

And she accused Mr Nieman of 're-writing history' in claiming that he should not have been advised to share his pension - when it was he who came up with the idea.

In the end, Ms Nieman had walked away with about 39 per cent of the family's total assets, which was a 'good result' for Mr Nieman following a long marriage, since it could easily have resulted in a 50-50 split.

'It is contended that this claim is a classic case of hindsight, and an example of a claimant wishing they had done things differently and achieved a better result,' she said.

She added: 'There is no real prospect that Mr Nieman would have achieved a better result in the underlying claim, either by settlement or at trial.'

Ms Nieman (pictured) set up her now thriving business, The Oak and Rope Company, which specialises in 'high-quality gifts' made from oak and rope. One of the company's swing sets was bought as a gift for Prince George

Ruling on the case, Mr Justice Andrew Baker said Mr Nieman had been keen to keep the costs down and had wanted to negotiate a settlement directly with his wife.

But although he had been 'honest with the court,' Mr Nieman's memory of the time meant he was 'not a reliable historian of the material events.'

'The idea to offer to pension share as a quid pro quo for a reduced cash sum came from Mr Nieman, not from Withers,' he said.

'Mr Nieman had always regarded it as a beneficial arrangement.

'I consider the true position to be that, so long as any financial package for Ms Nieman involved a substantial payment from Mr Nieman, he would probably have preferred and offered a pension share in place of some or all of the cash sum obligation.'

'I conclude that the negligence claim against Withers fails,' said the judge, adding that Mr Nieman's evidence had been 'all over the place' in terms of what he said he would have done differently with different advice.

Withers' counter-claim for payment of about 35,000 in unpaid bills was allowed.
Ski resorts in the Swiss Alps that rely on glaciers are being covered with white sheets to reflect sunlight and reduce melting.

The Alps' glaciers are on track for their highest mass losses of ice in at least 60 years of record keeping.

Seasonal snowfall, apart from replenishing ice lost during summer, normally protects glaciers from further melt by providing a white cover that reflects sunlight better than darker ice sullied by dust or pollution.

But exceptionally high ice loss this year has brought glaciologists to the alps two months early for emergency maintenance work to try and save the piste.

Andreas Linsbauer, a 45-year-old Swiss glaciologist, normally heads down the path on the massive Morteratsch Glacier in late September, the end of the summer melt season in the Alps.

Ski resorts in the Swiss Alps that rely on glaciers are being covered with white sheets to reflect sunlight and reduce melting. The Alps' glaciers are on track for their highest mass losses of ice in at least 60 years of record keeping

Snow from the last winter season is covered with blankets on a slope beside the top station of a cablecar at Diavolezza ski area near the Alpine resort of Pontresina, Switzerland July 21

Glaciologist Andreas Linsbauer and assistant Andrea Millhaeusler stand on a border moraine of the Pers Glacier near the Alpine resort of Pontresina, Switzerland July 21

Glaciologist Andreas Linsbauer and assistant Andrea Millhaeusler drill a hole at a measuring point on the Pers Glacier near the Alpine resort of Pontresina, Switzerland July 21

Assistant Andrea Millhaeusler holds a rod at a measuring point on the Pers Glacier while glaciologist Andreas Linsbauer drills a hole

This time he's come in July, bringing with him 10kg of steel equipment needed to chart the decline of Switzerland's glaciers.

By looking at the difference in how much snow fell in winter, and how much ice melts in the summer, scientists can measure how much a glacier has shrunk in any given year.

Since last winter, which brought relatively little snowfall, the Alps have sweltered through two big early summer heatwaves  including one in July marked by temperatures near 30 Celsius in the Swiss mountain village of Zermatt.

During this heatwave, the elevation at which water froze was measured at a record high of 17,000 feet at an altitude higher than Mont Blanc's  compared with the normal summer level of between 9,800-11,500 feet.

'It's really obvious that this is an extreme season,' Linsbauer said, shouting over the roar of rushing meltwater as he checked the height of a pole jutting out of the ice.

People stand at a lookout point near Mount Piz Palue and Piz Bernina, near the Alpine resort of Pontresina

A couple take a selfie in front of the Pers Glacier at a lookout point at the Diavolezza area near the Alpine resort of Pontresina, Switzerland July 21

Most of the world's mountain glaciers  remnants of the last ice age  are retreating due to climate change. But those in the European Alps are especially vulnerable because they are smaller with relatively little ice cover.

Meanwhile, temperatures in the Alps are warming at around 0.3C per decade, around twice as fast as the global average.

If greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, the Alps glaciers are expected to lose more than 80% of their current mass by 2100.

Many will disappear regardless of whatever emissions action is taken now, thanks to global warming baked in by past emissions, according to a 2019 report by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Already, Morteratsch is much changed from the glacier depicted on the region's tourist maps.

The long tongue that once reached deep into the valley below has shrunk back by nearly two miles, while the depth of the snow and ice pack has thinned by up to 656 feet.

A parallel glacier Pers flowed into it until 2017 but has now receded so much that an expanding strip of grit lies between them.

The dire situation this year raises concern that the Alps' glaciers might vanish sooner than expected. With more years like 2022, that could happen, said Matthias Huss, who leads Glacier Monitoring Switzerland (GLAMOS).

'We are seeing model results expected a few decades in the future are happening now,' Huss said. 'I did not expect to see such an extreme year so early in the century.'

Reuters spoke with glaciologists in Austria, France, and Italy who confirmed that glaciers there were on track for record losses.

In Austria, 'the glaciers are snow-free up to the summits,' said Andrea Fischer, a glaciologist at the Austrian Academy of Sciences.

But at the Grand Etret glacier in northwest Italy, only 4.2 feet of snow had accumulated during this past winter 6.6 feet less than the annual average for the 20 years up to 2020.

A woman takes a picture of the Pers Glacier from a lookout point at the Diavolezza area near the Alpine resort of Pontresina, Switzerland July 21

A woman poses beside a Swiss national flag near Mount Piz Palue and the Pers Glacier, near the Alpine resort of Pontresina, Switzerland July 21

A couple take a selfie in front of the Pers Glacier at a lookout point at the Diavolezza area near the Alpine resort of Pontresina, Switzerland July 21

This year's Alpine ice losses, registered even before the biggest melt month of August, surprised scientists to some extent, as many of the glaciers had already lost their lower-lying snouts.

Because they had retreated up the mountain, where temperatures are cooler, scientists thought they should have been better protected.

'You can easily imagine the final results after summer will be an extensive loss of glacier coverage in the Italian Alps,' said Marco Giardino, vice president of the Italian Glaciological Committee.

Data shared exclusively with Reuters shows that Morteratsch is now shedding about 2 inches a day and is already in a worse state than it would normally be at the end of an average summer, according to data from GLAMOS and the Universite libre de Bruxelles.

The nearby Silvretta Glacier has lost about 3.3 feet more than at the same point in 1947  the worst year in its database stretching back to 1915.

Himalayan glaciers are also on track for a record ice loss year, scientists told Reuters. When the summer monsoon season arrived in the Kashmir region, for example, many glaciers had already been shrunk drastically, with their snowlines starting high up the mountain, after a March-May heatwave marked by temperatures above 48C in northern India.

The Pers Glacier is reflected in a window of a restaurant behind hikers. The Pers flowed into the adjacent glacier until 2017 but has now receded so much that an expanding strip of grit lies between them

Belgian tourist Lisa Neyt talks to Reuters next to the Pers Glacier. The Alps glaciers are expected to lose more than 80% of their current mass by 2100

A hiker walks on a border moraine of the Pers Glacier near Pontresina. Vanishing glaciers are endangering lives and livelihoods as they cause avalanches in tourist areas

An early June expedition in India's Himachal Pradesh found that the Chhota Shigri Glacier had lost much of its snow cover.

'The highest temperature in over a century in March through May clearly had its impacts,' said glaciologist Mohd Farooq Azam at the Indian Institute of Technology Indore.

Vanishing glaciers are already endangering lives and livelihoods. Earlier this month, a glacier collapse on the Marmolada in Italy killed 11 people.

Days later, a collapsing glacier in the Tian Shan mountains of eastern Kyrgyzstan triggered a massive avalanche, sending ice and rocks hurdling toward passing tourists.

Above the Swiss village of Saas Fee, a path leading to a mountain hut once passed through a summer snowfield on top of the Chessjen Glacier.

Hikers are seen near the Britannia Hut refuge, near the Alpine resort of Saas-Fee. Above the Swiss village, a path leading to the mountain hut once passed through a summer snowfield on top of the Chessjen Glacier

A signpost stands near the Britannia Hut refuge. Swiss residents worry that the glacier losses will hurt their economy

Hikers walk over the ice of the Chessjen glacier near the Britannia Hut refuge. Earlier this month, a glacier collapse on the Marmolada in Italy killed 11 people

'It's too dangerous now,' due to the risk of falling rocks, once held together by hard-frozen ice, said hutkeeper Dario Andenmatten while gazing out over a barren landscape dotted with glacial lakes.

Nearby, the rumble of stones tumbling from the mountain could be heard.

Swiss residents worry that the glacier losses will hurt their economy.

Glaciers also feature in many of the country's fairy tales, and the Aletsch Glacier is considered a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Losing the glaciers 'means losing our national heritage, our identity,' said hiker Bernardin Chavaillaz. 'It's sad.'

Hikers rest on the ice of the Pers Glacier near the Alpine resort of Pontresina. Many glaciers have already been shrunk drastically, with their snowlines starting high up the mountain
Boris Johnson will become a 'permanent nightmare' for his successor, a senior Tory grandee warned today - as No10 distanced itself from claims he wants to stay in power.

Former party leader and foreign secretary Lord Hague warned that no outgoing PM has ever been very helpful to the person who follows them into No10.

But he warned that Mr Johnson could be more trouble than previous leaders due to his personality and the way he was removed.

Downing Street was forced to confirm that the PM would step down once a new Conservative Party leader is in place in September.

It came after one of his allies, the multi-millionaire donor Lord Cruddas, said he wanted to 'wipe away' his resignation and stay in No10.

Cruddas, a former Tory chairman who was gifted his peerage by Mr Johnson, said the PM 'does not want' to quit and 'wished that he could carry on'.

He is leading a small rebellion from grassroots Tories who want Mr Johnson to be allowed to run against Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss.

Writing in the Times today, Lord Hague said: 'Our brutal parliamentary system, in which heads of government are removed by voters or MPs and rarely come to a dignified end of their term, makes the torment of being replaced even harder to bear.

'This is particularly severe if a PM believes they never did anything wrong  think (Edward) Heath  or if they consider the electorate always backed them but their MPs were too weak to stick with them  think (Margaret) Thatcher.

'Now think of Boris Johnson. All of these feelings will apply to him.

'He is going to be Heath with jokes added in, and Thatcher with consistency taken out, all rolled into a bundle of resentment, denial, attention-seeking and attempted vindication that will be a permanent nightmare for the new prime minister.'

Former party leader and foreign secretary Lord Hague warned that no outgoing PM has ever been very helpful to the person who follows them into No10.

But he warned that Mr Johnson could be more trouble than previous leaders due to his personality and the way he was removed.

Lord Cruddas of Shoreditch, a former Conservative Party treasurer, said the PM does not want' to quit and 'wished that he could carry on'

Lord Cruddas told the Daily Telegraph: 'There was no ambiguity in Boris's views. He definitely does not want to resign. He wants to carry on and he believes that, with the membership behind him, he can.'

The peer added: 'Boris thanked me for my 'Boris on the ballot' campaign. He said he was enjoying following it and he wished me well. He said he could understand the membership's anger at what had happened. He said that he wished that he could carry on as Prime Minister. He said he does not want to resign.'

When asked by the peer if he would 'wipe away' his resignation immediately with 'a magic wand', Mr Johnson is said to have replied: 'I would wipe away everything that stops me being PM in a second.'

Lord Cruddas added: 'He wants to carry on to finish the job. He wants to fight the next general election as leader of the Conservative Party.'

The comments forced a No10 spokeswoman to respond, saying: 'The Prime Minister has resigned as party leader and set out his intention to stand down as PM when the new leader is in place.'

And Ms Truss last night dismissed the idea of her predecessor staying in Cabinet or making a comeback as PM.

Pressed on whether she would want the outgoing premier in her top team, the Foreign Secretary insisted 'what's done is done' and he would be taking a 'well-earned break'.

Ms Truss - who is battling it out with Rishi Sunak in a run-off among party members - was asked during the BBC debate if Mr Johnson would have a job if she wins.

'Having spent time with him this week on foreign affairs, I very, very much suspect that he would not want a future role in the Government, I think he needs a well-earned break from what has been a very difficult few years,' she said.

'After all, he was seriously ill with Covid, we haven't even talked about that, and that was a terrible moment when we didn't know what was going to happen, he has faced real challenges that no leader would have expected to face, the appalling war in Ukraine, so I simply don't think that is really an option.'

She added: 'I just don't think it's going to happen, I think that what's done is done, the party has made the decision, I have told you my views of that, I have now put myself forward as a candidate because I think I'm the right person to do the job and I don't believe that he would want further involvement.'

Pushed further, Ms Truss said: 'I am sure he will have a role, I am sure he will be vocal but he will not be part of the government.'

Mr Sunak said: 'The simple answer from me is no, I think we need to look forward at this point, that's why I want to be prime minister.'
War veteran Ben Roberts-Smith, 43, allegedly lost control and kicked an unarmed Afghan man off a cliff because he laughed at him a court heard in his defamation trial on Monday.

In the second and final week of defamation trial closing submissions, barrister Arthur Moses SC said the Federal Court was asked to find his client's motivation for the allegation was 'this man laughed at Mr Roberts-Smith twice'.

'That a trained Australian soldier of the calibre of Mr Roberts-Smith and his undisputed record would so impulsively and cruelly first assault and then order the execution of an unarmed civilian in response of the slightest provocations is inherently improbable,' Mr Moses said.

Ben Roberts-Smith (left) is suing The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Canberra Times over 2018 reports claiming he committed war crimes in Afghanistan including murder

The Victoria Cross recipient is suing The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Canberra Times over 2018 reports claiming he committed war crimes in Afghanistan including murder, and acts of bullying and domestic violence.

The 43-year-old denies all claims of wrongdoing, while the newspapers are defending them as true.

He is accused of kicking an innocent farmer called Ali Jan off the cliff and down into a river bed in September 2012 at Darwan.

The handcuffed prisoner was allegedly shot by another soldier, both alleged to be working in a joint criminal enterprise to carry out the murder.

Afghan eyewitnesses to the event were found through a middleman 'fortuitously as luck would have it,' and then set up with the mastheads who paid their rent, food and medical expenses for more than a year so they could give the evidence via videolink from Kabul, Mr Moses said.

The war veteran allegedly lost control and kicked an unarmed Afghan man off a cliff because he laughed at him a court heard in his defamation trial on Monday

'One cannot rule out the possibility this may have influenced their evidence.'

He also pointed to another witness dubbed Person Seven, saying he was so obsessed that Mr Roberts-Smith was awarded the prestigious and rare medal that he sought to destroy his reputation using the media.

'To do all that he can to throw mud at (Mr Roberts-Smith) ... and engaged in a war of words ... in the dark and through the media.

'Person Seven heard rumours ... and because of the Victoria Cross he starts hunting for war crimes.'

The barrister submitted another former SAS soldier dubbed Person 14 lied to the court about a story that 'flip-flopped' on numerous occasions.

'The lies drip from this man's evidence,' Mr Moses said.

Person 14 testified that he observed a soldier wearing Mr Roberts-Smith's distinctive camouflage paint carrying his automatic Minimi weapon on a mission to a Taliban compound dubbed Whiskey 108 in 2009.

The 43-year-old denies all claims of wrongdoing, while the newspapers are defending them as true

He said the soldier threw a figure to the ground before unloading an extended burst of Minimi fire upon them.

The barrister said notes from journalist Chris Masters dated February 2018 about his meeting with Person 14 stated that it was another soldier who shot the prisoner with a fake leg.

'But he told Your Honour that he told Mr Masters that it was Mr Roberts-Smith who shot the man with a prosthetic leg,' Mr Moses said.

'He never told Mr Masters that, that would have been red hot for Mr Masters, he would have been tripping over himself to get to the editor's room.

'He contorted and twisted himself until the stage of lacking any credibility at all by the time he left the witness box.'

Person 14 also told the court he saw Mr Roberts-Smith order Afghan soldiers to shoot a detained local man 'or I will' during a 2012 mission in Khaz Uruzgan, something he denies.

Barrister Nicholas Owens SC on behalf of the newspapers last week said Mr Roberts-Smith colluded with several of his witnesses and good friends through clandestine meetings and swapping of evidence, and showed a guilty conscience of war crimes.
Advertisement

Families flying out from London Heathrow for the school holidays once again faced huge queues today  despite its chief executive insisting the airport is 'running smoothly' and that 'summer has got off to a really good start'.

Passengers shared photographs of long lines snaking outside Heathrow's Terminal Two at about 5am this morning, while others took pictures of hundreds of people waiting to get through security in Terminal Three around 9am.

The queues come as the airport's boss John Holland-Kaye insisted today that while 'lot of airports' have faced 'difficulties' over the past few months, at Heathrow 'we've taken action to make sure that doesn't happen here'.

Sources at Heathrow said the wait for security at Terminal Three this morning was between 15 and 30 minutes, with passengers placed into a contingency queuing area that is used during very busy periods such as today.

At Terminal Two, where queues have since cleared, passengers were in a covered walkway which is where they are placed as a contingency measure during peak periods because the terminal's check-in area is relatively small.

Queues in the security area of London Heathrow's Terminal Three this morning as families go on their summer holidays

Passengers queue for security checks at London Heathrow's Terminal Three this morning as they prepare to go on flights

Queues in the security area of London Heathrow's Terminal Three this morning which were said to be 30 minutes long

Mr Holland-Kaye told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'The summer has got off to a really good start and I want to thank all of my colleagues, airlines, and handlers for the fantastic work they're doing to get millions of people away on their holidays. We had a good Easter, good Jubilee bank holiday when a lot of airports had difficulties.

'We've taken action to make sure that doesn't happen here. I'm in Terminal Five as we speak, and it is running smoothly and that is what passengers want - they want confidence they will get on holiday this summer and that is what we can offer them.'

London Heathrow Airport chief executive John Holland-Kaye

Asked about today's queues, a Heathrow spokesman told MailOnline: 'We are busy welcoming tens of thousands of people today as they make the most of air travel this summer.

'While some passengers may experience slightly longer queues at peak times, our colleagues are working hard to get everyone away and the airport is flowing.'

On July 12, Heathrow introduced a cap of 100,000 daily departing passengers until September 11, leading to more flights being cancelled on top of the tens of thousands that had already been axed this summer.

The decision came after many passengers flying to and from the airport suffered severe disruption in recent months, with long security queues and baggage system breakdowns. There have also been photographs in recent weeks of mounting piles of lost suitcases.

Mr Holland-Kaye said: 'What we started to see towards the end of June was things going in the wrong direction. We started to see planes being late coming off the stand, late to get bags on and off planes and in some cases, planes leaving without any bags and even cancellations at the last minutes.

'That trend was getting worse as punctuality was deteriorating and all of this is because there is not enough ground handling capacity employed by the airlines to make sure they can service the demand.

'That's why we had to put a cap in place - and that has worked. We've seen a material improvement in performance since it came into place.

Passengers share photographs of long lines snaking outside London Heathrow's Terminal Two at about 5am this morning

Passengers wait in queues outside London Heathrow's Terminal Two early this morning as they prepare to go on flights

Passengers wait to check-in at Heathrow Airport Terminal 2 this morning which is busy again with holidaymakers

Queues for check-in at London Heathrow Airport's Terminal 2 this morning as families go on their summer holidays

Passengers wait to check-in at Heathrow Airport Terminal 2 this morning which is busy again with holidaymakers

People wait for passengers to walk into the arrivals hall at London Heathrow Airport's Terminal 2 this morning

The arrivals hall at London Heathrow Airport's Terminal 2 is pictured this morning as people come back from trips abroad

'Punctuality has improved, baggage performance has improved and that show the difficult decisions we took two weeks ago are having the impact so passengers can have the confidence to travel from Heathrow this summer.'

EasyJet takes 133m hit from recent airport chaos EasyJet has revealed quarterly losses after taking a 133million hit from recent airport disruption, but insisted its operations are getting back to normal following cuts to its flight programme. The budget airline reported a group headline loss before tax of 114 million for the three months to June 30, blaming 'widespread operational challenges' and flight cancellations due to staff shortages at airports. The result marked an improvement on the 318 million loss seen a year ago, but comes despite easyJet's passenger numbers jumping more than sevenfold to 22 million in the quarter. EasyJet boss Johan Lundgren said its summer operations had now 'normalised' and were 'much improved' in July after recent moves by airports to demand a cut in flight programmes. The carrier said it remains focused on ensuring 'smooth operations this summer' and will continue to 'fine tune' its schedule, signalling further flight cuts if needed. It comes after airports such as Heathrow and Gatwick told airlines to cut their flight schedules following scenes of chaos as staff shortages left them struggling to cope with the sudden ramping up of demand for overseas holidays. Holidaymakers have suffered flight delays and cancellations, alongside lengthy queues as airports have struggled with baggage handling, air traffic control and security. EasyJet said: 'The unprecedented ramp up across the aviation industry, coupled with a tight labour market, has resulted in widespread operational challenges culminating in higher levels of cancellations than normal.' It saw around 5 per cent of its flight schedule cancelled in the quarter as a result. Mr Lundgren added: 'We have taken action to build the additional resilience needed this summer and the operation has now normalised. Despite the loss this quarter due to the short-term disruption issues, the return to flying at scale has demonstrated that the strategic initiatives launched during the pandemic are delivering now and with more to come.' The group ran 87 per cent of its pre-pandemic flight schedule in its third quarter to June 30 and expects this to edge up to around 90 per cent in its key summer quarter, which is held back by the airport caps. It stressed it expects the flight caps and cost hit to be a 'one-off this summer', with schedules and airport operations set to return to normal for next year's peak season. Advertisement

He spoke as Heathrow confirmed it remains loss-making and does not forecast paying dividends to shareholders this year.

The West London airport's adjusted loss before tax during the first six months of the year was 321million, down from 787million during the same period in 2021.

It attributed the improvement to a spike in passenger numbers, from 3.9million to 26.1million.

Fees paid by airlines also rose, but this was 'offset by increased costs as we invested ahead of demand', according to the airport.

A shortage of ground handlers is 'the constraint on Heathrow's capacity' as airlines struggle to replace staff let go due to the pandemic, according to the airport.

Mr Holland-Kaye also described comments by Ryanair chief financial officer Neil Sorahan which blamed airports for not recruiting enough staff as 'ridiculous'.

Mr Sorahan told BBC Radio 4's Today programme yesterday that airports 'had one job to do' and should be held to account for 'not staffing up appropriately'.

In response, Mr Holland-Kaye said today: 'It was ridiculous. They were blaming airports for not having enough ground handling staff. Ground handling is the responsibility of the airline. So that's like them blaming us because they haven't got enough pilots. They need to take responsibility for their ground handling.'

Mr Holland-Kaye also said the pandemic left the aviation sector 'deeply scarred'.

He went on: 'The next few years will need investment to rebuild capacity, with a focus on safety, consumer service, resilience and efficiency.

'Airlines need to recruit and train more ground handlers; airports need to catch up on underinvestment during the Covid years - at Heathrow, that means replacing the Terminal 2 baggage system and new security lanes.'

Heathrow said it has been raising concerns over the lack of ground handlers for nine months.

It went on: 'We estimate that airline ground handlers have no more than 70 per cent of pre-pandemic resource, and there has been no increase in numbers since January.

'In the second half of June, as departing passenger numbers regularly exceeded 100,000 a day, we started to see a worrying increase in unacceptable service levels for some passengers.'

Problems included bags not travelling with passengers or being delivered 'very late' to the baggage hall, poor punctuality, and some flights being cancelled after passengers had boarded.

Heathrow said passengers travelling through the airport since schools in England and Wales broke up for summer last week 'have had a smooth and reliable journey'.

This 'builds on the success' of the Easter and Jubilee half-term holidays, when Heathrow 'operated smoothly while there was disruption at other airports', the airport said in a statement.

'The airport is busy during peak times, but any queues are well-managed and kept moving.'

Emirates, the world's biggest operator of long-haul jets, initially rejected demands to reduce capacity at the airport before it added another Dubai service from Heathrow's London rival Gatwick.
British tourists have reacted furiously after discovering they may be required to prove they are able to spend 85-per-day in order to enter Spain - after the United Kingdom left the European Union.

Proof of having enough cash is not the only new requirement either, with Spain saying British entrants may have to produce a range of documents when entering the country under new rules introduced because of Brexit.

In addition to requesting proof tourists can spend at least 100 per-day - and have a minimum of 900 (766.94) available - Spanish border agents could also ask tourists to prove they have an onward ticket and accommodation booked for their stay.

Spanish guidelines say the funds could be in the form of foreign currency, traveller's cheques, cash, payment letters or on credit cards. If tourists are unable to prove they can support themselves financially, they could be denied entry.

The rule, which has taken some Brits by surprise, has been in force since the beginning of the year. Being outside the European Union on account of Brexit, the UK now falls under the 'third country' category, meaning more checks are done.

British tourists have reacted furiously after discovering they may be required to prove they are able to spend 85-per-day in order to enter Spain - after the United Kingdom left the European Union. Pictured: Tourists arrive in Barcelona, Spain in July

Pictured: A screen grab of Spain's Ministerio Del Interior website showing the financial requirements for tourists entering Spain from outside of the European Union

Tourists who smoke on Barcelona's beaches now face fines By Natalia Penza for MailOnline Tourists who smoke on any of Barcelona's 10 beaches now face fines under new rules. The Catalan capital has become Spain's first large city to outlaw smoking on all its beaches. The move is the culmination of a strategy which began last year with a pilot scheme banning smoking on four beaches - Sant Miquel, Somorrostro, Nova Icaria and Nova Marbella. Sunbathers who flout the new restrictions have been warned they will be fined 30 euros (25), although council chiefs say they don't expect to have to sanction people for lighting up. The ten beaches affected by the new rule cover just over three miles of coastline. Eloi Badia, Councillor for Ecological Transition, said: 'Last year no-one was fined. 'Everyone understood the situation perfectly and only the odd absent-minded smoker had to be asked to move on to the promenade.' Barcelona council chiefs say they have extended the ban for health reasons and to appease the majority of beach users and point to scientific evidence showing cigarette butts take around a decade to disappear. The Spanish government has proposed measures to extend the current prohibition on smoking in public places to include terraces and beaches. But the ambitious new anti-smoking law being worked on, which is also expected to include a ban on lighting up in private cars, is not expected to be fully drafted until 2023. The country's Health Ministry also wants to push up the price of tobacco through extra taxes. The number of beaches where smoking is banned in Spain has jumped from around 15 in the summer of 2014 to around 550 at present. They include 13 beaches in the Malaga province stretch of the Costa del Sol and seven in Majorca. Smoking is also banned on around 25 per cent of the Costa Blanca's beaches, although on most fines are not handed out to those who light up. The exceptions include Finestrat Cove, an urban cove of fine sand around two miles from Benidorm, where fines for smoking and vaping can reach 750 euros (636). Advertisement

Several people took to social media to react to the rules, slamming Spain for introducing financial restrictions on those wanting to holiday there.

One person on Facebook wrote: 'Looks like Spain is making it too difficult and too elitist for many families. Bit of a kick in the teeth to all those who have been going for years. Families and pensioners will be most affected.'

Another person wrote: 'Let's see where they are going to get their tourism from now if people chose other countries.. good luck Spain!'

Another wrote: 'Pretty obvious what the Spanish are trying to do, restrict people coming for a holiday who don't have a lot of money.

'If people are on an all inclusive holiday they are not spending money in the local area, so not helping the local economy.'

One Twitter user quipped: 'If I could afford to spend 85 a day I'd be going somewhere better than Spain.'

Others directed their ire towards Brexit. One wrote sarcastically: 'Brexit truly is the gift that keeps on giving.' Another asked rhetorically: 'More Brexit benefits?'

'I remember when the proponents of Brexit told us that NOTHING would change if we left the EU. What a joke,' one angry Twitter user said.

But another Twitter user accused Spain of being an 'anti-Brexit EU country', urging his followed to avoid going to the European country all together. 'Great. Do NOT go to Spain. Tired of these anti-Brexit EU countries pushing us around,' he said.

Someone else pointed out on Twitter that Brits are now considered 'third country' travellers in all 27 EU states since leaving the union.

The new rules appear to have come as a surprise to many frequent flyers due to the fact that not all British entrants to Spain are checked. While all people entering Spain must meet the requirements, border guards are not required to check all arrivals.

The UK Foreign Office outlined the rules it a statement.

'At Spanish border control, you may need to show a return or onward ticket; show you have enough money for your stay; show proof of accommodation for your stay, for example, a hotel booking confirmation, proof of address if visiting your own property (eg second home), or an invitation from your host or proof of their address if staying with a third party, friends or family,' its guidance states.

'The Spanish government has clarified that the 'carta de invitation' is one of the options available to prove that you have accommodation if staying with friends or family,' it adds.

The Spanish Ministry del Interior said: 'Foreigners from third countries must prove if required to do so by the officials in charge of controlling the entry of people into Spanish territory, that they have economic resources for entering the country, through cash, traveller's cheques, payment letters, or credit cards, which must also be proven to have sufficient funds available on them.'

In addition to requesting proof tourists can spend at least 100 per-day - and have a minimum of 900 (766.94) - Spanish border agents could ask tourists to prove they have an onward ticket and accommodation booked for their stay. Pictured: Overview of the Amadores beach during a hot summer day on the island of Gran Canaria, Spain, July 17, 2022

The rules are outlined on the Spanish ministry's website.

'Currently, the minimum amount to be credited is 100 euros per person per day, with a minimum of 900 euros or its legal equivalent in foreign currency (with effect from January 1, 2022),' the website says.

The reasoning behind this, it says, is that arrivals must 'reach an amount that represents in euros 10% of the minimum gross interprofessional salary or its legal equivalent in foreign currency multiplied by the number of days they intend to stay in Spain and by the number of people traveling at your expense.'

It adds: 'In the event that, when carrying out the entry control of people in Spanish territory, it is verified that a foreigner lacks sufficient economic resources for the time he wishes to remain in Spain and to continue his trip to the country of destination or to return to the country of origin, or does not have the nominative, non-transferable and closed ticket or tickets, in the means of transport that they intend to use, their entry into Spanish territory will be denied as established by law.'

Since leaving the European Union, British are also required to have their passports stamped at border gates when they are entering and leaving.

The impact of this has been felt by British people living in Gibraltar, who are subject the same requirements as anyone entering Spain from outside the EU.

One disgruntled resident of the British Overseas Territory told MailOnline: 'British expats who live in Gibraltar are also subject to the same requirements, dependent on how the border guards are feeling.

'At the very least, our passports are running out of stamping space, bearing in mind that Gibraltar residents often need to cross over for an hour or so for shopping, visiting relatives, in our case dropping our dog to the kennels when we go on holiday. Ironically, the majority of this is to spend money in Spain,' they said.

The rule, which has taken some Brits by surprise, has been in force since the beginning of the year. Being outside the European Union on account of Brexit, the UK now falls under the 'third country' category, meaning more checks are done. Pictured: Tourists in Gran Canaria

UK Foreign Office guidelines states: 'Border guards will use passport stamps to check you're complying with the 90-day visa-free limit for short stays in the Schengen area. If relevant entry or exit stamps are not in your passport, border guards will presume that you have overstayed your visa-free limit.'

The same 100 per-day requirement also applies to people applying for Schengen visas from Spain. The daily required means on subsistence for Schengen visa applicants differs between each EU and Schengen country.

In Belgium, for example, Schengen visa applicants must prove they have 95 pet day if they are staying in a hotel, and at least 45 if staying at cheaper accommodation.

In France, the minimum daily amount is 120 if the arriving tourist has no proof of pre-paid accommodation. If the accommodation has been prepaid, that amount drops to 65 per day.


The council which dismissed hospital fears to allow a severely depressed mother to take her newborn home just days before she killed her has apologised and launched a serious case review.

Scandal-hit Haringey social services decided innocent Lily-Mai, who was just 10 weeks old, should be transferred to parents Lauren Saint George and Darren Hurrell.

But yesterday - after weeks of harrowing evidence - Saint George was convicted of killing her through infanticide.

Jurors had heard professionals at Barnet Hospital had urged the authorities to stop the little girl being let home with them over fears of neglect.

But the court was told lead social worker Theresa Ferguson, from Haringey Child and Family Services, told the hospital team that this was not an option.

Today Haringey - which has previously been savaged over its failings in the death of Baby P and Victoria Climbie - found itself apologising again for another child it failed to protect.

Council Chief Executive Andy Donald and Haringey Council Leader, Cllr Peray Ahmet, said: 'We are deeply saddened by the tragic death of Lily-Mai and our thoughts are with those who loved and cared for her during her short life.

'We would like to say how sorry we are that Lily-Mai did not receive the care and protection she deserved.

Lauren Saint George, 25, lost her temper before violently shaking her 10-week-old daughter Lily-Mai and pulling and twisting her leg on January 31, 2018

Haringey was previously savaged over the two deaths of Baby P and Victoria Climbie

A jury at the Old Bailey deliberated for more than 11 hours to find Saint George, of Enfield in north London, not guilty of murder and manslaughter. However, she was found guilty of a charge of infanticide by a majority of 10 to one

'There are clearly lessons to be learned and the Haringey Safeguarding Children Partnership has already commissioned a Serious Case Review from an independent expert which, now the trial proceedings are complete, will be concluded and published.

'We are confident we have now made improvements which could have better protected Lily-Mai and we are absolutely committed to protecting children and young people in our borough.'

The case carried some echoes of the heartbreaking death of Baby P in 2007.

There Haringey social workers allowed 17-month-old Peter Connelly to live with his neglectful mother, who was later convicted and jailed over his death from 50 injuries.

The same north London borough failed to save Victoria Climbie, murdered in 2000 by her aunt and a boyfriend who subjected the eight-year-old to extreme violence.

Lily-Mai died after Saint George lost her temper and started shaking the 10-week-old girl in a 'violent and abusive' attack on January 31, 2018, six days after the hospital were forced to hand her over.

She got a serious head injury and had also suffered 18 rib fractures, two breaks in her leg and severe bruising.

Lily-Mai died at Great Ormond Street Hospital on February 2, when surgeons turned off her life support machine due to the extent of her brain damage.

Lauren Saint George (pictured outside court), 25, has been convicted of shaking her daughter to death eight days after she was released into her parents' care against the advice of hospital staff

Lily-Mai's father Darren Hurrell, 25, (pictured) had no case to answer for charges of murder and manslaughter and threw out a charge of causing or allowing the death of a child against both parents

Failed chances to save Lily-Mai: How the authorities overruled medics' fears to allow baby home with mother who would murder her November 21, 2017 - Lily-Mai is born prematurely and spends the first two months of her life in Barnet Hospital. January 16, 2018  Staff at the hospital Staff hold meetings with the parents when they talk about the care of Lily-Mai January 21, 2018  Another meeting is held where 'concerns about the possibility of neglect' are aired. January 24, 2018  Police are called to a domestic incident at Saint George and Hurrell's flat in Haringey. Social worker Theresa Ferguson is informed and she makes a referral for a 'legal gateway meeting' which was the first step in intervening in Lily-Mai's care. January 25, 2018  Lily-Mail is released into the care of both of her parents, despite medics' concerns. Theresa Ferguson goes on holiday. January 26, 2018  Duty social worker Muriel Caboste visits the flat and decides there are not increased child protection issues. This is despite her noticing the parents were not following the feeding and medication chart that they had been provided with on discharge. January 31, 2018  Theresa Ferguson has returned from holiday and visits them at their flat to discuss the 'legal gateway meeting' and how to safeguard Lily-Mai. Saint George refuses to engage and storms out. Four hours later Saint George rings 999 and says Lily-Mail is seriously ill. February 2, 2018  Lily-Mail is pronounced dead at Great Ormond Street Hospital. Advertisement

Six days before the attack Haringey social services had decided Lily-Mai should be transferred to the sole care of her parents, Saint George and Darren Hurrell, 25, despite professionals at Barnet Hospital warning she was at risk of neglect.

Prosecutor Sally O'Neill QC told the jury: 'Lily-Mai's death could almost definitely have been avoided if she had not been discharged into the care of two people who were woefully unsuited to caring for her.'

The Metropolitan Police initially said there was insufficient evidence to charge her parents but they both faced trial over Lily-Mai's death after a coroner last year ruled she was unlawfully killed.

Saint George was told by the judge she will not be going to jail after she was convicted of infanticide.

Mr Justice Spencer adjourned sentence until 9 September at Wood Green Crown Court after ordering a report from the probation service.

He told the weeping mother: 'I am ordering there to be a report from the probation service in your regard mainly for the purpose of ascertaining whether there is some assistance they can give you in rebuilding your life after this trial and after everything has happened.

'It is quite clear to me that you were depressed, still suffering from the effects of the birth of Lily-Mai at the time you committed the act which caused her death.

'The verdict of infanticide is one which traditionally has invoked sympathy rather than punishment.

He told her that she has 'suffered and continued to suffer' and therefore he has decided against sending her to prison.

'The sentence will be a suspended sentence.'

Mr Justice Spencer exempted the jury from service for 10 years.

Turning to thank counsel, he said: 'These cases are some of the most difficult we have to try because of the subject matter - the death of a small baby.

'I and I am sure every single one of the jury has been extremely grateful for the way in which counsel have approached this case and have assisted in the true administration of justice.'

The Infanticide Act 1938 is where a woman causes the death of her child who is aged under 12 months -but at the time of the act or omission the balance of her mind was disturbed by reason of her not having fully recovered from the effect of giving birth to the child.

Haringey - which has previously been savaged over its failings in the death of Baby P and Victoria Climbie - found itself apologising again for another child it failed to protect.

'The main problem in Lily-Mai's short life was tragically her own mother,' Ms O'Neill told the Old Bailey (pictured)

Failings that led to torture, abuse and child murder Haringey Council was lambasted for shocking failures by its social workers and their managers over the deaths of Victoria Climbie and Baby P. Eight-year-old Victoria was starved, tortured and eventually murdered by her great-aunt Marie Therese Kouao and the woman's boyfriend Carl Manning, despite the north London council having been alerted seven months earlier. Kouao and Manning were both jailed for her murder after the jury heard horrific evidence about the girl's abuse, including the 128 separate injuries and scars found on her body in February 2000. But prosecutors made clear that Victoria was also failed by child protection authorities  described in court as 'blindingly incompetent'. In 2007 toddler Peter Connelly  known as Baby P  was killed following months of abuse while he was on Haringey's 'at risk' register. Peter was identified as being at risk of neglect and had been seen on around 60 separate occasions by social workers, health visitors and others who failed to save him. In the eight months while he was on Haringey's child protection register he suffered more than 50 injuries including seven broken ribs and a fractured spine, and was finally found dead in his blood-spattered cot. His mother Tracey Connelly helped to disguise his injuries by smearing his face with chocolate. She was later jailed over his death, along with her abusive lover Steven Barker and his brother Jason Owen. The council's then head of children's services, Sharon Shoesmith, was later sacked and a serious case review said the 17-month-old's death 'could have been prevented'. Haringey faced further criticism over the abuse of a six-year-old boy who was beaten by his heroin addict stepfather. The boy, named only as Child T, was taken to hospital at least three times over eight months, once with more than 50 bruises on his body. Staff from Haringey allowed him to go home twice, only for him to be beaten again by his Polish stepfather, who hit him with a belt, a stick and a cable. He survived and was eventually taken into care with his three siblings in 2011, more than a year after the first incident of abuse was noted. A serious case review found his case featured 'compelling evidence of individual and systemic failures'. The stepfather was jailed by a judge for four years. Advertisement

Mr Justice Spencer found Hurrell had no case to answer for charges of murder and manslaughter and threw out a charge of causing or allowing the death of a child against both parents.

A jury at the Old Bailey deliberated for more than 11 hours to find Saint George, of Enfield in north London, not guilty of murder and manslaughter.

However, she was found guilty of a charge of infanticide by a majority of 10 to one.

The charge is an alternative verdict to murder where a mother kills her child while her mind is disturbed by a failure to recover from the effects of childbirth.

Saint George and Hurrell, of Alvaston in Derby, were both cleared of a separate charge of child cruelty.

The court heard the pair had been housed at a flat in Duckett's Green, north London, while their baby was still in Barnet Hospital, having been born prematurely at 31 weeks.

Theresa Ferguson, a social worker with Haringey Child and Family Services, was allocated the case after concerns were raised over the parents' ability to care for Lily-Mai.

Barnet Hospital professionals, including neonatal sister Deborah Hodge, were not happy that she was to be transferred to the sole care of her parents as they believed she would be at risk of neglect.

Concerns were raised about Saint George's mental health, her parenting abilities and her lack of commitment to her daughter, including not visiting her in hospital.

Despite their misgivings, a decision was made on January 22 to allow Lily-Mai to be sent home with close contact with social services.

Police were called to Hurrell and Saint George's flat the day before Lily-Mai was discharged, over an alleged row between the pair, but no offence was disclosed.

On the same day Ms Ferguson made a referral for a 'legal gateway meeting' - one of the options available to social services to take steps to intervene in the care of a baby - but went on annual leave the following day.

Ms O'Neill said: 'To describe this timing as unfortunate is perhaps to understate the position.'

A duty social worker visited the family on January 26, while Ms Ferguson made a home visit when she returned to work on January 30, followed by health visitor Alberta Nyantaki on the same day.

Although Ms Nyantaki concluded that Lily-Mai's needs were being satisfactorily met, she expressed 'serious concerns' to Ms Ferguson, who told her the threshold for a child care protection plan had been met because of the couple's volatility.

The legal process, in the form of a legal gateway meeting, began the following day and Ms Ferguson visited the flat at around 3pm to explain options for a residential placement for the family, or for Hurrell and the baby to go in without Saint George.

The court heard that Saint George swore at the social worker and refused to co-operate, having earlier blamed Lily-Mai in a text message for not letting her sleep.

'She was unable to contain herself in front of a social worker who was there to judge her competence as a mother, and you may have no doubt that she was unable to contain herself a few hours later,' said the prosecutor.

Lily-Mai was 10 weeks and two days old and only two weeks past a normal pregnancy term.

In her closing speech to the jury prosecutor Sally O'Neill, QC, previously said: 'The mechanism was by being shaken so that effectively her brain moved backwards and forwards inside her skull causing the injuries of which you have heard.

'It is the prosecution's case that this unlawful and violent assault on Lily-Mai was caused as a result of a sudden loss of temper on the part of Lauren Saint George.'

The mother is said to have lost her temper after Haringey social worker Theresa Ferguson told her she would need to go into a mother and baby unit or the child would be taken into care.

Jurors heard Saint George grew 'very angry' and swore at Ms Ferguson, telling the social worker to 'take the baby'.

Ms O'Neill said the 'main problem' in Lily-Mai's life was her own mother.

'It is she who grabbed her, shook her, and twisted and pulled her leg.

'It was she who acted unlawfully.'

'The one person who should most have protected her, her mother, not only failed to protect her by getting her urgent medical attention... but unlawfully assaulted her deliberately in that violent and abusive way.'

She blamed the baby for her sleeplessness, for having to potentially leave her home and for threatening her relationship with Hurrell as he was putting Lily-Mai before her, it is said.

'The main problem in Lily-Mai's short life was tragically her own mother,' Ms O'Neill told the Old Bailey.

The prosecutor went on to accuse both parents of wilfully neglecting Lily-Mai.

Hurrell's police interview was 'riddled' with the medical signs the hospital had told them to look out for, the court heard.

The father told police that Lily-Mai had been going blue, pale, floppy and off her food in the days leading up to her collapse.

It is said he knew that getting Lily-Mai urgent medical attention might result in having her removed from their care.

'That was putting his and their interest before that of the baby and we submit that is wilful neglect of her,' Ms O'Neill said.

Saint George was granted continued bail ahead of the sentencing hearing which will take place at Wood Green Crown Court.
A remorseless killer branded a judge a 'fat paedophile' in a screaming rant as he was hauled off to the cells to being a life sentence for the brutal murder of a father over a petty street row.

Rueben Murphy lashed out and shouted 'f***k the system' as he was told he would spend a minimum of 31 years behind bars for executing Patrick Boyle on July 1, last year.

The vicious 26-year-old will not be eligible for parole until he is 57 years old after shooting Mr Boyle twice in the chest in an outburst of senseless violence.

Liverpool Crown Court heard that Murphy, along with his friend Ben Doyle, had driven up to Mr Boyle as he stood outside a house in Huyton and killed him hours after a row.

During his trial Murphy, who was jailed in 2015 for firearms offences, told the jury a man called Frazer Brown, who was a friend of the victim, had 'taken the p***' when he was behind bars, the Liverpool Echo reports.

Rueben Murphy (pictured), from Huyton, screamed and shouted as he was jailed for life with a minimum term of 31 years for murder yesterday

Murphy had shot Patrick Boyle (pictured) twice in a senseless execution after a petty street row on July 1, last year

Murphy called Mr Justice Stephen Morris (pictured) a 'fat paedophile' as was given a life sentence at Liverpool Crown Court

On the day of the murder Murphy was involved in an altercation with Mr Brown, who he claimed owed him money for cannabis. Mr Boyle was also there, and it appears to have escalated quickly with the thug plotting to kill the victim the same day.

After picking up the weapon and ammunition, he was picked up by Doyle and driven on an electric bike disguised with black bin bags wrapped around it, to a house in Newway, Huyton, shortly before 6pm, where he opened fire.

Mr Boyle, who had a three-year-old son and was expecting another with his pregnant partner, Ashleigh Dean, died within an hour due to his injuries - Ms Dean was not able to reach the hospital before he died.

Murphy (pictured) scream 'f*** the system' as was dragged to the cells after learning he will spend the next three decades in prison

Murphy had denied any role in the shooting, claiming he was doing drugs in another part of Huyton at the time.

But police found a treasure trove of evidence, including clothing containing gunshot residue and his DNA in his home, while CCTV also showed he was in the area at the time.

A jury convicted him of murder, along with his Doyle - who was also jailed for life, with a minimum term of 27 years.

Another man, Thomas Walker, was found not guilty of murder but convicted of handling one of the bullets used in the shooting, and was jailed for two years.

Addressing Murphy and Doyle yesterday, Mr Justice Stephen Morris said: 'At no stage have either of you shown remorse for what you have done nor for the enduring misery that you have caused to others.'

Ben Doyle (pictured) was also jailed for life and given a minimum term of 27 years for his role in the murder

He described the murder as a 'brazen and shocking attack', before sentencing the all three men.

As he learned he would spend the next three decades behind bars, Murphy launched into a vile rant.

He shouted 'thanks very much you fat paedophile' at the judge, before screaming 'f**k the system'.

Earlier in the hearing he called Mr Boyle's family, who were watching in he public gallery, a 'gang of f*****g rats'.

Thomas Murphy (pictured) was found not guilty of murder, but was convicted of handling one of the bullets used in the shooting and jailed for two years

Murphy, formerly of Barkbeth Road, Huyton, was found guilty of murder, possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life and possessing ammunition with intent to endanger life. He was jailed for life with a minimum term of 31 years.

Doyle, of Lyme Grove, Huyton, was found guilty of murder, possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life and possessing ammunition with intent to endanger life. He was jailed for life with a minimum term of 27 years.

Walker, of no fixed address, was cleared of murder, but admitted possessing ammunition with a certificate on a date before the shooting, and was jailed for two years.

In a heartbreaking statement read out in court, Mr Boyle's partner Ashleigh Dean, said her world had been 'shattered' by his death and that his youngest child would never get to meet him.

She said: 'My whole world shattered into a million pieces because of these two people here who took him from me.

'Paddy was killed four days before his 27th birthday. Instead of celebrating his birthday on the 5th of July I was visiting him in the morgue with his birthday cards.

'Seeing him there was the hardest thing I have ever had to do. We were meant to be going to Cornwall the Friday after his birthday but instead I was over in Ireland for his funeral.

'I was nine weeks pregnant when Paddy was killed by these evil people. We were both so excited to be a little family and were excited for our first scan so we could tell our families our happy news. All this didn't happen because of the two defendants.

'He never got to go to our first scan or got to find out what we were having or be at the birth.

'They have robbed our son of ever meeting his amazing daddy, us both of our future as a family and memories, no photographs to show him when he's older of us together as a family.

The partner of Mr Boyle (pictured) says he never got to meet his youngest child, who was born after he was killed

'I didn't just lose my boyfriend on the 1st of July 2021, but my best friend and soul mate too. Paddy was my safe place and biggest adventure. He was taken far too soon.'

Detective Chief Inspector Steve McGrath, of Merseyside Police, said: 'This was a cold and calculated act which resulted in the murder of a dad-of-two on a street in broad daylight.

'Reuben Murphy and Ben Doyle continued to deny their involvement in Patrick Boyle's death, forcing his family and friends to endure a criminal trial played out in public.

'They will now spend a considerable amount of time behind bars for their actions.

'This case shows all too well the grim reality of arming yourself with a gun and I hope that it acts as a deterrent for others thinking of doing the same.

'Not only have the actions of Murphy and Doyle on that night resulted in the untimely death of a young man, but it has had a massive impact on their victim's children, family and friends as well as their own family and friends.

'Gun crime is never acceptable and Merseyside Police will continue to do everything in its powers to find the people carrying and using firearms and bringing them to justice.

'I would like to take this opportunity to thank the investigation team and the Crown Prosecution Service for bringing this case to a successful conclusion.'
The mother of Helen McCourt has said she 'prayed' her daughter's killer was in hell after he died last month - two years after being released from prison.

Ian Simms murdered Marie McCourt's daughter Helen in Merseyside in 1988 and always refused to reveal where he had buried her body which has never been found.

Mrs McCourt, 79, said she will never be able to forgive Simms but said maybe she could have if he expressed compassion and regret for his crimes.

Former pub landlord Simms died in 'supervised' accommodation last month, aged 65.

He died two years after being released from prison for the murder of 22-year-old insurance clerk Helen McCourt.

Marie McCourt (pictured), 79, the mother of Helen McCourt has said she will never be able to forgive her daughter's killer Ian Simms as he expressed no regret for his crimes

Ian Simms murdered Helen McCourt (pictured), 22, in Merseyside in 1988 and always refused to reveal where he had buried her body

'I prayed he was Hell,' Mrs McCourt, from St Helens in Merseyside, said in an interview with Yours Magazine.

Mrs McCourt, a Catholic, added: 'Maybe I could have forgiven him if he'd shown compassion.

'But you can't forgive somebody if they are not regretful. And he wasn't.'

She said that she puts her trust in god, adding that there are 'reasons that it had to be Helen'.

Mrs McCourt said it was a 'great relief' when she was told last month that Simms had been 'wiped off the Earth'.

After coming home, she told her husband John 'the best news ever' of Simms' demise.

The couple did not celebrate with champagne because they 'wouldn't waste the money on him'.

Mrs McCourt has also said she will continue to search for her daughter's body so she can give her a Christian burial.

'I prayed he was Hell,' Mrs McCourt said of her daughter's killer Ian Simms (pictured)

Marie McCourt holding a photo portrait of her murdered 22-year-old daughter, Helen

Mrs McCourt hopes that Simms might have told someone of the whereabouts of her daughter's body and come forward to help find her.

Mrs McCourt said: 'He's got what he deserved. I'm hoping now maybe he spoke to somebody in prison or maybe one of his friends or family who were perhaps too scared to come forward when he was alive, will do so now.'

Simms was married, 31, and a father of two when he ran the George and Dragon pub before Helen from Bootle vanished on her way home from work in 1988.

WHAT IS HELEN'S LAW? Marie McCourt wants Britain to adopt 'Helen's Law'  legislation which would prevent the release of killers who have hidden the locations of their victims' bodies. She writes on change.org: If parole is granted, my hopes of finding my daughter may never be realised. No other family should live this ordeal. I, hereby, petition the Prime Minister Theresa May and Home Secretary Amber Rudd to acknowledge the pain and distress caused to the families of missing murder victims by: Denying parole to murderers for as long as they refuse to disclose the whereabouts of their victim's remains Passing a full life tariff (denying parole or release) until the murderer discloses the location (and enables the recovery) of their victim's remains Automatically applying the following rarely-used common law offences in murder trials without a body*; preventing the burial of a corpse and conspiracy to prevent the burial of a corpse, disposing of a corpse, obstructing a coroner (*as in the case of R v Hunter, 1974 (from Archbold, Criminal Pleading Evidence and Practice 2015) Advertisement

He was handed a life sentence in 1989 after being convicted by a jury on overwhelming DNA evidence of Ms McCourt's abduction and murder.

The killer's death came after years of campaigning by Mrs McCourt for legislation dubbed Helen's Law - supported by the Mail - to force the Parole Board to consider a killer's refusal to reveal where their victim's body they are allowed to be released.

However Mrs McCourt was not able to use the law in her case and lived in fear when he was released from prison with a tag in 2020.

Mrs McCourt previously said she was 'in shock' at the decision to consider Simms' release.

The summary of the Parole Board's original ruling said Simms was deemed suitable for release due to factors including the 'considerable change in his behaviour'.

The decision to release him was subject to a number of conditions including residing at a designated address, having to wear a tagging device to monitor his whereabouts, observe a curfew and avoid any contact with the family of his victim.

In the meantime, Simms was given a parole hearing and judges agreed he could go free.

They claimed that Simms was low risk, despite agreeing he would probably never reveal what he had done with Miss McCourt's remains because during his three decades inside he has convinced himself he is innocent.

Mrs McCourt said the Parole Board's logic was flawed and its argument proved Simms was a 'psychopath'.

She also cited a menacing letter he wrote to her from jail in 1991, in which he threatened her family and vowed 'an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth,' and to get 'justice' for himself once released.

The murderer who has refused for more than 30 years to disclose what he did with his victim's body was allowed out of jail but died in June this year. Pictured left: Ian Simms at St Helen's Magistrates Court. Pictured Right: Ian Simms leaves The George and Dragon pub in Billinge under police guard after Helen McCourt's disappearance in 1988

Simm's conviction for Helen McCourt's murder was made despite no body being identified, which is rare in the UK.

The case was also one of the first in the UK to use DNA fingerprinting to identify the culprit.

The Prisoners (Disclosure of Information About Victims) Act, dubbed Helen's Law, was enacted in 2021 after Mrs McCourt's campaigning.

The law makes it harder for killers and paedophiles who hold back information on their victims to receive parole.

Under the legislation, killers could still be released if no longer deemed a risk to the public even if they refuse to disclose information.
At least 28 people have died and 60 others have become ill from drinking alcohol spiked with methanol to increase its potency in western India.

The deaths occurred in the Ahmedabad and Botad districts of Gujarat state, where the manufacture, sale and consumption of alcohol is prohibited.

'There was 98 percent methanol in the liquor they consumed, that means they had consumed methanol only which has increased the death toll,' Bhavnagar Ashok Yadav, inspector general of police, told The Times of India.

The Ahmedabad city crime department has arrested a chemical owner Jayesh Khavadiya from Narol and his eight accomplices over suspected bootlegging.

The death toll is expected to increase further after several patients arrived in Ahmedabad civil hospital for treatment.

A man is shifted on a stretcher upon arriving in an ambulance at the Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad on July 26, 2022, after suffering health problems due to consuming bootleg liquor

The Gujarat province has banned alcohol consumption since 1960 as a homage to Mahatma Gandhi, killed in 1948, but hundreds of residents have died across the decades as the illegal liquor trade sprung up.

Illicit liquor has also become a hugely profitable industry across India where bootleggers pay no taxes and sell enormous quantities of their product to the poor at a cheap rate.

Local police regularly turn a blind eye to the liquor trade as bootleggers pay bribes to carry out their illicit selling in the villages, local Indian media reported.

Dhandhuka MLA Rajesh Gohil had also written to the authorities seeking action against bootleggers in the area.

'There is rampant bootlegging of liquor thanks to the nexus of bootleggers and the police and patronage provided by the BJP leaders in the state,' said senior Congress legislator Amit Chavda, according to The Hindu, adding: 'Police regularly take monthly bribes from the bootleggers.'

In 2019, at least 133 people died after drinking tainted liquor in two separate incidents in Indias northeast Assam state.

The victims were mostly tea plantation workers. That same year, another 80 people died from tainted liquor in northern Uttar Pradesh state.

In 2020, another 120 people died after drinking spiked alcohol in India's northern Punjab state.
Labor was only able to scrape a 77-seat majority of the 151-strong lower house

The Greens and independents were sworn in, making up 16 of the 151 seats

Australian Parliament sworn in with the former prime minister absent

Australia's Parliament will be radically different to any in living memory with a massive number of Greens and independents sworn in.

Voters devastated the Liberal Party at the May 21 election by wiping out MPs in wealthy, inner-city seats and replacing them with climate-warrior 'teal' independents.

The Greens also rode a wave of climate-focused voting to pick up three seats in Queensland for its highest number of seats ever.

The result was a huge crossbench not a member of any major party seated in the House of Representatives on the first day of the 47th Parliament on Monday.

Labor was only able to scrape a 77-seat majority of the 151-strong lower house however, it still means Labor hold a majority and then have control of the House of Representatives (pictured in red, the cross bench seats)

A large section of benches was taken up by the 16 MPs, 10 of whom were elected for the first time at the last election.

Labor was only able to scrape a 77-seat majority of the 151-strong lower house, even with the Coalition reduced to just 58.

Seven were the 'teal' independents, a loosely-aligned bloc of female MPs who unseated Liberal politicians by pledging to tackle climate change while retaining conservative tendencies in most other areas.

Multimillionaire agitator Simon Holmes a Court bankrolled their campaigns through his Climate 200 campaign.

Zali Steggall was the only one elected before 2022, having won Warringah, on Sydney's northern beaches, from former primer minister Tony Abbott in 2019.

The others are Sophie Scamps (Mackellar, NSW), Kylea Tink (North Sydney), Zoe Daniel (Goldstein, Victoria), Monique Ryan (Kooyong, Victoria) and Kate Chaney (Curtin, WA).

Crossbench MPs (clockwise from bottom left) Allegra Spender, Zoe Daniels, Kylea Tink, Zali Steggall, Monique Ryan, Dai Le, Sophie Scamps and Kate Chaney made history as the first all-female and all-independent group to be sworn in together

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and member of his government take the affirmation of allegiance in the House of Representatives during the opening of the 47th Federal Parliament at Parliament House in Canberra on Tuesday

They were joined by local independent Dai Le, who defeated Labor's hand picked candidate, former senator Kristiana Keneally, in the western Sydney seat of Fowler.

She was elected due to local outrage that Ms Keneally was parachuted in from ultra-wealthy Scotland Island on the northern beaches, 70km away.

Ms Le and the seven teals made history as the first all-female and all-independent group to be sworn in together in Parliament, as eight fit at the table at once.

Other returning independents were Helen Haines (Indi, NSW), Bob Katter (Kennedy, Queensland, and Andrew Wilkie (Clark, Tasmania), along with Rebekha Sharkie (Mayo, SA) for the Centre Alliance.

Along with Greens leader Adam Bandt retaining Melbourne, Max Chandler-Mather won in Griffith, Elizabeth Watson-Brown in Ryan, and Stephen Bates in Brisbane.

However, as much as the group has trumpeted the mass election of minor parties and independents as a turning point in Australian politics, Labor still has a majority.

Australian Parliament is sworn in with former prime minister Scott Morrison absent. Pictured is Liberal member Alex Hawke, with the empty seat next to him to be occupied by the former PM

This means they will be unable to prevent the Labor government from passing legislation even if they all band together to oppose it.

The House did recognise its diverse makeup by giving crossbenchers more power in its rules to allow them to contribute more to its operation.

It is the Senate, where independents and minor parties make up 18 of the 76 seats, will hold the balance of power and be able to play havoc with legislation.

Mr Bandt, as Greens leader, will hold enormous sway with 12 senators under his control, while the Coalition has 32 and Labor just 26.
Video footage captured the moment a huge fire tore through boats in a busy marina as they 'exploded several times', leaving two people hospitalised.

The footage, which appears to be taken from a bridge, shows two boats on fire in Hampstead Marina at Yalding in Kent with huge clouds of thick black billowing smoke.

The blaze on Sunday afternoon saw two people taken to hospital - one for burns and one for smoke inhalation, according to the fire brigade.

Video footage shows two boats on fire at Hampstead Marina at Yalding in Kent with huge clouds of thick black billowing smoke

Witnesses can be seen watching the fire, making phone calls and discussing what is going on in frantic voices

Some boats remained afloat but were wrecks after the fire was extinguished

The flaming boat drifted into other vessels, also setting them alight in the middle of the busy marina.

Onlookers shouted for help as banging noises - thought to be explosions - could be heard.

A witness said she feared a boat would crash into her house and the second part of the video shows the fire appearing to spread to a fence on the riverbank and threatening a property on the river's shore.

Some boats were left completely gutted and sank, while others remained half-torched in the River Medway.

Investigators have not confirmed what caused the fire, which took two-and-a-half hours to extinguish, as three fire engines and a bulk water carrier attended and neighbours used buckets of water.

The video changes angle to show a boat on fire by the river bank, as the fire appears to threaten a nearby property

A witness said: 'It was like a domino effect. It was quite terrifying.' Pictured, the aftermath of the blaze

Some boats sunk below the surface after the fire gutted them

The riverbank was scorched after the blaze on Sunday afternoon

A witness who lives nearby said she saw the boat on fire from her bedroom window and phoned 999 after seeing it float downstream.

She saw clouds of smoke and people panicking. She said one boat exploded several times.

The witness said: 'I told the fire brigade it was about to set fire to another boat, but it missed and ended up coming towards our house, which was horrifically scary.

'My partner and I ran outside and hosed down our house and the surrounding area, to try to stop a bush fire from happening.'

'It was like a domino effect. The first boat exploded several times. It was quite terrifying.'

She went on to describe the 'phenomenal' team spirit of the neighbours. including an off-duty firefighter, who worked together to attempt to extinguish the fire.

One boat owner managed to save his boat just in time by moving it out of the way.
A 58-year-old man has been charged with murder over a fatal stabbing inside a pub in London amid three separate killing in the capital over the weekend.

Timothy Simon, from Islington, north London, is accused of stabbing a man, also aged 58, at the Star And Scorpion on Uxbridge Road, Ealing, west London

Police were called shortly before midnight on Saturday and announced this morning that the 58-year-old of Ray Walk has been charged over the killing.

He is due to appear at Uxbridge Magistrates Court today.

The man, aged 58, was pronounced dead at the Star And Scorpion in Uxbridge Road, Ealing (pictured the taped off scene)

Police were called at 11.55pm to reports a man had been knifed inside the Star & Scorpion pub on Uxbridge Road in Ealing, pictured the scene

Police were called at 11.55pm to reports a man had been knifed inside the Star & Scorpion pub on Uxbridge Road in Ealing.

The mans family have been informed and they will be supported by specialist officers from the Met Police. A post-mortem examination and formal identification will be arranged in due course.

Police are also hunting two separate gunmen after two men were killed in unconnected attacks in Wood Green and Waltham Forest yesterday.

In the latter people had been partying in the hot weather at a 100-strong rave when the shooting started.

Another victim was gunned down near Wood Green tube stop in London just before 9.30pm last night.

It is not clear whether he had been traveling on the underground before the killing happened.

After a man was stabbed to death inside a west London pub, a man has been charged with murder. Pictured: The scene

Officers attended along with the London Ambulance Service. Pictured: A Met Police officer at the scene in Ealing

There have been no arrests at this early stage in the investigation. Pictured: A police car in Uxbridge Road closing the road and cordoning off the scene

On Saturday morning officers were also called to the Fatling Hornchurch pub in Havering, east London, following reports of the stabbing.

The victim, 23, suffered 'a number of stab wounds' and was rushed to hospital following treatment at the scene.

He remains in a serious but stable condition at hospital, police have said. His next of kin have been informed.

It comes just days after police forces in England and Wales were revealed to have recorded the highest number of offences in 20 years, driven by a sharp rise in fraud, rape and violent attacks.

A total of 6.3million crimes were recorded in the year to March 2022  4% higher than the previous all-time high of 6.1million in 2019/20.
Advertisement

The British tourist killed by a helicopter's spinning rotor blade in Greece has been pictured happily posing with his friends on the party island of Mykonos just before his fateful journey to Athens which ended in horror.

Jack Fenton, 22, was struck when he walked behind the Bell 407 helicopter while its engine was still engaged at 6.20pm in Athens yesterday, after flying back from the tourist hotspot with three public schoolboy friends in the chopper piloted by Christos Fragkopanagos.

Greek investigators had said the Oxford Brooks student ran back on to the tarmac after safely disembarking so he could take a selfie, despite warnings from ground crew, and accidentally ran into a whirring blade.

Fragkopanagos, head of training at Superior Air in Athens, and ground technicians Salim Milat and Spyros Andriopoulos were arrested but later released by police after giving statements testifying that Jack was escorted inside the airport before he ran back outside.

The trio could face negligence or manslaughter charges if they told the passengers to disembark when it was not safe.

But Jack Stanton-Gleaves, 20, who was in the helicopter along with friends James Yeabsley, 19, and former Bournemouth University student Max Savage, 20, rubbished the police and pilot's version of events.

Jack, whose father Robin Stanton-Gleaves is owner and chairman of National League side Bromley FC, told MailOnline: 'No instructions were given when exiting the helicopter and no one escorted us to the lounge. All they did was open the doors for us.

'We disembarked on our own and no one stopped Jack from going to the rear of the helicopter. None of us reached the lounge before the accident happened.

'I've heard people say Jack was on his phone and ran back to the helicopter and this is totally untrue. He was not on his phone and why he turned towards the rear of the helicopter I don't know.'

Jack's mother Victoria, speaking from her home in Tonbridge, Kent, told MailOnline how the family are 'completely devastated' by the loss of their 'wonderful boy' who attended the 36,000-a-year Sutton Valence boarding school in Maidstone.

Jack Fenton (circled) is pictured on holiday in Mykonos with his friends before the tragic accident. Also pictured is Max Savage (left), Jack Stanton-Gleaves (top), Max Stanton-Gleaves (middle left), Tom Aitkin (middle right) and Robin Stanton-Gleaves (right)

Pilot Christos Fragkopanagos has been named by local media as the pilot who has been asked to testify over yesterday's tragedy

Jack Fenton's father, Miguel, is head of marketing, sales and PR at The Hop Farm, a 400-acre country park and visitor attraction in Beltring, near Tonbridge, Kent (pictured together left)

Emergency services are pictured last night at the scene of the incident involving the Briton who died when a rear helicopter rotor hit him in Spata, near Athens, Greece

Pictured: The Bell 407 which was involved in the accident, with red police tape wrapped around the tail

The tourists had flown from Mykonos to the helipad in Spata and were due to take a private limousine to Eleftherios Venizelos airport

Ioannis Kandyllis, president of Greece's committee for aviation accidents probing the incident, said earlier today that Jack defied orders by running back towards the helicopter with his phone to his ear.

He claimed: 'All four passengers had disembarked and were escorted to a private lounge awaiting a private flight for London.

'But as they were in the lounge the victim broke away and returned to the tarmac rushing to the helicopter at a fast pace.

'Witnesses we spoke to said he was had a phone to his ear and was walking fast to the aircraft, defying ground crew shouting to him "Stop! Stop!"

'Within seconds the tragic accident occurred. It was horrific.'

Emergency services were called to the private heliport on the outskirts of the Greek capital but the 22-year-old is thought to have been killed instantly.

Greek investigators will study the footage from a surveillance camera at the landing field for evidence.

They revealed there were several other people who were witnessed the tragedy from the lounge.

'They have yet to be interviewed but we will reach out to them to gather additional testimony as we piece this puzzle together' an aviation official said.

His mother Victoria said today: 'We only found out what happened at 10pm last night. We are completely devastated. He was the most wonderful boy.

'I think the pilot is in custody, but it was the most horrible of accidents by the looks of it.

'Jack had travelled to Greece with some of his friends, a couple who were celebrating birthdays out there.

The Oxford Brookes university student, who went to the 36,000-a-year Sutton Valence boarding school in Maidstone, Kent, walked behind the Bell 407 helicopter while its engine was still engaged

The young Briton horrifically killed in a helicopter accident in Athens was on holiday with a group of friends

Fragkopanagos (pictured), head of training at Superior Air in Athens, and ground technicians Salim Milat and Spyros Andriopoulos were arrested but later released by police

'His family have stayed in Kent. We didn't go to Greece. A father of one of his friends was with them.

'Jack and his friends had got a helicopter from Athens to Mykonos without any problems and so did the same again, they got a helicopter from Mykonos back to Athens.

'He had got off safely when it landed in Athens but for some reason went back behind the helicopter and it was the rear propeller which killed him. It was instant.

'He'd been out the night before but hadn't had anything to drink all day yesterday except for water. He and his friends were all sober.'

A following helicopter carrying Jack's friend's parents was advised to land at a separate airport so they could avoid the gruesome scene at the helipad.

Mr Kandyllis said the pilot and the two ground crew members at the private heliodrome in Paiania, northeast of Athens, testified before a prosecutor, providing also detailed accounts to the committee investigating the causes of the unprecedented accident.

Mr Kandyllis said all safety regulations were followed in the landing of the Bell helicopter and disembarkation of its four passengers.

The man reportedly walked behind the Bell 407 helicopter while its engines were still engaged and was struck by the aircraft's tail rotor

Emergency services were called to the private heliport on the outskirts of the Greek capital but the 22-year-old was killed instantly

Today, Jack's three friends - Yeabsley, Savage and Stanton Gleaves - returned to Britain in a private jet from Athens' Spata airport (pictured: the scene today)

He said: 'Aviation regulations require disembarkation to take place either when the helicopter's rotors have completely stopped, or when expert crew accompanies passengers off.'

'In this case, both left and right doors were used by passengers to disembark. They were all escorted safely to the seating lounge.

'It is after, when the tragedy occurred.'

Mr Kandyllis said they were expected to retrieve the victim's mobile phone to examine who he was contacting at the time of the accident and the reasons that led him to return to the helicopter

The group had intended to disembark at the Superior Air helipad before being chauffeured to Eleftherios Venizelos airport where they would board a private jet for a return flight to the UK.

Today, Jack's three friends - Yeabsley, Savage and Stanton-Gleaves - returned to Britain in a private jet from Athens' Spata airport.

All three are believed to have been schoolfriends of Jack's from Sutton Valence.

A statement from Sutton Valence headmaster James Thomas said: 'Our School was very sad to hear the tragic news about Jack this morning.

'He was a very popular member of the community, and we have sent our condolences to the family.

'Our thoughts and prayers are with all those affected by the incident.'

Jack Fenton's father, Miguel, is head of marketing, sales and PR at The Hop Farm, a 400-acre country park and visitor attraction in Beltring, near Tonbridge, Kent.

A spokesperson at the Hop Farm told MailOnline: 'This is a personal matter, nothing to do with the business and we have no comment.'

Until 1997 the farm was known as The Whitbread Hop Farm and was owned by the brewery and boasts the largest collection of oast houses in the world..

Police sources did not reveal the family involved but it is understood they are extremely wealthy and were enjoying a holiday on the luxury Greek island of Mykonos (pictured)

The rotors tend to continue for around two minutes after the engine has been switched off, unless the pilot presses a button to stop them at around 50 seconds.

Pilots should thoroughly brief their passengers to stay inside until all movement has ceased, but the helicopter has no locks and no crew other than the pilot to shepherd the passengers.

The President of the Union of Police Officers of Southeast Attica George Kaliakmanis told MailOnline: 'To my knowledge the type of helicopter Bell 407 doesn't lock from the inside.

'So now the investigation will focus on the safety measures taken from the pilot. Did he tell them to wait or not?

'There are two propellers on the helicopter. One that operates on 500 turns/second and one that operates at 2500 turns/second. These propellers run for about 2 minutes from the time he turns the engine off unless he presses a button which stops them at 50 seconds. Also keep in mind that the propellers are not visible because of the speed.'

Sources said the 115-mile trip in two helicopters would have cost more than 15,000.
Advertisement

A California man narrowly escaped the 'terrifying' Oak Fire as his home was completely destroyed and thousands have been evacuated as it grows to 18,000 acres and slowly moves away from Yosemite.

One of thousands to flee California's Oak Fire near Yosemite National Park, was Rodney McGuire, a 57-year-old auto mechanic, who escaped from the Sierra Nevada foothills with his life but lost his house, consumed by the largest wildfire to burn in the state this year.

'If I had stayed five minutes longer, I would not have made it,' said McGuire, who rescued his small black dog, Dobie, but failed to corral his cats, Tigger and Paws. He would later find out that one of his cats had been found alive.

McGuire said he was at work at a mechanic shop on Friday when he saw flames and a plume of smoke shortly before 4pm that seemed to be coming from his neighborhood. He dashed home as the flames grew closer.

'Dear God, please don't take my house,' he prayed out loud in comments recorded on a video, viewed by Reuters, that he shot as the flames leapt closer. 'Please pray. Please pray. Please pray. All my friends, please pray.'

The one-story dream house that he bought 22 years ago had greenhouses out back, and on a clear day the view stretched all the way to Fresno, a city about 50 miles south. He moved in on April Fool's Day in 2000.

With the fire bearing down, McGuire said he swept up important papers and his grandmother's 1930s-crocheted image of the Last Supper, but he was unable to grab his parent's ashes.

Rodney McGuire, 57, of Mariposa, had to flee his home with a few of his precious belongings as the Oak Fire raged through his home, destroying it. 'If I had stayed five minutes longer, I would not have made it,' he said

Among his belongings lost to the 18,000-acre fire include his parent's ashes, one of his cats, and the memories. His home is now a pile of rubble (pictured)

One of the few things left standing is a sign that hung outside his home since he moved in on April Fool's Day 2000, reading: 'McGuire's Hump'

'I forgot to grab my parent's ashes when I left. But I did bury part of them at the family's cabin so I know they're home,' he told ABC 30, as he held back tears.

On the way down the hill into town, he heard nine explosions, seven small ones and two big ones, that he believes were propane tanks, he told Reuters.

At the evacuation site, he set up two tents, one for himself and one for his friend, Gary Anthony, 62, who had been staying in a friend's trailer when the evacuation order came.

Anthony is in a broken black wheelchair and wears bandages from amputations on each leg.

McGuire, a military veteran who worked for years at Yosemite before joining an auto shop in Mariposa, will be reimbursed for the cost of rebuilding his house by his insurance.

But that was little comfort as he recounted the horrifying events, twice succumbing to tears during an interview with Reuters.

The Oak Fire is now up to almost 18,000 acres of scorched land and is one of California's biggest wildfires this year

He learned his house burned from a television crew that showed him pictures. Sitting in the ashes was a sign reading 'McGuire's Hump.'

'That's when I cried by my car and I pulled myself back together,' he told ABC 30. But he said he wouldn't let this dream home burning stop him from living life. 'You can't lose hope, you can't lose your faith, that's giving up.'

His story illustrates the human toll that wildfires claim with ever more ferocity each year, fueled by years of on-and-off drought that have sapped the forest and underbrush of humidity, and where summertime temperatures routinely approach 100 Fahrenheit.

The Oak Fire has consumed at least 17,241 acres since it started on Friday, an area more than half the size of San Francisco. By Monday evening, it was 16 percent contained, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire).

It has become one of California's biggest wildfires of the year.

The fire was moving northward into the Sierra National Forest, no longer in the direction of Yosemite, some 10 miles to the east. A grove of Yosemite's giant, ancient sequoia trees appeared safe, though it had been threatened by a wildfire weeks ago.

With climate change contributing to drought and heat, 15 of the 20 most destructive fires in California history have struck since 2015, when measured by deaths and structures burned, according to Cal Fire. More than 6.8million acres burned in 2020 and 2021 alone, an area about the size of Haiti.

In Mariposa, about 150 miles inland from San Francisco, has a small population of 1,400. About 40 of those fleeing the flames have taken refuge in a Red Cross evacuation center at Mariposa Elementary School.

The shelter also feeds about 100 people, said Red Cross spokeswoman Taylor Poisall. A pet shelter on the premises houses about 140 animals.

Firefighters are working diligently to control the fire - which is only 16 percent contained. The fire's growth has slowed down a bit after emergency personnel dumped 30,000 gallons of water on it and continue to construct control lines

A firefighter tosses a burnt log out of the way. Firefighters are dealing with triple-digit heat and battled rough terrain. The fire is believed to be brought on by a prolonged drought the state has experienced over the years and in Mariposa alone, it hasn't rained since April

Cows grazed a small section of a scorched field. Around 20 homes have been destroyed, alongside 34 other buildings. A staggering 2,400 homes are still threatened

A run wanders around after the Oak Fire burned near Darrah in Mariposa County

Firefighters are dealing with triple-digit heat and battled rough terrain. The fire is believed to be brought on by a prolonged drought the state has experienced over the years, and in Mariposa alone, it hasn't rained since April, according to Fox News.

Around 20 homes have been destroyed, alongside 34 other buildings. A staggering 2,400 homes are still being threatened, Fox News said.

Smoke is so heavy that it can be seen from the San Francisco Bay Area, as well as, Nevada.

As the fire moves slightly away from Yosemite, it has started to breach a forest-laden neighborhood, which is reportedly causing emergency workers 'challenges' as they try to quell the raging fire.

The fire does seem to be slowing in growth after firefighters dropped 30,000 gallons of water and have continued to build control lines and extinguish hot spots.

Another fire, the Anzar Fire, is also burning nearby in San Benito County, but it has been 90 percent contained.
Advertisement

Hundreds of firefighters continued to battle infernos across Europe including in eastern Germany, neighbouring Czechia and southern France, as tourist regions and residential areas were evacuated.

A large wildfire was spreading quickly in the eastern German state of Brandenburg in a region with lots of bone-dry pine forests where firefighters have to be especially careful because of old World War II ammunition that's still buried there.

The large fire in the Elbe-Elster district has already destroyed an area of about 850 hectares and continued to spread quickly because of gusty winds blowing from changing directions.

Seven firefighters were injured, four of whom had to be treated in a hospital for smoke inhalation. No residents were injured, but a pig breeding farm burned down and several animals died.

The state's explosive ordnance disposal service has designated a small area near the village of Rehfeld as a site where old ammunition could be buried, deputy forest fire protection officer Philipp Haase explained.

Two German military firefighting helicopters were on site trying to extinguish the flames from the air because firefighters were not allowed to access the area for fear that the ammunition could explode.

Authorities said it was not clear when the fire could be brought under control. More than 350 firefighters were battling the flames and around 300 people from various villages had to be evacuated.

Pedestrians look at a forest fire near Gignac, southern France, on July 26, as the country endures a dry summer with wildfires destroying numerous forests across France

Firefighters throw water on fire in the Ceske Svycarsko (Czech Switzerland) National Park, above the village Hrensko, Czech Republic, on July 25. The fire broke out on Sunday and started spreading on Monday as the wind rose

A firefighter works to contain a wildfire as it continues to burn in a forest near the town of Hrensko, Czech Republic

French Securite Civile Canadair CL-415 firefighting aircraft passes over burning forests near Gignac, southern France, on July 26

Firefighters from several countries have joined forces to battle a fire in a national park in northern Czech Republic that has spread to the state of Saxony in neighbouring Germany

The fire in the Bohemian Switzerland park broke out on Sunday and was mostly contained before windy weather caused it to spread again on Monday afternoon and overnight

'The situation is still serious. We still have pockets of fire,' local district fire chief Steffen Ludewig said.

Further southeast, firefighters from several countries have joined forces to battle a fire in a national park in northern Czech Republic that has spread to the state of Saxony in neighboring Germany.

The fire in the Bohemian Switzerland park broke out on Sunday and was mostly contained before windy weather caused it to spread again on Monday afternoon and overnight.

Despite their efforts, firefighters said the fire had spread from 30 hectares earlier Tuesday to 1,000 hectares.

No injuries have been reported, but around 100 people had to be evacuated Tuesday evening from the Czech town of Vysoka Lipa.

Earlier, some 80 people have been evacuated from the border town of Hrensko, and more from the village of Mezna, where the flames have destroyed or damaged several homes, firefighters' spokesman Lukas Marvan said.

Despite their efforts, firefighters said the fire had spread from 30 hectares earlier Tuesday to 1,000 hectares

No injuries have been reported, but around 100 people had to be evacuated Tuesday evening from the Czech town of Vysoka Lipa

The forest is on fire in the Saxon Switzerland National Park near Schmilka, Germany. For Bad Schandau disaster alert has been triggered, said a spokesman for the district office Saechsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge on Tuesday morning

A Bell CH-53 German Bundeswehr army firefighter helicopter loads water from a sea in Falkenberg, Germany. Firefighters in Brandenburg continue to fight a large forest fire in the Elbe-Elster district. Since yesterday, it has been burning on an area of 800 hectares

Dozens of German children were evacuated from a summer camp on the Czech side of the border and transported back to Germany.

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala and Interior Minister Vit Rakusan were visiting the area on Tuesday.

Rakusan said some 400 firefighters have been in action and the blaze was not under control by midday Tuesday.

'The situation is very serious,' Rakusan said adding that several neighboring countries had responded to the Czech Republic's call for help to extinguish the fire.

Poland and Slovakia said they were sending helicopters while Italy offered special Canadair planes designed for firefighting.

The German military announced it would send four helicopters to the border region to help fight the flames.

The Czech Hydrometeorological Institute said the smoke has spread 60 miles or more from the fire.

A Civil Security Bombardier Dash 8-Q400MR firefighting aircraft drops fire-retardant over a forest fire near Gignac, southern France

General view of a forest fire near the city of Gignac, France, on July 26. 700 hectares have been burnt and 200 people were evacuated from the village of Aumelas
Alex Jones arrived in Texas court for his defamation trial with piece of tape over his mouth that said 'Save the 1st' Amendment as he was accused of repeatedly 'lying and attacking the parents of murdered children.'

The conspiracy theorist is being sued by the parents of 6-year-old Jesse Lewis, one of the 26 victims killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, for telling his Infowars audience the massacre was a hoax.

Jones created a 'massive campaign of lies' and recruited 'wild extremists from the fringes of the internet' that targeted and traumatized victims' families, attorney Mark Bankston argued during opening statements Tuesday.

He claimed the radio show host's 'disgusting series of lies' about the deadliest school shooting in U.S. history left about 75 million Americans to believe the massacre was 'definitely or possibly staged.'

Bankston is seeking $150 million in damages for his clients, Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis - 'one dollar for every one of those people in emotional damage' and an additional $75 million for the damage to their reputations.

Jones' attorney argued that although his client made statements about Sandy Hook 'that we don't dispute were wrong,' he was already punished for those statements when he was kicked off of Facebook, YouTube, Spotify and Twitter for violating their hate speech policies.

Jones himself has criticized the trial, telling reporters outside the courtroom it was a 'witch hunt,' as he compared it proceedings in Nazi Germany.

Alex Jones arrived in Texas court for his defamation trial on Tuesday with piece of tape over his mouth that said 'Save the 1st' Amendment

'This is the weaponization of the judiciary, it's absolutely horrifying,' Jones told FOX 7 on Tuesday. 'This is a witch hunt. This is a show trial - this will go down in history as one of the greatest show trials ever to happen. Not just here, but even in places like Nazi Germany.'

'I've been found guilty by the judge and now there's a trial where they tell a jury to decide how much money I pay because I'm already guilty,' he said. 'That's never happened.'

Jones claimed the judge was acting for 'political reasons' when she took away his 'right for a jury to decide if I'm guilty.'

'Now a judge tells a jury that I'm guilty and they're trying to hide that from the jury.

'During the jury questioning they were really confused and kept asking "Well, I thought you're innocent until proven guilty in criminal or civil trial?" And she goes, "Well, this is a special case, I say he's guilty." - she read that to the jury - I say Alex Jones is guilty and now you're going to decide how guilty he is.'

'And then they get up there and put all these edited videos out completely out of context - I mean I've never seen anything like it.

'Even in Nazi Germany they let you basically be innocent or proven guilty. They would then just rig parts to trial. Here she says I'm guilty until proven guilty.'

Jones stepped outside of the courtroom to rant to reporters, calling it a 'kangaroo court' and 'show trial' that was an assault on the First Amendment. He also compared the proceedings to trials that took place in Nazi Germany

Jones tapped into the explosive popularity of Sandy Hook conspiracy stories that became an 'obsession' for the website, even years after the shooting, Bankston said during opening statements.

The attorney played video clips for the jury of Jones claiming on his program that the shooting was a hoax and 'the whole thing was completely fake. ... It just didn't happen.'

Jones created a 'massive campaign of lies' and recruited 'wild extremists from the fringes of the internet ... who were as cruel as Mr. Jones wanted them to be' to the families who were killed in the attack, Bankston alleged.

Anticipating what Jones' defense would be, he then told the jury: 'This has nothing to do with the Constitution. Defamation is not protected by freedom of speech. ... Speech is free, but lies you have to pay for.'

He said his clients are asking for $150 million for emotional distress and reputational damage, and more money in punitive damages

Attorney Mark Bankston (pictured Tuesday) argued during opening statements that Jones created a 'massive campaign of lies' and recruited 'wild extremists from the fringes of the internet' that targeted and traumatized victims' families

Bankston is seeking $150 million in damages for his clients, Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis - 'one dollar for every one of those people in emotional damage' and an additional $75 million for the damage to their reputations. A picture of their son, Sandy Hook victim Jesse Lewis, was shown in court Tuesday

During his opening remarks, Jones' lawyer Andino Reynal called Jones one of the 'most polarizing figures in this nation' who has 'already been cancelled' and lost millions of dollars.

Reynal, who called on the jury to limit the damages to $1, painted a picture of a talk show host who 'tries to give an alternative view' but who was duped by some of his guests.

'Alex Jones was wrong to believe these people, but he didn't do it out of spite. He did it because he believed it. ... He believed a citizen has a right to get on Infowars and talk about what their questions are,' Reynal said.

He also called the case an important one for free speech.

'I believe in his right to say it, and I believe in every American's right to choose what they watch, and listen to, and believe,' the lawyer said.

During his opening remarks, Jones' lawyer Andino Reynal (pictured Tuesday) called Jones one of the 'most polarizing figures in this nation' who has 'already been cancelled' and lost millions of dollars. Reynal called on the jury to limit the damages to $1

The first witness to testify was retired Connecticut State Police Detective Daniel Jewiss, who was the lead investigator on the Sandy Hook attack. He said 26 law enforcement agencies responded to the shooting and that there is no doubt about what happened that day.

Part of his job was helping families who were being harassed by deniers. He said law enforcement put deniers in three categories: the mentally ill, those who believed bad or incomplete information, and those who knew the truth but twisted it for their own 'power or money.'

That final group, Jewiss said, 'They were the most dangerous. That's where we put Alex Jones.'

Jewiss called supporting the Sandy Hook families the 'most honorable' thing he's ever been part of.

'It's absolutely horrific the amount of trauma they've had to endure in the wake of having lost a loved one,' he said.

In total, the families of eight Sandy Hook victims and an FBI agent who responded to the school are suing Jones and his company, Free Speech Systems. Jones is pictured in court Tuesday

The jury could deal Jones a major financial blow that would put his constellation of conspiracy peddling businesses into deeper jeopardy. In addition to being banned from major social media platforms, he claims he's millions of dollars in debt - a claim the plaintiffs reject.

The Texas court and another in Connecticut found Jones liable for defamation for his portrayal of the Sandy Hook massacre as a hoax involving actors aimed at increasing gun control. In both states, the judges issued default judgments against Jones without trials because he failed to respond to court orders and turn over documents.

In total, the families of eight Sandy Hook victims and an FBI agent who responded to the school are suing Jones and his company, Free Speech Systems.

Jones has since acknowledged that the shooting took place. During a deposition in April, Jones insisted he wasn't responsible for the suffering that Sandy Hook parents say they have endured because of the hoax conspiracy, including death threats and harassment by Jones followers.

Jones claimed in court records last year that he had a negative net worth of $20 million, but attorneys for Sandy Hook families have painted a different financial picture.

Court records show that Jones' Infowars store, which sells nutritional supplements and survival gear, made more than $165 million between 2015 and 2018. Jones has also urged listeners on his Infowars program to donate money.

The Texas trial begins about two months after a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, which is about 145 miles (235 kilometers) southwest of Austin. It was the deadliest school shooting since Sandy Hook.
A lorry driver who killed three people while trawling adult dating sites before he ploughed into traffic on the A1(M) has made a tearful apology from jail.

Ion Onut's cab is seen bursting into flames in July 2021 and careering a further 320ft near County Durham after the initial crash caused an explosion.

The Romanian, who was jailed for eight years in January after admitting three counts of causing death by dangerous driving, told a BBC documentary, released today, he would have to live with the pain he had caused the anguished families and survivors of the crash.

He had been looking sites S**g Today and Mystic Match and had spent almost 50 to buy credits to engage with users, and was looking at profiles and editing his own over a period of 40 minutes leading up to the smash.

His last interaction on his phone was in the seconds before the collision and he was 'utterly oblivious' to the stationary vehicles ahead, the court was told. Onut did not brake before driving into the line of traffic at 58mph.

Couple David Daglish and Elaine Sullivan from Seaham, County Durham, and Paul Mullen from Washington, Tyne and Wear, all died because of him. While Molly Smith, a 26-weeks pregnant physiotherapist, was hospitalised.

Ion Onut has made a tearful apology from jail after his cab burst into flames in July 2021 and careering a further 320ft near County Durham after the initial crash caused an explosion

His last interaction on his phone was in the seconds before the collision and he was 'utterly oblivious' to the stationary vehicles ahead, the court was told

Couple David Daglish and Elaine Sullivan from Seaham, County Durham, were also killed by Onut

Ion Onut (left) was driving a 3.5 tonne Scania LGV at almost 60mph when he 'ploughed' into queueing traffic near junction 61 at Bowburn, County Durham, on July 15, last year, killing three people including Paul Mullen (right)

The judge told the 41-year-old it would have been bad enough if he had fallen asleep, but Onut had been trawling the internet for sexual partners, and his last interaction on his mobile phone had come just seconds before impact.

Onut who agreed to be interviewed in prison as part of a BBC documentary titled Deadly Browsing: The Lorry Driver wept and acknowledged he could have travelled several hundred yards while looking at his phone.

Onut said: 'The phone was a distraction, it was a really bad choice.'

He continued that after seeing the footage of him ploughing into cars he is really 'disturbed' that he caused the 'tragic and sad' deaths of three people.

Asked if he had a message for the bereaved families, he sighed and replied: 'There's a million things I could tell people. I want to apologise. I want to say I'm really sorry, because I feel really bad for what happened.

'I feel bad for the people who lost loved ones, people injured who have to suffer with back flashes (flashbacks) and injuries for the rest of their lives.

'It's really hard to accept that, living for the rest of your life with that in your head is not easy either.'

Junior Sullivan, whose mother and step-father were killed in the crash, watched the prison apology on a screen.

He told the documentary: 'If people look at it and think: "I don't want to be that person, I don't want to be in prison, I don't want to have killed three people, I don't want that on my conscience, look at what it's done to that guy", then hopefully they will take something away from that.'

It was revealed in the documentary that the former soldier, Mr Sullivan, is now teaching soldiers about the dangers of driving when using a mobile phone.

Onut who agreed to be interviewed in prison as part of a BBC documentary titled Deadly Browsing: The Lorry Driver wept and acknowledged he could have travelled several hundred yards while looking at his phone

Onut said: 'The phone was a distraction, it was a really bad choice'

Lorry driver Ion Onut was looking at sex sites on his phone when he caused a multi-vehicle smash which killed three people

Sh*g Today and Mystic Match: The apps trucker was looking at before crash Sh*g Today: UK-based hookup site that claims to have had more than 400,000 users signing up. After setting up a profile, you can match with other users and chat to arrange a meet-up. While it is free to receive messages, users have to buy credits to send messages to others on the site. Packages range from 24.95 for 1250 credits, up to 249.95 for 17,500 credits. It costs 100 credits to send a message and 50 to send a wink. The site is open to straight or homosexual relationships, but reviewers say many of the users are paid professionals. Rated 1.8 out of five on Trustpilot. Mystic Match: Advertises itself as a website for people seeking 'friendship and love'. The website claims thousands join every day looking for different kinds of discreet relationships. It works in a similar way to Sh*g Today, with users having to buy coins to send messages. Rated 2.6 out of five on Trustpilot. Advertisement

Police body-worn camera footage also shows the immediate aftermath of the fireball crash, as well as the moment Onut is asked by police to hand over his phone as he is arrested at the scene for dangerous driving.

It also features survivors who were injured and by-standers who raised the alarm and were left badly traumatised by what they saw.

Ms Smith was buying presents for her dog for his birthday when the traffic started slowing down due to an early incident. She stopped her car like other drivers but Onut did not stop.

She told the BBC: 'I just felt this impact from behind [while driving the red car, which is seen being hit in the footage].

'I just remember hearing all of a sudden the crashing sounds of metal.

'And then all of a sudden being stopped on the A1(M) with a load of fire all around me.'

She added at first she froze before moving away from the fire as she did not if more cars were going to 'explode'. The physiotherapist has since given birth to a healthy daughter.

Onut first hit the back of the Vauxhall Crossland containing Mr Daglish, 57, and Ms Sullivan, 59, then smashed 51-year-old Mr Mullen's Toyota Hilux under another lorry before carrying on along the road, injuring three others.

Judge James Adkin, who banned Onut from driving for 10 years after his release, told the court in January this year: 'You were not asleep at the wheel, which would have been bad enough, in fact you were trawling the internet looking for casual sexual partners'.

In a victim personal statement read out in court, Mr Sullivan, said in January: 'Nothing could prepare me for being woken up to be told that my mam and dad had been killed in a car crash.

'It's impossible for me to describe what went through my head at that moment, only that everything that was perfect about my life suddenly no longer existed. In that very moment my world had shattered and I became an empty shell. I couldn't think, I couldn't move.

'People tell you it's okay to be upset and cry or to be angry, and they always say' 'if there's anything I can do'' - but what could anyone possibly do?

'There's no how-to guide for dealing with the loss of both of your parents. For losing the only family you have. For losing the people who quite literally sacrificed everything to give you the best possible chances.'

Orlaigh Mullen, Paul Mullen's daughter, said: 'It's difficult to put into words how much we miss our dad  losing a parent is something you think will never happen, you always think that they are invincible.

'My dad was always there for us growing up. We looked up to him, he was the hardest working man I have ever met and ever will meet. He worked so hard for all of us.

'I miss him coming home every Friday night and shouting ''hello'' when he came through the door and giving us all a big hug.'

Bethany Claire, daughter-in-law of Mr Daglish and Ms Sullivan, wrote a tribute to the couple today following Onut's sentence.

Junior Sullivan, whose mother and step-father were killed in the crash, watched the prison apology on a screen

Molly Smith, a 26-weeks pregnant physiotherapist, (pictured with her baby today) was hospitalised after the crash

Onut answered 'no comment' when he was interviewed by police after being arrested for driving

She said: 'Ill spend every minute loving and nurturing [our] two children that are now two grandparents short, loving and supporting the husband whos now without parents and honouring your traditions wherever I can.

'[Our children] have already lost out on so much, I wont let them miss out on present parents.'

She also urged motorists to pay no mind to their phones in order to avoid similar tragedies. Ms Claire wrote: 'Just put your phone in the glove box when youre driving. Remove the temptation. Its not worth it.'

Onut, who was living with his family in Galashiels, Scotland, and working for a haulage firm, was heading North with a load of fertiliser when he caused the crash around 6.15pm on July 15 2021.

A previous incident had caused traffic to build up and warning signs alerted drivers of delays and told them slow down, with other motorists observing a 50mph limit put in place.

But Onut was seen weaving across lanes prior to the crash, which happened near the Bowburn junction, and did not slow down.

Nick Dry, prosecuting, said analysis of Onut's phone showed he had used it extensively while driving his lorry, and that he had been browsing the internet for 40 minutes before the collision.

Mr Dry said: 'The telephone was found to have been in constant use. The history showed the defendant had been accessing two adult dating sites - one, S**g Today, and another, called Mystic Match.

'He had done so driving at speeds that never went below 50mph.'

Mr Dry added: 'He was utterly engrossed in internet activity, in pursuit of sexual gratification, over an extended period of time while in control of a large goods vehicle on a busy motorway.'

The Big Cases, Deadly Browsing: The Lorry Driver is available on the BBC iPlayer.
A council has voted to keep using the term 'chairman' after plans to replace the title with a 'gender neutral' alternative were branded 'woke nonsense' by local councillors - including several women.

The Conservative-run South Kesteven District Council, in South Lincolnshire, had introduced a proposal to change its constitution that would have seen 'chairman' replaced with 'presiding person.'

But critics said the move amounted to 'policing language', arguing that the current title projected authority, according to the Local Democracy reporting service.

Labour and Independent members, meanwhile, said changing the name would 'promote equality' by ensuring the default title was no longer masculine.

Conservative councillor Helen Crawford, blasted the plans, saying: 'I don't like 'presiding person'. It sounds like I should be a judge with a handkerchief on my head.'

Tory councillor Ben Green branded them 'woke nonsense', adding: 'We should spend half as long talking about the future as we do policing language.'

Several councillors who chair committees agreed with his sentiment, including other female colleagues.

South Kesteven District Council (pictured), in South Lincolnshire, had introduced a proposal to change its constitution that would have seen 'chairman' replaced with 'presiding person'

Tory councillor Ben Green branded them 'woke nonsense', adding: 'We should spend half as long talking about the future as we do policing language.' Meanwhile, Labour & Co-operative councillor Louise Clack (pictured right) said: 'The default shouldn't be chairman. I'm a mother and a daughter of a confident woman, and come from a long line of strong women. 'The default setting should be universal, not set by men.'

Fury as it's revealed councils have spent more than 200,000 on woke pedestrian crossings since 2019 By Anna Mikhailova for the Mail on Sunday Kensington and Chelsea Council spent 43,000 on three 'creative crossings' Pictured: Pedestrians using a creative crossing in Kensington designed Tokolo Asao for Japanese House London as part of Creative Kensington High Street initiativ The Mail on Sunday revealed earlier this month that councils have spent more than 200,000 on woke pedestrian crossings since 2019. MPs expressed their fury at how taxpayers' money has been wasted on the 'ridiculous pet projects' while frontline services including bin collection are cut. The 200,000 outlay includes 43,000 splashed out by Kensington and Chelsea Council on three 'creative crossings'  including a Japan-themed one  while Richmond Council in South-West London spent 4,400 on a crossing featuring poppies. In total, 21 local authorities spent 205,084 on what are described as 'pointless paint jobs', Freedom of Information data shows. Last year Bristol City council spent 7,161 repainting a crossing in rainbow colours of the LGBT+ movement at the height of the pandemic  while cutting services and complaining of a 23 million funding gap. Transport for London spent 13,700 on an LGBT crossing in Regent Street that was there for only two months. Disability groups complain that 'alternative' crossings make life harder for disabled people. Sir John Hayes, chairman of the Common Sense Group of Conservative MPs, said: 'It is the worst sort of indulgence at taxpayers' expense, and it displaces both attention and money away from the needs of those who have the greatest demands.' Duncan Simpson, research director at the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: 'Residents face punishing tax hikes and cutbacks to local services, yet councils are spending precious funds on ridiculous pet projects.' Kensington and Chelsea Council said 'local businesses supported the costs'. Advertisement

Councillor Sue Woolley, also a Conservative, added: 'I don't think the title demeans anyone. It adds gravitas, and there is nothing to be ashamed about being a chairman.'

But those pushing for the change said the title favoured men and accused the other side of using the term 'wokeness' to halt progress.

Labour & Co-operative councillor Louise Clack said: 'The default shouldn't be chairman. I'm a mother and a daughter of a confident woman, and come from a long line of strong women.

'The default setting should be universal, not set by men.'

Councillor Ashley Baxter, from the Alliance SK party, agreed, adding: 'All this 'woke nonsense' talk is nonsense.

'It's often used by people who are afraid of change, and used to stop progress towards equality.

'People would have described the Sex and Race Discrimination Acts the same way, if that words had been around in the 1970s.'

It comes after a House of Commons committee last month revealed it was looking at setting up a human rights 'ombudsperson' to handle complaints made against public authorities.

It is thought to be the first time the term - a 'woke' substitute for the word 'ombudsman' - had been used for official parliamentary business.

The Joint Committee on Human Rights Committee was examining the case for introducing such an individual, and took evidence from witnesses including the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.

The committee is chaired by Labour MP Harriet Harman, who Tory colleagues accused of pushing through the new term.

'Oh God. Ombudsper-child surely. Son is a male term,' one MP told MailOnline.

'The reality of Harriet is she's always had this stance form her early days... the right-on causes. She hasn't really modified that.'

Sources said it wasn't Ms Harman specifically who drove the decision to use the 'clunky' word, but rather a collective verdict within the committee.

It comes after business leaders in March called for the 'sexist' and 'outdated' term 'chairman' to be scrapped for a gender neutral equivalent.

The coalition, led by the British Chambers of Commerce, called on the UK's official business register, Companies House, to remove any default reference to a company 'chairman' in all future references to the head of a business.

The group called for words such as 'chairman', 'policeman' and 'fireman' to all be 'consigned to the history books'.

It said companies should instead be encouraged to use gender neutral words, such as 'chair', over fears that more masculine alternatives could contribute to gender inequality among business chiefs.

The calls were backed by the historic British manufacturing giant Make UK, who had already widely adopted the title 'chair', and the Institute of Directors.

But parliamentarians, including Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng, rejected the idea.

One source close to Mr Kwarteng told the Telegraph: 'It requires primary legislation and we have more pressing issues, like supporting businesses through the pandemic and a war on European soil. The priorities here are all mixed up.'

British business leaders have called for the 'sexist' and 'outdated' term 'chairman' to be scrapped and for a gender neutral equivalent to be used instead [File image]

Sarah Howard, the BCC's chairman, said at the time: 'It's a small but very significant alteration that will help break down subconscious bias and send a clear message to future generations that they have an equal role to play in running businesses whatever their gender identity.

'There is much more that all of us need to do to help address inequality in the business world, and this change would send a clear message on government intent.'

Ms Howard added that many businesses were unaware they could change Companies House's default draft articles of association, which ordinarily means 'chairman' is used rather than 'chair'.

Dame Judith Hackitt, the chairman of Make UK, insisted that dropping gendered references to chairmen would be a 'small but positive and symbolic' move.

She said: 'This is a welcome and long overdue change which is easy to make and which I hope all businesses across the UK will support.

'Despite progress in recent years, it remains the case that women are under-represented in the most senior roles across companies.'

And Jonathan Geldart, director general of the IoD, added: 'The importance of language should not be underestimated.

'By taking this small step, the Government can ensure that gender neutrality is instilled in new business ventures at their inception.'

Less than half (39 per cent) of board members of FTSE 100 companies were female, per data recorded last month.

Sarah Howard, the BCC's chairman, previously said: 'It's a small but very significant alteration that will help break down subconscious bias and send a clear message to future generations that they have an equal role to play in running businesses whatever their gender identity'

And there are 16 female chairmen recorded on the FTSE 100, while there are 32 included in the FTSE 250.

A spokesman from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said: 'We wholeheartedly support increasing the diversity of business leaders and championing women in business.

'Companies already have the flexibility to craft their own articles, and to amend their articles as they see fit.'

The news comes as the Tory-run Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council voted in favour of dropping masculine and feminine terms for its senior positions.

Last month, councillor L.J Evans, who put forward the proposal along with Labour councillor Lewis Allison last year, said the changes were 'a small win for equality' and 'not political correctness gone mad'.

The move will see the role of chairman and vice-chairman of committees now being referred to as chair and vice-chair.
An Egyptian court is planning to broadcast the live hanging of a killer who stabbed a student to death when she turned down his marriage proposal.

Mohamed Adel, 21, was found guilty of murdering his Mansoura University classmate Naira Ashraf when she turned him down, with the court sentencing him to death on July 6.

The court has now called for his execution to be broadcast live to deter similar crimes from happening in future.

In its letter to Parliament, the court wrote: 'The broadcast, even if only part of the start of proceedings, could achieve the goal of deterrence, which was not achieved by broadcasting the sentencing itself.'

Chilling footage shows Adel attacking Ashraf outside Mansoura University near the Nile Delta on 20th June.

She was just about to sit her final exams, according to local media.

Chilling footage shows Adel attacking Ashraf outside Mansoura University near the Nile Delta on 20th June. She was just about to sit her final exams, according to local media

Naira Ashraf, a student at Mansoura University, was stalked and brutally killed in June

Killer Mohamed Adel, 21, was found guilty of murdering his university classmate Naira Ashraf when she turned down his marriage proposal. An Egyptian court is asking parliament to broadcast his execution live

Ashraf died on the spot as angry passersby seized Adel while he was holding the knife and standing over her body, the video shows.

She was stabbed several times, including on her neck and chest, local media said.

The knifeman had stalked the student and had resolved to kill her after she rejected his marriage proposal, the court heard.

Mansoura Courthouse preliminarily settled on the death penalty on June 28, confirming the sentence a week later.

An appeal stalled the verdict, which was made public on July 24. Now, the court has requested that the legislature change the statute governing capital punishment so that the execution might be aired live.

'We still have 60 days to challenge death sentence against Adel,' said the defendant's lawyer Farid El-Deeb.

El-Deeb, who worked as the lead defence lawyer for late ex-president Hosni Mubarak, is well-known in Egypt.

The last time a capital punishment was in 1998, when state television broadcast the execution of three men who had killed a woman and her two children at their home in Cairo.

In Egypt, the method of execution for civilian convictions is hanging.
A young mother thought to have taken her own life after she was hit by a train has been named as Kiena Dawes.

The 23-year-old, from Fleetwood, Lancashire, was tragically hit by a train in Garstang, on the Preston to Lancaster line on Friday afternoon before being pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.

Tributes have since poured in for the hairdresser, who leaves behind a nine-month old daughter named Marnie.

Her brother Kynan Dawes pledged to give up his job to raise the little girl - while a GoFund Me page to support the pair and pay towards Kiena's funeral costs neared 10,000, smashing its 2,500 target.

Matthew Sanderson, who created the fundraiser, wrote on the page: 'This is Marnie and her mummy, Marnie is only 9 months old and recently lost her mummy to a tragic suicide.

'Marnie is now being cared for by her uncle Kynan. Kynan has promised to be there for Marnie through thick and thin as he struggles to deal with the loss of his sister in such tragic circumstances.

A young mother said to have taken her own life has been named as Kiena Dawes (pictured with her nine-month-old daughter Marnie)

Tributes have since been pouring in for hairdresser Kiena (pictured)

'Kynan has also had to give up his employment as a builder to take care of Marnie which has already had a significant impact on Kynan's finances. We are asking people not to let Kynan struggle alone.

'Please support Kynan so he can get a deposit to rent a house, buy some essentials for Marnie and pay towards his sisters funeral. Any excess funds will be placed in trust for Marnie once she turns 18.

'Thanks again and thanks for your support. It's ok not to be ok! Please talk to someone and don't suffer in silence.'

Writing on Facebook, Kynan said: 'We love you more than words can ever say! I'm going to miss you more than you'll ever have known. You didn't deserve this! And you will be remembered by everyone. I'll make sure your baby girl will be looked after and grow up to know how perfect you really was.' [sic]

Responding to the GoFundMe appeal, he added: 'This is absolutely amazing my family and little Marnie appreciate this so much.

'My gorgeous niece who now has no mum to grow up with will 100% appreciate what your all doing.

The 23-year-old (pictured), from Fleetwood, Lancashire, was tragically hit by a train in Garstang, on the Preston to Lancaster line on Friday afternoon before being pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics

Friends and family have paid tribute on social media and well-wishers have been leaving flowers on railings in Blackpool

'I still can't believe your gone Kiena. But I will make sure I look after Marnie and she will grow up to be the most perfect little girl. Just as you would have wanted. RIP BEAUTIFUL.' [sic]

Friends and family have paid tribute on social media and well-wishers have been leaving flowers on railings in Blackpool.

Kiena, who was living in Fleetwood but originally from St Annes, was reported missing on Friday July 22.

Her brother launched an 'urgent' appeal on social media to help find her.

Within hours they were given the heartbreaking news that Kiena had been killed by a train.

Four days before her death she had posted a picture on Facebook with her father, writing: '2 years ago today you took your last breathe.. hope you stay with me through this nightmare I'm living and I will remember to have the strength you always did.' [sic]

If you are struggling with depression or suicidal thoughts, you can contact The Samaritans helpline 24/7 on 116 123 for help and support
ISIS bride Shamima Begum has made a new appeal to be allowed to return to Britain, claiming she could be a 'voice against radicalisation'.

The 22-year-old was stripped of her British citizenship in 2019 after she travelled to Syria at the age of 15. Now, she says she wants to be 'used as an example' to warn other Brits of the dangers of turning to extremism.

Begum, who left the UK in 2015 alongside friends Amira Abase and Kadiza Sultana, is now living in the Al-Roj prison camp in Syria, where she was captured.

ISIS bride Shamima Begum (pictured) has made a new appeal to be allowed to return to the United Kingdom, claiming she could be a 'voice against radicalisation'

Speaking to iNews from the camp while she awaits a trial by the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces, she insisted that she wants to be 'as British as possible', but conceded that she expects she will spend the rest of her life in Syria.

Begum's parents were born in Bangladesh. She left school in Bethnal Green, East London to travel to Syria to join the Islamic State.

There, she married an ISIS fighter and gave birth to three children, all of whom died young. Her youngest child died in the prison camp in Syria's north-east in 2019.

She has made previous attempts to restore her British citizenship, but failed in her Supreme Court bid to return to the UK and fight her case in person.

The Supreme Court ruled on national security grounds that she cannot return to Britain to pursue an appeal against the decision. The law states a person's citizenship can be stripped if they are deemed to be in the public interest.

Begum's latest interview was shared with iNews by Andrew Drury and Richard Ashmore. Earlier this month, Drury spoke of how he has formed close bonds with jihadi brides during his time working at the camp.

'That's how I feel and that's what it looks like,' Begum said on the likelihood of her spending the rest of her life in Syria.

She told Drury and Ashmore that she was aware of how the public perceive her back in the UK, with Drury saying she enjoys her 'celebrity' status, iNews said.

The 22-year-old Begum (pictured left in Syria and right when younger) was stripped of her British citizenship in 2019 after she travelled to Syria at the age of 15. Now, she says she wants to be 'used as an example' to warn other Brits of the dangers of turning to extremism

Begum's latest interview was shared with iNews by Andrew Drury and Richard Ashmore. Earlier this month, Drury (pictured with Begum in the camp) spoke of how he has formed close bonds with jihadi brides during his time working at the camp

Begun said: 'The problem is at the age of being a teenager you're very arrogant and you don't listen to people so sometimes you really do have to learn the hard way.

'I could be used as an example, like you don't want to end up like her. If it stops children making the same mistake that I made of course use me as an example.

'Tell the kids "don't be like her, don't become like her".'

She told the interviewers that she was trafficked by ISIS fighters to be a bride, along-side several other British girls who went to Syria. She said that it 'happened so fast' - in less than a year, and that she was radicalised online.

When asked how she and two other teenage girls were able to make the journey to Turkey, which cost them 1,000, she said they just told the travel agent they were going on holiday. 'I'm shocked by how easy it was [to go]. I'm still to this day shocked by how easy it was,' she said.

Amira Abase and Kadiza Sultana are now believed to be dead.

Begum is among a 50-strong British contingent of women and children at the Al-Roj prison camp in Syria (pictured) which houses around 800 families in total

Begum is among a 50-strong British contingent of women and children at the Syrian encampment, which houses around 800 families in total.

The camp is divided between those prisoners who still believe in the ideology of ISIS and those who claim to have renounced it, like Begum.

The east London schoolgirl dumped her veil more than a year ago and now straightens her dyed hair, paints her nails and wears make-up.

She denies her image change is a publicity stunt.

She has since claimed she was groomed by ISIS and her jihadi husband Yago Riedijk from the Netherlands, who she shared three children with.

Yet after being captured near the Syrian town of Baghuz as ISIS fighters fled, she lamented the group for being 'weak'.

She also said that the sight of a 'severed head in a bin didn't faze me at all' because it was that of 'a captured fighter an enemy of Islam', defiantly adding: 'I don't regret coming here.'
Iran says nuclear talks a decision away from culmination into agreement

Xinhua) 08:57, July 26, 2022

TEHRAN, July 25 (Xinhua) -- The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Monday the nuclear talks' distance from culmination into an agreement hinges on the U.S. political decision as Iran has demonstrated considerable flexibility in the negotiations process.

Making the remarks in an address to a weekly press conference, Nasser Kanaani said Iran has never left the negotiating table and will not act emotionally and impulsively regardless of the U.S. officials' media hype and claims as well as pressures on the country.

He assured that Tehran would continue the negotiation process through communication channels although the principled policy of President Ebrahim Raisi's administration was based on not tying the country's economy and people's livelihoods to the fate of the nuclear talks.

Kanaani stressed that Iran will remain committed to the negotiations process and will continue the path until reaching a "good and robust" agreement, according to official news agency IRNA.

Negotiations are continuing between Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and the European Union's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell as well as their deputies Ali Bagheri Kani and Enrique Mora, he added.

Kanaani added that other countries have also proposed initiatives for the solution of the remaining issues in the nuclear talks, noting that even within the region, Qatar and Oman, through their foreign ministers, have put forward initiatives to this end.

He reiterated that Iran seeks to reach a "good, strong and lasting" agreement and has submitted numerous initiatives, saying if the American side acts "constructively and positively," an agreement will be quite within reach.

IAEA APPROACH "UNPROFESSIONAL"

Turning to recent remarks by Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi that he had "very limited visibility" of Iran's atomic program, Kanaani noted that Iran has always been a member of the agency and the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and, over the past years, has sought to clear up misunderstandings by adopting an interactive and constructive approach.

The Foreign Ministry spokesman added the Islamic Republic has allowed the IAEA's inspectors to carry out several inspections of its nuclear sites.

He regretted that, however, Iran's "constructive" measures were not reciprocated by the agency, noting that Grossi has adopted an "unprofessional" and "unfair" approach toward Iran's nuclear program and is interested in raising issues against Tehran every now and then.

"We maintain that they must adopt a constructive and interaction-oriented approach in response to Iran's cooperation."

RAISI-MACRON TALKS

With regard to the Saturday phone conversation between Raisi and French President Emmanuel Macron, Kanaani described the two-hour talks as a remarkable diplomatic development.

He said Macron has certain ideas that can help bring the parties' viewpoints closer to one another.

Kanaani added France is willing to play a "positive and constructive role" in the nuclear talks.

Iran signed the nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (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 Tehran, prompting the latter to drop some of its commitments under the pact.

The talks on the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal began in April 2021 in Vienna but were suspended in March this year because of political differences between Tehran and Washington.

After a three-month pause, the talks resumed recently in the Qatari capital Doha, but did not result in any agreement to settle the remaining differences.

(Web editor: Wu Chaolan, Liang Jun)
A doctor who told a junior female colleague to sit on his knee while looking at a patient's scans has been suspended for three months.

Thierry Bonnin claimed that because he is French he is a 'humorous and touching person' as he defended himself against allegations he had sexually harassed a fellow doctor.

The urology specialist had been working at Raigmore Hospital in Inverness, where is alleged to have also pinched the ears and touched the leg of his co-worker, who is known as Dr A.

A Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MTPS) panel was also told he made inappropriate remarks by suggesting she could practise examinations on him.

Bonnin, who qualified in 1982 and specialises in urology, claimed he had never received a complaint and regularly hugs people when he sees them.

Dr Thierry Bonnin (pictured) told a junior female doctor to sit on his knee while looking at a scan of a patient

However, he was suspended by the MTPS panel after ruling his behaviour in 2018 and 2019 was of a 'sexual nature' and was 'unacceptable'.

Dr Bonnin, who no longer works for NHS Highland, the trust that runs the hospital, did not attend the tribunal looking into his conduct in Manchester.

Instead, he submitted a written statement saying that because he is from the south of France, he is a 'humorous and touching person'.

He added: 'I acknowledge that my actions can be seen as harassment on the grounds of sex in terms of the Equality Act 2010.

'I strongly deny that my conduct was sexual in nature as alleged or at all.

'I admit that I touched Dr A by pinching her ears, tapping her knee and asking her to examine my fists.

'However, the pinching and tapping was done in jest when she answered a question incorrectly.

'Accordingly, although my actions were unwanted and inappropriate, the touching was not at any time sexual in nature or related to sex.'

In a statement given to the panel, the junior doctor said it 'all just felt very uncomfortable'.

'Dr Bonnin's groin was level with my face, he was wearing scrubs and pretended to undo the tie on his waist and said, "You can practise if you like",' she said.

Dr Bonnin was accused of inappropriate behaviour towards his colleague while working at Raigmore Hospital in Inverness (pictured) in 2018 and 2019

'I was completely shocked. I didn't say anything because I was so shocked. I stared at Dr Bonnin as I tried to move back in my chair.

'He just sat back down at his computer and laughed as if it was a joke and carried on with what he was doing.'

In its written ruling it had no choice but to suspend the him due to 'the seriousness of Dr Bonnin's misconduct' and 'send a message to the profession and the public that this behaviour was unacceptable'.

The panel added it was 'satisfied' that the period of suspension should give him 'an opportunity to further develop his insight and understanding of why his misconduct was "of a sexual nature" although "not sexually motivated"'.
The ex-wife of 87-year-old former Daily Telegraph owner Sir Frederick Barclay claims he had a punch-up at sea with his twin brother Sir David in a battle for control of their businesses, the High Court has heard.

Lady Hiroko Barclay alleged in her evidence in their London divorce battle that Sir Frederick had a fight with his identical sibling on board a yacht.

The 79-year-old also claims her ex-husband owes her 100million and has asked a judge to jail him, accusing him of hoping that one of them dies to avoid paying.

The Barclay brothers were among the UK's most high-profile businessmen. Their business interests included Telegraph Media Group and The Ritz hotel in London. Sir David died in January last year, aged 86.

Lady Hiroko said Sir Frederick, and his brother David, had acquired the freehold of Brecqhou - one of the Channel Islands - in 1993 and paid 2.3 million.

And she said her ex-husband and his brother had once had a brawl while abroad in a row over the running of their businesses. 'There was a fight on a boat on the holiday,' she told the judge, 'They were punching each other'.

The brothers were reported to have bought the Leander G superyacht in around 2016, although it is not known if the alleged fight was on board.

She also told Sir Jonathan Cohen, who began overseeing a hearing in the Family Division of the High Court in London on Monday, that Sir Frederick had the means to pay but was aiming to 'string things out' until 'one or other of us dies'.

Lady Hiroko Barclay (left at a previous hearing) insists Sir Frederick Barclay (pictured today) has breached that order and accused him of being in contempt of court and asked the judge to consider a custodial sentence

Lady Hiroko Barclay alleged that Sir Frederick (left) had a fight with his brother Sir David (right), in her evidence in their divorce battle

Around five years ago the Barclay brothers were reported to have bought the Leander G, a 75-metre yacht. It is not known if this is the yacht they had a fight on

A barrister leading Lady Barclay's legal team told the judge on Thursday that money has not been paid - as sources indicated she had already run up legal bills exceeding 300,000

Sir Frederick disputes her claims.

Lady Barclay said Sir Frederick had 'the means to pay', adding: 'For him to pretend otherwise is false.'

She told Sir Jonathan, in a written witness statement: 'He has no respect for me or for the court. His aim is simply to string things out, hiding behind a web of complex structures (the initial purpose behind which was the avoidance of tax), allowing our daughter Amanda to fund all his financial needs, until one or other of us dies.'

The family also has links to the Channel Islands and Monaco.

Sir Jonathan had ruled that Sir Frederick should pay Lady Barclay sums totalling 100 million after overseeing their fight over money.

The judge criticised Sir Frederick, saying he had behaved in a 'reprehensible' fashion.

He said the businessman had sold a luxury yacht and 'applied the equity for his own use', in breach of orders.

The judge said Lady Barclay had wanted 120 million and Sir Frederick had made an offer which might have led her to getting nothing.

In her witness statement, Lady Barclay said that while Sir Frederick claimed to have been evicted from a 'palatial' central London residence due to failing to keep up the mortgage, he had carried on staying there for some months, 'seemingly undisturbed, with access to his ballroom and purpose-built oxygen chamber and attended by his housekeeper, security guard and driver'.

Sir Frederick's lawyers insist he has been evicted.

On his failure to hand over the divorce settlement cash, Lady Barclay said: 'Frederick says he cannot pay. He says he has no money. I do not believe him. It is not that he cannot pay, but that he will not pay. He has never had any intention of doing so.'

She added: 'He has no respect for me or for the Court. His aim is simply to string things out, hiding behind a web of complex structures (the initial purpose behind which was the avoidance of tax), allowing our daughter, Amanda, to fund all his financial needs, until one or other of us dies.'

Sir Frederick and his twin brother, Sir David, were among the UK's most high-profile businessmen. Sir David (left) died in January last year, aged 86

She went on to say: 'If Frederick dies before I get my first lump sum, my monthly maintenance will stop. I will be left virtually penniless and almost certainly homeless after a relationship/marriage of close to half a century, where our standard of living was beyond extravagant.'

Lady Barclay also alleges that their daughter Amanda has become Sir Frederick's 'de facto banker' and is 'in charge of all financial and business matters about which he claims to know nothing'.

Judge Sir Jonathan Cohen previously criticised Sir Frederick, saying he had behaved in a 'reprehensible' fashion.

In an earlier ruling, he said the businessman had sold a luxury yacht and 'applied the equity for his own use' in breach of the court's instructions.

The committal proceedings continue.
Michael DeRosa, first lady Jill Biden's press secretary, is departing the White House

First lady Jill Biden's press secretary Michael DeRosa is leaving his post at the White House amid a flurry of communication staff departures.

LaRosa's departure is no surprise, a White House official told CNN, claiming that the East Wing has known about his resignation for several weeks. His extension in the first lady's office came due to a desire for LaRosa to assist with three high-profile foreign trips.

The latest staff exit continues to fuel speculation of troubles inside the White House with staffing, especially when it comes to the executive communications team.

Earlier this summer, Biden lost his Press Secretary Jen Psaki, and her Chief of Staff Amanda Finney followed her out the door. Shortly after in early July, White House Communications Director Kate Bedingfield left the administration.

A person familiar with next steps said that LaRosa is staying in D.C. to join the public affairs firm Hamilton Place Strategies as managing director.

The first lady's office is already interviewing candidates to replace him.

LaRosa's departure, which was known inside the East Wing for weeks, follows a mass exodus of other White House staff  including former Biden Press Secretary Jen Psaki (second from L) earlier this summer

White House exits Jen Psaki  Biden's press secretary Kate Bedingfield  Biden's communications director Amanda Finney  Psaki's chief of staff Symone Sanders  Harris' chief spokesperson Tina Flourney  Harris senior aide Ashley Etienne  Harris senior aide Vincent Evans  Harris senior aide Carissa Smith  public engagement aide Kalisha Dessources Figures  gender policy aide Linda Etim  National Security Council senior director Cameron Trimble  digital engagement director Mike Gwin  Rapid Response director Vedant Patel  Biden deputy spokesperson Michael Kikukawa  Biden press assistant David Kieve  director for environment engagement Funmi Olorunnipa Badejo  associate counsel Advertisement

'I am forever grateful to [Jill Biden] for taking a chance on me nearly three years ago, bringing me on this journey with her around the country, and the privilege of being a small part of the history that she and President Biden made,' LaRosa said in a statement on his departure shared with DailyMail.com

LaRosa started serving as Dr. Jill Biden's spokesperson during the presidential campaign in 2019 and was appointed her press secretary immediately upon taking up residence at the White House in January 2021.

Last September, LaRosa took on the additional title of special assistant to the president.

'For nearly three years, from the campaign to the White House, Michael has brought an encyclopedic knowledge of politics and media to my team as my spokesperson and adviser,' Dr. Biden told CNN.

'On a small team, loyalty and friendship are lifelong  we will miss Michael. However, we are excited for him to begin a new chapter in his career.'

Most White House departures so far have come as the individuals take on different roles amid reports that some staff feel there is little room for upper movement or promotion in the administration.

The first notable exit came in December 2021 when Vice President Kamala Harris' chief spokesperson Symone Sanders announced she was leaving. She landed at MSNBC with a self-titled show.

A pattern quickly emerged of staffers leaving from the communications shops in the White House. This ranges from the highest officials with Psaki and Bedingfiled, to mid-level staffers like deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel and lower level staffers like press assistant Michael Kikukawa and

In the weeks and months following into early 2022, Harris senior aides Tina Flournoy, Ashley Etienne, and Vincent Evans all departed  as well as her public engagement head Cedric Richmond.

Communications staff departures also include Vice President Kamala Harris' former chief spokesperson Symone Sanders (left) and Psaki's ex-chief of staff Amanda Finney (right)

Some have dubbed the mass exodus at 'Blaxit' after it became clear an overwhelming amount of departures were among black staff.

Black staffers who have left the White House over the course of a few months include public engagement aide Carissa Smith; gender policy aide Kalisha Dessources Figures; National Security Council senior director Linda Etim; digital engagement director Cameron Trimble; and associate counsel Funmi Olorunnipa Badejo.

Departures also include Chief of Staff Ron Klain advisers Elizabeth Wilkins and Niyat Mulughetal; press assistant Natalie Austin; National Economic Council aides Joelle Gamble and Connor Maxwell; and presidential personnel aides Danielle Okai, Reggie Greer and Rayshawn Dyson.
A man has been shot in the hand by police after a car linked to a murder investigation was stopped by armed officers.

Marksmen stopped the car at the junction of King's Road and Beaufort Street in Chelsea at around 9pm over a fatal stabbing in Southampton on Sunday,

During the stop, a single shot was fired from a police weapon, hitting one of the men in the car in the hand.

He remains in hospital while the other three men in the car were arrested at the scene as part of a murder investigation into the death of a 19-year-old stabbed in Southampton shortly before 12.30pm on Sunday.

It is understood that the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) will now investigate whether the gun went off accidentally.

Marksmen stopped the car at the junction of King's Road and Beaufort Street in Chelsea yesterday at around 9pm over a fatal stabbing in Southampton. Pictured: TfL footage of the closure after an accident in Beaufort Street

During the stop, a single shot was fired from a police weapon, hitting one of the men in the car in the hand. Pictured: King's Road and Beaufort Street

The IOPC said investigators will look at police radio communication, body-worn video and initial statements from the officers involved.

Its regional director Graham Beesley said: 'The discharge of firearms by police officers is relatively rare but where potentially lethal force has been used, it is important that we carry out an independent investigation into the circumstances.'

Hampshire Police, who are investigating the Southampton murder, said a 19-year-old man was stabbed in the chest in Langhorn Road and taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead.

In total, five men aged between 20 and 46 have been arrested on suspicion of murder.
The Metropolitan Police has today lost their bid to overturn the reinstatement of a high-flying senior officer convicted possessing a child porn video of a five-year-old girl.

Superintendent Novlett Robyn Williams, who was commended for her work after the Grenfell Tower disaster, was sentenced to 200 hours of community service for possession of an indecent image in November 2019.

She was dismissed without notice from the Met after a special disciplinary hearing in March 2020 found her conviction amounted to gross misconduct.

However, last year, the highly decorated officer successfully appealed against the decision to dismiss her following her conviction and was reinstated as a police officer.

Superintendent Novlett Robyn Williams (pictured in 2016) was unfairly dismissed for possessing child abuse images, a tribunal ruled

Pictured: Former Metropolitan Police Superintendent Novlett Robyn Williams leaves the Court of Appeal at the High Court, London, after her appeal against her conviction for possessing a child abuse video

In June last year, the Police Appeals Tribunal (PAT) found that she should not have been sacked, and instead should have received a final written warning.

Earlier this month, the Met challenged this decision at the High Court in London, arguing it was 'perverse and unreasonable'.

They said that sacking Williams' was the 'only possible outcome'.

In a judgment today, Mrs Justice Heather Williams rejected the forces's bid to overturn the decision to reinstate the convicted officer.

She said: 'The PAT was entitled to regard this as an exceptional case in which dismissal for the officer's gross misconduct was not a necessary and proportionate sanction.'

The judge continued: 'The PAT reached the conclusion that it did because of the unique circumstances of the conviction, the officer's stellar career, the substantial impact she had had on enhancing the reputation of the MPS as a whole and its assessment that her dismissal would reduce confidence in the police in some of the communities in which the MPS had struggled to gain trust.

'This was a permissible conclusion for it to reach.'

Earlier this month, the Met challenged the decision to reinstate Williams at the High Court in London (pictured), arguing it was 'perverse and unreasonable'

'The PAT reached the conclusion that it did because of the unique circumstances of the conviction, the officer's stellar career, the substantial impact she had had on enhancing the reputation of the MPS as a whole and its assessment that her dismissal would reduce confidence in the police in some of the communities in which the MPS had struggled to gain trust,' said Mrs Justice Heather Williams said in her judgement allowing the the sacking of Superintendent Novlett Robyn Williams (pictured) to be overturned

During Williams' trial at the Old Bailey, jurors heard how she received a five-year-old girl being sexually abused via WhatsApp from her older sister, Jennifer Hodge, so that the officer could investigate the footage.

But she failed to report the clip, and while the court accepted she had not viewed the video, the jury was not convinced she was unaware of it being on her phone.

Anne Studd QC, for Scotland Yard, previously argued that the PAT had put 'far too much weight' on Williams' mitigation and had not properly assessed the seriousness of the conviction.

However, Mrs Justice Heather Williams said: 'I do not consider that there is anything in the suggestion that the PAT wrongly took into account personal mitigation when assessing seriousness.'

Scotland Yard also challenged the reinstatement of Detective Constable Asweina Gutty, who was dismissed following her conviction for assaulting her then-partner, before being given a final written warning after an appeal to the PAT.

However, Mrs Justice Heather Williams also rejected this challenge, finding the PAT was 'entitled to conclude' that a final written warning was suitable in the 'unusual circumstances of this case'.
The man's body (pictured) was found on Somerton Beach on December 1, 1948

One of Australia's most baffling and enduring mysteries - the unsolved case of an unclaimed body dubbed 'Somerton Man' who was found with a coded note in his pocket on a beach 74 years ago - may have finally have been unraveled after a professor claimed he used DNA analysis to uncover his true identity.

The fully-clothed body was discovered slumped against a sea wall by two trainee jockeys near the shore of Somerton Park Beach, Adelaide, on December 1, 1948. He had an unlit cigarette resting on his chest.

A post-mortem examination ruled he was poisoned, but was never identified because no family members came forward to claim him.

He was in a perfectly-pressed double-breasted suit and tie; a coded note and a book of Persian poems among his belongings lent themselves to wild theories that he was a Cold War spy or had been murdered by a scorned ex-lover.

Now, more than 70 years later, Adelaide University researcher Derek Abbott says the man was Carl 'Charles' Webb, a 43-year-old electrical engineer and instrument maker from Footscray in Melbourne.

Professor Abbott, who has been working alongside renowned American genealogist Colleen Fitzpatrick, used hair from a plaster mask police made in the 1940s to construct a DNA profile.

After building a family tree of around 4,000 people, Abbott and Fitzpatrick had a breakthrough on Saturday - successfully matching the DNA from the hair to samples from Webb's distant relatives.

'By filling out this tree, we managed to find a first cousin three times removed on his mother's side,' Abbott told CNN. 'It just felt like I climbed and I was at the top of Mount Everest.'

The body of a fully-clothed man (pictured) was discovered by two trainee jockeys near the shore of the Somerton Park Beach, south of Adelaide, on December 1, 1948

The victim, known as the 'Somerton Man', was found on Somerton Park Beach in South Australia on December 1948 with a coded message in his jacket (pictured)

Pictured: The burial of the mysterious Somerton Man on 14 June 1949

Webb was born the youngest of six children in 1905 in Melbourne. No death records or photos exist on file.

Professor Abbott said they also found a link between Webb and the name 'T.Keane' - which was printed on the Somerton Man's tie.

'It turns out that Carl Webb has a brother-in-law called Thomas Keane, who lived just 20 minutes drive away from him in Victoria,' Professor Abbott told ABC News.

'So it's not out of the question that these items of clothing he had with T. Keane on them were just hand me downs from his brother-in-law.'

Professor Abbott said they had also found a potential reason why the Melbournian was in Adelaide.

'We have evidence that he had separated from his wife, and that she had moved to South Australia, so possibly, he had come to track her down,' he said.

In May last year, South Australia police exhumed the Somerton Man's body from its resting place at West Terrace Cemetery.

However, experts from Forensic Science SA encountered difficulties analysing the DNA due to the small amount of 'comparison samples'.

South Australia Police, who are conducting a parallel investigation, are yet to verify Abbott's findings.

South Australia Police have been contacted for comment.

Professor Abbott hopes their work will be confirmed by authorities to enable further research into Webb's life.

The Somerton man's body was first found by passers-by who noticed him slumped against a seawall (pictured, an special effects image of what the Somerton Man may have looked like)

The tantalizing mystery of the Somerton Man

'Somerton Man' was found hunched against the sea wall at the top of the beach wearing a suit and shoes and an unlit cigarette resting on his chest on the morning of December 1, 1948.

The suit he was wearing, which included a double breasted jacket, was perfectly pressed.

All the tags on every piece of clothing had also been removed and his shoes meticulously polished.

The notorious cold case also came to be known in Australia as the 'Tamam Shud case' because of a coded phrase scribbled on a piece of paper hidden in the man's jacket, which wasn't found until months later.

'Tamam Shud' is a Persian phrase which roughly translates to 'finished' or 'ended'.

Other items found on the man included Juicy Fruit chewing gum, an American metal comb, a bus ticket to North Glenelg and Army Club cigarettes and matches.

Forensic Science SA staff, South Australia Police, major crime detectives and staff from the West Terrace cemetery are seen during the exhumation

Pictured: Adelaide Cemetery Authority pall bearers carry the body of the exhumed Somerton Man on May 19, 2021

A month later, on January 14, a suitcase was found by staff at an Adelaide train station believed to belong to the 'Somerton Man'.

Inside they found scissors, shoe polish, a tie, ash tray, spoon and toothbrush, among other things.

Theories about the man's identity are varied, but one of the more popular ones has many believing he could have been a post-war era spy.

This theory was strengthened with the discovery of a second 'coded message' on the man's body, written on the last page of The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam and torn out.

The book was a compilation of Persian poetry translated into English.

Five months after he was found dead the Somerton Man was buried at West Terrace Cemetery - with no-one any wiser as to who he was or why he was in Adelaide.

The life of Carl 'Charles' Webb

Webb was born on November 16, 1905, in the inner-city Melbourne suburb of Footscray.

Abbott said there are few records to shed light on his early life and they have not been able to find any photos of him in public databases or relatives' photo albums.

However, Webb later married Dorothy 'Doff' Robertson, and the last known record on file is a court notice in April 1947 when she went to court to file for divorce because he had disappeared.

After Robertson filed for divorce in Melbourne, documents from 1951 show she had moved to Bute in South Australia, 144km northeast of Adelaide.

Abbott said Webb liked betting on horses and the mysterious code found in the man's book could relate to horse names.

The researcher said Abbot was also fond of poetry, which could explain the Tamam Shud note.

Earlier identity theories

A woman called Jessica Thomson, who lived in Glenelg, 400 metres from where Somerton Man's body was found, was linked to the unidentified man seven months after his death.

Police found her telephone number among her belongings and speculated he was in Adelaide to see her, but Ms Thomson denied knowing him and said she did not know why he had her number.

However, detectives were not convinced by her statement and Ms Thomson's daughter in 2014 said she believed her mother lied to the police.

Professor Abbott previously believed the Somerton Man may have been an American, who fathered an Australian ballet dancer - Robin Thomson - with Ms Thomson.

His research led him to Mr Thomson's daughter, Rachel Egan, who is now his wife.

Professor Abbott previously said Ms Thomson's son, who was 16-months-old at the time, shared remarkable similarities with the Somerton Man, including a rare genetic disorder present in only two per cent of the population.

However, after the DNA analysis ruled out Mr Thomson and now points at Webb, Professor Abbott said he and his wife are relieved to finally 'know the truth'.
Mike Pence's former chief-of-staff Marc Short shrugged off Florida GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz's criticism of his old boss on Monday night, after the Florida congressman mocked Pence at a young Republican conference over the weekend.

Gaetz told a crowd of millennial and Gen Z conservatives on Saturday night that Pence 'will never be president' and said he was a 'nice guy, not a leader' in response to speculation over the former vice president considering a White House bid.

The firebrand Republican also ridiculed pro-choice women by stating they are too unattractive and overweight to get pregnant.

'I don't know if Mike Pence will run for president in 2024, but I don't think Matt Gaetz will have an impact on that,' Short said on CNN.

He took a swipe at Gaetz over his ongoing federal sex trafficking probe involving a 17-year-old girl. The congressman was accused of paying for the teenager to travel across state lines in order to have sex with her.

'I'd be surprised if he was still voting, it's more likely he'll be in prison for child sex trafficking by 2024,' Short said.

'And I'm actually surprised that Florida law enforcement still allows him to speak to teenage conferences like that. So, I'm not too worried about Matt Gaetz.'

Gaetz had laughed off anger at his derogatory comments about women, telling those upset to 'be offended.'

Marc Short shrugged off Matt Gaetz's ridiculing of Pence's potential White House ambitions over the weekend, telling CNN on Monday: 'I'd be surprised if he was still voting, it's more likely he'll be in prison for child sex trafficking by 2024'

The Florida congressman on Saturday joked about the demonstrations against the Supreme Court's repeal of Roe v. Wade, mocking those who wanted to protect access to abortion nationwide.

'Why is it that the women with the least likelihood of getting pregnant are the ones most worried about having abortions?' Gaetz told college students at the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit in Tampa.

'Nobody wants to impregnate you if you look like a thumb.'

On Monday, he was asked to explain his comments.

'I'm very pro-life and I make no apology for it,' the 40-year-old said.

'I'm grateful that Roe has been overturned and that Dobbs is now the jurisprudence on abortion. I find these people that go out in these pro-abortion, pro-murder rallies odious - and just, like, ugly on the inside and out. I make no apology for it.'

He said he didn't think everyone who disagreed with him was 'an ugly person', but condemned those who protested outside the homes of the Supreme Court justices and called for a 'night of rage' in Washington DC.

Gaetz was asked by Channel 3: 'Is it safe to say that, based off your comments, you're suggesting that these women at these abortion rallies are ugly and overweight?'

Matt Gaetz on Monday said he stood by his labelling of pro-choice activists as 'ugly and overweight'

The 40-year-old on Saturday told the Turning Point summit (pictured): 'Why is it that the women with the least likelihood of getting pregnant are the ones most worried about having abortions? Nobody wants to impregnate you if you look like a thumb'

'Yes,' he replied.

Asked: 'What do you say to people who think those comments are offensive?' the congressman replied: 'Be offended.'

Gaetz has denied the sex-trafficking allegations against him, and no charges have been filed against him. The New York Times first reported the existence of the federal investigation into Gaetz in March 2021.

'These people are odious on the inside and out,' Gaetz said at the summit. 'They're like 5'2", 350 pounds and they're like, "Give me my abortions or I'll get up and march and protest." And I'm thinking, "March?" You look like you got ankles weaker than the legal reasoning behind Roe v. Wade.

'A few of them need to get up and march. They need to get up and march for like an hour a day, swing those arms, get the blood pumping, maybe mix in a salad.'

It's not the first time he has ridiculed those campaigning to uphold Roe v. Wade.

In May, when the draft Supreme Court decision leaked, Gaetz made his disdain for their activism clear.

'How many of the women rallying against overturning Roe are over-educated, under-loved millennials who sadly return from their protests to a lonely microwave dinner with their cats, and no bumble matches?' Gaetz tweeted.

Members of the Democratic Women's Caucus and leaders from CPD Action affiliate organizations march on July 19 to demand abortion access

Activists and politicians protest in Washington DC on July 19

The decision to repeal Roe v. Wade has sparked angry protests nationwide
Anthony Fauci said Tuesday that he 'doubts' Joe Biden has tested positive for COVID-19 yet after the president said he hopes to be back working in person by the end of the week.

'He's feeling really, very well,' Dr. Fauci told CNN's New Day on Tuesday morning when asked about the president's condition. 'In fact each day he improved more and more, to the point now where he really does feel quite well.'

Fauci said that White House Physician Kevin O'Connor told him Monday evening that Biden has now completed five days of his PAXLOVID treatment.

During an event on Monday, where Biden joined virtually, he told reporters that he plans to be able to work in-person by the end of the week after initial diagnosis of coronavirus on Thursday.

'I hope I am back in person by the end of this week,' Biden said. 'But, as you know, I have been keeping a full schedule.'

Dr. Anthony Fauci (right) told CNN Tuesday morning that he 'doubts' President Joe Biden has tested negative for COVID-19 yet after his Thursday diagnosis

'I've done four major events today and I didn't start today until 9:30. But I'll finish today about 6:30,' he continued. 'I'm not keeping the same hours, but I'm meeting all the requirements that came before me.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in December shortened the guidelines for the recommended isolation period, saying individuals only need to isolate for five days following initial diagnosis.

The next time Americans see Biden in public, he may be masked up in accordance with CDC guidance.

'People with COVID-19 should isolate for 5 days and if they are asymptomatic or their symptoms are resolving (without fever for 24 hours), follow that by 5 days of wearing a mask when around others to minimize the risk of infecting people they encounter,' the guidance released in late December 2021 notes.

When Fauci was asked Tuesday whether Biden has yet tested negative for COVID-19, he said: 'I doubt it, to be honest with you.'

'It would be unusual to test negative so quickly,' the top National Institutes of Health (NIH) immunologist added.

President Biden said during a Monday event that he hopes to be back working in person by the end of the week

Biden told reporters Monday he was 'feeling great' as he continues to isolate at the White House after testing positive for COVID-19, claiming that his dog Commander has taken on wake-up duty with first lady Jill Biden away.

'I'm feeling great,' Biden said when asked how he was feeling at the end of an event on boosting the semiconductor industry, saying his voice was still 'raspy.'

'You know I've had two nights of sleep all the way through,' he continued.

'Matter of fact, my dog had to wake me up this morning. My wife's not here. She usually takes him out in the morning while I'm upstairs working out and so I felt this nozzle of my dog's nose against my chest about five minutes or seven,' Biden said. First lady Jill Biden flew to the family home in Wilmington after Biden's positive test came in last week.

'I'm feeling good. My voice is still raspy,' he added.

All 17 of the people considered close contacts to Biden have not tested positive for COVID-19  including Jill and Vice President Kamala Harris.
A Florida rapper was gunned down outside his Tampa apartment just five minutes after he shared a post on Instagram daring his critics to confront him.

Rollie Bands was shot in the parking lot of the IQ Apartments on Bruce B Downs Boulevard in Tampa on Friday afternoon. He was rushed to the hospital, but later died from his injuries.

The shooting happened around 3:30 p.m. - just minutes after Bands reportedly posted on social media with a challenge for his rivals to come confront him.

'A lot of these n****s know where I live at fr,' the rapper posted to his Instagram story, according to HipHopDX. 'I sleep in peace. If a n***a want smoke I'm at my crib in 5 mins.'

After taunting his rivals, the rapper then provided his location. Five minutes later, he was gunned down in the exact location he said he would be.

Tampa rapper Rollie Bands was shot and killed only a few minutes after taunting his critics on social media, daring them to come confront them - and then provided his exact location

Bands posted to his Instagram story minutes before his death, according to screenshots

Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office deputies said that they received a report of a man being shot in the apartment complex's parking lot.

When they arrived, Bands was on the ground with a gunshot wound. The suspects, who fled the scene in an unknown direction, remain at large.

Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office deputies said it's believed the suspects knew and targeted Rollie Bands. Deputies have not said how many suspects were involved.

'At this time, the shooting does not appear random, as the suspects and victim are possibly known to each other,' the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said in the report.

The shooting happened in the parking lot of the IQ Apartments on Bruce B Downs Boulevard in Tampa at 3:30 p.m. on Friday afternoon

Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office deputies said that they received a report of a man being shot in the apartment complex's parking lot

Bands, who was born and raised in Tampa, is well known for his songs 'Struggle,' 'Reminiscin,' and 'Close Ties.'

Bands appears to have been survived by a young daughter, sharing a photo of the child to his Instagram profile with the caption: 'The only person I live for.'

Both supporters and rivals of the rapper have flooded his social media accounts with comments about his death.

'Rest in paradise to Rollie Bands,' one person wrote. 'So sad and senseless. He should still be alive.'

Bands is pictured here in his last Instagram post that was shared last month. He was born and raised in Tampa, Florida, is well known for his songs 'Struggle,' 'Reminiscin,' and 'Close Ties'

A fan of the rapper posted a comment on his Instagram page with condolences to his family

Others commented on his last Instagram post, telling the rapper that he asked for it

'Ever since I met u, u was always polite and respectful I'm happy my kids got to share memories with u my condolences to your family and to your daughter,' one user posted. 'Not everyone is your friend not everybody is your partner ...fly high baby boy till we meet again son.'

Another wrote: 'RIP to a beautiful soul.'

But some users mocked the rapper and criticized his actions that are believed to have resulted in his death.

Bands flashes cash in one of his recent music videos. The Tampa rapper is known for his songs 'Struggle,' 'Reminiscin,' and 'Close Ties'

In February 2021, Bands posted a photo of himself to Instagram holding a stack of cash with the caption 'ITS TIME.' People have commented on the post since his death with responses including sad faces and comments like 'Time to die?'

'A real role model to kids on how not to throw your life away because you are trying to appear cool on social media,' one user wrote.

Others wrote in his last Instagram post, telling the rapper that he asked for it.

'Bro wanted to die , stop acting gangster if you cant handle the pipe,' one user wrote.

'Play stupid games get stupid prizes,' another posted.

Social media has led to numerous murders over the years, including the killing of Pop Smoke after he accidentally revealed his address online.

Pop Smoke was shot at a Hollywood Hills home at about in February 2020 after he accidentally shared the address of his Airbnb on social media hours earlier

The home invaders were able to see the address of the rapper's Airbnb on a gift bag label and saw that he had stack of cash with him in one photo

The rapper, whose real name is Bashar Barakah Jackson, 20, was killed by intruders in a home invasion at a Hollywood Hills house in February 2020.

Hours before the shooting, Pop Smoke had shared a video on social media which revealed the exact address of the home.

Authorities are still investigating the Rollie Bands shooting and have continued to search for the suspects.

Anyone with information about the Rollie Bands shooting or anything that could lead to the suspects is asked to contact the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office at (813) 247-8200 or make an anonymous tip by calling Crime Stoppers of Tampa Bay at 1-800-873-8477.
The wife of a U.S. Navy Lieutenant and Mormon missionary sentenced to three years in Japanese jail for a crash that killed two while he was having a medical episode has called on the White House to help bring him home.

Lt. Ridge Alkonis, 34, reported to prison on Monday to serve three years for negligent driving that caused the deaths of two people in Fujinomiya, Japan, in May 2021.

His family and wife, Brittany, however, said the father of three had fallen unconscious at the wheel due to altitude sickness and had been unfairly tried due to his status as an American military officer, Fox News reported.

She's now calling on President Joe Biden to join U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel's efforts to get her husband home to America after their appeal was shut down.

'I feel like we kind of hit the ceiling here,' Brittany told Fox & Friends on Tuesday morning. 'Other than Rahm Emanuel who we had a conversation with and I'm hopeful he can help, but we need the White House as well.'

Brittany Alkonis, wife of U.S. Navy Lt. Ridge Alkonis, has called on the White House to help bring her husband home after he was sentenced to three years in prison in Japan

The father of three went hiking in Mt. Fuji with his family on May 29, 2021, when they said he suddenly passed out behind the wheel from altitude sickness, killing two people

Alkonis' family claims his human rights were violated and that he had been tried unfairly due to a 'history of resentment' against the U.S. Military presence in Japan

The fatal crash killed an 85-year-old woman and her 54-year-old son in law, and injured the woman's daughter, 53. The Alkonises committed to paying a record $1.65 million apology settlement to the family of the victims, a custom in Japan to show genuine regret and sorrow

HEADACHE, DIZZINESS AND FATIGUE ARE COMMON SYMPTOMS OF ALTITUDE SICKNESS Altitude sickness occurs when someone experiences a change in altitudes that affects oxygen intake. Mild symptoms include a headache, dizziness and fatigue. More severe symptoms include shortness of breath, extreme weakness, vomiting and congestion, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Symptoms usually begin 12 to 24 hours after the change in altitude, with the more severe symptoms kicking in after a gradual decline in physical condition. In extreme conditions High-altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE) or High-altitude cerebral edema (HACE) can kick in. HAPE causes excess fluid in the lungs, while HACE invokes excess fluid in the brain due to the change in elevation. HAPE can cause extreme fatigue and weakness, along with the feeling of suffocation. HACE can cause loss of coordination, disorientation, memory loss and psychotic behavior. HACE is the most common form of extreme altitude sickness and usually comes slowly. If the symptoms are ignored, they can progress to causing unconsciousness and even death. Advertisement

Recalling the tragic events of May 29, 2021, Brittany told Fox & Friends that she, Alkonis, and their three kids were returning from a hiking trip in Mt. Fuji when the accident happened.

She said Alkonis was in mid-sentence with his oldest daughter when he suddenly lost consciousness and the car slammed against three pedestrians and five cars at a restaurant parking lot, killing an 85-year-old woman and her 54-year-old son in law, and injuring her daughter, 53.

Alkonis testified that he was struck by a case of altitude sickness, a finding supported by a neurologist's diagnosis, but a Japanese judge said it was unlikely that the lieutenant could go from not feeling drowsy at all to suddenly being incapacitated.

Brittany condemned the judge's ruling, saying, 'She has no medical experience to make that opinion.

'And in the appeal we did actually file the medical diagnosis,' she added. 'The prosecutor asked for it to be thrown out due to the fact that he did not feel it was relevant so the judge threw it out.'

According to the Cleveland Clinic, altitude sickness occurs when someone experiences a change in elevation, and it typically involves feelings of dizziness, fatigue, shortness of breath and extreme weakness. Losing consciousness is not among the common symptoms.

Brittany also claims Japan violated Alkonis' human rights, forcing him to go through 26 days of confinement  three more days than what is normally allowed under Japanese law, as well as eight-hour interrogations.

Japanese officials, however, said Alkonis was held within the allowed 23 days and then formally charged.

Brittany, together with Alkonis' parents, Suzi and Derek, also claims that the lieutenant faced an unfair trial because of a 'history of resentment' against the U.S. Military presence in Japan.

A 2014 AP investigation found the U.S. service members judged guilty of sex crimes in Japan did not go to prison, but were instead dealt with demotions, fines or discharged from the military.

Alkonis' family believes he was caught in the middle of politics, which is why Japan did not follow the usual Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA).

Under SOFA, Japanese authorities are required to release offenders to U.S. custody unless they can prove 'adequate cause and necessity' to detain the alleged criminal.

The navy official's family claims a judge unjustly threw out a 2021 diagnosis that Alkonis fell unconscious due to altitude sickness. A Japanese judge said it was unlikely that the lieutenant could go from not feeling drowsy at all to suddenly being incapacitated

The crash occurred at a restaurant parking lot where Alkonis struck three people and five cars

Pictured: one of the car's wrecked in the May 2021 car crash in Fujinomiya, Japan

Alkonis, pictured playing board games with his family, reported to prison on Monday

The Alkonises said it was not right for Japanese officials to punish their family over the accident.

Suzi and Derek told Fox that their son had committed to paying a record $1.65 million apology settlement to the family of the victims, a custom in Japan to show genuine regret and sorrow.

They, too, have called on President Joe Biden to directly intervene and free their son from prison.

'The White House needs to come forward and say 'You're our ally, but you made a mistake here,'' Suzi said. 'He needs to come home right now so this never happens again.'

Along with Ambassador Emanuel, the push to get Alkonis home has seen bipartisan support, with U.S. Senator Mike Lee, a Republican, and U.S. Rep. Mike Levin, a Democrat, calling for the navy official's release.

'I will not be giving up on Lt. Alkonis and the Department of Defense must not either,' Levin said in a statement asking for the Biden Administration's aid.

Lee, who has repeatedly called on Biden's direct help, said that Alkonis' case may set a dangerous precedent for American military personnel in Japan.

'It's not just about Ridge Alkonis and his family,' the senator told Fox. 'It's about the security and confidence needed by every service family in the American armed forces deployed whether in Japan or anywhere else  they need to know that we've got their backs.'

U.S. officials fear Alkonis' case may set a dangerous precedent for American military personnel in Japan. Pictured: Alkonis in his uniform with his wife and one of his children

This is not the first case involving a U.S. official caught in a car crash while overseas.

In 2019, a British teenager, Harry Dunn, 19, was killed in a car crash outside an American spy base in the UK by a American diplomat's wife, Anne Sacoolas, who claimed diplomatic immunity and left the country.

It was reported in initial findings by police that Harry had been driving on the correct side of the road when a woman in a car pulled off of the airbase and onto the wrong side of the roadway.

In 2020, an extradition request submitted by the Home Office to bring Sacoolas to the UK was rejected by the US State Department.

The car hit Dunn head-on and he died soon after in hospital after suffering multiple injuries.

Dunn's parents filed a lawsuit against Sacoolas in 2020, with the two parties agreeing to a settlement last year.

The teenager's family's spokesman Radd Seiger said an agreement had been 'reached successfully between the parties and they can put this part of the campaign behind them'.

Harry's parents, Charlotte Charles and Tim Dunn, turned their focus to any future criminal case - which remains ongoing.
Former Vice President Mike Pence took the gentlest of swipes at Donald Trump and his 2020 obsession on Tuesday, saying politics had to be about building for the future rather than looking back.

It came at the end of a speech in which he set out his 'freedom agenda' and roadmap for American conservatism.

He celebrated the Supreme Court's decision to dump Roe v Wade on 'the ash heap of history.'

'We must not tire until we've restored the sanctity of life at the centre of American law in every state in the nation,' he said.

'We save the babies, we'll save America.'

But, on the day after one of Pence's top advisers confirmed he had appeared before a January 6 grand jury, all eyes were on whether the former vice president would refer to his former boss.

Tuesday offers a split screen for Republicans, with Trump returning to Washington D.C. for the first time since leaving office to deliver a speech at the America First Policy Institute later in the day as he continues to fan speculation about a 2024 campaign.

First Pence had the chance to lay out a framework for his own potential run before being asked by an audience member about divisions with Trump.

Former Vice President Mike Pence went first with a speech in Washington D.C. in which he urged conservatives to look to the next election - not the last one - in a swipe at his former boss. Donald Trump is due to speak later in the day in his first D.C. speech since leaving office

Pence laid out his 'freedom agenda' as a roadmap for conservatives. He is widely expected to announce a run for president early in the new year

Pence said he was proud of the achievements of the Trump-Pence administrations, including appointing conservative judges and securing the southern border.

'I don't know that the president and I differ on issues,' he said carefully in front of an audience at the Young America's Foundation event.

'But we may differ on focus.

'I truly do believe that elections are about the future. And that it is absolutely essential at a time when so many Americans are hurting, so many families are struggling, that we don't give way to the temptation to look back.

'But I think the time has come for us to offer a bold, positive agenda to bring America back.'

In contrast, Trump continues to use his public appearances to relitigate his 2020 election defeat and complain that the vote was rigged.

The events of January 6 - when a horde of Trump supporters ransacked the U.S. Capitol - have become a wedge between former president and his deputy.

Trump repeatedly accused Pence of lacking the courage to overturn the election result, and some of the president's supporters chanted that they wanted to hang the vice president.

The result is the two leaders of the last administration shaping up as 2024 contenders.

Pence is expected to publish a memoir of his time in office in the new year. And also announced on Tuesday another memoir coming later this year.

'Excited to announce that So Help Me God will be available on November 15,' he wrote on Twitter. 'It is my story of faith and public service for the country I love so much!'

Pence had been due to appear a day earlier at the Heritage Foundation. However, his appearance at the conservative thinktank had to be postponed when his plane could not land because of bad weather.

His speech had been billed as a major roadmap for conservatives to connect with voters.

Instead, he delivered his remarks in front of a younger audience on Tuesday.

'There is a cure for what ails America. And that is leadership committed to American freedom,' he said.

'Now more than ever, we need to lead America with a freedom agenda focused on the future.'

He linked his policy recommendations to an agenda based on liberty, giving power to individuals rather than institutions.

'I know Congress can't solve every problem facing our country and it shouldn't try,' he said.

'A careful study of Congress shows that throughout our history, Congress has done two things well: Nothing and overreact.

'And so our freedom agenda is about equipping Americans just like you to be able to make the case for freedom, with your neighbours and friends and families and co workers.'

He was able to wrap in the nation's culture wars to the framework.

'If we allow the radical left to continue dumping toxic waste into the headwaters of our culture.

'Politics will get more poisonous than ever.

'You know the American people are proud of our culture.

'They believe it's worth protecting for future generations. As Americans, we believe in those timeless ideals of life and liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.'

A day earlier, key Pence aide Marc Short confirmed that he had appeared before a January 6 grand jury but said he could not discuss any details of his testimony

That began with the sanctity of life, he continued.

'Our freedom agenda calls for advancing pro-life protections in every state in the union. Every single one.

'Call for expanding support for women in crisis pregnancies to support the unborn and support the newborn with equal American generosity.

'We call for reforming adoption laws so more forever families can be formed, because you can't be pro-life if you're not pro-adoption.

'Finally we call for ending all taxpayer funding of abortion and defunding Planned Parenthood, once and for all.

A day earlier, Marc Short, who was chief of staff to Pence when he was vice president, confirmed he had testified before a federal grand jury investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 violence.

'I did receive a subpoena for the federal grand jury and I complied with that subpoena,' Short told CNN.

But he said he could not discuss any details of his testimony.
Advertisement

Christina 'Chrissy' Powell, 39, was found in her car on Monday, three weeks after she went missing

The mystery surrounding the disappearance and death of Texas mother Christina 'Chrissy' Powell has deepened with the discovery of her body, which was found decomposing in the passenger seat of her car in a strip mall parking lot where it had gone unnoticed for a week.

Powell, a 39-year-old paralegal and mother-of-two, vanished from her home on July 5.

Eerie Ring camera footage showed her rushing out of her home with her purse slung under one shoulder.

She didn't take her phone with her and she also left her home without her medication.

For three weeks, her family and friends desperately searched for answers . Yesterday, San Antonio Police Department announced that she had been found dead.

Her body was discovered in the passenger seat of her car, parked outside the Salt Grass Steakhouse, in the Huebner Oaks shopping plaza.

A security guard said he decided to approach the car because it had been sitting there for a week. As he got closer, he senses a 'foul odor' coming from inside.

'It could have been carbon monoxide, heat exposure or medication... we don't know San Antonio Police source

Now, Chrissy's grieving family and friends remain at a loss over where she was for the first two weeks she was missing, why the car was noticed a week ago and not reported, and, crucially, how she died.

'It's hard for me to understand. The fact this car might have been there for three weeks and wasn't reported?

'Was [the car] there this whole time? If it wasn't, where was it?

Chrissy's Nissan is shown in the spot where it had been parked for a week before she was found inside on Monday

Chrissy's vehicle was found in the parking lot of the Huebner Oaks strip mall in San Antonio, Texas. Somehow, the car went undetected for a week, despite sitting between a steakhouse, a Chipotle and an REI store. Eventually, someone approached it yesterday and found her inside

Chrissy vanished from her home on July 5, leaving home in a hurry with her white purse. She was filmed on Ring camera footage leaving the property. Her a car was first four miles away on July 18 but she was not noticed in the vehicle until July 25. She was due to show up to work but failed to

Powell, who was driving a black 2020 Nissan Rouge that is also missing, left her iPhone and Apple Watch at home because she was rushing to get to work

Chris Cady is the father of Chrissy's three-year-old son. He lives with the child. Police have not named any suspects and they say there is no sign of foul play. They cleared her other ex as a suspect early in the investigation

Powell's heartbroken mother, Claudia Mobley, wrote on Facebook on July 25 that her daughter had been found dead. Mobley had used social media to plead for information about her whereabouts after she vanished

'Not knowing is one thing, but trying to put all the pieces together is even more frustrating,' Chrissy's best friend, Lauren Leal, told local outlet KEN5 yesterday.

Powell has a 12-year-old son from a previous relationship and a three-year-old with Cady. She and her 12-year-old were living with her mother

The fact that Chrissy was found in the passenger seat and not the driver seat remains a mystery too.

The San Antonio Police Department does not seem to have any more answers than the family.

Police sources on Tuesday told DailyMail.com they do not know how Chrissy died, but that they believe her death was self-inflicted based on the fact her body showed no sign of trauma.

'It could be any number of things - carbon monoxide, heat exhaustion, medication... we don't know until we get the medical examiner report's back,' a person with knowledge of the investigation said.

The Bexar County Medical Examiner has completed its autopsy, but a manner and cause of death has not yet been given.

As a result, the autopsy report has not yet been made public.

A spokesman from that office told DailyMail.com on Tuesday that it may be six months before they release the report, which could delay the police investigation dramatically.

To date, there has been no suggestion from the police of foul play.

Early in her disappearance, police ruled out Chrissy's ex.

Chrissy's sister, in announcing her death on Facebook yesterday, signaled that she had been having mental health problems.

'Hold on to and hug your loved ones extra tight. Check on those friends who are going through hard times,' her sister, Jennifer, said.

Chrissy's mother, Claudia, had been appealing for any information that could lead to her whereabouts on social media. On Monday, she posted that she was 'heartbroken' by the discovery of her daughter's body.
A Devon and Cornwall Police officer has appeared in court accused of attempted rape and a string of other offences against three women over a 15-year period.

PC Matthew Tregale, 33, of Kingsteignton, Newton Abbot, denied all charges against him at Plymouth Magistrates' Court on Tuesday.

It is alleged that the suspended officer used police restraint techniques against his alleged victims, including handcuffs, according to prosecutor Philip Sewell.

He held a knife against one of the women's cheeks, it is claimed, and allegedly threatened to make allegations about another to her employer so that she would lose her job.

Tregale was charged with four counts of sexual assault by penetration and one count of attempted rape against one woman between 2005 and 2010 - as well as two counts of false imprisonment and one of harassment with the threat of violence.

Tregale was also charged with controlling and coercive behaviour of a second woman between December 2015 and July 2020, and against a third between April 2021 and August 2021.

PC Matthew Tregale (pictured), 33, of Kingsteignton, Newton Abbot, denied all charges against him at Plymouth Magistrates' Court on Tuesday

It is alleged that that the suspended officer (pictured in court) used police restraint techniques against his alleged victims, including handcuffs, according to prosecutor Philip Sewell.

He denied all charges and will appear at Exeter Crown Court in August.

A court artist's sketch from Tuesday's appearance shows Tregale wearing a navy blue polo t-shirt while crossing his arms as he appeared in the dock to hear the charges against him.

The court heard that Tregale has never been arrested, and was instead charged via postal requisition - which is when you are summonsed to a Magistrate's Court to face charges.

He was first interviewed in May 2020, the court heard, and was placed on restricted duties but was not suspended from Devon and Cornwall Police until he was charged.

Deputy Chief Magistrate Tan Ikram, who heard the case from Westminster Magistrates' Court in London via video link, remarked he was 'surprised' the case had been dealt with via postal requisition given the nature of the alleged offences.

Devon and Cornwall Police said in a statement on July 22 that Tregale has now been suspended from duty.

'The charges relate to incidents which occurred whilst the officer was off duty between 2006 and 2021,' the force said.
A mother ploughed her 4x4 car into a group of children outside a primary school after pressing the accelerator instead of the brake, a court heard.

Dolly Rincon-Aguilar, 39, drove the Toyota Rav4 onto the pavement and uprooted a tree before mowing down a crowd of pupils and parents outside Beatrix Potter Primary School in Earlsfield, South London.

Eyewitnesses said the 39-year-old's face was 'blank and frozen' after the car surged forward, sending a seven year-old boy flying into the air and trapping others as young as six underneath.

Parents were collecting their children from school near the start of term in September 2020 when the eight victims were sent sprawling 'like skittles'.

A witness told Kingston Crown Court they heard a 'terror scream' at the moment the car smashed into the crowd.

Police said the incident seemed consistent with the accelerator being accidentally pressed by the driver.

Ms Rincon-Aguilar denies eight counts of dangerous driving.

Eyewitnesses said Dolly Rincon-Aguilar, 39, (pictured) was 'blank and frozen' after the incident. She denies eight counts of dangerous driving

Emergency services raced to the scene where 11 people were injured - nine were taken to hospital

One parent described the moment of horror when they turned to see the one-tonne car hurtling towards them.

She said: 'There was a very loud metal grinding sound and I immediately felt a sense of danger.

I saw a car coming straight towards us. There was a sense of mayhem and panic.

She added: Dollys face looked blank and frozen. I wondered where her children were and saw her youngest son in the passenger seat.

Another parent said: I could see a child had blood coming from his nose. He had an obvious and significant injury on his leg.

I didnt really recall what happened next, but it seemed eerily quiet.

The incident happened outside Beatrix Potter Primary School in Earsfield, South London

One victim of the crash described the moment they thought they were going to die, saying: I felt for a moment that this is it. I fell on the floor and a weight was on top of me.

I remember thinking; where are the children? I was lying on the pavement for about an hour before being moved to a wheelchair.

I didnt feel pain until I got up and felt extreme pain.

Others described seeing children injured and bloody on the scene - 11 people, seven of them children, were injured.

Paramedics and an air ambulance rushed to the scene where the injured children were treated. Four children and five adults were taken to hospital - two victims had fractures to the face and skull, with one requiring emergency treatment to remove a blood clot.

Some of the children were left with 'serious' fractures to the leg, arm and eye socket.

Jurors were shown body camera footage of Rincon-Aguilar being interviewed by police at the school.

Speaking from the school she said: I was just collecting my kids in the car.

I was just in the corner. I put my foot in the gas and I tried to stop and suddenly the car just went really fast.

Holding back tears Rincon-Aguilar said: I felt panic. I tried to stop and turn...I think I just panic. I heard screaming and I tried to put the handbrake on.

Forensic collision investigator PC Sean Wakeman said the incident was consistent with the accelerator accidentally being applied. He added Ms Rincon-Aguilar, saying: 'this can only be due to panic or driver inexperience.'

Ms Rincon-Aguilar, of Loxley Road, Wandsworth, pleaded not guilty to eight charges of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

She accepts the incident occurred and that people were injured, but does not accept that her driving was dangerous.

In her police interview the day after the incident Rincon-Aguilar said: 'I went to collect my kids...I park and I put them in the back. Then I did press the gas.

'I just remember I was completely numb. I was completely scared. The people that saw when I hit the tree, their faces...I just went numb.

'I was sitting there. I was just in panic. I can't explain what happened because everything just went too fast.

'I checked that there were no cars coming or children.

'The car just flew.'

Rincon-Aguilar, originally from Columbia, got her full UK driving license the year before the incident after passing on her second attempt.

The trial continues.
A grieving Iranian mother now faces 100 lashes after she was convicted for protesting against the death of her son who was shot in the heart by security forces during a demonstration over the rising price of fuel in 2019.

Mahboubeh Ramezani, the mother of 18-year-old Pejman Gholipour who was killed during deadly protests, was arrested on July 11 and is currently being held in the infamous Evin prison in Tehran.

Her surviving son, Peyman Gholipour, said the Iranian authorities have 'constantly intimidated' Ramezani because she has never stopped calling for justice and accountability for Pejman's death.

Ramezani was sentenced to 100 lashes by the Iranian regime a few months ago in absentia - but she will now serve that sentence following her arrest.

Mahboubeh Ramezani, the mother of 18-year-old Pejman Gholipour who was killed during deadly protests, was arrested on July 11 and is currently being held in the infamous Evin prison in Tehran. Pictured: Ramezani holding a picture of her dead son Pejman

Mahboubeh Ramezani holding a picture of her son who was killed by security forces

Her son Peyman wrote on Instagram: 'My mother was under pressure for a long time. They constantly intimidated her, and she had been summoned several times.

'They condemned her to 100 lashes a few months ago, but that did not scare my mother.

'What do we have to lose after Pejman? What is left after November 2019? They were looking for an excuse to silence my mother.'

He added: 'My mother's only crime is that she seeks justice. This is the most important reason they fear her. They fear her because she has not even put down Pejman's picture for a moment.'

At least 304 people were killed during the week-long protests over the sharply spiking price of gasoline in Iran in November 2019, according to Amnesty International.

Ramezani's son Pejman was one of the protesters who died during the protests after he was shot in the heart by security forces in Andisheh, Tehran province, on 18 November 2019.

Ramezani was arrested by security forces on 18 November 2021 and temporarily detained after she held a commemoration event to mark the second anniversary of Pejman's death.

On the day of the memorial, security forces descended on the village of Malat, where Pejman is buried, closed the roads in and out of the area and arrested a number of relatives and mourners and confiscated their phones.

The Iranian regime has acknowledged that its security forces shot and killed protesters during the demonstrations in 2019.

At least 304 people were killed during the week-long protests over the sharply spiking price of gasoline in Iran in November 2019, according to Amnesty International. Pictured: Protesters demonstrate against a gasoline price hike in Tehran, Iran, on November 16, 2019

A December 2019 report by Iranian state television sought to portray those killed as 'rioters' or foreign-backed insurgents who threatened military posts, oil tanks and the public. It acknowledged that the violence also killed passers-by, security forces and peaceful protesters without assigning blame.

However, online videos of demonstrations purport to show security forces firing machine guns and rifles at crowds.

Iran has been accused of failing to hold the perpetrators to account for the violent crackdown against the widespread protests.

'Iranian authorities have avoided any measure of accountability and continue to harass the families of those killed during the protest,' said Tata Sepehri Far, Iran Researcher at Human Rights Watch in 2020.

'Families of hundreds of victims, most of them from the more vulnerable segments of Iranian society, deserve to see those responsible for the serious rights violations held accountable.'

The death toll of at least 304 has made the 2019 protests the bloodiest unrest in Iran since the time of the Islamic Revolution. The 2009 Green Movement protests that followed a disputed presidential election drew millions to the streets but saw far less killing.

The demonstrations began on November 15 after the government raised minimum gasoline prices by 50 per cent.
Rep. Mike Waltz of Florida told DailyMail.com that China-backed companies' land purchases and tech expansion in the US pose economic concerns as well as military fears

Republican Rep. Mike Waltz vowed the House GOP would launch an investigation into the flow of Chinese-backed companies' cash in the United States, if his party retakes the Congressional majority in November.

Speaking to DailyMail.com on Tuesday, Waltz warned that the steady encroachment not only posed a military threat but could also have negative repercussions on the US economy.

The Florida congressman also fears the investments are already being used as leverage to expand Beijing's influence throughout the world.

Recent reports have highlighted Chinese companies' increasing hold over key sectors of the American economy with purchases of US farmland and the expansion of technology in rural areas.

The FBI raised alarm bells over Beijing-influence telecom giant Huawei controlling cellphone towers in the rural Midwest near military bases. The bureau warned, according to CNN, that the technology is capable of disrupting Department of Defense communications.

Meanwhile lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are concerned about China's Fufeng Group purchasing land in North Dakota for $2.6 million, just 20 minutes away from a key military base where some of the nation's most sensitive drone technology is kept.

Waltz, a retired Green Beret, said former colleagues in the military have also expressed concern.

The military threat the purchases pose is apparent 'in and of itself,' Waltz said, but added that another worry should be the effect Beijing's purchases of agricultural land would have on the US's own supply chains.

'There's the land near the base, but I think the more significant concern was that they are investing heavily into America's food supply,' he told DailyMail.com.

Two Fufeng Group employees visit Grand Fork, N.D., in a site visit before the company's purchase of 300 acres of farmland

'China 2025 has two goals. One is to dominate all of these sectors, but then to is to create dependency, global dependency - including United States - on China for these sectors, and then you know, where the hammer really falls is then they can use that dependency as leverage geopolitically.'

'What we're missing from the Biden administration,' he added, 'is a national strategy to bring our supply chains back home, to reduce our dependencies on our greatest adversary.'

Asked if China's increasing economic stake in the US could have an averse affect on the nation's financial health, Waltz said 'it could.'

'Right now they could turn off the nation's antibiotics, if they wanted to. We no longer make penicillin in this country,' he said.

'The left wants to drive us toward a new green economy, fine, who makes 90 percent of solar panels, 70 percent of wind turbines, that controls the global lithium supply?'

The US had relied on China for penicillin since 2004 when it shut down all production of the drug. A plant in Tennessee began manufacturing it again as of 2021.

The congressman, a member of House Republicans' China Task Force, accused Beijing's officials of dodging accountability with accusations of 'xenophobia and racism.'

A Chinese technician wears a protective mask as he installs a new Huawei 5G station on a tower in a business district on April 23, 2020 in Beijing, China. The FBI reportedly rang alarm bells over Huawei cell towers in the rural Midwest, some near US military bases

'They actually abuse that through their social media manipulation into our system whenever we try to take strong measures to stop their influence,' he said.

'It's going to take a concerted effort. Even if the president isn't going to lead on it, I'm certain - I'm very confident Republicans will in Congress.'

He confirmed that lawmakers would 'absolutely' hold hearings on the matter.

'I think you're going to see that from the China Task Force when the Republicans take the majority,' he said.

Waltz also called on House Democrats to join the effort.

'We need Democratic leadership to embrace this whole of government effort, but I think they are cow towing to the to the progressive left,' he said.

However, the Republican did offer rare praise for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi over her reported trip to Taiwan - which has been opposed behind-the-scenes by the Biden administration, according to Bloomberg.

'We cannot let the [Chinese Communist Party] dictate who our elected officials go visit amongst our allies,' Waltz said.

'To watch the Biden administration appease the Chinese Communist Party, and then to have the military state their concerns, is exactly the wrong answer.'
European Union countries have come together to agree a controversial 'voluntary' cut to its overall gas consumption by 15 per cent in the face of a Russian supply squeeze.

But loopholes in the agreement will ease the pain for many countries and industries, including Germany, after some EU governments resisted the original proposal to impose binding cuts on every country.

Europe faces an increased gas squeeze from Wednesday, when Russia's Gazprom has said it would cut flows through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Germany from 40 per cent to just a fifth of capacity.

Even at the height of a summer heatwave, European countries are quietly preparing for a very difficult winter to come, as they struggle to fill gas storage with Vladimir Putin gradually putting his thumb on the valve to Europe.

Before the war, Russia provided 40 per cent of the EU's gas, but now it is thought that Putin is weaponizing this lever to pressure EU countries to drop their support for Ukraine.

Germany is, by a long way, the largest importer of Russian gas in the EU - buying some 52billion cubic metres of gas in 2020 according to figures from the bloc. The gas supply is being slowly throttled by Russia - ostensibly due to repair work, though few doubt it is actually designed to punish Berlin for opposing the war in Ukraine

Despite importing so much gas, it makes up a smaller portion of energy used in Germany than other European countries (pictured) - but runs critical manufacturing industries

German Minister for Economy and Climate Robert Habeck (right) in deep conversation with Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge of Spain Teresa Ribera (left) over EU plans to cut gas consumption by 15 per cent

Under this pressure, energy ministers approved the European Commission proposal for all EU countries to voluntarily cut gas use by 15 per cent from August to March as a dozen members already face reduced gas supplies from Russia.

Ministers tried to spin the agreement as proof to Putin that Europe was remaining united in the face of Russian energy blackmail, with German Economy Minister Robert Habeck saying: 'You will not split us.'

However, Hungary voted against the EU proposal, calling the plan 'unenforceable'.

'We were the only ones to signal that we are voting no, that is Hungary is voting no to this decree, given that this decree completely ignores the interests of Hungarian people,' Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said in Brussels.

'This is an unjustifiable, useless, unenforceable and harmful proposal,' he told reporters after EU energy ministers approved the proposal.

Greece, Portugal, Spain, Cyprus and Malta are also thought to be against the obligatory gas consumption cuts, which is mostly designed to save the German economy from a deep recession.

Panic is already setting in in Germany at the prospect of a Russia gas cut off, with Habeck saying he is taking shorter showers and regional leaders dimming street lights and closing swimming pools.

The 15 per cent 'voluntary cut', which is effectively a bailout measure for the Germany economy, comes a decade after the euro crisis, in which countries such as Portugal, Italy and Greece faced lectures from Germany on fiscal responsibility.

But Portugal and Greece, are far less reliant on Russian gas to power their economies - unlike Germany, which got over half of its gas from Russia before the invasion of Ukraine.

They argue that any cuts they make will be to rescue their formerly overbearing northern neighbour.

'They cannot demand a sacrifice from us for which we have not been asked for an opinion,' said Spain's minister for ecological transition, Teresa Ribera, adding: 'We have not lived beyond our means in terms of energy.'

Those with a limited ability to export gas to other EU countries can request a lower target, provided they export what they can.

That could include Spain, which does not rely on Russian gas, and has said cutting its own demand would not help other countries since it lacks infrastructure capacity to share spare fuel.

EU energy chief Kadri Simson (right, conversation with Polish Climate Minister Anna Moskva) dismissed as 'politically motivated' Russian gas supply reductions that the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which Gazprom blamed on needing to halt the operation of a turbine

Both Spain and Poland were among countries that argued against a 15 per cent reduction in gas consumption across all EU countries, seeing as the threat of a Russian gas cut off did not imperil them as much as other countries

Germany imports more than half of is gas from Russia in a typical year. The vast majority of that gas arrived via Nord Stream 1, a pipeline that Moscow is now throttling it is thought in efforts to punish Germany for its support of Ukraine

However, Ribera struck a more conciliatory tone, explaining that 'when someone asks for help, you have to help. Help can be in different ways, but I believe that the spirit of collaboration will prevail.'

Countries that meet an EU target for filling gas storage by August could face weaker targets - softening the cuts for roughly a dozen states, including Germany and Italy, based on current storage levels.

They can also exempt the gas they use in critical industries, such as energy-intensive steelmaking, from the target, an exemption which will disproportionately benefit Germany heavy industry.

The EU deal would also exempt from the binding 15 per cent gas cut countries such as Ireland and Malta that are not connected to other EU countries' gas networks.

Russia's Gazprom has blamed its latest reduction on needing to halt the operation of a turbine - a reason dismissed by EU energy chief Kadri Simson, who called the move 'politically motivated'.

News of the latest reduction to Russian supply has driven gas prices higher, adding to the pain of filling storage, while creating incentives to use less.

Early on Tuesday, the benchmark front-month Dutch contract rose almost 10% and is more than 450% higher than a year ago, although down from record highs touched shortly after Russia began its invasion of Ukraine.

The EU plan has tested countries' solidarity, with Greece and Poland among other the countries opposed to mandatory gas cuts. It will not be forgotten by Greece for generations the devastating austerity measures Germany imposed on the Mediterranean nation.

Polish Climate Minister Anna Moskwa said the deal would impose no constraints on Poland's gas use, and opposed the idea that a country should curb its industrial gas use to help other states facing shortages.

Some EU diplomats raised concerns that the number of opt-outs in the final regulation may mean it fails to ensure countries save enough gas for winter.

Although governments including Germany, Europe's biggest gas user, have upped their energy saving measures, EU countries have reduced their combined gas use by only 5, per cent despite months of soaring prices and dwindling Russian supplies.

'Fifteen percent will probably not be enough given what the Russians have just announced,' Irish Environment Minister Eamon Ryan said.

The deal requires backing from a majority of countries to trigger the binding gas cuts, after many opposed the Commission's original proposal that it have the final say.
Donald Trump's former White House communications director Alyssa Farah Griffin will become the new co-host on the hit talk show The View, DailyMail.com can reveal.

Farah Griffin, 33, will be named as Meghan McCain's full time replacement on the panel from September for the show's 26th season.

Three insiders with knowledge of the discussions with Farah Griffin have told DailyMail.com that ABC will announce her new position imminently.

ABC has rotated the seat vacated by DailyMail.com columnist McCain since her departure on August 6, 2021.

Farah Griffin will now join current co-hosts Whoopi Goldberg, Sara Haines, Joy Behar, Sunny Hostin and rotating co-host Ana Navarro on weekday mornings on ABC.

Donald Trump's former White House communications director Alyssa Farah Griffin, 33, is set to be named the new co-host on The View, DailyMail.com can exclusively reveal

Farah Griffin (left) served as the White House director of communications for eight months under Donald Trump (right) before she resigned in December 2020

Former White House Director of Strategic Communications Alyssa Farah Griffin (pictured) will be the new co-host of The View, ABC is expected to announce shortly

One source close to the discussions with the former White House aide said: My jaw dropped when I was told that she was the pick. It makes no sense.

'Part of me wishes they just leaned into MAGA and hired Kimberly Guilfoyle, at least it would better reflect part of the audience and there would be fireworks every day.

Another insider told DailyMail.com: Her soon to be co-hosts are very upset. They feel she isnt authentic and changes her opinions based on who her paymaster is.

Ana Navarro especially feels let down as they are hiring someone who was an essential part of the movement that destabilized this country.

Alyssas family is also problematic. Her father Joseph founded WorldNetDaily a website that promotes conspiracy theories. Its terrifying.

A third source added: Her appointment will also cost us bookings. Wanda Sykes pulled out because she didnt want to be on the show with her.

Comedian Sykes' withdrawal from the show was first reported by The Daily Beast's Confider media newsletter.

DailyMail.com has approached Ana Navarros representatives for comment.

An ABC spokesperson said in a statement: 'We do not have a co-host announcement to make at this time. Stay tuned.'

Los Angeles-born Farah Griffin is a political advisor, and served as White House Director of Strategic Communications and Assistant to the President in the Trump administration in 2020.

The conservative resigned in December 2020, a month before he vacated office.

At the time, she tweeted: 'Its been the honor of a lifetime to serve in the Trump Administration over the last 3 and a half years, first as Press Secretary to @VP Pence, then as Press Secretary for the @DeptofDefense, & most recently as White House Communications Director.'

A month after she quit, Trump held his infamous rally in front of the White House on January 6, 2020  the day Congress moved to certify the election for Joe Biden and a trove of his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol to stop them from doing so.

Farah Griffin was quick to denounce the attack after having publicly condemned Trump supporters for harassing Mitt Romney the day before.

On January 8, 2021, she blamed Trump for inciting the insurrection and suggested that he should resign as the House moved to impeach the outgoing president for the second time of his administration.

She was also press secretary for Vice President Mike Pence from 2017 to 2019 - before being appointed as the youngest Pentagon Press Secretary in history.

In 2021, the 33-year-old married long-time partner Justin Griffin - and she revealed this year that members of her family, including her own father, boycotted her wedding because of their political differences.

The political advisor (right) pictured on The View on May 24, 2022

Farah Griffin, who served for as Trump's White House communications director, wed her long-time partner Justin Griffin on November 6 last year

Farah Griffin, who has featured on The View previously, blamed the wedding clash on 'political differences,' saying it was because she 'spoke out against President Trump'

The political advisor (pictured in March 2020) also served as the Pentagon press secretary before coming back to the White House

In 2021, the 33-year-old married long-time partner Justin Griffin - and she revealed this year that members of her family, including her own father, boycotted her wedding because of their political differences

Her conservative father didn't attend her wedding after she spoke out against ex-president Donald Trump.

In October, weeks before her nuptials, she criticized Trump for lying about the election being stolen during an appearance on The View, saying she wouldn't support him again.

She recalled: 'The election had been called. It had been a couple of weeks, and I started to see tick up in rhetoric around the election was stolen, seeing some of my colleagues go on TV and say as much.

'I fundamentally knew that wasn't true and it could have dangerous consequences.'

She added: 'I thought I had a duty first and foremost to the country to tell the truth.'

Farah Griffin said she was devastated by the insurrection as she recalled how Air Force veteran Ashli Babbitt was fatally shot while breaching the U.S. Capitol building.

'My heart breaks that an Air Force veteran was so warped by lies to her sold by the American president that she lost her life,' she said.

Farah Griffin insisted she 'wouldn't support Donald Trump again.'

'Our country needs to go to a different direction,' she added. 'There are some good things policy wise...but we gotta move on from this era.'

ABC has rotated the seat vacated by DailyMail.com columnist McCain since her departure on August 6, 2021. Now, Farah Griffin is set to be made a permanent co-host

Farah Griffin (pictured in October 2020) quit a month before the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2020, which she blamed on Trump

She worked in Trump's administration for more than three years and described it as 'the honor of a lifetime' when announcing her resignation

Farah Griffin served as then-Vice President Mike Pence's press secretary before becoming the White House communications director

Fans of the show have recently called for the producers to have a casting rearrangement after the popular show has faced a series of blunders recently

Her conservative father didn't attend her wedding after she spoke out against ex-president Donald Trump

The CNN political commentator told The View earlier this year: 'I recently got married back in November, and this is such a tough topic, so keep in mind two things: COVID has made people shrink their friend groups, their family groups. People arent being around each other if they are not open to getting vaccinated. Add to that, political polarization.

'In my situation, personally, I had to deal with two people very close to me, my father and stepmother, who didnt want to attend my wedding.'

This comes after fans of the hit American talk show demanded that Whoopi Goldberg be fired for going 'nuts' while live on air this week.

Fans of the show have called for the producers to have a casting rearrangement after the popular show has faced a series of blunders recently.

On Friday Whoopi, 66, took to the panel and discussed parenting when she used the word 'a**', leaving fans shocked.
Advertisement

Shocking video caught the moment a mammoth humpback whale breached onto a 19-foot motor boat in Plymouth Harbor, Massachusetts, smashing the vessel's skylight in the bow and leaving it bobbing like a cork in the water.

Three humpback whales, which grow an average size of 49 to 52 feet long and weigh up to 66,000 pounds, drew dozens of boaters to the waters near White Horse Beach in Plymouth over the weekend to watch them feed on bait fish called pogies, which school in the harbor.

About 10 a.m. on Sunday, the whales, which eat by opening their giant jaws and scooping up as many fish as they can, were 'surge feeding,' when they swim under their prey and scoop them up as they rise out of the water.

Shocking video caught the moment a mammoth humpback whale breached onto a 19-foot motor boat in Plymouth Harbor, Massachusetts, smashing the vessel's skylight in the bow and leaving it bobbing like a cork in the water.

Footage shows a humpback whale rise up on a motorboat as it was surge feeding off White Horse Beach in Plymouth, Massachusetts

The mammoth fish rose 30 feet from the water before smashing down on the bow of the boat

The bow of the 19-foot vessel was completely submerged after the whale landed on it

Three humpback whales, which grow an average size of 49 to 52 feet long and weigh up to 66,000 pounds, drew dozens of boaters to the waters near White Horse Beach in Plymouth over the weekend to watch them feed on bait fish called pogies, which school in the harbor.

About 10 a.m. on Sunday, the whales, which eat by opening their giant jaws and scooping up as many fish as they can, were 'surge feeding,' when they swim under their prey and scoop them up as they rise out of the water.

'It was insane,' Ryder Parkhurst, who saw the collision, told NBC Boston. 'The guy was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, that's all. Pops up, bang! Right on the bow of the guy's boat.'

'I just saw the boat go freaking flying, it was crazy,' Parkhurst told the station. 'It was nuts. I couldn't believe the thing was still floating.'

The humpback whale smash the skylight at the bow of the boat before sliding back into the water

The humpback whale was 'surge feeding' on baitfish called pogies which school in Plymouth Harbor

The boat was able to safely navigate back to the boat ramp and sustained only minor damage.

'It was just shocking,' said Justin Enggasser, whose son shot the footage from a kayak about 100 feet away. 'There was a lot of relief to see the boat pop back up because the bow really did submerge.'

Aside from being shaken up, none of the passengers of the vessel were hurt.

'If someone was on the bow of that boat, this really could have been a tragic story,' Plymouth Harbormaster Chad Hunter told CBS News Boston.

It's illegal to chase or harass whales under the Marine Mammals Act, and Hunter referred the video and all other information he collected at the scene to the Massachusetts Environmental Police, who are investigating.

'We tell boaters: If you see a spout, look out,' he told CBS.

In a press statement, Hunter warned boaters that the whales could be hurt too.

'This interaction, while rare, is a reminder that these interactions can be dangerous for both boaters and whales,' Hunter said.

Paddle boarder Bob Babcock caught humpback whale in the same Plymouth Harbor area brushing up against a fishing boat

Days before a humpback whale landed on a 19-foot fishing boat, the same type of whale brushed up against this motorboat

Paddle boarder Bob Babcock got so close to the feeding humpback that he photographed the barnacles around its mouth

The interactions may not be as rare as he says.

Days before the boat-busting breech, paddle boarder Bob Babcock recorded another close encounter between a motorboat and a whale.

As he was paddling out at dawn, the video shows the water beside a fishing boat begin to boil with rising fish and then a whale's back surfaces, lifting the ship slightly as both men on boat reach for the gunwales to steady themselves.

'Feeding whales are often distracted whales making it more important for boaters to be watching for them as the whales are very focused on fish at that point, not boats,' Regina Asmutis-Silva, the head of conservation group Whale and Dolphin Conservation, said.
Advertisement

EU countries were today accused of 'punishing' British holidaymakers for Brexit - as it emerged Spain could ask UK tourists to prove they can spend 85 a day to enter and Germany joined France in blaming Channel delays on voters' decision to leave the Bloc.

Spanish guidelines say the funds can be in the form of foreign currency, traveller's cheques, cash, payment letters or on credit cards. In addition to showing they are able hit the 100 a day requirement, tourists may have to provide evidence they have a minimum of 900 (766.94) available in total.

The rule, which has taken some Brits by surprise, has been in force since the beginning of the year after the UK became a 'third country' outside the EU.

It remains to see whether it will be consistently enforced in practice by the Spanish authorities, but it in theory could be applied as and when Spanish authorities see fit.

It comes as Germany backed France in the escalating war of words over queues at Dover and Folkestone by insisting that 'Brexit reality' was to blame for the chaos that threatens to wreck the summer - despite British officials pointing to a lack of Gallic border guards.

Germany's Ambassador Miguel Berger said: 'The blame should not be given to France... because of Brexit, you have border controls. The passport needs to be stamped.'

Speaking to MailOnline, Tory MP Andrew Bridgen suggested EU leaders were rounding on Britain for its decision to vote leave.

'When it comes to British tourists, the Europeans appear to be cutting off their nose despite their own face as a punishment for Brexit,' he said. 'I doubt that the cafe owners in France and the bar owners in Spain would be of the same opinion as their political leaders.

'In terms of the Spanish, it's up to them whether they wish to apply the spending rule, but they should bear in mind that the Brits are their biggest tourist market. It won't make anyone feel very welcome.'

In addition to threatening to deny entry to Brits who cannot prove they can support themselves financially, Spanish border agents may also begin to ask tourists to prove they have an onward ticket and accommodation booked for their stay.

The news sparked anger today, with tourists describing the rules as 'elitist' and a 'kick in the teeth' to families and pensioners.

British tourists have reacted furiously after discovering they may be required to prove they are able to spend 85-per-day in order to enter Spain - after the United Kingdom left the European Union. Pictured: Tourists arrive in Barcelona, Spain in July

The rule, which has taken some Brits by surprise, has been in force since the beginning of the year after the UK became a 'third country' outside the EU. It remains to see whether it will be enforced in practice by the Spanish authorities

The news comes as Germany backed France in the escalating war of words over queues at Dover and Folkestone by insisting that 'Brexit reality' was to blame for the chaos that threatens to wreck the summer - despite British officials pointing to a lack of Gallic border guards (pictured: queues at Dover today)

Several people took to social media to react to the revelation, with one Facebook user writing: 'Looks like Spain is making it too difficult and too elitist for many families.

'Bit of a kick in the teeth to all those who have been going for years. Families and pensioners will be most affected.'

Another person wrote: 'Let's see where they are going to get their tourism from now if people chose other countries.. good luck Spain!'

Another wrote: 'Pretty obvious what the Spanish are trying to do, restrict people coming for a holiday who don't have a lot of money.

'If people are on an all inclusive holiday they are not spending money in the local area, so not helping the local economy.'

Others directed their ire towards Brexit. One wrote sarcastically: 'Brexit truly is the gift that keeps on giving.'

Another asked rhetorically: 'More Brexit benefits?'

'I remember when the proponents of Brexit told us that NOTHING would change if we left the EU. What a joke,' one angry Twitter user said.

But another Twitter user accused Spain of being an 'anti-Brexit EU country', urging his followed to avoid going to the European country all together. 'Great. Do NOT go to Spain. Tired of these anti-Brexit EU countries pushing us around,' he said.

The new 100 euro-a- day post-Brexit spending rule that is infuriating Britons What is the new diktat? Visitors to Spain from outside the EU must now prove, if required, that they have the means to afford to be in Spain. The minimum amount is 100 euros per person per day, with a minimum of 900 euros 'or its legal equivalent in foreign currency'. How can the tourist prove they have the money? The tourist must prove they have the money in cash, or by presenting certified travelers' cheques or credit cards. These must be accompanied by the bank account's official statement or an updated bank book. Letters from banks or internet bank statements will not be accepted. What happens if someone doesn't have the cash? If they lack sufficient cash for the length of the trip, their entry into Spanish territory will be denied. They will be put on the earliest possible return flight. Exceptionally, the officials responsible for entry control may allow entry, reducing the length of stay in proportion to the amount of cash available. Is anyone exempt? Anyone with residency in Spain or permission to study or work in Spain

Anyone holding a passport for a member state of the European Union or the Principality of Andorra

A foreign diplomat Advertisement

Someone else pointed out on Twitter that Brits are now considered 'third country' travellers in all 27 EU states since leaving the union.

The new rules appear to have come as a surprise to many frequent flyers due to the fact that not all British entrants to Spain are checked.

While all people entering Spain must meet the requirements, border guards are not required to check all arrivals.

The UK Foreign Office outlined the rules it a statement.

'At Spanish border control, you may need to show a return or onward ticket; show you have enough money for your stay; show proof of accommodation for your stay, for example, a hotel booking confirmation, proof of address if visiting your own property (eg second home), or an invitation from your host or proof of their address if staying with a third party, friends or family,' its guidance states.

'The Spanish government has clarified that the 'carta de invitation' is one of the options available to prove that you have accommodation if staying with friends or family,' it adds.

The Spanish Ministry del Interior said: 'Foreigners from third countries must prove if required to do so by the officials in charge of controlling the entry of people into Spanish territory, that they have economic resources for entering the country, through cash, traveller's cheques, payment letters, or credit cards, which must also be proven to have sufficient funds available on them.

'They must be accompanied by a bank account statement or an updated bank book (letters from banks or Internet bank statements will not be accepted) or any other means that reliably proves the amount available as credit of the aforementioned card or bank account.'

The rules are outlined on the Spanish ministry's website.

'Currently, the minimum amount to be credited is 100 euros per person per day, with a minimum of 900 euros or its legal equivalent in foreign currency (with effect from January 1, 2022),' the website says.

The reasoning behind this, it says, is that arrivals must 'reach an amount that represents in euros 10% of the minimum gross interprofessional salary or its legal equivalent in foreign currency multiplied by the number of days they intend to stay in Spain and by the number of people traveling at your expense.'

It adds: 'In the event that, when carrying out the entry control of people in Spanish territory, it is verified that a foreigner lacks sufficient economic resources for the time he wishes to remain in Spain and to continue his trip to the country of destination or to return to the country of origin, or does not have the nominative, non-transferable and closed ticket or tickets, in the means of transport that they intend to use, their entry into Spanish territory will be denied as established by law.'

Since leaving the European Union, British are also required to have their passports stamped at border gates when they are entering and leaving.

UK Foreign Office guidelines states: 'Border guards will use passport stamps to check you're complying with the 90-day visa-free limit for short stays in the Schengen area. If relevant entry or exit stamps are not in your passport, border guards will presume that you have overstayed your visa-free limit.'

The same 100 per-day requirement also applies to people applying for Schengen visas from Spain.

The daily required means on subsistence for Schengen visa applicants differs between each EU and Schengen country.

In Belgium, for example, Schengen visa applicants must prove they have 95 pet day if they are staying in a hotel, and at least 45 if staying at cheaper accommodation.

In France, the minimum daily amount is 120 if the arriving tourist has no proof of pre-paid accommodation. If the accommodation has been prepaid, that amount drops to 65 per day.



In addition to threatening to deny entry to Brits who cannot prove they can support themselves financially, Spanish border agents may also begin to ask tourists to prove they have an onward ticket and accommodation booked for their stay. Pictured: Tourists in Gran Canaria

France checks passports in Britain - and the UK does the same in France - but critics insist Paris is insisting on severe checks as a result of animosity towards the UK

The roads around Dover have been snarled for days. Locals claim the hard shoulder became a public toilet

It came as France today continued to escalate the war of words with Britain over queues at Dover and Folkestone by insisting that Brexit and not a lack of Gallic border staff is to blame for the chaos that threatens to wreck the summer.

Hundreds of thousands of people were delayed by between 21 and 30 hours over the weekend as they tried to cross the Channel at the start of the school holidays.

There were queues on the Kent coast again today but this weekend is predicted to be the busiest of the year - and since the pandemic ended - raising fears that long delays could return.

Yesterday Downing Street insisted it was not as a result of Brexit with senior MPs insisting France is being over-officious with passport checks because they are 'furious' that the UK chose to leave the bloc.

Tourists who smoke on Barcelona's beaches now face fines By Natalia Penza for MailOnline Tourists who smoke on any of Barcelona's 10 beaches now face fines under new rules. The Catalan capital has become Spain's first large city to outlaw smoking on all its beaches. The move is the culmination of a strategy which began last year with a pilot scheme banning smoking on four beaches - Sant Miquel, Somorrostro, Nova Icaria and Nova Marbella. Sunbathers who flout the new restrictions have been warned they will be fined 30 euros (25), although council chiefs say they don't expect to have to sanction people for lighting up. The ten beaches affected by the new rule cover just over three miles of coastline. Eloi Badia, Councillor for Ecological Transition, said: 'Last year no-one was fined. Everyone understood the situation perfectly and only the odd absent-minded smoker had to be asked to move on to the promenade.' Barcelona council chiefs say they have extended the ban for health reasons and to appease the majority of beach users and point to scientific evidence showing cigarette butts take around a decade to disappear. The Spanish government has proposed measures to extend the current prohibition on smoking in public places to include terraces and beaches. But the ambitious new anti-smoking law being worked on, which is also expected to include a ban on lighting up in private cars, is not expected to be fully drafted until 2023. The country's Health Ministry also wants to push up the price of tobacco through extra taxes. The number of beaches where smoking is banned in Spain has jumped from around 15 in the summer of 2014 to around 550 at present. They include 13 beaches in the Malaga province stretch of the Costa del Sol and seven in Majorca. Smoking is also banned on around 25 per cent of the Costa Blanca's beaches, although on most fines are not handed out to those who light up. The exceptions include Finestrat Cove, an urban cove of fine sand around two miles from Benidorm, where fines for smoking and vaping can reach 750 euros (636). Advertisement

And now senior French politician Pierre-Henri Dumont, Republican MP for Calais, has again blamed delays on the UK's exit from the EU, telling BBC News it was 'an aftermath of Brexit' with more checks needed and claiming the Dover port is 'too small' with too few kiosks due to lack of space.

He also told The Times: 'There is a race to be the next prime minister and everyone is trying to say it is somebody's fault but this is clearly an aftermath of Brexit.' He also denied there was a shortage of French border staff after a short delay on Friday.

He said: 'They ran 24/7 but you had the same queues. That is the crystal clear proof that [British ministers] are lying. The excuses from the British government were silly because this will not change. It is the new reality.

'We need to co-operate more and more, but co-operation begins by not blaming someone else for your problems. France and the European Union did not ask for disruption. Those who asked were the British government.'

The furious row between London and Paris over tailbacks at Dover and Folkestone continues as a senior French official taunted Britain by blaming queues on Brexit.

Francois Decoster, vice-president of the Haute-de-France region, which includes Calais, even suggested the UK should reverse the 2016 vote to leave the EU  or consider joining the bloc's borderless Schengen area.

He claimed Britain had gone back 30 years because of extra passport checks now being carried out in Kent on families heading abroad for holidays.

But the remarks sparked a furious backlash, with former foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt accusing Paris of punishing Britain by under-staffing the border and refusing to consider relaxing EU red tape around checks.

And one senior Port of Dover official told the Mail: 'Brexit or no Brexit, what are you trying to achieve with that level of border control? It's all very well to say you need to be part of Schengen to have light touch control, but do you really? And should you?

'You do wonder what realistic threat is posed to the EU's single market by families going on holiday.

'You either have an awkward process and resource accordingly, or have a sensible process.' The source added: 'We're only going to avoid it again this weekend if the booths are properly manned.'

Only around half of passport booths in the port were manned by French border police on Friday morning, when it declared a critical incident.

By the afternoon, almost all of the ten or so available for cars and lorries were manned. But the backlog was so large it took until Saturday to clear most of it.

This then also freed up the roads leading to Folkestone and the Eurotunnel, where huge queues also formed because travellers could not reach check-in areas.

Due to Britain now being a 'third country', Paris insists travellers must have their passports stamped with dates when entering and leaving the EU's Schengen area, which France is a member of.

This is to ensure Britons don't stay more than 90 days within a 180 day period without a visa, which is required post-Brexit for longer visits.

Border guards have also been ordered to ask British holidaymakers whether they have a return ticket, have enough money for their stay and have booked accommodation.

It means it can take an extra 90 seconds longer to carry out passport checks on Continent-bound cars.

Taunting British families while describing his own seamless journey, Mr Decoster told the BBC: 'I felt very sorry for the British families that were really stuck in such a miserable situation.

'And, meanwhile, I did an extraordinary journey yesterday. I went from my town in the Haute-de-France to Amsterdam with my family and I crossed two borders and it took me not even a second to cross either of these borders.'

FOLKESTONE: Delays are not what they were at the Eurotunnel this morning despite just two of the ten passport booths controlled by the French being open

Twisting the knife, he added: 'I had heard that Brexit would have no cost, but apparently it has cost, because we have to change the situation, we have to change and do new [passport] controls.'

Suggesting Britain should reverse Brexit or join the bloc's borderless Schengen area, of which Britain was never a part, he said: 'But anyhow, nobody says what the best situation will be  to come to the situation before [Brexit] actually, with no controls.

'We still have a few non-EU members that are members of the Schengen area, why don't we explore such an idea?'

French police chiefs were meeting British border officials to discuss how the same debacle can be avoided this weekend.

Families were stuck in queues of more than 20 hours on Friday and Saturday, when the big summer getaway began after schools broke up.

Drivers said they were 'treated worse than cattle' and described how children changed into their pyjamas and brushed their teeth on the roadside while desperate passengers were forced to use the verge as a public toilet.

Less traffic is expected at the Dover and Folkestone ports this weekend, but they are still set to be very busy.

Holidays mayhem... and how to survive airlines, ferries and strikes, as an estimated 70 per cent of families take a break after two years of largely going nowhere

By Mark Palmer, Travel Editor for the Daily Mail

The baking temperatures which swept across Britain last week may have abated, but travellers are feeling the heat like never before as they look to enjoy a holiday abroad this summer.

It's estimated that 70 per cent of families have planned or are planning a break following two years of largely going nowhere due to the pandemic.

These plans run the risk of being scuppered by disgraceful scenes such as those witnessed at the weekend at the Port of Dover and at the approach to the Eurotunnel station at Folkestone.

Savvy holidaymakers could be forgiven for thinking reaching the Continent by ferry or train would be a more sensible option than braving an airport. At airports, queues in some cases continue to stretch out of the terminals and, on your return to the UK, you may or may not be reacquainted with your luggage.

The baking temperatures which swept across Britain last week may have abated, but travellers are feeling the heat like never before as they look to enjoy a holiday abroad this summer. Dover is seen above on Sunday

Whatever your form of transport, misery awaits. And it's not as if staying put in the UK is without its travails, as train unions plan strikes and main roads become an assault course of roadworks.

What makes matters worse is that no one accepts responsibility for this summer shocker. Airports blame the airlines for taking furlough money and then letting staff go; airlines blame the airports for not gearing up sooner and failing to anticipate surging travel demand.

Yesterday saw the unedifying spectacle of two heavyweight industry bosses slugging it out over who's to blame, with former Heathrow chairman Sir Nigel Rudd accusing ex-British Airways boss Willie Walsh of 'trashing' the BA brand, in response to Walsh's accusation that Heathrow's dealing with the crisis has been 'farcical.'

Similar skirmishes have broken out between French and UK officials over how many passport booths are manned at UK ports. What's certainly missing from the British side, however, is a plan of action to limit the sort of disruptions we saw at the weekend.

We voted to leave the EU in 2016  we've had more than six years to sort out a workable border policy with France. It hasn't happened, and airlines  especially BA and easyJet  have been ill-prepared for the inevitable increase in travel traffic. The onus falls on holidaymakers to negotiate their own way through the chaos. Here's a helping hand.

Best airlines

Some airlines have performed better than others. Jet2  operating out of airports in the North and Midlands  laid off only a handful of workers and has kept cancellations down to a minimum.

Even for Londoners, flying from Birmingham airport with Jet2 might be less stressful that leaving from Gatwick with easyJet.

Ryanair, with some 134.5million passengers a year, is also a good bet. Tui, the largest tour operator in Britain, came in for criticism in early spring but says it's now back on track and 'confident of getting customers away on their well-deserved holidays'.

Opt for an early morning flight, less likely to be cancelled or delayed. Fly to short-haul destinations where an airline offers multiple daily flights so, if one is cancelled, there are others you can take.

Don't turn up five hours before your flight; you won't be able to check-in. Travelling on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday reduces the likelihood of cancellations (Sunday is particularly prone). When booking long-haul, pick countries where there may just be one flight a day as airlines will not want to cancel and have to rebook 350 people for the following day, requiring them to billet passengers in an airport hotel.

Opt for an early morning flight, less likely to be cancelled or delayed. Fly to short-haul destinations where an airline offers multiple daily flights so, if one is cancelled, there are others you can take. Bristol Airport is seen above on Sunday

Ferry options

The horrendous queues at the Port of Dover have been caused in part by insufficient numbers of French officials stamping passports, which is required now that we have left the EU.

Average time for a car to be cleared at Dover has increased from 25-30 seconds to between 70 seconds and two minutes. If you absolutely have to take a ferry from Dover, stock up on water and other supplies.

Download the Waze sat-nav, which gives up-to-date information about traffic jams and should find you an alternative route  although remember that thousands of others will be doing the exact same thing.

There are other options for reaching France. Ferries run from Newhaven to Dieppe and from Portsmouth to Caen, Cherbourg, Le Havre and St Malo. Three ferries operate between the UK and Spain  Plymouth to Santander and from Portsmouth to Bilbao and Santander.

Tunnel vision

The approach to Le Shuttle has become a bottleneck, with severe delays on the A20 and M20. Operation Block is in action. This is a set of measures introduced by National Highways to keep the M20 open in both directions between junctions 8 and 9.

What this means for cars is that they must leave at junction 8 and follow the diversion route using the A2, M2 and A20, while lorries stay on the M20 and join the queue. There are toilets and other facilities at the terminal, including 'pets exercise areas'. Sign up for alerts at eurotunnel.com.

Strike alert

Keep abreast of ongoing strike action. Around 40,000 rail workers will walk out on Wednesday across 14 companies after the Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers union rejected what they called a 'paltry' pay offer from Network Rail.

The 24-hour strike comes a day before the start of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and the RAC is warning of long delays on the roads as holidaymakers and commuters take to their cars.

Either leave at the crack of dawn or after the evening rush hour but check first with nationalhighways.co.uk, which tells you of any road closures a week in advance, with many of those taking place from 10pm-6am. With fuel prices soaring, it's worth trying to avoid motorway service stations where costs on average are 37 pence a litre more than local garages.

Know your rights

If an airline cancels a flight, you are entitled to be re-booked on the next convenient one (with another airline if necessary), or given a refund that should be paid within 14 days.

If your flight is cancelled at short notice  within two weeks of departure  or delayed for more than three hours, you are due compensation.

This does not apply if the cancellation/delay is caused by 'air traffic management decisions, political instability, adverse weather conditions or security risks'. Similar rules apply to ferry cancellations and delays.

Glimmers of hope

Airlines were given an amnesty last month over flight cancellations, whereby they could cancel without paying a financial penalty to the Civil Aviation Authority and would not lose their slots. That amnesty is now finished and so it is less likely that your flight will be cancelled.

Also, airlines  via outside companies contracted to them  are busy recruiting staff, which should see results later in the summer and into autumn. The first weekend after schools have broken up is often a mad scramble. We're over that now. Hopefully.
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.
Anthony Fauci said he isn't worried about Senator Rand Paul's threats to investigate him should Republicans retake a majority in Congress next year.

'My records are an open book,' Dr. Fauci told CNN's New Day on Tuesday morning.

'They are talking about things that are really bizarre, like crimes against democracy by shutting down the government,' he continued. 'All I have ever done  and go back and look at everything I've ever done  was to recommend common sense, good, CDC-recommended public health policies that have saved millions of lives.'

The nation's top immunologist challenged: 'If you wanna investigate me for that, go ahead.'

His response comes after Republican Senator Paul of Kentucky threatened investigation.

'One way or another, if we are in the majority, we will subpoena his records and he will testify in the Senate under oath,' Paul said on Monday when speaking of Fauci.

Paul, an ophthalmologist before becoming a lawmaker, is in line to be chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee if Republicans win the majority. Republican Senator Richard Burr of North Carolina, the current ranking member, is retiring from the Senate.

Dr. Anthony Fauci said Tuesday morning that he isn't worried about an investigation from Senator Rand Paul, saying 'go ahead' to the Kentucky Republican

Earlier this year, Paul shared the same sentiment, saying: 'If we win in November, if I'm chairman of a committee, if I have subpoena power, we'll go after every one of [Fauci's] records.'

Fauci appeared on CNN Tuesday morning as he discussed the spread of Monkeypox in the U.S. and President Biden's recovery from COVID-19.

Paul and Fauci are no stranger to tiffs, with the two constantly sparring publicly over the last few years of the coronavirus pandemic.

Specifically, Paul has questioned Fauci over the origins of the virus and the gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China, which the senator claims is how COVID-19 came to be.

The Kentucky lawmaker has accused Fauci of somehow having some sort of involvement in the emergence of the virus because the National Institutes of Health granted funding to an organization conducting research at the Wuhan lab.

Fauci has repeatedly dismissed these claims.

Friday, however, the doctor said he now has 'an open mind' to the possibility that the virus was the result of a Chinese lab leak after repeatedly saying the most likely first emergence was an animal transmitting the disease to a human.

'We have an open mind but it looks very much like this was a natural occurrence, but you keep an open mind,' he told Fox News' Bret Baier in a Friday interview.

Baier grilled Fauci about a claim he made in April 2020, after being sent a link to a report made by Baier himself, that saw Fauci dismiss the lab leak theory as 'a shiny object that will go away.'

The Fox News anchor said: 'When you read the email from Kristian Andersen who says'one has to look really closely to see some features (potentially) look engineered.'

'And you say this is a shiny object and it will go away. It does not look like you're open minded to it.'

Fauci appeared to try to deflect by flattering Baier, saying: 'Bret, I know you're a good person, I've known you a long time.'

'If you take a group of emails when people are considering and thinking out loud, and stop there, and don't look at the weeks of consideration by the same people who wrote the same emails in published peer review literature, they explain why they thought it was a natural occurrence,' he added.

In February 2020, California-based virologist Kristen Andersen, speculated that COVID appeared to be genetically-engineered.
A 15-year-old was fatally stabbed in the heart by a gang of five boys as he made his way home from school, a court heard today.

Tamim Ian Habimana died from a single stab wound to the heart after he was attacked on his way home from school in Woolwich, southeast London, last July.

Daryl Bethel, 20, and Lewis Bollen, 18, and three other boys aged between 15 and 16, have been charged with his murder.

At the time of the killing, the boys were aged between 14 and 19.

The trial at the Old Bailey heard it was a 'revenge attack' involving a knife, umbrella and a rounders bat.

Tamim Ian Habimana, 15, was killed after being stabbed in the heart in Woolwich, South East London on July 5, 2021

Tamim collapsed by a bus stop after he was stabbed and a pathologist found he had suffered massive blood loss from the stab wound to the heart. Pictured: the police cordon in Woolwich

Another 15-year-old boy suffered a stab wound to his upper back and was taken to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich.

The stabbing was allegedly revenge for a stabbing committed by the surviving victim nine days earlier in Dartford.

The five defendants allegedly travelled together to Woolwich Arsenal Station on the afternoon of July 5.

Tamim and two other young men walked towards them and stopped a short distance away, jurors were told.

A 16-year-old boy had a knife, a 15-year-old had an umbrella and a second 16-year-old had a rounders bat in his rucksack, it is claimed.

Within seconds, the 15-year-old defendant had removed the metal stem from the middle of the umbrella, and the 16-year-olds produced their weapons, the court heard.

Tamim went between two parked cars onto the pavement in an attempt to escape and seconds later was fatally stabbed by the 16-year-old with the knife, it is alleged.

He managed to run up Woolwich New Road but collapsed by a bus stop.

An off-duty police officer, Mhmuda Gumanach, stopped the fight as he witnessed the attack and tried to help together with members of the public, ambulances and specialist trauma doctors but Tamim died at the scene just after 6pm.

Opening the trial on Tuesday, Danny Robinson QC said: 'The prosecution case is that they all acted together, and so they are all jointly responsible for what happened that day.'

The youths ran off and officers found the umbrella stem, knife blade and handle discarded nearby.

Tamim died at the scene and another boy, 15, was stabbed in the upper back. Pictured: Police cordoning off a block of shops on Woolwich New Road, where the attack took place

Mr Robinson said: 'Although it happened very quickly, he saw the umbrella stem and the knife being used as weapons during the attack.'

'The defendants travelled to Woolwich that day with a purpose: to carry out an attack with weapons.

'The killer did not only stab the second victim once, but multiple times, continuing even when the knife had broken.

'The prosecution say it is clear that he intended to kill.'

A post-mortem examination revealed that the knife had pierced Tamim's heart, leaving a 17mm wound on the surface of the skin that went 15cm deep.

The attack lasted seconds but was recorded on CCTV from a passing bus, by council CCTV and was also filmed by a passenger on the bus.

All five defendants deny the charges of Tamim's murder and the attempted murder of the second victim as the trial continues.
Jim Fitton, 66, a retired geologist and father of two, was facing the death penalty after being accused of smuggling out antiquities by the Iraqi authorities. Now, his lawyer says his conviction has been overturned

An Iraqi court has overturned the conviction and 15-year sentence handed to a British pensioner last month for antiquities smuggling, the retiree's lawyer said Tuesday.

Jim Fitton had been charged under a 2002 law against 'intentionally taking or trying to take out of Iraq an antiquity,' the maximum penalty for which under the country's legal code is death by hanging.

The conviction has been 'overturned today by the Court of Cassation and my client will soon be free', lawyer Thaer Saoud told AFP.

The retiree's son-in-law, Sam Tasker, told AFP in a phone call that the family was 'very pleased by the decision, but we are still waiting for his release.'

Fitton stood trial alongside German national Volker Waldmann, who was acquitted. Both men had pleaded not guilty.

Fitton's lawyer launched the appeal just over a month ago.

According to statements from customs officers and witnesses, Fitton's baggage contained about a dozen stone fragments, pieces of pottery or ceramics.

When the judge in the original trial asked Fitton why he tried to take the artefacts out of Iraq, the retired geologist cited his 'hobby' and said he did not mean to do anything illegal.

'I didn't realise that taking them was against the law,' Fitton had said, adding that some of the ancient sites were open and unguarded.

But the judge in the original trial concluded there was criminal intent and sentenced Fitton to 15 years, rather than death, because of his 'advanced age'.

Jim Fitton of Britain, centre, and Volker Waldmann of Germany, right, wear yellow detainees' uniforms and are escorted handcuffed by Iraqi security forces outside a courtroom in Baghdad, Iraq

His family say that he has been accused of stealing fragments that were in the open at Eridu, an ancient ruin of a city that is found in Iraq, and was once in southern Mesopotamia

On his Facebook page on Tuesday, Fitton's lawyer published the judgement that had been handed down by the Court of Cassation, overturning the original verdict.

It said that the charge against Fitton had been cancelled, and that he would be freed for lack of evidence.

The court also ruled that there had been no 'criminal intent' on the Briton's part, Saoud said.

He added that his client would be released 'in the next few days, as soon as the proceedings are completed'.

Authorities spotted 30 suspected stolen artefacts when members of the tour tried to fly home, seizing them and arresting the pair

The tour guide's books warns against buying antiques from bazaars and local street stores, saying 'under no circumstances should you try to smuggle antiquities out of Iraq.' But as Hann was unwell, it appears he wasn't present to warn members of the tour in person

Fitton was one of the members embarking on a tour with Geoff Hann, a British adventurer who was the first to open up tours in Iraq after the 2003 war, throughout Mesopotamia.

Though Hann had initially planned to lead the tour to the Sumerian city of Eriduhimself himself, he fell ill during the journey, forcing a trainee guide to take over while the adventurer spent most of the remaining trip recovering on the bus.

As Hann was sick, it appears he wasn't present to warn members of the tour in person not to carry home some of the antiques.

Geoff Hann, a British adventurer who was the first to open up tours in Iraq after the 2003 war, has died under police guard in Iraq and officials stopped him from leaving the country

Iraq - home to the famed city of Babylon in ancient Mesopotamia - seeks to safeguard its archaeological heritage amid a rampant market for smuggled artifacts.

Seemingly unbeknownst to the tour's leader, members of his group had taken some of the shards found at the Sumerian city, without interjection from the trainee tour guide.

The 85-year-old had a stroke the day before he was due to fly home, leaving him partially paralysed and unable to speak in defence of Fitton, one of the members found with the antique shards on the way through the airport.

The Fitton case comes at a time when the war-ravaged country, whose tourism infrastructure is almost non-existent, is tentatively opening to visitors.

The authorities crack down severely on attempts to deal in antiquities illegally.

Much of the country's ancient cultural heritage has been looted for decades because of the many conflicts it has suffered, particularly after the US-led invasion of 2003 that ousted dictator Saddam Hussein.

The arrival of the Islamic State group in 2014 boosted the illegal sale of antiquities as the jihadists sought to bolster their coffers by smuggling out and selling ancient pieces.
A Mexican man who agreed to drive a tractor trailer packed with 85 undocumented migrants in exchange for settling his own United States-Mexico border crossing fee debt is now facing up to 20 years in a federal prison.

Jose Luis Vega-Arzate, 31, pleaded guilty to conspiring to transport migrants for financial gain in a Texas court last Friday.

The Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, resident reached an agreement to drive the rig as a way to settle the $8,000 payment he owed for being smuggled over the southern border to Austin, according to the U.S. Attorney General's Office for the Southern District of Texas.

With no prior experience of having operated a tractor trailer, Vega-Arzate got behind the wheel and hit the road with the migrant loaded truck.

A U.S. Border Patrol agent patrols a section of the United States-Mexico border wall between San Diego and Mexico on July 4, 2016

U.S. Border Patrol stationed in front of a steel border barrier at Mexico-United States international border line

Vega-Arzate, who did not have a commercial driver's license, was told that he needed to be careful about stopping on his way to San Antonio 'because the undocumented individuals could die due to lack of ventilation resulting from the trailer's lack of movement,' court documents indicated.

He was approaching a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint on a road north of Laredo on May 11 when he was pulled over after the agents noticed his 'nervous behavior and problems 'shifting gears.'

The border officers deployed a sniffer dog to inspect the truck and detected the presence of humans inside the cargo container.

The agents then broke the trailer's seal and found the migrants inside.

Vega-Arzate is scheduled to appear before U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo, who will impose the sentence October 20.

His guilty plea came two days after a federal grand jury in San Antonio returned indictments in the worst smuggling incident in United States history that left 53 migrants dead and 10 others injured inside a hot and airless tractor trailer that authorities found on the side of a road on June 27.

A total of 53 migrants died and 10 others were injured after they were left found inside a hot and airless tractor trailer in San Antonio on June 27

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. He could be sentenced to death if he is found guilty for the deaths of the 53 migrants and 10 others who were injured

Christian Martinez, 28, accused of plotting the United States' deadliest human smuggling operation that claimed the lives of 53 migrants on June 27 in San Antonio

Jair Valencia (left), Misael Olivares (center) and Yovani Valencia (right) are displayed on an altar at their home in San Marcos Atexquilapan, Mexico, on July 13. The three were among the 53 migrants who died of heat and dehydration in a locked tractor trailer abandoned by smugglers outside San Antonio on June 27

Homero Zamorano Jr., 46, and Christian Martinez, 28, were each charged with one count of conspiracy to transport undocumented immigrants resulting in death and one count of transportation of undocumented migrants resulting in death.

They also face one count of conspiracy to undocumented migrants resulting in serious bodily injury and placing lives in jeopardy and one count of transportation of transport undocumented immigrants in serious bodily injury and placing lives in jeopardy.

Both American men could be sentenced to death if they are convicted.

Mexican nationals Juan Claudio D'Luna-Mendez, 23, and Juan Francisco D'Luna-Bilbao, 48, were also indicted on alleged of possession of a firearm while being unlawfully present in the United States.

Each could be looking at up to 10 years in prison if they are found guilty.

Margie Paz, of Honduras, was among the 53 people who died in the tractor trailer smuggling incident in the outskirts of San Antonio on June 27. The 24-year-old had been studying at the National Autonomous University of Honduras. Her boyfriend, Alejandro Caballero, also died

Honduran brothers Fernando Redondo (left) and Alejandro Andino (right) were among the 53 migrants who died in the tractor trailer smuggling incident in June

53 migrants from Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador were found dead inside the tractor trailer after it was found abandoned outside of San Antonio on June 27

Zamorano Jr. drove the 18-wheeler that carrying 67 migrants from Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras, and was found by authorities abandoned in a desolate, industrial area near a highway about 160 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border on a day in which temperatures topped 103 Fahrenheit.

The dead included 27 migrants from Mexico, 14 from Honduras, seven from Guatemala and two from El Salvador.

A 20-year-old survivor from Guatemala told The Associated Press that smugglers had covered the trailer's floor with what she believes was powdered chicken bouillon, apparently to prevent U.S. Customs and Border Protection sniffer dogs from detecting the migrants at checkpoints.

San Antonio Police chief William McManus told CNN it 'was a crime against humanity.'

'The floor of the trailer, it was completely covered in bodies. Completely covered in bodies,' he added.
Advertisement

Triathletes competing in the Commonwealth Games may face swimming in waters where raw sewage is dumped, a report has claimed.

Analysis by the Environment Agency has revealed Severn Trent Water spilled raw sewage into the waters of Sutton Park, which is hosting the multi-sport endurance events, The Mail+ reported.

The spillage, which lasted for nearly five hours last year, came directly from an outpipe into Longmoor Pool, which is connected by a channel to Powell's Pool  where the swimming section of the triathlon takes place.

Meanwhile, a monitor tasked with keeping track of sewage discharged into Wyndley Pool, another lake connected by a channel to Powell's Pool, only functioned for 14 per cent of the time last year, according to the report, which cites analysis by the Liberal Democrats.

This means, in theory, there were 314 days last year in which raw sewage could have been dumped into Birmingham's Sutton Park site without anyone knowing.

The report comes shortly after rising levels of pollution in Britain's rivers sparked health fears for wild swimmers as the 19th century pastime makes a comeback.

Analysis by the Environment Agency has revealed that Severn Trent Water spilled raw sewage into the waters of Sutton Park (pictured), which is hosting the swimming events, for nearly five hours last year, The Mail+ reported

Triathletes competing in the Commonwealth Games may face swimming in waters where raw sewage is dumped, campaigners claim

The growing resurgence of the trend of bathing in Britain's lakes and rivers was highlighted during the recent heatwave as Brits looked to cool off.

And as the pandemic has waned, thousands have taken up wild swimming in a bid to get outdoors and stay fit after inactivity due to lockdowns.

But the resurgence is not without its risks, and comes after looser regulations on dumping sewage were introduced by the Government in the Environment Bill.

It has raised fears over the health risks of swimming in the country's lakes and rivers, with a recent parliamentary report finding that none are free from contamination.

Environment Agency bosses even touted prosecution for water company bosses who have contributed to the sector's worse performance for years.

Their annual environmental performance report said serious pollution incidents in the UK increased to 62 in 2021, the highest total since 2013.

Chairwoman Emma Howard Boyd said: 'It's appalling that water companies' performance on pollution has hit a new low. Water quality won't improve until water companies get a grip on their operational performance.'

Wild swimming first became popular in Britain in the 1800s as Romantic writers such as Coleridge and Wordsworth began swimming in the picturesque Lake District as part of their search for the 'sublime' - meaning of great beauty.

The activity allowed the writers to experience nature away from the rapidly industrialising cities and water featured as a theme of several great paintings of the era as a result.

Britain's lakes and rivers became even more popular in the height of the Victorian period after cheap rail fare began an era of internal tourism in the UK with middle and working class families flocking to the bodies as well as traditional jaunts to the seaside.

As swimming became a more mainstream pursuit, public lidos were built in residential areas to bring the sensation to the suburbs - a move that coincided with the UK's water bodies suffering from pollution caused by post-war industrial development.

Some 2.1 million prefer to swim in open water than swimming pools in Britain according to a Swim England survey from 2018.

The blazing heat and the end of the pandemic has highlighted the growing resurgence of the trend of bathing in Britain's lakes and rivers. Pictured: Stock image

The resurgence is not without its risks - coming after looser regulations on dumping sewage were introduced by the Government in the Environment Bill. Pollution at a weir on the Jubilee River in Taplow

Despite the fears, Britain is still home to many idyllic bodies of water which make for picturesque wild swims. A map shows some of the best places in the UK for wild swimming

As the pandemic has waned, thousands have taken up wild swimming in a bid to get outdoors and stay fit. Two swimmers take a dip in the River Lea in Hertfordshire

2.1 million prefer to swim in open water than swimming pools in Britain according to a Swim England survey from 2018. Pictured: Woman take a dip in the Great Ouse, Great Barford

Pollution can cause algal blooms which starve creatures in the water of oxygen and prevent light reaching underwater plants. Pictured: The Wye at Bridge Sollers

Water pollution is still a concern for the government as it attempts to tout its green credentials.

The Conservative Government caught the flak of many when the Environment Bill passed last October included a provision which allowed water companies to dump sewage into bodies of water across the country.

A total of 265 MPs voted with the government to reject an amendment from House of Lords to outlaw the discharge of sewage as part of the bill.

A report by Parliament's Environmental Audit Committee concluded that not a single river in England is free from pollution  with waterways fouled by a 'chemical cocktail' of raw sewage, slurry, oils, car tyre microplastics and wet wipes.

The committee pointed to agriculture and then water companies as the largest contributors.

The committee  which spent months taking in expert advice  warned that the ubiquitous pollution poses a risk to both the environment and to human health.

UK waterways are used for fishing and swimming to other sports, but bacteria derived from sewage and slurry risks making river users gravely ill.

And the noxious influx of chemicals, microplastics and excessive amounts of nutrients are harming river-based wildlife and leading to harmful algal blooms.

In particular, the audit committee criticised government inaction and budget cuts that are tying the hands of the Environment Agency in the fight against pollution.

'Rivers are the arteries of nature and must be protected,' Environmental Audit Committee chair and MP Philip Dunne told BBC News in January.

The ongoing hot weather is likely to increase the popularity of the trend which was first undertaken in the 19th century as illustrated here with this picture of the Bathing-Place at Port Skillion

Britain's lakes and rivers became even more popular in the height of the Victorian period after cheap rail fare began an era of internal tourism in the UK. Pictured: Richmond Bridge in London

'Our inquiry has uncovered multiple failures in the monitoring, governance and enforcement on water quality.

'For too long, the government, regulators and the water industry have allowed a Victorian sewerage system to buckle under increasing pressure.'

Environment Minister Rebecca Pow, however, dismissed this criticism.

'We are going further and faster than any other government to protect and enhance the health of our rivers and seas,' she said.

'We welcome the Environmental Audit Committee's report which highlights many areas that this government is now tackling.'

As part of the report, the committee put forward a series of recommendations for how the Government might improve waterway management and combat pollution.

For example, they encourage more substantial penalties for water companies that discharge sewage into the environment  a course of action that is only supposed to be allowed in truly exceptional circumstances.

Such discharges can be identified by signs including the presence of tampons, toilet paper and human waste in the water or caught on plants along riverbanks.

According to the committee, local community groups often flag sewage overflow episodes that are not reported to the Environment Agency by the responsible water companies  suggesting these discharges are likely more common than thought.

'We support the committee's urgent call for action to improve the health of England's rivers,' a spokesperson for water and wastewater service provider membership organisation Water UK said.

'Many of the recommendations mirror proposals set out in our recent 21st Century Rivers report,' they added.

This, they explained, 'calls for government, regulators, water companies, agriculture, and other sectors to come together and create a comprehensive national plan to transform our rivers.'

The Conservative Government caught the flak of many when the Environment Bill passed last October included a provision which allowed water companies to dump sewage into bodies of water across the country. Pictured: An Environment Agency worker is seen treated the River Trent at Yoxall, Staffordshire, after it was contaminated with untreated sewage and cyanide, back in 2009

As part of the report, the committee put forward a series of recommendations for how the Government might improve waterway management and combat pollution. Pictured: Polluted water on the River Thames at Maidenhead in January 2022

The most common source of pollution in England's waterways, the Environment Audit Committee noted, comes from intensive farming  and, in particular, from chicken farms.

The leaking of excessive amounts of nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus from these farms  via sources like the birds faeces and urine  can cause algae in waterways to flourish in response, forming a thick layer at the surface.

Unfortunately, algal blooms can also prevent oxygen from being taken into the water, suffocating the other creatures that live in the river.

In particular, the report singled out the high concentrations of phosphorus in the River Wye in the south-west Midlands and Wales, which is thought to have been derived from the water of some 20 million chickens in the river catchment.

The report has recommended that the Government prohibit the construction of new poultry farms in areas where rivers already have high nutrient levels.

Others recommendations put forward in the report included the creation of a designated safe bathing area along each river by the year 2025  as well as a ban on single-use leaning and hygiene products containing plastics.

The committee also warned against the disposal of fats, oils and wet wipes down sinks and toilets. These not only can make their way into rivers, but also clump together to form large 'fatbergs' that clog up sewers.

In fact, it is estimated that these blockages cost English sewage companies and customers some 100 million each year to clear.

The report also criticised both the Environment Agency National Highways for not doing enough to address the pollution generated when microplastics particles released from wear on car tyres are washed from roads into nearby rivers.

Following the report  which focussed on English waterways, as per the devolved treatment of environmental issues in the UK  the Environmental Audit Committee has recommended surveys of river quality also be conducted in Scotland and Wales.

The full findings of the report were published on the Environmental Audit Committee website.

Achmelvich Beach in the Scottish Highlands (seen here) is an idyllic place for a wild dip and could even involve a walk around the hills

Parts of the 30km wide loch in Argyll and Bute was designated a Special Area of Conservation by the European Union. Pictured: The sunset over Loch Etive

The Stanley Ghyll Force Waterfall (called also Clear Force) in an enchanting green and wild forest. Pictured: Lake District National Park, Cumbria, England, UK

Despite the fears, Britain is still home to many idyllic bodies of water which make for picturesque wild swims.

Achmelvich Beach in the Scottish Highlands features a water colour that would not be out of place in the Caribbean - with the light blue sea surrounded by hills which make getting to the beach as enjoyable as the swim itself.

The spot is also one for those who wish to be around wildlife as swimmers will be able to spot black-and-red throated divers from the beach.

There are also occasional sightings of porpoises, dolphins, and the occasional minke whale in the water.

For those seeking to swimming in calmer water, another Highlands destination could be Loch Etive.

Parts of the 30km wide loch in Argyll and Bute was designated a Special Area of Conservation by the European Union and includes stunning mountain surroundings.
French and British coastguards both passed the buck for rescuing a dinghy in trouble in the Channel before a drowning that claimed 31 lives plus that of an unborn child, a damning French report has claimed.

The worst drowning of migrants crossing the English Channel happened on the night of November 24 2021, when a rubber dingy carrying carrying 34 people sank after repeated calls for help to rescue services on both sides of the Channel.

Sky News report that a preliminary investigation, carried out by a law firm on behalf of some of the relatives, uncovered communications between the British and French emergency services which suggests neither side took responsibility for the unfolding disaster.

This responsibility-dodging is alleged to have gone on for a staggering six to seven hours across 80 separate phone calls from the desperate dinghy as both sides washed their hands and blamed the other.

The report, which draws on evidence from the two survivors, phone calls, text messages and emails, paints a damning picture of negligence as the dinghy foundered in choppy waters without rescue for up to seven hours.

This is the first picture of the flimsy and dangerous dinghy that sank off Calais yesterday, killing 27 people including seven women - one of whom was pregnant - and three children

Up to 50 people were supposed to board two boats ahead of the fatal voyage  but one vessel suffered engine trouble, those stuck in camps in France claimed. Rather than curtail the trip that would have netted them tens of thousands of pounds, the gun-toting gang corralled the migrants into one boat, it was said

The report claims that the first call to both English and French rescue crews began around 2am, and went on for around two hours as terrified passengers pleaded to be saved.

'A few minutes after this first call, the French rescue services again asked for the vessel's position,' the French report says.

'The position of the vessel was then in English waters. The French rescue team then transmitted the position to the English rescue team, informing them it was their responsibility to assist the boat.'

'The English rescue team tried to call one of the numbers given to them by the Cross Gris Nez (French coastguard) but the tone of the call indicated that the vessel was in French waters. They therefore considered that the obligation to provide assistance fell to the Cross Gris Nez.'

The brother of victim Twana Muhammad (pictured), 18, laid responsibility for the tragedy at the doors of France, Britain, and the trafficking group that sent them to their deaths

Empty recovered dinghies used for previous crossings are seen at Dover harbour in the days after the tragedy of November 24

A group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, by the RNLI, on the day following the tragedy

This graph of migrant crossing numbers between 2019 and 2022 shows the present year to be on course for a new record, as 15,000 migrants have made the journey already this year, almost a third higher than this time last year

Zana Mamand Mohammad, the brother of one of the victims, Twana Mamand Mohammad, laid responsibility for the tragedy at the doors of France, Britain, and the trafficking group that sent them to their deaths.

'The coastguards or the emergency services of both countries were negligent in not going to their help, as they [migrants] had reached out to them and had informed them of their situation. They did tell them that they needed help.

'To me, the smugglers, France, and Britain get their own share of the crime, but the extent of who gets the larger and the smaller share will be decided by the court.

'The biggest criminals are the smugglers, the primary perpetrators are smugglers.

'But it is also true that the boat was in the waters for six hours, and they called Britain and France 80 times. France and Britain are both responsible too.'

The UK is conducting its own investigation through the Marine Accident Investigation Branch.

Despite the tragedy, the number of migrant crossings has continued to soar, with some 15,000 migrants having already made the trip this year, 1,600 of whom came in the last ten days.

The present year is set to blow the record away for the number of migrant crossings, with the figure in July already a third higher than the corresponding figure this time last year, according to government statistics.
Have you ever been to Arizona in the summer?

Better yet - have you ever been to border cities like Tucson or Yuma?

I have.

There is no way to describe the sweltering heat to someone who hasn't experienced it themselves.

Temperatures easily reach 100 to 120 degrees. It feels like being on the surface of Mars.

It is something I can only withstand because I was raised in it.

You shouldn't stay outside very long because you can faint. If you aren't constantly drinking water, you can easily become dehydrated and need to be hospitalized.

It is jarring if you have never endured it.

In fact, it is borderline inhumane for anyone to be outside for very long at all.

The merciless and unrelenting heat is one of the worst killers along the U.S./Mexico border.

In June, 50 adults and three children were found dead in an overheated tractor-trailer on an industrial road outside of San Antonio, Texas.

Many of the bodies were sprinkled with steak seasoning, according to authorities.

The migrants  or the coyotes illegally smuggling them  may have been trying to disguise the smell of people.

Human bodies were also found littered along the highway for several blocks.

Apparently, some desperate and dying people jumped from the truck.

They choose to leap from a moving vehicle instead of staying inside the trailer and baking to death.

In June, 50 adults and three children were found dead in an overheated tractor-trailer (above) on an industrial road outside of San Antonio, Texas.

Human bodies were also found littered along the highway for several blocks. Apparently, some desperate and dying people jumped from the truck. (Above, left and right) On June 29, 2021, Mourners leaves signs and flower at makeshift memorial for 53 migrants found dead outside of San Antonio

The details are disturbing on a level that is hard to comprehend.

That happened just about a month ago, and now the Biden administration has leaked new plans to address the historic illegal immigration crisis on the U.S. border.

Perhaps the White House has finally come to its senses?

Maybe they are finally taking concrete steps to stem an unrelenting flood of human beings over the southern border?

Sadly, no.

The White House has a plan to potentially make the border crisis even worse.

The administration reportedly plans to test out providing temporary I.D. cards to illegal immigrants.

It is called the 'ICE Secure Docket Card program' and Biden is hoping to get it approved and rolled out at the end of September  presumably before those 'evil' Republicans take over the House and put a stop to it.

The I.D. cards are supposedly intended to help identify the undocumented, as they await pending deportation or asylum cases.

The cards will also make it easier for them to travel in the country, access housing, health care and other benefits.

'How could anyone be opposed to that?' you may ask.

'It is compassionate,' you may say. 'It helps vulnerable people, right?'

Wrong! And I'll tell you why.

Advocates for lenient immigration policies, do not get to claim the moral high ground when human beings are roasting to death in tractor-trailers.

There is nothing compassionate about the Biden Administration's seemingly open-border policies that encourage desperate people to risk their lives and the endure horrors of the Arizona deserts or remote Texas highways for the chance at a better life in America.

Yet that's exactly what progressives and Biden Administration have done and continue to do.

Remember sanctuary cities?

There are dozens of liberal cities in 11 states that have policies that shield illegal immigrants from federal immigration enforcement measures that may result in their deportation.

The White House has a plan to potentially make the border crisis even worse

The administration reportedly plans to test out providing temporary I.D. cards to illegal immigrants

New York City provides I.D. cards to anyone in the five boroughs of the city  regardless of immigration status.

The naive idea behind these policies is simple: We should make the lives of illegal immigrants as comfortable as possible because they are in need of help.

But that's not all these policies do!

And it is long past time that bleeding heart libs wake up and realize that their ideas are hurting people.

It is grossly irresponsible for the federal government to offer illegal immigrants even more assistance and then not assume the responsibility when those people risk their lives to get to the US.

It was reported Monday, and confirmed by multiple Department of Homeland Security sources, that approximately 900,000 known illegal immigrants have evaded Border Patrol and entered the US since 2021.

That's just the known individuals. That actual number of illegal immigrants, who got into the US during that period is undoubtedly much higher.

Regardless, it is an absolutely daunting number of people, larger than the population of San Francisco.

More than 1,000 people have died trying to make the illegal crossing into the US since Biden took office.

The death toll last year alone was more than in any other year since the International Organization for Migration began tracking the data in 2014.

And again, that's known deaths.

The real death toll is likely much higher, plus there are other nightmares encountered by these poor people.

Human smugglers run by powerful crime syndicates force migrants into servitude as a payment for their passage.

Women and children are robbed of their freedom - even in the America!

There are documented instances of smugglers selling migrants to the cartels for ransom schemes or as recruits.

Others are sex trafficked. Rape and abuse is routine.

It is Russian roulette, and innocent people are hurt, abandoned or worse every single day.

The Biden Administration should be taking every step to discourage illegal immigration, but they aren't.

Advocates for lenient immigration policies, do not get to claim the moral high ground when human beings are roasting to death in tractor trailers. (Above) Law enforcement officers work at the scene where people were found dead inside a trailer truck in San Antonio, in the early hours of June 28, 2022

That's unconscionable.

Look, I am not a 'Build the Wall' advocate, nor a critic of legal immigration.

I never have been, I never will be.

The American experiment thrives on people coming here from around the world seeking a better life. They bring energy and ideas and a thirst to make this country a better place.

But I also  clearly  do not believe in the delusional progressive vision of open borders and amnesty for illegal immigrants.

For too long, Democratic politicians have simply stuck their heads in the sand and allowed illegal immigration to be a 'border state issue.'

Border states and conservative politicians have warned about the consequences of this for years, and not just because it burdens their towns and cities, but because it is the cause of intolerable human suffering.

This is the harsh reality.

The progressive approach to immigration is not compassionate.

It is heartless.
Advertisement

Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss have joined thousands in sending well wishes to TalkTV political editor Kate McCann after their Tory leadership TV debate was dramatically interrupted when the presenter fainted off camera.

The showdown between the Foreign Secretary and ex-chancellor was taken off air after around 30 minutes and subsequently cancelled on the advice of medical experts present at the studio in Ealing, west London.

Miss McCann, TalkTV's political editor and host for the evening after The Sun's Harry Cole pulled out with Covid, was inundated by messages from well-wishers on social media and was said to be 'fine' after the incident.

The dramatic moment happened as Ms Truss was answering a question around half-an-hour into the TalkTV/The Sun event.

A loud noise caused the clearly worried Foreign Secretary to hold her face in shock as she exclaimed: 'Oh my God!'. Ms Truss was then seen leaving her podium and walking towards where Miss McCann had been standing.

The broadcast feed was swiftly cut, with viewers shown the message: 'We're sorry for the disruption to this programme. We're working hard to fix the issue and will return to normal programming soon.'

There was a long pause in the broadcast while viewers wondered what had happened in the studio, before a 'medical issue' was cited as being the cause of the disturbance.

Confirming the rest of the debate would no longer go ahead, TalkTV later said in a statement: 'Kate McCann fainted on air tonight and although she is fine, the medical advice was that we shouldn't continue with the debate. We apologise to our viewers and listeners.'

Mr Sunak had rushed over to Kate McCann and held her hand after she fainted and Ms Truss also went to check on her, with both Tory hopefuls kneeling down to check she was ok, The Sun reported.

Both Tory leadership candidates have since raised the prospect of resuming their debate on TalkTV at a later date.

Posting to Miss McCann on Twitter, Mr Sunak wrote: 'Good news that you're already recovering. It was a great debate and I look forward to getting grilled by you again shortly!'

Ms Truss later tweeted: 'Relieved to hear @KateEMcCann is fine. Really sorry that such a good debate had to end. Look forward to catching up with Kate and the rest of the @TheSun @TalkTV team again soon.'

The ex-chancellor and the Foreign Secretary were seen chatting with audience members in the studio while the incident was dealt with and the broadcast taken off air.

A worried Liz Truss reacts as a large crash was heard in the TalkTV studio during her live debate with Rishi Sunak

The loud noise caused the Foreign Secretary to hold her face in shock as she exclaimed: 'Oh my God!'

Both Tory leadership candidates raised the prospect of resuming their debate on TalkTV at a later date

The Foreign Secretary is pictured leaving TalkTV's Ealing studios in West London following Tuesday's shortened televised debate

Conservative PM hopeful Rishi Sunak is seen clutching a small bag as he leaves TalkTV's Ealing studio on Tuesday

Prior to the dramatic interruption to the televised debate, Mr Sunak and Ms Truss had put aside the blue-on-blue attacks as they faced each other on live TV for a second time in two days

Kate McCann, who was inundated by messages from well-wishers on social media, was said to be 'fine' after the incident

Many on social media this evening sent their best wishes and praise to Miss McCann, who is TalkTV's political editor and who formerly worked at Sky News.

She was presenting the Tory leadership debate alone after Harry Cole, the political editor of The Sun, pulled out of co-hosting the event earlier today after testing positive for Covid.

Mr Cole posted on Twitter that Miss McCann was 'absolutely bossing it', adding he was 'very proud of my friend'.

Tory MP Angela Richardson, a supporter of Mr Sunak, posted on Twitter: 'Just want to say top marks to @KateEMcCann for moderating the first of the leadership debates where there was space to hear more detail rather than just the top line stuff.

'It didn't feel as rushed. A brilliant job and I hope she feels better soon.'

Andrew Bowie, another of Mr Sunak's backers, said: 'Very relieved to hear the brilliant @KateEMcCann is doing fine. She was, as ever, doing a brilliant job tonight moderating the debate. One of the best in the business.'

Simon Clarke, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury and a Ms Truss ally, hailed Miss McCann as a 'lovely person and a great presenter', adding: 'I hope she makes a very quick recovery.'

Foreign Office minister Amanda Milling praised Miss McCann for 'doing a brilliant job', adding: 'Get well soon!'

Fellow TalkTV presenter Julia Hartley-Brewer tweeted: 'So bloody relieved that @KateEMcCann is ok.

'I think we can all agree that she was doing a bloody brilliant job hosting the Tory leaders' debate on @TalkTV.

'We learned more about @RishiSunak and @trussliz policies in those 20 minutes than in the BBC's full hour!'

Miss McCann, who is TalkTV's political editor and who formerly worked at Sky News, was presenting the debate alone after Harry Cole, the political editor of The Sun, pulled out of co-hosting the event earlier today after testing positive for Covid

The broadcast feed was swiftly cut, with viewers shown the message: 'We're sorry for the disruption to this programme. We're working hard to fix the issue and will return to normal programming soon.'

The Foreign Secretary and ex-Chancellor were going head-to-head for a second time in two days

Prior to the dramatic interruption, Mr Sunak and Ms Truss had put aside the blue-on-blue attacks as they faced each other on live TV for a second time in two days.

In calmer exchanges than last night's bitter BBC clash, the two Tory leadership contenders faced questions on the NHS and cost-of-living crisis this evening.

Mr Sunak began the event by offering Ms Truss his best wishes as the Foreign Secretary celebrates her 47th birthday.

The ex-chancellor also steered clear of interrupting Ms Truss - as he did frequently during the BBC event and which drew accusations of 'mansplaining'.

As they were quizzed by a Sun reader on the NHS, Mr Sunak admitted he was 'getting a lot of flak' for his decision to raise National Insurance contributions while he was in the Treasury.

But he defended the tax hike, which he branded an 'NHS levy', as a means of pumping more cash into the health service after the Covid crisis.

Mr Sunak said: 'It wasn't an easy thing for me to do, I got a lot of criticism for it, but I believe it was the right thing to do.

'I don't think we can have an NHS which is ultimately the country's number one public service priority that is underfunded and not able to deliver the care it needs.

'And that's why I think you can be reassured the NHS is safe in my hands because I've taken what was a brave decision to get it the support it needed.'

Ms Truss committed to the extra 39billion being put into the NHS and social care, but said there was not a need to raise National Insurance in order to fund it as she stressed the money could be found from 'general taxation'.

'It was a choice to break our manifesto commitment,' she said, as she noted the Tories' pre-election promise not to hike income tax, national insurance or VAT.

'I think it was the wrong choice to make, I spoke out against it at the time in Cabinet, I still remain opposed to it and I'd reverse that rise.'

The Foreign Secretary vowed to 'put money back in people's pockets from day one' in Number 10.

She also claimed it was 'morally wrong' to raise taxes during the cost-of-living crisis in an attack on Mr Sunak's policies.

But Mr Sunak shot back, saying it was 'morally wrong' to heap more debt on future generations.

'What's morally wrong is asking our children and grandchildren to pick up the tab for the bills that we are not prepared to meet,' the ex-chancellor said.

Ahead of an another expected rise in fuel bills this winter amid the energy crisis, both Mr Sunak and Ms Truss said they would support fracking in Britain if local communities supported it.

The Tory leadership hopefuls - who are both vying to replace Boris Johnson as Prime Minister - were facing each other in a TalkTV/The Sun event

Ahead of tonight's debate, the Foreign Secretary spent the day campaigning in Sussex, while Mr Sunak was in Stanmore, north London.

Ms Truss refused to enter a fresh slanging match with Mr Sunak as she quizzed about the ex-chancellor's 'mansplaining' during last night's brutal TV debate on the BBC.

The pair had been urged to tone down their brutal blue-on-blue attacks on each other as they prepared to go toe-to-toe on live television for a second time.

The Foreign Secretary vowed not 'to criticise the other candidate in this race' as both her camp and Mr Sunak's reflected on the fall-out from their first head-to-head clash.

'I'm not going to criticise the other candidate in this race,' she told Sky News.

'I am putting forward a positive case about what we need to change in Britain to unleash the potential of people across this country.'

But Ms Truss - although declining to engage in personal barbs - claimed Mr Sunak's plans for the economy would be a 'disaster' for homeowners, businesses and workers.

She was asked about the new IMF world economic update, which was viewed as a boost for Mr Sunak's claim that not cutting taxes immediately and keeping spending down is the right path.

Ms Truss added: 'Let's be clear, his plan is to raise taxes. He is planning to raise taxes on corporations, putting our taxes up to the same level as France.

'That is going to put off people who want to invest in Britain. And I know there are masses of opportunities right across the country.

'Less investment will mean fewer jobs, fewer opportunities, lower wages and lower productivity in the future. So it's cutting off our nose to spite our face.'

Ms Truss spoke to Conservative Party members at an event at Fontwell Park racecourse, West Sussex, before tonight's debate

The Foreign Secretary, who is celebrating her 47th birthday today, refused to enter a fresh slanging match with Rishi Sunak as she quizzed about the ex-chancellor's 'mansplaining'

Mr Sunak was campaigning in Stanmore, north London ahead of the TalkTV/The Sun head-to-head event with Ms Truss

A new IMF world economic update was viewed as a boost for Mr Sunak's claim that not cutting taxes immediately and keeping spending down is the right path

The Foreign Secretary quoted the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development on the UK's economic policy.

She said the body had branded Britain's approach 'contractionary', adding: 'And what that means is it will lead to a recession. A recession would be a disaster.

'It would be a disaster for people who are homeowners. It would be a disaster for people who go out to work. It would be a disaster for people who run businesses.

'That is why I want to keep taxes low, attract the investment, get the growth. That's the best way to pay down our debt.'

Mr Sunak has claimed there is 'nothing Conservative' about Ms Truss's approach to cutting taxes and pumping up borrowing.

After last night's BBC debate, a YouGov snap poll of 507 Conservative Party members found Ms Truss was seen as having performed better, with 50 per cent saying so to Mr Sunak's 39 per cent.

Similarly, eight in ten (78 per cent) Tory members who watched the BBC debate said that Ms Truss performed well, with two-thirds (65 per cent) saying this of Mr Sunak.
A rail conductor has successfully sued his ex-employer West Midlands Trains after he was sacked for gross misconduct when he was overheard questioning 'black privilege' during an online diversity training course.

Simon Isherwood, 60, was dismissed in March last year after he accidentally left his microphone on, meaning his colleagues overheard him criticising the webinar's contents.

Following an employment tribunal held in Watford, Mr Isherwood has emerged victorious, with a panel ruling that he was unfairly dismissed.

In his ruling, employment judge Stephen Wyeth said: 'Freedom of expression, including a qualified right to offend when expressing views and beliefs [in this case on social issues], is a fundamental right in a democratic society.

'It simply cannot be right that employees are not allowed to have views that they privately express about courses they attend, however odious or objectionable others might consider them to be if they come to know of those views.'

Simon Isherwood, 60, was dismissed in March last year after he accidentally left his microphone on, meaning his colleagues overheard him criticising the webinar's contents

The diversity session in January 2020 was attended by around 80 staff members from East Midlands Railway, West Midlands Railway and Mr Isherwood's former company London Northwestern Railway, which is owned by WMT.

At the end of it, Mr Isherwood was overheard telling his wife: 'I couldn't be a**** because I thought, "you know what, I'll just get f**king angry". You know what I really wanted to ask?... and I wish I had, do they have black privilege in other countries? So, if you're in Ghana?...'

Ghana has a population that is around 98% black and 2% white, while in the UK 86% are white and 3% are black.

Mr Isherwood says he made the private remark because he felt diversity trainers in the session were 'indoctrinating their view on us' that 'implied all white people are racist - but I'm not'.

The webinar, which he voluntarily attended, covered topics including what white privilege is, how to 'change the privilege and power structures', and 'how to be an ally'.

His remarks caused colleagues to complain to bosses that they were 'disgusted' and 'angered', and Mr Isherwood was suspended while an internal disciplinary probe took place.

Mr Isherwood was sacked after WMT ruled he had 'caused offence, brought the company into disrepute and breached our equality, diversity and inclusion policy and the code of conduct'.

He internally appealed in April last year but this was rejected and no further right of appeal was allowed.

Mr Isherwood told The Telegraph: 'I've lost my job, my income, my reputation, my health is absolutely shot to pieces.

He is now taking WMT to an employment tribunal, to be held in Watford on Thursday and Friday, suing for unfair dismissal. Stock image used

'I'd worked there for 11-and-a-half years and never had anything but promotion, praise and awards and even now I can't believe it.

'All I was trying to do was understand the subject better - we had been asked to think of questions so I did exactly what I was asked to do.'

News of the ruling was shared online by The Free Speech Union, which has supported Mr Isherwood throughout the tribunal. Details regarding damages have not yet been made public.

Dr Bryn Harris, the FSU's Chief Legal Counsel, said: 'This is a tremendous victory for Simon and for free speech. The lesson is clear: if youre a member of the FSU, make sure your employer knows it. And if youre an employer  dont bully our members, or well come for you.'

Free Speech Union General Secretary Toby Young said: 'I'm delighted we were able to help Simon win a landmark victory for free speech.

'I hope this sends a message to other employers: you cannot dismiss staff for gross misconduct for mocking woke diversity training. Workers have rights, including the right to free speech.'

A West Midlands Trains spokesperson said: 'We respect the decision of the Tribunal. West Midlands Trains is an inclusive employer and there is no place for discriminatory behaviour within the rail industry.'
A man has pleaded not guilty to a Covid breach when appearing at a vigil for Sarah Everard during lockdown after a court tossed out his earlier conviction.

Kevin Godin-Prior, 68, is accused of breaching Tier 4 restrictions by attending the vigil in Clapham Common, south London, on March 13 last year.

Kevin Godin-Prior, 68, is accused of breaching Tier 4 restrictions by attending the vigil in Clapham Common, south London, on March 13 last year.

Tier 4 Covid-19 restrictions banned household mixing, aside from support bubbles, and two people meeting in public outdoor places.

Ben Stuttard, defending, said: 'The background of this case is this is a prosecution arising out of the Sarah Everard vigil on Clapham Common.

'Several people have been prosecuted without knowing it and they have been convicted in absence.'

Godin-Prior, of Debdale, Greater Manchester, spoke via video-link as he self-isolated at home for Covid reasons.

He told the court he has experienced 'frequent delays' to his post this year which meant he only received the notice of his prosecution on May 22, two days after the deadline given for him to respond.

The 68-year-old said he tried to contact authorities to request an extension to the notice to respond, to move the proceedings to a local court in Manchester due to his ill health and to let them know he intended to plead 'not guilty' but he said he received no response.

Godin-Prior said he then 'heard from a news report' that he had been convicted and was to be sentenced on June 9.

People clashed with police during the vigil for Sarah Everard in Clapham Common on March 13, 2021, after she was raped and murdered by Met cop Wayne Couzens

Patsy Stevenson, a Physics student at Royal Holloway, was pinned to the floor after joining hundreds of women to mourn Sarah's death at a vigil on Clapham Common in south London on March 13

'I am requesting it to be reopened because I had no opportunity to respond to my case,' Godin-Prior said.

Magistrate Dr Lynn Gailey proceeded to toss out the conviction before ruling that the case could be reopened and a trial could go ahead.

She then gave Godin-Prior the opportunity to enter a plea to which he responded: 'Not guilty.'

Godin-Prior had previously been convicted in his absence under the Single Justice Procedure - a paper-based process not held in open court - at Westminster Magistrates' Court on June 1, alongside other attendees at the vigil - Dania Al-Obeid, 27, from Stratford, east London, and Ben Wheeler, 21, from Kennington, south London.

Each was ordered to pay a 220 fine, 100 in court costs and a 34 victim surcharge at the same court a week later. But Prior successfully quashed that conviction at Westminster Magistrates' Court today.

Sarah Everard, 33, was kidnapped, raped and murdered by Met officer Wayne Couzens while walking home in south London

Prosecutor Jen Gatland asked the court to list Godin-Prior for trial from November 14 to 16 alongside Al Obeid.

On the prospect of others asking for their convictions to be quashed and their case reopened, Mr Stuttard added: 'I gather it's the prosecution's intention to deal with them all together.'

A case management hearing ahead of Godin-Prior and Al-Obeid's trial is scheduled for September 23 at Westminster Magistrates' Court.

Godin-Prior was one of six people prosecuted by the Met after the event on March 13 last year.

Jade Spence, 33, from Lambeth, south London, was convicted at Westminster Magistrates' Court in her absence on June 15 and was handed a 300 fine, 110 in costs, and a 34 victim surcharge.

Both her and Wheeler can still apply for their cases to be reopened, it is understood.

Vivien Hohmann, 20, from Clapham, and Jenny Edmunds, 32, of Lewisham, south London, pleaded not guilty by post.

Hohmann will face trial in front of a district judge at Westminster Magistrates' Court on October 3 and 5.

People clash with police during a gathering at a temporary memorial site around the Clapham Common Bandstand

Hundreds gathered at the event in Clapham Common, in south-west London, last March to pay their respects to 33-year-old Ms Everard, who was killed after disappearing while walking home

Meanwhile, Edmunds will face trial at City of London Magistrates' Court on October 28, 31 and November 1.

A planned socially distanced event proposed by Reclaim These Streets (RTS) was cancelled when organisers were threatened by the Met with 10,000 fines.

A spontaneous vigil - which followed the kidnap, rape and murder of Ms Everard, 33, by serving Pc Wayne Couzens - was held but the Met's policing was heavily criticised after women were handcuffed on the ground and led away by officers.

Out of a total of nine fixed penalty notices issued, another two were paid and one was dropped with no further action.

The Met was twice refused permission to appeal against a High Court ruling which concluded they breached the rights of the RTS organisers.

Couzens, 49, is serving a whole-life sentence after admitting to kidnapping, raping and murdering Ms Everard.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has tied his boss President Joe Biden in a new poll out of New Hampshire that was released while the president continues to isolate for COVID-19.

Buttigieg is at 17 per cent and Biden is at 16 per cent in the new University of New Hampshire poll, which asked likely Democratic voters about potential 2024 candidates.

Trailing far behind is Vice President Kamala Harris at 6 per cent.

Progressive figure Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who lives in neighboring Massachusetts with its powerful media market, stands at 10 percent.

Biden and Pete Buttigieg are virtually tied in the new University of New Hampshire poll

Buttigieg, 40, has been one of the administration's prominent commentators on TV as he sells the infrastructure law

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who survived a recall and recently made a high profile trip to D.C., gets the same amount.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who ran in 2016 and 2020, is at 8 per cent.

Just 20 per cent of New Hampshire residents want Biden, 79, to run again in the new poll, and only 31 per cent of Democrats want him to run again. That is down from 74 per cent of Democrats a year ago.

The poll follows national surveys showing Democratic frustration with Biden, whose overall public approval ratings have hovered in the low 40s for months.

He is hoping to finally show some legislative muscle with a spurt of activity, which included Senate action Tuesday on a bill to provide billions to semiconductor manufacturers.

Buttigieg, 40, occasionally sparred with Biden during the 2020 presidential campaign, then joined his administration and became one of its most effective communicators.

Just 20 per cent of New Hampshire residents want Biden to run again in the new poll, and only 31 per cent of Democrats want him to run again

His position has allowed him to continuously sell the bipartisan infrastructure law, which the administration has touted as one of its signature accomplishments, particularly after the collapse of the Build Back Better plan.

Buttigieg recently changed his official residency to Michigan so that he and husband Chasten, who are raising adopted twins, could live closer to Chasten's parents.

The former Indiana governor frequently pointed to his midwestern roots during his 2020 campaign, and has become one of the nation's most prominent gay officials.

The poll in the key early voting state comes weeks after a New York Times / Sienna College poll showed nearly two-thirds of Democrats preferred someone besides Biden as the party nominee.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who ran against Biden in 2020 and was considered a potential running mate, gets 9 per cent, while progressive firebrand Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez gets 5 per cent. Hillary Clinton, the 2016 party nominee, gets 3 per cent support. Georgia candidate for Senate Stacey Abrams gets 3 per cent and New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker gets 2 per cent.

A total of 78 per cent surveyed said they are very or somewhat concerned about Biden's age, a figure that includes 88 per cent of Republicans and 75 per cent of Democrats.
Pope Francis called for a future in which the 'violence and marginalization of indigenous peoples in never repeated' during a homily preached to 65,000 people.

Francis also praised the indigenous tradition of showing great respect for elders, saying their memory must not be lost in modern society's 'fog of forgetfulness.'

The mass, which honored grandparents, was held Tuesday as part of his six-day tour of 'penance' the Catholic Church's role in the deaths of indigenous children at Canada's 'disastrous' residential schools.

Thousands of attendees cheered as Francis entered Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, Alberta and looped around the field ahead of the eucharistic celebration.

He was accompanied by a steady beat from indigenous hand drummers as paraded in, waving to the crowd of onlookers and stopping occasionally to kiss and bless babies.

The mass came just one day after the Pope apologized for the 'evil committed by so many Christians against the indigenous peoples' and vowed for further investigation, as well as steps to promote healing.

Pope Francis called for a future in which the 'violence and marginalization of indigenous peoples in never repeated' during a homily preached to 65,000 people on Tuesday

Pope Francis kissed a baby boy from his Popemobile on Tuesday as he arrived for an open-air mass to 65,000 people at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, Alberta

Thousands of attendees cheered as Francis entered and looped around the field on Tuesday

Pope Francis was seen waving to the crowd and stopping occasionally to bless babies from the Popemobile

Francis is on a week-long tour of Canada to apologize for the Catholic Church's role in severing generations of Indigenous family ties by participating in the nation's 'disastrous' residential school system

In his homily Tuesday, Francis praised the indigenous tradition of showing great respect for elders and learning from them, saying their memory must not be lost in modern society's 'fog of forgetfulness'

Tens of thousands attended Tuesday's mass, which marked the Feast of St. Anne - the grandmother of Jesus and a figure of particular veneration for Canadian Catholics.

Francis, who has often spoken about what he learned from his grandmother Rosa in Buenos Aires, used the occasion to repeat his frequent appeals to younger generations to cherish their grandparents and learn from them.

In his homily, Francis called grandparents 'a precious treasure that preserves a history greater than themselves.'

'Those who have preceded us have passed on to us a passion, a strength, and a yearning. A flame that is up to us to reignite,' he said. 'It is not a matter of preserving ashes but of rekindling the fire that they lit.'

'This is our history, to which we are heirs and which we are called to preserve. In the fog of forgetfulness that overshadows our turbulent times, it is essential to cultivate our roots, to pray for and with our forebears, to dedicate time to remember and guard their legacy.

'This is how a family tree grows; this is how the future is built,' he added.

Tens of thousands attended the mass, which marked the Feast of St. Anne. Pope Francis is seen kissing a child as arrives at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton

In his homily, Pope Francis called grandparents 'a precious treasure that preserves a history greater than themselves.' He is seen kissing an infant child ahead of Tuesday's mass

Although he did not directly mention the residential school system during the mass, Francis noted it was 'our spiritual duty' to create a 'better future' that does not repeat the 'violence and marginalization of our indigenous brothers and sisters.' He is seen blessing an infant Tuesday

Although he did not directly mention the residential school system during the mass, Francis noted: 'It is our spiritual duty to honor our grandparents and elders, to treasure their presence among us in order to create a better future.

'A future in which the history of violence and marginalization of our indigenous brothers and sisters is never repeated.'

For several months Francis has delivered weekly catechism lessons on the need to treasure grandparental wisdom and not discard them as part of today's 'culture of waste.'

His ode to grandparents will continue later Tuesday as Francis, who is using a wheelchair and a cane because of a knee ailment, holds a prayer service at Lac Ste. Anne, a popular pilgrimage site considered to be a place of healing.

Pope Francis presides over a mass at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton on Tuesday

A priest films the stage as Pope Francis speaks at Commonwealth Stadium during an open-air mass on Tuesday

For several months Francis has delivered weekly catechism lessons on the need to treasure grandparental wisdom and not discard them as part of today's 'culture of waste.' The pope is pictured blessing a baby on Tuesday

The Pope, pictured on his Popemobile ahead of Tuesday Mass, has apologized for the 'evil committed by so many Christians against the indigenous peoples' and vowed for further investigation, as well as steps to promote healing

Before the pope arrived for Tuesday's mass, Phil Fontaine, a former Assembly of First Nations National Chief and a residential school survivor, reflected on his Monday visit to Maskwacis.

During his tour of a former Maskwacis school, Francis blasted the residential school policy as a 'disastrous error' that did 'catastrophic' harm.

He apologized for the 'evil committed by so many Christians against the Indigenous peoples' and vowed further investigation and steps to promote healing.

'I want to say to you my friends that what we really are talking about is forgiveness. We will never reach reconciliation without forgiveness,' Fontaine said.

'We will never forget but we must forgive. We invite the Catholic Church to rebuild the fractured relationship it had with us, for us and for all Canadians.'

Fontaine was among the indigenous leaders who met the pope at the Vatican earlier this year and invited him to Canada.

Pope Francis waves to onlookers as he arrives at Commonwealth Stadium to give an open-air mass on Tuesday

People watch for Pope Francis arrives for mass in Edmonton on Tuesday as part of his Papal visit across Canada

Pope Francis celebrates mass at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton on Tuesday

Pope Francis waves as he arrives at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton on Tuesday

More than 150,000 indigenous children were separated from their families and brought to residential schools.

Many were starved, beaten for speaking their native languages and sexually abused in a system that Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission called 'cultural genocide.'

Indigenous leaders as well as survivors of the schools said that while the pope's apology on Monday evoked strong emotions and was a highly significant step towards reconciliation, more action needed to be taken by the Church and the government.

'You can't just say, 'I am sorry,' and walk away. There has to be effort, and there has to be work in more meaningful actions behind words,' said Nakota Sioux Nation Chief Tony Alexis.

Pope Francis blesses a child as he arrives for an open-air mass at Commonwealth Stadium

Francis has said his six-day visit to Canada is a 'penitential pilgrimage' to atone for the Church's role in the residential school system. He is pictured ahead of Tuesday mass

On Wednesday, the pope will travel to Quebec City for the more institutional part of his visit, meeting with government officials and diplomats. He is pictured in Edmonton on Tuesday, kissing a baby's head before mass

Francis has said his six-day visit is a 'penitential pilgrimage' to atone for the Church's role in the residential school system.

It fulfills a key recommendation of Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which sought a papal apology to be delivered on Canadian soil.

On Wednesday, the pope will travel to Quebec City for the more institutional part of his visit, meeting with government officials and diplomats.

On his way back to Rome on Friday, he will stop for a few hours in Iqaluit in the Canadian Arctic, where indigenous affairs will return to the fore.

The Iqaluit area is one of the fastest-warming parts of North America and there the pope is expected to address the dangers of climate change.
A Brazilian man was seriously injured and his was treated for minor wounds after their car exploded at a gas station while they were refueling it.

Surveillance video from the Rio de Janeiro station on Tuesday morning shows Mario Magalhaes, 67, opening his car's trunk before the vehicle suddenly blows up.

The impact of the car blast sent Magalhaes flying through the air and crashing to the ground.

His wife, Andreia Magalhaes, who was standing next to the front passenger door, managed to avoid the brunt of the explosion.

A man stands next to Mario Magalhaes after he was sent crashing to the ground by the powerful impact of his car's explosion while he was refueling it at a gas station in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Tuesday morning

Workers at the gas station have told local media outlets that the car explosion was reportedly caused by the rust in the gas cylinder

A security camera captures the moment a car exploded while it was being filled with gas at a gas station in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Tuesday

She can be seen in the video running away from the vehicle as the gas station roof paneling crashed to the ground. A gas station worker rushed over to check on her husband and signaled for help.

Mario Magalhaes was rushed to Salgado Filho Municipal Hospital and had a surgery, local media outlets reported. He's in serious condition.

Andreia Magalhaes was admitted to Souza Aguiar Municipal Hospital, where she was treated for lesser injuries.

Mario Magalhaes is seen on a surveillance camera video standing behind his car trunk moment before the vehicle exploded as it was being refueled with gas at a gas station in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Tuesday morning. The 67-year-old man underwent surgery and is in serious condition

A frightened Andreia Magalhaes (top center) ran away from the vehicle moments after it exploded and knocked her husband Mario Magalhaes (bottom center) to the ground at a gas station in Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday

Firemen inspect the gas station in Rio de Janeiro where a car exploded while it was being refueled with gas on Tuesday morning

'I was filling up and his car was on the other side. Then he went to open the trunk of the car. The moment he did that, there was an explosion,' taxi driver Estevao Aguiar told O Dia newspaper. 'It was all over him. At first we ran because of the fright, but then we went to help.'

Hugo Ruan, 25, who works as an attendant at the gas station, said the vehicle's gas cylinder was rusty.

Henrique Schneider, the director for the vehicle inspection agency, which is part-owner of the gas station, said that the car was last inspected on August 31, 2021 and that the gas cylinder was due for service in January. He said he wasn't sure if there are inspection records for the gas cylinder.
Kamala Harris opened up a roundtable meeting Tuesday afternoon with disability advocates by announcing her name, sex, gender identity and what she was wearing.

'I am Kamala Harris, my pronouns are she and her, I am a woman sitting at the table wearing a blue suit,' the vice president said at the top of the meeting.

The event was to mark the 32nd anniversary of the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

She said that the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade last month is particularly concerning to her due to the effects it could have on Americans with disabilities, claiming that the 'decision will uniquely impact' this community.

Self description of her attire was for the benefit of any participants who are visually impaired, but her gender identification led to criticism from Republicans.

'Okaybut what is a woman?' Colorado Representative Lauren Boebert tweeted in response to a clip of the comments. Georgia Representative Andrew Clyde shared the exact same question in his own tweet.

Both lawmakers are referencing new Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson claiming during her confirmation hearings that she could not define 'woman' since she is not a biologist. This line has become a frequent right-wing attack against Democrats and the LBGTQ community.

Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene wrote her own parody introduction: I am Marjorie Taylor Greene. I am a woman. I am a mother. And I am sick of this [s***].'

The Vice President began a roundtable with disability advocates on Tuesday by saying: 'I am Kamala Harris, my pronouns are she and her, I am a woman sitting at the table wearing a blue suit'

Harris said that the overturn of Roe v. Wade 'uniquely impacts' women with disabilities. The event Tuesday was to mark the 32nd anniversary of the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act

Harris sat at the head of the table in her ceremonial office Tuesday and was wearing a mask after coming in close contact with President Joe Biden, who tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday.

'We know that all people with disabilities, of course in the United States should have full access to reproductive care and reproductive care,' the vice president said. 'But these abortion restrictions that are being put in place in our country, by extremist, so-called leaders in various states, will have disproportionate impacts on people with disabilities.'

Criticism against Harris over her remarks on Tuesday also point to her inaction as the so-called 'border czar' in charge of addressing the southern border crisis.

'I don't care what your pronouns are or what color your suit is,' Representative Jeff Duncan wrote on Twitter. 'What are you doing to address our southern border crisis, 'Border Czar'?'

Harris added toward the end of the event Tuesday that the ruling overturning federal abortion rights in the U.S. did 'so much that is going to undo the spirit of that principle'.

Speakers also included Maria Town of the American Association of People with Disabilities; Lydia Brown of the Autistic Women and Nonbinary Network; Robin Wilson- Beattie, founder of the Disability Sexual and Reproductive Health Educator; Dior Vargas of the Disability Rights and Mental Health Advocate; and Sam Crane, legal director at Quality Trust for Individuals with Disabilities.

The vice president's office said that Harris aims to 'emphasize the Administration's commitment to protecting reproductive rights and share how the Administration has been, and will continue to, fight for the bodily autonomy and self-determination of all individuals with disabilities.'

In late June the Supreme Court issued an opinion that overturned the 50-year-old decision that protection abortion on the federal level. Now it is up to states to individually enact and enforce laws related to abortion access.

Thirteen states had so-called 'trigger laws' that immediately banned abortion when Roe was overturned this summer.
Elon Musk has asked a judge to postpone the trial to resolve his bid to walk away from a $44 billion deal to acquire Twitter as he continues to bemoan the 'supernova' level of interest in his 'affair' with friend Sergey Brin's wife.

The Tesla CEO requested for the five-day trial to begin on October 17, instead of October 10, as requested by Twitter, according to a court filing on Tuesday.

A lawyer for Musk, the world's richest person, said he was writing to ask the judge to 'break the impasse to allow things to move forward promptly.'

Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick, the chief judge on Delaware's Court of Chancery, last week ordered an October trial, which promises to be one of the biggest Wall Street legal fights in years. However, she left it to the parties to work out the precise schedule.

Musk initially had requested a February trial, which he said provided the time he needed for a thorough investigation of fake accounts on Twitter.

He said the company misrepresented its user numbers and therefore breached the merger agreement, allowing him to walk away. Twitter declined to comment.

Elon Musk (pictured here in 2021) has asked a judge to postpone the trial to resolve his bid to walk away from a $44 billion deal to acquire Twitter, according to a court filing on Tuesday

Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick, the chief judge on Delaware's Court of Chancery, last week ordered an October trial. But left it to the parties to work out the precise schedule

The company, which had requested a September trial, said the fake account issue was a distraction, and the deal's terms require Musk to pay up.

The Musk letter also asked the judge to order Twitter to immediately produce what it called 'core documents,' require Twitter to produce all raw data by August 1, and require the company to produce documents within 18 days of a request.

Musk accused Twitter of refusing to immediately provide documents such as manuals and policies regarding active daily user calculations and artificial intelligence and 'all items in the data room.'

Musk's request to postpone the trial comes as The Wall Street Journal reported that the billionaire had slept with Sergey Brin's wife, Nicole Shanahan.

He continued to show aggravation, with The Wall Street Journal's investigations editor on Monday, tweeting that he was trying to avoid the 'supernova' level of attention on him in the wake of rumors he slept with the co-founder of Google's wife.

Elon Musk continued to show aggravation toward The Wall Street Journal's investigations editor on Monday, tweeting that he's trying to avoid the 'supernova' level of attention on him in the wake of rumors he slept with the co-founder of Google's wife

Musk, 51, tweeted a photo of himself partying with Sergey Brin on Sunday in an effort to disprove the newspaper's bombshell claim that he slept with Brin's wife, Nicole, and that it served as a catalyst for their divorce.

Replying to Investigations Editor Michael Siconolfi, Musk shared the photo and long pants with fire emojis in a playful reference to the childish saying 'liar, liar, pants on fire.'

The billionaire Tesla CEO continued to bemoan the coverage Monday evening, tweeting: 'The amount of attention on me has gone supernova, which super sucks. Unfortunately, even trivial articles about me generate a lot of clicks.'

'Will try my best to be heads down focused on doing useful things for civilization,' he added.

Elon Musk tweeted this photo in response to a Wall Street Journal editor on Monday after the paper claimed he and Sergey Brin were not on speaking terms because of Musk's apparent affair with Brin's wife

The Wall Street Journal said it was standing by its story, which claims Musk and Shanahan were romantically involved at Art Basel in December last year, and that it not only chilled Musk's friendship with Sergey, but served as the catalyst for their divorce.

'We are confident in our sourcing, and we stand by our reporting,' a spokesman for the newspaper told DailyMail.com.

Musk's photo shows him standing with Sergey and two other women. It's unclear where exactly it was taken - Musk was last seen in Mykonos last week - but his jet flew from Austin, where he lives, to San Jose on Saturday. It flew back to Austin on Sunday, landing at 11 p.m.

Earlier, he had denied the entire Journal report, which claimed he slept with Shanahan at Art Basel in Miami last December.

Google founder Brin filed for divorce in January, citing irreconcilable differences as the reason for their split.

The couple share a four-year-old daughter.

Neither Brin nor his estranged wife, Nicole, have commented on the Journal's claims.

Musk, 51, on Monday tweeted a photo of himself partying with Sergey Brin (pictured right) on Sunday in an effort to disprove the newspaper's bombshell claim he slept with Brin's wife, Nicole (pictured left), and that it was the catalyst for their divorce

Twitter has reported steep losses and an unexpected decline in revenue in a weakening advertising market, as the company wages a legal battle with Elon Musk

Musk has, however, been on a Twitter frenzy, accusing the newspaper - which is owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp - of launching 'hit pieces' against him all year.

'WSJ should be running stories that actually matter to their readers and have solid factual basis, not third-party random hearsay.

The character assassination attacks have reached a new level this year, but the articles are all nothing-burgers. I work crazy hours, so there just isnt much time for shenanigans.

'None of the key people involved in these alleged wrongdoings were even interviewed!'

'The real problem here is that Michael Siconolfi has zero journalistic integrity.'

Siconolfi hasn't responded.

The article also claimed that Brin was selling off all of his interests in Musk's companies.

The pair have been friends for years, with Brin giving Musk $500,000 in 2008 to help him fund Tesla at the peak of the Global Financial Crash.

He also lent Musk the Google Party Plane for the Tesla CEO's wedding to actress Talulah Riley in 2010.
The Florida gun store owner who sold an AR-15 to convicted Parkland shooter Nikolas Cruz has asserted the teen told him he 'wanted to go shooting with friends' when questioned about the purchase in 2017.

Cruz, then 18, would go on to use the firearm a year later to slay 17 at Stoneman Douglas High School, shooting the semi-automatic weapon into a classroom full of students.

Shop owner Michael Morrison, however, maintains Cruz - a long disturbed youth who cycled through schools before being expelled from Stoneman - did not provide enough info for them to make an informed decision on whether to sell him the gun.

Jurors are now deciding whether to put Cruz to death after he pleaded guilty to the massacre in October - leaving them with the dilemma of whether to put the 23-year- old to death or hand him with a life sentence without the chance of parole.

The case is the deadliest US mass shooting to go before a jury.

Scroll down for video:

Michael Morrison, the Florida gun store owner who sold an AR-15 to convicted Parkland shooter Nikolas Cruz in 2017, has asserted the teen told him he 'wanted to go shooting with friends' when questioned about the purchase

The penalty trial entered its second week Monday, and saw testimonies delivered from a wide array of witnesses, such as students, police officers, and even the Uber driver who brought Cruz to the school just before the February 2018 shooting.

Among those to testify was Michael Morrison, the owner of Sunrise Tactical Supply - the since shuttered gun shop that Cruz visited in 2017 to purchase the murder weapon.

Examined by prosecutors Tuesday, Morrison - who closed the Coral Springs store shortly after the shooting - described the day that Cruz showed up to his shop asking to purchase the rifle.

He recounted on the witness stand how he and a co-worker both handled Cruzs sale, asking him to fill out a federal form and undergo a five-dollar background check meant to weed out prior criminal offense from prospective purchasers.

The form Cruz was required to fill out contained questions about whether he used drugs, had been convicted of a felony, or had been determined by a court to be mentally incapable of operating a firearm or been involved in domestic violence.

Jurors are deciding whether to put Cruz to death after he pleaded guilty to the massacre in October - leaving them with the dilemma of whether to put the 23-year-old to death or hand him with a life sentence without the chance of parole. Cruz was in court Tuesday

Morrison, the former owner of Sunrise Tactical Supply, described the gun he sold to Marjory convicted Stoneman Douglas High School shooter Cruz as well as the transaction that preceded the 2018 massacre in Fort Lauderdale court Tuesday

Cruz answered 'no' to all of the queries listed in the document - which, along with the gun, was used as an exhibit by prosecutors in the Broward County courtroom.

The prosecution proceeded to ask Morrison - who abandoned the firearms business after the shooting and now works as a paving crew leader in Tamarac - his procedure for a typical transaction involving a firearm at the now shuttered shop.

'Every customer is engaged in conversation - we look for any red flags or signs why the sale should not happen,' said Morrison, who had run the store set in a Coral Springs strip mall for more than four years before he was forced to close.

When district attorneys asked if he engaged in such a conversation with Cruz, who had no criminal record at the time of the purchase but an extensive history of questionable mental health, he said he had.

'I had a brief conversation I believe on pickup, as I stated in my deposition - I came out and asked him, "What are you going to do with the rifle?"'

Morrison went on: 'The reply was, "I go shooting with my friends on the weekend. I just want my own stuff."'

Assistant State Attorney Mike Satz, checks into evidence the weapon used in the MSD shooting during the penalty phase of shooter Nikolas Cruz at the Broward County Courthouse

The confessed Parkland shooter was 18 on the day of the purchase - the legal age to buy an assault-style weapon at that time. Following the shooting, however, state laws were tweaked to require a minimum age of 21 as a result of Cruz's rampage.

Receipts shown during the hearing show that Morrison signed off on the purchase, which saw Cruz leave with the semiautomatic Smith & Wesson M&P 15 for $618.17.

Morrison added that the murder weapon had been modified with a bipod and lengthened grip at some point between the February 2017 transaction and the slaying, which took place on Valentine's Day the next year.

'It did not have the bipod. It did not have the vert grip,' Morrison said.

Cruz answered 'no' to all of the queries listed in a federal document he had to fill out during the February 2017 transaction - which, along with the gun, was used as an exhibit by prosecutors in the Broward County courtroom

Parents of slain students sat in pain as they listened to Tuesday's testimonies, with Cruz just feet away

He added: 'The sight may have been in the box, because there was no rear sight on. It's a standard flat top receiver and there was no sight.'

Those modifications would eventually enable Cruz to kill 17 and injure 17 others at at the school on February 14, 2018.

In addition to Morrison and other witnesses, the second week of the trial to determine whether Cruz is executed also included testimony from a medical examiner who conducted the autopsies of three of the victims.

She described the multiple, fatal gunshot wounds inflicted by Cruz on the victims, students Alyssa Alhadeff and Alex McDougall, and teacher Scott Beigel.

On Monday, Sgt. Gloria Crespo, who responded to the horrific scene at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018, reviewed exhibits from the shooting -including an empty rifle bag and earpiece the shooter used to muffle sound, among other items.

Jennifer and Tony Montalto tear up as Dr Marlin Osbourne, assistant Medical Examiner for Palm Beach county, testifies about the gunshot wounds sustained by their daughter Gina Montalto during the mass shooting

Crespo testified that Cruz, then 19, had five gun magazines remaining in the vest, containing 160 total bullets. He had fired more than 100 shots as he stalked the three-story building for seven minutes, firing down hallways and into classrooms.

Jurors were also shown photos Crespo took of the bodies of five students and a teacher who died on the third-floor, all with multiple wounds from being shot at close range.

Those were not shown to the gallery, where several parents and family members sat. Last week, jurors saw their first graphic crime scene and autopsy photos.

Jurors also heard from crime scene detective Miguel Suarez, who showed bullet casings collected at the scene, along with accounts of the shooting from former Stoneman High School student Justin Colton, who was shot in the back and arm during the massacre.

BSO crime scene detective Miguel Suarez points to bullet casings collected at the scene of the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting as he testifies on Monday

Former Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student Justin Colton testifies in the penalty phase of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooter Nikolas Cruz's trial

Uber driver Laura Zechinni, who drove Nikolas Cruz to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, testifies in the penalty phase of Cruz's trial at the Broward County Courthouse

Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooter Nikolas Cruz sits at the defense table during the penalty phase of his trial at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale

In all, Cruz, an alumnus of Stoneman Douglas who had been expelled a year earlier, killed 14 students and three staff members during his rampage.

After police detained Cruz, they found on his person a police identification card belonging to his late father, Roger Cruz.

He died when Nikolas was 5, succumbing to a heart attack in front of him. Prosecutors did not say if Roger had been a police officer or if it were some other type of ID.

Prosecutors are now seeking the death penalty for Cruz, whose disturbed mental state was known to teachers and classmates at several Florida schools the youth was cycled through, after repeatedly finding himself reprimanded for disruptive and concerning behavior.

Teachers and other students said he kicked doors, cursed at teachers, fought with and threatened classmates, and even brought a backpack with bullets to school.

He went on to collect a string of discipline for profanity, disobedience, insubordination, and disruption, attending six schools, including Stoneman Douglas, in the span of three years.

Morrison and his coworker, who was not named during his testimony, failed to pick up on these red flags - a fact the former firearm seller said was not his fault due to Cruz's failure to fill out the federally mandated form correctly.

The gun store had been up and running for more than four years before FBI and ATF agents arrived days after the shooting to inspect the premises as part of their investigation into the deadly shooting.

His attorney Douglas Rudman said at the time: 'There was nothing about this transaction that raised any suspicions in the minds of the owners or the employees.

'They performed all appropriate background checks, received all the proper clearances, and held the weapon for the required 5 business day waiting period.'

Cruz wrote 'no' when asked if he suffered from any mental health issues or was ever institutionalized for treatment.

Morrison maintains that the killer did not provide enough information to the store owners for them to make a truly informed decision on whether to sell Cruz the weapon.

'They were deprived of the information they required to make an informed decision as to whether or not to sell this weapon,' his lawyer said. 'They received no information as to any prior instances of outrageous or inappropriate behavior.'

Rudman added that the couple 'extend their most sincere condolences to everyone affected by this cowardly act.'

Cruz pleaded guilty in October to 17 counts of first-degree murder for the slayings, and the jury is only deciding if he will be sentenced to death or life without parole.

Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooter Nikolas Cruz is led into the courtroom during the penalty phase of his trial at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Monday, July 25, 2022

David S. Weinstein, a Miami criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor who is not involved in the case, said the defense believes that since Cruz pleaded guilty, the gun and other evidence such as surveillance video and crime scene photos are no longer relevant and serve to inflame the jurors' emotions.

However, prosecutors have since argued that such evidence was necessary to prove the murders included at least one aggravating factor such as being committed in a cruel or heinous manner or during a crime that endangered the lives of many.

Nikolas Cruz (pictured left) entered Sunrise Tactical Supply in February 2017 to purchase the AR-15 rifle used to slaughter 17

Cruz is the deadliest mass shooter in US history to reach trial. There have been at least nine other gunman who killed 17 people or more, but each died immediately after their shootings, either by suicide or police gunfire.

The suspect in a 10th, Patrick Wood, who in 2019 at the age of 21 shot and killed 23 people at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, is awaiting trial.

When jurors eventually hear the case the case - likely in October or November - they will vote 17 times, once for each of the victims, on whether to recommend capital punishment.

For each death sentence, the jury must be unanimous or the sentence for that victim is life. The jurors are told that to vote for death, the prosecution's aggravating circumstances for that victim must, in their judgment, 'outweigh' the defense's mitigators.

A juror can also vote for life out of mercy for Cruz. During jury selection, the panelists said under oath that they are capable of voting for either sentence.
President Joe Biden on Tuesday indicated he's getting restless in his covid isolation, lamenting about being stuck in the residence and having to beam into a virtual meeting instead of being there in person.

'I feel so badly I'm so close but because I'm in the last day of having been diagnosed with COVID,' Biden said, explaining why he was there virtually.

'I'm feeling great. I hope that comes across well. I hope I look as great as I feel,' he said during a meeting with the chairman of the Republic of Korea (ROK) conglomerate SK Group.

'I hope I look as good as I usually do, which is not that good,' he joked.

Biden apologized multiple times for not being there in person to discuss the company's $22 billion investment in semiconductors, green energy, and bioscience industries.

The executives, along with some of the president's senior staff, were in the Roosevelt Room of the White House while Biden beamed in on a large TV screen at the head of the table.

And, at one point, the president's dog Commander could be heard barking in the background of the zoom session. Biden grinned as his German Shepherd made his presence known off-screen.

President Joe Biden on Tuesday indicated he's getting restless in his covid isolation, lamenting about being stuck in the residence

The president ended the session with another apology.

'I apologize for not being with you. Next time you come up with you can have lunch with me in the Oval Office,' he said.

He then revealed he misses working in the West Wing.

'The Oval Office is lovely but I'm all the way over here and can't be there,' he said.

Biden has been in isolation in the residence of the Executive Mansion since he tested positive for covid on Thursday.

He's had his dog for company. But first lady Jill Biden decamped to their home in Wilmington - where she has been testing negative for covid - and residence staff have been cut back, along with keepng their distance, in order to avoid infection.

Biden said on Monday it was Commander who got him up that morning.

'Matter of fact, my dog had to wake me up this morning. My wife's not here. She usually takes him out in the morning while I'm upstairs working out and so I felt this nozzle of my dog's nose against my chest about five minutes or seven,' Biden said.

Earlier this week the White House released a photo of Biden working on the Truman Balcony with Commander lounging near him.

And Biden's doctor said on Tuesday the president 'feels well enough to resume his physical exercise regimen.'

Biden's symptoms have 'almost completely resolved,' Dr. Kevin O'Connor said in a statement. But the president will continue to isolate. He had been suffering from a running nose, cough and body aches.

The president also has completed the five days of his PAXLOVID treatment.

The White House said the president will stay in isolation until he tests negative.

'Once he has a negative test after day five, he can end his isolation,' Covid coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha said in Monday's press briefing. 'CDC guidance suggests that you wear a mask when he's around others. The President's gonna follow CDC guidance.'

Joe Biden 'feels well enough to resume his physical exercise regimen,' his doctor said; the White House released the above photo of Biden working from the Truman Balcony alongside his dog Commander

Biden is an avid bike rider and also likes to lift weights - above he rides his bike in Rehoboth Beach in July 2022

Biden is known to be an avid biker, riding outside when he can but also on a Peloton bike.

In June he took a spill from his bike while outside riding during a weekend at his Rehoboth Beach home but was okay, getting up to pedal off.

He also typically begins his mornings with a workout that usually involves some sort of weight lifting.

Covid coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha did not say what Biden's testing regime will be after his five days of isolation have ended. He noted most people test positive on a PRC test for a long time.

'He made remain PCR positive for a long time. We don't use PCR testing in people who recovers. So we don't use PCR testing. But in terms of his the regular cadence of his antigen testing - that is not something that, I don't know what the cadence will be, and that's something that's gonna be decided between him and his physician,' he said at Monday's press briefing.
Home Secretary Priti Patel was pictured looking far removed from the bruising battle to be next Tory leader as she enjoyed a day at Glorious Goodwood alongside Defence Secretary Ben Wallace.

The cabinet colleagues looked at ease among other guests at the West Sussex racecourse as they watched the horses galloping to victory.

Ms Patel was joined on her outing by her 13-year-old son Freddie.

The Home Secretary, 50, and Mr Wallace, 52, took time out from the tensions at Westminster amid the Tory leadership contest to cheer on horses at the West Sussex course.

At one point, they laughed broadly and then looked stunned as the races unfolded.

They had both considered coming under starter's orders to become prime minister, but did not take part in the contest.

Priti Patel and Ben Wallace were pictured having fun watching the horse racing on the opening day of Glorious Goodwood

The pair were both previously seen as contenders in the Tory leadership race. But both bowed out of the battle to be next PM before MPs started voting on candidates

Miss Patel decided against putting her name forward amid fears she would split the Tory Right if she pitted herself against others including Liz Truss, who is now the front-runner.

Mr Wallace, who at one point was among the favourites, said he wanted to focus on his job of 'keeping this great country safe' after discussions with his family. Neither minister has announced who they are backing in the race.

The MP for Witham came prepared in a 185 pale pink coat from Cordings for the milder weather.

Miss Patel's pearled, crescent moon headband appears to be the Alemona design from Jane Taylor - made to order and costing around 1,595.

Underneath the cabinet member's coat it was possible to catch a glimpse of her ballerina-length white netted dress.

She accessorised her look with a string of pearls around her neck and pearl earrings, complete with a pearl brooch on her coat.

In the stand, Ms Patel and Mr Wallace appeared laughing and joking - which seemed a world away from the increasingly embittered contest to replace Boris Johnson.

They had both considered coming under starter's orders to become prime minister, but did not take part in the contest.

Miss Patel decided against putting her name forward amid fears she would split the Tory Right if she pitted herself against others including Liz Truss, who is now the front-runner.

Mr Wallace, who at one point was among the favourites, said he wanted to focus on his job of 'keeping this great country safe' after discussions with his family. Neither minister has announced who they are backing in the race.

In the stand, Ms Patel and Mr Wallace appeared laughing and joking - which seemed a world away from the increasingly bitter contest to replace Boris Johnson

Priti Patel attends the 2022 Qatar Goodwood Festival at Goodwood Racecourse in West Sussex with her son Freddie Sawyer, 13

The MP for Witham came prepared in a 185 pale pink coat from Cordings for the milder weather

Tory leadership contenders Truss and Sunak went head-to-head in an unedifying public duel last night that may well have pleased their Labour rivals.

The pair tore chunks out of each other in front of a BBC studio and national television audience of voters.

Even before last night's BBC event in Stoke-on-Trent they had been warned that the leadership race had become 'puerile' and 'embarrassing' and they needed to raise the tone.

But the warnings appeared to fall on deaf ears as Mr Sunak hammered Ms Truss over her economic plans.

And the Foreign Secretary branded him a 'bean counter' who would send Britain into a recession before suggesting he is out of touch because of his wealth.

Afterwards Ms Truss's supporters accused the former chancellor of 'aggressive mansplaining and shouty private school behaviour' because he repeatedly interrupted her in the key battlegrounds of tax, spending and tackling the cost-of-living crisis.

With the battle to replace Boris Johnson turning increasingly nasty, Rishi Sunak swiped at Liz Truss during a showdown on the BBC

The Tory candidates engaged in bruising exchanges on a range of topics - but ended with a calmer tone

A spokesman for Ms Truss also branded Mr Sunak 'unfit for office', minutes before the Foreign Secretary herself went on to suggest she could give him a role in her Cabinet if she won.

But the Foreign Secretary refused to engage in further warfare today, when she was asked on a visit to Fontwell, West Sussex, about Mr Sunak's 'mansplaining'.

'I'm not going to criticise the other candidate in this race,' she told Sky News.

Ms Truss and Mr Sunak were due to face a second round on TalkTV from 6pm tonight, but the debate was cancelled after presenter Kate McCann became unwell.
A Tory activist's family has been left 'distraught' after the trial of three men accused of his brutal murder was delayed for nearly a year amid strike action.

Aspiring lawyer Sven Badzak, 22, was set upon by up to six youths as he was walking along Willesden Lane, Kilburn, north west London, with his 16-year-old friend.

Mr Badzak, from Maida Hill, west London, was repeatedly stabbed after falling to the ground, in what is understood to have been a case of mistaken identity.

Rashid Gedel, 21, from Ilford, Shiroh Ambersley, 22, from Wembley, and Harvey Canavan, 18, of Maida Vale, were charged with murder, attempted murder and an alternative charge of wounding with intent.

The three defendants had spent 16 months in custody ahead of their scheduled four-week trial, which had been due to start last week at the Old Bailey.

It was initially postponed for a week due to Criminal Bar Association industrial action. The court heard further trial interruptions were expected, also due in part to defence barristers' 'no returns' policy and pre-booked holidays.

Slamming the unforeseen delay, prosecutor Anthony Orchard QC told the court: 'The victims and their families appear to have been forgotten.

'They are distraught at the thought of having to wait yet longer for resolution and finality. Potentially 10 to 11 months.

'They have great feelings of frustration and outrage. They understand Covid and the delays, but enough is enough.'

The family of murdered Sven Badzak, 22, the son of a Tory activist, will have to wait almost a year to hear the fate of his three alleged killers after their trial was pushed back due to barristers' holidays and strike action

The aspiring lawyer was with a friend when they were set upon at around 5.30pm on 6 February 2021 and got separated in the pursuit

Mr Badzaks mother Jasna, a former Conservative Party activist, had previously said her son had gone to a shop to get orange juice and then to a bagel shop when he was attacked.

The attackers caught up with Mr Badzak and he was knifed repeatedly. He was later pronounced dead at the scene.

Sven was privately educated in London at Wetherby and Portland Place schools before attending Roehampton University.

Judge Neil Flewitt QC said it would not be 'fair' to the defendants or jury to continue with a trial knowing it would be interrupted for weeks.

He said: 'I am satisfied, and all defendants' counsel agree, it would not be fair for the defendants or the jury to start a trial knowing it would be interrupted in that way. I shall therefore adjourn the trial and refix for June 5 2023.

'I should like to make it clear counsel cannot be criticised for booking their holidays when they did because if the trial started when planned it would have been concluded in the time to allow holidays.'

Svens mother, former Conservative Party activist Jasna Badzak, said her son had gone to a shop to get orange juice and then to the bagel shop when he was attacked (Sven pictured with Boris Johnson)

He added that the prosecution had acted with 'all due diligence and expedition' in the case.

The judge said that if an earlier date could be found at another court, the case could be brought forward.

The delay will also come as a disappointment to the defendants, who were further remanded into custody.
The behind-bars daycare owner who shot her retired-cop husband in a DC hotel last week drove there to confront him after learning of a second abuse allegation against him, weeks after their Maryland center was shut down by Child Protective Services when the first allegation was made, DailyMail.com can reveal.

Shanteari Weems, 50, is in custody in Washington being held on charges of domestic violence and weapons offenses. On Thursday, she shot her husband, retired cop James Weems Jr., in his room at the Mandarin Oriental, a 5-star, $400-a-night hotel where he was staying overnight to attend a conference.

DailyMail.com can reveal that Weems, a mother herself who has spent 20 years working in childcare, drove from her home in Randallstown, Maryland, to DC in a frenzy after being told by one of the parents at her daycare that her husband had abused their child.

It was the second accusation against him; the first shuttered Lil Kidz Kastle, the daycare Shanteari runs where her husband worked as a bus driver.

Shanteari Weems, 50, and her husband, James Weems Jr., 57. Today, she is in custody on intent to kill and weapons charges after shooting him, and he is in the hospital. He has been arrested with child sex offenses relating to alleged abuse at the daycare center his wife has run since 2015

When Shanteari heard the second allegation, she drove 50 miles south to Washington to confront him in his room. Her lawyer claims he became violent, and that is when she fired a weapon at him in self-defense. It remains unclear whose weapon it was.

Now, Shanteari's lawyer and family are fighting for her to be freed, while James awaits his first court date on child sex abuse charges.

'She is in hell. This is a woman who was completely and utterly traumatized by having these mothers come to her.

'She did not want him to touch another child... not on her watch - that's for damn sure.

'She has been doing this for 20 years. She built this business from scratch. Her whole life's work is that mothers trust her and allow her to care for their kids while they go to work. To have this happen... and it is not even an employee.

'It's her husband,' attorney Tony Garcia told DailyMail.com.

The first allegations were made against James Weems earlier this month. As a result, the daycare was closed abruptly.

Weems is a 57-year-old retired cop who had been working in private security, and who had been helping at the daycare by driving a bus.

Before the incident at the hotel on Thursday, the daycare center in Owings Mills, Maryland, was shut down by the first allegation against him.

Weems is shown outside the daycare center in Owings Mills, Maryland. She was furious when the center was closed earlier this month after the first allegation against her husband

An interior of the Lil Kidz Kastle Child Development Center. Shanteari's attorney told DailyMail.com: 'She has been doing this for 20 years. She built this business from scratch. Her whole life's work is that mothers trust her and allow her to care for their kids while they go to work. To have this happen... and it is not even an employee. It's her husband'

Weems runs the daycare center near Baltimore for infants up to kids of school age

It's unclear whether all of the children involved are boys or girls but there are believed to be three separate allegations against Weems now.

On Thursday, he was in DC and his hardworking wife, who also volunteers for a street-cleaning nonprofit, heard from another mother.

'She wanted to see him to ask him if it was true or not so she drove to DC. Now he is a retired marine, he is a former cop, he's worked in executive security and he is armed. She went hoping that the allegation was not true.

'He responded violently to being accused and she had to defend herself.'

What exactly happened inside the room for the next hour is unclear. Police arrived after an alarm in the room was triggered.

During a one-hour standoff inside, James cried out that he had been shot in the leg and in the head.

The couple had been at the $400-a-night hotel in Washington DC for James, a retired cop, to attend an event

Daycare owner Shanteari Weems, 50, is shown being taken into custody on July 20 after shooting her husband in the head. She had just been told that he was molesting some of the kids in her daycare

Shanteari started writing down notes which included her desire to 'paralyze' her husband. She said she wanted him to 'pay' for what he had done to the kids, and her only regret was 'not putting a bullet through his head'.

Eventually, she was arrested and he was taken to the hospital, where he remains with a broken femur.

He is conscious and is expected to survive the incident, despite claiming to have been shot in the head.

Shanteari's friends and family are rallying behind her, vowing to fight for her freedom on social media and launching GoFundMe campaigns to pay her legal fees.

'We hope to get bail, that is our hope,' her attorney said. She will appear in court on Friday.

The details of the allegations against Weams remain scarce. Maryland Child Protective Services declined to comment on the case citing privacy laws.

A spokesman for the Department of Education would not confirm when specifically it received complaints against Weams.

Shanteari Weems, 50, is the owner of Lil Kidz Kastle in Owing Mills, Maryland

The Baltimore County Police Department said it had been investigating Weems since earlier this month.

'Baltimore County detectives began to investigate Weems earlier this month after they were notified of the abuse. Weems faces multiple charges.

'He currently remains hospitalized in police custody in Washington D.C. pending extradition.

'Baltimore County detectives continue to work closely with detectives from the Metropolitan Police Department as well as members of the Baltimore County States Attorneys Office, the Maryland State Department of Education and the Maryland Department of Human Services, Child Protective Services,' a spokesman said.

Meanwhile the woman's friends are fighting for her to be freed.

'Shanny and I have been friends for 32 years... for the last few years she has supported my student-workers and Baltimore Clean Streets program.

'Shanny provided catered lunch and holiday stipends - $75/student-worker x 30 - each of the last two years,' Sean Stinnett, who runs the program, told DailyMail.com.

Her adult children set up a GoFundMe account dedicated to raising money for her defense but it was torn down at the last minute.
Attorney General Merrick Garland did not rule out prosecuting former President Donald Trump for his role in January 6 in a new interview with NBC's Lester Holt.

'We intend to hold everyone, anyone who was criminally responsible for the events surrounding January 6, for any attempt to interfere with the lawful transfer of power from one administration to another, accountable,' Garland said. 'That's what we do.'

Holt pointed out to Garland that prosecuting a former president or a potential presidential candidate could 'arguably tear the country apart.'

Attorney General Merrick Garland did not rule out prosecuting former President Donald Trump for his role in January 6 in a new interview airing Tuesday on NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt

In a clip previewing the interview, NBC's Lester Holt (right) pointed out to Attorney General Merrick Garland (left) that prosecuting a former president or a potential presidential candidate could 'arguably tear the country apart'

Holt asked Garland how much he factored that in to his decision to prosecute.

'Do you have to think of things like that?' the NBC Nightly News anchor asked.

In his answer, Garland spoke in vague terms.

'Look, we pursue justice without fear or favor,' he said.

Holt asked if Trump launching a 2024 presidential bid would complicate matters.

'We don't pay any attention to other issues with respect to that,' Garland said, pushing that the Department of Justice would charge Trump as if he's anybody else.

'I'll say again that we will hold accountable anyone who is criminally responsible for attempting to interfere with the transfer - legitimate, lawful transfer of power from one administration to the next,' Garland added.

The Department of Justice's probe into January 6 is ongoing, with Vice President Mike Pence's former Chief of Staff Marc Short caught by ABC News leaving D.C. District Court on Friday.

Sources told the network that Short appeared before a grand jury under subpoena.

The DOJ investigation is separate from the work the House select committee on January 6 is doing.

However the committee's top Republican, Rep. Liz Cheney, said earlier this month the Congressional panel may make criminal referrals to federal prosecutors.

She said, 'we'll make a decision as a committee.'

'The Justice Department doesn't have to wait for the committee to make a criminal referral, and there could be more than one criminal referral,' Cheney said on ABC's This Week.
A brazen shoplifter casually helped himself to an entire bag of liquor and other items at a Target store in Chicago while staff stood by and did nothing in yet another example of an epidemic of crime that's wreaking havoc on retail outlets in major cities across the US.

Video footage shows the unidentified man walking down the wine and beer aisle, wearing an ankle monitor, loading up a bag with bottles of wine and then slinging it over his shoulder as he sauntered around the store, the sound of glass clinking together.

A security guard is seen on the video following closely behind him, but does nothing.

The man was recorded stealing the wine and other items at the Target store in Wicker Park last week - the latest incident in the brazen shoplifting trend that has been reported across the country.

The video was posted to Twitter by @ChicagoCritter, but it is not known if the incident was reported to police or if the man got away with the goods.

Video footage shows the unidentified man walking down the wine and beer aisle, loading up a bag with bottles of wine and then slinging it over his shoulder

A store security guard at the Target store in Wicker Park, Chicago stands behind the thief, who was wearing an a monitor on his left ankle, as he loads up a bag of wine bottles and continues to walk through the aisles grabbing more items

Chicago is among several cities across the US to be hit by rampant shoplifting, and even its Magnificent Mile, the once highly-populated retail destination, is now dotted with empty storefronts as businesses are being driven away by the brazen thieves.

Observers have pinned some of the blame on Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who backed calls to defund the police in the wake of BLM protests in 2020 before u-turning after a Chicago policewoman was shot dead.

Others have pinned blame on District Attorney Kim Foxx, who was widely accused of meddling in the Jussie Smollett case, after she stopped pursuing shoplifters who stole less than $1,000.

Shoplifting cases grew more common following a December 2016 motion from Foxx that mandated Chicago prosecutors only issue felony charges for the theft of property over $1,000.

A series of violent crimes have rocked the city in recent months, including a series of repeated burglary attempts on the Bottega Veneta store on Chicago's Magnificent Mile, which was robbed twice in two weeks.

One robber was seen letting his pal into the Italian designer store, scaring a terrified shop assistant in the process, before they began clearing its shelves of luxury leather goods, which retail for up to $6,200.

The thieves had left the scene with luxury merchandise that cost tens of thousands of dollars, exactly 21 days after a prior robbery saw 35 bags lifted on September 20.

Crime is up 35 percent in Chicago compared to the same time last year

Last month, Aldi closed a store after 13 years and blamed 'repeated burglaries'.

The supermarket chain closed the store in South Side neighborhood Auburn Gresham on June 12, leaving only a sign that said the shop is 'permanently closed' and that the nearest store is three miles away.

Aldi said the store had closed for a number of reasons including 'repeated burglaries' and 'declining sales' but declined to say why residents were not notified of the decision.

It is not the first time Aldi has abruptly shuttered a store in the city after closing an outlet in Chicago's West Garfield Park last year.

Crime in the city has soared 35 percent this year. Theft, burglary, and robbery are all up significantly at 66, 33, and 20 percent, respectively.

Thefts are up 66 per cent compared to 10,050 reported compared to last year with only 6,051. Burglaries are also up by 33 per cent with 4,078 compared to 3,063 last year.

A series of repeated burglary attempts were caught on camera at the Bottega Veneta store on Chicago's Magnificent Mile, which was robbed twice in two weeks

Motor vehicle thefts are also up 47 per cent compared to the same time last year, with 7,615 reported in 2022 and 5,171 reported in the same period in 2021.

Shooting incidents, meanwhile, are down eight per cent from last year - but there have already been a string of deadly shootings, with seven people at an intersection on the city's South Side in March and three minors killed in January.

There have been 366 murders in the Windy City so far this year, down by 15 per cent compared to last year when there were 433 murders in the same time period.

Sexual assaults are also down by just one per cent from last year, as 1,142 incidents have been reported this year compared to 1,154 last year.

Despite skyrocketing crime, the Chicago Police Department announced in June that it will no longer chase fleeing suspects in certain cases.

Superintendent David Brown emphasized that the new policy made it 'safer' for his cops and 'enhances law enforcement to do their job.'

The superintendent stated that 25 officers have already been shot or shot at this year, and the new foot pursuit policy would help eliminate potentially dangerous physical interactions with law enforcement and suspects, especially armed assailants.

Superintendent David Brown (pictured) announced last month that the Chicago Police Department will be updating its foot pursuit policy shortly to enhance officer safety

Officers are allowed to pursue a suspect on foot if they are or about to commit a felony or Class A misdemeanor, like assault, battery, and residential criminal trespassing, the policy read

The new policy outlines the limited times when a foot pursuit is permissible as long as it outweighs the potential harm to an officer or risks public safety.

One of the instances includes when a suspect is 'committing a felony, Class A misdemeanor, [or a] traffic offense that endangers the physical risks of others' or if criminals have or are about to commit an 'arrest-able offense.'

Officers will be permitted to pursue suspects who are engaging in or about to engage in: battery, assault, unlawful use of weapons, and criminal residence trespassing, among others.

However, police must refrain from foot pursuits in case of: public drinking, land trespassing, and simple assault, the policy reads.

Law enforcement will have to have reasonable suspicion is committing a crime that endangers the public before pursuing the suspect on foot.

Brown said the new policy, as radical as it may seem, is actually not new to law enforcement, just new to Chicago.

He still said 'officers' would make the final call when and when not to pursue suspects, but the documentation provided after the pursuit will allow Chicago to learn and teach its officers how to remain safer, Brown said.
Google parent Alphabet Inc on Tuesday posted quarterly sales close to Wall Street targets, sending shares up on relief that the world's biggest seller of online advertising had avoided the deep disappointment of rivals including Snap.

Sales from Google's search ad business actually topped expectations, while revenue from YouTube ads, cloud computing and Alphabet's 'other bets' unit all came in lower than anticipated, according to data from FactSet and Refinitiv.

Shares of Alphabet were up three percent in after-hours trade after rising to as much as 4.3 percent following the results bringing the price to $110 per share.

'Despite the underwhelming quarter, expectations were so low that investors blew a sigh of relief,' said Jesse Cohen, senior analyst at Investing.com.

Alphabet reported second-quarter revenue of $69.69 billion, 13 percent higher than the year-ago period, and nearly in line with the average expectation of $69.88 billion among investment researchers tracked by Refinitiv.

Shares of Alphabet were up three percent in after-hours trade after rising to as much as 4.3 percent following the results bringing the price to $110 per share

Google CEO Sundar Pichai speaks at a panel at the CEO Summit of the Americas hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in June

The second quarter of 2022 marks the slowest quarterly sales growth posted by Google in two years

The company also barely missed sales expectations in the first quarter. It last missed estimates in consecutive quarters in 2015.

Earlier in July, the company's CEO Sundar Pichai said that Google would slow hiring for the rest of the year while asking employees to be 'more entrepreneurial, working with greater urgency, sharper focus, and more hunger than weve shown on sunnier days,' according to the Wall Street Journal.

In the second quarter in 2021, the company had just over 144,000 employees. As of right now, the company has over 174,000 employees, reports The Verge.

An SEC filing from January shows that four Google's executives saw their base pay rise from $650,000 to $1 million following a fifth straight quarter of record profits.

Rising wages as well as rising prices of fuel and other items have forced some ad buyers this year to pare marketing, including even ads on internet services such as Google that served as an essential link to consumers during pandemic lockdowns.

Last week, Snap Inc and Twitter Inc posted disappointing quarterly results, heightening concerns about the slowdown in ad spending. Snap shares plunged 25 percent following its results.

Twitter lost $270 million in the second quarter with company referencing uncertainty over Elon Musk's acquisition as one of the reasons for the shortfall

In an interview on CNBC on the day that the quarterly report was made public, Alphabet CFO Ruth Porat made reference to 'uncertainty in the global market' as an having an impact on the company's bottom line

During the quarter, Twitter lost $270 million with company referencing uncertainty over Elon Musk's acquisition as one of the reasons for the shortfall.

Big U.S. multinationals including Alphabet also are increasingly bringing in less cash when converting foreign revenue because of the strong dollar.

Alphabet said the currency affected sales growth by 3.7%, and that sales would have been close to $72 billion if not for currency swings. About 55 percent of the company's sales come from outside the United States.

The currency impact will be even greater in the third quarter, Alphabet chief financial officer Ruth Porat told reporters, according to CNBC.

During the interview, Porat made reference to 'uncertainty in the global market.'

Porat told the network: 'Going forward, the very strong revenue performance last year continues to create tough comps that will weigh on year on year growth rates of advertising revenues for the remainder of the year.'

Google's ad business accounted for 81 percent of the quarterly revenue, with search ads generating $40.69 billion in sales, beating FactSet estimates of $40.15 billion.

Google's chief business officer Philipp Schindler told CNBC that travel and retail searches boosted the company's growth in 2022

The company's chief business officer Philipp Schindler told CNBC that travel and retail searches boosted the company's growth.

'Google is relatively well positioned to weather the rough waters that lie ahead,' Insider Intelligence analyst Evelyn Mitchell said.

In recent years, ad spending cuts have hurt social media companies more than Google. It brings in revenue through a greater variety of functions in the ad market, and search ads can be easier for customers to generate since they often include just text.

Clients sometimes prioritize search ads given that they can drive better returns because the marketing is typically directed at people actively searching for related items.

Sales from Google Cloud of $6.3 billion missed analysts' target of $6.4 billion and YouTube ads also fell short, coming in at $7.3 billion against estimates of $7.5 billion, a rise of five percent from the first quarter, according to FactSet data.

One of Google's competitors in the cloud division, Microsoft with their Azure product, announced on Tuesday that sales were up 40 percent from the first quarter.

Between the first and second quarters in 2021, YouTube ad sales rose a whopping 84 percent.

Overall profit was $16 billion, or $1.21 per share, compared with the average estimate of $1.29 per share. Alphabet's profit tends to be unpredictable due to sporadic gains or losses - at least on paper - in the stakes it holds in many startups.

Investors look more closely at ratios of costs to sales.

With investors accustomed to gross profit margins as high as 60%, Google, like many of its peers, recently began slowing hiring in some units to better manage expenses.

After posting catastrophic numbers last week, shares of Snapchat plunged 25 percent

But at the same time, Alphabet is moving forward with expanding its cloud computing footprint, building out new offices and bringing its Google Fiber internet service to new communities.

Other factors are motivating concerns about a potential sales slowdown. Amid scrutiny from antitrust regulators on five continents, Google is taking a smaller cut from sales of apps developed by outside software makers.

Google suspended sales in Russia due to the war in Ukraine, and YouTube's ad revenue has fluctuated as its options for advertisers grow and wane in popularity.

Still, within the $602 billion global online ad industry, Google is expected to maintain market share of 29 percent, or the biggest share for the 12th straight year, according to Insider Intelligence.

Earlier this month, Google lost out on a major new sales partner when Netflix Inc said it had chosen Microsoft Corp's ad technology to help with its first foray into placing ads on its streaming video service.

Alphabet shares have fallen over 27 percent so far this year, more than the overall S&P 500 index. Alphabet split its stock 20-for-1 on July 15, briefly helping boost shares before the results from Snap and Twitter sent them falling.

Meta Platforms Inc, which through Facebook and Instagram owns the second-biggest online advertising service, reports earnings on Wednesday. Its shares rose 1.6 percent on Tuesday after Alphabet's results.
A devastated dad is terrified that Wisconsin Democratic leader Janet Bewley will not be charged after she was involved horror car crash which killed his five-year-old daughter and her mother.

Heartbroken marine Brandon Fink has also blasted Bewley for not reaching out to him after the fatal collision in Pennsylvania, raging great people we elect.'

Bewley, 70, had undergone cataract eye surgery the day before the crash which killed Alyssa Ortman, 27, and her daughter Kali.

According to the Ashland Police Department, Bewley pulled out of the Maslowski beach parking lot and straight into the path of Ortmans car at 12.30pm on Friday.

When the two cars collided, Ortmans vehicle spun across the Highway before being hit by Jodi Munson, 45, in another vehicle.

Little Khali was pronounced dead at the scene, while her mother was transported to a nearby hospital where she later died.

Now her dad is calling for justice for his daughter, saying that the politician should be treated just like anyone else.'

Speaking to DailyMail.com Fink said: I found out a Senator killed my baby and they might not even press charges even though she was on the phone during the accident.

And just had cataract surgery the day before. I'm furious and want this Senator to come to justice and pay for what she did like anyone else would have to.

'She shouldn't get away with this.

Khali's father, Brandon Fink, has slammed Bewley for not reaching out to him and wants 'justice' for his daughter and her mother. Fink paid tribute to his daughter, who he described as a 'hilarious, insanely beautiful, and smart girl that had a drive for life that touched so many'

Wisconsin Senate Democratic Minority Leader Janet Bewley said in an interview that was taking place as the accident occurred that she had undergone cataract eye surgery the day before

Khali was pronounced dead at the scene, while her mother was transported to a nearby hospital where she later died. Now her dad is calling for justice for his daughter, saying that the politician should be treated just like anyone else

Alyssa Ortman, 27, with her five-year-old daughter Khali. The pair were killed when their car was struck by Wisconsin Senate Democratic Minority Leader Janet Bewley's car, and then a second car, on Friday

When Ortman's car collided with Bewley's at 12.30pm on Friday, it spun across Highway 2 and was hit by another vehicle. Pictured: The scene

The accident occurred when Bewley, 70, pulled out of the Maslowski beach parking lot in Ashland and into the path of a car driven by Alyssa Ortman, 27, according to the Ashland Police Department

Ortman was a certified clinal medical assistant and for the past four years worked as an Order entry specialist at Lincare, a company which supplies respiratory-therapy products and services for patients at home.

Fink paid an emotional tribute to his daughter, describing her as a 'hilarious, insanely beautiful, and smart girl that had a drive for life that touched so many.'

He added that Bewley has still failed to reach out to him after the tragedy, despite her office issuing a statement.

He wrote: 'You lit up my life and gave me an ambition and drive I didn't know was possible.

'No matter what we just giggled out way through.. my life feels so empty without these giggles.

'Nothing will make this ok. Nothing will make me feel better and no I don't need anything.

'I was supposed to get my daughter home here, at her house and be hearing silly stories about vacation.. instead I got calls from the funeral home... I turn on the Switch and a game of Mario Smash bros pops up mid battle that I will never get let you win.

'I see the purse you got from Aunt Annie, half colored that you'll never get to complete... and I see our Daddy Pig painting half finished that you will never get to complete and sit beside the Peppa Painting we did together so we'd have the Daddy and Daughter Pig.

Alyssa Ortman, 27, and her five-year-old daughter Khali. The pair were killed in a car accident on Friday

Alyssa Ortman's 5-year-old daughter, Khali, was pronounced dead at the crash scene. Ortman was transported to a nearby hospital where she later died, according to police

Cataract surgeries are fast and safe but doctors recommend NOT to drive for 24 hours after the operation Cataract surgery is a routine surgery where a person has the lens of their eye removed and sometimes replaced with an artificial lens It is used to treat cataracts, which is when the lens of a person's eye becomes clouded for any reason and obstructs their vision It is generally considered a safe surgery with limited risks The procedure takes around 15 minutes and the patient is usually able to go home right after without requiring long-term medical care A person who has just received the surgery may have blurry vision as their eye recovers and adjusts to a new lens Patients are advised not to drive a car for at least 24 hours after receiving the surgery There are known risks for a person who just received the surgery to suffer from inflammation, infection, swelling, drooping eyelid and other side-effects Source: Mayo Clinic, Better Vision Guide Advertisement

A memorial set up for Alyssa and Khali has so far raised $1,805, and will be used to bring the mother and daughter home to be buried.

The page also revealed that Alyssas mother Ginger has suffered double heartache after losing her son Chris to a drunk driver in October 2020.

State police charged Warren Miller with a felony count of vehicular homicide for the death of Chris Ortman, after his Chevrolet Malibu smashed into Ortmans Mercury Sable.

Like his sister, Chris Ortman was then hit by another car after being pushed into the road, and was rushed to hospital but died after suffering a cardiac arrest.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that Bewley fell silent mid-sentence during her phone interview with intern Ben Baker, after revealing the cataract surgery she'd received Thursday, just the day before the fatal wreck.

When asked by the interviewer if she was okay, Bewley said she was, but sounded shaken.

'Yeah, I'm OK,' she said, 'This is not a good accident.'

According to the Mayo Clinic and the American Optometric Association, patients are often advised not to drive for at least 24 hours following cataract surgery, which removes the natural lens of the eye and replaces it with an artificial lens.

Some doctors even suggest not getting behind the wheel until a patient receives the go-ahead in a follow-up appointment.

Ashland Police Chief Bill Hagstrom confirmed that Bewley wasn't injured in the crash and State Patrol was reconstructing the scene.

Hagstrom said: 'We'll be sitting down with them and going over everything as far as determining how it all actually happened.

'Then we'll forward everything to the district attorney for their review because it was a fatal accident.

'There's nothing suspected as far as alcohol or foul play or anything.

A memorial set up for Alyssa and Khali has so far raised $1,805, and will be used to bring the mother and daughter home to be buried

In a post made on Monday afternoon, Fink wrote that Bewley (above) had not reached out to him about the accident

Authorities have also said they don't suspect foul play in the accident, and no charges have yet been filed.

Ashland County District Attorney's office told DailyMail.com they were unable to comment as the investigation is ongoing.

In a statement about the wreck on Monday, Bewley's office made no mention of the cataract surgery.

They said: 'Senator Bewley was involved in a three-vehicle accident in Ashland, Wisconsin on Friday, July 22nd. Tragically, two people lost their lives. This is a heartbreaking event for the community.

'Our thoughts and prayers are focused on the individuals involved, their families and their loved ones.

'Senator Bewley, who was not seriously injured in the accident, wants to thank all the dedicated law enforcement and emergency medical personnel who helped in the aftermath of the accident.

'A police investigation is ongoing. Out of respect for that investigation and the privacy of all the families involved, our office will be withholding further comment at this time.'

Bewley, a member of the Senate since 2015, said she is not seeking reelection because she wanted to spend more time with her recently retired husband and grandchildren.
Authorities are concerned about social media users who are driving into Aboriginal communities and encouraging people to binge drink.

A video, posted to Instagram, shows a bus 'on the hunt to find Australia's best house party' driving into the remote town of Coober Pedy and handing locals 'snorkel' spirits and beer.

'We are here in Coober Pedy. Let's see what this town's about,' a man says in the footage, before skolling a beer through the device.

Authorities are concerned about a social media account that is driving into Aboriginal communities and encouraging people to binge drink

Old posts from the account where the videos are posted, which Daily Mail Australia has chosen not to name, show them buying an old passenger bus before spray-painting it black and emblazoning their name across the side.

The party bus is fitted out with a bar, DJ decks and neon lights, regularly hosting parties inside.

The offensive clip, set to Rednex's 'Cotton-Eyed Joe', shows men and women from the regional South Australian town consuming alcohol handed out by the bus.

The footage then shows the group handing out beers and bourbon to indigenous locals to drink through the snorkel as they congregate around the vehicle.

Some finish the drink while others were recorded spitting the alcohol out. Several shared the bottle of Jim Beam.

Coober Pedy has a dry-zone instituted for almost all of its public spaces, which 'is to curb alcohol-related problems and anti-social behaviour in public areas such as reserves  car parks  beaches and  communities where drinking in public places is an indicator of complex social issues', according to the SA Government's website.

The group's bio says it is 'travelling around Australia in 2022' to find the country's best house party - but geo-tags from their latest posts suggest they are moving through lower socioeconomic areas.

The 'party bus' has recently checked in at Uluru in the Northern Territory, sparking fears from Aboriginal officials they are targeting at-risk groups.

A map shows plans to drive through to Darwin before moving down Western Australia and back east.

A video, posted to Instagram, shows a bus 'on the hunt to find Australia's best house party' driving into the remote town of Coober Pedy and handing locals 'snorkel' spirits and beer

A recent post from the group suggests their Instagram accounts have repeatedly been taken down due to obscene content - with backup accounts posted in the bio.

'YOU CAN'T GET RID OF US THAT EASY!!! How epic was that party? Here's some footage of what went down,' the latest caption reads.

'We have had to relaunch due to our Insta getting shut down but we are here to stay!'

Another video shows one of the group's members speaking to a Channel 10 reporter on the street, claiming they are doing 'charity work with kids and stuff'.

Shane Mohor, the Chief Executive of the Aboriginal Health Council of South Australia, confirmed police had 'moved the group on' but heard they had plans to travel north.

'I am concerned to have learned that they are now planning to head to Alice Springs,' Mr Mohor said.

'I have been in touch with Nganampa Health Service in the APY Lands to let them know about this incident and that this group are planning to head their way.'

They have previously been to Warrnambool in Victoria and Robe in South Australia, while a video tagged in Adelaide shows them passing around alcohol to another group of Aboriginal men.

The clip, set to Rednex's 'Cotton-Eyed Joe', shows men and women from the regional South Australian town consuming alcohol handed out by the bus

SA Police said they have investigated the video and fined four members of the Coober Pedy community for drinking in public.

'We can confirm that we are aware of the vision and have not received any specific complaints from the public,' a spokesperson said.

'Police continue to try and locate the person(s) who supplied the alcohol for possible breaches under the Liquor Licensing Act.'

The state's Aboriginal Affairs Minister slammed the behaviour of the 'party bus' and called on authorities to clamp down on their behaviour.

'It's disgusting, quite frankly,' Kyam Maher said. 'The police have been notified, and the Office for the Commissioner of Liquor and Gambling is also looking into it.

'The supply or sale, unlicensed, of alcohol, can carry fines of up to $20,000. I hope those bodies investigate as thoroughly as possible.'
My long and close friendship with David Trimble began in 1985 at yet another conference lamenting the sorry state of Northern Ireland.

A friend and I decided to alleviate the boredom by having a party to which we would ask only the delegates who looked like fun. We were both convivial people who were from the nationalist tribe in the Republic.

I was settled in London and my friend Liam in Brussels  and David, the stony-faced, taciturn, Unionist law lecturer from Queens University Belfast who didnt seem to know or want to know anyone, was definitely not on our list.

Just before the party started I saw him in a corridor and thought: Oh, well, Ill ask him as a gesture of goodwill. Theres no danger of him coming.

But come he did. I felt responsible for him, sat with him, was surprised and relieved to find that though he was an Ulster Presbyterian and, indeed, an Orangeman  a group then beyond my comprehension  he was not teetotal.

Tribute

He relaxed and we found things to talk about and drank some more, and I eventually told him: You know your problem? You are permanently two pints under par. It was something we used to laugh about later.

My long and close friendship with David Trimble began in 1985 at yet another conference lamenting the sorry state of Northern Ireland

It took time to get to know him well, but it was worth the effort: David was the most loyal of friends and I mourn his loss. He was an unacknowledged giant, never properly credited for his role in bringing the UUP [Ulster Unionist Party] over the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement finishing line, a friend emailed me yesterday. History will be very kind to him.

And certainly the news stories and obituaries that have filled newspapers and the airwaves since his family announced his death, at the age of 77 following a short illness, have paid lavish tribute to David for his part in bringing to an end three decades of the Troubles and his subsequent role as First Minister in a power-sharing executive which included Sinn Fein.

The son of a civil servant, David was born on October 15, 1944, and when we met, he was head of the department of Property and Commercial Law at Queens where he had acquired a first class degree in law.

He was immensely clever and industrious and had been called to the bar, but he was never popular with the university establishment who underpromoted him.

His shyness, his often disconcerting honesty and his loathing of empty rhetoric and back-slapping badinage made him hard for many to like. People were also suspicious of him because, an Orangeman from the age of 17, early in the Troubles David had been in some fringe (hardline but anti-violence) Unionist groups.

Yet it was the rule of law that was always his lodestar. In 1975, as a member of the short-lived Constitutional Convention, he supported power-sharing between constitutional parties and in 1978 he joined the mainstream UUP.

The Belfast/Good Friday Agreement achieved in 1998 would never have happened without Davids strength of character, his mastery of detail and his canniness in keeping all the disparate players, if not onside, then at least involved

His commitment to politics was deepened by the horror of paramilitary violence, which was then rife and seemed permanent. In 1983, he had been in the law faculty building when he heard gunfire: he ran outside and saw the body of his friend and colleague, Edgar Graham, a 29-year-old rising star of the UUP, who had been shot by the IRA.

When the news was announced over the tannoy, there was a vast roar of approval from Republicans in the students union.

David, who was physically as brave as he would prove to be morally, ignored warnings to keep his head down and his mouth shut or else he would be next in line for assassination.

He was profoundly opposed to the 1985 Anglo-Irish Agreement which had been negotiated between the British and Irish governments without any consultation with Unionists and gave the Republic of Ireland a consultative role in the running of Northern Ireland.

In 1990, shortly after he became MP for Upper Bann, I took him to lunch in a London club and we talked books and bigotry. That was when I began to realise how exceptionally well-read and cultivated he was.

With his wife Daphne, who would be his strength and stay throughout his extraordinary life, and their four children, holidays were spent in various European countries absorbing art, listening to music and working their way through their bags of books.

And he never ceased in those efforts. Indeed, when he was told that he and John Hume had won the Nobel Prize for Peace, his comment was, typically, that it was premature

I found it deeply refreshing that, when I asked him if he was sectarian, he replied: Yes, of course, to some extent: we all are in Northern Ireland. It set off a fascinating and honest discussion which would have been inconceivable with almost anyone on the nationalist side.

Trimble was in his element in Westminster. I love this place, he said to me once, his voice almost shaking with emotion as he showed me the view from the roof. There was nothing parochial about him: he was a politician of the United Kingdom.

In his early days he called on the John Major government to support the Bosnian Muslims, then under attack from the Serbs, and was a vocal opponent of the Maastricht Treaty.

Honourable

But then Northern Ireland came centre stage as the Nationalist politician John Hume  through his talks with Gerry Adams  brought IRA/Sinn Fein into negotiations with both governments.

We often coincided at conferences run by the British-Irish Association, and I was struck by how much sense David talked, yet how his forthrightness repelled English and Irish diplomats whose stock-in-trade was known as creative ambiguity. When in 1995 he was elected to the leadership of the UUP, I was sickened by the ignorant hostility his appointment attracted in some quarters.

David, who was physically as brave as he would prove to be morally, ignored warnings to keep his head down and his mouth shut or else he would be next in line for assassination

The UUP had been becalmed for years: under Trimble they were straight into talks on a peace deal with the Irish and Americans as well as the British government. Nationalists were backed by the Irish government and Irish-America while Unionists not only had a government in Westminster committed to being impartial, but no support from Ian Paisley and his unionist party, the DUP, who were roaring about a sell-out from the start.

But there were some people from the Catholic tribe who recognised David for the great and honourable man he was and who rallied to his support.

They included an ex-terrorist called Sean OCallaghan who had spent his life atoning for the murders and criminality of his teenage years with the IRA, who became Davids shrewd adviser on how to outwit the Republican leadership.

Extraordinary

The Belfast/Good Friday Agreement achieved in 1998 would never have happened without Davids strength of character, his mastery of detail and his canniness in keeping all the disparate players, if not onside, then at least involved.

In later life, as a Conservative peer, David shone in the House of Lords and was a fine contributor to constructive debate on domestic and international politics

And he never ceased in those efforts. Indeed, when he was told that he and John Hume had won the Nobel Prize for Peace, his comment was, typically, that it was premature.

In part he was correct, for as Peter Mandelson said this week in his tribute to David Trimble, getting the Agreement implemented was almost worse than the negotiations that led to it. However, after a quarter-of-a-century, the Agreement is still standing and many people are alive today who would have been murdered without it.

In later life, as a Conservative peer, David shone in the House of Lords and was a fine contributor to constructive debate on domestic and international politics.

In his last days, he summoned up his failing strength to warn that if the Northern Ireland Protocol was left in its present form, the Agreement would die. I hope those now hailing him as a great man will try to rescue his extraordinary achievement and the people who depend on its success.
The FBI accused a former US Marine of planning to sexually assault white women as a part of a neo-Nazi 'Rapekrieg' plot to increase America's Caucasian population.

Matthew Belanger was arrested on July 10 in New York and was charged with lying to a federal firearms licensee as a part of a plan to have somebody purchase an assault rifle and a handgun for him. Belanger, whose mugshot has not been released, pleaded not guilty to the firearms charges on Monday.

Belanger's alleged nefarious behavior went much further than mere gun charges, however, as a July 14 court memo revealed he was the focus of an FBI Joint Terrorism Taskforce investigation stemming from a history of neo-Nazi associations, and anti-Semitic behavior and plotting.

Some of that behavior included partaking in paramilitary trainings with goal of overthrowing the 'Zionist Order of Governments,' and plotting 'engage in widespread homicide and sexual assault' to reconfigure America's racial make-up, largely by raping 'white women to increase the production of white children.'

The memo pointed out that much of Belanger's neo-Nazi behavior took place while he was still enlisted in the US Marine Corps from 2019 to 2021. He is currently being held in a federal detention center in Honolulu, where he was stationed while still with the Marines.

Belanger is currently being held in a federal detention center in Honolulu, where he was stationed while still with the Marines

An FBI affidavit said Belanger had previously used the same false means to acquire a Luger (above), a handgun which was widely used by Nazi soldiers during World War II

Prosecutors say Belanger hired a New York police officer to purchase a PTR91 assault rifle while he was in Honolulu. An FBI affidavit said he had previously used the same false means to acquire a Luger, a handgun which was widely used by Nazi soldiers during World War II.

The charges come after Belanger received an 'Other Than Honorable Discharge' from the Marines for misconduct in May 2021, after an October 2020 FBI raid of his barracks turned up '1,950 images, videos and documents related to white power groups, Nazi literature, brutality towards the Jewish community, brutality towards women, rape, mass murderers.'

Those findings were a part of Belanger's involvment in a neo-Nazi organization known as Rapekrieg, which prosecutors said has 'overlapping beliefs and membership with other neo-Nazi groups such 'Rapewaffen' and 'Atomwaffen.' Those groups have received illegal firearms charges, histories of threatening journalists, and been connected to at least one murder, according to Rolling Stone.

A Rapekrieg manifesto cited in the court documents espouses about 'rape ideology' being an 'effective tool' defeating its enemies, which largely consists of Jews and minorities.

The manifesto describes seeking to bring about a 'first world collapse' in which people who have 'any doubts about being able to pull the trigger on a Jewish child' will not be strong enough to remain in the organization.

It talks about 'brainwashing' women and forcing them to become dependent on men as they are used for breeding white people and purifying the world.

'To be successful in this battle, the white man must learn to hate, seeing red the moment he lays eyes on a member of the race that has inflicted unspeakable horrors onto his people.

The memo pointed out that much of Belanger's neo-Nazi behavior took place while he was still enlisted in the US Marine Corps from 2019 to 2021

A Rapekrieg manifesto cited in the court documents espouses about 'rape ideology' being an 'effective tool' defeating its enemies, which largely consists of Jews and minorities

The court memo said Belanger and Rapekrieg associates from Long Island had purchased weapons and tactical gear, and discussed plans for attacked synagogues and women, including conducting surveillance on a synogogue and forming plans to attack it with molotov cocktails in 2019.





A source told prosecutors Belanger responded 'Good find' when a potential target for a rape-attack target - a high school girl who was photographed at a musical recital - was shared in a Rapekrieg chat group. A member of the group said 'Could possibly get her pretty easy rn,' and Belanger said 'I'm not on the mainland currently so no.'





Prosecutors also allege Belanger 'identified two individuals popular for their work with the Jewish community along with associated physical addresses' as potential targets for an attack, and also created a fake social media account with a Jewish name under which he made posts trying to 'generate Black hate towards the Jewish community by making derogatory statements while disguised as a Jewish man.'
Liz Truss will lay down the law to police today by ordering them to investigate real crimes instead of petty online spats.

The Tory leadership frontrunner says she will make the streets safer by forcing chief constables 'to get back to basics' and hold them to account with strict targets.

She will expect forces to cut rates of murder, violence and neighbourhood crimes like burglary and theft by 20 per cent over the next two years if she becomes prime minister and will publish league tables to highlight which are performing worst.

Chiefs of failing forces would have to explain their plans to turn things around at special meetings chaired by the Home Secretary, while officers would be told to visit the homes of every burglary victim.

Miss Truss's tough approach comes amid growing concern at the number of police forces in England and Wales that are letting down crime victims and the public, in spite of large numbers of new bobbies on the beat being recruited.

The Tory leadership frontrunner says she will make the streets safer by forcing chief constables 'to get back to basics' and hold them to account with strict targets (Truss pictured leaving Ealing TV studios, July 26, 2022)

The police watchdog has put six forces into 'special measures', while former Metropolitan Police commissioner Dame Cressida Dick was forced out of Scotland Yard for failing to tackle its toxic culture.

Last night Miss Truss said: 'People across our country want criminals locked up, and crime prevented, so they feel safe on their streets.

'We and our fantastic Conservative police and crime commissioners (PCCs) have made good progress since the 2019 election, with over 13,000 new police officers on the streets and the increase in powers and resources having a real impact in communities around the country, but we now need to go further and faster.

'It's time for the police to get back to basics and spend their time investigating real crimes, not Twitter rows and hurt feelings. People can trust me to deliver and these league tables will help hold the police to account  making our streets safer and our country more prosperous.'

Miss Truss previously ordered Whitehall to stop using 'woke' unconscious bias courses and will take a similar approach with police if she becomes PM.

Former Metropolitan Police commissioner Dame Cressida Dick was forced out of Scotland Yard for failing to tackle its toxic culture

She will give PPCs greater powers to veto training that focuses on identity politics, and ensure learning for officers focuses on key issues such as domestic abuse. Miss Truss will also tell forces to stop investigating online discussions as possible hate crimes.

She will check that new guidance on so-called 'non-crime hate incidents' protects freedom of speech and means officers are policing the streets rather than social media.

A campaign source said: 'Burglars, thugs and murderers should expect to be taken off our streets and thrown behind bars but it's unfortunate that some chief constables are not cracking down as hard as they should be. Liz will hold their feet to the fire, and these newly published statistics will help the public do the same.'

But police chiefs are likely to resist their forces being measured against national benchmarks given that some cover large cities while others are responsible for sparsely populated rural areas.

Experts have also long warned that making police focus on particular targets means they ignore other offences and may try to 'game' the figures.
The SAS may have covered up the murders of captives in Afghanistan, shocking new evidence suggested tonight.

High Court documents left the elite regiment facing fresh questions over a long-alleged 'shoot-to-kill' policy against prisoners they suspected of being Taliban.

The revelations suggest that senior defence officials might have manipulated a Royal Military Police probe into the deaths, with one investigator quoted in the legal papers as claiming he was put under 'political pressure' to amend his inquiries.

And an SAS officer apparently suggested that concerns over illegal killings should be 'nipped' in the bud to avoid scrutiny. As many as 50 Afghans were killed by the SAS in suspicious circumstances from 2010 to 2012.

The SAS may have covered up the murders of captives in Afghanistan, shocking new evidence suggested tonight

High Court documents left the elite regiment facing fresh questions over a long-alleged 'shoot-to-kill' policy against prisoners they suspected of being Taliban (Pictured: Afghan National Army soldiers detain three prisoners of war, two Pakistani Nationals and one Afghan in a village in the Paktika province, October 2006)

One of the Government's most senior legal advisers, Peter Ryan, the Ministry of Defence's director of judicial engagement policy, described the explanations given as 'highly questionable, if not implausible'.

The new evidence emerged as the High Court considers an application for a judicial review into SAS operations.

Such a review could see special forces soldiers being re-interviewed over 'war crimes' and facing murder charges.

Many soldiers simply refused to comment when questioned by the RMP years ago. Its probe into the SAS was codenamed Operation Northmoor and was closed in 2019 without any soldiers being charged.

But MoD documents disclosed at the High Court raise questions over its integrity and impartiality.

The legal papers revealed claims that in 2017 the Operation Northmoor commander described having been placed under 'political pressure' to focus investigations on 'tactical level command responsibility'. This suggests that MoD officials did not want the RMP to expose what special forces and Army commanders in London may have known about what was happening at a lower command level in Helmand Province.

The revelations suggest that senior defence officials might have manipulated a Royal Military Police probe into the deaths (Pictured: Taliban fighters take part in a military street parade in Maymana, capital of Faryab province in January this year)

One investigator quoted in the legal papers as claiming he was put under 'political pressure' to amend his inquiries (Pictured: Former Taliban fighters wait inside a cell at a jail complex December 1, 2001)

An SAS officer apparently suggested that concerns over illegal killings should be 'nipped' in the bud to avoid scrutiny (Pictured: Taliban prisoners walk in line during their release from the Bagram prison, next to the US military base in Bagram, some 50 km north of Kabul in May)

The document says: 'This appears to be contemporaneous evidence of improper pressure being exerted on senior Operation Northmoor investigators to ensure they did not investigate the command responsibility of senior commanders.'

The view taken by Mr Ryan also poses uncomfortable questions. Having studied the reasons given by SAS officers for Afghans dying in their custody, he wrote: 'The RMP were sceptical about some supposed fire fights which left all of the Afghans dead, with little evidence of captured Afghans with a weapon.'

In 2017, The Mail on Sunday published an interview with an SAS soldier involved in over 200 missions who was adamant 'illegal killings' were 'part of the job'.

The MoD today sought to stem the flow of documents, instead offering an 'independent review' of evidence surrounding SAS practices. But the law firm representing one Afghan family says they will not take part because the MoD 'wants to decide what evidence is included'. The case has been brought on behalf of Saifullah Ghareb Yar, who says four relatives were assassinated in 2011 during an SAS night raid.

Tessa Gregory, a partner at Leigh Day, said: 'The Government's own evidence shows MoD officials repeatedly raised concerns these killings were part of wider pattern of systemic wrongdoing and cover-ups.'

An MoD spokesman said: 'The Defence Secretary has decided to propose an independent review to be led by a senior judge into issues arising from the handing of allegations of misconduct that are the subject of these proceedings.
Liz Truss urged Dominic Cummings to scrap hundreds of 'woke' civil service roles in an attack on Whitehall 'groupthink', a leaked document has revealed.

As international trade secretary in 2020, Miss Truss's office called for the abolition of diversity and inclusion roles in the civil service.

Her office reportedly signed off the document to Mr Cummings, who was then Boris Johnson's most senior adviser, criticising the 'risk-averse' Whitehall for its liberal 'groupthink'.

And she lambasted the difficulty of firing poorly-performing officials, according to the Telegraph.

A source close to Miss Truss told the paper the document represented how she would seek to govern if she beats Rishi Sunak to become Tory leader.

Liz Truss (pictured in London July 26) urged Dominic Cummings to scrap hundreds of 'woke' civil service roles in an attack on Whitehall 'groupthink', a leaked document has revealed

Her office reportedly signed off the document to Mr Cummings (pictured), who was then Boris Johnson's most senior adviser, criticising the 'risk-averse' Whitehall for its liberal 'groupthink'

'As prime minister, Liz will not be captured by the Whitehall and Treasury orthodoxy,' the source said.

'She'll push ahead with tough reforms and get things through the labyrinthine Whitehall system.

'She's absolutely the person who will get things done and challenge Civil Service groupthink.'

The document, written in 2020, called for a greater politicisation of the civil service.

It said: 'The upper ranks of the civil service... lack political understanding and a tendency towards liberal groupthink results in significant delays in delivering ministerial priorities.'

And it called for an 'increased number of political appointees in ministerial offices' and a 'greater role for the Secretary of State in appointing SCS [senior civil service] roles', as well as the 'abolition or reduction' in the size of diversity and inclusion teams, strategic communications, marketing and HR.

Conservative Party Leadership Candidate Liz Truss leaves Ealing TV Studios in west London after attending a TV debate, July 26

On diversity and inclusion, it said: 'This team should be scrapped. We have four people in this team for a comparatively small department.'

The document also called for a review into HR practices such as 'putting people on warnings and actually firing'.

'Ultimately, poor-performing personnel are a major blockage to effective and timely decision-making.

'The department will move people rather than deal with persistently poor performance,' it said.
Pictures of the stealth fighter Shenyang J-35 leaked last year and has caught the attention of everyone, especially now that a naval version will be on the new aircraft carrier. The outlet reveals it would serve on the new Type 004 or Fujian when it is flight worthy.

New Gyrfalcon Appearance Shocks the US

FC-31 stealth aircraft with the serial number 35003 and a grey tactical paint job are shown in the most recent images. Additionally, the images show that it includes other markings and national emblems that have been muted, reported the EurAsian Times.

According to reports, the questioned aircraft is the third overall and second flying prototype with a "flying shark," same as PLAN J-15 carrier-based fighter jets on top of the aircraft's tail fin.

The newest images show that the plane's airframe is similar to the American stealth fighter, claimed sources. This highlights the anticipated naval role and indicates that it has been evolving steadily over the previous few months.

The most recent photograph also reveals that the Stealth Fighter Shenyang J-35's design incorporates features from the American stealth fighter. Engines stand out in the most recent pictures. The expert noted this is the first time the new WS-21 engines power this aircraft.

An initial prototype reportedly used WS-13Es rather than Russian-made RD-93s. The WS-13 series and RD-93 are similar in design and functioning. Defense experts predict that this Chinese fighter will take a few more years to develop fully.

Read Also: Xi Jinping Net Worth 2022: How Wealthy Is China's President

According to a report from the Chinese state-run CCTV news network in June, FC-31 powered by WS-21 engines will be seen in this year's Zhuhai Air Show, scheduled for November. It isn't easy to assess the design, Beijing wants more fifth-generation aircraft on its aircraft carriers to show in its development.

The FC-31 Stealth Aircraft

The PLA Navy and PLAAF planners decided to stop the Shenyang Aircraft Corporation (SAC)-built FC-31 project, but the US actions in the Indo-Pacific under Trump forced the project's resurrection.

One NATO intelligence officer told The Bulwark during the pandemic that the J-35 program of the PLA was not stopped. Mentioning Beijing made progress while its adversaries remained in lockdown.

The Shenyang-built stealth fighter was a big shock for the US, noted a Breaking Defense report.

According to retired US naval intelligence officer Capt. James Fanell, the second Chinese stealth fighter, is a game-changer for the PLA Navy's ambitions for aviation equal to the US Navy.

Admiral Wu Shengli said it was a step toward China's having the most potent force, but the US officer complained that Beijing should give way to what they were doing to their detriment.

The images show how much Chinese technology has advanced, with the Type 004 aircraft carrier and the stealth fighter Shenyang J-35. These developments threaten the US and NATO, which depend on the F-35.

Related Article: China's Nuclear-Capable Flat Top Type 004 Aircraft Carrier To Operate F-31 Gyrfalcon Stealth Fighters Onboard

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
A rail union baron has defended living in a council flat despite being on a six-figure pay package.

Eddie Dempsey, deputy leader of the RMT, lives with his family in taxpayer-subsidised social housing even though thousands of much more needy locals are stuck on a waiting list.

Challenged by the Daily Mail about his failure to buy his own home, he claimed council properties were not just for lower-paid people and should be an option for all.

Islington Council in London has Englands 13th longest social housing waiting list, with 14,000 households in need of accommodation.

But Mr Dempseys boss, Mick Lynch, defended him, saying: When did council housing become for people that are poor? You dont have to be poor.

Rail union baron Eddie Dempsey poses with pro-Putin warlord Alexander Mozgovoy in Russia

How is he blocking houses [for the less well off]? Council properties should be available for the whole population so that we have a mixed group of people living in those council houses.

Mr Lynch said the reason behind the shortage of social housing was not due to people like his deputy, but because the Government was not building enough council properties across the country.

But critics, including Mr Dempseys own neighbours, branded him a hypocrite for blocking more needy people from having a home of their own.

David Wheeler, 85, who also lives in the smart new-build block of flats in central London, said: Its enormous hypocrisy. If I was earning money like him, Id want my own house.

He likened the situation to that of Bob Crow, the former RMT chief, who refused to leave his council house in 2013 despite earning 145,000.

Critics, including Dempseys own neighbours, branded him a hypocrite for blocking more needy people having a home of their own. Pictured: the baron's central London council flat

He added: He [Bob Crow] lived in a council house and he said he was a true blue socialist. To me he wasnt  he was a hypocrite.

The militant RMT pays Mr Dempsey, 40, a package worth 108,549, including a 78,282 gross salary, 20,289 in pension contributions and 9,978 in employers national insurance contributions.

A neighbour said their rent was 1,000 a month for a two-bedroom property with a balcony similar to Mr Dempseys flat. They said the rent includes the cost of heating.

By comparison, a private two-bedroom flat nearby was listed for 3,000 a month yesterday. When asked why Mr Dempsey hadnt considered moving out, an RMT spokesman said: He wants to live in London, which has been his home since he first started working on the railways... Eddie thinks publicly owned accommodation, should be an option for all.

Tory MP Andrew Bridgen said: He can afford to buy his own property, but he chooses to block someone from having access to council housing who needs it. The RMT are a bunch of hypocrites and theyre also Mr Putins useful idiots.

In 2015, after Vladimir Putins first invasion of Ukraine, Mr Dempsey visited the Donbas region.

He posed for pictures with warlord Aleksey Mozgovoy, a commander in the Ghost Brigade of pro-Russian separatists branded a terrorist organisation by Ukraines Supreme Court.
Rishi Sunak has pledged to bring forward key legislation to rein in the power of big tech firms and protect the digital economy.

The Tory leadership contender yesterday committed to giving the draft Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Bill parliamentary priority this autumn.

The Bill will introduce tough laws to stop the world's biggest search engines and social media platforms exploiting consumers and rivals.

It will also empower the Digital Markets Unit, a watchdog set up to address the dominance of the tech giants, particularly in digital advertising. Mr Sunak said this would include measures to ensure tech firms paid a fair price to news publishers for content.

The former chancellor also promised to honour a Tory manifesto pledge to repeal Section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act 2013, which he said 'seeks to coerce the Press and stifle free speech'.

Conservative Party Leadership Candidate Rishi Sunak leaves Ealing TV Studios in west London after attending a TV debate, July 26

He said the Act, which would force newspapers to pay legal costs in defamation and privacy cases for both sides no matter the outcome  unless they agree to join a state-sponsored regulator  will be taken off the statute books 'as a matter of urgency' before the next election.

Mr Sunak made the commitments in a letter yesterday to Owen Meredith of the News Media Association, which represents local, regional and national publishers.

The would-be prime minister said he strongly backed the 'vital' newspaper industry and acknowledged its long-term sustainability could not be taken for granted.

He added: 'I support the growth of digital industries, but believe we will only achieve a thriving digital economy in the UK with properly functioning markets.

'I am therefore happy to confirm that I would take forward the promised digital markets legislation this autumn, including measures to ensure fair terms between publishers and platforms, if I am selected as Conservative Party leader and prime minister.'

Announcing the Bill in the Queen's Speech in May, the Government said it would aim to better protect Britons from online scams and rip-offs, such as fake reviews and subscription traps.

It will also empower the DMU to rein in the dominance of tech giants such as Google and Facebook  particularly in digital advertising, where it has a detrimental impact on high-quality journalism.

Sunak said he would implement legislation to empower the Digital Markets Unit to break the dominance of tech giants and prevent them from exploiting consumers and rivals

Under the Bill, the DMU would be able to force online giants to comply with codes of conduct  on penalty of fines of up to 10 per cent of their global turnover.

Mr Sunak also committed to repealing Section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act 2013  a Conservative Party manifesto commitment in 2017  'as a matter of urgency'. Under the measure, news publishers would be forced to pay both sides' legal costs in defamation and privacy legal cases whether they win or lose in court  unless they sign up to a Press regulator backed by a royal charter.

The Tories have previously said that the law, which has been vehemently opposed by Press groups and Press freedom campaigners, undermined 'the essential role of local newspapers in speaking truth to power'.

It is on the statute books but yet to be activated.

The most recent Queen's Speech contained plans for a Media Bill that would repeal the law.

Mr Sunak wrote: 'It's vital that we remove this measure which seeks to coerce the Press and stifle free speech ahead of the next general election.'
Australia Day celebrations could be scrapped in Melbourne as the city's mayor works to create 'unity, rather than division' around the national holiday.

Melbourne City Council Lord Mayor Sally Capp held a meeting on Tuesday night where the majority of the city's councillors voted in favour of a review into how January 26 would be marked in the future.

The review may lead to events such as the Australia Day parade, fireworks displays and citizenship ceremonies being canned in the Victorian city.

Ms Capp said the council would be speaking to traditional owners and federal and state governments on the matter.

January 26, 1788 was the day the First Fleet landed at Sydney Cove, with Governor Arthur Phillip raising a Union Jack flag.

The date has become increasingly controversial in Australia, with many Indigenous people observing it as a day of mourning or labelling it 'Invasion Day'.

Australia Day celebrations could be scrapped in Melbourne as the city's mayor works to create more unity, 'rather than division'

'We know that Australians love celebrating what it means to be Australian and the things we are grateful for and proud of, we just want to understand whether there are options in ways that everyone can join that celebration,' she told Sunrise.

'Can we find ways to create more unity than division on January 26?'.

Poll Should the date of Australia Day be changed? Yes No Should the date of Australia Day be changed? Yes 15 votes

No 165 votes Now share your opinion





She noted a poll conducted by Australia Talks last year showed 55 per cent of people were in favour of changing the date of Australia Day.

'We are at a time where there's much debate, we know it's difficult and sensitive but we also know as a local government we have a role to play on January 26,' she said.

'We want to understand how we can do that, that better reflects the full views of our community.'

At Tuesday's meeting, Ms Capp said there was 'growing national sentiment' that the date of Australia Day be changed, with alternative options for celebrations now to be discussed by the council.

But not everyone was in favour of scrapping the national holiday.

Indigenous elder and Wurundjeri man Ian Hunter said changing the date wouldn't have any benefit for First Nations Australians.

Melbourne City Council Lord Mayor Sally Capp held a meeting on Tuesday night where the majority of councillors voted in favour of a review into how January 26 will be marked in the future

'It's not going to change anything. There's just a few condescending people who want to make themselves look good to a minority,' he told The Herald Sun.

'People in remote communities will still have the same dramas. It's not going to alter the outcomes of the health and the other things that go on.'

Northern Territory senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price said there were already many days and weeks where Indigenous Australians were recognised.

'Australia Day is for all Australians and should be left as such. How much more recognition and guilt politics must we as a nation be subjected to?' she said.

Council staff will now prepare a report to be tabled and debated at a council meeting on September 6.
More than a third of desks are empty in most Whitehall departments, the latest figures show.

Cabinet Office data shows that 15 out of 19 government departments were less than two-thirds full the week before last.

In the headquarters of the Foreign Office, the department with the worst record, occupancy was at just 35 per cent on average over the week.

HMRC, the Department for Work and Pensions and the Home Office  which is responsible for the Ukraine refugee scheme  were all half empty.

More than a third of desks are empty in most Whitehall departments, the latest figures show

And, with summer holidays now under way, the proportion of empty chairs in Whitehall headquarters has risen in some offices compared with a month earlier.

Working from home has become embedded in offices across the country despite the risks from Covid fading after the success of Britains vaccine programme.

Tory MPs and ministers have demanded that civil servants should return to the office to halt the decline in the quality of public services.

Jacob Rees-Mogg, the minister for government efficiency, has fought in vain with senior mandarins to get Whitehall officials back to work.

In the headquarters of the Foreign Office, the department with the worst record, occupancy was at just 35 per cent on average over the week

But government bodies quietly agreed to hybrid working policies this year that only require staff to be present two days a week.

Yesterday Mr Rees-Mogg said: Whitehall remains ghostly while British taxpayers wait on new passports and driving licences. Though a dip over the summer might be expected, our voters do not expect mandarins to be absent without leave. Government must continue. It does not work from home.

But Civil Service head Simon Case said hybrid working has been part of the way the civil service works for a decade.
The Department of Justice is investigating former President Donald Trump's actions as part of its criminal probe on the January 6 Capitol attack, The Washington Post reported Tuesday evening.

Sources told the paper that federal prosecutors have interviewed witnesses before a grand jury and asked them about conversations between Trump, his lawyers and members of his inner circle regarding a plot to replace Electoral College members with pro-Trump alternate electors in states President Joe Biden won.

Prosecutors have asked detailed questions about meetings Trump held in December 2020 and January 2021, gathering information on his campaign to pressure Vice President Mike Pence to overturn the election results, and what instructions - if any - Trump gave his team about the fake electors scheme.

The Department of Justice is investigating former President Donald Trump's actions as part of its criminal probe on the January 6, The Washington Post reported Tuesday evening

Rioters loyal to former President Donald Trump are seen surrounding the U.S. Capitol Building on January 6, 2021

That scheme was led by Trump's election lawyers Rudy Giuliani and John Eastman, but prosecutors wanted to know the extent of the now ex-president's involvement, The Post said.

Specifically, what did Trump tell his allies to do as he sought to overturn the 2020 election result.

While it had been previously reported that investigators were looking into the conduct of some in Trump's inner circle - including Giuliani and Eastman - The Post was first to report that DOJ officials were looking into Trump's actions.

The paper also reported that investigators received the phone records of Trump's former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.

Two subpoenas obtained by The Post issued to two Arizona state lawmakers who posed as fake electors asked for communications with 'any member, employee, or agent of Donald J. Trump or any organization advocating in favor of the 2020 re-election of Donald J. Trump, including "Donald J. Trump for President, Inc."'

On Monday, ABC News reported that Pence's former Chief of Staff Marc Short was spotted leaving D.C. District Court on Friday, alongside his lawyer.

Sources told the network that Short testified before a grand jury, compelled by a subpoena, as part of the DOJ's probe.

Additionally, Pence lawyer Greg Jacob also appeared before a grand jury, The Post said.

Attorney General Merrick Garland did not rule out prosecuting former President Donald Trump for his role in January 6 in a new interview airing Tuesday on NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt

In an interview that aired Tuesday, Attorney General Merrick Garland did not rule out prosecuting Trump.

'We intend to hold everyone, anyone who was criminally responsible for the events surrounding January 6, for any attempt to interfere with the lawful transfer of power from one administration to another, accountable,' Garland told NBC's Lester Holt. 'That's what we do.'

The DOJ probe is separate from the investigation being conducted by the January 6 House select committee - which may make criminal referals to the Justice Department as well, the top Republican on the panel, Rep. Liz Cheney, said in an interview last month.

'The Justice Department has been doing the most wide-ranging investigation in its history and the committee is doing an enormously wide-ranging investigation as well,' Garland said on NBC's Nightly News.

So far the DOJ investigation has led to charges against more than 840 individuals over their roles in the Capitol attack.

Sources told The Post that there are two legal areas where Trump could get ensnared.

Like the rioters, the DOJ could pursue charges like seditious conspiracy and conspiracy to obstruct a government proceeding.

But the Justice Department could also try to prove Trump committed fraud with the fake electors scheme or the campaign he and his allies mounted to pressure DOJ officials to say the election was fraudulent when it wasn't.

Garland said the DOJ has been 'moving urgently' since the start of its investigation into the Capitol riot and surrounding events.

'It is inevitable in this kind of investigation that there'll be speculation about what we we are doing, who we are investigating, what our theories are - the reason there is this speculation and uncertainty is that some fundamental tenet of what we do as prosecutors and investigators is to do it outside of the public eye,' Garland said.

He said this was done to 'protect civil liberies' and 'ensure the success and the integrity' of the investigtion.

No former president has ever been charged with a crime in the country's history.

While former President Richard Nixon stepped down over his involvement in the Watergate break-in, President Gerald Ford, who had served as Nixon's vice president, pardoned him.
Advertisement

Rating:

In an attempt to shake up the smartphone industry, London tech company Nothing this month released its first smartphone, the 399 'phone (1)'.

Nothing's device, which is the first British smartphone to be released for more than half a decade, boasts a unique light interface that flashes in different patterns.

It also has a 'minimalist' design with a frame made from recycled aluminium and an adapted version of Android 12 that does away with the pointless pre-installed apps.

The firm will be hoping its device fares better than the last British smartphone, which was made by another London-based firm, called Wileyfox.

Wileyfox released three generations of phones between 2015 and 2016, but the company never turned a profit and went into administration in 2018.

MailOnline spent a week trying tried out phone (1), which the company says 'marks the start of change in a stagnant industry' as it looks to challenge Apple and Samsung in a crowded smartphone market.

London tech company Nothing has released its first smartphone, the 'phone (1)', which features a futuristic 'glyph interface' that lights up (pictured)

Nothing phone (1), which went on sale on July 21 in the UK, starting at 399 - cheaper than Apple's 'budget' offering, the iPhone SE, which starts at $419

NOTHING PHONE: SPECS - Glyph interface - Recycled aluminum frame - Transparent back glass - Wireless charging - Qualcomm Snapdragon processor - Runs 'Nothing OS' - 399 O2 is the network partner for phone (1) in the UK. Nothing has also signed with Germany's Deutsche Telekom and Indian online retailer Flipkart to market the phone. Advertisement

What first struck me about phone (1) was its hefty size and weight. It accommodates a 6.5-inch screen and weighs 194 grams  a fair bit bigger than the 6.1-inch screen and 174g weight of Apple's flagship iPhone 13.

The big OLED screen supports a 120Hz refresh rate, giving the display deep colours and a crystal clear resolution.

It also has a 4,500mAh battery, Gorilla Glass on the front and back, dual 50-megapixel rear cameras and a hole punch front-facing camera  which means no ugly notch at the top like the iPhone 13 has.

Nothing also says the device has its own operating system  'Nothing OS', powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, but it's essentially an adapted version of Android 12.

Most Android phones have an extra layer or 'skin' put over the stock Android interface by the brand that makes the phone, but Nothing decided to strip this back to deliver 'only the best of Android'.

In keeping with the company's minimalist aesthetic, Nothing OS has taken out the 'bloatware'  pointless apps that take up space and needlessly drain battery life.

On the back of phone (1), the transparent glass covers what seems to be the device's unique selling point, a 'glyph interface'  a series of LED lights that flash when the device gets a call, receives notifications, takes photos and more.

By going to Settings, users can choose a particular light display and an accompanying pattern of bleeps and bloops as their default ringtone.

Users can also assign a light display to each one of their phone contacts. For example, I can assign a display called 'radiate' to my mum, so I know when she's ringing by looking at the glyph interface.

But this only works if the phone is face down with the interface facing upwards, and may require users to learn lots of different light patterns to work out who's calling.

By going to Settings, users can choose a particular light display and an accompanying pattern of bleeps and bloops as their default ringtone

Pictured is how the 'radiate' ringtone, and the accompanying light pattern, looks on the glyph interface, which is located under glass on the back of the device

Users can also opt to light up the whole of the glyph interface when they're taking a photo, as a more gentle alternative to the powerful torch light.

One particular part of the glyph interface towards the bottom is a LED light that looks like an exclamation mark. When charging the phone with a USB-C charger, this light gradually gets more and more illuminated, like a progress bar.

The glass back also covers a wireless charging coil, which can be used to charge up Nothing's other product, its 99 earphones ('ear 1').

Another fun feature that can be toggled on and off in Settings is a small red LED light that flashes when you're filming video.

Users have the option to turn on an option to flash a small red light on and off when filming video, like the VCR recorders of our youth

Nothing told me it's meant to be a reference to the old VCR recorders of our youth  another indicator that this phone's target market is hipster millennials who grew up with '90s gadgets.

Meanwhile, phone (1) has a 16-megapixel selfie camera and dual 50-megapixel rear cameras, one of which provides 'exceptional detail in any light' and 'always sharp shots', the firm says, thanks to a Sony IMX766 sensor.

I tried out phone (1)'s camera and compared the results with shots from my Samsung A20e taken from the same spot  and the results show notable differences, including a clearer capture, a greater use of light and a more expansive field of view.

Phone (1) has a 16-megapixel selfie camera and dual 50-megapixel rear cameras, one of which provides 'exceptional detail in any light' and 'always sharp shots', the firm says. Pictured is a shot of a London street taken with phone (1)

This is a photo taken from the same spot on the London street using a Samsung A20e. The phone (1) image is arguably clearer, brighter and wider

Another thing I liked was how Nothing has made use of the smartphone side button on the right of the device. Pressing it twice brings up the camera, while holding it down brings up Google Assistant.

Other smartphones, including my current Samsung device, have the side button as the on-off switch  but it's pretty much wasted, because who turns their smartphone off these days?

I hate it when it's difficult to open the camera on a smartphone. Before you know it that fleeting photo opportunity has gone, and you're still fruitlessly swiping at the screen.

So the ability to tap the side button twice to open the camera means it's ready to take photos before it's even halfway out my pocket.

Meanwhile, its 4,500mAh battery gave me 18 hours of use with one full charge, so it was easily enough to see me through the day.

Promo image of phone (1). The hefty OLED screen supports a 120Hz refresh rate, giving the display deep colours and a crystal clear resolution

Nothing will be hoping its device fares better than the last British smartphone, which was made by another London-based firm, called Wileyfox. Pictured is the Wileyfox Swift 2 X

Nothing has already released a pair of wireless headphones (called 'ear (1)', pictured), which has transparent parts 'to highlight and celebrate the craftsmanship underneath'

Overall, I really loved the Nothing phone because it's a genuinely fun device, which is how technology should be.

The glyph interface is a super addictive feature that kept me entertained for hours, the display is clear and crisp, usability is slick and easy, and the price is pretty reasonable for what this phone provides.

Phone (1) has some high-end features that are often found on 1,000 flagship phones, but for 399  cheaper than Apple's 'budget' offering, the iPhone SE, which starts at $419.

Nothing  which was founded by Swedish entrepreneur Carl Pei less than two years ago  claims to make devices for people who are 'tired of the same old technology', and plan to add more devices to their 'ecosystem of multiple products'.

The company wouldn't give me a single hint what its next product in this ecosystem would be, which left me speculating  could it be a tablet? A smartwatch? A pair of smart glasses? Or something that no other tech company has done before?

Whatever it is, it's genuinely exciting to have a technology company on our doorstep that's rivalling some of the world's biggest powerhouses, like Apple, Samsung and Google.

Phone (1) is available in both white and black and prices start at 399, although it is only available in the UK, Europe and Asia, so Americans may have to turn to eBay to get their hands on one.
Arachnophobes look away now; engineers have found a way to turn dead spiders into mechanical gripping robots straight out of your nightmares.

Researchers from Rice University in Texas pumped wolf spider cadavers with air to get their legs to unfurl and clasp around objects.

They discovered that the arachnid grippers were able to lift 130 per cent of their own body weight, and can manipulate circuit boards to turn off LED lights.

A gripper can perform about 1,000 open-close cycles before its joints start to wear out, but the engineers believe it will last longer with a polymer coating.

It is hoped the delicate tools could be used in microelectronics, or for capturing small insects to study.

Daniel Preston, assistant professor in mechanical engineering, said: 'It happens to be the case that the spider, after it's deceased, is the perfect architecture for small scale, naturally derived grippers.

'It's something that hasn't been used before but has a lot of potential.'



Rice University mechanical engineers have found a way to convert the bodies of deceased spiders into necrobotic grippers. Pictured is a gripper being used to lift a jumper and break a circuit to turn off an LED. The team hope the gripper could be useful in microelectronics

The mechanical engineers at Rice University were inspired after coming across curled up spiders while moving things about in their laboratory. Lead author Faye Yap (pictured) wanted to find out why it was that the arachnids' legs curl inwards after they die

HOW DOES THE GRIPPER WORK? The engineers first inserted a needle into the dead spider's prosoma, and secured it with superglue. The other end of the needle was connected to one of the lab's test rigs or a handheld syringe, which delivered a minute amount of air to the legs. The pressure caused them to unfurl, and when the pressure is released the legs clasp around an object. Advertisement

The mechanical engineers at the Houston-based institution were inspired after coming across curled up spiders while moving things about in their laboratory.

Lead author Faye Yap wanted to find out why it was that spiders' legs curl inwards after they die.

She said: 'Spiders do not have antagonistic muscle pairs, like biceps and triceps in humans

'They only have flexor muscles, which allow their legs to curl in, and they extend them outward by hydraulic pressure.'

Internal valves in the spiders' hydraulic chamber, or prosoma, sends blood to their limbs and forces them to extend, and when that pressure is relieved they contract.

Yap added: 'When they die, they lose the ability to actively pressurise their bodies. That's why they curl up.

'At the time, we were thinking, 'Oh, this is super interesting', we wanted to find a way to leverage this mechanism.'

The valves allow the spider to control each leg individually, and were utilised by the researchers to move all the legs at the same time.

Engineers first tapped into the spider's prosoma chamber with a needle, attaching it with a dab of superglue. The other end of the needle was connected to one of the lab's test rigs or a handheld syringe, which delivered a minute amount of air to activate the legs almost instantly

Left: A scanning electron microscope image of the articular membrane of a spider's patellofemoral joint, that has inspired the design of many soft flexible joints. Right: A hypodermic needle is inserted into the prosoma of the spider and sealed with glue

In a paper, published yesterday in Advanced Science, the team describe how they created the 'necrobot'.

They first tapped into the prosoma chamber with a needle, attaching it with a dab of superglue.

The other end of the needle was connected to one of the lab's test rigs or a handheld syringe, which delivered a minute amount of air to activate the legs almost instantly.

The engineers had the grippers manipulate a circuit board, move objects and even lift another spider.

They were also found to be fairly robust, as they could go through 1,000 open-close cycles before experiencing any wear and tear.

Preston said: 'We think that's related to issues with dehydration of the joints. We think we can overcome that by applying polymeric coatings.'

Daniel Preston (left) and Faye Yap (right) hope that their spider gripper will open the door to a new area of robotics they are calling 'necrobotics', which will have real-world applications

The team hope that their spider gripper will open the door to a new area of robotics they are calling 'necrobotics', which will have real-world applications.

Preston said: 'There are a lot of pick-and-place tasks we could look into, repetitive tasks like sorting or moving objects around at these small scales, and maybe even things like assembly of microelectronics.'

Yap added: 'Another application could be deploying it to capture smaller insects in nature, because it's inherently camouflaged.'

The spiders themselves are also biodegradable, so their necrobots do not introduce a big waste stream as is found with more traditional components and materials.

Future research will involve looking into creating similar grippers with smaller spiders, that can carry heavier loads in comparison to their body weight.
Yet another out-of-control Chinese rocket is sparking concern  a year after one of Beijing's spacecrafts showered debris over the Indian Ocean.

Experts fear that part of a 21-ton Long March 5B rocket, which was launched to space on Sunday, may fail to fully burn up as it re-enters Earth's atmosphere.

It would then plummet to the surface in an uncertain location and at great speed.

Although the chances of debris hitting an inhabited area are very low, many experts think that China is taking an unnecessary risk.

The country's latest rocket blasted off from the Wenchang launch site on the southern island province of Hainan at the weekend.

It was carrying a solar-powered new lab, the Wentian experiment module, to be added to China's growing Tiangong Space Station.

However, experts are worried that parts of the rocket's core stage could fall to Earth  in a repeat of China's launch last May which saw debris scattered across the Indian Ocean.

At the time, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson accused China of 'failing to meet responsible standards regarding their space debris,' including minimising risks during re-entry and being transparent about operations.

Yet another out-of-control Chinese rocket is sparking concern  a year after one of Beijing's spacecrafts showered debris over the Indian Ocean

Experts fear that debris from a 21-ton Long March 5B rocket, which was launched to space on Sunday (pictured), may fail to fully burn up as it re-enters Earth's atmosphere

WHAT IS TIANGONG? China's space station is called 'Tiangong', meaning 'Heavenly Palace'. Tiangong is comprised of several different modules that are launching one by one. In April 2021, the core module, called 'Tianhe', was launched. The first crew arrived at Tianhe two months later. In July 2022, Wentian, a smaller module where research experiments will take place, attached to Tianhe. In October 2022, a second research lab module, Mengtian, will also attach to Tianhe. When it does, the Tiangong space station will be complete. Another two spacecraft that can dock at the station  Shenzhou and Tianzhou  respectively transport crew and cargo, and aren't considered part of the station itself. China also plans to launch Xuntian, a space telescope that would co-orbit with the space station, in 2024. Advertisement

The rocket's first stage was shed during the launch and will continue to loop the Earth over the coming days as it gradually falls back to the surface.

Experts say its flight path is difficult to predict because of fluctuations in the atmosphere caused by changes in solar activity.

Jonathan McDowell, an experienced tracker from the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics, said US Space Command data is showing the rocket's first stage floating on its own.

'The inert...core stage remains in orbit and was not actively deorbited,' he tweeted.

The problem with China's rockets is rooted in the risky design of the country's launch process.

Usually, discarded rocket stages re-enter the atmosphere soon after liftoff, normally over water, and don't go into orbit.

However, the Long March 5B rocket does.

China has previously rejected accusations of irresponsibility, with the Chinese Foreign Ministry saying the likelihood of damage to anything or anyone on the ground is 'extremely low'.

Many scientists agree with China that the odds of debris causing serious damage are tiny, although others think launch designs like the Long March 5B's are an unnecessary risk.

Last May, one of the country's Long March rockets broke up on re-entry above the Indian Ocean, north of the Maldives, leading to concerns that it could smash into a populated area on land.

It ultimately fell into the ocean, but Nelson still issued a strongly-worded statement which said: 'Spacefaring nations must minimise the risks to people and property on Earth of re-entries of space objects and maximise transparency regarding those operations.

'It is clear that China is failing to meet responsible standards regarding their space debris.'

In 2020, pieces from the first Long March 5B fell on Ivory Coast, damaging several buildings but not causing any injuries.

The Tiangong space station, currently under construction, is seen in this artistic rendering

The Wenchang Space Launch Center is a rocket launch site on the island of Hainan, China

Wentian, a research lab dedicated to science and biology experiments, has already docked with the main body of the space station, called Tianhe.

It is set to be followed by a second research lab module, Mengtian, due to be launched in October this year.

When Mengtian attaches to the rest of Tiangong, the space station's construction will finally be complete, although Beijing also plans to launch Xuntian, a space telescope that would co-orbit with the space station, in 2024.

Tiangong (meaning 'heavenly palace') will rival the ageing International Space Station (ISS), which is operated by the space agencies of the US, Canada, Russia, Japan and Europe.

It will comprise three modules, although another two spacecraft  Shenzhou and Tianzhou  which transport crew and cargo respectively, can also dock at the station.

Once completed, Tiangong space station will weigh some 66 tons, far smaller than the ISS, which launched its first module in 1998 and weighs around 450 tons.

It is expected to have a life span of at least 10 years.
Russia made headlines Tuesday morning when news spread about its decision to withdraw from the International Space Station (ISS), but according to NASA, an official announcement from the Vladimir Putin-led country has not been received.

Both astronauts on the ISS and team members on the ground said they 'haven't heard anything officially' about the plans and 'everybody is working together' on the station at this moment, conducting research and maintaining the orbiting laboratory.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson told DailyMail.com, following news of the separation, in a statement: 'NASA has not been made aware of decisions from any of the partners, though we are continuing to build future capabilities to assure our major presence in low-Earth orbit.'

Russia's announcement, however, stated that it would pull out of the ISS 'after 2024' to build its own equivalent - direct words that came from the newly appointed chief of state space agency Roscosmos, Yury Borisov.

'I think that by that time we will start putting together a Russian orbital station,' Borisov said at a meeting with Putin, per a report from the Moscow Times, calling the space program the main 'priority.'

'Of course, we will fulfill all our obligations to our partners, but the decision to leave this station after 2024 has been made,' Borisov added.

Scroll down for video

'I think that by that time we will start putting together a Russian orbital station,' Roscosmos chief Yury Borisov said at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Pictured above is the International Space Station above Earth

Russia is withdrawing from the ISS after threatening to do so earlier this year. Pictured: Russian cosmonauts Oleg Artemyev, Denis Matveev and Sergey Korsakov pose with a flag of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic at the ISS, drawing a rebuke from NASA

Borisov reportedly told Putin that Russia's space industry is in a 'difficult' situation, adding that he would seek 'to raise the bar, and, first of all, to provide the Russian economy with the necessary space services,' pointing to navigation, communication and data transmission, among other things.

Roscosmos on Tuesday also said they have completed the first model of their new Russia orbital station.

Citing an unnamed industry source, Interfax reported that Russia's new space station would cost $6 billion.

The ISS, launched in 1998 by the Russian and US space agencies, has been a rare area of cooperation between Moscow and Washington as relations have sharply deteriorated in recent years.

Pictured above: Spaceflight participant and Soyuz MS-19 Board Engineer 1 Klim Shipenko poses for a portrait at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Russia on August 26, 2021

Citing an unnamed industry source, Interfax reported that Russia's new space station would cost $6 billion. Pictured above is the ISS

Earlier this month, NASA announced it was resuming flights to the ISS with Russia.

Russia's decision to withdraw from the ISS comes amid its ongoing invasion of Ukraine, which sparked several rounds of unprecedented Western sanctions against Moscow as well as continuous NATO support of Ukraine's efforts to defend itself against Russia.

In early July, NASA issued a rare rebuke of the Russian space agency after three cosmonauts displayed anti-Ukraine propaganda aboard the ISS.

The trio were seen holding flags of the Luhansk People's Republic and the Donetsk People's Republic  two Russian-backed separatist regions in eastern Ukraine that are only recognized as independent states by Moscow and Syria.

They claimed the capture of the region was 'a liberation day to celebrate both on Earth and in space.'

SpaceX Founder Elon Musk didn't mince words regarding Russia's decision to formally leave the ISS

In response to the pictures, posted by Russia's state space corporation Roscosmos, NASA previously said it 'strongly rebukes Russia using the International Space Station for political purposes to support its war against Ukraine.'

Press secretary Jackie McGuinness added that it was 'fundamentally inconsistent with the station's primary function among the 15 international participating countries to advance science and develop technology for peaceful purposes.'

In April, former Roscosmos chief Dmitry Rogozin threatened to end cooperation with Western partners on the ISS in retaliation to the sanctions.

Rogozin told Russian state TV in April that Moscow would no longer cooperate with its international partners aboard the ISS.

It comes after Rogozin posted a storm of since-deleted tweets in which he slammed Western sanctions imposed on Russia amid its invasion of Ukraine.

In response to a story about Russia's withdrawal from the ISS, SpaceX Founder Elon Musk tweeted the words 'Bon voyage.'

Musk's company has provided Starlink satellite internet for the Ukrainian government since Russia's invasion in late February.
Advertisement

Approximately 88 human 'ghost tracks' have been discovered in salt flats of Utah's Great Salt Lake desert that are believed to be more than 12,000 years ago and only appear when there is just the right amount of moisture  and then disappear when there it is not.

A team of researchers led by Cornell University determined the prints belonged to adults and children who were walking through shallow water during the Ice Age, when the now dry landscape was cloaked in wetlands. The sand in the water quickly filled in their footprints, but mud underneath kept the prints intact.

Because the sand holds more moisture than the surrounding sediment, the right amount of water will make the footprints stand out among the tan colored ground - but then disappear again when the ground dries up.

However, the group found much more than they bargained for  a half-mile away was the oldest evidence of human tobacco use.

Scroll down for video

Pictured are a set of the ghost tracks. The prints can be seen moving away from the closest and are visible in a darker shade than the ground

Ghost tracks in the sand: The 12,000-year-old human footprints were discovered on a US Air Force base in Utah. Experts say they were made by both adults and children

About 33 percent of Utah is desert and is the second driest state in the US after Nevada, but thousands of years ago the area was damp and even after the end of the last Ice Age when glaciers retreated the area was still wetter than it is today.

A shift in climate turned the wetlands into a wasteland, along with Utah's landlocked location that cut off moisture-laden ocean winds.

The change in landscape, however, is what kept the 12,000-year-old ghost tracks preserved.

Cornell's Thomas Urban was called to the US Air Force's Utah Testing and Training Range when someone spotted bizarre formations appearing on the ground.

The ancient humans were walking through shallow waters at the time. Their prints were filled in by sand, but mud at the bottom kept the formation. Because the sand holds more moisture than the surrounding sediment, when there is enough water in the ground the prints become darker on the surface

Experts investigated the subsurface of the ground and when dug out the prints when they could confirm their location. Pictured on the right is Daron Duke with the Far Western Anthropological Research Group. He confirmed the prints were made by adults and children

Urban instantly knew he was looking at ancient prints because he had previously investigated the earliest known human footprints in the Americas that were unearthed at White Sands National Park in New Mexico.

The researchers deployed a ground-penetrating radar survey, which provides a non-invasive way of investigating the subsurface, on two visible sets of tracks.

Daron Duke, of Far Western Anthropological Research Group, who worked alongside Urban, carefully excavated a subset of the prints.

The team used a method to investigate the subsurface without disturbing this, allowing them to locate the prints. Pictured is a model the technology created

Afterwards, Duke confirmed the individuals were barefoot and included young children from the age of five through 12.

Urban was working at the request of Duke, who had previously found two open-air hearths, the floor of a fireplace, on the military base that also dated to the end of the Ice Age - and one is where he discovered evidence of human tobacco use.

'We have long wondered whether other sites like White Sands were out there, and whether ground-penetrating radar would be effective for imaging footprints at locations other than White Sands, since it was a very novel application of the technology,' Urban said in a statement. 'The answer to both questions is 'yes.''

While the Utah site is not as old and may not be as extensive as White Sands, Urban said there may be much more to be found, and the team said they will release a full study in the near future.

The New Mexico footprints were discovered in 2021 and dated to be 23,000 years old.

While the Utah site is not as old and may not be as extensive as White Sands (pictured), Urban said there may be much more to be found, and the team said they will release a full study in the near future. The New Mexico footprints were discovered in 2021 and dated to be 23,000 years old

British and American archaeologists uncovered the prints in soft mud adjoining Alkali Flat, a dry lakebed in the southern region of the state.

Using radiocarbon dating of seed layers above and below the tracks, experts from the U.S. Geological Survey dated the footprints as having been made over a period of at least 2,000 years.

For decades it's been generally held that homo sapiens first entered North America between 13,000 and 16,000 years ago  after the melting of the North American ice sheets opened up migration routes and much later than study co-author Sally Reynolds and her colleagues suggest.

Few archaeologists have claimed reliable evidence for human habitation older than about 16,000 years.
China warned Washington that it should not continue the scheduled Pelosi's Taipei visit, or it would not be pleasant, and Beijing would not be short of a military reaction.

Respect the One China Policy

According to six unnamed people who know the situation, the Financial Times claimed on Sunday that the most recent warnings were sent in private to President Joe Biden's cabinet officials.

The warning was much tougher than prior comments made by Chinese officials about controversial US activities or Taiwan-related policy decisions, reported RT.

Beijing has upped the ante following the conflict with the Biden administration's prospective push for US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's trip to Taiwan. It will not be short of an armed PLA response to the controversial move.

According to reports, Pelosi will travel to Taipei next month. This will be the first time a House speaker has visited the secessionist nation since 1997, citing SCMP.

Last Tuesday, Zhao Lijian, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, warned that Pelosi's Taipei visit would have a "severe impact" on US-China ties. Zhao urged the US to turn around from its current course in harsh terms.

He cautioned that in the face of a meddling Biden administration that will pay for its interference, China will not falter but instead become more steadfast in defending its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Read Also: Donald Trump Net Worth 2022: Did Trump Get Richer Since Leaving the US Presidency?

Washington Could Violate Chinese Policy

Chinese officials also claim that a trip to Taipei by a high-ranking official such as the House Speaker, who would become the next president if the president and vice president were both incapacitated, would be in violation of the US's "One China" policy.

On this technicality, Washington acknowledges Beijing's claim to Taiwanese sovereignty. Wang Wenbin, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, reiterated Beijing's obligation to take decisive action on Friday without oversimplifying it.

The planned trip by Pelosi is reportedly problematic in the eyes of the Pentagon. When pressed about it by reporters last Wednesday, Biden answered that the military had stated it wasn't good right now and that he didn't know how his foreign policy was developing.

Last Thursday, she informed reporters that the president was not raising any issues regarding the visit, predicting that the PLA would shoot her jet down.

White House officials are trying to ascertain if the most recent Chinese warning is a serious concern or just saber-rattling to persuade Pelosi not to go on the trip.

Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser for the US, is against the visit as he thinks it will heighten tensions in the Taiwan Strait.

The Speaker of the House received all the information necessary to decide whether to proceed with her scheduled trip before she left. The decision is up to her, according to NSA spokesperson John Kirby.

In recent months, there has been an increase in tension over US-China relations. The outlet had reported earlier that the Speaker planned to travel to Taiwan to express her support as demand from the mainland for unification grows.

In no terms does China approve of Washington and an impending Pelosi's Taipei visit which is drawing the ire from Beijing.

Related Article: Former Russian President Medvedev Says BRICS Can Create Reserve Currency To Support Its Members

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Whether it's in your Instagram DMs or via the work Slack, many people enjoy flirting online and see it as a bit of harmless fun.

But a new study has warned that these seemingly innocent interactions could be disastrous for your relationships.

Researchers from Reichman University have revealed how online flirtations can make your current partner less appealing in the real world.

Whether it's in your Instagram DMs or via the work Slack, many people enjoy flirting online and see it as a bit of harmless fun. But a new study has warned that these seemingly innocent interactions could be disastrous for your relationships

The dos and don'ts of flirting Which flirting techniques work? Women want men to be funny and generous when it comes to flirting, according to researchers in Norway. However, on the flip side, males prefer the opposite sex to appear sexually available and to laugh at their jokes. And which don't? Last month, scientists from the University of Nicosia in Cyprus revealed the 11 most off-putting flirting tactics: Slimy approach Bad hygiene Lack of exclusive interest Different views Vulgar vocabulary Lack of intelligence Narcissism Lack of humour and self-esteem Excessive intimacy Poor looks Stinginess Advertisement

Previous studies on infidelity have focused on partners' personalities or the characteristics of the couple's relationship.

However, until now, the impact of online flirtations on relationships has been largely unstudied.

Professor Gurit Birnbaum, who led the study, said: 'In the current study, I chose to focus on the behaviour of the suitors, and to assess whether a suitor who is more active in expressing his interest in an individual who is already in a relationship is better able to penetrate the defence mechanisms, jeopardizing relationship quality and stability.'

The researchers carried out two studies in which romantically involved participants chatted online with an attractive person (a member of the research team).

Half of the participants chatted in a neutral way, while the other half flirted with the researchers over an online chat.

In the first study, the participants were asked to rate how attracted they were to their current partner, following the chat with the stranger.

They also took part in a task that examined their unconscious perceptions of their partner.

The results of this first study revealed that participants who flirted with the researchers perceived their current partner in a more negative light  on both the conscious and unconscious level.

In the second study, the participants were asked to write the first sexual fantasy that came to their mind after the chat with the stranger.

The fantasies were analysed by independent judges who examined the level of desire expressed in them towards both the current partner and the stranger.

Researchers from Reichman University have revealed how online flirtations can make your current partner less appealing in the real world

The analysis revealed that when the participants had had a flirty chat with the stranger, they were more likely to fantasise about them than their current partner.

The study comes after research found that the best tactics differ depending on your gender, with women wanting men to be funny and generous.

On the flip side, males prefer the opposite sex to appear sexually available and to laugh at their jokes, according to researchers in Norway.

'What's most effective depends on your gender and whether the purpose of the flirtation is a long-term or short-term relationship,' said Leif Edward Ottesen Kennair, a professor at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.

He belongs to a research group which includes scientists from Bucknell University in Pennsylvania and State University of New York at Oswego.
Chelsea have moved to block Marcos Alonso's transfer to Barcelona after the Catalan club snatched Jules Kounde from under their noses.

According to reports, the Blues are also reluctant to allow fellow defender Cesar Azpilicueta to complete his move to the Nou Camp in what is becoming an increasingly fractious and complicated set of negotiations.

It comes after Barcelona swooped for 55million Sevilla defender Kounde even after Chelsea had seen their offer accepted.

Chelsea have blocked Marcos Alonso's transfer to Barcelona after the Spanish club snatched defender Jules Kounde from under their noses after Sevilla had accepted a 55m offer

Chelsea are likely to block Barcelona's bid for Cesar Azpilicueta if Kounde joins the Catalans

Barcelona are increasingly likely to snatch Jules Kounde away from Chelsea with a late swoop

Andreas Christensen has already made the move from Chelsea to Barcelona this summer, but there is now doubt over whether fellow defenders Alonso and Azpilicueta will follow.

Spanish newspaper Diario Sport report that tensions between the two clubs have increased following the Kounde deal.

Chelsea believed they had secured the France international after Sevilla agreed to their 55m offer but Barcelona made their move to gazump them at the eleventh hour.

Barca had pulled off a similar move to hijack Chelsea's move to sign Raphinha from Leeds United earlier in the summer.

Chelsea came close to signing Kounde, 23, last summer and earlier in this window there was a strong belief in Spain that a move to Stamford Bridge was inevitable once the Todd Boehly takeover was completed.

Alonso has featured on Chelsea's pre-season tour to the US despite Barcelona's interest

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel made clear his irritation at Barcelona's pursuit of Cesar Azpilicueta over the weekend, hinting he may block the transfer

However, the player's preference is to join Barcelona and the club even briefly had his shirt name available for purchase on their online store. It was quickly deleted.

But Chelsea have reacted with anger and are reportedly willing to block the exits of Alonso and Azpilicueta to the Nou Camp.

They have managed to sign Napoli's Kalidou Koulibaly this summer to reinforce their defence, which has also seen Antonio Rudiger depart to Real Madrid, but will either have to chase other targets beyond Kounde or keep existing players.

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel had already strongly suggested that Barcelona's move for Azpilicueta may be blocked.

Asked at a press conference in Orlando ahead of their 4-0 defeat by Arsenal whether he was annoyed by Barcelona's approach, Tuchel replied: 'Maybe a little bit.'

Chelsea have reinforced their defence with the signing of Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli

He added: 'It is a tough question because I am not sure if I want to give Azpi what he wants.

'At some point, it is about what we want. I just made the comparison about how much we fought for Koulibaly, who is a national team player and roughly the same age.

'He is a hugely important player for Napoli, but we have a Spanish international who is the captain at Chelsea. I see him maybe at the same level, but Barcelona don't see him on that level.

'So I am not sure if I want to give him what he wants as he is a huge player.

Raphinha is now at Barcelona after they beat Chelsea to the punch to sign him from Leeds

'We don't think so much about other clubs. The focus is on us and what we need. I said that to him and I say it to you that I understand on a personal and a career level.

'But I am not only in this role to give him what he wants. I am a manager for Chelsea who wants to do what's best for Chelsea.

'He doesn't like it, but he understands. It is tough for him because the other club is permanently on him.'

It all adds to a sense of frustration at Stamford Bridge, with Tuchel ripping into his players' lack of commitment as they were thrashed 4-0 by their London rivals in their final tour match.
Raheem Sterling might only have signed for Chelsea just less than two weeks ago, but he already has a mural at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea's official social media accounts have shared the image of the former Manchester City star celebrating in Chelsea's colours, in a mural planted on the West Stand inside the stadium.

The 50million signing will be able to get a good view of his mural when the Blues play Premier League rivals Tottenham, in their first home game of the new season on August 14.

Chelsea have unveiled a mural of new 50million signing Raheem Sterling at Stamford Bridge

The mural of ex-Manchester City star Sterling is located on the West Stand at Stamford Bridge

Sterling, who was born in Jamaica, moved to London at the age of five where he grew up and played for Queens Park Rangers in their academy - before switching to Liverpool at the age of 15.

On Chelsea's Twitter account, they shared the image of the mural along with the caption 'back on home soil', in reference to the England star's move back to London.

Sterling enjoyed a highly successful seven-year stint at the Etihad, where he won four Premier League titles, alongside a host of domestic cup trophies.

Thomas Tuchel's side will be hoping Sterling can have a similar impact at Stamford Bridge, as the Blues look to close the gap on rivals Manchester City and Liverpool.

Sterling will make his home debut at Stamford Bridge against Tottenham on August 14

He made his debut off the bench during a penalty shoot-out defeat to MLS side Charlotte FC, before making his first start in their 4-0 thumping by Arsenal during their tour of the United States.

Chelsea have one further pre-season game to go against Udinese, before they kick off their Premier League campaign against Frank Lampard's Everton on August 6.

Sterling scored 131 goals in 339 appearances during his time at the Etihad, and without a notable number nine at Stamford Bridge, will be heavily relied upon to score goals at Chelsea this season.

Some fans though believed it was too soon for Sterling to get a mural at Stamford Bridge

Others were supportive of the gesture and hope Sterling will have a big impact this season

Though fans are excited about his signing, there has been a mixed reaction to his hero's welcome mural.

Matt Bentley commented: 'We serious? I'm a big Raheem fan but we can't be putting him on walls at this point?'

Another fan posted that it was 'too soon' for Chelsea to put a mural up of Sterling inside Stamford Bridge.

Other fans liked what they saw though, with one fan saying: 'What a painting! Welcome to the Bridge Raheem.

'Hopefully you bang in 20+ goals & 20+ assists this season & seasons to go!'
Ex-Bachelor star Laurina Fleure has admitted she felt terrified of motherhood after finding out she was expecting her first child with partner James Black.

The 38-year-old confessed she considered not going through with her pregnancy after wondering if she'd 'ever be responsible enough' to raise a child.

'I didn't think I'd ever have children so there were a lot of tears at the start and just fear,' she told Herald Sun.

The Bachelor star Laurina Fleure has admitted she felt terrified of motherhood after finding out she was expecting her first child with partner James Black

'I did wonder whether I should see it through.'

Laurina added that her career, which she said was her 'main priority', made her reconsider pregnancy.

The Melbourne native is the founder of Beauty Aqua, a drinks brand that sells sparkling water infused with vitamins, electrolytes and amino acids.

'I borrowed all my mum's money for [the business],' she explained. 'I thought, "How am I going to lift boxes and do all that when I'm pregnant?"'

The 38-year-old confessed she considered not going through with her pregnancy after wondering if she'd 'ever be responsible enough' to raise a child

Laurina, who appeared on both The Bachelor and Bachelor in Paradise, also said she wouldn't have a baby unless she was 'madly in love'.

She announced in May she was expecting her first child with partner James, 32, who runs his own landscape construction business.

Showing the couple sitting side by side, Laurina captioned the post: 'The mum and the dad... 3.5 months...'

Fleure is expecting her first child with partner James Black. (The couple is pictured in May)

Shortly after the announcement, the reality TV star told the Herald Sun she had started to believe having a baby wasn't 'in my cards'.

'I was with James when I was going to freeze my eggs and I didn't react well to the hormones so I gave up and thought I'd struggle to have a baby,' she said.

She also revealed the pair were planning to tie the knot soon.

Laurina shot to fame on Blake Garvey's season of The Bachelor back in 2014, before later appearing on the first season of Bachelor in Paradise.

Laurina told the Herald Sun she had started to believe having a baby wasn't 'in my cards'

Laurina was the breakout star of Blake Garvey's (right) season of The Bachelor

She went viral after complaining that Blake had taken her out for a 'dirty street pie' at a food truck instead of enjoying a glamorous date like the other women received.

In 2018, Laurina made a brief return to TV on the first season of Bachelor In Paradise.

She entered the Fiji-based reality show in episode two, but decided to quit five episodes later after failing to spark romance with any of the contestants.
Radio host Tim Blackwell has savaged entitled Aussie festivalgoers for complaining about the unpleasant conditions at Splendour in the Grass.

As many as 50,000 revellers attended the Byron Bay festival over the weekend, despite torrential rain turning the lush parklands into a mud pit.

While the media is awash with reports of Gen-Z patrons roughing it out in 'war-like conditions', Blackwell has little sympathy for them.

Radio host Tim Blackwell (pictured in August 2018) has savaged entitled Aussie festivalgoers for complaining about the unpleasant conditions at Splendour in the Grass

Blackwell, 40, posted a screenshot on Instagram of a news article reporting that 'drenched revellers' had been forced to 'share small cans of water' during a six-hour wait for their bus ride back home.

The Nova FM presenter sarcastically captioned the post: 'Wow. They breed 'em tough these days. Sharing water?! No way!'

'The team @spleandourinthegrass did an incredible job under the circumstances,' added Blackwell, who co-hosts the Kate, Tim and Joel drive show.

As many as 50,000 revellers attended the Byron Bay festival over the weekend, despite rain turning the parklands into a mud pit. (Pictured: Splendour patrons posing in the mud)

Blackwell, 40, posted a screenshot on Instagram of a news article reporting that 'drenched revellers' had been forced to 'share small cans of water' during a six-hour wait for their bus ride back home. He wrote: 'Wow. They breed 'em tough these days. Sharing water?! No way!'

'The team at Splendour in the Grass did an incredible job under the circumstances,' added Blackwell, who co-hosts Nova's Kate, Tim and Joel drive show. (Pictured left with his radio co-hosts Kate Ritchie and Joel Creasey)

Blackwell then took a swipe at The Guardian's music journalist Nathan Jolly, who attended the festival and wrote an op-ed likening the scene to a 'war hospital'.

'Bloodied, muddied, shell-shocked people, sitting in silence with thousand-yard stares, shaking their heads every now and then,' Jolly wrote.

A disgusted Blackwell responded: '"Like a war hospital." What a cheap shot to a festival that has provided good times and has had music lovers' best interests at heart for 20 years. Bravo, Nath.'

Blackwell then took a swipe at The Guardian's music journalist Nathan Jolly, who attended the festival and wrote an op-ed likening the scene to a 'war hospital'

A disgusted Blackwell responded: '"Like a war hospital." What a cheap shot to a festival that has provided good times and has had music lovers' best interests at heart for 20 years. Bravo'

The first Splendour in the Grass in three years was marred by disastrous weather, extensive cancellations and allegations of incompetence from patrons.

Friday's opening day was canned after heavy rainfall saw organisers close the campgrounds due to large parts being submerged.

Partygoers were left waiting up to 18 hours, with some sleeping in their cars - only to be turned around.

Splendour in the Grass revellers were forced to wait as late as 6am to get a bus out of the festival grounds on Sunday morning

Day two went ahead, but management didn't seem ready for the amount of people departing en masse following the final act.

Guests were forced to wait as late as 6am for a bus, with people claiming they had seen people become unwell with little to no support from staff.

A series of grovelling apologies from organisers have been met with anger and disgust from those in attendance who claim they put on a calamitous festival despite three years of planning.

Frustrated patrons took to social media to complain after they waited as long as six hours for a bus to pick them up, with some still stranded on the grounds at 6am

In a statement on Sunday evening, the organisers announced they had brought in 'toilets and water' as 'extra measures' while patrons waited for their buses home.

'We know last night's journey home was s**ty for some of you. It usually takes some time to get everyone out of the venue, we're so sorry you had that experience at Splendour,' the statement read.

'While it doesn't excuse the delay, the fact is some of the buses we ordered didn't show up and that had a significant impact.

'We know last night's journey home was s**ty for some of you. It usually takes some time to get everyone out of the venue, we're so sorry you had that experience at Splendour,' the statement said on Sunday

'We've been on the phones all day to pull in as many additional transport options as we can. There will likely be wait times again tonight, but we will have extra measures in place to support you including toilets and water.

'We are doing our best to get you all home safe and as quickly as possible.'

Those in attendance believe Splendour, once Australia's most beloved festival, has done irreparable damage to its reputation.
Cate Blanchett will soon make a return to the silver screen in a drama from Todd Field, the director of In the Bedroom.

The 53-year-old Oscar winner plays the offbeat role of a composer in Tar.

Filmed in Berlin last year, the plot follows Blanchett's character, Lydia Tar, as she rises to become the first-ever female conductor of a German orchestra.

Cate Blanchett (pictured in February) will soon make a return to the silver screen in a drama from Todd Field, the director of In the Bedroom

The trailer hints the film will deal with themes of power and madness.

The movie is expected to make its global premiere at the Venice Film Festival in August, reports Variety.

This is only the third film Field has made and his first since 2007's Little Children. Despite his limited output, Field's movies have been nominated for eight Oscars.

Meanwhile, viewers may be shocked at the way Blanchett has transformed herself for the role.

Looking much older and without makeup, The Lord of the Rings star begins the preview staring out into space.

The 53-year-old Oscar winner plays the offbeat role of a composer in Tar

The trailer hints the film will deal with themes of power and madness

Wearing a green shirt, her long blonde hair a mess, she looks tense and nervous.

As classical choral music rises on the soundtrack, white smoke emerges from Lydia's mouth in slow motion, eventually obscuring her entire face.

A voice-over hints the film touches upon the impact of the 'global pandemic on our culture'.

Blanchett (centre) conducts an orchestra in another scene from the trailer

'There are other kinds of plagues that visit us,' the narrator continues.

'Power, true power, requires camouflage... and if you want to don this mask... you must stand in front of God and the public and obliterate yourself.'

The trailer ends with Blanchett's character, Lydia, conducting a full orchestra in dramatic fashion.

Blanchett stars alongside Mark Strong (Cruella) and Nina Hoss (Homeland).

Blanchett earned worldwide fame for playing Queen Elizabeth I in 1998 (pictured)

It comes after Blanchett received the Chaplin Award in New York in April.

The award, which was founded in 1972 and is named after Charlie Chaplin, is given to recognise the career and contribution of artists who left their mark on the medium.

A regular on the global awards circuit, Blanchett has received major prizes from all over the world, including two Oscars, three BAFTAs, three Screen Actors Guild Awards and an Order of Australia.
She tragically lost her baby Lorena on July 8 - just minutes after she was born.

And an emotional Lauren Goodger has now tragically admitted it feels like the newborn is 'still there' since her bump is 'not shifting' and is still showing.

In an interview with New magazine just weeks after her tragic loss, the former TOWIE star, 35, said: 'It shouldn't happen. It breaks my heart that I won't see her grow up.'

'It breaks my heart that I won't see her grow up': Lauren Goodger has tragically claimed it feels like her late baby Lorena is 'still there' since her bump is 'not shifting'

Revealing doctors spent eight minutes attempting to resuscitate her second child, Lauren explained how she had originally planned for a home birth.

It was when her midwife could no longer detect a heartbeat that the TV personality was rushed to hospital, with contractions starting two days after her waters broke.

Confessing she was screaming outside Queen's Hospital in Romford, Essex as he daughter's head emerged, Lauren was later told her umbilical cord had knotted in two places and wrapped itself around the baby's neck in the womb.

Lauren told the publication she 'never ever thought I would have to plan a funeral for my child' and that her 'unsettled' body feels like it's like it's 'missing a newborn'.

Tragic: In a new interview just weeks after her tragic loss, the former TOWIE star, 35, said: 'It shouldn't happen. It breaks my heart that I won't see her grow up'

She continued: 'I'm healing. I'm still bleeding  I feel like I've been run over.

'I'm not getting anywhere by blaming myself. I have to try and move forwards and accept it. First I need to understand it. She was just perfect.'

Having been accompanied by her boyfriend Charles Drury, 25, the pair went on to spend 24 hours with Lorena where they took photos - which she now carries around with her - and had casts made of her hands and feet.

Lauren has also claimed she's not ready to consider trying for another baby and wouldn't opt for a natural birth again, instead choosing a C-section.

The influencer recently spoke to The Sun about her experience, revealing she 'stayed awake all night with her newborn, kissed and bathed her and sang to her.'

'I stayed awake all night with my baby and bathed and kissed her': Lauren recently discussed the tragic loss of her newborn daughter Lorena as she plans her funeral (stock image)

Lauren has been supported by Petals  a regional baby loss charity who are partnered with The Queen's Hospital.

She said: 'The hospital and Petals were amazing. Lorena stayed with me the whole time. I bathed her and put her in a white baby grow which belonged to Larose. It was beautiful.

'I held her and kissed her. I sang to her and we played songs. She just looked like she was asleep.'

Lauren, who is also mother to Larose, 12 months, with partner Charles said that family and friends came to the hospital to support her and it was a 'very emotional evening.'

Sad news: Lauren paid tribute to her daughter Lorena who passed away on July 8 - she is her second daughter with boyfriend Charles Drury

Having stayed awake all night, Lauren praised the charity who came the next day to have her hand and feet prints done and casts.

They also gave her a lock of Lorena's hair and gave her a special candle and a photographer took photos which friends placed in a locket for her.

Lauren had planned for a natural water birth, to be carried out at her Essex home under the supervision of her midwife Tamzin - who had previously delivered the TV personality's first child Larose.

Her waters broke on July 6 and initial vitals were normal, with Lauren deemed 'low risk' after giving birth to her first child without issue.

Devastating: In a statement, Lauren said she will 'never get over the death'

Further tests were carried out the following day, during which the unborn child's heartbeat was detected, but when her contractions began on day three the heart was no longer beating, and Lauren was rushed to hospital.

Following a two hour birth more than ten doctors desperately fought to save Lorena by performing chest compressions and administering adrenalin, but to no avail.

She added that after Lorena passed away, Charlie's family went to Lauren's home and cleared away the birthing pool.

Lauren is planning Lorena's funeral - which will be private - and said would like to dedicate her time to working with baby loss charities to help other parents.

She said: 'Each day I take it as it comes. Without Larose I would not be here. She is getting me through every day.'

She has said she wants to know why her daughter died for her own sanity and has asked for an autopsy to be performed.

Lauren revealed the heartbreaking news her newborn baby had died earlier this month.

Taking to Instagram to share a picture of Lorena touching her hand, Lauren wrote that she 'can't understand' why her daughter has passed away after she went through pregnancy and labour without complications, adding that she and partner Charles have been left 'broken' by the tragedy.

Lauren wrote: 'Lorena [angel emoji] R.I.P 08.07.22 she was the most beautiful healthy baby I've ever seen just like her sister @babylarose.x 

'Words can't describe as a mother losing your baby that I carried for all these months perfectly and gave birth too for my angel to be taken from me [angel emoji].

'There was no pregnancy or labour complications and she was fine & healthy but I am not going into detail right now just know that there was nothing wrong with her or myself she was perfect.

'I can't understand it she is so so beautiful Larose twin so similar.. I am broken [heartbreak emoji].'

Lauren admitted she will 'never ever get over' the tragic loss of her daughter and requested time and space to grieve while focusing her attention on her elder child.

She continued: 'I am back home from hospital. Me & Charlie spent as much time with our baby girl Lorena and I haven't said my goodbye yet [heartbreak emojis].

'Please can I ask photographers to respect our privacy right now as we have a lot of grieving to do and funeral organising that I just need this time & with my baby girl Larose she is my rock that's getting me through this or I wouldn't survive

Parents: Lauren and Charles are parents to Lauren's first daughter Larose, with Charles saying their newborn looked just like her older sister (pictured with their firstborn)

'I will never ever get over this but I will learn how to live everyday with Lorena in my heart she will be with me always and I will be with her again one day

'My [angel emoji] Lorena I love you so much [heartbreak emoji](sic).'

Her partner Charles Drury paid tribute to his late newborn daughter soon after.

Charles, who raises 11-month old daughter Larose with Lauren, took to his Instagram later in the day, writing: 'Your little heart will forever beat inside mine.'

Charles wrote: 'Lorena Drury - 8/7/22.

'Our beautiful baby girl so perfect in every way, 8/7/22 will always be your day. Your little heart will forever beat inside mine, I'll love you until the end of time.

'You remind me so much like your big sister, you'd have looked like little twins, Larose will always know how beautiful & strong you were.

'I promise you I'll look after your mummy & sister forever, just look over us all & keep me strong, show me signs that you're up in heaven where you belong. I'm sorry it had to be this way but I know we'll be together again some day.'

'This isn't something I thought I'd ever have to write but I'm so proud to be your daddy, I'll see you soon baby girl but for now sleep tight.'

If you have been affected by anything in this article, please contact the UK Child Bereavement line on 0800 02 888 40 or The Lullaby Trust on 0808 8026868.
Brian Austin Green's girlfriend Sharna Burgess has shared her birth story along with photos of her postpartum body on Instagram.

The Dancing With The Stars performer, 37, revealed she had a 'go with the flow' birthing plan but didn't expect a C-section, as she showed fans her scar from the procedure.

Sharna said after 30 hours of labour she was expecting a vaginal birth but was told the C-section is the 'safest option' by doctors.

Brian Austin Green's girlfriend Sharna Burgess, 37, (pictured) shared candid photos of her C-section scar on Monday after the star couple welcomed their first child together

'I went in expecting a vaginal delivery and came out with a C-section,' she said.

'In total transparency I was afraid to look at my body for the first time afterwards,' the dancer admitted.

'The incision and omg [oh my god] the swelling? I looked and thought ''wow, I am utterly unrecognizable and my body has been through some serious sh*t.'''

'The incision and omg [oh my god] the swelling? I looked and thought ''wow, I am utterly unrecognizable and my body has been through some serious sh*t.''' wrote Burgess

Sharna said the miracle 'grew inside of her' but postpartum is 'unlike' anything she has experienced before.

'I grew a life inside me. That miracle makes it all worth it. Physically mentally and emotionally postpartum is unlike anything else I've experienced.'

Sharna finished by saying women are 'incredible' and offered encouragement to those dealing with recovery from childbirth.

Sharna only just returned to Instagram this week after welcoming Zane on June 28. Zane is the first child for the Australian star and the fifth for Brian, 48

Sharna only just returned to Instagram this week after welcoming Zane on June 28. Zane is the first child for the Australian 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 Beverly Hills, 90210 co-star Vanessa Marcil, 53.

Sharna recently shared a snap of Brian, whom she has been dating since 2020, taking a nap alongside Zane.

Sharna has been dating Brian Austin Green since 2020 (both pictured)

'I couldn't be more in love with this stage in our lives,' she began.

'The bliss, the snuggles, the excruciating love. The exhaustion the pain and even the adult diapers,' she said.

'Having Brian 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.
Laura Linney beamed with joy when she was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Monday.

The 58-year-old actress was the picture of elegance in a navy blue midi dress as she attended the unveiling ceremony in Los Angeles, California.

The four-time Emmy Award winner's asymmetric dress featured a draped neckline and a ruffled hemline.

Accolade: Laura Linney beamed with joy when she was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Monday

The Ozark star sported strappy black pointed toe pumps and accessorized with dangly silver earrings, two bracelets and several rings.

The New York native's strawberry blonde tresses were swept into a side part and styled in loose curls around her shoulders.

The three-time Academy Award nominee had on a glamorous makeup palette that included a mauve lipstick, rosy blush, golden eyeshadow and dark eyeliner.

Chic: The 58-year-old actress was the picture of elegance in a navy blue midi dress as she attended the unveiling ceremony in Los Angeles, California

Holland Taylor, who costarred with Laura in the 1998 sci-fi drama The Truman Show, and Ozark showrunner Chris Mundy presented the performer with the accolade.

'This is even more overwhelming than I thought it would be,' Laura said as she began her acceptance speech, per the Belfast Telegraph.

She continued, 'I would simply have deemed it absolute crazy talk, it would have been ludicrous and as puzzling and indecipherable.

'Even after 30 years I can tell you that on a daily basis I am quietly stunned and not so quietly exhilarated to be embraced, not only by Los Angeles itself, but by the industries, the businesses and the people that call it home.

Elegant: The four-time Emmy Award winner's asymmetric dress featured a draped neckline and a ruffled hemline

'To have my name held and protected by a star on this famous stretch of sidewalk is beyond my wildest dreams.'

The Big C alumna said that she was honored to be in service to the arts which she described as a 'medicinal, clarifying, nourishing endeavor'.

She added, 'Much in this world is a waste of time, we squander what is valuable.

'But you can't go wrong with time spent with and around the arts. Regardless of your profession or your belief system, the arts are just good for you they make everyone and everything better.'

Too much: 'This is even more overwhelming than I thought it would be,' Laura said as she began her acceptance speech, per the Belfast Telegraph

In her remarks, Holland, 79, praised Laura for her generosity of spirit, her massive body of work and her ability to disappear into her roles.

'This is the secret gift of Laura, Laura Leggett Linney, who is all that she seems. No smoke, no mirrors, just magic.'

Laura appeared visibly touched by Holland's words and the two actresses shared a warm embrace.

Honored: Holland Taylor, who costarred with Laura in the 1998 sci-fi drama The Truman Show, and Ozark showrunner Chris Mundy presented the performer with the accolade

Praise: In her remarks, Holland, 79, praised Laura for her generosity of spirit, her massive body of work and her ability to disappear into her roles

Holland: 'This is the secret gift of Laura, Laura Leggett Linney, who is all that she seems. No smoke, no mirrors, just magic'

During his speech, Chris said, 'I've never met anyone, truly, in work or life that elevates the people around her more than Laura does.

'With generosity, and dedication, but more importantly with friendships. Everyone's life is better for having Laura in it.

He added, 'I know people who use her as a compass for the right way to behave, and to be that for such a diverse group of people is just phenomenal.'

Admiration: During his speech, Chris said, 'I've never met anyone, truly, in work or life that elevates the people around her more than Laura does'

Laura was also joined at the ceremony by her longtime friend and former Juilliard roommate Jeanne Tripplehorn, 59.

The actresses alongside Jeanne's husband Leland Orser in the 2013 drama Morning, which was also directed by Leland, 61.

Laura posed for photos next to her star with Jeanne, Leland and their son August, 20.

Supportive: Laura was also joined at the ceremony by her longtime friend and former Juilliard roommate Jeanne Tripplehorn, 59

Laura's star is the 2,727th star on the Walk of Fame and is located next to her Ozark costar Jason Bateman's star.

At the ceremony, July 25 was also declared Laura Linney Day in Hollywood.

The Belfast Telegraph reported that Laura stopped several times during her own speech to inquire about the welfare of a man who was heard shouting nearby on Hollywood Boulevard.

'It's a difficult world we're living in these days, things like this are intersecting everywhere' she said, per the outlet.

'If this is Laura Linney Day I hope that we can all keep a little compassion in our hearts and educate ourselves about the needs of others and mental illness and addiction and everything that is being put in front of us.'
He has been working hard on his new movie the Wizards! in Cairns, Queensland.

And it seems that Pete Davidson had a bit of a sleep in on Tuesday morning.

The Saturday Night Live comedian, 28, was seen wearing a long brown dressing gown over black shoes, black socks and a white shirt as he arrived on the set of the film.

Pete Davidson (left) rocked up to the set of Wizards! in Cairns on Tuesday morning wearing a dressing gown

The new boyfriend of Kim Kardashian also carried his belongings in a brown shopping bag.

It comes after Pete was looking downcast the day before while filming a market scene on the set of the movie.

The actor appeared to be missing his girlfriend Kim after she recently visited him Down Under.

The Saturday Night Live comedian, 28, was seen wearing a long brown dressing gown over black shoes, black socks and a white shirt as he arrived on the set of the film

Earlier this month, Kim jetted into Australia to enjoy a getaway with him while he had a break from filming his new movie.

She was staying at the Sheraton Mirage in Port Douglas, located almost an hour away from Cairns, during her recent trip to Queensland to see her boyfriend.

Kim then travelled from Port Douglas to Cairns, just hours before boarding a private jet bound for the U.S.

The businesswoman has four children with her ex-husband Kanye West, 45, daughters North, nine, Chicago, four, and sons Saint, six, Psalm, three.

Pete and Kim confirmed their relationship in November last year when they were spotted holding hands in Palm Springs, California.

The King of Staten Island star is known for dating a slew of celebrities, including Ariana Grande and Kate Beckinsale.

The new boyfriend of Kim Kardashian also carried his belongings in a brown shopping bag

Ariana gave Pete a reputation by commenting on his manhood, popularising the term 'big d**k energy'.

His new movie Wizards!, directed and written by David Michod, will inject an estimated $14.7million into Queensland's economy.

According to Deadline, it will follow two hapless pothead beach-bar operators, played by Pete and Franz Rogowski, who run into trouble when they stumble across stolen loot they really should have left alone.

Brad Pitt's production company, Plan B, is behind the film and is expected to also feature Naomi Watts, Orlando Bloom and Sean Harris.
One of the United Kingdom's most significant habitats had been hit by a bird flu outbreak, which could result in the deaths of thousands of seabirds, which experts regard as an "unprecedented" wildlife disaster.

Protective suits have been worn by rangers working off the coast of Northumberland on the Farne Islands, where they have collected well over 3,000 dead birds for burning, per a report from The Independent.

However, they worry that hundreds more people have perished from the Bird Flu Outbreak and fallen from the cliffs into the North Sea.

With 200,000 birds residing there, the Farnes, which is maintained by the National Trust, is a habitat of international significance for 23 species, including puffins.

The Bird Flu Outbreak appeared to have the most severely impacted cliff-nesting birds; recovered birds included guillemots, kittiwakes, and young puffins known as pufflings.

Bird Flu Outbreak Threatens Endangered Birds

One of the victims to date was an eight-year-old Arctic tern, which in its lifetime would have traveled 144,000 miles across eight flights from the Farne Islands to Antarctica and back. A 16-year-old kittiwake that was ringed on the islands in 2006 was also found.

The Farnes Islands receive 45,000 visitors a year, but as of this month's first day, they were off limits due to Bird Flu Outbreak 2022 as authorities work to contain the disease during the mating season for the birds.

The National Trust has taken care of the Farne Islands "for just under 100 years," according to Simon Lee, general manager of the Farne Islands. He added that there are no records of anything that could be so destructive to our seabird colonies, who are already "endangered."

Read Also: Chinese Tech Firm Huawei Could Spy on Nuclear Assets via Cell Phone Infrastructure

The birds are being taken out by teams of rangers who live and work on the islands so that they may be burned. They have been collecting the carcasses while wearing full PPE to protect healthy birds from additional contamination.

The Guardian reported that RSPB rangers on Coquet Island further south along the Northumberland coast began collecting and burying hundreds of dead seabirds following the Bird Flu Outbreak was identified in the area, ruining the primary breeding season.

Heartbreaking Wildlife Tragedy Calls for Large-Scale Action

The disease was identified in June in the largest gannet colony in the world, located at Bass Rock, and several dead birds were discovered around the Northumberland and Teesside beaches. Ben McCarthy, head of nature conservation at the National Trust, noted that the scale of "this disaster" prompts a "national response plan for the virus in wild birds."

"We need a more coordinated approach to ensure effective monitoring, surveillance, and reporting to support research into the impacts this deadly disease is having on our wild birds across the UK," he said.

McCarthy also stated that authorities need to urgently establish mitigation measures to minimize the further spread in the coming months as birds migrate back into UK waters.

Although there is a minimal risk to the general populace of the Bird Flu Outbreak 2022 per BBC, the UK Health Security Agency has warned against handling ill or deceased birds and keeping all other animals at a distance.

Related Article: Will Monkeypox be the Next COVID-19? Lawmakers Demand Biden Administration To Reveal Its Plan on How To Handle New Outbreak

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Aussie influencer Shani Grimmond has been mocked for her extreme outfit choice at Splendour in the Grass over the weekend.

Grimmond raised eyebrows on Monday when she shared photos on Instagram of herself posing at the Byron Bay festival in an extremely high-cut G-string bodysuit.

Paired with a set of low-rise jeans, the $190 bodysuit from Australian label Atoir left the model's stomach and hip bones almost completely exposed.

Influencer Shani Grimmond (left, with a friend) has been mocked for wearing a painful looking G-string bodysuit at Splendour in the Grass over the weekend

'That bodysuit hurts my vagina just by looking at it,' one follower commented.

'The bodysuit holding on for dear life,' another joked.

Other fans questioned whether Grimmond was comfortable in the wedgie-inducing ensemble, which featured a G-string at the back and front.

Paired with a set of low-rise jeans, the $190 bodysuit from Australian label Atoir left the model's stomach and hip bones almost completely exposed

Grimmond's outfit (pictured here on a model) featured a turtleneck, long sleeves and a sling-like bottom section

'Is your coochie OK?' one asked, as another said: 'Im sorry, but is that comfortable?'

Grimmond failed to mention the bizarre outfit in her caption, simply writing: 'Here for the servo sunnies. Time to recharge the social battery. That weekend was large... so fun.'

Grimmond last made headlines in April when she was caught telling little white lies about her recent holiday to Paris.

Commenters poked fun at Grimmond for her bizarre outfit choice, with one writing: 'That bodysuit hurts my vagina just by looking at it'

The blonde had spent two weeks in Paris, but delayed posting holiday snaps on Instagram until she was back home in Queensland - which led to some confusion when fans spotted her out and about in Brisbane.

Despite having returned to Australia, Grimmond shared photos with her 1.4 million followers of herself swanning around the French capital and tagged Paris as her location.

One such post showed her eating breakfast at her hotel.

Grimmond last made headlines in April when she was caught telling little white lies about her recent holiday to Paris

'Only a couple more days in Paris! I don't want to leave yet, this place is truly so magical,' she wrote in the caption.

Several days earlier, she shared a photo of herself dining at an upmarket Parisian restaurant, along with the caption: 'Dinner last night was [chef's kiss emoji]. I still cant believe how beautiful this city is.'

At the time she was posting these photos, a user on the private Facebook group Tea Time spotted Grimmond shopping in Brisbane, according to Outspoken the Podcast.

The blonde had spent two weeks in Paris, but delayed posting holiday snaps on Instagram until she was back home in Queensland - which led to some confusion when fans spotted her out and about in Brisbane

Because she delayed posting photos from the trip, it's unclear when exactly Grimmond was in Paris, but it's likely she was overseas at the start of April.

Discussing her decision to delay posting about her travels until after she'd returned home, Outspoken host Kate Tauber speculated she may have had security concerns.

She began documenting her Parisian getaway on Instagram on April 18, so it can be assumed she was back in Australia by then.

Despite having returned to Australia, Grimmond shared photos with her 1.4 million followers of herself swanning around the French city and tagged Paris as her location

Ms Tauber noted that Grimmond had been robbed on holiday before after posting about her location in real time.

'I think it's really a smart move, because Shani has spoken candidly about how she was robbed during a holiday after she shared her whereabouts online, and it was found there was a direct correlation between Shani sharing her holiday details and her house being broken into,' she explained.

In November 2015, a tearful Grimmond revealed on YouTube that a thief had broken into her home and stolen valuable items while she was on vacation in New Zealand.

Because she delayed posting photos from the trip, it's unclear when exactly Grimmond was in Paris. She began documenting her Parisian getaway on Instagram on April 18

She claimed the intruder had stolen her camera, makeup and a set of keys.

Ms Tauber likened Grimmond to Kim Kardashian, who was infamously robbed at gunpoint in Paris in 2016 after sharing her location on social media.

'I think people should be commending [Grimmond] for protecting her safety,' she said.

'And I think more influencers should be doing the same thing, because it is really dangerous when you think about how much people share of their lives online, and who is actually out there watching it.'
Whitney Port showcased her toned abs in a black bikini for a racy snapshot.

The influencer, 37, chose a sexy swimsuit with a French cut bottom and halter top for the photo shoot in her bathroom.

She wore natural looking makeup, and pulled her dark blonde locks back into a half pony tail.

Toned: The Hills alum put her toned abs on on display in a black bikini with a French cut bottom and halter top Monday

In the first shot of the set, the fashionista puts her toned abs on full display.,

In subsequent photos, the focus gets tighter and tighter until viewers can see the savvy promoter looking directly at herself, ready to push the button.

The pictures appeared to have been taken on the entrepreneur's vacation in Pound Ridge, New York, in Westchester county.

Must have: Moments are sharing the post, the influencers followers wanted to know how to get the look for themselves. The shades sell for an affordable $12.99 on Amazon

The small town is located about 50 miles outside Manhattan, and has been voted one of the best places to live in New York.

The Los Angeles based influencer wrote Almost Home Sweet Home at the top of the post and uploaded an alien emoji to comment on the look.

The sci-fi look received a lot of love from her followers who made comments such as 'its giving zenon in the best way (alien emoji)' and 'Ugh love!!!  I could never pull those glasses off. Soooo cute!!' to which Whitney replied 'Never say never.'

Vacation vibes: The reality star has been vacationing in Pound Ridge, NY. She wrote 'Almost Home Sweet Home' at the top of the post and put an alien emoji in the comments section

Many fans were excited to find the look for themselves, and the YouTube star was happy to supply them with links to the necklace and sunglasses. The shades sell for an affordable $12.99 on Amazon.

Whitney and her TV producer husband, Tim Rosenman. They met while she was starring in the reality show The City, which aired from 2008-2010 and be began dating in 2012.

The couple tied the knot in 2015 and welcomed son, Sonny Sanford Rosenman, in 2017.
Fiona Falkiner is getting busy with preparations ahead of her marriage to Hayley Willis.

The Biggest Loser star teased fans on Monday as she posed in a beautiful wedding outfit while 'playing dress up'.

Sharing a video to her Instagram stories, the 39-year-old model looked radiant in a flowing white skirt and sparkly sleeveless top, which teased her midriff.

Fiona Falkiner teased fans with this beautiful wedding outfit on her Instagram Monday

Wearing her wavy blonde tresses loose, the celebrity took a selfie as she rocked out the glamorous look during a visit to a bridal shop in Melbourne.

Captioning the post 'playing dress up...the countdown is on' the television host did not confirm whether the outfit would be the one she wears when she soon walks down the aisle.

Fiona added a sweet water mark of two brides inside a love heart of flowers to the short clip.

The Biggest Loser host will soon marry fiance Hayley Willis - sharing the video to her Instagram, the 39-year-old model looked radiant in a flowing white dress and sparkly sleeveless top, which had

The couple who became engaged in 2019, welcomed their first child, Hunter, after Fiona gave birth last year.

In May, the pair announced they are ready to become second time mothers, with Hayley, 30, expecting to give birth in August.

Meanwhile, Fiona revealed earlier this month that the couple will soon marry, though a date has not yet been made public.

In May, the pair announced they are ready to become second time mothers, with Hayley, 30, expecting to give birth in August (pictured)

Sharing a story to her social media, Fiona posted that she had undergone a facial laser treatment to look her best for the wedding.

'Getting a laser facial to help break up my melasma' she explained.

Melasma is a series of brown or grey-brown patches that appear on the skin, usually on the cheeks, and are often the result of pregnancy or hormonal changes.
Miriam Margolyes has accused Arnold Schwarzenegger of inappropriate behaviour on the set of their 1999 film End of Days.

The Harry Potter star, 81, previously made the same allegations to The Guardian in 2016, and repeated them during a radio interview on Tuesday.

She is the only person from the cast to have publicly made these claims, and they have not been corroborated by any other individuals on set.

Schwarzenegger, 74, has not specifically addressed Margolyes' claims, but previously called accusations of inappropriate conduct 'not true' after six women spoke to the Los Angeles Times in 2003 about their experience working with him.

At the time of these allegations, the former champion-bodybuilder-turned-actor was the front-runner in the California gubernatorial recall election.

Miriam Margolyes (left) has accused Arnold Schwarzenegger (right) of inappropriate behaviour on the set of their 1999 film End of Days

Margolyes was asked about her experience working with Schwarzenegger on The Kyle and Jackie O Show, following her recent claims he 'farted in her face' on set.

She said she hated filming with Schwarzenegger, saying: 'No I didn't enjoy it at all. I thought he was full of himself and [inappropriate].'

'Not [with] me, thankfully, but anybody else that was young and pretty, he felt they were fair game. That was what it was like then,' she added.

The Harry Potter star, 81, previously made the same allegations to The Guardian in 2016, and repeated them during a radio interview on Tuesday

Schwarzenegger, 74, has not specifically addressed Margolyes' claims, but previously called accusations of inappropriate conduct 'not true' after six women spoke to the Los Angeles Times in 2003 about their experience working with him

It wasn't the first time Margolyes had accused Schwarzenegger of inappropriate behaviour on the set of End of Days.

In 2016, she labelled the former governor of California 'a pig of a man', telling The Guardian: 'Although he was relatively professional with me  because he didn't like me  he was awfully [inappropriate] with women he was interested in.'

'He thought a lot of himself, but I wasn't surprised: he was a bodybuilder from Austria who went on to became a worldwide star,' she continued.

Schwarzenegger has not responded to Margolyes' 2016 allegations, nor has anyone from the 1999 film corroborated her claims.

It's not the first time Margolyes (pictured in November 2021) has accused Schwarzenegger of inappropriate behaviour on the set of End of Days

Schwarzenegger once admitted he 'behaved badly sometimes' while working as an actor, but insisted 'a lot of' the claims made against him were untrue.

In 2003, the Los Angeles Times published an interview with six women who claimed Schwarzenegger had inappropriately touched them without their consent.

The women alleged that one incident took place in 1970s, two in the 1980s, two in the 1990s and one in 2000.

In 2016, she labelled the former governor of California 'a pig of a man', telling The Guardian : 'Although he was relatively professional with me  because he didn't like me  he was awfully [inappropriate] with women he was interested in.' (Pictured on August 5, 2016, in London)

After the story was released, Schwarzenegger, who was campaigning for governor of California at the time, acknowledged he had sometimes 'behaved badly' on set.

'It is true that I was on rowdy movie sets and I have done things that were not right which I thought then was playful,' he said at a campaign rally.

'But now I recognise that I offended people. Those people that I have offended, I want to say to them I am deeply sorry about that and I apologise because that's not what I'm trying to do.'

Schwarzenegger insisted that 'a lot of the stuff in the [LA Times] story is not true'.

He later said in 2018 he 'stepped over the line several times' with women during his film career and felt 'bad about it'.

Margolyes made headlines last week when she claimed Schwarzenegger (pictured in October 2019) passed wind in her face while the pair were filming End of Days

'Looking back, I stepped over the line several times, and I was the first one to say sorry. I feel bad about it, and I apologise,' he told Men's Health.

'When I became governor, I wanted to make sure that no one, including me, ever makes this mistake.

'Thats why we took sexual harassment courses, to have a clear understanding, from a legal point of view and also from a regular-behavior point of view, of what is accepted and what is not.'

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Schwarzenegger's representatives for comment.

Margolyes made headlines last week when she claimed Schwarzenegger passed wind in her face while the pair were filming End of Days.

'Schwarzenegger, didn't care for him. He's a bit too full of himself,' Miriam said on the I've Got News For You podcast.

'He was actually quite rude. He farted in my face. Now, I fart, of course I do, but I don't fart in people's faces. He did it deliberately, right in my face,' he said.

Margolyes went on to say the incident took place when the pair were filming End of Days in Los Angeles.

'I was playing Satan's sister and [his character] was killing me, so he had me in a position where I couldn't escape, lying on the floor. And he just farted,' she said.

'It wasn't on film, it was in one of the pauses, but I haven't forgiven him for it.'

Margolyes had previously spoken of the farting incident in an interview Readers Digest.

'I got my throat slit with a glass table at the end [of the film], and I remember Schwarzenegger farting right in my face as I lay on the floor trying not to move,' she told the publication, adding: 'I shouted: 'F**k you, Arnie!' I was very angry.'
A presenter on Channel 10's new breakfast show suffered an on-air gaffe on Tuesday when he started his bulletin with 'good evening' instead of 'good morning'.

Lachlan Kennedy, who usually hosts the nightly news, didn't acknowledge the blunder and continued the broadcast as though nothing had happened.

Unfortunately, the mix-up is the least of the network's concerns.

A presenter on Channel 10's new breakfast show suffered an on-air gaffe on Tuesday when he started his morning bulletin with 'good evening'. (Here: Lachlan Kennedy and Natasha Exelby)

10 News First: Breakfast launched last month, replacing the first half-hour of morning talk show Studio 10.

Only 44 viewers in Sydney tuned in to watch the breakfast program during its second day on air, according to OzTam figures.

On the same day, the 30-minute broadcast attracted just 224 viewers in Perth.

About 17,000 viewers across the five major cities watched the show in its first week.

Lachlan Kennedy (pictured), who usually hosts the nightly news, didn't acknowledge the blunder and continued the broadcast as though nothing had happened

Martin White, Head of Broadcast News at Channel 10, dismissed the press coverage of the disastrous ratings as 'exaggerated' in an interview with TV Tonight.

Mr White said 10 News First: Breakfast had increased viewership in its time slot by 13 per cent, adding that it's still a 'work in progress'.

'We're happy with how it's building,' he said. 'It's still early days but there's better to come, and it's got a great and passionate team behind it.'

10 News First: Breakfast launched last month, replacing the first half-hour of Studio 10. Only 44 viewers in Sydney tuned in to watch the breakfast program during its second day on air

Mr White is confident the ratings will build with 'increased awareness'.

He described the show, hosted by Kennedy and Natasha Exelby, as 'pure news, no filler', unlike other breakfast programs.

'No one does a pure, half-hour news bulletin at that time of day,' he added.

He said the bulletin 'showcases' the 10 News brand and will increase the network's 'footprint' across the day on different platforms.

Viewers can see 10 News First: Breakfast live on Channel 10, on streaming platform 10 Play and the 10 News First YouTube channel.
Gugu Mbatha-Raw was all smiles on the red carpet for the premiere of her brand new series Surface.

The 39-year-old Oxford, England native hit the red carpet at the event, held at The Morgan Library in New York City on Monday evening.

She was also spotted chatting and posing with executive producer Reese Witherspoon and co-star Oliver Jackson-Cohen on the red carpet.

All smiles: Gugu Mbatha-Raw was all smiles on the red carpet for the premiere of her brand new series Surface

Pose: She was also spotted chatting and posing with executive producer Reese Witherspoon and co-star Oliver Jackson-Cohen on the red carpet

The actress stepped out in a chartreuse off-shoulder gown that fell to her ankles for the red carpet event.

She also accessorized with elegant emerald earrings, with her hair pulled back into pigtails and an emerald bracelet.

The actress completed her look with a pair of pointed-toe silver heels for the premiere event in the Big Apple.

Gugu's look: The actress stepped out in a chartreuse off-shoulder gown that fell to her ankles for the red carpet event

Stepping out: The actress completed her look with a pair of pointed-toe silver heels for the premiere event in the Big Apple

Mbatha-Raw also executive produces Surface and plays the lead character Sophie, 'a woman who has suffered a traumatic head injury that has left her with extreme memory loss, believed to be a result of a suicide attempt.'

'As Sophie embarks on a quest to put the pieces of her life back together with the help of her husband and friends, she begins to question whether or not the truth she is told is in fact the truth she has lived,' reads the official series description.

The show is described as a, 'sexy elevated thriller' that is a 'story of self-discovery which contemplates if we are pre-programmed to become who we are, or if we choose our own identity.'

Lead: Mbatha-Raw also executive produces Surface and plays the lead character Sophie, 'a woman who has suffered a traumatic head injury that has left her with extreme memory loss, believed to be a result of a suicide attempt'

Quest: 'As Sophie embarks on a quest to put the pieces of her life back together with the help of her husband and friends, she begins to question whether or not the truth she is told is in fact the truth she has lived,' reads the official series description

Co-stars: The series also stars Oliver Jackson-Cohen (back right), Stephan James, Ari Graynor (third from right), Academy Award-nominee Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Francois Arnaud (second from right) and Millie Brady (far right)

The series also stars Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Stephan James, Ari Graynor, Academy Award-nominee Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Francois Arnaud and Millie Brady.

Veronica West created and wrote the original series, and also serves as executive producer and showrunner.

Reese Witherspoon and Lauren Neustadter executive produce on behalf of Hello Sunshine, with Sam Miller (I May Destroy You), directing four episodes of the series including the pilot and serves as executive producer, while Kevin Sullivan, Jennifer Morrison and Tucker Gates also directed episodes.

New role: Mbatha-Raw is coming off the 2021 mini-series The Girl Before and she'll next star in the film biopic Seacole, playing Mary Seacole, a Scottish-Jamaican nurse and heroine during the Crimean War

New roles: She's also currently filming Lift from director F. Gary Gray, starring alongside Kevin Hart, Vincent D'Onofrio and Sam Worthington

More roles: The actress also has the film Nobody's Heart in pre-production, where she stars alongside Edgar Ramirez.

Premiere-ready: Gugu-Mbatha Raw gets ready for her premiere for Surface

Mbatha-Raw is coming off the 2021 mini-series The Girl Before and she'll next star in the film biopic Seacole, playing Mary Seacole, a Scottish-Jamaican nurse and heroine during the Crimean War.

She's also currently filming Lift from director F. Gary Gray, starring alongside Kevin Hart, Vincent D'Onofrio and Sam Worthington.

The actress also has the film Nobody's Heart in pre-production, where she stars alongside Edgar Ramirez.

Mbatha-Raw also was spotted earlier on Monday showing her street style in a dark blue jumpsuit with a white and turquoise print.

Street style: Mbatha-Raw also was spotted earlier on Monday showing her street style in a dark blue jumpsuit with a white and turquoise print
The Bachelor's Laura Byrne and Matty Johnson flew back to Sydney on Tuesday after a three-week holiday in Bali with their family and friends.

The couple, joined by their two children, certainly had their hands full as they pushed mountains of luggage through the terminal.

Podcast host Laura, 36, and content marketing specialist Matty, 35, dressed casually for the six-hour flight from the Indonesian party island.

The Bachelor's Laura Byrne and Matty Johnson flew back to Sydney on Tuesday after a three-week holiday in Bali with their family and friends

Laura wore beige pants, a blue shirt and sandals as she took charge of the kids.

She went makeup free and swept her brunette hair into a messy bun as she pushed Marlie-Mae, three, in a stroller and carried Lola, one, in a sling.

Matty handled their trolley full of luggage and slung a backpack over his shoulders.

Podcast host Laura, 36, and content marketing specialist Matty, 35, dressed casually for the six-hour flight from the Indonesian party island

She went makeup free and swept her brunette hair into a messy bun as she pushed Marlie-Mae, three, in a stroller and carried Lola, one, in a sling

Matty handled their trolley full of luggage and slung a backpack over his shoulders

Matty looked cheerful as he touched down in Sydney after celebrating his 35th birthday in Bali

He dressed for comfort in a mint green hoodie, black trackpants and sneakers.

Matty looked cheerful as he touched down in Sydney after celebrating his 35th birthday in Bali.

He and Laura took their kids to the Waterbom waterpark in Kuta for his birthday.

He dressed for comfort in a mint green hoodie, black trackpants and sneakers

The pair, who jetted to Bali at the start of the month, were joined on the trip by Laura's podcast co-host Brittany Hockley, her sister Sheri, plus friends from the radio industry

He and Laura took their kids to a waterpark in Bali for his birthday, called Waterbom

'I've always dreamt of spending a birthday at a waterpark in Kuta... after 35 years I was able to make this a reality,' he wrote on Instagram.

The pair, who jetted to Bali at the start of the month, were joined on the trip by Laura's podcast co-host Brittany Hockley, her sister Sheri, plus other friends.

Brittany joked a week ago that she was the only singleton on the trip.

Matty and Laura fell in love on The Bachelor in 2017, and got engaged in Fiji in 2019

She shared a video on Instagram of Laura and Matty kissing in a pool, alongside other couples they were holidaying with.

'Travel with friends they said. It will be fun they said,' she captioned the clip.

Matty and Laura fell in love on The Bachelor in 2017, and got engaged in Fiji in 2019.

They bought a $1.87million house in Byron Bay, NSW, in November, but are still living in Sydney's Bondi for the time being.
Audrina Patridge was seen Sunday in Los Angeles, taking her daughter Kirra and nieces to a tea party event in support of the Netflix show Gabby's Dollhouse.

The 37-year-old reality star/fashion designer donned a magenta dress with a blue top tied around her waist and black boots.

The Hills alum accessorized with a floral headband along with sunglasses, necklaces, hoop earrings, and a black purse on the summer day.

The latest: Audrina Patridge, 37, was seen Sunday in Los Angeles, taking her daughter Kirra, six, and nieces to a tea party event in support of the Netflix show Gabby's Dollhouse

Patridge was seen out days after she detailed her tumultuous relationship with her ex-husband Corey Bohan, 40, on the podcast Call Her Daddy with Alex Cooper, as the pair were wed for 10 months, from November 2016 until Patridge filed for divorce in September 2017. They had welcomed Kirra, six, in June of 2016.

Patridge said on the podcast that the X-Games motorcycle rider pushed her while she was holding the child amid an argument about his alleged cheating during the marriage.

'It was kind of like that fight or flight mode, I kind of froze and I didnt know what to do but things kept escalating and when I was pushed back, Kirra started screaming and crying and then I started crying and then he realized what happened and he started crying,' the MTV star said. 'Everything just spiraled and it got worse and thats when my family got involved and the police got involved.

'After going to therapy and trying to make it work, its like, "Youre not changing, youre not wanting to change, I cant do this anymore."'

The reality star/fashion designer donned a magenta dress with a blue top tied around her waist and black boots

The Hills alum posed with her daughter at the promotional event for the Netflix series

Patridge celebrated her daughter's sixth birthday last month

Patridge discussed how the court gave her a temporary restraining order from Bohan after he went to an event she was at and demanded to know where Kirra was.

'I knew that that moment I called the police, thats the end of it,' Patridge said. 'I knew that after what had happened, he wasnt going to change. Once I had my daughter, I wasnt living for me anymore, my life now is to protect her and make sure she has the best life.

'I wanted to keep our life private and it did go everywhere, its humiliating.'

On the podcast, Patridge said that she had issues with Bohan before they got married, as she would be told he was cheating on her, and he would tell her in response that those who told her didn't 'want [her] to be happy;' and raise allegations that she was cheating on him.

'If someone doesnt trust you or theyre constantly wanting you to delete your social media accounts or constantly wanting to go through your text messages or you cant even go have a girls dinner without being blown up the whole time because youre being accused of going out to cheat or there might be a guy there that you run into  those are all red flags, run!' she said.

The MTV star watched as her daughter played with toys at the event

Patridge posed with Kirra and two nieces at the summertime event in Los Angeles

Patridge smiled as the children showed off playsets they acquired

Patridge said that Bohan had accused her of cheating on him with a producer of her show 1st Look, saying that 'hell would break loose' if she 'didnt call him at a certain time.'

Patridge last week told People that 'it was a gradual build up' to her split with Bohan and 'a gradual escalation that was heartbreaking.'

She said, 'A divorce is like a death. It's something you mourn. And it's really hard to go through. So going through it in the public is even harder. Everything was released publicly so I felt like I had to include that in my book because it was such a big part of my life.

'Now, it's like, I love myself enough to walk away. You have to love yourself enough to say enough is enough. Or I'm not putting up with this. You crossed the line and I'm not okay with it. It's all about communication and setting boundaries and not being pushed into peer pressure, or gaining that strength, courage, and security back that you're going to be okay.'

Patridge's new book Choices To the Hills and Back Again is set to be released Tuesday.
He gave the performance of his life at Splendour in the Grass on Sunday night.

And Tyler, the Creator has now touched down in Perth to kick off the Australian leg of his Call Me If You Get Lost tour.

The rapper, 31, was spotted taking a stroll in the suburb of Leederville on Monday.

Tyler, the Creator has arrived in Perth, WA, to kick off the Australian leg of his world tour

The See You Again star, whose real name is Tyler Gregory Okonma, kept warm in a dark brown jacket and black pants.

Tyler topped off his stylish look with a trapper cap and beaded necklace.

The Grammy-winning artist begins his Australian tour in Perth on Tuesday. It will be his first headline show Down Under in more than eight years.

Tyler will then make his way to Sydney for two back-to-back shows at Qudos Bank Arena before wrapping up the tour in Melbourne on Wednesday, August 3.

The See You Again star, 31, whose real name is Tyler Gregory Okonma, kept warm in a dark brown jacket and black pants

The Grammy-winning artist begins his Australian tour in Perth on Tuesday. It will be his first headline show Down Under in more than eight years

He closed out Byron Bay's iconic Splendour in the Grass music festival to a crowd of more than 30,000 on Sunday night.

'I stink, my legs hurt, I'm outta breath,' he told the crowd, reports Triple J.

'You know what that signifies? It was a great f**king show.'

Splendour in the Grass was cancelled on Friday but went ahead in muddy conditions over the rest of the weekend

Despite the rapper's stellar performance, many festivalgoers are calling this year's Splendour in the Grass one of the worst live-music experiences in recent memory.

As many as 50,000 revellers attended the world-renowned three-day festival over the weekend - despite torrential rain turning the lush parklands into a mud pit.

Friday's day one was canned after heavy rainfall saw organisers close the campgrounds due to large parts being submerged.

Some festivalgoers pushed on determined to enjoy themselves despite the rain and mud (pictured)

Day two went ahead, but management didn't seem ready for the amount of people departing en masse following the final act, with patrons forced to wait as late as 6am for a bus to take them back to their campsite.

'It's survival of the fittest,' a patron told Daily Mail Australia.

One festivalgoer named Steph said she and her friends had driven from the Gold Coast on Thursday only to sit in the queue heading into Splendour for 11 hours.

Thousands of campers on Monday must navigate their way out of the swamped campsite with many cars bogged (pictured)

After waiting for three and a half hours her car only made it to the front gate, but there was still no sign of getting in.

'We asked another staff member what we should do and she said ''I don't know'' and that she was meant to finish hours ago but no one has told her anything,' Steph said.

'She was so cold and wet, she was clutching a hot water bottle and the volunteers and staff haven't been offered any food.'

Festivalgoers queuing for coffee on day two of Splendour in the Grass stood on logs to avoid flood water

Another reveller from Brisbane said she had been to four previous Splendour festivals but would not go again after this year.

'The lines for toilets were so long... One girl in front of me could not stop vomiting. We were calling for someone to bring us water, [but were] ignored... One guy near me fainted, we were calling for a medic... and there was nobody,' she said.

Social media was flooded with complaints accusing organisers of being unprepared, forcing an official apology to be issued over the bus delays in particular.
Mariah Carey dropped in on Instagram on Monday to share a new photo with her more than ten million followers.

The 53-year-old singing sensation relaxed on a chair as she cradled a small brown and white pup.

It comes after her ex-husband Nick Cannon, 41, welcomed his eighth child, Legendary Love.

New post: Mariah Carey dropped in on Instagram on Monday to share a new photo with her more than ten million followers

The iconic music artist sat comfortably in a brown chair with white stripes that resembled skeleton bones.

She was dressed in a sparkly silver co-ord consisting of a zip-up jacket and matching pants.

The Heartbreaker hitmaker wore her dirty blonde hair in a center part and slicked back into a single braid that fell over her chest.

She accessorized with a pair of medium-sized diamond-encrusted hoop earrings as her dog rested in her lap.

Puppy love: The 53-year-old singing sensation relaxed on a chair as she cradled a small brown and white pup

The living legend looked beautiful in a full face of makeup that included arched eyebrows and fluttery eyelashes.

Her cheeks were coated in a dusting of rosy pink blush and she rounded out the look with pink glossed lips.

Mariah captioned the image, 'Out East for the week, soaking it all in. Thank you @dylaneckardt and the @nestseekers team!'

Meanwhile, her former spouse - with whom she shares twins Moroccan and Monroe, 11 - was busy announcing the latest addition to his brood.

His first two kids: Mariah's post comes as her ex-husband Nick Cannon, 41, welcomed his eighth child

Model Bre Tiesi, 31, revealed they welcomed a son named Legendary Love on June 28 following 'an all-natural unmedicated home birth.'

Cannon was present for the labor and delivery, which was documented in a video shared to her YouTube channel.

In a post shared to Instagram she called the birth of her firstborn child 'the most humbling / limit pushing yet awakening and completely empowering experience.'

The actor and radio host praised Tiesi in a response to her Instagram post, saying he was 'honored and privileged' to welcome a child with her.

Baby number eight: Model Bre Tiesi, 31, revealed they welcomed a son named Legendary Love on June 28 following 'an all-natural unmedicated home birth'

'You never cease to amaze me!!' he wrote. 'Full of passion, drive, focus, brilliance and most importantly love!!! Honored and privileged to experience this beautiful miracle with you! Thank you for the greatest gift any human can give to another. For this my love is forever indebted.'

He's father to eight kids with five partners. In addition to Moroccan and Monroe he shares Golden, five, and Powerful, one, with Brittany Bell; twins Zion Mixolydian and Zillion Heir, one, with Abby De La Rosa; and late son Zen, who tragically died last December from brain cancer, with Alyssa Scott.

Cannon is also awaiting his ninth child, purportedly with De La Rosa.

Gratitude: The actor and radio host praised Tiesi, saying he was 'honored and privileged' to welcome a child with her

Cannon recently spoke openly about his consensual non-monogamous lifestyle while chatting on YouTube Live with sex therapist Dr. Tammy Nelson and the R&B group DVSN.

He admitted, 'Ive practiced monogamy, Ive been a cheater, Ive been toxic ... it all starts with honesty. Its really just surface, basic stuff.'

The San Diego-born added that he strives to 'be the best self I can possibly be and be the best father I can possibly be.'
The data from Harvard University's greatest examination of what inspired the Jan. 6 riots is apparent, according to researchers. The most prevalent comments centered on former President Donald Trump and his charges about the election.

The study, which was supplied with NBC News before publication, tracked and evaluated the motivations of 417 Capitol rioters, all of whom have been charged in connection with the Jan. 6 riots.

Harvard Research: Trump Summoned the Mob

The motivations were gleaned from 469 papers filed with the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, which included charge filings and sentencing memos. According to the researchers from Harvard University's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy, the documents show that Jan. 6 committee member Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., was mostly correct in her assessment that Trump summoned the mob, assembled the mob, and let the flame of this attack.

The research adds to evidence from thousands of court papers in over 840 cases showing many individuals who stormed the US Capitol and conducted violent crimes were motivated by their support for Trump and their belief in misinformation about the 2020 election.

A majority of rioters claimed either their support for Trump (20.6%) or Trump's incorrect assumption that the election had been stolen (also 20.6%) as the principal motive for their conduct on January 6, which resulted in charges. The third most common reason given to law police for entering the Capitol by defendants was their belief that they were engaged in a revolution, civil war, or secession.

According to the study, about the same amount of defendants (7%) claimed to be at the Capitol to peacefully protest as those who claimed to be there owing to a "general interest in violence" (6.2%), according to NBC News.

Biden Says Trump "Lacked the Courage to Act" on Jan. 6

Meanwhile, President Joe Biden slammed former President Trump on Monday, accusing him of missing the fortitude to act on January 6, 2021, when a violent mob of Trump supporters stormed the United States Capitol.

Biden made the statements in a virtual presentation to the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives conference, which aired Monday afternoon, only days after the committee heard testimony concerning Trump's passivity as the mob engulfed the Capitol on January 6. The statements were notable since Biden had stayed away from the Jan. 6 public hearings on Capitol Hill, seldom commenting on the committee's probe, which finished its eighth public hearing on Thursday and is expected to continue in the autumn.

Biden's statements echoed some of the testimony given during last week's hearing about Trump watching the Capitol incident progress and refusing to help despite appeals from advisers. Biden similarly seldom discusses his predecessor and particularly avoids naming Trump.

When asked later about the choice to mention Trump and whether it represented a shift in tone, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre reminded reporters that Biden has been clear that Trump is to blame for what happened on January 6.

Biden made a speech earlier this year on the anniversary of the Capitol bombing that featured a strong denunciation of Trump and his electoral deceptions. To avoid politicizing the subject, Biden has mostly avoided openly commenting on the Jan. 6 committee's conclusions. According to sources, Biden does not want to seem to be influencing Justice Department decisions on any January 6 investigations, The Hill reported

Read Also: Bolsonaro Announces Re-Election Bid in Attempt To Beat Rival Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva

Will Trump Face Charges?

Though politicians are clamoring for charges to be filed against the former president, and at least one federal judge has stated that Trump and members of his administration most certainly violated the law, legal experts believe there is a scant indication of a robust federal investigation against him.

There are additional obstacles to filing charges. For example, Barbara McQuade, a former US attorney and law professor at the University of Michigan, told the committee that despite being told repeatedly that he had lost the election, Trump pressed Vice President Mike Pence and state authorities to reverse the results. According to committee evidence, Trump also knew the mob was armed when he pushed followers to march to the Capitol.

However, McQuade maintained that the evidence is nearly entirely one-sided. Prosecutors would also have to consider how the Trump team would respond to the charges.

According to legal experts, inciting a riot or encouraging an insurgency would be one of the finest paths for prosecution because the facts are undisputed. On the morning of the insurgency, Trump asked participants at his "Stop the Steal" event to fight for him by marching on the Capitol, but he did not instruct them to storm the Capitol, as per USA Today.

Related Article: Presidential Election 2024: US Gears Up for Midterm Elections with Strong Personalities Within Republican Party

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Mikaela Testa is one of Australia's biggest earners on OnlyFans.

But her loyal subscribers would have trouble recognising the 22-year-old if they were to take a deep dive into her Instagram archive.

The adult model looks like a completely different person in photos uploaded just a few years ago when she was a rising social media star.

Mikaela Testa, 22, looks unrecognisable in throwback photos. (Left in 2019, right in 2022)

Her changing appearance is likely due to cosmetic injectables. She has admitted to having lip filler and a Botox brow lift.

But her dramatically different appearance these days suggests she also likely went under the knife for surgical procedures.

Her changing facial shape could be the result of weight loss, too.

The adult model looks like a completely different person in photos uploaded just a few years ago when she was a rising social media star. (Left in 2019, right in 2022)

The influencer, who is known for posting raunchy selfies on TikTok and Instagram, came clean about her various cosmetic surgeries earlier this year.

She posted a link to a video of Gold Coast surgeon Dr Mitchell Kim explaining the various procedures he had performed on her.

'Mikaela showing off her body contouring perfection,' Dr Kim explained in the clip.

The influencer, who is known for posting raunchy selfies on TikTok, came clean about her various cosmetic surgeries earlier this year. (Pictured before an after her transformation)

'Vaser lipo to her midsection and arms, and a fat transfer to her hip dips to create this jaw-dropping silhouette,' he said.

Vaser liposuction uses ultrasound technology to break apart fat cells and loosens them from deeper tissues.

It is considered more targeted than traditional forms of liposuction.

Mikaela makes more than $162,000 a month selling X-rated content on OnlyFans

Mikaela makes more than $162,000 a month selling X-rated content on OnlyFans.

In 2020, she was banned from TikTok for breaching 'multiple community guidelines'.

She made international headlines a year earlier when she broke down in tears in a viral video after Instagram removed the 'like' counter.

She had less than 50,000 followers at the time, but now boasts 400,000.
Naomi Watts is a proud mum.

On Monday, the 53-year-old Aussie actress penned a loving tribute to her son Sasha on his 15th birthday.

'Happy birthday, darling. Thank you for the special soul that you are,' she wrote on Instagram.

Naomi Watts paid tribute to her son Sasha (pictured) on his 15th birthday on Monday

'Fifteen today!! How did you get there So fast!! HOW?!'

The King Kong star concluded: 'Well, you continue to amaze and inspire me. And I cannot wait for all the adventures ahead.'

Naomi then took to her Instagram Story to share several candid snaps of her son.

'Happy birthday, darling boy,' she wrote alongside one photo of the pair smiling.

Naomi also took to her Instagram Story to share several candid snaps of her lookalike son

'I love you,' she wrote next to a photo of her son asleep with her Yorkshire terriers.

She also shared a throwback photo of herself as a young mum cradling Sasha as a newborn, captioning it: 'My baby.'

The Impossible star shares Sasha and 13-year-old Kai with her ex Liev Schreiber.

She also shared a throwback photo of herself as a young mum cradling Sasha as a newborn

Naomi, 53, and Liev, 54, were together for 11 years until their split in 2016. The pair never married.

Back in 2019, Naomi opened up about co-parenting with Liev after their separation.

'Having a good relationship has always been our endgame, and we've put a lot of energy and effort into making that so,' she told Sunday Times Style magazine.

Naomi and her ex-partner Liev Schreiber share two children, Kai and Sasha. Pictured in New York City on May 16, 2016

'It's not always a cakewalk, as they say in America. But it makes complete sense that it is an absolute priority, because it really matters to the children.

'You can see how there are so many things that can make a kid feel anxious, and knowing that their parents can be in the same room and joyfully, it means a lot to them.'

Liev is dating model Taylor Neisen, 29, while Naomi is with actor Billy Crudup, 54.
Advertisement

Mindy Kaling showed up to support her one-time boyfriend and longtime friend B.J. Novak at the Los Angeles premiere of his movie Vengeance.

The 43-year-old actress and 42-year-old actor - who dated off and on while writing for and starring on The Office - posed together on the red carpet premiere, held at the Ace Hotel in Los Angeles.

Kaling also showed up to support Novak, who makes his directorial debut with Vengeance, at the New York City premiere earlier this month.

B.J. and Mindy: Mindy Kaling showed up to support her one-time boyfriend and longtime friend B.J. Novak at the Los Angeles premiere of his movie Vengeance

Dated: The 43-year-old actress and 42-year-old actor - who dated off and on while writing for and starring on The Office - posed together on the red carpet premiere, held at the Ace Hotel in Los Angeles

Kaling stepped out in a stylish black dress with a plunging neckline for the Los Angeles premiere.

She accessorized with elegant diamond earrings and two diamond bracelets on her left wrists.

She completed her look with black strappy heels while posing with her longtime friend on the red carpet.

Mindy's look: Kaling stepped out in a stylish black dress with a plunging neckline for the Los Angeles premiere

Friends: She completed her look with black strappy heels while posing with her longtime friend on the red carpet

Novak opted for a maroon tuxedo, with a slightly-unbuttoned white dress shirt and no bowtie.

He also wore matching maroon pants and shiny black dress shoes for the premiere of his directorial debut, even donning some black sunglasses for photographers.

The actor/filmmaker also posed on the red carpet with his longtime friend John Mayer, who has a role in the film as well.

B.J.'s look: He also wore matching maroon pants and shiny black dress shoes for the premiere of his directorial debut, even donning some black sunglasses for photographers

B.J. and John: The actor/filmmaker also posed on the red carpet with his longtime friend John Mayer, who has a role in the film as well

The story centers on Manalowitz, a New York City radio producer who finds himself in Texas at the funeral of a woman he once hooked up with... whose family thought they were much more serious.

Upon arriving in Texas, he learns that some close to the woman believe she did not die of an opioid overdose, but that she was murdered.

The cast also includes Boyd Holbrook, Dove Cameron, Issa Rae and J. Smith-Cameron, arriving in theaters July 29.

Producer: The story centers on Manalowitz, a New York City radio producer who finds himself in Texas at the funeral of a woman he once hooked up with... whose family thought they were much more serious

Kaling also took to her Instagram story on Monday to tell her fans about the movie, adding she's 'feeling emotional' about heading to the premiere because he had 'worked on this movie for so many years.'

'He poured his heart into it and it's so good. I don't know, that never happens. I am just so proud and excited for him,' she added.

The cast also includes Boyd Holbrook, Dove Cameron, Issa Rae and J. Smith-Cameron, arriving in theaters July 29.

Emotional: Kaling also took to her Instagram story on Monday to tell her fans about the movie, adding she's 'feeling emotional' about heading to the premiere because he had 'worked on this movie for so many years'

So good: 'He poured his heart into it and it's so good. I don't know, that never happens. I am just so proud and excited for him,' she added

Cast: The cast also includes Boyd Holbrook, Dove Cameron, Issa Rae and J. Smith-Cameron, arriving in theaters July 29

Finneas and Claudia: Finneas O'Connell - who provides the music for Vengeance - hits the red carpet with partner Claudia Sulewski

Angela and Joshua: Angela Kinsey poses with husband Joshua Snyder at the Vengeance premiere

John arrives: John Mayer arrives at the Vengeance premiere, his first film role since 2015's Get Hard

Melora: Melora Hardin hits the red carpet at the Vengeance premiere

Isabella: Isabella Amara hits the red carpet at the Vengeance premiere
Schapelle Corby stunned fans with her very unusual party trick on Tuesday.

The convicted drug smuggler, 45, proved she's a woman of many talents by posting a bizarre video on Instagram of herself cleaning her nose out with a nasal douche.

'Good morning! It's that time again!' the brunette chirped, showing off her cleavage in the close-up video.

Schapelle Corby stunned fans with her very unusual party trick on Tuesday

She then placed a liquid squirter into one nostril before squeezing the device and smiling as the liquid poured out of the other nostril.

'Obvs cuter than I think [starry-eyed emoji],' she captioned the post, before clarifying she flushed out her nose for 'sinus relief'.

Nasal irrigation can sometimes reduce excess mucus or irritants inside the nose, which can in turn reduce inflammation and relieve your symptoms.

The convicted drug smuggler, 45, proved she's a woman of many talents by posting a bizarre video on Instagram of herself cleaning her nose out with a nasal douche

She placed a liquid squirter into one nostril before squeezing the device and smiling as the liquid poured out of the other nostril

While many people find it uncomfortable, Schapelle performed the manoeuvre with a breezy smile.

Fans were amazed at how effortlessly she pulled off the trick, with one commenting: 'What the hell! How did you do that?'

'How do you even keep a straight face, let alone just doing that,' another asked.

In October 2004, Schapelle became a household name when she was arrested at Bali airport with 4.2kg of cannabis wrapped in plastic inside her boogie board bag. Pictured after her arrest in 2005

Others claimed they'd experienced good results from nasal irrigation, with one commenting: 'My doctor got me on to this a few years back...best thing for sinus or colds'.

Schapelle became a household name in October 2004 when she was arrested at Bali airport with 4.2kg of cannabis wrapped in plastic inside her boogie board bag.

The world watched in May 2005 as she broke down in the Denpasar courtroom after being sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment in Kerobokan Prison.

In November 2020, Schapelle made her debut as a reality star, appearing on Seven's SAS Australia (pictured on the show)

Following a series of sentence reductions, Schapelle was released on parole in February 2014, having served nine years behind bars.

In November 2020, Schapelle made her debut as a reality star, appearing on Seven's SAS Australia.

However, she quit just two days into the military-style show, after Firass Dirani's antics forced the recruits to run a series of laps as a punishment.

In 2021 she returned to screens, joining Dancing with the Stars: All Stars as a wildcard.

She appeared on three episodes before she and her professional dance partner Shae Mountain were sent home.
Erika Jayne was served with a $50 million racketeering lawsuit Friday at Los Angeles International Airport as she returned from a Hawaiian vacation with Bravo castmates Lisa Rinna, 59, and Diana Jenkins, 49.

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star, 51, was delivered the papers by a woman as she was departing from the travel hub in Southern California, Page Six reported.

The Atlanta-born reality star had donned a white tracksuit on the travel day, along with a Gucci duffle bag and a face mask as she was approached by a process server.

The latest: Erika Jayne, 51, was served with a $50 million racketeering lawsuit Friday at Los Angeles International Airport as she returned from a Hawaiian vacation. She was snapped in LA in 2020

In a clip published by the outlet, the process server told Jayne, 'I just wanted to give you these documents ... this is a summons and complaint to serve you.'

Jayne, in the suit filed by Edelson PC, is accused of conspiracy to racketeering, conspiracy and unlawful business practice among nine charges, in connection with her estranged husband Tom Girardi's ongoing legal issues with his firm Girardi Keese.

In the legal docs, Girardi and Jayne are accused of misappropriating 'client settlement money to project an image of wealth and to prop up a lifestyle made for reality TV.'

Edelson PC said that the EJ Global company Jayne ran had been 'created for the purpose of funneling money from Girardi Keese to benefit' her.

Jayne was knowledgeable of Girardis embezzlement 'scheme' toward settlement funds earmarked for victims of the 2018 Lion Air Flight 610 crash, in which all 189 people onboard died, Edelson PC said in the suit.

In court docs, Edelson PC said Jayne was a 'frontwoman' for Girardi Keese, 'selling to the world' the notion that it 'was successful.'

Pictured: The moment Erika Jayne is served with a $50 million racketeering lawsuit Friday at Los Angeles International Airport as she returns from a Hawaiian vacation

The firm Edelson PC said the law firm run by Tom Girardi, 83, was 'a criminal enterprise.' He was snapped in LA in 2018

Jayne was named in a prior racketeering suit filed in April that attorney Jay Edelson told the outlet in an email was 'more limited, in terms of who we sued, what we were suing about, and the legal theories we are pursuing.'

The suit Jayne was served with Friday is aimed at 'prosecuting the claims of the clients (the widows and orphans)' involved in the crash settlement, Edelson said.

Edelson said he's confident his firm can 'can prove to a jury that the Girardi firm was, and has long been, a criminal enterprise.'

Jayne has spoken about her legal troubles on the popular reality show, denying all claims of wrongdoing while saying she felt 'terrible' about the course of events.

Jayne filed for divorce from Girardi in November of 2020 after a 21-year marriage. The former couple was seen on RHOBH

She said on the show's season 11 reunion episode last fall, 'This is not who I am and I hope this is not who he is,' referring to Girardi, 83, of whom she said, 'I hope that he has not done what is alleged here.'

On an episode of the Bravo series earlier this month, Jayne went into detail about her marital status with Girardi, who she filed for divorce from in November of 2020 after a 21-year marriage.

Jayne said it wasn't sensible to 'get a divorce right now' from Girardi with the ongoing litigation and financial issues, noting 'theres so much legal s*** going on.'

She said, 'Its ironic, but if I was divorced from Tom, Id have to pay him alimony ... Ill stay married, thanks.'

Girardi has been living in a nursing home after he was diagnosed with dementia and Alzheimer's disease. His license to practice law was revoked in March of 2021, and in July of that year, he was placed into a conservatorship by his brother Robert.

Jayne said on the show that her 'life has moved on and everything is separate' as she's 'legally separated,' adding, 'its a weird time and Im really ready for it to be over.'
Brooke Blurton has shared a clip of herself breaking down in tears, referring to it as the 'lowest point' in her life.

The Bachelorette star, 27, posted the old clip to Instagram on Tuesday, showing herself crying as she read the meaning of a spirituality card called Protected by Angels.

She captioned the video: 'This was when I was at my lowest point in my life and I got these cards from [psychic medium Ashlyn].'

Ex-Bachelorette Brooke Blurton, 27, (pictured) has shared a clip of herself breaking down in tears, referring to it as the 'lowest point of her life'

She continued: 'This was the message I received. This was the exact moment I literally picked myself up and got working on one of the biggest and proudest achievements to date. My book.'

The message she referred to was the meaning of the card which said 'an angelic intervention is available' and she should 'spread [her] wings and soar'.

At the time, Brooke had promptly ended the video as her voice quivered and she began to break down.

The reality TV star, 27, posted the old clip to Instagram on Tuesday, showing herself crying as she read the meaning of a spirituality card called Protected by Angels

Just an hour before sharing the old video, the author uploaded a current video of her crying as she proudly showed the first manuscript page of her new book Big Love.

This comes a few weeks after the LGBTQIA+ activist revealed she had signed up for OnlyFans to 'watch other people'.

'I just find it so intriguing. I'm interested, I'm curious, I can't help that! I have to know!' said Brooke, who just launched a Nova podcast called Not So PG.

The message said 'an angelic intervention is available' and she should 'spread [her] wings and soar'

Just an hour before sharing the old video, the author uploaded a current video of her crying as she proudly showed the first manuscript page of her new book Big Love

She continued: 'And, you know, I'm also gay so I love women's bodies and physiques, and if that's what it is, why not?'

The bisexual youth worker said OnlyFans is a diverse platform that isn't just limited to porn, calling it a 'creative space for people to show themselves creatively'.

Brooke, who rose to fame on The Bachelor in 2018 before starring on Bachelor in Paradise and The Bachelorette, appears on the cover of Women's Health this month.

She told the magazine it's important for her to set 'healthy boundaries' on social media, but at the same time she's 'not afraid to share the ugly stuff as well'.

'If you can be vulnerable with yourself and also with others, I admire that over being physically strong because I think that, for me, is so admirable and the strength to share vulnerability is not credited enough in this world,' she said.
Alice Evans has launched another attack on her estranged husband Ioan Gruffudd, claiming she must 'speak her truth' on social media as she 'doesn't have the money' to afford a lawyer.

Fantastic Four actor Gruffudd, 48, filed for joint custody of his two daughters Elsie, eight, and Ella, 12, earlier this month, after his estranged wife, Evans, 53, filed for sole custody amid a bitter divorce.

In Instagram posts on Tuesday, Evans accused Gruffudd of using money that should have been spent on their daughters' wellbeing on his legal case and insisted he was not telling the truth by calling her a 'bad parent' in legal filings.

'He's spending money that should have gone to our girls': Alice Evans launched another blistering attack on estranged husband Ioan Gruffudd amid their ugly custody battle

Evans, who has previously claimed that her ex stopped paying their daughter's private school fees, then shared a text exchange that she alluded was between Gruffudd and one of his daughters.

In a lengthy Instagram rant, Evans began: 'You see - I have no money. I gave up my career because i wanted the love of my life to have an amazing career and that leave him being away most of the time. And I gritted my teeth and I got through it.

'I missed working oh hell I missed working but I didnt want a day to go by without seeing my two incredible girls. So their was an upside. [sic]'

Father: Fantastic Four actor Gruffudd, 48, filed for joint custody of his two daughters Elsie, eight, and Ella, 12, earlier this month, after his estranged wife, Evans, 53, filed for sole custody

The 102 Dalmatians star went on to claim that her ex was trying to 'ruin' her name, stating: 'Ask my kids. As anybody that knows us. Being called a bad parent when I gave up everything for them and dont sleep at night in case and worry about how to feed them, check their health, take them to the dentist.'

She continued: 'Those of you who might think well why is she CONTINUING to post on Instagram when his lawyers are going to take her down for it?

'But think about it. He is spending money that should have gone to the girls education, sports, college, on using a lawyer to gag me.'

Evans added that she had been 'shut up' by the domestic violence restraining order that Gruffudd has been granted against her.

She went on: 'HE gets to say it. HE get so to lie about me being s bad parent ( you couldnt get further from the truth. )

'But me? I get threatened with fines, with jail if I tell MY TRUTH about what is really happening. And all I have is social media because I cant afford a lawyer.

'Isnt that a microcosm of rich and poor America? I will likely go to court for posting this. ( another example of the way he treats his children)

'He may well be lauded for doing the right thing. For going through the courts. He well may get to take my kids away from me ( good luck with that dude)

'Either way I have done nothing wrong and I will continue to fight. [sic]'

Allegations: In Instagram posts on Tuesday, Evans accused Gruffudd of using money that should have been spent on their daughters' wellbeing on his legal case

In a follow up post, Evans shared a picture of court filings that seemed to relate to her social media activity.

The context of the filing was not clear, with just Alice's name and the words 'Instagram' and 'Twitter' visible.

Evans captioned the images: 'Insane. Check his OWN Instagram account.

'Its a picture of him and Bianca entitled FINALLY somebody who makes me smile'.

Alice's statement was incorrect, however, as the picture in question - posted in October last year when Ioan went public with his actress girlfriend Bianca Wallace - was actually captioned: 'Thank you for making me smile again.'

Filings: In a follow up post, Evans shared a picture of court filings that seemed to relate to her social media activity

Inaccurate: Evans captioned the images, 'Insane. Check his OWN Instagram account. Its a picture of him and Bianca entitled FINALLY somebody who makes me smile'

Despite her inaccuracy, Evans continued: 'By your own admission, Mr Gruffudd, your kids have access to Instagram.

'Your swore in their lives when you left us that there was no other woman.

'Yet when it turned out there WAS, ( somebody from Harrow that you suddenly met up with in June ha ha ha) YOU CHOSE TO TELL YOUR KIDS VIA INSTAGRAM?

'You broke their hearts.'

Evans has previously accused her ex and Wallace of conducting a three-year affair - there is no evidence to suggest Gruffudd was unfaithful.

MailOnline has contacted Gruffudd's representatives for comment.

Accurate: Alice's statement was incorrect, however, as the picture in question - posted in October last year when Ioan went public with his actress girlfriend Bianca Wallace - was actually captioned: 'Thank you for making me smile again'

Gruffudd filed a joint custody request in Los Angeles Superior Court on Friday July 8, asking for custody and visitation rights to see his children.

The actor claimed in the filing that Evans had been purposely trying to cut communication between himself and the children.

He also petitioned that the girls attend in-person therapy and reunification therapy via zoom with him pending court-ordered mediation about custody.

Last month, Evans claimed to be 'completely out of money for food and bills' but declared she is focused on being 'the best mother I can possibly be.'

In an Instagram post with one of her daughters pictured, she wrote made scathing comment about her lack of funds as the court case between her and her estrange husband continues on.

She claimed she would receive no financial support from Ioan and that she was struggling to pay her legal fees and would be unable to 'feed or clothe' their daughters.

'Trying to hold it all together whilst being threatened, completely out of money for food and bills and just found out somebody tried to break down our outside door last night,' she said.

'But it's all worth it for this! (And the one who currently doesn't want to be photographed.)

'Whatevs. Most of all, I will be the best mother I can possibly be. Forever. They will never lose me. Thank you everybody for so much love and support! Having a bit of a rough moment!'

New love: Gruffudd filed for divorce from Evans in March 2021, citing irreconcilable differences. He is now living with Bianca Wallace, 30, in Los Angeles (pictured in June)

Evans claimed in June that Gruffudd had been successful in having his domestic violence restraining order (DVRO) against her extended, yet she denied any claims of abuse and insisted he was 'chasing Johnny Depp-style fame.'

It has since been revealed that Gruffudd was seeking a a continuation of a restraining order against Evans.

Gruffudd requested a temporary restraining order against Evans in February 2022, offering up 113 pages of abusive text messages, emails and social media posts from Alice.

In a bid to bring matters to a close, Gruffudd, engaged Brad Pitt's divorce lawyer, Anne Kiley, who is believed to have requested that the order - which requires Evans doesn't contact or harass him or his girlfriend - carries on for at least another year.

Gruffudd filed for divorce from Evans in March 2021, citing irreconcilable differences as the reason behind their split. He is now living with girlfriend Bianca Wallace, 30, in Los Angeles.

The pair went Instagram official in October, after he posted a picture of them together with the words: 'Thank you for making me smile again.'

Evans and Gruffudd met on the set of 102 Dalmatians in 2000, when the actress was in a relationship with Pablo Picasso's grandson Olivier.

The former couple became engaged six years later after she gave him an ultimatum about their relationship, and they tied the knot in an intimate ceremony in Mexico in September 2007.

Gruffudd hasn't publicly addressed the couple's divorce.
Laura Csortan and Larry Emdur are enjoying a getaway to Mykonos, Greece.

Travelling with a group of friends, the pals were living it up on Monday, with Laura sharing a video of the pair rocking out at a restaurant.

In the videos, which were posted to Instagram Stories, Laura, 45, works her dance moves to an Abba song playing at the venue.

Laura Csortan (pictured) and Larry Emdur are enjoying a getaway to Mykonos, Greece

Throwing her arms in the air, the model showed off her incredible figure in a maroon crop top and matching fitted skirt.

Larry, 57, got down too, flaunting his daggy dance moves as he shimmied alongside the table.

The Morning Show host was dressed for vacation in a long sleeved cotton shirt and sunglasses.

Travelling with a group of friends, the pals were living it up on Monday, with Laura sharing a video of the pair rocking out at a restaurant. Pictured right is Larry Emdur

Larry, 57, got down, flaunting his daggy dance moves as he shimmied alongside the table

Throwing her arms in the air, the model showed off her incredible figure in a maroon crop top and matching fitted skirt

'Stick a fork in me,' Laura joked in the caption on her Instagram Stories posts

'Stick a fork in me,' Laura joked in the caption on her Instagram Stories posts.

Both Laura and Larry have been sharing clips from the idyllic location, as they enjoy waterside eateries and luxury accommodation.

Larry and his wife, Sylvie Emdur, are on the trip together, along with a large group of friends.

The television host joked this week that he is 'defrosting' on the sunny island after dealing with the unusually cold Australian winter.

Both Laura and Larry have been sharing clips from the idyllic location, as they enjoy waterside eateries and luxury accommodation

Laura meanwhile has been showing off her figure in bikinis as she indulges in all the fun the location has to offer

Posing in skimpy orange swimwear earlier this week, she captioned the image shared to Instagram: 'Not too shabby Mykonos'

Laura meanwhile has been showing off her figure in bikinis as she indulges in all the fun the location has to offer.

Posing in skimpy orange swimwear earlier this week, she captioned the image shared to Instagram: 'Not too shabby Mykonos'.

'Just... Pinching myself,' she captioned another post, which detailed the gorgeous blue water in the region.
He jetted to Italy to attend the Giffoni International Festival this week.

And Richard Madden made the most of his time away as he enjoyed a day at the pool with a bikini-clad friend on Monday.

The actor, 36, seemed in good spirits as he soaked up the sunshine in Positano prior to attending the festival - where he was honoured with an award.

Fun in the sun: He jetted to Italy to attend the Giffoni International Festival this week. And Richard Madden made the most of his time away as he enjoyed a day at the pool on Monday

Richard put his ripped physique on display as he slipped into a pair of black swimming trunks.

The actor - who is one of the rumoured frontrunners for the next James Bond - looked like he'd stepped straight out of one of the 007 movies as he showcased his musclebound figure.

Yet the actor will have a long wait to hear of any news following Daniel Craig's departure, after producer Barbara Broccoli told fans that the newest instalment is 'two years away' and that they are in no rush to recast the iconic spy figure.

Catching up: The actor, 36, seemed in good spirits as he soaked up the sunshine in Positano with a bikini-clad beauty prior to attending the festival

Richard's last role was in 2021's Marvel film, Eternals, and he will next be seen on screens in TV spy series Citadel - although little is known about the upcoming project.

Rumours surrounding the Scottish actor's future come as he was honoured with the Giffoni Experience Award.

The children's film festival has taken place every June since 1971. Over 2,000 children attend from all over the world to learn filmmaking skills and judge each others works.

Tanned and toned: Richard put his ripped physique on display as he slipped into a pair of black swimming trunks

Accepting his award, he told the young attendees: 'I'm sure that, in the future, I will work with someone who is here in this hall'.

'Working here has been one of the best experiences of my career. And I don't say it just because food is good, or rather, too good, but also because tricolour productions are the most prone to improvisation and the most adept at solving problems'.

He continued: ' If you consider, instead, the American ones, the tone is totally different: everything is classified, meticulous, with countless tests to obtain perfection, but I much prefer the Italian method because it represents me best'.

'On the subject of social inequalities, this Festival is in the right track, because it brings together, in the same place, people from far and wide here the social class makes no difference'.
Big screen action hero Natalie Portman had a lot to learn from real life adventurer Bear Grylls during her appearance on his show Running Wild.

The Hollywood star kicked off the series of Running Wild With Bear Grylls: The Challenge on National Geographic in the wild landscape of Southern Utah where the actress learned how to descend various canyons.

But there was one challenge Natalie, 41, wasn't completely on board with, declaring Bear's unique method of filtering water as 'gross.'

New adventure: Big screen action hero Natalie Portman had a lot to learn from real life adventurer Bear Grylls during her appearance on his show Running Wild

After trekking through the canyons, Natalie and Bear finally discovered a shallow pool of water.

Bear explained to the actress that they would need to filter and boil the sludgy water before they could drink it.

'This water is really full of loads of dead flies and dirt and everything,' he explained before musing with Natalie what they should use as a filter.

Challenge: The Hollywood star kicked off the series of Running Wild With Bear Grylls: The Challenge on National Geographic in the wild landscape of Southern Utah

'We could use a sock, but then again, you kinda need your sock,' he said, before offering up his underpants.

'We're gonna filter sludge water through underpants?' a shocked Natalie asked.

Bear got to work cutting away at his underwear with his knife after Natalie asked if he 'wanted some privacy.'

'I mean it's not going to be perfectly clean,' he told the star, and she quipped back, 'That's an understatement.'

Say what? Natalie and Bear finally discovered a shallow pool of water butBear explained to the actress that they would need to filter it through his underwear before they could drink it

As the two got to work filtering the water, a disgusted looking Natalie admitted: This is gross.'

Elsewhere in the episode, Natalie spoke to Bear about her passion for starring in the Marvel Cinematic Universe blockbuster movies.

'I pinch myself every day, like this is really, really cool,' Natalie, who first starred as Jane Foster in 2011's Thor, told Bear.

Unique method: 'We're gonna filter sludge water through underpants?' a shocked Natalie asked

It worked: Despite her reservations, Natalie later tucked into the filtered and boiled water

Natalie is currently starring as the Mighty Thor in Thor: Love and Thunder. 'I loved that they had it as like a Thor, you know? Thor is a concept, not necessarily a singular person and I'm excited to make a movie that my son likes,' she said, referring to her son, Aleph, 11.

'He was like, 'Can you keep doing Marvel movies?''

But Aleph's favourite Marvel hero isn't his mom, she admitted, confessing her son 'loves Doctor Strange a lot. And Thor of course.'

Onscreen hero: Elsewhere in the episode, Natalie spoke to Bear about her passion for starring in the Marvel Cinematic Universe blockbuster movies

Marvel star: 'I pinch myself every day, like this is really, really cool,' Natalie, who first starred as Jane Foster in 2011's Thor, told Bear

She also shared that the training regimen to get into shape to play Mighty Thor is intense.

The actress, who also told Grylls she is a vegan as she refused to eat maggots, said: 'It's super, super physical for Thor.

'There's also more flexibility in the Thor stuff. You can run and you can swim and you can do weight training. You can mix it all up. It's not quite so specific.'

In the new season, Bear teaches celebrity guests essential survival skills that they will have to master and then prove they can use in a high-stress situation.

Other celebrities taking on the challenge this season include Ashton Kutcher, Simu Liu, Florence Pugh, Anthony Anderson and Rob Riggle.

Challenge: The actress learned how to descend various canyons under the guidance of Bear

Adrenaline: In the new season, Bear teaches celebrity guests essential survival skills that they will have to master and then prove they can use in a high-stress situation
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of starting an "open gas war" to terrorize Europe and have a deeper hold on the region's economy.

Zelensky made the remarks during his nightly video address on Monday, where he accused Moscow of using restrictions on gas supply to inflict what he called terror on Europe and urged the European Union to agree to tougher sanctions against Russia.

Russia's Open Gas War

The Ukrainian leader said that Russia was doing everything on purpose to make it as difficult as possible for Europeans to prepare for the winter season. He argued that the open gas war was a tool to take advantage of the situation in Europe.

The official said that the Russians do not care what will happen to the European people or how they will suffer from hunger due to the blocking of ports or from winter cold and poverty. The remarks come after Moscow dealt a new blow to European countries over their support of Ukraine on Monday by saying it would cut gas supplies through its single biggest gas link to Germany, as per Reuters.

The announcement said that Russia would reduce daily gas deliveries via the Nord Stream pipeline to 33 million cubic meters per day, which is only 20% of the pipeline's capacity, starting from Wednesday.

Read Also: Russia-Ukraine Grain Deal Assurance Dwindles After Moscow Attacks Military Facility in Odesa Port, Allegedly Kidnap Ukrainian Children

Moscow noted that it was halting the operation of one of the last two operating turbines of the pipeline due to the "technical condition of the engine." On the other hand, the German government said there was no technical justification for Gazprom's announcement.

According to NDTV, the announcement comes as Europe is still heavily dependent on Russian energy resources, and the West has accused Moscow of using energy as a weapon in retaliation for the sanctions adopted after Russia's invasion of Ukraine started.

Reducing Gas Deliveries

Russia's announcement to reduce gas flow also came after last week when it restored critical gas supplies to Europe through Germany via the Nord Stream pipeline after ten days of maintenance.

Moscow began reducing the amount of gas being shipped through the 760-mile undersea pipeline in mid-June, arguing that there was a missing turbine that was shipped to Canada for repairs. On the other hand, the German economy ministry said that based on its information, there was no reason that the pipeline had to reduce its gas deliveries.

Observers have said that the move was made due to Putin's intention to use Russia's energy exports as a tool to punish and divide European leaders by loosening or tightening the taps as it suits him and his war aims in Ukraine.

A senior fellow at Bruegel, Simone Tagliapietra, said that Gazprom's announcement to reduce gas deliveries should not be considered a surprise. They argued that Russia has been playing a strategic game.

On Tuesday, European Union energy ministers will meet in Brussels to discuss a proposal to get citizens and businesses of the 27-member bloc to save energy. However, divisions have emerged as some countries that do not rely heavily on Russian gas, such as Greece and Spain, have chafed the idea of needing to cut consumption to help Germany, the New York Times reported.

Related Article: Russia Claims Hitting Harpoon Anti-ship Missiles in the Port of Odessa

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Billy Brown has revealed Love Island viewers have not seen all the flirting that went on between him and Gemma Owen in the villa.

The 23-year-old, who was dumped from the villa last week, insisted Gemma, 19, 'got off lightly' with what was shown between them, which resulted in a fall out between her and Luca Bish who she is coupled up with.

Speaking on Capital Breakfast with Roman Kemp, Billy claimed Gemma initiated the flirting by telling him he could pull her for a chat whenever he wanted while they were in Casa Amor.

Candid: Billy Brown has revealed Love Island viewers have not seen all the flirting that went on between him and Gemma Owen in the villa

Host Roman said: 'You were saying that when you were in Casa Amor, Gemma Owen, who was at the time partnered up with Luca, and they're still together now, Gemma said something to you'

'She did,' Billy said.

'What did she say?' Roman asked.

Billy replied: 'Her first words was "pull me for a chat if you want." '

Claims: The 23-year-old, who was dumped from the villa last week, insisted Gemma, 19, 'got off lightly' with what was shown between them, which resulted in a fall out between her and Luca Bish who she is coupled up with

Co-host Sian Welby said: 'Oh! So she initiated it?'

Billy said: 'Yeah and then I played hard to get and didn't even pull her for a chat.'

Roman then asked: 'Do you think, like, there was a lot more that we didn't see with you and Gemma?'

'Yeah,' Billy said, with Roman asking: 'Really? Like what, chats?'

'Just all the flirting, you haven't seen it all, they let her off lightly!' Billy answered.

Flirty: Speaking on Capital Breakfast with Roman Kemp, Billy claimed Gemma initiated the flirting by telling him he could pull her for a chat whenever he wanted while they were in Casa Amor

After watching himself back, Billly insisted he wouldn't change any of his beahviour apart from maybe speaking to Gemma earlier than he did.

Sian asked: 'You had a bit of a thing with Tasha [Ghouri] and Gemma, looking back on it now, if you've watched anything back of old episodeswould you change your tactic now? If you could go back in and do it again?'

Billy: said: 'Nah! Definitely not. I think maybe, pull her [Gemma] for a chat at the start maybe.'

Sian asked: 'Are you going to pull her for a chat when she comes out?'

'Nah! Don't start all that!' Billy laughed.

Billy said: 'Her first words was "pull me for a chat if you want'''

Billy also said if he had been in the villa from the beginning, he would be with Gemma instead of Luca, but added that they are 'very attached'.

Sian said: 'Gemma and Luca, they've recently became official as well. You must have been watching it since then? What do you make of their relationship?'

Billy replied: 'Do you know what, in the villa as well like, they're very attached sothey don't just come across on screen like that, it's actually like that.'

Sian said: 'Obviously we all saw the moment Luca got upset because he thought you were flirting with Gemma.

'It looks like Gemma quite enjoyed it, the question I have because I know you're probably going to back yourself in this, if you and Luca went in at the same timedo you think you would have stood more of a chance against Luca?'

'Oh yeah game over,' Billy said.

Chat: Roman then asked: 'Do you think, like, there was a lot more that we didn't see with you and Gemma?' with Billy saying viewers didn't see 'all the flirting' (pictured with L-R Sian Welby, Roman Kemp and Sonny Jay)

Sian said: 'No genuinely, do you genuinely think, if you both had the same amount of time, you'd have been with Gemma over him?'

'Yeah definitely,' Billy said.

Luca was left seething after watching Gemma have a 'flirty' chat with Billy during Casa Amor.

The second half of Movie Night saw a clip entitled Good Bill Hunting show Billy and Gemma chatting in the villa.

Billy quizzed Gemma on whether options were open when it came to pairing-up with another person despite her being in a couple with Luca.

Luca fumed as he watched the clip: 'Just bring me a f**king bird in and watch.

Shock: Luca was left seething last week after watching Gemma have a 'flirty' chat with Billy during Casa Amor, prompting him to question the strength of their relationship

'Trust me when I say, if she wants to f**king play games with me, I'll play with it.'

He added: 'I can't be with someone like that, I'm sorry.'

Later that evening after the films aired, Luca pulled Gemma for a chat, saying: 'You were entertaining it,' to which Gemma replied: 'No I wasn't.'

Luca called Billy over to the fire pit to join them and asked: 'Did you feel like she was flirting with you?'

Billy answered: 'Yeah, it was just flirty banter,' prompting Gemma to interject: 'Did we have a flirty chat? Yes.'

Luca replied: 'But just a minute ago you said you didn't have a flirty chat, you literally said I wasn't flirting.'

Hitting back: The second half of Movie Night saw a clip entitled Good Bill Hunting show Billy and Gemma chatting in the villa, but Gemma said she didn't think Luca had anything to be angry about as they clashed over the clip

As the conversation continued, Gemma said: 'I don't think any lines have been crossed.'

However, Luca did not back down, insisting that the real source of his anger was not that he flirted but instead how he came out of the situation.

He explained: 'I'm not angry that you flirted. I'm angry that when I pulled you on the situation, you made me out to be an idiot.'

Luca's family took to Instagram Stories on his account on Monday to say they didn't condone his behaviour towards partner Gemma.

Fans had called for Gemma to break off her relationship with the fishmonger, after he raged at her for 'flirting' with Billy on Sunday night's show.

And his family have said that while he would be 'embarrassed' by his actions and will no doubt apologise, he doesn't deserve the abuse he has been getting.

Addressing: Luca's family urged people to note that he is in an intense environment and doesn't deserve to receive abuse but were aware that his behaviour towards Gemma was not acceptable after he became enraged

They say his behaviour is not reflective of the boy they 'know and love at home' but noted that his Love Island experience is an intense one.

They wrote: 'I want to apologise on behalf of Luca for his insensitive reaction on last night's episode.

'I know that when he watches it back, he will be embarrassed and deeply apologetic.

'We as his family don't condone his behaviour last night, but we do understand he is in an intense environment where his actions are heightened. Last night was not reflective of the boy we all know and love at home.

'Please be aware death threats and nasty comments totally overstep the mark and something we as a family should not have to endure, for this reason we have turned off the comments and messages.'

Listen to Capital Breakfast with Roman Kemp, weekdays from 6am  10am across the UK and on Global Player.
Teresa Palmer is currently filming the eight-part TV drama The Clearing.

And on Tuesday, The Ride Like A Girl star enjoyed the company of her eleven-month-old daughter Prairie Moon after a demanding day shooting the intense drama.

In a photo posted to Instagram, Teresa is seen poking out her tongue at the camera, while Prairie laughs at her mother's antics.

Teresa Palmer posed with daughter Prairie Moon on Tuesday after a hard day's work filming her new thriller The Clearing. Both pictured

'I almost didnt post this photo coz I thought I look rough! Even a filter didnt take the edge off, Teresa wrote beside the image.

'But Ive been working my tooshie off on #theclearing and navigating a character with such trauma means that theres going to be residual effects in my everyday life both physically and emotionally (plus who wants a perfectly curated instagram feed anyway?)

Teresa continued: 'Getting to come home each night to these cuties after giving it my all at work is the best feeling in the world.

'I cant believe this cheeky monkey is almost ONE!!!'

Teresa's upcoming series, The Clearing, is an intense psychological drama about an evil cult

The Clearing is a fictionalised account of the so-called 'Doomsday Cult', founded in Victoria in the 1960s by Anne Hamilton-Byrne.

Australian star Miranda Otto, 54, will play a cult leader and Teresa Palmer co-stars as a former member who breaks away to try and lead a normal life.

The series will also star Guy Pearce and ex-Neighbours hunk Tom Budge.

Teresa and husband Mark Webber, 42, share four children together - Bodhi Rain, eight, Forest Sage, five, Poet Lake, three, and Prairie Moon, eleven months.

The mother-of-four revealed in May she is not yet done having children.

Teresa and husband Mark Webber (pictured with daughters Poet and Prairie), 42, share four children together - Bodhi Rain, eight, Forest Sage, five, Poet Lake, three, and Prairie Moon, eleven months

She told The Sydney Morning Herald: 'It was my number one dream to have eight children, like my nanna.'

Teresa, however, said she isn't sure her husband Mark will be on board with the idea.

'I think he would be like, "Not with me!"' she joked. 'He's at his limit.'
Rege-Jean Page cut a smart figure on Monday for an appearance on Good Morning America.

The outing comes after Disney bosses were left shamefaced as they mistakenly announced him as Marvel's newest star during San Diego Comic-Con 2022 on Saturday.

The 34-year-old was at the event to promote his new movie Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.

TV ready: Rege-Jean Page cut a smart figure on Monday for an appearance on Good Morning America as was seen for the first time after Disney mistakenly named him Marvel's newest star

Disney sent out a press release announcing the cast for the upcoming Disney+ series Secret Invasion, which included the actor.

However, despite the initial press release, TVLine later reported: 'A Disney spokesperson phoned TVLine late Saturday evening to state that Page, who currently can be seen in Netflix's The Gray Man movie, is not part of Secret Invasion, and was accidentally included with the official cast list.'

Despite the embarrassing gaffe, the talented star appeared in high spirits following his appearance on ABC's flagship show.

Looking smart in a knitted cardigan and khaki trousers, Rege-Jean flashed a wave to delighted fans as he departed the TV studios while clutching an iced coffee.

Upbeat: Despite the embarrassing gaffe, the talented star appeared in high spirits following an appearance on GMA

Hey there: Looking smart in a knitted cardigan and khaki trousers, Rege-Jean flashed a wave to delighted fans as he departed the TV studios while clutching an iced coffee

Out and about: The actor looked suave after his TV appearance

Despite this, Rege-Jean is reportedly in talks to appear in series three of Bridgerton, after he bowed out of season two.

The Netflix star played the Duke of Hastings in the show's breakthrough first season, and was a runaway hit with both fans and critics.

But the star did not star in the second series, despite his onscreen wife Daphne Bridgerton - played by Phoebe Dynevor - appearing throughout.

Back again? Rege-Jean is reportedly in talks to appear in series three of Bridgerton, after he bowed out of season two

However, now The Sun has reported that Rege-Jean may be returning to the show that made his name.

Speaking to the publication, a source said: 'Rege-Jean was always very open about his intention to quit the show after the first season and to move on to other projects.

'But recently there has been a dialogue between him and the show's bosses.

'Nothing has been formally agreed yet, but watch this space.'

Fan favourite: The actor played the Duke of Hastings in the show's breakthrough first season, and was a runaway hit with both fans and critics

It comes after Rege-Jean was named as the favourite to replace fellow actor Daniel Craig as James Bond after he left the 007 role in 2021 Bond film No Time To Die.

Screen star Rege-Jean was backed with odds of 2/1 by William Hill with the leading bookmaker seeing good support for him in recent days.

He finished 2021 with a 4/1 chance but now heads the market from Tom Hardy at 5/2.

Rege-Jean previously admitted that he's 'flattered' to be included among a host of British stars tipped for the iconic role.

He told The Mirror: 'Ah, the B word. I think that if you are British and you do anything of note, that other people take notice of, then people will start talking about that.'

The star added: 'I think that's fairly normal and I'm flattered to be in the category of Brits that people have noticed. Nothing more  or less  than that.'

However despite being the bookies favourite, Rege-Jean said he was bemused by the idea of making any plans at 'this moment in history' and has 'given up' doing so.

The star also admitted that he can be a bit of a 'racehorse', often signing onto a project and focusing completely on it with the 'blinders on'.
Kayla Itsines has announced that she and her fiance Jae Woodroffe and expecting their first baby together.

It's the second child for the fitness entrepreneur, who has a daughter, Arna Leia Pearce, three, with her ex Tobi Pearce.

The 31-year-old shared the good news to Instagram on Tuesday, with the smitten couple posing for sweet photos while holding their ultrasound image.

Kayla Itsines has announced that she and her fiance Jae Woodroffe and expecting their first baby together. Both pictured

'We are SO excited to share the news that our family is growing,' Kaya wrote in the caption alongside the pictures, which showed the pair kissing.

'Arna cannot wait to be a big sister and @jaewoodroffe and I could not be more happy right now!!

'SO much to celebrate & be grateful for! We can't wait to share this journey with you. #DueJanuary2023'.

The 31-year-old shared the good news to Instagram on Tuesday, with the smitten couple posing for sweet photos while holding their ultrasound image

Jae also posted the good news to his own Instagram, alongside a photo of the couple cuddling on the couch

Jae also posted the good news to his own Instagram, alongside a photo of the couple cuddling on the couch.

'Can't wait to meet you!' he wrote, adding #january2023 and declaring, '@kayla_itsines I love you!'

He then shared a photo of Kayla's positive pregnancy test, writing: '#15weeks I love you more everyday! I cannot wait to meet our little one'.

'Can't wait to meet you!' he wrote, declaring, '@kayla_itsines I love you!'

He then shared a photo of Kayla's positive pregnancy test, writing: '#15weeks I love you more everyday! I cannot wait to meet our little one'

It's the second child for the fitness entrepreneur, who has a daughter, Arna Leia Pearce, three, with her ex Tobi Pearce. The new baby is due in January

Kayla, who is a multimillionaire thanks to her popular workout app Sweat (formerly Bikini Body Guides), confirmed that she and Jae were engaged just last week.

The Adelaide native proudly showed off her diamond ring in a series of photos taken shortly after Jae, 29, popped the question.

'YES #engaged @jaewoodroffe @itsjlahhere,' wrote Kayla, who wore a brown crop top and jeans as she displayed her sparkler.

Kayla, who is a multimillionaire thanks to her popular workout app Sweat (formerly Bikini Body Guides), confirmed that she and Jae were engaged just last week

The Adelaide native proudly showed off her diamond ring in a series of photos taken shortly after Jae, 29, popped the question

In another photo, she embraced her new fiance as he smiled for the camera.

Little is known about Jae, who is one of the 732 people Kayla follows on Instagram, but his social media activity suggests he enjoys travelling and motorcycles.

The pair went public with their relationship more than a year after Kayla confirmed her split from ex-fiance Tobi Pearce in August 2020.

'YES #engaged @jaewoodroffe @itsjlahhere,' wrote Kayla, who wore a brown crop top and jeans as she displayed her sparkler

Kayla and Jae went public with their relationship more than a year after she confirmed her split from ex-fiance Tobi Pearce in August 2020

The former couple, who dated for eight years and are parents to daughter Arna, co-founded Bikini Body Guides - later renamed Sweat - after meeting in late 2012.

The business partners sold their health and fitness empire to U.S. software giant iFIT for $400million last year. Tobi has since departed the company.

In May, Jae hinted he wanted to have children with Kayla during an Instagram Q&A.

He answered the question 'would you like biological children of your own one day?' with a photo of himself playing with his stepdaughter Arna and writing 'absolutely'.

In May, Jae hinted he wanted to have children with Kayla during an Instagram Q&A

In May, Jae hinted he wanted to have children with Kayla during an Instagram Q&A.

He answered the question 'would you like biological children of your own one day?' with a photo of himself playing with his stepdaughter Arna and writing 'absolutely'.

Before he started dating Kayla, Jae was in a long-term relationship with a woman named Lauren Belotti, who is believed to be one of Kayla's friends.
Harry Styles has been nominated for his first ever Mercury Prize.

The former One Direction star's third solo album, Harry's House, has been shortlisted for the prestigious music prize, making its top 10 Albums of the Year list.

The As It Was' hitmaker, 28, will compete with the likes of Sam Fender's Seventeen Going Under and Little Simz' Sometimes I Might Be Introvert to be crowned the overall winner of the prize.

Exciting announcement: Harry Styles (pictured) has been nominated for his first ever Mercury Prize

The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album released in the UK by a British or Irish act.

The awards ceremony will be held on September 8 at London's Eventim Apollo, Hammersmith.

Self Esteem, Joy Crookes, Fergus McCreadie, Gwenno, Jessie Buckley and Bernard Butler, Kojey Radical, Nova Twins, Wet Leg, and Yard Act also made the shortlist.

The judging panel - which includes musicians Anna Calvi, Jamie Cullum and Loyle Carner, and is chaired by Head of Music, 6 Music and Radio 2 Jeff Smith commented: 'Getting down to 12 albums this year was not easy, simply because there were so many remarkable ones to choose from.

Competition: The hitmaker, 28, will compete with the likes of Sam Fender's Seventeen Going Under to win the prize (Sam is pictured)

'That serves as proof that British and Irish music thrives during unsettled periods in history, with the albums chosen covering everything from imaginative pop to pioneering rap to Cornish language folk-rock.

'We feel that these 12 amazing albums each have something to say artistically and socially, all in their own unique, enriching ways.

'Now comes the really hard part... choosing only one overall winner.'

Well done: Harry Styles will also compete with Little Simz' Sometimes I Might Be Introvert to be crowned the overall winner (Little Simz is pictured)

Stars: Gwenno (left) and Kojey Radical (right) are also nominated for the prize and are pictured at the shortlist event on Tuesday

The 2022 Awards Show will feature live performances from many of the shortlisted artists and the evening will culminate in the announcement of the overall winner of the 2022 Mercury Prize with FREE NOW Album of the Year.

Mercury Prize 2022: Nominations The top 10 Albums of the Year: Fergus McCreadie - Forest Floor Gwenno - Tresor Harry Styles - Harry's House Jessie Buckley and Bernard Butler - For All Our Days That Tear the Heart Joy Crookes - Skin Kojey Radical - Reason to Smile Little Simz - Sometimes I Might be Introvert Nova Twins - Supernova Sam Fender - Seventeen Going Under Self Esteem - Prioritise Pleasure Wet Leg - Wet Leg Yard Act - The Overload Advertisement

It comes after last week it was revealed that icon Harry is set to become the subject of a university module, after Texas State University confirmed students would be offered the subject in Spring 2023.

The college's Associate Professor of Digital History, Dr Louie Dean Valenica, shared the news on Twitter, joking: 'This is what tenure looks like.'

The course, titled Harry Styles And The Cult Of Celebrity: Identity, The Internet And European Pop Culture, will see students study the hitmaker and his impact on the industry in relation to 'questions of gender and sexuality.'

In his tweet, Dr Louis shared an image of the course's poster, alongside an email from the Honours College confirming the module would be available for students next year.

The module's poster notes it will focus 'on British musician Harry Styles and popular European culture to understand the cultural and political development of the modern celebrity as related to questions of gender and sexuality, race, class, nation and globalism, media, fashion, fan culture, internet culture, and consumerism.'

The module will count towards Honors Studies, History (European or World) and International Studies at Texas State University.

Students taking European Studies, Popular Cultural Studies, Diversity Studies and Women's and Gender Studies courses will also be able to take the module.

Discussing his decision to propose the course, Dr Valencia told KXAN: 'The way I like to describe the class is that it's really about the history of the last 12 years or so.

Hopefuls: Jessie Buckley and Bernard Buckley who are also nominated posed together at the shortlist event

Nominees: Self Esteem (left) and The Nova Twins (right) all looked in good spirits at the shortlist event

Anticipated: The 2022 Awards Show will feature live performances from many of the shortlisted artists and the evening will culminate in the announcement of the overall winner (Harry is pictured)

Trio: Jay Russell, Sam Shipstone and Ryan Needham of Yard Act attended the shortlist event together too

'So, it is about Harry Styles in the same way that some classes are about the Beatles. You might take a class like that to learn about, ''What were the '60s like?''

It comes as Harry has recently been compared to late Queen star Freddie Mercury after his 'mesmerising' string of gigs.

He has been wowing audiences across the world with his Love On Tour show - with former One Direction bandmate Niall Horan among the faces in the crowd at his recent London show.

Some concertgoers compared him to music legend Freddie, who was known for his flamboyant performances before his tragic death in 1991.
Louise Thompson has given more insight into her continuing battled with post-traumatic stress disorder and perinatal anxiety following the birth of her son Leo.

The former Made In Chelsea star has been speaking out about her mental and physical health issues since she gave birth to her son in December 2021.

In her latest Instagram update on Tuesday, Louise shared a new perspective, admitting she felt 'more safe' during her recent stay in hospital than at home as she could focus solely on her own health.

Reflecting: Louise Thompson has given more insight into her continuing battled with post-traumatic stress disorder and perinatal anxiety following the birth of her son Leo

'I was reading a post by @nicknacklou about how she felt more safe in hospital and it really resonated with me,' Louise wrote alongside a video of her stretching in her hospital gown.

The star explained how she only felt like this during her stay in hospital earlier this month, adding that she felt very different when she was hospitalised immediately after Leo's birth.

'Its a pretty shocking place to be mentally. I didnt feel like this AT ALL during my first stint (I felt nothing but fear and total confusion as to where I was, who I was and what was happening to me for a month) but more recently when I spent a week as an inpatient I felt a sense of safety, security and even inner peace.'

Safe: The former Made In Chelsea star has been speaking out about her mental and physical health issues since she gave birth to her son in December 2021

Focusing on me: 'I was reading a post about how she felt more safe in hospital and it really resonated with me,' Louise wrote alongside a video of her stretching in her hospital gown

'Despite the fact that I was residing in a pretty chaotic ward, with some particularly unwell patients who liked to have tea parties at 3am in the morning whilst creating lots of noise and crashing about the place screaming Janet and talking about seeing their parents (these ladies were 90+) whilst weeing on the floor a lot of the outside pressures felt removed in hospital. '

Louise continued: 'Time passed quickly, there wasnt much I HAD to do, and I didnt have to look after the little cub. The first time round I couldnt read, write or watch anything. I couldnt even figure out how to turn on an ipad.'

'Everything was too much. I had one weird moment where I downloaded a bunch of songs from a holiday in Greece back in 2003 as I was coming off my morphine, but that was it. My brain had shut down.'

Wellbeing: Louise continued: 'Time passed quickly, there wasnt much I HAD to do, and I didnt have to look after the little cub'

'I listened to a healing soundtrack on repeat whilst imagining a white light shining over my body. I stared at a wall for days on end analysing what it meant to be alive.'

She said that during her most recent stay, she had the time to focus on her own wellbeing. 'This time round I felt like I was on holiday, downloading self help programs on my ipad, doing sudoku and other brain training exercises and catching up on The Split on BBC.'

'I had undisturbed sleep for the first time in 8 months. I even did morning stretches. It felt like such a privilege to be able to get up and move.'

'I could be fully selfish and treat myself as No.1. My main mission was to stop severe malnourishment and to build up strength. I could take a moment to listen to my body and understand what was going on, and to make sure I didnt have any adverse reactions to any of the new substances dripping into my body.'

Mother: She ended her post with the thought: 'We are both like babies growing up and learning how to navigate the world. The only difference is that I have to look after a baby and he doesnt'

'I could also chat to the professionals and ask questions. Its very hard to prioritise your own health at home with a young baby or child. It doesnt seem to make sense to try to survive and get better whilst also trying to look after another being.'

Louise pointed out that it's ' a HUGE mental challenge' to allow herself to feel such emotions but one of the positives was that it allowed her to 'miss' her son 'and then I really wanted to come home.'

'I have to say not having a fully functioning brain is so hard. Sometimes it drives me into a total panic. How can I set a good example when I am not a good example. I need to accept that I will get better, slowly slowly catchy monkey as Leo also progresses too.'

She ended her post with the thought: 'We are both like babies growing up and learning how to navigate the world. The only difference is that I have to look after a baby and he doesnt. Oh to be Leo.'

The former Made in Chelsea star is battling post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and post-natal anxiety after two near-death experiences during the birth of her son Leo eight months ago.

Tough time: The former Made in Chelsea star is battling post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and post-natal anxiety after two near-death experiences during the birth eight months ago

She has recently been attempting to lower her antidepressants dosage with guidance from her medical team.

Last week Louise admitted she was struggling with her emotions as she contended with 'mum guilt' and her disappointment at missing her close friend's wedding.

Sharing photos from her London home on Wednesday, Louise admitted she was 'struggling quite a lot this morning'.

'I have to be honest I feel a great sense of comfort and connectedness sharing on here.

WHAT IS POSTNATAL ANXIETY? As many as 17 per cent of new mothers experience postnatal anxiety after giving birth, studies suggest. It is thought to be caused by a combination of the shock of parenthood, hormonal fluctuations, and the impact family life has on sleep and stress levels. Some women experience postnatal generalised anxiety disorder, which is defined as a constant state of anxiety. This is where you worry about everything from your child's feeding patterns to your ability as a parent. Postnatal obsessive compulsive disorder occurs when a woman experiences distressing thoughts about harm coming to her baby. And postnatal health anxiety is when the mind becomes preoccupied that there may be something wrong with the baby's health. Many anxiety sufferers feel tense and on edge, and battle a constant sense of dread. They may also become paranoid that people can tell something is wrong. And their mind is often busy with thoughts and continuously dwelling on negative situations. Physical symptoms may include: Tense muscles and headaches

Pins and needles

Feeling lightheaded or dizzy

Sweating or hot flushes

Palpitations

Insomnia

Needing the toilet more or less frequently

Churning feeling in the stomach

Panic attacks Treatment is made up of talking therapies and anti-anxiety medication. People can help themselves cope by shifting their focus onto something small, like the details on a picture or the fabric of their clothes. Breathing exercises and staying active can also help. Advertisement

I feel a sense of safety, like nothing can go wrong because we're all in this together. So I hope you don't mind but I'm going to stick with it,' she added of her willingness to share her feelings.

Louise demonstrated her morning qigong routine, a system of coordinated body-posture and movement, breathing, and meditation, which she has been practising over the past week to give her 'stability'.

She then clarified why she was finding the day so tough, explaining she was attempting to lower the dosage of her antidepressants.

'I am trying to lower my mirtazapine dose,' she wrote. 'I really just want to stabilise my body and brain naturally. I'm 4 days into a lower dose and this morning I feel all over the place.'

'I feel really dizzy and confused and quite outa body. Like I don't know where to place myself. I can't sit down or think straight.'

'I feel like my nervous system is malfunctioning. Thank goodness Leo is at nursery and I have Ryan.'

'Sometimes I think how the heck did this all happen to me? Give me my old brain back. I beg of you.'

Louise later shared her feelings of 'mum guilt' about sending her son to nursery two days a week, explaining that she hasn't even told her fans about Leo's nursery routine because she felt 'so guilty for sending him'.

'I think Ryan nonchalantly mentioned it on a story a while back and I freaked out a bit,' she admitted.

'Tbh when I think back to a few months ago I find it noting short of miraculous that I managed to achieve the simple task of finding and enrolling him into a lovely little school. Need to eliminate the mum guilt.'

To add to her struggles, Louise said she was gutted to be missing out on an important event this month- her best friend Binky Felstead's wedding in Corfu.

'Also feeling quite pants because I'm missing my beautiful besties wedding in Greece this week due to a boring hospital infusion tomorrow and other non negotiable medical appointments this week,' Louise wrote.

'I love you @binkyfelstead.'

Louise's MIC pal Binky held a second wedding ceremony with her fiance Max in Greece last week after legally getting hitched in London last year.

If you have been affected by this story please contact Birth Trauma Association at birthtraumaassociation.org.uk

For help and support with perinatal mental illness please contact PANDAS on 0808 1961 776
Drag queen Carla From Bankstown has lashed out after TikTok deleted her video in which she addressed the LGBTQI+ pride jersey controversy.

Carla, real name Ben James, expressed anger at a group of Manly NRL players who are refusing to wear a rainbow striped jersey on the field for 'religious' reasons.

The 28-year-old's video was removed from TikTok for 'community violations' but remains on Instagram.

Drag queen Carla From Bankstown (pictured) has lashed out after TikTok deleted her video in which she addressed the LGBTQI+ pride jersey controversy

'I honestly don't think I'll continue using TikTok Australia. I mean I get reported for the most ridiculous things like this rant saying it's adult nudity,' she wrote.

'No more TikTok for me. Thanks for nothing TikTok,' the performer added in a series of posts on Instagram Stories.

Carla added another post that showed the violation notice for 'adult nudity and sexual activity' and added the caption: 'The most ridiculous thing ever'.

'I honestly don't think I'll continue using TikTok Australia. I mean I get reported for the most ridiculous things like this rant saying it's adult nudity,' she wrote

Carla added another post that showed the violation notice for 'adult nudity and sexual activity' and added the caption: 'The most ridiculous thing ever'

'No more TikTok for me. Thanks for nothing TikTok,' the performer added in a series of posts on Instagram Stories

The video in question sees Carla call the Manly players 'gronks' for choosing not to wear the jersey.

'I'm p***ed off. If you don't want to play bro, then don't play. How dare you. Who do you think you are?' Carla ranted.

'Talking about Jesus this and Jesus that. Jesus made everyone in his image... so why don't you suck my a** bah.

Carla, real name Ben James, expressed anger at a group of Manly NRL players who are refusing to wear a rainbow striped jersey on the field for 'religious' reasons

'The absolute disrespect towards the LGBTQI+ community is absolutely disgusting period. I've had enough bro,' Carl said in the clip

'The absolute disrespect towards the LGBTQI+ community is absolutely disgusting period. I've had enough bro.

'No one cares about you. Quit your job bro. This is why queer people are afraid to come out. Suck it up, grow up bro. Get over yourself'.

'Morning rant, all you gronks should be ashamed. GRONKS!!!' Carla wrote in the caption.

Manly players Sean Keppie (left), Kieran Foran (middle) and Reuben Garrick posed with the club's Everyone in League jersey, which was unveiled on Monday

Seven Manly Sea Eagles stars vowed to step down from Thursday's must-win match against the Sydney Roosters because of the new gay pride jersey.

The Sea Eagles unveiled the jumper - called Everyone in League - on Monday to promote inclusivity of LGBTQI+ people in the NRL.

But star players Josh Aloiai, Jason Saab, Christian Tuipulotu, Josh Schuster, Haumole Olakau'atu, Tolutau Koula and Toafofoa Sipley refused to run out wearing the 'inclusive' jersey, saying that wearing it would be against their religious beliefs.

Manly wingers Jason Saab (left) and Christian Tuipulotu (right) are among the players who oppose wearing the jersey on religious grounds

Their decision has sparked an outpouring of public outrage, including from their own fans and club legends, while others have supported their freedom of religious beliefs.

It has since emerged three players have changed their mind and will play this week following an emergency meeting.

'Of the seven players who are refusing to wear the jersey, at least three now have had a bit of a change of heart and are considering wearing the pride jersey for this upcoming round,' reporter Michelle Bishop told Channel 7's Sunrise on Tuesday morning.
She's spent the last fortnight enjoying a romantic getaway with fiance Elliot Grainge in the South of France.

And Sofia Richie moved her love boat to another part of Europe on Monday as she arrived in Ibiza on a superyacht.

Topping up her tan, the 23-year-old model was seen sunning herself on the deck of her luxury liner.

Fun in the sun: Sofia Richie moved her love boat to another part of Europe on Monday as she arrived in Ibiza on a superyacht after her jaunt in the South of France

Clad in a tiny black bikini with thong bottoms, the daughter of Lionel Richie highlighted her enviably toned abs and peachy derriere.

The Slazenger ambassador's golden locks were left to air dry after a refreshing dip in the sea, while she accessorised with a pair of oversized shades.

After spending the day relaxing on the boat, Sofia spent her evening partying at Ushuaia beach club, watching the likes of David Guetta perform.

Taking it easy: Topping up her tan, the 23-year-old model was seen sunning herself on the deck of her luxury liner

Stunning: Clad in a tiny black bikini with thong bottoms, the daughter of Lionel Richie highlighted her enviably toned abs and peachy derriere

Missing from the action on Monday was Sofia's soon-to-be husband Elliot Grainge.

Prior to hitting Ibiza, Sofia had been enjoying a romantic getaway with Elliot at Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Antibes, France.

The Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc has long been a celebrity haunt, with the likes of Paris Hilton, Kate Moss, Elizabeth Taylor and John Lennon all checking in over the years.

Chilling: The Slazenger ambassador's golden locks were left to air dry after a refreshing dip in the sea, while she accessorised with a pair of oversized shades

Flying solo: Missing from the action on Monday was Sofia's soon-to-be husband Elliot Grainge

Party time: After spending the day relaxing on the boat, Sofia spent her evening partying at Ushuaia beach club, watching the likes of David Guetta perform

Since heading on her European jaunt, Sofia has been documenting the trip on her Instagram page.

Last week, she uploaded an adorable snap of herself sitting on Elliot's lap as they dined al fresco.

Sofia shared news of her engagement to Elliot, who is the son of Universal Music Group chairman and CEO Lucian Grainge, with her 7.6million followers in late April.
Kourtney Kardashian cheekily dared her anonymous trolls on social media to 'delete your finstas and live authentically.'

The 43-year-old offered a 'tip of the day' on Insta Stories this Monday: 'Say whatever you're gonna say just do it as you, not as a person who doesn't exist.'

She then commiserated over text with her pal Addison Rae, 21, who shot to fame in recent years as a TikTok star and has dealt with her share of haters.

Defiant: Kourtney Kardashian cheekily dared her anonymous trolls on social media to 'delete your finstas and live authentically'

The brunette bombshell wrote in her original Insta Story: 'Kourtney's tip of the day: To all of you people with zero followers who love to comment on our posts, how freeing would it be to delete your finstas and live authentically. Say whatever you're gonna say just do it as you, not as a person who doesn't exist.'

A friend replied to Kourtney's story in the DMs: 'Or better yet, go out there into this world and be a better person? Even if it's just one hater at a time. Lol.'

Kourtney posted a screen-grab of the DM to her Insta Stories and wrote playfully over it: 'ONE HATER AT A TIME BABY !!'

Addison texted Kourtney about the anonymous trolls: 'The most annoying thing in the world,' adding: 'And also a waste of valuable time.'

Side by side: She then commiserated over text with her pal Addison Rae, 21, who shot to fame in recent years as a TikTok star; the duo are pictured in October 2020

Kourtney registered a heart react to the second text, replying: 'I agree I was about to add I also think you could precious time more wisely.'

Addison's family has been buffeted by allegations her father Monty Lopez had an extramarital affair with a 25-year-old woman.

Last week Kourtney denied her son Mason, 12, is on social media and slammed an 'ultra creepy' account she accused of 'relentlessly pretending' to be him.

A social media account claiming to be Mason had been making allegations about the Kardashian-Jenner family, including that Kourtney's younger half-sister Kylie Jenner was on the verge of marrying her rapper boyfriend Travis Scott .

What if: The 43-year-old offered a 'tip of the day' on Insta Stories this Monday: 'Say whatever you're gonna say just do it as you, not as a person who doesn't exist'

'Lol': A friend replied to Kourtney's story in the DMs: 'Or better yet, go out there into this world and be a better person? Even if it's just one hater at a time'

Relating to each other: Addison texted Kourtney about the anonymous trolls: 'The most annoying thing in the world,' adding: 'And also a waste of valuable time.'

However Kourtney posted to both her Twitter and her Insta Stories this Thursday to assure her public that the account is not Mason.

'Hello everyone, hope it is a beautiful Thursday,' Kourtney wrote in exasperation. 'After months and months of thinking you would all know that is NOT Mason on these fake accounts, some of you dont. So I will spell it out clearly : that is NOT Mason on these fake social media accounts talking about our family.'

She had stated two years earlier that as far has her children were concerned 'I think there's an age limit for Instagram. I think it's 13.'

Mother and child: Last week Kourtney denied her son Mason, 12, is on social media and slammed an 'ultra creepy' account she accused of 'relentlessly pretending' to be him

So done: Kourtney wrote exasperatedly: 'After months and months of thinking you would all know that is NOT Mason on these fake accounts, some of you dont'

Kourtney shares her three children - Mason, 12, Penelope, 10, and Reign, seven - with her sizzling ex-fiance Scott Disick.

Scott and Kourtney were first introduced in 2006 at the Mexican home of Girls Gone Wild founder Joe Francis and embarked on an on-off romance until 2015.

Since then Kourtney has married the heavily tattooed drummer Travis Barker and Scott has cavorted with teenage girls like Sofia Richie and Amelia Hamlin.
Former Hollywood actress Amanda Bynes and her law student partner Paul Michael are reportedly over.

The couple recently ended their two year relationship, according to a Tuesday report from E! News.

It has been a rocky year for the two. Two weeks ago the Los Angeles based stars called off their two-year engagement. Three months ago, she accused him of ending his sobriety by going back on drugs which caused her to kick him out of their apartment. She later apologized to him.

Over: Former Hollywood actress Amanda Bynes and her law student partner Paul Michael are reportedly over. The couple have ended their two year relationship, according to a Tuesday report from E! News

Bynes has had a troubling life since she stopped acting following her role in the 2010 movie Easy A starring Emma Stone.

ET claimed in early July that Amanda and Paul no longer had plans to walk down the aisle.

A source told the publication that the former Nickelodeon star, 36, and her beau made the decision 'sometime in 2021.'

However, despite the change in their relationship status the two said they were still committed to each other, it was claimed.

Sorry: It has been a rocky year for the two. Two weeks ago the Los Angeles based stars called off their two-year engagement. Three months ago, she accused him of ending his sobriety by going back on drugs which caused her to kick him out of their apartment. She later apologized to him

Ring it in: They were both wearing their rings until recently; seen earlier this year

'They are still together as a couple, but they have put a pause on their engagement and wedding planning,' the insider said two weeks ago.

The person continued, 'They have gone through ups and downs together and personally, and realized they might have moved quickly, but they love each other and are still committed to one another.'

The twosome have rerouted their relationship plans but still 'take their relationship seriously,' it was reported.

'They wear rings now to show their loyalty to each other and as a symbol of learning and growing together but the rings aren't everything to them,' the acquaintance noted.

Amanda and Paul are 'busy, but working hard together,' said the source of the couple in early July, who have recently released music together.

'Amanda looks great and has gotten through many hard and significant experiences that have helped make her an incredible woman. She is sober, killing it and doing better than ever,' it was added.

And as for Paul, he's 'in law school after working in healthcare for ten years and doing well.'

Hard to cope: Bynes has had a troubling life since she stopped acting following her role in the 2010 movie Easy A. Seen in April

Amanda initially announced her engagement to Michael on Valentine's Day in 2020.

At the time, they had only been dating for a couple of months after meeting at a rehabilitation facility.

They briefly ended the engagement before reconciling shortly thereafter.

And earlier this year the two got into a public spat in which Bynes accused Paul of relapsing.

Afterward she took to social media to apologize for the accusation. She also told E News, 'I thought Paul relapsed, but I was wrong. He drug tested for me from a drug test kit I bought from CVS. The drug test was negative for all substances. Paul and I are staying together. I am so sorry for the confusion I caused.'
Iran says ground prepared for official, political talks with Saudi Arabia

Xinhua) 09:01, July 26, 2022

TEHRAN, July 25 (Xinhua) -- An Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Monday the ground is prepared for Iran and Saudi Arabia to hold the next round of talks on reducing tensions in bilateral relations at an official and political level in Baghdad.

Making the remarks in an address to a weekly press conference, Nasser Kanaani said the talks would help the two sides take a large and palpable step toward the resumption and improvement of bilateral ties, given the two sides' positive will to this end, according to official news agency IRNA.

He added Iraq has brokered five rounds of negotiations between Tehran and Riyadh, which have produced good and promising results.

Following the recent meeting attended by leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council members, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan and the United States in Jeddah, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein held a phone conversation with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, and informed him of certain issues discussed in the meeting, according to Kanaani.

The Iraqi minister pointed out that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud had, on the sidelines of the meeting, expressed willingness and readiness for holding official and open political talks with Iran in the next round.

Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic ties with Iran in early 2016 in protest against the attacks on the Saudi diplomatic mission in Iran after the Saudi execution of a Shiite cleric.

(Web editor: Wu Chaolan, Liang Jun)
Russian FSB revealed the failure of NATO-Ukrainian operatives to enlist pilots of Russian combat planes to bring them to a designated airfield in Ukraine.

The heinous plot by Kyiv and western agents was revealed last Monday when the covert operation to undermine Russian aerospace forces failed miserably.

Intel Operations To Defeat Russia

According to the Federal Security Service, the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense stopped the attempt to steal combat aircraft, mentioning how NATO supported the attempted hijacking, reported Sputnik News.

On the directives of the Zelensky administration, intelligence agents from Kyiv recruited Russian military pilots in exchange for money and the promise of getting citizenship in one of the EU nations.

The Ukrainian officials also tried to convince them to land their aircraft at airfields under Ukrainian military control.

According to Russia's secret service, both the members of the Ukrainian special services who participated in this operation and their allies have been identified.

Christo Grozev, the executive director of the investigative journalism organization Belling cat (registered as a foreign agent in Russia), was a member of the hijack operation at the time, and the UK was a key aid to it, noted Moon of Alabama.

Through his coordinator, Grozev found two couriers who had met with a Moscow-based contact working for Ukrainian intelligence. Any pilot willing to hijack Russian combat planes would receive an advance payment of $4,000 from him, which he carried.

In a videotape that the FSB made public, NATO-Ukrainian Operatives attempted to persuade pilots by promising up to $2 million for a plane.

Read Also: Donald Trump Net Worth 2022: Did Trump Get Richer Since Leaving the US Presidency?

Additionally, they stated that the EU has been informed of the plan and will guarantee their protection if it succeeds.

The secret service further stated that a Ukrainian officer had revealed over the phone that many mobile air-defense systems were collected in Ukrainian cities.

According to earlier reports, the military alliance and US intelligence are working to help Ukraine overcome Russia, and its operatives are currently in Kyiv to halt the Russian juggernaut there.

As Ukrainian troops attempted to breach the Russian defense line in the Kherson region, news of the operation's failure broke.

Following the complete liberation of the LPR's territory earlier this month, Russian servicemen and Donbas militia are advancing as Ukraine's forces are being pushed out of the region of Donbas.

NATO Supervises Ukraine in Hijacking

The would-be defectors were required to deal with their fellow crew members, providing an even darker plot twist. The Tu-22M3 has four crew members, compared to the Su-34's two, citing RT.

According to one of the pilots who reported the plot, the co-pilot would be knocked out. But it's unclear if the others would be kept alive once the Ukrainians seized the plane.

According to the Ukrainians, the betrayed crew members will be kept safe and eventually traded for POWs. However, the Russian pilot voiced severe reservations about that.

It was suggested that Russian pilots administer Clophelin (Clonidine), a medication used to treat high blood pressure and other issues, to their fellow aviators to knock them unconscious and have a sedative effect.

Russia's FSB stopped NATO-Ukrainian operatives from bribing pilots of Russian combat planes that Ukraine and the west wanted to get and ultimately failed.

Related Article: Russia Claims Hitting Harpoon Anti-ship Missiles in the Port of Odessa

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Kim Kardashian looked every inch the doting mother as she took her daughter North West to pick up some art supplies in Agoura Hills, California on Monday afternoon.

As she supported her nine-year-old's latest artistic endeavor, the 42-year-old reality star sported a black zip-up jacket, a low-cut tank top and oversized shades.

The beauty mogul, who recently returned from visiting her boyfriend Pete Davidson in Australia, completed her look with a pair of skintight black leggings and sneakers.

Creative: Kim Kardashian looked every inch the doting mother as she took her daughter North West to pick up some art supplies in Agoura Hills, California on Monday afternoon

While walking back to their car, the eldest child of the SKIMS founder and Kanye West carried a large canvas from Fredrix Blue Label for acrylic, oil and alkyd painting.

For their laid-back outing, little North wore a baggy black t-shirt, burnt orange pants and hair in braids.

In 2021, Kardashian shared an impressive paining that her firstborn created, which sparked a debate over whether North had actually painted the scenic mountain landscape herself.

Already an artist: As she supported her nine-year-old's latest artistic endeavor, the 42-year-old reality star sported a black zip-up jacket, a matching tank top and oversized shades

Painter: While walking back to their car together, the eldest child of the SKIMS founder and her ex Kanye West carried a large cotton canvas from Fredrix Blue Label for acrylic, oil and alkyd painting

'My daughter and her best friend have been taking a serious oil painting class where their talents and creativity are being encouraged and nurtured,' Kardashian wrote on her Instagram Stories, at the time.

The painting was compared by some to an artwork that famed TV artist Bob Ross would have created.

Almost immediately, some on Twitter were expressing their disbelief that the painting was created by North.

Mini-me daughter: While walking back to their car, the eldest child of the SKIMS founder and Kanye West carried a large canvas from Fredrix Blue Label for acrylic, oil and alkyd painting

Sweet: The star enjoyed some quality time with her little girl

Following lots of debate about the validity of the painting - with many comments suggesting Kim's child was not responsible for the painting - she added: 'How dare you see children doing awesome things and then try to accuse them of NOT being awesome!?!?!'

'Please stop embarrassing yourselves with the negativity and allow every child to be GREAT!!! NORTH WEST PAINTED THAT PERIOTDDDDDABCDEFGZFDT!!!!!!!'

Others leapt to her defense, including Kim's BFF Tracy Romulus and the daughter of the woman who taught North how to paint the artwork.

Lots of supplies: Two men loaded Kim's vehicle up with art supplies

Budding artist: In 2021, Kardashian shared an impressive paining that her firstborn created, which sparked a debate over whether North had actually painted the scenic mountain landscape herself

'I'm supposed to work but i can't stop thinking about how north west did not paint this,' one person wrote alongside a screenshot of the painting.

'You're telling me North West is out here drawing like she is Bob Ross.. and I'm over here still drawing stick figures at 25?!?' another skeptical Twitter user posted.

Another person chimed in: 'Kim Kardashian's child did not paint this. You can even see the photo shop signature. And even if you didnt, it's Kim K so you have to take everything she says with a heavy spoonful of salt.'

'North West did not paint this': wrote one Twitter user who 'couldn't stop thinking' about the issue last year

Proud of their work: Kim's pal Tracy Romulus came to her defense, explaining that her daughter Ryan does the same art class with North. She also asked people to stop spreading negativity

Some online critics even questioned North's signature in the corner of the painting, claiming it to be fake.

'When you zoom in you can see the border on the transparent "North =),"' one person noted, while another observed 'Why does it look like that when u zoom in.... hmmm...'

Others, however, declared the painting was definitely within the skill range of a seven-year-old.

Kim's friend Tracy Romulus, whose daughter Ryan is best friends with North, came to the E! star's defense, revealing that their daughters take the same art class together.

She insisted that the artworks were original because students start from a blank canvas and they spend weeks doing them.

'I have that I have to comment but grown adults are putting a lot of energy into questioning whether or not my daughter and her best friend actually painted the works we have shared proudly as parents,' Romulus said on her Instagram stories.

Disbelief: Another compared the painting to the famed TV artist Bob Ross

Some stuck up for Kim while others were more skeptical: 'Kim Kardashian's child did not paint this. You can even see the photo shop signature.'

Hmmm: Other Twitter users pointed out it looked like North's signature had been digitally added

'Both girls are in art class together and learning oil painting techniques from an instructor.

'They spend weeks at a time on a single painting and are incredibly proud of themselves once they complete a project.'

She added that the girls start with a blank canvas and 'the works are original'.

'They are following a curriculum but the works are original, starting from a blank canvas and each child's interpretation.'

Romulus called for people to stop spreading negativity and 'doubts on a childs ability.'

Meanwhile, Camryn Frederickson took to TikTok to say her mother was the art teacher who actually taught North.

It's legit! TikToker Camryn Frederickson revealed that she was taught how to paint the exact same scene when she was seven years old by her mother Celeste Astor Frederickson, who owns the For Arts Sake studio in Westlake Village

Frederickson revealed that she was taught how to paint the exact same scene when she was also seven years old by her mother Celeste Astor Frederickson.

'This is me at seven years old.' Camryn said as she flashed up a photo of her posing next to the same lake and mountain scene.

'And this is the infamous painting.

'My mom taught me how to paint this and she taught North how to paint the same one, just two weeks ago.'

'She's been an art teacher for 30 years and everyone who comes to her classes starts with the exact same painting when they're starting out.'
She's been busy working on six-episode drama, The Idol, alongside The Weeknd.

And Lily-Rose Depp looked effortlessly chic in a bardot top and figure hugging black trousers as she enjoyed some time off with friends in Los Angels on Monday.

The actress, 23, chatted to her pals outside Pattaya Bay Thai Restaurant during their night out.

Elegant: Lily-Rose Depp, 23, looked chic in a bardot top and figure hugging trousers as she joined friends for dinner in Los Angeles on Monday

Lily boosted her height with a pair of black stiletto heels and threw a beige leather handbag over her shoulder.

The daughter of Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis, wore her blonde locks loose, with a hint of a wave and accessorised with some gold hoop earrings.

She completed her sophisticated look with a bronzed eyeshadow and a nude matte lipstick.

Sophisticated: The daughter of Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis, wore her blonde locks loose, with a hint of a wave and accessorised with some gold hoop earrings

Last week, Oscar-nominated songwriter The Weeknd unveiled the first teaser for his six-episode drama The Idol for HBO, which he co-created with Euphoria's Sam Levinson and Reza Fahim.

The 32-year-old surprised the New Jersey crowd attending his After Hours til Dawn concert at MetLife Stadium by screening the preview.

In it, Lily rehearse a routine as rising pop star, Jocelyn, alongside 10 back-up dancers.

'Alright, music! 7, 8...' a choreographer shouts.

'Coming soon!' Last week, songwriter The Weeknd (R) unveiled the first teaser for his six-episode drama The Idol for HBO in which Lily stars

'Lick it! Spank it, drop it! Camera, money, more, more, more, orgy! Hit it!'

Lily is then seen performing the same dance in full glam on the set of a music video.

During a large dinner party, an enigmatic LA club owner (The Weeknd aka Abel Tesfaye), who is the leader of a secret cult, asks Jocelyn: 'Why don't you just be yourself?'

Scantily clad: In it, Lily flashes under-boob cleavage while rehearsing a routine as rising pop star Jocelyn alongside 10 back-up dancers

The minute-long trailer features flashes of the pair getting closer alongside shots of a knife, cocaine, nightclubs, and a Rolls Royce convertible.

Titles tout The Idol as 'the sleaziest love story in all of Hollywood.'

At one point, Jocelyn stands on a balcony staring at a row of seven black-clad guards wielding large rifles - hinting at trouble to come.

The A24 limited series also features Troye Sivan, Britney Spears, Jennie Kim, Elizabeth Berkley, Anne Heche, Hari Nef, Debby Ryan, Rachel Sennott, Steve Zissis, and Juliebeth Gonzalez.
Sarah Hyland put her incredibly toned bikini body on full display while vacationing in Mexico with some of her closest friends, including Vanessa Hudgens, on Tuesday.

A week after returning home from her bachelorette party, the Modern Family star, 31, posted a photo of herself exploring underwater an cave in Yucatan, located between Cancun, Tulum and The Riviera Maya.

In the image, she can be seen rocking a barely-there blue two-piece, gold belly chain and pair of pink heart-shaped sunglasses while touching the top of the cave.

Fierce: Sarah Hyland put her incredibly toned bikini body on full display while vacationing in Mexico with some of her closest friends, including Vanessa Hudgens, on Tuesday

'Not one Diamond in the Rough but two #caveofwonders,' she captioned the snap with her pal Ciara Robinson, who wore a pale yellow and black swimsuit.

The word 'bride' was scribbled into the white sand under their feet as they smiled at the camera.

Over the weekend, Hudgens, who will serve as one of Hyland's bridesmaid during her wedding to Wells Adams, shared an image from the same location with Vince Rossi.

Red hot: Over the weekend, Hudgens, who will serve as one of Hyland's bridesmaid during her wedding to Wells Adams, shared an image from the same location with Vince Rossi

Sizzling snaps: The slideshow of images featured the 33-year-old Disney Channel alum in a red bikini as she leaned on a cave wall by her friend

The slideshow of images featured the 33-year-old Disney Channel alum in a red bikini as she leaned on a cave wall by her friend.

Earlier this month, Hyland and her buddies kicked off their trip to Punta Mita by flying on a private plane to the 5-star Casa Aramara estate for a weeklong getaway.

While sharing a group photo on a boat, the actress wrote: 'Bachelorette Trip of my dreams. I love these humans with all of my heart and feel so much gratitude for the space we hold for each other. You all are MAGIC.'

So fun! Earlier this month, Hyland and her buddies kicked off their trip to Punta Mita by flying on a private plane to the 5-star Casa Aramara estate for a weeklong getaway

Sarah's wedding to Wells has been delayed multiple times on account of COVID-19.

But the couple are finally tying the knot this year, and last month Sarah and Wells were feted at their bridal shower.

Earlier this year, Wells joke about eloping with Sarah should their nuptials get postponed once again.

Here we go: The star also took to her Instagram to stories to share updates of her celebrations, with Sarah and her pals seen preparing to jet off to their luxury accommodation via private jet

'How cute is this?' The Modern Family star also uploaded a snap of her party set-up which showed a long table in front of balloons which read 'Sarah Did Wells'

'Listen, we've postponed it two years in a row. If something else crazy happens this year, then we're just going to go to Vegas with powder blue suits and knock it out,' Wells told ET Canada.

He added: 'I'm not sure if we can wait another year. We'll see. Who knows what's going to happen.'

Wells and Sarah planned to get married in August 2020 and have changed their wedding date a few times due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

They started dating in 2017 and got engaged in Fiji in July 2019.
She's been having the time of her life during a lavish summer holiday with her family.

And Victoria Beckham kicked back and enjoyed a vodka tonic on board a super-yacht on Tuesday, after she was seen belting out songs on karaoke the night before.

The fashion designer, 48, slipped into a pair of denim hot pants and a white vest top as she soaked up the sun in France.

'Happy place': Victoria Beckham, 48, relaxed with a vodka tonic during her lavish family holiday on board a super-yacht in France on Tuesday

In the photo shared to Instagram, Victoria shielded her eyes with a pair of aviator sunglasses and tucked her tousled locks beneath a black cap.

She opted for a subtle face of makeup with a shimmering nude lip to enhance her sun-kissed glow.

Alongside the snap she penned: 'Vodka tonic + my kindle = mummys happy place,' followed by some laughing face emoji's.

Fun-filled: Alongside the snap she penned: 'Vodka tonic + my kindle = mummys happy place,' followed by some laughing face emoji's

Unplugged: On Monday David Beckham shared a video of the party atmosphere on board the yacht, posting hilarious footage of his Spice Girl wife belting out a karaoke classic

On Monday David Beckham shared a video of the party atmosphere on board the 1.6million a week yacht, posting hilarious footage of his Spice Girl wife belting out a karaoke classic.

David filmed Victoria as she sang and danced to Chaka Khan's Ain't Nobody, oblivious to the fact her microphone was unplugged.

Victoria, aka Posh Spice, was in her element as she shimmered around the deck barefoot.

Dancing in a black dress in front of a huge screen displaying the lyrics, Victoria looked every inch the pro, before David filmed the unplugged mic.

He held up the lead for his wife as she continued to sing passionately while their friends watched on.

'Posh Spice unplugged last song of the night just for me @victoriabeckham' David captioned the video. Victoria replied to the caption with a sweet 'Just for you!!!'

It comes as Victoria returned to her Posh Spice roots on Saturday as she performed during the karaoke session while on the family holiday in France.

Special performance: 'Posh Spice unplugged last song of the night just for me @victoriabeckham' David captioned the video

Sweet exchange: Victoria replied to the caption with a 'Just for you!!!'

The former Spice Girl was filmed by David belting out the iconic 1997 tune Stop from their album Spiceworld.

Victoria oozed confidence on the stage as she remembered all of the original moves, while her family took part as her backing dancers.

The iconic 90s girl group, comprising Mel C (Sporty), Mel B(Scary), Geri Horner (Ginger) and Emma Bunton (Baby), reunited for a tour in 2019, without Victoria.

But the five girls are finally set to reunite as Geri turns 50 in September and not only has she invited Emma, Mel B, Mel C, and Victoria to the lavish bash, the quintet are expected to perform together as a five-piece for the first time since the closing ceremony of the London Olympics in 2012.
Whitney Cummings turned heads as she stepped out in the bustling streets of New York City earlier Tuesday.

The 2 Broke Girls creator, 39, exuded business chic, donning hot pink pants and a matching tie.

The talented star has been promoting her fifth stand up special which premiered on Netflix on July 26.

Pop of color: Whitney Cummings, 39, looked business chic in hot pink slacks, shirt, and a tie as she stepped out in New York City on Tuesday

The comedian opted to wear an eye-catching outfit in the big apple. She slipped into a pair of vibrant pink, high-waisted pants.

The beauty added a light pink blouse on top. To pull the entire look together, Whitney secured a hot pink tie around the pointed collar of the shirt.

Whitney wore a pair of high heels with a reddish hue for her television appearances throughout the day.

All smiles: The comedian looked thrilled and happy as she made her way through the busy streets of the city

Interview: The 2 Broke Girls creator made an appearance to talk on the show, Live With Kelly And Ryan on Tuesday

The star's brunette hair was pulled back into a sleek, tight ponytail to add a touch of elegance to the ensemble.

While her wardrobe choice for the day held a pop of color, her makeup didn't take away from that.

Instead, she opted for a natural, classic look. She wore light eye-makeup and added a light, rosy pink tint to her lips.

She chose to not wear any flashy jewelry along with not carrying any heavy or large handbags with her.

Wow! Whitney's fifth comedy special, Jokes, officially premiered on Netflix on July 26, and was self-funded by the star herself

Big welcome: The writer was seen receiving a big hug from host, Ryan Seacrest, as she stepped out onto the stage

According to Variety, Whitney fully financed her newest Netflix special herself, stating, 'Ive made four specials, and a lot of comedians that I really admire gave me the advice of if you can pay for it yourself, make it so that you own it.'

The successful comedian did just that, explaining that even after a few years, she still has, 'a modicum of control.'

Whitney also added how she wanted the comedy to be able to bring people together.

'If everyone could agree this joke was funny in those shows, I better put this out. And this could reach new people. That is the idea, to get new fans with the specials and then connect with the existing fans with the podcasts,' she stated.

Spreading joy: Whitney discussed with Variety how comedy can bring people together through making them laugh

Previous dream: Before her rise to fame in the industry, the star went to university to pursue a career in journalism

Along with releasing another comedy special and working on her podcast called, Good For You, Whitney recently revealed she has a new beau in her life.

During an interview on Today With Hoda & Jenna, the beauty confirmed she was dating a veterinarian.

'We met during the pandemic. He is my veterinarian,' she explained. 'He think I'm funny, when I'm not trying to be funny. He gets to see me at my weirdest.'

Whitney Cummings: Jokes focuses on comedy through nostalgia and her own childhood.

Guest star: The talented comedian had a chance to delve deep about her latest Netflix special on Live With Kelly And Ryan
Abbie Quinnen made a rare public appearance without her boyfriend AJ Pritchard she joined Love Island's AJ Bunker at Prey UK gala screening on Tuesday.

The dancer, 24, put on an elegant display in a structured cream dress with a feathered trim at Vue cinema in London.

She boosted her height with a pair of heeled sandals and carried a beige Balenciaga handbag.

Elegant: Abbie Quinnen (L), 24, made a rare public appearance without her boyfriend AJ Pritchard as she joined Love Island's AJ Bunker (R) at Prey UK gala screening on Tuesday

Abbie looked sensational in her elegant ensemble as she styled her blonde hair in glamorous soft curls.

Elsewhere, AJ, 28, opted for a very busty leather mini dress as she posed up a storm on the red carpet.

The Love Island star showed off her incredible figure in the skin-tight number as she boosted her height with a pair of strappy black heels.

Stunning: Abbie looked sensational in her elegant ensemble as she styled her blonde hair in glamorous soft curls

Turning heads: Elsewhere, AJ, 28, opted for a very busty leather mini dress as she posed up a storm on the red carpet

Her long locks tumbled over one shoulder with blonde highlights through the ends and she opted for a radiant makeup palette.

AJ completed her look with a black envelope clutch bag and a chunky gold wristwatch.

Also in attendance was Tallia Storm, 23, who made sure to turn heads in a plunging jumpsuit as she beamed for the cameras.

Incredible: Her long locks tumbled over one shoulder with blonde highlights through the ends and she opted for a radiant makeup palette

Radiant: Also in attendance was Tallia Storm, 23, who made sure to turn heads in a plunging jumpsuit as she beamed for the cameras

Stylish: She teamed her all-black ensemble with a white Christian Dior bag and pearl embellished heels

She teamed her all-black ensemble with a white Christian Dior bag and pearl embellished heels.

Tallia was joined by the film's leading star Amber Midthunder, who wore an embellished mini dress.

Sci-fi film Prey is the fifth film in the Predator franchise, and a sequel to the first four instalments.

VIP: The film's leading star Amber Midthunder wore an embellished mini dress

Bold: Danielle Mason (Right) and Victoria Brown (Left) both opted for blue dresses as they walked the red carpet

Pals: Victoria posed for a photo alongside Chris Kowalski

Fashion forward: Chris looked incredible in a bright red ensemble

It follows the story of a warrior Naru, played by Amber, who learns that the prey she has been stalking is an alien.

Dakota Beavers, Dane DiLiegro, Michelle Thrush, Julian Black Antelope and Stormee Kipp will also feature in the movie.

Directed by Dan Trachtenberg, it is set three centuries before the first film and scheduled for release on Disney+ on August 5.

In attendance: Actor and influencer Scott McGlynn also made an appearance at the gala screening on Tuesday evening
Kate Garraway will not appear on Good Morning Britain for a second week running after her husband Derek Draper's 'very serious turn'.

The presenter, 54, has been forced to extend her time away from presenting the show to be at Derek's bedside as he remains in hospital, The Sun reports.

No further details have been forthcoming but Derek is understood to be receiving treatment as his body struggles to recover from the ravages of COVID-19.

Sources close to Kate told the Daily Mail that the mother of two 'has a lot on caring for him', and has decided to step back from her TV and radio roles following his admittance to hospital a few week ago.

Absent: Kate Garraway will not appear on Good Morning Britain for a second week running after her husband Derek Draper's 'very serious turn'

Kate revealed at the time that Derek was back in hospital after suffering a 'downturn', but added she was 'keeping her fingers crossed' that his health could improve, two years after contracting Covid.

As she was notably absent from Good Morning Britain on Thursday, Ben Shephard and Charlotte Hawkins sent her 'love' and Derek their best wishes, while also thanking viewers for their kind messages of support.

Addressing Kate's absence, Ben said: 'We are missing a member of the team, aren't we?'

To which Charlotte replied: 'We are, yeah. So Kate's taken some time out to be with Derek at the moment so we are sending lots of love. Lots of you have been in touch with messages of support, so we wish him well.'

Ben then addressed viewers, adding: 'Thanks very much for your messages of support, you know how much Kate appreciates all the support she gets, and fingers crossed Derek will be home as soon as possible.'

Earlier this month Kate revealed that she was taking things 'day by day' after Derek was re-admitted to hospital, telling The Sun: 'He's been in hospital a couple of months now. He's been coming in and out.

'Hopefully he'll come out again. Hopefully tonight. I'm crossing my fingers. I'm really tired but I take it day by day to level out the ups and downs.'

On July 6 Kate revealed that Derek, who has required round-the-clock care since he contracted coronavirus in March 2020, had returned to a medical facility, insisting he was 'OK'.

Ordeal: The presenter, 54, has been forced to extend her time away from presenting the show to be at Derek's bedside as he remains in hospital (pictured in Caring For Derek)

Last month Kate admitted she was feeling 'exhausted and fretful' as Derek continued to go in and out of hospital.

In May, she also missed a week of hosting Good Morning Britain following 'urgent' issues at home.

Kate previously detailed how her children Darcy 16, and William, 12, 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.

Pulling out: Kate (pictured on GMB on July 7) is also thought to have pulled out of hosting her mid-morning show on Smooth FM

United: Derek has required round-the-clock care since leaving hospital in April 2021, after first contracting Covid in March 2020 (pictured with Kate in 2007)

Kate recently admitted she hopes to take Derek to Buckingham Palace to pick up her MBE.

She said: 'I do feel there's room for celebration, though, and my hope is that if we do eventually have a ceremony, Derek will be further along in his recovery and we can go together. That would be wonderful.

Speaking to Good Housekeeping, Kate said: 'When you nearly lose someone, it certainly brings everything into sharp focus

Worrying: On July 6 Kate revealed that Derek had returned to a medical facility after suffering a 'downturn'

'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.

He is bed-stricken, with Kate doing much of the caring herself as she insists she won't 'ever give up on him'.

Ongoing process: The Good Morning Britain host as previously detailed how her children Darcy 17, and William, 12, have had to 'relearn' how to be around their dad

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.'

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
Advertisement

Kirsten Dunst has been seen for the first time since she wed her fiance Jesse Plemons in Jamaica earlier this month.

The 40-year-old Spider-Man actress was wearing a blue dress as she flashed her very large diamond ring on her wedding finger along with her gold wedding band in images obtained exclusively by DailyMail.com. Her 34-year-old husband was by her her side as he tenderly draped his arm over his lady love.

The A list actors have been together for six years and have two sons: four-year-old Ennis and one-year-old James Plemons.

The newlyweds! Kirsten Dunst has been seen for the first time since she wed her fiance Jesse Plemons in Jamaica earlier this month. The 40-year-old Spider-Man actress was wearing a blue dress as she flashed her very large diamond ring on her wedding finger in images obtained exclusively by DailyMail.com

Here comes the bride! The star has not yet shared any wedding photos from her big day in Jamaica

They had been enjoying lunch at the French style cafe Marie et Cie in Valley Village, California where they dined on sandwiches.

Dunst looked feminine in a dark blue summer dress with lace on the neckline, sleeves and hemline. She finished off her look with black Birkenstock style sandals as she held onto a hot pink water bottle.

The Jumanji actress had on a silver anklet as well.

The blonde beauty pulled her hair back as she wore light brown framed sunglasses with dark green lenses.

Jesse was fashionable in a dusty pink shirt with blue and white striped. The pockets showed the pattern to the side.

He added dark slacks and blue Converse high top sneakers as he flashed a black bang watch and had on dark sunglasses.

In step: The A list actors have been together for six years and have two sons: four-year-old Ennis and one-year-old James Plemons

A closer look: They had been enjoying lunch at the French style cafe Marie et Cie in Valley Village, California where they dined on sandwiches

Page Six reported in early July that they wed at the luxury GoldenEye resort in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, citing a source.

She was wearing her diamond engagement ring and band

'I can just confirmed they got married. No other details will be given,' Kirsten's rep told the site.

Kirsten and Jesse started dating back in 2016 after meeting on the set of Fargo, and they became engaged the following year.

The couple also starred opposite one another in the 2021 Netflix drama Power Of The Dog, which saw them play husband and wife.

They both were nominated for Oscars for their roles yet did not win.

'We kind of fell in love creatively first and fell in love as actors,' Kirsten previously said on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, adding her partner was her 'favorite actor.'

Speaking of Jesse, Kirsten told the New York Times: 'My first impression was, "Oh, he's like me." We were two people who worked very similarly, and it felt like a soulmate.'

Time to walk faster: Plemons took a look at his wrist watch as he kept one hand in his pocket

'I knew he would be in my life forever,' she said. 'It was one of those connections where you just know. But were also very respectful people and were mindful of the fact that we were working together intensely.'

Jesse also had the same feeling. Speaking with the NY Times, he said: 'I knew that she would be in my life for a long time.'

Jesse also spoke glowingly about Kirsten at her Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony in 2019.

The look: The blonde beauty pulled her hair back as she wore light brown framed sunglasses with dark green lenses. Jesse was fashionable in a strawberry pink shirt with blue and white striped. The pockets showed the pattern to the side. He added dark slacks and blue Converse high top sneakers as he flashed a black bang watch and had on dark sunglasses.

Dressed for the heat: Dunst looked feminine in a dark blue summer dress with lace on the neckline, sleeves and hemline

That open toe look: She finished off her look with black Birkenstock style sandals as she held onto a hot pink water bottle

'I don't often remember every detail about meeting someone  Immediately, without too many words being exchanged, I looked into her eyes and saw the beautiful, sweet, unguarded, welcoming human being that she is,' he said.

Speaking of their relationship in an interview with the LA Times earlier this year, Kirsten admitted she and Jesse 'call each other husband and wife.'

'We call each other husband and wife. But we have to get married at this point. Its ridiculous. We just havent planned a wedding. There was COVID, then we had another child. I didnt want to be pregnant, get married, have a party and not be able to have fun with everybody.'

Growing up on camera as a child star, Dunst is best known for her roles in Little Women (1994), Spider-Man (2002), Spider-Man 2 (2004), Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind (2004), Melancholia (2011), The Two Faces of January (2014), Hidden Figures (2017) and The Power Of The Dog (2021).

Plemons had his breakout role in the hit AMC series Breaking Bad (2012-2013), and is also known for such films as Battleship (2012), Black Mass (2015), American Made (2017), The Irishman (2019), El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie (2019) and Jungle Cruise (2021).
TikTok star Addison Rae was spotted taking comfort in her boyfriend Omer Fedi in Los Angeles this Tuesday.

Addison, 21, who wore a pair of red shorts and an Alo sports bra, could be seen clinging to Omer, 22, and wrapping her arms around him as they beamed during a sunlit stroll together.

Omer was playfully wearing a T-shirt that read: 'You can't tell me what to do, you're not my girlfriend,' for his outing with Addison.

Quality time: TikTok star Addison Rae was spotted taking comfort in her boyfriend Omer Fedi in Los Angeles this Tuesday

Addison's latest sighting comes as her family is buffeted by claims her father Monty Lopez, 46, had a five-month affair with a woman called Renee Ash, 25.

Although she has not directly addressed the scandal in public, Addison did post a tweet on Monday hinting at her private turmoil.

'Ive really been struggling to post and get out and do things but I love you all and you mean so much more to me than I can ever express,' she wrote.

'My life is forever changed thanks to all of the people who decided to care about me and support me. I love yall <3 life is weird but worth it.'

Off they go: Addison, 21, who wore red shorts and an Alo sports bra, could be seen clinging to Omer, 22, and wrapping her arms around him as they beamed during a sunlit stroll together

'Struggling to post': Although she has not directly addressed the scandal in public, Addison did post a tweet on Monday hinting at her private turmoil

Earlier this summer, Renee made the bombshell allegation that Monty had a five-month affair with her while he was married to Addison's mother Sheri Easterling.

'Unfortunately, he misled me on his marriage, he lied to me. He told me that we were going to be together and have babies together,' Renee told Page Six.

'He told me a story of his marriage that convinced me that they were apart and in the process of getting a divorce,' she added.

Addison with Monty: Addison's latest sighting comes as her family is buffeted by claims her father Monty Lopez, 46, had a five-month affair with a younger woman

Renee said she finally ended her own alleged affair with Monty after multiple other woman surfaced claiming that he had come on to them too.

Around the time the scandal was going public, Sheri took the word 'wife' out of her Instagram bio, which as of this Tuesday describes her as a 'single mom.'

Addison also unfollowed her father on the social media platform, where she herself now boasts a staggering more than 40 million followers.

As for her own love life, she has spent over a year dating Omer, an Israeli musician who has performed with such artists as Justin Bieber and Lil Nas X.
Shahs Of Sunset star Mike Shouhed has been hit with 14 criminal charges following his domestic violence arrest in March.

Shouhed, 43, was slapped with a domestic violence charge and numerous misdemeanor charges, including battery and unlawfully attempting to dissuade a witness from making a report, according to Page Six.

Shouhed has also been hit with weapons charges, which include criminal storage of a loaded firearm and possession of an assault weapon, reports Page Six.

Shahs Of Sunset star Mike Shouhed has been hit with multiple criminal charges following his domestic violence arrest in April; Shouhed and fiancee Paulina Ben-Cohen pictured August 2021

The domestic violence victim was initially unknown but Shouhed's fiancee Paulina Ben-Cohen has since identified herself as the alleged victim.

'Paulinas primary focus is on keeping herself and her children safe,' her lawyer, Joshua Ritter, told Page Six in a statement.

'She supports the work that the police and the City Attorneys Office have done, and she continues to cooperate with them while looking forward to putting this sad situation behind her and moving on with her life.'

The domestic violence victim was initially unknown but Shouhed's fiancee Paulina Ben-Cohen has since identified herself as the alleged victim; Ben-Cohen pictured August 2021

Page Six reports the couple are still together. They were also pictured by TMZ several weeks after the arrest on vacation with Paulina's children in Mexico.

Insiders told the site at the time that the duo kept some distance from one another, were not affectionate, and didn't speak much to each other.

Sources felt the couple had planned the trip before the arrest, based on their behavior during the vacation.

Shouhed was arrested in connection with domestic violence March 27 and charged March 28, E! News reported after reviewing Los Angeles Sheriff's Department records; Shouhed was subsequently released on $50,000 bond.

Shouhed, 43, was arrested in connection with domestic violence March 27 and charged March 28; pictured 2018

A public information officer with the LAPD told Page Six at the time that Shouhed was taken into custody in connection with 'intimate partner violence with injury' - and charged with corporal injury on a spouse or cohabitant - but did not name the victim in the incident.

Alex Kessel, a lawyer for Shouhed, told E! News April 4, 'At this time, the only comment I can make with confidence is my client in no way committed any act of domestic violence and the truth will prevail.'

Shouhed and Ben-Cohen revealed they were engaged last summer during the show's ninth season reunion after years of dating and living together in Los Angeles after purchasing a home there last May.

On the show's most recent season, Ben-Cohen uncovered an inappropriate text exchange with another woman which Shouhed initially denied, but later admitted to sending.

Shouhed and Ben-Cohen revealed they were engaged last summer during the show's ninth season reunion after years of dating and living together in Los Angeles after purchasing a home there last May

The couple appeared to be on more stable ground for the reunion episode, as Ben-Cohen said of their relationship, 'The love and the connection that we have with each other, like, I would not be able to live a day without him in my life.'

The show's Mercedes 'MJ' Javid addressed the arrest chatting with Jeff Lewis on Sirius XM in April, saying she has 'never, ever, ever seen' Shouhed behave in a violent or angry manner.

'I was shocked because I think that unless I was literally in the room, a witness to it ... [you're] innocent until proven guilty.'

Javid said on the satellite radio program that she heard that the victim 'wasnt Paulina' but rather someone who might have been taking part in a 'threesome' with the couple.

An insider told Page Six that Ben-Cohen was the person who was attacked in the incident, while a separate source told the outlet that Ben-Cohen and Shouhed 'are still together.'

The series was put on 'indefinite pause' in the wake of the incident, an insider told E! News April 7.

'Mikes situation has nothing to do with what is currently being reported about the show,' a source told Page Six, while another said that 'there was little chance that Mike would return if there was a new season anyway.'

On April 7, TMZ reported Shahs of Sunset had been cancelled as the show had ran its course.
Residents in Northern Taiwan scurried indoors as the melancholy sound of air-raid sirens broke out around 1:30 pm yesterday. People and automobiles were quickly removed from the streets.

In Taipei, stores and restaurants closed their doors, and police diverted vehicles to the side of the road, ordering drivers and passengers to take cover.

Taiwan Conducts Military Drills Amid China Tension

The screech of fighter aircraft trying to repel the enemy filled the sky, as a a'missile warning' text message was issued to hundreds of millions of mobile phones, demanding rapid evacuation to a safe location. It was terrifying, but the nightmarish scenario that occurred was a required full-scale rehearsal to prepare for the day - which, according to some, is growing closer by the hour - when Taiwan is subjected to a surprise invasion from mainland China.

With the world's attention focused on the horrible war in Ukraine, we must not overlook the catastrophe smoldering 5,000 kilometers away at the other end of Eurasia. They are also not unrelated. Russia's Vladimir Putin and China's Xi Jinping both despise the rights of their weaker neighbors, and Taiwan has long felt the Chinese dragon's breath on its throat.

Since the Communists took control in mainland China in 1949, they have had their sights set on this brave small country. It is technically a province of the Republic of China, although it has been an autonomous democracy for more than 30 years. Just as Putin did not approve of a democratic Ukraine on Russia's border, a Chinese-speaking democracy only 100 miles away is unacceptable to China's all-powerful ruler, Xi Jinping.

With China's airforce and navy becoming active around and above Taiwan, the indications are that he is planning an invasion of this little but strategically crucial island of 29 million people (compared with 1.4 billion in China), Daily Mail reported.

Read Also: China Gives Ominous Warning To Washington Not to Continue with Pelosi's Taipei Visit

US Increasingly Concerned on China's Action Against Taiwan

The Biden administration has grown increasingly concerned about China's statements and actions toward Taiwan this summer, with some officials fearing that Chinese leaders will try to move against the self-governing island over the next year and a half, possibly by cutting off access to all or part of the Taiwan Strait, through which US naval ships regularly pass.

Internal concerns have grown in recent days as the administration quietly seeks to dissuade House Speaker Nancy Pelosi from going forward with a planned trip to Taiwan next month, according to US sources. Pelosi, a Democrat from California, would be the first speaker to visit Taiwan since 1997, and the Chinese government has publicly criticized and threatened reprisal for her alleged plans.

US sources perceive a heightened danger of confrontation and miscalculation in Pelosi's trip as Chinese President Xi Jinping and senior Communist Party leaders prepare for an important political summit in the coming weeks, at which Xi Jinping is anticipated to prolong his power.

Contrary to the opinions of the United States and other countries, Chinese authorities have maintained this summer that no area of the Taiwan Strait can be designated international waters. In June, a spokeswoman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry stated, "China has sovereignty, sovereign rights, and control over the Taiwan Strait."

Chinese policymakers are aware that officials in the Biden administration are using lessons gained from Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and are attempting to mold their arms shipments to Taiwan to transform the democratic island into what some refer to as a porcupine, brimming with sufficiently powerful weaponry and defensive systems to prevent Chinese authorities from attacking it.

Meanwhile, Republican members of Congress have urged Pelosi to proceed with the visit, claiming that delaying would be a sign of weakness. According to Focus Taiwan, Republican Representative Tom Tiffany of Wisconsin and Congressman Scott Perry of Pennsylvania wrote to Pelosi urging she should ignore the concerns of China's authorities and President Biden.

Republican Representative Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin stated on Monday that China is already attempting to weaken the US resolve to safeguard Taiwan. Federal law requires greater cooperation between Taiwanese and US leaders, as per New York Times.

Related Article: North Korea Accuses US of Biological Warfare in Ukraine After Russia Requests North Korean Laborers in Exchange for Wheat, Machinery

@YouTube

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
When Richard E. Grant was nominated for an Oscar, he portrayed himself as a blushing ingenue in a social media campaign of celebrity selfies and exuberant videos that won him a legion of new fans.

Now, however, another side to his character has emerged, which makes him sound like a bit of a humourless, self-regarding luvvie.

Comedian Richard Herring has revealed that an interview he conducted with Grant was banned by the Withnail And I star after he joked about the actor's talent.

When Richard E. Grant was nominated for an Oscar, he portrayed himself as a blushing ingenue in a social media campaign of celebrity selfies and exuberant videos that won him a legion of new fans

Herring, now 55, chatted to Grant, 65, in front of a live audience in 2019, shortly after the Academy Awards.

Grant, pictured, had been nominated as best supporting actor for his role in Can You Ever Forgive Me? but failed to win.

Talking about his podcast RHLSTP, Herring says: 'A couple have gone wrong without me realising. Richard E. Grant wouldn't let me put his out and I can't work out why.

'It was one of the best ones we ever did... And he blocked me on Twitter, so I can't even ask him.'

Herring adds: 'He hadn't won the Oscar but he'd been nominated and everyone beforehand had been saying, 'He's being all giddy and playing up because he's trying to wow the voters, he's just playing an act'.

'And he said, 'Yeah, that was very annoying to me because I was just enjoying the thing.'

'I said, 'Yeah, and if you were that good an actor you'd have won the Oscar, wouldn't you?'

Speaking on the Walking The Dog podcast, Herring adds: 'It occurred to me in the moment, he could walk off or it could be the best bit of comedy ever... if he takes it the right way, which was as a joke.

'He seemed to like it at the time. I think it was the overall impression  he felt I was taking the mickey out of him, which I wasn't.'

Grant couldn't be reached for comment.

Comedian Richard Herring has revealed that an interview he conducted with Grant was banned by the Withnail And I star after he joked about the actor's talent

Grant, pictured, had been nominated as best supporting actor for his role in Can You Ever Forgive Me? but failed to win

Sandra Howard is hoping that supporters of the two rival candidates in the Tory leadership contest will put hostilities on hold at the launch party for her new novel, Love At War.

'I know there'll be Tory MPs and elder statesmen supporters of both Rishi and Liz present,' says the model turned author, who is married to former Tory leader Lord Howard.

'But while they might disagree over tax and policy, I think it very unlikely that anyone will be getting into any heated political debates at what is, after all, a book launch.'

I'll keep you posted...

Nadiya stirs up a 1m success

Bake Off star Nadiya Hussain has cooked up 1 million worth of earnings at the business into which she channels her assets.

Newly filed accounts report the milestone figure in proceeds at the company, Nadiya J Hussain, which she set up in 2015  the year she became Bake Off champion.

After allowing for bills of 200,000, Hussain, 37, retained 832,000 in her business as of last November. This includes a 669,000 annual profit  the best to date for the firm.

Two staff are reported as being employed. Nadiya (above) owns the business and runs it with her IT manager husband, Abdal.

Bake Off star Nadiya Hussain has cooked up 1 million worth of earnings at the business into which she channels her assets

Freya's wild bond with pet lion cub

Most teenagers would be terrified to come face to face with a lion, but Freya Aspinall is made of sterner stuff.

The 18-year-old, who spent her childhood at her father Damian's wildlife parks in Kent, has shared this photo of her pet lion Azi nibbling her arm.

Freya says she has a close bond with the one-year-old.

'We had to hand-raise Azi because his mother rejected him,' she says. 'From this, I was able to develop a completely natural relationship with him. No training, no taming. Pure love and trust.'

The 18-year-old, who spent her childhood at her father Damian's wildlife parks in Kent, has shared this photo of her pet lion Azi nibbling her arm

He may be vegan, but that hasn't dissuaded Chris Packham from sinking his teeth into the BBC, which pays him handsomely for presenting Springwatch. After watching its coverage of the Tory leadership debate, Packham wails: 'Why is this wretched fiasco on BBC One?'

Tim Bonner, of the Countryside Alliance, tells me that Packham should be 'free to express his views... but the BBC should be equally clear that it cannot employ presenters who destroy its reputation for impartiality'.

A BBC source says Packham is not bound by its impartiality guidelines, as he doesn't work in news or current affairs.

Anthea's wedding joy . . . but it's still not her own

Anthea Turner announced her engagement to socialite Mark Armstrong almost three years ago, but she's been beaten to the altar by ex-stepdaughter Amelia Bovey.

The former Blue Peter presenter, 62, has stayed close to the three daughters of her second husband, Grant Bovey.

Amelia, 29, invited Anthea and Armstrong to her wedding to Gloucester rugby player Freddie Clarke.

'Don't we all love a wedding,' says Anthea, whose marriage in Italy was postponed because of the pandemic. She and Armstrong, top, are now planning a winter ceremony here.

'Everyone gets quite excited about winter glam,' she adds.

Armstrong seems excited about 'summer glam'  he was later pictured wearing his fiancee's hat.

'Don't we all love a wedding,' says Anthea, whose marriage in Italy was postponed because of the pandemic. She and Armstrong, top, are now planning a winter ceremony here
Huw Edwards has revealed his hopes to host the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest, after it was announced the annual competition would be held in the UK.

The BBC newsreader, 60, made the proposal in a Monday tweet after journalist Grant Tucker claimed the extravaganza should be held in Huw's native Cardiff.

After organisers concluded it would not be possible to host it in Ukraine due to the ongoing war with Russia, the UK - who came second in this year's competition - stepped up, however a city has not been announced yet.

Fingers crossed! Huw Edwards has revealed his hopes to host the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest, after it was announced the annual competition would be held in the UK

Grant initially wrote on Twitter: 'The host city has to be Cardiff. The Principality Stadium is one of the best live music venues in the country, & the city has a huge BBC base.

'It's a travesty it's not been held in the land of song before. Plus Wales + Ukraine have strong links dating back over a century.'

Huw replied: 'This is so obviously right and your presenter is standing by @Eurovision @BBCOne @BBCCymruWales #Eurovision2023 #Eurovision.'

Ukraine won the right to host the glitzy pan-continental music competition when its entry, from the folk-rap ensemble Kalush Orchestra, won this year's contest in May as Britain's Sam Ryder was second.

Hosts: After organisers concluded it would not be possible to host it in Ukraine due to the ongoing war with Russia , the UK - who came second in this year's competition - stepped up

However the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) - which runs Eurovision - said it had concluded that 'regrettably, next year's event could not be held in Ukraine for safety and security reasons'.

In place, it announced, the BBC had agreed to host the show on behalf of Ukrainian broadcaster UA:PBC.

Ukraine will automatically qualify for the grand final alongside the so-called big five nations - the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain, who each get a free pass because of their financial contributions to the event.

According to the EBU's announcement, a 'bidding process' to decide the host city will be launched this week.

Hopeful: The BBC newsreader, 60, made the proposal in a Monday tweet after journalist Grant Tucker claimed the extravaganza should be held in Huw's native Cardiff

London, Manchester and Sheffield all said Monday that they would apply.

Sheffield City Council was among the first to announce a bid, saying on Twitter: 'We've told Eurovision we'd love to hostwatch this space.'

Manchester City Council confirmed it was also putting in a bid, with its leader Bev Craig tweeting: 'A world class music city, brilliant venues, experience in hosting major events, and of course one of the UK's largest Ukrainian populations - we are confident we will make it a #eurovision to remember.'

Announcing London's bid, mayor Sadiq Khan said the city was 'ready and willing to step in' with a contest that 'celebrates the people of Ukraine and shows off the very best of Britain'.

Winners: Ukraine won the right to host the glitzy pan-continental music competition when its entry, from the folk-rap ensemble Kalush Orchestra, won this year's contest in May

Glasgow also previously expressed an interest in hosting the contest with the city's OVO Hydro arena saying it would be 'delighted' to be involved in discussions.

In June, Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon also backed the city to host, tweeting: 'I can think of a perfect venue on banks of the River Clyde!!'

It will be the ninth time Eurovision has taken place in the UK  more than any other country.

The EBU's statement added: 'The BBC has staged the Eurovision Song Contest more times than any other broadcaster, hosting in London in 1960, 1963, 1968 and 1977, Edinburgh in 1972, Brighton in 1974, Harrogate in 1982 and Birmingham in 1998.'

Tim Davie, Director-General of the BBC said: 'It is a matter of great regret that our colleagues and friends in Ukraine are not able to host the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest.

'Being asked to host the largest and most complex music competition in the world is a great privilege.

'The BBC is committed to making the event a true reflection of Ukrainian culture alongside showcasing the diversity of British music and creativity.

'The BBC will now begin the process to find a Host City to partner with us on delivering one of the most exciting events to come to the UK in 2023.'
Teen Mom star Mackenzie McKee says she and her husband Josh McKee have split up after more than eight years of marriage.

The 27-year-old reality star on Tuesday took to Instagram with a pair of images of the former couple together; they are parents to sons Gannon, 10, and Broncs, five, and daughter Jaxie, eight.

'With all the messages I'm receiving and articles coming out, i wanted you guys to hear what's going on from me alone,' McKee wrote of her split with Josh, 29.

The latest: Teen Mom star Mackenzie McKee, 27, says she and her husband Josh McKee, 29, have split up after more than eight years of marriage

McKee said that sometimes 'things work and sometimes, no matter how hard you fight, it just doesnt work out. I am breaking my silence about Josh and I being done. I will always respect him as the father of my children but its time for me to find my happy.'

The Oklahoma native issued a statement to Celebuzz in which she went in-depth about her mindset amid the split, saying she was 'coming from a very deep, raw and vulnerable part' of her heart.

'Our entire life was played out in the spotlight,' McKee said. 'I'm stepping into an entire new life and new me. The things I use to cry over, are now a walk in the park.'

McKee said she was 'so thankful for the past 12 years with Josh and what they taught' her, adding that she wishes 'nothing but peace and happiness for him and his future.'

The couple, who were married more than eight years, are parents to sons Gannon, 10, and Broncs, five, and daughter Jaxie, eight

McKee last week was seen posing in water while adjusting a crown she was wearing

McKee said of her ex, 'I will always respect him as the father of my children but its time for me to find my happy'

She added, 'Josh and I are both still young with an entire life ahead of us ... everyone has their own story, and this is mine.'

McKee opened up about the dynamics of the split, and the feelings she's experiencing amid the difficult timeframe.

'I wasn't sad, I wasn't sad about anything, I wasn't angry, I wasn't depressed,' she said. 'I gained my power back as a female who finally knows her self-worth. And I was finally so exhausted that I was done, and anything that has hurt me these past five years was gone. I no longer care.'

She noted, 'Us women do not leave until we are ready, until we can wake up, notice the coffee don't smell right and something is off. That was my marriage. But my marriage is all I've ever known since I was a young teenager.'

The couple began seeing one another when they were high school students, and exchanged vows in August of 2013. They temporarily separated in August of 2019 as McKee said Josh had been unfaithful to her during a timeframe she was mourning the death of her mother.
Private military company (PMC) Wagner has been found to have distributed online ads that attempt to recruit Kyrgyzstan residents to fight for Russia in its war against Ukraine.

The Center for Investigative Journalism "MediaHub" has drawn attention to the appearance on social networks in Kyrgyzstan of ads that aim to recruit residents for the war under the guise of recruiting employees for private security companies in the regions of Russia.

Recruiting Kyrgyzstan Residents

Several journalists published a screenshot of the corresponding ad that was posted on the Kg.zarplata channel on Instagram. It seems that individuals were being recruited to protect industrial enterprises with the prospect of obtaining Russian citizenship.

The salary for the job starts from 100,000 rubles, roughly $1,700, per month and the same ads were being placed with a focus on citizens of Uzbekistan. Journalists called the "employers" and discovered that the advertised work is for four months or more with a monthly remuneration of 240,000 rubles, roughly $4,100, as long as they perform "tasks" in the war zone in Ukraine, as per Pravda.

The alleged employer said that it was working in the interests of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. However, given the fact that the assembly point is indicated in the hamlet of Mulino in Russia's Krasnodar Kray, we are talking about the base and recruitment point of PMC Wagner, as pointed out by journalists.

Read Also: Russia-Ukraine Grain Deal Assurance Dwindles After Moscow Attacks Military Facility in Odesa Port, Allegedly Kidnap Ukrainian Children

The investigations claim that even citizens with criminal records were being recruited for the war but no compensation was provided in the event of injury. Furthermore, the Russian publication "Important Stories" published an investigation on July 20 where it said that PMC Wagner was recruiting for service among Russian prisoners in one and a half dozen [penal] colonies in Russia.

According to Yahoo News, the incident comes as Russia has faced heavy military casualties in its five-month-long invasion of Ukraine. This has forced Moscow to search for new ways to shore up its manpower without declaring a full mobilization.

Severe Military Losses

Later on, the recruiter said that it was no longer seeking security guards "due to a change in priorities." MediaHub noted that for service longer than six months, the employer was providing a simplified form of obtaining Russian citizenship.

The offer also specified that employees should not have European or NATO-member citizenship and revealed the expected length of the job. Wagner is believed to be owned by Kremlin-linked catering magnate Yevgeny Prigozhin and reportedly sent its mercenaries to conflict zones in Syria, the Central African Republic, Libya, and eastern Ukraine.

Previously, the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defense said that Wagner had been brought in to "reinforce front-line forces and to mitigate manning shortfalls and casualties." Officials said that Wagner has almost certainly played a central role in recent fighting, including the capture of Popasna and Lysychansk.

The Defense Ministry said that Wagner was lowering its recruitment standards and has opted to hire convicts and formerly blacklisted individuals to fight in the war against Ukraine due to severe losses among the Russian forces, CNBC reported.



Related Article: Russia-Ukraine Crisis: Volodymyr Zelensky Accuses Vladimir Putin, Moscow of Starting 'Open Gas War' To Terrorize Europe

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Hyderabad: City police commissioner C.V. Anand on Monday inaugurated a five-day national workshop on dark web investigators at Telangana State Police Academy (TSPA). Officials from central and state police investigation agencies from across the country are attending the workshop.

The steep rise in cybercrimes and the perpetrators resorting to sophisticated attacks through deep and dark web, hacking and crypto currencies have made it a tough digital terrain for law enforcement agencies to investigate as most of the crimes are committed from remotely located countries.

To deal with this alarming trend, the state intelligence department, in association with convergence Innovation Labs, which collaborated with former cop and mentor from UK, Mark Bentley, to synergise the capacity-building program for Telangana police personnel, Anand said.

Addressing the trainees, Anand said that state police have launched digital initiatives in policing. It has trained thousands of police officers. He mentioned the 15 types of cyber frauds, including loan apps, and how it had become difficult to nail the perpetrators.

"Detection in the Mahesh Bank hacking case and the Xsilica e-payment gateway hacking case show that it is possible to investigate such cases but they require expertise and resources. Even narcotic drugs are being trafficked using the dark web in Telangana, he said.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi with party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra leaves from her residence ahead of appearing before the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the National Herald case, in New Delhi (PTI Photo/Ravi Choudhary)

New Delhi: Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) here for her questioning in the National Herald money laundering case.

Gandhi, 75, arrived at the federal probe agency's headquarters located at Vidyut Lane flanking A P J Abdul Kalam Road in central Delhi a little after noon escorted by her Z+ category CRPF security cover.

Gandhi, who was diagnosed with Covid recently, was seen wearing a mask and was accompanied by her children Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi.

Priyanka Gandhi will be allowed to stay in the 'Pravartan Bhawan' headquarters of the agency, away from the questioning room, so that in case of a health issue she can be with her mother and provide her medicines.

Ahead of her appearance, the Delhi Police deployed a huge force and barricaded the entire over 1 km stretch between Gandhi's residence on Akbar Road-Janpath and the ED office even as traffic restrictions have been enforced around the area.

The party has slammed the agency's action against its top leadership and called it a "political vendetta".

The Congress chief is deposing on the third summons as she sought exemption on earlier dates of June 8 and June 23 owing to coronavirus infection.

Her statement will be recorded by the agency under criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and it will be also be taped in an audio-video mode.

The agency, according to sources, will give her an option to either write down or dictate her answers to an ED staffer over computer, who will be present along with the investigating officer of the case.

The probe relates to alleged financial irregularities in the Congress-promoted Young Indian Private Limited, which owns the National Herald newspaper.

Her son and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi has been questioned by the agency in the case for over 50 hours in sessions spread across five days last month.

The questioning will be conducted keeping in mind Covid protocols and the session will be conducted by the same assistant director-level investigation officer who questioned Rahul Gandhi.

The questioning team will also have a woman officer and all of them have obtained 'covid negative' certificates in order to participate in the session, sources said.

The move to question the Gandhis was initiated after the ED late last year registered a fresh case under the criminal provisions of the PMLA after a trial court here took cognisance of an Income tax department probe against Young Indian on the basis of a private criminal complaint filed by BJP MP Subramanian Swamy in 2013.

Sonia and Rahul Gandhi are among the promoters and majority shareholders of Young Indian. Like her son, the Congress president too has 38 per cent shareholding.

Swamy had accused the Gandhis and others of conspiring to cheat and misappropriate funds, with YI paying only Rs 50 lakh to obtain the right to recover Rs 90.25 crore that AJL owed to the Congress.

In February last year, the Delhi High Court issued a notice to the Gandhis for their response on Swamy's plea, seeking to lead evidence in the matter before the trial court.

Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Pawan Bansal were questioned by the ED in this case in April.

The Congress party has maintained that there has been no wrongdoing and that Young Indian is a "not-for-profit" company established under section 25 of the Companies Act and hence there can be no question of money laundering.

It is understood that Rahul Gandhi, during his deposition before the ED, stuck to the position that there was no personal acquisition of assets by himself or his family as Young Indian was a "not-for-profit" company and that despite he being a majority shareholder various financial decisions taken to revive the National Herald newspaper was taken collectively by senior Congress party leaders.

The ED, sources said, wanted to understand how the loan was extended to AJL by the Congress party and if the provisions of the Companies Act and the anti-money laundering law were contravened in this AJL-Congress-Young Indian deal.

The ED says that assets worth about Rs 800 crore are "owned" by the AJL and it wants to know from the Gandhis how a not-for-profit company like Young Indian was undertaking commercial activities of renting out its land and building assets.

A loan of Rs one crore taken by YI from a Kolkata-based company in February 2011 is also under the scanner of the ED.

The party had said AJL, which was established in 1937, faced huge debts and the Congress, from 2002 to 2011, gave Rs 90 crore to the National Herald newspaper, out of which Rs 66 crore was used to pay salaries/VRS of journalists and staffers who worked there.
HYDERABAD: Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao, who is in Delhi, monitored the rainfall situation in the state on Tuesday and directed Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar to keep the administration on high alert and take up rescue operations.

He also asked Somesh Kumar to issue strict instructions to officials and staff working in emergency services not to leave their workplaces and work in close coordination. Rao cautioned officials about increasing flood levels in Godavari again and asked them to take measures to shift people from the submerged areas to safer places. He also appealed to people to be on alert and urged them to halt their travel plans unless there was an emergency situation.

Following this, the Chief Minister, who is also accompanying the Chief Minister to Delhi, held a video conference with all district collectors and senior officials from Delhi on Tuesday. He directed the officials to be on high alert and ensure that there was no loss of human life. He cautioned officials about the flow in the Musi due to the huge inflow of water into Himayatsagar and Osmansagar.

The Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) managing director Dana Kishore has been asked to work in close coordination with the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) and regularly monitor the water flow in these tanks. Relief camps have already been identified by the GHMC and if needed, people to be affected by flood waters from these tanks would be shifted to relief camps, he said.

Similarly, all district collectors were told to be vigilant regarding causeways, low-lying areas, breaches to roads and tanks. All officials have to be stationed in their headquarters and any untoward incident has to be brought to the notice immediately for taking necessary action. All the line departments should work in close coordination, he added.

Senior officials of various departments participated in the video conference.
Hyderabad: The government on Monday completed the disbursement of funds to farmers under the Rythu Bandhu scheme, by direct bank transfer to the tune of Rs 7,654.53 crore to 68,94,486 farmers in the state.

As per a statement issued by the government, the government has so far transferred Rs 58,448 crore under the scheme since May 2018.

During its launch in 2018, Rs 4,000 per acre was paid for each of kharif and rabi seasons. The amount was later enhanced to Rs 5,000 per acre, totalling Rs 10,000 per acre for both sowing seasons.

In the latest fund release, the government covered 1.53 crore acres of agricultural land, following the addition of nearly 1.5 lakh acres, from the last rabi season.

As part of farmer initiatives, the government is also extending Rythu Bima free insurance cover of Rs 5 lakh through collaboration with the Life Insurance Corporation of India.
HYDERABAD: The Supreme Court collegiums, in a meeting held on Monday, recommended the names of six advocates as judges in the Telangana High Court. It sent proposals to the Union government to appoint practising advocates E.V. Venugopal, Nagesh Bheemapaka, Pulla Karthik, Kaja Sarath, J. Srinvasa Rao and Namavarapu Rajeshwar Rao. If the proposal is approved by the Centre, Telangana High Court will have a total number of 33 judges.

E.V. Venugopal has 28 years of experience in writ jurisdiction and international law. He was born in 1967 in Karimnagar and completed his BA and LLB. He has practised as advocate in the High Court and the Supreme Court.

Nagesh Bheemapaka, born in 1969, belongs to the SC community and is a native of Khammam district. After completing his LLB, he enrolled as an advocate in 1993. Bheemapaka has practised in various branches of law and has served as assistant government pleader and government pleader for mines. He is currently the government pleader for medical and health in the Telangana High Court.

Pulla Karthik, born on June 4, 1967 in Jagtial, completed his education in government institutions. He did his LLB. from University College of Law, Osmania University and LLM from the PG College of Osmania University. He enrolled as an advocate in 1996. In 2015, he was appointed government pleader at the erstwhile AP Administrative Tribunal in Hyderabad. In 2017, he was appointed government pleader in the High Court.

Kaja Sarath has been practising as an advocate in various courts after his enrolment in 1997. Sarath, born on January 29, 1971, in Bhadrachalam, studied in government institutions from his school to his PG. He did his Bachelor of Law from Campus Law College, Andhra University.

J. Srinivasa Rao was born in 1969 in Lingannapet of Sircilla district. After completing his LLB from Osmania University, Srinivasa Rao, enrolled as advocate in 1999 and joined the chambers of senior counsel G. Krishna Murthy. He has practised in writ services and non-services matters. In 2015, he was appointed standing counsel for Singareni Collieries Company Ltd.

Namavarapu Rajeshwar Rao is currently assistant solicitor general of India for the High Court of Telangana since 2019. He was born in 1969 in Mahabubabad district and enrolled as an advocate in 2001.
Russian energy provider Gazprom wants to end the problems that the West has about letting the natural gas pipeline flow at full capacity.

The documents connected with repairing the Nord Stream turbine in Canada, which involves related sanctions, do not help clarify what's happening.

Issues With Sanctions Imposed by EU

The firm stated on Monday via its Telegram channel that the documents raise more questions and do not eliminate the hazards pointed out earlier, noted Good Word News.

Gazprom stated that issues about the sanctions placed by the EU and the UK need to be removed to return the turbine to Russia, reported RT.

These documents citing the repair of the Nord Stream turbine from Canada have only raised more questions about Russian-related sanctions. The firm has once again asked for Siemens' intercession in delivering the required papers and explanations to resolve the remaining issue on the matter.

The pipeline turbine is located in Germany until it can be returned to Russia. Gazprom mentioned that the delay of its return a month ago is the reason for the reduced amount of gas flowing to the EU, which is only 60%, citing the Daily Croc News.

Moscow has always said it will fulfill its contract as a reliable gas supplier for all its clients. Under no circumstances will it renege on its energy contracts with EU clients. But these technical issues are to be blamed on reckless sanctions for not functioning at maximum capacity.

Read also: Vladimir Putin Net Worth 2022: Does Anyone Know Russian President's Hidden Wealth?

Sanctions Hamper Russia To Supply Gas Fully

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz remarked that Russia is not a trustworthy gas supplier contradicting the facts, according to Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on Monday.

Berlin indicated that Moscow is to be blamed for gas supply disruptions, despite western sanctions blocking Gazprom from delivering its end of the deal. A 60% drop in gas flow through the Nord Stream-1 pipeline last month, as well as a sudden halt in shipments last week due to yearly maintenance, is the official reason for the drop in LNG supplies.

The two trends led to a gas crisis in the EU and considerable concern that the supply would not be replenished. Russian deliveries, meanwhile, resumed at 40% capacity on July 21.

Scholz stated on Friday expressed doubt on Russia's claims that the delayed return of the repaired Siemens turbine needed for the Nord Stream-1 pipeline is the only reason.

The turbine was sent to Canada for repairs when the West pushed sanctions; it's been released and is in Germany, ready to be shipped back to returned to Russia.

If the concerned parties drag their feet, the EU will have fewer gas volumes in the coming winter. Peskov said that Berlin and the West should blame the crisis of their own making by imposing illegal sanctions to hurt themselves.

The bottom line is to stop the delays and send the equipment to Russia so more gas can be pumped through the pipelines. Russian energy provider Gazprom is asking those privies to the concerns of the turbines and its natural gas pipeline; if they prefer to freeze, then better drag out the repairs to be done.

Related Article: EU Energy Crunch: German City Planners Consider Emergency Warm-Up Spaces for Gas Shortages

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Three workers died on the spot after they were hit by an MMTS train between Hitec City and Hafeezpet railway stations at about 8,45 am on Tuesday. (Representational Photo:DC)

Hyderabad: Three workers died on the spot after they were hit by an MMTS train between Hitec City and Hafeezpet railway stations at about 8,45 am on Tuesday.

The victims were crossing the tracks to return home from a grocery shop when they were hit by MMTS Train 47176 on the Lingampally-Falaknuma route, Nampally Government Railway Protection (GRP) police said.

The victims were natives of Wanaparthy and working at a building in Hafeezpet, GRP inspector A. Srinivas said. They were identified as R. Rajappa (60), Srinivas (35) and K. Krishna (50).

The bus crossing the tracks did not check the train approaching from their left side, he said.

Railway police registered a case of suspicious death under section (174 CRPC) and shifted the bodies to Osmania General Hospital mortuary for post-mortem.
HYDERABAD: Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao left for Delhi on Monday, accompanied by a few ministers, Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) MPs and senior leaders, by a special flight from Begumpet airport at 8 pm. The Chief Minister is likely to camp in Delhi for two or three days, according to party sources.

There is no clarity on the purpose of the Chief Ministers visit. His visit at a time when Parliament is in session for the Monsoon Session assumes significance. Party sources said the Chief Minister was expected to call on new President Droupadi Murmu. Since Chandrashekar Rao did not attend Murmu's swearing-in-ceremony in Delhi on Monday, he wanted to pay a courtesy visit to Murmu to extend greetings on assuming charge as President, said party sources.

The Chief Minister is also expected to meet leaders of a few regional parties and MPs and request them to raise their voice in the ongoing session against 'undemocratic, anti-people, anti-poor and anti-farmer' policies of the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre.

He is expected to meet leaders of farmers unions and others as part of his renewed efforts to forge an anti-BJP front at national level for 2024 Lok Sabha polls. It may be recalled that while addressing the TRS MPs in Pragathi Bhavan on July 16, a day ahead of the Parliament session, Chandrashekar Rao said he would go to Delhi if necessary and hold meetings with the Opposition parties and MPs in the fight against the BJP government during the session. He asked MPs to utilise Parliament as a platform to fight against the BJP government.

TRS MPs along with MPs of Opposition parties have been stalling the proceedings in both the Houses since July 17 to protest rising prices of essential commodities and imposition of GST on milk and food items by the BJP government.

Sources said Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar, MPs Joginipally Santosh Kumar, G. Ranjit Reddy, LB Nagar MLA D. Sudheer Reddy and Karimnagar former mayor Ravinder Singh were among those who accompanied the Chief Minister to Delhi.
The lifting of limitations only means that Indians can progress to professing their love for the national flag and what it symbolises; it democratises the process whereby every household can own this symbol and its symbolism.  PTI

The intent is clear with the government keen on making a success of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav and the Har Ghar Tiranga, envisaging a national flag flying in every home come the 75th Independence Day. A kind of universalisation flows from this tweaking of the flag code after two decades to allow the tricolour to fly 24x7.

The earlier restrictions to do with preserving respect to the most visible symbol of the nation were not per se anti-democratic. The lifting of limitations only means that Indians can progress to professing their love for the national flag and what it symbolises; it democratises the process whereby every household can own this symbol and its symbolism.

The Congress, which had a bone to pick with the changing of rules to allow the flag to be made of hand spun or hand woven or machine made, cotton / polyester / wool or silk khadi bunting, may have been nostalgic about the connect with the hand spun thread that Mahatma Gandhi wove into our yearning for independent nationhood.

Times have changed. To reach more than 200 million households, flags have to be mass produced and more common and effective materials of the modern age are not to be denied. The nostalgic may love to stick to hand spun khadi, but school children have for long been as proud about pinning a paper or plastic mini flag to their shirt  the sheer thrill of it is priceless.

The nationalistic-minded can avoid China-made flags and the cynics are free not to put one up of any kind at their home for public display. But there is no reason to carp against democratisation of the idea of a flag that rises far above the idiosyncrasies of the ruling politician class of the dynastic or individual variety.

What we may be witnessing is an evolution as the original idea had been sectarian, with the two colours representing the two major communities and Gandhi adding the white to encompass people of religions other than Hindu and Islam. Today, the colours symbolise strength, purity and life and growth. Let not any narrow vision or misplaced nationalism come in the way of joyful celebration of 75 years since freedom came at midnight.
Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to hold in-person talks in Beijing with his Indonesian counterpart Joko Widodo on Tuesday, in a rare visit to Covid-wary China by a foreign head of state.

The last time China hosted foreign leaders was at the start of the Winter Olympics in February, with Russian President Vladimir Putin among those who visited Beijing in a highly guarded bubble.

Jokowi, as the Indonesian president is widely known, is in Beijing this week at the invitation of Xi for what China said would be "an exchange of in-depth views".

Read | Xi congratulates President Murmu, says 'ready to work with her to deepen cooperation'

Jokowi, who arrived in Beijing late on Monday night, was also scheduled to meet with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.

Travel by foreign dignitaries to China has been exceedingly rare since the new coronavirus pandemic broke out over two years ago, with Chinese borders largely shut due to domestic Covid concerns.

Xi last travelled out of mainland China to Hong Kong on June 30 to mark 25 years since the former British colony returned to Chinese rule.

Before that, Xi visited Myanmar in January 2020, his last official trip to a foreign country.

Indonesia, one of China's biggest trading partners, is an important source of ferronickel, coal, copper and natural gas for the world's second-largest economy.

In the first half of 2022, Chinese imports from Indonesia, mostly commodities, surged 34.2 per cent on year, the most after Russia.

As president of the G20 this year Jokowi has sought to mend rifts within the group exposed by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Last month he met Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and took a message to President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

Jokowi said Indonesia was willing to be a "communication bridge" between the two leaders.

China, while not condemning its strategic partner Russia for the invasion, has repeatedly called for a cessation of hostilities and has offered to help promote peace talks.

Both Indonesia and Russia are part of the G20, with the former holding the group's presidency this year. Some G20 member states have threatened to boycott this year's leaders summit, on the island of Bali on November 15-16, if Putin attends.

Earlier G20 meetings this year have focused on global food security and Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a "special military operation".

The war in Ukraine has caused major disruptions to global trade, with prices of grain and wheat soaring amid a blockade of Ukrainian seaports and sanctions on Russian commodities such as oil, gas and fertiliser.
Pakistan on Tuesday termed as baseless and misguided India's stand on China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), saying attempts to cast aspersions over the multi-billion dollar connectivity corridor show New Delhis "insecurity and pursuit of a hegemonic agenda."

India on Tuesday slammed China and Pakistan for their efforts to encourage third countries to join projects relating to their multi-billion dollar connectivity corridor that passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

In a sharp reaction, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said such activities under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) are "inherently illegal, illegitimate and unacceptable", and will be treated accordingly by India.

Pakistan's Foreign Office in a statement termed India's comments as baseless and misguided" and an effort to politicise the CPEC.

The FO said that "the CPEC is a transformational project and a harbinger of stability, mutual cooperation and shared development for the region."

"As a flagship of the Belt and Road Initiative and hallmark of the Pakistan-China All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership, CPEC provides a vehicle for the people of the region to break from zero-sum approaches," it said.

Chinas investment in CPEC has helped Pakistan overcome the energy and infrastructural bottlenecks that once constrained growth and development, it added.

Attempts to cast aspersions over CPEC show Indias insecurity as well as the pursuit of a hegemonic agenda that has held back socio-economic development in South Asia for decades, said the FO.

Rejecting Indias fallacious assertion that CPEC impinges on its sovereignty and territorial integrity, the Foreign Office said that it is in fact India that is illegally occupying Kashmir for over seven decades while perpetrating gross and widespread human rights violations".

New Delhi has consistently been critical of projects in the so-called CPEC projects which are in India's territory that has been illegally occupied by Pakistan."

At a meeting of the CPEC Joint Working Group (JWG) on International Cooperation and Coordination on Friday, Pakistan and China decided to welcome interested third countries to join the flagship CPEC initiative.

The CPEC was launched in 2013 to improve Pakistan's road, rail and energy transportation infrastructure besides connecting its deep-sea port of Gwadar with China's Xinjiang province.

The CPEC is part of China's ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). India has been severely critical of the BRI as CPEC is part of the initiative.
Mexico City authorities said they seized 1.6 tonnes of cocaine Tuesday believed to be from Colombia, describing it as the largest such discovery in the capital.

Police found the drugs in hidden compartments in two trailers on a highway on the edge of the city, the capital's security chief Omar Garcia Harfuch said.

It was "the largest seizure of cocaine in Mexico City by far," he told reporters.

According to initial investigations, the shipment arrived by sea from Colombia to Mexico's Pacific port of Puerto Escondido.

Some of the cocaine was believed to be destined for distribution in the capital and some of it in the United States, Garcia Harfuch said.

Four suspected gang members from northwestern Mexico were arrested, he added.

It is the second major operation targeting drug cartels in Mexico City in July.

Two weeks ago, police arrested 14 suspects and seized weapons and drugs in the south of the capital.

Most those detained are being held on suspicion of belonging to the infamous Sinaloa cartel.
As China and Pakistan moved to rope in Turkey, Uzbekistan and other countries to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and extend it to Afghanistan, India on Tuesday warned that any such move by any party would be tantamount to infringement of its sovereignty.

The Centre made it clear that any move by any country to join China and Pakistan in the CPEC projects would be unacceptable to India.

The top diplomats of China and Pakistan of late reviewed the CPEC projects and agreed to promote cooperation schemes involving third parties in line with existing consensus, including extending to Afghanistan, according to a press release released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China.

Read | Determined to complete all CPEC projects on time, says Pak PM Shehbaz Sharif

India has long opposed the CPEC, which passes through parts of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) and Ladakh currently under occupation of Pakistan. The CPEC is one of the flagship projects of China's ambitious cross-continental Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which President Xi Jinping launched a few years back, but already triggered controversy due to predatory lending practices and debt-trap diplomacy by the government of the country.

We have seen reports on encouraging a proposed participation of third countries in so-called CPEC projects. Any such actions by any party directly infringe on India's sovereignty and territorial integrity, Arindam Bagchi, the spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, said in New Delhi. India firmly and consistently opposes projects in the so-called CPEC, which are in Indian territory that has been illegally occupied by Pakistan.

Russia so far rejected repeated outreach by China and Pakistan and refrained from joining the CPEC  ostensibly to avoid hurting the sensitivity of India. China and Pakistan have, however, renewed attempts to rope in other countries in the project, reaching out to Turkey and Uzbekistan.

The CPEC was originally envisaged as a $46 billion economic corridor to link China's Xinjiang Autonomous Region and the port city of Gwadar in southern Pakistan.

Chinas debt-trap diplomacy over the past few years ballooned Pakistans total public and publicly guaranteed external debt from $44.35 billion in June 2013 to $90.12 billion in April 2021. Pakistan owed 9.3 % of its total external debt to China in 2013, but it went up to $24.7 billion in 2021.

Such activities (participation in the CPEC) are inherently illegal, illegitimate and unacceptable, and will be treated accordingly by India, said the MEA spokesperson in New Delhi.
A month after being ousted from power, Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray said that the conspiracy to unseat him and topple the Maha Vikas Aghadi government started when he was battling for life in the hospital last year.

Thackeray (61), then the Maharashtra Chief Minister, underwent two back-to-back surgeries for problems in his cervical spine at the Sir HH Reliance Foundation Hospital, where he was admitted between November 10-22, 2021.

Thackeray lashed out at Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde - who now heads a major faction of the party and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who had unseated him.

Read | Uddhav Thackeray likens Sena rebels to 'rotten leaves', says let there be polls to decide whom people support

I do not want any sympathies but I'm telling the truth, Thackeray said in an interview to Sanjay Raut, the first part of which appeared on Tuesday, in Shiv Sena mouthpieces - Marathi broadsheet Saamana and Hindi tabloid Dophar ka Saamana.

ask doctors about my neck surgeryI came out after the first operation, after five-seven days, doctors told me that I have to climb some stairs, I made up my mindhowever, even before that I experienced a cramp in the neck region and below the neck. I was just motionlessthere was a blood clotfortunately all doctors were there and I was well in the golden hourthe second surgery took place and hence today I am sitting with you, he said about his hospitalisation.

Thackeray said that at the time people were praying for my speedy recovery but some were spreading rumours that he would not be able to stand again.

I as paksha-pramukh (party chief) and kutumb-pramukh (family head) was not able to moveand at that time their activities were gaining pacethis bitter truth will remain with me throughout my life, he said.

Also Read | 'I left for same reasons as Shinde': Raj Thackeray blames Uddhav for Maharashtra crisis

Targeting Shinde without naming him, Thackeray said: I gave you the responsibility of the party, I gave you the second-highest positionI trusted you but you betrayed meI was motionless in hospitaland you were gathering momentum and that too against the party.

Lashing out at the BJP and Fadnavis, he said: It was decided that the post of Chief Minister would be shared equally for two-and-a-half-years eachthats what has happened nowhad BJP agreed, it would have got the post of Chief Minister for two-and-a-half years.

Thackeray said that he has now realised that he had put too much trust in some Shiv Sena workers and leaders. It is my mistake to have trusted them for such a long time, he said.
When Derry-native Noeleen McMorris found herself with a regular influx of hiccups, indigestion and a change in swallowing habits, she knew something was wrong.

Believing it was a side effect of medication, a routine GP appointment and a NICE guidelines scope referral was only the beginning.

September of 2016 saw Noeleen diagnosed with oesophageal cancer. Quickly becoming overwhelmed with feelings of fear, anxiety and utter dread, she started into her journey of scans, CT and ultrasounds.

Thankfully I was fit enough for chemotherapy, Noeleen shared. I was given two rounds and then had an oesophagectomy in March 2017. I was then told it was stage 2 cancer.

Although it was a big shock, I was glad I had gone to the doctor early. I could so easily have ignored it and not done anything for months.

"I was really grateful my GP was on the ball and pushed for an endoscopy because I had a healthy lifestyle and didnt fit the typical statistics of being an older man, a smoker or a drinker.

Noeleen then began her recovery process, with her strength returning as the years have passed. For her, talking about it is just as much part of the progress as recovery.

I still have some side effects of surgery in recovery, such as dumping syndrome and tiredness, but I have learnt the coping mechanisms," Noeleen continued. "I eat hourly during the day and need to watch what I eat and I look at this as a small price to pay for what I have. Im still able to meet up with friends and travel with family. Life is different, but its still good.

Overall it has been a rollercoaster but Im well enough down the line now to appreciate that I am healthy. I deal with the symptoms, and I know how to adjust to cope with them and I positively encourage myself to eat healthily and eat properly.

Now, five years post surgery, Noeleen has been discharged from City Hospital.

Its all about perspective. My son-in-law once told me that youre always going to be seeing the worst cases in the hospital, people going through their worst. But with charity meetups and events, Ive been able to see people post-recovery, enjoying a great life. Its given me a much more positive outlook. OG Cancer was a great help for advice and support, and still are.

OG Cancer NI is a Northern Ireland based charity that supports patients and carers facing an oesophageal or stomach cancer diagnosis, while also aiming to raise awareness of the early symptoms of the illness.

In line with these aims, OG Cancer NI has recently launched its new mobile unit. As the unit makes its way across Northern Ireland it will serve as a support for those currently receiving treatment, worried about symptoms, or the recently diagnosed.

The long-term objective of the mobile unit is to spread awareness in order to increase survival rates.

I think the campaign is very important, Noeleen added. People still dont understand that anyone can get it. Be aware of changes in swallowing, reflux or hiccups and get it checked out.

My gut feeling was telling me something is wrong but I didnt think it was cancer. Other than the hiccups I wasnt feeling in any way ill. I could have very easily ignored it, or put it off. I think its important to realise that just because you dont fit in the statistics, doesnt mean you wont be at risk.

Recognising the signs and symptoms of oesophageal cancer is crucial to early diagnosis. Consult your GP if the following symptoms have been ongoing for more than three weeks: persistent indigestion, difficulty swallowing or food sticking, heartburn acid reflux, hiccupping that wont go away, unexplained weight loss.

For those currently undergoing treatment, Noeleen shares her words of advice: Take each day as it comes. Hopefully each day you will feel better, thats what happened to me. Try not to think too far ahead.

Keep in touch with groups like OG Cancer NI for advice and information, but try not to look on the worst sites - try and stay positive.

More information about the OG Cancer Mobile Unit is available on the website. For more information about Oesophago-Gastric cancer or support, go to https://ogcancerni.com/

The new OG Cancer NI Mobile Unit at Stormont. Photos by Peter OHara
Republican Senator Chuck Grassley is holding the FBI and Justice Department accountable for downplaying damaging evidence on Hunter Biden in the run-up to the 2020 election, according to a whistleblower.

On Monday, Grassley disclosed that very credible whistleblowers had come forward alleging a systematic campaign inside the FBI to suppress bad material concerning President Joe Biden's son.

Whistleblower Claims FBI Wrongly Label Hunter Biden Evidence

According to Grassley, the leading member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which supervises the agencies, the whistleblower claims that certain FBI personnel conspired to undermine unfavorable material related to Hunter by fraudulently labeling it as misinformation. And, he argues, all of this occurred in the run-up to the 2020 presidential election.

A senior FBI agent at the bureau's Washington Field office ordered the closure of an avenue of disparaging Hunter Biden reporting in October 2020, one month before the election, according to Grassley. His letter comes on the heels of disclosures this week that the FBI investigation against Hunter Biden has reached a tipping point, with investigators debating whether to prosecute the president's son.

As per CNN, the Department of Justice investigation in Delaware has increased in recent weeks on whether to pursue people with tax evasion or making false claims about obtaining a gun. Hunter would have been barred from purchasing a firearm at the time due to his well-documented difficulties with drug addiction. After the 2020 election, he stated that he was being investigated for tax evasion although he denied any wrongdoing.

Donald Trump attempted to make Hunter Biden's business activities a campaign issue in 2020, which thrilled his followers at campaign rallies but did not prevent Biden from winning the presidency. President Biden has denied knowing anything about his son's business operations, and the White House has stated that it would not participate in any Justice Department investigations involving Hunter.

If Republicans win control of Congress in the November midterm elections, they are anticipated to investigate Hunter's financial dealings. The federal investigation, which goes back to 2018, is being led by David Weiss, the US Attorney for the District of Delaware. After Trump departed office, President Biden retained Weiss to continue the probe.

Read Also: Hogan Refuses To Support GOP Nominee for Maryland Governor, Claims Democrats Will Surely Win

Hunter Biden Denies Criminal Wrongdoing

Hunter has not been charged with any crimes and has denied any criminal activity. The FBI and the IRS's criminal division have been involved in taking the investigations forward, and there have also been conversations about whether his previous drug misuse may damage their case.

Hunter may argue that he was high on drugs and wasn't aware of his behavior. The investigation represents a political flashpoint for Attorney General Merrick Garland. Officials have stated that the Justice Department has an unwritten rule to avoid presenting politically sensitive charges within 60 days of an election.

However, if Garland holds off on Hunter, he would be accused of Democratic bias, with some officials claiming that rule does not apply because Joe Biden's name is not on the midterm ballot, which decides which party controls Congress, Daily Mail reported.

The letter also singled out Justice Department employee Richard Pilger, who is listed as the director of the Election Crimes Branch under the Justice Department's Public Integrity Section, and who, along with Thibault, was included as a signatory to the letter, was claimed to have been heavily involved in the choices to begin and conduct this inquiry, a clear reference to the latest investigation into the Trump campaign.

When a complete investigation of a political character demands a heightened factual foundation, Grassley reminded Wray and Garland that the first document you approved featured media reports citing research from a leftist non-profit.

In addition to seeking information from the FBI and the Justice Department by August 8, Grassley expressed dissatisfaction with how the bureau and department are handled. The FBI confirmed receiving the letters but declined to disclose further. When asked for comment on the letter, the Justice Department stated that it had received it but declined to comment, according to CBS News.

Related Article: Joe Biden's Health Improving? POTUS' Doctor Reveals What His Sore Throat After COVID-19 Infection Means

@YouTube

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Hate crimes will remain underreported until legislation is amended to encourage victims to come forward, the chief commissioner of the Equality Commission has said.

Geraldine McGahey said she fears hate crimes are greatly underreported, with only about 2% of the complaints to the commission related to transgender or homophobic issues.

Ms McGahey made the comments at Belfast Pride Talks Back, an LGBTQ+ debate held in Common Market to coincide with Belfast Pride, which runs until Sunday.

She said: Of all of the complaints and inquiries that we get to our advice line, only about 2% of those are related to transgender or homophobic issues. So we fear that theres a great underreporting, and I think many reports have shown that there is.

The rainbow project highlighted that 68% of people who have been a victim dont report it. So in terms of the stats going up, I think its only one year, I think we need to see more to see a trend to see whether or not its really happening or whether its a blip in the system. But there has been a lot of effort put in by a lot of people, a lot of organisations, to support victims of crime, to be able to encourage them to come out and speak up and make their case.

Ms McGahey said she believed people were nervous of reporting crimes for a number of reasons, adding: Theres a fear of criticism, a fear of being further ostracised, a fear of inviting more crime, a fear or a belief that it maybe isnt going to be investigated properly.

She added: The support services that are being established now help people believe that they will be listened to and that someone will take action but until hate crime legislation is really amended, and the various sanctions are made very clear as to what will be the outcome of hate crime, I dont think were going to get a true reflection.

Figures released by the PSNI earlier this year showed the number of homophobic and transphobic-motivated crimes recorded in the 12 months to the end of March this year was at its highest since collection of the data began in 2004/2005.

Homophobic incidents increased from 366 to 462 in the 12-month period to the end of March this year and crimes increased from 246 to 336.

Transphobic incidents decreased from 71 to 65, while the number of transphobic crimes rose from 34 to 42.
The Northern Ireland Protocol has created a feast or famine economy in the region with some businesses struggling while others thrive, a parliamentary report has found.

A House of Lords committee examining the post-Brexit Irish Sea trading arrangements found that companies involved in trade with the rest of the UK were being hampered by added red tape whereas those more reliant on doing business with Ireland and the wider EU were benefiting.

The committee stressed an urgent need to resolve the issues created by the protocol and called on the EU and UK to reengage in negotiations.

The committees report comes amid a breakdown in relations between London and Brussels over the UK Governments controversial plan to pass legislation at Westminster that would empower ministers to unilaterally rip up the bulk of the protocol.

Peers said the two sides needed to rebuild trust and repair damaged relationships and recommit to finding an agreed resolution. They said a mutually agreed solution was the best outcome as they urged compromise.

The protocol was agreed by the EU and UK in 2019 as a way to avoid a hard land border on the island of Ireland.

It did do so by moving regulatory and customs processes to the Irish Sea, creating new checks on goods being shipped from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.

While businesses involved in moving GB goods into the region have been hit by added bureaucracy, those Northern Ireland businesses involved in selling into the EU can do so without restriction, giving them a potential advantage over competitors in the rest of the UK.

Lord Jay of Ewelme, who chairs the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland Committee, said: The committees engagement with businesses trading in and with Northern Ireland has demonstrated that, while much uncertainty remains, the economic impact of the protocol is gradually becoming clearer.

The situation was described to us as feast or famine, whereby businesses able to take advantage of the protocol benefit, while those dependent on trade with Great Britain lose out.

In preparing its report, the committee took evidence from the five largest parties in the Northern Ireland Assembly, the UK and Irish governments, business representatives, academics and civic society representatives.

Peers said the sea border had created increased bureaucracy, resulting in added pressures on companies staff resources, increased costs and longer delivery times.

They said the arrangements had a disproportionately negative impact on small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs).

The committee said there remained a concern that businesses in GB will ultimately decided to withdraw from the Northern Ireland market.

Examining those businesses that are benefiting from the protocol, the committee highlighted the dairy and meat processing industries, which are dependent on complex cross-border supply chains on the island of Ireland.

They said those sectors would be damaged if access to the EU single market was lost.

The committee identified several solutions that have been advocated by the business community in Northern Ireland.

Those include a call for proportionality in the application of the rules and controls on Irish Sea trade and differential treatment for GB goods whose end destination is Northern Ireland, in comparison to those destined for onward transportation into the EU.

One of the UKs preferred resolutions is the creation of a dual regulatory system whereby businesses could choose to either comply with EU product standards or UK rules.

The committee said there was widespread concern among business about the practical feasibility and implications for cross-border supply chains of this proposal.

The report is a follow-up to an introductory report published by the committee 12 months ago.

Lord Jay added: Business representatives have put forward a number of mitigations and solutions to ease the practical impact of the protocol, and many of these proposals remain unchanged since the Committees July 2021 introductory report.

At that time, we stressed the need for dialogue to resolve the issues arising under the protocol in the interests of the people of Northern Ireland. It is a matter of deep regret that, in the intervening twelve months, the state of political dialogue in relation to the protocol has deteriorated further.

There is an urgent need for a reset of dialogue. We therefore call on the UK and the EU, together with the political parties, and stakeholders in Northern Ireland, and the Irish Government, to make a renewed commitment to work together to put Northern Irelands interests first, participate together in constructive engagement, rebuild trust and engage in effective relationship-building.

As one of our witnesses told us, those who negotiated the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement were able to do so because of their ability to appreciate the perspectives of others and willingness to work together and take risks to achieve a common goal despite historic differences. Such a courageous approach is needed now.
Hollywood Debut With Vin Diesel: Deepika Needs To Look Tough, Gain More Muscles
Subscriber content preview

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP)  A Tennessee jury found a prominent prison reform advocate guilty of vandalism Thursday after he disguised himself as a construction worker to hide guns, handcuff keys and hacksaw blades inside the walls of a Nashville jail under construction.

Alex Friedmann was found guilty of vandalism over $250,000 in a case that a prosecutor likened to something out of a Hollywood movie. Much of it was caught on surveillance video and went undisputed. The prosecutor also said the case ends on a cliffhanger, leaving it anyone's guess as to what Friedmann planned to do. He did not testify at trial.





. . .
Subscriber content preview

The state will spend $200 million on road construction and improvements, plus $50 million more to help fund construction, machinery and equipment.



By RUSS BYNUM

Associated Press

SAVANNAH, Ga.  The state of Georgia and local governments are giving $1.8 billion in tax breaks and other incentives to Hyundai Motor Group in exchange for the automaker building its first U.S. plant dedicated to electric vehicles near Savannah, according to the signed agreement disclosed Friday.

The deal calls for Hyundai to invest $5.5 billion in its Georgia plant and hire 8,100 workers. It's the largest economic development deal in the state's history and comes just months after Georgia closed another major deal with electric vehicle maker Rivian to build a factory in the state.





. . .
Recent reports reveal that Russian President Vladimir Putin needed paramedics at his bedside after suffering a serious health crisis over the weekend. Vladimir Putin suffered from extreme nausea while being monitored for his health.

This happened late on Friday into Saturday morning, as medical personnel raced to his bedside. According to the General SVR channel, the medical personnel stayed with the dictator for around three hours.

Vladimir Putin's Health

He may be replaced by a body double, or deepfakes, who will impersonate him while he recovers from the unknown ailment, according to The Sun. It comes only days after Ukraine's spy head said that Putin was a dummy during a state visit to Iran. Ukraine's military intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, expressed concern after seeing a video of Russian President Vladimir Putin stepping off an aircraft in Tehran on Tuesday.

General SVR has previously alleged that Putin is being treated for cancer in secret and that senior advisor Nikolai Patrushev frequently fills in for him during operations. None of the channel's accusations have been verified, but if proven, Putin would not be the first Russian leader to utilize a decoy.

While leading the Soviet Union, Josef Stalin is claimed to have utilized many body duplicates, two of whom have subsequently come forward to tell about their experiences. One man, solely identified as 'Rashid,' said he was one of the numerous persons hired by the KGB to stand in for Stalin during public appearances where he was fearful of being killed, or to give the people the impression he was healthy while he was ill.

Felix Dadaev then came forward in 2008 to claim he was another of those doubles, claiming Putin's regime had permitted him to tell his story through state media. Putin himself admitted he considered using decoys for protection during the Chechen War, but claims he dismissed the idea and it was never carried out. It said that a decision was reached that "he will be replaced by a double" in various events this week, Daily Mail reported.

Read Also: Pope Francis Visits Canada, Apologizes for Indigenous Abuse Within Catholic Residential Schools

Kremlin Controls Air Conditioning To Protect Vladimir Putin's Health

Meanwhile, according to a recent story, the Kremlin controls the air conditioning surrounding Russian President Vladimir Putin to keep him from getting a cold. Putin's health has been under scrutiny in recent months, particularly after launching the invasion of Ukraine in late February.

People have expressed fear that the president, who is under fire for the crisis, is suffering from a variety of ailments, though the Kremlin has dismissed any rumors that he is unwell. According to a recent report from state-controlled Russia Today, Putin's spokesperson Dmitry Peskov informed reporters that the Kremlin retains control over the air conditioning around their president so that he does not get sick amid hot temperatures in Moscow.

The statements come only days after the latest health concerns for Putin were raised when he was observed coughing during a meeting with Iranian government leaders, though Putin attempted to downplay the coughing, claiming it was caused by sitting near an air conditioner to escape the high heat in Iran's capital.

Rumors concerning Putin's health have surfaced during his invasion of Ukraine, most recently last week when a video showing Putin's arm appearing to be immobile aroused concern about his health. Some wondered if his arm wasn't moving because of a medical ailment, but experts claimed it may be due to his KGB training, which trained him to maintain his right arm ready to draw a rifle at all times.

Others have expressed concern about his health as well. British journalist John Sweeney, who has long followed Putin, stated in his new book Killer in the Kremlin that he has seen changes in Putin's appearance, characterizing him as appearing "like a hamster" because of his swollen cheeks.

Russian authorities have dismissed allegations that Putin has any health problems. Peskov referred to them as ducks, a Russian metaphor for hearsay, last week, and rumors regarding his health have not accumulated enough proof to be declared verifiably genuine, as per Newsweek.

Related Article: Russia-Ukraine Grain Deal Assurance Dwindles After Moscow Attacks Military Facility in Odesa Port, Allegedly Kidnap Ukrainian Children

@YouTube

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Draupadi Murmu sworn in as 15th President of India

Draupadi Murmu on Monday took the oath as the 15th President of India, at the Central Hall of Parliament, in a grand ceremony attended by PM Narendra Modi and other dignitaries.

Chief Justice of India NV Ramana administered the oath of office Draupadi Murmu, the first tribal and the second woman to become the President of India.

Addressing the nation after the swearing in, Droupadi Murmu said she was honoured to take charge at a time India is completing 75 years of Independence. She added that she was the first President to be born in independent India.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Murmus swearing-in ceremony is a watershed moment for India, especially for the poor, marginalised and downtrodden, and wished the President good luck.

In her address after taking oath, President Droupadi Murmu gave a message of hope and compassion, Modi added.

Murmu, in her address, said, Reaching the presidential post is not my personal achievement, it is the achievement of every poor in India. My election is evidence that the poor in India can not just dream but also fulfil those dreams.

After the Swearing in Draupadi Murmu, as the supreme commander of the armed forces, also received her first guard of honour at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Murmu is the first tribal woman to hold the highest constitutional post in the country. Chief Justice of India N V Ramana administered the oath to Murmu in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, S Jaishankar, Amit Shah, among others.

A former governor of Jharkhand and a nominee of the ruling National Democratic Alliance, Draupadi Murmu assumed presidency defeating her opponent Yashwant Sinha by a huge margin.

Born in the Santhali tribe community of a village in Mayurbhanj district of Odisha, Draupadi Murmu entered public life as a school teacher and then as a government clerk.

She joined politics in 1997 with Bhartiya Janata Party and was elected a councilor of the Rairangpur Nagar Panchayat, and in 2000, she became the chairman.

She also served as the national vice president of BJP Schedule Tribes Morcha.

Murmu, who hails from Odisha and was also a minister in the BJD-BJP alliance government in the state.

Draupadi Murmu was appointed governor of Jharkhand in May 2015. She was the first female governor of Jharkhand.

Orissa chief minister Navin Patnaik congratulated Murmu on her thumping victory in the presidential election and wished her all the best.

People in Rairangpur, Odisha on Monday celebrated after President Droupadi Murmu's swearing-in ceremony. Murmu hails from Rairangpur.

Sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik on Monday marked the swearing-in of President Droupadi Murmu with a sand sculpture on the Puri beach.

Congratulatory messages poured in from across the world.

Sri Lanka's newly-appointed President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Monday congratulated India's new President Droupadi Murmu, recalling the close ties between the two nations and underlining that her leadership offers "fresh impetus" to the joint endeavours to nurture and strengthen the cordial ties it enjoys.

Your appointment to this chief responsibility in one of the largest democracies is testimony to the trust and confidence the government and the people have placed in your caliber and political acumen, Wickremesinghe wrote in his message. Recalling the close ties between the two nations, Wickremesinghe said, Your leadership offers fresh impetus to our joint endeavors to nurture and strengthen the cordial ties we enjoy and I look forward to working closely with you towards this end.

Chinese President Xi Jinping congratulated his Indian counterpart Droupadi Murmu on assuming office, saying he stands ready to work with her to enhance political mutual trust, deepen practical cooperation and properly handle differences.

Xi said that he attaches great importance to China-India relations, and stands ready to work with Murmu to enhance political mutual trust, deepen practical cooperation, properly handle differences and push bilateral ties forward on the right track, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
Former US President Bill Clinton has led tributes to David Trimble, stating that his lifetime of service helped bring peace to Northern Ireland.

The 77-year-old peer and ex-leader of the Ulster Unionist Party was one of the principal architects of the Good Friday/Belfast Agreement that ended decades of conflict in the region.

Lord Trimble, who jointly won the Nobel Peace Prize along with late SDLP leader John Hume, died on Monday following an illness.

His death comes amid another political crisis at Stormont, with the DUP blocking the creation of a powersharing administration in protest at Brexits Northern Ireland Protocol.

A planned recall sitting of the troubled Assembly on Tuesday, which would have expected to witness heated exchanges over the current deadlock, has been postponed as a mark of respect.

Lord Trimbles funeral will take place in Lisburn on Monday, the UUP has confirmed. The service will be held at Harmony Hill Presbyterian Church at 12.30pm.

In a statement, Mr Clinton said: Hillary and I are deeply saddened by the passing of Lord David Trimble, a leader of courage, vision, and principle whose lifetime of service helped bring peace to Northern Ireland.

Time after time during the negotiations that led to the Good Friday Agreement, he made the hard choices over the politically expedient ones because he believed future generations deserved to grow up free from violence and hatred.

His faith in the democratic process allowed him to stand up to strong opposition in his own community, persuade them of the merits of compromise, and share power with his former adversaries.

His legacy will endure in all who are living better lives because of him today.

Hillary and I send our thoughts and prayers to his wife, Daphne, his entire family, and all the people who loved him and were inspired by his service.

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson described Lord Trimble as a titan of unionism.

Sir Jeffrey quit the Ulster Unionist Party in 2003 and defected to the DUP after he disagreed with his then party leader over the Good Friday Agreement and IRA decommissioning.

But he told the BBC Good Morning Ulster programme: There is no doubt that David was a titan of unionism.

He was someone who believed passionately in the union and I have to say that despite our differences in the latter years when I was in the Ulster Unionist Party, he was someone I got on very well with.

On Monday evening, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Lord Trimbles achievements would never be forgotten.

He was a giant of British and international politics and will be long remembered for his intellect, personal bravery and fierce determination to change politics for the better, he said.

Taoiseach Micheal Martin credited his central contribution in efforts to secure peace and reconciliation on the island of Ireland.

All of us in politics at the time witnessed his crucial and courageous role in the negotiations leading to the Good Friday Agreement and his leadership in building support in his party and his community for the Agreement, he said.

David Trimble was a man of courage & vision. He chose to grasp the opportunity for peace when it presented itself & sought to end the decades of violence that blighted his beloved Northern Ireland.  UUP Leader Doug Beattie MC MLA Read more: https://t.co/oIUswfG3Ix pic.twitter.com/KriyF1Nlv4  Ulster Unionist (@uuponline) July 25, 2022

Irish President Michael D Higgins praised Lord Trimbles life of public service.

Former UK and Irish prime ministers, Sir Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern, both of whom were involved in the intensive Good Friday negotiations, also paid tribute.

Sir Tony said his contribution was immense, unforgettable and frankly irreplaceable while Mr Ahern described him as a courageous leader.

Ex-Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams, a once bitter political adversary of the unionist leader, thanked him for helping to get the Good Friday Agreement over the line in 1998.

Current UUP leader Doug Beattie hailed the former first minister as a man of courage and vision.

He chose to grasp the opportunity for peace when it presented itself and sought to end the decades of violence that blighted his beloved Northern Ireland, he said.

Announcing the postponement of the recalled sitting on Monday evening, outgoing Stormont speaker Alex Maskey said he would be making arrangements to allow MLAs to formally offer their condolences and pay tributes.

I will announce further details when arrangements have been confirmed, he added.
Irish farmers could soon be using hi-tech dairy drone imagery and a form of artificial intelligence to help them decide which fields to let their cows graze.

This could help them cut back on labour intensive and time-consuming work and also give a more accurate reading on the best grass on which to graze cattle.

Researchers at Teagasc, UCD and DCU, funded by the VistaMilk SFI Research Centre based in Teagasc, Moorepark, Co Cork, are currently testing the accuracy of physical and lab-based observations of grass growth against new image-analysing, machine-learning models based on photos captured by drones and static cameras.

The aim is to produce predictive data of the yield and composition of grass growth on pastures. This innovation is designed to help farmers determine the best time and which areas to allow their cows feed.

To date, the predictive models based on a simple photograph are resulting in 95% accuracy rates when compared to physical observations.

Deirdre Hennessy, VistaMilk Funded Investigator and Senior Teagasc Research Officer, said that grass and pasture management is vitally important for the success of Irelands 5bn dairy industry.

"Its not as simple as letting the cows out to eat where and when they want. Farmers are constantly walking their fields monitoring grass growth, paying particular attention to its yield, composition, and its grazing suitability. They must determine when there are adequate quantities available to feed their animals while making sure they avoid having too much grass, leading to waste and poor quality or potentially under grazing," Deirdre said.

"This is very labour intensive and time consuming, and the research that VistaMilk is funding is designed to provide them with that information more easily and quickly".

"Image-analysing, machine-learning algorithms will work with pictures captured by drones  and even satellites in the future. The potential of what we can do in will only be limited by our imaginations. We can theoretically look at sending out drone swarms that will return their information to a base in a matter of minutes, giving farmers in a whole county the results that will allow them to make better business decisions while farming more sustainably.

"I personally think that would be some achievement and a sight to see, if and when it becomes viable. For now, we will continue to prove that our drone captured imaging algorithms work and will leave the scaling up to the next generation of researchers that are following closely behind," Deirdre said.

"The quality of Irish dairy is, in large part, due to the fact that our cows are grass-fed. Currently 5,000 Irish farmers are using a grassland management app called PastureBase Ireland to input their physical observations of grass growth and get results by the time they are finished walking their land. However, there are many factors that can skew the outcomes, including, for example, the subjectivity of observations made by different people," she added.

Knowledge of how your grass is growing and what else is in your paddock, such as clover, can make a huge difference to a farms profitability and sustainability. The imaging analysis work that is ongoing in VistaMilk and with our partners will make the process more accurate and automated, thereby making it easier for the farmer to make timely and correct decisions on how to manage their fields," Deirdre said.

Farmers who use PastureBase Ireland are said to be already reducing the need to purchase supplemental food to feed their cattle.

According to Teaasc, it is estimated that every tonne of extra grass grazed is worth in the region of 172 to a farm, which adds up to a substantial amount of money over the course of approximately 300 days of grazing each year.

Additionally, the improved understanding of the mix of grasses and other plants like white and red clover are reducing the requirement for artificial fertilisers and improving quality of winter silage. All the while resulting in increasing milk yields and quality of the end product manufactured in Ireland worth an estimated 5bn to the economy.

The ultimate goal is to create an app that uses a combination of physical observations, weather predictive models and automated grass imaging that will save time and money for the farmers," Deirdre said.

While we are not there quite yet the future is just around the corner.
Kaseya, the leading global provider of unified IT management and security software for managed service providers (MSPs) and mid-market enterprises (MMEs), today announced plans to establish a new Centre of Excellence in Dundalk, creating 250 jobs over the next three years.

The project is supported by the Irish Government through IDA Ireland.

Tanaiste & Minister for Enterprise Trade & Employment Leo Varadkar TD said: This is excellent news. It really demonstrates Kaseyas commitment to Ireland and the attractiveness of Dundalk as a place to invest. Its also a real vote of confidence in Kaseyas existing team here  Im sure it was their hard work that gave the company the confidence to expand further. Kaseya has witnessed remarkable growth over recent years, and I wish the team every continued success with the new Dundalk office.

The highly skilled roles include 250 jobs for engineers, technical support and sales, specifically new customer acquisition, as well as positions across corporate services. Kaseya will work closely with university partners in the area to help train students for the positions and foster the next generation of technology professionals in the region.

We saw tremendous opportunity to expand the tech ecosystem in Ireland  we're already in Dublin  and decided to open a second office in Dundalk, said Kaseya CEO Fred Voccola. We are planning to attract top tech talent and generate a robust workforce pipeline in the local community. We are excited about this partnership that will expand Kaseyas footprint in Ireland, where Kaseya has its roots. The company first established its EMEA headquarters in Dublin in 2016.

Kaseya saw the potential in Ireland and decided to expand its operations with this second site in Dundalk to operate as a Centre of Excellence with a focus on research and development. The Dundalk office will support a high-growth engineering team and contribute to economic development in the region.

CEO of IDA Ireland Martin Shanahan said: Thanks to Kaseya's positive experience with establishing a facility in Dublin, the company has selected Dundalk as the location of its second Irish site. This is very good news for the entire region and the skilled and talented workforce located there. I wish Kaseya every success with this expansion.

Kaseya successfully executed a similar program in the U.S., in Miami, Florida where the company is headquartered. In two short years, Kaseya has grown its Miami operation from 150 people to more than 600 and now occupies over 150,000-sq-ft to support its growth plan of having over 1,200 Kaseyans in Miami by 2023. Modelling after this hugely successful program, with support from IDA Ireland, Kaseyas leadership is confident this initiative will be another success that brings economic growth to the region.
Soothing Solutions, a start-up based in Dundalk that manufactures childrens healthcare products, has announced it has signed a retail deal with Boots Ireland. The deal will see its first product, Tonstix, available in 90 stores.

An innovative childrens product, Tonstix, take on the form of a traditional lollipop to encourage the sucking reflex which facilitates lubrication of the throat to soothe the effects of seasonal ailments such as irritated throats caused by allergies, infections or viruses.

Honey, an ingredient with time-honoured soothing properties, is found in each pops jelly and slowly dissolves to create a coating that temporarily supresses distress.

The jelly is made using only natural ingredients giving a fruity flavoursome taste to appeal to childrens tastebuds and includes added Vitamin C and Zinc, known to support healthy functioning of the immune system.

The innovative product is the brainchild of founder and CEO, Sinead Crowther, a mum of four and a pharmacy technician with more than 25 years experience.

Tonstix are the first product from parent company Soothing Solutions Ltd, which has established its purpose-built manufacturing facility in Louth to produce the product at home in Ireland.

Already available in 600 pharmacies, the deal with Boots Ireland will increase its availability and county-by-county footprint.

Sinead said:

Signing this deal with Boots is a testament to the quality of our product. The idea for Tonstix came from my experience as a mum, and working in community pharmacy for over 25 years.

"On a daily basis, I was met with frustrated parents trying to do their best to soothe their childrens sore throats, but unfortunately there wasnt an over-the-counter product available for this specific type of distress.

I spent four years developing the product alongside a leading food scientist to ensure its efficacy, safety and child-friendliness and Im incredibly proud that we have brought the concept to life and remain entirely child-friendly.

"We harness the power of natural ingredients, and our technology has ensured the pops melt in the mouth providing safe comfort to the child, but also comfort to parents who simply didnt have this as a solution until now.

"The feedback from pharmacists and parents thus far has been incredible and we look forward to continuing to form new relationships as our journey continues.

Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer, Denise Lauaki, also a mum of four children, said:

Tonstix has the potential to become a household staple, always on-hand, ready for when seasonal illnesses like hay fever or the common cold strikes. I am particularly proud that we have established our manufacturing base here in Ireland and hope that we can also inspire more women in STEM to see their ideas through.

"Little did we know when pitching for funding from our kitchen tables that our determination would see our product on Boots shelves.

Avril Farrell, Buying Manager of Healthcare at Boots, said:

The team and I have been really impressed by Tonstix  both the concept and the creators  and I am delighted to add the range to our Childrens Healthcare shelves in all of our 90 stores across Ireland.

As mums themselves, the passion Sinead and Denise have for helping caregivers is really inspiring and its clear that their own parenting experiences have been called upon when designing the product.

"Our consumers are becoming increasingly interested in product ingredients and provenance, so its wonderful our sales teams can tell them that Tonstix is created in Ireland using all-natural ingredients.

Soothing Solutions also recently secured significant investment in private capital from food investment fund, Redesdale, in addition to Enterprise Ireland and other private angel investors. This has enabled the company to recruit eight employees.
The Gum Litter Taskforce Roadshow hit the streets of Dundalk on Friday following the launch of its national summer campaign on 20th June.

In this program, the GLT will collaborate with Louth County Council and local community groups to promote the responsible disposal of gum litter in the county's areas.

Over the summer months, the roadshow will visit over 30 local authorities across all four provinces to promote community-led education and awareness on gum litter.

Members of the Gum Litter Taskforce for Louth include representatives of the chewing gum industry; the Department of the Environment; Food and Drink Industry Ireland, Louth County Council representatives and members of local community groups.

Following on from campaigns in previous years, the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications, Food Drink Ireland and the chewing gum industry highlighted the initiatives success to date:

A remarkable 70% reduction in chewing gum litter since the campaign began in 2007.

Gum now accounts for 8% of all litter in Ireland compared to over 26% in 2007.

Just over one in four (27%) claim never to have dropped gum highlighting continued importance of gum litter awareness campaign to enact behavioural change.

Speaking ahead of the campaign, Minister Ossian Smyth, said: The success of the Gum Litter Taskforce demonstrates the forward-thinking, joined up approach of industry, local communities and local government that is necessary to further drive the objective of changing the publics gum disposal behaviour.

To support the campaign, the GLT has created an education programme called 'Bin It!' that encourages students to dispose of litter responsibly, particularly gum litter.

Approximately 60 performances will be delivered annually to primary schools throughout the country, with an aim of visiting 180 schools by 2025.

Cathaoirleach of Louth County Council, Councillor Conor Keelan, who attended the launch, said: The message couldnt be simpler when it comes to gum and indeed all litter, Bin It.
A 15-year-old boy has been arrested and charged with the murder of his 14-year-old girlfriend, who was discovered dead in her family's Maine home.

According to court records acquired by the Portland Press Herald, Aidan Grant has arrested early Saturday morning in connection with the murder of Brooke McLaughlin.

Girl Found Dead in Maine

Rebecca 'Becky' McLaughlin, the victim's mother, discovered her at their house at 25 Blackberry Road around 6:00 pm on July 18. According to Grant's Facebook, the two adolescents have been dating since February 13, 2022.

His profile picture shows the two kissing with a rocket in the backdrop. With a red love emoji, Grant captioned the shot "My everything." The family's red Chevy Impala was gone at the time of the incident. According to WMTW, it was discovered the next day near the town of Wayne, where Grant resides.

The Chief Medical Examiner suppressed the 14-year-cause old's death at the request of the Attorney General. The specifics are likewise missing from the court filings. The Long Creek Youth Development Center in South Portland is hosting Grant. The victim was a Maranacook Middle School student who had recently finished seventh grade. She is described as a kind, caring, extremely attentive, older sister.

Becky, the teen's mother, demanded justice in a Facebook post on July 23. Brooke's death was revealed to the community on July 21 by Jay Charette, Superintendent of Maranacook Schools, as per Daily Mail. The teen's death was judged a homicide, however, the manner in which she was killed is presently being concealed at the request of the Attorney General, according to a statement from the Maine Office of Chief Medical Examiner.

According to Donna Walker, a close family friend of the McLaughlins, the suspect was someone Brooke trusted and felt secure with. Walker added that officials have informed her and immediate family members of Brooke's death, but they are hoping to keep that information out of the public domain to spare other elderly relatives any further distress.

Read Also: Bird Flu Outbreak in the UK: 3,000 Dead Birds Incinerated, Fears of More Casualty Grow Amid Heartbreaking Tragedy

Victim's Close Friend Believes Incident Is "Premeditated"

However, she stated that Brooke's terrible murder occurred on her accused killer's birthday, and she believes the act was deliberate. Walker claims Brooke, a friend and close friend of the suspect, realized he was sad and texted his mother to send him a cake that night.

Walker said she and members of Brooke's immediate family, including her mother Becky, are still in shock while the inquiry into her death continues. Walker claims Becky is trapped in time, sure that the events of the previous week are all part of a nightmare she will soon awaken from.

Brooke's family had a funeral ceremony for her over the weekend, and Walker estimates that up to 500 people attended, demonstrating how much the youngster was loved and respected. On Sunday, she was cremated in a private ceremony. Walker says she will remember Brooke for her kind, compassionate, and mature demeanor as she battles to come to terms with Brooke's passing, a girl she knew her entire life.

As Walker sat at Brooke's memorial ceremony, a conversation she had with the adolescent a few years ago came to her, one she says is now tinged with a harsh sense of irony. Walker stated that she hopes the suspected murderer is prosecuted as an adult to avoid any leniency penalty offered to younger criminals under Maine state law.

The unnamed individual is presently being kept at the Long Creek Youth Development Center in South Portland. Brooke's family's automobile was stolen from outside their home on the day she was murdered. The automobile, a red 2010 Chevrolet Impala, was later found 15 to 20 miles distant in the town of Wayne the next morning. Brooke was recalled in her obituary as a kind, caring, extremely considerate, big-hearted, strong girl, who loved her family and friends with whom she spent so much time.

According to Superintendent of Schools Jay Charette, Brooke was a 7th-grade student at Maranacook Community Middle School. She had celebrated her 14th birthday only 16 days before her death, The Sun reported.

Related Article: Iowa Boy, 9, Survives Campground Shooting That Kills 6-Year-Old Sister, Parents in Tent

@YouTube

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The Community Enterprise Association Ireland (CEAI) is seeking entrants Louth, who have an idea that they think would help combat social or environmental challenges in their local community, for a "Dragon's Den" type event this September, with selected teams going forward to a national Pitch-Fest in Dublin on 20 October.

Entitled Champion Changemakers, the ambition is to find solutions that can be turned into products or services which will directly impact the lives of people in local communities around Ireland. This positive social change is often the basis for starting a business  also known as a Social Enterprise.

Creative Spark Downtown Dundalk is to host the event over the weekend of 23 September, aimed at bringing the local community together to solve real world, everyday societal or economic challenges in ways that will positively impact our ever-changing world.

Visit Community Enterprise Association Irelands website here to find out details on how to sign-up. The purpose of the event is to promote the role of social enterprise in local communities. Individuals will not need to have any experience of business or social enterprise, but will be driven by a passion to make a real difference in their own communities and beyond. Ideas will be classified under one of three key themes which are all encompassing:

Environment and Climate Action

Economic Inequality

Human Wellbeing

Examples of successful social enterprises already in Ireland include:

Thriftify - a web platform that allows charities to offer second-hand items for sale online

Food Cloud  a social enterprise that connects businesses that have surplus food with charities and community groups that need it to combat food waste in Ireland

GIY Ireland - helping and educating people to become more sustainable by growing some of their own food with the goal to rebuild a sustainable food system

Too Good to Go - an app that lets people buy surplus food and drink from restaurants, grocery stores, pubs, cafes and producers to combat food waste in Ireland

Refill Ireland - non-profit organisation aiming to create a sustainable future by reducing plastic waste and trash in Ireland by eliminating single-use plastic bottles

Mens Sheds Association  non-profit local organisations nationwide that provide a space for craftwork and social interaction to improve health and well-being of older men in communities

During the weekend, ideas generated and agreed on as offering opportunities to be transformed into viable products or services will be concept-tested, validated and developed out for commercial suitability, possibly even leading to the setting up of sustainable non-profit business.

Individuals, community organisations, networks or special interest groups are all encouraged to take part. There is no charge for participating. Anybody interested will be given the opportunity to work with local mentors to develop their idea and help prepare them to present and pitch it to a panel of experts.

Finalists will be identified from each region and those shortlisted will participate in the national event on October 20th 2022. The selected overall winning team will benefit from a bursary of key supports and services that any start-up would welcome.

Champion Changemakers will contribute to Irelands progress in overcoming challenges facing communities nationwide including youth unemployment, poverty, social injustice and the climates crisis, which will in turn help mobilise efforts to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Agenda by 2030.

Ciara Breen, Manager, Creative Spark Downtown Dundalk said:

Dundalk is a large urban town with a great sense of community activism and creative thinkers. With the current economic and social challenges, were facing locally and globally we are really excited to see what ideas will spring from the Champion Changemakers weekend at Creative Spark Downtown Hub. One of the key motivations around the opening of Creative Spark Downtown Hub was to support the regeneration of Dundalk Town Centre, so it feels fitting to hold a social innovation hackathon in our hub.

Siobhan Finn, Hub Network Manager at Community Enterprise Association Ireland, said:

Social enterprises are key players in the entrepreneurial ecosystem, delivering products and services primarily to improve the lives of people in communities around Ireland. The aim of this initiative is to empower, educate and inspire individuals to create concepts which can be turned into tangible products or services which could potentially solve large scale societal problems. Another key objective is to equip people with the skillset to start their social enterprises from scratch - including idea generation, how to market test and how to create impact for communities.

"The CEAI is grateful to receive this funding from the Department of Rural and Community Development under the 2021 Arise Scheme enabling us to run this initiative. We are looking forward to seeing the innovation and talent of local changemakers representative of diverse community groups around the country come together to present their solutions for environmental, societal, or public realm challenges in their local communities.
According to a royal analyst, Princesses Eugenie and Princess Beatrice's relationship with their cousin Prince William, the future King, is struggling as William continues to rally against their father, the disgraced Duke of York, Prince Andrew.

Neil Sean, a royal analyst, chimed in on the York sisters' connection with Prince William, amid rumors that the heir to the throne has aggressively campaigned within the royal family to keep Prince Andrew away from public life as a royal following his sex scandal.

Experts Says Princess Eugenie, Princess Beatrice Struggle to be Cordial

According to Express.co.uk, Neil Sean believes it is all because to their father, Prince Andrew, deciding to stand aside from royal duties. In 2019, Prince Andrew was compelled to step down from royal responsibilities after being accused of sexual assault by a victim of convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, with whom he had been acquainted. In January 2021, his military titles were also revoked, several months before he resolved the sex assault lawsuit against him.

The complete Royal Family gathered earlier this year to celebrate the Queen's Platinum Jubilee, thrilling admirers with appearances at everything from the Platinum Pageant to a Thanksgiving Service. The 2022 Trooping the Color procession featured solely working royals on the Buckingham Palace balcony beside the Queen.

This meant that Prince William was the only one of her grandchildren there, even though his cousin Princess Beatrice was seen staring out the palace windows that day. As per royal analyst Neil Sean, she and her sister Princess Eugenie are apparently trying to have a cordial relationship with the future King.

Sean, a royal expert, believes that while the Queen's eldest child and his heir have allegedly operated for the good of the monarchy in recent years, this may have produced friction between them and the Yorks. The York sisters are important members of the Royal Family despite not being working royals since they are the Queen's grandkids.

The claims about Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice's strained ties with Prince William come as Prince Charles has already stated his desire to cut down the Royal Family. If this is true, it seems doubtful that Princess Beatrice or Princess Eugenie would take on more royal responsibilities when Prince Charles becomes King and Prince William becomes Prince of Wales, Woman&Home via MSN reported.

Read Also: Kevin Durant Trade Update: Celtics Reportedly Offers Jaylen Brown Package for KD But Nets Wants Marcus Smart Included

Prince Andrew's Daughters Heal Rifts With Prince Harry, Meghan Markle

Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice are now on good terms with Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan Markle, unlike the rest of the royal family, sigh. However, royal critic Richard Fitzwilliams stated that the mending of rifts between the royal cousins took place quietly and behind closed doors and that it was "useful" to the royal family.

In the public eye, Prince Harry and Princess Eugenie are extremely close: not only did she attend the Superbowl with him, but Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been allowing Princess Eugenie and her husband to live in their UK home Frogmore Cottage, though they recently moved out and are now feuding with the Cambridges over Adelaide Cottage.

On top of that, Richard claims Princess Eugenie was engaged in negotiating Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan Markle's return to England for the Queen's Jubilee, which everyone was nervous about for the typical, fairly exhausting, royal feud-related reasons, as per Delish.

Related Article: Prince Harry Completes Much-Awaited Memoir with Manuscript Signed by Lawyers Following Reports That California Home Targeted by Intruders

@YouTube

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Local currency EBRD loan of RSD 1.2 billion (10 million equivalent) to 3Bank in Serbia

Funds for on-lending to micro and small businesses, entrepreneurs and farmers

75 per cent of credit line to finance clients outside the capital region

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is helping to improve access to finance for small businesses, farmers and entrepreneurs in Serbia in partnership with 3Bank, a local market leader in microfinancing. A RSD 1.2 billion local currency loan ( 10 million equivalent) to 3Bank will improve the availability of funding for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Serbia, including agricultural businesses, farmers and entrepreneurs. Around 75 per cent of the credit line is intended for financing clients outside the capital Belgrade.

3Bank is a market leader in financing small businesses, farmers and entrepreneurs in Serbia. Their mission is to improve access to finance for businesses that are making a positive economic, social and environmental impact, with a special focus on clients who have difficulty accessing such services from traditional banks.

Matteo Colangeli, EBRD Regional Director for Western Balkans, Head of Serbia, said: 3Bank is our first partner financial institution in Serbia that focuses on microfinance. We are delighted at this new cooperation and committed to work with 3Bank on enabling greater access for micro businesses to the finance needed to grow and become more competitive.

Vladimir Vukotic, CEO of 3Bank, said: "We are the only bank on the market with a complete focus on financial inclusion." We support small-scale farmers and entrepreneurs who have limited or no access to financing, and even 45 per cent of our new clients get their first loan from our bank. In the past two decades, we approved about 300,000 loans and contributed to the creation of about 60,000 jobs. A RSD credit line in cooperation with such a respectable investor as the EBRD will enable us to further increase the share of dinar placements in the bank's total placements, while contributing to the development of the business of small entrepreneurs and farmers, and thus to the progress of society as a whole."

The EBRD is a leading institutional investor in Serbia and has invested more than 7.3 billion in the country to date. The Bank focuses on support for private-sector development, the improvement of public utility services and the overall transition to a green economy.
CORK teacher Christine Smiddy is one of hundreds of people taking part in the Tour de Munster cycle event this year.

This will be the 13th successive year that Down Syndrome Cork has been the beneficiary of the popular cycle around the province, taking place from August 4-7.

Christines brother, Damien, who has down syndrome, is all excited that his big sister is taking part in the Tour de Munster.

He was cheering the cyclists down Patricks Hill at the finish last year. There was a great atmosphere, says Christine, from Ballycrenane Ballymacoda

She got her wheels a few months ago ready for the road.

For the last few years, I have considered taking part in the Tour as I have seen first-hand how Damien and so many others have benefited from the ever-improving facilities and services available from DS Cork. I decided to take the step this year and bought my bike back in March.

Christine was determined to get back on the saddle after a few minor hiccoughs.

The training group have taken me under their wing since day one and have been the backbone in the transition from a nervous social cyclist to someone who is about to cycle over 600km across the six counties of Munster, she says.

From a fall in the early days to the odd flat tyre, they have supported me every step of the way. The buzz on Patricks Hill, which will be the last leg of the journey on August 7 will be electric and I am just so excited and privileged to be part of it.

Damien is thrilled that Im taking part this year in the cycle.

Christine is proud of her younger brother.

He is the youngest and hes spoilt rotten! she laughs.

Damien is 20 and currently in his 2nd year in Bonnington Training Centre, says Christine.

He attended mainstream primary school in Kilcredan, where he got on great and as a result knows everyone in the community, which is fantastic. He was treated like every other child in the school and this was credit to his principal, SNA and resource staff, says Christine, who teaches in Pobalscoil na Trionoide in Youghal.

Damien made great strides.

In March, Down Syndrome Cork ran a pilot programme whereby young adults over the age of 18 were given the opportunity to work in the Down Syndrome charity shop in Merchants Quay Shopping Centre. Damien now travels independently to and from on the train or bus to Cork, says Christine.

This has been so beneficial in terms of building his confidence and dealing with the public. He previously worked in Garryvoe Hotel and knowing his friends from Kilcredan also working there made him adjust quicker and he really enjoyed it.

Christine recognises the great work DS Cork do.

Down Syndrome Cork was a great support from the beginning as the services were very poor when Damien was born, with no speech therapy available at the time.

Therapies including physiotherapy and occupational therapy were then subsidised by Down Syndrome Cork, and its funding like this which is why fundraising events like the Tour De Munster are vital.

In the near future, Damien will hopefully progress to the Field of Dreams in Curaheen, which is another amazing initiative by DS Cork.

The main focus is to prepare them and provide training for the working world. Damien got to know other children with Down Syndrome over the years and they are now all great friends into adulthood.

The field of dreams is a training centre for young adults, which was built in 2017 to meet their on-going learning needs, adds Christine.

The purpose of the three-acre horticultural site is to move young adults into a life of greater independence and potentially integrate them into the workplace. The facility has come on in leaps and bounds since its opening. The first Cork sportives was one of the SUDS events, which stands for saddle up for Down Syndrome. These sportives across Munster enable each county to get involved with the Tour in the lead up to the main weekend, raise vital funds and act as a training opportunity for cyclists, so theyre a win all round

Damien and I have an extremely special bond, says Christine, who also has a sister, Elaine.

Being six years older, I was always aware of him having special needs, but only became aware of Down Syndrome as I got older, I suppose. Our family was no different to anyone else and thankfully Damien had no health issues.

Christine got to know Damiens friends. As he grew up, I had the opportunity to meet siblings of other boys and girls with DS. Sibling workshops were held and friendships were formed, she says.

These bonds have lasted to this day and one girl I met along the way many years ago is also completing the tour, which is brilliant.

Damien is an all rounder.

He is a master at keeping his bedroom tidy so I rope him in to help with cleaning my house when I can! says Christine.

Were very fortunate to live right beside the beach and he loves taking our dog for walks down there and over to Garryvoe. He also enjoys swimming and he has learnt many recipes in college so he gives cooking and baking a go now and again.

Christine is heartened by the training group for the Tour de Munster.

Its heart-warming to see how motivated everyone is to raise funds for such a worthy charity, she says.

Teenagers have often called up with their parents before training sessions to show their appreciation and it brings back home what all the hard work is for.

The Tour has successfully run an initiative over the last few years called Adopt a Cyclist, whereby families write letters to the cyclists and engage with them. Its really exciting for the young people to possibly meet their partnered cyclists along the stops in the Tour where they show their heart-felt thanks.

It acts as motivation for the cyclists and excites the young person to hear about their training and preparation for the event. It is lovely for people to watch out for someone on the Tour if they dont know anybody taking part personally.

Christine will have her own cheer-leader. Damien is really looking forward to it and will be cheering me on along the route, she says.

To aid fundraising, a coffee morning will be held this Sunday at Christines home in Ballymacoda from 10am to 2pm. Donations can also be made online at www.idonate.ie/ChristineSmiddy

Funds raised as result of the Tour de Munster 2022 play a significant role across each Munster branch of DSI, who provide a range of vital supports and services to children and adults with DS and their families.

The 22nd Tour de Munster will start in City Hall, and take the cyclists through Cork Waterford, Tipperary, Limerick, finishing in Killaloe on day one. On day two they will go through Clare and North Kerry to Tralee. Day three will see them face more big climbs over the Conor Pass and Molls Gap as they make their way via Dingle and Killarney toward Kenmare. The final day starts with a climb over the Caha Pass and finishes in Cork city.
About 3,000 firefighters are working to put out the Oak Fire, which started Monday afternoon and destroyed scores of homes in Mariposa, California, close to Yosemite National Park.

The California Wildfire, which has burned more than 18,000 acres, is thought to be the biggest wildfire to have broken out in California this year. "Extreme drought," "high tree mortality," and a bark beetle problem in the locality.

According to Natasha Fouts, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire), thousands of individuals were forced to leave their homes due to the California Wildfires, per Fox News.

The California Fire Department reported the California Wildfire is only around 16% contained, and on Monday, it destroyed 21 homes and 34 other structures. Fouts noted that it still poses a hazard to more than 2,400 properties in the surrounding communities.

California Wildfire images were taken and posted online, showing its massive damage, as reported by Yahoo! News.

Satellite footage captures massive California wildfire and plumes of smoke near Yosemite National Park. The Oak Fire burning in Mariposa County has scorched over 17,000 acres and prompted the evacuation of more than 6,000 people. https://t.co/T8mCDaUxDb pic.twitter.com/BZRj51IIuF  ABC News (@ABC) July 26, 2022

Fouts noted: "This is the first fire we've had this season that is fast moving and destructive, and we're just getting started, so, I like to tell people to hope for the best but prepare for the worst."

Residential Areas At Risk

The official added that they were reporting "long-range spotting, almost 2 miles ahead of the fire. With everything being so dry, high temperatures, and low humidity, when embers do land ahead of the fire, it's creating spot fires because the fuels are so receptive" during the California wildfire.

The California Fire PIO also said the fire has moved into a populated neighborhood and the mixture of homes and forest "present challenges for firefighters" looking to douse the flames. By Monday, the fire had consumed more than 27 square miles of forest, per Yahoo News.

Read Also: January 6 US Capitol Attack: Harvard Study Concludes Donald Trump 'Summoned' Mob, Sparked Riot

The absence of other major fires in the region enabled Cal Fire to concentrate 2,500 firefighters on the blaze, and the lack of wind allowed for the continuous use of aircraft to drop water and fire retardant, officials said.

Hector Vasquez, a spokesperson for Cal Fire, said in a command post in Mariposa, California, roughly 150 miles inland from San Francisco, described the scene as "a perfect storm."

Extreme Heat Continues Its Onslaught

The fire was no longer moving toward Yosemite, which was about 10 miles away, but rather into the Sierra National Forest. Another blaze did pose a threat to a grove of enormous, historic sequoia trees in Yosemite a few weeks ago.

Climate change, which has brought more frequent and severe heat waves and droughts, has raised the risk of wildfires. The federal government reports that the water levels in the country's two largest reservoirs, Lake Mead and Lake Powell, have dropped to "critical levels" as a result of the West's two-decade mega-drought.

While there were few chances for thunderstorms, temperatures in the area climbed to 97 degrees Fahrenheit (36 degrees Celsius). The National Weather Service predicted temperatures of 100 degrees for the majority of the week, per Alarabiya News.

The two most disastrous years on record occurred in 2020 and 2021, when more than 6.8 million acres-an area larger than Rwanda-were destroyed by fire.

Related Article: Wagner Distributes Online Ads To Recruit Kyrgyzstan Residents To Fight in the War Against Ukraine

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
CORK-based award-winning beekeepers, Healys Honey have secured a worth 3 million deal with Lidl Ireland.

This new deal will continue to bring their deliciously sweet honey products to Lidl stores across the island of Ireland.

Healys Honey was founded by Patrick Healy more than 40 years ago. Mr Healy was a keen beekeeper who cultivated his hobby into a successful business. The company has since thrived and continues the long-standing traditions and values set by him three generations ago, with excellence in quality remaining a primary focus.

Healys Honey works with fellow beekeepers worldwide to blend unique and distinctive honeys that have won many Great Taste Awards. Some of these unique blends include orange blossom, eucalyptus, clover and acacia. At the heart of the business is the value placed on quality and ensuring customers can experience their award-winning range.

Highgate Fayre Organic Honey, Raw Honeycomb, and Healys Honey Acacia Honey are just a few of the delicious products in Healys Honeys growing range available in Lidl stores across Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Con Healy, director at Healys Honey; Claire Mulrennan, buyer at Lidl Ireland and Northern Ireland, and Martin Ormonde, export sales executive at Healys Honey, as the Cork company signs a deal with Lidl. Picture: Keith Arkins Media

Welcoming the contract extension, Con Healy, director at Healys Honey said: Lidl has been a long-standing partner of ours since 2010 and the support we have received from their team over the years has provided us with a huge opportunity to place our products in the homes of Lidl customers across the country. We strive to provide the best quality produce we can offer to our customers and working with Lidl means we can continue to innovate and create new products for our loyal customers to enjoy.

Following the success of Healys Honey with Lidls customers, the retailer confirmed the new deal worth more than 3 million.

This new deal has had a significantly positive impact on their operations, with the beekeeper delivering premium products at market-leading value.

Commenting on the new deal Claire Mulrennan, buyer with Lidl Ireland and Northern Ireland said: We are delighted to be part of Healys Honeys journey while they create a premium product, and we couldnt be more thrilled to place their product on our shelves across the island of Ireland.
Plans for the proposed enhancement of the rail line between Glounthaune and Midleton, which could see a tripling of service frequency on the line, have been unveiled.

Plans for the future Cork rail network. Source: Irish Rail

Iarnrod Eireann has published details on the proposed twin tracking of the 10km section of the rail line between Glounthaune and Midleton, a project which has been described as another milestone in the decade of delivery for Corks passenger rail network.

The existing rail network in Cork. Source: Irish Rail

The plans form part of a greater package of improvements being delivered by the Cork Area Commuter Rail Programme under the Cork Metropolitan Area Transport Strategy (CMATS) 2040.

Iarnrod Eireann say the delivery of this project along with the completion of the new Kent Station through-platform, proposed signalling and communications upgrades and the delivery of additional rail cars, will facilitate operation of a 10-minute service frequency compared to the current 30-minute service.

Growing population

The National Planning Framework (NPF) 2040 anticipates that Cork will become the fastest-growing city region in Ireland, with a projected 50-60% increase in its population by 2040 The Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan TD said that the proposal will deliver exceptional benefits for customers across the Cork Metropolitan Area which is welcome given the growth projections for the city and county.

AJ Cronin, Delivery Manager, Cork Area Commuter Rail Programme, Iarnrod Eireann. - Picture; David Creedon

Increases in capacity, connectivity, and reliability will encourage the usage of public transport going forward and is especially welcomed as the area has projected population increase of upwards of fifty per cent by 2040, he said.

The companys Chairman Frank Allen and CEO Jim Meade were joined on Tuesday by the National Transport Authoritys Head of Customer Experience John OFlynn, Cork County Mayor Cllr Danny Collins, Cork County Council CEO Tim Lucey and Cork East TD David Stanton at Midleton Station to formally launch a public consultation for the proposed project.

Public consultation

Communities along the route are being invited to give their feedback on plans that will support a future tripling of service frequency on the line.

Commenting on the plans, Jim Meade, CEO of Iarnrod Eireann said that twin tracking between Glounthaune and Midleton, along with the broader package of improvements that are planned for Cork, will significantly enhance and improve the existing rail infrastructure offering public transport users in the area a more efficient and reliable rail service. He added: this is another milestone in the decade of delivery for Corks passenger rail network and I encourage everyone in the area to view the proposals and make a submission. Chief Executive of the National Transport Authority, Anne Graham, added: "Its great to see this project being progressed and thanks to these plans, service levels will improve dramatically. Increased frequencies will make it easier to get around and will open up this part of East Cork to greater numbers of locals and visitors alike.

Jim Meade, CEO, Iarnrod Eireann, Kathleen and Mick Woulfe with AJ Cronin, Delivery Manger, Cork Area Commuter Rail Programme, Iarnrod Eireann. - Picture; David Creedon

"Investment in rail was a key component in the CMATS strategy, published in 2019. This is a clear signal of intent on the part of NTA and Iarnrod Eireann that delivering for the people of Cork by implementing the Strategy is now the priority."

Two local public information days will take place on the plans over the coming weeks where people can learn more about the project and meet with members of the project team.

The first of these will take place at MyPlace Midleton Main Hall, Mill Rd on Wednesday, August 3 from 1pm to 8pm.

The second session will take place at Glounthaune Community Centre, Glounthaune Village on Thursday, August 4 from 1pm to 8pm.

All project information including how to lodge a submission, an information brochure and project drawings are available on the project webpage.

The consultation is open until August 16, 2022.
By David Young, Rebecca Black and Michelle Devane, PA

Political leaders past and present have paid tribute to David Trimbles contribution to peace in Northern Ireland following his death.

The 77-year-old peer and ex-leader of the Ulster Unionist Party was one of the principal architects of the Good Friday/Belfast Agreement that ended decades of conflict in the region.

Mr Trimble, who jointly won the Nobel Peace Prize along with late SDLP leader John Hume, died on Monday following an illness.

Former British prime minister Tony Blair was among those paying tribute to Mr Trimble (PA)

His death comes amid another political crisis at Stormont, with the DUP blocking the creation of a powersharing administration in protest at Brexits Northern Ireland Protocol.

A planned recall sitting of the troubled Assembly on Tuesday, which would have expected to witness heated exchanges over the current deadlock, has been postponed as a mark of respect.

On Monday evening, British prime minister Boris Johnson said Mr Trimbles achievements would never be forgotten.

He was a giant of British and international politics and will be long remembered for his intellect, personal bravery and fierce determination to change politics for the better, he said.

Taoiseach Micheal Martin credited his central contribution in efforts to secure peace and reconciliation on the island of Ireland.

All of us in politics at the time witnessed his crucial and courageous role in the negotiations leading to the Good Friday Agreement and his leadership in building support in his party and his community for the Agreement, he said.

President Michael D Higgins praised Mr Trimbles life of public service.

Former British and Irish prime ministers Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern, both of whom were involved in the intensive Good Friday negotiations, also paid tribute.

David Trimble was a man of courage & vision. He chose to grasp the opportunity for peace when it presented itself & sought to end the decades of violence that blighted his beloved Northern Ireland. - UUP Leader Doug Beattie MC MLA



Read more: https://t.co/oIUswfG3Ix pic.twitter.com/KriyF1Nlv4  Ulster Unionist (@uuponline) July 25, 2022

Mr Blair said his contribution was immense, unforgettable and frankly irreplaceable while Mr Ahern described him as a courageous leader.

Ex-Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams, a once bitter political adversary of the unionist leader, thanked him for helping to get the Good Friday Agreement over the line in 1998.

Current UUP leader Doug Beattie hailed the former first minister as a man of courage and vision.

He chose to grasp the opportunity for peace when it presented itself and sought to end the decades of violence that blighted his beloved Northern Ireland, he said.

Announcing the postponement of the recalled sitting on Monday evening, outgoing Stormont speaker Alex Maskey said he would be making arrangements to allow MLAs to formally offer their condolences and pay tributes.

I will announce further details when arrangements have been confirmed, he added.
ANN OLOUGHLIN

A 30-year-old woman who sued claiming a cyst on her brain was not diagnosed for over two years has settled a High Court action with an interim payout of 3 million.

The womans counsel told the High Court the woman had a benign colloid cyst, but this type of cyst can lead to the build-up of inter cranial pressure and tissue damage.

Des ONeill SC instructed by Callan Tansey Solicitors said it was their case the failure to treat the cyst on the womans brain over two and half years resulted in irreparable brain damage.

The woman he said now needs 24-hour care for the rest of her life. Counsel said when the cyst was finally diagnosed the woman had a brain operation which saved her life, but she had been left with irreparable front lobe damage.

She needs a guardian angel with her 24 hours a day, Counsel said.

The interim payment is for the next seven years, when her future care needs will be assessed.

The woman who cannot be identified by order of the court had through her sister sued the HSE over the care she received at Mayo University Hospital from the time she first attended the hospital after she suffered a grand mal seizure in 2014.

It was claimed that if the brain cyst had been identified and treated prior to July 2017, she would not have suffered rising intracranial pressure and consequent cell death between 2014 and 2017, and she would not have suffered the acute collapse and damage in 2017.

It was claimed there was an alleged failure to diagnose the colloid cyst and that a CT scan of her brain carried out on December 26th, 2014 had been reported back as normal which it was claimed it was clear that was not the case, and it was claimed it was in fact grossly abnormal.

Breach of duty

There was also it was claimed an alleged failure to refer the young woman in December 2014 for a neurological examination and that a CT scan arranged in March 2016 had been cancelled.

Counsel told the court a breach of duty had been acknowledged by the HSE, but causation was still at issue.

Mr ONeill said in 2014 the family noticed a change in the young womans behaviour, and she was suffering headaches. She suffered a Grand Mal fit in her home and was taken to Mayo University Hospital. She had a CT scan which counsel said was erroneously interpreted as normal,

In March 2016 she was complaining of other headaches and a diagnosis secondary to sinus problems was made. A CT scan was requested but it was cancelled

In 2017 the womans condition began to deteriorate, and she was complaining of headaches, and she also began to vomit.

She was brought back to Mayo University Hospital on July 15th, 2017, complaining of a two-week history of recurrent headaches. A diagnosis of possible infected sinus and dehydration. She was declared fit for discharge but collapsed.

A CT scan was carried out on July 18th, 2017, and she was transferred to a Dublin hospital where she suffered a cardiac arrest in A&E.

At this stage Counsel said the correct diagnosis made of the colloid cyst on the brain. Surgery was carried out he said which saved the womans life.

Approving the settlement Mr Justice Paul Coffey wished the woman and her family well for the future.
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.

Democratic leadership may have given up on passing major climate legislation, but their employees arent ready to throw in the towel.

Six Congressional staffers were arrested Monday after a first-of-its-kind sit-in at Senate majority leader Chuck Schumers office demanding he give climate negotiations another try.

Right now, we Hill staffers are peacefully protesting Dem leaders INSIDE, Saul Levin, a policy adviser to congresswoman Cori Bush who was one of those arrested, wrote, as The Guardian reported. To my knowledge, this has never been done.

HAPPENING NOW: Were asking Senator Schumer to negotiate like this is the coldest summer of the rest of our lives (it is). pic.twitter.com/wjXnHfTQqn  Saul (@saaaauuull) July 25, 2022

The protest comes at a crucial moment for climate action in the U.S. In late June, the Supreme Court ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) could not restrict greenhouse gas emissions from power plants under the Clean Air Act without a new legislative mandate. Then, in mid-July, West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin told Schumer that he would not support the climate elements in an economic legislative package. All of this comes as a summer of extreme heat waves around the world makes the stakes of inaction blazingly clear.

Hes giving up, but some of us are going to live through the climate crisis, Levin said of Schumer, as NBC journalist Jules Jester reported on Twitter.

When asked why the staffers targeted Schumer and not Manchin, Levin said it was the job of the Senate majority leader to whip votes.

[T]eres always going to be a sheep that strays away from the herd. Its the job of leadership to get the party together & actually pass what people need, Levin said.

Why did congressional staffers protest inside Schumers office and not Manchins re: climate action?



Because theres always going to be a sheep that strays away from the herd. Its the job of leadership to get the party together & actually pass what people need. https://t.co/ydOBMYA312  Julia Jester (@JulesJester) July 25, 2022

A total of 17 people participated in the sit-in, according to The Guardian. In addition to Levin, Axios reported that the other arrested staffers were

Aria Kovalovich, who works for Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) Emma Preston, who also works for Khanna Rajiv Sicora, who works for Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) Courtney Koelbel, who works for Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) Philip Bennett, who works for Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.)

Bennett also serves as the President of the Congressional Workers Union, The Guardian reported.

Philip Bennet, President of the Congressional Workers Union is among one of the arrested protesters. pic.twitter.com/JG1oNKgHbg  Christian Hall (@christianjhall) July 25, 2022

Levin tweeted that the six arestees were released Monday evening.

We, Hill staff, did something outside the box because we need Schumer and Biden to do something outside the box, he said. We are acting on the emergency basis this moment requires in hopes they will too. We have no other choice, weve tried everything. We wont give up.
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.

Theres a new star on the scene in Oslo, Norway, whos won a sudden influx of fans, haters and paparazzi.

No, Freya isnt a pop idol or a glamorous starlet. Shes a 1,500-pound walrus whos caused quite a stir by visiting the coastline of the Scandinavian country, as HuffPost reported. Shes also an example of how fame can be a real burden for wildlife.

She doesnt get any peace, walrus expert Rune Aae told The Norwegian News Agency, NTB.

Freya was first discovered when she lounged on a leisure boat in Krager, Norway, June 11, as Norway Today reported at the time. Firefighters temporarily succeeded in getting her off the boat, but she climbed right back on.

So now it will be allowed to lie there until it wants to go out itself, officer Tom Berger told Norwegian Broadcasting.

Aae, who is a doctoral fellow at the University of Southeast Norway, said Freya had been seen in the area before and had traveled from Denmark in March by way of Sweden.

However, she became a divisive figure in Krager because of her propensity to lounge on boats  some of which arent walrus worthy, as a video posted by Deutsche Welle put it in June  and damage them. Two boat owners told the broadcaster that they wanted Freya to leave, but the walrus has earned her share of fans as well, including on social media.

Big story in Norway this summer is a walrus we've named Freya has made it to our shores and is touring the country, laying around and sinking boats pic.twitter.com/rQolsxd88b  Wild Geerters (@steinkobbe) July 19, 2022

This has become a problem for her now that she has moved to Frognerkilen, a bay near the Oslo city center. On Tuesday, July 19, she was mobbed by boaters with cameras while lounging on a boat.

Everything indicated that she wanted to get away. But she couldnt because she was trapped, Aae told NTB.

Aae told NTB that walruses like Freya need to rest for as many as 20 hours.

When she is constantly stressed out by people and their presence, it is not good for her, Aae told NTB.

He recommended that authorities restrict access to the area where Freya is resting.

To solve the boat problem, biologists tried building a floating platform for her, but she was not interested, Euronews reported. Freya prefers boats with a low stern and a small engine that are easy to access.

Those who have low boats where the walrus can easily get into, here at Frognerkilen, they should consider whether its possible to turn the boat and moor with the stern towards the quay, biologist Kjell Isaksen told Euronews. Then there is far less chance of the walrus getting into the boat and causing damage.

Eventually, researchers hope to return Freya to her home in the Arctic Circle. Until then, they hope she can get used to Oslo. And maybe Oslo can get used to her as well.
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.

The processing of sugarcane has an enormous impact on the environment due to the emissions, wastewater runoff and solid waste produced by sugar mills. It also causes biodiversity loss when animal and plant habitat is destroyed to make way for sugarcane cultivation, according to the World Wildlife Fund website.

It makes sense then that the reduction of sugar consumption, leading to the reduction of sugar production, would have positive impacts on the environment, according to a new study by the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology of the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (ICTA-UAB), a press release from ICTA-UAB said.

A sugar mill in Louisiana. John Elk III / Getty Images

The study, Sugar taxation for climate and sustainability goals, was published in the journal Nature Sustainability.

The massive quantities of plant matter and sludge washed from mills decompose in freshwater bodies, absorbing all the available oxygen and leading to massive fish kills, the World Wildlife Fund website said.

In the study, researchers analyzed the possible benefits that the reduction of sugar consumption by converting land currently being used to grow sugarcane to other uses could have on sustainability as well as climate. The researchers pointed out that the taxing of sugar could be a way to accomplish this reduction, according to the press release.

The studys authors, Lewis King and Jeroen van den Bergh, both from ICTA-UAB, looked at three different scenarios in their examination of putting land currently being used to grow sugarcane to different uses. They included sugar beet crops in the EU being converted to ethanol production, sugar cropland in the EU being reforested and the EU exporting its surplus sugar while Brazils sugarcane is repurposed from sugar to ethanol.

The researchers found that reforesting would cause emissions to fall, and that the reduction in emissions each year would be doubled by converting sugar beet crops to ethanol, and increased four times by the export of the EUs sugar surplus while Brazil starts using its sugarcane to make ethanol instead of sugar.

Land laid bare in preparation for cane planting is stripped of any protective cover, allowing the soils to dry out, the World Wildlife Fund website said. This impacts overall microorganism diversity and mass, both of which are essential to fertility. Additionally, exposed topsoil is easily washed off of sloping land, with nutrients leached from the topsoil. Further, the continual removal of cane from the fields gradually reduces fertility and forces growers to rely increasingly on fertilizers.

The study found that an agreement between the EU and Brazil in which the EU put its emphasis on the production of sugar from sugar beet and Brazil put its focus on its sugarcane being used to produce ethanol would have the most beneficial environmental impact.

The researchers found that there would be minimal economic impact on farmers in Brazil and the EU, as using sugarcane to produce ethanol instead of sugar is known to be an economically sound option in Brazil, the ICTA-UAB press release said.

It provides a clear example of how broad collaboration can help direct society in a more sustainable direction, said Van den Bergh, who is a Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies research professor at ICTA-UAB.

Policies with the goal of helping society to alter their behaviors, coupled with education, have helped reduce tobacco consumption in the EU, and a similar strategy could be used in helping to reduce the consumption of sugar, the press release said.

In countries like the UK, the taxation of sugar has proven to be popular politically, as well as effective, so it could be a good tool to help reach climate change targets.

The taxation of sugar would also lead to the reduction of the sweet ingredient in beverages and other products.For sustainability policies to be both efficient and effective, we must consider the full impact across the three  environmental, social, and economic  pillars, said ICTA-UAB researcher and lead author of the article Lewis King in the press release. Changing how we use sugar crops presents an appealing strategy from this perspective as sugar is arguably the least efficient crop to be used as food, apart even from its negative health impacts; moreover, it is the most efficient crop for biofuel from a net energy perspective.




Alltech awards young leaders in agricultural communications at 2022 Ag Media Summit in US

During the 2022 Ag Media Summit (AMS), held in Raleigh, North Carolina, the United States, on July 1620, agricultural communications students were honored for their excellence, professionalism and leadership.

The Livestock Publications Council (LPC) Student Award Program, sponsored by Alltech, provides travel scholarships for four students to attend AMS. This year's finalists were Lydia Johnson (Iowa State University), Faye Smith (Kansas State University), Lindsey Okuley (The Ohio State University) and Sydney Garrett (Kansas State University).

Following a competitive application and interview process, Johnson was awarded the LPC Forrest Bassford Student Award. She is a junior and currently serves as the president of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Student Council and senior director of communications in student government.

Johnson is also an active member of the National Agri-Marketing Association, Sigma Alpha Professional Agricultural Sorority and the National Association of Farm Broadcasters. She spends her time as an agricultural communications peer mentor and College of Agriculture and Life Sciences ambassador.

In addition to her involvement on campus, Johnson is a communications student worker for the Agricultural Entrepreneurship Initiative. She has completed internships with the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, National FFA Organization and "The Big Show" on Newsradio 1040 WHO.

"Alltech is proud to support the next generation of agricultural communicators as the ambassadors and voice of our industry," Jenn Norrie, Alltech's communications manager for North America and Europe, said. "As media platforms evolve, these young leaders are playing an instrumental role in sharing stories of farmers and ranchers and helping to educate the urban population on where and who their food comes from."

The Forrest Bassford Student Award was established in 1992 to honor Bassford's contributions to the Livestock Publications Council and passion for supporting young people in the agricultural communications field.

- Alltech




Poultry association urges South Africa to renew anti-dumping duties





The South African Poultry Association (Sapa) is calling on South Africa's Minister of Trade and Industry, Ebrahim Patel, to renew anti-dumping duties.

Sapa said that the duties expired and this places the poultry industry in serious risk of predatory trade practices such as dumping.

"To date, of all the signatories to the Poultry Sector Master Plan, Sapa can report the most progress and most successes and can showcase material growth and transformation of the local poultry industry  including improvements throughout the value chain," Sapa said.

Some of these successes, according to Sapa, include:

- Sapa and its members have invested more than R1.5 billion (US$89.4 million) in expanding poultry processing capacity in the local industry, with an additional R570 million (US$34 million) earmarked to be invested during the course of 2023. This supports food security, local job creation, rural development and additional revenue for the fiscus;

- Beyond investing in the sector's industrial development, emerging black farmers and contract growers have also been supported with an injection of R474 million (US$28.3 million) in additional cash flow. Additionally, the industry has increased market capacity to afford market access to both established contract growers and emerging black farmers;

- While on the path to transforming the local industry to be more inclusive, contract growers have invested over R650 million (US$38.7 million) in poultry houses for black poultry farmers who are currently farming more than 16.8 million birds;

- Since signing the Poultry Sector Master Plan in 2019 (and despite the severe market restraints and economic contractions imposed by COVID-19), the South African poultry sector has added 1 465 new jobs, with an additional 800 in the pipeline as investments come online in 2024. Moreover, the growth of the poultry industry has had a significant impact on the broader value chain, with AFMA reporting the addition of over 2000 new jobs in the agricultural sector throughout the poultry value chain.

"Like so many South Africans, the poultry industry has had to contend with load shedding, access to fresh, clean water, the rising cost of fuel, the rising cost of feed and a less than desirable exchange rate; yet, despite these challenges, the industry still produces the cheapest chicken our rands can buy," said Izaak Breitenbach, general manager of Sapa's Broiler Organisation.

"Despite this exceedingly challenging production environment, the biggest threat to South Africa's poultry industry  and by extension, South African consumers  is unfair trade practices from countries like Brazil, Ireland, Spain and Denmark which dump their product on South African shores."

While South Africa's International Trade Administration Commission (ITAC) considers the imposition for five years of anti-dumping duties against these five countries, provisional anti-dumping duties were in force from December 2021 to June 14, 2022.

These temporary duties have expired and have not so far been renewed.

Sapa further stated: "As of June 12, 2022, Minister of Trade and Industry Ebrahim Patel had 60 days to react to the Itac report citing material harm sustained by the local poultry industry due to the unfair trade practices employed by these countries. With neither provisional nor permanent duties in place, the local poultry industry is at risk and the negative impacts can already be measured."

Meanwhile, financial and industrial small and medium market cap companies analyst Anthony Clark told Business Report: "There has also been evidence of other countries suddenly exporting poultry product to South Africa when they have not historically been exporters but in the scheme of things their tonnages are negatable. Brazil and the US remain the dominant forces until the EU is free of avian influenza and imports resume.

"The domestic poultry sector is currently in a delicately balanced position. On one side, declining input costs aiding production margin and an equitable supply/demand mix (versus) load shedding costs, fuel costs and rising imports on the other side.

"It all comes back to the Poultry Master Plan and if Minister Patel holds to his end of the bargain (or) will support for a weakened lower-end consumer outweigh the original November 2019 agreement?"



- IOL




Plaintiffs' attorneys in major US pork price-fixing case receive US$34 million in legal fees





A federal judge in Minnesota state, US has approved a nearly US$34 million legal-fee award for plaintiffs' attorneys representing food distributors who claimed that major pork producers coluded for more than ten years to fix and raise prices of pork in the country, Reuters reported.

US District Judge John Tunheim in Minneapolis granted fees to co-lead plaintiffs' firms Lockridge Grindal Nauen and Pearson, Simon & Warshaw for their work in obtaining more than US$101.8 million in settlements with Smithfield Foods., the nation's biggest pork processor, and JBS USA Food, which has offices in Virginia and Colorado, respectively.

The fee award, which represents about 33 percent of the settlement fund, was deemed "fair and reasonable" by Tunheim. There were no objections to either settlement, and the agreements call for both businesses to work together in an ongoing civil price-fixing lawsuit involving a number of unresolved defendants.

Tunheim said fee awards in antitrust actions also provide a public benefit, adding that society gains when those who break the rules promoting honest pricing and fair competition are forced to compensate harmed consumers in civil proceedings.

A Smithfield representative declined to comment, and a JBS representative did not right away answer a message requesting commentary.

In the settlements, Smithfield, which agreed to pay US$83 million, and JBS, which agreed to pay US$24 million, both denied responsibility.

Tyson Foods and Hormel Foods, two non-settling defendants, have also refuted the plaintiffs' allegations. Tyson declined to comment, and Hormel did not right away answer a message requesting comment.

In the pork price-fixing litigation, which started in 2018, the co-lead plaintiffs' attorneys for "direct" purchasers collaborated with 14 other firms.

The direct-purchase plaintiffs are Ferraro Foods. in New Jersey, John Gross and Company in Pennsylvania, and Maplevale Farms of New York.

In a court document, Bruckner stated that as of February, his company had devoted nearly 25,000 hours to the litigation.

In a related lawsuit brought by commercial consumers, including bakeries, restaurants, and delis, Smithfield agreed to pay US$42 million in April to resolve claims of price-fixing in the pork industry. The commercial plaintiffs are represented by co-lead counsel from the law firms of Larson King and Cuneo Gilbert & LaDuca.

- Reuters
European Union member states came up with a deal to ration gas this winter to safeguard against further supply restrictions by Russia, which continues its attack on Ukraine.

The new European legislation intended to reduce the demand for gas by 15% from August through March was agreed upon by EU energy ministers. It calls for optional national actions to cut gas usage, and if such steps do not save enough money, it sets off mandatory steps for the 27-member bloc.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen welcomed the move. In a statement, she stated that "the EU has taken a decisive step to face down the threat of a full gas disruption by (Russian President Vladimir) Putin."

On Monday, Russian energy giant Gazprom said it would limit supplies to the EU through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to 20% of capacity, heightening concerns that Putin will use gas trade to challenge the bloc's opposition to the war in Ukraine, as reported by AP News.

EU Fights Back Putin's 'Blackmailing'

Czech Industry Minister Jozef Sikela said: "The winter is coming and we don't know how cold it will be. But what we know for sure is that Putin will continue to play his dirty games in misusing and blackmailing gas supplies."

After days of discussions over the measure, Sikela praised the decision as evidence that European Union member states "will stand tall" against any Russian effort to split the EU by weaponizing energy supplies.

The energy-saving initiative, however, did not have unanimity of support. Hungary voiced objection, having already obtained a waiver from the EU's ban on Russian oil.

Read Also: Taiwan Conducts Military Exercises Participated by Residents as China Becomes More Aggressive

In less than a week, the ministerial agreement was finalized. It is based on a recommendation made by the European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, last Wednesday. The commission said that coordinated rationing would allow the bloc as a whole to survive the winter should Vladimir Putin order to halt all gas deliveries.

Russia's Gas Deliveries Shut-off Impacts European Growth

According to The Guardian, if a European Union member state has limited connection to the European gas network, they may also request an exemption or a reduced savings target and can send transfer liquified natural gas to neighboring nations. This provision concerns Spain.

Since Russia's incursion of Ukraine in February, which the West condemned with economic penalties, Russian gas deliveries to 12 European Union member countries have been stopped or reduced.

Last week, von der Leyen alleged that Russia is "blackmailing" the EU by "using energy as a weapon. And therefore, in any event, whether it's a partial major cut-off of Russian gas or total cut-off of Russian gas, Europe needs to be ready."

The Independent reported that Russia might exert influence by weaponizing energy exports and cutting off the 27-nation bloc, per the International Monetary Fund (IMF). As part of scheduled "routine" maintenance, Russia cut off the majority of its natural gas supply to Europe via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline a few weeks ago.

The IMF warned that the partial shut-off of gas deliveries by Russia "is already affecting European growth, and a full shutdown could be substantially more severe."

Related Article: Vladimir Putin Health Scare: Russian Officials Panic Over Shocking Late Night Emergency

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.




Resolution on declaring state of calamity in Zamboanga City, Philippines, due to ASF approved





The Philippines' City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (CDRRMC) recently approved a resolution recommending the declaration of a state of calamity in Zamboanga City due to an African swine fever (ASF) outbreak that has affected six out of the seven veterinary districts as of July 21.

So far, hog mortalities soared to 2,775 as 746 pigs were culled due to ASF. The number of affected hog raisers has reached 733 since Zamboanga City was classified as red zone last May.

The CDRRMC recommendation will be forwarded to the Sangguniang Panlungsod for approval during its next session.

During a virtual meeting of the CDRRMC, City Veterinarian Dr. Mario Arriola reported that ASF infections continue to soar, despite concerted and coordinated efforts to contain the animal disease. From the initial four barangays affected, ASF has spread to 15 barangays to date.

During zonal meetings in the barangays, stakeholders have recommended that the city be declared under a state of calamity to enable the use of calamity funds at the barangay level to capacitate it to fight against ASF, according to Dr. Arriola.

- Outbreak News
First China-Europe freight train makes 10,000 trips

09:04, July 26, 2022 By Qiu Haifeng ( People's Daily

A cargo train, fully loaded with electronic products, mechanical parts and daily necessities, which departed from southwest China's Chongqing municipality on June 23, and arrived in Germany's Duisburg on July 11.

A China-Europe freight train carrying alcohol, daily use chemicals and maternity and infant care products arrives at a logistics park in Qingdao, east China's Shandong province, July 17, 2022. The train departed from Germany's Duisburg on June 17. (People's Daily Online/Xue Bing)

This marked the 10,000th trip made by China-Europe freight trains operated by the China-Europe Railway Express (Chongqing), the first of its kind in China.

China-Europe freight trains have bucked the trend and witnessed rapid growth this year. They offer a strong support for the global industrial and supply chains with stable, reliable and efficient logistics services despite impeded global circulation and insufficient transport capacity, making positive contributions to stabilizing global trade and promoting global economic recovery.

On July 7, a China-Europe freight train loaded with steels and other cargos departed from Huangshi, central China's Hubei province for Duisburg. As the first cargo route linking the two cities, the Huangshi-Duisburg cargo line has opened a new land channel for economic and trade exchanges between them and is able to transport nearly 200,000 tons of cargos on an annual basis.

"We shipped 500 tons of special steels via the train. Compared with maritime transport, it saved us nearly a month. Our delivery has become much more efficient," said Li Jie, head of the foreign trade department of a special steel manufacturer.

According to Li, the route reduces not only the time of transport, but also transhipment, which lowers both logistics cost and the risk of cargo damage, and at the same time increases enterprises' competitiveness.

After years of development, China-Europe freight trains have maintained a sound momentum for regular and large-scale operation.

Statistics indicate that China-Europe freight trains made 15,183 trips in 2021, up from 1,702 in 2016, with an annual average growth of 55 percent. The value of goods transported by the cargo service skyrocketed from $8 billion in to $74.9 billion during the same period.

A China-Europe freight train departs from Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan province, June 30, 2022. (People's Daily Online/Hu Zhiqiang)

In the first half of this year, 7,473 trips were made by the cargo service, carrying 720,000 twenty-foot equivalent units. In each of the past 26 months, over 1,000 trips were made by China-Europe freight trains.

At present, the cargo service extends to more than 180 cities in some 20 European countries, forming an extensive Eurasian logistics network.

The development of China-Europe freight trains is mirrored by not only the growing cargo volume, but also a boom in the quality of the logistics services they provide.

There has been a prominent increase in the number of loaded containers carried by China-Europe freight trains, and the numbers of departing and returning trips are getting more balanced.

According to statistics, the overall proportion of fully loaded containers carried by China-Europe freight trains increased from 77.2 percent in 2016 to 98.1 percent in 2021, and the figure has been maintained at around 98 percent for both departing and returning trips since this year.

Mobile phones, laptops and other electronics products made up the majority of cargos carried by China-Europe freight trains when the cargo service was just launched. Today, the service transports over 50,000 types of products, including auto parts, automobiles, chemicals, electromechanical equipment, food, alcohol and wood.

A fully-loaded China-Europe freight train is ready to depart from Hefei, east China's Anhui province for European destinations, June 24, 2022. (People's Daily Online/Xie Chen)

Last year, the ratio of returning trains to departing trains increased 3.8 percentage points to 81.5 percent, which was more than 30 percentage points higher than that in 2016. The numbers of returning and departing trips between major hubs have been basically equal this year.

Despite COVID-19 resurgences, China-Europe freight trains maintained safe and stable operation, sending Chinese anti-pandemic materials to the European countries and building a "bridge of life." Last year, the cargo service carried 4.23 million anti-pandemic items weighing 29,000 tons. The two figures had hit 14.1 million and 108,000, respectively, as of the end of April this year.

"After years of development, during which the cargo service has withstood the test of COVID-19 and the changing international situation, the value and economic significance of China-Europe freight trains have been widely recognized by countries and regions along the rail routes," said Li Dawei, a researcher with the Institute of International Economic Research at the Chinese Academy of Macroeconomic Research. He said the cargo service is becoming a major trade channel co-constructed and co-protected by countries and regions along its route.

(Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun)
Giving back to the world can be a rewarding part of the entrepreneurial journey. It strengthens the community and can help promote what would otherwise be a forgettable startup. The best news is that you don't need huge capital or big crews. Vinod Ramchandra Jadhav explains how you can start small and make a significant impact.

Here are some tips on how to get started

Find a cause that's close to your heart.

The first step is to find a cause that you're passionate about. This will be the driving force behind your efforts, so choosing something that speaks to you is essential.

Do your research.

Once you've found a cause you want to support, it's essential to do your research and make sure you're making the most impactful choice. There are a lot of great organizations out there, so take the time to find one that aligns with your values.

Start small.

You don't need to go big right away. There are plenty of ways to support a cause without breaking the bank. Consider hosting a fundraiser, volunteering your time, or making a donation.

Every little bit helps.

Remember that every little bit counts. You're making a difference, whether you're raising money, awareness, or simply lending a helping hand. So don't be discouraged if you don't see results overnight. The important thing is that you're taking action and working towards a better future.

Giving back to the community doesn't have to be a daunting task. There are plenty of small ways to make a significant improvement in the world. So, get out there and start making a difference!

How Cotopaxi gives back to the community

Cotopaxi is one of many examples of a startup that was founded on the idea of giving back to those in need.

Cotopaxi is an outdoor gear company on a mission to improve the lives of those in need. They do this by partnering with great organizations and supporting their efforts through the sale of Cotopaxi's products.

They also believe that it's essential to get involved on a personal level. That's why Cotopaxi offers paid time off for employees to volunteer, encouraging everyone to get involved in the causes they care about.

Cotopaxi and others like them are constantly looking for new ways to give back and strive to inspire others to do the same. There's no shortage of need in this world, but there's also no shortage of people willing to help. So, let's all do our part to make this world better.

The benefits for companies that give back to their communities

When companies give back to their communities, it's not just the beneficiaries who reap the rewards. The company itself can also see several benefits, including:

- Improved employee morale

- Enhanced customer loyalty

- Increased brand awareness and reputation

Giving back is good for business, and it's something that every company should be doing. So, if you're not already involved, now is the time to get started. You'll be glad you did.

There are plenty of great reasons to give back to your community, and as a business owner, there are plenty of benefits too. So, what are you waiting for? Get out there and start making a difference! Your community will thank you for it.

About Vinod Ramchandra Jadhav

A self-described first-generation Entrepreneur, Mr. Vinod Ramchandra Jadhav is the Chairman of SAVA Group and Devtech M2M. With a professional career spanning more than two decades, he is well versed in marketing, sales, supply chain management, and regulatory and corporate affairs in various capacities. Mr. Jadhav holds Diploma in Mechanical Engineering and a graduate degree in Materials Management.

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Meta started removing COVID-19 misinformation early into the pandemic, but it's now wondering if it should take a gentler approach. The Facebook owner has asked the Oversight Board for advice on whether or not it should continue its existing coronavirus policies now that the pandemic has "evolved." The company provided multiple options for the Board's consideration, ranging from the status quo through to significantly softer approaches.

The social media giant suggested that it might temporarily stop the immediate removal of false COVID-19 claims and either limit its distribution, submit it to independent fact-checkers or apply labels steering users toward accurate information. Meta was also willing to continue removing at least some misinformation, but said it would stop pulling content when it no longer represents an "imminent risk of harm." The Board would provide guidance on how Meta would make that decision.

Global Affairs President Nick Clegg characterized the advice request as an attempt to strike a balance between "free expression" and safety. The Board's decision would not only help shape that balance, but would aid Meta in responding to future health crises. Clegg noted that Meta had removed 25 million instances of bogus COVID-19 content since the pandemic began, and that it now had resources including its own virus information center as well as guidance from public health authorities.

Turn on browser notifications to receive breaking news alerts from Engadget You can disable notifications at any time in your settings menu. Not now Turned on Turn on

The Board is also tackling multiple potentially important cases in other areas. A transgender non-binary couple is appealing Instagram's decision to remove two images of (covered-up) nudity despite some moderators determining that the convent didn't violate the site's pornography policies. Meta stood behind its decisions to remove the posts, but the couple said the company didn't provide an adequate answer and shouldn't censor transgender bodies at a time when trans rights and healthcare are under threat.

Another dispute challenges Instagram's decision to remove a video playing a snippet of Chinx (OS)' drill music tune "Secrets Not Safe" after UK law enforcement claimed the rap song's lyrics (referencing a past shooting) could promote real-world harm. A fourth case, meanwhile, concerns an appeal from a Latvian user who allegedly promoted violence with a post accusing Russia of fascism and referencing a poem that called on people to kill fascists.

While all of the cases could have a significant effect on Meta's policies, the possible changes to the firm's COVID-19 misinformation response may draw the most attention. Critics have repeatedly argued that Meta wasn't doing enough to fight misinformation, pointing to evidence that people who lean heavily on Facebook for news are more likely to believe false claims about vaccines and the coronavirus. Meta's request for advice runs counter to that criticism, and could raise fears that misinformation will spread rapidly.
It's only been a few days since Netflix started streaming The Gray Man, its most expensive film to date, but the company has already announced plans to turn it into a major franchise. A sequel is in the works with star Ryan Gosling and directors Joe and Anthony Russo returning. Netflix didn't say when the follow-up is expected to arrive.

A spin-off from Zombieland and Deadpool screenwriters Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese is in development too. Netflix says that movie will explore a different aspect of The Gray Man universe, but it's keeping quiet on the details for now.

While critics by and large had a lukewarm reaction to The Gray Man, the film appears to be a hit with viewers. It has a 91 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. It debuted as the number one movie on Netflix in 92 countries when it was released last Friday. By Sunday, viewers had collectively streamed 88.55 million hours of the movie, Netflix said.

Turn on browser notifications to receive breaking news alerts from Engadget You can disable notifications at any time in your settings menu. Not now Turned on Turn on

Whether that apparent success translates into helping Netflix retain subscribers and attract new ones remains to be seen. The company lost almost a million subscribers last quarter, though the attrition wasn't as bad as Netflix feared.

Netflix spent a reported $200 million to make The Gray Man. So, along with moves the company is making elsewhere, it's not a huge shock that Netflix is turning it into a franchise. Sequels to other Netflix blockbusters are in the pipeline, including follow-ups to Extraction and Army of the Dead. Netflix also snapped up the sequels to the terrific murder mystery film Knives Out.

In case it's not clear, Netflix is very eager to build beloved franchises of its own. "We want to have our version of Star Wars or our version of Harry Potter, and we're working very hard to build that, the company's vice president of original series Matthew Thunell told Reuters last week.

Netflix does have a few hit franchises already. A Stranger Things spin-off series and stage play are in development. The company has made a Korean version of La Casa de Papel and is working on a spin-off. It's expanding Squid Game, Bridgerton and The Witcher beyond the core shows as well.

Update 7/26 3:43PM ET: Added first-weekend viewership figures for The Gray Man.
Sony is finally ready to share early details of PlayStation VR2's software experience, not just the hardware. The company has previewed a few key features for its PS5 VR headset, including livestreaming support. If you have a PS5 HD Camera, you can broadcast both gameplay and a view of yourself. As you might guess, that could be helpful for Twitch streamers, YouTubers and others who want to share their PSVR2 footage without relying on capture cards and green screens.

The company also explained how it will handle non-VR content. The PSVR2 headset will offer a 1080p "Cinematic Mode" that displays the PS5 interface and conventional games on a virtual screen at refresh rates between 24Hz and 120Hz. This is a very familiar experience if you've used VR before, but it will still be helpful if you'd rather not remove your headset to change system settings. Native VR content displays at 4,000 x 2040 with a 90Hz or 120Hz refresh rate.

Other known features exist primarily to prevent accidents. A "see-through" mode lets you quickly peek at the room to avoid a collision or find your controllers. You can also define a customized play area that will warn if you're too close to the couch or TV. This also isn't a novel concept, but it could prove crucial to apartment dwellers and anyone else with limited space for walk-around VR experiences.

Turn on browser notifications to receive breaking news alerts from Engadget You can disable notifications at any time in your settings menu. Not now Turned on Turn on

There are still many more unknowns, such as the VR-native interface. Sony has promised that developers will "soon" have access to this latest experience, though, and it has teased upcoming details for the release date and more games. Don't be shocked if you hear considerably more about PSVR2 in the near future.
(Bloomberg) -- Ivan Escogido is suddenly seeing gleaming BMWs, eight-cylinder Chevrolet Suburbans and luxury Lincolns stopping to fill up, paying in dollars, some proffering American Express cards. For Escogido, who pumps gas in the Mexican city of Ciudad Juarez on the Texas border, this is a reversal of everything hes known.

For their whole lives, people from here -- businessmen and everyone else -- have gone to buy gas in El Paso, said Escogido, 37, referring to the Texas city over the border. Now the tables have turned.

With a Mexican gallon a dollar less, gas sales in Ciudad Juarez were 52.6% higher in May than a year ago. Most of it is imported from the US, which is the single largest seller of refined petroleum products to Mexico.

As the world and the rising Latin American left have embraced a green future, Mexico President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has seemed to some like a dinosaur -- building a huge over-budget refinery in his native Tabasco and investing heavily in Petroleos Mexicanos, his state oil company, the worlds most indebted.

And yet there he was, the populist leader known as AMLO, poking President Joe Biden at the White House the other day, telling him that hed generously welcome American drivers to come fill up. He offered to double the supply to border gas stations to help Biden while lawmakers consider the US presidents call to suspend fuel taxes. He said Mexican pipelines could provide fuel to California, Arizona, and New Mexico.

As nations across the globe scramble for energy in the face of a pandemic supply crisis, extreme weather and the Russian war on Ukraine, Mexico -- at least, right now -- is sitting pretty.

And although Lopez Obrador is a leftist, hes being briefly hailed by some on the right in the US who want more drilling and love seeing Biden squirm.

It has been a boon for AMLO at his daily press conferences. The increased tax breaks and subsidies that his government put into place for both customers and companies will cost an estimated $24 billion this year, but officials say theyve been able to cover the price with revenue from crude oil sales.

Gas prices topped $5 a gallon in the US in June and though they have dipped since, people who drive across the border say they dont remember a time when Mexican gas was so much cheaper. What costs $3.11 a gallon in Escogidos station in Juarez goes for $4.03 in El Paso and $5.78 in Fresno.

And people are coming even though some stations have a reputation for scamming clients.

Theres no gas station in all of Mexico that gives you a full liter for every one they charge, said Manuel Alfredo Aguirre, 53, astride a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. Even so, theres no beating the price.

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.

One Texas woman filling her tank said her family told her she had to buy gasoline in Juarez, blaming the price difference on Bidens failures. A New Mexico construction worker with a disability tag swerved into the station after dropping his adult daughter off. A man shielding his eye from the sun because hed come to Mexico for eye surgery handed a few bills to the attendant. These folks didnt drive over just for the gas; they had a reason to be here but made it a point to find a pump.

The northern border states were never Lopez Obradors biggest voter base but lower gas prices could be helping him now. The question for the government is whether the wind in Pemexs sails  and the boost to its own reputation  will be worth it in the long run.

Governments change, wars change, illnesses change, but all of that is outside my control, said Faustino Alonso Maldonado, who oversees 79 gas stations in Juarez for Grupo Gazpro, a Pemex affiliate. Crises are a time of opportunity.

2022 Bloomberg L.P.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

Texas needs to step up its support for community colleges and technical schools to build a pool of skilled workers and maintain a competitive workforce, according to a new report from statewide and local business development groups.

The report issued last week focused on a shortfall of workers able to fill so-called middle-skill jobs, which require some post-secondary education, but not a four-year college degree. About 54 percent of the states jobs are considered middle-skill, but only 45 percent of Texas workers are trained for such jobs, from medical technicians to paralegals and aircraft mechanics to electricians.

The groups, including the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce, called on the state to spend more to shore up a creaky community college and technical school system that can provide the needed training. Over the past 40 years, the states share of funding for community colleges  just $2.2 billion in this biennium  plunged to 26 percent from 68 percent, putting more of a burden on students, many of whom say rising tuition has forced them to drop out, according to the report.

On ExpressNews.com: Applications for San Antonios Ready to Work job training top expectations in first six weeks

They recommended the state provide more direct support to community colleges  in the form of grants, for example  as well as enlisting the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to facilitate coordination between community college districts.

As our state leaders consider funding levels and finance structures for our community colleges, we encourage them to recognize the crucial role they play in our workforce development efforts, said Richard Perez, president and CEO of the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce.

We ask them to build upon the efforts from our last legislative session and further the collaboration between K-12 education, higher education, and workforce agencies at the state level.

In addition, the report said inequities persist in access to community colleges for historically underserved populations, including rural Texans and older students, while collaboration among the states 50 community college districts is limited by a lack of state leadership.

Texas community college finance system does not adequately focus on and drive outcomes, which are critical to ensuring that our state can sustain our current and future workforce, economy, and quality of life, the report said.

Community colleges and technical schools have a critical role to play in closing the resulting skills gap, the report said.

In addition to the San Antonio Chamber, other groups signing the report that was submitted to the Texas Commission on Community College Finance included the Texas Association of Business, Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation and Texas 2036, a nonpartisan nonprofit focused on the states future infrastructure, health care and workforce.

On ExpressNews.com: Seniors at 47 high schools in San Antonio now eligible for Alamo Colleges free tuition

The report comes as labor shortages across industries have left employers scrambling to fill jobs and hold on to workers  and putting extra emphasis on the availability of workers in decisions over where to do business.

In May, Texas had nearly 1 million job openings, far more than the roughly 600,000 unemployed workers, according to the Labor Department.

The states unemployment rate was 4.2 percent.

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.

CNBC added extra weight to the workforce category in its annual Top States for Business rankings, which ranked Texas fifth in the nation.

Texas earned an A+ in this category, with a healthy labor-force participation rate and domestic migration bringing plenty of workers to the state  even as partisan politics propelled the state to an F rating in the quality-of-life category.

State officials have long seen a need to bolster Texas skilled workforce.

A strategic plan for higher education released last year sets a goal of 60 percent Texans of ages 25-64 holding postsecondary credentialsa degree or certificate  by 2030, up from 48 percent today.

Texas ranks 38th among states in educational attainment of adults ages 25-34.

Even with the significant progress weve achieved in postsecondary access, completion, and innovation, and despite having one of the longest sustained economic expansions in American history, the report said.

Texas is facing a pronounced decline in workforce competitiveness due  in large part  to a lack of postsecondary attainment among working aged adults.

erica.grieder@chron.com
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

Ex-San Antonio attorney Christopher Chris Pettit  accused of looting clients money  narrowly avoided being held in contempt of court for withdrawing more than $186,000 from his retirement accounts after filing for bankruptcy.

Also Monday, Chief U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Craig Gargotta awarded Pettit $100 a day to cover living expenses pending a hearing on the former lawyers motion to receive a personal budget of more than $10,000 a month.

The Chapter 11 trustee overseeing the assets in Pettits bankruptcy wanted him held in contempt for withdrawing the money from his retirement accounts and then going on a spending spree.

Calling it a very close ruling, Gargotta said he was not ready to find Mr. Pettit in contempt after a hearing that stretched over three days. The evidence was mixed on whether Pettit has cooperated with the trustee, he said.

I want to make clear for the benefit of everyone here, I dont condone what hes done, the judge said. About a dozen of Pettits former clients attended the hearing in a downtown courthouse.

On ExpressNews.com: Calling his decision draconian, judge rules Chris Pettit has to live on $140 until Monday

Trustee Eric Terry determined that Pettit spent more than $260,000 in the nearly 50 days immediately after his June 1 bankruptcy filing. Much of it went for unnecessary and improper expenses, Terry alleged, including $20,000 at Disney World and almost $5,000 at the Four Seasons Resort Orlando.

Pettit, 55, has said the retirement money is exempt from the bankruptcy estate  and out of the reach of his creditors  because the accounts were funded with legitimate earnings under federal laws. He says hes thus free to use the money as he wishes. Terry has countered that no decision has been made on whether the money is exempt.

Gargotta, citing case law, said property entitled to be exempt is initially regarded as property of the bankruptcy estate until its claimed and distributed as exempt.

Instead of holding Pettit in contempt, Gargotta said he would put a little bit more teeth in the trustees other requests. If Pettit doesnt comply with those, the trustee can file papers with the court indicating Pettit is in contempt.

If Pettit doesnt purge himself of the contempt charge, he may be incarcerated, the judge said.

To my way of thinking, the only stick that the court has is  to put Mr. Pettit in jail, Gargotta said.

I dont know that monetary sanctions at this point in time are going to be sufficient, the judge added. So Ill have to provide an incentive, if you will, to make sure Mr. Pettit is cooperative with the trustee and any other parties in interest.

In his ruling, the judge prohibited Pettit from spending any more from the retirement accounts or any others. He cant transfer any personal property and must turn over any jewelry and artwork to the trustee. He also must allow the trustee to inspect a Florida mansion Pettit says is owned by an entity for the benefit of his 10-year-old sons trust. The property has been valued at more than $6 million.

On ExpressNews.com: Ex-clients question former attorney Christopher Pettit, but get few answers

Pettit filed bankruptcy for himself and his law firm after about a dozen lawsuits were filed against him alleging he had stolen clients funds. He personally listed about $40 million in assets and $112 million in debts. At least $50 million of client money is missing, a lawyer for one creditor has estimated.

Pettit also surrendered his law license. He had been practicing since 1991, specializing in estate planning and personal injury cases. But he also handled trust and probate matters, prepared tax returns and provided financial advice.

The FBI has been investigating the clients allegations. An assistant U.S. attorney attended the first day of the hearing Wednesday.

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 judge set an Aug. 4 hearing on Pettits emergency motion allowing him to use cash and to approve a limited budget.

Until then, Pettit and his son will have to live on $100 a day.

Michael Colvard, Pettits bankruptcy lawyer, was seeking more. Colvard said Pettit doesnt have a car and that a Lyft from his home in a gated community in Stone Oak to downtown is at least $20 each way. Pettit is claiming a 2021 Porsche Macan, valued at $46,000, as exempt from his bankruptcy estate.

Im going to stick to $100 a day right now, the judge said. Im not changing my mind on that.

On Sunday, Colvard submitted to the court a proposed budget that calls for Pettit to receive about $10,300 a month for expenses. Almost half of the money is allocated to child care costs and school tuition. The next largest expense is $850 for mental health services.

Some creditors are likely to object to the budget.

Pettit has landed a job in an art store in Florida, selling art on a commissioned basis, Colvard told the judge. Its unclear if he will be able to begin work, given his per diem and the order that he cooperate with the trustee.

pdanner@express-news.net
Yuga Labs seems to be on the other side of the courtroom, thanks to a recent lawsuit against it.

The developer of the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) is being sued by a law firm for allegedly promoting false BAYC NFTs and its Ethereum token, Apecoin, as securities with guaranteed returns, per Decrypt.

The drop of BAYC NFTs and Apecoin's values is directly connected to the ongoing "crypto winter," which not only affected NFT and cryptocurrency owners but also companies like Tesla.

Yuga Labs Lawsuit Details

Yuga Labs recently announced last week it had received a class-action lawsuit from law firm Scott+Scott for reportedly promoting BAYC NFTs and ApeCoin, BAYC's native Ethereum token, as securities with guaranteed returns when its value has plummeted over the last three months due to the ongoing "crypto winter."

The law firm also claimed that Yuga Labs also used celebrity promoters and growth prospects to make the two tokens' values appear to be high, which may have deceived people to invest their money in the tokens, per Coin Telegraph.

However, Scott+Scott is still in its preliminary stage of seeking plaintiffs who suffered losses due to the false advertising of the two previously mentioned tokens from April to June.

According to the law firm, this April-to-June timeframe was critical to the case as the two tokens' values dropped during this time. ApeCoin was observed to have a surge of $26.70 before dropping to $4.66 at the end of June - an 82.5% decrease in value within a three-month period. Furthermore, ApeCoin's floor price went down from 151.5 Ether (ETH) down to 92.9 ETH.

Read More: Apple Introduces 'Test Alerts' Switch to iPhone if You Want to Test Emergency Alerts | Here's How to Do It

Scott+Scott is hoping that the court will determine that NFTs are securities that can increase in value over time, similar to a company's shares. Should this happen, Yuga Labs would have failed to make the necessary disclosure and registration obligations that come with offering securities.

Additionally, Scott+Scott will need to prove to the court that Yuga Labs have engaged in practices that are artificially increasing the value of the two tokens, which may prove difficult due to the strength of Yuga Labs' projects.

However, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is highly likely to step in to prevent the court to define NFTs and cryptocurrencies as securities.

Brian Fyre, a professor of law at the University of Kentucky, believes that cryptos and NFTs being classified as securities may open "a huge can of worms for [it] and force them to regulate all manner of other things that [it] doesn't want to be regulating."

BAYC And ApeCoin Enthusiasts' Reactions

The BAYC community seems unaffected by Scott+Scott's lawsuit as many of its vocal members have condemned it. For instance, Kevin Wu, the founder of GRAYCRAFT NFT, mentioned on his Twitter account that the lawsuit is "extremely ridiculous."

Another member, Twitter user @SoapBoxCar, said that the lawsuit was created by "a bunch of mad people" because they "got rekt" for buying at the surge of ApeCoin but were devastated by the sudden decrease.

Related Article: A Buy Now, Pay Later Service for Popular NFTs Such as BAYC is Now Available
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

Faith and music have always gone hand in hand for Christian musician Crowder, though he didnt initially plan to support himself that way.

My intention was to work for my dad, who had a little independent insurance agency in Texarkana, Texas, where I grew up, Crowder said in a telephone interview. And while I was at school at Baylor, this guy started a church and just asked me to help with the music, and I was like sure, that sounds great.

I just wanted to be useful and helpful to our little community of faith, and its turned into something. I had to eventually call home and be like, Dad, I think Im going to be a while. And were still at it.

Crowder will be performing at Unite: San Antonio, a worship and revival event Friday and Saturday. The lineup also includes Passion, Scott Dawson, For King & Country, Christine DClario, DJ Morph and Evan Craft.

Tons of folks will be there singing church songs and hoping to bring people into the story of God, he said. Thats pretty much the identity behind it, and thats what were hoping happens.

On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio music has new home in KPSA site, app

Unite: San Antonio What: Worship and revival event featuring Crowder, Passion, Scott Dawson, For King & Country, Christine D'Clario, DJ Morph and Evan Craft. When: Doors open at 5:30 p.m., pre-show is 6 p.m. and show time is 6:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday. Where: Alamodome, 100 Montana St. Cost: Admission and parking are free. Tickets are not required, but event-goers can register in advance at unitesdea.org. See More Collapse

A revival has a different feel than concerts for paying crowds, he said.

Our set list will look different, the way we interact with people will be different, he said. Whats beautiful about Unite is that, even in the name, its about something bigger than you. Its bigger than just the Crowder band showing up, thats for sure.

His hope is that the event helps deepen the relationship that believers have with Christ and helps bring those who dont have one into the fold.

I think music is super-great at that, he said. If you put music in the middle of people, a lot of the divisions that keep us separated from one another disappear. Its difficult to be divided when youre trying to harmonize.

In his own music, including his current album Milk & Honey, he draws on a range of influences, including bluegrass, hip hop and alternative music. His ultimate aim is for his music to serve as a ministry.

Its like when you have a good steak, and youre like, Bro, youve gotta taste some of this  thats the feeling, he said. I think were all called to the same mission, in a sense, and I just get to do it through music.

On ExpressNews.com: Johnny Mathis ready to sing fans fave songs at the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts

Crowder first made a splash on the music scene as the leader of the David Crowder Band, which grew out of the work he did in college. The band recorded and toured for 16 years, producing such albums as Illuminate, the Dove Award-winning Church Music and Give Us Rest. Crowder went solo in 2012, dropping his first name in the process. Most of the rest of the band stayed together, playing as The Digital Age.

Crowder left Texas, and he and his wife settled in Atlanta. He said he made the move to give himself a fresh start creatively, and that seems to have worked out well. But there was at least one major drawback.

The worst thing about moving out of Texas is the Tex-Mex is really difficult to come by, he said. When I got here, people would be like, Hey, do you want to go to such-and-such place? It has Mexican food. And Im like, Back where I come from, we just call that food.

Whenever he is in Texas, he makes it a point to seek out taquitos and flautas, ideally with bowls of salsa and queso close at hand. Hes looking forward to every bite of his time in San Antonio.

Im going to put as much in my belly as I can get, he said. The thing is, I look like I weigh a buck 20, and nobody understands that all I do is eat constantly. Im eating constantly, and I cannot wait to consume your city.

dlmartin@express-news.net | Twitter: @DeborahMartinEN
A San Antonio man who was among the mob that breached the U.S. Capitol last year was sentenced Tuesday to three months of house arrest and five years of probation for a gun conviction stemming from when FBI agents searched his home here.

Chance Anthony Uptmore, 25, and his lawyer, John Convery, told U.S. District Judge Fred Biery that Uptmore has completely turned his life around.

Uptmore described himself as a weedaholic when FBI agents investigating the riot searched the home he shared with his father in early 2021. They found 16 pounds of marijuana and various THC products, one-third of a pound of psilocybin mushrooms and a loaded .38 caliber revolver in Chance Uptmores bedroom.

U.S. District Judge Fred Biery found him guilty of one count of unlawful use of a controlled substance in possession of a firearm, a federal felony.

Uptmore, who lost two brothers to unspecified tragedies, told the judge he began smoking marijuana about the time one of those siblings died five or six years ago. He smoked it all day, everyday, but stopped completely shortly after his arrest, he said.

Convery said Uptmore also was distraught by the divorce of his parents. Uptmore apologized to his mother and his pregnant wife, who attended the hearing Tuesday. His father was not present.

Sorry about everything, Uptmore then told the court. I have a kid on the way...and its opened my eyes. I feel like Ive gone through so many things that have shown me what my life is really about.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Kinskey asked the judge to impose at least a year of jail time, while Convery asked for leniency. The judge imposed five years of probation, warning Uptmore that if he broke the law again, he could sentence him to up to 10 years in prison. The judge added three months of home detention.

The court...finds there are extenuating circumstances in terms of family tragedies, Biery said. But perhaps most importantly in this situation, this court has seen a complete, 180-degree turn in terms of addiction.

In early April, Uptmore pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of illegally parading, demonstrating or picketing in the Capitol, one of four charges he had faced in connection to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol.

Uptmore went on a birthday trip in January 2021 with his father to the East Coast, attended then-President Donald Trump's Stop the Steal rally in Washington, D.C., and then joined the mob that breached the Capitol.

Chance Uptmore told agents that he entered the Capitol because he was caught up in the moment. His plea documents also said his father followed him into the building after advising him not to enter.

Convery said the Uptmores did not touch anything or anybody and even helped prevent others from stealing a painting from the walls.

Uptmores father, James Herman Sonny Uptmore, pleaded guilty in June to a misdemeanor charge of illegally parading demonstrating or picketing in the Capitol.

Both face sentencing in Washington on Oct. 25, and face no more than six months in jail, or even probation.

He just wants to say, Im sorry and put the whole thing behind him, Convery said of Chance Uptmore. Everything.

guillermo.contreras@express-news.net | Twitter: @gmaninfedland
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

Don Stevens of Hondo struck up a fast friendship with a fellow Navy medical corpsman, Louis Ritemeyer, at Balboa Naval Medical Center in San Diego just before the war in Korea broke out.

Well into the war, Stevens was assigned to the USS Consolation, a Navy hospital ship, and Ritemeyer was sent to the fleet Marines. Both wound up in Korea  one on the ship, and the other on the front line.

There was a lot to like about Ritemeyer, things that still stand out in Stevenss mind  a place where the memories are increasingly fuzzier as he approaches 91.

He was kind of a straight-laced guy, Stevens said. He joined the Navy in California but he was originally from Montana or someplace in the northern part of the United States.

He was a very serious person and he did a good job, he said. He was serious about the work he did, I know that.

The war sent them to very different fates. Ritemeyer was mortally wounded and spent his last days aboard the Consolation. A mutual friend told Stevens that hed been brought aboard.

Stevens went to find him. Ritemeyer was unconscious, completely out of it, with a chest wound from enemy submachine gun fire, he said.

Sixty-nine years have passed since an uneasy armistice ended the Korean War on July 27, 1953. The division of the Korean peninsula after World War II into separate nations in the Soviet and U.S. spheres, north and south, became permanent.

The death toll from the relatively brief conflict was staggering. More than half of the 5 million killed were civilians. One in 10 Koreans alive when the war began on June 25, 1950, were dead three years later.

American estimates put the number of Chinese combatants killed at 920,000. The war left 36,574 U.S. troops dead and another 7,577 unaccounted for. Some of the missing continue to be found and identified, and are returned to San Antonio and other parts of the country for burial.

Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Don Stevens left the Navy as the fighting ended and came back to Hondo. He joined the Texas Department of Public Safety, married and had a family while enjoying a long career. He retired as a DPS captain.

Bitter stalemate

The conflict erupted with communist North Korea invading the south along the 38th parallel with its 135,000-strong Inmun Gun, or Peoples Army. It captured Seoul, the capital of the Republic of Korea, in three days.

Ill-prepared U.S. and South Korean troops were pushed into a small pocket at the tip of the peninsula. On the verge of defeat, Gen. Douglas MacArthur counterattacked with a daring amphibious landing at Inchon, on the coast near Seoul, cutting off the North Korean troops. The norths invasion collapsed, and its capital, Pyongyang fell to the Americans, who drove all the way to the Chinese border.

China then intervened, moving 260,000 soldiers into North Korea as MacArthur stretched his men and supply lines. It launched its first major attack Nov. 1, 1950 near Unsan.

Heavily outnumbered American soldiers and Marines retreated south amid a bitter winter storm. By the time Stevens arrived, the war had settled into a bloody stalemate.

On ExpressNews.com: Seventy years later, San Antonio veteran recalls near-disaster in Korea

There are many things from that era that Stevens, who now lives in New Braunfels, no longer clearly remembers or is willing to discuss. Those who know him, one of them a Korean War-era veteran who has been a good friend since they met on an honor flight to Washington, D.C., isnt surprised.

Hes a first-class guy, but he is a little bit shy about sharing, said C. Herb Skoog, 90, of New Braunfels, retired from the radio business in the San Antonio area. You know, sometimes he will say things that I will start asking questions about, but hes not very braggadocious or vocal about that time.

Russell Minor, who organizes veterans breakfasts in and around San Antonio, said Stevens always has a smile on his face and a story to tell  although itll be about someone else.

Hes just delightful and easy to have a conversation with, said Minor, 68, of Boerne. Hes not going to talk about himself. Youre going to have to force it.

Growing up on a farm outside Hondo, Stevens joined the Navy after graduating from high school. His dad and mom, W.J. and Georgie Stevens, ranched and farmed while raising five kids. Don Stevens, who was the youngest, recalls them growing broom corn.

The Consolation had been treating wounded off Korea from the wars start. It was refitted with a helicopter pad in 1951, the first hospital ship to get one, and Stevens embarked for its return.

He recalls the wounded, most of them Marines, being flown to the stern, regularly evacuated by air from the battlefield for the first time in any war.

They would come in by helicopter and when there would be a push on shore, thats when we would get busy, Stevens said. Sometimes the helicopter would be waiting to set down because there was already a helicopter on the ship, and theyd have to wait until he took off before they could land.

He liked the job.

I thought it was helpful, Stevens said, in his usual understated way.

No bravado

Theres absolutely no bravado at all, Minor said of Stevens. There are a lot of them like that. They think they didnt do anything and the things that they did are just astounding. And to them it was, I was just doing my job and it was nothing special. Most of them are like that and Don sure is.

Offensives by UN forces drove the ships operational tempo. Though new to war, Stevens was well trained and able to cope, especially when things got busy aboard the ship. The corpsmans job was to help the doctors and nurses. The patients were badly wounded but Stevens wont go into detail about it or get emotional.

It was far more comfortable than what soldiers and Marines endured in weather ranging from Texas-style summers to Siberian blizzards that plunged temperatures to below zero. He slept in bunks stacked two and three atop each other, but had regular hot chow.

Looking back, Stevens is glad to have missed being in combat.

I was happy where I was but the thought came across my mind several times I might like it (with the Marines), but Im glad I didnt, he said.

On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio veteran says his unit went back to the Stone Age to survive Korean War rout

Some of the wounded were returned to their units, but when the Consolation reached capaciaty, she would sail to Japan and unload patients for care at military hospitals.

Then it was back to Korea and streams of newly wounded troops.

Yes, it was hard. I think its hard on all of us. Sometimes we worked all day if we were busy and then wed work part of the night, too, Stevens said. Of course it was a long time ago, but it had its effect on us, all of us.

The Consolation later sailed as the SS Hope, funded by a nonprofit to care for civilians worldwide from 1960 to 1974.

Stevens never forgot Ritemeyer.

I wasnt actually with him when he died, Stevens said. I stayed up with his condition and would go down there and check on him several times, and he was just there for two or three days and he passed away.

It affected me because I knew the man well and we were friends, he said. It was hard, but those things come about.

sigc@express-news.net
Thirty-seven years ago this week, Pee-wee Herman embarked on a cross-country odyssey to the Alamo to retrieve his lost bicycle from its basement. Once here, he got the bad news: Theres no basement in the Alamo!

Pee-wees Big Adventure, filmed partly in San Antonio, hit theaters on July 26, 1985.

Audiences watched as Tina, the Alamo tour guide played by the late Jan Hooks, delivered the six devastating words that brought Pee-wee Herman's search to a standstill.

You might also like: Ozzy Osbourne urinated in Alamo Plaza 40 years ago

Tina was right, but she also wasn't forthcoming with all the details of the historic site. The Alamo grounds, in fact, have two basements.

While there is no basement in either of the Alamos historic structures, there is one under the gift shop. Built in 1937, the basement was dug out in the 1980s, the Alamos official Twitter account tweeted in 2018.

The other basement is beneath Alamo Hall, which is now used as a reception venue. The structure was built in 1922 as San Antonio Fire Station No. 2. It was used as a fire station until the Alamo compound came under state control in the late 1930s.

Directed by Tim Burton, "Pee-wee's Big Adventure" stars Paul Reubens as Pee-wee Herman, whose signature look includes a tight suit, a red bow and butch wax on his short-cropped hair.

The Alamo is an 18th-century Spanish mission that became a 19th-century makeshift fort during Texas' quest for independence. It became an iconic historic site in the 20th-century thanks to its depictions in books, television shows and movies such as "Pee-wee's Big Adventure."

"Though the Alamo interior was filmed at the Mission San Fernando Rey de Espana in California, Pee-wee's Big Adventure helped connect the site with a new generation in the 1980s," said Jonathan Huhn, a spokesman for the Alamo. "The film helped to confirm the myth that the Alamo Church does not have a basement. However, it will surprise some readers to learn that the Alamo gift shop, located next to the Alamo Church, does indeed have a basement."

Related: What San Antonio's least impressed visitors had to say about the Alamo and other major attractions

In the film, Pee-wee's adventure leads him through a maze of events, including a run-in with police and a wooing by a waitress in a highway diner who dreams of running away to Paris. Pee-wee ends up in San Antonio, where he learns that his red, balloon-tired bicycle has won a starring role in a major motion picture. He runs off to Hollywood to retrieve it.

While Pee-wees time in San Antonio was brief, the Alamo gag has lived on.

"Our tour guides usually receive this inquiry once a day," Huhn said. "If a popular streaming service picks up the movie or there is any related convention in town, that number can increase in frequency."

In 2004, the Express-News reported: If you expect the ushers to bust a gut when you ask them where the basement is, dont be disappointed if Pee-wee Hermans well-worn gag only gets you a polite but weary smile.

David Stewart, the last Alamo director under the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, told the newspaper that hed heard Pee-wees question so often that he could tell when someone was about to bring it up again.

"They get this little smile on their face and say, 'You know what I'm going to ask,' " Stewart said. "And I always say, 'No, we don't have a basement.'

timothy.fanning@express-news.net
A San Antonio man was arrested after allegedly threatening on Instagram last week to attack the San Antonio College campus.

Pablo N. Medellin, 20, allegedly posted photos on the social-media platform of himself with a handgun, assault rifle and shotgun in front of the near-downtown campus on July 21, saying in a caption, Im shooting it up, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.

Authorities arrested Medellin on Friday. He was charged the next day with making terroristic threats.

The post has been removed from Instagram.

The FBI alerted Alamo Colleges District police of the threat on Thursday. Police say the post established that Medellin had access to weapons and the ability to carry out an attack.

On ExpressNews.com: Robb Elementary School principal placed on leave in connection with May 24 mass shooting

He has never been a student at SAC or any other Alamo Colleges campus, the college district said in a statement.

Court records show Medellin posted a $100,000 bond and will be under house arrest, GPS monitoring and a no-firearms order. He must undergo drug and alcohol testing.

A pre-trial hearing is scheduled for Sept. 7.

Derek Fuller, chief of public safety at Alamo Colleges District, said online threats against district campuses are rare.

I can only recall this one in my two years as chief of public safety, Fuller said. Swiftly moving to investigate, charge and arrest individuals who post such threats, helps to deter those in the future from doing similar alarming actions which serve to terrorize our community.

Alamo Colleges sent a reminder to students to report online threats. The district plans to increase police patrols.

The Alamo Colleges remain vigilant for any online threats, district officials said in a statement. We take these threats seriously and work with our local, state and federal partners to mitigate any threats and hold those accountable who engage in making them.

Staff writer Elizabeth Zavala contributed to this story.

Taylor.pettaway@express-news.net
A San Antonio man has been sentenced to three life prison terms for raping and killing two women more than a decade ago.

Jose Baldomero Flores III, 41, appeared Monday before state District Judge Melisa Skinner as she was about to begin presiding over selection of a jury to hear the capital murder case against Flores. If convicted at trial, he would have faced the death penalty.

Instead, he will spend the rest of his life in prison. Flores pleaded guilty to non-capital murder and to arson, and Skinner sentenced him to two life sentences for murder and one for arson.

Two of those sentences will be served concurrently; the third will be served after the first two.

On ExpressNews.com: Capital murder arrest made in two cold cases in San Antonio

Flores was charged in the deaths of Heather Ann Willms on Feb. 21, 2005, and Esmeralda Herrera on March 2, 2011.

Willms, 21, was found dead in the bedroom of her Leon Valley apartment. Her hands had been severed. Neighbors reported hearing her argue with a man, followed by sounds of a struggle, then silence, police said. Flores was questioned at the time of Willms death but was not charged.

Six years later, Herrera, 30, was found bludgeoned and strangled in her Southwest Side apartment. She had been tied to her bed.

Both woman had been sexually assaulted, and fires were set at their homes in an effort to destroy evidence, authorities said.

For years, the crimes went unsolved. Then a cold-case investigation by the Bexar County District Attorneys Office, the San Antonio and Leon Valley police departments and the Texas Rangers, led to Flores arrest in November 2016.

Joseph Salvaggio, then chief of police in Leon Valley, said at the time that an examination and retesting of evidence using new DNA technology helped investigators identify Flores as a suspect in the killing of Willms. He said Flores knew Willms from high school.

Mr. Flores was a purported friend of Heathers, having gone to high school with her and staying in touch with her afterwards, Salvaggio said.

On ExpressNews.com: Capital murder indictments returned in two San Antonio killings

Flores was sentenced to two life sentences in connection with Willms killing  one for murder and the other for arson, to be served concurrently.

Flores third life term was imposed for the murder of Herrera. He will served that sentence after he completes the other two, if he is still alive.

ezavala@express-news.net | Twitter: @elizabeth2863
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

San Antonio police on Monday identified an officer who was wounded in a shoot-out with a man accused of threatening to attack his ex-girlfriend last week.

The officer  Drew Matthewson, a five-year department veteran  returned fire, wounding Eljaih Clemente Gonzales, 23, on the on-ramp to Interstate 10 heading into downtown, near the intersection of North Trinity Street and Culebra Road.

Matthewson is on administrative duty pending an investigation of the shooting Thursday night, police said. This was the second time he was wounded in a gunfight  and returned fire, injuring the suspect  in three years.

The latest incident began after 6:30 p.m. when a woman told police that Gonzales had threatened to shoot up the place, referring to her home.

An officer encountered Gonzales on Culebra Road as he allegedly was driving to his former girlfriends house. Gonzales saw the officer and led him on a brief chase.

Moments later, Matthewson heard a collision. Gonzales had crashed into two vehicles at Trinity and Culebra, according to a police report.

Wielding a gun, Gonzales allegedly tried to carjack a person driving a red Grand Marquise at the base of the I-10 on-ramp, police said.

As Matthewson drove up to the scene, Gonzales allegedly shot him once in the forearm. Matthewson returned fire, striking Gonzales once in the torso and twice in the leg.

Both were treated at an area hospital. Gonzales condition was not immediately available Monday. He was listed in critical condition Friday.

Matthewson has been released from the hospital.

No one else was injured in the incident.

Gonzales was booked into the Bexar County Jail on a count of attempted capital murder of a police officer and eight other charges, including assault of a pregnant person, violation of a protective order and burglary assault  all involving the same woman. His bail totaled more than $1,615,000.

On Feb. 12, 2019, Mathewson was wounded in a shootout with Jonathan Cruz Garcia, then 17, at the Chroma Apartments at 5039 Hamilton Wolfe Road.

Matthewson had been chasing Garcia  a suspect in a January 2019 shooting near the University of Texas at San Antonios North Side campus  through the apartment complex when police said he hid behind a corner and waited for the officer to run past.

Garcia shot Matthewson in the left shoulder. The officer then shot Garcia in his jaw, chest and arm.

Garcia, whose charges include attempted capital murder of a police officer and aggravated assault, is scheduled to go to trial later this year in the 187th District Court, according to court records.

Garcia has been in the Bexar County Jail since his arrest, according to court records.

jbeltran@express-news.net
Local public health officials urge San Antonio residents to avoid close, skin-to-skin contact in large crowds where people are wearing minimal clothing amid confirmation of an eighth case of monkeypox.

There are 107 reported cases of monkeypox in Texas and 2,891 cases across the United States.

Risk of infection remains low, said Dr. Anita Kurian, assistant director of the Metropolitan Health Districts communicable disease division.

Nevertheless, she said people should avoid situations such as music festivals, nightclubs, raves, saunas and bathhouses in which they could come into contact with someone who has a new, unexplained rash.

Her cautionary guidance comes as the World Health Organization on Saturday declared the spread of monkeypox a global emergency, which triggers a coordinated international response to contain the threat and reduce transmission.

On ExpressNews.com: Demand for the monkeypox vaccine in Texas is outstripping supply as the nondeadly disease takes hold

Nearly 75 countries have reported more than 16,800 cases of the rare disease that is similar to smallpox, but milder.

Kin Man Hui, San Antonio Express-News / Staff photographer

Monkeypox is rarely fatal and usually does not require hospitalization, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle aches and backache, swollen lymph nodes, chills, exhaustion and a rash that can resemble pimples or blisters that appear inside the mouth and on the face, hands, feet and genital area.

The illness typically lasts two to four weeks and can spread to others through direct contact, intimate and physical interactions, or by touching items that previously touched the infectious rash or body fluids.

Sick people should self-isolate until the rash has fully healed, the scabs have fallen off and a fresh layer of intact skin has formed.

Metro Health is tracking the local spread of the virus as reported by health care providers and individuals.

On ExpressNews.com: Tracking monkeypox in Texas and across the country

The city-county public health department is tracing the contacts of the eight infected people to provide post-exposure prophylaxis to anyone who has had direct contact with them.

Metro Health urges anyone who has been exposed to monkeypox or has symptoms to contact their health care provider as soon as possible to get tested and treatment.

laura.garcia@express-news.net
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

Alamo visitors will soon have a better idea of what it was like to enter San Antonios first permanent Spanish-Indigenous mission of the 1700s and the site of the 1836 battle for Texas independence.

Construction is set to start in the fall on a re-creation of the main gate of the mission. And an education center that nearly doubles the number of schoolchildren who can visit the site is set to open next year.

The Alamo is working with the city on local and state permits for the 80-foot-long outdoor exhibit that will replicate the south gate and reinforcements of the Alamo fort and Mission San Antonio de Valero, Patrick Gallagher, program manager for the Alamo project, said during an update Tuesday to the Texas Historical Commission in Austin.

Gallagher said the exhibit will serve as an entry to the site.

On ExpressNews.com: New Alamo live cam provide global access to real-time views of the site

The outdoor palisade exhibit, which opened in December, also will be extended closer to the gate exhibit, which will describe other areas along the Alamos south wall, including a kitchen that served the mission. Another room near the gate is where a bedridden Jim Bowie died in 1836.

Well be talking about how people lived, where they grew their food and how they managed their relationship with the site, Gallagher said. When they pass through this gate, theyll be on very important hallowed ground.

Kate Rogers, executive director of the Alamo Trust, described the planned education center as a flexible, five-classroom facility that will provide a world-class educational opportunity for both students and teachers at the location of Alamo Hall, a meeting venue at the southeast corner of the grounds that originally was built in 1922 as a city fire station.

Alamo officials plan to demolish the exhibit annex, a former library built in 1950 for the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, and replace it with a new structure. They hope to pay tribute to the DRT with a display that will honor the centers past use as a library, Rogers said.

The education facility will include a studio for online programming and an outdoor agricultural learning area with a replicated working acequia  a waterway used to irrigate corn, beans and other crops. It also will offer theater and re-enactment programming.

Children will be able to access the Alamo from the rear, where part of Bonham Street has been closed to most vehicle traffic and converted to pedestrian space. The Alamo, which currently hosts about 140,000 students annually, hopes to increase its education programming to 250,000 children each year. A historically accurate 1836 Alamo model made of Lego pieces and a video would help introduce students to the site.

On ExpressNews.com: Alamo opens new exhibits near battle anniversary

Believe it not, weve never had a space where we could do a proper orientation for the children, Rogers said.

The Alamo Trust has a $5 million donation from the Texas Cavaliers for the education center and has selected WestEast Design Group of San Antonio for architectural work. The trust has targeted late 2023 for completion of the center.

Because the Alamo is a state antiquities landmark, the trust plans to ask the Texas Historical Commission for permits in the fall for the gate exhibit and education center.

Other components of an extensive public-private makeover of the Alamo include completion of an exhibit hall/collections building in the northeast corner of the grounds in the fall and design and construction of an Alamo museum and visitor center in the plaza, scheduled to open in March 2026.

shuddleston@express-news.net
In the 1950s, Vladimir Nabokovs Lolita was banned in France, Britain and Argentina, but not in the United States, where its publisher, Walter Minton, released the book after multiple American publishing houses rejected it.

Minton is part of a noble tradition. Over the years, American publishers have fought back against efforts to repress a wide range of works  from Charles Darwins On the Origin of Species to Maya Angelous I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Just last year, Simon & Schuster defended its book deal with former Vice President Mike Pence, despite a petition signed by more than 200 Simon & Schuster employees and other book professionals demanding that the publishing house cancel the deal. The publisher, Dana Canedy, and chief executive, Jonathan Karp, held firm.

The U.S. publishing industry has long prided itself on publishing ideas and narratives that are worthy of our engagement, even if some people might consider them unsavory or dangerous, and for standing its ground on freedom of expression.

But that ground is getting shaky. Though the publishing industry would never condone book banning, a subtler form of repression is taking place in the literary world, restricting intellectual and artistic expression from behind closed doors and often defending these restrictions with thoughtful-sounding rationales. As many top editors and publishing executives admit off the record, a real strain of self-censorship has emerged that many otherwise liberal-minded editors, agents and authors feel compelled to take part in.

Over the course of his long career, John Sargent, who was chief executive of Macmillan until last year and is widely respected in the industry for his staunch defense of freedom of expression, witnessed the growing forces of censorship  outside the industry, with overt book-banning efforts on the political right but also within the industry, through self-censorship and fear of public outcry from those on the far left.

Its happening on both sides, Sargent told me recently. Its just a different mechanism. On the right, its going through institutions and school boards, and on the left, its using social media as a tool of activism. Its aggressively protesting to increase the pain threshold, until theres censorship going the other way.

In the face of those pressures, publishers have adopted a defensive crouch, taking pre-emptive measures to avoid controversy and criticism. Now, many books the left might object to never make it to bookshelves because a softer form of banishment happens earlier in the publishing process: scuttling a project for ideological reasons before a deal is signed or defusing or eliminating sensitive material in the course of editing.

Publishers have increasingly instituted a practice of sensitivity reads, something that first gained traction in the young adult fiction world but has since spread to books for readers of all ages. Though it has long been a practice to lawyer many books, sensitivity readers take matters to another level, weeding out anything that might potentially offend.

Even when a potentially controversial book does find its way into print, other gatekeepers in the book world  the literary press, librarians, independent bookstores  may not review, acquire or sell it, limiting the books ability to succeed in the marketplace. Last year, when the American Booksellers Association included Abigail Shriers Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters in a mailing to member booksellers, a number of booksellers publicly castigated the group for promoting a book they considered transphobic. The association issued a lengthy apology and subsequently promised to revise its practices. The groups board then backed away from its traditional support of free expression, emphasizing the importance of avoiding harmful speech.

A recent overview in Publishers Weekly about the state of free expression in the industry noted: Many longtime book people have said what makes the present unprecedented is a new impetus to censor  and self-censor  coming from the left. When the reporter asked a half-dozen influential figures at the largest publishing houses to comment, only one would talk  and only on condition of anonymity. This is the censorship that, as the phrase goes, dare not speak its name, the reporter wrote.

The caution is borne of recent experience. No publisher wants another American Dirt imbroglio, in which a highly anticipated novel was accused of capitalizing on the migrant experience, no matter how well the book sells. No publisher wants the kind of staff walkout that took place in 2020 at Hachette Book Group when journalist Ronan Farrow protested its plan to publish a memoir by his father, Woody Allen.

It is certainly true that not every book deserves to be published. But those decisions should be based on the quality of a book as judged by editors and publishers, not in response to a threatened, perceived or real political litmus test. The heart of publishing lies in taking risks, not avoiding them.

You can understand why the publishing world gets nervous. Consider what has happened to books that have gotten on the wrong side of illiberal scolds. On Goodreads, for example, vicious campaigns have circulated against authors for inadvertent offenses in novels that havent even been published yet. Sometimes the outcry doesnt take place until after a book is in stores. Last year, a bunny in a childrens picture book got soot on his face by sticking his head into an oven to clean it  and the book was deemed racially insensitive by a single blogger. It was reprinted with the illustration redrawn. All this after the book received rave reviews and a New York Times/New York Public Library Best Illustrated Childrens Book Award.

In another instance, a white academic was denounced for cultural appropriation because trap feminism, the subject of her book Bad and Boujee, lay outside her own racial experience. The publisher subsequently withdrew the book. PEN America rightfully denounced the publishers decision, noting that it detracts from public discourse and feeds into a climate where authors, editors and publishers are disincentivized to take risks.

Books have always contained delicate and challenging material that rubs up against some readers sensitivities or deeply held beliefs. But which material upsets which people changes over time; many stories about interracial cooperation that were once hailed for their progressive values (To Kill a Mockingbird, The Help) are now criticized as white savior narratives. Yet these books can still be read, appreciated and debated  not only despite but also because of the offending material. Even if only to better understand where we started and how far weve come.

Having both worked in book publishing and covered it as an outsider, Ive found that people in the industry are overwhelmingly smart, open-minded and well-intentioned. They arent involved in some kind of evil plot. Book people want to get good books out there and to as many readers as possible.

An added challenge is that all of this is happening against the backdrop of a recent spate of shameful book bans that comes largely from the right. According to the American Library Association, of the hundreds of attempts to remove books from schools and libraries in 2021, a vast majority were made in response to content related to race and sex  red meat for red states, with Texas and Florida ranking high among those determined to quash artistic freedom and limit reader access. Republican politicians, for so long forces of intolerance, are now deep in the book-banning business.

We shouldnt capitulate to any repressive forces, no matter where they emanate from on the political spectrum. Parents, schools and readers should demand access to all kinds of books, whether they personally approve of the content or not. For those on the illiberal left to conduct their own campaigns of censorship while bemoaning the book-burning impulses of the right is to violate the core tenets of liberalism. Were better than this.
Shenzhen's 100 largest enterprises have been urged to limit their activities to staff who live in a closed loop or bubble and have little to no interaction outside.

China Orders Corporations to Work on a Limited Basis for Seven Days

As the southern industrial powerhouse of Shenzhen fights its most recent Covid epidemic, China has ordered some of its largest enterprises to work under a "closed loop" limited system for seven days. This included iPhone manufacturer Foxconn and oil giant CNOOC Ltd.

The 100 biggest companies in the city, like BYD Co., Huawei Technologies Co., ZTE Corp., and the drone manufacturer DJI, have been asked to restrict their operations to only those employees who live in a closed loop or bubble and have little to no contact with people outside of their facilities or offices.

According to a Shenzhen government report, authorities also requested enterprises to limit unnecessary contact between non-manufacturing personnel and factory floors to minimize infection.

China avoided an economic recession in the June quarter when continuous lockdowns stopped enterprises, destroyed employment, and harmed consumer purchasing. Foxconn Technology Group, which builds most of the world's iPhones, is months away from delivering Apple Inc.'s next flagship gadget.

The action in Shenzhen rekindles the threat of Shanghai-style lockdowns. Quanta Computer, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp., and Tesla Inc. operated their Shanghai operations in closed loops during China's deadliest epidemic since Wuhan.

Additionally, China's largest chipmaker, SMIC, lowered its second-quarter expectations, while Apple anticipated supply restrictions would cost $4 billion to $8 billion in sales.

Economists and intellectuals have asked Beijing to soften its Covid restrictions, which have disrupted the economy and sparked demonstrations. Shenzhen authorities requested local regulators to "resolutely" follow President Xi Jinping's Covid Zero instructions.

Shenzhen had 21 new cases on Saturday (July 23), up from 19 the day before. Compared to countrywide, that's a fraction. China's National Health Commission reported 680 cases on July 23.

Read Also: TikTok Becomes a Platform for Deepfakes | Here's How to Spot Them

Stern Covid Protocols in China Hurt Gian Tech Businesses

Texas Instruments, a semiconductor supplier to automobiles and IT companies, lowered its sales forecast on July 19. Microsoft said current lockdowns impacted its performance, and lengthy shutdowns would destroy Xbox and Surface computers.

When manufacturing closed, shipping costs increased. Lockdowns in Shanghai have exacerbated the issues, which may spread to Beijing. In response, Xi Jinping's administration implemented the Zero Covid policy to stop the pandemic's spread.

Others said the lockdowns harmed consumer purchasing. On Wednesday (June 22), officials at MediaTek Inc. advised investors that the business was revising its forecast for worldwide smartphone shipments from a single-digit percentage increase to flat, at around 1.35 billion units.

Samsung and Xiaomi Corp. are two customers of MediaTek Inc.'s smartphone CPUs. They said it is primarily due to a higher decline in China than first anticipated.

After Covid lockdowns were lifted, Apple's iPhone shipments likely surged in China in June, boosting the smartphone sector.

Apple and Samsung boosted China's mobile phone sales by 9.2% last month. It is the fourth-largest participant in the country's smartphone business, suggesting the iPhone's increased demand.

Related Article: China Lockdown Causes Delay of One iPhone 14 Model
In June, about one month after the Uvalde tragedy, our community was once again witness to an atrocity. This time, it was the deaths of 53 migrants passing through our beloved city, treated as merchandise. We now know that their initial destination was Houston, with various final destinations that included cities in Arkansas, California, North Carolina and Ohio.

These deaths stained our citys heart. In the days that followed, many folks called and asked what they could do to help. They called seeking to connect through their stories. And they called to grieve.

In one of the survivors, Marvin, I found a glimmer of hope. Marvin was seeking a better life for his wife and two children, an 8-year-old girl and a 5-year-old boy.

In pursuit of the American dream, San Antonio was an unplanned stopping point. Along Marvins journey, he made friends. They shared a common vision for their future and their families.

On ExpressNews.com: Ayala: Site of migrant deaths has become a pilgrimage site, a funeral procession

His two new friends, however, did not survive. I asked Marvin if he knew if their families had been notified, but he wasnt sure. However, he communicated with his wife and his mother back home in Guatemala.

On July Fourth, I celebrated with Marvin. His birthday falls on Independence Day, and we celebrated his new lease on life. Together, a group of strangers gathered in thanksgiving for his life, and as he ate the slice of cake I cut for him, he held back tears. He told me he was grateful he ended up in San Antonio, a city full of nice people.

When Marvin thinks of San Antonio, he will undoubtedly feel sorrow and sadness. But the love and support our community provided him during the worst time of his life will remind him to share that same compassion with others.

The outpouring of support from our community was commendable. It continues to this day. If you havent made your way to the community-led memorial that was built to honor each of the 53 lives lost, I encourage you to do so. Take your family. Take your friends. Take the time to read each name. Take the time to reflect. Take the time to appreciate your life.

The 53 wooden crosses you will find are carefully decorated with the flags of each migrants home country, and the one for Jesus will tug at your heartstrings. Yes, the memorials and murals are art, but they are also a display of our citys empathy. This is San Antonio. Its what we do. This is our form of grieving. This is our way of honoring our culture. This is compassion. This is love.

City Councilwoman Adriana Rocha Garcia represents District 4.
They are 187 minutes that will endure in our history, disgracing both the presidency and the nation.

In the eighth hearing of a series that began in early June, the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol explored the period between the two speeches that bookended the riot.

In the first speech, then-President Donald Trump launched the attack with his incendiary rally on the morning of the siege.

We fight like hell, he said. And if you dont fight like hell, youre not going to have a country anymore.

More than three hours later, he delivered a video statement as tepid as his earlier speech was fiery, calling the rioters beautiful and repeating the Big Lie that he had lost the presidential election through fraud.

Go home, he said. We love you.

The comments were as reprehensible as the assault itself, clearing thousands of thugs and bullies of the heinous and ugly acts they committed in front of the nation.

I have nothing to hide, Trump later told Fox News host Laura Ingraham. I wasnt involved with that (the riot) and if you look at my words and what I said in the speech, they were extremely calming.

The following day, Jan. 7, Trump was to read a statement acknowledging the election was over, but he could not manage to utter that simple phrase.

I dont want to say the elections over, Trump said as he recorded the statement. I just want to say Congress has certified the results without saying the election is over.

Trump and the truth are strangers. He does not revise history but rather seeks to erase it. Facts topple in his wake, and those who do not believe his lies become enemies.

Once allies, Matthew Pottinger and Sarah Matthews are now enemies. Both worked at the White House on Jan. 6  Pottinger as a deputy national security adviser, Matthews as a deputy press secretary. They resigned when it became clear, as the day wore on, that Trump was exacerbating the attack he would claim to condemn.

Outraged by his response to the assault, committee members have accused Trump of a dereliction of duty. That is too kind. Trump, watching the riot unfold on Fox News, did not just refuse to act; he helped fuel the conflagration when he gave voice to a vicious attack on Vice President Mike Pence.

Mike Pence didnt have the courage to do what should have been done, the former president tweeted.

The mob, trying to prevent Pence from certifying the election results, ran through the halls of Congress looking for him.

I thought that the tweet about the vice president was the last thing that was needed in that moment, Matthews told the committee. And I remember thinking that this was going to be bad for him to tweet this because it was essentially him giving the green light to these people, telling them that what they were doing at the Capitol and entering the Capitol was OK, that they were justified in their anger.

For eight episodes, the hearings have been the most riveting drama on television. It has evolved from a who done it to a how and why he done it. The hearings are showing us the how, and while we knew the why  the ruthless attempt to maintain power  the obsessive and single-minded effort to remain in the White House remains confounding.

The story does not end here. The sessions have been suspended until September, and we must await the denouement. The Justice Department has charged more than 855 defendants in the siege, and Attorney General Merrick Garland has said no person is above the law, but its unclear if Trump will be prosecuted and, even if warranted, whether that would serve a divided and fractured nation.

We have to hold accountable every person who is criminally responsible for trying to overturn a legitimate election, and we must do it in a way filled with integrity and professionalism, Garland said.

Regardless of that outcome, it is refreshing, in this lurid tale of deceit and depravity, to hear the words integrity and professionalism.

The election was not stolen. Trump lost. To deny this is its own assault on the nation.
WASHINGTON  U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz said Tuesday that federal officeholders who get involved in state legislative races are idiots  but hes made a habit of it anyway because he is embarrassed that Texas is way behind on school choice policies opposed by many rural Republicans.

Speaking at an event in D.C., Cruz said Republicans have a unique opportunity to rally around school voucher policies that allow parents to use state money to send children to private and religious schools. Parents are outraged over the school closures of the pandemic, he said, as well as how the public school curriculum handles lessons on racism and LGBT issues.

We have an opportunity to fight on this issue that is powerful and profound, Cruz said at an event organized by the America First Policy Institute, a think tank aligned with former President Donald Trump. Millions of parents saw what was being taught and were utterly horrified.

VOUCHERS: Gov. Abbotts push for school vouchers may look a lot like Floridas

Cruz has long been a proponent of school choice policies, which he calls the most important domestic issue in the nation. The Texas senator successfully pushed an amendment into the GOPs 2017 tax overhaul that opened up 529 savings plans long used to save for college to allow for private school and home-schooling expenses, as well. On Tuesday, he called it the single biggest legislative victory that I am most proud of in my entire time in the Senate.

But such policies have never fared well in the Texas Legislature, because Republicans representing rural areas, where public schools are often the largest employers and community centers, have sided with Democrats in opposing them.

Cruz said thats why he has getting involved in those races, despite that fact that youre frankly an idiot as a U.S. senator to endorse in state legislative races.

When you endorse someone in a contested primary in your state, you get half their friends and all their enemies, Cruz said. I dont know of another senator that does it. I do it actively.

SCHOOL CHOICE: Texas conservatives flex muscle to help anti-woke charter school, a sign of things to come

Cruz said those endorsements are often based solely on votes on school choice measures.

If youve opposed school choice, the odds of my supporting you are essentially zero, he said. I deliberately make that public  every legislator knows that, because weve had a bunch of races where I come in and when I come in, I get on the radio and I run ads against them.

Cruz earlier this year endorsed five Republicans in state House primary runoffs based on their support for school choice policies  even though their opponents were backed by Gov. Greg Abbott.

Abbott, meanwhile, has said he supports a school voucher measure that would allow students to use government funding to attend private schools or charter schools rather than just their assigned public schools, casting it as part of a tradition of empowering parents that includes his policies banning mask mandates on campus, letting parents choose when their students return to the classroom during COVID-19, and banning critical race theory in Texas schools.

ben.wermund@chron.com
COEUR d' ALENE, Idaho - Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack Tuesday announced $1 billion in federal funds to go towards helping communities vulnerable to wildfires create more robust protection plans, improve infrastructure and create more resilient landscapes.

Vilsack announced the Community Wildfire Defense Grant Program (CWDGP) during his keynote speech at the Western Governors Associations 2022 annual meeting in Couer d'Alene, Idaho.

The program will receive $200 million annually from President Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Communities selected for a grant will get up to $10.25 million.

Communities that are at high risk for wildfire damage, are low income, or have been affected by a severe disaster will be prioritized for funding.

Insight and guidance from the communities most at risk for catastrophic wildfires helps us mitigate those risks more effectively, said Forest Service Chief Randy Moore. We need a collaborative effort at all levels to ensure the success of this critical national effort.

The CWDG aims to implement the three goals of the National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy. Here's what it's trying to accomplish straight from the program's website:

Restore and Maintain Landscapes : Landscapes across all jurisdictions are resilient to fire-related disturbances, in accordance with management objectives.

: Landscapes across all jurisdictions are resilient to fire-related disturbances, in accordance with management objectives. Create Fire Adapted Communities : Human populations and infrastructure can withstand a wildfire without loss of life and property.

: Human populations and infrastructure can withstand a wildfire without loss of life and property. Improve Wildfire Response: All jurisdictions participate in making and implementing safe, effective, efficient risk-based wildfire management decisions.

The program's goals can be broken down into a few areas of focus. Creating resilient landscapes mainly relies on prescribed burns and fuel treatments, making the land itself the first line of defense when fires ignite.

The idea of fire-adapted communities is focused on protecting homes. This can be done by altering construction codes and building with fire-resistant materials. It also means reducing the number of human-caused fires through education and law enforcement.

Improving a community's response to wildfires hinges on preparing for long-duration wildfires and having a plan to respond efficiently given the agency's resources.
This week marks the 174th anniversary of the Seneca Falls Convention, the origin of the women's suffrage movement and a landmark event in our historical journey to realize the promises of the Declaration of Independence.

What made the convention such a pivotal moment in American history? A brief detour eight years prior will shed light on its significance.

Two humiliated women walked arm-in-arm through London on a warm summer night in 1840. Mere hours earlier, these women  Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton  faced the wrath of many of their male abolitionist counterparts who denied them from participating at Londons World Anti-Slavery Convention.

While some abolitionists like William Lloyd Garrison believed that female abolitionists deserved an equal chance to participate, many viewed women like Mott and Stanton as agitators. And although many women served as zealous abolitionists throughout the United States, these men believed that giving women a voice at the convention might weaken the abolitionist cause.

After all, these men argued, women like Mott and Stanton might have more ambitious aims for equality, such as being granted the right to vote! In the face of unjust opposition, Mott and Stanton decided to work toward their aims alone and let the men catch up.

Eight years later on July 19, 1848, they led a convention of their own at Seneca Falls, New York. Over 200 women joined them to read a treatise drafted by Stanton. Entitled The Declaration of Rights and Sentiments, the document borrowed the language of equality from the Declaration of Independence: We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created equal.

Stanton and Mott understood that in the context of Jefferson's world (one heavily-influenced by John Locke), all men meant humankind. Adding and women made clear the true meaning of Jefferson's words.

The treatise listed the injustices suffered by women across the United States, the most important of which was the denial of her inalienable right to the elective franchise.

The document demanded equality of the sexes and encouraged women to become active forces in the campaign for equal rights.

Unlike the organizers of the London convention in 1840, Mott and Stanton invited men to attend and contribute to the second day of their convention. When it came time to pass the 12 resolutions listed on the Declaration, 11 passed unanimously. The ninth resolution, that it is the duty of the women of this country to secure to themselves their sacred right to the elective franchise, met with controversy from some of the attendees, who viewed such a demand as unreasonable at best, quixotic at worst. The debate over this resolution reached its climax when none other than Frederick Douglass sided with Stanton.

We have a sense of the eloquent words Douglass used in support womens equality and suffrage in an article he wrote in his newspaper, The North Star, two weeks later:

Standing as we do upon the watch-tower of human freedom, we cannot be deterred from an expression of our appropriation of any movement, however humble, to improve and elevate the character and condition of any members of the human family [] and if that government is only just which governs by the free consent of the governed, there can be no reason in the world for denying to woman the exercise of the elective franchise.

The resolution for securing the right to vote soon became the foundation of the womens rights movement in the United States. While some western states, including Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, and Idaho, allowed womens suffrage in the decades following the convention, most of the United States restricted women from voting until the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920.

Women at the Seneca Falls Convention, however, helped make voting rights self-evident by showing all Americans how governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed.

The actions of women like Mott and Stanton represent moments in American history when the pursuit of our founding principles brought all Americans closer to realizing the Declarations vision of equality.

Elliott Drago is the Online Education Officer at the Jack Miller Center.
The Environment Agency has convened the National Drought Group as dry weather continues to impact the country.

The public and businesses, including those in the farming industry, have been told to use water wisely to protect supplies during the period of prolonged dry weather.

Made up of groups including the NFU and AHDB, the National Drought Group discussed today (26 July) the situation and agreed actions to protect water resources.

Members agreed to continue to work together to monitor and manage the current situation, including convening the groups water supply and communications sub-groups.

It comes after most of England moved into Prolonged Dry Weather status  meaning precautionary actions are being undertaken to mitigate impacts.

Nowhere in England is currently considered to be in drought and most water companies are maintaining good reservoir storage for summer demand.

If further measures are required, temporary use bans, known as hosepipe bans, will be determined by individual water companies and drought permits and drought orders by the Environment Agency and Defra respectively.

Harvey Bradshaw, chair of the NDG, said: We are working very closely with water companies, farmers and other water users to manage the current situation.

"Todays meeting was an important step in agreeing joint actions to protect our water resources with further dry weather forecasted for August, including ever-closer working to monitor and manage water supplies and the environment."

Stuart Colville, Water UK director of policy, added: Ongoing warm weather in much of the country follows the driest winter and spring since the 1970s.

As we continue to see extremely high demand, we are urging everyone to carefully consider the amount they are using given the unprecedented conditions."

What has been agreed?

The meeting agreed a broad range of measures to manage drought risk, with many already in action. These include:

 Working with the farming sector to provide greater assistance to farmers in prolonged dry weather areas

 Managing abstraction licences to balance the needs of users and our natural environment

 Helping those areas which are the worst affected by prolonged dry weather by operating water transfer schemes that allow rivers to be artificially maintained

 Applying for Drought orders in order to protect the natural environment

 Planning with water companies and ensuring they have and are implementing their drought plans

 Reoxygenating water and rescuing fish in distress where river flows are especially low

 Supporting the Fire and Rescue Service to tackle waste fires and wildfires
A draft bill seeking to boost Welsh food production has launched, with members of the public encouraged to share their views.

The consultation for the Food (Wales) Bill, which aims to strengthen and promote Welsh food and drink, has now been published.

Its objectives are to introduce Food Goals to put in place a duty for the provision of affordable, and economically and environmentally sustainable food, supplemented by secondary food goals in specific areas.

A Welsh Food Commission would be established, which would include powers to monitor and report on progress towards government commitments.

The proposed commission would also have statutory commitments, and would oversee the delivery of the Food Goals and food plans.

The bill would require public bodies to have regard for existing policy and legislative commitments  including the Future Generations Act, as well as international agreements such as the UN Development Goals  when designing food policy.

Finally, food waste would be tackled, by encouraging the reduction of waste created by food producers and consumers.

Peter Fox, the Welsh Conservative Shadow Minister for Finance who introduced the draft bill, said: The heart of my Bill ensures local produce is available for local people.

This Bill, which has had cross party support, is a welcome reminder of the good that can be achieved when party politics is put aside.

If you feel passionate about local produce, I urge you to fill in the consultation.

Members of the public who are interested in taking part in the consultation can do so on the Senedd website.

The consultation is scheduled to close on 9 September 2022.
Twitter has already spent $33 million in ELon Musk's bid to acquire the social media platform.

Elon Musk has expressed interest in acquiring the social media platform since April. Musk showed determinants in bidding for the platform despite the hold back of the company's board.

However, on July 8, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO filed to put a stop to his acquisition deal. With that, Twitter fought back by taking it to court, making sure Musk takes responsibility for his actions.

After the second quarter filing, the social media company reveals to be spending more in the weeks to come as their legal battle carries on.

Twitter's Q2 Earnings

Twitter has reported that it has spent over $33 million in costs from the pending acquisition from Musk in its second quarter earnings.

In April, Musk reached an agreement to purchase Twitter for $44 billion, but on July 8 he announced that he wants to back out of the deal.

According to Business Insider, Twitter is already incurring costs as a result of Elon Musk's legal battle with the social media giant. Due to the impending legal conflict with Musk, Twitter's expenses are only going to continue to increase.

Twitter has retained the services of one of the most prestigious law firms in the country, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz LLP, to assist it in bringing a lawsuit against Musk with the intention of compelling him to fulfill the terms of the original agreement and purchase the company.

Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz LLP focuses on merger litigation and has connections to the state's judicial system.

On the contrary, the law firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP will be representing Musk in this matter. Back in 2019, the law firm was able to defend the billionaire against defamation charges and come out on top.

The attorneys for Twitter have asserted that Musk's purported concern over fake accounts is nothing more than a smoke screen, and that the real reason he wants out of the deal is because the value of his Tesla shares has plummeted.

According to CNBC, Wall Street had anticipated a revenue of $1.32 billion, which would have represented an increase of 10.5% year over year. These results represented Twitter's largest revenue miss in the company's history. Unfortunately, the social media platform came in 11 percent below estimates.

Twitter stated that the uncertainty surrounding the pending acquisition by Elon Musk was one of the factors that contributed to the decline in revenue, along with headwinds in the advertising industry that were linked to a more challenging macroeconomic environment.

Read Also: Elon Musk Hints at Lithium Mining as Part of Tesla's Future

Twitter Acquisition

As previously reported in iTechpost, Twitter's first hearing took place on July 19, set by the chancellor of the Delaware Court of Chancery, Kathaleen McCormick.

Twitter's lawsuit against Musk was granted an expedited trial so that the "business risk" to the company could be reduced as quickly as possible. Twitter felt positive with the court's approval.

The social media company stated that Musk unlawfully breached his agreement to acquire the company.

In Twitter's lawsuit filing, "Twitter brings this action to enjoin Musk from further breaches; to compel Musk to fulfill his legal obligations; and to compel consummation of the merger upon satisfaction of the few outstanding conditions."

Before his bid to cancel the acquisition, due to Musk's tweets, it seems like the deal has been halted because the social company failed to address the number of how many bots and spam are on the platform.

In addition, he believes that the company is withholding important information in order to guarantee that the acquisition will be successful.

Related Article: Elon Musk Is Beginning To Lay Off 10% of Tesla Employees-Former Worker Confirms
Next Story : 68th National Film Awards Announced And This Year, The South Makes It Big

Image: The Time of India Monday saw the swearing-in of Droupadi Murmu as the nations fifteenth president in the Central Hall of Parliament by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana.Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chairman of the Rajya Sabha M Venkaiah Naidu, Speaker of the Lok Sabha Om Birla, Members of the Council of Ministers, Governors, Chief Ministers, Heads of Diplomatic Missions, Members of Parliament, and Civil and Military Officers were all in attendance at the ceremony.Since 1977, eleven presidents have taken office on the same dateJuly 25with Droupadi Murmu being the latest. Ram Nath Kovind, who made his final address to the country yesterday, July 24, remembering his ancestral village and asking for blessings from his schoolteacher, will be succeeded by Murmu.While there is no formal rule dictating that presidential swearing-in ceremonies always take place on this day, records going back to 1977 show that every president chosen through the regular electoral process has done so on July 25.Rajendra Prasad, Indias first president, and his successors Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Zakir Hussain, and Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed were the exceptions to this trend.On January 26, 1950, the day India became a republic, Rajendra Prasad assumed the presidency. He won the first presidential election in 1952 and went on to win the second one.Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan took over as president on May 13, 1962, and remained in that position until May 13, 1967. Following him, two presidents, namely, Zakir Husain and Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed were unable to finish their terms because they passed away while in the term, which led to midterm elections.On July 25, 1977, Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, Indias sixth president, took the oath of service.Ever since, every president who has succeeded including Giani Zail Singh, R Venkataraman, Shankar Dayal Sharma, K R Narayanan, A P J Abdul Kalam, Pratibha Patil, Pranab Mukherjee, and Ram Nath Kovind has taken the oath on the same day.On June 21, Murmu, the 64-year-old Santhal woman was announced as the NDAs presidential nominee by the BJP. After the vote counting was finished on Thursday, she was formally declared as the nations 15th President.Droupadi Murmu, the former governor of Jharkhand won the presidential election on July 22 by a record margin over her rival, Yashwant Sinha, becoming the second woman and the first tribal contender to assume the presidency.
Bahrain has now joined the UAE, Egypt, and Jordan to become the fourth member of the Industrial Partnership for Sustainable Economic Development at its second Higher Committee meeting held in Cairo, Egypt. Bahrain will boost the partnerships total industrial manufacturing value from $106.26 billion to $112.5 billion. The Partnership will focus on textiles and clothing among other sectors in the next phase.

Bahrain possesses a strong industrial sector with more than 9,500 companies and 55,000 employees as well as industrial foreign direct investments worth $4.3 billion. The UAE, Egypt, Jordan, and Bahrain represented 30 per cent of the Middle East and North Africas industrial contribution to the GDP, adding up to industrial exports worth $65 billion in 2019. The combined population of the countries is 122 million, which is 27 per cent of the Middle East and North Africa and 49 per cent of the regions youth population under 24.

In May 2022, the UAE, Egypt, and Jordan had launched the Industrial Partnership for Sustainable Economic Development in Abu Dhabi. The initiative aims to establish integrated industries that contribute to diversifying the economy, promoting its growth and providing specialised job opportunities.

Bahrain has now joined the UAE, Egypt, and Jordan to become the fourth member of the Industrial Partnership for Sustainable Economic Development at its second Higher Committee meeting held in Egypt. Bahrain will boost the partnership's total industrial manufacturing value from $106.26 bn to $112.5 bn. The Partnership will focus on textiles in the next phase.#

In the first phase, the Partnership has shortlisted 12 projects costing $3.4 billion, of the 87 proposals it received for setting up industrial projects in fertilisers, agriculture and food sectors. Along with textiles and clothing, the Partnership will focus on chemicals, plastics, and metals in the next phase.

Foreign direct investment in the UAE, Egypt, and Jordan touched $151 billion between 2016-2020, which is about 42 per cent of the new foreign direct investment in the Middle East. In 2019, the countries exported goods valued at $433 billion in total, while the imports added up to around $399 billion.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (NB)
The two-way Brazil-Bangladesh textile-apparel trade is likely to get a boost after the recent signing of memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Rio de Janeiro Chamber of Commerce and the Federation of Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI). While Brazil is a major cotton exporter, Bangladesh is the second largest garments exporter.

Bangladesh is an import dependent country, and gets is supply of cotton from several countries, including Brazil, which annually produces 12.7 million bales of 480 pounds each. On the other hand, the South American country imports readymade garments from Bangladesh. With the signing of the MoU, Bangladesh can explore deeper penetration in Brazil for its textile products, while it can increase import of cotton from Brazil.

However, Brazils import of apparel is showing declining trend since March 2022. The import decreased to $8.15 million in June from $10.379 million of May 2022. The import was $11.806 million in April and $16.534 million in March 2022, as per Fibre2Fashions market insight tool TexPro.

The two-way Brazil-Bangladesh textile-apparel trade is likely to get a boost after the recent signing of memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Rio de Janeiro Chamber of Commerce and the Federation of Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI). While Brazil is a major cotton exporter, Bangladesh is the second largest garments exporter.#

Annually, Brazilian import of apparel from Bangladesh decreased to $99.700 million in 2021 from 111. 984 million in 2022. The import peaked at $193.407 million in 2018. However, home textiles import of Brazil from Bangladesh was negligible at $1.125 million in 2021.

On the other hand, Brazils export of cotton to Bangladesh was $44.633 million in June, which was down from $46.387 of May 2022. The export was $41.502 million in April, $54.175 million in March and $32.664 million in March 2022. Brazilian export of cotton to Bangladesh increased to $437.492 million in 2021 from $323.441 million in 2020. The export was noted at $309.232 million in 2019 and $163.348 million in 2018, as per TexPro.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KUL)
Vietnam exported goods to Laos worth more than $309.4 million, while its imports to the country were valued at $514.6 million in the first half of 2022.during the period rose by 20.6 per cent year-on-year to $824 million, according to the Vietnam Trade Office in Laos.

Vietnam exported textiles and garments that cost $5.43 million to Laos, while its main export products were petrol valued at nearly $30.2 million and vegetables and fruits worth almost $22.4 million.

In the month of June 2022, two-way trade between the countries was $134 million, which is an increase of 29.9 per cent compared to the same period last year. Of this, Vietnams export turnover touched $54.6 million, which a rise of 11 per cent, according to data.

Vietnam exported goods to Laos worth more than $309.4 million, while its imports were valued at $514.6 million in the first half of 2022. Two-way trade between Vietnam and Laos during the period rose by 20.6 per cent year-on-year to $824 million, according to the Vietnam Trade Office in Laos. Vietnam's textile exports to Laos stood at $5.43 million.#

It is anticipated that Vietnams export to Laos will continue to increase in July as Lao economy has temporarily stabilised after the government approved a credit package to buy 200 million litres of petrol, and further restricting trade in foreign currency.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (NB)
Foster City, CA, and Hangzhou, China, July 26, 2022 - (ACN Newswire) - Apollomics Inc. an innovative biopharmaceutical company committed to the discovery and development of mono- and combination- oncology therapies, today announced the appointment of Jane Wang, PhD as Chief Scientific Officer. In this role, Dr. Wang will lead the drug discovery pipeline for the Company. She will also serve as Apollomics' China General Manager and will report to the Chief Executive Officer."We are very excited to have Jane join our team," said Guo-Liang Yu, PhD, Co-Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "Jane is a drug discovery expert in a number of therapeutic areas, including oncology, with a proven track record advancing compounds from the laboratory to clinical development. With her broad experience, she will make significant contributions to our global research strategy.""I am pleased to join a Company dedicated to the discovery, research, and clinical development of novel agents targeting multiple oncology indications. I look forward to growing our global team to discover and advance new compounds into the clinic," added Jane Wang, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer.Dr. Wang brings over 20 years of drug discovery experience in the biopharmaceutical industry. Most recently, she served as Vice President, Medicinal Chemistry at WuXi AppTec where she worked to enhance RNA drug discovery and led multiple teams in medicinal chemistry and synthetic organic chemistry. Prior to WuXi, Dr. Wang spent 12 years on the drug discovery team at Pfizer, Inc. as a senior principal scientist, focusing on diseases in oncology, inflammation, and the central nervous system Previously, she did her postdoc at the U.S. National Institute of Health and at Schering-Plough. Dr. Wang earned a Ph.D. from the University of Maryland Baltimore County and a B.S. in Applied Chemistry from Fudan University. She is an inventor/co-inventor of over 50 patent applications and an author of over 35 publications.About Apollomics Inc.Apollomics Inc. is an innovative biopharmaceutical company committed to the discovery and development of monotherapies and combination therapies of tumor-targeting and immuno-oncology agents. The Company's product pipeline has several programs at different stages of development, including a novel, humanized monoclonal antibodies that restore the body's immune system to recognize and kill cancer cells, and targeted therapies against uncontrolled growth signaling pathways. Apollomics has operating entities in Foster City, California, USA, Hangzhou and Shanghai, China. For more information, please visit www.apollomicsinc.com.Contact Information:Investor Contact:Raymond LowVP Finance, Corporate Controller(925) 451-0712Raymond.Low@apollomicsinc.comU.S. Media Contact:Remy BernardaCorporate Communications(415) 203-6386remy.bernarda@apollomicsinc.comChina Media Contact:Porda Havas International Finance Communications GroupKelly FungGeneral Manager(852) 3150 6763kelly.fung@pordahavas.comSource: Apollomics, Inc.Copyright 2022 ACN Newswire . All rights reserved.
Calgary, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - July 25, 2022) - OBSIDIAN ENERGY LTD. (TSX: OBE) (NYSE American: OBE) ("Obsidian Energy", the "Company", "we", "us" or "our") announces that it has entered into an underwriting agreement to sell, on a private placement basis, $127.6 million aggregate principal amount of 11.95 percent five-year senior unsecured notes due July 27, 2027 (the "Notes"). The Notes will be issued at a price of $980.00 per $1,000.00 principal amount to receive aggregate gross proceeds of approximately $125 million. The Notes will be direct senior unsecured obligations of Obsidian Energy ranking equal with all other present and future senior unsecured indebtedness of the Company. The Notes were offered in each of the provinces of Canada and in the United States on a private placement basis without the filing of a prospectus or registration statement (the "Offering"). Closing of the Offering is expected to occur on or about July 27, 2022, subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions. Certain directors, officers and employees of Obsidian Energy have elected to purchase approximately $6.4 million of the Notes.

Subject to completion of the Offering, the net proceeds of the Offering, together with all initial draws on new credit facilities to be entered into by the Company, will be used to repay all of our existing senior secured notes, in accordance with the terms thereof, repay the outstanding balances under our existing credit facilities, and repay the PROP limited recourse loan due on December 31, 2022, which was incurred by the Company in connection with our 2021 acquisition of the remaining 45 percent interest in the Peace River Oil Partnership.

The Notes are not qualified for distribution to the public or registered under the securities laws of any province or territory of Canada or in the United States. They are only offered in the provinces of Canada and in the United States pursuant to applicable exemptions from the prospectus and registration requirements thereunder.

ADDITIONAL READER ADVISORIES

CAUTIONARY STATEMENTS PURSUANT TO THE OFFERING

The Notes have not been, and will not be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or any U.S. state securities laws and may not be offered or sold except to qualified institutional buyers in reliance on the exemption from registration provided by Rule 144A under the U.S. Securities Act, or to accredited investors in reliance on the exemption from registration provided by Rule 506 under the U.S. Securities Act, or to persons outside the United States in compliance with Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act. Any public offering of securities made in the United States would be made by means of a prospectus that would be obtainable from the Company and that would contain detailed information about the Company, its management and financial statements. This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of the Notes, in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This news release contains forward-looking statements or information (collectively "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian and U.S. 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 statements or information. More particularly and without limitation, this news release contains forward-looking statements and information concerning: the Notes and Offering, including applicable terms and conditions, expected closing date and anticipated use of proceeds.

The forward-looking statements and information are based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by Obsidian Energy. Although Obsidian Energy 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 Obsidian Energy can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. By its nature, such forward-looking statements and information are subject to various risks and uncertainties, which could cause the actual results and expectations to differ materially from the anticipated results or expectations expressed. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, fluctuations in commodity prices, changes in industry regulations and political landscape both domestically and abroad, and financial market volatility. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. Readers are cautioned that the assumptions used in the preparation of such forward-looking statements and information, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, undue reliance should not be placed on such forward-looking statements and information. Obsidian Energy gives no assurance that any of the events anticipated will transpire or occur, or, if any of them do, what benefits Obsidian Energy will derive from them. The forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. Except as required by law, the Company does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements or information contained herein. Readers should also carefully consider the matters discussed that could affect Obsidian Energy, or its operations or financial results in Obsidian Energy's Annual Information Form (see "Risk Factors" and "Forward-Looking Statements" therein) for the year ended December 31, 2021, which is available on the SEDAR website (www.sedar.com), EDGAR website (www.sec.gov) or Obsidian Energy's website.

Obsidian Energy shares are listed on both the Toronto Stock Exchange in Canada and the NYSE American exchange in the United States under the symbol "OBE".

All figures are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise stated.

CONTACT

OBSIDIAN ENERGY

Suite 200, 207 - 9th Avenue SW, Calgary, Alberta T2P 1K3

Phone: 403-777-2500

Toll Free: 1-866-693-2707

Website: www.obsidianenergy.com;

Investor Relations:

Toll Free: 1-888-770-2633

E-mail: investor.relations@obsidianenergy.com

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/131861
Dassault Systemes and Hyundai Motor have been partners for 30 years, aiming to achieve technology development through Dassault Systemes' CATIA applications

Extended agreement between the two companies will support Hyundai Motor's future growth momentum and new business

Dassault Systemes (Euronext Paris: FR0014003TT8, DSY.PA) (Paris:DSY) today announced a supply and maintenance agreement with Hyundai Motor for Dassault Systemes' CATIA applications.

Through this agreement, Hyundai Motor expects to help its diverse partners locally and globally by being able to foster their seamless collaborative technology relationships.

Dassault Systemes is recognized as a long-standing growth partner of Hyundai Motor. It has contributed to the development of vehicles and related technologies by providing CATIA and technical support to Hyundai Motor for the past 30 years.

CATIA, which is currently used by the technical center of Hyundai Motor group located in several countries, is a solution used for designing the entire production process in a 3D model, from the initial idea planning stage to design, analysis, and assembly. CATIA has contributed to shortening Hyundai Motor's product development process and reducing its costs.

Dassault Systemes' CATIA and 3DEXPERIENCE platform are the best and most innovative solutions for successful products, enabling businesses to meet the needs of all manufacturers, from original equipment manufacturers to their supply chains.

"The extension of our agreement with Hyundai Motor takes place at a time when the mobility industry in Korea is accelerating toward the electrification of vehicles. This has significant implications for helping the related industry prepare for new changes in a more stable way," said Samson Khaou, Executive Vice President, Asia-Pacific, Dassault Systemes. "Through this partnership, Dassault Systemes will continue to provide the best support to Hyundai Motor with technology and know-how to help it take a leading position in the global automobile market as well as in new business."

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Dassault Systemes' CATIA applications: https://www.3ds.com/products-services/catia/

Dassault Systemes' 3DEXPERIENCE platform, 3D design software, 3D Digital Mock Up and Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solutions: http://www.3ds.com

SHARE THIS ON TWITTER

Long-term partners @Dassault3DS and @hmg_talk extend CAD maintenance agreement by five years CATIA

Connect with Dassault Systemes on

Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Youtube

ABOUT DASSAULT SYSTEMES

Dassault Systemes, the 3DEXPERIENCE Company, is a catalyst for human progress. We provide business and people with collaborative 3D virtual environments to imagine sustainable innovations. By creating virtual twin experiences of the real world with our 3DEXPERIENCE platform and applications, our customers push the boundaries of innovation, learning and production to achieve a more sustainable world for patients, citizens, and consumers. Dassault Systemes brings value to more than 300,000 customers of all sizes, in all industries, in more than 140 countries. For more information, visit www.3ds.com

Dassault Systemes. All rights reserved. 3DEXPERIENCE, the Compass icon, the 3DS logo, CATIA, BIOVIA, GEOVIA, SOLIDWORKS, 3DVIA, ENOVIA, NETVIBES, MEDIDATA, CENTRIC PLM, 3DEXCITE, SIMULIA, DELMIA, and IFWE are commercial trademarks or registered trademarks of Dassault Systemes, a French "societe europeenne" (Versailles Commercial Register B 322 306 440), or its subsidiaries in the United States and/or other countries.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220725005628/en/

Contacts:

Dassault Systemes Press

Corporate France

Arnaud MALHERBE

arnaud.malherbe@3ds.com

+33 (0)1 61 62 87 73

North America

Greg SABEY

greg.sabey@3ds.com

+1 (781) 810 3790

EMEAR

Virginie BLINDENBERG

virginie.blindenberg@3ds.com

+33 (0) 1 61 62 84 21

China

Grace MU

grace.mu@3ds.com

+86 10 6536 2288

India

Kriti ASHOK

kriti.ashok@3ds.com

+91 9741310607

Japan

Yukiko SATO

yukiko.sato@3ds.com

+81 3 4321 3841

Korea

Jeemin JEONG

jeemin.jeong@3ds.com

+82 2 3271 6653

AP South

Jessica TAN

jessica.tan@3ds.com

+65 6511 6248
Eutelsat and key OneWeb shareholders 1 sign a Memorandum of Understanding with a view to combining Eutelsat and OneWeb in an all-share transaction.

Eutelsat shareholders and OneWeb shareholders 2 would each hold 50% of the Eutelsat shares.

Representing a transformational transaction, built on the strong foundations established in April 2021 with Eutelsat's initial investment in OneWeb, this combination creates a global leader uniquely positioned to capture the Connectivity market with complementary GEO/LEO 3 offering.

Combined entity strongly positioned to address the fast-growing global Connectivity market.

Compelling financial profile with: Potential for double-digit revenue and EBITDA CAGR over the medium to long term; Eutelsat's strong cash flow generation providing visibility and funding to support continued expansion into the LEO market through OneWeb's next generation of satellites; Over 1.5bn potential incremental value-creation after tax (net of implementation costs) stemming from revenue, capex and cost synergies.

Balanced board and governance structure, to include Eutelsat's Chairman and its CEO, OneWeb's Chairman, and a significant number of independent directors proposed by Eutelsat and OneWeb's shareholders, at Extraordinary General Meeting.

Fully backed by a strong set of strategic shareholders of both entities, including Bpifrance and Fonds Strategique de Participations who have undertaken to vote in favour of the transaction-related resolutions at this EGM, subject to usual conditions. CMA CGM, a shareholder of Eutelsat, is also supporting the combination.

The transaction values OneWeb at $3.4bn implying a value of 12 per Eutelsat share (including the dividend, before synergies).

Eutelsat to propose a 0.93 per share dividend with a scrip option in respect of

FY 2021-22 at its upcoming AGM. Such dividend will not impact the exchange ratio.

Eutelsat will continue to be listed on Euronext Paris and apply for admission to standard listing on the London Stock Exchange.

Regulatory News:

Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL) and key OneWeb shareholders have signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the objective of creating a leading global player in Connectivity through the combination of both companies in an all-share transaction. Eutelsat will combine its 36-strong fleet of GEO satellites with OneWeb's constellation of 648 Low Earth Orbit satellites, of which 428 are currently in orbit.

The transaction would be structured as an exchange of OneWeb shares by its shareholders (other than Eutelsat) with new shares issued by Eutelsat, such that, at closing, Eutelsat would own 100% of OneWeb (excluding the 'Special Share' of the UK Government). OneWeb shareholders would receive 230 million newly issued Eutelsat shares representing 50% of the enlarged share capital4

The potential transaction builds on the deepening collaboration between Eutelsat and OneWeb, begun with the equity stake acquired by Eutelsat in OneWeb in April 2021, the global distribution agreement between Eutelsat and OneWeb announced in March 2022, and the new exclusive commercial partnership5, addressing mainly the European and global cruise markets, signed today.

Commenting on the combination, Dominique D'Hinnin, Eutelsat's Chairman said "I am delighted to announce this new and significant step in the collaboration between Eutelsat and OneWeb. Bringing together our two businesses will deliver a global first, combining LEO constellations and GEO assets to seize the significant growth opportunity in Connectivity, and deliver to our customers solutions to their needs across an even wider range of applications. This combination will accelerate the commercialisation of OneWeb's fleet, while enhancing the attractiveness of Eutelsat's growth profile. In addition, the combination carries significant value creation potential, anchored on a balanced mix of revenue, cost and capex synergies. The strong support of strategic shareholders of both parties is a testament to the huge opportunity that this combination offers and the value that will be created for all its stakeholders. This is truly a game changer for our industry."

Sunil Bharti Mittal, OneWeb's Executive Chairman said "Having played a pioneering role in providing connectivity in the emerging world, I am excited about the possibilities of connecting the unconnected. The combination of Eutelsat and OneWeb represents a significant development in that direction as well as a unique GEO/LEO combination. The positive early results of our service together with our strong pipeline represent a very exciting opportunity in the fast-growing satellite connectivity segment, especially for customers requiring a high speed, low latency experience. Our customers are actively seeking a combined GEO/LEO offering leading us towards this important step. Bharti, as the lead shareholder of OneWeb, along with other key shareholders, is looking forward to playing a meaningful role in providing expanded connectivity through the combination of OneWeb and Eutelsat."

Eva Berneke, Eutelsat's Chief Executive Officer said "Our initial investment in OneWeb was underpinned by our strong belief that the future growth in Connectivity will be driven by both GEO and LEO capacity. This belief has intensified as our relationship with OneWeb has deepened, first by raising our stake in the company, and then with the global distribution agreement signed a few months ago. We are now moving to the next level, with a full combination that will ensure the potential of the GEO/LEO integration is fully realized, supported by compelling financial, strategic, and industrial logic. This ground-breaking combination will create a powerful global player with the financial strength and technical expertise to accelerate both OneWeb's commercial deployment, and Eutelsat's pivot to Connectivity. The combined entity will be geared towards profitable growth, with strong medium-term cash flow generation and a rapid deleveraging driven by strong forecast EBITDA growth. The benefits for our customers and strategic partners, who are at the center of our strategy, are both significant and unique. This is also a very exciting opportunity for our employees who will be key to the success of this transformation."

Neil Masterson, OneWeb's Chief Executive Officer said "Just 20 months ago, OneWeb resumed its mission to connect the unconnected and remove the barriers to connectivity that hold back many of the world's underserved economies and communities. Since then, we have turned this vision into reality and become the second largest low Earth orbit satellite operator in the world. Today's announcement is another bold step in OneWeb's remarkable journey. It is testament to the resilience, execution and innovation of our teams, the strong demand we have seen since launching our commercial services, and the close collaboration we have forged with our partners to provide high-speed, low latency connectivity for governments, businesses, and communities. This combination accelerates our mission to deliver connectivity that will change lives at scale and create a fast growing, well-funded company which will continue to create significant value for our shareholders."

A compelling market opportunity

Eutelsat and OneWeb will address the considerable Connectivity market opportunity, which is fueled by the growing needs of customers in both the B2B and B2C segments for consistent, reliable connectivity. These market segments are forecast to grow by three and five times respectively over the next decade, to reach a combined value of circa $16bn by 2030, with growth being served by both GEO HTS and LEO capacity6

Moreover, the combination of the network density, compelling economics and high throughput of GEO with the low latency and ubiquity of LEO, creates the optimal solution to address an even wider range of customer needs, thereby expanding the addressable market.

A powerful combination, representing a game-changer in the industry

The operations of Eutelsat and OneWeb are highly complementary. A clear roadmap has been designed to develop over time a complementary GEO/LEO service including a common platform, hybrid terminals and a fully mutualized network creating a one-stop shop solution for customers, providing them with a unique offering and a seamless user experience.

Tapping into significant revenue, cost and capex synergies

The combination of Eutelsat with OneWeb is forecast to generate substantial value:

Average annual revenue synergies are estimated at circa 150m after four years, with hybrid GEO/LEO offerings providing a premium service to customers as well as improving the fill rate.

Synergies from joining organizational forces are expected to generate annual run-rate savings of over 80m pre-tax after five years, mostly through cost duplication avoidance.

Capex optimization is expected to generate average savings estimated at circa 80m per annum, from year one. This would be achieved by leveraging the hybrid GEO/LEO satellite infrastructure and through the improved purchasing power of the combined entity.

These sources of incremental value creation represent a balanced split between revenues, costs and capex. Taken together they equate to a net present value of over 1.5bn after tax (net of implementation costs).

Value-creative pathway to robust, profitable growth

The transaction provides a platform for both entities to create value while transforming their respective growth profiles and cash generation potential.

Combined entity would have revenues of circa 1.2bn and EBITDA of circa 0.7bn in FY22-23.

Revenues are forecast to grow at low double-digit CAGR over the next decade.

EBITDA is expected to grow at a mid-teen CAGR over the medium to long term, outpacing sales growth, with EBITDA margin levels moving gradually back in line with best-in-class GEO standards.

The capex of the combined entity is estimated in average at some 725m to 875m, per annum, over the period FY23-24 FY29-30.

Well-funded investment programme and rapid deleveraging

Eutelsat's strong cash flow generation will provide both visibility and funding to develop OneWeb's fleet at minimal risk. Combined EBITDA CAPEX, standing at circa -0.2bn in FY22-23 is expected to be back in positive territory by FY24-25 FY25-26 (depending on Gen-2 capex phasing).

Eutelsat will temporarily suspend its dividend, and cash flow will be focused on the deployment of the Gen 2 constellation while maintaining a strong balance sheet.

Leverage, which would stand at circa 4x net debt EBITDA post transaction, is expected to be reduced on the back of strong EBITDA growth, backed by a disciplined financial policy, with an objective of leverage of circa 3x in the medium term.

Eutelsat will pay its dividend in respect of FY21-22 with a scrip option. Thereafter, the dividend will be suspended for FY22-23 and FY23-24.

Structure of the transaction

The transaction would be structured as an exchange of OneWeb shares for newly issued Eutelsat shares. This excludes the 'Special Share' in OneWeb which is retained by the UK Government together with the existing rights associated therewith.OneWeb shareholders would receive 230million newly issued Eutelsat shares, representing 50% of Eutelsat's enlarged share capital7

The number of new Eutelsat shares to be received by existing OneWeb shareholders would not be affected by the payment of the 0.93 per share dividend with a scrip option for FY 21-22 to be proposed at the upcoming AGM of Eutelsat.

Trading under its existing name, OneWeb will continue to operate the LEO business, with OneWeb's headquarters remaining in the UK.

Eutelsat will continue to be headquartered and domiciled in France, listed on Euronext Paris and would apply for admission to the standard segment of the UK Official List of the UK Financial Conduct Authority and to trading on the London Stock Exchange (subject to meeting the applicable eligibility requirements and the approval of the UK Financial Conduct Authority).

A new balanced ownership and governance

The combined entity will have a balanced ownership structure with a substantial free float alongside anchor public shareholders and supportive private investors.

The Board of Directors of the combined group would consist of 15 members including ten independent directors. Seven directors, in addition to the CEO of Eutelsat, would be proposed by Eutelsat and its key shareholders and seven directors would be proposed by OneWeb and its key shareholders (the number of directors proposed by each of key Eutelsat and OneWeb shareholders being commensurate to their shareholding in Eutelsat post transaction).

It is contemplated that, post-closing, a shareholder agreement between Eutelsat key shareholders and OneWeb key shareholders which does not qualify as a concerted action be in place. It would in substance provide for the right for each party to propose 1 director (if its shareholding is at least 7.5%) and 2 directors (if its shareholding is at least 15%), as well as a 6-month lock up period.

Dominique D'Hinnin would be proposed as Chairman of the combined entity and Sunil Bharti Mittal as Co-Chairman (Vice-President). Eva Berneke would continue as CEO of the combined entity.

Indicative timetable and next steps

The Memorandum of Understanding has been unanimously approved by each of Eutelsat's and OneWeb's board of directors and the envisaged transaction is fully supported by both parties' long-term investors, namely Bpifrance, Fonds Strategique de Participations, Bharti, HMG, SoftBank and Hanwha. CMA CGM, a shareholder of Eutelsat, is also supporting the proposed combination. It will be submitted to the French Eutelsat Works Council information and consultation process.

The Memorandum of Understanding provides for customary exclusivity commitments by Eutelsat and key Eutelsat and OneWeb shareholders.

The transaction will be subject to clearance from relevant regulatory authorities.

The transaction will also be conditional on approval by Eutelsat's shareholders at an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) of Eutelsat, to take place by end of first half 2023. Bpifrance and Fonds Strategique de Participations have undertaken to vote in favour of the transaction-related resolutions at this EGM, subject to usual conditions.

The transaction is expected to close by the end of first half of 2023.

Advisors

Eutelsat is assisted by d'Angelin Co., Perella Weinberg Partners and Rothschild Co as financial advisors. Eutelsat is advised by Weil Gotshal Manges (Paris and London) for all legal aspects of this transaction.

OneWeb is assisted by Barclays as financial advisor. OneWeb is advised by Herbert Smith Freehills LLP as its legal advisor for all aspects of this transaction.

Webcast Audio Video

A webcast will be held on Tuesday 26th of July 2022 at 8:30am CET.

To connect to the live call, please dial:

+33 (0)1 70 73 03 39 (from France)

+44 (0)330 165 4012 (from the U.K)

+1 720-452-7989 (from the United States)

Access code: 3285948#

Click here to access the webcast presentation

Replay information: available from July 26th, 12:30 to August 02, 12:30 CET by dialling:

+33 (0) 1 70 48 00 94 (from France)

+44 (0)20 3859 5407 (from the UK)

+1 719-457-0820 (from the USA)

Access code: 3285948#

In addition, the Full Year 2021-22 results press release is available on https://www.eutelsat.com/en/news/press.html#/

About Eutelsat Communications

Founded in 1977, Eutelsat Communications is one of the world's leading satellite operators. With a global fleet of satellites and associated ground infrastructure, Eutelsat enables clients across Video, Data, Government, Fixed and Mobile Broadband markets to communicate effectively to their customers, irrespective of their location. Around 7,000 television channels operated by leading media groups are broadcast by Eutelsat to one billion viewers equipped for DTH reception or connected to terrestrial networks. Committed to promoting all facets of sustainable development across its business activities, Eutelsat leverages its in-orbit resources to help bridge the digital divide while maintaining a safe and uncluttered space environment. As an attractive and socially responsible employer, Eutelsat assembles 1,200 men and women from 50 countries who are dedicated to delivering the highest quality of service.

Eutelsat Communications is listed on the Euronext Paris Stock Exchange.

About OneWeb

OneWeb is a global communications network powered from space, headquartered in London, enabling connectivity for governments, businesses, and communities. It is implementing a constellation of Low Earth Orbit satellites with a network of global gateway stations and a range of user terminals to provide an affordable, fast, high-speed and low-latency communications service, connected to the IoT future and a pathway to 5G. www.oneweb.net

Disclaimer

NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN, INTO, OR FROM ANY JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO WOULD CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE RELEVANT LAWS OF THAT JURISDICTION

This communication does not constitute or form part of and should not be construed as any offer for sale of or solicitation of any offer to buy any securities of Eutelsat Communications, nor should it, or any part of it, form the basis of or be relied on in connection with any contract or commitment whatsoever concerning Eutelsat Communications' assets, activities or shares.

This communication contains combined data (including synergies) which are estimate based on the completion of the combination between Eutelsat Communications and OneWeb.

All statements other than historical facts included in this communication, including without limitations, those regarding Eutelsat Communications' position, business strategy, plans and objectives are forward-looking statements.

The forward-looking statements included herein are for illustrative purposes only and are based on management's current views and assumptions and current available information. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks. For illustrative purposes only, such risks include but are not limited to: postponement of any ground or in-orbit investments and launches including but not limited to delays of future launches of satellites; impact of financial crisis on customers and suppliers; trends in Fixed Satellite Services markets; development of Digital Terrestrial Television and High Definition television; development of satellite broadband services; Eutelsat Communications' ability to develop and market value-added services and meet market demand; the effects of competing technologies developed and expected intense competition generally in its main markets; profitability of its expansion strategy; partial or total loss of a satellite at launch or in-orbit; supply conditions of satellites and launch systems; satellite or third-party launch failures affecting launch schedules of future satellites; litigation; ability to establish and maintain strategic relationships in its major businesses; and the effect of future acquisitions and investments.

Eutelsat Communications and OneWeb expressly disclaim any obligation or undertaking to update or revise any projections, forecasts or estimates contained in this communication to reflect any change in events, conditions, assumptions or circumstances on which any such statements are based, unless so required by applicable law. None of Eutelsat Communications and OneWeb, their shareholders, subsidiaries, affiliates, associates, or their respective directors, officers, partners, employees, representatives and advisers makes any representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the accuracy or completeness of the information contained in this communication, or otherwise made available, nor as to the reasonableness of any assumption contained herein or therein, and any liability therefor is expressly disclaimed. Nothing contained herein or therein is, or shall be relied upon as, a promise or representation, whether as to the past or the future and no reliance, in whole or in part, should be placed on the fairness, accuracy, completeness or correctness of the information contained herein or therein.

Certain industry and market data contained in this communication has come from official or third party sources. Third party industry publications, studies and surveys generally state that the data contained therein have been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but that there is no guarantee of the accuracy or completeness of such data. While Eutelsat Communications believes that each of these publications, studies and surveys has been prepared by a reputable source, Eutelsat Communications has not independently verified the data contained therein. In addition, certain of the industry and market data contained in this communication has come from Eutelsat Communications' own internal research and estimates based on the knowledge and experience of Eutelsat Communications' management in the market in which Eutelsat Communications operates. While Eutelsat Communications believes that such research and estimates are reasonable and reliable, they, and their underlying methodology and assumptions, have not been verified by any independent source for accuracy or completeness and are subject to change without notice. Accordingly, undue reliance should not be placed on any of the industry or market data contained in this communication.

No statement in this communication is intended as a profit forecast and no statement in this communication should be interpreted to mean that cash flow from operations, free cash flow, earnings or earnings per Eutelsat Communications share for the current or future financial years would necessarily match or exceed the historical published cash flow from operations, free cash flow, earnings or earnings per Eutelsat Communications share. There can be no assurance that the proposed transaction between Eutelsat Communications and OneWeb will be consummated or that the anticipated benefits will be realised. The proposed transaction is subject to various regulatory approvals and the fulfilment of certain conditions, and there can be no assurance that any such approvals will be obtained and/or such conditions will be met.

In the United Kingdom, this communication is made only to and directed only at (a) persons who have professional experience in matters relating to investments falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (the "Order") or (b) persons falling within Article 49(2)(a) of the Order or (c) other persons to whom it may otherwise be lawfully communicated (each such person a "relevant person").

The distribution of this communication or any information contained in it may be restricted by law in certain jurisdictions, and any person into whose possession any document containing this communication or any part of it comes should inform themselves about, and observe, any such restrictions. Any failure to comply with applicable requirements may constitute a violation of the laws and/or regulations of any such jurisdiction.

Due to rounding, numbers presented throughout this and other documents may not add up precisely to the totals provided and percentages may not precisely reflect the absolute figures.

Additional information

In connection with the proposed transaction, Eutelsat Communications intends to file with the AMF an information document in connection with the listing of its shares to be issued in exchange for the contribution by OneWeb key shareholders of part of the OneWeb shares. Investors are urged to carefully read all relevant documents filed with the AMF, including the information document when it becomes available, because they will contain important information about the proposed transaction. Investors may obtain free of charge a copy of the information document as well as other documents filed with the AMF (when they become available) on the AMF's website at www.amf-france.org. Those documents, when filed, may also be obtained free of charge on Eutelsat Communications' website at https://eutelsat.com.

1 Representing circa 74% of the share capital of OneWeb. 2 Other than Eutelsat. 3 Geostationary Orbit Low Earth Orbit. 4 On the basis of the Eutelsat share capital as of today. 5 Eutelsat FY 21-22's press release available at www.eutelsat.com 6 Source: Euroconsult Satellite Connectivity and Video Market, September 2021. 7 On the basis of the Eutelsat share capital as of today.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220725005942/en/

Contacts:

Media enquiries

Eutelsat

Media in France

Marie-Sophie Ecuer 33 6 89 62 17 74

David Bertolotti +33 1 53 98 46 72

Anne Meaux +33 6 89 87 61 76

Leslie Jung-Isenwater +33 6 78 70 05 55

Franck Pasquier +33 6 73 62 57 99

Media in the UK

Joanna Darlington Alastair Elwen

FGS Global

+44 20 7251 3801

Eutelsat-LON@fgsglobal.com

Investors

Cedric Pugni +33 1 53 98 31 54

OneWeb

Dorothy Burwell

Carolina Neri

Theo Davies-Lewis

+44 20 7251 3801

oneweb-LON@fgsglobal.com
The world's longest research submarine, which is alleged as a platform for eavesdropping and nuclear weapons, has been given to the Russian Navy.

Belgorod Submarine of the Russian Navy is Suspected as a Spy

The world's longest-known submarine, which its manufacturer describes as a research vessel but which some claim is a platform for spying and nuclear weapons, has been delivered to the Russian Navy.

The biggest shipyard in the nation, Sevmash Shipyard, claims that the Belgorod was handed over to the Russian Navy earlier this month at the Severodvinsk port.

According to experts, it is based on a lengthened variant of Russia's Oscar II class guided-missile submarines, designed to ultimately house the first nuclear-armed stealth torpedoes and information collecting gear in the world.

Suppose the Belgorod successfully integrates those new capabilities into the Russian fleet. In that case, it may pave the way for a return to Cold War-era submarine battles between US and Russian subs within the next ten years.

The Belgorod's mission distinguishes it from all other nuclear-powered submarines in the Russian navy, as well as from all other nuclear submarines in operation worldwide.

According to the US Congressional Research Service (CRS), the Belgorod may only be the first of a fleet of four submarines that might be equipped with Poseidon torpedoes, two of which would be assigned to Russia's Pacific Fleet and the other two to its Northern Fleet.

The nuclear-capable Poseidon torpedoes, which can be fired from hundreds of miles distant and are intended to evade coastal defenses by moving along the sea bottom, will reportedly be carried by the sub, according to a Russian news agency.

Read Also: Apple Introduces 'Test Alerts' Switch to iPhone if You Want to Test Emergency Alerts | Here's How to Do It

Chinese Scientists Plans to Build a Smaller Version of Russia's Nuclear-Powered Poseidon Submarine

According to South China Morning Post, a research team in Beijing recently claimed to have completed the conceptual design for a small, affordable nuclear reactor that could send a swarm of torpedoes over the Pacific Ocean in about a week.

Chinese scientists want to create a smaller version of Russia's Poseidon autonomous submarine, the world's first known underwater drone powered by nuclear energy.

A disposable nuclear reactor would be used to launch each torpedo, which would then cruise at a speed of over 30 knots (56 km/h or 35 mph) for 200 hours before being dumped to the ocean bottom. It will then launch a conventional weapon strike using a battery. This suggests that China is not interested in using nuclear weapons.

Their design varies significantly from Poseidon in a number of respects, according to Guo Jian, the chief scientist from the China Institute of Atomic Energy.

He said that the autonomous underwater vehicle and nuclear power system might be used as a conventional force, such as an assault nuclear submarine, as opposed to a nuclear missile, because of their great flexibility and cheap cost.

Small, fast, long-range crewless underwater vehicles that may be used for surveillance, tracking, assault, and strategic strike are in increasing demand in China, Guo added. However, his team did not clarify what kinds of goals they would pursue.

Related Article: Watch! Two Russian Air Force Fighters Spotted Flying Over a US Destroyer Were Intercepted by a Belgian F-16 Fighter Jet
Dufry International AG / Key word(s): Half Year Results

Invitation to Dufry's Half Year Results 2022



26.07.2022 / 07:00



Dufry is delighted to invite you to our Half Year Results 2022 Video Conference Webcast: Tuesday, 9th August 2022

From 14.30h CEST Speakers will be Xavier Rossinyol, CEO Dufry AG and Yves Gerster, CFO Dufry AG. The presentation and video conference will be held in English, followed by a Q&A session. Time/Agenda:

- 14:30 CEST Investor & Analyst Presentation followed by Q&A Presentation and Video Conference: The access to the webcast platform will be available through our website. A playback option will be available there until 9th September 2022. We recommend participating at the video conference. Q&A will be possible via webcast. In case needed, participants will be able to access via phone by pre-registering here. You will receive the dial-in numbers and a personal pin-code upon registration. If you are unable to register through the link, please send an e-mail to ir@dufry.com. News Release & Presentation Dufry will publish its 2022 Half Year Results on 9th August 2022 at 07.00h CEST with the presentation available on Dufry's IR website. For further information please contact: Dr. Kristin Kohler

Global Head

Investor Relations

Phone: +41 61 266 44 22

kristin.koehler@dufry.com Renzo Radice

Corporate Communications &

Investor Relations

Phone: +41 61 266 44 19

renzo.radice@dufry.com

Dufry Group - A leading global travel retailer Dufry AG (SIX: DUFN) is the leading global travel retailer operating over 2,300 duty-free and duty-paid shops in airports, cruise lines, seaports, railway stations and downtown tourist areas, in more than 420 locations in 66 countries across all six continents. The Company, founded in 1865 and headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, is offering customers a first-class shopping experience, global brands, a unique market access and landlords a reliable, value-enhancing partnership. To learn more about Dufry, please visit www.dufry.com.

Social Responsibility

Dufry cares for children and supports social projects from SOS Kinderdorf in Brazil, Cambodia, Mexico, Morocco and Ivory Coast. SOS Children's Villages is an independent, non-political and non-demonstrational organization established for orphaned and destitute children all over the world.

End of Media Release


Evolva Holding SA / Key word(s): Forecast/Half Year Results

Evolva with strong business momentum in 1H 2022, announcing targets of mid-term plan



26-Jul-2022 / 07:01 CET/CEST

Release of an ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 LR

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.



Ad Hoc Announcement (PDF) PRESS RELEASE | AD HOC ANNOUNCEMENT PURSUANT TO ART. 53 LR Evolva reports revenues of CHF 8.1 million in the first half of 2022, 28% above the high basis from the prior year period and already 54% of the full-year target

Positive double-digit gross contribution margin of slightly above 10% in 1H 2022

Company is well on track to reach its full-year guidance of CHF 15 million revenues and a double-digit gross contribution margin

New mid-term plan aims for annual revenue growth of 40-60 % in the coming years, achieving over CHF 20 million revenues in 2023, over CHF 30 million in 2024 and CHF 45-50 million in 2025

Detailed business review leads to cost improvements of CHF 2.3 million and a possible impairment of CHF 15-20 million

Constructive discussions with several potential strategic partners ongoing

Details on mid-term plan and financial results will be presented on 25 August 2022 Reinach, 26 July 2022 - Evolva (SIX:EVE), a pioneer in the field of natural molecules and industrial biotech, today reports key financial figures of the first half of 2022 as well as targets of its mid-term plan. Evolva achieved a strong sales performance with revenues of CHF 8.1 million in the first semester 2022 despite a slow start into the year. This corresponds to an increase of 28% against a high basis from the prior year period. Sequentially, i.e. compared to the second semester of 2021, the increase was +132%. With 54% of the targeted full-year revenues for 2022 already booked in the first half, Evolva is well on track to reach its 2022 revenue guidance of CHF 15 million. The gross contribution margin in the first half of slightly above 10% is also in line with guidance to achieve a positive double-digit gross contribution margin in 2022. Evolva CEO Christian Wichert, who has joined the company in February this year and undertook a rigorous strategic and operational review of Evolva, comments: "We look back on intensive months of hard work, but also on very satisfactory first results of harvesting initial low hanging fruits and defining a path for future development and growth. My entire team has done a fantastic job in working together to accelerate the commercialization of our product portfolio. As such, we were able to attain a record half-yearly revenue level of CHF 8.1 million during the first six months of 2022, with strong growth especially from Vanillin." On occasion of yesterday's meeting, the Evolva Board of Directors approved the new mid-term plan and financial targets as prepared by the leadership team and presented by management. The new mid-term targets aim for annual revenue growth of 40-60 % in the coming years. Specifically, the goal is to generate over CHF 20 million in revenue in 2023. For 2024, Evolva aims to surpass the CHF 30 million mark and targets to reach a revenue level of CHF 45-50 million in 2025. On profitability, the company expects the gross contribution margin to continue to increase significantly, leading to cash and EBITDA break-even in 2025. In addition to focusing on boosting commercial performance, customer proximity, upscaling operations and process development, CEO Christian Wichert and his team are also committed to operational excellence and cost discipline going forward. A review of all spendings with the intention to redirect resources to the focus areas with substantial performance impact resulted in the identification of cost improvements of CHF 2.3 million on an annual basis against the original plan. These cost improvements relate mainly to administrative and overhead costs (e.g. office rents) and will not limit Evolva's ability to succeed in the market. Analyses are also being conducted on the balance sheet. The company currently expects a non-cash relevant impairment of CHF 15-20 million, with the detailed assessment to be presented together with the half-year results. As previously announced, Evolva is exploring potential strategic partnerships to further strengthen its business model with complementary capabilities and synergies on both operational and commercial levels. Fruitful discussions with several potential strategic partner have been initiated and are currently ongoing. This underscores Evolva's strong position in nature-based products in the sweet spot of health, wellness and sustainability as well as the attractiveness of the respective market. Christian Wichert adds: "I am excited about our immediate and mid-term prospects. Together with the highly motivated leadership team, we have set ourselves ambitious targets. By focusing on the priority areas commercial excellence, profitability improvement, entrepreneurial culture and team spirit, I am convinced that we can further boost our commercial performance and leverage the positive momentum to bring Evolva to the next level of development." Evolva will provide a detailed update on the company's strategy and mid-term targets on occasion of the half-year results on 25 August 2022.

Important dates

25 August 2022 Half-year Results 2022

Contact

Doris Rudischhauser

Investor Relations and Corporate Communications

+41 79 410 81 88

dorisr@evolva.com For Evolva multimedia content, please visit: evolva.com/multimedia-library . About Evolva

Evolva is a Swiss biotech company focused on the research, development and commercialization of ingredients based on nature. We have leading businesses in Flavors and Fragrances, Health Ingredients and Health Protection. Evolva's employees, half of which are women, are dedicated to make the best products that can contribute to health, wellbeing and sensory enjoyment. Find out more at evolva.com and connect with us on LinkedIn . Disclaimer

This announcement is not an offer of securities into the United States. The securities referred to herein have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), and may not be offered, pledged, sold, delivered or otherwise transferred, directly or indirectly, in the United States, except pursuant to an exemption from, or transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the Securities Act. No public offering of securities is being made in the United States. Further, the securities referred to herein have not been and will not be registered under the applicable securities laws of Canada, Australia or Japan or under the applicable securities laws of any other jurisdiction where to do so might constitute a violation of such laws.

This press release contains specific forward-looking statements, e.g. statements including terms like believe, assume, expect or similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may result in a substantial divergence between the actual results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and those explicitly or implicitly presumed in these statements. Against the background of these uncertainties readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The company assumes no responsibility to update forward-looking statements or to adapt them to future events or developments.

End of ad hoc announcement
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 roles at company's second Irish site will focus on engineering, technical support and inside sales

DUNDALK, Ireland, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Kaseya, the leading global provider of unified IT management and security software for managed service providers (MSPs) and mid-market enterprises (MMEs), today announced plans to establish a new Centre of Excellence in Dundalk, creating 250 jobs over the next three years.

The project is supported by the Irish Government through IDA Ireland.

Tanaiste & Minister for Enterprise Trade & Employment Leo Varadkar TDsaid: "This is excellent news. It really demonstrates Kaseya's commitment to Ireland and the attractiveness of Dundalk as a place to invest. It's also a real vote of confidence in Kaseya's existing team here - I'm sure it was their hard work that gave the company the confidence to expand further. Kaseya has witnessed remarkable growth over recent years, and I wish the team every continued success with the new Dundalk office."

The highly skilled roles include 250 jobs for engineers, technical support and sales, specifically new customer acquisition, as well as positions across corporate services. Kaseya will work closely with university partners in the area to help train students for the positions and foster the next generation of technology professionals in the region.

"We saw tremendous opportunity to expand the tech ecosystem in Ireland - we're already in Dublin - and decided to open a second office in Dundalk," said Kaseya CEO Fred Voccola. We are planning to attract top tech talent and generate a robust workforce pipeline in the local community. We are excited about this partnership that will expand Kaseya's footprint in Ireland, where Kaseya has its roots. The company first established its EMEA headquarters in Dublin in 2016."

Kaseya saw the potential in Ireland and decided to expand its operations with this second site in Dundalk to operate as a Centre of Excellence with a focus on research and development. The Dundalk office will support a high-growth engineering team and contribute to economic development in the region.

CEO of IDA Ireland Martin Shanahan said: "Thanks to Kaseya's positive experience with establishing a facility in Dublin, the company has selected Dundalk as the location of its second Irish site. This is very good news for the entire region and the skilled and talented workforce located there. I wish Kaseya every success with this expansion."

Kaseya successfully executed a similar program in the U.S., in Miami, Florida where the company is headquartered. In two short years, Kaseya has grown its Miami operation from 150 people to more than 600 and now occupies over 150,000-sq-ft to support its growth plan of having over 1,200 "Kaseyans" in Miami by 2023. Modelling after this hugely successful program, with support from IDA Ireland, Kaseya's leadership is confident this initiative will be another success that brings economic growth to the region.

To view a list of the open roles in Ireland, click here.

About Kaseya

Kaseya is the leading provider of unified IT & security management software for IT professionals in managed service providers (MSPs) and mid-market enterprises (MMEs). Through its customer-centric approach and renowned support, Kaseya delivers best-in-breed technologies that empower organizations to seamlessly manage IT infrastructure, secure networks, backup critical data, manage service operations, and grow their businesses. Kaseya offers a broad array of IT management solutions, including well-known names: Kaseya, Datto, IT Glue, RapidFire Tools, Unitrends, Spanning Cloud Apps, TruMethods, ID Agent, Graphus and RocketCyber. These innovative solutions fuel Kaseya's IT Complete platform, which is designed to maximize efficiencies and enable businesses through a single pane of glass. IT Complete empowers IT professionals to centrally command hardware, software, security, data, compliance, operations and more from within a comprehensive, integrated, intelligent (AI utilization-optimized), and affordable platform. Headquartered in Miami, Florida, Kaseya is privately held with a global presence in over 25 countries. To learn more, visit https://www.kaseya.com/.

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1865859/Kaseya_Image.jpg
Piazza Roma, Italy--(Newsfile Corp. - July 26, 2022) - Alcyone has announced the launch of a new content marketing service for ketamine infusion therapy clinics.





Ketamine Therapy Hyper-Local Content Marketing Service Launched by Alcyone

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8814/131889_0504b83944d458e8_001full.jpg

Alcyone, which has over seven years of experience in digital marketing, has launched a new hyper-local content marketing service for ketamine therapy providers, and other alternative therapy centers.

More information can be found at: https://alcyonemarketing.com/?utm_source=pma&utm_medium=homepage&utm_campaign=star

The first stage of Alcyone's expanded marketing service begins by determining the opportunities available in each client's location. This informs the campaign strategy, which is designed to improve the client's ranking and brand awareness.

Following the latest launch, Alcyone will work in partnership with each ketamine specialist with a view to improving their online presence on search engines such as Google and Bing. By deploying custom marketing strategies, the company also works to improve engagement within the local community. Its omnipresent approach to content marketing allows it to build authority with both SERPs and potential customers.

With the new content marketing service, Alcyone aims to establish ketamine clinics as trustworthy and authoritative options in their local area. By running hyper-local marketing campaigns using targeted content strategies, the company strives to organically improve the client's Google ranking and Google 3-Pack position using white-hat marketing techniques.

Additional details are provided at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/i-am-javier-espinoza

As part of the latest service, Alcyone will conduct an initial assessment of the client's business and marketing strategy to provide a report, outlining the potential growth opportunities that can be achieved through a customized marketing plan. The company's team will also design the client's homepage or landing page for optimal customer experience.

With the launch of the new service, Alcyone affirms its commitment to helping ketamine therapy providers leverage content marketing to increase brand awareness and online visibility.

"We believe to be true that healing of Earth is achieved through people's healing first, that is why we must make accessible the healing centers for people in need," said a spokesperson. "It is the reason why we share our business and marketing expertise to support alternative therapists with professionalism, empathy, and creativity," they added.

Interested parties can learn more by visiting: https://alcyonemarketing.com/blog/the-ultimate-guide-to-getting-more-appointments-for-ketamine-therapies/?utm_source=pma&utm_medium=ultimate&utm_campaign=star

Contact Info:

Name: Javier Espinoza

Email: reachhigher@alcyonemarketing.com

Organization: Alcyone Marketing & Business Consulting DBA Alcyone

Address: 42 Via Sant'Angelo, Piazza Roma, Campania 80050, Italy

Website: https://alcyonemarketing.com/

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/131889
Collaboration with IMDA on the TeSA Company-led Training program will equip Singaporeans with in-demand skills in cybersecurity, software engineering and cloud engineering

SINGAPORE, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Infosys (NSE: INFY) (BSE: INFY) (NYSE: INFY), a global leader in next-generation digital services and consulting has committed to hiring 300 Singaporean workers over the next three years across a variety of roles. To support Singapore Government's ongoing programmes to create employment opportunities for freshers and mid-career professionals, Infosys has collaborated with Infocomm Media Development Authority of Singapore (IMDA), a statutory board, under the Ministry of Communications and Information.

Infosys will aim to hire technology professionals, mature PMETs (Professionals, Managers, Executives, and Technicians) from tech and non-tech backgrounds, as well as fresh graduates from polytechnics and universities to create a skilled and future-ready workforce in Singapore. Infosys, along with Infosys Compaz (iCompaz) - a joint venture between Infosys Limited and Temasek Holdings - will hire these individuals as part of IMDA's TechSkills Accelerator (TeSA) Company-Led Training (CLT) program.

Infosys' strong training and education infrastructure has allowed the company to cultivate top tech talent over the years, outside traditional tech, and provide employees new pathways to transition from conventional jobs across various industries and workstreams, to digital jobs of the future.

Shaji Mathew, Executive Vice President, Infosys, says, "We are delighted to partner with IMDA on the TeSA CLT programme which will enable us to bring onboard local talent and help implement our localization and continuous learning strategies. Our collaboration with the Government of Singapore underscores our investment and commitment to leverage Infosys' digital expertise to develop a highly skilled future workforce at a time when the world is trying to embrace digital at scale to navigate the post-pandemic economic reality. The plan to hire 300 locals in Singapore reinforces our commitment to our localization strategy, at a global level. We look forward to strengthen our presence in Singapore, in pace with the digital transformation journeys of our clients."

Kiren Kumar, Deputy Chief Executive, IMDA, said, "I would like to thank Infosys for the strong partnership and commitment to hire and train Singaporeans for in-demand technology roles including cybersecurity, software and cloud engineering. Digitalisation is accelerating across the economy with an increasing demand for emerging technology roles. Our Tech Skills Accelerator (TeSA) programme aims to work closely with industry leaders to provide on-the job training to meet the skills needs across our ecosystem."

About Infosys

Infosys is a global leader in next-generation digital services and consulting. Over 300,000 of our people work to amplify human potential and create the next opportunity for people, businesses and communities. With over four decades of experience in managing the systems and workings of global enterprises, we expertly steer clients, in more than 50 countries, as they navigate their digital transformation powered by the cloud. We enable them with an AI-powered core, empower the business with agile digital at scale and drive continuous improvement with always-on learning through the transfer of digital skills, expertise, and ideas from our innovation ecosystem. We are deeply committed to being a well-governed, environmentally sustainable organization where diverse talent thrives in an inclusive workplace.

Visit www.infosys.com to see how Infosys (NSE: INFY) (BSE: INFY) (NYSE: INFY) can help your enterprise navigate your next.

Safe Harbor

This Release contains 'forward-looking statements' within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements generally relate to future events or our future financial or operating performance and that are based on our current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections about the Company, our industry, economic conditions in the markets in which we operate, and certain other matters. Generally, these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as 'may', 'anticipate', 'believe', 'estimate', 'expect', 'continue', 'intend', 'will', 'project', 'seek', 'could', 'would', 'should' and similar expressions. Those statements include, among other things, statements regarding our business strategy, our expectations concerning our market position, future operations, growth, margins, profitability, attrition, liquidity, and capital resources, our ESG vision, our capital allocation policy, the effects of COVID-19 on global economic conditions and our business and operations, wage increases, change in the regulations including immigration regulation and policies in the United States. These statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those implied by the forward-looking statements. Additional risks that could affect our future operating results are more fully described in our United States Securities and Exchange Commission filings including our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2022. These filings are available at www.sec.gov. Infosys may, from time to time, make additional written and oral forward-looking statements, including statements contained in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and our reports to shareholders. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements that may be made from time to time by or on behalf of the Company unless it is required by law.

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/633365/Infosys_Logo.jpg
Cruise line's newbuild programme and current fleet will leverage SES's O3b mPOWER connectivity service to make seamless family luxury a reality

SES, the world's leading content connectivity satellite service provider, will be providing ground-breaking high-speed satellite-based connectivity services to the newest landmark ship of a leading family cruise line, the company announced today. The cruise line existing fleet will also transition its connectivity to SES's second-generation medium earth orbit (MEO) system O3b mPOWER, alongside installing the service onto its newbuild programme.

The high-performance connectivity service onboard will first be available via SES's O3b Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) constellation and will subsequently migrate and expand to SES's O3b mPOWERcommunication system. This connectivity will be augmented by SES's geostationary satellite fleet and ground-based infrastructure to provide high-bandwidth redundancy and unparalleled reliability throughout the voyage.

The new agreement will help enable a seamless and hassle-free internet connectivity experience for guests who can unwind in complete luxury without worrying about their family's consuming large amounts of data at considerable expense. Passengers can purchase new Unlimited Internet access plans by leveraging SES's O3b mPOWER network and enjoy unmatched connectivity whilst cruising.

The low-latency connectivity network which will be delivered by SES's O3b mPOWER system is also set to enable innovative connected technologies, including a first-of-its-kind immersive augmented reality experience for guests. It will also power wearable technology for families, which provides children secure and safe access to amazing experiences while parents recline at the pool.

Simon Maher, Vice President of Global Sales, Cruise Maritime Services at SES, said, "SES is privileged to be selected as the most innovative technology connectivity partner for both the transition of the current fleet of Cruise Ships from the legacy provider to SES but also supporting the cruise line's fleet expansion plans. We are passionate about amazing, innovative experiences that push the boundaries of what people think is possible. As the only company to operate a commercially successful medium earth orbit constellations at unmatched scale, SES is uniquely positioned to offer the most reliable, best-performing high-speed connectivity at sea that helps make incredible and innovative experiences a reality."

Follow us on:

Twitter Facebook YouTube LinkedIn Instagram

Read our Blogs

Visit the Media Gallery >

About SES

SES has a bold vision to deliver amazing experiences everywhere on earth by distributing the highest quality video content and providing seamless connectivity around the world. As the leader in global content connectivity solutions, SES operates the world's only multi-orbit constellation of satellites with the unique combination of global coverage and high performance, including the commercially-proven, low-latency Medium Earth Orbit O3b system. By leveraging a vast and intelligent, cloud-enabled network, SES is able to deliver high-quality connectivity solutions anywhere on land, at sea or in the air, and is a trusted partner to the world's leading telecommunications companies, mobile network operators, governments, connectivity and cloud service providers, broadcasters, video platform operators and content owners. SES's video network carries over ~8,200 channels and has an unparalleled reach of 366 million households, delivering managed media services for both linear and non-linear content. The company is listed on Paris and Luxembourg stock exchanges (Ticker: SESG). Further information is available at: www.ses.com

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220725005922/en/

Contacts:

For further information:

Suzanne Ong

External Communications

Tel. +352 710 725 500

suzanne.ong@ses.com
Renowned Silicon Valley SaaS technology leader discusses the value of empathy for business leaders to members of Scotland's growing technology community in Edinburgh

UserTesting (NYSE: USER), a leader in video-based human insight, today announced that UserTesting CEO Andy MacMillan will be joining host Nick Murray, Co-Director Startup Grind Scotland and Strategic Partnerships Manager, Metanomic, for a discussion focused on topics that include empathy in leadership, and what makes Edinburgh an ideal location as a European headquarters for technology companies. This event is taking place on Thursday, August 4, at UserTesting's European headquarters in Edinburgh.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220726005085/en/

Nick Murray, Host and Co-Director Startup Grind Scotland and Andy MacMillan, CEO of UserTesting (Photo: Business Wire)

Attendees also can hear what Scotland can learn from Silicon Valley's mindset, the value of customer insights in helping to drive business decisions during challenging economic periods, and lessons learned from rapidly growing a SaaS company through an IPO.

Discussion Details:

Date: Thursday, August 4, 2022

Time: 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., BST

Location: UserTesting EMEA Headquarters, 2nd Floor, 7 Exchange Crescent, Edinburgh, EH3 8AN

Cost: 6 GBP public, Free for UserTesting team members (prior registration required)

Speakers: Andy MacMillan, CEO of UserTesting Nick Murray, Host and Co-Director Startup Grind Scotland



"Community gatherings with globally-proven industry experts are critical to developing Scotland's entrepreneurial ecosystem," said Nick Murray, Co-Director of Startup Grind Scotland. "Our first interview with Andy in Silicon Valley this April was a significant mindset shift for the 20 Scottish founders we took to the entrepreneurship mecca. With the Scottish Government announcing Scotland's Tech Scaler Hubs this month, now is the perfect time to look internationally to find best practices and learn from those who have been there before. This interview will broaden the horizons of what's possible for Scottish businesses through the eyes of someone who has had incredible success in scaling a SAAS business to a global entity."

"Selecting Edinburgh was the right choice for UserTesting's European headquarters, and we are excited to be a part of this event, highlighting the value we have found in establishing offices here," said Andy MacMillan, CEO of UserTesting. "UserTesting is proud to support Edinburgh's, and Scotland's, growing technology scene. There are great opportunities for companies in Scotland, due to the local education system, partnership opportunities with local government agencies, and the local talent, which is what global technology companies are looking for today."

About UserTesting

UserTesting (NYSE: USER) has fundamentally changed the way organizations get insights from customers with fast, opt-in feedback and experience capture technology. The UserTesting Human Insight Platform taps into our global network of real people and generates video-based recorded experiences, so anyone in an organization can directly ask questions, hear what users say, see what they mean, and understand what it's actually like to be a customer. Unlike approaches that track user behavior then try to infer what that behavior means, UserTesting reduces guesswork and brings customer experience data to life with human insight. UserTesting has approximately 2,500 customers, including more than half of the world's top 100 most valuable brands according to Forbes. UserTesting is headquartered in San Francisco, California. To learn more, visit www.usertesting.com.

About Startup Grind Scotland

Startup Grind is the world's largest community of startups, founders, innovators, and creators based in 125+ countries with 600 chapters worldwide. Startup Grind Scotland is committed to supporting Scotland's vibrant entrepreneurial community, hosting fireside chats and panel conversations with some of Scotland's most influential and exciting business leaders. Past speakers include Mark Logan (Scotland's Chief Entrepreneur and ex-Skyscanner COO), Darina Garland (co-founder, Ooni) and Evelyn McDonald (CEO, Scottish EDGE).

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220726005085/en/

Contacts:

UserTesting, Inc.

Andy Dear

978-609-1472

adear@usertesting.com

Startup Grind Scotland

Anna Brow, Head of Comms PR

07546356846

hello@startupgrindscot.com
License allows Lepton, with their proprietary Castling Technology, to develop and commercialize products and services using CRISPR/Cas9 technology

DUBLIN and ZIKHRON YA'AKOV, Israel, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- ERS Genomics Limited ('ERS') is pleased to announce a new license agreement with Lepton Pharmaceuticals LTD ('Lepton"). This is a non-exclusive licensing agreement granting Lepton access to the ERS CRISPR/Cas9 patent portfolio for certain applications.

ERS, co-founded by Dr. Emmanuelle Charpentier, 2020 Nobel Prize winner for gene-editing, provides access to the foundational CRISPR/Cas9 intellectual property. Over 90 patents are held in over eighty countries.

Lepton Pharmaceutical LTD is a biotechnology company developing a proprietary, breakthrough technology (Castling Technology) to substantially improve adaptive cell-mediated immune response (T-cells, CAR-T-cells, NK-cells.)

Dr. Daniel Zurr, CEO of Lepton said: "We are very pleased to establish this relationship and license agreement with ERS Genomics. It will greatly assist us to develop our innovative Castling technology to significantly improve immune cells efficiency and longevity to fight cancer."

Eric Rhodes, CEO at ERS Genomics added: "Lepton's Castling technology has great potential to impact the field of immunotherapies and we are pleased to help enable Lepton in pursuing this exciting approach."

The Castling technology is a proprietary, miRNA-based general technology platform, essentially consisting of the manipulation of miRNA expression to achieve enhanced efficacy and longevity (reduced exhaustion) of cell-based therapies. miRNAs are noncoding RNAs that each affects the expression of hundreds of coding genes. The Castling technology allows, in a single gene editing event in the immune cell (either allogeneic or autologous), to impact the expression of a multitude of genes in the immune cells, once such miRNAs penetrate the microenvironment of cancer cells. This technology aims to revolutionize the immune cell cancer therapy field.

Financial details of the agreement are not disclosed.

About ERS Genomics

ERS Genomics is a biotechnology company based in Dublin, Ireland. The company was formed to provide broad access to the foundational CRISPR/Cas9 intellectual property held by Dr. Emmanuelle Charpentier. Non-exclusive licenses are available for research and sale of products and services across multiple fields including: research tools, kits, reagents; discovery of novel targets for therapeutic intervention; cell lines for discovery and screening of novel drug candidates; GMP production of healthcare products; companion animal and livestock health; production of industrial materials such as enzymes, biofuels and chemicals; and synthetic biology. For additional information please visit www.ersgenomics.com

About Lepton Pharmaceuticals

Lepton Pharmaceuticals LTD. is based in Israel. Lepton focuses on subtle and precise silencing of coding RNA expression by small non-coding RNA molecules, working via the DROSHA/DICER/RISC pathways, small interfering RNA (siRNA), and microRNA (miRNA), to develop products and services to, ultimately, improve therapies for underserved diseases and improve and change patients' lives. For additional information please visit www.leptonpharma.com

Media contact:

Dara O'Donnell

ERS Genomics

Tel: + 353-1-539 0083

dara.odonnell@ersgenomics.com

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1756881/ERS_Genomics_Logo.jpg

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1865560/Lepton_Pharmaceuticals.jpg
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / July 26, 2022 / Marvel Discovery Corp. (TSXV:MARV)(Frankfurt:O4T)(OTCQB:MARVF); ("Marvel" or the "Company") is pleased to report that a field crew has been mobilized to the Duhamel Ni-Cu-Co and Ti-V-Cr property (the 'Property') located 350 kilometres (km) north of Quebec City, QC (Figure 1). Following the interpretation of the TDEM and magnetic airborne survey, Marvel increased its land position in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean Anorthosite Suite from 42 claims to 102 claims for a total of 5,300 hectares (see press release dated February 15, 2022).

Figure 1. Regional location of the Duhamel Property

Late-off time TDEM response anomalies have outlined 7 linear target trends (A through G) that strike northwest-southeast for several kilometres.

Figure 2. Late-off time TDEM response anomalies on the Duhamel Ni-Cu-Co Property.

These Late-off time TDEM responses coincide well with the edges of magnetic highs, making them targets of high merit for massive sulphides (Figure 3).

Figure 3. Late-off time TDEM response anomalies over tilt angle derivative magnetics.

Compilation of historical drilling and mineralized showings reveal remarkable coincidence of these 7 trends with recorded Ni-Cu-Co bearing massive to semi-massive sulphides (Figure 4).

Figure 4. TDEM-magnetic trends coincident with recorded Ni-Cu-Co mineralization and Fe-Ti (V, Cr) mineralization. True widths of mineralization is not yet known.

Crews have been mobilized to the property to confirm historic drill holes that contain highly anomalous Ni-Cu-Co intersections, confirm the nature and significance of Ni-Cu-Co showings, survey those areas of high merit with a Beep Mat and prospect the newly interpreted TDEM trends for new Ni-Cu-Co mineralization. If the historical drill holes can be located, low frequency downhole surveys will be performed to assist with future targeting efforts.

Commentary

"Exploration crews are now mobilized at the Duhamel Ni-Cu-Co Property, we are extremely pleased with the results of the heliborne survey in generating targets. The Duhamel Property is a fertile host for Ni-Cu-Co massive sulphides and iron Ti-V-Cr mineralization demonstrated by historical exploration. We remain confident that our field crews will not only confirm historical showings, but also find new Ni-Cu-Co-occurrences along these trends. We are very keen to determine if the historic drill collars can be located, and if it is possible to conduct low frequency BHEM downhole surveys on these holes. It is common that the higher conductivity representing Ni-Cu bearing massive sulphides are missed by previous operators and these lenses of mineralization are located just off-hole. The results of the field work will enable us to define and select our best targets for diamond drilling." stated Karim Rayani - President & Chief Executive Officer, Director.

The Duhamel Property

The Duhamel project is located between Chutes-des-Passes and Pipmuacan Reservoir deformation zones (or areas) included in central part of Proterozoic Grenville Geological Province (Figure 2). The Duhamel Property is characterized by the presence of large mafic to ultramafic intrusive rock bodies located in northern margin of the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean (SAGLSJ) Anorthosite Suite, one of the largestanorthosite intrusive bodies in the world. The Chute-des-Passes-Pipmuacan reservoir areas contains numerous massive sulfide and iron oxide mineralization occurrences recognized and documented by the Quebec government (Sigeom, Figure 5).

Figure 5. Ni-Cu-Co and Fe-Ti-P-V mineral occurrences on the Chute-des-Passes and Pipmuacan Areas (modified from Hebert et Cadieux, 2002)

The Duhamel Property currently contains seven (7) occurrences of Ni-Cu-Co sulphides and one (1) Fe-Ti-V iron oxide occurrence discovered between 1997 to 2001 by previous operators who defined a 13 km long mineralized rock corridor (Figure 4). Drill intercept highlights include 1.27% Ni, 0.33% Cu, and 0.12% Co over 3.0 meters by Virginia Gold Mines in 2000 that contained massive sulfides. Compilation of historic assessment reports to date reveals more than thirty (30) Ni-Cu (Co) and four (4) Fe-Ti (V, Cr) mineral occurrences which confirms this corridor to be highly prospective for new Ni-Cu-Co discoveries, as well as Fe-Ti (Cr, V) discoveries.

Further to the compilation of previously filed assessment reports Marvel recovered from historical data a grab sample (from massive Iron-Titanium Oxides), the result assaying 0.28% V2O5 associated with 20.8% TiO2 and 0.13% Cr203.

Qualified Person

Mike Kilbourne, P. Geo, an independent qualified person as defined in National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed, and approved the technical contents of this news release on behalf of the Company.

About Marvel Discovery Corp.

Marvel, listed on the TSX Venture Exchange for over 25 years, is a Canadian based emerging resource company. The Company is systematically exploring its extensive property positions in:

Newfoundland (Slip, Gander North, Gander South, Victoria Lake, Baie Verte, and Hope Brook - Au Prospects )

) Atikokan, Ontario (BlackFly - Au Prospect )

) Elliot Lake, Ontario (East Bull - Ni-Cu-PGE Prospect)

Quebec (Duhamel - Ni-Cu-Co prospect & Titanium, Vanadium, and Chromium Prospect)

Prince George, British Columbia (Wicheeda North - Rare Earth Elements Prospect)

The Company's website is: https://marveldiscovery.ca/

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

Marvel Discovery Corp.

"Karim Rayani"

Karim Rayani

President/Chief Executive Officer, Director

Tel: 604 716 0551 email: k@r7.capital

Disclaimer for Forward-Looking Information:

Certain statements in this release are forward-looking statements which reflect the expectations of management. Forward-looking statements consist of statements that are not purely historical, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations, or intentions regarding the future. Forward-looking statements in this press release relate to, among other things: completion of the proposed Arrangement. Actual future results may differ materially. 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. There is no assurance any of the conditions for closing will be met. Forward-looking statements reflect the beliefs, opinions, and projections on the date the statements are made and are based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by the respective parties, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties and contingencies. Readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release concerning these times. Except as required by law, the Company does not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking statements of beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change, except as required by law

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: Marvel Discovery Corp.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/709787/Marvel-Mobilizes-Crews-to-Duhamel-Nickel-Copper-Cobalt-Property-Lac-St-Jean-QC
If you have a wishlist for everything Apple, you may soon get the chance to buy them at a lower price.

Apple recently announced that select Apple products in its many stores - physical or online - can soon be bought cheaply at the states enacting a two or three-day tax holiday.

The Apple products that could be bought at a lower price include Mac computers, nonrecreational software, and even printer supplies, per 9to5Mac.

Apple + Tax Day Collaboration Details

Apple mentioned that people living within nine of the US states would be able to enjoy lower prices at any Apple store within them, physical or online, thanks to the upcoming (or ongoing) tax holidays.

For those unaware, a tax holiday is a government-mandated day (or a few days) when people don't have to worry about the tax they have to pay when buying a particular item, per Investopedia. These items range from essential items such as basic groceries or items needed for the household to function to items that people want to have but are too expensive to buy at full prices, such as computers and smartphones.

Additionally, tax holidays are the government's way to encourage consumer spending to offset the effect of increased prices brought on by the international market, such as fossil fuels.

However, the Sales Tax Insitute mentioned that tax holidays have a specific dollar amount threshold for qualified items. As such, if the item price exceeds the threshold, it is taxable in full.

That aside, Apple mentioned that the nine states that would be enacting tax holidays are: Arkansas, Florida, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Mexico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Read More: Uber Enters Non-Prosecution Agreement With FTC Over 2016 Data Breach That Exposed Data of 57 Million People

Apple Tax Holiday Qualified Items Per Eligible State

Apple mentioned on its website promoting the event that not every item in its inventory would be eligible for being purchased tax-free. As such, people should look up Apple's list of tax holiday-eligible products to see if their desired product will have a lower price.

For convenience, here are the items eligible for tax holiday per state, and when it would hold a tax holiday:

Arkansas: Aug. 6 -7

Eligible Products: computers, all iPad and iPhone models, printers, keyboards, mice, Apple Pencils, and displays

Florida: July 25 - August 7

Eligible Products: computers, all iPad models, displays, Keyboards, Mice, Apple Pencil, speakers, headphones, RAM, storage, microphones, printers, computer cables, routers, scanners, hard drives, nonrecreational software, and computer batteries

Massachusetts: Aug. 13 - 14

Eligible Products: any item with a sale price of less than or equal to $2,500

Missouri: Aug. 5 - 7

Eligible Products: computers under $1,500, which includes computers and iPads, accessories such as displays, keyboards, mice, Apple Pencils, speakers, RAM Upgrades, storage drives, microphones, printers, routers, scanners under $1,500, hard drives (including Apple TV), flash drives, Apple software and third-party nonrecreational software under $350

New Mexico: Aug. 5 - 7

Eligible Products: computers under $1,000, which includes computers and iPads, accessories such as keyboards, mice, Apple Pencil, Displ

Apple Pencil, displays, speakers, computer cables, RAM, microphones, routers, hard drives (including Apple TV), flash drives, printers, and Printer supplies like Lifeprint paper

South Carolina: Aug. 5 - 7

Eligible Products: Computers, all iPad models, printers, printer supplies, Apple and nonrecreational third-party software, accessories, and other products when purchased with a computer, keyboards, mice, Apple Pencil, AppleCare, displays, scanners, and school use only devices including earbuds, headphones, and flash drives

Tennessee July 29 - 31

Eligible Products: computers under $1,500, which includes computers and iPads, accessories such as displays, keyboards, mice, Apple Pencils, speakers, routers, and cables when purchased with a computer

Virginia: Aug. 5 - 7

Eligible Products: Cell phone chargers and batteries with sales prices less than or equal to $60

West Virginia: Aug. 5 - 7

Eligible Products: iPad and MacBook Air models with a sales price less than or equal to $500

Related Article: 'Apple Computer A' Prototype Apple-1 That Steve Jobs Used Is Up for Auction  What Is the Expected Price?
LONDON (dpa-AFX) - Rolls Royce Holdings plc (RYCEF.PK, RR.L, RYCEY.PK) announced Tuesday the appointment of Tufan Erginbilgic as Chief Executive Officer and an executive director, with effect from January 1, 2023. Erginbilgic succeeds Warren East, who previously announced his intention to step down at the end of this year. For over 20 years, from 1997 to 2020, Erginbilgic had been with BP Plc. Since 2020, he is a partner at Global Infrastructure Partners, a private equity firm. He has held several non-executive directorships in heavy industry and manufacturing companies, including at aerospace technology group GKN. Commenting on the appointment of Erginbilgic as chief executive, Chair Anita Frew said, 'He has extensive strategic and operational experience and a firm understanding of safety critical industries, including aerospace, as well as the challenges and commercial opportunities presented by the drive for low carbon technologies. He has a strong track record for execution, delivery and the creation of significant value.' 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.
LONDON, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- CentralNic Group PLC (AIM: CNIC), the online marketplace for domain names and customer acquisition tools, is pleased to announce that it has been awarded the contract to supply and support registry management software to underpin the domain name infrastructure of Greenland's country code top-level domain, .GL. The contract was awarded by Tusass A/S, the largest telecommunications company in Greenland.

This new win is yet another addition to CentralNic Registry's ever-expanding geographic top-level domain portfolio that includes such domains as .sk, .london, .la, .bh, .fm, .fo, .gd, .pw, .vg, and others.

CentralNic's platform now supports two out of three country code top-level domains for the countries that form the Kingdom of Denmark, namely, .gl for Greenland and .fo for the Faroe Islands.

Greenland pays special attention to the Digital Transformation of its economy, and the digital enablement of its citizens. CentralNic's state-of-the-art domain registry management software and comprehensive value-added services will help Greenland to continue the development of its digital economy and support the domain name infrastructure that powers it.

Gavin Brown, Head of CentralNic's Registry Services, said: "CentralNic's award-winning solution for domain registry management has once again demonstrated its technological superiority and we are thrilled to have been awarded this contract for .GL by Tusass A/S. We are looking forward to working with the Tusass A/S team and playing an active role in helping to reinforce and grow Greenland's digital and economic infrastructure."

"CentralNic provides industry-leading technology and unmatched experience understanding the specific needs of country code top-level domains," said Thomas Hansen, Tusass's Chief Information Officer. "CentralNic Registry is much more than an outsource technical provider - they are a true partner in building and securing a thriving digital economy for Greenland."

About CentralNic Group PLC

CentralNic (AIM: CNIC) is a global tech company listed on the London Stock Exchange, which drives the growth of the global digital economy by providing businesses around the world with tools to build their online presence and to win customers and earn revenues online. The Company complements its organic growth with acquisitions of cash-generative businesses with annuity revenue streams and exposure to growth markets. CentralNic operates globally with customers in almost every country in the world. It earns recurring revenues from the worldwide sales of online presence and online marketing services on a subscription or pay per use basis. For more information please visit: www.centralnic.com

For further information contact CentralNic Group media@centralnic.com

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1509583/CentralNic__Logo.jpg
LONDON, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Clarivate Plc (NYSE: CLVT), a global leader in providing trusted information and insights to accelerate the pace of innovation, today announced that in the 2023 release of the Journal Citation Reports all Web of Science Core Collection journals will receive a Journal Impact Factor (JIF). This means expanding the JIF from Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE) and Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) to include journals from the Arts and Humanities Citation Index (AHCI) and the multidisciplinary Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI).

The annual JCR release enables the research community, publishers and librarians to evaluate and compare the scholarly impact of the world's high-quality journals using a range of indicators, descriptive data and visualizations.

By expanding the JIF to all journals that have passed the rigorous Web of Science quality criteria, this latest enhancement helps level the playing field for all quality journals including recently-launched journals, open access journals, journals with a niche or regionally-focused scope and journals from the Global South.

It means that:

Almost 9,000 journals - from more than 3,000 publishers, many of which are smaller publishers from the developing world - will have a JIF for the first time.

journals - from more than 3,000 publishers, many of which are smaller publishers from the developing world - will have a JIF for the first time. There will be an 8% increase in gold open access journals that will have a JIF.

in gold open access journals that will have a JIF. There will be a minimum 5% increase in journals from the Global South1 that will have a JIF.

In addition, the 2023 release of the Journal Citation Reports will display the JIF with one decimal place, rather than the current three decimal places, to encourage users to consider the other indicators and descriptive data in the JCR when comparing journals.

Dr Nandita Quaderi, Editor in Chief and Editorial Vice President, Web of Science said:

"To accelerate the pace of innovation research funders, institutions and researchers need to be able to make decisions based on quality data they can trust. We have made the decision to display Journal Impact Factors for all journals that are indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection as part of our ongoing commitment to the integrity of the scholarly record. Our rigorous selection process allows us to keep untrustworthy journals out of our indexes, which coupled with our careful data curation means that the research community can rely on the data and metrics in the Journal Citation Reports.

"Giving all quality journals a Journal Impact Factor will provide full transparency to articles and citations that have contributed to impact, and therefore will help them demonstrate their value to the research community. This decision is aligned to our position that publications in all quality journals, not just highly cited journals, should be eligible for inclusion in research assessment exercises."

No changes will be made to the JCR until the next annual release in June 2023.

Ludo Waltman, professor of Quantitative Science Studies at the Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS), Leiden University, the Netherlands said: "The JIF needs to co-evolve with the changing expectations of researchers, research managers and evaluators. I welcome the expansion of the JIF to all journals in Web of Science Core Collection. This is a significant step toward a more inclusive perspective on the journal landscape."

Dr Quaderi adds: "Community consultation on these changes has included individual discussions with publishers, librarians and bibliometricians as well as quantitative community surveys. We encourage anyone with further feedback on the changes to contact us at ISI@clarivate.com."

A history of responsible research evaluation and product innovation

The Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) at Clarivate has a long history of promoting integrity in research and evaluation. Through their Global Research Reports and academic papers, they have already explained what best practice for research evaluation should look like, from their 2019 report Profiles Not Metrics, to submitting evidence to the Parliamentary Science and Technology Select Committee in the UK and the EU Coalition for Reforming Research Assessment. The 2020 report Research Integrity: Understanding our shared responsibility for a sustainable scholarly ecosystem reviews the different kinds of behavior that undermine research integrity.

Each journal profile in the JCR provides a rich array of journal intelligence metrics and allows users to filter by category and rank. These include:

The Journal Citation Indicator, which represents the average category-normalized citation impact for papers published in the prior three-year period. All journals in the JCR have been eligible to receive this metric from 2021

The Immediacy Index, which measures how frequently the journal's content is cited within the same year as publication;

The journal's rank in category, determined by Journal Impact Factor, expressed as a percentile;

Cited half-life, which is the median age, in years, of items in the journal that were cited during the JCR year

In addition, the Journal Citation Reports include descriptive data such as open access content, top contributing institutions and regions.

To aid responsible researcher evaluation Clarivate provides comprehensive researcher profiles in the Web of Science that include a variety of metrics, from citations to peer review, Web of Science Author Impact Beamplots and full CVs which individuals can use to promote their full academic profile.

Notes to editors

What is the Emerging Sources Citation Index?

Journals included in the Emerging Sources Citation Index cover all disciplines and range from international and broad scope publications to those that provide deeper regional or specialty area coverage. More than 3 million records and 74.4 million cited references date back from 2005 to present. Part of the Web of Science Core Collection, Emerging Sources Citation Index contains quality publications, selected by our expert in-house editors for editorial rigor and best practice at a journal level.

Visit the Journal Citation Reports website to explore all available data, metrics and analysis. You can find more information including our suppression policy in the Journal Citation Reports Reference Guide.

Follow us on Twitter via @ClarivateAG JCR2023.

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.

Media Contact

Rebecca Krahenbuhl

External Communications Manager (Academia and Government)

newsroom@clarivate.com

1 Using the United Nations definition: http://www.fc-ssc.org/en/partnership_program/south_south_countries

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1159266/Clarivate_Logo.jpg
HANGZHOU, China, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- DEEP Robotics, a leading Asian intelligent quadruped robotics manufacturer, recently announced the official release of the Jueying X20 hazard detection and rescue robot dog solution. With the flexibility to deliver unmanned detection and rescue services, Jueying X20 is designed for the complex terrain of a post-earthquake landscape, the insides of vulnerable debris buildings, tunnel traffic accidents, as well as in toxic, hypoxia, and high-density smoke environments created by chemical pollution or disaster event.

Jueying X20 can go deep into post-disaster outdoor and indoor high-risk areas where it can traverse over ruins, piles of rubble, stairwells, and other unstructured pathways; also easily step over 20cm high obstacles and stairs, and climb on 35-degree slope. With the ability to move freely in all directions and maneuver within a small contact area, the robot dog can reduce the occurrence of secondary accidents. The IP66 industrial-grade protection ensures that the four-legged robot can complete detection tasks in extreme weather conditions including heavy downpours, sand and dust storms, frigid temperatures and hail. The maximum payload of 85kg gives the robot dog the ability to carry oxygen bottles and other rescue supplies to disaster sites, facilitating provision of assistance to stranded victims and rescuers. By integrating a wide range of application modules including a long-distance communication system, a bi-spectrum PTZ camera, gas sensing equipment, an omnidirectional camera, and a pickup, the robotic solution includes long-distance control and images transmission, heat source tracking, real-time detection of harmful gases and rescue calls, among other functions. Moreover, Jueying X20 is available with an optional rotating laser scanner, which can obtain high-precision point cloud data from indoor and outdoor disaster and accident sites, providing robust information for post-disaster data analysis.

DEEP Robotics is an industry leader in quadruped robots in Asia, and its proprietary self-developed Jueying series of robots have found applications across a wide range of scenarios, including inspection of high-voltage power plants, surveying of dangerous terrains and hazard detection.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1864441/Jueying_X20_complete_unmanned_detection_rescue_tasks_harsh_conditions.jpg
GFT has been identified as a leader in ISG's Provider Lens evaluation for Europe - Google Cloud Partner ecosystem data analytics and machine learning 2022

LONDON, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Artificial intelligence could contribute close to USD 16 trillion to the global economy in 2030. Successfully implementing AI solutions has become key for the continued competitiveness of companies in all industries.

The analyst firm ISG recognises GFT as a 'Leader' in Europefor data analytics and machine learning in the Google Cloud Partner Ecosystem, in their first-ever ISG Provider Lens report on the subject. Leaders as defined by ISG have a broad, attractive portfolio of products and services, a well-established market presence and strong competitive position.

When employed correctly, artificial intelligence can give companies in all industries a distinct competitive advantage. It boosts their productivity and improves overall reliability. Companies who apply AI to the heart of their business significantly enhance their ability to make decisions faster, smarter and with greater precision. The Google Cloud Platform gives users quick and easy access to the latest AI technologies while avoiding huge hardware investments. However, going it alone is not an ideal option: to gain optimum results out of their Google Cloud AI applications, firms need an experienced partner. Analyst reports like this most recent one from ISG now make it easier to find the right partner organisation with the specialist skills required to create valuable business outcomes.

"Strong visual inspection capabilities make GFT a leader on data analytics and machine learning in the Google Cloud Partner ecosystem," said Mark Purdy, principal analyst and author of the ISG report.

Head of Google Cloud Engineering at GFT, Scott Holman, commented: "I'm proud that ISG has recognised GFT as a leader in the Google Cloud partner ecosystem. With Google's technology, we have supported many clients in delivering innovative Data and ML solutions. From auto-identifying manufacturing defects to using visualisation tools to manage liquidity risk for global banks - Google's technology has been instrumental."

Supporting this Alpesh Tailor, Executive Director of the Global Cloud Business Unit at GFT added: "We have helped our clients significantly boost both the quality and productivity of their processes using AI solutions on Google Cloud. We have done this in all industries, from financial services to manufacturing, and not just in Europe, but in North and South America as well."

The ISG report highlights GFT's strong expertise in computer vision technologies. The company is listed as one of four global service providers for GCP's Visual Inspection AI, and as the analyst firm put it, "offers a range of advanced visual inspection tools for manufacturing processes," including:

process monitoring

use of vision AI to identify product defects

in-line quality forecasting

analysis of final packaging video streams

Another GFT strength mentioned in the ISG report is the company's industry traction. The report points out that the company has carried out "data modernisation and analytics projects for blue-chip clients in Europe and beyond." GFT has successfully implemented Google Cloud AI solutions for clients in various industries and geographies - including a US-based maker of baked goods, the leading US bottle manufacturer and one of the largest American automobile manufacturers.

ISG's Provider Lens report "Google Cloud Partner Ecosystem Data Analytics and Machine Learning" recognises GFT as a leader in that field.

Download image

Learn more about how Google Cloud and GFT use AI technology to help Ford digitalise their manufacturing operations: Driving factory-floor transformation with Google Cloud

Read the full ISG's Provider Lens report "Google Cloud Partner Ecosystem Data Analytics and Machine Learning" here





Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1865796/GFT_Lens_Report.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/742447/GFT_Logo.jpg
Two papers, published in The Lance t and Natur e , indicate that treatment with oral raloxifene , a selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM) with a proven safety profile, may be efficacious against SARS-CoV-2 clinically relevant variants.

and , indicate that treatment with oral , a selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM) with a proven safety profile, may be efficacious against SARS-CoV-2 clinically relevant variants. Raloxifene was identified as a potential COVID-19 treatment by Exscalate4CoV consortium ,

a multidisciplinary European center of excellence created with the aim to fighting coronavirus by combining the best supercomputing resources and artificial intelligence with state of the art experimental facilities up through clinical validation.

, a multidisciplinary European center of excellence created with the aim to fighting coronavirus by combining the best with state of the art experimental facilities up through clinical validation. New digital open tools for researches are now being developed with the support of the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking to further accelerate the drug discovery process.

MILAN, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Dompe farmaceutici S.p.A ("Dompe") today announced positive results from two studies demonstrating that treatment with oral raloxifene, a selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM) with a proven safety profile, may be effective against SARS-CoV-2, including its clinically relevant variants. The two studies were conducted in collaboration with the Italian National Institute for the Infectious Diseases "Lazzaro Spallanzani" in Rome and other important clinical and preclinical research groups highly committed to COVID-19 research. "The clinical results on raloxifene published on Lancet's eClinical Medicine[1] show a significant virological impact in term of negative nasopharyngeal swab at day 7 in COVID-19 patients treated at home with raloxifene compared to standard of care. This randomized clinical trial confirm the in vitro data published in Nature's Cell Death and Disease[2], on the efficacy of Raloxifene on cellular lines experimentally infected by SARS-CoV-2" said Emanuele Nicastri, author of both studies and Director of the Infectious and Tropical Diseases Unit of the Spallanzani Institute in Rome, where Italy's very first Covid-19 patients were hospitalized.

Raloxifene was identified by the Exscalate4CoV[3] (E4C) project, a group composed of 30 public and private institutions from seven countries and funded by EU Commission's in the frame of its Horizon 2020 Framework Programme[4], aimed at fighting Coronavirus with the latest European supercomputing resources and experimental facilities. Results were driven by the use of Exscalate, Dompe's supercomputing platform which leveraged a database of 500 billion molecules to find those capable of targeting clinically relevant coronavirus variants. Due to its processing capacity of more than 3 million molecules per second, Exscalate is currently the most powerful intelligent supercomputing drug design platform. This processing power allowed the E4C researchers to rapidly select and repurpose a generic molecule with known efficacy and tolerability to make it available to the global community. As raloxifene is a generic molecule already tested and approved for the treatment of osteoporosis, this was a not for profit effort aimed at providing a globally available low cost treatment.

The first study on raloxifene, published in The Lancet's eClinical Medicine, demonstrated that after seven days of treatment, patients taking raloxifene showed an improvement in symptoms compared to patients receiving placebo (please refer to www.clinicaltrials.gov for additional clinical trial details). The second study, published in Cell Death and Disease), indicates raloxifene as a potential agent to treat mild-to-moderate COVID-19 caused by the most common SARS-CoV-2 variants. Mechanistic studies[5] confirmed the significant affinity of raloxifene for the Spike protein, as predicted by in silico studies. Researchers concluded that raloxifene is efficacious against the main SARS-CoV-2 variants and could represent a useful addition to the therapeutic arm for the management of Covid-19.

"Supercomputing is already demonstrating its potential for finding new solutions at previously unprecedented speeds in many domains, including medicine. I am very pleased that the Commission has supported the Exscalate4Cov consortium to discover promising treatments for COVID-19, and we now look forward to seeing the results of the consortium's successor LIGATE project[6], which is developing a new drug discovery platform with the support of the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking" commented Thomas Skordas, Deputy Director-General of the European Commission's Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology (DG CONNECT).

"All of us at Dompe are incredibly proud of our contribution to the identification of new solutions to reduce the impact of COVID-19 on patients, healthcare systems, and their communities" said Marcello Allegretti, Chief Scientific Officer at Dompe. "The huge power of our unique supercomputing platform has been a gamechanger, but we want to thank all patients and researchers around the world who participated in these two studies. These results show the importance of combining pharmacological knowledge and breakthrough technologies as AI tools, to exploit the potential of repurposed drugs, and to elevate understanding of yet to be revealed mechanisms of action to address critically unmet medical needs".

About Raloxifene

Raloxifene is currently on the market for the treatment of osteoporosis and is well-tolerated with a known safety profile. The compound is a marketed drug and has been approved by the EMA for clinical use.

About Dompe

Dompe is a private, rapidly scaling international biopharmaceutical company founded in Milan, Italy, with a 130-year legacy of medical innovation. The R&D department of the company is leveraging EXSCALATE, a structure-based virtual screening platform developed in-house and presently one of the most powerful supercomputing and artificial intelligence platforms. Today, Dompe employs more than 800 employees worldwide and maintains a U.S. commercial operations hub in the San Francisco Bay Area as well as an R&D presence in Boston.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release refers to certain information that may not coincide with expected future results. Dompe firmly believes in the soundness and reasonableness of the concepts expressed. However, some of the information is subject to a certain degree of indetermination in relation to its research and development activities and the necessary verifications to be performed by regulatory bodies. Therefore, as of today, Dompe cannot guarantee that the expected results will be consistent with the information provided above.

[1] A phase 2 randomized, double-blinded, placebocontrolled, multicenter trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of raloxifene for patients with mild to moderate COVID-19 - https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(22)00180-8/fulltext

[2] "Characterization of raloxifene as a potential pharmacological agent against SARS-CoV-2 and its variants" in Nature Cell Death and Disease ( https://doi.org/10.1038/s41419-022-04961-z ).

[3] The Exscalate4Cov (www.exscalate4cov.eu) consortium, supported by the the EU's Horizon 2020 programme for research and innovation, was coordinated by Dompe farmaceutici, and composed by 18 member institutions from seven European countries: Politecnico di Milano (Dept. of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering), Consorzio Interuniversitario CINECA(Supercomputing Innovation and Applications), Universita degli Studi di Milano (Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences), International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology in Warsaw (Warsaw, Poland), KU Leuven, Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste, Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology, BSC Barcelona Supercomputing Centre, Forschungszentrum Julich, Universita Federico II di Napoli, Universita degli Studi di Cagliari, SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, KTH Royal Institute of Technology (Department of Applied Physics), Associazione Big Data, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN), Istituto nazionale per le malattie infettive Lazzaro Spallanzani and Chelonia Applied Science. Part of E4C League were: ENI, SAS, Alfasigma, CFEL Center for Free-Electron Laser Science, MMV Medicines for Malaria Ventures, Esteve Pharmaceutical, University of Basel Biozentrum, University of Basel Innovation Office, University of Basel Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, D-wave, Pierre fabre, Greenpharma, University of Sheffield - Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience - SITraN, Dassault Systemes- Biovia, Institute of Food Science Research, CECAM Centre Europeen de Calcul Atomique et Moleculaire, Nanome, Esteco, IT4Innovation, Universita degli Studi della Tuscia, Sofia University "St. Kl. Ohridski", Faculty of Physics, Institut Cochin.

[4] EXaSCale smArt pLatform Against paThogEns for Corona Virus / Grant agreement ID: 101003551 https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101003551

[5] "Repurposing the estrogen receptor modulator raloxifene to treat SARS-CoV-2 infection" in Nature Cell Death & Differentiation journal ( https://www.nature.com/articles/s41418-021-00844-6 ) and "Characterization of raloxifene as a potential pharmacological agent against SARS-CoV-2 and its variants" in Nature Cell Death and Disease ( https://doi.org/10.1038/s41419-022-04961-z ).

[6] https://www.ligateproject.eu/

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1865797/Dompe_Exscalate.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1837355/Dompe_Farmaceutici_Logo.jpg
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - July 26, 2022) - Canada-based non-profit organization Basis Education Foundation has unveiled its Basis Learning Centers, which aim to close the digital divide that currently pervades large parts of the majority world. The initiative focuses on the education and development of skills of underprivileged communities across the globe. The organization is committed to providing basic computer literacy and essential skills to children and young adults, particularly women who are excluded from the formal education systems in their countries. Its aim is to help them become self-sufficient to support themselves and their families by opening up promising employment opportunities.

The persisting digital divide continues to deny almost half of the global population basic education, employment opportunities, and the chance of a better life. Basis believes that an essential level of digital literacy will positively impact the lives of its learners by opening up modern-day job opportunities. Basis Learning Centers ensure that the participants are provided with the resources they need to become digitally literate. Basis understands that their learners would find it difficult to pursue their tertiary education and discover the full range of their vocational possibilities without basic computer education and skills development.

The Covid-19 pandemic reiterated the importance of online education when schools around the world were forced to close. The Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations recently cautioned the general assembly regarding this issue. Basis' mission is to equip its learners with strong digital, socio-emotional, cognitive, and creative skills to step into the gap created by the pandemic.

"The experience of setting up our most recent Basis Learning Center was incredible. Many of our participants are working women, who are mostly domestic laborers in nearby households and live in one-room homes with other members of their families. When they walked in for the very first time and saw this incredible space, their whole posture changed, and they were suddenly filled with a new sense of optimism, confidence, and new possibilities in their lives. We are on a mission to transform the lives of our learners," says Christina de Jong, Co-Founder, President, and CEO of Basis Education Foundation.

Basis Education Foundation is an international non-profit organization on a mission to alleviate poverty through educating and upskilling underprivileged demographics across the world. Basis comes alongside local, national, and international organizations with the infrastructure needed to bridge the digital divide.

Media Contact:

Name: Christina de Jong

Email: life@basislearning.org

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/131842
The new London store offers advancements in sustainable design, community events and resources, and a team of more than 200 ready to provide excellent service for customers

Apple today previewed Apple Brompton Road, its newest store in London, located in the city's bustling Knightsbridge neighborhood. A stone's throw from Hyde Park, Apple Brompton Road features design inspiration drawn from local flora, along with a new slate of community events and seminars to help customers learn, create, and get the most out of their Apple products.

"We are thrilled to open Apple Brompton Road in London, a city teeming with energy, history, and cultural diversity," said Deirdre O'Brien, Apple's senior vice president of Retail People. "The store's focus on creativity gives our incredible team members the perfect space to share their passion and expertise with Londoners and visitors from around the world."

Special Sessions

The store opening kicks off with the global launch of "United Visions," an augmented reality experience honoring the creative works of pioneering London poet and painter William Blake. Created for Getty Museum and brought to life through Apple technology, the purpose-built app showcases the possibilities of creativity by reimagining the seminal artist's work. Artists and creative technologists Tin Nguyen and Ed Cutting (Tin&Ed) used Apple's M1 Ultra chip in the development of the experience, which features a poetic soundtrack by Grammy Award-winning record producer Just Blaze. "United Visions" can be viewed by customers in-store and by anyone around the world by downloading the "United Visions" app.

Opening weekend festivities will include a panel discussion on the creation of "United Visions" with Nguyen, Cutting, and Just Blaze, as well as a special performance and Spatial Audio listening session by London artist Nina Nesbitt. Apple Fitness+ trainers Cory Wharton-Malcolm, Jamie-Ray Hartshorne, Kim Ngo, and Jonelle Lewis will join Jay Blahnik, Apple's vice president of Fitness Technologies, for an in-store Q&A followed by a 3-kilometer walk and 5-kilometer run in Hyde Park. The talented Apple Creative Pros will also host live illustration sessions that take inspiration from the local blooms.

Following the opening sessions, the store will host its ongoing Brompton Series, which takes place on the last Thursday of every month through October and features:

Inspirational and informative talks by thought leaders in the wellness space, including Michael James Wong, Cat Meffan, Lloyd Kempson, and Harry Jameson.

Music workshops in connection with Apple Music's Up Next series breaking down songs by emerging London artists using Spatial Audio; artists include Kali Claire, Olivia Dean, and Rachel Chinouriri.

The Store and Team

Upon entering Apple Brompton Road, visitors will be greeted by 12 towering Sicilian ficus trees that line the 7-meter floor-to-ceiling windows and entryway. The seating at the base of each planter acts as a social gathering space for visitors, blurring the boundaries between inside and outside, and bringing nature directly into the store. Visitors come through the central arcade, which mirrors the dimensions of the original Brompton Arcade built on the same precise location in 1903. The store's Forum where free Today at Apple sessions provide daily creative inspiration and practical skills features a first for Apple in the UK: a mirrored ceiling that offers depth-enhancing reflections.

Visitors are invited to explore the surrounding display tables and avenues featuring the all-new lineup of iPhone, Mac, iPad, AirPods, Apple Watch, and Apple TV, as well as accessories like HomePod mini and AirTag. The 200-person store team helps customers learn about Apple products, and offers advice on monthly financing options and the Apple Trade In program. Collectively speaking more than 45 languages, the team is ready to welcome customers from around the world. And in another first for the UK, a dedicated Apple Pickup area makes it even more convenient for customers to pick up products ordered online.

Sustainability

Apple Brompton Road's terrazzo flooring is comprised of a plant-based bio resin, the first of its kind in Apple's worldwide retail fleet. The vast space which features a unique curved timber ceiling offers ample seating where customers can relax and discover new tips and tricks to get the best from their devices. Like all Apple facilities, Apple Brompton Road is powered by 100 percent renewable energy.

Apple in the UK

For nearly 40 years, Apple has been operating in the UK, where it has more than 6,000 team members. Across the country, Apple supports over 450,000 jobs through the thriving iOS app economy, work with suppliers, and direct employment. Apple Brompton Road opens Thursday, July 28, at 4 p.m. BST in London. Customers are encouraged to download interactive custom wallpapers, listen to a curated Apple Music Brompton Road Playlist, and sign up for upcoming Today at Apple sessions.

Apple revolutionized personal technology with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. Today, Apple leads the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple TV. Apple's five software platforms iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS provide seamless experiences across all Apple devices and empower people with breakthrough services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay, and iCloud. Apple's more than 100,000 employees are dedicated to making the best products on earth, and to leaving the world better than we found it.

NOTE TO EDITORS: For additional information visit Apple Newsroom (www.apple.com/newsroom), or call Apple's Media Helpline at (408) 974-2042.

2022 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, Today at Apple, iPhone, Mac, iPad, AirPods, Apple Watch, Apple TV, HomePod mini, and AirTag are trademarks of Apple. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220726005448/en/

Contacts:

Nick Leahy

Apple

nleahy@apple.com

Pia Fontes

Apple

pia_fontes@apple.com
TAIPEI, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Infortrend Technology, Inc. (TWSE: 2495), the industry-leading enterprise storage provider, announced the introduction of immutable object storage or write-once-read-many (WORM) and multi-factor authentication (MFA) security features to their EonStor GS unified storage solutions, ensuring the safety of stored data, specifically against ransomware.

Ransomware attacks today are still rising, showing that the traditional ways to prevent these threats such as firewalls and antivirus are not full-proof methods. Therefore, enterprises have started utilizing immutable or WORM storage repositories to take advantage of its write-once-read-many characteristics to protect archived data.

Infortrend's EonStor GS unified storage families now offer immutable object storage. Organizations can set the data as WORM to avoid being encrypted by ransomware and fulfill retention policies by designating a retention period to avoid accidental data erasure.

In addition to the immutable object storage, the multi-factor authentication (MFA) function is also implemented into the GS families. It requires an additional one-time password for account access, either from an APP or via email. The functionality is proven to be effective against unauthorized access, even if the password has been compromised. According to Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency, implementing the MFA function makes the account 99% less likely to be hacked1.

"The immutable object storage and MFA offer reinforced security. Mandatory for some and highly-recommended safety measure by governments around the globe, especially in government organizations, financial, and medical industries, WORM and MFA functions can further protect sensitive and valuable data from unlawful access," said Frank Lee, Senior Director of Product Planning.

Learn more about EonStor GS

Contact Infortrend to Make an Inquiry

About Infortrend

Infortrend (TWSE: 2495) has been developing and manufacturing storage solutions since 1993. With a strong emphasis on in-house design, testing, and manufacturing, Infortrend storage delivers performance and scalability with the latest standards, user friendly data services, personal after-sales support, and unrivaled value. For more information, please visit www.infortrend.com

1 4 Things You Can Do to Keep Yourself Cyber Safe

###

Infortrend and EonStor are trademarks or registered trademarks of Infortrend Technology, Inc.; other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
The information contained in this release was correct as at 30 June 2022. Information on the Company's up to date net asset values can be found on the London Stock Exchange Website at:

https://www.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/news/market-news/market-news-home.html.

BLACKROCK THROGMORTON TRUST PLC (LEI: 5493003B7ETS1JEDPF59)



All information is at 30 June 2022 and unaudited .

Performance at month end is calculated on a cum income basis

One

Month

% Three

months

% One

year

% Three

years

% Five

years

% Net asset value -11.9 -21.0 -33.9 6.6 27.1 Share price -14.0 -27.6 -40.3 0.6 39.2 Benchmark* -9.4 -12.3 -19.0 10.1 9.7

Sources: BlackRock and Datastream

*With effect from 22 March 2018 the Numis Smaller Companies plus AIM (excluding Investment Companies) Index replaced the Numis Smaller Companies excluding AIM (excluding Investment Companies) Index as the Company's benchmark. The performance of the indices have been blended to reflect this.

At month end Net asset value capital only: 584.22p Net asset value incl. income: 592.34p Share price 546.00p Discount to cum income NAV 7.8% Net yield1: 1.9% Total Gross assets2: 605.3m Net market exposure as a % of net asset value3: 98.7% Ordinary shares in issue4: 102,186,194 2021 ongoing charges (excluding performance fees)5,6: 0.57% 2021 ongoing charges ratio (including performance

fees)5,6,7: 1.38%



1. Calculated using the 2021 interim dividend declared on 26 July 2021 and paid on 27 August 2021, together with the 2021 final dividend declared on 07 February 2022 and paid on 31 March 2022.

2. Includes current year revenue and excludes gross exposure through contracts for difference.

3. Long exposure less short exposure as a percentage of net asset value.

4. Excluding 1,023,670 shares held in treasury.

5. Calculated as a percentage of average net assets and using expenses, excluding performance fees and interest costs for the year ended 30 November 2021.

6. With effect from 1 August 2017 the base management fee was reduced from 0.70% to 0.35% of gross assets per annum.

7. Effective 1st December 2017 the annual performance fee is calculated using performance data on an annualised rolling two year basis (previously, one year) and the maximum annual performance fee payable is effectively reduced to 0.90% of two year rolling average month end gross assets (from 1% of average annual gross assets over one year). Additionally, the Company now accrues this fee at a rate of 15% of outperformance (previously 10%). The maximum annual total management fees (comprising the base management fee of 0.35% and a potential performance fee of 0.90%) are therefore 1.25% of average month end gross assets on a two-year rolling basis (from 1.70% of average annual gross assets).











Sector Weightings









% of Total Assets Industrials 27.7 Consumer Discretionary 21.3 Financials 13.6 Health Care 7.3 Technology 6.9 Consumer Staples 4.0 Telecommunications 3.2 Basic Materials 1.5 Energy 0.8 Net Current Assets 13.7 ----- Total 100.0 ===== Country Weightings % of Total Assets United Kingdom 92.7 United States 5.0 France 1.8 Australia 0.7 Germany -0.2 ----- Total 100.0 =====

Market Exposure (Quarterly) 31.08.21

% 30.11.21

% 28.02.22

% 31.05.22

% Long 119.4 121.3 121.8 104.8 Short 2.4 2.7 2.3 3.3 Gross exposure 121.8 123.9 124.1 108.1 Net exposure 117.0 118.6 119.5 101.5

Ten Largest Investments Company % of Total Gross Assets Electrocomponents 3.3 Gamma Communications 3.2 CVS Group 3.2 Auction Technology Group 2.9 Watches of Switzerland 2.9 Oxford Instruments 2.7 WH Smith 2.5 Dechra Pharmaceuticals 2.5 Computacenter 2.4 Ergomed 2.1

Commenting on the markets, Dan Whitestone, representing the Investment Manager noted:

The Company returned -11.9% during June, underperforming the Numis Smaller Companies plus AIM (excluding Investment Trusts) benchmark which returned -9.4%.

June was a particularly poor month for equity markets, particularly the UK small & mid-cap market as concerns of a global recession magnified. Recent actions including reducing the gross and net helped protect against further relative underperformance, but importantly the mix of the market also played its part, with our short book delivering a positive return as over indebted companies with weak margin structures fell hard in addition to economically sensitive cyclicals. In contrast, companies with strong financial profiles fared better, also helping the portfolio on a relative basis.

As has been the case for most of 2022, UK small & mid-caps continued to suffer disproportionately during the month, particularly those exposed to the consumer. A case in point would be the biggest detractor, Watches of Switzerland, which continued to fall despite a strong update (with upgrades) in late May and so now trades on 13.5x p/e (price to earnings ratio) for its current financial year and has a very healthy balance sheet and in our view a large runway of further growth (organic and inorganic) in a supply constrained industry. Shares in Impax Asset Management weakened as the challenging market environment has seen their assets under management fall despite the business continuing to see net inflows, albeit at a slightly slower pace and digital marketing firm, YouGov, also fell during the month.

On the positive side, many of the largest positive contributors to performance were simply shares that we do not own that underperformed the falling market. Some of our more defensive holdings outperformed during the month, for example Alliance Pharma and Spirent Communications. The portfolio also benefited from a short position in a challenged UK semiconductor technology business which has continued to struggle since IPO (Initial Public Offering).

On the whole, negative news-flow in the UK continues to be quite isolated to a few specific areas linked to consumer spending in big ticket items, or within undifferentiated apparel retailing particularly within e-commerce where a combination of a change in customer behaviour (online back to store), increased returns, and too much inventory are leading to significantly negative operational leverage as demand softens. Generally, our long book continues to trade well so the weakness is more de-rating than in response to earnings changes, though of course that may follow. We continue to try and strike the right balance between near term earnings risk versus what is priced in and long-term franchise value and revisit every investment to track our thesis is still valid and the upside far outweighs any potential downside. There have certainly been higher profile negative updates in the US, particularly in US retail which we believe has weighed on some UK names in this space. One area where we've been increasing our short exposure is to over-leveraged companies that have large percentages of their debt due for refinancing soon. There are still lots of companies out there reliant on funding for growth, where the cost of debt has doubled with analyst DCF (discounted cash flow) models yet to reflect market reality.

As stated last month, we have reduced the gross of the portfolio and this is now around 106% (with the net approximately 101%) reflecting the heightened uncertainty and deteriorating backdrop. In light of the points above, we continue to ask ourselves what the appropriate net for the portfolio should be. The reason we haven't gone net short is not because we have high conviction the market has bottomed, but because we continue to see a significant asymmetrical risk/reward profile in our long book where share prices are already pricing in significant earnings cuts whilst little to no attention (and value) is ascribed to their long-term prospects to increase their profits (and share prices) materially in time. Our short book which has not been that effective until recent weeks is now really starting to build momentum and we see more progress to come. We continue to believe the best value in the market today remains in well-financed companies with enduring long term organic growth prospects that will use this period to enhance their position to win more share. To that end, we believe we own many of these in our long book, and while we wait for this to play-out we take comfort from the increasing number of company buybacks we are witnessing as Management teams retire their equity at current valuations. This dynamic seems much healthier to us than recent times, and it gives us some faith that we can protect capital and make money with the short book, while storing up the potential for substantial upside in the long book in due course. We thank shareholders for your ongoing support.

1Source: BlackRock as at 30 June 2022

26 July 2022

ENDS

Latest information is available by typing www.blackrock.com/uk/thrg on the internet, "BLRKINDEX" on Reuters, "BLRK" on Bloomberg or "8800" on Topic 3 (ICV terminal). Neither the contents of the Manager's website nor the contents of any website accessible from hyperlinks on the Manager's website (or any other website) is incorporated into, or forms part of, this announcement.
You must be aware that your employer could have access to or be able to view your communication, most particularly if they are supplying the service or device you are using.

Your Messages May is Not as Private as You Expect

In your changing work environment, you may have realized that many of your informal work chats that formerly took place face-to-face have switched to digital applications. However, your communications with coworkers may not be as secret as you believe.

As more firms offer part- or full-time remote work, scattered workforces use digital platforms like Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Google Chat to work, communicate, and connect. Casual talks about weekend antics, job gripes, or personal relationships may happen online, producing a digital record of all contacts. Privacy experts say employees should know which platforms and technologies guarantee the privacy and change their behavior appropriately.

Can my boss see the private texts I send at work?

Privacy experts say employees should consider two things when sending a message to a coworker. First, is your employer providing the service you're using? Second, are you using a gadget your company has given for the conversation?

If any of the questions mentioned above were answered in the affirmative, you should be aware that your employer may be able to access or see your correspondence.

Additionally, if you have office software installed, your contacts may still be in danger even if you are using your own device and personal account on a digital service.

Alan Butler, executive director and president of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, said if your business provides you with a tool or gadget, they can and will see what you do on it. This may need administrator credentials to view direct messages or private channels on the company's Slack workplace.

It may also involve fetching emails, Microsoft Teams communications, or company-issued SMS. Additionally, such may entail company-monitored screenshots of a person's Facebook, Twitter, or iMessage communications.

Read Also: China Imposes Limits on iPhone Maker, CNOOC to Grapple Covid in Shenzhen

What should employees do?

First, use your device and services if you want private communication with a coworker.

Cynthia Khoo, the senior associate at Georgetown University Law's Center on Privacy and Technology, advised looking for providers that encrypt communications end-to-end. End-to-end encryption encrypts your communication before it leaves your device until it reaches the recipient. Anything less might be decrypted in transmission.

The most remarkable advice for workplace communications, regardless of their degree of privacy, according to Ndjatou, is to know your audience and employ common sense. Anything you say may always be used against you. Therefore, it's better to stick to the traditional methods of communication if the subject is highly delicate.

Other Things You Can Do to Avoid Information Breach at Work

You are susceptible to any kind of breach at work. Understanding your rights as an employee is also a step in protecting your personal information.

Here are two things that you should also know:

Device Security

Your business laptop, work gadget, and personal device hold critical information. Protect your devices with a strong password so a thief can't access your items if they're taken.

Prioritize Job Security

Be careful to tell your manager or IT department if you believe your personal information is exposed while working. If you're concerned about the security of your personal information, it may be challenging to concentrate on your work. If so, it could be essential to begin searching in other places.

Related Article: Scared You're Being Tracked Online via Email? 1 Tool Stops That!
BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - U.K. stocks rose notably on Tuesday as higher prices of iron ore and crude prices helped lift commodity-related stocks. Miners Anglo American, Antofagasta and Glencore all rose around 2 percent. Oil & gas firm BP Plc and Shell also were up around 2 percent each. The benchmark FTSE 100 rose 0.6 percent to 7,352 after closing 0.4 percent higher the previous day. Consumer goods company Unilever added 2.4 percent after raising its full-year sales guidance. EasyJet jumped 3.7 percent. The low-cost carrier said that it expects the capacity and cost impacts of the disruption to be 'a one-off this summer', with 'greater resilience' forecast for the 2023 peak travel periods. Rolls-Royce advanced 1.6 percent. The aerospace and defense firm named a private equity partner and former BP executive to succeed Warren East as the company's chief executive. 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.
Founding CEO, Domhnal Slattery, to step down from CEO role having served for 12 years since the formation of Avolon

Andy Cronin, President Chief Financial Officer, appointed CEO Designate

Avolon, the international aircraft leasing company, announces that its Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Domhnal Slattery, has informed the Board of his intention to step down from his executive role and from the Board in 2022. Avolon's Board has unanimously appointed Andy Cronin, Avolon's President Chief Financial Officer (CFO), to the role of CEO Designate. In addition, Paul Geaney, Avolon's Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) is appointed to the role of President CCO with immediate effect.

Domhnal Slattery

Domhnal Slattery is Avolon's founding CEO and has overseen the growth of the business from the largest private equity backed start-up globally in 2010 to becoming the world's second largest aircraft lessor with a balance sheet in excess of US$30 billion. Having served for 12 years and built a business with a market leading team and franchise, he has elected to step down from his executive role and will now pursue a range of other interests in a non-executive capacity. Domhnal will work closely with new CEO Andy Cronin over the coming months, to ensure an effective transition of leadership.

Andy Cronin

Andy Cronin is a globally recognised leader within the aviation industry, having held an array of senior roles across the sector for more than 20 years. As part of the founding team, and serving as Avolon's CFO for the past 12 years, Andy has played a central role as CFO and member of the Executive Committee in building the company to the industry-leading position it holds today. In addition to his CFO role, he has served as President of Avolon since July 2021.

Domhnal Slattery, Avolon CEO, commented: "We have built Avolon from a start-up 12 years ago to become a global industry leader. It has been a privilege to lead the business and serve as its CEO since foundation. Avolon is incredibly fortunate to have an individual of Andy Cronin's calibre to lead it on the next stage of its journey.

Our ambition was to build a global leader with a team which would be recognised as the industry's best. We have achieved that and I would like to thank our TRIBE both past and present and all of our industry partners and stakeholders for their commitment to realising the vision we had in 2010. The legacy of any CEO is the team they build. I am proud to step away from Avolon, leaving the business in a strong financial and competitive position, and in the hands of a leadership team which I know will continue to excel."

Andy Cronin, CEO Designate, commented: "Avolon is a truly great business with an incredibly talented and motivated team. I look forward to leading the company through our next phase of development and building on the success of the past 12 years as we continue to innovate, evolve and grow.

Domhnal has led Avolon to become an industry leading business and made an outstanding contribution to the global aviation industry during a career spanning over 30 years. On behalf of everyone at Avolon, I would like to thank him for his commitment to the business as we have navigated our course to becoming an industry leader."

ENDS

Building Avolon to Become a Global Leader: 2010-Present

Founded in 2010, Avolon was the largest privately founded start-up globally that year and Avolon's launch shareholders included three of the leading private equity firms globally and GIC, the sovereign wealth fund of Singapore

Following four years in private equity ownership, Avolon listed on the New York Stock Exchange in December 2014 in what was, at that time, the largest ever listing on the NYSE by an Irish founded company

Avolon was the subject of a US$7.6 billion bid by Bohai Capital in 2015 which delivered a 55% annualised return to shareholders who invested in Avolon's IPO

In 2017, Avolon acquired the aircraft leasing business of CIT for US$10.4 billion, propelling Avolon to becoming the third largest aircraft lessor in world

In 2018, Avolon announced that ORIX was becoming a shareholder in the business, acquiring a 30% stake in Avolon from Bohai Capital for US$2.2 billion implying a then enterprise value of US$23.7 billion

In 2019, Avolon successfully achieved its targeted Investment Grade rating -and was rated Investment Grade by Fitch, Moody's, S&P Global KBRA

In 2021, Avolon announced an order for 500 eVTOL VX4 aircraft from Vertical Aerospace which was valued at US$2 billion. The order highlighted Avolon's commitment to sustainability and its position as an industry leader and innovator. Since announcing that order, Avolon placed the entirety of its VX4 orderbook with leading global airlines

Avolon at a Glance

From a standing start, Avolon has grown into the second largest aircraft lessor with total assets of over US$30 billion

As of 30 June 2022, Avolon has an owned, managed and committed fleet of 851 aircraft, serving 146 airline customers in 62 countries

About Avolon

Headquartered in Ireland, with offices in the United States, Dubai, Singapore, Hong Kong and Shanghai, Avolon provides aircraft leasing and lease management services. Avolon is 70% owned by an indirect subsidiary of Bohai Leasing Co., Ltd., a public company listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SLE: 000415) and 30% owned by ORIX Aviation Systems, a subsidiary of ORIX Corporation which is listed on the Tokyo and New York Stock Exchanges (TSE: 8591; NYSE: IX). Avolon is the world's second largest aircraft leasing business with an owned, managed and committed fleet, as of 30 June 2022 of 851 aircraft.

Website: www.avolon.aero

Twitter: @avolon_aero

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220726005115/en/

Contacts:

Ross O'Connor

Head of Capital Markets

roconnor@avolon.aero

T: +353 1 231 5818

Jonathan Neilan

FTI Consulting

avolon@fticonsulting.com

M: +353 86 231 4135
Achieves Record Quarterly Revenue

Awarded Largest Single Design Win in Company's History

Sensata Technologies (NYSE: ST), a global industrial technology company and leading provider of sensor-rich solutions that create insights for customers, today announced financial results for its second quarter ended June 30, 2022.

"Sensata delivered record revenue in the second quarter, with results in line with guidance despite significant market, supply chain, and foreign currency headwinds. Sensata's organic revenue growth outpaced underlying markets by 650 basis points and we delivered growth from acquisitions of 280 basis points, offsetting end market declines compared to the prior-year quarter," said Jeff Cote, CEO and President of Sensata. "In addition, during the quarter the Company was awarded its largest ever design win for a new electric vehicle battery disconnect system for a major North American OEM, further demonstrating Sensata's ability to capitalize on our electrification strategy to grow through new product design and new market opportunities."

Operating results for the second quarter of 2022 compared to the second quarter of 2021 are summarized below. These results include non-GAAP financial measures, each of which is defined and reconciled to the most directly comparable GAAP measure later in this press release.

Revenue:

Revenue was a record $1,020.5 million, an increase of $27.9 million, or 2.8%, compared to $992.7 million in the second quarter of 2021.

Revenue increased 2.2% on an organic basis, which excludes a decrease of (2.2%) from foreign currency exchange rates and an increase of 2.8% from acquisitions, each versus the prior-year period.

Operating income:

Operating income was $138.9 million, or 13.6% of revenue, a decrease of $(25.8) million, or (15.7%), compared to operating income of $164.8 million, or 16.6% of revenue, in the second quarter of 2021.

Adjusted operating income was $193.8 million, or 19.0% of revenue, a decrease of $(15.5) million, or (7.4%), compared to adjusted operating income of $209.3 million, or 21.1% of revenue, in the second quarter of 2021.

Earnings per share:

Earnings per share was $0.22, a decrease of $(0.49), or (69.0%), compared to earnings per share of $0.71 in the second quarter of 2021.

Adjusted earnings per share was $0.83, a decrease of $(0.12), or (12.6%), compared to adjusted earnings per share of $0.95 in the second quarter of 2021.

Changes in foreign currency exchange rates decreased Sensata's adjusted earnings per share by $(0.05) in the second quarter of 2022 compared to the prior-year period.

Sensata generated $94.5 million of operating cash flow in the second quarter of 2022 compared to $163.4 million in the prior-year period. The Company's free cash flow totaled $56.2 million in the second quarter of 2022 compared to $127.0 million in the prior-year period.

During the second quarter of 2022, Sensata repurchased nearly 1.7 million ordinary shares for total consideration of $77.0 million as part of its existing share repurchase program. The Company also returned approximately $17.2 million to shareholders through its first quarterly dividend paid on May 25, 2022.

Operating results for the six months ended June 30, 2022 compared to the six months ended June 30, 2021 are summarized below. These results include non-GAAP financial measures, each of which is defined and reconciled to the most directly comparable GAAP measure later in this press release.

Revenue:

Revenue was $1,996.3 million, an increase of $61.1 million, or 3.2%, compared to $1,935.2 million in the six months ended June 30, 2021.

Revenue increased 1.1% on an organic basis, which excludes a decrease of (1.3%) from foreign currency exchange rates and an increase of 3.4% from acquisitions, each versus the prior-year period.

Operating income:

Operating income was $264.9 million, or 13.3% of revenue, a decrease of $(57.3) million, or (17.8%), compared to operating income of $322.2 million, or 16.7% of revenue, in the six months ended June 30, 2021.

Adjusted operating income was $376.3 million, or 18.8% of revenue, a decrease of $(31.1) million, or (7.6%), compared to adjusted operating income of $407.4 million, or 21.1% of revenue, in the six months ended June 30, 2021.

Earnings per share:

Earnings per share was $0.36, a decrease of $(0.69), or (65.7%), compared to earnings per share of $1.05 in the six months ended June 30, 2021.

Adjusted earnings per share was $1.60, a decrease of $(0.21), or (11.6%), compared to adjusted earnings per share of $1.81 in the six months ended June 30, 2021.

Changes in foreign currency exchange rates decreased Sensata's adjusted earnings per share by $(0.02) in the six months ended June 30, 2022 compared to the prior-year period.

Sensata generated $141.9 million of operating cash flow in the six months ended June 30, 2022, compared to $267.9 million in the prior-year period. The Company's free cash flow totaled $67.8 million in the six months ended June 30, 2022 compared to $204.4 million in the prior-year period.

During the six months ended June 30, 2022, Sensata repurchased approximately 2.8 million ordinary shares for total consideration of $144.3 million as part of its existing share repurchase program.

"We are continuing to monitor supply chain challenges and the macroeconomic backdrop. Sensata is working closely with our customers to understand their current needs and we are leveraging the deep experience of our management team to respond accordingly in these uncertain times. As a result of the investments we are making, we are continuing to post record levels of new business wins and we are confident that we are well positioned for the future," Cote added.

Segment Performance For the three months ended

June 30, For the six months ended

June 30, in 000s 2022 2021 2022 2021 Performance Sensing Revenue 746,882 741,852 1,464,579 1,456,364 Operating income 185,519 202,064 366,157 397,908 % of Performance Sensing revenue 24.8 27.2 25.0 27.3 Sensing Solutions Revenue 273,666 250,808 531,739 478,824 Operating income 79,488 76,549 152,003 143,443 % of Sensing Solutions revenue 29.0 30.5 28.6 30.0

Quarterly Dividend

Sensata recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.11 per share, payable on August 24, 2022 to shareholders of record as of August 10, 2022.

Guidance

"Sensata delivered solid financial performance in a challenging second quarter, posting 2.8% revenue growth and 19.0% adjusted operating income margin," said Paul Vasington, EVP and CFO of Sensata. "For the third quarter of 2022, we expect revenue of $980 to $1,020 million and adjusted EPS of $0.81 to $0.89. For fiscal year 2022, we are adjusting our annual financial guidance calling for revenue of $3,970 to $4,050 million and adjusted EPS of $3.30 to $3.42. This updated guidance includes the previously announced acquisition of Dynapower and divestiture of Qinex."

Fiscal Year 2022 Guidance $ in millions, except EPS FY-22 Guidance FY-21 Y/Y Change Revenue $3,970- $4,050 $3,820.8 4% 6% organic growth 3% 5% Adjusted Operating Income $758 $782 $806.0 (6%) (3%) Adjusted Net Income $514 $534 $566.8 (9%) (6%) Adjusted EPS $3.30 $3.42 $3.56 (7%) (4%)

Versus the prior year, Sensata expects that changes in foreign currency exchange rates will decrease revenue by approximately $(76) million at the midpoint and decrease adjusted EPS by approximately $(0.11) at the midpoint for fiscal year 2022.

Q3 2022 Guidance $ in millions, except EPS Q3-22 Guidance Q3-21 Y/Y Change Revenue $980 $1,020 $951.0 3% 7% organic growth 2% 6% Adjusted Operating Income $187 $199 $201.0 (7%) (1%) Adjusted Net Income $126 $138 $138.6 (9%) 0% Adjusted EPS $0.81 $0.89 $0.87 (7%) 2%

Versus the prior-year period, Sensata expects that changes in foreign currency exchange rates will decrease revenue by approximately $(23) million at the midpoint and decrease adjusted EPS by approximately $(0.02) at the midpoint in the third quarter of 2022.

Conference Call and Webcast

Sensata will conduct a conference call today at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time to discuss its second quarter of 2022 financial results and its outlook for the third quarter and full year 2022. The dial-in numbers for the call are 1-844-784-1726 or 1-412-380-7411. Callers should reference the "Sensata Q2 2022 Financial Results Conference Call." A live webcast of the conference call will also be available on the investor relations page of Sensata's website at http://investors.sensata.com. Additionally, a replay of the call will be available until August 2, 2022. To access the replay, dial 1-877-344-7529 or 1-412-317-0088 and enter confirmation code: 4911125.

About Sensata Technologies

Sensata Technologies is a leading industrial technology company that develops sensors, sensor-based solutions, including controllers and software, and other mission-critical products to create valuable business insights for customers and end users. For more than 100 years, Sensata has provided a wide range of customized, sensor-rich solutions that address complex engineering requirements to help customers solve difficult challenges in the automotive, heavy vehicle off-road, industrial, and aerospace industries. With more than 21,000 employees and operations in 13 countries, Sensata's solutions help to make products safer, cleaner and more efficient, more electrified, and more connected. For more information, please visit Sensata's website at www.sensata.com.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

We supplement the reporting of our financial information determined in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP") with certain non-GAAP financial measures. We use these non-GAAP financial measures internally to make operating and strategic decisions, including the preparation of our annual operating plan, evaluation of our overall business performance, and as a factor in determining compensation for certain employees. We believe presenting non-GAAP financial measures is useful for period-over-period comparisons of underlying business trends and our ongoing business performance. We also believe presenting these non-GAAP measures provides additional transparency into how management evaluates the business.

Non-GAAP financial measures should be considered as supplemental in nature and are not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the related financial information prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. In addition, our non-GAAP financial measures may not be the same as, or comparable to, similar non-GAAP measures presented by other companies.

The non-GAAP financial measures referenced by Sensata in this release include: adjusted net income, adjusted earnings per share ("EPS"), adjusted operating income, adjusted operating margin, free cash flow, organic revenue growth, market outgrowth, adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization ("EBITDA"), net debt, and net leverage ratio. We also refer to changes in certain non-GAAP measures, usually reported either as a percentage or number of basis points, between two periods and measured on either a reported, constant currency, or an organic basis, the latter of which excludes the net impact of acquisitions and divestitures for the 12-month period following the respective transaction date(s) and the effect of foreign currency exchange rate differences between the comparative periods. Such changes are also considered non-GAAP measures.

Adjusted net income (or loss) is defined as net income (or loss), determined in accordance with U.S. GAAP, excluding certain non-GAAP adjustments which are described in the accompanying reconciliation tables. Adjusted EPS is calculated by dividing adjusted net income (or loss) by the number of diluted weighted-average ordinary shares outstanding in the period. We believe that these measures are useful to investors and management in understanding our ongoing operations and in analysis of ongoing operating trends.

Adjusted operating income (or loss) is defined as operating income (or loss), determined in accordance with U.S. GAAP, excluding certain non-GAAP adjustments which are described in the accompanying reconciliation tables. Adjusted operating margin is calculated by dividing adjusted operating income (or loss) by net revenue. We believe that these measures are useful to investors and management in understanding our ongoing operations and in analysis of ongoing operating trends.

Free cash flow is defined as net cash provided by/(used in) operating activities less additions to property, plant and equipment and capitalized software. We believe that this measure is useful to investors and management as a measure of cash generated by business operations that will be used to repay scheduled debt maturities and can be used to fund acquisitions, repurchase ordinary shares, or for the accelerated repayment of debt obligations.

Organic revenue growth (or decline) is defined as the reported percentage change in net revenue calculated in accordance with U.S. GAAP, excluding the period-over-period impact of foreign exchange rate differences as well as the net impact of material acquisitions and divestitures for the 12-month period following the respective transaction date(s). We believe that this measure is useful to investors and management in understanding our ongoing operations and in analysis of ongoing operating trends.

Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net income (or loss), determined in accordance with U.S. GAAP, excluding interest expense, net, provision for (or benefit from) income taxes, depreciation expense, amortization of intangible assets, and the following non-GAAP adjustments, if applicable: (1) restructuring related and other, (2) financing and other transaction costs, (3) deferred gain or loss on derivative instruments, and (4) step-up inventory amortization.

Net debt is defined as total debt, finance lease, and other financing obligations less cash and cash equivalents. We believe net debt is a useful measure to management and investors in understanding trends in our overall financial condition.

Net leverage ratio is defined as net debt divided by last twelve months (LTM) adjusted EBITDA. We believe the net leverage ratio is a useful measure to management and investors in understanding trends in our overall financial condition.

Safe Harbor Statement

This earnings release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements may be identified by terminology such as "may," "will," "could," "should," "expect," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "project," "forecast," "continue," "intend," "plan," "potential," "opportunity," "guidance," and similar terms or phrases. Forward-looking statements involve, among other things, expectations, projections, and assumptions about future financial and operating results, objectives, business and market outlook, megatrends, priorities, growth, shareholder value, capital expenditures, cash flows, demand for products and services, share repurchases, and Sensata's strategic initiatives, including those relating to acquisitions and dispositions and the impact of such transactions on our strategic and operational plans and financial results. These statements are subject to risks, uncertainties, and other important factors relating to our operations and business environment, and we can give no assurances that these forward-looking statements will prove to be correct.

A wide variety of potential risks, uncertainties, and other factors could materially affect our ability to achieve the results either expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, risks related to public health crises, instability and changes in the global markets, supplier interruption or non-performance, the acquisition or disposition of businesses, adverse conditions or competition in the industries upon which we are dependent, intellectual property, product liability, warranty and recall claims, market acceptance of new product introductions and product innovations, labor disruptions or increased labor costs, and changes in existing environmental or safety laws, regulations, and programs.

Investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties, risks and potential events including, but not limited to, those described in Item 1A: Risk Factors in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and as may be updated from time to time in Item 1A: Risk Factors in our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q or other subsequent filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. All such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and we do not undertake any obligation to update these statements other than as required by law.

SENSATA TECHNOLOGIES HOLDING PLC

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations (In thousands, except per share amounts) (Unaudited) For the three months

ended June 30, For the six months ended

June 30, 2022 2021 2022 2021 Net revenue 1,020,548 992,660 1,996,318 1,935,188 Operating costs and expenses: Cost of revenue 686,603 658,285 1,343,683 1,293,634 Research and development 47,971 42,913 93,951 78,869 Selling, general and administrative 97,329 86,821 193,009 163,944 Amortization of intangible assets 36,805 34,857 74,172 66,921 Restructuring and other charges, net 12,897 5,029 26,630 9,611 Total operating costs and expenses 881,605 827,905 1,731,445 1,612,979 Operating income 138,943 164,755 264,873 322,209 Interest expense, net (44,842 (45,213 (90,287 (89,256 Other, net (39,240 1,012 (89,696 (38,385 Income before taxes 54,861 120,554 84,890 194,568 Provision for income taxes 20,020 7,638 27,608 27,919 Net Income 34,841 112,916 57,282 166,649 Net income per share: Basic 0.22 0.71 0.36 1.05 Diluted 0.22 0.71 0.36 1.05 Weighted-average ordinary shares outstanding: Basic 156,477 158,208 156,950 157,986 Diluted 156,994 159,344 157,812 159,287

SENSATA TECHNOLOGIES HOLDING PLC Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (In thousands) (Unaudited) June 30,

2022 December 31,

2021 Assets Current assets: Cash and cash equivalents 1,558,578 1,708,955 Accounts receivable, net of allowances 743,048 653,438 Inventories 656,736 588,231 Prepaid expenses and other current assets 161,367 126,370 Total current assets 3,119,729 3,076,994 Property, plant and equipment, net 825,862 820,933 Goodwill 3,534,438 3,502,063 Other intangible assets, net 904,929 946,731 Deferred income tax assets 101,899 105,028 Other assets 119,820 162,017 Total assets 8,606,677 8,613,766 Liabilities and shareholders' equity Current liabilities: Current portion of long-term debt, finance lease and other financing obligations 6,566 6,833 Accounts payable 537,261 459,093 Income taxes payable 15,309 26,517 Accrued expenses and other current liabilities 327,993 343,816 Total current liabilities 887,129 836,259 Deferred income tax liabilities 341,383 339,273 Pension and other post-retirement benefit obligations 37,863 38,758 Finance lease and other financing obligations, less current portion 25,623 26,564 Long-term debt, net 4,213,512 4,214,946 Other long-term liabilities 77,583 63,232 Total liabilities 5,583,093 5,519,032 Total shareholders' equity 3,023,584 3,094,734 Total liabilities and shareholders' equity 8,606,677 8,613,766

SENSATA TECHNOLOGIES HOLDING PLC Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (In thousands) (Unaudited) For the six months ended

June 30, 2022 2021 Cash flows from operating activities: Net income 57,282 166,649 Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities: Depreciation 62,882 62,833 Amortization of debt issuance costs 3,433 3,426 Share-based compensation 15,739 11,475 Loss on debt financing 30,066 Amortization of intangible assets 74,172 66,921 Deferred income taxes (5,211 (7,070 Acquisition-related compensation payments (15,000 Mark-to-market loss on equity investments, net 71,100 Unrealized loss on derivative instruments and other 20,669 12,700 Changes in operating assets and liabilities, net of effects of acquisitions (143,178 (79,069 Net cash provided by operating activities 141,888 267,931 Cash flows from investing activities: Acquisitions, net of cash received (48,989 (421,951 Additions to property, plant and equipment and capitalized software (74,069 (63,572 Investment in debt and equity securities (6,878 (6,444 Other 152 2,862 Net cash used in investing activities (129,784 (489,105 Cash flows from financing activities: Proceeds from exercise of stock options and issuance of ordinary shares 14,577 17,957 Payment of employee restricted stock tax withholdings (7,577 (7,948 Proceeds from borrowings on debt 1,001,875 Payments on debt (5,664 (757,889 Dividends paid (17,225 Payments to repurchase ordinary shares (144,279 Payments of debt financing costs (2,313 (33,032 Net cash (used in)/provided by financing activities (162,481 220,963 Net change in cash and cash equivalents (150,377 (211 Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of year 1,708,955 1,861,980 Cash and cash equivalents, end of period 1,558,578 1,861,769

Revenue by Business, Geography, and End Market (Unaudited) (percent of total revenue) For the three months

ended June 30, For the six months

ended June 30, 2022 2021 2022 2021 Performance Sensing 73.2 74.7 73.4 75.3 Sensing Solutions 26.8 25.3 26.6 24.7 Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

(percent of total revenue) For the three months

ended June 30, For the six months

ended June 30, 2022 2021 2022 2021 Americas 42.1 38.0 41.0 37.2 Europe 26.0 27.2 26.1 27.8 Asia/Rest of World 31.9 34.8 32.9 35.0 Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

(percent of total revenue) For the three months

ended June 30, For the six months

ended June 30, 2022 2021 2022 2021 Automotive (1) 50.6 53.4 51.5 55.7 Heavy vehicle and off-road 23.6 22.5 22.8 20.7 Industrial 12.0 10.6 11.9 10.1 Appliance and HVAC 5.7 6.4 5.8 6.4 Aerospace 3.8 3.3 3.6 3.4 All other 4.3 3.8 4.4 3.7 Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

(1) Includes amounts reflected in the Sensing Solutions segment as follows: $9.9 million and $12.1 million of revenue in the three months ended June 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively, and $19.2 million and $23.6 million of revenue in the six months ended June 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively.

Market Outgrowth (Unaudited)

For the three months ended June

30, 2022 For the six months ended June

30, 2022 Reported

Growth Organic

Growth End

Market

Decline(1) Reported

Growth Organic

Growth End

Market

Decline(1) Sensata 2.8 2.2 (0.9 3.2 1.1 (3.3

(1) End Market excludes (3.4%) and (2.8%) inventory build in the three months and six months ended June 30, 2021, respectively.

GAAP to Non-GAAP Reconciliations

The following unaudited tables provide a reconciliation of the difference between each of the non-GAAP financial measures referenced herein and the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP financial measure. Amounts presented in these tables may not appear to recalculate due to the effect of rounding.

Operating income and margin, income tax, net income, and earnings per share

($ in thousands, except per share amounts) For the three months ended June 30, 2022 Operating

Income Operating

Margin Income

Taxes Net

Income Diluted

EPS Reported (GAAP) 138,943 13.6 20,020 34,841 0.22 Non-GAAP adjustments: Restructuring related and other 3,888 0.4 (36 4,294 0.03 Financing and other transaction costs (1) 14,434 1.4 (450 28,277 0.18 Step-up depreciation and amortization 35,318 3.5 35,318 0.22 Deferred loss on derivative instruments 1,190 0.1 (4,013 15,431 0.10 Amortization of debt issuance costs 1,717 0.01 Deferred taxes and other tax related (2) 9,669 9,669 0.06 Total adjustments 54,830 5.4 5,170 94,706 0.60 Adjusted (non-GAAP) 193,773 19.0 14,850 129,547 0.83

(1) Includes a mark-to-market loss on our investment in Quanergy Systems, Inc of $11.8 million, recorded in other, net. Also includes $12.8 million of expense related to compensation arrangements entered into concurrent with the closing of an acquisition, partially offset by $3.3 million of gains, which relate to changes in the fair value of acquisition-related contingent consideration amounts, each recorded in restructuring and other charges, net. Refer to our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for additional information.

(2) Includes $11.4 million of current tax expense related to the repatriation of profit from certain Asian subsidiaries to their parent company in the Netherlands. The decision to repatriate these profits was the result of our goal to reduce our balance sheet exposure and corresponding earnings volatility related to changes in foreign currency exchange rates as well as to fund our deployment of capital.

($ in thousands, except per share amounts) For the three months ended June 30, 2021 Operating

Income Operating

Margin Income

Tax Net

Income Diluted

EPS Reported (GAAP) 164,755 16.6 7,638 112,916 0.71 Non-GAAP adjustments: Restructuring related and other 5,738 0.6 (85 6,926 0.04 Financing and other transaction costs 2,544 0.3 (443 1,267 0.01 Step-up depreciation and amortization 33,684 3.4 33,684 0.21 Deferred loss on derivative instruments 2,595 0.3 (352 1,057 0.01 Amortization of debt issuance costs 1,715 0.01 Deferred taxes and other tax related (6,200 (6,200 (0.04 Total adjustments 44,561 4.5 (7,080 38,449 0.24 Adjusted (non-GAAP) 209,316 21.1 14,718 151,365 0.95

($ in thousands, except per share amounts) For the six months ended June 30, 2022 Operating

Income Operating

Margin Income

Tax Net

Income Diluted

EPS Reported (GAAP) 264,873 13.3 27,608 57,282 0.36 Non-GAAP adjustments: Restructuring related and other 8,037 0.4 (136 8,343 0.05 Financing and other transaction costs (1) 30,259 1.5 (994 102,837 0.65 Step-up depreciation and amortization 71,263 3.6 71,263 0.45 Deferred loss on derivative instruments 1,842 0.1 (2,202 8,470 0.05 Amortization of debt issuance costs 3,433 0.02 Deferred taxes and other tax related (2) 1,334 1,334 0.01 Total adjustments 111,401 5.6 (1,998 195,680 1.24 Adjusted (non-GAAP) 376,274 18.8 29,606 252,962 1.60

(1) Includes a mark-to-market loss on our investment in Quanergy Systems, Inc of $71.7 million, recorded in other, net. Also includes $31.1 million of expense related to compensation arrangements entered into concurrent with the closing of an acquisition, partially offset by $9.4 million of gains, which relate to changes in the fair value of acquisition-related contingent consideration amounts, each recorded in restructuring and other charges, net. Refer to our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for additional information.

(2) Includes $11.4 million of current tax expense related to the repatriation of profit from certain Asian subsidiaries to their parent companies in the Netherlands and the United States. The decision to repatriate these profits was the result of our goal to reduce our balance sheet exposure and corresponding earnings volatility related to changes in foreign currency exchange rates as well as to fund our deployment of capital.

($ in thousands, except per share amounts) For the six months ended June 30, 2021 Operating

Income Operating

Margin Income

Tax Net

Income Diluted

EPS Reported (GAAP) 322,209 16.7 27,919 166,649 1.05 Non-GAAP adjustments: Restructuring related and other 10,263 0.5 (286 14,217 0.09 Financing and other transaction costs (1) 7,115 0.4 (3,546 34,072 0.21 Step-up depreciation and amortization 63,380 3.3 63,380 0.40 Deferred loss on derivative instruments 4,435 0.2 (1,100 3,302 0.02 Amortization of debt issuance costs 3,426 0.02 Deferred taxes and other tax related (2) 3,922 3,922 0.02 Total adjustments 85,193 4.4 (1,010 122,319 0.77 Adjusted (non-GAAP) 407,402 21.1 28,929 288,968 1.81

(1) Includes a $30.1 million loss recognized in the first quarter of 2021 related to the early redemption of our 6.25% Senior Notes due 2026 at 103.125%. The loss primarily includes the payment of $23.4 million for the early redemption premium, with the remaining loss representing write-off of debt discounts and deferred financing costs. The loss is presented in other, net in our condensed consolidated statement of operations. Refer to our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for additional information.

(2) Includes $10.9 million of current tax expense related to the repatriation of profit from certain Asian subsidiaries to their parent company in the Netherlands. The decision to repatriate these profits was the result of our goal to reduce our balance sheet exposure and corresponding earnings volatility related to changes in foreign currency exchange rates as well as to fund our deployment of capital.

Non-GAAP adjustments by location in statements of operations

(in thousands) For the three months

ended June 30, For the six months

ended June 30, 2022 2021 2022 2021 Cost of revenue 1,215 3,038 3,375 5,453 Selling, general and administrative 5,699 3,253 10,730 7,641 Amortization of intangible assets 35,019 33,241 70,666 62,488 Restructuring and other charges, net (1) 12,897 5,029 26,630 9,611 Operating income adjustments 54,830 44,561 111,401 85,193 Interest expense, net 1,717 1,715 3,433 3,426 Other, net (2) 32,989 (747 82,844 34,710 Provision for income taxes (3) 5,170 (7,080 (1,998 (1,010 Net income adjustments 94,706 38,449 195,680 122,319

(1) The three and six months ended June 30, 2022 include $12.8M and $31.1M, respectively, of expense related to compensation arrangements entered into concurrent with the closing of an acquisition. The six months ended June 30, 2022 also includes $9.4M of gains, which relate to changes in the fair value of acquisition-related contingent consideration amounts.

(2) The three and six months ended June 30, 2022 include a mark-to-market loss on our investment in Quanergy Systems, Inc of $11.8 million and $71.7 million, respectively. Refer to our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for additional information. The six months ended June 30, 2021 includes a $30.1 million loss recognized in the first quarter of 2021 related to the early redemption of our 6.25% Senior Notes due 2026 at 103.125%. The loss primarily reflects the payment of $23.4 million for the early redemption premium, with the remaining loss representing write-off of debt discounts and deferred financing costs.

(3) Each period presented includes current tax expense related to the repatriation of profit from certain Asian subsidiaries to their parent company in the Netherlands. The decision to repatriate these profits was the result of our goal to reduce our balance sheet exposure and corresponding earnings volatility related to changes in foreign currency exchange rates as well as to fund our deployment of capital. This includes $11.4 million in each of the three and six months ended June 30, 2022, and $10.1 million and $10.9 million, in the three and six months ended June 30, 2021, respectively.

Free cash flow

($ in thousands) Three months ended June 30, Six months ended June 30, 2022 2021 2022 2021 Net cash provided by operating activities 94,533 163,420 (42.2 141,888 267,931 (47.0 Additions to property, plant and equipment and capitalized software (38,358 (36,400 (5.4 (74,069 (63,572 (16.5 Free cash flow 56,175 127,020 (55.8 67,819 204,359 (66.8

Adjusted EBITDA

For the three months ended June 30, For the six months ended June 30, (in thousands) LTM 2022 2021 2022 2021 Net income 254,213 34,841 112,916 57,282 166,649 Interest expense, net 180,322 44,842 45,213 90,287 89,256 Provision for income taxes 50,026 20,020 7,638 27,608 27,919 Depreciation expense 125,008 31,351 31,636 62,882 62,833 Amortization of intangible assets 141,380 36,805 34,857 74,172 66,921 EBITDA 750,949 167,859 232,260 312,231 413,578 Non-GAAP Adjustments Restructuring related and other 17,746 4,330 7,011 8,479 14,377 Financing and other transaction costs 107,255 28,727 1,710 103,831 37,618 Deferred loss on derivative instruments 17,564 19,444 1,409 10,672 4,402 Adjusted EBITDA 893,514 220,360 242,390 435,213 469,975

Net debt and leverage

As of ($ in thousands) June 30,

2022 December 31,

2021 Current portion of long-term debt, finance lease and other financing obligations 6,566 6,833 Finance lease and other financing obligations, less current portion 25,623 26,564 Long-term debt, net 4,213,512 4,214,946 Total debt, finance lease, and other financing obligations 4,245,701 4,248,343 Less: discount, net of premium (4,317 (5,207 Less: deferred financing costs (26,691 (26,682 Total gross indebtedness 4,276,709 4,280,232 Less: Cash and cash equivalents 1,558,578 1,708,955 Net debt 2,718,131 2,571,277 Adjusted EBITDA (LTM) 893,514 928,276 Net leverage ratio 3.0 2.8

Guidance

Three months ending September 30, 2022 ($ in millions, except per share amounts) Operating Income Net Income EPS Low High Low High Low High GAAP 141.5 151.0 63.8 72.3 0.41 0.46 Restructuring related and other 4.0 4.5 3.5 4.0 0.02 0.03 Financing and other transaction costs(1) 7.5 8.5 7.0 8.0 0.05 0.05 Step-up depreciation and amortization(1) 34.0 35.0 34.0 35.0 0.22 0.23 Deferred (gain)/loss on derivative instruments(2) Amortization of debt issuance costs 1.7 1.7 0.01 0.01 Deferred taxes and other tax related 16.0 17.0 0.10 0.11 Non-GAAP 187.0 199.0 126.0 138.0 0.81 0.89 Weighted-average diluted shares outstanding (in millions) 155.2 155.2

Full year ending December 31, 2022 ($ in millions, except per share amounts) Operating Income Net Income EPS Low High Low High Low High GAAP 559.2 578.2 198.5 211.5 1.29 1.37 Restructuring related and other 13.0 14.0 12.0 13.0 0.08 0.08 Financing and other transaction costs(1) 46.0 48.0 117.0 119.0 0.75 0.76 Step-up depreciation and amortization(1) 138.0 140.0 138.0 140.0 0.88 0.90 Deferred (gain)/loss on derivative instruments(2) 1.8 1.8 8.5 8.5 0.05 0.05 Amortization of debt issuance costs 7.0 7.0 0.04 0.04 Deferred taxes and other tax related 33.0 35.0 0.21 0.22 Non-GAAP 758.0 782.0 514.0 534.0 3.30 3.42 Weighted-average diluted shares outstanding (in millions) 156.0 156.0

(1) Amounts do not contemplate the effects of future acquisitions, divestitures, or financing transactions that occur beyond our most recent fiscal period end, including the acquisition of Dynapower and the sale of Qinex each of which occurred subsequent to June 30, 2022.

(2) We are unable to predict movements in commodity prices and, therefore, the impact of mark-to-market adjustments on our commodity forward contracts to our projected operating results. In prior periods such adjustments have been significant to our reported GAAP earnings.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220726005383/en/

Contacts:

Investors:

Jacob Sayer

(508) 236-1666

jsayer@sensata.com

Media:

Alexia Taxiarchos

(508) 236-1761

ataxiarchos@sensata.com
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Oil prices rose about 2 percent on Tuesday to extend overnight gains after Russia deepened supply cuts to Europe. Benchmark Brent crude futures jumped 1.8 percent to $102.01 a barrel, while WTI crude futures were up 1.7 percent at $98.36. European gas prices hit a five-month high after Russian energy giant Gazprom said that it will cut gas flows through Nord Stream 1 to 33 million cubic meters per day from July 27, which will be just 20 percent of normal capacity, citing the need to repair equipment. The announcement heightened fears that Russia could cut off gas supplies as political leverage over the war in Ukraine, while Europe is trying to stockpile gas winter. Meanwhile, there are expectations that Russia's reduction in natural gas supply to Europe could encourage a switch to crude. EU energy ministers are due to meet today to discuss the proposal from the European Union's executive arm, which called for all EU countries to reduce their gas use by 15 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.
Edmonton, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - July 26, 2022) - Radient Technologies Inc. (TSXV: RTI) (OTC Pink: RDDTF) ("Radient", the "Issuer" or the "Company") announces today that, due to unexpected delays the Company's auditor is experiencing in connection with its audit of Tunaaaa Xtracts Inc. ("Tunaaaa"), a company acquired by the Issuer in early 2022, it anticipates that it may be delayed in filing its audited annual financial statements (the "Statements") for its financial year ended March 31, 2022 and the related Management's Discussion and Analysis and Certifications by the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer (collectively the "Required Filings"). Under National Instrument 51-102 of the Canadian Securities Administrators, the Required Filings are required to be made not later than July 29, 2022 (the "Deadline"). While every effort is being made to make the Required Filings as soon as possible, the Issuer is concerned that the Required Filings may not be made by the Deadline.

Out of an abundance of caution in the event that the Company is unable to make the Required Filings by the Deadline, the Company applied to the Alberta Securities Commission (the "Principal Regulator"), British Columbia Securities Commission, Ontario Securities Commission, Manitoba Securities Commission, Saskatchewan Financial and Consumer Affairs Authority, Newfoundland and Labrador, Director of Securities, New Brunswick Financial and Consumer Services Commission, and Nova Scotia Securities Commission pursuant to Part 3 of National Policy 12-203 ("NP 12-203") for a Management Cease Trade Order ("MCTO") as an alternative to a general Cease Trade Order in connection with the possible late filing (the "Default") of the Required Filings. In the event that the MCTO is granted, it will remain in effect until the Default is remedied. The issuance of a management cease trade order generally does not affect the ability of persons who have not been directors, officers or insiders of the Company to trade in their securities.

The Company's auditor retained to audit the Statements has advised the Issuer that it may be unable to complete its audit prior to the Deadline due to unexpected delays it is experiencing in connection with its audit of Tunaaaa. Please see the Company's press release dated January 28, 2022 for more details about the acquisition of Tunaaaa, which is available on the Company's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. Consequently, the Company requires additional time for the auditor to complete the audit. The Company anticipates that its auditor will be able to complete the audit and the Company will be able to complete the Required Filings by September 29, 2022.

The Company confirms that it will satisfy the provisions of the alternative information guidelines under NP 12-203 by issuing bi-weekly default status reports in the form of news releases for so long as it remains in default of the filing requirements described above.

The Company has not taken any steps towards any insolvency proceeding and the Company confirms that there is no material information relating to its affairs that has not been generally disclosed.

In the last few weeks progress has been made in collecting the requisite information to prepare the Required Filings and to complete the audit on or prior to the Deadline, and during this time the Company has been in discussions with its auditor for that purpose.

The MCTO prohibits trading in securities of the Company, whether direct or indirect, by:

the Company's Chief Executive Officer; the Company's Chief Financial Officer; and the members of the board of directors of the Company or other persons or companies who had, or may have had, access directly or indirectly to any material fact or material change with respect to the Company that has not been generally disclosed.

Should the Company fail to make its Required Filings on or before September 29, 2022, the Principal Regulator can impose a cease trade order that all trading in securities of the Company cease for such period of time as the Principal Regulator may deem appropriate.

About Radient

Radient Technologies is a commercial manufacturer of diverse, novel and high-quality cannabis extracts and packaged products. Radient develops specialty products and ingredients that contain a broad range of cannabinoid and terpene profiles while meeting the highest standards of quality and safety. Radient is focused on innovation with expertise in formulations and technologies offering unique solutions in the cannabis and wellness space. Please visit www.radientinc.com for more information.

For more information, please contact:

Harry Kaura, CEO & Director

ir@radientinc.com

Ph: 780 465 1318

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, without limitation, statements regarding the potential Default, including the Company's ability to make the Required Filings prior to September 29, 2022. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Radient, as the case may be, to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to: general business, economic, competitive, geopolitical and social uncertainties; risks associated with operation in the cannabis sector; and other risks inherent in the cannabis industry. Although Radient has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Radient does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable laws.

NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/131855
NIJMEGEN, Netherlands and NEWARK, N.J., July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Pleco Therapeutics BV, a specialty biopharmaceutical company developing novel treatments designed to detoxify the cancer promoting cellular micro-environment, today announces its expansion, with the incorporation if a U.S. subsidiary, Pleco Therapeutics USA, Inc., alongside the appointment of Michael Stalhamer as its President and first employee. Mr Stalhamer also serves on the global leadership team as Vice President (VP) Product Development and Regulatory Affairs.

Incorporated in Delaware, Pleco Therapeutics USA, Inc., will operate from New Jersey. The formation of a U.S. subsidiary reflects Pleco's corporate development as it advances its Plecoid product, PTX-061 and readies for commercialisation, with the aim of improving the effectiveness of chemotherapy in patients with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML).

Mr. Stalhamer joins from STI Pharma where he has been VP Regulatory Affairs & Product Development for the past 13 years. He brings over 25 years' experience in pharmaceutical /biotechnology and medical device research, operations, engineering, facility and equipment design, regulatory affairs, quality assurance and marketing gained in the US, India and Europe. Prior to STI Pharma, his experience included roles at Heritage Pharmaceuticals, Artes Medical, Amylin Pharmaceuticals, GlaxoSmithKline and Novartis. During that time, he managed facility upgrades, progressing products from Phase II/III through to commercialization of sterile and non-sterile pharmaceutical products as well as medical devices. He has worked closely with the FDA in putting together IND/NDA/ANDA and PMA submissions and gaining timely approval of a number of pharmaceutical and medical device products in a variety of therapeutic areas. He also has experience in negotiating and managing development contracts for the launch and manufacturing of generic as well as branded products. He received his MS in Chemical Engineering from New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) and his BS from Rutgers University, College of Engineering.

Ivo Timmermans, Chief Executive Officer of Pleco Therapeutics BV, said: "We are delighted to welcome Michael to head up our new US operations. He will be a valuable addition to our leadership team as he has exactly the experience we need to manage the development, registration and commercialization of our first Plecoid product.

"The USA is a critical market and getting our products to patients will deliver on our goal of improving the effectiveness of existing chemotherapy and changing the outcome for patients with relapsed cancers."

Plecoid agents are patented, innovative treatments that include chelating agents with specific characteristics, that change the balance of toxic metals in the cell as a novel approach to treating cancer.

Michael Stalhamer newly appointed President of Pleco Therapeutics USA, Inc., said: "This is an exciting time to be joining the Pleco team, as it is at a pivotal point in its product development. Whilst there are always hurdles ahead, the potential of our Plecoid products looks very promising in various cancer models and other therapeutic areas."

In the coming months, Pleco anticipates securing additional finance and further expanding its team.

About Pleco Therapeutics

Pleco Therapeutics is a clinical stage specialty biopharmaceutical company which aims to extend the life span and enhance the quality of life of patients through its novel Plecoid therapies that have been designed to dramatically increase the effectiveness of current cancer treatments. Its novel Plecoid therapies have the potential to positively change the balance of protein expression within the cancer microenvironment, removing the burden of toxic metals within the cell, thereby improving the effectiveness of existing chemotherapy. A private company, Pleco is headquartered in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, with a U.S. subsidiary, Pleco Therapeutics USA Inc, based in Newark, New York.

For more information visit www.plecotherapeutics.com. Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter

For more information, please contact:

Media

Sue Charles, Charles Consultants - sue@charles-consultants.com +44 (0)7968 726585
JACKSONVILLE, FL / ACCESSWIRE / July 26, 2022 / LFTD Partners Inc. (OTCQB:LIFD) (www.LFTDPartners.com) today announced that it has prepaid the remaining $916,668 of the principal of its note payable relating to the purchase of its subsidiary Lifted Made, Kenosha, WI, using free cash flow generated by Lifted Made's operations. The full payoff, which follows LFTD Partners' earlier prepayments of secured debt totaling $2,833,332 over the past eight months, leaves LFTD Partners Inc. with no remaining secured debt.

William C. "Jake" Jacobs, LFTD Partners Inc.'s President and CFO, said, "This prepayment of 100% of our secured debt is a true milestone that distinguishes our company from nearly all, if not all, of the other publicly traded cannabis companies."

Gerard M. Jacobs, LFTD Partners Inc.'s Chairman and CEO, said, "With LFTD Partners' secured debt completely paid off, we will now fully focus our attention on a significant potential acquisition that currently is under discussion, and on potential stock buybacks as may be approved by our board of directors from time to time."

About LFTD Partners Inc.

Publicly traded LFTD Partners Inc., Jacksonville, FL (OTCQB ticker symbol LIFD) is the parent corporation of Lifted Made, Kenosha, WI (www.LiftedMade.com), which manufactures and sells psychedelic products under its Silly Shruum brand, and hemp-derived cannabinoid products under its Urb Finest Flowers brand. LFTD Partners Inc. also owns 4.99% of CBD-infused beverage and products maker Ablis Holding Company (www.AblisBev.com), and of craft distillers Bendistillery Inc. d/b/a Crater Lake Spirits (www.CraterLakeSpirits.com) and Bend Spirits, Inc. (www.Bendistillery.com) all located in Bend, OR. Please read LIFD's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission which fully describe our business and the Risk Factors associated therewith. Stay updated with our company news and product launches by subscribing to our newsletters at www.LFTDPartners.com and www.LiftedMade.com.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this document are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such information includes the operations, financing, growth, performance, products, plans and expectations of LFTD Partners Inc. and Lifted Made. Such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause or contribute to these companies' actual operations, financing, growth, performance, products, plans or results of these companies differing materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result of certain other factors, including the risk factors set forth in LFTD Partners Inc.'s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell common stock or any other securities of LFTD Partners Inc.

CONTACTS:

Lifted Made

Attn: Nicholas S. Warrender, CEO

Phone: (224) 577-8148

Email: CEO@LiftedMade.com

Website: www.LiftedMade.com

LFTD Partners Inc.

Attn: William C. "Jake" Jacobs, President and CFO

Phone: (847) 400-7660

Email: JakeJacobs@LFTDPartners.com

Website: www.LFTDPartners.com

SOURCE: LFTD Partners Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/709691/LFTD-Partners-Inc-Prepays-its-Remaining-Secured-Debt-of-916668-Using-Free-Cash-Flow-From-Operations
Leading brands like Home Depot, Humana, and SAP are engaging more customers and driving business results through digital-first strategies

ON24 (NYSE: ONTF) today announced the winners of its second annual ON24X Awards, honoring the companies that are engaging customers with compelling, digital experiences. Leading brands are using the ON24 platform to connect with more prospects and customers and generate first-person data and insights that are driving measurable business impact. The following companies were recognized for advancing digital engagement within their companies and across their industries:

The Content Experience Award: Humana, a leading health insurance company, delivered on-demand multimedia experiences with a fully branded content hub to provide highly relevant and time-sensitive content to employers during the height of the pandemic. The company drove high audience engagement with their content hub, with 60% of attendees becoming recurring visitors.

The Closer Award: Home Depot switched to online home improvement workshop tutorials, increasing their workshop offerings from two to almost 60 per month. The company tracked spending and attribute purchases to workshop participants, allowing them to directly connect revenue to their virtual training sessions.

The Digital Journey Award: Varian, a Siemens Healthineers company, and a leader in the field of vital cancer-fighting technologies and solutions for clinical partners and their patients, used digital experiences to educate and train oncology medical professionals on their products. The company drove digital engagement to help healthcare professionals around the world deliver care to cancer patients in need.

Ultimate Virtual Event Award: SAP, creator of business operations and customer relations software,won the best all-around event award for SAP Customer Experience: Live 2021. Designed for both brand awareness and demand generation, SAP created a two-day, global hybrid event with both virtual and in-person sessions. Their virtual event is still generating leads more than six months later.

The Personalizer Award: Pegasystems, a leading CRM and business process management software provider, was recognized for delivering a large digital event for almost 2,000 of its partners. The event maximized engagement and delivered a targeted and personalized user experience, with 97% of partners gaining a deeper understanding of Pegasystems' partner strategy, a main goal of the event.

The Globalization Award: Infineum, a Specialty Chemicals Company and world leading formulator, manufacturer, and marketer of petroleum additives for lubricants and fuels, won for delivering a global digital experience that engaged audiences across multiple geographical locations in more than a dozen languages. The company focused on diverse speakers and translated content to enable audience accessibility.

Best Digital Branding Award: MYOB Australia treated audiences to a visually engaging, well-branded digital happy hour designed to foster deeper relationships with clients. The company created an interactive networking experience that left participants with a lasting impression and featured a mixologist and pre-mailed cocktail kit for participants to follow along at home.

The Industry Award: Life Science Connect, a B2B publisher and media services company, is embracing digital experiences and changing the way the industry participates in large events. By shifting away from face-to-face events, Life Science Connect is paving the path for digital experiences that attract, engage, and convert. The company launched a groundbreaking, first-of-its-kind event for the pharma industry bringing together c-level executives and delivering highly tailored, timely content.

The Audience First Award: TOPdesk, a developer and supplier of service management software, was recognized for its webinar on Best Practices for Migrating to Asset Management, which put the audience at the center of the experience and raised the bar on audience interactivity, engagement, and accessibility. The company exceeded its audience attendee goals by 300%.

The Return on Engagement Award: Cequence Security, a leading provider of Unified API Protection, created a digital engagement series around how to safeguard organizations from losses across their entire API risk surface. The series broke Cequence's registration, attendance, and engagement records while driving millions of dollars in pipeline.

The ON24 platform includes ON24 Webcast Elite, ON24 Go Live, ON24 Forums, ON24 Virtual Conference, ON24 Breakouts, ON24 Engagement Hub, ON24 Target, ON24 Intelligence, and ON24 Connect. Companies can deliver digital experiences that create deep engagement, capture first-person data, and provide AI-driven personalization, as well as seamlessly integrate audience insights with marketing automation, CRM, and collaboration systems.

To learn how winners of the ON24X Awards are delivering compelling digital experiences to engage audiences, visit ON24.com/on24x-award-winners.

About ON24

ON24 is a leading sales and marketing platform for digital engagement, delivering insights to drive ?revenue growth. ON24 serves more than 2,100 customers worldwide, including 3 of the 5 largest global technology companies, 4 of the 5 largest US banks, 3 of the 5 largest global healthcare companies, and 3 of the 5 largest global industrial manufacturers. Through interactive webinars, virtual events, and personalized content experiences, ON24 provides a system of engagement powered by AI for businesses to scale engagement, conversions, and pipeline to drive revenue growth. The ON24 Platform supports millions of professionals a month who are totaling billions of engagement minutes per year. ON24 is headquartered in San Francisco with global offices in North America, EMEA, and APAC. For more information, visit www.ON24.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This document contains "forward-looking statements" under applicable securities laws. In some cases, such statements can be identified by words such as: "expect," "convert," "believe," "plan," "future," "may," "should," "will," and similar references to future periods. Forward-looking statements include express or implied statements regarding our ability to achieve our business strategies, growth, or other future events or conditions. Such statements are based on our current beliefs, expectations, and assumptions about future events or conditions, which are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties, including the risks and uncertainties discussed in the filings we make from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated in forward-looking statements, and you should not place undue reliance on them. All statements herein are based only on information currently available to us and speak only as of the date hereof. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update any such statement.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220726005233/en/

Contacts:

Media Contact:

Roger Villareal

press@on24.com

Investor Contact:

Nate Pollack

investorrelations@on24.com
Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. favored taxing digital services to achieve 8% growth and aimed to employ solar and wind power as renewable energy sources.

Marcos Seeks for Economic Growth and Renewable Energy Source

To achieve an 8% growth rate throughout his tenure, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. advocated for the taxation of digital services, promised to maintain significant infrastructure expenditure, and swore never to impose another lockdown.

Marcos also cited increased demand as justification for the need for the Philippines to construct more power facilities and review its nuclear energy policy. It must use renewable energy sources like solar and wind power and consider offering incentives for gas development.

His first plan for earning money is to tax digital services, which, if adopted by Congress, would bring in $208 million in 2023. He said that raising tax revenues and simplifying tax processes would decrease debt to 60% of GDP by 2025 and the budget deficit to 3% by 2028.

Additionally, his economic team reaffirmed forecasts earlier this month, stating that the nation anticipates GDP growth of 6.5 % to 7.5% this year and up to 8 percent by the end of his tenure in 2028. The Philippines last had more than 8% growth under the late dictatorship of the president's father and namesake, Ferdinand Marcos Sr., in 1976.

To end lockdowns, he pledged to improve the nation's healthcare capacity, especially outside Manila, and to support nurses and doctors. Marcos said economic zones would welcome health care companies to attract additional investment. At the same time, the trade department is talking with generic drugmakers to decrease prescription pricing.

Marcos added that the government would also explore the "precarious" water supply issue and propose commercial partnerships. Marcos vowed to keep spending at 5% of GDP and increase his predecessor's infrastructure programs to boost economic growth and employment. "We must keep going and build better buildings."

Read Also: TikTok Becomes a Platform for Deepfakes | Here's How to Spot Them

Canada has Imposed Indirect Taxes on Digital Service Providers. Here's a Few Information

Digital video, downloadable or streamed music, digital games, and electronically published material have proliferated in recent years. As digital items may now be supplied anywhere, many European enterprises are expanding globally. North America's second-largest digital media market is predicted to reach $6.48 billion in 2022.

EU enterprises that offer digital services to Canadians may have tax registration and collection duties. Federal and provincial taxes make Canada's tax structure more complicated than the EU's.

The federal government and every province that levies a separate provincial state tax (PST) have passed specific legislation requiring international companies offering digital services to pay taxes. These laws' respective purviews vary widely.

From July 1, 2021, foreign vendors delivering services and intangibles to Canadian customers must register for GST/HST if their 12-month sales to unregistered Canadian buyers reach or are likely to exceed $23,287. Foreign vendors are not obligated to charge GST/HST to Canadian clients who are registered and have submitted their numbers.

The federal law covers all taxable intangible property or services. Nexus law covers video or music streaming, mobile applications, e-books, online video games, and conventional services like legal and accountancy.

The customer's location will determine the applicable tax rate:

5 percent (GST) in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and the Yukon;

13 percent in Ontario (HST);

In New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island, the sales tax rate is 15% (HST).

The Canada Revenue Agency offers comprehensive instructions on pinpointing the customer's location while considering numerous signs.

Related Article: The Side Effects of Tax Debt - and What TaxRise Can Do to Help
The meeting of the Board of Directors of NEO Finance, AB (code 303225546, address A. Vivulskio st. 7, Vilnius, hereinafter - the Company) held on 26 July 2022 made following decisions: 1. Taking into account the request of Paulius Tarbunas and in accordance with paragraphs 37.3 and 37.5 of the Republic of Lithuania Law on Companies and paragraph 104 of Labour Code of the Republic of Lithuania, to remove Paulius Tarbunas from the position of the Head of Administration as of 26 July 2022, considering this day as his last working day. 2. To appoint Evaldas Remeikis, who is currently chair of the Board of Directors of the Company, to the position of the Head of Administration from 27 July 2022. P. Tarbunas joined NEO Finance in May 2021 and served as the Head of the Open Banking Department until December 2021, when he was appointed to the position of the Head of Administration. "On behalf of the Company's employees and the Board of Directors, I sincerely thank Paulius for his contribution to improving the compliance area and developing other activities of the Company. We are happy that for more than a year we were able to successfully develop business together and grow together, both as a Company in our business areas and as a team. I wish and believe that Paulius' experience gained in the Company will help him to achieve further career heights," comments Evaldas Remeikis, who will replace the former Head of Administration by the decision of the Board of Directors. E. Remeikis has been the chair of the Board of Directors of the Company since its foundation, he is highly experienced in the areas of Company's activities and has always been actively involved in the projects developed by the Company, therefore the Company expects further continuity and growth of work in order to achieve the set goals. Evaldas Remeikis Chair of the Board of Directors Email: e.remeikis@neofinance.com
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - July 26, 2022) - Galleon Gold Corp. (TSXV: GGO) (the "Company" or "Galleon Gold") is pleased to report it has received the final documentation related to the registration of the mining lease for the West Cache Gold Project ("West Cache" or the "Project").

The granting of the new 21- year mining lease, #110033, is an important milestone for the Project. Lease status is required before mining activities such as infrastructure development and ore extraction can be conducted on the property. With the lease in hand, the Company will continue to complete the detailed engineering design work and baseline studies required for the bulk sample permit application.

R. David Russell, President and CEO of Galleon Gold commented, "Converting the mining claims to lease status has been a high priority for us and we are very pleased to have received the formal registration from the Province of Ontario. With this step completed we are on track to advance the project to the test mining phase."

Figure 1 shows the outline of the new mining lease in relation to the overall contiguous ground the Company holds in the Timmins mining camp.

Figure 1 - West Cache Gold Project Land Map



To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/1014/131832_5b6c0273e487fa96_001full.jpg

About the West Cache Gold Project

The West Cache Gold Project is located 13 km west of Timmins Ontario and is serviced by Provincial Highway 101 and secondary access roads. It is situated in the Western Porcupine Gold Camp along the Destor-Porcupine Fault Zone ("DPFZ") within the Abitibi greenstone belt, approximately 7 km northeast of Pan American Silver's Timmins West Mine and 14 km southwest of Newmont's Hollinger Mine.

West Cache is an advanced-stage gold exploration project covering approximately 10,370 ha. The mining lease area hosts the current Mineral Resource Estimate near the center, with additional exploration targets to the north and south. The Mineral Resource Estimate is contained within the Porcupine Sedimentary Basin, a favourable litho-structural corridor with over 5 km of strike-length on the Property. Mineralization is open in all directions and at depth.

About Galleon Gold

Galleon Gold is an exploration and development company focused on advancing the West Cache Gold Project in Timmins, Ontario. The project is situated approximately 7 km northeast of Pan American Silver's Timmins West Mine and 14 km southwest of Newmont's Hollinger Mine. Since acquiring the Project the Company has demonstrated significant resource growth while providing a strong valuation in its maiden Preliminary Economic Assessment. Permitting and baseline studies in support of a bulk sample are currently underway. Eric Sprott holds approximately 21% of the Company's outstanding common shares.

For further information:

Galleon Gold

R. David Russell

Chairman and CEO

T. (416) 644-0066

info@galleongold.com

www.galleongold.com

Investor Relations

Harbor Access

Graham Farrell

T. (416) 842-9003

Graham.Farrell@harbor-access.com





Forward-Looking Statements

This document contains certain forward-looking statements that reflect the current views and/or expectations of Galleon Gold with respect to its long-term strategy, proposed work, plans and other reports including the PEA for its projects. Forward-looking statements are based on the then-current expectations, beliefs, assumptions, estimates and forecasts about the business and the markets in which Galleon Gold operates. Some of the statements contained herein may be forward-looking statements which involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Without limitation, statements regarding potential mineralization and resources, exploration results, expectations, plans, and objectives of Galleon Gold are forward-looking statements that involve various risks. The following are important factors that could cause Galleon Gold's actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements: changes in the world-wide price of mineral commodities, general market conditions, risks inherent in mineral exploration, risks associated with development, construction and mining operations, risks related to infectious diseases, including Covid-19 and the uncertainty of future exploration activities and cash flows, and the uncertainty of access to additional capital. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate as actual results and future events may differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Galleon Gold undertakes no obligation to update such forward-looking statements if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/131832
Reliable and resilient enterprise network services connect 28 sites in Europe and U.S.

MCLEAN, Va., July 26, 2022, a leading global provider of managed network and security services to multinational organizations, has announced that LFB , a leading French biopharmaceutical company, is deploying GTT Managed SD-WAN, Cloud Connect, Dedicated Internet Access, broadband and professional services. The solution covers 28 sites across France, Austria, Czech Republic, Belgium, and the U.S. in support of the company's network transformation strategy.



LFB is one of the leading companies in Europe, offering globally plasma-derived medicinal products and recombinant proteins to healthcare professionals in immunology, hemostasis and intensive care. LFB employs over 2,500 people in France and worldwide. The firm's network transformation, in support of its increasing move to cloud applications, entails the migration from its legacy Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) WAN infrastructure to a more cost-effective and flexible software-defined networking approach.

The Managed SD-WAN solution from GTT leverages the company's global Tier 1 internet backbone to provide an enhanced internet experience for LFB. The network is designed to ensure enterprise traffic stays on the GTT's global IP network for as much of its journey as possible for quality assurance, best performance and control. The solution connects LFB's business applications, cloud and hosting sites with its headquarters, branch and regional offices, blood collection centers and four production sites. LFB is supported throughout the service lifecycle by GTT Professional Services, which provides for enhanced planning and implementation, as well as ongoing technical support and service management. GTT is also an active member of the IT LFB governance steering committee.

Service uptime, improved end-user performance and network reliability are critical for LFB, as this ensures the quality and end-to-end product traceability paramount to the safe and continuous manufacturing of its products. Multiple connections are provided at every site, which, combined with SD-WAN traffic steering, serves to ensure a highly resilient setup that achieves LFB's stringent requirements. In addition, the GTT solution allows LFB to rapidly and securely bring new sites into its network, as well as quickly scale up network capacity at any given site.

"The global pandemic brought about many changes for how we connect our staff and sites, which highlighted the importance of GTT's network solution in ensuring the continuity of production of our medicinal products for the treatment of serious and often rare diseases, "said Guillaume Castel, CIO at LFB. "As we look to triple our production capacity over the coming years with the launch of our new planned production site, as well as open new blood collection centers in several markets, we know we can rely on GTT as a trusted partner to help us build on our network and security approach for the connected future of our industry."

Tom Homer, Division President Europe, GTT, said, "We are proud to partner with LFB in support of its critical role as a provider of vital pharmaceutical products. Our Managed SD-WAN, enhanced internet and services capabilities not only increase network reliance and flexibility, but also enable LFB to focus their resources on the advancement of life-saving medical testing and treatments."

LFB has been a GTT connectivity customer since 2017.

About GTT

GTT is a managed network and security services provider to global organizations. We design and deliver solutions that leverage advanced cloud, networking, and security technologies. We complement our solutions with a suite of professional services and exceptional support teams in local markets around the world. We serve thousands of national and multinational companies with a portfolio that includes SD-WAN, security, Internet, voice, and other connectivity options. Our services are uniquely enabled by our top-ranked, global Tier 1 IP backbone that spans more than 260 cities on six continents. The company culture is built on a customer-first service experience reinforced by our commitment to operational excellence and continuous improvement in our business, environmental, social and governance practices. For more information, visit www.gtt.net .

About LFB

LFB is a biopharmaceutical group that develops, manufactures and markets plasma-derived medicinal products and recombinant proteins for the treatment of patients with serious and often rare diseases. Created in France in 1994, LFB today is a leading European company providing plasma-derived and recombinant medicinal products to healthcare professionals. Its mission is to offer patients new treatment options for unmet needs in three major therapeutic areas: immunology, hemostasis and intensive care. LFB's current market portfolio includes 15 biomedicinal products sold in about 30 countries

For more information, please visit www.groupe-lfb.com .

GTT Media Inquiries:



Americas:

Brad Bass, GTT

+1-240-418-0168

brad.bass@gtt.net (mailto:brad.bass@gtt.net)



(mailto:brad.bass@gtt.net) Europe:

Siria Nielsen, GTT

+31-6-2835-4259

siria.nielsen@gtt.net (mailto:siria.nielsen@gtt.net) Ed Stevenson, LEWIS

+44-207-802-2626

gttuk@teamlewis.com (mailto:gttuk@teamlewis.com)



(mailto:gttuk@teamlewis.com) GTT Investor Relations:

Charlie Lucas

VP of Finance

InvestorRelations@gtt.net (mailto:InvestorRelations@gtt.net)




WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Livent Corp. (LTHM) said that it has entered into a multi-year agreement to provide battery-grade lithium hydroxide to General Motors Co (GM) over a six-year period beginning in 2025. In Tuesday pre-market trade, LTHM was trading at $24.55 up $1.52 or 6.60%. GM has contractually secured all battery raw material to support its goal of 1 million units of EV capacity in North America by the end of 2025. Livent's battery-grade lithium hydroxide, made primarily from lithium extracted at its brine-based operations in South America, to be used in production of GM's electric vehicles. Over the course of the agreement, Livent will increasingly supply battery-grade lithium hydroxide to GM from its manufacturing facilities in the U.S., with the goal of transitioning 100% of Livent's downstream lithium hydroxide processing for GM to North America. 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.
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Equifax (EFX) said that it has agreed to acquire Midigator LLC, a provider of post-transaction fraud mitigation solutions. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2022. The deal is not anticipated to have a material impact on 2022 Equifax financial results. Once the transaction closes, Midigator will become part of the Equifax USIS business unit. As part of the transaction, LLR Partners, who invested in Midigator in 2018, will exit the business. 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.
Acquisition of SmartShops provide Red Light Holland with full vertical integration from production, packaging, distribution and now retail shops sales coupled with online sales

Red Light Holland to update and rebrand SmartShop Utrecht and SmartShop Oss to "Wellness World" in Q4 2022

Red Light Holland to consider creation of multiple Wellness World SmartShops across Netherlands and Europe through acquisitions, franchising and / or constructing innovative stores in new locations

Red Light Holland is committed to creating educational and responsible use messaging in relation to the use of any products made available via Wellness World, including media and technology education activations in each retail store

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - July 26, 2022) - Red Light Holland Corp. (CSE: TRIP) (FSE: 4YX) (OTC Pink: TRUFF) ("Red Light Holland" or the "Company"), an Ontario-based corporation engaged in the production, growth and sale of functional mushroom home grow kits in North America, and a premium brand of magic truffles to the legal, recreational market within the Netherlands, is pleased to announce that its newly formed and wholly-owned subsidiaries, Wellness World OSS B.V. and Wellness World Utrecht B.V., will acquire two wellness retail stores: SmartShop OSS and SmartShop Utrecht (together, the "Wellness Shops"), two of the Netherlands' premiere retail shops for quality psychedelic truffles and wellness products. The Wellness Shops also sell CBD products, cannabis seeds, smart shop items, and other various popular wellness products. The Wellness Shops are profitable and have seen an increase in sales month over month during recent months.

The acquisitions are expected to close on or about August 1, 2022. With the acquisition of two premiere SmartShops, Red Light Holland is setting itself up to be a fully integrated company in the Netherlands:

Creating coveted brick and mortar sales channels and necessary online direct to consumer sales channels to support the growth of the continuing trend towards increased usage of psychedelics

The Wellness Shops will carry only Red Light Holland's Magic truffles products (iMicrodose, Maka and future brands) as Red Light Holland can curate the products sold by the retail locations

Red Light Holland to provide easy access and education to many new, unique and thoughtful wellness products including Conor McGregor's TIDL Sport and the Mushroom Wellness Brand: MISTERCAP affiliated with multi-platinum-selling, GRAMMY and Golden Globe Award-nominated recording artist Wiz Khalifa, who provides marketing advisory services to the Company

Red Light Holland plans to rebrand SmartShop Oss and SmartShop Utrecht to "Wellness World" for increased brand growth, exposure and expansion - focused on wellness products supporting a holistic view of mind and body health (www.wellnessworld.co - coming soon)

Red Light Holland to learn from initial acquisitions and consider creating multiple Wellness World SmartShops across Netherlands and Europe through acquisitions, franchising and / or constructing innovative stores in new locations

Allowing Red Light Holland a more robust direct to consumer business by expanding and selling their brands and other established brands, including a vast array of products in sectors outside of psychedelics, including existing inventory to increase sales opportunities and profit margins

Immediately becoming a retail sales leader with expertise and know how, committed to creating educational and responsible use messaging in relation to the use of any products made available via Wellness World, including media and technology education media activations in each retail location

Gaining invaluable access to data and personal connections and instantly growing the Red Light Holland infrastructure and staff with current leaders in the psychedelic industry in the Netherlands

"The acquisitions, expected to close within a week, of two profitable businesses SmartShop Oss and SmartShop Utrecht is another important decision for the overall growth and expansion strategy of the Company. We will be fully vertically integrated in the Netherlands, from substrate to sale, and that's exciting as we look to increase sales around psychedelics responsibly," said Todd Shapiro, the Chief Executive Officer and a director of the Company. "We like companies that make money in the psychedelic sector! The goal is to learn quickly and to create the Wellness World retail shop strategy focused on achieving revenue growth, profitability and value creation for our shareholders. We will also continue to build some of the most recognizable brands in the world around affordable and equitable access to recreational psilocybin. As well, we remain committed to creating educational and responsible use messaging in relation to the use of any products made available, including media and technology education media activations in each new retail location."

"I've been observing the SmartShop business for quite some time, and the industry really seems to be picking up as more and more people learn about psilocybin," said Hans Derix, Red Light Holland's President and Dutch native. "What we are most elated by is our plan to rebrand with the focus on wellness products. We want to continue to end stigmas and help educate people to make informed decisions on the products they buy. The Netherlands, in my opinion, is definitely ready to see advanced, well-designed sharp looking Wellness World shops. And our team at SR-Wholesale is excited to supply the products to the new shops in two beautiful city centres: Oss and Utrecth with lots of tourism and tons of foot traffic."

"Securing these locations unlocks the potential to accelerate our consumer centric innovation pipeline, through capturing real time consumer purchase data and trends from the unique store sales, which then unlocks new product and brand launches in other potential markets. My belief is that through leveraging this data, we will be able to test and adapt far more efficiently and continually stay ahead of the category through this first party consumer data," added Ridley Doolittle, Chief Marketing Officer of the Company.

Transaction Details

SmartShop OSS

The SmartShop OSS acquisition, which is considered to be an arm's length transaction, is subject to customary conditions of closing and is expected to be completed on or about August 1, 2022. Wellness World OSS B.V. and third-party vendors entered into an asset purchase agreement (the "OSS Asset Purchase Agreement"), pursuant to which the aggregate consideration payable for the acquisition is comprised of 100,000, of which 70,000 is payable in cash and 30,000 is to be satisfied through the issuance of common shares in the capital of Red Light Holland ("Red Light Shares") calculated on the basis of a deemed price per Red Light Share equal to the greater of (i) the 10-day volume weighted average price of the Red Light Shares on Canadian Stock Exchange (the "CSE") ending on the day three business days prior to closing, and (ii) the discounted market price as defined by the CSE as of the date the OSS Asset Purchase Agreement is publicly announced (the "OSS Consideration Shares"). The OSS Consideration Shares are subject to a statutory hold period of four months and one day and, pursuant to the terms of the OSS Asset Purchase Agreement, shall be deposited into escrow and be released every six months in 25% allotments. [NTD: Todd to confirm an escrow agent has been appointed]

SmartShop Utrecht

The SmartShop Utrecht acquisition, which is considered to be an arm's length transaction, is subject to customary conditions of closing and is expected to be completed on or about August 1, 2022. Wellness World Utrecht B.V. and third-party vendors entered into an asset purchase agreement (the "Utrecht Asset Purchase Agreement"), pursuant to which the aggregate consideration payable for the acquisition is comprised of 200,000, of which 140,000 is payable in cash and 60,000 is to be satisfied through the issuance of Red Light Shares calculated on the basis of a deemed price per Red Light Share equal to the greater of (i) the 10-day volume weighted average price of the Red Light Shares on the CSE ending on the day three business days prior to closing, and (ii) the discounted market price as defined by the CSE as of the date the Utrecht Asset Purchase Agreement is publicly announced (the "Utrecht Consideration Shares"). The Utrecth Consideration Shares are subject to a statutory hold period of four months and one day and, pursuant to the terms of the Utrecht Asset Purchase Agreement, shall be deposited into escrow and be released every six months in 25% allotments.

Red Light Holland is committed to creating educational and responsible use messaging in relation to the use of any products made available by the brand. Red Light Holland products are intended to help promote a healthy lifestyle. No products are intended to treat or cure any medical conditions and are in no event a substitute for professional medical care. No statements made by Red Light Holland have been evaluated by the United States Food and Drug Administration or any other similar body of another jurisdiction, and are in no event a substitute for professional medical care. Red Light Holland encourages all consumers to speak with their doctors and professional medical advisors for any solutions that may be appropriate for each person individually.

For more information on the Wellness Shops, please visit https://SmartShop-utrecht.nl and https://www.SmartShoposs.nl.

About Red Light Holland

The company is an Ontario-based corporation that specializes in the mushroom industry, and specifically home grow kits for functional natural mushrooms, while being engaged in the production, growth and sale (through existing SmartShop operators and an advanced e-commerce platform) of premium brands of magic truffles to the legal, recreational market within the Netherlands, in accordance with the highest standards, in compliance with all applicable laws.

For additional information:

Todd Shapiro

Chief Executive Officer, Chairman and Director

Tel: 647-643-TRIP (8747)

Email: todd@redlight.co

Website: www.RedLight.co

Neither the CSE nor its Regulation Services Provider have reviewed or accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All statements contained herein that are not clearly historical in nature may constitute forward-looking statements. Generally, such forward-looking information or forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or may contain statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "will continue", "will occur" or "will be achieved". The forward-looking information and forward-looking statements contained herein include, but are not limited to, statements regarding: the Company completing the acquisitions upon the terms and timelines disclosed herein; the Company updating and rebranding the Wellness Shops and creating the Wellness World brand upon the terms and timelines disclosed herein; the Company gaining and utilizing synergies from the acquisitions; the plans and goals of the Company; future product offerings of the Company; the timelines and markets associated with launching products; the future educational, marketing and advertising campaigns of the Company; and future changes in legislation and the regulations surrounding, among other things, the ability to sell the Company's products in new markets.

Forward-looking information in this news release are based on certain assumptions and expected future events, namely: the Company completing the acquisitions upon the terms and timelines disclosed herein; the Company updating and rebranding the Wellness Shops and creating the Wellness World brand upon the terms and timelines disclosed herein; the Company gaining and utilizing synergies from the acquisitions; the Company meeting its future business plan targets; continued approval of the Company's activities by the relevant governmental and/or regulatory authorities; the continued growth of the Company; the Company meeting their anticipated timeline and process for growth, sales, production and commercialization; the Company's products being safe and providing their anticipated benefits; the Company fulfilling its future plans and goals; future product offerings of the Company succeeding; the Company, launching future educational, marketing and advertising campaigns; the Company's revenues will continue to grow; additional jurisdictions permitting sales of the brand's products in the future; and future changes in legislation and the regulations not impacting the Company's ability to fulfill its plans and goals, including the ability to sell the Company's products in new markets.

These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements, including but not limited to: the Company will not complete the acquisitions upon the terms and timelines disclosed herein or at all; the Company will be unable to update and/or rebrand the Wellness Shops and/or be unable to create the Wellness World brand upon the terms and timelines disclosed herein or at all; the Company being unable to gain or utilize synergies from the acquisitions; expectations regarding future growth, expansion, production, sales and commercialization of the operations of the business; regulatory and licensing risks; changes in general economic, business and political conditions, including changes in the financial and stock markets; risks related to infectious diseases, including the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic; legal and regulatory risks inherent in the industry, including the global regulatory landscape and enforcement related to the brand's products; political risks and risks relating to regulatory change; risks relating to anti-money laundering laws; compliance with extensive government regulation and the interpretation of various laws regulations and policies; public opinion and perception of the industry; risk that the Company's products will be unsafe for personal consumption and/or not provide their anticipated benefits; risk that there may not be continued demand for the Company's products and/or demand will plateau; risk that the Company may be unable to fulfill its future plans and goals; risk that the Wellness Word brand and/or the product offered under the brand will be unsuccessful and will not sell; risk that the Company will be unable to offer product under the Wellness World brand; risks surrounding future educational, marketing and advertising campaigns of the Company; risk that the Company will be unable to increase revenues; risks surrounding additional jurisdictions not permitting sales of the brand's products in the future; risk of future changes to regulations surrounding the brand's products and/or to the Company's business which may hinder the ability of the Company to attain its goals and/or pursue its plans and/or sell its products in additional markets; and such other risks contained in the public filings of the Company filed with Canadian securities regulators and available under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing, and the expectations contained in, the forward-looking information and statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information and statements, and no assurance or guarantee can be given that such forward-looking information and statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information and statements. The forward-looking information and forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release, and the Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information and/or forward-looking statements that are contained or referenced herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list is not exhaustive. Readers are further cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, as there can be no assurance that the plans, intentions, or expectations upon which they are placed will occur. 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 news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement and reflect the Company's expectations as of the date hereof and are subject to change thereafter. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, 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.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/131900
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - President Joe Biden's Covid-19 symptoms are 'almost completely resolved', his doctor said in the latest update. 'The President completed his fourth full day of PAXLOVID last night,' Dr.Kevin O'Connor , the White House physician who treats Biden, said in a letter to White House Press Secretary Karine Jean Pierre. 'His symptoms are now almost completely resolved ... His pulse, blood pressure, respiratory rate and temperature remain absolutely normal. His oxygen saturation continues to be excellent on room air. His lungs remain clear,' the letter says. O'Connor said the president told him that his remaining symptoms include residual nasal congestion and minimal hoarseness. The president will continue the Paxlovid treatment that started after he was tested positive for coronavirus on Thursday. Also, he will continue taking a low dose of aspirin as an alternative type of blood thinner. O'Connor reiterated that the BA.5 variant is 'particularly transmissible' and that Biden would continue to isolate in accordance with CDC recommendations. Biden, who is fully vaccinated and twice boosted, has been virtually participating in his planned meetings at the White House from the residence since he tested positive. Speaking to reporters by video conference from the White House residence Monday, Biden said he is 'feeling great' and had 'two full nights of sleep all the way through.' The President said his voice is still raspy, but is 'feeling better every day.' 'I've had every morning and every afternoon and every evening a full-blown series of tests,' he told reporters. Biden fielded questions from the media after his meeting with business community members. Copyright(c) 2022 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - July 26, 2022) - TNR Gold Corp. (TSXV: TNR) ("TNR", "TNR Gold" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has entered into a royalty purchase agreement dated July 22, 2022 with an Ontario limited partnership affiliated with Lithium Royalty Corp ("LRC") for the sale of a portion of its net smelter returns royalty ("NSR") involving the Mariana Lithium Project ("Mariana"). LRC has purchased from TNR, 0.5% NSR royalty for USD$9,000,000, including 0.05% NSR royalty sold by TNR on behalf of its shareholder. This represents one-quarter of the NSR royalty held by the Company. LRC is an arms' length party to the Company.

On October 21, 2021, TNR Gold announced that, further to the Company's news release dated September 27, 2021, International Lithium Corp. ("ILC") had announced the completion of the sale to Ganfeng Lithium Netherlands Co., B.V. of ILC's remaining 8.58% stake in Litio Minera Argentina S.A. ("LMA"), the owner of the Mariana Lithium Project in Salta, Argentina. The deal included confirmation that LMA would assume all rights or obligations that ILC had in respect of the Mariana property. TNR Gold holds a 2.0% NSR royalty on the Mariana Lithium Project.

Both TNR Gold and LMA have acknowledged LMA's responsibility to pay the 2% NSR royalty on the commencement of Commercial Production at the Mariana Lithium Project, and LMA has assumed the right to the repurchase of 50% of the NSR royalty (that is 1%).

TNR sold the portion of the NSR royalty which is not subject to any buy-back rights of LMA. After the closing of transaction with LRC, TNR will hold a 1.5% NSR royalty, including a 0.15% NSR royalty held on behalf of a shareholder (which represents a 1.35% NSR held by TNR and a 0.15% NSR in favour of the shareholder). The closing of the sale with LRC, is subject to the parties' filing of certain notices in the Salta Mining Court in Argentina.

LMA has the right to purchase from TNR 1.0% of the NSR royalty for aggregate payment of CAN$1,000,000 at any time within 240 days of "Commencement of Commercial Production" as defined in the underlying agreement. The Company would receive CAN$900,000 and its shareholder would receive CAN$100,000 on the completion of the repurchase by LMA. If such purchase was made by LMA, TNR would hold a 0.45% NSR and its shareholder would hold a 0.05% NSR.

Kirill Klip, TNR's Chief Executive Officer, commented, "We are very pleased that after many months of deliberate negotiations we have achieved this major milestone for our Company and a further validation of TNR Gold's business model. By monetizing part of our royalty holdings, we are providing a very important benchmark for valuations of assets in our royalty portfolio and generating very significant capital, while selling to LRC only a portion of our royalty holding on the Mariana Lithium Project. This strategic transaction with LRC allows us to significantly improve our working capital position and strengthen our balance sheet. The parties expect the transaction to close within 60 days. The Company has received an initial advance of USD$350,000 from LRC under the terms of the royalty purchase agreement.

We believe that our royalty holdings are undervalued, and their appropriate values are not reflected in the Company's share price. This transaction clearly demonstrates it. We have generated a total amount of cash for TNR Gold that is well above the Company's recent market capitalization. We have received significant industry interest in our assets and the Company is working on potential new strategic partnerships to provide further benchmarks for the market valuations of our royalty holdings."

ABOUT LITHIUM ROYALTY CORP

Lithium Royalty Corp ("LRC") is a North American royalty corporation focused on investing in high quality low-cost projects in the battery materials sector with an emphasis on lithium. LRC was founded in 2018 and has now established itself as a leading financier in the lithium industry having completed 20 royalties since inception exclusive of this transaction. Its investments are diversified across the world with exposure in Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Serbia, and the United States of America. LRC is a signatory to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investing and seeks to invest in companies with high environmental, social, and governance standards. Waratah Capital Advisors is the sponsor and general partner of Lithium Royalty Corp.

ABOUT TNR GOLD CORP.

TNR Gold Corp. is working to become the green energy metals royalty and gold company.

Over the past twenty-six years, TNR, through its lead generator business model, has been successful in generating high-quality exploration projects around the globe. With the Company's expertise, resources and industry network, it identified the potential of the Los Azules Copper Project in Argentina, which is being developed by McEwen Mining Inc. now. TNR Gold holds a 0.4% NSR Royalty on the Los Azules Copper Project, including a 0.04% held on behalf of a shareholder.

TNR retains a 1.5% NSR Royalty on the Mariana Lithium Project in Argentina, of which 0.15% of the 1.5% NSR is held on behalf of a shareholder. LMA, has a right to repurchase 1.0% of the NSR Royalty on the Mariana Project, as described above.

TNR also holds a 7% NPR holding on the Batidero I and II properties of the Josemaria Project, which is being developed by Lundin Mining. Lundin Mining is part of the Lundin Group, a portfolio of companies producing a variety of commodities in several countries worldwide.

TNR provides significant exposure to gold through its 90% holding in the Shotgun Gold porphyry project in Alaska. The project is located in Southwestern Alaska near the Donlin Gold project, which is being developed by Barrick Gold and Novagold Resources Inc.

The Company's strategy with Shotgun Gold Project is to attract a joint venture partnership with one of the gold major mining companies. The Company is actively introducing the project to interested parties.

At its core, TNR provides a wide scope of exposure to gold, copper, silver and lithium through its holdings in Alaska (the Shotgun Gold porphyry project) and Argentina (the Los Azules Copper and the Mariana Lithium projects) and is committed to the continued generation of in-demand projects, while diversifying its markets and building shareholder value.

On behalf of the Board of Directors,

Kirill Klip

Executive Chairman

www.tnrgoldcorp.com

For further information concerning this news release please contact +1 604-229-8129

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.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

Except for statements of historical fact, this news release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward-looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "will", "could" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "could" occur, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Specifically, forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, statements made in relation to: TNR's corporate objectives, market conditions for energy commodities, the closing of the royalty sale on the terms disclosed and improvements in the financial performance of the Company. Such forward-looking information is based on a number of assumptions and subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to those discussed in the sections entitled "Risks" and "Forward-Looking Statements" in the Company's interim and annual Management's Discussion and Analysis which are available under the Company's profile on www.sedar.com. While management believes that the assumptions made and reflected in this news release are reasonable, should one or more of the risks, uncertainties or other factors materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in forward-looking information. In particular, there can be no assurance that: TNR will be able to repay its loans or complete any further royalty acquisitions or sales; debt or other financing will be available to TNR; or that TNR will be able to achieve any of its corporate objectives. TNR relies on the confirmation of its ownership for mining claims from the appropriate government agencies when paying rental payments for such mining claims requested by these agencies. There could be a risk in the future of the changing internal policies of such government agencies or risk related to the third parties challenging in the future the ownership of such mining claims. Given these uncertainties, readers are cautioned that forward-looking statements included herein are not guarantees of future performance, and such forward-looking statements should not be unduly relied on.

In formulating the forward-looking statements contained herein, management has assumed that business and economic conditions affecting TNR and its royalty partners, McEwen Mining Inc., Ganfeng Lithium, Josemaria Resources and Lundin Mining will continue substantially in the ordinary course, including without limitation with respect to general industry conditions, general levels of economic activity and regulations. These assumptions, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect.

Forward-looking information herein and all subsequent written and oral forward-looking information are based on estimates and opinions of management on the dates they are made and are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. Except as required by law, the Company assumes no obligation to update forward-looking information should circumstances or management's estimates or opinions change.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/131843


COLOGNE (dpa-AFX) - Deutsche Lufthansa AG (DLAKF, DLAKY), Germany's flag carrier, Tuesday said that almost all Lufthansa flights to and from its hubs in Frankfurt and Munich for Wednesday have been canceled due to the strike announced by trade union ver.di.



Lufthansa shares were losing around 3 percent in German trading.



It was on Monday that the trade union called on the about 20,000 ground employees of Lufthansa to stage a warning strike from Wednesday, 27 July at 3.45 a.m. until Thursday morning, 28 July at 6.00 a.m. following remuneration talks.



Lufthansa now said that there may be individual flight cancellations or delays on Thursday and Friday, and that it is working flat out to return flight operations to normal as quickly as possible during the peak travel season.



In Frankfurt, a total of 678 flights will have to be canceled, including 32 already on Tuesday and 646 on Wednesday. This is expected to affect 92,000 passengers.



At the Munich hub, a total of 345 flights will have to be canceled, 15 of them already on Tuesday and 330 on Wednesday. It is expected that 42,000 passengers will be affected.



The affected passengers will be informed immediately and rebooked on alternative flights if possible. However, the capacities available for this are very limited.



Michael Niggemann, Chief Human Resources Officer and Labor Director of Deutsche Lufthansa AG, said, 'The early escalation of a previously constructive collective bargaining round is causing enormous damage....In view of our high offer with very substantial pay increases over the next 12 months of more than 10 percent more in the pay groups up to 3,000 euros monthly basic pay and a 6 percent increase for a monthly basic pay of 6,500 euros, this so-called warning strike is in the middle of the peak summer travel season is simply no longer proportionate.'



In Germany, Deutsche Lufthansa shares were trading at 5.88 euros, down 2.47 percent.







Copyright(c) 2022 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

DEUTSCHE LUFTHANSA-Aktie komplett kostenlos handeln - auf Smartbroker.de
Anderson, South Carolina--(Newsfile Corp. - July 26, 2022) - JZZ Technologies Inc., (OTC Pink: JZZI) ("JZZ" or the "Company"), a diversified technology company focused on digital media and strategic biotechnology acquisitions related to human life extension, including human longevity, is entering the multi-billion-dollar diabetic products and services marketing sector through its Active Lifestyle Nutrition marketing platforms including its DTC (Direct-To-Consumer) database and website.

The Company plans to provide products, services, and marketing support in this very important market segment of the US healthcare industry. According to the CDC, Diabetes is the most expensive chronic condition in our nation. Their data indicates that $1 out of every $4 in US health care costs is spent on caring for people with diabetes. According to a study done by the American Diabetes Association, $237 billion is spent each year on direct medical costs for diabetes and another $90 billion on reduced productivity.

JZZ plans to make Active Lifestyle Nutrition one of the fastest growing and valuable brands in the nutritional supplements and formulations sector. Marketing to the aging population that is forced to deal with diabetes, which is expensive and often life-changing condition, will form a key part of that strategy.

The Company expects to generate significant revenue over the coming fiscal year from several new products and services developed specifically for the diabetes market. New white-label products, offerings, developments, and strategic relationships are expected to be announced over the next four quarters as the Company rolls out its initiatives targeting the diabetic market.

Charles Cardona, CEO of JZZ technologies, Inc. stated, "We have a very sizeable database segment of both individuals identified as having Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes. We also have a large database of physicians who may also be treating senior patients, many of whom fall into the pre-diabetic or diabetic category. Our strategy with Active Lifestyle Nutrition is to offer DTC product sales of white labelled products sold under the ALN brand, alongside marketing services through our digital platforms, and Active Lifestyle websites."

"This is a massive market that we expect to generate revenue streams for the Company. This is an area that we feel comfortable can grow into a sizeable leader among our products and services," Cardona adds.

Mr. Cardona further stated, "The value of marketing to diabetic consumers in the US is growing as pharmaceutical companies increase the treatment options and offer new and novel products. A recent review by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that from 2016 through 2018, Medicare and its beneficiaries spent $560 billion on pharmaceutical drugs, with 58% of that being spent on drugs that have DTC advertising mechanisms. In that same time frame, industry spent almost $18 billion ($6 billion annually) on DTC advertising for 553 drugs, with nearly half of those advertising dollars spent on three therapeutic categories of drugs to treat chronic medical conditions (i.e., arthritis, diabetes, depression)."

A whopping two-thirds of ad spending was centered on 39 drugs, mostly brand-name, and about half of which entered the market at some time between 2014 and 2017. Clearly the monies spent on diabetes treatments and support is a major part of the entire healthcare advertising sector.

As part of its 35+ million seniors, the company has already identified, segmented and targeted millions of individuals with diabetes. This data alone has significant value, and when utilized to generate marketing revenues can be multiplied again and again over time through repeat client use.

About JZZ Technologies, Inc.

JZZ Technologies, Inc. is a diversified technology company engaged in the following three distinct business sectors: (i) its digital media business which includes online media and apps (activelifestylemedia.com), content creation, and digital marketing, targeted to active adults 55+, (ii) strategic biotechnology and bioscience related to Human Life Extension and (iii) Human Longevity that can be immediately leveraged to support improved quality of life for the senior population. For more information, please visit www.jzztechnologies.com.

Press Contact:

JZZ Technologies, Inc.

Charles Cardona, CEO

ccardona@jzztechnologies.com

DISCLAIMER and FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Certain statements contained herein are "forward-looking" statements (as such term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995). Because such statements include risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. This press release may contain certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and such Forward-Looking Statements are intended to be covered by the safe harbors created thereby. Investors are cautioned that all forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical fact in this announcement are forward-looking statements, including but not limited to the viability of the Company's business plans, the effect of acquisitions on our profitability, the effectiveness, profitability, and the marketability of the Company's products; the Company's ability to protect its proprietary information; general economic and business conditions; and the volatility of the Company's operating results and financial condition. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and are based on current expectations, assumptions, estimates, and projections about the Company and the industry. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent occurring events or circumstances or to changes in its expectations, except as may be required by law. Although the Company believes that the expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, management cannot assure the public that their expectations will turn out to be correct. Investors are cautioned that actual results may differ materially from the anticipated results.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/131826
Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Amazon are reportedly buying their gold from suppliers linked to illegal miners in Brazil.

These United States-based renowned tech giants appear to be sourcing their gold for their products and services from illegal mining operations in the Latin American nation.

Apple, Google, Microsoft, Amazon Buy Illegally Mined Gold

As per the latest new story by 9to5 Mac, a local Brazilian news outlet, Reporter Brasil, exposed that four renowned tech firms are linked to illegal gold mining in the indigenous locations in the Brazilian part of the Amazon rainforest.

Reporter Brasil cited its report to documents confirming that tech giants like Apple and Google have been buying gold from illegal miners from 2020 to 2021.

It is worth noting that mining in general is actually illegal in the indigenous lands in the Brazilian territory.

Despite that, this does not stop massive illegal mining operations in the Latin American country from illicitly extracting natural resources from these prohibited locations.

However, 9to5 Mac notes in its report that the authorities in the country, specifically the Brazilian Federal Police, have already begun their investigation of the gold refineries linked with these tech behemoths for their illegal mining operations.

The documents seen by the local newspaper in Brazil claim that Google, Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon have purchased gold from two illegal refineries in the country, namely Marsam and Chimet.

Apple, Microsoft Gold

According to a recent report by Apple Insider, both the iPhone maker and Microsoft reportedly used the illegally mined gold in the production of their smartphones, PCs, and Macs.

The Cupertino-based tech giant tells Reporter Brasil that it has already stopped getting its gold from Marsam, which is currently being investigated by the authorities in the country.

But it should be noted that Apple failed to mention if it has ever sourced its gold from the other illegal refinery, Chimet.

On top of that, Apple further highlighted its high standards in its partnerships, noting that it tirelessly searches for suppliers that have high regard for sustainability.

The iPhone maker sure looks pretty serious about taking care of the environment. Its website and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission filing heavily mentions its dedication to sustainability.

Read Also: [VIRAL FLASHBACK] So is the Dress Black and Blue or White and Gold? Here's Why People Saw It Differently

Google, Amazon Gold

On the other hand, the documents say that both Amazon and Google have also sourced their gold from illegal mining operations in Brazil.

Both tech giants reportedly used the illegally sourced gold in the production of their servers, as both firms host websites with high traffic from visitors in various parts of the world.

Related Article: See What Apple Products You Can Get Tax-Free This Coming Tax Holidays
Attendees at the Renpower Kenya clean energy event in Nairobi were told there will be a changeover in incentive schemes in 2022 with mature technologies no longer benefiting from fixed payments.A renewable energy event in Nairobi heard solar and other "mature" clean energy sources will be excluded from the nation's new feed-in tariff (FiT) program and will instead be commissioned under an auction regime. pv magazine attended the Renpower Kenya 2022 event at the Villa Rosa Kempinski hotel this month where it was announced wind and geothermal power will also no longer qualify for FiT payments. ...

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.
Lovell Minnick Partners principal joins global Pay-with-Points technology network; Will help support continued growth across the firm

TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / July 26, 2022 / Engage People , the only loyalty network that enables program members to pay with points (PwP) directly at checkout, today announced the appointment of Roumi Zlateva to its Board of Directors.

Zlateva currently serves as Principal at Lovell Minnick Partners , a private equity firm focused on investments in financial services, financial technology and business services companies. As a member of the firm's investment team, she is responsible for sourcing, executing, and leading investments within the financial services and fintech sectors.

"We are very pleased to officially welcome Roumi to our board," said Jonathan Silver , CEO of Engage People. "She has been a valued partner to us since she joined Lovell Minnick in 2017, providing strategic, financial and operational guidance across our business. We look forward to leveraging Roumi's expertise as we prepare for our next phase of growth, continue to add to our team, and expand our network of loyalty partners."

Zlateva has more than a decade of experience in the financial technology and services sector and brings additional perspective and support on the strategy, growth, and investments fronts. During her time with Lovell Minnick Partners, she has successfully contributed to a variety of investments, including Worldwide Facilities, ATTOM Data Solutions, Charles Taylor and Billhighway.

Prior to joining Lovell Minnick, Zlateva served as a Director in the Financial Institutions Group at UBS Securities and worked at Oak Hill Capital Partners and Morgan Stanley. She earned her Bachelor of Arts with High Honors in Mathematical Economics from Colgate University.

"I'm honored to join the board of directors of Engage People, a company with a truly differentiated network proposition in the loyalty market and tremendous growth potential," Zlateva said. "Jonathan and his team have an ambitious vision and a strong commitment to innovation, which are qualities we always look for in our partners. I am excited to continue supporting the company's future endeavors, including the continued expansion of both Access+ and Podium Loyalty, and the push to make loyalty points a standard form of currency available at checkout both online and in-store across the globe."

About Engage People

Engage People is the only loyalty network that enables program members to pay with points directly at checkout. The global technology provider connects loyalty programs with global payment systems and online retailers, and covers 100% of the top purchase categories in North America. Leading banks and retailers around the world rely on Engage People for its pay-with-points capabilities and first-of-its-kind loyalty network, which has facilitated more than 36 billion points to date. The Company is headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and has offices in the U.S., Canada and Italy. For more information visit: www.engagepeople.com .

About Lovell Minnick Partners

Lovell Minnick Partners is a private equity firm focused on investments in financial services, financial technology and related business services. We partner with outstanding management teams to help grow their companies and build value for investors through a combination of driving growth initiatives, strategic activity and operational improvements. Since our inception in 1999, we have become a leader in our chosen space, raising $3.5 billion of committed capital from leading institutional investors.

We seek to invest in management-driven, growth-oriented companies that span the supply chains of investment products, insurance products, credit products and payments. Some of the areas in which we specialize include financial technology; payments; insurance brokerage and services; wealth and asset management; and related business services. For more information, visit: www.lmpartners.com/ .

CONTACT:

Ryan Hall

Caliber Corporate Advisers

ryan@calibercorporate.com

949-280-4704

SOURCE: Engage People

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/709734/Engage-People-Names-Roumi-Zlateva-to-Board-of-Directors
SURREY, BC / ACCESSWIRE / July 26, 2022 / Gungnir Resources Inc. (TSXV:GUG)(OTC PINK:ASWRF) ("Gungnir" or the "Company") is pleased to report discovery of a new ultramafic unit, specifically, characteristic "jack-straw" textured peridotite which is host to the high-grade Lappvattnet nickel deposit. Please see attached maps and photos ( see Figure 1 ).

"Encountering jack-straw peridotite outside of the known nickel deposit opens up further potential on the property, in particular in the untested area north of the deposit which was highlighted earlier as having a geophysical signature similar to the Lappvattnet deposit itself. The north target area is highlighted in the accompanying maps," commented Jari Paakki, CEO of Gungnir.

The new ultramafic unit was intersected approximately 150 metres north of the Lappvattnet nickel deposit in two holes, LAP22-12 and LAP22-13, drilled from the same set-up on Section 8E testing the western part of a string of near-surface electromagnetic (EM) anomalies defined in late 2021 (see news release dated February 9, 2022). A 3.5-metre interval of jack-straw peridotite with minor sulphides was intersected almost near the end of hole LAP22-13, and a 0.30-metre finer grained peridotite unit with minor disseminated sulphides was cut in hole LAP22-12, also close to the end of the hole. Both holes will be extended. All assays and analyses pending. Two additional holes are also being drilled 40 metres to the east on Section 9E.

To date in 2022, the Company has completed 13 holes from 9 sites for 1,850 metres at Lappvattnet with drilling continuing. Initial assays from 2022 are expected in the coming weeks. Most of the drilling has been directed at areas below and down plunge of Gungnir's 2021 drill program which produced several hits of high-grade and wide-grade nickel mineralization over a strike length of approximately 140 metres (see below).

2021 Highlight Drill Results:

3.19% Nickel over 4.25 metres within a 10.4-metre interval grading 1.51% Nickel in drill hole LAP21-02 (from 45 metres)

2.62% Nickel over 5.65 metres within a 14.0-metre interval grading 1.40% Nickel in drill hole LAP21-05 (from 60 metres)

1.74% Nickel over 10.00 metres in drill hole LAP21-13 (from 21 metres)

36.00 metres grading 0.93% Nickel in drill hole LAP21-04 (from 49 metres)

Nickel Resources:

Gungnir's nickel sulphide resources in Sweden include Lappvattnet and Rormyrberget. In 2020, the Company updated both resources which collectively total 177 million pounds of nickel. The properties are accessible year-round with good transportation and industrial infrastructure including shipping facilities and are located about an hour drive from Boliden's mill complex.

Lappvattnet: Inferred Resource of 780,000 tonnes grading 1.35% nickel for 23.1 million lbs (10.5 million kg) of nickel.

Rormyrberget: Inferred Resource of 36,800,000 tonnes grading 0.19% nickel for 154 million lbs (70 million kg) of nickel.

The NI 43-101 Technical Report entitled "TECHNICAL REPORT on the LAPPVATTNET and RORMYRBERGET DEPOSITS, NORTHERN SWEDEN" was prepared by Reddick Consulting Inc. Qualified Persons are John Reddick, M.Sc., P.Geo., and Thomas Lindholm, M.Sc., Fellow AusIMM. The Effective Date is November 17, 2020.

The technical information in this news release has been prepared and approved by Jari Paakki, P.Geo., CEO, and a director of the Company. Mr. Paakki is a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101.

About Gungnir Resources

Gungnir Resources Inc. is a Canadian-based TSX-V listed mineral exploration company (GUG: TSX-V, ASWRF: OTCPK) with gold and base metal projects in northern Sweden. Gungnir's assets include two nickel-copper-cobalt deposits, Lappvattnet and Rormyrberget, both with updated nickel resources, and the Knaften project which hosts a developing intrusion-hosted gold system, and VMS (zinc-copper) and copper-nickel targets, all of which are open for expansion and further discovery. The Company has also recently added the Hemberget property to its Swedish Property Portfolio which covers an 11 km long gabbro-ultramafic intrusion, a greenfield copper-nickel target. Further information about the Company and its properties may be found at www.gungnirresources.com or at www.sedar.com.

On behalf of the Board,

Jari Paakki, CEO and Director

For further information contact:

Head Office/Investor Relations

Phone: +1-604-683-0484

Jari Paakki, CEO

Email: jpaakki@eastlink.ca

Chris Robbins, CFO

Email: robbinscr@shaw.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.

Forward-Looking Information

Certain statements in this news release may constitute "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws (also known as forward-looking statements). Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, and may cause actual results, performance or achievements or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements or industry results expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Forward-looking information generally can be identified by the use of terms and phrases such as "anticipate", "believe", "could", "estimate", "expect", "feel", "intend", "may", "plan", "predict", "project", "subject to", "will", "would", and similar terms and phrases, including references to assumptions. Some of the specific forward-looking information in this news release includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to: the expected timing for receipt of assay results; planned drilling locations and expected targets; extent of drilling and quantity of drilling holes; planned exploration program including anticipated drilling and the timing thereof; and Gungnir's plan for development of its properties and the timing thereof.

Forward-looking information is based on a number of key expectations and assumptions made by Gungnir, including, without limitation: access to the resources will remain available year-round; transportation and infrastructure will remain available as anticipated; the COVID-19 pandemic impact on the Canadian and global economy and Gungnir's business, and the extent and duration of such impact; no change to laws or regulations that negatively affect Gungnir's business; there will be a demand for Gungnir's services and products in the future; Gungnir will be able to operate its business as planned; Gungnir will be able to access capital markets on and successfully complete financings on terms it determines to be reasonable; and Gungnir's plans for future exploration and development of its properties is reasonable and will be possible within the anticipated timelines. Although the forward-looking information contained in this news release is based upon what Gungnir believes to be reasonable assumptions, it cannot assure investors that actual results will be consistent with such information.

Forward-looking information is provided for the purpose of presenting information about management's current expectations and plans relating to the future and readers are cautioned that such statements may not be appropriate for other purposes. Forward-looking information involves significant risks and uncertainties and should not be read as a guarantee of future performance or results as actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking information. Those risks and uncertainties include, among other things, risks related to: no certainty that any economically viable mineral deposit will be located on Gungnir's properties; that Gungnir may not be able to complete its planned drilling as anticipated; the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic; the impacts of war and/or other international conflicts; ability to access capital markets and complete successful financings on terms Gungnir determines to be reasonable; environmental matters; changes in legislation or regulations; receipt of required licenses, permits and approvals; and resource estimates may not be accurate and may differ significantly from actual mineral resources. Management believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking information contained herein are based upon reasonable assumptions and information currently available; however, management can give no assurance that actual results will be consistent with such forward-looking information. The forward-looking information contained this news release is expressly qualified in its entirety by this cautionary statement. Forward-looking information reflects management's current beliefs and is based on information currently available to Gungnir. The forward-looking information is stated as of the date of this news release and Gungnir assumes no obligation to update or revise such information to reflect new events or circumstances, except as may be required by applicable law.

SOURCE: Gungnir Resources Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/709690/Gungnir-Drills-New-Ultramafic-Horizon-150-Metres-North-of-Lappvattnet-Nickel-Deposit-Sweden
NORTH CHICAGO (dpa-AFX) - Abbott Laboratories (ABT) announced Tuesday that remote Neuromodulation Patient-Care Technology, NeuroSphere Virtual Clinic, has received the Health Canada licencing. The neuromodulation device is to treat people with chronic pain and movement disorders. Abbott's NeuroSphere Virtual Clinic gives patients the flexibility and comfort of receiving care anywhere. The new system allows patients implanted with an Abbott neuromodulation device to communicate with their physician and remotely receive treatment in real time, regardless of location. The company noted that NeuroSphere Virtual Clinic is the first of its kind in Canada. It has the potential to increase access to optimal treatment for patients living with chronic pain, Parkinson's disease, or essential tremors, who might otherwise have difficulty receiving care due to location or being unable to travel to seek care. Patients can connect with their doctor through a secure in-app video chat and an integrated remote programming feature. This enables clinicians to prescribe new treatment settings remotely to the patient's neurostimulation device using the clinician programmer app and a new, simple, and secure remote care connection. NeuroSphere Virtual Clinic is compatible with Canadian-licensed Abbott neuromodulation devices, such as Proclaim spinal cord stimulation, Proclaim dorsal root ganglion therapy, and Infinity deep brain stimulation therapy. Abbott's NeuroSphere Virtual Clinic was first launched in the United States in March 2021. For More Such Health News, visit rttnews.com 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.
ENFUSION CONTINUES TO EXPAND INTO NEW CLIENT SEGMENTS THROUGH THE LAUNCH OF ENFUSION EXPRESS OEMS

- Broadens distribution through new Prime Broker and Outsourced Trading Desk partnerships -

- Cowen and Company, LLC ("Cowen") named the first partner to offer Enfusion Express to its client base -

Enfusion, Inc. ("Enfusion") (NYSE: ENFN), a leading provider of cloud-native software-as-a-service ("SaaS") solutions for investment managers, today announced the launch of Enfusion Express, a lightweight yet institutional-grade, SaaS order and execution management system ("OEMS") tailored specifically to the needs of smaller fund managers typically with less than $100 million in AUM. The solution enables Enfusion to extend its technology to a global and growing market segment not previously targeted by the company's front-to-back-office investment management system.

Enfusion Express enables smaller managers who have limited resources but comprehensive requirements to access sophisticated pre-trade, execution, and post-trade solutions, reduce manual processes, improve real-time, portfolio-level visibility, and streamline connectivity to their execution, fund administration, prime brokerage, and other partners. As these small funds continue to grow in both size and complexity, they can easily upgrade to Enfusion's comprehensive platform for enhanced OEMS capabilities, full portfolio management and accounting functions, analytics, and outsourced managed services.

"Enfusion Express addresses the operational needs of smaller funds, both newly launched and existing, that remain an underserved but growing segment of the market. Sell-side firms are recognizing and responding to their unique needs, as evidenced by an uptick in solutions like Outsourced Trading Desks. We see an opportunity to provide best-in-class solutions to these managers as they look to scale their firms while deepening our relationships with our ecosystem partners," said Thomas Kim, CEO of Enfusion. "As we continue our expansion into new market segments, Enfusion Express serves as a natural extension of our strategy. There are numerous countries with a significant concentration of smaller managers, and I see Enfusion Express ultimately accelerating our penetration into these markets.

Enfusion Express is available through partners who already serve the small fund manager segment, such as prime brokers, Outsourced Trading Desks ("OTDs"), allocators, and fund administrators. Cowen is the first partner to offer the solution to its client base. Enfusion and Cowen's tight coordination is designed to deliver an efficient end-to-end solution that results in enhanced client experience and greater risk reduction.

"We are excited to partner with Enfusion and offer Express to our clients," said Mike Rosen, Co-Head of Prime Brokerage and Outsourced Trading, Cowen. "This partnership demonstrates our commitment to providing clients with market-leading solutions and is a natural fit with our prime brokerage and OTD businesses. Our global clients can leverage Enfusion's market-leading technology with full support from our front-to-back sales, technology, and operations teams."

BroadArch Capital, a Connecticut-based hedge fund manager, is the first client live on Enfusion Express. The solution enables real-time visibility into trade execution conducted by Cowen's OTD on its behalf, as well as simplified order submission and allocation.

"We have a long history with Cowen as a client of their Prime Brokerage and Outsourced Trading Desk and welcome this innovative and robust offering." Said Robert Reitzes, Managing Partner, Portfolio Manager and Chief Compliance Officer at BroadArch Capital. "Enfusion Express allows us to create orders quickly and monitor their status via dashboards which show P&L and portfolio exposure. It's easy to add or unwind positions based on intra-day market events. It is one system that saves me time, money, and headaches."

"Cowen has a long history of not only superior client service, but also of delivering innovation to its client base," said CEO Thomas Kim. "We are proud to work closely with them to deliver a superior turn-key solution to their client base."

About Enfusion

Enfusion's investment management SaaS platform removes traditional information boundaries, uniting front-, middle- and back-office teams on one, cloud-native system. Through its software, analytics, and middle/back-office managed services, Enfusion creates enterprise-wide cultures of real-time, data-driven intelligence, boosting agility, and powering growth. Enfusion partners with 750+ investment managers from 10 global offices spanning four continents.

Source: Enfusion, Inc.

Source Code: ENFN-IR

ENFN-CORP

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220726005289/en/

Contacts:

Investors

Ignatius Njoku

investors@enfusion.com

Media

Prosek Partners

pro-enfusion@prosek.com
Creating the Iberian champion and accelerating its expansion as a global provider of cloud-based business management solutions, valuing the combined company at approximately 6.8 billion

Cegid, a global leading provider of cloud business management solutions for finance (treasury, tax, ERP), human resources (payroll, talent management), CPAs, retail and entrepreneurial sectors, announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to combine with Grupo Primavera, a leading cloud business management software platform in the Iberia region. The all-share transaction creates a strong business management software provider in Iberia and accelerates Cegid's international expansion, valuing the combined company at approximately 6.8 billion.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220726005606/en/

The combination of Cegid and Grupo Primavera underscores Cegid's position as a strong provider of cloud-based management solutions. Building on Cegid's Retail and Tax offerings in Iberia that were augmented significantly with leading Human Resources solutions by the acquisition of Meta4 in 2019 and the more recent acquisition of VisualTime, the addition of Grupo Primavera firmly establishes Cegid's leadership in Iberia and offers exciting expansion opportunities for Grupo Primavera through Cegid's presence in Latin America.

Upon close, Silver Lake, the global leader in technology investing, will remain the majority shareholder of the combined company. Oakley Capital, which created Grupo Primavera through a series of twelve acquisitions and is its majority shareholder, will join KKR and AltaOne as minority shareholders in Cegid. Together, these shareholders will partner with Cegid CEO Pascal Houillon, Grupo Primavera CEO Santiago Solanas, and the rest of the management team in Cegid's next phase of growth.

Grupo Primavera started its journey in 2019 when Oakley acquired Ekon as a standalone platform and partnered with a top management team, led by Santiago Solanas, to execute an ambitious buy and build strategy including the transformative acquisition of Primavera BSS in 2021. Through acquisitions and significant investment in product innovation and talent, Grupo Primavera has performed well ahead of its business plan, becoming Iberia's largest software platform in just three years and now further building out its offering through the combination with Cegid.

Grupo Primavera currently has 800 employees based in five countries, serves 165,000 paying customers, and delivered 76 million of revenue in 2021. The company offers a wide range of cloud-based software solutions covering Invoicing, Accounting, and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). These offerings serve small businesses and mid-market segments across Spain, Portugal, and Africa, with a particularly strong footprint among accounting professionals. Together, Grupo Primavera and Cegid will have pro forma revenue in the Iberia region of more than 150 million this year.

Pascal Houillon, Chief Executive Officer of Cegid, said, "Joining forces with Grupo Primavera is an immense opportunity for both companies and our respective clients. Like Cegid, Grupo Primavera offers useful and innovative solutions to partners and customers in the cloud, and has achieved impressive growth specifically across Spain, Portugal, and Africa. We share an inspiring vision for the future driven by continuous product and technology innovation, and Cegid is fully committed to investing in the combined company's continued growth. We look forward to working closely with Santiago and the talented team at Grupo Primavera to bring value to a more global customer base."

Santiago Solanas, Chief Executive Officer of Grupo Primavera, said, "We are strongly aligned with Cegid's vision and ambition and have long admired the company. Like Cegid, we have an entrepreneurial and passionate culture with a focus on product excellence, a commitment to customers, and an exciting vision for growth. This is a powerful partnership that will allow us to combine resources and expertise, bringing customers new products and continued innovation, as well as building on our proven track record to expand and integrate new talent and approaches to market needs. Both Cegid and Grupo Primavera share a mission to grow our ecosystem and to offer our combined customers, channel partners, colleagues, and communities renewed value."

Christian Lucas, Co-Head of Silver Lake EMEA and Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of Cegid, said, "Through our investment and strategic development executed since 2016, Cegid has become a pan European and global player with strong positions in multiple geographies including France, Spain, and Portugal, with important market presence in 12 other countries and selling in more than 130 countries. We are excited about the growth prospects of the combined group and by the creation of the Iberian market leader in the business software space, reinforcing Cegid's existing position on a broader global scale. The market for digitisation solutions in the European mid-market, namely through financial management software, is large and growing meaningfully, and the combined company will be uniquely positioned to capitalize on this opportunity as it continues to expand."

Oakley Capital Founder and Managing Partner Peter Dubens, said, "In partnership with Oakley, Grupo Primavera has grown to become a leading player in the Iberian market for business software. Now under the stewardship of both highly experienced management teams and committed shareholders, Cegid and Grupo Primavera are poised to accelerate a global growth strategy with a focus on market expansion and cross sell opportunities. We look forward to being a part of this new chapter for both companies and the significant potential that lies ahead."

Upon closing of the transaction, Mr. Solanas and his entire management team will join Cegid, with Mr. Solanas reporting directly to Mr. Houillon.

The transaction is expected to close in Q3 2022, and as is customary, remains subject to the information and consultation processes of the relevant employee representative bodies in accordance with applicable laws.

About Grupo Primavera

Grupo Primavera is an independent business software platform in the Iberian market that offers a wide range of cloud-based software solutions covering invoicing, accounting, payroll and Enterprise Resources Planning Software (ERP). These offerings serve a broad spectrum of customer sizes with focus on entrepreneurs, SMB and mid-market segments across Spain, Portugal and Africa, together with a strong footprint in accountants. The group began its activity in 2019, backed by British private equity firm Oakley Capital, with the acquisition of Ekon and the creation of a strong management team led by Santiago Solanas. With that team, Oakley acquired 11 further companies, including the transformative acquisition of Primavera BSS in 2021, to form the newly enlarged Grupo Primavera, which also includes Billage, Club del Asesor, Contasimple, Diez Software GSE, Professional Software (ProSoft) and Profiture in Spain, and Cloudware, Eticadata, Valuekeep and Yet in Portugal.

With a philosophy of constant innovation and its strategy of growing by growing its entire ecosystem, Grupo Primavera had a turnover of 76 million euros in 2021, has 165,000 paying customers, including 24,000 accounting firms, and is supported by a network of 500 partners in Spain and Portugal.

For more information: https://grupoprimavera.com/en

About Cegid

Cegid is a leading provider of cloud business management solutions for finance (treasury, tax, ERP), human resources (payroll, talent management), CPAs, retail and entrepreneurial sectors. With a solid full cloud business model, Cegid provides long-term commitment to its customers, superior and distinctive experiences and helps companies of all sizes accelerate their digital business transformation, locally and worldwide. Cegid combines a forward-looking and pragmatic approach of the business with strong capacity to innovate, an in-depth expertise in new technologies and an understanding of regulations and compliance. In today's rapidly changing world, Cegid makes more possible by helping customers unleash their potential thanks to innovative and purposeful business solutions.

Bolstered by its strong international ambition and reach, Cegid has 3,600 employees and sells its solutions in 130 countries. Cegid reported Revenues of 632 million in 2021. Pascal Houillon has been the CEO since March 2017.

For more information: www.cegid.com/en

Follow Cegid on social networks:

Facebook

Twitter

YouTube

LinkedIn

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220726005606/en/

Contacts:

Media contact:

Agence Proches

Kelly Martin

equipecegid@agenceproches.com

+33 (0)6 63 52 94 74

Agence Proches

Olga Tess

equipecegid@agenceproches.com

+33 (0)6 69 61 80 77

Cegid Head of Press relations

Nathalie Fournier-Christol

nfournierchristol@cegid.com

+33 (0)6 49 23 83 14
Typeform adds to recent momentum with latest accolades, integrations and executive appointments

Typeform, a conversational interaction platform, has announced it was awarded Organization of the Year in the Small Company category as part of the 2022 Sales and Marketing Technology Awards by the Business Intelligence Group. The Sales and Marketing Technology Awards program, also known as "The Sammys," recognizes the technologies and organizations helping to solve the challenges companies have connecting and collaborating with prospects and customers.

"We're honored to be recognized by the Business Intelligence Group as an Organization of the Year in the 2022 Sales and Marketing Technology Awards. I'm incredibly proud to have another opportunity to celebrate the work of our team members all over the world, all of whom have contributed to making Typeform the gold standard for online interactions," said Joaquim Lecha, CEO at Typeform.

Of the award winners, Maria Jimenez, Chief Nominations Officer for Business Intelligence Group, said, "we are so proud to reward and recognize all of our 2022 Sammy winners, as they provide the leadership and vision needed to help companies educate and connect with customers."

This latest award follows Typeform's recent recognition by the 2022 SaaS Awards which named Typeform to its shortlist across three categories: Best SaaS Product for Sales and Marketing, Best SaaS Product for Small Business SMEs, and Best UX UI Design in a SaaS Product.

In addition to recent accolades, Typeform has continued to offer engaging experiences that connect across hundreds of business-critical apps and tools, including integrations with Square and Linktree announced earlier in 2022. By adding Typeform insights to existing data and workflows, marketers are able to gather better feedback, build stronger brand affinity, and accelerate business growth at every point of the brand experience.

In 2022, Typeform has also continued to develop a world-class leadership team. Laura Daniels has been named Chief People Officer, leading the People and Home team including talent acquisition, people experience, and business partnering. She previously held the title of Vice President, People Experience at Typeform. Karrie Sanderson has been named Chief Marketing Officer, leading all core marketing functions including brand strategy, advertising, demand generation, product marketing, viral, SEO, and the Typeform website. She previously held the title of Chief Brand Officer at Typeform.

Karrie will be representing Typeform at the Transform 2022 conference hosted by Venturebeat, where she will speak on a panel alongside other experts during the The Conversational AI, IVA NLP Summit on July 27. Watch the virtual panel live or on demand by registering for free on the Transform 2022 website.

"When we announced Typeform's Series C funding round in March of this year, I noted that Typeform is guided by an enduring set of values that shape our goals, behavior and culture," said Lecha. "The Typeform value that came to mind then was 'Win Together,' and our recent momentum is further testament to the focus and commitment our team members have to both our customers and to their fellow Typeformers. We look forward to continuing to win together as we pursue our mission of bringing people in with better business conversations."

About Typeform

Typeform is a no-code SaaS platform with thoughtfully-designed tools that help companies grow their business by engaging with their audience. Offering people-friendly forms, quizzes, surveys, and asynchronous video solutions, Typeform turns digital interactions into human connection. Launched in 2012, Typeform drives more than 500 million digital interactions per year and integrates with hundreds of other business-critical tools like HubSpot, Calendly, and Slack, to name a few. Typeform is headquartered in Barcelona, Spain with an office in San Francisco, California, and has a globally-distributed workforce of over 450 people. For more information, visit www.typeform.com.

About Business Intelligence Group

The Business Intelligence Group was founded with the mission of recognizing true talent and superior performance in the business world. Unlike other industry award programs, business executives-those with experience and knowledge-judge the programs. The organization's proprietary and unique scoring system selectively measures performance across multiple business domains and then rewards those companies whose achievements stand above those of their peers.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220726005485/en/

Contacts:

John Costello

Typeform

pr@typeform.com

Maria Jimenez

Business Intelligence Group

jmaria@bintelligence.com
BANGALORE, India, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The global Remittance Market size is segmented by Type - Bank Money Transfer Services, Money Transfer App, Others, by Application - Personal Remittances, Business Remittances, Public Services. Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2022-2028. It is published in Valuates Reports under the Software Category.

The global remittance market size is estimated to be USD 720 billion in 2022, and the number is forecast to reach USD 850 billion by 2028, with a CAGR of 2.8% during the forecast period 2022-2028.

Major Factors Driving The Growth Of The Remittance Market

The rise in mobile-based payment channels and cross-border transactions and the decrease in remittance transfer time & cost will drive the growth of the market. In addition, the increase in the adoption of banking & financial services across the globe fuels the market growth.

Furthermore, benefits like transparency and covid 19 impact have accelerated the remittance market.

Browse The Table of Contents And List of Figures At https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/QYRE-Auto-34B2689/global-remittance

TRENDS INFLUENCING THE GROWTH OF THE GLOBAL REMITTANCE MARKET

Migration is continuing to increase as more people seek out better job opportunities and education in metropolitan areas. Cross-border transactions and mobile payment solutions are dominating the global payment trends. This in turn is fueling the remittance market. Mobile money transfers via digital wallets or other electronic payment systems are the fastest and cheapest method of sending remittances worldwide. It removes many unnecessary layers and sub-agents and sends the money directly to the receiver.

Cross-border payments have become accessible to everyone owing to the use of online transfer networks such as digital currencies, mobile money, and mobile technology. The adoption of digital remittance reduces reliance on cash agents which reduces transaction costs. Transferring money from one digital wallet to another account is instant. The recipient can cash out money at their convenient time. The only information the sender requires is the email address of the receiver. This will compound the growth of the global remittance market. Many risks and hurdles associated with KYC norms are eliminated.

NFC-based payment methods allow users to make transactions without the need for contacting surfaces. Digital payment and online money transfers track payments and encrypt transactions enhancing transparency and security. Hence intermediaries are adopting digital methods to send remittances in turn driving the demand for the remittance market in the coming years.

The push for financial inclusion is huge. Several legislative initiatives and ambitious targets are being set to increase the penetration of banking services. This directly fuels the scope of the global remittance market during the forecast period. Online traditional banking methods online remittances have the capacity to reach rural areas and enable unbanked populations to access financial services.

The pandemic has significantly boosted the demand for digital remittances due to the resultant fiscal stimulus and a shift in flows from informal to formal channels. People transitioned to online and mobile banking solutions to send money internationally.

Get Your Sample Today: https://reports.valuates.com/request/sample/QYRE-Auto-34B2689/Global_Remittance_Market

REMITTANCE MARKET SHARE ANALYSIS

Based on type, the bank money transfer services will be the most lucrative due to being simple, fast, secure, and having low transaction fees. The services are present 24/7 with global access.

Based on application, the personal segment will witness the highest growth in the remittance market share due to the increasing population of migrant workforce sending money back to their home country as they migrate to other countries for work opportunities.

Based on region, Asia-Pacific will grow the highest due to the presence of the immigrant population, adoption of digital remittance, and technological advancements.

Inquire For Customization : https://reports.valuates.com/request/customisation/QYRE-Auto-34B2689/Global_Remittance_Market

Market By Region

North America

Europe

Asia-Pacific

Latin America

Middle East & Africa

Inquire For Regional Report: https://reports.valuates.com/request/regional/QYRE-Auto-34B2689/Global_Remittance_Market

Key players

MoneyGram International Inc.

Western Union Holdings, Inc.

Euronet Worldwide, Inc.

The Kroger Co.

ABSA

Banco Bradesco SA

U.S. Bank

Scotiabank

Societe Generale

UBA

Inquire For Chapter Cost: https://reports.valuates.com/request/chaptercost/QYRE-Auto-34B2689/Global_Remittance_Market

Buy Now for Single User + Covid-19 Impact : https://reports.valuates.com/api/directpaytoken?rcode=QYRE-Auto-34B2689&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

- The global Digital Remittance market size is estimated to be worth USD 7528.6 Million in 2022 and is forecast to a readjusted size of USD 19710 Million by 2028 with a CAGR of 17.4% during the review period.

- The global digital lending platform market size was valued at USD 5.58 billion in 2019 and is projected to reach USD 20.31 billion by 2027 growing at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 16.7% from 2020 to 2027.

- The global Contactless Payments market size is projected to reach USD 23410 million by 2027, from USD 10260 Million in 2020, at a CAGR of 12.0% during 2021-2027.

- The global NFC market size was valued at USD 15,531 million in 2019, and is projected to reach USD 4,521 million by 2028, registering a CAGR of 14.8% from 2021 to 2028.

- The global mobile payment market size was valued at USD 1.48 trillion in 2019, and is projected to reach USD 12.06 trillion by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 30.1% from 2020 to 2027.

- The mobile wallet market size was valued at USD 1,043.1 Billion in 2019, and is projected to reach USD 7,580.1 Billion by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 28.2% from 2020 to 2027.

- The global Online Payment Gateway market size is projected to reach USD 6403.3 Million by 2027, from USD 2436.7 Million in 2020, at a CAGR of 14.8% during 2021-2027.

- Global payment market revenues totaled USD 1.98 Trillion in 2021, CAGR of about 6.25% in the period of 2022-2030.

- The global Cryptocurrency Hardware Wallet market size is projected to reach USD 1220.1 million by 2027, from USD 167.7 million in 2020, at a CAGR of 33.7% during 2021-2027.

- The global cryptocurrency market size was valued at USD 1.49 billion in 2020 and is projected to reach USD 4.94 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 12.8% from 2021 to 2030.

- The global Trade Finance market size is projected to reach USD 11631260 million by 2028, from USD 8014110 million in 2021, at a CAGR of 5.4% during 2022-2028.

- The global financial guarantee market size was valued at USD 28.70 billion in 2020 and is projected to reach USD 71.93 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 9.6% from 2021 to 2030.

- The global Blockchain Supply Chain Finance market size is projected to reach USD 126170 million by 2028, from USD 16260 million in 2021, at a CAGR of 33.6% during 2022-2028.

- The global Trade Promotion Management and Optimization Solution market size is projected to reach USD 928.7 Million by 2027, from USD 511 Million in 2020, at a CAGR of 8.9% during 2021-2027.

- The letter of credit confirmation market was valued at USD 3918.8 million in 2020, and it is anticipated to reach USD 5094.7 million by 2030, registering a CAGR of about 2.72% during the forecast period (2021-2030).

- In 2019, the Saudi Arabia Trade Finance market size was USD 111.38 Billion and it is expected to reach USD 134.85 Billion by the end of 2026, with a CAGR of 2.63% during 2020-2026.

- The Canada financial guarantee market was valued at USD 1.32 billion in 2020, and is projected to reach USD 2.19 billion by 2028, growing at a CAGR of 7.3% from 2021 to 2028.

- Global Trade Management Software Market Size, Status and Forecast 2021-2027

- The global buy now pay later market size was valued at USD 90.69 billion in 2020 and is projected to reach USD 3.98 trillion by 2030 growing at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 45.7% from 2021 to 2030.

- The global payment security market size was valued at USD 17.64 billion in 2020 and is projected to reach USD 60.56 billion by 2030, growing at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 13.2% from 2021 to 2030

- The global Reinsurance market size is projected to reach USD 315360 million by 2028, from USD 279860 million in 2021, at a CAGR of 1.7% during 2022-2028.

- The global Insurtech market size is projected to reach USD 11940 million by 2028, from USD 1462.3 million in 2021, at a CAGR of 34.4% during 2022-2028.

- The global algorithmic trading market size was valued at USD 12143 million in 2020 and is projected to reach USD 31494 million by 2028 registering a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 12.7% from 2021 to 2028.

- The global Digital Banking market size is projected to reach USD 30750 million by 2027, from USD 9098.7 million in 2020, at a CAGR of 19.0% during 2021-2027.

- The global Payment Processing Solutions market size is projected to reach USD 52060 million by 2027, from USD 33810 million in 2020, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 5.9% during 2021-2027.

- The global Tokenization market size is projected to reach USD 2709.9 million by 2028, from USD 1140.7 million in 2021, at a CAGR of 13.0% during 2022-2028.

- The global fintech market size is projected to reach USD 16652680 million by 2028 from USD 6588780 million in 2021 at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 13.9% during the forecast period 2022-2028.

- The global trade surveillance systems market size was valued at USD 780.26 Million in 2020, and is projected to reach USD 2.25 Billion by 2028, growing at a CAGR of 14.2% from 2021 to 2028.

- Non-Bank Trade Finance Report Forecast 2026

- Global Blockchain In Trade Finance and Credit Insurance Market Size, Status and Forecast 2021-2027

- Global Digital Currency Market Insights, Forecast to 2028

- Global General Liability Insurance Market Insights and Forecast to 2028

Similar Reports related to Remittance 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

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1082232/Valuates_Reports_Logo.jpg
Minimum of 500 Sites in Sudan

Contract Estimated at US $125 Million Agreement

10 Year Term to cover Rural Sudan

QUEBEC, QC / ACCESSWIRE / July 26, 2022 / NuRAN Wireless Inc. ("NuRAN Wireless") (CSE:NUR)(OTC PINK:NRRWF)(FSE:1RN), a leading supplier of mobile and broadband wireless infrastructure solutions, is pleased to announce the signing of a definitive 10 year Network As A Service ("NaaS") contract with MTN Sudan Company Ltd. for the deployment of rural mobile infrastructure in Sudan.

The 10-year agreement is estimated to represent up to approximately US $125 Million in revenues over the course of the contract assuming that the 500 estimated sites are completed. The estimated revenues are subject to associated project expenses including expenses associated with satellite bandwidth, site lease, network operations center expenses, curative and preventative maintenance fees, project management and monitoring fees, and insurance. Fees for the NaaS services provided by NuRAN under the agreement are paid on a revenue sharing basis. The project will support 2G and 3G with variety of site categories to cover different population densities and coverage areas. NuRAN expects to retain the ownership of the infrastructure after completion of the contract which increases the value of the agreement.

"This is another important milestone for NuRAN as we press ahead to our stated goal of having 10,000 sites under contract. This contract also further solidifies our growing relationship with MTN as a key partner in bringing mobile connectivity to the people that need it the most. Mobile connectivity is a life blood to these communities and NuRAN is extremely proud to be at the center of bridging this important gap" stated Francis Letourneau, CEO at NuRAN Wireless Inc.

Following recently announced agreements with MTN South Sudan and Namibia, this agreement with another subsidiary of MTN is intended to continue to build on NuRAN's NaaS expansion in Africa and expand the Company's relationship with MTN. NuRAN now has 3,192 sites in 5 countries throughout Africa under contract in pursuit of its overall objective of 10,000 sites under contract.

Pursuant to the terms of the contract, the parties intend to install a minimum of 500 rural networking sites in Sudan. The number of sites may be increased and will fluctuate as the project is under way subject to factors such as penetration rate, ARPU (average revenue per user) and network charges to be further refined, provided that the project will be subject to a minimum number of 500 sites over the 10-year term of the agreement.

The NuRAN NaaS model facilitates network expansion for mobile operators by managing and controlling the build, operation, and maintenance of cellular sites along with associated capital expenditures. The sites are then monetized by providing connectivity on a paid for service basis. Leveraging its carrier-grade mobile network infrastructure solutions as well as its extensive expertise in the building of cost-effective cellular infrastructure, NuRAN is able to establish network operations from the ground up with an exceptional return on investment. While deployments under the NaaS model require the Company to make upfront investments, they generate significant value whereby NuRAN benefits from long-term recurring revenues with compelling returns. The Company intends to fund such deployments mostly through asset-based project financing or similar debt-oriented facilities. Such financing options and sources are being investigated with a view to carrying out deployments in the most efficient manner.

About MTN Sudan:

MTN is an emerging market mobile operator at the forefront of technological and digital changes. They provide a diverse range of voice, data, digital, fintech, wholesale and enterprise services to more than 280 million customers in 21 markets. Established in South Africa at the dawn of democracy in 1994 as a leader in transformation, they offer services to communities across Africa and the Middle East. MTN Sudan is a Mobile Operator in the country and has a strong focus on improving rural connectivity in rural areas in Sudan.

About NuRAN Wireless:

NuRAN Wireless is a leading rural telecommunications company that meets the growing demand for wireless network coverage in remote and rural regions around the globe. With its affordable and innovative scalable solutions of 2G, 3G, and 4G technologies, NuRAN Wireless offers a new possibility for more than one billion people to communicate effectively over long distances efficiently and affordably. "Bridging the Digital Divide, One Connection at a Time."

Additional Information:

For further information about NuRAN Wireless: www.nuranwireless.com .

Francis Letourneau,

Director and CEO

Francis.letourneau@nuranwireless.com

Tel: (418) 264-1337

Frank Candido

Investor relations

Frank.candido@nuranwireless.com

Tel: (514) 969-5530

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as, "expects", "is expected", "anticipates", "intends", "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements include those relating to the MTN Sudan definitive agreement terms and conditions and the proposed sites and revenues from the sites in Namibia. Forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of future performance and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results projected, expressed or implied by these forward looking statements. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements, such as the uncertainties regarding include risks such as the uncertainties regarding the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak, and measures to prevent its spread, risks relating to NuRAN's business and the economy generally; NuRAN's ability to refinance its long term debt that is currently in default; NuRAN's ability to adequately restructure its operations with respect to its new model of NaaS service contracts; the capacity of the Company to deliver in a technical capacity and to import inventory to Africa at a reasonable cost; NuRAN's ability to obtain project financing for the proposed site build out under its NaaS agreements with Orange, MTN and other telecommunication providers, the loss of one or more significant suppliers or a reduction in significant volume from such suppliers; NuRAN's ability to meet or exceed customers' demand and expectations; significant current competition and the introduction of new competitors or other disruptive entrants in the Company's industry; NuRAN's ability to retain key employees and protect its intellectual property; compliance with local laws and regulations and ability to obtain all required permits for our operations, access to the credit and capital markets, changes in applicable telecommunications laws or regulations or changes in license and regulatory fees, downturns in customers' business cycles; and insurance prices and insurance coverage availability, the Company's ability to effectively maintain or update information and technology systems; our ability to implement and maintain measures to protect against cyberattacks and comply with applicable privacy and data security requirements; the Company's ability to successfully implement its business strategies or realize expected cost savings and revenue enhancements; business development activities, including acquisitions and integration of acquired businesses; the Company's expansion into markets outside of Canada and the operational, competitive and regulatory risks facing the Company's non-Canadian based operations. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward looking information. Other factors which could materially affect such forward-looking information are described in the risk factors in the Company's most recent annual management's discussion and analysis that is available on the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

The estimates included in this news release relating to the calculation of the gross revenue of the agreements with MTN are based on multiplying an average population per site by the expected penetration rate which yields the number of mobile customers. This is then multiplied by the average revenue per customer per month (ARPU) to derive total revenue. MTN's direct costs associated with this revenue are deducted and the resulting amount is shared by both parties. The revenue share only applies to revenue in excess of a guaranteed amount which is the minimum paid to NuRAN. A penetration rate reduction factor has been used to mitigate risk. The base data used to calculate the total potential revenue of this agreement was provided by MTN based on average population, penetration rate and ARPU. Management of the Company believes that the estimates have been prepared on a reasonable basis, reflecting best estimates and judgments, and based on a number of assumptions management believes are reasonable as well as information provided to the Company by MTN. However, because this information is highly subjective and subject to numerous risks, including the risks discussed above, it should not be relied on as necessarily indicative of future results. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying the estimates prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, estimated or expected.

SOURCE: NuRAN Wireless Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/709816/NuRAN-Signs-US-125-Million-NaaS-Contract-With-MTN-Sudan
Nowak Brings more than 20 Years of Leadership, Finance and Operations Experience

OCC, the world's largest equity derivatives clearing organization, today announced its Board of Directors elected Mike Nowak as Chief Financial Officer and a member of OCC's Management Committee, effective August 8. As CFO, Nowak will oversee all of OCC's Corporate Finance functions, including treasury, finance, accounting, strategic sourcing, as well as facilities and vendor management. To help ensure a smooth transition, Nowak will work closely with outgoing CFO Amy Shelly, who is leaving OCC to pursue a new opportunity.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220726005242/en/

OCC Board of Directors Elects Mike Nowak as CFO (Graphic: Business Wire)

"As both the former CFO at one of our member firms and a former OCC Board member, Mike has been a strong partner over the years who has a deep understanding of our industry and our business," said Craig Donohue, OCC's Executive Chairman. "He is an established leader with a track record of success, and we look forward to him joining our team."

Prior to joining OCC, Nowak was the Chief Financial Officer of ABN AMRO Clearing Chicago LLC, a registered broker-dealer and futures commission merchant that acts primarily as a clearing broker for large broker dealer proprietary trading firms and institutional clients in the U.S. and around the globe. In his role as CFO, Nowak oversaw the day-to-day management of liquidity, capital, balance sheet and regulatory reporting for the firm. He previously served as the Chief Operations Officer for ABN AMRO Clearing Chicago, overseeing all of the back-office functions of the firm.

Nowak has been involved in many committees and working groups over the years with DTC, FINRA, CME, FIA and other organizations. He was also a member of OCC's Board of Directors.

Nowak graduated from Marquette University with a bachelor's degree in biomedical engineering. He also has a master's degree in accounting from DePaul University's Kellstadt Graduate School of Business. Mr. Nowak has held the Series 3, 7, 24, 27 and 63 registrations over the course of his time in the industry and is a Registered CPA.

About OCC

The Options Clearing Corporation (OCC), named Risk Magazine's 2022 Clearing House of the Year, is the world's largest equity derivatives clearing organization. Founded in 1973, OCC is dedicated to promoting stability and market integrity by delivering clearing and settlement services for options, futures and securities lending transactions. As a Systemically Important Financial Market Utility (SIFMU), OCC operates under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. OCC has more than 100 clearing members and provides central counterparty (CCP) clearing and settlement services to 19 exchanges and trading platforms. More information about OCC is available at www.theocc.com.

2022. The Options Clearing Corporation. All rights reserved.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220726005242/en/

Contacts:

OCC Public Relations

PublicRelations@theocc.com
China's space agency has once again proved its success with another picture of Mars' moons.

The CNBA, or China National Space Administration, has recently published a photo of one of Mars' moons from its Tianwen 1 Mars orbiter in celebration of the second anniversary of Tianwen's launch, per Space.com.

Tianwen 1, a name which is roughly translated as "questions to heaven" or "questioning the heavens," is China's first mission to Mars. It previously entered the Red Planet's orbit in February 2021 and has remained there since, per The Planetary Society.

On the day of the 2nd anniversary of Tianwen-1 launch, CNSA released a photo of Phobos, one of the Mars's moons, taken by #Tianwen1's high resolution camera. pic.twitter.com/CrXT8kajYt  China 'N Asia Spaceflight (@CNSpaceflight) July 23, 2022

Tianwen 1 Phobos Picture Details

CNBA's Tianwen 1 Mars orbiter recently took photos of Phobos, one of Mars' two moons using the same instrument utilized to photograph the landing area of China's Zhurong Mars rover.

During Tianwen 1's picture taking of Phobos, the spacecraft had to maneuver itself to the correct position and orientation to take Phobos' picture at the right time as they pass by each other.

Interestingly, China's state-run publication, China Daily, mentioned that Tianwen 1's operation team got the picture when the orbiter was "relatively close" to Phobos and captured clear images of mars' moon in its "full moon" state, per CNET.

The resulting image provides a 160 feet per pixel resolution, which is enough to make Phobos' linear grooves to be visible on the image with just the naked eye.

The spacecraft also managed to capture Phobos' Opik Crater, which was named after Estonian astronomer and astrophysicist Ernst Opik.

Tianwen 1 Details

Tianwen 1 is China's first mission to Mars. According to Deutsch Welle, the mission is China's attempt to observe the Red Planet from its orbit and the ground in one go through its Zhurong Mars rover, which Tianwen 1 carried from the Earth to Mars' orbit.

Read More: QBot Malware Takes Advantage of Windows Calculator to Infect Devices

The CNBA utilized its Long March 5 series of heavy-lift rockets to bring the spacecraft out of Earth's atmosphere and into space, the same rocket series that had one of its rockets, the Long March 5B, rain debris back to Earth from space in early May 2021, per Reuters.

Aside from that, Tianwen 1 is carrying 13 "payloads," which consist of the mission's many instruments, such as a remote sensing camera and a ground penetrating radar.

The CNBA is aiming to get samples from the Red Planet through Zhurong and return them to Earth by the end of the 2020s, which is a top priority for the scientific community.

The mission will also give China the experience it needs to set the foundation for the sample return mission it is planning.

It would also allow CNBA experts to examine the atmosphere, landscape, geological and magnetic characteristics on Mars which may shed light on the origin and evolution of the Red Planet and the solar system, according to CGTN.

China's Zhurong Mars rover isn't alone in collecting samples to return to Earth. NASA's Perseverance Mars rover is also on the hunt for excellent samples to determine if the Red Planet was a host to life and liquid water.

Related Article: Viking 1 Becomes the First US Spacecraft to Successfully Land on Mars on This Day in 1976
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - July 26, 2022) - Appia Rare Earths & Uranium Corp. (CSE: API) (OTCQX: APAAF) (FSE: A0I.F) (FSE: A0I.MU) (FSE: A0I.BE) (the "Company" or "Appia") is pleased to announce that the Company has completed the initial phase of the 2022 drilling / exploration program on the 100%-owned Alces Lake high-grade rare earth elements and gallium property, Athabasca Basin area, northern Saskatchewan.

Highlights:

Record metreage (17,481 metres) drilled in record time (4  months)

Additional delineation drilling on the high-grade mineralization in WRCB discovery including previously undrilled monazite targets at Danny and Wilson/Wilson North

Initial delineation drilling on the discoveries at Magnet Ridge (formerly Augier) and Magnet Ridge West included 44 holes and a total 7,344 metres drilled

First drilling on highly prospective anomalies at the West Limb (see map, Figure 1)

Drilling on the Western Anomaly at Sweet Chili Heat, Diablo and Buffalo to follow-up on 2021 assay results

A new high resolution aerial survey program of 4,864 line km (radiometric and aeromagnetic) to be flown over the new Alces Lake claims added in 2021

Planning commenced for upcoming 2022/23 uranium exploration activities

Frederick Kozak, President of Appia said, "Building on our experience of 2021 at Alces Lake, Appia got an early start in March on the planned 2022 drilling program. Kudos to the entire team of drillers, helpers, camp support and the geology team for this record accomplishment. Appia drilled more than double the 2021 metreage in less time than the previous year's program. We have accomplished all of our initial phase drilling goals and now eagerly await assay results to plan the next phase of drilling. New high resolution aerial geophysics will be flown soon and this will also add to the inventory of potential exploration targets at Alces Lake."

Table 1: Summary of Alces Lake 2022 Drilling Activity

Target Metres Drilled Holes Drilled WRCB 6,555.5 37 Danny 387.0 2 Strocen 1,044.0 5 Hinge 183.0 1 Magnet Ridge 5,318.1 34 Magnet Ridge West 2,025.9 10 West Limb 1,014.9 6 Western Anomaly: Sweet Chili Heat 393.0 2 Diablo 393.0 2 Buffalo 166.5 1 17,480.9 100

Appia has completed drilling of 100 holes in 2022 for a record total of 17,480.9 metres. This was accomplished in just four and a half months, as compared to the 2021 program which took over five months to drill 8,076 metres and 100 holes. The exceptional drilling progress resulted in Appia achieving the drilling goals much faster than anticipated. The last of the core samples for assay are being prepared before being sent out to the two labs which are processing the Alces Lake samples. Appia anticipates receiving assay results from the early part of the 2022 drilling program in the near future and will evaluate and analyze these in-house prior to public release.

In the 2022 drilling program, a total of 37 holes were drilled into WRCB to continue delineation of the high-grade REE mineralization and also delineate previously undrilled targets in Danny (adjacent to WRCB) as well as additional drilling into the Wilson/Wilson North zone. New WRCB drilling also extended the trend of the REE mineralization by approximately 120 metres along strike to a total of 280 metres of strike-length mineralization. The WRCB accumulation remains open in both the northwest and southeast directions.





Figure 1: 2022 Drilling Locations

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/5416/131928_1f5d869e04437891_005full.jpg

The most significant new drilling in 2022 was in the Magnet Ridge (previously Augier) area, located approximately 1.5 kilometres south-southeast of WRCB on a well defined regional geologic corridor. A total of 34 holes (5,318 metres) were drilled into the primary Magnet Ridge target that outcrops on surface. A nearby (and possibly geologically related) prospect on Magnet Ridge West saw another 10 holes (2,025.9 metres) drilled. The rocks in these two prospects appear to be geologically similar to the 2021 discovery AMP zone at WRCB, which also outcrops on surface. Appia is waiting on Magnet Ridge and Magnet Ridge West assay results to evaluate and analyze these exciting new zones.

Drilling on-trend and in-between WRCB and Magnet Ridge was also conducted, with 5 holes and 1,044 metres of drilling done, primarily at the Strocen prospect.

Keying off results in the WRCB-Magnet Ridge trend on the eastern limb of the large regional fold at Alces Lake, Appia conducted the first drilling program on the previously undrilled West Limb. Six holes with a total of 1,014.9 metres were drilled and encountered indications of elevated radioactivity. Lastly, drilling of five holes was conducted on the Western Anomaly. Following up on the 2021 assay results for this new exploration area, two holes (393 metres) were drilled at Sweet Chili Heat, two holes (393 metres) at Diablo and one hole (166.5 metres) at Buffalo. Mineralization was encountered in all three target areas and assay results will be analyzed and evaluated once received, however it is clear that more work needs to be done to better understand these accumulations of rare earth elements.

Update on 2022 Exploration Program

Alongside the record Alces Lake drill program Appia conducted a prospecting and sampling program to continue evaluating the properties extensive inventory of radiometric anomalies. Some of the 2022 drilling, notably the West Limb, came about as a result of the field work done early in the 2022 season as shown in Figure 2 below.





Figure 2: 2022 Field Exploration Areas of Anomalous Radioactivity

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/5416/131928_1f5d869e04437891_006full.jpg

Following the results of the 2021 aerial geophysics survey, Appia more than doubled the acreage of the Alces Lake claims blocks. Appia is about to embark on a total 4,864 line km of high resolution radiometric and aeromagnetic surveys over three unsurveyed sections of the Alces Lake block. The northwest portion of the block has a planned 2,152 line km, the south portion of the block will have 2,487 line km surveyed and the eastern side of the claims block will have an additional 225 line km collected. The aerial surveys are expected to be completed in August 2022, weather permitting.

Appia also expects to provide an update in the near future on plans for the 2022/23 uranium exploration program on the claims blocks located on the eastern edge of the Athabasca Basin.

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 that were 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 Q1/2023, 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's 2022 drilling program at Alces was designed to drill significantly deeper holes compared to the 100 holes (approximately 8,076 metres) drilled in 2021 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/131928
NEW YORK, July 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kepler Group, the global digital marketing services pioneer, has hired Ruchi Prasad as General Counsel to bolster its corporate development and sales partner solutions efforts. This strategic hire positions Kepler to help clients navigate increasingly complex privacy and regulatory requirements, and to meet increased demand for first-party data solutions.



Prasad will lead legal affairs for both Kepler, the Group's media activation and marketing strategy arm, and Napkyn, its recently acquired full-stack Google Marketing Platform Sales Partner business. The companies help brands like AT&T, American Express, Dunkin' Donuts, J.Crew, Nissan, Pepsico, Sanofi Pharmaceuticals, and over 100 others better leverage the power of data, technology and insights to create meaningful, profitable connections with consumers.

Prasad brings over 12 years of legal experience in global, high-tech markets, most recently as General Counsel for the Americas at Media.Monks and Global General Counsel for MightyHive. She has also held legal policy positions at Twitter and Visa.

"As we continue to invest in our international expansion and burgeoning partner relationships, Ruchi is exactly the right person to strategically inform these opportunities," said Joshua Lerman, Kepler's recently-promoted Global CEO. "In the short time since she started, she has already added value to our work with our largest partners."

Prasad added, "I am thrilled to join Kepler Group and help catalyze this next stage of growth. Kepler and Napkyn leadership teams have built a robust foundation and, as the company continues to innovate and evolve, I look forward to using my experience in global expansion, legal operations, regulatory matters, and data privacy."

In addition to responsibility for all aspects of Kepler and Napkyn's global legal affairs, Prasad will act as an advisor to the firm's executive leadership on strategic growth initiatives.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/3c1d22ae-27d8-4ba1-96c1-9aea2cecc932
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - July 26, 2022) - Microdose Psychedelic Insights, the leading guide to the business of psychedelics will be hosting the upcoming Psychedelic Capital Conference in an entirely virtual format on Tuesday July 26th, 2022 starting at 1:25pm EST.

The bimonthly virtual event will provide attendees with access to some of the top innovative companies, latest IPOs, newest opportunities and deepest industry insights within the psychedelics sector.

As part of an bimonthly investor conference series that dives deep into psychedelic medicine investment, this virtual event will introduce investors and attendees to a curated group of CEOs, capital advisors, analysts, and investment luminaries from around the world.

The July edition of PsyCap will feature segments on the introduction of virtual reality (VR) into the psychedelic landscape, and its potential to enhance outcomes with mental health treatments. Additionally, this edition of PsyCap will provide the latest financial updates combined with a bird's-eye view of the market. The multi-disciplinary panel of experts Jayashree Mitra, Nanea Ree Lyle Maxson, Agnieszka Sekula, Patrick Trucchio and Maria Velkova, will participate in these discussions to outline how transformative technology shapes the future of the industry and its implications on financial markets.

"The psychedelics industry is poised to provide much-needed therapies to address various medical complications, including the surging mental health crisis. By bringing valuable insights directly to the people, we aim to democratize access to critical information and help average investors navigate this dynamic industry," said Patrick Moher, President of Microdose Psychedelic Insights.

This year every Psychedelic Capital features a new segment called Doing Good. These presentations from non-profits in the industry provide an opportunity for organizations to showcase their important work and positive impact.

The upcoming July edition of PsyCap Doing Good presentation is hosted by Blessings Of The Forest's Medical Reciprocity Manager, Dr. Kirran Ahmad. Blessing Of The Forest is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving, researching and sharing knowledge about the medicinal plants and indigenous traditions of the Gabonese forest people for the benefit of all of humanity.

The Doing Good segment will be followed by several corporate presentations, including our sponsor for the July edition of PsyCap though the segment titled: Risk Management in Emerging Markets - Psychedelic Medicine and Therapies.

NFP's panelists, Scott Foster, Morgan Frick and Adam Wilkins, will discuss their involvement in the emerging market of psychedelic medicine. They will address how NFP came to this field and why NFP is particularly poised to be successful in assisting companies in this space. NFP has experience with other recent emerging markets, cannabis, in particular, which will aid in this process.

"As an ardent advocate for mental health, I aim to help companies manage risks as they formulate a strategy to develop psychedelic-assisted therapy and overcome the global mental health crisis," said Adam Wilkins, the Vice President of Business Development at NFP.

Following the Risk Management in Emerging Markets portion, Mindstate Design Labs CEO Dillan DiNardo will offer insights into the company's mission to map the biological basis of the varieties of the psychedelic experience to heal the root causes of mental health disorders.

The conference is designed to enable attendees to build relationships, network with professionals from across the psychedelics industry, and gain access to exciting and groundbreaking pre-IPO investment opportunities within the wider sector.

Microdose has built a public-facing Deal Board, powered by Mission Club, presenting an investment opportunity with Maya Health's CEO & Founder David Champion. Maya Health is focused on harnessing the power of real-world evidence to inform best practices and sensible policies so that more people can access safe psychedelic practices for healing and expansion. The company envisions a future where everyone has the opportunity to benefit from safe psychedelic medicine practices.

Additional information about the Psychedelic Capital: July 2022 Conference, as well as details for registration, can be found on the Psychedelic Capital conference website at the following link: https://microdose.buzz/pressrelease.

###

About Microdose Psychedelic Insights:

Microdose Psychedelic Insights is your guide to the psychedelic medicine industry. With a vision to shift the world's perception of psychedelic medicine, we distribute and create the most compelling content, financial analysis, engaging events, and groundbreaking education to drive the psychedelics industry to the forefront of modern medicine.

About Psychedelic Capital:

This bi-monthly online event programming is dedicated to providing investment grade information for the nascent psychedelic sector and presents a curated group of CEOs, financial experts, thought leaders and investment luminaries from around the globe. Presentations are 30 minutes in length, with 10 minutes always allocated to a one-on-one Q&A's session with the audience. Psychedelic Capital features the top companies, latest IPOs, newest opportunities and deepest insights into the emerging psychedelic space.

Event Contact:

Microdose Psychedelic Insights

kristina@microdose.buzz

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/131934


WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After reporting an unexpected rebound in U.S. new home sales in the previous month, the Commerce Department released a report on Tuesday showing new home sales pullback by more than expected in the month of June.



The report said new home sales plunged by 8.1 percent to an annual rate of 590,000 in June after jumping by 6.3 percent to a revised rate of 642,000 in May.



Economists had expected new home sales to tumble by 5.2 percent to an annual rate of 660,000 from the 696,000 originally reported for the previous month.



With the bigger than expected decrease, new home sales slumped to their lowest annual rate since hitting 582,000 in April 2020.



The pullback in new home sales was partly due to a steep drop in the West, where new home sales plummeted by 36.7 percent.



New home sales in the Northeast and South also tumbled by 5.3 percent and 2.0 percent, respectively, while new home sales in the Midwest skyrocketed by 42.3 percent.



The Commerce Department also said the median sales price of new houses sold in June was $402,400, down 9.5 percent from $444,500 in May but up 7.4 percent from $374,700 a year ago.



The report also showed the estimate of new houses for sale jumped 2.2 percent to 457,000 at the end of June from 447,000 at the end of May. The unsold inventory represents 9.3 months of supply at the current sales rate.



'Conditions in the market for new homes are probably weaker than the headline suggests,' said Nancy Vanden Houten, Lead U.S. Economist at Oxford Economics. 'Cancellations of prior contracts to purchase homes are reportedly rising sharply and those cancellations aren't captured in the data.'



'Our forecast is for new home sales to average just around 600k in the second half of 2022, but the June pace of sales indicates there is a downside risk to that forecast,' she added. 'Further downward adjustments to prices may keep a floor under new home sales, however.'



A separate report released by the National Association of Realtors last Wednesday showed existing home sales in the U.S. tumbled by much more than expected in the month of June.



NAR said existing home sales plunged by 5.4 percent to an annual rate of 5.12 million in June after slumping by 3.4 percent to an annual rate of 5.41 million in May. Economists had expected existing home sales to decrease by 0.6 percent to a rate of 5.38 million.



Existing home sales declined for the fifth consecutive month, falling to their lowest level since June of 2020.







Copyright(c) 2022 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de
Increasing adoption of risk-free and dependable prefilled insulin syringes by patients of type 1 diabetes leads to swelling demand

Key technological advancements of introduction of needlestick safety-equipped devices and multi-chamber syringes to amplify prefilled syringes market growth

WILMINGTON, Del., July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The prefilled syringes market is projected to expand at a CAGR of 10.1% for the forecast period from 2022 to 2031. Factors such as growing home medical care, rising prevalence of chronic diseases, increase in use of injectable medications, and advantages over conventional vials are fuelling the growth of prefilled syringes market.

Emergence of prefilled syringe as one of the most convenient drug delivery methods underpins transformation of the self-medical care scenario. Introduction of sterile, prefilled syringes that allows safe self-administration of injectable drugs without the need for hospitalization to sway prefilled syringes market outlook. Furthermore, product advancement wherein pen injectors and autoinjectors are integrated with prefilled syringes for patient convenience to accentuate demand.

Demand for self-injection devices such as saline syringes that offer convenience and safety for the rising prevalence of chronic and lifestyle diseases is expected to influence the prefilled syringes market size in the future. For example, prevalence of diabetes is estimated to increase to 700 million by 2045 from 466 million in 2019, which will create sizeable demand for prefilled syringes.

Critical advantages to store medication, promote self-administration, mitigate risk of misuse, and reduce waste label prefilled syringes as best method to store medication. These attributes are beneficial for patients, healthcare practitioners, and manufacturers alike.

Get Exclusive PDF Sample Copy of Prefilled Syringes Market Report -

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=1131

Prefilled Syringes Market - Key Findings of the Report

High prevalence of chronic diseases such as type 1 diabetes that requires insulin to be administered intravenously on a regular basis boosts demand for prefilled syringes

Prolonged ravage of COVID-19 expanded scope of prefilled syringes for treatment purposes. In September 2021 , a U.S. based medical technology company demonstrated the compatibility of glass prefilled syringes for use with mRNA COVID-19 vaccine shots that require ultralow temperature storage.

, a U.S. based medical technology company demonstrated the compatibility of glass prefilled syringes for use with mRNA COVID-19 vaccine shots that require ultralow temperature storage. Increasing adoption of dependable and risk-free methods of self-injection from diabetics underpins massive revenue potential in prefilled syringes market. For instance, NovoLog FlexPen prefilled syringe is a fast acting insulin that improves blood sugar in adults and children with diabetes mellitus.

Significant technological advancements in the syringe industry such as introduction of needlestick safety-equipped devices, multi-chamber syringes, and advanced lubrication technology to strengthen demand

Safety syringes product type is projected to hold the leading 77% prefilled syringes market share by 2031. Product feature of removable or permanently connected needles as well as internal safety device account for dominance of safety syringes. Demand for safety prefilled syringes from hospitals, diagnostic centers, and general practitioners for drug delivery to soar due to advantages of less overfill and better safety to patients

Single-chamber prefilled syringe segment equipped with next-gen technology that transfers critical patient information of time of injection of drug to health caregiver substantiates its dominance

North America stood at the forefront of the prefilled syringes market in 2021. Increase in R&D in research labs and pharmaceutical companies, and government-led vaccination programs fuel the prefilled syringes market of the region

Ask for References - https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=ARF&rep_id=1131

Prefilled Syringes Market - Growth Drivers

Critical advantage of convenient and safe self-administration of injectable drugs for patients of chronic diseases propels prefilled syringes market

Design and functional features to reduce overfill waste, mitigate the risk of misuse, and promote self-administration accentuates demand for prefilled syringes

Make an Enquiry Before Buying - https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=EB&rep_id=1131

Prefilled Syringes Market - Key Players

Some of the key players operating in the prefilled syringes market are;

B. Braun Melsungen AG

Becton, Dickinson and Company

Elcam Medical

Nipro Corporation

Terumo Corporation

Weigao Group

Baxter International Inc.

Catalent Inc.

Gerresheimer AG

SCHOTT AG

Vetter Pharma

West Pharmaceutical Services Inc.

The prefilled syringes market is segmented as follows;

Prefilled Syringes Market, by Type

Safety Syringes

Conventional Syringes

Prefilled Syringes Market, by Design

Single Chamber

Dual Chamber

Multiple Chamber

Prefilled Syringes Market, by Material

Glass

Plastic

Prefilled Syringes Market, by Application

Chronic Disease Treatment Syringe

Vaccine Syringes

Acute Care and Specialty Syringes

Others

Prefilled Syringes Market, by Distribution Channel

Hospital Pharmacies

Retail Pharmacies & Drug Stores

E-commerce

Prefilled Syringes Market, by Region

North America

Europe

Asia Pacific

Latin America

Middle East & Africa

Modernization of healthcare in terms of both infrastructure and services have pushed the healthcare industry to new heights, Stay Updated with Latest Healthcare Research Reports by Transparency Market Research:

Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing Market: The non-invasive prenatal testing market is likely to develop at a CAGR of 16.4% during the forecast period, from 2019 to 2027.

Syringes Market: The Europe syringes market expected to reach the value of US$ 6.9 Bn by the end of 2031. It is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 5.6% from 2022 to 2031.

Disposable Syringes Market: The disposable syringes market is expected to progress at a robust CAGR of ~7% during the forecast period. This is evident due to the high prevalence of needlestick injuries worldwide.

Retractable Needle Safety Syringes Market: Growing awareness among physicians as well as patients, and the demand for advanced treatment modalities have acted in favor of the Asia Pacific retractable needle safety syringes market.

Insulin Delivery Devices Market: The global insulin delivery devices market is projected to reach market valuation of US$ 21,783.3 Mn through 2026.

Insulin Pen Needles Market: The global insulin pen needles market is expected to represent a value of over US$ 3,800 Mn by the end of 2026.

Sensor Based Smart Catheters Market: The global sensor based smart catheters market is anticipated to reach more than US$ 7 Bn by 2031. The global market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 8.0% from 2022 to 2031.

About Transparency Market Research

Transparency Market Research, a global market research company registered at Wilmington, Delaware, United States, provides custom research and business consulting services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insights for thousands of decision makers. Our experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools & techniques to gather and analyze information.

Our data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts, so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With a broad research and analysis capability, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques in developing distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.

For More Research Insights on Leading Industries, Visit Our YouTube Channel and hit subscribe for Future Update - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8e-z-g23-TdDMuODiL8BKQ

Contact

Rohit Bhisey

Transparency Market Research Inc.

CORPORATE HEADQUARTER DOWNTOWN,

1000 N. West Street,

Suite 1200, Wilmington, Delaware 19801 USA

Tel: +1-518-618-1030

USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453

Website: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com

Blog: https://tmrblog.com

Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.com

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1682871/TMR_Logo_Logo.jpg
HALIFAX, NS / ACCESSWIRE / July 26, 2022 / Namibia Critical Metals Inc. ("Namibia Critical Metals" or the "Company" or "NMI") (TSXV:NMI OTCQ:NMREF) is pleased to provide an update on the development of the Lofdal Heavy Rare Earth project. Lofdal is one of only two primary xenotime projects under development in the world, which requires pioneering processing approaches to this unusual type of rare earth mineralisation. The deposit has the potential for significant production of dysprosium and terbium, two of the most valuable heavy rare earth elements used in high powered magnets for electric vehicle motors and other high-tech applications. The Project is being developed in joint venture with Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation ("JOGMEC") targeting a long term, sustainable supply of heavy rare earths to Japan.

The Company has successfully completed an extended flotation test work program with more than 110 individual flotation test regimes. The tests were conducted at two specialised institutions at SGS Minerals Services Canada and UVR-FIA in Germany. As an overall result, a simplified flowsheet was developed which allows for the direct flotation of run-of-mine material resulting in an upgrade of the heavy rare earths in the flotation concentrate by an impressive factor of more than twenty.

Darrin Campbell, President of Namibia Critical Metals stated:

"With the Lofdal project we are aiming at a large-scale, long-term production of the most valuable rare earths, dysprosium and terbium. The successful completion of the flotation test work program is a major milestone towards this goal. We have now proven that even the large tonnages of medium-grade resources can be beneficiated by a further simplified flow sheet using direct flotation of the run-of-mine ore. This unlocks further scale to the Lofdal project."

Lofdal project

The Lofdal Heavy Rare Earths deposits represent district-scale (20 km x 10 km) heavy rare earth element (HREE) mineralisation in subvolcanic hydrothermal alteration zones. While high grade zones (>0.2% HREE) occur locally, the majority of the deposit resembles tens of meters wide and kilometer-long zones of low grade HREE-mineralisation with an average grade of about 0.1% HREE.

Drilling in 2020 increased the Mineral Resource Estimate of the project more than seven-fold to 44.76 Mt at a grade of 0.17% TREO[1] (Measured and Indicated categories) and 8.67 Mt at a grade of 0.17% TREO in the Inferred category contained in only the two sub-deposits of "Area 4" and "Area 2B" (Press release and NI 43-101 Technical Report - 20 May 2021[2]), and applying the same cut-off of 0.1% TREO as in the historical PEA of 2014.

To develop the Lofdal project into a long-term producer of HREE, the Company focussed recent processing test work on cost-efficient technologies to upgrade lower grade material aiming at effects of economy of scale in a potential large-scale mining operation.

Bulk sampling from starter pit

The Company mined a total of 34,500 tonnes of mineralised material from a starter pit in the central Area 4 deposit in October 2021 (Press release 29 November 2021). A 500-tonne sample was taken from the mineralized zone at a depth between 12 and 15 metres in order to minimize effects of surface related oxidation. The material was blended by front-end loaders to provide homogenized samples which are representative of the wider deposit at a grade of about 0.187% TREO for bulk sample test work.

Mineralogical characterisation of the feed sample was done by MLA and TESCAN Integrated Mineral Analyzer (TIMA), a fully automated, high throughput, analytical scanning electron microscope for mineralogical studies including mineral liberation analysis, size-by-size liberation and mineral association. Key results demonstrated median xenotime grain sizes of 26 m and 10 m for the two head fractions tested (+38 m and -38 m) respectively. The main HREE-mineral xenotime, was 32% liberated in the +38 m fraction and 76% liberated in the -38 m fraction.

Flotation test program

The current metallurgical bulk sample test program was amended to include flotation tests directly on the fresh, low-grade sample, by-passing initially planned XRT and XRF sorting as well as magnetic separation steps prior to flotation, both of which would result in additional losses, CAPEX and OPEX.

Flotation test work was carried out at SGS Canada Inc. in Lakefield, Ontario, and at UVR-FIA GmbH in Freiberg, Germany. Both institutions, cumulatively conducted over 110 individual flotation tests using several types of collectors, depressants and considered thrifting of physical flotation conditions.

The most successful flotation test series on the milled bulk sample (P100 =53m, P80=43m) were performed by SGS Canada and resulted in exceptional upgrade ratios of between 22 and 27.

The impact of high intensity conditioning ahead of flotation yielded clearly improved flotation performance.

A range of collector dosages of were tested to determine the upper and lower envelopes for flotation performance versus OPEX. The lower carbonate content in the fresh feed material compared to historical sample material from trenches resulted in significantly lower depressant requirements in the flotation regime.

Figure 1: Grade-recovery curves for the key flotation tests by SGS. CP denotes bulk testing.

Coarser grind, as well as de-sliming of the flotation feed, water exchange techniques and regrind between rougher and cleaner flotation stages, and varying temperature regimes were tested by UVR and SGS. None of these tests resulted in significant improvements in performance or cost savings.

After defining the optimal flotation conditions, bulk flotation tests were conducted in quadruplicate to produce a flotation concentrate for downstream hydrometallurgical testing. Four bulk flotation tests demonstrated repeatable flotation performances on the low-grade feed material. The average cleaner flotation concentrate from the bulk test runs (CP101 to CP104) was produced at an overall mass pull of 2.7-3.2% with a product grade of 4.7-6% TREO and a recovery of 67-70% TREO.

Way forward

Downstream hydrometallurgical test work on the flotation concentrate is in progress with preliminary results confirming similar acid bake and leach performance as in the previous program (Press release 7 October 2021).

The revised and significantly simplified flowsheet for the Lofdal project (see Figure 2) is currently under economic evaluation based on an updated mine plan. An engineering sizing, capital and operating costing validation exercise by SGS Bateman is expected by end August 2022.

Figure 2: Simplified Lofdal process flowsheet for direct flotation of run-of-mine material

Additional test work is currently conducted at SGS Lakefield to further optimize the flotation performance with:

1) Reduced collector dosage;

2) Test effectiveness of finer grind to determine lower limit (e.g. P100=38m);

3) Alternative collectors with potential cost savings.

About Namibia Critical Metals Inc.

Namibia Critical Metals Inc. holds a diversified portfolio of exploration and advanced stage projects in Namibia focused on the development of sustainable and ethical sources of metals for the battery, electric vehicle and associated industries. The two advanced stage projects in the portfolio are Lofdal and Epembe. The Company also holds significant land positions in areas favourable for gold mineralization.

Heavy Rare Earths: The Lofdal Dysprosium-Terbium Project is the Company's most advanced project being fully permitted with a Mining Licence (ML 200) issued in 2021. The project is being developed in joint venture with Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation ("JOGMEC").

About Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC) and the JV

JOGMEC is a Japanese government independent administrative agency which seeks to secure stable resource supplies for Japan. JOGMEC has a strong reputation as a long term, strategic partner in mineral projects globally. JOGMEC facilitates opportunities with Japanese private companies to secure supplies of natural resources for the benefit of the country's economic development.

Rare earths are of critical importance to Japanese industrial interests and JOGMEC has extensive experience with all aspects of the sector. JOGMEC provided Lynas with US$250,000,000 in loans and equity in 2011 to ensure supplies of the Light Rare Earths metals suite to the Japanese industry.

Namibia Critical Metals owns a 95% interest in the Lofdal project with the remaining 5% held for the benefit of historically disadvantaged Namibians. The terms of the JOGMEC joint venture agreement with the Company stipulate that JOGMEC provides $3,000,000 in Term 1 and $7,000,000 in Term 2 to earn a 40% interest in the Lofdal project. Term 3 calls for a further $10,000,000 of expenditures to earn an additional 10% interest. JOGMEC can also purchase another 1% for $5,000,000 and has first right of refusal to fully fund the project through to commercial production and to purchase all production at market prices. The collective interests of NMI and historically disadvantaged Namibians cannot be diluted below a 26% carried working interest upon payment of $5,000,000 to JOGMEC for the dilution protection. The JV Agreement is structured such that no NMI equity will be issued and it is totally non-dilutive to NMI shareholders. To date, JOGMEC, has approved funding Term 1 and 2 expenditures totaling $7,800,000.

Gold: The Company's Exclusive Prospecting Licenses ("EPLs") prospective for gold are located in the Central Namibian Gold Belt which hosts a number of significant orogenic gold deposits including the Navachab Gold Mine, the Otjikoto Gold Mine and more recently the discovery of the Twin Hills deposit. At the Erongo Gold Project, stratigraphic equivalents to the meta-sediments hosting the recent Osino gold discovery at Twin Hills have been identified and exploration is progressing over this highly prospective area. The Grootfontein Base Metal and Gold Project has potential for magmatic copper-nickel mineralization, Mississippi Valley-type zinc-lead-vanadium mineralization and Otjikoto-style gold mineralization. Interpretation of geophysical data and regional geochemical soil sampling have identified first gold targets.

Tantalum-Niobium: The Epembe Tantalum-Niobium-Uranium Project is at an advanced stage with a well-defined, 10 km long carbonatite dyke that has been delineated by detailed mapping and radiometric surveys and over 11,000 meters of drilling. Preliminary mineralogical and metallurgical studies including sorting tests (XRT), indicate the potential for significant physical upgrading. Further work will be undertaken to advance the project.

The common shares of Namibia Critical Metals Inc. trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "NMI".

Qualified Person's Statement

Rainer Ellmies, PhD, MScGeol, EurGeol, AusIMM is Vice President Exploration of Namibia Critical MetalsInc. and the Company's Qualified Person. He has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information in this press release.

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 more information please contact -

Namibia Critical Metals Inc.

Darrin Campbell, President

Tel: +01 (902) 835-8760

Fax: +01 (902) 835-8761

Email: Info@NamibiaCMI.com

Web site: www.NamibiaCriticalMetals.com

The foregoing information may contain forward-looking information relating to the future performance of Namibia Critical Metals Inc. forward-looking information, specifically, that concerning future performance, is subject to certain risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially. These risks and uncertainties are detailed from time to time in the Company's filings with the appropriate securities commissions.

[1] TREO = Total Rare Earth Oxides and including Y2O3

[2] Namibia Critical Metals Inc. Lofdal Heavy Rare Earths Project, Namibia NI 43-101 Technical Report -20 May 2021 Mineral Resource Estimate is authored by Jeremy Witley, MSc, P. Sci. Nat - The MSA Group, South Africa, Scott Swinden, Ph.D, P.Geol - Swinden Geoscience Consultants Ltd. and Massoud Aghamirian, P,Eng - SGS (Canada).

SOURCE: Namibia Critical Metals Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/709824/Namibia-Critical-Metals-Inc--Lofdal-Heavy-Rare-Earth-Deposit-Exceptionally-Positive-Flotation-Test-Program-Completed
Regulatory News:

Groupe Berkem, a leading player in bio-based chemicals (ISIN code: FR00140069V2 Ticker: ALKEM) (Paris:ALKEM), today announced the successful completion of a financing with a pool of six French banks, as well as the issuance of Recovery Bonds in France.

Anthony Labrugnas, Chief Financial Officer of Groupe Berkem, stated: "The success of the Group's senior financing demonstrates the attractiveness of the Company and the confidence of our banking partners. With its new financial resources, the Group now has expanded resources to carry out future external growth operations."

The financing operation consists of the setting up, for the benefit of Berkem Developpement, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Groupe Berkem, of a Refinancing Loan for a total amount of 12 million (including two tranches of respectively 7.8 million to be amortized and 4.2 million in fine), a 6.5 million investment credit facility (including two tranches of 4.2 million and 2.3 million respectively), a 5 million revolving credit facility and a 40 million external growth credit facility, of which 20 million are confirmed.

TP ICAP Midcap was the exclusive financial advisor to Berkem Developpement and coordinator of the transaction. Caisse Regionale de Credit Agricole Mutuel d'Aquitaine and Helia Conseil were mandated co-arrangers. The banking pool is composed of 6 lenders: Caisse Regionale de Credit Agricole Mutuel d'Aquitaine, Caisse d'Epargne et de Prevoyance Aquitaine Poitou Charentes, Banque Palatine, Banque Populaire Aquitaine Centre Atlantique, Credit Lyonnais and Banque Postale.

Fieldfisher advised Berkem Developpement on senior debt and bond issues, and Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner advised the senior banking pool.

6.5 million of Recovery Bonds subscribed by the Obligations Relance France fund (an investment fund managed by Eurazeo Investment Manager) and by the Obligations Relance France Eurazeo Investment Manager fund.

Kramer Levin acted as advisor to Eurazeo Investment Manager.

ABOUT THE FRENCH RECOVERY BOND FUND

The French Recovery Bond fund, endowed with 1.7 billion, subscribed by 19 insurers members of the Federation Francaise de l'Assurance (FFA) and by Caisse des Depots, finances SMEs affected by the health crisis, which invest in their development and transformation. Part of the Recovery Plan of the Ministry of the Economy, Finance and Recovery, the French Recovery Bond fund was created by the insurers and Caisse des Depots, in cooperation with the French Treasury. It benefits from a partial guarantee from the State.

The Recovery Bonds have a term of eight years; they are redeemable at maturity; they offer SMEs-ETIs unsecured subordinated financing which can be obtained from the asset management companies delegated to manage the fund.

ABOUT GROUPE BERKEM

Founded in 1993 by Olivier Fahy, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Groupe Berkem is a leading force in the bio-based chemicals market. Its mission is to advance the environmental transition of companies producing the chemicals used in everyday lives (cosmetics, food and beverages, construction, public hygiene, etc.). By harnessing its expertise in both plant extraction and innovative formulations, Groupe Berkem has developed bio-based boosters-unique high-quality bio-based solutions augmenting the performance of synthetic molecules. Groupe Berkem achieved a revenue of 46 million and an EBITDA margin close to 20% in 2021. The Group has almost 170 employees working at its head office (Blanquefort, Gironde) and three production facilities in Gardonne (Dordogne), La Teste-de-Buch (Gironde), and Chartres (Eure-et-Loir).

Groupe Berkem has been listed on Euronext Growth Paris since December 2021 (ISIN: FR00140069V2 ALKEM)

www.groupeberkem.com

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220726005821/en/

Contacts:

Groupe Berkem

Olivier Fahy, Chief Executive Officer

Anthony Labrugnas, Chief Financial Officer

Tel.: +33 (0)5 64 31 06 60

investisseurs@berkem.com

NewCap

Investor Relations

Mathilde Bohin Nicolas Fossiez

Tel.: +33 (0)1 44 71 94 94

Berkem@newcap.eu

NewCap

Media Relations

Nicolas Merigeau

Tel.: +33 (0)1 44 71 94 94

Berkem@newcap.eu
Strong growth1 in revenue and ROP2 in H1 2022

Confirmation of the organic growth1 target of annual revenue in 2022 of 5%

Significant growth in the first half of 2022

Revenue up 1 9.0% at 1,240 million

Recurring operating profit (ROP)2 up 1 12.6% at 58.8 million

Consolidated net profit up3 10.8% at 33.6 million

Business recovery confirmed and high operating margin maintained

The Econocom Group generated a revenue of 1,240 million in the first half of 2022, a sustained increase1 of 9.0% compared to H1 2021. As a result of the reclassification of certain entities into discontinued activities as of 1 January 2022, these activities, which generated 125 million in revenue in the first half of 2022, are not included in the revenue of the continued activities.

Over the period, trends in continued activities were as follows:

 Products & Solutions (P&S) revenue amounted to 493 million, up1 12.0%. Econocom enjoyed positive trends in the digital asset distribution market and benefited from its strong order backlog at the end of 2021, despite the persistence of supply chain issues. P&S ROP2 increased1 by 6.3% to 16.9 million.

 Technology Management & Financing (TMF) confirmed the recovery of its business, with revenue up1 14.0% at 499 million. TMF ROP2 was 21.6 million, representing a margin of 4.3%.

 Services generated 248 million in revenue, down1 4.4%. By contrast, the margin increased by 1.1 percentage points to 8.2%.

Group recurring operating profit2 (ROP) increased1 by 12.6% to 58.8 million, compared to 52.3 million for the same period in 2021. The first half operating margin was 4.7%, stable compared to H1 2021.

After non-recurring operating expenses of 10.2 million, a net financial expense of 5.8 million and an income tax expense of 6.4 million, first half net profit from continued activities was 35.5 million, versus 24.8 million in the first half of 2021, entailing strong growth3 of 42.7%.

After deducting earnings from discontinued activities, consolidated net profit was 33.6 million, up3 10.8%.

Net financial debt (NFD)4 remains under control

NFD4 was 272 million at 30 June 2022, compared to 217 million a year earlier. The increase is attributable notably to the decline of approximately 60 million in factoring and treasury share purchases totalling 40 million over the last 12 months.

Outlook

Econocom maintains its forecast of 5% organic growth in revenue for the full year 2022.

Next publication: information meeting on H1 2022 results, 28 July 2022

1 For continued activities, at constant scope and accounting standards, including organic growth of acquired companies

2 Before amortisation of intangible assets from acquisitions

3 At constant accounting standards

4 NFD: Net Financial Debt including current and non-current financial debt and excluding liabilities arising from the application of IFRS 16 to leases (offices, vehicles, etc.) for which Econocom is the lessee

About ECONOCOM

Econocom is a digital general contractor (DGC)). The group conceives, finances and facilitates the digital transformation of large firms and public organisations. It has 49 years' experience and is the only market player offering versatile expertise through a combination of project financing, equipment distribution and digital services. The group operates in 16 countries, with over 8,200 employees. It made 2,505m in revenue in 2021. Econocom is listed on Euronext in Brussels, on the BEL Mid and Family Business indexes. For more D'INFORMATION

www.econocom.com

Follow us on Twitter ?

Investor and shareholder relations contact:

nathalie.etzenbach@econocom.com

Press relations agency contact: econocom@the-arcane.com

Financial communication agency contact:

info@capvalue.fr Tel. +33 (0) 1 80 81 50 01

INCOME STATEMENT

(m) H1 2021

Restated H1 2022 Revenue 1,092.6 1,239.5 Recurring operating profit before amortisation of intangible assets from acquisitions 52.3 58.8 Recurring operating profit 51.3 57.8 Other non-recurring income and expenses -7.5 -10.2 Operating profit 43.7 47.7 Cost of financial debt -3.7 -3.0 Other financial income and expenses -2.0 -2.8 Profit before tax 38.0 41.9 Income tax expense -13.2 -6.4 Net profit from continued activities 24.8 35.5 Net profit from discontinued activities, associates and joint ventures 5.5 -1.9 Net profit for the period 30.3 33.6 Recurring net profit 31.1 44.0

BALANCE SHEET

(m) ASSETS 31.12.2021

Restated 30.06.2022 Goodwill 495 506 Other non-current assets 216 202 Residual interest in leased assets 171 172 Trade and other receivables 796 859 Other current assets 185 171 Cash and cash equivalents 406 309 Assets held for sale 69 167 TOTAL ASSETS 2,339 2,386 (m) EQUITY & LIABILITIES 31.12.2021

Restated 30.06.2022 Equity attributable to owners of the parent 381 343 Non-controlling interests 58 77 EQUITY 439 420 Bonds 252 358 Financial liabilities 221 223 Liabilities for repurchases of leased assets 98 99 Provisions 68 81 Trade and other payables 882 819 Other liabilities 348 322 Liabilities held for sale 31 64 TOTAL EQUITY AND LIABILITIES 2,339 2,386

Appendix : Reconciliation between financial data at the end of H1 2021 as reported in the 2021 half-yearly report and data contained in the 2022 half-yearly report.

"H1 2021 reported" corresponds to revenue and ROP2 as presented in the 2021 half-year report.

"H1 2021 restated" corresponds to H1 2021 revenue and ROP2 as presented in the 2022 half-yearly report released today and takes into account changes in discontinued activities as defined by IFRS 5 and changes in accounting presentations. It serves as the basis for calculating growth rates at constant standards.

"H1 2021 pro forma" corresponds to H1 2021 restated revenue and ROP2 also adjusted for changes in exchange rates and consolidation scope (acquisitions and disposals). It serves as the basis for calculating growth rates at constant standards and scope.

Revenue (m) Group total TMF P&S Services H1 2021 reported 1,240 446 524 270 Deconsolidation of discontinued activities and changes in accounting presentations -147 -13 -134 - H1 2021 adjusted 1,093 433 390 270 Forex impact 2 2 Change in consolidation scope (acquisitions) 52 3 49 Change in consolidation scope (disposals) -11 -11 H1 2021 pro forma 1,137 438 440 259

ROP2 (m) Group total TMF P&S Services H1 2021 reported 62.3 17.5 24.7 20 Deconsolidation of discontinued operations and activities and changes in accounting presentations -10.0 0.2 -9.8 -0.3 H1 2021 adjusted 52.3 17.7 14.9 19.7 Forex impact 0.3 0.1 0.2 Change in consolidation scope (acquisitions) 0.9 0.1 0.8 Change in consolidation scope (disposals) -1.3 -1.3 H1 2021 pro forma 52.3 17.9 15.9 18.4

------------------------

This publication embed "Actusnews SECURITY MASTER ".

- SECURITY MASTER Key:

nG1uksWYY5qcx3JyYslsaZJkamxlmmTKmmmXlGSblsiZap6VxmyXmpecZnBmnGdm

- 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-0-75720-econocom-cp-resultats-s1-2022-final-uk.pdf
The annual awards ceremony will be held 1 February at SPIE Photonics West

The SPIE Prism Awards, which will celebrate their 15th anniversary in 2023 at SPIE Photonics West, are open for applications now through 15 September 2022. The awards, held annually by SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, are a celebration and recognition of the growing range of technical innovations across optics and photonics products on the market today.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220726005881/en/

The ColdQuanta team triumphed in the Prism Awards' Quantum category in 2022. (Photo: Business Wire)

While semi-finalists will be announced online in November, the awards ceremony itself will be part of an elegant gala event on 1 February 2023, during SPIE Photonics West. Photonics Media is the media sponsor for the event.

"The SPIE Prism Awards ceremony is one of the coolest events on the SPIE calendar," said SPIE CEO Kent Rochford. "Looking back on our previous winners and even all the finalists is a terrific reminder of the breadth and impact the photonics industry has on our daily lives. From healthcare to self-driving cars, it's amazing what light-based technologies can provide. I look forward to celebrating this year's winners and invite all who do the hard work of bringing photonics technology to market to apply."

Last year's Prism Award winners across categories that encompassed such areas as transportation, scientific lasers, sensing, biomedicine, and quantum technologies were Luxexcel, PlenOptika, Lumotive, SWIR Vision Systems, LightPath Technologies, Zemax, Civan Lasers, BRELYON, Stuttgart Instruments, and ColdQuanta. Winners from previous years have included then-emerging companies or startups such as Double Helix Optics, PhotoniCare, Luminar, Blackmore, and WaveOptics, as well as more established industry giants like General Electric, IPG Photonics, Edmund Optics, and Leica.

Any photonics or photonics-enabled products launched between 2022 SPIE Photonics West (22-27 January) through September 2022 are eligible. If a product was launched prior to 2022, it may still be eligible based on its current market position.

For more information and to apply to participate in the Prism Awards, please visit the Prism Award website.

About SPIE

SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, brings engineers, scientists, students, and business professionals together to advance light-based science and technology. The Society, founded in 1955, connects and engages with our global constituency through industry-leading conferences and exhibitions; publications of conference proceedings, books, and journals in the SPIE Digital Library; and career-building opportunities. Over the past five years, SPIE has contributed more than $22 million to the international optics community through our advocacy and support, including scholarships, educational resources, travel grants, endowed gifts, and public-policy development. www.spie.org.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220726005881/en/

Contacts:

Daneet Steffens

Public Relations Manager

daneets@spie.org

+1 360 685 5478

@SPIEtweets
Efforts made to ensure better livelihood for relocated residents in Guizhou province

09:05, July 26, 2022 By Huang Xian, Wang Xiufang ( People's Daily

Guizhou, a province located in southwest China, is surrounded by mountain ranges and stony deserts. It was once deeply troubled by poverty due to the poor geographical condition.

Photo taken on July 3, 2022 shows a poverty-alleviation resettlement site in Wenfeng neighborhood, Qianxi, southwest China's Guizhou province. (People's Daily Online/Zhou Xunchao)

About 92.5 percent of the area in the province is covered by mountains and hills, and 73 percent is made up of karst landscape. Guizhou is the only province in China without a plain.

At the end of 2015, Guizhou kicked off a large relocation program for poverty alleviation. At that time, the province was home to 9,000 impoverished villages and 4.93 million impoverished residents. It used to be a provincial-level region with the largest population of poor people in China.

In the following five years, 1.92 million impoverished people in the province moved into modern residential complexes from the mountains, and thus ushered in a new chapter of life.

"I had to walk more than an hour to go to school in town in the past, and now it takes only around 10 minutes. At school, we have bright classrooms and fun activities, and we like them very much," said Li Tongtong, a student at a primary school in Qianxi, Guizhou.

In 2018, Li moved from Jinlan village in Qianxi to the city's largest poverty-alleviation resettlement site with her family. The relocation not only offers Li's family a big and safe apartment, but also enables Li to go to a school in the community that was built with the pairing assistance from Huadu district, Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong province.

Education has always been a major concern of relocated residents. Guizhou, taking education for the children of school age as a priority, has equipped all poverty-alleviation relocation sites with education facilities. It has put an end to the history when children had to cross mountains and rivers to go to school by providing them with fairer and better educational resources.

The province has invested over 18 billion yuan ($2.66 billion) to build or reconstruct 669 schools. More than 30,000 teachers are currently assigned at the schools at poverty-alleviation resettlement sites, which ensures nearby enrollment for all children from relocated families.

A university student volunteer teaches children to dance at a poverty-alleviation resettlement site in Yangguang community, Baiyanglin neighborhood, Qixingguan district, Bijie, southwest China's Guizhou province, July 11, 2022. (People's Daily Online/Chen Xi)

In the Yucai community, the largest poverty-alleviation resettlement site in Songtao county, Guizhou's Tongren, there is a special factory, which is run by a toy manufacturer in the economic development zone of Songtao county and only hires local middle-aged and senior residents aged over 50. So far, 38 people have secured a stable job at the factory,

"I stitch around 500 toys a day, which earns me 40 yuan," said Zhang Guiying, a 52-year-old worker in the factory.

At large- and medium-sized resettlement sites, Guizhou province has built workshops, launched labor transfer activities, and developed featured industries as a way to support employment and entrepreneurship, optimize industrial structure and enhance skill training. Based on the sizes and locations of the resettlement sites, as well as the age distribution and labor skills of the relocated residents, the province tailored different development and employment plans.

As of the end of this June, nearly 930,000 people from 414,500 households had been employed, which means that at least one family member with working capabilities has a job.

To ensure that relocated residents enjoy basic public and health services, Guizhou has built and expanded 411 standard medical institutions and newly equipped 759 medical institutions with facilities and medical workers. Public health services have covered all of the province's 949 resettlement sites during the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020), ensuring that all relocated residents have access to healthcare.

Workers of a garment factory work on production lines at a resettlement site in Chengguan township, Shibing county, Qiandongnan Miao and Dong autonomous prefecture, southwest China's Guizhou province, June 14, 2022. (People's Daily Online/Tai Shengzhi)

(Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun)
The company celebrated the app store's 10th birthday with a logo facelift and a promo.

Google's Play Store celebrated its 10th anniversary on July 25 and with it came a logo change, which is not too drastic as it still looks like its previous logo. The joyous celebration also comes with a promo for users.

Originally, the Google Play Store was an Android app store that launched as the Android Market in August 2008, a month after Apple introduced the App Store, Mashable reported. But the Android app store eventually evolved into a service that included Google Music and Google eBookstore.

Alphabet Inc. then rebranded all of the services under Google Play in March 2012. But Google chose to celebrate Google Play's birthday on July 25, marking the service's 10th anniversary.

Tech Giant Reveals New Google Play Logo

Because the Play Store is officially 10 years old, Google unveiled its new logo, which users will have to take a really hard look at to see the differences from the old logo. The new logo is very much like the old logo with its right pointing arrow or play symbol with several colored shapes combining to create the symbol with colors such as green, blue, red, and yellow-orange.

However, there are some minor differences, as the new logo features lightly duller corners than its predecessor and the colors are uniform instead of gradients. It appears that Google and several other tech companies are following a recent design trend that makes logos appear flatter and simpler.

Read Also: Google's Switch to Android App for iOS Quietly Releases on Apple App Store - How To Use It

Google Launches New Promo in Celebration of Play Store's 10th Anniversary

The tech giant is also celebrating the Google Play Store 10th anniversary with a new promo beginning July 25, which allows users to get 10 times the usual Play Points for those who make purchases, Engadget reported. Users can then redeem the points for other in-app items or Google Play Credits, which they can use to rent movies or purchase audiobooks.

Google Play Store now has more than 2.5 billion monthly users throughout 190 countries all over the world. It has also long been undergoing several changes, as in 2018, the tech giant rebadged Play Newsstand as Google News and in 2020, it completed the transition of Play Music to YouTube Music. Also this year, Google is removing its Movies & TV section and placing its contents in the TV app.

Google Play Store's history was also marred with controversy, as some apps that were available on the Android app store seemingly dodged Google's screening system. The Play Protect anti-malware system and data safety listings have later made the store more trustworthy than the previous years.

Google was also previously accused by Fortnite creator Epic Games and others of stifling the use of third-party payment systems and preventing manufacturer deals. In June, the company established stricter policies, requiring a number of apps to use the Play Store's billing system. The European Union partly reversed its stance on third-party payment platforms, causing the future of Google Play Store to become a little more uncertain.

Related Article: Android Users Beware: These Google Play Store Apps Spread Malware
Acquisition of Securities of Pacific Bay Minerals Ltd.

New Westminster, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - July 26, 2022) - This press release is being disseminated as required by National Instrument 62-103 The Early Warning System and Related Take Over Bids and Insider Reporting Issues ("NI 62-103") in connection with the acquisition of securities of Pacific Bay Minerals Ltd. (the "Company") by David Brett (the "Acquiror").

The Acquiror announces that on July 20, 2022, the Acquiror purchased 75,000 units ("Units") of the Company at $0.07 per Unit for an aggregate purchase price of $5,250.00 as part of a non-brokered private placement (the "Acquisition"). Each Unit consisted of one common share in the capital of the Company (a "Common Share") and one common share purchase warrant of the Company (a "Warrant"). Each Warrant entitles the holder to acquire one Common Share (each a "Warrant Share"), at $0.10 per Warrant Share for 36 months.

Immediately prior to the Acquisition, the Acquiror owned 2,493,025 Common Shares representing approximately 14.75% of the issued and outstanding shares of the Company on a non-diluted basis, 200,000 options and 57,150 Warrants of the Company representing approximately 16.03% of the Company on a partially diluted basis. Immediately following the Acquisition, the Acquiror owns 2,568,023 Common Shares representing approximately 10.58% of the issued and outstanding shares of the Company on a non-diluted basis, 200,000 options and 132,150 Warrants representing approximately 11.79% of the issued and outstanding shares of the Company on a partially diluted basis.

The Acquiror acquired the Units pursuant to the terms of a subscription agreement on a private placement basis. The Acquiror's current intention is to hold the Units for investment purposes only and not with a view to materially effecting control of the Company. Depending upon market conditions and other factors, and subject to compliance with applicable law, the Acquiror may, from time to time, acquire or dispose of additional shares of the Issuer, in the open market, by private agreement or otherwise, or acquire interests in or enter into related financial instruments involving a security of the Issuer.

For the purposes of NI 62-103, the address of the Acquiror is 502 First Street, New Westminster, BC V3L 2H1.

A copy of the Early Warning Report filed under applicable securities laws is available under the Company's profile on SEDAR (www.sedar.com).

Contact:

Helder Carvalho

hcarvalho@pacificbayminerals.com

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/131982
Wood Dale, Illinois, July 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AAR CORP. (NYSE: AIR), a leading provider of aviation services to commercial and government operators, MROs, and OEMs, was awarded a two-year contract with two option years by the Norwegian Defence Logistics Organisation to provide commercial common parts for the Royal Norwegian Air Force P-8A aircraft fleet of five aircraft.

"AAR is excited to support the Royal Norwegian Air Force's P-8A fleet," said John B. Cooper, AAR Senior Vice President for Global Government and Defense. "We will draw on our extensive knowledge and experience managing the P-8A and commercial B-737 Next Generation (NG) series aircraft and supply chains to deliver the support that Norway needs."

Under the terms of this contract, AAR will provide the initial provisioning requirements and ongoing re-provisioning demands for B-737 NG-series aircraft commercial common parts, including both consumables and repairables, and deliver ground support for aircraft. AAR will assist with spares forecasting and material planning and will manage the inspection, maintenance, repair, overhaul, modification, and upgrade of repairable parts.

"This program builds on AAR's successful strategic expansion into government programs outside of the USA, and we are particularly excited to extend our P-8A platform support to the Royal Norwegian Air Force," said Nicholas Gross, AAR Senior Vice President of Integrated Solutions.





For more information about AAR's Government Solutions, please visit aarcorp.com/integrated-solutions/government-solutions/.

About AAR

AAR is a global aerospace and defense aftermarket solutions company with operations in over 20 countries. Headquartered in the Chicago area, AAR supports commercial and government customers through two operating segments: Aviation Services and Expeditionary Services. AAR's Aviation Services include Parts Supply; OEM Solutions; Integrated Solutions; and Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul.




Seabob-1 and Kiru-Kiru-1 are the 6th and 7th discoveries in 2022

Discoveries will add to the previous discovered recoverable resource estimate for the Stabroek Block of approximately 11 billion barrels of oil equivalent

Liza Unity and Liza Destiny FPSOs have reached their combined design capacity of more than 360,000 gross barrels of oil per day

Hess Corporation (NYSE: HES) today announced two new discoveries at the Seabob-1 and Kiru-Kiru-1 wells on the Stabroek Block offshore Guyana. The discoveries, which are the sixth and seventh this year, will add to the block's previously announced gross discovered recoverable resource estimate of approximately 11 billion barrels of oil equivalent.

The Seabob-1 well encountered approximately 131 feet (40 meters) of high quality oil bearing sandstone reservoirs. The well was drilled in 4,660 feet (1,421 meters) of water by the Stena Carron and is located approximately 12 miles (19 kilometers) southeast of the Yellowtail Field.

The Kiru-Kiru-1 well encountered approximately 98 feet (30 meters) of high quality hydrocarbon bearing sandstone reservoirs. The well was drilled in 5,760 feet (1,756 meters) of water by the Stena DrillMAX and is located approximately 3 miles (5 kilometers) southeast of the Cataback-1 discovery. Drilling operations at Kiru-Kiru are ongoing.

"We are excited to announce two more discoveries on the Stabroek Block, bringing our total this year to seven," CEO John Hess said. "These discoveries will add to the discovered recoverable resource estimate for the block of approximately 11 billion barrels of oil equivalent, and we continue to see multibillion barrels of future exploration potential remaining."

Hess and its co-venture partners currently have four sanctioned developments on the Stabroek Block. The Liza Phase 1 development, which began production in December 2019, reached its new production capacity of more than 140,000 gross barrels of oil per day in the second quarter of 2022 following production optimization work on the Liza Destiny floating production, storage and offloading vessel (FPSO). The Liza Phase 2 development, which achieved first oil in February 2022 utilizing the Liza Unity FPSO, reached its production capacity of approximately 220,000 gross barrels of oil per day earlier this month. The third development at Payara is on track to come online in late 2023 utilizing the Prosperity FPSO with a production capacity of approximately 220,000 gross barrels of oil per day. The fourth development, Yellowtail, will be the largest development to date and is expected to come online in 2025, utilizing the ONE GUYANA FPSO with a production capacity of approximately 250,000 gross barrels of oil per day.

At least six FPSOs with a production capacity of more than 1 million gross barrels of oil per day are expected to be online on the Stabroek Block in 2027, with the potential for up to 10 FPSOs to develop gross discovered recoverable resources.

The Stabroek Block is 6.6 million acres. ExxonMobil affiliate Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited is operator and holds 45 percent interest in the Stabroek Block. Hess Guyana Exploration Ltd. holds 30 percent interest and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited holds 25 percent interest.

Hess Corporation is a leading global independent energy company engaged in the exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas. More information on Hess Corporation is available at www.hess.com.

Cautionary Statements

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Words such as "anticipate," "estimate," "expect," "forecast," "guidance," "could," "may," "should," "would," "believe," "intend," "project," "plan," "predict," "will," "target" and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements, which are not historical in nature. Our forward-looking statements may include, without limitation, the expected number, timing and completion of our development projects and estimates of capital and operating costs for these projects; estimates of our crude oil and natural gas resources and levels of production; and our future financial and operational results. Forward-looking statements are based on our current understanding, assessments, estimates and projections of relevant factors and reasonable assumptions about the future. Forward-looking statements are subject to certain known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from our historical experience and our current projections or expectations of future results expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. The following important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those in our forward-looking statements: fluctuations in market prices or demand for crude oil, natural gas liquids and natural gas, including due to COVID-19, competing or alternative energy products and political conditions and events; potential failures or delays in increasing oil and gas reserves, including as a result of unsuccessful exploration activity, drilling risks and unforeseen reservoir conditions, and in achieving expected production levels; changes in laws, regulations and governmental actions applicable to our business, including legislative and regulatory initiatives regarding environmental concerns; the ability of our contractual counterparties to satisfy their obligations to us, including the operation of joint ventures which we may not control; unexpected changes in technical requirements for constructing, modifying or operating exploration and production facilities and/or the inability to timely obtain or maintain necessary permits; potential disruption or interruption of our operations due to catastrophic events, including COVID-19 or climate change; and other factors described in Item 1A-Risk Factors in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and any additional risks described in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. As and when made, we believe that our forward-looking statements are reasonable. However, given these risks and uncertainties, caution should be taken not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements since such statements speak only as of the date when made and there can be no assurance that such forward-looking statements will occur and actual results may differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement we make. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether because of new information, future events or otherwise.

We use certain terms in this release relating to resources other than proved reserves, such as unproved reserves or resources. Investors are urged to consider closely the oil and gas disclosures in Hess Corporation's Form 10-K, File No. 1-1204, available from Hess Corporation, 1185 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10036 c/o Corporate Secretary and on our website at www.hess.com. You can also obtain this form from the SEC on the EDGAR system.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220726006020/en/

Contacts:

Investor:

Jay Wilson

(212) 536-8940

jrwilson@hess.com



Media:

Lorrie Hecker

(212) 536-8250

lhecker@hess.com
GAINESVILLE, GA / ACCESSWIRE / July 26, 2022 / Talented cedar shake roofing specialists at Braswell Construction Company redefine Georgia neighborhoods using stunning DaVinci Synthetic Shake Roofing.

Braswell Construction Group (BCG) is a preferred partner in the roofing industry known for its exceptional installations and great customer service. Recognized as the top roofing specialist for real cedar shake and synthetic shake roofing, BCG is one of the few Georgia contractors that knows how to restore and maintain cedar shake. 99% of the cedar roofing replacement jobs BCG has worked on were incorrectly installed by the original roofing company.

With over 20 years of experience, Braswell Construction Group installs shake roofing correctly the first time. BCG offers premium shake roofing options for customers wanting to improve the look and function of their home. Additionally, there are different grades of cedar shake and different manufacturers most of which produce inferior products as compared to the products BCG uses. The expanding category of synthetic roofing products cater to homeowners, builders, and remodelers who prefer renewable resources that come with the advantage of extreme durability and longevity yet want the look of natural shake roofs.

Advanced materials and manufacturing technologies give the synthetic products better resistance to weathering, greater durability, and longer lifespans than real cedar, according to manufacturers. "The material is mimicked to obtain efficiency and also longer life over the natural product," says Chris Braswell, owner of BCG.

BCG is recognized as a DaVinci Masterpiece Contractor by DaVinci Roofscapes. The program, sponsored by DaVinci RoofScapes, was established to facilitate relations with select contractors in recognition of their expertise and experience in installing and maintaining DaVinci synthetic shake roofing systems. This esteemed accolade and elite status of being named a DaVinci Masterpiece Contractor recognizes a heightened level of expertise and experience in installing DaVinci roofing systems.

The Power of DaVinci's Synthetic Shake

Roofing professionals know that top manufacturers let their materials speak for themselves, and that is exactly what DaVinci Roofscapes has done since they originated back in 1997. "DaVinci offers a superior quality of product that strikes the balance between high-end luxury design and stunningly modern appearances that are made to last," says Chris Braswell, CEO of Braswell Construction Group. DaVinci's focus on creating beautiful appearances that last longer than the average tile is what makes them a preferred partner with roofing companies all around the United States.

Earlier variations of shake shingles from other brands have slowly become less popular over time, but DaVinci aims to bring it back into the spotlight with a proprietary line of polymer-based composite cedar shake tiles. Their compelling synthetic line offers exactly what customers expect-a stunning appearance and a long lifespan. It pairs the appearance of genuine cedar shingles with even more durability than natural materials currently offer.

DaVinci's Synthetic Shake preserves its beautiful color, even after exposure to the elements. To the delight of homeowners, these shingles are ideal for withstanding a long list of problems caused by nature, including hazards associated with wind, hail, moss, tree falls, and drastic temperature changes.

The Synthetic Shake line has proven its durability and security through a comprehensive series of flame tests, including intermittent, spread, and burning brand tests. These shingles proudly received a Class A rating in the roof fire ratings offered by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), making them a cut above the rest. Able to resist spreading flames, fire penetration, and recurring intermittent flames, DaVinci offers yet another remarkable product designed to keep homeowners safe.

Ideal for homeowners in different climates, DaVinci's Synthetic Shake is built to last no matter what life brings. Available in both single-width and multi-width varieties, the Synthetic Shake line is a compelling example of yet another wonderful DaVinci Roofscapes product. Homeowners can enjoy these shingles in a range of color schemes that covers everything from the subtle Chesapeake all the way to the DaVinci-coined Fancy Shake. Already, the reviews agree that this product is a new age for synthetic shakes in roofing, and DaVinci is changing the way that we view them with these resilient and aesthetically pleasing materials.

About DaVinci Roofscapes:

DaVinci Roofscapes is a roofing manufacturer that wants to make the roofing industry better one roof at a time. Committed to natural looks and styles, they provide materials that make homes look gorgeous, offering any home an instant upgrade. Bringing together natural beauty, exceptional performance, and a long-lasting design, they are able to meet the needs of consumers living in a wide range of different environments. As game-changers in the industry, they can bring together years of experience with innovative designs to create products that look great and perform even better.

About Braswell Construction Group:

Braswell Construction Group is a leader in specialty roofing and a DaVinci Roofer Masterpiece Contractor. BCG has been a recipient of the prestigious DaVinci Project of the Year Award Winner multiple times, an award that is only given to three roofing specialists nationwide.

BCG has been locally owned and operated since 2002, and prides itself on its high-quality craftsmanship, exceptional customer service, and professional acumen. They have a reputation for always completing its roofing and restoration projects on time and on budget while providing customized service, top-notch customer service, and unparalleled workmanship.

Braswell Construction Group has been featured several times in both Yahoo Finance, ABC, FOX, among many others as an industry leader and the top Roofing Contractor in the state of Georgia.

Braswell Construction Group operates from many Georgia locations to service homeowners with all their roofing and restoration needs in Greensboro/Lake Oconee, Augusta, Athens, Covington/Conyers, Stone Mountain, Cumming, Gainesville, Milton, Alpharetta, Sandy Springs, Buckhead, metro Atlanta, and their respective surrounding areas.

For more information, please visit https://www.braswellconstructiongroup.com

Contact Info:

Name: Michelle Bird

Email: info@braswellconstructiongroup.com

Organization: Braswell Construction Group, Inc. Roofing & Restoration

Address: 3060 Pharr Ct N Northwest #32nd, Atlanta, GA 30305

Phone: (678) 283-2551

SOURCE: Braswell Construction Group

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/709874/Gainesville-Shake-Roofer-Braswell-Construction-Group-Uses-Synthetic-Shake-Roofing-to-Improve-Georgia-Neighborhoods


WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Former Indiana Representative Stephen Buyer was arrested on Monday on federal insider trading charges, as the Securities and Exchange Commission announced a parallel civil complaint against the Republican for the same conduct.



The criminal and civil actions both allege that Buyer used multiple investment accounts owned or co-owned by his wife, a former mistress, his son and his cousin for stock transactions he executed after obtaining nonpublic information while working as a consultant for two different companies after leaving Congress in 2011.



Buyer also allegedly engaged in elaborate schemes to cover up the source of his information, according to the criminal indictment issued against him by a grand jury in the Manhattan District Court. That indictment charges him with four counts of securities fraud.



Buyer served in Congress from 1993 to 2011, representing Indiana's 4th Congressional District, previously numbered as its 5th. Prosecutors said that in 2018 and 2019 Buyer bought more than $1.5 million worth of stock in Sprint and Navigant Consulting based on insider information he acquired while doing consulting work.



He later sold the shares after the information became public, prosecutors allege. In the Sprint scheme, prosecutors said Buyer used four different accounts to buy more than 112,000 Sprint shares in one week in 2018. He sold the shares in August of that year, after news of Sprint's merger with T-Mobile became public, for a profit of more than $126,000, according to the indictment.



In 2019, he allegedly bought more than 16,000 shares of Navigant using multiple accounts, and then sold nearly all of them on the same day, after news became public that Navigant would be acquired by Guidehouse, authorities said. The Navigant stock sale netted approximately $223,000 in profit.



Buyer allegedly spread the stock purchases in both companies across seven different accounts.



They included two separate Individual Retirement Accounts belonging to him alone; an investment account belonging to his wife; a joint account Buyer owned with his wife; a joint account Buyer shared with his son; and a joint account Buyer shared with his cousin. Buyer also used a seventh account, owned by a woman identified only as 'Friend-1,' as part of the schemes.



Buyer began a romantic relationship with the unidentified Friend-1 in 2006, according to the SEC complaint. In 2018, Buyer used the woman's IRA account to purchase more than $12,000 worth of stock in Sprint, that complaint said.



A year later, he used the woman's account again to buy $22,000 of stock in Navigant, shortly before both companies were acquired by Buyer's consulting clients, according to the SEC.



In his effort to cover up the schemes, Buyer allegedly used analyst report printouts and phony notes in an effort to convince investigators that his stock purchases were informed solely by publicly available market research, according to authorities.







Copyright(c) 2022 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de
Sotero Co-founders, CTO Shanthi Boppana & CEO Purandar Das

Sotero, a Burlington, MA-based data security company, raised $8M in a Seed extension funding, bringing the round to a total of $13 Million.

The round was led by OurCrowd with participation from Gutbrain Ventures, PBJ Capital, and Boston Seed Capital.

The company intends to use the funds to accelerate its growth in the U.S. data security market, further expanding its technology to secure all data anytime, anywhere.

Co-founded by CTO Shanthi Boppana and CEO Purandar Das, Sotero provides a data security platform that enables customers to protect data anytime, anywhere, regardless of data store, integration mechanisms, and user tools. The platform controls, accesses, operates and uses data to extract information that drives organizational business outcomes and innovation. The data-centered solution consolidates all data instances, applications, and security point solutions into one platform that provides complete visibility, governance, and auditability of all data assets.

FinSMEs

26/07/2022
I have good news if you've ever fancied yourself as a LEGO minifigure. You can now order and customize a LEGO minifigure through the Minifigure Factory on the LEGO website. Even though it's in beta, it can still bring a lot of fun!

The Verge noted that the Minifigure Factory resembles Lego's online Build A Minifigure tool, which is only accessible in a few countries. However, Build A Minifigure doesn't provide the same level of torso customization as Minifigure Factory.

Customization of the Minifigure

You may make a character come to life by following five different processes by partaking in the LEGO Minifigure Factory experience, as per 9to5Toys.

There are a lot of possibilities, from choosing a face and hairstyle to the torso print and even an accessory. You may choose from some amusing extras in this online minifigure maker as well, such as a laptop, a pretzel, and a pizza.

You may further customize your figure by choosing from a variety of additional options on top to merely choosing from the LEGO-made shirt styles. You may add, resize, and position different glyphs and symbols anywhere on the torso to create a unique look. You can then add whatever text you like to take the customization to the next level.

Read More: Apple Arcade Game 'LEGO Brawls' is Heading to the Nintendo Switch This September

Limitations of the Beta

The new LEGO Minifigure Factory online experience is currently in beta testing and does have some restrictions.

Unfortunately, there isn't a lot of choice in terms of available face prints, hair colors, or styles. The company also warns that, while it modifies the user experience, the online site may occasionally go down, as per 9to5Toys.

The LEGO Group is currently restricting it to just one minifigure per household.

Pricing

The cost of each customized LEGO Minifigure Factory figure is $11.99.

You Can Also 3D Print Your Face Onto Action Figure Toys

With the Hasbro Selfie Series, the company will soon begin 3D printing consumers' faces onto action figure toys. In collaboration with FormLabs, Hasbro will digitally scan your face, utilize a 3D printer to bring it to life, and then add it to the action figure of your choice, according to ReviewGeek.

X-Wing pilot, Ghostbuster, Power Ranger, Snake Eyes from GI Joe, and other Marvel and Star Wars selections are the only characters available at the launch. ReviewGeek noted that we can't expect characters, such as Batman, as those are likely to be impossible due to IP conflicts or agreements.

You must first download Hasbro Pulse, the company's mobile app, choose the kind of 3D-printable face you want to create, and then register to receive notifications when the figures go on sale.

So how much will it cost to become a plastic action figure of yourself?

It will cost $59.99 and include a six-inch "collector-grade" figurine with your adorable face prominently displayed.

Sadly, the project isn't finished yet, and Hasbro intends to release it later this year.

Related Article: #ToyTech: Let's Look at Some Trivia on the Awesome Lego Millennium Falcon Ultimate Collector Series
On July 8, 2022 local time, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong at the latter's request on the sidelines of the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting on the Bali Island.

Wang Yi said, if China-Australia relations, which are facing both challenges and opportunities, can achieve sound development, that will serve the common interests of the two peoples and will also be conducive to maintaining peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region. As the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Australia draws near, China is ready to re-examine, re-calibrate, and reinvigorate bilateral ties in the spirit of mutual respect, and strive to bring bilateral relations back on the right track.

Penny Wong said, Australia and China are comprehensive strategic partners, with extensive associations and close economic and trade exchanges benefiting the two peoples. The new Australian government will follow the purposes of the UN Charter, abide by the international law and norms governing international relations, and continue to pursue the one-China principle. The Australian side hopes to take the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries as an opportunity to make bilateral relations more stable and mutually beneficial. Faced with some complicated factors in Australia-China relations, Australia has no intention to exaggerate the differences between the two sides, nor does it intend to take part in containing China. Australia will, on the basis of mutual respect and in a rational and pragmatic manner, maintain constructive contacts and exchanges between the two sides, enhance mutual trust, expand equal-footed cooperation and remove obstacles in bilateral relations.

Wang Yi said, the root cause of the difficulties in China-Australia relations in the past few years lies in the fact that the former Australian government insisted on regarding China as a "rival" or even a "threat", with a series of irresponsible words and deeds against China. China values the fact that the new Australian government has reaffirmed its commitment to the positioning of the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries, and appreciates Australia's adherence to the one-China principle. It is our shared responsibility to abide by the UN Charter and the basic norms governing international relations. China hopes that Australia will seize the current opportunity, take concrete actions, reshape a correct perception of China, and reduce negative assets and accumulate positive energy for improving China-Australia relations. First, stick to regarding China as a partner rather than a rival. Second, stick to the way we get along with each other, which features seeking common ground while reserving differences. Third, stick to not targeting any third party or being controlled by any third party. Fourth, stick to building positive and pragmatic social foundations and public support.

The two sides also communicated on affairs related to Pacific Island Countries (PICs). Wang Yi stressed, China and PICs, all sovereign and independent countries, have carried out equal-footed exchanges and cooperation at the request of PICs and in accordance with the needs of their people. At the same time, China has also carried out tripartite cooperation with countries including Australia and New Zealand in the South Pacific region, which has yielded positive results. China is ready to leverage the respective strengths of all parties to achieve win-win outcomes.




Videos

Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos.
Two commercial ocean liners collided off the coast of Nantucket in the Atlantic Ocean, sparking one of the largest maritime rescues in history.

On the evening of July 25, 1956, SS Andrea Doria was concluding its journey from Genoa, Italy to New York in the US when it met its fateful end. The 697-foot luxury liner had collided with MS Stockholm, a smaller ship that survived the crash but caused the former to sink to the bottom of the ocean.

It was the 1950's and despite being equipped with what at the time was modern radars that could detect other ships, Andrea Doria and Stockholm collided in an area located southwest of the Nantucket Lightship, which marks the entry to and exit from the crowded entryway to the New York Harbor. At the time of the Andrea Doria sinking, it held a nearly full complement of 1,706 passengers and crew and was merely miles away from its destination before the 526-feet long Stockholm slammed into its starboard side.

Read Also: A Concorde Supersonic Plane, Air France Flight 4590, Crashed on This Day 22 Years Ago

Andrea Doria as a Symbol of Post-war Luxury and Travel

In the mid-1950s, the Andrea Doria was designed for luxury, being the first liner to possess three outdoor swimming pools for first, cabin, and tourist classes. According to PBS, the liner boasted of graceful lines and rooms that were lavishly decorated with art, and was equipped with desirable first-class rooms that were unlike any that came before her.

Andrea Doria was also equipped with what at the time was modern navigational equipment, such as two sets of radar which became standard equipment in commercial lines following the war. In theory, the ship was unsinkable, as it featured 11 watertight compartments designed to keep the ship afloat despite any breaches and to maintain a list of not more than 15 degrees.

What Happened During Andrea Doria's Final Voyage

Andrea Doria's unexpectedly final voyage was led by the venerable Captain Piero Calamai, an Italian mariner who was a veteran of World Wars I and II. The ship had safely completed 100 transatlantic crossings from 1953 to 1956, so the voyage on July 25, 1956 should not have been different. Except that it was.

On the final few hours of its nine-day voyage to New York City, Andrea Doria's radar detected another ship, the Stockholm, which had departed New York for Gothenburg, Sweden. Stockholm had 534 passengers and 208 onboard as it left New York and traveled eastbound towards the Nantucket Lightship.

But Andrea Doria was approaching New York from the east as well, with a reduced speed as she had been traveling through heavy fog for many hours. Following regular maritime practice, Andrea Doria sounded a fog whistle and closed all of her watertight doors.

Because adars at the time were not equipped with the electronic acquisition of targets, the very same ones available today, Casual Navigation explained, mariners were forced to plot positions manually. While Stockholm's third officer Johan-Ernst Carstens-Johannsen plotted Andrea Doria to his left and pass port-to-port, Captain Calamai plotted Stockholm's location to his right and adjusted the ship to unconventionally pass starboard-to-starboard. History said it remains uncertain who among the two had misread the radar and steered his ship towards the other.

How Did Andrea Doria Sink?

Shortly before 11:10 p.m. both ships realized they were on a collision course with each other. When Captain Calamai finally saw Stockholm's lights through the thick fog, he attempted one last hard left turn to try to outrun the smaller ship. Meanwhile, Carstens attempted to reverse his propellers to slow down upon seeing Andrea Doria.

Stockholm's icebreaker bow then crashed into Andrea Doria's starboard side, penetrating it about 30 feet into the hull. The ship remained lodged for a few seconds before breaking loose, causing the damaged tanks to be flooded with seawater.

Andrea Doria then developed a list to starboard, damage that she was designed to withstand. But because she was at the end of her voyage, the port fuel tanks were empty and her list was too severe and the seawater penetrated watertight separations. Despite attempts to fill the port tanks with water, the water flowing into the starboard side was just too strong.

Thankfully, the Andrea Doria sinking site was near enough to the New York Harbor, so many other ships were quick to respond to their distress calls. The rescue effort became one of the largest in history, lasting several hours. A total of 51 people perished from the crash and Andrea Doria sank to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean at 10:09 a.m. on July 26.

Related Article: Felicity Ace Cargo Ship Carrying Volkswagen, Porsche, and Lamborghini Cars Sinks After Burning for 2 Weeks


Following a lengthy debate, Philomath officials were divided whether to ban psilocybin, psychedelic mushrooms, for two years or permanently.

Oregon voters made this state the first to legalize psilocybin when they greenlit the manufacture, sale and administration of the drug in 2020 under state Ballot Measure 109. A pair of Portland-area therapists footed the legislation, arguing the psychedelic compound produced in certain mushroom species can treat the effects of anxiety, depression and trauma.

Philomath voters approved of the measure with a 60-40 split.

Under the measure, Oregon counties and municipalities automatically opt in to permitting psilocybin. Local governments that dont act go along with a state edict to get psilocybin treatment up and running, but they are able to set time, manner and place restrictions.

Counties and incorporated cities can opt out with a vote in the Nov. 8 General Election. Governments have until Aug. 19 to get a local ban or moratorium on the fall ballot.

Some Philomath city councilors raised concerns during their meeting Monday, July 25 about law enforcement as well as unanswered questions about how the state will regulate psilocybin manufacturing and use. Public comment received by the council verbally and in writing supported a ban on psilocybin.

We just dont know enough, Councilor Teresa Nielson said. She also said the information in the 2020 ballot measure to legalize psilocybin was misleading compared to what is known now about the mushrooms.

If this is a magic bullet that creates a utopia of healing and well-being, we can repeal (a ban), Nielson said. But until then we have got to consider public safety  thats considered the well-being of all our citizens  and let each one of them have a vote.

At its July 25 meeting, the Philomath City Council voted 4-3 to send a two-year moratorium on psilocybin services and manufacturing to the November ballot. The vote was led by Councilor Jessica Andrade and supported by Councilors Catherine Biscoe, Matt Lehman and David Low.

To preemptively just ban it outright feels wrong, Andrade said, especially considering the fact that we did vote on this as a community.

Measure 109 passed in Philomath with 2,017 votes in favor versus and 1,421 votes against, according to 2020 county elections records. Overall, 63.4% of Benton County voters approved Measure 109.

Andrade pointed to potential health benefits of the drug, saying while side-effects are possible, there are risks with anything, even simple Tylenol. She said the benefits of psilocybin could play an important role in mental health discussions.

Dissenting votes came from Nielson as well as Mayor Chas Jones and Councilor Ruth Causey. Causey and Nielson spoke in strong favor of a total ban; Jones said he supported either a ban or moratorium. City Manager Chris Workman also voiced his support for a full ban.

Noting that Measure 109 passed in Philomath at around 60% approval, Jones told the council members they should be aware a ban might not pass, as history would suggest. He said the moratorium allows voters to revisit the idea.

I believe that this measure was sold to the voters as a panacea that would cure all of Oregons mental health issues, which is totally false, Causey said. This is not safe for our community; its not in the interest of our community.

Arguing that either a moratorium or ban would still fall on the voters to approve or reject, Biscoe called the councils vote premature, particularly in light of state rulemaking expected to continue for up to five more months. She suggested seeing what the final rules look like before taking action.

Our responsibility is to look at all the information, which we dont have yet, Biscoe said.

Time, place and manner rules are likely to be crafted so theyre ready for whatever the outcome of the November ballot. Those restrictions could be used to effectively ban the drug, according to Catherine Pratt, deputy city attorney, similar to what the city has done to block cannabis businesses. In that instance, zoning laws make it virtually impossible to open dispensaries in Philomath.

The psilocybin moratorium, if passed, could be renewed by the voters  potentially indefinitely, Pratt said. She added the two-year period applies because the activation and removal of moratoriums and bans must go on General Election ballots.

In an email after the meeting, Jones said time would tell whether Philomath residents will support the two-year moratorium. He also said he doesnt have any interest in swaying the voters on the issue.

Meanwhile, nearby Corvallis wont take any action to block or delay psilocybin services and manufacturing, its City Council decided last week.

The Oregon Health Authority is charged with rolling out psilocybin treatment and is establishing rules for the psychoactive mushrooms and their administration. The agency is slated to begin licensing providers starting Jan. 2.

With a two-year moratorium, we have a much better sense of how things will progress, Low said.
The European law enforcement agency has been reported to have helped over 1.5 million citizens decrypt their devices from ransomware.

The European police force estimates that over the course of the past six years, they have assisted over 1.5 million people and companies in decrypting files that had been locked by criminals using ransomware, resulting in a savings of approximately $1.5 billion.

These figures were announced by Europol (the European Union law enforcement agency) during the sixth anniversary of the No More Ransom project.

This initiative was a collaborative effort of private companies and public governing bodies to help and provide support to citizens who are victims of ransomware through providing free decryption tools.

Ransomware Measures of Europol

Ransomware is malware designed by malicious actors to be deployed to numerous devices, corrupt their systems and files, and then use that incident to their advantage by asking for ransom money from their victims in order to help them stop the spread of the malware.

According to Vice, Europol stated that as of today, the organization provides 136 free decryption tools for 165 different ransomware strains, some of which include Gandcrab, REvil, and Maze.

As reported, "The initiative was born when a Dutch telecom called the local police to alert them that its employees had found a command and control server inside its infrastructure used by a ransomware group, according to Marijn Schuurbiers, the head of operations at Europol's European Cybercrime Centre, who worked for the Dutch police at the time."

The decryption keys needed to unlock the encrypted files were on the server, which Schuurbiers and his team discovered when they seized it and began investigating the case.

According to Schuurbiers, they now have the ability to help the victims of ransomware solve the problem because of the decryption keys.

At that moment, he realized that he could also use that opportunity to help other victims of ransomware by offering the decryption tools for free on a website.

And with that, the No More Ransomware project was born. For the past six years, the No More Ransom project has been doing just that.

Industry experts have praised the partnership between a government agency, the private sector, and victims.

Read Also: Crypto Rug Pulls: The Biggest NFT Scams Yet

No More Ransomware

Ransomware is becoming increasingly rampant nowadays. Most especially during this current height of trying times with the looming recession, COVID-19 pandemic, an outbreak of a new virus, and many more.

Malware falls into the category of ransomware when it restricts or prohibits users from accessing their own computers. This can be accomplished by locking the device or system of a victim until they pay a ransom.

One of the newest strategies by malicious actors nowadays is to massively deploy malware in the wild and demand a ransom through cryptocurrency.

This incident has been rampant not just in Europe and America, but all countries around the globe. The unfortunate thing about these types of cyberattacks is that they affect everyone.

Ransomware can affect both individual users and commercial organizations of any size. Cybercriminals are not picky; rather, they are frequently interested in targeting the largest number of users possible in order to make the most money possible.

This private and public partnership project was able to keep up with the changing times and provided a tool called the "Crypto Sheriff."

According to No More Ransomware, this will make it possible for them to determine whether or not a decryption solution for that strain is now accessible.

The Crypto Sheriff is a piece of software that can assist victims in identifying the specific strain of ransomware that is present on their device.

Related Article: 46,000 Americans Have Reported Lost More Than $1 Billion to Crypto Scams
If you are experiencing problems when you are using USB printers, it's probably because of your recent update.

According to the BleepingComputer, Microsoft issued a warning to customers that the Windows 10 updates released last June 28 is breaking USB printer functionality.

Redmond explained that the tech company has received reports of issues wherein some printing devices are affected after the user installed the Windows updates KB5014666.

What are the Symptoms of Windows 10 Bug?

Windows 10 users of version 20H2, 21H1, and 21H2 as well as those using Windows Server, version 20H2 are affected by the USB printer functionality issue.

As per Tech Radar, Microsoft said that there are two main symptoms of this Windows 10 bug.

First is "Windows might show duplicate copies of printers installed on a device, commonly with a similar name and the suffix 'Copy1.'" Second is "Applications that refer to the printer by a specific name cannot print."

In a notice on the Windows health dashboard, the company said that "Normal printer usage might be interrupted for either scenario, resulting in failure of printing operations."

Windows is currently conducting investigation on the issue. The company said that when more information is available, they will provide an update.

According to the BleepingComputer, Microsoft requested users experiencing issues with their USB printers or similar printing-related issues to file a report.

Reports can be filed through Feedback Hub under the Problem, then Devices and Drivers, then Print category. Just choose "Make new bug" under the "Find similar feedback" section.

Additional information can be found on the health dashboard. It can also be found in the Microsoft's support website in case you want to file a report.

Read Also: Windows 10 KB5011831 Update Now Available - Will It Just Be Bug Fixes?

Is There a Workaround?

Currently, Microsoft is still working to resolve this recently identified issue. Meanwhile, the company offers workarounds to affected customers. This should help them restore printing functionality on their devices for the time being.

To resolve the issue for the meantime, you have to first open the Settings app. Then navigate to "Bluetooth & devices," and select "Printers & scanners."

If you see a duplicate installation of an existing printer having a suffix of "Copy1", try to find out if printing works for this device. This printer should work as expected.

If what you want to use is the original printer installation and not the duplicate, simply right-click the duplicate, then, select "Printer properties." Afterwards, choose "Ports" tab. Make sure to check the port in use.

Then, open "Printer properties" on the original printer and select the "Ports" tab. Choose the port option being used by the duplicate printer. If this original printer works normally, the duplicate copy printer can be removed.

If the stated workarounds didn't work, you could try updating the printer driver. You might also try opening your printer manufacturer's website for a possible firmware update.

If the issue still persists, you can attempt reinstalling the printer. Simply turn off your printer and disconnect any cables.

Then go to the Settings app and navigate to "Bluetooth & devices." Afterwards, choose "Printers & scanners."

Then, select the affected printer and click the "Remove Device" option. Afterwards, restart your device. Lastly, turn on your printer and reconnect it to your computer.

Related Article: Windows 10 KB5014666 Update: Bug Fixes, New Printer Features, and More
HOUSTON, June 23, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ION Geophysical Corporation (OTC: IOGPQ) announced today that it has completed the reprocessing and reimaging of approximately 19,100 km of 3D seismic data offshore West Africa for its Mauritania 3D reprocessing program. The multi-client program was undertaken through an exclusive agreement with the Ministry of Petroleum, Energy and Mines in Mauritania. It is comprised of 11 vintage seismic surveys and provides a seamless, modern, high resolution data set spanning the Mauritanian offshore coastal basin. This basin is a key part of the frontier MSGBC basin in which several large-scale, offshore, gas fields have been discovered, with an estimated 63 trillion cubic feet (Tcf)* in place in Mauritania thus far.

With foreign investment flowing in, field developments expected to come online in 2023, gas favored as a source of energy for the energy transition, and capacity expected to exceed domestic needs, contracts for LNG export to European and other markets is anticipated. The MSGBC basin has become one that matters in the global oil and gas landscape, even if it is still today a frontier area. We have an enormous potential and we must find the right solutions to use these resources for the development of the country, stated Chemsdine Sow Deina, Exploration Director at Societe Mauritanienne des Hydrocarbures (SMH).

With IONs delivery of its Mauritania 3D reprocessing program, operators now have a lower cost, lower risk, sustainable solution for evaluating the offshore hydrocarbon potential of Mauritania, said Chris Usher, President and CEO. As a result, we anticipate additional discoveries will be made that ensure Mauritanias long term energy security, as well as exports that fund sustainable economic growth and development.

The Mauritania 3D reprocessing program was supported by the industry and almost triples the amount of 3D data that ION has delivered this year from approximately 10,000 km2 to 29,000 km2. Final pre-stack depth imaged deliverables are now available. Learn more at iongeo.com/Mauritania.

*Estimate from Mauritania-Senegal: an emerging New African Gas Province  is it still possible? October, 1, 2020. The Oxford Institute for Energy Studies

About ION

Leveraging innovative technologies, ION delivers powerful data-driven decision-making to offshore energy and maritime operations markets, enabling clients to optimize investments and results through access to our data, software, and distinctive analytics. Learn more at iongeo.com.

The information herein contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These forward-looking statements may include information and other statements that are not of historical fact. Actual results may vary materially from those described in these forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements reflect numerous assumptions and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include the Companys ability to consummate the restructuring transactions; the Companys ability to obtain Bankruptcy Court approval with respect to motions or other requests made to the Bankruptcy Court; the ability of the Company to confirm and consummate the Plan; the Companys ability to comply with the milestones set forth in the Restructuring Support Agreement; the effects of the Chapter 11 Cases on the Companys liquidity or results of operations or business prospects; the effects of the Chapter 11 Cases on the Companys business and the interests of various constituents; the length of time that the Company will operate under Chapter 11 protection; risks associated with third-party motions in the Chapter 11 Cases; increased levels of employee attrition during the Chapter 11 Cases; the ultimate benefits of our restructuring transactions; the impacts of the Companys delisting by the NYSE; the risks associated with the timing and development of ION Geophysical Corporations products and services; pricing pressure; decreased demand; changes in oil prices; agreements made or adhered to by members of OPEC and other oil producing countries to maintain production levels; the COVID-19 pandemic; political, execution, regulatory, and currency risks; and the impact to our liquidity in the current uncertain macroeconomic environment, including the war in Ukraine. For additional information regarding these various risks and uncertainties, see our Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, filed on February 12, 2021, and our Forms 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2021, June 30, 2021, and September 30, 2021, filed on May 6, 2021, August 12, 2021, and November 3, 2021, respectively. Additional risk factors, which could affect actual results, are disclosed by the Company in its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including its Form 10-K, Form 10-Qs and Form 8-Ks filed during the year. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements.
New York, July 25, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Nuclear Power Reactor Decommissioning Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06195684/?utm_source=GNW

The COVID-19 outbreak has had no significant impact on the market. Major factors driving the market include the increasing number of nuclear reactors reaching operational retirement, declining prices of renewable power generation sources (i.e., wind and solar), rendering nuclear power less economical, and growing sensitivity towards environmental issues. However, the lifetime extension of nuclear power plants with favorable government policies is expected to hinder market growth.



Key Highlights

The decommissioning activity of commercial reactors is expected to dominate the market due to the end of the operational life of nuclear power reactors and fall in the cost of alternative energy generation sources.

Nuclear phase-out policies in several countries such as Germany, United Kingdom, South Korea are expected to creates several opportunities for foreign and domestic players to provide the necessary expertise that the countries needs to develop their decommissioning market.

North America is expected to be the fastest growing market for nuclear power reactor decommissioning, with the United States being one of the major decommissioning hotspots in the region.



Key Market Trends



Commercial Reactors Segment Expected to Dominate the Market



As of October 2021, 441 commercial nuclear power plants were in operation across 32 countries. The United States had the largest nuclear electricity generation capacity and generated more nuclear electricity than any other country. Moreover, France, as the second-largest nuclear electricity generation capacity and second-highest nuclear electricity generation, held the largest market share in 2020.

Several factors are responsible for the shutdown and decommissioning of commercial nuclear power plants, including economic, regulatory, and social factors. Primarily, the end of operational life and fall in the cost of alternative energy generation sources, such as solar and wind, made nuclear energy less cost-competitive. Moreover, following the Fukushima disaster of 2011, nuclear safety protocols have been upgraded globally, which has levied additional costs for the upgradation of infrastructure and increased operations and maintenance costs. Due to this, operators of many older commercial reactors, which have an operating life of 40 years but can be extended by 20 more years with infrastructural upgrades are opting to decommission older units. ?

The policy-level initiatives from governments across the world have also led to the shutdown of nuclear power plants. The governments in many countries planned to reduce nuclear power in the energy mix of their countries. Such regulatory policies are prevalent among Western European states with a strong renewable portfolio and serious concerns about the environmental footprint and potential risk of operating commercial nuclear power plants. ?

Germany, as per its national policy, has plans to shut down all of the countrys reactors by the end of 2022. Similarly, in 2017, Switzerland voted to phase-out nuclear power plants from the country. In September 2020, the Belgian government signed an agreement reaffirming its commitment to phasing-out nuclear power by 2025. Spain has also declared that it will close four of its seven operating commercial reactors by 2030 and close the rest three reactors within the next five years, completely phasing out nuclear generation by 2035. ?

Further, the development of renewable energy technologies and increasing economic viability of the same has led to its massive development. Countries across the world are creating huge infrastructure pertaining to renewable power, which has offset the requirement for nuclear reactors. Moreover, nuclear power generation is being replaced by renewable energy sources, which led to the closure of nuclear reactors. Therefore, the surge in the development of renewable energy sources is a big boost for the global nuclear reactor decommissioning market.?

Therefore, commercial rectors are expected to dominate the market during the forecast period due to the aforementioned factors.



North America Expected to Witness Significant Growth



North America is one of the largest regions in terms of operable reactors worldwide. The market for nuclear power reactor decommissioning is expected to witness significant growth, owing to the majority ofdemand coming from the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

The United States is one of the largest nuclear power producers, accounting for more than 30% of the global nuclear power generated in 2021. The countrys nuclear reactors produced 778.15 TWh of electricity in 2021, representing a slight decrease of 1.48% from 2020.

As of May 2022, the United States has 92 operating nuclear power reactors with a combined capacity of 94.7 GWe in 30 states, used by 30 different power companies. In addition, two reactors are under construction with a total of 2.23 GWe.

As the era of nuclear power winds down in the United States, the decommissioning of nuclear power plants is becoming a significant industry. Private companies are acquiring these plants, taking over their licenses, liability, decommissioning funds, and waste contracts. Around 41 reactors with a combined capacity of 19.97 GWewere shut down, with the latest one being the Palisades nuclear plant in Michigan shut down in May 2022. In December 2021, HoltecInternational received approval from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to acquire the Palisades plant in Covert, Michigan, to decommission and dismantle the plant. Additionally, around 198 reactors are expected to shut down by 2030.

The nuclear reactor fleet of the United States is now aging. The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering applications for extending operating licenses beyond 60 to 80 years with its subsequent license renewal (SLR) program. However, some plant owners recently opted for early retirements of their nuclear units at 45 to 50 years old.

Over the past decade, intense competition from electricity generation using low-cost shale gas has hurt the competitiveness of the nuclear power industry in the country. Moreover, record low wholesale electricity prices plus the high cost of life extension (PLEX) upgrades have together driven early nuclear plant retirements.

For many years, Canada has been a leader in nuclear research and technology, exporting reactor systems developed in Canada. In 2021, Canada generated 92.6 TWh of electricity from nuclear power plants, accounting for about 15% of the total electricity generation mix. As of July 2021, 19 operable reactors located in Ontario with a combined capacity of 13,624 Mwe and around six reactors with a combined capacity of 2.14 GW were shut down.

As of July 2021, Canada has a variety of research and prototype power reactors that are no longer in use and have been shut down. These reactors are in a safe storage state and awaiting final decommissioning. Some of these reactors include the WR-1, the NRX reactor at Chalk River Laboratories (CRL), the MAPLE-1 and MAPLE-2 (Multipurpose Applied Physics Lattice Experiment) reactors at CRL, the Gentilly-1 nuclear generating station in Becancour, QC, the Nuclear Power Demonstration (NPD) reactor in Rolphton, ON, and The Douglas Point nuclear-generating station in Kincardine, ON. These, in turn, are likely to drive the demand for the countrys nuclear power reactor decommissioning market during the forecast period.

Therefore, owing to the above points, North America is expected to witness significant growth in the nuclear power reactor decommissioning market during the forecast period.



Competitive Landscape



The nuclear power reactor decommissioning market is moderately fragmented. Some of the major players involved in the market include Babcock International Group PLC, Fluor Corporation, GE Hitachi Nuclear Services, AECOM, and Westinghouse Electric Company.



Additional Benefits:



The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format

3 months of analyst support

Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06195684/?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.



__________________________
Denver, July 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aurora, Colo. (July 26, 2022)  For the 11th year in a row, U.S. News and World Report ranks UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital, located on the Anschutz Medical Campus, as the No. 1 hospital in the state of Colorado. Three additional UCHealth hospitals were also ranked including Medical Center of the Rockies in Loveland (No. 2), Memorial Hospital in Colorado Springs (No. 4) and Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins (No. 5).

While the effects of the pandemic continue to impact hospitals across the country, these rankings are a testament to the dedication and perseverance of UCHealths dedicated staff and clinicians in providing the very best care for our patients, said Elizabeth B. Concordia, UCHealth president and CEO. Quality, safety and an excellent experience for our patients are always UCHealths top priorities.

U.S. News ranks University of Colorado Hospital among the nations best in five specialties, including No. 2 in lung and respiratory care, a ranking UCH shares with partner National Jewish Health. UCHs nationally ranked specialties include:

Pulmonology and lung surgery

Rheumatology

Diabetes and endocrinology

Gastroenterology and GI surgery

Ear, nose and throat (ENT)

University of Colorado Hospital is also rated as high performing in cancer, geriatrics, neurology, orthopedics and urology.

As Colorados only adult academic medical center, University of Colorado Hospital offers outstanding clinical care, utilizing research and innovative treatments developed in partnership with the renowned experts at the CU Anschutz Medical Campus, said Tom Gronow, president and CEO of University of Colorado Hospital. This means our patients can count on receiving the most advanced treatments available, with outcomes among the nations best.

The annual Best Hospitals rankings, now in its 33nd year, are designed to assist patients and their doctors in making informed decisions. For the 2022-23 rankings, U.S. News evaluated more than 4,500 medical centers nationwide in 15 specialties and 17 procedures and conditions.

For the full list of Colorado hospital rankings, visit https://health.usnews.com/best-hospitals/rankings.

About UCHealth

UCHealth is an innovative, nonprofit health system that delivers the highest quality medical care with an excellent patient experience. UCHealth includes over 28,000 employees, 12 acute-care full-service hospitals and hundreds of physicians across Colorado, southern Wyoming and western Nebraska. With University of Colorado Hospital on the CU Anschutz Medical Campus as its academic anchor and the only adult academic medical center in the region, UCHealth is dedicated to providing unmatched patient care in the Rocky Mountain West. Offering more than 150 clinic locations, UCHealth pushes the boundaries of medicine, providing advanced treatments and clinical trials and improving health through innovation.

Attachment
Orphalan announces enrolment of the first five patients in the

International Wilson's Disease Patient Registry (iWD Registry)

Worlds first global Wilsons Registry will provide an international platform for sharing real-world information about Wilsons disease

Registry expected to include 500 individuals affected by this rare disease

Paris, France [26 July], 2022 -- Orphalan SA (Orphalan or the Company), an international orphan drug development and commercialization company, today announces the enrolment of the first five patients into the International Wilson's Disease Patient Registry (iWD Registry), the first global registry of patients with Wilsons Disease.

The registry was established by Orphalan to provide physicians from around the world with a platform to engage, share cases and consult with each other on this rare disease. iWD Registry intends to describe the natural history of treated Wilsons Disease patients and to explore the clinical phenotype, geographic, treatment, and gender influences on the course of the condition. The registry will also encourage the identification of new standards for the management of Wilsons Disease, provide long-term data for epidemiological research and evaluate adherence to therapies. The first five patients have been enrolled at the Childrens Memorial Health Institute, and the Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology, Warsaw. Further sites in Belgium, Spain, Germany, the UK, and France will open to recruitment in the coming months.

Upon completion, iWD Registry is expected to include 500 individuals. Wilsons Disease patients over the age of 12 who provide informed consent are eligible for inclusion, with monitoring taking place during their regular follow-up visits for ongoing care by their primary physician.

Wilsons disease is a rare inherited disorder of copper transport, primarily affecting the liver and brain, which can be fatal if left untreated. Orphalan commercializes Cuprior, its trientine tetrahydrochloride product for the treatment of Wilsons disease in Europe, and is launching Cuvrior, recently approved by the FDA, in the US in Q4 this year.

Dr. Omar Kamlin, Medical Director at Orphalan, commented: The enrolment of the first five people in the iWD Registry further highlights Orphalans commitment to supporting patients affected by this disease. Much of the evidence that has so far been used to develop Wilsons Disease treatment guidelines is based on retrospective analyses of data from single sites. By including prospective data from patients worldwide, this registry will help physicians collaborate to find better standards for the treatment of Wilsons Disease. My congratulations go to Prof Socha, Dr. Janczyk, and their team at the Childrens Memorial Health Institute in Warsaw for enrolling the very first patient.

Professor Pramod Mistry, MBBS, PhD, MA, MD, Director of Yale Lysosomal Disease Centre, added: An international registry of Wilsons Disease patients is long overdue, and I congratulate the team at Orphalan for establishing it. Wilsons Disease is a global condition and its not uncommon for me to receive an enquiry on management from a physician in, say, India. The more we share information and cases, the better well be able to support patients. The registry will also harness patient participation because there will always be questions from patients that individual centres cannot answer. I believe well see a big positive impact on patient care.

-ENDS-

About Orphalan

Orphalan is a pioneering, international orphan drug development and commercialization company. Founded in 2011, the company develops and delivers innovative therapies for people living with orphan diseases, and is initially focused on Wilsons Disease, a rare genetic disorder that can be life-threatening if untreated. Orphalan commercializes Cuprior, its trientine tetrahydrochloride product for the treatment of Wilsons disease in Europe, and is launching Cuvrior, recently approved by the FDA, in the US this year. For more information visit www.orphalan.com and follow us on LinkedIn.

For more information, please contact:

Orphalan:

Geraldine van den Broek, Head of Corporate & BD

Tel: +33 (0)1 42 49 82 64

info@orphalan.com

Consilium Strategic Communications:

Mary-Jane Elliott, Tracy Cheung, Davide Salvi

Tel: +44 (0) 203 709 5700

orphalan@consilium-comms.com
London, July 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --  Global Neuromorphic Computing Market  the new research report adds in Data Bridge Market Researchs reports database. This Research Report spread across 350 Page, 220 No of Tables, And 60 No of Figures with summarizing Top companies with tables and figures.

The comprehensive Neuromorphic Computing business report helps define commerce strategies to the businesses of small, medium as well as large size. All the data and statistics provided in this market report are backed up by latest and proven tools and techniques such as SWOT analysis and Porter's Five Forces Analysis. This report includes a range of inhibitors as well as driving forces of the market which are analysed in both qualitative and quantitative approach so that readers and users get precise information and insights about this industry. This Neuromorphic Computing market report is an ideal guide for actionable ideas, enhanced decision-making and better business strategies.

The neuromorphic computing market is expected to witness market growth at a rate of 52.50% in the forecast period of 2022 to 2029, and is estimated to reach the value of USD 34.61 billion by 2029. Data Bridge Market Research report on neuromorphic computing market provides analysis and insights regarding the various factors expected to be prevalent throughout the forecast period while providing their impacts on the markets growth. The rise in demand for the technology globally is escalating the growth of neuromorphic computing market.

Request Sample Copy of Neuromorphic Computing Market @ https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/request-a-sample/?dbmr=global-neuromorphic-computing-market&GNW/25July2022

Neuromorphic Computing report is delivered as the most relevant, unique, fair and creditable global market research report to valuable customers and clients depending upon their specific business needs. It facilitates in adjusting the production depending on the conditions of demand which avoids wastage of goods. Market research reports like this one surely helps to reduce business risk and failure. This report highlights numerous industry verticals such as company profile, contact details of manufacturer, product specifications, geographical scope, production value, market structures, recent developments, revenue analysis, market shares and possible sales volume of the company

Company Coverage (Company Profile, Sales Revenue, Price, Gross Margin, Main Products etc.): 

Intel Corporation,

IBM,

BrainChip.,

Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.,

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP,

SAMSUNG,

HRL Laboratories, LLC,

General Vision Inc.,

Applied Brain Research,

Vicarious,

Numenta,

Aspinity analogML,

BrainCo, Inc.,

Bitbrain Technologies,

Halo Neuroscience,

Linux Kernel Organization, Inc.,

Nextmind SRL,

Cognixion, Inc.,

NeuroPace, Inc.,

MindMaze and

Innatera Nanosystems

Access Full PDF Research @ https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/checkout/buy/enterprise/global-neuromorphic-computing-market?GNW/25July2022

Important Key questions answered in the Neuromorphic Computing market report:

What are the key factors affecting market dynamics? What are the drivers, challenges, and business risks in the Neuromorphic Computing market?

What are the leading factors likely to hamper the growth of the Neuromorphic Computing Market during the forecast period?

What is Dynamics, This Overview Includes an Analysis of the Scope and price analysis of top Manufacturers' Profiles?

Who Are Opportunities, Risk, and Driving Force of the Neuromorphic Computing market? Knows Upstream Raw Materials Sourcing and Downstream Buyers

Who are the key manufacturers in space? Business Overview by Type, Applications, Gross Margin, and Market Share

What are the opportunities and threats faced by manufacturers in the global market?

Regions reflecting tremendous growth and development opportunities are described in this study

Major Segmentation: Neuromorphic Computing Market

On the basis of offering, the neuromorphic computing market is segmented into hardware and software. Hardware is further segmented into processor and memory.

On the basis of deployment, the neuromorphic computing market is segmented into edge computing and cloud computing.

On the basis of application, the neuromorphic computing market is segmented into image recognition, data processing, signal recognition, object detection and data mining.

On the basis of end-user, the neuromorphic computing market is segmented into aerospace and defense, it and telecom, medical, automotive, industrial and others.

Country Level Analysis:-

The neuromorphic computing market is analyzed and market size, volume information is provided by country, offering, deployment, applications and end user as referenced above.

The countries covered in the global neuromorphic computing market report are the U.S., Canada and Mexico in North America, Brazil, Argentina and Rest of South America as part of South America, Germany, Italy, U.K., France, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Turkey, Russia, Rest of Europe in Europe, Japan, China, India, South Korea, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Rest of Asia-Pacific (APAC) in the Asia-Pacific (APAC), Saudi Arabia, U.A.E, South Africa, Egypt, Israel, Rest of Middle East and Africa (MEA) as a part of Middle East and Africa (MEA).

North America dominates the neuromorphic computing market due to the presence of key neuromorphic chip manufacturers within the region. Europe is expected to witness significant growth during the forecast period of 2022 to 2029 because of the expansion as significant investments are being made in neuromorphic projects in the region.

Browse More about This Premium Research Report at https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-neuromorphic-computing-market?GNW/25July2022

Key Drivers:-

The rise in the number of applications in the area of automation across the globe acts as one of the major factors driving the growth of neuromorphic computing market . The increased demand for artificial intelligence for translation and chatterbots, computer vision and image processing, language processing, nonlinear controls and robotics accelerate the market growth. The advancement of disruptive technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), and rise in demand for the technology owning to the low power consumption, higher speed, and optimum memory usage further influence the market. Additionally, urbanization and digitization, rise in biotechnology sector, expansion of end use industries and cross-industry partnerships and collaborations positively affect the neuromorphic computing market. Furthermore, adoption of neuromorphic computing for security purposes and design and development of neuromorphic chips for brain-based robots and cognitive robots extend profitable opportunities to the market players in the forecast period of 2022 to 2029.

On the other hand, complex algorithms increasing complexity of designing hardware of neuromorphic chips and lack of knowledge about neuromorphic computing are expected to obstruct the market growth. Applications dependent on software compatibility of neural hardware are projected to challenge the neuromorphic computing market in the forecast period of 2022-2029.

How Research Study of DBMR helps clients in their decision-making:

Creating strategies for new product development

Supporting & Adjust Investment/business decisions

Benchmark and judge own competitiveness

Aiding in the business planning process

Serving as a credible, independent check on company internal forecasts

Supporting acquisition strategies

Below is the TOC of the report:

Assumptions and Acronyms Used Research Methodology Neuromorphic Computing Market Overview Neuromorphic Computing Supply Chain Analysis Neuromorphic Computing Pricing Analysis Global Neuromorphic Computing Market Analysis and Forecast by Type Global Neuromorphic Computing Market Analysis and Forecast by Application Global Neuromorphic Computing Market Analysis and Forecast by Sales Channel Global Neuromorphic Computing Market Analysis and Forecast by Region North America Neuromorphic Computing Market Analysis and Forecast Latin America Neuromorphic Computing Market Analysis and Forecast Europe Neuromorphic Computing Market Analysis and Forecast Asia Pacific Neuromorphic Computing Market Analysis and Forecast Middle East & Africa Neuromorphic Computing Market Analysis and Forecast Competition Landscape

For More Insights Get Detailed TOC @ https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/toc/?dbmr=global-neuromorphic-computing-market&GNW/25July2022

Browse More Trending Report:-

Quantum Computing Market , By System (Single Qubit Quantum System, Multiple Qubit System), Qubits (Trapped Ion Qubits, Semiconductor Qubits and Super Conducting), Offering (Systems, Services), Deployment Model (On-Premises, Cloud), Component (Hardware, Software and Services), Application (Cryptography, Simulation, Parallelism, Machine Learning, Algorithms, Others), Logic Gates (Toffoli Gate, Hadamard Gate, Pauli Logic Gates and Others), Verticals (Banking And Finance, Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals, Defense, Automotive, Chemical, Utilities, Others) https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-quantum-computing-market

, By System (Single Qubit Quantum System, Multiple Qubit System), Qubits (Trapped Ion Qubits, Semiconductor Qubits and Super Conducting), Offering (Systems, Services), Deployment Model (On-Premises, Cloud), Component (Hardware, Software and Services), Application (Cryptography, Simulation, Parallelism, Machine Learning, Algorithms, Others), Logic Gates (Toffoli Gate, Hadamard Gate, Pauli Logic Gates and Others), Verticals (Banking And Finance, Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals, Defense, Automotive, Chemical, Utilities, Others) Affective Computing Market , By Technology (Touch-Based, Touchless), Components (Software and Hardware), Software (Speech Recognition, Gesture Recognition, Facial Feature Extraction, Analytics Software, Enterprise Software, Others), Hardware (Sensors, Cameras, Storage Devices and Processors, Others), Vertical (Academia and Research, Media and Entertainment, Government and Defense, Healthcare and Life Sciences, IT and Telecom, Retail and E-Commerce, Automotive, Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance, Other Verticals), and Country (U.S., Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Rest of South America, Germany, Italy, U.K., France, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Turkey, Russia, Rest of Europe, Japan, China, India, South Korea, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Rest of Asia-Pacific, Saudi Arabia, U.A.E, South Africa, Egypt, Israel, Rest of the Middle East and Africa) https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-affective-computing-market

, By Technology (Touch-Based, Touchless), Components (Software and Hardware), Software (Speech Recognition, Gesture Recognition, Facial Feature Extraction, Analytics Software, Enterprise Software, Others), Hardware (Sensors, Cameras, Storage Devices and Processors, Others), Vertical (Academia and Research, Media and Entertainment, Government and Defense, Healthcare and Life Sciences, IT and Telecom, Retail and E-Commerce, Automotive, Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance, Other Verticals), and Country (U.S., Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Rest of South America, Germany, Italy, U.K., France, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Turkey, Russia, Rest of Europe, Japan, China, India, South Korea, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Rest of Asia-Pacific, Saudi Arabia, U.A.E, South Africa, Egypt, Israel, Rest of the Middle East and Africa) Healthcare Cloud Computing Market , By Product (Healthcare Provider Solutions, Non-clinical Information Systems (NCIS), Healthcare Payer Solutions), Deployment (Private Cloud, Public Cloud, Hybrid Cloud), Component (Software, Services), Pricing Model (Pay-As-You-Go, Spot Pricing Model), Service Model (Software-As-A-Service, Infrastructure-As-A-Service, Platform-As-A-Service), End User (Healthcare Providers, Healthcare Payers), Country (U.S., Canada, Mexico, Germany, Italy, U.K., France, Spain, Netherland, Belgium, Switzerland, Turkey, Russia, Rest of Europe, Japan, China, India, South Korea, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Rest of Asia-Pacific, Brazil, Argentina, Rest of South America, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Israel, Rest of Middle East and Africa) https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-healthcare-cloud-computing-market

, By Product (Healthcare Provider Solutions, Non-clinical Information Systems (NCIS), Healthcare Payer Solutions), Deployment (Private Cloud, Public Cloud, Hybrid Cloud), Component (Software, Services), Pricing Model (Pay-As-You-Go, Spot Pricing Model), Service Model (Software-As-A-Service, Infrastructure-As-A-Service, Platform-As-A-Service), End User (Healthcare Providers, Healthcare Payers), Country (U.S., Canada, Mexico, Germany, Italy, U.K., France, Spain, Netherland, Belgium, Switzerland, Turkey, Russia, Rest of Europe, Japan, China, India, South Korea, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Rest of Asia-Pacific, Brazil, Argentina, Rest of South America, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Israel, Rest of Middle East and Africa) Fog Computing Market , By Computing Solution (Hardware, Software), Application (Connected Vehicles, Smart Grids, Smart Cities, Connected Healthcare, Smart Manufacturing, Building and Home Automation, Transportation and Logistics, Security and Emergencies, Others), Country (U.S., Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Rest of South America, Germany, Italy, U.K., France, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Turkey, Russia, Rest of Europe, Japan, China, India, South Korea, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Rest of Asia-Pacific, Saudi Arabia, U.A.E, South Africa, Egypt, Israel, Rest of Middle East and Africa) https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-fog-computing-market

, By Computing Solution (Hardware, Software), Application (Connected Vehicles, Smart Grids, Smart Cities, Connected Healthcare, Smart Manufacturing, Building and Home Automation, Transportation and Logistics, Security and Emergencies, Others), Country (U.S., Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Rest of South America, Germany, Italy, U.K., France, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Turkey, Russia, Rest of Europe, Japan, China, India, South Korea, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Rest of Asia-Pacific, Saudi Arabia, U.A.E, South Africa, Egypt, Israel, Rest of Middle East and Africa) Edge Computing Market , By Component (Hardware, Gateways, Micro Data Centers, Platform, Solution and Services), Technology (Mobile Edge Computing and Fog Computing), Application (Smart Cities, Location Services, Analytics, Environmental Monitoring, Optimized Local Content, Data Caching, Augmented Reality and Others), Organization Size (Small & Medium-Sized Enterprises and Large Enterprises), Vertical (Manufacturing, Healthcare, Transportation, Government & Public, Media & Entertainment, Energy & Utilities, Telecom & IT, Retail and Others), Country (U.S., Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Rest of South America, Germany, Italy, U.K., France, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Turkey, Russia, Rest of Europe, Japan, China, India, South Korea, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Rest of Asia-Pacific, Saudi Arabia, U.A.E, South Africa, Egypt, Israel, Rest of Middle East and Africa) https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-edge-computing-market

About Data Bridge Market Research:

An absolute way to forecast what future holds is to comprehend the trend today!

Data Bridge Market Research set forth itself as an unconventional and neoteric Market research and consulting firm with unparalleled level of resilience and integrated approaches. We are determined to unearth the best market opportunities and foster efficient information for your business to thrive in the market. Data Bridge endeavours to provide appropriate solutions to the complex business challenges and initiates an effortless decision-making process. Data Bridge is an aftermath of sheer wisdom and experience which was formulated and framed in the year 2015 in Pune.

Data Bridge Market Research has over 500 analysts working in different industries. We have catered more than 40% of the fortune 500 companies globally and have a network of more than 5000+ clientele around the globe. Data Bridge adepts in creating satisfied clients who reckon upon our services and rely on our hard work with certitude. We are content with our glorious 99.9 % client satisfying rate.

Contact Us:-
The program is founded on three pillars: Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance



Shatara: In 2021, we were able to increase our reliance on renewable energy sources by 70% compared to the previous year.

AMMAN, Jordan, July 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Umniah recently launched its sustainability program, outlining the environmental, social and corporate governance practices as well as its commitment to promoting a positive and sustainable future. Umniah further highlighted its pledge to address the environmental challenges we are now facing, raise awareness about this critical issue and encourage and reward its subscribers to become active change agents towards a better, more sustainable future.

Commenting on the occasion, Umniah CEO Ziad Shatara said, Stable climates are essential in enabling us to thrive and live in harmony with our natural environment, however, with climate change threatening the health and safety of our communities, our economy and our natural heritage, we are compelled to utilize our expertise and leadership, and to play a pivotal role in making positive changes in the lives of individuals and society. Shatara went on to explain that Umniah is dedicated to achieving environmental sustainability in line with the goals of Jordans 2025 vision.

Shatara explained that Umniah's commitment to the standards set by the International Telecommunication Union, which requires the ICT industry to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 45% between 2020 and 2030, resulted in the company conducting an audit to measure the greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions for its facilities over the past three years (2019-2021), which included emissions from network services, its headquarters, data center and company-owned retail stores.

According to Shatara, Umniah continues to align its sustainability strategies, plans and programs with the governments vision, goals and objectives of economic modernization.

Shatara also highlighted Umniah's environmental practices, as well as its consideration and awareness to the impact of energy management processes and greenhouse gas emissions. He stressed that Umniah is focusing on the three pillars of sustainability, which center on environmental, social and corporate governance practices.

On the environmental level, in 2019, Umniah inaugurated its solar energy farms in Mafraq, Al Dulail, Hallabat and Azraq, a move that is in line with Jordans plans to reduce the release of greenhouse gases resulting from the burning gas and oil by shifting towards clean energy sources. Umniahs solar energy farms now generate around 50% of its electrical energy needs.

In 2021, Umniah managed to increase its reliance on renewable energy by 70% compared to the previous year as well as decreasing its greenhouse gases emissions. Umniah will continue to implement its forward thinking sustainability strategy over the upcoming months, in continuation to its commitment to supporting Jordan's commitments to international environmental forums and institutions.

On the social level, Shatara pointed out that Umniah plays an active role in creating positive social and economic impact in local communities through its innovative corporate social responsibility strategy, which supports people, ideas and projects that offer added value in various sectors including education, sports, culture, technology and the arts to name a few, as well as its avid commitment to furthering innovation and entrepreneurship through its business incubator The Tank.

In terms of effective governance and strong risk management, Shatara said that Umniah focuses on adopting, implementing and reviewing the policies and processes that ensure the practice of good corporate governance in terms of transparency, accountability, flexibility and compliance with all regulations and laws, in line with the companys sustainability program objectives.

Umniah Chief Commercial Officer, Zaid Al-Ibrahim, highlighted the companys motivation to be part of both local and international efforts to decrease heat emissions and contribute to the mitigation of global climate change.

Al-Ibrahim pointed to the increased number of people connected to the Internet, the rise in data traffic and the surge in demand for data centers, in addition to a rise in the employment of energy-intensive ICT equipment and the demand for digital services, which all lead to an increase in emissions. This, in turn, has a detrimental and marked effect on the environment in the long run, and demands that companies take active measures to the emissions. Al-Ibrahim went on to add that recently, Jordanians have shown an increased interest and awareness in environmental issues as well as the dangers of global warming.

Al-Ibrahim also mentioned that telecommunications companies play a vital role in supporting sustainability on a global level, with Umniah pledging to be a local and regional leader in this field with its environmentally friendly solutions and initiatives that encourage the reduction of energy consumption.

Al-Ibrahim also said that Umniah will develop a carbon emissions calculator using global standards and protocols that allow its customers to gauge their carbon footprint, reduce their emissions as well as emphasize their responsibility towards stopping climate change.

Manar Mahafza +962780403040 Manar.mahafza@advvise.com

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at



https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/038aeb45-8346-4195-8158-11977486b1f1

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/0816513d-bc48-44ba-8186-9a829a7f90e9
Dublin, July 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Global Plastic Hot & Cold Pipe Market by Raw Material (PEX, PE-RT, PPR, C-PVC, and PB), Application (Water Plumbing Pipes, Radiator Connection Pipes and Underfloor Surface Heating & Cooling), End User & Region - Trends & Forecast to 2027" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



The plastic hot and cold pipe market is projected to reach USD 8.7 billion by 2027 from an estimated USD 6.5 billion in 2022, at a CAGR of 5.9% during the forecast period.

The global plastic hot and cold pipe market has a promising growth potential driven primarily by factors such as the government support and incentives for adoption of underfloor heating systems, and these pipes are corrosion resistant, easy to install and cost efficient compared to metal pipes.



Plastic hot and cold pipes are made of different raw materials like cross-linked polyethylene (PEX), polyethylene- raised temperature (PE-RT), polypropylene random copolymer (PPR), chlorinated poly vinyl chloride (C-PVC) and polybutylene (PB). While steel, cast iron, and copper are all excellent pipe materials that are still in use, plastic hot and cold pipe has several advantages that they do not.

One of the most significant advantages is that plastic is simple to cut and form into any shape or size required, even on the jobsite, reducing the amount of labor required to install them. other advantages of plastic pipes are as follows, non-reactive, corrosion resistance, low heat conductivity, color-coded and marked. There several government policies for adoption of underfloor heating and cooling systems.

For instance, the UK government has implanted a zero-carbon home standard, under which it is planning to have zero carbon emissions. With this, the government is motivating people to install renewable source-based systems for heating and cooling and giving tax benefits for the people installing such systems. This would encourage the owners of residential, commercial, and industrial buildings to install energy-efficient underfloor heating systems.



The cross-linked polyethylene (PEX) segment, by raw material, is expected to be the fastest growing market from 2022 to 2027



The by raw material segment is categorized into cross-linked polyethylene (PEX), polyethylene-raised temperature (PE-RT), polypropylene random copolymer (PPR), chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (C-PVC) and polybutylene (PB). The cross-linked polyethylene (PEX) segment held the largest share of the plastic hot and cold pipe market and is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR. PEX is a flexible polyethylene polymer with a medium to high density.

PEX piping has been utilised for decades in hot- and cold-water distribution systems, as well as hydronic radiant heating. PEX pipes are also resistance to failure by freezing, and resistance to chemical attack when in contact with other products containing chemicals. Therefore, following factors to create demand for PEX pipes These advantages will fuel the fast growth of cross-linked polyethylene (PEX) segment in the near future.



The water plumbing pipes segment, by application, is expected to be the largest market from 2022 to 2027



The water plumbing pipes segment held the largest market share of the plastic hot and cold pipe market in 2021. The water plumbing pipes find applications in residential sector, commercial sector such as malls & shopping complexes, hospitals, office spaces and industrial sector like oil & gas, power generation, chemicals & petrochemicals and others.

The construction industry is expected to be a major driver of global economic development and recovery following COVID-19. Due to growth in construction industry there is increasing demand for residential properties and eventually demand for plastic hot and cold pipes for water plumbing. The growth of this segment, hence, can be attributed to the high demand for plastic hot and cold pipes in residential, commercial, and industrial sectors.



Asia Pacific: The largest and the fastest growing region in the plastic hot and cold pipe market



Asia Pacific is expected to dominate the global plastic hot and cold pipe market, and is expected to grow at the highest CAGR between 2022 - 2027. Growth in construction is also high in Emerging Asia, with average annual growth over 5% to 2030. Growth in China and India as well the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) economies will provide plenty of support. The major end users for plastic hot and cold pipe in the Asia Pacific region includes residential, commercial (malls & shopping complexes, hospitals, office spaces) and industrial (power generation, oil & gas, chemicals & petrochemicals) industries.

Key Topics Covered:



1 Introduction



2 Research Methodology



3 Executive Summary



4 Premium Insights

4.1 Attractive Opportunities in Plastic Hot and Cold Pipe Market

4.2 Market, by Region

4.3 Asia-Pacific: Market, by End-user and Country, 2021

4.4 Market, by Raw Material

4.5 Market, by Application

4.6 Market, by End-user

5 Market Overview

5.1 Introduction

5.2 COVID-19 Health Assessment

5.3 COVID-19 Economic Assessment

5.4 Road to Recovery

5.5 Market Dynamics

5.5.1 Drivers

5.5.1.1 Corrosion Resistance Feature and Ease of Installation Benefit of Plastic Hot and Cold Pipes

5.5.1.2 More Cost-Efficient Than Metal Pipes

5.5.1.3 Government Support and Incentives for Adoption of Underfloor Heating Systems

5.5.2 Restraints

5.5.2.1 Lower Temperature Resistance of Plastic Hot and Cold Pipes Than Metal Plumbing and Fitting Pipes

5.5.2.2 Restriction on Polybutylene (Pb) Piping System Usage in North America

5.5.3 Opportunities

5.5.3.1 Development of Advanced Piping Systems and Methods to Detect Leaks

5.5.3.2 Expansion of Construction Industry

5.5.4 Challenges

5.5.4.1 Susceptibility of C-Pvc Pipes to Degradation and Breakdown When Exposed to Hot Outdoor Conditions

5.5.4.2 Fluctuation in Raw Material Prices

5.6 COVID-19 Impact

5.7 Trends/Disruptions Impacting Customers' Businesses

5.7.1 Revenue Shift and New Revenue Pockets for Plastic Hot and Cold Pipe Providers

5.8 Market Map

5.9 Value Chain Analysis

5.10 Technology Analysis

5.11 Pricing Analysis

5.12 Key Conferences & Events to be Held During 2022-2024

5.13 Tariffs, Codes, and Regulations

5.14 Trade Analysis

5.15 Innovations and Patent Registrations

5.16 Porter's Five Forces Analysis

5.17 Key Stakeholders & Buying Criteria

5.17.1 Key Stakeholders in Buying Process

5.18 Buying Criteria

5.19 Case Study Analysis

5.19.1 Fairfield Inn & Suites at Harrisburg International Airport Deployed Rehau Pexa Plumbing Systems

5.19.2 Plumber Chose Sharkbite's Evopex Push-To-Connect Plumbing Technology

5.19.3 Saudi Bin Laden Group Chose Flowguard Piping Systems for Its New Project

6 Plastic Hot and Cold Pipe Market, by Raw Material

6.1 Introduction

6.2 Cross-Linked Polyethylene (Pex)

6.2.1 Flexibility of Cross-Linked Polyethylene (Pex) Pipes for Plumbing and Radiant Floor Heating to Fuel Demand

6.3 Polyethylene-Raised Temperature (Pe-Rt)

6.3.1 High Temperature Resistance and Excellent Performance to Drive Demand for Polyethylene-Raised Temperature (Pe-Rt) Pipes

6.4 Polypropylene Random Copolymer (Ppr)

6.4.1 Low Water Flow Resistance and High Heat Preservation Features to Fuel Demand for Polypropylene Random Copolymer (Ppr) Pipes

6.5 Chlorinated Polyvinyl Chloride (C-Pvc)

6.5.1 Growing Demand for Corrosion-Resistant Pipes with Long-Term Durability to Drive Market Growth

6.6 Polybutylene (Pb)

6.6.1 Growing Use of Polybutylene (Pb) Pipes in Europe and Asia-Pacific to Fuel Market Growth

7 Plastic Hot and Cold Pipe Market, by Application

7.1 Introduction

7.2 Water Plumbing Pipe

7.2.1 Expanding Residential Sector to Fuel Demand for Water Plumbing Pipes

7.3 Radiator Connection Pipe

7.3.1 Lightweight and Cost-Effective Features to Fuel Demand for Plastic Hot and Cold Pipes

7.4 Underfloor Surface Heating and Cooling

7.4.1 Technological Advancements to Drive Growth of Underfloor Surface Heating and Cooling Market

8 Plastic Hot and Cold Pipe Market, by End-user

8.1 Introduction

8.2 Residential

8.2.1 Rising Residential Construction Activities to Fuel Demand for Plastic Hot and Cold Pipes

8.3 Commercial

8.3.1 Increasing Commercial Construction Activities to Fuel Demand for Plastic Hot and Cold Pipes

8.4 Industrial

8.4.1 Expanding Chemical & Petrochemical Industry to Drive Demand for Plastic Hot and Cold Pipes

9 Plastic Hot and Cold Pipe Market, by Region

10 Competitive Landscape

10.1 Key Players Strategies

10.2 Market Share Analysis of Top Five Players

10.3 Revenue Analysis of Top Five Market Players

10.4 Company Evaluation Quadrant

10.4.1 Star

10.4.2 Pervasive

10.4.3 Emerging Leader

10.4.4 Participant

10.5 Start-Up/Sme Evaluation Quadrant, 2021

10.5.1 Progressive Company

10.5.2 Responsive Company

10.5.3 Dynamic Company

10.5.4 Starting Block

10.5.5 Competitive Benchmarking

10.6 Market: Company Footprint

10.7 Competitive Scenario

11 Company Profiles

11.1 Introduction

11.2 Key Players

11.2.1 Georg Fischer Ltd.

11.2.2 Wienerberger

11.2.3 Aliaxis

11.2.4 Uponor

11.2.5 Genuit Group

11.2.6 Truflo

11.2.7 Reliance Worldwide Corporation (Rwc)

11.2.8 Supreme

11.2.9 Astral Pipes

11.2.10 Chevron Philips

11.2.11 Wavin Asia

11.2.12 Hewing GmbH

11.2.13 Rifeng

11.2.14 Elysee

11.2.15 Sioux Chief

11.3 Other Players

11.3.1 Vectus

11.3.2 Feraplas

11.3.3 Rosturplast

11.3.4 Mrpex Systems

11.3.5 Ppg (Popular Pipes Group)

11.4 List Of Additional Players as Market is Fragmented

12 Appendix

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/99rv98

Attachment
After launching and successfully docking with the Tiangong space station, the Wentian space station's missing module rocket stage is wildly falling to the Earth.

A Chinese Rocket Will Irrepressibly Land to Earth

A Chinese rocket is descending uncontrollably to Earth, and experts have no idea where it will crash.

The Wentian space station module, launched on Sunday and successfully docked with the Tiangong space station, was still missing its 21-ton rocket stage.

Jonathan McDowell of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics has been monitoring the rocket. Additionally, he said that "on average," Chinese launchers do "a poorer job of upper stage disposal" than American ones do.

The 18th Space Defense Squadron, Space Command, or the US military have not yet sent out tweets regarding the incident.

The water covers most of the Earth's surface. Thus, there is very little chance that rocket debris will come down on people or property. However, according to analysts, there is a 10% possibility that one or more casualties may occur in the next ten years.

China has now launched a rocket that has made an uncontrolled landing on Earth three times. It was difficult to predict where a rocket carrying the center portion of the Tianhe space station module would land when it launched in May last year. Every 90 minutes, the debris makes an orbit around the planet.

A minor aircraft crash dispersed across a hundred miles would have occurred if the rocket had re-entered the atmosphere over a city.

A comparable prototype ship had passed New York City in the previous year within 13 minutes of impact.

Read Also: [LOOK] Singaporean TikTok User Shows Off a Remote Control Car that Buys Him Groceries

China Sees to Develop a Two-Staged Reusable Long March 9

In response to SpaceX's Starship, a media source claims that China is contemplating creating a totally mega-rocket derivative.

Methane-liquid oxygen, also known as methalox, is the same fuel that SpaceX's Starship, which is used for long space missions and NASA's human lunar landings, would utilize. Although the two systems have similar heavy-lifting capacities and fuel kinds, their structural differences go well beyond that. For instance, during landing, the Starship may do in-air flips.

Long Lehao, the head designer of the Long March rocket series, unveiled the new Long March 9 design at a public lecture in Chinese. The model might take flight as early as 2035.

According to SpaceNews, the two-stage reusable Long March 9 model would have 26 methalox engines in the first stage and be capable of launching 150 tons into low Earth orbit, 65 tons into geosynchronous transfer orbit, or 50 tons via trans-lunar injection to the moon.

More than 400 missions have been launched by China so far, the majority of which were propelled by the Long March rocket family.

SpaceNews also said that the methane engine design suggested for Long March 9 is practical since the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation has been developing methane engines for some time.

The action would also align China with American firms like SpaceX, Blue Origin, and United Launch Alliance. All of them are seeking the methalox mixture for improved performance and less soot-related environmental problems.

Related Article: China Wants Its Next Rocket to be Reusable - Will It Be Used for Moon Missions?
CHEYENNE, WY, July 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sino American Oil Corp (OTC PINK: OILY), announces that it has signed a definite acquisition agreement to acquire 100% interest in oil services technology company, Tritium Inc of Alberta, Canada. This acquisition increases SINOs footprint into the oil services and technology space in one of Canadas most prolific hydrocarbon production provinces and allows it to market the newly acquired technologies globally.

Via the acquisition, SINO now owns Tritiums recently awarded patent (CAVITATION APPARATUS AND RELATED SYSTEMS AND METHODS, EFS ID: 45321627) for their Oil Upgrading Technology which converts heavy WCS Western Canadian Select to WTI pricing.

This technology is currently installed and operational at the Base Element Energy Inc. facility in Cynthia, Alberta, Canada terminal which is now 22% owned by SINO. This is a 15-20-49-10-W5 Full Service Terminal, which means water, emulsion, condensate, clean oil, and has injection and sales arrive via pipeline right at the facility negating the need for expensive trucking. Tritium also holds a full D58 Waste Facility License which process wastewater at:

$8.00 per cubic meter (1000 liters) of produced water to be taken in and injected down Tritiums disposal well

$16.00 per cubic meter (1000 liters) of emulsion to be taken in and treated at our facility

SINO and Tritium, have joined forces to increase the size and processing capability of the Cynthia facility throughout 2022 and 2023.

The acquisition is subject the delivery of US GAAP audited financial statements from Tritium Inc. and the transfer of title and ownership of the company and its assets to SINO within the specified timeframes stated in the definitive agreement.

SINO is currently updating its filings to remain fully compliant with the Securities regulators of both the US and Canada.

ABOUT SINO:

SINO American Oil Corp is a Wyoming incorporated company that consolidates best of breed technologies in the oil services and technology sectors and creates opportunities for small to mid-sized players to scale by providing capital, management skill, expansion capabilities and additional customers.

Information about Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains "forward-looking statements" that include information relating to future events. Forward-looking statements should not be read as a guarantee of future performance or results and will not necessarily be accurate indications of the times at, or by which, that performance or those results will be achieved. Forward-looking statements are based on information available at the time they are made and/or management's good faith belief as of that time with respect to future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual performance or results to differ materially from those expressed in, or suggested by, the forward looking statements. Important factors that could cause these differences include but are not limited to: inability to gain or maintain licenses, reliance on unaudited statements, the Company's need for additional funding, the impact of competitive products and pricing, the demand for the Company's products, and other risks that are detailed from time-to-time in the Company's filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. For a more detailed description of the risk factors and uncertainties affecting Sino American Oil Corp., please refer to the Company's recent Securities and Exchange Commission filings, which are available at www.SEC.gov The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

Sino American Oil Corp
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, July 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Erdene Resource Development Corporation (TSX: ERD | MSE: ERDN) (Erdene or the Company) is pleased to announce final results from the Q2 2022 drill program at Ulaan Southeast (Ulaan SE), located 300 metres west of the construction ready Bayan Khundii Gold Project in southwest Mongolia. This program expanded known mineralization at the Ulaan SE discovery to the west and at depth, and intersected an interpreted high-grade, gold bearing feeder structure. Follow-up exploration at Ulaan SE is currently underway.



Highlights

UDH-53 returned high-grade mineralization within a projected feeder zone, including 2 metres of 24.9 g/t gold within 27 metres of 3.47 g/t gold

UDH-52, 60 metres SSE of UDH-53, intersected a wide zone of mineralization  189 metres averaging 0.8 g/t gold

Mineralization at Ulaan SE has been traced over a 200 metre strike, to a depth of 450 metres, that remains open to the west and at depth; highlights of Q2 drilling include: UDH-35 included the highest average grade intersection to date at Ulaan SE Intersected 23 metres of 13.7 g/t gold within 41 metres of 8.1 g/t gold, beginning 187 metres downhole UDH-21, including the hole extension, returned one of the thickest gold zones in the Khundii District Intersected 335 metres of 1.1 g/t gold, beginning 115 metres downhole, ending in mineralization Includes 27 metres of 8.7 g/t gold, within 77 metres of 3.2 g/t gold UDH-36 intersected 179 metres of 1.2 g/t gold, beginning 72 metres downhole Includes several one-metre, high-grade intersections, ranging from 10-33 g/t gold, and ending in mineralization at 350 metres



Quotes from the Company

Ulaan drilling has returned very high grade zones in the feeder structure as well as exceptionally thick zones of mineralization, exceeding 300 metres, which remain open, in the core of the discovery, said Peter Akerley, Erdenes President and CEO. This newest Khundii District discovery is interpreted as the western extension of the Bayan Khundii deposit, demonstrating the resource expansion potential from deeper exploration in the District.

In the past week, we launched a follow-up exploration program. The outcome of this program, as well as the results from the recently completed regional reverse-circulation (RC) program, will focus our exploration work for the balance of 2022, continued Mr. Akerley. We are confident that we are well on our way to achieving our two million ounce gold equivalent resource target by the end of the year.

Summary of Drill Results

The primary objectives of the Q2 2022 Ulaan SE drilling program were to test interpreted high-grade feeder zones along bounding or intersecting structures in the northern portion of the Ulaan SE discovery, and to test mineralization at depth.

Six new holes, as well as five hole-extensions, totaling 2,463.7 metres, were completed as part of the Q2 2022 Ulaan SE drilling program. Results are summarized below in Table 1. Results for the final two holes in the program, UDH-52 and UDH-53, are newly reported; all other results were reported on June 6, 2022.

The Q2 2022 program at Ulaan SE confirmed a zone of high-grade mineralization interpreted to be associated with intersecting or bounding structures and possibly a feeder zone. Drill hole UDH-35 returned the highest average grade interval intersection to date at Ulaan SE, with 41 metres of 8.1 g/t gold starting 187 metres downhole. Drill hole UDH-36 extended high-grade mineralization further west from the discovery area, intersecting one of the broadest zones of mineralization to date in Erdenes Khundii Gold District. Hole UDH-53 was drilled to confirm extension of the feeder zone at depth and intersected 27 metres of 3.47 g/t gold, including three one-metre intervals greater than 10 g/t gold (up to 35.5 g/t gold), and ended in mineralization.

Step-out drill holes and hole extensions continue to expand the area of known mineralization, which remains open to the west and at depth. Drillhole UDH-37 intersected the targeted gold mineralized tuffaceous host lithology, broadening the potential for gold mineralization as exploration progresses westward further into the core of the Ulaan license area. UDH-38 complimented the results of UDH-37, extending gold mineralization westward; however, this drillhole also indicates shallower gold mineralization, with gold mineralization beginning 42 metres down hole.

Hole extensions (an additional 100 to 200 metres, to total depths of 350 to 450 metres) demonstrated that gold mineralization extends over 400 metres vertically. Mineralization remains open at depth with two of the holes extended to 450 metres ending in mineralization.

Table 1: Ulaan Q2 2022 Drilling Highlights

(Intervals averaging over 0.30 g/t gold)

Hole ID From To Interval (1) Au g/t Newly Reported Drill Holes UDH-52 86 275(2) 189 0.80 UDH-53 248 337(2) 89 1.40 Incl 248 275 27 3.47 Incl 248 250 2 24.90(5) Incl 295 296 1 11.88 Previously Reported Q2  2022 Drill Holes UDH-35 107 116 9 0.49 And 176 178 2 0.46 And 187 228 41 8.10 Incl 188 211 23 13.73 Incl 188 189 1 10.87 Incl 197 198 1 44.40 Incl 208 211 3 68.32 Incl 208 209 1 108.12 And 235 238 3 0.36 And 246 251(2) 5 0.34 UDH-36 2 4 2 0.51 And 72 251(2) 179 1.23 Incl 106 107 1 15.52 Incl 142 143 1 14.36 Incl 146 147 1 10.84 Incl 227 228 1 33.43 UDH-37 64 68 4 0.44 And 168 272 104 0.31 Incl 202 246 44 0.51 UDH-38 42 68 26 0.30 And 193 262 69 0.48 And 346 348 2 0.56 Hole Extensions UDH-08 20 22 2 0.44(3) And 202 206 4 0.37 UDH-12 310 314 4 0.36 And 324 328 4 0.46 And 338 340 2 0.58 UDH-17 287 289 2 1.71(3) And 314 368 54 1.55(4) Incl 348 350.3 2.3 21.57(3) And 412 422 10 0.33 And 425 426 1 0.39 And 432 434 2 0.30 UDH-21 115 450.3(2) 335.3 1.10(4) Incl 115 192 77 3.19(3) Incl 131 158 27 8.74(3) Incl 139 140 1 156.54(3) Incl 155 156 1 20.98(3) Incl 209 280 71 0.81(3) Incl 222 230 8 1.92(3) Incl 257 271 14 2.79(3) Incl 304 318 14 0.34(3) Incl 342 450.3(2) 108.3 0.53(4) Incl 417 450.3(2) 33.3 0.91 UDH-28 282 291 9 0.47(3) And 306 356 50 0.47(4) And 370 384 14 0.37 And 394 450(2) 56 0.34

Reported intervals in this release are downhole apparent widths. Continued exploration is required to confirm anisotropy of mineralization and true thicknesses End of hole Previously reported interval (2021) Extended interval Included two, one-metre intervals, both greater than 10 g/t gold (14.3 and 35.5 g/t gold)



Next Steps

The results to date demonstrate a broad and thick zone of mineralization over a vertical depth in excess of 400 metres, that remains open at depth and to the west. Analysis of multi-element geochemical data, complimented by downhole magnetic susceptibility readings, are introducing correlations previously unrecognized at Ulaan SE. These datasets indicate that increased potassium concentrations (after pervasive adularia-Kspar alteration) in conjunction with low magnetic susceptibility readings, are strongly correlated with the targeted gold bearing tuffaceous host package. 3D modelling of these combined variables will serve as important target vectoring tools for future drilling at Ulaan SE. A follow-up drilling program has been designed to further test continuation of mineralization to the west and at depth, including further tracing of the high-grade mineralization identified to date which has been interpreted as a potential structurally controlled feeder zone.

Ulaan SE Overview

The Ulaan SE gold target is a blind-top discovery identified in Q3 2021. The prospect is characterized by hundreds of metres of gold mineralization (up to 354 metres continuously in a single drill hole) over an area 200 metres by 250 metres. Gold mineralization begins approximately 80 metres from surface and remains open along strike to the west/northwest and at depth. Intervals include 152 metres of 1.7 g/t gold in UDH-22 (from 85 metres) and 77 metres of 3.2 g/t gold in UDH-21 (from 115 metres), as well as the more recent results noted in this release. Similar to the Bayan Khundii gold deposit, approximately 300 metres east, the mineralizing event is characterized by exceptionally high-grade quartz  hematite and adularia veins and stockwork zones enveloped by the same gold bearing, silicified, white-mica altered lapilli tuff sequence.

The southern portion of the Ulaan license has areas of anomalous gold-in-soil over an area 3.5 kilometres by 1 kilometre. The underlying geology and alteration appears to be analogous to the gold mineralization at Ulaan Southeast and Bayan Khundii, namely tuffaceous units with white mica and silica alteration. A series of holes have been drilled to test high priority targets, for which the results are pending and expected in early Q3 2022.

Khundii Minerals District

Erdenes deposits are in the Trans Altai Terrane, within the Central Asian Orogenic Belt, host to some of the worlds largest gold and copper-gold deposits. The Company has been the leader in exploration in southwest Mongolia over the past decade and is responsible for the discovery of the Khundii Gold District comprised of multiple high-grade gold and base metal prospects, one of which is currently being developed, the 100%-owned Bayan Khundii Gold Project, and another which is being considered for development, the 100%-owned Altan Nar Project. In 2021, the Company identified two new significant gold prospects, Dark Horse and Ulaan Southeast.

The Bayan Khundii Gold Resource1 includes 585,100 ounces of 2.19 g/t gold Measured and Indicated (M&I)2 and 35,900 ounces of Inferred resources at 2.18 g/t gold. Within the M&I resource, a Proven and Probable open-pit reserve totals 409,000 ounces at 3.7 g/t gold3 (press release here), providing significant potential for reserves growth with the development of the remaining M&I and Inferred resources1.

In July 2020, Erdene announced the results of an independent Feasibility Study for the Bayan Khundii Gold Project (press release here). The Feasibility Study results include an after-tax Net Present Value at a 5% discount rate and a US$1,400/oz gold price of US$100 million and Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of 42%. The Feasibility Study envisions an open pit mine at Bayan Khundii, producing an average of 63,500 oz gold per year, for seven years, at a head grade of 3.71 g/t gold, utilizing a conventional carbon in pulp processing plant. Production is expected to commence in 2023 based on the current project schedule.

____________________________

1 For details of the Mineral Resources see Erdenes Q2/2021 results press release, dated August 16, 2021, and the Companys Q2 2021 MD&A, available on the Companys website or SEDAR.

2 M&I: 232,700 ounces of 2.39 g/t gold Measured and 352,400 ounces of 2.08 g/t gold Indicated

3 P&P: 165,000 ounces of 4.4 g/t gold Proven and 256,000 ounces of 3.4 g/t gold Probable; For details of the Mineral Reserves see Khundii Gold Project NI 43-101 Technical Report, Tetra Tech December 4, 2019 available on the Companys website or SEDAR

About Erdene

Erdene Resource Development Corp. is a Canada-based resource company focused on the acquisition, exploration, and development of precious and base metals in underexplored and highly prospective Mongolia. The Company has interests in three mining licenses and an exploration license in Southwest Mongolia, where exploration success has led to the discovery and definition of the Khundii Gold District. Erdene Resource Development Corp. is listed on the Toronto and the Mongolian stock exchanges. Further information is available at www.erdene.com. Important information may be disseminated exclusively via the website; investors should consult the site to access this information.

Qualified Person and Sample Protocol

Peter Dalton, P.Geo. (Nova Scotia), Senior Geologist for Erdene, is the Qualified Person as that term is defined in National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this news release. All samples have been assayed at SGS Laboratory in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. In addition to internal checks by SGS Laboratory, the Company incorporates a QA/QC sample protocol utilizing prepared standards and blanks. All samples undergo standard fire assay analysis for gold and ICP-OES (Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy) analysis for 33 additional elements. For samples that initially return a grade greater than 5 g/t gold, additional screen-metallic gold analysis is carried out which provides a weighted average gold grade from fire assay analysis of the entire +75 micron fraction and three 30-gram samples of the -75 micron fraction from a 500 gram sample.

Erdenes drill core sampling protocol consisted of collection of samples over 1 or 2 metre intervals (depending on the lithology and style of mineralization) over the entire length of the drill hole, excluding minor post-mineral lithologies and un-mineralized granitoids. Sample intervals were based on meterage, not geological controls, or mineralization. All drill core was cut in half with a diamond saw, with half of the core placed in sample bags and the remaining half securely retained in core boxes at Erdenes Bayan Khundii exploration camp. All samples were organized into batches of 30 including a commercially prepared standard, blank and either a field duplicate, consisting of two quarter-core intervals, or a laboratory duplicate. Sample batches were periodically shipped directly to SGS in Ulaanbaatar via Erdenes logistical contractor, Monrud Co. Ltd.

Reported intervals are apparent thicknesses, i.e. downhole widths. The current Ulaan drill holes are all dipping at 85 degrees and oriented to intersect SW dipping WNW trending gold bearing veins. Additional study is required to confirm true widths. Reported grades for intervals are weighted averages based on length of sampling intervals. No top cut has been applied; however, all intervals greater than 10 g/t gold and 100 g/t gold are reported individually for clarity

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain information regarding Erdene contained herein may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements may include estimates, plans, expectations, opinions, forecasts, projections, guidance, or other statements that are not statements of fact. Although Erdene believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to have been correct. Erdene cautions that actual performance will be affected by a number of factors, most of which are beyond its control, and that future events and results may vary substantially from what Erdene currently foresees. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include the ability to obtain required third party approvals, market prices, exploitation, and exploration results, continued availability of capital and financing and general economic, market or business conditions. The forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. The information contained herein is stated as of the current date and is subject to change after that date. The Company does not assume the obligation to revise or update these forward-looking statements, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.

NO REGULATORY AUTHORITY HAS APPROVED OR DISAPPROVED THE CONTENTS OF THIS RELEASE

Erdene Contact Information

Peter C. Akerley, President and CEO, or Robert Jenkins, CFO Phone: (902) 423-6419 Email: info@erdene.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/ErdeneRes Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ErdeneResource LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/erdene-resource-development-corp-/

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at



https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/43737a39-804f-44ea-b546-f1b3a09cc693

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/5759eb6b-7afc-48b7-a0a3-d90bea03ebad

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ed9726cc-7b15-4918-958d-39ae56a123c7
English Estonian

On 26 July, Enefit Green signed an agreement to acquire Tootsi Windpark OU (Tootsi wind farm development project) from Eesti Energia. Tootsi and Sopi wind farms combined will form the largest wind energy production area in Estonia.

The cost of the transaction on a cash- and debt-free basis is 26.9 million euros. As this is a related-party transaction, compliance of the transaction with market conditions has been confirmed by the Audit Committee of Enefit Green.

Tootsi wind farm in Parnu County with a planned production capacity of 74 megawatts is ready for construction. Required planning process has been completed, necessary permits have been obtained and connection to the power grid has been ensured.

Enefit Green's Sopi wind farm development with a planned capacity of 161 megawatts is also located in the same area.

Enefit Green will continue to prepare the final investment decisions for both projects in parallel and has announced a tender to find a construction company and wind turbine provider for the wind farm.

Lauri Ulm, Head of Wind Energy at Enefit Green: "With simultaneous construction of Tootsi and Sopi wind farms, the most powerful and modern wind energy production area in Estonia will be created in Parnu County. 38 wind turbines are planned for these wind farms, which will produce almost as much electricity as is currently being produced in all Estonian wind farms."

The two wind farms are expected to have an annual production volume of nearly 700 gigawatt-hours, covering the annual electricity consumption of more than 200,000 households.

According to Ulm, construction can begin after the final investment decision has been made. "We want to reach the construction phase with parks as soon as possible, because environmentally friendly and affordable green electricity is very much needed for the Estonian market. According to the plans, wind farms will start producing electricity at the end of 2024," Ulm said.









Further information:

Sven Kunsing

Head of Finance Communication

investor@enefitgreen.ee

https://enefitgreen.ee/en/investorile/

Enefit Green is one of the leading diversified renewable energy producers in the Baltic Sea area. The Company wind farms in Estonia and Lithuania, cogeneration plants in Estonia and Latvia, solar farms in Estonia and Poland, a pellet plant in Latvia and a hydroelectric plant in Estonia. In addition, the Company is developing several wind and solar farms in the mentioned countries and Finland. As of the end of 2021, the Group had a total installed electricity production capacity of 457 MW and a total installed heat production capacity of 81 MW. During 2021, the Company produced 1,193 GWh of electricity and 618 GWh of heat.
FOND DU LAC, Wisc., July 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mercury Marine, a division of Brunswick Corporation (NYSE:BC), today announced a partnership with Alliant Energy to build a 5-megawatt, 32-acre solar array in eastern Fond du Lac County to advance the companys sustainability initiatives and the regions growing commitment to renewable energy. The Ledgeview Solar Project, pending review and approval by the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin in the coming months, is the first to be developed under Alliant Energys Renewable Energy Partner program. The project will offset 10% of the electricity Mercury uses on its Fond du Lac campus.

This solar project is good for Mercury, the Fond du Lac community and the environment, said Chris Drees, Mercury Marine president. Our investment in this solar infrastructure, combined with our other solar investments, will provide clean, renewable energy and propel us toward our goal to derive 50% of our electricity usage from renewable sources by the end of 2030.

The project will include more than 12,000 solar panels generating enough electricity to power approximately 1,300 homes annually. The array will be located on privately-owned land in eastern Fond du Lac County, south of Highway 23 and just east of County Road UU.

Construction on the project is anticipated to start in spring 2023 with operation to begin in October 2023. The project is being developed and constructed by OneEnergy Renewables out of their regional office in Madison.

The Ledgeview Solar Project is the latest in a series of investments by Mercury to embrace emissions-free energy, both at home and across the globe.

In January 2021, Mercury made fully operational a rooftop array of 320 photovoltaic solar panels at its Fond du Lac world headquarters. The array was Mercurys first in the U.S. and will generate enough power to light a warehouse operation on the Fond du Lac campus for the next 30 years.

Mercury launched its first solar project in 2017 with the installation of a 2,000panel array at the companys European headquarters in Petit Rechain, Belgium. That solar array, combined with improved insulation at the location, reduces the amount of electricity the facility draws from the grid by 33%, thus lowering the facilitys utilities costs and enabling substantial use of clean and

sustainable energy.

Alliant Energys Renewable Energy Partner program helps commercial and industrial customers achieve their sustainability goals. Mercury will directly benefit from renewable generation without having to commit resources to the planning, development and operation of the project.

Alliant Energy is proud to assist Mercury Marine as it undertakes this transformative clean energy initiative, said Barbara Tormaschy, senior vice president of sustainability and regulatory strategy for Alliant Energy. The Renewable Energy Partner program ensures our commercial customers can offset their energy use with safe, reliable, and clean electricity for decades to come.
Dublin, July 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Japan Elevator and Escalator - Market Size & Growth Forecast 2022-2028" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



Owing to increasing urbanization trends, aging population, and development projects such as the Redevelopment of Shibuya and 'Redevelopment Tokyo'.

Key Players

Mitsubishi Electric

Toshiba

Hitachi

Otis

Fujitec

Schindler

KONE

TK Elevator

Hyundai Elevator

KOHLER



KEY HIGHLIGHTS OF THE JAPAN ELEVATOR AND ESCALATOR MARKET

The growing focus on high-rise construction or skyscraper infrastructure led to specific innovations by the OEMs, from carbon-fiber cables to magnetic systems that would allow elevators to move sideways, opening new options in excellent building design. Japan's Plan for Supertall Wooden Skyscrapers in Tokyo is expected to be completed by 2041 at 1,148 feet tall.

In 2025, Osaka will host high-profile events such as the G20 and the World Expo. As a result of the city's popularity as a tourist destination, Kansai Airport announced a $911 million expansion to enhance its facilities and increase capacity. In contrast, hotel and restaurant buildings increased six-fold. The addition of a direct train link between Umekita and Kansai Airport has increased the demand for elevators.

Major infrastructure project such as the Redevelopment of Shibuya, which include the construction of New Shibuya City Hall, a 39-story residence building, Miyashita Park (a park, shopping mall, and hotel), and critical projects in the Sakuraoka region, Dougenzaka suburb, and the NHK broadcast center, as well as relevant buildings between Shibuya and Harajuku, are all scheduled to be completed in 2036.

The Toranomon region is under reconstruction, including a 52-story skyscraper, a significant highway extension, a new metro station, and a new office complex, all of which started in 2020. In 2023, a new office building and a residential building are expected to be completed.

URBANIZATION AND AGEING POPULATION GROWTH ARE DRIVING JAPAN ELEVATORS AND ESCALATORS MARKET GROWTH

The demand for elevators and escalators in the privately funded construction sector was fueled by the nonresidential and infrastructure development projects even though orders for personal sector projects decreased due to the spread of COVID-19, with postponement and reconsideration of hotel construction plans.

The construction sector in Japan is estimated to be on a recovery path over the past few years. Increased demand for elevators & escalators is attributed to increasing urbanization trends and projects such as 'Redevelopment Tokyo.'

Technology adoption, such as smart elevators connected to the internet, is becoming widespread. Elevator suppliers have already begun installing them in intelligent buildings.

THE TOURISM SECTOR IS EXPECTED TO PROPEL DEMAND FOR ESCALATORS AND ELEVATORS

Japan's tourism industry is booming; over 31.9 million tourists visited in 2019, up 2.2% from the previous year. Due to expected pre-COVID levels, continued growth, rapid expansion, and economic investment, escalators and elevators are expected to be in high demand shortly.

Japan received $46.1 billion in foreign tourist expenditure from tourists in 2019, putting it in 7th position globally, ahead of Germany and Australia. Japan aims to build many new airports to support its economic growth aspirations, which will boost the market for moving walkways, escalators, and elevators.

INCREASING EXPENDITURE ON INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS

The Japanese construction industry witnessed a decent inflow of investments in recent years. The significant factors that triggered the acquisition were the Olympics hosted by Tokyo in 2020 and the subsequent construction activities.

The country's migration between various prefectures has also stimulated the residential construction activities within the country.

Several redevelopment projects in western Japan's Kansai and Kinki areas have been initiated, leading to increased construction of new buildings and infrastructure due to economic expansion, urban planning, and technological advancements.

MODERNIZATION DRIVEN BY TECHNOLOGICAL UPGRADES

The new technological upgrades primarily drive the demand for modernization; for instance, Mitsubishi Electric announced the immediate commercial launch of its new 'u series' of escalators, which enhance passenger safety and comfort, significant energy savings compared to previous models, and implementation of these techniques in elevators. In addition, modernization solutions help increase the lifespan of the equipment.

Segmentation by Machine Type

Hydraulic and Pneumatic

Machine Room Traction

Machine Room Less Traction

Others

Segmentation by Carriage Type

Passenger

Freight

Segmentation by Capacity

2-15 Persons

16-24 Persons

25-33 Persons

34 Persons and Above

Segmentation by End-User

Commercial

Residential

Industrial

Others

Key Topics Covered:



Section 1 - Introduction

Section 2 - Japan Elevators Market

Section 2.1- Japan Elevators Market, By Volume

Section 2.1.1- Japan Elevators Market- By Segments

Section 3- Japan Escalators Market

Section 3.1- Japan Escalators Market, By Volume

Section 3.1.1- Japan Escalators Market- By Segments

Section 4- Japan Elevators & Escalators Market, by Service (Maintenance & Modernization)



Section 5- Geographic Analysis



Section 6- Advantages, Policies, Export & Import



Section 7- Market Dynamics



Section 8- Technological Development



Section 9 - Competitive Landscape

Section 10 - Report Summary

Section 11 - Appendix (Definition, Inclusions & Exclusions)



For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/ca2v36
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, July 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FIREWEED METALS CORP. (Fireweed or the Company) (TSXV: FWZ; OTCQB: FWEDF, formerly known as Fireweed Zinc Ltd.) is pleased to announce the 2022 diamond drilling program has started at the Macmillan Pass zinc-lead-silver Project, Yukon, Canada.



Highlights

Drilling has begun with plans to complete over 7,000 m using 4 drills

Two of four drills have started drilling the first holes of the 2022 program

Three drills will focus on Boundary and Boundary West zones, with the fourth targeting Tom and Jason zones



CEO Statement

Brandon Macdonald, CEO, stated, We are finally drilling! After a delayed start-up mainly due to a late spring, drilling has begun. The first two of four drills are turning with the final drill arriving at site shortly. Even with the late start we anticipate drilling over 7,000 metres this summer to make it the largest drill program Fireweed has ever carried out at the Project.

2022 Diamond Drill Program

The 2022 program includes four diamond drill-rigs, targeting over 7,000 m of drilling divided between four zones, a reduction from the expected 8,000 m initially announced due to the late start. The Boundary zones are open in every direction, and the 2022 program has been designed to test step-outs around the peripheries of Boundary and Boundary West, in addition to testing a potential connection between the two zones. The step-outs will include testing potential down-dip continuation of the recently discovered high-grade stratiform mineralization at Boundary West (see Fireweed news release dated March 10, 2022), and testing for additional massive sulphide mineralization in the near-surface. Three of the rigs will operate at Boundary and Boundary West where the majority of the drilling will occur.

The fourth rig will drill Tom West, Tom North, Jason, and Jason South subzones targeting select extensions and other parts of these four large zinc-lead-silver deposits. The holes at Tom West will focus on providing infill within high-grade zones where the current mineral resource is supported by small-diameter historic diamond drill holes with very poor recovery in the higher-grade portions of the holes. Fireweed sees potential to increase zinc, lead, and silver grades in these areas by drilling modern larger diameter holes, as demonstrated in previous Fireweed drill programs (see Fireweed news releases dated 10th October 2018; 13th November, 2018; 20th August 2019; 10th September 2019). The drilling at Tom North will target a step-out of the near-surface mineralization that is potentially amenable to open-pit mining. The drilling at Jason and Jason South will target high-grade step-outs.

By the end of the 2022 campaign, Fireweed will have four seasons of additional drill data to inform new mineral resources for the Project, including an inaugural resource for the Boundary, Boundary West, End Zone, and Tom North zones, and an updated resource for Tom West, Tom East, Tom Southeast, Jason and Jason South subzones.

Qualified Person Statement

Technical information in this news release has been approved by Gilles Dessureau, P.Geo., M.Sc., V.P. Exploration and a Qualified Person as defined under Canadian National Instrument 43-101.

About Fireweed Metals Corp. (TSXV: FWZ; OTCQB: FWEDF; FSE:20F): Fireweed Metals is a public mineral exploration company on the leading edge of Critical Minerals project development. The Company has three projects located in northern Canada:

Macmillan Pass Zinc-Lead-Silver Project: Fireweed owns 100% of the district-scale 940 km 2 Macmillan Pass Project in Yukon, Canada, which is host to the Tom and Jason zinc-lead-silver deposits with current Mineral Resources and a PEA economic study (see Fireweed news releases dated 10 th January 2018, and 23 rd May 2018, respectively, and reports filed on www.sedar.com for details), as well as the Boundary Zone, Boundary West Zone, Tom North subzone and End Zone which have significant zinc-lead-silver mineralization drilled but not yet classified as mineral resources. The project also includes large blocks of adjacent claims with known showings and significant upside exploration potential. The large 2022 program has begun with plans to complete over 7,000 metres of drilling to inform new and updated mineral resources.

Fireweed owns 100% of the district-scale 940 km Macmillan Pass Project in Yukon, Canada, which is host to the Tom and Jason zinc-lead-silver deposits with current Mineral Resources and a PEA economic study (see Fireweed news releases dated 10 January 2018, and 23 May 2018, respectively, and reports filed on for details), as well as the Boundary Zone, Boundary West Zone, Tom North subzone and End Zone which have significant zinc-lead-silver mineralization drilled but not yet classified as mineral resources. The project also includes large blocks of adjacent claims with known showings and significant upside exploration potential. The large 2022 program has begun with plans to complete over 7,000 metres of drilling to inform new and updated mineral resources. Mactung Tungsten Project: The Company has a binding Letter of Intent to acquire 100% interest in the 37.6 km 2 Mactung Tungsten Project located adjacent to the Macmillan Pass Project. Mactung contains historic resources that make it one of the largest and highest-grade undeveloped tungsten resources in the world. Located in Canada, it is one of the rare large tungsten resources outside of China. Plans for 2022 include due diligence and validation work on historic data in order to support a new mineral resource estimate followed by a Preliminary Economic Study.

The Company has a binding Letter of Intent to acquire 100% interest in the 37.6 km Mactung Tungsten Project located adjacent to the Macmillan Pass Project. Mactung contains historic resources that make it one of the largest and highest-grade undeveloped tungsten resources in the world. Located in Canada, it is one of the rare large tungsten resources outside of China. Plans for 2022 include due diligence and validation work on historic data in order to support a new mineral resource estimate followed by a Preliminary Economic Study. Gayna River Zinc-Gallium-Germanium Project: Fireweed has 100% of the 128.75 km2 Gayna River project located 180 kilometres north of the Macmillan Pass project. It is host to extensive critical minerals mineralization including zinc, gallium and germanium as well as lead and silver, outlined by 28,000 metres of historic drilling and significant upside potential. The 2022 work program has begun and consists of an airborne LiDAR topography survey, ground geophysics survey and historic data compilation.



In Canada, Fireweed (TSXV: FWZ) trades on the TSX Venture Exchange. In the USA, Fireweed (OTCQB: FWEDF) trades on the OTCQB Venture Market for early stage and developing U.S. and international companies and is DTC eligible for enhanced electronic clearing and settlement. The Company is current in its reporting and undergoes an annual verification and management certification process. Investors can find Real-Time quotes and market information for the Company on www.otcmarkets.com. In Europe, Fireweed (FSE: 20F) trades on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

Additional information about Fireweed and its projects can be found on the Companys website at www.FireweedMetals.com and at www.sedar.com .

ON BEHALF OF FIREWEED METALS CORP.

Brandon Macdonald

CEO & Director

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Statements

Forward Looking Statements

This news release may contain forward-looking statements and information relating to the Company and its projects that are based on the beliefs of Company management, as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to Company management. Such statements reflect the current risks, uncertainties and assumptions related to certain factors including but not limited to, without limitations, exploration and development risks, expenditure and financing requirements, general economic conditions, changes in financial markets, the ability to properly and efficiently staff the Companys operations, the sufficiency of working capital and funding for continued operations, title matters, First Nations relations, operating hazards, political and economic factors, competitive factors, metal prices, relationships with vendors and strategic partners, governmental regulations and oversight, permitting, seasonality and weather, technological change, industry practices, and one-time events. Should any one or more risks or uncertainties materialize or change, or should any underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results and forward-looking statements may vary materially from those described herein. The Company does not undertake to update forwardlooking statements or forwardlooking information, except as required by law.

Contact:

Brandon Macdonald

Phone: (604) 646-8361

Map 1: A map of the Macmillan Pass Project showing the location of Tom, Jason, End and Boundary zones as well as the Mactung Project.

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/2b95fab5-9a72-4b78-a179-ed89ad3bbf72
TORONTO, July 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- HALO Advisory Inc. today announced Vanessa Thomas as President, HALO Advisory Inc. and TMG Black Capital effective immediately.

Vanessa joins HALO from Corporate Canada, where she held a variety of roles over a 17 year commercial banking career across the Big 5 Banks in Canada. Vanessas Corporate Commercial & Personal Banking experience she brings to HALO include:

Special Accounts Management

Business Development Manager

Manager of Credit Adjudication



Vanessa adds significant credit adjudication and risk management experience to the industry leading HALO Advisory | TMG Black Capital at a time when the commercial lending company is expanding into Private Lending and Equipment Leasing.

Additionally, Vanessas significant commercial banking sales experience will benefit HALO and TMG Black Capital moving forward. In addition to her risk management experience, Vanessas sales experience includes:

Senior Commercial Relationship Management

Senior Business Account Management

Senior Personal Banking Relationship Management



Working with entrepreneurs is my passion and HALO gives me the platform to make a meaningful difference, says Vanessa Thomas. I am excited to take HALO to the next level and continue the corporate culture of excellence. Commercial Borrowers deserve access to the very best commercial financing professionals and should be able to work with all the Banks and receive unbiased advice to make decisions. Thats why I chose HALO | TMG Black Capital

This move sets up HALO to diversify its leadership across our brands, says Stephen Thomas, CEO and Principal Broker at HALO Advisory and TMG Black Capital. Vanessa will inspire many women to consider careers in commercial mortgage brokering and business finance.

Weve had tremendous growth amidst the most difficult times in the history of our industry. We continue to improve our business through our human capital investments and innovation in our service offerings. We are raising capital and onboarding investors to fund our private commercial mortgages. We have equipment leasing launching in the fall and our business advisory and mortgage brokerage is humming.

HALO is a pure commercial company, and we continue to evolve to stay ahead of the competition and provide a pure commercial environment for our consumers and business partners. Perfection is a continual process and we are committed to providing Canadian consumers with access to the very best commercial lending advice and solutions.

HALO Advisory: HALO Advisory Inc. is a leading commercial finance company in Canada and consist of HALO Advisory Inc. and HALO Mortgage Advisory Inc. | TMG Black Capital. License #13348.

HALO provides business advisory, commercial, residential, and private mortgage services and investments to small and medium sized businesses, business owners, commercial real estate developers, and investors across Canada.

Stephen Thomas

HALO Advisory Inc. | TMG Black Capital

647-948-5837

info@haloadvisory.ca

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/65cee24d-3339-4175-9a0e-6c954265ae03

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/b84b1d92-2a46-4daf-83d5-536c49d62f45
SANTIAGO, Chile, July 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Despite significant global economic headwinds, foreign investment continues to prove resilient in Chile. InvestChile, Chile's Foreign Investment Promotion Agency, closed the first half of 2022 with a total of 453 projects in its portfolio, which meant a 22% increase over the 372 initiatives registered in June 2021. Likewise, the projects managed by the agency entail a total of 17,578 potential jobs, 49% more than for those registered during the same period last year (11,803 jobs).

InvestChile Director Karla Flores highlighted the growth in the number of projects, which has reversed the 22% drop recorded in the first half of 2021. "This is occurring in a context in which the global economic situation has made it extremely challenging to attract capital and it reveals the interest being shown by foreign companies to develop their projects in Chile. The work of the InvestChile team also plays a fundamental role in detecting, attracting and developing these initiatives," explained Flores.

In terms of numbers, the InvestChile Portfolio - which includes investment projects in different stages of development - reached US$24.8 billion, a 3.3% increase over the same period last year.

In terms of specific sectors, energy once again led the portfolio, with 51 projects valued at US$10.8 billion; followed by the global services and technology sectors, with US$5.6 billion; and mining and mining suppliers, with US$3.9 billion. When analyzing the sectors that grew the most in numbers, in energy we can see a predominance of solar and wind energy projects, while global services reveals a predominance of projects related to data centers and IT outsourcing.

In terms of the main countries present in the project portfolio, China heads the list, with 28 projects that total US$7 billion. The United States ranks second with initiatives for US$3.7 billion, and Ireland comes third, with projects totaling US$2.3 billion at the close of the first half of this year.

Among the companies with projects supported by InvestChile are notables such as Amazon Web Services (United States), Sinovac (China), Microsoft (United States), Citibank (United States), China Railway Construction Corporation (China), ODATA (Brazil), and Scala Data Center (Brazil).

Press Contact: Denisse Vasquez, dvasquez@investchile.gob.cl

Related Images











Image 1: InvestChile





Chilean Foreign Investment Promotion Agency









This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com.

Attachment
WHITESTOWN, Ind., July 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ITS Logistics, one of the fastest growing logistics companies in the United States, today announced the expansion of its Midwest headquarters, investing $28M into the Whitestown, Ind. location. The new facility includes two warehouses totaling nearly 600,000 square feet of distribution space.



Headquartered in Reno, Nev., ITS West Coast distribution space totals more than 1.4 million square feet, and the Midwest expansion enables the company to offer national omnichannel distribution and fulfillment services to 90% of the U.S. population within a two-day timeframe.

The expansion also adds regional trucking operations including dedicated contract services, drayage, line haul, expedited, storage and drop trailers, rapid replenishment fulfillment and transportation, and special projects/warehouse moves.

ITS plans to further expand service offerings in Indiana by growing its campus to more than 2 million square feet along with 350 ITS employees over the next two years. The company is also planning to rapidly grow its trucking fleet to a total of 65 tractors, 70+ drivers, and over 200 trailers, by 2024.

Midwest expansion has long been a growth priority for ITS, and weve been fortunate to build a great workforce in Whitestown in a short amount of time, said Ryan Martin, president of assets at ITS Logistics. Our ability to distribute to the entire country quickly will enable us to further increase our level of service for our clients, providing innovative fulfillment solutions across distribution modes.

ITS Logistics employs more than 800 team members across Indiana, Nevada, California, Washington, Oregon, Utah, Arizona, Ohio, Georgia, and Pennsylvania. ITS Logistics is actively hiring administrative, warehouse, forklift, lT, HR, commercial drivers license (CDL) drivers, and leadership positions in Indiana. Interested applicants may apply online at its4logistics.com/join-our-team .



One year ago, ITS Logistics opened their first Midwest location in Whitestown, said Whitestown Town Council President Clinton Bohm. Their rapid expansion is a strong indicator of our communitys economic stability and business-friendly environment, and we look forward to their continued growth and success.

Known as the Crossroads of America, Indiana ranks first in the nation with 14 interstates, is home to the second largest FedEx hub, ranks third nationally with 41 freight railroads, and has east and west coast intermodal rail access.



ITS Logistics was recognized by Transport Topics as the #11 Intermodal/Drayage carrier in North America in its 2022 Top 100 For-Hire Carrier rankings, as well as #23 in Top Freight Brokerage Firms, #60 in Top 100 Logistics, #39 in Top Dedicated Contract Carriers, and #71 in the Top Dry Storage Warehousing.



About ITS Logistics

ITS Logistics is a premier Third-Party Logistics company that provides creative supply chain solutions with an asset-lite transportation division ranked #23 in North America, the #11 drayage and intermodal provider, a top-tier asset-based dedicated fleet ranked #39, and innovative omnichannel distribution and fulfillment services. With the highest level of service, unmatched industry experience and work ethic, and a laser focus on innovation and technologyour purpose is to improve the quality of life by delivering excellence in everything we do.

www.its4logistics.com .

Contact:

Tyler Thornton

tyler@leadcoverage.com

LeadCoverage
PHOENIX, July 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- EPCOR USA (EPCOR) announced today it has officially kicked off construction of the new Copper Basin Water Reclamation Facility (Copper Basin), a pivotal piece of water infrastructure in one of the nations fastest growing regions.



The new state-of-the-art facilitys treatment process will be fully enclosed and designed to integrate seamlessly into the community. Equipped with industry-leading advanced treatment technologies that meet the Arizona Department of Environmental Qualitys Best Available Demonstrated Control Technology (BADCT) requirements, Copper Basin will ensure delivery of safe, clean, and reliable wastewater service.

We couldnt be more pleased to see construction begin on this critical wastewater treatment facility, said EPCOR USA President Joe Gysel. We take our responsibility to the communities EPCOR serves very seriously. Our commitment to, and the smart management of water resources is equally important  it is our goal to return more than 90% of the wastewater we collect and treat to the natural water cycle.

Located in the heart of Pinal Countys San Tan Valley, Copper Basin will replace the existing and outdated Section 11 lagoon-style plant that was constructed more than 20 years ago. In doing so, EPCOR will also return more than 1 billion gallons of safe, clean water annually to the natural water cycle through aquifer recharge. The new facility will be operational by December 2023. Decommissioning of the Section 11 lagoons is slated for completion by 2025.

EPCOR received the necessary approvals to move forward from the Pinal County Board of Supervisors in April 2022.

Pinal County is one of the most attractive regions in the country, with impressive residential, commercial and high-tech industrial growth. This new facility will not only support the regions future, it will ensure that we are returning every drop of water possible to the aquifer and that people who call the San Tan Valley home today will be ensured safe and reliable service, said Mike Goodman, Pinal County Supervisor.

Note to Media: EPCOR leadership is available for telephone/virtual interviews  additional images are available.

To learn more, visit epcor.com.

For further information, please contact:

Rebecca Stenholm

Director, Public Affairs

EPCOR USA

O 623.445.2424 | C 602.390.5662 | rstenholm@epcor.com

About EPCOR USA

EPCOR USA is among the largest private utilities in the Southwest and the largest in Arizona, providing water, wastewater and natural gas service to approximately 780,000 people across 42 communities and 18 counties in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. With corporate offices in Phoenix, EPCOR USA employs approximately 425 people.

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/9e61da73-df4a-40bd-854b-d41393f23be0

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/df494f02-1c90-4869-b21b-c3558cb51b6e
Seen above is a screenshot of artist Kim Young-eun's "To Future Listeners I" (2022) on view at her solo exhibition, "Frames of Sound," at SongEun gallery in Seoul's Gangnam District. Its caption reads, "This is a collection of sounds that were anticipated to be forgotten," referring to the first ethnographic recording of a traditional Korean song produced by an American anthropologist in 1896. Courtesy of the artist, SongEun Art and Cultural Foundation



Kim Young-eun's exhibition, 'Frames of Sound,' uncovers sound sources, ethnographic recordings that speak to modern Korea's musical history



By Park Han-sol



Even the feeblest sound barely audible to the naked ear, whether emanating from human vocal cords or manmade inventions, could contain stories of cultural and political history that have been forgotten or even lost.





Artist Kim Young-eun, photo by Chung Hee-seung / Courtesy of the artist, SongEun Art and Cultural Foundation

For years, artist Kim Young-eun has been uncovering such acoustic tales related to Korea's modern history.



In 2017, she unveiled "Guns and Flowers," inspired by the loudspeaker systems that once lined the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between South and North Korea for over 50 years.



It highlighted what she calls the "sonic warfare" waged between the two nations, which bombarded each other with ideological broadcasts  from propagandist slogans to everyday love songs. Even the seemingly innocent, romantic melodies were engineered as a weapon instilling anxiety and fear among the unseen enemy.



The piece earned her the grand prize at the 17th SongEun Art Award, a prestigious annual accolade granted by the SongEun Art and Cultural Foundation since 2001.



This summer, Kim returned to SongEun in its newly established monolithic building in Seoul's Gangnam District, for her solo exhibition, "Frames of Sound."



It presents various historical moments encapsulating the "first contacts" between highly systematic elements of Western music  such as ear training, staff notation and international pitch standard  and traditional Korean music in the 20th century.





Installation view of Kim Young-eun's "Tearful Twist" (2022), photo by Jung Ji-hyun / Courtesy of the artist, SongEun Art and Cultural Foundation



These include the very first ethnographic recording of a Korean song produced by an American anthropologist in 1896 ("To Future Listeners"), and the first Korean classical score to be translated into Western staff notation by a local musician in 1914 ("A Story of Oseonbo").



In the "To Future Listeners" series, Kim presents an intriguing digital performance based on the first recording of "Love Song: Ar-ra-rang 1," captured by wax cylinder phonograph a century ago.



A wax cylinder is an extremely fragile and sensitive material; with the passage of time, the recording preserved on its surface gradually becomes unintelligible.



Using a noise reduction plug-in, Kim attempts to digitally revive the 126-year-old recording, only to discover that the sounds are cut out and fragmented as the software already recognizes most parts of the documented song as meaningless noise.



"The recording is neither a transparent echo of the past nor a perfectly preserved remainder," the artist narrates in the video.



After her unsuccessful digital resuscitation of the song, she then chose to record herself singing the same track on wax cylinder.



"Even though my voice will also fade into another noise in the future, I wanted to at least prolong the life of the original ethnographic recording by allowing people to be reminded of its existence this way," Kim told The Korea Times in a recent interview at the gallery.



It's her way of preventing the century-old traditional sound from disappearing into oblivion.





A screenshot of Kim Young-eun's "A Story of Oseonbo: Sounds Lost in Translation" (2022) / Courtesy of the artist, SongEun Art and Cultural Foundation



"A Story of Oseonbo: Sounds Lost in Translation" is a 47-minute-long journey that begins with the discovery of the first Korean classical score translated into Western staff notation in 1914.



Tracing the tumultuous modernization of traditional Korean music, Kim goes to "gugak" (traditional Korean) musicians, researchers and composers to reconstruct the acoustic information  from tones to playing techniques and sentiments  that became distorted or filtered out while being transferred into the Western musical notation of "oseonbo."



She also delves into how Korean music and vocalizations were initially perceived by Protestant missionaries and scholars of the West  who made comments like "such heinous offences against the laws of harmony" and "seemingly devoid of musical talent"  until a realization hit them that distinct rules of music unfamiliar to the Western ear existed within the peninsula.



The currently institutionalized musical frameworks in Korea are then a complex result of the West's composer-centric sheet music introduced during the last century, as well as the ongoing musical compromise between the two cultures in terms of temperament, scale and notes.



"This is an unresolved issue still in progress. While one can see my work simply as a lament for Korea's acoustic elements that became lost in history, others can view it as a chance to actively reflect on the current state of traditional Korean music," the artist said.





A screenshot of Kim Young-eun's "Ear Training" (2022) / Courtesy of the artist, SongEun Art and Cultural Foundation



Other stories of first encounters between two cultures unfolded at the gallery are equally fascinating.



During the 1910-45 Japanese colonial era, ear training, in which musicians learn to identify individual pitches, was introduced in Korea's musical education as a military exercise to develop soldiers' skills in recognizing the sounds of enemy vessels and submarines.



The artist herself started making fundamental changes to her creative exploration of "Koreanness" when she emigrated to Los Angeles in 2017 and was now confronted with a question: can there be such a thing as "distinctly Korean" music and sound?



As she witnessed elderly Christian women playing traditional drum music in a tiny Koreatown church and Korean American musicians forming a "samulnori" (a genre of Korean percussion) club, she felt the need to re-examine the country's musical traditions.



Rather than attempting to simply restore or lament the country's bygone music, Kim's projects generate dialogues on how the sonic vestiges of cultural colonialism and Western imperialism found in Korea's musical soundscape could be wielded to produce thought-provoking new creations.



"Frames of Sound" runs through Aug. 13 at SongEun.




KANSAS CITY, Mo., July 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- H&R Block (NYSE: HRB) earned a spot on Forbes list of Americas Best Employers for Women due to the companys continued dedication to create a connected and inclusive culture, and place of belonging for all associates.



This was the second time the company received this distinction, and the Best Employers for Women 2022 were chosen based on an independent survey of 50,000 employees of companies with at least 1,000 workers at U.S. operations. Forbes teamed up with market research company Statista to identify the companies liked most by female workers. This year, H&R Block is one of four companies in Kansas City and 400 total to earn a spot in the top 200.

To continue to create a sense of belonging, the company's internal Belonging@Block initiative helps guide several associate-led Belonging Groups, which includes the company's Women's Network. This group works to connect and motivate women at Block as they pursue professional success, as well as personal fulfillment.

I'm proud of the work of the Women's Network at Block as it focuses on ways to advocate, educate, inspire and bring about change, said Tiffany Monroe, Chief People and Culture Officer and Executive Sponsor of the Womens Network at H&R Block. We consistently collect, manage and report against key performance indicators to measure and improve gender diversity.

In addition to Belonging Groups, the company offers benefits to support women including, expanded paid leave for all types of parenting and caregiving, infertility, surrogacy and adoption support, pregnancy support and more. The most recent benefit announced was reimbursement for eligible travel-related expenses for reproductive healthcare that cannot be accessed within 100 miles of an associates home address due to local restrictions.

"We want every associate at H&R Block to feel supported by the company," said Karen Orosco, President of Global Consumer Tax and Service Delivery and Executive Sponsor of the Womens Network at H&R Block. "Whether its through Belonging Groups, the benefits we offer, or just making sure we give everyone an opportunity to be heard in meetings, we will continue to do all that we can to be a leader in inclusivity."

H&R Block has previously been recognized by Forbes for other areas of excellence in the workplace including Best Employers for Diversity (2022), Americas Best Large Employers (2022), Canadas Best Employers (2022), Americas Best Tax and Accounting Firms (2022), Worlds Best Employers (2021), Americas Best Employers By State (2021), Best Employers for New Grads (2021), Best Employers for Diversity (2021 & 2022), Americas Best Employers (2021) and Best Employers for Women (2019).

About H&R Block

H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE: HRB) provides help and inspires confidence in its clients and communities everywhere through global tax preparation services, financial products, and small-business solutions. The company blends digital innovation with human expertise and care as it helps people get the best outcome at tax time and also be better with money using its mobile banking app, Spruce. Through Block Advisors and Wave, the company helps small-business owners thrive with innovative products like Wave Money, a small-business banking and bookkeeping solution, and the only business bank account to manage bookkeeping automatically. For more information, visit H&R Block News or follow @HRBlockNews on Twitter.
English French

THIS PRESS RELEASE DOES NOT CONSTITUTE OR FORM PART OF AN OFFER TO PURCHASE, SUBSCRIBE FOR OR SELL ANY NEW BONDS OR SHARES OR ANY OTHER SECURITIES OF VOLTALIA (TOGETHER, THE SECURITIES) TO ANY PERSON IN THE UNITED STATES (AS DEFINED IN REGULATION S UNDER THE U.S. SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, AS AMENDED (THE SECURITIES ACT)). THE SECURITIES MAY NOT BE OFFERED, SOLD, PLEDGED OR OTHERWISE TRANSFERRED IN THE UNITED STATES, ABSENT REGISTRATION UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT, EXCEPT PURSUANT TO AN EXEMPTION FROM OR IN A TRANSACTION NOT SUBJECT TO THE REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS OF THE SECURITIES ACT AND APPLICABLE STATE AND LOCAL SECURITIES LAWS. VOLTALIAS SECURITIES HAVE NOT BEEN AND WILL NOT BE REGISTERED UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT AND VOLTALIA DOES NOT INTEND TO MAKE A PUBLIC OFFERING OF THE SECURITIES IN THE UNITED STATES.

THE NEW BONDS WILL BE OFFERED AND SOLD ONLY TO INSTITUTIONAL INVESTORS, WHICH FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT INCLUDE PROFESSIONAL CLIENTS AND ELIGIBLE COUNTERPARTIES (AS DEFINED BELOW). THE NEW BONDS MAY NOT BE OFFERED OR SOLD TO RETAIL INVESTORS (AS DEFINED BELOW). NO KEY INFORMATION DOCUMENT AS DEFINED IN THE PRIIPS REGULATION (AS DEFINED BELOW) HAS BEEN OR WILL BE PREPARED.

Voltalia SA launches the offering of additional green bonds convertible into new shares and/or exchangeable for existing shares (OCEANEs Vertes) due 2025 for a nominal amount of approx. 50 million fully fungible with the OCEANEs Vertes due 2025 and issued in January 2021

Voltalia (Euronext Paris, ISIN Code: FR0011995588, Ticker: VLTSA FP, Sustainalytics ESG Rating: 15.2 (low risk), EthiFinance ESG Rating: 76/100) (the Company), an international player in renewable energies, today announces the launch of the offering of additional green senior unsecured bonds convertible into new shares and/or exchangeable for existing shares of the Company (OCEANEs Vertes) due 2025, (the New Bonds), by way of an accelerated bookbuilt placement to qualified investors (within the meaning of Regulation (EU) 2017/1129) only, in accordance with Article L. 411-2, 1 of the French monetary and financial code (Code monetaire et financier), for a nominal amount of approx. 50 million (the Offering) fully fungible with the OCEANEs Vertes issued in January 2021 for a total nominal amount of 199,999,985.40, due on January 13, 2025, ISIN FR00140001X1 (the "Existing Bonds").

Overview of the transaction

With its additional green convertible bond offering, Voltalia reaffirms its commitment to align its renewable energy business and financing with its corporate sustainability commitments and values





The net proceeds of the Offering will be allocated to finance and/or refinance Eligible Green Projects as defined in Voltalias Green & Sustainability-linked Financing Framework document.





Main terms of the New Bonds

The New Bonds will have the same terms and conditions (except for the issue price) as the Existing Bonds and will constitute a single series with the Existing Bonds (together, the Bonds).

The issue price of the New Bonds will be announced later today or tomorrow morning before market open at the latest. The settlement-delivery and the admission to trading on Euronext AccessTM (the non-regulated market of Euronext in Paris) of the New Bonds are expected to take place on July 29, 2022 (the Issue Date).

The holders of the New Bonds will be granted a conversion/exchange right of the New Bonds into new and/or existing shares of the Company (the Conversion/Exchange Right), which they may exercise at any time from the Issue Date and until the 7th trading day (inclusive) preceding January 13, 2025 (or the next business day if such date is not a business day) or the relevant early redemption date.

The conversion/exchange ratio is set at one share per New Bond subject to standard adjustments. Upon exercise of their Conversion/Exchange Right, holders of the New Bonds will receive, at the option of the Company, new and/or existing Company shares having in all cases all rights attached as from the date of delivery.

Application will be made for the listing of the New Bonds on Euronext AccessTM of Euronext in Paris to occur within 30 calendar days from the Issue Date.

Voltalia Green & Sustainability-linked Financing Framework

The issue of the New Bonds will be part of Voltalias Green & Sustainability-linked Financing Framework (the Framework) that was established in accordance with the ICMA 2018 Green Bond Principles and 2020 Sustainability-Linked Bond Principles available on its website to support its growth strategy in renewable energy and storage with an integrated sustainability approach. The external review of the Framework by EthiFinance, as Second Party Opinion provider, is available, together with the Framework, on the Companys website.

The net proceeds of the Offering will also be used to finance, or refinance, in whole or in part, Eligible Green Projects, defined as:

financing of, or investments in development, construction, operation and maintenance of renewable energy plants (wind, solar, biomass, hydro or hybrid) and storage units;

majority or minority acquisitions of companies significantly active in any of the renewable energy technologies (i.e. with at least 50% of EBITDA coming from renewable energy technologies, and with an objective to develop a decarbonization pathway on the non-renewable share). Voltalia will only consider as eligible the pro-rated share (%) of the acquisition / participation that is dedicated to Eligible Green Projects.

Eligible Green Projects include capital expenditures, without a specific look-back period, and selected operating expenditures (i.e. maintenance costs related to renewable energy projects), with a maximum three-year look-back period before the issuance year of the financing instrument.

The renewable energy projects targeted in the Framework will contribute to the climate change mitigation objective and will directly impact on SDG 7 (Affordable and clean energy), SDG 9 (Clean infrastructure) and SDG 13 (Climate action) by avoiding CO2 emissions.

Intentions of existing shareholders

The Company is not aware of the intentions of its principal shareholders to subscribe to the Offering.

Lock-up undertaking

In the context of the Offering, the Company will agree to a lock-up undertaking on the issuance or sale of shares or of securities giving access to the Companys share capital for a period starting from the announcement of the transaction and ending 90 calendar days after the Issue Date, subject to certain customary exceptions or waiver from the sole global coordinator.

Legal framework of the Offering and placement

The Offering will be realized by way of a placement to qualified investors (within the meaning of Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 (as amended, the Prospectus Regulation)) only, in accordance with Article L. 411-2, 1 of the French monetary and financial code (Code monetaire et financier), as per the authorization granted by the Companys extraordinary general meeting held on May 19, 2021 (22nd resolution), in France and outside of France (excluding, in particular, the United States of America, Australia and Japan), without an offer to the public (other than to qualified investors) in any country (including France).

Existing shareholders of the Company shall have no preferential subscription rights and there will be no priority subscription period, in connection with the issuance of the Bonds or the underlying new shares of the Company issued upon conversion.

Available information

Neither the Offering, nor the admission of the New Bonds to trading on Euronext AccessTM, is subject to a prospectus approved by the French Autorite des marches financiers (the AMF), as defined in the Prospectus Regulation. No key information document required by Regulation (EU) 1286/2014 has been or will be prepared. Detailed information about Voltalia, including its business, results, prospects and the risk factors to which Voltalia is exposed are described in the Companys universal registration document (Document denregistrement universel) for the financial year ended December 31, 2021, filed by the Company with the AMF on May 2, 2022 under No. D.22-0410; and the Companys press releases (including those based on revenue for (i) the first quarter on March 31, 2022 and (ii) the second quarter on June 30, 2022) and other regulated information about the Company; which are all available on the Companys website (https://www.voltalia.com/).

Important information

This press release does not constitute or form part of any offer or solicitation to purchase or subscribe for or to sell securities to any person in the United States, Australia or Japan or in any jurisdiction to whom or in which such offer is unlawful, and the Offering is not an offer to the public in any jurisdiction including France, other than to qualified investors within the meaning of the Prospectus Regulation, or an offer to retail investors as such term is defined below.

Note: The English version of this press release may differ from the French version for regulatory reasons.

Next on the agenda: First-half 2022 results on September 28, 2022

About Voltalia (www.voltalia.com) Voltalia is an international player in the renewable energy sector. The Group produces and sells electricity generated from wind, solar, hydraulic, biomass and storage facilities that it owns and operates. Voltalia has generating capacity in operation and under construction of more than 2 GW and a portfolio of projects under development representing total capacity of 11.1 GW.



Voltalia is also a service provider and supports its investor clients in renewable energy projects during all phases, from design to operation and maintenance.



As a pioneer in the corporate market, Voltalia provides a global offer to private companies, ranging from the supply of green electricity and energy efficiency services to the local production of their own electricity.



The Group has more than 1,300 employees and is present in 20 countries on 4 continents and is able to act worldwide on behalf of its clients.



Voltalia is listed on the regulated market of Euronext Paris, compartment B (FR0011995588  VLTSA) and is part of the Enternext Tech 40 and CAC Mid & Small indices. The Group is also included in the Gaia-Index, an index for socially responsible midcaps. Voltalia

Investor Relations: invest@voltalia.com

T. +33 (0)1 81 70 37 00 Actifin

Press Contact: Jennifer Jullia

jjullia@actifin.fr . T. +33 (0)1 56 88 11 11

Disclaimer

This press release may not be released, published or distributed, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States of America, Australia, Canada or Japan. The distribution of this press release may be restricted by law in certain jurisdictions and constitute a violation of the legal provisions in force. Persons into whose possession any document or other information referred to herein comes, should inform themselves about and observe any such restriction. Any failure to comply with these restrictions may constitute a violation of the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.

No communication or information relating to the offering of the New Bonds may be transmitted to the public in a country where there is a registration obligation or where an approval is required. No action has been or will be taken in any country in which such registration or approval would be required. The issuance by the Company or the subscription of the New Bonds may be subject to legal and regulatory restrictions in certain jurisdictions; none of Voltalia and the sole global coordinator assumes any liability in connection with the breach by any person of such restrictions.

This press release is an advertisement and not a prospectus within the meaning of Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 (the Prospectus Regulation). This press release is not an offer to the public other than to qualified investors, or an offer to subscribe or designed to solicit interest for purposes of an offer to the public other than to qualified investors in any jurisdiction, including France.

The New Bonds have been offered only by way of an offering in France and outside France (excluding the United States of America, Australia, Canada, Japan and any other jurisdiction where a registration process or an approval would be required by applicable laws and regulations), solely to qualified investors as defined in article 2 point (e) of the Prospectus Regulation and in accordance with Article L. 411-2 1 of the French monetary and financial code (Code monetaire et financier). There will be no public offering in any country (including France) in connection with the New Bonds. This press release does not constitute a recommendation concerning the issue of the New Bonds, other than to qualified investors. The value of the New Bonds and the shares of Voltalia can decrease as well as increase. Potential investors should consult a professional adviser as to the suitability of the New Bonds for the person concerned.

Prohibition of sales to European Economic Area retail investors

No action has been undertaken or will be undertaken to make available any New Bonds to any retail investor in the European Economic Area. For the purposes of this provision:

(a) the expression "retail investor" means a person who is one (or more) of the following:

(i) a retail client as defined in point (11) of Article 4(1) of Directive 2014/65/EU (as amended, "MiFID II"); or

(ii) a customer within the meaning of Directive (EU) 2016/97, as amended, where that customer would not qualify as a professional client as defined in point (10) of Article 4(1) of MiFID II; or

(iii) not a qualified investor as defined in the Prospectus Regulation; and

(b) the expression offer" includes the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer and the New Bonds to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to purchase or subscribe the New Bonds.





Consequently no key information document required by Regulation (EU) No 1286/2014 (as amended, the "PRIIPs Regulation") for offering or selling the New Bonds or otherwise making them available to retail investors in the European Economic Area has been prepared and therefore offering or selling the New Bonds or otherwise making them available to any retail investor in the European Economic Area may be unlawful under the PRIIPS Regulation.

Prohibition of sales to UK retail Investors

No action has been undertaken or will be undertaken to make available any New Bonds to any retail investor in the United Kingdom (UK). For the purposes of this provision:

(a) the expression retail investor means a person who is one (or more) of the following:

(i) a retail client, as defined in point (8) of Article 2 of Regulation (EU) No 2017/565 as it forms part of domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (EUWA); or

(ii) a customer within the meaning of the provisions of the FSMA and any rules or regulations made under the FSMA to implement Directive (EU) 2016/97, where that customer would not qualify as a professional client, as defined in point (8) of Article 2(1) of Regulation (EU) No 600/2014 as it forms part of domestic law by virtue of the EUWA; or

(iii) not a qualified investor as defined in Article 2 of Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 as it forms part of domestic law by virtue of the EUWA; and

(b) the expression an offer includes the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer and the New Bonds to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to purchase or subscribe for the New Bonds.

Consequently no key information document required by Regulation (EU) No 1286/2014 as it forms part of domestic law by virtue of the EUWA (the UK PRIIPs Regulation) for offering or selling the New Bonds or otherwise making them available to retail investors in the UK has been prepared and therefore offering or selling the New Bonds or otherwise making them available to any retail investor in the UK may be unlawful under the UK PRIIPs Regulation.

MIFID II product governance / Retail investors (France only), professional investors and ECPs onl y target market  Solely for the purposes of each manufacturers product approval process, the target market assessment in respect of the New Bonds has led to the conclusion that: (i) the target market for the New Bonds is French retail investors, eligible counterparties and professional clients, each as defined in MiFID II; and (ii) all channels for distribution of the New Bonds to French retail investors, eligible counterparties and professional clients are appropriate. Any person subsequently offering, selling or recommending the New Bonds (a distributor) should take into consideration the manufacturers target market assessment; however, a distributor subject to MiFID II is responsible for undertaking its own target market assessment in respect of the New Bonds (by either adopting or refining the manufacturers target market assessment) and determining appropriate distribution channels. For the avoidance of doubt, even if the target market includes French retail investors, the manufacturers have decided that the New Bonds will be offered, as part of the initial offering, only to eligible counterparties and professional clients.

France

The New Bonds have not been and will not be offered or sold or cause to be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, to the public in France other than to qualified investors. Any offer or sale of the New Bonds and distribution of any offering material relating to the New Bonds have been and will be made in France only to qualified investors (investisseurs qualifies), as defined in article 2 point (e) of the Prospectus Regulation, and in accordance with Article L.411-2 1 of the French monetary and financial code (Code monetaire et financier).

United Kingdom

This press release is addressed and directed only (i) to persons located outside the United Kingdom, (ii) to investment professionals as defined in Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005, as amended (the Order), (iii) to high net worth companies, and other persons to whom it may lawfully be communicated, falling within by Article 49(2) (a) to (d) of the Order (the persons mentioned in paragraphs (i), (ii) and (iii) all deemed relevant persons (the Relevant Persons)). The New Bonds and, as the case may be, the shares to be delivered upon exercise of the conversion rights (the Financial Instruments), are intended only for Relevant Persons and any invitation, offer or agreement related to the subscription, tender, or acquisition of the Financial Instruments may be addressed and/or concluded only with Relevant Persons. All persons other than Relevant Persons must abstain from using or relying on this document and all information contained therein.

This press release is not a prospectus which has been approved by the Financial Conduct Authority or any other United Kingdom regulatory authority for the purposes of Section 85 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.

United States of America

This press release may not be released, published or distributed in or into the United States and does not constitute an offer of securities or a solicitation to buy or subscribe to securities or a solicitation to sell securities in the United States. The New Bonds and the shares deliverable upon conversion or exchange of the New Bonds described in this press release have not been, and will not be, registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the Securities Act), or the securities laws of any state of the United States, and such securities may not be offered, sold, pledged or otherwise transferred in the United States absent registration under the Securities Act or pursuant to an available exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements thereof and applicable state or local securities laws.

Voltalia does not intend to make a public offer of its securities, including the New Bonds and the shares granted after converting or exchanging the New Bonds, in the United States. Terms used in this paragraph have the meanings given to them by Regulation S under the Securities Act.

Australia, Canada and Japan

The New Bonds may not and will not be offered, sold or purchased in Australia, Canada or Japan. The information contained in this press release does not constitute an offer of securities for sale in Australia, Canada or Japan.

Attachment
NEW YORK, July 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- 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:



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.

Silicon Motion Technology Corp. (SIMO), relating to its proposed acquisition by MaxLinear, Inc. Under the terms of the agreement, SIMO shareholders will receive 0.388 shares of MaxLinear and $93.54 in cash per SIMO American Depositary Share they own, and 0.097 shares of MaxLinear and $23.385 in cash per SIMO ordinary share no represented by an ADS. Click here for more information: http://monteverdelaw.com/case/silicon-motion-technology-corp. It is free and there is no cost or obligation to you.

Sharps Compliance Corp. (SMED), relating to its proposed tender offer by an affiliate of Aurora Capital Partners. Under the terms of the agreement, SMED shareholders are expected to receive $8.75 in cash per share they own. Click here for more information: http://monteverdelaw.com/case/sharps-compliance-corp. 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 jmonteverde@monteverdelaw.com 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

jmonteverde@monteverdelaw.com

Tel: (212) 971-1341
San Diego, CA, July 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A new component recently installed at the DIII-D National Fusion Facility is enabling it to quickly change the direction of its magnetic fields, an important feature for predicting the design and performance of future fusion power plants.

Called a Toroidal Field Reversing Switch (TFRS), this quick-change function is unique to DIII-D and illustrates the facilitys value and flexibility for fusion science.

Being able to reverse magnetic fields between plasma pulses without changing other parameters of an experiment is highly useful for validating the models used to predict the behavior of future devices, said DIII-D Special Projects Lead Engineer Alex Nagy, who led the project. But it needs to be done during the experiment, because any delays mean conditions inside the vessel can change.

DIII-D is the largest magnetic fusion research user facility in the United States and is operated by General Atomics for the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science. The heart of the facility is a tokamak that uses powerful electromagnets to produce a toroidal (doughnut-shaped) magnetic bottle for confining a fusion plasma. Plasma is the fourth state of matter in which electrons are stripped from the atoms, producing a highly ionized soup of nuclei and electrons that can be controlled by magnetic fields.

In DIII-D, plasma temperatures more than 10 times hotter than the Sun are routinely achieved. At such extremely high temperatures, hydrogen isotopes are forced by powerful magnetic forces to fuse together and release energy.

The toroidal magnetic field that confines the plasma is generated when a powerful electric current flows through the 24 large copper coils around the tokamak. When the direction of the current through these coils is reversed, the direction of the magnetic field is also reversed. This reversal can change key processes, such as the directions of drifts that carry particles through the plasma. This flexibility is already providing key insights into the physics of handling and dissipation of high heat fluxes prevalent in fusion devices.

DIII-D is unique among operating tokamaks in its ability to change the toroidal field direction without changing other parameters.

However, until the TFRS was developed, doing so required an hours-long operation in which several large copper plates configuring the direction of the current were removed and repositioned. This typically had to be performed overnight with a crew of several technicians. The process required that experiments with the same magnetic field direction be scheduled in succession, even when they required very different plasma conditions and were performed by different teams. With this new method, researchers can complete comprehensive experiments in a single day, all while improving their ability to maintain stable conditions.

The TFRS automates this reconfiguring. Its composed of a set of copper plates with motor-driven contact pins that move back and forth to configure the direction of current. The entire operation takes about two minutes. Because experiments on DIII-D are conducted in a series of plasma pulses, or shots, that require a ten-minute cool-down period afterward, the TFRS allows researchers to switch magnetic field direction back and forth during experiments with no delays.

This new flexibility will maximize the facilitys experimental time and expand the range of science that can be conducted. The TFRS is already helping provide key insights into the physics of handling and dissipation of the high heat fluxes that exist in fusion devices.

The TFRS was designed by Nagy, a DIII-D researcher with the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) working together with Taylor Raines, an early-career PPPL engineer. The heart of the switch, the multi-finger contacts, were supplied by Staubli International, which developed the TFRS in collaboration with Nagy and Raines. The project is described in detail in a recent article in the journal IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science.

Upgrades like these keep DIII-D at the forefront of fusion science, Nagy said. Were excited to see the work that can be done with this new capability.

About General Atomics. Since the dawn of the atomic age, General Atomics innovations have advanced the state of the art across the full spectrum of science and technology  from nuclear energy and defense to medicine and high-performance computing. Behind a talented global team of scientists, engineers, and professionals, GAs unique experience and capabilities continue to deliver safe, sustainable, economical, and innovative solutions to meet growing global demands.

About the DIII-D National Fusion Facility. DIII-D is the largest magnetic fusion research facility in the U.S. and has been the site of numerous pioneering contributions to the development of fusion energy science. DIII-D continues the drive toward practical fusion energy with critical research conducted in collaboration with more than 600 scientists representing over 100 institutions worldwide. As a U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science User Facility, participation in DIII-D research is open to all interested parties. For more information, visit www.ga.com/diii-d.

About PPPL. PPPL, on Princeton University's Forrestal Campus in Plainsboro, N.J., is devoted to creating new knowledge about the physics of plasmas  ultra-hot, charged gases  and to developing practical solutions for the creation of fusion energy. The Laboratory is managed by the University for the U.S. Department of Energys Office of Science, which is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, visit energy.gov/science.

Attachment
Bethesda, MD, July 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CareMetx, LLC, a leading technology-enabled services company focused on improving patient access to specialty medications, today announced that Rita Kale has joined the companys board of directors. Kale brings over two decades of global healthcare industry experience, with specific expertise in finance, strategic planning, people development, and collaborative leadership.

Kale has spent more than two decades working in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry, most recently serving as Chief Financial Officer at Foundation Medicine, a molecular information organization that seeks methods for providing cancer treatment based on genomic changes that factor into each patients unique cancer.

Prior to her work at Foundation Medicine, Kale served in roles of increasing global responsibility at the Roche Group. Beginning her career with Roche Australia in 2000, she has since held key leadership roles in the United States, India, South Africa, Switzerland and Singapore. Most recently, she served as Head of Finance for Roche Pharmaceuticals Asia Pacific, where she helped countries achieve strategic healthcare business objectives.

We are beyond thrilled to have Rita Kale join our board of directors, says Jim Rowe, CareMetx CEO.

Rita is an immensely talented executive who brings global experience that will be invaluable to guide CareMetxs accelerated growth. We are thrilled to benefit from Ritas expertise as CareMetx continues to scale, and as we continually expand the services we can provide to improve the patient experience with specialty therapies.

About CareMetx

CareMetx, LLC is a leading technology-enabled hub services company facilitating patient access and adherence to specialty medications. Serving pharmaceutical and biotechnology manufacturers, CareMetx leverages a digital front-end, proprietary automation, an integrated platform and best-in-industry call center services to promote efficiency in the healthcare ecosystem and remove barriers for patients and providers. CareMetx is committed to delivering compassionate advocacy to patients, decision-making data, and confidence-building insight to manufacturer clients. Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, CareMetx serves more than 80 brands. Learn more at caremetx.com and follow us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/caremetx-llc.

Attachment
NEW YORK, July 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- 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 newaction@pomlaw.com 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 investigations status, Schwabs second quarter 2021 financial results will include a liability and related non-deductible charge of $200 million.

On this news, Charles Schwabs 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 Schwabs 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 Schwabs 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
Toss Bank headquarters in southern Seoul / Newsis



By Anna J. Park



Toss Bank is the country's first internet-only bank that opened its doors to foreign residents. The digital bank announced in May this year that foreigners in Korea can open up accounts. However, the bank is now being grilled by expats here for failing to provide language services in English or other foreign languages.



A posting recently uploaded on "Every Expat in Korea," a Facebook group with more than 69,000 members, pointed out that despite the fact that Toss Bank provides services for foreign expats, the service is in the "Korean language only."



"Huh? Toss Bank 'for foreign expats' in South Korea provides services in 'Korean language only,'" the posting reads.



More than 50 comments followed as of 11 a.m. Tuesday, agreeing with the poster's sentiments.



"It's a shame that Korea refuses to service foreigners in this subtle way and always makes excuses to understand Korea's unique situation. () Someone please pay them more so they can hire foreigners," a member of the group wrote in the comments section of the post.



"Foreigners are not even allowed to chat or send messages on Toss. Ahaha," another member observed.



In fact, foreigners can indeed open up bank accounts at Toss Bank if they have a legal Alien Registration Card (ARC) and their cell phone number is registered in the same name as inscribed on their registration card. However, all these procedures that customers have to go through to open up an account at the digital bank are done in the Korean language only.



"As long as customers have a legal visa and cell phone registered in the same name as written on their registration card, foreigners can easily open up accounts at Toss Bank. However, Toss Bank's services are still only available in the Korean language. If customers have basic Korean language skills, it won't be difficult to open an account. But for customers with no Korean language capabilities, it could be a difficult task," an official from Toss Bank told The Korea Times on Tuesday.



"The bank's aim, when we launched the service for foreign residents, was to reduce the inconvenience of having to visit offline bank branches to open up accounts," the official added.



Regarding criticism that bank users cannot even send messages in English when receiving customer services, the official said the bank will consider expanding its services in other languages.



The official also stressed that it is the first digital bank in the country that is attempting to include foreign customers.



"It hasn't even been a year since Toss Bank was officially launched. After opening in October, the digital bank has been trying to provide banking services for foreigners, which officially began in May. Other internet-only banks like KakaoBank and K bank have yet to come up with any services available to foreigners, even though it's been over five years since they opened," the official added.



As of now, other services like Toss Securities and credit loans are not yet available to foreigners.


Several Formula One teams, including Ferrari and Red Bull Racing, oppose the FIA's proposed rule changes to further combat porpoising. The teams believe that it is not a safety issue, but that the changes are designed to help Mercedes. Ferrari are even prepared to lodge a protest, which could make life very difficult for the FIA.

Article continues under ad

To further combat porpoising, the FIA plans to make a number of changes to the floor mandatory. For example, each team will have to raise the floor edges by 25 millimetres, the throat of the diffuser under the floor will also have to be raised and stricter tests will be introduced to check the flexing of the floor.

These changes come on top of measures already taken by the governing body, which are due to take effect from the Belgian Grand Prix. At Spa-Francorchamps, the FIA wants to start taking measurements, with the floor being allowed to touch the asphalt to a lesser extent than before. If a team does not comply, the ride height must be adjusted. Tests will also be introduced to check the flexibility of the floor, for which a maximum has also been set.

Ferrari willing to appeal against FIA decision

Six of the ten teams are against the changes the FIA wants to introduce in 2023, including Ferrari. And that is an important one, because Ferrari has a right of veto with which it can block certain decisions. Whether this will be possible here remains to be seen, as the FIA claims that it is a safety issue and therefore does not need the teams' agreement in principle. However, it does open up the discussion as to what extent it is actually about safety, as the problem can already be solved by adjusting the ride height.

Ferrari would even be prepared to lodge a protest against the changes, according to Michael Schmidt in a video of Auto, Motor und Sport. Mattia Binotto would have told him this personally. The Ferrari team boss thinks that safety is not an argument, as measurements will already be taken from Spa-Francorchamps. If teams do exceed the limit, they run the risk of being disqualified. According to Binotto, more rules are not necessary for this reason.
Members of Korea Development Bank's union protest in front of its headquarters on Yeouido in Seoul, June 9. Yonhap



By Lee Min-hyung



Planned relocations of state-run lenders here have hit a snag, as growing internal resistance has stalemated the moves even months after the inauguration of President Yoon Suk-yeol.



The Yoon administration expressed its strong will to relocate the headquarters of the Korea Development Bank (KDB) to the nation's southeastern port city of Busan.



But the move has made little progress since Yoon took office in early May. KDB's new Chairman Kang Seog-hoon is also in a dilemma amid escalating pressure from the lender's union, which stepped up its hard-line rhetoric against the relocation plan.



The union reiterated its firm determination to keep protesting until the government drops the plan. It even took about two weeks for Kang to enter his office after having been appointed for the position, as KDB union members blocked his entry into the headquarters in Seoul.



He shared his plan to "hold a special communication committee" to narrow the gap between management and union regarding the relocation plan, but no tangible progress has been made amid the union's unwavering opposition.



The possible relocation of the Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) to the southeastern city of Daegu is also locked in a stalemate, after Rep. Yun Jae-ok of the ruling People Power Party recently shifted positions within the Nation Assembly. He previously chaired the Nation Assembly's National Policy Committee, but he switched positions to lead the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee.



The lawmaker proposed a revision act pushing for the IBK's relocation from Seoul to Daegu. As the act has not been approved yet, it remains uncertain who will be able to undertake the same role for the plan.



The Yoon administration is pushing ahead with the drive to relocate major state-run lenders to provincial areas, as part of efforts to achieve balanced financial growth across the nation.



Busan Metropolitan City is continuing efforts to attract more overseas private financial companies. The city government held a joint opening ceremony on Monday after attracting three foreign financial firms including Citibank Korea to the Busan International Finance Center. The city aims to attract more financial firms from Hong Kong and Singapore to enhance its international footing.



But experts expressed woes that excessive political intervention might weaken Korea's overall competitiveness in global finance.



"Scattering financial institutions across the nation is feared to worsen Korea's competitiveness in international finance," Sejong University professor Kim Dae-jong said. "When foreign investors visit Korea, they may have to visit cities all across the country, which does no good in attracting more foreign capital. Most developed countries with their own financial hubs, such as the United States and Singapore, do not adopt such a strategy for the sake of balanced growth across regions."


People protest in the wake of executions, in Yangon, Myanmar, July 25, this screen grab obtained from a social media video shows. Reuters-Yonhap





The top diplomats of the United States and seven other countries including South Korea issued a joint statement Monday, condemning the recent executions of pro-democracy leaders in Myanmar.







Earlier reports said at least four people, including two pro-democracy activists in Myanmar, have been executed by the country's military regime that came into power through a coup early last year.







"The Myanmar military regime's executions of pro-democracy and opposition leaders are reprehensible acts of violence that further exemplify the regime's disregard for human rights and the rule of law," said the statement jointly issued by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his counterparts from Australia, Britain, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Norway and South Korea.







"We urge the regime to release all those unjustly detained, grant full and independent access to prisons and fulfill its obligations under the Association of Southeast Asian Nations' (ASEAN) Five-Point Consensus to seek peace through dialogue, not further violence," it added.







The statement was also signed by the high representative of the European Union, according to the U.S. state department.







The foreign ministers expressed support for the people of Myanmar while calling on the military regime to end its use of violence.







"Our thoughts and condolences are with the bereaved families and loved ones as they grieve those unjustly put to death. We remember and mourn all lives lost in Myanmar in the aftermath of the coup," they said. (Yonhap)






China's expressway network links 95 pct of population

Xinhua) 09:08, July 26, 2022

BEIJING, July 25 (Xinhua) -- China has made solid progress in building a national road network to improve inter-area transport layout and increase traffic capacity, with its expressways linking about 95 percent of the population, official data showed.

At present, the expressway network covers 98.8 percent of cities each with an urban population of over 200,000 and prefecture-level administrative centers, while linking around 88 percent of county-level regions, Wang Tai, an official with the Ministry of Transport, told a press conference Monday.

National highways also basically cover administrative areas at and above the county level and border ports open all year round, Wang said.

As of the end of last year, China had built 117,000 km of national expressways and seen 257,700 km of national highways open to traffic.

The country aims to build national roads with a total length of about 461,000 km, consisting of 162,000-km expressways and 299,000-km highways by 2035, according to a circular released earlier this year.

To facilitate the construction of a modern, high-quality national road network, efforts will be made to promote key projects and an integrated road network for city clusters, Wang said.

China will also step up green road construction by enhancing the effective use of resources, protecting ecological environment along the roads and effectively reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions.

(Web editor: Wu Chaolan, Liang Jun)
Amb. Cho Tae-yong, South Korea's ambassador to the U.S.



South Korea and the United States will likely resume their strategic dialogue on extended deterrence in the very near future, South Korea's ambassador to the U.S. said Monday.



Amb. Cho Tae-yong said the bilateral dialogue, known as the "Extended Deterrence Strategy and Consultation Group (EDSCG)," may be held within the next two months.



"(We) have been working to strengthen our traditional alliance (with the U.S.), while focusing on efforts to restart the EDSCG amid the lingering possibility of North Korean provocations while North Korea continues to avoid dialogue with the international community," Cho said in a meeting with reporters here.



"I believe the dialogue can be held within the next month or two," he added.



The EDSCG was suspended in 2018 amid heightened engagement with North Korea that included three inter-Korean summits and two historic U.S.-North Korea summits.



South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and his U.S. counterpart, Joe Biden, agreed to revive the strategic talks when the two met in Seoul in May, less than two weeks after Yoon took office.



North Korea has launched more than 30 ballistic missiles in 18 rounds of missile tests this year, marking the largest number of ballistic missile tests it conducted in a single year.



Officials in Seoul and Washington have said the North may also conduct a nuclear test in the near future, noting the country appears to have already completed all preparations for such a test.



Pyongyang conducted its sixth and last nuclear test in September 2017.



"We also continue to hold consultations with the U.S. on the Yoon government's North Korea policy, which has the elements of both feasibility and flexibility, while sternly dealing with North Korean provocations and threats," Cho said.



"I believe South Korea and the U.S. have established the foundation for air-tight cooperation on their North Korea policy and for their joint work ahead based on consensus," he added. (Yonhap)




The United States became the worlds largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter during the first half of 2022, according to data from CEDIGAZ. reported by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). Compared with the second half of 2021, US LNG exports increased by 12% in the first half of 2022, averaging 11.2 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d).

US LNG exports continued to grow for three reasons: increased LNG export capacity, increased international natural gas and LNG prices, and increased global demand, particularly in Europe.

According to EIA estimates, installed US LNG export capacity has expanded by 1.9 Bcf/d nominal (2.1 Bcf/d peak) since November 2021. The capacity additions included a sixth train at the Sabine Pass LNG, 18 new mid-scale liquefaction trains at the Calcasieu Pass LNG, and increased LNG production capacity at Sabine Pass and Corpus Christi LNG facilities.

As of July 2022, EIA estimates that US LNG liquefaction capacity averaged 11.4 Bcf/d, with a shorter-term peak capacity of 13.9 Bcf/d.

International natural gas and LNG prices hit record highs in the last quarter of 2021 and first half of 2022. Prices at the Title Transfer Facility (TTF) in the Netherlands have been trading at record highs since October 2021. TTF averaged $30.94 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) during the first half of 2022. LNG spot prices in Asia have also been high, averaging $29.50/MMBtu during the same period.

Since the end of last year, countries in Europe have increasingly imported more LNG to compensate for lower pipeline imports from Russia and to fill historically low natural gas storage inventories. LNG imports in the EU and UK increased by 63% during the first half of 2022 to average 14.8 Bcf/d.

Most US LNG exports went to the EU and the UK during the first five months of this year, accounting for 71%, or 8.2 Bcf/d, of the total US LNG exports. Similar to 2021, the United States sent the most LNG to the EU and UK during the first half of the year, providing 47% of the 14.8 Bcf/d of Europes total LNG imports, followed by Qatar at 15%, Russia at 14%, and four African countries combined at 17%.

In June, the United States exported 11% less LNG than the 11.4 Bcf/d average exports during the first five months of 2022, mainly as a result of an unplanned outage at the Freeport LNG export facility. Freeport LNG is expected to resume partial liquefaction operations in early October 2022.

Utilization of the peak capacity at the seven US LNG export facilities averaged 87% during the first half of 2022, mainly before the Freeport LNG outage, which is similar to the utilization on average during 2021.
Lithium and battery technology company Energy Exploration Technologies announced a $450-million investment commitment from Global Emerging Markets (GEM). The proceeds from this capital investment will further the companys commercialization efforts of its direct lithium extraction and refinery technologies.

Created in 2018, EnergyX is a startup focused on providing efficient, sustainable solutions to challenges facing global lithium supply chains from the raw battery materials extraction process to refining and the manufacturing of next generation batteries. The brine-to-battery company has filed more than 50 patents to this end, and is developing its proprietary Lithium Ion Transport and Separation (LiTAS) and Solid State Lithium Metal Battery (SoLiS) technologies.

Its LiTAS technology has been piloted in the Lithium Triangle in South America and increases lithium production from 30% in existing systems up to 94% recovery rate for that particular project.

Founded in 1991, GEM (Global Emerging Markets) is a $3.4-billion alternative investment firm with offices in Paris, New York, and the Bahamas. GEM oversees a wide range of developing market investment vehicles and has executed more than 530 transactions in 75 countries. The degree of operational control, risk-adjusted return, and liquidity profile of each investment vehicle varies. GEM and its partners have access to Small-Mid Cap Management Buyouts, Private Investments in Public Equities, and select venture investments through the family of funds and investment vehicles.

A tech-heavy ESG company mining in the emerging markets is a rare find. GEM is delighted to partner with EnergyX, a leader and innovator in the complicated and historically inefficient Lithium extraction space. From the historic pilot extraction program in Bolivia to the material science patents out of Austin TX, EnergyX is leading the way in maximizing Lithium recovery and asset utilization in an environmentally and socially conscious way. Jonathan Collins, Managing Director of The GEM Group

In this tailored agreement, EnergyX will control the amount and timing of drawdowns under this $450-million facility with no minimum subscription obligation and will issue shares of common stock over a 36-month period after a public listing.

EnergyX completed an active tender process with Bolivias lithium company YLB, where one of its LiTAS pilot plants operated from early 2022 rendering promising results. Although YLB initially elected to move in a different direction for that specific tender, EnergyX still believes there are different opportunities and angles to work with YLB providing services to their lithium industry.

EnergyX also recently signed an agreement with MOBI LATAM, a Bolivian electric micro-mobility startup to build battery swap stations using EnergyXs SoLiS technology.
General Motors announced two major Li-ion battery supply chain agreements, one with LG Chem for cathode active material (CAM), and one with Livent for the supply of battery-grade lithium hydroxide.

GM now has contractual commitments secured with strategic partners for all battery raw material to support our goal of 1 million units of EV capacity by the end of 2025. Jeff Morrison, GM vice president, Global Purchasing and Supply Chain

LG Chem. CAM is a key battery material consisting of components such as processed nickel, lithium and other materials representing about 40% of the cost of a battery cell. Through the long-term supply arrangement, LG Chem plans to supply more than 950,000 tons of CAM to GM beginning the second half of 2022 through 2030, enough for approximately 5 million units of EV production.

The CAM secured by GM will be used by Ultium Cells LLC, a joint venture between GM and LG Energy Solution, at its battery cell plants in Warren, Ohio; Spring Hill, Tennessee; and Lansing, Michigan.

The cathode materials that LG Chem plans to supply are NCMA (nickel, cobalt, manganese and aluminum) cathode materials for EVs built on GMs Ultium Platform. NCMA cathode material is a product that combines LG Chems best material technology and is characterized by its excellent stability and output. Aluminum was applied to the material technology to strengthen stability while decreasing the amount of cobalt used in GMs previous generation of batteries by 70%.

Livent. Livent will supply GM with battery-grade lithium hydroxide made primarily from lithium extracted at Livents brine-based operations in South America. The lithium hydroxide from Livent will be used in GMs Ultium battery cathodes, which will power electric vehicles such as the recently revealed Chevrolet Blazer EV, Chevrolet Silverado EV, GMC HUMMER EV and Cadillac LYRIQ.

Livent will provide battery-grade lithium hydroxide to GM over a six-year period beginning in 2025. Over the course of the agreement, Livent will increasingly supply battery-grade lithium hydroxide to GM from its manufacturing facilities in the US, with the goal of transitioning 100% of Livents downstream lithium hydroxide processing for GM to North America. The agreement is expected to help secure supply for GM while assisting Livent in expanding its North American capabilities.

Both GM and Livent share a commitment to responsible operations and sustainable supply chains through industry and multi-stakeholder platforms. General Motors is a member of the Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI), joined the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA) in 2021 and plans to become carbon neutral in global products and operations by 2040. Livent is actively engaged in an IRMA third-party assessment, has a gold rating from EcoVadis for sustainability and has announced a goal of overall carbon neutrality by 2040.
New research led by the University of Pittsburgh unveils the atomic-scale friction of a single tungsten asperity, or rough edge, in real time, showing atomic motion for the first time with electron microscopy. The work, completed by two labs in the Swanson School of Engineering, was recently published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.

Friction and wear are detrimental to functionality and reduce the service life of products with mechanical elements. Here, we unveil the atomic-scale friction of a single tungsten asperity in real time through a high-resolution transmission electron microscopy investigation of a nanocontact in countermotion, induced through a piezo actuator. Molecular dynamics simulations provide insights into the sliding pathway of interface atoms and the dynamic strain/stress evolution at the interface. We observe a discrete stickslip behaviour and an asynchronous process for the accumulation and dissipation of the strain energy together with the non-uniform motion of interface atoms. Our methodology allows for studying in situ atomic-friction phenomena and provides insights into friction phenomena at the atomic scale. Wang et al.

For machines with mechanical elements, friction is an unavoidable enemy. It is a major source of service failure and can reduce the lifespan of any machinery, from bicycles and cars to airplanes and assembly lines.

Until now, no one has been able to actually see the atomically resolved friction process with a clear-cut interface, so the relationship between the friction mechanisms and the interface hasnt been fully understood,.In this study, we were able to actually see the sliding pathway of interface atoms and the dynamic strain and stress evolution on the interface that has only previously been shown by simulations. Guofeng Wang, CNG Faculty Fellow and professor of mechanical engineering and materials science, co-corresponding author

Wangs group collaborated with now-retired John Swanson Endowed Professor Scott X. Maos research group in the Swanson School to provide the first visualization of friction at the atomic scale. Using a high-resolution transmission electron microscope, Maos group was able to actually view the movement of atoms across the surface when two surfaces made contact and moved. Wangs group was then able to use their computer simulations to verify what the microscopic visualizations showed and understand more about the forces at play.

Though this study focused on tungsten atoms because of their high resistance to the microscopes heat, the method can be applied to any material to understand friction and wear.

What we found is that no matter how smooth and clean the surface is, friction still occurs at the atomic level. Its completely unavoidable. However, this knowledge can lead to better lubricants and materials to minimize friction and wear as much as possible, extending the life of mechanical systems. Guofeng Wang

Resources
Researchers at the US Department of Energys (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) have found a way to build high-temperature superconducting magnets made of material that conducts electricity with little or no resistance at temperatures warmer than before. Such powerful magnets would more easily fit within the tight space inside spherical tokamaks, which are shaped more like a cored apple than the doughnut-like shape of conventional tokamaks, and are being explored as a possible design for future fusion power plants.

A paper on the work is published in IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity.

Significant progress has been made recently in the US fusion community to develop a strategic plan to enable engineering design and construction of a fusion pilot plant (FPP). Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) is working on developing high current density HTS conductors for next fusion experiments. Partnering with the US industry, we are evaluating feasibility and affordability of Conductor on Round Core (CORC) developed by Advanced Conductor Technologies (ACT) for the next compact fusion tokamak facility. High current density achieved by a CORC cable based on a four-layer model coil recently tested at National High Magnetic Field Laboratory (NHMFL) motivated its consideration for low cost, reduced size fusion magnet application. This is of interest to PPPL because of its scalability to tokamak central solenoid (CS) coils in terms of required flux swings for plasma startup operations. Partnering with ACT, we designed and built a two-layer model coil solenoid directly wound with CORC to demonstrate its applicability for compact solenoids such as that used in the national spherical torus experiment (NSTX), NSTX-upgrade (NSTX-U) and the US sustained high-power density test facility (SHPD). The 160 mm diameter solenoid wound by a two-layer CORC is being tested in early 2022 under electromagnetic cyclic loading at NHMFL in a unique 160 mm bore, 14 T background field magnet facility. Zhai et al.





Images of a high-temperature superconducting magnet which could improve the performance of spherical tokamak fusion devices. (Collage by Kiran Sudarsanan)

Since the magnets could be positioned apart from other machinery in the spherical tokamaks central cavity to corral the hot plasma that fuels fusion reactions, researchers could repair them without having to take anything else apart.

To do this, you need a magnet with a stronger magnetic field and a smaller size than current magnets. The only way you do that is with superconducting wires, and thats what weve done. Yuhu Zhai, a principal engineer at PPPL and lead author

Fusion, the power that drives the sun and stars, combines light elements in the form of plasmathe hot, charged state of matter composed of free electrons and atomic nucleithat generates massive amounts of energy. Scientists are seeking to replicate fusion on Earth for a virtually inexhaustible supply of safe and clean power to generate electricity.

High-temperature superconducting magnets have several advantages over copper magnets. They can be turned on for longer periods than copper magnets can because they dont heat up as quickly, making them better suited for use in future fusion power plants that will have to run for months at a time. Superconducting wires are also powerful, able to transmit the same amount of electrical current as a copper wire many times wider while producing a stronger magnetic field.

The magnets could also help scientists continue to shrink the size of tokamaks, improving performance and reducing construction cost.

Tokamaks are sensitive to the conditions in their central regions, including the size of the central magnet, or solenoid, the shielding, and the vacuum vessel. A lot depends on the center. So if you can shrink things in the middle, you can shrink the whole machine and reduce cost while, in theory, improving performance. Jon Menard, PPPLs deputy director for research and co-author

These new magnets take advantage of a technique refined by Zhai and researchers at Advanced Conductor Technologies, the University of Colorado, Boulder, and the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, in Tallahassee, Florida. The technique means that the wires do not need conventional epoxy and glass fiber insulation to ensure the flow of electricity. While simplifying construction, the technique also lowers costs.

The costs to wind the coils are much lower because we dont have to go through the expensive and error-prone epoxy vacuum-impregnation process. Instead, youre directly winding the conductor into the coil form. Yuhu Zhai

High-temperature superconducting magnets can help spherical tokamak design because the higher current density and smaller windings provide more space for support structure that helps the device withstand the high magnetic fields, enhancing operating conditions. Also, the smaller, more powerful magnets give the machine designer more options to design a spherical tokamak with geometry that could enhance overall tokamak performance. Were not quite there yet but were closer, and maybe close enough. Thomas Brown, a PPPL engineer and co-author

This research was supported by the US Department of Energy (Small Business Innovation Research and Laboratory Directed Research and Development).

Resources
Steel produced by electric arc furnace (EAF) steelmakers in the US has a carbon intensity that is approximately 75% lower than traditional blast furnace steelmakers. This is the finding of an independent study of steelmakers worldwide conducted by CRU Group, a global business intelligence firm specializing in metals manufacturing. The study was released by the Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA), the largest steel association in the US, representing the EAF steel industry and more than 70% of steel made in the US.

Blast furnace steel, which represents about 70% of global steel manufacturing, is produced at large steel plants that use coal to melt raw materials into iron and then process it into steel. EAF steel, which represents approximately 70% of steelmaking in the US, is produced at steel plants that primarily use electricity and recycled ferrous scrap to make steel, resulting in a lower carbon emission and less energy-intensive process. As the electrical power grid in the US continues to decarbonize through the efforts of utilities and individual companies, the carbon intensity of EAF steelmaking will drop to even lower levels.

Something that cant be measured cant be managed, and our new study conclusively measures and validates how using recycled scrap-based EAF technology is the most sustainable means of producing steel today. Using an established, proven steelmaking process, EAF producers are making steel at far lower carbon-intensity levels than traditional steelmakers around the globe. There is a lot of inaccurate and misleading information about steelmaking, and we believe this independent study will help further our efforts to achieve a low carbon future. Philip Bell, president, SMA

The study was conducted from November 2021 to June 2022 and was independently managed by CRU. This included researching a majority of the worlds steelmaking companies and industry data sources, surveying various steelmaking players through anonymous methods, and synthesizing data from a multitude of private, industry, and government resources.

Throughout the study, CRU adhered to definitions and practices established by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the United Nations body for assessing the science related to climate change.





Among the studys major findings, the average Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions intensity at the crude and hot-rolled steelmaking phases is 75% lower for EAF steelmakers compared with blast furnace steelmakers. Although the Paris Agreement and industry standards exclude Scope 3 emission in the supply chain, blast furnace producers crude steelmaking GHG intensity is still 210% higher than EAF steelmakers and 189% higher at the hot-rolled steelmaking phase when including all three scopes.
Incestual Lust performs at Phillies on June 4. / Korea Times photo by Jon Dunbar



By Jon Dunbar



Sirius Hunter Lee and his bandmates were on the bus heading to a show on June 4, when an elderly man with an ROTC hat saw their guitars and started talking to them.



"He was asking us all sorts of questions," Lee, a metalhead with long, straight, black Korean hair, who wears cowboy boots and a cowboy hat, told The Korea Times. "He started showing us photos of his daughter, son, and his wife. He showed us photos from his honeymoon and his trips to Australia and even Hawaii! Mind you his English wasn't too great so we had a hard time understanding him."



The man handed over his phone to Taylor, the female bassist, who asked, "Does he want my number or something?"



Lee grabbed the phone from her and used an online map to show him the venue they were playing: the basement of Phillies, a mainstay of Haebangchon celebrating its 25th anniversary this year.



"I know Phillies!" the old man exclaimed. Later, he showed up on time to see their performance, towing along his adult daughter.



"Over 80 years old and rocked out drinking his Budweiser with us," Lee remarked. "If he only knew our band name"



This story loses its sweetness when you know the band was named "Incestual Lust."





Incestual Lust performs at Phillies on June 4. / Korea Times photo by Jon Dunbar
Marnie Griffiths/Getty Images

A recent encounter with a humpback whale in Plymouth, Mass. took a frightening turn when the large aquatic creature breached and came crashing down on a boat.

Footage obtained by the Associated Press shows the humpback whale coming up through the water just off the coast of White Horse Beach in Plymouth on Sunday, July 24. The whale landed on a 19-foot-boat and quickly bounced back into the water. According to NBC Boston, there were no reported injuries to anyone onboard the boat and the vessel only had some minor damage to the bow.
At least five inmates filed lawsuits against Gov. Ned Lamont and state Department of Correction officials in June, seeking $500,000 in damages after contracting COVID-19 during the omicron surge this winter that nearly doubled the cumulative number of coronavirus cases in Connecticut prisons, court documents show.

The inmates, all housed at the Willard-Cybulski Correctional Institution in Enfield, claim they contracted COVID-19 in late December and early January because the warden and staff werent taking proper precautions to limit the spread of the disease, according to court documents.

The men said they suffered a severe cough, shortness of breath and lingering effects, including a cough that continued for months, lack of energy and in some cases Post Traumatic Stress since they feared they would die in prison, court documents stated.

Their complaints included no ability to social distance, infected inmates being placed in their housing units, no partitions in the eating area and no enforcement of COVID protections.

Willard Correctional Institution as currently operated is unable to comply with public health guidelines to prevent new outbreaks and has discouraged inmates from wearing their masks, the 25-page lawsuits said.

Each lawsuit is identical except for the name of the inmate and the date they contracted COVID-19. They are all seeking $500,000 in damages.

A spokesperson for Attorney General William Tongs office, which is representing state officials in the lawsuits, declined comment.

Its a problem that advocates from the Katal Center for Equity, Health and Justice said could be solved with decarceration and a comprehensive plan to deal with COVID and future pandemics.

But so far their pleas for better protections, including fewer inmates, have been ignored, the organization said.

Gov. Lamont and lawmakers have thus far failed to develop a comprehensive and transparent COVID-19 plan in the DOC, exacerbating the pandemic crisis within the prisons and jails in Connecticut, the Katal Center said in a news release issued July 8 after the 30th inmate died from COVID-19-related complications.

As this latest death shows, Lamont has done little if anything to improve the response to COVID in state jails and prisons, the center said in the release. We can  and must  do better.

The DOC is doing its best to mitigate the spread of the disease, agency spokesperson Ashley Turner said.

With the growing cases of COVID-19, the Department of Correction remains attentive to the impact on our staff and those in our custody, Turner said. We rely on the strength of our health services staff, who continue to collaborate with the Department of Public Health and monitor current CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) guidance for the health and safety of every person.

The agency has developed a rigorous and consistent testing protocol, which is increased when cases in the community rise, Turner said.

Our protocols detect individuals who may be asymptomatic to enhance monitoring and prevent further transmission, said Turner, who contends the positivity, hospitalization and death rates for the prisons are far below community levels.

The most recent COVID-19-related inmate death was a 63-year-old man who was terminally ill when he came into the prison system in February, DOC officials said. He was being held on a technical parole violation  the type of charge that could be addressed in the community, Katal Center Director of Organizing Kenyatta Muzzani said.

His incarceration became a death sentence, Muzzani said.

As of Nov. 26, 5,565 inmates had tested positive for COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, according to figures posted on the DOC website. As of July 1, that number jumped to 9,115  a 63 percent increase in seven months. The bulk of the new cases occurred between December and February as the omicron strain impacted the state and the nation.

At the same time, the number of inmates has increased steadily to more than 10,000 since the prison population reached a 30-year low of less than 9,000 during the earlier months of the pandemic as fewer people were being held on bond.

The people who are in the DOC have a heightened risk of catching COVID, becoming seriously ill and of dying, said Claudia Cupe, a member of the Katal Center who has two loved ones who are incarcerated. They dont deserve all of that.

Like the inmates who filed the lawsuits, Cupe said the people she knows who are incarcerated are concerned about the lack of social distancing and personal protective gear.

The Katal Center sought amendments to a bill that was before the legislature in the 2022 session that would have created a panel to determine which inmates would qualify for medical or compassionate release during an emergency declaration. But the amendments were not included and the proposed legislation did not make it to a vote on the House or Senate floors.

I have two loved ones who are in two different facilities and they both are complaining about the same things, Cupe said. Mixing people who tested positive with people who are negative is unsafe and unacceptable.
[UPDATE: No, it's not!] Honor pulls team out of India, will continue with a "safe approach"

Update, Wednesday, July 27:

No, it's not. The withdrawal happened back in 2020 after the brand became independent. Here's the full statement we've received from the company:

HONOR is maintaining business operations in India and will continue its development. The earlier news report about HONOR withdrawing from India is not correct.



HONOR India team withdrawal happened in 2020 due to its separation from Huawei. We are currently working with local partners to conduct business in the market.

Original story follows:

Honor revealed its team based in India is pulling out. George Zhao, company CEO, revealed the brand will remain in the market but all hands-on personnel is leaving and local partners will represent the brand.

The announcement comes as Indian authorities launched a series of probes into Chinese companies, including Xiaomi, vivo, and Oppo.

George Zhao revealed the brand will adopt a very safe approach in its market presence. He also shared that there has been a lot of work to assemble a local team, but due to obvious reasons, it will be disbanded. The news comes as Honor made a strong impression with its Magic4 flagship series and the number series midrangers started picking up steam around the globe.

Honors decision to pull out is rather unusual, as the company hasn't officially faced any investigations. Meanwhile, other Chinese companies faced prosecution by the Indian tax agency and finance ministry but never announced any similar measures.

So far, offices of Huawei have been searched in February, $725M from Xiaomi have been seized in May, and vivos bank accounts have been frozen after it was found to funnel over $8 billion to parent companies to avoid paying taxes. Oppo was the latest to be caught evading custom duties with over $551 million allegedly unpaid dues.

Source
Lenovo Legion Y90 arrived in early 2022 with a top-tier chipset and gaming features, and now the company is working on a more traditional flagship smartphone, called Lenovo Y70. The phone is scheduled to arrive on August 13 with a 50MP main camera and several other intriguing specs.

The Lenovo Y70, codenamed Halo, already appeared on TENAA last month. It looks like the same phone, when we compare the render and the photos from the Chinese regulatory - a 6.67 AMOLED with Full HD+ resolution.



Lenovo Legion Halo on TENAA

The trio of cameras will also bring a 13 MP ultrawide module, but the good thing is the main shooter comes with OIS. It will also be able to shoot videos in 8K, which is a feature available only on phones with Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 series chipset - the Y70 is probably coming with 8+ Gen 1.

In other specs, we expect up to 16 GB RAM and 512 GB storage, 4,880 mAh battery and a weight of 205 grams.

Source (in Chinese) | Via
These are the best offers from our affiliate partners. We may get a commission from qualifying sales.
Samsung trademarked the term Hexapixel, which is described in the filing as image sensors for photographic devices. This was spotted by GalaxyClub initially, now leakster Ice Universe has tweeted about the trademark, teasing the resolution of the sensor in question.

The leakster implies that this sensor will do 36-in-1 pixel binning (a group of 6x6 pixels merged into one), which is well above the current arrangements of Tetracell (2x2) and Nonapixel (3x3). If the target is 12MP output (as is with the other two) we can calculate the resolution.

It works out to 432MP, though it could be rounded to 450MP. Either way, it will more than double the resolution of the 200MP sensors from Samsung, the ISOCELL HP1 (1/1.22, 0.64m pixels) and the HP3 (1/1.4, 0.56m).

The ISOCELL HP3 color filter arrangement allows for 4-in-1 and 16-in-1 binning

Both HP sensors have Tetrapixel color filters, which allows them to do both 4x4 and 2x2 pixel binning for 12MP and 50MP output, respectively. Given the  in the name of the new sensor, it will probably have two output modes as well.

6x6 and 3x3, perhaps? If so, it will be able to output 12MP and 48MP resolution images, respectively. Binning will be necessary since even if the sensor is huge, fitting that many pixels will make them pretty tiny.

A few years ago some leaks suggested that Samsung is working on sensors with resolutions as high as 600MP (with an insane 1/0.57 optical format), so this Hexapixel sensor may represent just the halfway point of what is coming in the next few years.

Source
Inalahan and Ordot-Chalan Pago, which receive annual cash payments as the host communities of the Layon landfill and the Ordot dump, spent some of that money without proper authorization, according to the Office of Public Accountability.

The 2010 law which gives each village $150,000 a year in host community benefits states spending must be authorized by a resolution from a village Municipal Planning Council.

That didnt always happen, according to the OPA, which also found the Inalahan Mayors Office used some of its money  $7,000 over five years  to give cash Christmas bonuses to its office staff.

While it is generous to reward employees for their hard work, these bonuses were inappropriately awarded to unclassified GovGuam employees, the report stated, noting new Inalahan Mayor Anthony Chargualaf stopped the bonuses after he took office in 2021.

The audit examined spending during the term of former Inalahan Mayor Doris Lujan, who died in September 2021, and Ordot-Chalan Pago Mayor Jessy Gogue, who has been in office since 2009.

The host community payments, which are funded by solid waste customers, started in 2013. By 2020, each village had received a total of $1.2 million.

Audit requested

The Public Utilities Commission requested an audit in May 2020 after the village mayors asked the PUC to increase their annual host premium payments from $150,000 to $175,000. According to the PUC, an audit is necessary to ensure money already received by the villages was spent according to Guam law.

Ordot-Chalan Pago receives money because of the impact of the now-closed Ordot dump, which must be monitored and maintained for 25 years. Inalahan is home to the new Layon landfill, which is expected to operate for at least 50 years.

Commercial solid waste customers pay $3.57 per ton in premiums to benefit the two villages and residential solid waste customers pay 39 cents per month.

The OPA, in its audit report, examined some of the host community spending by those villages between fiscal 2017 and fiscal 2021. It found $67,000 in questioned spending by Ordot-Chalan Pago and $47,000 in questioned spending by Inalahan because those disbursements werent approved by the municipal planning councils.

Auditors found 73% of Inalahans spending was approved by a resolution from the municipal planning council.

Ordot-Chalan Pago

The report states only 15% of spending by Ordot-Chalan Pago was specifically approved by the planning council, based on the sample disbursements examined by auditors.

According to the report, Ordot-Chalan Pago spent $201,000 between fiscal 2017 and fiscal 2021 on: staff recognition; sponsorship; equipment; donations; reimbursements and other purposes. The mayors office saved most of the money it received during that period to build a new multi-purpose center and a new mayors office, the report states.

Inalahan

Inalahan, during that period, spent $960,000 on: employee bonuses; community functions; donations; equipment; food; permits and licenses; prizes and awards; repairs and maintenance; and other purposes, the report stated.

The report states Inalahan didnt follow standard operating procedures when it used the host community money to give humanitarian cash assistance to some village residents. Auditors examined four payments to residents, three of which exceeded the $500 cap, the report stated, noting the mayors office also didnt have all of the documents required to make those payments.

According to the report, auditors initially concluded the villages didnt spend the money for the purposes allowed in Guam law. But auditors changed their findings after Gogue, who reviewed the draft report in May, pointed out the law gives villages flexibility to spend the money on other purposes, with planning council approval.

Inalahan Mayor Chargualaf agreed with the reports findings and didnt provide a written response, according to the OPA.

The OPA recommended the offices:
South Korean Army Apache attack helicopters take off at a base in Icheon, some 50 kilometers southeast of Seoul, July 25. Yonhap



The South Korean Army's Apache attack helicopters soared through the skies and descended sharply in a tactical move to avoid potential attacks and secure the safety of its members in a formation tasked with capturing a high-value facility controlled by a hypothetical enemy.



The spectacle unfolded at two Army facilities in Icheon, some 50 kilometers southeast of Seoul, and Yangpyeong, 45 km east of the capital, on Monday as the armed service strives to ensure its readiness amid evolving North Korean military threats.



Reporters were invited to the scene of the Army's largest-ever air drills. The program involved 16 AH-64E Apaches, 13 UH-60P Black Hawks and five CH-47D Chinooks.



In the drills, Apaches, as the lead in the formation, practiced infiltrating a designated site to identify and clear potential dangers. Then Black Hawks and Chinooks carrying some 200 troops and military supplies flew in to fulfill the goal of securing the target facility.



During the training session, the attack helicopters shot some 100 rounds of 2.75-inch rockets and around 440 rounds of 30-mm machine guns in a display of their firepower.



Apaches staged various complicated maneuvers like "pop-up" and "diving" techniques, whereby the choppers ascended and descended sharply to minimize exposure to enemy attacks.



"When mobilized on a large scale intensively, the air assets can psychologically paralyze the enemies and play a key role in turning the tides of the war," Maj. Gen. Lee Bo-hyung of the Army Aviation Command said.



Monday's training is reminiscent of Operation Entebbe, the successful mission conducted by Israeli commandos to rescue hostages held at Entebbe Airport in Uganda in 1976.





South Korean Army Apache attack helicopters stage air drills in Icheon, some 50 kilometers southeast of Seoul, July 25. Yonhap
A push to use federal pandemic aid to pay the $1,000 RISE Act stimulus to residents, regardless of income level, would violate federal law, according to Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero.

The governor sent a multi-page response Tuesday to Sen. Jim Moylan, who introduced Bill 326 to remove the income cap on the unpaid RISE Act with the stated intent of getting the money to every eligible household.

The program seeks to use federal pandemic money under the governors control. Moylan has specifically pointed to the unspent $314 million in American Rescue Plan funds.

Leon Guerrero stated: It is well-settled that the Legislature is not authorized to appropriate federal grant monies in the absence of specific Congressional authorization, citing a case in the District Court of Guam.

Misuse

Besides that, using the ARP money to pay out residents regardless of income would be a blatant violation of federal law, she said.

I agree it would be far more popular to hand out $1,000 to every voter on Guam in an election year rather than those who meet established thresholds for low-or-moderate income. However, the final rule makes clear that funds used in violation  are subject to remediation and recoupment, the governor wrote. I will not, as you ask, misuse federal funds to get elected, and saddle our islands children, and our childrens children, with the burden of paying hundreds of millions of dollars back to the federal government when the use of these funds is ultimately audited.

She cited the federal guidance for the State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds, the portion of the ARP under her authority, which states payouts using the money must be tied to those impacted by COVID-19 and reasonably proportiona.

Specifically: It may not be reasonably proportional for a cash assistance program to provide a very small amount of aid to a group that experienced severe harm and a much larger amount to a group that experienced relatively little harm, she wrote.

Leon Guerrero noted that families below 300% of the federal poverty guidelines for household size are presumed to be impacted by COVID-19 and can be considered eligible for relief under the guidance.

Contradiction

Del. Michael San Nicolas on Monday contradicted that assertion and told lawmakers that Guam and the territories didnt have to apply the income threshold when administering aid because we are automatically eligible as a disproportionately impacted community under the guidance.

Page 19 of the overview for the rules does appear to reflect that the territories are presumed to be disproportionately impacted.

Adelup, in a separate response, called assertions by San Nicolas and other senators misinformation, stating, the final rule provides that in designing a program or service to respond to a disproportionately impacted class, we must identify the impact and tailor an appropriate response. The rule specifically provides that this assessment of impact requires data or research that measures the negative economic impact, and that data about the  desirability of a response  should not be the basis for assessing impact.

The governor in her letter to Moylan also responded to questions based off the CNMIs direct aid programs, which recently provided $500 to ratepayers regardless of income.

Each jurisdiction will have to account for its own ARP spending. Guams finances are in top shape, she said.

She also pointed to the collective $1,600 in income-based stimulus that has been provided with the ARP over the last year.

In conclusion, senator, let me be clear: I will not violate federal law no matter how many rapid-fire letters you write or bills you introduce asking me to do so. It is important that our leaders comply with the law, the governor wrote.

Moylan is the sole Republican candidate for Guams delegate to Washington. Leon Guerrero is seeking reelection and San Nicolas is challenging her for the Democratic partys gubernatorial nomination.
The Guam Police Department has identified the two men found dead in Yigo after a reported shooting and police are looking for a person of interest.

Dong Yi Wang, 43, and Ba-Hung Dung Nguyen, 24, were found dead on Chalan Arendo in Yigo Frida afternoon, according a news release sent by GPD spokesperson Officer Berlyn Savella.

Both men had injuries consistent with gunshots and a firearm was recovered at the scene, the release stated.

An autopsy of the men is still pending, Savella said.

The investigation will remain open and ongoing and detectives are searching for a person of interest, Savella added.

Police were called to the farm area just after 1 p.m. Friday after a shooting was reported. Two men were found dead when they arrived.

Detectives from the Criminal Investigation Section were then activated.
Letter: Requesting information to verify claims is my right as a citizen
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during a virtual meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., Monday (local time). Biden expressed hope that he could return to work in person this week after recovering from COVID-19, as the question arises as to whether he will attend Wednesday's event marking the completion of a new Korean War memorial monument in Washington. EPA-Yonhap



War of Remembrance to honor fallen US, Korean soldiers



By Jung Min-ho



U.S. President Joe Biden expressed hope Monday (local time) that he could return to work in person this week after recovering from COVID-19, as the question arises as to whether he will attend Wednesday's event marking the completion of a Korean War memorial monument in Washington, D.C.



At the ceremony unveiling the Wall of Remembrance, which will be a permanent addition to the Korean War Veterans Memorial, Veterans Affairs Minister Park Min-shik will read out a message from President Yoon Suk-yeol as the two nations celebrate the 69th anniversary of the end of the 1950-53 war.



In his first public appearance at a virtual meeting since Friday, the day after he was infected, Biden, 79, said he was "feeling great" and hoped to come out of isolation "by the end of this week."



In theory, Biden can attend the event. Ashish Jha, coordinator of the White House response to COVID-19, said Biden will be able to resume in-person duties if he tests negative for the virus Tuesday  his fifth day of isolation. However, given that many old military veterans, who are in a high-risk category for COVID-19, will attend the event, Biden may avoid crowded places for a while. U.S. CDC guidelines advise against travel for 10 days.









An official at the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs told The Korea Times that the ministry is preparing for two different scenarios and that if Biden misses the event, it is unclear who will attend from the White House.



Along with Minister Park, Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup, Rep. Lee Hun-seung of the ruling People Power Party and SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won are expected to attend the event. From the U.S. side, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and hundreds of Korean War veterans and their family members are expected to be there.





The Wall of Remembrance displays the names of 43,808 U.S. and South Korean soldiers killed during the 1950-53 Korean War. The latest addition to the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., is set to be dedicated on Wednesday. Yonhap



The wall, the latest symbol of the Seoul-Washington alliance, bears the names of 43,808 U.S. and South Korean troops killed during the devastating war, which ended with an armistice.



Park, who paid his respects to the fallen heroes at Arlington National Cemetery on Monday, said the names inscribed on the Wall of Remembrance mean that "we will never forget the heroes who dedicated their lives to safeguard free democracy in the Republic of Korea."



His statement comes at a time when North Korea has completed preparations for its seventh nuclear weapons test. Minister Lee and military experts believe the regime will "very likely" do so as early as later this week. After the monument ceremony, the defense chiefs of South Korea and the U.S. will meet to discuss the schedules of joint military drills and deployments of U.S. strategic assets on the Korean Peninsula.





Veterans Affairs Minister Park Min-shik, left, pays his respects to the fallen heroes of the Korean War at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C., Monday (local time). Yonhap




Haiti - Shipwreck in the Bahamas : Investigation, details and reactions





Following the sinking on the night of Sunday July 24, 2022 of a boat off New Providence in the Bahamas archipelago https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-37234-haiti-flash-shipwreck-in-the-bahamas-16-haitians-dead-and-21-survivors-provisional-report.html where at least 17 Haitians (15 women, 1, man and 1 baby) lost their lives and 21 others were rescued (17 men and 4 women) , a multi-agency investigation is underway to determine all the circumstances surrounding an alleged human trafficking operation, which resulted in the deaths of the Haitian migrants.



According to the first preliminary information of the investigation, an as yet undetermined number of Haitians boarded a boat which would have left West Bay Street on Sunday around 1:00 a.m. investigators believe their final destination was Miami, Florida and the boat may have capsized due to being overloaded with passengers and rough seas.



According to the Bahamian authorities, survivors said they paid between 3 and 8 thousand US dollars to make this clandestine journey.



Mgr. Patrick C. Pinder, Archbishop of Nassau in the Bahamas reacted with sadness to the news of the sinking, calling for international efforts to eliminate the causes for which Haitians risk their lives to flee their country...



In a statement Bishop Patrick C. Pinder said, "As a community of faith, we hold firmly in our prayers all those who have perished or those who have been impacted by this tragedy at sea. We hold dear our belief that every human life is sacred. Every human life has dignity."



For its part, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) said it was extremely saddened by the tragic death at sea of at least 17 Haitians off the Bahamas.



"This latest disaster brings to the fore once again the desperate situation in Haiti and the reprehensible nature of the actions of those who are taking advantage of people trying to escape.



[...] CARICOM looks forward to the apprehension and bringing to justice of those who prey on the hopes and aspirations of vulnerable persons. The Community extends its condolences to the relatives of those who lost their lives and to the Government and People of Haiti."



S/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - Carradeux : Shooting, at least 5 dead and 6 innocent wounded





Sunday July 24, 2022 at the beginning of the evening in Carradeux (Commune of Tabarre), unidentified individuals traveling on motorcycles opened fire on 5 young men peacefully playing dominoes near an IDP camp, not far from the Pastor Marco Church.



The toll is heavy, 5 people died under the murderous bullets of criminals while 6 others were injured, some of them seriously and rushed to hospital.



More than 3 hours after the tragedy, the dead bodies of the victims had still not been removed.



For the moment, nothing is known about the reasons for this tragedy which contributes to spreading fear and terror in the population.



TB/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - Arms trafficking : Order to remain in prison against Me Robinson Pierre Louis





Monday, July 25, 2022, in the case of the two arms and ammunition traffickers released 5 days after their arrests, the file of the Secretary General of the Federation of Bars of Haiti, Me Robinson Pierre-Louis, former member of the cabinet of the Minister of Justice Berto Dorce, was heard at the Port-au-Prince Prosecutor's Office.



At the end of this hearing, Me Jacques Lafontant, Government Commissioner at the Court of First Instance of Port-au-Prince estimated on the basis of the report of the Office of Financial and Economic Affairs (BAFE) and the results of the hearing , that there were grounds for prosecution and referred the case to the investigating cabinet for legal action, with a order to remain in prison against Me Robinson Pierre-Louis who could be taken shortly to the prison of Port-au-Prince.



Let's recall that Me Pierre-Louis was arrested on July 22 the day after his dismissal from the Cabinet of the Minister hhttps://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-37226-haiti-flash-arrest-of-the-secretary-general-of-the-federation-of-bars-of-haiti.html he is accused of having used his influence as a member of the cabinet of the Minister of Justice, to obtain the release of Fritz Jean Relus and Jonas Georges arrested for arms trafficking and ammunition in Port-de-Paix https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-37108-haiti-flash-seizure-of-120-000-ammunition-me-michelet-virgile-releases-the-alleged-traffickers.html



An opinion that does not share the defenders of Me Pierre Louis who introduced on Monday a request for remsie in freedom in habeas corpus before Me Bernard Saint Vil who promised to issue his order as soon as possible.



For its part, the National Network for the Defense of Human Rights (RNDDH) affirms, according to the information it says it has, that the release of Jonas Georges and Fritz Jean Relus by Me Michelet Virgile Commissioner of the Government of Port-au-Paix (revoked and arrested) "[...] was obtained following a juicy financial transaction valued at more than two hundred thousand (200,000) US dollars. According to people with whom the RNDDH spoke, several members of the judiciary in Port-de-Paix were sprayed."



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-37226-haiti-flash-arrest-of-the-secretary-general-of-the-federation-of-bars-of-haiti.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-37108-haiti-flash-seizure-of-120-000-ammunition-me-michelet-virgile-releases-the-alleged-traffickers.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-37058-haiti-flash-seizure-of-tens-of-thousands-of-ammunition-at-the-wharf-of-port-de-paix-video.html



SL/ HaitiLibre


















Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon explains during a press briefing at the Seoul Metropolitan Government's office, Tuesday, his plan to develop an abandoned patch of land in Seoul's Yongsan District as a new business hub. Yonhap



By Ko Dong-hwan



An empty former rail yard in Yongsan District will be transformed into an urban business hub of Seoul, making the underdeveloped area near the country's presidential office into one of the city's future business spots.



The 493,000-square-meter piece of land near Yongsan Station will usher in office buildings for over 70 percent of its total area so that it can be designated a non-residential zone. Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, in a press briefing at city hall, Tuesday, said the planned area will become "Asia's Silicon Valley."



According to the mayor, at least 50 percent of the land will be covered with green space, with roads directed underground.



The development project will also see a new metro transportation and transfer platform, trains and urban air mobility rides, connecting Yongsan to downtown Seoul as well as Gangnam District, Incheon International Airport and other cities across the region.



The plan will complete delineating the precise lots for different purposes on the so-called Yongsan International Business Zone by the end of the first half of 2023. Construction will begin the following year.



Oh said the new land will be one of the city's three hubs  including the financial district of Yeouido and the cultural facilities at Nodeul Island on the Han River  to boost the city's global competitiveness.



The vacant land, which is 70 percent owned by the country's state-run railway operator Korail, has remained derelict since 2013 when a previous development plan for the area fizzled out. The site has been considered one of the city's last patches of land available when it comes to new major development opportunities.



"Yongsan, due to its geographical condition, has long been considered a potential hub of the city connecting to Gangnam and Yeouido as well as an ideal stopover for the country's rail lines," Oh said during the briefing. "Development of the district has been delayed until now. I want to get to it before it's too late."






The Korean government said Tuesday it will host an annual ceremony this week commemorating the sacrifices of foreign veterans of the 1950-53 Korean War.







Some 1,000 people, including veterans, senior government officials and military personnel, are expected to join Wednesday's event for the Korean War U.N. Veterans Day at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza in downtown Seoul, according to the veterans affairs ministry.







"We will remember the great promise of the war veterans who tried to safeguard the freedom of the Republic of Korea," Veterans Affairs Minister Park Min-shik was quoted as saying. "Today, we will also preserve the values of freedom through the solid alliance."







During the event to be held on the 69th anniversary of the signing of the armistice agreement that brought the Korean War to an end, vocalists from the U.S. Eighth Army band and Seoul's defense ministry band will sing "Arirang," a Korean folk song.







"Arirang" is the song the U.S. military played for the U.N. delegation that signed the armistice, the ministry noted.







The national flags of 22 countries that participated in the war will then appear alongside those of Korea and the United Nations. Various performances will also be staged in honor of those who fought under the U.N. banner during the three-year conflict. (Yonhap)






Hunger Walk sets goal of $100,000

The 40th annual Henderson County Hunger Coalition Hunger Walk will be held in Jackson Park on Saturday, Sept. 17.

The goal is to raise $100,000 to be distributed to the various food pantries, which receive funds by means of an application. Providers include Blue Ridge Health, Calvary Episcopal Food Pantry, Council on Aging, Edneyville Community Food Pantry, Fishes and Loaves, the Hendersonville Rescue Mission, Interfaith Assistance Ministry, Safelight, the Salvation Army, the Storehouse and SVDPS of St. Barnabas Catholic Church. No donation is too small or too large and donations can be made when you come to the walk, create your our walking team or by visiting the Henderson County Hunger Coalition website, hendersoncountyhungercoalition.org

The need is greater this year than ever before so please share in the fun of the walk and the reward of giving to help feed those who are food insecure.


US request for 'friend-shoring' expected to accelerate exodus



By Park Jae-hyuk



Once regarded as a "land of opportunity" for its low labor costs and rapid economic growth, China is now considered somewhat notorious among companies from other countries for its unstable political and economic conditions.



More Korean companies have joined the recent trend of global firms leaving China, relocating their workforces and manufacturing facilities away from the world's most populous country.



Although Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) Chairman Chey Tae-won emphasized during a forum on Jeju Island this month the importance of maintaining amicable economic relations with China, SK Group under his leadership has also downsized its operations there.



"Whether you like it or not, China is a significantly large market," Chey told reporters. "It is too early to decide to stop doing business in China."



The chairman, however, admitted the difficulties in doing business there.



Last August, SK China, the holding entity of the group's operation there, sold its entire stake in its car rental business in the Chinese market to Toyota for 300 million yuan ($44 million). The group also sold SK Tower building in Beijing in June last year.



SK Group cited its plan to invest more in promising Chinese startups as the main reason for the sell-offs, but the series of restructuring measures are widely interpreted as part of the group's efforts to cut its reliance on China, just as many other Korean firms are doing.



A recent survey conducted by the Korea International Trade Association (KITA) showed that a majority of Korean firms doing business in China were considering downsizing, retreating or relocating their operations there, as most of them anticipated that the Chinese government would continue its strict quarantine measures against COVID-19 throughout this year.



According to the survey, 88.1 percent of respondents answered that China's lockdown measures had a negative impact on their business, causing setbacks in transportation, sales, marketing and supply chains.



"Even after lifting the lockdown, Shanghai has restricted face-to-face customer services," KITA's Shanghai office said in a report. "Because transportation is still inconvenient, it will take time for non-manufacturing companies to normalize their operations."



Political risks



The quarantine measures, however, seem to have had a limited impact, compared to political risks stemming from the conflict between the U.S. and China.



Korean companies that have been active in China for more than a decade picked the Chinese government's regulations, discrimination in favor of local firms and intensifying trade feud between the U.S. and China as the major reasons for the worsening investment environment there, according to the Federation of Korean Industries.



Lotte Group, for example, has almost finished pulling out of China, after facing five years of severe economic retaliation from Beijing, due to the conglomerate's decision in 2016 to offer a site for the U.S. Forces Korea to deploy a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense system.



Amorepacific has also closed hundreds of outlets over the past few years, following a boycott from Chinese consumers.



Hyundai Motor Group sold its plant in Beijing last year, two years after the factory's operation had been suspended, due to sluggish sales amid the THAAD row.



LG Corp. sold its Twin Tower building in Beijing for 8 billion yuan in 2020, while LG Electronics liquidated two factories in Tianjin and Kunshan, as well as a Hi Plaza store in Shenyang.



Against this backdrop, the U.S. asked Korean semiconductor and battery manufacturers to leave China, in order to strengthen cooperation among allies.



Following U.S. President Joe Biden's visit in May to a Samsung Electronics factory in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen toured LG Chem's R&D facility in Seoul this month, calling for "friend-shoring," a strategy of building supply chains excluding unfriendly nations.





U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen delivers a speech at LG Science Park in Seoul, July 19. Courtesy of LG Chem
President Yoon Suk-yeol answers reporters' questions as he arrives to the presidential office in Yongsan District, Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap



Justice minister vows to strengthen prosecutors' investigative authority



By Nam Hyun-woo



President Yoon Suk-yeol, Tuesday, slammed a meeting of senior police officers who held a meeting to protest the formation of a police supervisory bureau under the interior ministry, calling their action "a serious breach of national discipline."



With police officers and the opposition bloc raising their voices in protest, an enforcement ordinance approving the ministry to establish the bureau was passed at a Cabinet meeting later in the day, heralding further conflict between the two sides.



"National defense and public safety are the basic functions of a country, and their supervisor is the president," Yoon told reporters on his way to the office. "A collective protest against the president's and the government's policies being pursued under the Constitution and the law could be a serious breach of national discipline."



Yoon was referring to a meeting of heads of police precincts across the country, held Saturday, during which the participants discussed how to react to the interior ministry's plan to launch a supervisory bureau to put the police under its control. Following the meeting, Ulsan Jungbu Police Station Senior Superintendent Ryu Sam-young, who organized the meeting, was suspended from duty.



On Monday, Interior and Safety Minister Lee Sang-min likened the meeting to the "Dec. 12 coup," which was led by a group of military generals in 1979, weeks after the assassination of President Park Chung-hee. On Tuesday, Rep. Kweon Seong-dong, floor leader and acting chairman of the ruling People Power Party (PPP), said that "police are a government power that have guns in their hands, and any insubordination or collective actions should not be tolerated."



After briefing Yoon on the ministry's policy plans, Tuesday, Lee told reporters that "the fundamental reason for the conflict is that precise information about the bureau has not been delivered to police officers." The minister added that the bureau "will not breach the independence of the police and the government is not attempting to control the police."



The president told Lee that he expects the bureau to improve the personnel system of the police and urged the minister to communicate frequently with top law enforcement officials, according to the presidential office.



Against this backdrop, the government approved the enforcement ordinance allowing the formation of the police bureau during a Cabinet meeting presided over by Prime Minister Han Duck-soo.



"In the past, the senior presidential secretary for civil affairs at Cheong Wa Dae (the previous presidential office) was in charge of controlling the police, but the ordinance will allow the interior minister, who is a member of the Cabinet, to control police in a more transparent and democratic way," Han said.





Democratic Party of Korea floor leader Rep. Park Hong-keun, third from left, denounces the Yoon Suk-yeol government's plan to set up a police supervisory bureau under the interior ministry, during a rally in front of the presidential office in Yongsan District, Seoul, Tuesday. Joint Press Corps



In protest, a number of lawmakers from the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) staged a rally in front of the presidential office in Yongsan District, demanding President Yoon's apology as well as urging the government to undo the punishments on police officials who joined the meeting.



"President Yoon called the meeting a breach of national discipline, but I believe the Yoon administration itself is breaching national discipline," Rep. Park Hong-keun, DPK floor leader, said during the rally. "If the president were to manage state affairs stably, there would have been no conflicts like this."



Park also questioned why the government is rushing to have the ordinance take effect in just four days, unlike the 40-day probation period given to other ordinances.



The conflict between the police and the interior ministry is feared to escalate further, as the minister questioned the fairness of the practice of Korean National Police University graduates starting their careers as inspectors, which is three levels higher than the lowest rank of police officer.







President Yoon Suk-yeol speaks as he receives a policy briefing from Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon at the presidential office in Yongsan District, Tuesday. Courtesy of presidential office




The Justice Ministry will seek to dramatically beef up the prosecution's investigative capabilities to deal with corruption and other serious crimes and launch a special investigation team to fight tax evasion, the ministry said Tuesday.







The plans were part of the ministry's 2022 policy direction briefed to President Yoon Suk-yeol as the ministry seeks to restore power to the prosecution whose direct investigative authority was scaled down under the preceding liberal Moon Jae-in administration's prosecution reform drive.







Under the plans, the ministry will bolster the Supreme Prosecutors Office's intelligence gathering team and assign a prosecutor in charge of investigative intelligence to each prosecutors office. Criminal proceeds recovery teams will also be set up at major prosecutors offices, the ministry noted.







Since taking office in May, Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon has reinstated prosecution units investigating violent or offshore crimes and allowed prosecutors in charge of criminal cases to open a direct investigation without prior approval from the prosecution chief in the same vein.







To better contain tax evasion, the ministry will also launch a special team this year to be in charge of investigations into tax or tariff evasion cases at home and abroad as well as illegal offshore property accumulation.







The ministry will also follow through with Yoon's campaign pledges to eliminate the justice minister's authority to oversee prosecution investigations and draw up an independent state budget dedicated to the prosecution.







The ministry also plans to set up a special prosecution investigation team to deal with crimes against women and children while establishing a control tower to be in charge of immigration policies, the ministry said. (Yonhap)






State auditor found suspicions surrounding project true



The Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) said it has found irregularities in a land development project in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, in 2015 when Rep. Lee Jae-myung of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) was its mayor. The state audit agency discovered that the municipal government of Seongnam, south of Seoul, gave development profits worth 314.2 billion won ($239.6 million) to a private contractor by deciding not to participate.



According to the audit report, the head of Seongnam Urban Development Corp. at the time, who was a close aide to Lee, told his employees to "pull out of the project." The city had just upgraded the use of the land by as many as four grades, from a natural green area to a quasi-residential zone, on condition of its participation. However, the BAI concluded that municipal officials allowed the private firm to garner the entire profits by getting out of the project.



Also, the municipal authority had designed the project to provide rental housing but changed its plan later to allow the developer to put 90 percent of the homes up for sale. In addition, the city suffered losses of 21.9 billion won because the private developer donated its land to become a preserve that could not be developed. The latest audit proved most suspicions surrounding the development project to be true.



Eleven city officials were held accountable for the withdrawal decision and other irregularities, but avoided punishment because the deadline for disciplinary action had expired. According to the state auditor, then Mayor Lee, who became the DPK candidate in the last presidential election, approved all of these changes. Lee even asked about the project's progress at an unrelated meeting, a former city official was quoted as saying.





To sum it up, the municipal government and its affiliated agency managed the project poorly and let a private developer monopolize profits. Law enforcement authorities should get to the bottom of the scandal to prevent similar incidents. Rep. Lee also ought to cooperate with the investigation instead of trying to cover it up under the pretext of a "political vendetta."








Sanya in S China sees steady progress of coral reef protection

09:09, July 26, 2022 By Cao Wenxuan ( People's Daily

Coral reefs are among the oldest and most valuable ecosystems in the world. They are home to nearly 30 percent of marine species though they cover only less than two thousandth of the ocean floor.

A tourist is scuba diving in Wuzhizhou Island, Sanya, south China's Hainan province. (Photo courtesy of the management bureau of the Wuzhizhou Island tourist site)

However, global warming, marine pollution and over excavation have constantly degraded coral reefs in the last 20 years. Therefore, Chinese marine biologists are planting corals on the seabed to protect coral reefs and restore marine ecology.

Thanks to their efforts, scuba divers are now able to see a vibrant undersea world where species of fish swim in between swaying colorful corals in the waters around Wuzhizhou Island, a renowned tourist attraction in Sanya, south China's Hainan province.

It's beyond imagination that 10 years ago, in this vibrant undersea world, there were only shipwrecks and cement piles. The coral reef ecosystem in the waters near Wuzhizhou Island was once destroyed due to the warming seawater, fishing and coastal construction.

Under years of efforts made by scientific researchers, 30,188 corals have been planted on the seabed around Wuzhizhou island, which covers around 50,000 square meters. The undersea "afforestation" efforts are leading to constant improvement of the marine ecosystem. Coral planting has even been made into a scuba diving program for tourists visiting the island since this year.

Since 2013, Sanya has implemented 19 projects to restore marine ecology, including the restoration of coral reefs and shoals, as well as shoreface nourishment. The city has restored 7.7 kilometers of coastline and a sea area of 51,584 square meters.

Coral planting is a harder form of "afforestation." On one hand, the complicated marine environment creates huge challenges for planting activities, such as the fierce flow of sea water in the South China Sea caused by typhoons between July and October each year; on the other hand, sections of the seabed are differently affected by the environment and human disturbance, and their health levels also vary, so it calls for scientific researchers to make individualized plans.

The underwater "afforestation" relies on technological progress. There are large areas of coral reefs under the sea waters around Hainan province, which makes the province a major planter of corals. Coral reef restoration technologies have been constantly improved during the coral planting practice in the province.

Photo shows a scene of Wuzhizhou Island, Sanya, south China's Hainan province. (People's Daily Online/Jing Aiping)

For instance, the Hainan South China Sea Institute of Tropical Ocean has improved the efficiency of coral planting by applying a stainless steel seedbed; Hainan University has made new breakthroughs in the restoration of fractured coral reefs by combining artificial fish reefs and coral reef restoration.

New methods and technologies are driving new progress in China's underwater "afforestation" and contributing Chinese wisdom to the global protection of the marine ecosystem.

Artificial methods are just a supplement to the restoration, while the reduction of human disturbance remains the key to bettering the marine ecosystem.

In recent years, China has enhanced its efforts to promote natural restoration of coral reefs, and coral reef protection has been included in a series of laws of the country.

Besides, China has joined the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, as well as other international treaties.

The country has established five state- and province-level nature reserves and a special national ocean park involving coral reefs.

So far, nearly 30 percent of the offshore waters and 37 percent of the continental coastline of China have been incorporated into its ecological red lines, which is making the ocean more and more beautiful.

Photo shows a state-level coral reef nature reserve in the waters of Luhuitou, Sanya, south China's Hainan province. (People's Daily Online/Zhao Min)

(Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun)
Deeptha Khanna, the executive vice president and chief business leader of Philips Personal Health, speaks to journalists in Korea, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia, during an online press conference at the Philips APAC Center in Singapore, Tuesday. Courtesy of Philips Korea





By Park Jae-hyuk







Philips Korea's personal health division announced its business strategies for the post-pandemic era, Tuesday, promising to help Korean consumers overcome a lack of time, money and information in managing their health.







"In order to fulfill our role of preventing diseases, we will make efforts to provide personalized services, utilizing our digitized technologies," Park Hee-je, the district leader of Philips Korea's personal health division, said during a press conference at the company headquarters in Seoul.







The division, which specializes in consumer electronics goods including electric toothbrushes and electric shavers, also unveiled a plan by global headquarters, Royal Philips, to enhance the quality of life for 2.5 billion people every year by 2030.







These announcements were made after the company released the result of a survey of 4,000 people in Korea, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia, conducted to study consumer attitudes toward healthcare in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.







The survey showed that most Korean respondents picked a lack of time, money and information as the biggest obstacle to a healthier lifestyle.







Although the pandemic has reinforced the importance of staying healthy to many, 51 percent of respondents in Korea answered that they could still do more to keep themselves healthy.







Park Hee-je, the district leader of Philips Korea's personal health division, speaks during a press conference at the company's headquarters in Seoul, Tuesday. Courtesy of Philips Korea





The so-called "wellness gap" was also displayed in the other three countries, according to Muir Keir, the leader of Philips' personal health business in ASEAN and the Pacific regions.







He told journalists in the four countries during a live streaming session that over 94 percent of respondents in Asia recognized the importance of preventive health, yet nearly half of them felt that they could do more.







"In the Asia-Pacific region, we see that more consumers understand the importance of preventive health and now use personal health technology to actively monitor their health more than before the pandemic," he said. "Constant innovation is how we are responding in a timely way to such health trends and help more consumers bridge the gap between tracking their health and taking steps to enhance their everyday well-being."







Muir Keir, the leader of Philips' personal health business in the ASEAN and Pacific regions, speaks to journalists in Korea, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia, during an online press conference at the Philips APAC Center in Singapore, Tuesday. Courtesy of Philips Korea





Deeptha Khanna, the executive vice president and the chief business leader of Philips Personal Health, also emphasized in the session that the pandemic has prompted more consumers to pay attention to preventative health.







"Philips' personalized solutions continue to empower people across the region to take a more proactive ownership of their preventive health and lifestyles, supporting their health for the long-term," she said.







From that standpoint, the multinational firm decided to carry out a campaign, titled "the Wonder of You," in order to raise awareness of healthier lifestyles and introduce the company's innovative products.






U.S. President Joe Biden will talk virtually with Chey Tae-won, the chairman of Korea's SK Group, which has one of the world's largest semiconductor manufacturers, SK hynix, under its wing, this week, the White House said Monday.







"The president will virtually meet with the chairman and principal owner of the Republic of Korea conglomerate SK Group to discuss the company's robust investments in American manufacturing and jobs," the White House said, referring to Korea by its official name.







"The meeting will highlight the Biden manufacturing boom, creating new, good-paying jobs and making technology to tackle the climate crisis, and showcase the strength of the United States as a top destination for business investment," it added.







The meeting, slated for Tuesday, comes as part of Biden's drive to boost foreign investment in the U.S., especially in the semiconductor industry.







The U.S. president held a private meeting with Chung Eui-sun, chairman of Korea's largest automaker, Hyundai Motor Group, when he visited Korea in May.







He also met with Lee Jae-yong, vice chairman of Samsung Electronics, the world's largest chipmaker, while visiting a Samsung plant in Korea. (Yonhap)






Rookie free agent guard Drake Jeffries has agreed to an Exhibit 10 contract with the Magic, according to Richard Stayman of MavsDraft.com (Twitter link).

The 65 Jeffries averaged 10.3 PPG, with a 40.9% success rate in 3-point attempts, and 5.4 RPG for Wyoming in his senior season. Jeffries spent two seasons with the Cowboys. After going undrafted, Jeffries appeared in one game for the Nuggets Summer League team.

The addition of Jeffries will give Orlando 19 players under contract heading into training camp. That total includes 15 on standard guaranteed contracts and a pair on two-way deals.

Given the Magics lack of open regular season roster spots, the most likely outcome for Jeffries is that hes waived before the regular season begins and subsequently joins Orlandos G League team in Lakeland as an affiliate player. In that scenario, hed receive a $50K bonus if he spends at least 60 days with Lakeland.
Federico Lizano is a Costa Rican chef passionate about responsible fishing and seafood.His career began in 1999 in San Jose, Costa Rica where he worked as a steward at the Club Aleman restaurant. His love for flavors, aromas and textures prompted him to study Culinary Arts at the Art Institute of F ort Lauderdale in Florida, United States, where he graduated with an Associate Degree in Culinary Management.

In 2004 he returned to Costa Rica to begin a work adventure in a hotel located in the Gulf of Papagayo. There he started as a C Cook and worked his way up to A Cook.

Three years later he left the hotel business to pursue a personal dream, to have his own business and that is how he created Texturas, an avant-garde restaurant.

In 2010 he ventured out of the country again, this time to Mexico, to take the position of chef de cuisine at a resort in Los Cabos. "I was in charge of the Cocina del Mar restaurant; there I developed and absorbed a lot of information and knowledge of how to work with fresh fish, seafood and ancestral techniques when preparing seafood.

Later, in 2013 he returned to Costa Rica to be part of the inauguration of the hotel El Mangroove, Autograph Collection, where he held the position of chef de partie.

Again, he ventured into personal business and opened Maza Bistro, a restaurant that was located for 4 years in San Jose and had a proposal of Costa Rican cocktails paired with dishes oriented to the brunch concept, using local product.

After the closing of Maza Bistro, Federico returned to the hotel business, first as executive chef of a property in the Central Pacific of Costa Rica and currently at Hotel Punta Islita, Autograph Collection.

Now based in Punta Islita, his idea is to continue with the line of sustainability carried out by the hotel, taking advantage of the Kilometer 0 concept - he acquires ingredients produced in a sustainable way within a kilometer or less of the hotel - and implementing new culinary trends, always aligned with the Agro-Marine concept.
Reflecting its dedication to world-class gastronomy, Four Seasons Hotel Seoul has appointed French culinary artist Jerome Deconinck as its new Executive Chef. Overseeing the Hotel's eight restaurants and bars as well as its extensive events operation, Chef Jerome brings skills honed across 30 years of luxury hospitality service.

Drawing on a career spanning seven countries across Europe, Asia and the Middle East, Chef Jerome is excited to explore the varied seasonal ingredients from Korea's different regions. His focus has always been on captivating diners, as well as building a solid team behind the scenes. He will also join the efforts of the ESG Team at Four Seasons Hotel Seoul, continuing the property's pioneering work addressing sustainability within food sourcing, production and waste management.

A native of Haute-Savoie - an area in the French Alps renowned for its cuisine - Chef Jerome's passion for good food began in childhood. Starting his stellar career in France, he gained valuable experience in Michelin-starred restaurants including La Ciboulette in Annecy, before joining the culinary team of the French Prime Minister and turning his creative attention to state dinners, banquets and refined events. His talents then took him to Asia where he was recruited as the Head Chef at the French Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, showcasing French culinary culture at international events.

Decades of globe-trotting followed, during which the ambitious young chef moved from co-owner and Head Chef at Le Francais French Dining in Kuala Lumpur - a hotspot for fine French food in the Malaysian capital - to opening L'Atelier @ Aphrodite Hill in Cyprus; from Spazio 77 in Saudi Arabia to heading the team at Michelin-starred La Pergolese at the Hilton Tokyo. The first Fauchon Executive Chef in Bangkok, Chef Jerome played a significant part in expanding the French brand in Thailand, before leading roles in China, at Forbes 5-Star MGM Macau, and the prestigious Langham Hotel in Shenzhen.

Key to Chef Jerome's success is his intuitive focus on the customer experience - an approach perfectly aligned with his new Four Seasons role. Alongside a reverence for ingredients, he is especially attuned to providing the best experience to each and every diner, and prizes meeting individual tastes and preferences over crafting a signature dish.

His person-centred approach helps convey not only a powerful mind-set about seasonal food and local ingredients but encourages his team to adopt their own devoted approach to the entire dining experience and its impact on people and planet.

It's this dedication to quality and care in every step of the culinary process that elevates Chef Jerome's approach to the highest possible level.
The Malaysian Budget and Business Hotel Association recently called for a two-tier system for room rates, with foreigners paying more for accommodation than locals. The mechanism is expected to help Malaysias hotel sector generate higher income while remaining competitive in the region. As Thailand plans to raise hotel rates to pre-pandemic levels to ensure survival and faster recovery of the hotel industry, there had been reports that the countrys tourism ministry had also asked hotel operators to implement a dual-tariff structure under which foreign visitors may be charged new rates while locals could enjoy discounted rates. However, the two-tier price system in hospitality isnt a new phenomenon, and is quite common in many countries. But while it may be effective in the short run to help the hotel industry bounce back after two years of Covid by making the most of those "revenge travelers," stakeholders have their doubts about it being an effective long-term strategy. "This could give rise to way too many tiers for each source market making it more difficult for travelers to decide or determine which product or service is right for them. With the choice now between destinations first then the hotels, travelers could lose interest in even considering the destination," said Kamesh Shukla, executive vice president, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa for RateGain....

Read the full article at skift Inc.
In a common scenario, guests often ask hotel employees for suggestions, such as where to eat, what to see and what beach to spend the day. But does that mean a hotel is liable should something happen at a recommended place?

A court was asked to decide just that in a recent Hawaii case, when a man sued a Maui resort over an employee's beach recommendation. The guest drove to the state beach park, where "dangerous shorebreak" warning signs were posted, went into the water and was struck by a wave, resulting in paralysis.

Though the beach was more than 3 miles away from the resort, the man argued that the resort had an "enhanced duty to warn its guests of foreseeable dangers regardless of geographic location." The resort, on the other hand, argued that it had no affiliation with the beach and pointed out that there were shorebreak warning signs present at the time of his visit.

Ultimately, the court ruled that the hotel wasn't liable, since it "had no general duty to warn guests of dangers well beyond" the property and the hotel employee "made no representations or guarantees concerning safety."

"First and foremost, hotel owners and operators, and at its peak the 110,000 member employees of American Hotel & Lodging Association's membership in Hawaii, work to promote safety on-site and to curate experiences on and near our properties for our guests," said Kekoa McClellan, speaking on behalf of the Hawaii Hotel Alliance. "It is challenging for industry safety professionals and those working in and around our hotels to manage safety outside of our kuleana (responsibility).

Read the full article at travelweekly.com
Sareb sells 23 tourist-use assets in Spain for 235 million

Sareb, the Spanish governments bad bank created in 2012 by the Spanish State and the European Commission, has secured 235 million from the sale of 23 commercial assets for tourist use, located in the provinces of Murcia, Malaga, Valencia, Almeria and Madrid. The properties include tourist apartments, aparthotels, and hotels totalling 1,729 rooms. These assets were put up for sale due to the need for specialist hotel and resort management capacity lying beyond the scope of Sarebs strategic business operations.

Juniper Hotels Holdings Limited, which is part-owned by global hotel owner and operator Westmont Hospitality Group, is set to acquire the leasehold interest in the Holiday Inn London Oxford Circus in the UKs capital city. Juniper plans to reposition the property as an upscale boutique hotel, increasing the number of rooms to 171 in the process. A financing package of 34 million has been secured from specialist lender Leumi UK, a subsidiary of Israels largest bank, Leumi International.

Real I.S. acquires Hampton by Hilton and Premier Inn hotels in Stuttgart

German real estate investor Real I.S. has acquired two hotels in the German city of Stuttgart under the Hampton by Hilton and Premier Inn brands, from the Matthaus Schmid construction group. The price was not disclosed. The transaction, which included a total of 300 rooms, was conducted within the frame of a club deal for two unnamed pension schemes. The two adjacent properties were completed in 2021 and are situated within the same development in the centrally located Europaviertel neighbourhood.

Ampega acquires me and all hotel in Dusseldorf from Concepta JV BNS

Dusseldorf-based property developer and asset manager Concepta and Hamburg-based BNS Real Estate Capital have sold the me and all hotel in Dusseldorf Oberkassel, Germany, to Ampega Investment, part of Talanx Group (Germanys third largest insurance group), for an undisclosed price. The 249-room hotel, newly opened in April of this year, is situated in Oberkassel in the Dusseldorf-Seestern business district. A 76-car underground parking, a co-working space, a barber shop and a 400 sqm Mezzomar-operated Mediterranean restaurant are located in the hotel building.

Dios acquires Clarion Collection Hotel Grand in Sundsvall, Sweden, from Mostroms

Sweden-based real estate investor Dios Fastigheter AB has acquired a mixed-use property that includes the 122-room Clarion Collection Hotel Grand and housing units in central Sundsvall, a Swedish coastal city in the Gulf of Bothnia, from Mostroms Fastighet AB, for a reported SEK 177 million, equating to approximately 17 million. There is a lease agreement in place for the three-star hotel with Nordic Choice Hotels, one of Scandinavias largest hotel companies, with 15 years remaining from September 2022, providing an annual rental income of SEK 11.6 million, approximately 1.1 million per annum, reflecting a yield of approximately 6.6%

.Splendid acquires Holiday Inn London Brentford Lock in London from Brightbay

Privately-owned, UK-based Splendid Hospitality Group has acquired the Holiday Inn London Brentford Lock in London, from London-based REIT Brightbay Real Estate Partners, for an undisclosed price. Splendid Hospitality extends its UK-based hotel portfolio to over 20 assets with the latest acquisition. Situated halfway between Heathrow airport and central London, the four-star hotel features 134-rooms, six meeting rooms for 500 delegates, a restaurant and bar. Brightbay Real Estate Partners, which was formed following the acquisition of RDI REIT P.L.C. by controlled affiliates of Starwood Capital Group in 2021, hold 17 hotel assets in the UK across brands under IHG, Hilton and Travelodge flags.

About HVS

HVS is the world's leading consulting and valuation services organization focused on the hotel, restaurant, shared ownership, gaming, and leisure industries. Established in 1980, the company performs more than 4,500 assignments per year for virtually every major industry participant. HVS principals are regarded as the leading professionals in their respective regions of the globe. Through a worldwide network of over 50 offices staffed by 300 experienced industry professionals, HVS provides an unparalleled range of complementary services for the hospitality industry. For further information regarding our expertise and specifics about our services, please visit www.hvs.com.
POSCO's CHANGeUP GROUND in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province / Courtesy of POSCO



By Kim Jae-heun



The combined value of startups that moved into the CHANGeUP GROUND venture incubation center built by POSCO has exceeded 1 trillion won ($764 million), according to Korea's largest steelmaker, Tuesday. There are 87 companies operating out of the incubation center as of the end of June.



In July 2021 when POSCO invested some 83 billion won to open CHANGeUP GROUND in Pohang, 68 companies moved into the location and their total value stood only at 467.2 billion won. It has taken only one year for that number to more than double. Over the past year, the number of employees jumped 35 percent to 801 from 596.



CHANGeUP GROUND systematically supports local startups to grow into unicorn companies in the early stage and aims ultimately to build them into global firms. Its Startup Support Program helps new firms connect to investors, build networks, pioneer markets and provide care systems.



Specifically, POSCO supports professional consulting for startups in the fields of law, patents, taxes and accounting in the beginning stage. The steelmaker then connects them with its affiliates to manufacture trial products and sell them online.



CHANGeUP GROUND also has the country's best research firm infrastructure for startups to utilize. It is sponsored by Postech, Pohang Accelerator Laboratory, the Research Institute of Industrial Science & Technology, Korea Institute of Robotics & Technology Convergence, Pohang Institute of Metal Industry Advancement, National Institute of Nanomaterials Technology and Pohang Technopark.



"CHANGeUP GROUND is an unprecedented experimental model of industry-academic cooperation supported by POSCO, which attempts to connect Pohang and Seoul while fostering venture companies to turn them into global firms. We will do our best to establish the venture ecosystem as a new business discovery scheme that increases sustainability," a POSCO official said.


A new analysis by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), which represents the global Travel & Tourism business sector, estimates 412,000 Travel & Tourism jobs in the U.S. will remain unfilled this year, putting in serious jeopardy the recovery of the sector.

According to WTTCs data, one in 18 jobs remained vacant during the first half of 2022, highlighting a talent crunch that has plagued the sector since early 2021. An estimated 321,000 Travel & Tourism positions went unfilled in the January  June 2022 timeframe (a 5.4% shortage), and worker shortages are expected to persist into 3Q, peaking at 412,000 sector job vacancies (a 7% shortfall).

During 2020, employment in the sector dropped by 35.9% in the U.S. at its lowest point. As global Travel & Tourism began recovering in 2021, the U.S. saw a 12.4% hike in the number of jobs directly supported by the sector, adding a welcome 480,000 jobs back into the market.

Despite the positive growth in 2021, sightseeing transportation, accommodation and recreation are experiencing the most serious labor shortage impact this year. Employers in the accommodation industry in particular could struggle to find suitable candidates for nearly one in seven hotel and resort job postings.

As the U.S. pushes full steam ahead toward a solid recovery for Travel & Tourism, a lack of qualified, available talent remains a major concern for the sector, said Julia Simpson, WTTC President & CEO. This is especially true given the sudden spike in international visitors following the removal of COVID tests for inbound travelers.

MEASURES TO BOOST EMPLOYMENT GROWTH

According to WTTC, the outlook could be more positive later this year and into 2023 if government officials and the public sector work together to increase the availability of eligible workers while adapting sector career opportunities to better appeal to top talent.

There is huge potential to increase the number of available workers in the U.S. by fostering greater labor mobility within the U.S. and across its borders, said Simpson. Stringent visa allocations are affecting many industries which ultimately impacts the wealth and growth prospects for the US. We urge officials to consider measures that make visas and work permits more easily accessible.

According to the report, the United States Census Bureau data indicates that between 2016 and 2020, international migration to the U.S. plunged from around 1.05 million people to just 477,000.

Some of the key measures identified in the report for both governments and the private sector to address the talent gap are:

 Facilitate labor mobility across international borders, with more favorable visa policies

 Enable flexible and remote working where feasible  allowing part time or contractor-based opportunities, where possible

 Ensure decent work and competitive employee benefits and compensation packages

 Attract talent by improving the perception of jobs and promoting viable career paths with growth opportunities

 Develop and support a skilled workforce through comprehensive educational programs, as well as upskilling and reskilling current talent

 Adopt innovative technological and digital solutions to alleviate pressure on staff, improve daily operations and an enhanced customer experience

By adopting the right measures to support Travel & Tourism employment growth, the sector can surpass pre-pandemic levels and successfully meet consumer demand across the industry.

About WTTC

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) represents the global travel & tourism private sector. Members include 200 CEOs, Chairs and Presidents of the world's leading travel & tourism companies from all geographies covering all industries. For more than 30 years, WTTC has been committed to raising the awareness of governments and the public of the economic and social significance of the travel & tourism sector.

According to WTTC's 2021 Economic Impact Report, during 2020, a year in which it was devasted by the COVID-19 pandemic, Travel & Tourism made a 5.5% contribution to global GDP and was responsible for 272 million jobs.
Los Angeles, CA  Today, INTELITY, provider of hospitalitys leading guest experience and staff management platform, announced a continued strong partnership with Boston Harbor Hotel to invest in a tablet upgrade, promoting a digital smart-room experience for guests. Boston Harbor Hotel is upgrading their in-room tablets to Lenovo smart-room tablets powered by the INTELITY platform, including GEMS, INTELITYs suite of rich staff-facing tools for streamlined service and enhanced engagement between the hotel and guests.

A Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star and AAA Five Diamond hotel, the Boston Harbor Hotel looks to further rebrand the hotel with a focus to uniting the past with the future. The hotel plans to start transforming their current rooms to include INTELITYs smart-room tablets and platform. Boston Harbor is a brilliant beacon for many travelers, and upgrading the hotels digital offerings enhances the convenience, elegance and comfort guests have come to anticipate from a stay at the hotel.

"We are thrilled for this new chapter at Boston Harbor and to continue our strong relationship with the INTELITY platform and team," said Stephen Johnston, General Manager at the Boston Harbor Hotel. "Our property continues to set the standard for a five-star hospitality experience in Boston Harbor, and with this tablet refresh, our guests will be using the best software on the market to communicate to our staff in an efficient channel so our team can continue to provide the impeccable service were known for to every guest, every single day."

With INTELITYs smart-room tablets, Boston Harbor Hotel will be able to provide guests the ability to order food and beverages, request services, inquire about hotel amenities, and browse a menu of local attractions. Smart-room tablets continue to enrich guests' experience as well as provide hotel staff the ability to manage requests and orders for all guests, providing guests with a truly unique and personalized experience.

The INTELITY team is overjoyed to see our strong partnership with Boston Harbor blossom, said INTELITY CEO Robert Stevenson. They have long leveraged the INTELITY platform to enhance the guest and staff experience at their renowned property. We are excited to implement the latest smart-room tablets for this landmark hotel and further elevate the digital guest experience. We look forward to continuing our relationship with Boston Harbor and exploring new ways we can best service them and their guests.

For more information about the INTELITY platform or to request a demo, please visit intelity.com/demo. For more information about Boston Harbor, please visit www.bostonharborhotel.com.

About Boston Harbor Hotel

A social hub of activity, where paths converge for locals and guests from afar, Boston Harbor Hotel's 60-foot archway welcomes travelers to a hospitality experience unlike any other. Nestled on beautiful harbor waters, the Forbes Five-Star and AAA Five Diamond urban resort pairs timeless beauty and modern elegance with a hint of magic. Comfort and elegance reimagined, the rooms are crafted for the modern traveler who appreciates thoughtfulness and intentionality in design. Discover iconic sweeping views, world-class dining, 20,000 square feet of meeting and event space, and a 34-slip marina. Come, capture the light at Boston Harbor. For more information follow @bostonharborhotel on Instagram or visit www.bostonharborhotel.com.

About INTELITY

INTELITY is the global leader in contactless guest experience technology, uniting mobile, in-room, and operational tools into one fully-integrated hospitality platform. Built for the hotel, casino, and luxury residential markets, INTELITY has been named the "Official Mobile and In-Room Technology Provider" by the distinguished Forbes Travel Guide for five consecutive years and is in use at boutique properties, casino-resorts, and global hotel brands, including Marriott, Fairmont, Hard Rock, and more.

Alexandra Kuipers

Head of Marketing

818-442-4280

View source
Radical Innovation, an initiative that challenges creative thinkers at the professional and student level to pioneer compelling innovations in travel, hospitality, and architecture, has identified trends years before they are brought to fruition. For the past 15 years, the jurors have reviewed concepts such as, glamping, hotels in space, drone travel and more. In 2009, Pixel Hotel was brought to the jury, a concept to rent your home as a hotel alternative. Pixel was the Airbnb concept, six years before Airbnb hit mainstream. A selection of these projects are detailed below; Poseidon Undersea Resort, Wind Tower, Pixel Hotel, MORPHHotel, Space View Inn, Autonomous Travel Suite and Game Hotel. Each one of these innovations has become part of our everyday world years after it was introduced to the Radical audience.

Radical Innovation has been discovering and spotlighting visionaries, explains John Hardy, Founder of Radical Innovation and Chairman and Founder of The Hardy Group. Many of the entries that we review represent major industry trends way ahead of their time, and years before they are introduced to the marketplace, some before they even seem feasible.

The competition connects design visionaries to industry decision makers, promoting exceptional collisions of creative thinking with business acumen in hopes to enhance and grow the hospitality and travel industries. Through an international network of talent and a call for entries, the concepts are discovered and brought to a global stage. Industry leaders nurture the ideas, make introductions, award cash prizes, connect students to scholarship opportunities and aim to bring the concepts to fruition.

Radical Innovation has received submissions from more than 55 countries, including student winning entries from Poland, Saudi Arabia, the Netherlands, Russia, China, and Taiwan. and professional winning entries from prestigious design and architecture firms, such as HOK, Arno Matis Architecture, INDIDESIGN, Cooper Carry, Populous, and more.

Submissions for this years competition closed on July 11, 2022. The winners will be announced in October 2022. Visit radicalinnovation.io for submission details, awards, and scholarships.

Year 2007: Poseidon Undersea Resort, submitted by designer Jean-Claude Carmer Photo by The Hardy Group

Year 2007: Poseidon Undersea Resort, submitted by designer Jean-Claude Carmer

Poseidon Undersea Resort was presented as the world's first underwater hotel, expected to be built in a lagoon near a private island named Poseidon Mystery in Fiji. The hotel was to be located 40ft underwater and spread across an area of 5,000 acres. Seventy percent of the structure was to be made of acrylic glass, with 51 suites and villas, restaurants, a fitness centre, a spa, and other facilities. Providing all the comforts, convivences of a five-star resort.

15 years ago, Poseidon was a great example of eco-tourism and social responsibility and ESG long before it became an important business initiative. Guests would experience a beautiful natural environment and contribute financially through their hotel fees to replenish the ocean reefs that are suffering due to climate change and ocean pollution. Poseidon would also have grown coral as part of the resort to be utilized to replenish the reefs. Says John Hardy

Year 2008: The Wind Tower, submitted by John Naranjo of MRA Design in partnership with Richard Moreta of Richard Moreta Architecture  Photo by The Hardy Group

Year 2008: The Wind Tower, submitted by John Naranjo of MRA Design in partnership with Richard Moreta of Richard Moreta Architecture

The Wind Tower was artfully designed to offer both intensive functions and an attractive natural environment, expected to consume less energy than a comparable conventional hotel building. The Wind Tower is an architectural habitation; people existing in harmony with the natural environment, while being energy efficient. The tower reduced energy consumption and environmental impact, while reducing running costs, creating a more pleasant living, recreation, and working environment.

This submission came to Radical in 2009, years ahead of its time. The Wind Tower was the first example, we are aware of, where the sustainability components of the structure are integral with the basic design concept and not subcomponents or add on features. If this could be accomplished, it would open an entirely new world of opportunities to expand design and sustainability. Says John Hardy





Year 2009: The Pixel Hotel, submitted by Metro 1 Properties in partnership with Carl Hildebrand of Pixel  Photo by The Hardy Group

Year 2009: The Pixel Hotel, submitted by Metro 1 Properties in partnership with Carl Hildebrand of Pixel

The Pixel Hotel submission was operating in Linz, Austria in 2009. The deconstructed traditional hotel model won the competition, earning the $10,000 grand prize. The group of architects leased and renovated functioning real estate, creating guestrooms in six locations across the citys urban corefor example, they built a room in an art gallery and one on a boatto give guests a new way to experience the city firsthand.

Does this concept sound familiar? Of course, it is similar to Airbnb, six years before Airbnb hit mainstream. Pixel was a more interesting concept, using the city of Linz as their lobby and then distributed unique lodging properties as their rooms, allowing travelers to experience non-traditional locations within the city rather than typical tourist locations. All reservations and guest communications were on-line. Says John Hardy

Year 2012: MORPHotel, submitted by student Gianluca Santosuosso, now with Uoou Studio  Photo by The Hardy Group

Year 2012: MORPHotel, submitted by student Gianluca Santosuosso, now with Uoou Studio

MORPHotel is an entire Ecosystem on water, moving all the while at a pace slower than the average velocity of a boat. The Floating Hotel System designed for experiencing an endless journey to explore the depths of the world and its uncharted territories. The concept is plausible with its self-sufficiency and the ability to float with the ocean-currents. Conceptualized in the form of a Spinal Cord, it has several capsules accommodating residential and recreational facilities, interconnected linearly. The vertebral Spine is approximately one kilometer in length with high amount of flexibility providing to the structure an adaptive quality. The MORPHotel thus flaunts an ability to change its shape according to the weather conditions and the surrounding site morphology.

Over the past few years, floating hotels have been introduced in various worldly locations, such as Serbia, Vietnam, Tanzania and more. The functioning hotels are a new concept and have begun small in size. We are confident that this is the start of a much larger hotel chain, such as the MORPHotel. Says John Hardy

Year 2016: Space View Inn, submitted by UNLV student Juan Orduz  Photo by The Hardy Group

Year 2016: Space View Inn, submitted by UNLV student Juan Orduz

Space View Inn is a form of space travel that focuses on principles of transcendence and inclusion. Current space structures are small, confined spaces not conducive to enjoyable travel experiences. Space View Inn proposed using an expanded truss system to support and add boundaries to a main spherical volume, allowing guests to experience incredible views as well as microgravity. Additionally, the concept proposed a more inclusive, democratic form of space travel with a lottery system that would make the experience possible for all individuals.

In the recent years, travel to the moon by people other than astronauts was introduced and various publications report that a hotel titled The Voyager Station will open in space between the years 2025 and 2027. We learned a valuable lesson with this submission. Just because a concept does not yet exist and seems very far off in the future, there is no reason for doubt and to not keep an open mind about the possibilities of innovative concepts. This submission is a great example of believing in the future and not just what you know is possible now. Says John Hardy

Source: The Hardy Group

Year 2018: Autonomous Travel Suite, submitted by Steve Lee of Aprilli Design Studio

The Autonomous Travel Suite integrates transportation and hospitality through a driverless, mobile unit operated by the Autonomous Hotel Chain  a hotel room on wheels. The driverless mobile suite could fit up to five people, equipped with a sleeping area, washroom facilities, a space for working or entertaining, and a small kitchen. Once scheduled online via mobile app, a customized suite is delivered to the travelers door and taken to a local docking facility at the travelers destination, where the unit extends into a larger parent suite.

In 2021, self-driving cars were brought to the market and will be integrated into our daily lives over the next decade. This submission was introduced to Radical in 2018 and the jury is confident that this is the way of our future. Imagine traveling for business or pleasure, not having to stop for restroom breaks, being able to sleep while in motion, complete workwhat more can you ask for?

2021 Game Hotel, submitted by Adelina Abdullina, Kazan State University of Architecture & Engineering, Russia  Photo by The Hardy Group

2021 Game Hotel, submitted by Adelina Abdullina, Kazan State University of Architecture & Engineering, Russia

Game Hotel, 2021 Student Winner was the precursor to hotels in the Metaverse. Last year when Adelina submitted her futuristic hotel to Radical Innovation, her concept was unheard of, today, well known hospitality brands, CitizenM and M Social are building pixel hotels for avatars to visit in the Metaverse. The MGM Grand in Las Vegas currently offers VIRTUAL REALITY, powered by Zero Latency. Guests are transported to a completely interactive digital universe, where they can compete and fight together.

Game Hotel offered the same concept as VIRTUAL REALLITY, by providing users with a unique opportunity to delve into another world using virtual and augmented reality. Users can live and play various games, interacting in space with other visitors.

About The Hardy Group

The Hardy Group is a strategic, transformational development services firm for investors and brands engaged in hospitality real estate. Leveraging its international expertise, the group delivers feasibility analysis, project management, development management, and construction management, as well as project accounting for capex, renovation s, redevelopment, and new development for both individual deals and entire portfolios. The Hardy Group is recognized as the leader in providing creative solutions to complex building challenges, tapping its diverse team, using proprietary project research and planning, and specialized in-house software that tracks progress and budget conformance. The firm excels as a bridge between the ambition of its clients and project realization, having managed more than $7 billion in development-related assignments encompassing 1200 hospitality projects in 36 countries. Offices are located in Atlanta, Los Angeles, New York, Paris and Honolulu.
NEW YORK, NY  EAST Miami, a modern business lifestyle hotel offering travelers a unique glimpse into Miamis vibrant, urban jungle, has teamed up with Laasie to offer guests a new kind of guest loyalty program. Recognizing guest demand for an increasingly personalized experience, EAST Miami plans to leverage Laasies modern, AI-powered loyalty technology to establish more meaningful, dynamic relationships with guests via an instant-gratification rewards model.

I was originally introduced to Laasie by our new ownership group, and I immediately took an interest in their offering, shares Brad Sundock, Strategic Director of Sales and Revenue at EAST Miami. At the time, I had a partnership with another provider, which had failed to deliver the results we were looking for. With this in mind, I felt we were due for a change, and I found that the Laasie platform offered a compelling niche/edge that other loyalty programs lacked.

Lassies Convert platform aims to disrupt the traditional, points-based hotel loyalty model and replace it with a dynamic loyalty platform that rewards customers for their actions while generating insights from every interaction. Using Convert, EAST Miami can now offer guests personalized, valuable rewards via Laasies extensive rewards marketplace to incentivize current and potential guests to book directly and engage with their brand. Using AI, the Convert platform is hard at work in the background, dynamically optimizing campaign designs and messaging to maximize conversion. At the same time, ensuring guests are presented the most relevant, personalized rewards based on their interests. This model works to delight and surprise guests before, during, and after their stay by making rewards more tangible, exciting, and personal.

Im very particular with respect to the design of tools, so I spent a lot of time working with our corporate head office in Hong Kong, as well as the Laasie team, to solidify the vision and design for this new rewards platform, explains Sundock. This implementation and onboarding process went very smoothly, and although its too soon to speak to its conversion results, I am incredibly optimistic about this partnership and what it will offer our guests while differentiating our property.

For EAST Miami, guest loyalty is a foremost consideration, as its guests are drawn to its boutique experience. Our hotel acts as a hub of activity, with experiences and conveniences tailored to both leisure and business travelers. From award-winning dining, breathtaking views of the city, incredible co-working and meeting spaces, and interesting concepts like the  Asian Night Brunch offered in our Tea Room, our property has a little bit of everything for everyone, adds Sundock. Our clientele is magnetically drawn to our unique offerings as well as our personalized service, which has helped us consistently stand out amongst the landscape of hotels in which we preside, especially post-pandemic.

Speaking about this partnership, Jen Wong, CEO of Laasie, notes that EAST Miami is perfectly positioned to lead the charge towards a new era of guest loyalty, in which instant gratification and personalized rewards become the industry standard. Laasies loyalty platform is unlike any other solution on the market, and EAST Miami is unlike any other property, shares Wong. If you ask me, that makes for a perfect pairing, and Im excited to see how our technology can help EAST Miami reward and delight guests like never before.

As for the future, Sundock does not doubt that EAST Miami will continue to make a name for itself amongst global travelers. Miami is a unique city with unique offerings, so I feel very positive about what the future has in store for us, shares Sundock. Right now, were just focused on designing  and continuously refining  our offerings, so travelers know that we are willing to work with them and offer them a truly great experience.

Please click here to learn more about Laasies next-generation loyalty solution.

About Laasie

Laasie powers a new kind of loyalty for 1,200 hotels and resorts through AI and a network of 1,000+ instant gratification partners. No points, no tiers, no waiting for qualification. Awarded the #1 Direct Booking Platform by HotelTechAwards, Laasie incentivizes conversion and retention, driving over $500 million in direct bookings.

Todays savvy customers are uninspired by yesterdays rigid loyalty programs, often leaving with unused points and limited brand affinity. Laasie uses artificial intelligence and big data to dynamically create loyalty with personalized, instant rewards that motivate customer actions like booking directly, making a return visit, joining a marketing program for offers, and more. The result? Customers enjoy enriched experiences with each brand interaction and partners benefit with increased net revenue, actionable data insights, strengthened customer relationships, and a scalable loyalty program that increases the lifetime value of every customer.

To learn more, visit laasie.ai

About EAST Miami

EAST Miami is Swire Hotels first venture into North America, following the openings of EAST in Hong Kong and Beijing. Created for unconventional travelers looking for a fun, stylish and relaxing place to stay, EAST Miami offers distinctive experiences and personalized service. EAST Miami offers 352 guest rooms, including eight suites and 89 one, two, and three-bedroom residence suites, fully equipped with kitchen and laundry.

Guests can expect paperless check-in and check-out, floor to ceiling windows & balconies in every guest room, health and wellness offerings and an array of other happenings to make them feel totally at EAST. The hotel boasts its signature restaurant Quinto La Huella with a poolside bar & lounge, Hong Kong-inspired speakeasy Tea Room, lobby cafe & bar Domain and a rooftop destination bar Sugar. It also has 20,000 square-feet of meeting and banquet rooms with bay and city views, a large outdoor pool deck, which can be used for private events and BEAST, a 24-hour fitness center.

The hotel is centrally located within a 15-minute drive from the Miami International Airport, situated within Brickell City Centre,in close proximity to popular districts such as Wynwood, the Design District and South Beach.

Ellis Connolly

Chief Revenue Officer
DALLAS - Infinity pools, cabanas and DJ party sets may give you modern beach baller status, but do you ever crave just plain beach balls and unplugged fun in the sun? If your idea of a perfect somewhere is a blast from the past beachside paradise unchanged by the modern world, Hotels.com has the gig for you as the "Retro Beach Motelier."

Your Job? Travel Back in Time

The Hotels.com Retro Beach Motelier1 will receive a $10,000 stipend to spend the rest of summer traveling back in time to the best retro beach motels across the USA. The suggested itinerary includes cozy coastal gems dripping in nostalgia, like The Pearl Hotel in San Diego and Vagabond Hotel in Miami. And because no one can apply sunscreen solo, a guest of their choice will join them on this bicoastal beach hop.

Instead of spending vacation scrolling their smartphone and listening to podcasts by the pool, our Motelier will indulge in offline activities, like documenting the trip "for future generations." And we're not talking on the gram, but with a classic polaroid camera (instant film and camera provided). The IRL photo album of the trip may even appear on Hotels.com  because pics, or it didn't happen.

The Hotels.com Retro Beach Motelier will also be armed with old-school seaside accessories to help them unplug and unwind, including high SPF zinc, striped umbrellas, vintage sunnies, a cooler for beachside beverages, and a solar-powered AM/FM radio. Plus, we'll award them a $5,000 "salary" to spend on beachside snacks their grandparents would approve of: frozen custard, salt water taffy and snow cones.

"Travelers these days tend to search for all-inclusive hotels and resorts when planning their summer getaways, but our Retro Beach Motelier is out to prove that beach motels can be just as luxurious," says Melissa Dohmen of Hotels.com. "These timeless motels are not only budget-friendly but will transport beachgoers  literally and figuratively  back in time to truly disconnect and relax."

How to Apply

If you're ready to hit the beach like it's 1950 and enjoy kitschy poolside flair and analog experiences, go to www.hotels.com/beachmotel to apply to be our Retro Beach Motelier by August 5 at 11:59 p.m. CT. The most qualified Retro Beach Motelier will be selected and notified by August 12. Must be 21+ to apply, check out the full contest rules here.

Best Retro Beach Motels in America

Looking for some good old-fashioned beachside fun this summer? Hotels.com has selected the 10 best retro beach motels across America based on overall design, location, value and guest reviews. These properties feature incredible guest ratings (7.5 or higher), ocean views and plenty of vintage flair and decor.

So that everyone can enjoy the retro vibe on their next beach trip, Hotels.com is currently offering Rewards members 30% off or more on select beachside stays and an extra reward stamp toward their next reward night2 through July 25. Sign up for Hotels.com Rewards for free here and download the Hotels.com app to find your next stay.

1 Our lawyers wanted us to tell you that this is not really an actual job, so if you really want to get into it see our terms and conditions here. 2 Book by 11:59 p.m. GMT 7/25/2022. Excludes taxes and fees. Stay between 7/19/2022 9/30/2022. Limited availability. Blackout periods may apply. Property exclusions apply. Extra stamp coupon terms and conditions apply. Subject to full terms and conditions.

About Hotels.com (or Hotels.com)

Hotels.com makes it easy to find your perfect somewhere with hundreds of thousands of places to stay around the world. So, whether you're looking for value in Vegas, treehouses in Thailand or villas with views, it's all just a click away. And with our "Reward-winning" loyalty program you earn Rewards Nights* while you sleepwhat could be better? Booking just got smarter too. With over 25 million real guest reviews and an app so easy to use that it's been downloaded 70 million times, you can be sure to find the perfect place for you.

*Exclusions apply. Reward night worth average price of previous 10. Taxes/fees payable on each Reward Night redeemed. See T&Cs.

 2022 Hotels.com, LP, an Expedia Group company. All rights reserved. Hotels.com and the Hotels.com logo are trademarks of Hotels.com, LP. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners. CST# 2083949-50

SOURCE Hotels.com
Q. My wife and I own our house jointly. She turns 65 in 2024, and I turn 65 in 2025. When will we be able to file for the over-65 exemption?

A. Only one of you needs to be over 65 to qualify for the over age 65 homestead exemption. Therefore, you and your wife will be able to file the required form in the county where you live once your wife reaches age 65 in 2024.

Once the exemption is granted, if your wife dies before you reach age 65, the exemption will remain in effect. The rule is that as long as you are 55 years of age or older if your wife dies and you own the home, you can continue the exemption.

Q. I need to add two names to the list of beneficiaries in my will which was prepared by an attorney. Can I just write them in and have the additions notarized, or do I have to go to an attorney?

A. You need to go to an attorney.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Answers to your legal questions

Any handwritten changes you make will be ignored when the will is probated. You need to hire an attorney to prepare either a new will or an amendment to your existing will (known as a "codicil").

Q. In a recent column you recommended using a Texas-based trust company, but online searches for "Texas based Trust Company" aren't yielding many results. Can you recommend the best sites to search or phrasing that may be more productive?

A. Most big national banks have trust companies which can perform all the duties required of an executor. You can also search "trust company Texas" with the name of the county where you live added to the search.

Q. My house is paid for and could probably sell for about $500,000. The maintenance and property taxes continue to increase each year. Im retired with an IRA and a certificate of deposit. Social Security is my only income. Should I sell my home and invest in an annuity? Should I buy another house (smaller and less expensive) or rent a house?

A. This question should be directed to a financial planner, not a lawyer.

Try to find a planner who is a "Certified Financial Planner" (or "CFP") and who is not solely interested in selling you an annuity. You want to find an advisor who will tell you what is best for you, not what is best for him or her.

A financial planner will be able to provide projections which will enable you to determine what is the best course of action.

The information in this column is intended to provide a general understanding of the law, not legal advice. Ronald Lipman of the Houston law firm Lipman & Associates is board-certified in estate planning and probate law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Email questions to

stateyourcase@lipmanpc.com.
For the first time since May, Houstonians are paying less than $4 for a gallon of regular gasoline.

But in the so-called oil capital, where  until February  the average price of gas hadnt gone north of $3 a gallon for roughly eight years, a recent 80-cent dip isnt enough for many to return to their normal driving patterns, upending a long-held belief that demand for gasoline doesnt change with its price. The longer they hold out, the more likely theyll help tamp down demand for fuel, further cutting the price.

Demand for gasoline is 8 percent less than at the same time last year, according to the Energy Department. Thats helped drive down the price of gas from its peak of $4.64 a month ago. The price for a gallon fell by another 16 cents last week to an average of $3.86 per gallon in Houston, according to fuel-price tracking service GasBuddy.

Despite the record-high prices, experts say, history has shown that in the short term, drivers still need to get where theyre going. Only in the long term, they said, will high gasoline prices push drivers to make changes, such as buying more fuel-efficient cars.

But the pandemic and more flexibility for employees to work from home may have changed the dynamic.

It seems like employers are repurposing their COVID flexibility to help their employees save gas money, said Jim Krane, energy fellow at Rice University. If you have enough people working at home for one more day per week, because Americans commute longer distances than just about anybody in the world  I mean, were famous for our long lonely commutes  so this would affect us probably a lot more than it would other parts of the world.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Earnings, Fed to provide direction for oil markets

Krane said its almost a silver lining from the pandemic. In the past, he said, to reduce exposure to swinging gasoline prices consumers bought an electric car or dramatically changed their commute.

Now you can reduce your exposure to gasoline prices by flexibility at work, he said.

Of course, not all Houstonians are able to work from home. Carla Heverly, who runs her own dog-walking and pet-sitting business, has to consider the price of gas and when taking on new clients.

I cant accept jobs that are too far away from my house, she said, or else Im not making any money.

The 62-year-old said that though she drives a moderately fuel efficient Mini Cooper, she has turned down jobs she felt were too far away.

Bradly Hirdes and his wife have cut back on leisure car travel to soften the blow that high gas prices have brought to the budget of the two-car family.

Ive noticed that each trip to the pump is what a trip to the pump used to be plus a dinner out, he said.

In past summers, Hirdes, his wife and their 7-year-old son drove to visit his in-laws at their beach home. But because of their jobs, he and his wife have to take separate cars, so this year theyre making fewer visits. Instead, the in-laws have come to them, pairing their Houston trip with a doctors appointment or other activities.

On the work side, unfortunately, I dont have much of a choice, Hirdes said. Since Im an architect and builder, I have to drive around to job sites whether gas prices are $5 or $2.

On HoustonChronicle.com: How oil changed its ways and may have changed Midland for the better

Meanwhile, some Houston drivers, such as Breah Saldana, have reduced their car trips to those that are absolutely necessary. The Montrose resident has to drive to daily medical appointments for a health issue but otherwise chooses to stay off the road.

I dont ride around the neighborhood like I used to. Those days have been over for over a month, Saldana said. I just conserve what I have and just go to my treatments, and I get back home, and thats it.

Saldana said it costs about $60 to fill up her tank, something shes done only twice since gas prices shot up in early March.

Gas prices are dictated by a wide range of factors, such as sanctions on Russian oil after the country invaded Ukraine in late February. But, experts say, it appears as if decreasing demand is helping to push prices down  at least for now.

Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said gasoline prices will likely continue to fall. But he warned that several factors  from the war in Ukraine to hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico to a strengthening economy  could quickly send prices back up.

kyra.buckley@chron.com
Becca Wright / Becca Wright

Rapper Bun B's Trill Burger has another chance to shine in the spotlight after defeating fellow Houston restaurant Burger-Chan on live television.

Good Morning America was in town for its "United States of Burgers" competition at Saint Arnold Brewing Co. The segment pits burger chefs against each other to determine who has the best one in the U.S.
Just last year, Adidas x Ivy Park unveiled exclusively to the Houston Chronicle a collection inspired by Black cowboys and the RodeoHouston. It featured Beyonce and her mom, Tina Knowles-Lawson, along with Houston rappers Tobe Nwigwe and Monaleo.

The brand just released exclusively to Oprah Daily Ivytopia, a futuristic collection of clothing, accessories, swimwear and shoes for kids and adults. It features bright colors, metallics and patterns  a fashion nirvana.

Its summery, its flowery, its lots of metallic, which would be Beyonces take on balancing hard and soft, Knowles-Lawson told Oprah Daily. Every time she does a collection, shes very careful to have something funky to throw it off, so its not just all soft and pretty. And theres always a pop of color, and especially with the times right now, thats very intentional.

The collection features 52 gender-neutral clothing items for adults from size XXXS to XXXXL. There will be 14 apparel styles for kids. The collection went is sale at adidas.com and select stores globally.

Ivy Park + Adidas

A woman's neon-green mesh jumpsuit sells for $160, while girls' leggings go for $50. Men's swim trunks sell for $55.

Beyonce, who turns 41 in September, has three children with husband Jay-Z, 51: daughter Blue Ivy Carter, 10, and twins Rumi and Sir, 5. She'll release her new album, "Renaissance," on July 29.

Knowles-Lawson, who launched her own House of Dereon fashion line in 2004, talked with Oprah Daily about the new Adidas X Ivy Park collection, her grandkids' style and her new book. (The Galveston-native is finally writing her life story.)

Tina Knowles-Lawson on what her personal Ivytopia would look like:

"My Ivytopia would be for us to move forward and just have better relationships, better racial relationships with acceptance of everybody. To be accepting, not so judgmental or violent, and for everybody to get along  that would be my Ivytopia."

On encouraging her grandchildren to develop their own unique style:

Its funny because Rumi loves fashion. She picks out her own clothes. We recently went to Disneyland, and she put on her Mickey Mouse shorts. Then she wanted to put on a sparkly printed top, which had the same colors. It actually looked really cute. But her sister came in and Blue was like, My mom would be mad because shes doing too much. And Rumi said, This is my style. Shes 5. I was impressed. She also said, Mickey Mouse is going to be so excited. Hes going to come up and take a picture with me. Shes so funny. And do you know, Mickey came up and took a picture with her. She reminds me so much of Solange when she was little. She wore outrageous stuff, but she has an amazing sense of style. So you let them do their own thing. You cant say, No, this doesnt go with this or that.

On her personal projects:

Im writing a book, and Im excited about that. It started out as just lessons, but it just kind of organically turned into a memoir. When you start writing a book or writing down the things youve done, its mind-boggling. Ive had the most interesting life. Im really blessed. And for a poor little girl from Galveston, Texas, thats pretty incredible.
A federal judge has ruled that the guardian of a Conroe ISD high school student can proceed with a lawsuit against the boys former science teacher, who pleaded guilty this month to sexually assaulting him and who, the suit says, also supplied him prescription drugs that prompted a lengthy hospital stay.

Prior to the assault, the teenager endured an extremely difficult childhood, according to the suit. His father abandoned him as a child and his mother was murdered.

NEWS IN YOUR INBOX: Sign up for breaking news email alerts from HoustonChronicle.com here.

The former Oak Ridge High School teacher, Bonnie Guess-Mazock, was charged in January with sexual assault of the teenager. Guess-Mazock, 37, of Conroe, pleaded guilty on July 13 and will be sentenced Oct. 3 in Montgomery County District Court, according to Assistant District Attorney Michael Holley.

The suit also names the district and the company that owns Snapchat as defendants, saying faculty and administrators failed to intervene, and the tech company failed to prevent interactions between the teacher and the student through its app.

On July 7, Chief U.S. District Judge Lee H. Rosenthal dismissed Snap Inc. from any liability in the case. But she said the guardians suit against the district and the teacher may go forward. Charges against both the district and the teacher must be refiled in an amended pleading, the judge said.

A Snap Inc. spokesperson said in a statement that the company is pleased with the courts decision, noting that, Any sexual abuse of a member of our community is abhorrent and explicitly violates our policies. The company also it is committed to constantly strengthening our protections on the app, especially for teens.

Conroe ISD argued in court documents that the district was not responsible for the abuse and district officials did not show deliberate indifference to the assault.

Guess-Mazock's criminal defense lawyer Guy Womack declined to comment on the article. Her civil defense lawyers and the district's lawyers did not respond to multiple requests to comment.

A troubled background

The civil case, which was filed in January by the boys legal guardian, alleges that the teen, then a sophomore at Oak Ridge High, was sexually abused by his science teacher in the fall of 2021.

The complaint says Guess-Mazock knew the then-15-year-old was young, vulnerable and disadvantaged when she asked him to stay with her in the classroom with the door closed after the rest of the students were dismissed. This is where she began to groom him and where she requested his Snapchat username, according to documents.

The suit says the teacher seduced the student via Snapchat by sending photos of herself with solicitous messages. She chose Snapchat to communicate with him because she knew the messages would be deleted, the complaint says. The boys guardian also says Guess-Mazock made advances toward other students through Snapchat, but the court documents do not prove details on those allegations.

Guess-Mazock faces two charges in the federal case: violating the childs bodily integrity and assault, battery and statutory rape. The suit says she sexually assaulted the boy in her car and at his home throughout the fall and winter of 2021. She also provided the boy with drugs or money for drugs on multiple occasions, according to allegations. Guess-Mazock purchased cough syrup and Benadryl and encouraged the student to use them prior to the assaults, the suit says.

The following January, she texted the teen asking him to purchase Percocets, according to the complaint. On Jan. 12, the boy overdosed on prescription drugs and was hospitalized. He was released after a long hospital stay, according to court documents.

The attorney for the teen said the teacher exploited a disadvantaged young man in a particularly vulnerable situation.

His life was turbulent and chaotic. His safe haven was school. He trusted his teachers and the staff that surrounded him, the suit says.

District accused of negligence

The lawsuit also claims that the district failed to adequately train teachers and staff to identify illegal and inappropriate student-teacher relationships. It says the interactions between Guess-Mazock and the boy were an open secret that students frequently discussed.

Conroe ISD also failed to properly supervise Guess-Mazock and screen teachers and staff prior to hiring them, the suit says. The boys guardian alleges that an adequate background check would have revealed Guess Mazocks pedophilic tendencies. This detail is not backed up with detailed evidence, but Derek Merman, who filed the suit, said he suspects he could find some, because a proclivity to sexually assault minors doesnt suddenly manifest for the first time when a person is in their thirties.

Liability for preying on kids

Merman said the boys guardian plans to appeal the dismissal of Snapchats parent company. The suit says the app is negligently designed because it allows minors to create accounts using false birthdays and because the messages and images get deleted shortly after they are sent. The suit also says the company is consciously indifferent to the use of its product to foster the exploitation of a minor by an adult and it allows pedophiles to prey on them with apparent impunity.

The case against the social media company may not get far, according to a lawyer with expertise suing social media companies for facilitating child exploitation and abuse through their products.

Annie McAdams, the lead attorney in a groundbreaking case that established that Facebook could be liable when the companys technology is used to prey on kids, agreed with the federal judges finding that Snapchat wasnt liable in this case.

In this case, the child had already met the teacher and then the communications went to the social media company, she said. I can understand why people would believe that if youre using it as a basis to communicate and groom, to sexually exploit a child, you would immediately think the social media company is responsible for it. But thats not what the law says.

McAdams says tech companies arent responsible for the sexual abuse if it begins off the platform, but that doesnt mean the law isnt antiquated.

Snapchat said in its statement that the app doesnt allow minors to have public profiles and or show up as suggested friends unless they have friends in common with an adult. Snap also said that in the next few months, it will launch tools that will let parents see who their teens are friends with and who theyre communicating with on the platform.

ryan.nickerson@houstonchronicle.com
Multiple Katy ISD elementary schools could be forced to shuffle children around for the 2023-24 school year as a result of schools being built to fight overcrowding in the district.

At Monday's Katy ISD board of trustees meeting, the board heard proposed boundary modifications that would accommodate Elementary No. 45 and Elementary No. 46, which are currently under construction and scheduled to open in fall 2023.

If the proposal passes, students from Bethke, Campbell, Golbow, Hutsell, Leonard, McElwain and McRoberts Elementary schools could be sent elsewhere in 2023.

The district frequently redraws school boundaries, with the most recent boundary modification to elementary schools occurring in October 2021.

Courtesy/Katy ISD

On Monday, the board heard a joint presentation from Katy ISD Chief Operations Officer Ted Vierling and Population and Survey Analysts' Kris Pool gave a joint presentation to the board in regards to the need for redrawing the attendance boundaries.

Bethke, Leonard and McElwain Elementary Schools are more than 120% above capacity, Pool reported. Without a modification, she says McElwain alone could swell to a student body of nearly 3,000 by 2025. The schools are designed to accommodate no more than 1,030 children.

The new schools will be located in the northwest quadrant of Katy ISD, with Elementary No. 45 will be at 25600 Longenbaugh Road and Elementary No. 46 at 25615 Clay Road.

Golbow and Campbell, while not impacted by the new schools, face overcrowding that needs to be addressed as well, Vierling said.

Campbell Elementary, located in the southwest quadrant of the district, is already massively overcrowded, with a student body of 1,612, an overcrowding rate of 153%. Campbell isn't located in an area with accelerated growth, but Pool said the district miscalculated prior boundary modifications for the area due to larger than expected family sizes.

District metrics predict just over one child per single family home, Pool said. Campbell Elementary families have an average of two children per area home.

Courtesy/Katy ISD

Golbow, located in the northeast quadrant, is more than 120% overpopulated. As one of the district's oldest schools, Golbow was only built to accommodate about 800 students. The construction of nearby apartment buildings has pushed the school well beyond its capacity, Pool explained.

Parents of children zoned to the impacted schools are asked to participate in an ABM survey. If the proposal is accepted, Vierling said, families will be notified in November.

Vierling acknowledged parents' frustration over boundary modification after concluding his presentation.

"As a parent who's been rezoned several times and as a principal who has been in two schools that were super full, and had rezoning done, we take this stuff very seriously," Vierling said. "We know that every time you move a kiddo or a family is serious business, but we do feel like this is the best plan moving forward for the next several years."
Directly across the street from Piney Woods Elementary School in Splendora is the districts next biggest hurdle: rapid growth.

According to the 2021-22 Splendora ISD demographic study, Forestar Real Estate Group assembled over 900 acres between Farm To Market Road 2090 and Harrington Trials, another growing housing development in the area.

Piney Woods, along with Splendora High School and Spendora Junior High are all located directly north of 2090, looking out across the hundreds of acres of cleared land that will very quickly become several hundred new homes.

Last year, Splendora ISD added 200 new students to the district, the largest one-year increase in the last 20 years, according to the demographic study. For the 2022-23 school year the district has over 300 new students enrolled and expect even more when school starts. Splendora is the smallest public district in the county but is experiencing the same dramatic rate of growth as the larger local districts.

Among the many typical challenges of a new school year for Piney Woods faculty and staff is the expected growth.

Looking across the street you can see from here, for several miles, all the trees are wiped out, you can see the construction thats going on, all of that is us here at Piney Woods, Heath Lucas, principal of Piney Woods Elementary School, said of how many students his school usually adds. We are looking at the possibility of opening other schools. But with the houses that are coming in, they said the fall, which means that we could see concrete on the ground in the next couple weeks.

By the time December rolls around the elementary school could be seeing some of the children from the new housing in the area start to enroll.

Keeping up with staffing is one of the ways that Lucas is preparing for the growth and keeping an eye on this year. This year Piney Woods added three new teachers and Lucas said the campus is fully staffed. But he will be keeping an eye on the student to teacher ratio this year to prepare for adding more staff if necessary.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Conroe ISD again says critical race theory isnt part of curriculum after misinformation campaign

But while staffing and new schools are the work of administration and district officials, the day-to-day preparation of a new school year for teachers looks different.

Tracy Boatright, a pre-k early childhood special education teacher at Piney Woods, has been at the elementary school for about five years but has been in education for 33 years. Originally, Boatright, who is from Mississippi, swore she would never teach in Texas because after she passed the national teachers exam she wanted to be done with tests, and at the time Texas made teachers take a state history test. But she met someone from Aldine ISD at a recruitment event and was getting calls from the district a few days later and started her new job almost the second she graduated.

I remember being very nervous because it was mid-year and they had gone through six teachers already, Boatright said.

She made it through with the help of a great mentor and one of the things she is most looking forward to is getting to mentor new teachers herself, something shes done four out of the five years that shes been at the school. Along with new mentees, shes excited to meet her new students.

Its kind of like cookies, you get a new batch every year, Boatright said, noting that pre-k teachers are usually the first authority figure her students meet that arent their parents. So, I always say that were not only teachers but were the public relations greeting team for the campus. Because I think that pre-k sets the mode and the atmosphere of their lifelong success.

While she is aware of the local growth, and how it might affect staffing, her challenges for the new year are more directly connected to her students and the teachers she mentors, like getting students up to grade level and managing the typical tears and fears of the first week of school.

Macy Hernandez, the media specialist in the Piney Woods library, started her career in education last year. Before becoming a librarian she worked as a freight forwarder which felt like a 24/7 job. One of her favorite parts about her job at the school is that she gets to go to work with her kids, who are students at Piney Wood.

Im excited to see the kids again. I think Ive got my feet we, I know what Im dealing with now, Hernandez said. Im more so excited to see the kids back at school and teach them things now that Im more comfortable, and make it more fun to love to read.

During the beginning of COVID when schools were much more restricted, the elementary school could not have guest speakers or book fairs, which Hernandez is excited about having now. Along with seeing the students, shes excited about seeing the school parents, who were allowed back on campus last year.

As a parent, its a lot easier on my kids. They dont come home stressed. We can involve more fun into the school, Hernandez said.

Piney Woods Elementary opened its doors in 2009 and among its very first faculty was Michelle Mullins, then a teachers aide and now a second grade teacher. She stays, she said, because the culture, the kids, and her colleagues make it feel like home. Shes excited not just about getting a new group of students, but also a new group of parents.

Two years ago we were a closed campus so our relationships were built virtually, over the phone, that type of interaction that we had with them. Last year they were just getting used to coming back, Mullins said. Im really excited about having that community involvement.

Despite what some may think, teachers dont just take the summer off. The elementary school staff has been preparing for the new year since June, Mullins said.

I think the challenges that well face will be the same as any campus and well just tackle them and face them as they come, Mullins said. Onward and upward.

Splendora ISD had a student population of around 4,500, according to the district website. The district will return to school on Aug. 10.

jamie.swinnerton@chron.com
In Wes Studis potent and pioneering acting career, he has played vengeful warriors, dying prisoners and impassioned resistance leaders. For three decades, he has arrestingly crafted wide-ranging portraits of the Native American experience. But one thing he had never done in a movie is give someone a kiss.

I thought it was about time, yeah, Studi, 74, says chuckling.

In A Love Song, a tender indie drama starring another long-pigeonholed character actor, Dale Dickey, Studi is for the first time cast as a romantic co-star. Dickey ("Winter's Bone," Hell or High Water) plays a woman camping by a mountain lake awaiting the visit of an old flame.

Studi, the Cherokee actor who masterfully played the defiant Huron warrior Magua in Michael Manns The Last of the Mohicans and who got his first big break playing the character credited only as the toughest Pawnee in Dances With Wolves, hasnt been limited entirely to what he calls leather and feathers roles. But its sometimes taken some extra effort. When he heard Mann was making Heat, Studi called up the director and got himself a part as a police detective.

But recently, Studi is increasingly getting a chance to play a wider array of characters. Along with Max Walker-Silvermans A Love Song, which opens in theaters Friday, hes a recurring, funny guest star on Sterlin Harjos Reservation Dogs, the second season of which debuts Aug. 3 on Hulu.

Hopefully it has to do with creating a better understanding of Native people by the general public, Studi said in an interview earlier this summer. It does still exist, the misconception that we were all killed off and we dont exist anymore as peoples.

Thats essentially what I want to work on, and being a godfather to Native people in the industry, he adds.

With that Studi, sitting outside the lobby of his East Village hotel in New York, lets out such a howl of laughter that he nearly doubles over.

Why does that notion, one many would eagerly endorse, strike him as so hysterical? He entered Hollywood at a time when Indigenous people were regularly played by white actors. (Sam Waterston is the one that kills me, Studi says, smiling.) A 2019 honorary Oscar made Studi the first Native American actor ever given an Academy Award.

I cant take myself seriously when I say that, thats why, he answers, wiping tears from his eyes. I guess it could be.

In person, Studi bears little resemblance to his fiercer screen roles. Hes more like his characters in A Love Song and Reservation Dogs. Amiable. Quick to laugh. Self-deprecating. A good storyteller. He exudes a bemused gratitude for the life hes found as an actor despite spending half his life without Hollywood ambitions. Studi grew up outside of Tahlequah, Oklahoma, and spoke only Cherokee until he was 5. His father was a ranch hand.

I had never thought of acting, really, except once early in my life when I asked my dad when I saw Jay Silverheels on The Lone Ranger: Do you think anybody else can do what he does? Studi recalls. He said, Probably not. Most of the actors you find are 6-foot tall, blond and blue-eyed.

At 17, Studi joined the National Guard and volunteered to fight in Vietnam. He served a tour in South Vietnam, and saw heavy action. When he returned home, Studi joined the American Indian Movement, taking part in the 1973 occupation of Wounded Knee. It wasnt until after he divorced in his late 30s that Studi gave acting a shot with a Tulsa community theater company his friend was involved with. Studi thought: What do I have to lose?

Studi performed wherever the theater company could mount a stage or in gaslight dinner theaters. In one play, he co-starred with Will Sampson and David Carradine. After a few years, Studi headed out to Los Angeles. He was in his early 40s.

I still get the feeling of: Will I ever work again? Thats always been a part of it, said Studi. On the other hand, things have worked out that I have continued to work. I dont take that lightly. Im especially grateful that Ive been able to buy a home and stay in a good car for an extended period of time.

Studi remembers the Screen Actors Guild book of actors being a hefty tome while the then-newly founded American Indian Registry for the Performing Arts, listing Native actors, was a thin sliver. The parts available to him were also limited.

The only real opening for a guy who looked like me was in Westerns, says Studi. Thats the only real door that was open to us in that point in time. It was simply a matter of being able to deliver lines and look like you mean it.

After a few roles, Studi landed Dances With Wolves. Two years later, Mann cast him as Magua in The Last of the Mohicans, the cunning Huron warrior who fervently believes in fighting, ruthlessly, for survival. With time, Studis steely, determined performance has only grown more searing.

Any Native thats cognizant of history and the back and forth weve had with the colonizers, if you will, can have empathy with how he felt about things, said Studi. When youre backed into a corner, you gotta fight. Its one way or the other. All those things had an emotional consistency to them that I could identify with having been through the turmoil of the 70s.

When first-time director Walker-Silverman reached out to Studi, he had little reason to expect the actor of Geronimo: An American Legend (1993), The New World (2005), Avatar (2009) and Hostiles (2017), would say yes to a production as small as A Love Song.

What are the chances hed want to come up here, eat my moms food, hang out with my friends and make this tiny film? says Walker-Silverman. But fortunately, Wes loves acting more than anything.

In the film, Studi and Dickey share a gentle duet, with Studi on guitar. Walker-Silverman planned for Studi to play a beat-up acoustic but Studi -- who has toured with his band Firecat of Discord -- came to the set with a red electric and a small amp. Walker-Silverman could tell the electric suited him better. During the Colorado shoot, Studi regularly strummed it with a big smile on his face.

Well over a hundred films between them, the director adds. That this was maybe the first time they had ever kissed someone on screen says perhaps all sorts of sad things about whos been allowed to fall in love in movies.

___

This story restores dropped letter in graph 9 and corrects spelling in graph 13.

___

Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP
A South Carolina man serving as a medic in the Ukrainian military was identified by his commanding officer over the weekend as one of two Americans killed in action last week.

Luke Skywalker Lucyszyn, a 31-year-old Myrtle Beach resident, died on July 18 in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine after he was knocked unconscious by an artillery strike and fatally shot by a Russian tank, his commander, Ruslan Miroshnichenko, wrote on Facebook.

The State Department confirmed the deaths of two Americans in Ukraine on Friday but did not release their names or further details. Family and friends have confirmed reports that Lucyszyn was one of the men who died.

Miroshnichenko identified the other American as Bryan Young. Other information about Young wasn't immediately available Monday.

Thousands of foreign fighters, including many Americans, have joined Ukrainian forces battling Russia since it invaded on Feb. 24. Some of the volunteers are hardened veterans from other wars; others have little to no military experience.

Lucyszyns longtime friend Trey Kober, of North Myrtle Beach, said Lucyszyn left for Ukraine in early April after telling close friends he felt a responsibility to defend his late grandmothers homeland.

Lucyszyn volunteered to take the place of another man who needed to be with his family, Kober said.

I was proud of him, Kober said in an interview Monday. He relieved the man, and he immediately started teaching others because some of these guys had never held guns before, had never loaded ammunition into magazines.

Kober, 40, befriended Lucyszyn on a North Carolina paintball course 12 years ago and took on an older brother role for the young paintball instructor. The two spent their weekends camping in the woods and playing multiday paintball matches with friends. Lucyszyn later worked as a police officer and was the father of two children.

Two weeks before his death, Lucyszyn said goodbye to Kober in an emotional Facebook message after he learned that his platoon would soon be sent to the more dangerous Donbas region, where Russia has focused most of its firepower, bombarding cities and towns, in its assault on Ukraine.

He was pretty confident he wouldnt be coming back, Kober said. He sent us a serious message that said he was being sent to the frontlines to relieve a platoon that had been there for a long time, and he basically just told us, Im not coming back from this. This is it.

Though Kober knew his friend might die in battle, he said nothing could have prepared him for the shock he felt when he learned the news.

Lucyszyns parents, Kathryn and George Lucyszyn, said the State Department informed them of their sons death on a phone call Tuesday. The Calabash, North Carolina, residents said they tried to dissuade their son from serving abroad, but he insisted it was his calling.

He didnt go there to be a hero, Lucyszyns mother said Saturday in an interview with NBC News. He went there because he wanted to help people.

___

Schoenbaum reported from Raleigh, North Carolina. Associated Press writers Julia Rubin in New York and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.

___

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. Follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/H_Schoenbaum.
A teen accused of killing a man in a Harris County shootout that left four dead denied taking part in the violence, but video surveillance showed him firing at a victim who was running away, according to court records.

Eric Reyes was arrested July 19, three days before turning 19, in Temple, where authorities learned he had admitted involvement in the shooting on the 2300 block of Bammelwood Drive that resulted in the deaths of two 16-year-olds, a 19-year-old and a 25-year-old, according to a criminal complaint filed in Harris County.

Prosecutors charged Reyes with murder for the death Carlos Arellano-Longares.

The others have been identified by the Institute of Forensic Sciences as Jorge Torres-Arellano, Williams Canton Reyes and Juan Jimenez.

HOUSTON CRIME: Man charged with aggravated sexual assault in abduction of 11-year-old Missouri City girl, court says

A friend of one of the victims told an investigator one of the deceased was Reyes' brother, who had stolen a gun from two of the other dead individuals. The friend was identified in the court records only by their initials "due to safety concerns for the witness."

During his interview with an investigator, Reyes said he was walking with Jimenez to his aunt's apartment around 11:30 p.m. July 16 when he was confronted by "Mexicans" with guns, according to the court records. He said he called his brother, an unnamed victim in the documents, through Instagram for help.

Reyes' brother arrived and started shooting at the "Mexicans," who shot back, Reyes told the investigator.

He told the investigator that he had since deleted his Instagram account and did not remember his username, the court documents state. Additionally, he said he did not have a firearm on him and denied shooting anyone, instead running away during the shooting.

One of the videos, according to the court documents, shows Reyes shooting toward Arellano-Longares, running past him once he had collapsed, turning around and apparently firing at least one more shot in his direction as he "remained motionless on the ground."

"The defendant's account of his actions during the shooting death of victim 1 contradicts the video surveillance footage," the investigator wrote in the criminal complaint.

Bell County Jail records show Reyes was initially arrested by Temple police on suspicion of harassment and an unspecified third-degree felony. His bond was set at $1,002,500.

alejandro.serrano@chron.com
The FBI has announced a $25,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in the fatal drive-by Greenspoint shooting of a 5-year-old girl earlier this month.

Khamaya Donelson was shot and killed just before 1 a.m. July 3 at the intersection of Rushcreek and Northborough Drives after her mother, Kristena Watters, picked up her and her 8-year-old brother from a 24-hour daycare, authorities said.

Investigators believe that while waiting at an intersection, a rear passenger in a silver 1999 Honda Accord driving westbound on Rushcreek opened fire toward a nearby convenience store, striking both children seated in the back seat of Watters' car. Khamaya was transported by her mother to a local emergency room where she was pronounced dead.

DANGEROUS HEAT: Texas prisons regularly hit 110 degrees inside. Without A/C, researchers say a 'disaster' is coming

The suspect's car was last seen driving in the area of Ella Boulevard near Rankin Road with investigators adding they believe there were four individuals inside who then parked the vehicle in an apartment complex in that area.

Houston Police Department initially announced a reward in a news conference July 7 and Chief Troy Finner said Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta was contributing a $20,000 for information leading to an arrest in connection to the shooting.

During the news conference, Watters asked for her daughter's killers to come forward.

I dont feel theres a dollar amount they should put on a reward for my baby, because theres no dollar amount or reward that can bring my baby back, Watters said during the news conference. I dont feel like it should take a reward for bringing information for my baby."

ALVAREZ CASE: Tilman Fertitta offering $25K reward for information on shooting death of 9-year-old Arlene Alvarez

Anyone with information on the incident in urged to contact the FBI's Houston Field Office at 713-693-5000, submit an online tip at tips.fbi.gov, contact the HPD's Homicide Division at 713-308-3600 or Houston Crime Stoppers at 713-222-8477.

Joel.Umanzor@chron.com
Courtesy

Houston police are searching for a man in connection with a fatal shooting and kidnapping in south Houston last week.

An arrest warrant has been issued for Jerry Williams, 47, according to the Houston Police Department. Williams is accused of murdering a 37-year-old man on July 20 inside a unit at the Richmond Manor apartments on Holly Hall Street and then kidnapping a woman from the apartment, according to the police.
Dr. Mary Talley Bowden, a River Oaks ear, nose and throat specialist in private practice, on Monday filed a defamation lawsuit against Houston Methodist Hospital, arguing the institution ruined her reputation last year when it disciplined her over COVID-19 misinformation.

According to the complaint, filed in the 151st District Court, Bowden says she lost patients and was exposed to public hatred, contempt, ridicule and financial injury. Bowden is asking for $25 million in damages. She has hired Steven Biss, an attorney based in Charlottesville, Va., and Cypress lawyer Madhu Sekharan.

BOWDEN: River Oaks doctor says Houston Methodist 'vilified' her over views on ivermectin, COVID

Methodist last year temporarily suspended Bowdens privileges to practice at the hospital, after she made numerous public comments decrying vaccine mandates and flouting widely accepted medical standards around COVID treatment. The hospital, which also cited unprofessional language as a reason for the suspension, in a statement described her comments as harmful to the community and dangerous misinformation. Bowden later resigned.

The disciplinary action by Methodist, the first hospital in the nation to implement a vaccine mandate, garnered worldwide media attention.

Im not sure my life will ever be the same, Bowden said during a Monday press conference.

The doctor has publicly stated her preference to treat unvaccinated patients, who she says have been denied care. She promotes the use of ivermectin, a drug designed to treat parasitic worms, as a form of early COVID treatment, even though large medical studies continue to show no meaningful benefit against the virus. Bowden says she was open-minded about vaccines earlier in the pandemic, but over time, her opposition to vaccine mandates eventually encompassed the shots themselves, according to the lawsuit.

On social media, she continues to suggest COVID vaccines are ineffective and harmful. While vaccine-induced immunity wanes over time, the shots are safe and continue to offer protection against severe illness.

RISING TENSION: Houston Methodist doctors experience increased hostility amid ivermectin, COVID misinformation

Bowdens use of ivermectin has been the subject of complaints to the Texas Medical Board, according to Steven Mitby, her attorney in another legal filing against Methodist. She had been scheduled to appear before the board Wednesday for a hearing to address the complaints, Mitby said. However, the hearing was postponed indefinitely, he said. Board spokesman Jarrett Schneider declined to confirm that a hearing was scheduled.

Anyone can file a complaint to the Texas Medical Board about a physician, and the complaints usually are kept confidential. Mitby said he did not know who filed the complaints against Bowden, but that none were from her own patients. During the news conference, Bowden said the hearing was postponed because there are now two more complaints, apparently about ivermectin.

I dont know the nature of the complaints yet, Bowden said.

Bowden is involved in at least two other court cases related to the virus. She recently joined a federal lawsuit against the Food and Drug Administration, arguing the agency illegally interferes with doctors ability to prescribe ivermectin for off-label treatment. In a separate legal filing, Bowden is seeking financial records from Houston Methodist related to its treatment of COVID patients.

Houston Methodist declined to comment on the latest lawsuit.

julian.gill@chron.com
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

Houston-area leaders on Monday evening called for more vaccines to combat the small but growing number of local monkeypox infections.

There are 57 reported cases in the Houston area, including 10 in unincorporated Harris County. The Houston area recently received just over 5,000 doses of the JYNNEOS monkeypox vaccine from the state, but demand still far exceeds supply, health officials say. A two-dose series, administered four weeks apart, is required for full vaccination.

What we learned from COVID is when the demand is high and supply is limited, people are very, very frustrated, Mayor Sylvester Turner said during a news conference at Houston TranStar headquarters. Now with monkeypox, with all the attention thats been brought to it, the demand is very high.

The World Health Organization over the weekend declared monkeypox a global health emergency. Monkeypox for years has been endemic in certain parts of Africa but has spread worldwide in recent weeks, with most cases among men who have sex with men.

MONKEYPOX IN HOUSTON: As monkeypox spreads in Texas, here's why the vaccine is so difficult to find

Transmission usually requires prolonged skin-to-skin contact, although monkeypox also can spread through respiratory droplets in lengthy face-to-face contacts, or via materials  such as bedsheets or blankets  that have picked up the virus. Symptoms include a rash, fever, chills, swollen lymph nodes, head and muscle aches, and fatigue.

The rash can look like pimples or blisters that appears on the face, inside the mouth, and on other parts of the body, like the hands, feet, chest, genitals, or anus, according to the CDC.

The risk to the general public is low, health officials say. There have been no reported deaths among the roughly 2,800 cases in the U.S., and hospitalizations are mostly for pain management. There is at least one hospitalized monkeypox patient in Houston.

Even so, cases continue to rise around the world, and Turner and Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo suggested at the press conference that a more preventative approach is needed in Houston.

We have an opportunity to leap frog ahead of this virus to try to mitigate it in a way we couldnt do with covid, Hidalgo said.

Before the latest shipment, Houston and Harris County health departments have been making due with a few hundred monkeypox vaccines, prioritizing those suspected of coming into contact with a confirmed case.

Now, the eligibility criteria has expanded to include other high-risk groups, including people diagnosed with gonorrhea or early syphilis in the last three months, or people on HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis. Eligibility also includes people who have attended or worked at a commercial sex venue where anonymous sex or sex with multiple people took place in the last 21 days, according to the Houston Health Department.

Additional vaccine doses are not expected to be available until late August or early September, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services.

While men who have sex with men are at higher risk, anyone can contract the virus. The CDC last week confirmed the first two infections among children, in a toddler and infant.

During the news conference, Hidalgo alluded to HIV and AIDS epidemic in the 1980s, warning the public not to underestimate and stigmatize a virus that so far is confined mostly to specific populations.

This time we have a playbook, she said. We have lessons learned, and we need to understand that this virus is not limited to just one community. And we have to make sure we dont fall into that same trap.

julian.gill@chron.com
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

As relatives of four Houstonians slain decades earlier watched, a judge in Harris County said she will sign an order to schedule their killers execution after weeks of delays over concerns of judicial discretion and an intellectual disability.

Judge Natalia Cornelio asked prosecutors Monday to find a date in late February or March that could accommodate the death of Arthur Brown by lethal injection, rather than a proposed date in November.

Pushing back the execution again could give the Court of Criminal Appeals time to mull whether district court judges have discretion over execution orders and could allow Browns defense to investigate whether grounds exist to file a new appeal, citing a possible intellectual disability.

Cornelio said that if a date is found, she would sign the order.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Execution date nears for ex-Missouri City cop convicted in wifes murder-for-hire killing

The court is prepared to sign an execution order next week, Cornelio said, adding that the defendant has declined to be present in the 351st District Court for her signing of the order.

Brown appeared from the Polunsky Unit through a live video feed.

Brown was convicted in the deaths of four people  Jose Tovar, 32; Jessica Quinones, 19; Frank Farias, 17; and Audrey Brown, 21  during a 1992 drug rip.

Family members of the slain filled the courtroom, and the judge advised them to not interrupt the proceedings with outbursts. At a hearing in May, many of the same onlookers stormed out after a verbal clash over discretion between the judge and the head of the post-conviction writs division of the district attorneys office.

Cornelio opted then for Brown to find new counsel to investigate whether he has an intellectual disability, rather than sign the execution order.

Another prosecutor, Joseph Sanchez, argued for the state during the proceedings Monday instead. He took exception to attorney Kelsey Peregoy, with public defenders at the Office of Capital and Forensic Writs, asking the judge for at least six more months before setting an execution date.

We believe this is your ministerial duty, not withstanding the (Court of Criminal Appeals) ruling, Sanchez told the judge. We believe it is your obligation to sign the death warrant.

Creating a schedule would be a waste of time, he argued.

A scheduling order before you sign the execution order is useless, Sanchez said.

The prosecutors will ask the Texas Department of Criminal Justice whether a date between Feb. 28 and March 10 is available.

The Court of Criminal Appeals opinion could set a precedent in how district court judges handle execution orders. In the 230th District Court, an execution order for former Missouri City police officer Robert Fratta is pending Judge Chris Mortons signature.

In court documents, lawyers for Fratta have opposed the push toward setting an execution date, citing ongoing litigation and more time required to review documents provided by the prosecution. The looming appellate opinion over judicial discretion is referenced in the documents as a footnote, and they say the best course would be to delay the signing of the order for now.

Concerns over a possible intellectual disability were made known by Browns former lawyer, who in court documents pointed to a low IQ score Brown received as a child and other contributing factors dating back to prenatal care. His mother admitted to drinking alcohol on a weekly basis while pregnant with him and that he may have suffered a traumatic brain injury as a child. In grade school, Brown was placed in special education classes, records show.

The Office of Capital and Forensic Writs noted in May that at least three months would be needed to determine a diagnosis.

nicole.hensley@chron.com
A wildfire that burned more than 1,800 acres in Walker County on Monday was declared completely contained, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service.

The Nelson Creek fire began on July 18 in a wooded area north of Huntsville.

On Monday night, the fire was declared 100 percent complete, the forest service said in a tweet. All of the state resources that had been committed to the fire had been released, according to the forest service.

The Nelson Creek fire was one of at least 20 active forest fires burning across Texas on July 18. A week later, the number of active fires in the state had been reduced to 12, according to the fire service.

The largest active fire in Texas Monday was the Chalk Mountain Fire in Somervell County, which was burning about 6,750 acres and was only 20 percent contained.

WHY IS IT SO HOT: It might take a tropical storm to cool down Texas' sweltering weather

The closet active fire to Houston on Monday night was the Grime Fire, in Grimes County, about 70 miles north of the city. The 100-acre Grimes Fire began burning Monday afternoon. As of 7:20 p.m.. the Grimes Fire was 80 percent contained, said forest service spokesman Matt Ford.

The forward progress of the Grimes fire had been stopped, but crews were still working to put out hotspots, Ford said. Part of state Highway 90 was closed as crews battled the blaze, Grimes County Emergency Manager David Lilly said.

There were no reports of homes being damaged or people being injured in the Grimes fire.

john.ferguson@chron.com
Regarding Potential mass shooter or 'gun-loving Texan'? Gun laws complicate Galleria incident, (July 15): We are living in scary times where America has now become The Killing Fields, the name of the 1984 movie about the Vietnam War. My wife asked me if we should buy a gun to protect ourselves. I said no and told her why. For one, whoever shoots first generally gets to kill or injure one or more victims before he or she can use their gun for defensive protection, if they even have easy access to their gun. As is being proven over and over, being reactive is generally too late when the danger is imminent.

Allan Berger, Houston

Regarding Texas crackdown on banks that discriminate against guns backfires, costing taxpayers up to $500M, (July 20): Last Thursdays paper proves it. The NRA has us by the throat. Page one displays the banner headline: States gun laws on banks backfires. On the Opinion page is the beautifully constructed explanation of why our courts have their hands tied: What separates law-abiding and deadly? Seconds.

Perhaps we should illustrate the NRA with a pitch fork and cloven hooves.

Just sign me as Frustrated Human.

Peg Sauter, Houston

Regarding Editorial: Whats the difference between a mass murderer and a gun-loving Texan? Mere seconds., (July 20): Thank you for the editorial lauding Sgt. Kendrick Simpo of the Houston Police Department for taking quick action when he saw a guy clad in black, baggy clothing, toting a Bible, a long gun, semi-automatic handgun, 120 rounds of ammo and donning a shirt emblazoned with the vigilante Punisher skull logo ... walking purposefully toward the Westin Galleria area where hundreds of young girls [were] competing in a dance competition.

His heroic action in immediately tackling the guy almost certainly saved the lives of many innocent people.

I read the editorial with mixed feelings, regretting that Sgt. Simpo has received so little public acknowledgement for his heroics while an almost certain would-be mass murderer got off with little more than a wrist slap for misdemeanor disorderly conduct.

On the other hand, I guess I should be thankful that Simpo wasnt charged with misdemeanor assault.

Ann King, Pasadena
WFO PENDLETON Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Monday, July 25, 2022

_____

EXCESSIVE HEAT WATCH

URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE

National Weather Service Pendleton OR

152 PM PDT Mon Jul 25 2022

...EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 11 PM PDT FRIDAY...

* WHAT...Dangerously hot conditions with temperatures of 100 to

105 possible in the lower elevations and 90 to 100 in the

mountains.

* WHERE...In Washington, Northwest Blue Mountains. In Oregon,

Grande Ronde Valley, Northern Blue Mountains of Oregon and

Southern Blue Mountains of Oregon.

* WHEN...Until 11 PM PDT Friday.

* IMPACTS...Extreme heat will significantly increase the

potential for heat related illnesses, particularly for those

working or participating in outdoor activities.

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.

...EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 11 PM PDT

FRIDAY...

* WHAT...Dangerously hot conditions with temperatures around 105

to 115 expected.

* WHERE...Portions of central, south central and southeast

Washington and central, north central and northeast Oregon.

...HEAT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 11 PM PDT FRIDAY...

* WHAT...Temperatures between 100 to 105 in the lower elevations

and around 90 to 100 in the mountains.

* WHERE...In Washington, East Slopes of the Washington Cascades.

In Oregon, East Slopes of the Oregon Cascades.

* IMPACTS...Hot temperatures may cause heat illnesses to occur.

_____

Copyright 2022 AccuWeather
Wait!

Before you go

Please sign up for our Evening Digest and Breaking Newsletters

Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Error! There was an error processing your request.

* I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.
As an existing print subscriber it is easy to get FREE access to all our online content.

When you click get started below it will walk you through creating an online account to attach your print subscription number to.

After your account is created it will ask you to either add a subscription for online access or click on the print subscriber button. Click the print subscriber button header and it will open a dropdown, now click on get started. The page will reload and you will be prompted to enter an account number and a zip code.

IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO USE THE NUMBER OFF OF THE MOST RECENT ISSUE OR ANYTHING AFTER JANUARY 28, 2019 TO GAIN ACCESS!

OLD ACCOUNT NUMBERS WILL NOT WORK

The account number and zip code are easily available on your most recent issue of the High Plains Journal or Midwest Ag Journal in the address fields as is shown here. Sometimes the account number has extra zero's in front of it, just ignore those.
Subscribing to our services is a three step process. First you have to create an account and then you have to pick if you want to subscribe to digital and or print.

Some people only want to be a digital subscriber to get access online and others want to also receive the print edition.

If you are already a print subscriber and want online access, it is free, you simply have to create an online account and then attach your print subscription account number to the online account you create.
Hudson, NY (12534)

Today

Partly cloudy early followed by cloudy skies overnight. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 61F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

Partly cloudy early followed by cloudy skies overnight. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 61F. Winds light and variable.
Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP is pleased to announce ALM Media and Texas Lawyers 2022 Texas Legal Awards selected Alan Marcuis and Fawaz Bham as finalists in the Best Mentors and On the Rise categories, respectively. The Texas Legal Awards honors Texas lawyers recognized as influential innovators who demonstrate strong leadership qualities and legal prowess.

Marcuiss inclusion as one of the Best Mentors is no surprise to the young associates at Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP. He serves as one of three firmwide hiring partners and is a leader in the firm community for fostering individual growth and supporting the firms newest attorneys. The firm relies on Marcuis to be one of the first points of contacts for all new hires, sharing firm values and making new associates nationwide feel accepted and motivated; it is in this role where Marcuis thrives. Marcuis, a partner in the firms labor and employment practice, represents employers through complex labor and employment law matters, including contract, trade secret and post-employment restrictive covenants, EEO litigation, collective bargaining and labor relations.

It was a combination of notable professional achievements, pioneering pro bono programs, and serving on multiple boards and organizations that secured Bhams selection as a finalist for On the Rise. In the past two years alone, Bham has advised on and facilitated real estate transactions in Texas and around the country valued at more than $1.4 billion by representing clients on asset management, development, leasing and financing matters. In addition, his vibrant pro bono and community advocacy practice and innovations and his devotion to diversity and inclusion efforts have propelled him to leadership roles in and outside the firm, including serving as the chairman of the Pro Bono Committee for the Dallas office.

Marcuis and Bham will be honored at the Texas Legal Awards event in September for their accomplishments. View the complete list of honorees.
A graphic posted on the Springfield (Mo.) Cardinals' Twitter account announcing Matt Koperniak's promotion to the St. Louis Cardinals' Triple A affiliate on Tuesday.

Hoosac Valley's Koperniak Gets Call to Triple A

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Hoosac Valley graduate and St. Louis Cardinals propsect Matt Koperniak Tuesday was promoted to the Memphis Redbirds of the Triple A International League.

Koperniak's Double A team, the Springfield (Mo.) Cardinals, announced the promotion on its social media accounts on Tuesday afternoon.

Koperniak, who joined Springfield last season, was hitting .267 with eight home runs and 36 RBIs in 270 at-bats this season.

He played 50 games in left field and 15 games in right field with 60 starts for Springfield, which is 44-46 . Koperniak has a perfect fielding percentage this season with four assists; he was part of one double play for the Cards..

Last year, he played 33 games with the St. Louis' Double A affiliate after joining the club in August.

He joins a Redbirds team that is 51-42 this season and in third place in the International League's West Division.

Tennessee's Redbirds Tuesday start a five-game homestand against the Norfolk Tides.

The Redbirds have August road trips to Jacksonville, Fla., and Gwinett, Ga., and Nasville, Tenn. In September, they visit the Iowa Cubs and league-leading Nashville a second time.
In addition to the former duplexes that make up Porches, the hotel has preserved two other buildings for back of house and customer amenities. The building to be demolished can just be seen to the left. PreviousNext

Porches Inn Gets OK to Proceed With River Street Demolition, New Restaurant



An illustration of the proposed restaurant on River Street. It was been approved by the Planning Board and ZBA. NORTH ADAMS, Mass.  A proposed new restaurant building on River Street is set to move forward after getting final approvals last week.

The project by Berkshire Hill Development Corp., parent company of Porches inn, had already been approved by the Planning Board in June. It received permits and variances (largely dealing with parking) from the Zoning Board of Appeals on Monday and the OK to demolish a building, reluctantly, from the Historical Commission on Friday.

Commissioners had initially opposed the demolition of 273-275 River St. to make way for a new building. The commission, which meets a few times a year, alerts members of demolition permits so they can individually review the buildings and then email whether they approve or not within the required 15 days.

The response on the two-story River Street building was a resounding no.

The 1901 storefront and apartment building was the site of a fatal fire in 1958 that killed a child and saw the top two floors removed afterward. It housed a number of different entities over the years including a plumber, a grocer and, lastly, a soup kitchen. Ely Janis, a history professor at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, provided a history of the building, which is on the city's historic survey, to the ZBA and the commission's Justyna Carlson and Peter Siegenthaler also attended that meeting to indicate their body's opposition.

At best, the commission could have voted for a one-year demolition delay to see if an agreement on how to reuse the building could be reached. Berkshire Hill's attorney, Jeffrey Grandchamp, had said repeatedly that the company was willing to wait out the delay if imposed.

On Friday, the commissioners voted to approve the demolition after Grandchamp said there would be an effort to incorporate the structure's lintels into the new building in some way as well as a history of the building and neighborhood in terms of signage or accessible links. Historical Commissioner Paul Marino had done a great deal of work on the area's history and Grandchamp said the company had engaged Janis to do a history of the site that includes the new building.

Marino voted for the demolition "with misgivings" because he felt it would happen anyways. But if asked if it were possible Berkshire Hills could reconsider the contemporary architecture of the new restaurant.

"If the building were in somewhat the same architectural style as the Porches or if it were like a classic house with two sides," said Marino. "If it was designed to look like that so would blend in with the neighborhood."

Siegenthaler thought reuse of the current structure with its big front windows would offer a more inviting aspect than the proposed building with its stone wall separation from the sidewalk that seemed "less friendly" to the neighborhood.

Commissioner Christopher Wondoloski, however, disagreed.

"I thought I voted to let River Street go," he said. "My heart is with the [older] building but when I see what their plan is, I kind of like it."

The plan was also backed by developer David Moresi, who is renovating the nearby Johnson School as high-end apartments, and Kristy Edmunds, the new director of the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art. Both wrote letters in support of the project to the ZBA, with Edmunds saying, she was convinced it will be an asset to the city and the museum.

"Mass MoCA and our visitors embrace the historical and contemporary in architecture as well as in art," she said. "New and old is Mass Moca's DNA," she wrote. "The contemporary building envisioned by Berkshire Hills and the adjacent historically preserved Porches will provide a view that reflects the spirit of Mass MoCA."

Grandchamp said the building was designed with pedestrians in mind since it is to serve not only Porches but the surrounding community.

"As far as the design of the building goes, I think that I will defer to the architects and the owner to decide what looks best," he said. "I think it's clearly different than most of the other buildings in that neighborhood. But it's, I think, as the director of MoCA said, that contrast can be appealing."

Not everyone is going to like the building, he acknowledged, just like not everyone likes every style of art. This is a different phase of the Porches campus, which has restored and preserved a number of historic buildings. Plus, he added, it's not going to be a Taco Bell but a structure by award-winning Canadian architects MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects.

"The building that's there now is different than the buildings which preceded it," Grandchamp said. "So I think change is inevitable and becomes part of the historical fabric of the city."

Siegenthaler said it was the role of the Historical Commission to preserve the past.

"You're absolutely right that life is change, and preservation can seem like it's standing in the way of change," he said. "I like to think that it's a matter of balance. ... It's about how you can maintain as much of the atmosphere as possible."

The Historical Commission also confirmed demolition permits for four Wheel Estates mobile homes at 2 Seneca, 4 Seminole, 17 Alan, and 14 and 22 Apache; 2438 Mohawk Trail, a barn at 440 East Main, the former rectory at 12 Union, 738 and 752 Curran Highway (two long vacant houses near Ocean State Job Lots), and 76 Tyler.

The commission also approved the demolition of residential properties at 22-24 Veazie and 28 Veazie. While also owned by Berkshire Hills, Grandchamp said they are not part of the restaurant project.

The ZBA approved three special permits for Berkshire Hills: one for the building's roof canopy to intrude into the setback, making the building less nonconforming than the current structure; a permanent easement for seven parking spots for Scarafoni Trust on land it is purchasing from Scarafoni; and for alterations of a parking lot on Lot 106 on Veazie Street that it is being purchasing.

It also received four parking waivers: for 22 parking spots (based on restaurant square footage that does not include storage and offices); sharing nine spaces with Porches using them during the day and the restaurant in the evening; reducing setback from the walls from 5 to 4 feet; and to allow the paved parking on Lot 106. Berkshire Hills says it expects its patrons to largely arrive by foot or bicycle during the warmer months, which are its busiest seasons.

The project is made up of several lots to the west of Veazie and along River Street.
The immortal words uttered by Danish physicist, Niels Bohr, if quantum mechanics hasnt profoundly shocked you, you havent understood it yet, ring true more than ever in todays ultra-connected world. Just 30 years ago, scientists were only beginning to imagine the possibility of constructing a quantum computer more powerful than any classical computer.

About two decades ago, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) realised the need for a sustainable economy driven by more than natural resources. Investment in technology and innovation to support the shift to a diverse, knowledge-based economy in the UAE has become a national priority, with a current US$3 billion annual investment. Abu Dhabi, the capital, is now focused on technologys critical role in the UAEs future economic development and diversification. Efforts such as offering a pathway to citizenship for scientists and inventors and funding multimillion dollar innovation accelerator programs underscore Abu Dhabi and the UAEs intent to become a serious hub for R&D and advanced technology innovation.

As part of these efforts, the Quantum Research Center (QRC) at the Technology Innovation Institute (TII), a branch of the Abu Dhabi Governments Advanced Technology Research Council, is currently researching applications in quantum communications and quantum sensing. The QRC is also conducting research in quantum computing, focused on developing high-quality qubits and reliable measuring techniques. It runs experiments with a 300-part quantum computer that is cooled to -273.14 Celsius. This work in quantum information sciences is part of an important shift for the Arab world, where investments in quantum research are still relatively modest. However, the region is realising that early investment supports longer term advancements with the potential for greater outcomes. Quantum research breakthroughs will offer the region opportunities ranging from improved optimisation of oil supplies, medical advances and outcomes, and diversification into new industries.

Quantum computings potential

So, what is quantum computing exactly, and why does it draw so much buzz in the international scientific community? Quantum computing uses the laws of quantum mechanics to solve problems that are too challenging for classical computers. The technology takes advantage of the ways in which energy and matter behave at the subatomic level to carry out tasks and computations that exceed the performance of current digital computers. However, classical computers, which have become part of every aspect of how we live, learn, and work today, will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Computing has given us the internet, enabled digital transformation across every industry and sector, fueled globalisation, revolutionised the way we communicate, and powered the advancement of AI, machine automation, and robotics. Still, these computers have capability and speed limitations that signify the likely end of Moores Law.

The immense power and speed of quantum computing offers the potential to solve problems in optimisation, materials science and chemistry, and AI and machine learning. These capabilities would revolutionise multiple industries across the region. The oil and petrochemical industries have long been pivotal for the growth of Middle East economies, and quantum computing, with its support for advanced and highspeed analytics at mass scale, presents opportunities for nations to hone oil exploration, optimise supply and demand, and drive down costs in the supply chain. On the security front, quantum computing can play a critical role in defending against cybersecurity breaches and fortifying computer software to safeguard confidential data. In healthcare, it could lead to better approaches to personalised medicine by allowing faster genomic analysis to inform tailored treatments that are specific to every patient.

Perhaps one of the most near-term and promising applications for this technology can be found in the financial services and fintech sectors, where institutions could leverage the use of quantum algorithms to help run better forecasting models, and more precisely meet challenges such as optimising investment portfolios. These potential achievements have far-reaching implications for global finance hubs, from the US to the UAE to Singapore, which could leverage quantum technology to effectively analyse and protect substantial, yet unstructured, datasets to improve customer experience, help banks make more informed decisions, and react more swiftly to market volatility.

In an increasingly digitalised world, where massive amounts of data need to be analysed and quantified, society will demand at-speed solutions for some of its most pressing problems, from disease prevention and treatment to financial modeling, cybersecurity, and climate change mitigation. As research moves toward real-world usage in key industries, quantum computing is projected to become more commonplace, performing as a coprocessor for processes such as implementation of AI, pattern detection, and optimisation.

The global appetite for quantum technology is poised to increase its market value to $1 trillion by 2035, according to a study by McKinsey & Company, and the UAE is one of several countries beginning to push for headway in quantum technology research and development. According to Zapata Computings report, Enterprise Quantum Computing Adoption (December 2021), the rate of adoption of this technology is growing exponentially, with 69% of global enterprises revealing that they are either planning to adopt or have already implemented quantum computing into their operations.

It is imperative for governments and private investors to support quantum information science research and development through dedicated investments in technology and innovation. Businesses must prioritise attracting the people who are skilled in using the tools and knowledge that support advances in quantum information science. Higher education institutions must graduate students whose future work holds the potential to impact billions of lives. With a holistic community investment, quantum information science can support solving currently intractable challenges, while building the economies of the future in the UAE and across the world.

About the author

Dr Ray O. Johnson is Chief Executive Officer of the Technology Innovation Institute (TII), a global research centre based in Abu Dhabi, dedicated to pushing the frontiers of science and transformative technologies. Prior to joining TII, Dr Johnson was an Operating Partner at US venture capital company, Bessemer Venture Partners, and Corporate Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of the Lockheed Martin Corporation, in Maryland, USA, where he was responsible for engineering, technology, and operations. Dr Johnson holds PhD and MS degrees in Electrical Engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology in Ohio, USA. He is a Full Academician of the International Academy of Astronautics and a Fellow of the International Society for Optical Engineering, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
Name: Todd Carroll

Company: CybelAngel

Job Title: CISO and VP of Global Operations

Location: Chicago, IL

Todd Carroll is the VP of Global Operations and CISO for CybelAngel. Carroll brings over 20 years of experience in the FBIs cyber, counterintelligence, and counterterrorism branches. Prior to joining CybelAngel, Carroll served as the Deputy Special Agent in Charge of the FBIs fourth-largest field office, Chicago. Carroll oversaw investigations related to cyber and physical security, threat intelligence, risk analysis, compliance, insider threat identification, and mitigation strategy. Carroll holds four GIAC certifications in information and cyber security, an M.S. in Cyber Security from the University of Maryland (UMUC), and a B.S. in Law Enforcement Administration from Western Illinois University. Carroll also graduated from Carnegie Mellon Universitys CISO-Executive Education Program.

What was the most valuable piece of career advice that you received? Someone once told me, There are always two inboxes on your desk. One is marked easy. One is marked tough. Both need your attention. If you focus on only the easy, the tough ones will continue to pile up, and situations will get out of hand.

What was the worst piece of business advice that you received? Its not always the case that someone needs to be an expert to help another or understand their needs. Everyone has something to offer, an insight, a different perspective, even just some empathy. Youll miss out if you dismiss people out of hand.

What advice would you give to someone starting their career in IT/tech? Find a niche that you enjoy. There are a lot of different opportunities and paths in IT/tech, so try new things, learn new things, open your mind. Then choose a path that you truly enjoy.

Did you always want to work in IT/tech? No, (chuckles) tech wasnt my first career choice. I have always been interested in computers and technology. Then during my time with the FBI, I had the opportunity to learn more and more about the industry as I joined the Cyber Crimes Squad.

What was your first job in IT/tech? It was running the Cyber Crimes Squad for the Chicago field office in 2006.

What are some common misconceptions about working in IT/tech? That everyone has or needs the same set of skills. Youll hear, Oh, you work in tech? So you know code, right?. It doesnt work like that. Tech is a VAST field with many specialisations and niches. Despite that, having a broad overview or understanding of different areas is very helpful in understanding the bigger picture.

What tips would you give to someone aiming for a c-level position? My three tips would be - first, work on becoming a good leader. Second, you need broad awareness of a lot of concepts. Third, surround yourself with bright people so you can ask them any question, no matter how dumb or stupid sounding you think it is.

What are your career ambitions and have you reached them yet? Im in a bit different position than most. Having done twenty years with the FBI, Im now on my second career. My goal now is to see if I can have success outside of the FBI. So far, Ive done well, and I am in a good position. Still, I am pushing myself to see what more I can do.

Do you have a good work-life balance in your current role? NO (laughs). I already came from a 24/7 career with the FBI and its part of me now. Its difficult not to wear multiple hats at a start-up. If I see something that needs to be done, I am going to get it done. Ive got an obligation to be there for those around me, other employees, and the company.

What, if anything, would you change about the route your career path has taken? Nothing. When I took my job at CybelAngel many of my peers were shocked. They would ask, Youre gonna do what? For a French start-up? Are you sure?. Now they ask for tips on making similar transitions. I wouldnt change a thing.

Which would you recommend: A coding bootcamp or a computer science degree? (Todd narrows his eyes at this question while he ponders a response.) IF. I was to take a stance; I would say degree. You will be exposed to more of the field with a degree, and then you can choose to specialise in something that you enjoy and makes you happy.

How important are specific certifications? As someone who hires a lot... I view certifications as proof of a persons ability to learn and work towards a goal. Certifications take time and a lot of effort to achieve. A certificate tells me what you should know or understand, but it also tells me you will put in the work. Thats what I like to see.

What are the three skills or abilities you look for in prospective candidates? The ability to listen, learn and share. You need to listen to understand what a person, a partner, or a company needs. You need to be able and be open to learning things. You must share what you have learned with others to help those around you.

What would put you off a candidate? Being fake. Dont be someone else. Dont try to be what youre not. Eventually, the facade wears thin and will fall. In an interview, I want to get to know the real person.

What are the most common mistakes made by candidates in an interview? How can those mistakes be avoided? Not listening! I had an interview with a candidate. I started off by telling him that this would be a conversation, and wed trade on and off. I finish introducing myself, and then he talks about himself for 25 minutes straight. He had a slide show. I never managed to get a word in. This was supposed to be a conversation. He didnt listen.

Do you think it is better to have technical or business skills  or a mix of both? Its always better to have a mix of both. Technical helps get you in the door; understanding the business needs gets you promoted.
Many entrepreneurs believe their success hinges on exercising ever-increasing control over their businesses. Alli Webb says exactly the opposite is true.

"I don't have to work around clock every day," Webb says. Nor should any other savvy founder. At the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Summit on July 19, Webb, the founder of Irvine, California-based Drybar, a specialty salon chain for hair blowouts, explained how loosening her grip on the company helped its growth and benefited her personally.

Drybar sold its products business to Helen of Troy, based in El Paso, Texas, for $255 million in 2019, and its franchisor rights to Denver-Based WellBiz Brands for an undisclosed amount a year later. While Webb is no longer involved with the brand she founded, you don't have to leave your company entirely to benefit from her example. During the event, she detailed some of the lessons she learned from relinquishing control of Drybar, and how they can apply to entrepreneurs of all stripes.

You're not the only one who can run your business

"Franchising a really great vehicle for the business to grow," Webb says. Still, she felt uncomfortable ceding responsibility because of the premium she placed on customer experience, a trait she inherited from her parents and attributed as key to her success.

"I was egocentric," Webb confesses. She knew she could not expect others to run the business exactly how she did, prolonging her decision to franchise. Eventually, though, she asked herself, "But what if they could run it better?" It was a realization that changed the course of her entrepreneurial journey.

Webb says she figured out that franchisees would be uniquely positioned to contribute to Drybar's growth and success in three important ways. First, being new to the brand, they can breathe new life into it. Next, given the money they put in, franchisees are driven to outperform the brand's originator. And lastly, no one knows their community better than the franchisee, so they can make smart changes that cater to their customers' needs.
An Introduction to Doing Business in India 2020 will provide readers with an overview of the fundamentals of i...
2

India commits to sustainable travel

Technology is key to overcoming implementation challenges

Increase brand reputation (90%)

Have positive brand awareness and reputation externally (88%)

Increase operation efficiency (88%)

A lack of budget (41%)

A lack of professional tools to visualise environmental impact of travel (39%)

A lack of flexibility and adaptability of current policies (39%)

A lack of training or personnel knowledge on sustainability issues (36%)

A new study by SAP Concur, a provider for integrated travel, expense and invoice management solutions has discovered that while managing corporate travel 96% of all businesses across India say their companies are actively focusing on sustainability.This widespread determination to be environmentally sustainable has been revealed in new research released ahead of World Environment Day. The SAP Concur APAC Sustainability Survey was conducted by Consulting Group  Asia Insight, polling 648 senior and mid-level managers in corporate travel, finance, HR, procurement, and sustainability across Australia, China, India, Malaysia, Singapore, and South Korea. There were 110 respondents from India.According to the Air Transport Action Group , aviation is responsible for 12% of COemissions from all transport sources; and the World Resources Institute reported that business travel represents about 15% to 20% of global travel.Many companies have gone beyond articulating sustainability principles to putting things into practice through their corporate travel policies, driven by their leaders.About 62% of the respondents said their senior leadership is driving the sustainability agenda for corporate travel. This group comes ahead of employees (58%), those responsible for sustainability initiatives (47%), and those responsible for corporate travel (46%).The survey also suggested organisations are investing in sustainability outcomes. More than half of the Indian firms surveyed (52%) said they committed resources to championing sustainability. About 29% of the firms have someone who manages sustainability as part of their role, while 23% have dedicated personnel handling sustainability.The research findings were a significant departure from the pre-pandemic days where Indian organisations were more concerned about travel cost savings than the environmental impact of their actions, said Matt Goss APAC SVP.I believe that as flying time reduced, and emissions dropped during Covid-19 lockdowns, organisations realised the possibilities of sustainable travel, and stakeholders became more motivated to take action. This shift of focus to bigger picture issues is a pivotal moment  not just for businesses to run better and be more profitable, but for more sustainable business practices to take root.Such business practices include the enablement of pre-trip approvals, and the provision of sustainable travel and accommodation options for employees selection.Despite that intention, businesses outlined a range of priorities for sustainable travel, based on their goals to:Other priorities include increasing brand equity (86%) and reducing costs (84%)But challenges remain. Hurdles organisations faced in implementing a sustainable travel system included:Many Indian organisations (86%) already realise they need to harness technology to become sustainable effectively. About 52% currently have software in place to support corporate travel and expense management, while 34% plan to acquire such software very soon. About 83% of Indian respondents said they have good or excellent business travel data for their software to analyse.Its clear from the study that organisations are brimming with interest and intent to embrace sustainable travel, said Matt Goss APAC SVP. "For those that lack implementation know-how, technology could point a way forward  in terms of helping guide employees to sustainable itinerary options, tracking emissions, and ultimately formulating more efficient and sustainable travel strategies. Firms should examine how these tools can support their broader sustainability goals.SAP Concur solutions aim to enable sustainable travel management to assist organisations to make informed travel choices, track and manage results, and measurably demonstrate their actions impact to the environment. When complemented by SAPs sustainability tools, organisations can be empowered to measure, manage, and mitigate emissions across their whole business.The SAP Concur APAC Sustainable Business Travel Survey, conducted by Consulting Group  Asia Insight, covered senior and mid-level managers in Corporate Travel, Finance, HR, Procurement and Sustainability residing in Australia, China, India, Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea. There were 648 respondents in total (slightly over 100 per market). Organisation headcount breakdown: 1,000 and above: 49%; 500-999: 25% and 100-499: 26%.
1. FIR Filed Against Ranveer Singh For Posting Nude Photos Following Multiple Police Complaints

The trouble for Ranveer Singh is only increasing. Following two Police complaints against the actor for posting nude photos on Instagram that allegedly hurt the sentiments of women, now Mumbai Police have registered an FIR against him. He has been booked under IPC Sections 292 (Sale, etc of obscene books, etc) 293 (sale of obscene objects to young people), 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) and sections of IT Act invoked.

Instagram

2. 'Ganjedi Banaoge Kya', Bharti Singh Gets Trolled For Her Son's Photoshoot With 'Hookah'

While most of the people left a heart emoji, there were others who weren't happy seeing a hookah placed near him. "Bhai ye sab toh theek hai ye hookah kis khushi mein rakha hai?", asked a user in the comments section.

Instagram

"The theme is very dangerous for health. This is not nice," wrote another one. "Which flavour," asked a user.

3. Trolled For Her Looks, Shark Tank's Vineeta Singh Asks 'Why Nobody Questioned Steve Jobs?'

Speaking of the negativity, Vineeta Singh said, "Your appearance, as a woman, is given so much importance. Even on Instagram, Ive achieved so much in life, but when I post something, 95% of the comments are about the way you look. Its one of those things. Its a by-product of being a girl."

web screen grab

"Now I can deal with criticism and ignore it, I really thought I couldn't. It has been super eye-opening and I am very lucky for that as there is little evolution," she said during the interaction with Bhagat.

4. It's A Sad Day For Movie Buffs! Hollywood Stars David Warner & Paul Sorvino Have Passed Away

David Warner's family told BBC, "He will be missed hugely by us, his family and friends, and remembered as a kind-hearted, generous, and compassionate man, partner, and father, whose legacy of extraordinary work has touched the lives of so many over the years. We are heartbroken." David Warner was a versatile British actor often cast in villainous roles.

web screen grab

Apart from featuring in the most iconic movie Titanic, he was seen in the 1971 psychological thriller Straw Dogs, The Omen - a 1976 horror classic, the 1979 time-travel adventure Time After Time where he played Jack the Ripper. The actor signed up for roles ranging from Shakespearean tragedies to sci-fi cult classics.

5. Kartik Aaryan Asks SRK If He Watched Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2, His Reply Will Win Your Heart. Again!

Shah Rukh also patted Kartik Aaryan's cheeks affectionately and many people who saw the viral video on social media were impressed by King Khan's loving gesture toward him. Now, in a latest interview, Kartik Aaryan, who is basking in the success of his latest outing Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2, has revealed what he and his favourite Shah Rukh Khan were discussing in their viral video.

web screen grab

(For more news and updates from the world of celebrities from Bollywood and Hollywood, keep reading Indiatimes Entertainment, and let us know your thoughts on this story in the comments below.)
The supermassive black holes that are known to devour anything and everything in their path had far more power than we earlier believed -- they control the fate of the stars of their galaxy and decide which ones get to be born and which ones dont.

Unsplash

This is according to a new study published in Nature Astronomy by a team of European astronomers who were observing the supermassive black hole at the centre of galaxy IC 5063 thats around 156 metres light years from Earth.



Researchers made use of the Atacama Large Millimetre Array which consists of over 60 radio telescope dishes. They also used the Very large Telescope -- an optical telescope to study the supermassive black hole.

They measured the distribution of different chemical species like carbon monoxide as well as ionised nitrogen and sulphur in order to map how the jets changed and released pressures throughout the galaxy.

While we know that black holes eject matter and energy perpendicular to the plane of their galaxy, the jets from the black hole at the centre of the IC 5063 seem to be shooting through the plane of the galaxy, switching between dissipating and compressing clouds of molecular gas.

Compressed clouds result in the formation of more stars, whereas dissipated clouds result in fewer star formations.

Unsplash

Study author and the University of Athens, Greece astronomer Kalliopi Dasyra explains, Our results show that supermassive black holes, even though they are located at the centre of galaxies, could affect star formation in a galaxy-wide manner. Studying the impact of pressure changes in the stability of clouds was key to the success of this project.



While this is truly groundbreaking, researchers claim that for a better understanding of the behaviour of supermassive black holes and their effect on star formation, more research is necessary.

Dasyra concluded by stating, We are truly excited about getting the JWST data as they will enable us to study the jet-cloud interaction at an exquisite resolution.

For more in the world of technology and science, keep reading Indiatimes.com
Come hail, storm or high water, it is common to see delivery agents on motorcycles and even bicycles, carrying a food box attached at the end, delivering orders to offices and homes. They cut through the traffic and navigate difficult locations, all in a bid to deliver the food on time and they are more often than not, pressed for time.

In the service industry, a delivery guy's job is one of the most underpaid and underappreciated, with a lot of stress involved. From long working hours to extremely difficult working conditions, these people brave it all to get our food to us on time.



Screengrab/Instagram

Swiggy delivery guy w aits without raincoat at traffic point

Nothing encapsulates it all better than this video of a Swiggy delivery agent waiting at a traffic point amid heavy rains. If you watch the video closely, you will see he isn't wearing a raincoat.



In the now-viral video, the delivery agent can be seen on a motorbike waiting at what appears to be a traffic signal. He is drenched as the rain continues to pelt down, but he continues without care.

The video was shared by a user named Dinesh Komma on Instagram. "Hard employee life is not easy for everyone," a part of the caption reads.

The clip has garnered close to 5 million views and over 9 lakh likes.



People praised the delivery guy for his unrelenting dedication.

"Salute to him for his duty. This guy is just working for his beautiful family," one user commented. "For the owners of the food deliveries please provide rainy jackets to the delivery boys during the rainy season," another user said. "Everyone is fighting in their own life and we should always respect a fighter," a third user commented. "Lots of love and power to him and many others like him. God bless," another added.

Swiggy delivery guy saves man's life after taking him to hospital

Earlier, a Swiggy delivery boy went over and above the call of duty to help save a man's life.

The incident dates back to December 25 of last year, when the delivery executive named Mrunal Kirdat, selflessly came to the aid of a retired Colonel named Man Mohan Malik.



Man Mohan had fallen seriously ill and his son decided to rush him to the Lilavati Hospital in Mumbai. However, there was heavy traffic that day and thus the commute was taking longer than usual. His son requested for some help from two-wheeler riders so they could navigate through the traffic faster, but to no avail.

Finally, Mrunal came and without any hesitation rushed Man Mohan to the hospital. Mrunal asked other people stuck in the traffic to make way and quickly took the ailing man to the hospital, where he also informed the staff about the mans serious condition.

As per their post on Instagram, Swiggy revealed that the Colonel was able to recover in a few weeks' time and expressed his gratitude for the Swiggy delivery man Mrunal who jumped in and helped at a critical moment.



For more trending stories, follow us on Telegram.


Due to various circumstances, Demotech will not take any rating action, including affirmation, downgrade, or withdrawal until further notice, said Demotech president Joe Petrelli in a letter addressed to Florida insurance commissioner David Altmaier. While we are unable to provide a specific date for release, we are working to expedite the release of our ratings as soon as possible.

A copy of the letter was obtained by Spectrum Bay News 9  one of the first to break the news.

However, the 17 insurers are not completely out of the woods, as Petrelli hints that updated ratings could still be released.

We will withhold the release of all ratings related information and any updates to our website until we have completed all aspects of our rating process.

Altmaier and Florida chief financial officer Jimmy Patronis had sent letters to Demotech last week condemning the downgrade. Altmaier additionally denounced the action as an example of inconsistent, monopolistic power of a select rating agency, and had asked for the agency to offer a path for review or appeal for those insurers facing a downgrade.

Read more: Property insurers cull  17 downgraded in one swoop

Many fear that the downgrade could impact hundreds of thousands of homeowners in Florida, especially as mortgage providers like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac require homeowners to have an insurance policy with an A-rated company. Affected homeowners may be forced to find a new policy in the middle of hurricane season, which could cost more and offer less coverage.

Not everyone is condemning Demotech for its downgrade decision. State Senator Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg believes that the downgrade might realistically affect some, but not all 17 insurers.

I think whats most likely to happen is between seven and 10 companies get downgraded, said Brandes. The remaining companies will be on a watch list and pending their second quarter numbers or them raising new capital.

Brandes also said that he does not blame Demotech for the pending downgrade, Spectrum Bay News 9 reported.

Theres going to be some pain thats going to be felt. I dont think this is the rating agencys fault, he commented. I frankly think this is largely the legislatures fault because weve known about these problems and failed to address them for years.
Watch now: RPSs Steve Robinson on evolving cyber threats

Eighteen months ago, we were still in the phase of extremely high-frequency, high-severity ransomware attacks, Robinson said. It wasnt uncommon to receive notice of one a day or more at times. More recently, thankfully, weve witnessed a decline in frequency  particularly over the last six months or so.

Robinson said that ransomware demands are now often coming from less experienced cyber criminals.

Other things were noting are that threat actor groups are often smaller, sometimes less experienced, he said. Theyre implementing a ransomware as a service model oftentimes. Its not uncommon to see these groups that have less experience just pulling this service from the web and executing it. And that can have difficulties in a claim in terms of getting data back.  Were also seeing smaller demands contrasted against what we saw largely in 20 and 21. All of this, I think, is encouraging. How permanent it is remains to be seen, but thats been the trend more recently.

Read next: Revealed: IBAs 5-Star Cyber Insurers 2022

Robinson said there are several intersecting reasons for the slowdown in ransomware attacks.

Theres a lot of different potential answers to that, all kind of coming together at the same time, creating what were seeing in terms of the lower frequency [of ransomware], he said. Number one, I think theres certainly been a heightened sense of awareness via news channels, and the federal government focused on these types of attacks.

The large event that took place last summer at the Colonial Pipeline  from my understanding, the threat actors did not mean for that to get the kind of attention that it did, and I think they were in a little bit over their head. So I think that increased news focus and scrutiny from the federal government is certainly playing into this.

Also, I dont want to underestimate the value that I believe the insurance industry has had in increasing the requirements to even qualify for cybersecurity insurance in the first place, he said. If you wind the clock back a couple of years ago, insurers were not asking a lot of questions. They were willing to put up a lot of capacity. As a result, we had a lot of insurance limits that were out there and fully exposed that werent really well underwritten.

What we have now  things like end-point protection and response  really secure, segmented backup procedures have been implemented much more widely. I think the insurance community has had a great role in that, and I think small businesses and medium-sized businesses alike have really stepped up their game. All those things are contributing.

Watch now: RPSs Steve Robinson on evolving cyber threats
Firemans Fund Insurance Co. is a US subsidiary of global insurance firm Allianz. The California-based insurance company had denied coverage for Kurland, who faces charges of fraud and money laundering. Firemans Fund asserted that its professional liability policy did not include criminal cases and precluded proceedings seeking injunctive or other non-pecuniary relief. It also argued that Kurlands criminal conduct for [his] own benefit disqualified him from coverage under the policy.

But the district court rejected these arguments, saying the policy was unclear about defining suit as only applying to civil cases. In her decision, Eastern district of New York judge Joan Azrack said that Firemans Fund could have easily limited its policy coverage terms to exclude criminal proceedings but failed to do so.

Read more: Premiums double as litigation soars

Insurance recovery law firm Cohen Ziffer Frenchman & McKenna (Cohen Ziffer) represented Kurland in the suit, which Kurland brought against Firemans Fund in November last year. Cohen Ziffer argued that Kurlands professional liability insurance policy coverage applied to the ongoing case because prosecutors were seeking damages for the victims.

One way we read the policy is that the potentiality for compensatory damages arising from a criminal action could constitute a claim for damages, Andrew Bourne, partner at Cohen Ziffer, told Insurance Business.

I think the other thing that persuaded the court was that there are policies out there that make it exceedingly clear that the claim for damages did not cover a criminal action. This policy didn't include that language, he added.

The court also pointed out that Kurlands professional liability insurance policy was ambiguous about whether it precluded criminal indictments seeking damages and imprisonment, a form of non-pecuniary relief. Under New York law, the insurer also has a duty to defend Kurland until his acts are ruled to be dishonest, fraudulent, criminal, or malicious by trial verdict.

The case really dealt with the duty to defend, which is about the potential for coverage, Bourne said, adding that the duty is exceedingly broad. The court said that the duty to defend persists if allegations in the underlying action are even potentially within the language of the insurance policy.

It also noted that this duty was distinct from the insurers duty to indemnify, which is to pay for losses that result from either judgments or settlements in lawsuits or actions.

The only way they can avoid [the duty to defend] is if the policy is clear on its face that it does not potentially cover a particular action. The court agreed that the criminal action potentially constitutes a claim for damages under the policy and therefore you can't avoid your duty to defend, Bourne explained.

Read more: Why business leaders need D&O insurance

The ruling puts policy language under a microscope and may ultimately lead to more insurers providing coverage in criminal court cases, according to Bourne.

There are certainly other cases out there that this can impact. I think as you see more policyholders and criminal defense attorneys aware of this lawsuit, you might see more people looking for coverage under these policies going forward.

From our perspective, we were just out trying to enforce contractual rights for the policies that they [insurance companies] sold, said Bourne.

Kurlands trial in a Brooklyn district court is set to run for three weeks. According to prosecutors, the former Rivkin Radler partner advised his clients to invest their lottery winnings in deals and entities without disclosing he received kickbacks from them. Kurland then allegedly used the money to fund his lavish lifestyle. Kurland and three other co-defendants have pleaded not guilty to all charges.
New You can now listen to Insurance Journal articles!

New York State is beginning a $30 million shared services program designed to assist counties with cybersecurity for government systems across the state, including tools to protect against ransomware attacks.

In the initial part of the program, New Yorks counties and several municipalities including Albany, Buffalo, Syracuse, Rochester, and Yonkers, will be offered CrowdStrike endpoint detection and response (EDR) services at no cost to them. EDR is a technology used to protect computers or servers by monitoring cyber threats in real-time.

The announcement comes a few months after the state created a Joint Security Operations Center in Brooklyn, a centralized cyber command center that houses cybersecurity resources from multiple levels of government under one roof. The JSOC is taking a centralized approach to managing cyber security risk, citing the interconnected nature of the states networks and information technology programs that can lead to an attack spreading quickly across the state.

The center hopes to be able to save money by consolidated licensing and economies of scale and provide resources and expertise to local governments that they might not be able to afford on their own.

My administration is laser focused on providing cyber security resources for local governments, Governor Kathy Hochul said. By launching this new $30 million program, we are bolstering the states capabilities to respond to the evolving threat of cyberattacks and strengthening our ability to protect New Yorks institutions, infrastructure, citizens and public safety.

The Brooklyn command center brings together cybersecurity teams from federal, state, city, and county governments along with critical businesses and utilities and state entities including homeland security, information technology, police, public transportation, and port and power authorities, among others.

Every day, local governments across the state face cyber-attacks that can result in hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages and put critical local services  like public health and safety  in jeopardy, said Stephen Acquario, director of New York State Association of Counties. He said every level of government needs to be working together to counter this threat.

Topics Cyber New York
New You can now listen to Insurance Journal articles!

Online marketplace Amazon can be sued under New Jersey product liability law for defective products sold by third-party sellers on its website.

The federal district court in New Jersey sided with the New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance Group in its representing an insured who purchased an allegedly defective hoverboard on Amazon.som. Filing as a subrogee of the insured, NJM asserted a strict lability claim under the New Jersey Product Liability Act (NJPLA).

Amazon sought summary judgement on the basis that it was neither the manufacturer nor the seller of the hoverboard as required under the New Jersey statute, which limits liability to manufacturers and sellers. Amazon also cited rulings from other jurisdictions in its attempt to avoid falling under New Jerseys law.

But in a late June opinion by U.S. District Judge Julien Xavier Neals, the court denied Amazons summary judgement, finding that Amazon is indeed a product seller under the law. According to Neals, Amazon can be sued because even if it did not have control over the product itself, the NJPLA also applies to any party that otherwise is involved in placing a product in the line of commerce.

The NJPLA defines a product seller as: any person who sells; distributes; leases; installs; prepares or assembles a manufacturers product according to the manufacturers plan, intention, design, specifications or formulations; blends; packages; labels; markets; maintains or otherwise is involved in placing a product in the line of commerce

In January 2015, the Chinese manufacturing firm Paradise 00 became a third-party seller on Amazon.com. In November 2015, Angelo Gencarelli purchased two Paradise 00 hoverboards through Amazon.com. NJM claims that one of the hoverboards caught fire and damaged the home of NJMs insured.

As a third-party seller, Paradise 00 was required to enter into the Amazon Services Business Solutions Agreement. The BSA gives Amazon the right to determine the content and all other aspects of the Amazon sites, including by suspending, prohibiting or removing any listing. Also, Amazon customers cannot make direct payment to third-party sellers. Amazon processes the purchasers payment and takes out its fees. The referral fee Amazon obtained on the category of products such as hoverboards was 15%.

In addition to processing payments, Amazon also processes all refunds and guarantees products purchased on its website.

The BSA also requires third-party sellers to indemnify Amazon for any claims or losses arising out of the sales of their products. According to the court, Amazon sought indemnification from Paradise 00, but Paradise 00 had not provided indemnity.

From November 10, 2015, to December 10, 2015, Amazon customers purchased 244,430 hoverboards through Amazon.com.

As of December 10, 2015, Amazon had received 17 customer complaints in the U.S. concerning fire and explosion risks posed by hoverboards. Amazon began removal of all hoverboards from Amazon.com.

Judge Neals found that based on Amazons services agreement and its actions, and the plain language of the NJPLA, Amazon is a product seller. First, Amazon was in the business of selling hoverboards. Second, Amazon was involved in putting hoverboards in the line of commerce. Although Paradise 00 listed the hoverboards, Amazon processed the payment and accepted its fees. Without Amazon, the NJMs insured Giancarelli had no connection to Paradise 00 or the defective hoverboard.

The judge also said that Amazons actions after receiving complaints further indicate that Amazon was involved in placing hoverboards in the line of commerce.

Amazons actions taken to warn its customers and remove potentially defective hoverboard products from Amazon.com were not only admirable, but also fit squarely within the analysis for determining the potential liability of a product seller.

The judge rejected Amazons attempt to rely on case law from other jurisdictions to support its contention that it is not a product seller. It is of little consequence whether Amazon is a seller for purposes of other states statutes, as each of those statutory schemes is based on distinct language and policy considerations, Neals wrote.

The ruling is in keeping with another ruling by this district court that in 2019 also found that Amazon could be sued under Pennsylvanias product liability law.

Courts have been divided over whether an online marketplace like Amazon can be sued over defective products under state product liability laws. California courts have sallowed such claims while courts in Maryland, Ohio, Texas and New York have disallowed them.

NJM had also included breach of implied warranty and negligence claims against Amazon. The court sided with Amazon in dismissing those claims because it said the NJPLA subsumed both of these claims.

Photo: A picture taken on August 28, 2019 shows the logo of US online store application Amazon displayed on a tablet in Lille. Photographer: Denis Charlet/AFP/Getty Images

Topics Lawsuits Carriers New Jersey Amazon
As temperatures soar to unprecedented levels from Europe to Asia this summer, some Japanese insurance companies have begun selling policies to protect people struck down by the heatwave.

Sompo Holdings Inc. and Sumitomo Life Insurance Co., two of the countrys biggest insurers, are offering policies specifically designed to cover medical expenses arising from heatstroke.

Japan hasnt been spared by the brutal summer thats hitting the northern hemisphere. In June  a month typically known for a relatively cool rainy season  temperatures in Tokyo exceeded 35 degrees for a record six days in a row, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. The heatwave nationwide saw more than 14,000 people taken to hospital for emergency treatment in the week that ended July 3.

These policies are not meant to be profitable, but they could be good door openers to tap into clients that dont have much insurance or are curious about it, said Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Steven Lam. If the whole claims experience is good, that might lead into other sales opportunities.

Sumitomo Life, in collaboration with SoftBank Group Corp.s mobile-payments unit PayPay, started a heatstroke insurance plan in April that costs as little as 100 yen (73 cents) for a days coverage. If purchased before 9 a.m., the policy can take effect from 10 a.m. that day, covering hospitalization and other medical costs caused by the heat and sun. The plan is the first of its kind in the industry in Japan, according to a company spokesperson.

The number of heatstroke insurance policies sold at Sumitomo Life jumped to about 6,900 on June 29, compared with a maximum of around 400 per day before then, the Yomiuri newspaper reported last month.

Sompos heatstroke insurance plan released this month pays benefits for hospitalization, surgery and even death caused by sun or heat exposure, it said in a statement. The plan was initially only available to children, but due to rising heatstroke risks from more frequent heatwaves as well as mask-wearing due to the pandemic, the company made the product available to a broader age group, Sompo spokeswoman Shoko Oda said by telephone. Demand for the plan has been greater than expected, she said.

These policies are not meant to be profitable, but they could be good door openers to tap into clients that dont have much insurance or are curious about it, said Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Steven Lam. If the whole claims experience is good, that might lead into other sales opportunities.

With assistance from Sophie Jackman.

Photograph: Electric fans for sale at an electronics store in the Yurakucho district of Tokyo, on July 1, 2022. Photo credit: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg

Copyright 2022 Bloomberg.

Topics Carriers
In Portugals Douro Valley on July 7, a wildfire burned close to Oscar Quevedos Quinta da Alegria vineyard. By the middle of the night, flames surrounded it. The vines around the edges, amounting to about a hectare, burned. In his 39 years, Quevedo says, I had never seen such a big and fast fire in the heart of the Douro.

All over Europe, temperatures in wine regions have been sweltering at new highs, and heat waves are moving north into such normally cool countries as Germany. In the UK, temperatures above 40C (104F) were recorded for the first time. Winemakers worry this will lower yields by 25% or more for this vintage. Many had already been slammed by early frost and hail. Increasingly intense heat waves are signaling that conditions could become even more extreme and unpredictable over time.

Europe has been warming faster than the global average, says professor Angel Hsu, a climate scientist at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

By now wine lovers know how a mix of high temperatures, drought, and gusty winds make it easy to spark a wildfire and hard to stop its spread. Europes fire season came earlier than usual this year. Land has burned in France, Spain, Portugal, Greece, among others; thousands of people have been evacuated, and many have died.

Update: Climate Change Alarm Sounded as Wildfires Rage Across Europe

Even if a fire doesnt burn vines, smoke from nearby flames can ruin crops for miles. When heavy smoke hangs over vines for days, it can cause smoke taint in the grapes, which gives wines an ashy taste. In the past, this has affected wines in Napa and Sonoma in California and in Australia.

Still, rural fires are affecting only some wine areas, while just about everywhere vineyards are suffering from extreme heat and ensuing drought. High temperatures that persist can sunburn grapes, which wont ripen well, and also hydric stress, which deprives the vines of enough water to flourish. They react by accumulating sugar more slowly, which delays ripening and harvest. Grapes are smaller, yields drop, and quality suffers.

And summer 2022 isnt over yet.

Whats Happening in France?

Growers in such places as the Loire Valley dont seem worried about fire and smoke. Further south, in Bordeaux, the story is different. Two major fires started around July 12, one along the coast near resort town Arcachon and the other in a pine forest south of Bordeaux, close to the vineyards in the Graves region. A raging fire was so close to the tiny Liber Pater vineyard that police ordered it evacuated on July 18. Before leaving, owner Loic Pasquet created firewalls to try to block flames. Luckily, the wind shifted, saving his vines from smoke. The average price of his reds is a cool $4,000 a bottle, and the rare 2015 vintage goes for $33,000.

Some 20,900 hectares of forest have burned, according to official figures from June 22. Thousands of people have been evacuated, and 2,000 firefighters and eight planes with water bombs are continuing to battle flames, though the fires progression has slowed. Earlier in the week you could smell smoke in the city of Bordeaux.

The good news is that no vines have burned, and the smoke seems to be blowing away from the vineyards, according to Cecile Ha of the CIVB, the wine trade association. Still, forecasters predict very high temperatures over the next few days.

One solution to excessive heat may be agroforestry. Bordeaux pioneer Chateau Haut-Bages Liberal in Pauillac planted trees in the vineyards to provide shade, cool the air, and create humidity, convinced that this helps its vines cope better with heat and stress.

Wildfires in Portugal and Spain

Unfortunately, wildfires are a threat to all regions in Portugal, explains Frederico Falcao, president of ViniPortugal. No burned vineyards have been officially reported, although the Civil Protection authority (ANEPC) website has listed dozens of active fires over the past 10 days.

In the Douro Valley, famous for port, heat has been brutal, with recent temperatures reaching 47C, the hottest since 1941. Most of the country is in severe drought.

Rob Symington, whose family has 27 vineyards and eight wineries in the Douro Valley and in Alentejo, says fire has not been a problem, but heat is reducing crop size. The next four to six weeks, until harvest, will be crucial, he adds. If temperatures cool slightly and a small amount of rain falls, the harvest could be positive. 

Current weather maps of Spain are completely red, indicating extreme temperatures everywhere. Fires blazed in regions such as Castilla y Leon, whose stars are Vega Sicilia and Pingus, and Andalusia, noted for sherry.

Though there are no fires in Rias Baixas, they are elsewhere in Galicia in the northwest, where fire burned part of a vineyard at Virgen del Galir, an estate thats now part of the large family owned CVNE portfolio (and whose new wines Ive applauded). CEO Victor Urrutia emailed a photograph that showed blackened trees around the vines, like sentinels warning of climate change.

Hot fire spots in Catalonia, in Spains northeast, are now under control; the Torres winery reports that none came close to its vineyards there or in other parts of the country. President Miguel A. Torres says, The heat waves are getting worse  from seven to 10 days instead of only two or three. In some estates, having drip irrigation turns out to be key.

What About Italy?

Earlier this month, the Italian government declared a severe drought emergency in several northern regions, including Piemonte, famous for Barolo, and Friuli, in the far northeast. The key numbers are 50% less rain than usual and three times more fires than in an average year, according to Bill Terlato, CEO of Terlato Wine Group, which owns a wine estate in Colli Orientali Friuli. He feels somewhat safe, as the fires are to the south and west and his vineyards are in cooler high-altitude areas. Such regions may be most successful this year.

Heat is taking a toll in southern Italy, where Antonio Capaldo, chairman of Feudi di San Gregorio in Campania, estimates it will cause a 25% decrease in yields.

Dont worry too much about top proseccos. The drought is affecting only the youngest vines, says Silvio Franco of producer Nino Franco, and those dont go into the top wines.

Heat Isnt Always a Disaster

Soaring temperatures in London made headlines, but winemakers in England arent stressed about it. Brad Greatrix of sparkling wine producer Nyetimber, whose vineyards range across Sussex, Kent, and Hampshire, says the heat came at a good moment in the growing season, when vines arent so susceptible to the effects. If anything, he says, we are at the entry point of the optimum ripening weather for sparkling wine. Hes more concerned about a lack of rain, which can eventually affect both quantity and quality.

At Chapel Down in Kent, another sparkling wine estate, grapes are about 1  weeks ahead of where theyd be in an average season. Head winemaker Josh Donaghay-Spire anticipates an earlier harvest and a riper style of winesthe kind that would once have been impossible to achieve in England.

Right now, no one wants to predict how these weather extremes will affect the wines. Winemakers are by nature optimistic, always hoping the weather will suddenly turn for the better. Still, more and more acknowledge that every year brings bigger challenges. Theres a limit on what our vines can handle, says sustainability pioneer Torres in Spain, urging everyone: Please, let us all switch from fossil oil to renewable energies and change our lifestyle. That way, wine can have a more promising future.

Photograph: Smoke surges from vineyards in Pumarejo in northwest Spain on July 18. Photo credit: Miguel Riopa/AFP/Getty Images

Copyright 2022 Bloomberg.

Topics Catastrophe Natural Disasters Wildfire Europe
This edition of International People Moves details appointments at the broker Howden RE and the MGA Alta Signa Europe.

A summary of these new hires follows here.

Howden RE Hires Former Carpenter Exec Thienel to Launch German Reinsurance Unit

Howden RE, part of international re/insurance intermediary Howden Broking, has announced the appointment of Carsten Thienel as head of Treaty Reinsurance, Germany.

Thienel, whose appointment is effective from Aug. 1, will establish Howden REs operations in the country, via a new office in Hamburg, enabling it to better service German and international reinsurance buyers.

With more than 30 years of experience in international reinsurance, Thienel has held senior roles at Guy Carpenter, where he was managing director, Treaty, Asia, and a partner in the UK and Europe, responsible for key client relationships. In addition, he has held the role of CEO of Reinsurance, Asia Pacific at Ed Broking, and various senior positions in Europe at Hannover Re.

Reporting to Marenco Scholz, Managing Director and head of Howden RE Europe, Thienel will be responsible for building Howden REs facultative and captive reinsurance business by establishing a presence on the ground in Germany, with a particular focus on developing treaty, retro and specialty reinsurance solutions capabilities.

The hiring of Carsten is yet another example of us attracting the best talent and continuing to invest in reinsurance, where clients need real reinsurance broker choice, commented Bradley Maltese, CEO, Howden RE.

Following our agreement to acquire TigerRisk Partners, we will become the global leader in Facultative, Capital Markets, MGA, Analytics and Specialty Treaty and the pre-eminent reinsurance and capital markets provider for reinsurance buyers. We are now eager to grow our presence in the DACH region, and Carsten is a natural fit due to his extensive experience in both the German and wider international markets.

***

MGA Alta Signa Appoints Kisters as Professional Indemnity Manager, Netherlands

European boutique managing general agent (MGA) Alta Signa Europe B.V. announced the appointment of Jeroen Kisters as professional indemnity manager for the Netherlands.

Based in Rotterdam, Kisters will be responsible for developing Alta Signas professional indemnity (PI) product offering in the Dutch market as part of the business wider focus on carefully targeted, sustainable and profitable growth within specialty markets across Europe.

Kisters has more than 30 years experience as an insurance consultant, wholesale broker, legal risk management consultant and underwriter in the areas of commercial lines, general liability, employers liability, product liability, professional indemnity (facultative reinsurance) and directors & officers liability.

Prior to joining Alta Signa, he was a self-employed PI legal risk management consultant and subject matter expert having previously held senior underwriting roles at Liberty Specialty Markets, Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty and AXA. Kisters is a fluent Dutch, English and German speaker.

As an established MGA dedicated to the European specialty insurance market, we are focusing on specialty insurance where global expertise and local underwriting experience is critical, and where policyholders buy your capacity because they feel comfortable that you completely understand their risk exposures, commented Alta Signa Head of Distribution Dennis Gattenger.

Professional Indemnity is one such market where we are looking to grow selectively across Europe on a country-by-country basis with a local boots-on-the-ground presence, Gattenger added. Jeroens knowledge of the Dutch PI market is second to none and will add extensive value to our clients as we bring specialised solutions to help them manage their evolving risks.

We are pleased to have Jeroen join the Benelux team. With his expertise and knowledge on Dutch PI we will elevate the Benelux operation to the next level. Jeroen brings a wealth of complementary underwriting, broking and consulting experience, and I know that our clients and business partners will benefit enormously from his extensive expertise and sector insights, said Alta Signa Branch Manager for Benelux Mark Haverkate.

Contrary to what some in the market are saying, PI markets in Europe are soft with ample opportunities and lots of capacity so you have to stand out and have your USPs in order. Differentiation and relevance are key and if you have a good strategy, a compelling value proposition and a strong local network to allow you to underwrite profitably, the prospects are favourable, according to Kisters.

Brussels-based Alta Signa has successfully launched operations in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain since it began operations in 2019.

Topics Insurance Wholesale Germany
The Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services issued a cease and desist order against Salvasen Health for allegedly acting in violation of the Michigan Insurance Code.

Salvasen Health is accused of selling health insurance policies to more than 2,000 Michigan residents without proper licensure, as well as failing to make timely payments on claims. Its website advertises several health insurance plans, but has no disclaimer stating that it is not licensed to issue plans in Michigan.

The company was formed in 2021 as a domestic limited liability company in Texas, and the Texas Commissioner of Insurance reportedly took disciplinary action against Salvasen Health for selling policies in the state of Texas without a license earlier this year.

Under Michigans order, Salvasen Health has 30 calendar days after service to contest the order by requesting a hearing on the allegations. The alleged actions may carry civil fines and restitution paid to those affected by the unlicensed insurer.

Topics Michigan
Wisconsin companies will pay 8.47% less in workers compensation insurance rates starting Oct. 1, the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development reported.

The lower rates reportedly reflect continued worker safety improvements by employers in Wisconsin, which has a record number of people working and a May unemployment rate of just 2.9%. The 2022 rate decrease, approved by the Wisconsin Commissioner of Insurance, marks the seventh year in a row workers comp premiums have declined in Wisconsin.

The latest reduction in premiums is expected to save Wisconsin employers some $146 million.

Data from the nonprofit Workers Compensation Research Institute ranks Wisconsin among the lowest of 18 states in the time employees spend away from work after an injury.

Workers compensation insurance rates are adjusted annually by a committee of actuaries from members of the Wisconsin Compensation Rating Bureau, which examines and selects the methodology and trends that produce the proposed rate adjustment. That decision is then reviewed and approved by the Wisconsin Commissioner of Insurance.

While the overall rate level will decrease by 8.47%, the impact to policyholders will vary based on specific circumstances.

This latest decrease in workers compensation rates represents more good news for the safety of Wisconsins workforce heading into 2023, Insurance Commissioner Nathan Houdek said in a statement. Improved workplace safety practices have helped reduce workers comp rates, provide a competitive advantage for employers doing business in Wisconsin, and support a more productive workforce.

DWDs Workers Compensation Division administers the states WC program through a collaboration with WCRB, OCI, Self-Insurers Council and the Workers Compensation Advisory Council, which is composed of representatives from management and labor and recommends WC law changes.

Topics Trends Workers' Compensation Pricing Trends Wisconsin
Texas Governor Greg Abbott can maintain his ban on school mask mandates, a federal appeals court ruled.

A three-judge panel of the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday said that a group of disabled students failed to show that their allegedly increased risk of contracting Covid-19 due the mask mandate ban was an injury the courts could address.

The ruling is a victory for Abbott, a staunch opponent of coronavirus safety measures advocated by federal health officials. The Republican governors mask mandate ban was previously enjoined by a lower-court judge, but the 5th Circuit allowed it to go into effect during the appeal. The court vacated the lower-court injunction on Monday.

One of the three judges on the circuit panel dissented in part, saying he would have upheld the lower-court injunction but also vacated it as overly broad.

Earlier in the pandemic, both the US Centers for Disease Control and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend universal masking in schools as the best way to protect all children, but especially those who are in greater danger of serious complications from the highly contagious virus.

That guidance changed Feb. 25 as CDC dropped its universal masking recommendation for schools and up to 70 percent of the population, citing declines in pandemic hospitalizations and a rise in vaccination rates.

Since then, most mask mandates across the nation have been rescinded, though debate about reimposing them has begun again with the spread of the highly contagious omicron BA.5 sub-variant.

The case is E.T. v Paxton, 21-51083, Fifth US Circuit Court of Appeals (New Orleans).

Copyright 2022 Bloomberg.

Topics Texas K-12
New You can now listen to Insurance Journal articles!

Four people, including a 3-year-old child, were injured when a car crashed through an unoccupied toll booth and ended up in the Atlantic Ocean, officials said.

The crash happened just before 5 p.m. Sunday along Daytona Beach, where vehicles are allowed on the sand.

The car crashed through the International Speedway Boulevard beach approach before slicing through the crowded beach and ending up in the water, Volusia County Beach Safety officials told news outlets.

When it was about to hit the water, about 15 people jumped out. They were in the water, jumped out of the way and I mean, the vehicle just hit the water hard, witness Jack Lofland told WESH.

Frantic 911 callers told dispatcher the car was in the ocean.

An investigation was continuing late Sunday, Ocean Rescue Deputy Chief Tamra Malphurs said.

The child was taken to a hospital in Daytona Beach and then airlifted to Arnold Palmer Hospital in Orlando, the Daytona Beach News-Journal reported. The vehicles driver was also taken to the hospital as a trauma alert, the report said.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Auto Personal Auto Numbers
Firefighters have significantly slowed the spread of a huge wildfire burning in a forest near Yosemite National Park that burned 55 homes and other buildings and forced thousands from their homes, officials said Monday.

It was a successful day for aircraft and firefighters, resulting in minimal growth on the fire. Helicopters dropped 300,000 gallons of water on the fire. Crews continue to construct control lines and extinguish hot spots along existing lines, said a Monday night report by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire.

Thousands of residents from mountain communities were still under evacuation orders Monday while smoke from the fire drifted more than 200 miles, reaching Lake Tahoe, parts of Nevada and the San Francisco Bay Area, officials said.

Its been just horrendous with the air quality, said Kim Zagaris, an advisor with the Western Fire Chiefs Association, which maps wildfires across the country.

More than 2,500 firefighters with aircraft support were battling the blaze, known as the Oak Fire, that erupted last Friday southwest of the park, near the town of Midpines in Mariposa County. Officials described explosive fire behavior on Saturday as flames made runs through bone-dry vegetation caused by the worst drought in decades.

The blaze had consumed 27 square miles of forest land, with 16% containment, Cal Fire said. The cause was under investigation.

Firefighters on Monday struggled in steep terrain in temperatures that reached the mid- to high 90s.

On Sunday, ground forces protected homes as air tankers dropped retardant on 50-foot flames racing along ridgetops east of the tiny community of Jerseydale.

There are two major blazes burning in California, which is experiencing a fairly typical ramp-up to what is sure to be an active fire year once Californias infamous Santa Ana and Diablo wind events begin in September, Zagaris said.

Weve been fortunate. Were not quite as far along as we were at this time last year, he said. But the fuels, the vegetation, are much dryer than they were last year. Its so dry out there.

Zagaris compared the wildfires in California this year to 2008, when few blazes burned early but a mid-summer barrage of lightning hit the state and before we knew it there were 2,000 fires burning in the northern part of the state.

Evacuations were in place Monday for over 6,000 people living across a several-mile span of the sparsely populated fire zone in the Sierra Nevada foothills, though a handful of residents defied the orders and stayed behind, said Adrienne Freeman, a U.S. Forest Service spokesperson.

We urge people to evacuate when told, she said.

Jane and Wes Smith lost their home of more than 37 years and Jane had only enough time to load her two horses and flee, according to their son, Nick Smith, SFGate reported.

Wes Smith is a coordinator for the Mariposa County Emergency Services and was working on the fire response as their home burned.

The couple have lost everything. 37 years of memories, generations of family treasures and countless more sentimental things, their son said on a GoFundMe page.

Numerous roads were closed, including a stretch of State Route 140 thats one of the main routes into Yosemite.

California has experienced increasingly larger and deadlier wildfires in recent years as climate change has made the West much warmer and drier over the past 30 years. Scientists have said weather will continue to be more extreme and wildfires more frequent, destructive and unpredictable.

Pacific Gas & Electric said on its website that more than 2,600 homes and businesses in the area had lost power as of Monday and there was no indication when it would be restored.

The Oak Fire was sparked as firefighters made progress against an earlier blaze, the Washburn Fire, that burned to the edge of a grove of giant sequoias in the southernmost part of Yosemite National Park.

The latter fire, spanning a 7.5-square-mile area, was 87% contained on Monday after burning for two weeks and moving into the Sierra National Forest.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics California
News

Global concrete foaming agent market trend 2024-2030 Foam concrete used as thermal insulation material by Newsintegra927

Wholesale gas prices in the Netherlands and the UK have risen 20 percent recently amid concerns about Russian supplies.

The EU plans to cut its dependence on Russian gas by two-thirds this year and stop importing Russian fossil fuels by 2027. Russia exported about 155 billion cubic meters of gas to the EU in 2021.

The US recently said it would try to supply 15bn cubic meters of LNG to the EU this year. U.S. LNG plants are running at full capacity, and analysts say much of the extra gas the U.S. sends to Europe comes from what should have been exported elsewhere.

The German government called Russia "an unreliable energy supplier". Even though the German government claimed that they have been preparing for the situation for a long time that Russia may stop sending gas one day, experts say it is hard for the EU to replace all of Russia's gas exports any time soon.

The supply and prices of many concrete foaming agent will continue to be influenced by international situations.





Foam concrete contains a large number of closed pores, the air in the pores is a good adiabatic medium, which can cut off the heat exchange. The lower the density, the more pores, the better the adiabatic property. Especially when the density is less than 500  m? The thermal conductivity of foamed concrete is less than 0.09w/m.k. Generally speaking, the material with thermal conductivity lower than 0.23 is called thermal insulation material, and the thermal insulation material lower than 0.14w/m.k is called thermal insulation material. Most of the foamed concrete is lower than 0.14w/m.k, and most of them are lower than 0.09w/m.k, so it is a good thermal insulation material.

1. Used for thermal insulation in buildings

Building thermal insulation if all the application of foam concrete, including roof thermal insulation layer, wall insulation layer, floor heating insulation layer (or cushion), is equivalent to using foam concrete to wrap the whole house, one square meter building area needs 0.2m3~0.5m3 foam concrete (roof, floor, four walls are calculated by 5cm insulation layer), a building with a building area of 10,000 square meters, you need foam concrete 2000m3~5000m3.

2. Used for building thermal insulation block

Non-load-bearing thermal insulation block: density 300kg/m3, thermal conductivity 0.05~0.08W/ m k, compressive strength 0.5MPa. The thermal insulation effect of this kind of block is the most ideal, and it is the product with the largest demand for building energy saving and the most lacking in the market. Ultra-light block is the development direction of foam concrete, it can achieve integrated thermal insulation, the wall itself can meet the requirements of 65% energy saving, save the external thermal insulation treatment, and reduce the building thermal insulation cost by 40%, 50%.

Load-bearing thermal insulation block: density 1000~1200kg/m3, compressive strength greater than 10MPa, thermal conductivity 0.18-0.22; it is lighter than red brick, but the thermal insulation is twice as high. This kind of block can completely replace red brick for load-bearing wall, it and thermal insulation, load-bearing, lightweight three functions in one, to replace red brick has great advantages, has a larger market.

3. Used for cold storage heat preservation

Foam was originally used in cold storage thermal insulation, but foam concrete pouring or masonry insulation was used in developed countries because it is easy to aging, shrinking and flammable. It mainly adopts integral cast-in-place, roof, wall, ground all foam concrete cast-in-place, no cold bridge, no gap.

4. Used for thermal insulation of industrial furnace

The main products are fire-resistant and thermal insulation bricks.

Large industrial furnaces such as iron and steel plants, glass plants, ceramic plants, non-ferrous metal smelters and cement calcination kilns need to build a layer of thermal insulation refractory brick on the outside of refractory bricks in order to reduce energy consumption. The original use of floating bead brick, alumina foam brick, the price is very high, now foam concrete refractory brick has replaced the high-priced traditional products, the price is less than half, very competitive.

Concrete Additives Supplier

TRUNNANO is a reliable foaming agents supplier with over 12-year experience in nano-building energy conservation and nanotechnology development.

If you are looking for high-quality CLC foaming agents, please feel free to contact us and send an inquiry. (sales@cabr-concrete.com)

We accept payment via Credit Card, T/T, West Union, and Paypal. TRUNNANO will ship the goods to customers overseas through FedEx, DHL, by air, or by sea.





Cancer cells can "stretch out a big hand" and take away the mitochondria of immune cells. The Harvard Medical School research team cultured mouse and human breast cancer cells and immune cells, such as killer T cells, and used field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) to observe the relationship between cancer cells and immune cells. interactive. Interestingly, they found that cancer cells stick out long nanotubes, typically within 100-1000 nanometers in diameter, each of which connects to multiple immune cells along the way. The researchers used the drug L-778123, which inhibits the formation of nanotubes, for treatment. The higher the concentration of L-778123, the better the treatment effect.



It is used in various high-tech fields, so the market demand for concrete foaming agent will continue to rise. We are a quality supplier of concrete foaming agent, please feel free to contact us.



Inquery us
Cross-Strait exchange event held to promote tourism

Xinhua) 09:15, July 26, 2022

TAIPEI, July 25 (Xinhua) -- A cross-Strait cultural and travel exchange event kicked off on the mainland and in Taiwan on Monday, introducing tourist attractions in Qinghai Province to people in Taiwan.

Among the attractions discussed was Sanjiangyuan, or the Three-River-Source, home to the headwaters of the Yangtze, Yellow and Lancang rivers.

Opening ceremonies were held simultaneously via video link in Xining, capital city of Qinghai Province on the mainland, and in Taipei. Approximately 150 individuals from cultural, tourism and art circles on both sides of the Straits attended the ceremony.

The event was co-organized by the Chinese Culture Friendship Association (CCFA), the Association for Tourism Exchange Across the Taiwan Straits, the All-China Federation of Taiwan Compatriots, and the Qinghai provincial government. It was the largest cross-Straits exchange activity in the cultural and tourism fields to be held offline since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the parallel session in Taipei, Christopher Hsu from a local travel association shared his experience of traveling to Qinghai, which he has visited 16 times. "The cross-Straits tourism exchange has met many setbacks over the past two years of COVID-19, but I believe that after the pandemic, both sides of the Straits will have a stronger will to deepen their cultural and tourism exchanges and cooperation."

The event is part of a cross-Straits cultural exchange program established by the CCFA in 2001. Focusing on different tourism destinations each year, it has attracted more than 1,000 participants from cultural and art sectors in Taiwan.

(Web editor: Wu Chaolan, Liang Jun)
News

Global market trend 2024-2026 The financial pressure caused by high electricity prices in Greece has also had an impact on glass inkjet printing machine and prices by Newsintegra927

Greek Environment and Energy Minister Skrekas announced on July 25 that the Greek government will intervene strongly in electricity prices in August to help all Greek households and businesses out of the financial pressure caused by high electricity prices. Since last year, especially after the start of the war in Ukraine, the price of energy and raw materials has soared further, especially the soaring price of electricity and other energy sources, which seriously affected the business operation and people's life in Greece.

The August tariff package alone cost the government 1.136 billion euros, nearly 50 percent of which was funded by a mechanism to cap wholesale electricity prices, Mr. Skrekas said. Electricity suppliers in Greece have announced their prices for August. The public power Company has set the price for August at 0.486 / KWH, Heron at 0.495 / KWH and Protergia at 0.54913 / KWH.

According to the ministerial announcement, the details of electricity subsidy in Greece in August are as follows:

- A subsidy of 337 per megawatt hour will be provided to all families for their main and village dwellings. There is no income ceiling for this subsidy.

-- For low-income groups receiving socially subsidized electricity, the subsidy will be 377 euros per megawatt-hour, and the government will absorb 100 percent of the increase in electricity prices.

-- the subsidy will be 300 euros per megawatt-hour for businesses that consume more than 35kVA, with the government absorbing 80 percent of the increase in electricity prices.

-- For farmers, the subsidy is 337 euros per megawatt hour, with the government absorbing an increase of 82 to 99 percent.

For industrial users, the subsidy is 250 euros per megawatt hour, with the government absorbing a 67 percent increase in electricity prices.

It also means that the final price of electricity for Greek consumers in August, after state subsidies, will be set at 15-17 euro cents per kilowatt-hour.

According to the new legal framework, from August, there will be no adjustment clause for electricity standards, which will be announced by all suppliers in advance and consumers can switch suppliers unconditionally. Electricity rates for September will be announced on August 20.

Previously, the Greek government, through the Power Pass, has reimbursed Greek customers for 60 percent of their electricity bills overpaid due to price increases between December 1, 2021, and May 31, 2022.

In addition, many consumers have recently taken to the Greek courts to challenge the "adjustment clause" in the power company's contract because of soaring electricity bills. The Athens Court of First Instance issued an interim order on The afternoon of June 2 prohibiting power companies from cutting off electricity to vulnerable households if they fail to pay their bills as agreed.

Under the influence of Fiscal pressure from Greece's exorbitant electricity prices , the glass inkjet printing machine market, as well as the cost of glass inkjet printing machine , is changing rapidly . These changes are indicators of market growth. This year-over-year uptrend in the market indicates oval but steady growth between August 2022 and August 2025. If you are looking for a glass inkjet printing machine or bulk purchase glass inkjet printing machine , please send email to: sales@shzpower.com .

The glass inkjet printing machine prices continue to be influenced by factors such as market momentum, opportunities and challenges. However, the global glass inkjet printing machine sales market is expected to continue to be above average during the forecast period 2022 to 2025. Growth rates will continue to rise. The glass inkjet printing machine prices are expected to increase from today through next week.

The cost of glass inkjet printing machine is constantly changing due to changing consumer needs, changing import and export conditions, and various investigations into glass inkjet printing machine development. The cost of the glass inkjet printing machine is also affected to some extent by the macroeconomic parameters, value chain analysis, channel partners, supply and demand of the current market. Expect the cost of glass inkjet printing machine to increase slightly between today and next week.

With the higher and higher cost of labor, more and more companies began to try to use the glass inkjet printing machine of automatic mechanization production. Automated production and processing is today's technological diversification of the development of the era more typical characteristics and trends, in some processing fields for a variety of glass inkjet printing machine equipment production application has reached the level of delight. As a result, the cost of glass inkjet printing machine is constantly changing.

"Shunzhi power electric provides professional, high quality, reliable and stable quality and price. In order to give feedback to regular customers, the company maintains full operation and provides glass inkjet printing machine at competitive prices. "Shunzhi power sales manager said.

Leading One-stop Power Distribution and Electrical Automation Solutions Manufacturer the glass inkjet printing machine supplier

Sh zp ower Electric Equipment Co., Ltd. (SHZPower) is a long-history high-tech enterprise dedicated to the scientific research, design and domestic and foreign trade of CNC glue dispensing machine, Multicolor Industrial Inkjet Printing Machine,electrical automation, medium and low voltage switch cabinets, box-type substations, power distribution cabinets, and multimedia boxes.

The company provides one-stop foaming sealing equipment, colorful inkjet equipment, power distribution and electrical automation solutions . With years of industry experience, strong technical strength, sufficient production capacity, reasonable prices, and good business reputation, the products are widely used in industry, power stations, real estate, transportation, construction machinery, new energy power, photovoltaic power generation, energy storage, Communication and other fields of electricity use.

We are willing to work hard for your satisfaction and bring you a satisfactory solution. Feel free to contact us. Email: sales@shzpower.com

Inquery us
European Union countries reached a political agreement to cut their gas use by 15% through next winter as the prospect of a full cut-off from Russian supplies grows increasingly likely.

Energy ministers meeting in Brussels gave the green light to a proposal to voluntarily cut their gas usage over the next months, the Czech presidency of the EU said in a post on Twitter.

The plan makes the 15% target mandatory under an emergency situation - such as a severe disruption to flows from Russia - albeit with certain opt-outs for particularly vulnerable nations or those integral to the blocs network as a whole.

Hungary was the only country that voted against the rules, Luxembourgs energy minister Claude Turmes tweeted.

The most crucial outcome is that we will start saving gas now, Kadri Simson, energy commissioner, told reporters.

The impact on GDP will be significantly smaller if we start saving now and dont wait until Russia forces us to do so.

Simson said work is ongoing to explore different options to design a gas price cap, in particular in the case of market disruption and rationing of scarce quantities of gas.

The fast pace of the agreement, with the European Commission first proposing the regulation last week, reflects the rapidly deteriorating gas flows from Russia.

Supplies through the key Nord Stream 1 pipeline are set to drop to around 20% of capacity from Wednesday, with Gazprom PJSC saying that one more turbine is due for maintenance and will be taken out of service.

Thats made the chances that EU countries will be able to reach their 80% gas storage filling target even more unlikely, raising the stakes for cutting gas demand. Following the agreement, the rules should enter into EU law over the coming days.

The new rules are an unprecedented step in European solidarity, said Sven Giegold, a deputy German economy minister. Member states that do not import any Russian gas are showing support and have committed to reducing consumption. This has never happened before.

Concerns

In the run-up to the meeting, a number of countries including Italy, Hungary, Poland, Portugal and Spain had raised concerns over the reduction goals, citing demand cuts already achieved, lack of gas connections to other countries and the fact that decisions on energy are usually a national competence.

Earlier today, Minister for the Environment Eamon Ryan said that the cuts would not be sufficient to get through winter.

"Fifteen percent will probably not be enough given what the Russians have just announced, a further reduction in their gas supplies through Nord Stream 1," Mr Ryan said.

"But it's better than not having it, and I think the signal it sends is also important."

Meanwhile, the Czech Republic, which holds the EUs rotating presidency, had proposed a number of changes in recent days to the commissions plan from last week in a bid to bring nations onside.

The revisions included a provision that would increase the number of countries that have to request that a 15% demand-reduction target be made mandatory to five from three, according to a draft seen by Bloomberg.

The commission could also propose the emergency measure if it deemed theres a high risk of a shortage. Both scenarios would also need majority backing from member states to take effect.

Other tweaks included taking into account the level of gas storage in a country as well as the possibility of excluding certain key industries. The rules would also only be set for one year, rather than two as originally outlined.

Member states could ask for a lower mandatory reduction under certain criteria based on their interconnections with other nations - including island countries like Ireland.

A halt of Russian gas supplies to the EU could potentially reduce its gross domestic product by as much as 1.5% if the winter is cold and the region fails to take preventive measures to save energy, the commission estimated.

Bloomberg and Reuters
A woman convicted of failing to comply with an enforcement order from a county council over an unauthorised development has said she will knock it down.

Fiona McCarthy of Bawnlahan, Tragumna in Co. Cork had turned an old derelict chalet into a property she hoped to lease out to holidaymakers, in what a judge said was "a significant breach of the planning laws".

Ms McCarthy, a teacher, had pleaded guilty at a recent court sitting to failing to comply with an enforcement notice issued by Cork County Council with regard to the property.

Refusals of planning permission

Judge James McNulty had previously heard that Ms McCarthy had been refused retrospective planning permission by Cork County Council and then by An Bord Pleanala regarding the property, and was later turned down again when she applied for it to be used as a stores.

At an earlier sitting of the court her solicitor, Liam O'Donovan, said Ms McCarthy would be making a submission in a bid to avoid having the property demolished. But following her conviction at Skibbereen District Court, she said she would comply with the court's order that the structure be removed.

Judge McNulty recounted how the court had heard that Ms McCarthy had been gifted the property from her father, and without planning permission she had erected a dwelling on the site of the former chalet, leading to a formal complaint from a neighbour, with the development "uncomfortably close" to that neighbouring house.

On June 23, 2019, Cork County Council disagreed with her claim that she had simply repaired an existing cottage and asked her to remove the structure. Then followed the application for retention, which was the subject of an objection and turned down, a decision later upheld by An Bord Pleanala.

The enforcement notice from the local authority followed over the failure to comply, with the subsequent application to retain the structure as a stores also turned down. A summons was then issued by Cork County Council.

Judge's ruling

Judge McNulty remarked that some would call the structure in its original form a chalet, while others referred to it as a shack, but that it was clear its residential use "had long since ceased" by the time of the unauthorised development in 2019, and it had fallen into "disuse and dereliction".

He said planning permission had been granted in 2000 to demolish it so as to relocate an access road, while Ms McCarthy had herself secured planning permission nearby for a separate property in 2010.

"The court notes that this property was built for holiday lettings," Judge McNulty said of the recent works. "It was done without planning permission by someone who should have known better."

He convicted Ms McCarthy on her guilty plea and after Mr O'Donovan said his client would comply with the order to remove the structure, including termination of electricity and other connections, he deferred the finalising of the order and the issue of penalty and costs until October 25 next.

"There was a significant breach of the planning laws here and a liberty was taken and it must be undone and matters put back to the way it was before," he said.
Reflecting the opportunities and challenges facing Irelands energy future, ESB recently announced that it is recruiting more than 1,000 people over the next three years to support the delivery of net zero carbon emissions by 2040, as set out in its recently launched strategy.

The digitisation of the energy sector and significant investment in renewables such as offshore wind, solar and hydrogen is leading to new, exciting roles within the organisation that powered Ireland for the past 95 years. These roles include offshore wind operators, hydrology scientists, geotechnical, AI and cyber specialists.

This will further cement ESBs commitment to investing in a pipeline of talent to complement its growing trainee, apprentice and graduate programmes in non-craft areas such as IT, finance and recruitment. ESB will also significantly increase its number of qualified network technicians. as well as continue the award-winning ESB Networks apprenticeship programme.

Each one of our business areas and colleagues across ESB  from engineering, IT, HR, network technicians and customer services  is critical to the delivery of the infrastructure, services and customer-focused solutions required to achieve net zero, explains Sinead Kilkelly, executive director, People and Organisation at ESB. From bringing energy to every community in the country to rolling out the latest EV infrastructure and retrofitting solutions, there is a strong sense of purpose across our organisation to work together to tackle climate change.

Kilkelly recently joined ESB as she was attracted by the companys ambition to deliver real change for the people and communities it serves.

There has always been a place at ESB for progressive thinkers who are committed to making a difference. As part of its benefits package, ESB offers a competitive salary, flexible ways of working, pension plan and a range of wellbeing services to look after the physical and mental health of their employees.

We are committed to creating that flexibility and know that it ultimately leads to a more fulfilled workforce, particularly when combined with our net zero ambition, explains Kilkelly. Every day, we are seeing the benefits of encouraging this with greater retention levels but more importantly a fulfilled workforce.

Driven by the companys sense of purpose to serve communities, employees volunteer and help inspire the next generation by participating in initiatives such as ESB Science Blast and educational programmes in schools countrywide.

Working with ESB means you are part of a proudly diverse and inclusive environment where innovation, creativity and collaboration are celebrated. ESB continues to focus on workplace gender diversity by supporting programmes that encourage greater female participation in STEM-focused roles and the organisation recently celebrated Pride with all its employees. To attract the best talent, ESB actively works with organisations such as AHEAD and As I Am to encourage a diverse range of employees to join them on their net zero journey.

ESB employs approximately 8,000 people across its diverse range of businesses, with many coming through their graduate development and apprentice programmes that offer careers with a difference.

We are wholly committed to supporting people on their career journey, whether its their first role or wanting to embrace something new later in their career. We believe that on-the-job learning never ends and by offering a range of training and education programmes, mentoring and support to pursue professional qualifications, people can thrive at ESB, says Kilkelly.

Current and future opportunities

IT  cyber, data science, AI, digital, cloud and project management specialists

Engineering  offshore wind, renewables, network planning, asset development, environmental, civil, electrical and mechanical and environment including marine biologists, geologists, geotechnical and hydrology scientists

HR and Commercial  procurement, financial accountants, commercial analysts, trading, HR and customer service

Graduates, Trainees and Apprentices  graduate development programme, ESB Networks apprentice programme, trainee and apprentice roles in Finance, IT, HR, Engineering and Commercial

Qualified Network Technicians

Register your interest

All roles will be advertised on www.esb.ie/careers, where interested applicants are invited to register their interest for future opportunities.

#ESBNetZeroFuture

Profile: Liam Murphy, project director, ESB Offshore Wind Development Team

My role involves working with our technical team to identify and design sites for offshore wind development. This includes completing environmental surveys and engineering studies. We want to give all parties the opportunity to shape our projects, so stakeholder engagement is a key part of my role. I meet regularly with a range of people from government officials, fishing industry representatives, community groups and local authorities.

What skillsets and qualifications are required for offshore wind opportunities?

Electrical, mechanical and civil engineering qualifications are central within the offshore wind industry. In addition, project teams feature expertise in environmental science, planning, ecology, law, health and safety and project management. Given the scale of investment required for offshore wind, the commercial aspect is really important, so we have people from accounting and economic backgrounds. Teamwork, communications and problem-solving capabilities are also called upon every day.

Why should interested people in this area consider ESB?

I work with a great team of motivated people who are experts in their respective fields. Everyone has a passion for renewable energy and while we work hard, there is always a friendly atmosphere. For me, the support and commitment I receive from my colleagues set ESB apart as a place to work. ESB has an ambitious target to increase our renewable generation portfolio to 5GW by 2030 and offshore wind will comprise about half of that figure. The challenge associated with that has created a real motivation across the organisation.
A gunman has been shot dead by Canadian police after an overnight rampage near Vancouver that left two people dead and two others wounded.

Authorities initially said it appeared the attacker was targeting homeless people before dawn on Monday but later said the motive was under investigation.

Shootings were reported at a homeless centre but also at other sites in the town of Langley.

Officials said a woman was critically wounded in the first shooting at a casino at midnight.

A police vehicle with bullet holes at the scene of a shooting in Langley(Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)

A man was shot dead at 3am at a residential complex that provides support for people transitioning out of homelessness.

At 5am, the third shooting killed a second man at a bus stop. Then another man was shot in the leg near a highway bypass at 5.45am.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said an emergency response team confronted the gunman far from the fourth attack and he was shot dead, Ghalib Bhayani, an RCMP superintendent, said/

Police identified the suspect as Jordan Goggin, 28, of Surrey, British Columbia.

Authorities said they were working to determine the motive behind the attack. It was not known if the gunman and his victims were acquainted, Mr Bhayani said.

He told reporters that the suspects death would be subject to an investigation by the Independent Investigations Office of British Columbia, a civilian-led police oversight agency.

The shootings occurred in Langley, a town of 29,000 people about 30 miles south east of Vancouver.

The town features a variety of shops and restaurants and almost 350 acres of parks. Many residents moved there for its less expensive housing and commute to Vancouver, the largest city in the province of British Columbia.

Most of the shootings were in central Langley. One was in neighbouring Langley Township.

A police officer stands near the site of a shooting (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)

After the shooting began, ambulances and police vehicles converged at a mall.

The area was cordoned off with yellow police tape and a major intersection was closed. A black tent was set up over one of the crime scenes.

An unmarked police SUV at one of the shooting scenes, near a bus depot, had at least seven bullet holes in the windshield and one through the drivers window.

Mass shootings are less common in Canada than in the United States. The deadliest gun rampage in Canadian history happened in 2020 when a man disguised as a police officer shot people in their homes and set fires across the province of Nova Scotia, killing 22 people.

The country had overhauled its gun-control laws after an attacker killed 14 women and himself in 1989 at Montreals Ecole Polytechnique college.

It is now illegal to possess an unregistered handgun or any kind of rapid-fire weapon in Canada. To purchase a weapon, the country also requires training, a personal risk assessment, two references, spousal notification and criminal record checks.
Burma Myanmar Civilian Govt Vows Junta Will Face Justice for Activist Hangings

Ko Jimmy, veteran democracy activist and leading member of the 88 Generation Students Group (left), and former NLD lawmaker Ko Phyo Zeya Thaw.

Myanmars civilian National Unity Government (NUG) says the juntas hanging of the four pro-democracy activists is unacceptable and that those responsible will face justice.

For this atrocious act of brutality, the NUG pledges to take a systematic approach to any legal and political routes available, be it national, international and military, to get legal retribution for the unlawful deaths and punish those responsible, the NUG stated on Monday night.

The parallel government, which is leading efforts to topple the junta, said the cold-blooded executions are further proof that the junta is completely unwilling to find a peaceful solution.

This is solid evidence that the terrorist military is not prepared to solve our countrys difficulties and has no intentions of doing so peacefully, the NUG said.

It asked international organizations and other countries to assist resistance forces and help end peoples suffering.

The NUG held an emergency meeting on Tuesday morning to boost the revolution.

The NUGs acting president Duwa Lashi La, prime minister Mahn Win Khaing Than and their ministers discussed the crisis, bearing in mind the peril faced by detainees, the NUG said.

They agreed to escalate the revolution through different means and ensure the terrorist military leader Min Aung Hlaing and his fellows, who torture and kill people and execute revolutionary leaders in cold blood, face punishment, it added.

Since the regime announced on Monday that it had hanged veteran democracy activist Ko Jimmy, former National League for Democracy lawmaker Ko Phyo Zeya Thaw and activists Ko Aung Thura Zaw and Ko Hla Myo Aung, condemnation has been expressed domestically and internationally.

It was the first time in four decades that political prisoners have been executed in Myanmar.

A junta spokesman told a press conference on Tuesday that the executions were lawful and the activists each deserved several death penalties.

Formed as a parallel government on April 16 last year, largely by elected NLD lawmakers and their ethnic minority allies, the NUG has enjoyed support at home and abroad. A majority of Myanmars people see it as their legitimate government, while the regime has branded it a terrorist organization.

You may also like these stories:

Myanmar Juntas Executions Unforgivable

Myanmar Regimes Execution of Democracy Activists Condemned at Home and Abroad

Executed Myanmar Democracy Activists Mother Recalls Last Meeting
Burma Myanmar Junta Rounds Up Rakhine Residents After Police Chief Abduction

Sane in Kyaukphyu Township, Rakhine State

Myanmars military regime has detained eight residents in Sane town, Kyaukphyu Township, Rakhine State, after the Arakan Army (AA) abducted the towns police chief on Sunday.

Following the abduction of Police Lieutenant Kyaw Zin Win, junta troops detained eight residents from Taung Gusu ward, including a ward administration office clerk, according to a Sane resident.

Soldiers and police surrounded their houses on Sunday night and took them. Family members were not told why they were being taken. Four men and four women were detained and all of are from Taung Gusu, he told The Irrawaddy.

Junta security personnel have been searching for members of the AA and its political wing, the United League of Arakan. Residents are staying in their houses and shops have closed due to security checks.

On July 18, the AA attacked junta troops in Maungdaw. An AA spokesman said the attack was in retaliation for the junta air raid on an AA outpost in Karen State near the Thai border earlier this month. The regime suffered casualties and border police were captured in the fighting.

On Sunday, the two sides clashed near the village of Abaung Thar in Paletwa Township, Chin State, for around 20 minutes.

Civilians in rural Paletwa and northern Maungdaw are starving as they dare not go into forests to catch fish and collect produce, their main source of livelihood.
Burma NLD Member Killed During Myanmar Junta Interrogation

NLD member Ko Hla Htoo.

A member of the National League for Democracy (NLD) in Minglar Taung Nyunt Township, Yangon Region, has died under interrogation.

Ko Hla Htoo, 45, known as a philanthropist, was detained by police and soldiers on Saturday night at his house being accused of supporting the peoples defense forces. He was tortured to death at a military interrogation center.

He became the second NLD member to be killed by the regime last week after the partys former lawmaker Ko Phyo Zeya Thaw was hanged along with three others over the weekend for anti-regime activism.

The regime informed Ko Hla Htoos family about his death on Monday and they have not been given a chance to see him.

They said Ko Hla Htoo died of a heart attack on Sunday morning and the body was cremated in the afternoon, a family source told The Irrawaddy.

Despite having heart disease, Ko Hla Htoo was in good health when he was arrested. We dont believe that he died of a heart attack, he said.

Ko Hla Htoo was a sofa manufacturer and well known in Minglar Taung Nyunt Mee Ya Htar ward for his social welfare work.

Everyone in the ward is saddened. Some cried, he said.

NLD MPs, executive committee members and ordinary members are being hunted and killed, U Bo Bo Oo, an NLD lawmaker, told The Irrawaddy.

The situation has become worse in the last three months, he said.

U Kyaw Myint, an NLD Kantbalu Township executive branch member in Sagaing Region was killed by a pro-junta militia on July 8.

Lawmaker U Kyaw Myo Min from Bilin Township, Mon State, and party members U Pann Myint and U Ko Ko Maung were killed by the regime in June.

Approximately 917 NLD members have been detained since the 2021 coup and 216 have been released. At least 18, including a lawmaker, have died due to torture during interrogation and lack of proper medical treatment in prison, according to the NLD.
Burma World Condemns Juntas Executions of Myanmar Democracy Activists

Ko Jimmy (Left) and Ko Phyo Zeya Thaw (Right)

The Myanmar regimes executions of four democracy activists over the weekend has attracted a torrent of condemnation worldwide, highlighting the deteriorating human rights situation in the Southeast Asian country devastated by last years coup by the Myanmar military.

The military regime executed former National League for Democracy lawmaker Ko Phyo Zeya Thaw, veteran democracy activist Ko Jimmy, Ko Hla Myo Aung and Ko Aung Thura Zaw at Yangons Insein Prison, after accusing them of masterminding armed resistance against the regime and being involved in anti-junta activities.

Junta-controlled media reported the hangings on Monday. Relatives of the victims insisted that they were not informed that the executions would be taking place. Furthermore, the bodies of the victims were not released to the families for funerals.

Following the regimes announcement about the executions, condemnation of the junta has poured in from around the world.

United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly condemned the hangings, saying that they mark a further deterioration of the already dire human rights environment in Myanmar.

United States (US) Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said that the US condemns in the strongest terms the regimes executions of pro-democracy activists, adding that the regimes sham trials and the hangings were blatant attempts to extinguish democracy in Myanmar.

These reprehensible acts of violence further exemplify the regimes complete disregard for human rights and the rule of law, he said.

The High Representative for Foreign Affairs for the European Union and the foreign ministers of Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Republic of Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States issued a joint statement condemning the executions, and urged the regime to seek peace through dialogue and not through further violence.

In the joint statement the foreign ministers said: The Myanmar military regimes executions of pro-democracy and opposition leaders are reprehensible acts of violence that further exemplify the regimes disregard for human rights and the rule of law.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a ten member bloc that includes Myanmar, said that it was extremely troubled by the executions as it has been trying to mediate peace in the country since last year.

ASEAN has proposed a peace plan, known as the Five-Point Consensus, for Myanmar that includes an immediate cessation of violence, but the junta has failed to honor the agreement.

Much to the ASEANs embarrassment, Hun Sen, the Prime Minister of Cambodia and the blocs current chair, personally asked coup leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing to refrain from carrying out the death sentences handed to the four men.

Cambodia said on Monday in a statement issued by ASEAN that the implementation of the death sentences was highly reprehensible, as it created a setback to and presented a gross lack of will to support the effort, particularly by the ASEAN chair, in expediting progress on the implementation of the Five-Point Consensus.

Despite its failure to coax the regime into implementing the peace plan, Hun Sen said that ASEAN remained committed to the principles of the ASEAN Charter and the mandate of the Five-Point Consensus, while urging the regime to implement the Consensus.

Activists and right groups have long condemned ASEAN for sticking to the peace plan despite the lack of progress on it.

With the UN and ASEAN having made little headway on solving the Myanmar crisis, a group of former UN experts said that the UN and ASEAN must stop shamefully failing the Myanmar people and finally take concerted action against the junta as the executions were further abhorrent acts of terror by a military junta desperately trying to ensure its own survival.

Although the Myanmar crisis was brought to the UN last year, the UN Security Council is yet to even table a single resolution on the country, partly because of resistance from the regimes allies China and Russia.

The Special Advisory Council for Myanmars (SAC-M) Marzuki Darusman said that the junta acted with total barbarism and that the executions were intended entirely to drive fear into the hearts of anyone opposing the regime.

That is an act of terror by any UN definition, he said.

Another SAC-M member Yanghee Lee said that it was long past time for a new approach to the Myanmar crisis.

Min Aung Hlaing and his illegal barbaric junta are not people that can be reasoned with. The UN and ASEAN must exert as much pressure on the junta as possible to bring this crisis to an end, she said.

You may also like these stories:

Myanmar Militarys Long History of Executing its Enemies

Myanmar Juntas Executions Unforgivable

Myanmar Regimes Execution of Democracy Activists Condemned at Home and Abroad

Executed Myanmar Democracy Activists Mother Recalls Last Meeting
Guest Column Myanmar Militarys Long History of Executing its Enemies

----

The hangings of National League for Democracy (NLD) lawmaker Ko Phyo Zeya Thaw, pro-democracy veteran Kyaw Min Yu, widely known as Ko Jimmy, Ko Hla Myo Aung and Ko Aung Thura Zaw have caused outrage around the world, and clearly show that it is a folly to believe that any kind of dialogue with the thugs in power in Naypyitaw is possible or would be the way forward.

The Association of Southeast East Asian Nations (ASEAN) who, along with others, has promoted that kind of engagement with the junta has a lot to answer for. After a visit to Myanmar earlier this month, ASEAN special envoy and Cambodias Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn acknowledged the lack of progress, but went on to urge all concerned parties to show patience in peace-building and opennessin working toward elections there. But that statement should come as no surprise, because Prak Sokhonn represents a government that has also manipulated elections and crushed opposition to its rule.

It should also be remembered in this context that extrajudicial executions have been occurring for decades in Myanmar, especially in ethnic minority areas where the Myanmar military conducts its operations with impunity. Furthermore, many political dissidents have died after being tortured in Myanmars prisons, but death sentences resulting in hangings are rare.

The last time it is known to have happened was on April 6, 1985 when Zin Mo, a North Korean agent, was executed at Yangons Insein Prison. On October 9, 1983, he and two other North Koreans had placed a bomb in a monument in Yangon dedicated to Myanmars 1947 martyrs. It was intended for visiting South Korea President Chun Doo-hwan, who had planned to lay a wreath at the site. But the bomb detonated early, sparing its target, although 21 other people lost their lives, 17 of them visiting South Koreans, including Foreign Minister Lee Beom-seok. One of the bombers, Kim Chi O, was shot during the chase for the culprits and died from his injuries shortly after his arrest. The life of the third bomber, Kang Min Chul, was spared because he cooperated with the prosecution. He died from liver cancer at Insein on May 18, 2008.

In the mid-1970s, two dissidents were hanged at Insein. One of them was Salai Tin Maung Oo, an ethnic Chin pro-democracy activist, who was executed on June 26, 1976. He had gone underground after taking part in protests that erupted after the body of former United Nations Secretary-General U Thant had been returned to Burma from New York in December 1974. U Thant, a vocal critic of the then military dictator, General Ne Win, had died the previous month.

Following the crackdown on the protesters, Salai Tin Maung Oo was one of many activists who fled to the Thai border. There, he joined an underground resistance group. He returned secretly to Yangon in late March 1976 to take part in anti-government demonstrations to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Thakin Kodaw Hmaing, the father of the independence movement that emerged in the 1930s and included personalities like Daw Aung San Suu Kyis father Aung San. Salai Tin Maung Oo was arrested on March 22, a day before the planned demonstrations, allegedly with a pistol in his possession. He was sentenced to death and hanged three months later. His last words before his executions are reported to have been: I will never kneel down to your military boots.

A year later, another execution was carried out at Insein, this time of a different kind of dissident. The suppression of the student-led movement for democracy combined with the failure of General Ne Wins so-called Burmese Way to Socialism, which had ruined the economy, caused a rift within the juntas leadership. A bright young captain called Ohn Kyaw Myint began plotting against Ne Wins dictatorship. Ohn Kyaw Myint was a Yangon University graduate and had then completed Officer Training School, Batch 29, with the best cadet award. He went onto become the personal assistant to the then army chief, General Kyaw Htin. Ohn Kyaw Myint, though, saw what direction the nation was heading in politically as well as economically, and he and his comrades came to the realization that there was no other solution to Myanmars problems than to overthrow the Ne Win regime.

But when it became clear that Ne Wins secret police, euphemistically called the Military Intelligence Service (MIS), had become aware of the plot, Ohn Kyaw Myint went to the residence of the US ambassador in Yangon on July 2, 1976, told him about the abortive coup attempt and asked for political asylum. The young officer was turned away and arrested shortly afterwards.

Government media made no mention of the attempted coup until July 20, when the Burma Broadcasting Service issued a bulletin stating that eleven captains and three majors had been arrested for plotting to assassinate Ne Win, his close companion General San Yu and other state leaders. Also arrested were two colonels who were charged with dereliction of duty. Several of those arrested were graduates of the Defense Services Academy (DSA) in Maymyo, now Pyin Oo Lwin, which shows the possible extent of the plot. Win Htein, an officer who had graduated top of his class in 1963 from the fifth intake of the DSA, was among those dismissed.

Their trial began in September and, to the surprise of many, former army chief General Tin Oo appeared in the prisoners dock. He was charged with having prior knowledge of the coup attempt but failing to inform the military authorities. On 11 January 1977, he was sentenced to seven years of hard labor and imprisonment according to the Crime Against the State and High Treasons Act. The actual reason for his arrest and punishment is believed to have been that those who demonstrated in March 1976 had shouted Long live General Tin Oo!

Tin Oo was released during a general amnesty in 1980 and, after the 1988 pro-democracy uprising, became a leader of the NLD. Win Htein also joined the pro-democracy movement, spending 20 years in jail altogether under former dictator Senior General Than Shwe for his political activities. He was released from prison for the third time in 2010 and was elected as an NLD MP in the April 2012 by-elections. Win Htein was arrested again after last years coup and, on October 29, sentenced to 20 years in prison for criticizing the military takeover.

Two days before the arrest of Ohn Kyaw Myint was announced, a prominent army veteran had left Yangon, possibly to evade being apprehended: ex-Brigadier-General Kyaw Zaw, one of the legendary Thirty Comrades and the hero of the anti-Kuomintang campaigns in the mid-1950s. He had been dismissed in April 1957, allegedly for having contacts with the outlawed Communist Party of Burma (CPB). The actual reason could have been that Ne Win, who was then plotting to take over power, which he eventually did in a 1962 coup, saw Kyaw Zaw as a rival who had to be dealt with. Kyaw Zaw was definitely more popular than the playboy general Ne Win. On July 18, 1976, Kyaw Zaw traveled with his family across the border with China near Namkham in northern Shan State.

About a month later, Kyaw Zaws voice was heard on the CPBs clandestine radio station, denouncing the Ne Win regime. This time, he had joined the CPB. The timing of Kyaw Zaws disappearance was hardly a coincidence, although no evidence was ever produced to link him  or Tin Oo  to the plot, but some of the arrested officers are reported to have mentioned those two as their preferences for state leaders instead of the universally despised Ne Win. Kyaw Zaw fled to China after the 1989 mutiny among the hill tribe rank-and-file of the CPB and died in Kunming on October 10, 2012 at the age of 92.

Ohn Kyaw Myint was found guilty of high treason and hanged on July 27, 1977. His coup attempt, and the number of officers who took part in it or may have been sympathetic to the plot, must have shaken Ne Win, who expected everyone in the armed forces to be loyal to him. More than 200 officers were taken in for questioning in the aftermath of the coup attempt, while over 50,000 members of the then ruling Burma Socialist Program Party were dismissed. Army officers in the field were shifted around and many of the professionals were transferred or forced to retire. Other less competent, but loyal, officers were promoted, among them General Saw Maung, junta leader from 1988 to 1992, and his successor, Than Shwe.

After the 1976-77 purges, Myanmars armed forces were also streamlined to the extent that if became impossible to distinguish interest groups among them, let alone factions or possible rivals to the top leaders. Challenging authority became out of the question. Ne Win also strengthened the MIS, whose duty was to track down and identity possible dissidents among the population at large but, more importantly, within the armed forces. And that is where we are today: a military that is not a professional force but works and functions in a way that can best be described as feudal and deeply rooted in traditional authoritarian values where the king was God. The supreme ruler demands and rewards loyalty and disowns and punishes those who dare to be different.

But can there, despite everything, be another Ohn Kyaw Myint? Only time will tell, but the most recent executions must have alarmed at least some army officers. After all, they knew even before the hangings that they were hated by the general public. Now they are despised even more.

You may also like these stories:

Myanmar Juntas Executions Unforgivable

Myanmar Regimes Execution of Democracy Activists Condemned at Home and Abroad

Executed Myanmar Democracy Activists Mother Recalls Last Meeting
COMPANY NEWS: Dubber Corporation Limited (Dubber) announced that it has signed a Foundation Partner agreement with Nuwave Communications, Inc. (NUWAVE). NUWAVE, based in Las Vegas, Nevada, is one of the fastest growing providers of Microsoft voice services in North America and a key player in the Microsoft Operator Connect calling program.

Dubber Unified Conversational Recording (UCR) and voice data services are now integrated into iPILOT and available to all NUWAVE clients from August 1.

Microsoft Teams has more than 270 million monthly active users, making it the worlds fastest growing and most popular business communication suite. NUWAVE is a global communications and cloud platform as a service provider with a focus on simplification, automation, and innovation. They continue to provide many industry-first solutions which facilitate customer cloud communication adoption.

Steve McGovern, Dubber CEO: NUWAVE is an outstanding partner that has cracked the code with Microsoft Teams Voice services. They attack and remove complexity at every level, making it simple and easy for service providers and enterprises through iPILOT to quickly get the most out of their Microsoft Teams environments. They are an ideal partner for Dubber as we both work to enhance customer value and revenue for service providers in their Teams deployments.

We are seeing continued momentum for our Foundation Partner model in which Dubbers unified conversational recording platform is embedded as standard, providing immediate and accretive revenue to both ourselves and our partners.

Mark Bunnell, NUWAVE COO: We are excited to be partnering with Dubber. Dubbers unique scalability fits perfectly with our view of what cloud voice users, enterprises and service providers are demanding. By integrating Dubber into iPILOT, were able to build on our iPILOT platform and provide service providers with extremely valuable, margin enhancing services that in return will help their customers extract even more value from their voice and video calls.

As a Foundation Partner, NUWAVE will provide partners and customers with the option to instantly provision access via iPILOT to Dubber's industry-leading conversational recording capabilities as an entry-level solution at no cost to NUWAVE customers and partners.

NUWAVE and its partners can then choose to work with Dubber to introduce customers to richer and more comprehensive conversational recording and AI solutions to address a broad range of business needs by unlocking valuable information and insights from conversations across their voice and video calls.

Dubber supports differentiation and revenue opportunities for service providers that continue to scale their voice services to enterprise, SME and government customers on Microsoft Teams. Dubber's Unified Recording and Conversational Data and AI services enable compliance, training, customer service, dispute resolution and remote workforce enablement without the requirement for hardware or capital expenditure.

As a unique platform provider and carrier in Microsofts Operator Connect Accelerator Program, NUWAVE has developed a powerful provisioning and lifecycle management cloud based platform for Microsoft voice users called iPILOT. The iPILOT platform allows carriers, cloud service providers and enterprise organizations to quickly and easily deploy Microsoft Teams Voice services including rapid migration, provisioning, capacity management, support, integration and analytics. It automates for both Direct Routing and Operator Connect capabilities while also providing support for carrier hosted SBCs (session border controllers), on-premises SIP trunks, and bring your own Network for carriers and operators.

About NUWAVE:

NUWAVE is a global communications and cloud platform as a service provider with a focus on simplification and innovation which continues to provide many industry-first solutions which facilitate customer cloud communication adoption. NUWAVEs iPILOT platform enables automation, provisioning, and analytics for cloud communications, and helps to improve upon the UC voice management experience. NUWAVEs iPILOT and SYNTHESIS platforms together can provide Carriers, CSPs or SIs with a turnkey, globally scalable solution to offer an industry-leading Cloud Phone BYOC program for their partners and customers. To learn more about iPILOT, SYNTHESIS and NUWAVE, please visit www.NUWAVE.com or www.iPilot.io.

About Dubber:

Dubber enables service providers to unlock the potential of the network - turning every conversation into an exponential source of value for differentiated innovation, retention, and revenue. Listed on the ASX, Dubber is the clear market leader in conversational intelligence and unified conversational recording - embedded at the heart of over 170 service provider networks and services and used daily by over 500,000 subscribers worldwide.
Pure Storage, the IT pioneer that delivers the worlds most advanced data storage technology and services, has modernised St Georges Hospital data storage environment to ensure round-the-clock, high-speed access to critical patient information.

Established in the early 1920s and opened in 1928, Christchurch-based St Georges Hospital is one of the largest private hospitals in New Zealand and has charity status. The hospital invests heavily in technology and innovation to position itself at the forefront of medical service delivery.

Faced with a significant challenge around patient and other mission-critical data management during COVID19, and the overall expansion in the amount and complexity of mission-critical data, the hospitals IT team embarked on a digital transformation program in 2020. A strategic review of its data and storage environment confirmed that the organisation had an opportunity to migrate from traditional paper-based records to a digital platform. Additionally, St Georges was facing end-of-life for some of its key hardware, during a period of ongoing digital growth and amid increased concerns around cyber security.

The review revealed that St Georges legacy storage environment struggled to meet growing capacity needs. Its end-of-life storage environment caused speed and performance issues, and future digital transformation plans required greater storage scalability.

St Georges Hospital had invested significantly in digital systems over the past decade and needed its storage environment to help deliver state-of-the-art services. Many departments, such as the surgical departments moving of patients paper clinical records to new digital medical records; and the Cancer Care Centres use of high-resolution images in treatment plans, have resulted in a much larger data footprint.

Fenton Kitchen, Chief Digital Officer, St Georges Hospital, said: We reassessed the hospitals storage requirements and considered our future needs. We concluded we needed to migrate to a faster and more efficient storage cluster, and we selected Pure Storages FlashArray//X to accelerate our core applications. Moving to Pure Storage FlashArray//X has provided us with greater capacity and performance with lower risk. We worry less about security risk and cyber threats knowing we have a secure platform that is optimised and up to date.

Fenton said the Pure Storage solution has helped the hospital deliver superior patient care through fast and reliable system access, maintains high resiliency to keep systems running during any possible natural disasters, and provides the storage scalability needed to support other digital transformation initiatives.

Since deployment, the Pure Storage environment has enabled St Georges to expand its storage as needed to keep up with rapidly growing demand, accelerate the speed of file access and SQL instances and provide its IT staff with peace of mind with proactive monitoring to prevent issues. The migration to Pure Storage also provided reassurance for business continuity in the face of COVID-19.

We wanted to get the new Pure Storage system implemented quickly as our storage needed to be ready to take on extra workload during the height of the pandemic, he said. The St Georges IT team were able to deploy quickly with remote support from the Pure Storage team. Once the hardware was delivered onsite at St Georges, the Pure arrays were up in under six hours, he added.

The deployment of Pure Storage FlashArray//X, supported by real-time monitoring and updates from the Pure1 cloud-based management platform, resulted in a potential data reduction ratio of 3:1.

The hospital also selected the Pure Storage Evergreen storage model to enable IT staff to rapidly expand storage as needed. Since moving onto Pure, the team has not only increased storage capacity but also gained significant speed and smoother integration with the VMware environment. This has resulted in faster file access to SQL instances helping to improve the stability of SQL connections for applications. Backups and snapshots are significantly faster as well.

The St Georges team implemented ActiveCluster and advanced data protection measures that help maintain availability and deliver high resiliency should an unforeseen event occur. In addition, IT staff now receive pre-emptive alerts with Pure1.

Healthcare organisations like St Georges faced more challenges than most other sectors during the pandemic. They not only had to meet the influx of patients but also had to ensure they were operating at a functional level. Undertaking a digital transformation project during the pandemic was extremely brave of the St Georges IT team and Pure Storage was proud to be able to help them pull it off smoothly with our uncomplicated but powerful modern data solutions, said Stuart Blythe, Managing Director, New Zealand, Pure Storage.

About Pure Storage

Pure Storage (NYSE: PSTG) uncomplicates data storage, forever. Pure delivers a cloud experience that empowers every organization to get the most from their data while reducing the complexity and expense of managing the infrastructure behind it. Pures commitment to providing true storage as-a-service gives customers the agility to meet changing data needs at speed and scale, whether they are deploying traditional workloads, modern applications, containers, or more. And with a certified customer satisfaction score in the top one percent of B2B companies, Pure's ever-expanding list of customers are among the happiest in the world. For more information, visit www.purestorage.com.

Pure Storage, the Pure Storage P Logo, Evergreen, FlashArray//X and Pure1 are trademarks or registered trademarks of Pure Storage Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. The Pure Storage Inc. Trademark List can be found at www.purestorage.com/legal/productenduserinfo.html. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Analyst Recognition:

Leader in the 2021 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Primary Storage Arrays

Leader in the 2021 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Distributed File Systems & Object Storage
A new report by RMIT University funded by the Victorian State Government recommends the establishment of digital academies and programs to address tech skills gap brought by the pandemic in context of developing Melbourne as a digital central business district.

We are more vulnerable than ever to cyber security attacks as the new environments we study and work in demand unprecedented agility and precaution from us, RMIT University centre for cyber security research and innovation director professor Matt Warren said.

For Melbourne to become a digital central business district (CBD), we need to enhance our collective understanding of the digital skills shortages among professionals  an important first step on the path toward global excellence, for the state of Victoria, Warren added.

Ensuring Melbourne transforms into a digital leader for cities around the world is a thrilling aspiration.

In Australia, one in three workers lacks basic digital skills, indicating that a substantial number of workers need reskilling or upskilling, report co-author Dr Ahmad Saleh Sahraki noted.

The RMIT report also surveyed digital professionals including ICT & cyber professionals working in Greater Melbourne to provide further insight into current skills shortages.

Although over 60% of respondents indicated that there has been an increase in the number of cyber security staff compared to three years ago, only a quarter of respondents believe that they currently have enough cyber security professionals working in their organisation, Dr Sahraki stated.

In addition to this, less than 15% of workers in the cyber security industry are women, making it the industry with the biggest gender gap.

The Digital Skills and Cyber Security: How do we secure our future report lists the following recommendations:

Establish a Victorian Digital Skills Academy

Establish an Australian Cyber Security Accreditation Body and an Australian Cyber Security Body of Knowledge

Create a comprehensive ICT and Cyber Security Diversity Action Plan for Victoria;

Increase skilled migration to aid Victorias recovery

Invest in innovative school programs highlighting the skills required in a digital economy

Create a program to increase the awareness of digital technologies and the need to upskill digital skills within the Melbourne CBD.
It's 53 years since the first moon landing in July 1969. However, not only did Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin land on the moon so too did a Poly headset.

It was a headset by Poly, back then named Plantronics and Polycom, over which the words thats one small step for a man, but one giant leap for mankind were transmitted.

While the world's powers were on the frantic space race during the 1960s NASA tasked Polys engineers with designing a headset that was lightweight and comfortable - characteristics we all enjoy, but especially so for astronauts who would wear the headsets for days at a time, and where every ounce of excess weight has an effect on fuel. As well, the Poly headset had to be compatible and safe in the different environment of the moon.

Poly spent years performing acoustic research and development and then re-engineered its MS50 headset for NASA in 11 days, working closely with astronauts on the design and creating the familiar communications headsets in the Snoopy caps.

The MS50 was Poly's first aerospace product; it was launched in 1962 and used by pilots and others for critical cockpit communications. However, special ergonomic and noise-cancelling features had to be taken into account when developing for space. The MS50s microphones were innovative at the time and eliminated any residual risk of electrical sparking in space and ensured clear voice transmission - both within the spacecraft and with the control centre on Earth. It was this design, and its lightweight form factor, that made it the perfect headset for space exploration.

As a bonus, Poly has provided several facts about the moon landing:

Did you know the astronauts couldn't get life insurance for the moon mission? Perhaps no surprise, but to ensure their families were provided for, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin signed hundreds of postcards as saleable assets in case of the worst.

Armstrong, Aldrin, and the third astronaut Michael Collins all needed to officially re-enter the United States after they landed in Hawaii. That meant they needed to supply their passport, flight number (Apollo 11), itinerary (moon, Honolulu), and specify their luggage (22kg of moon dust and rocks).

The astronauts needed to spend 21 days in quarantine after landing in case they picked up moon germs.

President Nixon had a pre-prepared speech in case the moon landing failed - Fate has ordained that the men who went to the moon to explore in peace will stay on the moon to rest in peace.

Every smartphone today has far more computing power than the onboard Apollo 11 computer.

1969 was 53 years ago and Poly's headsets are still used by emergency call centres, military, and commercial aircraft, aiding in critical situations. It was a Poly headset that Chesley Sully Sullenberger used in 2009 when he announced he would be striving to bring US Airways flight 1549 to an emergency ditching on the Hudson River.

Whether it's aviation, emergency services, space exploration, or even your home or office, Poly can do it all and stays true to its 1961 vision - to create amazing new ways to work.
Digital video technology company i-Pro, a subsidiary of Panasonic, held an official launch event in Brisbane to kick off its opening as an entity in April and reveal its latest camera ranges.

The event featured the attendance of its top executives: vice president head of global security Norio Hitsuishi-San and executive officer, vice president Masami Eguchi-San.

The event was also attended by executives from Panasonic New Zealand who remain as i-Pros distribution partner in New Zealand.

A new product line-up was revealed as well as defining the roadmap for success in the region.

These include the i-Pro Mini, a form-factor camera with in-built AI, as well as a wide range of PTZ, Domes, and Fisheye cameras.

It is gratifying to be at this point, with the company officially launching in the region and backed up by a such a significant range of new cameras. We aim to be at the very forefront of the technologies leading security into the next decade, and our ranges of AI-powered cameras are testament to that effort. The new structure of i-Pro also means that things will happen much faster now  we can respond better to market demands and shifts in our customers requirements, said i-Pro director Marius Van Der Merwe at the event.

i-Pro also announced it will expand its local presence with new hires over the coming next weeks.

The organisation is putting more resources on the ground here, allowing us to fully commit to the region. Between our important partner alliances and an increased presence, we are now in a great position to capitalise on the new technologies entering these shores and really lead the way for our customers, continues Van Der Merwe.

A number of partners and industry figures attended the event including distributor BGW.

We were honoured to be a part of the official opening of the APAC office in Brisbane. Our long-standing partnership with Panasonic and now i-Pro continues to be pivotal to our success because of the shared values and high quality of the products. What is already evident in the new i-Pro is the uplift in speed to bring new products and features to market and faster production times, yet still maintaining the highest quality. The future is bright as is evidenced by the significant uptake of the new i-Pro Ai technologies and when we couple this with the extra people and leadership of Marius Van Der Mere, we know the success will continue, said BGW executive general manager Robert Meachem.

The launch was capped off by a traditional Japanese ceremony, the 'breaking of the sake barrel' which signifies prosperity and good health.

I-Pros regional headquarters for the ANZ market will be based in Brisbane, with representatives operating right across both Australia and New Zealand.
Today

Partly cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low around 85F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph.

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low around 85F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph.

Tomorrow

Sunny, along with a few afternoon clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 107F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph.


INSPIRED by her late father who was an Agritex officer, a female farmer, Ms Talita Matutu left her job as a maid in South Africa to venture into a successful horticulture project at her plot in Rangemore in Umguza District.

Ms Matutu represents a crop of female farmers who are defining the success story of farming, thereby contributing significantly to food security for the nation as they continue to rise fast to levels unparalleled by their male counterparts.

In the last two months, Ms Matutu (58) has been busy harvesting tomatoes of the conventional Rodade variety and has so far realised US$1 500 from sales.

Rodade is an adaptable open pollinated, determinate salad tomato. The plants grow to a bush with a height in the region of 100cm.

The tomatoes have a globe shape, uniform in size and weight around 100  150g. The yield potential of Rodade is high for an open pollinated variety.

This month, Ms Matutu has started harvesting Tengeru tomatoes, a high-yielding strong plant with very good yields. The tomatoes are firm round to oblate and weigh between 100-125g with a two weeks shelf life.

A single mother of four, Ms Matutu said through farming, she is able to sustain her family and pay fees for her children including their children.

One of her children has since completed her studies at the National University of Science and Technology (Nust) through her mothers farming business.

Ms Matutu has also inspired her children to venture into agriculture-related business. Her youngest daughter, a water resources engineering student at the Bulawayo Polytechnic, is following in her footsteps.

Ms Matutu worked in South Africa as a house maid from 2003 until 2009 when she decided to return home to venture into farming.

Since venturing into full-time farming a few years ago, Ms Matutu has never looked back as her horticulture project is paying dividends.

She specialises in growing tomatoes, garlic, cabbages, vegetables and butternuts at her 5-hectare piece of land. She has presently planted garlic and 5 000 cabbages and she expects to harvest both crops in September.

Ms Matutu said she harvests after every three months and supplies local supermarkets, fruit and vegetable markets in Bulawayo and individuals. I inherited this piece of land from my late parents and since I started venturing into full-time farming a few years ago, I have not looked back. I grow tomatoes, garlic, cabbages, vegetables and butternuts, which I then take to the local market, said Ms Matutu.

I grew up in a family that literally ate, drank and deamt farming and that is precisely how I developed the interest in farming. I am actually following in my fathers footsteps and he is the one who inspired me.. By virtue of having been an Agritex officer, my father loved farming so much.

Ms Matutu said she decided to take farming seriously following the death of her parents in 2008 and 2011 respectively

When I started, I only utilised a small portion in such a vast piece of land growing several varieties of crops. In 2019, It dawned on me that farming is big business and that is when I decided to take farming seriously by expanding the hectarage, she said.

Through various training programmes and the encouragement from our local Agritex officer, I have moved to this level of farming, which I am today proud of.

Ms Matutu relies on an electricity powered engine to pump water from the borehole to the fields. However, due to the vandalism of a Zesa power transformer by thieves, she has in the last two months been relying on a generator to pump water.

When it comes to farming, as long as you have focus and passion you wont go wrong. I have a grandson who is doing Form Four at a boarding school and I have been paying his fees through farming, she said. Ms Matutu said some of the crops were affected by frost.

Ms Matutu said once she secures funds, she intends to drill more boreholes and introduce drip irrigation, which will help conserve water and electricity as well as improve the quality of her produce.

She also intends to buy solar powered pumps to minimise disruption on her farming activities given that they rely on electricity to power the pump.

Ms Matutu is also a member of the Umguza Horticulture Consortium (UHC), which she chairs.

She said through farming, she hopes to contribute significantly to the countrys economic growth.

Zimbabwe is an agrarian economy with most of the countrys sectors being directly and indirectly linked to the agricultural sub-sector.

Government is targeting transformation of rural and urban economies through enhancement of food, nutrition, markets, and jobs using value chains, including the horticulture sector, as a means of achieving a prosperous, inclusive, diverse, sustainable and competitive agriculture sector.


THE GOVERNMENT is on track to surpass its target to deliver 220 000 housing units by 2025 leveraging on partnerships with the private sector and new technology in the human settlement.

This was said by Vice President Dr Costantino Chiwenga and buttressed by National Housing and Social Amenities Minister Daniel Garwe during groundbreaking ceremony of walk-up housing flats being spearheaded by Government in partnership with Shelter Afrique in Victoria Falls.

Zimbabwe is a shareholder of the pan-African banking institution that exclusively supports the development of affordable housing and real estate sector growth in Africa, who have pledged US$25 million sovereign fund to finance at least 3 000 housing units.

President Mnangagwa launched the Zimbabwe National Human Settlement Policy in September last year and the Ministry of National Housing is operationalising the policy in partnership with the private sector in line with Vision 2030 and National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1).

Delivering affordable and quality settlements in urban and rural areas is one of Government core targets to improve access to affordable and quality housing and soial amenities under the economic blueprint.

Zimbabwe has a national housing backlog of around 1,5 million units and targets to deliver 1,2 units by 2030 and part of the vision is to change the face Zimbabwe by building modern houses that are sustainable and environment friendly.

The Victoria Falls walk-up flats will be a model that will be replicated countrywide.

The first phase will have three blocks with three storeys each and each will accommodate six families.

VP Chiwenga said the Second Republic is committed to making sure all Government projects are implemented especially construction and infrastructure, to improve livelihoods of citizens.

It is my singular honour to address you at this occasion to mark the groundbreaking ceremony for the Victoria Falls walk up flats. This marks yet another milestone in our quest for housing delivery.

I am reliably informed that the first phase of this flat site that we are launching today has a potential to accommodate 24 families in total.

Subsequent phases will be implemented in this city and other local authorities in Zimbabwe as we seek to meet the national target of 220 000 housing units by 2025, if not more. I think Honourable Minister (National Housing) we shall surpass your target. The foundation stone has been laid, let the construction start in earnest, said VP Chiwenga.

He said Zimbabwe is pursuing a densification strategy as pronounced in the Zimbabwe National Human Settlement Policy to preserve land which is a finite resource.

On a lighter note, VP Chiwenga said Government will invest more in high rise buildings since there is no boundary going up, and maybe to surpass the envisaged Tower of Babel which we have ready in the Bible.

He said accommodation is important to the people, adding that what is critical to a human being is water, food and shelter and Government will surely provide these.

We are responsible for the livelihood of our people and we must make sure those three basic needs are provided and they shall be provided. This construction project will go a long way in reducing the ever ballooning housing backlog in Victoria Falls and ultimately in the entire country, said VP Chiwenga.

He said the project is a clear demonstration of a successful public-private partnership, as unveiling housing finance is critical in the social amenities delivery value chain.

Zimbabwe is one of the four countries, the others being Cameroon, Nigeria and Togo that Shelter Afrique pledged funding to.

Local financial institutions have also shown interest in partnering Government in housing projects.

The country lacks financial resources to respond to the demand of rapid urbanization and housing, in an environment where cost of borrowing is exorbitant.

The VP said partners like Shelter Afrique become handy as an avenue for affordable finance which allows Governments space to provide appropriate safety nets to vulnerable groups

These PPPs give impetus to the construction of modern block of flats which dovetails with our desire to achieve densification which enables us to accommodate more people per square metre. I therefore call upon the Ministry of National Housing and Social Amenities, City of Victoria Falls and all stakeholders to join forces for the successful implementation of this project.

Together we can spearhead the provision of sustainable human settlements with requisite basic amenities in line with the aspirations of the African Union Agenda 2063. The foundation stone has been laid, let the construction start in earnest. There is no going back, when we come here we want to see the foundations up. If we say seven months it must be seven months.

Those who are responsible for roles, must do their roles so that that everything goes as is planned, said the VP while calling for an all-stakeholder approach in projects delivery to leave a better country for the generations to come.

National Housing Minister Garwe said sustainable human settlements development require huge capital and this cannot be provided by the Government alone. Herald
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
On July 22, by fifteen votes to one, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) declared itself competent to rule on the allegations of genocide against the Burmese minority of Rohingyas. The judges rejected arguments presented by Myanmar representatives challenging the admissibility of the case filed by Gambia in November 2019. The small West African country accuses Myanmar of violating the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide in its attacks on the Rohingya minority, particularly during military operations in 2016 and 2017 that led to a mass exodus of this Muslim-majority population to neighboring Bangladesh. The ICJ thus gives itself the right to judge the case on its merits.

Myanmar disputed that Gambia was the real plaintiff in the case, claiming that it was actually acting by proxy on behalf of an international organization, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). Rangoon also argued that there was no dispute between their two countries and that the Gambia was not directly affected by the alleged facts - two other elements that, according to the Burmese authorities, made the Gambia's legal action on the case inadmissible.

For the ICJ, "the question of what may have motivated a State such as The Gambia to commence proceedings is not relevant for establishing the jurisdiction of the Court" and "no evidence has been presented to it showing that the conduct of The Gambia amounts to an abuse of process. The Court reaffirms that "all the States parties to the Genocide Convention thus have a common interest to ensure the prevention, suppression and punishment of genocide, by committing themselves to fulfilling the obligations contained in the Convention."

The Chinese dissent

A dissenting voice came from Chinese judge Hanqin Xue. For her, the elements of the file show that "The Gambia was tasked and appointed by the OIC to institute the proceedings against Myanmar in the Court" and that, on the other hand, "The Gambia does not claim any link with the alleged acts in Myanmar. Therefore, "The Gambia's legal action, either for the common interest of the OIC Member States, or for the common interest of the States parties to the Genocide Convention, is arguably tantamount to a public-interest litigation," wrote the Chinese judge. "Allegations of genocide or other genocidal acts require serious investigation and proof. When the applicant has no link whatsoever with the alleged acts, it is apparently difficult, if not impossible, for it to collect evidence and conduct investigation on its own. Relying entirely on the evidence and material sources collected by third parties, for example United Nations organs, human rights bodies or the State concerned, only reinforces the argument that the case is a public-interest action, actio popularis. Such action, even in the form of a bilateral dispute, may in fact allow international organizations to have access to the Court in the future." In sum, for the Chinese judge, "the applicant must have a territorial, national or some other form of connection with the alleged acts" whereas the majority of the Court held that no special interest of a State was necessary to invoke the responsibility of another State under the Genocide Convention.

It is far from unusual that the position of ICJ judges more or less discreetly reflects the political position of their country of origin (China is one of the few countries to maintain relations with the Burmese junta). This was, for example, recently seen in the complaint filed by Ukraine after the Russian invasion.

In her dissenting opinion, Judge Xue considers that "when the applicant is in fact acting on behalf of an international organization, albeit in its own name, the respondent may be placed in a disadvantageous position before the Court. This is particularly true if several judges on the bench are nationals of member States of the international organization concerned." At least four ICJ judges are from OIC member states.

Political changes in Myanmar

The court's decision comes as no surprise. In January 2020, the judges had ordered the Burmese authorities to take emergency interim measures to prevent violence against the Rohingya. At that time, it had already given indications of its position on jurisdiction. The pace of the proceedings confirms, above all, that it will be years before the court issues its judgment on the merits.

Meanwhile, the jolts of history continue to shake Myanmar. Ironically, it was the judge ad hoc appointed by Myanmar, the German Claus Kress, who courteously challenged the court on this issue in a statement attached to the court's ruling.

For things have changed a lot since the former human rights icon and Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi came to represent and defend her country before the ICJ in December 2019. Since then, the Burmese army has taken over all power following a coup d'etat, in February 2021. Aung San Suu Kyi was arrested and sentenced to 11 years in prison. And it is two members of this junta not recognized by the UN who are now representing Myanmar before the ICJ. "Despite these deeply troubling facts, the court conveniently proceeded to treat whoever the military regime sent to The Hague as Myanmar Agents (or legal representatives of Myanmar) as if they were genuine representatives of the State - and, needless to say, the people of Myanmar," wrote Maung Zarni, Burmese human rights activist and member of the NGO Genocide Watch.

Judge Kress was keen to point out that the UN has expressed official concern about the new political repression in Myanmar, which was not mentioned in the Court's judgment. He pointed out that the "government of national unity" in exile, which officially represents the country at the UN, had appointed its own agents to defend the case before the ICJ. According to Judge Kress, "under such circumstances, for the Court to proceed in the way that it did is less than satisfactory.

First executions since 1988

According to the NGO Human Rights Watch, "since the February 2021 coup, the military junta has placed even greater movement restrictions and harsher punishments on Rohingya for attempting to leave Rakhine State. In a press release, the American NGO hopes that "by holding the military to account for its atrocities against the Rohingya, the World Court could provide the impetus for greater international action toward justice for all victims of the Myanmar security forces' crimes."

Myanmar's military junta has apparently not been very responsive to the pressure. On July 25, it announced that it had carried out the first executions of political opponents since 1988. According to the UN, 114 Burmese have been sentenced to death since the February 2021 military coup.
Slumped against his metal bed frame in a detention centre in Ukraine's capital Kyiv, Sergeant Nikolai Matveev relives the ambush that made him one of the conflict's first prisoners of war.

The Russian soldier rests awkwardly on what remains of his left leg as he recounts how he was wounded -- the shock of shell fire, the searing pain, the hours crawling through frozen woodland desperate for help.

The 36-year-old spoke after the Ukrainian authorities granted AFP's request for unconditional access to Russian prisoners. However it was impossible to verify if he was speaking freely or under duress.

Matveev was maimed by a shell as his unit came under attack in northern Ukraine on February 24, in the opening hours of an invasion that has sparked nearly six months of bloodshed and accusations of abuses of POWs on both sides.

His leg was shattered "in the first 10 to 15 seconds of the fight. All the other soldiers in the vehicle piled out as soon as the fighting calmed down. They tied my leg with a tourniquet," Matveev told AFP.

"After a while, I crawled out. Down by the wheels of the car, I prepared to fight, while the rest of the column moved onward."

In immense pain, Matveev lost consciousness on the edge of a forest, waking hours later to find himself alone, the vehicle gone and his unit carrying on the fight in the distance.

"When it got dark, artillery began to fire at the forest." The next day he "crawled through the forest, through fields. Then I reached a power plant," he said.

"At first I thought that some column -- our unit -- would pass by, but there was no one. I knocked on the door, the guards dragged me inside, gave me water to drink, and called their superiors."

- 'Everyone wants to go home' -

Taken for questioning by the police and then to hospital, the lower part of his leg was amputated before he was transferred to custody in Kyiv.

Matveev bears the unwelcome distinction of being one of the very first Russians captured in the invasion, with his release seeming a more distant prospect with every passing day.

He has been eligible for repatriation to his home in Siberia for months as part of prisoner swaps arranged between the warring neighbours. But he has yet to get his turn.

"The joy will be incredible -- on our faces and in our souls -- when we are exchanged," he told AFP.

"Everyone wants to go home," the soldier added, looking restless but resigned, the left leg of his trousers rolled up to reveal a stump just below the knee.

Matveev has been in the prison since March 10, sharing a large cell designed for 16 inmates with just four comrades.

Steel-framed bunks with wafer-thin mattresses line a wall opposite a bench and table with an old-fashioned television showing Ukrainian TV.

Apart from some blue tiles, almost everything has the pale washed-out hue of dishwater.

"Given that we didn't exactly come here for a (tourist) visit, it's what you'd expect. They feed us, water us, do not offend us," said Matveev.

- 'I still hope' -

Earlier this month Michelle Bachelet, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, noted "appalling reports of torture and ill-treatment" of POWs by both sides. Both have also used prisoners for propaganda purposes.

Ukraine has not revealed the number of Russian troops it is holding, but authorities say they have processed "thousands" since the invasion began.

Kyiv and Moscow have exchanged prisoners several times, each side handing over 144 captives in the latest and largest swap last month.

Russia is investigating the torture of Russian soldiers released as part of that deal, saying some told investigators about "the violence they had suffered".

Soldiers complained of being treated without anaesthesia, and of being beaten and tortured with electricity, according to Russia's Investigative Committee, which has slammed Kyiv's "humiliation" of prisoners as "inhumane".

Kyiv has also repeatedly accused Moscow of war crimes and violations of the Geneva Conventions.

Many of the Ukrainian facilities like the Kyiv jail holding Matveev were not designed for POWs.

Deputy justice minister Olena Vysotska told AFP the Ukrainian authorities go to great lengths to keep Russian captives separate from the rest of the prison population, for their own safety.

Ukraine said it has converted a penal colony in a secret location far from the frontlines into a POW camp offering more outdoor recreation time than the hour-long walk permitted in the Kyiv prison.

Vysotska said Russia has been asking for the return of its officers and special forces first, which is bad news for Matveev and his low-ranking cellmates.

"The exchanges are taking place. But for some reason I haven't been included," Matveev said, the disappointment clear in his voice.

"From this cell alone, 17 people have already been exchanged," he added.

"I still hope that one day I will get to be part of a swap."
President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday said the archives on French colonial rule in Cameroon would be opened "in full" and asked historians to shed light on the period's "painful moments".

Macron, speaking in the Cameroonian capital Yaounde, said he wanted historians from both countries to work together on investigating the past and establish "responsibilities".

French colonial authorities brutally repressed armed Cameroonian nationalists before the country's independence in 1960.

Tens of thousands of supporters of the Union of the Peoples of Cameroon (UPC) party, including independence leader Ruben Um Nyobe, were killed by the French army.

The Cameroonian army under the country's first post-independence leader Ahmadou Ahidjo also slayed UPC fighters.

Former president Francois Hollande in 2015 conceded that France's colonial past in Cameroon brought "tragic" moments and said he was open to opening the archives.

A group of Cameroonian political parties on Monday called on Macron to recognise the "crimes" France committed during the colonial era.

A French diplomat said providing access to military and diplomatic archives would allow historians to complete their work on Cameroon, after which political action could be taken.

Macron's comments came on the first leg of a trip to three African countries where he hopes to reset France's relations with the continent, where many nations are former French colonies.

- Turning the page -

The 44-year-old has made concerted efforts to turn the page on painful episodes in France's past.

The first French president born after Algeria's bitter and protracted independence war ended, Macron called the colonisation of the country "a crime against humanity" and said it was time France "looked our past in the face".

He also commissioned a report by Algerian-born French historian Benjamin Stora on the colonial era in the North African country, although he ruled out making an official apology.

In 2021, France returned more than a dozen artefacts looted from Benin by colonial forces in 1892, soothing a source of friction between Paris and its former possession.

The wish to confront painful episodes from France's history extends beyond its ex-colonies, with Macron earlier this month marking the 80th anniversary of the round-up of Jews in Paris during World War II.

Macron said the French authorities at the time "betrayed" the children deported to Nazi death camps and that anti-Semitism was "even more burning, rampant" in France.

The French leader is due to travel to Benin on Wednesday before ending his trip in Guinea-Bissau.


ZIMBABWES population has increased by 16,2% from the 2012 statistics of 13,1 million, and now stands at 15 178 979, preliminary national census results released by the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZimStat) showed yesterday.

Announcing the results in Harare yesterday, ZimStat director-general Taguma Mahonde said they had received guidance from President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his deputy, Constantino Chiwenga throughout the census process.

The preliminary results show that Harare province has the highest concentration at 16% of the total population in the country, followed by Manicaland and Mashonaland West provinces at 13,4% and 12,5%, respectively.

Females constitute the majority of the population, numbering 7 889 421 or 52%, compared to the male population of 7 289 588 (48%). The results give a sex ratio of 92 males for every 100 females.

The census results also reveal that more people in the country have migrated to rural areas (61,4%) than from the rural areas to the urban areas (38,6%).

However, the number of urban dwellers has risen since 2012.

The population of Zimbabwe as at April 20, 2022 was 15 178 979. The population constituted 3 818 992 households, giving an average of fourpersons per household. Given a land area of 390 757 square kilometres, the resultant population density stood at 39 persons per square kilometre, Mahonde said.

Zimbabwe follows a decennial census cycle of which the 2022 Population and Housing Census marked the fifth since independence (1980), having conducted the last in August 2012. The 2022 Population and Housing Census was the first digitised census to be conducted in Zimbabwe, in line with United Nations Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing Censuses, Revision 3.

I would like to thank His Excellency the President of Zimbabwe Dr ED (Emmerson) Mnangwaga and Vice-President Dr (Constantino) Chiwenga for the guidance that we got time and again as we were moving forward with our census and their interventions.

We had problems in logistics during the COVID-19 pandemic, until the census was given a special status that we could operate during the lockdown. We also got a lot of assistance from the Cabinet ..

Mahonde said Zimbabweans who were out of the country on the census night (midnight between August 17 and 18, 2022) were not counted, while foreigners who were in the country the same night were counted.

He said dissemination of more census results would be staggered in different modules categorised as demographic characteristics, housing characteristics and living conditions, functioning emigration, deaths, education, fertility and labour force.

The 2022 census, which ran from April 21 to 30, was Zimbabwes first digitised census.

Country representatives of different international organisations that were present during the announcement of the results endorsed the accuracy of the preliminary census results.

They urged authorities to look beyond figures and analyse the impact of the results from a humanitarian perspective.

United Nations Population Fund country representative Esther Muia said: The question really is what these population numbers mean for Zimbabwe towards its developmental aspirations.

So really as we discuss these preliminary results today and as we edge towards the eight billion global population mark which is expected in November this year, we must remind ourselves of the value of humanity and it is not divided as we add to its membership.

Every individual deserves to benefit from a more just, prosperous and sustainable world and these numbers will help to really make sure no one is left behind. That, of course, includes the critical analysis of people living with different challenges. Newsday
Netflix Korea unveils the newest poster of Joo Won in his new acting role in the upcoming action thriller sci-fi film "Carter"! The film marks his return after two years since his hit series "Alice."

'Carter' Highlights Joo Won's Gravity-Defying Action Skills in New Poster

Excitement is amplified as Netflix Korea's upcoming action espionage film "Carter" unveiled a new adrenaline-inducing poster!

"Carter" marks Joo Won's return to the limelight after two long years, and it depicts the story of a secret agent who wakes up from a coma without remembering anything.

Joo Won takes on the role of Carter, a spy who fights unknown attackers and unexpected situations in order to regain his life and memories back.

While he tries to survive, he is given a mission by an unknown agent to take a girl with the only antibody of the DMZ virus to North Korea.

The fatal virus has devastated both the United States and North Korea, killing someone less than 13 days after an infection.

On Monday, July 25, Netflix Korea unveiled a new film poster that heightens anticipation for the work, showing off Joo Won's flawless transformation as a spy.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Joo Won Is Back! Actor Returns With New Action-Packed Film 'Carter'

In the newly released poster, Carter drives a motorcycle as his gun points at the enemies chasing after him.

The text on the poster reads, "One mission. Erased memories," raising questions about the truth and whether he will be able to save the child from the CIA and North Korean troops.

The production unit of the film teases fans by saying, "Viewers won't be able to take their eyes off the film once they start watching it."

Furthermore, "Carter" premieres on Netflix on August 5.

Check out the teaser here in case you missed it:

'Carter' Further Details and What To Expect From the Film

Joo Won has shown his impressive acting skills in his previous works like "Fatal Intuition" and "Alice."

This year, Joo Won is expected to showcase his combat skills and gravity-defying action skills as Carter.

According to the actor, "Carter" is a project that he's definitely looking forward to doing, intensifying excitement.

YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN THIS: 'The Law Cafe' First Look: Lee Seung Gi, Lee Se Young Show Synergy in Script Reading

In particular, his chemistry with co-stars Lee Sung Jae, Jeong So Ri and Kim Bo Min is also one of the actors that viewers shouldn't miss in the upcoming film.

"Carter" is directed by Jung Byung Gil, the man behind "The Gray Man" and "The Villainess" which guarantees a blockbuster hit that anyone will love.

KDramastars owns this article.

Written by Elijah Mully.
Lee Byung Hun gets honest and reveals the experience he was terrified of and how it helped him play his character in his new movie "Emergency Declaration." Curious about what it is? Then keep on reading!

The award-winning actor joins the star-studded cast of the upcoming film for the press conference ahead of its premiere.

"Emergency Declaration" Director Han Jae Rim was present at the event alongside cast members Song Kang Ho, Im Si Wan, Jeon Do Yeon, Kim Nam Gil, and more.

At the media briefing, Lee Byung Hun spoke about a shocking revelation about his fear of flying.

Lee Byung Hun Shares Relatable Moments With his Character in 'Emergency Declaration'

As obtained by a media outlet, the renowned South Korean star says that he suffered from panic disorder and would often experience it when flying.

"I actually experienced panic disorder on an airplane in my mid-20s," he recalled, adding, "I've actually experienced feelings and symptoms of panic disorder several times since then, and I wanted to express those feelings for them to be felt by the audience."

Interestingly, he used this experience and emotion to convey his character's feelings in "Emergency Declaration.

"My character did not develop panic disorder, but rather a person who developed a phobia of flying for some reason. I wanted that to be expressed to some extent," he explained.

Moreover, Lee Byung Hun continued to discuss how he could relate to his role, Jae Hyuk, especially at the height of the crisis, saying that breathing in pain, anxious eyes, and always carrying medicine was "not so unfamiliar" to the actor.

"Emergency Declaration" depicts the incident at an airplane after a group of terrorists attacked the aircraft.

The upcoming action thriller drama film is among Lee Byung Hun's projects this 2022. He is also starring in forthcoming movies such as "The Match," "Concrete Utopia" and will also reprise his role in the highly anticipated "Squid Game 2."

Meet the Cast of Emergency Declaration

In the upcoming film, Lee Byung Hun plays the doting father Jae Hyuk, who has a photo of flying but had to visit his daughter in Hawaii for her treatment.

Joining him as a lead star is Song Kang Ho, who took the role of veteran detective In Ho, tasked to investigate the threats, while Jeon Do Yeon plays Sook Hee, from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transportation.

Meanwhile, Kim Nam Gil took the role of the first officer of the aircraft with Kim So Jin as flight attendant Hee Jin.

Viewers would also get to see Im Si Wan portray the role of the mysterious passenger, while Park Hae Joon will be the government's crisis management center head.

The movie initially made its debut at the 74th Cannes Film Festival in July 2021 but will have its theatrical release on August 3.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 'Emergency Declaration' Unveils New Intriguing Stills

KDramastars owns this article.

Written by Geca Wills
Following his skyrocketing career as he plays the role of Lee Jun Ho in "Extraordinary Attorney Woo," Kang Tae Oh is reported to have received multiple offers for upcoming projects! However, his agency revealed that he's cautious in picking one. Here's what we know so far. Keep on reading!

Kang Tae Oh To Take A Break From Acting

"Extraordinary Attorney Woo" is a court drama with reversal charm as it tackles up-to-date societal issues and pervades discrimination against the disabled.

In the drama, lead actress Park Eun Bin plays the role of an autistic lawyer while Kang Tae Oh transforms into the gentle and handsome litigation team member Lee Jun Ho.

With his fond and patient nature, like Lee Jun Ho, Kang Tae Oh received much praise and acclaim. As a result, his career has skyrocketed, becoming one of the most buzz-worthy leading men in today's generation.

While Kang Tae Oh received multiple offers for upcoming projects, his agency, Man of Creation (MOC), revealed that the actor is cautious in picking his next work.

Because of his impending military service, MOC is very careful in accepting any offer for the "Extraordinary Attorney Woo" star.

The agency reasoned, "Kang Tae Oh's mandatory military service will start soon, so it's difficult to accept offers like films, dramas, variety shows, radio broadcasts, commercial films, and more."

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Kang Tae Oh Shows Love For 'Extraordinary Attorney Woo' Co-Star Park Eun Bin By Doing THIS

The actor and the agency are extremely thankful for the interest and the much-deserved recognition the public has given him.

Meanwhile, Kang Tae Oh, born in 1994, is turning 30 (Korean age) in 2023; thus, he will have to enter the military and fulfill his mandatory military service.

Until this writing, Kang Tae Oh hasn't received the exact date for his military service.

Kang Tae Oh Talks About His Long-Running Career, Plans, More

In a recent interview with Singles Magazine Korea, Kang Tae Oh looked back and talked about his decade-long career.

Kang Tae Oh made his television debut through the coming-of-age series "After School: Lucky or Not."

Since then, his career has flourished. The actor has been given minor roles and climbed up the ladder until he was offered lead roles, which he successfully portrays every time.

YOU MIGHT ALSO BE INTERESTED IN THIS: Here's Why Kang Tae Oh's 'Extraordinary Lawyer Woo' Role 'Difficult'

Kang Tae Oh reflects on his career, saying, "I'm truly grateful for every drama and director who has trusted me with their works. Regardless of how small or big, my role is, I feel the same amount of determination."

When asked what kind of actor he wants to be recognized by the public, he says he's always wanted to become known as "a growing artist."

"It's always a meaningful experience working with different stars and production units," Kang Tae Oh reasons. "Thanks to them, I grow and learn more as an actor, making me flexible and versatile in any situation."

Furthermore, Kang Tae Oh appears in Netflix's "Extraordinary Lawyer Woo" every Wednesday and Thursday at 9:00 p.m. KST.

KDramaStars owns this article.

Written by Elijah Mully.
"Extraordinary Attorney Woo" has captivated viewers with its unconventional yet impressive story and cast performances. Because of its high ratings and buzzworthy episodes, it was reported that Park Eun Bin, Kang Tae Oh, Kang Ki Young, and the drama production unit are flying to Indonesia for a reward. Here's what we know!

'Extraordinary Attorney Woo' Cast & Crew To Fly To Bali This Summer

Since its premiere, the court drama "Extraordinary Attorney Woo" continuously breaks records, topping the charts as the most watched and buzz-worthy series, among others.

"Extraordinary Attorney Woo" stars Park Eun Bin, Kang Tae Oh, and Kang Ki Young. It tells the story of an autistic lawyer who practices law to fight injustices, discrimination, and corruption.

The court drama maintained a perfect all-time high streak regarding viewership ratings. It also achieved the highest rating among other series in ENA history.

In particular, the drama is currently in talks for a US remake due to its immense success. A webtoon adaptation of the drama is also currently on its way.

Recently, reports were made regarding the details of a reward vacation to Bali for the cast and crew of "Extraordinary Attorney Woo."

On Tuesday, July 26, ENA responded to the reports, saying that the broadcast network has prepared a "golden whale" as a reward to the director, writer, staff members, and actors' hard work.

The cast and crew are scheduled to visit Bali in August for their well-deserved vacation. But because some of the stars' schedules don't fit, the vacation trip has been postponed and will be rescheduled.

"It's a reward vacation, so all members of the series must move together, but it's quite difficult," a representative from the broadcast network said.

The production unit aims to fly to Bali next month to receive their reward vacation. The date of their departure and location wasn't confirmed to the public.

Here's Why 'Extraordinary Attorney Woo' Is Loved By Many

Without a doubt, Park Eun Bin's "Extraordinary Attorney Woo" is a different kind of court drama.

While it focuses on the different cases in each episode, the drama sheds light and awareness on autism and other mental health disorders, creating a safe space for the mentally challenged.

The drama also tackles important and relevant themes such as homophobia, familial relationships, and corruption.

In particular, Park Eun Bin's character successfully dismantles discrimination against people with disabilities as she comes in on top despite her disorder.

Viewers are also given a glimpse of how and why an autistic person does things, opening their eyes to how to co-exist with them.

"Extraordinary Attorney Woo" airs every Wednesday and Thursday on Netflix! Don't miss it!

KDramaStars owns this article.

Written by Elijah Mully.
Kang Ki Young is, without a doubt, one of the most popular stars in South Korea for his ability to digest any role he's given. At the moment, the actor plays the role of a senior lawyer in ENA's Extraordinary Attorney Woo" with Park Eun Bin and Kang Tae Oh. Curious about how much the celeb has made with his fame? Then keep on reading!

Kang Ki Young Net Worth 2022: How Rich Is 'Extraordinary Attorney Woo' Star?

Kang Ki Young is a versatile star who could play a variety of genres, including comedy, thriller, and action.

The actor gained public recognition as an actor who played supporting roles in many high-scale series like "Oh My Ghost," "W: Two Worlds," "Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo," "What's Wrong With Secretary Kim?" and most recently, "At Eighteen."

He won several awards at the Korea Best Star Award and MBC Drama Awards for his impeccable performances.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 'Extraordinary Attorney Woo's' Park Eun Bin, Kang Tae Oh Named Most Buzzworthy Stars

In 2022, the actor's net worth amounts to 10 million to 15 million USD, thanks to what he earned through his professional career as an actor.

With his portrayal of a lawyer in his new drama "Extraordinary Attorney Woo," it is believed that the actor's net worth will double in the next year, especially with the current recognition and acclaim that the drama enjoys.

Kang Ki Young's Multi-Billion Dollar House Leaves Fans in Awe

As his drama "Extraordinary Attorney Woo" garners many positive responses, lead actor Kang Ki Young's personal life also begins to receive more attention.

Kang Ki Young married his long-time partner in 2019. The actor lives with his wife, their young son, and pet poodle in a grand modern villa, which the couple shared on Kang Ki Young's wife's personal YouTube channel.

Through the videos, fans noticed their home and were in awe of the spacious and expensive-looking house.

Although the couple didn't reveal the cost of the house, fans speculated that the house costs an arm and leg.

In 2020, Kang KI Young appeared on MBC's "Help Me! Homes" and explained that he became fascinated with interior designing after getting married and preparing to move into their own home.

YOU MIGHT ALSO BE INTERESTED IN THIS: 'Extraordinary Attorney Woo' Cast & Crew To Fly To Bali? Here's What We Know

In particular, the actor's house boasts a modern, stylish interior with a pure white theme. It also has a splendid and wide yard filled with zoysia grass.

Kang Ki Young's house became a hot topic, inspiring many fans to make their homes fancier and elegant.

Don't miss Kang Ki Young every Wednesday and Thursday on "Extraordinary Attorney Woo" on Netflix!

KDramaStars owns this article.

Written by Elijah Mully.
A ZANU PF councillor in Chikomba district is under fire after allegedly threatening to perpetrate violence on opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) party members who benefited from the land reform programme.

Tafadzwa Mukandi, a ward 10 councillor in Chivhu, last week threatened opposition supporters in the resettlement area during a discussion on WhatsApp with residents.

The residents were condemning political violence and called for peace in the country ahead of the 2023 polls.

But Mukandi responded saying that Zanu PF will not tolerate sell-outs.

Some people died for this country yet you want us to tolerate sell-outs, Mukandi wrote on the social media platform.

If we see that you have gone against the ideologies of the party, we will definitely come for you. This party (Zanu PF) is the very party that enhanced the land reform programme to which you are beneficiaries. But when we see that you are working against the gains of the liberation struggle, we will not tolerate that and we will definitely come for you.

When asked to further comment on the issue by NewsDay, Mukandi said he was only emphasising the Zanu PF party ideology against sell-outs to Chivhu residents.

The party slogan has always been there before we were even born. We have to support it. What I am doing is explaining to people for them to understand what it means when we are saying down with sell-outs. There is nothing new here. Those people who are concerned about the declaration that sell-outs must be killed are the ones who really know that they are sell-outs. For someone who is not a sell-out, that they must be killed is just an empty threat, he said.

Chivhu Residents and Ratepayers Alliance chairperson Collen Zvarevashe said some residents were living in fear because they were no longer free to support a political party of their choice.

Unfortunately some residents did not take the councillors sentiments lightly. They are living in fear. Some are afraid that they might lose their land if they are suspected of supporting political parties other than Zanu PF. Others are afraid that they will be targeted as victims of political violence in the upcoming general election. We are currently taking the necessary steps to ensure that the councillor is reprimanded to promote violent-free 2023 elections, Zvarevashe said.

Zanu PF political commissar Michael Bimha distanced the party from Mukandis sentiments.

We recognise that Zimbabwe is a multi-party system. We believe in the politics of tolerance. What we are doing is mobilising more people to join our party Zanu PF. You have seen a growing number of returnees from other opposition parties who are stampeding to join the ruling party. We do not force people to join the party. They come on their own and Zanu PF is always ready to welcome new supporters and of course, we respect individuals rights and choices, Bimha said. Newsday
Early, in-person voting began Tuesday for the partisan primary election that will take place on Aug. 9.

The City of Kenosha has issued the following instructions for city residents 18 and older taking part in early voting, and for other valid forms of voting for the upcoming primary.

EARLY VOTING Early voting began Tuesday for the Aug. 9 primary. In the city, voters can cast their early ballots at the City of Kenosha Municipal Building.

Voting early in personEarly Voting will be held in Room 104 of the Municipal Building, 625 52nd St. on these days:

Tuesday, July 26: 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Wednesday, July 27: 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Thursday, July 28: 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Friday, July 29: 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Monday, August 1: 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Tuesday, August 2: 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Wednesday, August 3: 8 a.m. 7 p.m.

Thursday, August 4: 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Friday, August 5: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Acceptable forms

of photo ID for votingWisconsin driver license or ID

Unexpired Wisconsin driver license or ID receipt

U.S. passport

U.S. Uniformed Service Military ID

Unexpired U.S. Veterans photo ID

For more examples of acceptable photo ID visit bringit.wi.gov or myvote.wi.gov.

Absentee ballotsThose wishing to vote by mail can send or drop off a request with a copy of their photo ID. They must list their name, address, mailing address (if different) and signature. Here are ways to do make that request:

Mail the request to City Clerk, 625 52nd St., Room 104, Kenosha, WI 53140.

Email the request to elections@kenosha.org.

Fax the request to City Clerk: 262-653-4023.

Go online to myvote.wi.gov to request a ballot that will be sent to the requesting voter.

The deadline to request a ballot by mail is 5 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 4, unless the voter is indefinitely confined or in the military. In that case, the deadline is 5 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 5.

Some voters do not need to include a copy of their Photo ID with a request to send a ballot. For residents who have voted by absentee ballot previously, the City Clerks office may have the residents photo ID on file. Residents who have difficulty traveling to the polling place due to age, physical illness, infirmity or disability or live in a nursing home or care facility, do not need to provide a copy of their photo ID to receive an absentee ballot.

Members of the military or others who live permanently overseas, do not need to provide a copy of their photo ID to receive an absentee ballot.

Returning ballots

Voters should not drop off their ballots at a polling place on Election Day. All voted ballots must be in the City Clerks office by 8 p.m. on Aug. 9. Allow enough time for delivery so that the ballot is counted.

Wisconsin law requires that voted ballots be returned by the voter. Voters who choose to return their ballots in person, should bring it inside the Kenosha Municipal Building, to Room 104. Ballots may be returned in person Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. or mail it and allow enough time for it to be received in the City Clerks office by 8 p.m. on Aug. 9. The post office recommends mailing it seven days in advance. Ballots may also be shipped via other delivery methods (FedEx, UPS, etc.).

Drop boxes are NOT available

Due to a recent court ruling, drop boxes will NOT be used for this election. Do not drop your ballot in a drop box. Ballots may only be delivered in person or via mail.

In the hospital?

If you are in the hospital within seven days before the election, you can designate someone as your agent to bring the ballot to you. The agent then needs to bring the voted ballot back to the City Clerks office by 8 p.m. on election day. The deadline to request this is by 5 p.m. on Election Day.
The citys Public Safety & Welfare Committee voted unanimously Monday evening for an advisory referendum to measure public opinion on marijuana use Monday

The committee voted to send a proposed resolution  sponsored by Ald. Anthony Kennedy and co-sponsored by Alds. Jan Michalski, David Mau, Brandi Feree, Curt Wilson and Kelly Mackay  to the full City Council for a vote in the coming weeks.

The advisory referendum would measure public opinion on allowing adults 21 and older to engage in the personal use of marijuana, while also regulating commercial marijuana-related activities and imposing a tax on the sale of the drug. If approved, it would put the question on the ballot in the Nov. 8 general election.

If approved by the City Council in its current form, the question that would appear on ballots is the following: Should marijuana be legalized for adult use, taxed, and regulated like alcohol?

More than half of states across the nation, including every state surrounding Wisconsin, have legalized some form of marijuana.

Kenosha is failing to benefit from marijuana-related small business opportunities and sales tax that neighboring communities in Illinois are increasingly capitalizing on, the proposed resolution reads.

It also states that legalization would undercut the illicit market, and ensure that marijuana use and sale are regulated and safe.

Kenosha County residents voted to legalize medical marijuana in an advisory referendum in 2018 with 56,000 votes, or 88% of the ballots cast.

The state Legislature is currently considering a handful of bills on medical marijuana and full legalization of the drug. Results from such a referendum would be sent to state lawmakers.

What you have in front of you is not to approve the legalization of marijuana, it is not to change any state law, it is to simply ask our citizens in the City of Kenosha what their opinion is and then offer that opinion, Kennedy told the Committee.

Michalski said he believes that legalization in Wisconsin is pretty much inevitable.

The tax revenue that Illinois and Michigan and our surrounding states that allow for legalization of marijuana, theyre making a lot of money off of Wisconsin residents, even Kenosha residents that are just going across the border to purchase marijuana, he said.

According to a Gallup survey conducted in July 2021, 49% of Americans say they have used marijuana, up from 30% in 1985. A Marquette University Law School poll conducted in February 2022, found 61% of Wisconsinites said that marijuana should be fully legalized and regulated like alcohol.
TWO female police officers are in trouble after a tent, which was being used by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, and furniture they were guarding, caught fire.

They had left the property unguarded to find a comfortable place to sleep in Mahusekwa.

Police detective Sergeant Joyce Mapundu (40), detective constable Loveness Musora, (34) abandoned the ZEC tent, where they were providing security, at Farirai Business Centre in Mahusekwa, for the ongoing voters inspection exercise.

Property destroyed is valued at US$2 000.

Mashonaland East spokesperson, Inspector Simon Chazovachii, could not be reached for comment.

However, H-Metro is reliably informed that the case was reported at Mahusekwa Police Station under reference RRB 5218201.

The two are reported to be under investigation and likely to face malicious damage to State property charges, as defined in Section 140 of the Criminal Law Codification and Reform Act Chapter 9:23.

Circumstances were that on July 20, 2022, at 0700hrs the team were deployed to provide security at the tent during the ongoing voters inspection exercise, said the source.

On the same day, at around 1730hrs, the other two officials of the education sector left the tent to go home leaving the two police officers on guard.

At around 2130hrs, the two police officers left the post unmanned and went to another police officers home, Sergeant Mavheneke, who offered them a place to sleep overnight.

On July 21, 2022 at around 0045hrs, one of the officers was awakened by Sgt Mavhenekes 19-year-old son claiming that he had received a call from an anonymous person informing him the tent was on fire.

When he arrived at the scene, he found the entire canvas tent, which belonged to the Ministry of Public Works, having been burnt to ashes and some of the furniture, made up of chairs and tables, were also burnt, said the source. H Metro
77 Shares Share

5G and its related cell towers are still causing controversy around the U.S. Earlier this month, residents in Indiana and Nevada were against 5G cell towers being placed in their neighborhoods. In Charlotte County, Florida, one resident against the towers was concerned about his neighborhood being the guinea pigs of possible health implications caused by 5G. Before these complaints surfaced, 107 former students and staff from Colonia High School in Woodbridge, New Jersey, were diagnosed with rare brain tumors like glioblastoma (GBM). As people speculated, cellphone towers were mentioned as the possible cause.

GBMs are the most advanced brain tumor  given a Stage 4 designation. While it is the most common primary brain tumor in adults, it is still extremely rare, with only about 3 cases diagnosed per 100,000 people each year, or a rate of 0.00003 percent.

Unfortunately, these types of tumors carry a very poor prognosis  even with full treatment, including brain surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and wearing a skull cap for the rest of their lives  survival is about 18 months.

Al Lupiano, an environmental scientist who is one of the 107 individuals from Woodbridge diagnosed with a brain tumor, was quoted saying, What I find alarming is theres truly only one environmental link to primary brain tumors, and thats ionizing radiation.

While this statement is correct, it doesnt give the full story. Ionizing radiation is a form of energy that uses charged particles to remove electrons from other atoms that could then go on to break DNA bonds and possibly cause cancer. Examples of ionizing radiation include X-rays and gamma rays. Non-ionizing radiation has much lower energy and includes things like radio waves, microwaves, and infrared light.

The electromagnetic waves or radiation that come from cell phones and 4G/5G mobile signals are forms of non-ionizing radiation and are not powerful enough to break DNA strands  which is what leads to the formation of GBMs and other types of cancer.

There have been many misleading studies published about the association of cell phones and cancer. However, the studies completely ignore the radiobiologic factors associated with non-ionizing radiation. These studies are often theoretical in nature, using animal models, published in journals that are outside of the scope of medical physics, and dont have adequate patient populations to be able to draw any real conclusions.

One of the largest studies to date published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute followed the cell phone use of 1.3 million women over a 14-year time span and found no association with brain tumors  only reinforcing the fact that cell phones dont cause cancer.

While the New Jersey Department of Health and the Department of Environmental Protection continues to investigate what could be going on, some are questioning the towns proximity to the Middlesex Nuclear Sampling Plant that was used to stockpile radioactive uranium ore for the Manhattan Project.

All radioactive elements will break down or decay at different speeds until they become a more stable element. This is something called a half-life. Some elements have half-lives of mere seconds.

The half-life of uranium-238 is 4.5 billion years before it will eventually lose its radioactivity. Even more, uranium is a type of element with no stable form, making it always radioactive.

In 1948, the sampling plant had disposed of its radioactive waste in a nearby landfill that could have contaminated the groundwater and possibly exposed the residents of Woodbridge, New Jersey, to radioactive materials.

With an incidence almost 330 times greater than the average population of developing a brain tumor  these numbers are of concern, and it seems to be more than chance alone. Part of the solution would include a formal review of the sampling plant to examine just how much of a devastating impact this facility has had on neighboring communities and the region.

People in New Jersey and around the country can be exposed to some type of radiation that causes tumors, but rest assured that it isnt the radiation from their cell phones.

Kevin Charles King is a radiation oncology resident.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com
The National Steam Rally, held at Stradbally Hall, Laois, is the premier event in the Irish Steam Preservation Societys calendar.

Over 20,000 people will flock to Stradbally for a fun-filled, family-friendly weekend that is bursting at the seams with exhibits, demonstrations, events and activities  and thats before a steam engine is even mentioned.

The event is held on the Cosby Estate, also home to Electric Picnic, but not to be outdone, the National Steam Rally is the largest event of its type in the country. It holds the title of Irelands oldest steam event, regularly attracting exhibits and visitors from across the country and abroad.

Now in its 58th year, the rally returns for the first time since 2019 and its coming back with a bang. A chance for diehard enthusiasts and families alike to step back in time, on a journey into a spectacular world of yore, powered by steam and driven by so much more!

With vintage road making, sawmill benches and a working Blacksmith's Village, not to mention the fascinating spectacle of both mighty and miniature steam engines, one truly is transported back to the Age of Steam.

Over 30 steam engines will be on display, some of the rarest in the world amongst them, along with vintage cars, tractors, and commercials, bridging the historical timeline to the present.

Adventure Experiences Ireland will be present on both days of this years event, to give visitors the option of taking it all in from a whole new perspective, with helicopter rides through the skies above the rally field for the first time in years.

Flights can be booked through the Irish Steam Preservation Societys website, as can camping and caravan berths for the weekend, and tickets for the event itself; with a chance to win Sunday tickets for Electric Picnic for all who purchase their ticket online.

The Stradbally Woodland Railway will be running steam trains all weekend using the Societys very own steam locomotive, Roisin  Irelands oldest volunteer-run heritage railway.

Add to that the excitement of Lawnmower Racing and a chance to browse through trade stalls  selling everything from vintage items and auto parts to clothes and accessories  alongside a Pet Farm, Sheepdog Demonstrations, a Century of Sawing with steam demonstration, food tent, carnival amusements, heaps of childrens activities, a bustling craft village, and live music with Declan Nerney, the rallys claim of having something that will appeal to everyone, is far from fanciful!

Its full steam ahead as all roads lead to Stradbally this August Bank Holiday Weekend, for an action-packed family day out with a difference and a journey back in time!

For more information please contact rally secretary Kim McNamara on 086-8227802.
This year, Kilkenny Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, one of Ireland's oldest animal welfare societies, celebrates its 140th anniversary. Founded in 1882 by the Marquis and Marchioness of Ormonde, the Kilkenny SPCA was set up to promote the welfare of all animals, both domestic and wild. The first meeting took place in Kilkenny Castle on the 25th of April 1882 and it became a registered charity in 1937. Today the charity is one of 17 affiliated member societies of the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ISPCA), of which the Kilkenny SPCA was one of the founding members.

Commenting on this historic year, Animal Welfare Officer and Board Member Noel ODonoghue said: Our aim today is the same as it was in 1882; to improve the welfare of all animals, both domesticated and wild. Even though attitudes towards animals have changed greatly, and for the better over the last 140 years, unfortunately there remains a small minority who continue to abuse and neglect animals.

Weve been a part of the history of Kilkenny for so long but it feels like a case of quietly operating in the background. For example, the horse trough in The Parade was commissioned by Kilkenny SPCA back in 1902. People pass it plenty of times every day and probably never thought about its origins. It is very unique as it was designed to provide water to horses at the upper part and for dogs on lower parts. Originally there were three troughs, one in Irishtown and one in Dungarvan, but sadly they are no longer there.

We are staffed by volunteers and rely on donations from the public and corporate sector, as well as membership contributions in order to survive. We have gratefully received a small grant from the Department of Agriculture, Food and The Marine in recent years, added fellow board member Ciara Murphy.

Our sincere thanks to the people of the city and county of Kilkenny, as the Society wouldnt be here if it wasnt for the generosity of the people over the decades. People can make a secure donation on our website which will help to fund veterinary care for sick or injured animals and their rehabilitation, our ability to attend accidents involving any animal, neutering services and the investigation of reported incidents of animal neglect and abuse.

We hope to be still helping sick and injured animals for another 140 years and to do this well need the publics financial support for our work and services.

Visit www.kilkennyspca.ie for more information.
Kilkenny Photographic Society (KPS) is delighted to announce its 37th Annual Exhibition which takes from August 5 to 14, during Alternative Kilkenny Arts (AKA). The exhibition, open daily from 9.30am to 7.00pm is hosted by MacDonagh Junction who have kindly provided the society with an exhibition space.



The exhibition will be officially launched by Mayor David Fitzgerald on Friday 5 August, at 7pm. After a two year absence due to Covid, members are keen to exhibit their work and the exhibition will showcase the diverse range of styles and creativity which distinguish the work of talented Kilkenny photographers.



Also on exhibition will be the societys panels for the SACC and National Club Competitions. Two of KPS' members received distinctions during the Covid period: Matt Whitby was awarded his Licentiateship (LIPF) and Bernie Kelly was awarded her Associateship (AIPF) by the Irish Photographic Federation. Their wonderful panels of prints will be on display in the show.

Members who were awarded Federation Internationalede Lart Photographique (FIAP) distinctions will also display their certificates. The exhibition will appeal to members of the public, local organisations as well as tourists and those with an interest in the arts, culture and photography. There will be a wide range of photography genres including flora/fauna, travel, landscapes, seascapes, portrait, architecture and street photography.

Kilkenny Photographic Society was established in 1983 by a small group of friends after attending night classes. Today the society numbers over 60 members who meet weekly in the Pembroke Hotel where the membership enjoy a varied programme of activities including guest speakers, workshops, exhibitions, outings etc.

The aim of the society was and still is to serve its members by encouraging the development of their photographic skills through education, exhibitions and workshops; by forming friendships with others who enjoy photography and sharing the group's talents with individuals and the local community. This years exhibition features the work of 39 members including newer members who are exhibiting for the first time.



You can learn more about Kilkenny Photographic Society on www.kilknennyphoto.net.
Books of condolence have been opened in memory of David Trimble as political leaders, both locally and internationally, hailed his contribution to securing peace in Northern Ireland.

The 77-year-old peer and ex-leader of the Ulster Unionist Party was one of the principal architects of the Good Friday/Belfast Agreement that ended decades of conflict in the region.

Lord Trimble, who jointly won the Nobel Peace Prize with late SDLP leader John Hume, died on Monday following an illness.

His death comes amid another political crisis at Stormont, with the DUP blocking the creation of a powersharing administration in protest at Brexits Northern Ireland Protocol.

The Northern Ireland Assembly will hold a special sitting next Tuesday to pay tribute to Lord Trimble.

His funeral will take place in Lisburn on Monday with the service to be held at Harmony Hill Presbyterian Church at 12.30pm.

During a poignant event at Stormont on Tuesday, current UUP leader Doug Beattie laid a bouquet of flowers underneath a portrait of Lord Trimble, before pausing for a moment of silent reflection.

Mr Beattie then said that Lord Trimble had maintained his passion for politics and for achieving reconciliation in Northern Ireland right up until his death.

He said: I would never be able to fill the shoes of David Trimble but Im extremely proud to be the Ulster Unionist Party leader and to be able to look back at the passing of David and say that he was once the leader of this great party.

In the conversations that I had with him, even as frail as hed become in the last number of months, there was a fire in his eyes for politics, there was a fire in his eyes for peace in Northern Ireland and there was a fire in his eyes to try and heal the divisions which blighted this part of the United Kingdom.

He was a great unionist, he was a great politician. Many of those from the party that I have spoken to are genuinely feeling his loss today and will need to come to terms with it over the next number of days.

Books of condolence were opened in Belfast and Derry by the mayors of the two cities as well as in a number of other locations in Northern Ireland.

Belfast Lord Mayor Tina Black said people in Northern Ireland today benefitted from the leadership shown by Lord Trimble and others.

Sinn Feins Stormont leader Michelle ONeill said Lord Trimble should serve as an inspiration and example to the current generation of politicians at Stormont.

I think that none of us should underestimate what was achieved back in 1998 and David Trimble had the courage to step forward in his leadership role, to bring people with him, to work with others.

I think that should be a message to us all even today, 24 years later. It takes courage. It takes leadership. It takes parties working together actually to achieve things and we need that same determination today as we had back in 1998.

Former US President Bill Clinton said people today are leading better lives because of the sacrifices made by David Trimble.

In a statement Mr Clinton said: Hillary and I are deeply saddened by the passing of Lord David Trimble, a leader of courage, vision and principle whose lifetime of service helped bring peace to Northern Ireland.

Time after time during the negotiations that led to the Good Friday Agreement, he made the hard choices over the politically expedient ones because he believed future generations deserved to grow up free from violence and hatred.

His faith in the democratic process allowed him to stand up to strong opposition in his own community, persuade them of the merits of compromise, and share power with his former adversaries.

His legacy will endure in all who are living better lives because of him today.

Hillary and I send our thoughts and prayers to his wife, Daphne, his entire family, and all the people who loved him and were inspired by his service.

US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said: The United States is saddened to learn of the passing of the former first minister of Northern Ireland, Lord David Trimble.

Lord Trimble personified the integrity and compromise necessary to help Northern Ireland transcend its violent past.

His tenacity during early political negotiations underpinned the strength of his convictions as well as his deep commitment to work across the sectarian divide.

As a strong advocate of powersharing and a key architect of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement, his political legacy is the stability and prosperity that the region enjoys today.

Former prime minister Gordon Brown tweeted that Lord Trimble had been an architect of peace in Northern Ireland.

Saddened to hear of the death of David Trimble who will be remembered as an architect, with John Hume, of the peace in Northern Ireland. Thoughts are with his wife Daphne and their family.  Gordon Brown (@GordonBrown) July 26, 2022

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson described Lord Trimble as a titan of unionism.

Sir Jeffrey quit the Ulster Unionist Party in 2003 and defected to the DUP after he disagreed with his then party leader over the Good Friday Agreement and IRA decommissioning.

But he told the BBC Good Morning Ulster programme: There is no doubt that David was a titan of unionism.

He was someone who believed passionately in the union and I have to say that despite our differences in the latter years when I was in the Ulster Unionist Party, he was someone I got on very well with.

On Monday evening, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Lord Trimbles achievements would never be forgotten.

He was a giant of British and international politics and will be long remembered for his intellect, personal bravery and fierce determination to change politics for the better, he said.

Taoiseach Micheal Martin credited his central contribution in efforts to secure peace and reconciliation on the island of Ireland.

All of us in politics at the time witnessed his crucial and courageous role in the negotiations leading to the Good Friday Agreement and his leadership in building support in his party and his community for the Agreement, he said.

David Trimble was a man of courage & vision. He chose to grasp the opportunity for peace when it presented itself & sought to end the decades of violence that blighted his beloved Northern Ireland.  UUP Leader Doug Beattie MC MLA Read more: https://t.co/oIUswfG3Ix pic.twitter.com/KriyF1Nlv4  Ulster Unionist (@uuponline) July 25, 2022

Irish President Michael D Higgins praised Lord Trimbles life of public service.

Former UK and Irish prime ministers, Sir Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern, both of whom were involved in the intensive Good Friday negotiations, also paid tribute.

Sir Tony said his contribution was immense, unforgettable and frankly irreplaceable while Mr Ahern described him as a courageous leader.

Ex-Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams, a once bitter political adversary of the unionist leader, thanked him for helping to get the Good Friday Agreement over the line in 1998.
South Africa: Insurers urged to develop safety net management risks

Insurers need proactive management of risks if they are to provide the safety net required by the countrys economy and society at large, says South Africa Reserve Bank (SARB) Governor, Lesetja Kganyago.

In this regard, strengthening risk management within institutions, as well as our collective thinking on mitigation of emerging risks, will be crucial, he said.

The Governor made the remarks while delivering the keynote address at the African Insurance Exchange 2022 Annual Insurance Conference on Monday.

The financial sector as a whole has remained resilient, despite the multiplicity of shocks over the past two years. The Prudential Authority (PA), much like many of you at this conference, remains resolute in contributing to the resurgence, resilience and revival of the insurance sector through clear supervisory guidance and providing regulatory certainty, said Kganyago.

In this regard, he said the SARB would continue to collaborate with the Financial Sector Conduct Authority and industry associations to enhance the resilience of the sector.

In his address, Kganyago reflected on the major risks that the non-life insurance sector has had to face in recent years, including the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, the July 2021 unrest and the damaging floods.

On the pandemic, he said the lockdowns brought with them a series of new challenges to the non-life insurance sector and tested the provisions of business interruption insurance.

The impact of the pandemic on businesses meant a significant increase in claims, which did not relate to physical damage. From a non-life insurance perspective, this was a big challenge that resulted in regulatory uncertainty.

Due to the various legal interpretations of these business interruption policies, legal certainty had to be provided by the South African courts. It would not be an exaggeration to coin this as a significant misstep in managing insurance risk, which had a significant reputational consequence for the non-life insurance sector, Kganyago said.

In progressing to obtain legal certainty, a small number of non-life insurers provided interim payments to support struggling sectors.

The Governor said the PA would continue to monitor the payment of business interruption claims. Furthermore, he said the SARB had also observed the total withdrawal of non-physical damage business interruption cover in South Africa, which created a significant insurance protection gap.

July 2021 unrest

Last July, as the country began to recover from the effects of the pandemic, a wave of violent unrest struck KZN and parts of Gauteng. This was characterised by widespread looting of businesses, and the burning and destruction of public facilities and private property.

In this regard, insurance claims in excess of R30 billion were recorded by the South African Special Risks Insurance Association (SASRIA), Kganyago said.

The non-life insurance sector must be applauded for its collaboration with and support to SASRIA, especially in assisting to expedite the claims process and to ensure economic activity was restored.

Unfortunately, not all businesses have resumed to full or even partial activity following the riots. Of concern was the significant number of affected businesses that were uninsured or under-insured and many were forced to shut down their operations, he said.

Some lessons from these events, and which require further work, include:

 improved consumer education initiatives that clearly spell out what is covered and what is excluded under an insurance policy;

 clear proposals to address the insurance and risk protection gap, not only as a sector but also in partnership with government; and

 the development of insurance products and solutions that take into account this changing landscape.

Current economic outlook

The domestic economy experienced rapid growth during 2021, after a sharp contraction in 2020.

The Governor said despite the steep contraction in GDP during the third quarter of 2021 due to the riots in KwaZulu-Natal, the domestic economy grew by 4.9% during 2021.

GDP growth, which would have surpassed pre-COVID-19 levels in the first quarter of 2022, was hampered by the January and March 2022 floods in KZN, the sharp correction in commodity prices and intensified load-shedding. The SARB forecasts GDP growth of 2% in 2022 and 1.3% in 2023, he said.

In response, the SARBs Monetary Policy Committee moved to normalise rates, raising the repo rate by a cumulative 200 basis points since November 2021.

Beyond this, Kganyago said the SARB had in recent years had to deal with operational and information technology risks (including cyber-risk) and climate-related risks and opportunities.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2022-07-26. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Iran says won't turn on IAEA cameras until nuclear deal revival

Xinhua) 09:19, July 26, 2022

TEHRAN, July 25 (Xinhua) -- The Iranian nuclear chief said his country will not turn on the surveillance cameras of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) installed within the framework of a 2015 nuclear deal until parties resume honoring their commitments under the deal.

Mohammad Eslami, president of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), made the remarks in an address to reporters on the sidelines of an exhibition in Tehran on Monday, the official news agency IRNA reported.

He said the Islamic Republic sees no reason for the presence of these cameras at its nuclear sites as they had been recording data supposed to exonerate Tehran from certain accusations, which are still in place.

Eslami added although in 2015, lengthy negotiations between Iran and the world powers resulted in the signing of a nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the West is still leveling accusations at Iran based on stolen documents and "baseless claims."

"Iran accepted to put curbs on its (nuclear) capacities to build trust, but despite all these, they did not remain committed to their obligations," he said.

Eslami said the agency itself has removed the cameras and sealed them, adding they will be kept in Iran's nuclear facilities until the other sides return to the JCPOA.

Eslami emphasized that the IAEA is currently monitoring Iran's nuclear activities according to the safeguards agreements.

In June, the IAEA's Board of Governors passed an anti-Iran resolution proposed by the United States, Britain, France and Germany following the agency's reports that Tehran had not provided "technically credible explanations" for uranium particles at three undeclared sites.

In the wake of the adoption of the IAEA resolution, Iran announced its decision to take a number of measures, including turning off the IAEA's surveillance cameras at its sites.

Iran signed the nuclear deal 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 Tehran, prompting the latter to drop some of its commitments under the pact.

(Web editor: Wu Chaolan, Liang Jun)
Shenandoah, IA (51601)

Today

Cloudy. Periods of rain this morning. High near 75F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%..

Tonight

Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low 56F. Winds light and variable.
COLUMBIA - After months of gas prices skyrocketing, people in Mid-Missouri and around the nation are finally seeing prices at the pump decline.The current national average for gas is currently sitting at $4.36, according to AAA. This is a much lower number than a little over a month ago, whe
US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi is seen here in Washington, DC on June 24. China's warnings against a potential trip by Pelosi to Taipei appeared to have caused concern in Washington last week.
At least 1 killed as record rainfall causes widespread flash flooding in St. Louis area
How you can help

Foster: Gateway Pet Guardians is looking for fosters to come get dogs and cats from the shelter. Length of fostering commitment is unknown at this time. The biggest need is for medium to large sized dogs (45-65 pounds). Most are friendly with other dogs.

Sign up here: gatewaypets.org/foster and the placement manager will email you to coordinate pickup. Gateway is getting in touch with everyone as quickly as possible, so please keep an eye on your inbox as well as your spam/junk/promotions folders. Sometimes the @ gatewaypets.org email addresses are blocked.
Korean authors Han Kang, left, and Kim Cho-yeop / Courtesy of Munhakdongne, Hubble





By Park Han-sol







As a string of translated Korean literary works continue to gain global recognition, online and in-person book talks joined by 12 award-winning Korean writers will travel across the world until the end of this year.







Hosted by the Literature Translation Institute of Korea (LTI Korea), the 2022 K-Literature Talks program consists of 12 dialogue sessions between best-selling Korean authors and their international counterparts  novelists, translators and publishers  followed by live Q&A sessions with readers.







All talks will revolve around the writers' works that have been translated into the host country's language within the last three years. These countries include Vietnam, Japan, Indonesia, Brazil, Turkey and the United Kingdom.







The event kicked off in April during this year's Bogota International Book Fair in Colombia, with a virtual talk that invited Han Kang to discuss her 1997 short story, "The Fruit of My Woman." The story is referred to as a "direct precursor" of "The Vegetarian" that took home the Man Booker International Prize in 2016, according to its translator Deborah Smith.







The rest of the talks with other 11 writers, who have delved into a wide range of genres such as science fiction, thriller and queer fiction, are scheduled to be rolled out by November, LTI Korea said. Online events will be livestreamed through the organization's official YouTube channel.







Nine authors have been unveiled so far, with two of the sessions already ending on a high note last week: poet Jeong Ho-seung's "Loving" in Vietnam and Cheon Seon-ran's "A Thousand Blues" in Japan.







Cheon was joined by her translator Kang Bang-hwa and Japanese science fiction writer Haruna Ikezawa to discuss the sci-fi literary landscape of the two countries.







Novelist Park Sang-young, whose queer fiction "Love in the Big City" was longlisted for this year's International Booker Prize / Korea Times photo by Wang Tae-seok

Other upcoming sessions include Chang Kang-myoung's "The Comments Army" in Indonesia, Kim Cho-yeop's "If We Cannot Move at the Speed of Light" in China, Shirley Jackson Award-winning Pyun Hye-young's "The Hole" in Vietnam and Bae Su-ah's "Untold Night and Day" in Brazil.







On Sept. 14, Park Sang-young, who penned "Love in the Big City," and its translator Anton Hur, will virtually meet readers in the U.K. The novel was one of two Korean literary pieces, along with Chung Bora's "Cursed Bunny," which were in the running for this year's International Booker Prize.







In November, Lee Jung-myung, who rose to literary stardom after penning historical fictions like "Painter of the Wind" and "The Deep-Rooted Tree," will visit Turkey to address readers about his book, "The Boy Who Escaped Paradise."






All international air routes operated by Korea's seven regional international airports have come back into service for the first time since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the airport operator said Tuesday.







With the reopening of the route linking Cheongju International Airport in Korea's central region to Vietnam's Da Lat on Tuesday, all seven of the country's international airports were normally operating all of their international air routes, according to the Korea Airports.







It marks the first reopening of those air flight routes since February 2020, when international flights were suspended or scaled down due to COVID-19.







The other international airports are the Gimpo, Yangyang, Daegu, Muan, Gimhae and Jeju international airports.







Starting with Daegu International Airport's reopening of its route to Vietnam's Da Nang on May 28, those regional airports have been resuming their international flights on the back of the receding pandemic, including the Gimhae-Fukuoka route on May 31 and the Gimpo-Haneda line on June 29.







The airport operator said it will seek to introduce additional mid- and long-haul international passenger routes in meetings with foreign airlines during the World Route Development Forum to be held in October in Las Vegas, the United States. (Yonhap)






Europeans' resolve to combat climate change is melting under the summer heat as they endure the kinds of temperatures and fire conditions that the American West has dealt with for years. Long protected from American-style heat catastrophes because of consistently cool weather patterns, Europe is now living the nightmare.



And that poses a conundrum for the world, because the hotter it gets, the more Europeans react in ways they've long criticized Americans for: cranking up the air conditioners and consuming even more carbon-heavy energy resources. Or, more accurately, Europeans are going out and buying air conditioners that they've never even needed before because their summer temperatures have been so predictably moderate.



Despite Europe's leading role in efforts to cut back on carbon-producing coal, gas and oil in favor of carbon-neutral wind, solar and geothermal, that response has been too late and too inadequate to fend off these global warming trends. For people's survival as well as comfort, their only choice is to draw their energy from currently available fossil fuel sources. And the more those fuels are burned, the more carbon is pumped into the atmosphere, and the harder it'll be to keep higher temperatures at bay.



The same forces are likely to result in winters that include massive polar vortex anomalies that sweep far to the south and result in electrical grid collapses like Texas saw in February 2020. The planet is trying to correct itself, climate scientists say, but the response has been wild swings toward weather extremes. And very little in the current energy makeup, including Europe's widespread conversion to wind and solar energy, is enough to deal with extreme weather in the short term.



Fires are spreading across France, Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal. In Britain, record-high temperatures this week are threatening to buckle railroads and, quite literally, melt airport runways. The transportation network is partially shutting down as a result. Office buildings without air conditioning are having to close. One historic London bridge under renovation is being wrapped in foil to fend off heat expansion that could cause existing big cracks to spread.



Perhaps more to the point, however, is that some European countries are now backing away from their commitments to meet carbon-neutral goals. The European Union on July 6 formally allowed investments in gas technologies to be labeled as "green" in order to qualify for government subsidies. Although gas burns cleaner than oil or coal, it's hardly green. It's a carbon- and methane-emitting fossil fuel that contributes to global warming. Europe also rejects the idea of a total ban on Russian oil and gas, sharply limiting the effect of international sanctions for Russia's invasion of Ukraine.



The prospect of the European bloc reaching its carbon-neutral goal by 2050 now seems bleak, and sadly, so is the prospect of humans saving the planet from the climate crisis humans unquestionably have caused.





This editorial was published in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and distributed by Tribune Content Agency.




By Song Kyung-jin





One of my lifelong missions I feel is to continue addressing the perennial gender deficit Korea has been suffering from and thus the importance of promoting gender balance across all walks of life in Korea. The annual Global Gender Gap Report of the World Economic Forum (WEF) serves as a regular reminder for me not to forget that mission.



The WEF report gives rise, without exception, to an annual contest of pros and cons in Korea about its methodology and the index indicators for being too simplistic, failing to capture the gender reality more broadly. While such arguments deserve due respect, we must not lose sight that we are still lagging far behind our global standings in other indexes.



This year Korea ranked 99th out of the 146 countries surveyed, up three notches from 2021. However, a narrowed gap in educational attainment and health and survival has still not translated into a proportionately narrower gap in economic participation and opportunity as well as political empowerment of women.



While Korea is the world's 10th-largest economy, in women's economic participation and opportunity its place is found in the 115th rank. The gender pay gap is still one of the widest among OECD member nations at 31.48 percent, whereas Japan's is 22.52 percent.



A lower enrolment of women at only 25.22 percent in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) will likely play on negatively in reducing the gender pay gap, for STEM is the segment where more jobs are expected with the deepening of the digital transformation.



Insofar as the stubbornly gender-biased education system persists, the quality of jobs and the income to be held by women may persist equally stubbornly. Public-private partnership is called for urgently in overhauling the educational curriculum. President Yoon is emphasizing installing semiconductor programs at universities with a view to fostering more skilled workers to enhance the nation's competitiveness in semiconductors. This initiative looking into the future should ensure such programs be properly gendered.



Of all the indicators, the toughest hurdle for Korean women is found in their advancement to positions of legislators, senior officials and managers. Korea ranked 125th in this indicator. The Reykjavik Index for Leadership is a biennial report that examines society's perception of women and men's suitability to lead. Its 2021-22 version which researched 22 countries including all G20 countries found that Korea ranked the fourth-lowest scoring strikingly low at 53 points, 15 points below the G20 average. The three countries trailing behind include Russia, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia.



On the question of whether or not women and men are perceived equally qualified for leadership, more Korean women than Korean men (60 versus 46 points) think so, while the G20 average is 71 versus 64 points. The 14-point gap is the second-widest next to Indonesia with a 15-point gender dissonance. The gap is even wider among young Korean men and women, at 16 points. Older Korean men (aged 55-65) are most prejudiced against female leadership out of the 22 countries researched. It clearly shows persistent, deep-seated prejudices against women in leadership and senior roles.



Changes are expected to come slowly in reducing the gender gap in political empowerment, too. According to the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) with a membership of 141 countries, Korea ranked 124th in the area of female legislative representation at 18.6 percent.



Many, including women themselves, tend to misjudge the gender-biased reality and even fail to properly calibrate the gender-promoting measures in place. Quotas are one example. Quotas have their own merits and demerits. Those against quotas often point out their adverse effect of solidifying the beneficiaries as a new interest group, discriminating against the rest. With all due respect, we are still at a critical moment where the gender parity quota outweighs such concerns to ensure more female participation. Quotas, inevitably, have a longer lifetime to stay put in Korea.



Being adequately equipped with a proper gender perspective is an essential prerequisite for a respected leader. He or she should be a champion of gender promotion in the government and society. The Yoon Suk-yeol government under heavy scrutiny both at home and abroad for the lack of female representation in the cabinet should listen to the zeitgeist of the 21st century and set a clear guideline for more female representation.



At the May 21 Yoon-Biden joint press conference, President Yoon promised to try to ensure very active opportunities for women to advance to ministerial positions in his cabinet. Yoon must live up to his words by searching widely for and appointing qualified women, morally and capability-wise. All hands will be on deck and all eyes will be watching around the world.





Dr. Song Kyung-jin (kj_song@hotmail.com) led the Institute for Global Economics (IGE), based in Seoul, and served as special adviser to the chairman of the Presidential Committee for the Seoul G20 Summit in the Office of the President. Now, she chairs the international cooperation committee called the Innovative Economy Forum.


By Anne-Marie Slaughter and Ian Shapiro





Anne-Marie Slaughter Ian Shapiro
By Ko Dong-hwan





The official poster for the International Astronomical Union's 31st General Assembly in Busan / Courtesy of Busan Metropolitan City
Kendallville, IN (46755)

Today

A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible early. Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low 56F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible early. Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low 56F. Winds light and variable.
Garrett, IN (46738)

Today

A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible early. Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low 56F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible early. Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low 56F. Winds light and variable.
Angola, IN (46703)

Today

A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible early. Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low 56F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible early. Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low 56F. Winds light and variable.
Auburn, IN (46706)

Today

A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible early. Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low 56F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible early. Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low 56F. Winds light and variable.
Blockberry Creative has announced their plans for LOONA's upcoming schedule of activities. However, it is drawing criticism for this reason.

Keep on reading to know more.

Blockberry Creative Involved in Issues With LOONA Chuu

This year, Blockberry Creative has been mired with criticism following the label's ongoing issues with LOONA member Chuu. Back in March 2022, Chuu had reportedly filed to suspend her exclusive contract with the label. Concerns were also raised when it was found that Blockberry Creative had filed for the trademark rights of "LOONA's Chuu" and "Chuu."

In June, Blockberry Creative then announced that Chuu would not be participating in LOONA's upcoming first-ever world tour "LOONATHEWORLD," citing scheduling conflicts as the reason. In the same month, rumors of Chuu planning to sign with a new label surfaced. Media outlets reported that the LOONA member is discussing an exclusive contract with BY4M Studio.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: LOONA Chuu Might Lose Stage Name Amid Legal Battle with Blockberry Creative - Here's Why

Blockberry Creative also became under suspicion of mistreating Chuu, after a longtime fansite master of the idol raised concerns that Chuu has been enduring Blockberry Creative's mistreatment, which includes not giving her a manager during her individual schedules.

Later, a clip of Chuu reacting to LOONA's world tour went viral on social media, which spurred fans support for the idol to leave the label.

In response to the allegations of mistreatment, Blockberry Creative denied the rumors and announced their plans to take legal action.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: LOONA Chuu Allegedly Mistreated by Blockberry Creative Amid Lawsuit

LOONA Chuu's Absence From Upcoming Group Activities Spark Criticism

But now, Blockberry Creative's alleged mistreatment of Chuu is once again being highlights. Recently on July 25, the label announced that not only will Chuu be absent from LOONA's world tour, but she will also not be joining in their second Japanese single "LUMINOUS," as well as their first concert in Tokyo. Once again, they cited scheduling conflicts as the reason.

Blockberry Creative's statement read:

"We thank you for your continued supported for LOONA. Due to LOONA member Chuu's pre-determined individual schedule for the latter half of the year, we are announcing that she will not be participating in the promotional activities for LOONA's second Japanese single 'LUMINOUS,' as well as LOONA's first 'LOONATHEWORLD in TOKYO' concert to be held on October 1st. We apologize to the fans who were waiting for LOONA's activities in Japan for having to make such a sudden announcement. In addition, the members are currently preparing for their activities in Japan to the best of their efforts, so please continue to give your support to them. Again, we would like to apologize to fans who support LOONA for having to make such a sudden announcement. We will support LOONA's Japanese activities to the best of our abilities. We would appreciate your understanding. Thank you."

Following the announcement, fans expressed their outrage and confusion at Chuu's "pre-determined schedule" that is keeping her from performing with her group.

Many fans have once again criticized the label for not organizing LOONA and Chuu's schedules in a way that these don't overlap with each other. Many also believe that the label excluding Chuu from promoting with LOONA not only hurts the idol, but fans as well.

Now, fans are demanding for Blockberry Creative to explain more about the pre-determined schedules that is preventing Chuu from fulfilling her job as an idol.

As of now, Blockberry Creativea has yet to respond to the backlash.

What do you think of the issue?

For more K-pop news, follow and subscribe to KpopStarz.

KpopStarz owns this article.

Written by Robyn Joan
Here are the Walworth Countys weekly criminal complaints from July 20-July 25. The cases still need to make their way through the Walworth County Court System. All information is from criminal complaints filed in Walworth County Circuit Court. To follow the cases, go to wcca.wicourts.gov.

Kimberly M. Biagini, 38, N1271 Maple Rd., Genoa City, was charged with felony bail jumping, repeater, domestic abuse assessments and disorderly conduct, domestic abuse assessments, repeater.

Teagen R. Tislau, 18, 153 George St., Sharon, was charged with felony bail jumping.

Tyler James Frusher, 25, 815 N Washington St., Janesville, has been charged with possession with intent to deliver 200 grams of THC (Tetrahydrocannabinols), repeater, and possession of drug paraphernalia as a repeater.

Steven L. Rowe, 49, W3785 Lakeview Park Dr., Lake Geneva, has been charged with two counts of felony bail jumping and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Jamie S. Hurst, 30, 1502 S 21st Street, Milwaukee, has been charged with failure to act to prevent bodily harm to a child.

Jarrod P. Paddock, 43, 1404 W Mineral Sat., Milwaukee, has been charged with felony retail theft of more than $500 but less than $5,000.

Jose D. Altena, 18, 365 N Tratt St., Whitewater, has been charged with two counts of felony bail jumping, interference with firefighting and criminal damage to property.

Jesse A. Renn, 49, 609 Mary Ln, Milton, has been charged with operating a vehicle while under the influence  fourth offense.
A new Kwik Trip convenience store and gas station in the City of Lake Geneva is scheduled to open Sept. 1, in time for the Labor Day weekend.

The Kwik Trip store and gas station is in the process of being constructed at 898 Wells St.

Members of the Lake Geneva City Councils finance, licensing & regulation committee unanimously approved, July 19, to award a Class A liquor license and a Class A fermented malt beverage liquor for the Kwik Trip convenience store and gas station.

The liquor licenses still have to be approved by the full city council. The Class A licenses would allow the store to sell packaged liquor and beer for off-premise consumption.

City council members unanimously approved a precise implementation plan, Dec. 13, 2021, to allow the convenience store and gas station to be built. The gas station is set to include 16 fuel pumps and a detached car wash facility.

The Kwik Trip business is scheduled to be completed and open for business 5 a.m., Sept. 1, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony set for 1 p.m., Sept. 7.

Construction of the Kwik Trip store began earlier this year.

Steve Wrobel, spokesperson for Kwik Trip, Inc., said he is pleased with the progress that has been made to the store, so far. He said the project is on schedule.

Its on time, Wrobel said. Its coming along just as planned.

Kwik Trip representatives purchased the Wells Street property from Stop N Go in late 2020. The company has since demolished a Stop N Go gas station and convenience store, as well as a former hair salon and Dairy Queen restaurant building to make room for the Kwik Trip business.

Wrobel said he is looking forward to the opening of the Kwik Trip convenience store and gas station.

It should be a beautiful, new store, Wrobel said. From our point of view, its wonderful. We hope everyone enjoys the new store. Theres extra room and extra things we can offer that we didnt in the past.

Wrobel said the store will offer pre-packaged and take-home meals.

Those things are more important than they were in past years, Wrobel said.

This will be the second Kwik Trip store and gas station in Lake Geneva, as a Kwik Trip business is currently located at 710 Williams St.
New Delhi [India], July 26 (ANI): The latest bull run in Indian stock markets seemed to have ended as they declined for the second consecutive session on Tuesday. At 9.37 a.m., Sensex traded at 55,433.86 points, down 332.36 points or 0.60 per cent, whereas Nifty traded at 16,537.80 points, down 93.20 points or 0.56 per cent.

Prior to this two-day decline, the Indian stocks had witnessed six consecutive sessions of the rally.

Also Read | Dan Bilzerian Wife Name, Dan Bilzerian Married, More Trend! Who Is Armenian-American Poker Player and What Makes Him Such an Internet Sensation.

Indian equity markets recorded their best weekly performance during the past week, supported by renewed buying, especially in banking and IT stocks as well as the return of foreign investments into the Indian markets after months.

The latest consistent rally in Indian stocks has made investors richer by over Rs 9 trillion in the week that ended on Friday. The domestic equity market closed at its highest level in seven weeks, marking its best week since February 2021. Sensex and Nifty during the week rose around 3-4 per cent on a cumulative basis.

Also Read | Chelsea Transfer News: Timo Werner Linked With a Move To Juventus.

"The looming Federal Reserve rate decision on Wednesday provided another reason for caution. The central bank is expected to raise borrowing costs by 75 basis points to a range of 2.25 per cent to 2.50 per cent, but investors will be keen to hear about how the Fed sees the pace of future hikes," said Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC securities.

For fresh cues, the US Fed's monetary policy meeting outcome to be released on Wednesday will be in focus among investors. The silver lining in the markets is that foreign investors have again turned net buyers in July after multiple months of fund outflows.

"The dark cloud on the global economic horizon is the threat of an imminent US recession impacting global economic growth. The jury is still out on whether the US slips into a recession or not. But a global growth slowdown appears inevitable," said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services. (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 26 (ANI): Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal asserted that India should be aspiring for much faster and much deeper growth and the country is capable to take its economy to USD 30 trillion in three decades.

"Even at 8 per cent growth in our GDP over the next 30 years, India may be well beyond USD 30 trillion economies. Women's power will play an important role in this and there is always space for them on the high table," Goyal said on Monday while addressing the FICCI event titled 'Invest in Her: Women Entrepreneurship, Trade, and Commerce'.

Also Read | Tamil Nadu Shocker: Man Kills Daughter, Son-in-Law With Sickle in Tuticorin for Marrying Without His Approval; Arrested.

Goyal added that the country will never be able to achieve inclusive growth unless women are given importance.

"It is the empowerment is ultimately what is going to help all the women in our country. Unless we see more and more women coming into the workforce and see them as entrepreneurs, we can't achieve our target," he emphasized.

Also Read | DIY Rakhi Ideas for Raksha Bandhan 2022: Make Simple and Beautiful Rakhi at Home With These Easy Tutorial Videos.

Goyal further stressed on more women's representation in businesses as directors and owners based on merit and not just reservations.

"Unless we set ambitious goals, we are not going to achieve much. We should be aspiring for 50 per cent of directors of companies to be women, not by reservation but by choice and sheer capabilities," he added.

Speaking on women empowerment, the Minister stated that Prime Minister has been clear that unless we strengthen the women of India, we will never be able to look at inclusive growth.

"The government has decided to gift only handicrafts or handloom products Made in India in this 75th year of Independence. We must be able to create a market to support the women entrepreneurs," he noted.

The Centre, he said, is working actively with different countries to finalize Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and talks with the United Kingdom (UK) are in the final stages which will give zero-duty access to various business sectors in the world market.

Speaking at the same event, Jayanti Dalmia, President, of FICCI Ladies Organization (FLO) said that India is poised to benefit from equality where currently only 25 per cent of the labour force is female.

The economic impact of achieving gender equality in India is estimated to be US 700 billion of added GDP by 2025, Jayanti 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)
Jammu, Jul 26 (PTI) The police have arrested three people here and seized 12 kgs of heroin worth Rs 25 crores in the international market from them, officials said.

The police have also recovered Rs 11 lakh in cash from them, they said, adding that initial probe indicate that the narcotics were dropped on this side of the border by a drone.

Also Read | Andhra Pradesh's Debts Lower Than Other States, Claims Finance Minister Buggana Rajendranath Reddy.

Police teams led by Senior Superintendent of Police Jammj Chandan Kohli worked on a tip off and conducted a special checking at Bahu Fort, Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Mukesh Singh said.

A Verna car was intercepted and three people were rounded up. During search, 12 kgs of heroin and Rs 11,00,000 in cash were recovered from them, Singh said.

Also Read | Gurugram Shocker: 35-Yr-Old Man Dies After Jumping off 10-Story Building.

A case was registered at Bahu Fort police station and the three accused were arrested, he said.

The accused have been identified as Sarvwan Singh, Malkeet Singh and Balbir Singh - all hailing from Amritsar in Punjab, he said.

He said the cost of drugs in the international market is worth Rs 25 crores.

The ADGP aid the Jammu police is working tirelessly to uproot the chain of drug supply in the region.

"Thorough questioning of the accused is going on to know the origin of the drugs, taking into account both the forward as well as backward linkages", he said.

Based on the packing of the drugs, it appears to have been dropped by drones, he said.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Kargil, Jul 26 (PTI) Three people were rescued from flash floods by the administration and the Army in Kargil district of the Union territory of Ladakh, officials said on Tuesday.

The administration was informed on Monday evening that three people were trapped in Taisuru's Youljuk village due to a sudden rise in the water level in a river following heavy rainfall, they said.

Also Read | National Herald Case: Sonia Gandhi To Join ED Probe Today, Security Heightened in Lutyens Zone.

A State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) team supported by police personnel and the Army launched an operation and rescued them, the officials said.

They were identified as Mohd Sharief, Ghulam Mehdi and Mohd Hassan.

Also Read | Gujarat Assembly Elections 2022: Arvind Kejriwal To Offer Prayers at Somnath Temple, Campaign in Rajkot.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Kolkata, Jul 26 (PTI) Arrested West Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee arrived in Kolkata on Tuesday morning from Odisha, where he underwent a thorough health check-up at AIIMS, Bhubaneswar, officials said.

Chatterjee was taken to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) office at CGO Complex in Salt Lake here in a wheelchair for further questioning in connection with its probe into the school jobs scam in West Bengal, they said.

Also Read | Weather Forecast: Heavy Rainfall Likely Over Rajasthan, Odisha; Respite For Gujarat As Rains to Recede Till July End.

Earlier, doctors at the premier medical establishment in Bhubaneswar said he was suffering from chronic diseases, but does not need immediate hospitalisation.

Chatterjee arrived in Kolkata around 6.30 am, and was taken straight to the ED office for questioning, the officials said.

Also Read | Vivo T1x With Snapdragon 680 SoC Launched in India; Price, Features & Specifications.

He was arrested by the ED on Saturday in connection with its investigation into irregularities in the recruitment drives by the School Service Commission (SSC).

The senior Trinamool Congress leader held the education portfolio when the alleged appointment scam took place.

As per a Calcutta High Court order, Chatterjee was on Monday morning flown to AIIMS Bhubaneswar by an air ambulance after he complained of health issues.

A Kolkata court on Monday granted 10 days' ED custody of the senior Trinamool Congress leader and his alleged associate Arpita Mukherjee, who was also arrested in connection with the scam.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Mumbai, Jul 26 (PTI) Shiv Sena founder late Bal Thackeray's daughter-in-law and film producer Smita Thackeray on Tuesday met with Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde who she said is an "old-timer" Sena activist.

Also Read | Shimada Yoko Dies at 69; Japanese Golden-Globe Winning Actress Best Known for Her Role in Shogun.

Also Read | Goddess Kali Row: PIL Filed in Calcutta High Court Against Trinamool MP Mahua Moitra Over Associating Goddess Kali With Alcohol & Meat.

Smita became the first member of the Thackeray clan to meet Shinde, whose rebellion against Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray with 39 MLAs led to the collapse of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government last month.

She said it was a courtesy visit.

Eknath Shinde is an old Shivsainik who has become the chief minister. I came here to congratulate him. I know him and his work for the last many years. It was a courtesy meeting. We have been knowing each other for a long time so I met him today, she told reporters after meeting Shinde at the 'Sahyadri' government guest house in south Mumbai.

When asked about the rebellion in Shiv Sena, Smita said she knew nothing about it as she is a social worker and not into politics.

I am not into politics. I know nothing about it, said Smita, a powerful figure in Shiv Sena during 1995-99.

Smita was the wife of Jaidev Thackeray, son of Bal Thackeray.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], July 26 (ANI): In a major development in the West Bengal SSC recruitment scam case, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday summoned another Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA Manik Bhattacharya for questioning at the agency's Kolkata office on Wednesday.

Manik Bhattacharya is the former Chief of the Bengal Primary Education Board.

Also Read | Congress Protest: Rahul Gandhi Released From Detention, Says Delhi Police.

This comes just after the agency arrested the current West Bengal Industries Minister and former Education Minister Partha Chatterjee and his close aide Arpita Mukherjee in the SSC (School Service Commission) scam.

Meanwhile, Partha Chatterjee was bought to the Central Government Office (CGO) complex in Kolkata on Tuesday morning.

Also Read | Hyderabad: Three Daily-Wagers Run Over by MMTS Train Near Hi-Tech City Railway Station.

Chatterjee and his aide Arpita Mukherjee were sent to the custody of the Enforcement Directorate till August 3 on Tuesday.

He reached the Kolkata airport this morning, after being discharged from AIIMS Bhuwneshwar.

"Partha Chatterjee's health is stable. Medical reports have come, and it's fine. A thorough examination of him was done. Though he had some problems, he didn't need to be admitted to the hospital, he's being monitored closely," said Dr Tushar Kanti Patra, SSKM Hospital in Kolkata.

The Calcutta court also gave orders to conduct medical check-ups of both the arrested accused after every 48 hours.

The Court also gave orders to the ED to not interrogate Arpita between 9 pm to 6 am.

Partha was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the alleged School Service Commission (SSC) scam in West Bengal on Saturday.

The ED unearthed many disproportionate assets of Partha Chatterjee since his arrest, of which were three flats in West Bengal's Diamond City.

The arrest of Partha Chatterjee followed Rs 21 crore in cash and jewellery worth above Rs 1 crore being recovered from the Kolkata residence of Arpita Mukherjee, a close aide of the former education minister.

On Monday, the Director of AIIMS Bhubaneswar said though Chatterjee is suffering from several chronic illnesses, hospitalisation is not required at this moment. After the check-up, the reports were handed over to the Investigating Officer (IO) of the Enforcement Directorate, Chatterjee's lawyer and the concerned doctor from SSKM Hospital as directed by the Calcutta High Court.

On Monday morning, the former Education minister was taken to the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International (NSCBI) Airport in an ambulance. A green corridor was arranged for obstruction-free movement of the convoy.

The ED officials along with Chatterjee's lawyer, Anindya Kishor Raut, and a doctor from SSKM had also accompanied the former Education minister as directed by Justice Bibek Chaudhuri. Chatterjee reached the airport at around 8 am. There Airports Authority of India (AAI), Kolkata, had arranged another ambulance to take Chatterjee to the air ambulance as no outside vehicle is allowed on the runway and its adjacent areas.

The Enforcement Directorate on Friday (July 23) recovered Rs 20 crore in cash from the house of an associate of West Bengal Minister Partha Chatterjee. The ED raided Arpita Mukerjee's house in connection with an alleged teacher recruitment scam in West Bengal.

"The said amount is suspected to be proceeds of crime of the said SSC scam," the probe agency had said in a statement.

The search teams are taking the assistance of bank officials for the counting of cash through counting machines. Photos of the house taken during the raid show Rs 2000 and Rs 500 notes that were recovered.

Partha Chatterjee, who is presently the minister for industries and commerce, was the education minister when the alleged illegal appointments were made in government-run and schools aided by West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC).

The ruling Trinamool Congress described the raids as a "ploy" by the BJP government at the Centre to "harass" its political opponents. (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 26 (PTI) The Congress on Tuesday paid tributes to soldiers who made the supreme sacrifice in the Kargil war, with Rahul Gandhi saying that the brave soldiers had showed indomitable courage to raise the flag of India's victory.

On July 26, 1999, the Indian Army had announced the successful culmination of "Operation Vijay", declaring victory after a nearly three-month-long battle on the icy heights of Kargil in Ladakh.

Also Read | Samsung Hires Semiconductor Expert Kim Woo-Pyeong From Apple: Report.

The day is observed as 'Kargil Vijay Diwas' to commemorate India's victory over Pakistan in the war.

"Showing indomitable courage, our brave soldiers raised the flag of India's victory in the Kargil war. The army with its valour and bravery never allowed the tricolour to be harmed," Rahul Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi.

Also Read | Weather Forecast: Heavy Rainfall Likely Over Rajasthan, Odisha; Respite For Gujarat As Rains to Recede Till July End.

"Tributes to every fighter who laid down his life for the country," the former Congress chief said.

Paying tributes, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said, "Salute to all the soldiers who protected the pride and glory of the tricolour with their valour and bravery in the Kargil war."

"My heartfelt tribute to all the soldiers and army officers who died in the war. The nation will always be indebted to your sacrifice," she said in a tweet in Hindi.

The Congress on its official Twitter handle said that on this day, 23 years ago, the Indian Army won over Pakistan in the Kargil War ousting Pakistani Forces from their occupied positions of Northern Kargil District in Ladakh.

"Today and everyday, we salute our brave jawans who put their lives on the line to defend Bharat Mata," the party said.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
New Delhi, Jul 26 (PTI) The Congress on Tuesday said it will stage a 'satyagraha' all over the country to protest the Enforcement Directorate's summons to party President Sonia Gandhi in the money laundering case linked to the National Herald newspaper.

Gandhi has appeared before the ED for questioning for the second time on Tuesday.

Also Read | AP EAMCET 2022 Results: AP EAPCET Results Declared At cets.apsche.ap.gov.in; Check Details Here.

Congress MPs met at the office of Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge in Parliament premises and are likely to stage a march towards the ED office to protest the questioning.

AICC general secretary Ajay Maken claimed they have been denied permission to organise a satyagraha outside Rajghat, the memorial of Mahatma Gandhi.

Also Read | Samsung Hires Semiconductor Expert Kim Woo-Pyeong From Apple: Report.

"It is very unfortunate that the Government of India has refused to give permission to us to stage a satyagraha. It is the same BJP which organised a protest on June 5, 2015 in support of Baba Ramdev in 2005," Maken said.

"If the principal opposition party in the country is not allowed to stage a satyagraha, then it amounts of murder of democracy. Where will democracy survive," Maken told reporters.

Democracy comprises both the ruling party and the opposition and how will democracy survive if one of its wheels is "disallowed" to stage a protest at Rajghat, he asked.

"This work is being done with political vendetta in mind against the opposition party and our leaders are being harassed only with this objective," Maken charged.

He also alleged that their right to stage a satyagraha is being denied, and their members were not allowed entry into their own office.

(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 26 (PTI) The Trinamool Congress (TMC) lashed out at the Narendra Modi government Tuesday over the suspension 19 Opposition members from Rajya Sabha, alleging Parliament has been turned into a "deep, dark chamber".

His remarks came soon after the Rajya Sabha members were suspended from the House for the remainder of Monsoon session on grounds of "unruly behaviour".

Also Read | Hindu Outfits Warn Karnataka Police if They Don't Act on Drugs, Entry of Minors Into Pubs, They Will.

"Democracy has been suspended in India. Parliament has been turned into a deep, dark chamber," TMC leader Derek O'Brien told reporters here.

Among the suspended MPs, seven belong to the TMC and six to the DMK. The seven members of TMC are Sushmita Dev, Santanu Das, Mausam Noor, Shanta Chhetri, Dola Sen, Abir Ranjan Biswas and Nadimul Haque.

Also Read | Supreme Court Says, Promise of Freebies by Political Parties a Serious Issue; Asks Centre for Way To Curb It.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi is afraid of Parliament. I ask him to come and answer one question in Parliament," said O'Brien, the leader of the TMC in Rajya Sabha.

He said when Manmohan Singh was prime minister, he answered around 22 questions in Parliament, while "Mr Modi has answered none."

Accusing the government of undermining the sanctity of the Parliament, O'Brien said, referring to the PM, "If you are going to come to parliament every Thursday morning for half an hour, you are treating it as Gujarat Gymkhana."

He further said the TMC will continue to raise the issue of price rise in Parliament "till there is a bare bone discussion on it".

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Japan urged to rectify wrongful remarks on Taiwan

Xinhua) 09:21, July 26, 2022

BEIJING, July 25 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese mainland spokesperson on Monday voiced firm opposition to certain content within Japan's 2022 defense white paper regarding Taiwan, urging Japan to immediately rectify its wrongful remarks.

Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said that Japan hyped up so-called "military threats" posed to Taiwan by the mainland in the white paper, completely disregarding the fact that Taiwan is a part of China.

Zhu noted that, in the 50 years of its colonial rule over Taiwan, Japan committed heinous crimes and caused misery to Taiwan compatriots. She said Japan ought to reflect on its past misdeeds, abide by the four political documents between China and Japan, and handle the Taiwan question with discretion.

Zhu also warned Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party authority and "Taiwan independence" secessionists that their attempts to seek "Taiwan independence" will come to nothing.

(Web editor: Wu Chaolan, Liang Jun)
Thiruvananthapuram, Jul 26 (PTI) Kerala Finance Minister K N Balagopal has requested Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to exclude balances in the public account of the states and borrowings by entities run by them while determining their net borrowing capacity, as was the situation before August 2017, in view of the grave financial crisis the southern state was facing.

Also Read | Samsung Hires Semiconductor Expert Kim Woo-Pyeong From Apple: Report.

Raising concerns over some actions of the Centre in the past five years regarding fixing of states net borrowing ceiling, Balagopal has contended that liabilities of state instrumentalities, like statutory bodies and companies, do not come within the definition of state debt.

Also Read | Weather Forecast: Heavy Rainfall Likely Over Rajasthan, Odisha; Respite For Gujarat As Rains to Recede Till July End.

Therefore, combining debt of such entities with that of the state government is contrary to the provisions of the Constitution and would "imperil" the borrowing powers of the states and "jeopardise" their development plans, he has said in his letter dated July 22.

However, on July 25, Sitharaman, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha, said that borrowing by state public sector undertakings or their special purpose vehicles (SPVs) will be considered as borrowing by the state government needing consent.

Balagopal, in his letter, has said that Kerala is currently facing a grave financial crisis which poses a serious threat to the government in sustaining spending on welfare schemes for the poor, including housing, education and health among others.

"The financial health of the state has been seriously affected by a reduction in the revenue deficit grant to the tune of around Rs 7,000 crore this year and loss due to stoppage of GST compensation of around Rs 12,000 crore.

"In addition, the Ministry of Finance has arbitrarily, in the name of off-budget borrowing, made a reduction of approximately Rs 4,000 crore in the net borrowing limits of the State. In all, the State government will have to contend with a reduction of Rs 23,000 crore in the financial resources available to it for financing the budget in the current financial year," he has said.

If these realities being faced by Kerala, as it struggles to emerge from the "economic debilitation wrought by the COVID pandemic", are not recognised by the Centre, the socio-economic security system that the southern state has built over the last several decades will be in jeopardy, Balagopal has said.

(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 26 (PTI) The Enforcement Directorate has summoned Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren's press advisor Abhishek Prasad on August 1 for questioning in a money laundering probe linked to an alleged illegal mining scam in Jharkhand, officials said on Tuesday.

The ED, on July 19, had arrested a political aide of Soren, Pankaj Mishra, in this case. He is in the agency's custody at present.

Also Read | Shimada Yoko Dies at 69; Japanese Golden-Globe Winning Actress Best Known for Her Role in Shogun.

Officials said Abhishek Prasad alias Pintu has been summoned on August 1 at the ED office here for questioning in connection with the money-laundering case linked to illegal mining in Sahibganj and other districts in Santhal Paraganas division.

The ED probe against Mishra and his alleged associates was launched on July 8 after the federal probe agency raided at least 19 locations in Sahibganj, Barhet, Rajmahal, Mirza Chauki and Barharwa in Jharkhand in the case linked to alleged irregularities in the operation of toll plaza tenders and instances of illegal mining in the state.

Also Read | Goddess Kali Row: PIL Filed in Calcutta High Court Against Trinamool MP Mahua Moitra Over Associating Goddess Kali With Alcohol & Meat.

The searches were launched after the ED filed a PMLA case in March against Mishra and others alleging he "illegally grabbed/amassed huge assets in his favour."

After the raids, the ED had frozen deposits of Rs 11.88 crore lying in 37 bank accounts belonging to Mishra and Dahoo Yadav, a person linked to him.

Apart from this, "unaccounted" cash amounting to Rs 5.34 crore was also seized by the agency, which claimed that the money was linked to "illegal mining" in Jharkhand.

Five stone crushers that were being "illegally" operated and an equal number of "illegal firearm cartridges" were also seized by the ED.

"The evidence collected during the course of the investigation, including the statements of various persons, digital evidence and documents, revealed that the seized cash/bank balance is derived from illegal mining being rampantly done in the Sahibganj area, including the forest area," the ED had said.

The agency said it was probing a trail of Rs 100 crore of "proceeds of crime" generated from illegal mining operations in the state.

It had recently stated that cash amounting to more than Rs 36 crore, linked to "illegal mining" in Jharkhand, was seized by its teams over the last more than two months as part of two separate money-laundering investigations.

The second instance where cash linked to alleged illegal mining in the state was unearthed pertains to the ED action against suspended Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Pooja Singhal in May.

Apart from the 2000-batch IAS officer, her businessman husband, a chartered accountant linked to the couple and others were raided by the ED as part of a money laundering probe linked to a case of alleged corruption in the MGNREGA scheme.

Singhal, who was holding the charge of Jharkhand mining secretary, was suspended by the state government following her arrest by the ED.

Suman Kumar, a chartered accountant linked to Singhal and her husband, was also arrested by the agency and cash amounting to Rs 19.76 crore was seized by it.

(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 26 (ANI): Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) president Vikas Singh has written a letter to the Registrar of the Supreme Court of India to exclude the name of senior advocate Jagdeep Dhankhar, who is the NDA's vice presidential candidate, from the list of chamber allotments as he Dhankhar wished to voluntarily withdraw from the process.

In a letter written by SCBA President Vikas Singh to the Registrar of the Supreme Court of India, the association has urged the top court official to exclude the name of Jagdeep Dhankhar from the list of Chamber Allotment and re-work the same accordingly.

Also Read | Did Arpita Mukherjee Travel to Singapore With Partha Chatterjee in 2012? ED Corroborates Evidence.

The association said that Jagdeep Dhankhar has conveyed his wish to voluntarily withdraw from the process of chamber allotment so that other lawyers in need of a chamber may be allotted the same.

"Keeping the interest of the Bar at heart, Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar Ji has conveyed his wish to voluntarily withdraw from the process of chamber allotment so that other lawyers in need of a chamber may be allotted the same," the letter said.

Also Read | Congress Protest: Rahul Gandhi Released From Detention, Says Delhi Police.

"In view of the above, you are requested to kindly exclude the name of Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar Ji from the list and re-work the same accordingly," the letter said.

In a list released on July 19, Jagdeep Dhankhar's name was also mentioned for the chamber allotment. Dhankar used to practice at the Supreme Court before his appointment as the Governor of West Bengal.

Last week, the National Democratic Alliance's (NDA) vice presidential candidate Jagdeep Dhankhar filed his nomination papers before Returning Officer and Secretary General, Lok Sabha in Parliament.

Dhankhar, who is a lawyer by profession, entered politics in 1989. He became the Governor of West Bengal in July 2019 and has made headlines since then over his tumultuous relations with the Mamata Banerjee government. He tendered his resignation as the Governor of West Bengal last week. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Chennai, Jul 26 (PTI) Drone start-up Garuda Aerospace Pvt Ltd on Tuesday said it has commenced conducting trials for the Army with drones for defence purposes.

The main objective is to demonstrate drones and anti-drone technology to diversify applications to support security mandates and serve the nation, Garuda Aerospace said in a statement here.

Also Read | The Body of a B-Tech Student Was Found on the Railway Tracks Hours After His Father Lodged   Latest Tweet by IANS India.

The drones would be used for on-field testing and training, the statement said.

"This support to the Indian Army will transcend with scaling up opportunities in future for Garuda Aerospace. Our drones are designed with artificial intelligence and the machines are supported with great and quick learning technologies," company founder-CEO Agnishwar Jayaprakash said.

Also Read | Bihar Shocker: Woman Fakes Her Death, Frames Husband in Murder Over Dowry Case.

"I am very honoured to witness this moment and represent the trials which will bring out solutions for various initiatives in the future," he said.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Ahmedabad, Jul 26 (PTI) A court here in Gujarat on Tuesday deferred till Thursday its order on the bail pleas of activist Teesta Setalvad and former DGP RB Sreekumar in a case of fabricating evidence to frame innocent persons in connection with the 2002 communal riots.

Also Read | Supreme Court Says, Promise of Freebies by Political Parties a Serious Issue; Asks Centre for Way To Curb It.

The court of Additional Principal Judge DD Thakkar was scheduled to pronounce the order on Tuesday but said he will do so on Thursday as the order was not ready yet.

Also Read | Shilpa Shetty Asks Court To Reject Plea Against Her Discharge Regarding Her and Richard Gere's Kiss.

The court had last week reserved its order after hearing arguments from the counsels appearing for Setalvad, Sreekumar and the prosecution.

Setalvad, and former Indian Police Service (IPS) officers Sreekumar and Sanjiv Bhatt, were arrested by the Ahmedabad crime branch last month under sections 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating) and 194 (giving or fabricating false evidence with intent to procure conviction for capital offence) of the Indian Penal Code.

A Special Investigation Team (SIT), constituted to probe the case of fabrication of evidence, had told the court that Setalvad and Sreekumar were part of a "larger conspiracy" carried out at the behest of the late Congress leader Ahmed Patel to destabilise the then BJP government headed by chief minister Narendra Modi.

At Patel's behest, Setalvad had received Rs 30 lakh after post-Godhra riots in 2002, the SIT had alleged.

The SIT had told the court that Sreekumar was a "disgruntled government officer" who "abused the process for damning the elected representatives, bureaucracy and police administration of the whole state of Gujarat for ulterior purposes".

Both Setalvad and Sreekumar have denied allegations made against them.

The First Information Report (FIR) was registered against Setalvad, Sreekumar, and Bhatt after the Supreme Court last month dismissed the plea filed by Zakia Jafri, widow of former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri who was killed during the 2002 Gujarat riots.

Her plea had alleged a "larger conspiracy" behind the post-Godhra riots.

On February 8, 2012, the SIT filed a closure report giving a clean chit to now Prime Minister Modi and 63 others, including senior government officials, saying there was no prosecutable evidence against them.

The top court on June 24 this year upheld the SIT's clean chit to Modi and 63 others.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Botad, Jul 26 (PTI) The death toll due to the consumption of spurious liquor in Gujarat's Botad district has gone up to 21, officials said on Tuesday.

Also Read | Monkeypox in Uttar Pradesh: Suspected Case of MPV in Aurraiya.

The police control room in Botad confirmed that 16 people from the district have died so far.

Also Read | Meta To Reportedly Shut Down Its Social App for Couples 'Tuned'.

Five people from Dhandhuka taluka of neighbouring Ahmedabad district have also died during treatment since Monday.

Around 30 people are still undergoing treatment at various government hospitals in Bhavnagar, Botad, Barvala and Dhandhuka, officials said.

Gujarat Director General of Police Ashish Bhatia earlier said the police have detained three persons from Botad district who were allegedly involved in manufacturing and selling the spurious country-made liquor.

The matter came to light early Monday morning when some people living in Rojid village of Barvala taluka and other surrounding villages were referred to government hospitals in Barvala and Botad towns after their condition started deteriorating.

Inspector General of Police (Bhavnagar range) Ashok Kumar Yadav had said a Special Investigation Team (SIT) under a deputy superintendent of police-rank officer will be formed for a probe into the incident and to nab bootleggers who sold the spurious liquor.

The Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) and the Ahmedabad crime branch have also joined the investigation.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Ahmedabad, July 26: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will offer prayers at the Somnath temple and interact with traders in Rajkot on Tuesday during his third visit to Gujarat where elections are due this year. The national convener of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) reached Gujarat on Monday evening.

He is scheduled to offer prayers at the temple of Lord Somnath in the state's Gir Somnath district before holding a town hall in Rajkot city. After his visit to Ahmedabad and Surat this month, his focus is now on the Saurashtra region, which accounts for around 50 out of the total 182 Assembly seats in the state.

Kejriwal had interacted with people of the state on July 3 over the issue of free electricity in Ahmedabad. Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal Promises 300 Units of Free Electricity in Gujarat If AAP Wins State Assembly Elections.

He later promised up to 300 units of free electricity per month if the AAP is voted to power in Gujarat, on the lines of Punjab where the party recently formed government. Ahead of the Gujarat Assembly polls due in December this year, the AAP has been positioning itself as an alternative to both the ruling BJP and opposition Congress. Kejriwal has claimed the AAP's worker base has grown larger than the Congress in Gujarat.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], July 26 (ANI): An Ahmedabad court, which reserved its order on the bail applications of activist Teesta Setalvad and former DGP RB Sreekumar last week in the 2002 Gujarat riots case, deferred the judgement to Thursday.

Both the sides had concluded presenting their arguments last week, following which the court had reserved its order and was likely to pronounce the judgement Tuesday or on Wednesday.

Also Read | Shimada Yoko Dies at 69; Japanese Golden-Globe Winning Actress Best Known for Her Role in Shogun.

The Gujarat Police Crime Branch on June 26 had arrested Teesta Setalvad in connection with a case against her NGO which gave baseless information about the 2002 Gujarat riots to the police.

The SIT had filed serious charges against Teesta Setalvad, RB Sreekumar and Sanjeev Bhatt in the case of defaming several people including the then Chief Minister Narendra Modi in the case of petitions to various commissions and the Supreme Court.

Also Read | Goddess Kali Row: PIL Filed in Calcutta High Court Against Trinamool MP Mahua Moitra Over Associating Goddess Kali With Alcohol & Meat.

An SIT report, earlier this month, revealed that Teesta, Sreekumar and former IPS officer Sanjeev Bhatt had accepted Rs 30 lakh from late Congress leader Ahmed Patel, the then political advisor to Sonia Gandhi, to allegedly frame then Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi and destabilise his government following the 2002 Gujarat riots.

The SIT was formed to probe Setalvad along with RB Sreekumar for criminal conspiracy and forgery.

SIT ACP BC Solanki and Special public prosecutors Mitesh Amin and Amit Patel had filed an affidavit in the sessions court against the bail plea filed by Teesta, Sreekumar in the Sessions Court stating that the accused had entered into a larger conspiracy with the intention of obtaining illegal money and other benefits from the Congress.

A metropolitan court in Ahmedabad sent Setalvad and Sreekumar to 14-day judicial custody on July 2. Former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt was arrested by the Ahmedabad Police's Crime Branch in connection with the Gujarat riots case for embezzling funds and forging documents.

Last month, the Supreme Court dismissed the plea filed by Zakia Jafri, widow of former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, challenging the clean chit given by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to then Chief Minister Narendra Modi and several others in the 2002 Gujarat riots.

Ehsan Jafri was among 69 people killed during violence at the Gulberg Society in Ahmedabad on February 28, 2002. His widow Zakia Jafri challenged the SIT's clean chit to 64 people including Narendra Modi. According to the SIT, Zakia Jafri was used as a tool by Teesta.

After 58 pilgrims were burnt alive on the Sabarmati Express train at Gujarat's Godhra railway station on February 27, 2002, riots broke out across the state in which more than 1,000 people were killed. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
New Delhi [India], July 26 (ANI): Tribal dance troupes from six different states of India performed in honour of the 15th President of India Droupadi Murmu at the National Tribal Research Institute, New Delhi in the presence of Union Minister of Tribal Affairs Arjun Munda and Union Minister of Heavy Industries Mahendra Nath Pandey.

On the occasion, a welcome song and colourful dances were presented by the tribal artists. Jharkhand group performed Santhali folk dance, Kunti group performed Mundari folk dance, Orissa group performed Adwasi Santhali Kalash Folk Dance, Howrah, West Bengal group performed Santari Lakchar Anech dance, and Chhattisgarh group performed Panthi dance.

Also Read | PM Narendra Modi Virtually Addresses Harmohan Yadav's 10th Death Anniversary Function, Calls Him 'Soldier' of Struggle During Emergency.

In his address on the occasion, Tribal Affairs Minister Munda praised the artists coming from many states for their outstanding dance performances. Further, Munda said that today is a historic day as Droupadi Murmu belonging to the tribal society has become the President of the country.

In his address, Mahendra Pandey appreciated the dance performance of all the artists.

Also Read | Margaret Alva, Oppositions Candidate for VP, Promises Not To Call Any MP From BJP, TMC, BJD if MTNL Restores Her Phone; Takes Dig at Fake KYC Scam.

He said "The daughter of India, who hails from the world of water-land-forest, has today become the President of the country and this new history has been made in the Amrit kaal for the country." He also added that it is a clear indicator of the new thinking of the present government which is giving shape to a progressive India.

Droupadi Murmu took oath as the 15th President of India at a ceremony in Parliament's Central Hall in New Delhi on Monday. With this, she has become the first tribal, second woman and the youngest President of India. She was administered oath by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana. Incidentally, she is also the first leader to be elected to the country's top job, who was born after independence.

After taking the oath, Murmu delivered her first address as President of India at the Central Hall of President, in which she thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and all the MPs and MLAs who voted for her. In her address, she also mentioned the Santhal Revolution, the Paika Revolution, the Coal Revolution and the Bhil Revolution.

In her address, the new President of India also reminisced the tribal contribution to the freedom struggle and named the sacrifice of 'Dharti Aba' Bhagwan Birsa Munda for social upliftment and patriotism. Murmu said, "I will discharge my duties with full loyalty. For me, the democratic-cultural ideals of India and all the countrymen will always be the source of my energy."

The oath-taking ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Rajya Sabha chairman and Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu, Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla, members of the council of ministers, governors, chief ministers, members of parliament and other dignitaries and officials.

Before taking the oath as President of India, Murmu paid floral tributes at the memorial of Mahatma Gandhi at Raj Ghat. She also met outgoing President Ram Nath Kovind at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Murmu in the July 18 presidential polls defeated joint opposition candidate and former union minister Yashwant Sinha by securing 64 per cent of the total valid votes. The counting of the votes was held on July 21. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
By Manu Gupta

New Delhi [India], July 26 (ANI): A group of HIV patients on Tuesday staged a protest outside the National AIDS Control Organization's (NACO) office here against the shortage of crucial life-saving drugs required to curb the disease.

Also Read | Kanwar Yatra: Over 3 Crore kanwariyas Visited Haridwar So Far

Read @ANI Story |  Latest Tweet by ANI Digital.

The protestors held placards stating that patients should have access to essential medicines.

"We are not able to access life-saving, crucial drugs that we need to consume regularly for the treatment. For the last five months the drugs are not available in Delhi as well as neighboring states, " said Harishankar Singh, a patient while speaking to ANI.

Also Read | Thane Horror: Man Burns 5-Year-Old Son with Cigarette Butts to Prevent Him From Visiting His Mother in Bhiwandi; Booked.

He said the HIV positive patients had written to authorities about the issue but to no avail.

Anitosh, another HIV patient said, "There has been a stockout and shortage of very essential HIV medicines for quite some time. If such a situation persists, how could India achieve its goal to be a completely HIV-free nation by 2030?"

NACO is the central agency responsible for providing medicines, diagnostic kits and training needed to treat patients infected with HIV. The agency has, meanwhile, initiated a round of discussions following the ongoing protests.

"After persuasion by NACO and with active cooperation of national networks of persons living with HIV (PLHIV), four representatives of the protestors had a round of discussion with senior officers of NACO today afternoon," a source said.

Officials said they also informed the patients regarding the availability of the crucial drugs.

"They were informed about the position regarding drug availability and they were told to jointly work with state AIDS control societies and NACO for the availability of drugs at those few centers which were running short on supplies, temporarily," sources further said." (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
New Delhi, Jul 26 (PTI) With 14,830 new COVID-19 cases being reported in a day, India's tally of coronavirus infections rose to 4,39,20,451, while the count of active cases has declined to 1,47,512, according to Union Health Ministry data updated on Tuesday.

The death toll due to the disease has climbed to 5,26,110 with 36 new fatalities being recorded, the data updated at 8 am showed.

Also Read | @SpokespersonMoD @AjaybhattBJP4UK @DefenceMinIndia Kargil Vijay Diwas | Defence Minister   Latest Tweet by Prasar Bharati News Services.

Active cases now comprise 0.34 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.47 per cent, the health ministry said.

A decline of 3,365 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours, it said.

Also Read | Monkeypox in Uttar Pradesh: Suspected Case of MPV in Aurraiya.

The daily positivity rate was recorded at 3.48 per cent and the weekly positivity rate at 4.53 per cent, according to the data.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,32,46,829, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.20 per cent, it showed.

According to the ministry, 202.5 crore vaccine doses have been administered in the country so far under the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive.

India's COVID-19 infection tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5, 50 lakh on September 16, 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and the one-crore mark on December 19, 2020.

India crossed the grim milestones of two crore cases on May 4, 2021, three crore on June 23, 2021 and four crore on January 25 this year.

(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 26 (PTI) India on Tuesday slammed China and Pakistan for their efforts to encourage third countries to join projects relating to their multi-billion dollar connectivity corridor that passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

In a sharp reaction, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said such activities under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) are "inherently illegal, illegitimate and unacceptable", and will be treated accordingly by India.

Also Read | Weather Forecast: Heavy Rainfall Likely Over Rajasthan, Odisha; Respite For Gujarat As Rains to Recede Till July End.

New Delhi has consistently been critical of projects in the so-called CPEC projects which are in India's territory that has been illegally occupied by Pakistan."

At a meeting of the CPEC Joint Working Group (JWG) on International Cooperation and Coordination on Friday, Pakistan and China decided to welcome interested third countries to join the flagship CPEC initiative.

Also Read | Vivo T1x With Snapdragon 680 SoC Launched in India; Price, Features & Specifications.

"We have seen reports on encouraging proposed participation of third countries in so-called CPEC projects. Any such actions by any party directly infringe on India's sovereignty and territorial integrity," Bagchi said.

"India firmly and consistently opposes projects in the so-called CPEC, which are in Indian territory that has been illegally occupied by Pakistan," he said.

"Such activities are inherently illegal, illegitimate and unacceptable, and will be treated accordingly by India," he added.

The CPEC was launched in 2013 to improve Pakistan's road, rail and energy transportation infrastructure besides connecting its deep-sea port of Gwadar with China's Xinjiang province.

The CPEC is part of China's ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

India has been severely critical of the BRI as CPEC is part of the initiative.

(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 26 (PTI) A few students of Delhi University's Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar College on Tuesday claimed the college administration forcibly changed the name of its theatre society as it was in Urdu, a charge rejected by the authorities.

College principal R N Dubey rubbished the charge, terming it a "political ploy" against him.

Also Read | Andhra Pradesh's Debts Lower Than Other States, Claims Finance Minister Buggana Rajendranath Reddy.

The students alleged that the theatre society which was called 'Ilhaam' (revelation) was renamed Aarambh' which translates into "the beginning".

A student, who is also a member of the theatre group, said a college official informed them a few weeks back that the name of the group was not acceptable to the management and that they should change it.

Also Read | Gurugram Shocker: 35-Yr-Old Man Dies After Jumping off 10-Story Building.

The student, who requested anonymity, alleged that the college threatened to freeze the funds of the theatre society if the members did not toe the line.

"Although at the beginning, members of the society were against it. But we were told that we would be marked absent if the name was not changed. The students got scared and agreed," he said.

However, the principal denied the allegations, terming it a political ploy against him.

"I have not asked anyone to change the name of the society. There is a proper procedure to name any society and it is quite independent. I have not asked anyone. I think it is some kind of a political vendetta against me," he told PTI over phone.

Echoing the students' sentiments, an alumnus of the college, who was among the founding members of the theatre society, said this is not the first time such an attempt to rechristen the society has been made.

"Yesterday, my juniors told me that they have changed the name of the society fearing that they be marked absent and funds of the society would be frozen," Ali Fraz Rezvi, who graduated from the college this year, said.

"When I was a student here, similar threats were given to us as well. I was in the meeting when the principal asked us to change the name of the society," he alleged.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Medininagar, July 26 (PTI) Two persons including a woman were killed when lightning struck them in Jharkhand's Palamu district, police said on Tuesday.

The victims Balram Yadav (56) and Manmati Devi (45) were grazing cattle in a field when thunderbolt struck, killing them on the spot on Monday, the police said.

Also Read | Govt Must Be Given Credit for the Way It Has Played Its Role & Managed All-round   Latest Tweet by ANI.

The bodies have been sent to Medinirai Medical College and Hospital for post-mortem.

Deputy Commissioner Anjaneyulu Dodde told PTI that a compensation of Rs 4 lakh would be provided to the victims family from Disaster Management fund.

Also Read | Weather Forecast: Heavy Rainfall Likely Over Rajasthan, Odisha; Respite For Gujarat As Rains to Recede Till July End.

(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 26 (PTI) The National Education Policy-2020 seeks to restructure higher educational institutions of the country towards the changing needs of the knowledge economy, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu said on Tuesday, asserting that it will prove to be a game-changer.

Addressing a gathering after inaugurating the 75th Foundation Day celebrations of Delhi University's Hansraj College, Naidu observed that education must empower, enlighten and emancipate for the nation to move forward as one.

Also Read | Hindu Outfits Warn Karnataka Police If They Don't Act on Drugs, Entry of Minors Into Pubs, They Will.

"The National Education Policy-2020 is set to transform the world of education. The NEP lays out an elaborate, layered roadmap for educational institutions in terms of charting the course of national development and seeks to restructure the higher educational institutions of the country towards the changing needs of the knowledge economy," he said.

"The policy will prove to be a game-changer. I am happy to learn that the Delhi University is implementing NEP-2020 from this session in right earnest," he added.

Also Read | Supreme Court Says, Promise of Freebies by Political Parties a Serious Issue; Asks Centre for Way To Curb It.

The NEP approved by the Union Cabinet replaces the 34-year-old National Policy on Education framed in 1986 and is aimed at paving the way for transformational reforms in school and higher education systems to make India a global knowledge superpower.

Choice between three or four-year undergraduate courses, multiple entry and exit options in degree courses, adding three-and-half crore seats in higher education institutions, which will now have a single regulator, discontinuation of M.Phil programmes and fixation of fees are among the higher education reforms outlined in the new NEP.

During his address, Naidu said education holds the key to national development and emphasised the need for making quality education accessible and affordable to all.

The inauguration ceremony of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations marks the beginning of a series of academic and cultural events to commemorate this special year.

Naidu urged teachers to relate their teaching and curriculum with the real history of India, its culture, its tradition, its folk arts and languages, dialects, and core Indian values.

"The commitment of the college to transmitting the richness and grandeur of Indian culture is laudable. I am told that apart from the main library of the college with modern facilities and resources, there is a separate library of rare Vedic literature and texts. I was also pleased to learn that the teaching and non-teaching staff along with students perform yagya every month," he said.

Hansraj College, one of the foremost institutions affiliated to the University of Delhi, was founded by the DAV organisation on July 26, 1948.

The first President of India, Bharat Ratna Dr Rajendra Prasad inaugurated the current campus of the college.

Lauding the commitment of Hansraj College in transmitting the "richness and grandeur" of Indian culture, the vice president expressed happiness that the values of Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati and Mahatma Hansraj shape the moral vision of the college.

(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 26 (PTI) The government has no plans to release at this stage the caste data collected under the Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC) 2011, Lok Sabha was informed on Tuesday.

Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai also said that the central government has not enumerated caste-wise population other than SCs and STs in census since Independence.

Also Read | Parliamentary Standing Committee Tells I-T Department To Update System To Curb Tax Evasion in Entertainment Sector.

He said the SECC 2011, excluding the caste data, has been finalised and published by the Ministry of Rural Development and Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and the SECC reports are available on the portal "http:ecc.gov.in/".

As informed by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, there is no proposal to release the caste data at this stage, he said replying to a written question.

Also Read | Nityanand Rai Says '2,399 Bangladeshis Found Using Fraudulently Obtained Indian Documents'.

Rai said the castes and tribes which are specifically notified as Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) as per the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order 1950 and the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950, as amended from time to time, are enumerated in the census.

Replying to another question on delay of Census 2021 and its possible adverse impact on implementation of welfare schemes, the minister said the population projection of the country and states and Union Territories for 2011-2036, based on Census 2011 data, are available in the Report of the Technical Group on Population Projections published by National Commission on Population, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

He said the intent of the government for conducting Census 2021 was notified in the Gazette of India on March 28, 2019.

Due to the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, the Census 2021 and the related field activities have been postponed until further orders, he said.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
New Delhi, Jul 26 (PTI) Only 11 per cent of the nearly 69 crore eligible beneficiaries aged 18 years and above taking the precaution dose of COVID-19 vaccine till July 25, has become a cause of concern for the Centre, with officials attributing the slow uptake of the third shot to complacency and waning of coronavirus fear.

The precaution dose coverage among the 64,89,99,721 eligible population was 8 per cent till July 14.

Also Read | Around Rs. 9.5 Crore Released Under Sports for Women Component of Khelo India Scheme   Latest Tweet by PIB India.

India had on April 10 began administering precaution doses of COVID-19 vaccines to all aged above 18 years.

On July 15, the Union government launched a special 75-day drive to administer precaution doses to all aged 18 years and above at government vaccination centres free of cost.

Also Read | Goddess Kali Row: PIL Filed in Calcutta High Court Against Trinamool MP Mahua Moitra Over Associating Goddess Kali With Alcohol & Meat.

The drive 'COVID Vaccination Amrit Mahotsava', aimed at boosting the uptake of Covid precaution doses among eligible population, is being held as part of the government's Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav to celebrate the 75th anniversary of India's Independence.

Official sources further said 29 per cent of the 10.43 crore eligible individuals aged 60 years and above have been administered precaution dose of COVID-19 vaccine till July 25.

According to sources, around 4 crore people have not yet taken the first dose, while about 7 crore are due for their second dose. "Of 68,97,62,152 people eligible for precaution dose, only 7,30,96,284 have taken it so far. In a few days, the number of eligible people will increase to 93 crore," they said.

Asked about the slow pace of vaccination, an official source said, "Complacency has set in among people. Also, the fear of Covid is no more there as people have now become familiar with the disease. These are the main reasons for the slow uptake of precaution dose among the eligible population."

Asserting that coronavirus was not yet over, the sources said people who are eligible for the vaccine doses concerned should take them to limit the spread of the infection in the community.

Notably, studies at the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and other international research institutions have suggested that antibody level wanes after around six months after the primary vaccination with both doses and giving a booster increases the immune response.

"With almost two-and-a-half years into the pandemic, there is an increased level of fatigue amongst health care workers, field staff and in the community, necessitating a need to collectively reinvigorate the system, strengthen public and private hospitals, and remove any sense of complacency and fatigue.

"We must continue building on the progress made so far to bring the pandemic situation under control, and disseminate information to intensify the implementation of free precautionary doses for 18 plus population under 'Covid Vaccination Amrit Mahotsav' till September 30," the source said.

Spread awareness within community on the infection spread, need for Covid appropriate behaviour and vaccination in areas reporting high cases and positivity is crucial, it said, reiterating the importance of the five fold strategy of 'test, track, treat, vaccination and adherence to Covid Appropriate Behaviour'.

The average precaution doses administered till July 15 was 4.7 lakh doses per day which increased to 20.4 lakh doses per day in last 11 days.

Official sources also said that six states, including Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, are reporting more than 1,000 average daily cases.

Also, 181 districts in India are reporting a weekly positivity of more than 10 per cent (in the week ending July 25) and the weekly positivity is between 5 to 10 per cent in 107 districts.

India has been able to limit the spread of infection, official sources said, adding that 72,091 cases were reported per million population globally, while 31,193 cases were reported per million population in India.

They further said that 1.01 billion eligible beneficiaries, which is three times the population of the USA and 6.9 times the population of Russia, received the first dose in India, adding that 929.9 million eligible beneficiaries (4.3 times the population of Brazil and 13.4 times the population of the UK) have been fully vaccinated in India.

The countrywide COVID-19 vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16 last year with health care workers getting inoculated in the first phase. Vaccination of frontline workers started from February 2 last year.

The next phase of COVID-19 vaccination commenced on March 1 last year for people over 60 years of age and those aged 45 and above with specified comorbid conditions.

Vaccination for all people aged more than 45 years began on April 1 last year. The government then decided to expand the ambit of the vaccination drive by allowing everyone above 18 years to be inoculated against Covid from May 1 last year.

Inoculation of adolescents in the age group of 15-18 years commenced on January 3.

India began administering precaution doses of vaccines to healthcare and frontline workers and those aged 60 and above with comorbidities from January 10.

The country began inoculating children aged 12-14 from March 16 and also removed the comorbidity clause making all people aged above 60 eligible for the precaution dose of Covid vaccine.

(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 26 (PTI) Despite having proper eligibility and competence, experienced SC/STs aspirants "are not allowed to be inducted" as faculty members in AIIMS even at an initial stage, a parliamentary standing committee has alleged in a report.

The standing committee report on the welfare of scheduled castes (SCs) and scheduled tribes (STs) tabled in Lok Sabha said this is happening when out of a total of 1111 faculty positions, there are vacancies of 275 Assistant Professors and 92 Professor at AIIMS.

Also Read | Supreme Court Says, Promise of Freebies by Political Parties a Serious Issue; Asks Centre for Way To Curb It.

The report said the Committee, therefore, is of the view that all existing vacant faculty positions must be filled within the next three months.

"The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare must submit an action plan within three months from the date of presentation of the Report to both the Houses of Parliament.

Also Read | Shilpa Shetty Asks Court To Reject Plea Against Her Discharge Regarding Her and Richard Gere's Kiss.

"The Committee also have a firm view that in future too after filling up all the existing vacant positions, no faculty seat reserved for SC/ST shall be kept vacant for more than six months under any circumstances," it said.

"The Committee observes that inspite of having proper eligibility, competence, fully experienced SCs/STs aspirants are not allowed to be inducted as faculty members even at an initial stage," it said.

The Committee further said it is "not inclined" to accept the frequently stereotype reply of the government that no sufficient number of suitable candidates could be found.

"This is in fact not a correct picture of assessment of the SC/ST candidates who are equally bright and deserving. But they are deliberately declared as not suitable' because of wrong biased assessment by the Selection Committee just to deprive SC/ST candidates of their legitimate rights to be part of the faculty, the committee said.

The panel also said that at present there is no SC and ST members in the General Body of the AIIMS, which deprives SCs/STs of their legitimate rights to be part of the decision-making process and policy matters and also to protect the interests of SCs and STs in service matters.

"It is legitimate expectations of the Committee that there must be an SC/ST member in the General Body of AIIMS to provide representation to SC/ST community and to protect their interests in service matters as well as to be part of the decision-making process of the policy being framed by the AIIMS authority and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare," it said.

Noting that the reservation is not extended/applied in super-specialty courses, the panel said members belonging to SC/ST community are not able to enter the super-specialty courses.

This results in unprecedented and unwarranted deprivation of SC and ST candidates and monopoly of the unreserved faculty members in the super-specialty fields, it said.

"Reservation policy must be enforced in all super-specialty fields at student as well as faculty level strictly to ensure the presence of SC and ST faculty members there also.

"For the purpose, the Committee are of the firm view that effective mechanism be set up to send SC and ST doctors and students to undergo specialized training abroad so that their adequate representation may be seen visibly in all super-specialty fields," the panel said.

The committee also noted that the overall percentage of admission of SCs and STs in MBBS and other undergraduate courses and also post-graduate courses in various AIIMS are far below the required level of 15 percent for SC and 7.5 per cent for ST.

"This shows a very dismal picture with respect to filling up of undergraduate and post graduate seats in SC and ST category in various AIIMS. The Committee, therefore, strongly recommend that AIIMS should maintain strictly the prescribed percentage of reservation for SCs/STs in all courses," it said.

The Committee re-emphasised the fact that it is mandatory to maintain the percentage of reservations to ensure more opportunities for SCs and STs.

"The Committee expect from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to make sincere efforts to fill up all vacant seats meticulously so that deserving candidates from SC/ST are not deprived of their entitled seats," it said.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
New Delhi, Jul 26 (PTI) Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday hailed the armed forces personnel who fought valiantly in extremely harsh conditions to defend the country's territory during the Kargil conflict of 1999.

Singh said the act of valour and indomitable spirit by the armed forces would remain etched forever as a defining moment in India's history.

Also Read | Samsung Hires Semiconductor Expert Kim Woo-Pyeong From Apple: Report.

"On Kargil Vijay Diwas, India salutes the bravery, courage and sacrifice of our armed forces. They fought valiantly in extremely harsh conditions to defend our motherland. Their act of valour & indomitable spirit will remain etched forever as a defining moment in India's history," he tweeted.

Pakistan tried to redraw the boundary with India in 1999 through the Kargil misadventure but the Indian security forces foiled the evil design.

Also Read | Weather Forecast: Heavy Rainfall Likely Over Rajasthan, Odisha; Respite For Gujarat As Rains to Recede Till July End.

(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 26: As India on Tuesday commemorated 23 years of its victory over Pakistan in the Kargil War, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh paid tribute to soldiers who lost their lives in the 1999 Kargil War and laid a wreath at the National War Memorial in Delhi. Each year, Kargil Vijay Diwas is celebrated on July 26 to honour the valour and sacrifice of the soldiers who laid down their lives in the line of duty during the Kargil War.

The three service chiefs - Army chief General Manoj Pande, Navy chief Admiral R Hari Kumar & Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari - laid wreaths at the National War Memorial in Delhi The Indian Armed Forces defeated Pakistan on July 26, 1999. Since then, the day is celebrated as 'Kargil Vijay Diwas' to rekindle the pride and valour of the soldiers who took part in Operation Vijay.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also paid tribute to the soldiers who laid down their lives in line of duty. He said Kargil Vijay Diwas is a symbol of pride and glory for the country as he saluted the soldiers for fighting bravely for their motherland. Kargil Vijay Diwas 2022 Messages & Images: WhatsApp Status, Quotes on Patriotism, HD Wallpapers, SMS and Sayings To Pay Tribute to the Martyred Soldiers of the Kargil War.

"Kargil Vijay Diwas is a symbol of pride and glory of Maa Bharati. On this occasion, my salute to all the brave sons of the country who have accomplished their valor in the defense of the motherland. Jai Hind!," he said in a tweet.

The day marks the victory of Indian soldiers in recapturing the mountain heights that were occupied by the Pakistani Army on July 26, 1999, known as the Kargil War.

The Kargil War was fought between May 8, 1999, to July 26, 1999, against Pakistan intruders, who in the winters of 1998 transgressed into the Indian territory across the Line of Control and occupied fortified defences overlooking the NH 1A in Kargil's Drass and Batalik Sectors of Ladakh region with a nefarious aim of dominating all military and civil movement on the highway.

Earlier, President Droupadi Murmu paid homage to the brave soldiers on the Kargil Vijay Diwas and in a tweet said, "Kargil Vijay Diwas is a symbol of extraordinary valor, valor and determination of our armed forces. I bow to all the brave soldiers who laid down their lives to protect Mother India. All the countrymen will always be indebted to them and their family members. Jai Hind!".

(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 26 (ANI): The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Central government to take a stand on the need to control the issue of political parties promising to distribute irrational freebies from public funds during election campaigns.

A bench of Chief Justice of India NV Ramana, Justices Krishna Murari and Hima Kohli asked the Centre to consider whether the suggestions of the Finance Commission can be sought for a solution.

Also Read | Uttar Pradesh Shocker: 23-Year-Old Woman Constable Dies by Suicide in Prayagraj, Probe On.

During the hearing, CJI sought the opinion of senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who was present in court for some other matter, on freebies by political parties during the election campaign.

"Mr Sibal is here. As a senior parliamentarian. What is your view?" CJI asked.

Also Read | Uttar Pradesh: 15-Year-Old Student Beaten to Death by Three Teachers in Kanpur for Stealing Watch.

"It's a serious issue but difficult to control politically. The Finance Commission when it does allocation to various states, they can take into account the debt of the state and the quantum of freebies. The Finance Commission is the appropriate authority to deal with it. Maybe we can invite the Commission to look into this aspect. The Centre cannot be expected to issue directions," Sibal said.

The bench then asked Additional Solicitor General KM Nataraj, appearing for the Central government, to seek Commission's view on Sibal's suggestions.

"Mr Nataraj, please ask Finance Commission to look into this. Please see how a debate can be initiated," said the bench while posting it for hearing on August 3.

The top court was hearing a plea seeking direction to seize election symbols and deregister political parties that promised to distribute irrational freebies from public funds.

During the hearing, advocate Amit Sharma appearing for the Election Commission of India (ECI) told the apex court that it was held in previous judgments that a manifesto was part of the promises of a political party and suggested that the Central government could bring in a law to deal with the issue.

ASG Nataraj said that it was in the domain of the Election Commission of India.

"Why don't you say that you have nothing to do with it and the ECI has to take a call? I am asking if the Government of India is considering whether it's a serious issue or not? You take a stand and then we will decide whether these freebies are to be continued or not. Why is the Centre hesitating to take a stand?" asked CJI.

Advocate Ashwini Upadhyay, the petitioner in the case, said the issue was "serious" and demanded that the poll panel should bar the state and national political parties from giving freebies.

Upadhyay said there is a total debt of several lakh crores in states. "We are on our way to becoming Sri Lanka," he also added.

Earlier, the top court had sought a response from the Centre and ECI on the plea and agreed to hear the case while observing that it's a serious issue which may influence the electorate and affect the fairness of polls.

Upadhyay in his plea has claimed that political parties' arbitrary promises of irrational freebies for wrongful gain and to lure voters in their favour are analogous to bribery and undue influences.

It claimed that promise or distribution of irrational freebies from public funds before elections could unduly influence the voters, shake the roots of a free and fair election, and disturb the level playing field, besides vitiating the purity of the election process.

"Direct and declare that promise/distribution of irrational freebies from the public fund before the election to lure voters is analogous to the Bribery and Undue Influence under Section 171B and Section 171C of the IPC," the plea stated.

It further sought direction to the ECI to insert an additional condition: "political party shall not promise/distribute irrational freebies from the public fund before the election" in paras 6A, 6B and 6C of the Election Symbols Order 1968.

It said that "rather than promising better rule of law, equal pay for equal work, clean water, equal quality education, quality healthcare, quality infrastructure, speedy justice, free legal aid, citizen charter, judicial charter, efficient police system, effective administrative system; political parties arbitrarily promised irrational freebies from the public fund".

The petition stated that unfortunately, freebies are not connected with job creation, development, or agriculture and voters are lured to cast votes in their favour by magical promises.

It has become a fashion for the political parties to announce free electricity in their election manifesto though State has not been able to provide electricity for more than 16 hours and a large population doesn't even have access to electricity which has been recognized as a fundamental right, the petition added.

"Political parties announce unemployment allowance in the manifesto which makes youth lazy and dampen the working culture of the people. Rather than giving unemployment allowance, executives should provide a quality education so that youth can create job opportunities on their own. In this process, honest taxpayers have been made a mute spectator. Petitioner submits that healthcare infrastructure is not good as it was seen during Covid times but political parties are ignorant of it," the plea further submitted. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Thane, Jul 26 (PTI) Thane has recorded 60 new COVID-19 cases, raising the infection tally in the Maharashtra district to 7,33,543, a health official said on Tuesday.

Also Read | Kargil Vijay Diwas Symbol of Extraordinary Valour of Armed Forces, Says President Droupadi Murmu.

With the addition of the latest cases on Monday, the district currently has 965 active COVID-19 cases, he said.

Also Read | National Herald Case: Sonia Gandhi To Join ED Probe Today, Security Heightened in Lutyens Zone.

One death was also reported on Monday, raising the fatality toll in the district to 11,927, he said.

The recovery count in Thane was 7,20,591, the official added.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Guwahati, Jul 26 (PTI) Three more persons died of Japanese Encephalitis in Assam on Tuesday, taking the toll to 44 this month, an official release said. According to the statement of National Health Mission, Assam, eight new cases raised the tally to 274.

The three deaths due to Japanese Encephalitis include two from Nagaon and one from Chirang.

Also Read | Gurugram Shocker: 35-Yr-Old Man Dies After Jumping off 10-Story Building.

Three fresh cases were reported from Nagaon, two from Tinsukia and one each from Chirang, Jorhat and Kamrup.

The state had reported 14 such cases and two deaths on Monday.

Also Read | Gujarat Rape & Murder Case: POCSO Court Awards Death Penalty to Accused for Raping, Killing Minor Girl in Surat.

All the district administrations have formed rapid response teams to deal with Acute Encephalitis Syndrome and Japanese Encephalitis.

The standard operating procedures and guidelines communicated by the National Health Mission, Assam are being followed by all the districts for detection, management and referral of such cases, an official said.

Japanese Encephalitis is an infection that's spread through mosquito bites.

(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 26 (PTI) Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Tuesday paid tributes to valiant soldiers who displayed unwavering patriotism and unmatched gallantry in protecting the nation in 1999, on the occasion of Kargil Vijay Diwas.

On July 26, 1999, the Indian Army announced the successful culmination of "Operation Vijay", declaring victory after a nearly three-month-long battle on the icy heights of Kargil in Ladakh.

Also Read | Weather Forecast: Heavy Rainfall Likely Over Rajasthan, Odisha; Respite For Gujarat As Rains to Recede Till July End.

The day is observed as 'Kargil Vijay Diwas' to commemorate India's victory over Pakistan in the war.

"On Kargil Vijay Diwas, I pay my humble tributes to our valiant soldiers who displayed unwavering patriotism and unmatched gallantry in protecting our nation in 1999," Naidu was quoted as saying in a tweet by his office.

Also Read | Vivo T1x With Snapdragon 680 SoC Launched in India; Price, Features & Specifications.

"The nation is ever indebted to the martyrs of Kargil for their supreme sacrifice," he said.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Kolkata, Jul 26 (PTI) Days after West Bengal Parliamentary Affairs Minister Partha Chatterjee was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in an alleged school jobs scam, state Assembly Speaker Biman Banerjee on Tuesday demanded a time-bound probe into it.

He hoped that the truth would be out soon.

Also Read | Punjab Police's AGTF Arrest Two Aides of Gangsters Goldy Brar, Anmol Bishnoi While They Try To Escape.

Banerjee also stated that the arrest of Chatterjee will not have any adverse impact on parliamentary affairs of the state assembly.

"I don't think that the arrest will have any adverse impact on the parliamentary affairs of the West Bengal Assembly. If someone falls sick or is absent, it won't stop the functioning of the state government or the House.

Also Read | Hindu Outfits Warn Karnataka Police If They Don't Act on Drugs, Entry of Minors Into Pubs, They Will.

"But I think there should be a time-bound probe into the matter. It is unacceptable that the investigation would continue for years. I am hopeful that the truth would come out soon," Banerjee said.

Without naming anyone, the Assembly Speaker also dug at opposition parties for mocking Chatterjee over his arrest.

"Those who are laughing today may not laugh tomorrow. I have doubts about this episode (investigation into school jobs scam)," he said.

The ruling TMC had on Sunday also demanded a time-bound investigation in the ED case against the minister, while asserting that the party would not interfere politically if any leader was found to have done anything wrong.

Chatterjee, also the state industry and commerce minister, was arrested by the ED on July 23 in connection with its investigation into the alleged teacher recruitment irregularities at government-sponsored and-aided schools.

He was the education minister when the school jobs scam took place.

A woman, claimed to be Chatterjee's close aide, was also arrested by the central agency after crores of rupees in cash were allegedly recovered from her residence.

PTI could not independently verify the information.

(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 26 (ANI): Congress on Tuesday urged West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to sack state minister Partha Chatterjee immediately, who has been arrested in connection with the alleged School Service Commission (SSC) scam.

In a letter to Banerjee, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury urged to sack Partha Chatterjee from Ministership immediately.

Also Read | Day Before Ram Nath Kovind Demitted Office, PM Modi Pens Emotional Letter for Him;   Latest Tweet by ANI Digital.

"I am writing this letter regarding the misdeed of Partha Chatterjee, who presently holds the Industry and State Parliamentary Affairs portfolio under your government. He was the Education Minister from 2014-2021, during which the alleged irregularities in teacher recruitment occurred. This Teacher Recruitment Scam was an open secret and everyone in Bengal knows about this. It was only after the court's intervention that investigation agencies started acting upon it. It is a huge blot on the government of West Bengal. I urge you to sack Partha Chatterjee from Ministership immediately," the letter reads.

Earlier in the morning, Chatterjee was bought to the Central Government Office (CGO) complex in Kolkata, a day after he and his aide Arpita Mukherjee were sent to the custody of the Enforcement Directorate till August 3.

Also Read | Samsung Hires Semiconductor Expert Kim Woo-Pyeong From Apple: Report.

He reached the Kolkata airport this morning, after being discharged from AIIMS Bhuwneshwar.

"Partha Chatterjee's health is stable. Medical reports have come, and it's fine. A thorough examination of him was done. Though he had some problems, he didn't need to be admitted to the hospital, he's being monitored closely," said Dr Tushar Kanti Patra, SSKM Hospital in Kolkata.

Notably, Partha Chatterjee and his aide, Arpita Mukherjee, have been sent to Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody till August 3. The Calcutta court also gave orders to conduct medical check-ups of both the arrested accused after every 48 hours.

The Court also gave orders to the ED to not interrogate Arpita between 9 pm to 6 am.

Partha was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the alleged School Service Commission (SSC) scam in West Bengal on Saturday.

The ED unearthed many disproportionate assets of Partha Chatterjee since his arrest, of which were three flats in West Bengal's Diamond City.

The arrest of Partha Chatterjee followed Rs 21 crore in cash and jewellery worth above Rs 1 crore being recovered from the Kolkata residence of Arpita Mukherjee, a close aide of the former education minister.

The Enforcement Directorate on Friday (July 23) recovered Rs 20 crore in cash from the house of an associate of West Bengal Minister Partha Chatterjee. The ED raided Arpita Mukerjee's house in connection with an alleged teacher recruitment scam in West Bengal. "The said amount is suspected to be proceeds of crime of the said SSC scam," the probe agency had said in a statement.

The search teams are taking the assistance of bank officials for the counting of cash through counting machines. Photos of the house taken during the raid show Rs 2000 and Rs 500 notes that were recovered.

Partha Chatterjee, who is presently the minister for industries and commerce, was the education minister when the alleged illegal appointments were made in government-run and aided schools by West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC).

The ruling Trinamool Congress described the raids as a "ploy" by the BJP government at the Centre to "harass" its political opponents. (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 26 (PTI) Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Tuesday asserted that it was not Sonia Gandhi, but the Congress that was protesting as it has the right to do so when its leader is being "harassed".

His remarks came on a day Congress chief Sonia Gandhi was questioned for the second time by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case related to the National Herald newspaper, leading to a massive protest by the party against the alleged misuse of central agencies.

Also Read | Andhra Pradesh's Debts Lower Than Other States, Claims Finance Minister Buggana Rajendranath Reddy.

"The BJP asks why is the Congress protesting on the streets. Mrs Sonia Gandhi is appearing before the ED. She is not protesting. It is the Congress party that is protesting. We have a right to protest when our leader is being harassed," Chidambaram said on Twitter.

"When (Narendra) Modi was questioned, the BJP put up posters all over Gujarat and protested. We have the right to also demand how did the ED cases against a number of political leaders (who subsequently joined the BJP) suddenly vanish in thin air?" the former Union home minister said.

Also Read | Gurugram Shocker: 35-Yr-Old Man Dies After Jumping off 10-Story Building.

As ED officials quizzed Gandhi, 75, for six hours and asked her to appear before the agency for the third round of questioning on Wednesday, Congress workers staged 'satyagraha' in several parts of the country.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and several party MPs were detained by police at Vijay Chowk in the national capital. The Congress leaders were later released after being in detention for several hours.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Mumbai, Jul 26 (PTI) For the first time since 2010, the number of equities owned by domestic investors has exceeded the holdings of foreign funds in 75 large companies in April-June quarter this year, according to a report.

The combined holdings in equities by domestic investors (mutual funds and households) have increased by 720 basis points (bps) to 25.6 per cent in June 2022, while those owned by Foreign Portfolio Investors' (FPIs) declined by 230 bps to 24.8 per cent, according to the data collated by Wall Street brokerage Morgan Stanley.

Also Read | Congress Protest: Rahul Gandhi Released From Detention, Says Delhi Police.

The June quarter alone saw a near 90 bps rise in domestic ownership, while FPI ownership fell 84 bps in these 75 companies which are the largest in terms of market capitalisation, the brokerage said.

FPIs' ownership in these companies has declined by 232 bps since December 2014, and by 263 bps year-on-year.

Also Read | Itel A23S Now Official in India, Check Price & Other Details Here.

Promoters' holdings also declined 20 bps annually, 5 bps sequentially and a steep 326 bps since 2014.

Financial institutions' holdings in these companies rose 39 bps and 64 bps during the respective periods and declined by 17 bps since 2014. On the other hand, domestic mutual funds saw this rising by 49 bps, 144 bps and 580 bps respectively during the three comparable periods. When it comes to public or retail investors, the same has gone up by 1 bps, 36 bps and 157 bps, respectively.

The promoters of these 75 companies own 44.9 per cent as of June (down from 45.4 per cent in September 2021).

While 24.8 per cent is owned by FPIs, domestic mutual funds hold 9.5 per cent (up from 8.2 per cent in September 2021), public 9 per cent (up from 8.5 per cent), financial institutions 7.2 per cent (up from 6.5 per cent) and NRIs & others 4.7 per cent during this period.

FPIs' ownership, after peaking at 26.9 per cent in September 2021, has been steadily falling. In December 2021 it slipped to 26.4 per cent and by March 2022 it dropped to 25.6 per cent before hitting 24.8 per cent in June 2022, the data said.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
New Delhi, Jul 26 (PTI) The amount involved in fraud cases reported by public sector banks (PSBs) has come down to Rs 3,204 crore in the last fiscal from Rs 28,884 crore in 2017-18, Parliament was informed on Tuesday.

As per the RBI data, PSBs reported 5,624 cases of fraud in 2017-18, involving Rs 28,884 crore. In 2018-19, a total of 9,092 cases were reported amounting to Rs 26,720 crore, while in 2019-20, the number of frauds rose to 11,074, involving a monetary value of Rs 21,170 crore, Minister of State for Finance Bhagwad Karad said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.

Also Read | Congress Protest: Rahul Gandhi Released From Detention, Says Delhi Police.

In 2020-21, PSBs reported 4,680 fraud cases of Rs 7,306 crore, which declined to 2,369 cases corresponding to Rs 3,204 crore in 2021-22, he added.

Karad said an online searchable database of frauds reported by banks has been set up in the form of the Central Fraud Registry.

Also Read | Itel A23S Now Official in India, Check Price & Other Details Here.

It has enabled timely identification, control and mitigation of fraud risk and also to carry out due diligence during the credit sanction process, he said.

Various steps have been taken by the RBI in fraud detection, such as issuing directions to banks on prompt reporting of such cases, reporting deficient third-party services and implementation of security and operational controls by banks.

The minister said the government, in 2015, issued a framework for banks for timely detection, reporting, and investigation relating to large-value bank frauds involving money in excess of Rs 50 crore.

"Public Sector Banks (PSBs) have been advised to strictly ensure rotational transfer of officials/employees," Karad said.

In a separate question on the profitability of PSBs, the minister said their net profit increased to Rs 66,519 crore in 2021-22 against Rs 31,820 crore in 2020-21.

The gross NPAs (non-performing assets) of these banks fell to Rs 5,41,750 crore from Rs 6,16,616 crore in 2020-21, Karad said.

"Profit earned and retained by banks adds to their capital and enables them to support further loan growth while maintaining required capital adequacy ratios. In addition, banks raise capital from the market to strengthen their capital base," the minister said in his reply.

Providing data, Karad said capital raised by the PSBs from the market in the form of both equity and bonds in FY22 stood at Rs 50,719 crore.

It stood at Rs 58,697 crore in 2020-21 and Rs 32,293 crore in 2019-20.

(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 26 (PTI) India witnessed a power shortage of one per cent in the April-June period this fiscal, with an electricity supply of 400.65 billion units (BU) against the requirement of 404.76 BU, Parliament was informed on Tuesday.

"Further, during 2022-23 (April-June), against the requirement of 404.76 Billion Units (BU), the energy supplied was 400.65 BU. There was a shortage of 1 per cent of energy requirement," Union Power Minister RK Singh said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.

Also Read | Itel A23S Now Official in India, Check Price & Other Details Here.

The minister explained to the House that the gap is generally on account of factors other than inadequacy of power availability in the country, such as constraints in the distribution network, financial constraints, commercial reasons, forced outage of generating units etc.

In another reply, the minister told the House that 325.62 BU or 75 per cent of the total power generation was from thermal projects, which include coal, lignite, gas and diesel.

Also Read | Realme Pad X With Snapdragon 695 Processor Launched in India; First Sale on August 1, 2022.

Renewable energy, including large hydro plants, output was 92.85 BU or 21.6 per cent of total power generation in the country.

About the coal shortage, the minister informed that as of March 31, 2022, the coal stock was 25.6 Million Tonnes (MT) and has increased to 28.4 MT as of July 17, 2022, which is about 50 per cent of the normative coal stock required to be maintained by the TPPs (third-party providers).

The coal stock available as of July 17, 2022, is sufficient to run these power plants for an average of 10 days at 85 per cent plant load factor (PLF), the minister stated.

The coal stock available with the thermal power plants, including import, is monitored by Central Electricity Authority (CEA) on daily basis.

In another reply, the minister said that a scheme for viability gap funding for Battery Energy Storage Systems (BEEs) and Pump Storage Projects (PSP) is under consideration by the government.

The PLF (plant load factor or capacity utilisation) of coal/lignite-based power plants of capacity 25 MW and above during the year 2021-22 was 58.87 per cent.

In 2022-23, the electricity demand has increased and power plants are generating electricity as per the schedule given to them. The PLF for coal/lignite-based power plants in 2022-23 up to June 2022 is around 69.5 per cent, the minister stated.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Thane, Jul 26 (PTI) Over 2.5 lakh autorickshaw, taxi owners and operators in the Konkan division of Maharashtra will go on an indefinite strike from midnight of July 31 to press for their various pending demands, an official said on Tuesday.

Also Read | Realme Pad X With Snapdragon 695 Processor Launched in India; First Sale on August 1, 2022.

The Konkan division comprises Thane, Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts.

Also Read | Realme Watch 3, Buds Air 3 Neo, Buds Wireless 2S Earphones Launched in India.

"The state government has not paid any heed to the long pending demands of the autorickshaw and taxi operators. Hence, we had to take this harsh step of going on an indefinite strike," said Pranav Penkar, the president of the Kokan Vibhag Rickshaw-Taxi Mahasangh.

One of the major demands of the autorickshaw and taxi operators was a hike in fares, as the price of CNG has increased, he said.

Moreover, the state government has issued a number of permits to autorickshaws in the region and it should stop the same for at least 10 to 15 years, as it adversely affects the existing operators, Penkar said.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
New Delhi, Jul 26 (PTI) More than 4.32 lakh non-operational companies have been struck off from the official records under special drives and out of them, 49,921 companies were removed in the last fiscal, according to the government.

In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the government has undertaken special drives for identification and striking off non-operational companies under Section 248 of the Companies Act.

Also Read | Itel A23S Now Official in India, Check Price & Other Details Here.

"4,32,796 number of companies have been struck off in these special drives undertaken till 2021-22," she said.

In 2021-22, a total of 49,921 number of non-operational companies were struck off.

Also Read | Realme Pad X With Snapdragon 695 Processor Launched in India; First Sale on August 1, 2022.

Under the Act, there is no definition of the terms 'shell company' and 'fraudulent shell company'.

According to the minister, Section 164(2)(a) of the Act empowers the corporate affairs ministry to disqualify the directors of those companies which have not filed financial statement or annual return for any continuous period of three financial years.

Such individuals can be barred from being re-appointed as a director of the company concerned or in other companies for five years.

"By invoking the said provision, the ministry had also disqualified 5,68,755 directors," Sitharaman said.

Further, she said that based on information received from various banks, the central government had ordered investigations into the true ownership of 68 such companies which had deposited Rs 25 crore or more in bank accounts and withdrew in an exceptional manner post demonetisation.

The Companies Act, 2013, is being implemented by the corporate affairs ministry.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Mumbai, Jul 26 (PTI) With unclaimed deposits in banks rising steeply, the Reserve Bank has launched a national campaign with a focus on the eight states that have the maximum amount of such money.

The unclaimed deposits in banks have sharply jumped to Rs 48,262 crore in FY22 from Rs 39,264 crore in the preceding fiscal, according to the annual report of the central bank.

Also Read | Itel A23S Now Official in India, Check Price & Other Details Here.

Most of these funds are lying with banks across Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Bengal, Karnataka, Bihar and Telangana/Andhra Pradesh, according to an RBI official.

Accordingly, the monetary authority has launched a campaign in the languages of these eight states along with Hindi and English.

Also Read | Realme Pad X With Snapdragon 695 Processor Launched in India; First Sale on August 1, 2022.

According to RBI norms, balances in savings/current accounts that are not operated for 10 years, or term deposits not claimed within 10 years from the date of maturity, are classified as "unclaimed deposits". After this, banks transfer such money to the 'depositor education and awareness fund' maintained by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

The depositors are, however, still entitled to claim their money at a later date from the bank along with applicable interest. However, despite public awareness campaigns undertaken by banks, as well as the RBI, from time to time, the amount of unclaimed deposits is showing an increasing trend, the central bank said.

The volume of unclaimed deposits arises mainly due to non-closure of savings/ current accounts, which depositors do not intend to operate anymore or due to not submitting redemption claims with banks for matured fixed deposits. There are also cases of accounts belonging to deceased depositors, where the nominees/legal heirs do not come forward to take the money back.

The campaign aims to help such depositors or the nominees/legal heirs of the deceased depositors identify and claim the deposits, the central bank said.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Dar es Salaam [Tanzania], July 26 (ANI/Xinhua): At least 13 people, including eleven nursery and primary school pupils, were killed Tuesday morning and 16 others injured after their school bus veered off the road and plunged into a ditch in southern Tanzania's Mtwara region, said police.

Nicodemus Katembo, the Mtwara acting regional police commander, identified the other victims as the driver of the school bus and his assistant.

Also Read | Environmental Crisis: Saudi Arabia Unveils Design of New City To Promote Green Lifestyle.

Katembo said the incident happened at Mikindani on the outskirts of the Mtwara municipality after a brakes failure at 7 am, local time when the bus was ferrying the pupils to school.

The 16 injured children were rushed to the Mtwara regional hospital for treatment, where the hospital's medical officer Hamad Nyembea described the conditions of five pupils as critical.

Also Read | COVID-19 Variants Have Developed Resistance to Human Immune System: Study.

President Samia Suluhu Hassan sent a condolence message to the Mtwara regional commissioner Marco Gaguti on behalf of the bereaved families, saying she was shocked by the untimely deaths of the young children. (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)
London, Jul 26 (PTI) The Spice Tailor, an award-winning Indian spice company created a decade ago by a British Indian couple, is to be acquired by UK manufacturer Premier Foods for an initial consideration of GBP 43.8 million.

Premier Foods, which owns several iconic food brands including producing Cadbury cakes under licence, said the acquisition of the company known for its premium and authentic Indian meal kits is aligned with the company's growth strategy.

Also Read | COVID-19 Variants Have Developed Resistance to Human Immune System: Study.

The Spice Tailor, founded by London-based cookery writer, TV presenter and entrepreneur Anjum Anand and husband Adarsh Sethia, has the stated mission to bring real Indian food into the homes of people around the world.

We're very pleased that The Spice Tailor will become part of Premier Foods and are looking forward to unlocking further growth for the brand which we have nurtured since its inception, the couple said on Monday.

Also Read | How the Situation in Ukraine Impacts on the Whole World.

We see Premier with their track record of brand investment and strong commercial relationships, as the perfect fit for The Spice Tailor, driving it onto the next stage of its evolution, they said.

Under the transaction details, Premier Foods will acquire 100 per cent of The Spice Tailor shares and is expected to generate revenue of GBP 17.3 million in the 2022/23 financial year. The completion of the deal, expected within this financial year, is subject to merger control clearance.

We have greatly admired The Spice Tailor business for some time and we're very much looking forward to it joining our existing stable of strong brands. The acquisition is well aligned to our growth strategy and we see a clear opportunity to build on the excellent track record of The Spice Tailor, by leveraging the elements of our proven branded growth model, said Alex Whitehouse, CEO of Premier Foods, which is headquartered in Hertfordshire, southern England.

This acquisition represents a highly complementary geographical fit, and we see significant potential to expand The Spice Tailor's distribution in all our target markets. We see this as another important milestone for us following the Group's strong performance over recent years and The Spice Tailor is an important addition to accelerate our future growth plans, he said.

London-born Anjum Anand, 50, is the author of eight cookbooks including Indian Food Made Easy' and I Love Curry'. She started out to dispel the myth in the UK that Indian cuisine is unhealthy and wanted to see it being prepared by everyday home-cooks. When she saw that products in the country's supermarkets didn't represent the real flavours she grew up with, she decided to create her own range of meal kits that would taste home-made and were quick and easy to prepare and free of any artificial additives. Her vision was to take Indian food beyond the old-fashioned ideas of take-ways and jarred sauces and create a better home-cooking experience.

I understood early on that food brought people together, and that it brought joy into our home. Indian food especially held a certain kind of magic for me, says Anand.

I've spent my life immersed in its complex flavours and spices. Over the last 15 years of writing recipes, cookbooks and presenting TV series on the real joys of Indian food, I've always wanted to bring real Indian food into the homes of people around the world, she adds.

The Spice Tailor hit the stores in the UK in 2011 and has since expanded to Australia, Ireland and Canada, also winning awards at the World Food Awards.

Premier Foods was attracted by The Spice Tailor's asset light business model and authenticity reflected in the fact that the vast majority of its products are manufactured in India, by way of outsourcing to BRC accredited suppliers.

The Spice Tailor's largest markets are the UK and Australia, which accounted for 58 per cent and 35 per cent respectively last year. This expansion spree is expected to continue following the acquisition.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Kathmandu [Nepal]/Islamabad [Pakistan], July 26 (ANI): China's image as a preferred investor in Asia have suffered due to policies leading to debt traps along with the human rights situation in the country.

Countries like Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are among those where questions are being asked about Chinese investments. In Nepal, some Chinese entities were blacklisted in some infrastructure projects due to extreme negligence and delay in work, according to reports.

Also Read | Environmental Crisis: Saudi Arabia Unveils Design of New City To Promote Green Lifestyle.

Some of these aspects were also brought forth by a recently published think-tank report.

"There is a relatively new revelation that along with debt burden, the major Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) countries are also facing ever-rising trade deficit. Merged with debt trap, the trade trap associated with BRI investments have jolted the financial stability of Pakistan and many other BRI countries," said a Canada-based think tank, International Forum for Rights and Security (IFFRAS).

Also Read | COVID-19 Variants Have Developed Resistance to Human Immune System: Study.

In contrast to a debt trap, a trade deficit trap is a situation being experienced by countries who relied heavily on China for investments. In this situation, a country experiences an ever-widening trade deficit after its newly built infrastructure projects are completed.

According to IFFRAS, Pakistan is one among such countries that faces severe deficit in trade balance too, especially with China.

Some of the projects in Nepal such as the Kathmandu-Kerung Interstate Railway, Galchhi Rasuwagadhi-Kerung transmission line and Syafrubensi-Rasuwagadhi road section have fallen into disrepair, according to reports.

The construction work of the 30 MW Nyadi Hydropower Project on the Ngadi River at Bahundanda in Lamjung, which was started by the Chinese company Chachiang Hydropower Construction and Installation Company in April 2013, is learnt to be delayed.

Similarly, the Central China Power Grid International Economic Trade Organization, which delayed the project due to extreme negligence in the construction of the Hetauda-Bharatpur-Bardaghat transmission line is also reportedly on the blacklist of the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA).

The NEA has warned the Chinese contractor Kwangsi Hydro and Electrical Construction, which has been entrusted with the 102 MW Madhya Bhotekoshi Hydropower Project in Sindhupalchowk, to be blacklisted, break the contract and pay fines if the work is not completed within the next five years.

The Chinese companies have delayed the work not only in Nepal's hydropower and infrastructure but also in the field of aviation. The Pokhara airport, which was expected to be completed in 2021, is also in dilapidated condition.

The Pokhara airport built by the Chinese company CAMC on a loan of USD 214.7 million from the Chinese Import-Export Bank (EXIM) is not technically operational immediately. However, the government has already started paying 2 per cent interest on 75 per cent of the Chinese loan, according to reports.

China, which once promised to bring prosperity to Nepal through its investments, has now abandoned dozens of large-scale projects. In a quest for rapid progress and development, Bangladesh is falling under the debt trap of China by sponsoring infrastructure projects.

As Chinese companies want to build the Metro Rail in Chittagong with their funds, it implies that, after the completion of the project, Chinese technicians will continue to stay in Chittagong under the cover of maintenance of the Metro. It is an attempt by China to strengthen its footstep in Bangladesh, especially in Chittagong which is strategically important.

The main target of China is Chittagong Port, which is the main port of Bangladesh from where entire Bangladesh's export and import takes place.

China is gradually bringing Bangladesh into its trap as it is already the major supplier of arms to Bangladesh. China has made a hard bargain with Pakistan when it comes to payback on its loans and other investments in Pakistan.

In the fiscal years 2021 - 2022, Pakistan paid around USD 150 million towards interest to China for using a USD 4.5 billion Chinese trade finance facility. In the financial year 2019 - 2020, Pakistan paid USD 120 million towards interest on USD 3 billion in loans. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Jerseydale, Jul 26 (AP) Firefighters have significantly slowed the spread of a huge wildfire burning in a forest near Yosemite National Park that burned 55 homes and other buildings and forced thousands from their homes, officials said Monday.

It was a successful day for aircraft and firefighters, resulting in minimal growth on the fire. Helicopters dropped 300,000 gallons of water on the fire. Crews continue to construct control lines and extinguish hot spots along existing lines, said a Monday night report by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire.

Also Read | US Swimmer Injured By Hawaiian Monk Seal With Pup in Waikiki; Watch Video.

Thousands of residents from mountain communities were still under evacuation orders Monday while smoke from the fire drifted more than 200 miles (322 kilometers), reaching Lake Tahoe, parts of Nevada and the San Francisco Bay Area, officials said.

It's been just horrendous with the air quality, said Kim Zagaris, an advisor with the Western Fire Chiefs Association, which maps wildfires across the country.

Also Read | US President Joe Biden Expects to Speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping This Week.

More than 2,500 firefighters with aircraft support were battling the blaze, known as the Oak Fire, that erupted last Friday southwest of the park, near the town of Midpines in Mariposa County. Officials described explosive fire behavior on Saturday as flames made runs through bone-dry vegetation caused by the worst drought in decades.

The blaze had consumed 27 square miles (70 square kilometers) of forest land, with 16 per cent containment, Cal Fire said. The cause was under investigation.

Firefighters on Monday struggled in steep terrain in temperatures that reached the mid- to high 90s.

On Sunday, ground forces protected homes as air tankers dropped retardant on 50-foot (15-meter) flames racing along ridgetops east of the tiny community of Jerseydale.

There are two major blazes burning in California, which is experiencing a fairly typical ramp-up to what is sure to be an active fire year once California's infamous Santa Ana and Diablo wind events begin in September, Zagaris said.

We've been fortunate. We're not quite as far along as we were at this time last year, he said. But the fuels, the vegetation, are much dryer than they were last year. It's so dry out there.

Zagaris compared the wildfires in California this year to 2008, when few blazes burned early but a mid-summer barrage of lightning hit the state "and before we knew it there were 2,000 fires burning in the northern part of the state.

Evacuations were in place Monday for over 6,000 people living across a several-mile span of the sparsely populated fire zone in the Sierra Nevada foothills, though a handful of residents defied the orders and stayed behind, said Adrienne Freeman, a US Forest Service spokesperson.

We urge people to evacuate when told, she said.

Jane and Wes Smith lost their home of more than 37 years and Jane had only enough time to load her two horses and flee, according to their son, Nick Smith, SFGate reported.

Wes Smith is a coordinator for the Mariposa County Emergency Services and was working on the fire response as their home burned.

The couple have lost everything. 37 years of memories, generations of family treasures and countless more sentimental things," their son said on a GoFundMe page.

Numerous roads were closed, including a stretch of State Route 140 that's one of the main routes into Yosemite.

California has experienced increasingly larger and deadlier wildfires in recent years as climate change has made the West much warmer and drier over the past 30 years. Scientists have said weather will continue to be more extreme and wildfires more frequent, destructive and unpredictable.

Pacific Gas & Electric said on its website that more than 2,600 homes and businesses in the area had lost power as of Monday and there was no indication when it would be restored.

The Oak Fire was sparked as firefighters made progress against an earlier blaze, the Washburn Fire, that burned to the edge of a grove of giant sequoias in the southernmost part of Yosemite National Park.

The latter fire, spanning a 7.5-square-mile (19-square-kilometer) area, was 87 per cent contained on Monday after burning for two weeks and moving into the Sierra National Forest.(AP)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
New York, Jul 26 (PTI) A 38-year-old Indian-American has been convicted of international parental kidnapping after he took his US-born child to India and later failed to bring the kid back to the mother in the United States.

Amitkumar Kanubhai Patel from Vadodara, who formerly lived in Edison, New Jersey, was convicted last week of one count of international parental kidnapping following a five-day trial before US District Judge Renee Marie Bumb in Camden federal court in New Jersey.

Also Read | US Swimmer Injured By Hawaiian Monk Seal With Pup in Waikiki; Watch Video.

The international parental kidnapping offense of which Patel stands convicted carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a maximum fine of USD 250,000. He will be sentenced in November this year.

Patel is a naturalised US citizen who had been living in India. He was convicted of obstructing the parental rights of his child's mother by kidnapping the child and failing to return the child to the United States when ordered to do so, US Attorney Philip R Sellinger said Monday.

Also Read | US President Joe Biden Expects to Speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping This Week.

According to documents filed in this case and the evidence at trial, the child's mother and Patel were in a relationship and resided together in New Jersey from August 2015 through July 2017.

The two never married. In November 2016, they had a child, who was born in Edison Township.

According to the child's mother, Patel wanted to take the child to India to introduce him to Patel's parents and obtain DNA testing, which Patel claimed was necessary for the child to claim property that Patel's family owned in India.

Patel also told the child's mother that in order to obtain an Indian visa for the child, he would need to secure sole custody, which required them to go to court.

Patel instructed the mother to tell the court that they had a mutual understanding regarding the custody of their child. Patel instructed the mother to state that she did not have a work permit, and since she was unemployed, she could not care for her child.

In May 2017, Patel took the child's mother to New Jersey Superior Court, Chancery Division Family Court, in order to obtain sole custody of the child. According to the mother, the majority of the hearing was conducted in English with no translator. At the time of the hearing, the mother spoke limited English. The mother answered the court's questions as she had been instructed by Patel and was not represented by an attorney during the hearing.

The New Jersey Superior Court granted Patel sole legal custody of the child premised on the consent of the child's mother to the arrangement, but specifically reserved for the mother the ability to file for joint legal custody if she so chose in the future.

Upon receiving the court order, Patel obtained visas to India for himself and the child, and booked air travel, telling the child's mother that they would only be gone for two weeks to a month.

Patel took the child to India in July 2017 and after several days in India, called the mother and said that he was never bringing the child back to the United States.

The child's mother obtained legal counsel and returned to the New Jersey Superior Court.

In October 2018, the New Jersey Superior Court entered an order directing Patel to return the child to the United States immediately. The mother's counsel emailed the family court order to Patel, who did not return the child to the United States.

In October 2020, Patel and the child flew from India to the United Kingdom.

Upon arrival, Patel was arrested based on a provisional arrest request submitted by the United States.

After a custody hearing in London pursuant to the Hague Convention, the London Court ordered it was in the best interest of the child that the child be returned to his paternal grandparents in India. Patel was extradited to the United States in September 2021 from England to stand trial in the case.

(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 26 (PTI) India on Tuesday condoled the death of two Indian peacekeepers deployed with the UN mission in Democratic Republic of the Congo and called for the perpetrators of the "outrageous" attack to be brought to justice.

Two Border Security Force personnel, who were part of the UN peacekeeping mission in Congo, were killed on Tuesday during violent protests.

Also Read | Environmental Crisis: Saudi Arabia Unveils Design of New City To Promote Green Lifestyle.

Deeply grieved at the loss of lives of two valiant Indian peacekeepers of the BSF in the Democratic Republic of Congo. They were part of the MONUSCO. The perpetrators of these outrageous attacks must be held accountable and brought to justice, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said in a tweet.

Deputy Spokesperson for UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, Farhan Haq, said at the daily press briefing on Tuesday that violence against the UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is continuing to escalate.

Also Read | COVID-19 Variants Have Developed Resistance to Human Immune System: Study.

He said that at the United Nations Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) base in Butembo Tuesday, violent attackers snatched weapons from Congolese police and fired upon the UN uniformed personnel.

"Sadly, one military Peacekeeper and two UN police personnel were killed and another was injured. We add our voice to the acting head of MONUSCO Khassim Diagne to condemn the killing of our colleagues and to express our deepest sympathy to their families and colleagues.

In response to a question by PTI on the killing of the Indian peacekeepers, Haq said, This is something that should not have happened. It is unacceptable action. And we condemn the killing of our colleagues. We do express our deepest sympathies to the families and colleagues and of course we send our sympathies as well to the Government of India for this. I believe we've been in touch with the Indian Mission on the fallen peacekeepers, he said.

Haq said Diagne has described the violence against the UN as absolutely unacceptable and counterproductive given that the UN mission is in the country to work alongside local authorities, to protect civilians, deter armed groups and build the capacity of state institutions and services. Diagne called on Congolese authorities, civil society and community groups to denounce the violence.

"It is not in chaos and confusion or division that we will make progress towards stability and peace, Diagne said.

(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 26 (ANI): The United States will host a virtual meeting of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) partners from 14 countries on Tuesday.

The ministerial will be hosted by US Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo as the Biden Administration continues to develop the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF), the US Department of Commerce said.

Also Read | US President Joe Biden Connected to the World at His White House Desk via Rollable Touchscreen Worth $7,280.

The topics of discussion will include trade; supply chains; clean energy, decarbonization, and infrastructure; and tax and anti-corruption.

With IPEF partners representing 40 per cent of global GDP, this framework will help fuel economic activity and investment, promote sustainable and inclusive economic growth, and benefit workers and consumers across the region, the release added.

Also Read | UK PM Race: Rishi Sunak, Liz Truss Clash in Heated TV Debate.

The US Trade Representative is leading discussions on the trade pillar and the US Department of Commerce is leading discussions on the other three pillars.

US President Joe Biden unveiled the discussion on the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) with a dozen initial partners, including India, which represent 40 per cent of the world GDP during QUAD in Tokyo.

The US-initiated IPEF which includes the US, India, and 11 other Asian countries is centred around four pillars -- connected economy; resilient economy; clean economy and fair economy and may finally introduce institutional reality to the region with regional sensibilities.

The first pillar - the connected economy - is speculated to lay more stress on the digital economy. The recently released factsheet on this new framework suggests that IPEF will contain most of the elements in the US Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA).

The second pillar touches on supply chains and the need for commitments and implementable measures to "anticipate and prevent disruptions in supply chains.

The third pillar is the grouping of climate policy in the IPEF framework in which elements of Biden's Build Back Better World (B3W) initiative could be seen.

The B3W initiative aims to establish a modern, sustainable and clean economy that could be visible in the IPEF. The final pillar is a "fair economy". It is suspected that this will include anti-corruption provisions. This is to lay emphasis on "tax, anti-money-laundering, and anti-bribery regimes". These provisions were also a part of TPPA commitments and obligations.

The Biden-led initiative saw the participation of Prime Minister of Japan Kishida Fumio, as well as the virtual presence of leaders of other partner countries viz. Australia, Brunei, Indonesia, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

IPEF, a group of 13 countries, is a multilateral economic framework. In recent times, India is seen as focusing on bilateral free trade agreements instead of multilateral ones. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor's look from his upcoming gangster drama film Animal has leaked online, as the actor shoots for the film with Anil Kapoor in New Delhi. A picture surfaced over social media in which the Saawariya actor could be seen in an all-black clean shaved look with veteran actor Anil Kapoor standing behind him and other star casts of the film. Animal: Ranbir Kapoor, Suresh Oberoi, Anil Kapoor Shoot At Pataudi Palace For Sandeep Reddy Vangas Film, Photos Leak Online.

According to various media reports, the makers of Animal are currently shooting their film at the Pataudi Palace in New Delhi after wrapping their Manali schedule. Soon after the picture was shared online, fans flooded the comment section with fire and heart emoticons.

View Ranbir Kapoor's Look Here:

Photo Credit: Twitter

"the godfather? no animal ranbir looks hot asff" a fan commented. Another fan wrote, "Rich gangster family crime drama". Apart from Ranbir and Anil, the film also casts actors Bobby Deol and Rashmika Mandanna in the lead roles.

Directed by the Kabir Singh director, Sandeep Reddy Vanga, previously actor Parineeti Chopra had to play the lead opposite the Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani actor, but due to some unknown reasons, she took a step back and then south beauty Rashmika replaced her in the film. The film is currently slated to release on August 11, 2023. Ranbir Kapoor on Shamshera: I Hope People Love Ranbir Kapoor Vs Sanjay Dutt on the Big Screen.

Meanwhile, Ranbir was recently seen in Yash Raj Film's period action film Shamshera alongside Vaani Kapoor and Sanjay Dutt. The film gathered mixed responses from the netizens. Apart from that, he will be next seen in Dharma Productions Brahmastra Part one: Shiva with Alia Bhatt and Amitabh Bachchan. The film is all set to hit the theatres on September 9, 2022.
The Richard Gere-Shilpa Shetty on-stage kiss at a charity event in New Delhi in 2007, doesn't seem to leave the Bollywood actress. Shetty, acting through her lawyer, Prasant Patil, has sought the dismissal of a plea challenging the January order of a Ballard Pier, Mumbai, magistrate court discharging her from an obscenity case resulting from the incident. Shilpa Shetty Talks About Stardom, Calls Fame as a Double-Edged Sword.

In April, the Alwar, Rajasthan, police had approached the sessions court against the magistrate's order and stated in its plea that the magistrate had erred in discharging Shilpa and that her act in kissing or allowing to be kissed in a public place amounted to obscenity.

The police had contended if the court examines the FIR, it would find that a prima facie case is made out against the actress.

In her reply, Shetty noted that she was a victim of malicious proceedings and harassment at the hands of the complainant, and that she as an artist had always acted responsibly in public. She also alleged that the complainant was approaching the court for cheap publicity. Shilpa Shetty Kundra and Her Kids Feed Ducks on Their Vacay in London.

The complainant, who had approached the Alwar police in 2007, had contended that Shilpa did not protest while being kissed by the Hollywood star. Shilpa countered this charge by stating in her plea that it did not make her a conspirator or perpetrator of any crime.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 26, 2022 05:53 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
Thane, July 26: A man allegedly burned his five-year-old son with cigarette butts to prevent him from meeting his mother in Bhiwandi town of Maharashtra's Thane district, police said on Tuesday.

Based on a complaint lodged by the child's mother, the police on Monday registered a case against Fahim Rizwan Ahmed Khan (33) under relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code, senior inspector Sital Raut of the Shanti Nagar police station said. No arrest has been made in this connection so far, he said. Madhya Pradesh Horror: Woman Inflicts Burns On Private Parts of 9-Year-Old Adopted Daughter As Punishment for Bedwetting in Indore; Booked.

The accused and his wife had separated and the boy was living with his father, the official said. As per the complaint, the accused allegedly burned the child with cigarette butts and beat him up on several occasions to prevent him from visiting his mother, he said, adding that further probe is underway.
Kannauj, July 26: A 15-year-old boy in Madaiya village here was allegedly locked in a room and beaten to death by three teachers who accused him of stealing a watch, police said on Tuesday.

Dilshan alias Raja, a Class IX student, succumbed to injuries in a Kanpur hospital, they said. His relatives alleged he was beaten to death. The body of the student was sent for post mortem.

Police are investigating and if the matter of assault with the student comes to the fore, then strict action will be taken against the accused as per the rules, Superintendent of Police Kunwar Anupam Singh said.

Dilshan, a resident of Paschim Madaiya village of Kasava Chowki area of Chhibramau Kotwali, had gone to R S Inter College, Ramlila Maidan, on July 23 for admission in Class IX. Tamil Nadu Shocker: Class 12 Student Commits Suicide in School Hostel in Tiruvallur District.

Jahgir, his father, in his complaint alleged that a teacher, Shivkumar Yadav, had called Dilshan and accused him of stealing a watch. After the accusation was made, he and his fellow teachers, Prabhakar and Vivek Yadav, allegedly locked the student in a room and beat him mercilessly.

The student was admitted to a local hospital in critical condition, but was taken to Kanpur after he showed no improvement. He died Monday night during treatment. The SP said post mortem report will explain the cause of death, and action will be taken accordingly.
Parents protested against a posh private school in Tamil Nadu's Coimbatore on Tuesday for forcing them to sign an indemnity bond that the school would not be responsible for any injury to their child inside the campus.
The body of a B-Tech student was found on the railway tracks hours after his father lodged a missing person complaint with the #Bhopal police. The postmortem on the body was performed in Bhopal's AIIMS, which mentioned that death occurred after coming under a moving train. pic.twitter.com/RnXreuHuKi IANS (@ians_india) July 26, 2022

(SocialLY brings you all the latest breaking news, viral trends and information from social media world, including Twitter, Instagram and Youtube. The above post is embeded directly from the user's social media account and LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body. The views and facts appearing in the social media post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY, also LatestLY does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.)
New Delhi: India's first auction of 5G spectrum, that powers ultra-high data speeds, is currently underway with a total of 72 GHz (gigahertz) of radiowaves worth at least Rs 4.3 lakh crore up for bidding. Billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio, Sunil Mittal-led Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea and a unit of billionaire Gautam Adani's flagship Adani Enterprises are in the race to bid for 5G spectrum, that offers speeds about 10 times faster than 4G, lag-free connectivity, and can enable billions of connected devices to share data in real-time. 5G Spectrum Auction to Begin Today; Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel Among 4 in Fray.

In addition to powering ultra-low latency connections, which allow downloading full-length high-quality video or movie to a mobile device in a matter of seconds (even in crowded areas), Fifth Generation or 5G would enable solutions such as e-health, connected vehicles, more-immersive augmented reality and metaverse experiences, life-saving use cases, and advanced mobile cloud gaming among others.

The auction is being held for spectrum in various low (600 MHz, 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz), mid (3300 MHz) and high (26 GHz) frequency bands. The bidding which started at 1000 hrs will continue till 1800 hrs and will carry over into the next day, if there exists a demand for spectrum and bidders are putting in bids.

The number of days the auction ultimately stretches to will depend on the actual demand for radiowaves and the strategy of individual bidders, although the broad industry consensus is that it may last up to two days. While a total 72 GHz (gigahertz) of spectrum worth at least Rs 4.3 lakh crore has been put on the block for the auction, market watchers do not expect an intense bidding given that plenty of spectrum is on the block, and there are four participants in the race.

Department of Telecom's own internal estimates put the 5G auction mop up at Rs 70,000 crore to Rs 1,00,000 crore. Jio, it is expected, will lead the spends, followed by Bharti Airtel, while analysts see limited participation from Vodafone Idea and Adani Group. Reliance Jio has submitted an earnest money deposit (EMD) of Rs 14,000 crore, the highest amongst the four players in fray for spectrum bidding. The EMD amount of Adani Data Networks stood at Rs 100 crore, indicating a muted and limited spectrum demand from its side. Bharti Airtel has put in Rs 5,500 crore as EMD, while for Vodafone Idea the amount stands at Rs 2,200 crore.

While the earnest money deposit suggests that Jio, the nation's largest telecom company by subscribers, could be the most aggressive bidder in the pack, Adani Group may be looking to buy the bare minimum spectrum needed to set up a private network. Typically, earnest deposits give an indication of players' appetite, strategy and plan for picking up spectrum in an auction. It also determines the eligibility points, through which telcos target specific amounts of spectrum in various circles.

Market watchers say that a telco has the ability to go after radiowaves worth up to 7-8 times the EMD amounts submitted by them, although players do tend to keep headroom for maneuvering and flexibility, based on how auction proceeds and the strategy adopted by rivals. Based on EMD, market watchers say, Jio can technically place bids worth Rs 1.27 lakh crore, Bharti Airtel up to Rs 48,000 crore, Vodafone Idea (VIL) about Rs 20,000 crore and Adani Data about Rs 700 crore.

"We expect Reliance Jio to enhance its spectrum in 800MHz and 1800MHz bands to 10-15 MHz in each market. We also expect Jio to buy a minimum 100 MHz in 3.3 GHz band and 800 MHz in 26 GHz band across all markets," Jefferies had said in a note on July 20. Further, it expects Bharti Airtel to bid for 100 MHz of spectrum in the 3.3 GHz band and 800 MHz of 26 GHz spectrum enabling it to lower its SUC (Spectrum Usage Charges) immediately.

"We also expect some purchases in 900/1800 MHz bands to cover for renewals and for completion of blocks of 5/10/15MHz in a few markets. Bharti may also enhance its spectrum in 2300 MHz in the six markets where the spectrum is available," Jefferies opined.

It saw Adani Group's purchases likely limited to 100MHz in the 26 GHz band.

In the previous auction held in early 2021, Reliance Jio Infocomm had deposited earnest money amount of Rs 10,000 crore, while Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea deposited Rs 3,000 crore and Rs 475 crore, respectively. In the auction conducted last year - that had lasted two days - Reliance Jio picked up spectrum worth Rs 57,122.65 crore, Bharti Airtel bid about Rs 18,699 crore, and Vodafone Idea bought spectrum worth Rs 1,993.40 crore.
San Francisco: As tech giant Google's Play Store officially completed 10 years, it is now getting a new logo to celebrate its 10th anniversary. The tech giant has slightly tweaked the overall shape of its Google Play Store logo, but the most notable changes are the less vibrant colours that more closely match the green, yellow, blue, and red hues that Google uses for many of its other services. It is a subtle adjustment that also complements the new Chrome logo updated earlier this year, reports The Verge. Google Play Store To Remove App Permissions, Makes Developers Responsible for Data Collection.

"We are introducing a new logo that better reflects the magic of Google and matches the branding shared by many of our helpful products -- Search, Assistant, Photos, Gmail and more," Tian Lim, VP of Google Play, was quoted as saying.

Happy 10 years!  We're loving the new cleaned up logo.  Backdrops (@BackdropsApp) July 25, 2022

The new logo and iconography also mark 10 years of Google Play after it was rebranded from the Android Market in 2012.

"A decade later, more than 2.5 billion people in over 190 countries use Google Play every month to discover apps, games and digital content," Lim said. "And more than 2 million developers work with us to build their businesses and reach people around the globe," Lim added.

To mark the 10 years of Google Play, Google is also offering a boost to Google Play Points. If users activate the points booster, they will earn 10x points on purchases, including most in-app items.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 26, 2022 01:12 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) will be continuing in the state of Hawaii. Governor David Ige signed a third emergency proclamation, and it allows SNAP benefits 2022 to continue within the state. This is in line with the federal COVID emergency.

SNAP is considered the largest food nutrition assistance program in the country. It is managed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for the benefit of low-income individuals and families. According to Maui News, they provide an Electronic Benefits Transfer card, which beneficiaries use to purchase eligible food items through authorized retail stores.

Hawaii Residents Ecstatic With SNAP Extension

Local Hawaiian ABC News affiliate KITV talked to several residents about the extension of SNAP benefits. Many were quite happy, including Pito Yandall from Palolo Valley. She said that she is disabled and has a fixed income, so she is quite ecstatic with the SNAP extension.

She also added that it is a big help because she has six children and had to work two to three jobs before getting SNAP. Yandall added that many of her neighbors in Palolo Valley are also on SNAP and are happy with the extension as well.

Last month, 93,000 Hawaiian families benefitted from SNAP and used their cards. This mainly helps families get through the rising costs of food and makes life easier for them, according to one resident.

Governor Ige's office released a statement, saying that without SNAP, families may experience more food insecurity. This poses a threat to the health, safety, and welfare of Hawaii's communities, and Ige added that this "constitutes this emergency declaration." He also ensured that the Department of Human Services remains committed to providing food security for the more vulnerable members of the community in Hawaii.

The governor also added that the emergency relief period continues until September 20, 2022.

READ NEXT: SNAP Benefits 2022 Update: Can You Use Your EBT Card for Online Payments?

Albertsons Companies Accepting EBT Payments Online for SNAP Benefits

Various stores under the Albertsons Companies banner will now also be accepting EBT Payments Online. The stores include Albertsons, Safeway, Jewel-Osco, Vons, and Pavilions stores across the United States. This means that SNAP beneficiaries can use their benefits for online purchases via Albertsons Cos.' websites and apps, or the Albertsons Cos.' virtual stores on the Instacart App.

This may be a huge help for persons with disabilities, as many cannot go outside and purchase goods in person. Albertsons recognizes this and allowed the use of EBT cards for online purchases, according to Albertsons Companies COO Susan Morris.

In addition, those purchasing Albertsons Cos.' banner stores can use multiple payment options, such as credit and debit cards, if ever they also want to purchase non-SNAP eligible items. Yahoo! Finance reported that EBT SNAP customers can also access their online accounts to view and track their balances as well.

Albertsons Companies will continue rolling out their EBT SNAP services via their online stores throughout the summer.

READ MORE: SNAP Benefits 2022 Update: $301.8 Million Texas Payments Confirmed for July 2022

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: SNAP benefits extended for Hawaii residents - KITV
Rep. Mayra Flores of Texas has called on the Hispanic community to "fight for your Abuela's values" after liberal billionaire George Soros attempts to take over Hispanic radio stations across America.

Fox News reported that Soros' Latino Media Network has agreed to procure 18 Hispanic radio stations currently owned by Univision. Soros also reportedly intend to put former Bill Clinton and Barack Obama staffers in charge of the operation.

The procurement deal is still awaiting FCC approval. Once approved, it would put the liberal group in control of stations across the United States, including Radio Mambi. Radio Mambi is Miami's most well-known radio station, which introduces an "anti-communism view" among Hispanic conservatives.

Flores was in a podcast with Lisa Boothe, wherein the host asked the Republican representative why Soros is "trying to bankroll Hispanic radio stations."

The lawmaker told Boothe that Soros is "trying to erase our values." She added that Soros wanted the Hispanic community to "forget about God and family values." She then went on to say that it is what the "far left" plans of doing.

Radio Mambi has seen at least three exits of prominent on-air stations at the station. They declared that they would never work for a Soros-linked group.

READ NEXT: Jill Biden Caused Offense After Likening Latinos to 'Tacos' in a Speech; Hispanic Journalists React

Who Is George Soros?

George Soros is a global philanthropist and a known Democratic Party donor. He is trying to buy Radio Mambi, which Fox News labeled as "Soros Takeover."

Some of Mambi's hosts have mentioned Soros as the reason behind their decision to resign, according to a Miami Herald report.

Soros' procurement of Hispanic radio stations is closely looked as the company involved in acquiring Radio Mambi is connected to a company, which is the principal asset manager for the organization that distributed billions of funding to political and social causes around the world.

Soros and the company maintained that the assumption that he will exist editorial control over Mambi is false.

Soros' personal spokesman said that the billionaire was not personally involved in the transaction.

Hispanic Radio Stations

A group of Hispanic investors bought more than 18 radio stations across 10 cities in a $60 million deal bankrolled by an investment firm connected to Soros.

The Washington Times reported that the group was founded by former Obama administration staffer Stephanie Valencia and campaign veteran Jess Morales Rocketto. Both have worked for Obama and 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hilary Clinton.

Rocketto said that they believe in the power and reach of radio, adding that it remains a main source of media for a significant number of their community.

The procured Hispanic radio stations now form the new Latina Media Network.

Lourdes Ubieta, a popular host of Radio Mambi, has resigned. She discussed her departure, citing that she does not want to be part of the new company ruling of the station.

Another Miami Herald report noted that Ubieta was given a confidentiality agreement that she needed to sign to stay as a host during the transition to new ownership.

Ubieta said that the purchase of Mambi aims to "silence conservative voices," adding that it is a "political move."

READ MORE: Jill Biden's "Taco" Comments on Latinos Draw Strong Response From Whoopi Goldberg; First Lady Says Sorry

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: Latino Media Group to take over 2 Miami radio stations - from WPLG Local 10


A new group of migrants, set on a journey to the United States, started to walk from the southern part of Mexico on Monday.

According to Associated Press, the new migrant caravan is composed of 2,000 asylum seekers. The group of migrants reportedly started their march on Tapachula, located on Mexico's border with Guatemala.

The nationalities of the migrants in the caravan are unclear as of Monday. However, Moises Chinchilla, one Nicaraguan who belonged to the group, claimed that they will still keep going even if what they are doing is "tough" in hopes of letting them through the border. Chinchilla also shared that most of the migrants in the caravan are hoping for a temporary residence permit.

According to reports, thousands of migrants are reportedly stranded in Tapachula, Mexico, due to the slow paperwork at overcrowded Mexican immigration offices.

Mexican officials have succeeded to disperse migrant caravans in the past after they gave out temporary residence permits to migrants. The said permits allow the migrants, mostly from Venezuela and Central America, to stay on Mexican territory while pursuing immigration procedures.

Earlier in July, another migrant caravan was also stopped by authorities from Mexico when they issued temporary residence permits. During that time, the country's National Institute of Migration said that officials handed 3,000 permits.

READ NEXT: Haiti Gang Wars: Over 300 Children Take Refuge at School Over Violence

Mayors Ask Biden Admin for Help Over Influx of Migrants

On July 21, Democratic mayors from New York and Washington asked for the help of the Biden administration over the influx of migrants in their jurisdiction, due to the busses of migrants arriving in their states from Texas and Arizona.

"The mere fact that they sent people out of their states, people who were seeking refuge in our country, then sent them away - did they deny that," Mayor Eric Adams from New York said, adding that the migrants ended up in their jurisdiction because they cannot get the support from the states who transferred them.

Adams said that they need help from FEMA, claiming that their city is already dealing with a shelter population.

According to Border Report, about 5,200 migrants were transferred from Texas since April and about 1,100 migrants were transferred by Arizona in May.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has previously said the administration is looking into the concerns of the said mayors.

Migrants Encounter the Border

The latest report on migrant encounters at the borders, released last week, revealed that the total migrant encounters since October of 2,002,602 surpassed the total migrant encounters in the previous fiscal year, which has 1,956,519.

The report showed that Mexican still make up the highest nationality encountered at the border, followed by Guatemalans, and then Hondurans.

The number of migrant encounters in June this fiscal year has significantly dropped despite the total surpassing the two million mark.

According to the report, 247,163 migrant encounters were reported in June while 274,831 were encountered in May.

READ NEXT: Joe Biden COVID Update: President's Symptoms 'Continue to Improve' After Testing Positive for the Virus - Physician

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written By: Joshua Summers

WATCH: Migrant Caravan Heads North from Southern Mexico -from AP Archive
Several gunmen opened fire on a privately-run drug rehabilitation center in the western Mexican state of Jalisco last Monday. The shooting resulted in the deaths of six people, five of whom were men and one was a woman. The attack occurred around midnight in Guadalajara's Tlaquepaque suburb.

Several people were involved in the attack, according to the Guadalajara prosecutor's office. However, they did not offer any information on a motive for the attack yet, as reported by the Associated Press.

Jalisco State Plagued by Gang Violence and the Infamous Jalisco New Generation Cartel

While it is still unknown who the gunmen were or their motives in the attack, there had been a series of violent incidents around the state of Jalisco over the past few years. Much of the violence is attributed to rival drug gangs and factions vying for control of the various parts of the state.

However, the most vicious and violent faction is the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, also known as the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG). It is currently run by one of the FBI's Most Wanted men, Nemesio "El Mencho" Oseguera Cervantes. There is currently a standing $10 million reward offer for information leading to his arrest.

The cartel itself is also recognized as possibly the most violent of Mexico's many cartels, as it is responsible for beheadings and various murders around the country. They are also reportedly responsible for many mass graves around Mexico, as well as conducting various methods of torture and executions, including acid baths. They regularly abduct and kill rival gang members and any civilian or politician that gets in their way.

READ NEXT: Mexico: 2 Canadians Found Dead With Their Throats Slit in Playa Del Carmen

Drug Rehabilitation Centers Are Facing Huge Problems in Mexico

The violence between rival drug gangs often spills into largely underfunded drug rehab centers. According to ABC News, drug addicts and drug pushers who try to flee their rivals take refuge inside drug rehab centers. This often makes these clinics the targets for the attacks themselves.

It is common for cartels to attack these rehabilitation clinics. An example would be an attack that happened in the neighboring state of Guanajuato in 2020. Several gunmen went inside the rehab facility and killed 27 people.

According to The Hill, these attacks are just part of the problem that Mexico is having with its drug rehabilitation centers. Most of these facilities are privately run and are also often underfunded and understaffed. There are also reported abuses by these facilities against recovering drug addicts as well.

It is reported that the Mexican government spends relatively little money on rehabilitation in their ongoing war against drugs. Because of this, poor families often resort to going to unregistered rehabilitation centers, as they would be their only option.

READ MORE: Jalisco Cartel Leader 'El Senoron' Who Receives Orders From Boss 'El Mencho' Arrested in Mexico

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: On the Front Line With Mexico's Warring Cartels - Vice News
Months after the horrific Uvalde School shooting, the board unanimously called Gov. Abbott for stricter gun laws.

The Uvalde School Board is pushing for a landmark decision in the state of Texas, a gun reform legislation brought about by the tragic Robb Elementary School shooting.

The special legislation that the board unanimously decided calls the attention of the Republican governor to amend the current gun laws in the state.

Two months since the horrific encounter claimed the lives of 19 elementary students and two teachers, investigations reveal that it was negligence and "systemic failures" that caused further damage.

Uvalde School Board Pushes for Gun Reform in Texas

In a completely anticipated move Monday night, the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District trustees made a huge call to Texas Governor Greg Abbott, KSAT reports.

The board held a late-night meeting on July 25, talking about important decisions on the future trajectory of the school district.

Among the huge decisions they made was formally urging Texas Governor Greg Abbott to call state lawmakers to raise the legal age to buy assault rifles from 18 to 21 years old.

In June 2022, Uvalde county commissioners implored Abbott and the Texas Legislature to form special committees to make recommendations for stricter school and gun restrictions.

Abbott, a Republican, has a freer stance on gun ownership in the State of Texas, which his detractors and the Democratic Party have largely criticized.

It is in Abbott's official power to call special legislative sessions and put major pressure on lawmakers about his agendas, so it would be a monumental turn if Abbott heeded the call of the embattled school board.

READ NEXT: Uvalde School Shooter's Mother Apologizes to Grieving Family After Tense Confrontation Caught on Camera

Abbott's Response to Gun Reform Law That Uvalde School Board Proposed

As of this writing, Texas Governor Greg Abbott has yet to officially respond to the Uvalde School Board's recommendation. However, Abbott's spokesperson told The Texas Tribune that the office of the governor is doing all means necessary.

"As Governor Abbott has said from day one, all options remain on the table as he continues working with state and local leaders to prevent future tragedies and deploy all available resources to support the Uvalde community as they heal. More announcements are expected in the coming days and weeks as the legislature deliberates proposed solutions," the spokesperson said in an email.

Aside from the huge call to Gov. Abbott, the board of trustees has also decided to move the reopening of schools from August to September 2022.

This is to give way for the district to carry out more security improvements on the campuses as staff members can receive trauma-informed training.

Uvalde School Board Places Robb Elementary Principal on Leave

Robb Elementary School Principal Mandy Gutierrez met a similar fate with estranged School Police Chief Pete Arredondo as both are now placed on "administrative leaves."

Starting Monday, Gutierrez was placed on leave with pay indefinitely, her lawyer declares.

The recent Texas house probe report reveals that Gutierrez and her assistant were negligent on the problem with the lock to Room 111.

The investigation reveals that despite knowing the problem, the principal and assistant have not issued a work order for a repair, causing the gunman eventually to enter the classroom, thus the premises too.

READ MORE: Firing of Uvalde School District Police Chief 'Complicated' Despite Growing Proof of Negligence in Handling the Deadly Shooting

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Ivan Korrs

WATCH: Uvalde school board calls for special session - From KXAN
Pope Francis is the first pontiff hailing from the Americas. The Argentinian is now embarking on his week-long "penitential pilgrimage," and his first stop is Canada, where he made an effort to heal the harm inflicted at church-run residential schools and other historical transgressions by the Catholic Church.

The pope flew to Canada on Sunday to apologize for the abuses that the country's state-funded residential Christian schools inflicted upon many indigenous people as they tried to forcefully assimilated them from the 1800s to the 1970s.

Many Native children from various tribes were forced to attend these Christian schools during the period. According to the Associated Press, abuse was rampant in these Christian institutions.

Pope Francis met with members of Canada's First Nations, Inuit, and Metis communities in Rome back in April, when he also made a similar apology. However, his coming to Canada was much more appreciated and meaningful, according to Fernie Marty, a member of the Papaschase nation, who are part of Alberta, Canada's Cree people.

Marty survived the forced assimilation and is currently an elder at Sacred Heart Church of the First Peoples in Edmonton, Alberta. However, another survivor of these schools, George Pipestem, 79, a member of the Montana First Nation, questioned the relevance of this papal apology.

He said the people who abused him are all gone, and the apology does not matter to him.

Pope Francis Speaks at Former Ermineskin Indian Residential School in Canada

In a speech to school survivors and Indigenous community members gathered at a former residential school south of Edmonton on Monday, Pope Francis said, "I am deeply sorry."

He called the school policy a "disastrous error," adding that it was incompatible with the Gospel. He also acknowledged that further investigation and healing are needed.

Pope Francis apologized again, saying he was humbly begging for forgiveness for the atrocities committed by Christians against the Indigenous people. His speech received applause from the crowd.

The pope traveled to the lands of four Cree nations in the first event of his weeklong pilgrimage. He prayed at a cemetery before delivering his apology at powwow ceremonial grounds nearby.

Four chiefs escorted him in a wheelchair to the Ermineskin Indian Residential School before presenting him with a feathered headdress after the speech. They also made the pope an "honorary leader of the community."

From the 1800s to the 1970s, Canada tried assimilating many indigenous people through these schools, and the Catholic Church cooperated. The Associated Press reported that over 150,000 native children in Canada were forced to attend these schools in an effort to isolate them from their native culture.

Pope Francis called the practice "deplorable," and Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission said it amounted to a "cultural genocide."

READ NEXT: Mexico: Pope Francis in 'Pain and Shock' Over Brutal Killing of Jesuit Priests in Northern Mexico

Tribal Leaders and Members in Canada React to Pope Francis's Apology

Following Pope Francis' speech, several members of the various tribes and tribal leaders spoke and gave their reactions, according to The Associated Press.

Phil Fontaine, a residential school abuse survivor and former chief of the Assembly of First Nations, told AP that it was an achievement for the indigenous community to convince the Pope to come to a First Nation community and humble himself before survivors.

In a news conference, Chief Desmond Bull of Louis Bull Tribe said people should not tell them to get over what happened in the past, as they cannot forget the intergenerational trauma that impacted their youth.

Chief Tony Alexis of the Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation said the apology was a "validation that this really happened." Evelyn Korkmaz, a school survivor, noted that she waited 50 years for the apology.

Sadly, she also pointed out that many First Nations community members did not live long enough to see it happen. The Canadian government has admitted that physical and sexual abuse ran rampant in these schools.

Students were often beaten up for merely speaking their native language as the Canadian government tried forcing them to assimilate. It was made worse as hundreds of potential unmarked graves were discovered on the grounds of former residential school sites across Canada.

These revelations prompted Pope Francis to apologize on Canadian soil. Of the 139 residential schools in Canada, Catholic religious orders ran 66 of them.

READ MORE: Pope Francis Appoints Leonardo Steiner as First Cardinal From Brazil's Amazon Rainforest

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: Canada Indigenous Leaders Moved by Pope Apology - From Associated Press
President of Guatemala Alejandro Giammattei paid a visit to Ukraine on Monday to express his solidarity with the country's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Guatemala's president met with Zelenskyy in Ukraine's capital, Kyiv. He was the first leader from the Latin American region to make the trip. ABC News Go reported that several leaders were hesitant to make a statement regarding the current Russia-Ukraine war.

In a joint news conference, Giammattei said that Guatemala stands in solidarity with the Ukrainian people, "who have resisted with courage."

The Guatemalan leader added that they would not be silenced as long as there were human lives lost. Zelenskyy then thanked Giammattei for backing up the sanctions against Russia, including support for an international tribunal on crimes committed during the war.

The Ukrainian president further noted that Latin America, and many other parts of the world, have experienced higher prices due to the fighting in Ukraine, a significant producer of agricultural and other commodities.

Critics of Giammattei noted that the president has more urgent issues in his home country, including corruption and human rights.

Carolina Jimenez, president of the Washington Office on Latin America, said Alejandro Giammattei has been "eroding democracy and promoting impunity in his country." Jimenez noted that one trip to Ukraine will not change that reality.

READ NEXT: Guatemala: Former Economic Minister Acisclo Valladares Urruela Pleads Guilty to Using Miami Bank Pay for Bribes

Guatemala President Alejandro Giammattei in Ukraine

Guatemala's communication secretariat for the presidency did not note in a brief press release the details of when the visit started or how long it would last, France 24 reported.

Alejandro Giammattei closed Guatemala's embassy in Moscow after Russia's initial invasion of Ukraine. The country also exports nickel to Ukraine while importing iron and steel.

However, Guatemala also continued to export coffee and bananas to Russia despite cutting off its diplomatic relations with the Eurasian country. The Central American country also continued to import fertilizer, medical supplies, and paper.

Alejandro Giammattei and Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a phone conversation in June when the Guatemalan leader said Zelenskyy wanted him to "see first-hand the damage done in Ukraine."

The Guatemala's president noted that they also talked about reconstruction in Ukraine, which will need laborers. He added that Zelenskyy asked that Guatemalans travel to work in Ukraine.

Issues in Guatemala

The United States government has criticized the weakening of anti-corruption efforts in Guatemala. It also cancelled the U.S. visa of Guatemalan Attorney General Consuelo Porras.

According to The Washington Post, Guatemala's government has been filing legal charges against the former anti-corruption officials themselves instead of going after corruption. More than 20 of those anti-corruption officials have already fled the country.

Alejandro Giammattei's government and prosecutors had ramped up efforts to undo a United Nations-backed anti-corruption campaign that placed several officials, including former presidents, behind bars.

Porras was accused of being involved in corruption, with the U.S. department alleging that she had "repeatedly obstructed and undermined anti-corruption investigations in Guatemala," BBC reported.

Meanwhile, Porras has maintained that fighting corruption has been her priority and has denied any wrongdoing accused against her.

READ MORE: VP Kamala Harris Announces New $1.9B Worth of Private Sector Investments in Central America to Address Immigration

This article is owned by Latin Post

Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: Volodymyr Zelenskyy Meets U.S. Delegates - From Voice of America
Authorities in Mexico found five plastic bags containing human remains in the state of Colima plagued by Mexican drug cartels on Saturday.

According to Borderland Beat, state police and military discovered the plastic bags on the Manzanillo highway to Armeria, near the El Eden bridge.

Authorities went to the place after some concerned citizens dialed emergency numbers and reported what they had seen.

After they confirmed that the plastic bags contained human remains, state police and military then cordoned off the area for further investigation.

The plastic bags and their content were reportedly sent to the Forensic Medical Service office, called Semefo, for autopsies and identification.

Surge of Violence in Mexico's Colima State Due to Mexican Drug Cartels

Recently, there has been a surge in violence in Mexico's Colima state because of Mexican drug cartels. According to reports, the violence resulted from the split between the Independent Cartel of Colima, also known as Los Mezcales, and the Jalisco cartel.

Mexico News Daily reported that members of the Los Mezcales cut ties with the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) and switched their allegiances to Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman Loera's infamous Sinaloa Cartel.

Los Mezcales previously acted as the Jalisco cartel armed wing in Colima state. However, its sicarios decided to switch sides to the Sinaloa Cartel.

The split first manifested in a brawl between members of the two supposedly allied sides last January, inside a prison in Colima city. Ten inmates were reportedly killed as a result of the fight, and seven others were injured.

The inmates were housed together because members of Los Mezcales and the Jalisco cartel were previously identified to belong to the same criminal group.

Following the prison brawl, more violence broke out in the streets of Colima city and the neighboring municipality of Villa de Alvarez.

The Los Mezcales was formed in the El Mezcalito neighborhood of the city of Colima, which is known as a "key point" for the distribution of illegal drugs in the capital.

The group is reportedly led by a man known as "El Vaca" or "The Cow," whose identity has not been disclosed by authorities.

READ NEXT: Mexico: 6 Dead After Shooting in Jalisco Drug Rehabilitation Center

Colima Is Mexico's Smallest yet Deadliest State

In 2020, several high-profile public figures in Mexico's Colima state were assassinated, which garnered even more reputation for Colima as one of the smallest yet deadliest states in the country.

Colima has a very small population. Less than one million people call the state home. However, in 2019, it had a murder rate of 97 homicides per 100,000 residents.

That is higher than bigger states like Baja California, which had the second-highest homicide rate that year at 80 homicides per 100,000 residents.

This high murder rate would have been unbelievable just a few years prior. According to Insight Crime, Colima was previously considered one of Mexico's safest states, as its murder rate in 2015 was just a third of what it was in 2019.

Apart from the assassination of high-profile politicians and other public figures, several mass graves have also been found in Colima.

Many of those buried there reportedly belonged to victims of the Mexican drug cartels' violence. Both the Jalisco cartel and the Sinaloa Cartel operate in the state and are battling for supremacy there.

READ MORE: Jalisco Cartel Leader 'El Senoron' Who Receives Orders From Boss 'El Mencho' Arrested in Mexico

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: No Longer Just Cartels: Criminal Groups Increasingly Seek Control of Mexican Territory - From Washington Post
Chicago twin Pedro Flores, associated with Sinaloa Cartel boss Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman Loera, testified Monday that he was promised that no one in his family would be prosecuted for any drug-related activities.

Pedro and his twin brother, Margarito Flores, helped federal authorities build a case against El Chapo. The Flores brothers, who were once the biggest drug traffickers in Chicago, were known to the Sinaloa Cartel as "The Twins."

According to Chicago Tribune, Pedro's testimony via a video link turned up in the money laundering case against his wife, Vivianna Lopez, and his sister-in-law, Valerie Gaytan.

Lopez and Gaytan were the lead defendants in a federal money laundering case in relation to their husbands' drug dealing. They were accused of hiding millions of dollars of their husbands' drug proceeds.

Pedro said former Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Shakeshaft, the lead prosecutor handling his case, had promised him during their first in-person meeting in Monterrey, Mexico in 2008 that no one in his family would be charged.

When asked if Shakeshaft's promise was ever repeated, Pedro told U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly: "Yes, multiple times throughout my cooperation."

However, the Chicago drug kingpin admitted that the promise of immunity was never put in writing as he thought it was already being taken care of. He also acknowledged that it was not mentioned in the plea agreement he and his twin brother signed in secret in 2012.

Shakeshaft was supposed to testify about the negotiations. However, he died last Tuesday after years of health issues.

Federal agents testified on Monday that they never heard Shakeshaft make the immunity promise. Chicago prosecutors also maintained that no promise of immunity was ever extended to the Chicago's Flores twins' wives.

During cross-examination, Assistant U.S. Attorney Erika Csicsila asked Pedro if he understood that the government cannot immunize someone for something they do not know about.

Pedro Flores replied that he was "not sure" as he was not an attorney. Also under questioning on Monday was Gaytan, who said one of the Chicago twins' demands for cooperating against El Chapo was immunity for their family.

Gaytan also testified about the fallout of being a drug kingpin's wife and children, claiming they will be in danger for the rest of their lives, ABC 7 Chicago reported.

READ NEXT: El Chapo Case: Wives of Chicago Twins Who Helped Convict the Sinaloa Cartel Boss Used Drug Money on Lavish Trips, J.Lo Show

Sister-in-Law of One of Chicago's Flores Twins Tied to Sinaloa Cartel Pleads Guilty

Last March, Bianca Finnigan, a sister-in-law of Pedro Flores, pleaded guilty to a money laundering conspiracy. Finnigan admitted helping her sister, Vivianna Lopez, spend drug money on airfare, private school tuition, and an exercise bike, Chicago Sun-Times reported.

Both wives of the Flores twins have pleaded not guilty to the alleged scheme that hid millions of cartel drug profits that started in 2008.

Finnigan is reportedly the second defendant in the case of the Flores twins' wives to cut a deal with prosecutors and avoid a criminal trial. She has previously pleaded not guilty.

Armando Flores, an older brother of the Flores twins, was the first to plead guilty to participating in a money-laundering conspiracy. He admitted that he hid millions of cash from his brothers' drug proceeds under his porch in Texas after the twins surrendered and agreed to cooperate with authorities in 2008.

Chicago's Flores Twins Became Informants in Case Against Sinaloa Cartel Boss' El Chapo

The Flores brothers were sentenced in 2015 to 14 years in prison and were released in 2020 into witness protection. The twin brothers were given relatively lenient sentences in exchange for cooperating in the case against El Chapo.

They became key informants in the case after they surrendered to authorities. The Flores twins admitted smuggling at least 1,500 kilograms of cocaine into the U.S. every month between 2005 and 2008.

Their plea agreements further noted that they sent more than $930 million in "bulk cash" back to the Sinaloa Cartel.

During their 2015 sentencing, a federal judge told the twins that they would always have to worry about being hunted down by Sinaloa Cartel hitmen after their decisions to cooperate with prosecutors to apprehend El Chapo.

At the time, the judge said the Flores brothers and their families would always have to look over their shoulders. But the Flores twins still agreed to cooperate, and the prosecutors, in return, asked for an even lighter sentence for them.

The Sinaloa Cartel is considered one of the world's most powerful drug trafficking syndicates. The Mexican drug cartel has been known to carry out assassinations, murders, and torture to protect its turf.

The group was founded in the late 1980s and headed by El Chapo. Under El Chapo's leadership, the Sinaloa Cartel earned its reputation through violence and outfought several rival groups.

El Chapo was sentenced to spend the rest of his days in the ADX "supermax" prison in Florence, Colorado after being sentenced to life imprisonment in 2019.

READ MORE: El Chapo's Wife Emma Coronel Could Dismantle Sinaloa Cartel by Cutting Deal With U.S.: Report

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: Cartel Wives Hid Millions in Floorboards of House, Feds Say - From ABC 7 Chicago
Wind energy will likely be the next big thing in California. State governor Gavin Newsom recently revealed his plans to curb climate change by attaining carbon neutrality by 2045.

Newsom announced a new set of plans to achieve the state's goal of reducing climate change on Friday. It included a directive for the California Energy Commission to plan the creation of at least 20 gigawatts of energy coming from offshore wind in 2045.

California Wind Energy Initiatives Amid Adverse Effects of Climate Change

With the Yosemite National Park recently sent ablaze because of the Oakwood Fire, the state of California is seeing the adverse effects of climate change firsthand.

Because of this, California Governor Gavin Newsom has implored the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to develop new plans to reduce the immense effects of climate change on the state, Yahoo News reported.

"California is in the midst of a climate crisis. Drought, wildfire, and extreme heat have become everyday realities. We are compelled to do more," Newsom said in a letter to the CARB.

But the new initiative does not mean California is at the losing end of renewable power and energy in the United States. In fact, the state has enacted laws to cut carbon emission levels by 40% to achieve carbon neutrality in 2035.

Among all 50 states, the West Coast state has the most stringent auto emissions standards, trailing behind the state of Hawaii on the most home solar energy arrays per capita. The achievement, however, has its downside, as California is among the highest gas prices in the country.

READ NEXT: Gas Prices in the US Falling Back to $4 Per Gallon, But It's Still Expensive in California

California Governor Gavin Newsom's Plans

To achieve the emission and neutrality targets, Gavin Newsom directed the CARB to use technology that could directly reduce greenhouse gas emissions from California residences.

Newsom's first goal is to build "climate-ready and climate-friendly homes" for three million families by 2030 and seven million by 2035.

These "climate-ready homes" are the perfect answer to the ever-changing adverse climate conditions in the area - floods, drought, catastrophic wildfires, and ceiling-high temperature heat waves.

Aside from this, the construction of six million heat pumps in the state is being eyed by 2030, enabling homes to pump cool and heat homes more efficiently than natural gas or using traditional air conditioning.

California Air Resources Board Drew Flak for Underperformance

In the letter sent to the CARB on Friday, Gavin Newsom was in unison with environmentalists that the CARB "doesn't go far enough or fast enough" in achieving the state targets, The Sacramento Bee reported.

Environmentalists are concerned about CARB's "unrealistic" and "slow" approach to achieving the 2030 carbon neutrality target.

Carbon Plan Policy Director Danny Cullenward pointed out that it was the "cap-and-trade" program that the board was enforcing that slowed down the progress because it was "too inexpensive" for big corporations to feel the financial effect.

CARB on Monday acknowledged the governor's criticisms and remarks.

"CARB welcomes the Governor's input, thanks him for his leadership, and recognizing the ever-increasing urgency of addressing the climate emergency, will adjust the plan accordingly," CARB responded.

Should the offshore wind development in California push through, it would be the benchmark in the country, beating Massachusetts and New York, which are currently taking the lead in the industry.

READ MORE: California Oak Fire Outside of Yosemite Chars 16K Acres; Prompts Evacuations and Closes Highways

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Ivan Korrs

WATCH: California Ahead of Clean Energy Goals - From CBS 8 San Diego
Brian Laundrie's parents have fired back at the accusations thrown at them in the civil lawsuit filed by Gabby Petito's parents.

Joseph Petito and Nicole Schmidt have accused Christopher and Roberta Laundrie of keeping the information about their daughter's killing a secret.

But in the documents recently acquired by Radar Online, the elder Laundries refuted the allegations brought on by Petito's parents in the lawsuit they filed last March.

The documents were reportedly filed on July 15 at a court in Sarasota County, Florida in response to a judge's decision for the lawsuit of Petito's parents to move forward.

According to the documents, Laundrie's parents denied "every allegation" in the lawsuit and any liability. However, they admitted residing in Sarasota County, that Joseph and Nicole are Petito's father and mother, and that their son and Petito were "engaged to be married.

RadarOnline confirmed that the elder Laundries also admitted that their son "returned" to their home and they "went to Fort DeSoto Park" with their son, but denied that it was a vacation trip.

Laundrie's father maintained that there was no intent or malice, arguing that if any such conduct existed, it was "neither intentional nor willful" and short of "malicious intent."

Christopher also claimed that he followed all state and federal constitutions, laws, and regulations based on their knowledge "existing at the relevant times."

READ NEXT: Brian Laundrie Cleared of Moab Couple's Murder as Utah Police Named Suspect, but He Also Committed Suicide

Gabby Petito Parents' Lawsuit to Proceed After Judge Denies Brian Laundrie Parents' Request to Dismiss It

In late June, a judge denied the motion of Brian Laundrie's parents to dismiss the civil lawsuit filed by Gabby Petito's parents.

Judge Hunter Carroll of the 12th Judicial Circuit Court has allowed the intentional infliction of emotional distress lawsuit to move forward because, at this stage, Petito's parents had a valid claim against the elder Laundries.

In their motion to dismiss the lawsuit, Laundrie's parents argued that they had fundamental constitutional rights to silence. They added that there were also no facts to support the claims of Petito's parents of "intentional infliction of emotional distress."

But in his order, Carroll wrote that Petito's parents mostly complained about the Laundries "failing to act," like not telling the family where Petito was or if she was dead.

Carroll noted that he would have ruled for Laundrie's parents if the case was about them remaining silent, and they had done so. However, they were not silent.

The elder Laundries released a statement through their lawyer, Steve Bertolino, on September 14 in response to the public's interest in Petito's disappearance.

"For purposes of the motion to dismiss," Carroll said the court "must assume the Laundries are responsible for authoring" the statement issued by their lawyer.

The camp of Laundrie's parents said the statement was merely a "plain statement" and "not outrageous as a matter of law."

But the camp of Petito's parents noted that the statement was "outrageous" since it was designed to create false hope. They added that the Laundries made the statement knowing Petito was already dead, where her body was located, and her parents were frantically looking for her.

"If this is true, then the Laundries' statement was particularly callous and cruel, and it is sufficiently outrageous to state claims for intentional infliction of emotional distress," Carroll noted.

The camp of Laundrie's also made additional arguments in their motion that denying their appeal to dismiss the case would result in an "avalanche of litigation" for people in similar situations.

But the judge noted that "there will be no avalanche of litigation" based on denying the Laundries' motion to dismiss.

Gabby Petito Parents' $100K Lawsuit Against Brian Laundrie's Mom and Dad

Gabby Petito's parents filed the civil lawsuit against Brian Laundrie's parents on March 10. The lawsuit claimed that the elder Laundries knew their son killed Petito and sought to help him flee the country.

It further noted that Laundrie's parents also knew of the mental suffering and anguish that the Petito family was experiencing but still refused to respond to them.

The Petito family is seeking damages of at least $100,000 for the "pain and mental anguish" they experienced as a result of the "willfulness and maliciousness" of Laundrie's parents. The elder Laundries filed their motion to dismiss the case on March 30.

Gabby Petito's body was found at the Spread Creek Dispersed Campground near Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming on September 19. A Teton County, Wyoming coroner said she was strangled to death by a "human being," and the manner of death was homicide.

Brian Laundrie's skeletal remains were discovered at the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park in Florida on October 20. His autopsy report showed that he died of a gunshot wound to the head, and the manner of death was suicide.

Last January, the FBI revealed that Laundrie confessed to killing Petito in a message left in his notebook. In its final report on the case, the FBI noted that its investigation has concluded that Brian Laundrie was the only person responsible for Gabby Petito's "tragic death."

READ MORE: California Oak Fire Outside of Yosemite Chars 16K Acres; Prompts Evacuations and Closes Highways

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Joshua Summers

WATCH: How Did Gabby Petito Die? Brian Laundrie's Notebook Contains Killer Confession - From FOX 13 Tampa Bay
Meghan Markle was still living with her former Canadian boyfriend chef Cory Vitiello when she went on her first date with Prince Harry, according to a new book.

According to Newsweek, the sensational claim was from the book "Revenge: Harry, Meghan and the war between the Windsors" by Tom Bower, a biographer who has been vocal in his criticism of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

Vitiello was reportedly in a relationship with Markle from 2014 to 2016. Bower wrote that Markle was still living with her Canadian boyfriend when she was set up on a date with Prince Harry in London in 2016.

The British author said the relationship between Markle and Vitiello had ended by the time she left for a European visit in the summer of 2016. However, he noted that the Canadian society chef was still living in their shared home as they "discussed how to end their relationship."

In London, Markle and Harry were reportedly set up on a date by a Ralph Lauren's high-society publicist, who dressed the actress for two appearances at Wimbledon during her stay.

The British author identified the matchmaker as Violet von Westenholz, Prince Charles' close friend's daughter and Princes William and Harry's childhood playmate.

According to Bower, "in her empathetic manner," Markle "persuaded Violet" to arrange a blind date with Harry. After their first date on July 1, 2016, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex reportedly agreed to meet again.

The British author noted that two weeks after Markle and Harry's first date, the prince "secretly flew" to Toronto, Canada, and spent about a week at the home of Markle's friend, "probably Jessica Mulroney." At the time, Markle was still living with Vitiello.

"With Cory still sharing her home, the situation for Meghan was tricky but manageable," Bower said. The British author noted that the end of Markle's relationship with her Canadian boyfriend came after Harry's visit to Toronto came to an end.

"At the end of the week, after he [Harry] returned to London, Meghan was convinced that her spell was cast and the relationship with Harry would be sealed," Bower wrote.

"She [Markle] told Cory that their affair was over. Unaware of the circumstances, he was relieved. The final months had been unpleasant," the author added.

READ NEXT: Queen Elizabeth Takes Note of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Daughter Lilibet in Her Christmas Speech

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle confirmed their relationship to the press in November 2016. They became engaged in November 2017 and got married in May 2018. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex now have two children.

Page Six reported the couple was not on this year's Balmoral summer guest list. The outlet was told there was no invite to join Queen Elizabeth on her annual summer break in the highlands despite reports that the couple was asked.

Multiple sources confirmed to Page Six that the Sussex family would not be with the Queen. The couple will stay in the United States ahead of the publication of Harry's memoir this fall.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry last saw the Queen in June when they flew to the United Kingdom to celebrate her Platinum Jubilee. The couple introduced their daughter Lilibet to the monarch for the first time.

Prince Harry's Memoir Ghostwritten by Meghan Meghan?

According to Geo TV, a royal expert claimed that Prince Harry's upcoming autobiography is the words of Meghan Markle. Foreign policy analyst Nile Gardiner said the book will be "ghastly," adding that much of it was "probably ghostwritten by Meghan."

A publishing source told The Sun that the manuscript was finished, went through all the legal processes, and was out of Harry's hands.

Harry said the book will be his story, including the mistakes and lessons learned. He noted that it will be a story of his life that is "accurate and wholly truthful."

Royal author Christopher Andersen said the Prince of Wales' staff have been trying to find out for months what other bombshells will be uncovered, The Daily Beast reported.

Harry biographer Duncan Larcombe, a former royal editor at The Sun, noted that the uncertainty regarding the content of the book is preventing reconciliation between the two families.

Larcombe added that Prince William will have to decide what he will do about Prince Harry once the book is out by Christmas.

READ MORE: Prince Harry, Meghan Markle Opt Not to Hold Daughter Lilibet's Christening in the U.K. As It's Likely Be in California: Royal Sources

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: Piers Morgan: Time for Prince Harry to Give up the Woke Nonsense - From Fox News
A probation report was ordered for a woman who became abusive to Gardai in Portlaoise.

Susan Byrne, 57, of 10 Jessop Street, Portlaoise was arrested at the Killeshin Hotel in Portlaoise on June 22 last.

Sgt Michael Tarpey said Gardai on mobile patrol came across the woman on the date in question at 8pm. She started screaming at gardai, why dont you go arrest foreigners, Sgt Tarpey explained.

Solicitor Barry Fitzgerald said the defendant, who was originally from Dublin and had moved to Portlaoise, had lost her husband to leukemia in 2008. Up until her 55 birthday she never stepped foot in any court, he said. He said alcohol doesnt suit her and she had spiralled out of control since she lost her husband.

Mr Fitzgerald said the defendant had abstained from alcohol since and was mortified over the incident. She had brought 200 to court and had written a letter of apology, he added.

Judge Andrew Cody said he would like a probation report before passing sentence for the sake of the people of Portlaoise and for her own sake. He adjourned the case to December 1 in order for the report to be compiled.
A Laois breastfeeding support group has announced the resumption of full activities, in perfect timing ahead of World Breastfeeding Week.

La Leche League Portlaoise is delighted to be back to group meetings after two years of online only support to new mothers due to the Covid pandemic.

The group meets in Treo Nua community centre in Knockmay on the first Tuesday of each month. They also meet on the third Tuesday monthly, for mother and baby coffee mornings at different venues around Portlaoise. Zoom meetings will continue to be offered too.

Heather Rice is co-leader of the group.

It is wonderful to be back in the same room with each other again supporting and giving well researched information to Mums," she said.

Online support will continue to feature too. A zoom meeting is also run by La Leche League Portlaoise, for those choosing to breastfeed older babies called "Nursing Beyond Infancy". It is on the fourth Tuesday of each month.

Many women find once their baby reaches 9 plus months they are at a different stage on their journey and often know no one else who is still breastfeeding. This is despite the World Health Organization recommendations that all babies are breastfeed for at least two years. We have Mums from all over the country joining us for this special Zoom each month, Heather said.

World Breastfeeding Week 2022 runs from August 1 to 7

This year, the focus is on strengthening those who protect and promote breastfeeding across society, and providing breastfeeding friendly environments for families in the post-pandemic world. Support from health professionals and lay counsellors is shown to make a significant difference in outcomes for the breastfeeding mother and her baby.

Breastfeeding is more important than ever in the post-pandemic world, as it improves nutrition and ensures food security, particularly now as families struggle with cost of living increases and threats to global food supply chains.

Breastfeeding provides total food security for infants. There is no more readily available, affordable and nutritious food source than breastmilk, a complete food for infants up to six months of age, and with complementary foods up to two years and beyond.

While the act of breastfeeding in itself is free, there can be many barriers for families who choose to give their children human milk. La Leche League Leaders are here to support every family, regardless of how they wish to do this, and give free up-to-date information and support, Heather said.

Details of Zoom meetings are posted weekly on the La Leche League of Ireland social media pages. Local Leaders can be contacted directly, details on www.lalecheleagueireland.com/groups/
Rents in Laois rose by 7.8 % in a year putting the county in the top ten most expensive rental counties in Ireland.

The Residential Tenancies Board (RTB)s new figures for the first three months of the year reveal that average rent in Laois is now 1,069, up from 992 for the same period last year. Rents in Laois are now the highest in the midlands and more expensive than Waterford City, where the figure is 1,054. The RTB figures cover the period from January to March 2022.

Independently analysed by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), the RTB Rent Index is based on the total number of private tenancies newly registered with RTB each quarter. The Index provides rental indicators based on actual rents paid in the private rental sector in Ireland.

Although Laois renters will take little comfort from the statistics, Laois remains below the national average of 1,460 per month and below the yearly increase of 9.2%.

Laois was one of fourteen counties to have standardised average rents in new tenancies above 1,000 per month in Q1 2022. The others were Carlow, Cork, Dublin, Galway, Kildare, Kilkenny, Limerick, Louth, Meath, Waterford, Westmeath, Wexford, and Wicklow.

The highest standardised average rent in new tenancies for Q1 2022 was in Dublin at 2,015 per month while the lowest monthly rents were in Leitrim, where the standardised average rent in new tenancies stood at 734 per month.

RTB Director Niall Byrne said: The latest Rent Index, which is based on new tenancies registered with the RTB in the first quarter of 2022, shows continued growth in rents nationally with a yearly increase of 9.2%. We also see a continued fall in the number of tenancies that were registered with the RTB in Q1 2022. These results are likely still indirectly impacted by COVID-19 public health measures along with constraints in supply and tenants choosing to stay longer in their existing tenancies. In reading the Index, it is also important to note that these results only provide us with a snapshot into a small proportion of the private rental sector in Ireland.

Mr Byrne said: The RTB would like to remind landlords that annual registration was introduced on 4 April 2022 requiring landlords to register their tenancies on a yearly basis.

">

He also noted there were new changes to rental legislation which took effect on 6 July 2022 in relation to how a landlord can end a tenancy. To find out what these changes mean for landlords and tenants, please visit our website at www.rtb.ie.
Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content.

Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist.

If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider contributing and/or subscribing to our free daily Newsletter .

Support our mission and join our community now.
A Laois county councillor has accused the hospitality industry of "price gouging" and damaging Irish tourism.

"Massive hikes" in hotel room prices and car rental are "making it unviable to visit Ireland" according to Labour Cllr Noel Tuohy from the Portlaoise Municipal District.

Cllr Tuohy is set to raise his concerns to the Minister for Tourism, Catherine Martin TD.

His motion tabled to the July meeting of Laois County Council gained the support of his colleagues.

He requested that the council write to the Minister, "expressing the concerns regarding price gouging especially in the hospitality sector which is adversely affecting our tourism industry".

"We have to stop the damage being done to our reputation. That is hard to rebuild. We should voice our concerns," he said.

He gave anecdotal evidence.

"A price for a hotel in Dublin for a Tuesday night was 104 in February, but by last April it was 384. Rooms are costing in the region of 300 a night, and there are massive hikes for concerts and events. The cost of car rentals is making it non viable to visit Ireland.

"The hotel industry received significant support in difficult times. It is vital that price gouging be stamped out. They are killing the goose that lays the golden egg," Cllr Tuohy claimed.

Cllr James Kelly seconded the motion.

"The sooner this letter goes to Minister Martin, the better," he agreed.

A letter will now be sent from Laois County Council to the Minister.
An workshop in the Devoy Quarter of Naas will help businesses learn about the Digital Transition Fund (DTF).

Fianna Fail Minister of State for Trade Promotion, Digital and Company Regulation, Robert Troy TD, will launch a series of Grow Digital workshops for Mid-East businesses in MERITS, the Mid-East Tech Hub in Naas, in conjunction with Kildare County Council's Local Enterprise Office and Enterprise Ireland.

According to organisers, the objective of this event is to discuss the new 85 million fund received by the Irish Government as part of its National Recovery and Resilience Plan.

The DTF will be used to help companies use digital technology like AI, cloud computing and big data to improve their products, processes, supply chains and services.

Organisers said: "The funding will help companies at all stages of their digital journey  from going online to facilitating exporting and to using digital technologies to reach new markets and improve their productivity and competitiveness.

"This event will provide a platform for Mid-East based businesses (Kildare, Wicklow and Meath) to get informed about the new funding.

"Attendees will have the opportunity to hear case studies from regionally based businesses who have progressed their digitalisation journey as well as preparing a digital transformation action plan that meets their business needs with their agency representative."

The events listed for the day is as follows:

9am - Registration, tea/coffee

9.30am - Welcome by Sonya Kavanagh, Chief Executive, Kildare County Council

9.40am - Keynote address by Minister Troy

9.50am - Overview of the Digital Transition Fund Schemes by Sean Tobin, Enterprise Ireland

10.15am - Panel Discussion on Digitisation moderated by Jacqui McNabb, Head of Enterprise and Economic Development Unit, Kildare County Council

11.00am - Q & A

11.30am - Refreshments, networking and one-to-one engagement with agencies/speakers

Please note that booking for the event is required and that places are limited.

Image and video content will be recorded at this event; please inform a member of our team via localenterprise@kildarecoco.ie if you do not wish to be included/identifiable.

The workshop is hosted by LEO Kildare on behalf of the Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment.

The event at MERITS will take place on Wednesday, July 27, from 9.30am to 11.30am.

Further information about the DTF can be found here.
A Naas District Court judge told a solicitor on Thursday, July 21, that his client 'should be in jail.'

The comments were made by Judge Michele Finan in the case of Dean Loughrey, with an address listed as Kilmeen, Loughrea in Galway.

DANGEROUS DRIVING

The 39-year-old was found guilty of dangerous driving and refusing to provide a breath sample to gardai at Kildare town on June 25 last.

Seamus Boyle, the solicitor who was defending Mr Loughrey, said that his client was now a wheelchair user following injuries sustained in a separate vehicle collision.

In response, Judge Finan said: "He is lucky that no one ended up in the ground."

After Seamus Boyle said his client 'had no defence', he asked the court for leniency.

The judge replied: "Youre telling me to be lenient with this man? He should be in jail.

"There is nothing you can say in his defence," she added.

DO YOU THINK I CARE?

Mr Boyle then began to outline the circumstances surrounding his client, saying that Mr Loughrey was attending the Irish Derby at the time.

"Do you think I care?" the judge said to Mr Boyle: "You should take a big shovel and just keep digging."

It was heard that Mr Loughrey had a total of 56 previous convictions, and was previously disqualified from driving for 10 years.

Judge Finan imposed a 10 -year disqualification on the defendant for the dangerous driving offence, as well as a 50 fine, given his personal circumstances.

The judge also imposed a four-year driving ban on Mr Loughrey for refusing to provide a breath sample, which is to be served concurrently with the 10-year disqualification.
People have been urged to apply for 50 new "cost rental" homes in Newbridge with rents approximately 25% to 30% below market value.

The properties in The Paddocks will be available at:

 1 bed apartment - 1,000 per calendar month

 2 bed apartment - 1,240 per calendar month

 3 bed apartment - 1,350 per calendar month

Cluid Housing said the properties are a mix of one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments, located in The Paddocks.

Under the Governments Cost Rental Scheme, rents are targeted at a minimum of 25% below open market value, with prices for The Paddocks homes starting at 1,000 per month.

This development will enable more middle-income households in Newbridge to access high-quality, secure homes close to their work and community. In addition to below-market rates, residents will also be provided with long-term security of tenure.

Applications officially open on www.cluid.ie tomorrow, and will remain open until 5pm on Wednesday, August 3. The first homes will be available to move into in October 2022. When complete, homebuilder Montane Developments will have delivered a total of over 300 homes in The Paddocks development.

Fiona Cormican, Cluid Housings Director of New Business, said:

Cluid is delighted to be opening applications for the second phase of cost rental apartments in The Paddocks, Newbridge. The 50 new homes launched today will provide the people of Newbridge and the surrounding area with much needed high-quality, secure homes. With rents set at least 25% below the market value, we hope these new cost rental properties will allow working households who are struggling with the precarious nature of the private rental sector to enjoy stable, long-term homes within the vibrant community of Newbridge.

We received more than 800 applications for cost rental apartments in The Paddocks when we launched Phase One in April of this year, and we hope to see similar levels of interest in this newest phase.

Cluid has now brought 250 cost rental properties to the market, and we are ready to assist the Government in achieving their target of 2,000 cost rental homes per year and 18,000 by 2030 as set out in Housing for All.

New resident

Alton, a resident in phase one of the cost rental apartments in The Paddocks, said:

I applied to Cluid Housing and within a few weeks I was contacted for an interview and subsequently was offered to view a property. The property I viewed was a new build apartment which seemed to be of a very high quality. I accepted the offer and could not have made a better decision.

The area is quiet and offers a lot of amenities. The development is family-oriented, multicultural and it is an absolute pleasure to be living here. The property itself is finished to a high standard, and the Cluid staff make the process simple and stress free.

About The Paddocks

These new-build, A-rated, energy efficient properties are semi-furnished. Each home will include white goods, including a fridge freezer, a dishwasher, an oven and hob, a microwave, and a washer dryer as standard. Roller blinds, including a blackout blind in bedrooms, are provided, in addition to laminate flooring throughout, and tiled bathrooms.

The Paddocks development is conveniently located close to sports, social, educational, commercial, transport and recreational amenities of Newbridge, making it an ideal location for those already living or working in Newbridge, or with links to the area. It is a 60 minute drive or 35 minute train journey to Dublin city centre.



Eligibility

Applications open on July 27 and close on Wednesday 3rd August. To apply for the cost rental homes, applicants are obliged to provide evidence of the following eligibility criteria:



 Net household income is below 53,000 per annum

 Not in receipt of any social housing supports (including Rent Supplement or HAP)

 Do not own a property

 Household size matches the size of the property advertised (All members of the household must be living in Ireland at time of applying.)

 Applicants can afford to pay the cost rent for the home

 Household has only entered one application for a specific cost rental property

Should more applications be received than properties available, completed applications will be selected at random. The random selection system is automated and auditable, to ensure a fair application process for all.

What is Cost Rental?

Cost rental is a new form of tenure in Ireland, whereby residents pay rents that are solely based on the cost to build, manage, and maintain the homes. 70m was allocated in Budget 2022 for the delivery of 700 Cost Rental homes by Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) like Cluid, through the Cost Rental Equity Loan (CREL) mechanism. A target to deliver an average of 2,000 cost rental homes per year was included in Housing for All, Governments housing plan for Ireland over the next 8 years.

Cluid was one of three AHBs selected (along with Respond and Tuath) to deliver the first cost rental homes in Ireland, as part of a competitive assessment process. The Cost Rental Scheme is administered by the Housing Agency, on behalf of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. The Housing Agency oversee the administration of the loan arrangements, including the drafting of the agreement for the Cost Rental Equity Loan (CREL) to fund the purchase of each property. The Housing Finance Agency (HFA) has also made financing of up to 100m available to support the delivery of cost rental homes. These 50 new homes are being purchased by Cluid Housing from homebuilder Montane Developments.

The latest launch is the second phase of cost rental properties in The Paddocks  the first phase having launched in April 2022. Cluid also has cost rental schemes in Barnhall Meadows, Leixlip, Co. Kildare, as well as in Dublin and Cork.



For more, visit www.cluid.ie/cost-rental/
The following deaths have occurred in the wider Leitrim area:

Sean Moore, Clontarf, Dublin / Arvagh, Cavan



The death has occurred of Sean Moore, Clontarf, Dublin and formerly of Arvagh, Co. Cavan. Passed away 24th July 2022 (peacefully) surrounded by family in the great care of the staff of Beaumont hospital. Predeceased by his devoted wife Teresa and sisters Noreen, Mossie, Kathleen, Mary, Annie, Phyllis and brother Tom (Junior). Cherished Dad to Helen, Deirdre and John; Sean will be very sadly missed by his loving family, daughter-in-law Tara, his adored grandchildren Archie, Harry, Poppy and Zoe, sister Theresa, brother-in-law, sisters-in-law, nieces, nephews, relatives, neighbours and friends. Thanks to Ken, Job, Richie and all at North Dublin Homecare for their exceptional loving care and support to us all. Removal on Thursday morning, 28th July, to St. Brigid's Church, Killester for Requiem Mass at 10am followed by cremation at Glasnevin Crematorium. House private

Frances Woods, Artane, Dublin / Leitrim



Woods, Frances (Emmy) (Artane, Dublin and formerly of London and Lisdrumrea, Kilnagross, Co. Leitrim)  July 24th, 2022 (peacefully) at the Mater Hospital. Predeceased by her parents Frank and Mary E., her brothers Eddie, Robert and Joe, sisters Gretta, Sr. Bridie, Agnes, Elizabeth and Eileen. She will be sadly missed by her nephews, nieces, grand-nephews, grand-nieces, her great-grand-nephews, great-grand-nieces, and by her many friends. Removal on Wednesday morning (July 27th) to the Church of St. John Vianney, Ardlea Road, Artane, arriving for 10 oclock Requiem Mass, followed by Funeral to Glasnevin Crematorium. Emmys family would especially like to extend their thanks to the staff and patients of Beech Lawn House Nursing Home for the care and kindness they showed to her.

Mary Giblin (nee Frizzelle), Prospect House, Drumshanbo, Leitrim



Giblin Mary (nee Frizzelle), Prospect House, Drumshanbo, Co Leitrim, Saturday, 23rd July, 2022. Peacefully in St James's Hospital, Dublin, surrounded by her loving family. Beloved wife of the late Michael John. Deeply mourned by her heartbroken daughters, Margaret (Silke), Catherine (Faller) and Geraldine (Murphy). Adored grandmother of Katherina, Lidia, Frank and Peter, and great-grandson, Alex. Sadly missed by her sons-in-law, Sean and John and her many nieces and nephews in Ireland and America. Reposing at her home in Drumshanbo on Tuesday, 26th July, from 3 pm to 7 pm. Removal this Wednesday, 27th July, to St. Patrick's Church, Drumshanbo arriving for 11 am Mass followed by burial in the Church Cemetery.

May they all Rest in Peace
Last Friday Leitrim Volunteer Centre hosted a unique gathering of politicians, volunteer drivers and service users of the Leitrim Community Car Scheme. Marian Harkin TD, Martin Kenny TD and Minister Frank Feighan listened intently as the Volunteers spoke enthusiastically of their experience of giving back to the community through this scheme.

Some of the Drivers went beyond the call of duty by helping service users pick up the shopping on the way from their hospital appointments. Some referred their Community Scheme Passengers to daycare services and meals on wheels services and there were many other accounts of their personal experience of the social car scheme.

One of the service users said she would not have been able to make her hospital appointments without the car scheme. A younger participant who needed treatment for cancer had to travel with his wife by train to Sligo and by bus to Galway and stay in accommodation over night putting a huge strain on their scare finances.

The three local public representatives Minister Frank Feighan, Marian Harkin TD, and Martin Kenny TD made a firm commitment to do everything they could to ensure the Community Car Scheme would be sustainable into the future. Each in turn commended this valuable and much needed service and promised to make representations to the relevant Government Depts.

Since the first journey on March 9th, the community car scheme have completed over 110 trips with older people, people with disabilities, families at risk and Ukrainian displaced people to hospital appointments in Mullingar, Galway, Sligo and Dublin, GP, Physiotherapy as well as other more local trips for essential services. Referrals have come mainly from Public Health Nurses, Social Workers the County Council, and the Local Development Company.

Staff and Board members spoke about how they were deeply concerned with the level of demand and whether the Leitrim Community Car Scheme would be able to continue to meet the needs. To develop this service, they are seeking assistance with funding to cover the cost of a Co-ordinator, fuel and out-of-pocket expenses for the Volunteer Drivers.

Leitrim Volunteer Centre consulted with the Community Development Office in Leitrim County Council, to ascertain the need for Community Volunteers and how they can be best used in the county. The desperate need for a Social Car Scheme was highlighted. As one of the most rural counties in the country, it is very difficult for people to get medical appointments and to access essential services.

Since the start of Covid, the Civil Defence had been facilitating people in rural areas who needed to attend doctor or hospital appointments, however, since restrictions eased, the civil defence has returned to their normal duties and do not have the time or resources to continue to carry out this work. Almost all the calls that came through the Community Call scheme in the last 2 years have been requests from vulnerable and isolated people looking for transport to hospital appointments.

The Community Car Scheme has proven to be hugely popular with the number of trips increasing every day. In its present form, Leitrim Volunteer Centre are very conscious that the needs are far exceeding what they can possibly meet. The Manager stated We need to at least tribble the number of Volunteers, they need to be supported and trained in First Aid, Manual Handling, Health and Safety and Customer Relations, A Coordinator would be responsible for taking referrals and liaising with GPs, Consultants, PHNs, Social Workers and Educational and Phycological services. The coordinator would ensure that all the necessary policies and procedures are in place for the smooth running of the scheme.

How the Service Operates

The Social Car scheme is aimed at involving volunteers in helping vulnerable and isolated community members within their local community, through the provision of flexible transport to and from essential appointments. Volunteer Drivers provide, using their own car, essential door to door transport for passengers identified, who have difficulties accessing public or other forms of transport.

The Volunteer Driver role is advertised on www.i-vol.ie Volunteers register online on the following link https://www.i-vol.ie/volunteer-opportunity/?ID=a004G00000laIRcQAM

They are interviewed, Garda vetted, trained and if deemed suitable are placed on the panel of available Drivers. Requests and referrals are processed through the Leitrim Volunteer Centre who in turn send a call out to the Drivers and whoever is available will be given the Name, phone number, Eircode, destination and appointment time of in Client in a private message.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. delivers his first address to the nation at the House of Representatives in Quezon City, near Manila, on July 25, 2022. JAM STA ROSA / AFP

On Monday, July 25, Philippine President Bongbong Marcos delivered his first state of the nation address to members of Congress, in which he clearly distanced himself from China, a country his predecessor had tried to woo. His speech focused on promises to develop this impoverished country of 110 million inhabitants. He emphasized a more hard-line policy toward Beijing than that of his predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, both on issues of sovereignty in the South China Sea and on infrastructure projects involving the "new silk roads" (also known as the Belt and Road Initiative).

As soon as he took office in 2016, Mr. Duterte chose to ignore the ruling over South China Sea disputes that had just been handed down by the Court of Arbitration in The Hague in favor of the Philippines. The court had found Beijing's claims in the South China Sea to have "no legal basis" when the matter was referred by Mr. Duterte's predecessor, President Benigno Aquino III, following China's occupation of a reef located in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the Philippines.

Elected president on May 9, Mr. Marcos, who is the son of former dictator Ferdinand Marcos, has taken the opposite stance. His foreign minister, Enrique Manalo, commemorated the sixth anniversary of The Hague ruling on July 12 by declaring that it should serve as "the anchor of the Philippines policy and actions on the West Philippine Sea" and describing its findings as "indisputable." "We firmly reject attempts to call it into question... or even erase it from law, history and our collective memories," he said. On the same day, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said publicly that an attack on Philippine armed forces, public vessels or aircraft in the South China Sea would invoke US mutual defense commitments under the 1951 US-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty.

Read more Subscribers only Philippines: The damaged memory of 'People Power'

We are interested in your experience using the site. Send feedback

Abandoned railway projects

President Duterte was frowned upon by Washington because of his affinity for China and the heavy-handed nature of his anti-drugs campaign. The time is right to re-establish ties between the Philippines and America, its former colonial power. After all, Bongbong Marcos has no record of human rights abuses. In return for his conciliatory stance toward Beijing, Mr. Duterte counted on massive Chinese investments, which had been announced during his first visit to China in 2016, and also when Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Manila in 2018. These investments were to provide the Philippines, which suffers from poor infrastructure, with railroads.

You have 59.43% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.
AN INTERNATIONALLY acclaimed retired Professor of Music who claimed that a side-effect of treatment he received at University Hospital Limerick left him with severe mobility problems has settled his medical negligence action against the HSE.

The claim, which was settled without an admission of liability, was brought by 81-year-old Thomas Regelski, a retired Professor of Music arising out of his treatment at UHL for pneumonia in late June 2019.

He claimed that the hospital was negligent by administering him a combination of medication that he alleged caused the tendons in his legs to rupture, leaving him with permanent severe injuries, and requires the use of a wheelchair to get around.

The HSE had denied that it had been negligent in its treatment of the plaintiff.

Mr Regelski, a US national who resides in Helsinki, Finland was for many years a Professor of Music at a New York university. He also taught music at prestigious universities in Japan, Finland where he was a Fulbright Scholar, and at Harvard University.

He was holidaying in Ireland when he was admitted to the hospital for four days on June 22, 2019.

Mr Regelski claimed that after being diagnosed with pneumonia he was treated with several different antibiotics, including an antibiotic called Levoflaxin, and various steroids.

He claimed that arising out of the medications administered to him while he was in hospital in Ireland, resulted in the bilateral rupture of his Achilles Tendons.

It was claimed that both national and European guidelines advise against the use of a Levoflaxin and steroids combination in persons over 60 years of age.

This, he alleged, was due to the risk of adverse reactions, including tendon rupture, especially in his age group.

Represented by Philip Sheahan SC, with Liam Carroll Bl, instructed by solicitor John Lynch, he sued the HSE for medical negligence over the catastrophic injuries he claims he suffered as a side-effect of his treatment.

He claimed that due to the alleged negligence and the damage done to his tendons he has been largely confined to a wheelchair and has extremely limited mobility.

In its defence the HSE denied the claims and had argued that he was not entitled to any damages.

The matter was briefly mentioned before Mr Justice Paul Coffey on Tuesday, who was told that the action had been settled, and that the claim could be struck out.

Details of the settlement are confidential.

The settlement brings to an end litigation brought by Mr Regelski arising out of his treatment in Ireland.

In an earlier separate, but related, action he brought judicial review proceedings over the Minister for Social Protection's failure to provide him with a Personal Public Service number.

He required a PPS so he could bring his medical negligence claim against the HSE and had claimed that the Minister's failure to provide him with the PPS was a breach of his rights.

That action was resolved in his favour out of court.

In a statement issued following the conclusion of this Tuesday's hearing, Mr Regelski said: "I suffered a rare complication associated with two medications in the form of a bilateral Achilles Tendon rupture. I now find myself mostly confined to a wheelchair."

The plaintiff added: "It was with great reluctance that I had to issue legal proceedings. These proceedings have now settled in a manner that allows me to avail of the care I need for the rest of my life. My only hope is that lessons may be learned by the HSE that will prevent what happened to me, from happening to others."

Mr Regelski also thanked his legal team for "bringing this matter to a conclusion on my behalf."
THE High Court has allowed the mother of murdered Limerick boxer Kevin Sheehy to bring a challenge aimed at preventing her son's killer from being transferred from Limerick prison to one in the UK.

Tracey Tully, whose 20-year-old son was killed at Hyde Road Limerick on July 1, 2019, had sought permission to bring a High Court judicial review proceedings against the Minister for Justice's decision to sanction the proposed transfer.

In her action Ms Tully seeks an order preventing Logan Jackson (pictured below), who is serving a life sentence for Mr Sheehy's murder, in Limerick Prison from being repatriated back to England.

In a ruling, delivered this Tuesday Ms Justice Siobhan Phelan said she was satisfied the legal threshold to allow Ms Tully to bring her claim had been reached and that Ms Tully had raised grounds concerning the rights of victims of crime that are arguable.

The case, which will now be listed for a full hearing before a High Court judge, will return before the courts in October.

Ms Tully, represented by Ciaran O'Loughlin SC with Arthur Griffin Bl, instructed by Sinead Nolan of Mark Murphy solicitors claims the Minister's decision amounts to a breach of her rights under the 2017 Victims of Crime Act.

She claims that Irish legislation gives victims the right to be consulted on parole applications by their wrongdoers.

Ms Tully claims that those rights would be extinguished if Jackson's transfer to the UK goes ahead.

She claims that she will not have any say, nor will she be able to make any submissions to the UK authorities when Logan Jackson applies for parole.

She also claims that the Minister's decision is unconstitutional and an "abdication of the Irish state's responsibility to determine when a person serving a life sentence may be paroled."

Lawyers representing both the Minister and Mr Jackson, who is a notice party to the proceedings, had opposed the application for leave and had argued that Ms Tully's action should have been dismissed.

Mr Sheehy, an Irish champion boxer, died after being repeatedly struck by a vehicle driven by Jackson of Longford Road, Coventry, England.

Last year Jackson was convicted of Mr Sheehy's murder by a jury at the Central Criminal Court and was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Following his conviction 31-year-old Jackson successfully applied to the Minister for Justice for a transfer from Ireland so he can serve out his sentence in an English prison.

In her action Ms Tully seeks an order quashing the transfer.

She also seeks declarations from the court including that the proposed transfer breaches her rights under the 2017 Victim of Crime Act and was made outside of the Minister's powers under the 2019 Parole Act.

She further seeks a declaration that the decision to transfer Jackson is unconstitutional as it removed the jurisdiction for sentencing Jackson from the Irish state and handed it over to another state.

The Minister denies that Ms Tully's rights have been breached and the transfer had been lawfully approved.



The Minister previously gave an undertaking to the court that the proposed transfer was to be put on hold pending the outcome of the leave application.

After being informed that the Minister's lawyers were not in a position to extend that undertaking, the Judge gave Ms Tully's lawyers permission to return to court and seeks orders halting Jackson's transfer if they become aware of any plans to move him.
YOUNG people in one Limerick area were in their element as community members came together to celebrate an action-packed family fun day.

Mask-making, traditional games and a fortune teller greeted young people and their families at Garryowens community family day at Geraldines AFC in Garryowen.

Organised by Garryowen Community Development Project and Limerick Youth Service, the day saw a selection of events including, music, face painting, street games, sport, a colour run and more.

The Garryowen Community Fun Day was the brainchild of young people with LYS Garryowen Youth Together Project and the Garryowen Community Development Project who were keen to run an event for young people in their community, a Limerick Youth Service spokesperson said.

The recently opened Garryowen Youth Project is a partnership between Limerick Youth Service and the Garryowen Community Development Project and is based at 23 Johns St, Limerick.

Garryowen Community Development Projects mission is to empower local people and to be actively involved in meeting the needs of their community by working together.

A member of Youth Work Ireland, Limerick Youth Service remains committed to connecting with young people and encouraging them to reach their full potential.

While we will have some groups, our primary focus is detached youth work, a spokesperson said, adding, we will be out and about the community engaging with young people at a time that suits them.
ARMY-style tents have been erected at a Direct Provision Centre on the Limerick/Clare border to temporarily accommodate refugees.

Similar tents have been set up in Gormanstown, Co Meath which will house Ukrainian refugees as the government tries to source more suitable accommodation.

OPW staff and members of the Defence Forces have been seen putting up the tents in the green area surrounding the Knockalisheen Direct Provision centre just outside Moyross.

The centre, which is a former army camp, already hosts 250 asylum seekers in accommodation blocks.

While the centre in Meath has confirmed they are housing refugees from Ukraine in the tents, the Limerick centre will host nearly 100 people from various countries who are seeking protection.

Almost 42,000 people have fled to Ireland from Ukraine since the Russian invasion earlier this year with numbers increasing in recent weeks.

Taoiseach Micheal Martin has said there has been an unprecedented amount of people coming to Ireland as pressure mounts amid a shortage of accommodation.

Minister for Integration Roderic O'Gorman told RTE Radio 1's Morning Ireland that the tented accommodation is a short-term solution while more suitable accommodation is sourced.

Cathal Crowe TD told the Limerick Leader that he has reservations regarding the housing of refugees in tents, especially as a long-term solution.

Tents are fine during the summer but I would not like to see them being used into the autumn and winter months or as a long-term solution.

There is a capacity issue and this is not a rational approach to that. I am absolutely for welcoming refugees here and accommodating them but every situation has a capacity point and when you exceed that you are doing them a disservice.

Mr Crowe added that it would be acceptable to house people in the tents if it was just a temporary solution.

However, he said that due to the ongoing housing and accommodation crisis, he cannot see that being the case.

I can't see us being able to find them accommodation. They are setting themselves up for a larger problem, I shudder to think what it would be like for people to live there during the winter, especially with children.

I can't see this not being long-term. I know modular buildings are also being looked at. We should welcome them but if we can't guarantee them suitable accommodation then we are letting them down.
Political leaders across the UK and Ireland have hailed Lord Trimbles contribution to peace in Northern Ireland.

Following the death of the former Stormont first minister on Monday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson described him as a political giant whose achievements would never be forgotten.

Taoiseach Micheal Martin credited his central contribution in efforts to secure peace and reconciliation.

I am deeply saddened to learn of the death of Lord Trimble earlier today. He was a giant of British and international politics and will be long remembered for his intellect, personal bravery and fierce determination to change politics for the better.  Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) July 25, 2022

Irish President Michael D Higgins praised his life of public service.

Mr Johnson tweeted a tribute to Lord Trimble on Monday evening.

He was a giant of British and international politics and will be long remembered for his intellect, personal bravery and fierce determination to change politics for the better, he said.

Mr Martin said: All of us in politics at the time witnessed his crucial and courageous role in the negotiations leading to the Good Friday Agreement and his leadership in building support in his party and his community for the Agreement.

President Higgins expressed his deep sadness.

David Trimbles dedication and courage, often during the most challenging times, has earned him a distinguished and deserved place in our history books, he said.

His work leaves a true legacy on the necessity and value of peace on our shared island for future generations.

Current UUP leader Doug Beattie described the former first minister as a man of courage and vision.

He chose to grasp the opportunity for peace when it presented itself and sought to end the decades of violence that blighted his beloved Northern Ireland, he said.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer tweeted: Very sad news. David Trimble was a towering figure of Northern Ireland and British politics as one of the key authors of the Good Friday Agreement, the first First Minister and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. My thoughts are with Lady Trimble and their family.

Deeply saddened at the passing of David Trimble, someone who played a crucial and courageous role in bringing peace to Northern Ireland. My sympathies and condolences to all of his family, friends and colleagues.  Micheal Martin (@MichealMartinTD) July 25, 2022

Sinn Fein vice president Michelle ONeill tweeted: His very significant contribution to the peace process and his courage in helping achieve the Good Friday Agreement leaves a legacy a quarter century on for which he and his family should be rightly proud.

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson described the peer as a committed and passionate advocate for the Union, at a time when doing so posed a considerable threat to his safety.

Sir Jeffrey, who quit the UUP and defected to the DUP while Lord Trimble was leader, said: Whilst our political paths parted within the Ulster Unionist Party, there can be no doubting his bravery and determination in leadership at that time. He was a committed and passionate unionist who always wanted the best for Northern Ireland.

Alliance Leader Naomi Long said: Lord Trimbles greatest legacy to his political career is the Good Friday Agreement and the risks he took to both help achieve it, and ensuring the resulting Assembly remained during its unsteady early days. It was at times an unenviable role.

His contribution to the peace process and the ending of violence in our society helped secure his place in history.

SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said Lord Trimble had left an indelible mark on our shared islands story and that without him there would not have been a Good Friday Agreement.

Over the course of his political career but particularly in difficult years of the Good Friday Agreement negotiations he demonstrated immense courage and took political risks that sustained the life of our fledgling peace process, he said.

He doesnt often enough get credit for it but without David Trimbles fortitude, there would simply have been no agreement.
Households hosting Ukrainian refugees can now apply for the 400 Accommodation Recognition Payment.

Applications can be made from today (Tuesday July 26) by households providing shelter to people claiming Temporary Protection after fleeing the conflict in Ukraine.

The payment, which recognises the generosity of people making room for victims of a humanitarian crisis, will be paid on the second Tuesday of each month to begin on August 9 2022.

The Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Roderic OGorman, said, "Since the start of the Ukrainian crisis and the arrival in Ireland of those fleeing war, a warm welcome has been extended by the Irish public to those in need of shelter and safety.

"Offers of accommodation from the general public are appreciated and they greatly assist with the challenge of sourcing suitable accommodation for some 40,000 people who have arrived here.

"Recognising their contribution, the Government agreed in May to introduce a monthly payment of 400 to hosts per property where Ukrainians are living."

Payments may be back-dated to March 4 2022 and will be made available until the end of March 2023.

The Minister for Social Protection, Heather Humphreys said, "I am pleased to support Minister OGorman in recognising the contribution of those who opened their homes and provided accommodation to people from Ukraine fleeing the war in their country.

"My Department will administer this payment on behalf of the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. I am happy to say that this scheme is now open to hosts to make their application from today, the 26th July, on www.MyWelfare.ie.

Information on the scheme is available at gov.ie and applications for payment may be made at MyWelfare.
The Kargil War was fought against intruders from Pakistan, who had crossed the Line of Control (LoC) into Indian territory during the winters of 1998. They took up residence in fortified defences that overlooked the NH 1A in the Drass and Batalik Sectors of Kargil in the Ladakh region. In 1999, the war went on from May 8 to July 26 in 1999, when India successfully completed Operation Vijay..

On July 26, 2022, India will honour the heroic sacrifices and bravery of the fallen heroes in retaking various mountain heights taken by Pakistani intruders in Kashmir, celebrating the 23-year anniversary of its victory over Pakistan in the Kargil War.

Also Read: China tests a rocket near LAC that can hit critical Indian Army bases

Because of separatist actions in Kashmir, some of which were funded by Pakistan, tensions grew during the 1990s. The Lahore Declaration was an attempt by India and Pakistan to find a peaceful bilateral resolution to the issue. It was signed in February 1999. However, some of the paramilitary elements of the Pakistani Armed Forces were training surreptitiously in Indian territory while some of them were operating under the pretence of mujahideen.

By severing the connection between Kashmir and Ladakh, Pakistan hoped to force the Indian military to leave the Siachen Glacier. If they had been successful, India would have been forced to discuss a resolution to the larger Kashmir problem.

Watch: Indian Armys bike rally pays tribute to Galwan bravehearts

Pakistan X Corps Commander Lieutenant General Mahmud Ahmad, Major Generals Javed Hasan and Ashraf Rashid, and then-Army General Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan masterminded the unlawful Pakistani annexation of Kargil. Nawaz Sharif, the-then prime minister of Pakistan, claimed to be not aware of this operation.

India used conventional military force to combat the militarised insurgency by Pakistan. Kargil offered a tactical puzzle piece for military strategists as well. The direct-firing weapon was used for the first time by artillery.

Also Read: China provoking India on LAC in Eastern Ladakh; Indian Air Force mobilising fighter jets to counter threat

The Indian Air Force was instructed not to cross the LoC at Kargil. Fighter pilots had to come up with new angles of attack because the majority of the enemy was virtually on the LoC.

Pakistani forces were ultimately defeated by the bravery of the Indian forces, and on July 26, 1999, they were forced to withdraw from the Indian territory they had been occupying.
Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman opines that the Neom Investment Fund could potentially expand to 400 billion riyals. While speaking with reporters, Prince Mohammed outlined details on how he plans to finance Neom, which is considered to be one of the largest and most complex construction projects in the world.

Elaborating on his plans, Prince Mohammed also said that the first phase of the project, which runs until 2030, will cost 1.2 trillion riyals, with about half of that covered by the kingdoms sovereign wealth fund.

While the Saudi officials will seek to raise another 600 billion riyals from other sovereign wealth funds in the region, private investors in Saudi Arabia and abroad. The initial public offering of Neom itself on the Saudi stock market is also on the cards, Prince Mohammed added.

ALSO READ: Oil price rises 2% as no immediate Saudi output boost expected

We have big aims to get Saudi Arabia among the top three largest stock markets on the planet," Bloomberg quoted Prince Mohammed as saying on 25 July.

Saudi Arabia is expecting the IPO of Neom will happen around 2024 and could add more than 1 trillion riyals to the size of the kingdoms market.

Earlier, Prince Mohammed announced Neom and his plans to turn an expanse of desert the size of Belgium into a high-tech region. Aiming to attract oreign investment and diversify Saudi Arabias oil-dependent economy, the prince billed it as a testbed for new technologies that could revolutionize urban life.

However, Neom has been plagued by setbacks even after 5 years as many stemming from the difficulties of implementing the princes grand and ever-changing ideas.

In his new announcement on Monday, Prince Mohammed mulled for twin buildings that stretch for more than 100 kilometers and contain within them an entire city of 9 million people. With Neom, the Prince also plans to remake Saudi Arabia involves increasing its population from around 34 million people currently to 50 million to 60 million by 2030 -- half of those will be foreigners.

According to him, Neom can take care of 10 million people as the capital of Riyadh will be overcrowded if it expands too much. His expectation also suggests that by 2045, around 9 million people will live in the twin buildings.

Apart from this, Neom will start engaging major potential investors by the end of this year, he said.

With Bloomberg inputs.
After continuous warnings to the US regarding House speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan, China may decide to take military measures to stop her, reported news agency Reuters, citing sources.

Zhao Lijian, the official spokesperson of the Chinese foreign ministry, said on Monday that China is seriously prepared regarding Pelosi's visit.

"If the US side is bent on going its own way, China will take strong measures to resolutely respond and counteract," he said, adding that the US should be held responsible for any serious consequences.

Pelosi was slated to visit Taiwan, which China considers a part of its territory, in April. But she could not travel then as she had contracted Covid-19.

It has not been decided when or if she will travel to Taiwan but it could be somewhere at the start of August, which may also collide with the founding of the People's Liberation Army, the military wing of the Chinese Communist Party(CCP).

Pelosi has been a sharp critic of China and her visit has caused much discomfort in Beijing.

There have also been contentions within the White House regarding the visit, both because of the timing of the visit and the lack of coordination.

US President Joe Biden said on last Wednesday: "I think that the military thinks it's not a good idea right now, but I don't know what the status of it is."

The backlash by China has also been attributed to the internal pressures on CCP and President Xi Jing Ping by nationalist forces and slowing economy and a public backlash against the Zero-Covid" policy. Chinese President Xi Jing Ping also faces re election for a third term as party leader at a Congress this year.

Although the US does not have any formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan since 1972, US is bound by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself. Recently, Biden had also said that the US would defend Taiwan if China attacks.

With inputs from agencies.

Subscribe to Mint Newsletters * Enter a valid email * Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter.
Francium  the 87th element on the periodic table  is a naturally occurring, but incredibly rare, radioactive element. It forms and decays extremely quickly, so it has no practical uses, and it is mostly used in scientific research.

However, the element has some intriguing properties: It is one of the only elements with no known stable form, and it has the largest atomic radius.

Some elements on the periodic table are relatively abundant on Earth  hydrogen, helium, oxygen and carbon , for example  while others are far more elusive  promethium and thulium being the two most uncommon. Francium sits very much at the elusive end of the spectrum.

"Francium-223 forms naturally during the radioactive decay of other elements, but it is estimated that there is only about 30 grams [1 ounce] of francium in the entire crust of the Earth at any one time," Christopher Barnett, a postdoctoral chemistry researcher at the University of Sydney, Australia, told Live Science in an email.

The element was first found in 1939 by French physicist Marguerite Perey, a prodigy of Marie Curie , who named the new discovery after Perey's homeland. This scarce element is considered to be one of the last naturally occurring elements (opens in new tab) discovered on Earth.

Francium fast facts

Atomic number (number of protons in the nucleus): 87

Atomic symbol (on the periodic table of elements): Fr

Atomic weight (average mass of the atom): 223

Density: unknown

Phase at room temperature: solid

Melting point: 80.6 degrees Fahrenheit (27 degrees Celsius)

Boiling point: 1,250 F (677 C)

Uses and half-life

Because francium is so rare, scientists who want to study it first have to create it in nuclear reactions  either by bombarding radium with neutrons, or thorium with protons," Barnett said.

Radium  atomic number 88  is a radioactive, metallic chemical element, while thorium  atomic number 90  is a naturally occurring radioactive metal.

So, is francium useful? Have scientists found any practical applications for it? The simple answer is "no."

The most stable form of francium, according to Barnett, is francium-223, but even so "the half-life is so short that there are no known biological processes that use it," Barnett said.

A half-life is a measure of how long it takes half of a sample of radioactive material to decay."One might expect the decay [of any element] to happen linearly and at a constant rate," Barnett said. "However, we have found that the rate of decay changes with the amount of substance left, such that the amount of material will halve in a constant time period."

Francium has a half-life of 22 minutes. So, if observing a sample of francium, half of the original amount will be left after 22 minutes. After another 22 minutes, there will be a quarter of the initial amount. It decays into radium-223 through beta decay, when an electron is emitted, or astatine-219 through alpha decay, when an "atom's nucleus sheds two protons and two neutrons in a packet that scientists call an alpha particle," according to JLab (opens in new tab).



"Francium's half-life is extremely short for a radioactive element. For comparison, technetium-99m (which is used in medical imaging) has a half-life of six hours. Uranium-235 (the type used in nuclear reactors) has a half-life of 703,800,000 year[s]," Barnett said.

Francium's atomic structure. (Image credit: Shutterstock)

While francium's half-life is incredibly short and though it is very toxic due to its radioactivity, its characteristics make it a compelling subject to study.

"Francium has some interesting properties. It is used to develop and test theoretical models, and I can see these being very useful to test machine-learning-based physics and chemistry models."

Barnett also noted that francium has never been observed with the naked eye because "there has never been enough isolated [francium] to know what it looks like." Barnett predicts that it will probably be "a silvery-grey metal," similar to other alkali metals, but admits "we just don't know for sure."

Is francium dangerous?

Given that francium can only be found in miniscule quantities, it doesn't pose much of a risk to humans, but what if, hypothetically speaking, someone was able to get hold of a large amount of it? Would francium be considered dangerous?

"There are two main risks with francium," Barnett said. "One is radioactivity. When it decays, it releases high energy particles that can ionise the surrounding tissues (causing burns), or break DNA strands (resulting in cancer).

Yet, because francium is so hard to make, getting enough to cause a serious issue would be unlikely. The most ever isolated was less than 0.000000001% of that found in a brand-new smoke detector. Given its much shorter half-life, most of that radiation would be emitted in a few hours, compared to years for a smoke detector.

"The other risk is that it is an alkali metal. It is  or rather would be, if we could get enough of it together  very reactive, and would likely catch fire most spectacularly."

Originally published on Live Science on Sept. 11, 2013, and rewritten on July 26, 2022.
Click here to read the full article.

With more than 15 years having passed since the end of That 70s Show, its understandable that it may have been a bit trippy for series star Ashton Kutcher to return for shows upcoming Netflix spinoff, That 90s Show.

It was really nostalgic to be back on the set, Kutcher told Varietys Carson Burton at the red carpet premiere of Vengeance at the Ace Hotel in Los Angeles Monday evening. Its all the same folks that made That 70s Show, so it was pretty bizarre.

Kutcher went on to explain that he and his wife, his That 70s Show costar Mila Kunis, felt a return to the property was the right thing to do  beyond being a blast, of course.

Mila and I were contemplating it, Kutcher said. We thought, Listen, were only in the position that were in because of that show, so lets just go back and do this. We just went back and had fun for a week. It was so random and fun.

Kutcher also gave some encouraging words about the new 90s-set series: Its really funny. The new cast is phenomenal.

That 90s Show is set to follow Eric (Topher Grace) and Donnas (Laura Prepon) daughter Leia Forman (Callie Haverda) as she visits her grandparents for the summer. Kurtwood Smith and Debra Jo Rupp are returning from the original cast to once again play Red and Kitty. The series, set in 1995, will follow a new generation of Point Place kids and includes newcomers Haverda, Ashley Aufderheide, Mace Coronel, Maxwell Acee Donovan, Reyn Doi and Sam Morelos.

Kutcher will reprise his character of Michael Kelso in a guest role for the new series. Fellow original castmates, including Grace, Prepon, Kunis and Wilmer Valderrama, are also all set to join in guest appearances.

On the immediate horizon, Kutcher plays a supporting role in Vengeance, the directorial debut of The Office alum B.J. Novak, who wrote and stars in the film. Vengeance follows an aspiring podcaster, played by Novak, as he travels from New York to Texas to investigate the death of a woman he had a relationship with. Kutcher plays Quinten Sellers in the film, a music producer in Texas.

Vengeance is set to hit theaters Friday, while That 90s Show has no official release date announced.

Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Click here to read the full article.

Hulu and its corporate parent Disney are facing a backlash kicked off by Democratic leaders who expressed fury over Hulus rejection of ads attacking the GOPs track record on guns and abortion.

On Tuesday morning, the hashtag #BoycottHulu was one of the top-trending topics on Twitter in the U.S.

That came after three Democratic organizations  the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and Democratic Governors Association  complained to the Washington Post, which reported Monday that Hulu had rejected their joint ads on abortion and guns on July 15. (Disneys ESPN and the ABC-owned TV station in Philadelphia did run the ads, according to the Post.)

Hulus censorship of the truth is outrageous and offensive, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee tweeted Monday, linking to the Post story. Voters have the right to know the facts about MAGA Republicans extreme agenda on abortion  Hulu is doing a huge disservice to the American people.

The controversy of the ads on Hulu comes in the wake of the Republican-heavy Supreme Court issuing rulings this term that overturned Roe v. Wade and New York States open-carry gun restrictions.

Reps for Hulu and Disney did not respond to requests for comment.

For the forthcoming launch of the Disney+ version with ads, set to launch in late 2022, Disney has told marketers that it wont accept political ads (or ads for alcohol or rival streamers). But Hulu does not have a similar blanket ban on political or issues-oriented advertising.

Hulus growth has cooled in recent quarters. As of April 2, Hulu had 45.6 million paying customers, up 10% year over year but a gain of just 300,000 in the quarter. That included 4.1 million Hulu + Live TV subscribers, a decline of 200,000 in the period.

Disney owns a two-thirds controlling interest in Hulu. Comcast owns the other 33% stake; as early as January 2024, Comcast can require Disney to buy out its interest in Hulu.

Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Click here to read the full article.

The Skip City International D-Cinema Festival in outer Tokyo wrapped its 19th edition on Sunday with prizes going to Softie, by French director Samuel Theis, and Double Life, by female Chinese director Enen Yo in the separate Japanese film competition.

The festival, long a launch pad for emerging Japanese and world filmmakers, held in-person screenings July 16-24, 2022, at venues in Kawaguchi, and an online segment July 21-27.

Softie received the Grand Prize in the international competition. Magnetic Beats, directed by Vincent Mael Cardona, won the best director, while Utama, directed by Alejandro Loayza Grisi, received Special Jury Prize in the same section. In addition, Her Way directed by Cecile Ducrocq, was chosen for the Audience Award.

The Skip City Award, which is selected from all Japanese films both in the international competition and the Japanese film competition, was given to a Musashino Art University graduation film, Journey, directed by Kiriu Shogo.

While Double Life, scooped feature length award in the Japanese competition, a black-and-white animation, 3 Intestine, Fish Island, picked up the short film award.

The Audience Award for a feature film went to Vata, a Japanese film that was shot entirely in Madagascar and directed by Kamei Takeshi.

The international competition jury was headed by Terajima Shinobu, winner of the best actress silver bear at the 2010 Berlinale for her performance in Wakamatsu Kojis WWII drama Caterpillar. The president of the Japanese film competition jury was cinematographer Ashizawa Akiko.

Launched in 2004 to showcase films shot in the then-new digital format, Skip City has since shifted its focus to features and shorts by up-and-coming filmmakers. Among past winners who moved on to major careers are three-times Cannes best director honoree Nuri Bilge Ceylan, as well as Japanese directors Shiraishi Kazuya (Blood of Wolves), Nakano Ryota (The Asadas) and Ueda Shinichiro (One Cut of the Dead).

Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Click here to read the full article.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the embattled organization behind the Golden Globes, has announced over $4.5 million in grant awards for 2022-23. These donations were bestowed upon an array of nonprofit organizations, journalism programs and film restoration projects by the HFPAs philanthropy program.

The HFPAs long history of philanthropy sits at the core of our mission to support cultural, educational, artistic, and humanitarian organizations, said Helen Hoehne, president of the HFPA, in a statement. Our membership has always taken pride in devoting its funds to supporting the broadest range of programs with the most impact. We are exceptionally proud of this years grantees and the impact they are making, which range from the largest film restoration project in our history in France to the support of economically and socially disadvantaged diverse journalism students in Cerritos, California.

This year, the HFPA awarded 112 grants to 93 programs and organizations. First-time HFPA grantees include the National Hispanic Media Coalition, the Compton Unified School District Education Foundation and Film2Future.

These powerful programs represent our focus in helping to bring Hollywood opportunities closer to diverse and underserved communities, said Neil Phillips, chief diversity officer for the HFPA. The HFPAs grants also help maintain our support for protecting and growing journalism around the world, whether it involves the investigation of corruption or the push to keep the worlds attention on conflict zones, such as the war in Ukraine. We are proud of our philanthropy and the strong connections we have built between these communities and Hollywood.

The HFPA also issued discretionary awards to various programs, including $400,000 to the NAACP and the Reimagine Coalition, $100,000 to La Cinematheque Francaise, and $75,000 to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Other noteworthy grant recipients include A Place Called Home, Big Brothers Big Sisters Los Angeles, Get Lit  Words Ignite, Latino Film Institute, IndieCollect, Childrens Hospital, Film Noir, Film Independent, Los Angeles Press Club, American Cinematheque, International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, The Actors Gang, St. Elmo Village and Las Fotos.

Last month, Variety reported on the HFPAs efforts to bring back a televised Golden Globes after it was largely boycotted by actors and publicists last year. NBC declined airing the 2022 Globes in the wake of the LA Times investigation into the HFPAs lack of diversity and some unethical business practices.

Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Click here to read the full article.

Indiana Jones 5 star Boyd Holbrook admits hes feeling a little bit nervous about fan reaction to director James Mangolds upcoming installment of the legendary action-adventure movie franchise.

Its kind of like a childhood dream, Holbrook told Variety at Mondays red carpet premiere of Vengeance at the Ace Hotel in Los Angeles. And you could feel a little bit of that pressure, but I try not to go down those roads. I really just focus on the job at hand.

Details about Indiana Jones 5 have been kept under wraps. Weve got Jim Mangold directing the film, and the guy just cant make a bad movie, Holbrook said. He is so precise in what he does.

Mangold, known for films such as Ford v Ferrari, Logan, Walk the Line and The Wolverine, makes his Indy debut following Steven Spielbergs direction of the first four movies. While Spielberg will be absent from the film, 80-year-old Harrison Ford is once again set to reprise the iconic role of Indiana Jones.

Harrison Ford is ripping and roaring, Holbrook said. Age aint nothing but a number to this man.

Joining Ford and Holbrook in the latest adventure are Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Mads Mikkelsen, Toby Jones and Antonio Banderas, among others. John Williams is returning to compose the score as well. Indiana Jones 5 is currently set for a June 30, 2023 release date.

Currently, Holbrook stars in B.J. Novaks directorial debut Vengeance. The film  which was also written by The Office star  follows an aspiring podcaster, played by Novak, as he travels from New York to Texas to investigate the death of a woman he hooked up with. Holbrook plays Ty Shaw in the film, a native Texan trying to get to the bottom of his sisters death.

Vengeance is set to hit theaters July 29.

Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Click here to read the full article.

From sound engineers and screenwriters to celebrity makeup artists and stylists, Varietys series Ask an Insider asks top professionals within the entertainment industry to share their must-have essentials, for work  and for play. In this installment, Modern Family star and future Love Island USA host Sarah Hyland shares her travel must-haves this summer.

Sarah Hyland is on the go. The Modern Family star was most recently in Berlin shooting the upcoming Pitch Perfect spin-off film Bumper in Berlin, out this Thanksgiving on Peacock. This week, Hyland also announced that she traveled to the villa this year to make her reality TV debut on Love Island USA, a hosting gig that makes sense consider her own buzzy engagement to former Bachelorette contestant Wells Adam.

In between her hectic travel schedule and wedding planning (Hyland and Adams plan to get married this year after multiple pandemic-related postponements), Hyland took the time to share her top travel essentials with Variety.

If you ask my fiance, I overpack at the last minute, Hyland tells Variety. My style of packing is all about options  sure, I pack a lot but you never know what type of mood youre going to be in or if the weather will change drastically. I like to have a lot of different planned out outfits with basic, everyday items just in case. One of her favorites? This oversized sweater from Free People.

Hyland also admits she still gets the pre-flight jitters despite how often she has to travel for work. I am a disaster in all of the moments leading up to getting in the car to go to the airport  once Im there, it is what it is! she says. You can always buy underwear if you realized you didnt pack it. As long as I have my passport, wallet, medication, and phone? Im good.

That being said, she does have a few must-haves that makes traveling just that much more convenient and cozy. Check out Hylands top travel essentials below:

Goneo SB Charger Station

I need all the chargers: portable, USB, USB-C. Whatever technology I rely on has to have a backup power bank. Its the worst thing in the world to have your phone or AirPods die mid-flight. I specifically love this one from Amazon.

Buy: BUY NOW: $22.99

Free People Easy Street Tunic

I always bring a big sweater with me because I always get so cold on planes that I always need one. Worst case, I use it as a pillow. Im a big fan of this Free People oversized sweater.

BUY NOW: $128 Buy It

Slip Silk Eye Mask

Eye masks are a must, I love the Slip brand! The silk eye masks help me stay asleep on planes and are soft on my skin and curly hair.

Buy: BUY NOW: $50.00

Barefoot Dreams Heathered Socks

Fuzzy. Cozy. Socks. Airplane floors creep me out and I like to put on a designated pair of socks for the plane. These Barefoot Dream Socks are my favorite pair.

Buy: BUY NOW: $14.79

Sourse Glow Bites

I always bring my Sourse chocolate vitamins with me, specifically, the Glow Bites. Traveling can be very dehydrating, and it takes a severe effect on your skin  having these on my flight not only helps my skin keep hydrated, but serves as a sweet treat as well! Theyre plant-based, gluten free, and are absolutely delicious.

BUY NOW: $29.90 Buy It

Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
The mother of a 1-year-old boy who died over the weekend said she shook her son twice "pa apaciguarlo," according to an arrest affidavit.

Damaris Ivon Esquivel, 21, was arrested and charged with two counts of injury to a child July 22. She could face additional charges as the investigation continues on this alleged fatal child abuse case.

On July 22, a Laredo police sergeant notified the Special Investigations Unit that a 1-year-old boy was taken to Laredo Medical Center with head trauma. Authorities later learned the child was going to be flown out to Driscoll Childrens Hospital in Corpus Christi due to the extent of his injuries.

Investigators met with a woman who stated she has had custody of her nephew, Angel Esquivel, since he was about 5 months old. She added Angel had been staying with his biological mother, Esquivel.

The aunt stated she dropped off Angel at Esquivels residence in the 1400 block of San Jorge Avenue at about 4 p.m. on July 21. The aunt added that her mother called her at about 2 a.m. saying Angel was unresponsive and she was en route to LMC.

A CT scan showed Angel had diffused brain trauma. Police said the child was unresponsive and had what appeared to be red small dots on his eyelids and face. Angels grandmother and Esquivel agreed to meet at LPD headquarters for a voluntary interview.

The grandmother stated she left Esquivel and her son alone at the residence on San Jorge. She added she left her cellphone with Esquivel in case of an emergency. Esquivel called the grandmothers boyfriend at about 10 p.m. or 11 p.m. saying Angel was spitting white stuff, according to the affidavit.

The grandmother returned home at about 11:30 p.m. to check on the child. She stated the child seemed normal and was running around. She added she observed some red dots on the childs face and assumed it was some type of rash. The grandmother went to bed at about 1 a.m. At about 2 a.m., Esquivel entered her room frantically with Angel not breathing and unresponsive.

Investigators then spoke to the mother in a voluntary interview. Esquivel first denied hitting, strangulating or shaking Angel. She then confessed to shaking her son twice that night. In the first incident, Esquivel stated her son was having a temper tantrum, and she shook him out of frustration pa apaciguarlo (to calm him down). Esquivel then called her mother saying the child had espuma en la boca (foam on his mouth), states the affidavit.

The second incident occurred at about 1 a.m. after her mother had gone to sleep.

Esquivel confessed to shaking her child a second time because she was frustrated, 'Me fastidie,' due to the child crying and biting her hand," the affidavit states.

Esquivel added that her son was crying before and after she shook him. She calmed him down by showing him TikTok videos. Esquivel then went to the restroom. She returned to find her son unresponsive, according to court documents.
Facts about Russia-Ukraine conflict: Ukraine plans to export first grain shipments this week

Xinhua) 09:27, July 26, 2022

BEIJING, July 25 (Xinhua) -- The following are the latest developments in the Ukraine crisis:

Ukraine's Ministry of Infrastructure plans to export its first grain shipments this week as part of a UN-backed deal, Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said Monday during a press conference.

"The internal technical documents of the coordination center will be developed in Istanbul within the next two days, and it is expected that it will start working on July 27," Kubrakov said.

According to the ministry, the monthly export of agricultural products might amount to 3 million tons, or even higher.

- - - -

The Russian Defense Ministry said Monday that their armed forces have destroyed a transshipment base in the Khemlnitskyi region in western Ukraine with high-precision, long-range sea-based weapons.

Another attack carried out by the country's aerospace forces targeted a temporary deployment point of the 95th Airborne Assault Brigade of the Ukrainian armed forces, and killed over 100 Ukrainian fighters and foreign mercenaries in Donetsk, it added.

- - - -

The first three German anti-aircraft self-propelled tanks "Chepard" were delivered to Ukraine and handed over to the armed forces, Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov told Ukrainian television on Monday.

"Today the first three Chepards officially arrived," the minister said, adding that tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition had also been delivered.

According to an agreement, another 12 tanks are due to be sent.

- - - -

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Sunday that he appreciated the Arab League's "balanced" stance on the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.

Lavrov made the remarks in a speech at the headquarters of the Arab League in the Egyptian capital Cairo in the presence of the permanent representatives of Arab states at the pan-Arab organization.

He noted that the Russian side had met with the Arab League's Contact Group in April during which the Russian-Ukrainian conflict was fully discussed, adding that Moscow has not closed the door to negotiations with Ukraine.

(Web editor: Wu Chaolan, Liang Jun)
On Tuesday, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency issued an advisory regarding the construction at the I-35 checkpoint.

Members of the community planning to travel through are advised to plan ahead for delays.

The Laredo North Border Patrol Checkpoint located on Interstate Highway 35, north of Laredo, Texas, has started construction to the commercial traffic lane," read the CBP's statement. "The Laredo Sector Border Patrol encourages travelers to plan ahead to avoid unexpected delays.

"The construction project began in July and is projected to continue until late September. The construction repair project will impact the commercial lane and may cause temporary lane closures and diversions for those traveling north on Interstate Highway 35 from Laredo, Texas.

"We thank the general public for their cooperation and understanding of delays at checkpoint due to construction.

According to the CBP, The Laredo North Border Patrol Station deploys all available resources throughout its AOR of 850 square miles, which includes 14 miles along the Rio Grande, and extends north to the Dimmit and LaSalle County lines on U.S. Route 83 North and I-35, respectively.

CBP said that over the last 21 years, these operations have been located at mile marker 11 and, most recently, at mile marker 15. With the Laredo North Station outgrowing the former checkpoint location, and in combination with the tremendous growth of the city of Laredo, a new location was designated for construction.
The Webb County Commissioners Court has proclaimed the entire week of July 25-29 as Probation, Parole and Community Supervision Week. Students and alumni from local high schools attended the celebration.

Allison Martinez, Director of the Webb and Zapata County Community Supervision and Corrections Department, said it was her first Probation Officer Week after 10 months in her position. During her presentation, Martinez was joined by members of the department, many of whom proudly represented their high school and showcased the department made from locals.

In these 10 months, I have seen how hard our department works to really rehabilitate anyone who walks into our office, and in doing so, consequently, helping the community and protecting not just the community at large but the family members of every individual that walks into our office, she said. Giving them a proper second chance.

The CSCD was established in 1980 with only one certified probation officer, and according to its website, now consists of two local offices in Laredo and another in Zapata with a staff of totaling 51 including 26 Certified Probation Officers delivering professional supervision services to approximately 3,000 offenders sentenced to community supervision by local courts.

These professionals continue to supervise both adult and juvenile offenders within the community. They work alongside community agencies to provide services in rehabilitation and for victims.

The vision of the department continues to be honoring its commitment to protecting the community by reducing recidivism and assisting offenders in eliminating their criminal thinking and behavior.

The Webb County Community Supervision and Corrections Department is committed to protecting the public and serving our community, their mission statement reads. The CSCD in collaboration with the Webb County Justice System and community partners provides services that give offenders the opportunity to change their lives and ultimately holding them accountable for their actions.

Webb County Judge Tano Tijerina praised the members and reminded the officers of the opportunity they have within their career. The commissioners echoed the praises and congratulations for the probation officers and their contributions to the community.

Every single one of you will have an opportunity to change a life, a mindset, a heart; you just never know. It just takes one, Tijerina said. It just takes that one. That one word, that one; you just never know whats going to make somebody click and move someone to a different direction.

This year marks the 23-year anniversary of the celebration that originated in 1999 and recognizes the over 100,000 people involved in community corrections. According to the American Probation and Parole Association, the 2022 #PPPSWeek campaign will celebrate the work that community corrections professionals do and demonstrate in Restoring Trust, Creating Hope.
Gonzales, Texas was a little bit more lively this past weekend, as the highly-anticipated Float Fest took place in the remote Texas town, offering visitors a chance enjoy live music, setup their own campsite and even float the Guadalupe River all in one location.

Abigail Im, Multimedia producer

And while triple-digit temperatures were in abundance throughout the weekend, thousands of visitors still flocked to the festival's grounds to make the most of their Float Fest experience.
The Laredo Police Department issued safety tips for Loop 20 drivers as part of their Motor Squad Monday update.

Aside from highlighting the importance of avoiding a citation, it was imperative that drivers ensure no accidents and fatalities result from speeding.

Officer Puebla is seen off the Loop 20 intersection next to the airport, reminding the community to ensure that the speed limits are followed as well as the posted stop lights. She emphasized that over the past year, there have been a number of accidents that led to fatalities.

Most recently, a man died and another was injured in a single-vehicle crash reported on Bob Bullock Loop near the Laredo International Airport. LMT reported that a 30-year-old male driver was outside the vehicle. He was treated and transported to Laredo Medical Center in stable condition.

A second 31-year-old male passenger was pinned inside the vehicle unresponsive. He was also taken to LMC but in critical condition. The passenger was later pronounced dead.

Gustavo Leon-Pacheco was arrested by the Laredo Police Department on Thursday, July 21 in connection with the fatal crash. He was served with a warrant charging him with Intoxicated Manslaughter W/Vehicle F/2.

LPD said Thursday "toxicology reports from the Texas Department of Public Safety Crime Lab reported Leon-Pacheco's blood alcohol concentration was over four times the legal limit at the time his blood was drawn from the Laredo Medical Center."

Puebla indicated LPD will be targeting vehicles speeding over the posted limits, as the agency believes that will reduce the number of incidents.

This past Friday, TxDOT issued a notice regarding their Be Safe. Drive Smart campaign that focused on drivers and pedestrians to watch out for each other as pedestrian deaths continue to rise. Regardless of whether on Loop 20 or residential streets, TxDOT urges drivers and pedestrians to pay attention to posted safety signs and more.

Only 1% of traffic crashes in Texas involve pedestrians, yet pedestrians account for 19% of all roadway deaths, said TxDOT Executive Director Marc Williams. Thats because pedestrians lack the protective equipment  airbags, seat belts and bumpers  common to vehicles. To keep our most vulnerable road users safe, we urge motorists to always be on the lookout for people walking. Pedestrians also have the responsibility to be aware of their surroundings and follow the rules of the road.

TxDOT stated that crash reports from law enforcement indicate the leading factors of pedestrian-related traffic crashes include pedestrians failing to yield the right of way to vehicles, driver inattention, motorists failing to yield the right of way to pedestrians, failure to control speed and drivers and/or pedestrians being under the influence of alcohol.

For this, TxDOT issued safety tips for both drivers and pedestrians.

For drivers:

Stop for pedestrians in crosswalks.

When turning, yield the right of way to pedestrians.

Be cautious when passing stopped buses or other vehicles.

Pay attention and put your phone away, so youre always prepared if pedestrians enter your path.

Follow the posted speed limit and drive to conditions.

For people walking:

Cross the street only at intersections and crosswalks. Look left, right, then left again before crossing.

Make eye contact with drivers before crossing. Dont assume drivers see you.

Follow all traffic and crosswalk signals.

Use the sidewalk. If there isnt one, walk on the left side of the road, facing oncoming traffic.

When walking, put away electronic devices that take your eyes and ears off the road.

Wear reflective materials or use a flashlight at night.

Pedestrians account for 1 in 5 traffic fatalities in Texas. In 2021, 5,366 traffic crashes involving pedestrians occurred in Texas, and as a result 841 people were killed, a 15% increase in pedestrian fatalities over the previous year. Another 1,470 people were seriously injured, TxDOT stated.
Courtesy/U.S. Attorney's Office

A Nuevo Laredo man has pleaded guilty to conspiring to smuggle 110 migrants in a refrigerated trailer via the U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint on Interstate-35, the U.S. Attorneys Office announced on Monday.

The case dates back to May 24, when Martin Rueda Alcorta, 36, arrived at the checkpoint operating a tractor-trailer. Authorities said Rueda Alcorta drove erratically through an inspection lane and nearly hit a K-9 unit before authorities ordered him to stop.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

A woman is wanted in relation to the discovery of two bodies in the Mines Road area in northwest Laredo.

Authorities identified the suspect as Maria D. Guillen Rangel. She has a warrant for hindering the apprehension or prosecution of a known felon.

Guillen Rangel is accused of hindering the apprehension of Jainer Andrade-Lara, 25, who was the first suspect named in the fatal shooting of the brothers Raymundo Nepumuceno Jimenez, 29, and Edgar Nepumuceno Jimenez, 22.

The case dates back to July 8. At about 9 a.m., a truck driver called police to report two bodies in an abandoned lot in the 14400 block of Atlanta Drive between Free Trade Street and Export Road. Authorities would identify the men as the Jimenez brothers, two migrants from the Mexican State of Oaxaca.

Investigators were also able to determine that both victims were shot and had been transported from a different location to the abandoned lot where they were discovered, LPD said in a statement.

During the course of the investigation, authorities identified several vehicles involved in the incident and located a residence in the 2100 block of Culiacan in south Laredo. Police then determined that Andrade-Lara was directly involved in the murder of the victims, authorities said.

Investigators said they secured two arrest warrants for two counts of murder for Andrade-Lara after consulting with the Webb County District Attorneys Office.

Andrade-Lara is considered armed and dangerous and should not be approached, authorities said.

To report the whereabouts of Guillen Rangel and Andrade-Lara, call police at 795-2800 or Laredo Crime Stoppers at 727-TIPS (8477). Calls made via Crime Stoppers leading to an arrest may be eligible for a $1,000 reward. Callers will remain anonymous.

The brothers death marked the citys eighth and ninth homicide this year.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
A man who was being strangled by his 15-foot pet snake before police shot it in the head has died
The Irish Governments 400 euro monthly payment for those hosting Ukrainian refugees has opened for applications, with the first payments to be given on Tuesday August 9.

The Government agreed in May to introduce the monthly payment to hosts per property where Ukrainians are living, in recognition of the higher cost of bills during a cost-of-living crisis.

The payment may be backdated to March 4 and will be available until the end of March next year, a statement by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth said on Tuesday.

The payment is a recognition of the generosity of people who have made accommodation available to victims of a humanitarian crisis, and it is linked to a minimum hosting commitment of six months, it said.

Ireland has so far taken in around 42,000 refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine  the majority of them women and children.

It emerged earlier this month that Ireland had run out of state accommodation for arriving Ukrainian refugees  resulting in Ukrainians being temporarily housed in tents at the Gormanston military camp in Co Meath.

Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Roderic OGorman said: Since the start of the Ukrainian crisis and the arrival in Ireland of those fleeing war, a warm welcome has been extended by the Irish public to those in need of shelter and safety.

Offers of accommodation from the general public are appreciated and they greatly assist with the challenge of sourcing suitable accommodation for some 40,000 people who have arrived here.

Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphreys, whose department will issue the payment, said: I am pleased to support Minister OGorman in recognising the contribution of those who opened their homes and provided accommodation to people from Ukraine fleeing the war in their country.

I am happy to say that this scheme is now open to hosts to make their application from today, 26th July, on MyWelfare.ie.
NYU Langone Health Ranks No. 1 in NY and No. 3 in the Nation No 1. Neurology and Neurosurgery Program in the Country

Local News, Health & Wellness

By Long Island Published: July 26 2022

NYU Langone Health is the top hospital in New York State and No. 3 in the country, according to U.S. News & World Reports annual Best Hospitals Honor Roll released today.

NYU Langone Health is the top hospital in New York State and No. 3 in the country, according to U.S. News & World Reports annual Best Hospitals Honor Roll released today. These rankings include NYU Langones inpatient locations in Manhattan as well as NYU Langone HospitalBrooklyn and NYU Langone HospitalLong Island. U.S. News & World Report also credits NYU Langone with the No. 1 Neurology & Neurosurgery department in the country, among 14 other nationally ranked specialties, six of which also made the top 5 list.

Earlier this year, NYU Grossman School of Medicine ranked No. 2 in the nation for research on the 2022- 2023 U.S. News & World Report Best Graduate Schools list. The combination of the US News rankings position NYU Langone as the top academic health system in the country devoted to patient care, education, and research.

This recognition is reflective of one standard of care (one hospital provider number) that is consistently supported by our faculty and staff across each of our hospitals, says Robert I. Grossman, MD, chief executive officer of NYU Langone Health and dean of NYU Grossman School of Medicine.

While the U.S. News survey is widely recognized, Dr. Grossman maintains that no single ranking accurately reflects the quality of care provided by any one institution. It is only when one looks at the constellation of the most respected rating systems collectively* that you can really assess how each institution performs.

About NYU Langones Nationally Ranked Specialties

NYU Langone has a total 14 nationally-ranked specialties in the U.S. News & World Report survey, with half of them in the top 5, including No. 1 in Neurology & Neurosurgery. Other high-ranked specialties include:
Local News, Business & Finance, Travel & Local Attractions

By Long Island Published: July 25 2022

After having successfully opened Keki Modern Cakes  the bakery that single-handedly brought the viral bouncy cheesecake trend stateside  founders sought to introduce Nassau County to sophisticated East Asian fare with a unique, local ...

The newest addition to the Restaurant Collection at SIMON Roosevelt Field Mall, Nomiya  which translates to saloon  stands as the areas first izakaya. Inspired by the Japanese philosophy of minimalism, the Nomiya interior is split between a hickory-accented bar and windowed dining room framed by black granite walls.

After having successfully opened Keki Modern Cakes  the bakery that single-handedly brought the viral bouncy cheesecake trend stateside  founders Ajay Chawla, Lawrence Wai, and Moul Kim sought to introduce Nassau County to sophisticated East Asian fare with a unique, local spin.

A tenured sushi chef who is also trained in the art of robata, Chef James Choi draws from his Korean heritage and experiences in Japanese kitchens. The menu at Nomiya features what can be deemed Japanese guacamole in the form of Nomiya signature Avocado Bomb. Chef envelops spicy tuna in thin slices of avocado, then serves the bomb atop a bed of tempura flakes and housemade ube and lotus chips. Signature rolls include the locally-sourced Suffolk Roll, a kani and cucumber roll topped with torched yellowtail belly and a seven-spice shichimi sauce, and the smoky Nomiya Roll, a tuna asparagus maki garnished with spicy lobster which arrives tableside billowing sesame-scented dragons breath.

Guests can pair their meal with one of the eleven premium bottles of sake listed on the menu, such as the unfiltered, cream-colored Yuki Tora Snow Tiger Nigori or bright, effervescent Uka Junmai Daiginjo; or opt for a refreshing cocktail made with soju  the national drink of Korea which is commonly distilled from wheat and sweet potato. Also available are housemade sodas flavored with either lychee, yuzu, or mandarin, and imported wine and beer selections.
Local News, Crime, Business & Finance

By Long Island Published: July 25 2022

A former New York City resident pleaded guilty today to willfully failing to collect and pay over employment taxes to the IRS on behalf of the temporary employment staffing agency he owned and operated.

A former New York City resident pleaded guilty today to willfully failing to collect and pay over employment taxes to the IRS on behalf of the temporary employment staffing agency he owned and operated.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Steven Heppenheimer, 73, owned and operated a temporary employment business under two names, PTP Staffing Associates Inc. and PPS Associates Inc. From 2013 through 2017, Heppenheimer did not file any of the required quarterly payroll tax returns. As owner of the company, Heppenheimer was legally obligated to withhold from employee wages and pay over to the IRS payroll taxes, which included Social Security and Medicare taxes and federal income taxes. During that time, Heppenheimer withheld approximately $292,000 in payroll taxes from his employees wages, but he did not pay over any of these funds to the IRS.

Heppenheimer is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 25, 2023. He faces a maximum penalty of five years prison, as well as a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Departments Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Breon Peace for the Eastern District of New York made the announcement.

IRS-Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.

Trial Attorneys Ann M. Cherry and Brittney Campbell of the Tax Division are prosecuting the case.
(Alliance News) - Drax Group PLC on Tuesday posted a surge in half-year profit, as it plans to invest further into renewable energy sources.

The Yorkshire-based power generation firm reported that in the six months to June 30, revenue was up 64% to GBP3.56 billion from GBP2.17 billion

Pretax profit multiplied four-fold to GBP199.9 million from GBP51.8 million in 2021.

Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation rose 21% to GBP225 million in the half-year, from GBP186 million a year before.

Drax explained that this "strong" performance reflects increased pellet sales, a strong generation performance across its portfolio and improved profitability in its Customers business.

Notably, its pellet production business in North America reported Ebitda of GBP45 million, up 13% year-on-year from GBP40 million, while its Customers business posted Ebitda of GBP24 million, swinging from a GBP5 million loss.

The company also noted that it generated 5% of the UK's electricity between April 2021 and April 2022, the most recent period for which data is available, and 11% of the UK's renewable electricity over the same period, making Drax the "largest" renewable generator by output.

"As the UK's largest generator of renewable power by output, Drax plays a critical role in supporting the country's security of supply," Chief Executive Officer Will Gardiner noted.

The company announced an interim dividend of 8.4 pence per share, up 12% from 7.5p for the same period in 2021. Drax expects a full-year dividend 21p, up 11% from 18.8p in 2021.

Looking ahead, Drax said that it backs its full-year adjusted Ebitda expectations. At the start of July, the company raised its 2022 expectations, anticipating Ebitda to be between GBP584 million and GBP635 million.

It explained that this reflects "optimisation of biomass generation and logistics to support UK security of supply this winter when demand is high, a strong pumped storage performance and agreement of a winter contingency contract for coal".

At the start of July, Drax partnered with FTSE 100 electricity systems operator National Grid PLC at the request of the UK government. Under the agreement, Drax's two coal-fired units at Drax Power Station must remain available to provide a winter contingency service for the UK power system from October until the end of March.

Drax said the request from the government is in response to increased pressure on European gas markets and concerns about electricity security of supply in the UK in the winter.

Further, in line with its strategy to 2030, Gardiner added: "In the UK and US we have plans to invest GBP3 billion in renewables that would create thousands of green jobs in communities that need them, underlining our position as a growing, international business at the heart of the green energy transition."

Working towards this, Drax said it expects capital expenditure in all of 2022 to be between GBP290 million and GBP310 million, including GBP120 million for open cycle gas turbine projects.

Shares in Drax were down 1.6% to 766.00 pence each in London on Tuesday morning.

By Sophie Rose; sophierose@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2022 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Old Mutual Ltd - Anglo-South African financial services firm - Non-Executive Director Marshall Rapiya will step down from his role with effect on Sunday, due to reaching the board's formal retirement age of 70 years.

"Board members would like to express their deepest appreciation for Rapiya's significant contribution to the success of the group over more than four decades, first as an executive, and then, post retirement, as a valued non-executive member of the board," the company stated

Current London stock price: 55.80 pence

12-month change: down 11%

Current stock price: ZAR11.45

12-month change: up 4.2%

By Dayo Laniyan; dayolaniyan@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2022 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Power Metal Resources PLC - London-based metals exploration company focused in North America, Africa and Australia - Buys three uranium properties covering 271 square kilometres surrounding the Athabasca Basin in northern Saskatchewan, Canada, for a total of CAD137,500, equivalent of GBP88,872. Says the acquisition brings the total of the company's uranium interests to ten properties, encompassing 721 square kilometres.

Power Metal says the acquisition will be payable as CAD25,000 cash and CAD112,500 through the issue of 5.7 million shares at 1.275 pence. The company says multiple uranium-rich occurrences have been discovered within all three properties, called Reindeer Lake, Old Woman Rapids and Porter Lake, respectively.

Chief Executive Officer Paul Johnson says: "The scale of this holding presents a significant project package especially given the importance of the highly prospective uranium exploration in the region. We are also looking to add further ground to our holdings."

Current stock price: 0.91 pence, down 4.6% on Wednesday

12-month change: down 54%

By Xindi Wei; xindiwei@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2022 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Rotala PLC - bus operations at Heathrow airport and in West Midlands and North West - Manchester High Court dismisses company's appeal. Says it is "disappointed" with decision.

It had made claim to court after Mayor of Greater Manchester had made the formal decision to franchise the bus market in the Greater Manchester region.

"Greater Manchester Combined Authority has already announced mechanisms which cover the acquisition of bus depots and bus fleets under its franchising proposals. The board has reviewed these mechanisms and is confident that, should it decide to place the Bolton depot and its associated bus fleet assets under these mechanisms, the values which would be realised from the sale of Bolton depot and its related bus fleet should meet or exceed their respective book values," company says.

Notes sale of these assets to GMCA, should it take place, would have no negative effect on its balance sheet.

Current stock price: 29.06 pence

12-month change: up 3.8%

By Paul McGowan; paulmcgowan@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2022 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
(Alliance News) - Medica Group PLC on Tuesday said it anticipates a double-digit rise in revenue for the first half of 2022 as it eyes full-year performance to be in line with expectations, citing an increase in customer demand.

Medica is a Hastings, England-based company which provides services such as x-ray and MRI scan analysis to hospitals.

For the six months that ended on June 30, the company expects group revenue to be GBP36 million, representing a 36% increase compared to the same period last year. On a like-for-like basis, revenue is expected to increase 27%. Medica reported a total of GBP61.9 million revenue in 2021.

The company said there has been strong demand for its NightHawk services, with expected revenue of GBP16.2 million during the period. This is up 14% year-on-year. "NightHawk growth has been driven by a combination of underlying market growth, successful contract renewals with existing clients and net new contract wins," Medica explained.

Separately, the company said Medica Ireland also performed strongly, exceeding the company's expectations. Revenue is anticipated to be GBP5.6 million, up 24% compared to a year ago.

The company said the growth was driven by "a combination of an increased number of scan and reporting contracts in ultrasound and x-ray plain film, as well as a significant increase in the number of new out-of-hours teleradiology hospital clients."

Chief Executive Officer Stuart Quin said: "Demand for our services is expected to remain high and, to address this, we continue to work to increase our reporting capacity by adding new reporters to our network and through improvements to our technology platform to support increased productivity."

Looking ahead, Medica said it continues to expect an increase in demand for its reporting services in the UK and Ireland as national health services tackle the backlog of elective patients waiting for diagnosis and treatment due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

It said it expects the full year financial performance to be in line with expectations.

Shares were up 3.1% at 150.50 pence on Tuesday morning in London.

By Xindi Wei; xindiwei@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2022 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
(Alliance News) - The following is a round-up of updates by London-listed companies, issued on Tuesday and not separately reported by Alliance News:

----------

Ergomed PLC - Guildford, England-based service provider to the biopharmaceutical industry - Records total revenue of GBP69.9 million in the first half of 2022, up 25% from GBP56.0 million a year before. Order book stands at GBP284.5 million on June 30, up 19% year-on-year from GBP239.7 million. Cash balance as at June 30 totals GBP12.0 million down from GBP24.6 million on the same date a year before. Expects revenue and adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization for 2022 to be in line with current market expectations.

----------

Personal Group Holdings PLC - employee benefits - Reports "positive" trading for the first half of 2022. Achieves revenue and adjusted Ebitda growth in line with expectations. Sees good momentum across its largest two divisions - Affordable Insurance and Benefits Platform. Completes the acquisition of Quintige Consulting Group Ltd at the end of the period. Says it is "confident" about its future. "Personal Group is, I believe, well positioned within a growing market with an increasingly relevant offering. We are now putting the impact of previous pandemic lockdowns firmly behind us and with the current momentum and increasing scale of the business, we are on course to deliver revenue and Ebitda growth for the full year, in line with expectations," Chief Executive Deborah Frost says.

----------

Kooth PLC - London-based digital mental health platform - Says it has a strong pipeline of contracts that it expects to be signed in the second half of 2022. Net cash as at June 30 stands at GBP8.3 million, down from GBP7.1m on the same date a year before. Expects full-year results within market expectations. Believes that the ongoing transition within UK public healthcare from Clinical Commissioning Groups to Integrated Care Systems provides an opportunity for the group to deepen further its relationships in this sector.

----------

NewRiver REIT PLC - real estate investment trust - Records strong rent collection of 96% in the first quarter ended June 30. Says occupancy increased to 97% from 96% as at March 31. Cash position improves to GBP93 million as at June 30 from GBP88 million as at March 31. "First quarter trading is in-line with our expectations and is underpinned by resilient operational metrics. We continue to make progress on our work out disposals, and we are seeing high occupancy, strong cash collection and consistent leasing outperformance despite the more challenging economic backdrop," Chief Executive Allan Lockhart comments.

----------

Lords Group Trading PLC - London-based distributor of building, plumbing, heating and DIY goods - Reports revenue growth of 20% in the first half of 2022 to GBP214.7 million from GBP179.0 million a year before. Expects adjusted Ebitda to grow 33% to GBP14.0 million from GBP10.5 million a year before. Says positive trading momentum has continued in the second half of 2022.

----------

Rockhopper Exploration PLC - Salisbury, England-based oil & gas exploration and production company - Receives all regulatory consents from the Falkland Islands Government and the UK Secretary of State for a transaction between the company, Harbour Energy PLC, and Navitas Petroleum LP. Says that the Falkland Islands Government agreed to grant a two-year licence extension to all the licences held by Rockhopper in the North Falkland Basin, as part of the transaction. The licences will run until November 1, 2024.

----------

Firering Strategic Minerals PLC - operator of Atex dual lithium-tantalum project in Ivory Coast - Plans to deliver "results" from its Atex drilling programme in the second half. It will target the lithium-bearing pegmatites. The project is located in West Africa.

----------

Block Energy PLC - London-based oil and gas company focused in Georgia - Starts project II with the drilling of the JSR-01DEEP well, as part of the redevelopment of the Patardzeuli Middle Eocene reservoir located in Georgia. Says well JSR-01DEEP will involve the deepening of the existing well JSR-01, which was drilled by a previous operator in 2013. The project is funded from cash generated from current operations. Says it will run at the same time as project I.

----------

Dekel Agri-Vision PLC - West Africa-based agriculture company - Says its two new operational projects in Ivory Coast, producing palm oil and cashews, will provide two new material revenue streams. Expects "material" step up in revenue and profit in 2023 and beyond. "The exposure to one commodity has been evident during the first half of 2022 where we experienced continued record CPO pricing but also the lowest first half peak harvest period we have seen. We consider the decrease in fruit to be seasonal and a normalisation of the fruit level, together with continued high CPO prices, means the palm oil operation is well placed to continue to deliver strong results," says Chief Executive Youval Rasin. Says it has potential for revenue to surpass EUR50 million in 2023 for the first time.

----------

Kazera Global PLC - diamonds and rare earths explorer in South Africa and Namibia - Receives first payment of USD100,000 under from lithium investment deal for lithium produced from its mine at Tantalite Valley in Namibia.

----------

By Abby Amoakuh; abbyamoakuh@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2022 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Andrew Brookes/Getty Images/Image Source

A northern Michigan man was charged with felony murder on July 25 in the death of a 2-year-old girl that occurred last week.

Aaron Joseph Trout, 31, of Glennie was arraigned July 25 in 81st District Court in Alcona County on one count of homicide-felony murder.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

MANISTEE COUNTY  While the Great Lakes may seem peaceful, they can be as treacherous as any open ocean.

Thousands of ships and their crews have been lost in Michigan waters. It is estimated that there are 1,500 shipwrecks along Michigans shores and a total of 6,000 in all of the Great Lakes.

Given its nautical history, it should be of little surprise that northwest Michigan boasts a number of these sunken ships and perhaps even more waiting to be discovered.

In 2005, Matthew Higgins rediscovered the lost schooner Jessie Scarth, which had foundered at anchor off Manistee in 1887. The wreck is preserved on the bottom of Lake Michigan at an undisclosed location near Manistee.

"The bow and mid-portion of the wreck have collapsed, but all of the structure is clearly recognizable. The stern is more intact and lies on its port side. All of the ships hardware is present. The wreck appears to be undisturbed from the day it sunk," reads part of a Western Michigan University webpage.

The ship's discovery was announced in the Dec. 5, 2007 edition of the News Advocate.

Other shipwrecks identified in the area  though not a comprehensive list  include the Abbie, Agnes, City of Boston, City of Toledo, Flying Mist, Marinette, Prince Eugene, Thomas Simms, Toledo, T.S. Christie and, perhaps its most famous, the Minnehaha.

Abbie

The Abbie was the last schooner built at the Ludington docks for Rasmus Rasmussen in 1886, according to the historical marker database.

At 88 feet long, 22 feet wide and with a 6 foot draft, this double-masted schooner transported tannin bark to tanneries in Chicago, and brought supplies back to the Ludington area.

The Abbie was lost during a storm on Nov. 8 1905, when a storm drove it ashore near the entrance to Portage Lake in Onekama, according to information on arcadiami.com. There was no loss of life.

Agnes

Built in 1906 in Frankfort, this gas propeller passenger ship foundered at Arcadia in Lake Michigan on Oct. 7, 1912. There was no loss of life.

City of Boston

The City of Boston was built in 1863 at Cleveland for the Northern Transportation Co. of Ohio, according to a listing on michiganshipwrecks.org.

This wooden vessel was 136 feet long by 25 feet wide.

On Nov. 20, 1873 the vessel ran ashore south of Frankfort, on the east shore of Lake Michigan. She was laden with corn and flour, nearly all of which will be a total loss, reads part of the michiganshipwrecks.org listing.

City of Toledo

The City of Toledo was a triple-masted schooner built in 1865, according to arcadiami.com.

It was owned by the Manistee Lumber Company, when on Aug. 30, 1892, the ship rolled over and capsized north of Pierport.

All nine on board, including Capt. John McMillan, his two eldest daughters and six crew members, were lost.

Flying Mist

This schooner was disabled during a blizzard on Nov. 15, 1883, and drifted toward Burnhams pier north of Arcadia where it sank.

The lifesaving crew at Point Betsie telegraphed the tug Williams to assist the disabled vessel, and found it, and its cargo of iron ore lost in about 15 fathoms of water. The crew went ashore in their yawl boat, according to arcadiami.com.

Minnehaha

There was only one survivor when the Minnehaha broke apart in 1983  its captain, William Parker.

The 4-masted schooner was under tow of the steamer Henry J. Johnson when it cut loose and ran ashore near Arcadia, according to an account by Parker. There, the ship was believed to have been pounded to pieces by waves.

Prince Eugene

Perhaps the earliest wreck in the region, the Prince Eugene was a double-masted wooden schooner built in 1832.

In November 1834, the schooner was driven ashore and wrecked 8 miles north of the Manistee River mouth, losing an estimated $70,000 in cargo, according to a report from the Nov. 19, 1834 edition of the Detroit Democratic Free Press.

Thomas Simms

Built in 1861, this double-masted schooner was lost over 20 years later when it broke into pieces outside of Pierport.

On Nov. 23, 1882, the Thomas Simms had loaded lumber bound for Chicago when a sudden storm broke the ships lines and sent it toward shore.

Toledo

The Toleldo was driven ashore near Perrys pier in Pierport where the double-masted wood schooner was split in two.

An Aug. 16, 1875 report from the Toronto Daily Globe stated that the vessel had been rendered a total wreck, full of water, upon the beach, where she lies buried in the sand.

T.S. Christie

The Christie was a wooden bulk freighter constructed in 1885 in Bay City.

In 1933 it became stranded by a snowstorm just north of Manistee. Signals for assistance went unnoticed from shore, and by the next day the crew had abandoned the vessel and it broke up, according to information provided by the Michigan Underwater Preserve Council.
Mexican drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero, who was finally put behind bars again in July, had previously evaded 12 attempts to capture him.

Quintero had been the USA's Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA)'s top target for many years and they had been growing increasingly frustrated by a perceived lack of support from their Mexican counterparts.

Since his successful detention on July 15, Mexico has been claiming exclusive credit for the operation. According to the Washington Post, current and former members of the DEA task force responsible for trailing him have rubbished this notion.

Quintero was originally arrested in 1985, accused of involvement in the killing of DEA agent Kiki Camarena, amongst other crimes. However, a technicality saw him released in 2013.

Following his release, 'El Narco de Narcos' resumed his drug trafficking career and ended up with a 20-million-dollar price on his head.

Betrayed by his own family

The DEA has claimed that they managed to recruit informants inside Quintero's family circle, enabling them to know his every move and habit.

High-profile leaks

On the other hand, Quintero had his own informants and the US authorities grew frustrated as attempts to capture him were continually thwarted by suspected leaks. There have been allegations that Quintero had the help of people high up in the Mexican civil service and possibly the government and military.

'Remember Kiki'

For the DEA, this was not just the capture of one of their most-wanted. Since the death of Camarena in 1985, this case was personal.

It was considered institutionally important for the DEA to finally see Quintero behind bars. Friends and colleagues saw it as a mission to avenge Kiki.
McDonalds revenue fell short of expectations in the second quarter as coronavirus restrictions shuttered stores in China and higher prices took a toll on U.S. demand.

The Chicago burger giant said its revenue fell 3% to $5.72 billion in the April-June period. That was short of Wall Streets forecast of $5.8 billion, according to analysts polled by FactSet.

Same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year, were up nearly 10% worldwide. That was higher than the 6.8% that analysts had expected.

But there were double-digit declines for comparable stores in China, where restaurants were closed temporarily throughout the country for most of the quarter.

U.S. same-store sales rose 3.7%. McDonald's said most of that increase was due to higher prices, with store traffic remaining flat.

Chief Financial Officer Kevin Ozan said McDonald's is seeing some trade-down to cheaper items and lower sales of combo meals in the U.S., particularly among lower-income consumers. The number of customers per sale has also declined from the height of the pandemic, when locked-down families would often pick up large orders at the drive-thru.

Ozan said year-over-year U.S. price increases in the 8% to 9% range will likely continue through the remainder of the year as McDonald's compensates for its higher costs. McDonald's expects food and paper costs to be up 12% to 14% for the full year, while its labor costs are up 10%.

CEO Chris Kempczinski said McDonald's has benefited from another form of trading down, with higher-income Americans choosing on some days to hit a McDonald's rather than more expensive sit-down restaurants.

Even though were pushing through pricing, the consumer is tolerating it well," Kempczinski said.

McDonalds profit fell 46% to $1.19 billion. That included $1.2 billion in charges related to the sale of its 850 stores in Russia.

In mid-May, McDonalds sold its Russian restaurants to a McDonalds licensee who operates 25 restaurants in Siberia. The restaurants began reopening last month under a new name: Vkusno-i Tochka (Tasty-period).

McDonald's also reported a $271 million gain from the sale of its Dynamic Yield business to Mastercard. McDonald's bought the startup __ which specializes in decision logic technology __ in 2019 in a bid to personalize its drive-thru menu boards.

Excluding one-time items, McDonald's earned $2.55 per share. That was ahead of Wall Streets forecast of $2.45 per share.

McDonald's shares rose 2.5% in midday trading.
DOVER, Del. (AP)  Twitter has set Sept. 13 as the date for its shareholders to vote on the companys pending buyout by Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

The company said in a regulatory filing on Tuesday that it is recommending shareholders vote for the $44 billion deal to be completed.

The date is ahead of the yet-to-be specified start date of the October trial in the dispute between the billionaire, who is seeking to abandon the deal, and the San Francisco company. Twitter has sued Musk in Delaware after he said wanted to walk away from the deal.

We are committed to closing the merger on the price and terms agreed upon with Mr. Musk. Your vote at the special meeting is critical to our ability to complete the merger, Twitter said in a letter to its shareholders.

Earlier Tuesday, attorneys for Musk accused Twitter of slow-walking document production in advance of the trial to decide whether the Tesla CEO should be forced to complete the deal.

Musks lawyers also said in a court filing that Twitter Inc. attorneys have refused to consent to a proposed Oct. 17 trial date and are insisting on an Oct. 10 trial start, using the uncertainty over a trial date to delay other scheduling discussions.

Attorneys for Musk claimed that Twitters proposed case schedule is an obvious attempt to squeeze defendants after a Delaware Chancery Court judge agreed last week to hold an expedited trial in a lawsuit filed by Twitter.

Given the compressed timeframe, guidance from the court is necessary to break the impasse to allow things to move forward promptly, attorney Edward Micheletti wrote in asking Chancellor Kathaleen St. Jude McCormick to grant Musks proposed case schedule.

A spokesman for Twitter said the company had no comment on Tuesday's court filing.

Musk agreed in April to buy Twitter and take it private, offering $54.20 a share and vowing to loosen the companys policing of content and to root out fake accounts. As part of the deal, Musk and Twitter had agreed to pay each other a $1 billion breakup fee if either was responsible for the deal collapsing.

Twitter shares closed Tuesday at $39.34, well off their 52-week high of $71.92.

Musk, the worlds richest man, indicated earlier this month that he wants to back away from the deal, prompting Twitter to file a lawsuit to hold him to what it describes as a seller-friendly agreement.

With an October trial looming, Micheletti told the judge Tuesday that Twitter has refused to begin producing certain categories of documents that are plainly relevant and easily collected and produced." He said Twitter lawyers instead have claimed that several categories of documents are not relevant, without identifying them.

The documents sought by Musks attorneys include Twitter board minutes and related materials, advertising sales and metrics, and manuals and policies regarding Monetizable Daily Active Usage or Users, or mDAU. That is a metric that Twitter uses to measure the number of people or organizations using its platform.

Musk has claimed that Twitter has failed to provide him enough information about the number of fake accounts on its service, but the company has estimated for the past several years that fewer than 5% of mDAU are spam or fake accounts.

Musks attorneys also contend that Twitter has refused to provide them with raw data that it maintains in the ordinary course of business, and which require significant machine time and software development to be processed and analyzed by expert witnesses by a proposed Monday deadline.

Twitter said last month that it was making a fire hose of raw data on hundreds of millions of daily tweets available to Musk.

Attorneys for Musk are asking McCormick to approve the Oct. 17 trial date, and to order Twitter to immediately produce core documents and to produce all raw data by Monday.

Given the timeline until trial, every day counts, Micheletti wrote.

Tuesdays court filing suggests that Musk plans to file his answer to Twitters complaint later this week.

___

Ortutay reported from Oakland, California.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

The city of Caseville has recived a grant of $298,800 from the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund for a development project at Casevilles Riverside Park and Water Trailhead.

The development will construct a fishing pier, an ADA-compliant kayak launch and an ADA-compliant boat launch.

The kayak launch is to allow people to access the Tip of the Thumb Heritage Water Trail and the boat launch will have a lift to assist boaters. The fishing pier will be along the Pigeon River.

It was announced by city council member Todd Talaski on Facebook, which has gotten some immediate community feedback in support of the project.

The area is getting cleaned up and ready for development, said Talaski. We are getting a retaining wall up for erosion and making improvements. The city doesnt have dedicated funding for parks, so we rely on grants.

Dan Tighe, who is the primary grant writer for this project, spoke on what this means for the community around Caseville.

This new park is an important piece of the puzzle downtown, said Tighe. It is going to provide another place for folks to fish along the river.

Tighe explained that even though Michigan has thousands of miles of coastlines, most of those coastlines are privately owned beaches and riverfronts.

We have small access by virtue of private property, said Tighe. How does one access the Great Lakes otherwise? The leaders here have seen the need and worked on giving citizens access to it, ADA-compliant access. It is part of a mission to make our Great Lakes accessible, and ADA compliance is a piece of that.

The ADA-compliant lift will be a part of both the boat launch and kayak launch and is unique to the area, as Talaski stated that he believes its one of the first in the area.

It is pretty exciting, said Talaski.

The kayak launch will also be able to assist those with mobile disabilities to launch kayaks along the Pigeon River.

This development has been in the works for a few years, Talaski said.

We get submissions and ideas for the parks, and they are put into the plan, said Talaski. The grants get worked on, but you dont get every grant, so some ideas get put aside. But this is a good start.

Tighe added that this specific grant took two years to receive. The city originally bought the land with an acquisition grant received from the Michigan National Resources Trust Fund. This most recent grant is for the development of new features.

The area where this development is taking place currently has a house on the land that has been up for sale. The house has been purchased and will be relocated in order to make room for the additions of the new park and its features.

The park will be along the river next to the Caseville Municipal Harbor. The city is currently waiting on bids for the project to start. There is no timeline currently set.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP)  Police tried to learn why a man gunned down four people in a Vancouver suburb as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday he is broken-hearted over the shootings that left the community shaken.

Two people were killed and two were wounded  one critically  over the span of more than five hours early Monday in Langley and in an adjacent township before police shot dead the alleged gunman, Jordan Daniel Goggin, 28.

Authorities initially had said it appeared the attacker was targeting homeless people but later said they weren't sure of that. One man was shot to death at a residential complex that provides support for people transitioning out of homelessness. Shootings also occurred at other sites in the predawn rampage, including near a casino, at a bus stop and alongside a highway.

Victim services teams planned to host a community outreach event Tuesday afternoon at an elementary school in response to the shootings, the Langley office of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said. Crisis counselors and a variety of community support groups would offer their services, the RCMP said on Facebook.

Trudeau said on Twitter that this violence has no place in any of our communities.

Im horrified by the news that came out of Langley, BC yesterday, the prime minister wrote on Twitter. My heart breaks for the victims loved ones and communities, and my thoughts are with the people who were injured  were wishing you a speedy recovery.

If investigators learn that Goggin was targeting the homeless, that would mean he went after societys most vulnerable.

Dr. Julian M Somers, a professor at the Faculty of Health Sciences at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, said the homeless are targeted by those  including drug dealers and pimps  who would exploit their vulnerability.

Theyre exposed physically and mentally, often weakened by the conditions that they have to live in. Easy targets, Somers said. If anything, the number of people who are vulnerable has clearly increased.

Reports by the British Columbia government said 7,666 people in the western Canadian province were chronically homeless in 2018, a number that increased to 8,665 in the most recent published annual count, completed in the spring of 2021.

Rachael Allen, a spokesperson for Union Gospel Mission in Vancouver, said violence against homeless people appears to be escalating. She cited recent examples: a person hit in the head with rocks while asleep, a pepper-spray attack and a woman who was set on fire while she was sleeping.

``It just underlines for us that every single person deserves dignity and respect and care, regardless of how they might look or where they lay their head at night and what battles theyre facing, Allen said.

Residents of Langley, a town of 29,000 people about 30 miles (48 kilometers) southeast of Vancouver, were rattled when they received a police alert on their cellphones at 6:20 a.m. Monday reporting multiple shooting scenes.

Police swarmed the area and blocked off a major intersection. The windshield of an unmarked police SUV was stitched by more than a half-dozen bullets, with another bullet having punched a hole through the driver's window.

Police Sgt. David Lee, a spokesman for homicide investigators, said police know what kind of weapon Goggin used but are not releasing that information yet. How Goggin obtained the gun was also not disclosed.

The RCMP in Langley said Goggin was from the nearby town of Surrey and was known to police but had non-criminal contact.

Mass shootings are less common in Canada than in the United States. It is illegal to possess an unregistered handgun or any kind of rapid-fire weapon in Canada.

To purchase a weapon, the country also requires training, a personal risk assessment, two references, spousal notification and criminal record checks.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

DONETSK REGION, Ukaine (AP)  All over the Donetsk region, close to the front lines of Russias war in Ukraine, Nataliia Voronkova turns up at Ukrainian field positions and hospitals wearing high heels. A colleague bought her running shoes, but Voronkova gave them away.

A helmet and a protective vest aren't part of her uniform, either, as she distributes first-aid kits and other equipment to Ukrainian soldiers and paramedics. She is a civilian, the founder of a medical non-profit, and looking like one is something no one can take from her, even in a combat zone.

I am myself, and I will never give up my heels for anything, Voronkova said of the red strappy sandals, beige pumps and other elegant footwear she typically pairs with full skirts and midi dresses as she makes her dangerous rounds to secret military bases and mobile medical units.

The former adviser to the Ukrainian Defense Ministry with graduate degrees in banking and finance is a familiar sight to officers and troops in eastern Ukraine. For eight years after Moscow seized Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014, Voronkova dedicated her life to providing tactical medical training and equipment for Ukrainian forces fighting pro-Russia separatists.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine in late February has created exponentially more need for her organization, Volunteers Hundred Dobrovolia, and new challenges.

Working on their own, Voronkova and her assistant, Yevhen Veselov, drive a van filled with donated supplies - everything from night vision goggles and battlefield basics like tourniquets and medical staplers to the advances equipment needed for brain surgery  swiftly through checkpoints, irrespective of curfews. Servicemen recognize Voronkova and with one look, let them through.

The smell of her sweet cherry cigarillos fills the air when she gets out of her van to smoke one with her manicured red nails. Although she manages 20 people and lives in Kyiv, Voronkova has been in eastern Ukraine since the Russians focused their attention there in April, and she insists on delivering first-aid kits to the front line herself.

A woman is like the neck of the head. She moves everything, she said.

Voronkova grew up loving medicine, but her family did not want her to pursue it. They were bankers and thought she should take the same career path. The separatist conflict that started in 2014 persuaded her to study combat medicine, and she eventually received certification as an instructor.

From 2015 until Russia invaded Ukraine, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry tasked her with finding solutions to problems encountered by army units in the Donbas. Now, she uses her own teaching techniques to help the units protect themselves and their comrades in battle.

I still remind my mother that when I was in 10th grade, I had a box filled with (over-the-counter) pills, and all my friends at school knew I had medicine for everything," she said. "Unfortunately, I could not pursue my dream. But today I am implementing it by giving aid.

Martial law has swelled the ranks of Ukraine's defenders, but many of the people who have joined the military during the war entering its sixth month do not have combat experience or the supplies they need.

It feels like 2014. We need first-aid kits and uniforms for the territorial defense. I think it was created with hardly any time to allocate a budget for them. Therefore, they need support from volunteers, Voronkova says.

As she brought boxes of scalpels, electrocoagulation devices, emergency catheters and other supplies to a hospital in the city of Kurakhove, the roar of outgoing rockets and incoming shelling did not make her flinch.

In her tactical medical class, Voronkova commands a room filled with soldiers, paramedics, and technicians spanning a range of ages. She grabs their attention with her loud voice, humor and experience. Air raid sirens blasted as she taught a class in Dobropillia, but she went on with her lesson in an underground bomb shelter.

The training she provides has become more crucial during the long battle for Ukraine's Donbas region, where Russian forces have both carried out relentless air strikes and shelling but also engaged in street-by-street fighting as they try to seize control of villages, cities and towns.

Voronkova thinks the opportunity for Ukraine's government to work out a peaceful solution with Moscow has long passed and at the moment, the price of victory is our lives.

During her travels around Donetsk, in Bakhmut, Sloviansk, Kramatorsk, Toretsk and other places Russia hopes to capture, she meets and gives advice to everyone from high-ranking officers to paramedics. The male officers listen, and the young medics open up to her about their experiences.

Voronkova stands for hours, patiently listening and giving guidance.

Every evening when I go to sleep, I ask myself, What good thing have I done today? she said. "I want people to understand that they come into this world not only to eat, drink, and have fun every day, but to do something good. No day should be wasted.

___

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 3 1 of 3 Evan Vucci/AP Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Dario Lopez-Mills/AP Show More Show Less 3 of 3





UVALDE, Texas (AP)  The principal of the Texas elementary school where a gunman killed 19 students and two teachers has been placed on administrative leave, her attorney said.

Robb Elementary School Principal Mandy Gutierrez was placed on paid administrative leave Monday by Uvalde school Superintendent Hal Harrell, said attorney Ricardo Cedillo of San Antonio in a terse statement to The Associated Press.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

KYIV, Ukraine (AP)  The appeal of Ukraines first war crimes conviction was adjourned on Monday, as prosecutors keep pushing to hold Russia legally accountable for atrocities even as fighting rages in the south and east of the country.

Thin and subdued, Vadim Shishimarin, a 21-year-old captured Russian soldier who pleaded guilty to killing a civilian and was sentenced in May by a Ukrainian court to life in prison, sat in a glass box in the courtroom as he faced news cameras. The hearing was postponed until July 29 due to his lawyers ill health.

Around Ukraine's capital region, where Russian forces pulled out four months ago, much of the work of documenting crime scenes and interviewing witnesses has been done. Now a more difficult phase in the search for accountability is underway: Finding those responsible.

While conducting searches in the previously occupied region, we regularly find documents, passports and lists with names of participants of the units, with their complete data, including sites of birth and dates of births, Andrii Nebytov, head of the Kyiv regional police, told The Associated Press. All of this information is being transferred to the relevant law enforcement. The investigators are working with the victims, trying to identify the people who committed crimes against them.

Shishimarins case is unusual in that Ukrainian authorities quickly found evidence to link him with the shooting of a 62-year-old man in the northeastern Sumy region on Feb. 28. Thats not the case for most war crimes cases now under investigation.

Ukrainian prosecutors have registered over 20,100 potential war crimes, and police in the Kyiv region have exhumed more than 1,300 bodies.

But as of July, prosecutors in Ukraine have only been able to identify 127 suspects, according to the prosecutor generals office. Fifteen of them are currently in Ukraine as prisoners of war while the rest remain at large. Those suspects include three accused of sexual violence and 64 accused of willful killing or ill-treatment of civilians.

Shishimarin is one of 10 people to face war crimes trials so far in Ukraine, in cases involving indiscriminate shelling, willful killing, sexual violence, robbery, ill-treatment of civilians and attacks on civilian objects. Six have been convicted, according to the prosecutor generals office.

-

This story is part of an ongoing investigation from The Associated Press and the PBS series Frontline that includes the War Crimes Watch Ukraine interactive experience and an upcoming documentary.



The speed of justice in Ukraine has been unusual. War crimes prosecutions are rarely conducted during an ongoing conflict.

Ukraines top prosecutors have long argued for speedy trials  in part to meet a seething public hunger for justice  even as they work to maintain judicial standards that will satisfy domestic watchdogs and allies in the U.S. and Europe.

The prosecutor general behind this effort, Iryna Venediktova, was dismissed last week along with the former chief of Ukraine's SBU security service, Ivan Bakanov, for reportedly not doing enough to tackle collaborators and traitors in their departments. Her replacement is expected to be announced shortly.

Even as the hunt for war crimes perpetrators intensifies, the daunting work of documenting atrocities continues.

Victims of chaos and carnage in the early weeks of war in Ukraine were buried haphazardly. All those bodies had to be dug up for forensic examination. Kyiv regional police have exhumed 1,346 bodies, but more than 300 people are still missing, according to Nebytov.

Concerning the exhumations, I am sure that we are far from finishing it, he said in an interview Thursday. This week we found a man who was executed with his hands tied behind his back and a hat over his head. The expert says that during the execution the man was on his knees.

More than half of the victims police have found so far were shot dead; 38 of them were children. Kyiv police have found 13 mass graves in the region.

Nebytov said he has documented a litany of horrors: babies shot dead as their families tried to escape in civilian convoys, a man kidnapped as he gathered wood to make a fire and executed, civilians taken in for interrogation by Russian forces whose bodies were found with hands and eyes bound with tape, shot in the knees and shot in the head.

With the intelligence at my disposal, I can say that theres no specific military strategy in sight. It is not a military strategy but rather terror, he said. It is a concentration of evil, violence and cruelty.

Ruslan Kravchenko, chief regional prosecutor in Bucha, which lies just north of Ukraine's capital, told AP that he has sent over 2,000 cases to Ukraines security services for further investigation and that new cases continue to come in every day  now, mostly for property damage.

Bucha, once a desirable, leafy town outside Kyiv, has become a symbol of the carnage of the war started by Russia in February. Kravchenko said of the 327 murder victims in Bucha his office has documented, just three were soldiers and one was a police officer.

I have never seen so many bodies, said Kravchenko, who worked in Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, and the Donbas, where Russia-backed separatists have been fighting the Ukrainian government since 2014, before moving onto Bucha. I can see only one pattern: Where Russians saw civilians, they shot them immediately without explanation.

___

Associated Press reporter Oleksandr Stashevskyi and Frontline producers Tom Jennings and Annie Wong in Kyiv contributed to this report.

___

Follow all AP stories on the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 1 of 3 H John Voorhees III / Hearst Connecticut Media file photo Show More Show Less 2 of 3 H John Voorhees III / Hearst Connecticut Media file photo Show More Show Less 3 of 3





DANBURY  Danbury and New Milford hospitals will host an online community update from 5:30 to 7 p.m. on Aug. 4 via livestream video.

Members of the surrounding communities are invited to join the virtual webinar to hear from President Sharon Adams, who will discuss the latest hospital developments and provide updates on the affiliation that created Nuvance Health.
SEATTLE (AP)  A suburban Seattle man accused of a months-long campaign of phoning racist threats to businesses across the country  including threatening to shoot Black customers at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York  has been ordered detained pending trial.

Joey George, 37, of Lynnwood, was arrested last week and was in U.S. District Court in Seattle on Monday for a detention hearing. According to prosecutors, George phoned a Buffalo grocery store twice in July threatening to shoot Black people and ranting about a race war."

He did not call the same Tops Friendly Supermarket in Buffalo where a shooter killed 10 Black people on May 14, but he referenced that attack in his threat, prosecutors said. A 19-year-old white man with ties to white supremacy has pleaded not guilty to federal hate crime charges in that case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Woods urged Magistrate Judge Brian Tsuchida to keep the defendant behind bars pending trial, saying the phone calls were not made off the cuff but were part of an escalating campaign of terror.

This was a campaign to instill fear, terror and to tell people of different races they do not belong, Woods said.

There is no indication that George possessed weapons, Woods said.

George's attorney, Mohammad Hamoudi, argued against pre-trial detention. George has no criminal history and is a caretaker for his mother, Hamoudi said.

The court sided agreed with prosecutors that the case met the definition of a crime of violence and that detention was warranted.

Theres no way around it: This is a spectacularly concerning allegation, Tsuchida said.

In addition to the Buffalo store, George phoned threats to businesses in Texas, Georgia, California, Washington, New York, Connecticut, Maryland and Michigan, according to investigators. They said he acknowledged making the calls when he was arrested, and he admitted to some calls they were unaware of.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

MIDDLETOWN  While COVID-19 cases locally have appeared to plateau recently, the citys health director warns the virus may still be far from the endemic stage as increased and more resistant omicron subvariants emerge.

Kevin Elak is concerned about cases rising as early as September, when students return to school, but is hopeful that booster-only shots being tested by Pfizer and Moderna will offer protection. These could be ready this fall for those over 50 who received their second booster within the prior four months, he said.

Thats very promising, he said.

As of Saturday, the total number of COVID cases in Middletown were at 11,259, an increase of 48 from the previous week. The total number of deaths remained at 184, which has been unchanged for at least the past month, Elak said.

Were seeing a little decline in cases reported. Its steady; not going up quickly, but its not going down quickly, either. Its been stable, he said.

As of July 21, there were 4,299 additional cases in Connecticut, and the positivity rate was 10.6 percent.

Since the state only provides COVID data once a week, no longer compiling the case rate per 100,000 people, Elak said, the positivity rate looks different now. Also, the colorful maps of the state designating which towns have low, medium and high transmission rates are no longer used.

Health experts have estimated that the true rate may be between 4 and 10 times higher than what is recorded by the state, according to Elak, who looks primarily at the data to determine trends. Im not looking at the numbers so much, but seeing where theyre going, he explained.

The dominant strains in the United States now are the BA.5 and BA.4, the former of which was contracted by the president. In particular, BA.5 is really evading your immune defense, Elak said.

Compared to the rest of the country, he said, New England is in one of the better situations, but thats not to mean were out of the woods by any means.

In fact, considering whats happened in the southern hemisphere, particularly New Zealand, a highly vaccinated country that employs very strict regulations as far as masking and other measures, could be telling, Elak said.

Lately, there has been a huge surge in cases in that country, Elak said, although they may not necessarily occur here.

The data shows infection among those 12 to 17 is fairly low.

Im wondering if that age range is doing home testing, Elak explained. Maybe parents would rather test their kids on their own instead of bringing them to a testing site.

Vaccines still protect against moderate and severe illness and hospitalizations and deaths, but its providing little to no protection from getting COVID, the director said.

There was talk recently of opening up the second booster shot to those under 50, Elak said, but that idea was put on hold so pharmaceutical companies could focus on manufacturing boosters for the new variant.

Its a little bit unfortunate. Although, if its really going to come out in September, it would make sense to wait and get the new booster. Hopefully, thatll provide a little better protection, he added.

Elak reminds people that the pandemic is still ongoing and it may take time before the endemic phase begins. When that happens, the virus will become more predictable, just as influenza is, the health director said.

Winter comes, and we pretty much know how many cases were going to get. We know how many deaths there are going to be, generally, and then it goes away, he said about the flu.

Thats not the case with COVID, Elak added. I dont see that happening anytime soon, he said.

As time goes on, experts know less about the virus, Elak said. This thing is adapting, which makes it so unpredictable. Theres no rhyme or reason to this thing, he explained, evidenced by resurgences at different times of the year.

The city has upcoming COVID vaccination clinics, including one Wednesday at Cross Street AME Zion Church, 440 West St., from 1 to 5 p.m. and Friday, at the Northern Middlesex YMCA, 99 Union St., from noon to 4 p.m. Both serve those 6 months and older.

Also, households are eligible for a third round of free at-home COVID test kits, which can be ordered online.
Base exchange stores have mostly run out of hot weather uniforms for women due to a contract dispute that has halted production, according to the Defense Logistics Agency.

The shortage comes as the Army and Air Force wrangle with Golden Manufacturing Co. Inc., which was awarded a $22.6 million contract by the Defense Department in April 2021 to produce trousers for the services.

The shortage in weather-appropriate clothes for female troops comes amid a summer heat wave that has scorched many areas of the country with unusually high temperatures. The Improved Hot Weather Combat Uniform is a coveted commodity in the military community because many bases are located in hotter parts of the country.

Read Next: Florida Man Accused of Driving to Space Force Base in Stolen Truck to Warn of Aliens

"Due to a protest of the award, the company had to halt production. Golden Manufacturing Co. produces other military clothing items, however these were awarded under separate contracts so production is not affected by the protest," Michelle McCaskill, a spokesperson for the Defense Logistic Agency, wrote in a statement to Military.com.

It's unclear what led to the contract protest or when production is expected to pick back up. Golden Manufacturing did not return a request for comment.

"It's a necessity here and at a lot of other installations," one woman, a combat-arms soldier, told Military.com on the condition of anonymity. "You will not be able to mitigate your heat as well, you will not be able to sweat as well, you will not be able to cool down as well in the regular uniform."

Some female service members have resorted to purchasing male editions of the hot weather uniform and then paying to have them tailored to meet the professional presentation standards required for all soldiers.

The uniforms worn by male soldiers are technically described as unisex in official documents and were once worn by all soldiers, but were designed specifically to fit male bodies and are now almost always placed in the "men's" sections of base stores following the introduction of female soldier specific combat uniforms in 2013.

Women in the military have long struggled with ill-fitting equipment and the shortage of hot-weather gear -- and forced reliance on male clothes -- is creating another burden.

"It's not only a safety issue," the soldier said. "It's unprofessional, and it doesn't allow them to do their jobs."

A spokesperson with the Army and Air Force Exchange Service said it was unclear when the stores would be able to restock shelves for women.

Several companies make uniforms for the Army and Air Force, but Golden Manufacturing is the only one that makes trousers for women. Other companies also make male uniforms, so there is no widespread shortage for men.

"It seems odd that supply is limited on purpose despite the demand for women's uniforms," a corporal serving in the Army Reserve told Military.com on the condition of anonymity because she was not authorized to talk to the press. "Women change sizes more often than men. We have this anxiety about our uniforms looking right or new since we're going to get picked on for our hair, even when it's in regs."

"The availability of our uniforms seems like an afterthought," she said.

The hot weather uniform was introduced in 2019 and is a much lighter version of the standard-issue camouflage uniform. It is largely seen by the rank and file as a much-needed quality-of-life improvement. The new uniform dries more quickly, and its thinner design keeps soldiers cooler. Being thinner, it's also more compact and packs easier in a rucksack.

"I think that's one of my biggest frustrations," including other shortages in female-fitted body armor, said the female combat-arms soldier of the Army's one-size-fits-all mentality on uniforms.

"I would love for a uniform to be released as female-only just to see how the rest of the Army reacts," she said. "Because we don't take the time to address the specific needs of women when we're looking at resourcing uniforms and gear."

Editor's Note: This story was updated to specify that the uniforms commonly referred to as "male" uniforms among soldiers after the introduction of female specific combat uniforms in 2013, are officially listed as "unisex" uniforms on Army documents although they were specifically designed to fit male bodies and are almost exclusively worn by male soldiers.

-- Steve Beynon can be reached at Steve.Beynon@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @StevenBeynon.

-- Drew F. Lawrence can be reached at drew.lawrence@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @df_lawrence.

Related: Army's New Hot Weather Uniforms Are About to Hit Shelves
After effectively quashing the process by which the Department of Veterans Affairs was to update its facilities, blocking the confirmation of commissioners who would have made recommendations on closures, renovations and brand new construction, Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., has introduced legislation that would help the VA hire experts to draft a plan.

The Senate Veterans Affairs Committee chairman's bill would fund the VA to hire capital asset management experts for all of its medical centers, at the same time adding members to the VA's Capital Asset Planning Committee.

The bill also would require that the VA develop plans, budgets and oversight mechanisms for building new facilities, while setting schedules for shedding or repurposing unused and vacant buildings.

Read Next: Army and Air Force Run Out of Female Hot Weather Uniforms Amid Summer Heat Wave

Tester said the VA lacks the expertise to manage its vast infrastructure, which consists of more than 6,300 facilities with an average age of 60 years. Tester's bill, dubbed the Build, Utilize, Invest, Learn and Deliver, or BUILD, for Veterans Act, would "set the VA up for success" by requiring the department to develop a road map for updating the system, according to the senator.

"The BUILD for Veterans Act pushes VA to modernize and manage its current and future infrastructure needs through commonsense provisions that'll save taxpayer dollars in the process," Tester said in a statement provided to Military.com.

The VA Asset and Infrastructure Review, or AIR, Commission, which was essentially killed before it could start work when Tester and others refused to confirm commissioners, was designed to provide guidance for the department to build new facilities, update others and dispose of underutilized or unwanted real estate.

Established by the 2018 Mission Act, the commission was to review the VA's proposals for managing its $20 billion maintenance and construction backlog and nearly $60 billion in requirements for major and minor construction projects, while also taking into account public and expert opinion.

As part of the process, the VA reviewed its holdings and demographics and came up with recommendations for closures and construction for review by the commission.

The department wanted $2 trillion for construction and demolition, including the replacement of 18 VA medical centers, construction of 13 new facilities and the closure of 17 major hospitals.

Not surprisingly, lawmakers in states and areas facing closures weren't happy.

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.V., immediately took issue with the report when it was released in March, saying that the recommendations were "skewed against rural states."

The VA recommended downsizing three out of four VA medical centers in West Virginia.

South Dakota Republican Sen. Mike Rounds, whose state would have seen the loss of three full service medical centers following construction of a new facility in the western part of the state, called the AIR Commission the "ERROR Commission."

"The VA MISSION Act and its [Base Realignment and Closure]-style process called the AIR Commission were bad public policy when I voted against them in 2018, and they have not improved with age," Rounds said in a press release in May.

Manchin, Rounds and nine other senators joined Tester in blocking the commission's work, saying the VA's recommendations did not "uphold our obligations to America's veterans."

"The Commission is not necessary for our continued push to invest in VA health infrastructure," wrote the senators in a statement released in June.

Historically, the VA's track record for managing construction projects is not good -- the most egregious example of poor oversight being the Veterans Affairs medical center project in Aurora, Colorado, which opened in 2018, 10 years behind schedule and more than $1 billion over budget.

Within three years of opening, the facility required an additional $40 million to be fully functioning, bringing the total cost to more than $2 billion.

As a result of that project, Congress passed a law requiring the VA to cede oversight and management of projects that cost more than $100 million to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

A person who worked to craft Tester's proposal but who was not authorized to speak publicly about the bill told Military.com that the Corps of Engineers requirement would not change.

Several veterans service organizations have thrown their support behind the BUILD for Veterans bill, including Disabled American Veterans, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, the American Legion, Paralyzed Veterans of America and the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

"Investing in and revitalizing the aging VA infrastructure is vital to the overall success of the VA health care system. We must ensure that VA is properly resourced and structured to manage the infrastructure of the largest integrated health care network in the nation," said Paul Dillard, the American Legion's national commander.

The cost of the bill has yet to be determined by the Congressional Budget Office.

Tester said he plans to introduce the legislation this week with an aim to gain bipartisan support.

"This bill is critical to making sure VA is well-positioned to get new facilities off the ground while maintaining existing ones, and I'll be fighting tooth and nail to get it across the finish line as quickly as possible," Tester said.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to correct the number of senators who blocked the commission's work and clarify that the bill calls for the VA to hire capital asset management experts rather than outsource the positions to contractors.

-- Patricia Kime can be reached at Patricia.Kime@Military.com. Follow her on Twitter @patriciakime

Related: Senators from Rural States Trying to Stop Wave of VA Hospital Closures Before They Start
The Navy is continuing its yearslong quest for a better-fitting uniform for female sailors with a fit-test survey in Norfolk, Virginia, this month. The goal is to get enough measurements to make sizes better and more accurate for women.

The project comes at a time when complaints about the fit of female uniforms persist in the sea service, but service members in other branches struggle to even buy uniform items.

Courtney Williams, a spokeswoman for the Navy Exchange -- the command in charge of the project, told Military.com in an email that "the current fit of the U.S. Navy female uniform is not standardized among all styles and was developed in the 1980s."

Read Next: Army and Air Force Run Out of Female Hot Weather Uniforms Amid Summer Heat Wave

The Navy is looking to measure about 400 female sailors so that it has the data to reevaluate the sizing and shape of the female Service Dress White shirts, Khakis and Summer Whites, Williams said.

While the survey will run until July 29, the Navy says that it has gotten more than 100 women over its original goal of 400 to participate.

"While the first week was a bit of a slow start, [researchers] saw an influx of participants.  The second week's schedule is now fully booked," Williams said.

Uniform fit and sizing complaints are not new for the Navy. Since at least the early 2010s, there have been studies and surveys indicating that female sailors found at least some uniforms uncomfortable and ill-fitting.

A 2013 Navy Women's Uniform Survey, for example, found that only 54% of female chief petty officers and 42% of female officers were satisfied with the professional appearance of the then-blue Navy Working Uniform. That same survey found that the comfort of various service uniform components was abysmally low, with only about one-third of sailors finding the items comfortable to wear.

The issue was further exacerbated by the Navy's push in the mid- to late-2010s to get women to wear gender-neutral uniforms, leading to outcry from both men and women.

In 2017, frustrated female sailors successfully lobbied Congress to include in that year's defense policy bill a measure that ditched unisex hats for female officers and forced the Navy to include women in future uniform wear tests, along with other reforms.

Williams said that, while the Navy Exchange "has been able to make a number of updates and improvements to our female uniform patterns, this project will fulfill a more comprehensive approach and establish consistency among all uniform types."

Though the Navy is making progress in the fit of female uniforms, other issues for women persist across the military. A report released in 2021, for example, found that women often pay far more for uniforms than men. That's when they can buy uniforms at all. Issues with a contractor have left women in the Army and Air Force without any ability to buy the Improved Hot Weather Combat pants -- a coveted item, especially as summer temperatures have scorched much of the country.

Meanwhile, the military's newest service, the Space Force, noted that it was designing its uniforms with women in mind from the start when it unveiled its futuristic outfit last fall.

-- Konstantin Toropin can be reached at konstantin.toropin@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @ktoropin.

Related: Yes, There Is a 'Pink Tax' on Women's Military Uniforms, Report Finds
Air Force officials said last week that a variety of American planes could be given to Ukrainian pilots in their fight against Russia, including the A-10 Warthog. But in a message to Military.com on Tuesday, Yuriy Sak -- an adviser to Ukraine's minister of defense -- made it clear: The country doesn't need A-10s, it needs the more modern F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jet.

The A-10s "will not close our sky, they will not stop bombers and missiles," Sak said in a message. "They will be a target for Russian jet fighters and anti-aircraft defense, because we don't have the means neither to effectively cover them, nor to break through the enemy anti-aircraft defence."

U.S. military officials and the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence are in ongoing talks about which modern aircraft would best help the country repel invading Russian forces and also help build its air force for future protection against adversaries.

Related News: Air Force Open to Sending A-10s to Ukraine for Fight Against Russia

Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall was asked last week at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado whether the A-10 -- which the service has been slowly retiring from its fleet, while encountering congressional resistance -- could be given to Ukraine.

"That's largely up to Ukraine," Kendall said in response. "Older U.S. systems are a possibility. ... We will be open to discussions with them about what their requirements are and how we might be able to satisfy them."

Though the 1970s-era A-10 has become beloved by troops for its ability to deliver ample munitions and endure extensive damage while still making it home, officials have been pushing to retire it to free up budget space for the F-35A Lightning II.

Sak didn't deny the A-10's strengths, but he believes it misses the mark for what Ukraine wants right now.

"The A-10 can destroy ground targets very well, maybe better than anyone else. But, other aircraft offer Ukraine so much more," Sak said in a message. "At the same time, the A-10 will divert the lion's share of financial and human resources from the issue of re-armament to a modern multifunctional FIGHTER (F-16, etc.), which would be a strategic mistake."

He compared the A-10 in combat to the Su-25, a Soviet-era jet in current use by the country's air force.

While the A-10 has more modern, high-precision weapons, Sak believes it is still at the same tactical disadvantage as the Su-25.

"When using conventional unguided missiles and bombs, the A-10 is practically the same easy target for russian air defense as the Su-25," Sak said.

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. told attendees at the Aspen Security Forum earlier this month that there is discussion of training Ukrainian pilots on American systems, as well as the Eurofighter Typhoon and the French Dassault Rafale jet.

But the notion of reusing America's A-10s, a big airframe with a 57 foot, 6-inch wingspan and known for the signature "brrrttt" noise emitted from its 30mm Gatling-style guns, captured a lot of attention.

The A-10 was discussed as a possibility for Ukrainian forces as the invasion began five months ago when Russian convoys began making their way across the border after seeing extensive use in Iraq and Afghanistan, providing close-air support for troops.

Ukraine has not been shy about asking for U.S. fighter jets. In March, the country's air force tweeted about wanting F-15 Eagle and F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jets and claimed its pilots "can learn to fly these with just 2-3 weeks of training."

Defense experts say it would take significantly longer than that, which was one reason there was an initial push to send Russian-made jets since Ukrainian pilots were already trained on the aircraft. Those plans fell apart over how the aircraft could be delivered without making NATO airfields potential targets.

Another issue is getting American contractors to assist with parts and maintenance on the ground in Ukraine. But Sak said the F-16 is already used by a wide variety of allies close to Ukraine, and they could lean on those partnerships.

"Plus, for sustainability  almost every regional partner of Ukraine is flying F-16s," Sak said. "Think about the assistance Ukraine receives on MiG-29 parts. Now, replace the MiG-29 with the F-16.  It's an easy decision."

House lawmakers recently approved $100 million as part of the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act to train Ukrainian pilots to fly U.S. fighter jets as the campaign against Russia rolls into a fifth month.

While it's not clear what airframe U.S. officials will settle on, the Ukrainian air force's calls for F-16s have continued.

"The Minister of Defense of Ukraine Oleksiy Reznikov stated that we have a chance that the Ukrainian pilots will start mastering the modern generation of aircraft," the Ukrainian air force tweeted Monday. "It could be F-16s, but we need to prepare the airfields for that. And Ukraine can do it."

-- Thomas Novelly can be reached at thomas.novelly@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @TomNovelly.

Related: Ukraine Aims High with Request for F-15 and F-16 Jets. Here's Why It Probably Won't Happen
The crew of the 65-foot fishing vessel Theodora was disoriented, and the ship was taking on water fast. It was Feb. 11, 1983, and a record-breaking noreaster was battering the East Coast, shutting down airports and tossing ships around like toys in a tub  except this tub had 50-foot waves and 55-mph winds.

The Coast Guard asked the Marine Electric  a 605-foot World War II-era bulk carrier  to assist the Theodora as the Coast Guard rescue unit attempted to make headway in the worsening storm. The Marine Electric, which at the time was transporting 28,000 pounds of coal north from Virginia to Massachusetts, agreed to the Coast Guards request and diverted course, making its way to the Theodoras last reported position.

The Marine Electric found the beleaguered ship approximately 55 miles southeast of Chincoteague, Virginia. Like a 605-foot-long seawall, the massive carrier protected the Theodora from the worst of the waves until Coast Guard rescue helicopters arrived. Using water pumps, the rescue team managed to save the Theodora and escort the ship back to safe harbor. At that point, the Coast Guard cleared the Marine Electric to continue its course to Somerset. However, with his ship having taken a beating in guard of the Theodora and now taking on water itself, the captain of the Marine Electric, Philip Corl, charted a new course for Newport, Rhode Island, a shorter journey as well as a safer location to wait out the blizzard.

The Marine Electric, a 605-foot cargo ship, as seen underway before its capsizing and sinking on Feb. 12, 1983. (U.S. Coast Guard photo)

But around 2 a.m. on Feb. 12, the bow of the Marine Electric remained dipped below the waves as it bobbed in the rollicking storm. Instead of rolling with the waves, the ship appeared to be plowing through them. It meant flooding in the forward compartments.

A compromised cargo hatch allowed ocean and stormwater to rush inside the bow, flooding the forward hold first and keeping it from staying above the storm swells. This allowed the seawater to reach the larger hatches farther aft, filling more cargo holds, weighing down and flooding the rest of the ship.

The first distress call from the Marine Electric came at 2:51 a.m. when Corl radioed the Coast Guard station in Ocean City, Maryland. Im approximately 30 miles from Delaware Bay entrance, and Im going down by the head, reported Corl. I seem to be taking on water forward.

By 3 a.m., the deck of the Marine Electric was submerged under 6 feet of water. An hour later, the ship listed 5 degrees to starboard, swinging its lifeboats out over the water. The Coast Guard estimated their rescue teams arrival at Marine Electrics position at 6:15 a.m., but the crew didnt have that long, and other ships in the area were more than three hours away.

I think Im going to lose my ship here, Corl said at 4:08 a.m. in one of his last transmissions. We are starting to take a real bad list to starboard.

At 4:14 a.m., Corl ordered his crew to abandon ship. It would be his last order.

He was matter-of-fact, third mate Eugene Kelly later recalled. He wasnt screeching into the microphone. It was just a statement.

An MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Humboldt Bay lowers a rescue basket to a 47-foot Motor Lifeboat crew during training in Eureka, Calif., March 7, 2018. (Brandyn Hill/u.S. Coast Guard)

In a televised interview for Disasters at Sea that originally aired in 2018, Kelly recounted the chaos aboard the Marine Electric as it began to sink. He recalled that during the evacuation, he saw a stack of life rings lashed to the deck railing. No one could jump to the swinging lifeboats because of the ships severe list, so Kelly threw the life rings into the sea, hoping they might be found by crewmen lost in the waves.

The Marine Electric made a lurching roll, and Kelly looked up to see a smokestack falling directly toward him. But just as he was about to be crushed, the final heave of the dying ship thrust him overboard and into the frigid waters.

In the water, Kelly found five other crewmen clinging to one of the life rings he had thrown from the deck. All of them were wearing nothing but life vests and the clothes on their backs. They needed to be rescued fast; a few were already suffering from hypothermia.

The Coast Guard rescue helicopter arrived about an hour after the ship went down. The rescue crew found Kelly and the other men clinging to the life ring and one another, surrounded by debris, life jacket beacons, and bodies. The Coast Guard helicopter managed to rescue crewman Paul Dewey and Chief Mate Robert Cusick from separate lifeboats. Kelly was hoisted off the life ring. Ultimately, they were the only three men to survive the disaster.

Petty Officer 2nd Class James McCann, a Navy rescue swimmer, arrived on a Navy chopper shortly after the Coast Guard rescuers. He pulled five bodies from the water before getting hypothermia himself. In all, the rescue crews pulled 24 bodies from the sea that morning. According to a 2019 Maritime Executive article memorializing the disaster, seven crew members were never found. The article states: It is likely the ships engineers were trapped belowdecks when the vessel capsized. The ship and its cargo, once worth $12 million, rest forever in three pieces 120 feet below the oceans surface.

During the ensuing investigation, Cusicks meticulously kept notes on the Marine Electrics lack of seaworthiness revealed a troubling history of rushed ship inspections and neglected repairs. Cusick presented his notes to the committee from the Marine Board of Investigation and placed the blame squarely on the owners of the Marine Electric rather than its crewmen.

[Cusick] had a list of shipyard jobs left undone because of budgetary cuts; the hatches on that ship were old, warped and cracked, Kelly told interviewers. Bob had drawings of hatches that needed to be repaired in his files at home.

The Marine Electric tragedy changed the maritime industry forever. Although it was an awful end for 31 of its crew, its sinking prompted a series of sweeping regulatory changes that would help ensure that such a tragedy never occurred again.

Many regulatory rules are written in blood, as neglect, mistakes, and poor regulations are often discovered only because of a disaster resulting in a massive loss of life. The Marine Board of Investigations findings helped create stricter safety regulations and inspection standards for cargo ships.

Petty Officer 3rd Class Jesse Weaver, a Coast Guard helicopter rescue swimmer at Air Station Houston conducts his weekly training at a local indoor pool, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2015. (Jennifer Nease/U.S. Coast Guard)

As a secondary result, the Coast Guard stood up its rescue swimmer program, an effort spearheaded by Coast Guard Capt. Domenic Calicchio, one of the officers who investigated the Marine Electric disaster. The Coast Guard Aviation Survival Technician School  a grueling 24-week course  was established in 1985 and is now being taught in Petaluma, California, while the Coast Guard repairs its historic training facility in North Carolina.

Rescue swimmers save hundreds of lives every year. Stationed at Coast Guard air bases, the swimmers deploy on various missions under unpredictable circumstances. Swimmers are trained to swim in rough seas, rappel from unstable helicopters in high winds, respond to mass casualty disasters at sea, and perform lifesaving medical care under high-stress conditions.

Senior Chief Petty Officer Lewis Hart, a former commander of the Elizabeth City, North Carolina, training facility said in a 2008 Coast Guard article: The addition of a rescue swimmer asset to helicopter search and rescue teams has had significant impact on the mission. Hart cited the role of Coast Guard rescue swimmers in the response to Hurricane Katrina as a clear example of the value they provide. Rescue swimmers helped save over 3,000 people  overall, the Coast Guard rescued more than 33,000  in the aftermath of the Category 5 hurricane that devastated New Orleans in 2005.

Lauren Coontz is a staff writer for Coffee or Die Magazine. Beaches are preferred, but Lauren calls the Rocky Mountains of Utah home. You can usually find her in an art museum, at an archaeology site, or checking out local nightlife like drag shows and cocktail bars (gin is key). A student of history, Lauren is an Army veteran who worked all over the world and loves to travel to see the old stuff the history books only give a sentence to. She likes medium roast coffee and sometimes, like a sinner, adds sweet cream to it.

Read the original article on Coffee or Die Magazine. Follow Coffee or Die on Instagram.
When the United States invaded Panama on Dec. 20, 1989, a special operations mission called Operation Acid Gambit was given the green light to begin at the same time as an aerial attack on dictator Manuel Noriega's command center, the comandancia.

For months, 23 members of the U.S. Army's Delta Force had been training to rescue American citizen Kurt Muse. Muse had been a prisoner in Panama City's Carcel Modelo prison for nine months but, as tensions mounted between Noriega's regime and the United States, he suddenly became Noriega's hostage.

Noriega vowed that the first bullet fired in a conflict between the countries would be the one that killed Muse. He even put a Panamanian Defense Forces (PDF) soldier in front of his cell to ensure Muse died before he could be rescued.

Read: How an American Living in Panama Began the Ouster of Dictator Manuel Noriega

Operation Acid Gambit required Army Special Forces to land on the prison roof, kill Muse's would-be executioner, fight their way to his cell, break open the lock and extract their "precious cargo" before taking him to the roof. There, MH-6 Little Bird helicopters would whisk them all back to the nearby Howard Air Force Base.

A view of Panama City's Carcel Modelo Prison and Kurt Muse's 1989 mugshot. (U.S. Special Operations Command via Twitter)

The mission was ultimately a success, but it was not without complications. At a 2022 event for the Silent Warrior Foundation called "Whiskey & War Stories," Muse and members of his rescue team (who asked to remain anonymous) talked about the operation and what happened that night.

The Enemy Gets a Vote

Noriega's comandancia was directly across from the prison yard and would be full of enemy PDF soldiers.

In order for the rescue team to extract Muse before his executioner could pull the trigger, one of the Special Forces team would have to lower himself down the side of the prison wall. Dangling in front of Muse's cell, he would need to kill the gunman while possibly under fire in the middle of a full-blown war.

It was very likely that the Little Bird helicopters would signal to the city's defenders that something was amiss, and the sight of a large soldier with a rifle hanging from the prison roof would attract every gun in the area.

When the mission began, one of the operators hammered his climbing gear into the prison roof and descended down the side. He wasn't three feet down before the PDF started firing on him, and the rest of the SF team had to open up on the PDF positions. If the secret wasn't out when they landed, it was by then.

Luckily for Muse and the team, the gunman who was supposed to kill Muse fled instead, barricading himself in a nearby room.

Backup Has Its Own Problems

On the night of Dec. 20, the MH-6 Little Birds making the drop onto the prison rooftop were flanked by two MH-6 gunbirds on each side of the aircraft as they made their way from Howard Air Force Base. The PDF knew something might happen and were ready for it, as evidenced by the amount of fire the Little Birds took along their flight path.

They found the prison lit up like Christmas. After the soldiers landed on the roof, the gunbirds were supposed to help secure the area by making attack runs on nearby targets. Their chief target was the comandancia. While making a gun run on a nearby high rise, one of the gunbirds took fire, its engine died and it crashed into the comandancia.

The crew survived the crash, but had a bigger problem. The comandancia was at the top of a list of targets scheduled to be leveled by AC-130 gunships as soon as a shaped charge blew the roof door to the prison open. Suddenly, American troops were inside Noriega's headquarters building, minutes away from being destroyed along with it.

They had to evade and escape PDF guards on their way out of the building, which included scaling a 12-foot wall. Again, as luck would have it, one of the PDF guards surrendered to them and led them over the wall, where they could link up with American armored personnel carriers patrolling the streets.

Infiltration

Back on the roof of the prison, the operators were able to blow the door completely off its foundation. In his cell, Muse was hiding behind a wall, not knowing where his executioner was as the American soldiers moved into the prison.

Delta operators in Panama around the time of Operation Acid Gambit.

In Muse's book, "Six Minutes to Freedom," Special Forces soldiers recall in interviews that, once in the building, they were able to flow like water, killing the guards and breaking the lock to Muse's cell. They equipped their "precious cargo" with a helmet and flak vest before taking him up to the roof to fly back to Howard Air Force Base.

Exfiltration Doesn't Go as Planned

With the Delta team and Muse loaded onto the Little Bird helicopters, they were all ready to depart. The final soldier boarded and gave the pilots a thumbs-up to take off. The MH-6 tried four times to lift off the roof, but it was too heavy.

The team leader made a split-second decision: He told one of the soldiers to grab a machine gun and get off the bird. With complete trust in the team leader, that soldier and an M60 gunner got off the helicopter so it could leave. It departed, leaving the two soldiers alone on the roof, hidden in the shadows and surrounded by Panamanian soldiers

After the helicopter departed, the two discovered that their team leader had remained on the roof with them. Another helicopter was already on the way to retrieve them.

It's Not Over Until It's Over

As the helicopter carrying Muse and his rescuers made its way back to Howard Air Force Base, it began taking fire from the ground. One lucky shot managed to hit the Little Bird's engine, forcing it to crash-land.

MH-6 Little Bird helicopters were critical to the success of Operation Acid Gambit. (Department of Defense)

Once it was on the ground, all of the PDF soldiers in the area began to fire on the target. Everyone on board survived the crash landing, but the helo was being mercilessly peppered with small-arms fire. The first thought going through the minds of the Delta team was securing its perimeter and protecting its precious cargo, they said in interviews.

One of the operators was shot in the leg on the way down and was caught under the MH-6 in the crash, his foot crushed under one of the skids. Another took a bullet to the abdomen. A third was struck in the head by the helicopter's rotor blade as he emerged from the wreckage. It wasnt moving at full speed, but was enough to knock the man out as he spoke to Muse.

With everyone accounted for, they made their way out of the open area of the crash site and secured their position behind a barricade. They even handed Muse one of their M1911 sidearms to help in case they were overrun.

But they didn't have to wait too long. They were retrieved by a column of armored personnel carriers and ferried off to safety. In the end, no one on Acid Gambit was killed. Muse was reunited with his family, and the men who rescued him continued their Army careers.

-- Blake Stilwell can be reached at blake.stilwell@military.com. He can also be found on Twitter @blakestilwell or on Facebook.

Want to Learn More About Military Life?

Whether you're thinking of joining the military, looking for post-military careers or keeping up with military life and benefits, Military.com has you covered. Subscribe to Military.com to have military news, updates and resources delivered directly to your inbox.
During a hot Permanent Change of Station (PCS) season like this one, it can be hard to find a rental property. Tight timelines can make you eager to rent something -- anything -- fast. Moving long distances and pressure to get into a new home can make you vulnerable to scam artists who make their money with rental property fraud.

The most common situation is where someone advertises a property that they don't actually own or manage. They might take pictures from another listing, or use stock photos. They ask you to send a payment, often via untraceable methods, before you arrive and without seeing the property or meeting the owner/manager.

Military families can be particularly susceptible to these scams because we are used to making fast decisions without enough information. Worries about housing our family and having an address for our household goods delivery can override our usual good judgment. Keep these tips in mind to avoid getting scammed.

Signs That a Property Listing Might Be a Scam

While none of these signs necessarily means that a rental property is a scam, they should cause you to look at the situation more carefully.

Typos and grammatical errors in listing or other communication. A professional landlord or management company will present a listing that is free of typographical or grammatical errors. Obviously, no one is perfect, and modern communication can be less formal, but errors should be noted.

A professional landlord or management company will present a listing that is free of typographical or grammatical errors. Obviously, no one is perfect, and modern communication can be less formal, but errors should be noted. The price is too good. A surprisingly low price may be a sign that this isn't actually a valid rental property advertisement. Look for comparable properties. Even though rental and real estate apps can be inaccurate, they can get you into the right ballpark. Ask around in local area military Facebook groups: "Does anyone know this property? Does this price seem right?"

A surprisingly low price may be a sign that this isn't actually a valid rental property advertisement. Look for comparable properties. Even though rental and real estate apps can be inaccurate, they can get you into the right ballpark. Ask around in local area military Facebook groups: "Does anyone know this property? Does this price seem right?" No tenant screening process. A professional landlord or management company will have an application and screening process. This typically includes a fee, often for running a credit and/or background check. Expect to provide information and possibly documentation about who you are and what income you have.

What You Can Do To Protect Yourself

Research the property and owners. Look up the property ownership on public databases. If it is an individual, look for them on social media or do an internet search. Do the details make sense? If it is a company, look at its website, do an internet search, or look for its social media profiles.

Look up the property ownership on public databases. If it is an individual, look for them on social media or do an internet search. Do the details make sense? If it is a company, look at its website, do an internet search, or look for its social media profiles. Use Google Maps street view. Look up the property on Google Maps, and see if the street view matches the pictures in the listing.

Look up the property on Google Maps, and see if the street view matches the pictures in the listing. Read the full lease. Make sure terms are clear and there aren't any blank spaces. Have the lease reviewed by your installation's legal office.

Make sure terms are clear and there aren't any blank spaces. Have the lease reviewed by your installation's legal office. Use safer payment choices. Cash, wire transfers and money orders are essentially untraceable. Electronic funds transfers and physical checks have limited protections. Never do anything that involves gift cards, Amazon codes, or other non-cash, cash-value tools.

Cash, wire transfers and money orders are essentially untraceable. Electronic funds transfers and physical checks have limited protections. Never do anything that involves gift cards, Amazon codes, or other non-cash, cash-value tools. Visit the property. Think very carefully before signing a lease or sending a deposit without seeing the property or meeting the owner or property manager. I know it is hard when you are coming from a distance! There may be situations where this is fine. We have rented to families when they have not been able to view the property, and they had to trust that we were who we said we were, and that the property was as represented. If you can't visit in person, ask for a video walkthrough or see whether a local acquaintance can go look for you.

It's hard when you're PCSing and you need a place to put your family. Living in a hotel long term isn't always practical or financially possible. Securing a property before you arrive at your new location can help you feel a little more in control of the process, but getting scammed will make everything harder. Use these tips to avoid rental scams and be sure that your money is going to actual landlords.
26.07.2022 LISTEN

The head pastor of the Word of Life Assemblies of God Church located at Abuakwa Sepaase in the Atwima Nwabiagya South District of the Ashanti Region, Rev Lawrence Inkoom has asked Akufo-Addo's government to focus on fixing the challenges confronting the country.

The man of God says President Akufo-Addo has failed to deliver on his promise.

Speaking to a section of journalists in Kumasi, Rev Inkoom noted that government should stop blaming its mismanagement of the economy on covid-19 and Russia-Ukraine war.

According to him, Ghana is blessed with several natural resources enough to develop the country and bring people out of poverty.

He noted that mismanagement has brought hardship to Ghanaians.

He indicated the government instead of find ways to restore the economy and bring hope to Ghanaians are currently thinking about the next elections.

The man of God is asking government to focus on cleaning the economic mess.
Canadian police arrest man after multiple shootings

Xinhua) 09:39, July 26, 2022

OTTAWA, July 25 (Xinhua) -- Royal Canadian Mounted Police confirmed one man had been arrested after multiple people were shot in several locations throughout Langley, British Columbia, Monday morning.

According to local media, police said there were victims but did not specify how many and no deaths had been confirmed.

Police said the victims were homeless and believe the attack was targeted.

While the investigation is underway, multiple areas in the city of Langley and Langley Township are closed to the public, the media reported.

(Web editor: Wu Chaolan, Liang Jun)
26.07.2022 LISTEN

A Kumasi based popular man of God, Apostle Dr. Dirl Airl King Mashal has said government's decision to seek an International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout is not a permanent solution to Ghana's economic woes.

According to the Apostle who is the founder and leader of the Soldiers of Christ Prayer Group of All Churches, God has through a prophecy revealed to him, a key that could help President Akufo-Addo unlock economic potential.

Apostle King Mashal who was speaking to the correspondent in reaction to the public views on whether the IMF loan can possibly deliver the country from its economic predicaments or not indicated that borrowing from external sources is not the plan of God for Ghana to build a prosperous economy.

He noted that the current economic crisis is spiritual.

According to King Mashal God has revealed to him on 8th, 9th and 11th July 2022 the key to economic freedom.

He said the President should invite him (King Mashal) to the Flagstaff house to show him (Nana Addo) the said key God has revealed to him.

Giving Bible references to justify his prophecy on how God freed the Israelites at the time the country was in difficulties under Prophet Elijah, Apostle Mashal cited 1st Kings 17-1 to 16 and 2nd Kings7- 1 to 2.

Apostle Dr Airl Dirl King Mashal allegedly recalled that when the country was in crisis during the regimes of the late John Jerry Rawlings and the sitting ex-President John Agyekum Kufour, God revealed a secret key to him.

He claims both Presidents sent down delegates to him for the key to help tackle the problems the country faced.

According to him, President Akufo Addo can find out from the former Ashanti Regional Minister, Hon S.K. Boafo who was also a former Member of Parliament for Subin Constituency in the Ashanti Region who President Kufour delegated to see him for details.
26.07.2022 LISTEN

The Anloga District in the Volta region has been rated as the district with the lowest vaccinated people against the covid-19.

The district statistics show that only 13,455 representing 17.5% out of the targeted 76,946 population were able to get at least one dose of the vaccination.

As of Friday, July 22, some 63,511 population in the district were said to be unvaccinated.

Ho Municipal was adjudged the highest number of people who have been vaccinated in the region with 53,715 people representing 32.5% out of the targeted 163,027 population while 111,312 are yet to be vaccinated.

This was disclosed by the Regional Health Directorate at a media engagement and stakeholders sensitization meeting on covid-19 vaccine hesitancy with the Parliamentary Select Committee on Health held at Ho on Friday July 22, 2022 at Hotel Stevens.

Mr Emmanuel Bonsu, the REPI Coordinator in his presentations stated that a total population of 1,387,537 representing 72 % was the the target number to be vaccinated by the health directorate.

He also disclosed that 564,562 doses were administered to a total number of 349,503 (25.2%) people.

Only 236,008 of the region's population have been fully vaccinated representing 17.0%  the least in the country with 27,828 (11.8%) of the population receiving the first booster doses.

Dr Senanu Kwasi Dzokoto, the acting Volta Regional Health Director in his address urged the public to go for the vaccination to save lives.

Mr Alexander Gabi Hotordze and Mr Charles Agbeve, Members of Parliament for Central Tongu and Agortime Ziope constituencies respectively who were also members of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Health said, it was an urgent call to address the media and the public to help curb the hesitancy level in the region.

According to them, regional statistics in the country show that Oti and Volta regions are at the bottom of the vaccination table which calls for urgent attention.

North East, Northern, Savanna, Upper West and Bono East Regions are the first five regions in the country with the highest number of people vaccinated against covid-19 as of July 20, 2022.

The two lawmakers urge residents to ignore the misconceptions about the vaccine.

The meeting was attended by journalists, chiefs and heads of institutions among others.
The ECOWAS Commission through the Department of Education, Science and Culture, organised on 21 and 22 July 2022 in Cotonou, Benin, the 2022 edition of the meeting of the Regional Follow-up Committee of the 2019-2023 ECOWAS Action Plan for the return of cultural artefacts to their countries of origin.

The primary objective of the meeting was to prepare and discuss the planning of the international symposium on return procedures, slated for November 2022 in Dakar, Senegal.

Specifically, the meeting aimed to approve the themes and the planning of the international symposium on the return of cultural artefacts, identify international partners who could provide technical or financial support for the symposium, propose a partnership plan with the ambassadors of ECOWAS Member States to UNESCO, review the Terms of Reference of the inventory of cultural artefacts in foreign countries, and support resource mobilisation to finance the Action Plan on the return of cultural artefacts

The opening ceremony of the meeting was presided over by Hon. Jean Michel Abimbola, Benin's Minister of Tourism, Culture and Arts. It featured three statements. The statement by Dr. Mamadu Jao, ECOWAS Commissioner for Education, Science and Culture, was read by Dr. Emile Zida, Head of Culture Division. On behalf of the Commissioner, Dr. Zida first commended the Benin authorities for their efforts to promote African culture in general and Benin culture, particularly regarding the successful return by France of 26 works of art from the Royal Palace of Abomey.

According to him, this preparatory meeting of the international symposium on return is held in a favourable context on the issue, given the decisions and successes achieved by some Member States in this area. Among others, he highlighted the honour bestowed by the Authority of Heads of State and Government on His Excellency Mr. Patrice Talon, by appointing him during their Summit held on 3 July 2022, as ECOWAS Champion on the issues of return, the successful return of works of art from Benin, the successful signing of an Agreement between Nigeria and Germany on 1 July 2022 for the return of 1100 cultural artefacts, mainly the bronzes of Benin City, etc.

In her statement, Hon. Abla Dzifa Gomashie of Ghana and Vice-Chairperson of the Regional Committee, on behalf of the Chairman of the Committee, underlined the fact that the efforts of members of the Committee must take into account the global approach of return, and going beyond the return of artefacts, should teach the youth about what our history has been. To her, the whole of Africa must play a key role in the return of cultural artefacts, for the benefit of future generations.

In his opening remarks, Mr. Erik Totah, Chief of Staff to the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Arts of Benin insisted on the synergy of regional action portrayed by the ECOWAS Action Plan. While highlighting the efforts made by Member States in the region in this regard, he urged them to redouble their efforts to get back our cultural assets. Before concluding his remarks, he called on members of the Committee, while taking cognizance of the different stakes at political, diplomatic or strategic, economic, cultural and legal levels regarding the issue of return, to make realistic, objective and effective proposals for the implementation of this action plan to have a real impact and ensure that the international symposium is a success.

The closing ceremony of the meeting, presided over by the Chairman of the Regional Committee, Mr. Mallam Issa Assoumana, and which took place on Friday, 22 July, was attended by Mrs. Coline-Lee Toumson-Venite, Arts and Culture Advisor to the President of the Republic of Benin. Several recommendations were made during the meeting. To the attention of H.E. Patrice Talon, President of the Republic of Benin, the participants enlisted his support to make the international symposium on the issues of return a big and resounding success to the world and issue a strong Declaration on the issues of return in Africa.

The participants recommended, among other things, that ECOWAS should promptly notify the Senegalese authorities of the organisation of the Symposium and request their support, propose the return of cultural artefacts as one of the themes of the next UNESCO General Conference in 2023, and submit a request to UNESCO to grant ECOWAS observer status on its Return Committee. The Commission should also inform and involve the African Union in the organisation of the symposium, leave the initiative of the inventories to Member States in the holder countries, while supporting them in the negotiations and diplomatic engagement or take measures for the effective implementation of the revised roadmap, including the priorities of the Action Plan for the next 2 years.

Following the meeting and through the magnanimity of the Benin authorities, Committee members were afforded the opportunity to visit the Presidential Palace in Cotonou, the exhibition of the 26 works returned by France to Benin. It should be recalled that the Regional Committee includes leading political and diplomatic figures, most of whom are former ministers of culture or former ambassadors, as well as resource persons.

Source: ECOWAS (CEDEAO)
Togbe Kwaku Ayim IV, Dufia of Ziavi who doubled as the president of the Ziavi traditional area in the Volta region has advised the people of the region to take Covid-19 vaccination to stay alive.

He said, it is necessary for each and every household in the country to encourage each other to go for the vaccine to curb the spreading of the virus.

He said, "l have taken all my vaccines against the Covid virus and nothing has happened to me".

He mentioned that the misconception about the vaccine must be ignored since there is no proof of any negative effect on the human system.

"I heard a lot of serial callers on radio calling on President Nana Addo to take the vaccines first before they can take theirs. The president took his shots but still some people are not convinced," he said.

He advised the public not to politicise since covid-19 knows no political affiliation.

"If you think you can politicize the vaccination by not taking it, you will die and you may not vote the next election year," he stated.

Togbe Kwaku Ayim IV said this during media engagement and stakeholders sensitization meeting on covid-19 vaccine hesitancy with the parliamentary select committee on health held at hotel Stevens, Ho on Friday July 22, 2022.

Mr Alexander Gabi Hotordze, a Member of Parliament for Central Tongu constituency and Mr Charles Agbeve Member of Parliament for Agortime Ziope constituency both members of the parliamentary select committee on health urged the public to accept the vaccine.

They said it has become necessary for them to engage the public and the media to address the issue of people refusing to go for the jab in the region rated with the lowest vaccinated population.

According to them, regional statistics in the country show that Oti and Volta regions were at the bottom of the chart of vaccinated population.

"We both have our covid vaccines and we have the cards that even helped us to travel outside Ghana since it is one of the criteria for travelling outside the country", they added.
French satellite operator Eutelsat said on Monday it was in talks with British counterpart OneWeb with a view to a tie-up to create a "global champion" in broadband internet, rivalling US operators such as Elon Musk's Starlink.

Satellite broadband promises to bring coverage to the most remote areas of the planet and supply connectivity on aeroplanes and to products like connected cars.

Starlink heads the market with more than 2,000 tiny satellites in lower-earth orbit (LEO), just a few hundred kilometres above the Earth.

Eutelsat already provides some internet services through a deal with telecoms firm Orange, using its network of 35 larger satellites that operate thousands of kilometres from Earth in geostationary orbit (GEO) that are more commonly used for TV and other communications.

But Eutelsat said its tie-up with OneWeb, if it goes through, would be the first of its kind allying GEO and LEO satellites. OneWeb has 428 in orbit.

The French firm said it would be "uniquely positioned" to exploit a market that it expected to be worth $16 billion by 2030.

According to Bloomberg, which first reported talks on a possible merger, a deal "could be valued at more than $3 billion" and fulfill French President Emmanuel Macron's wish when he spoke to European ministers in February, insisting that it was a matter of sovereignty to create a satellite offering that could rival Musk.

The "potential all-share combination" would "create a global leader in connectivity", Eutelsat said in a statement published following "recent market rumours" about the possible merger.

European firms face stiff competition

Apart from Elon Musk's Starlink, which has a fleet of about 2,500 satellites launched over the last few years by Musk's Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX), Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has pledged billions to develop his company's satellite structure.

On 22 April, Amazon announced "Project Kuiper," which is designed to create a "satellite constellation" consisting of 3,236 satellites, to be launced by commercial carriers including Arianespace, Blue Origin, and United Launch Alliance.

Public institutions are also looking to get in on the act.

The European Union wants to deploy roughly 250 satellites by 2024 and China has a plan to launch 13,000 of its own.

The British government owns a stake in OneWeb.

Eutelsat already holds 23 percent of OneWeb's shares and the transaction would represent a "logical next step in the successful partnership", the French firm said.

The deal has several potential hurdles to clear though, including the need to be approved by Eutelsat shareholders and regulators.

"There can be no assurance that these discussions will result in any agreement," said the French firm.

Eutelsat's shares plunged by more than 17 percent in early trading on the Paris stock exchange.

Politically sensitive

A deal would strengthen both companies in the race to build a constellation of low-orbit satellites. But Reuters reports that a tie-up would be "politically sensitive," as it would bring together Indian billionaire Sunil Bharti Mittal, along with France, China and Britain as shareholders of the combined group.

"From an anti-trust point of view, this deal is likely to be scrutinised heavily and will also likely need political consensus from both the UK and EU at a time when the UK is choosing a new Prime Minister," Credit Suisse said in a note.

Demand for satellite launches is expected to accelerate after recent sanctions sidelined the Russian space launch industry, and giant satellite constellations could offer a new channel to beam broadband Internet from space.

(Agencies)
26.07.2022 LISTEN

A Police Officer, who allegedly impersonated the Inspector General of Police, Dr George Akuffo Dampare and Director-General of CID, COP Ken Yeboah, has been granted bail by an Accra Circuit Court.

General Corporal Akonor Opoku was charged on two counts of attempt to commit crime and defrauding by false pretense.

He pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

The Court, presided over by Mrs Adelaide Abui Keddey, admitted the accused person to bail in the sum of GHS100,000.00 with two sureties.

The bail was granted when the Court found out that the accused person was not fright risk and had a fixed place of abode as prayed by his Counsel, Mr Kofi Agyena Agyemang.

The Court ordered the prosecution to file and serve all disclosures and witness statement within 21 days.

The case has been adjourned to August 31, 2022, for Case Management Conference between the parties.

Police Chief Inspector Richard Amoah, prosecuting, told the Court that the complainant was a Lebanese and a resident of Tema Community 11, whilst the accused person was a Police Officer stationed at National Patrols Department of the Ghana Police Headquarters-Accra.

The prosecution said on October 11, 2021, the complainant petitioned the Director General of CID to investigate and arrest one Nalia for stealing USD40,000.00 from his room on August 18, 2021.

On August 19, 2021, the complainant received text messages and phone calls on his Vodafone and MTN contact numbers from an unknown Airtel Tigo number posing as the IGP and the Director-General of CID.

Chief Inspector Amoah told the Court that the callers told the complainant that they knew where the suspect Nalia was hiding and that he should pay GHS10,000.00 for her arrest.

The prosecution said the complainant pleaded and sent GHS150.00 to the accused person through MoMo and promised to pay the remaining amount upon the arrest of the suspect.

Chief Inspector Amoah said the callers kept on calling the complainant and sending him text messages to demand for the balance.

The prosecution said the complainant, upon realising that the callers, whom he used to communicate with were neither IGP nor Director-General of CID, reported the incident to the Police.

Investigations revealed that a Bontel phone with two SIM slots with their relative IME's used by two Airtel Tigo numbers to contact the complainant as the IGP and Director-General of CID was found to have been used in 198 times between the period of August 23,2021 and September 27, 2021, by the accused person with his personal phone number.

Further investigations revealed that the accused person registered the Airtel Tigo numbers from mobile money vendors, who were witnesses in the case, under the pretext of registering them for his superiors at the Police Headquarters-Accra.

GNA
A staff of the Ghana Police Service met his untimely death at Tema Community 25 Estate Junction on the Dawhenya stretch of the Tema-Aflao road on Sunday, July 24.

The Motorway Command of the Ghana National Fire Service received a distress accident call at 9pm and got to the accident scene only to realize a gory accident involving a Howo Tipper Truck with registration number GG 1887 21 and a BMW with registration number GR 772  X.

It was observed that the Howo Tipper Truck loaded with sand and heading towards Tema had crushed a BMW that was heading towards Dawhenya, killing instantly the occupant identified to be a Staff of the Ghana Police Service.

The trapped lifeless body of the affected person was however extricated and retrieved by the Firemen and handed over to the MTTD of the Ghana Police Service for preservation and further investigation.

The BMW was badly mangled beyond repairs while the Tipper truck suffered some partial damage on its lower portions of the head compartment.

The cause of the accident is not readily known.

The occupants in the Sino Truck were not affected by the crash.

---DGN online
Coffee farmers within the Akuapem Municipal Assembly have undergone a series of training in best farming practices in order to enhance their skills and knowledge base on coffee production and management.

The training, which was facilitated by the International Trade Center (ITC) Alliances for Action and Ghana Cocoa Board, and the Akuapem Coffee Growers Association seeks to equip the farmers on modern methods of coffee farming so they could diversify and earn more from the industry.

ITC's primary goal, according to Mr. Christopher Tenga, Project Coordinator for the ITC Alliances for Action, is to enhance the competitiveness and productivity of smallholder coffee growers and MSMEs and integrate them into significant domestic and global markets.

He stated that by offering firm level support to the Coffee Value Chain actors in Ghana, the EU ACP Project in collaboration with ACRAM will act as a catalyst to revitalize the Ghanaian coffee industry.

Mr. Roger Fiakpornu, Chief Technical Officer  Cocoa Research Institute, New Tafo, who took the farmers through the training is optimistic, application of the new methods will help the farmers see an increase in their yields.

He noted that, an application of best farming practices by farmers is the surest way to achieve the desired yields and has expressed his happiness of more youth going into coffee farming which was not the case some years back.

Speaking at the annual general meeting of the Akuapem Coffee Growers Association (ACGA) in Akropong, the founder of the association and CEO of Asili Coffee, a local manufacturing company, John Nana Addo Francois noted that there are a lot of opportunities in the coffee production chain and with the necessary attention, coffee production would generate more revenue and advance the nations export promotion drive.

According to John Nana Addo Francois, coffee production is a lucrative business which can offer massive employment to the teeming unemployed youths within the Akuapem catchment area.

The future is Coffee and we are supporting the farmers with the right technical know-how on planting, harvesting and post-harvest management practices in order to get the needed result, he said.

Ghana, despite being known worldwide as one of the leading producers of cocoa, same cannot be said when it comes to the production of coffee. This is because the production volume of coffee in Ghana is quite low.

This, the CEO of Asili Coffee said has been a major challenge facing the local coffee manufacturing companies and has indicated his company imports coffee from Kenya and other Africa countries for processing in order to meet demand.

There is ready market for coffee both locally and internationally. Locally, the demand for coffee has increased because a lot more people are consuming the product. I will urge people who are interested in this project to come on board and I can assure them of making the right investment he said.

The COVID-19 pandemic, according to the CEO of Asili coffee have had negative impact on coffee production in the country but he was optimistic of a positive outlook in the coming years.

Former MCE for the Akuapem North Municipality, Hon. Dennis Miracles Aboagye reiterated government commitment to support the farmers with the needed resources to expand their farms.

According to him, the opportunities in the coffee value chain if properly harnessed will bring the needed socio-economic change to the Akuapem area.

This year, a total of 90,000 seedlings have been distributed to the farmers for planting.
Prof. Ransford Gyampo, a senior lecturer at the University of Ghana has joined a throng of Ghanaians calling for the right thing to be done about the late Prof. Mills newly erected bust.

On Sunday, July 24, H.E Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo, together with other dignitaries including former President John Dramani Mahama visited the late Prof. Mills graveyard, Asomdwe Park, to commemorate his 10th anniversary.

At the event, the President commissioned the renovated grave together with a monumental statue in honour of the late President.

However, the bust has stirred controversy on social media and other media outlets regarding the omission of the late Presidents name on the bust.

Modernghana News spotted a Facebook post by Prof. Gyampo on Monday, July 25, in which he also shared similar concerns.

The statue is nice, very nice, but why is it littered with names of those who arent him? Why wont we make it easier for posterity to know who this man is by indicating his name? he stated.

He adds This is a monumental mistake and a serious omission that must be rectified.

Prof Gyampo has once again called on prominent citizens to voice out about the opinion about the issue surrounding Prof. Mills' 10th-anniversary observation.

Elders in Ghana must also step in to resolve the very unnecessary feud and disagreements between the family of Prof Mills and those leading the crusade to immortalize the man who stood for peace.

We dont always have to fight and Elders and Opinion Leaders must not always mind their business. They must help solve some of these issues that brew unnecessary tension, he emphasised.
Ken Ofori-Atta [left] and H.E Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo

26.07.2022 LISTEN

In the face of the economic crisis, Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta is urging Ghanaians to have faith in President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to turn the economy around.

He claimed that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has a track record of resolving economic issues.

This solemn call was made by the Minister while presenting the mid-year budget review in Parliament House, Accra, on Monday, July 25 was monitored by Modernghana News.

He also urged Ghanaians, particularly legislators to support government's efforts to restore the economy to pre-crisis levels.

I want to appeal to Ghanaians to keep faith with the President and his team. We know things are tough now but we have a plan and the will to drive it, he said.

He continued Ours is a proud history of finding solutions to our country's issues. We have done it before and we will do it again, and with the help of this House and the support of the good people of Ghana we shall come out of this stronger."

According to a recent Bloomberg survey, the country's debt-to-GDP ratio has also risen to the point where it is now ranked as the second most risky ballooning debt country in the world next to El-Salvador.
Dr. Solomon Owusu, US based .mining consultant

26.07.2022 LISTEN

President Akufo-Addo has been urged to as a matter of urgency sack the Finance minister, Ken Ofori-Atta for alleged mismanagement of the economy over the past years.

The current Economic Management Team has also been described as incompetent and must be dissolved.

A US-based Ghanaian mining consultant, Dr. Solomon Owusu disclosed this to the reporter in an interview after the mid-year budget presentation by the Finance Minister in Parliament on Monday.

According to him, the Akufo-Addo-led government through the Finance Minister has for the past six years made promises in the annual budget themes with strong assurances but has only brought unprecedented hardships to Ghanaians.

He revealed that government has made many assurances under the following annual budget themes presented to Parliament since 2017:

2017: Sowing the seeds for growth and jobs - Ken Ofori-Atta.

2018: Putting Ghana back to work - Ken Ofori-Atta.

2019: A stronger economy for jobs and prosperity - Ken Ofori-Atta.

2020: Consolidating the gains for growth, jobs and prosperity for all - Ken Ofori-Atta.

2021: Economic revitalisation through completion, consolidation and continuity - Ken Ofori-Atta.

2022: Building a sustainable entrepreneurial nation; Fiscal consolidation and job creation - Ken Ofori-Atta

This, Dr. Solomon Owusu asks President Akufo-Addo the whereabout of the 'men' he brags the party has to help him fix the economy.
The Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta says government is not oblivious of the challenges in accessing and transporting food to students in Senior High Schools across the country.

He says government has put measures in place to address such challenges.

Presenting the mid-year review of the Budget Statement and Economic Policy in Parliament on Monday 25 July 2022, the Minister indicated that government has engaged stakeholders and devised a programme that will ensure that schools will not be disrupted, and students will be well-fed.

We are aware of reported challenges in accessing and transporting food for students in SHS and we are fixing it.

Government has also recently completed 17 additional projects including classroom blocks, dormitories, staff bungalows, and libraries as part of the infrastructural expansion in Senior High Schools. To deal with the record increases in student numbers, he added.

The Finance Minister also stressed government's interest in human capital development.

It has been at the core of our national transformation efforts since 2017. We have invested GH5.3 billion to enable 1,261,495 Ghanaian children access to secondary education under the Free SHS programme at the end of 2021 to improve access to education. Out of the 571,892 registered JHS candidates, 555,353, representing 97.1 percent, were placed into SHS this year.

Senior High School authorities across the country threatened to shut down schools if the government fails to supply them with adequate foodstuff to feed students.

A number of extracurricular activities in senior high schools have been suspended following the food challenges.

citinewsroom
The Ranking Member for the Roads and Transport Committee of Parliament, Governs Kwame Agbodza, is not sure of the September 2022 date for the start of the Accra-Tema motorway expansion project.

Speaking on Eyewitness News, Mr. Agbodza said, this government cannot be trusted at all on anything.

If we [Parliament] rises, we may come in October. For me, for the government to be able to do open competitive bidding and select a suitable contractor to be able to sign a contract and go to site, they will need to more than September, the MP explained.

During the mid-year budget review, the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta said under the Public-Private Partnership programme for road infrastructure, the Accra-Tema Motorway is currently at its procurement stage.

The Minister also noted that the draft Concession Agreement between GIIF and MoRH is currently under review by GIIF, MoRH, the Office of the Attorney-General and the Ministry of Finance.

When completed, the Concession Agreement is expected to be approved by the PPP Committee, Cabinet and Parliament.

Mr. Agbodza also said the Minority would scrutinise processes leading to the start of the project.

If we are going to borrow the money and do this, Ghanaian contractors must be involved in this, and they must also pay toll workers who they sacked and did not pay them what was due them before we begin to talk, the MP noted as an example.

The chairman of the Roads and Transport Committee, Kennedy Osei Nyarko, said he had not seen the agreement for the expansion project.

As we speak now, the government has not tabled any agreement. It has only shown intentions of engaging a private company using the PPA to do it.

citinewsroom
The New Patriotic Party electoral area coordinators within the Asokwa constituency of the Ashanti Region are on the neck of the partys constituency chairman to render an unqualified apology to them and their newly elected General Secretary for making some unsavoury comments ahead of the partys national conference.

According to all the 14 electoral coordinators, the singular act of the Asokwa constituency chairman to declare the Constituencys support for John Boadu rather than a member of the Constituency, Justin Frimpong Kodua, constitutes betrayal.

They say this goes contrary to the unanimous decision they made to support Justin Kodua Frimpong.

Speaking at a news conference in Kumasi, the spokesperson for the group, Kwame Wiafe Akenten, who is also the Kuwait Aprabon NPP coordinator noted that the apology from the constituency chairman, Fosu Nkromah will help calm matters within the Constituency.

We, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) electoral area coordinators in the Asokwa Constituency by this release want to urge our Chairman, Rev Benjamin Fosu Nkromah to render an unqualified apology to the newly elected General Secretary of our party, Justin Frimpong Kodua Esq.

This has become necessary due to some unsavoury comments he passed on the latter before the 16th July national conference. We also demand same apology from our Chairman as a constituency for breaking our trust despite the agreement we had with him to campaign and vote for our preferred person as General Secretary of the party.

Read the full press statement below: 25TH JULY, 2022. PRESS CONFERENCE PRESS CONFERENCE. STATEMENT: APOLOGISE TO JFK FOR YOUR NEGATIVE COMMENTS AND TO ASOKWA CONSTITUENCY FOR YOUR BETRAYAL-ASOKWA NPP COORDINATORS TO FOSU NKROMAH.

We, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) electoral area coordinators in the Asokwa Constituency by this release want to urge our Chairman, Rev Benjamin Fosu Nkromah to render an unqualified apology to the newly elected General Secretary of our party, Justin Frimpong Kodua Esq.

This has become necessary due to some unsavoury comments he passed on the latter before the 16th July national conference.

We also demand same apology from our Chairman as a constituency for breaking our trust despite the agreement we had with him to campaign and vote for our preferred person as General Secretary of the party.

BACKGROUND: Prior to the constituency executive elections of the New Patriotic Party in Asokwa, we, the coordinators in the 14 electoral areas and Asokwa constituents reached an agreement with all the contesting candidates that as a way of having our endorsements they would also campaign for our preferred candidate for General Secretary.

We can recall that Mr Eric Adu Fosu, Deputy constituency secretary, Mr Edmund Kyei, 1st Vice Chairman, Papa Yaw Asare Bediako John, Secretary and constituency Chairman, Benjamin Fosu Nkromah all agreed to the terms of our engagement which was to work and campaign for JFK.

It is important to state that all those who agreed to our terms worked and campaigned for our candidate, JFK and they did so publicly.

However, our constituency Chairman, some weeks before the national elections, broke away from the agreement by openly declaring support for the former General Secretary, Mr John Boadu.

We concede that our agreement was a gentlemans one and was not a blood covenant, even though those who agreed on our terms swore to abide by same.

However, in breaking from the agreement, our Chairman also without force was heard loud and clear pledging support for John Boadu and in doing so he described our current General Secretary, JFK with an unprintable word.

We do not only find the attitude of our Chairman distasteful, but very reprehensible.

OTHER WORRYING ISSUES: In a related and a worrying issue, our Chairman Rev Fosu Nkromah has until now failed to sit with the Asokwa constituency executive committee to agree on persons who should form the council of patrons, as well as persons who should occupy the office as Deputies to the elected executives.

This autocratic tendency and behaviour was what our Chairman demonstrated in his first term in office.

It is mind-blowing that despite assurances to amend his ways and build consensus with party members during his second term bid campaign, the chairman after securing a second term has gone back to his autocratic attitude.

RELIEFS: We, the coordinators and Asokwa constituents by this release are calling on our Chairman to render an apology to the person of Lawyer Justin Frimpong Kodua for the term used against the latter.

We also ask our Chairman to do the needful by showing us respect for breaking away from the agreement he had with us and also preventing persons in Asokwa who could have voted for our preferred in the national elections.

In conclusion, we find the behaviour and attitude of our Chairman very insulting and unbecoming of a constituency chairman whose member was contesting for such a high office and was in the business trying to pull him down.

We therefore ask that after the apology he behaves as a true patriot having gotten his mandate from the good people of Asokwa recently for a second time.

Thank you.
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) branch in Germany has accused former President John Dramani Mahama of jubilating over the hardships in the country under the leadership of President Akufo-Addo.

In a press release, NPP Germany claim John Dramani Mahama is focused on becoming president again so much that he prefers to jubilate over the hard times in the country rather than offer solutions to the situation.

He fought against many measures for his political benefits. He kicked against almost every move that has brought us good fortunes today and continues to do so.

The countrys needs at hand and resources that can be pulled leave no option than to seek external support from the IMF and now John Mahama calls the reasons for going to the IMF comic, part of the NPP Germany release signed by Communications Director Nana Osei Boateng reads.

It adds, He rather loves to make fun of the suffering country than help to grow it. This is the man who wants to be given the opportunity to lead again. God will not let that happen.

Below is the full release from NPP Germany;

MAHAMA REJOICES OVER IMF AND GHANAS HARDSHIP

He is expected to be a statesman but has shown no attribute of one. He has remained the normal grassroots politician who only thinks about his political fortunes and the next way to hang onto power rather than think about how the nation grows. That is a perfect description of Former President John Mahama.

The whole world has been hit by unforeseen circumstances and this makes economies suffer. It is even more grievous to think of how backward these shortfalls in our economy will be even after these external hazards have subsided.

The President of the republic together with his appointees are on their toes fighting to raise the flag of Ghana high but the posture of John Mahama always has been to snatch power. Power has always been his goal rather than being concerned with managing and building good economy.

From the days of Covid-19, John Mahama sort to ridicule every move of the government to get the country in shape.

He fought against many measures for his political benefits. He kicked against almost every move that has brought us good fortunes today and continues to do so.

The countrys needs at hand and resources that can be pulled leave no option than to seek external support from the IMF and now John Mahama calls the reasons for going to the IMF comic.

He rather loves to make fun of the suffering country than help to grow it. This is the man who wants to be given the opportunity to lead again. God will not let that happen.

God bless Ghana and God help our Nation, Nana Addo Dankwa, and the NPP.

Signed

Nana Osei Boateng

NPP Germany Branch Communications Director.
26.07.2022 LISTEN

Introduction

A regular feature of every practicing lawyers life is the relentless reading of cases that have been decided by the courts. Favourite cases, in order of ascending hierarchy, are those from the High Court, Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court (collectively known as the Superior Courts of Judicature). There is nothing more fulfilling and pleasurable than reading a well-reasoned decision of a court. Regardless of the level of the court in which the decision was given, it is always a delight to savour a sweet decision. Some judgments evoke awe and admiration. Some judgments induce laughter and embarrassment. And some judgments provoke anger and annoyance. It is a joy to read a judgment or ruling that is well-thought through, researched and presented. One such judgment is the Court of Appeals recent decision in Ex parte Hoda Holdings Ltd. This article discusses the decision in Ex parte Hoda Holdings Ltd and posits that, the decision is the latest refreshing treatise on the concept of judicial review in Ghana.

Different shades of court decisions

Within the space of one week, three decisions of the Superior Courts I have read have made profound but varying impressions on me. Two out of those three decisions won my admiration. They were well-written, properly analyzed and reached clear conclusions based on the law as I understand it. One of the decisions was given by the Court of Appeal, which I intend to discuss shortly.[1] The other was a High Court decision - Republic v Godwin Osei & Another; Ex parte Nene Narh Matti III & Another - in which the judge showed class and industry in a 33  page, single-spaced ruling that ended with the committal of two persons into prison for contempt of court.[2] The judge discussed the rules and virtually all relevant court decisions on contempt of court in Ghana. Since the allegation of contempt was in relation to a land case, the judge made forays into land law, as well as a previous Supreme Court case between the parties, before reaching his conclusion. In both the Court of Appeal and High Court cases, the depth of the learned Justices analyses of the facts and the applicable law, and reference to relevant legal authorities reflected the hard work that was invested in the adjudicatory process.

The third decision was a ruling in a High Court case known as Springfield Exploration & Production Ltd v ENI Ghana Exploration & Production Ltd & Another[3] that left me in a trance for several minutes. It was a ruling in an application for interlocutory injunction. The judge stated that the grounds for the application were in the applicants affidavit in support and so, she need not reproduce nor paraphrase them. Even the basic principle of judicial notice took on a new meaning when Her Ladyship stated that the court had taken judicial notice of the facts in previous proceedings in the court. So, apart from the Judge, and perhaps, the applicant itself, no one knows the facts that gave rise to the application for interlocutory injunction. The respondents lawyers appeared on record but not a word was said about their response to the facts-less application. Lastly and most impressionably, the injunction orders made by the court were against Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), Ministry of Energy and Ministry of Finance. These entities were not parties in the case and there is no indication that they were parties to the application for interlocutory injunction. But they have been ordered by the court to stop making Government of Ghanas payments under its agreements with the defendant companies. Judgment debt is in the air?

The concept of judicial review and the courts supervisory role over administrative and regulatory bodies

In every democracy worth its salt such as Ghana, there are several administrative institutions and bodies that help in the general running of the State. In the course of carrying out their duties, these administrative bodies take decisions and exercise their discretion in many areas so as to assure ease of governance. In undertaking such duties, the administrative bodies need to be checked and supervised, as it were, to ensure that they operate within the confines of the power given to them by law. State institutions usually exercise public law rights that are given to them under laws passed to regulate their activities.

The doctrine that mandates that state institutions must act within their power is known as the ultra vires doctrine. Principles of law such as the rules of natural justice and the maxim, delegatus non potest delegare[4] are aspects of the ultra vires doctrine. The role of the supervisor in that regard is entrusted to the courts to keep a fair balance between the citizens and the state institutions and bodies and the administrative functions they exercise. This is the concept known as judicial review of administrative action.

Under the Constitution, the High Court supervises all lower courts and any lower adjudicating authority and state institutions and regulatory bodies. The High Court can issue orders and directions for the purpose of enforcing or securing the enforcement of its supervisory powers.[5] A person who is dissatisfied or unhappy with any decision taken by a state institution, regulatory body or administrative tribunal has the constitutional right to make an application to the High Court to seek redress. The High Court can issue orders such as habeas corpus, certiorari, mandamus, prohibition and quo warranto to address wrong administrative decisions by state or government institutions, agencies, regulators, panels and tribunals. Persons who are aggrieved can appeal up to the Supreme Court.

Bank of Ghana revokes Unicredits license: The High Court case

The Facts: Hoda Holdings Ltd is the company that owns Unicredit Ghana Limited, a registered savings and loans company licensed by Bank of Ghana. On 16th August, 2019, Bank of Ghana issued a notice declaring that Unicredit Ghana Limited (simply called Unicredit) was insolvent. Bank of Ghana revoked Unicredits license to operate as a Specialised Deposit Taking Institution. About 22 other financial institutions were affected; they were declared insolvent and their licenses were revoked.[6] Hoda Holdings Ltd, as the owner of Unicredit, were not happy with the action taken by Bank of Ghana. Since Bank of Ghana is a public regulatory institution, Hoda Holdings Ltd filed an application for judicial review at the High Court (Human Rights Division) against Bank of Ghana for revoking Unicredits license. The High Court was being called upon to exercise its power of judicial review to review the decision that was taken by Bank of Ghana to revoke Unicredits license. (Excuse the pun, please.)

The grounds for the application: Hoda Holdings Ltd stated that, Bank of Ghana was wrong in revoking its license in the manner it did. The company stated that, Bank of Ghana did not invite the companys Board of Directors and shareholders to hear their side of the story before revoking the license and announcing it to the public without their knowledge. The company argued that the actions of Bank of Ghana were in breach of the rules of natural justice, and, therefore, unlawful.

The reliefs sought: Hoda Holdings Ltd requested the High Court to issue an order of certiorari to quash the notice issued by Bank of Ghana to revoke Unicredits license. It also asked the court to issue an injunction against Bank of Ghana and its privies and refer the issues about the license revocation to arbitration as provided under the law.

The High Courts decision: The High Court ruled that, it found nothing wrong with the way Bank of Ghana revoked Unicredits license.

The Court of Appeals decision in Ex parte Hoda Holdings Ltd

Hoda Holdings Ltd was not satisfied with the High Courts decision so it filed an appeal against the decision at the Court of Appeal.

The grounds of appeal: Hoda Holdings Ltd appealed against the High Courts decision on three grounds. The first ground of appeal was that, the High Court was wrong in ruling that Bank of Ghana had the power to revoke Unicredits license under Section 123 of Act 930 instead of Section 16 of the Act, and failing to give the company a hearing. Secondly, the High Court was wrong in saying that, Unicredit was undercapitalized when no evidence to such effect was placed before the court. The third ground of appeal filed by Hoda Holdings Ltd was that, the High Court was wrong in stating that Bank of Ghana was at liberty to impose any punishment, including a revocation of license of a bank or specialized Deposit Taking Institution which was undercapitalized, without first imposing the statutory penalty under Section 33 of Act 930. The Court of Appeal noted that the last two grounds related to substantive matters and accordingly declined to address them.

The Court of Appeals decision and the reasons for it: The Court of Appeal held that, the High Courts decision in refusing to issue an order of certiorari to quash Bank of Ghanas revocation of Unicredits license was wrong. The Court of Appeal set aside the High Courts decision and stated that, Bank of Ghana was wrong in revoking Unicredits license without following the procedure laid out in the law, that is, Act 930. The Court of appeal ordered that the notice issued by Bank of Ghana and dated 16th August, 2019 revoking Unicredits license be accordingly quashed.

Adding his voice to the Court of Appeals unanimous decision, Suurbaareh, JA stated that, the role of the respondent [Bank of Ghana] as regulator/ supervisor of all matters relating to deposit taking business under Section 3 of Act 930, no doubt, gave it a lot of powers. These powers range from imposing penalties for breaches of provisions of the Act and the revocation of a license of an institution in certain circumstances. He noted that with such wide and far-reaching powers under Act 930, Bank of Ghana, being an administrative body, cannot do as it pleases. Its actions must comply with laid down procedure in the Act as well as the provisions of Article 296 of the Constitution. His Lordship concluded that, Bank of Ghana cannot revoke the license of any bank or specialised deposit-taking institution without complying with the provisions of Section 16(3) of the Act 930, by giving the notice which will afford the institution the opportunity to respond to the issues raised by Bank of Ghana.

In her concurring opinion, Bartels-Kodwo, JA (Mrs.) discussed a plethora of decided cases on judicial review and observed that, Hoda Holdings Ltds interpretation of the requirements contained in Section 123 of Act 930 more accurately reflected the intention of the law makers. She noted that this was especially the case as the revocation of the license of a bank or specialised deposit-taking institution often led to job losses, and was most likely coupled with the appointment of a receiver or administrator, who would take over the running of the affairs of the bank, essentially taking away the Bank or specialised deposit-taking institution from the shareholders. Her Ladyship added that, that was tantamount to depriving persons of their property, which under Article 20 of the 1992 Constitution, could not be done without meeting certain requirements. In the Ex parte Hoda Holdings Ltd case, Her Ladyship rightly noted, Bank of Ghana had not even attempted to assert that the necessary conditions for the deprivation of Hoda Holdings Ltds private property existed before revoking its license.

Conclusion

The Court of Appeals bold and erudite decision in Ex parte Hoda Holdings Ltd is a timely lesson for public administrative, adjudicatory and regulatory bodies. Such public entities are created and operate under laws and are mandated to act strictly in accordance with such laws and regulations. Unfortunately, most public officers are oblivious to the huge statutory and regulatory responsibilities that attend their roles as public officials. They act with impunity, often actuated by motives other than the adherence to the rule of law. When they encounter adjudicators who are quick to abdicate their constitutional supervisory functions, the happier they get. But as the saying goes, justice will always prevail, no matter how long it takes.

FOOTNOTES

[1] Republic v Bank of Ghana; Ex parte Hoda Holdings Ltd Civil Appeal No. H1/194/2021, Judgment dated 7th July, 2022, CA (Coram: Suurbaareh, Wood and Bartels-Kodwo, JJA) (unreported)

[2] Suit No. D 16/100/2021 Ruling dated 14th July, 2022, HC, (Commercial Division) (Coram: Nana Yaw Gyamfi Frimpong, J.) (unreported)

[3] Suit No. CM/BDC/0924/2020, Ruling dated 15th July, 2022, HC (Commercial Division) (Coram: Mariama Sammo, J.) (Unreported). The ruling is available at https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/business/Commercial-Court-restrains-GNPC-MoE-from-making-further-gas-payments-to-ENI-Vitol-1586525

[4] The rule that a person to whom a power, trust, or authority is given to act on behalf, or for the benefit of, another, cannot delegate this obligation unless expressly authorized to do so. For instance, an auditor who has been appointed to audit the accounts of a company cannot delegate the task to another unless expressly allowed to do so. If express authorization has not been granted the auditor will have acted ultra vires. Source: https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095708380. Ultra vires means "beyond the powers." It describes actions taken by government bodies or corporations that exceed the scope of power given to them by laws or corporate charters. Source: https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/ultra_vires

[5] Article 141 of the 1992 Constitution. Article 162 (3) of the Constitution provides that "supervisory jurisdiction" includes jurisdiction to issue writs or orders in the nature of habeas corpus, certiorari, mandamus, prohibition and quo warranto. The Supreme Court also exercises supervisory jurisdiction under Article 132 of the Constitution. See also: Section 16 of the Courts Act, 1993 (Act 459). For more background on judicial review, see: Richard B. Turkson, Prerogative writs: An appraisal [1983-86] VOL. XV RGL 87

[6] Bank of Ghana announced that the revocation of Unicredits license was done under Section 123 of the Bank and Specialised Deposit Taking Institutions Act, 2016 (Act 930). It will be recalled that Bank of Ghana declared insolvent and revoked the licenses of 23 institutions by a notice dated 16th August, 2019 and titled NOTICE OF REVOCATION OF LICENCES OF INSOLVENT SAVINGS AND LOANS COMPANIES AND FINANCE HOUSES, AND APPOINTMENT OF A RECEIVER Accra, Ghana. Unicredit Ghana Limited, a company owned by Hoda Holdings Ltd, was one of the affected institutions.
26.07.2022 LISTEN

Delta Air Lines' Flight DL156 scheduled for Sunday, the 24th of July 2022 was supposed to leave the JFK airport at 11:45pm to the KotoKa International Airport (KIA) in Accra. By 10:45pm, passengers including myself had checked in, gone through the necessary immigration protocols, temperature checks and were seated at Gate 39 waiting for boarding.

Then came an announcement at about 11pm from the Delta Air Lines crew of a 45 minutes delay in the flight time. No reasons were given for this delay.

A few minutes after this announcement, some passengers received messages on their phones from Delta Air Lines to the effect that the flight which was initially scheduled for 11:45pm on 24th July has been rescheduled to 3:30pm the next day, 25th July 2022. When some of the passengers queried the Delta crew on duty about this message, they initially denied knowledge and asked for time to seek confirmation from their superiors. This led to heated exchanges between some passengers and the crew.

In the midst of the pandemonium, a second announcement was made by a member of the Delta crew, ostensibly to apologize for and explain the reason for the undue delay.

To our amazement, the delay was not because of any weather or technical hitches but the fact that one of the pilots who was supposed to be on duty had failed to show up on time, hence we were supposed to wait for him. We were assured that boarding was going to commence once the pilot arrived.

A few minutes after the second announcement had succeeded in calming nerves, we saw a member of the Delta crew bring in two uniformed cops, whereupon a third announcement was made by the crew confirming the message some passengers had received on their phones that the flight had been rescheduled to 3:30pm the next day, 25th July 2022.

All passengers were asked to move to another gate for the necessary accommodation arrangements. This we later found out was a lie, as no accommodation arrangements had been made by the company for the passengers. All of us, including children, persons with disabilities and those who had travelled from far places, were left to our own fates to find our own accommodation.

The next day, 25th July 2022, passengers came back to the JFK airport, checked in, and went through immigration and boarding formalities by 3:30pm. After we had all boarded the plane, an announcement was made by the pilot that the flight had to be delayed due to unfavourable weather conditions. It was raining amid lightning at the time, so we could appreciate and relate to the legitimate delay.

After a couple of hours, an announcement was made by the pilot to the effect that the weather had stabilized and that we were ready to take off. After flying for over two hours, another announcement was made by the pilot to our utter dismay and disgust that we were unable to proceed to Accra because of a fuel shortage and that we had to turn back to the JFK airport.

In other words, the pilots took off from the JFK airport to Accra without checking if there was enough fuel in the aircraft, thereby putting the lives of the hundreds of passengers who were on the flight at great risk.

It's a big shame that a reputable international airline like Delta Air Lines will be this irresponsible, unprofessional, negligent and reckless. By the grace of God, we have landed safely at the JFK airport, but that cannot be the end of this matter. We cannot afford to let this matter slide. Some of us are determined to pursue this matter with the appropriate Aviation Authorities in the US and Ghana. It's my hope that those entrusted with the responsibility of acting on such matters will do the needful.

Source: Sammy Gyamfi Esq
I am writing this article as a victim of fraudulent activities of some savings and loans banks in Ghana. These banks advertise widely to attract customers to save with them.

They sell treasury bills 1% or 2% higher than Bank of Ghana rates, making them more attractive than the traditional commercial banks.

I am writing this to educate unsuspecting citizens of Ghana to be careful with savings and loans banks and not to buy their Treasury bills.

With banking cleanup by the Bank of Ghana, customers may think liquidity of these banks is not a problem and their investments will be paid when they mature easily. Alas, this is not the case for some of the savings and loans banks making me to wonder the real outcome of the banking cleanup.

After my treasury bill matured and I indicated through writing giving clear instructions I was not going to roll over, for several months now, calls and emails and even reports to complaints office of Bank of Ghana has not yielded any result.

The bank admitted they have liquidity challenge and begged me to roll over. Meanwhile they still take deposits. This is akin to NAM1 menzgold Ponzi scheme.

The bank in question is Bond savings and loans bank with branches all over Ghana.

Much as its not our intention to run down the bank in question, the innocent public has to be informed to be careful with some of the banks.

The bank of Ghana has to quickly look at recapitalization of the banks and to monitor closely what they do. If drastic action is not taken, trust in the banking sector will drastically diminish.

In conclusion I will be grateful if Bank of Ghana will compel the bank in question to release depositors investments to them.

Thank you.

Worried Depositor
The completion of the construction of the Padma Bridge is a dream comes true for the 170 million people of Bangladesh. It is a unique infrastructural undertaking of the government of Bangladesh led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. It has connected 21 districts of Bangladeshs Southwest region with Dhaka and the rest of the country.

Multilateral connectivity initiatives like the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) railway and economic corridors, South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) transport projects, and Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal Motor Vehicle Agreement (BBIN MVA) will be hugely facilitated by the Padma Bridge. This enhancement in national and regional connectivity will also positively impact inter-regional connectivity. Besides, the improvement of internal connectivity will have impact on the same at regional and inter-regional levels. Inter-regional connectivity initiatives like Asian Highway (AH) and Trans-Asian Railway (TAR) will get a huge boost due to the opening of the Padma bridge for traffic. Consequently, it is apparent that the Padma bridge will contribute significantly to connectivity not just at the national level, but also at the regional and interregional levels.

Inter-regional Connectivity in Asia

Asia, which is located in the Eastern and Northern Hemispheres, is the biggest and most populated continent on Earth. There are five regions in Asia. These include Western Asia, Central Asia, East Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. The geopolitical significance of Asia has been increasing due to the rivalry among great powers and the increasing economic might of Asian countries.

Moreover, the presence of geostrategic locations in the Asian continent has attracted other countries from different regions to Asia. With an emphasis on guaranteeing access to new markets, efficient transportation of goods and services, and energy security, inter-regional connectivity has been a prominent policy goal among the Asian nations. Many unilateral, bilateral, and multilateral initiatives have been taken on a regional and inter-regional basis to improve overall connectivity. Bangladesh as a country in South Asia can be a regional transportation hub given its strategically significant location adjacent to the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean. It connects South Asia and Southeast Asia. Now, with the construction of the Padma bridge, Bangladesh expects to contribute to boosting inter-regional connectivity by complementing existing connectivity projects and beyond.

How Does It Boost Inter-Regional Connectivity?

In the early 1990s, the political and economic shifts of the continent encouraged fresh interest in an Asian Highway network, a concept initially proposed by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia & Pacific (UNESCAP) in 1959. The Asian Land Transport Infrastructure Development Project (ALTIDP) was taken in 1992 with the goal of connecting all the Asian nations through the development of ports, railroads, and highways. The project consists of three pillars and two of them are The Asian Highway (AH) and The Trans-Asian Railway (TAR). The Asian Highway network consists of 144,630 kilometers of highways that connect 32 Asian member nations to Europe. In July 2005, an Intergovernmental Agreement on the Asian Highway Network took effect. On November 8, 2009, Bangladesh officially joined the Asian Highway Network. Bangladesh is traversed by the AH-1, AH-2, and AH-41. The Asian Highway-1 includes the Padma bridge which connects Indias West Bengal to its landlocked northeastern province.

Another connectivity project under the ALTIDP umbrella is the Trans-Asian Railway (TAR). One of three rail land bridges connecting Asia and Europe, Bangladesh is situated on the Trans-Asian Railways Southern Corridor. Three routes in Bangladesh have already been added to the TAR network. However, a new fourth route has been added that would link Bangladesh with Myanmar and China by utilizing the rail route of the Padma bridge.

The BIMSTEC, also known as the "Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation," is a sub-regional grouping encompassing South and Southeast Asian nations, including Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.

The BIMSTEC Transport Infrastructure and Logistics Study (BTILS) was launched in 2005 to identify the problems that were hampering inter-regional connectivity. The study, which was finished in 2008, found 11 marine gateways, 15 airline gateways, 4 rail routes, 14 road routes, and 2 gateways for the inland waterway. Some of them overlap with the TAR and Asian Highway routes. Among fourteen BIMSTEC Road Corridors (BRC), seven road corridors go through Bangladesh. They are BRC-1, BRC-4, BRC-5, BRC-6, BRC-8, BRC-9, and BRC-11. Among them, BRC-1 goes through Kolkata-Petrapole (India)/Benapole (Bangladesh)-Dhaka-Akhaura-Agartala. Here, the Padma bridge will connect Benapole with Dhaka and all the way to Agartala. Besides road corridors, two BIMSTEC proposed rail routes travel through Bangladesh. That is BTILS Route 1 and 3.

Another sub-regional cooperation group is BBIN. BBIN countries signed the BBIN Motor Vehicles Agreement (MVA) for the Regulation of Passenger, Personal and Cargo Vehicular Traffic between Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal on June 15, 2015. Under the BBIN MVA, several routes were identified for passenger vehicles, cargo service, and pipelines. The Padma bridge will help Bangladesh to maximize the utility of its Benapole and Mongla ports which are situated in the southwest part of the country under the BBIN MVA for both passenger and cargo service in relation to India, Bhutan, and Nepal. In the BBIN region, the Padma bridge may potentially serve as a catalyst for the development of sub-regional economic integration. Although Bhutan has pulled out of the deal, other countries have decided to go ahead. But the recent completion of the Padma bridge may encourage Bhutan to rejoin the agreement since mutual advantages are involved there.

BIMSTEC has also taken a 10-year strategy and action plan from 2018 to 2028 which is known as The BIMSTEC Master Plan for Transport Connectivity with the support of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to improve inter-regional connectivity in Asia. The Master Plan lists 267 connectivity development projects totaling $126 billion, which include existing regional initiatives with new ones. In this scenario, the completion of the Padma bridge is definitely a big boost. The Padma Bridge will be utilized in conjunction with these inter-regional projects, along with different South Asian regional initiatives, and other bilateral and trilateral collaborations to enhance overall connectivity.

Concluding Remarks

The Padma bridge has become a source of national pride for Bangladesh and its people. It not only connects the southwestern part of Bangladesh which has been suffering from poverty and underdevelopment for the lack of connectivity but also connects Bangladesh with its regional neighbors. However, this is not enough to improve regional connectivity. Strong political wills and more infrastructural development are also required.

The Bride will improve inter-regional connectivity. It will not only help to bridge the different regions through physical connectivity but also enhance people-to-people interactions among the different nations which will consolidate the Asian identity. Seamless transportation and energy security will be ensured as the Padma bridge will encourage more countries to come forward in order to develop new bilateral, trilateral, and multilateral cooperation with one common goal which is connectivity.

Doreen Chowdhury is a doctoral Researcher at the University of Groningen
26.07.2022 LISTEN

National Builders Corps (NaBCo) (NABCO) Trainees Association of Ghana (NABTAG) is set to meet to demand from the government for trainees to be paid all salary arrears.

The national press conference will be held on Friday, July 29, at the Kumasi Culture Centre in the Ashanti Region.

The leadership of NABTAG with support from trainees will use the conference to express displeasure over the hardship they are going through.

In a statement signed by National President Dennis Opoku Katakyie ahead of the national press conference, he explained that it is to report on the unbearable hardship suffered by trainees due to our unpaid stipends for the past nine (9) months and the silence of government over the permanent employment arrangement.

The statement adds, Our plea has only been that if the consultations are not yet completed, at least our nine (9) months arrears should be paid.

The sort of hardship we are going through is unbearable and having to report to work amidst such distressing situation is too much to cope with.

The national press conference will be held on the back of the announcement by the government that the Nation Builders Corps programme will come to an end on September 1.

This was disclosed by Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta on Monday when he presented the 2022 Mid-Year Budget Review Statement to Parliament.

Mr. Speaker, our iconic National Builders Corps (NaBCo) programme, which was initially to run for three years and extended for an additional year, will be completed by 1st September 2022. The programme which engaged a 100,000 young graduates has prepared thousands of them for the world of work. So far we have invested approximately GH2.2 billion, the Finance Minister told Parliament.

Ken Ofori-Atta continued, As they exit, the current cohort on the programme are encouraged to take advantage of the YouStart initiative and other existing programmes in our drive to build an entrepreneurial nation.
Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - A total of 70 illegal migrants of different African nationalities, who were on board an inflatable boat heading for Europe, were rescued on Monday by Libyan coastguards
Youth Advocates Ghana (YAG) in partnership with United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) have organised a Consultative Workshop to solicit the contribution of young people towards the Youth SDGs Report in support of Ghanas Voluntary National Review (VNR).

The consultative workshop brought young people together to discuss the strategies, opportunities, gaps and linkages in attaining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and how youth participation and inclusion can help achieve the goals.

Speaking at the event, the Executive Director of Youth Advocates Ghana and the Convener of the African Youth SDGs Summit, Emmanuel Ametepey stressed the need for Civil Society organizations (CSOs), Development partners and Government agencies to include the youth in the decision-making process since they are the active and vibrant population whose ideas can accelerate sustainable development.

The VNR is important as it allows us to track our progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals. Youth Advocates Ghana has always been part of the process and is committed to mobilizing the youth to take action based on the principle of leaving no one behind, he added.

Mr Ametepey further urged the youth to leverage opportunities at their disposal for personal growth and contribute meaningfully to achieving development in their communities.

In her remarks, the Planning Analyst at NDPC, Ms Patience Ampomah, encouraged young people to participate in initiatives that will lead to the attainment of the SDGs. She added that the youth report will help identify and address issues affecting the youth and inform targeting of strategies for implementation.

The youth constitute the majority of our population and are the most impacted by our development challenges. Therefore, we must work with them to promote sustainable development.

"The VNR process provides an opportunity for sharing experiences and peer learning among countries and has a unique story to tell with the maiden Youth SDG Report, she added.

On his part, a Program Analyst at United Nations Population Fund, Ishmael Kwasi Selassie, highlighted the need for young people to participate in activities and initiatives that are aimed at addressing development challenges.

The participation of young people is critical to achieving the SDGs. We must continue to help them take up leadership roles and have their voices heard in national development processes. We at UNFPA will continue to support young people to become a better version of themselves and to help their communities grow, stated Selassie.

The Voluntary National Review (VNR), is a process through which countries assess and present national progress made in implementing the 2030 Agenda, including achieving its 17 Sustainable Development Goals and the pledge to leave no one behind.

This years High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) themed Building back better from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) while advancing the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development will review in-depth the SDGs 4, 5, 14, 15 and 17.

Ghana presented on the VNR in 2019 and is presenting for the second time in 2022. Key to this years VNR on Ghana is the complementary addition of the Youth SDGs Report, which will highlight innovative SDG-related interventions and review youth status on the leaving no one behind' principle.
26.07.2022 LISTEN

The President of the Republic of Zambia, His Excellency Hakainde Hichilema has endorsed and thrown his support behind the 5th edition of the African Youth SDGs Summit to be held in Zambia in 2023.

Zambia won the bid to host the 5th edition, and the summit will be coordinated locally by the Alliance for Accountability Advocates Zambia (AAAZ), United Nations Zambia with Youth Advocates Ghana (YAG), being the key organizer and convener of the summit.

In a brief remark by President Hakainde Hichilema, he commended the young people of Zambia for their commitment and hard work in ensuring the summit comes to Zambia.

"Congratulations to our young people at the Alliance for Accountability Advocates Zambia (AAAZ) for winning the bid to host the 5th African Youth SDGs Summit 2023, here in Lusaka, Zambia.

This event is the largest youth forum on SDGs and it is crucial in enlisting the active participation of young people in the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals", he noted.

H.E President also expresses the readiness of leadership to listen to the concerns and ideas of young people towards accelerating sustainable development in the continent.

"We are here, we are listening and we look forward to engaging on key outcomes and recommendations for implementation", he added.

On his part, the convener of the African Youth SDGs Summit and the Executive Director of YAG, Emmanuel Ametepey said Thank you, your Excellency and congratulations to you and the good people of Zambia. We look forward to working with you and your high office on this great summit.

The Executive Director of AAAZ also added thank you, President. We are excited to bring the African Youth SDGs Summit home to foster peer learning and collaboration amongst young people across the continent.

The SDG summit, the largest youth platform for SDGs in Africa is an annual gathering of young people, private sectors, development practitioners government, the After Rican Union and United Nations entities to come together to collaborate and build synergies to address Africas most pressing issues affecting the continent.

The Summit seeks to advocate for strong youth participation in decisions that affects their lives, it also improves awareness and knowledge among the youth about the SDGs and their roles in the review, implementation and accountability process.

Starting in 2017, the first three editions were held in Accra, Ghana, the fourth edition was held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and the fifth edition is set to happen in Lusaka, Zambia.
To a significant part, Ghanas domestic tax revenue mobilisation system is analogous to fetching water into a basket of holes. It is unfortunate how Ghana can lose $2 billion to revenue leakages in 2020 alone, according to the Auditor Generals Department, and be seeking almost an equivalent amount in an IMF bailout barely two years later. In a cross-country study by Robert Dauda Korsu for ECOWAS countries in 2021, Ghanas average tax revenue leakage to GDP from 2001 to 2015 was quantified at 1.7%. At 1.7% of GDP, Ghanas tax revenue losses due to revenue loopholes is higher than the average contributions of the fishing sector, forestry and logging sector, electricity, water and sewage sectors, professional, administrative, and support service activities sectors over the period from 2001 - 2015.

More compelling is how tax revenue leakages have affected our domestic balances over the years. Based on data from the Bank of Ghana and tax leakage estimates by Korsu (2021), the Research, Policy and Advocacy Unit of the African Graduate Economic Network for Students International (AGENTS Intl) analyzed the impact of the tax leakage on Ghanas domestic primary balances to real GDP from 2001 - 2015. The extent of domestic primary deficits incurred, which could have been avoided by addressing tax revenue leakages, is summarized in the figure below.

Source: Prepared by the Research, Policy and Advocacy Unit of AGENTS Intl, 2022

From the graph, the lower (black) line graph represents the actual domestic primary balances to real GDP in the presence of tax leakages. The green line shows the improvement in our domestic primary balances if tax revenue loopholes are addressed. The gap between the line graphs shows the average tax revenue leakages to real GDP from 2001 to 2015. It is striking to realize that Ghana would have recorded only a single deficit (i.e., about 0.5% in 2008) in the absence of tax leakages. This emphasizes the deleterious impact of revenue leakages on our revenue mobilization efforts.

According to the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS), Ghanas domestic revenue to GDP ratio remains far below its sub-Saharan African peers (IFS, 2018). This suggests a gap between the optimum tax revenue that could be collected given the countrys economic and structural characteristics and what is being collected hence leakages in the tax system. This leakage mainly comprises tax avoidance, evasion, and corruption (Vicente, 2006). As noted by Ghanas current president and verified empirically, a significant culprit is tax avoidance (our tax exemption regime).

To a large extent, in Ghana, our tax exemption regime is politically driven in favour of political biases. The President, in 2019, condemned the nature of our tax exemption regime even though the regime change he promised has not materialized yet. A report published by the IFS suggests that while in 2016, the Ministry of Finance intensified its oversight to limit the use of special permits which exempt imports from Customs duties and VAT, total exemptions stood at GH2.26 billion at the end of the year; a 10% increase from the previous years exemptions of GH2.06 billion. In 2017, total tax exemptions amounted to GH2.57 billion, representing nearly half (47%) of the total import duty collected for the year. In his State of the Nation address before Parliament in February 2019, just like in 2017, the President said, if we continue at this rate, in less than sixteen years, half of Ghanas revenue base will be given away as tax exemptions. However, in February 2022 alone, the government moved to grant tax exemptions to the tune of US$100 million.

While there are other drivers of our tax revenue leakages, such as corruption and tax evasions, the solution begins with leadership by example. Sustaining an arbitrary tax exemption regime that is less subject to scrutiny while seeking to introduce new taxes or broadening the base of existing ones only dampens willingness to pay. On this note, we are happy that Ghanas Parliament has finally passed the tax exemptions bill awaiting assent from the President. When assented by the President, this law will be crucial in determining the practicality of the exemptions, engendering transparency, and promoting goodwill for tax payment and nation-building.

By: Lawrence Agyepong

MPhil Economics, University of Ghana

Fellow, AGENTS International

Email: [email protected]

July 25, 2022
The hullabaloo over the late Prof. Evans Atta Mills 10th anniversary is taking another dimension, especially the one on the brown apparel his monumental statue was presented in.

The issue of the brown attire was raised by the Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, during a press conference in Parliament on Monday, July 25, monitored by this portal.

The Tamale Central legislator asserted that the late President never wore brown attire in his lifetime.

"In any case, I never even saw Professor Mills in that kind of brown attire," he stated.

In reaction, the Founder and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Atta Mills Institute, Koku Anyidoho who was always glued to the late President at the Castle and during public appearances has dug out a picture of the late President 'wearing' what he called a 'brown political suit.'

In a post on his Twitter handle today, Tuesday, July 26 cited by Modernghana News, he captioned the picture, "Is this not President Atta-Mills in a brown political suit?"

The Minority Leader also raised concerns regarding the omission of the name of the late President on the bust  instructing government to correct it immediately.

You should indicate the name of the person the bust represents and not who it was unveiled by and or who supported it. They should replace those inscriptions with the late Presidents name immediately; it's just unacceptable.

We would have gone straight there to correct it ourselves if not for his (Atta Mills) peaceful nature. People who come to Asomdwoe Park must know who the bust represents, the Minority Leader asserted.
26.07.2022 LISTEN

Ghana's national economy's structure, institutions and systems are the critical drivers impeding the country's socio-economic progress. Anything else than fixing this fundamental issue, it may be argued, will only provide an artificial solution to our challenges.

I vividly recall Nana Akufo Addo (as he then was) in delivering his keynote address at the 3rd Business Law Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) on March 26, 2008, in Abuja, touchingly stated that the "foundation of business is the existence of strong and independent institutions". A year later, President Barack Obama (as he then was) reinforced this belief by stating that "Africa needs strong institutions and not strongmen".

Recently, the Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, echoed similar thoughts during the unveiling of the Ghana Electronic Pharmacy Platform (ePharmacy), stating, among other things, that ...ultimately, we must all remember that you cannot transform an economy with just brick and mortar. You can only transform an economy with ideas, systems, and institutions."

The arguments being canvassed by these great leaders of our generation recognise the fundamental abnormality with the way nations in our region of the globe have endeavoured to paddle the path of their national progress on the back of weaker institutions and systems. Dr Bawumia's grasp of the situation has been consistent with his advocacy and clarity of vision in fixing this fundamental issue. As far as I can tell, his approach to dealing with problems stems from confronting them from the bottom up, through a comprehensive root cause analysis.

Dr Bawumia has made genuinely ambitious efforts over the years to redefine and unlock our economy using digitalization to strengthen our institutions and systems in building a new Ghana deserving of the title "Gateway to Africa." He is a man of uncommon ideas, and his leadership and expertise are rightfully required for our country's next major agenda.

Arguably, the most prominent strategy to solve structural flaws in our institutions and systems is to limit their human interface and formalise them with the use of innovative technologies through a well-structured digitalization framework. While digitalization strengthens our institutions and systems, it also simplifies life for all Ghanaians.

We may build effective institutions and systems by increasing productivity-output, eliminating bureaucratic bottlenecks, deepening efficiency, and confronting corruption. Effectively, no country has scaled monumental growth with weaker institutions and systems. Thus, bricks and mortar are by no means sufficient to spur economic growth and must be balanced by strong institutions and systems that lend impetus to the nation's capacity.

My days in the United Kingdom while studying for my postgraduate degree has taught me directly how institutions and systems improve not just the economy but also people's lives. As a people, we are ready to engage in comparative analysis with many developed nations. However, we have lost sight of the fact that the difference between them and us, however, lies in the robustness of their institutions and systems.

Imagine a Ghana where individuals do not have to queue at an institution to register their businesses but do so remotely from the comfort of their homes. Imagine a Ghana where every Metropolitan/Municipal/District assembly, from the comfort of their offices, can identify every single building in their catchment area. Imagine a Ghana in which every individual's biometric data is stored in a single database. Imagine a Ghana in which the state has access to every individual's record through an integrated database. Imagine a Ghana where you don't need a senior state official to help you get certain official work done. Some of these and other benefits are possible if we enhance our institutions and systems to match global standards.

Dr Mahamudu Bawumia arguably has been a champion of this systematic transformational strategy. We must collectively embrace this effort since the 4th revolution is here to stay! Despite some early accomplishments in Dr Bawumia's purposeful endeavour, his critics have not ceased misrepresenting and attacking his person. These criticisms, particularly those accusing him of abandoning the economy, might be the result of genuine misunderstanding or a deliberate ploy. They fail to recognise that national economic prosperity cannot be sustained in the absence of stronger institutions and systems.

I am inspired by Dr Mahamudu Bawumia's understanding of the fundamental challenges confronting our country and his unwavering fidelity to solving them from the bottom-up. As a leader, serving under President Akufo Addo, as his second in command, he has demonstrated wit and grit when faced with deep-rooted challenges that might daunt others. Therefore, Dr Bawumia will require the executive authority in the next phase to make the necessary reforms that will realise our founding fathers' dream of creating prosperity for all.

I am sincerely hopeful that the NPP and the rest of Ghanaians would be able to read between the lines when the time comes to make that important decision of who leads them. Our collective destinies hang on our choice.--

Chief Obosu Mohammed

LL.M MA ACIarb LL.B DPA

[email protected]

26/07/2022
The Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) Foundation has commissioned a 3-Unit Classroom Block for Tebrebe M/A Basic school in the Tarkwa-Nsuaem Municipality of the Western Region.

At a short ceremony to hand over the facility, the Executive Director of the Foundation, Dr. Dominic Eduah, said the facility is one of 141 classroom blocks funded by GNPC in several communities across the country under its School Infrastructure Project with the aim of supporting schools in dire need of such infrastructure to enhance the quality of teaching and learning.

Highlighting the Foundations interventions in the Tarkwa municipality, Dr. Eduah recounted other GNPC intervention programs to include a 3-Unit Classroom Block and an Astroturf at Dompim, a community market at Adieye, and a 3-Unit Classroom block at Wassa Simpa.

Nana Kwadwo Mina II Chief of Teberebie, on behalf of his people thanked GNPC for its investments in education across the country from which his community has benefited. He said the intervention is one that would mitigate a major challenge the school faces with overcrowding and its attendant pressure on existing infrastructure.

He, However, took the opportunity to further request that the Foundation helps with the establishment of an Information Communication Technology, ICT Centre for the school to lessen their current burden of serving over 500 pupils with just 5 computers.

MCE, Hon. Kesse, extolled GNPCs role as a developmental partner at both the national and local community levels and encouraged other organizations to emulate same.

On his part, the Municipal Director of Education, Mr. Aggrey Forson thanked GNPC for heeding to the communitys call for support with the provision of the classroom block and urged the pupils to keep the facility clean at all times.

He further assured GNPC that the facility will be used for its intended purpose of enhancing teaching and learning and that his outfit would ensure the facility is maintained to serve the community for as long as it should.

The new 3-Unit Classroom block is fully furnished with tables and chairs, whiteboards, and has a staff common room and a store room.

Dignitaries present at the function included the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tarkwa-Nsuaem Hon. George Mireku Duker, the Chief of Tebrebie, Nana Kwadwo Mina II and the Municipal Director of Education.
26.07.2022 LISTEN

The President of Breast Care International (BCI), Dr Mrs Beatrice Wiafe Addai has appealed to men to avail themselves to be educated in breast cancer control in Ghana.

She said men's words are highly respected by women so they will be in a better position to advise and encourage women on disease control after acquiring knowledge about the disease.

This, she added, will demystify the misconception among women that breast cancer is caused by witchcraft and seek early treatment if diagnosed with the disease to prevent needless deaths.

Dr Mrs Beatrice Wiafe Addai, who is also the CEO of Peace and Love Hospitals in Kumasi and Accra, made the appeal at the Assemblies of God Church of Ghana (A/G) Mens Ministry National Convention at Pakyi in the Amansie West District in the Ashanti region, on Friday, July 22, 2022.

The annual Mens Ministry Convention was held from July 21 to 24 under the theme O Lord Revive Thy Work.

Speaking to the participants under the theme Role of Men in Breast Cancer Control, Dr Mrs Wiafe Addai noted that if men avail themselves to be educated on breast cancer, they will be well informed to make good decisions when dealing with breast cancer at home.

Some men do not encourage their women to go through the breast cancer treatments, either by surgery or chemotherapy, for the fear of its adverse effects of losing hair or breast. So when they have the knowledge on the disease, they will be able to advise and encourage them for treatment.

If they understand and engage in breast cancer control education, it will reduce women who are dying prematurely and needlessly by resorting to traditional medicines and prayer camps, the consultant surgeon stated.

Dr Mrs Beatrice Wiafe Addai who is also the chair of the Ghana Non-Communicable Diseases Alliance advised men to regularly go for medical checkups on hypertension, diabetes and prostate cancer to inform them on how to live their lives in a healthy manner.

The General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God Church of Ghana (A/G), Prof Rev Paul Frimpong-Manso, on behalf of the church appreciated the works of Dr Mrs Beatrice Wiafe Addai in the campaign against breast cancer in Africa.

Prof Rev Paul Frimpong-Manso also encourage men to take bold steps in advising women to strictly seek medical attention in dealing with breast cancer to avoid resorting to prayer camps for treatments.
Salam Alaikum Dr. Bawumia,

Its your Kamara brother from Laribanga. I bring you greetings from the great mountains of Laribanga. I wish you well in your political exploits.

Sir, I just read on your Facebook page where I saw a picture depicting that you came to Savannah Region specifically, to Debre to cut sod for the Debre inland port project to commence. If I were mischievous, I would have ask you a question as to how many inland ports that we can equate to one Ghana card, but because I am a pessimist, and one who knows the value of economic infrastructure, I would allow that question to slide.

Your Excellency, I know how tough it is for you in these times. The case that you have run down the economy with your unrealistic policies, recklessness and conspicuous incompetence, coupled with the fact that your NPP members are using this as a card to foil your Presidential ambition, one should expect this amount of desperation in you. So, it is understood that you want to prove a point and to be seen working when in actual fact, it is business as usual; deception! deception! deception!

Mr. Vice President, I want to remind you and your boss of the outstanding arrears of promises and projects in Savannah Region you either cut sod for or emphatically promised they were going to be executed within some time frame.

To begin with, in 2018, right at the instance of the Yagbonwura, you, Dr Bawumia, made a promise that the Damongo water project was going to start that same year, but it was going to preceded with some 10 mechanized boreholes to abate the impact of the acute water shortage in Damongo township. That promise is over 5 years now. If it were a child, he/she would have been preparing for Primary 1 next academic year.

Following closely to this, your boss himself, President Nana Addo on 29th July, 2020, came to cut sod for the so called Damongo water project at the Damongo town park. He did so without any contractor on site and no specified timelines were given. The current MP for Damomgo Constituency, Hon Samuel Abu Jinapor followed up with plenty promises with different quotations to cover for the deceit. Its been two years now and the people of Damongo are still struggling for water.

The President in the process, indicated among others that his government had secured $49m from the UK Export Finance and Deutsche Bank AG for the project. He said the project will serve all communities from Yapei Yipala through all the other communities along the Fufulso-Damongo-Sawla road. He assured the people of Damongo and other supposed beneficiary communities that the project was going to start in 2020. Its been two years now, there is no show and we are aware your government is going to camouflage us again once its getting closer to elections.

As if that was not enough, exactly two months after the sod cutting for the Damongo Water project, precisely on the 24th September 2020, you, Mr Vice President, came to inaugurate the Savannah Regional House of Chiefs and in the process, you also cut sod for the commencement of work on the so-called Savannah Regional House of Chiefs. Mr Vice President, not even a single block has been laid for the said project. While cutting the sod, you indicated that your govt within three years of being in office had initiated 785 projects for Savannah Region alone and had at the time completed 630 of them. You people like playing with numbers too much.

Again, at the 45th Gonjaland Youth Congress in Bole, specifically on the 6th of April, 2021, you, Mr Vice President, looked in the faces of the chiefs and people of Gonjaland and promised that the Daboya bridge project was going to commence that year. In fact, you said it was going to start around August of 2021. Interestingly, the following year (2022), you dodged the annual Gonjaland Youth Congress in Daboya partly because you didnt know what to tell the people of Daboya again after a year had passed without any show of work on the bridge.

As part of the competition for deceit between the Vice President, Dr Bawumia and his boss, President Nana Addo, the latter on the 3rd of February 2020, promised the good people of the East Gonja and North East Gonja that the 138km Tamale-Salaga-Mankango road was going to be complete in 18 months beginning February 2020. If my maths is right, I think we are in the 30th month the project is still there without any show. In fact, that road is still one of the worse roads during rainy days. Still at the same event in Kpalbe, the President promised the people of North East Gonja the following:

A District Hospital at Kpalbe A Senior High Scool A small town water project

All the above named have seen no show after 30 months.

In the midst of this deceit, most projects that H.E John Mahama initiated have been abandoned or executed in a slow pace. The 60 bed Salaga Hospital, the teacher training college in Bole, the Busunu-Daboya road project, the E-block at KPalbe, the Mpaha-Debre road and a host of others.

So, Mr Vice President, the people of Gonjaland are not enthused with empty sod cutting any longer when similar others you did in the past have not seen a light of day. As said in the Gonja parlance, when the cattle that went grazing in the morning have not returned, there is no reason to send more for grazing. We know this is one of your schemes to be seen working so that your ratings will scale up small in your party, but we know you very well. We are tired of the numerous sod cuttings Mr Vice President. Elections are getting closer and has ushered in the well packaged deceits once more. Enough is enough.

Thank you.

From Issifu Seidu Kudus Gbeadese

(Youth Imam).

0244198031
Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta has said the Akufo-Addo government not only has the competence to fix the economic crisis but also God on its side to sail through any storm that fights against his government.

In his mid-year review to parliament on Monday, 25 July 2022, Mr Ofori-Atta said: Mr Speaker, we are even more confident of an imminent break-through because we have a track record, a plan, the discipline, the dedication, the competence as well as the compassion for our people and country.

But most of all, we have God, who gives abiding grace for this new journey, he added.

He guided the Akufo-Addo government to successfully exit an IMF programme in 2019. He will, again, use this government to successfully go through this programme, Mr Ofori-Atta noted.

He said: We will chart a sustainable course that will restore and improve macroeconomic stability, energise and expand economic activity, create jobs and strengthen Ghanas structural resilience to future external shocks, he added.

The minister said: I serve a President who has shown, by his deeds, that he is deeply committed to the welfare of the masses of this country.

Ours is also a government that is not afraid to make hard choices for the good of our country. I want to appeal to Ghanaians to keep faith with the President and his team, he implored.

We know things are tough now. But we have a plan and the will to drive it, Mr Ofori-Atta assured the legislature.

I want this House to do exactly what it did in the earlier crisis of 2020; support us in our bid to reduce the impact of this global crisis on the nation and to tackle the vulnerabilities in our economy that make us prone to such shocks.

The President wants this sovereign House to be a strategic partner in governments efforts to stabilise the economy and spur growth to create jobs.

Ours is a proud history of finding solutions to our countrys issues. We have done it before and we will do it again, and with the help of this House and the support of the good people of Ghana we shall come out of this stronger. As we claim, the Lords promise in Joel 2 to send his people corn, wine and oil to satisfy us and eliminate reproach, he added.

In this journey, we must eschew pessimism that takes invaluable energy away from our forward march to transformation. As one people, we must speak the same language of patriotism to guarantee our own collective success - for a united country will have no restraint but victory.

Mr Speaker, I am thankful for the opportunity to be here to outline our programmes. I am grateful that we continue to engage and find sustainable solutions to our challenges.

Source: Classfmonline.com
Burkina Faso's former president Blaise Compaore, sentenced in absentia to life in jail for the 1987 assassination of revolutionary icon Thomas Sankara, apologised to the ex-leader's family on Tuesday.

"I ask the Burkinabe people for forgiveness for all the acts I may have committed during my tenure, and especially the family of my brother and friend Thomas Sankara," he said in a message read out by government spokesman Lionel Bilgo.

Compaore seized power in the West African nation in a 1987 coup that toppled and killed serving leader Sankara.

A Burkina court handed him a life term in absentia in April for his role in the assassination.

"I take responsibility for, and regret from the bottom of my heart, all the suffering and tragedies experienced by all victims during my terms as leader of the country and ask their families to grant me their forgiveness," he added.

Compaore, 71, has been living in exile in neighbouring Ivory Coast since being ousted from power by mass protests in 2014.

He returned to Burkina Faso for several days this month, without facing arrest, after the country's military leader Lieutenant Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba invited him in the name of "national reconciliation".

Compaore, pictured at the presidential palace in Ouagadougou on July 8, during his brief return to the country. By OLYMPIA DE MAISMONT (AFP)

The visit sparked an outcry among civil society groups and political parties, who said uniting the nation should not come at the expense of impunity.

Compaore expressed his "deep gratitude" to Burkina Faso's military-dominated transitional government.

He called on his compatriots to join "a sacred union, tolerance, moderation, but above all forgiveness so that the national interest prevails".

A fiery Marxist-Leninist who blasted the West for neo-colonialism and hypocrisy, Sankara was gunned down by a hit squad on October 15, 1987, little more than four years after coming to power as an army captain aged just 33.

Damiba took power in a January coup that ousted former president Roch Marc Christian Kabore, amid widespread anger at the government's failure to deal with a bloody jihadist insurgency that spread from neighbouring Mali in 2015.
Tunis, Tunisia (PANA) - Preliminary results of the referendum held on Monday in Tunisia on the new Constitution proposed by President Kais Saied are expected on Tuesday evening, according to the president of the electoral body
The number of people who keep fleeing Burkina Faso to Ghana keeps increasing due to the terrorist attack on the border between that country and Ghana in the Upper East Region, the District Chief Executive (DCE) for Binduri, Ayinga Abagre Yakubu, has revealed.

This, according to Mr Abagre Yakubu is after the recent terrorist attack in Konoku Township which claimed two lives, a Ghanaian man and a Burkinabe, on July 13, 2022.

He made the revelations in an interview with 3FM's Sunrise on Tuesday, July 26, 2022, hosted by Alfred Ocansey.

The man, whose name was given as Berinyale had three wives and thirteen children and he lived in Burkina Faso town of Konoku as a farmer with his three wives and thirteen children, according to the DCE.

The DCE said, as at the last time the District Security Council checked, about 1,072 people have crossed from Burkina Faso to Ghana and they keep crossing.

The numbers of people who flee to Ghana keep increasing. It's a community that shares border with Ghana and the terrorist attack occurred on 13th July. It is the White Volta that separates Ghana and Burkina Faso so most of the farmers cross the river to Burkina to farm and return to Ghana-Binduri, he said.

Mr. Abagre Yakubu explained that the man is living in a community in Burkina called Konoku.

The man has three wives and 13 children who live in Konoku, a community in Burkina that shares a border with Ghana.

The DCE said now, they [13 children and three wives] have come to join their families in Ghana-Binduri the man has brothers who are living in Binduri.

Accommodation challenges

Mr. Abagre Yakubu said, the Ghana Immigration Service has given them [1,072) people who fled to Ghana accommodationthe military keep patrolling the border, but they have limited accommodation.

The numbers are actually big and so some of them sleep at the mercy of the weather while others sleep under mosquito nets. The health director has been able to provide mosquito nets but it is the accommodation that is a challenge now.

He explained that some are now refugees because they are Burkinabe while others are not because they are Ghanaians who settled in Burkina for farming purposes and they are back as a result of the terrorists' attacks.

---3news.com
A 30-YEAR old Nigerian resident in Ghana has been stabbed with a broken bottle by his fellow countryman.

The injured, identified by the Bekwai Police as Prince Eze Jiofor, bled profusely after the incident.

He is currently responding to treatment at the Bekwai Municipal Hospital.

Meanwhile, the security agents are making frantic efforts to help apprehend Benjamin Eze, the key suspect in the case, who according to reports, bolted after he had committed the crime.

A Bekwai police report, seen by the paper, which confirmed the incident, disclosed that the incident happened around 2:30am on July 12, 2022 at Bekwai in the Ashanti Region.

A misunderstanding between the two foreigners, who are both living in the country, suddenly turned bloody, leading to Benjamin stabbing Prince in the thigh and chest areas with the broken bottle.

On 12/7/22 at 0250 hours a Nigerian Prince Eze Jiofor, 30, Bekwai with two deep cut on his left chest and a deep cut on his right thigh with blood oozing from it, reported that same day at about 0230 hours one Benjamin Eze also a Nigerian, 23, stabbed him with a broken 8pm bottle at Asokwa-Bekwai.

Victim was rushed to the Bekwai Municipal hospital and was issued with police medical report for medical officers endorsement, part of the police report disclosed.

It also said The victim is currently on admission at the surgical ward of the said hospital responding well to treatment.

---DGN online
Mrs. Nuhela Seidu Ablakwa, the wife of the Member of Parliament (MP) for the North Tongu constituency, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has completed a degree course from the University of California, Berkeley.

Mrs. Nuhela graduated with an LL.M. Degree and two certificates of specialization in Business Law and Intellectual Property Law.

Hon. Ablakwa, via a tweet today, Tuesday, July 26, spotted by Modernghana News, congratulated his wife and encouraged her to keep inspiring their little daughter with her intelligence.

Congratulations to my dearest & ever adorable Nuhela on her graduation from #UCBerkeley where she earned an LL.M. Degree & two certificates of specialisation in Business Law & Intellectual Property Law. I couldnt be prouder, babes.

"Keep inspiring our amazing daughter, his congratulatory tweet reads.

Nuhela has more than ten years of radio and television experience.

She hosts law-sensitization programs on a variety of media platforms, focusing on citizens' legal rights and obligations in everyday life.

She began her career with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Political Science from the University of Ghana, Legon.

She also holds an LLB from the University of Ghana and went on to the Ghana School of Law, where she earned her BL and was admitted to the Ghana Bar.

She also has a Master's Degree in Marketing Strategy and a Chartered Institute of Arbitrators Certificate in Arbitration.
French President Emmanuel Macron arrived late Monday in Cameroon at the start of a three-nation tour of western Africa. He will also visit Benin and Guinea-Bissau in an effort to renew French relations with the African continent. The papers in Yaounde are not sure what to make of it all.

The front page of the French-language daily, Realities, sums up the confusion.

At the top of the page, there's a call from Labour Minister Gregoire Owono, directed at what the minister calls "activists and opponents" of the French presidential visit. Owono tells them they are motivated by jalousy and should stop.

Below that, there's an article in which the opposition UPC declare themselves united behind long-time President Paul Biya, and call on him to use the meeting with the French leader to underline Cameroonian sovereignty and to call for a new policy which will be to the benefit of all Africans.

Which may be expecting a bit much from a short visit.

War between France and Cameroon

Clement Boursin, the African director of Cristian Action for the Abolition of Torture, is on the front page ofLe Jour. He says "Macron should talk about the war being waged between Cameroon and France".

In fact, the headline is confusing because the tense is wrong. What Clement Boursin seems to be talking about (and I base this on a collective article in today's Paris-based Le Monde) is the "colonial and neocolonial war which France has waged, censored and denied for the past 60 years".

Will Emmanuel Macron be the first president to officially recognise that conflict," the writers wonder, "and end one of the great post-war French taboos?"

The Guardian Post carries a main headline message from Cameroon's main opposition party, the Social Democratic Front.

"As Macron comes visiting," we read, "SDF urges France to apologise, compensate for pre-independance era atrocities".

A warning

And the bottom of the same Guardian Post front page has a worrying message from the spririt realm, with a story in which a "Prominent Prophet" warns that the visit of the French leader spells doom for certain "barons of the ruling Cameroon People's Democratic Movement".

The weekly paper Signatures, which promises to "Observe clearly, relate coldly", says Emmanuel Macron is an unwilling visitor to Cameroon.

The president comes to Yaounde in "a position of weakness", the weekly paper claims, "in an effort to save what can be saved of French interests in Cameroon, interests which are being relentlessly whittled away.

"He's here because he's afraid," Signatures coldly and clearly asserts.

More down-to-earth, the business daily Economy, says the two leaders will need to discuss the war in Ukraine and the impact that conflict continues to have on grain supplies to Africa.

Blaming the French

The weekly Diapason warns the "Macron is plunging into troubled waters" with this visit.

"There is a general anti-French feeling," the paper says, and that is based on the fact that Cameroon is "drowning in a series of security, health and economic crises." Blame the French.

The front page of a special edition of Cameroon Today carries a grim warning for the French leader: "Our ghosts say you are not welcome, Mr President".

The ghosts are the heroes of the fight for independence, people like Felix Moumie and Amadou Ahidjo, victims, according to the weekly paper, of French brutality in the "dark hours" of recent Cameroonian history.

Africa, says Cameroon Today, is running out of patience with France, a country which is clearly losing its aura of influence on the world stage. A presidential mea culpa won't put everything right, but it would be a step in the right direction.
26.07.2022 LISTEN

The lifeless body of a young man has been discovered in an uncompleted building at Buokrom, a suburb of Kumasi in the Ashanti Region.

The body of the deceased who was identified as Kwabena Atuahene body was found decomposed.

The incident has sparked fear among residents in the area with many suspecting foul play in the death of the young man.

Eyewitness in an interview with this reporter said the lifeless body came to their attention on Monday July 26, at about 4:00 pm due to the strong odour emanating from the building.

"A carpenter who has been tasked to work in the building saw the body on Monday. We immediately called the police to assist us in this situation because most of us were in fear," a resident said.

The body of the deceased according to residents has been conveyed to the hospital by police in the area.
A protest in Johannesburg against the lack of service delivery or basic necessities such as access to water and electricity. - Source: Photo by Marco Longari / AFP via Getty images

26.07.2022 LISTEN

Former South African President Thabo Mbeki recently launched a sharp critique of the governing African National Congress (ANC) for failure to address what it has labelled the triple challenge of poverty, unemployment and inequality.

Mbeki, who led the party from 1997 to 2007 , said the government seemed to have no plan to address these problems, warning that rising poverty and hardship, poor governance, and mounting lawlessness could see South Africa erupt into its own version of the  Arab Spring .

The Arab Spring uprisings which swept across North Africa and parts of the Middle East more than a decade ago, led to the overthrow of authoritarian regimes in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya. Many of the protesters were young and educated and had become disillusioned by the corruption and patronage that benefited only political and economic elites.

A common feature of these uprisings was that the existing constitutional orders had become so delegitimised that they simply collapsed under the weight of social discord.

Read more: South Africa's deadly July 2021 riots may recur if there's no change

Mbeki's prophesy is sobering, especially coming a year after devastating riots in parts of the country in July 2021. With the plotters of what President Cyril Ramaphosa described as a failed insurrection still at large, many South Africans nervously await a repeat.

Political parties, trade unions, business, civil society groups all realise that South Africa is a pressure cooker. But the youth have shown little interest in organised politics. Their low participation rates in elections are a sign of that. There is a sense that something needs to change quickly, and radically. If not, the youth could explode in impatience and anger, a tsunami that even political parties will find difficult to contain.

Ramaphosa's plan to avert chaos

President Ramaphosa used a public platform to respond to Mbeki's criticism, almost a week later. Addressing the closing session of the ANC KwaZulu-Natal electoral conference he pointed out that the government did have a reform agenda to address these problems. He cited the unwieldy National Development Plan , government's formal blueprint for achieving its long term goals, and the ANC's own 2019 election manifesto as the plan.

Some of the priorities identified have since been translated into the government's Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan , which aims to change the asset and resource base of the economy by making the ownership structure more inclusive.

Tellingly, the president referred to these measures as reforms, language that invokes the idea of incremental change. But such initiatives sound distant and removed from what is needed.

What people want to see is visible change in their daily lives, and more imagination on the part of their government in relieving their hardships. The R350 (about US$20.72) monthly grant to unemployed people during the COVID pandemic was a tangible response to the crisis that families facing starvation needed. Similar scaled-up measures to deal with the multiple crises are needed, and there is no time to waste.

Read more: What lies behind social unrest in South Africa, and what might be done about it

Something needs to be done urgently to address a host of big challenges, ranging from the high cost of living to soaring fuel prices , and inadequate provision of basic municipal services .

Bored youth, with limited opportunities for work and gaining skills, get sucked into drugs or alcohol abuse, petty crime or worse.

Possible trajectories

Given the picture I have painted, is an Arab Spring likely?

It is impossible to make an accurate prediction, but two trajectories are plausible.

One is a repeat of last July's devastating unrest . The failure of the state to respond decisively to the July unrest could encourage politically inspired anarchists to resort to violence again if they don't get their way. They have tested the waters and seen what's possible. And given that people remain frustrated about their lives, the country could see another outbreak of violence.

Another trajectory is the one in which lawlessness increases even further. Transnational organised crime networks and local gangs are becoming increasingly brazen . The police are overstretched and gripped by their own internal problems. This breakdown in respect for the law by criminals has the effect of eroding the legitimacy and authority of the state.

Extortion, protection rackets, kidnappings, drive-by shootings, if they are allowed to encroach unchecked, will result in criminal networks being even more of a destabilising factor than political actors. A convergence of these elements  a South Africa where disgruntled elements engage in ongoing destabilisation, and collude with, or even unwittingly create the space for criminal networks to run amok  does not augur well for a prosperous nation.

Mitigating factors

Uprisings like those that occurred in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya, were the result of combustible local conditions, triggered by a small spark. People were railing against political systems they saw as authoritarian and intolerant of dissent.

South Africa is still a very different political space. The country is a noisy democracy with a free and open media, lots of dissenting voices, and insulting the government of the day doesn't carry any overt sanction.

It could be a blessing in disguise that the country is perpetually in election mode. The local government elections and national general elections occur every five years. Because they overlap each other, the country has an election every three years.

In between these events, political parties hold their own leadership contests, which serve as bellwethers for who is likely to occupy national office or local government seat. This ongoing extra- and intra-political competition serves as a pressure valve to absorb the energy that might otherwise bubble over.

Read more: South Africa's political risk profile has gone up a few notches: but it's not yet a failed state

Political assassinations, especially at the local level , are a pernicious by-product of this endless electoral churn. But the prospects of attaining office through outwitting, or ganging up with rivals, are still sufficiently attractive to the political classes.

This is not to deny that destabilisation is not widespread, something referred to by Ramaphosa when he addressed the nation on broadcast media on Monday 25 July . Sabotage of electrical infrastructure, illegal connections by community members, theft of cables by organised criminals might not necessarily be centrally orchestrated. Nevertheless, they delegitimise the authority of the central state.

Already, many young people engage in protest action. So-called service delivery protests are part of the South African experience: for the moment they remain largely localised and driven by single issues. Just five years ago, student protests through the #FeesMustFall movement saw activism on a national scale. The national mood changed; politics changed. Some of those young activists are now in parliament, in local government, and other spaces.

But they account for a small minority. There is a vast, restless sea of young people with unmet dreams and aspirations. They wake up to lives of poverty, joblessness, boredom. They see little change, and perceive the state to be indifferent to their plight.

Yet these same young people are energetic, connected via social media, and bursting to claim their space. Some are fortunate to come by opportunities, but for those from poor families, there is not much to persuade them that their lives are about to get better. Therein lies the challenge to political parties and the state.

Sandy Africa 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 Sandy Africa, Associate Professor, Political Sciences, and Deputy Dean Teaching and Learning (Humanities), University of Pretoria
Omanhene Kwabena Asante, a well-known broadcast journalist with Accra-based Asempa FM, has hinted that President Akufo Addo is planning to reshuffle five top ministers.

According to the journalist, if this happens, the immediate past General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), John Boadu, will be appointed to replace one of these top ministers.

While co-hosting the "M'ahiasem" show on Asempa FM, monitored by Modernghana News, Omanhene made the comment in reference to an alleged leaked ministerial reshuffle list in his possession.

If there is any reshuffle, it will be in five major ministries. Out of those five major ministries, John Boadu will take over one of the ministries. If the five major ministerial shake-ups are to happen, John Boadu will certainly be one of the ministers," he stated.

He said by chastising those who ridiculed John Boadu for losing the general secretary race. This should be a lesson to all of us, especially those who were making fun of him.

The broadcaster revealed that the Ministerial reshuffle has been delayed over the decision to decision fire the Finance Minister or not.

"The main reason why this reshuffle has not been done is because of the Finance Minister; as soon he (Ken Ofori-Atta) is sacked, five major ministers will be reshuffled," he intimated.

Listen to him in the first 3 minutes of the video below:
President Nana Akufo-Addo has called on African leaders to create opportunities that would make their countries attractive to their citizens in order to reap the dividends of the continent's human capital.

He emphasized that countries of Africa must create conditions conducive for economic growth and prosperity to curtail the mass migration out of Africa to Europe and the Americas, where Africans only enjoy second class status.

We, the political leaders of our countries, carry the responsibility to help take Africa out of poverty, to help grow our economies, and to help bring prosperity, he said when speaking at the opening of the 19th plenary assembly of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) in Accra on Tuesday.

The six-day plenary assembly which has drawn some 130 participants including cardinals, Bishops, representatives of Church institutions from Africa, the Vatican, Europe and the Americas, is being held under the theme Ownership of SECAM: Security and migration in Africa and its Islands.

President Akufo-Addo told the gathering that security and migration in Africa are at the very heart of problems that beset the continent.

He said the first responsibility that the state owed to its people was to establish its security and stability.

Everything else grows out of a secure and stable state. Some 60 odd years since most African countries gained their independence, the African peoples have a right to expect to live in secure and stable countries.

After the great promise and excitement of the early years of independence, political freedom, unfortunately, did not deliver the economic prosperity we hoped for, instead, our continent was plagued with political instability, manifested mostly by military coups and widespread poverty, he said.

The President noted that the absence of security and stability had led to Africa's youth losing confidence they could build successful futures in their home countries, and migration to Europe and America became the main aspiration of African youth.

I doubt there will ever be a more depressing phenomenon than our young people thinking of and embarking on the perilous journey across the Sahara Desert and the Mediterranean Sea to get to Europe.

President Akufo-Addo pointed that until African nations created the atmosphere that would engender hope, incidents like the recent killing and brutalization of hundreds of young people who tried to force their way into the European enclave of Melilla where Europe has a land border with Africa, would simply be added to the long list of incidents in which young Africans are humiliated and lose their lives in their attempt to reach Europe.

He said though migration had positive aspects, including the infusion of skills and new energy in the countries of destination, the reality was that if the country from which you start your journey of migration is prospering, you will be treated with respect wherever you go.

But, if our young people subject themselves to the intolerable and inhumane conditions of crossing the Sahara and drowning in the Mediterranean, in the hope of making a living in Europe, there is no chance of their being treated with respect when they do make it to Europe, nor can those of us left behind ever hope to be treated with respect by the rest of the world.

Thus, the President charged his opposites in Africa to carry the responsibility to help take the continent out of poverty, and to help grow our economies, and to help bring prosperity.

We have the responsibility to make our countries attractive to the citizens, and for the young people to have reason to believe they have a future here, and not risk their lives trying to get into parts of the world where they and their generations remain second class citizens.

We cannot build this happy and prosperous society we aspire to unless we lead rounded lives. It means we must give equal attention to the training of the Head, the Heart and the Hand The Head alone will not take us to the promised land, nor will the Hand alone take us, we need a citizenry that pays equal attention to the Head, the Hand and the Heart to be able to build a successful society, he added.

GNA
The National Communications Officer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Sammy Gyamfi has expressed his displeasure regarding the treatment meted out to him and some other Ghanaian passengers of Delta Airlines.

In a statement narrating his ordeal with the Airline when he had booked a flight from the USA to Ghana over the weekend, he accuses the airline of irresponsible and reckless behaviour.

According to him, Delta Airlines was scheduled to fly from JFK to the Kotoka International Airport on Sunday, July 24, but cancelled the flight without thinking about the passengers.

The airline arranged for the passengers to be flown to Ghana the following day but to the dismay of passengers, Flight DL156 only travelled for two hours and had to return to JFK because of fuel shortage.

After flying for over two hours, another announcement was made by the Pilot to our utter dismay and disgust that we were unable to proceed to Accra because of FUEL SHORTAGE and that we had to turn back to the JFK airport. In other words, the Pilots took off from the JFK airport to Accra without checking if there was enough fuel in the aircraft thereby putting the lives of the hundreds of passengers who were on the flight at great risk, Sammy Gyamfi explains in a statement.

Unhappy with what he went through, the NDC Communicator wants Delta Airlines to be dealt with for acting recklessly and putting the lives of Ghanaians in danger.

Its a big shame that a reputable international airline like Delta Air Lines will be this irresponsible, unprofessional, negligent and reckless. By the grace of God, we have landed safely at the JFK airport but that cannot be the end of this matter. We cannot afford to let this matter slide.

Some of us are determined to pursue this matter with the appropriate Aviation Authorities in the US and Ghana. Its my hope that those entrusted with the responsibility of acting on such matters will do the needful, Sammy Gyamfi notes in his statement.

Read the full post below:

IRRESPONSIBLE DELTA AIR LINES MUST BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR RECKLESSLY RISKING THE LIVES OF PASSENGERS.

Delta Air Lines Flight DL156 scheduled for Sunday, the 24th of July, 2022 was supposed to leave the JFK airport at 11:45pm to the KotoKa International Airport in Accra. By 10:45pm, passengers including myself had checked-in, gone through the necessary immigration protocols, temperature checks and were seated at Gate 39 waiting for boarding.

Then came an announcement at about 11pm from the Delta Air Lines crew of a 45 minutes delay in the flight time. No reasons were given for this delay.

Few minutes after this announcement, some passengers received messages on their phones from Delta Air Lines to the effect that the flight which was originally scheduled for 11:45pm on 24th July has been rescheduled to 3:30pm the next day, 25th July 2022. When some of the passengers queried the Delta crew on duty about this message, they initially denied knowledge and asked for time to seek confirmation from their superiors. This led to heated exchanges between some passengers and the crew.

In the midst of the pandemonium, a second announcement was made by a member of the Delta crew ostensibly to apologize for and explain the reason for the undue delay. To our amazement, the delay was not because of any weather or technical hitches but the fact that one of Pilots who was supposed to be on duty had failed to show up on time hence we were supposed to wait for him. We were assured that boarding was going to commence once the Pilot arrived.

Few minutes after the second announcement had succeeded in calming nerves, we saw a member of the Delta crew bring in two uniformed cops, whereupon a third announcement was made by the crew confirming the message some passengers had received on their phones that the flight had been rescheduled to 3:30pm the next day, 25th July 2022. All passengers were asked to move to another gate for the necessary accommodation arrangements. This we later found out was a lie as no accommodation arrangements had been made by the company for the passengers. We all, including children, persons in wheel chairs, persons with disabilities and those who had travelled from far places were left to our own fates to find our own accommodation.

The next day, 25th July, 2022, passengers came back to the JFK airport, checked-in, and went through immigration and boarding formalities by 3:30pm. After we had all boarded the plane, an announcement was made by the Pilot that the flight had to be delayed due to unfavorable weather conditions. It was raining amid lightening at the time and so we could appreciate and relate with the legitimate delay.

After a couple of hours, an announcement was made by the Pilot to the effect that the weather had stabilized and that we were ready to take off. After flying for over two hours, another announcement was made by the Pilot to our utter dismay and disgust that we were unable to proceed to Accra because of FUEL SHORTAGE and that we had to turn back to the JFK airport. In other words, the Pilots took off from the JFK airport to Accra without checking if there was enough fuel in the aircraft thereby putting the lives of the hundreds of passengers who were on the flight at great risk.

Its a big shame that a reputable international air line like Delta Air Lines will be this irresponsible, unprofessional, negligent and reckless. By the grace of God, we have landed safely at the JFK airport but that cannot be the end of this matter. We cannot afford to let this matter slide. Some of us are determined to pursue this matter with the appropriate Aviation Authorities in the US and Ghana. Its my hope that those entrusted with the responsibility of acting on such matters will do the needful.

SAMMY GYAMFI ESQ.
The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has responded to the Minority spokesperson on Finance, Cassiel Ato Forsons claims that it has printed more currency for the country without parliamentary approval.

The BoG in a statement clarified that the said amount of GH22.04 billion Mr. Forson claimed to have been printed represents net claims on Government, and not new currency printed to support the Government's budget.

It said the net claims constitute four components; GoG stocks and bonds sold by commercial banks to Bank of Ghana under repurchase agreements, IMF SDR allocation disbursed to Government through Bank of Ghana, draw-down of government's own deposits held with Bank of Ghana and negative balance on government's account with Bank of Ghana.

First, there is an amount of GH1.6 billion, which reflects GoG Stocks and bonds sold by commercial banks to Bank of Ghana under repurchase agreements. These bonds, held by a commercial bank since 2021 were purchased by the Bank of Ghana to provide liquidity to the bank, under a repurchase agreement that required the bank to buy back these bonds at a later date.

Having purchased these bonds on the secondary market as a secondary transaction, Bank of Ghana's holdings of GoG bonds increased by GHC 1.6 billion, not because it had lent money to Government, but because it had purchased a GoG bond originally purchased by the bank for investment purposes, portions of the statement explained.

Ato Forson claimed the BoG and government perpetuated an illegality which must be dealt with.

Between January and June 2022, the Minister responsible for Finance and the government went to the Central Bank, and they encouraged the BoG to print money worth GH22 billion. They have printed GH22 billion fresh money without the knowledge of Parliament and without informing all of us, he said

But the BoG denied this claim, assuring that it is committed to complying fully with all relevant legal requirements.

Bank of Ghana's operations are constantly guided by the requirements of the Bank of Ghana Act, 2002 (Act 612) as amended. As indicated in the Minister's speech, should the need arise for emergency financing by Bank of Ghana in line with the BoG Act, Bank of Ghana, as was done in the case of the Covid-19 Bond of 2020, will follow the processes prescribed by the Act.

Click here to read the full statement from the Bank of Ghana

---citinewsroom
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
26.07.2022 LISTEN

President Akufo-Addo is continually losing credibility in the eyes of the Ghanaian people.

Earlier this month, findings from Afrobarometer R9 Survey in Ghana revealed that 87% of the citizenry believe the country is heading in the wrong direction under the President.

From the second public release of data from the same Afrobarometer R9 Survey released by the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) on Tuesday, July 26, it has come to light that Ghanaians are not impressed with the leadership of President Akufo-Addo.

In rating the leadership of the President, 70% of the 2400 Ghanaians engaged insisted that they disapprove of the leadership of the President with just 30% of the people giving the President good ratings.

Besides the negative rating of the leadership of President Akufo-Addo, the majority of Ghanaians are also not happy with the leadership of the Members of Parliament (MPs) they voted for.

Majorities of Ghanaians rate the performance of the president, their MP, and their Assembly Members as fairly bad or very bad.

Positive ratings of the presidents performance have declined by 31 percentage points between 2019 and 2022, from 61% to 30%, a summary of the findings from the survey reads.

Find more on the findings as illustrated below:

Among the other findings in the second public release of the Afrobarometer R9 Survey, corruption has been cited by Ghanaians as one of the key problems holding back the progress of the country.

From the findings, the majority of Ghanaians tag the Ghana Police Service as the most corrupt public institution.

The Service is followed by the Office of the Presidency, Members of Parliament, Judges and Magistrates, as well as tax officials, to complete the top five.

Reacting to the perceived corruption amongst the aforementioned, Mrs. Linda Ofori-Kwao who is the Executive Director of Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII) expressed worry.

According to her, the findings are an indication that Ghana is sitting on a time bomb and efforts must be put in place to tackle corruption in the country.

The Afrobarometer tells us that there is a rise from 2020 findings and this latest one. That tells us that we are sitting on a time bomb and its about time the citizenry lead by demanding accountability from all the institutions perceived to be most corrupt in the country, Mrs. Linda Ofori-Kwao.
Residents of Nima at the Senya Electoral area in the Ayawaso North Municipality of the Greater Accra Region say they will protest any decision by government to demolish buildings in the area.

This comes after the assembly announced that the exercise is to make way for developmental works to begin in the area.

Citi News understands that the demolition was expected to begin today, but residents stormed the area to express their displeasure.

Some of the residents who spoke to Citi News said they will demonstrate in the coming days should the government decide to demolish the structures.

Per the last assembly meeting that we had, we all agreed that we will use the land for the assembly, but we will not demolish the area, one resident said.

You are giving us just one week the next step is we will write officially to the Ghana police service to give us the permit to demonstrate against the municipal assembly.

Others called for the President, who is a resident of Nima, to intervene in the matter.

We went to his [Nana Akufo-Add] house. He should also remember us and come to our aid now, another resident said.

Meanwhile, authorities and stakeholders in the municipality have met at the Chief Imoro Social Centre at Kawkudi to arrive at a resolution to the matter.

By Citi Newsroom
The National Executives Council of the Senior Staff Association-Universities of Ghana (SSA-UoG), has suspended its strike action.

The group on July 13, 2022, joined other unions to demand the payment of 20% Cost of Living Allowance (COLA).

The strike continued after government agreed to pay the COLA. The association said it had other outstanding issues.

It cited the non-payment of tier 2 pension arrears and contractual agreements among the reasons why their industrial action was still in full force.

In a letter signed by the National Chairman of the association, Isaac Donkor, members were directed to resume work immediately.

He said the decision follows the various interventions made by the Ministers of Education, Employment, and Labour Relations which led to the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement on 25th July 2022 which was further consented by its National Executive Council, resulting in a road map that serves as a guide to ensure fairness in a speedy resolution of all the impasse between both parties.

The association said it will continue to engage faithfully with government and other relevant stakeholders in its pursuit of justice, fairness, and equity in the salaries and allowances of Senior Staff.

We, therefore, direct all Senior Staff across the Public Universities in Ghana to resume work on Wednesday 27h July 2022 without further delay, it added.

---citinewsroom
26.07.2022 LISTEN

Mr. Micheal A. Abuah, the SRC President of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) has been directed to as a matter of urgency refund an amount of GHS9,100 he allegedly squandered in the name of embarking on a trip to South Africa on educational purpose before Friday 22nd July, 2022.

The SRC President who is a Bsc. Environmental Science student was ordered by the Vice Director of Students' Affairs of the school, Prof.Otchere Addai-Mensah after the KNUST SRC Parliament Council was petitioned to probe further into the SRC's executives' trip to South Africa some weeks ago.

The schools Parliament Council was petitioned by leaders of the Coalition of Concerned Students of KNUST headed by Mr Theophilus Berchie.

After the probe, the Vice Director of Students' Affairs concluded that the SRC president's personal testimony and handwritten statements have proven that he did not embark on the said trip.

The Vice Director by a letter issued on 19th July, 2022 is instructing the SRC President to refund the said amount.

The Vice Director stated in the said letter that, the said amount which was approved for their educational and leadership trip to South Africa as requested by the South Africa Union Students in collaboration with the University Students' Association of Ghana was never used for the intended purpose.

Read full letter below:
The Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) has made changes to the persons representing the association on the National Media Commission (NMC) and the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC).

In a press release signed by Kofi Yeboah who is General Secretary of the association, it indicates that it's National Executive has nominated Vincent Kobby Asmah and Gabriel Bosompem to replace Affail Monney and Bright Blewu as representatives on the NMC.

Meanwhile, Nana Kwaku Dei has also been nominated by the National Executive to replace Osei Kwadwo Adow as its representative on PIAC.

All nominations are to take effect from Monday, August 1, 2022.

Below is the press release:

The National Executive of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) has nominated Vincent Kobby Asmah and Gabriel Bosompem to replace Affail Monney and Bright Blewu as its representatives on the National Media Commission (NMC).

The National Executive has also nominated Nana Kwaku Dei (a.k.a. Ransford Tetteh) to replace Osei Kwadwo Adow as its representative on the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC).

Both nominations take effect from Monday, August 1, 2022 and have consequential effect, including any other body that the GJA representatives may serve on, flowing from their membership of the NMC and PIAC, respectively.

Mr Asmah is the Editor, Graphic, Mr Bosompem is a former Production Manager of TV3 (Media General) and Nana Kwaku Dei is a former President of the GJA and former Acting Managing Director of the Graphic Communications Group Limited (GCGL).

The decision to replace the GJA representatives on the NMC was taken at a National Executive meeting held on Monday, July 25, 2022, at the Ghana International Press Centre in Accra.

The decision was pursuant to Article 166(1)(b) of the 1992 Constitution, Section 5(1)(b) of the National Commission Act, 1993 (Act 449) (applicable to NMC decision) and Article 15(b)(vii) of the GJA Constitution 2004 (also applicable to both NMC and PIAC decision).

Article 166(1)(b) of the 1992 Constitution and Section 5(1)(b) of Act 449 provide that the membership of the NMC shall include two representatives nominated by the GJA, while Article 15(b)(vii) of the GJA Constitution mandates the National Executive to appoint GJA representatives to statutory bodies.

The National Executive wishes to clarify that the decision to replace the GJA representatives on the NMC and PIAC is grounded in good faith.

Indeed, the National Executive acknowledges the invaluable service rendered by Messrs Monney, Blewu and Adow in diverse ways to the GJA over the years, and highly commends them for the great honour done the Association in service.

While wishing them well in their future endeavours, the National Executive hopes they will continue to offer their services to the Association whenever duty and GJA call.

END



Kofi Yeboah

(General Secretary)
July 26, 2022

Bellingcat Denies Ukrainian Officials Responsible For Failed Plot - Zelenski Promptly Fires Them

A few hours after the revelations about the failed Ukrainian secret operation to hijack Russian fighter airplanes were published, Bellingcat's lead Russia investigator Christo Grozev added a few more flimsy excuses for his deep involvement in the failed clandestine scheme:

Christo Grozev @christogrozev - 14:52 UTC  Jul 25, 2022 An important P.S. based on questions from readers.

The Ukrainian operation was not a project of either SBU or GUR. (If it were, there'd be no way we would - or want to - get access to it). It was organized by maverick ex operatives whom we got to know in the Wagner investigation. So all the Russian statements from today - claiming this was a "GUR" (Military Intel) operation "with support from NATO" - total, unadulterated bollocks. The whole of the FSB CI were fighting tooth and nail against a bunch of, essentially, volunteers. And not for the first time.

Ah. Sure. The following is just a weird 'unadulterated bollocks' coincidence ...

Russians With Attitude @RWApodcast - 16:27 UTC  Jul 25, 2022

Zelensky has removed Ruslan Demchenko from his position as First Deputy Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council & dismissed Grigoriy Galagan as commander of the AFU Special Operations Forces, replacing him with Viktor Horenko

---

Erik Zimerman @ZimermanErik - 1:39 UTC  Jul 26, 2022 [...] After the release of this information, we learned of two high level dismissals in the Ukrainian government. #Zelensky fired the First Deputy Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Ruslan Demchenko. As part of the Council, which among other tasks coordinates security matters and advises the president, he very well may have been involved in clandestine matters such as this operation. He also worked as deputy minister of foreign affairs. Perhaps more tellingly Zelensky also fired the commander of Special Operations Forces (SSO), Hryhoriy Halahan. Until 2016 these units were under the Chief Directorate of Intelligence (HUR / GUR), and so are highly correlated with this kind of operation. The SSO includes psychological warfare units and can be regarded as special forces (Spestnaz) of military intelligence. An operation such as the one Bellingcat and Christo Grozev, aiming at the defection of Russian pilots and their planes to Ukraine, would be right up the alley of the SSO.

More of Erik Zimerman's interesting thoughts about the case can be found here and here.

The whole thing wasn't Mr. Grozev's first foray into making stuff up to further a false narrative. Here is a video documenting previous dishonest behavior by him:

Bellingcat Scams MH17 Warplane Witness

Posted by b on July 26, 2022 at 7:05 UTC | Permalink

Comments
July 26, 2022 Exclusions And Sanctions Help 'Enemies' To Build Their Own Capabilities The hostile behavior the 'west' is showing towards China and Russia has consequences. The International Space Station is losing the Russian modules it needs to maneuver. The U.S. will immediately have to build new propulsion modules if it wants to save it.

bigger Russia to withdraw from International Space Station after 2024 Russia has said it will withdraw from the International Space Station (ISS) after 2024 to focus on building its own orbital outpost. Yuri Borisov, who was appointed to lead the state-controlled space corporation Roscosmos earlier this month, said during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin that Russia would fulfil its obligations to other partners before it leaves the project. Mr Borisov said "the decision to leave the station after 2024 has been made." The U.S. had planned to operate the station until 2031: Earlier this year NASA published plans for the ISS which could see the 444,615kg structure taken out of orbit in January 2031 and crashed into a "spacecraft cemetery". It said the laboratory would continue operating until 2030 but its long-term future is unsustainable. The end date will now likely be earlier than NASA had planned. As an earlier report explained: Russia provides the propellant and thrusters needed to periodically reboost the station, a critical capability NASA cannot currently replace. Maneuvering is provided by thrusters built into the Russian Zarya and Zvezda modules and aboard visiting Progress supply ships. A Northrop Grumman Cygnus cargo ship that arrived earlier this week is the first U.S. vehicle after the space shuttle to be capable of reboost, but it cannot on its own replace the Russian capability.

...

NASA astronauts are not trained to operate Russian systems and vice versa for the cosmonauts. Neither side can safely operate the lab on its own. Without the Russians thruster modules the station will continuously slow down and sink towards earth until it breaks up and burns in the atmosphere. For the U.S. to build its own thruster modules would very likely take more than two years. They would probably arrive too late to rescue the station. Russia has plans to build a new space station. An alternative for it may be to hook up with the Chinese space station which was launched last year. Yesterday it received its second large module, a laboratory. A third large module will be added later this year. China build its own space station because the U.S. had excluded it from participating in the ISS: China has been barred from the ISS since 2011, when Congress passed a law prohibiting official American contact with the Chinese space program due to concerns about national security. National security, of course, is the lingua franca excuse for any country to do anything it jolly well wants to do even if it has nothing to do with, you know, the security of the nation. But never mind. Just 11 years after the ban China has launched and operates its own space station. It is likely that from 2025 on there will again be only one international space station. But it will be operated by China and probably Russia while the U.S. and its allies will likely be excluded from it. This is the consequence of the U.S. hostile behavior which excludes and sanctions others for unserious reason. The U.S. had pushed the Dutch government to prohibit the delivery of ASML machines to China that are needed to make the 4-7 nanometer structures of today's most advanced computer chips. Two weeks ago the U.S. started a push to prohibit ASML from delivering even its older models to China. But a U.S. Canadian company recently found out that China' SMIC is already mass producing 7 nm chips. That capability had not been announced: "This is the most advanced technology product TechInsights has seen from SMIC so far and may be leading to a true 7nm process that incorporates scaled logic and memory bitcells," TechInsights said.

...

Chip world watcher Dylan Patel noted another implication for SMIC's 7nm capabilities. He said the development means China is now further ahead than the US or Europe in having 7nm contract chip manufacturing capabilities since American chipmaker Intel has yet to make its 7nm process available to foundry customers. China is also building more chip factories than anyone else: China is leading the world in building new chip factories, a step toward achieving more self-sufficiency in semiconductors that could eventually make some buyers reliant on China for many of the basic chips now in short supply. As chip makers race worldwide to boost production and ease supply shortages, no country is expanding faster than China, which is slated to build 31 major semiconductor factories, known as fabs, during the four years through 2024, according to the chip-industry group SEMI. Up to now China had imported $300 billion of chips per year. When all of China's new fabs are ready most of that money will stay in China. Chip producers in Taiwan, South Korea, Japan and the U.S. will have to seek new customers or lower their own output. The space stations and the chip sanctions only demonstrates the inevitable consequences of being hostile towards large countries like Russia and China. They have enough alternatives to substitute sanctioned products and to eventually develop their own production capabilities. All this while the U.S. and its allies lose market shares. Posted by b on July 26, 2022 at 14:53 UTC | Permalink Comments next page  next page 
July 26, 2022 Ukraine Open Thread 2022-115 Only news & views related to the Ukraine conflict ... The current open thread for other issues is here. Posted by b on July 26, 2022 at 7:16 UTC | Permalink Comments next page  next page 
'I'm in': Mandy Moore joins Anne Hathaway in pushing for 'The Princess Diaries 3'

"There is a script for the third movie. There is a script.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 1 of 3 Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Show More Show Less 3 of 3





BELGRADE, Serbia (AP)  Serbia's police broke up a people-smuggling gang near the border with Hungary early on Tuesday, and found various weapons and hundreds of passports and other documents taken from migrants trying to reach Western Europe, officials said.

Police also discovered 120 migrants, including women and children, during the operation in the area of Mali Horgos, a statement said.
Dear Angelica Ramsey,

I havent written you in a while. Its been relatively drama-free recently at the district, which has been nice. Thank you for that and for the inside-the-classroom successes that have been reported since the end of the school year. Your team, campus leaders and especially the students and teachers deserve kudos for their hard work on the road back from the COVID pandemic.

Today, I wanted to ask if you would avoid following the lead of another Permian Basin superintendent who decided to talk to Bloomberg news about his communitys decision to vote down a bond proposal. I dont care if you think you have a good reason, there is no upside in putting our community in that light with a national media organization.

Bonds are not easy. Sometimes, it takes multiple presentations to get it right. Sometimes, an electorate might need to see something different, including from the person in your position (the superintendent). Sometimes, a pandemic hits, making a community nervous about academic achievement and growth predictions. Sometimes, politics gets in the way.

Either way, throwing your community under that kind of a spotlight is beyond regrettable. Maybe people in Odessa wont care, but I would if my superintendent decided to air our communitys dirty laundry to people across the state and nation, especially when just a few years earlier those same voters approved a significant tax increase to fund operations. Also not reported in the Bloomberg article was that some opposed to the bond election in question have come together to show they are interested in what type of bond could be brought back. That is building a bond from the ground up and should be applauded.

The worst kept secret in Midland is that the school district will eventually approach the voters for a bond. Maybe it will be in 2023. I believe that continuation of the academic rebound, a good bond plan and proper execution of a bond campaign will mean electoral success. But if it doesnt, dont throw Midland under the bus.

The Bloomberg story indicated that just more than 50% of bond campaigns across the state were approved in 2022. That was the lowest total going back at least a decade. With COVID and so much post-pandemic uncertainty, such a low passage percentage isnt surprising. Maybe, Texas voters had grown weary of the tens of billions of school district debt passed -- with more than $134 billion of bonds sold in the last decade, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Maybe all politics are local, and that superintendent just didnt do enough to inspire a $398 million investment in education. I dont know, and I really dont care. I know that people in this community will have your back  whether you can pass a bond or not. I cant say the same if your comments are part of a story that makes it look like Midlanders dont care.

Thanks for your time and good luck with the TEA ratings. We are excited about Midland ISDs academic successes so far and appreciate all you have done for our community.

Sincerely,

Stewart Doreen
Lil Wayne expressed his heartbreak after the death of Robert Hoobler, the ex-police officer who saved his life during a suicide attempt years ago.

Hoobler, who he calls "Uncle Bob," was found dead at his Old Jefferson home on July 22. He was a former New Orleans police officer who saved the rapper's life in 1994 when he shot himself in the chest while he was home alone.

Lil Wayne was only 12 years old at that time.

The local paper, NOLA, said that the parish's coroner, Dr. Gerry Cvitanovich confirmed the ex-cop's passing.

However, it did not reveal Robert Hoobler's cause of death, but it noted that he had been dealing with health issues after having his legs amputated following a car crash.

His grandson, Daniel Nelson, disclosed that the retired detective also suffered from diabetes.

After the news broke, the "6 Foot 7 Foot" hitmaker took to Instagram and honored the man who saved his life.

"Everything happens for a reason. I was dying when I met u at this very spot. U refused to let me die. Everything that doesn't happen, doesn't happen for a reason. That reason being you and faith. RIP uncle Bob. Aunt Kathie been waiting for u. I'll love & miss u both and live for us all," he wrote.

Lil Wayne's Suicide Attempt

In an interview with Billboard last year, Lil Wayne opened up about the mental health issues he went through and suicidal thoughts he dealt with as a child.

He even rapped about the incident in his 2015 song, "London Roads" and in his guest verse on Solange's "Mad."

Meanwhile, Hoobler also opened up about it in a 2009 article in NOLA. Per the late officer, he arrived at the home after hearing a call while he was off-duty. He reportedly noticed a faint voice yelling "Help me! I've been shot."

He spoke to Lil Wayne while contacting the emergency medical services, telling him to stay awake. Unfortunately, no ambulances were available at that time. With that, a captain told him to take him to the hospital instead.

READ ALSO: Ozzy Osbourne Health Update: Rocker Says Recent Surgery Was 'Hardest Thing'

Hoobler held the young Wayne in his lap until they arrived at a local hospital in Jefferson Parish. He also assured him he was going to be fine.

A nurse, who was present at the hospital, said that the rapper would have died if they had waited for fo an ambulance.

Before his death, Hoobler worked as an officer for the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Department. However, he was fired for tasing and using racial slurs against a Black man he arrested.

READ MORE: Lil Tjay's Comeback After Near-Fatal Shooting Would Be Epic, Fivio Foreign Says

 2015 MusicTimes.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Millennials have been coined the job-hopping generation, and Ive contributed to that stereotype. I started my career at 22 and have job-hopped almost every year since. For many of those years, I was young and restless, and there was another part of me looking for more fulfilling work and pay that reflected what I was worth.

In some ways, changing jobs set back my retirement savings. There are things I wish Id learned earlier, like how to start retirement planning, the importance of developing high-demand skills, and the art of negotiating benefits. But it has also helped me improve my earnings. Once lifestyle creep  when your income increases and your spending habits do, too  stopped getting the best of me, earning more meant I could save more for retirement.

Here are a few scenarios where job-hopping can help your retirement savings, and where it may hurt.

YES  IF YOURE IMPROVING EARNING POTENTIAL

In one of my earliest writing jobs, I earned about $25,000 per year. As much as I enjoyed writing, I knew I was underpaid and overworked. My next move was looking for ways to earn more as a writer, and thats when I realized I had to develop new skills, such as optimizing my writing so it would be visible in search engines like Google. Within a year, I started a new job that paid me $45,000 and offered more benefits. Since I was no longer living paycheck to paycheck and finally had a 401(k) plan, I could start saving for retirement.

Changing jobs for a significant increase in income could potentially help your retirement savings, but it requires you to actually put some of that increased income toward your retirement savings.

What is the benchmark for a significant increase in income? Aim for a 10% increase, says Mary Beth Storjohann, a certified financial planner and co-CEO of Abacus Wealth Partners in Santa Monica, California. If a new job offer comes in below that, Storjohann recommends running the numbers to see how much your take-home pay actually improves when you factor in taxes and other living expenses.

NO  IF COMPANY MATCHES AND EQUITY HAVENT FULLY VESTED

If youre going to job-hop, you dont want to leave free money on the table, as that could hurt your retirement savings, says Jerel Butler, a CFP and CEO of Millennial Financial Solutions based in New Orleans. Before throwing up the deuces sign, consider getting your full retirement plan match, restricted stock units or other company equity if your employer offers it.

Typically, companies have a dedicated vesting schedule for the employees as an incentive to continue working at that particular company, Butler says. Sometimes, with companies that match contributions for 401(k) plans, they may ask you to contribute up to two, three, even four years before the company match is fully vested.

Butler also suggests hanging around long enough to get any potential bonuses, which are often distributed during the first quarter of the year.

NO  IF BENEFITS DONT IMPROVE RETIREMENT SAVINGS

The right benefits package could improve long-term retirement savings, so its something to consider when changing jobs. When I accepted the job I mentioned earlier, I didnt think about this. Turns out health care premiums cost me around $500 a month, there were no flexible work arrangements, and the company offered no education stipends. These things indirectly affected my retirement savings, because I had less money to save and little growth potential.

Storjohann says benefits to consider that could improve your retirement savings include your work location, access to retirement accounts, employer match amounts, health insurance, education stipends, stock options and annual raises.

YES  IF YOU DO A 401(K) ROLLOVER

A few months after leaving the first job I had that offered a 401(k) plan, I got a check for around $300 in the mail. I remember thinking, Wow! Free money right in time for the weekend. Shortly after spending the free money, I realized it was the balance in my 401(k) account. I was supposed to roll it over into another retirement account within 60 days, but instead I squandered it on weekend festivities.

Cashing out 401(k) accounts or forgetting they exist altogether is a common mistake people make when changing jobs, and it can hurt your retirement pot, says Storjohann. Cashing it out or taking an unqualified early withdrawal could cost you a 10% penalty and income taxes on the amount withdrawn.

You think, Oh, the balance isnt that big, Ill just cash it out, so instead of having that money earmarked for retirement, it is typically then spent and then youre paying penalties on top of that, Storjohann says.

This was certainly the case for me and it has potentially set my retirement savings back a few thousand dollars. Lets say I had rolled that $300 into an IRA and earned a 7% annual return  after 30 years, I would have over $2,200.

If I had a time machine, I still would have changed jobs, but I definitely would have done a 401(k) rollover to maximize my existing retirement savings.

This column was provided to The Associated Press by the personal finance website NerdWallet. The content is for educational and informational purposes and does not constitute investment advice.

Elizabeth Ayoola is a writer at NerdWallet. eayoola@nerdwallet.com.

RELATED LINKS:

NerdWallet: 5 Steps to Retirement Planning in 2022: An Introduction and How-to Guide

https://bit.ly/nerdwallet-retirement-planning-an-introduction

Gallup: Millennials: The Job-Hopping Generation

https://www.gallup.com/workplace/231587/millennials-job-hopping-generation.aspx
FAIRFIELD, Calif. (AP)  A 76-year-old man suspected of a 2021 rape has been arrested in the killings of two women that had been unsolved for decades, authorities said.

James Ray Gary, of Fairfield, was arrested last week in the 1980 killing of Latrelle Lindsay of Union City and the 1996 killing of Winifred Douglas of Berkeley, the Solano County Sheriff's Office said.

DNA collected during a 2021 rape investigation matched DNA collected from both crime scenes. On July 18, the office was notified that a DNA sample from Gary matched all three crimes. A warrant was obtained for his arrest and to search his home. He was arrested the following day, officials said.

It was not immediately known if Gary has an attorney who can speak on his behalf. The Solano County Public Defender and the Solano County District did not immediately return phone messages from The Associated Press seeking comment.

In July of 1980, Lindsay, 46, of Union City, was found dead inside her home. She had been raped and strangled, police said.

At the time, no suspects were identified in this killing. A DNA sample was later sent for entry and search in a law enforcement database, but no match was made, the Union City Police Department said in a statement.

Douglas' body was found in March 1996 hidden among bushes along Highway 780 in Vallejo. An autopsy determined that she had been asphyxiated and suffered blunt-force trauma to the head and neck.

Gary was booked into Solano County Jail for homicide and is being held without bail.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

CANBERRA, Australia (AP)  Australias Parliament sat on Tuesday for the first time since May elections with the new prime minister determined to have a greenhouse gas reduction target enshrined in law.

Legislation that would force Australia to reduce its emissions by 43% below 2005 levels by the end of the decade will be introduced Wednesday into the House of Representatives.

While Prime Minster Anthony Albaneses center-left Labor Party holds a narrow majority in the House, it will need the support of senators from outside government ranks to get the bill through the upper chamber.

If Labor can persuade all 12 senators from the minor Greens party to support the bill, it will only need one more senator from the remaining six available to achieve a majority.

The Greens want Australia to slash its emissions by 75% by 2030.

The conservative coalition that ruled for nine years until the May 21 election wont budget from its 2015 Paris commitment to reduce emissions by between 26% and 28%.

Albanese said voters and business groups had endorsed the 43% target.

Our policy is well thought through, Albanese said. It was announced, it was campaigned upon, indeed, it received a mandate.

Labor has agreed to some of the Greens demands including that the bill would state that any target was a floor, not a ceiling and that there would be no reduction in the governments ambition.

Greens leader Adam Bandt said his party needed more concessions and negotiations would continue.

Bandt said the government must stop approving new coal and gas projects and adopt a more ambitious target than 43%.

We have been very concerned that the bill might put that weak target into law in a way that would put a handbrake on future governments that might be willing to act according to the science, Bandt said.

The new government has already officially notified the United Nations of the 43% target.

It wants the target enshrined in law in case a future administration attempts to reduce the target.

Six new Greens lawmakers were sworn in on Tuesday, three to the House and three to the Senate. Bandt described the election result as the partys best ever.

The major parties both lost seats to candidates who promised more action on climate change.

The conservative Liberal Party lost six House seats that were considered some of their safest to so-called teal independents: a greener shade than the partys traditional blue color.

The number of lawmakers in the House unaligned to major parties has burgeoned from seven in the last Parliament to 16 in the new Parliament,

It is the largest number of unaligned lawmakers in the 151-seat House since the Liberal Party was formed in 1944.

Some observers say the trend suggests the years of majority government in Australia are numbered.

Australia has only had one minority government since World War II. A Labor minority government was elected in 2010 and lasted for a single three-year term.

Ian McAllister, an Australian National University political scientist who surveys voters after elections, said a substantial number wanted more action on climate change than the major parties were prepared to take.

We asked about climate change. These days its about the second or third most important issue, whereas 10 or 15 years ago it was maybe fifth or sixth and it's very much associated with younger voters, McAllister said.
CHICAGO (AP)  Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Monday presented three options for renovating Soldier Field, the home of the Chicago Bears, but the team said it's not interested.

Lightfoot proposed fully enclosing the stadium by rebuilding both end zones with columns that can support a dome; rebuilding both end zones with columns to make the stadium dome-ready; or modifying Soldier Field to be a multi-purpose stadium better suited for soccer.

"Any of these proposed renovations will allow Soldier Field to retain its role as an economic engine for Chicago for years to come, Lightfoot said in a news release.

The mayors office estimated the costs of the three options would range from $900 million to $2.2 billion. It did not say how it would pay for any of the options.

The proposed renovations would expand seating from 61,500 seats (now the lowest capacity in the NFL) up to 70,000; increase the number of suites from 133 to 140; and quadruple concession area square footage from 50,000 square feet (4,645 square meters) to 200,000 square feet (18,580 square meters), the mayor's office said.

The Bears had no new comment on Lightfoot's proposals but the team reiterated the same statement it issued July 7 when a panel appointed by Lightfoot recommended the city explore enclosing Soldier Field.

The only potential project the Chicago Bears are exploring for a new stadium development is Arlington Park. As part of our mutual agreement with the seller of that property, we are not pursuing alternative stadium deals or sites, including renovations to Soldier Field, while we are under contract," that statement said.

The team signed a purchase agreement last year for a 326-acre (131.93-hectare) site in suburban Arlington Heights, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) miles northwest of Soldier Field, that could be the site of a future stadium. President Ted Phillips has said that deal likely wont close until early 2023, at which point the team will decide whether its financially feasible to try to develop it further.
Rotary District 6460/Provided

A Jacksonville student is one of a select few to receive a scholarship from Rotary.

Rotary District 6460 said 18-year-old Makenna Baptist was given one of five $3,000 scholarships. The money for the scholarships was donated by members of Rotary.
Guatemalas president visits Ukraine, expresses solidarity View Photo

GUATEMALA CITY (AP)  Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei visited Ukraine on Monday and expressed his solidarity with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Giammattei met with Zelenskyy in the capital, Kyiv, becoming the first Latin American president to make the trip.

Many Latin American leaders have avoided taking a stance on the Russian invasion of Ukraine. That reflects in some cases decades-old ties to Russia and in others a wariness of U.S. foreign policy goals.

We stand in solidarity with the Ukrainian people, who have resisted with courage, Giammattei said at a joint news conference. As long as human lives are lost, we cannot silence our voices.

Let it be clear that since the beginning of this conflict, Guatemala has raised its voice, he said. We will always be consistent with our words. Guatemala does not and will not remain silent.

Zelenskyy thanked Giammattei for his support for sanctions on Russia and Guatemalas support for an international tribunal on crimes committed during the war.

Ukraines president noted that Latin America, like many other parts of the world, has suffered from higher prices due to the fighting in Ukriane, which is a big producer of agricultural and other commodities.

Only together can we protect our world, Zelenskyy said.

Critics of Giammatteis government said the president has more pressing issues he should be dealing with at home, including corruption and human rights.

The entire world knows the way in which President Alejandro Giammattei has been eroding democracy and promoting impunity in his country. One trip to Ukraine is not going to change that reality, said Carolina Jimenez, president of the Washington Office on Latin America.

The U.S. government has sharply criticized the weakening of anti-corruption efforts in Guatemala and last year cancelled the U.S. visa of Guatemalan Attorney General Consuelo Porras, who has been pursuing former prosecutors.

Instead of going after corruption, the government has been filing legal charges against the former anti-corruption officials themselves, and more than 20 of them have fled the country.

Giammatteis government and prosecutors accelerated efforts begun by his predecessor to undo a U.N.-backed anti-corruption campaign that put several top officials, including former presidents, behind bars. They say those prosecutions themselves were irregular.
Hundreds of firefighters battle blazes in Germany, Czechia View Photo

PRAGUE (AP)  Hundreds of firefighters were battling wildfires in eastern Germany and neighboring Czechia on Tuesday as tourist regions and residential areas were being evacuated.

A large wildfire was spreading quickly in the eastern German state of Brandenburg in a region with lots of bone-dry pine forests where firefighters have to be especially careful because of old World War II ammunition thats still buried there, German news agency dpa reported.

The large fire in the Elbe-Elster district has already destroyed an area of about 850 hectares and continued to spread quickly because of gusty winds blowing from changing directions.

Seven firefighters were injured, four of whom had to be treated in a hospital for smoke inhalation. No residents were injured, but a pig breeding farm burned down and several animals died.

The states explosive ordnance disposal service has designated a small area near the village of Rehfeld as a site where old ammunition could be buried, deputy forest fire protection officer Philipp Haase told dpa. Two German military firefighting helicopters were on site trying to extinguish the flames from the air because firefighters were not allowed to access the area for fear that the ammunition could explode.

Authorities said it was not clear when the fire could be brought under control. More than 350 firefighters were battling the flames and around 300 people from various villages had to be evacuated.

The situation is still serious. We still have pockets of fire, local district fire chief Steffen Ludewig told dpa.

Further southeast, firefighters from several countries have joined forces to battle a fire in a national park in northern Czech Republic that has spread to the state of Saxony in neighboring Germany.

The fire in the Bohemian Switzerland park broke out on Sunday and was mostly contained before windy weather caused it to spread again on Monday afternoon and overnight. Despite their efforts, firefighters said the fire had spread from 30 hectares earlier Tuesday to 1,000 hectares.

No injuries have been reported, but around 100 people had to be evacuated Tuesday evening from the Czech town of Vysoka Lipa.

Earlier, some 80 people have been evacuated from the border town of Hrensko, and more from the village of Mezna, where the flames have destroyed or damaged several homes, firefighters spokesman Lukas Marvan said.

Dozens of German children were evacuated from a summer camp on the Czech side of the border and transported back to Germany.

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala and Interior Minister Vit Rakusan were visiting the area on Tuesday.

Rakusan said some 400 firefighters have been in action and the blaze was not under control by midday Tuesday.

The situation is very serious, Rakusan said adding that several neighboring countries had responded to the Czech Republics call for help to extinguish the fire.

Poland and Slovakia said they were sending helicopters while Italy offered special Canadair planes designed for firefighting.

The German military announced it would send four helicopters to the border region to help fight the flames, dpa reported.

The Czech Hydrometeorological Institute said the smoke has spread 100 or more kilometers (60 miles or more) from the fire.

___

Kirsten Grieshaber reported from Berlin.

___

Follow APs climate coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment

By KAREL JANICEK and KIRSTEN GRIESHABER

Associated Press
Mariposa Sheriff Jeremy Briese View Photo

Mariposa, CA Mariposa Sheriff Jeremy Briese spoke at an Oak Fire town hall last night and assured residents that extra steps would be taken to discourage would-be looters. Extra members of law enforcement have been called in from neighboring agencies to bolster existing manpower.

The Mariposas County District Attorney has also reiterated that they will prosecute looting and fraud related to the Oak Fire or Washburn fire to the full extent of the law. California defines the crime of looting as taking advantage of a state of emergency to commit burglary, grand theft, or petty theft. Looting can be charged as a misdemeanor or a felony and is punishable by up to 3 years in jail.

The Mariposa County District Attorneys office has also said that they stand in solidarity with all homeowners and property owners who have been impacted by the Oak and Washburn fires.
Oak Fire - Mariposa County Fire Image View Photo

Midpines, CA  The Midpines Post Office in Mariposa County has been closed for several days due to the Oak Fire.

It is currently unclear when the office, located at 6629 Highway 140, will reopen. The US Postal Service reports that anyone who has a PO Box at the Midpines location, or those who live in an evacuated area, can pick up their mail at the Mariposa Post Office at 5109 Jessie Street in Mariposa. It is open on weekdays from 9am-5pm and 10am-1pm on Saturday. Customers need to bring proper photo identification for mail and package pickups.

The US Postal Service reports that it plans to reopen the Midpines office as soon as safely possible.
Sonora, CA Mother Lode Job Training(MLJT) has been awarded $140,000 to implement a Student Training and Employment Program(STEP Up) between July 1st, 2022, and June 30th, 2023. The funds from STEP Up will be used to place 28 students with disabilities into paid work experience for up to 140 hours, earning up to $2,100 each. Students will gain hands-on experience working with local businesses in Amador, Calaveras, Mariposa, and Tuolumne counties. MLJT will provide work readiness training to prepare students for the world of jobs, including workshops on employment interest assessment activities Career Exploration, Job Searching Skills, Labor Market Information, Information Interviewing, and Essential Skills including Workplace Communcation, Employer Expectations, Job Retention, and Ethics & Decision Making. This is the second time MLJT has been awarded this grant. Former STEPS grant participant Alyssa G explains her experience with the program.

I loved [the STEPS program] so much. I learned how to talk to people about important things like fire safety. I never would have had this chance if it wasnt for the program.

Individuals and businesses who are interested in participating in STEP Up can fill out a form that can be found here. A member of the MLJT staff will contact applicants and set up an appointment. Questions about eligibility can be answered by calling (209) 533-3396. Visting the MLJT website can direct interested parties to the nearest job center, which can be found here.

STEP Up receives funding from the 2022 STEPS grant initiative with the Title IV Vocational Rehabilitation Funding under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act through a collaboration between the California Department of Rehabilitation and the Foundation for California Community Colleges.
Blinken meets kin of slain Palestinian-American journalist View Photo

WASHINGTON (AP)  Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Tuesday with the family of a Palestinian-American reporter killed while covering an Israeli raid in the occupied West Bank.

The State Department said Blinken met with relatives of Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh and vowed that the U.S. would demand accountability for her death.

The secretary is deeply appreciative of the opportunity to meet with Shireens family, State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters. Not only was she an American citizen, she was a reporter whose fearless pursuit of the truth earned her the profound respect of audiences around the world.

Price said Blinken would use the meeting to underscore for Shireens family our deepest condolences on her tragic death and to reiterate the priority we attach to accountability, something we continue to discuss with our Israeli and Palestinian partners as well.

He could not say, however, what that accountability might mean.

After reviewing investigations by Israeli and Palestinian authorities, the U.S. concluded on July 4 that Abu Akleh was likely killed by Israeli fire, although not intentionally. But it has not conclusively blamed Israel for her death and has left the question of accountability to the Israelis, prompting anger from the Palestinians and her family.

Relatives  including her brother Tony Abu Akleh, her niece Lina Abu Akleh and her nephew Victor Abu Akleh  have been seeking a meeting with President Joe Biden to make the case for pressing Israel to account for her death. Blinken invited them to visit Washington after Biden was unable to see them while on a visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories earlier this month.

We are in Washington, D.C., to insist on a thorough, credible, independent, and transparent U.S. investigation into the Israeli militarys killing of our dear Shireen, the family said in a statement. It called the July 4 U.S. conclusion an affront to justice that enabled Israel to avoid accountability for Shireens murder.

This is totally unacceptable to us, they said. If we allow Shireens killing to be swept under the rug, we send a message that the lives of U.S. citizens abroad dont matter, that the lives of Palestinians living under Israeli occupation dont matter, and that the most courageous journalists in the world, those who cover the human impact of armed conflict and violence, are expendable.

A reconstruction by The Associated Press lent support to Palestinian eyewitnesses who said she was shot by Israeli forces without making a final determination. Investigations by CNN, The New York Times and The Washington Post, as well as monitoring by the U.N. human rights office, reached similar conclusions.

Abu Akleh, who was 51, had spent a quarter-century reporting on the harsh realities of life under Israeli military rule. Palestinians view her as a martyr to journalism as well as their national cause.

By MATTHEW LEE

AP Diplomatic Writer
US sends Sherman, Kennedy to visit the Solomon Islands View Photo

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP)  The U.S. is sending a high-profile diplomatic delegation to visit the Solomon Islands next week led by Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and including Ambassador to Australia Caroline Kennedy.

The U.S. State Department said Tuesday the trip is to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Guadalcanal and for the diplomats to meet with Solomon Islands officials to highlight the enduring relationship between the two nations.

The visit will hold particular personal interest for Sherman and Kennedy, whose fathers both fought there during World War II.

And it comes after the U.S. and several Pacific nations expressed deep concern about a security pact the Solomon Islands signed with China in April, which many fear could result in a military buildup in the region.

The trip will also highlight the reopening of the U.S. embassy in the capital, Honiara, which is part of an express U.S. strategy to counter Chinas growing influence.

The U.S. previously operated an embassy in the Solomon Islands for five years before closing it in 1993.

Kennedy has just begun her role in Australia after formally presenting her credentials on Monday. When she arrived in Australia last week, she told reporters the Pacific region was critical and I think the U.S. needs to do more.

Were putting our embassies back in and the Peace Corps is coming, and USAID is coming back and were coming back, she said.

Kennedy said the Pacific held great personal significance because her father, the late President John F. Kennedy, had served there during World War II and was rescued by two Solomon Islanders and an Australian coast watcher.

Shermans father Mal Sherman was a Marine who was wounded during the Battle of Guadalcanal.

As well as Sherman and Kennedy, the delegation will include Kin Moy, a state department principal deputy assistant secretary, and Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Stephen Sklenka, the deputy commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.

During the Aug. 6-8 trip, Sherman is scheduled to give speeches at Skyline Ridge, the site of the U.S. Guadalcanal Memorial, and at Bloody Ridge.

By NICK PERRY

Associated Press
Prosecutors: Man charged with killing mom poses flight risk View Photo

Federal prosecutors say a Vermont man charged with killing his mother at sea in 2016 in a plot to inherit millions should remain behind bars pending trial because he poses a flight risk and danger to others.

The prosecutors filed a motion in U.S. District Court in Burlington, Vermont, on Friday, opposing a request by Nathan Carman to be released.

Carman, 28, who lives in Vernon, was charged in May with killing his mother, Linda Carman of Middletown, Connecticut, during a fishing trip in 2016 off the coast of New England in which his boat sank. He was found floating in a raft and rescued eight days after departing from a Rhode Island marina. He pleaded not guilty in May in his mothers death.

Prosecutors also have accused Carman of killing his grandfather, John Chakalos, who they say was shot in his home in Windsor, Connecticut, in 2013 as part of a scheme to obtain money and property from his grandfathers estate. Carman has not been charged in that case.

Earlier this month, Carmans lawyers filed a motion seeking his release, saying the evidence against him is tenuous at best and he does not pose a flight risk or danger. The lawyers said 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.

Prosecutors wrote in opposing Carmans motion on Friday that Many of the claims made by Carman in support of his request for release are misleading or mistaken.

Carmans motion for release fails to adequately address the risk of flight and similarly fails to address his dangerousness, they wrote. Moreover, the conditions of release he proposes would do little to mitigate these concerns.

An email was sent to Carmans public defenders seeking comment.

They wrote in the motion for release that he has never attempted to threaten or influence a witness and has led a quiet life in Vernon for the last eight years with solid ties to the community.

The prosecutors say Carman is a flight risk because he is charged with an offense that carries a mandatory life sentence and has few connections that would encourage him to stay in this country. They wrote that the letters Carman submitted in support of him are primarily from people who knew him as a child.

By LISA RATHKE

Associated Press
LOS ANGELES (AP)  A Southern California bank robber who gleefully yelled John Dillinger lives! during a holdup was sentenced to nearly 20 years in federal prison Tuesday, prosecutors said.

Todd Cannady, 61, of Palm Springs, was sentenced for a 2021 holdup but he acknowledged robbing a total of 10 banks in Southern California from 2018 to 2021, according to a statement from the U.S. attorneys office.

Cannady pleaded guilty last year to robbing a Chase Bank branch using a ghost gun on July 1, 2021 in the Riverside County city of Jurupa Valley.

He was arrested after a high-speed chase in a rented car during which he hit several other vehicles and crashed on a freeway, authorities said.

When he pleaded guilty, Cannady also acknowledged robbing nine banks in Manhattan Beach, Century City, Rancho Mirage, Torrance, Banning and Carson, prosecutors said.

He robbed the same Wells Fargo Bank branch in Rancho Mirage twice, authorities said.

In total, he stole nearly $758,000, authorities said.

The holdups began only four months after Cannady was released from state prison, prosecutors said. He spent more than two decades behind bars for a 1992 armed bank robbery and a 1982 conviction for robbing people at gunpoint in Los Angeles stores, authorities said.

From 1982 to 2021, Cannady committed armed robberies of individuals or banks whenever he was not incarcerated, prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memorandum.

Cannady seemingly took great joy in his crimes, yelling John Dillinger Lives during a 2019 holdup, according to the memorandum.
Woman shot by police after opening fire at Dallas airport in U.S. Texas

Xinhua) 09:42, July 26, 2022

HOUSTON, July 25 (Xinhua) -- A woman opened fire on Monday inside a teminal of the Dallas Love Field Airport in the U.S. state of Texas before a responding police officer shot her, authorities said.

No one else was injured in the shooting and the terminal is secure, Dallas police chief Edgardo Garcia told a news conference.

The 37-year-old woman, whose name has not been released, was shot in her lower extremities and taken to a hospital in unknown condition following the gunfire, Garcia said.

She had been dropped off at about 10:59 a.m. local time, went into the terminal and ducked into a restroom near the Southwest Airlines ticket counter, Garcia said.

She allegedly came out in different clothing, possibly a hoodie, and fired several shots into the air.

"She produces a handgun and begins firing," Garcia said.

"At this point, we don't know where exactly the individual was aiming. The most we were seeing now she was aiming at the ceiling," said the police chief.

A ground stop was put in place at the airport and scheduled to be lifted at 1:30 p.m., according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

Patricia Mancha, a spokeswoman for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), said the TSA is "working to get travelers through airport security checkpoint and in from the heat."

Dallas Love Field is a city-owned public airport about six miles northwest of downtown Dallas.

(Web editor: Wu Chaolan, Liang Jun)
ZAGREB, Croatia (AP)  Croatia on Tuesday opened a long-awaited bridge connecting two parts of the country's Adriatic Sea coastline while bypassing a small sliver of Bosnia's territory.

Top officials and guests gathered in the evening for a formal opening ceremony that included a flyover by military jets, speeches, performances and fireworks.

Earlier Tuesday, many Croats braved summer heat to be among the first to cross the Peljesac bridge on foot as it opened for pedestrians ahead of the official inauguration.

Co-funded by the European Union and built by a Chinese company, the elegant, cable-stayed bridge with six pylons is a rare venture of its kind amid concerns in Europe over China's bid to boost its economic influence through investment in infrastructure.

In a video message aired at the opening ceremony, Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang said the bridge illustrates friendly relations between his country and Croatia, but also between China and the EU.

China and the EU present important political forces and leading global economic powers, said Li.

The 2.4-kilometer (1.5-mile) bridge spans the Adriatic Sea to link Croatia's mainland to the Peljesac peninsula in the south, allowing easier access to the country's most important tourism destination  the medieval walled city of Dubrovnik.

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic described the day as historic for the country, which joined the EU in 2013 after splitting from the former Yugoslavia and going through a war in the 1990s.

I am overwhelmed by the feelings of pride, joy and gratitude, said Plenkovic.

The Yugoslav federation had no internal borders between its six republics, including Croatia and Bosnia. But when it broke up in the early 1990s, the two parts of Croatia's Adriatic Sea coastline were split by a narrow strip of Bosnia.

Both residents and tourists had to pass border checks, which slowed down traffic and left the inhabitants of the southern area feeling isolated from the rest of the country.

That area includes Dubrovnik, a stunning medieval town that has been on UNESCOs protected heritage list and is Croatia's biggest tourist attraction.

The bridge finally became a reality in 2017 when the EU allocated 357 million euros ($365m), which covered much of the 526 million-euro ($533) cost. The China Road and Bridge Corporation in 2018 won an international tender to construct the bridge.

The project, however, had faced criticism from Bosnia, whose officials complained of unresolved border issues and said the bridge would hamper access to its part of the coastline.

Known for its stunning nature and hundreds of Adriatic Sea islands, Croatia is a major tourism destination, attracting millions from Europe and all over the world every summer. Tourism also is key for Croatia's economy, which remains among the weakest in the EU.
NEW YORK (AP)  A self-described manager and adviser to R. Kelly pleaded guilty Tuesday to an interstate stalking charge, less than a week after he was convicted of making a phone threat that gunfire was about to occur in a Manhattan theater where a documentary about the singer was about to be shown.

Donnell Russell, 47, of Chicago, entered the plea in Brooklyn federal court.

U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said Russell used threats, harassment and intimidation to silence one of Kellys sexual abuse victims. Kelly, who was sentenced to 30 years in prison last month, was convicted last year of racketeering and sex trafficking.

Peace said in a statement that Russell sent threatening messages to the woman and her mother and later published explicit photos of the victim on the internet.

Russell could face up to five years in prison at a Nov. 17 sentencing.

Prosecutors said the harassment campaign stretched from November 2018 to February 2020 after the woman filed a civil lawsuit against Kelly.

Last Friday, a Manhattan federal court jury found Russell guilty of threatening physical harm through interstate communication.

The jury concluded that Russell made a phone threat that forced the evacuation of a theater where Lifetime's Surviving R. Kelly series was to be shown, and a panel discussion was to occur featuring several women in the documentary.

Prosecutors argued during the one-week trial that Russell was trying to protect the lucrative career of Kelly, a Grammy-winning, multiplatinum-selling songwriter.

A trial witness had testified that a man with a deep voice had called the theater to warn that someone had a gun and they were going to shoot up the place. Prosecutors said the call was placed to the theater from Russell's home on a day when Russell made nine phone calls to the theater to try to stop the airing of the documentary.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

A Lubbock man with gang affiliations and a man from Dallas have been added to the Texas Most Wanted lists.

The Lubbock County Sheriffs Office issued a warrant for the arrest of 21-year-old Tanner Cole Lermon in November. He is wanted for manslaughter.

According to a Texas Department of Public Safety news release, Lermons criminal history dates back to 2019 when he was convicted of possession of a controlled substance. In 2020, the Lubbock man was convicted of theft of property. By December 2020, Lermon was arrested in Hudspeth County for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, aggravated robbery, unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.

He was bonded out of jail.

Lermon is described as a 5-foot, 11-inches tall man who weighs about 155 pounds. He has tattoos on his left arm and right hand.

He is affiliated with the Crips gang and is believed to have ties in Lubbock and in Amarillo.

According to his Texas 10 Most Wanted Fugitive bulletin, Lermons aliases include Luck C, C-Luck, Cluck and Tanner Kole Lermon. He is considered armed and dangerous.

Blaine Brandon McReynolds, of Dallas, was added to the Texas Most Wanted Sex Offenders List.

McReynolds was convicted of possession of child pornography in 2005. In 2008, he was convicted of aggravated sexual assault of a child after an incident involved a 6-year-old girl. He was released in 2017 on parole from a 15-year sentence.

In July 2021, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles issued a warrant for the 57-year-old for a parole violation. Two months later, the Dallas County Sheriffs Office issued its own warrant for McReynolds for failure to comply with sex offender registration requirements.

McReynolds is described as being 5-feet, 8-inches tall and weighing 180 pounds. He has tattoos on his right shoulder and right arm. According to his Texas 10 Most Wanted Sex Offenders bulletin, McReynolds also has scars on his face, nose, lip, chin, abdomen, left shoulder, both arms, left wrist and right thigh.

While he is wanted for his failure to register as a sex offender and for a parole violation, his criminal history also includes carrying a prohibited weapon, DWI, DUI and theft, in addition to aggravated sexual assault of a child and possession of child pornography.

He is believed to have ties in Dallas, Krugerville, Denton and Kaufman. McReynolds is considered armed and dangerous.

The rewards for both McReynolds and Lermon are up to $5,000 for information that leads to their apprehension. Tips are anonymous and can be submitted via the Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-252-8477; on the DPS website; or through the SUBMIT A TIP link in the About section on the Texas 10 Most Wanted Facebook page.

Do not attempt to apprehend these fugitives; they are considered armed and dangerous, the news release reads.
WFO NORMAN Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Monday, July 25, 2022

_____

HEAT ADVISORY

URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE

National Weather Service Norman OK

239 PM CDT Mon Jul 25 2022

...HEAT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 PM CDT THIS EVENING...

...HEAT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM NOON TO 8 PM CDT

TUESDAY...

...HEAT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM NOON TO 8 PM CDT WEDNESDAY...

* WHAT...For the first Heat Advisory, heat index values up to

107. For the second Heat Advisory, heat index values up to 106

expected. For the third Heat Advisory, heat index values up to

106 expected.

* WHERE...Portions of central, east central, northwest,

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 noon to 8 PM CDT

Tuesday. For the third Heat Advisory, from noon to 8 PM CDT

Wednesday.

* 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 108 expected.

* WHERE...Portions of western Oklahoma and western north Texas.

* WHEN...From noon to 8 PM CDT today and Tuesday.

...FIRE WEATHER WATCH IN EFFECT FROM TUESDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH

TUESDAY EVENING FOR WESTERN AND NORTHERN OKLAHOMA AND ADJACENT

PARTS OF NORTH TEXAS...

The National Weather Service in Norman has issued a Fire Weather

Watch, which is in effect from Tuesday afternoon through Tuesday

evening.

* TIMING...Tuesday afternoon through early Tuesday evening.

* WINDS...South 10 to 20 mph with gusts up to 30 mph.

* RELATIVE HUMIDITY...As low as 19 percent.

* TEMPERATURES...105 to 109.

A Fire Weather Watch means that critical fire weather conditions

are forecast to occur. Listen for later forecasts and possible

Red Flag Warnings.

_____

Copyright 2022 AccuWeather
Courtesy of DeLorean Motor Company

Everyone in San Antonio knows by now that a revival of the defunct 80s car company, DeLorean Motor Company, is establishing its home in the Alamo City. Here the company will engineer and test the company's Alpha5 reimagining of the old steel coupe of Back to the Future fame.

But apparently DeLorean had plans for this "Alpha" version of the original that dates back to 1982, a year after the DMC coupe with the gull-wing doors was released in the U.S. We wouldn't have known because this reimagined version of the company has been mostly quiet on its San Antonio revival other than a promise to bring 450 jobs.
Paul Stephen / Staff

Royal Blue Grocery, the Austin-based company of small urban markets, is aiming to add another San Antonio location this year. Royal Blue's next store will be in Dignowity Hill.

Chris Provost, a co-owner of Royal Blue Grocery, tells MySA the 1431 E. Commerce location will also have a kitchen component where the store's products, such as salads, sandwiches, sides, and tacos, will be prepared. He says there is potential that the space will be available for sub-leases to function as a "ghost kitchen" for other businesses.
Eds: This story was supplied by The Conversation for AP customers. The Associated Press does not guarantee the content.

Eva von Dassow, University of Minnesota

(THE CONVERSATION) Student loan debt is one of the most burdensome forms of debt in America today. According to oft-cited statistics, approximately 43 million Americans have student loan debt, cumulatively amounting to around US$1.7 trillion. The exorbitant costs of higher education in the United States, combined with the fact that educational credentials serve as a ticket to decent employment, require many students to take out loans that follow them long past graduation  and that are almost impossible to discharge in bankruptcy.

Hence, calls for cancellation of student loan debt by legislative or executive action keep intensifying, and President Joe Biden is expected to respond by ordering cancellation of some amount, notwithstanding arguments against any blanket debt amnesty.

Yet this very policy is inscribed on the U.S. Liberty Bell. Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof! it declares, quoting the biblical Book of Leviticus, 25:10. The Hebrew word translated liberty, deror, actually refers to debt amnesty.

In the world of the Bible, it was customary to cancel all noncommercial debts from time to time. As a scholar of the ancient Near East, Ive read many cuneiform tablets that record how people then  like Americans today  often went into debt to meet living expenses. They might mortgage their property to keep a roof over their heads, only to find that ever-accruing interest made it impossible to pay off the principal.

They faced the additional risk of debt bondage: People lacking sufficient property to secure their debts would have to pledge their dependents or even their own selves to their creditors. Their creditors thus became their masters, and those pledged for debt were effectively enslaved, unless and until they were redeemed. A decree of debt amnesty would wipe the slate clean, springing people from bondage and restoring their freedom as well as their fortunes.

Kings clean the slate

The earliest recorded instances of this practice come from ancient Sumer, a land in the south of what is now Iraq. Urukagina, ruler of the city of Lagash around 2400 B.C., decreed a debt amnesty soon after he came to power, releasing people living in debt bondage to go home and even clearing the prisons. In the Sumerian language, this amnesty was termed amargi  return to mother  for it restored people to their families.

Urukagina was not the first to issue such a decree, and it may already have become traditional by his time. The practice of decreeing debt amnesty is widely documented in the Semitic-speaking kingdoms of Syria and Mesopotamia during the early second millennium B.C. Debt amnesty was routinely triggered by the death of a ruler: His successor would raise a golden torch and decree anduraru, or restoration  the Akkadian equivalent of Hebrew deror. The stated purpose of such decrees was to establish or reestablish equity. A kings foremost duty was to maintain justice and equity, as Hammurabi of Babylon claimed to do when promulgating his laws around 1750 B.C.

While lending at interest was not considered unjust, debt that deprived families of their property and liberty created inequity, which had to be remedied. A decree of anduraru restored equity, liberty and family property by canceling debts incurred for subsistence  including tax arrears owed to the state  while leaving commercial debts untouched. When Hammurabi was on his deathbed, his son Samsu-iluna took power and issued a decree remitting noncommercial debts, canceling arrears and forbidding their collection; thus, he declared, I have established restoration throughout the land.

A decree of restoration could also be issued to address political or economic crisis. The usurper or conqueror, having subjected a people to his rule, could establish their restoration, both remitting debts and enabling those captured during hostilities to go free. Hammurabi himself did this upon conquering the kingdom of Larsa, which was part of ancient Sumer.

Thus the conqueror could pose as a liberator setting a disordered realm to rights. The idea was to restore the inhabitants of the land to their original condition, before incurring debt, losing their property or losing their liberty.

Not so forgiving

The issuance of debt-canceling decrees was sporadic, not periodic, so one never knew when it would occur. But everyone knew it would happen sooner or later. Financiers would therefore prepare for this eventuality to avoid taking losses whenever debts were abruptly remitted and their collection prohibited. They used various methods to insulate transactions and investments from debt remission  because otherwise who would ever offer credit to those in need?

They developed legal fictions to disguise mortgage loans, debt bondage, and the like as contracts of other kinds, avoiding their cancellation by decree. The decree of Ammi-saduqa, a king of Babylon in the 17th century B.C., explicitly prohibits such subterfuge, but regulation was a step behind entrepreneurs. Clever financial instruments immunized debt from amnesty and kept credit, as well as profit, flowing.

Ultimately a program for periodic debt cancellation was developed in biblical law. The Book of Deuteronomy requires remission of debts among Israelites every seventh year, using the term semittah  remission  and stipulating that every creditor should remit the debt owed him. The Book of Leviticus adds the requirement to proclaim amnesty, Hebrew deror, after every seventh cycle of seven years, restoring every Israelite to his property and family in the 50th year  the jubilee year. Recognizing that a predictable debt amnesty would only make creditors planning easier, Deuteronomy 15:9 warns against refusing to lend as the seventh year approaches.

The biblical authors must have had some experience with creditors efforts to evade the requirement to remit debts. According to the Book of Jeremiah, when Zedekiah, the last king of Judah, decreed deror in the face of the Babylonian invasion of 587 B.C., creditors agreed to release their enslaved fellow Judeans, then found ways to force them back into bondage.

Not only was the ostensible purpose of debt-remission decrees defeated by creative credit instruments, the true purpose of such decrees was not to fix the problems that made them necessary. People would still need to go into debt to survive, pay their taxes and keep a roof over their heads. They would still risk impoverishment, debt bondage and eventual enslavement. Sporadic debt cancellation did not eliminate chronic indebtedness, nor was it meant to.

Instead, the function of such decrees was to restore socioeconomic balance  and the tax base  enough that the cycle of borrowing to survive could start over. In a sense, debt amnesty actually served to restore society to its ideal state of inequity, so that it would always need the same remedy again.

This dynamic is worth considering amid calls for canceling student loan debt. Certainly a student debt amnesty would benefit millions whose lives are shackled by interest on loans they took out in the hope that a degree would guarantee them gainful employment. It would do nothing to address the problems that make incurring such debt necessary.

As long as higher education is treated simultaneously as a private good and a job requirement, people will still need to go into debt to get degrees. Then the same remedy will have to be applied again.

The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts. The Conversation is wholly responsible for the content.
Groundbreaking drugs that prevent HIV infection may be harder to get in the United States if a prominent Texas lawyer wins a lawsuit that pits his clients' religious beliefs against free nationwide access to the medicines.

At issue are Gilead Sciences Inc.'s Truvada and Descovy, forms of pre-exposure prophylaxis commonly known as PrEP that are taken daily by hundreds of thousands of Americans at risk from HIV, particularly men who have sex with men. The drugs were added last year to a list of preventive services like cancer screenings and polio vaccinations that most health insurance plans are required to cover at no cost under a provision of the federal Affordable Care Act.

Jonathan Mitchell, the Republican former solicitor general of Texas known for his efforts to restrict abortion access in the state, argues the mandatory PrEP coverage violates the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, a statute cited in other health care fights over abortion, contraception and treatments for transgender people.

His Christian clients - Kelley Orthodontics, Braidwood Management Inc., and several individuals - don't wish to "subsidize or provide insurance that encourages and facilitates homosexual behavior, drug use, or sexual activity outside of marriage," Mitchell said in a November 2021 court filing.

Mitchell is seeking in a Texas court to block the entire preventive services mandate under the ACA without a trial, arguing it's invalid because the government employees who manage the list have too much power to not be confirmed by the Senate. That would have a far-reaching impact nationwide, scrapping requirements for no-cost access to other services, like care for pregnant women and infants. But his motion for summary judgment takes specific aim at PrEP.

The U.S. asked the judge to uphold the ACA requirements, also without a trial. U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor in Fort Worth is set to hear arguments Tuesday. He's the same judge who ruled the Affordable Care Act was unconstitutional in 2018 before the Supreme Court voted for a second time to uphold it.

The U.S. claims the plaintiffs lack standing to sue because they haven't been injured by the mandate, and that their religious objection doesn't qualify for attacking a provision of ACA that will lead to "ultimately fewer deaths."

A coalition of states including California, Colorado, Maryland, and New York and the District of Columbia filed a brief in favor of the mandate. They say that if Mitchell prevails, they will have to spend more on public health.

The LGBTQ community has also lobbied the government to increase access to PrEP and still fights to raise awareness of the drug, particularly among people of color who continue to disproportionately suffer from new HIV infections. The disease has killed more than 700,000 people in the U.S. since 1981, including more than 16,000 in 2019.

Kenyon Farrow, managing director of advocacy and organizing at the nonprofit Prep4All, said he thinks the lawsuit smacks of bigotry, targeting the LGBTQ community at a time when access to the drug should be dramatically increased.

"We need a health care system that provides for both treatment of illness when people have it and also maximizes our tools in preventing illness for people who need it," he said. "If that is our value as society then preventing HIV infections should be something that we all support."

The challengers claim their insurance premiums are too expensive because they must pay for contraceptives or HIV-prevention drugs that they "neither want nor need." The judge earlier dismissed Mitchell's contraception claim but the lawyer has said he'll revive it.

The suit, filed in 2020, is coming to a head amid a raging culture war exemplified by the Supreme Court's recent decision overturning the constitutional right to abortion. Mitchell helped write part of a strict Texas abortion law that allowed private citizens to seek $10,000 bounties on suspected abortion providers, making him a hero among conservatives in the state.

Gilead, which isn't involved in the case, didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
Katelyn McClure's story about a down-on-his-luck hero who'd spent his last $20 to help a stranger inspired thousands to contribute to a GoFundMe campaign that soon topped $400,000.

Her claim that she'd run out of gas on Interstate 95, where the homeless veteran came to her rescue, went viral in 2017. But after all the media frenzy, it turned out to be mostly bogus - and a huge chunk of the funds raised had been used on a luxury car, clothes, vacations and trips to casinos, federal prosecutors said. Now, McClure has been sentenced for her role in the three-person scheme - one that the Justice Department called "a GoFundMe scam that gained nationwide attention."

McClure, 32, pleaded guilty in March 2019 to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. On Thursday, she was sentenced to one year and one day in federal prison and was ordered to pay $400,000 in restitution.

The scam began outside a Philadelphia casino in 2017, prosecutors said. That's where McClure and her boyfriend at the time, Mark D'Amico, met Johnny Bobbitt, a homeless veteran, according to court documents. But McClure had never run out of gas and Bobbitt hadn't spent his last $20 to help her, a federal prosecutor said in 2018.

The 2017 GoFundMe campaign claimed that McClure had run into problems on her way from Philadelphia to her home in New Jersey. Bobbitt, who had been sitting on the side of the road near an exit ramp holding a sign, came to her rescue by using his last bit of cash to get a can of gasoline at a nearby gas station, the fundraiser claimed. As a thank-you gesture, McClure and D'Amico started the GoFundMe to raise $10,000 to get Bobbitt an apartment, a car and cover other expenses, it said.

But the campaign gained widespread attention - including in an article from The Washington Post - and people soon donated over $400,000. The couple had informed Bobbitt about the campaign in November 2017, when about $1,500 had been raised, according to court records. They later set up a bank account for the veteran and deposited $25,000 of the GoFundMe proceeds, prosecutors said.

However, the story began unraveling in August 2018, when Bobbitt filed a lawsuit accusing McClure and D'Amico of using the "GoFundMe account as their personal piggy bank to fund a lifestyle that they could not otherwise afford." Federal investigators soon got involved.

While some of the funds went toward buying Bobbitt a camper, a TV, two cellphones and a used SUV, most of the money was pocketed by McClure and D'Amico, prosecutors said. The couple "used the funds to pay for luxury items, such as a BMW and expensive hand bags; go on trips; and to gamble at casinos in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Las Vegas," according to court records.

Still, in an August 2018 interview with Megyn Kelly, McClure and D'Amico insisted they were holding $150,000 for Bobbitt. However, investigators found that there was actually no money to be given, prosecutors said.

Attorneys for the couple didn't immediately respond to requests for comment. But Mark Davis, D'Amico's attorney, told The Post in November that the couple's desire to help Bobbitt "was very real."

Lori Koch, Bobbitt's attorney, said her client "deeply regrets" the scam, adding that Bobbitt was battling addiction at the time and has since been in recovery. "He wants nothing more than to put this ugly episode behind him and move on to being the solid, caring citizen he once was, helping others in need as an EMT," Koch said. "He would like to help others who are in recovery as well, and welcomes the idea of using his experience to help others."

By the end, McClure, D'Amico and Bobbitt all pleaded guilty for their roles. Bobbitt is expected to be sentenced next month. In April, D'Amico was sentenced to 27 months in prison for leading a move that prosecutors allege was a ruse right from the get-go.

Less than an hour after the GoFundMe page went live, McClure texted a friend and said, "Ok so wait the gas part is completely made up, but the guy isn't. I had to make something up to make people feel bad. So shush about the made up stuff," according to federal prosecutors.
Welcome Guest! You Are Here:
Up until a few weeks ago, the website for the University of Texas at Austins health center laid out three options for pregnant students to possibly pursue: they can carry the pregnancy to term and raise the child, put the baby up for adoption or terminate the pregnancy.

When the state enacted a law in September that prohibited abortion after about six weeks, the website added language making note of the restriction.

But two weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the landmark case that asserted abortion access as a constitutional right for nearly five decades, the university removed the entire text about pregnant students options from its website. What remains are vague instructions.

If you are pregnant, our Womens Health providers can discuss options and help connect patients to appropriate resources, the website now reads.

UT-Austin officials did not respond to questions explaining why they removed the paragraph about pregnant students options from its site. But the timing illustrates how public university health centers are rethinking how they can and should communicate with students about reproductive health care amid a vague and rapidly changing legal landscape in Texas.

Its put people in a position where they dont know what they can offer in student health centers, because they dont know exactly how the law is going to fall out  or even what the law defaulted to after Roe was repealed, said Gretchen Ely, a social work professor at the University of Tennessee Knoxville who focuses on access to reproductive care.

Yet the stakes are high because college students fall in the age group that has historically received the largest percentage of abortions in Texas annually, which puts university health centers on the front lines of providing reproductive health information and services in the form of wellness exams and birth control.

So far, Texas universities have remained silent about the Supreme Courts ruling. The vast majority did not respond to The Texas Tribunes requests for comment or provided vague answers about what kind of information and resources health centers will share with students who become pregnant in this new era of reproductive care in the state.

Each students circumstances dictate our counsel regarding medical care, Cecilia Jacobs, a spokesperson for Stephenville-based Tarleton State University, said in a statement. [F]or students seeking non-emergency assistance thats not readily available we provide information on how to find it through internet searches, health insurance resources or local health care entities, she added.

Students say they are also frustrated  but unsurprised  that university leaders have not spoken out about the Roe v. Wade reversal or proactively communicated about how they plan to handle conversations about abortion access moving forward. At some universities, students have recommitted to sharing abortion access resources through student organizations, as well as providing deliveries of free emergency contraception to students anonymously. Last week, a group of student leaders at UT-Austin signed a list of demands calling on administrators to support students reproductive health care and advocate for students rights with the Texas government. The university has not responded to the students as of Tuesday.

During times when the rights of marginalized communities are under attack, our university succumbs to silence to avoid criticism from said politicians. However, it is the universitys responsibility and priority to protect the rights and health of their students, staff, and faculty, the petition read. Therefore, we call upon the university to advocate for reproductive health care access through its influential position within Texas politics to protect and uplift its students, faculty, and staff.

As health care professionals try to figure out how to move forward in a post-Roe world, some students say they are now hesitant to ask questions or share details of an unexpected pregnancy with university health centers, unsure where the role of a health professional ends and a state-funded university employee begins.

Its too much of a gray area at this point, said Nikita Kakkad, a junior at UT-Austin. And its not the practitioners. Its the structure.

Preexisting information gaps about abortion

Even before Roe v. Wade was overturned, few Texas universities mentioned abortion as an option for pregnant students on their public-facing websites and very few listed places like Planned Parenthood as a community resource. Students said it is also difficult to access information about abortion and comprehensive sex education on their campuses.

Most Texas universities state that they offer wellness exams, birth control and pregnancy tests and will provide referrals to pregnant students for off-campus prenatal care. That often includes referrals to OB-GYNs.

A few universities across the state, including Prairie View A&M University and Tarleton State, also include crisis pregnancy centers as resources for pregnant and parenting students on their websites under Title IX resources. Pregnant students have protections under Title IX, the federal law that prohibits sex-based discrimination.

Research has shown that crisis pregnancy centers often inaccurately present themselves as health clinics  some offer free ultrasounds and provide free baby supplies  even though they are religiously affiliated nonprofits largely staffed by nonmedical professionals who cannot diagnose patients. They often discourage abortion in sometimes manipulative and deceptive ways. Neither Prairie View A&M nor Tarleton State responded to questions as to why they include these centers as potential resources for pregnant students.

In addition to information gaps, one university health center leader told the Tribune the facility had already adjusted how its health care providers advise pregnant students about their options. The center made the changes after the state passed a law last year that allows private citizens to file a lawsuit against anyone who aids or abets an abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy.

We interpreted that as [our] providers cant really help people find that service, said Martha Dannenbaum, director of student health services at Texas A&M University in College Station and an OB-GYN. I dont see this dramatically changing  how we will manage and support the students who come to us with these questions. Where we will be mindful is that were not going to be making direct referrals to an [abortion] provider. Mainly because we dont have any. Were not going to have any.

She said in instances in which a pregnant student wanted information about their options to keep or terminate a pregnancy, she would share how students could find additional information themselves, either through health insurance or on the internet.

Our role is, as the health care providers particularly in a college health setting, is to provide  the student with factual information and answer any of their questions about it and provide them nonjudgmental care, she said.

Rachel Mack, a spokesperson for the American College Health Association, said abortion bans and other restrictions can put health care providers at risk of civil liability or arrest.

Many of these laws are not just restrictive  they are also vague, which creates fear and confusion among both patients and health care providers, she said in a statement. The vagueness of these laws also could result in students being isolated from trusted supports in their most vulnerable moments.

Dannenbaum at Texas A&M said she does anticipate an uptick this fall in the number of students trying to access more effective contraception, such as intrauterine devices (IUDs), in response to a trigger law passed last year that was set to go into effect and ban abortion from the moment of fertilization if the Supreme Court overturned Roe. The trigger law will likely go into effect in mid- to late August, though the procedure is already illegal in Texas due to a near-total ban on abortion passed in the 1920s that went back into effect after the Supreme Court repealed Roe v. Wade.

She also said she expects to have additional conversations with Texas A&M lawyers and the universitys health care providers ahead of the fall semester to make sure everyone understands how to provide factual information to students while remaining within the confines of state law. But she remained confident the health center could maintain its quality of care.

There are many things that happen that change processes of how you have to do things in health care and in other industries. This is another one of them. It doesnt help patients, students, providers, to get panicked about it, she said. In the college health setting, Im here to support them to be successful students, regardless of whether they parent, whether they adopt out, whether they choose termination. Were here to support them.

Yet Dannenbaum said she and her team havent discussed if the universitys health care providers would suggest that students can reach out to abortion funds to learn about ways to possibly travel out of state to access abortion care.

She said she would likely direct students to the student assistant services department, which can provide some short-term financial support for medical services to students without requiring detailed information about a diagnosis.

Its really dependent on whether you have a needed medical service and  a financial need, she said.

More access to contraception

Students involved in reproductive justice advocacy on college campuses said they would largely advise students who are considering terminating their pregnancies to reach out to abortion funds rather than going to the university health center for information.

Students themselves are not comfortable with going anywhere beyond surface-level questions, Hairou Yi, a UT-Austin junior and vice president of UT Students for Planned Parenthood, told the Tribune about health centers. Because they dont know the legal ramifications that can come with [it].

Experts, such as Ely at the University of Tennessee, said health centers should not just be ready to provide information, but be prepared for the possibility that some students might come into the center with complications from a self-managed abortion.

But Ely said shes cognizant of the tightrope that health care providers at publicly funded institutions must walk.

Thats a very real concern, both at the individual level for the student in terms of confidentiality and then for the student health centers in public universities in states where abortion is criminalized, she said.

With all that in mind, Ely said, university health centers should increase their work to provide accessible reproductive health information and have emergency contraception available for free or low cost. While many Texas universities currently offer Plan B emergency contraceptives in their pharmacies, it can cost $25 to $35.

Kakkad, the junior at UT-Austin, has been pushing the university to make emergency contraception more accessible by installing a vending machine on campus that dispenses Plan B contraceptives. She said talks with university officials have been productive, but action hasnt been taken toward making the proposal a reality. The list of demands sent to UT-Austin administrators last week included adding a vending machine, as well as eliminating mandatory attendance, a policy that students say hurts those who are pregnant or have children.

Student groups say they can offer a safe space for students to figure out where they can go for information about their specific situations, but they have their limits.

Nimisha Srikanth is a rising senior at Texas A&M University and president of the group Feminists for Reproductive Equity & Education, or FREE Aggies, on campus. She said now that Texas allows people to sue those who help a person get the procedure, there is confusion about what constitutes helping someone get an abortion, which can make people hesitant to share information.

The trajectory of limiting abortion access has led many in her group to prepare for the state to also criminalize providing information about abortion, which also makes them hesitate about how much information they should share.

The best thing a person could do at this point is contact an abortion fund because theyre the ones on the ground doing the work, she said. We run the risk of having really complicated legal stuff if we were to get more involved.

We want to hear from Texas college students about their experiences accessing reproductive health care at their on-campus health centers and how theyre getting information about abortion access in the wake of the reversal of Roe v. Wade. Email reporter Kate McGee at mcgee@texastribune.org. We will not publish any information without first contacting you.

Disclosure: Planned Parenthood, Prairie View A&M University, Texas A&M University and University of Texas at Austin have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.
The Uvalde school board is formally urging Gov. Greg Abbott to call state lawmakers back to Austin so they can raise the legal age to buy assault rifles from 18 to 21, more than two months after a gunman used such a weapon to kill 19 elementary school students and two teachers days after he turned 18.

Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District trustees approved the largely symbolic resolution in a unanimous vote on the same night they voted to delay the start of the school year. Trustees moved the first day of school from Aug. 15 to Sept. 6 so that more security improvements can be made to campuses and district staffers can receive trauma-informed training.

Uvalde County commissioners have also asked Abbott, who in June asked the Texas Legislature to form special committees to make recommendations in the aftermath of the shooting, to call a special session to increase the legal age to buy an assault rifle. Democrats have made similar calls since the May 24 shooting at Uvaldes Robb Elementary. The governor is the only Texas official with the power to call special legislative sessions.

In an emailed response to The Texas Tribune, a spokesperson from Abbotts office said the governor has taken immediate action to address all aspects of the massacre in Uvalde.

As Governor Abbott has said from day one, all options remain on the table as he continues working with state and local leaders to prevent future tragedies and deploy all available resources to support the Uvalde community as they heal, the spokesperson said. More announcements are expected in the coming days and weeks as the legislature deliberates proposed solutions.

The vote on both items comes more than a week after a Texas House report detailed a series of systemic failures that allowed for the gunman to enter Robb Elementary in Uvalde and remain inside two adjoined classrooms for more than 73 minutes before law enforcement confronted him. Nearly 400 officers from numerous agencies responded to the campus that day. At least a year before the shooting, the gunman had threatened women, carried around a dead cat and been nicknamed school shooter, according to the investigation.

At a school board meeting last week, Uvalde residents called for district officials to fire district police Chief Pete Arredondo, who was among the first officers to arrive at the school the day of the shooting. School board members were scheduled to discuss that Saturday, but the school district postponed the meeting at the request of the police chiefs lawyer.

For weeks, state leaders have said Arredondo was the incident commander and blamed him for law enforcement waiting more than an hour to confront the gunman. Arredondo, who was placed on administrative leave last month, told the Tribune that he did not consider himself the incident commander. The school districts active-shooter response plan that he co-authored, though, says the chief will become the person in control of the efforts of all law enforcement and first responders that arrive at the scene.

The House report explains how the gunman  who also shot and wounded his grandmother, Celia Gonzales, before storming the school  was able to stockpile military-style rifles, accessories and ammunition without arousing suspicion from authorities, then enter a supposedly secure school unimpeded.

The report also revealed that, while the school had adopted security policies to lock exterior doors and internal classroom doors, there was a regrettable culture of noncompliance by school personnel who frequently propped doors open and deliberately circumvented locks. In violation of school policy, the report said, three exterior doors to the west building of the school were unlocked on the day of the shooting  one of which the gunman walked through with ease just moments before entering classrooms 111 and 112.

Trustees said Monday that they plan to add extra police officers, install bullet-proof windows, put up metal detectors and create single points of entry for visitors. School officials have also requested that state troopers be on every campus at the beginning of the school year.

Residents at the meeting questioned what additional police officers would accomplish when there were already hundreds who responded to Robb Elementary on the day of the shooting.

Just remember its not about extra security, one resident said to the school board. Over 400 officers and 77 minutes later already proved where that got us.

The House report also concluded that alerts set to reach the phones of school personnel in emergency situations also failed to do so in a timely manner during the shooting because of low quality internet service, poor mobile phone coverage, and varying habits of mobile phone usage.

School officials said they would continue training for their emergency alert system. They also said they would soon begin a Wi-Fi audit across campuses.

The investigation said frequent bailout-related alerts  which come when officers chase a vehicle containing suspected undocumented migrants, who then purposely crash and scatter to avoid apprehension  led teachers and administrators to respond to cautionary messages with less urgency. The predominantly Hispanic city is about 50 miles east of the border with Mexico and sits at the intersection of major highways from the border cities of Del Rio and Eagle Pass.

Abbott, whos been reluctant to entertain changes to the states gun laws, has since called the House committees findings beyond disturbing and said there are critical changes needed as a result.
Courtesy of Lennar

The sales office and welcome center are now open at a planned 546-home community coming to San Antonio's Southwest Side near Lackland Air Force Base. The new suburb, called Crescent Hills, sits on 170 acres off Old Pearsall Road and Loop 410 and a mile from Millers Pond Park.

Crescent Hills features one to two-story homes built by Lennar that range from 925 to 1,874 square-feet and have two- to four-bedroom options, according to a news release. The homes come with floorplans that feature living and kitchen spaces, and resort-style master suites.
Even though Putin had warned that the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline had another sick turbine that needed repair, had offered Europe supply through Nord Stream 2, and had also said that Russia would need to test the Canadian-vacationing part when it returned (it still is not back in Russian hands), EU leaders instead obsessed about the one thing Russia repeatedly insisted was not happening: Russia keeping Nord Stream 1 turned off after its long-scheduled annual maintenance in July.

Interfax provided a bland update of what is an attention-focusing event for Europe, that Russia is cutting the Nord Stream 1 gas flow further, to roughly 20% of capacity, because the other sick part is too sick and the globe-trotting part isnt back in St. Petersburg, much the less put through tests so it can be restored to service. Presumably after that happens, the shipments over Nord Stream 1 can go back to the 40% level. But that is up in the ari.

From Interfax:

The spot price of gas in Europe has topped $2,000/1,000 cubic meter on expectations that another gas compressor unit at Nord Stream will go out of service. On the previous day, trading closed at $1,852, while the average price since the beginning of the month stands at $1,713. Gazprom said on Monday that it was shutting down another Siemens gas turbine engine at the Portovaya compressor station as it was reaching the end of its operating period before overhaul (in accordance with Rostekhnadzor regulations and taking into account the technical condition of the engine). As a result, the daily capacity of the Portovaya station from 07:00 Moscow time on July 27 will be up to 33 million cubic meters per day compared to the current 67 million cubic meters per day (40% of the capacity).

The underlying problem is the unrealistic thinking of the West, and particularly the EU. Whether you think Russias response was justified or not, the West had set out to destabilize Russia by turning Ukraine into NATO-lite. If the US reacted badly to the prospect of nuclear missiles in Cuba, just imagine how it would have reacted if Mexico joined a military alliance with Russia and accepted Russian training, funding, and armaments, and funded a civil war on its border, killing 14,000 English-speakers and creating over 1 million refugees.

Despite the aggressive Western sanctions, including seizing hundreds of billions of central bank assets, seizing Gazprom infrastructure, and explicitly trying to break the Russian banking system and even breaking up Russia itself, Russia has been very restrained as far as counter-measures are concerned. So after loudly saying that the EU wants nothing to do with Russian energy or Russian pipelines, the EU should hardly be upset if Russia is tried of laboring not to give them what they asked for, an economic divorce. The problem is Europe is now upset that its getting what it acted like it wanted.

Putin complained in at least two speeches about another turbine having a crumbling lining, confirmed by Siemens. He seemed pretty exasperated. Recall that Germany put Nord Stream 2 on hold when Russia recognized the breakaway republics. As you will see, this is proving to be yet another Punish ourselves to hurt Russia move. Per Bloomberg in May, Gazrpom indicates that it would start using the pipeline domestically.

From Putins Q&A with the press in Iran on July 19. Note I have yet to see anywhere else an unpacking of the various ways Russian gas once got to Europe:

What is happening? I have spoken about this on numerous occasions, and I do not know if we should go into detail regarding the energy policies of European countries, which underrate the importance of traditional sources of energy and have put money on non-traditional energy sources. They are big experts on non-traditional relations, and they have also decided to make a bid for non-traditional energy sources like the sun and wind. Last winter was long, there wasno wind, and that did it. Investment in the fixed assets of traditional energy producers has decreased because of previous political decisions: banks do not finance them, insurance companies do not insure them, local governments do not allocate land plots for new projects, and pipeline and other forms of transportation are not developing. This is a result of many years, probably a decade of this policy. This is the root cause of price hikes rather than any actions by Russia or Gazprom. What is going on today? Until recently, we supplied gas to Europe without Turkiye: we supplied around 30 billion cubic metres a year to Turkiye, and 170 billion to Europe, 55 billion via Nord Stream 1, and, if memory serves me, 33 billion were supplied via Yamal-Europe, via the two strings that run through Ukraine. About 12 billion were delivered to Europe through Turkiye via TurkStream. Ukraine suddenly announced that it was going to close one of the two routes on its territory. Allegedly because the gas pumping station is not under its control but on the territory of the Lugansk Peoples Republic. But it found itself under the control of the Lugansk Peoples Republic several months before, and they closed it just recently without any grounds. Everything was functioning normally there, no one interfered. In my opinion, they closed it simply for political reasons. What happened next? Poland imposed sanctions on Yamal-Europe, which supplied 33 billion cubic metres of gas. They used to take 34, I think, 3334 million cubic metres a day from us. They shut it down completely. But then we saw that they turned on the Yamal-Europe pipeline in reverse mode, and they started taking about 32 million a day from Germany. Where is the gas from Germany coming from? It is our Russian gas. Why from Germany? Because it turned out to be cheaper for the Poles. They used to get it from us at a very high price, closer to the market price, whereas Germany gets it from us 34 times cheaper than the market price under long-term contracts. It is profitable for German companies to sell it to the Poles at a small premium. It is profitable for the Poles to buy it because it is cheaper than to buy it directly from us. But the volume of gas in the European market has decreased, and the total market price has gone up. Who has won? All Europeans only lost. This is the second point: Yamal-Europe. So, first one of the routes in Ukraine was shut down, then Yamal-Europe was shut down, now Nord Stream 1, which is one of the main routes  we pump 55 billion cubic metres a year through it. There are five Siemens gas compressor stations working there, and one is on standby. One compressor had to be sent out for repairs. A repaired compressor was supposed to come from Canada, from the Siemens plant in Canada, to replace it. But it ended up under sanctions in Canada. So, one pumping station, just one piece of equipment was out of order because of scheduled maintenance work and it has not been returned from Canada. Now we are being told that the unit will be delivered from Canada soon, but Gazprom does not have any official documents yet. We must certainly obtain them, because this is our property, it is the property of Gazprom. Gazprom should receive not only the hardware, not only the gas pumping unit, but also the accompanying documents, both legal and technical documentation. We must be able to see what Gazprom is taking  the turbines current condition as well as its legal status, whether it is under sanctions or not, what we can do with it, or maybe they are taking it back tomorrow. But that is not all. The problem is that at the end of July, on July 26, I think  we can ask Gazprom  another turbine should be sent for routine maintenance, for repairs. And where will we get a replacement from? We do not know. One more turbine is actually out of order because of some crumbling of its internal liner. Siemens has confirmed this. That leaves two operational units, which are pumping 60 million per day. So, if one more is delivered, fine, we will have two in operation. But if it is not, only one will be left, and it will pump only 30 million cubic meters per day. You can count how much time it will take to pump the rest. How is this Gazproms responsibility? What does Gazprom even have to do with this? They have cut off one route, then another, and sanctioned this gas pumping equipment. Gazprom is ready to pump as much gas as necessary. But they have shut everything down. As for gas, there is another route we are ready to open, which is Nord Stream 2. It is ready to be launched, but they are not launching it. There are problems here as well, I discussed them with the Chancellor about six or maybe eight weeks ago. I raised this issue; I said that Gazprom had reserved the capacity, and that this capacity needed to be used, and it cannot be suspended in mid-air indefinitely. The answer was that there were other issues on the agenda, more important things, so it is difficult for them to deal with this right now. But I had to warn them that then we would have to redirect half of the volume intended for Nord Stream for domestic consumption and processing. I raised this issue at the request of Gazprom, and Gazprom has actually already done it. Therefore, even if we launch Nord Stream 2 tomorrow, it will not pump 55 billion cubic meters, but exactly half that amount. And given that we are already halfway through this year, it would be just a quarter. Such is the supply situation.

Putin was basically saying What are we do to? Even though Siemens is theoretically on the hook, it appears that all significant repairs are made outside Russia, evoking the specter of yet more parts stranded outside Russia. And after the doubts about when if ever Gazprom would get its peripatetic turbine back, if I were them, I wouldnt let the other in-need-of-fixing part leave Russia until I had at least gotten the other one back.

RT has a tidbit that is not pretty:

Gazprom said earlier on Monday that the paperwork it had received from Canada and Siemens regarding the shipment of the turbine did not clear up sanctions-related questions.

This is what Gazprom had sought, per Reuters:

Gazprom said on Friday that it still had not obtained necessary documentation from Siemens Energy confirming the exemption from European Union and Canadian sanctions for a key turbine for the pipeline to be returned to Nord Streams Portovaya compressor station.

Canada and the EU cant gin up a short note on official stationery? Without some documentation of a sanctions waiver (after having gone on noisily about how because sanctions the part was held hostage in Canada), what assurance does Russia have that 1. there wont be some punishment vis a vis the part delivery and 2. it wont be subject to the same run-around if the second busted Nord Stream 1 part has to go to the EU or Canada, which seems likely?

I also wonder if Russia either chose or was persuaded to choose Siemens to handle maintenance and servicing to make nice to Germany..and now thats proven to be a big problem because sanctions.

And as Putin made clear, before you accuse Russia of seeking to choke the EU, recall that Ukraine and Poland effectively cut off the Yamal-Europe pipeline (Ukraine overtly, Poland by refusing to pay under the new gas for roubles scheme). Putin offered to Scholz >8 weeks ago to turn on Nord Stream 2 to assure supply. Scholz didnt accept.

The Europeans could still get 50% of Nord Stream 2 capacity now if theyd get over themselves. But no, theyd rather suffer and be right about Russia.

Mind you, Germanys national strategy depends on being a low-cost industrial producer. Germany has strong tenant protections and has kept renting affordable to help keep labor costs down. Cheap energy has also been important to German competitiveness as well as to the well-being of its citizens.

There is simply no way LNG will come even close to making up for the shortfall in Russian gas, assuming the EU does not break down and ask Russia to turn on the Nord Stream 2 tap. And even if over time (and it will be a moderately long time), Europe is able to get enough in the way of LNG supply contracts and terminals and tankers lined up, LNG will never be as cheap as the Russian gas it is giving up.

Europe is about to throw away everything it worked so hard to achieve since the end or World War II out of ego. It scuppered the peace talks between Ukraine and Russia that had made important progress at the end of March because Russia had to suffer. It cant admit that its shock and awe sanctions failed to prostrate Russia and that the costs to the West keep rising as they become more manageable for Russia. And worse, many will go cold and hungry this winter and some will die unnecessarily. And the Europeans hold themselves out as civilized people. Since when it is civilized to not just inflict unwarranted punishment on the weak and poor, but tear down your own society? Russia is not doing wrecking. The West is doing this to itself over its inability to admit error and cope with the fact that it has failed to crush Russia.
The US is planning to give up its citizens most precious data in exchange for the biometric data harvested by its partner governments in Europe and beyond.

The Biden Adminstration is currently making an offer to dozens of governments in Europe and beyond that they probably will not be able to refuse. On offer is access to vast reams of sensitive data on US citizens held by the Department of Homeland Security. It includes the IDENT/HART database, which the British civil rights organization Statewatch describes as the largest U.S. Government biometric database and the second largest biometric database in the world, containing over 270 million identities from over 40 U.S. agencies.

Biometric identifiers include fingerprints, facial features and other physiological characteristics that can be used for automated identification. In some cases, these identifiers have been harvested by the US government without the consent of the citizens in question (more on that later).

The data-sharing arrangement is being offered to all 40 countries selected for the US governments Visa Waiver Program (VWP). That means their citizens can travel to the U.S. for up to 90 days without a visa. They include most of the EUs 27 Member States, three of the US four fellow members of the Five Eye Alliance (United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia), Japan and South Korea.

A Kafkaesque Nightmare

Of course, the US government is not offering to share the biometric data of 270 million of its citizens out of pure selfless altruism. It wants something in return  namely the biometric data of the citizens of its partner states:

In turn, DHS may submit biometrics to IBIS partner countries to search against their biometric identity management systems in order for partner countries to provide DHS with sharable biographic, derogatory, and encounter information when a U.S. search matches their biometric records. This high-volume matching and data exchange is accomplished within minutes and is fully automated; match confirmation and supporting data is exchanged with no officer intervention.

The emphasis in the last sentence was added by Statewatch, for good reason. In the fully digitised world that is fast taking shape around us, many of the decisions or actions taken by local, regional or national authorities that affect us will be fully automated; no human intervention will be needed. That means that trying to get those decisions or actions reversed or overturned is likely to be a Kafkaesque nightmare.

Statewatch has obtained an internal US government document titled DHS International Biometric Information Sharing (IBIS) Program and with the sub-heading Enhanced Biometric Security Partnership (EBSP), which, as Statewatch notes, is essentially a sales pitch to potential foreign partners:

The IBIS Program, it states, provides a scalable, reliable, and rapid bilateral biometric and biographic information sharing capability to support border security and immigration vetting, which: creates value for the United States and its partners by detecting fraud, identifying transnational criminals, sex offenders who have been removed from the United States, smugglers of humans and narcotics, gang members, terrorists and terrorist-related information, and the travel patterns of criminals.

The US government will also gain access to the biometric data of untold millions of law-abiding civilians of VWP countries who, like untold millions of law-abiding citizens in the US, have been caught up in their respective governments biometric data dragnet. At least 600 law-enforcement agencies in the U.S., including ICE, have used the services of US company Clearview, which sells facial recognition tools to governments and companies after scraping the photos of hundreds of millions of people from social media platforms without their consent.

Clearview has already faced fines and bans in Britain, Canada, France, Australia and Italy, and the company faces multiple law suits in the US. Yet if the IBIS Program goes ahead, the governments of those countries will be given access to huge troves of biometric data of US citizens that US government agencies acquired from that company.

A Privacy Nightmare

Privacy campaigners on both sides of the Atlantic are rightly concerned about the potential implications of the IBIS Program, especially given the US much laxer approach to data protection. After a meeting of European Parliament civil liberties committee members with the DHS, Pirate Party MEP Patrick Breyer described the new U.S. policy as blackmail and urged the European Commission to reject the demand:

Millions of innocent Europeans are listed in police databases and could be exposed to completely disproportionate reactions in the USA. The US lacks adequate data and fundamental rights protection. Providing personal data to the US exposes our citizens, i.e. to the risk of arbitrary detention and false suspicion, with possible dire consequences, in the course of the US war on terror. We must protect our citizens from these practices.

As I noted in my April article, Biometric Surveillance Systems Are Being Hastily Rolled Out Across the West, With Next to No Public Debate, the problem is not just about privacy; it is about the inherent flaws within biometric systems, including facial recognition:

The systems are notoriously inaccurate on women and those with darker skin, and may also be inaccurate on children whose facial features change rapidly. There are also concerns about who the data will end up being shared with or managed by and just how safe it will be in their hands. In December 2021, the civil liberties group Statewatch reported that the Council of the EU, where the senior ministers of the 27 Member States sit, not only intends to extend the purposes for which biometric systems can be used under the EUs proposed Artificial Intelligence Act but is also seeking to allow private actors to operate mass biometric surveillance systems on behalf of police forces. In February Statewatch published another report titled Building the Biometric State: Police Powers and Discrimination. In it the group warned that the EUs rapid expansion of biometric profiling at borders and identity checks within the 27-member bloc risk is likely to lead to increased racial profiling of ethnic minority citizens and non-citizens.

UK and Israel Already on Board

News about the Enhanced Border Security Partnership (EBSP) surfaced last month after it was revealed that the DHS was approaching EU member state governments directly, effectively cutting out the European Commission. Like so many of these kinds of schemes, participation is initially on a voluntary basis, but from 2027 it will become mandatory under the U.S. Visa Waiver Program (VWP). In other words, if countries want their citizens to continue enjoying visa-free travel to the US, they will have to provide US authorities with access to their citizens biometric data.

Unsurprisingly, the UK is already participating in the new program, although no officials in the UK or the US have disclosed what kind of information is being shared. So too is Israel. In early July, The Register reported that the UK, along with three other unnamed countries, has signed up to the EBSP, which prompted the following statement from the UK Home Office:

The UK has a long-standing and close partnership with the USA which includes sharing data for specific purposes. We are in regular discussion with them on new proposals or initiatives to improve public safety and enable legitimate travel.

The news comes after the UKs currently rudderless government introduced a new bill to the UK parliament that proposes significant changes to data protection, law enforcement, biometrics, digital identity and identity verification, and even modifications to the civil registry for births and deaths.

EU on a Similar Path

As I reported in April, the EU is also on the verge of building one of the largest facial recognition systems on planet Earth, ostensibly as part of wider plans to modernize policing across the 27-member bloc. The EU is also seeking to merge biometric data from different databases into a Common Identity Repository, which will be used by security forces to compare fingerprints and facial images at EU borders.

If the European Entry/Exit System (EES) goes into operation as planned in two months time, all travellers arriving to the EU, including those subject to a visa requirement as well as those exempted from it and admitted for a short stay of up to 90 days in a 180-day period, will have to provide fingerprints and facial images on crossing an EU external border. All Schengen states must procure the necessary technology, including fingerprint readers, face scanners and the necessary server infrastructure, to connect to the EES by September. However, some reports suggest that the ongoing supply chain crisis, in particular the acute shortage of semiconductors, is complicating matters.

This is all happening despite opposition from the EUs own data watchdogs. Wojtek Wiewiorowski, who leads the EUs in-house data protection agency, EPDS, which is supposed to ensure the EU is complying with its own strict privacy rules, told Politico in November that European society is not ready for facial recognition technology: the use of the technology, he said, would turn society, turn our citizens, turn the places we live, into places where we are permanently recognizable  Im not sure if we are really as a society ready for that.

Flags raised by data protection officials at the EUs European Border and Coast Guard Agency, also known as Frontex, are also being systematically ignored. Evidence gathered by the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network suggests that Frontexs senior leadership, backed by the European Commission, is sidelining EU data protection watchdogs in order to push through the Commissions plan to vastly expand intrusive data collection from migrants and refugees, regardless of warnings of institutional overreach, threats to privacy and the criminalisation of migrants:

Nayra Perez, Frontexs own Data Protection Officer, DPO, warned repeatedly that the PeDRA expansion cannot be achieved by breaching compliance with EU legislation and that the programme posed a serious risk of function creep in relation to the Agencys mandate. But her input was largely ignored, documents reveal. The DPO warned of the possibility of Frontex data being transmitted in bulk, carte blanche, to Europol, a body which this year was ordered to delete much of a vast store of personal data that it was found to have amassed unlawfully by the EUs top data protection watchdog, the European Data Protection Supervisor, EDPS. Backed by the Commission, Frontex ignored a DPO recommendation that it consult the EDPS, currently led by Polish Wojciech Wiewiorowski, over the new PeDRA rules. In a response for this story, the EDPS warned of the possibility of unlawful processing of data by Frontex.

Enabling Digital Identity

This is all happening at the same time that the European Commission is using aid money to push countries in its outer orbit that provide large flows of migrants into the EU, mainly in Africa, to set up large-scale, high-risk biometric databases to manage migration flows to the EU and facilitate deportation, as Privacy International reported in 2020. They include countries with egregious human rights records.

In 2014, the governments of France, Norway, the UK and Australia, together with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Omidyar Network, provided the seed funding for the World Banks Identification for Development (ID4D) program whose goal is to help countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America realize the transformational potential of digital identification systems. The programs implications for human rights has drawn attention from many quarters, including the NYU School of Law, which recently warned that it risks setting countries down a digital road to hell.

Much the same is happening in the so-called liberal democracies of the West. After the success of its vaccine passport program, the EU has already launched a pilot for a digital identity wallet. Secured by biometric identifiers, it will allow EU citizens to verify their ID, access public and private services across the bloc, and store digital documents. As Ive noted in previous articles, a mandatory digital identity is a necessary precondition for the launch of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), which more than 100 central banks are in the process of developing.

The official launch of the EUs digital ID wallet is scheduled to take place as early as September 2022. To begin with, it will be offered on a voluntary basis but we all know how the so-called Green Pass turned out. The UK, Australia and Canada are also developing similar digital identity programs, while in the US a new digital identity bill is steadily making its way through Congress, unbeknown to most of its citizens. The complete lack of public debate or consultation is a feature, not a bug, of the digital surveillance and control systems rapidly being constructed around us.
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
KateLynn White graduated from Tennessee State University, where she was an editor of the student newspaper. She interned for The Tennessean and The Tennessee Tribune before joining the Nashville Post in 2022. She also contributes to the Nashville Scene.

Follow KateLynn White Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today
(Natural News) Recent research conducted by Brigham and Womens Hospital and Harvard Medical School found that 70 percent of Americans reported that they are not feeling restored after a nights sleep.

The Boston, Massachusetts institutions found that it was not just time spent sleeping that affected how a person felt the next day, but the overall quality of sleep as well. The study could lead to a potential crisis in the country, as trouble sleeping is also linked to many health issues later in life.

The paper was published in Frontiers in Sleep, a forum for innovation in basic, translational, epidemiologic and clinical sleep science, and its implications for physical and mental health.

The researchers, a team of seven sleep experts, gathered data from 1,055 Americans. They first developed survey criteria that would gauge a persons sleep quality, and they came up with nine key signs that could indicate the respondents quality of sleep.

The participants were provided choices for how they felt after the previous nights sleep. Their answers could be grouchy, in a good mood, tired, sleepy, rested, refreshed, energetic, alert and ready to start the day. Each participants results were scaled from zero to 100 to rate their overall quality of sleep.

Scores lower than 49.9 were considered low quality sleep; scores between 50 and 74.99 were considered as somewhat quality sleep; and scores 75 or higher were considered high quality sleep. Only 28 percent of participants reached that highest mark, which meant that they had restorative sleep.

Qualitative evaluation is an important feature of sleep health, yet the vast majority of high quality nationally representative data collected among U.S. adults have assessed quantitative aspects, such as sleep duration, which preclude a holistic understanding of sleep in the population, the authors wrote in their report.

The researchers are hopeful their study can help give the world a new understanding as to how sleep works and how to evaluate it.

Lack of sleep leads to serious medical conditions like brain damage

Poor sleep is linked to a variety of health conditions  most are minor and can easily be addressed. But bad sleep habits can cause more serious medical issues, including hypertension, heart disease and brain damage. (Related: On sleep and binge-eating: Sleep-related eating disorder (SRED) associated with obesity, explain health experts.)

Research from Harvard and Berkeley revealed a very dangerous side effect of pulling an all-nighter: short-term euphoria. After missing a nights sleep, the mesolimbic pathway, the neural circuit that controls pleasure and reward, is strongly stimulated.

The process is driven by a chemical called dopamine and higher levels of the said chemical can result in addiction and impulsive behavior. This is because regions of the brain responsible for planning and evaluating decisions would shut down once a person is deprived of sleep. One can be overly optimistic and happy to take risks.

Some studies found that if the mesolimbic pathway is frequently over-stimulated by sleep deprivation, there could be permanent brain damage because of the brains neural plasticity. When it is forced to operate in a different state on a regular basis, it permanently alters itself.

According to the journal Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, sleep deprivations connection to decreased attention has been well established. However, it should be noted that it also affects other functions, such as long-term memory and decision-making.

At its most basic, effects of lack of sleep on the brain affect mood and the ability to make memories and learn, Dr. Susan Redline of Brigham and Womens Hospital in Boston told ABC News.

Watch the below video that talks about 10 scary side effects of sleep deprivation.

This video is from the Natural Remedies channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Coffee versus matcha: Which gives you better sleep? (Yes, sleep).

Proper sleep hygiene is a must, since your body burns calories even in sleep.

Sleep it off: Research explains why sleep is so important for your immune system.

Vicious cycle: Lack of sleep causes fear and emotional reactions, which hinder sleep.

Sources include:

DailyMail.co.uk

FrontiersIn.org

TheGuardian.com

ResMed.com

Brighteon.com
(Natural News) The founders of a new online campaign  #CanWeTalkAboutIt  hope to break the culture of silence around COVID-19 vaccine injuries by encouraging people injured by the vaccines to share their personal stories.

(Article by Michael Nevradakis republished from TheEpochTimes.com)

Launched last month with a live online Lets Talk webcast, #CanWeTalkAboutIt brings together the vaccine-injured with medical experts willing to speak out about the risks of COVID-19 vaccines.

The campaign also seeks to help people injured by the vaccines network and locate resources and information in their own countries and communities.

It also invites them to submit a black-and-white photo, with their right sleeve rolled up, wearing a band-aid to symbolize that they got the vaccine, and share the post, with a short description of the injuries they experienced, on their social media networks with the #CanWeTalkAboutIt hashtag.

In an interview with The Defender, Agnieszka Wilson, one of the founders of the campaign, said she became aware of questions surrounding the safety of various vaccines after sustaining a probable vaccine injury  rheumatoid arthritis, which she developed after she got the Tdap vaccine  during her pregnancy.

This incident led her to discover the silence that often accompanies vaccine injuries.

If you take a headache pill and you see that theres a side effect that makes your skin blue, then you obviously might say okay, it might be from that, right? Wilson said. But when it comes to vaccines, you cant really talk about these things.

Wilson said that the silence led her to do her own research on vaccine injuries.

Thats when I dug into this whole new level of silence that I didnt know about, regarding vaccines, she said.

Wilson said that she wanted to do more than just conduct her own research. She wanted to do something about it, she said  which led her to start the New York Medical Freedom Coalition when she lived in the U.S.

After returning to her native Sweden, Wilson launched her own interview program, the Aga Wilson Show, on which she interviews doctors and scientists.

Through this program, Wilson became aware about the looming risk of injuries related to the COVID-19 vaccines.

She also noted silence on the part of the mainstream media and a reluctance from ordinary people to speak openly about such issues.

We all heard and knew that the rollout [of COVID vaccines] was starting and we were going to see a lot of damage done by these vaccines, Wilson told The Defender.

But people were really scared, and especially [scared of] being associated with  organizations that were stamped as anti-vax organizations.

She added:

We all also knew that media was silencing it. These people were denied that these were vaccine injuries [but] we were seeing all of these things happening. So I thought, we need to do something, we need to start making people aware that these are actually dangerous vaccines.

Wilsons interviews with experts and her discussions with people injured by the vaccines led her to realize how completely excluded they are.

Wilson said:

Theres no disease in the world where you cannot talk about it  you can talk about cancer, you can talk about any kind of disease out there, but not this.

They have scientists that are willing to do research on this, scientists from the big institutions, and theyre just being ignored.

The media is complicit in this silence, she said. Theres something more going on than just this. Why is media being silent? Why are we not talking about this?

Theres never been a drug in history that has had so many side effects and no one is talking about it, she said.

Wilsons concerns about the side effects, silence on the part of doctors and scientists, and the medias complicity led her to start the #CanWeTalkAboutIt campaign.

She said:

I always work globally; I thought now we need to do something globally, we need to do a campaign thats going to start breaking the silence around this issue because people need to know.

We dont want any more people to take the shot, especially after what Im seeing in all of these groups.

Brianne Dressen, who was injured by the AstraZeneca vaccine during its clinical trial, got involved with the #CanWeTalkAboutIt campaign soon after its launch.

Dressen, whose non-profit organization, React19, offers financial, physical, and emotional support for those suffering from long-term Covid-19 vaccine adverse events globally, told The Defender the #CanWeTalkAboutIt campaign resonated with her.

Dressen said she was not only compelled to speak out, but also to help others do the same. Speaking out, especially in todays climate, is especially difficult.

The injured largely trust other injured, she said. We have been exploited and used so many times by people who just dont quite take the time to understand the impact they can have on us and our health.

Dressen described the situation as a double whammy for the injured, as they have been censored and stripped of any ability to have a voice by one side, and when we do speak out, many times the tone from those who wish to use our stories is tone-deaf, dehumanizing.

So, the injured clam up and huddle together in support groups with only each other, Dressen said.

Campaigns and support groups such as #CanWeTalkAboutIt play an important role in amplifying the voices of people whose individual ability to be heard or to enact change is limited.

Dressen said:

This campaign, in large part due to the simple and appropriate messaging, was able to strike the appropriate balance for the injured to feel confident enough to speak out. It was also a way for the rest of the world to see us move in unison across the globe.

It is challenging for sick people to fight for ourselves. Our energy is extremely limited. So instructions and campaigns need to align with not only our personal values but with our ability to physically tolerate the stress of the advocacy work being asked of us.

It is important that compassionate messaging and respect be there in order for us to feel safe enough to speak out and share our stories.

The culture of silence described by Wilson and Dressen extends to social media, where specific keywords are frequently censored by the platforms.

Dressen said the #CanWeTalkAboutIt campaign took into account this reality in its planning.

We already knew what words were going to get shadowbanned, so the strategy was to come up with messaging that sends the right message without outright using these words, she said.

I am very careful with my own messaging through our non-profit [React19] to ensure messaging is forward-thinking, has a positive slant. Instead of STOP or DONT, we use pro-safety, pro-informed consent, etc.

Wilson told The Defender the #CanWeTalkAboutIt campaign has three primary objectives, the first being to provide the vaccine-injured with visibility and a voice.

She said:

People are being bullied  for being vaccine-injured, and no one believes them. So we tried to  create a safe space for these people to speak their stories, but also for others.

How do we involve the public in this? We want others to support them. Thats why theres two sides of the campaign. One is for them to tell their stories, but the other is for people to actually acknowledge them and see them because theyre not being seen.

#CanWeTalkAboutIt also aims to give the public the ability to make an informed decision regarding the COVID-19 vaccines.

The second [objective] is to raise awareness publicly so that people understand the risks with the vaccine and hopefully make an informed decision, Dressen said.

Informed consent is not being given in the situation and the doctors are also not doing their job when it comes to swearing the oath do no harm. So we want people to be aware.

Fundraising is the campaigns third objective, according to Wilson, with the purpose of supporting all of these organizations out there that are doing the work to find solutions for the vaccine.

Indeed, the #CanWeTalkAboutIt campaign has partnered with a number of organizations, including Childrens Health Defense Europe, the American Health & Freedom Coalition, the World Freedom Alliance, the World Council for Health and Millions Against Medical Mandates.

The campaign also collaborates with local and country-based groups that already have their communities in place.

One of the goals of these local partnerships is to help the vaccine-injured find support groups near them.

Were pulling together those groups  because we want to build communities right on the website as well, so that people can find each other, Wilson said.

Networking is just one of the components of the #CanWeTalkAboutIt campaign, according to Wilson. The campaign also wants to host more live webcasts, like the June 17 inaugural event.

According to Wilson, the event brought together five experts and five injured, who  shared their stories and shared what they have been through in terms of adverse events or adverse reactions, allowing for a discussion with the experts on these issues.

The most important thing was that this conversation is so needed and we need to continue it because we need to do more research, more surveys, Wilson said.

We need to have people tell their stories so that the experts can understand what is going on.  We will continue having webinars more focused on specific topics so that we can get to the bottom with this and also support the campaign.

By sharing the stories of the vaccine-injured, campaigns such as #CanWeTalkAboutIt can help such individuals avoid continuously recounting their stories and reliving an event that may have been highly traumatic for them.

Wilson said:

We need to understand the trauma that these people are going through, and listen to them. Our job really is to ask them how we can create a safe space.

Some of them  dont want to tell their stories over and over again. It comes back to their trauma and they relive it, while others who are the spokespeople are actually the ones who maybe are more comfortable doing that.

Another challenge faced by the vaccine-injured is that their concerns are frequently dismissed by doctors.

Not only are they not being heard or  the doctors are not listening, but basically theyre not getting help, Wilson said, citing this example:

We had one Swedish woman who was part of the webinar and she was telling us how she just goes from one doctor to another and they just keep sending her back and forth and no one can tell her whats going on.

People have a very hard time because they just keep being dismissed. A lot of them are being sent home, [told] that they have anxiety, even though they have severe symptoms which could not be explained by just anxiety.

Dressen, who experienced adverse events within an hour of receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine on Nov. 4, 2020, told The Defender how doctors dismissed her.

Within the first year I saw close to 40 doctors, and had well over 60 office visits, a trip to the NIH [National Institutes of Health], and several hospital stays, she said.

I was plagued by an anxiety diagnosis for six months until I was able to go to the NIH. NIH confirmed it was post-vaccine neuropathy, and one internist confirmed the same after the NIH made the initial diagnosis.

This anxiety diagnosis came despite a broad array of symptoms, Dressen said:

My reaction started within an hour of my shot and was tingling down the same arm as my shot. From there my health declined over the next 2.5 weeks with double and blurry vision, sound sensitivity, tachycardia at rest, sweating, brain fog, dissociation, limb weakness, internal vibrations (that still haunt me to this day), confusion, vibrations in my brain, tinnitus, hair loss, severe nerve pain, etc. I had well over 30 symptoms.

I ended up in the hospital because my legs stopped working. I remember my husband standing over my bed begging my medical teams to just run one more test, look at one more thing. Without him, there is no question I would be dead.

I was sent home with in-home physical and occupational therapy to recoup my legs, retrain my bladder and learn how to do simple tasks like sort a box of toys  and a diagnosis of anxiety.

Several of these symptoms continue to the present day, according to Dressen.

I still have well over half of my symptoms: leg weakness, neuropathy, tinnitus, POTS [postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome], internal electrical feelings. But the sound sensitivity and light sensitivity are gone, she said.

Dressen pays $1,100 out-of-pocket every two weeks for intravenous immunoglobulin.

This is just one medication I need to stay alive, she said. This has impacted my life financially, physically and emotionally. My familys life and finances are now dramatically different.

Dressens injuries  and her experiences with doctors  led her to testify before Congress, testify before a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) panel, and participate in a press conference of vaccine-injured individuals organized by Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI).

According to Dressen:

My message to lawmakers is pretty simple: after being to the NIH for research and after participating in dialogue with the heads of the FDA for over a year now, I know the government simply is not doing their job.

We did our part. We did what we were told and were assured over and over that if something were to go wrong that there would be a safety net. But instead of a safety net, there is a huge gaping hole.

How long do the injured need to wait before these health agencies do their job? People are suffering now, they are dying now, they are out of work now. They cant wait 5, 10, 20 years for the intentionally slow wheel of government process to move forward. The pace we are going right now, progress is so miniscule that we all will be dead before the government makes this right.

This slow and ponderous pace is, in part, due to special interests, lobbyists and a whole lot of money, Dressen said, which have corrupted the process by which individuals like myself can attain proper medical care, engage in research on pharmaceutical harms and receive proper  or any  compensation.

For Dressen, the #CanWeTalkAboutIt campaign can play a role in pressuring governments and public health agencies to do the right thing.

The #canWeTalkAboutIt campaign is an effort to bridge that gap between these many sides and provide a neutral and independent place for those who are ready to listen and learn.

Wilson told The Defender that she would like to see the social media campaign of #CanWeTalkAboutIt get bigger, so that we can actually go viral and  [inform] the public that this is a serious issue.

There are millions of people suffering from vaccine injuries from the COVID-19 vaccine, Wilson said. We need peoples help to share so that we can reach out to the masses and warn them that there are huge risks with taking this vaccine.

Dressens message to the vaccine-injured is that youre not alone.

Never give up, never give in, Dressen said. There is one thing this community has that is unlike anything I have ever experienced and it is an enormous ability to love and support one another.

She added:

For those who are still trapped in their beds just trying to hang on by the hour or by the minute? That little bit of love and compassion could be the difference between life and death.

For Wilson, the phrase strength in numbers applies to those who are vaccine-injured.

We dont need to reinvent the wheel, Wilson said. We just want people to be able to know whos out there doing what and where the vaccine-injured can find protocols, communities, to educate them.

Wilson added:

We need more stories. We need to understand whats going on in order to do our job. So we want to bring together everyone under this campaign to start collaborating  and support one another, to really have a bigger impact.

Its time for us to come together and organize better because were stronger together. And thats how we can actually make an impact.

Wilson said the #CanWeTalkAboutIt campaign also wants to raise funds to research vaccine injuries because governments arent doing it.

With this many vaccine injuries, its mind-boggling and absolutely unacceptable for the government and the medical establishment not to go into studies, she said.

Dressen expressed a similar sentiment regarding the responsibilities of governments toward the vaccine-injured, and the advocacy role campaigns such as #CanWeTalkAboutIt can play in promoting the reform of existing vaccine compensation programs.

HHS [U.S. Department of Health and Human Services] needs to address the failing, under-powered and under-funded compensation program, Dressen said.

She added:

Similar to the [Vaccine Injury Compensation Program] vaccine tax that requires drugmakers to pay into a fund to pay for injuries, Washington can draft legislation that will require these drugmakers to pay a similar minimal tax into a fund for independent research on the potential harms of their products. The taxpayer should not have to foot the bill for this research.

Such efforts can also target the coordinated actions of social media platforms and other entities to classify any news about vaccine injuries as misinformation and to subsequently quash it.

Dressen said such practices do not just stifle free speech, they also cause material harm for the vaccine-injured.

The word misinformation is a powerful weapon that divides and dehumanizes, Dressen said.

The #CanWeTalkAboutIt campaign can bring the public into the mix, by providing a neutral and independent place for those who are ready to listen and learn, and also by empowering the public to drive change without waiting for governmental bodies to act, Dressen said.

The tools to fix this are not just the responsibility of the government. We The People have the power and obligation to unify and demand change. And when that change doesnt happen, it is our job to enact change.

She added:

Divided we fall. But together, our voice is powerful and can drive change. But in order to do that, we must listen and learn first. Can we talk about it?

Read more at: TheEpochTimes.com
(Natural News) I have confirmed with local cattle ranchers in Texas that large-scale herd liquidations are under way right now, with some herds being reduced by 80%.

This is happening due to the extended drought affecting Texas, Oklahoma and much of the southern and western United States. The drought not only reduces grass production on the fields being grazed by cows, it also causes hay production to plummet, reducing the future food supply that could keep cows fed through the fall and winter. As a result, the vast majority of cows in Texas are being sold for slaughter.

As I point out in todays Situation Update podcast, below, this will cause a temporary glut of beef in the food supply chain which will lower beef prices in the short term. But after that supply glut is processed and shipped, beef prices will skyrocket as cattle remain in short supply for years to come. It takes several years of good rain to replenish cattle populations and bring beef prices back into an affordable range.

The upshot is that if you plan to eat beef anytime in the next 2 years or so, youll want to acquire it and freeze it over the next several months. By early 2023, beef will be skyrocketing once again.

This cattle liquidation is just the latest disruption to hit the US food supply which is already reeling under global supply chain disruptions, fertilizer shortages, diesel fuel price increases and extreme drought conditions. The hits just keep coming.

Corporate media preparing to attack crypto and pave the way for CBDC rollout

Late last week, the Wall Street Journal rolled out a story describing the horrors of large-scale money losses among crypto investors who pursued incredibly risky strategies like mortgaging their homes and handing over the money to Celsius to earn interest on the crypto. Celsius, of course, collapsed into bankruptcy, vaporizing billions of dollars in asserts while customers saw their deposits frozen (which means confiscated by the platform).

In the story entitled, They Thought Crypto Banks Were Safe, and Then Came the Crash, the WSJ painted a horrifying picture of risks associated with crypto trading and interest-bearing platforms like Celsius as well as stablecoins. From the WSJ:

Mr. Wang, now 32 years old, eventually transferred $250,000 into a stablecoin called TerraUSD. He stored it on a platform called Anchor Protocol, which was backed by venture firms and offered annual yields of nearly 20% on the coin. He also invested in an insurance fund related to the coin.

In May, TerraUSD slipped off its peg and plunged to nearly zero. Mr. Wang was out almost $500,000.

These media stories achieve two things. On the surface, they are covering the reality that many crypto platforms were nothing more than sophisticated digital Ponzi schemes that were always doomed to collapse sooner or later. (Theres much more pain yet to come in the crypto realm) But the other aim in this coverage is to whip up fear about unregulated crypto so that new SEC regulations can criminalize non-central bank crypto operations and effectively created a CBDC monopoly run by the Fed (and enforced by the government).

Financial analyst John Perez, whom I dubbed the Crypto Nostradamus in a previous interview, told me that the SEC and FDIC are about to announce a wave of regulations and crackdowns on stablecoins that would gut the industry and lead to another major selloff in crypto coins like bitcoin. Many stablecoins are digital money counterfeiting scams, and they wont survive a legitimate financial audit. That means theyll be banned in U.S. jurisdictions and users will flee them like they did Terra Luna, causing its near-instant collapse.

If regulators target these stablecoins like Perez is anticipating, it will likely spell the end of nearly all stablecoins and a sweeping reset of cryptocurrency valuations. (Bitcoin is largely propped up by Tether, for example. What happens if Tether cant meet SEC regulations on digital securities?)

California regulator investigating crypto interest accounts, reported CoinTelegraph.com earlier this month.

The regulator also said, in its view, that certain crypto interest account providers were providing unregistered securities, such as BlockFi and Voyager.

The DFPI stated that it is investigating multiple crypto interest account providers to determine whether they are violating laws under the Departments jurisdiction.

In a Tuesday note, the DFPI emphasized that crypto-interest account providers are not governed by the same rules and protections as banks and credit unions and that some platforms are preventing customers from withdrawing from and transferring between their accounts:

In effect, both US states and the federal government are on the verge of taking both regulatory and legal action against many crypto platforms and stablecoin operations, and they can carry out all the takedowns they want by simply declaring these to be digital securities.

As securities, cryptocurrencies and stablecoins would have to meet stringent requirements on capitalization, reporting, fractional reserves, marketing, transactional integrity and more. I cant think of a single stablecoin that would qualify without significant restructuring.

Interestingly, the far bigger scam taking place in America is the federal reserve money printing scheme that rips off everybody, but that scheme is protected by the media and the feds, so its allowed to continue to operate.

Get the full story on all this and more in todays Situation Update podcast here:

Brighteon.com/b976952b-cb03-432f-bf0e-21efc3ed27f6

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.
(Natural News) The soul of phantom voter fraud is the occasional, non-committed voter. They show up at the last minute, delivering winning margins.

(Article by Jay Valentine republished from AmericanThinker.com)

Actually, nobody shows up. Nor does anyone return an absentee ballot.

That magic comes from a wonderful customer service innovation, the Phantom Voter Concierge, who casts the non-committed voters votes for them.

Lets go there.

Voter rolls are crammed with millions of voters who seldom, occasionally, or never vote.

Democrat-leaning organizations run voter registration drives in edge communities, collecting identities they expect will never vote.

You remember ACORN registering drug addicts on city streets? You might have said, Why, they will never vote!

They arent expected to vote. They are simply voter identity placeholders later used by vote-harvesters.

State-funded groups like ERIC are paid by a dozen state governments, some with clueless Republican governors, to make sure almost nobody is ever taken off voter rolls. ERIC provides institutional cover to this national phantom voter scam.

During early voting, our vote-harvester pals track those who never voted or have not voted yet and vote for them.

In some states, like Wisconsin, leftist groups had access to the online voter rolls  something nobody else had. They could track every voter and vote for all of them if they did not show up in 2020.

Remember the stories in 2020 of people coming out to vote, often for the first time in years, to be told, Sorry, you already voted? Your Voter Concierge voted for you! Saved you the gas money to drive to the polls!

There are people voting from Salvation Army Food Banks who registered at that address twelve years ago. Those people are likely dead or living in a tent in Austin now  but still voting.

There are people at the Alabama college dorm, registered since 1984, still active and voting.

In Wisconsin, the Voter Concierges went to cognitive care facilities, where the patients did not recognize their own children. Their Voter Concierge voted them. Now part of a criminal investigation, this is how its done.

So how bad is the problem?

The Wisconsin voter integrity team did a deep dive, using U.S. government and state databases, and found 225,000 active, current voters who had issues. Those included addresses that did not exist; locations that could not be a true registration address, like a jail; and scores of others.

Elections are often decided by 1% of the vote. The Wisconsin team identified potential phantom voters easily able to impact an election.

The other half of the scam is sending out absentee ballots to addresses that dont line up.

For instance, there may be an apartment building at 145 Essex Street. The ballot-harvesting industry registers people there, deliberately skipping their apartment number.

Their mail gets returned to  you guessed it, smarty-pants! Those absentee ballots accumulate at the local Post Office.

The Wisconsin voter integrity team, one of the best in the country, found evidence that the Post Office collected those ballots and gave them to the Voter Concierges  to vote. Pretty good USPS customer service!

You might think this would be caught with signature matching. Right! That is why so many states or counties eliminate the signature match  like Maricopa County in Arizona.

If your blood is boiling right now, you just dont get it. This is customer service on a whole new level. The Voter Concierge gets votes counted  even if the voter never casts that vote.

Voter integrity teams are now applying advanced computer technology to thwart the Voter Concierge by deep-cleaning the rolls.

In 2022, the vote-harvesting industry will again flood the zone in swing counties with over 250,000 new registrants from September to November.

Several voter integrity teams, using advanced artificial intelligence technology, can check every registrant, at silicon speed, against over 30 databases, with a billion records, ensuring that the registrant is not living in an R.V. park, a church, or a UPS store, and that his address meets current legal standards.

Sorry, Beto, but registering every itinerant is no longer the key to the Texas Governors Mansion.

For the first time, phantom voters are being identified before their registrations take effect.

Living in an apartment where you do not designate the apartment number? Sorry, pal  you arent voting this year. Registering from a church? There had better be enough bathrooms to meet the certificate of occupancy requirements for that county.

More voters showing up in a county than there are eligible citizens? Flagged hourly! Alert issued before the ballots are counted!

As ballots arrive during early voting, artificial intelligence snapshots aggregate voter identities. That guy who voted on day 2 in person, disappeared on snapshot 8, reappeared on snapshot 11 with his ballot changed to absenteeis identified.

Before that ballot is tabulated, it is red-flagged, and the voter integrity team files a protest.

Thirty-five thousand inactive voters, changed to active  then voted, then changed to inactive again? The A.I. systems pick this up with snapshot analysis. That scam is over!

For the first time, voter integrity teams have technology ballot-harvesters cannot outrun.

When Sheriff Clarke and Mike Lindell started supporting these kinds of technologies, after the 2020 election, the focus was voter roll anomalies. Anomalies were abundant.

The battlefield has changed to real-time analysis, driven by artificial intelligence.

The combined knowledge of a dozen gifted voter integrity teams, with 16 months of experience, is built into an artificial intelligence engine, identifying phantom voters before they are registered, before they can illegally vote.

Every time a fake vote is cast by a Voter Concierge, an American is disenfranchised.

Artificial intelligence helps the good guys protect the vote and gives confidence to all Americans that ttheir elections are legit.

Voter integrity teams learned that chasing 2020 voter fraud after the election is too late.

Some leading election integrity teams are stopping phantom voter fraud before it impacts elections.

Cleaning up voter rolls just became an A.I.-driven, real time endeavor.

Read more at: AmericanThinker.com
(Natural News) The heatwaves and massive forest fires that hit Europe have severely affected crops and livestock on the continent, worsening food shortages across the globe.

If the heatwaves and forest fires are not destroying crops and livestock enough, the Dutch government under the leadership of globalist Mark Rutte made sure to inflict some more damage.

The Dutch government recently imposed up to 30 percent of farmland reduction on its farmers. It imposed the same on cattle farms under the pretext that cattle manure is contributing immensely to global warming.

For weeks, Dutch farmers and their supporters have taken to the streets and blocked highways to and from major Dutch cities, as well as main distribution lines between Holland and Germany and within the Netherlands, disrupting food and supply distributions.

What makes this particularly cruel is that the searing weather in central and eastern Europe has already forced countries that usually export food to import it for the first time in decades. Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania, among others, are also experiencing rising food prices.

Wheat output expected to go down significantly

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), wheat output in the European Union is expected to go down millions of tons from last year, with more losses in southern Europe than in the northern part of the continent.

France is expected to lose over 20 percent of its grain harvests, while Italy and Britain are expected to lose 13 and 12 percent of their wheat, respectively. Across Europe as a whole, wheat production is down 10 million tons or about 10 percent of its total wheat output.

Ukraine, once known as the breadbasket of the former Soviet Union, only produced five million tons of wheat this year, a 75 percent decrease compared to previous years. Moldova harvests are down 80 percent.

According to FAO, losses are now being compared to those back in 1945, which is the worst in recent history. (Related: Europe hit by severe vegetable shortage citizens who dont grow their own veggies now facing empty shelves.)

Henri Josserand, head of the FAOs early warning system, said that in some parts, food shortages are pretty bad, adding that some countries will have to import more food than usual, with their import bills going up significantly.

Josserand also warned that floods similar to those that caused devastation in Germany two years ago will likely hit parts of Europe shortly, as there are now ideal conditions for serious flash flooding because the capacity for the ground to absorb water is very low.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has cut its forecast for the global grain harvest by 32 million tons due to the extreme weather while the International Grains Council also believes that the world harvest will be even lower. (Related: Dwindling wheat supply may kick off global famine, expert warns.)

Lester Brown, head of independent research organization Worldwatch, said: The heatwave came at a time when world food supplies were already at their most precarious ever. The amount of grain produced for each person on the planet is now less than at any time in more than three decades.

Visit FoodCollapse.com for more information about food scarcity and more.

Watch the video below to know more about how farms are being shutdown by the New World Order.

This video is from The New American channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Wheat prices soar in countries dependent on Eastern Europe for grain.

Drought threatens US wheat harvest, deepening global supply challenges.

Countries racing to take over global agriculture market following disappearance of Ukrainian and Russian food exports.

Food shortage around the world may have been engineered to control populations.

Sources include:

GlobalResearch.ca

TheGuardian.com

Brighteon.com
Executive summary

(Natural News) (Article republished from SteveKirsch.Substack.com)

I have a list of changes that could be made to fix a badly broken medical system.

The problem with my list is that it shouldnt be coming from an engineer in California. Why isnt the medical community itself realizing how broken the system is and making a list of needed reforms?

The answer is simple: the system is now too corrupt to correct itself. It must be reformed by listening to people from outside the medical community.

My list of ways to restore trust in the medical system

Here are just a few ideas. This list is not exhaustive. I have a much more detailed list of over 100 changes that I havent had time to publish yet. This is just my short list.

We should eliminate the liability protection for vaccine manufacturers and people who give the shot. After all, they have ASSURED us it is safe and effective. So what should they be afraid of? Severe consequences for any medical personnel who fail to report adverse events to the VAERS system. Boy, would that change things. Independent review panels staffed by people who have been critical of the COVID vaccines (i.e., were on the side of science) EUAs that are only granted if the drug has equal to or better safety and efficacy than solutions that are available. There should be an appeal available to an outside body with no conflicts if the FDA either improperly denies an EUA or issues an EUA. Right now, there is no accountability. EUAs should be automatically revoked once the drug is approved (instead of this infinitely long EUA which allows the drug maker to escape liability) A means for public accountability for FDA, CDC, public health, and outside committee members who can currently duck all legitimate attempts by credible scientists to challenge them. A VAERS system which is run by an independent agency and adopts the ESP:VAERS improvements. The VAERS team is solely tasked with identifying safety signals and assessing probable causality. Immediate full transparency of all documents for any drug getting EUA or full approval A replacement for state medical board disciplinary processes as these organizations are today the judge, jury, and executioner and there is no appeal. Simply allowing appeals in a court of law would be a huge step forward. Those appeals should result in $1M fines to the medical boards (paid to the physician) if the case is reversed. Punishment for Facebook and other social media companies who discriminate against vaccine injured people by deleting their posts and groups. Someone who is injured by a medical intervention approved by the government should be a protected class. No more mandates by local, state, federal and private companies. Informed consents that must be signed and that truly capture the risks. The drug companies shall be held liable if this list omits any risks. The risks should be quantified. Adherence to the Nuremberg Code. Fauci needs to be fired. There should never be an individual in government with as much power over budgets and advice as he has had. Especially since he doesnt allow anyone to publicly challenge what he says. There needs to be regular public forums where qualified people can engage in a dialog with the authorities. The lack of peer accountability has enabled all this to happen. End the silencing of physicians by medical boards, hospitals, social media companies. There is something seriously wrong with a society who needs to silence free speech. For example, one of the worlds top medical institutions silenced one of their top doctors (who had been telling the truth) and further made the physician sign a confidentiality agreement about the silencing. Why doesnt the press simply ask the top 10 US medical schools who did this. It would be interesting to see how many schools admit to doing this. I can guarantee you at least one school on this top 10 list has done this and I can prove it. Id be willing to bet anyone $10M Im right. Any takers? We need to investigate how the NIH didnt recommend a single repurposed drug or supplement for use against COVID. That is ridiculous. Heads need to roll here and people must be held accountable. Fluvoxamine and ivermectin have peer-reviewed meta-analysis and systematic reviews supporting their use and the NIH is neutral. Seriously? Either evidence-based medicine is completely broken or the NIH committee is corrupt. The latter seems more likely. Pharmacists shouldnt be denying prescriptions of ivermectin without clear and compelling evidence. Any pharmacist denying such live saving meds should be investigated and have their license revoked. There needs to be accountability for state medical boards who are going after physicians for writing vaccine exemptions, mask exemptions, and ivermectin prescriptions. There is clear evidence the boards are wrong and no board will allow themselves to be held accountable for their wrong decisions. This is broken and needs to be fixed. Today, hospitals are rewarded if they follow the CDC/NIH treatment protocol: they escape all liability and get lots of money for doing the intervention. What if the incentives were reversed: that hospitals were rewarded for every COVID patient that they save? And give them the flexibility to have doctors use their judgment. What will happen is that instead of a static protocol that kills people, wed quickly find protocols that save everyones life. Paul Marik would turn into the most popular man in America instead of someone that people ignore and censor.

Summary

Thats my list of some ways to improve the system.

The better option is to ask each medical school dean for their list. It will be stunning to see what they come up with in comparison with my list.

I predict nothing will happen until most people realize the vaccines were a disaster and heads roll.

Then people will be receptive to the ideas in this article.

Read more at: SteveKirsch.Substack.com
(Natural News) Dr. Andrew Wakefield, a British vaccine educator and filmmaker, slammed a Canadian court for ruling that requiring a patient to be injected first with the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines before undergoing an organ transplant is completely legal.

There is absolutely no place in this world at any time for forced medical procedures. History has taught us that you cannot impose upon the dominion of peoples bodies something that goes against their fully informed choice. It is a crime against humanity and a big disgrace, he told host Dr. Daniel Bobinski during the July 21 episode of Keep the Republic on BrighteonTV.

If I were a part of the unit that made that decision, I would resign immediately and very publicly.

Justice Paul Belzil of the Alberta Court of Queens Bench recently dismissed the argument by Edmonton resident Annette Lewis that the doctors who did not proceed with her organ transplant infringed on her rights guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

According to the judge, the Charter has no bearing on the treatment decisions of doctors for organ transplants. This is despite the fact that medical experts themselves advised that a transplant was the only way for Lewis to survive a progressive disease she suffers from, CBC News reported.

Belzil noted that while the patient was indeed the sole arbiter of what she puts into her own body, no one has an inherent right to an organ transplant.

Taking this vaccine offends my conscience. I ought to have a choice about what goes into my body. Life-saving treatment cannot be denied to me because I chose not to take an experimental treatment for a condition [COVID-19], which I do not have and which I may never have, Lewis stated in her signed affidavit.

The patient was diagnosed with a progressive disease in 2018 and received all mandated inoculations, including childhood vaccinations. But she refused to take the COVID-19 shot. Doctors told her that she could not undergo a life-saving transplant if she is not injected with the vaccine. (Related: Canadian judge rules denying organ transplants to unvaxxed patients is legal.)

Big Pharma and Big Government benefitted from the NCVIA

Elsewhere in the show, Bobinski played the trailer of Wakefields 2020 documentary titled 1986: The Act, a dramatic forensic examination of the 1986 National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act (NCVIA) and its consequences.

The said law reluctantly signed by then-President Ronald Reagan had three purposes: to give liability protection to pharmaceutical companies so that they could go on making vaccines, spread lies and distort data to cover the rampant corruption; to make vaccines safer for children; and to compensate those children who had been damaged by vaccines.

The last two have been an abysmal failure, Wakefield said.

However, the first purpose was an extraordinary success. The filmmaker said: What it did is to give Big Pharma and Big Government the perfect business model. They had a mandatory market, children had to be vaccinated to go to school, and they had no liability. So, all they could do was make a massive profit.

Wakefields film tackled how the health authorities involved in this massive organized crime owned the media and the politicians.

They bought the medical school, medical training and even medical journals. They controlled the editorial of what was published and what wasnt published in the scientific arena and they became all-powerful in this global policy, Wakefield lamented.

This is how they easily introduced the COVID shop, to push it as hard as theyve been able to push it to influence policy decision-making.

This even made them billionaires in the face of these crazy vaccines, which are now emerging as not only useless, but very, very dangerous, the filmmaker said.

Wakefield added that the health authorities decided not to address the concern of the adverse effects of the vaccines because it would eat into their profits. They knew that children would suffer permanent neurological damage or die as a consequence. But the pharmaceutical industry continued with their argument that if vaccines would not be administered, the children will die, he said.

According to Wakefield, medicine has become blind.

When medicine doesnt have an answer, it blames the patient or the patients parents. Lets look at autism, medicine blamed the mother for hating her child, wanting him dead. The child detects that and therefore becomes autistic. That is the kind of garbage that medicine perpetuates, he said.

If the vaccines get to be looked into as the cause of childrens disease, they will say, no, it cant be vaccines. And this is the mentality that has got us into the current disastrous state is the hubris, the lack of humility and the greed of the medical profession, the arrogance, the refusal to listen to what actually is happening.

Visit HealthFreedom.news for more news related to opposing tyrannical health practices.

Watch the full July 21 episode of Keep the Republic with Dr. Daniel Bobinski featuring Dr. Andrew Wakefield. Catch new episodes of the program every Thursday at 4:00 p.m. on Brighteon.TV.

More related stories:

Canadian legal group blasts Alberta magistrate who ruled that doctors can require COVID vaccination before organ transplants.

Canadian court rules it was legal to deny unvaccinated person organ transplant.

DEATH SHOTS: Canadian data show that COVID vaccines INCREASE the risk of death from covid.

Sources include:

Brighteon.com

LifeSiteNews.com

Breitbart.com

7thChakraFilms.com
(Natural News) The Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine mandate for members of the United States Armed Forces is a ploy to get rid of anybody who would refuse to carry out unconstitutional or illegal orders.

This is according to Scott Kesterson, host of BardsFM, who made the claim on the July 21 episode of his show on Brighteon.TV.

The militarys primary objective right now is getting rid of those that would object to illegal orders, said Kesterson. The function of the vax guarantees that those core people that refuse to listen to orders and have proclaimed that the  mandatory vaccinations were illegal orders, the military wants them out.

Those should be our heroes, they should be our new leadership in the military, but thats not what the military sees, he continued. Kesterson added that the American Deep State has essentially purged the military because it wants soldiers to take an active role in cracking down on dissent.

Kesterson noted that the militarys powers are being increased at a steady pace. The military is already working with Homeland Security in several ways, including surveilling Americans on the internet, and Democrats in the House of Representatives are suggesting blocking Congress from the oversight of the military and National Guard when they are deployed domestically. (Related: FBI using counterterrorism resources on parents who oppose school mask mandates.)

As the economy collapses and as the federal government expands its powers under the guise of so-called climate change, the possibility of the entire military being used to enforce this future is becoming increasingly real, Kesterson added.

Tens of thousands of soldiers to be purged from the Army and National Guard

Based on recent data from the U.S. Army, as many as 40,000 National Guardsmen and 22,000 Army Reserve soldiers have refused to take COVID-19 vaccines.

While these reservists and guardsmen have not been officially discharged from either the military or the National Guard, the U.S. Army has cut them off from their military benefits, making staying extremely difficult.

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, said an Army spokesperson in a statement.

Active service members who refused to be vaccinated have already been disciplined, court-martialed or discharged. Others were even forced to pay back scholarships, education and other privileges they availed of using their status as active members of the military.

The announcement noted that this represented 13 percent of the Army National Guard and 12 percent of the Army Reserve. In six states alone, between 20 to 30 percent of Army guardsmen are unvaccinated and at risk of dismissal. In 43 other states, over 10 percent of Guard troops remain unvaccinated.

Furthermore, another 3,000 Army reservists and Army National Guard members who filed for religious exemption requests did not have their requests granted.

We are losing many of our best warriors with real combat and leadership experience from the Iraq and Afghanistan theaters of war, which cannot be replaced, warned Jonathan Hullihan, an attorney who served as a Navy JAG officer for over 13 years. If military leadership fails to portray a candid and accurate threat to the Biden Administration that these actions directly threaten the United States national security, Congress must intervene.

Watch this July 21 episode of BardsFM as host Scott Kesterson goes into detail regarding the COVID-19 vaccine mandates in America.

BardsFM with Scott Kesterson airs every Sunday at 6-7 p.m., Thursday at 5-6 p.m. and Saturday at 4-5 p.m. on Brighteon.TV.

More related articles:

Vaccine mandates, military vaccine injuries continue to threaten national security by killing our soldiers.

House Republicans introduce bill to reinstate military service members discharged for not complying with COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

House Republicans calling for ban on using taxpayer funds for implementing military vaccine mandate.

Our nations security is at risk due to Bidens illegal military vaccine mandate, experts warn.

Sources include:

Brighteon.com

WashingtonTimes.com

TheCenterSquare.com
(Natural News) When Donald Trump first got into office, it became apparent that his political instincts were good.

He certainly proved that by beating 16 other seasoned Republican politicians by knowing exactly how to appeal to ordinary Americans who had long been ignored by the Washington elite in both parties.

But what Trump could never overcome was the massive Deep State swamp  careerist federal bureaucrats who are little more than left-wing Democratic operatives and who worked in the shadows to either slow-walk his policies or ignore them altogether. The same was true for ranking senior managers and staffers burrowed into the massive federal bureaucracy.

Well, Trump is very probably going to run again for president in 2024, and if he does, he will win the GOP nomination easily. And if he does that, he very well could win the presidency again after four disastrous years of Joe Biden.

Should Trump get his well-deserved second term, he will arrive in Washington, D.C. with a new battle plan for taking on  and actually draining  the swamp. And there is virtually nothing the Washington careerists can do about it.

Trump and his allies have spent the last several months meticulously planning not only his return to the White House but also a massive overhaul of the federal bureaucracy down to the mid-staff level that could lead to tens of thousands of firings.

According to Axios, whose correspondents spent three months interviewing some two dozen Trump insiders and others familiar with the planning, Trump will reimplement Schedule F, an executive order he issued just days before the 2020 election and which was quickly rescinded by President Joe Biden that calls for completely reshaping hundreds of federal agencies.

The plan calls for replacing current bureaucrats with young professionals who are all-in with his MAGA agenda. Schedule F formed a new category of federal employees who are in positions of a confidential, policy-determining, policy-making, or policy-advocating character, and allows for those employees to be replaced following a presidential transition.

The Federal Government benefits from career professionals in positions that are not normally subject to change as a result of a Presidential transition, the order stated.

Axios added: Former President Trumps top allies are preparing to radically reshape the federal government if he is re-elected, purging potentially thousands of civil servants and filling career posts with loyalists to him and his America First ideology, people involved in the discussions tell Axios.

The impact could go well beyond typical conservative targets such as the Environmental Protection Agency and the Internal Revenue Service. Trump allies are working on plans that would potentially strip layers at the Justice Department  including the FBI, and reaching into national security, intelligence, the State Department and the Pentagon, sources close to the former president say.

As many as 50,000 employees could immediately be fired, including many at the Justice Department, Pentagon and the FBI.
(Natural News) China has accused the U.S. of creating the conditions for the war in Ukraine. It is so far Chinas strongest condemnation of the U.S. with regard to the latters role in the conflict.

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a press briefing earlier this week that while the U.S. could be pursuing peace and formal talks between Russia and Ukraine, it is instead busy playing world police and further fueling the conflict  while at the same time trying to confront China.

This scathing criticism by Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian marked the first time that Beijing bluntly said the U.S. started or created the Ukraine war.

The U.S. needs to facilitate a proper settlement of the crisis in a responsible way and create the environment and conditions needed for peace talks between the parties concerned, the official transcript said.

Zhao also noted that their opposition of the U.S. represents their objective and fair stance, adding that China stands on the side of peace and justice. (Related: IMF: Russia-Ukraine war may FUNDAMENTALLY ALTER economic, political order worldwide.)

He also addressed the accusations made by the Biden administration that the Chinese government is behind the scenes in assisting Moscow in both evading Western sanctions and supplying military hardware. Going back to the invasions opening month, the Department of States Ned Price also threatened China with a very steep price if Beijing is caught helping Moscow.

Zhao said they firmly oppose any unwarranted suspicion, threat and pressure targeting China, adding that they are also firmly against unilateral illegal sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction with no basis in international law.

Finally, Zhao urged U.S. officials to stop playing up bloc confrontation and creating a new Cold War and instead help in providing the right conditions for a ceasefire and a peaceful settlement in Ukraine.

Chinese media portrays US as the villain

Despite portraying itself as a neutral party in the war against Ukraine, the message China communicates to its audience tells a different story. Specifically, state outlets are doubling down on reports that the U.S. is funding the development of biological weapons in Ukraine, including the spread of migratory birds that could bring avian viruses in Russia.

Since the beginning of the hostilities, one theme that has remained consistent in the Chinese media is that the U.S. is the villain, with a few Chinese journalists reporting from the ground found to be parroting Russias favored news lines.

Another overarching theme of Chinese state media coverage is the depiction of the U.S. as the instigator of the conflict, which is part of a broader narrative.

Its a proxy information war that China is waging here. In the long term, its about undermining the credibility of the U.S. and the U.S.-led international system, David Bandurski, co-director of the China Media Project said. (Related: Financial pressures rise worldwide as governments witness the unfolding of the Russia-Ukraine crisis.)

A state tabloid also created the hashtag, #UkraineCrisisInstigator to describe the U.S. and NATO early on, accusing Washington of being the real aggressor working behind the scenes.

Still, despite state media feeding the information, public sentiment has always been there.

People worship Putin because he is aligned with Xi Jinping. They share the same strongman image and governance style, said Hu Qingxin, a media veteran now based in Hong Kong.

Visit WWIII.news for more updates about the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Watch the video below to know more about the players in a possible Third World War.

This video is from the Chinese taking down EVIL CCP channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Trump: China will DEFINITELY attack Taiwan following Russia-Ukraine example.

China slams US, NATO for provoking Russia to invade Ukraine.

Biden and his war hawks clamor for war with Russia; Ukraine tells him to STOP WARMONGERING and calm down.

Russias red line: Moscow not about to allow Ukraine to join NATO as World War III hangs in the balance.

Sources include:

InfoWars.com

AlJazeera.com

Brighteon.com
(Natural News) Dr. Philippe Van Welbergen, one of the original experts to find damage from the blood due to the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines, found that unvaccinated individuals have graphene and self-assembling nanoparticles in their blood  a manifestation of shedding from those who took the shots.

Van Welbergen is a specialist in biomedicine who deals with chronic cases. He has postgrad work in womens health in pharmacology, bio-pharmacology, advanced pain management and aesthetic medicine, which is why he was able to detect developments of patients that were seemingly out of character or did not make sense in terms of the patients diagnostic history.

One of the tests that we run routinely as a diagnostic support tool is red blood cell morphology  it means that certain conditions can change the shape of a perfectly good red blood cell from a lovely little donut with a dimple to very strange shapes, he explained during a recent appearance on the Dr. Jane Ruby Show.

The host, Dr. Jane Ruby, pointed out that there are two main ways the injections  whatever is in them  can be transferred to another person who is not vaccinated. This could be through inhalation or skin-to-skin contact.

Van Welberger said that in looking at the pure blood smears, which he took straight from an individual to the microscope, he noticed that the unstained blood started picking up unusual, tiny structures that he has never seen before.

He then presented data showing that red blood cells  which are usually round and doughnut-shaped  have been damaged by the spike protein. Those cells have become quadrangles or octagon-shaped instead of round. They have become messed up due to the spike protein damage and cannot be restored. (Related: Is graphene oxide what caused Japanese authorities to suspend Modernas contaminated covid vaccines?)

You cant repair red blood cells, Van Welverger explained. So these things are basically lost to us.

Moreover, because these cells have lost their shape, they cannot move through the macro circulatory system. Instead, they just bunch together and block things.

The unvaccinated somehow ended up full of graphene and self-assembling nanoparticles in their blood, which is the manifestation of shedding of those who took the vaccines themselves. This is often seen in unvaccinated children with vaccinated parents.

Children who had been infected with graphene oxide in their bodies, have seen different effects, although gastrointestinal complaints are the most common. This is because the cells are associated with ulcers, bleeding and even some forms of cancer.

Parents essentially allowing death of children if they let them get vaccinated against COVID-19

Taking a sample from a three-year-old, Van Welbergen showed that the childs blood showed the presence of sloughed graphene fragments in blood samples, which he said were likely to have been passed down.

Another sample, from an eight-year-old unvaccinated child, had his right arm and upper right leg basically paralyzed, with his thigh unable to move normally. Van Welbergen said this means the child has experienced graphene transmission and infection.

Van Welbergen is not the only one who saw the negative effects of graphene oxide in vaccines on human red blood cells.

Dr. Barbel Ghitalla and his colleague Axel Bolland, along with two lawyers Holger Fischer and Elmar Becker, found graphene oxide in their bodies after they had been injected with Johnson & Johnsons COVID-19 vaccine.

Swiss researcher Armin Koroknay also found that vaccination causes immediate blood clotting at the microscopic level, with the worst effects on human blood seen after the second injection. (Related: Researcher sounds alarm after finding PARASITES, nanobots and graphene in COVID-19 vaccines.)

British microbiologist Dr. Sicharit Bhakdi also said that if parents allow their children to be vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus, it means that they are willing to have their children killed.

Visit Vaccines.news for more information about the dangers of COVID-19 vaccines.

Watch the video below to learn how vaccinated individuals are affecting the unvaccinated.

This video is from the High Hopes channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

CONFIRMED: Covid vaccine vials definitely contain graphene oxide.

La Quinta Columna: 98% to 99% of the vaccination vial is graphene oxide.

Blood of COVID-vaccinated people found to contain strange artifacts (graphene oxide?).

Graphene oxide used in coronavirus vaccines linked to adverse events, even death.

The Dr. Hotze Report: Graphene oxide found in COVID vaccines  Brighteon.TV.

Sources include:

Brighteon.com

GNews.com
(Natural News) A group of 17 attorneys general (AGs) warned search engine giant Google against censoring pregnancy crisis centers. The group said an anti-trust investigation awaits Google should the tech giant suppress search results for these centers.

Virginia AG Jason Miyares and Kentucky AG Daniel Cameron led the coalition in penning the July 21 letter to the Big Tech firm.

The coalitions July 21 letter asked Google if it has taken any steps to treat pregnancy crisis centers differently in search engine results ever since the overturn of Roe v. Wade in June. Pregnancy crisis centers provide resources for women who choose to carry their babies to full term. Abortion centers, on the other hand, espouse abortifacient drugs or medical procedures to kill the baby in the womb.

Former Indiana AG Curtis Hill lauded the groups effort, adding that the threat of possible antitrust sanctions was highly appropriate. He added that Google operates in all U.S. states, which means it falls under the jurisdiction of each top attorneys consumer advocacy responsibilities.

They have the right to investigate companies that are operating within their state on information that consumers are being duped or otherwise are having difficulty being treated fairly, Hill told the Epoch Times.

Christy Ann Collins, executive director of the Texas-based Crisis Pregnancy Support Center (CPSC), remarked that most of their referrals come from word of mouth and they had no plans to compete with abortion listings. Nevertheless, she lauded the 17 AGs for standing up against censorship.

Google or anybody else shouldnt be stifling free speech, not on this issue or any other issue. If somebody is interested in alternative information or they are interested in crisis pregnancy centers, we shouldnt be blocked out, Collins said.

Hill: Dems want Google to suppress information at governments behest

The coalitions July 21 letter was sent in response to an earlier letter sent by Democratic members of Congress. The June 17 letter, penned by Virginia Sen. Mark Warner and Michigan Rep. Elissa Slotkin, asked Google CEO Sundar Pichai if the company has limited the appearance of anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers in the search results for abortion clinics or abortion pills. (Related: Banned by Google for opposing infanticide.)

Google should not be displaying anti-abortion fake clinics or crisis pregnancy centers in search results for users that are searching for an abortion clinic or abortion pill, wrote the two lawmakers. If Google must continue showing these misleading search results and in Google Maps, the results should at the very least be appropriately labeled.

Several other Democrats signed the letter  including New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal and New York Rep. Carolyn Maloney.t

Valeria Rivadeniera, press secretary for Warner, clarified the content of the Virginia senators letter.

[The senator] believes that users who search for abortion services should receive results that are relevant to their searches. Crisis pregnancy centers  which routinely misinform and mislead clients about their reproductive health  make every effort to appear in these search results in order to deceive individuals into thinking they offer a full range of reproductive health services.

She added that Warner has not yet received a response and that Google should apply appropriate labels to all organic search and map results.

In contrast, Hill commented that the Virginia senator and his Democratic colleagues want Google to act as an arm of the government in suppressing valuable pregnancy information. The former Indiana AG added that the July 21 letter by Miyares and Cameron sought to know if Google plans to comply with the legislators request.

Id want to know if the algorithms had been changed by a particular date, and if any, differences or distinctions seem to be in compliance with the request that was made. Its been suggested that some of the searches be limited  so I would want to see the searches.

Listen to Health Ranger Mike Adams below explaining why Googles censorship will lead to bloodshed and violence.

This is from the Health Ranger Report channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Google censors abortion pill reversal ads, reinforcing pro-abortion stance.

Google announces plans to aid and abet criminals who search for illegal access to abortion.

Google goes full-throttle with health censorship, doubles down on Big Pharma drugs and disease.

Sources include:

TheEpochTimes.com

Brighteon.com
(Natural News) Deborah Birx, one of Donald Trumps Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) advisers, sure is getting her 15 minutes of fame these days as she confesses to committing crimes against humanity with the help of Tony Fauci and the other globalists that infest the United States government.

Appearing on Fox News the other day with Neil Cavuto, Birx admitted that she knew all along that Fauci Flu shots were not going to protect against infection, but chose to push them anyway  which she is still doing today, by the way.

Well, if youre across the South and youre in the middle of this wave right now, whats going to save you is Paxlovid, Birx said during the segment (watch below), shilling yet another Pfizer drug for the Chinese Virus.

Dr. Deborah Birx: I knew these vaccines were not going to protect against infection and I think we overplayed the vaccines  Claims vaccines protect against severe disease and hospitalization before saying that 50% of those who died via Omicron were older & vaccinated. pic.twitter.com/CTifr3QZzX  Scott Morefield (@SKMorefield) July 22, 2022

But once we get through this wave, during the low, you should get vaccinated and boosted because we do believe it will protect you  particularly if youre over 70, Birx went on to drone in a valley girl voice similar to that of corrupt Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) head Rochelle Walensky.

I knew these vaccines were not going to protect against infection and I think we overplayed the vaccines and it made people then worry that its not going to protect against severe disease and hospitalization, Birx went on to ramble, adding that 50 percent of people who supposedly died from the Omicron (Moronic) variant of the WuFlu were older and vaccinated.

Deborah Birx needs to be held accountable for committing crimes against humanity

The reason why we keep hearing from Birx is because she is out there shilling a new book she just wrote in which she openly admits to tampering with Fauci Flu data without the Trump administrations permission or knowledge in order to push the plandemic agenda.

Birx is a criminal, in other words, but apparently feels so protected in her ivory tower of globalist protection that she is not at all worried about confessing to her crimes while also continuing to profit from them in the form of book sales.

Because America is now so divided politically  all by design, of course  crooks and criminals from both sides of the political aisle seem to get away with anything they want now because 50 percent of the population, depending on the criminal, has their back due to either being red or blue.

Birx is not officially a blue, but her pro-plandemic agenda suits the blue sides agenda. As a result, the blue army seems to have her back no matter what she says or does.

That woman should be tried for crimes against humanity, wrote someone in the comment section about Birx and her criminal behavior.

Birx should be in prison for her role in the entire scamdemic, wrote another. The vaccine is the scamdemic and the scamdemic is the vaccine  Ive been saying it since day one.

Another wrote that he no longer trusts doctors following the plandemic, nor does he trust the federal government which stole peoples liberty and suspended the Constitution during a medical emergency.'

Scarves do wonders to hide reptilian skin, joked another about Birx, who was often called the scarf lady due to constantly wearing a scarf whenever appearing before the public.

The latest news about Chinese Virus shots can be found at Vaccines.news.

Sources for this article include:

Twitter.com

NaturalNews.com

CitizenFreePress.com
(Natural News) There is no anti-Russian propaganda too ridiculous for the British media to run with.

(Article by Chris Menahan republished from InformationLiberation.com)

On Tuesday, The Daily Mail reported that Russian president Vladimir Putin was seen hobbling with his arm hanging limp while arriving in Iran.

Just four days later, The Daily Mail reported that Putin actually appeared too spry, animated and alert on his visit to Iran and must have been replaced by a body double, according to Ukrainian intelligence.

Ukrainian sources noted he moved unusually quickly and was more alert than in prior public appearances, The Daily Mail reported. The Russian premier looked animated when greeting the waiting party, before removing his jacket and clambering into a heavily armoured limousine.

From The Daily Mail, Vladimir Putin was replaced by a BODY DOUBLE when he flew to Iran to meet Turkeys President Erdogan, Ukrainian intelligence claims:

A Vladimir Putin body double may have been used for his arrival at a summit in Tehran this week, according to the head of Ukrainian military intelligence.

While the Russian leader looked awkward as he came down the steps of his presidential plane in Tehran, Ukrainian sources noted he moved unusually quickly and was more alert than in prior public appearances.

The Russian premier looked animated when greeting the waiting party, before removing his jacket and clambering into a heavily armoured limousine.

Intelligence supremo Major-General Kyrylo Budanov was suspicious in a live interview on Ukraines 1+1 news channel.

Ukrainian reports said Budanov suggested a Putin lookalike could have flown to Tehran to meet with the presidents of Iran and Turkey.

I will only hint, he said.

Please look at the moment of Putins exit from the plane. Is it Putin at all?

What we were told was Putins new signature limping and hobbling is now his uncharacteristic youthful spring in his step that can only be explained by him having a body double!

According to the media, Putin has had cancer about 50 times over the past two decades but somehow hes lived through it every time.

If Putin lived through all the ailments our media claims hes been stricken with over the decades then hes literally the strongest man in the world.

On Wednesday, CIA director William Burns lamented that Putin is entirely too healthy.

Hes too healthy  CIA director Burns on Putins health There are many rumors about President Putins health. But as far as we can tell, hes too healthy. This is an informal intelligence assessment ??????? pic.twitter.com/FTcQYIaGqt  ??Jacob??Charite?? (@jaccocharite) July 21, 2022

There are lots of rumors about President Putins health and as far as we can tell hes entirely too healthy, Burns told NBC News.

No doubt Burns was just tricked by Putins giant network of body doubles!

Read more at: InformationLiberation.com
(Natural News) The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) has warned consumers to exercise extreme caution when dealing with interest-bearing cryptocurrency accounts as it begins an investigation into whether big players in this part of the crypto industry have broken the law.

Without naming which companies, the DFPI stated that multiple businesses engaged in providing interest-bearing cryptocurrency accounts are being investigated to determine whether they are violating laws under the departments jurisdiction. (Related: Founder of fraudulent crypto CONVICTED for stealing over $6 million from investors.)

In a recent statement, the DFPI noted that crypto-interest account providers are not governed by the same rules and protections as banks and credit unions and that it is focusing its efforts on investigating crypto lending and interest accounts providing companies that are preventing customers from withdrawing and transferring between their accounts.

The department warns California consumers and investors that many crypto-interest account providers may not have adequately disclosed risks customers face when they deposit crypto assets onto these platforms, wrote the DFPI.Consumers are encouraged to exercise caution before responding to any solicitation offering investment or financial services.

Crypto companies should be aware that both state and federal regulators are focused on crypto-interest-bearing accounts claiming to be insured by the FDIC, noted attorneys working for Los Angeles-based law firm Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP.

In these cases, recourse for locked or lost cryptocurrency may not be readily available. This DFPI consumer alert should be viewed in light of a broader nationwide effort to regulate and protect consumers engaging in cryptocurrency investing or transactions.

Crypto lending and interest companies are crashing

This is not the first time the California DFPI has pursued investigations into several cryptocurrency companies. The department has taken action against BlockFi and Voyager Digital, two companies that lend cryptocurrency assets and provide interest-bearing accounts.

Voyager Digital halted withdrawals following the crash in the value of cryptocurrency assets and then filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy a few days later. The DFPIs investigation into BlockFi and Voyager Digital found that certain interest-bearing accounts in these two companies constituted unregistered securities.

The purpose of securities registration, in part, is to ensure that investors receive all material information needed to evaluate whether to enter into these crypto-interest account arrangements, such as risks being taken with deposited funds, said the DFPI in a consumer alert.

BlockFi and Voyager Digital were hit with cease and desist orders to stop offering interest-bearing crypto accounts in California.

The department has urged potential investors to exercise extreme caution before investing with digital asset lenders. For those who have already done business with lenders and these companies have halted withdrawals, transfers and other transactions, the DFPI has called on clients to contact company heads with questions and to file formal complaints with the department.

The digital asset lending sector has felt this years bear market the most. These lenders have been offering very high returns to investors, attracting tens of billions from investors, wrote Steve Kaaru for CoinGeek. However, with prices collapsing in April, a bank run ensued, and most of them couldnt keep up. For others, their intricate entanglement with other failing ventures  such as Voyager Digital to 3AC  proved to be their downfall.

Many other companies engaged in providing clients with interest-bearing crypto asset accounts have experienced similar downward turns in their businesses in recent months, leading to them taking measures similar to Voyager Digital to prevent any further loss in value.

Last month, the Celsius Network announced it would pause all crypto asset withdrawals and transfers between user accounts, citing extreme market conditions.

The company was among the first major crypto companies to issue pauses on user activity. This led to a butterfly effect on the rest of the industry, with BlockFi and Voyager Digital issuing similar announcements.

Watch this episode of the Health Ranger Report as Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, talks about how corporate media outlets are preparing to attack cryptocurrencies to pave the way for a centralized, government-controlled digital currency.

This video is from the Health Ranger Report channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Former Coinbase manager facing charges in first crypto insider trading case.

3AC crypto founders flee as multiple crypto Ponzi schemes collapse.

Collapse crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital now revealed to be a massive international fraud hidden behind complex legal structures.

Cryptoqueen becomes first crypto criminal on FBIs top 10 most wanted.

Elon Musk hit with $258 billion lawsuit over alleged dogecoin cryptocurrency pyramid scheme.

Sources include:

CoinTelegraph.com

PYMNTS.com

CoinDesk.com

JDSupra.com

CoinGeek.com

Brighteon.com
(Natural News) Scores of Chinese billionaires have either left their home country or are planning to do so in the near future, sparking new concerns that Beijings war plans for the forceful reunification of Taiwan are about to be implemented.

As reported by Fortune, Shanghai-based billionaire Yimeng Huang  the CEO and chairman of gaming company XD  became the latest billionaire to announce that he and his family are preparing to leave China, a memo that was leaked onto the internet and then went viral on Chinese social media. The post spurred new discussions among social media users about the number of very prominent Chinese businesspeople leaving their country.

In a company memo, Yimeng said: Im preparing my family to move abroad by next year. Its still a plan though, and anything can happen in a year. Im prioritizing both my family and the business. The scale of our overseas business is only growing.

My ideal scenario is to see Chinas COVID-19 quarantine policies relaxed a year from now, then Chinas international relations can only improve and be more open, then we can all move around as the needs of our work and lives dictate, he added.

Fortune noted further: Huang isnt the only one itching to pack his bags. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, Chinese citizens have endured the governments punishing zero-tolerance strategy that aims to stamp out the virus at all costs. Chinese policies of extended mass lockdowns and rigorous testing trapped bankers in their offices, forced Tesla workers to sleep at the carmakers factories, and locked families inside Disneyland until all 33,000 parkgoers could be tested. Shanghais two-month lockdown, which lasted from April to June, saw residents resorting to barter for food and goods.

Now, faced with a continued zero-COVID future, Chinas rich are plotting their escape. Around 10,000 high-net-worth individuals (HNWI) in China are seeking to leave their country this year and could take $48 billion in wealth with them, according to a new wealth migration report by Henley and Partners, an investment migration consultancy.

In addition, the outlet continued, the number of wealthy Hong Kong residents who want to leave is also very high. The city, a special autonomous region of China, has also enacted a dynamic-zero COVID policy as Beijing kept a close eye on the city, home to around 3,000 HNWI individuals who are also planning to escape sometime this year. They are collectively worth around $12 billion.

But wealthy citizens wanting to leave China and take their money with them are facing several major obstacles erected by Beijing, which seeks to prevent the massive outflow of wealth from the country as the ChiCom government deals with a self-inflicted battered economy, rising unemployment among youth and more COVID outbreaks after releasing the virus on the world.

During the pandemics first year, the zero-COVID policies appeared to work, as the country outwardly appeared to mostly contain the outbreak even as nations in the West dealt with millions of infections and hundreds of thousands of deaths, Fortune reported.

But the continued harsh lockdowns, which only affect ordinary citizens and not the countrys Communist elite, are wearing extremely thin among the population. There are rising instances of mental health cases, while other Chinese suffered serious medical conditions because they were unable to go out to receive medical care. Also, the lockdowns hurt small and large businesses (just like they did in blue states that used similar lockdown strategies for everyone but the Democrat elite).

Millions of businesses have closed in the past two years, and global companies operating in China are sick and tired of the enduring lockdowns. As such, Chinese GDP dramatically declined in the second quarter, with the economy growing only an anemic o.4percent. Youth unemployment stands at 18 percent.

In May, Chinas immigration bureau said it would begin to stringently restrict the nonessential exit activities of Chinese citizensand strictly [enforce] strict exit and entry policies, citing the need to contain the virus.

But many Chinese viewed the measure as a way to restrict the loss of brain power and money dramatically.

China is self-imploding, and the world will feel the shockwave.

Sources include:

TheNigerianVoice.com (Fortune reprint)

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) In order to practice medicine in the United States, the next generation of doctors will first have to undergo an extensive rite of anti-white brainwashing in medical school.

The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) just released new guidelines for teaching medicine that require students to learn about white privilege in America. Medical school students will also need to achieve certain competencies in concepts like anti-colonialism and race as a social construct in order to pass their classes and get licensed to practice. (Related: Anti-white diversity officers are among the fastest growing job position in todays America).

Since the founding of the United States, there have been systemic health and health care inequities grounded in racism, sexism, homophobia, classism, and other forms of discrimination that still permeate our current health system, reads a new release from AAMC entitled Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Competencies Across the Learning Continuum.

Recent broad societal calls for social justice and the disparate impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have added urgency to the need for improved integration of diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism in medical education and training.

Hating white people is the new rite of passage in globalist-corrupted Western society

It turns out that the George Floyd false flag incident, which strategically coincided with the Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) plandemic false flag, served as a vehicle to transform the United States into a bastion of anti-white hatred and institutionalized hatred against all things white.

A type of Mark of the Beast, one must now play along with the anti-white narrative in order to be eligible for schooling, employment, social acceptance. Those who refuse will be relegated to the fringes of society, especially if they have white skin and are Christians.

Learning to hate white people and all things white is a process, the AAMC admits. It is a perpetual state of being, as demonstrated by the different stages of anti-white indoctrination.

Those new to the world of anti-white hatred are considered new to DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) journey, while others are continuing or advancing their DEI journey.

According to the guidance, a medical school student who is new to the journey of hating white people must demonstrate evidence of self-reflection and how ones personal identities, biases, and lived experiences may influence ones perspectives, clinical decision-making, and practice in order to enter residency.

They must also demonstrate the value of diversity by incorporating dimensions of diversity into the patients health assessment and treatment plan as well as knowledge of the intersectionality of a patients multiple identities and how each identity may result in varied and multiple forms of oppression or privilege related to clinical decisions and practice,' reports further explain.

Faculty positions are expected to play the part of role model in demonstrating how to hate white people, as well as how to incorporate anti-white hate into the practice of medicine.

All medical school students entering residency will be expected to identify systems of power, privilege, and oppression and their impacts on health outcomes (e.g., White privilege, racism, sexism, heterosexism, ableism, religious oppression), the new documents further reveal.

AAMC says it is committed to practicing anti-racism and critical consciousness in health care, which means addressing things like colonization, White supremacy, acculturation, [and] assimilation (as) systems of oppression on health and healthcare.

The origins of these inequities are often rooted in systemic racism and discrimination, the documents further explain.

At the nexus of education and clinical care, academic medicine has a responsibility to address and mitigate the factors that drive racism and bias in health care and to prepare physicians who are culturally responsive and trained to address these issues.

More news about the destruction of America at the hands of anti-white racists can be found at Wokies.news.

Sources for this article include:

Breitbart.com

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) Western liberals who are adherents to World Economic Forum fascist Klaus Schwab continue to mimic the dictators, authoritarians and tyrants in other countries they claim to oppose.

According to a report by Great Game India, an amendment to a bill introduced in the UK would require social media users to be tagged with a truth score that rates the honesty and truthfulness of their posts.

The proposal would restrict legal but harmful content and was added on to an already abysmal Online Safety Bill by Conservative Party member John Penrose, the report added.

Like something out of dystopian fiction, Penrose, the MP for Weston-super-Mare, has proposed that the government forces online platforms to maintain a score of how truthful a person is, determined by their past statements, noted an assessment of the amendment at Reclaim The Net.

The provision states that all users who produced user-generated content, publish news or just write comments or reviews should be evaluated by the social media platform and then given a rating that indicates the historic factual accuracy of the post. In other words, someone just giving their opinion can (and would) be rated poorly, so there goes what remains of freedom of speech, so far as it still exists online.

Reclaim the Net adds:

The purpose of this section is to reduce the risk of harm to users of regulated services caused my (sic) disinformation or misinformation, the proposal states, with a typo that shows just how much care goes into the wording of legislation that wipes away citizens freedoms.

The proposal says that every user that produces online content, including comments and reviews and who receives a certain number of online views, which is to be determined by the UK communications regulator, should have their content indexed and assigned a truth score.

The users speech is then to be displayed in a way which allows any user easily to reach an informed view of the likely factual accuracy of the content at the same time as they encounter it.

And of course, like in the U.S. with the criminal Biden administration, the impetus for this blatant political censorship is to curb misinformation  while the left-wing regimes running Western governments put out actual disinformation under the lie of speaking the truth.

Make no mistake, these scores will be determined by a government bureaucrat who has been instructed to tag citizens whose viewpoints differ or refute those of the current regime, thus rendering them arbitrarily dishonest and untrue, and of course, setting them up to be censored and/or banned online altogether.

This will harm online publishers for certain, especially a) those who publish opposing views and b) those who grow large enough (usually by buying likes and traffic) to have a decent-sized following and readership.

Russia, Russia, Russia! was also used to justify this dystopian crackdown (sound familiar?).

Digital Secretary Nadine Dorries said the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine has proven how Moscow uses social media to spread lies, Great Game India noted (none of the Western governments lie online, only Russia).

We cannot allow foreign states or their puppets to use the internet to conduct hostile online warfare unimpeded, she claimed. Thats why we are strengthening our new internet safety protections to make sure social media firms identify and root out state-backed disinformation.

Others in Britains Conservative Party are expressing concern and outrage over the amendment because they know what the leftist government will use it for.

The ratcheting effect on our civil liberties is already happening in real time, says a letter from several Conservative MPs addressed to Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries. The Labour Party has expressed its intention to expand the regulatory framework to include health-related misinformation and disinformation.'

This could lead to the state designating social media companies as the arbiter of truth online and presents serious problems for freedom of speech, the letter warns.

That, of course, is the point.

Sources include:

ReclaimTheNet.org

GreatGameIndia.com
(Natural News) Since around the middle of May 2022, you will have most likely heard or seen the word Monkeypox mentioned numerous times in the mainstream media.

(Article republished from Expose-News.com)

If you havent then youre about to.

This is because on Saturday 23rd July 2022, the Director General of the World Health Organization, Dr Tedros, overruled the World Health Organization to single-handedly declare the alleged monkeypox outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. (Source)

Allegedly, for the first time since its discovery among humans in Africa over 50 years ago, the monkeypox virus is circulating throughout several countries including the USA, UK, Canada, Brazil, Australia and most of Europe all at the same time.

But it just so happens that every single country where monkeypox is allegedly circulating is also a country that has distributed the Pfizer Covid-19 injection to its population; excluding some countries in Africa where the disease has been endemic for the past 50 or so years.

The World Health Organization has not received a single report of monkeypox from any country in the world where the Pfizer vaccine was not administered.

Why is this?

Well, its most definitely not because were witnessing what we will soon be told is a second pandemic to hit the world within the past two years.

Its because were seeing the consequences of injecting millions of people with an experimental mRNA injection that causes untold damage to the immune system, and public health authorities are now scrambling to cover up Covid-19 vaccine-induced shingles and using it as an opportunity to advance their technocratic agenda of implementing The Great Reset.

Click on the below image and take a good long look to compare which countries have reported cases of monkeypox to the W.H.O. since May 2022, and which countries have distributed the Pfizer Covid-19 injection.

Every single country that has reported cases of monkeypox has also distributed the Pfizer jab. And there are only a handful of countries where the Pfizer jab has been administered that havent reported a case of monkeypox to the W.H.O.

Human monkeypox was first identified in humans in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of Congo in a 9-year-old boy. Since then, human cases of monkeypox have been reported in 11 African countries. It wasnt until 2003 that the first monkeypox outbreak outside of Africa was recorded, and this was in the United States.

Do you not find it curious how in the space of 50 years, monkeypox has never really gotten off the ground outside of a couple of countries in Africa, but then within two years of the alleged emergence of Covid-19, monkeypox is suddenly in every Western nation and being hyped up by public health authorities, the mainstream media and the World Health Organization?

Do you not find it curious how every country reporting cases of monkeypox has also distributed the Pfizer vaccine to its population?

If you dont then we urge you to please stop watching BBC News, because how the world appears to you is absolute fiction.

According to a scientific study published in 1988, its virtually impossible to distinguish between monkeypox and chickenpox. And chickenpox is caused by the varicella-zoster virus, and just like its close relative the herpes simplex virus, it becomes a lifelong resident in the body.

And like its other cousin, genital herpes, varicella may be silent for many years, hiding out inside nerve cells and can reactivate later, wreaking havoc in the form of the excruciating skin disorder, shingles, which is a blistering, burning skin rash.

What youre being told is monkeypox is really Covid-19 vaccine-induced herpes infection, shingles, autoimmune blistering disease and other ailments brought on by a weakened immune system caused by Covid-19 vaccination.

According to the CDC Wonder Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) database, as of June 3rd 2022, the CDC has processed 18,026 reports relating to herpes and shingle infections that have occurred as adverse reactions to the Covid-19 injections.

Meanwhile, according to the same VAERS database, the CDC only received 1,052 reports relating to herpes/shingle infections that have occurred as adverse reactions to all available Flu jabs between the years 2008 and 2020.

This figure alone shows there has been a 1,614% increase in adverse events related to herpes/shingles because of the Covid-19 injections.

This isnt because more Covid-19 injections have been administered.

According to the CDC, 1.7 billion Flu jabs were administered between 2008 and 2020 (source). But according to Our World in Data, only 588.04 million Covid-19 jabs were administered in the USA as of May 27th 2022.

Now that we know these figures we can use them to calculate the rate of adverse events related to herpes/shingles infections per 1 million doses administered.

The results are as follows 

The available data shows the rate of adverse events relating to herpes/shingles infections per 1 million doses of Covid-19 injection administered is 4,925% higher than the rate of adverse events relating to herpes/shingles infections per 1 million doses of Flu vaccine administered.

Therefore, this official U.S. Government data proves that Covid-19 vaccination increases a persons risk of developing Shingles by 4,925% at the very least.

The confidential Pfizer documents that the FDA attempted to delay releasing by 75 years also list another condition that has extreme similarities to monkeypox: autoimmune blistering disease.

The condition is hidden within the 9 page long list of adverse events of special interest at the end of Pfizers reissue_5.3.6 postmarketing experience.pdf document.

Autoimmune blistering disease causes blisters on the skin and mucous membranes throughout the body. It can affect the mouth, nose, throat, eyes, and genitals. It is not fully understood but experts believe that it is triggered when a person who has a genetic tendency to get this condition comes into contact with an environmental trigger. This might be a chemical or a medicine. Such as the Pfizer Covid-19 injection?

Those same Pfizer documents also list herpes viral infections as adverse events of special interest in relation to the mRNA Covid-19 injection.

By the end of February 2021, just 2 months after the Pfizer vaccine was granted emergency use authorisation in both the USA and UK, Pfizer has received 8,152 reports relating to herpes infection, and 18 of these had already led to multiple organ dysfunction syndrome.

Why is the Pfizer vaccine causing all these diseases that bear remarkable similarities to the alleged monkeypox disease were all being told about? Its because it decimates the natural immune system.

The following chart shows the Covid-19 vaccine effectiveness among the triple vaccinated population in England according to data found in the UK Health Security Agencys Week 3, Week 7 and Week 13 COVID-19 Vaccine Surveillance reports of 2022 

Data shows that vaccine effectiveness fell month on month since at least the beginning of 2022, with the lowest effectiveness recorded among 60-69-year-olds at a shocking minus-391%. This age group also experienced the sharpest decline, falling from minus-104.69% in week 3.

A negative vaccine effectiveness indicates immune system damage because vaccine effectiveness isnt really a measure of the effectiveness of the Covid-19 vaccine. It is a measure of a vaccine recipients immune system performance compared to the immune system performance of an unvaccinated person.

Why isnt it a measure of the Covid-19 vaccine? Because the injection invades our cells, and manipulates our DNA, instructing it to create millions of the alleged spike protein of the original SARS-CoV-2 virus. The immune system then attempts to rid the body of these spike proteins and the theory is that it should remember to do it again in the future if it ever encounters the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

So if the immune system is not only failing to do that but doing a far worse job than the immune system of an unvaccinated person, as the above UKHSA data proves, this means the Covid-19 injections have damaged and are continuing to damage the immune system over a long period of time.

This is in turn leading to flare-ups of herpes infections resulting in conditions such as shingles, auto-immune blistering disease and multiple organ dysfunction syndrome, and you are being told it is monkeypox.

But youre not just being told this to cover it up, the authorities are also using it to advance their technocratic agenda.

A hidden alliance of political and corporate leaders exploited the alleged Covid-19 pandemic with the aim of crashing national economies and paving the way to introducing a global digital currency. These leaders include President of France Emmanuel Macron, Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern, and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Boris Johnson.

Monkeypox is going to allow them to reintroduce a campaign of fear and enforce further Draconian restrictions, and it is their ticket to implementing a digital identity / social credit system in which the basic human rights that we have all taken from granted will be lost forever.

Since the turn of the year, numerous countries have announced plans to expand online censorship, introduce what are in effect social credit systems, and implement digital identities whilst floating the idea of introducing national digital currencies.

Heres a list of articles relating to just a few examples 

But for this to work, the authorities, which have been infiltrated by World Economic Forum technocrats (source), need the public to be on side.

And they know through the mass majority of peoples unquestioning compliance with Covid-19 restrictions over the past two years that this wont be a problem, especially when they have the bought and paid for mainstream media to help them.

Read more at: Expose-News.com
(Natural News) Christopher Key, founder of the anti-vaccine website Vaccine Police, described abortion supporters as demon-possessed after he was assaulted outside an abortion clinic in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Key recounted the incident to Brighteon.TV host and homeopathic practitioner Dr. Robert Scott Bell during the two-day Red Pill Expo in Indianapolis, which ran from July 9 to 10. The Vaccine Police founder had been wearing pain patches on his head during his sit-down interview with Bell.

I actually got hit by the Son of Satan. This woman, who calls [herself] the Son of Satan, came at me at an abortion clinic. [She went] out from [inside] the clinic and hit me square with the head  with a billy stick and frickin metal rod, said Key.

A report by Louisiana TV station KNOE 8 confirmed the incident that occurred at the Delta Clinic of Baton Rouge. The Baton Rouge Police Department (BRPD) took Keys attacker, 50-year-old Teresina Carter, into custody on July 7. The police department said she would be charged will aggravated assault and simple criminal damage to property.

According to Key, Carter approached him and asked which hospital he would like to be taken to. Keys camera then fell to the ground, which the suspect picked up and brought inside the clinic to destroy. Carter went out a second time and hit him repeatedly on the head and shoulder. (Related: VIOLENCE IS THEIR RELIGION: Abortion advocates in LA attack cops with rocks, smash squad car windows.)

Key then called 911 and BRPD officers subsequently showed up.

I showed them the video, then they proceeded to go inside. [The clinic] said [Carter] was not an employee, which is a total lie. We know for a fact that she was still in the building, he said. The clinic did not comment on Keys visit.

A shocked Bell remarked that Carters attack constituted assault with a deadly weapon, to which Key agreed. It was premediated. She told everybody ahead of time what she was [going to] do, noted Key.

Delta Clinic still operates despite Louisianas blanket ban on abortion

The Vaccine Police founder explained his visit at the Delta Clinic, arguing he was there to serve a letter from the attorney generals office reminding the clinic of the states abortion ban.

I went to Baton Rouge because I heard that they were continuing to do abortions because Louisiana passed a trigger law that made it illegal. [When Supreme Court reversed] Roe v. Wade, abortions automatically become illegal.

However, a judge from New Orleans issued a restraining order against the law, essentially putting it on hold. This did not dissuade Key from serving the document he had.

I went and served [the document to] the security guard. He took it inside, and [then Carter] came out and clubbed me over the head. Anybody else in the country, if they would have taken the lick I took to the head, they would have been out 24/7.

Key suffered a concussion, a slightly torn rotator cuff and a hernia following Carters assault on him. To this, Bell quipped that the suspect was trying to abort [Key] many years into his life.

Shes demon-possessed. These people love abortions, Robert. I had no clue about abortions and I got this woman that told me about abortions. I knew they were wrong because thats the way I was taught and whatnot, Key answered in response to the host of The Robert Scott Bell Show asking about what stimulates the hostility and anger of people such as Carter.

Key urged Americans to join him in his fight against corruption, evil and government inaction.

We need a posse; we need anybody out there who wants to help. The government [and] all of the other alphabet [agencies] dont do anything, so We The People have to stand up and speak out and get this done because theyre coming for every single one of us.

Watch the conversation between Christopher Key and Dr. Robert Scott Bell at the Red Pill Expo below.

This video is from the BrighteonTV channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Op-ed: Abortion activists reveal their EVIL nature through threats and vandalism.

Roe decision brings us incredible CLARITY on the LUCIFERIANS running the abortion child sacrifice cult.

Howling leftist demons call for targeted violence against high court justices over Supreme Court plan to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Sources include:

Brighteon.com

KNOE.com
(Natural News) The New York Times claims that there are now 16,000 cases of monkeypox (pridepox) in the world, which has prompted World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus to declare the gay disease as a public health emergency of international concern.

Ghebreyesus admits that pridepox is primarily spreading among LGBT males, though in the same breath urged against categorizing it as such. According to Ghebreyesus, making homosexual and bisexual men feel bad about the disease in a stigmatizing way because stigma and discrimination can be as dangerous as any virus.

In other words, pridepox is a gay disease but it is also not a gay disease. And everyone should be scared of it because Ghebreyesus claims it is spreading around the world rapidly through new modes of transmission about which we understand too little.

For all of these reasons, Ghebreyesus further said in a statement, I have decided that the global monkeypox outbreak represents a public health emergency of international concern.

WHO voted 9 to 6 to NOT declare a monkeypox emergency, but Ghebreyesus overrode that decision

Monkeypox first appeared in Europe at an LGBT sex festival for Pride. Ever since then, the media and governments have been trying to make people fearful of it to usher in another plandemic.

Ghebreyesus is doing his part, of course, by pretending as though pridepox is really scary and something we all need to worry about because men who have sex with men are reportedly developing massive lesions on their genitals.

This is an outbreak that is concentrated among men who have sex with men, especially those with multiple sexual partners, Ghebreyesus admitted in a statement.

There are also now claims that a handful of children with pridepox. These children are traced back to individuals who come from the  gay mens community, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) head Rochelle Walensky.

A recent study published in The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) claims that pridepox is surging among LGBT males, many of whom also have HIV and likely other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).

Ghebreyesus is calling on LGBT males to adopt measures that protect both the health, human rights, and dignity of affected communities. This appears to be a very politically correct way of telling LGBT males to stop being promiscuous swine.

The claim is that pridepox takes about 20 days to incubate and start festering. Based on when the earliest cases were reported, this points to Junes Pride festivities as the culprit.

With the tools we have right now, we can stop transmission and bring this outbreak under control, Ghebreyesus added in a statement, failing to fully clarify what these tools are.

Anyone with a brain knows that WHO is an irrelevant clown division of the United Nations that nobody needs to take seriously. Ghebreyesus, according to one commenter is a stateless parasite thirsty for power and relevance and NOTHING MORE.

It really is a global emergency for the fools most at risk for it, added another. The PC movement says you cant tell the truth: that its totally avoidable, even for those men, if they take precautions and dial back their tendencies  but they just wont control themselves, and we will all pay.

The freaks refuse to stop engaging in insane risk. They are pathological and irresponsible. Truly mis-developed psychologically.

Another emphasized that Ghebreyesus is little more than a pawn of billionaire eugenicist Bill Gates.

He is from Ethiopia, which used to have the reputation of being the most corrupt country in Africa, this person added. That is kind of like being the hottest part of hell.

The latest monkeypox news can be found at Outbreak.news.

Sources include:

ZeroHedge.com

Twitter.com

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has decided to declare monkeypox, aka PridePox, a global health emergency even though less than half a dozen people have supposedly died worldwide, not to mention the fact that nearly every case of the diseases involve homosexual behavior.

Rather than simply tell men who prefer sexual relations with other men to stop engaging in their perversions, Ghebreyesus appears to instead be laying the foundation for the implementation of yet another global plandemic  assuming people fall for it a second time, that is.

While Ghebreyesus admits that PridePox primarily spreads among men who have sex with men, especially those with multiple sexual partners, he is urging governments not to discriminate against them when creating the groundwork for more medical fascism.

Stigma and discrimination can be as dangerous as any virus, Ghebreyesus stated nonsensically.

Since the so-called Omicron (Moronic) variant of the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) was not successful at scaring enough people into more lockdowns and mask mandates, WHO seems to have moved on to PridePox in the hopes that it will scare enough people into more mindless compliance with tyranny.

Anyone who lived through the 80s has seen this movie before, commented someone about how PridePox is being introduced in a similar way as AIDS first was, once against using LGBTs as the spreaders.

Gays who contracted monkeypox and other STDs at Pride events now blame the government for their deviant behavior

A division director at the Open Society Foundation, which is run by billionaire globalist George Soros, who is now suffering from PridePox after having sex with multiple men at New York Citys recent Pride event says the government is not doing enough to help him and his fellow LGBTs to overcome the disease.

Sebastian Kohn says he was fully aware of the fact that PridePox was spreading before attending the celebration of sin, but proceeded to attend and engage in homosexual behavior regardless. He now has not only PridePox by also gonorrhea.

I was aware that monkeypox was an emerging issue  especially for gay men  but I was also under the impression that the number of cases in the city was relatively small, Kohn whined.

What I didnt understand was how absolutely dismal testing capacity was: at that point, the city only had [the] capacity to process ten tests a day.

Over the weekend at Pride, Kohn admits he had sex with several guys, and not long after started feeling very tired and feverish. He developed chills and muscle aches, as well as swollen lymph nodes that were so swollen they were protruding two inches out of my throat.

Rather than admit that his own sexual escapades are to blame for his new illnesses, Kohn is blaming Big Brother for allowing monkeypox and gonorrhea to happen to him.

This whole thing just feels like a huge failure that should not have been allowed to happen, especially not two and half months into the outbreak, Kohn complained.

If someone like me, who has worked in sexual health for a long time, had such a hard time navigating care, I cant imagine other people doing it. I know several people who are just sitting at home in agonizing pain because theyre not getting the support that they need.

The Big Apple where Kohn developed both PridePox and gonorrhea is said to be the epicenter of the disease in the United States. About 30 percent of all cases nationwide, according to the New York Health Department, are in the city.

The latest news about PridePox can be found at Outbreak.news.

Sources include:

Twitter.com

Infowars.com

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) Far-left insanity continues to reach new heights, mostly because far too many of us put up with it and the lunatics pushing it.

The latest example involves a dance school that has now dropped traditional ballet auditions because its too white and too elitist, the UKs Telegraph reports.

The Northern School of Contemporary Dance (NSCD) in Leeds, England, which has proudly announced that it seeks to be a progressive institution, has revised and removed what it calls the elitist art form as part of a new diversity effort that includes a raft of new policies that are related to gender and race  all of which are really just aimed at formalizing racism against white people as some wicked form of payback despite the fact that no white Europeans or those of Euro descent in America ever owned a human being in their lives (or knew anyone who did).

The Telegraph continues:

Ballet has been ditched as a requirement for school-entry auditions because of its contentious nature, with teaching staff explaining that the traditional mode of dance comes with the baggage of white European ideas.

The centuries-old art form was seen as being a barrier to inclusion because of the exclusionary financial burden of taking classes, and also because of its idealizing of certain European body shapes, and division of roles along gender lines.

For the record, performing ballet was never supposed to be something everyone could do; thats what makes it such a unique art form. Only the most talented among us can master it, just like any other art form or skill  there is no skin color requirement. And never mind that children who grow up around parents who have mastered the form are more likely to want to do it as well, but now thats considered racist and the new left-wing race buzzword, colonizing.

The outlet notes further that the changes come after the conservatoire undertook work to decolonize the curriculum after caving to demands from the LGBTQ community.

Information from the NSCD said: We review content and have removed ballet from our audition day due to its potentially contentious nature.

It is essentially an elitist form. Young people need to pay to take ballet classes as a general rule, and for a vast number of potential students, theyve not had access to ballet, said Francesca McCarthy, head of undergraduate studies at the conservatoire.

It is a very specific form that is built around particular white European ideas and body shapes that are often alienating to young people who do not fit that aesthetic ideal. There are issues relating to body, money, language and movement vocabulary, she said.

But heres the real issue, apparently, and this is where the gay/lesbian/trans community influence comes in, per The Telegraph:

The issue of vocabulary hinges on ballets traditional terminology  which has led to gender distinctions such as ballerina for women and danseur for men  and the everyday use of men and women or girls and boys in dance classes.

The split of roles along gender lines, with female dancers tending towards pointe work and men customarily performing leaps and lifts, has also been cited as an issue, and the NSCD is seeking to become more inclusive by tackling distinctions.

Ballet has strongly gendered roots in terms of the movement vocabulary, McCarthy continued.

Most of our ballet staff were trained at a time where divisions in the teaching of ballet were clear and men lifted women. There was a shift to ladies and gentlemen over time, but this is still problematic in relation to the inclusion of non-binary and trans dancers, she added.

So her solution and that of the school is to punish the 98 percent of the human race that is not confused about which gender they are. Perfect.

Left-wing lunacy is destroying Western civilization. They will succeed if we let them.

Sources include:

Telegraph.co.uk

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) Transgender activists and their supporters are forcing concessions of their woke culture here and there. The high society and the government seem to be playing along with it.

This makes the public question its sanity as the woke people maneuver to assert their transgenderism agenda into the new world until all seem to be acceptable and normal.

Jonathon Van Maren, public speaker and pro-life activist, wrote in his blog published by Lifesite News: Eventually, we lose our ability to be shocked. Slowly, the new language no longer jars us. And then, eventually, it all begins to seem normal.

Bearded women. Men in skirts. Children undergoing surgery and beginning lifelong regimens of drugs. That is why these seemingly small incidents, when you zoom out, are important to call out and important to reject because of where they are taking us.

He cited some instances where gaslighting is clearly evident in conditioning the publics mind into accepting these crazy woke ideologies.

In an interview with MSNBCs Andrea Mitchell Reports on July 18, President Joe Bidens Assistant Secretary for Health Rachel Levine urged legislation to empower kids to go on puberty blockers and get sex reassignment surgery. Levine was born male and her name used to be Richard.

Levine appeared on the show to advocate for Bidens radical transgender policies. Levine admitted that transgender youth are more likely to have mental health issues, but insisted that bullying is to blame, not the persons gender identity.

The castrations and double mastectomies and other mutilations are in the service of affirming the gender of these children, rather than changing to the sex they believe themselves to be. See what they did there? Van Maren wrote.

Biden puts a cross-dressing four-star admiral on TV to support sex changes for kids and were all supposed to nod along, he further stated.

The assistant secretarys comments on gender-transition surgeries as a way to empower children drew flak from the public. Arizona Representative Andy Biggs responded to Levines comments via a tweet. This is deeply disturbing, he tweeted.

Kansas Senator Roger Marshall also said that 80 percent of children outgrow gender dysphoria. Under the Biden Admins gender care policies, these children may suffer irreversible harm. Gender-affirming care is child abuse, the senator pointed out.

Also, Newsweek opinion editor Josh Hammer tweeted: Unserious regime.

Radio show host Mark Davis also said that he would raise no personal fight with the assistant secretary about trans status as what adults want to do with their lives is none of his business. But this is unfettered advocacy of child abuse, he noted.

This is just appalling. The Biden Presidency is destroying America, Telegraph writer Nile Gardiner wrote.

Brainwashing the public on the definition of genders

Elsewhere in the article, a social media post from the Toronto Police Department was cited by the writer. It read: News Release  Missing Woman, Ryerson Avenue and Bathurst Street area, Isobella Degrace, 27. This particular tweet went viral, as it was retweeted over 10,000 times. The reason is that the photo is of a bearded man, with no trace of any feminine features.

Another one is Merriam-Websters amendment to the terminology female. It is now defined as having a gender identity that is the opposite of male.

By literally changing the terms of the debate, trans activists can ensure that they control the outcome because words mean what they decide they mean, just as reality and biology can be redefined on a whim, Van Maren said. (Related: Woke libtards attack anthropology, claiming ancient skeletons cant be labeled men or women because they might have identified as transgender.)

According to him, the dictionary appears to be the only one that has made the change so far. However, he expects the others to follow suit as Webster has also literally changed the definition of sexual preference to make sure that a Democratic senators point was accurate after the fact.

Van Maren was talking about the incident when Democratic senators scolded Judge Amy Coney Barrett for her use of the word during day two of her confirmation hearings back in 2020. The definition was amended the same day this happened.

During a judiciary committee inquiry on Obergefell v. Hodges, which decreed a constitutional right to same-sex marriage, Senators Mazie Hirono and Cory Booker reprimanded Barrett for using the term sexual preference, saying that it was offensive and outdated.

The term is used by anti-LGBTQ activists to suggest that sexual orientation is a choice. It is not, Hirono told the judge.

Barrett apologized for the alleged error and said she meant no harm to anyone by using the widely adopted terminology. The senators still complained that the judges use of the word indicates her personal beliefs about the case ruling.

Watch the below video that talks about the real agenda behind transgenderism.

This video is from The Prisoner channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Regretful transgender tweets diatribe about how the surgical damage is irreversible.

MUTILATION NATION: Transgender organization says children should be allowed to transition at age 14.

Teammate of transgender female swimmer Lia Thomas says his medals should be stripped.

Pro-LGBT businesses increasingly push transgender propaganda in pride month ads.

Sources include:

LifeSiteNews.com

Opindia.com

FoxNews.com

Merriam-Webster.com

TheBridgeHead.ca

Brighteon.com
Online jokes about Tiktaalik roseae, the famous four-legged "fishapod" that first appeared on land 375 million years ago, have been going around throughout the epidemic. In the majority of depictions, Tiktaalik is seen sticking its head out of the water and getting ready to crawl on land as a hand out of frame threatens it with a stick or a rolled-up newspaper.

The punchline is that those of us who are weary of the modern world wish we could travel back in time and stop evolution in its tracks, saving ourselves from the current era of conflict, disease, and online memes.

Evolution of Tiktaalik

The ancient creature's fossilized remnants have shown how prehistoric life emerged from the ocean and made its clumsy initial steps toward the development of four-legged terrestrial creatures.

The bones of Tiktaalik, a 375 million year old freshwater organism that grew to three meters long and had aquatic traits combined with others better adapted to life on land, were found to provide clues to the crucial period in the history of life.

While looking for fossils on Ellesmere Island in the Canadian Arctic in 2004, researchers made the initial discovery of Tiktaalik.

Tiktaalik was an amazing creature with a unique combination of gills, scales, fins, and lungs. It also had a moveable neck, strong ribs, and a head like a crocodile.

In study that was released in 2014, researchers provide the first description of fossils from the rear half of Tiktaalik. According to the report, the animal featured lengthy hind fins, a conspicuous hip joint, and a big, strong pelvic girdle. The beast's strong fins may have helped it move through the water, but they might also have enabled it to traverse mudflats and walk on riverbeds.

The largest discovery, according to Neil Shubin, an anatomy professor at the University of Chicago and the paper's lead author, was the size of the pelvis.

The animal's pelvis is the same size as its shoulder, so you can get an idea of how enormous it is by noting that.

It is also evident from these bones that the hind appendage was already emphasized in its transition to creatures with limbs, as per The Guardian.

Read more: Decline in Earth's Oxygen Caused by Fossil Fuels, Experts Suggest

A new discovery of a new fossil

It turned out that one of Tiktaalik's close cousins had done just that, choosing to return to dwell in the open sea rather than venture onto land, as per ScienceDaily.

Recent research from the lab of Neil Shubin, Ph.D., who co-discovered Tiktaalik in 2004, reports a fossil species that are similar to Tiktaalik but differs from it in that it was better suited to life in the water.

The Tiktaalik, which could reach a height of nine feet, was larger than Qikiqtania wakei, which was just 30 inches long.

The newly discovered fossil has fragments of the upper and lower jaws, the neck, and scales.

Most critically, it has a full pectoral fin and a humerus bone that is distinct and devoid of the ridges that would identify the location of muscles and joints on a limb designed for walking on land.

The top arm of Qikiqtania was smooth and curved, more adapted to a life spent paddling underwater.

The peculiarity of Qikiqtania's arm bones suggests that it resumed water paddling after its predecessors started using their limbs for walking.

We initially believed it may be a juvenile Tiktaalik because of its lower size and the possibility that some of those processes hadn't fully completed, according to Shubin.

It's extremely smooth and boomerang-shaped, but the humerus lacks the components that would support it thrusting up on land.

The fossil was discovered by Shubin, the Robert R. Bensley Distinguished Service Professor of Organismal Biology and Anatomy at the University of Chicago, at a location about one mile east of southern Ellesmere Island in the territory of Nunavut in northern Arctic Canada, days before Tiktaalik was found.

The Inuktitut term Qikiqtaaluk or Qikiqtani, the traditional name for the area where the fossil site is located, is whence the name Qikiatania originates.

In honor of the late David Wake, a renowned evolutionary scientist from the University of California in Berkeley, the species name wakei was given.

Tiktaalik and Qikiqtania are just somewhat older than one another. According to the team's examination of its position on the evolutionary tree, it, like Tiktaalik, is situated close to the oldest known organisms with finger-like digits.

Qikiqtania had a distinctive pectoral fin that was more suited to swimming, but it wasn't fully fish-like.

Different from the jointed, muscled legs or fan-shaped fins we see in modern tetrapods and fish, its curving paddle form was a distinctive adaption.

The Qikiqtania demonstrates that some species continued on a different course that eventually didn't work out, contrary to the common belief that animals developed in a straight line from their primordial beginnings to some living creatures today.

Related article: 5 Most Important Fossil Discoveries in the World
Honeybee colonies in Canada are at risk as almost half of their population have disappeared during the country's last winter season, which typically spans between December and February each year. While the case seems straightforward, local authorities think that there is another reason of their reduced population, varroa mites.

Initial investigation shows that said honeybee population decline is the largest since the last two decades, indicating the explosive growth of the varroa mite population in the North American country over the years. The threatened bee population also poses risk to the country agriculture and the wider economy.

Varroa mites are known as an invasive species of mites which primarily prey on honeybees, reducing their fat bodies and eventually killing them. The identification of the specific causes of bee colony loss is not yet final, yet the recent honeybee deaths prove previous research that varroa mites are the main culprit behind honeybee winter and post-winter deaths across Canada.

Currently a growing threat in Australia, the invasive mites are considered endemic in the countries of Japan, Korea, and Thailand. Their presence has also been reported in the United States, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and parts of South America and Europe.

Honeybee Winter Deaths

The last Canadian winter season saw the annihilation of 46% of colonies countrywide. The province of Manitoba reported the highest losses at 57%; this is followed by Alberta which lost 51% of its colonies and Nova Scotia being the least impacted with only 15% of its colonies that perished.

This preliminary data is according to the survey of Ernesto Guzman, the president of the Canadian Association of Professional Apiculturists, cited by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).

The apiculturists association surveys commercial beekeepers nationwide.

While there are a number of factors causing bee deaths, Guzman reportedly assumed varroa mites to be the main factor behind the colony losses. He explained the honeybees thrived during the spring season, which occurred from March to May, due to its warm weather.

However, the relatively calm weather conditions also allowed the growth of varroa mites, leading to their population explosion to an unspecific figure at this time.

Also Read: Parasite Plague: Authorities Impose Bee Lockdown in Southeast Australia to Prevent the Spread of Lethal Parasites

Varroa Mite

Also known scientifically as the varroa destructor, the external parasitic bug varroa mite is a problem not only in Canada. This is mainly due to its reputation as the most "serious pest" for honeybees worldwide, according to the Australian government's Department of Primary Industries.

Characterized as a tiny animal with reddish and brown color, the mites attach themselves to the bees, infecting them with the disease called varroosis, which can be lethal for the winged insects if left untreated.

Amidst the ambiguity surrounding the bee deaths in Canada, a study over a decade ago proves otherwise that varroa mites are to blame.

The research published in the journal Apidologie back in January 2010 concluded that the varroa destructor is the main culprit honeybee deaths and their population decline of overwintered honey bee (Apis Mellifera) colonies in Ontario, Canada.

Related Article: New Study: Honey Bees Are Protected From the Varroa Mite by Selective Breeding
Scientists have calculated the rate of dying trees in California and how it changed over time, providing previously unheard-of detail about the deteriorating trees over 37 years.

In a recent study that was published in AGU Advances, the co-authors used LANDSAT satellite data to show how the tree cover in California changed between 1985 and 2021 as a result of logging, wildfires, and droughts.

California has lost about 6.7% of its tree cover over that time, with the majority of the loss occurring as a result of "mega-fires" since 2010, according to a study co-author, Jonathan Wang.

He wrote that despite a brief period of growth in the 1990s brought on by more rainfall and less tree-cutting. He also said that a lot of the loss happens in the scorching, dry summer. Additionally, he stated that "climate warming" might increase the vulnerability of forests.

Wildfires

James Randerson, another co-author of the study, said that with such large fires, the forests are unable to keep up. Randerson is from the University of California-Irvine. He added that the past forest fires have caused significant changes in less than four decades, referring to the loss of trees.

One of the sharpest decreases in forest cover was seen in Southern California, where 14% of the local mountain range's tree population disappeared, possibly permanently.

Wang emphasized that the southern region of California is significantly drier and hotter than the northern Sierra Nevada mountains, and the trees there are already at the very edge of their viability.

Read also: California Wildfire Blamed for Increased Fecal Bacteria, Cloudiness in Coastal Waters

Lower Rate of Successful Regrowth

Wang claimed that rapidly rising temperatures and protracted droughts are impeding forests' ability to recover from disturbances by, for instance, making it more difficult for seeds to germinate after a fire.

Wang, a post-doctoral researcher who led the study, pointed out that in the south, forests' capacity to recover from fire seems to be declining. At the same time, the growth of grasses and shrubs in the state may portend longer-lasting changes to the ecosystem.

In terms of the research's next steps, Wang wrote that he and his associates were surprised by the insufficiency of recovery in Southern California's forests, which raises doubt in his mind about the ability of the Golden State to sequester carbon and achieve net-zero emissions targets.

The research team is working to develop an extensive map of above-ground biomass to better understand the weakness and dispersion of the state's forest carbon stocks, according to Wang, who also noted that California is relying on its forests to help it meet its climate action goals.

A history of fire suppression has resulted in a dangerous buildup of fuels in California's forests, which is causing even more catastrophic wildfires, according to Wang. As a result, Wang wrote, they also look to use these datasets to better understand how prescribed fire and forest management are affecting the severity of wildfire throughout the state.

Even though the mega-fires of 2018, 2020, and 2021 severely damaged some areas, Wang confirmed that the northern part of the state has recovered well from the fires. He attributed this to its cooler temperatures and higher rainfall patterns.

The threat to California's climate solutions, he continued, is not going away any time soon. It's possible that California is about to enter a period of intense fires and threatened forests, Newsweek reports.

Related article: Dry Thunderstorms in California may Spark More Wildfires
Extreme heatwave events are likely to worsen in the short-term future after a new study found the continuance of anthropogenic greenhouse gases. The new research claims that various weather and climatic factors, including atmospheric circulation, will further increase intense heat by 30% sooner or later.

The study re-affirms human-caused climate change and global warming, due to greenhouse gas emissions, remains the main contributor toward the looming heatwave threat. While still hypothetical, the findings had its concrete basis from the lethal 2021 West North America summer heatwave.

In late June 2021, a total of almost 1,500 people died in the said sub-continental region, as acknowledged by the study. The large number of heat-related deaths include individuals from the states of Washington and Oregon, as well as the Canadian province of British Columbia.

The aftermath of the catastrophic natural event led to the emergence of multiple studies pertaining to extreme weather events. Published research include the intensification of wildfires in the United States and discovery of a 1,200-year drought in the southwestern North America.

Unprecedented Heatwave

Led by the Institute of Atmospheric Physics - Chinese Academy of Sciences, the new paper published in the journal Advances in Atmospheric Sciences on July 22. The study examined what transpired during last year's unexpected extreme heatwave.

The study's lead author Chunzai Wang also looked at the massive die-off of marine animals off the coast of Western US and the occurrence of horrific wildfires, as mentioned by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Based on their analysis, Wang and his colleagues asserted that atmospheric circulation patterns and human-caused emissions led to the 2021 North America heatwave.

As the planet continues to warm, air flows and surface air temperatures can change natural warming from the Sun, atmospheric internal variability, and Earth's rotation, Wang adds, as cited by the AAAS.

Also Read: Heat Wave to Hit the Midwest and Southern United States Next Week, Reaching 100 Degrees Fahrenheit

European Heatwave

The study came at a time when an unprecedented heatwave ravaged several countries with Europe, triggering wildfires in Portugal, Spain, and France, as well as Morocco in North Africa.

The World Health Organization (WHO), through its regional director for Europe, Hans Kluge, stated a total of more than 1,700 deaths in Spain and Portugal were attributed to the extreme heat, as cited by phys.org.

In the new study, the China-based research team also acknowledged that July 19 was the hottest day ever recorded in the United Kingdom, wherein temperatures reached over 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).

The sweltering heat confirms the theory of climate forecasters of what the normal temperatures would be like during summer weather in the UK by year 2050.

Climate Crisis

Anthropogenic greenhouse gases have been evident as a fuel for the ongoing climate crisis, as claimed by the new research. The notion is not new, however, the extreme weather pummeling the Northern Hemisphere is one of the many manifestations of climate change for the longest time.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that while the climate emergency is a race humanity is losing, it is still a race that we could win.

Related Article: Marine Heat Wave Likely Increases Shark Activity and Shark Population Along the United States East Coast: Experts
After being abandoned in a Texas backyard in the sweltering heat, five puppies died and four more had to be taken to the hospital right away.

According to a local news source, Fox 26 Houston, on Wednesday, authorities discovered the dogs, including their mother, eight puppies, and in various stages of heat distress in a backyard in West Houston. The incident's date was mentioned in the report.

Due to the circumstances, three of the puppies and their mother were taken to the Houston SPCA's Animal Medical Center, where five of the puppies had already passed away.

Adam Reynolds, chief of Animal Cruelty at the Houston SPCA, told Fox 26 Houston that for those who do not check on their outdoor pets frequently, the situation could quickly turn fatal. It is against state law to leave a pet to survive by itself in this scorching heat.

Pet Care During Hot Weather

Due to an anticipated temperature higher than 105 degrees Fahrenheit, the National Weather Service (NWS) issued an extreme heat warning for some regions on Wednesday. This is just one of many recent heat warnings in the state.

Dangerous Heat will continue tomorrow 



An excessive heat warning for our northern counties and a heat advisory elsewhere will be in effect through 8pm Wednesday.



Practice proper heat safety and stay hydrated if spending any time outdoors#TXwx #HOUWx #GLSwx #BCSwx pic.twitter.com/c4Fd0OPutL  NWS Houston (@NWSHouston) July 19, 2022

The NWS warned that people without air conditioning may become ill from the heat and suggested that they drink lots of water, limit their outdoor activity, and keep an eye on their loved ones and pets.

The five dog deaths listed above are not the only instances of pets dying this summer as a result of heat.

Read also: Understaffed PetSmarts Struggling With Overflowing Freezers of Dead Pets

After two dogs died from heat exhaustion in Northwest Houston as well as Southeast Houston in June, the nonprofit animal rescue organization Houston SPCA released a news release. To emphasize, both animals had been abandoned outside in the "sweltering heat." Basic needs such as water, food, and shade were not made available to them. Investigations into the incidents of possible animal cruelty were ongoing.

At that time, the Houston SPCA reported that in the previous seven days, it had also investigated three additional heat-related deaths and responded to 24 calls related to the heat.

According to the group, the rescue and protection organization is sending out an urgent reminder to pet owners because it is unfortunate that many more calls of this nature are anticipated, Newsweek reports.

The group emphasized how crucial it is for pet owners to bring their animals inside during extremely high temperatures. They further stated that during the hottest part of the day, people should be vigilant and aware of where their pets are. It is advised that owners check on their pets frequently because, as the sun moves, the shade may no longer be sufficient. When it is hot outside, water can evaporate, and pets can knock over water bowls, dehydrating themselves. Regular monitoring should be done of this as well.

Related article: Abandoned Dogs Increase as Pet Owners Struggle from Rising Cost of Living in the UK
A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind.
A 100-pound sailfish stabbed a woman from Maryland while she was on a vessel off the coast of Stuart, Florida, according to reports on Monday, July 25.

For reasons unknown, the fish leaped out of the water and impaled the 73-year-old woman who was on a fishing boat at that time, local authorities confirmed.

In particular, the sharp-bill fish stabbed the woman in the groin area while she was standing next to the vessel's center console.

The victim survived the rare marine animal attack and was flown to a nearby hospital.

The incident adds to rare fish attack as sailfish relatively do not attack humans on a daily basis.

Rare Fish Attack

The rare fish attack occurred last Tuesday, July 19, when an angler on board the boat caught the sailfish through a fishing line around two miles offshore near the said Florida city.

Details of the incident was stated by the Martin Country Sheriff's Office, as reported by NBC News.

The police's incident report showed the fish started charging the boat when the two attempted to reel it.

It was the anglers who estimated the weight of the sailfish to be around 100 pounds, the sheriff's office added.

The Maryland woman, identified as Katherine Perkins, reportedly told the police the incident occurred so fast she did not have enough time to react.

The anglers placed pressure on the Perkins' wound before being met by responding officers at Sandsprit Park, the US media outlet says.

Perkins was taken to the HCA Florida Lawnwood Hospital and she was the only reported injured person from the incident.

Also Read: Shark Attacks Lifeguard in Long Island Leads to Closure of Two New York Beaches

Sailfish Features and Habitat

Sailfish (Istiophorus platypterus) is a type of billfish similar to the blue marlin or swordfish.

They are known for their pointed bills, as well as their large dorsal fins, according to Oceana, a non-profit ocean conservation organization.

Istiophorus belongs to the Order Perciformes and Family Istiophoridae, which can normally grow up to 10 feet.

Sailfish have been considered to be the fastest fish and marine creatures in the sea, where they can reach a whopping maximum speed of 70 miles per hour.

In addition, they are one of the top predators in the open ocean, the organization added.

In spite of being a fearsome predator, sailfish is also a prey to some of the world's top ocean predators like some shark species, orcas, and dolphinfish, also called Mahi Mahi.

The largest sailfish ever caught had a size of 11.2 feet (340 centimeters) and had a weight of 220.5 pounds (110 kilograms).

Sailfish Conservation Status

The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) designate the sailfish species as "vulnerable" under the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in 2021.

In the United States, all US-flagged commercial vessels are not allowed to sell, retain, or purchase Atlantic billfish, which includes sailfish, according to the Florida Museum of Natural History.

Despite the prohibition, recreational fishers are still allowed to catch sailfish but with a permit from the NOAA Fisheries, with varying state regulations in federal waters.

Related Article: Scientists Claimed that Mass Extinction Can be Drastically Lessened by Reducing Fossil Fuel Usage
After a period of unusually dry weather and intense heat, experts have warned that a drought may be declared in the UK in August, and warned of catastrophic crop failures.

If the government executes a drought strategy, hosepipe prohibitions for families might be implemented throughout the UK, and farmers could be prohibited from irrigating their crops.

Drought in the UK

The National Drought Group, comprised of government agencies and impacted organizations, will meet on Tuesday to establish a plan of action for dealing with the extremely dry circumstances that England is now experiencing.

Responses to the possible drought are also being discussed in other UK nations.

The planning was originally scheduled for October, but it has been moved sooner because of the extreme drier weather.

The soil was cooked by last week's record-breaking warmth, forcing farmers to irrigate their crops more often and speeding up the rate at which streams evaporate.

In the key months of August and September, farmers may be prohibited from watering their crops; root foods like potatoes are particularly at risk.

Lack of water might cause crops to fail, and dry soil can make harvesting challenges.

There's no time to squander, according to National Farmers' Union president Minette Batters. For producers, the water situation is quite critical since it has an impact on costs and crop viability.

Because many farmers have already entered into contracts with supermarkets and other suppliers, they may be forced to bear these expenses on their own if crop yields suffer as a result of the dry circumstances, as per The Guardian.

Also Read: California Keeps Experiencing Extreme Drought in Spite of Record-Setting Snow

Drought warning by the government

The East of England, the East Midlands, and the Southwest are expected to see UV levels of six today, which is considered to be a high UV level.

For the rest of the country, moderate UV levels of four to five have been predicted.

Although temperatures may be lower than last week, the forecaster cautioned: "UV levels will still be moderate to strong for many parts of the UK today."

Meanwhile, if the extended dry weather persists, experts said yesterday that regulators in the UK might declare a drought next month.

Tomorrow's meeting of the National Drought Group, which consists of the government, water providers, and environmental organizations.

This comes as the UK prepares for more warm weather to continue through the end of this month and into August.

The pressure on water supplies has increased as a result of months of below-average rainfall for parts of the nation and unusually high temperatures last week (over 40C on Tuesday).

According to Martin Lines, head of the Nature Friendly Farming Network, this extended dry weather is seriously affecting crops, particularly spring crops that have had very little moisture since sowing.

People are depending on a rainy winter to fill several agricultural reservoirs that are running low.

The new trees and hedges that farmers have planted recently to combat climate change are having a significant impact.

Related article: Drought in Western US Could Last Until 2030 Due to Climate Change
According to a recent study, trilobites, ancient marine arthropods that lived from 520 million years ago until their extinction 250 million years ago at the end of the Permian epoch, may have developed similarly to modern crustaceans and reached ages that are comparable to them.

Relationship of trilobites to modern crustaceans

Researchers from the University of British Columbia and Uppsala University demonstrated in a study that was published in the journal Paleobiology that the Ordovician trilobite, Triarthrus eatoni, which lived 450 million years ago, reached a length of just over four centimeters in about 10 years, and had a growth curve resembling to that of small, slow-growing crustaceans.

T. eatoni lived in low-oxygen environments and, like extant crustaceans exposed to hypoxic conditions, showed low growth rates compared with growth under more oxygenated conditions, according to Daniel Pauly, principal investigator of UBC's Sea Around Us initiative and lead author of the study, as cited by ScienceDaily.

Low-oxygen environments make it harder for water breathers to develop and add to the challenges of inhaling through gills, which, as 2D surfaces, cannot keep up with their 3D bodies.

Therefore, in order to sustain the remainder of their bodily processes under hypoxic conditions, they must continue to be little.

Trilobites had exopods, which were external branches on the tops of their limbs, which served as gills.

Therefore, the development restrictions on these extinct species were comparable to those on their living relatives.

Pauly and paleontologist James Holmes, a colleague from Uppsala University, used the analysis of length-frequency data, a technique created in the fields of fisheries science and marine biology for examining the growth of fish and invertebrates lacking the physical markings that serve as age markers.

Also Read: Trilobites Possessed Clasper-like Limbs for Mating, According To Fossil Discoveries

Trilobites as an arthropod

The zoological affiliations of trilobites may be established from features retained in fossils despite a quarter billion years since their demise, as per the Australian Museum.

Trilobita were generally known to belong to the Arthropoda before the first trilobite with its legs fossilized was reported in 1870.

Since the Early Cambrian, arthropods have been the most varied phylum of multicellular organisms and have the greatest number of species.

Their primary subdivisions include the crustaceans, which include millipedes and centipedes; the chelicerates, which include spiders, scorpions, and mites; and the entirely terrestrial families Insecta and Myriapoda.

The group of extinct arthropods with the largest species diversity is the trilobita.

The hard exoskeleton that covered the dorsal body surface of trilobites and its distinct segmentation (such as the jointed segments of the thorax) are typical arthropod characteristics.

The calcite-based trilobite exoskeleton was mineralized.

The labrum, a similar feature seen in other arthropods, is analogous to the trilobite hypostome, a plate affixed to the lower side of the head right in front of the mouth opening.

Most trilobites have two compound eyes, and the way their ommatidia are arranged is typical of arthropods.

To accommodate development, trilobites regularly shed their exoskeleton.

Trilobite fossils occasionally contain so-called molt configurations, which depict different phases of the animal's exoskeleton being released and its subsequent escape.

Another defining trait of arthropods is molting. The majority of trilobites shed their skin by severing the head shield at weak points (known as facial sutures) that run parallel to the eye's visible surface.

Related article: Fossil of 390-Million-Year-Old Ancient Arthropod with Tiny Eyes Inside its Eyes Unearthed
A new species of poisonous pit viper was identified in China's Jiuzhaigou National Nature Reserve, a site that is part of the World Heritage List.

Gloydius lateralis, which can be found in the popular Zharu Valley, was given its uncommon name because of the continuous brown stripe that runs along either side of its body.

The species is frequently discovered nearby tourist walkways in grass or bushes.

New species of pit viper in china

Due to the hard-alpine habitat, the herpetological diversity in the region is relatively limited in comparison to that of mammals, as per ScienceDaily.

Researchers carried out a series of examinations in Jiuzhaigou National Nature Reserve to learn more about it, and to look into the area's post-earthquake biological system.

They gathered several Gloydius, a genus of poisonous pit vipers native to Asia, during their herpetological studies in the Zharu Valley.

The researchers conducted morphological and phylogenetic analysis and discovered that these specimens really belonged to an unnamed species.

The new species resembles Gloydius morphologically and is connected to it phylogenetically.

According to the corresponding author, Dr. Jingsong Shi, swild is a different newly described species from Heishui, Aba, Sichuan. It varies from it by having bigger eyes (relative to the head) and a continuous regular brown stripe on either dorsolateral side of the body.

The newly identified snake is active on sunny days by the roadside in a hot, arid valley and feeds mostly on small animals like mice, according to the researchers' study, which was published in the open-access scientific journal ZooKeys.

Millions of people visit Jiuzhaigou National Nature Reserve each year, where G. lateralis was discovered.

The researchers note that Zharu Valley is the sole known home of the new species and that it is now being developed for tourism.

Because this and another species of pit viper, Protobothrops jerdonii, are frequently seen in grass or shrubs on both sides of roadways, warning signs are still required to advise people to be cautious.

The study team emphasizes the need to encourage drivers to slow down in order to prevent road deaths since snakes' thermoregulation needs render them more vulnerable to car crashes.

Also Read: Brazilian Pit Viper Venom Found to be 75% Effective Against COVID-19

Pit vipers

Any species of viper in the subfamily Crotalinae, known as a "pit viper" has two moveable fangs as well as a heat-sensitive pit organ between each eye and nose, as per Britannica.

These three features let the viper target its warm-blooded prey with precision. From deserts to rainforests, pit vipers are mostly found in the New World.

They might be aquatic, arboreal, or terrestrial. While some species produce live offspring, others lay eggs.

Among others, this group consists of fer-de-lances (genera Bothrops and Trimeresurus), copperheads, and rattlesnakes.

They might exist on land or in trees. Some are aquatic, such as the moccasins (genus Agkistrodon). All pit vipers, save from the bushmaster that lays eggs, are live-bearers (viviparous).

Related article: Scientists Uncover Reproductive Strategy of Orsini's Viper
According to information published by Khmertimeskh on July 26, 2022, the Pakistani Tughril class frigate PNS Taimur docked at Sihanoukville Autonomous Port in Cambodia for a four-day visit.

Follow Navy Recognition on Google News at this link

Tughril class (Type 054A/P) frigate PNS Taimur (Picture source: Cambodian MoD)

The Tughril-class frigates, formally classified as the Type 054A/P frigates, are a series of modified guided-missile frigates currently being built by HudongZhonghua Shipbuilding (HDZH), for the Pakistan Navy.

The Type 054A/P is a modified derivative of the Type 054A frigate and was specifically customized to meet the operational requirements of the Pakistan Navy; the class features several capabilities - including anti-surface warfare (ASuW), anti-aircraft warfare (AAW), anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and low radar observability.

The frigates are poised to form the mainstay of the Pakistan Navy's active naval fleet. The class is also set to supplant Pakistan's obsolete Tariq-class destroyers.

They have a length of 134 m (439 ft 8 in), a beam of 16 m (52 ft 6 in), and a displacement of 4,200 tons (4100 long tons). The ships can reach a top speed of 27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph).

As part of its anti-surface warfare (ASuW) capabilities, the class carries CM-302 anti-ship cruise missiles, reportedly capable of supersonic speeds of up to Mach 3.

s
The new owners of Royal Donut in Danville: From left, Drew and Hannah Landis, Holly and Ben George, and Rachel and Sam George. The business is expected to reopen the second or third week of August.
Page Content

The ministry of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure is currently working on upgrading the living standard conditions of our elderly and disabled persons here on St. Maarten. In doing so, the ministry has embarked on a project which would grant these persons easy access to Great Bay beach.

Since the inception of this Governmental term, the Honorable Minister Egbert Jurendy Doran, has been adamant about upgrading the infrastructure on the island in such a manner that it would accommodate persons who are physically challenged. The minister stated that this has had his attention even before taking office as it is obvious that our infrastructure hardly caters to, for example, persons using wheelchairs.

Minister Doran stated that it is his firm belief that persons who are physically challenged should be able to easily commute around the island and enjoy our lovely beaches. Having access to the beach to "take a soak" or even only to paddle your feet in the sea water while listening to the sound of the waves, is enjoyable and therapeutic for many. The minister stated that once this project is completed, it will be a joy to see our elderly and physically challenged citizens and visitors have easier access to this natural luxury. This is why the ministry is currently working on a Terms of Reference (ToR) to make a pathway to the beach possible.





This beach path will be constructed in such a way that it will give vehicles that transport our elderly or disabled persons around the island, access to the shoreline. The path will include proper lighting so that persons will be able to participate in recreational beach activities even after the sun sets.





The ministry will be consulting with the Nature Foundation and other relevant stakeholders prior to the finalization of the ToR.





The minister ended by stating that similar plans of upgrading the infrastructure to cater to our physically vulnerable persons, will follow in the near future.




Reporter

Debra Pressey is a reporter covering health care at The News-Gazette. Her email is dpressey@news-gazette.com, and you can follow her on Twitter (@DLPressey).
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).
College Football Reporter/Columnist

Bob Asmussen is a college football reporter and columnist for The News-Gazette. His email is asmussen@news-gazette.com, and you can follow him on Twitter (@BobAsmussen).
One of Editor & Publishers 10 That Do It Right 2021
The rapid spread of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) led to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, which has, to date, claimed more than 6.4 million lives globally.

The emergence of new SARS-CoV-2 variants due to the development of genomic mutations has prolonged the pandemic. The Delta and Omicron variants of concern (VOCs), for example, can escape immune protection elicited through both COVID-19 vaccination and natural infection.

Study: Monovalent and trivalent VSV-based COVID-19 vaccines elicit potent neutralizing antibodies and immunodominant CD8+ T cells against diverse SARS-CoV-2 variants. Image Credit: Alberto Andrei Rosu / Shutterstock.com

Background

All currently available COVID-19 vaccines are based on the spike protein of the original SARS-CoV-2 strain. Due to the reduced efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines against current SARS-CoV-2 variants, there is an urgent need for efficient, safe, and cost-effective vaccines capable of protecting the human population from new variants.

The vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) belongs to the family Rhabdoviridae, which has been effectively used to express antigens on its surface. VSV is a safe vaccine platform that is either used alone or in combination with or replacing the VSV envelope glycoprotein to develop an immunogenic vaccine vector. The immunogenic vector triggers an immune response in the mucosa.

As compared to other viral vector platforms, such as adenoviruses, VSV rarely infects humans; therefore, pre-existing seropositivity is low in the human population. This is advantageous, as it substantially reduces the effect of anti-vector immunity, which can cause hindrance to repeated booster vaccination.

Another advantage of the VSV platform is that it can maintain attenuated replication, which enables antigenic presentation for a long duration and minimizes vaccine dose requirements. Additionally, this vaccine approach reduces the cost of vaccine production as compared to other vaccine vectors.

Ervebo is a recombinant VSV (rVSV) vaccine that was developed against the Ebola virus and is the first of its kind to receive approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). During the COVID-19 pandemic, many scientists looked to the rVSV vaccine platform to develop potential COVID-19 vaccines.

Previous studies have reported the development of SARS-CoV-2-specific rVSV vaccines based on the ancestral SARS-CoV-2 spike protein that elicited spike-specific T-cell responses and neutralizing antibodies (nAbs). Moreover, in vivo experiments revealed that this vaccine can effectively protect animals from severe infection caused by the original SARS-CoV-2 strain as well as elicit rapid viral clearance.

About the study

A new study published on the bioRxiv* preprint server discusses the development of rVSV COVID-19 vaccines and determined their efficacy against the original SARS-CoV-2 strain, as well as the Beta, Delta, and Omicron variants.

The rVSV-SARS-CoV-2 variant vaccines were constructed against the Beta and Delta variants. To this end, the mutations of these variants were incorporated into the human codon-optimized full-length spike (SF) protein of SARS-CoV-2.

Construction of recombinant rVSV with S F genes of SARS-CoV-2 Wuhan, Beta, and Delta. (A) Constructs of VSV-SARS-CoV-2 Wuhan (rVSV-Wuhan), Beta (rVSV-Beta), and Delta (rVSV-Delta). Codon-optimized full-length Spike protein gene (S F ) with VSV intergenic sequences (IG), 21 amino acid honeybee melittin signal peptide (msp), and 49 amino acid VSV G protein transmembrane domain and cytoplasmic tail (Gtc) were inserted into the G and L gene junction of rVSV Ind . (B) Expression of SARS-CoV-2 Spike proteins in BHK-21 cells at 6 hr post-infection with rVSV-Mock (rVSV), rVSV-Wuhan, rVSV-Beta, and rVSV-Delta. pT7: Bacteriophage T7 promoter for DNA dependent RNA polymerase. N: VSV Nucleocapsid protein gene. P: VSV Phosphoprotein gene. M: VSV Matrix protein gene. G: VSV Glycoprotein gene. L: VSV Large protein, RNA dependent RNA polymerase gene. l: Leader region in the 3 s-end of the VSV genome. t: Trailer region in the 5-end of the VSV genome. HDV: Hepatitis delta virus ribozyme encoding sequences. T7: Bacteriophage T7 transcriptional terminator sequences. nt: nucleotides. aa: amino acids.

The scientists also introduced honeybee melittin signal peptide (msp) to replace the SF amino terminus and VSV G protein transmembrane domain. Similarly, the cytoplasmic tail (Gtc) replaced the SF carboxy terminus.

The newly developed rVSV-Beta vaccine contained several mutations, including E484K, K417N, and N501Y in the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of codon-optimized SF. Similarly, the rVSV-Delta vaccine contained two amino acid changes at F157 and R158, as well as nine amino acid changes, including A222V, D614G, E156G, P681R, G142D, T95I, L452R, D950N, and T478K in the codon-optimized SF. The scientists also synthetically generated SF genes with mutations and incorporated them in between the glycoprotein (G) and polymerase (L) genes of VSV.

Six female mice received prime immunization through the intramuscular route using the rVSV-Wuhan vaccine, -Beta vaccine, -Delta vaccine, or trivalent formulation that contained an equal ratio of rVSV-Wuhan, rVSV-Beta, and rVSV-Delta vaccines. Three weeks after prime immunization, immunized mice were subjected to booster vaccination using monovalent or trivalent vaccines. Subsequently, blood samples were collected two weeks post booster vaccination and studied.

Study findings

Both monovalent rVSV-Wuhan and rVSV-Delta vaccines, as well as the trivalent vaccine, elicited effective nAbs and spike-specific CD8+ T-cell responses. These vaccines could effectively inhibit the original SARS-CoV-2 strain, as well as Beta, Delta, and Omicron variants.

Furthermore, the monovalent rVSV-Wuhan vaccine booster elicited immune responses that restricted both the original and Omicron strains. Booster vaccination with rVSV-Beta was less effective as compared to the rVSV-Wuhan vaccine.

A heterologous booster vaccination scheme that used the rVSV-Wuhan prime vaccine with a rVSV-Delta booster exhibited a significantly higher production of nAbs that were effective against the Delta and Omicron variants. Heterologous vaccination using the prime rVSV-Wuhan vaccine with a rVSV-trivalent booster dose also induced the production of nAbs and CD8+ T-cell responses that were effective against all tested SARS-CoV-2 variants.

Immunization with monovalent and trivalent vaccines elicit a broad neutralizing antibody response. (A) Female BALB/c mice were prime immunized with 5108 PFU intramuscularly (i.m) of either rVSV-monovalent (rVSV-Mock [M], rVSV-Wuhan [W], rVSV-Beta [B], rVSV-Delta [D]) or trivalent (rVSV-Wuhan-Beta-Delta [T]) vaccine (day 0). On day 21 mice were administered a 5108 PFU homologous or heterologous boost i.m. Two weeks post-boost blood and spleen were collected for analysis of the immune response. (B) SARS-CoV-2 neutralization (SARS-CoV-2 Wuhan_USAWA1 , SARS-CoV-2 Beta , SARS-CoV-2 Delta , SARS-CoV-2 Omicron ) by immune sera two weeks post-boost was determined using replication-competent SARS-CoV-2 isolates in microneutralization assays. Graphed data are presented as arithmetic mean of log-transformed 50% neutralization titer (NT50). The horizontal dotted lines indicate the limit of detection. Each symbol denotes an individual animal; n=6; 2 independent experiments. Statistical significance was determined by one-way ANOVA with Bonferronis correction for multiple comparisons (*, p < 0.05; **, p<0.01; ***, p< 0.001; **** p<0.0001). Geometric mean NT 50 (GMT) and the fold increases in GMT NT 50 versus W/W (rVSV-Wuhan/Wuhan) are shown for each vaccine group.

Conclusions

In the current study, researchers report the development of replication-competent rVSV vaccines composed of SARS-CoV-2 variant spike proteins. Herein, they highlight the importance of rVSV variant spike vaccines as booster vaccination doses that could be effective against diverse SARS-CoV-2 variants.

*Important notice

bioRxiv 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.
As the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus responsible for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), has continued to infect millions throughout the world, increasing complaints of chronic symptoms have been reported among those who recover from this disease.

Eventually, these symptoms were recognized as a condition known as long Covid, post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC), or post-covid condition. A new study under review in the journal Scientific Reports and currently available on the Research Square* preprint server suggests that these complaints may not be extremely common among COVID-19 patients as compared to the general population.

Study: Development of Long-Covid, Or Prevalent Complaints in General? Image Credit: Kateryna Onyshchuk / Shutterstock.com

Introduction

PASC causes a wide range of symptoms linked to many organs and is associated with varying severity. Little remains known about this condition, its prevalence, risk factors, and prognosis.

Shortness of breath, cough, brain fog, loss of concentration, and fatigue are the major complaints of PASC. Neurological symptoms also include prolonged alterations in smell and taste. Previous studies published in several different countries have found that some of these symptoms were more common in individuals who had recovered from COVID-19.

The overlap between various complaints often associated with PASC and their development over time in most patients with mild COVID-19 has been debated. Since the vast majority of COVID-19 patients will experience mild symptoms and do not require hospitalization, the need to identify the risk of PASC in this group is evident, especially since mild breakthrough infections are common among vaccinated individuals.

About the study

The current study aims to understand whether PASC really exists and how it changes over time. In addition, the researchers from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health and Lund University examined how similar symptoms evolve over time in non-COVID-19 patients.

Neurological, pulmonary, and general complaints were the primary focus of this study, as these are the most common features reported by PASC patients.

The data used in the current study was acquired from the Norwegian Emergency Preparedness Register of tests for COVID-19 in Norway from the onset of the pandemic and excluded hospitalized patients. This also provided vaccination and demographic data.

All participants were 18-70 years old and were classified as having been tested or not for COVID-19 between August 1, 2020, to August 1, 2021. No participant had a diagnostic code for any of the included PASC complaints six months before the COVID-19 test until the start of the testing week if testing was done.

This allowed for complaints or consultations related to the test rather than for those which predated the test or those that formed part of other tests ordered before a specialist consultation.

Patients were classified as those positive for COVID-19, those who tested negative, and untested persons.

Study findings

Over 76,000 people tested positive for COVID-19, while over 1.1 million were negative and over one million were not tested. Of those who tested positive for COVID-19, 0.05% died, and 0.2% moved out of the area. Of those who were negative, 0.06% died, and 0.1% emigrated to Norway.

The adjusted prevalence in percent and 95% confidence interval for different post-covid complaints at baseline, 2, 4 and 6 months follow-up for persons testing negative and positive for SARS-CoV-2. Missing circles, triangles or squares indicate no observation for the group in question. The prevalence of pulmonary+neurological+general complaints could not be plotted due to very few observations.

Individuals who tested positive for COVID-19 were more likely to be younger and healthier and were unvaccinated more often than the other two groups. These individuals also had a higher number of medical consultations for general illnesses between 2017-19; however, this increased rate of hospital visits was not reflected when neurological, lung and general complaints were assessed.

The prevalence of single complaints increased over two months from the baseline. However, when lung and general complaints occurred together, their prevalence was reduced between two to six months. Neurological complaints were lower at baseline and increased at a slower rate.

Lung and general complaints were more common in individuals who recovered from COVID-19 than in the other two groups, especially two months after their initial diagnosis. This difference declined at four and six months. The differences between groups were least for neurological complaints and showed no or small differences over time at up to six months from the test date.

At this last time point, 50-250 more people per 10,000 COVID-19 patients might be diagnosed with lung or general complaints as compared to those who were not diagnosed with COVID-19. The difference for neurological complaints was only five to ten people per 10,000. If untested people were excluded, the direct comparison differences were lower.

Overlapping complaints were uncommon in the COVID-19 group, though their complaints were overall higher.

Implications

The study findings indicate a small rise in the prevalence of PASC-like complaints after recovery from COVID-19 from 5-250 per 10,000 people as compared to those who tested negative or the untested population. Most of these complaints occurred either with regard to breathing, fatigue, or neurological symptoms in isolation rather than as a syndrome.

Thus, complaints that are often regarded as typical post-covid complaints may also be naturally prevalent complaints, irrespective of initial disease.

Even with a small rise in the frequency of such complaints following COVID-19, the burden on the healthcare system may be high because of the sheer magnitude of COVID-19 cases.

When combined with earlier studies, the study findings may indicate that both mild COVID-19 and severe influenza predispose a small rise in lung-related symptoms and fatigue six months after infection in these patients. Nevertheless, the World Health Organization (WHO) has defined PASC as very rare as a result of its low prevalence.

Further research that is based on more sensitive patient reports or clinical data will be required to validate these findings and determine how other mild viral respiratory infections correlate in terms of long-term sequelae. The impact of booster vaccination doses on PASC, as well as risk factors for post-covid complaints, remains to be established.

*Important notice

Research Square publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information.
In a 2021 media statement released by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the agency provided a series of updated guidelines on how the U.S. population can protect themselves and others from the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Omicron variant of concern (VOC). Six months later, these guidelines still apply to all U.S. residents, regardless of local, state, tribal, or regional laws.

CDC Updates and Shortens Recommended Isolation and Quarantine Period for General Population. Image Credit: University of College / Shutterstock.com

Guidance

The U.S. CDC recommends that people diagnosed with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), as well as those who are asymptomatic or have experienced a fever for more than 24 hours, should wear a face mask for five days to minimize the risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission. These mask guidelines have changed due to growing evidence that SARS-CoV-2 transmission primarily occurs one to two days before the onset of symptoms and two to three days thereafter.

Updated guidelines were also provided for the general population. To this end, the CDC recommends shortening the isolation time for those infected by the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron VOC to five days, followed by an additional five days of strict masking for those who were exposed to SARS-CoV-2 but unvaccinated.

The same guidelines apply to those who were vaccinated six or two months after their second Johnson and Johnson and messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccine dose, respectively, but were not yet boosted. In cases where five days of quarantine is unfeasible, the CDC guidelines mandate that an exposed individual wears a well-fitted mask for ten days after exposure when around people or in public.

Even individuals who have received a booster vaccine dose are required to wear a mask for ten days after exposure; however, these individuals are not required to quarantine. As a precautionary measure, the CDC also recommends SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic testing on day five following the initial exposure, regardless of whether symptoms were present. For those experiencing symptoms, the CDC recommends immediate quarantine until a negative COVID-19 test result is obtained.

Most importantly, the CDC recommends COVID-19 vaccine booster doses for everyone over 16 years of age, as studies have shown that a booster dose restores vaccine effectiveness (VE) against Omicron infections to 75%. Data from South Africa and the United Kingdom have also demonstrated that the VE of two mRNA vaccine doses is about 35% against Omicron infections. Furthermore, the CDC strongly recommended COVID-19 vaccination for everyone five years or older.

The Omicron variant is spreading quickly and has the potential to impact all facets of our society. CDCs updated recommendations for isolation and quarantine balance what we know about the spread of the virus and the protection provided by vaccination and booster doses. These updates ensure people can safely continue their daily lives. Prevention is our best option: get vaccinated, get boosted, wear a mask in public indoor settings in areas of substantial and high community transmission, and take a test before you gather.
Page Content

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday reconvened the Monkeypox Emergency Committee to assess public health implications of the evolving multi-country outbreak.





The objective of the committee meeting was to discuss the latest medical data and conditions and on Saturday the WHO declared Monkeypox a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC).





The declaration is due to the outbreak spreading rapidly around the world, through new modes of transmission about which public health authorities understand too little. The current risk of Monkeypox is moderate globally and in all regions, except in the European region where the risk is high.





Global cases have surpassed 16,000 across 75 Member States and territories and five deaths.





To date, no confirmed cases of Monkeypox were reported to the Collective Prevention Services (CPS) in the country, but Monkeypox, a communicable disease, has been confirmed in the Caribbean region.





CPS public health surveillance remains on alert for Monkeypox. This includes all family physicians and health care providers, once a suspected, probable, or confirmed Monkeypox has been detected, the aforementioned will alert CPS and the laboratory to facilitate lab confirmation of the virus and CPS will conduct follow-up, registration and reporting.





CPS would like the Sint Maarten community to have a full understanding of what Monkeypox is and the prevention measures by sharing the following information and keeping the public informed as further scientific information becomes available during this global outbreak.





Monkeypox is caused by the Monkeypox virus which is a rare viral zoonotic disease that occurs primarily in tropical rainforest areas of Central and West Africa and is occasionally exported to other regions around the world. Monkeypox is less contagious than smallpox and causes less severe illness.





It is usually a self-limited disease with the symptoms lasting from two to four weeks. Severe cases can occur, and the fatality ratio has been around three to six per cent.





Monkeypox is transmitted to humans through close contact with an infected person or animal, or with material contaminated with the virus. Monkeypox virus is transmitted from one person to another through close contact with lesions, body fluids, respiratory droplets, and contaminated materials such as bedding, clothing, towels, utensils, hard surfaces etc.





Anyone can catch Monkeypox. The infection is passed on mainly through close contact between people.





CPS is calling on the populace to reduce exposure to the virus by practicing the following prevention measures: Reduce your risk of catching Monkeypox by limiting close contact with people who have suspected or confirmed (infected) Monkeypox; Regularly clean and disinfect environments that could have been contaminated with the virus from someone who is infectious regularly; Keep yourself informed about Monkeypox and have open conversations with those you come into close contact (especially sexual contact) with about any symptoms you or they may have.





Monkeypox typically presents clinically with fever, rash, swollen lymph nodes, intense headache, back pain, muscle aches, lack of energy, and may lead to a range of medical complications.





If you experience any of the above, you should contact your medical doctor as soon as possible. You can act to protect others by isolating yourself from others until you have been evaluated and tested. A laboratory test is the only way to confirm the diagnosis of Monkeypox.





The rash tends to be more concentrated on the face and extremities rather than on the main body mass. It affects mainly the face, and palms of the hands and soles of the feet but can appear on other parts of the body not listed here.





CPS reiterates its call on all to be on the alert and take action to prevent getting and spreading Monkeypox: Remember: 1) avoid close, skin-to-skin contact with people who have a rash that looks like Monkeypox  do not touch the rash or scabs of a person with Monkeypox; do not kiss, hug, cuddle or have sex with someone with Monkeypox; do not share eating utensils or cups with a person with Monkeypox. 2) Do not handle or touch the bedding, towels, or clothing of a person with Monkeypox without proper personal protective equipment such as gloves and masks. 3) Keep two meters distance from an infected person (s); 4) Wash your hands often with soap and water or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. If you are unsure, consult your physician.





CPS is a department in the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labour (Ministry VSA).
In a recent study published on the medRxiv* preprint server, researchers at East Carolina University reported the depletion of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) seropositivity in healthy young adults over a seven-month period.

Study: Loss of SARS-CoV-2 Seropositivity among Healthy Young Adults over Seven Months. Image Credit: Prostock-studio / Shutterstock.com

Background

Most higher education institutions have offered SARS-CoV-2 testing to symptomatic students, as well as those with recent contacts of suspected or confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) as young adults returned to campus in the fall of 2020 in the United States.

Young adults can still transmit SARS-CoV-2 while asymptomatic. Thus, screening asymptomatic individuals in a group environment has been a crucial aspect of a comprehensive plan to limit viral transmission.

Long-term studies on COVID-19 patients, long-term care residents, and healthcare staff have described the longevity of immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies targeting SARS-CoV-2. According to available reports, people with asymptomatic to mild COVID-19 have reduced peak antibody titers, with those who have recovered from SARS-CoV-2 infection exhibiting a rapid decline in IgG titers.

However, longitudinal data regarding SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence conversion and reversion in healthy young adults studying in a university setting are scarce. Furthermore, the durability of immunity in healthy young adults after recovering from COVID-19 is not well understood.

About the study

In the current study, researchers performed a longitudinal analysis to evaluate immunity established by SARS-CoV-2 infection in university students over a seven-month period. They hypothesized that IgG levels deteriorate over time, which is congruent to evidence obtained from previous studies conducted among medical professionals.

Antibodies targeting the SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) and nucleocapsid (N) antigens were quantified and referred to as S-IgG and N-IgG, respectively.

In a cohort of university students, scientists explored N-IgG seroprevalence, the time required for N-IgG establishment, and the incidence of N-IgG seroreversion for seven months. This data was contrasted with S-IgG development.

All study participants were enrolled at a public university and lived in Pitt County, North Carolina. Any undergraduate or graduate student aged 18 years or older who provided a Pitt County residential address, was enrolled full-time or part-time in the fall semester of 2020 and spoke English was eligible to participate in the study.

Between August 26, 2020, and October 28, 2020, university students participated in the study once a week for ten weeks. By November 17, 2020, 136 young adults had finished at least one study visit.

Between August 26, 2020, and March 31, 2021, all study participants provided nasal swabs and blood samples and completed an online survey at two-week intervals.

Study findings

A total of 55 self-selected and 81 randomly selected eligible students completed at least one clinic visit during the initial SARS-CoV-2 wave. Taken together, 63.2% of the 136 students in wave 1 completed all planned research visits, while 71.3% from the first wave reconsented for the second wave.

Between August 26, 2020, and March 31, 2021, 12 students completed all scheduled research visits. Thirteen study visits were reported in the first wave, while only three were reported in the second wave.

The frequency of a positive result for N-IgG was 9.78% among 695 serum samples examined during the follow-up period. About 68% of individuals in a cohort of 22 young adults monitored for seven months exhibited a decline in SARS-CoV-2 N-IgG positivity below the threshold during the 140-day period.

Descriptive Statistics of nucleocapsid (N) IgG among young adults by collection date

Subjects who were recently vaccinated against COVID-19 had significantly heightened S-IgG levels beginning in January 2021. Although S-IgG remained detectable in these vaccinated students, these levels began to decline between February and March 2021. Thus, anti-S-IgG exhibits significant persistence relative to anti-N-IgG.

The current findings were comparable with prior research among non-hospitalized patients, as detectable N-IgG was absent in 65% of participants during the study period.

Conclusions

According to the study findings, young adults with mild or asymptomatic COVID-19 exhibit a faster peak and much faster decline in their peak N-IgG antibody responses as compared to hospitalized patients. Furthermore, repeated measurements of serum SARS-CoV-2 antibody levels in a young adult university cohort provide information regarding adaptive immunity through antibody retention and depletion.

Overall, the study findings indicate that SARS-CoV-2 N-IgG levels in healthy young adults decline to an undetectable threshold in five months. Comparatively, S-IgG remains consistently high for several months following infection and rose considerably after vaccination.

*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.
Daily exposure to a class of chemicals used in the production of many household items may lead to cancer, thyroid disease, and childhood obesity, a new study shows. The resulting economic burden is estimated to cost Americans a minimum of $5.5 billion and as much as $63 billion over the lifetime of the current population.

The new work revolves around per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a group of more than 4,700 manmade chemicals that experts have detected for decades in the blood of millions of people. The chemicals are used, for example, in the production of water- and oil-resistant clothing, electronics, and nonstick cookware, and people are thought to ingest them as food comes into contact with packaging. The substances are believed to disrupt the function of hormones, signaling compounds that influence many bodily processes.

Led by researchers at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, the new study in roughly 5,000 Americans identified 13 medical conditions that may result from PFAS exposure, such as infertility, diabetes, and endometriosis, a painful disorder of the uterus. Together, the diseases generate medical bills and reduce worker productivity across a lifetime to create the costs measured by the study, say the study authors.

Our findings add to the substantial and still-mounting body of evidence suggesting that exposure to PFAS is harming our health and undermining the economy." Linda G. Kahn, PhD, MPH, study co-author, assistant professor, Departments of Pediatrics and Population Health at NYU Langone Health

Previous investigations have quantified the medical burden and financial costs of low birth weight due to PFAS exposure. However, the new study, published online July 26 in the journal Exposure and Health, incorporates a much broader range of health consequences across the lifespan, says Dr. Kahn.

For the investigation, the researchers determined how many Americans were likely exposed to PFAS chemicals in 2018 using blood samples obtained from adults and children who participated in the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Next, the study team analyzed data from dozens of studies in the past decade that explored diseases connected to the substances.

The research team used models from earlier investigations to estimate the national economic cost of the medical bills and lost worker productivity that resulted from the top five medical conditions that had the strongest links to PFAS exposure. These included low birth weight, childhood obesity, kidney cancer, testicular cancer, and hypothyroidism.

Among the findings, the investigation revealed that childhood obesity was the largest contributor to the overall economic toll of PFAS exposure, costing about $2.7 billion. Hypothyroidism in women, a condition in which the thyroid cannot release enough hormones into the bloodstream, was the next highest contributor at $1.26 billion.

The study investigators also expanded the scope of their economic estimates to include eight other conditions with preliminary links to PFAS exposure, including endometriosis, obesity in adults, and pneumonia in children. When such diseases were considered, the total costs reached as high as $63 billion.

Our results strongly support the recent decision by the Environmental Protection Agency to lower the safe allowable level of these substances in water. Based on our estimates, the cost of eradicating contamination and replacing this class of chemical with safer alternatives is ultimately justified when considering the tremendous economic and medical risks of allowing them to persist in the environment." Leonardo Trasande, MD, MPP, study senior author

Dr. Trasande, the Jim G. Hendrick, MD, Professor in the Department of Pediatrics and professor in the Department of Population Health at NYU Langone, cautions that despite the vast research on the health risks of PFAS, few studies have explored the effects of this exposure over time.

The research team next plans to examine the long-term risks of PFAS, adds Dr. Trasande, who also serves as director of NYU Langone's Center for the Investigation of Environmental Hazards. In addition, the study authors plan to estimate the economic burden of other endocrine-disrupting contaminants, such as bisphenolssubstances used in many plastics and can linings, fire retardants, and pesticides.
Researchers affiliated with the Council of State Neurosurgical Societies investigated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the treatment of traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) by evaluating data from the Michigan Trauma Quality Improvement Program (MTQIP). TBIs occurred during the early months of the pandemic at rates similar to those of previous years, and the researchers describe negative impacts on patient care during the first 4 months of the pandemic.

Detailed findings of this study are described in the article "Changes in patterns of traumatic brain injury in the Michigan Trauma Quality Improvement Program database early in the COVID-19 pandemic" by Johnson et al., published today in the Journal of Neurosurgery (https://thejns.org/doi/abs/10.3171/2202.5.22244).

The global COVID-19 pandemic was declared in mid-March 2020, resulting in the mobilization of healthcare resources for high-acuity COVID-19 patients, discontinuation of elective procedures, and stay-at-home orders for the general public. Growing evidence indicates that patients may have delayed seeking care for emergent conditions such as heart attack and stroke, but the trends are less clear for neurological trauma.

In this study, the authors evaluated data from MTQIP, which includes data from 36 level I and II trauma centers in Michigan and Minnesota. Patients with TBI were identified, and those treated during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic (March 13 through July 2, 2020) were compared with those treated during earlier years (March 13 through July 2 of each year from 2017 to 2019). The number of patients with TBI initially decreased during the first 8 weeks of the pandemic, but this was followed by a distinct increase during the second 8 weeks and ultimately the rates of TBI were similar between the preCOVID-19 and COVID-19 periods. Although TBI severity and mechanisms of injury were similar between periods, the patients treated during the COVID-19 pandemic were younger, had higher rates of decubitus ulcers and routine discharge, and presented to the hospital later than those treated during the preCOVID-19 period.

Improved understanding of the indirect effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on patient presentation and treatment for neurological trauma can be used to inform responses to future pandemics. Despite stay-at-home orders, TBIs occurred during the early months of the pandemic at rates similar to those of previous years. The authors emphasize that hospital policies need to acknowledge continued care for patients with TBI during pandemics.

When asked about the study, Dr. Ann M. Parr said, "In our study, we utilized a multicenter trauma database to investigate impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the incidence and initial care of patients suffering TBIs. Given the acuity of these injuries and importance of emergent intervention, it is important to understand how the COVID-19 pandemic and associated challenges have impacted this patient population. During the initial 8 weeks of our study period, we identified a decline in rates of presentation for TBI that was followed by an increase of similar magnitude in the latter 8 weeks of our study. It is unclear why there were declines in rates of patients presenting with TBI, but one concern is that these patients continued to suffer TBIs at rates similar to before the pandemic but opted to not seek care in fear of being exposed to COVID-19. Additionally, we show that during our study period overall, rates of presentation for TBI were similar during the pandemic compared with the same interval in 20172019. These findings underscore the importance of maintaining access to trauma centers for the care of TBI even amidst the resource-constrained environment brought on by the pandemic and associated staffing and supply chain issues. Interestingly, we found that rates of TBI presentations were increasing at the end of our study period beyond rates seen in 20172019. Additional studies are warranted to assess whether this trend continued beyond our study period. Furthermore, we identified increased rates of decubitus ulcers, patients requiring return to the operating room, and alterations in discharge disposition during the pandemic. These changes may reflect reductions in direct patient contact and reduced access to rehabilitation facilities during the pandemic. Given the relatively low rate of patients testing positive for COVID-19 in our cohort, it is important to recognize the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on nonCOVID-19 care. We hope that our study calls to attention the need for continued funding and maintenance of resources and access to care for acute neurological conditions such as TBI."
In a pair of related studies, published July 26, 2022 online via First Release in Science, researchers at University of California San Diego, with colleagues on four continents, show that the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019 was at the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan, China, and resulted from at least two instances of the SARS-CoV-2 virus jumping from live animal hosts to humans working or shopping there.

The findings, first reported in February after the papers were posted online as preprints awaiting peer review, garnered international attention, primarily focusing on identifying the market as the early epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic. The World Health Organization estimates that there have been more than 566 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide and 6.3 million deaths since the pandemic was declared in early 2020.

It's vital that we know as much about the origin of COVID-19 as possible because only by understanding how pandemics get started can we hope to prevent them in the future." Joel O. Wertheim, PhD, associate professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health at UC San Diego School of Medicine, and a co-author on both papers

But elemental to understanding pandemic origins is pinpointing not just where, but how, a pathogen successfully jumps from a non-human animal host to human, known as a zoonotic event.

"I think there's been consensus that this virus did in fact come from the Huanan Market, but a strong case for multiple introductions hasn't been made by anyone else yet," said Wertheim, senior author of the study that posits the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19, jumped from animals to humans at least twice and perhaps as many as two dozen times.

According to researchers, two evolutionary branches of the virus were present early in the pandemic, differentiated only by two differences in nucleotides -; the basic building blocks of DNA and RNA.

Lineage B, which included samples from people who worked at and visited the market, became globally dominant. Lineage A spread within China, and included samples from people pinpointed only to the vicinity the market. If the viruses in lineage A evolved from those in lineage B, or vice versa, Wertheim said this would suggest SARS-CoV-2 jumped only once from animals to humans.

But work by Wertheim and collaborators found that the earliest SARS-CoV-2 genomes were inconsistent with a single zoonotic jump into humans. Rather, the first zoonotic transmission likely occurred with lineage B viruses in late-November 2019 while the introduction of lineage A into humans likely occurred within weeks of the first event. Both strains were present at the market simultaneously.

Researchers arrived at this conclusion by deciphering the evolutionary rate of viral genomes to deduce whether or not the two lineages diverged from a single common ancestor in humans. They used a technique called molecular clock analysis and an epidemic simulation tool called FAVITES, invented by Wertheim team member Niema Moshiri, PhD, an assistant professor of computer science at Jacobs School of Engineering at UC San Diego and study co-author.

"None of this could have been done without FAVITES," said Wertheim.

Validation

In February 2022, researchers at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention published a long-delayed analysis of genetic traces of the earliest environmental samples collected at the market two years earlier.

The samples were obtained after the first reports of a new, mysterious illness and after the market had already been shut down. The Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan is a so-called "wet market" where live animals are often slaughtered and sold for human consumption, including in some cases, wildlife.

However, no live wild mammals were left at the market after it was shut down. Instead, Chinese researchers swabbed walls, floors and other surfaces, tested meat still in freezers, sampled sewers and caught mice and stray cats and dogs around the market.

Their findings confirmed the not-yet-published predictions of Wertheim's team that Lineage A was also at the market.

"We felt validated, but what we felt more was immense pressure because they beat our preprint to the punch by about 12 hours, and we could only discuss their findings in light of ours," Wertheim said. "We were also shocked that they had been sitting on evidence for lineage A at the market for over a year without realizing its importance."

The newly published data, said study authors, are powerful evidence that the two viral lineages evolved separately and that multiple spillover events occurred. The Wuhan market reportedly contained a robust live wild animal business, with snakes, badgers, muskrats, birds and raccoon dogs (a canid indigenous to Asia) and other species sold for food. Wertheim said he believes there were likely many viral introductions. At least two successfully made the animal-human leap; other viral strains went extinct.

"While I'm hesitant to call it proof, what we presented is the most comprehensive explanation for the SARS-CoV-2 genomic diversity at the outset of the pandemic," Wertheim said. "There are really no other good explanations for both of these strains being at the market except for multiple jumps into humans."

(The findings undercut a circulating and persistent theory that the SARS-CoV-2 virus escaped from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, located a few miles from the market.)

Jonathan E. Pekar, a doctoral student in Bioinformatics and Systems Biology who co-led the project with Wertheim and is lead author, said the pandemic was likely looming for years, awaiting only for the opportunity when humans would come into contact with an animal host capable of transmitting the virus.

"Everything complicated happened before that introduction," Pekar said. "The last step is just extended contact and transmission from hosts to humans. At that point, it would actually be unusual to only have one introduction. We've seen this before with MERS-CoV (a similar zoonotic virus). We've seen it with humans giving SARS-CoV-2 to minks on farms and then minks giving it back to humans.

"This has happened before, and it's going to keep happening. Nature is a better lab than humans will ever be."

The latest study continues a series of published papers by Wertheim and colleagues investigating and chronicling the origin and spread of COVID-19.

In September 2020, they published data explaining how the first, few cases of novel coronavirus in North America and Europe quickly spread due to insufficient testing and contact tracing. In March 2021, Wertheim, Pekar and colleagues characterized the brief time-period during which SARS-CoV-2 could have circulated undetected before the first human cases in Wuhan.
A team of scientists from the USA has recently described the county-to-county transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in Minnesota. The study is currently available on the medRxiv* preprint server.

Background

Genomic epidemiology has provided in-depth understanding of the transmission dynamics and evolution pattern of SARS-CoV-2, the causative pathogen of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Many studies have been conducted to determine localized transmission of SARS-CoV-2 within a state or province. These studies are valuable for state-wide genomic surveillance and preventive efforts.

To understand the collective impact of county-to-county viral transmission on within-state viral dynamics, it is important to study how viral introduction events and circulation of various variants of concern (VOCs) induce changes in localized viral evolution and transmission throughout the pandemic.

Study design

In the current study, the scientists sequenced viral genomes collected from more than 22,000 SARS-CoV-2-positive patients over two years during the pandemic. They performed Bayesian phylodynamics to determine county-to-county transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and the impact and timing of introduction events into the State of Minnesota.

Furthermore, they linked the viral genomic data with patients characteristics and disease phenotypes to determine the genetic structure of variant-specific genomes in relation to clinical severity of disease.

State-wide viral transmission

The Bayesian phylodynamics findings revealed that the predominantly circulating viruses in the state were from Hennepin County, the largest population in Minnesota. Ramsey county, the second most populated county, was also associated with early evolution and transmission of SARS-CoV-2.

Estimating the ratio of introduction events to total viral flow into and out of each county revealed that Anoka, Dakota, Ramsey, Stearns, and Washington experienced many introduction events in the early phase of the pandemic. While there was a balance between introduction and viral flow-out events in Anoka, Ramsey, and Stearns, consistently higher introduction events than viral flow-out events were observed in Dakota and Washington.

The most contrasting transmission dynamics were observed in Hennepin County, which consistently produced more viral flow into other counties throughout the pandemic. This county experienced a transient increase in introduction events when the alpha variant began circulating in the state. During this phase, a reduction in viral flow-out events was observed in Hennepin County.

Furthermore, the most frequent international introduction events occurred in Hennepin County in the initial phase of the pandemic, with a total of 119 separate events over a period of two years during the pandemic.

Impact of control measures

The analysis of county-specific viral diversity revealed that government-imposed restrictions played an important role in reducing the diversity of circulating viruses in most counties. This indicates low spatial mixing of SARS-CoV-2 between counties.

However, a sharp increase in viral diversity was observed immediately after the removal of restrictions in the state in May, 2021. Such events of spatial mixing of viruses led to an induction in COVID-19 cases and circulation of the omicron variant in the state.

Evolutionary relationship between viral variants and COVID-19 clinical outcomes

More than 14,000 viral genomes were linked with patients characteristics and COVID-19 phenotypes to understand the relationship between viral evolution and clinical outcomes.

The findings revealed that the genetic evolution of omicron variants in the state was structured by clinical outcomes when stratifying by patient risk factors and VOCs. The majority of outcomes were mild or moderate clinical cases. However, no such relationship was observed for alpha and delta variants.

Study significance

The study describes county-to-county transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in Minnesota. Hennepin County has been identified as the major source of county-to-county introduction events after its initial international introduction events in early 2020.

Importantly, the study highlights the importance of pandemic-related restrictions in reducing viral transmission between counties.

*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.
Thought Leaders Echo Pan Functional Genomics Ph.D. Student NC State University

In this interview, we speak to Echo Pan, a Ph.D. student from North Carolina State University about her latest research that used CRISPR to uncover more on probiotics.

Please could you introduce yourself and tell us about what inspired your latest research into probiotics?

My name is Echo Pan. I am a Ph.D. student at NC state university, majoring in Functional Genomics. I joined Rodolphes lab back in 2017 after I received my BS in food science from the University of Wisconsin  Madison.

I have always wanted to learn more about probiotics and the human microbiome. I was fascinated that these tiny bacteria can have such drastic impacts on our health. I had only heard about CRISPR once in my microbial genetic class when I joined the lab and had no idea I would work with it for my graduate school research.

Our lab has always been at the frontier of probiotic research, particularly in Lactobacillus, the no. 1 bacterial genus used in commercial probiotics. We have applied our CRISPR expertise to manipulate the genomes of Lactobacillus to study their probiotic efficacy better. On the other hand, limited molecular tools have been developed for Bifidobacterium, which leaves a gap in understanding the underlying mechanisms of probiotic efficacy of Bifidobacterium. We wanted to leverage our expertise in both CRISPR and microbiology to help fill in this technical gap.

Image Credit:

What are probiotics, and why are they commonly used?

The FAO/WHO definition of a probiotic is live microorganisms which when administered in adequate amounts confer a health benefit on the host.

Probiotics are usually referred to as the good bacteria. You can find them in supplements and fermented foods such as yogurt and cheese. Sometimes doctors will recommend patients take probiotics when they are prescribed antibiotics. The idea is that antibiotics tend to wipe out your native microbiome (both good and bad bacteria), and probiotics can help restore the normal microbiome. Probiotics have been associated with a range of health benefits such as digestive health, immune health, infant health, brain health, etc.

Scientists have uncovered some underlying mechanisms for how these beneficial microorganisms confer health benefits to humans. For the most part, however, researchers are still trying to understand exactly how probiotics work.

Bifidobacterium, a gut bacterium commonly used to help maintain healthy microbiomes, was the subject of your latest research. Despite this being found in many probiotics, it is difficult to characterize. Why is this?

Unlike other genetically tractable bacteria, genomic engineering in Bifidobacterium is hindered by different factors, including a limited molecular biology toolbox, a refractory cell wall structure, an abundance of restriction and modification (R-M) systems, and a lack of a universal replicon that replicates in a wide range of Bifidobacterium species.

Altogether, these limiting factors hamper our ability to investigate and manipulate this important genus (the second most formulated genus in commercial probiotics after Lactobacillus), and novel molecular tools will enable the engineering of Bifidobacterium strains with enhanced probiotic efficacy and the development of biotherapeutic applications

In your latest research, you looked into the genetics behind Bifidobacterium. Can you tell us how you conducted your research and the genetic tools used?

In this paper, we repurposed the endogenous type I-G CRISPR-Cas system and adopted an exogenous CRISPR base editor for genome engineering in B. animalis subsp. lactis. We utilized a combination of different approaches, including genomics, transcriptomics, computational analysis, and TXTL in vitro testing, to characterize the endogenous CRISPR-Cas systems in Bifidobacterium, which was crucial for downstream genome engineering applications. We also characterized the epigenomes of these bacteria, which helped us understand how these very closely related strains differentiate from each other.

Image Credit: Marc Hall, NC State University

What did you discover about the bacterium?

Results in this paper highlighted the importance of combining genomics and epigenetics to democratize genetic engineering in recalcitrant bacteria such as Bifidobacterium. Despite sharing highly homogenous genomes, these strains express different epigenetic patterns, which contribute to the different levels of genetic accessibilities across strains.

We anticipate that the heterogenous epigenetic patterns could also contribute to different probiotic performance beyond just genetic accessibility. A better understanding of the effect of epigenome on probiotic efficacy is something we are interested in exploring. As we showed in the paper, establishing a genome editing platform would be crucial to the discovery.

What implications will your findings have for the field of microbiology and, in particular, probiotics?

The strategies established in this paper can be exploited and applied broadly to other important bacteria, including the human gut microbiome and microbiomes across environmental niches such as water (oceans, lakes) and soil (for Ag and beyond). Since Bifidobacterium is a relatively under-studied genus with limited tools for DNA delivery and genome manipulation, the approaches we used can facilitate and accelerate the deployment of molecular microbiology and genome editing in numerous important but under-investigated genera.

Besides re-sensitization to antibiotics, as demonstrated in the paper, the strategies we established in the paper open new opportunities for probiotic enhancement. For example, we can fine-tune the carbohydrate metabolism to enhance the utilization of HMOs in breast milk by Bifidobacterium, which is highly associated with a healthy infant microbiome. To control inflammation, we can also perform cell surface engineering to modulate the molecular interplay with host epithelial and immune cells. We can also develop live biotherapeutic products (LBPs), engineering probiotics as chassis to deliver either enzymes or small molecule therapeutics. There is a wide range of applications to decipher and enhance the genetic attributes that render bifidobacteria highly relevant for human health.

For your latest research, you used CRISPR-Cas. With this still being a relatively new gene-editing technology, how has this influenced microbiology research? Are you hopeful that with continued advancements in technology, discoveries within microbiology will continue to emerge?

In nature, CRISPR-Cas systems serve as the adaptive immune systems in bacteria again bacteriophage attacks (my PI Dr. Rodolphe Barrangou actually first reported this in 2007). CRISPR has been used in the fermentation industry to immunize starter culture against phages long before it was repurposed as a genome editing tool. Microbiology scientists also took advantage of the hypervariable CRISPR array sequences to differentiate bacteria strains that are over 99% identical in genomes. In this regard, CRISPR has influenced microbiology research long before it was ever used to edit human cells or plant cells.

Since the CRISPR-Cas9 system was introduced, scientists have used CRISPR-based genome editing tools to manipulate genomes across the tree of life, revolutionizing the field of genetics. Although CRISPR has been rapidly adopted for genome engineering in eukaryotes, its deployment in prokaryotes has lagged due to many intrinsic factors such as nuclease lethality. This is where our research comes in, and hopefully, take a small step to help fill in this massive gap. There is so much unknown regarding our microbiome. I am certain that more discoveries within microbiology will continue to emerge.

Image Credit: elenabsl/Shutterstock.com

One sector that has taken a keen interest in probiotics is the wellness industry. How has this industry influenced probiotic research?

Recent advances in microbiome research have elicited a new wave of enthusiasm for probiotic bacteria for human health applications. Our industry collaborator, IFF, one of the largest probiotic suppliers in the world, has also observed an increasing demand from their customers in probiotic supplemented products such as protein bars, drinks, snacks, etc.

On the one hand, this is great that the public is becoming more health conscious and educated to make informed decisions. Especially after COVID-19 started in 2020, there has been a spike in public interest in health and wellness-related products such as probiotics. On the other hand, not all probiotics are created equal.

Unfortunately, many commercial probiotic products do not match the correct taxonomic group listed on the ingredient list or fall short in the viable cell counts before the expiration dates. All these shortcomings will negatively influence the probiotic industry and public confidence in this market. Structured regulations and effective and affordable methods to formulate and test commercial probiotic products would be crucial for the probiotic industry in the long run.

Your research was supported by NC State and the North Carolina Agricultural Foundation, as well as being a collaborative effort between many researchers. How important are funding, support, and collaboration in making new discoveries?

I am beyond thankful for the opportunity to work with so many excellent colleagues and collaborators; they have been a tremendous support throughout this journey. The NC Ag Foundation has been very supportive of funding translational agricultural research such as the ones we have in the lab. Success in any modern scientific research these days heavily relies on receiving sufficient funding.

I am very grateful for my PI, Dr. Rodolphe Barrangou, who always ensures his students have secure funding. In the current atmosphere of scarce funding, ones career in academia is often closely linked with his or her ability to obtain funding. As a Ph.D. student, it is such a relief that I can just focus on research and getting the experiments to work without worrying about how to pay for my next semesters tuition.

What are the next steps for you and your research into probiotics?

This research has raised more questions, such as how we can better streamline the genome modification process and how the epigenome affects the functions of Bifidobacterium, all of which we are actively working on in the lab. In the meantime, we have continued to strengthen our collaborative relationship with our industrial sponsor and consult to help enhance their probiotic products.

Personally, I plan to graduate in the Spring of 2023 and start my career in the biotechnology industry. I want to leverage my expertise in genomics, microbiology, and molecular biology in industry projects. Whether developing human biotherapeutics or the next generation of probiotics, I will utilize my skills and knowledge to make a translational, positive impact on peoples lives.

Where can readers find more information?

Please read our paper here: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2205068119

About Echo Pan

Echo Pan is a Ph.D student majoring in Functional Genomics at NC State University. She previously obtained her MS in food science from NC State University in 2019. She graduated from UW-Madison with a BS in food science in 2017.
(Newser)  A former intelligence contractor convicted of espionage has explained her thought process in leaking classified documents. "I am not a traitor. I am not a spy," Reality Winner told CBS' 60 Minutes in an interview that aired Sunday. Winner, a contractor for the National Security Agency, was arrested in 2017, accused of emailing a secret document to the Intercept, a media outlet. The document was a US report about Russian attempts to interfere in the 2016 elections by hacking a voting software supplier, per Insider. "I knew it was secret," Winner said. "But I also knew that I had pledged service to the American people."

Then-President Donald Trump's efforts to raise doubts about US findings that Russia had meddled in the election prompted her to act, she said. "I just kept thinking, 'My God, somebody needs to step forward and put this right,'" Winner told 60 Minutes. She knew what was in the report and felt that Americans were "being lied to." She put the report, which was marked "Top Secret," under her clothes and walked out of the NSA office at Fort Gordon in Georgia. Winner was sentenced to more than five years in prison but freed early, in June 2021.

The release did not compromise intelligence sources or methods, she said, maintaining that although she admits breaking the law, her prosecution was political and retaliatory. Winner discussed the strain of being called a terrorist, and said she battled depression and thoughts of suicide. She had joined the Air Force to fight enemies that she was now accusing of working with, a "stain" that she said remains. Her lawyer hasn't given up on a correction to the record, saying, "A pardon for Reality is the right thing for the country." (Read more Reality Winner stories.)
(Newser)  After years of protesting conditions at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, Ghislaine Maxwell has been sent to a low-security federal prison in Florida. The British former socialite, who was sentenced last month to 20 years in prison for procuring underage girls for Jeffrey Epstein to abuse, arrived at the Federal Correctional Institution in Tallahassee on Friday, NBC reports. The Bureau of Prisons lists the 60-year-old's release date as July 17, 2037. Maxwell had been held at the MDC since her July 2020 arrest. In December of last year, she was found guilty on five charges including sex trafficking of minors.

Her lawyers said that she faced "reprehensible" conditions at the Brooklyn facility and that guards flashed a light into her cell every 15 minutes even though she wasn't on suicide watch. In Tallahassee, she will be out of solitary confinement and allowed to use facilities like the running track and to take part in activities like yoga classes and movie nights, reports the New York Post. The Guardian reports that Maxwell's lawyers requested that she serve her sentence at FCI Danbury in Connecticut, the prison that inspired Orange Is the New Black. The move was recommended by the trial judge but the final decision was made by the Bureau of Prisons. (Relatives say Maxwell will apply for a transfer to a British prison.)
(Newser)  After winning Senate approval in March, legislation to make daylight saving time permanent has just been sitting in the House. Its supportersor at least those open to the ideasaid the main reason is there's a lot going on, the Hill reports. "We have so many other priorities," said Democratic Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., who chairs Energy and Commerce Committee. He said the idea is alive but not near the top of the House agenda at the moment. "If we can accomplish anything, it wouldnt be until the fall," Pallone said.

There's disagreement among members about the bill, but Pallone said it doesn't follow party lines. "It's not at all partisan," he said. Its totally, you know, regional and depends on your district." The bill would cost an hour of daylight in the morning from November through February. Farming communities want morning daylight, while tourism areas prefer evening light so people will stay out longer, he said. Lawmakers are trying to reach a consensus, Pallone said, "but so far, it's eluded us."

House leaders of both parties have said they're not big supporters of the Sunshine Protection Act, including Reps. Kevin McCarthy and Steny Hoyer. Democratic Rep. Jan Schakowsky said that in her district, a "disproportionate amount" of people were talking about the bill, mostly approvingly, when it first passed the Senate. "It just does not seem as the kind of urgent priority right now. Thats all," she told the Hill. A Democratic aide in the House said the bill's moment might have passed. "There was like this big momentum to push it, and that kind of fell apart," the aide said. "And I think that's really kind of hard to regain that momentum." (Read more Daylight Saving Time stories.)
(Newser)  Building on the revelations of the House committee investigating the attack on the Capitol, President Biden denounced former President Donald Trump on Monday for holing up in a White House dining room "while brave law enforcement officers" tried to fight off an out-of-control mob. And Biden delivered the message to a meeting of law enforcement executives, Deadline reports. On Jan. 6, 2021, Biden said, as Trump watched on TV, "The Capitol Police, the DC Metropolitan Police, other law enforcement agencies were attacked and assaulted before our very eyes. Speared, sprayed, stomped on, brutalized."

Trump resisted pleas to tell his supporters to stop the violence, per CNN. "Donald Trump lacked the courage to act," Biden told a Florida meeting of the National Association of Black Law Enforcement Executives in a virtual address, a rare forceful and direct attack on his predecessor. "We relied on law enforcement to save our democracy," Biden said. The president also contrasted Trump's professed support for law enforcement with his conduct on Jan. 6, per Deadline.

"You can't be pro-insurrection and pro-cop," Biden said in his speech. "You can't be pro-insurrection and pro-democracy. You can't be pro-insurrection and pro-American." Trump is scheduled to deliver a speech Tuesday centered on law and order to the America First Policy Institute in Washington, a mile and a half from the Capitol. Trump's team told NBC News that the House committee's findings won't make that awkward. "His remarks will highlight the policy failures of Democrats, while laying out an America First vision for public safety," a spokesman said. (Read more President Biden stories.)
(Newser)  Jared Kushner had a "substantial part" of his thyroid removed due to thyroid cancer while he worked in his father-in-law's White House, he reveals in a memoir that will be published next month. Kushner, who served as one of former President Trump's senior advisers, writes in an excerpt provided to the New York Times that the cancer was detected in October 2019. Doctors "concluded that I needed surgery to remove an unusual growth in my thyroid, and we scheduled the operation for the Friday before Thanksgiving, he wrote. That way, I would miss the least amount of time in the office. My absence might even go unnoticed. Thats how I wanted it.

He writes that he worked hard to keep the diagnosis under wraps. "This was a personal problem and not for public consumption," he wrote, adding that the only people at the White House he informed were his wife, then-White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, and two of his aides. He didn't even tell his father-in-law, but somehow Trump found out and called him in to discuss it the day before the surgery. Asked how he knew, Trump replied, according to Kushner, "I'm the president. I know everything. I understand that you want to keep these things quiet. I like to keep things like this to myself as well. Youll be just fine. Dont worry about anything with work. We have everything covered here. (Read more Jared Kushner stories.)
(Newser)  Alex Jones' legal and financial troubles for spreading lies about the Sandy Hook mass shooting reach a critical point Tuesday as a trial begins in Texas to determine how much he owes. And as the New York Times reports, parents of the young victims will testify themselves about how Jones' conspiracy theories that the shooting was a hoax caused them even greater sufferingand made them the target of threats and abuse from those who believed the lies. Jones, who has lost three lawsuits over the 2012 massacre, has since disavowed his claims and offered to pay settlements, but his offer was rejected. Tuesday's trial in Austin to determine damages will be followed by two similar trials next month, one in Connecticut and a second one in Texas.

Were very glad the day is here, says Mark Bankston, attorney for the families suing Jones in this first trial, per the AP. Were looking forward to telling our clients story. The court, for example, will hear from Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, whose 6-year-old son, Jesse, was killed at Sandy Hook. After Neil Heslin spoke of his son's death on TV, Jones publicly suggested he was lying. The trials could strike a "potentially major financial blow" to Jones and his media empire (which he already has put into bankruptcy protection), notes the AP. The Times uses the phrase "potentially ruinous." Jones has cited an unspecified "medical issue" and may not be in court himself on Tuesday or throughout the trial. The Sandy Hook shooting killed 20 first-graders and six adults. (Read more Alex Jones stories.)
(Newser)  Update: An adviser to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has resigned in protest over Orban's comments on the mixing of races. Zsuzsa Hegedus, whom the BBC describes as a member of Orban's inner circle who has known him for two decades, called Orban's weekend speech "pure Nazi text" that was "worthy of Goebbels," according to local media cited by the Guardian. Hegedus says while she has defended Orban in the past when he's been accused of anti-Semitism, he's recently taken an "illiberal turn" and that this speech went too far and cannot be excused. The BBC says party resignations such as this are "almost unheard of" in Hungary. Orban's spokesperson says the media is misrepresenting the PM's comments. In accepting Hegedus' resignation, Orban staunchly denied accusations of racism. Our original story from Tuesday follows:

Critics are calling Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban a dangerous man after he condemned the mixing of races over the weekend. Speaking at an event in Romania on Saturday, the right-wing leader said countries where Europeans mix with non-Europeans "are no longer nations: they are nothing more than a conglomeration of peoples." "In the Carpathian Basin, we are not mixed race," Orban continued, per Politico, referring to a geographical area that includes Hungary and parts of Romania, Croatia, Slovakia, Serbia, Ukraine, and other neighbors. "We are willing to mix with one another, but we do not want to become mixed race," he said, predicting a decade of "uncertainty and war" and the decline of the West, per the Guardian.

Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu said Monday that the country did not agree with the "unacceptable" position and "it is regrettable that such ideas are propagated from the territory of Romania, in the complex global context that we all have to face," per Digi24. Hungarian opposition leader Ferenc Gyurcsany, a former prime minister, said Orban was a "tragedy" and his speech was a "Nazi text," according to a translated Facebook post. "My blood is no different than other people's blood," he wrote. Hungary's largest Jewish organization demanded a meeting with Orban, while the Central European division of the American Jewish Committee warned of the danger of "stigmatizing and prioritizing ethnicities."

Many consider Orbanwho is accused of eroding media freedoms and judicial independence, enabling corruption and nepotism, and attacking LGBTQ people in Hungaryto be "the face of a new wave of authoritarianism" and "a pioneer of a new approach to anti-democratic rule," per the AP, which notes he's "become a hero to segments of the Republican Party." He is to rub elbows with former President Trump, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, and other conservative figures next month at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Dallas, where he is scheduled to speak. "What we like about him is that he's actually standing up for the freedom of his people against the tyranny of the EU," CPAC head Matt Schlapp tells the AP. (Read more Viktor Orban stories.)
(Newser)  Lisa Murkowski said Monday that she recently tested positive for COVID-19. The US senator from Alaska made the announcement on social media, the AP reports. In the brief statement, the Republican said she recently tested positive after experiencing flu-like symptoms. The statement did not specify the timing of the test. Her campaign posted photos of events that Murkowski participated in Friday and Saturday in Fairbanks. I will be following guidance and advice from doctors and will be quarantining at home in Alaska while continuing my work remotely, Murkowski's statement said. She's the second senator to announce a COVID diagnosis Monday, following Joe Manchin.

Karina Borger, a spokesperson in Murkowskis Senate office, said by email that Murkowski is vaccinated and boosted. Borger said she had nothing more to share beyond the social media post. Murkowski is seeking reelection this year. Shea Siegert, a spokesperson for Murkowski's campaign, by email noted the campaign office opening and parade Murkowski participated in on Friday and Saturday, respectively. The campaign is reaching out to anyone who may have been at these events to notify them," Siegert said. Siegert called Murkowski's diagnosis a minor setback for the campaign, and we look forward to getting Lisa back on the campaign trail as soon as she is recovered and safely able to do so. No campaign staff have tested positive, and we will continue to monitor this, Siegert said.

(Read more Lisa Murkowski stories.)
NASA announces astronaut Shane Kimbrough to retire

NASAs Shane Kimbrough is retiring after 22 years, including 18 years as an astronaut. His last day with the agency is Sunday, July 31.

The retired U.S. Army colonel spent 388 days in space, landing him fifth on the list of record holders for cumulative time in space for all NASA astronauts. He was the fourth person to fly on three different spacecraft  the space shuttle, Soyuz, and SpaceX Crew Dragon  and he performed nine spacewalks during his three spaceflights.

Kimbrough was recently the commander of NASAs SpaceX Crew-2 mission to the International Space Station, the second long-duration mission for the Crew Dragon spacecraft, and the longest spaceflight for a U.S. human spacecraft. Throughout the mission, Kimbrough and the Expedition 65 crew performed more than 250 scientific investigations designed to benefit all of humanity and help future exploration.

The crew studied how gaseous flames behave in microgravity, grew hatch green chiles in the stations Plant Habitat Facility, tested free-flying robotic assistants, and even donned virtual-reality goggles to test new methods for performing maintenance activities in space. Kimbrough also performed spacewalks to install and deploy the new International Space Station Roll-out Solar Arrays.

Shanes expertise and leadership has been a huge asset to me personally and the astronaut office for many years. He has been a mentor to many astronauts, and it has been an absolute pleasure and honor to serve with him, said Chief Astronaut Reid Wiseman at NASAs Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Kimbrough was selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in May 2004. He completed his first spaceflight in 2008 aboard the space shuttle Endeavour to the space station on the STS-126 mission. Highlights of the almost 16-day mission included expanding the living quarters of the space station to eventually house six-member crews by delivering a new bathroom, kitchen, two bedrooms, an exercise machine, and a water recycling system. His second spaceflight launched Oct. 19, 2016, aboard a Soyuz spacecraft to become part of Expedition 49/50 on the station. A week after he arrived, he became station commander until he departed almost six months later. In addition to his spaceflight experience, Kimbrough supported his colleagues by serving as chief of the Astronaut Offices Vehicle Integration Test Office and its Robotics Branch at various times throughout his career.

I am grateful for the opportunity to serve as a NASA astronaut for the past 18 years, Kimbrough said. I am honored to have been able to fly on three different spacecraft and to spend time at the International Space Station. Ive worked with the best of the best in orbit and on the ground and am grateful for those that have supported me and my family. Ive wanted to be an astronaut since I was a little kid watching NASA astronauts go to the Moon. To accomplish three spaceflights and nearly 400 days in space in my career is truly a dream come true.

Kimbrough was born in Killeen, Texas, and graduated from The Lovett School in Atlanta in 1985. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in aerospace engineering from the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York, in 1989, and a Master of Science degree in operations research from the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta in 1998.

Learn more about how NASA explores the unknown and innovates for the benefit of humanity at:

https://www.nasa.gov/
(Newser)  In the world of Alzheimer's research, it's a bombshell. A new investigation has raised allegations that landmark research conducted in 2006 was fabricated, reports NBC News. The journal Science is out with a report that casts serious doubt on the work of Sylvain Lesne of the University of Minnesota, whose research identified a particular brain protein as a main culprit in the disease. The journal's six-month investigation is based on the work of neuroscientist Matthew Schrag of Vanderbilt University, who first suggested that Lesne doctored images used in his research into the protein known as "amyloid beta star 56." The upshot is that Lesne allegedly altered the images in his work to exaggerate the protein's significance. Lesne has not responded to the Science report. Coverage provides a sense of the magnitude:

Lesne's 2006 work is "seminal" in the field, per Science Alert, which notes that it has been cited by more than 2,200 papers as a reference.

His work has "been so influential on the course of Alzheimer's research over the past two decades that any evidence of manipulation or false study results could fundamentally shift thinking on the causes of the disease and dementia," per the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

"The immediate, obvious damage is wasted NIH funding and wasted thinking in the field because people are using these results as a starting point for their own experiments," Stanford's Thomas Sudhof tells Science.

However, some scientists are making the case that, even if Lesne's work is at fault, the impact would be more limited than the above suggests. I do not think the field would have developed differently without the Lesne work, Mathias Jucker at the University of Tubingen, Germany, tells Alzforum.

Both Schrag and Science stop short of definitively accusing Lesne of fraud, with Schrag noting that he would need the original images to reach that conclusion. Instead, he has raised what he calls "red flags," and Science talks to experts who back up his skepticism. Some of the images appear to be "shockingly blatant" examples of tampering, says the University of Kentucky's Donna Wilcock. UM is conducting its own investigation into the matter, and the journal Nature has added a note to Lesne's 2006 study it published saying it was investigating as well.

Many of Lesne's papers were co-authored by senior UM scientist Karen Ashe. "Having worked for decades to understand the cause of Alzheimer disease, so that better treatments can be found for patients, it is devastating to discover that a co-worker may have misled me and the scientific community through the doctoring of images," she wrote in email to the Minneapolis newspaper. "It is, however, additionally distressing to find that a major scientific journal has flagrantly misrepresented the implications of my work." The full story digs into the particulars of her defense. Essentially, she says the Science article "confused and exaggerated the effect (UM's) work had on downstream drug development to treat Alzheimer's-related dementia," per the newspaper. (Read more Alzheimer's Disease stories.)
(Newser)  Update: The parents of a comatose 12-year-old boy in Britain have lost a key battle in their fight to keep their son on life supportthey failed on Thursday to convince the UK Supreme Court to intervene, reports the AP. Doctors at a London hospital say Archie Battersbee has no hope of recovery, but his parents disagree. Their last hope may lie with a European court. Our story from Tuesday follows:

A court in Britain has ruled against the parents of a comatose 12-year-old boy fighting to keep him on life support. The parents of Archie Battersbee disagree with doctors that their son's case is hopeless, but a court on Monday agreed with the doctors, reports the BBC. However, the boy's treatment will continue for at least another two days as his parents take the case to the European Court of Human Rights. Archie's mother, Hollie Dance, discovered her son unconscious at home on April 7, and the case has drawn much attention in part because she thinks he suffocated while taking part in an online fad known as the "blackout challenge," per the Washington Post.

Multiple children's deaths in the US and elsewhere have been linked to the challenge, and TikTok has been sued by parents. In the UK case, Archie has never regained consciousness at Royal London Hospital, though Dance insists that he has squeezed her hand and shown others signs of life. The system shouldnt be allowed to do this to people, she said Monday after the court ruled against her. All Ive asked for from day one is time.  Thats my little boy, and Ill fight as long as I possibly can. The boy's father, 57-year-old Paul Battersbee, suffered a suspected heart attack on the way to court on Monday and ended up hospitalized, per the UK Times. The court declined to delay its ruling.

One of the three judges in Monday's decision, Sir Andrew McFarlane, said Monday that the boy's case presented an "awful predicament" and that the court was sympathetic. But he said the court agreed with doctors that keeping Archie alive was not in his "best interests." McFarland cited a photograph of Archie in wide circulation in the UK, one that shows him before the incident in good health. Archie is no longer the boy in the photograph," said the judge, per the Guardian. "He is someone whose every bodily function is now maintained by artificial means. (Read more life support stories.)
(Newser)  General Motors' second-quarter net income fell 40% from a year ago as computer chip and parts shortages hobbled factory output and drove the company's US sales down more than 15%. The Detroit automaker earned $1.67 billion from April through June, in part because it couldn't deliver 95,000 vehicles during the quarter because they were built without one part or another, per the AP. Last year it made $2.79 billion. The company reported an adjusted profit of $1.14 per share, falling short of Wall Street expectations for $1.27. Revenue was $35.76 billion for the quarter, beating estimates of $33.9 billion, according to FactSet.

Like other automakers, GM has been forced to slow its factories since late 2020 largely due to a global shortage of semiconductors. Despite the profit drop, GM held its full-year net income guidance steady at between $9.6 billion and $11.2 billion. The company still expects pretax income of $13 billion to $15 billion. "This confidence comes from our expectation that GM global production and wholesale deliveries will be up sharply in the second half," CEO Mary Barra said in a letter to shareholders Tuesday. Still, Barra said there are concerns about economic conditions, so GM is taking steps to manage costs, including reducing discretionary spending and limiting hiring to critical positions needed to support growth.

"We also have modeled many downturn scenarios and we are prepared to take deliberate action when and if necessary," Barra said. Shares of GM fell slightly to $34.29 in trading before Tuesday's opening bell. Other automakers outpaced broader declines across the market. Most of GM's incomplete vehicles were built in June, the company said, and it expects them to be finished and sold to dealers before year's end. GM made $2.3 billion before taxes in North America, its most profitable market, a 21% tumble from a year ago. The company said strong demand, coupled with production cuts, continues to limit dealer inventory. During the quarter, the company had only a 10- to 15-day supply of vehicles on dealer lots, it said. (Read more General Motors stories.)
(Newser)  Twenty minutes before committing a 2008 mass murder that shocked Japan, Tomohiro Kato posted a warning online that read, "It's time." Japan apparently decided the same thing for him. The 39-year-old has been hanged in the Tokyo Detention Centre, some eight years after he received a death sentence in connection with the crime, Japan's Justice Minister announced Tuesday. It was the first execution carried out in Japan this year. Kato, then 25, drove a rented truck into pedestrians in Tokyo's Akihabara electronics district, killing three. He then stabbed pedestrians, four of whom died. The AFP reports 10 people were injured.

The BBC has background on Kato, who hailed from a wealthy family and attended a top high school but didn't pass his university entrance exams and had a spotty employment history. Upon being caught, he confessed and reportedly said he was enraged by online bullying; prosecutors said he was especially affected by a woman who stopped emailing him after he sent her a photo of himself. "I came to Akihabara to kill people," Kato reportedly said. "It didn't matter who I'd kill." In the wake of the attack, Japan banned possession of double-edged knives whose blades measured more than about 2.2 inches. Japan has more than 100 people on death row; the US has about 2,500. (Read more execution stories.)
(Newser)  It's one of Australia's most persistent mysteries, and Derek Abbott says he has solved it. As CNN reports, the University of Adelaide professor had long advocated for the exhumation of the long unidentified Somerton Man. The suit-clad, 40-something man was found dead on a beach near Adelaidepossibly by poisonon the morning of Dec. 1, 1948. The man had calf muscles like a dancer's, missing teeth, and a scrap of paper on him featuring the Farsi words "Tamam Shud," meaning "the end." South Australian officials agreed to the exhumation, which took place in May 2021. Police are still mum, but Abbott says he has figured it out: He says the man was Carl "Charles" Webb, an electrical engineer and instrument maker.

As CNN reports, the exhumation wasn't the key after all. Rather, he says a strand of the man's hair collected from a plaster "death" mask made by police and given to Abbott years ago finally gave up its secrets thanks to genetic genealogy. Working with American genealogist Colleen Fitzpatrick, the two constructed a family tree containing 4,000 individuals. That led them to distant cousins on both his maternal and paternal sides; DNA collected from them was compared to DNA from the hair to verify their theoryverification that happened on Saturday. They then dug into historical records to piece together what they could about Webb.

Australia's ABC reports he was born in Melbourne in 1905 and there is no death record associated with him. "The last known record we have of him is in April 1947 when he left [wife] Dorothy," says Fitzpatrick. She went to court to say Webb had vanished and she wanted a divorce. Later documents show she moved to Bute, South Australia, some 90 miles from Adelaide. "It's possible that he came to this state to try and find her," Abbott says. "This is just us drawing the dots. We can't say for certain say that this is the reason he came, but it seems logical." One other clue: The name "T. Keane" appeared on the Somerton man's tie; Webb had a brother-in-law named Thomas Kean. (Read more unsolved mystery stories.)
(Newser)  Dozens of incoming medical students at the University of Michigan walked out of their induction ceremony last weekend in protest of a keynote speaker who opposes abortion. Dr. Kristin Collier, an assistant professor of medicine who directs the medical school's program on health, spirituality and religion, has expressed her views publicly, including in a May 4 tweet. "I can't not lament the violence directed at my prenatal sisters in the act of abortion, done in the name of autonomy," she wrote, adding "liberation that costs innocent lives is just oppression that is redistributed." More than 340 current and incoming medical students signed a petition opposing Collier as the keynote speaker, reports Michigan Daily.

"This is not simply a disagreement on personal opinion; through our demand we are standing up in solidarity against groups who are trying to take away human rights and restrict medical care, the petition reads, per CNN. Collier's selection by the medical school's Gold Humanism Honor Society only "undermines the University's position on abortion and supports the non-universal, theology-rooted platform to restrict abortion access, an essential part of medical care." The university responded that it "does not revoke an invitation to a speaker based on their personal beliefs." It added the school remains "committed to providing high quality, safe reproductive care for patients," including "abortion care."

As Collier took the podium to welcome incoming students at Sunday's ceremony, dozens of themclearly visible in their white coatsstood up and filed out of the room, along with some audience members, in a moment captured in footage viewed more than 15 million times on Twitter, per USA Today. Though Collier did not mention abortion in her remarks, she did appear to refer to the hubbub surrounding her. "I want to acknowledge the deep wounds our community has suffered over the past several weeks," she said. "We have a great deal of work to do for healing to occur," but "for this time, we can focus on what matters most, coming together to support our newly accepted students and their families." (Read more abortion stories.)
(Newser)  In a speech Tuesday in DC, Mike Pence told the Young Americas Foundation conference that some people may choose to focus on the past, but elections are about the future. It was a not-so-veiled reference to his former bosss obsession over the 2020 election, per Axios, which notes that Pence also laid out his "Freedom Agenda," with priorities such as defunding Planned Parenthood and the need to purge our schools of critical race theory and restore patriotic education. Pence also called for a new conservative movement to roll back the pernicious woke agenda [that is] allowing the radical left to continue dumping toxic waste into the headwaters of our culture," reports the New York Times.

During a Q&A, Pence was asked about the divide between former President Trump and himself, to which he replied, I dont know that the president and I differ on issues, but we may differ on focus. Trump's shadow loomed elsewhere in DC, as he was scheduled to deliver the keynote address at the America First Policy Institute later in the day. Per Fox News, its Trumps first visit to the capital since leaving the White House. However, it's not the first time he and Pence have competed directly for headlines in recent days, including dueling events in Arizona over the weekend.

Support for Trump appears to be waning among Republican voters, nearly half of whom prefer someone else for the 2024 nomination, according to the latest Times/Sienna poll, which also found that 64% of primary voters under age 35 promised to vote against him. However, Pence may not be the preferred choice, as he garnered just 6% compared to 25% for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Meanwhile, Trump landed atop the poll at 49% and is still viewed favorably by 65% of Republicans, including many of those who plan to vote against him. (Read more Mike Pence stories.)
(Newser)  A man who attacked police officers with poles during the riot at the US Capitol was sentenced on Tuesday to more than five years in prison, matching the longest term of imprisonment so far among hundreds of Capitol riot prosecutions. Mark Ponder, a 56-year-old resident of Washington, DC, said he "got caught up" in the chaos that erupted on Jan. 6, 2021, and "didn't mean for any of this to happen," the AP reports. "I wasn't thinking that day," Ponder told US District Judge Tanya Chutkan, asking her for mercy before she sentenced him to five years and three months in prison.

That was three months longer than the prison sentence requested by prosecutors. And it's the same sentence that Chutkan gave Robert Palmer, a Florida man who also pleaded guilty to assaulting police at the Capitol. More than 200 other Capitol riot defendants have been sentenced so far. None have received a longer prison sentence than Ponder or Palmer. Chutkan said Ponder was "leading the charge" against police officers trying to hold off the mob that disrupted Congress from certifying President Biden's electoral victory. "This is not 'caught up,' Mr. Ponder," she said. "He was intent on attacking and injuring police officers. This was not a protest."

Prosecutors said Ponder swung a pole at a Capitol police officer on the Capitol's West Plaza, breaking it against the officer's shield. After retreating into the crowd, Ponder grabbed a sturdier pole and used it to assault two other officers, hitting one of them in the left shoulder, before police detained and handcuffed him. Ponder has been jailed since his arrest in March 2021. In April, he pleaded guilty to an assault charge punishable by a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Federal sentencing guidelines called for a prison term ranging from nearly five years to just under six years, but Chutkan wasn't bound by those recommendations. Ponder has a substantial criminal record spanning three decades, including a 2008 conviction for bank robbery, according to prosecutors.

(Read more Capitol riot stories.)
(Newser)  Public safety officials in Langley, British Columbia promise to review the decision to issue public emergency alerts during a shooting rampage Monday, but they say the decision was appropriate, and theyre not happy with the way some citizens responded. Per CTV News, the first cellphone alert was issued at 6:20am as police were dealing with a deadly shooting rampage in the city. Irked by the early hour, some heavy-eyed residents dialed 911 to complain, provoking a scold from E-Comm, the province's emergency service dispatch service, reminding everyone that "general questions and complaints do not belong on 911."

Besides, E-Comm doesnt issue emergency alerts; the Royal Canadian Mounted Police do. They issued a total of three alerts Monday morning, by which time there had already been multiple shootings across the Vancouver suburb, with the first occurring around midnight, per CBC. In the end, two male victims were found dead; a female victim remains in critical condition. Per Reuters, the shooter was already wounded when police located him and "was shot dead at the scene by officers." He was identified as Jordan Daniel Goggin, 28, who had no criminal record, though he was known to local police. Authorities have not offered a possible motive, but they described the victims as "transients."

Goggin was already dead when the first warning was issued at 6:20am, but police didnt know at the time whether he was the only shooter, Global News reports. In a press conference, Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth justified the decision to alert the public. "Police were dealing with a very fluid and dynamic situation, they have learned lessons from what happened in Nova Scotia and in Vanderhoof." As the CBC reported late last year, policies around the use of the Ready Alert system were updated following a mass shooting in Nova Scotia 2020 that claimed 22 lives. The updated system was first used for an active shooter incident late last year when a gunman in a vehicle opened fire on police in Vanderhoof, BC. The suspect was later arrested and nobody was hurt. (Read more British Columbia stories.)
Everyone knew Biden had come to Saudi to politely grovel before its Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the potentate whom CIA claims ordered critical Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi kidnapped and chopped up into little pieces.

by Eric S. Margolis

In the Mideast, its customary for less important people to go call on their betters, not vice versa. The more important you are, the longer you keep callers waiting.

US President Joe Biden ignored all these customs on his recent pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia, whose de facto ruler he had previously termed a pariah.

Everyone knew Biden had come to Saudi to politely grovel before its Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the potentate whom CIA claims ordered critical Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi kidnapped and chopped up into little pieces.

Prince Mohammed denies any responsibility.

The real reason for Bidens supplication was, of course, the worldwide shortage of oil which was partly caused by the US-led embargo on Russian oil exports. Americans are deeply outraged by high oil prices which can be the kiss of death for many a politician.

Americans care about three things above all: gasoline, God and guns.

As everyone knows, gasoline prices have hit the roof just when US midterm elections are on the horizon. The Biden White House is rightly panicking as the presidents feeble approval ratings drop ever lower.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump sits in his Floridian version of Elba waiting for the time to return to power. No current Democrat looks capable of standing up to Trump. One even wonders if the frail-looking Biden will make it to election day.

Many Republicans question Bidens pouring of at least $74 billion in arms and aid into Ukraine (plus $5 billion to overthrow the democratically elected former government in Kiev). More US weapons are on the way to Ukraine.

Washingtons plunge into the Ukraine has threatened to provoke a nuclear clash with Moscow over a part of the world in which the US has never had any strategic or historic interest.

This matters little to most Americans or Congress. The US and Canada are swamped by pro-independence Ukraine agitation. To some, Ukraine has become a sort of second Israel and is seen as a potential refuge for persecuted European, or even Israeli, Jews.

Democrats will lose the election unless telegenic California governor Gavin Newsome decides to run for president from the perch once held by Ronald Reagan.

Bidens Democratic Party has long received substantial funding from ardently pro-Israel groups. Biden is a strong supporter of Israel, both its leftwing and rightist parties. Trump was a booster for Israels hard right-wing expansionists. He redirected US Mideast policy to suit Israels needs and curry favor with the Christian far right. Biden is simply continuing Trumps pro-Israel policies, albeit with a bit more subtlety and a bit less bible thumping.

The so-called Abraham Agreements forged by Trump & Co. were a cynical bad joke. They forced despotic Arab regimes to reveal that their under the table dealings with Israel that had been going on for decades. Saudi Arabia just beheaded 81 prisoners last week. The accords openly linked some of the Mideasts most repressive regimes and worst violators of human rights to oppose Iran.

As a former columnist for leading newspapers in Dubai and Qatar, I watched all this happen. First under Obama, Trump, and now Biden, the Mideasts people were relentlessly squeezed by dictatorial rulers backed and armed by the United States and Britain. The US Air Force and British RAF provided the aircraft, pilots, and ground crews that ravaged remote Yemen and slew large numbers of its people - just as they did in Afghanistan.

The Saudis, Egyptians and Emiratis hope to rule the Arab world and Red Sea littoral as cats paws for what I call the American Raj. Its brutal and cynical but readily understood by the Mideasts people.

Copyright Eric S. Margolis 2022
TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

The High Criminal Court is hearing the case of two African men who are accused of mugging a Bahraini man by using a toy gun.

The pair responded when they heard the accusations levelled against them by saying that they were drunk and unable to remember the event.

The Court decided to postpone the hearing until August 1, 2022 for review and to receive the defendants defense. Prosecution accused the defendants that on June 22, 2022 they had stolen cash from the victim after one man aimed a fake gun to his face while the other threatened him with a knife.

Fearing for his life, the victim stopped resisting which gave the defendants an opportunity to steal the goods and flee.

I was near an ATM machine in Sanad when the first defendant drew a knife, while the second defendant pointed a fake gun to my face which I thought it was real at that time. Cornered and frightened, I pulled out BD50 from my wallet after being struck on my waist. The two African men took the money and fled the scene, the 38-year-old victim told prosecutors.

The security cameras of the ATM were later on reviewed, investigation intensified and authorities were able to acquire the identity of both men, leading to the capture of the first defendant where he was asked about the incident and admitted to the accusations that were made against him. Tools that were used to commit the crime were discovered at his residence.
Agencies | Riyadh

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

Saudi Arabias Ministry of Health yesterday announced the detection of two new cases of monkeypox in the Kingdom.

According to a statement by the health ministry, this brings the total number of people infected with monkeypox to three across the Kingdom.

All of them had returned from Europe.

On July 14, the Kingdom announced the detection of its first case of monkeypox in Riyadh, a man who had returned from Europe.

It reassured everyone that the case is subject to medical care in accordance with the approved health procedures, in addition to that, all contacts were accounted for.

The ministry affirmed that it would continue its monitoring and follow-up work on the developments of monkeypox disease and announce in full transparency any cases that are reported, indicating its readiness and ability to deal with any development of the disease.

It recommends that everyone follow health instructions, especially during travel, through its official channels, as well as the Public Health Authority (Weqaya) or contact the call center (937) in case of any inquiry regarding monkeypox disease.

The World Health Organization declared on Saturday monkeypox as a global emergency in an attempt to contain an outbreak, which has so far infected about 17,000 people in 74 countries, mostly in Europe.
Sri Lanka is precariously unstable and the situation could even further deteriorate which could have serious implications for India.

by Rishi Gupta

Amidst Sri Lankan Crisis, Indias role stands critical to its Neighbourhood Policy and national security. India has extended holistic assistance to Sri Lanka by offering financial assistance worth USD 3.8 billion in the form of Lines of Credit, oil, medicines, grains, etc. On the security front, India is closely observing the maritime challenges that might cause instability in the Indian Ocean. There are also challenges concerning mass migration from Sri Lanka to India which will not be entirely political. In the past too, India has faced similar instances to Sri Lanka where humanitarian crises grew as a byproduct of political, security, and economic tensions.

As the closest neighbor to Sri Lanka, debates on Indias intervention have also caught unwanted attention in the local and international media.

However, India has always stood by the peoples aspirations and their democratic demands whether it was the Maoist Insurgency in Nepal or the present Sri Lankan crisis. The criticality of the Sri Lankan crisis, though, can be observed from the All-Party meeting held on July 19, 2022, on the Sri Lankan crisis, where Indias Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar briefed on the evolving situation in Sri Lanka, adding that it is a matter which pertains to a very close neighbor and given the proximity, we naturally worry about the consequences, the spillover it has for us.

Helping beyond Ethnicity and Culture

Despite all the highs and lows in the past, Sri Lankans see India as an immediate helping neighbor. While the refugee crisis will see a cultural base where Sri Lankan Tamils might reach out to the Tamil Nadu government for help, the refugee situation will not have a sole ethnic base. Sri Lanka has already begun to witness legal and illegal migration. For instance, the Sri Lankan Navy had reportedly captured 51 people attempting to migrate to Australia through sea routes, posing a security threat across the Indian Ocean and beyond. Therefore, India will have to prepare for the humanitarian crisis in the days to come.

Meanwhile, Indias economic assistance will have limitations in terms of its convincing viability against the perceived notions of India helping a particular family. India has already denied such allegations; especially, the rumors circulating in sections of media and social media that certain political persons and their families have fled to India. Therefore, India will have to establish a round-the-clock hotline in addressing these rumors floating on various media platforms including social media.

Balanced Assistance

India has already extended several lines of credit, support, and assistance to Sri Lanka but it will also have to look that these gestures do not overburden Indias global assistance program. Hence, multilateral cooperation at the assistance level shall be worked out for a stable and long-term helping presence. India will also have to ensure that its development cooperation in terms of education, and technical assistance continues so the educational institutions and basic needs of the people of Sri Lanka are fulfilled.

Stable Security Ties

India has pioneered in striking deep-rooted cooperation with the security forces across the world irrespective of circumstances and leadership there. Therefore, cooperation between the Indian and Sri Lankan Security Forces will be in the interest of the two countries for coordinating in humanitarian crises. For instance, Sri Lankan security agencies will be the front-line guardians and any food crisis or natural disaster will require Indian forces to coordinate with their Sri Lankan counterparts. Noteworthy, security forces are considerably more objective in their goals and provide stability in interaction with other countries which seems to be the need of the hour for Sri Lanka and India.

Way Forward

As Rajapaksas and veterans face public uproar, prospects of political and economic stability lie in better policies. With Ranil Wickremesinghe elected as the new President, solutions will not be too handy as his long-term political career has resulted in his unpopularity. On the external front, Indias continuous support to Sri Lanka is looked beyond the formal channels by the people of the island nation. Undoubtedly, China is a major spoiler and contributor to the Sri Lankan crisis and it will remain a distant spectator seeing the downfall of Rajapaksas.

In these circumstances, India must extend help, and must also look for multilateral cooperation based on democratic values to assist Sri Lanka. At the same time, the spillover effects will see instability in the domestic politics of India. To avoid a two-front challenge- externally from Sri Lanka and internally from Tamil Nadu, India will also need a humanitarian approach beyond ethnic and cultural connections. Above all, diplomatic channels must serve as the first and last resort to any pressing issue in Sri Lanka including in the worst-case scenarios where the Sri Lankan Army might take full control of the situation.

(The writer is a former IIS officer and freelance journalist. Views expressed are personal.)
Google, Microsoft and 11 other foreign multinationals have moved to comply with a Japanese legal requirement to register their global headquarters, it was revealed Monday.

For taxation and and consumer protection purposes, foreign companies operating continuously in Japan must register their overseas headquarters.

But many tech multinationals have registered only their Japanese arms. The Ministry of Justice told 48 companies this March to file the paperwork, Nikkei reported in June.

Google, Facebook owner Meta Platforms and Twitter are among 31 companies that indicated a willingness to comply. Of these, 13 had applied to register by the deadline of this past Friday, according to the Justice Ministry.

Six of the 13 had completed the registration process as of Monday afternoon, Nikkei has learned. These include Google and Microsoft.

Four companies have informed the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications that they will end operations in Japan, making them no longer subject to the registration requirement. The remaining 14 have yet to submit applications. ...continue reading
REDMOND, Wash. (AP)  Microsoft on Tuesday reported fiscal fourth-quarter profit of $16.7 billion, or $2.23 per share, falling short of analyst expectations for $2.29 per share  a rare disappointment from the tech giant that has consistently beat Wall Street expectations in recent years.

It posted revenue of $51.9 billion in the April-June period, up 12% from last year. Analysts had been looking for revenue of $52.94 billion, according to FactSet.

The company blamed a number of evolving macroeconomic conditions and other unforeseen items for affecting its financial performance, including pandemic-related production shutdowns in China, a deteriorating personal computer market, lowered spending on advertisements and the war in Ukraine, which led Microsoft to scale down its operations in Russia.

The company had already lowered its profit and sales estimates in early June based on what it described as unfavorable changes in the foreign exchange rate as the U.S. dollar surged.

A tough season for computer sales  blamed on supply chain disruptions and geopolitical instability  put pressure on Microsoft's personal computing business, which relies on licensing revenue from PC manufacturers who install its Windows operating system on their products.

Sales from those licenses dropped 2% from the same time last year, Microsoft reported Tuesday. That, along with a 6% drop in sales of Microsofts Xbox gaming-related content, dragged down the companys broader personal computing business segment, which grew just 2% to $14.4 billion for the quarter.

The market research firm Gartner recently said global PC shipments declined 12.6% in the second calendar quarter of 2022 from the same time last year, the sharpest decline in nine years. Another report by International Data Corp. estimates PC shipments declined 15.3% during that April-June period, the second consecutive quarter of lower shipments after two years of growth.

Growth of Microsoft's cloud computing business made up for some of its shortfalls elsewhere. Microsoft's cloud-based segment sold $20.9 billion for the quarter, up 20% from last year.

Microsoft's work-related software segment, which includes its Office suite of products, grew 13% to $16.6 billion for the quarter. That included a 26% increase in revenue from its career-focused social network LinkedIn, despite lower spending on ads on the service.

Microsoft is currently aiming to close on a $68.7 billion purchase of video game company Activision Blizzard, in what could be the largest-ever tech industry acquisition. The deal, announced in January, awaits approval from antitrust authorities in the U.S. and the United Kingdom.
Maiden Mineral Resource and updated Exploration Target reported under the JORC Code by Resilience Mining Mongolia Limited 1 for the West Kasulu prospect, within the Bronze Fox copper-gold porphyry project, located in the Southern Gobi, Mongolia

for the West Kasulu prospect, within the Bronze Fox copper-gold porphyry project, located in the Southern Gobi, West Kasulu prospect is open on strike and at depth, hosted within a small portion of the much larger mineralised Bronze Fox Intrusive Complex, which is one of three so far identified near surface and under explored intrusive complexes at the wider Bronze Fox project

VANCOUVER, BC, July 26, 2022 /CNW/ - Kincora Copper Limited (the Company, Kincora) (TSXV: KCC) (TSXV: ASX) is pleased to note the maiden Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate (Resource, MRE) and updated Exploration Target for the West Kasulu prospect reported under the JORC Code by Resilience Mining Mongolia Limited (Resilience)1. The majority of the MRE and Exploration Target are situated within the existing Bronze Fox mining license with the balance being on the adjoining Tourmaline Hills exploration licence (collectively the Bronze Fox project).

Sam Spring, President & CEO, commented:

Related Documents View PDF Mineral resource and updated exploration target for Bronze Fox (CNW Group/Kincora Copper Limited)

"The Bronze Fox project consists of one of the largest copper-gold systems in Mongolia with only modest drilling having been completed. The consolidated West Kasulu prospect has only had three years of unimpeded prior drilling activity, and is located on the margin of and is a small portion of one of three large and underexplored intrusive complexes identified to date at the Bronze Fox project.

The MRE, for the at and near surface portions of West Kasulu, and an Exploration Target, for the deeper part of the system, under the JORC Code1, has been commissioned and paid for by Resilience and reflect the proposed strategy to focus on, and derive value from, the potential for early development of the near surface oxide resource and shallow porphyry expansion potential, while seeking partners to fund deeper drilling. It is pleasing to see the scale of previous exploration efforts at West Kasulu further quantified, with the system remaining open along strike and at depth.

As noted in our July 8th press release, Kincora remains committed to extracting appropriate value from our wholly owned Mongolian assets for the benefit of our shareholders and seeing the projects move forward. We have worked with Resilience for a significant period of time, the door is still open to them, as our strategy remains focused towards active and systematic exploration activities in Australia."



1 The MRE and Exploration Target have been prepared by independent consultant DG & JG Larsen Consulting Pty Ltd and are reported in accordance with the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves 2012 (JORC Code), and is not based on Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM) definitions, and as a result the estimate is not recognized under National Instrument 43-101 of the Canadian Securities Administrators (NI 43-101).

On China's doorstep, trucking distance to the world's largest copper consumer

Recent significant investments in the Southern Gobi porphyry belt:

Oyu Tolgoi partners reach comprehensive agreement and approve commencement of underground mining operations (estimated total capex US$6.9 billion )  January 2022

)  Rio Tinto's US$2.7 billion cash offer to acquire remaining 49% of Turquoise Hill Resources and thereby increase its effective ownership in the Oyu Tolgoi project  March 2022

cash offer to acquire remaining 49% of Turquoise Hill Resources and thereby increase its effective ownership in the Oyu Tolgoi project  Xanadu Mining and its flagship Kharmagtai project, total staged investment of up to A$58 million from Zijing Mining (a global top 10 copper producer)  April 2022

Kincora's wholly owned Mongolian portfolio assets include the Bronze Fox mining license (the eastern license of the Bronze Fox project), Tourmaline Hills (the western license of the Bronze Fox project) and Red Well exploration licenses, the White Pearl camp and one of (if not) the largest project generation databases for Mongolia (refer to Figure 1 for recent regional activity).

The MRE and Exploration Target were commissioned and paid for by Resilience, meeting a condition precedent from the Joint Venture and Acquisition Agreement, and subsequent extension agreement, with Kincora. On July 8th, 2022, Kincora provided an update on the status of the Joint Venture Agreement with Resilience (see the press release "Kincora provides corporate update for Mongolian portfolio" for further details).

The MRE and Exploration Target have been prepared by independent consultants DG & JG Larsen Consulting Pty Ltd, and its principal Mr. David Larsen, and are reported in accordance with the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves 2012 (JORC Code), and is not based on Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM) definitions, and as a result the estimate is not recognized under National Instrument 43-101 of the Canadian Securities Administrators (NI 43-101).

Mr. David Larsen is a Member of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists, is a full-time employee of and the principal of DF & JG Larsen Consulting Pty Ltd and is a shareholder of Resilience. Mr. Larsen produced the Mineral Resource Estimate based on data and geological information supplied by Kincora and Resilience.

Mr Larsen has sufficient experience that is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity that he is undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 edition of the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Minerals Resources and Ore Reserves. Mr Larsen consents to the inclusion in this press release of the matters based on his information in the form and context that the information appears.

This announcement has been authorised for release by the Board of Kincora Copper Limited (ARBN 645 457 763)

About Kincora Copper

Kincora Copper is an active and systematic ASX and TSX-V listed exploration company (ticker "KCC") focused on world-class copper gold discoveries in Australia's foremost porphyry region, the Macquarie Arc, with the ambition to become the leading pure play porphyry explorer this region. Kincora is also seeking to realise value from its highly prospective portfolio of porphyry projects located in the Southern Gobi, Mongolia's foremost porphyry region. For further information please refer to www.kincoracopper.com

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain information regarding Kincora contained herein may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements may include estimates, plans, expectations, opinions, forecasts, projections, guidance or other statements that are not statements of fact. Although Kincora believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to have been correct. Kincora cautions that actual performance will be affected by a number of factors, most of which are beyond its control, and that future events and results may vary substantially from what Kincora currently foresees. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include market prices, exploitation and exploration results, continued availability of capital and financing and general economic, market or business conditions. The forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. The information contained herein is stated as of the current date and is subject to change after that date. Kincora does not assume the obligation to revise or update these forward-looking statements, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.

Qualified Person

The scientific and technical information in this news release was prepared in accordance with the standards of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum and National Instrument 43-101  Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101") and was reviewed, verified and compiled by Kincora's geological staff under the supervision of Paul Cromie (BSc Hons. M.Sc. Economic Geology, PhD, member of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and Society of Economic Geologists), Exploration Manager Australia, who is the Qualified Persons for the purpose of NI 43-101.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) or the Australian Securities Exchange accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE Kincora Copper Limited

For further information: Sam Spring, President and Chief Executive Officer: [email protected] or +61431 329 345; For media enquiries: Media & Capital Partners: Angela East at [email protected]; Executive office: 400 - 837 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, BC V6C 3N6, Canada; Subsidiary office Australia: Vista Australia, Level 4, 100 Albert Road, South Melbourne, Victoria 3205
PORT HAWKESBURY, NS, July 26, 2022 /CNW/ - Marine transportation is among the safest, cleanest, and most cost-effective ways to move goods. As we continue to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, Canadians expect a safe, efficient, and effective marine system that keeps our supply chain strong, keeps our coastlines clean, and protects local ecosystems. That's why the Oceans Protection Planin partnership with Indigenous Peoples and coastal communitiesis proactively ensuring Canada's world-leading marine safety system is stronger than ever.

Today, the Minister of Transport, the Honourable Omar Alghabra, alongside Mike Kelloway, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard and Member of Parliament for Cape BretonCanso, announced over $384 million in funding to strengthen marine safety as part of the next phase of Canada's Oceans Protection Plan.

Since 2016, the Oceans Protection Plan has invested in solutions to strengthen our marine safety system. Today's funding builds on these efforts and expands on new areas, such as:

Enhancing Canada's marine emergency prevention, preparedness, and response, including to cover more types of marine pollution beyond oil spills.

marine emergency prevention, preparedness, and response, including to cover more types of marine pollution beyond oil spills. Applying new technologies and building new partnerships with Indigenous Peoples and local communities to make marine shipping more efficient and reduce negative impacts on marine ecosystems.

Investing in technologies that will accommodate increasing traffic of cargo and vessels moving through Canadian waters.

Ensuring the safe movement and navigation of large and small vessels to improve safety on the water, and limit risks to marine species.

Augmenting the capacity of the National Aerial Surveillance Program with a new hangar and accommodations unit in Iqaluit to strengthen surveillance of marine pollution in the Arctic region.

The Oceans Protection Plan is a Canadian success story. When Indigenous Peoples, industry, communities, academia, and government work together to protect our environment, grow our economy, and support good jobs across the country, we deliver real results. A renewed and expanded Oceans Protection Plan will keep our oceans and coasts healthy, advance reconciliation, and build a clean future for our children and grandchildren.

Quotes

"A strong marine safety system is one that adapts to our changing environment, economy, and society. As we continue our economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and thanks to the important work of the Oceans Protection Plan, I am confident that Canadians will benefit from a world-class marine safety system that gives them access to the goods and services they need daily, that protects our ecosystems, and connects them to the rest of the world."

The Honourable Omar Alghabra

Minister of Transport

"With the longest coastline in the world, Canada's waterways are an essential part of daily life. Canadians need to feel confident that critical shipping lanes will remain open and safe, and that they can depend on a strong marine safety system. Thanks to the renewal of the Oceans Protection Plan, Indigenous Peoples, coastal communities, and mariners can rest assured that help on the water will be available should it be needed."

The Honourable Joyce Murray

Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard

"Canada has a strong marine safety system. In partnership with Indigenous partners and communities, we are making it even stronger. Safe and efficient marine transportation means a vibrant economy for today and a healthy marine ecosystem for the future generations of rural, coastal communities."

Mike Kelloway

Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard

"Our government is committed to protecting the health and safety of Canadians and the environment. This next phase of the Oceans Protection Plan will allow us to expand emergency preparedness, and strengthen partnerships with Indigenous and coastal communities to help protect our coasts and waterways. Our ability to prevent, plan for, and respond to a marine incident is critical for our marine ecosystems and to maintain a sustainable way of life for future generations."

The Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos

Minister of Health

Quick facts

The funding announced today is part of the Government of Canada's Budget 2022 commitment to provide $2 billion over nine years to renew Canada's Oceans Protection Plan and expand its work into new areas.

Budget 2022 commitment to provide over nine years to renew Oceans Protection Plan and expand its work into new areas. Since its launch in 2016, over 50 initiatives have been implemented under the Oceans Protection Plan, including:

opening six Canadian Coast Guard stations in British Columbia and Newfoundland and Labrador , and a seasonal inshore rescue boat station in Nunavut , to improve our ability to respond to marine incidents;

and and , and a seasonal inshore rescue boat station in , to improve our ability to respond to marine incidents;

significantly increasing emergency response capacity with the expansion of Indigenous-led Coast Guard Auxiliary units, emergency tow kits, new vessels, equipment, and training on all three coasts;



funding over 60 projects across Canada to restore coastal aquatic habitats that support species like salmon and the endangered Southern Resident killer whale;

to restore coastal aquatic habitats that support species like salmon and the endangered Southern Resident killer whale;

funding 500 projects to remove and dispose of abandoned boats across Canada and making it illegal to abandon your boat in Canada's waters;

and making it illegal to abandon your boat in waters;

supporting 750 women, Indigenous Peoples, Inuit, and Northerners to graduate from specialized training to qualify for jobs in the marine industry;



modernizing Canada's Ship-source Oil Pollution Fund so that the polluter pays and making unlimited compensation available to those affected by an oil spill;

Ship-source Oil Pollution Fund so that the polluter pays and making unlimited compensation available to those affected by an oil spill;

forming a bilateral agreement between Canada and 17 Pacific North Coast First Nations to advance collaborative oceans governance and management of British Columbia's North Coast; and

and 17 Pacific North Coast First Nations to advance collaborative oceans governance and management of North Coast; and

holding on average one session per day with Indigenous communities across Canada to plan, develop, or execute the Oceans Protection Plan priorities and actions.

Associated links

Multimedia

Transport Canada is online at www.tc.gc.ca . Subscribe to e-news or stay connected through Twitter , Facebook , YouTube, and Instagram to keep up to date on the latest from Transport Canada.

This news release may be made available in alternative formats for persons living with visual disabilities.

SOURCE Transport Canada

For further information: Contacts: Laurel Lennox, Press Secretary, Office of the Honourable Omar Alghabra, Minister of Transport, Ottawa, [email protected]; Media Relations, Transport Canada, Ottawa, 613-993-0055, [email protected]
A chartered accountant from Delhi was arrested by the Economic Offences Wing in Bhubaneswar for his suspected participation in the Punjab National Bank (PNB) loan fraud case.

The culprit, named as Neeraj Kumar, a resident of Bindapur in Uttam Nagar, appeared before the national capitals Court of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate. Kumar was transported to Bhubaneswar on transit remand on Monday and would appear before the Court of Sub Divisional Judicial Magistrate, Bhubaneswar, on Tuesday. In a statement, EOW stated.

The complaint was filed against the accused Kali Prasad Mishra, Proprietor of KP Solutions, and others based on a written report by a senior PNB employee in Bhubaneswar.

The accused was accused of obtaining a Rs 250 lakh Cash Credit (CC) loan as working capital from Punjab National Bank, Bapuji Nagar Branch, Bhubaneswar in 2017 by using fake/forged documents and mortgaging landed properties as collateral security that were recorded in the names of someone else without the knowledge of the land owners.

Investigation also revealed that Neeraj Kumar, a qualified Chartered Accountant was working in Punjab National Bank during the year 2013 to 2016 as Manager, Credit, in Saheed Nagar Branch Bhubaneswar along with accused Birendra Kumar Pattanaik who was also working as Chief Manager in the same branch, a statement said.

It was also revealed that Neeraj Kumar resigned from PNB in 2016 and that following his resignation, he used to sit in PNB, Bapuji Nagar Branch posing as a Bank official in which accused Birendra Kumar Pattanaik was the Chief Manager and was actively engaged in facilitating and arranging loans worth crores from PNB, Bapuji Nagar Branch.

Out of his earlier relationship with Birendra Kumar Pattnaik, accused Neeraj Kumar had free access to PNB, Bapuji Nagar Branch and was sitting inside the staff seating area of PNB, Bapuji Nagar Branch, posing himself as serving Bank staff/CA. He along with accused Prakash Kumar Behera (Still in Judicial Custody) and other Bank officials has arranged/facilitated the sanction of loans on the basis of forged documents and impersonation, and thereby caused wrongful loss to the bank to the tunes of crores and corresponding wrongful gain to themselves, the statement added.

During the investigation, it was discovered that one Srikant Prusty, Senior Manager, who verified the authenticity of the identities and addresses of the three guarantors/loanees had not visited the guarantors residences or interacted with them prior to the loans sanction during pre-sanction visits.

It revealed during investigation that Neeraj Kumar and Prakash Behera had identified the impersonators to the bank officer Srikant Prusty as genuine loanees and visited their fake addresses at Cuttack, it added.

It has also come to light that on the day of sanction of loan and subsequent to it, lakhs of rupees have been diverted/transferred of M/s K. P Solutions, Prop- Kali Prasad Mishra to the bank accounts of M/s Neeraj Kumar & Associates, Prop- Neeraj and to some others.

Earlier, accused persons namely Kali Prasad Mishra, Prop of M/s K P Solutions, Srikant Prasad Prusty, the then Senior Manager, Credit, PNB Bapuji Nagar, Birendra Kumar Pattnaik, the then Chief Manager, Narendra Nayak, the then Manager, both of Bapuji Nagar Branch, PNB, Bhubaneswar and Prakash Kumar Behera MD/Directors of M/s Ubique Multitech Private Limited, M/s Aziel Trading, And Marketing have been arrested in this case.

The accused also utilised a similar tactic in granting a loan of Rs 3.5 crores in favour of one M/s Lingaraj Enterprises against the mortgage of the complainants residential duplexes  Prasant Kumar Mohaptra  without his knowledge. The aforementioned property documents were really deposited in the bank by the complainant in order for him to obtain a loan of Rs 10 lakh.
Sonia Gandhi, the interim head of the Congress, is expected to appear before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday for her second round of interrogation in the money laundering case involving the National Herald newspaper.

On July 22, the ED summoned Congress President to attend the investigation into the National Herald case on July 26. The investigation agency first called her on Monday, but it was postponed by one day.

The Enforcement Directorate questioned the Congress head on July 21, and the interview lasted nearly two hours. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Sonia Gandhis daughter and party leader, had accompanied her to the ED office.

According to sources, Sonia Gandhi was asked over two dozen questions after which she asked to go home for her medication.

On July 21, the ED kept two doctors and an ambulance on standby as a humanitarian gesture, according to agency sources. Sonia Gandhis daughter and party leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was also permitted to visit the federal agency.

Congress leaders have opposed the ED summons to the partys interim chairman in several regions of the nation. The Delhi Police detained 75 Congress MPs, including Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, and numerous others for protesting the interrogation of the party president.

P Chidambaram, Ajay Maken, Manickam Tagore, KC Venugopal, Adhir Ranjan Chaudhry, Shashi Tharoor, Sachin Pilot, and Harish Rawat are among the senior Congress leaders. Those detained were Ashok Gehlot and K Suresh.

All MPs and leaders of Congress who were detained at New Police Line, Kingsway Camp were later released.

The protest by the Congress turned violent in Bengaluru as the Youth Congress workers allegedly set a car on fire, in front of the ED office.

Congress workers also stopped a train and blocked railway tracks at New Delhis Shivaji Bridge railway station.

Chandigarh Police also used water cannons to disperse Congress workers and leaders as they protested over the questioning.

Last month the ED questioned Rahul Gandhi for five days in the case.
On the 23rd Kargil Vijay Diwas, a wreath-laying ceremony was performed at the Kargil War Memorial in Drass to pay honour to troops who died in the 1999 Kargil War.

Kargil Vijay Diwas is observed annually on July 26 to honour the heroism and sacrifice of the troops who died in the line of duty during the Kargil War. On July 26, 1999, the Indian Armed Forces beat Pakistan. Since then, the day has been commemorated as Kargil Vijay Diwas to honour the soldiers who took part in Operation Vijay.

The day marks the victory of Indian soldiers in recapturing the mountain heights that were occupied by the Pakistani Army on July 26, 1999, known as the Kargil War.

The Kargil War was fought between May 8, 1999, to July 26, 1999, against Pakistan intruders, who in the winters of 1998 transgressed into the Indian territory across the Line of Control and occupied fortified defences overlooking the NH 1A in Kargils Drass and Batalik Sectors of Ladakh region with a nefarious aim of dominating all military and civil movement on the highway.

Several Indian leaders including the newly elected president Droupadi Murmu paid homage to the tributes of the martyrs and bravery of soldiers who fought the 1999 Kargil War.

Terming the day as a symbol of extraordinary valour, the Indian president tweeted, Kargil Vijay Diwas is a symbol of extraordinary valour, valour and determination of our armed forces. I bow to all the brave soldiers who laid down their lives to protect Mother India. All the countrymen will always be indebted to them and their family members. Jai Hind!.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also took to Twitter to salute all brave sons of the country.

Kargil Vijay Diwas is a symbol of pride and glory of Maa Bharati. On this occasion, my salute to all the brave sons of the country who have accomplished their valor in the defense of the motherland. Jai Hind!, PM Modi wrote on Twitter.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami paid tribute to the Kargil martyrs and said, We are proud of the valour of our soldiers. The whole world believes in the indomitable courage and valour of the Indian Army. He stated that Uttarakhand also has a tradition of sacrifice for the country while adding that in the Kargil war, a large number of sons of Uttarakhand sacrificed their lives for the defence of the country.

Earlier on Sunday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said the abrogation of Article 370 has brought a new dawn of hope to the aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

India has become a strong and confident nation which is well-equipped to protect its people from anyone who tries to cast an evil eye, said Rajnath Singh during an event organised to commemorate Kargil Vijay Diwas in Jammu on Sunday.

On July 24, several bands performed at a musical show titled Ek Sham Shahidon ke Naam in Drass town to pay tribute to Kargil war heroes.Locals and Indian army personnel took part in the music event.
One day after officials touted the passage of the Connecticut Clean Air Act, including plans for thousands of electric vehicles to hit the road, one of the state-run electric buses caught on fire over the weekend.

The blaze engulfed a CTtransit bus in a Hamden parking lot Saturday morning, sending two workers and a firefighter to the hospital, officials said.

Lithium ion battery fires are difficult to extinguish due to the thermal chemical process that produces great heat and continually reignites, Hamden fire officials said.

Two transit workers were hospitalized as a precaution after being exposed to the smoke. A firefighter was also taken to the hospital for heat exhaustion, officials said.

The bus was delivered in December and began service in January, CTtransit spokesperson Josh Rickman said.

The bus, last operated on July 20, on routes 243 and 265, and was not in service at the time of the incident, Rickman said. Bus fires are rare, but can occur similar to cars. This is CTtransits first fire incident with a battery electric bus. Bus operators, maintenance staff and others undergo extensive training and safety protocols are in place.

As a result of the fire, the electric bus fleet was pulled from service as a precaution, Rickman said.

The importance of rider safety is demonstrated by taking these buses out of service and ensuring a thorough investigation is completed prior to any redeployment of the fleet, Rickman said. We have deployed diesel buses to make sure people get to where they need to be.

The Saturday fire came one day after state officials gathered in New Haven, including Department of Transportation Commissioner Joe Giulietti, Gov. Ned Lamont, Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Commissioner Katie Dykes, to boast the success of the Clean Air Act that would restrict diesel vehicles and increase electric cars in the state.

There are approximately 800 buses that we are responsible for at the DOT that are being replaced with no-emissions electric models. Theyre quieter, they emit no emissions and they last longer, Giulietti said Friday.

In addition to the electric state-run buses, public school buses will also shift to electric models, according to the governors statement. The Clean Air Act will also prohibit the procurement of diesel-powered buses after 2023, according to the statement.

The bus fire in Hamden is still under investigation, DOT spokesperson Josh Morgan said.

The first battery electric buses came into service in the fall of 2020, Morgan said. Today, there are 12 electric buses in Connecticut, and approximately 50 planned to be ordered.

The first electric buses were placed in the Greater Bridgeport Transit Authority in fall 2020, with plans for three more, according to DOT.

The Bus Electrification Project, a partnership among DOT, DEEP and CTtransit, includes plans for electric public transit buses to be added across the state in the next few years. Twelve battery buses will go to New Haven and Stamford service areas, 10 in Waterbury and three in the University of Connecticut and Windham area.

abigail.brone@hearstmediact.com
As one Alex Jones defamation trial began Tuesday in Texas, a judge in Waterbury addressed a series of housekeeping matters related to Joness separate Connecticut trial, which is set to start in September.

During a virtual hearing Tuesday, Judge Barbara Bellis approved the withdrawal of one of Joness attorneys, Cameron Atkinson, who had cited a fundamental disagreement, with the defendant. Bellis initially appeared reluctant to grant Atkinsons wish to withdraw from the case, describing a musical chairs of attorneys representing the anti-government conspiracy theorist, but approved the request when informed that Atkinson will leave Pattis & Smith, LLC, the firm representing Jones, next month.

Atkinson had previously described an untenable position, in which communication with Jones has broken down.

Atkinsons withdrawal leaves Norm Pattis to represent Jones in his Connecticut trial, which concerns Joness repeated claims that the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre shooting was hoax. Pattis himself has attempted to withdraw from representing Jones on several occasions and earlier this month requested a greater role for Andino Reynal, a Texas attorney Jones trusts.

Bellis granted Reynal permission to sit at the defense table for Joness Connecticut trial but barred him from presenting evidence, examining witnesses or delivering arguments. Pattis said Tuesday that Reynal has decided not to attend, given that the judges order gives him no more rights than a spectator would have at trial.

Jones currently faces three separate defamation trials, including two in Texas and one in Connecticut, where the plaintiffs are an FBI agent who responded to the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, as well as eight families who lost loved ones in the tragedy. Jones has already lost all three cases, leaving juries to determine only what he owes the plaintiffs in damages.

Jury selection for Joness Connecticut trial will begin Tuesday, with the trial itself slated to start Sept. 6.

During Tuesdays hearing, attorneys for Jones and the Connecticut plaintiffs discussed a range of issues including how many alternate jurors to choose, how many peremptory challenges to allow and whether to conceal the towns where the plaintiffs live to protect their privacy. Both sides described these questions as minor and promised to reach agreements by Thursday.

Though Jones will not be required to be present for jury selection or trial, Bellis said she will not allow his attorneys to make excuses for his absence to the jury. Whereas Jones had previously objected to attending hearings due to business demands, his Texas attorney said Monday that his absence from the trial in Austin owed to medical issues.

I have no idea what the truth is, but I do know that I was previously misled about Mr. Joness attendance or lack of attendance at his deposition, Bellis said. So what I will not have is any excuses by any party as to why their particular client is or is not attending.

Pattis denied that he or his colleagues had misled the court but agreed to comply with the judges order.

alex.putterman@hearstmediact.com
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

MILFORD  A judge sentenced a Derby man who was drunk behind the wheel during a 2020 crash in Shelton that killed two passengers and paralyzed a third to serve 12 years behind bars Monday.

During Mondays emotional, three-hour sentencing hearing, nearly 50 friends and family of the victims filled the courtroom, with some speaking about the accidents effect on their lives.

Rakiem Reid, 32, pleaded guilty in March to two counts of second-degree manslaughter with a motor vehicle and a single count of second-degree assault with a motor vehicle before Judge Peter Brown in Milford Superior Court.

The late night crash on River Road Feb. 9, 2020 killed Adrian Josh Miles, 31, of Ansonia, and Lily Pirulli, 20, of Monroe  Reids lifelong best friend and girlfriend of about a month, respectively.

A third passenger, Meghan Nealy, Miles girlfriend and the mother of the couples then 3-year-old daughter, was paralyzed.

On Monday, Miles and Pirullis relatives told the judge of the toll their deaths took on the families.

Finally, Nealy spoke of her own devastating injuries and harrowing journey of recovery, which she said continues to the present.

Im still fighting every day, she told the judge.

Reid, whose blood alcohol content was nearly twice the legal limit, sustained a cut to his pinkie in the crash and checked himself out of a hospital three hours later against medical advice, according to Senior Assistant States Attorney Mary Sanangelo.

The prosecutor said that immediately after the crash Reid opened the door of the drivers side of his BMW  the only part of the car not destroyed  and walked up the embankment past his dead friends and Nealy without so much as calling 911.

Reids drunken indifference was disturbing and disgusting, Sanangelo said, unconscionable and the acts of a coward.

He would go on to tell police it was Nealy, not him, who had been driving.

Sanangelo said investigators saw the evidence plainly show that anyone who wasnt the driver would have been seriously injured or killed in the crash, but still had to undertake a lengthy accident reconstruction to disprove the lie.

Reid was driving his BMW south on River Road in Shelton about 11:30 p.m. Feb. 9, 2020 when he entered the northbound lane while trying to pass a Toyota RAV4 making a left-hand turn into Southbank Park and struck the other vehicle.

The car was going so fast that after the collision it crossed the northbound lane, went over a guardrail and then into several trees next to the road before rolling over downhill and coming to rest.

Once Shelton Police Detective Richard Bango obtained a warrant for his arrest weeks later, Reid was in North Carolina  and initially gave a fake name and date of birth to police who detained him there.

Reid, who lived in Derby at the time of the crash, had multiple convictions for driving under the influence and operating under suspension on his record.

As police pursued Reid, his victims families were putting their loved ones to rest and trying to make sense of what happened.

Pirullis father, a former Bridgeport police officer, said he had never met Reid. If he had, he wouldve looked into his background, he said.

Nothing can bring her back, Mario Pirulli said, not even the maximum possible jail time. He said Reid would have no idea of the calamity, and the casualty, and the hurt, and the pain he caused.

Miles was among 12 siblings, and would call each one every day, said his oldest brother, Kiyada Miles. If one didnt answer, hed Facetime them or show up to their house.

He said his brother was the type of guy who knew a lot about a little bit and a little bit about a lot.

If he didnt have a solution, he knew someone or who could call someone who did, Kiyada Miles said. He never gave up or turned his back on anyone.

Nealy said her injuries included fractured and dislocated vertebrae, broken ribs and scapula, a ruptured spleen, lacerated liver and kidney, dislocated hip, and so much internal bleeding her abdomen was left open after surgery to repair the damage because there was so much trauma they needed to give my body a rest.

She was put into a medically induced coma after crashing the day of Miles funeral with a collapsed lung, with a team of specialists from Hartford Hospital flown to St. Vincents in Bridgeport to transport her safely to intensive care.

Weaned off sedation weeks later, she prepared to see her daughter, Aliyah, again for the first time only for the COVID lockdown to thwart the reunion for months.

To say that I have survivors guilt would be an understatement, she said.

It hurts me every day thinking about how a 20-year-old girl and a man as beautiful as my daughters father were just taken away immediately, Nealy said Tuesday.

Reid cried throughout the hearing and throughout an apology to the victims, saying he made a horrible decision that night.

I am so sorry to Adrians family, to Lilys family, to Meghan and her family, and to my family, he said.

It was so stupid and then I made it worse by lying about it, Reid said. I am a coward like the prosecutor said I am, and I am a liar, and I deserve to be in jail, because I was wrong, so wrong, and I am sorry, so sorry.

The judge said the case had several troubling aspects before handing down the 20-year prison term to be suspended after Reid serves 12, the most possible under the terms of the plea deal.

Your record, your actions, and the devastating, irreparable consequences of your actions lead me to conclude that a significant period of incarceration is appropriate, Brown said.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

NORTH HAVEN  A 138-year-old Elks Lodge has a new home in North Haven.

Founded in 1884, New Haven Elks Lodge No. 25 was the 25th Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks lodge ever established and is the second-oldest lodge in Connecticut, according to Paul Salisbury, the lodges Exalted Ruler, a phrase Elks use to describe a chapters president.

The club previously was headquartered on State Street in New Haven, Salisbury said, but purchased a building at 80 Old Broadway W in North Haven about two years ago.

Over the past two years weve been remodeling, reshaping and reforming a rather old building into a brand-new, shiny lodge, he said, crediting the membership with putting together the lodge.

The Elks celebrated the buildings grand opening at a ribbon-cutting Tuesday morning.

Salisbury said a number of factors caused the chapter to move from New Haven to its suburban neighbor, not least of which was the parking lot on the new property, a feature Salisbury said the old location lacked.

We find that the accessibility of being where we are in North Haven is a tremendous asset of what we can do for the communities upon which we serve, he said.

Support from First Selectman Michael Freda and others in town also helped the Elks settle on the new location, according to Salisbury.

The lodge seeks to support the surrounding community through various activities, whether by providing scholarships, hosting events for youth or running food and clothing drives, he said.

Over the past year, the lodge has been donating items to a North Haven-based food pantry, Salisbury said, adding it also has donated to area shelters for victims of intimate partner violence.

Ahead of winter, the lodge will collect coats to give to those who need them, according to Salisbury.

The lodge itself has gone through many changes. It has morphed many times. But it has always continued in its  partnership with the communities that it has served, he said.

Asked whether the New Haven Elks Lodge No. 25 will continue to serve its namesake city despite the move, Salisbury said it would.

Our move to North Haven is not an abandonment, he said. Our move is a matter of survival.

Lodge No. 25 has had 10 locations throughout its history, including one in East Haven, according to Salisbury.

Its newest headquarters is a brick-and-wood building not far from Interstate 91. The lodge has a pair of elk antlers mounted above its front door and features a patio where members can enjoy time outdoors.

Inside, there are two main rooms. One features a cozy, wooden bar, where Elks gathered Tuesday ahead of the ribbon-cutting.

Around 11 a.m., Freda joined them, carrying a manila envelope. Inside was his own application to join the Elks.

Freda sees the lodge as an improvement to the neighborhood, which he described as a problematic area. Specifically, it has suffered from complaints of illicit drug transactions, he said.

The Elks headquarters will give the area a level of stability, Freda said, adding that many of its members serve the police and fire departments. He hopes the lodges presence will deter criminal activity.

The lodge marks a wonderful addition to the neighborhood, he said.

meghan.friedmann@hearstmediact.com
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

NEW HAVEN  Add the city school board to the growing chorus of those who say that reading levels in the New Haven Public Schools amounts to a crisis.

This needs to be classified as an emergency, said Board of Education member Darnell Goldson. It is embarrassing to see where we are in this city with education.

Data offered by Assistant Superintendent of Schools Ivelise Velazquez to the school board shows that only 17 percent of third-graders scored at grade level on this years state Smarter Balance Assessment test.

By eighth grade, the percent scoring on grade level rose to 28 percent.

For math scores, 12 percent of students districtwide scored at grade level.

Because of the pandemic, the state test was not given in 2020, and was taken by only a fraction of district students in 2021.

As such, Velasquez said its hard to compare the results with past years.

Dave Cruz-Bustamante, a new student member of the Board of Education, gave a student view of the situation.

At my school I see a lot of kids struggling with reading and writing. It is extremely concerning, said Cruz-Bustamante, a rising junior at Wilbur Cross High School.

Some have cited prolonged remote learning during the pandemic as a contributing factor in lower testing scores, but the situation has spurred a citywide debate on the best way to teach reading and prompted the Board of Alders to hold fact-finding forums and bring in experts to offer advice.

It is looking really, really bad, said school board President Yesenia Rivera at a virtual board meeting Monday, pressing district officials for a plan to turn things around.

At the state level, legislation is requiring all districts to adopt a reading curriculum that focuses on the science of reading by July 1, 2023. While the district has announced it plans to spend the 2022-23 year developing its plan, school board members Monday vowed to become more involved.

We have to be all in, said Goldson. It cant just be the administrators trying to fix this.  We need to take a certain level of responsibility for what is happening in the system.  We cant come back next week and not have a discussion about moving the needle.

Board Vice President Matt Wilcox said it was important for district administration to share whatever specific intervention plans it has so that pockets of success seen in some schools can become systematic across all 28 elementary schools in the city.

He also suggested that peer districts, such as Hartford, be tapped to figure out why some schools and some classrooms manage to mitigate issues including poverty, language and other factors to help students become readers.

Velazquez agreed there should be a call to action.

The problem is there are structural issues that need to be addressed, Velazquez said, including making sure all kindergarten through third-grade teachers have the training and support they need.

We need to build capacity, Velazquez said. It is a tall order.

Some district teachers have called for the district to move away from a so-called balanced literacy approach that includes teaching students to figure out words through pictures and other clues. Many, including Sara Levine, a reading teacher at Barnard School, favor a structured literacy approach that focuses on phonics and teaching students to sound out words.

As she has at several meetings over the past school year, Levine implored the board during the public comment portion of Mondays meeting theto adopt a phonics-based approach to reading, which she said is proven to work.

Levine is teaching coding to second-graders at summer school, and said the students have no problem learning to code  but said many had difficulty with spelling when she asked them to rename the project title to car.

How is it possible that students who learn coding in a week do not know how to spell car, Levine said.

Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills, or DIBELS, an online assessment administered by the district, suggests the district is seeing some pockets of success at teaching students to decode, or sound out, words.

Superintendent of Schools Iline Tracey, however, said sounding-out is just one component of reading.

The whole backdrop to reading is comprehension, Tracey said.

Another assessment the district gives asks students to read passages and answer questions. By the third round the district has seen some improvements. Building comprehension takes time, Tracey said, but also requires everyone to work together.

This year, efforts were made to use COVID relief funds to hire more teachers, reduce class sizes and offer more teacher training.

Velazquez said there also was an effort to focus on the structure of the districts five lowest-performing schools. By adjusting teacher schedules, creating more planning time and using data to inform instruction, those schools no longer score at the bottom on DIBELS tests, she said.

The plan is eventually to bring that focus to other schools.

The state was expected to release a list of recommended reading programs on July 1. The district is still waiting, according to Velazquez.

Board member Ed Joyner said learning to read is influenced by more that the program used or the training teachers receive. Home environment, absenteeism, resources and state mandates also are parts of the equation, he said.

This past year, the district reported a 54 percent chronic absenteeism rate, defined as students who were out of class more than 10 percent of the time. That rate is the highest it has ever been, Tracey said.

Mayor Justin Elicker, a member of the school board, called the numbers deeply concerning.

I also agree it is important to see other districts, other urban districts, and trend lines compared to ours, Elicker said.

While Tracey and Velazquez promised a comprehensive game plan is in the works, Wilcox said it is important to share specifics as soon as possible, perhaps starting with a board Teaching and Learning Committee meeting this week.

So people know something is being done, Wilcox said.
On a bustling Friday morning, the aroma of rice and beans wafts through a cloud of hairspray in Romys Beauty Salon in Meriden. Merengue music soothes the senses. Customers exchange pleasantries in Spanish as Romy Norwood offers each a small bowl of arroz y habichuela, the Dominican staple of rice and beans. Later in the day, Norwood repeats the courtesy with small mugs of strong coffee, cafecito, prepared by her mother, Yolanda Sosa, in the kitchenette in the rear of the shop. Unlike Norwood and her mother, most clients arent wearing a mask.

Neither Norwood nor anyone in her immediate family has been infected with COVID-19. Norwood, 46, and her husband, Jeffrey Norwood, 65, live in Cheshire with their children Jennifer, 14, and Ramon, 12, and their dog, Zeus. Since the start of the pandemic, Norwood says, they have been vigilant about wearing masks, social distancing and getting tested and vaccinated. Two beloved aunts succumbed to COVID in the Dominican Republic, where Norwood grew up, but everyone else in her family has remained healthy, including 73-year-old Sosa, who splits time between Norwoods Cheshire home and her own home in the Dominican Republic.

By all accounts, Norwood and her loved ones appear to have dodged the most severe health outcomes of COVID. This is especially good news for the Norwoods since Black and Hispanic families have been disproportionately impacted by the virus in health outcomes and as small-business owners. According to a report by the U.S. Small Business Association, the total number of people who were self-employed and working declined by 20.2 percent between April 2019 and April 2020. Hispanic people experienced a more significant decline, at 26 percent. The biggest declines were experienced among Asian and Black people, with 37.1 percent for Asians and 37.6 percent for Blacks.

Norwoods beauty salon was shuttered for almost six months during the pandemic. I didnt have an emergency plan, Norwood says in Spanish. Some clients died of COVID, and others simply have not returned to her salon. She decided to forgo a federal PPP loan and incurred credit card debt. She estimates her business has returned to 75 percent of its pre-pandemic performance.

One way or another, COVID will get you, Norwood says about the mental fatigue her family has experienced. She says hypervigilance, anxiety and fear have crept in, replacing many of the happy feelings they had when they settled in Connecticut. The disease has taken an emotional toll on the family. They have been uninfected yet greatly affected by COVID.

Seeking refuge from COVID

While taking a leisurely Sunday drive through Meriden in 2006, Norwood was attracted to the citys quiet beauty and spirit. There were Black and brown people like her and Jeffrey. Spanish was spoken in bodegas. At the time, the couple was living and working in West Haven after having met in The Bronx. Norwood also liked that Meriden was far enough away from West Haven that she would not work in direct competition with her former beauty salon employer. So, she and Jeffrey, a physician at the West Haven VA Medical Center, moved to Meriden, and she opened Romys Beauty Salon on West Main Street. They lived in the upstairs apartment. In 2007, they were married in Jamao al Norte, Norwoods hometown in the fertile Cibao region of the Dominican Republic.

In Meriden, Norwood established a loyal clientele, and the couple started its family. Business was good. They became parishioners at Saint Rose of Lima Catholic Church, where today Norwood serves as a eucharistic minister and a leader on the parish council. As Jennifer and Ramon grew up, the family began to vacation two or three times a yearthe Bahamas, Mexico, Italy, Punta Cana. They went on cruises.

In March 2020, the Norwoods flew to the Turks and Caicos Islands to seek refuge from the global pandemic. Looking over their shoulders on the flight from Bradley International Airport, they realized they were the only passengers on the plane, Norwood says. When they arrived at Providenciales, Norwood recalls, tourists were scrambling to leave the island. The last flight to the United States departed shortly after their arrival. They initially embraced the lockdown in their hotel room, thinking they would weather the hype and fly home to normalcy.

Then all flights were grounded in Turks and Caicos. A curfew was imposed. They were permitted outdoors for one hour a day. Groceries at the local supermarket were rationed. Food quickly became a scarce resource. Leftovers, Norwood says, became the dreaded meal of the day. They were stuck, marooned on a tropical island, and werent even allowed to swim.

Then the hotel manager demanded $10,000 a week from Jeffrey Norwood to remain in their room beyond their original reservation. So, they found an online rental, bought linens and rid the house of cockroaches. It was a mess, Norwood says. They hunkered down.

Their only outside contact was Zeus, a scroungy, flea-infested watchdog.

At first, the family didnt have much to do with the spotted pit bull-dalmatian mix. They kept their distance. Could he transmit the virus? Norwood recalls thinking at the time, given the widespread uncertainty about COVID. Zeus was always hungry and thirsty. He scratched at their front door at night. Later they would learn he had been whipped with sticks and left outdoors during hurricanes.

Then one day, Zeus joined the family members on a walk during their one hour outdoors. When he was grazed and injured by a passing vehicle and began yelping, recalls Norwood, they decided to allow him into the house to clean him up and help him heal. Thus began the process of adopting Zeus.

The Norwoods spent a month on the island before Jeffrey chartered a private jet to fly his family home to Connecticut. They submitted the paperwork for Zeus. A month later, Jeffrey drove to Miami, picked up Zeus and returned to Cheshire.

I believe Zeus is an angel, says Norwood, her eyes sparkling, as she recounts how the Turks and Caicos misadventure represents both the best and worst of their pandemic experiences. God sent him to care for and protect us, she says. Today, she says, Zeus is king of the house. He has three beds, all the food he wants, adding that he adores her mom.

Up to here with COVID

COVID has affected the Norwood family in myriad ways.

Were without life, Norwood says in Spanish while taking a break between clients at her salon. No more family movie nights with popcorn, she says. No vacations. No romantic getaways. No games. No fun.

There have been a few weekend trips to New Hampshire, where they rent a house, but they take their food and sequester, Norwood says. The kids dont want to go back to New Hampshire, she says, because they arent allowed to leave the house. Im up to here with COVID, says Norwood. I dont want to hear anything else about COVID.

She says her moms help at home and in the salon has been unconditional. After the debacle on Turks and Caicos, Norwood described how she would come home from the salon, strip down in a separate area and shower. Her moms Dominican cooking was always waiting for her. My mother is everything to me, she says.

Her husband is fearful of getting COVID. Norwood says her husband doesnt talk about what he has experienced as a physician on the front lines. He still wears two masks and goggles or a shield, whether hes getting gas or going to a Mets game, Norwood says. In 2018, the couple relocated to Cheshire for its schools. When they returned to school, Jennifer and Ramon had fallen behind. Norwood says Jennifer has become less sociable and more of a homebody. She avoids crowds lest she be exposed to the virus. She has been bullied at school, where classmates have ridiculed her hair and body type. Her children have become anxious, Norwood says.

During the spike in infections last December, Norwood decided to keep Ramon home from school until the end of February, when he turned 12 and was eligible for the adult vaccine. She felt the higher dosage would be more protective and worth the wait. However, school officials hounded Norwood about Ramons absence. She suspects online instruction is purposely inferior to persuade parents to return their children to school.

Tengo temor porque el COVID es impredecible, Norwood says in Spanish. Im fearful because COVID is unpredictable. It may not affect you at all or it may send you to the hospital, she says. She fears for her children and her elderly mother. With all of her precautions, clients still sneeze while touching their hair, face and shoulders, she says. Many have later called to inform her that theyve tested positive. Jeffrey prefers that she close the salon and not work, she says.

I got the works, says longtime customer Jeannette Solano, 53, of Meriden, about getting her hair washed, colored and beautified by Norwood on a recent Saturday afternoon. For Solano, the salon experience is a reprieve from the daily grind of the pandemic. Estaba muy triste, she says in Spanish, I was very sad about Norwood salons hiatus in 2020. Describing Norwood as friendly, humble and fun to be around, she says she stops in once a month. Romy does it right, she says, explaining how a hairdresser recently damaged her hair during a visit home to the Dominican Republic. Solano has received two doses of the Moderna vaccine, she says.

During an afternoon lull at the salon, the air conditioner quits. Norwood sits down and asks Sosa to wash her hair. A few minutes later, Norwoods back on her feet. At the end of her 10-hour shift, the salon is quiet. Norwood sits beneath a hair dryer, elevates her bare feet and closes her eyes for 20 minutes. I need this, she says.

In July, Norwood, her children and her mother plan to vacation for three weeks in her pueblo Dominicano, Jamao al Norte. Jeffrey is not going, she says. I miss my life before COVID. I miss the freedom. The river, the food, the people, the beach, says Norwood during a break between clients. I cant wait.

This story was reported under a partnership with the Connecticut Health I-Team , a nonprofit news organization dedicated to health reporting.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP)  The U.S. is sending a high-profile diplomatic delegation to visit the Solomon Islands next week led by Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and including Ambassador to Australia Caroline Kennedy.

The U.S. State Department said Tuesday the trip is to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Guadalcanal and for the diplomats to meet with Solomon Islands officials to highlight the enduring relationship between the two nations.

The visit will hold particular personal interest for Sherman and Kennedy, whose fathers both fought there during World War II.

And it comes after the U.S. and several Pacific nations expressed deep concern about a security pact the Solomon Islands signed with China in April, which many fear could result in a military buildup in the region.

The trip will also highlight the reopening of the U.S. embassy in the capital, Honiara, which is part of an express U.S. strategy to counter China's growing influence.

The U.S. previously operated an embassy in the Solomon Islands for five years before closing it in 1993.

Kennedy has just begun her role in Australia after formally presenting her credentials on Monday. When she arrived in Australia last week, she told reporters the Pacific region was critical and I think the U.S. needs to do more.

"Were putting our embassies back in and the Peace Corps is coming, and USAID is coming back and were coming back, she said.

Kennedy said the Pacific held great personal significance because her father, the late President John F. Kennedy, had served there during World War II and "was rescued by two Solomon Islanders and an Australian coast watcher.

Sherman's father Mal Sherman was a Marine who was wounded during the Battle of Guadalcanal.

As well as Sherman and Kennedy, the delegation will include Kin Moy, a state department principal deputy assistant secretary, and Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Stephen Sklenka, the deputy commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.

During the Aug. 6-8 trip, Sherman is scheduled to give speeches at Skyline Ridge, the site of the U.S. Guadalcanal Memorial, and at Bloody Ridge.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

WEST HAVEN  The citys Savin Rock Festival kicks off Friday in Old Grove Park, featuring live music, a midway, and boatloads of seafood and more, according to a release.

Sponsored by University of New Haven and New England Brewing Co., this years headline acts will be Parkway Diner on Friday and The British Legends of Rock Show on Saturday, it said.

The festival runs from 5-10 p.m. Friday and noon to 10 p.m. Saturday.

According to the city, a bigger and better midway will offer games and rides including a Ferris wheel, said George Marenna Jr., who owns Marenna Amusements, with wristbands for unlimited rides for $30 and a sheet of 21 tickets for $20.

The festival once again will feature a craft fair, as well, the release said.

Nonprofit organizations will set up informational booths, and a fleet of food trucks on Palace Street will offer food including burgers, hot dogs, cheesesteaks, fried dough, gyros, lobster rolls, tacos and meatball bombs  and dessert trucks will feature cannoli, ice cream, cupcakes and kettle corn, according to the city.

Resident-only parking for vehicles displaying a valid, affixed beach sticker will be available in the lots on Oak Street and Altschuler Boulevard, the release said; free overflow parking for residents and nonresidents will be available in the grass lot on Oak Street, across from the Surfside public housing complex.

Mayor Nancy Rossi will open the festival with remarks at 5 p.m. Friday.

Musical acts on Friday will include The Navels performing the best of Fleetwood Mac and Stevie Nicks at 5:30 p.m., followed by Parkway Diner, playing songs by Billy Joel and Elton John and hits of the 70s and 80s, at 8 p.m.

Saturday will feature a Touch-a-Truck event on the right side of the Oak Street Beach parking lot off Captain Thomas Boulevard until 4 p.m., and at noon, 1 and 2 p.m., members of the West Haven Fire Department will demonstrate the departments 35-foot smoke trailer and show children what to do in the event of a fire.

Tre Paul, a trio anchored by retired city police Detective Sgt. Paul Raucci on drums, will open the musical lineup at 4 p.m. by playing a 90-minute set of rock, oldies and singalongs, according to the release. At 6 p.m., Echoes of Sinatra, fronted by Frank Sinatra tribute artist Steve Kaz, will perform, and at 8 p.m. The British Legends of Rock Show will feature British rock from the 60s and 70s.

In case of rain, all bands will perform in the West Haven High auditorium, 1 Circle St.
Some Nigerians on social media, Tuesday, expressed displeasure over the resumption of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gb...

Some Nigerians on social media, Tuesday, expressed displeasure over the resumption of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila in a university in the United States of America amidst the lingering strike action by the Academic Staff Union of Universities.

Academic activities in public universities in Nigeria have been shut down for close to 162 days.

ASUU had on February 14, 2022, announced the commencement of industrial action following the failure of the government to meet some lingering demands of the union.

Gbajabiamila had on Tuesday tweeted via his verified Twitter handle, @femigbaja that he had gone back to the Harvard Kennedy School.

Back to class. In a leadership course @havard @Kennedy_school. Forget the number of grey hairs, one is never too old to learn.

Commenting on the development, a Twitter user @Santos tweeted, Sir? What is your take on the five months ASUU strike in Nigeria as the leader of law-making arm of Nigeria govt? The university students have being at home for five months.

Do you honestly think that showing us pictures your Harvard lecture class is the best at this moment?.

Another Twitter user, Halidu Adamu, tweeted, The irony. These guys are completely desensitised. Tweeting about attending classes in a foreign university while ours at home have been locked for months. ASUU needs to wake up and smell the coffee, this action is not leading anywhere constructive.

Another Twitter user, Akintunde Babatunde, also tweeted,  If universities in the USA were to be on strike, how will you be able to experience a working system? Walk around and see how basic things works in a normal university? Lets hope youll return and use your influence to make our educational institutions work.

Under the tenure of Gbajabiamila as the speaker of the house of reps, ASUU embarked on strike for close to 12 months, nine months in 2020 and close to six months in 2022.
Idris Wase, deputy speaker of the house of representatives, says the Department of State Services (DSS) shared 44 intelligence reports bef...

Idris Wase, deputy speaker of the house of representatives, says the Department of State Services (DSS) shared 44 intelligence reports before the attack on the correctional facility in Kuje.

Wase spoke on the floor of the green chamber during the plenary on Tuesday.

He made the remarks while speaking on a motion sponsored by Abubakar Yallemen from Jigawa state, on the need to halt the federal governments proposed nationwide ban on commercial motorcycles.

On July 5, gunmen attacked the correctional facility in the federal capital territory (FCT) and freed hundreds of inmates, including suspected Boko Haram members.

Wase said though the ban on commercial motorcycles will affect transportation system in local areas, it is necessary to check insecurity.

For most of us  90 percent of my community if not 99 percent  this is the only means of transportation, he said.

We appreciate his motion and sensibility, but in line with our principle to help in curbing the incessant insecurity in our country, we have to cooperate with the government.

You cannot imagine what is happening today in Abuja. Ill confirm to you that I went through the DSS report  44 reports were given before the attack on Kuje.

I want to say so. I want to confirm to you  44. I read through all the reports and it all has to do with this.

There is no community that one attack or the other will happen that you will not have intel, and this is part of the intel that they had given as to what is exactly going to happen. So, we have to cooperate with the government.

THE MOTION

In his motion, Yallemen had said the proposed ban on motorcycle operations will render millions of Nigerians jobless, which could be catastrophic for a nation grappling with high unemployment and poverty rates.

According to him, the ban will inflict untold hardships on the generality of Nigerians as it is a common means of transportation among the citizenry, and may provide the terrorists with a pool of desperate youths to recruit.

He, however, stepped down the motion after Wase advised that the ban is aimed at tackling insecurity.
The Kaduna State Governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, has declared a three-day public holiday in the state to enable residents to complete thei...

The Kaduna State Governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, has declared a three-day public holiday in the state to enable residents to complete their voter registration exercise before the July 31 deadline.

The governors Special Adviser on Media and Communications, Muyiwa Adekeye, said in a statement on Tuesday.

The statement urged all eligible voters to seize the period to register so as to be in the position to exercise their voting rights.

The statement partly read, The Kaduna State Government has appealed to residents of the state to register to vote before July 31, 2022.

The state government has also declared July 27 to 29, 2022 as public holidays to enable more citizens to complete their voter registration.

The statement from the Sir Kashim Ibrahim House urged all eligible residents of the state to seize this window to register to vote, and to therefore be in a position to exercise their right to vote.

The statement disclosed that the government requested all employers to actively support their staff to register before the Independent National Electoral Commission closes voter registration on July 31, 2022.
One of the three Abuja-Kaduna train victims released on Monday, Barrister Hassan Usman says the Federal Government failed to secure their ...

One of the three Abuja-Kaduna train victims released on Monday, Barrister Hassan Usman says the Federal Government failed to secure their release.

He cried vehemently for the remaining victims still in captivity.

Usman, a lawyer, was among the 63 Abuja-Kaduna train passengers abducted in March 28, 2022.

He was among the remaining 43 victims who received serious beating on Sunday, before his eventual release, alongside two others on Monday, around 11 a.m.

While speaking with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), he expressed gratitude to God for regaining freedom.

He begged the United Nations, the United Kingdom and the entire International Community to intervene in the release of the remaining hostages in the terrorists den.

Usman, who said the government failed to rescue the captives, said that on Friday, families of the victims attempted to rescue them, but the government did not allow them to proceed on the journey.

He added that another attempt made on Monday was successful, leading to the release of the three of them from captivity.

Asked if ransom was paid before their release, he said, I dont know whether ransom was paid to rescue us.

He said the bandits erected makeshift shelters to shield them from rain, adding that they fed them, according to their capacity.

At times, they even slaughtered cattle and sheep for us. Even yesterday, they slaughtered a cow and we ate; we thank Allah, he said.

According to him, because of the governments attitude, they (bandits) were angered and they thoroughly beat them.

This makes me to pity those that are still with them in the forest, he said.
Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom has urged the Federal Government to honour the agreement it voluntarily entered with the Academic Staff U...





Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom has urged the Federal Government to honour the agreement it voluntarily entered with the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU for the union to call off its strike.





Governor Ortom made the appeal today, Tuesday, July 26th, 2022 while addressing members of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC Benue State Chapter who embarked on a two-day sympathy protest in support of ASUU.





The Governor who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Professor Tony Ijohor said it was unacceptable, the inability of the Federal Government to resolve her issues with ASUU resulted in students staying at home for more than five months.





The Governor said the Benue State Government was in full support of the sympathy protest by the NLC as well as other actions it intends to embark upon and promised to take their grievances to appropriate quarters.





Governor Ortom also called on the Federal Government to revisit its no work no pay policy to armtwist ASUU into submission, saying the honourable thing to do was for the Government to address all the issues raised by the union.





The Governor disclosed that his Government would sit with the Joint Action Committee of NASU AND SSANU of the Benue State University within the shortest possible time with a view to negotiating and solving their issues.





Earlier, the Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress in Benue, Comrade Godwin Anya said the union has decided to take over the issue between ASUU and the Federal Government because of the insensitivity on the part of the Federal Government.





Comrade Anya who read a letter from the National President of the union demanded immediate payment of withheld salaries owed members of ASUU, accept the proposed payment system by ASUU as well as settle all other issues raised by the union.
Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, on Monday offered a solution on how Nigeria can gradually end insecu...

Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, on Monday offered a solution on how Nigeria can gradually end insecurity in the country.

In an interview on Channels Televisions Politics Today, Obi said his solution to insecurity in Nigeria should be decisive and immediate, insisting the more people are removed from poverty, the more criminality is reduced.

The former Anambra governor also said that every state should be placed in charge of its own security.

Obis comments come a few hours after the terrorists who attacked an Abuja-Kaduna train on March 28, 2022, released three victims out of the 62 hostages who they abducted.

The terrorists had on Sunday released a disturbing video showing victims being flogged, even as the terrorists threatened to sell some into slavery and kill others.

Reacting to the development and others across the country, the Labour Partys Presidential Flagbearer, said there are so many things that he would put in place to stem the tide of insecurity, most of which he cannot mention on air at the moment.

To improve the security situation in Nigeria, as President, I will ensure the economy works and more people are pulled out of poverty, Obi said.

The more you remove people out of poverty, the more you reduce criminality. It is critical and important, as long as the economy continues to head south like we are seeing today, your criminality will be rising.

I have said it repeatedly that if I have the opportunity, every state will be responsible for their security.

I will make sure that the governors are given the powers to secure their state. Even if we have federal police there, they will be responsible and report to the governor.

Additionally, the state will be allowed to have their own security system if the need be.
Former federal lawmaker, Senator Shehu Sani has expressed sadness over the killing of soldiers by terrorists in the Federal Capital Territor...





Former federal lawmaker, Senator Shehu Sani has expressed sadness over the killing of soldiers by terrorists in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.





Recall that gunmen suspected to be terrorists had attacked some officials of the 7 Guards Battalion of the Nigerian Army Presidential Guards Brigade in Bwari Area Council of the FCT.





The attack lead to the death of several soldiers while others were left seriously injured.





There have been other terrorist attacks in the territory in the last few days.





Shehu Sani, a former governorship aspirant in Kaduna State, in a tweet on Tuesday, revealed the identity of one of the soldiers who recently paid the supreme price.





He condoled with the family of the deceased and the entire Nigerian Army.





The tweet reads, Jauro Ibrahim Suleiman; One of the casualties of the aftermath of the terrorist attacks in Abuja yesterday.





We appreciate your life of service and sacrifice. May Allah grant him Aljanna. My condolences to his family and @HQNigerianArmy.
The Police Public Relations Officer in Cross River State, SP Irene Ugbo has confirmed that six suspects behind the kidnap of a student of Ar...

The Police Public Relations Officer in Cross River State, SP Irene Ugbo has confirmed that six suspects behind the kidnap of a student of Arthur Jarvis University last Tuesday have been killed.





She disclosed that they were killed during gunfire exchange with a police team yesterday.





She said the police team was relentless soon after the incident, and had to unleash its dragnets throughout the surrounding forests where the victim was suspected to have been dragged into on the night of her abduction in he school premises.





She said, The six suspects were killed during a shootout with the crack team that smoked them out.





Remember we warned earlier that any criminal in the State should leave Cross River. We have moved to the next stage. We are going after the criminals very hard this time, eve in their hideouts. No more warning, enough is enough.





We want to assure law abiding citizens to go about their lawful activities. We urge them to always share information with us because security is everybodys business.





Speaking on the feat, the founder and chancellor of the University , Sir Arthur Jarvis Archibong commended the cooperation and efforts of the security agencies, particularly the police for their professionalism in rescuing his student.





He said the security forces were tireless and committed during the rescue exercise, which led to the neutralisation of the suspects.





He debunked the speculation that the school was forced to close as a result of the invasion of the school and abduction of the student.





We were billed to close by Friday last week, before the incident happened. So the news making the rounds that we closed indefinitely is absolutely false.





We want to assure every parent and ward that the safety and welfare of their children, our students are keys, he said.





He assured that the school had taken measures to forestall further occurrence of such security breach.
Shan George and Halima Abubakar have clashed over alleged s_x scandal involving them and Apostle Johnson Suleman, the general overseer of ...

Shan George and Halima Abubakar have clashed over alleged s_x scandal involving them and Apostle Johnson Suleman, the general overseer of the Omega Fire Ministries International.

Over the weekend, a report had claimed that the cleric allegedly had an affair with some Nollywood stars including George.

But in an Instagram post on Monday, the actress denied the claim, adding that she had never met the cleric.

George, however, said she respects Suleman because he speaks for the downtrodden.

One of the kindest and straightforward persons I know is Apostle Johnson Suleiman. Just like in his numerous sermons, he says it blunt as it is, and thats something I respect in people, she wrote.

Not everything is about intimacy. As for Gistlover, hes one person Ive never met but have a lot of respect for as well. Because he speaks for d downtrodden and dont care if bullet hits him.

Me I no fit deny my people wey I respect. But I never at anytime dated the Apostle. I be water, I no get enemy.

Reacting in the comment section of the post, Halima, who has also been accused of having an affair with the cleric in the past, called Shan a bloody gossip.

Lol Shan Shan, you forget Wetin you tell me right? Omg. No look for my trouble Shan George. I hail you, she wrote.

Bloody gossip. I drove with you for 12 hours. what was ur topic? A word I didnt utter. you fall my hand.

Seemingly shocked at her response, George wondered what informed Halimas reaction, adding that her initial post was not directed at her.

Sweetheart weve been colleagues and sisters in d industry for over 20yrs now, we all talk plenty of things when we are all girly girly, jolly, or at work, she replied.

But how does that translate to me looking for ur trouble please? Did I by any chance mention ur name anywhere on my post? I sincerely dont understand. Please, whats going on? How did this become you and me matter?.





Halima, however, fired back at George, warning her to respect yourself.

She further took to her Instagram story to drag George while accusing her of being a hypocrite.

Shan George how dare you, Shan! You are an elder, respect yourself. Dont make me talk. You are a hypocrite. You told me shit about Sule. Are you okay? Both of you told me in fact, you dey craze, she added.

Dont try me o. I am ready for you all. My secret is out, I will bear the backlash but dont post lies. Call lawyers Oya. Its like you all are mad.

The development comes as Steph Nayah, the actress, also called out Iyabo Ojo for denying her alleged affair with Suleman.

In a now-viral post, Nayah claimed she met Suleman at Mombasa in Kenya and they got along thereafter.

The actress also alleged that she had sex with the cleric in Dubai before he invited her to Nigeria.

Nayah alleged that when she came to Nigeria, she stayed in Ojos house.

The film star claimed Ojo and Suleman had an affair, alleging that they had threesome with the cleric during her stay in the house.
Senate Chief Whip, Orji Kalu has revealed why some citizens labelled him a money ritualist. The former Governor of Anambra State wen...

Senate Chief Whip, Orji Kalu has revealed why some citizens labelled him a money ritualist.

The former Governor of Anambra State went down memory lane in a Facebook post.

Kalu recalled that in 1982 when he bought the latest Mercedes car, the then President Shehu Shagari was the only Nigerian using the same.

Whenever I drove the car, some would look at it with admiration while a few were spreading rumors that I was into money rituals.

Unfortunately things havent changed much today, people still think that you wake up and make money without working for it, he wrote.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain told people to stop entertaining the blackmail that he was in politics for money, declaring that he has lost more of it.

After I left as governor, I stayed away from politics for 12 years. I returned in 2019 when it was obvious the zone was going into trenches and for the sake of the people.

Noting that his return has paid off for the Abia North zone beyond expectations, Kalu boasted he could resign as a senator because he spends personal money while serving the people.

The politician added that in Nigeria, people who have done no business except holding public office are hailed while those who have worked hard are called names.

The best you can do is to study people and try to be better than them. For the life we live is not for ourselves alone but for God and to then accommodate other people, he said.
Watertown, NY (13601)

Today

A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible early. Overcast. Low 58F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible early. Overcast. Low 58F. Winds light and variable.
Prince Lobo gets fired up just greeting the day. Check out any of the videos of him stepping outside his familys Ethiopian restaurant Addis NOLA to proclaim the daily fresh start and you get a feel for the fashion he brings.

Lately, he said some extra spark with big plans now taking shape.

The tiny restaurant by the corner of Tulane Avenue and Broad Street will soon move to much larger location on Bayou Road.

Addis NOLA will take over the former location of Cajun King, a buffet restaurant at 2514 Bayou Road. It is slated to open here in October as renovations progress; Addis NOLA remains open at its original location in the interim.

The move will double the restaurants capacity and will add amenities like a full bar for cocktails and casual dining, and a coffee ceremony stage, a designated area for the aromatic ritual of coffee roasting that Lobo now showcases in the dining room.

The move will also put Addis NOLA in the midst of a historic corridor with many other Black-owned hospitality businesses and a diversity of other small operators.

I just think that being part of that corridor is big for us, Lobo said. Its our vision to continue building the community.

Building bridges in hard times

The need for a larger location was spurred by moves Lobo and his family made during the pandemic.

It was his mother Biruk Alemayehu, a professor at Southern University at New Orleans, who started the restaurant in 2019. After one year in business the pandemic up-ended everything. But through the tumult, Lobo pursued collaborations with other restaurants and businesses around the city, striking the tone of solidarity and also introducing more people to his familys traditional flavors. Addis NOLA also became a familiar presence at local festivals.

Food and restaurant news in your inbox Every Thursday we give you the scoop on NOLA dining. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up

As business began picking up the spring, the impact of all that work showed up with many new customers coming to their door. Sometimes a long wait for a table could ensue.

Were going to be able to do more for guests and get more creative with what we bring to them," Lobo said. "And as a mom and pop, this is creating more opportunities for our team.

The core menu will continue, including a range of stir-fry and stew dishes imbued with berbere, a heady blend of garlic, ginger, cumin, coriander and other spices that is a signature flavor of Ethiopian cooking.

Many are served over injera, the bubble-pocked, stretchy, crepe-like flatbread. The essential delivery system for many Ethiopian dishes, injera traditionally takes the place of utensils  you tear up bits of it to get after those meat and vegetarian dishes.

Lobo said the new location will give Addis NOLA a chance to expand the menu, and also develop a setting more evocative of Ethiopia.

We want to make this space feel like were transporting you to Ethiopia, he said.

Collaborations will continue, including a block party to debut the new restaurant space at its opening this fall and a series of dinners with guest chefs. That includes Serigne Mbaye, creator of Dakar NOLA, a Senegalese pop-up and communal dining concept, who was a finalist for the James Beard Foundations Emerging Chef award, a national honor.

To develop its bar, Addis Nola is working with Turning Tables, the local nonprofit that consults with hospitality sector and is working to increase equity for people of color in the bar and spirits business.

They do amazing work, we think we can make that a beautiful addition to our business, Lobo said.

Addis Nola

422 S. Broad St., 504-218-5321

+19 New Orleans chicken master turns to fried turkey for the holidays (and no, its not Popeyes) The fried chicken flies out the door on a normal day at McHardys Chicken & Fixin, and Rahman Mogilles moves fast around his kitchen to o

+12 A fruit vendor opens his own shop on Bayou Road, where police once ran him off Mannie King has a knack for bringing the fresh flavors of his Froot Orleans business where people want it, even if they didnt necessarily expect it.
As Louisiana prepares to enter the most active weeks of the hurricane season, an Entergy representative said the public should be prepared to go without power for up to 21 days in the event a Category 4 storm hits the area, and seven days for a Category 1 storm.

The restoration timeline  offered during a presentation Friday to the Kenner City Council  tracks with estimates Entergy provided to local government leaders last August, days before Hurricane Ida walloped southeast Louisiana, roaring ashore near Grand Isle as a Category 4 storm.

At the time, Entergy warned that Ida had the potential to leave residents and businesses in the dark for up to 21 days, if not longer. For most residents in Orleans and Jefferson parishes, the blackout lasted for about 10 days.

Still, the outages left more than a million households and businesses without power in Louisianas sweltering summer heat and is seen as a factor in at least a dozen heat-related deaths in New Orleans alone.

+21 As hurricane season begins, concerns still loom over power after extended outages during Ida A new transmission tower is rising over Avondale as hurricane season begins, replacing the structure that crumpled onto the Mississippi River

According to Entergys estimates, the public should be prepared to go without power for up to seven days for a Category 1 storm; 10 days for a Category 2 storm; 14 days for a Category 3 storm; 21 days for a Category 4 storm; and more than 21 days for a Category 5 storm.

For a Category 1 storm, prepare for a week without power. Heres the slide from the presentation. pic.twitter.com/yq8mw8kAzA  Blake Paterson (@BlakePater) July 22, 2022

Those are all the timeframes that we are telling customers to use as a potential for an expected outage timeframe if you do stay behind and a hurricane does hit and makes a direct landfall here, Patrick Hamby, an Entergy customer service manager, told Kenner Council members.

NOLA Business Insider The biggest stories in business, delivered to you every day. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up

With a Category 1 hurricane, we expect to have 90% of customers restored within 7 days  10% of the customers could have a little bit longer depending on the damages, he said.

Council members offered little comment during Hamby's presentation. Kenner was among the hardest-hit areas of metro New Orleans.

David Freese, a spokesperson for Entergy Louisiana, said no two storms are alike, and slow-moving systems, like Hurricane Isaac in 2012, can make restoration efforts more difficult. He noted that lingering winds of more than 30 mph can prevent line workers from using bucket trucks.

Our pre-landfall restoration estimates are based on historical experience with storms and are meant to help customers and our communities prepare for the potential of being without power for an extended period, he said.

Entergy Louisiana, which supplies power to roughly 1.1 million customers in 58 parishes, excluding Orleans Parish, spent around $2.5 billion restoring power following Ida, Freese said. Those expenses  along with other storm restoration costs from 2020 and 2021  will be passed on to ratepayers, with the average customer seeing an increase of $9 to $10 on their monthly bills.

The impact on customers of Entergy New Orleans, the utility company's Orleans Parish subsidiary, remains to be seen, but rates could rise later this year if the New Orleans City Council approves a $150 million plan to finance the company's storm repairs.
Brazilian president rejects sanctions against Russia to guarantee fertilizer imports

Xinhua) 10:12, July 26, 2022

SAO PAULO, July 25 (Xinhua) -- Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro reiterated Monday his opposition to economic sanctions against Russia, in order to retain the supply of Russian fertilizer imports to Brazilian agribusiness.

"We are not going to adhere to sanctions (against Russia). We maintain a balanced position because without Brazil's balance on this issue today, we would not have fertilizers for our agribusiness," Bolsonaro said during the Global Agribusiness Forum 2022 in the city of Sao Paulo.

The president defended the country's decision to maintain trade ties with Russia to ensure food production.

"Without fertilizers, our guarantee of food security and that of 1 billion people in the world would be threatened," he added.

Bolsonaro also noted that in December his government decided to expand the national fertilizer program in search of alternatives to imports.

Brazil, Latin America's largest economy, is the world's leading soybean producer and the world's leading exporter of animal protein.

(Web editor: Wu Chaolan, Liang Jun)
NHLANGANO  Hosea primary and high school pupils abandoned lessons yesterday and marched over 15 kilometres to Hluti in commemoration of one year since MPs Mduduzi Bacede Mabuza and Mthandeni Dube were incarcerated.

The pupils informed this publication that they held the commemoration by marching to Hluti Police Station to demand answers of a petition they delivered to the police last year, demanding the release of incarcerated Hosea and Ngwempisi Members of Parliament (MPs), among other things.

Speaking to the Times of Eswatini, the Head Teacher of Hosea Primary School said as soon as they started lessons in the morning, Hosea High School pupils entered the primary school premises and disturbed lessons. The high school pupils, according to the head teacher, persuaded the primary school learners to join them, and they did.

Commemoration

She said the pupils informed them that yesterday marked a year since the two MPs were arrested, hence the commemoration. They marched with the primary school pupils towards Hluti, she said. Along the way, the pupils were singing political songs. Upon arrival at Hluti, they were joined by some elderly women, who were seen dancing and further went with them to the police station. At the police station, they were attended to by the station commander and desk officer who were recently posted to Hluti Police Station. It was said that the pupils were told that the new station commander and desk officer knew nothing about the said petition but promised to enquire from their bosses.

The pupils reminded the police officers about the contents of the petition they delivered last year. Among the issues was that of the MPs release. They told the officers to stop assaulting unarmed protestors; that police were supposed to leave Hosea residents alone and stop raiding and destroying their fields, among other things. The pupils also told this publication that they would return to the police station in two weeks for an update from the station commander.We are not going to continue learning until we get the responses, narrated one of the pupils.Shiselweni Regional Education Officer (REO) Siboniso Gumbi confirmed that lessons were disturbed at Hosea primary and high schools as pupils protested.

We were called by the head teacher and we advised that she locks the gate and ensure the property of the school was safe, said Gumbi.

Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Superintendent Phindile Vilakati confirmed that they attended to Hosea primary and high schools pupils yesterday. She declined to divulge information on the response they gave to the pupils.
MBABANE  Ahead of the secondary by-elections at Siphofaneni Inkhundla this Saturday, some concerns have been raised on how the primary by-elections were held.

As such, the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) has been warned not to rig the elections. Former Siphofaneni Member of Parliament (MP) Mduduzi Gawuzela Simelane, who the elections are meant to fill his seat after he lost it last year due to missing 21 Parliament sittings, said he was warning the EBC not to rig the elections as he was anticipating it. Simelane said his suspicions were brought about by some incidents that happened during the primary elections at KaMkhweli Umphakatsi. The secondary elections are scheduled for this coming Saturday where a winner to replace Simelane will be elected.

Simelane narrated that his wife Lomalungelo LaZwide, who is contesting, informed him about an incident that happened at KaMkhweli. Simelane said his wife narrated that the EBC opened two voting streams (classrooms) but assigned one agent to keep an eye on them. Simelane said this left one of the voting streams (classroom) without an agent to keep watch on it, stating that such opened room for the rigging of the elections. Simelane said his wife and other candidates during the primary elections raised this concern with the EBC. He said LaZwide wrote to the EBC who in turn acknowledged the concern.

He said in its response, the EBC said it would fix the matter during the secondary elections by providing two agents to monitor the two streams.

Simelane claimed that there were many other unprocedural things that happened during the primary by-elections, but he would not divulge them at this stage. The former MP, who is now president of the Swaziland Liberation Movement (SWALIMO), added that another red flag was that all the contestants made campaign posters which had EBC logos, but claimed only LaZwide received a letter from the EBC, informing her to withdraw the poster because it had the organisations logo. Why not write letters to all of them? asked Simelane.

Contestants

However, this publication engaged the other contestants on this matter and they stated that they were also engaged by the EBC to remove the commissions logo. Sabelo Ngcamphalala, who hails from Ngevini Umphakatsi, said he also received a letter from the EBC after he used the commissions logo in his campaign posters. He said the EBC, in the letter, informed him not to use the commissions logo as it was prohibited to use another entitys property without having consulted it or sought permission. Moshoeshoe Nkambule who hails from Mandlenya Umphakatsi said he had designed his posters after the EBC engaged them not to use their logo. He said they were served with the letters not to use the logo as a reference that some candidates had used it yet this was prohibited.

Nonetheless, Simelane said during his campaigning phase in 2018, his posters had the EBC logo, same with the other candidates at the time. Ngcamphalala concurred with Simelane on this one as he also wondered what had changed now because those who were contesting in 2018 used the EBC logo without any issues. He said he believed that adding the EBC logo on the posters should not be an issue as it could be evidence that indeed the candidate was contesting in legal elections. In response, EBC Communications Officer Mbonisi Bhembe said though in 2018 he was not with the commission, what happened at the time did not mean that candidates should be allowed to use the logo this time around as it was illegal. He said if it happened in 2018, it was a mistake that the commission was now correcting. Bhembe said there was no discrimination on the issue of the logo, but all the candidates contesting for the by-elections were engaged by the commission not to use the logo.

According to the letter written to LaZwide, EBC explained that she (LaZwide) did not request to use the EBC logo and, therefore, her action was unlawful and amounted to undue influence in that affixing the EBC on her campaign material created an impression that the EBC was behind her as a candidate to the detriment of other candidates. The letter said by her conduct, she compromised the independence and impartiality of the commission which was specifically criminalised as undue influence under Section 78 (1)(d) of the Elections Act 6/2013 which states that; a person shall not directly or indirectly, by oneself or by any other person interfere with the independence or impartiality of the commission, any, member, employee or officer of the commission.

The former MP said due to the stated scenarios and the others he could not reveal, he was warning the EBC not to dare rig the elections on Saturday.

Simelane explained that by this warning, he was not necessarily saying his wife should be the winner. For me, rigging is not defined by LaZwide winning or not winning. It is defined by following the laid down laws and standard procedure that we know. Free and fair elections are what I am calling for, said Simelane. When asked on how he would know if the elections were rigged, he said he knew laws and standard procedures governing the elections so they would know when they have breached them. We will keep an eye on every move and spot any anomaly, added Simelane.
SITEKI  Two police officers were assaulted with one being stabbed for allegedly singing a song usually sung during the Incwala Ceremony.

The incident happened around 1am on Saturday in one of the drinking spots at Siphofaneni, in the Lubombo Region. The 31-year-old police officer, who was stabbed, is currently receiving medical attention in one of the hospitals after he sustained severe stab wounds in his upper body. The law enforcers identity is known to this publication but will not be disclosed for now for safety reasons. According to a source close to the matter, the injured officer joined the police service in 2017 and it was unfortunate that he has become a victim of the ongoing spate of police shootings, attacks and killings across the country.

Beverages

The source, *Themba, who is also a police officer, said they were enjoying alcoholic beverages at Siphofaneni Town and they left the drinking spot after it was closed. He said they went to another drinking spot not far from where they were initially enjoying themselves. The source informed this publication that due to lack of space in his car, the officer who was later stabbed, could not be accommodated and he joined their other friends and colleagues as they walked to the next drinking hole. Narrating the incident, Themba stated that he was informed by the others who were with them that they were not the targets on the night but the Solidarity Forces were looking for two of his colleagues, who were not in their company.

Solidarity Forces are said to be a group of unknown individuals, who according to some online publications, have taken ownership of the spate of killings of police officers and soldiers, as well as the sporadic arson attacks. Themba mentioned that his colleagues sin was to sing one of the songs commonly sung during the Incwala Ceremony while walking towards the other drinking spot. This, according to Themba, angered some of the men in their company, resulting in one of them drawing a knife and repeatedly stabbing him in the upper body.

Stabbed

He said he had been informed before reaching the crime scene that those who stabbed his colleague called them (police officers) Mangololo as they repeatedly stabbed the law enforcer. Themba said he made some calls enquiring why they had not reached the drinking spot they were walking to and that was when he discovered that his colleague had been stabbed several times. He mentioned that he was also attacked but managed to overcome his assailants when they assaulted him with fists after he confronted them about the stabbing of his colleague and managed to escape to a secluded area.

According to Themba, this happened when he went to the scene where he found out that the others had left his colleague sprawled on the ground.

He further mentioned that the men who stabbed the police officer approached his vehicle when he alighted to check on his injured colleague and he fought them, and sustained minor bruises on his head and body. Themba added that he called for back-up and an ambulance to take his injured colleague to hospital. He stated that he was informed that his colleague was transferred to a hospital in Manzini around 8am on Sunday, since he had sustained severe internal injuries.

Ambulance

I immediately rushed to the scene and then my car ran out of fuel and I called an ambulance that whisked him to a hospital in the Lubombo Region and he was subsequently transferred to a hospital in the Manzini Region, due to the seriousness of his injuries, Themba said. A sister of the stabbed officer confirmed having been informed about the incident but indicated that she was currently residing in the Hhohho Region. One of his colleagues called to inform me about what had happened to my brother. I reside in the Hhohho Region and I am yet to inform my siblings about the incident, *Gugu said.

Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Superintendent Phindile Vilakati confirmed the incident. The matter has been reported and he is currently recuperating in hospital. Police are conducting investigations around the circumstances leading to the incident, she said. The stabbing of the police officer happened on the backdrop of a recent shooting and killing of a police officer, Bonginkosi Dlamini (46), who is said to have informed the officers he was travelling with that they should tell the Solidarity Forces not to approach him as he would retaliate. This was after some officers supposedly advised him not to walk to his house as he was still in his uniform. It was said he decided to walk to Matsapha Police Academy, where he was stationed, because it was daybreak and a number of people were already out and about.

Killing

It was gathered that his assumption was that the killing of law enforcement officers previously occurred at night. Dlamini was shot dead at Mathangeni, along the Ndlunganye  Police Academy Public Road. According to a family member, Dlamini had forgotten his mobile phone charging at the guard point, where he was working at night. Following this, Dlamini was said to have requested officers who were travelling in a bus from His Majestys Correctional Services (HMCS), which was yet to depart his duty station, to bring with them his cellphone. In order to get his cellular phone, he alighted at Ngabezweni Bus Stop to wait for the officers who were bringing his phone with them. He disembarked from a Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) bus, which was to drop him off at his destination, which was about two kilometres away. While Dlamini walked towards the Matsapha Police Academy, a gunman alighted from a white Nissan NP 200 bakkie, with South African registration numbers.

The bakkie drove past him while his assailant crossed the road and walked behind him. The gunman reportedly pulled the police officers jacket and Dlamini did not respond. The assailant shot him in the base of the head (where the head links with the neck). Another police officer, Sibusiso Elphas Matsebula, was killed about 500 metres from his duty station - Matsapha Police Station. A gunman, who shot the traffic police officer based at Sigodvweni Police Station, reportedly cocked his gun in front of street vendors before shooting Matsebula. According to eyewitnesses, the shooter was walking on the pavement along the main road before he crossed to the shopping complex where a police sedan, assigned to the Traffic Department, was parked.

Shot

Another officer, Zinhle Mavuso from northern Hhohho, was shot dead and her colleague was shot in the chest. This incident happened in the wee hours of Saturday in the outskirts of the Manzini Central Business District (CBD). The Times SUNDAY reported that there were two gunmen who carried out the shooting and it was suspected that they used pistols or hand guns. The male officer was reportedly shot in the chest and had to be rushed to hospital for treatment. During this attack, it was said at least 14 gunshots were fired at the motor vehicle that was being used by the two officers to patrol around the area, to ensure that the heavy plant machinery being used by two construction companies was safe from the arson attacks currently being witnessed countrywide.

Gunmen

Meanwhile, Matsebula is the third State security agent to have been shot dead by unknown gunmen. Last month, a member of the Umbutfo Eswatini Defence Force (UEDF) was shot dead by gunmen who attacked him at his home where he was reportedly holding prayer at New Village. Another attempt in killing police officers was witnessed last month when two traffic officers were aimed at by gunmen while they were inside the REPS Malagwane Cooling Station. The first instance was when a member of the UEDF was targeted by an unknown gunman. It has been gathered by this publication that the soldier was shot while within a vehicle he was driving. Impeccable sources claimed that the soldier saw the gunman pulling out the weapon beneath his jacket. The soldier was said to have failed to flee from the scene as his vehicle was in close proximity to the one ahead of him.

NB: *Not their real names
Roads were cleared and people ordered to shelter indoors throughout Taiwan on July 25, as the islands democratic government conducted drills simulating a missile attack by communist China.

A pre-announced missile alert text message was sent by the government, and sirens blared to life, announcing the mandatory drills early in the afternoon. Whole cities across northern Taiwan were effectively shut down as streets were closed and businesses shuttered for half an hour.

Shops turned out their lights to lessen the chance of being a target in the event of a nighttime air raid, and firefighters practiced putting out a blaze caused by a faux missile strike.

Air raid drills are required by law in Taiwan, where the populace frequently must contend with near-constant intimidation and military posturing by its neighbor China.

Such drills have gained a certain edge in recent months, however. The island raised its alert level following the Russian invasion of Ukraine due to fears that a newly emboldened China could launch an invasion of Taiwan.

It is necessary to make preparations in the event of a war, said Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je in a speech following the drills

Chinese military planes have frequently harassed Taiwan in recent years and theres even the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war in February, Ko added. These incidents remind us that we need to be vigilant in peace time.

The drills coincided with the launch of five days of war games, during which the Taiwan military will mobilize dozens of fighter jets and 20 naval vessels to simulate an attack by China.

The first two days of the exercises will focus on air defense and preservation, followed by joint assault operations across the air force, navy, and army on day three. Days four and five will focus on homeland defense.

China Threatens Taiwan and the United States

The drills come just days after a series of headline-catching threats from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership, which objected to reports that U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was planning a visit to Taiwan.

The CCP threatened forceful measures against the United States and Taiwan should Pelosi go to Taiwan. Following the threat, President Joe Biden said that Pelosi should not go to Taiwan, a move that brought public condemnation for apparently placating CCP aggression.

The back and forth was just the latest in a line of increasingly bellicose threats from Chinas communist leadership, however.

In June, Chinas Defense Minister Wei Fenghe threatened U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, saying that China would not hesitate to start a war no matter the cost to prevent the world from recognizing Taiwans independence.

Following the dustup, Beijing issued an aggressive and ahistorical statement that there were no international waters in the 100 miles of ocean between the mainland and Taiwan. This, despite the fact that international waters begin just 12 nautical miles from the coast.

The ratcheting up of tensions and Taiwans preparation for Chinese missile attacks is similar to the Third Taiwan Strait Crisis, which took place in 1995 and 1996.

During that crisis, Taiwans then-President Lee Teng-hui accepted an invitation to deliver a speech at Cornell University on Taiwans experience of becoming a democracy. The CCP labelled Lee a traitor for his efforts and launched missiles into the waters near Taiwans busiest ports.

Further disaster was averted when the United States responded by sending two aircraft carrier groups to the region.

Failures of Ambiguity

The CCP claims that Taiwan is a breakaway province of China and has vowed to unite the island with the mainland. Its leadership has not ruled out the use of force in that endeavor.

Taiwan has been self-governed since 1949, and has never been controlled by the CCP. Its democratic government has vowed to defend itself and its de facto independence from Chinese aggression.

The United States recognizes the CCPs claim, but maintains a 1979 treaty with Taiwan in which it guaranteed to supply Taiwan with the arms necessary for the island to maintain its own self defense.

For its part, the United States maintains the contentious policy of so-called strategic ambiguity, in which it neither confirms nor denies whether it would intervene militarily on Taiwans behalf in the event of a CCP invasion.

The strategy of ambiguity is intended to make Chinese authorities think twice about behaving aggressively toward Taiwan. The recent slew of CCP aggression may suggest that Chinas leadership does not believe the Biden administration would overtly assist Taiwan in a war, however. As such, numerous lawmakers have demanded that the policy of strategic ambiguity be terminated.

From The Epoch Times
HAMMOND  An Amtrak train traveling from Washington, D.C. to Chicago was delayed for more than five hours after hitting a vehicle stopped on the tracks east of the Hammond-Whiting station Tuesday morning.

The crash occurred just after 8:30 a.m. Tuesday morning. Amtrak spokesperson Marc Magliari said none of the 175 passengers or crew members were injured. The trains' locomotive was damaged, so it could not continue to Chicago.

There were no injuries to passengers or crew on the train, Magliari said.

A train traveling from Grand Rapids, Michigan to Chicago connected to the damaged train.

The connected trains arrived in Chicago at about 2:14 p.m. The arrival of both trains was delayed by just over five hours. The departures of multiple west-bound trains were also delayed so passengers arriving late to Chicago could make their connections.

Magliari said Amtrak is currently working with local authorities to investigate the incident.

"How the vehicle came to be on the tracks, I dont know, Magliari said.

Local law enforcement could not immediately be reached for further information.

Incidents like this morning's crash "serve as critical reminders about the importance of obeying the law and of exercising extreme caution around railroad tracks and crossings," Magliari wrote in an email to The Times.

Federal data shows that a train makes contact with a person or vehicle every three hours.

Amtrak works with the nonprofit Operation Lifesaver to educate about railroad safety. Magliari said further information on train safety is available at StayOffTheTracks.org.
"The adult male driver of the striking vehicle sustained minor injuries and was transported to St. Francis Hospital in fair condition," police said. "A second male passenger of the striking vehicle, possibly an adult also sustained minor injuries and was transported to St. Francis in good condition. The adult male driver of the Rav 4 was transported to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center with unknown injuries and condition."

The driver of the black sedan was placed into custody after the crash.

"Three parked unoccupied vehicles were also struck in this incident," police said. "There were no other injuries reported and citations and charges are pending. Area Three detectives are investigating."
Airbus 320 crash-lands in Colombia

Bogota, July 26 (UNI) An Airbus 320 aircraft of the Colombian airline, Avianca, flying from Medellin to Bogota did an emergency landing at the airport in the capital here after one of the engines failed, local media reported on Tuesday.

The flight 9351 suffered an engine failure shortly before arriving to the capital, the Semana newspaper quoted passengers.

In the middle of the flight, passengers heard a rumbling noise from one of the engines, after which the noise persisted until the landing, the newspaper reported.
CROWN POINT  A judge told a mother he was somewhat shocked she didn't shed a tear Tuesday before he handed her a 13-year sentence for neglecting her 3-year-old son, who died last year as a result of child abuse.

Kylie E. Fugate, 24, of Lake Station, told Lake Criminal Court Judge Samuel Cappas she grieves differently than other people but thinks about her first-born son, Keegan Fugate, all the time.

"It hurts that he's not here," she said.

Fugate talked about Keegan, 3, after Cappas repeatedly asked her if she had anything else to say following her statement about how she didn't fully understand the extent of her son's injuries because many were internal.

She said she believed her then-boyfriend, Joseph R. Pridemore, 33, who told her Keegan was knocked over by a family dog at a apartment in Gary. Pridemore has pleaded not guilty to murder in connection with the boy's homicide.

Cappas said some of Keegan's injuries were not internal, including lacerations, bruises and abrasions. The child also suffered a dislocated neck, the judge said.

Fugate said she left her children alone with Pridemore, who texted her while she was at work and said Keegan was vomiting. She thought her son had a stomach bug, and the boy didn't complain about any pain in his neck, she said. She called 911 for her son.

Keegan died Oct. 12 at Methodist Hospitals Northlake Campus in Gary.

Fugate's attorney, Lemuel Stigler, asked Cappas to delay her sentencing because she still was trying to persuade a family member to serve as a guardian for her other children.

If Cappas sent her to prison Tuesday, she likely would be served in the coming months with a petition to terminate her parental rights, Stigler said.

Lake County Deputy Prosecutor Christopher Bruno objected to any delay.

Fugate pleaded guilty in April to neglect of a dependent resulting in serious bodily injury, a level 3 felony. Her sentencing date was intentionally set several months out so she could attempt to get her affairs in order, he said.

Cappas refused to delay the sentencing.

Stigler said Fugate was admitted to a local hospital for an anxiety attack after she entered her plea last spring. He suggested that Fugate's anxiety was evidence she was grieving the death of her child.

Cappas said Fugate's words didn't seem to match what he would expect from a mother of a child who died in such a tragic way.

The judge accepted Fugate's plea agreement, which called for a sentence of 10 years in prison followed by three years on probation.

Fugate must serve at least 75% of her prison sentence, or about seven-and-a-half years.

"You have no idea how lucky you are that you have this plea agreement," Cappas said.

A jury convicted a different defendant last week of neglect in the death of a infant, whose injuries weren't as severe as Keegan's, he said. That defendant is facing a sentence of 20 to 40 years.
CROWN POINT  A Gary man was sentenced Friday to 65 years in prison for shooting another man to death during a fight in 2020 inside a gas station in the city's Glen Park section.

Courtney M. Moss, 32, was convicted in May of murdering 29-year-old Rayvon Harris on Aug. 22, 2020, inside the now-shuttered Save gas station in the 4500 block of Broadway.

Moss testified he acted in self-defense, but a Lake Criminal Court jury rejected his claim after watching surveillance videos of the confrontation between Harris and Moss and his three co-defendants.

Moss and his co-defendants were drinking at a bar across the street from the gas station when his co-defendant Myles Thomas, 28, of Gary, followed Harris into the gas station and confronted him, according to trial testimony.

Moss testified he had his 9mm handgun in his waistband as he watched Thomas and co-defendant Willie A. Jones Jr., 22, of Gary, each strike Harris.

Videos showed Harris had his hands up as if he were signaling he was prepared for a fist fight. As the men fought, Thomas dropped a gun, Jones was shot and Moss moved in to fire several shots at Harris.

Before walking away, Moss turned back and shot Harris one last time.

Harris, a father of one son, died at the crime scene.

Lake Criminal Court Judge Salvador Vasquez sentenced Moss to 58 years for murder and an addition seven years for a firearm enhancement, records showed.

Thomas pleaded guilty in June to to one count of aggravated battery, a level 3 felony, and could face a sentence of three to 10 years.

Jones, who lost a limb as a result of his gunshot wound, pleaded guilty in October to battery resulting in serious bodily injury, a level 5 felony. He testified against Moss and could face a sentence of one to six years.

A fourth co-defendant, Roy C. Akins Jr., 19, is accused of running into the gas station as the fight ended and firing an assault-style rifle at Harris.

Akins has never been arrested in the case. The U.S. Marshals Service Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to his arrest. Tips can be submitted by phone at 877-926-8332 or online at USMS Tips.
The longstanding prohibition on news outlets broadcasting Indiana court hearings soon may come to an end.

The Indiana Supreme Court recently announced it's considering lifting its near-total ban on cameras in the courtroom in favor of allowing each local judge to decide whether to permit the news media to air court proceedings live and/or record them for later use.

Under the high court's proposed rule, a judge could authorize the broadcasting, televising, recording or photographing of court proceedings by recognized media outlets, so long as broadcasting is restricted to non-confidential hearings and the means of recording do not distract participants or impair the dignity of the proceedings.

A judge who allows broadcasting would retain the discretion to limit, interrupt or halt the coverage at any time if the judge deems the interruption or stoppage appropriate.

All judges also would be required to prohibit any broadcast of minors, juvenile matters, sex offense victims, jurors, witnesses whose safety is at risk, attorney-client communications, bench conferences and materials on counsel tables and the judicial bench.

Currently, broadcasting anything from a courtroom, other than ceremonial matters, requires the consent of the Indiana Supreme Court, which has routinely webcast its oral arguments and other courtroom proceedings for years, along with the Indiana Court of Appeals.

Ten years ago, The Times received permission from the Supreme Court to webcast select Lake County court hearings as part of an 18-month pilot program examining the promises and pitfalls of new courtroom technology.

If the rule is adopted, any local judge could decide on a case-by-case basis whether to allow broadcasting and may require advance notice from media organizations seeking to bring cameras into the courtroom.

Trial participants and audience members still would not be permitted to record court proceedings with a camera, phone or other electronic devices, according to the rule.

Hoosiers are invited to comment on the cameras in the courtroom rule by mailing their opinions on the proposal before Aug. 1 to: Office of Judicial Administration, Indiana Office of Court Services, 251 N. Illinois St., Suite 800, Indianapolis, IN 46204.

Feedback also may be submitted electronically by searching "rules July 2022" at the courts.in.gov website and following the links to the online comment form.
In addition to the candidates for federal, state and local offices Hoosiers will elect Nov. 8, Northwest Indiana voters will help decide whether to retain two judges on the state's Court of Appeals.

The judges are running in what's known as a "retention" election. They don't have an opponent; instead, voters say "yes" or "no" on whether the jurist should be retained on the court for a 10-year term.

Retention elections are the only opportunity for Indiana voters to have a voice in who serves on the state's appellate courts.

Hoosiers amended the Indiana Constitution in 1970 to eliminate direct election of state court judges and decided that lawyers and judges seeking to serve on a state court must apply and be interviewed by a seven-member nominating commission, a process known as "merit selection."

That panel then recommends three finalists to the governor, who appoints one to the bench. After serving for two years, the judge must stand for retention and let voters decide if he or she has earned a renewable 10-year term.

Lake, St. Joseph, Allen and Marion counties are statutorily required to use a similar merit selection process to pick their superior court judges, who must run for retention every six years.

The single circuit court judge in those counties, and all the judges in Indiana's 88 other counties, and Illinois, are elected.

The idea, according to supporters of merit selection, is to appoint the best judge possible and give him or her a chance to establish a record in office before standing for retention instead of having voters pick potentially unqualified judges based solely on partisanship.

Critics of merit selection, including Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. and many Lake County officials, believe judges should represent the people they serve and say elections are the only way to ensure that happens.

Altogether, three Court of Appeals judges are up for retention this year, but only two come from appellate court districts that cover Northwest Indiana.

Judge Nancy Vaidik, a Portage native, is a Valparaiso University Law School graduate who worked as a prosecutor and judge in Porter County before being appointed to the Court of Appeals in 2000 by Democratic Gov. Frank O'Bannon.

She spent six years as Court of Appeals chief judge and currently is presiding judge for the Fifth Appellate District. In addition to her judicial duties, she regularly teaches law at institutions in Indiana, across the United States and overseas.

Judge Paul Mathias also was appointed to the Court of Appeals in 2000 by O'Bannon. The Fort Wayne native earned his law degree at Indiana University in Bloomington and served as an Allen County judge before joining the appellate bench.

Mathias, the presiding judge for the Third Appellate District, notably authored the Timbs v. Indiana ruling that deemed the state's civil forfeiture law unconstitutional under the 8th Amendment. The U.S. Supreme Court affirmed Mathias' ruling in 2019.

No state appellate judge ever has lost his or her seat in a retention election during the half-century Indiana has used its merit selection process.

To help voters get to know them, the Indiana Office of Judicial Administration recently unveiled a judicial retention website at courts.in.gov/retention featuring biographies of the appellate judges seeking retention and links to every ruling they have made.

In Lake County, Superior Court Judges Samuel Cappas, Aleksandra "Sasha" Dimitrijevic, Thomas Hallett, Calvin Hawkins, Kristina Kantar, Bruce Parent, Stephen Scheele and Thomas Stefaniak Jr. are running for retention at this year's general election.
A proposal to ban nearly all abortions in Indiana got even stricter Tuesday when Republican lawmakers agreed to tighten eligibility for the already limited number of exceptions.

Senate Bill 1 now requires a woman who becomes pregnant because of rape or incest to obtain an abortion within eight weeks of fertilization if she is age 16 or older, or prior to 12 weeks post-fertilization if the girl is less than 16 years old.

The original proposal, as introduced Monday, did not include time limits. Though Indiana law already generally prohibits abortion after a fetus is considered sufficiently viable to live outside the womb, or roughly 20-24 weeks gestation.

State Sen. Sue Glick, R-LaGrange, the sponsor of the measure, said the time limits ensure exceptions to her proposed abortion ban remain available, but aren't open-ended opportunities to terminate a pregnancy after viability is reached.

"They shouldn't go full term and suddenly decide, 'Oh no, I didn't want to go through with this,'" Glick said.

State Sen. Shelli Yoder, D-Bloomington, asked Glick where the time limits came from.

Glick admitted there's no specific, scientific basis for the time limits included in the legislation.

"Not one person that we heard from over these two days (of public testimony) has suggested these numbers," Yoder said. "It's just making up numbers."

The time limits for women to access abortion following rape or incest were adopted on a 7-5 committee vote, with all Republicans in favor except state Sen. Mark Messmer, R-Jasper, who joined the four Democrats in opposition.

Under the revised plan, abortion still would be prohibited to women in all other circumstances, except when a doctor determines  and is willing to risk his or her professional license on the belief  that an abortion is needed to prevent substantial permanent impairment to the life of a pregnant woman.

The panel also voted 7-5 to alter the proposal by requiring a woman, as a condition of obtaining an abortion, to sign an affidavit under penalties of perjury affirming her pregnancy was caused by rape or incest. The affidavit must be included in the woman's permanent medical record.

In addition, the committee agreed 8-4 to require doctors terminating pregnancies where the fetus suffers from an irremediable medical condition incompatible with sustained life outside the womb to report each termination to the state.

Democratic suggestions for further revisions were rejected along party lines, including rescinding Indiana's ban on abortion access through telehealth services, and taking steps toward making fetuses eligible for life insurance, child support and child tax benefits throughout pregnancy.

Senate President Rod Bray, R-Martinsville, then denied Democrats the opportunity to present any other proposed amendments to the committee, citing the need to clear the Senate chamber so another committee could meet there Tuesday afternoon.

State Sen. Eddie Melton, D-Gary, said he was disappointed Bray rushed through the committee amendment process after already limiting public testimony to just seven hours over two days when hundreds more people had signed up to speak.

"I had an amendment to offer a religious exemption for abortion for Hoosiers whose faith do not align with this policy. Its the same exact thing that was supported by colleagues on the right during the vaccination discussion during COVID. My amendment should have been easy to accept  the fact that it wasnt even heard deeply bothers me," Melton said.

The amended legislation ultimately was approved 7-5 by the Senate Committee on Rules and Legislative Procedure, again with only Republicans in favor, except Messmer who joined the Democrats in opposition.

Messmer said he voted "no" because every anti-abortion advocate who spoke about the plan, including hundreds of blue-shirted Hoosiers rallying against the proposal Tuesday in the Statehouse's north atrium, deemed it inadequate for eliminating abortion in Indiana.

Indeed, none of the 61 individuals who testified on the proposal during the committee hearings actually supported the measure as-is.

Hoosiers favoring abortion rights said it denies women bodily autonomy and sticks the government in the middle of a decision that properly should be between a woman and her doctor.

Meanwhile, anti-abortion Hoosiers alternately begged and demanded GOP state lawmakers follow through on their pledges to ban abortion in Indiana, now that they've been given the green-light by the U.S. Supreme Court's June 24 Dobbs v. Jackson ruling.

Several Republican senators who voted to advance the measure out of committee said they did so only to keep discussion on the legislation going in the hope of further revision, and would not commit to supporting the plan on final passage.

"We heard what I think everybody believes is a bad bill," said state Sen. Ed Charbonneau, R-Valparaiso. "My wish is that we make a bad bill less bad."

The legislation next will be eligible Thursday for any of the 50 state senators to suggest changes to the proposal, which require 26 "yes" votes to be incorporated into the legislation. There are 39 Republicans and 11 Democrats in the Senate.

It's expected many of the proposed "second reading" amendments will be filed by Republican senators seeking to eliminate all abortion exceptions, except possibly when the life of the mother is at stake.

Other likely amendments include more severe penalties for illegal abortions, authorizing Republican Attorney General Todd Rokita, a Munster native, to directly file abortion-related criminal cases if the local prosecutor declines to bring charges, and limiting access to the "morning-after" pill and similar pregnancy prevention measures.

Senate Democratic Leader Greg Taylor, D-Indianapolis, warned his GOP colleagues to think carefully about making the legislation more onerous on women.

Taylor noted Indiana is the first state in the country to convene a special legislative session on abortion access following the Dobbs decision and the eyes of the nation are on the Hoosier State.

"You're treading on very sensitive waters and you better hope you don't drown," Taylor said. "The best thing for this bill to do is be gone."

The full Senate is likely to vote Friday on whether to advance the measure to the Republican-controlled House for further review and debate next week.

Legislation must be approved with identical language by both chambers no later than Aug. 14 to go to Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb to be signed into law or vetoed.

How to contact Indiana legislators Lawmakers can be reached at the Statehouse in several ways: Mail  Lawmaker's name, chamber, 200 W. Washington St., Indianapolis, IN 46204 Telephone  Republican state representatives: 800-382-9841; Democratic state representatives: 800-382-9842; All state senators: 800-382-9467 Email  Find the lawmakers representing you at iga.in.gov/legislative/2022/legislators. Click the "Send Email" link on the lawmaker's page to send a message. The General Assembly website, listing pending legislation and other information, is at iga.in.gov.
HIGHLAND  Some of the more than 50 women, men and children who rallied recently at Wicker Memorial Park vowed to keep fighting until the right to abortion is fully restored.

"I'm a woman. I'm a Black woman. I have nieces, and I have friends, so I'm here," said Alexia Hamilton, of Gary, as she joined more than 50 people holding signs and chanting "my body, my choice" along Indianapolis Boulevard.

Women have been sharing their abortion stories since it became clear the U.S. Supreme Court was poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, its landmark 1973 decision giving women a constitutional right to abortion.

But women shouldn't have to justify choices they make about their own bodies, Hamilton said.

"I know if something happened to me, and I needed to make this decision, I'd want it to be my decision," she said. "I don't want nobody else trying to tell me what to do with my body."

Conservatives won't stop at abortion rights, she said.

"It's always about control. They want control. And the only way to do that is to put us in these situations where we are fighting each other because this is a fighting situation," Hamilton said. "That's what they do. They divide us constantly."

Hamilton was prepared to fight as long as it takes, she said.

"Some women before me fought, and they fought for a very long time. And I'm a person of color, so those people fought for a very long time," she said. "Until it gets accomplished. Until we move forward. And forward to the point where we're not going back. ... Who says you can have this right, but we're going to review it every 10 years. Progress is about progress. For everyone, not just certain people."

Laura White, of Hebron, was joined by her 10-year-old daughter Zooey.

White said women's rights are incredibly important to her, especially with her daughter growing into a woman.

"We want to do everything we can to help equality," she said. "Whatever we can do to help out the cause."

White is a Christian and personally would not consider abortion unless her health or the health of her child is at risk, she said.

"But I would never want to take that choice from somebody else," she said. "The lives that are here, the babies that are born, are so, so, so much more important than a bundle of cells."

White works in an emergency room, so she knows women face difficult choices in cases of rape or domestic violence.

"There's definitely situations where it's not safe to have a child," she said. "It's not good for mom or baby  the pregnancy. I would never want someone to tell me that I should or shouldn't do something with my body just because they think I shouldn't."

It's important to fight for women's equality, even if it's not a popular choice, she said.

Ginny and Rob Dickman-Lopez's 5- and 7-year-old children sat at their feet as they joined the protest.

"They're not going to stop at Roe," said Ginny Dickman-Lopez, of Munster. "Women's rights are human rights that matter."

The couple said they've been bringing their children to protests for a while because they want them to see the work that must be done to effect change in America.

"Trust me, I don't want to be out here with them anymore," Rob Dickman-Lopez said. "But to think of their generation growing up with less rights than we had  they need to know we stand for this."

It's imperative that people vote, Ginny Dickman-Lopez said.

The day Roe fell, Rob Dickman-Lopez said, he felt like his soul left his body. His wife said she expected the decision, but it was still exhausting and enraging.

"I"m hoping it will wake people up," she said. "It's past time. So much more needs to be done."

Noah Thomas, 19, of Crown Point, and Katelin Sears, 19, of Highland, organized the rally.

Thomas said he grew up around a lot of powerful women who taught him to speak out on women's issues.

"I can't stand by while rights are taken away," he said. "Roe was the groundwork, and they took that away because of Donald Trump and his Supreme Court nominees. We're never going to stop fighting until Roe gets codified into federal law."

Thomas said he planned to participate in abortion rights demonstrations organized this week in Indianapolis.

Republican lawmakers last week unveiled legislation that would prohibit all abortions in the state, except in the case of pregnancies caused by rape or incest, or if an abortion is needed to prevent substantial permanent impairment to the life of a pregnant woman.

The abortion legislation, set to be officially filed when the Republican-controlled General Assembly convenes Monday in special session, leaves doctors to determine whether a woman's life is endangered absent an abortion.

Thomas said it's important that supporters of abortion rights continue to build a peaceful movement.

"A majority of Hoosiers agree Indiana shouldn't do this," he said. "It's unfortunate that Republican lawmakers can't separate church and state and are pushing their religion on people who don't identify with their religion."

Sears said she planned to continue the fight.

"It upsets me because I have to live in a generation where my rights have to be taken away because of Republicans being stuck in their ways from the past," she said.

At a table set up by NWI AntiSexist Action, people made impromptu signs with markers and paper.

Rally attendees also could take photographs of contact information for Republican lawmakers, pick up voter registration forms and learn how to connect with Rise Northwest Indiana, a nonpartisan group working to increase voter participation, said Janine Harrison, of NWI AntiSexist Action.

U.S. Rep. Frank J. Mrvan, D-Highland, made his way down the line of protesters, exchanging words and some hugs with them.

Mrvan said he supports women's rights and voted last week in Congress to codify the right to same-sex marriage.

"What is at stake is a national ban on abortion," he said. "And they will stop at nothing to get that.

"We have to work together," Mrvan said. "We have to organize."

Times Staff Writer Dan Carden contributed to this report.
The basic premise of mindfulness meditation is to pay attention to the present moment  especially your own thoughts, emotions and sensations. Ms. williams, a Zen Buddhist priest and founder of the Center for Transformative Change in Berkeley, Calif., is well known for her focus on the role meditation can play in social justice, and she teaches that meditation can be a powerful tool to make us stronger, more focused and prepared to face the small and big challenges of daily life.

Image The Rev. angel Kyodo williams Credit... Christine Alicino

She says some people make the mistake of thinking that meditation is an escape from stressful situations. We have a lot of practice running away from our experience, trying to figure out what else it could be and why it should be different, which actually increases our anxiety, said Ms. williams, co-author of the book Radical Dharma: Talking Race, Love, and Liberation. Meditation and mindfulness becomes a way that people can reconcile the confusion, the anxiety, the fear of the unknown.

Despite the name, fierce meditation is not loud or aggressive. The fierceness comes from the power of meditation and mindfulness to help you tackle whatever fear, anxiety or challenge lies ahead.
The monkeypox emergency

The World Health Organization took the extraordinary step over the weekend of declaring monkeypox a public health emergency of international concern, a designation currently used to describe only two other diseases, Covid-19 and polio.

The W.H.O.s declaration signals a public health risk requiring a coordinated international response. It can lead member countries to invest significant resources in controlling an outbreak, draw more funding to the response and encourage nations to share key resources.

So far, some 75 countries have reported nearly 17,000 cases, almost 3,000 of them in the U.S. Nearly all the infections outside Africa, where monkeypox has been a concern for years, have occurred among men who have sex with men.
President Biden and his aides on Monday escalated a campaign to try to convince American voters that the nation has not fallen into recession, before the release this week of new data that could show the economy continues to shrink.

God willing, I dont think were going to see a recession, Mr. Biden said after a virtual meeting with high-tech manufacturing executives and union leaders. The event was aimed at promoting a China competitiveness bill that the Senate could pass this week.

Recession fears have prompted many of Mr. Bidens aides to brief reporters on the economys overall health, including the administrations view that a hot labor market is among the many signs showing the economy has not dipped into a downturn.
Dhaka, July 25 (UNI) Bangladesh and Japan agreed to elevate the bilateral relations between the two friendly countries in the auspicious year of 2022 to mark the 50th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral relations.

This was discussed when Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, HONDA Taro called on State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam, MP last evening at the State Guest House Padma.

The State Minister for Foreign Affairs recalled the historic visit of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to Japan in October 1973, which laid the foundation of todays exemplary bilateral relations between the two countries.

He also recalled the visit of the then Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe to Bangladesh in 2014, when the two countries elevated the bilateral relationship to Comprehensive Partnership level. The State Minister also recalled the successful visits of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to Japan in 1997, 2010, 2014, 2016 and 2019 that have cemented deep-rooted friendly ties between the two countries.

The Japanese Parliamentary Vice-Minister expressed the intent of Japan to add new depth and contents to the existing partnership and expected an official visit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to Japan later this year to elevate the Comprehensive Partnership to a new height.

Highly praising Bangladeshs spectacular socio-economic development under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, particularly Bangladeshs graduation to a developing country, the Vice-Minister assured Japans continued support to the rapid socio-economic development of Bangladesh even after the countrys formal graduation in 2026.

Both sides also discussed to enhance cooperation in various areas, including bilateral trade, Japanese FDI in Bangladesh, as well as people-to-people connectivity for mutual benefits.

They also expressed the desire to enhance cooperation in international fora, including in the UN, particularly in the areas of SDGs, climate change, migration and UN reforms. The Vice-Minister also commended Bangladeshs leadership role in UN peacekeeping and peacebuilding activities.

The Japanese Vice-Minister HONDA Taro highly appreciated Bangladeshs role in maintaining regional stability by hosting the Rohingyas and assured to continue Japans support towards their safe, voluntary, and sustainable repatriation. The State Minister sought Japans active support for a durable political solution of the Rohingya crisis.

The Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan visited Bangladesh from 21-25 July 2022 to strengthen Bangladesh-Japan bilateral relations. During the visit, he along with JICA President Tanaka Akihiko, paid a courtesy call on the Honble Prime Minister and Honble Foreign Minister.

They also visited the JICA-funded Matarbari Power Plant project, Coxs Bazar Rohingya camps and attended a memorial ceremony in honour of the Holey Artisan victims involved in the MRT project.

State Minister for Foreign Affairs also hosted a dinner in honour of the Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan HONDA Taro at the State Guest House Padma, where among others, JICA President Tanaka Akihiko, Member of the Parliamentary standing Committee on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mr Kazi Nabil Ahmed, Ambassador of Japan to Bangladesh ITO Naoki, Foreign Secretary, Executive Chairman of BIDA, ERD Secretary, Road Transport and Highways Secretary, Expatriates Welfare and Overseas Employment Secretary, Managing Director of DMTCL attended.

UNI MAZ RJ
On the domestic violence front, a study by the Anti-Defamation League found that 75 percent of extremist-related domestic killings from 2012 to 2021 were perpetrated by the right and only 4 percent by the left.

Finally, about B.L.M.: The protests were, in fact, overwhelmingly peaceful. Yes, there was some arson and looting, with total property damage typically estimated at $1 billion to $2 billion. That may sound like a lot, but America is a big country, so it needs to be put in perspective.

Heres one point of comparison. Back in April, Greg Abbott, the governor of Texas, pulled a political stunt at the border with Mexico, temporarily imposing extra security checks that caused a major slowdown of traffic, disrupting business and leading to a lot of spoiled produce. Total economic losses have been estimated at around $4 billion; that is, a few days of border-security theater appear to have caused more economic damage than a hundred days of mass protests.

Yet pointing out these facts probably wont change many minds. Nor does there seem to be any way to change the perception, also alluded to in that Post article, that a lax attitude toward law enforcement has turned Americas big cities into dangerous hellholes. Its true that violent crime rose during the pandemic, but it rose about as much in rural America as it did in urban areas. And despite that recent rise, violence in many cities is far lower than it was not long ago.

In New York City, homicides so far this year are running a bit below their 2021 level, and in 2021 they were 78 percent lower than they were in 1990 and a quarter lower than they were in 2001. As Bloombergs Justin Fox has documented, New York is actually a lot safer than small-town America. Los Angeles has also seen a big long-term drop in homicides, as has California as a whole. Some cities, notably Philadelphia and Chicago, are back to or above early 1990s murder rates, but theyre not representative of the broader picture.

But who among the Republican base will acknowledge this reality? Whenever I mention New Yorks relative safety, I get a wave of mail saying, in effect, You cant really believe that.
Kents wife, Shannon, was a targeting specialist for the National Security Agency who was killed by a suicide bomber in northeast Syria in 2019 while fighting the Islamic State.

After her death, he wrote about how his experiences in the Special Forces had made him more skeptical of pointless or unwinnable wars. On his arm is a tattoo inscribed with the date of her killing, along with an image of the World Trade Center aflame after the Sept. 11 attacks.

None of that has earned Kent a reprieve from fringe critics seeking to turn his military service into a campaign liability.

Theres even a website, joekentiscia.com, which opens with the following accusation in all capital letters: JOE KENT IS AN AGENT OF THE DEEP STATE, A CARPETBAGGER, A LIFELONG MARXIST DEMOCRAT RINO AND A CORRUPT OPPORTUNIST.
It is necessary to remember how the policies of assimilation, he said, which also included the residential school system, were devastating for the people of these lands. Francis added, I thank you for making me appreciate this.

He called the abuses, often carried out with missionary zeal, a disastrous error that eroded Indigenous people, their culture and values.

Francis also said that begging pardon is not the end of the matter, adding that he fully agreed with skeptics who want action. And he said that he hoped for further investigations and that concrete ways could be found to help survivors begin a path toward healing and reconciliation.

After delivering his speech, which he offered in Spanish and which was translated into English, Chief Wilton Littlechild of the Ermineskin Cree Nation, who had welcomed the pope, fitted him with a headdress, its white feathers standing over his white robes.

Until this year the Vatican had rebuffed repeated requests from Indigenous people for an apology. A National Truth and Reconciliation Commission established by the Canadian government declared the schools a form of cultural genocide and had called on the pope to make an apology in 2015.
He belongs to the system of Putin, Vasyl Khymynets, the Ukrainian ambassador to Austria, said in an interview. He hasnt criticized this brutal war, yet he has the chance to be presented on one of the most famous stages in Europe and probably in the world.

The esteemed pianist Evgeny Kissin, a frequent performer in Salzburg, said that while he would not object if Currentzis appeared with a Western orchestra, MusicAeternas ties to the Russian government were problematic.

In the current situation, groups funded by the Russian state should not be allowed to perform in the civilized world, said Kissin, who was born in Moscow and is now based in Prague, citing Russias criminal war in Ukraine.

Currentzis, through his representatives, declined to comment.

Since founding MusicAeterna in Siberia in 2004, Currentzis has sought to defy labels. He is known as an uncompromising classical musician but has also earned a reputation as a punk, a goth and an anarchist. Born in Athens, he went to Russia in his 20s to study music and now carries a Russian passport. (Putin awarded him citizenship by presidential decree in 2014, the Russia news media reported.)

Currentzis began his career as an outsider trying to build artistic centers away from the traditional bases of Moscow and St. Petersburg, including at the Novosibirsk State Opera in Siberia and in the industrial city of Perm. He stood up to the Russian authorities, including in 2017, when his friend and collaborator Kirill Serebrennikov, one of Russias most prominent theater directors, was detained in Moscow, a move seen as retribution for his critical portrayals of life under Putin.
I like the idea that this never occurred to Trump until a friend suggested it. Is this where he gets all his ideas? [imitating Trump friend] You know, Donald, I was thinking, your situation kind of reminds me of  well, the Salem witch trials. Its almost like its a hunt  for witches, Donald. You know, like a witch hunt.  SETH MEYERS

He just sat back and he thought about it and he came to the conclusion that, yes, his friend was right. Im sure he was just sitting in his study with a pipe and smoking jacket surrounded by walls of books, comparing himself to other historical examples famous persecuted Americans. [imitating Trump] Lets see. Theres me, theres Rosa Parks, theres Rubin Hurricane Carter. I guess out of those three, its got to be me  if its those three.  SETH MEYERS

I also love the idea that Trump sat back and thought about it, you know, after he finished conjugating persecuted: [imitating Trump] Persecuted, persecution. They persecute and Im the persecutee.  SETH MEYERS
Before 2014, the prize was only open to authors from Britain, Ireland, the Commonwealth and Zimbabwe, but since that year, when it expanded to include authors of any nationality, Britains literary establishment has regularly agonized over the dominance of American authors on the Booker list. Tuesdays announcement is likely to reinvigorate those concerns, although the nominees also include three British and two Irish authors, as well as NoViolet Bulawayo, from Zimbabwe, and Shehan Karunatilaka, of Sri Lanka.

The British writers on the list include Alan Garner, 87, who the Booker says is its oldest ever nominee, and who is well known in Britain as a pioneering author of childrens fantasy novels in the 1960s and 1970s.

The nominated novels are wildly diverse in subject matter. Bulawayo is nominated for Glory, an animal fable that follows the fall of a dictatorship; Maddie Mortimer is nominated for Maps of our Spectacular Bodies, a novel whose narrators include both a dying mother and the cancer that is killing her.

Neil MacGregor, the former director of the British Museum and the chair of this years judges, highlighted that variety in a news release announcing the nominees, saying the books included story, fable and parable, fantasy, meditation and thriller. Nevertheless, he said, two main themes were apparent: how individual lives are shaped and determined by long historical processes, and the elusive nature of truth.
Glyn, whod long kept diaries, wrote her first manuscript in epistolary form for amusement as an invalid and sold it to a society weekly, where it ran without a byline, provoking much titillated curiosity among her set. She amped up her efforts, and her profile, after her husband, Clayton, a feckless landowner, began to lose his fading fortune at the gambling tables. When the family was forced to downsize and move into her mothers cottage, Glyn installed, instead of a room of her own, an annex with five of them  one was for her clothes and another for her maid and one was named the Trianon after Marie Antoinettes accommodations. She produced a large quantity of popular books in rapid succession, including The Vicissitudes of Evangeline (1905), a.k.a. Red Hair (which both Glyn and Bow had, and was considered quite freaky in their day); the breakthrough, then-scandalous Three Weeks (1907); and, in the 1920s, guides on beauty and love. Hallett credits her with awakening female erotic consciousness, after the long sleep of Victorianism, while acknowledging her squeamishness toward Jewish studio executives and exoticizing of darker ethnicities in her work.

Glyn, widely traveled (never write about places unseen was one of her many maxims) and press-savvy, became an original boldface name  giving the sculptor Auguste Rodin a glimpse of stocking; fervently admired by Cecil Beaton  and dabbled in journalism herself: notably, she was one of the few women in the Hall of Mirrors when the Treaty of Versailles was signed in 1919.

Image Hilary A. Hallett, the author of Inventing the It Girl. Credit... Elena Seibert

With her willingness to boom, as she described the promotional work which took her to America, and ability to stomach critical contempt and even public censure, she was a precursor to romance novelists like Barbara Cartland and that publicity-seeking missile of midcentury, Jacqueline Susann. Glyn had a curious fetish for writhing around on tiger skins and, Hallett shows, helped to codify many modern symbols of feminine eroticism: strings of pearls, beds of roses and silken lingerie. Without her, for better and worse, there may not have been a Victorias Secret.
Before the meeting, President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Moscow of waging an overt gas war against a united Europe and urged leaders not to give in to Russian threats. Russian gas accounts for 40 percent of E.U. consumption, and gas is a leading source of energy for homes and businesses.

All of the E.U.s 27 member states supported the move, except for Hungary, which voted against the agreement but couldnt veto it. Some exemptions were given to Ireland, Cyprus and Malta, which have little flexibility to seek alternative energy sources, as well as to the Baltic States that have electricity grids connected to Russias.

The blocs gas storage tanks, usually almost full before winter, are currently at 66 percent capacity, according to the E.U.s energy commissioner, Kadri Simson.

The stakes are particularly high for Germany, which relied on Russia to supply 55 percent of its natural gas before the invasion. It has cut that share to 30 percent over the past months but is scrambling to ensure that it will have sufficient fuel in storage to last the winter.
Alibaba, the Chinese online shopping giant, said on Tuesday that it would seek a primary listing in Hong Kong, a move that would eventually allow more people in mainland China to invest in it, and give it a buffer in case it is forced to delist in the United States over regulatory concerns.

The listing is the latest signal that Chinese companies are looking for ways to mitigate risk as they find themselves under pressure from regulators on both sides of the Pacific. It also shows how the onetime love affair between Chinese tech firms and Wall Street is drawing to a close.

Over the past two years, Chinese firms seeking capital in the United States have struggled amid a broad Chinese regulatory crackdown on Big Tech. Alibabas financial affiliate, Ant Group, called off a blockbuster United States listing at the last minute at the behest of Chinese regulators. A separate investigation into the ride-hailing firm Didi led it to pull its shares only six months after a float in New York.
If people want to, they will set the forest on fire, she said, referring to ranchers, smaller farmers and land-grabbers. Understanding the human component is the part of our methodology we are trying to improve.

The teams most recent calculations estimate that almost 115 million acres are highly vulnerable to fires in protected areas in the Amazon rainforest over the next three months. Thats an area bigger than Germany.

As climate change contributes to heat waves and droughts that lead to more frequent and intense wildfires, scientists like Anderson will become increasingly important for officials seeking to avert forest destruction.

One of those officials, Waldemir Moreira Jr., a colonel in the firefighting service of Mato Grosso do Sul, a state in west-central Brazil, said his office used data from Andersons team to decide where to place larger teams in advance. The state includes a large section of the Pantanal, the worlds biggest wetland. Two years ago, wildfires burned a fifth of its area.

The data, he said, can help me get more resources for prevention, including the prescribed fires that crews set deliberately to get rid of fuel that can feed big blazes.

I asked Anderson if she ever gets frustrated that leaders in Brazil arent doing more to protect the Amazon. Deforestation rates continue to grow and wildfires still rage. Meanwhile, law enforcement agencies, assigned to protect the forest, struggle with low funding and threats of violence from environmental criminals.
Book launch on Rabindranath Tagore by HCI Dhaka 16 Aug 2022 | 11:26 PM Dhaka, Aug 16 (UNI) The Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre, High Commission of India in Dhaka, organized a book launch of Prof. Anwarul Karim's books on Rabindranath Tagore, 'A Gift of the Magi to the West' and 'Glimpses of Bengal - His Ecstasy and Agony' on Tuesday. see more..

Second Confucius Institute inaugurated in Nepal 16 Aug 2022 | 11:01 PM Kathmandu, August 16 (UNI) The Confucius Institute at Tribhuvan University, the second of its kind in Nepal, was inaugurated on Tuesday in the Nepali capital Kathmandu, with the stakeholders pledging more resources to make it a better platform for cooperation. see more..

11 killed in Turkish airstrike in Syria: Monitor 16 Aug 2022 | 10:05 PM Damascus, August. 16 (UNI) Eleven people were killed on Tuesday by a Turkish airstrike targeting a military position in northern Syria, reported the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. see more..

Bangladesh govt to review the contract of Chinese company 16 Aug 2022 | 9:38 PM Dhaka, August 16 (UNI) Bangladesh is going to inform Chinese Embassy in Dhaka about the security breach in a project run by a Chinese contractor. see more..
So she started to provide a replacement for the street drugs, first Dilaudid, then fentanyl patches, and, now, the fentanyl capsules. Her project purchases the fentanyl from a pharmaceutical manufacturer, and a local pharmacy compounds it, with dextrose and caffeine as buffers. The pills are sold at $10 a hit, priced to match the street rate exactly.

Dr. Sutherland writes a prescription for the drug, and patients buy it; if they cant pay, the program covers the cost.

When nurses enroll new participants in the program, they increase the dose over days to find exactly what the patients need to replace what they use on the street. Participants use the drugs under supervision at first, to make sure they have the amount they need to avoid withdrawal (and no more, so that there is no risk they will sell excess on the street). Then, they can take the drugs off-site to use.

Chris has been a daily user of illicit drugs since he was a teenager. He receives 30,000 micrograms of fentanyl at the dispensary each day. That is vastly more than would kill a nonuser  a doctor would typically prescribe about 50 micrograms temporarily to manage pain  but, after years of use, it is what Chris needs to feel a quick rush of euphoria and prevent withdrawal. He said he hoped to return to working soon and then would start buying from the program, the way he would patronize a liquor store.

Dr. Sutherland expects that patients such as Chris may gradually reduce the amount they use, because theyre not worried about how they will score the next hit to keep the agony of withdrawal  being dope sick  at bay.

Lisa James personifies the anticipated benefit of programs like this. Ms. James, who is 53, spent 18 years addicted to heroin. For the first eight, every day began the same grim cycle: Shed go out in the morning and steal from stores, then pass the merchandise to her boyfriend, who would resell it and use the money to buy heroin. Hed bring it home, where she was waiting anxiously, already nauseated and twitchy with dope sickness.
Daniel Wei, 15, from Marvin Ridge High School in Waxhaw, N.C., chose an article from the U.S. News section headlined One Small Step for Democracy in a Live Free or Die Town and wrote:

What happened in Croydon, N.H., is happening all over America  people are realizing how little their voices matter. My civic literacy teacher has always urged us to get involved, to encourage our parents to vote, to actively support issues on social media and, eventually, to vote ourselves.

Many of my classmates, however, do not care about politics  but the parallels to Croydon reveal the perils of this approach. Croydonites passively allowed an outspoken political minority to make all decisions for them, leading to a halving of their schools budget and the slashing of extracurricular activities. Today, we are seeing similar trends unfold on a national scale.

Take the recent Supreme Court decision to curb the Environmental Protection Agencys authority to check emissions for power plants, which goes against the wishes of 80 percent of Pew-surveyed Americans. Perhaps we shouldnt be surprised that one of the most conservative courts in American history would make a decision pandering only to its billionaire stakeholders rather than considering ordinary citizens.

So, how can we galvanize ourselves to rectify this mistake? Protesting could work, but it may not be enough. Instead, we must emulate the people of Croydon  who, through targeted community activism and patient participation in local government, were able to reverse their schools budget cuts.

This E.P.A. ruling must be next on our list.
The previous mayor, Bill de Blasio, used federal stimulus funds to bolster budgets for schools with declining numbers. But the Adams administration decided against following Mr. de Blasios lead because the federal money is temporary; it will be gone by fiscal year 2025.

Instead, the administration planned to only partially offset the funding declines as a way to begin starting the process of trying to wean the schools off of the stimulus funding, the schools chancellor, David A. Banks, said during a Panel for Education Policy meeting last Wednesday.

The cuts were in the budget that the Council passed in early June. Under this budget, schools would face $215 million in cuts during the 2022-23 school year and $295 million the following year and would be hit with the full $375 million cut in the 2024-25 school year.

But many City Council members changed course soon after they voted for the budget.

Thats when many principals received their budgets for the upcoming school year, and realized that theyd have to cut enrichment programs, such as art classes, or cut teaching positions in core subject areas and special education. The teachers would have been excessed  they would have lost their jobs at their school, but most would have still been on the Education Department payroll and considered for openings elsewhere.

Opponents of the budget cuts have argued that if schools lack enrichment programs or have large class sizes because of teacher cuts, then enrollment will continue to decline because families will be driven away.

City Councilwoman Sandy Nurse, who represents East New York and other neighborhoods in Brooklyn, said schools in her district would face $8 million in cuts. One school in particular, P.S. 214, would lose around $582,000. She said that meant the school would lose a number of teaching positions, a librarian and programming such as field trips, arts and computer classes.
The laws opponents have said the changes have led to increased crime, but data has not shown that to be the case, and researchers say that, given that the law coincided with the onset of the pandemic, it will be years before its full effect can be determined. But with some categories of crime rising, more people have been charged, released and rearrested, providing ammunition for the laws critics.

In November 2019, Sheriff Baxter wrote an opinion piece calling on the state to reverse the statute before it went into effect and contending that the public will be shocked at the negative impact this law will have on the safety of our communities. And the day after Mr. Jakuboniss attack, the sheriff announced on Twitter that he had cleared his calendar to discuss fixing criminal justice reforms with any state legislator who was interested.

Mr. Branagan said that he had not spoken to the sheriff before determining the charge to be filed against Mr. Jakubonis.

He said that he had driven to the scene of the attack and had interviewed Mr. Zeldin as well as some of his staffers about what had happened. He had not previously spoken to Mr. Zeldin, a congressman representing Suffolk County on Long Island, and said he had not known who the candidate was.

After completing his investigation, Mr. Branagan made three calls to the district attorneys office. The first two were to Perry Duckles, a deputy to Ms. Doorley, whom Mr. Branagan informed that he planned to file a charge of attempted assault in the second degree.

At the time of their second call, Mr. Duckles had just been informed that two police officers had been shot in Rochester. So he asked Mr. Branagan to direct further conversations about the case to Matthew Schwartz, the chief of the district attorneys major felony unit.
To the Editor:

To Margaret Renkls challenge  Dont Like the Souths Politics? Move Here and Vote (Opinion, July 20)  my response is that I dont have to and dont know why I would. I may not be able to vote in the South, but my money can.

One thing we have learned from Donald Trump is that every elected office is a national office. I am happy to contribute to good candidates even in states other than my own.

It is my way of nationalizing every election in the South and fighting back against the entrenched regional interests and narrow political perspectives that are at large there. If more voters nationwide made every contest their own, the entrenched local politicians could not compete.
Loopholes in medical privacy laws  often justified by drug enforcement  mean that hospitals have discretion to share records without patient consent. Only 19 states ban warrantless searches of prescription drug monitoring databases, and at the federal level, the Drug Enforcement Administration claims that it should be able to search these databases without a warrant in any state. Almost half of the states define drug use during pregnancy as child abuse, which triggers mandatory reporting to child welfare agencies and can also result in criminal charges. Its not too difficult to see how similar data could be used to target women seeking abortions or doctors helping with their care.

Terrified of legal action, some physicians are already taking extreme measures to protect themselves from abortion prosecutions, such as ending womens prescriptions for an immune disorder treatment, methotrexate, because if they get pregnant, it can cause miscarriage. The Texas Medical Association recently asked state regulators to act, saying that several hospitals are turning away patients with pregnancy complications for fear of violating the states abortion ban. Women who are miscarrying have been left to wait until they have severe bleeding before help is offered. As with the drug war, legal fear is driving doctors to prioritize themselves over their patients health.

The Supreme Court, however, offers one glimmer of hope in the fight against escalating medical criminalization. In a little-noticed 9-to-0 decision, Ruan v. United States, released just days after Roe was overturned, it decided to draw a line in the war on drugs. Some circuit courts had ruled that doctors accused of running pill mills could be convicted simply for prescribing more than prosecutors found acceptable. Others, in contrast, had ruled that drug dealing requires criminal intent and that doctors must have the right to defend themselves as practicing in good faith.

The Supreme Court sided with physicians. Prescribing outside the mainstream still risks malpractice suits, but without signs of criminal intent like selling specific drugs for specific dollar amounts, doctors cant be convicted as dealers, the court ruled. Its unclear why this intent requirement would not pertain to abortion cases as well.

But it is already obvious that prosecuting physicians hasnt ended the overdose crisis. Instead, it scared many into defensive medicine and drove people with addiction and even some pain patients to far more deadly street drugs. Last year, the United States had its highest rate of overdose death, with the majority lost to opioids.

As with the drug war, criminalizing abortion will increase harm while failing to stop the behavior it is intended to reduce.
Mr. Rice happened to be in the process of selling his Harlem brownstone, which would provide him with the funds to buy the house. Back in Manhattan, a few days later, we met for lunch in TriBeCa and did a handshake deal, Mr. Rice said, after agreeing to a price of $1.32 million.

I just fell in love with the house and thought everything about it  including the process by which I was getting it  was amazing, he said.

After closing in December 2018, he needed to furnish the home, but he was prepared for that, too: An aficionado of design, Mr. Rice runs a side business called Supervision, buying and selling vintage midcentury-modern furniture and accessories. For the living room, he brought in a pair of teak-and-cane sofas designed by Peter Hvidt and Orla Mlgaard-Nielsen in the late 1950s, plus a pair of slouchy armchairs with lacquered wood frames and blue suede upholstery from the 1970s. For the primary suite, he installed a Norwegian Westnofa rosewood bedroom set from the 1960s and vintage French resin benches with multicolored geometric bases.
Mr. Putins response: Good.

With tensions between Washington and Moscow rising after Russias invasion of Ukraine in February, Russian space officials including Dmitry Rogozin, Mr. Borisovs predecessor, had made declarations in recent months that Russia was planning to leave. But they all left ambiguity about when it would happen or whether a final decision had been made.

If Russia follows through, it could accelerate the end of a project that NASA has spent about $100 billion on over the last quarter-century and set off a scrambling over what to do next. The space station, a partnership with Russia that also involves Canada, Europe and Japan, is key to studying the effects of weightlessness and radiation on human health  research that is still unfinished but needed before astronauts embark on longer voyages to Mars. It has also turned into a proving ground for commercial use of space, including visits by wealthy private citizens and the manufacturing of high-purity optical fibers.

An official at the White House said the United States had not received any formal notification from Russia that it would withdraw from the space station, although officials have seen the public comments.

We are exploring options to mitigate any potential impacts on the I.S.S. beyond 2024 if in fact Russia withdraws, said John Kirby, a spokesman for the National Security Council.
Kraken, one of the worlds largest cryptocurrency exchanges, is under federal investigation, suspected of violating U.S. sanctions by allowing users in Iran and elsewhere to buy and sell digital tokens, according to five people affiliated with the company or with knowledge of the inquiry.

The Treasury Departments Office of Foreign Assets Control has been investigating Kraken since 2019 and is expected to impose a fine, said the people, who declined to be identified for fear of retribution from the company. Kraken would be the largest U.S. crypto firm to face an enforcement action from O.F.A.C. Sanctions against Iran, which the United States imposed in 1979, prohibit the export of goods or services to people or entities in the country.

The federal government has increasingly cracked down on crypto companies, which are lightly regulated, as the market for digital currencies has grown. Tether, a stablecoin company, was fined by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission for misstatements about its reserves last year, while the Justice Department brought insider-trading charges this month against an ex-employee of Coinbase, the largest U.S. crypto exchange.
SAN FRANCISCO  Mark Zuckerberg, the founder and chief executive of the company formerly known as Facebook, called his top lieutenants for the social network to a last-minute meeting in the San Francisco Bay Area this month. On the agenda: a work-athon to discuss the road map for improving the main Facebook app, including a revamp that would change how users browse the service.

For weeks beforehand, Mr. Zuckerberg had sent his executives messages about the overhaul, pressing them to increase the velocity and execution of their work, people with knowledge of the matter said. Some executives  who had to read a 122-page slide deck about the changes  were beginning to sweat at the unusual level of intensity, they said.

Facebooks leaders flew in from around the world for the summit, the people said, and Mr. Zuckerberg and the group pored over each slide. Within days, the team unveiled an update to the Facebook app to better compete with a top rival, TikTok.
Tashkent, July 26 (UNI) Uzbekistan has urged the Afghan government led by the Taliban to sever all ties with terrorist organizations, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev said on Tuesday.

The Uzbek capital of Tashkent is hosting a two-day international conference on Afghanistan on Monday and Tuesday. Over 100 foreign delegations are taking part.

"We call on the current government of Afghanistan to demonstrate strong resolve and take decisive measures to prevent and counter terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and to sever ties with all terrorist organizations. This will facilitate the strengthening of confidence in the interim government," Mirziyoyev said in an address to the participants of the conference.
Just three days ago, the River Des Peres, which carries storm water from the city of St. Louis, was almost bone dry, the citys fire chief said, as Missouri experienced what the governor called increasingly dry conditions and the growing threat of serious drought.

Then came record rainfall early Tuesday, drenching parts of St. Louis and other areas of Missouri with up to a foot of rain that quickly transformed interstates and neighborhood streets into roaring rivers that collapsed roofs and forced residents to flee their homes in inflatable boats.

While officials worked to assess the full scope of the damage, Chief Dennis M. Jenkerson of the St. Louis Fire Department said at a news conference on Tuesday that one person who had been pulled from a flooded vehicle had died. There was about 8.5 feet of water in the area, he said.
Health and safety problems, physical and sexual abuse, corruption and turnover in the top management ranks have also been prevalent. The pandemic only exacerbated staffing issues, resulting in a vast shortage of prison guards and health personnel, The Associated Press reported last year, which described a wide array of other shortcomings.

Pressed on conditions in Atlanta, Mr. Carvajal accepted some responsibility. But he went on to blame the inaction of subordinates and their failure to inform him of the severity of the situation.

It was obvious there was a breakdown, but it did not reach my level of authority, said Mr. Carvajal, who attributed some of the deficiencies to chronic budget shortfalls.

I find it hard to believe that you werent aware of these issues, an angry Mr. Ossoff said.

Mr. Carvajal, who is expected to retire, portrayed himself as an embattled reformer doing his best under punishing circumstances, and rejected Mr. Ossoffs suggestion that women who work or are held in federal prisons were unsafe from sexual violence. He also suggested that many of the worst problems in Atlanta, including unhealthy conditions, were addressed soon after he became aware of them last year.

Mr. Ossoff countered with a January letter from Timothy C. Batten, a federal judge in Georgia, listing 15 current problems. Those include rat and roach infestation, inmates who were losing weight because of the poor quality of the food, harsh solitary confinement rules and an instance in which an inmate on suicide watch was deprived of medication and counseling, and was left for a week with only a paper jumpsuit and paper blankets.

Current and former employees described the Atlanta penitentiary as among the worst federal facilities in the country, and said its collapse was well known to the bureaus top leaders.
Last week, the House committee investigating the Capitol riot detailed Mr. Trumps decisions not to call off the violence, and the fear that members of Mr. Pences Secret Service detail felt for their lives.

The hearing prompted a striking shift in the conservative media. In scathing editorials from two newspapers controlled by the Murdoch family, The New York Post said Mr. Trump was unworthy to be president again, while The Wall Street Journal opined that he had utterly failed his duty to handle the crisis.

And on Monday, news emerged that two of Mr. Pences top aides had testified to a federal grand jury in Washington as part of the Justice Departments criminal investigation into the events surrounding the riot. Furthermore, reports emerged on Tuesday saying that federal prosecutors had sought information about the former presidents role in the efforts to overturn the election as the Justice Departments inquiry accelerates.

While Mr. Trump and Mr. Pence were in somewhat regular contact immediately after leaving office  speaking several times by phone in conversations that avoided the subject of the Capitol riot  they have not held similar discussions in months, according to their advisers. In an interview last year, Mr. Trump said that he had never told Mr. Pence he was sorry for not acting quicker to stop the attack  and that Mr. Pence had never asked for an apology.

How Times reporters cover politics. We rely on our journalists to be independent observers. So while Times staff members may vote, they are not allowed to endorse or campaign for candidates or political causes. This includes participating in marches or rallies in support of a movement or giving money to, or raising money for, any political candidate or election cause. Learn more about our process.

But a rivalry has flared up behind the scenes.

One source of tension has been the book Mr. Pence is writing about his time in the administration. When Mr. Trump learned about the memoir, titled So Help Me God and set to be published on Nov. 15, the former president was still musing about obtaining a deal of his own.
Mr. Epshteyn, the emails show, was a regular point of contact for John Eastman, the lawyer whose plan for derailing congressional certification of the Electoral College result on Jan. 6, 2021, was embraced by Mr. Trump.

Mr. Epshteyn not only fielded and passed along to Mr. Giuliani the detailed proposal for Jan. 6 prepared by Mr. Eastman, he also handled questions about how to pay Mr. Eastman and made the arrangements for him to visit the White House on Jan. 4, 2021, the emails show.

That was the day of the Oval Office meeting in which Mr. Trump and Mr. Eastman unsuccessfully pressured Mr. Pence to adopt the plan  an exchange witnessed by Mr. Pences two top aides, Marc Short and Greg Jacob, both of whom testified last week to the federal grand jury investigating the assault on the Capitol and what led to it.

The emails highlight how much of the legwork of finding ways to challenge Mr. Trumps losses in the battleground states was done by Mike Roman, director of Election Day operations for Mr. Trumps campaign.

Mr. Epshteyn and Mr. Roman, the emails show, coordinated with others who played roles in advising Mr. Trump. Among them were the lawyers Jenna Ellis and Bruce Marks; Gary Michael Brown, who served as the deputy director of Election Day operations for Mr. Trumps campaign; and Christina Bobb, who at the time worked for One America News Network and now works with Mr. Trumps PAC.

The emails were apparently not shared with lawyers in the White House Counsels Office, who advised that the fake electors plan was not legally sound, or other lawyers on the campaign.
And in 2021, another review of animal and human studies raised the possibility that titanium dioxide could play a role in inflammatory bowel diseases and colorectal cancer.

This year, after an assessment of the scientific literature by the European Food Safety Authority, the European Union decided to ban titanium dioxide in food. The agency highlighted its concern that the additive could damage DNA and lead to cancer. While more research is still needed, the agency concluded that it could not establish a safe level of titanium dioxide in food.

Britain and Canada, however, disagreed with the European Unions decision and continued to allow titanium dioxide in food.

Norbert Kaminski is a professor of pharmacology and toxicology and the director of the Center for Research on Ingredient Safety at Michigan State University whose own animal research on titanium dioxide has been partially funded by industry groups such as the Titanium Dioxide Manufacturers Association and the International Association of Color Manufacturers. He said that the studies used to justify banning the ingredient in the European Union contained methodology flaws. He added that a 1979 study by the National Toxicology Program, part of the National Institutes of Health, found no link between titanium dioxide and cancer. In that research, mice and rats were given the chemical compound in extremely large doses  amounting to 2.5 to 5 percent of their diet  across two years.

In response to a request for comment, an F.D.A. official said that the agency has reviewed the findings of the European Unions ban and concluded that the available studies do not demonstrate safety concerns connected to the use of titanium dioxide as a color additive.

But Pierre Herckes, a professor of chemistry at the School of Molecular Sciences at Arizona State University who was an author of a 2014 study on titanium dioxide, said that based on the current research, which is mixed, its tricky to say whether consumers should limit their consumption of the additive. I dont have a clear yes or no, he said.
BEIJING  In western China, runoff from melting glaciers could overwhelm dams, officials have warned. In the southern metropolis of Guangzhou, the government has asked residents to use large appliances less so the electrical grid is not overwhelmed as the city battles its longest heat wave since 1951. In the coastal city of Fuzhou, temperatures exceeded 41 degrees Celsius, or nearly 106 degrees Fahrenheit, for an unprecedented three days in a row, state media reported.

More than 900 million Chinese, about 65 percent of the population, are living under some kind of heat warning. Temperatures have reached, or exceeded, the highs that have recently tormented parts of Europe and the United States. Between June and mid-July, officials across the country have issued more than 15,000 high-temperature warnings, including more than 2,000 predicting temperatures would exceed 104 degrees, according to state media. Seventy-one weather stations recorded their highest temperatures ever.

China has long suffered from extreme weather in summer, with heat waves accompanied by intense flooding. But the severity of these events has increased in recent years under the effects of global warming. Officials said the heat this year was likely to be more intense and more prolonged. It is expected to persist until at least the end of the month.
A debate has long raged at universities and think tanks, through public diplomacy and state media outlets: Does democracy or an authoritarian system perform better in times of crisis?

There is no doubt as to democracys advantage on matters like individual rights or rule of law. Still, discussions about which system is more effective in addressing major national challenges draw heavy attention, especially given Chinas world-shaking rise and deepening frustration in the West over political infighting.

Now, two simultaneous crises  climate change and the pandemic  are putting governments to the test. Their performances are being scrutinized in a number of studies, with this result: While democracies do perform slightly better on average in dealing with these problems, neither democracy nor an authoritarian system has shown a clear and consistent edge.
Two researchers using forensic genealogy put a name to the so-called Somerton Man this week, saying they had finally solved the central mystery of an Australian cold case that has stymied investigators for 73 years and inspired theories about spies, smuggling, ballet and teeth.

The police in South Australia, who exhumed the mans body last year, have not verified the identity and said they had no update to give on their own investigation. A spokesperson said they would comment after the results of forensic testing had been received.

But the researchers  an Australian professor of biomedical engineering who has studied the case for over a decade, and an American genetic genealogist whose company works on cold cases in many countries  say they have made a breakthrough. The name they came up with eliminates at least one leading theory, which linked the man to a woman the police interviewed in the 1940s, if not also the more colorful ideas about espionage and codes.
LONDON  The parents of a 12-year-old British boy in a deep coma lost an appeal to keep him on life support on Monday, in a case that has once again put a spotlight on who makes end-of-life decisions involving children.

The boy, Archie Battersbee, was found in a very profoundly damaged state by his mother in their home on April 7 with something tied around his neck, according to court documents. The mother, Hollie Dance, told British media that it was possible Archie was taking part in an online challenge. He was taken to a hospital, where he was found to have severe brain damage.

Continued life-sustaining treatment for Archie will not be lawful, even for a period of days or weeks, the appeals judge wrote in his decision, upholding an earlier ruling in the case.
Tunisians approved a new Constitution that cements the one-man rule instituted by President Kais Saied over the past year, according to the results of a referendum released on Tuesday, dealing a body blow to a democracy built with immense effort and high hopes after the overthrow of the countrys dictator more than a decade ago.

Tunisia, where the Arab Spring uprisings began in 2011, was internationally lauded as the only democracy to survive the revolts that swept the region. But that chapter effectively ended with the passage of the new charter, which enshrines the almost absolute power that Mr. Saied conferred on himself a year ago when he suspended Parliament and fired his prime minister.

Still the referendum on Monday was undercut by mass boycotts, voter apathy and a setup heavily tilted toward Mr. Saied. The Constitution was approved by 94.6 percent of voters, according to the results released by the electoral authority.
Franklin Templeton to launch Franklin India Balanced Advantage Fund

Hydderabad ,July 26 (UNI): Franklin Templeton (India) ,one of the largest foreign fund houses in the country,

is launching an open-ended dynamic asset allocation fund called Franklin India Balanced Advantage Fund (FIBAF).

The fund intends to generate long-term capital appreciation and income generation by investing in a dynamically managed portfolio of equity and equity related instruments and fixed income and money market instruments, the company said in a release on Tuesday.

Offers tactical allocation between equity and debt based on market valuations and fundamental factors-driven views, the product is suitable for those who are not only keen to take advantage of the growth opportunities in equities, but also prefer to reduce the impact of market volatility.

The New Fund Offer opens on August 16, 2022, and will close on August 30, 2022, during which units will be available at Rs.10 per unit.

Speaking on the launch of the fund, Avinash Satwalekar, President, Franklin TempletonIndia, said, We are excited to bring another diversified investment offering that helps investors navigate through changing markets, in a simple and efficient manner.

This new fund is for investors looking for a balanced exposure to equity and debt over the longer term while also capitalizing on opportunities provided by the market from time to time. Apart from the benefits of diversification, this formula-driven approach with its in-built buy-sell discipline helps to negate the behavioural biases caused due to emotions of greed and fear", he added.

Commenting on the fund launch, Anand Radhakrishnan, Managing Director & Chief Investment Officer  Emerging Markets Equity - India, Franklin Templeton, said, the scheme will endeavour to invest in high quality instruments with over 80 percent of fixed income portfolio in AAA-rated papers. This makes it suitable for investors looking for the best of both worlds.

The asset allocation is derived from Franklin Templetons in-house proprietary dynamic asset allocation model and an active stock selection process similar to a flexi-cap portfolio. We believe this will help improve outcomes for investors by enabling them to stay invested over longer periods", Anand added .T

The fund is eligible for equity taxation if the allocation to equity asset class is above 65% for the year.

The Fund will also offer investors a systematic withdrawal facility that will allow them to withdraw a fixed amount at a pre-defined frequency subject to conditions mentioned in Scheme Information Document.

UNI KNR SHK2013
Featuring 20 ramps intertwined over five levels and connecting three major expressways, the Huangjuewan Overpass in Chongqing is considered to be the worlds most complicated overpass.

When the first photos of Huangjuewan Overpass first hit the internet, a few years back, they cause a mix of shock, amazement and concern, especially among motorists. Many were wondering how on Earth less-experienced drivers were supposed to find their way with so many ramps and lanes to choose from. And, even if you consider yourself an experienced driver, Huangjuewan does look a little daunting, at least at first sight. Despite its designers claims that it looks much more complicated than it truly is, Huangjuewan has become known as the worlds most complicated overpass.

Youll have to drive around the entire city if you take the wrong ramp, one motorist commented on a photo of Huangjuewan Overpass a while back, while others wondered whether their GPS systems would be of any help, considering the five vertical levels that the ramps are positioned on.



Completed in 2017, after five years of planning and another seven years of actual construction work, Huangjuewan Overpass is considered somewhat of an architectural wonder, and its lead designer insists that any concerns about navigating the overpass are unfounded.

Liu Bangjun told Peoples Daily that the 20 ramps of Huangjuewan Overpass were necessary to make it easier to navigate. Because it connects three expressways as well as other regional roadways, designers took into account human error and added extra ramps to help drivers turn around faster. According to Liu, in case of choosing the wrong lane, motorists have an exit option within 10 minutes, and road signs are very visible, so even though ramps from Huangjuewan Overpass go in eight different directions, drivers shouldnt be too worried.

China has been creating some pretty crazy overpasses lately. Back in 2018, we featured Qianchun Interchange, another infrastructural wonder consisting of 18 different ramps, with the highest one standing 37 meters above the ground.


NC Wine and Grape Council Wants PR Partner Mon., Aug. 15, 2022 The North Carolina Wine and Grape Council is looking for a firm to run a campaign aimed at changing the culture and knowledge surrounding wine produced in the state.
Almost 50 library branches nationwide are set to benefit from over 3 million funding for self-service facilities.

The funding will bolster the 'My Open Library' service, allowing library members to utilise services via extended opening hours between 8am and 10pm 365 days a year.

The news was announced today (July 26) by the Minister for Rural and Community Development as part of the World Library Congress taking place in Dublin.

Among the library facilities to benefit include Tullow in Carlow, Tramore in Waterford, Clifden in Galway, Newcastle West in Limerick, Blanchardstown and Malahide in Dublin, and Cashel in Tipperary.

Minister Heather Humphreys said supporting Irish libraries is "a key priority".

She said, "[The 'My Open Library'] initiative allows people to avail of self-service library services between the hours of 8am and 10pm, seven days per week. Im delighted to make this announcement as the World Library Congress opens in Dublin, and runs over three days.

"Supporting our libraries is a key priority of mine as Minister for Rural and Community Development. They provide such essential services to people, both young and old, and this funding will give so many more people greater access to their local branch.

"It reflects the fact too that some people like to visit their library early in the morning or late in the evening due to work commitments. Im delighted that we are in a position to roll the initiative out in these additional branches.

Approximately 2.2m will be provided to roll-out the 'My Open Library' initiative in 17 branches, with 900,000 going towards enhancing the equipment in a further 29 branches which already have the service in place.

The initiative aims to complement regular staffed hours to ensure optimum delivery, support for customers, community engagement and the development of programming activities.

The minister concluded: "'My Open Library is the flagship initiative under the current Public Libraries Strategy Our Public Libraries 2022  Inspiring, Connecting and Empowering Communities. It will also form an important part of the successor to the current public library strategy which my Department is currently working on.

"I would like to thank all those that took the time to respond to the recent public consultation on the development of the new strategy. I look forward to considering these responses and to the opening of further My Open Library facilities into the future.
Supreme Court says Talaq-e-Hasan prima facie not improper 16 Aug 2022 | 11:12 PM New Delhi, Aug 16 (UNI) Supreme Court on Tuesday said that the practice of Talaq-e-Hasan for divorcing Muslim women is not prima facie improper. see more..

Bihar BJP's core committee meet held in Delhi 16 Aug 2022 | 11:09 PM New Delhi, August 16 (UNI) A meeting of Bihar BJP's core committee was held at the party headquarters here on Tuesday, which was attended by party president JP Nadda and Home Minister Amit Shah. see more..

PM conveys solidarity with France over drought, wildfires 16 Aug 2022 | 11:06 PM New Delhi, August 16 (UNI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday had a telephonic conversation with President of France Emmanuel Macron and conveyed his solidarity for the ongoing drought and wildfires in France. see more..

Cong slams BJP over release of convicts of Bilkis Bano case 16 Aug 2022 | 9:42 PM New Delhi, August 16 (UNI) The Congress on Tuesday launched a scathing attack at the BJP over the Gujarat government's decision to release 11 people convicted in the 2002 Bilkis Bano case and asserted that it shows the mindset of the ruling dispensation. see more..
euronews (in English) 25 Jul 2022

Newport Folk festival in Rhode Island, USA hosted a bike stage where audience members took it in turns to pedal five bikes..
Rumble 03 Aug 2022

A recent Ty Green clip, caught my attention at the 3:22 mark, that took me down a rabbit hole. What does Pope Francis, Skull and..
China doubled down on its warnings against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visiting Taiwan on Monday, saying it will blame the U.S. for any "serious consequences."
National Leader Christopher Luxon has admitted he took an overseas holiday during Parliament's three-week winter recess - while posts on his Facebook page made it look as though he was visiting regional New Zealand.The posts, on...
Belfast Telegraph 02 Aug 2022

In some ways it gave the impression of being a very personal, understated, quiet and almost intimate service, which seemed..
The Grade 12 Written Expression Examination scheduled for August 1st has been deferred by two weeks.

In a media conference this afternoon, Education Secretary Dr. Uke Kombra says as per the Education Calendar 2022, the grade 12 Written Expression Examination is scheduled for Monday, 1st August.

He says all exam materials have already been dispatched to the respective schools in the country following the normal procedures.

In accordance with the existing National Examinations schedule, all Grade 12 schools were expected to distribute the reading booklets to students at 8am on Monday 25th July for preparation. The examination is scheduled for Monday 1st August 2022.

However, given the current escalating and ongoing National -Election related violence across the country, several schools have requested a deferral of the examination date for the students and schools to settle and have a conducive environment for the exam.

This means that the Grade 12 Written Expression Examination date is now rescheduled on the 15th of August 2022.





One PNG News





Next: Commonwealth observer group expresses immediate reforms to PNG election processes
ONEKAMA  Like many scuba diving enthusiasts Kevin and Amy Ailes are always intrigued to learn the story behind the wrecks they visit in their underwater adventures.

It was that curiosity that drove the Ailes before a recent dive to learn the story behind one of Portage Lakes most noted shipwrecks. They located the 94-foot "Music" ship, also known as the "Demon Flame ship" for the way it floated, burning on the surface of Portage Lake before sinking.

The ship which burned and sank just shy of 123 years ago on Sept. 30, 1899 rests in about 10-20 feet of water near where the propeller currently rests. That propeller was retrieved from the wreck years ago and is proudly displayed with a commemorative plaque near the boat launch site in the Onekama Village Park.

Tales of how it burned that night and where it is located have been part of local folklore for decades around the Onekama area.

I always was interested in it because my family vacationed up there for years in the 1980s and '90s by Chief Lake, so we would come into Onekama to get groceries and go to the park to fish and boat, said Ailes. I remember seeing the propeller there and my dad would tell the story about it every year. I wanted to find it so last year we used the historical account to try and find it, and most things put it on the south part of Andys Point.

Kevin Ailes is a postal worker from the South Haven area; his avid interest in diving started about 10 years ago. He has since become president of the Michigan Underwater Preserve Council and wife Amy joined him in the sport about four years ago.

The dives I just did in Onekama were not a Michigan Underwater Preserve Council project, as it was just something Amy and I did on vacation, said Ailes. I have about 1,000 dives on me and wife has about 150.

Ailes said he and his wife make a good team and enjoy working together on diving trips.

See the shipwreck Find video of the shipwreck with this story at manisteenews.com. See More Collapse

It was very gratifying to find it, and this was one of the vessels that originally got me interested in scuba diving, said Ailes. Amy is a driving force in these projects and is a part of what makes them possible. We are very much a team, and Ive never had a better dive buddy.

Ailes also credited his father for planting a love of history in his mind at an early age.

My father, Robert Ailes, was a history buff who liked to show us all kinds of museums when we were kids, he said.

The steamer Music originally shuttled passengers between Manistee and Onekama in 1899 featuring live musical performances and an orchestra during evening trips to entertain the passengers. It also served alcohol, but prices of the tickets were not too reasonable and geared more to the wealthy elite as a fancy way to travel.

The venture didnt prove profitable because there were two other vessels providing the same service, so the owners decided to transfer the vessel to Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin for shipping goods across Lake Michigan.

On one of those trips carrying a load of shingles, the captain and crew stopped in Onekama for supper. While they stopped, flames began pouring out from the boiler room and soon the entire vessel was engulfed.

The ropes attaching it to the dock were burned setting it afloat with flames shooting into the air, making quite a spectacle.

Ailes said the stories about the eyewitness accounts in the Manistee Daily News at the time also made the wreck interesting.

It has this statement in it that the Music was under the captaincy of the demon flame, said Ailes. When you look at how this ship lays and how it went out you can certainly understand the metaphor. When it left the dock unmanned and burning it went out bow first like it was being piloted.

Ailes said normally it should have blown sideways instead and usually in instances like this, vessels come to rest parallel to a sandbar and rarely with the bow into it.

This thing actually drove right into the sandbar and settled right into it, said Ailes. I am sure there probably were a lot of witnesses and it was quite a spectacle.

He said last year they searched in that area and found a lot of scuttled boats, but not the Music. Ailes used side scan sonar, but they didnt locate anything big enough in size like the Music.

We actually did go over the area where Music was located, but it was so buried in the weeds we didnt see it last year, he said. I made a few posts on Facebook over the winter and Charles Falk who is a local guy said he and others used to dive it in the early 1960s. He confirmed it was there and pointed out some spots on maps he thought it was located.

Ailes said it is located on a couple of charts and that local fisherman know about it, but they followed the leads Falk gave them.

Its a cool dive, but it is pretty shallow as the maximum depth is only 20 feet, he said. It is kind of on a drop off as the bow section is around 10 feet and the stern section is in about 20 feet.

Ailes said what he and Amy found left of the Music proved to be interesting. He added that they also dove to the wreck of the tugboat "Lewis Wallace", which burned and sank in 1893, located north of the north pier on the same day and found something interesting there as well.

"It's mostly the bottom section of the Music that is left and then it was salvaged afterward so between those two things it didn't fare very well," said Ailes. "There is a substantial amount down there and it is not too pretty, and covered in algae growth, but it is chock full of fish. I have dived in probably more than 200 shipwrecks and never seen a wreck so full of fish, but the tugboat (Lewis Wallace) was a close second to it."

According to Ailes, the propeller and the boiler were both removed years ago from the wreck, but that the firebox where the coal was shoveled in still remains with the ship. He added that the firebox appears to be one of the favorite hiding places for the fish these days and the bricks that surrounded it remain.

We didnt have the best visibility, but I took a lot of video and pictures of it, said Ailes. I did documentation on it, did a survey and confirmed beyond a shadow of a doubt what local legend has said is the wreck of the Music. We now have good GPS numbers on it and people have seen this wreck before, but no one has done a survey on it.

In his research on the Music ship, Ailes found it was originally built for the Worlds Fair that was held in 1892 in Chicago.

That was its first purpose as a Worlds Fair Transport Boat, said Ailes. The registry on it shows that the Music didnt change ownership as much as many of them did at the time. However, it did change hands five times, and often these ships would be sold every year.

The open deck boats like the Music were very good to make a profit on and they were moved around quite a bit, according to Ailes. The 94-foot vessel had a 22-foot beam, which was a common size for those type of tour boats.

What we measured out there was about 104 feet, but it was kind of hard to tell where the vessel ended and the debris field began, said Ailes. The bow is very obvious and clear, but the stern section, because when they pulled the propeller and boiler out of it they destroyed it, so there is a lot of wreckage in that area.

The port side was mostly gon, but the starboard side still ran the full side of the boat.

Ailes said the 1890s vessels of this kind were popular as a method of travel.

There were some that were bigger, like the Boblo Boats that were used in Detroit, but I know there is another 100-foot wreck that is very intact in Reed Lake by Grand Rapids, said Ailes. They were extremely popular boats prior to air conditioning as it was a nice way to jump on a boat on a summer evening and get a nice cool ride.

But none of those ended up located in Portage Lake or with the notoriety being known as the infamous Demon Flame Ship.
New Delhi, July 26 (UNI) India on Tuesday slammed the China-Pakistan joint proposal to invite a third country in CPEC saying the territory is illegally-occupied by Pakistan and such activities are "inherently illegal, illegitimate and unacceptable" and will invite action.

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a $60 billion flagship project of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) of the Chinese government that is promoted by President Xi Jinping and it passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

Reacting to queries regarding participation of third countries in the CPEC projects, Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, "We have seen reports on encouraging a proposed participation of third countries in so-called CPEC projects.

"Any such actions by any party directly infringe on India's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

"India firmly and consistently opposes projects in the so-called CPEC, which are in Indian territory that has been illegally occupied by Pakistan. Such activities are inherently illegal, illegitimate and unacceptable, and will be treated accordingly by India," he added.

The MEA statement came amid reports of Pakistan and China preparing to welcome "interested" third countries to join their multi-billion dollar project being laid through PoK.

China and Pakistan met last week virtually when the CPEC Joint Working Group invited third parties saying it is "an open and inclusive platform" for mutually beneficial cooperation. It was the third meeting of the CPEC JWG on International Cooperation and Coordination.

UNI ASU ING
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

INDIANAPOLIS (AP)  Thousands of people arguing the abortion issue surrounded the Indiana Statehouse and filled its corridors Monday as state lawmakers began consideration of a Republican proposal to ban nearly all abortions in the state and Vice President Kamala Harris denounced the effort during a meeting with Democratic legislators.

Harris said during a trip to Indianapolis that the abortion ban proposal reflects a health care crisis in the country. Despite the bills abortion ban language, anti-abortion activists lined up before a legislative committee to argue that the bill wasnt strict enough and lacked enforcement teeth.

Indiana is one of the first Republican-run state legislatures to debate tighter abortion laws following the U.S. Supreme Court decision last month overturning Roe v. Wade. The Supreme Court ruling is expected to lead to abortion bans in roughly half the states.

Maybe some people need to actually learn how a womans body works, Harris said Monday, eliciting murmurs and laughs from the Democratic legislators. The parameters that are being proposed mean that for the vast majority of women, by the time she realizes she is pregnant, she will effectively be prohibited from having access to reproductive health care that will allow her to choose what happens to her body."

Confrontations erupted periodically between anti-abortion and abortion-rights demonstrators around the Indiana Statehouse. One person carrying a message on cardboard  Forced Birth Is Violence  followed a man, who carried a fake red fetus in a plastic bag over his shoulder, and tried to obscure his sign that read Save Our Babies.

Some people had virulent arguments encircled by other demonstrators

You think you should dictate my life and my kids lives. Thats what youre saying, Kait Schultz, who wore a dark gray Pregnant and Pissed shirt, shouted to Christopher Monaghan.

You dont want to have a conversation, Monaghan replied as they spoke over each other. He held a vertical sign that read Babies Lives Matter.

Elsewhere Monday, Lawmakers in West Virginia's Republican majority hurried to advance legislation that would criminalize abortion with few exceptions. A bill introduced Monday makes providing an abortion a felony carrying up to 10 years in prison. It provides exceptions only in cases where there is an ectopic pregnancy, a nonmedically viable fetus or a medical emergency.

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice abruptly added state abortion law to the states Legislatures agenda for a special session he called for Monday to focus on his income tax cut plan.

In his announcement, Justice asked legislators to clarify and modernize the state abortion laws in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling. A week ago, a Charleston judge blocked enforcement of the states 150-year-old abortion ban, saying the recent laws enacted by the West Virginia Legislature hopelessly conflict with the criminal abortion ban.

In Tennessee, meanwhile, the attorney generals office said its still unknown when the states anti-abortion trigger ban will go into effect, but some state lawmakers are raising alarm that the ban has no exceptions for victims of rape or incest.

Tennessee has been limiting abortion as early as six weeks into pregnancy  when most women dont know theyre pregnant  ever since the U.S. Supreme Courts abortion decision last month. Republican Gov. Bill Lee refused last week to answer questions from reporters on he supported tweaking the trigger law, particularly sidestepping on whether he supported exempting children who were raped and then became pregnant.

In Wyoming, a lawsuit filed Monday by a Casper womens health clinic and others seeks to block the state's new abortion ban just before its scheduled to take effect. The lawsuit claims the new law violates the state constitution with restrictions that will discourage potentially lifesaving pregnancy healthcare in Wyoming, forcing pregnant women to go to other states for necessary procedures.

Indianas Republican Senate leaders proposed a bill last week that would prohibit abortions from the time an egg is implanted in a womans uterus with limited exceptions  in cases of rape, incest and to protect the life of the mother. The proposal followed the political firestorm over a 10-year-old rape victim who traveled to the state from neighboring Ohio to end her pregnancy.

She is a baby, Democratic Rep. Cherrish Pryor of Indianapolis, one of the lawmakers at the meeting with Harris, said of the child. Why should we force babies to have babies?

The case of the Ohio girl gained wide attention when an Indianapolis doctor said the child had to go to Indiana because Ohio banned abortions at the first detectable fetal heartbeat after the Supreme Court's abortion decision.

The ultimate fate of the Indiana abortion bill in the Republican-dominated Legislature is uncertain, as leaders of Indiana Right to Life, the state's most prominent anti-abortion group, are decrying the Senate proposal as weak and lacking enforcement provisions.

Republican Senate leaders said the bill would not add new criminal penalties against doctors involved with abortions, but they would face possibly having their medical licenses revoked for breaking the law.

Numerous anti-abortion activists argued against including the exceptions allowing abortions in cases of rape and incest.

I dont believe children should be murdered based on their circumstance of conception, Emma Duell of Noblesville told the Senate committee. What happened the night they were conceived, something they have no control over should not affect whether they are protected from abortion violence or not.

Republican Sen. Sue Glick, the abortion ban bills sponsor, said she expected amendments would be considered tightening the exceptions before the Senates anticipated vote on the proposal later this week.

Representatives of several physician groups raised concerns about the Indiana proposal possibly being questioned and prosecuted over their medical decisions.

Ariel Ream of Indianapolis said she was undergoing fertility treatments and worried that the abortion ban could leave her health threatened if she were to have a miscarriage and face bleeding.

When am I hemorrhaging enough to be able to get care? Ream said. We dont know if you go to the ER that doctors going to be scared enough to put their license on the line for me.

___

Arleigh Rodgers 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 Arleigh Rodgers on Twitter at https://twitter.com/arleighrodgers
Improvement in business or personal relationships is vital for growth. Learning new and/or better methods of approaching a job, or simply communicating with others can change your whole outlook on life. One of the best ways to do that is to listen to those who have reached a level of accomplishment others envy and strive for, and are willing to share their knowledge.

Speakers at the Global Leadership Summit are prime examples of successful people who have attained that level of respect.

The Global Leadership Summit, a worldwide event, takes place on Aug. 4 and 5. The summit will be offered locally at the EPBP Laker High School Auditorium, 6136 Pigeon Road, Pigeon. From 10 a.m. until 5:45 p.m. Aug. 4 and 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. on the Aug. 5, speakers from many walks of life will give pointers on how to improve your leadership potential. The summit is locally sponsored by the Pigeon River Mennonite Church.

It is streamed from Illinois, said Caitlin Stone-Webber, director of the SAIL Academy, a part of the Laker School system. The event takes place there, and then they have locations all over the U.S.  all over the world, actually. Last year was my first year. I signed up not really knowing what it was. It was wonderful. I left really rejuvenated. I learned a lot ... as a parent, as a spouse, as an employee, and as a leader.

Stone-Webber said she came away with many ideas of how to put the information she received into practice. In 2022, she is part of a committee tasked with promoting the event.

This year its at Laker High School, in the auditorium, Stone-Webber said. It will be streamed on their big screen. Youll be able to go there, and still feel that sense of community ... of being with other people and being able to talk about the presenters.

The motto of the Global Leadership Summit is "voice your vision." Speakers from around the world  authors, pastors, business executives, and others  will share their vision, so you can share yours. According to their flyer, "It is an invitation to get geared up with the leadership tools you need to voice your vision for a better future."

Local businessman Paul Shupe has attended previous summits.

God uses the GLS as a timely tool to shape my heart with the wisdom that I need as I carry leadership responsibilities in my family and business, Shupe said. Whether it was a GLS talk on Crucial Conversations, BHAGs (Big Hairy Audacious Goals,) Blindspots, or Market Place Ministry, every year after attending, I leave with multiple inspiring ideas, quotes, and encouragement that serves me in the coming months in my leadership roles. I look forward to the wisdom I will again learn this year.

Another local businessman, Don Faupel, has also participated in the Global Leadership Summit in past years.

I, along with several others from my company, have been attending the Global Leadership Summit for several years, Faupel said. I have never failed to gain valuable leadership strategies and techniques that have benefited my CPA firm. One of the nice features of the conference is that a registration includes two days and can be used by one person the first day, and another person the second. I highly recommend this summit to any organization, business owner, or employee who has any kind of leadership role, or any student or individual who has leadership aspirations.

According to the Global Leadership Summit website (www.globalleadership.org) there are questions needing answers; "When you look at the world around you, what do you see? If you see opportunities or problems to be solved even in the face of hardship, you might be a leader. In fact, your vision for a better future, wherever you are, whatever your title, really matters."

Cost for the Global Leadership Summit is $229.00 for the two-day event. Educators, students, first responders, and nurses receive a price break for attending. Their cost is $99, and nurses receive continuing education credit for attending.

For further information on the Global Leadership Summit, call 989-453-2081, or visit www.globalleadership.org, or email caitlinstone22@gmail.com or pastormaurer@gmail.com.
The following list includes recent reports from the Midland County Sheriffs Office and the Midland Police Department. Compiled by reporter Tereasa Nims.

Monday, July 25

11:03 p.m. - Deputies were dispatched to Greendale Township regarding a 64-year-old man verbally threatening a 30-year-old man and his 31-year-old girlfriend. Deputies spoke with both parties and assisted in resolving the dispute without incident. No further assistance was requested from the Sheriff's Office.

10:56 p.m. - Police responded to State and East Buttles streets for traffic offenses.

10:53 p.m.  A deputy was sent to Homer Township for a report of a man pushing a moped down the roadway and he was stopped in front of an address. The deputy located the man who was having vehicle trouble. The man was all set and was walking home.

10:13 p.m. - Deputies were dispatched to a Greendale Township residence in reference to 63-year-old man reporting two other males possibly being involved in a suspicious situation at the residence. Deputies arrived on scene and investigated the situation. Deputies found no evidence of wrongdoing. No parties involved were cooperative with the Sheriff's Office while on scene.

9:34 p.m. - Deputies were dispatched to a Lee Township location regarding a 21-year-old man who stated that he was feeling suicidal. Deputies transported the man to the MMMC where deputies completed a mental health petition.

8:51 p.m. - Deputies were dispatched to a Jerome Township location for an unknown situation following a 911 call with bad phone service was dropped. Deputies arrived and observed a 62-year-old man having a medical emergency. Deputies provided medical treatment until EMS and Jerome Fire arrived on scene. The man was transported to MyMichigan Medical Center by EMS.

8:06 p.m. - Deputies were dispatched to an Edenville Township residence in reference to an out-of-state woman requesting that deputies contact her sister. The womans contacted one another prior to deputies arrival and the Sheriff's Office was not needed for further assistance.

8:03 p.m. - A deputy responded to a Jerome Township residence regarding a delayed report of unwanted people. The unwanted people left prior to law enforcement arrival. No further assistance was needed by the resident.

7:54 p.m. - Deputies were dispatched to a Lincoln Township business for an unsecured door thought to be suspicious. Deputies spoke with business patrons who advised that the owner of the building typically does not secure the door to allow patrons and business partners full access. Nothing suspicious was found.

5:18 p.m. - Police were called to S. Saginaw and East Patrick roads for a property damage accident.

5:16 p.m. - Deputies were called when an unknown woman in a small red Chevrolet car failed to pay for $47.25 in gas at a Warren Township gas station. The vehicle left southbound, and no plate was obtained. The vehicle was not located.

4:17 p.m. - Deputies were dispatched to a Porter Township residence to speak with a 31-year-old Porter Township man that was having mental health issues. The man agreed to go to the Hospital for an evaluation without incident.

2:17 p.m. - A 42-year-old Jasper Township woman reported mail from a credit card company and a mortgage company about accounts in her name. The woman advised she had never done business with those businesses and was not out any money at this time. She was provided with an identity theft checklist from.

1:16 p.m. - Police were dispatched to North Saginaw Road and Eastman Avenue for a property damage crash.

12:46 p.m. - Police were called to the 2700 block of Whitewood Drive for a civil complaint.

12:04 p.m. - An Idaho state resident who was visiting a family member in Mills Township reported to the Sheriff's Office that an unknown individual stole the front license plate off his 2017 Chevrolet Colorado.

11:54 a.m. - Deputies were dispatched to the Law Enforcement Center for a report of a harassment complaint that occurred in Porter Township. The complainant was concerned for his safety, so he wanted this incident documented.

11:26 a.m. - A deputy took a report of a private property crash that occurred in a Larkin Township parking lot. There were no injuries and a UD-10 crash report was completed.

10:01 a.m. - An animal control deputy received a call about a man being bitten by his own cat. An isolation notice was issued to the cat owner.

8:58 a.m. - An animal control deputy received a complaint reference a dog running loose from a home is Jasper Township. It is believed to have been responsible for killing several of a neighbors chickens. Complaint was referred to the prosecutor.

8:56 a.m. - Deputies checked on a vehicle with its hazard lights on. Deputies contacted the 53-year-old driver who stated he was all set.

8:30 a.m. - A deputy was called to check on an injured goose. The goose was found on the edge of the roadway. The deputy moved the goose from the roadway toward its flock.

1:14 a.m. - Deputies were dispatched to a Jerome Township residence regarding a 32-year-old man reporting that he heard someone knocking on his front door and windows. Deputies checked the property, and nobody was located.
TO THE EDITOR:

I am a Vietnam Veteran pilot who flew Cobra attack helicopters in Vietnam and was awarded several commendations for my service, including two Distinguished Flying Crosses, the Army Commendation Medal for Valor and others. I also received a purple heart for injuries that hospitalized me for several weeks.

Given my background, I am sensitive to people falsely claiming to have served in Vietnam, or frankly, in any other war or conflict our troops have been involved with. When I read a recent letter to the editor who was confused about Bill G. Schuettes service as an Intelligence Officer with the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) I felt the need to provide clarity.

I know from personal experience that service is about commitment to the mission. During my time in Vietnam, there were many U.S. civilians who assisted the military in many roles, which allowed us to do our jobs more efficiently. When I talked with Bill about his time in the Middle East and his position with the DIA, I learned about his strong commitment and willingness to devote his time and energy to supporting our military men and women and keeping our country safe. That is why he volunteered for his deployment by the DIA to the Middle East where he supported our counter-ISIS taskforce.

From the start of his campaign, Bill has impressed me with his heart for service and his driving work ethic.

That same dedication is why he was voted by his peers and supervisors as Intelligence Officer of the Year for the Latin America Division of the DIA and was selected to do important national security briefings for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

I have followed Bills campaign closely and am proud to see him furthering his passion for service back in his hometown. Those who question his experience or preparedness are sadly confused about how civilians closely assist our active military. Bill was entrusted by our U.S. Government with the highest levels of Security Clearance.

The 95th District will be well-served by electing Bill G. Schuette.

CLAY MAXWELL

Beaverton
Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (PANA) - At least 15 suspected terrorists were on Monday neutralised in response to an attack on a military detachment in Burkina Faso's Sahel region, killing two soldiers and wounding nine others, the army announced in a statement
PLA to train pilots faster with new programs amid warplane production capacity boost

By Liu Xuanzun (Global Times) 10:31, July 26, 2022

A J-20 fighter jet pilot assigned to a PLA air force base contacts with the control tower in the cockpit after landing safely on the runway during an air combat training exercise involving multi-type fighter jets on May 17, 2022. (eng.chinamil.com.cn/Photo by Yang Jun)

The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force and Naval Aviation Force have recently made new progress in their new pilot recruitment and training programs at a time when China is expanding its warplane fleet with record-breaking warplane production capability, with analysts saying on Sunday that the PLA will make sure to have enough qualified personnel to fly its cutting-edge machines.

In a milestone move marking the establishment of the PLA Air Force's brand new personnel training program, the first group of pilot cadets trained on J-10s - a type of China's domestically developed fourth generation fighter jet - recently graduated from the Shijiazhuang Flight Academy and were dispatched to frontline combat forces, China Central Television (CCTV) reported on Saturday.

In 2020, the Shijiazhuang Flight Academy for the first time received delivery of J-10 fighter jets and started testing with this new training program. While it takes four to six years of flight training for a pilot cadet to become qualified to fly a fourth generation fighter jet under the old training program, the new program takes only three years, greatly shortening the time needed to train a cadet to become a combat-ready pilot, CCTV reported.

With an average age of 23, this first group of pilot cadets in the new program was selected from pilot cadets who trained with CJ-6 basic trainer aircraft at the Aviation University of Air Force. After completing training on JL-10 advanced trainer jets, they switched to train on J-10s in July last year and completed high-standard, realistic training including air-to-air mock combat against instructors and mock air-to-ground combat against air defense troops of the PLA Army, the CCTV report said.

"This group of pilot cadets will become an important force in air combat, which has key significance in the promotion of the Air Force's strategic transformation and its carrying out of duties and missions in the new era," Xie Hao, a brigade commander at the Shijiazhuang Flight Academy, told CCTV.

The PLA Navy recently also wrapped up its annual pilot cadet recruitment program for shipborne aircraft, according to a video released by the PLA Navy's official Weibo account on Friday.

"Out of the newly recruited pilot cadets, 41.5 percent are qualified to learn to fly carrier-based fighter jets. This is enough to meet the demand for personnel training of carrier-based fighter jets," Chu Hanqiang, head of the PLA Navy's pilot recruitment office, said in the video.

The other shipborne pilot cadets are expected to learn to fly other types of aircraft including carrier-based early warning aircraft, transport aircraft or vessel-based helicopters, observers said. They noted that with the launch of China's third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, which is also the country's first carrier equipped with electromagnetic catapults, the PLA Navy not only needs more pilots, but also pilots for more types of aircraft.

The latest progress in new pilot recruitment and training programs by both the PLA Air Force and Naval Aviation Force came at a time when China saw a warplane production capacity boost in 2021.

Two major manufacturers of PLA's warplanes, the Shenyang Aircraft Corporation that builds the J-15 carrier-based fighter jet and the J-16 multirole fighter jet as well as the Chengdu Aircraft Industrial Group Co Ltd that builds the J-20 stealth fighter jet and the J-10 fighter jet, both broke recordsin terms of aircraft delivery last year, according to official press releases at the time.

Combat capability is generated through a combination of operators, weapons and equipment, so only having one is not enough. That is why personnel training, weapons and equipment development must take place in tandem, a Chinese military expert who requested anonymity told the Global Times on Sunday.

(Web editor: Wu Chaolan, Liang Jun)
New Delhi, July 26 (UNI) Assam Chief Minister Hemanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday announced that the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party will jointly contest the upcoming Assembly elections in Nagaland.

"Today, me and Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio met Home Minister Amit Shah in his Parliament office. Happy to share that BJP and NDPP will jointly contest the forthcoming Assembly elections in Nagaland," Sarma, who is also the convenor of BJP-led North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA), posted on Twitter.

Along with the tweet, the Chief Minister also posted a joint statement issued by NDPP and BJP in this regard.

Later talking to reporters at the Assam House here, Sarma said that both the parties have decided that NDPP will contest on 40 Assembly constituencies and BJP on 20 seats.

"The leadership of the two parties, led by BJP president JP Nadda and Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio of NDPP, have mutually agreed to continue the alliance with seat-sharing in the forthcoming elections to the Nagaland Legislative Assembly of 40:20, wherein NDPP will contest in 40 seats and BJP will contest in 20 seats. There will be no friendly contest in any constituency," the joint statement read.

It further said, "A 'Core Committee' of NDPP and BJP Members will formulate the election strategy to decide the seats at an appropriate time, to decide on seats, which each party will contest respectively".

The NDPP-BJP alliance in Nagaland was formed in 2018 under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the then BJP president Amit Shah.

Assembly elections in Nagaland are slated to be held early next year.

UNI DS RJ
New York, US (PANA) - The overall situation in Libya remains highly volatile, Martha Pobee, UN Assistant Secretary-General for political affairs and peace operations, told the Security Council on Monday
Togo, Lome (PANA) - The Togolese government is satisfied with the results of the various national examinations concerning the 2021-2022 school year, said a statement from the Council of Ministers received on Tuesday by PANA here
"The List" is PAPER's definitive roundup of the biggest fashion and art news, launches, capsules and collaborations of the month. Scroll through, below, to see July's newest arrivals.

Tiffany Atrium: New Social Impact Platform See on Instagram On Wednesday, Tiffany & Co. announced a new social impact platform called Atrium, whose mission is to create a more diverse and inclusive jewelry industry by advancing opportunities for historically underrepresented communities. The jeweler marked the launch by commissioning a new artwork from Baltimore-raised artist Derrick Adams called I Shine, You Shine, We Shine which the Tiffany Atrium logo is derived from. It will be auctioned by online art marketplace Artsy July 27 - August 10, with 100% of proceeds benefiting The Last Resort Artist Retreat.

Bernard James Summer 2022 Family Portraits Photography: Cesar Buitrago The next group featured in Bernard James' ongoing Family Portraits series includes designers Christopher John Rogers and Aisling Camps, photographer Quil Lemons and stylists Becky Akinyode and Matthew Henson. Each subject works in the fashion, music, arts and media fields and is a close friend of the jewelry designer. This year's theme is "talent behind talent" and focuses on industry tastemakers who work behind the scenes.

Austin James Smith x Planet i Courtesy of Planet i

Mixed media artist, jewelry designer and NYC nightlife fixture Austin James Smith, known via his social media handle Empty Pools, teamed up with eyewear brand Planet i to create the Spinal Sunglasses, an archive motif from Austin James Smith's Splice collection. It comes in three colors  Shadow, Sport, and Sunrise  and contrasts with reciprocal white, gold and black spinal design of the temple sides. Available now at austinjamessmith.com and planeti.world

SKIMS Swim Campaign With Bella Poarch, Paris Jackson and Madison Bailey Photography: Cobrasnake/ Courtesy of SKIMS

So far, the swim campaigns for SKIMS have had its founder Kim Kardashian front and center, including the most recent one where she channeled an '80s bombshell for its metallics line. But for its latest swim ads, the shapewear brand enlisted a trio of next-gen muses: Paris Jackson, Bella Poarch and Madison Bailey, all of whom star in the LA pool party-inspired campaign shot by alternative party photographer Cobrasnake. The new swim collection is available starting July 28 at SKIMS.com

Brandon Blackwood Launches First Men's Bag Courtesy of Brandon Blackwood Brandon Blackwood has added another bag to his accessories range: the Jordanis Trunk, their first bag designed for men. The boxy style is made of smooth black leather and comes with zipper pockets and an adjustable strap. Available now at BrandonBlackwood.com

Armani Exchange Gets the SmileyWorld Treatment Courtesy of Armani Exchange

SmileyWorld's iconic yellow smiling symbol is all over Armani Exchange's new feel-good capsule collection, part of the SmileyWorld's 50th anniversary celebrations (the company has teamed up with everyone from Moschino to Dior to Loewe). For this collab, Armani Exchanged swapped the eyes with its signature A|X logo, and they also referenced Giorgio Armani's recognizable glasses and smile for the other emoji. Available now at ArmaniExchange.com

ASHYA x t.a. New York Campaign photographer: Myesha Evon Gardner

ASHYA's Shema Slingback, the street-style It-bag that launched exclusively with t.a. New York in 2020 in a bold, red shade, is being released in another exclusive color with the fashion-favorite luxury concept store. The bag, the second collaboration between ASHYA co-founders Ashley Cimone/Moya Annece and t.a.'s Telsha Anderson, now comes in a brushed vegetable-tanned leather style named Trilogy while keeping its signature ring handle and compact, travel-friendly shape. Available now at shop-ta.com

Mr. Porter x Throwing Fits Courtesy of Mr. Porter James Harris and Lawrence Schlossman, founders of menswear podcast Throwing Fits (its tagline is "two grown dirtbags just tryna navigate the male zeitgeist"), have collaborated with Mr. Porter on a new capsule collection featuring 13 brands and over 70 pieces of clothing, shoes and accessories, all handpicked by the duo. There's also an edit of exclusive Throwing Fits merchandise. "Whether we've earned this privilege or it's simply karmic justice for a lifetime spent shopping and thinking more about men's clothing than anyone else on the planet is up to interpretation," the pair said of the partnership. "Either way, consider the bucket list checked. Finally garnering the respect of our friends and loved ones is just icing on the cake. Available now at Mr. Porter.com

Tommy Hilfiger Is Returning to NYFW After Three Years NYFW just got a big boost this season. Tommy Hilfiger will show its next see-now-buy-now collection on September 11 in New York City, its first show during New York Fashion Week in three years. It will also be live-streamed on Roblox with avatars dress in virtual pieces from the collection. "This season is all about the collision of my favorite archival inspirations with new live event concepts and virtual worlds," Hilfiger said. "Its the perfect expression of what we stand for as we pay homage to our roots with a return to NYFW."

Anyone Can Attend Diesel's Next Runway Show For the first time, Diesel is opening its upcoming Spring 2023 show to the public, inviting fashion enthusiasts, students, friends, and fans of the brand to attend. Registration to attend the live show in Milan is on a first come, first serve basis starting September 1 at Diesel.com.

Opening Ceremony Launches Collaboration With LUAR Courtesy of Opening Ceremony

New Luar bags just dropped! Well, in new colors anyway. The brand's popular It-bag, the Ana Mini, seen on everyone from Dua Lipa to Troye Sivan, is releasing two exclusive new colorways thanks to a collaboration with Opening Ceremony  ini tobacco pony hair-effect leather and black-and-cream snakeskin-embossed vegan leather. There's also a sweatshirt with artwork from Bony Ramirez's Feeding a Child of the Ocean." The collab is part of OC's 20th anniversary celebrations, which have included collabs with designer Peter Do and punk-rock band The Linda Lindas. Luar's Raul Lopez and OC's designers Humberto Leon and Carol Lim go way back, when the retailer first stocked Hood by Air (which Lopez co-founded) and then Luar. When I started to take my first steps as a designer, OC was the first store to believe in me and support me, Lopez said. OC will forever be family to me.'' Available starting July 12 at OpeningCeremony.com and Farfetch.com

Acne Studios Musubi Bag Campaign by Talia Chetrit Photography: Talia Chetrit/ Courtesy of Acne Studios

Acne Studios tapped New York-based photographer Talia Chetrit, known for her still lifes and nude portraiture, to shoot a new campaign for their Musubi bag. She shot the bags on male dancers bodies which she chose because they resembled the figurative qualities in the bags.

Eckhaus Latta Launches Shoe Collection Courtesy of Eckhaus Latta/ Thomas McCarthy

Eckhaus Latta's first footwear collection, first seen on the brand's Fall 2022 runway, is here and features a mix of silhouettes (all made in Portugal), heel shapes and colors including the Mike boot and Zoe clog. The range builds upon previous collaborations with UGG and Camper Available now at EckhausLatta.com, Farfetch and Nordstrom

Givenchy Launches 101 Dalmations Capsule Courtesy of Givenchy
Photo: (Photo : Getty images )

Police arrested Aidan Grant, a 15-year-old boy, and charged him with the murder of his 14-year-old girlfriend, Brooke McLaughlin, after she was found dead by her mother in their family home in Maine on July 18 at 6 p.m. Their family car was also missing from the driveway.

The two teenagers had been in a relationship since February 13, 2022, as per Grant's Facebook post. His profile photo included the two kissing with a firework igniting in the background. In the caption, he posted, "My everything," Daily Mail reports.

Authorities conducted an investigation involving processing the scene and interviews from Monday night to Tuesday. On Tuesday morning, officers found the missing family car, a red Chevy Impala, in Wayne town.

Intentionally or knowingly causing death

The police charged the 15-year-old boy from Wayne in Waterville District Court with intentional or knowing murder in the Brooke McLaughlin homicide case.

Additional case documents, including a police affidavit, would detail how Grant allegedly killed McLaughlin, but a judge impounded the records, which are now unavailable to the public.

Residents of Mount Vernon expressed their shock at McLaughlin's death. In a town with 1,700 residents, the shocking murder made residents feel that they had lost their sense of security and had them locking their doors and automobiles, Central Maine reports.

On Wednesday, investigators disclosed the case announcing that someone stole the family's 2010 Chevrolet Impala from McLaughlin's home on the day of the killing. Investigators found the vehicle in Wayne, as per the court documents. The investigation into the girl's killing is still ongoing.

The Maine Police arrested Grant on Saturday morning, but at the time, authorities did not disclose the teenager's name or residence because he is a juvenile. He entered a denial in juvenile court, the same as a not guilty plea Monday over a Zoom call. Authorities are now holding Grant at Long Creek Youth Development Center in South Portland.

Meg Elam, assistant Attorney General for the State of Maine, said their office requested that Grant undergo a diagnostic evaluation to determine if he would be tried as an adult.

Grant's father was in the courtroom during the hearing but refused interviews from reporters.

Read Also: Judge Hands 5-Year Sentence to Dad Who Left 9-Month-Old Daughter Unsupervised in Bath.

A tribute to Brooke McLaughlin

Brooke McLaughlin was a seventh-grade student at Maranacook Community Middle School. According to Jay Charette, the Regional School District superintendent, the district is offering counseling arrangements to support staff, students, and family.

In her obituary, McLaughlin's family and friends remembered her as a "kind, loving, very thoughtful, big-hearted, strong person who loved her family and friends."

According to People, Rick Sirois, dean of students at Maranacook Community Middle School, said McLaughlin was firm and confident in her beliefs, recalling how the young teener would ask to eat lunch in his office. He added that they would have casual conversations about life. Having her company was always a pleasure, he said.

Sirois also said that Brooke was "super protective" of her family and seemed mature beyond her years. She was laid to rest on Sunday, July 24.

Related Article: Mickey Mouse Consoles Military Toddler Experiencing Separation Anxiety
Photo: (Photo : Diego Fabian Parra Pabon from Pixabay )

A missing Texas mom who was last seen rushing to work nearly three weeks ago has been found dead inside her vehicle in a shopping mall parking lot, police announced on Monday, July 25.

Christina Lee Powell's body was discovered on Saturday night after a security guard noticed a foul odor coming from the car parked outside the Huebner Oaks Center in San Antonio, according to the New York Post.

The security guard approached the black 2020 Nissan Rogue after realizing the 39-year-old's vehicle had been parked in the same spot outside the mall for about a week, cops said. When the guard looked inside the car, he observed a body in the front passenger side seat and decided to call 911 immediately.

Cops said Powell had suffered no apparent injuries

Police said there was no apparent trauma to her body, but a medical examiner conducted an autopsy to determine Powell's official cause of death. It also was not immediately clear when she died.

Cops said Powell's purse and ID were found inside her car and used to identify her positively. Powell's mom, Claudia Mobley, broke the sad news of her daughter's tragic death on the social media platform Facebook on Monday, writing that her beautiful daughter, Christina Powell, had been found deceased. The heartbroken mom then said thank you to all for the prayers.

Powell had been missing since July 5 after she set off from her home in San Antonio to head to her paralegal job, according to her family at the time. Powell was captured on her doorbell security footage rushing to leave the house at about 10:30 a.m., leaving behind both her Apple Watch and phone, according to People magazine.

Mobley, who also lives at the San Antonio home, said Powell had called her office to let them know she would be late. Mobley said her daughter's colleague came to their home hours later when Powell failed to show up at the office.

Read Also: Red Alert for Child Health as 25 Million Kids Missed Routine Vaccinations Due to COVID Pandemic

Is Powell's death heat-related?

Mobley told Fox News soon after she reported her daughter missing that she felt like Powell was going to work. She added that nothing seemed out of the ordinary on the day of her disappearance and that Powell had not said anything remarkable to her before she left.

She said they did not really have any kind of in-depth conversation that particular morning. She just said "Good morning" and that she was late. Mobley then told her daughter to be careful as she was leaving for work and "I love you."

The mall complex where Powell's body was found is located approximately four miles from her Red Hill Place home, which is a 10-minute drive. Temperatures in the San Antonio area averaged at least in the high 80s and low 90s during the approximate time Powell's car was believed to have been parked in the lot.

Related Article: Mental Health Crises Soaring Among Children and Teens in the United States
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
In late July 2020 Patently Apple posted a legal report titled Koss, an American Pioneer in Headphones, has filed a Five-Count Patent Infringement Lawsuit against Apple. Then in early August 2020, we posted a follow-up report titled Apple Files a Six-Count Countersuit against Koss Corporation for Breach of Contract and more.

Were learning today that in a court filing Saturday, Apple Inc agreed to settle a lawsuit brought Koss Corp over Apple's AirPods and Beats headphones.

The trial was set to begin today, the companies told the Waco, Texas federal court that they had resolved allegations that Apple infringed Koss' wireless-headphone patents.

U.S. District Judge Alan Albright dismissed the case with prejudice the same day, which means it cannot be refiled. For more, read the full Reuters report.
(Click on image to Greatly Enlarge)

Group Photo: Markian Tarasiuk, Andreas Joseph, Ashley Strumwasser (VP, Hello Sunshine), Veronica West, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Reese Witherspoon, Sam Miller, Lauren Neustadter, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Christin Park, Ari Graynor, Francois Arnaud and Millie Brad attend the global series premiere screening of the Apple TV+ psychological thriller Surface at the Morgan Library & Museum. Surface premieres globally July 29th, 2022 on Apple TV+.

Last night at the Morgan Library in New York, Apple TV+ held the world premiere event for Surface, the highly anticipated psychological thriller starring Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Stephan James, Ari Graynor and more, and executive produced by Veronica West, Reese Witherspoon and Lauren Neustadter. Surface makes its global debut with the first three episodes on Friday, July 29, 2022 on Apple TV+, followed by one new episode weekly every Friday.

For Bingers: The whole series will be available to view in its totality on September 02, 2022.

Set in high-end San Francisco, Surface stars Mbatha-Raw (The Morning Show), who also executive produces, as Sophie, a woman who has suffered a traumatic head injury that has left her with extreme memory loss, believed to be a result of a suicide attempt. As Sophie embarks on a quest to put the pieces of her life back together with the help of her husband and friends, she begins to question whether or not the truth she is told is in fact the truth she has lived. Through twists and turns and an unexpected love triangle, this sexy, elevated thriller asks: What if you woke up one day and didnt know your own secrets? Surface is a story of self- discovery which contemplates if we are pre-programmed to become who we are, or if we choose our own identity.

Executive producers Reese Witherspoon and Gugu Mbatha-Raw attend the global series premiere screening of the Apple TV+ psychological thriller Surface at the Morgan Library & Museum. Surface premieres globally July 29th, 2022 on Apple TV+.

Oliver Jackson-Cohen and Gugu Mbatha-Raw attend the global series premiere screening of the Apple TV+ psychological thriller Surface at the Morgan Library & Museum. Surface premieres globally July 29th, 2022 on Apple TV+.

Gugu Mbatha-Raw attends the global series premiere screening of the Apple TV+ psychological thriller Surface at the Morgan Library & Museum. Surface premieres globally July 29th, 2022 on Apple TV+.

Executive producer Reese Witherspoon attends the global series premiere screening of the Apple TV+ psychological thriller Surface at the Morgan Library & Museum. Surface premieres globally July 29th, 2022 on Apple TV+.

(Click on image to Greatly Enlarge)

Executive producers Reese Witherspoon and Gugu Mbatha-Raw attend the global series premiere screening of the Apple TV+ psychological thriller Surface at the Morgan Library & Museum. Surface premieres globally July 29th, 2022 on Apple TV+.

Apples Workplace Comedy Mythic Quest is Back this Fall

Trailer for Third and Final Season of See

For more details, review Apples press releases for Mythic Quest and See.

Archive: Apple TV News
According to a new supply chain report this morning, TCL chairman Li Dongsheng will be visiting Apples headquarters in Cupertino. His visit is likely aimed at winning supply orders for liquid crystal display (LCD) panels made by their subsidiary CSOT for use on its lower-end iPads and MacBooks. Apple likes to put pressure on their suppliers to lower costs and having CSOT bid for Apples display business is aimed at putting pressure on both BOE and LG Display.



According to The Elecs report, Li Dongshengs trip to the US will follow the trip he made to Japan to meet those from JOLED. CSOT is a fierce competitor to compatriot BOE in the global LCD market. Though BOE is ahead in LCD for IT products such as notebooks, tablets and monitors as well as being ahead in OLED against CSOT for OLED panels used in smartphones.



BOE is already supplying LCD panels to Apple for MacBooks and iPads. According to analyst firm Omdia, the Chinese company is expected to be the largest supplier of LCD panels for iPads this year.

CSOT also formed a team during the first half of the year to review building an OLED production line aimed at iPhones. CSOTs expansion plan will, besides BOE, also threaten South Korean display maker LG Display, which leads the supply of LCD panels to Apple for high-end devices.

LG Display is expected to supply 14.8 million LCD panels to Apple for MacBooks this year, according to Omdia, making its share in this specific supply chain 55%.

Having another competitor in the supply chain like CSOT could add pressure on LG Display to cut unit prices. Read the full report by The Elec here.

While Apples higher-end devices are using superior displays such as OLED and mini-LED, theres still a base of devices using LCD/Retina displays such as iPad and iMac.
Police kill 6 armed drug traffickers in Iran

Tehran, July 26 (UNI) The Iranian police have seized 697 kg of illicit drugs and killed six armed smugglers in an operation in the southern province of Kerman, provincial police chief Abdolreza Nazeri said on Tuesday.

Additionally, three assault rifles and large quantities of ammunition were discovered from the smugglers, Nazeri was quoted as saying by state TV.

In the operation, one police officer was killed and five others were injured by the armed drug traffickers, he added.
Questions Bank Ghana Website, an online education promotion organisation, has launched the West African Examination Council (WAEC) Questions Bank Interactive online portal for candidates of both the West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) and Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).

The questions bank is an online education resource platform for students in the junior and senior high schools, particularly BECE and WASSCE students preparing to sit for their final year examination.



Addressing the media at the launch, the Director of Questions Bank Ghana Website, Dinah Oppong, noted that the website also allowed students to take a test within a time frame, and receive scores immediately after answering the questions to the test while the marking scheme of the answers are provided afterward.



Opportunity



This, she explained, would provide the students the opportunity to try their hands on past questions from 2015 to 2022, build their confidence and be abreast of the requirement of the examination in the comfort of their homes or schools.



She explained that the website provided services that allowed parents, schools, teachers and students to enjoy web database resources that ensured real life feed and interaction between the users and the website.



The website allows users to have access to BECE and WASSCE past questions online. It also allows users to have access to examiners reviews and remarks of what expectations are required from candidates when sitting for their final examination, Ms Oppong added.



She said the websites had blogs, pictures and text resources that allowed candidates and students to have access to learning materials to help them adequately prepare for their final year examination.



Interface

The website interface requires one to register in order to have access to the past questions for a fee of GH20 for individuals and a discount for groups and schools wishing to register on behalf of their students.



In order to navigate the question bank website, users are required to enter their individual details that capture their names, email address, schools and a token in order to sign up.



Dashboard



The users dashboard is divided into three categories, firstly, take a test now module which helps users to take part in live exams papers and evaluations).



The second is the examiner's paper review which allows users to see all examiners paper review, and lastly questions and possible answers that allow users to see all questions and answers for past exam sessions.



Ms Oppong noted that the advancement of online applications had made life easier and convenient, indicating that in the past reading and learning could only take place in the library and classroom and through the use of hard copy learning materials.



Today, these things have migrated online, making learning even more fun for students and teachers. It is this same philosophy that underpinned and gave birth to the launched questions bank website, she added.







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 Ghana Health Service (GHS) has warned that residents of communities near illegal small-scale mining (galamsey) sites have a high risk of contracting Marburg virus disease.



According to the GHS, residents of these areas should be extra vigilant because the Marburg virus is spread by bats, who live in caves in some of these mining areas, 3news.com reports.



In an interview on TV3, the Director-General of the GHS, Dr. Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, who gave the caution, added that all the Marburg virus infections recorded in Ghana so far are all from galamsey communities.



The cases were found in an area where there is illegal mining; where there are caves and bats like to stay in caves, so we have to also look at the environmental factors, he said.



Also, the director-general urged Ghanaians to avoid eating bush meat, particularly that of bats.



He added that even if people want to consume bush meat, they should ensure that it is well cooked, saying, the processing of the meat should be measured.



So far, three people have died from contracting the Marburg Virus Disease. More than 120 contacts that have been traced are under quarantine.



The GHS has disclosed that out of the persons who are under quarantine, 11 of them are health workers.



Meanwhile, GhanaWeb is accepting nominations for the prestigious GhanaWeb Excellence Awards  Youth Edition. Click here to nominate.





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
Magistrate Judge Kathleen McKay, right, assisted by an unidentified legislative aide, administers the oath of office to Angel Bolques Jr., during a swearing-in ceremony on Monday as the at-large senator of the 34th Legislature. Bolques, who was sworn-in using a Bible held by his mentor and former At-Large Sen. Cleone Creque-Maynard, will serve out the remaining term of ousted At-Large Sen. Steven Payne.
The Member of Parliament for Sagnarigu, Alhassan Bashir Fuseini, has said he does not expect anything new from the Finance Minister at the impending Mid-Year Budget review in Parliament today.



Ken Ofori-Atta is expected to make the presentation before Parliament in a few hours.



But the Sagnarigu MP said the Minister has nothing new to offer, likening the review to a "funeral announcement".



To A.B.A Fuseini, Ofori-Atta has woefully failed Ghanaians and has thrown the country's economy into "shambles".



When asked by GhanaWeb's Nimatu Atouyese about his expectations, he said, "I don't expect anything other than another funeral announcement."



Meanwhile, there have been several calls by critics and opposition to have Ken Ofori-Atta sacked.



However, the MP alleged that the finance minister has not been sacked because President Akufo-Addo is afraid of him.



"He does not need to be anywhere close to the House. This is a man who has supervised the worse economy that this country has ever experienced. He inherited an economy that was working, and today he is leading an economy that is in the worst of shapes."



He added, "I was not coming to Parliament with the expectation that I will meet Ken Ofori-Atta here. He should have been sacked. He has not been sacked because he is a tin god in NPP, Nana Akufo-Addo is afraid of him, he cannot sack him," he said.













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 Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, has assured the nation that appropriate measures are in place to avert a potential food crisis in the country.



He told Parliament that the measures to forestall food insecurity included a temporary ban on grain (maize, rice, and soya) exports, promoting the use of organic fertilisers on farms and the cultivation of crops such as roots, which require less fertiliser and increased monitoring of food and input prices to pick early warning signals of potential food crisis in order to take prompt remedial action.



He said the rest were the finalisation of modalities for the haulage of produce from farm gates in food growing areas to the market centres by the government.



The minister during the presentation of the midyear budget review that emergency measures were necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia Ukraine War, which combined to disrupt supply chains and increased transportation costs.



These, he said are threatening food security globally.



But, what the people of Ghana care to see is what their government is doing about it to ease the impact here.

To enable households and farmers cope and support stable food supply, Government has taken the following immediate measures:



 place a temporary ban on grain (maize, rice, and soya) exports;



 promote the use of organic fertilizers and cultivation of crops such as roots which require less fertilizer;



 monitor food and input prices to pick early warning signals of potential food crisis in order to take prompt remedial action; and



 finalise modalities for the haulage of produce from farm gates in food growing areas to the market centres, the minister said.



He also announced plans to increase investments in agriculture as well as support the youth to start agri-related businesses to help boost productivity while creating jobs.

Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman Addo/peacefmonline.com/ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
Mr Ken Ofori-Atta, the Minister of Finance, has reiterated that despite the revenue-mobilising challenges, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is determined to fix the nations roads.



"Our Year of Roads programme is on very much course," Mr Ofori-Atta stated this in his presentation of the 2022 Mid-Year Review Budget Statement and Economic Policy and Supplementary Estimate of Government.



"Phase I of our Agreement with the Sinohydro Corporation Limited Comprising Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) Contracts for 442 km of roads and two interchanges have made significant progress.



Others are Tamale Interchange Project completed and commissioned; PTC Roundabout Interchange Project at 35 percent completion and upgrading of selected Feeder Roads in Ashanti and Western Regions completed with a lot more to follow.



He said the Sunyani Inner City Road works were at 63 per cent completion, adding that other key road and bridge projects were also progressing steadily including the La Beach Road Project (Lots 1 & 2), which includes a three-tier interchange at Nungua, was 34 per cent and 50 per cent complete respectively as of June 2022.



He said the Phase II of the Obetsebi Lamptey Circle Interchange and the flyover on the Accra-Tema Motorway from the Flower Pot (Spintex road) are 57 per cent and 30 per cent complete respectively as of June 2022.



Mr Ofori-Atta said the Kumasi-Lake Roads and Drainage Extension project, extension of the existing Aboabo drain, and construction of the Chirapatere Bus Terminal is at 92 per cent as at end June 2022.



He said the upgrading of Salaga - Ekumdipe - Kpandai Road at 70 per cent completion; while partial Reconstruction of Bawjiase - Adeiso Road - Lot 1 at 98 per cent completion;



The Minister noted that work on the construction of 50 prefabricated bridges to improve connectivity within areas cut off by waterways in all 16 Regions had achieved progress of about 80 per cent.



Touching on Road Financing, the Minister said under the Ministry of Roads and Highways (MoRH) Public-Private Partnership (PPP) programme for road infrastructure, the Design, Build, Finance, Operate, and Maintain (DBFOM) Accra  Tema Motorway and Extension PPP Project (27.7km) is at the procurement stage.



He said site works were expected to commence in September 2022.



"The Government of Ghana has made a strategic decision, in line with the Public Private Partnership Act, 2020 (Act 1039) to procure the Accra-Tema Motorway and Extensions Project through GIIF with a mandate to deliver a GIIF-led PPP financing solution, where maximum funds are raised from the market, but majority ownership of the project remains with GIIF on behalf of the Ghanaian Government," he said.



He noted that the draft Concession Agreement (CA) between GIIF and MoRH was currently under review by GIIF, MoRH, the Office of the Attorney-General and Ministry of Finance.



He said when completed, the CA was expected to be approved by the PPP Committee, Cabinet and Parliament.



Mr Ofori-Atta said the completed road would be tolled to recover the whole life cost of the completed infrastructure as well as pay lenders and provide a return for equity investors.



He said the Government of Ghana shall provide funding through GIIF to take equity in the Special Purpose Vehicle to be created by GIIF for the project.





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
ActionAid Ghana, a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), has called on Parliament to fast-track the passage of the Private Members Bill to criminalise witch hunting.



Madam Margaret Brew-Ward, a Womens Rights Advocacy and Campaign Manager, ActionAid Ghana, said despite the protection the constitution granted to all persons, hundreds of women were accused of witchcraft and condemned to a life of extreme violence and isolation.



The Private Members Bill sponsored by three Members of Parliament is in furtherance of an earlier effort by the 7th Parliament to introduce this law, pursuant to a petition by the Sanneh Institute dated August 4, 2021.



It seeks to criminalise the declaration, accusation, naming or labelling of another person as a witch; to prohibit a person from employing or soliciting anyone to accuse, name, label, indicate, or declare another person as a witch and provide for related matters.



On 23 July 2020, Madam Akua Denteh, a 90-year-old woman was beaten to death in broad daylight at Kafaba, near Salaga, which was condemned by the public.



Madam Brew-Ward said since that condemnable incident, many other women continued to face various levels of abuse in silence, hence, the act must as a matter of urgency and extreme priority be made unattractive by criminalising and prosecuting perpetrators of such human rights abuses and allowing women to age in peace and not in pieces.



She bemoaned the silence on the wanton and shameless atrocities perpetrated toward women who were already vulnerable and living in poverty.



Witchcraft accusation is not a tradition! Article 26 (2) of the 1992 constitution states that all customary practices, which dehumanise or are injurious to the physical and mental well-being of a person, are prohibited. The question then is, why we are not getting the needed national attention on this practice? She asked.



The Womens Rights Advocacy and Campaign Manager said: These incidents are truly unacceptable and constitute a blot on our credentials as a country that is governed by rule of law. This is not just a shame it is an egregious practise that must be stopped once and for all.



Those women, Madam Brew-Ward said, were banished from their homes and forced to live in witch camps whose continued existence in the 21st century alone was a cruel manifestation of gender inequality and violence against women in the country.



Witch camps are effectively women's prisons where inmates have been given no trial, have no right of appeal but have received a life sentence. ActionAid and all Civil Society Organisations believe the time is NOW to take actions to address the root causes of these human rights violations, she said.



Madam Brew-Ward called on Government to muster the political will to curb the menace as citizens could not continue to turn a blind eye and engage in talk shops without taking bold action.



She assured the public of the commitment of their partners to continue to fight to ensure the elimination of the practice while urging all well-meaning citizens to join in the fight to restore womens dignity and fully restore the countrys credentials as law-abiding, human rights-respecting and truly governed one in practice by the rule of law.



Ms Mateenah Odoi, Board Member of Young Urban Womens Movement, a subsidiary of ActionAid Ghana, said it was inhumane to lynch old women.



 In times like this you wonder if it is good to be a woman or not because old age is inevitable, and I am scared that when Im 90 years old Ill be called a witch because my son or daughter is not progressing in life, she said.



ActionAid is a global federation with the aim to achieve social justice, gender equality and poverty reduction.



ActionAid in Ghana supports the basic needs and rights of the poor, with an emphasis on human rights, land rights and the right to education.





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
Ghana has been ranked the second highest recipient of Foreign Direct Investment for 2021 in the latest World Investment Report after recording a 39 per cent increment in FDI flows to $2.6 billion for the year 2021.



The $2.6bn is an improvement over the $1.8bn the country recorded in 2020.



The report ranked Nigeria as the highest FDI recipient in the sub-region, recording $4.8bn in 2021.



The increase in Ghanas FDI flows was attributed to major projects in its extractive industries, including the construction of an $850 million gold mining facility by Newmont Corporation, and the construction of a cement factory by Ciment dAfrique (CIMAF) for $436 million.



The increase in FDI flows also reflected the findings of the Deloitte 2022 Africa Investment Attractiveness Index, which placed Ghana as the second most appealing destination for investments in Africa based on the comments of nearly 200 CEOs.



Commenting on the report, Mr Yofi Grant, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Investment Promotion Authority (GIPC), said that: It provides considerable opportunities for businesses to trade in the enormous African market.



He noted that: Ghana has a great global reputation, especially as the host of the African Continental Free Trade Area. With our democratic stability and smart business policies in place, such as the 10-Point Industrialisation Agenda, Ghana appeals to investors seeking stability and vibrancy to prosper and grow their firms.



Mr Grant emphasised that: So, despite the current economic difficulties, investors continue to see Ghana as a desirable destination to invest.



In recent years, the Government through the GIPC has made FDI attraction a priority by improving investment attraction strategy to a more proactive one.



It has also encouraged private sector investment through the Ghana COVID-19 Alleviation and Revitalisation of Enterprises (Ghana CARES) programme - a GHS100bn economic response programme.



The Ghana CARES programme is aimed at supporting the private sector in targeted sectors to accelerate growth and stabilise the Ghanaian economy.



The government has also been working to end regulatory discrepancies among several State agencies that create unnecessary barriers to doing business.



The GIPC, for instance, has digitised its registration procedure, making it considerably quicker and more flexible for investors to register and apply for exemptions under the GIPC Act (Act 865).



It is essential to note that Foreign Direct Investment in an economy like ours is crucial for creating jobs, gaining access to modern technologies, increasing output, expanding trade, and forming valuable relationships between local enterprises and multinational corporations. As such the GIPC will not relent in promoting Ghana as a choice destination for investment and assiduously engaging with global partners, noted Mr Grant.



Overall, the World Investment Report showed that FDI flows to Africa reached $83 billion, a record high, up from $39 billion in 2020, being 5.2 per cent of global FDI.



Meanwhile, FDI into the West African sub-region increased by 48 per cent to $14 billion.



For the rest of 2022, the World Investment Report predicted that FDI flows to developing economies were expected to be strongly affected by the war in Ukraine and its wider ramifications.





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
Russia's competition watchdog fined Alphabet's Google (GOOGL.O) 2 billion roubles ($34.2 million) on Tuesday for abusing its dominant position in the video hosting market, the regulator said in a statement.



The decision is the latest multi-million dollar fine as part of Moscow's increasingly assertive campaign against foreign tech companies.



The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) said the company had "abused its dominant position in the YouTube video hosting services market", without providing additional details.



"We will study the text of the official decision to define our next steps," Google said in a statement to Reuters.



Google must pay the fine within two months of it entering into force, the FAS said.



Russia has slapped Google's Russian subsidiary with numerous fines in recent months. Last week a court ordered it to pay 21.1 billion roubles ($358.7 million) over what prosecutors said were repeated refusals to remove content Russia deems illegal, such as "fake news" about Russia's invasion of Ukraine.



Since Moscow launched what it calls its "special military operation" in Ukraine, it has also accelerated attacks on Western tech companies at home in a push to exert more control over the online space, including through supporting domestic players to oust their Western rivals.



Gazprom Media - a media conglomerate linked to state-controlled gas giant Gazprom (GAZP.MM) - has been heavily promoting RuTube, its Russian alternative to YouTube, which has seen a sharp uptick in traffic since February.



YouTube, which has blocked Russian state-funded media globally, is under heavy pressure from Russia's communications regulator and politicians.



Google stopped selling online advertising in Russia in early March but has kept some free services available. Its Russian subsidiary officially filed for bankruptcy after authorities seized its bank account, making it impossible to pay staff and vendors.













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
Parliament last Friday passed the Tax Exemptions Bill, 2022 to provide for a tax exemption regime in the country.

The bill will set clear eligibility criteria for tax exemptions and provide for the monitoring, evaluation and enforcement of exemptions.



When assented to by the President, it will strengthen the monitoring role of the Ministry of Finance and Parliament on the management of exemptions.



Moreover, it will seek to provide a regulatory regime for monitoring tax exemptions to ensure that exemptions granted are used for the intended purposes, as well curtail the abuse of the existing exemption regime.



It is projected that with the passage of the bill, exemptions for the 2022 financial year will be lowered by about GH500 million.



The bill was presented to Parliament and read the first time by the Minister of Works and Housing, on behalf of the Finance Minister, on July 5, 2022.



It was then referred to the Finance Committee, which considered the bill under a certificate of urgency.



Threat



Per the report by the committee on the bill, which was submitted by its Chairman, Kwaku Kwarteng, the committee noted that the biggest threats to Ghanas domestic revenue mobilisation strategy were exemptions.



It is estimated that Ghana loses about $2.27 billion annually to tax exemptions and if it should continue at this rate, in less than 16 years the country will give more than half of its revenue base away by way of exemptions.



There is, therefore, the urgent need to pass this bill and halt this alarming trend, it said.



Monitoring mechanism



The report said the committee had noted that the proposed bill sought to establish a monitoring regime to regulate the granting and management of exemptions in Ghana.



The committee noted that monitoring played a crucial role in ensuring that exemptions and concessions granted were utilised by beneficiaries for the intended purposes to curtail abuse.



The bill provides for robust reporting requirements and mechanisms to ensure the efficient and effective use of exemptions, it quoted the Deputy Minister for Finance as informing the committee.



Per the report, the committee was informed that tax exemptions created significant difficulties for developing countries and ran counter to the objective of strengthening domestic resource mobilisation.



Background



It is recalled that the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, confirmed to Parliament on July 18, 2022 that Ghana lost about GH27 billion to tax exemptions granted some businesses between 2008 and 2020.



The amount translates to about GH2.2 billion surrendered in tax waivers each year for the 12-year period.



He indicated that since 2008, it was only in 2020 that the lost revenue declined to about GH1.8 billion.



It is true, as Ranking Member mentioned, that some GH27 billion had been lost to tax exemptions.



This brings into focus the need for all of us to protect the public purse. That is an important social re-engineering for us, as we lose revenue on many fronts, he said.



However, for this year, Ghana will likely make some savings of GH460 million on tax exemptions, Mr Ofori-Atta added.

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
Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta says the ruling government is not seeking additional funds.



Delivering the 2022 Mid-Year Budget Review in Parliament on Monday, Ken Ofori-Atta said the government is committed to staying within the appropriation for 2022".



In spite of the underperforming revenue handles, we are not seeking additional funds in the mid-year review. We are determined to efficiently use the windfall from the petroleum sector to make up for revenue shortfalls and aggressively improve our revenues, he told Parliament.



He is confident that the economy will soon be back on its feet.



Hardship & The Russia Ukraine war



The Finance Minister has meanwhile acknowledged the difficulties Ghanaians are going through saying: The state of affairs is quite a painful one for me to report to you, it is hard to see our people lament about the prices of basic commodities, these are difficult times for government and indeed, for the Finance Minister.



According to him, Towards 2022 Russia invaded Ukraine, a situation that worsened the already weakened global supply chain exacerbated by high conditions. These have had a debilitating toll on the cost and standard of living of our people. Mr Speaker, food prices are rising, fuel and transport fares are up, the cost of borrowing for businesses and for households has increased, the cedi has depreciated and the economic outlook has dipped significantly.



"It's amazing how we can find humor in the most difficult situation that keeps our spirit alive...these are not what we desired but we believe in the overcoming spirit of the Ghanaian people..." he added.











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
Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin has suspended sitting for 10 minutes.



This is the second time sitting has been adjuorned on Monday, July 25, 2022. According to the Speaker, the suspension was necessary because he received an urgent issue he had to step out to address for the good of parliament.



"There's a matter that has just cropped up I have to discuss. I have just received the document, it is not for nothing. It's for the business of the house and particularly for the institution of parliament so when Speaker is talking about suspension, it's for a good reason.



"The house is suspended for 10 minutes," he said.













Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has criticised the bust erected in honour of late President John Evans Atta Mills at Asomdwee Park.



In his view, the bust does not look like the late former president.



Addressing the media, Ablakwa suggested that the monument instead of honouring the late head of state was rather dishonouring his memory.



He maintained that this could have been prevented if the state had collaborated with the family of John Evans Atta Mills and avoided pettiness and factionalism in the lead-up to the refurbishment of Asomdwee Park.



The legislator also raised concerns over the missing name of Atta Mills on the bust stressing that nothing showed it was meant for the good old Professor Mills.



If you look at that statuethat bust, honestly, I dont know who it depicts. It doesnt look like Professor Mills. It doesnt have his name. His family is not recognized. The is nothing about that bust that shows that it was intended to immortalize and honour the memory of the good old Professor Mills. Nothing shows.



These are the things that happen when you say proceed on a factional, petty, opportunistic basis. I dont think we would have had this outcome if we all came together as Ghanaians, as one people, respecting his family and everybody was allowed to contribute.



I dont think this would have been the outcome. That itself tells you the result of division, pettiness, of opportunism. Thats what happens. I am not surprised that nowyou have heard the family say that they even want to take this whole memorial out of here. They want their brothers body out in a private place because they have suffered enough. They cant continue to take the pettiness any longer because here is under the auspices of the state, he said.



President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on behalf of the state commissioned the refurbished Asomdwee Park on Sunday, July 24, 2022, to mark the 10th anniversary of the passing of John Evans Atta Mills.



Prior to this, the had been a public spat between Samuel Atta Mills, brother of the late President, and Koku Anyidoho over some works near the tomb of the late president.



Samuel Atta Mills contended that the permission of the family ought to have been sort before commencing works on the tomb.



The NDC subsequently held a separate event at Asomdwee Park to also observe the 10th-anniversary celebration.





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
Spokesperson of Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia and Technical Advisor, Dr. Gideon Boako says Ghanaians should not be despondent over the current situation of Ghana's economy.



According to Dr. Gideion Boako, although the nation is experiencing lots of challenges, it is however not at the verge of collapse.



Speaking on Peace FM's morning show 'Kokrokoo', the Veep Spokesperson assured the citizenry saying, "despite the difficulties, the government has never defaulted on salary payments. Despite the difficulties, there is no policy that the government introduced that it says 'I'm turning back on the policy', maybe like Free SHS or anything . . . and I think that is the assurance that this government has offered to the Ghanaian people that it doesn't matter the difficulties, we are still managing the situations".



He asked Ghanaians not to despair stating their condition is far better than other countries.



"Today, every Ghanaian knows that yes, there are challenges but at least he/she gets electricity when he/she goes home. Yes, there are challenges but they don't queue before they buy fuel because it is so disheartening that you have money but can't get fuel. It will be a problem . . . Although there are challenges, I think God has been good to us that, in Ghana, we are not seeing the economic challenges like hunger strike and so forth here.



"Yes, prices of goods have gone up in the market. Prices of plantain, kenkey, cassava are expensive but the good thing is that the one looking for plantain or cassava gets some and I think that is something good. The fact that there is food availability, then we work towards reducing the prices and making sure that the situation won't deteriorate that a person with money can't buy what he/she must eat. So, there are still [you know] rooms for improvement but I considerably think that things are not so bad," he emphasized.



Dr. Boako added that the government is on track to ensuring a sound recovery of the economy.



"We admit the challenges but we know we are equally capable of facing the challenges," he stated.





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
An RCMP officer moves police tape near a tent covering a body at one of three locations being investigated in regards to multiple shootings, in Langley, B.C., on Monday, July 25, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
The last time Patricia Moss danced with her husband, Lee Moss, the couple foxtrotted across the living room floor of their home in West Ashley.

He got so excited that we were dancing again, Moss said. I get such a grin on my face just thinking about it.

Taking the short and long steps of the ballroom dance that his walker would allow, Lee and Patricia reveled in the moment. These stolen dances were few and far between since Lee's 2013 diagnosis of dementia.

In 2018, the diagnosis turned to Alzheimer's disease, a progressive neurologic disorder that causes a loss of brain cells and shrinks the brain over time.

Lee died in 2020 from complications with the disease. Now, Moss spends her days advocating for more resources and financial help for caregivers like her across the country.

I wanted to help people not go through what my husband and I did, Moss said. We had so many blockades and it was just so frustrating.

While the disease affects nearly 6 million people in the U.S., including over 90,000 South Carolinians, it also affects the people who care for them. There are more than 200,000 such caregivers in the state, many of whom have to rearrange their entire lives to support their loved ones.

Caregiving for Alzheimers patients is a 24-hour job for people who cant afford sitters on a regular basis. The cost of medications can be steep even with insurance coverage. These out-of-pocket costs put many in a situation where they are spending more on health care than they receive in income.

According to research from the Alzheimers Association, over 20 percent of caregivers in South Carolina suffer from depression and nearly 12 percent are in poor physical health.

He was healthy as a horse

Moss said Lee stayed in really great shape, frequenting the gym a few times a week, jogging regularly and maintaining a healthy eating regimen that included a fistful of vitamins every morning.

He really wanted to stay young, Moss said. It was actually an obsession.

Lee was a professional dancer for over 40 years and managed a ballroom dance studio in Charleston in the late 1970s.

That's how he and Patricia met in 1981, and they became dance partners in 1983. A year later, after their first date in the gold ballroom of the Francis Marion hotel in downtown Charleston, they were married on a sailboat in the middle of Charleston Harbor.

Together they choreographed ballroom dances for films including "The Tempest," "The Notebook" and "The Patriot."

He was healthy as a horse, Moss said.

Moss said Lee began presenting minor symptoms of dementia in 2012 like repeated conversations and forgetting his route to work that he took every day for over 30 years. His symptoms worsened in 2014, prompting Moss to get him checked out by a local physician.

Not receiving any help, Moss continued to look for physicians in the area who could provide some direction regarding treatment for Lees condition.

By 2018, his disease had progressed to a point where he was no longer able to take care of himself.

Symptoms of Alzheimers include a loss of thinking and memory skills to a point that interferes with a persons daily functions.

Dr. Nicholas Milano, a neurologist at the Medical University of South Carolina, said the disease causes abnormal proteins known as plaques and tangles to build up in the brain. These proteins are toxic and cause the brain to degenerate and break down over time.

"Initially it affects memory, but over time, it can affect other types of thinking like problem-solving and language skills," Milano said.

While there is no cure, there are medications to try to slow down its degenerative nature.

The crux of being a caregiver

Moss was forced to hire sitters to watch Lee when she was away at work, which can run over $25 per hour.

For many caregivers the cost keeps them from being able to do regular activities such as attending caregiver support meetings and taking mental health breaks.

This was the case for Tracey Noonan, a Charleston business owner and stand-up comedian. Both of Noonans parents were diagnosed with Alzheimers while living at their home in Florida. After realizing her parents could no longer take care of themselves, she and her husband moved back to their hometown of Boston, taking both of their parents with them.

The real crux of being a caregiver is theres a very sad and lonesome feeling that you have, Noonan said.

She recalled needing a break during the Fourth of July holiday, but had no one to help her with her parents.

I was exhausted and all I wanted to do was go to the beach, Noonan said.

Leaving her parents at home alone was risky, as it is for many caregivers who have to step away even briefly. On one occasion Noonan and her husband were both away from their home, fixing a flat tire she had a few miles away. She received a call from her mom saying her father was hurting her and asked if she should call the police.

Speeding home, Noonan walked into the house to find her father standing at the top of the second floor staircase. Dressed in nothing but her mothers short terry cloth robe, hed just finished capturing her mother. Her hands were tied up with dental floss.

Alzheimers had robbed Noonans father of many memories and they often did not know if he was going to respond with violence. She said he would have moments where he didnt know who any of them were.

Things were getting dangerous, Noonan said. I can't imagine waking up and not knowing where I am or who I am or who anyone around me is.

Noonan said she has lots of stories like these. She shares them through her television series, "What the Family," a TV pilot she wrote about her experiences.

Now, she and producer Doug Coupe are busy working to get the show in front of Hollywoods biggest names, hoping to start shooting in the near future.

Noonan was able to attend some caregiver support groups to help her cope with the wide range of emotions she was feeling. Not having the best relationship with her parents and then having to spend over $200,000 out of pocket while moving them into her home gave her a lot of resentment.

I knew from listening to other people that I was not the only one, Noonan said. It was very healing for us all to share stories that had some humor attached to them."

Alzheimers doesnt come with a manual, but it should

Caregiver support meetings like Noonans are all over the country. In Summerville, an organization called The ARK of SC hosts virtual and in-person support groups for Alzheimers and dementia caregivers across the Lowcountry.

Naomi Cills is a family caregiver advocate for the organization and moderates the in-person and virtual support group meetings. She helps families navigate the caregiving process and educates them on different tools they can use to make their jobs a little easier.

Cills is a registered nurse and cared for her grandmother who had dementia for over four years before she died.

It was not easy," Cills said. "I can only imagine how even more challenging it is for family caregivers with no information about nursing or where to find the resources.

Some common hardships Cills sees at The ARK are the emotional challenges for caregivers and their loved ones and learning new ways to communicate with people with short term memory loss.

Anger is common, not angry at the person, but at the illness and not being able to do anything about it, Cills said.

Other resources at The Ark include guest speakers like elder law attorneys and connections to financial resources for housing assistance. The organization also offers education on hospice and palliative care.

The Alzheimers Association is one of the leading voluntary health organizations for Alzheimers care. Historically founded to support caregivers, it now funds research, drives policy change through advocacy and provides educational resources for caregivers across the state.

Moss is one of its advocates and recently traveled to Washington, D.C., calling for support from senators for the Comprehensive Care for Alzheimer's Act. The bill was introduced to the Senate in the spring of 2021 and calls for the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services to implement a dementia care management model.

Alzheimers doesnt come with a manual, Moss said, but it should.

Moss said the bill would provide caregiver education and support and allow patients faster access to providers with dementia care expertise. The bill would also provide training and other support services for unpaid caregivers.

If passed, participating health care providers would receive payment under Medicare for services that are provided to individuals with diagnosed dementia.

Getting to someone who has experience with dementia is 90 percent of the battle, Moss said.

Moss also advocates for the Equity in Neuroscience and Alzheimers Clinical Trials Act, which aims to increase the diversity of participants in Alzheimers clinical trials.

Black people in the U.S. are twice as likely as Whites to have Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia but are rarely included in clinical trials.

According to a report from Alzheimers Impact, across all clinical drug trials, Blacks represented only 5 percent of trial participants and Hispanics represented 1 percent.

Hispanics are 1 times more likely than Whites to have Alzheimers and other types of dementia.

Save me a dance

Noonans father passed away on his 80th birthday in March of 2018. Her mom is currently living in a nursing home, where she receives around-the-clock care for her condition.

Lee passed away in an ambulance headed to Roper St. Francis Hospital in Charleston in 2020. Moss is still dealing with the trauma of not being able to be with him when he took his last breath.

When she was finally allowed to see him, she held on for hours, thinking of the times they had danced and held each other. Her last words to her husband of over 40 years were to just save me a dance.

Moss said she spoke those same words at his funeral ceremony, pushing his urn into the Charleston harbor where they took their vows decades before.

When I get to the other side, I know what Ill be doing, Moss said.
A newly formed American Nuclear Society committee, under the leadership of Savannah River Nuclear Solution's Teresa Eddy, is using the Savannah River Sites Environmental Monitoring Program as a model template to develop a standard entitled Environmental Radiological Monitoring at Nuclear Facilities for use across the U.S. Eddy, Manager of the SRS Environmental Bioassay Laboratory and EMP, is pictured working in the field with Jesse Baxley (right), SRNS Environmental Monitoring Lead, and Eric Doman, SRNS EMP Manager, performing a management field assessment at an SRS stream sampling site.
A South Carolina man serving as a medic in the Ukrainian military was identified by his commanding officer over the weekend as one of two Americans killed in action last week.

Luke "Skywalker" Lucyszyn, a 31-year-old Myrtle Beach resident, died on July 18 in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine after he was knocked unconscious by an artillery strike and fatally shot by a Russian tank, his commander, Ruslan Miroshnichenko, wrote on Facebook.

The State Department confirmed the deaths of two Americans in Ukraine on Friday but did not release their names or further details. Family and friends have confirmed reports that Lucyszyn was one of the men who died.

Miroshnichenko identified the other American as Bryan Young. Other information about Young wasn't immediately available Monday.

Thousands of foreign fighters, including many Americans, have joined Ukrainian forces battling Russia since it invaded on Feb. 24. Some of the volunteers are hardened veterans from other wars; others have little to no military experience.

Lucyszyn's longtime friend Trey Kober, of North Myrtle Beach, said Lucyszyn left for Ukraine in early April after telling close friends he felt a responsibility to defend his late grandmother's homeland.

Lucyszyn volunteered to take the place of another man who needed to be with his family, Kober said.

"I was proud of him," Kober said in an interview Monday. "He relieved the man, and he immediately started teaching others because some of these guys had never held guns before, had never loaded ammunition into magazines."

Kober, 40, befriended Lucyszyn on a North Carolina paintball course 12 years ago and took on "an older brother role" for the young paintball instructor. The two spent their weekends camping in the woods and playing multiday paintball matches with friends. Lucyszyn later worked as a police officer and was the father of two children.

Two weeks before his death, Lucyszyn said goodbye to Kober in an emotional Facebook message after he learned that his platoon would soon be sent to the more dangerous Donbas region, where Russia has focused most of its firepower, bombarding cities and towns, in its assault on Ukraine.

"He was pretty confident he wouldn't be coming back," Kober said. "He sent us a serious message that said he was being sent to the frontlines to relieve a platoon that had been there for a long time, and he basically just told us, 'I'm not coming back from this. This is it.'"

Though Kober knew his friend might die in battle, he said nothing could have prepared him for the shock he felt when he learned the news.

Lucyszyn's parents, Kathryn and George Lucyszyn, said the State Department informed them of their son's death on a phone call Tuesday. The Calabash, North Carolina, residents said they tried to dissuade their son from serving abroad, but he insisted it was his calling.

"He didn't go there to be a hero," Lucyszyn's mother said Saturday in an interview with NBC News. "He went there because he wanted to help people."

___

Schoenbaum reported from Raleigh, North Carolina. Associated Press writers Julia Rubin in New York and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.
Charleston, SC (29403)

Today

Cloudy skies this evening will become partly cloudy after midnight. Low 71F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

Cloudy skies this evening will become partly cloudy after midnight. Low 71F. Winds light and variable.
COLUMBIA  A 67-year-old Columbia man was killed in a fire that investigators say was intentionally set. Two people were later arrested and charged with arson.

The Columbia Fire Department said the fire at a duplex on Sands Street the morning of July 24 started at the front exterior of the home.

The Richland County Fire Marshals Office has determined that the fire was set on purpose and the arson investigation has been turned over to the Richland County Sheriffs Department.

The fire department arrived at the scene at around 4:30 a.m. on July 24 on Sands Street off Shop Road. The duplex, from the porch to the roof, was in flames.

The victim was identified as Willie L. Kelly, 67, of Columbia, according to Richland County Coroner Naida Rutherford.

We will continue working with the Richland County Fire Marshals Office to fully investigate this fire, Rutherford said in a statement.

Jennifer Clifton, 37, and Leroy Chambers, 58, were later arrested on charges of first degree arson in connection with the fire, the Richland County Sheriff's Department announced on July 26. The two suspects are being held at the Alvin S. Glen Detention Center.

The sheriff's department said the investigation is ongoing.
HMGoG Announces Appointment of Charles Santos as Financial Secretary

Her Majestys Government of Gibraltar has announced the appointment of Accountant General Charles Santos to the post of Financial Secretary as from the 1st of October.

The appointment is, in keeping with the established practice in relation to this post, a direct appointment of the Chief Minister.

Albert Mena, who has held the post of Financial Secretary on contract since 2014, will return to his legal practice at Hassans International Law Firm from 1st October.

Initially, Mr Mena had been appointed for three years in 2014 and was therefore expected to stay in post only until 2017. Given the result of the Brexit referendum in June 2016, the work entailed in that respect and then the advent of the COVID pandemic, Mr Mena agreed to stay through the pandemic period and to finalise this years estimates process before returning to private practice. He will leave office on the 30th September, having served eight years in the post of Financial Secretary, with half of the current financial year to go. This will give the new Financial Secretary, Mr Santos, a full half year to prepare the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for the new financial year 2023/24.

The Chief Minister, the Hon Fabian Picardo QC MP, said: The nation owes a huge debt of gratitude to Albert Mena for his work as Financial Secretary in seminal moments of our history. He was in post for the shock of the result of the Brexit referendum and the impact of the COVID pandemic. Both of these events will define his contribution to public life and to the financial management of Gibraltar. His work on each of these has been a massive benefit to Gibraltar and its people. In fact, having stayed eight years in a job which he was originally slated to do for three, it is right that he should now return to his private practice as we are emerging from the consequences of both COVID and Brexit. Moreover, Albert has achieved the main aim which we identified on his arrival at No6, which was to help to train a successor from within the ranks of the Civil Service.

I know that if Albert does not move back to legal practice now it will be very hard for him ever to do so. He is already fifty five and he has given some of his most productive years to Gibraltar in his public service at the hugely difficult times through which we have worked together. As a result, he leaves with a lot of work to be proud of and having helped us to steer Gibraltar on a course to the recovery of its public finances. He will nonetheless remain closely involved in advising me on matters of public finance, as well as continuing to serve on a number of government boards where is contribution will be a great assistance to the government.

Albert is a hugely respected and very well-liked individual who is respected beyond our shores and has been a key part of establishing our excellent relationship with HM Treasury in the United Kingdom and with international financial institutions. I know everyone will therefore be very happy to see him continue to be supportive and involved with the work government will do to entrench the recovery of our public finances from the effect of the twin shocks of Brexit and COVID.

Additionally, the work he has done in government has demanded a commitment in time which has been far excess of what would have been demanded of him in private practice. I will for ever be grateful to him for that commitment and the delivery, against highly complex circumstances, of hugely positive outcomes for Gibraltar and its people. I extend that gratitude also to his family who supported him through these hugely challenging periods when he has worked very closely with me and Sir Joe. Never has it been truer to say that we have been through tough times together, and I also personally thank Albert for his friendship, help and support, at a professional and human level, in the hardest times I have ever faced as a politician and professional. The times we faced together in March 2020 are unparalleled and his support, hard work and unflinching commitment and professionalism made the crucial difference at that time when Gibraltar needed him.

Financial Secretary, Albert Mena said: "I agreed to take on the post of Financial Secretary on a contract in 2014 for a period of 3 years. I agreed to extend this during the very challenging period that initially started with Brexit and was then compounded by the COVID pandemic out of a sense of public duty given the extraordinary pressures on Government finances that arose as a result. I never expected to stay in post as long as I have. I feel now, however, that it is a good time to return to my professional career in Hassans as well as devoting more time to my young family. It has been a real honour to serve as Financial Secretary, working alongside the Chief Minister and his team, together will all those dedicated individuals across the Civil Service I have had the pleasure of coming into contact with over the last 8 years. In particular I want to extend my thanks and appreciation to the extremely hardworking, committed and dependable team at Ministry of Finance in the Office of the Financial Secretary. I think the work we have done in the past three financial years, in particular on COVID measures, are now on track to be resolved after this years Budget and I look forward to continuing to work with new Financial Secretary and the government from private practice as Gibraltar is now primed to turn the corner from the challenging situations we have faced through no fault of our own. I am optimistic about the prospects for the Gibraltar economy and the positive repercussions it can deliver for our public finances in the months and years to come as we recover financially and we maintain the discipline on spending and revenue raising which the Chief Minister set out in his Budget address this year. I remain available and willing to be called upon by the new Financial Secretary, Minister Bossano and the Chief Minister at any time to assist Gibraltar whenever it needs me.

Accountant General and Financial Secretary designate, Charles Santos, said: I am greatly honoured to have been asked to take over from Albert Mena. I have worked very closely with him in the time that he has been Financial Secretary and have learnt a lot from him. I look forward to working even more closely now with the Chief Minister and Sir Joe Bossano on all matters related to the public finances of Gibraltar and seeing through the measures that have been put in place to resolve the challenges that Brexit and particularly COVID have given rise to. As I move from the Treasury to the Ministry of Finance, I want to thank all my colleagues at Treasury, with whom I know I will continue to work in months and years to come.
COLUMBIA  Northeast Columbia parents wrote to Henry McMaster for five months, asking him to look into "dysfunction" and "toxicity" among the board and superintendent of Richland County School District Two, before the governor asked the state inspector general to investigate.

Two dozen letters and emails obtained by The Post and Courier accused Richland Two officials of an inability to properly run the 28,000-student school district due to infighting and hostility toward each other and residents.

"Someone who is impartial needs to investigate," one parent wrote McMaster on May 12. "Please help us."

Complaints about Richland Two came just as McMaster signed a law authorizing the inspector general to investigate school boards. A spokesperson for the school district said the inspector general's office is going to investigate, but gave no timeline for the probe.

Another state law McMaster greenlit this year authorizes the governor to oust school board members for "mismanagement, misconduct, violations of state or federal law, or wrongdoing" while in office.

Along with the letters and emails, a spokesman for the governor's office described receiving "hundreds" of calls from parents about Richland Two.

McMaster followed up in June with a formal request for Lamkin's office to look into alleged dysfunction and "mismanagement" in the district. The written request did not go into details.

Most of the written complaints, however, point to specific incidents of infighting.

A heated confrontation during a January school board meeting, between Superintendent Baron Davis and some of his constituents, resulted in calls for Davis to be placed on leave for allegedly charging at a man whom he believed had insulted his wife.

A Richland Two parent wrote to McMaster's office calling the January incident "an embarrassing scar on our community," and asked the governor to consider removing Davis.

However, the new state law gives the governor power to remove school board members, not superintendents.

The Richland Two board and superintendent spent time with a consultant for a team-building retreat in February, in an effort to work better with each other. But board members said the rifts remain.

In May, board members Teresa Holmes and Lashonda McFadden could be heard shouting at each other on audio from a closed-door meeting. McFadden was heard telling Holmes, "I will (expletive) you up."

Holmes filed charges against McFadden for threatening the life of a public employee. Richland deputies arrested McFadden, who faces a hearing on Aug. 11. The terms of her release prevent her from having "direct contact" with Holmes, except as necessary for board business.

"The chairwoman of the board governs by sarcasm, snide remarks, gaslighting and silencing the opposition," the same parent from May 12 wrote to the governor. Holmes was the Richland Two board chairwoman at the time.

"They were saying things like '(expletive) you' and a whole lot more," another parent wrote to McMaster about the incident.

"Holmes was calling (McFadden) a 'little girl,' asking her if she was upset, and (Holmes) could obviously see she was offending (McFadden) on purpose," the other parent wrote. "I feel it is time for the governor's office to step in."

On June 28, days after McMaster called for an investigation of Richland Two, Holmes said she is proud of the district and looks forward to working with the inspector general.

Now the school board secretary, Holmes said she is confident that the investigation will show a clean record for the district's leadership practices.

"I stand by what I say," Holmes said. "If I'm proven wrong, I will correct myself and apologize."

McMaster did not specify a timeline for an investigation, but a spokeswoman for Richland Two said Lamkin's office confirmed receiving the governor's request and that they will likely act on it.

Another parent wrote the governor in May to say the infighting and outbursts from school board members foster an "extremely toxic environment."

"Please, we need a board filled with professional, rational, sensible, adults," the parent wrote, "who are looking out for the children and the taxpayers, not themselves."
GREER  In a conference room at Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport before he scurried to hop on a flight, Sen. Lindsey Graham prepared for a press conference to advocate for raising the mandatory retirement age for commercial airline pilots from 65 years old to 67 years old.

But before that, he asked a question.

Have any of you flown recently?

Then he recounted the time he flew to Nashville and got stuck  a flight canceled one day, then bumped back four or five times the next. The experience prompted him to push for a fix to the travel woes facing many passengers across the country, particularly in small- and mid-sized cities with regional airports, as the summer uptick in travel collided with a lack of available flight crews and employees.

One issue, according to industry professionals, is a rapidly aging cohort of pilots who are required by federal law to retire from flying commercial airplanes by age 65, a safety measure implemented in 2010 along with more strict training rules following a spate of deaths from airplane crashes.

Graham joined a number of Republican lawmakers in both the Senate and House to introduce the Let Experienced Pilots Fly Act on July 25, which he said would allow pilots who meet health and training rules to continue to fly until they turn 67 years old.

About 5,000 pilots will turn 65 in the next two years and 14,000 in the next four years, which would exacerbate an already-worrisome situation for travelers who fly regional airlines like the ones that service South Carolinas airports in Greenville, Columbia, Charleston, Florence and Myrtle Beach, he said.

The largest airline pilots union, Air Line Pilots Association, opposes the change, which it has said would lead to safety issues it had worked to counteract in the 2010 law change.

The organization claimed there are more than enough pilots to meet demand and that the U.S. is producing more certified pilots now than before the pandemic.

This legislation is yet another attempt to distract the conversation from the real issue, which is that some U.S. airlines have clearly failed to plan for the industrys comeback that we are experiencing today, said Capt. Joe DePete, ALPA president. ALPA strongly opposes this proposed legislation, as there is no reason to change the retirement age and doing so would only increase costs for airlines and introduce unnecessary risks to passengers and crew alike.

DePete blamed mismanagement of billions of dollars taxpayers used to prop up airlines during the pandemic and airlines' decision to cut less-profitable regional flights in favor of larger carriers in major cities as the main reasons for the service issues.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said earlier this month on Fox News he was more interested in raising the bar on compensation and job quality than lowering the bar on something like safety. When you get to these training hours, retirement age and those things, those are fundamentally safety regulations.

Graham said Buttigieg was bragging about a transportation system that I dont think exists. $4 a gallon gas is nothing to brag about and airline travel in America can be unreliable and, quite frankly, can be miserable. So Im urging the Secretary of Transportation to work with me to make sure that we have as many qualified pilots safely in the cockpit to continue safe and reliable air travel in America.

Drew Lemos, senior director of government affairs for the Regional Airline Association made up of 17 regional airlines, said two-thirds of all airports are exclusively served by regional airlines. Many of those airports have been hit hardest by the loss of flight crews and resulting flight cancellations, he said.

Seventy-one percent of regional airports have lost flights since 2019, he said, including nine flights at regional airports in South Carolina, Lemos said. The result is a loss of passengers at South Carolinas airports.

Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport in Greer is down 17 percent, Columbia is down 24 percent and Florence is down 27 percent in overall passenger traffic, he said.

There are about 500 fewer regional airplanes flying right now than in 2019, a loss of a quarter of the regional fleet, he said. Extending the career for commercial pilots would allow more to work for regional airlines and restore empty flights in the years to come, he said.

Dave Edwards, president and CEO of GSP, said during an event in Spartanburg July 25 that he expects it will be a year to 18 months before airlines right size themselves and service returns to normal. After a sudden 90 percent drop in passenger traffic when the pandemic started in 2020, airlines encouraged pilots to retire early and cut back on training schedules amid uncertainty of passenger flights. Now as demand returns, the airlines dont have enough pilots or staff on the ground, he said.

They do not have enough flight crews in order to be able to fly the number of flights they need to be flying in order to put the capacity back in the markets around the country that existed back in 2019, Edwards said.

He said GSP remains below its 2019 passenger levels and likely would return to full capacity of 1.3 million passengers maybe by the end of 2023 or 2024.

During the busier holiday seasons, its going to be tough sledding, he said.
GREENVILLE  Gov. Henry McMaster announced a $25 million boost to an ongoing workforce scholarship program for South Carolina's 16 technical colleges, with a goal of providing opportunities for 40,000 state residents.

McMaster's Workforce Scholarships for the Future program will be combined with the General Assembly's allocation of $39 million in this year's state budget, bringing the total to $64 million.

It is what remains of the $48 million sent to McMaster's office as part of the first COVID aid package Congress passed in spring 2020. Unlike other federal COVID aid controlled by the Legislature, McMaster had sole authority over how to spend the Governor's Emergency Education Relief (GEER).

In his executive budget proposal in January, McMaster asked legislators to invest $124 million from last year's American Rescue Plan to expand the workforce scholarship program. They instead allotted $39 million.

The workforce scholarships program was created by McMaster in November 2021 after he gave $12 million in GEER funds to the state technical college system earlier that year, resulting in the training of 5,000 residents for high-demand jobs.

During the announcement held at the Westin Poinsett hotel in downtown Greenville, McMaster noted that South Carolina has businesses from all over the world establishing operations in the state and using its talent base. He said it is the state's job to ensure the workforce is "prepared, educated and ready to do the work."

"The governor's announcement today of $25 million will change lives," said Tim Hardee, president of the S.C. Technical College System. "This will bring forth an opportunity for people to gain a skill, get a good job and work here in the state of South Carolina."

For adults or recent high school graduates looking to pursue an industry credential or associate's degree in several fields such as manufacturing, health care, computer science, construction or logistics, the scholarship program covers the cost of tuition and required fees.

The recipients of the scholarships must keep a 2.0-grade point average and complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The student must also complete one of three other requirements: Complete 100 hours of voluntary time to a nonprofit or public-service organization, be employed, or take a financial literacy course offered at the technical college.

So far, almost 6,200 South Carolinians have trained through the workforce program.
GREENVILLE  A former Greenville prosecutor fired from his job for exchanging text messages with a juror during a criminal case has been suspended from practicing law in South Carolina.

The state Supreme Court issued an order suspending Jeff Phillips' license July 26, a day after 13th Circuit Solicitor Walt Wilkins fired the assistant prosecutor.

The order states the court "received sufficient evidence demonstrating that (Phillips) poses a substantial threat of serious harm to the public or administration of justice."

Phillips can't practice law in South Carolina until the court orders otherwise. In response to the order's release, Phillips told The Post and Courier he believes he will have his license reinstated.

"It's standard practice to protect the jury system," Phillips said. "I'm confident it will be lifted immediately once they have investigated it."

Phillips said there is precedent for attorneys to continue practicing law after being disciplined for contacting jurors, with cases far more egregious than his.

He cited a 2013 action in which a Ninth Circuit prosecutor communicated multiple times through text and phone calls with a cousin who was seated on a jury trial. That prosecutor didn't disclose the contact. The prosecutor's license was suspended for six months.

Like Phillips, the prosecutor wasn't directly involved in the trial.

Sign up for our Greenville daily update newsletter. Sign up for daily roundups of our top stories, news and culture from the Upstate. This newsletter is hand-curated by a member of our Greenville news staff. Email

Sign Up!

In firing Phillips, Wilkins said the contact with a juror in a burglary and kidnapping case last week weighed heavily in a decision to offer the defendant in the trial a plea deal for a lighter sentence.

The defendant had faced up to life in prison but instead was sentenced to 10 years.

While not specifying the exact content of the text messages, Wilkins said they didn't involve any effort to sway the thinking of the juror, who was dismissed from the case and replaced by an alternate before deliberations.

Phillips called the communication harmless and said his punishment is too severe.

Text messages Phillips shared with The Post and Courier to depict the exchanges with the juror show communication related to the juror's experience in the role. Phillips said he didn't know any attorneys in the case nor the name of the defendant.

Phillips, 57, first worked for the solicitor's office three decades ago, went into private practice, then returned as an assistant prosecutor six months ago.
Editor's note: The text messages in this story have been published as typed by the sender, rather than edited for grammar. Some first words have been capitalized for easier reading.

GREENVILLE  Thirteenth Circuit Solicitor Walt Wilkins has fired a veteran prosecutor for improperly communicating with a juror seated on another prosecutor's criminal case, conduct he said weighed heavily in a decision to offer the defendant a plea deal for a lighter sentence.

However, Jeff Phillips, who was fired on July 25, called the communication harmless and said his punishment was too severe.

"It's inhumane. I'm not even talking about unfair," he told The Post and Courier hours after Wilkins informed him of his termination, just as Phillips was finishing physical therapy while recovering from a recent stroke. "I didn't do anything to sully the reputation of the solicitor's office. I made a mistake."

Phillips, 57, first worked for the solicitor's office three decades ago, went into private practice, then returned as an assistant prosecutor six months ago.

Wilkins said any prosecutor, new or seasoned, should know that texting with a juror is improper.

"Any kind of communication with an active juror is inappropriate," Wilkins said the day of the firing. "This is an isolated incident that has come out of this office by one particular lawyer who engaged in very poor judgment."

The Post and Courier has asked the presiding judge's office for a transcript of the text exchanges that were shared in court during the trial last week. Circuit Judge Ned Miller was unavailable July 25.

While not specifying the exact content of the text messages, Wilkins said they didn't involve any effort to sway the thinking of the juror, who was dismissed from the case and replaced by an alternate before deliberations.

However, Phillips shared several screenshots of the exchange, which he called benign and not initiated by him.

The case involved Rufus Junior Williams, who faced trial for first-degree assault, first-degree burglary, kidnapping and stalking. If convicted on all counts, Williams faced a sentence between 30 years and life without parole.

With the plea agreement for only the burglary and stalking charges, Williams received a lesser sentence of 10 years, with the potential to serve another 10 years if he were to violate a five-year probation upon release.

The communication between Phillips and the juror, whom The Post and Courier has declined to name, happened the night before the prosecution and defense rested their cases on July 19.

Before closing arguments began, Wilkins said Phillips came to the courtroom and disclosed to Miller that he had exchanged text messages with a juror.

Wilkins said he was called into the courtroom, and after reviewing the messages and questioning the juror, Miller ordered her removed from the trial and an alternate to take her place. Wilkins told The Post and Courier that he didn't know the circumstances that led Phillips to divulge the communication.

The juror was described as "a friend of a friend of a friend," Wilkins said. The texts were initiated by the juror and were "observations about being a juror and the courtroom experience."

It was really more to the point of 'Im a juror and I really dont want to be or one lawyer seemed kind of funny," Wilkins said. It was banter about her experience as a juror, and he was commenting back. Nothing to sway her one way or another about anything."

The proper protocol in such an instance would be to respond to the juror that prosecutors can't engage in the communication, Wilkins said.

In an interview the evening of July 25, Phillips said he made a mistake in continuing what he considered a harmless conversation that was conducted entirely through text.

Messages

Phillips shared with The Post and Courier screenshots of the exchanges, plus a conversation on Facebook that he said likely prompted the juror to contact him. He and the juror are friends on the social media site, he said.

In April, the juror posted an open request for advice on how to avoid jury duty. Commenters offered suggestions. Phillips weighed in, encouraging her and others to serve.

"Y'all STOP!!" his comment read. "We NEED good jurors! We don't want to be left with only those 'not smart enough' to get out of jury duty! I don't want to hear ANYONE complain about unfair jury verdicts or the system when you try to subvert it. Sorry but not really. Love ya mean it!!"

The evening before the trial started, the juror sent Phillips a text message that began by asking about his well-being following his stroke.

Then she wrote, "Secondly. Ya jinxed me! I got picked for jury duty. Out of 75 people I get to be one of the lucky ones!" She then wrote that she wasn't allowed to post on Facebook and joked that it meant she "couldn't fuss about it."

In response, Phillips wrote that he was "still weak and wobbly, but getting around" and told her that "we need good jurors like you!" He then asked, "What's the case about??"

Sign up for our Greenville daily update newsletter. Sign up for daily roundups of our top stories, news and culture from the Upstate. This newsletter is hand-curated by a member of our Greenville news staff. Email

Sign Up!

The juror responded, "I can't talk about it yet lol u should know that."

Phillips asked if the case was civil or criminal, and she responded it was criminal.

Phillips said he would find out what case it was and come listen in. He asked her what courtroom, to which she replied Courtroom 4.

The juror joked that she tired easily and told a bailiff she liked to nap up to three times a day.

Phillips asked who the judge was, and the juror said she couldn't remember the name. The juror then asked if she could tell him the defendant's name and it not be something she would get in trouble for sharing.

Phillips responded, "No. All that info is available to me. I'll find out tomorrow. Don't worry about it. I don't want you to violate your conscience."

The juror described how she was impressed how well jurors are treated by the court, though she lamented she had to shut down her business each day.

Phillips asked her the prosecutor's name, and she said she didn't know their names. She described them as "a younger guy with a blonde flat top looking hair. And a really uptight looking younger young woman with him."

After some confusion, Phillips told the juror that the defendant is probably represented by the public defender.

"Probably," the juror wrote, "He looks dirt poor." She described the public defender as fun to watch and joked that he was the only thing keeping her awake.

Phillips responded, "Don't go feeling sorry for him now!"

The juror wrote back, "Shoot. No way I'm feeling sorry for him. But the defense is really working for him. If anything ever happened to me I'd like to have him as a defense attorney."

Phillips wrote that he needed to find out the name of the public defender.

"Yeah. It's been pretty interesting," the juror responded. "I'll keep in touch later in the week. It has been a very interesting process."

In the final message in the conversation Phillips shared, he responded, "Keep in touch. Don't say anything so you don't have to answer the question tomorrow and get us both in a lot of trouble!"

In a follow up conversation after sharing the screenshots, Phillips said that by "don't say anything" he meant that she shouldn't say anything more about the trial, so that there would be no violation.

Influence?

Phillips faces potential punishment by the state justice department's Office of Disciplinary Counsel because "there are ethical issues involved in this case," Wilkins said.

In his defense, Phillips said that he's a valuable and experienced attorney "who's not afraid to actually prosecute a case."

Phillips said he was in the office and mentioned to a colleague how a juror had contacted him about a case that seemed interesting. The attorney told him he should disclose the communication, but Phillips said he didn't think it was a big deal.

The colleague left, returned and then insisted. Phillips said he immediately went to disclose the exchange because he had nothing to hide.

Phillips said he showed the prosecution, defense and the judge his phone and provided printouts. After the issue was resolved, Phillips said he went into work the next day and was told he was being suspended without pay.

Phillips felt the communication had no bearing on the outcome of the case because the juror was dismissed and the judge deemed the trial could continue.

Phillips said that "it's ridiculous to think that that's improperly influencing a juror." He said he is a firm believer in following the rules, which means a lawyer can't "put your thumb on the scale of justice." He said his conduct shouldn't be an offense worthy of termination compared to other cases he's seen of improper communication with a jury.

"I should not have talked to her," Phillips said. "But I did talk to her, which is my fault. But it's a no-harm-no-foul situation."

As for the decision to offer a plea agreement, Wilkins said the jury had been hung up in deliberations. It suspended overnight and continued in the morning, which could lead to speculation about whether the body might have decided differently without the interruption.

While Miller did not order a mistrial, Wilkins feared that the case could be overturned by the state Supreme Court and have to be tried again.

The 13th Circuit office handles about 7,000 cases a year.

Is it going to be in my lap in three years? Or not?" Wilkins said. "Nobody knows the answer. Were all just guessing. I do know that his conversations were inappropriate. He should not have been talking with a juror."
Robert Collins Construction crews started clearing work on the Berlin G. Myers Extension in June. The company announced it will be clearing close to 4 miles at the location.
Williamsburg County School Board members engaged in in-fighting at a meeting on July 25, the first meeting since a loose timeline was established for the board to regain control of the district for the first time in years.

Days earlier, State Superintendent Molly Spearman told The News that the state, which has been in charge of the district since April 2018, will be ceding control by the end of the year.

On July 25, board member Martin Cunningham stepped off the stage and took a microphone to accuse people of having a hidden agenda during the public comment section of the meeting. Board member Alfred Darby joined him.

Cunningham was upset that more people werent invited to C.E. Murray Elementary/Middle school last week when Spearman visited. He accused people of having a hidden agenda and that the state was trying to divide and conquer.

Everybody should have known about this visitation, Cunningham said during the meeting. Later, Cunningham said it was disrespectful that Spearman didnt speak to any parents during her visit.

Darby was more reserved when he stepped up to the microphone. He pushed to know an exact day as to when the board will regain control and how much money the district will have on that day.

The comments made by Cunningham and Darby were during the public comment period of the meeting, instead of the board member comments portion.

Earlier in the meeting, Cunningham wanted the agenda amended to include the board drafting a letter to Spearman asking for an exact date for when the board will regain control. The announcement of an amendment gained a second from Darby  before Cunningham even said what his amendment was. Darby and Cunningham were joined by Jerry Dicks and Carletta Scott-Israel in favor of the amendment, passing it 4-1.

Later in the meeting, Cunningham demanded to know the cost of the refurbishing done at C.E. Murray and Kingstree High to accommodate for the merger. He also said that the board was being used as puppets for having an attorney from the S.C. Department of Education approve of the boards new policies rather than the board approving the policies themselves.

Darby, who is Black, twice brought up connotations associated with slavery during the meeting.

In his first comment, Darby was responding to a comment made about him having served on the board that was taken over by the state. Darby mentioned low test scores and other issues but did not mention issues related to special education, a primary reason the state took over, by name.

I have no apology to nobody. I've served, and my father served the people of Williamsburg County, Darby, who was board chairman when the state took over in 2018, said during the meeting. I'm not no plantation negro for anybody.

Just before the meeting adjourned, Darby turned defiant. He said he would not be dictated to and that slavery ended with the 13th amendment in 1865.

Williamsburg County is a county that is roughly two-thirds African-American and whose trio of public schools serve a student body that is mostly African-American. Seven of the nine school board members are Black.

Board chairwoman Marva Cannion, who is also Black, said she was surprised and didnt see the relevance in the slavery comments.

"I felt those comments were divisive as well as unnecessary. It sends a signal to the state superintendent that were not working together as a board," board member Heyward Baker, who is white, said. "Those comments actually undermine the decision to return powers back to the board."

When asked for an interview following the meeting, Cunningham said he had another appointment. Darby agreed to an interview, then left before speaking to The News. When reached by phone, Darby said he was in another meeting and hung up. He did not answer a return call or respond to a text message.

Baker pushed for the board to move forward during the meeting.

Let's work together for the best of the kids. Why raise these issues that are said and done? Baker asked.

The meeting was similar to the first meeting the school board had in January, weeks after Spearman announced a transition process would take place.

In that meeting, Darby opposed the agenda without electing a new chair. During the meeting, he and Cunningham pushed for an exact date of local control and complained about the merging of high school students at C.E. Murray and Kingstree.

As part of the transition, the school board was, and has, undergone training from the South Carolina School Boards Association. Training that Cannion said was missing during the meeting.

The point in having trainings is you keep getting guidelines, you keep getting rules, Cannion said. Eventually we will learn them.
Mount Pleasant, SC (29464)

Today

Cloudy skies early, followed by partial clearing. Low near 70F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

Cloudy skies early, followed by partial clearing. Low near 70F. Winds light and variable.
Editorials represent the institutional view of the newspaper. They are written and edited by the editorial staff, which operates separately from the news department. Editorial writers are not involved in newsroom operations.
COLUMBIA  South Carolina's Fetal Heartbeat Act will remain in effect after a judge denied a motion to suspend the law until the state Supreme Court decides whether the ban violates the S.C. Constitution.

Abortion rights advocates recently filed suit over the ban, arguing it violated enshrined privacy rights in the state's governing document.

While calling it one of the most "important constitutional issues raised by anyone at a time," Circuit Court Judge Casey Manning on July 26 ultimately denied the request to suspend the heartbeat law by saying the issue is best decided by the state's highest court.

There is no guarantee the state Supreme Court would even hear the case, meaning South Carolina's ban on abortions as early as six weeks into pregnancy is likely to remain in effect indefinitely.

Abortion rights groups quickly derided the ruling, saying the law could have a disastrous effect on low-income women, forcing them to travel significant distances to obtain the procedure.

"The most pressing need is stopping the ongoing harm going on to patients," Vicki Ringer, S.C. director of public affairs at Planned Parenthood South Atlantic said after the ruling. "We're seeing what's going on all over the nation for people who are denied medical care until death is imminent. People are being hospitalized, real life or death situations.

"We have a right to privacy," she added. "If you don't have a right to privacy of your own body, you don't have a right at all."

The fetal heartbeat law, which bans abortion once a heartbeat is detected, passed the General Assembly in 2021. It was challenged in court almost immediately on grounds it violated federal protections for abortion access established under the federal 1972 case of Roe v. Wade.

The nation's highest court overturned that precedent earlier this year in the Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization case, effectively returning the issue of abortion back to the states and allowing South Carolina's abortion ban to go back into effect.

With federal protections no longer in place, abortion rights advocates have since sought to challenge various abortion bans in state court. In South Carolina, abortion-rights proponents said the heartbeat act violates a provision in the state's updated 1971 constitution protecting an individual's right to privacy, which they say was written amid a growing national debate around abortion rights. Also, it is counter to a clause ensuring equal protections for anyone able to give birth, regardless of their identified gender.

Sign up for updates! Get the latest political news from The Post and Courier in your inbox. Email

Sign Up!

In addition to the 2006 Hughes v. State ruling  which established that a baby born dead cannot be ruled a homicide  attorneys for Planned Parenthood South Atlantic cited the 1993 decision in Singleton v. State, in which a judge ruled the state's constitutional right to privacy made it illegal for prison officials to administer drugs to a mentally incompetent death row inmate without their consent.

Attorneys for the state at the July 26 hearing argued that South Carolina lawmakers at the time never intended for the law to be read as protecting people's right to an abortion, and that the state has long had the right to regulate the practice.

South Carolina had laws on the books dating back to 1868 outlawing abortion, they argued in court documents. And at the time state lawmakers sought to revise the South Carolina Constitution, the question of one's right to privacy was not about one's medical decisions but the fear of electronic surveillance, officials said.

"The voters who went to the polls in 1970, I can assure you, did not think they were voting for a right to an abortion in approving a privacy right relating to search and seizure," S.C. Solicitor General Robert Cook argued.

While previous case law has been used to successfully defend individuals in illegal search and seizure cases, people's right to privacy under the Constitution has also been rejected as a defense in similar cases, the state's attorneys argued, including a recent decision subjecting public employees to COVID-19 vaccination mandates.

To-date, they also argued, there has been zero legal precedent in South Carolina defining an individual's right to privacy as the right to an abortion.

"In fact, in one of the only times the South Carolina Supreme Court has addressed a state abortion regulation, the Court did so on the basis of an alleged federal right to abortion  not on any alleged right found in the state constitution," attorneys for the state argued in a motion to dismiss the case July 20.

Hannah Swanson, an attorney for Planned Parenthood, said lack of precedent is exactly the reason why the South Carolina Supreme Court needed to rule on the true intent of the state's right to privacy. Up until this point, she said, federal law had guaranteed a right to an abortion, making any challenge at the state level unnecessary.

"It's true that no South Carolina Supreme Court has applied South Carolina's textual right to privacy in the context of abortion," she argued. "But that textual right provides that the government cannot commit unreasonable invasions of privacy of one's person. They're talking specifically about bodies and bodily integrity."

It is unclear when or if the state's high court will take up the case.
SPARTANBURG  The inactive Saluda Grade railroad line could soon become a 31-mile rail trail connecting towns in South Carolina and North Carolina.

Negotiations have started between Norfolk Southern and three nonprofit groups  Conserving Carolina, Upstate Forever and PAL: Play. Advocate. Live Well.  to purchase the railroad property. An offer has been made to Norfolk Southern.

The line, which featured an unusually steep segment over the mountains, was active from 1878 to 2001. Historic markers call it the "steepest, standard gauge, mainline railway in the U.S."

Sixteen miles of the rail line are in South Carolina and 15 miles in North Carolina. The trail would pass through Inman, Campobello and Landrum in South Carolina and through Tryon, Columbus and Saluda in North Carolina before ending in Zirconia, N.C. The S.C. Legislature earmarked $5 million for the trail project. Landrum Mayor Bob Briggs has worked for more than 10 years garnering support for developing the Saluda Grade into a rail trail. In the past, Norfolk Southern was unwilling to sell.

"We are excited talks are happening again," Briggs told The Post and Courier. "This past year the South Carolina General Assembly allocated $5 million for it and we are hoping North Carolina will do something similar. It is going to bring new businesses to the area along that line."

Rob and Sue Conklin of Naples, Fla., have visited Saluda, N.C., for decades enjoying the cooler summer months in the foothills. They have visited rail trails across the country including the Virginia Creeper Trail, a 35-mile rail trail in southwestern Virginia from Abingdon to Whitetop. Conklin said a rail trail through Saluda would be another great attraction.

"We would use it quite a bit," Rob Conklin said. "Hopefully, it would help preserve history and be a nice addition to the area."

Andrea Cooper, Upstate Forever executive director, said a new nonprofit has been established called Saluda Grade Trail Conservancy to guide the process. A master plan would be developed for the project and community outreach would be part of the process. The cost to develop the new rail trail is yet to be determined.

"The master plan would result in a firmer price tag based on what other trails have cost historically," Cooper said.

Cooper said the steep grade of the route will determine how much it would cost to develop the trail. An update on negotiations will be provided in late 2022, she said. Fundraising efforts would be needed to help develop the trail, in addition to local, state and federal funding.

"It is very exciting for many reasons including the outdoor recreational aspect and it will help improve health," Cooper said.

Conserving Carolina Executive Director Kieran Roe said much of the existing rail has fallen in disrepair and would likely be expensive for Norfolk Southern to repair. The rail would instead be converted to allow for public, use including pedestrians and bicyclists, Roe said.

"The next steps would be to finish our negotiations with Norfolk Southern and raise the money needed to purchase the corridor," Roe said.

Laura Ringo, PAL executive director, said Norfolk Southern would go through a federal transportation board process to abandon the rail, if the sale moves forward. Ringo said the nonprofits would then take ownership of the corridor and work to have the rails removed and a trail constructed.

"We really won't know the cost of the trail until we go through engineering and permitting process and start to get some construction bids," Ringo said. "I think we expect it will be significant but don't know any definite numbers."

Norfolk Southern declined to comment about the ongoing negotiations.
An election is coming up in Italy in September, and the Brothers of Italy party, led by co-founder Giorgia Meloni, is currently leading the polls. There has been scant attention to the election in the U.S., but European news coverage is interesting for what it tells us about the state of politics on that continent, which in some ways mirrors conditions here in America.

France 24 headlines: Brothers of Italy, the far-right party on the cusp of power. Polling suggests that Brothers of Italy will be the largest component of a winning right/far right coalition. But what makes Meloni and her party far right?

In recent European politics, far right just means skeptical of the wisdom of mass third-world immigration. And enforcing immigration laws evidently is popular with Italian voters, as with voters everywhere. Beyond that, Melonis political opponents smear her as a would-be fascist. However:

Piero Ignazi, a professor emeritus at the University of Bologna and an expert on Brothers of Italy, [said]: The partys identity is, for the most part, linked to post-fascist traditions. But its platform mixes this tradition with some mainstream conservative ideas and neoliberal elements such as free enterprise.

You can be a fascist or you can be an advocate of free enterprise, but you cant be both.

This sheds more light on what the European press means by far right:

Meloni also has ties with the US far right, having attended the 2022 Conservative Political Action Conference and the National Prayer Breakfast alongside ex-president Donald Trump.

That explains a lot. CPAC, the National Prayer Breakfast and President Trumphow far right can you get?

The London Times seems a little more sympathetic to Meloni. Here, the paper highlights the Italian establishments hostility to her and its possible efforts to derail her candidacy:

Left-wing magistrates in Italy are preparing to launch spurious investigations into the right-wing leader Giorgia Meloni to ruin her chances of becoming prime minister, one of her closest aides has claimed. In a stinging attack on Italys judiciary, Guido Crosetto, co-founder of Melonis Brothers of Italy party, told The Times that Italys magistrates were as bad as fascists and would seek to damage Melonis reputation in the coming weeks. It could be any accusation, and then years later they drop it  Italy is not a real democracy due to its powerful magistrates, said Crosetto, 58. The fascists put you in jail but everyone knew you were innocent, just an enemy of the regime. Now they arrest you and everything thinks you are guilty, he added.

***

Ever since 1994, part of the magistracy has decided almost all elections and the fate of parties and leaders, and they have almost always struck the opponents of the left. There is a part of the magistracy which is politicised and kills off its political enemies, said Crosetto.

The Italian left constantly tries to tie Meloni and her party to Mussolini, but Crosetto makes a good point:

People who praise Mussolini are idiots, he said, adding, Mussolini was a dictator who passed the racial laws, but that was a consequence of him being a dictator. But rather than discussing Mussolini, Italy should be recalling the centre-left Democratic Partys ties to communism, he added. I find it ridiculous that everyone asks Meloni to justify Mussolini but no-one asks Enrico Letta, the leader of the Democratic Party, which descends from the Communist Party, to justify Stalin and Lenin  its the same thing, he said.

Perhaps inadvertently, the Times makes Meloni sound rather attractive:

Combative, opinionated and with a strong accent from her native Rome that can make her sound permanently angry, Meloni is the latest European populist to tap into resentment of their countrys political class. Like most, she is anti-immigrant, Eurosceptic and critical of what the Italians call pensiero unico (single thought)  a term signifying something politically correct or woke. But she is also an Atlanticist keen to dispel fears in Europe about the Italian rights admiration of President Putin.

One last thing, which illustrates the fact that liberals attacks on conservatives often dont turn out the way they intended:

Three years ago Giorgia Meloni, the rising star of Italys nationalist right, unwittingly found herself a hit on the countrys dancefloors. A speech in which she described herself as a woman, a mother, an Italian and a Christian was seized on by a couple of DJs unhappy about her views on gay marriage; they sampled her words, mixed them up and put a dance beat behind them. But the stunt backfired: the song shot up the charts and rather than discrediting Meloni, it added to her growing popularity. The song was too good and too danceable, she later recalled. What was meant to be a weapon against my ideas paradoxically became a powerful way of amplifying and spreading them.

Funny how that works. This is the song:

If I were Italian, Meloni would have my vote.
Senator Chuck Grassley has sent this letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray regarding allegations from highly credible whistleblowers about the FBIs false portrayal of derogatory Hunter Biden materials as disinformation. Mr. Techno Fog comments: If these allegations are true, its a damning depiction of FBI leadership and it proves their efforts to influence the 2020 election. This is the second (if not third) straight election the FBI has meddled in, given the influence the Trump/Russia investigation  and its unlawful origins with the FBI  had over the 2018 midterms.

This sounds vaguely familiar: [T]he allegations provided to my office appear to indicate that there was a scheme in place among certain FBI officials to undermine derogatory information connected to Hunter Biden by falsely suggesting it was disinformation. As did the rest of the national security establishment, so there is that.

Mr. Fog has more at the link. The Daily Mail covers the story here.
Most Minnesotans are relentlessly normal, but for some reason we have a habit of electing wacky politicians. A current example is our lieutenant governor, Peggy Flanagan. Flanagan is perhaps even more far-left than Governor Tim Walz, and she also adds a twist of the bizarre. As in this tweet:

Minnesotans are good neighbors. We'll bring you a hotdish when you move into a new neighborhood. We'll shovel your driveway when it snows. And we'll protect you if you need an abortion.  Peggy Flanagan (@peggyflanagan) July 25, 2022



Ill bet you werent expecting that punch line. But todays Left espouses the sacramental view of abortion: its about the nicest thing they can think of!
The Labour Partys candidates were conspicuously missing in the list of candidates and political parties published by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the 2023 general elections in Ogun State.

In the list placed at the INEC office in Abeokuta, 13 parties were listed to participate in the governorship election next year, while 26 would take part in the House of Assembly polls.

Abayomi Arabambi, the National Publicity Secretary of the Labour Party, told PREMIUM TIMES on Monday that the absence of the party on the INEC list was an administrative error.

We are going to Abuja tomorrow (Tuesday) to correct this, said Mr Arabambi.

But Niyi Ijalaye, the Resident Electoral Commissioner in the state, insisted that the Labour Party did not submit any name for the elections.

Let them (Labour Party) go and correct it in Abuja because what Im saying is that, my head office in Abuja was the one that forwarded these records to us so if there is an administrative error, it must be an error on their (Labour Party) part, Mr Ijalaye told PREMIUM TIMES.

According to the list published by the INEC, the parties and governorship candidates for the 2023 general election in Ogun State include the All Progressives Congress, APC, Dapo Abiodun; Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Ladi Adebutu; Social Democratic Party, Ojeshina Anthony; Peoples Redemption Party, PRP, Okusanya Adedeji; African Democratic Congress, ADC, Adelanwa Kayemilola; African Action Congress, AAC, Harrison Adeyemi; All Peoples Party, APP, Falana Olufemi; Action Democratic Party, ADP, Shokunbi Kazeem;

Others are National Resistant Movement, NRM, Ogunrombi Tofunmi; ACCORD party, Adebisi Oyewale; Allied Peoples Movement, APM, Jolaoluwa Olutoain; New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP, Kassim Jakie and Action Alliance, AA, Iskil-Ogunyomi Safiat.
In 2021, almost half of South African adults  over 25 million people  used social media. Twitter had an estimated nine million users, over 80 per cent of whom were aged between 15 and 44. And social media is widely used for accessing news and current affairs.

This powerful medium influences public opinion and can promote and legitimise intolerance, distrust and hate, for example with campaigns like the xenophobic #OperationDudula. But it can also mobilise the public and build solidarity, as the 2015 #FeesMustFall campaign revealed.

In a country where the femicide rate is six times the global average, social media can help prevent gender-based violence. We must also ensure that it isnt used to further generate violence.

The way we talk about things matters. Given social medias ever-increasing reach, how we speak online needs attention. More than ever, online and offline conversations simultaneously influence each other and have serious real-world consequences. This suggests that the boundaries between the online and offline worlds are becoming increasingly blurred.

The rise in social media users has been accompanied by online misogyny  expression and behaviour that reveals a deep contempt for women. A 2020 study on womens experiences of online gender-based violence in sub-Saharan Africa shows that misogynistic discourse perpetuates and normalises unequal gender norms. This has contributed to online gender-based violence  which includes stalking, hacking and cyberbullying of women by men.

Narratives that perpetuate gender inequality in the media are nothing new and occur worldwide. The recent high-profile civil trial between American actors and former spouses Johnny Depp and Amber Heard demonstrates how prolific misogyny can become online.

During the trial, evidence emerged of misogynistic statements made by Depp against Heard. Rather than expressing disgust at Depp, much online content was aimed at humiliating Heard. Many users performed mocking re-enactments of her testimony, lip-syncing along as she recounted the alleged abuse. The audio of her crying became a TikTok trend.

Misogyny is amplified on social media perhaps because people feel at ease voicing their opinions from a keyboard or phone, at a distance or hidden behind an anonymous account.

Researchers and politicians have raised concerns about social medias potential to incite violence and entrench intolerant beliefs. While social media platforms increasingly regulate harmful content, policies differ across platforms and are inconsistently applied.

So if social media can perpetuate misogynistic and unequal gender norms, could it be used to challenge gender inequality and prevent gender-based violence? Evidence suggests it can. South Africas Violence Prevention Forum, a platform for inter-sectoral dialogue to enhance safety, has demonstrated how guided conversations can shift perceptions. And right now, the conversations are on social media.

A report by ALIGN, a United Kingdom-based knowledge-sharing platform, identified four ways social media can change unequal gender norms. These are amplifying messages, mobilising campaigns, sharing knowledge and reframing perceptions, and building a like-minded community.

Evidence suggests that combining social media campaigns with in-person interventions delivers promising results. The Must Bol campaign in India applied these principles, using online and offline spaces for youth to engage on topics relating to gender-based violence. By using social media in accordance with ALIGNs four actions and in-person workshops, the intervention improved young peoples actions on the issue.

Must Bol used social media to continue conversations with youth between workshops. Online content using youth language and subject matter generated interest and enabled a smooth transition to discussions on gender-based violence and gender norms. Like South Africa, India has high levels of gender inequality and violence against women, which suggests the intervention could be implemented here. However, it must be adapted to the South African context to ensure cultural relevance.

Interventions could use social media algorithms to send targeted messages aimed at preventing gender-based violence and promoting gender equality. South African researchers have begun exploring the use of algorithms and artificial intelligence to address the problem. This presents a collaborative opportunity for researchers and civil society to combine social media with other violence prevention interventions. The government should also run online campaigns to dispel misconceptions about gender-based violence, using ALIGNSs four practices.

Social media users, lawmakers and civil society must realise that how we talk about gender-based violence is crucial in addressing it, and where we speak about it matters too. Whether or not we like or re-tweet posts, social media users arent passive and are influenced by what we encounter online.

As a platform for diverse voices, social media provides real-time interactions, anonymity and growing privacy concerns  making it a complex place for intervention. Nevertheless, its massive reach, and its informal and dynamic nature, offer opportunities for innovation in building a safer world for women and girls on- and offline.

Jody van der Heyde, Research Consultant and Sinenhlanhla Bengu, Research Officer, Justice and Violence Prevention, Institute for Security Studies (ISS) Pretoria

(This article was first published by ISS Today, a Premium Times syndication partner. We have their permission to republish).
Led by the umbrella Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), workers across all sectors of the national economy filed out on Tuesday to commence a two-day nationwide protest against the continued shutdown of public universities.

The Nigerian public universities have been shut for more than five months over unresolved issues of poor welfare and underfunding of the institutions between the various workers unions and the government.

Worried by the continued closure and the attendant consequences including rising insecurity and unemployment, NLC called out its affiliates across the country to embark on nationwide protest.

The unions President, Ayuba Wabba, who has consistently faulted the governments description of the declared protest as a solidarity one, said his union is directly concerned by the development because the affected unions are its affiliates.

He also threatened that if the crisis remained unresolved after the protest, NLC would mobilise workers nationwide to embark on a warning strike, the development that may further hurt the nations precarious economy.

Mr Wabba also threatened more actions that could compel the government to accede to the striking workers demands.

Todays protest

As of 8a.m on Tuesday, thousands of protesters had gathered at Ikeja underbridge in Lagos while others were moving from the Labour House in the Yaba area of the city to join the protest.

There are reports of heavy presence of security operatives across major parts of the city including Ikeja, Ojota, and Ikorodu Road, among other places.

Meanwhile, from Ilorin, Kwara State capital, to Jos in Plateau, both in the North-central part of the country, updates on the protest have shown massive turnout of workers and students.

Earlier on Tuesday, the chairman of SSANU at the University of Ilorin, Olusola Falowo, sent out words to his union members and allies to join the mass protest. He said the protest would be peaceful, promising that no infiltration by thugs would be allowed.

Meanwhile, PREMIUM TIMES reporters nationwide would be on hand to report happenings throughout the two-day protest.

ASUU, other unions demands

Nigerian university workers under their various unions including the Academic Staff of Nigerian Universities (ASUU), Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Allied Institutions (NASU) and the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT), have embarked on strike to protest what they termed poor funding of universities and poor welfare conditions.

ASUU, which commenced its nationwide industrial action on February 14, has continued to roll it over for more than five months.

The union had rejected the introduction of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) as a payment platform for the workers as introduced by the government and sought its replacement with University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS).

The Joint Action Committee (JAC) of both SSANU and NASU has also rejected IPPIS, even as it presented an alternative said to have also been developed by its members to the government.

Government steps up resolution efforts

President Muhammadu Buhari last week ordered the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, to step down from negotiation with the striking workers to allow his Education Ministry counterpart, Adamu Adamu, to take over.

Mr Adamu, during the joint presentation of negotiation progress report to President Muhammadu Buhari, had explained the reason for his aloofness since the workers strike commenced and pledged to fast track the process of the resolution.
President Muhammadu Buhari has asked the Senate to confirm Justice Olukayode Ariwoola as the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN).

His request was contained in a letter read out by the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, at the start of plenary on Tuesday.

The request for confirmation, he said, is in accordance with Section 231(1) of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria.

Although Mr Buhari had appointed and sworn in Mr Ariwoola in acting capacity last month, it is mandatory that the appointment of the latter be confirmed by the Senate.

The new CJNs appointment comes about a month after his predecessor, Muhammad Tanko, resigned.

Background

Mr Muhammad had tendered his resignation citing health conditions as his reason for resigning  confirming media speculations about his ill health since coming to office in 2019.

He, however, resigned amid crisis in the Supreme Court following allegations by his 14 colleagues on the Supreme Court bench that he is hampering the operations of the court by failing to fund judges welfare as well as fuel generators, among other essential services.

The justices, in a leaked memo, protested Mr Muhammads handling of the operations of the court.

He is the second CJN in a row to abruptly exit office since 2020  after his predecessor, Walter Onnoghen, was suspended by the president

The new CJN, Mr Ariwoola was appointed a Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in 2011.

He had served as a Justice of the Court of Appeal between 2005 and 2011.
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Kano Chapter on Tuesday joined the nationwide protest in solidarity with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) which has been on strike since February.

ASUU and other trade unions in the education sector have been on strike over the alleged failure of the government to keep to an agreement reached with the union of better welfare for its members and more funding for universities.

The solidarity protests in Kano were flagged off at the states office of the NLC on Katsina Road in Fagge, metropolitan council area.

The NLC procession in Kano was joined by many students, lecturers and residents.

The protest will hold between July 26 and 27.

The NLC said the protest was to pressure the Nigerian government to meet ASUUs demands and get the students back to school.

The protest is taking place despite the Nigerian government declaring it illegal.

See Photos Below
Gunmen on Friday attacked some officials of the 7 Guards Battalion of the Nigerian Army Presidential Guards Brigade.

The incident, which took place late Friday night around the Bwari Area Council of Abuja, left three soldiers wounded and eight personnel killed.

Two of the slain personnel were officers, including a captain and lieutenant, while the remaining were soldiers.

According to a source within the army, the main aim of the terrorists is to attack the Nigerian Law School in Bwari and they may have already camped in the area.

The Nigerian army has yet to officially react to the attack. Army spokesperson Onyema Nwachukwu did not pick up or return calls to his phone. But different intelligence sources had told PREMIUM TIMES that the government was aware of plans by terrorists to attack some places in the capital and security had been increased around the city.

On Monday, the government officially shut the Federal Government College, Kwali, in the Kwali Area Council of Abuja after terrorists attacked a community near the school.

Similar attacks

The attack on the Guards Brigade, whose duty is to protect the president, comes a few weeks after terrorists launched a similar attack on a presidential convoy in Dutsinma, Katsina State.

On the same day, terrorists invaded the Kuje prison in Abuja and freed hundreds of inmates, including Boko Haram suspects.

Fridays attack also occurred two days before terrorists released a video showing them manhandling persons kidnapped from the Abuja-Kaduna train.

One of the terrorists in the video threatened that his group would abduct President Buhari, Kaduna State Governor Nasiru El-Rufai and other prominent Nigerians and destabilise the country if their demands were not met.

The terrorists also threatened to kill and sell some of the remaining Abuja-Kaduna train passengers in their custody.

This is our message to the government of Nigeria and just as you have seen these people here, by Gods grace, you will see your leaders; your senators and governors will come before us. These ones you are seeing here, we will keep some as our slaves and sell them off just as our Imam told you in the past.

Just like the Chibok girls that were sold off, we will equally sell these ones as slaves. If you dont adhere to our demands, we will kill the ones we need to kill and sell the remaining. By Gods grace, El-Rufai, Buhari, we will bring you here, the terrorist said in the video.

Until recently, the FCT had enjoyed relative peace, compared to some neighbouring states such as Niger and Kaduna where terrorists, locally called bandits, operate almost on daily basis.

Despite the deteriorating security situation, the Buhari government has repeatedly insisted that security has improved under the president.
The Governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Ganduje, said the lingering crisis between the Nigerian government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) must be resolved to save university education in the country.

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Kano Chapter on Tuesday joined the nationwide protest in solidarity with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) which has been on strike since February.

The solidarity protests in Kano, which flagged off at the states office of the NLC on Katsina Road in Fagge, terminated at the Kano Government House.

Mr Ganduje while addressing the striking unions at the Government House said the crisis must be resolved to prevent a collapse of tertiary education.

This crisis must be resolved to help save the system. We dont want the system to collapse in this country at all, Mr Ganduje said.

He said the lecturers are on strike to save the system from collapsing.

The governor also sympathised with students across the country who have not been taught for six months.

Myself and my colleagues from all the 36 states, irrespective of our party differences are concerned about the prolonged strike action and we will put our heads together to bring an end to the crisis, the governor said.

In his remarks, the Chairman of the Kano branch of NLC, Kabiru Ado, commended Mr Ganduje for paying lecturers in Kano state-owned universities despite the strike action.

We appreciate the state government under your able leadership, the peoples governor Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje for your magnanimous approach in not stopping the salary of the teachers of two state universities.

This shows you are an education-friendly governor, Mr Ado said.

ASUU and other trade unions in the education sector have been on strike over the alleged failure of the government to keep to an agreement reached with the union of better welfare for its members and more funding for universities.
Residents said four people have been killed while over 30 others were abducted in Morai community of Talata Mafara Local Government in Zamfara State after terrorists invaded the town on Monday morning.

Residents said the bandits attacked the community around 02:30 a.m and operated till 06:15 a.m.

A resident, Mansur Zainu, said it was the first time gunmen will attack the town, the second largest in the local government area.

They have attacked villages around us but they came yesterday for the first time and it was terrible. Our vigilante members tried to repel them but you know they have more sophisticated weapons than our people, he said.

According to Mr Zainu, the gunmen killed three men and a boy including the Sarkin Fawa (the chief butcher) of the town, Sani NaAyi and Yahaya Mohammed, a businessman.

We dont know how they were killed because it was only after the attack that we found their bodies when we returned but its possible that they were shot while trying to flee like other people, Mr Zainu said.

A younger brother to the slain Yahaya Mohammed, who asked not to be named, said the deceaseds wife, uncle and sister-in-law were abducted.

When the bandits entered our area, Yahaya was the first to run but he, unfortunately, felt he couldnt run much so he decided to hide behind a food silo but it was unfortunate that one of the bandits had seen him, he followed and shot him twice on the head, he said.

Another resident, Lawal Suyidi, said most of those abducted were women.

In our house alone, four women and two of my younger brothers were taken. My elder sister was also abducted but when she got tired, they (bandits) left her behind. It was some vigilante members that saw her and brought her back, he said.

He said three of her sons were, nonetheless, taken.

Mr Suyudi said they stopped counting the number of missing residents because some returned on Monday evening but weve over 30 residents yet to be accounted for, he added.

The sole administrator of the local government area, Dahiru Mai Yara, didnt respond to calls and SMS asking for comment about the attack. However, one of his aides, said on Tuesday that they were at the community to condole with the District Head.

Yes, we have even gone to sympathise with them, the aide, who asked not to be named, said.

When contacted, the police spokesman in the state, Mohammed Shehu, asked PREMIUM TIMES to give him an hour to get details of the attack before he could comment.

After two hours, this reporter called and sent an SMS but were all ignored.
Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, has confirmed the ambush on troops of the 7 Guards Battalion of the Nigerian Army Presidential Guards Brigade.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how the troops, who are responsible for the security of the Nigerian President were ambushed on Friday night around the Bwari Area Council of Abuja by terrorists suspected to be Boko Haram.

The incident, which took place late Friday night around the Bwari Area Council of Abuja, left three soldiers wounded and eight personnel killed.

Two of the slain personnel were officers, including a captain and lieutenant, while the remaining were soldiers.

According to a source within the army, the main aim of the terrorists is to attack the Nigerian Law School in Bwari and they may have already camped in the area.

Confirming the incident, the Kogi State governor mourned the indigenes of the state who died in the attack.

In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mohammed Onogwu, the governor commiserated with the Nigerian Army and immediate families of the deceased.

While condemning the dastardly act, the governor urged authorities to bring the perpetrators to book.

Read the full statement:

Presidential Brigade Guard: Gov. Bello grieves the death of Army officers killed during an ambush

commiserates with families of deceased, Nigeria Army.

Kogi State governor, Yahaya Bello has expressed grieving over the death of Army officials killed during an ambush on the Presidential Brigade Guard on Sunday by suspected terrorists after the Army officers responded to a distress call from the Nigeria Law School, Bwari.

Governor Bello in a Press release signed on Tuesday by his Chief Press Secretary, Muhammed Onogwu expressed that it was more saddening to find out that two out of the fallen gallant officers, namely Captain Samuel Attah and Lieutenant Ibrahim Suleiman were illustrious sons of Kogi state.

Governor Bello condemned the terrorist ambush, describing it as a dastardly act and a show of cowardice while urging authorities to expedite actions and ensure the capture of those responsible and also forestall any future occurrence.

He added that the concern of incessant but cowardly uncoordinated attacks by terrorists must receive keen attention and brutal response from respective security agencies, asserting that the Nigerian internal sovereignty must not be at the mercy of criminal elements.

The governor commiserated with the families of the deceased, particularly the father of Lt. Suleiman, Col Suleiman Ahmodu Babanawa (Rtd) from Okpo, Olamaboro Local Govt. and Captain Samuel Attah from Ibaji Local Government Area of the State. He also extended his commiseration to the Nigeria Army over the death of some of their finest officers.

Governor Bello prayed for God to grant the repose of the demise eternal rest and that every person hurt by their shocking and painful demise, should receive succour from their pains.
The Nigerian Police Force (NPF) said on Tuesday that it has made an additional deployment of its officers in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, following reports of attacks in various parts of the city.

Force spokesperson, Muyiwa Adejobi, said this in a statement obtained by PREMIUM TIMES.

His statement comes amid reported attacks and panic among residents about the possibility of more attacks by terrorists in the capital city.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how troops of the 7 Guards Battalion of the Nigerian Army Presidential Guards Brigade were ambushed on Friday night around the Bwari Area Council of Abuja by terrorists suspected to be Boko Haram.

The incident left three soldiers wounded and eight personnel killed.

The attack came few weeks after terrorists invaded the Kuje prison in Abuja and freed hundreds of inmates, including Boko Haram suspects.

One of the terrorists in a video threatened that his group would abduct President Muhammadu Buhari and some other governors in the country.

Reacting to the various incidents, the police urged residents to cooperate with its men in order to forestall attacks within the territory.

Read full statement:

FCT SECURITY

We are not leaving any stone unturned to fortify the Federal Capital Territory and its environs. The IGP has ordered for additional deployment of assets to Strategic areas of the FCT while the Force Intelligence Bureau has been charged on robust Intelligence gathering and information sharing amongst other agencies.

All residents of the FCT are urged to synergise and be on the same page with the Police and other security agencies in making sure that we forestall any ugly incidences in and around the FCT .

Muyiwa Adejobi, FPRO FHQ ABUJA

26th July, 2022
President Muhammadu Buhari will depart Abuja on Tuesday for Monrovia, Liberia, to attend the 175th independence anniversary of the country.

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, confirmed this in a statement on Monday.

According to Mr Shehu, the president, who will be the Special Guest of Honour at the event, joined other world leaders and organisations to rejoice with the people of Liberia at the event with the theme: Fostering Unity, Protecting Our Peace for Development and Prosperity.

Nigeria played a leading role in the stabilisation of the West African nation in the early 90s, leading to the establishment of democratic rule and has continued to assist the country in many ways, especially through the Technical Aids Corps scheme.

In 2019, Mr Buhari was conferred with the highest national honour in the country, the Grand Cordon in the Most Venerable Order of Knighthood of the Pioneers of the Republic of Liberia, in recognition of Nigerias continued support for the development of the country.

The Nigerian leader, who will be accompanied on the trip by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, and the Director-General, National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ahmed Abubakar, is expected to be back in the country later on the same day.

Significance of Visit

In a separate statement, Mr Shehu wrote about what he described as the significance of the presidents visit to Liberia.

Mr Shehu said President Buharis trip to Liberia on Tuesday signifies the importance attached to the security and wellbeing of that country and the rest of West Africa.

On July 26, Liberia marks a Special Independence anniversary, commemorating 175 years of self-rule, with the country being the oldest independent post-colonial African State.

According to the spokesperson, Mr Buhari is the Special Guest of Honour at the celebration and will deliver an address.

ALSO READ: Liberian President confers award on Nigerian Army officers

He said: The trip to Liberia comes at a time when political instability and the return of coups-detat have upended two to three decades of democratic order in the sub-region.

Liberia, Sierra-Leone along with Nigeria are going into elections in 2023 and President Buhari is expected to emphasise to them the importance of free, fair and credible elections.

The President is expected to stress the importance of the respect for rule of law rule throughout the sub-region. Without rule of Law and constitutional rule, there cannot be security, peace and development.

Peace and security of Liberia (and Sierra-Leone) is important to Nigeria given the enormous investments in men, material and resources expended by this country to secure the two states.

Without the leadership of Nigeria in the context of ECOWAS to secure these two, there would not have been a Liberia on the map in its present configuration today.

The presidential aide said Nigeria and Liberia would bilaterally bring to the table, issues of cross-border terrorism, bolstering defence and trade ties.

The warmth of the relationship and personal chemistry between President Buhari and George Weah of Liberia is no less significant and will play a key role in the events of tomorrow, he added.

(NAN)
The Senate has received a request from President Muhammadu Buhari, to confirm the reappointment of four nominees as Non-Executive Directors of the Board of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

They are Mike Obadan (South-South), Justitia Nnabuko (South-East), Ummu Jalingo (North-East), and Adeola Adetunji (South-West).

The presidents request was contained in a letter dated July 21 and read at the start of plenary by the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, on Tuesday.

The request for confirmation, Mr Buhari said, was made in accordance with Section 10(3)(a) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (Establishment) Act 2007.

The nominees will be screened by the Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions on another legislative day.

In another letter, the president sought the confirmation of the appointment of Suleiman Afikpo as the commissioner representing the South-east zone at the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria.

The request for confirmation, he said, is in accordance with Section 3(2) of the Hajj Commission Act.
TotalEnergies, the operator of OML 99, announced Monday it has started oil production from Nigerias Ikike field.

The company in a statement published on its website said the project is in partnership with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPCLimited) with a share of 60 per cent.

The development came a week after President Muhammadu Buhari unveiled the new Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, a landmark event that officially changed the oil firm from a wholly state-run entity to a commercial oil company, limited by shares.

TotalEnergies is a multinational energy company operating in more than 130 countries. For over 50 years, the company has remained a leader in the downstream sector of the Nigerian oil and gas industry.

The company had in May launched a sale of its minority stake in a Nigerian oil joint venture.

The company said it was selling its interest in 13 onshore fields and 3 in shallow water, producing over 20,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

The sale includes infrastructure such as 3,500 km of pipelines connecting to two key crude export terminals, Bonny and Forcados.

It said it wants to focus on deep-water fields away from the difficulties of operating in close proximity to local communities.

Disruption of local communities are sources of great concern in the country, Patrick Pouyanne, TotalEnergies chief executive officer was quoted by Bloomberg as saying on a conference call in April.

Ikike

Located 20 kilometres off the coast, at a depth of about 20 meters, the Ikike platform is tied back to the existing Amenam offshore facilities through a 14 km multiphase pipeline. It will deliver peak production of 50,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day by the end of 2022.

The Ikike project leverages existing facilities to keep costs low and is designed to minimise greenhouse gas emissions. Estimated at less than 4kg CO2e/boe, they will contribute to reducing the average carbon intensity of TotalEnergies upstream portfolio.

In addition, 95% of the hours were worked locally, the company said, noting that the jacket, as well as the topside modules, were entirely built and integrated by local contractors.

In his reaction, Senior Vice President Africa, Exploration and Production at TotalEnergies, Henri-Max Ndong-Nzue expressed delight at the prospect of starting the project.

TotalEnergies is pleased to start production at Ikike, which was launched a few months before the covid pandemic, and whose success owes a lot to the full mobilization of the teams, he said.

By tapping discoveries close to existing facilities, this project fits the Companys strategy of focusing on low-cost and low-emission oil projects.
President Muhammadu Buhari Tuesday in Monrovia, Liberia, called on leaders in West Africa to do all within their powers to ensure that elections are conducted in their countries in an atmosphere of trust, freedom and transparency as this is the only way the sub-region can be insulated from the scourge of unconstitutional takeovers that reared its head in three countries recently.

President Buhari made this call in a goodwill message to the government and people of Liberia as he joined other world leaders on the occasion of the 175th Independence Anniversary of the West African nation.

According to the president, democracy and good governance must take their roots in the African continent to sustain peace, stability and development while leaders must redouble their efforts to guarantee the irreversibility of democracy.

I would like to use the opportunity of this event to address an important issue affecting three countries in the ECOWAS region; Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone.

All the three nations have National Elections in 2023. In Nigeria, we are working towards a free, fair, transparent, credible and acceptable outcome of elections and their results, it is important and necessary for all our countries to key into these resolves as they are indispensable to peace and stability in our countries and sub-region.

The deepening of democracy and good governance are essential antidotes to check-mate unconstitutional change of governments as we sadly witnessed within the last three years in three countries within our sub-region. We must strengthen our efforts to guarantee the irreversibility of democracy in our sub-region and Africa, he said.

President Buhari used the opportunity to recall Nigerias leading roles that pulled the country back from its fratricidal insurrection in the 90s, adding that his presence at the celebrations underscores his strong belief in cementing existing bilateral ties:

Nigerias contributions to the survival and safety of Liberia are well known. The dark period of your countrys civil war from 1989 to 1997, was a period that Nigeria invested hugely for peace in Liberia and indeed stability in the rest of the ECOWAS sub-region. May those dark days never re-surface in our countries and sub-region.

ALSO READ: Liberian President confers award on Nigerian Army officers

The Nigerian leader commended his Liberian counterpart, George Weah, for his demonstration of love for the country and the pursuance of peace, unity and progress, as evidenced by people-oriented projects executed with the sole purpose of taking the country to greater heights within the limited resources available. While urging the Liberian leader to do more, he assured him of Nigerias continued support in this regard:

Your Excellencys policy of development launched in 2018 as well as the recently launched youth empowerment program, targeted at comprehensively addressing the problems of youth restiveness in Liberia and equally aimed at rescuing the disadvantaged youths (ZOGOS in local parlance) from drug addictions and other forms of social vices and transforming them into useful members of the Liberian society, are clearly very appropriate policies to lift up the most vulnerable.

Permit me to assure you and all Liberians that Nigeria, as a good partner and a dependable ally, would continue to support you in these efforts, within the limit of our resources. This brings to the fore, the need for strengthening and broadening the levels of collaboration and cooperation between our two countries, both bilaterally and multilaterally, within the ECOWAS, AU and the UN, in order to adequately tackle the common national, sub-regional and global challenges.

The President of Liberia, George Weah, thanked President Buhari and other West African leaders for their attendance and to the Nigerian president, in particular, he said, thank you Mr President and the good people of Nigeria. Without your support, we would not have had peace.

Garba Shehu

Senior Special Assistant to the President

(Media & Publicity)
Aliko Dangote-backed salt-maker NASCON Allied Industries Plc attained its peak half-year revenue level since the company launched approximately half a decade ago in 1973 as the corporation crossed N25 billion in sales for the six months to June.

The turnover, 43 per cent greater than the figure reported a year earlier, derived its growth elementally from goods sold to northern Nigeria, which besides contributing as much as 67.9 per cent to companys pool of sales expanded N6.2 billion on its own this time around.

Net foreign exchange gains earned NASCON N411.4 million unlike last year when a loss was reported, amounting to N164.7 million, while other income for the review period increased by nearly threefold to N24.8 million and finance income by 411 per cent to N135.6 million.

But revenue as a whole were considerably hammered by surge in operational expenditure, meaning bottom-line only saw a passable growth despite a much-improved turnover.

Including tax spend, the company committed N7.2 billion on costs compared to a year earlier, with cost of sale being the main pressure point.

Pre-tax profit came to N2.3 billion relative to the N2.1 billion posted for the corresponding period of last year. Rising by 5.8 per cent, net profit was N1.5 billion.

Net profit margin, which depicts the portion of revenue that has turned to profit, stood at 6.1 per cent.

NASCON, formerly known as National Salt Company of Nigeria after whose acronym the firm is now named, was owned by the Nigerian government until the Dangote Group, controlled by Africas richest man, purchased a majority stake in it in 2007 via a reverse takeover.

The share price of NASCON, whose product mix comprises salt, seasoning and spices, is currently at its 52-week low on the Nigerian Exchange and hasnt seen any movement since it touched N11 on 5 July.
President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday said the 2023 elections will deepen democracy in Nigeria and set an example for the rest of Africa.

Speaking at the celebration of Nigerias National Diaspora Day held in Abuja, Mr Buhari, who was represented by his Chief of Staff, Ibrahim Gambari, said his government is committed to transparent, credible, free and fair elections.

I have repeatedly assured of my personal commitment as well as that of my administration to ensure that the processes continue to be transparent, credible, free and fair leading to a smooth election and transition to the next government. This is the only way we can deepen democracy in Nigeria and set the right example for the rest of Africa and hopefully stop the recourse of unconstituted change in government in our subregion and other parts of the African continent, he said.

The president commended the 17 million Nigerians in Diaspora for being worthy representatives of Nigeria in their various host countries and for their contributions to the home country.

He also commended NiDCOM for its engagement with the diaspora especially for coming up with laudable programmes for the Nigerians in the diaspora; programmes which according to Mr Buhari will have considerable impacts on our economy for sustainable development.

The hybrid event, organised by the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), is the 16th celebrated by Nigeria and the fourth since the creation of the commission in 2019.

Abike Dabiri-Erewa, the chairperson of NiDCOM, while addressing journalists at the event, said the event is not a jamboree but a platform for critical discussion and engagements and taking the next steps.

It is about human capital development, she said.

She added that there is so much good news about Nigeria and Nigerians in the diaspora and no one would celebrate Nigerians but themselves.

Mary Beth Leonard, US ambassador to Nigeria, in her goodwill message, noted that Nigerians represent one of the best diaspora groups in the US and Nigeria sends the highest number of African students to the US.

So we are the best in the world, most educated, how is it translating back to our home country; how do we create a synergy with them? That is what we are working on, that is the long-term goal, Mrs Dabiri-Erewa said.

The event was also attended by the United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed; President of African Development Bank (AFDB), Akinwunmi Adesina; and representatives of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States; International Organisation for Migration; PwC Nigeria amongst others.

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 Edo State Ministry of Health has disclosed that eight persons have so far tested positive for monkeypox in the state.

Residents in the state have, therefore, been urged to observe safety measures to reduce the spread of the virus and other infectious diseases in the state.

The states Commissioner for Health, Akoria Obehi, who made the disclosure to journalists in Benin on Monday, said the ministry had ramped up surveillance and other activities to curb the spread of infectious disease.

She, however, said all the people who were diagnosed with the disease had recovered.

Amid the rise in the number of confirmed cases of monkeypox in Edo, it has become imperative to warn on the health risks that the virus poses and reiterate the need for residents to be cautious and adhere to safety measures.

The commissioner highlighted symptoms of monkeypox to include fever, headache, and weakness of the body, sore throat, and enlargement of glands under the jaw and in the neck.

It can also come with the appearance of a rash on the face, palms, soles of the feet, genitals, and other parts of the body, which can appear solid or fluid-filled at the onset.

It can manifest within a period of two to three weeks following infection, depending on the health status of the individual.

Ms Obehi, who advised residents on measures to contain the disease, said: The virus can be transmitted from infected animals and rodents such as rats, mice, squirrels, and even monkeys through contact with infected blood, body fluids, spots, blisters or scabs, and sharing of objects.

Avoid contact with dead or live wild animals such as small mammals including rodents (rats, squirrels) and non-human primates (monkeys, apes).

Thoroughly cook all foods containing animal meat before eating.

Avoid unprotected contact with infected animals, humans, their beddings, and other linen; wash hands regularly, and use sanitiser when water is not available.

The Edo health commissioner, who restated the state governments commitment to containing the outbreak and protecting the health of residents, said the states disease surveillance team had been deployed to control the outbreak in the state.

If you suspect any symptoms of monkeypox, kindly visit the nearest health facility for medical attention, Ms Akoria advised.

(NAN)
The Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Imo State Council, has expressed displeasure over the closure of Ozisa FM Radio, Owerri.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the station belonged to the Owerri Catholic Archdiocese.

The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) reportedly shut down the station, following its report on the 17 July killing of some youths who were said to be returning from a wedding ceremony.

The slain youths were said to be returning from Owo-Omama in Oru West Local Government Area, after the ceremony, when men suspected to be operatives of Ebubeagu, a security outfit in the state, opened fire on them.

In a statement issued in Owerri and made available to reporters on Monday, the Imo NUJ decried the closure of the station and alleged politicisation of the incident.

The statement, which was signed by the Caretaker Committee Chairman of the union, Precious Nwadike, said the only crime the station committed was that it reported the massacre of the wedding guests.

As a union, we are only aware that Ozisa FM as part of its constitutional responsibility as enshrined in section 22 of the 1999 Constitution, reported the gruesome murder.

We call on the NBC not to politicise its duties or allow itself to play into the hands of politicians.

Ironically, the suspension of Ozisa FM is coming at a time every well-meaning Nigerian and organisation is condemning the genocide, the statement added.

It further stated that the union would not keep quiet and allow politicians to destroy the nations democracy.

Meanwhile, the Commissioner for Information in the state, Daclan Emelumba, in a statement on Sunday, denied Imo Governments involvement in the stations closure.

Mr Emelumba described those accusing the government of being responsible as naive.

He stated that NBC had earlier shut down the station for employing a quack as presenter.

He further stated that the current ordeal facing the station could be connected with the same reason.

Mr Emelumba added that the state government did not have such power to regulate the activities of the media.

Governor Hope Uzodimma had earlier dissociated Ebubeagu from the killing, saying that it was done by operatives of the State Security Services in Imo.

Mr Uzodinma alleged in an interview with reporters that the slain youths were members of the Eastern Security Network, the militia arm of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra that has been terrorising the state.

(NAN)
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, is currently undergoing a course at the John F Kennedy School of Government at the Harvard Business School.

Mr Gbajabiamila, a lawyer, posted pictures of himself in a class with other (non-Nigerian) students.

Back to class. In a leadership course at @Harvard @Kennedy_School. Forget the number of grey hairs one is never too old to learn, broaden or sharpen your skills, he wrote on his verified Twitter page.

In his absence, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Idris Wase, is expected to preside over the sittings of the House.

See pictures of Mr Gbajabiamila in school below.
The Northern Caucus of the House of Representatives has debunked reports that the caucus is planning to remove Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila over the controversial water resources bill.

The chairperson of the caucus, Sarki Ardar (APC), on Tuesday, raised a point of privilege on a report published by Sahara Reporters.

According to the report, some members of the Northern caucus have concluded the plans to impeach the speaker, if the bill is not passed.

In his point of order, Mr Ardar said the report is not true. He described the report as unfortunate.

Also speaking on the report, the chairperson of the House Committee on Rules and Business, Hassan Fulata (APC, Jigawa), also described the report as unfortunate, adding that the lawmakers will not take such comments from an imperialist backed media organisation.

Nobody can dictate to this House what it can do, he said, adding, Nobody can tell us how to do our job, he said.

He also said all members are solidly behind Speaker Gbajabiamila. Some of us suffered tremendously in the last Assembly. There is no way we will impeach Femi because of the so-called Water Resources bill. This is cheap blackmail.

Mr Fulata, whose committee is responsible for the agenda of the House, said whatever bill will be presented must be on notice. He stated that the members will have to accept the outcome of the bill subsequently passed.

If the bill passes, fine. If the bill fails to pass, fine. It will be based on solid arguments, he said.

The Deputy Speaker, Idris Wase, who presided over the session, said the members cannot afford to be divided during this period, adding that members should not be carried away by emotion and sentiment,

We remain a symbol of democracy in Nigeria, Mr Wase said.

The Minority Leader, Ndudi Elumelu, also dismissed the content of the report. He said the report is a needless distraction for a country facing dire security challenges.

I saw that report, and to me, it is very ridiculous. I know my colleagues, whether APC or PDP. It is very unfortunate that people will sponsor such stupid information. Nigeria is under siege.

Following the debates, Mr Wase referred the motion to the committee on ethics and privilege.

Mr Gbajabiamila is currently in the U.S. at Harvard School of Politics.

Controversial water resources bill

The bill, which was introduced in the 8th Assembly, caused outrage then as some Nigerians interpreted the proposed law as a power grab by the federal government.

Prominent Nigerians who spoke against it included Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka, Human Rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN) and Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State.

The bill was again introduced as an executive bill and committed to the committee of the whole.

However, the decision on the bill was rescinded by the House two months after a motion was moved by Ben Mzondu (PDP, Benue).

Mr Mzondu faulted the process of reconsidering the bill, noting that it was not properly passed.

On June 29, the bill was reintroduced by Mr Soli, who promised that it is a reviewed version with input from state governors.

Last week, Mr Soli announced that the copies of the bill will be shared with members of the House for thorough scrutiny by the members
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Tuesday urged the National Population Commission (NPC) to conduct accurate, credible and acceptable data, in the forthcoming 2023 census, saying that it would assist the country in planning and formulating policies.

Mr Obasanjo made the call during a courtesy visit by the Executive Chairperson of NPC who came alongside the country representative from the United Nations Population Fund(UNFPA) in Nigeria, and other officials of the commission at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL) in Abeokuta.

According to him, if a credible and accurate census is achieved by the NPC, it will help the nation in planning better and formulate policies that will aid the development of the country.

He, however, recalled the last census conducted in 2006 during his administration, to be the first in history to be conducted without conflicts, acrimony and contention.

He stressed that Nigeria had failed to make adequate use of the results of the census previously conducted in the country.

We are running away from making use of our census, the same way we are running from religion and ethnicity.

The census should lead to real demarcation of constituencies which we have run away from since 2006.

Census figures that we do not use for planning, for real demarcation and all that is not serving a useful purpose; it is a waste of money; I believe we should get this right so that we will be able to know where we are today.

I dont know how long we will keep running away from census, and we keep deceiving and lying to ourselves, by running away from the truth we must face and deal with it, he said.

Earlier, the NPC chairperson, Nasir Kwarra, commended Mr Obasanjo for conducting a successful census in 2006 and for giving the commission the solid platform to continue.

Mr Kwarra said the aim of the Commissions visit to Ogun was to monitor the conduct of the trial census in Imeko-Afon Local Government Area as one of the six areas selected for full enumeration across the country.

He noted that the overall objective of the trial census was to assess the overall preparedness of the NPC to conduct a successful population and housing census.

He described the trial census as a dress rehearsal for the 2023 population enumeration.

The chairperson had earlier paid a similar courtesy visit to the state governor, Dapo Abiodun, and the Alake of Egbaland, Adedotun Gbadebo.

He expressed the commitment of the commission to delivering a credible, accurate, and acceptable census, assuring that the exercise would be successful.

He said that 7,718 enumeration areas had been selected for the trial census to test run the suitability and readiness for the actual census in 2023, noting that six local government areas would be fully enumerated during the trial.

The six local government areas that will be fully enumerated are Toungo Local Government Area, Adamawa State (North-East); Daura Local Government Area, Katsina State (North-West); Karu Local Government Area, Nasarawa State (North-Central); Imeko-Afon Local Government Area, Ogun State (South-West); Idemili South Local Government Area, Anambra State (South-East); and Brass Local Government Area, Bayelsa State (South-South).

He, however, gave assurance that despite the insecurity challenges confronting the country, the commission would not relent in carrying out the activities effectively in providing the country an accurate database for planning, formation of policy and development.

(NAN)
A criminal court in London, on Monday, granted bail to Beatrice Ekweremadu, who is enmeshed in an alleged organ harvesting trial along with her husband, Ike Ekweremadu, a former Nigerian Deputy Senate President.

According to UK Daily Mail, the court, popularly known as Old Bailey, granted bail to Mrs Ekweremadu on stringent conditions but denied bail to her husband, Mr Ekweremadu, who continues to be held in custody.

The position is that I have granted bail to Beatrice subject to some fairly stringent conditions but I have refused bail to Ike, U.K. Daily Mail quoted Judge Richard Marks as saying.

Foundry Chambers representing the Ekweremadus in a statement confirmed the bail granted to Mrs Ekweremadu saying an application for bail on Friday was refused for Ike Ekweremadu but granted for Beatrice on strict conditions to ensure her attendance and obviate any concerns of her being a flight risk ahead of a plea and trial preparation hearing scheduled to take place on 4th August 2022 and a subsequent trial next year.

Additionally, a Nigerian doctor, Obinna Obeta, practising in the U.K has been charged with plotting with the Ekweremadus to traffic a man into the UK to harvest a kidney for their daughter.

According to Daily Mail, Mr Obeta appeared before Bexley Magistrates court on July 13 and is charged under the Modern Slavery Act with arranging the travel of a 21-year-old man between August 2021 and May 2022 to exploit him.

PREMIUM TIMES had earlier reported how the police arrested and charged the couple with conspiracy to harvest the organs of a child brought to London by them.

According to the prosecutors, the couple has a daughter who has a kidney-related disease and has been on dialysis for quite some time. They added that they believe the plan was to use an organ from the boy on their daughter who appears to need a kidney transplant.

A U.K. court later ruled that the boy in question, David Nwamni, is not a minor.

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 House of Representatives has passed for second reading a bill to prohibit the Governor, Deputy Governors and Directors of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from partisan politics.

The bill, sponsored by Sada Soli (APC, Katsina) seeks to amend section 11 of the CBN Act by making additional provisions for grounds for the removal of the CBN governor and others.

The House passed the bill for a second reading on Tuesday without any debate and referred it to Committee on Banking and Currency.

It seeks to amend section 11 (2) (F) of the Central Bank Act 2007, to increase the requirements for disqualification and cessation of appointment.

Moving the motion on the bill, Mr Soli said the bill seeks to cure the mischief in the principal Act which is ambiguous on a CBN governor being partisan.

This amendment is no prejudice to anybody because the Act was tested and it was found weak. Therefore, we need to strengthen the CBN as the last lender of resort of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and to restore its credibility from the shock it suffered in the course of interpretation of the law, said.

He stated that according to section 11 (2) (a-f), there is no mention as related to the political parties or partisan politics of the Governor of the CBN or its Directors.

The proposed section 11(2f) reads: The governor, deputy governor or director shall cease to hold office in the bank if he is a member of a Political Party or involved in partisan politics

Mr Soli said the changes will enable any person who is interested in partisan politics to cease as the Governor of the central bank and this will give more honour to the position of the CBN governor and deputy governors.

When the motion was put to vote by the Deputy Speaker, Idris Wase, the ayes had it.

Emefieles presidential bid

The bill comes on the heels of the interest the incumbent CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, reportedly showed in contesting for the presidential ticket of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) at the partys primary election held in June.

In February, a PREMIUM TIMES editorial called on Mr Emefiele to resign and pursue his political ambition, if he had any, or publicly distance himself from groups clamouring for him to contest the forthcoming presidential election.

While Mr Emefiele kept mum over his reported presidential ambition, pictures of a fleet of branded campaign cars bearing his photo flooded the Internet.

Amid calls from various quarters including the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for him to step down as the CBN governor, Mr Emefiele spoke on it for the first time in May following reports that a group had purchased the N100 million worth of presidential nomination and expression of interest forms of the APC for him.

He said although he had yet to decide to contest the presidential election, should he heed the call to run for the presidency, he would use his own hard-earned savings from over 35 years of banking leadership to buy my own Nomination Forms.

Although Mr Emefiele refused to confirm or deny having a presidential ambition, he filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja seeking an order to restrain the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and others from compelling him to resign as the CBN governor to run for office in 2023.

He expressed fear in his court documents that INEC and the Attorney-General of the Federation were making frantic efforts to disqualify him from participating in the presidential primaries scheduled for June 3 2022, for not resigning from his office before the parties primaries.

The court, in May, struck out an application by Mr Emefiele, seeking an interim order to shield him from being disqualified to contest the APCs primary election.

Mr Emefiele would later withdraw the suit.

He eventually did not participate in the APCs primaries.
The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Idris Wase, on Tuesday, stopped a motion calling for the suspension of the planned ban on motorcycles in the country.

Abubakar Yalleman (APC, Jigawa), during plenary, moved a motion calling for the suspension of the planned nationwide ban.

In his motion, Mr Yalleman had prayed that the House should urge the Federal Government to halt the proposed nationwide ban on the use of motorcycles and ensure that adequate palliative measures are put in place before such decisions are implemented.

He also prayed for the House to urge the federal government to restrict the proposed ban to the Local Government Areas where the mining activities or banditry/terrorist activities take place.

After Mr Yalleman moved the motion, the deputy speaker, who presided over Tuesdays session, called him to the chair for a private meeting. Following the meeting, Mr Wase said there was a need to withdraw the motion.

Planned ban on mining and motorcycles

PREMIUM TIMES had reported that the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, disclosed that the federal government was considering a nationwide ban on motorcycles and mining activities across the country.

Mr Malami disclosed this last Thursday while addressing journalists at the end of the National Security Council meeting chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari.

He stated that the government was considering the ban as part of efforts to curtail the activities of terrorists, who often use motorcycles.

We must cooperate with the government

While speaking on the policy, Mr Wase said the policy was borne out of intelligence reports. He stated that he studied the 44 intelligence reports produced before the Kuje Prison attack and that the planned policy is connected.

You cannot imagine what is happening today in Abuja. Ill confirm to you, that I went through DSS report  44 reports were given before the attack on Kuje.

I want to say so, I want to confirm to you  44. I read through all the reports and it all has to do with this.

There is no community that one attack or the other that will happen that you will not have intel and this is part of the intel that they had given as to what is exactly going to happen. So, we have to cooperate with the government, he said.

He noted that although motorcycles are a major means of transportation for most Nigerians, there is still a need for Nigerians to support the policy.

Most of us, 90 per cent of my community if not 99 per cent, this is the only means of transportation.

We appreciate his motion and sensibility but in line with our principle to help in curbing the incessant insecurity in our country, we have to cooperate with the government, he said.

Subsequently, Mr Yalleman withdrew the motion as advised by Mr Wase.
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Enugu State Chapter, on Tuesday joined the nationwide protest in solidarity with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) which has been on strike since February 14.

ASUU and other trade unions in the education sector have been on strike over the alleged failure of the government to keep to an agreement reached with the union on better welfare for its members and more funding for universities.

Although the industrial action started as a four-week warning strike, ASUU has continued to extend the strike whenever the warning period expired.

The solidarity protest of the labour union in Enugu began at the states office of the NLC, near New Market, Enugu North Local Government Area of the state.

Armed police operatives were seen guarding the protest which caused heavy gridlock in the Enugu metropolis.

The protesters, led by the state Chairperson of NLC, Virginus Nwobodo, marched to the Government House, Enugu where they were received by the State Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, and other officials of the state government.

Mr Nwobodo told the governor that they were in the secretariat to appeal to him to deliver their concerns and dissatisfactions to President Muhammadu Buhari over the ongoing ASUU industrial action.

The labour leader said it was unfortunate that the Nigerian government was playing with education in the country despite its importance in the development of the society.

Keeping our children out of school is dangerous. Some of these children have turned to kidnappers. Some are indulging in kinds of criminality, he said.

As I speak to you, ASUU members are hungry. A lot of ASUU members have been thrown out of their houses because they can no longer pay their rents and their utility bills.

Some of the protesters who spoke at the secretariat expressed their frustration with alleged lack of commitment and silence of the federal government towards ending the strike.

They accused Mr Buharis administration of impoverishing the education sector since it came into power in 2015.

Responding, Mr Ugwuanyi, assured the protesters that he would convey their message to the president.

He noted that the state government has always acknowledged education as the bedrock of society.

The governor, represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Simon Ortuanya, commended the protesters for being peaceful.

Our job, just as you have pointed out, is to continue to engage the federal government to ensure that there is a peaceful and amicable resolution of all the contending issues between the federal government and ASUU, he said.

Speaking to journalists during the protest, the chairperson of the union, Mr Nwobodo, said ASUU had shown enough consideration and understanding in their disagreement with the government.

This is just a warning to the federal government. To show that we are not happy. After this action, if they continue and not settle with ASUU, then will withdraw our services nationwide, he said.
St. John Paul II and Putin are only a few examples of hundreds of thousands and possibly millions of the worlds presidents, popes, great scientists and thinkers and philosophers that could have, over the ages, been aborted because some wicked feminists and hardened free-thinkers think that we are just too many and that our population must be controlled or that the lives of mothers can be saved at the expense of the lives they are carrying in their wombs.

One of the End Times tactics which Satan has been using of late is the release of his agents on a special mission to spread the message about the urgent need to make the sacred profane. In line with that agenda, there is a Facebook friend of mine whose name I am too afraid to mention, who seems to be the leader of that mission in Nigeria.

Once in a while, she comes on with the advocacy that we should learn to call the sacred parts of the human body by their proper names. For her, there is no sense in using euphemisms to stand in their places. According to her, anyone who uses what is considered decent and decorous words in place of the real names is either bush or is committing an offence she has not bothered to tell us. How the age-long use of euphemisms for those parts by all cultures of the world rankles her, she has also not bothered to explain to us. Which leaves some of us wondering what thoughts that must have informed the voicing out of such type of advocacy and what the intended benefits to us and to her are. Is her crusade motivated by sheer mischief, callousness and a rebellious spirit endued her by Satan himself?

The main agenda of Satan and the special agents he has sent on that mission is to devalue sex, to commonalise it and disrobe it of its sacredness, its profound mystery to generations of humanity. If the sacred parts are called by their real and proper names, the easier to use them in abominable sex without any feeling of guilt, it seems to me. According to the eminent sociologist, Margaret Meade, in every culture, whether primitive or sophisticated, there is a sexual taboo. One of it is that the private parts are deeply venerated and not called by their real names anyhow. Sex, that mysterious motive force of human history, is unlike every other thing.

We have legs, hands, eyes, mouths and other parts which seem superior in their functions to the private parts, but they are not quite like those sacred ones. We are left to figure out why and continue to venerate them.

A handmaid in the campaign of Satan and his minions is the advocacy for abortion, which this friend of mine is also a committed advocate of. A few days ago, she was railing against people who are against abortion. This her latest campaign caused me to remember some moving stories about some prominent citizens of our contemporary world who were nearly aborted or would never have been born if God himself had not intervened to ensure that His will was done. The stories of these notables tell me about the sacredness of the human life and why no man, be he a professional, a parent or a friend should ever take human life or do anything to prevent the birthing of a human. It also shows that we humans are not products of accidental discharges, whether the intimacy that brought us into being was incestuous, non-consensual or whatsoever.

Here is the moving story of the late Pope John Paul II, who was born as Karol Wojtyla in Poland, that should frighten every sane man from thinking about an abortion: Over one hundred years ago on May 18, Emilia Wojtyla gave birth to her second son, Karol, after a difficult and life-threatening pregnancy. The child would grow up to be St. John Paul II.

She had to choose between her own life and that of the baby she was carrying, but her deep faith did not allow Emilia to choose abortion.

 Emelia Wojtyla was depressed by the insistence of her first doctor, Dr. Jan Moskala that she have an abortion. Emelia and Karol Wojtyla made a bold decision that regardless of everything, their conceived baby was to be born. And so they started looking for another doctor.

The long and short of this grave story is that the second doctor was a humble and faithful one. He did not have this professional arrogance, which doctors acquire in the course of their training, that they are gods or at best marginally next to God, when a human life is involved and in their theatres. He did not permit abortion and the baby who was destined to be a Pope and a saint later, was born.

The story of the current Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, is no less moving. Putins father is said to have gone to the war front against an enemy. While he was there, the enemy came and attacked his home village and devastated it. He came home and discovered that so many persons in his village had been killed. When he approached his home, he saw a truck parked near loading corpses destined for mass burial. He looked and behold saw his wife at the bottom, with corpses piled on top of her. He looked again and discovered that his wifes body was shaking, indicating that life had not totally left her.

He hurried up to dislodge the load on top of her, got her out and rushed her to hospital. By the grace of God, her life was restored. It was shortly after this near-death experience that she conceived and bore the child that is today President Vladimir Putin, the eminent leader of Russia. Imagine what would have been the fate of the rest of us in the world, if someone like Putin had not been born to stand up to the antics of the USA and its European quislings.

The war in Ukraine is an American inspired war from which all of us are today suffering. Unfortunately, because of Americas superior propaganda, much of the world is led to believe that it was Russia that visited the war on Ukraine, unjustly. But this is not true. Russia is fighting a just war in defence of its sovereignty and survival.

St. John Paul II and Putin are only a few examples of hundreds of thousands and possibly millions of the worlds presidents, popes, great scientists and thinkers and philosophers that could have, over the ages, been aborted because some wicked feminists and hardened free-thinkers think that we are just too many and that our population must be controlled or that the lives of mothers can be saved at the expense of the lives they are carrying in their wombs.

Some weeks ago, some official in this woe-begotten country was talking about the need to have safe abortions and a wise Nigeria was telling them of the cruel irony in their proposition: You want to ensure the safety of some at the detriment of delicate human beings in the womb who equally deserve to live!

Idang Alibi was a columnist and member, Editorial Board of the Daily Trust newspaper.
Assets & Resource Management Holding Company (ARMHoldCo) on Tuesday, July 19, 2022 in Lagos, held the fireside chat themed Building the next set of African Unicorns in anticipation of the ARM Labs Lagos Techstars accelerator programme slated to begin in August 2022..

The ARM Labs Lagos Techstars accelerator programme is a partnership between ARM and Techstars, an American Seed Accelerator focused on providing funding and support to Fintech and Proptech start-ups who are poised to use innovation in solving problems across Africa.

Speaking at the event which had startups and organisers of the accelerator programme in attendance amongst others, the Chief Executive Officer of ARM, Jumoke Ogundare, noted that the future of financial services is fintech stating that technology continues to transform fintech as startups are growing more agile and efficient in innovating quickly.

To be at the forefront of change and support startups is the basis for ARMs collaboration with Techstars to birth the accelerator programme, Jumoke emphasised.

She said this collaboration will contribute to the countrys economic growth in the areas of employment, reaching the unbanked people and promoting social development.

According to her, startups that the firm supports in the accelerator programme would have access to ARMs market, network and build a platform where they can develop capacities.

Speaking on the dearth of female founders in the industry, Jumoke said that ARM through the accelerator programme is building an ecosystem where other female founders can support upcoming women startups. She advised female founders to build their confidence and believe in their vision while having successful women as mentors to help bridge the gap.

Speaking about the partnership with Techstars, the Director, Digital Transformation of ARM, Ina Alogwu said the firm is a global accelerator company that has run 50 such programmes in 35 cities within 14 countries across the world.

Ina revealed that Techstars has a portfolio of about 3, 000 companies that have passed through their various programmes worldwide and invested $21.3 billion, adding that the startups that passed through Techstar programmes typically raise on average about $ 1 million.

Speaking further, he pointed out that 12 startups in the accelerator programme will get a collective $120, 000 in investment and equity. They will also get access to over 7, 000 mentors in the Techstars network and 20, 000 global investors in the same network.

So it is not just an investment that you get. You get access to a network and a company that can give you immediate access to an existing customer base and help with any regulatory challenges that you may have. So joining the programme is not only about equity investment, but you get access to other things, Ina noted.

Chief Executive Officer of Techstars, Maelle Gavet revealed that Techstars has been active in Africa since 2011. She said that having seen an increasing number of African founders applying to their programmes, they decided to establish a presence on the continent. This decision sparked the relationship and eventual partnership with ARM, a firm which shared a common passion for innovation and seeing startups succeed.
Sense of security among Chinese people reaches 98.62% in 2021: Ministry of Public Security

(Global Times) 13:17, July 26, 2022

The Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee held a press conference on the theme of "China in the Past Decade" on July 25, 2022. Screenshot of State Council Information Office.

The sense of security among Chinese people increased to 98.62 percent in 2021, the highest level over the past decade and China is widely regarded by the international community as one of the safest countries in the world, the Ministry of Public Security stated on Monday.

The Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee held a press conference on the theme of "China in the Past Decade" on Monday, introducing the achievements of the public security organs in promoting the achievement of a greater level of peace in China.

During the conference, Sun Maoli, member of the Party committee of Ministry of Public Security reported that since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, public security organs across the country have stepped up efforts to build a safer China, making social governance more socialized, law-based, intelligent, and professional, and constantly increasing the people's sense of gain, happiness, and security.

People's sense of security increased from 87.55 percent in 2012 to 98.62 percent in 2021, Sun noted.

Sun also said that in recent years, with the rapid development of information society, significant changes have taken place in the structure of crime. New types of crime network represented by telecom network fraud crime has become the most mainstream form of crime now, especially under the current complex COVID-19 epidemic situation, Sun noted.

To address these problems, China has worked hard to overcome these difficulties and has sent teams to Southeast Asia, the Middle East and other regions to carry out international law enforcement cooperation. Nearly 1,000 suspects have been repatriated from overseas, effectively deterring overseas fraud groups, Sun introduced.

Recently, the case of assault against a group of womenat a barbecue restaurant in Tangshan, North China's Hebei Province, had made headlines across China, sparking public concern over personal safety. Liu Zhongyi, director of the Ministry of Public Security noted on Monday that the case has caused widespread concern. "The Ministry of Public Security attached great importance to the case. It immediately dispatched a working group and experts from all across the country to guide the investigation. Currently, the investigation of the case is progressing smoothly, and details will be released to the public," Liu noted.

The Tangshan incident not only came to focus in Chinese media, but also many foreign media outlets, with some outlets labeling it as "horrific violence against women."

On June 14, CNN published an article entitled "'This could happen to any of us': Graphic video of men stomping on a woman's head shakes China to the core" and alleged that "the relatively light punishment for gender violence has failed to deter transgressors" in China, in an attempt to portray the country as an unsafe place.

In response to these concerns, Liu said that so far, criminal investigation departments have solved 49,000 criminal cases and arrested 72,000 suspects during the 100-day campaign made to crack down on issues threatening public security, a campaign that started over the summer, effectively safeguarding public security.

Since the regular operation targeting gang-related crimes, public security organs have cracked down on 249 gang-related organizations and 1,486 criminal groups, and have arrested 22,000 criminal suspects, the conference reported.

(Web editor: Wu Chaolan, Liang Jun)
The chairperson of the Lagos State chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Funmi Sessi, on Tuesday, announced a two-week ultimatum for the Nigerian government to resolve the conflict with the nations university workers and reopen the schools.

The labour leader, who issued the ultimatum while addressing the teeming crowd of protesters at the Lagos State Government Secretariat, said failure to heed the workers call would attract the anger and frustration of the Nigerian masses.

She said the two-day demonstration is to prepare ground for further actions should the government fail to act, saying the ENDSARS protest will be a childs play.

Tuesdays protest

The protest kicked off around 7:30 a.m. at the Ikeja Underbridge, with thousands of members of the union and its affiliates including the Academic Staff of Nigerian Universities (ASUU), Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Allied Institutions (NASU) and the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT), taking part in the action.

The protesters walked from the Underbridge in Ikeja to the government secretariat at Alausa in Ikeja.

Many of the protesters carried placards with different inscriptions such as; Stop the looting, tax the rich and subsidise the poor; Recall all sacked lecturers; Lets change the narrative, make our universities the best in the world; IPPIS destroys our universities, adopt UTAS now, among others.

Sessi speaks

Mrs Sessi said that the youth have been disenfranchised by the current administration.

She warned that the government will witness the frustration of the masses if the government refuses to put an end to the ongoing strike.

She said; Our statement is simple. This is just a warning action. If the government fails to conclude all the negotiation and agreement within all the workers in our tertiary education within the frame of two weeks that they have promised to conclude it.

They will witness more protests and rallies all over the country, they will also witness the annoyance, anger, and frustration of Nigerians. This government has pushed so many Nigerians into depression. We say enough is enough, we can no longer bear this hardship again.

Falana joins

The human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, who took part in the protest, said the standard of living under the Muhammad Buhari-led administration is getting worse by the day.

Mr Falana said Nigerians are suffering under the current administration while the president is junketing the world.

Buhari must go, he said.

He said the fight is for quality education.

As of 12 noon, the protesters were still at the government secretariat to submit a letter to the Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu for onward delivery to President Buhari.

ASUU, other unions demands

Nigerian university workers under their various unions including the Academic Staff of Nigerian Universities (ASUU), Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Allied Institutions (NASU) and the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT), have embarked on strike to protest what they termed poor funding of universities and poor welfare conditions.

ASUU, which commenced its nationwide industrial action on February 14, has continued to roll it over for more than five months.

The union had rejected the introduction of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) as a payment platform for the workers as introduced by the government and sought its replacement with University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS).

The Joint Action Committee (JAC) of both SSANU and NASU has also rejected IPPIS, even as it presented an alternative said to have also been developed by its members to the government.

Government steps up resolution efforts

President Muhammadu Buhari last week ordered the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, to step down from negotiation with the striking workers to allow his Education Ministry counterpart, Adamu Adamu, to take over.

Mr Adamu, during the joint presentation of negotiation progress report to President Muhammadu Buhari, had explained the reason for his aloofness since the workers strike commenced and pledged to fast track the process of the resolution.
New roles at company's second Irish site will focus on engineering, technical support and inside sales

DUNDALK, Ireland, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Kaseya, the leading global provider of unified IT management and security software for managed service providers (MSPs) and mid-market enterprises (MMEs), today announced plans to establish a new Centre of Excellence in Dundalk, creating 250 jobs over the next three years.

The project is supported by the Irish Government through IDA Ireland.

Pictured L-R IDA Ireland CEO Martin Shanahan, Shane Mulholland SVP Operations AND Ireland Site Lead, Kaseya, Tanaiste & Minister for Enterprise Trade & Employment Leo Varadkar, Victoria McKechnie, Project Executive, Technology, IDA Ireland celebrating the creation the announcement by Kaseya of 250 jobs and a second Irish site in Dundalk Co. Louth

Tanaiste & Minister for Enterprise Trade & Employment Leo Varadkar TD said: "This is excellent news. It really demonstrates Kaseya's commitment to Ireland and the attractiveness of Dundalk as a place to invest. It's also a real vote of confidence in Kaseya's existing team here  I'm sure it was their hard work that gave the company the confidence to expand further. Kaseya has witnessed remarkable growth over recent years, and I wish the team every continued success with the new Dundalk office."

The highly skilled roles include 250 jobs for engineers, technical support and sales, specifically new customer acquisition, as well as positions across corporate services. Kaseya will work closely with university partners in the area to help train students for the positions and foster the next generation of technology professionals in the region.

"We saw tremendous opportunity to expand the tech ecosystem in Ireland  we're already in Dublin  and decided to open a second office in Dundalk," said Kaseya CEO Fred Voccola. We are planning to attract top tech talent and generate a robust workforce pipeline in the local community. We are excited about this partnership that will expand Kaseya's footprint in Ireland, where Kaseya has its roots. The company first established its EMEA headquarters in Dublin in 2016."

Kaseya saw the potential in Ireland and decided to expand its operations with this second site in Dundalk to operate as a Centre of Excellence with a focus on research and development. The Dundalk office will support a high-growth engineering team and contribute to economic development in the region.

CEO of IDA Ireland Martin Shanahan said: "Thanks to Kaseya's positive experience with establishing a facility in Dublin, the company has selected Dundalk as the location of its second Irish site. This is very good news for the entire region and the skilled and talented workforce located there. I wish Kaseya every success with this expansion."

Kaseya successfully executed a similar program in the U.S., in Miami, Florida where the company is headquartered. In two short years, Kaseya has grown its Miami operation from 150 people to more than 600 and now occupies over 150,000-sq-ft to support its growth plan of having over 1,200 "Kaseyans" in Miami by 2023. Modelling after this hugely successful program, with support from IDA Ireland, Kaseya's leadership is confident this initiative will be another success that brings economic growth to the region.

To view a list of the open roles in Ireland, click here.

About Kaseya

Kaseya is the leading provider of unified IT & security management software for IT professionals in managed service providers (MSPs) and mid-market enterprises (MMEs). Through its customer-centric approach and renowned support, Kaseya delivers best-in-breed technologies that empower organizations to seamlessly manage IT infrastructure, secure networks, backup critical data, manage service operations, and grow their businesses. Kaseya offers a broad array of IT management solutions, including well-known names: Kaseya, Datto, IT Glue, RapidFire Tools, Unitrends, Spanning Cloud Apps, TruMethods, ID Agent, Graphus and RocketCyber. These innovative solutions fuel Kaseya's IT Complete platform, which is designed to maximize efficiencies and enable businesses through a single pane of glass. IT Complete empowers IT professionals to centrally command hardware, software, security, data, compliance, operations and more from within a comprehensive, integrated, intelligent (AI utilization-optimized), and affordable platform. Headquartered in Miami, Florida, Kaseya is privately held with a global presence in over 25 countries. To learn more, visit https://www.kaseya.com/.

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1865859/Kaseya_Image.jpg

SOURCE Kaseya
LISBON, Portugal, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Nowadays, the interface is where your brand lives. But transitioning consistently across different digital platforms isn't always a smooth process. For companies that are creating products across multiple channels (web, app, and more) it's essential to have a brand design system - the bible of your presence, behaviour and interaction with users across online platforms. Bliss Applications , a consultancy firm specialising in building digital products, explains why and how:

The user experience when creating a relationship with brands is one of the new challenges for every company, brought about by the presence in digital environments, that is now more intense. In that sense, that same experience must be consistent, so that users can feel and recognize the brand through visual identification, even when the logo is not in sight.

If the brand book is essential to create consistency in the communication of our brand, in the various physical media - be it an advertisement, a presentation or a report, the transition of our brands to the digital environment requires equal or greater consistency of their presence in the different platforms; whether on the computer screen, mobile phone or smartwatch, we want the image of our brand to be consistent and coherent across all channels.

Maintaining this consistency in online environments is increasingly important if the brand is to be recognised for its interaction with the user as well. That's why it's so important for brands to create their design system while in the process of building digital products across multiple platforms. To simplify, these are the elements that should compose a design system:

A space with all the system's documentation, guidelines on brand behaviour and brand components; Design components: kits with varied elements (i.e. buttons, iconography) that can be used in the design of a new screen; Programming resources: code and settings associated with each component that can be used by developers.

Whether it's to create consistency in the presentation of the brand for the user, to give more freedom in creating differentiating interactions or to have more agile teams in the construction of their digital products, the design system is a powerful ally for the digital presence of any brand.

SOURCE Bliss
Foodtech co. makes strides toward cultivated meat commercialization through partnership with European grocery, foodservice, and manufacturing giant to produce and sell cultivated meat products

TEL AVIV, Israel, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- SuperMeat , a foodtech company working to supply the world with high-quality cultivated meat, announced that they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Switzerland's largest retail supermarket chain and leading meat manufacturer, Migros , to expedite production and distribution of cultivated meat at a commercial scale. As part of the partnership, Migros invested in SuperMeat, indicating that the industry sees a strong interest among consumers in alternative proteins.

Working together, the two hope to solidify an infrastructure to distribute and sell meat on a wide scale to meet the demand of the European consumer looking for more efficient and sustainable alternative products. With Migros' direct consumer relationships, the companies will be better positioned to serve customers and provide product assortments that better match consumer needs.

"We are thrilled to be working with a prominent foodservice partner like Migros as we move toward our joint vision of producing cultivated meat on a mass scale," said Ido Savir, CEO SuperMeat. "Their expertise and reach in food production and grocery paired with SuperMeat's advancements in the industry will set the stage to bring cultivated meat to European consumers in the near future."

Migros believes in supporting a future of alternative proteins in many forms. In addition to the work with SuperMeat, Migros recently partnered with Swiss companies Givaudan and Buhler to establish The Cultured Food Innovation Hub, with the goal of building a pilot plant to further research and grow cultivated meat.

"As consumers demand more sustainable, healthier, and alternative protein products, Migros wants to ensure it is prepared to meet the needs of this growing customer base when the time comes," said Matthew Robin, CEO ELSA-Mifroma, a Migros Group company. "Having the opportunity to taste SuperMeat's cultivated chicken personally at their restaurant in Israel, I was very impressed with how similar this was to traditional chicken, confirming my conviction of the potential for this technology to change the meat industry."

The announcement is part of several vital steps SuperMeat is taking to move forward the commercialization of cultivated meat, including the development of the first open-source system aimed at identifying the most cost-effective cell feed, reducing production costs for the industry. Last year, SuperMeat also signed a memorandum of understanding with PHW Group , one of Europe's largest poultry producers and the only company from the meat industry to rank among the 50 Sustainability & Climate Leaders, to manufacture and distribute cultivated meat at a large scale for European consumers.

About Migros Group

With annual sales of CHF 28.93 billion in 2021, the Migros Group is both the largest retail company in Switzerland and with over 97'541 employees the largest private employer as well. The owners of Migros are its more than two million cooperative members, organized into ten regional cooperatives. These members run the Migros Group's core business, its retail sales. Over 50 percent of the products offered in the Migros stores are own brands, a large number of which are manufactured by its own industrial group. The Migros Group also owns other commercial enterprises such as the Denner discount chain or the online store Digitec Galaxus, as well as the travel company Hotelplan and Migros Bank.

Migros was founded in 1925 by Gottlieb Duttweiler. The founder himself attached great importance to sustainable value creation, with ethical considerations and the assumption of social responsibilities playing a major role in his business philosophy. For example, one of the stipulations in his philosophy was that a fixed percentage of the Migros cooperatives' annual revenues should be used for cultural and social activities. And with CHF 160 million contributed each year, Migros is the largest private promoter of cultural activities in Switzerland. For more information on the company, visit www.migros.ch

About SuperMeat

SuperMeat, headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel, is a food-tech company working to supply the world with high-quality meat grown directly from animal cells. The company's products offer a delicious meat experience and a high-quality nutritional profile, while being manufactured in a sustainable, slaughter-free way. SuperMeat's proprietary cultivated meat platform allows food companies to be at the forefront of the emerging cultivated meat industry and manufacture a wide range of products containing cultivated meat inside. SuperMeat is the first B2B company to address the entire category of poultry meat from fat to muscle, providing a complete solution to cultivated meat production. The company has been showcasing the versatility of its meat platform in various events at its pilot production plant, The Chicken , the world's first farm-to-fork facility for local meat production, and is planning to host additional events in the near future. For more information on the company, visit www.SuperMeat.com .

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1866277/Migros_Logo.jpg

SOURCE SuperMeat
BELFAST,Northern Ireland, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Electric Storage Company (TESC) has increased its investment in KX's real-time analytics platform to continue to deliver cheaper, smarter, and greener electricity to customers.

KX provides the data management and analytics technology underpinning TESC's Predictive Analytical Renewables Integration System (PARIS) platform. PARIS analyses data to accurately predict future energy usage within homes and businesses, specifically when energy is needed and if it can be generated by TESC customers. Together TESC and KX can help aging electricity grids, by avoiding peak times without denying customers the service they need, while maximizing commercial opportunities for renewable energy.

Eddie McGoldrick, Managing Director, TESC: "We're seeing substantially greater demand from customers and businesses who are both concerned with rising energy prices but also keen to adopt greener practices, whether through personal choice or forced to do so by regulation and client procurement pre-requisites. By taking additional licenses and support from KX, we'll not only be able to meet current demand but also bring additional innovative solutions to market."

KX enables The Electric Storage Company (TESC) to capture, store and analyze all customer data anytime, anywhere  delivering the insight and context needed to make faster, better-informed decisions to enable customers to maximize the value of their energy on its PARIS platform.

PARIS then automatically makes an informed decision on whether to use renewable energy as it is generated, store it to use later, or help maintain network services to help maintain the grid thus generating new income streams from the customers' own renewable energy.

PARIS also enables customers, to gain insight into their energy usage including real-time consumption and production data as well as their savings. All of which is delivered via the KX platform.

And the savings can be significant. Typically TESC customers can reduce energy costs by up to 70%, as well as CO2 emissions. This all ladders up to helping businesses remain compliant with an ever-growing burden of ESG reporting and regulation while also being able to better navigate the growing public and investor demand for businesses to comply with greener practices.

James Corcoran, SVP Customer Value at KX: "We are delighted that TESC has increased its investment in KX as it continues to deliver market-leading green energy solutions. The rapid analysis of data to automatically predict future energy consumption, and make commercial and operational decisions based on those insights, is an ideal use case for the real-time power and performance of KX. We look forward to working with TESC as it grows its business."

KX is able to solve complex problems faster  and on a smaller infrastructure footprint  than any of its competitors  whether on-premise, in the cloud, or at the edge. Its advanced analytics and visualization tools, used widely across finance and industry, enable customers to define and perform queries, calculations, aggregations, machine learning, and AI on any streaming and historical data. Built-in machine learning and complex event processing allow for quick decision-making and proactive automated actions to be executed in fractions of a second.

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1866445/KX_Logo.jpg

SOURCE KX.com
Pittsburgh Based Giant Eagle Showcasing It Fresh

CORDOVA, Ala., July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Copper River Prince William Sound salmon season is underway. The salmon are bright and robust and the commercial harvest, which has been consistent throughout the summer, will continue into September.

To locate Prince William Sound salmon at Giant Eagle and retailers in your region, visit www.soundsalmon.org/fish-finder Tweet this Prince William Sound sockeye salmon is hand harvested by 550 drift and set gillnet fishermen. This niche fishery in southcentral Alaska produces some of the best wild salmon in the world. Draw culinary inspiration from this Chef's Roll production with Chef Andre Uribe. Prince William Sound Sockeye Salmon

Alaska's pristine Prince William Sound, home to more than 550 drift and set gillnet permit holders, is one of the country's premier yet best kept secrets when it comes to seafood resources. The Sound, which sits west of the Copper River Delta off the Gulf of Alaska, is a protected water system that boasts a complex coastline, glacier-hewn fjords, rainforest-blanketed islands, and an array of marine life. Each year, the region boasts an annual harvest of more than 55 million fish with fishermen harvesting all five species of Pacific salmonking, sockeye, keta, pink and coho.

According to Christa Hoover, Executive Director of the Copper River Prince William Sound Marketing Association, "The salmon being delivered to the processors in Cordova have been beautiful. I've been visiting the processors weekly and am impressed with the quality of the salmon our fleet is bringing in from Prince William Sound. The fish have been bright and appear larger than the past few years. The focus has been on Prince William Sound sockeye and keta this month, and as we move into August and September our fleet will target Coho, another great salmon for the domestic retail market."

Giant Eagle, a supermarket chain based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is featuring fresh Prince William Sound sockeye at their seafood counters right now and will also be offering Copper River Coho to customers when it arrives in August and September.

For cooking inspiration, Hoover suggests recipes on the Prince William Sound website or Giant Eagle website. For further inspiration, Hoover also suggests recent coverage of Prince William Sound featured on Chef's Roll.

About CR/PWS MA:

The Copper River/Prince William Sound Marketing Association, a fisherman funded regional seafood development association, works on behalf of the 500 plus commercial salmon fishermen of Coastal South-Central Alaska. The association works to build brand awareness and consumer preference for wild Copper River king, sockeye and coho as well as Prince William Sound sockeye, keta, and pink salmon.

For additional information contact:

Christa Hoover, Executive Director

[email protected]

http://www.copperriversalmon.org

Copper River/PWS Marketing Association

Box 199, Cordova, Alaska 99574

t: 907-424-3459

SOURCE Copper River Prince William Sound Marketing Association
WASHINGTON, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, public affairs firm Arc Initiatives and Seattle-based digital-first communications firm True Blue Strategies announced the beginning of a new strategic partnership just weeks after the firms were awarded five AAPC Pollie Awards and two Campaigns & Elections Reed Awards for their collaboration on the ongoing effort to Stop Pebble Mine.

Arc Initiatives' experience managing high-profile political and advocacy campaigns combined with True Blue's award-winning digital creative and strategy team will bring together unmatched talent, providing clients with comprehensive campaign services for some of the most pressing policy issues of our time.

From working with Indigenous Tribes in Alaska to protect their sovereign rights to advocating for critical public lands protections, and energy policy reforms , the firms have already proven to be critical partners in the fight for bold environmental action. With the combined force of over 40 world-class communications, creative, and policy professionals, this new phase of collaboration will broaden the teams' ability to take on the toughest fights from Washington, DC to Washington state.

Based in Washington, DC with offices overlooking the White House, Arc also boasts on-the-ground leadership in Minnesota, and a sister creative firm, Studio Gradients , in New York City. All together, Arc Initiatives is a team of nearly 30 leading communications, political, and policy professionals. Arc Initiatives was founded by Dan Kanninen and Aaron Wells, who grew the firm after taking over STG  formerly the Smoot Tewes Group  the political and public affairs shop first launched by Obama Campaign architects Julianna Smoot and Paul Tewes.

Under Dan and Aaron's leadership, Arc has built a roster of political and communications clients ranging from national coalitions and non-profits, to electoral campaigns including top-tier presidential candidates, Fortune 100 companies, national campaign committees, the White House, and foreign heads of state. Arc has managed countless political and communications campaigns that reached and moved target audiences to change the conversation and bent the arc of the issue to achieve their clients' goals.

As a full-service creative and strategic communications firm, TrueBlue Strategies employs a dynamic approach and deep expertise in a wide array of services to help clients connect impactful messages with the audiences who need to hear them.

"Arc Initiatives couldn't be more excited to enter this new phase of our partnership with True Blue Strategies. Solidifying our alliance will elevate our digital and creative strategies and open a whole new window of opportunity for growth," said Jonae Wartel , Managing Director of Arc Initiatives.

"Bringing together some of DC's leading communications and political strategists with an award-winning digital creative team, the Arc-True Blue strategic partnership is a winning combination. With a talented partner like TrueBlue on our side, our team is eager to continue bending the arc of our clients' boldest campaigns and delivering winning results," said Dan Kanninen , Partner & CEO of Arc Initiatives.

"Past collaborations between True Blue and Arc prove that we can deliver for our clients on their boldest, most ambitious goals. By bringing our firms closer together, we'll be able to offer our clients even more while continuing to provide best-in-class work," said Brooke Blue , President, and Founder of True Blue Strategies.

"Since the beginning of our work with Arc Initiatives and True Blue, we've been blown away by their partnership going above and beyond for our campaign to protect Bristol Bay. We're eager to see them continue to deliver extraordinary results as their collaboration evolves," said Erin Dovichin, Alaska Venture Fund," said Erin Dovichin, Alaska Venture Fund.

About True Blue Strategies

You can learn more about how True Blue Strategies' dynamic approach and innovative campaigns are helping clients connect impactful messages with the audiences who need to hear them here .

About Arc Initiatives

You can learn more about how Arc Initiatives is bringing together political stakeholders, paid and earned media, lobbying strategies, and grassroots organizing to create change from Capitol Hill down to the state and local level here .

Contact: Alana Murphy, [email protected], 973-953-9697

SOURCE Arc Initiatives
Fincadia Group's Five East-Coast Branches Join Arete Wealth from National Securities Corp.

Firms' Focus on High Net Worth Accredited Investors Are in 'Perfect Alignment,' Arete Wealth Founder, CEO Joshua D. Rogers Says

Following 2021 Acquisition of Center Street Securities, Fincadia Group Lift-Out Marks Arete Wealth's Second Significant Transaction in the Past 18 Months

CHICAGO, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Arete Wealth , a full-service broker-dealer, registered investment advisor (RIA), and insurance firm, today announced its second major transaction in 18 months, recruiting a "super branch" of 66 registered representatives who manage more than $2.5 billion in total assets.

Fincadia Group, along with its five East Coast locations and team of support personnel, elected to leave National Securities Corp. after 18 years to become a fully integrated member of Arete Wealth's brokerdealer and RIA businesses. Including Fincadia Group, Arete Wealth now totals $8.5 billion in assets managed by its 318 registered representatives across 97 offices in the United States.

The Fincadia Group lift-out follows Arete Wealth's January 2021 strategic acquisition of Nashville, Tenn. based Center Street Securities which helped boost Arete Wealth's 2021 revenue by 83% to $82.7 million from $45.2 million in 2020. Ninety-eight percent of Center Street's registered representatives have been retained to date, according to Arete Wealth Founder and CEO Joshua D. Rogers .

Among the reasons Fincadia Group was attracted to Arete Wealth is the Chicago-based firm's distinctive business strategy  chiefly, its leading position in alternative investments, Mr. Rogers said.

Arete Wealth added to its ample inventory of alternative products in November 2021 by reaching a unique two-year agreement with Masterworks to act as a co-managing broker-dealer, underwriter, and placement agent for all Masterworks' art securities products offered for sale in primary offerings. The Fincadia Group team will have immediate access to all Masterworks products, and to Arete Wealth's entire line of bespoke alternative products.

"When we realized there was an opportunity to recruit this large group of productive, highly respected financial advisors, we took immediate action," said Mr. Rogers. "The addition of Fincadia Group, coming shortly after last year's successful purchase of Center Street, demonstrates Arete Wealth is determined to continue expanding at an industry-leading pace."

In May, Arete Wealth captured the No. 1 spot on Investment News ' 2022 poll of the fastest growing independent broker-dealers  a gauge that measures the rate of year-to-year revenue gains.

Mr. Rogers added: "Fincadia Group's focus on high net worth accredited investors is in perfect alignment with Arete Wealth's business model. Further, the Fincadia team extends our reach into areas of the country with high concentrations of investors who are anxious to gain access to superior investment advice from Arete Wealth's first-rate financial advisors and to our broad portfolio of traditional and alternative investment products. Adding Fincadia Group to the Arete Wealth family is a significant enhancement for all of our investors and advisors."

Earlier this year, Arete Wealth was named one of Chicago's fastest growing companies, according to Crain's Chicago Business' 2022 "Fast 50" survey. The publication's poll , which ranks Chicago-area companies by revenue growth over a five-year period, placed Arete Wealth in 31st position with 2021 revenue up 406% from 2016. Arete Wealth was third among the survey's financial services companies.

Arete Wealth also scored well on Financial Advisor Magazine 's 2022 survey of independent broker-dealers, ranking 35th, up eight slots from the previous year's poll which grades companies' growth by annual gross revenue. The firm impressed in another key FA Magazine survey category, placing seventh in "gross revenue per representative" ($486,622).

The Fincadia Group's move to Arete Wealth became official on July 19, 2022. Financial terms for the liftout were not disclosed.

About Arete Wealth

Through its full-service broker-dealer, registered investment advisor, and insurance units, Arete Wealth Inc. has been offering comprehensive and sophisticated wealth management services for investors, clients, and partners since 2007. The Chicago-based firm offers high-net-worth investors access to a unique suite of alternative investments in addition to providing services that include investment banking, private equity programs, and other traditional financial planning.

Arete Wealth's Art & Wine Advisory practice, an exclusive service for its financial advisors and their clients, is thought to be the only one of its kind in the U.S. offered by a financial services company.

Find out more at www.aretewealth.com .

Contact:

Leanne Farley, VP of Marketing

312.940.3684

[email protected]

SOURCE Arete Wealth
Micro 3D Printing Provider Has Doubled Its Install Base in the Past Year as Demand for Tiny Parts Grows

CHONGQING, China and BOSTON, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Boston Micro Fabrication (BMF), the pioneer in microscale 3D printing systems, today announced the successful closing of a Series C round of funding, totaling $43 million. The round was led by Shenzhen Capital Group Co., Ltd. ("SCGC").

Additive manufacturing has proven to add the most value when used to produce parts that are expensive or difficult to make using conventional techniques. In the past, those parts usually fell into two categories: low volume and/or high geometric complexity. Since its founding in 2016, BMF has been addressing another market need: small, high precision parts. The demand for parts on the millimeter scale, with micron level tolerance, is on the rise and, historically, there were no additive manufacturing systems capable of producing at this level of quality while at the same time providing good throughput. BMF has changed that paradigm with its microArch 3D printing systems, built upon patented Projection Micro Stereolithography (PSL) technology that enables ultra high-resolution parts (down to 2m) to be 3D printed with unparalleled accuracy, precision and speed.

The investment comes during a time of significant growth for the company. BMF doubled its install base in the past year, now with installed systems at over 200 customer locations around the world, bringing high precision additive manufacturing capabilities to industries that are driven to miniaturize, including electronics, medical device, optics/photonics, microfluidics and advanced research. The company also recently expanded its global operations with new state-of-the-art facilities in Greater Boston and Shenzhen, China, with additional locations in Chongqing, China and Tokyo, Japan.

"Our business has scaled strongly, and we plan to use new capital to further expand our capability," stated John Kawola, CEO of BMF. "Our global reach has been appreciated and valued by our customers, and our systems are now being used all over the world to both prototype parts that previously could not be 3D printed and drive end-use part production where conventional methods are difficult."

BMF will use the funding to advance product development, sales and marketing and customer support as the company continues to expand and serve its global customer base. For more information about what this funding means for BMF, please visit www.bmf3d.com.

About SCGC

Shenzhen Capital Group Co., Ltd. ("SCGC") was established by the Shenzhen Municipal People's Government and commercial shareholders in 1999. With the mission of discovering and making great companies, and as the discoverer and cultivator of innovative value-added companies, SCGC has become a comprehensive investment conglomerate in VC/PE with registered capital of RMB 10 billion and total assets under management of approximately RMB 423.9 billion.

About BMF

Boston Micro Fabrication (BMF) specializes in micro precision 3D printing. The company's microArch systems uses a 3D printing approach called PSL (Projection Micro Stereolithography) that leverages light, customizable optics, a high-quality movement platform and controlled processing technology to produce the industry's most accurate and precise high-resolution 3D prints for product development, research and industrial short run production. The technology represents a true industry breakthrough by empowering product manufacturers to capitalize on the benefits of 3D printing without sacrificing quality or scale.

Founded in 2016, BMF has offices in Boston, Shenzhen, Chongqing and Tokyo. For more information on BMF please visit www.bmf3d.com or follow the company on LinkedIn .

SOURCE Boston Micro Fabrication
OAKLAND, Calif., July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- NORESCO, a part of Carrier Global Corporation (NYSE: CARR), is pleased to announce it has been awarded a new, three-year contract to help the California Energy Commission (CEC) develop and adopt the state's building energy code for 2025. California's Building Energy Efficiency Standards are updated every three years to guide the construction of new and existing buildings toward the state's clean energy goals. NORESCO has worked with the CEC to advance one of the nation's most efficient building energy standards, Title 24, Part 6 of the California Code of Regulations, for more than 15 years.

NORESCO has been awarded a new, three-year contract to help the California Energy Commission (CEC) develop and adopt the states building energy code for 2025. NORESCO has worked with the CEC to advance one of the nations most efficient building energy standards, Title 24, Part 6 of the California Code of Regulations, for more than 15 years.

"With the ongoing support of NORESCO, the CEC is excited to continue pioneering world-leading strategies for buildings, while enabling energy bill savings and other benefits to building owners and occupants," said Michael Sokol, Deputy Director, CEC Efficiency Division. "This three-year agreement will assist the CEC as we look ahead to the next Building Energy Efficiency Standards update cycle."

"The NORESCO team's expertise in energy codes, modeling and building science allows us to provide the CEC with the support needed to achieve its objectives for the 2025 code cycle," said Rahul Athalye, Program Director of Code Development and Support, NORESCO. "We look forward to continuing to work together with the CEC to achieve deep decarbonization in the California building sector."

The upcoming code cycle will enable the CEC to drive continued progress toward the goals in California's Integrated Energy Policy Report (IEPR). The 2021 IEPR recommends the acceleration of building decarbonization and the installation of 6 million heat pumps by 2030. California's building energy code will play a key role in achieving these objectives, and the NORESCO team will support the CEC in developing and implementing strategies to meet these goals in both new construction and alterations.

NORESCO will also help develop energy accounting methodologies for the 2025 cycle, including development of prototype building models, weather files, metrics and life-cycle cost methodology. The team will review national model codes, assess new measures and code structure ideas, and support the research and development of new code requirements.

"NORESCO will provide the highly specialized technical support essential for developing, implementing and maintaining the 2025 Energy Code update to address the numerous energy priorities facing California," Sokol said.

The new contract builds on NORESCO's prior work with CEC, which in the 2022 code cycle included the development of the photovoltaics (PV) and battery requirements, as well as the single-zone heat pump requirements for nonresidential buildings. The 2022 Energy Code also stipulated electric-ready requirements for new homes, strengthened ventilation standards and made California the first state in the U.S. to require solar PV and battery storage in new nonresidential buildings.

Along with supporting development of the energy code for California, NORESCO has performed code development in Colorado, Massachusetts, New York, Washington and other jurisdictions that are leading the charge toward zero carbon and zero energy building codes. NORESCO is currently working with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority to develop the NYStretch Energy Code.

For more information, visit NORESCO's website at www.noresco.com.

About NORESCO

NORESCO, a part of Carrier Global Corporation, helps clients adapt to and mitigate the impacts of climate change by decarbonizing, modernizing and electrifying aging infrastructure to be more sustainable and resilient. By deploying innovative distributed energy, storage and renewable energy solutions, NORESCO improves the health and efficiency of existing campuses, buildings and communities. To date, NORESCO has guaranteed more than $5 billion in energy and operating cost savings at more than 10,000 facilities while reducing customer CO2 emissions by more than 25 million metric tons  the equivalent to planting 1.4 million acres of forest. For more information, visit www.noresco.com.

SOURCE NORESCO
MANAMA, Bahrain, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- CoinMENA, a leading digital assets exchange in the Middle East and North Africa region, announced recently that it will now onboard citizens and residents of Egypt from its base in Bahrain. Users in Egypt can now open accounts on the platform and access all its services, including connecting their bank accounts to their CoinMENA wallets, allowing them to deposit and withdraw funds directly and safely.

Egypt Expansion

This is the latest in the series of expansions by the Bahrain-based cryptocurrency exchange after just one year of operations. CoinMENA now supports residents from seven countries, including Bahrain, UAE, KSA, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and now Egypt.

CoinMENA Founders Dina Sam'an and Talal Tabbaa commented in a joint statement, "We are excited to be able to onboard residents of Egypt to our platform from our base in Bahrain. Egypt has the largest population and one of the highest crypto adoption rates in the region. This brings us a step closer towards our goal of providing access to digital assets throughout the MENA region."

The Bahrain-headquartered company recently added a range of first-in-the-region features for its users. The exchange entered into a partnership with Visa to offer a host of exclusive services, including the CoinMENA Visa Card, which can be used at millions of merchants worldwide. In addition, CoinMENA also introduced new features recently, like limit order trading and USDT withdrawals via the TRON network.

"Our ability to onboard residents of Egypt significantly increases our total addressable market," said Sam'an. "We plan to continue working closely with regulators to be able to expand our services to different markets and enable people to have safe exposure to digital assets."

"The potential in Egypt is massive," Tabbaa added, "Crypto can provide 100 million Egyptians with access to premium financial services"

About CoinMENA

Headquartered in the Kingdom of Bahrain, CoinMENA is a digital assets exchange that is regulated and licensed by the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) as a crypto asset service provider (category-3). CoinMENA seeks to empower new and seasoned investors in the MENA region who want access to crypto asset investment options by allowing them to participate in the new digital economy. Through CoinMENA, investors can buy, sell, store, and receive digital assets safely and securely, as well as deposit and withdraw in their local currency. Through competitive fees, high liquidity, and an educational approach, CoinMENA aims to be the simplest and most trusted digital assets exchange platform in the region.

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1866573/Egypt_Expansion.jpg

SOURCE CoinMENA
UNDER EMBARGO UNTIL 27 July 1700 GMT-5

QUITO, Ecuador, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Ecuador's Minister of Environment, Water and Ecological Transition, Gustavo Manrique, is hosting a special event today to mark Earth Overshoot Day 2022 (July 28), featuring the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility, authorities from different countries in the region, representatives of non-governmental organizations, businesses, scientists and academics. Global Footprint Network founder Mathis Wackernagel will be participating as the guest of honor.

"Earth Overshoot Day demonstrates that the current system of production and consumption is not compatible with the intention to continue to inhabit this planet. To better protect our natural resources and manage our demand for them, it is necessary to embrace a new development model based on sustainability and regeneration. From Ecuador, we call on the world to commit to this cause," explains Minister Gustavo Manrique.

Ecuador's unique tradition puts nature at its center. In 2008, it made history when it became the first country in the world to grant nature legally-enforceable constitutional rights to ''exist, flourish and evolve" through an overwhelming popular vote. Ecuador ranks as one of the countries whose Overshoot Day arrives the latest in the year (December 6 this year), which means its Ecological Footprint per person is only slightly higher than the worldwide average biocapacity per person.

The date of Earth Overshoot Day is calculated each year by Global Footprint Network, using National Footprint and Biocapacity Accounts data. This day reminds us that the persistence of overshoot, now for over half a century, has led to huge declines in biodiversity, excess greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, and heightened competition for food and energy. Symptoms are becoming more prominent with unusual heat waves, forest fires, droughts, and floods.

The economic pressures are already playing out. Global Footprint Network research shows that more than 3 billion people live in countries which produce less food than they consume and generate less than world average income. This means they have inadequate food capacity and face a huge disadvantage in accessing food on global markets. If we include all resources, not just food, the number of people exposed to this double challenge climbs to 5.8 billion people .

"Resource security is turning into an essential parameter of economic strength. There is no advantage in waiting for others to act first. Rather, it is in the interest of every city, company, or country to protect its own ability to operate in the inevitable future of more climate change and resource constraints," says Mathis Wackernagel.

"Cities hold the key to clean infrastructure transformation: Quito for its conservation of protected areas, Santiago de Chile for its electric buses, or Bogota for its bike paths show how local governments give their cities a better chance to have a solid future," says Sebastian Navarro, Secretary General of CC35, the Coalition of Capital Cities of the Americas on Climate Change.

Turning the trends around is not just possible, but it economically benefits those who lead the charge. Possibilities include:

Cutting food waste in half worldwide would #MoveTheDate of Earth Overshoot Day 13 days.

Upgrading urban bicycle infrastructure worldwide, like the Netherlands , has the potential to move it 9 days.

, has the potential to move it 9 days. Producing power by cost-competitive on-shore wind, as practiced in Denmark and Germany , could move it at least 10 days.

More details, key facts behind Earth Overshoot Day, and translations at: https://www.overshootday.org/newsroom/press-release-july-2022-english/

Contacts

Marta Antonelli, Ph.D.- Italian, English, (GMT+2)

[email protected] +41-78-656-28-44

Alessandro Galli, Ph.D.- Italian, English, (GMT+2)

[email protected] +39-347-903-49-77

Laetitia Mailhes- French, English, (GMT+2)

[email protected] +33-650-979-012

Amanda Diep- English, (GMT-7)

[email protected] +1-(510)-839-8879-Ext4

SOURCE GLOBAL FOOTPRINT NETWORK
Events across New York State promote health and wellness for local residents

LONG ISLAND CITY, N.Y., July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Fidelis Care, a New York State health plan with more than 2.5 million members, today announced the return of its signature "Unity" events this August and September, promoting community health and wellness and the importance of staying connected with friends and neighbors. A dozen Unity events, from Long Island to Buffalo, will each offer free and fun family activities including live music, face painting, health screenings, and special appearances by Fidelis Care's popular dinosaur mascot, the Fidelisaurus.

Fidelis Care's original Unity event, "Unity in the Heights," started in 2011, featuring an exclusive partnership with the New York City Police Department (NYPD) and gathering over 1,500 people annually in Washington Heights in upper Manhattan. Since then, Unity events have expanded across the state with a variety of local partners, offering more New Yorkers the opportunity to enjoy family-friendly activities, meet friends and neighbors, and learn about health and wellness.

"Fidelis Care is proud of our unique Unity event series and the growth we've continued to see across New York State," said Chief Member Engagement Officer Pam Hassen. "Having a grassroots presence and serving the needs of local residents in their neighborhoods and communities has always been the heart of our mission. We believe in the power of unity and connection to transform lives."

"The Unity Summer Street Festivals are a great opportunity for people to have fun, meet their Neighborhood Coordination Officers, build bridges between the police and the community, and learn about ways to prioritize their health," added Inspector Maximo Tolentino, New York Police Department. "The NYPD is proud to partner with Fidelis Care on these Unity events, and we look forward to meeting everyone."

"It's wonderful to partner with Fidelis Care to bring our community together for a family-friendly event, focused on health, wellness, and safety," added Minnie Torres, Food Pantry Coordinator at the Elder State Presbyterian Church in Schenectady, "Hosting Unity in Schenectady allows us to offer support and resources for so many people, while meeting their neighbors and having fun."

Fidelis Care Unity events will be taking place in the following locations across New York State:

Event Date Address Time Unity in Buffalo Saturday, Aug. 6 Coldspring Church 107 Verplanck Street Buffalo, NY 1:00 p.m.  3:00 p.m. Unity in Schenectady Friday, Aug. 26 State Street Office 5 Catherine Street,

Schenectady, NY 4:00 p.m.  8:00 p.m. Unity in the Heights Saturday, Aug. 27 160th Street between

Broadway and Fort

Washington Avenue 11:00 a.m.  5:00 p.m. Unity in the Bronx Saturday, Aug. 27 4125 Carpenter Ave, Bronx NY 10466 11a.m.  5 p.m. Unity in Rockland Friday, Sept. 2 175 Route 59 Spring Valley, NY 11 a.m.  5 p.m. Unity in Suffolk Saturday, Sept. 3 Brentwood High

School 52 Third Ave Brentwood NY 12 p.m.  7 p.m. Unity in Nassau Saturday, Sept. 24 65 Dartmouth street Hempstead, NY 11 a.m.  3 p.m. Unity in Queens Sunday, Sept. 25 1674 Putnam Ave

Ridgewood NY 12 p.m.  6 p.m.

About Fidelis Care Fidelis Care is a mission-driven health plan offering quality, affordable coverage for children and adults of all ages and at all stages of life. With more than 2.5 million members statewide, Fidelis Care believes that all New Yorkers should have access to affordable, quality health insurance. Follow us on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/company/fidelis-care , on Twitter at @fideliscare, Instagram at @fideliscare, and on Facebook at facebook.com/fideliscare. For more information, call Fidelis Care at 1-888-FIDELIS (1-888-343-3547) or visit fideliscare.org.

Contact: [email protected]

SOURCE Fidelis Care
KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa., July 21, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- GeoBlue, the leader in high-tech, high-touch health insurance solutions for the globally mobile, was named a Best Travel Plan for Summer Travel by International Citizens Insurance (International Citizens).

International Citizens Insurance judged each company and plan on six key criteria: the user-friendliness of their site, the ease of policy purchase, the number of countries plans are offered in, how extensive the benefits are, the ease of making a claim and the quality of the company's customer service.

GeoBlue, the leader in high-tech, high-touch health insurance solutions for the globally mobile, was named a Best Travel Plan for Summer Travel by International Citizens Insurance (International Citizens). Tweet this

"This summer travel season promises a high level of demand and strong potential for travel disruptions," said Joe Cronin, president of International Citizens. "Travelers want travel insurance they can trust to help them if they suffer a cancellation, a delay, lost luggage, a natural disaster, or have to change plans due to a positive COVID test. With this list, they will be able to find the best overall travel insurers as well as the best one for their individual needs."

GeoBlue was selected because of their flexible plan options for travelers up to age 84 and coverage of medical evacuation due to pre-existing conditions.

"We're excited to see that GeoBlue was named one of the Best Travel Plans for Summer by International Citizens. As one of the few insurers that covers medical evacuation due to pre-existing conditions, we know how critical this coverage is for travelers who experience unforeseen medical events when outside the United States," said Don Van Scyoc, vice president, individual sales at GeoBlue. "We appreciate International Citizens recognizing GeoBlue for offering this important benefit in their list of Best Travel Insurance Plans."

Learn more about the best travel insurance companies at https://www.internationalinsurance.com/travel-insurance/best-companies.php.

About GeoBlue

Owned and backed by 15 Blue Cross Blue Shield companies and Bupa Global, GeoBlue is the trade name for the international health insurance programs of Worldwide Insurance Services, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. Celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, GeoBlue's purpose is to simplify the international healthcare experience for the globally mobile. GeoBlue members have access to one of the largest care networks in the world, coupled with high-tech, high-touch services that enable them to fulfill their international aspirations. Whether it's executives doing business in Tokyo, students studying in Spain, or tourists traveling the world, the power of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield brand is always within reach. To learn more, visit https://about.geo-blue.com.

Media Inquiries:

Lynn Pina, Chief Marketing Officer, GeoBlue

[email protected] | +1- 610-263-3061

SOURCE GeoBlue
DUBLIN, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Artificial Intelligence Computing Software: Market Analysis" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

Market is predicted to grow from $ 6.9B in 2021 to $ 37.6B in 2026 and may become a new sector of the economy.

This research contains complete information of the AI-related processors specifications and capabilities which were produced by the key market players and start-ups.

This comprehensive analysis can aid you in your technology acquisitions or investment decisions related to the fast-growing AI processors market.

After the main breakthrough at the turn of the century AI started to incorporate more and more artificial neural networks, connected in an ever-growing number of layers, now known as Deep Learning (DL). They can compete and outperform classical ML techniques like clustering but are more flexible and can work with much more complex datasets, including images and audio.

As machine learning entered exponential growth, it expanded into areas usually dominated by high-performance computing - such as protein folding and many-particle interactions. At the same time, our lives become increasingly dependent on its availability and reliability. This poses a number of new technical challenges but at the same time opens a road to novel solutions and technologies, in a similar way as space exploration or fundamental physics does.

More so, the commercial success of AI-enabled systems (autopilots, image processing, speech recognition and translation, to name just a few) ensures that no shortage of funds could hinder this growth. It has clearly become a new industry, if not a sector of the economy, one that is gaining importance with every passing year.

As any industry, it depends on several factors to prosper. Rising consumer demand has led to the consensus of major forecasters on the rapid growth of the sector - around 40% yearly in the near future, so funds shortage is not an issue. Instead, we must concentrate on other requirements for the efficient functioning of the industry.

The three main components are the availability of processing tools, the abundance of raw materials, and the workforce. Raw materials in this case are represented by big data, and there is often more of it than our current systems can make sense of. The workforce also seems to grow sufficiently fast, as ML cements its place in the university curriculum. So the processing tools, as well as the available energy to run them are clear bottlenecks in the exponential growth.

The end of Moore's extrapolation law due to quantum tunnelling and such, which become increasingly important with the reduction in transistor size, sets clear bounds on where we can go. To ensure long-term investments in the industry, a clear strategy must be developed to offset what will happen in 10 years

Key Highlights

Most of the DL-related tasks are performed on GPUs and ASICs. The main training workflow will still be bound to the GPUs, but the increased adoption of AI in the consumer and edge segments will shift the ratio towards parity, against the current 80% of the market being dominated by the GPUs.

The ASICs market has historically been much more varied than the CPU or GPU markets. Where there is a need which cannot be answered by other means - there is an ASIC for it. The market actors with large data centers try to optimize and scale-up their clouds while Edge players look to squeeze every TOP out of every watt. We expect the growth of the ASIC market to be much faster than the GPU's, with FPGA taking an increased foothold in the area.

The FPGAs used to be a somewhat exotic part, taking the niche segments of scientific and industrial sectors. The rise of the AI-related demand and market integration allowed for the quick progress in the area and dramatically expanded FPGA's capabilities.

We are poised to see a 34% average growth of the edge sector until 2025, as companies strive to reduce the data transfer related latencies between data acquisition devices and data processing centers. About 94% of the companies in the Industrial Internet Of Things (IIoT) and Robotic process automation (RPA) have already declared plans to integrate edge-AI or are already doing it. One of the growth factors in the edge market is the mobile processors. This sector is expected to almost double until 2025, from $13bn in 2020 to $22bn with an average annual growth of 10.7%.

in 2020 to with an average annual growth of 10.7%. Neuromorphic chips are clearly in the research and development phase but the promise of ultra-low power consumption puts this kind of attempt in the center of the long- term growth for the industry.

Key Topics Covered:

1. Deep learning challenges

1.1 Architectural limitations

1.2 Brief introduction to deep learning

1.3 Cutting corners

1.4 Processing tools

2. Market analysis

2.1 Market overview

2.2 CPU

Intel

IBM

ARM

WaveComputing

Amazon (Amazon Web Services)

Alibaba Group (T-Head Semiconductor Co.)

AMD (Advanced Micro Devices)

NVIDIA 32 Huawei (HiSilicon Technologies)

Tachyum

2.3 Edge and Mobile

ARM

NVIDIA

Qualcomm

Samsung

Apple

Tesla

MediaTek

Intel (Mobileye)

Huawei (HiSilicon Technologies)

Kneron

Unisoc

Syntiant

Google

2.4 GPU

NVIDIA

AMD

Intel

2.5 FPGA

Intel (Altera)

AMD (Xilinx)

2.6 ASIC

2.6.1 Tech giants

Intel

Amazon

Google (Alphabet)

Alibaba Group (T-Head)

Tesla

Huawei

Qualcomm

Baidu (Kunlun Technologies)

2.6.2 Startups

Sophon.AI (Bitmain Technologies)

Graphcore

Groq

SambaNova Systems

Mythic

Cerebras

Esperanto Technology

Cambricon Technologies

Rebellions

EdgeCortix

2.7 Neuromorphic processors

Intel

BrainChip

IBM

SynSense

2.8 Photonic computing

Lightmatter

Lighton

Lightelligence

Optalysys

3. Glossary

Artifcial intelligence

Processor types

Edge vs Data center/Cloud

Systems

Architecture

Memory

Precision

Technical parameters

Companies

4. Infographics

Public companies market cap

Private companies total funding

Fabrics

Processor landscape

Performance rating of computing FP16

Performance per watt rating of computing FP16

Performance per watt rating of computing FP32

Geography of HQ

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/7i5b4e

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
The market is fragmented, and the degree of fragmentation will accelerate during the forecast period. Chobani Global Holdings LLC, Danone SA, Emmi Group, Fage International SA, General Mills Inc., Kri-Kri Milk Industry SA, MEVGAL, The Hain Celestial Group Inc., The Kroger Co., and Vivartia Holding SA are some of the major market participants.

The health benefits of Greek yogurt, increasing the use of superfruits in Greek yogurts, and growing consumption of Greek yogurt as a meal replacement/snack will offer immense growth opportunities. To leverage the current opportunities, market vendors must strengthen their foothold in the fast-growing segments, while maintaining their positions in the slow-growing segments. Buy Sample Report.

Greek Yogurt Market Segmentation

Distribution Channel

Offline



Online

Type

Flavored Greek Yogurt



Plain Greek Yogurt

Geography

North America



Europe



APAC



South America



MEA

Greek yogurt market share growth by offline retailers will be strong. Department stores, supermarkets, hypermarkets, convenience stores, and in-store bakeries all fall under this category. A dedicated retailing department for Greek yogurts may be found in several of the biggest retail chains, including Tesco Plc (Tesco), Walmart Inc. (Walmart), and Target Corp. (Target). Sales in this sector are being driven by the expanding retail market and the opening of additional retail locations.

Greek Yogurt Market Vendor Analysis and Scope

To help businesses improve their market position, the greek yogurt market provides a detailed analysis of around 25 vendors operating in the market. Some of these vendors include:

Chobani Global Holdings LLC

Danone SA

Emmi Group

Fage International SA

General Mills Inc .

. Kri-Kri Milk Industry SA

MEVGAL

The Hain Celestial Group Inc.

The Kroger Co.

Vivartia Holding SA

Find additional highlights on the growth strategies adopted by vendors and their product offerings, Read Latest Sample Report .

Greek Yogurt Market Driver

The health advantages of Greek yogurt are one of the main factors propelling market expansion. Greek yogurt is more well-liked by consumers than regular yogurt because of its many nutritional and health advantages. The main development driving the Greek yogurt market is the demand for flavor fusion in Greek yogurt. Many yogurt producers are already fusing flavors in their Greek yogurt product line to appeal to customers who want a wide range of flavors.

Related Reports:

Superfoods Market by Product and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2022-2026: The superfoods market share is expected to increase to USD 125.34 billion from 2021 to 2026, and the market's growth momentum will accelerate at a CAGR of 7.82%.

Vegan Food Market by Product and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2022-2026: The vegan food market share is expected to increase to USD 21.46 billion from 2021 to 2026, and the market's growth momentum will accelerate at a CAGR of 12.25%.

Greek Yogurt Market Scope Report Coverage Details Page number 120 Base year 2020 Forecast period 2021-2025 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 7.11% Market growth 2021-2025 $ 3.21 billion Market structure Fragmented YoY growth (%) 6.51 Regional analysis North America, Europe, APAC, South America, and MEA Performing market contribution North America at 43% Key consumer countries US, Germany, France, UK, and Greece Competitive landscape Leading companies, Competitive strategies, Consumer engagement scope Key companies profiled Chobani Global Holdings LLC, Danone SA, Emmi Group, Fage International SA, General Mills Inc., Kri-Kri Milk Industry SA, MEVGAL, The Hain Celestial Group Inc., The Kroger Co., and Vivartia Holding SA Market dynamics Parent market analysis, Market growth inducers and obstacles, Fast-growing and slow-growing segment analysis, COVID 19 impact and recovery analysis and future consumer dynamics, Market condition analysis for the forecast period Customization purview If our report has not included the data that you are looking for, you can reach out to our analysts and get segments customized.

Table of Contents

1 Executive Summary

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

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 Distribution channel

5.1 Market segments

Exhibit 15: Distribution channel - Market share 2020-2025 (%)

5.2 Comparison by Distribution channel

Exhibit 16: Comparison by Distribution channel

5.3 Offline - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Exhibit 17: Offline - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million)



Exhibit 18: Offline - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%)

5.4 Online - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Exhibit 19: Online - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million)



Exhibit 20: Online - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%)

5.5 Market opportunity by Distribution channel

Exhibit 21: Market opportunity by Distribution channel

6 Market Segmentation by Type

6.1 Market segments

Exhibit 22: Type - Market share 2020-2025 (%)

6.2 Comparison by Type

Exhibit 23: Comparison by Type

6.3 Flavored Greek yogurt - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Exhibit 24: Flavored Greek yogurt - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million)



Exhibit 25: Flavored Greek yogurt - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%)

6.4 Plain Greek yogurt - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Exhibit 26: Plain Greek yogurt - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million)



Exhibit 27: Plain Greek yogurt - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%)

6.5 Market opportunity by Type

Exhibit 28: Market opportunity by Type

7 Customer Landscape

8 Geographic Landscape

8.1 Geographic segmentation

Exhibit 30: Market share by geography 2020-2025 (%)

8.2 Geographic comparison

Exhibit 31: Geographic comparison

8.3 North America - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

- Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Exhibit 32: North America - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million)

Exhibit 33: North America - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%)

8.4 Europe - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

- Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Exhibit 34: Europe - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million)

Exhibit 35: Europe - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%)

8.5 APAC - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Exhibit 36: APAC - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million)



Exhibit 37: APAC - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%)

8.6 South America - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

- Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Exhibit 38: South America - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million)

Exhibit 39: South America - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%)

8.7 MEA - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Exhibit 40: MEA - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million)



Exhibit 41: MEA - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%)

8.8 Key leading countries

Exhibit 42: Key leading countries

8.9 Market opportunity by geography

Exhibit 43: Market opportunity by geography ($ million)

9 Drivers, Challenges, and Trends

9.1 Market drivers

9.2 Market challenges

Exhibit 44: Impact of drivers and challenges

9.3 Market trends

10 Vendor Landscape

10.1 Competitive scenario

10.2 Vendor landscape

10.3 Landscape disruption

Exhibit 46: Landscape disruption



Exhibit 47: Industry risks

11 Vendor Analysis

11.1 Vendors covered

Exhibit 48: Vendors covered

11.2 Market positioning of vendors

Exhibit 49: Market positioning of vendors

11.3 Chobani Global Holdings LLC

Exhibit 50: Chobani Global Holdings LLC - Overview



Exhibit 51: Chobani Global Holdings LLC - Product and service



Exhibit 52: Chobani Global Holdings LLC - Key news



Exhibit 53: Chobani Global Holdings LLC - Key offerings

11.4 Danone SA

Exhibit 54: Danone SA - Overview



Exhibit 55: Danone SA - Business segments



Exhibit 56: Danone SA - Key news



Exhibit 57: Danone SA - Key offerings



Exhibit 58: Danone SA - Segment focus

11.5 Emmi Group

Exhibit 59: Emmi Group - Overview



Exhibit 60: Emmi Group - Business segments



Exhibit 61: Emmi Group - Key offerings



Exhibit 62: Emmi Group - Segment focus

11.6 Fage International SA

Exhibit 63: Fage International SA - Overview



Exhibit 64: Fage International SA - Business segments



Exhibit 65: Fage International SA - Key offerings

11.7 General Mills Inc .

. Exhibit 66: General Mills Inc . - Overview

. - Overview

Exhibit 67: General Mills Inc . - Business segments

. - Business segments

Exhibit 68: General Mills Inc . - Key news

. - Key news

Exhibit 69: General Mills Inc . - Key offerings

. - Key offerings

Exhibit 70: General Mills Inc . - Segment focus

11.8 Kri-Kri Milk Industry SA

Exhibit 71: Kri-Kri Milk Industry SA - Overview



Exhibit 72: Kri-Kri Milk Industry SA - Business segments



Exhibit 73: Kri-Kri Milk Industry SA - Key offerings

11.9 MEVGAL

Exhibit 74: MEVGAL - Overview



Exhibit 75: MEVGAL - Product and service



Exhibit 76: MEVGAL - Key offerings

11.10 The Hain Celestial Group Inc.

Exhibit 77: The Hain Celestial Group Inc. - Overview



Exhibit 78: The Hain Celestial Group Inc. - Business segments



Exhibit 79: The Hain Celestial Group Inc. - Key offerings



Exhibit 80: The Hain Celestial Group Inc. - Segment focus

11.11 The Kroger Co.

Exhibit 81: The Kroger Co. - Overview



Exhibit 82: The Kroger Co. - Product and service



Exhibit 83: The Kroger Co. - Key offerings

11.12 Vivartia Holding SA

Exhibit 84: Vivartia Holding SA - Overview



Exhibit 85: Vivartia Holding SA - Product and service



Exhibit 86: Vivartia Holding SA - Key offerings

12 Appendix

12.1 Scope of the report

12.2 Currency conversion rates for US$

Exhibit 87: Currency conversion rates for US$

12.3 Research methodology

Exhibit 88: Research Methodology



Exhibit 89: Validation techniques employed for market sizing



Exhibit 90: Information sources

12.4 List of abbreviations

Exhibit 91: 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 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
TOLEDO, Ohio, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Toledo-based h2Power Solutions has partnered with German manufacturer Hexis to bring their SOFC hydrogen fuel cell power to the United States. This technology provides clean, low-cost, high-efficiency power utilizing natural gas or biofuels. Their compact systems easily tie into existing energy systems and provide both electrical and thermal energy at a fraction of the cost of traditional energy generator systems.

The fuel cells have been utilized in a variety of settings, including private homes, EV charging stations, and agribusiness applications. The proven h2Power Solutions fuel cells provide a decentralized approach to energy production, supplying efficient and low-cost energy using natural gas or biofuels.

"Our vision is to supplement the existing energy grid with a more efficient, affordable energy solution, and to extend energy access in rural and remote communities," said CEO Greg Whitlow. "Our product offers end users true energy independence with the added benefit of selling excess energy back to the grid."

In its first phase, h2Power Solutions has been focused on developing the rural market, particularly agribusiness and individual farmers. The ability to convert biomass into green hydrogen, a direct fuel source for the fuel cells, allows farmers to easily turn agricultural waste into both electric and thermal energy.

Extensive funding has been made available to help the US achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, and our SOFC fuel cell can play a significant part in achieving that goal. The US Department of Agriculture has been receptive to qualifying this technology for federal grant funding specifically for farming applications.

Today, h2Power Solutions is preparing to deploy US assembly operations to support new channels in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Arizona, and Canada. They have a current demo model in place which has generated over 2600 kW of electrical power and additional thermal energy. H2Power Solutions is focused on the development of an energy division that can sell power and heat directly to the end user while continuing to promote direct fuel cell sales and retail distribution.

For more information, please contact Greg Whitlow at [email protected]

Or visit us at: https://h2powersolutions.us

SOURCE h2Power Solutions
NEW ORLEANS, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- As a follow-up to previous successful real estate auctions conducted by the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority (NORA), the agency will be conducting its next online-only auction sale of 25 commercial lots and 90 residential lots and structures located throughout New Orleans. Properties are subject to a minimum bid price of $4,000-$5,000 per property. For the commercial lots available, bidding for this online auction will commence at 8:00 a.m. (CT) on Monday, August 22, 2022, and conclude between 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. (CT) on Tuesday, August 23, 2022. For the residential offerings available, bidding for this online auction will commence at 8:00 a.m. (CT) on Wednesday, August 24, 2022, and conclude between 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. (CT) on Thursday, August 25, 2022. The auctioneer is Hilco Real Estate, LLC, in conjunction with licensed Louisiana broker and auctioneer Paul A. Lynn, CCIM.

"As with our previous auctions, we are continuing to receive hundreds of inquiries. We are excited to make available this next pool of properties through this online auction event. This is the first time we are able to offer commercial parcels as part of our ongoing auction program," said Brenda Breaux, NORA's executive director. "During the previous auction events, home buyers and developers were able to establish their own purchase price through the competitive bidding process. Buyers felt they were able to obtain properties in various neighborhoods throughout New Orleans at fair prices. For this auction we will also be offering 25 Commercial sites," stated Fernando Palacios, managing director with Hilco Real Estate.

The properties are being sold on an "as-is, where-is" basis. Winning bidders are required to complete rehabilitation or construction on the properties within 365 days from the date of closing for the residential sites and 545 days (18 months) from the date of closing for the commercial sites and keep such properties code compliant immediately after closing through completion of the rehabilitation or construction. Bidders for the residential sites may use the property for green space if their property is directly adjacent to the property acquired at the auction. There are four structures that will be open before the auction for inspection on Thursday, August 11, 2022. When inspecting the properties, prospective buyers should bring a flashlight and dress appropriately, anticipating a property that will not have any power and could be in poor physical condition.

Closing is required within 30 calendar days after the auction and financing will not be a contingency, so buyers will need to know they can close on their purchase within the required timeframe and have available pre-approval for their own personal financing. Buyers must obtain and maintain flood insurance, for any structures, as a condition of closing. There will be a virtual buyer's seminar on Wednesday, August 10, 2022, at 6:00 p.m. Visit hilcorealestate.com/NORA for additional details to follow.

For more information about this NORA auction and to register, please contact Fernando Palacios at (504) 233-0063 or visit www.hilcorealestate.com/NORA .

The terms and conditions set forth herein are for informational purposes only and shall not be deemed to be and are not intended to be a comprehensive or complete listing of the applicable terms and conditions. All potential buyers should read carefully the terms and conditions of the auction and sale set forth at www.hilcorealestate.com/NORA . The terms and conditions set forth at www.hilcorealestate.com/NORA shall govern and shall supersede any terms and conditions set forth herein.

About Hilco Real Estate:

Hilco Real Estate advises and executes strategies to help both healthy and distressed clients maximize the value of their real estate assets. HRE's extensive property valuation knowledge, lease renegotiation experience and innovative sales strategies are leveraged by substantial access to capital, a vast network of tenants/landlords and motivated buyers/sellers. Services include real estate lease repositioning and advisory solutions; extensive real estate disposition services through an expert brokerage team as well as high-performance accelerated property auctions-live, online, sealed bid; a sale/leaseback advisory practice with unique deal structuring; and, real estate investments including acquisition deals for vacant, value-add, or stable income-producing properties as well as joint venture transactions. Hilco Real Estate is part of Northbrook, Illinois based Hilco Global, the world's leading authority on maximizing the value of business assets by delivering valuation, monetization and advisory solutions to an international marketplace. Hilco Global operates more than twenty specialized business units offering services that include asset valuation and appraisal, retail and industrial inventory acquisition and disposition, real estate, and strategic capital equity investments.

Follow Hilco Real Estate on social media for the latest news and opportunities:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/hilco-real-estate

Twitter: https://twitter.com/hilcorealestate

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HilcoRealEstate

SOURCE Hilco Real Estate
John Kelley represents investment managers on the formation of private investment funds and structuring and execution of secondary transactions.

NEW YORK, July 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Latham & Watkins LLP1 is pleased to announce that John Kelley has joined the firm's New York office as a partner in the Investment Funds Practice and member of the Corporate Department. Kelley represents investment managers in all aspects of their business and operations, with a particular emphasis on the structuring and execution of secondary transactions and liquidity solutions for fund sponsors, and the formation of private investment funds, including for firms raising private credit funds.

John Kelley, Partner, Latham & Watkins

"We are delighted to welcome John to Latham and our New York office. His broad funds experience, particularly his focus on secondary transactions and work with private credit fund sponsors, enhances our ability to meet the demand for our market-leading funds and private equity work and stay ahead of our clients' needs," said Marc Jaffe, Managing Partner of Latham's New York office.

Kelley represents sponsors on fund formations across a wide range of sectors, geographies, and strategies. His work with buyers, sellers, and market intermediaries in connection with secondary transactions includes portfolio sales, direct secondaries, preferred equity financings, multi- and single- asset restructurings, tender offers and synthetic transactions. He also represents institutional investors in the review and negotiation of portfolio investments and financings, including investments in credit, private equity, energy, natural resources, real estate, venture capital, and hedge funds.

"John's focus on GP liquidity solutions, as well as the formation of private investment funds  particularly private credit funds  is perfectly aligned with the cutting edge work that Latham is known for. John brings tremendous value to our private equity client base and we are excited to welcome him to our group," said Alex Kelly, Global Vice Chair of Latham's Private Equity and Investment Funds Practices.

Kelley said, "Latham offers unique opportunities for me to enhance my support of funds clients, who will benefit from a phenomenal team, a global platform, and a multidisciplinary approach. The firm also fosters a collegial culture that motivates practitioners to think creatively and strategically, bringing forth powerful solutions for clients. So it is with great anticipation that I take this step to further build my practice."

Kelley is the third partner to join Latham's Investment Funds Practice in recent months. The firm announced in June the arrival of Jamie Lynn Walter to the Washington, D.C. office and in May the arrival of David Sherman in New York.

Kelley received his JD, summa cum laude, from the Suffolk University School of Law, and a BA, cum laude, from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He joins Latham from Kirkland & Ellis.

About Latham & Watkins ( lw.com )

Latham & Watkins delivers innovative solutions to complex legal and business challenges around the world. From a global platform, our lawyers advise clients on market-shaping transactions, high-stakes litigation and trials, and sophisticated regulatory matters. Latham is one of the world's largest providers of pro bono services, steadfastly supports initiatives designed to advance diversity within the firm and the legal profession, and is committed to exploring and promoting environmental sustainability.

Notes to Editors

1Latham & Watkins operates worldwide as a limited liability partnership organized under the laws of the State of Delaware (USA) with affiliated limited liability partnerships conducting the practice in France, Hong Kong, Italy, Singapore, and the United Kingdom and as an affiliated partnership conducting the practice in Japan. Latham & Watkins operates in Israel through a limited liability company. Latham & Watkins operates in South Korea as a Foreign Legal Consultant Office. Latham & Watkins works in cooperation with the Law Office of Salman M. Al-Sudairi in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Contacts

Marc Jaffe, New York Office Managing Partner, +1.212.906.1281

Alex Kelly, Global Vice Chair, Private Equity and Investment Funds Practices, +1.212.906.4615

SOURCE Latham & Watkins
Fastest-Growing Pizza Brand* Introduces the Marco's Pizza Foundation - Pledges to Help Communities Rise Together

TOLEDO, Ohio, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Marco's Pizza, the nation's fastest-growing pizza brand*, announces it has officially crossed the $1B annual systemwide sales milestone. The achievement comes on the heels of record-breaking growth catapulting its strong performance as America's No. 5 pizza brand in systemwide sales.

"Marco's wouldn't be reaching this enormous milestone if it weren't for our entire team coming together," said Libardi. Tweet this Marcos Pizza announces it has officially crossed the $1B annual systemwide sales milestone.

To commemorate the achievement, the company is launching the Marco's Pizza Foundation as an extension of its mission to empower franchisees and team members to make a positive difference in their communities. The new effort marks a deeper commitment to unification across Marco's as it brings the brand, its franchisees, and the communities it serves closer together under one common cause.

"We are very excited to have crossed the $1 billion annual sales milestone and owe a big thank you to our loyal customers and all our franchisees and team members at the store level who deliver on our brand promise each and every day," said Tony Libardi, Co-CEO & president of Marco's Pizza. "We've grown from humble beginnings as a small, regional concept to a nationally accredited brand, and as we continue to expand our footprint, we will never lose sight of those neighborhoods that have made Marco's their pizza of choice. It's because of our long history working together with communities across the U.S. that the Foundation is now a reality."

The Marco's Pizza Foundation will bring people together to nurture and nourish local communities and will serve as a catalyst for collaboration in making the world better, little by little. The Foundation will support four key pillars: School & Education, Hunger Prevention & Nutrition, Workforce Development, and Entrepreneurship.

From delivering complimentary meals to healthcare workers and first responders, providing lunches to local schools, fundraising to support local organizations and more, there are countless examples of how Marco's stores have continuously stepped up and demonstrated true community involvement. By establishing the Foundation, Marco's can do more together and have an even greater impact.

Marco's now spans 1,100 stores across 33 states with locations in Puerto Rico and the Bahamas. The brand is on track to rise in the ranks as Nation's Restaurant News Top 500 Report shows Marco's achieved the highest percent year-over-year sales change (+18.2%) when compared to the nation's top 4 pizza brands**, making Marco's the No. 5 pizza brand in systemwide sales in America.

With strong growth and performance, Marco's now sets its sights on becoming the No. 4 brand in pizza as it experienced a 12.8% increase in year-over-year Average Unit Volume (AUV), and the Top 50% of Marco's franchised stores generated $1,198,201 AUV for 2021***.

Marco's franchise expansion also continues to accelerate with more than 200 stores in various stages of development. Company leadership is prioritizing investments in enhancing the franchise development program, new technology, personnel, strategic vendor partnerships, multi-channel national advertising, and more  all with an eye on maximizing franchisee profits while meeting the needs of today's modern customer.

For example, Marco's recently announced the investment of millions of dollars in technology innovations over the next few years designed to create business efficiencies, maximize order growth, and improve the customer experience. Areas of investment include AI-enabled voice-to-text ordering and automated promise times, integration with third-party delivery services, migrating to a 100% cloud-based order management system, plus testing automated kitchen innovations and new operational equipment.

"Marco's wouldn't be reaching this enormous milestone if it weren't for our entire team coming together to deliver on a strong business model, quality food, exceptional service, and compassion to our communities," said Libardi. "From the franchise support staff, store owners, team members, and everyone in between, our achievements are a result of a collective dedication to our mission and local communities."

For more information on the Marco's Pizza Foundation, visit https://www.marcos.com/foundation.

For more information on Marco's Pizza franchise opportunities, visit https://www.marcos.com/franchising/ or call 866-731-8209 to speak with Shannon Iverson, Vice President of Franchise Sales.

ABOUT MARCO'S PIZZA

Marco's Pizza is America's Most Loved and Most Trusted Pizza Brand, according to the 2019 Harris Poll EquiTrend Study. Headquartered in Toledo, Ohio, Marco's Pizza is the fastest-growing pizza brand in the United States. Marco's was founded in 1978 by Italian-born Pasquale ("Pat") Giammarco and thrives to deliver a high-quality pizza experience, known for its dough made from scratch and its three fresh signature cheeses. The company has grown from its roots as a beloved Ohio brand to operate over 1,100 stores in 33 states with locations in Puerto Rico and the Bahamas. Most recently, Marco's Pizza was ranked No. 2 in the Pizza category on Entrepreneur Magazine's 2022 "Franchise 500" ranking, and No. 4 in the Fastest Growing category on Restaurant Business' 2021 "Top 10 Fastest Growing Chains" ranking. Other recent accolades include a first-time presence on Newsweek's 2022 "America's Best Customer Service" in pizza chains list, ranked No. 42 on QSR's Top 50 and has been featured five consecutive years on Nation's Restaurant News' prestigious "Top 500" ranking.

*Marco's Pizza is the fastest-growing pizza brand based on year-over-year unit growth, according to 2021 NRN Top 500 U.S. Restaurant Ranking LSR Pizza Segment.

**Nation's Restaurant News partnered with Datassential and its Firefly data platform to provide an in-depth look at the performance across the Top 500 restaurant chains.

***Based on the Average Unit Volume of the top 50% of our Franchised Stores for fiscal year 2021. Based on fiscal year 2021, 146 of 389 Franchised Stores in the category (38%) met or exceeded this average. This information appears in Item 19 of our 2022 FDD  please refer to our FDD for complete information on financial performance. Results may differ. There is no assurance that any franchisee will perform as well.

SOURCE Marco's Pizza
New Customers Receive 40 Titles, Including 4K Ultra HD, HDR, and Dolby Atmos Mastered Movies

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. and BERKELEY, Calif., July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Kaleidescape, maker of the ultimate movie player, and Meyer Sound, the global leader in solutions for sound reinforcement, spatial sound, acoustic systems, studio monitoring, and high-end residential systems, today announced a collaboration to deliver the ultimate sonic experience to customers.

The movie collection, selected by Meyer Sound's technical team, contains 40 titles with rich, immersive audio. Tweet this For a limited time, when customers purchase a Kaleidescape Terra movie server and Strato C movie player with any Meyer Sound loudspeaker surround system valued over $10,000 MSRP, they will receive a Meyer Sound-curated collection of movies valued up to $1,000 USD.

For a limited time, when customers purchase a Kaleidescape Terra movie server and Strato C movie player with any Meyer Sound loudspeaker surround system valued over $10,000 MSRP, they will receive a Meyer Sound-curated collection of movies valued up to $1,000 USD.

This promotion aligns with the companies' strategic partnership objective to deliver the ultimate sonic experience to customers. The movie collection, personally selected by Meyer Sound's technical team, contains 40 titles with rich, immersive audio, including some with Dolby Atmos soundtracks. Movies will be preloaded onto the Kaleidescape Terra server.

"This is an exceptional promotion that brings together two industry-leading brands. Kaleidescape's lossless-quality soundtracks provide Meyer Sound systems with the full-fidelity audio needed for that magical escape from reality," explains Norma Garcia-Muro, vice president of marketing, Kaleidescape. "The result is an exceptional level of pure, honest sound rendered to private cinemas of any size."

The Kaleidescape Terra and Strato C system is designed to play 4K HDR movies with a video bitrate eight times higher than any streaming device and lossless-quality audio up to ten times higher, delivering a level of quality previously found only in the finest premium commercial cinemas. Played through Meyer Sound loudspeakers, the result is incomparable sound clarity and detail.

"Working together, Meyer Sound and Kaleidescape will provide home cinema dealers with a personalized and unforgettable 'big screen' experience for their customers," says Blake Vackar, residential solutions manager for Meyer Sound. "No other source compares to Kaleidescape for providing such a versatile library with a lossless media path. With audio reproduced through Meyer Sound cinema systems, customers at home will hear exactly what the movie's creators heard in the studio during the final mixing session. Thanks to this specially curated package, they will enjoy that experience across four decades of the absolute best in creative and dynamic cinema sound, from Apocalypse Now to Dune."

A variety of Meyer Sound solutions are used in home cinemas, including the Ultra Reflex system, the first screen-channel loudspeaker system to deliver precise audio localization for direct view displays; the Bluehorn System, their full bandwidth studio monitors designed for high-resolution monitoring applications; and their line of self-powered full-range loudspeakers like the ULTRA-X20.

This promotion is available from July 26, 2022, through December 31, 2022 (US only).

Kaleidescape + Meyer-Curated Title List

Visit: https://www.kaleidescape.com/movie-store/collection/kaleidescape_meyer_film_collection

1. Apocalypse Now 2. Atomic Blonde 3. The Batman 4. Black Hawk Down 5. Blade Runner 2049 6. Dune 7. Dunkirk 8. Encanto 9. Ferdinand 10. The Fifth Element 11. Finding Nemo 12. Galaxymphony 13. Gravity 14. Guardians of the Galaxy 15. Hans Zimmer: Live in Prague 16. Hugo 17. The Hurt Locker 18. Inception 19. Interstellar 20. La La Land 21. The Lion King

22. Mad Max: Fury Road 23. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World 24. Overlord 25. Phil Collins: Live at Montreux 2004 26. The Revenant 27. Road to Perdition 28. Rocketman 29. Roger Waters: The Wall 30. Sicario 31. Skyfall 32. Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker 33. Star Wars: The Force Awakens 34. Top Gun 35. Top Gun: Maverick 36. Tron: Legacy 37. True Grit 38. Walk the Line 39. West Side Story 40. Whiplash 41. Meyer Sound Cinema Stinger



About Kaleidescape (www.kaleidescape.com/)

Kaleidescape is the ultimate movie player. Kaleidescape elevates every other component in your theater, with higher-fidelity video source material, lossless audio, and integrative cues to control lighting, shading, seating, lenses, and screen masking. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, Kaleidescape builds its products in the USA and sells exclusively through custom installers.

About Meyer Sound (www.meyersound.com/)

Founded by John and Helen Meyer in 1979, Meyer Sound is a global leader in providing integrated solutions for sound reinforcement, spatial sound, acoustic systems, studio monitoring and high-end residential systems. Recognized as an audio technology pioneer, Meyer Sound was the first to introduce dedicated loudspeaker processors, source independent measurement, large-scale self-powered loudspeakers, and cardioid subwoofers, among other innovations. The premium professional brand maintains rigorous quality control in its design and manufacturing of sustainable solutions for concert touring and festivals, houses of worship, cinema, education, corporate offices and residential. Scientific research and innovative product development have earned more than 100 US and international patents along with numerous industry awards. Headquartered in Berkeley, California with operations globally, Meyer Sound is a company where employees are innovators and diversity, equity and inclusion are embraced in the workplace and the community.

Media Contacts:

Kaleidescape

Josh Gershman

[email protected]

Meyer Sound

Jane Eagleson

[email protected]

SOURCE Kaleidescape
SAO PAULO, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- MJV Innovation , a leading multinational business consulting firm, will be sponsoring this year's annual Febraban Tech, the largest technology and innovation conference in Latin America. This year's event will take place in Sao Paulo, Brazil on August 9-11, 2022. The content will focus on "The New Global Reality and Accelerated Transformation".

Febraban Tech convenes experts and leaders from the world's largest companies, including Disney, BNP Paribas, Bradesco, Itau, Santander, Microsoft.

MJV Innovation's team will be present at the firm's presentation booth, which will provide resources about the firm's advisory services in ESG, data analytics and cloud, and digital journey and customer experience. As a leader in business transformation who is recognized by Informatica as a platinum partner, MJV serves clients including Coca-Cola, Delta, BNP Paribas, Bradesco, Itau, Santander and more.

More information about Febraban Tech can be found at: https://www.febrabantech.com/evento/febrabantech2022

About MJV Technology and Innovation

MJV Technology and Innovation is a leading global consulting and development firm specializing in digital transformation. The firm serves Fortune 500 clients including Coca-Cola, Delta, BNP, Cartier, and more in implementing data-driven innovation and strategies, including design thinking, ESG practices, consumer experiences, and data analytics. The firm was founded in 1997 and has locations across the US, Europe, and Latin America. Learn more at: https://www.mjvinnovation.com/

SOURCE MJV Technology & Innovation
Groundbreaking bilingual public health campaign continues countering misinformation and helping Latino families keep up-to-date on COVID-19, flu vaccinations

WASHINGTON, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- UnidosUS, formerly the National Council of La Raza, the nation's largest Latino civil rights and advocacy organization, announced today the return of Esperanza Hope for All, an institution-wide initiative to mitigate the health, economic, and education effects of the coronavirus pandemic on Latinos. This year's campaign objectives include vaccinating the unvaccinated, encouraging families with children to get vaccinated, providing accurate information about boosters, tracking and addressing misinformation among the Latino community, and working with UnidosUS Affiliates to provide overall COVID-19 care and information. Now in the third year of the organization's institutional response to the COVID-19 pandemic and recovery, the campaign includes a mobile marketing tour across multiple cities to bring information about the COVID-19 vaccines and boosters directly to Hispanic neighborhoods

"Latinos were hit harder than most communities by the COVID-19 pandemic, and many are still grappling with the long-term health and economic effects of this virus. UnidosUS, our Affiliates, and the Esperanza Hope for All campaign serve as trusted voices on the COVID-19 vaccines and boosters, which continue to give our community and the nation our best chance at protecting our health. It is critically important that Latino families receive accurate, trusted health care information to guide their decisions. Doing so will help put our community and our country on the path to a sustainable recovery," said Sonia Perez, UnidosUS Chief Operating Officer.

"The COVID-19 vaccines have helped bring back shared moments and connections. They are still the best protection we have against severe disease and death from COVID-19 and its existing variants. But we know that the pandemic is not over, and the impacts on our community require long-term investments and commitments. This includes ensuring continuing access to COVID-19 tests, vaccines, treatment and health coverage for all, regardless of insurance, ability to pay, or immigration status. We will also continue calling for investments to close vaccination gaps and expand prevention efforts to all populations including children and adolescents. Closing these gaps depends on having the right data, so investments must also be made to strengthen the collection and disaggregation of race and ethnicity data, including at the state level," said Rita Carreon, UnidosUS Vice President of Health.

UnidosUS's national and broad reaching multimedia communications campaign includes:

Mobile Marketing Tour: UnidosUS will deploy a mobile educational tour across multiple cities that will take information about the COVID-19 vaccines and boosters directly into Hispanic neighborhoods, including those living in rural and urban environments where health resources are lacking or difficult to access. It will engage local Affiliates, partners and influencers, and will include on-site activities to increase education and awareness and direct families to vaccination sites. The tour is scheduled for July 1  October 31 and will visit six markets ( Philadelphia, PA ; Denver, CO ; the Fort Myers - Naples, FL area; Albuquerque / Santa Fe, NM area; and Tucson and Phoenix, AZ ).

 and will visit six markets ( ; ; the - area; / area; and and ). Multimedia Advertising: UnidosUS will continue its bilingual COVID-19 vaccines and boosters education advertising campaign, including a robust dual-language advertising effort to reach Latinos through digital platforms, radio, out-of-home, and large-scale print advertising throughout key regions.

Countering Misinformation: UnidosUS will deploy both an online and offline approach to combat misinformation targeting Latinos.

Influencer Engagement: UnidosUS will engage trusted Latino and expert micro and macro social media influencers to shape the messaging and the conversation around COVID-19 vaccines, boosters confidence, and vaccines in general.

UnidosUS will collaborate with its Affiliate Networkessential partners in this effortto lead on culturally responsive education and outreach by training local trusted messengers; informing through dual-language communications; providing resources for local COVID-safe outreach and vaccination events and engaging local provider and community partners. Building on last year's efforts, this year UnidosUS is deploying more than $2.2 million in subgrants to 29 Latino-serving community-based organizations including our network of Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs).

Esperanza Hope for All's vaccines and booster equity efforts are backed by funding from a cooperative agreement between the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and UnidosUS, and between HHS's Office of Minority Health and Morehouse School of Medicine's National COVID-19 Resiliency Network (NCRN), and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Additionally, UnidosUS has served as a national partner in collaborative efforts and taskforces leading comprehensive and coordinated action to curb the spread of COVID-19, including:

About Esperanza Hope for All

Since the start of the pandemic, UnidosUS has been at the forefront of efforts to support Latinos who have been disproportionately impacted due to long-standing systemic health inequities and over-representation in the health and service sectors. In April 2020, UnidosUS established its Esperanza/Hope Fund to support the UnidosUS Affiliate Network and community partners' response and resiliency in crisis. In 2021 the campaign expanded as a fully integrated public communications and marketing campaign called Esperanza Hope for All. With the ongoing need, UnidosUS continues to raise resources for Affiliates to respond to the pandemic, including their direct support to families for food and housing assistance.

About UnidosUS

UnidosUS, previously known as NCLR (National Council of La Raza), is the nation's largest Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization. Through its unique combination of expert research, advocacy, programs, and an Affiliate Network of nearly 300 community-based organizations across the United States and Puerto Rico, UnidosUS simultaneously challenges the social, economic, and political barriers that affect Latinos at the national and local levels. For more than 50 years, UnidosUS has united communities and different groups seeking common ground through collaboration, and that share a desire to make our country stronger. For more information on UnidosUS, visit www.unidosus.org or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Contact: Beth Melena, [email protected]

SOURCE UnidosUS
With increased investment in the company's developer-friendly, multi-cloud, fully-managed Postgres, Neon more than doubles funding to $54.3M.

SAN FRANCISCO, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Neon, Inc., the first open-source, fully-managed, multi-cloud Postgres as a service, has raised $30 million in its Series A-1 round. GGV Capital led an expert investment group that includes Khosla Ventures, General Catalyst, Founders Fund, and Elad Gil with support from a group of notable angels, including Nat Friedman, Ajeet Singh, Guillermo Rauch, Wes McKinney, Ryan Noon, and Sren Brammer Schmidt. Following a successful Series A round, Neon has now more than doubled its total funding to $54.3 million.

Neon Inc.

Neon, co-founded by Postgres hackers Heikki Linnakangas and Stas Kelvich, was incubated at Khosla Ventures by Nikita Shamgunov, who joined as CEO earlier this year. With this new funding, Neon will continue to build its engineering team, accelerate product expansion and overall growth as well as bootstrap a GTM team. The company is also focused on building developer relations with continued plans to prioritize developer experience. Neon offers a modern, robust platform that includes bottomless storage, and autoscaling, leading to substantial cost savings.

Neon's unique architecture separating storage and compute underpins features to improve the developer experience and save costs. Over 3,600 developers "starred" Neon on GitHub after its Technical Preview launch, with interest generating a front page listing on Hacker News.

"Modern applications are cloud-based, distributed, run at the edge, and perform at unparalleled speeds. At GGV Capital, we've been looking for a serverless Postgres-based backend solution that's tuned to the needs of modern application developers," said Glenn Solomon, Managing Partner at GGV Capital and Neon board member. "Nikita Shamgunov and the Neon team have built an incredible solution, empowering developers with the cloud-based backend database they need to complement their front-end projects. Given the strong developer traction, Neon's future is very bright."

Neon's scalable features contain costs, provide elasticity, offer bottomless storage, and easily integrate with Amazon S3. The company will further improve application development with its substantial roadmap, including features such as branching, which will enable developers to instantly branch their production database, saving time and resources.

"The Postgres community is already responding to what's possible with a modern, cloud-native architecture," said Neon CEO Nikita Shamgunov. "This additional investment ensures Neon is well-positioned to build and ship new features that will transform developer experience."

This impressive funding round validates investor confidence in Neon's mission, goals, and capabilities. As Neon continues its growth, the company will continue expanding features to further empower developers with a modern, serverless Postgres experience.

About Neon

Neon is an open-source, multi-cloud, fully-managed Postgres as a service backed by an impressive list of top-tier investors, including GGV Capital, Khosla Ventures, General Catalyst, and Founders Fund. By separating storage from compute, Neon offers autoscaling, one-click start, multi-cloud compatibility, and bottomless storage to give developers a simple, reliable, and powerful experience. With a generous free tier, developers can quickly start and efficiently scale at will. Learn more at neon.tech .

Contact: [email protected]

SOURCE Neon
PCORI also approves $3.9 million for projects to implement research findings for care of appendicitis and serious mental illness

WASHINGTON, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) has approved funding awards totaling $258 million to support 26 new research studies. These studies aim to fill evidence gaps and improve health care decision making for a range of high-burden conditions among adults and children, including asthma, bone fractures, migraines, intellectual and developmental disabilities, and sinus infections.

Five comparative clinical effectiveness research (CER) studies focus on improving mental health and another four CER studies focus on heart conditions, which have both continued to worsen in the U.S. amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Additionally, PCORI today announced about $3.9 million for two projects that aim to promote wider, faster adoption of useful findings from completed PCORI-funded CER studies into typical care practices.

"Reflecting priorities encapsulated in PCORI's recently adopted Strategic Plan, today's funding approvals are an important step in advancing PCORI's work to generate and disseminate information that improves the quality and relevance of evidence available to help patients and all stakeholders make better-informed decisions about their health," said PCORI Executive Director Nakela L. Cook, M.D., M.P.H. "Facing a complex health care system and many care options, patients need reliable information to help them understand which care options will work best for them in their particular circumstances."

$72 million to improve mental health care and outcomes

The newly approved CER studies on mental health will expand an existing robust portfolio of PCORI-funded research examining the effectiveness of mental health care options for adults and children.

One study will assess the comparative effectiveness of first- and second-line pharmacologic treatment strategies used to help people with bipolar disorder who are experiencing a major depressive episode. Funded for nearly $25 million, this large study aims to include 2,800 adult participants at 38 academic medical centers and community sites across the U.S.

A second study will compare the benefits and potential harms of electroconvulsive therapy and intravenous ketamine for rapid treatment of acute suicidal depression. Funded at about $28.5 million, this large study aims to include 1,500 adults at 10 to 13 sites across the U.S.

A third study will assess the comparative effectiveness of two interventions, text-messaging enhanced telehealth services and financial incentives, to increase outpatient addiction treatment among adults with opioid use disorder after they are discharged from an emergency department.

Two other studies will:

Compare the effectiveness of in-person and technology-enhanced screening and referral programs at improving screening, referral, treatment attendance, and communication and care coordination for pregnant and postpartum individuals with substance use disorders.

Compare two interventions  one involving a safety plan with follow-up contacts and the other a brief crisis-oriented intervention targeting interpersonal functioning  to see whether either is better at reducing suicidal ideation and attempts among English- and Spanish-speaking adolescents who receive care in urban emergency departments.

$52.5 million to improve heart-related health care and outcomes

Four newly approved CER studies will add to PCORI's portfolio of funded research determining the effectiveness of cardiac health care options for adults. The largest will compare two therapies used to restore normal heartbeat patterns in millions of patients with both heart failure and reduced ejection fraction. It aims to determine whether His or left bundle branch cardiac pacing or biventricular pacing offers any advantages over the other. Funded at more than $31 million, the study aims to enroll over 2,000 adults at 55 sites in the U.S. and Canada.

Three other studies will:

Compare patient-centered outcomes for cardiac rehabilitation delivered via telehealth or in-person among chronic heart disease patients.

Compare the effectiveness of two classes of antianginal medications among older adults with stable angina and multiple chronic conditions.

Compare blood pressure outcomes among a diverse population of patients with high blood pressure who receive either telehealth-supported, team-based care with a pharmacist or enhanced usual care with telehealth-enabled home blood pressure monitoring equipment and instruction.

$3.9 million to promote the uptake of evidence from PCORI-funded research into practice

These implementation projects will focus on:

Promoting informed decision making between antibiotics versus appendectomy among eligible patients with appendicitis at 15 hospitals across the U.S., using a program that includes a patient decision support tool.

Incorporating an mHealth program, which includes a patient smartphone app and an online clinician dashboard, into routine care at three community mental health agencies to help people with serious mental illness manage their symptoms.

PCORI also awarded funding to compare preventive therapies for migraines and bone fractures as well as multiple studies that focus on assessing ways to promote healthy aging. Details of the newly approved studies can be found on PCORI's website.

Details of all studies and projects approved for PCORI funding to date are available on the organization's website. All funding awards were approved pending a business and programmatic review by PCORI staff and the issuance of formal award contracts. With these latest awards, PCORI will have invested more than $3.7 billion to fund patient-centered CER and support other projects designed to enhance CER methods and the infrastructure necessary to conduct CER rigorously and efficiently.

About PCORI

The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) is an independent nonprofit organization authorized by Congress in 2010. Its mission is to fund research that will provide patients, their caregivers and clinicians with the evidence-based information needed to make better-informed health care decisions. PCORI is committed to continuously seeking input from a broad range of stakeholders to guide its work.

SOURCE Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute
MECHANICSBURG, Pa., July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Select Medical Holdings Corporation ("Select Medical") (NYSE: SEM), will release the financial results for its second quarter ended June 30, 2022 on Thursday, August 4, 2022 after the market closes.

Select Medical will host a conference call regarding its second quarter results, as well as its business outlook, on Friday, August 5, 2022, at 9:00am ET. The conference call will be a live webcast and can be accessed at Select Medical Holdings Corporation's website at www.selectmedicalholdings.com. A replay of the webcast will be available shortly after the call through the same link.

For listeners wishing to dial-in via telephone, or participate in the question and answer session, you may pre-register for the call at Select Medical Earnings Call Registration to obtain your dial-in number and unique passcode for the call.

Select Medical is one of the largest operators of critical illness recovery hospitals, rehabilitation hospitals, outpatient rehabilitation clinics, and occupational health centers in the United States based on the number of facilities. Select Medical's reportable segments include the critical illness recovery hospital segment, the rehabilitation hospital segment, the outpatient rehabilitation segment, and the Concentra segment. As of June 30, 2022, Select Medical operated 105 critical illness recovery hospitals in 28 states, 31 rehabilitation hospitals in 12 states, and 1,920 outpatient rehabilitation clinics in 38 states and the District of Columbia. Concentra operated 518 occupational health centers in 41 states. At June 30, 2022, Select Medical had operations in 46 states and the District of Columbia. Information about Select Medical is available at www.selectmedical.com.

Investor inquiries:

Joel T. Veit

Senior Vice President and Treasurer

717-972-1100

[email protected]

SOURCE Select Medical Holdings Corporation
States, local communities, and Tribes will receive $3.7 billion for opioid epidemic recovery along with $1.2 billion worth of drugs used to treat overdoses

WASHINGTON, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the National Prescription Opiate Litigation Plaintiffs' Executive Committee confirmed that they, alongside the working group of States' Attorneys General, counsel for Native American Tribes and plaintiffs' lawyers representing the States and local communities, have reached an agreement in principle with pharmaceutical manufacturer Teva on the primary financial terms of a nationwide opioid settlement. This agreement follows years of litigation naming Teva as a defendant responsible for fueling the opioid epidemic in America.

As part of the agreement to resolve these claims, Teva will pay approximately $3.7 billion, which includes approximately $650,000,000 in funds earmarked for already settled cases along with more than $3 billion in additional abatement funds, evenly spread over 13 years plus relevant legal fees and costs over six years. In addition, there will be approximately $100,000,000 for Native American Tribes. Teva will also offer the option of $1.2 billion worth of its generic version of the drug Narcan (naloxone hydrochloride nasal spray used to reverse an opioid overdose) over 10 years or, in lieu of the product, an agreed upon cash equivalent.

Statement from National Prescription Opiate Litigation MDL Plaintiffs' Executive Committee co-leads and negotiation team of: Jayne Conroy of Simmons Hanly Conroy; Paul T. Farrell Jr. of Farrell & Fuller Law LLC; Joe Rice of Motley Rice LLC; Russell Budd of Baron & Budd, P.C.; Elizabeth Cabraser of Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP; Paul Geller of Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP; Peter Mougey of Levin Papantonio Rafferty; Christopher Seeger of Seeger Weiss LLP; Hunter Shkolnik of Napoli Shkolnik PLLC; and Steven Skikos of Skikos, Crawford, Skikos & Joseph LLP:

"Today's development is a direct result of the years of hard work by community leaders, first responders, and the MDL litigation teams who have dedicated their efforts to gathering the resources necessary to battle the opioid epidemic across the country for years ahead. This latest step will provide additional long overdue support to those on the frontline in thousands of communities who will strongly benefit from the influx of financial and medical resources as they continue their life-saving work. While this settlement will resolve claims against a defendant accused of fueling this epidemic in multiple state and federal trials across the country, the agreement can only go into effect with the support of states, subdivisions, and Native American Tribes. We encourage all these groups to sign onto this agreement to allow these resources to get into the hands of those who need them as fast as possible. While this agreement is a vital step, we also recognize that this alone will not put an end to the opioid epidemic. We will continue to work to hold companies up and down the opioid supply chain accountable."

Announced today by Teva, this settlement is contingent upon finalization of terms between the working group and Teva. Once the documentation is finalized, the nationwide agreement will then need to be adopted by a sufficient number of states, subdivisions, and Native-American tribes in the United States to take effect. The parties expect that they will have the documentation for the nationwide settlement agreement finalized within the coming weeks, with the nationwide settlement sign-on process for states, subdivisions, and tribes to follow.

Similar to the provisions of the Global Settlement with drug distributors AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health, and McKesson, the settlement will distribute resources based on factors including population and proportionate share of the opioid epidemic impact as measured by overdose deaths and opioid use disorder diagnoses.

This settlement news comes as multidistrict federal litigation and state litigation continues in courtrooms around the country against other companies in the opioid supply chain. Current litigation includes the federal trial in Ohio that found CVS, Walgreens, and Walmart liable for fueling the opioid crisis in Lake County and Trumbull County, and now awaits the judge's determination of the value of the opioid epidemic abatement funds owed by pharmacy chains to these communities. Another trial in federal court in San Francisco against Walgreens is also awaiting a bench decision. Teva and Allergan were defendants in that trial until July 12, 2022 when the parties reached a $58M settlement agreement. The New York state trial is also anticipating an abatement trial date this fall following a jury finding in favor of the plaintiffs in December 2021. Teva and Anda are defendants in that case.

CONTACT: [email protected]

SOURCE National Prescription Opiate Litigation
Leading Children's Specialty Retailer Revitalizes 10 Public Spaces in Local Communities as Learning Centers Across the Country and Donates Books, School Supplies, and Products to Today's Youth

SECAUCUS, N.J., July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Children's Place, Inc. (NASDAQ: PLCE), the largest pure-play children's specialty retailer in North America, is excited to announce its 2022 Back-to-School campaign in partnership with award-winning actor, comedian, best-selling author and philanthropist, Kevin Hart. With the goal of empowering children through reading and continued education, The Children's Place alongside Mr. Hart, will launch a number of learning centers across the country. Located in deserving neighborhoods, these learning centers are fun, safe spaces which will encourage creative exploration and discovery among children.

Kevin Hart Photo 1 Kevin Hart Photo 2

Kicking off the back-to-school season, the Company and Mr. Hart unveiled the first community learning center at NYC Parks' Thomas Jefferson Recreation Center today, in East Harlem, in New York City. The Children's Place team, Hart, NYC Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue, and other NYC government officials, conducted a ribbon cutting ceremony and grand opening event with fun activities for children and families from the East Harlem community. Hundreds of children filled colorful, imaginative space with books in hand, while listening to Mr. Hart as he hosted an exclusive read-along from his book, Marcus Makes a Movie, the first in a highly illustrated middle grade series published by Crown Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Random House Children's Books. The grand opening event also included immersive and experiential activations, including a branded school bus. The Children's Place School Bus was stocked with backpacks filled with back-to-school products and accessories, and school supplies provided by BIC including pencils, markers and more.

"The Children's Place is committed to giving back, and moreover, we understand the importance of access to education and supporting key moments that will shape children's lives," said Maegan Markee, Senior Vice President of Marketing of The Children's Place, Inc. "Kevin Hart was the perfect partner to help launch this year's back-to-school campaign. He too advocates for children's continued education, both in and out of the classroom, and as a father, sees firsthand the impact that access to books, and both play and practice materials can have on a child's life. We couldn't be more excited to work with Kevin to give back to our future leaders of tomorrow."

Scaling the program to deserving communities nationwide, The Children's Place will continue its efforts in launching an additional nine learning center locations through the Fall of 2022. Working collaboratively with local libraries, community centers and ThriftBooks, the leading independent online seller of new and used books, The Children's Place reading centers will each feature thousands of books, totaling to over 20,000 books donated by ThriftBooks to stock the spaces. Each space will feature comfortable seating arrangements, interactive chalkboard walls, and empowering wall murals and artwork to serve as a safe haven where children in each community can gain access to reading materials and learning supplies, while also allowing themselves to thrive in imagining.

"As a father, I understand how school, education, and reading material can influence rising generations. Whether opening a new book, taking on a new challenge in the classroom, or making memories with fellow students, these are the times that most impact a child's life. This is the reason why I wrote my Marcus book series, Marcus Makes a Movie and Marcus Makes it Big. When The Children's Place told me what they were up to, I had to join them," said Kevin Hart. "Over the last two years of the pandemic, I've seen first-hand the challenges that children are facing when it comes to learning, making my partnership with The Children's Place even more important to me. I'm thrilled to be a part of this powerful campaign to provide an inspiring, much-needed space for kids, right in their own communities."

"We are happy to partner with The Children's Place and Kevin Hart in opening this beautiful new learning center in East Harlem," said NYC Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue. "Thomas Jefferson Recreation Center is an important resource for surrounding communities  and thanks to this investment through our Adopt-A-Park program, the facility now offers a bright colorful space where kids and families can focus on reading, learning, and creativity."

"At BIC, we have a long-standing commitment to improving lives through education," said Katty Pien, BIC's Vice President of Marketing for North America. "Giving children the opportunity to combine learning with creativity and self-expression helps engage students, whether that's at school, in the community or at home. With back-to-school season around the corner, we are delighted that BIC's partnership with The Children's Place will help support children across the country to be their best and most imaginative selves."

To continue to encourage children's confidence and self-expression, The Children's Place will also be sponsoring a 'Show Us Your Personali-TEE Contest'. The contest encourages families to imagine, create and submit a graphic illustration they would like featured within the Brands' upcoming graphic tee collection.

For more information about The Children's Place Back-to-School Campaign and to shop the brand's Back-to-School product collection, please visit www.thechildrensplace.com and follow @ChildrensPlace on Instagram and Facebook.

The project at Thomas Jefferson Recreation Center was made possible through NYC Parks' Adopt-a-Park program, where organizations, groups, and individuals contribute to improving New York City's parks. For more information, visit nyc.gov/parks.

About The Children's Place

The Children's Place is the largest pure-play children's specialty apparel retailer in North America. The Company designs, contracts to manufacture, sells at retail and wholesale, and licenses to sell fashionable, high-quality merchandise predominantly at value prices, primarily under the proprietary "The Children's Place", "Place", "Baby Place", "Gymboree" and "Sugar & Jade" brand names. The Company has online stores at www.childrensplace.com, www.gymboree.com and www.sugarandjade.com and, as of April 30, 2022, the Company had 665 stores in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico and the Company's six international franchise partners had 212 international points of distribution in 16 countries.

Contact: Investor Relations (201) 558-2400 ext. 14500

About ThriftBooks

ThriftBooks Global LLC is the world's largest independent online seller of used books, having sold more than 225 million used and new books since its inception. Founded in Seattle in 2003, ThriftBooks operates multiple processing centers throughout the US that purchase, grade, and distribute used and rare/collectible books. ThriftBooks sells across a variety of online platforms, including ThriftBooks.com , Amazon, eBay, Walmart, Etsy, and others. ThriftBooks.com provides a best-in-class e-commerce shopping experience, as evidenced by its 2021 Best Online Shops recognition, its Best Customer Service award four years in a row, and its 5-star Trustpilot score with more than 1 million customer reviews. Customers who shop at ThriftBooks.com enjoy everyday low prices and can earn free books through the company's much loved loyalty program, ReadingRewards .

ABOUT BIC

A world leader in stationery, lighters and shavers, BIC brings simplicity and joy to everyday life. For more than 75 years, the Company has honored the tradition of providing high-quality, affordable, essential products to consumers everywhere. Through this unwavering dedication, BIC has become one of the most recognized brands and is a trademark registered worldwide. Today, BIC products are sold in more than 160 countries around the world and feature iconic brands such as BIC Kids, BIC FlexTM, BodyMark by BICTM, Cello, Djeep, Lucky Stationery, Rocketbook, Soleil, Tipp-Ex, Us. TM, Wite-Out and more. In 2020, BIC Net Sales were 1,627.9 million euros. The Company is listed on "Euronext Paris," is part of the SBF120 and CAC Mid 60 indexes and is recognized for its commitment to sustainable development and education. It received an A- Leadership score from CDP. For more, visit about.bic.com or follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, or YouTube.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains or may contain forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including but not limited to statements relating to the Company's strategic initiatives and adjusted net income per diluted share. Forward-looking statements typically are identified by use of terms such as "may," "will," "should," "plan," "project," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate" and similar words, although some forward-looking statements are expressed differently. These forward-looking statements are based upon the Company's current expectations and assumptions and are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and performance to differ materially. Some of these risks and uncertainties are described in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including in the "Risk Factors" section of its annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 29, 2022. Included among the risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and performance to differ materially are the risk that the Company will be unsuccessful in gauging fashion trends and changing consumer preferences, the risks resulting from the highly competitive nature of the Company's business and its dependence on consumer spending patterns, which may be affected by changes in economic conditions, the risks related to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business or the economy in general (including decreased customer traffic, schools adopting remote and hybrid learning models, closures of businesses and other activities causing decreased demand for our products and negative impacts on our customers' spending patterns due to decreased income or actual or perceived wealth, and the impact of legislation related to the COVID-19 pandemic, including any changes to such legislation), the risk that the Company's strategic initiatives to increase sales and margin are delayed or do not result in anticipated improvements, the risk of delays, interruptions and disruptions in the Company's global supply chain, including resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic or other disease outbreaks, foreign sources of supply in less developed countries, more politically unstable countries, or countries where vendors fail to comply with industry standards or ethical business practices, including the use of forced, indentured or child labor, the risk that the cost of raw materials or energy prices will increase beyond current expectations or that the Company is unable to offset cost increases through value engineering or price increases, various types of litigation, including class action litigations brought under consumer protection, employment, and privacy and information security laws and regulations, the imposition of regulations affecting the importation of foreign-produced merchandise, including duties and tariffs, and the uncertainty of weather patterns. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they were made. The Company undertakes no obligation to release publicly any revisions to these forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

SOURCE The Childrens Place, Inc.
Installation of three 20 MW standard electrolyzers from thyssenkrupp nucera with a total capacity of 60 MW in the first phase, to be expended in second phase to multi-hundred MW

Unigel is first mover in key market for industrial green hydrogen projects with an overall investment of US$ 120 million

The project constitutes a first step towards decarbonization of several sectors in Brazil , contributing substantially to combating climate change

SAO PAULO and DORTMUND, Germany, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Unigel installs the first industrial scale green hydrogen plant in Brazil. The company, which is one of the largest chemical companies in Latin America and the largest manufacturer of nitrogen fertilizers in Brazil, invests a total of US$ 120 million in the development of the production site for green hydrogen. Unigel relies on the world-leading technology of thyssenkrupp nucera.

The plant will starts its production planned for late 2023. At this moment, Unigel's integrated green hydrogen and green ammonia plant is expected to be the largest in the world. In the first phase of the project, Unigel installs three 20 MW standard electrolyzers from thyssenkrupp nucera, adding up to a total capacity of 60 MW. The company plans to quadruple its production of green hydrogen in the years following the inauguration by expanding the electrolyzer plant to a multi-hundred MW facility, which will produce approximately 40,000 tons of green hydrogen. The new factory is expected to employ more than 500 people, so that the chemical company also gives an important impulse for the whole region.

"Throughout our nearly 60-year history, we have always been attentive to technological innovations and have invested to meet industrial and agribusiness demands. With this project, Unigel takes the first step towards the decarbonization of several sectors, contributing substantially to combating climate change on the planet", emphasizes Henri Slezynger, Chairman of the Board of Directors and founder of Unigel.

"This project is the first of its kind in Brazil and reinforces the pioneering spirit of Unigel to produce green molecules on an industrial scale. As Brazil is one of the world-leading countries in terms of installed renewable energy, we are pleased to enter this partnership to to make green hydrogen an affordable energy vector already today," says Dr. Werner Ponikwar, CEO of thyssenkrupp nucera. Only through large-scale production with robust, reliable and cost-effective technologies at competitive renewable power prices green hydrogen will become market-ready with widespread use.

Located in the Camacari Industrial Complex (BA), the new plant will have an initial production capacity of 10,000 tons/year of green hydrogen and 60,000 tons/year of green ammonia. The products will be offered to customers who aim to decarbonize their production chains, e.g. the steel industry, oil refining, and e-fuels. Green ammonia will also be used in the value chain of Unigel, as it is a raw material in the manufacturing of fertilizers and acrylics. "Given the potential of Brazil in the generation of wind and solar energy, we believe that the country has a great opportunity to be a reference for the world in green hydrogen, a solution that brings versatility to transform renewable energy into raw materials and zero carbon fuels", says Roberto Noronha Santos, CEO of Unigel. Brazil's energy mix already has a very high share of renewables. Around three quarters of the energy used in electrolysis of the project comes from renewable sources. This makes Unigel and thyssenkrupp nucera first movers on an industrial scale in one of the most important markets in South America.

SOURCE Unigel
- Local Go-To Cannabis Shop Serving Patient Card Holders of Hartford and Beyond

- Local Owners, B.J. Olson and Adam Jorgensen Focused on Educating Community About Cannabis

SIOUX FALLS, S.D., July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Unity Rd., the national cannabis dispensary franchise from Item 9 Labs Corp. (OTCQX: INLB), is opening South Dakota's first medical cannabis establishment on Wednesday, July 27 with local entrepreneurs, B.J. Olson and Adam Jorgensen. The new shop is located in the Sioux Falls suburb of Hartford at 404 West Opal Lane.

Located in Hartford, only a few miles from South Dakotas largest city, Sioux Falls, Unity Rd. is the states first medical cannabis establishment. The Hartford shop is a blue building 1 block off of interstate 90 on Opal Lane near Ace Hardware, where it shares in the communitys small-town atmosphere. We offer a wide variety of products and can be considered patient card holders one-stop shop for all their medical cannabis needs. Visit: https://www.unityrd.com/locations/sd/hartford/1404wopalla

South Dakota natives and best buds, Jorgensen and Olson bring a combined 40-plus years of experience in wireless technology, retail and business entrepreneurship. After witnessing the power of medical cannabis, the duo wanted to share this with those in need in the local community by opening their own medical cannabis establishment with Unity Rd.

"Adam and I have dreamed of having our own business together for a very long time. We are true believers in the benefits of cannabis and knew this was always the path for us," said Olson. "We were very intentional in seeking out our partnership with Unity Rd. Even with our combined retail backgrounds, we knew we would need additional support and resources to navigate the complexities of the industry. Unity Rd. has been instrumental to our success in opening a medical cannabis establishment in South Dakota and we know they have our best interest at heart."

Unity Rd. is a collective of locally owned and operated cannabis shops with the mission to inspire confidence in the benefits of cannabis for all, while keeping the door to dispensary ownership open to everyday entrepreneurs.

From offering a curated cannabis experience that is focused on local patients to hiring local talent, the Hartford shop is engrained in its community and allows for a culture unique to the neighborhood to shine through. Patients can expect the highest quality medical cannabis products available, continuously evolving as the emerging market grows. The shop's approachable and welcoming team members have gone through a robust training program and will be consistently staying up to date on the latest industry trends and product knowledge. Focused on serving a consistent experience with an enlightening, education-first approach, the Hartford shop supports all patients who walk through their doors.

"Being born and raised here, we see ourselves as a true community partner," said Jorgensen. "We are proud that the process of building our establishment from the ground up was through local Sioux Falls or South Dakota businesses, and nearly half of our team are Hartford residents themselves. B.J. and I are dedicated to educating patient card holders on our medical cannabis products as well as becoming even more involved in our community."

South Dakota legalized medical cannabis in July 2021 by a ballot initiative in November 2020. Since the local reform, the state has seen positive activity related to cannabis. State residents began applying for medical cannabis patient cards on January 1, 2022, and currently have more than 1,700 approved applications in the South Dakota Medical Cannabis Program. As of July 25, 2022, The Department of Health (DOH) reports that more than 130 South Dakota physicians have been approved to recommend medical cannabis to their patients.

"Opening the first dispensary in my home state is an impressive feat that I'm proud our team and local entrepreneurs have been able to achieve," added Andrew Bowden, CEO of Item 9 Labs Corp. and former Sioux Falls resident.

"We strive to expand our national community of Unity Rd. shops with owners who are engrained in their communities, and are honored to partner with exceptional entrepreneurs like B.J. and Adam on this milestone opening of the first medical cannabis establishment in South Dakota as well as the first Unity Rd. shop in the state," shared Mike Weinberger, chief franchise officer of Unity Rd.

Unity Rd. Hartford will be open special hours the first few weeks: Wednesday-Saturday from noon to 8 p.m., Sunday from noon to 6 p.m. and closed on Monday and Tuesday. To learn more about the local go-to cannabis shop, call 605-88-UNITY or visit https://www.unityrd.com/locations/sd/hartford/1404wopallane.

ABOUT UNITY RD. :

Unity Rd. is bridging the two previously disconnected worlds of cannabis and franchising. The industry trailblazer is the first to bring the cannabis dispensary franchise model to the United Stateswith duality of prowess in both industries to back it up. Built up from a collective 200 years in the legal cannabis industry and franchising, the company helps eager operators enter the complex industry with ease. The marijuana franchise pioneer offers its partners the knowledge, resources and ongoing support needed to compliantly and successfully operate a dispensary. Launched in 2018, Unity Rd. has three shops open across the U.S. along with multiple agreements signed with 20 entrepreneurial groups across the country who are developing the brand across 10-plus states. In 2021, Unity Rd. became the first member of its kind to join the International Franchise Association (IFA), solidifying its position as the first true cannabis dispensary franchise in the U.S. The franchise was also named one of the "Best Cannabis Companies to Work For" in the dispensary category for Cannabis Business Times' 2022 and 2020 lists. For more information, visit unityrd.com.

MEDIA CONTACT: Marisa Beaumont, Fishman PR, [email protected], 847.945.1300

SOURCE Unity Rd.
Updated connector enables brands and retailers to gain customer insights to personalize ads and increase conversion rates

NEW YORK, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- VTEX, the enterprise digital commerce platform for global brands and retailers, announced an update to its connector integrating with Meta's platforms Facebook and Instagram to boost retail sales. The new feature improves the connection between ecommerce websites and their ads on social networks, increasing the conversion rate from the beginning of the customer journey. This helps retailers gain better visibility and insights into their campaign audiences and marketing activities. The updated connector also helps increase conversion rates by reaching potential buyers with personalized ads.

"This enhanced connector further improves the integration between the VTEX platform and Meta's platforms, reinforcing our commitment to turn our system into a single-control panel to manage all our customers' business strategies. The first version of thisintegration, launched last year, has already produced some significant improvements. With these new features, our customers can benefit even more," said Geraldo Thomaz, founder and co-CEO of VTEX.

New and enhanced capabilities within the Facebook connector include:

Conversions API (CAPI) : CAPI now includes five new components  Pageview, View Content, Search, Add-to-Cart and Initiate Checkout. Besides setting the target and optimizing ads, the new connector allows customers to measure each of the five new components, while leveraging the best resources to create ads focused on the different stages of the conversion funnel customized to each user's needs.

CAPI now includes five new components  Pageview, View Content, Search, Add-to-Cart and Initiate Checkout. Besides setting the target and optimizing ads, the new connector allows customers to measure each of the five new components, while leveraging the best resources to create ads focused on the different stages of the conversion funnel customized to each user's needs. Product Catalog Updates: These improvements allow consumers to experience a more frictionless shopping journey migrating to the brand or retailer's website from Facebook and Instagram generating fewer cart abandonments and more conversions.

These improvements allow consumers to experience a more frictionless shopping journey migrating to the brand or retailer's website from Facebook and Instagram generating fewer cart abandonments and more conversions. Meta Ads Plugin: simplifies the process of creating ads for Facebook and Instagram. Users can create campaigns natively within VTEX Admin, which will be automatically mirrored to Facebook Manager, with three main objectives: help retailers receive more inquiries from potential customers, increase their sales on the website and through the catalog. The functionality is tied to CAPI features to streamline and optimize creative work and metrics.

With the connector update, the chances of ad approval by Facebook are also optimized, as the suggested campaigns are more adequate to the guidelines assessed by the company.

VTEX customers worldwide, including Carrefour, C&A, Lenovo, Philips, Samsung, Walmart, and Whirlpool have already downloaded the first CAPI version.

For more information, go to the VTEX developers page: bit.ly/FBCAPI.

About VTEX

VTEX (NYSE: VTEX) is the enterprise digital commerce platform where global brands and retailers run their world of commerce. VTEX puts its customers' businesses on a fast path to growth with a complete Commerce, Marketplace, and OMS solution. VTEX helps global companies build, manage and deliver native and advanced B2B, B2C, and Marketplace commerce experiences with unprecedented time to market and without complexity.

As a leader in digital commerce platforms, VTEX is trusted by more than 2,400 customers, among them AbInbev, Carrefour, Colgate, Motorola and Whirlpool, having over 3,200 active online stores across 38 countries (as of FY ended on December 31st, 2021). For more information, visit www.vtex.com.

Press contact  VTEX

[email protected]

SOURCE VTEX
Second-Quarter Highlights:

Aearo Technologies takes action to efficiently and equitably resolve litigation related to Combat Arms Earplugs resulting in a pre-tax charge of $1.2 billion , or $1.66 per share; Company reports GAAP earnings per share of $0.14 , including impact of Special Items.

, or per share; Company reports GAAP earnings per share of , including impact of Special Items. Adjusted earnings per share of $2.48 in midst of continued uncertain macroeconomic environment.





Q2 2022

Q2 2021 GAAP EPS

$ 0.14

$ 2.59 Special Items:







Aearo Technologies actions - Combat Arms Earplugs

1.66

 Zwijndrecht-related (PFAS-related environmental

commitments as previously announced on July 6, 2022)

0.51

 Other net costs for significant litigation

0.17

0.16 Adjusted EPS

$ 2.48

$ 2.75









Memo:







GAAP operating income margin

1.3 %

22.0 % Adjusted operating income margin

21.0 %

23.4 % See the "Supplemental Financial Information Non-GAAP Measures" section for applicable information.

Sales of $8.7 billion , down 3 percent year-on-year, which included a negative 4 percentage point impact from foreign currency translation due to strength of U.S. dollar.

, down 3 percent year-on-year, which included a negative 4 percentage point impact from foreign currency translation due to strength of U.S. dollar. Organic sales growth of 1 percent year-on-year which included a 4 percentage point headwind from the combined impact of China COVID-related lockdowns and decline in disposable respirator demand.

Operating cash flow was $1.1 billion , down 40 percent year-on-year, while adjusted free cash flow was $1.0 billion , down 41 percent year-on-year.

, down 40 percent year-on-year, while adjusted free cash flow was , down 41 percent year-on-year. 3M returned $0.8 billion to shareholders via dividends.

ST. PAUL, Minn., July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- 3M (NYSE: MMM) today reported second-quarter 2022 results.

"In a challenging macroeconomic environment, 3M executed well and delivered solid earnings, while continuing to drive growth through investments in large, fast-growing areas," said 3M chairman and CEO Mike Roman. "Looking ahead, we updated our adjusted full-year expectations largely due to the strength of the U.S. dollar and uncertain macroeconomic environment. We remain focused on innovating for customers, driving operational improvements and advancing our environmental stewardship  while positioning 3M for the future through our plan to spin off our Health Care business and resolve Combat Arms litigation in a manner that is efficient and equitable."

Full-Year 2022 Outlook

3M updated its full-year sales and earnings expectations to reflect the impact of the strong U.S. dollar along with the current uncertain macroeconomic environment.

Total sales growth: -2.5 to -0.5 percent vs. 1 to 4 percent prior

Organic sales growth: 1.5 to 3.5 percent vs. 2 to 5 percent prior

Foreign currency translation: -4 percent vs. -1 percent prior

GAAP earnings per share: $7.32 to $7.82 vs. $9.89 to 10.39 prior

to vs. to 10.39 prior Adjusted earnings per share: $10.30 to $10.80 vs. $10.75 to $11.25 prior

to vs. to prior Operating cash flow of $6.6 to $7.2 billion contributing to 90% to 100% adjusted free cash flow conversion

See the "Supplemental Financial Information Non-GAAP Measures" section for applicable information.

Taking Steps to Equitably Resolve Litigation Related to Combat Arms Earplugs

In a separate press release issued today, 3M announced it is taking steps to resolve litigation related to Combat Arms Earplugs Version 2 ("Combat Arms Earplugs"). Aearo Technologies and related entities ("Aearo Technologies"), all of which are wholly-owned 3M subsidiaries, have voluntarily initiated chapter 11 proceedings. With this change in strategy, this process is intended to resolve claims related to Combat Arms Earplugs in a manner that is equitable to all parties, including plaintiffs with claims that are determined to be entitled to compensation. 3M and all other associated businesses have not filed for chapter 11 and will continue to operate as usual. Aearo Technologies' will also continue to operate in the ordinary course. To access the press release, please visit our press release page here.

Planned Spin Off of Health Care Business

In a separate press release issued today, 3M announced its intent to spin off its Health Care business, resulting in two world-class, public companies well positioned to pursue their respective growth plans. To access the press release, please visit our press release page here.

Update on Pending Food Safety Transaction with Neogen

3M has now indicated it intends to complete the transaction through a split-off with a targeted closing date of September 1, 2022, subject to approval by Neogen shareholders, receipt of required regulatory approvals and the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions.

Zwijndrecht, Belgium Facility Received Approval to Restart Idled Manufacturing

As previously reported on July 6, 2022, 3M received approval from the Flemish authorities to restart certain operations at its Zwijndrecht, Belgium manufacturing facility that have been idled in recent months, including production of electronic heat transfer fluids and others. This approval has been granted following 3M's investment in new and additional technologies to significantly reduce PFAS discharges and emissions from its facility, as well as our submission of testing data that indicates the effectiveness of these technologies. The restart process for these operations is on track with the company's expectations.

Conference Call

3M will conduct an investor teleconference at 9 a.m. EDT (8 a.m. CDT) today. Investors can access this conference via the following:

Live webcast at http://investors.3M.com.

Live telephone:

Call 800-762-2596 within the U.S. or +1 212-231-2916 outside the U.S. Please join the call at least 10 minutes before the start time.

Call 800-762-2596 within the U.S. or +1 212-231-2916 outside the U.S. Please join the call at least 10 minutes before the start time. Webcast replay:

Go to 3M's Investor Relations website at http://investors.3M.com and click on "Quarterly Earnings."

Go to 3M's Investor Relations website at http://investors.3M.com and click on "Quarterly Earnings." Telephone replay:

Call 800-633-8284 within the U.S. or +1 402-977-9140 outside the U.S. (for both U.S. and outside the U.S., the access code is 21999290). The telephone replay will be available until 11:30 a.m. EDT ( 10:30 a.m. CDT ) on August 1, 2022 .

Consolidated Financial Statements and Supplemental Financial Information Non-GAAP Measures

View the Consolidated Financial Statements and Supplemental Financial Information Non-GAAP Measures on 3M's website: https://investors.3m.com/Financial-Statements-Q222

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking information about 3M's financial results and estimates and business prospects that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. You can identify these statements by the use of words such as "anticipate," "estimate," "expect," "aim," "project," "intend," "plan," "believe," "will," "should," "could," "target," "forecast" and other words and terms of similar meaning in connection with any discussion of future operating or financial performance or business plans or prospects. Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially are the following: (1) worldwide economic, political, regulatory, capital markets and other external conditions and other factors beyond the Company's control, including natural and other disasters or climate change affecting the operations of the Company or its customers and suppliers; (2) risks related to public health crises such as the global pandemic associated with the coronavirus (COVID-19); (3) foreign currency exchange rates and fluctuations in those rates; (4) liabilities related to certain fluorochemicals, including lawsuits concerning various PFAS-related products and chemistries, and claims and governmental regulatory proceedings and inquiries related to PFAS in a variety of jurisdictions; (5) legal proceedings, including significant developments that could occur in the legal and regulatory proceedings described in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 2021, as updated by the Company's Current Report on Form 8-K dated April 26, 2022, and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q (the "Reports"); (6) competitive conditions and customer preferences; (7) the timing and market acceptance of new product offerings; (8) the availability and cost of purchased components, compounds, raw materials and energy (including oil and natural gas and their derivatives) due to shortages, increased demand or supply interruptions (including those caused by natural and other disasters and other events); (9) unanticipated problems or delays with the phased implementation of a global enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, or security breaches and other disruptions to the Company's information technology infrastructure; (10) the impact of acquisitions, strategic alliances, divestitures, and other unusual events resulting from portfolio management actions and other evolving business strategies, and possible organizational restructuring; (11) operational execution, including scenarios where the Company generates fewer productivity improvements than estimated; (12) financial market risks that may affect the Company's funding obligations under defined benefit pension and postretirement plans; (13) the Company's credit ratings and its cost of capital; (14) tax-related external conditions, including changes in tax rates, laws or regulations; (15) matters relating to the proposed spin off of the Company's Health Care business, including whether the transaction will be completed, or if completed, will be on the expected terms; the risk that the expected benefits will not be realized; the risk that the costs or dis-synergies will exceed the anticipated amounts; the ability to satisfy the various closing conditions; potential business disruption; the diversion of management time; the impact of the transaction (or its pendency) on the Company's ability to retain talent; potential impacts on the Company's relationships with its customers, suppliers, employees, regulators and other counterparties; the ability to realize the desired tax treatment (including whether an Internal Revenue Service private letter ruling will be sought or obtained); the risk that any consents or approvals required will not be obtained; risks associated with financings that may be undertaken and indebtedness that may be incurred in connection with the transaction; and (16) matters relating to the voluntary chapter 11 proceedings of the Company's subsidiary Aearo Technologies and certain of its affiliates (the "Aearo Entities"), including legal risks related to the chapter 11 proceedings; potential impacts to the Company's reputation and its relationships with customers, suppliers, employees, regulators and other counterparties and community members; potential impacts to the Company's liquidity or results of operations, including risks related to the amount that will be necessary to fully and finally resolve all of the Company's obligations to make payments to resolve such claims under the terms of its funding and indemnification agreement with the Aearo Entities; and the Aearo Entities' ability to navigate the chapter 11 proceedings to obtain approval and consummation of a plan of reorganization. Changes in such assumptions or factors could produce significantly different results. A further description of these factors is located in the Reports under "Cautionary Note Concerning Factors That May Affect Future Results" and "Risk Factors" in Part I, Items 1 and 1A (Annual Report) and in Part I, Item 2 and Part II, Item 1A (Quarterly Reports). The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements discussed herein as a result of new information or future events or developments.

About 3M

At 3M, we apply science in collaborative ways to improve lives daily as our employees connect with customers all around the world. Learn more about 3M's creative solutions to the world's problems at www.3M.com or on Twitter @3M or @3MNews.

Please note that the company announces material financial, business and operational information using the 3M investor relations website, SEC filings, press releases, public conference calls and webcasts. The company also uses the 3M news center and social media to communicate with our customers and the public about the company, products and services and other matters. It is possible that the information 3M posts on the news center and social media could be deemed to be material information. Therefore, the company encourages investors, the media and others interested in 3M to review the information posted on 3M's news center and the social media channels such as [email protected] or @3MNews.

Contacts

3M

Investor Contacts:

Bruce Jermeland, 651-733-1807

or

Diane Farrow, 612-202-2449

SOURCE 3M
Aearo Technologies and related entities have voluntarily initiated chapter 11 proceedings

3M has committed $1 billion to fund a trust to resolve all claims determined to be entitled to compensation

ST. PAUL, Minn., July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- 3M (NYSE: MMM) today announced it is taking action to resolve litigation related to Combat Arms Earplugs Version 2 ("Combat Arms Earplugs"). Aearo Technologies and related entities ("Aearo Technologies"), all of which are wholly-owned 3M subsidiaries, have voluntarily initiated chapter 11 proceedings seeking court supervision to help establish a trust  funded by 3M  to efficiently and equitably resolve all claims determined to be entitled to compensation.

3M and Aearo Technologies believe the Combat Arms Earplugs were effective and safe when used properly, but nevertheless face increasing litigation, including approximately 115,000 filed claims and an additional 120,000 claims on an administrative docket as of June 30, 2022. The well-established chapter 11 process is intended to achieve an efficient and equitable resolution, reduce uncertainty, and increase clarity for all stakeholders, while reducing the cost and time that could otherwise be required to litigate thousands of cases. 3M and its other businesses have not filed for chapter 11 and will continue to operate as usual. Aearo Technologies will also continue to operate in the ordinary course.

"We have great respect for the brave men and women who protect us, and remain committed to the military as an active partner and valued customer going forward," said 3M chairman and chief executive officer Mike Roman. "We determined that taking this decisive action now will allow 3M and Aearo Technologies to address these claims in a way that is more efficient and equitable than the current litigation."

The company believes that, absent the actions taken today, the claims could take years, if not decades, to litigate on a case-by-case basis. With this change in strategy, this process is intended to resolve claims related to Combat Arms Earplugs in a manner that is more efficient and equitable to all parties.

Announcement Details

Aearo Technologies was acquired by 3M in 2008 and has since operated as a wholly-owned subsidiary of 3M .

in 2008 and has since operated as a wholly-owned subsidiary of . 3M has entered into a funding agreement with Aearo Technologies to establish a trust to resolve all claims determined to be entitled to compensation, and to support Aearo Technologies as it continues to operate during the chapter 11 process.

has entered into a funding agreement with Aearo Technologies to establish a trust to resolve all claims determined to be entitled to compensation, and to support Aearo Technologies as it continues to operate during the chapter 11 process. The claims largely relate to the previous generation Combat Arms Earplugs manufactured by Aearo Technologies, as well as discontinued Aearo Technologies mask and respirator products utilized to reduce workplace exposure to asbestos, silica, coal mine dust or occupational dusts.

Aearo Technologies has indemnified 3M for obligations related to the claims.

for obligations related to the claims. 3M has committed $1 billion to fund the trust, based on the analysis of an experienced estimator of claims in chapter 11.

has committed to fund the trust, based on the analysis of an experienced estimator of claims in chapter 11. 3M has also committed an additional $240 million to fund projected related case expenses.

has also committed an additional to fund projected related case expenses. 3M will provide additional funding if required under the terms of the agreement.

As a result, 3M recorded a total pre-tax charge of $1.2 billion, or $1.66 per share, and reflected it as an adjustment in arriving at its results, adjusted for special items.

Additional Information

In conjunction with the chapter 11 process, Aearo Technologies will file customary first day motions with the bankruptcy court seeking authority to continue operating in the normal course of business, without interruption or disruption to its customers, vendors, and employees.

The Aearo Technologies chapter 11 cases were filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Indiana. Additional information is available on resolvingearpluglitigation.com and www.3mearplugsfacts.com. Court filings and information about the chapter 11 cases are available on a separate website administered by Aearo Technologies' claims agent, Kroll; information is also available by calling (855) 639-3375 (Toll-Free US/Canada) or +1 (347) 897-3818 (International); or by emailing [email protected].

Advisors

Kirkland & Ellis LLP is serving as legal counsel and AlixPartners LLP is serving as restructuring advisor to Aearo Technologies. PJT Partners is serving as financial advisor and White & Case LLP is serving as legal counsel to 3M.

Planned Spin-Off of Health Care Business

In a separate press release issued today, 3M announced its intent to spin off its Health Care business, resulting in two world-class public companies well positioned to pursue their respective growth plans.

To access the press release, please visit our press release page here .

Q2 2022 Earnings Results and Conference Call

In a separate press release issued today, 3M announced its second-quarter 2022 results and updated its outlook for the full-year 2022. Please see the company's second-quarter earnings press release for more details.

3M will conduct an investor teleconference at 9 a.m. EDT (8 a.m. CDT) today. Investors can access this conference via the following:

Live webcast at http://investors.3M.com.

Live telephone:

Call 800-762-2596 within the U.S. or +1 212-231-2916 outside the U.S. Please join the call at least 10 minutes before the start time.



Webcast replay:

Go to 3M's Investor Relations website at http://investors.3M.com and click on "Quarterly Earnings."

Telephone replay:

Call 800-633-8284 within the U.S. or +1 402-977-9140 outside the U.S. (for both U.S. and outside the U.S., the access code is 21999290). The telephone replay will be available until 11:30 a.m. EDT ( 10:30 a.m. CDT ) on August 1, 2022 .

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking information about 3M's financial results and estimates and business prospects that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. You can identify these statements by the use of words such as "anticipate," "estimate," "expect," "aim," "project," "intend," "plan," "believe," "will," "should," "could," "target," "forecast" and other words and terms of similar meaning in connection with any discussion of future operating or financial performance or business plans or prospects. Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially are the following: (1) worldwide economic, political, regulatory, capital markets and other external conditions and other factors beyond the Company's control, including natural and other disasters or climate change affecting the operations of the Company or its customers and suppliers; (2) risks related to public health crises such as the global pandemic associated with the coronavirus (COVID-19); (3) foreign currency exchange rates and fluctuations in those rates; (4) liabilities related to certain fluorochemicals, including lawsuits concerning various PFAS-related products and chemistries, and claims and governmental regulatory proceedings and inquiries related to PFAS in a variety of jurisdictions; (5) legal proceedings, including significant developments that could occur in the legal and regulatory proceedings described in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 2021, as updated by the Company's Current Report on Form 8-K dated April 26, 2022, and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q (the "Reports"); (6) competitive conditions and customer preferences; (7) the timing and market acceptance of new product offerings; (8) the availability and cost of purchased components, compounds, raw materials and energy (including oil and natural gas and their derivatives) due to shortages, increased demand or supply interruptions (including those caused by natural and other disasters and other events); (9) unanticipated problems or delays with the phased implementation of a global enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, or security breaches and other disruptions to the Company's information technology infrastructure; (10) the impact of acquisitions, strategic alliances, divestitures, and other unusual events resulting from portfolio management actions and other evolving business strategies, and possible organizational restructuring; (11) operational execution, including scenarios where the Company generates fewer productivity improvements than estimated; (12) financial market risks that may affect the Company's funding obligations under defined benefit pension and postretirement plans; (13) the Company's credit ratings and its cost of capital; (14) tax-related external conditions, including changes in tax rates, laws or regulations; (15) matters relating to the proposed spin-off of the Company's Health Care business, including whether the transaction will be completed, or if completed, will be on the expected terms; the risk that the expected benefits will not be realized; the risk that the costs or dis-synergies will exceed the anticipated amounts; the ability to satisfy the various closing conditions; potential business disruption; the diversion of management time; the impact of the transaction (or its pendency) on the Company's ability to retain talent; potential impacts on the Company's relationships with its customers, suppliers, employees, regulators and other counterparties; the ability to realize the desired tax treatment (including whether an Internal Revenue Service private letter ruling will be sought or obtained); the risk that any consents or approvals required will not be obtained; risks associated with financings that may be undertaken and indebtedness that may be incurred in connection with the transaction; and (16) matters relating to the voluntary chapter 11 proceedings of the Company's subsidiary Aearo Technologies and certain of its affiliates (the "Aearo Entities"), including legal risks related to the chapter 11 proceedings; potential impacts to the Company's reputation and its relationships with customers, suppliers, employees, regulators and other counterparties and community members; potential impacts to the Company's liquidity or results of operations, including risks related to the amount that will be necessary to fully and finally resolve all of the Company's obligations to make payments to resolve such claims under the terms of its funding and indemnification agreement with the Aearo Entities; and the Aearo Entities' ability to navigate the chapter 11 proceedings to obtain approval and consummation of a plan of reorganization. Changes in such assumptions or factors could produce significantly different results. A further description of these factors is located in the Reports under "Cautionary Note Concerning Factors That May Affect Future Results" and "Risk Factors" in Part I, Items 1 and 1A (Annual Report) and in Part I, Item 2 and Part II, Item 1A (Quarterly Reports). The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements discussed herein as a result of new information or future events or developments.

Investor Contact:

Bruce Jermeland

(651) 733-1807

Diane Farrow

(612) 202-2449

SOURCE 3M
AUSTIN, Texas, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, 83bar, Inc. was recognized by the Business Intelligence Group for Product of the Year in the 2022 Sales and Marketing Technology Awards program, also known as The Sammys.

The Sammys honor organizations and products helping to solve the challenges in connecting and collaborating with prospects and customers.

The SAMMY Sales and Marketing Technology Award 2022 83bar, Inc.

The product award is for the 83bar "Market Feasibility Test," a research tool which tests the suitability of a client's patient targets based on product indications or study protocols. Each Market Feasibility Test provides direct insights into healthcare consumers and offers a comparative analysis to a client's current solution. Finally, it projects the success of full campaigns to drive candidate and/or patient flow.

The data enables 83bar to identify patients willing to begin an assessment, engage in education, and then commit and sustain their patient journey.

"We feel the Market Feasibility Test adds value to the client because it verifies the steps, goals, criteria, and results of patient campaigns," says Bob Baurys, 83bar CEO. "It takes the guesswork out of whether the criteria can be met. This information helps clients make informed decisions before they invest in a patient campaign."

"We are proud to reward and recognize 83bar for their innovation and dedication to helping both the organization using their technology and the ultimate healthcare consumer," said Maria Jimenez, chief nominations officer, Business Intelligence Group. "It was clear to our judges that their efforts will improve how we all connect with the brands we love for years to come."

The Sammy Award judges recognized multiple benefits an 83bar Market Feasibility Test offers compared to alternatives:

Compared to custom market research, a client can rapidly launch a test before fielding a clinical study or commercial campaign.

Unlike expensive surveys, this test is fielded at no cost to clients.

In contrast to syndicated reports, survey questions are based on client-specific criteria and targeted to reach "real" patients.

Beyond simple profiling which only measures if the lead is medically qualified, it can measure motivation and intent.

Compared to standard contract research, results are achieved fast, usually within two weeks.

About 83bar, Inc.

83bar, Inc. manages the patient journey from symptom to solution. The proprietary 4-part LEAN (Locate, Educate, Activate, & Navigate) System delivers ready-to-act patients to medical providers, on behalf of pharma, device, diagnostics partners. Over the last 5 years, the company has completed more than 2 million prospective patient conversations resulting in more than 100,000 successful patient pathway outcomes across more than 25 therapeutic areas and associated diseases. To learn more visit www.83bar.com

About Business Intelligence Group

The Business Intelligence Group was founded with the mission of recognizing true talent and superior performance in business. Unlike other industry award programs, business executives judge the programs. The organization's proprietary and unique scoring system selectively measures performance across multiple business domains, then rewards the companies whose achievements stand above their peers.

Media Contact:

Mark Stinson

312-953-3586

[email protected]

SOURCE 83bar, Inc.
PARIS, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Vauban Infrastructure Partners ("Vauban") is pleased to announce the appointment of Adam Schiff as CEO of Cartier Energy Holding (the "Company"), which owns a portfolio of eight district energy systems in New Jersey, Michigan, Delaware, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. The systems provide reliable, sustainable, and cost-efficient sources of energy solutions to a key customer base including universities, hospitals, municipalities, and commercial & industrial customers. The portfolio is part of the top 5 District Energy systems in the United States providing key services (steam, chilled water, hot water and electricity generation) to its customers.

Adam Schiff

Vauban plans to continue supporting the Company's sustainable development, and to further enhance long-term growth of the platform to serve the communities with resilient and reliable energy solutions. The acquisition of this platform expands Vauban's global footprint to North America and demonstrates its strong commitment to sustainability, while building upon its significant experience owning and managing five other district energy systems in Europe.

Adam Schiff comments, "I'm excited to be leading the Cartier Energy business and Vauban Infrastructure Partners' entry into the US market with a focus on driving the Company towards a resilient and sustainable future for the benefit of the customers that we serve."

DCO Energy, an industry-leading developer and operator, will maintain operations and maintenance of the asset facilities under a long-term contract. DCO Energy will also support Cartier Energy and Vauban with the carbon footprint reduction objectives and ongoing investment in the development and expansion of the facilities and asset base.

Adam Schiff further comments, "I look forward to working with DCO Energy, they are a valuable strategic partner by having capabilities in development, operations, engineering and construction. Our companies will grow together as we work on additional development and expansion opportunities for the portfolio and pursue our carbon reduction goals. "

Gwenola Chambon, CEO and Founding Partner at Vauban Infrastructure Partners comments: "We are very excited to welcome Adam, an accomplished professional with a deep knowledge base in the energy sector, to lead the platform's business and growth."

Mounir Corm, Deputy CEO and Founding Partner of Vauban adds, "We look forward to the collaboration between DCO Energy, Cartier Energy under Adam's leadership, and Vauban to deliver these essential services to communities while building a long-term, sustainable platform in the United States."

Adam Schiff will work with the Cartier Energy Board of Directors with Steven Klein appointed as Chairman of the Board and Aveen Ghurbhurn, Leonie Maruani, Adeline Morin, Lea Salvy and Olivier Ta as members of the Board.

Prior to joining Cartier Energy in 2022, Adam was a 15-year energy industry veteran most recently serving as Director of Strategy & Finance for NextEra Energy. He held many different roles for the company in asset management, M&A, and business development. From 2009 to 2015 he had P&L responsibility for approximately 4,800 MW of wind and natural gas generation projects in Texas and from 2015 to 2021 executed over $3.5B in M&A transactions in wind, solar, storage, natural gas generation and water. In 2020, he led the company's first acquisition into the water industry and in 2021 led the company's strategy into the P3 campus and district energy market. He also sat on the NextEra PAC Board of Trustees from 2014 to 2022. Prior to joining NextEra Energy, Adam spent three years working for JPMorgan. Adam graduated from the University of Florida with a Bachelors of Science in Finance and Masters of Science in Finance.

About Vauban Infrastructure Partners

Vauban Infrastructure Partners is a leading Infrastructure Asset Manager focused on core infrastructure investments. Headquartered in Paris, it employs 65 professionals who have been working together for a decade. Vauban is dedicated to sustainable infrastructure equity investments. Vauban targets predominantly mid-market infrastructure assets pursuing a long-term yield-driven strategy matching the underlying nature of assets and long-term commitment to all stakeholders' interests through a strong focus on creating sustainable value. Vauban has raised c. $7.2 billion across 6 funds in core infrastructure from over c.100 investors within 17 different countries, and has invested in over 65 assets in mobility, energy transition, social & digital infrastructure across 13 different geographies.

https://vauban-ip.com/

Press Contact

Estelle Bleuze  Consultant  Havas Paris

Tel.: +33 (0)6 73 97 94 17

[email protected]

Vauban Investor Relations Contact

Daria Litvinova  Head of Investor Relations - Partner

Tel.: +33 (0)6 07 03 24 12

[email protected]

SOURCE Vauban Infrastructure Partners
www.adaptfa.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-johnson-mba-sphr/

OKLAHOMA CITY, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Adaptation Financial welcomed Jennifer Johnson onto the team Monday, July 25th, 2022.

Johnson will be working in the Adaptation headquarters based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and, is launching her journey by joining CEO and Founder, Alan Niemann on a trip to the Ohio branch for her first week.

ABOUT JENNIFER JOHNSON :

Johnson is bringing over 15 years of professional experience spanning across operations management, human resources, accounting, and process improvement implementations.

Johnson's background in human resources and as an accounting professional have provided her with an innate understanding of the business at its core to identify areas for improvement and how to position talent where they can be most effective.

To elevate her qualifications, Johnson earned her MBA and the Senior Professional Human Resources (SPHR) certification.

Johnson prides herself in her core strengths being revealing potential opportunities, overcoming challenges, and understanding the needs of the people attached to the brand. Success at the business level has followed Jennifer through her instinct for what influences, drives, and inspires others. This success is displayed through streamlined processes, controlled costs, improved retention rates, positive company-wide morale, and long-term growth.

Johnson maintains a singular truth  this is her professional passion revolving around engagement - whether it be with employees, clients, cross-departmental partners, or the community. Her first day proves this truth through her willingness to go straight to work and beginning journey with us at our Ohio branch.

ABOUT ADAPTATION FINANCIAL:

Adaptation Financial, Inc is a Hybrid Independent Registered Investment Advisory firm with over $750MM of client assets under management. The firm currently has 6 office locations across 3 states and caters to individual investors. Securities are offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services are through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Advisor. Financial planning services are through Adaptation Financial Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Advisor. Cambridge and Adaptation Financial Advisors are not affiliated.

Visit www.adaptfa.com or call 800-522-8727 to connect with an advisor in your area.

SOURCE Adaptation Financial Advisors
Expanded benefit program partners include virtual behavioral healthcare company Talkspace and healthcare firm Aetna

Participation extends to all of the nearly 2,300 Advisor Group employees and families

PHOENIX, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Advisor Group, the nation's largest network of independent wealth management firms, today announced the launch of a comprehensive wellness program to provide physical, mental and financial health support to its employees and their families. The new program features partnerships with leading virtual behavior healthcare company, Talkspace and healthcare firm Aetna.

All of the nearly 2,300 employees from Advisor Group's network of firms  FSC Securities, Royal Alliance Associates Inc., SagePoint Financial, Securities America, Triad Advisors and Woodbury Financial Services  are eligible for the new wellness program.

Advisor Group's President and Chief Executive Officer Jamie Price said, "The COVID-19 pandemic had a profound impact on all our mental and physical health, and recent market volatility and economic uncertainty has only exacerbated this toll. Experts designed this program to enable our employees to address all aspects of healthy life so that they are best positioned to continue delivering outstanding service to our network of financial professionals."

Highlights of the new programs include:

Mental health support provided by Talkspace , a New York -based online and mobile therapy company that matches individuals with licensed therapists.

, a -based online and mobile therapy company that matches individuals with licensed therapists. Attain by Aetna , a mobile app that rewards participants for staying active and healthy.

, a mobile app that rewards participants for staying active and healthy. Advisor Group Athlete Program reimburses participants for fitness event entrance fees and provides other incentives.

Jeffrey Green, Senior Vice President, Total Rewards & Systems, said, "Advisor Group's wellness program is tailored to provide innovative offerings to help our employees to be their best selves, at work and beyond. Working closely with Talkspace, we have created an easy-to-use and confidential way for our employees to address often overlooked aspects of their health that, if addressed, can enhance the lives of our employees, their families and communities. The entire program integrates best practices from health and wellness leaders across the country, and we are proud to provide our employees with these choices that will enhance their physical, mental and financial health."

About Advisor Group

Advisor Group, Inc., a portfolio company of Reverence Capital Partners, is the nation's largest network of independent wealth management firms, serving approximately 9,700 financial professionals and overseeing approximately $515 billion in client assets*. The firm is mission-driven to support the strategic role that financial professionals can play in the lives of their clients. Cultivating a spirit of entrepreneurship and independence, Advisor Group champions the enduring value of financial professionals and is committed to being in their corner every step of the way. For more information visit https://www.advisorgroup.com .

Securities and investment advisory services are offered through the firms: FSC Securities Corporation, Royal Alliance Associates, Inc., SagePoint Financial, Inc., Triad Advisors, LLC, and Woodbury Financial Services, Inc., broker-dealers, registered investment advisers, and members of FINRA and SIPC. Securities are offered through Securities America, Inc., a broker-dealer and member of FINRA and SIPC. Advisory services are offered through Arbor Point Advisors, LLC, Ladenburg Thalmann Asset Management, Inc., Securities America Advisors, Inc., and Triad Hybrid Solutions, LLC, registered investment advisers. Advisory programs offered by FSC Securities Corporation, Royal Alliance Associates, Inc., SagePoint Financial, Inc., and Woodbury Financial Services, Inc., are sponsored by VISION2020 Wealth Management Corp., an affiliated registered investment adviser. Advisor Group, Inc. is an affiliate of these firms. 20 E. Thomas Rd., Ste. 2000, Phoenix, AZ, 85012. 866.481.0379.

*Based on end of year 2021 data

About Talkspace

Talkspace is a leading virtual behavioral healthcare company enabled by a purpose-built technology platform. As a digital healthcare company, all care is delivered through an easy-to-use and fully encrypted web and mobile platform, consistent with HIPAA and other state regulatory requirements.

Today, the need for care feels more urgent than ever. When seeking treatment, whether it's psychiatry or adolescent, individual or couples therapy, Talkspace offers treatment options for almost every need. With Talkspace, members can send their dedicated therapists text, video, and voice messages anytime, from anywhere, and engage in live video sessions.

For more information about Talkspace commercial relationships, visit https://business.talkspace.com/. To learn more about online therapy, please visit https://www.talkspace.com/online-therapy/. To learn more about Talkspace Psychiatry, please visit https://www.talkspace.com/psychiatry.

Media contacts

Joseph Kuo / Donald Cutler

Haven Tower Group

[email protected] or [email protected]

424 317 4851 or 424 317 4864

SOURCE Advisor Group
New ultra premium car and EV mobility brand AEHRA TM adds further talent and experience to existing highly accomplished design team

Appointments bolster AEHRA's mission to redefine the automotive travelling experience by exploiting EV platform technology and setting new standards in emotional design and aerodynamic efficiency

Alessandro Salvagnin and Marco Quamori named Senior Designers

Salvagnin's previous roles include Lamborghini Design Manager and Transportation Design Professor at SPD Milan

Marco Quamori relinquishes role as Exterior Designer at Italdesign

Two initial AEHRA models  an elegant SUV and a sophisticated Sedan  to be revealed later this year, with first customer deliveries in 2025

MILAN, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- AEHRA, a new global ultra premium electric automotive brand, has announced the appointment of two additional key personnel to its design department. The new signings bolster AEHRA's formidable design resources and further strengthens the company's vision to synthesize the elegance of Italian design, global engineering, and American customer service with the future of EV monobodied manufacturing.

Alessandro Salvagnin, AEHRA Senior Designer Marco Quamori, AEHRA Senior Designer

Prior to its launch in June 2022, AEHRA had already secured the services of Filippo Perini, former Chief Designer at Lamborghini, as Chief Design Officer, and Alessandro Serra, former Lamborghini Head of Exterior Design, as Head of Design. The AEHRA design team has now been strengthened further with the appointment of two Senior Designers, Alessandro Salvagnin and Marco Quamori.

With degrees in engineering and design, Alessandro Salvagnin brings almost two decades of experience delivering visionary mobility concepts to production reality. He joins AEHRA from Lamborghini, where he was Design Manager, thus reuniting with Filippo Perini and Alessandro Serra. Salvagnin also served as Transportation Design Professor at Milan SPD (School Polytechnic of Design).

Commenting on his appointment, Alessandro Salvagnin, AEHRA Senior Designer, said: "The automotive industry is undergoing a revolution in electric vehicle mobility technology, yet virtually all emerging designs are the product of legacy ICE era thinking. As a startup with an agile mindset, AEHRA has the freedom, passion, and talent to unlock the full design potential afforded by cutting-edge EV platform technology in a manner not yet seen before, and that is tremendously exciting."

Marco Quamori joins AEHRA as Senior Designer from Italdesign, where he was Exterior Designer. Having developed a passion for drawing cars as a child, Quamori graduated with an MA in Transportation and Automobile Design.

Commenting on his appointment, Marco Quamori, AEHRA Senior Designer, said: "To work on something as unique and beautiful as what AEHRA will deliver, and to have the opportunity to collaborate with the company's exceptional design talent, under the guidance of Filippo Perini is beyond perfect for me."

Commenting on the latest appointments, AEHRA Co-Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Hazim Nada, said: "I am delighted to welcome Alessandro and Marco to AEHRA. Both have exemplary reputations within the global automotive design industry. Having shared AEHRA's unique vision to synthesize the elegance of Italian design, global engineering, and American customer service with the future of EV monobodied manufacturing with Alessandro and Marco, it is clear both are enthused with the energy and passion to help deliver it. I am honored that prodigious talents have once again chosen to relinquish key positions to join AEHRA on its journey to create and deliver vehicles that redefine the ultra premium EV sector."

With substantial private funding in place, AEHRA has established a clear roadmap to deliver its unique, transformative business model. The Italian-based brand will unveil the design and names of its elegant SUV and a sophisticated Sedan later this year, with deliveries expected to start in 2025. A strategic model roll out is planned for key markets, including North America, Europe, China, and the Gulf States.

For more information on AEHRA and to register interest in one of their forthcoming models, see www.aehra.com.

ABOUT AEHRA

AEHRA has been created to deliver a step-change in the design, customer, and ownership experience of ultra premium electric vehicles (EVs). Headquartered in Milan, AEHRA is a privately funded global company that disrupts the existing automotive ecosystem by distilling the values of Italian design, world-class engineering and American customer service to leverage the advantages of next-generation EV powertrain packaging and technology.

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1865902/Alessandro_Salvagnin.jpg

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1865903/Marco_Quamori.jpg

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1851087/AEHRA_Logo.jpg

SOURCE AEHRA
NEW YORK, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the market research report published by P&S Intelligence, the ammonium sulfate market accounted for $2,775.7 million revenue in 2021, which is expected to hit $4,847.9 million by 2030, progressing at a 6.4% CAGR from 2021 to 2030. Many companies are working together in the global ecosystem to increase the market intensity, thus making the sector incredibly dynamic and constantly changing.

In the next few years, the process improvements and increasing production capacities in end-use industries and companies regional expansions, to serve a larger consumer base, are predicted to propel the market growth globally. The usage of advanced ammonium sulfate as a nitrogenous fertilizer has become possible because of the increasing dependence of the global farming community on different agricultural inputs.

Get the sample pages of this report: https://www.psmarketresearch.com/market-analysis/ammonium-sulfate-market/report-sample

Solid Category Dominates Market

The solid form of the chemical dominates the ammonium sulfate market with over 85% share. Solid (NH)SO crystals are a commonly used fertilizer in alkaline soils all over the world because of their ability to reduce the sulfur deficiency and increase soil the nutrient content.

Similarly, the chemical in its liquid form is increasingly being used in water treatment processes, as it is regarded as a universally acceptable substance for chlorination.

Fertilizers Category Accounts for Significant Share

Fertilizers account for an over 60% share of the ammonium sulfate market. Due to the increasing need for food and the implementation of fertilizer subsidy programs by governments worldwide, the use of fertilizers in agriculture has grown.

Additionally, it is expected that the market advance would be aided by the increasing medical research activities being carried out by pharmaceutical companies in APAC, Western Europe, and North America.

Browse detailed report on Global Ammonium Sulfate Market Growth and Forecast Report 2030

Geographical Analysis

Geographically, the North American region holds a significant share of the market. This is due to the fact that North America is one of the major agricultural hubs in the world and the region with the most-homogeneous farmer demographics and business intensification levels.

is one of the major agricultural hubs in the world and the region with the most-homogeneous farmer demographics and business intensification levels. Furthermore, Europe accounts for the second-largest revenue share due to the surging demand for fertilizers. Aside from that, downstream industries, including the pharmaceutical industry, are increasing their consumption of this salt.

accounts for the second-largest revenue share due to the surging demand for fertilizers. Aside from that, downstream industries, including the pharmaceutical industry, are increasing their consumption of this salt. The APAC ammonium sulfate market held an over 30% share in 2021, and it is expected to continue its dominance on the market in the future. This will be a result of the region's high agricultural productivity, increasing usage of fertilizers based on nitrogen, rising food intake, and rapid population growth.

held an over 30% share in 2021, and it is expected to continue its dominance on the market in the future. This will be a result of the region's high agricultural productivity, increasing usage of fertilizers based on nitrogen, rising food intake, and rapid population growth. In addition, the LATAM and MEA markets are predicted to advance rapidly during the forecast period owing to the growing demand for crops, including grapes, wheat, soybeans, and sunflower seeds.

Browse More Reports Published by P&S

Water Treatment Chemicals Market Size & Share Analysis by Type, Application, End User  Global Industry Development and Demand Forecast Report

Sodium Sulphate Market Size & Share Analysis by Application - Global Industry Development and Demand Forecast Report

Ammonium Phosphate Market Size & Share Analysis by Type, Application - Industry Development and Demand Forecast Report

About P&S Intelligence

P&S Intelligence provides market research and consulting services to a vast array of industries across the world. As an enterprising research and consulting company, P&S believes in providing thorough insights on the ever-changing market scenario, to empower companies to make informed decisions and base their business strategies with astuteness. P&S keeps the interest of its clients at heart, which is why the insights we provide are both honest and accurate. Our long list of satisfied clients includes entry-level firms as well as multi-million-dollar businesses and government agencies.

Contact:

Prajneesh Kumar

P&S Intelligence

Phone: +1-347-960-6455

Email: [email protected]

Web: https://www.psmarketresearch.com

Follow Us: LinkedIn Twitter

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1224988/P_and_S_Intelligence_Logo.jpg

SOURCE P&S Intelligence
SEONGNAM, South Korea, July 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Aniai, Inc. (Gunpil Hwang, CEO), a robotic kitchen startup aimed at trailblazing the global hamburger industry, was selected as a GBEC (Global Business Expansion Contest) Finalist at NextRise 2022, as announced by Born2Global Centre (Kim Jong-kap, CEO). NextRise is Asia's largest international event for startups and is hosted by KDB NextRound & AWS (Amazon Web Services).

Photo courtesy of Aniai

GBEC is a flagship pitching contest at NextRise for startups hoping to break into foreign markets. Shortlisted among 15 companies in the NextOne program hosted by KDB last February, Aniai came out on top with six other finalists at NextRise 2022 GBEC.

Each GBEC finalist will benefit from (1) meetings and networking with investors based in Silicon Valley, (2) visits to the Amazon/AWS headquarters for private meetups with experts and business leaders, and (3) professional training for legal/tax/human resources as part of an extensive support package for branching out into the U.S.

Participating in the contest for the first time this year, Aniai introduced its products and core competencies through booth exhibitions and stage presentations, in addition to sharing market insights. Gunpil Hwang, CEO of Aniai, stated, "I was delighted to have the opportunity to introduce our company's robotic kitchen solution to many people at the largest startup fair in Asia." He added, "People will soon witness and experience our fully automated cooking robot when it launches on the market."

With end-to-end expertise for robots with robust control systems, practical design, and AI recognition technology, Aniai offers an innovative digital transformation solution (DX) for existing restaurants. The company develops and produces hardware and software on its own and aims to provide robotic kitchens tailored and optimized for each customer recipe with a modularized product line.

Aniai

Aniai is developing a robotic kitchen that automates cooking. Headquartered in San Jose, CA, Aniai was co-founded in July 2020 by 5 people, including Gunpil Hwang (CEO) from KAIST. Aniai is a company aiming to realize kitchen DX to give customers the consistent, quality service they deserve.

For more details, please visit www.aniai.ai/

About Born2Global Centre

The Born2Global Centre, operated by Born2Global, is a full-cycle service platform that supports the global expansion of promising companies. Established in 2013 under the Ministry of Science and ICT, Born2Global has been setting the standards for a successful startup ecosystem in Korea and continues to expand and transform startups so that they are engaged, well equipped, and connected with the global market.

For more information, please visit born2global.com

SOURCE Born2Global Centre
NEW YORK, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- A Qualitative Research Study accomplished by Data Bridge Market research's database of 350 pages, titled as "Global Artificial Intelligence in Aviation Market" with market data Tables, Pie Charts, Graphs & Figures spread through Pages and easy to understand detailed analysis.

Artificial Intelligence in Aviation is the most promising market research report which has been framed in the way you foresee. As today's businesses insist the market research analysis before taking any verdict about the products, opting such market research report is essential for the businesses. This Artificial Intelligence in Aviation market research report deals with an array of important market related aspects which can be listed as follows; market size estimations, company and market best practices, entry level strategies, market dynamics, positioning, segmentations, competitive landscaping and benchmarking, opportunity analysis, economic forecasting, industry-specific technology solutions, roadmap analysis, and in-depth benchmarking of vendor offerings.

Data Bridge Market Research analyses the artificial intelligence in aviation market will exhibit a CAGR of 46.3% for the forecast period of 2022-2029 and is likely to reach the USD 9,995.84 million by 2029.

Request to Download Sample of Artificial Intelligence in Aviation Market @ https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/request-a-sample/?dbmr=global-artificial-intelligence-in-aviation-market&PNW/25July2022

In aviation ground operations, such as air traffic control and real-time support systems, artificial intelligence technology is applied. In the aviation industry, artificial intelligence (AI) aids in the improvement of predictive maintenance and air traffic control operations. Artificial intelligence in aviation comprises the integration of services and systems such as automated baggage check-in, facial recognition, customer service, and aircraft fuel optimization, among others. When it comes to artificial intelligence in the aviation industry, these functions are used to reduce employee labor intensity and assure the effective and smooth operation of particular procedures. Certain aspects of the aviation industry have been automated, allowing for more effective handling of general systems and improved customer satisfaction.

The upsurge in the utilization of big data in aerospace industry will act as a key element driving market expansion. The artificial intelligence in aviation market is also being driven by factors such as rise in the capital investments by aviation companies and growing adoption of cloud-based applications and services in aviation sector. Furthermore, growing demand for process optimization will act as a major factor influencing the growth of artificial intelligence in aviation market. Another significant factor that will cushion the artificial intelligence in aviation market's growth rate is the automatic improvement of performance through machine learning. In addition to this, other factors will expand the artificial intelligence in aviation market.

List of Key Players Profiled in the study includes market overview, business strategies, financials, Development activities, Market Share and SWOT analysis:

IBM,

Microsoft,

Amazon Web Services, Inc.,

Airbus S.A.S.,

Xilinx,

NVIDIA Corporation,

Intel Corporation,

General Electric,

Micron Technology, Inc.,

Garmin Ltd.,

Lockheed Martin Corporation,

SAMSUNG,

Thales Group,

MINDTITAN,

Mitsubishi Electric Corporation,

OMRON Corporation,

TAV Technologies and

IRIS Automation

Access Full 350 Pages Report @ https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/checkout/buy/enterprise/global-artificial-intelligence-in-aviation-market?PNW/25July2022

Against challenges Faced by Industry, Artificial Intelligence in Aviation Market Study discusses and shed light on:

The resulting overview to understand why and how the Global Artificial Intelligence in Aviation Market is expected to change

Where the Artificial Intelligence in Aviation industry is heading and what are the top priorities. To elaborate it, DBMR turned to the manufacturers to draw insights like financial analysis, the survey of Artificial Intelligence in Aviation companies, and from interviews with upstream suppliers and downstream buyers and industry experts

How Artificial Intelligence in Aviation Company in this diverse set of players can best navigate the emerging new industry landscape and develop strategy to gain market position

Key Segmentation:-

On the basis of technology, the artificial intelligence in aviation has been segmented into computer vision, machine learning, context awareness computing and natural language processing. Machine learning is further segmented into deep learning, supervised learning, unsupervised learning, reinforcement learning and semi-supervised learning.

Based on offering, the artificial intelligence in aviation market has been segmented into hardware, software and services. Hardware is further segmented into processors, memory and networks. Software is further segmented into AI solutions and AI platforms. Services are further segmented into deployment and integration and support and maintenance.

On the basis of application, the artificial intelligence in aviation market has been segmented into dynamic pricing, virtual assistants, flight operations, smart maintenance, manufacturing, surveillance, training and other applications. Manufacturing is further segmented into material movement, predictive maintenance and machinery inspection, production planning, quality control and reclamation.

The investment made in the study would provide you access to information such as:

Artificial intelligence in aviation Market [Global  Broken-down into regions]

[Global  Broken-down into regions] Regional level split [ North America , Europe , Asia Pacific , South America , Middle East & Africa ]

, , , , & ] Country wise Market Size Split [of important countries with major market share]

Market Share and Revenue/Sales by leading players

Market Trends  Emerging Technologies/products/start-ups, PESTEL Analysis, SWOT Analysis, Porter's Five Forces, etc.

Market Size)

Market Size by application/industry verticals

Market Projections/Forecast

To View Detailed Report Analysis, Visit @ https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-artificial-intelligence-in-aviation-market?PNW/07July2022

Artificial Intelligence in Aviation Market Country Level Analysis

The artificial intelligence in aviation market is analysed and market size, volume information is provided by country, technology, offering and application as referenced above.

The countries covered in the artificial intelligence in aviation market report are U.S., Canada and Mexico in North America, Germany, France, U.K., Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, Russia, Italy, Spain, Turkey, Rest of Europe in Europe, China, Japan, India, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Rest of Asia-Pacific (APAC) in the Asia-Pacific (APAC), Saudi Arabia, U.A.E, Israel, Egypt, South Africa, Rest of Middle East and Africa (MEA) as a part of Middle East and Africa (MEA), Brazil, Argentina and Rest of South America as part of South America.

North America dominates the artificial intelligence in aviation market and will continue to flourish its trend of dominance due to the swift industrialization and presence of major key players in this region. Asia-Pacific is expected to grow during the forecast period of 2022-2029 due to the growing demand for AI technologies in aviation sector.

Table of Content:

Section 01: executive summary

Section 02: scope of the report

Section 03: research methodology

Section 04: introduction

Section 05: market landscape

Section 06: market sizing

Section 07: five forces analysis

Section 08: market segmentation by product

Section 09: market segmentation by Application

Section 10: customer landscape

Section 11: market segmentation by end-user

Section 12: regional landscape

Section 13: decision framework

Section 14: drivers and challenges

Section 15: market trends

Section 16: competitive landscape

Section 17: company profiles

Section 18: appendix

Browse Summary and Complete Table of Contents @ https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/toc/?dbmr=global-artificial-intelligence-in-aviation-market&PNW/25July2022

Commercial Aviation Crew Management Systems Market, By Type (Core Systems, Additional Systems, Hardware, Services, Software), Application (Various Airlines, Airport Authorities, Government, Airline Service Providers) https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-commercial-aviation-crew-management-systems-market

Aviation Security Market, By System (Perimeter Fencing, Access Control, Digital Surveillance, Passenger and Cargo Screening), Technologies (Airport Perimeter Security, X-ray Screening, Explosive Detection Systems (EDS), Explosives Trace Detection (ETD), Biological, Radioactive and Nuclear Detection, Millimeter Wave Imaging, Canine Screening), Application (Airports, Airlines, Freight Forwarders, Customs, Security Service Providers) https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-aviation-security-market

Aviation Test Equipment Market, By System (Power Test, Equipment, Pneumatic Test Equipment, Hydraulic Test Equipment, Electrical Test Equipment, Others), Type of Aircraft (Manned Aircraft and Unmanned Aircraft), Application (Military and Commercial) https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-aviation-test-equipment-market

Aviation Analytics Market, By Component (Services, Solutions), Deployment (On-premise, Cloud), Business Function (Finance, Operations, Maintenance & Repair, Sales & Marketing, Supply Chain, Others), Application (Flight Risk Management, Fuel Management, Rout Management, Fleet Management, Inventory Management, Wealth Management, Inspection, Performance Monitoring, Predictive Analysis, Part Replacement, Supply Chain Planning, Energy Management, Emergency Management, Mobility & Functionality, Others), End User (OEMs, Airlines, Airports, MROs) https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-aviation-analytics-market

Sustainable Aviation Fuel Market, By Fuel Type (Bio Fuel, Hydrogen Fuel, and Power to Liquid Fuel), Manufacturing Technology (Hydroprocessed Fatty Acid Esters And Fatty Acids - Synthetic Paraffinic Kerosene (HEFA-SPK), Fischer Tropsch Synthetic Paraffinic Kerosene (FT-SPK), Synthetic ISO-Paraffin From Fermented Hydroprocessed Sugar (HFS-SIP), Fischer Tropsch (FT) Synthetic Paraffinic Kerosene With Aromatics (FT-SPK/A), Alcohol To Jet SPK (ATJ-SPK) and Catalytic Hydrothermolysis Jet (CHJ)), Blending Capacity (Below 30 %, 30 % to 50 % and Above 50%), Blending Platform (Commercial Aviation, Military Aviation, Business & General Aviation, and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-sustainable-aviation-fuel-market

Aviation Blockchain Market, By Function (Record-Keeping, Transactions), Deployment (Public, Private, Hybrid), Application (Passenger Identity Management, Cargo & Baggage Tracking, Flight & Crew Data Management, Frequent Flyer Programs, Smart Contract, Travel Insurance, E-ticketing & Ticket Tokenization, Aircraft Refueling, Airline Revenue Sharing, Leasing, Supply Chain Management, Parts Tracking, Parts Health Monitoring, Inventory Management, Aircraft Maintenance), End-Use (Airports, Airlines, MRO, Manufacturers, Lessors) https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-aviation-blockchain-market

Aviation Asset Management Market, By Types of Aircrafts (Wide- Body Aircraft, Narrow- Body Aircraft and Private Jets), Mode Of Purchase (Direct Purchase, Operating Lease, Finance Lease and Sale and Lease Back (SLB)), Service Types (Leasing Services, Technical Services, Regulatory Certifications and End- to- End), End Users (Airline Operators, Leasing Companies, Cargo Operators, Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul [MRO] Services and Commercial Platforms) https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-aviation-asset-management-market

About Data Bridge Market Research:

An absolute way to forecast what future holds is to comprehend the trend today!

Data Bridge Market Research set forth itself as an unconventional and neoteric Market research and consulting firm with unparalleled level of resilience and integrated approaches. We are determined to unearth the best market opportunities and foster efficient information for your business to thrive in the market. Data Bridge endeavours to provide appropriate solutions to the complex business challenges and initiates an effortless decision-making process. Data Bridge is an aftermath of sheer wisdom and experience which was formulated and framed in the year 2015 in Pune.

Data Bridge Market Research has over 500 analysts working in different industries. We have catered more than 40% of the fortune 500 companies globally and have a network of more than 5000+ clientele around the globe. Data Bridge adepts in creating satisfied clients who reckon upon our services and rely on our hard work with certitude. We are content with our glorious 99.9 % client satisfying rate.

Contact Us:-

Data Bridge Market Research

US: +1 888 387 2818

UK: +44 208 089 1725

Hong Kong: +852 8192 7475

Email:- [email protected]

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1011053/Data_Bridge_Market_Research_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Data Bridge Market Research
Get a comprehensive report summary describing the market size and forecast along with research methodology. View our Sample Report

Market Segmentation

Artificial Intelligence Based Personalization Market Split by Application

Website Personalization: This segment will contribute the highest market share growth during the forecast period. Website personalization is widely used as an advertising method. Personalization is based on the search history and clicks made by a customer. It is an effective way to target a particular group for personalized content.



Display ads personalization



Social media personalization



E-mail personalization



Others

Artificial Intelligence Based Personalization Market Split by Geography

APAC



North America



Europe



South America



MEA

Top Key players in Artificial Intelligence-Based Personalization Market

Accenture Plc, Alphabet Inc., Amazon.com Inc., Apple Inc., BloomReach Inc., Blueshift Labs Inc., H2O.ai Inc., International Business Machines Corp., Microsoft Corp., and Salesforce.com Inc. are the main players in the market. The key offerings of some of the vendors are listed below:

Accenture Plc - The company offers Solutions.AI for Marketing that is designed for this era of digital interactions. It brings the speed and precision of multi-touch attribution to marketing mix modeling.

Alphabet Inc. - The company offers Amazon Personalize, which enables developers to build applications with the same machine learning technology used by Amazon.com for real-time personalized recommendations.

Apple Inc. - The company offers an AI-Powered Digital Experience Platform for content personalization.

BloomReach Inc. - The company offers predictive affinities to automatically choose the right content and product to every customer every time.

Blueshift Labs Inc. - The company offers products to solve key challenges, including lead scoring, customer segmentation, optimization, and content personalization.

This report provides a full list of key vendors, their strategies, and the latest developments. View a Sample Report

Imperative Insights on the following aspects:

What was the size of the global artificial intelligence-based personalization industry by value in 2020?

What will be the size of the global artificial intelligence-based personalization industry in 2025?

What factors are affecting the strength of competition in the global artificial intelligence-based personalization industry?

How has the industry performed over the last five years?

What are the main segments that make up the global artificial intelligence-based personalization market?

Get lifetime access to our Technavio Insights! Subscribe to our "Basic Plan" billed annually at USD 5000

Related Reports

Cybersecurity Market by Deployment and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2021-2025

Internet Security Market by Solution and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2022-2026

Artificial Intelligence Based Personalization Market Scope Report Coverage Details Page number 120 Base year 2020 Forecast period 2021-2025 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 19.17% Market growth 2021-2025 USD 715.20 million Market structure Concentrated YoY growth (%) 18.76 Regional analysis APAC, North America, Europe, South America, and MEA Performing market contribution APAC at 35% Key consumer countries US, China, Germany, UK, and France Competitive landscape Leading companies, competitive strategies, consumer engagement scope Companies profiled Accenture Plc, Alphabet Inc., Amazon.com Inc., Apple Inc., BloomReach Inc., Blueshift Labs Inc., H2O.ai Inc., International Business Machines Corp., Microsoft Corp., and Salesforce.com 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 Content:

Executive Summary

Market Landscape

Market ecosystem

Value chain analysis

Market Sizing

Market definition

Market segment analysis

Market size 2020

Market outlook: Forecast for 2020 - 2025

Five Forces Analysis

Bargaining power of buyers

Bargaining power of suppliers

Threat of new entrants

Threat of substitutes

Threat of rivalry

Market condition

Market Segmentation by Application

Market segments

Comparison by Application

Website Personalization - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Display ads personalization - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Social media personalization - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

E-mail personalization - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Others - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Market opportunity by Application

Geographic Landscape

Geographic segmentation

Geographic comparison

APAC - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

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 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

Overview

Vendor landscape

Landscape disruption

Vendor Analysis

Vendors covered

Market positioning of vendors

Accenture Plc

Alphabet Inc.

Amazon.com Inc.

Apple Inc.

BloomReach Inc.

Blueshift Labs Inc.

H2O.ai Inc.

International Business Machines Corp.

Microsoft Corp.

Salesforce.com 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 Us:

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
Get a comprehensive report summary describing the market size and forecast along with research methodology. View a Sample Report

Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) Market 2021-2025: Scope

The automated guided vehicle (AGV) market report covers the following areas:

Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) Market 2021-2025: Vendor Analysis

We provide a detailed analysis of around 25 vendors operating in the automated guided vehicle (AGV) Market, including Daifuku Co. Ltd., Hitachi Ltd., Hyster-Yale Materials Handling Inc., John Bean Technologies Corp., KION GROUP AG, KUKA AG, Murata Machinery Ltd., Seegrid Corp., SSI SCHAEFER Group, and Toyota Industries Corp. among others. The key offerings of some of these vendors are listed below:

Daifuku Co. Ltd. - The company offers an extensive range of products such as chain conveyor type, roller conveyor type, fork type, tunnel tow type, and front tow type AGVs, among others.

Hitachi Ltd. - The company offers a line of products such as Racrew, a compact and low-floor automated guided vehicle.

Hyster-Yale Materials Handling Inc. - The company offers a line of products such as Robotic Reach Truck, Robotic Pallet Truck, Counterbalanced Stacker, and Robotic Tow Tractor, among others.

John Bean Technologies Corp. - The company offers a line of products such as counterbalance, forkover, outrigger, narrow aisle, and reach-type forked AGVs, among others.

KION GROUP AG - The company offers a line of products with resemblance to Wall-E and R2D2 through its subsidiary Dematic.

Get lifetime access to our Technavio Insights. Subscribe to our "Basic Plan" billed annually at USD 5000.

Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) Market 2021-2025: Segmentation

Product

Unit Load Carrier: This segment will contribute to the highest market growth during the forecast period. Unit load carriers can easily interface with conveyors and automated storage and retrieval systems. These carriers are expected to be used in heavy industry warehouses for raw material handling and equipment movement. Such initiatives are expected to drive the growth of this segment.



Tow Vehicle



Pallet Truck



Assembly Line Vehicle



Others

Geography

Europe : This region will account for 33% of the market's growth during the forecast period. This growth is attributed to factors such as growing demand for AGVs from the manufacturing, e-commerce, and automotive industries. Moreover, market growth in this region will be faster than the growth of other regions. Japan and China are the key countries for the market in APAC.

: This region will account for 33% of the market's growth during the forecast period. This growth is attributed to factors such as growing demand for AGVs from the manufacturing, e-commerce, and automotive industries. Moreover, market growth in this region will be faster than the growth of other regions. Japan and are the key countries for the market in APAC.

APAC



North America



South America



MEA

Learn about the contribution of each segment summarized in concise infographics and thorough descriptions. View a Sample Report

Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) Market 2021-2025: Key Highlights

CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2021-2025

Detailed information on factors that will assist automated guided vehicle (AGV) market growth during the next five years

Estimation of the automated guided vehicle (AGV) market size and its contribution to the parent market

Predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior

The growth of the automated guided vehicle (AGV) market

Analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors

Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of automated guided vehicle (AGV) market vendors

Related Reports:

Automated Material Handling Equipment Market in US by End-user and Product - Forecast and Analysis 2022-2026

Automated Oil Tank Cleaning System Market in EMEA by Type, Application, and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2021-2025

Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) Market Scope Report Coverage Details Page number 120 Base year 2020 Forecast period 2021-2025 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 8.79% Market growth 2021-2025 USD 1.14 billion Market structure Fragmented YoY growth (%) 7.43 Regional analysis Europe, APAC, North America, South America, and MEA Performing market contribution APAC at 33% Key consumer countries US, Germany, Japan, China, and UK Competitive landscape Leading companies, competitive strategies, consumer engagement scope Companies profiled Daifuku Co. Ltd., Hitachi Ltd., Hyster-Yale Materials Handling Inc., John Bean Technologies Corp., KION GROUP AG, KUKA AG, Murata Machinery Ltd., Seegrid Corp., SSI SCHAEFER Group, and Toyota Industries Corp. 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: Industrial machinery market

3 Markt 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

4.2 Bargaining power of buyers

Exhibit 09: Bargaining power of buyers

4.3 Bargaining power of suppliers

Exhibit 10: Bargaining power of suppliers



Exhibit 11: Threat of new entrants

4.4 Threat of new entrants

4.5 Threat of substitutes

Exhibit 12: Threat of substitutes

4.6 Threat of rivalry

Exhibit 13: Threat of rivalry



Exhibit 14: Market condition - Five forces 2020

4.7 Market condition

5 Market Segmentation by Product

5.1 Market segments

Exhibit 16: Comparison by Product

5.2 Comparison by Product

Exhibit 17: Unit load carrier - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million)

5.3 Unit load carrier - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Exhibit 18: Unit load carrier - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%)



Exhibit 19: Tow vehicle - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million)

5.4 Tow vehicle - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Exhibit 20: Tow vehicle - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%)



Exhibit 21: Pallet truck - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million)

5.5 Pallet truck - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Exhibit 22: Pallet truck - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%)



Exhibit 23: Assembly line vehicle - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million)

5.6 Assembly line vehicle - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Exhibit 24: Assembly line vehicle - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%)



Exhibit 25: Others - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million)

5.7 Others - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Exhibit 26: Others - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%)



Exhibit 27: Market opportunity by Product

5.8 Market opportunity by Product

6 Customer landscape

6.1 Overview

7 Geographic Landscape

7.1 Geographic segmentation

Exhibit 30: Geographic comparison

7.2 Geographic comparison

Exhibit 31: Europe - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million)

7.3 Europe - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

- Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Exhibit 32: Europe - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%)

Exhibit 33: APAC - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million)

7.4 APAC - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Exhibit 34: APAC - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%)



Exhibit 35: North America - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million)

7.5 North America - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

- Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Exhibit 36: North America - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%)

Exhibit 37: South America - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million)

7.6 South America - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

- Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Exhibit 38: South America - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%)

Exhibit 39: MEA - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million)

7.7 MEA - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Exhibit 40: MEA - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%)



Exhibit 41: Key leading countries

7.8 Key leading countries

7.9 Market opportunity by geography

Exhibit 42: Market opportunity by geography ($ million)

8 Drivers, Challenges, and Trends

8.1 Market drivers

8.2 Market challenges

Exhibit 43: Impact of drivers and challenges

8.3 Market trends

9 Vendor Landscape

9.1 Vendor landscape

Exhibit 45: Landscape disruption

9.2 Landscape disruption

9.3 Competitive Scenario

10 Vendor Analysis

10.1 Vendors covered

10.2 Market positioning of vendors

Exhibit 48: Market positioning of vendors



Exhibit 49: Daifuku Co. Ltd. - Overview



Exhibit 50: Daifuku Co. Ltd. - Business segments

10.3 Daifuku Co. Ltd.

Exhibit 51: Daifuku Co. Ltd. - Key news



Exhibit 52: Daifuku Co. Ltd. - Key offerings



Exhibit 53: Daifuku Co. Ltd. - Segment focus



Exhibit 54: Hitachi Ltd. - Overview



Exhibit 55: Hitachi Ltd. - Business segments

10.4 Hitachi Ltd.

Exhibit 56: Hitachi Ltd.- Key news



Exhibit 57: Hitachi Ltd. - Key offerings



Exhibit 58: Hitachi Ltd. - Segment focus



Exhibit 59: Hyster-Yale Materials Handling Inc. - Overview



Exhibit 60: Hyster-Yale Materials Handling Inc. - Business segments

10.5 Hyster-Yale Materials Handling Inc.

Exhibit 61: Hyster-Yale Materials Handling Inc. - Key offerings



Exhibit 62: Hyster-Yale Materials Handling Inc. - Segment focus



Exhibit 63: John Bean Technologies Corp. - Overview



Exhibit 64: John Bean Technologies Corp. - Business segments

10.6 John Bean Technologies Corp.

Exhibit 65: John Bean Technologies Corp. - Key news



Exhibit 66: John Bean Technologies Corp. - Key offerings



Exhibit 67: John Bean Technologies Corp. - Segment focus



Exhibit 68: KION GROUP AG - Overview



Exhibit 69: KION GROUP AG - Business segments

10.7 KION GROUP AG

Exhibit 70: KION GROUP AG - Key news



Exhibit 71: KION GROUP AG - Key offerings



Exhibit 72: KION GROUP AG - Segment focus



Exhibit 73: KUKA AG - Overview

- Overview

Exhibit 74: KUKA AG - Business segments

10.8 KUKA AG

Exhibit 75: KUKA AG - Key news

- Key news

Exhibit 76: KUKA AG - Key offerings

- Key offerings

Exhibit 77: KUKA AG - Segment focus

- Segment focus

Exhibit 78: Murata Machinery Ltd. - Overview



Exhibit 79: Murata Machinery Ltd. - Business segments

10.9 Murata Machinery Ltd.

Exhibit 80: Murata Machinery Ltd. - Key offerings



Exhibit 81: Murata Machinery Ltd. - Segment focus



Exhibit 82: Seegrid Corp. - Overview



Exhibit 83: Seegrid Corp. - Product and service



Exhibit 84: Seegrid Corp. - Key news

10.10 Seegrid Corp.

Exhibit 85: Seegrid Corp. - Key offerings



Exhibit 86: SSI SCHAEFER Group - Overview



Exhibit 87: SSI SCHAEFER Group - Product and service

10.11 SSI SCHAEFER Group

Exhibit 88: SSI SCHAEFER Group - Key news



Exhibit 89: SSI SCHAEFER Group - Key offerings



Exhibit 90: Toyota Industries Corp. - Overview



Exhibit 91: Toyota Industries Corp. - Business segments

10.12 Toyota Industries Corp.

Exhibit 92: Toyota Industries Corp. - Key news



Exhibit 93: Toyota Industries Corp. - Key offerings



Exhibit 94: Toyota Industries Corp. - Segment focus

11 Appendix

11.1 Scope of the report

Exhibit 95: Currency conversion rates for US$

11.2 Currency conversion rates for US$

Exhibit 96: Research Methodology

11.3 Research methodology

Exhibit 97: Validation techniques employed for market sizing



Exhibit 98: Information sources



Exhibit 99: List of abbreviations

11.4 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 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
MEXICO CITY, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Grupo Financiero Banorte announced today it has received a Google Cloud Financial Services 2021 Customer Award, honoring the bank for its innovative thinking, technical excellence and digital transformation.

Banorte Chairman Carlos Hank Gonzalez said the recognition reflects the results of its alliance with Google Cloud, which has provided data-driven efficiencies, increased customer access to services and strengthened analytics capabilities.

"As a digital leader, Banorte remains committed to delivering hyper-personalized experiences," he said.

Carlos Hank Gonzalez noted that the award cited the bank's "high level of business excellence in the financial services industry," backed by an internal technology team that helped deliver new products and built a secure, world-class infrastructure with greater speed and scalability.

The industry honor comes a year after Banorte entered into a partnership with the tech giant's cloud-computing arm, personalizing its customer services through artificial intelligence, adopting elements of Google's culture and knowledge among its employees, and strengthening cybersecurity processes.

Banorte, the largest Mexican financial institution, drew high marks for its use of the Lift-and-Shift model, allowing the bank's technology team to migrate its system from its own infrastructure to Google Cloud infrastructure in just two months this year.

In addition to completing that complex migration quicker, the Banorte-Google Cloud partnership resulted in the implementation of the Zero Trust or total prevention concept, which has strengthened Banorte's security certifications and encryption systems.

That has helped usher in what Banorte calls a "Bank in Minutes," in which its customers can do their banking quickly, easily and securely, in any of the physical or digital channels.

The bank also has begun to adopt the Learn Fast concept, part of Google Cloud's organizational culture that accelerates learning in a dynamic environment that promotes information sharing and collaborative work.

"The Google Cloud Customer Awards are an opportunity to recognize the most innovative, technically advanced and transformative cloud deployments across industries, from around the globe, built on our platform," said Kirsten Kliphouse, president, North America, Google Cloud. "I want to congratulate Grupo Financiero Banorte on achieving this award and serving as an innovator for the industry."

About Grupo Financiero Banorte

Grupo Financiero Banorte is the largest Mexican financial institution. It offers financial services to individuals and companies through its businesses: banking, brokerage, fund operator, insurer, pension, leasing and factoring, warehouse, portfolio manager and the remittance company Uniteller. It also integrates the largest retirement savings fund in the country by asset management. Grupo Financiero Banorte is a public company listed on the main indicator of the Mexican Stock Exchange, and has 30,000 employees, more than 1,100 branches and 9,700 ATMs.

Website: carloshankgonzalez.com

Media contact

Francisco Rodriguez Daniel

Executive Director of Corporate Communication

[email protected]

SOURCE Grupo Financiero Banorte
Don Henthorn becomes chairman emeritus, Jeff Kritzer promoted to president and CEO

SANTA PAULA, Calif., July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- BendPak, Inc., a global manufacturer and marketer of vehicle service equipment and specialty consumer products, announces changes to its executive team effective August 3. President Don Henthorn, who has led the company since establishing it in 1965, will take on a more limited role in its daily operations as chairman emeritus. Jeff Kritzer will be promoted from executive vice president to succeed Henthorn as president and CEO. At the same time, Rudy Diaz will step up from vice president of information technology to executive vice president and chief operating officer (COO). Jim Fornear moves from financial controller to chief financial officer (CFO). Rounding out the leadership team, Javier Arias continues in the critical role of vice president of operations.

BendPak Inc. founder Don Henthorn becomes chairman emeritus as Jeff Kritzer is promoted to president and CEO Tweet this BendPak, Inc. announces leadership changes effective Aug. 3, 2022. Don Henthorn, president and founder, moves into an advisory capacity as chairman emeritus. Jeff Kritzer is promoted from executive vice president to president and CEO. Rudy Diaz steps up from vice president of information technology to executive vice president and COO. Jim Fornear moves from financial controller to CFO. Javier Arias continues as vice president of operations. From left: Diaz, Kritzer, Henthorn, Fornear, Arias. (PRNewsfoto/BendPak)

Henthorn will be active in an advisory capacity to ensure a seamless transition of leadership and will serve as a business mentor who will share his experience and wisdom.

"All of us at BendPak are grateful for Don's continued service to the company and his solid contributions to our success. We look forward to his ongoing guidance and direction during this transitionary period," Kritzer said. "Since 1965, his leadership, mentoring style, and embodiment of our company values and traditions have helped establish our winning culture. We have some very big shoes to fill, but through his mentorship and shaping of our company's work ethic and culture, we believe our market dominance will continue."

Kritzer has held many roles over the 40 years he has worked at BendPak, including national sales manager, president of sales, and senior vice president of marketing. For the last three years as executive vice president, he has applied his experience to help grow BendPak's multi-faceted brands and divisions. He has managed aggressive product development and engineering initiatives, enhanced supply chain and transportation efficiencies, increased distribution channels, and developed marketing strategies that have helped transform BendPak into a lifestyle brand. In addition to his work for BendPak, Kritzer also serves the industry as an active member of the Automotive Lift Institute (ALI) where he is chairman of the board of directors.

"I am excited for Jeff to assume the president's role as part of our long-term succession plan," Henthorn said. "Jeff has been a driving force in the success of our company in the 40 years since he joined our organization. He is widely respected by our team for his hard work, integrity, and straightforward style, and with his continued leadership, he will be a superb steward of our culture. I am confident that with Jeff and the rest of the executive team in place, BendPak is well-positioned to continue delivering on our brand promise to better serve our customers around the world."

Rudy Diaz

Diaz joined BendPak as vice president of information technology (IT) in June 2011. As executive vice president and COO, he will continue to enhance information technologies such as cloud computing and big data analytics to help streamline processes and increase productivity, while improving cybersecurity protections and security upgrades to reduce corporate risk. His COO role includes responsibilities across various departments, including human resources, operations, and office administration.

Diaz has more than 30 years of experience in information technology and security. Prior to joining BendPak, he held a senior IT leadership position with American Tire Distributors (ATD), one of the largest independent tire distributors in North America. He also enjoyed a nearly two-decade tenure with Am-Pac Tire Distributors/Tire Pros, a nationwide wholesale distributor based in Simi Valley, California.

Jim Fornear

Fornear has served as financial controller since joining BendPak in November 2019. As CFO, he will be instrumental in managing the company's budgeting and forecasting processes, financial strategies, profitability, and risk management.

Fornear began crafting his finance skills as a public accountant with a mid-size CPA firm in Southern California before joining John Deere, where he demonstrated leadership abilities in the manufacturing sector, delivering problem-solving and cost-effective management strategies.

"These exciting leadership changes follow a multi-year succession planning process," said Henthorn. "Managing BendPak and its many divisions and brands to ensure long-term growth requires a thoughtful and orderly succession-planning process. The board of directors and management have worked hard to identify and prepare our new generation of leaders to ensure continuity and, more importantly, to maintain and build upon our culture and core values."

Learn more at bendpak.com/blog/leadership-change/ or call (805) 933-9970.

About BendPak

BendPak Inc. car lifts, wheel service equipment, evaporative air coolers and other products are sold under the trademarked brands BendPak, Ranger, Autostacker, QuickJack, Cool Boss, GrandPrix, JackPak, MaxJax and Dannmar.

Media Contact:

Kristen Simpson

216-991-4297

[email protected]

SOURCE BendPak
NEW YORK, July 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The BLDC Fan Market is segmented by Geography (APAC, North America, Europe, South America, and the Middle East and Africa). 54% of the market's growth will originate from APAC during the forecast period. China, India, and Japan are the key markets for the brushless direct current fan market in APAC. Market growth in this region will be slower than the growth of the market in South America. The increased need for cooling solutions for residential applications will facilitate the BLDC fan market growth in APAC over the forecast period. Moreover, the Y-OY- growth rate of 2022 for the BLDC fan market is estimated at 6.75%.

Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled BLDC Fan Market by End-user and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2022-2026

For the current global market scenario and the overall industry environment. BROWSE SUMMARY OF THE RESEARCH REPORT

BLDC Fan Market: Growing Demand for Energy-efficient Electrical Fan to Drive Growth

Nowadays, fans and blowers are employed in a wide range of end-user applications from ceiling fans for home use to multiple blade fans of varying sizes and dynamic airflow utilized in diverse industrial equipment for cooling and effective airflow circulation.

Customers are looking for something that is both energy efficient and small that necessitates the use of a smart cooling system . Hence, BLDC fans are good to go.

BLDC fans are smaller than traditional fans and can be easily fitted into sophisticated equipment where cooling is a priority, such as high-end personal computers, communication server devices, and other medical equipment. Such factors are expected to drive the growth of the global BLDC fan market during the forecast period.

BLDC Fan Market: High-end Product Cost to Challenge Growth

BLDC fans, which are commonly used in household applications, are rather expensive due to the benefits of better energy savings and efficiency. Individuals with limited disposable income in underdeveloped and developing countries, who cannot afford such high-priced fans, are expected to limit the product's sales.

For instance, as Indian consumers are generally cost-sensitive, BLDC fans have failed to gain popularity. They are more expensive than traditional fans, but they also rely on imports for some crucial elements.

Magnet and motor control are two crucial components that are primarily imported from China . Such factors may challenge the BLDC fan market growth during the forecast period.

For more insights on the latest drivers, trends, and challenges that will help companies evaluate and develop growth strategies. REQUEST SAMPLE REPORT (INCLUDING GRAPHS & TABLES) OF THIS MARKET

BLDC Fan Market: Segmentation Analysis

The BLDC fan market is segmented by End-user (commercial and residential). The market share growth by the commercial segment will be significant during the forecast period.

The rising demand for tiny and compact DC fans in electrical equipment across various industry verticals is expected to drive the growth of the commercial segment.

Moreover, the increasing demand for cooling systems across a wide range of applications, growing demand among various industries for advanced technological products that are more efficient and effective and consume less energy, and increased trade in fans across the world are expected to contribute significantly to the global BLDC fan market growth during the forecast period.

DOWNLOAD SAMPLE COPY OF THIS REPORT Using Business Email ID to Gain Further Insights on the Market Contribution of Various Segments on Higher Priority

BLDC Fan Market: Vendor Landscape

Allied Motion Technologies Inc.

Atomberg Technologies Pvt. Ltd.

Brilltech Vayu

Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals Ltd.

Fanimation Inc.

Fantasia Distribution Ltd.

Havells India Ltd.

Hunter Fan Co.

Kichler Lighting LLC

Luminance Brands LLC

MinebeaMitsumi Inc.

Minka Lighting Inc.

Nidec Corp.

OCECO ENERGY Pvt. Ltd.

Orient Electric Ltd.

Panasonic Holdings Corp.

Perfect Enterprises

Usha International Ltd.

Versa Drives Pvt Ltd.

Westinghouse Electric Corp.

The BLDC fan market is fragmented and the vendors are deploying growth strategies such as quality, price, service, brand image, distribution, and marketing to compete in the market.

For detailed information on the production, sustainability, and prospects of the leading companies. READ SAMPLE REPORT OF THIS MARKET

Related Reports Include:

Portable Fan Market by Application and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2022-2026: The market value is set to grow by USD 795.59 million, progressing at a CAGR of 5.18% from 2021 to 2026, as per the latest report by Technavio. 40% of the market's growth will originate from APAC during the forecast period. China and India are the key markets for the portable fan market in APAC. Market growth in this region will be slower than the growth of the market in North America and Europe. FIND MORE RESEARCH INSIGHTS HERE

Electric Fan Market Growth, Size, Trends, Analysis Report by Type, Application, Region, and Segment Forecast 2022-2026: The market value is set to grow by USD 2.70 billion, progressing at a CAGR of 3.09% from 2021 to 2026, as per the latest report by Technavio. The ceiling fans segment accounts for the maximum share of the global electrical fans market. The increasing use of ceiling fans as decorative appliances (light fixtures) and the rising number of product innovations in the segment are among the major factors expected to drive the growth of the segment during the forecast period. FIND MORE RESEARCH INSIGHTS HERE

BLDC Fan Market Scope Report Coverage Details Page number 120 Base year 2021 Forecast period 2022-2026 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 7.56% Market growth 2022-2026 $ 1.10 billion Market structure Fragmented YoY growth (%) 6.75 Regional analysis APAC, North America, Europe, South America, and Middle East and Africa Performing market contribution APAC at 54% Key consumer countries US, China, India, Japan, and Germany Competitive landscape Leading companies, competitive strategies, consumer engagement scope Companies profiled Allied Motion Technologies Inc., Atomberg Technologies Pvt. Ltd., Brilltech Vayu, Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals Ltd., Fanimation Inc., Fantasia Distribution Ltd., Havells India Ltd., Hunter Fan Co., Kichler Lighting LLC, Luminance Brands LLC, MinebeaMitsumi Inc., Minka Lighting Inc., Nidec Corp., OCECO ENERGY Pvt. Ltd., Orient Electric Ltd., Panasonic Holdings Corp., Perfect Enterprises, Usha International Ltd., Versa Drives Pvt Ltd., and Westinghouse Electric Corp. 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 preview If our report has not included the data that you are looking for, you can reach out to our analysts and get segments customized.

Table of Contents

1 Executive Summary

1.1 Market overview

Exhibit 01: Executive Summary  Chart on Market Overview



Exhibit 02: Executive Summary  Data Table on Market Overview



Exhibit 03: Executive Summary  Chart on Global Market Characteristics



Exhibit 04: Executive Summary  Chart on Market by Geography



Exhibit 05: Executive Summary  Chart on Market Segmentation by End-user



Exhibit 06: Executive Summary  Chart on Incremental Growth



Exhibit 07: Executive Summary  Data Table on Incremental Growth



Exhibit 08: Executive Summary  Chart on Vendor Market Positioning

2 Market Landscape

2.1 Market ecosystem

Exhibit 09: Parent market



Exhibit 10: Market Characteristics

3 Market Sizing

3.1 Market definition

Exhibit 11: Offerings of vendors included in the market definition

3.2 Market segment analysis

Exhibit 12: Market segments

3.3 Market size 2021

3.4 Market outlook: Forecast for 2021-2026

Exhibit 13: Chart on Global - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 14: Data Table on Global - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 15: Chart on Global Market: Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)



Exhibit 16: Data Table on Global Market: Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

4 Five Forces Analysis

4.1 Five forces summary

Exhibit 17: Five forces analysis - Comparison between 2021 and 2026

4.2 Bargaining power of buyers

Exhibit 18: Chart on Bargaining power of buyers  Impact of key factors 2021 and 2026

4.3 Bargaining power of suppliers

Exhibit 19: Bargaining power of suppliers  Impact of key factors in 2021 and 2026

4.4 Threat of new entrants

Exhibit 20: Threat of new entrants  Impact of key factors in 2021 and 2026

4.5 Threat of substitutes

Exhibit 21: Threat of substitutes  Impact of key factors in 2021 and 2026

4.6 Threat of rivalry

Exhibit 22: Threat of rivalry  Impact of key factors in 2021 and 2026

4.7 Market condition

Exhibit 23: Chart on Market condition - Five forces 2021 and 2026

5 Market Segmentation by End-user

5.1 Market segments

Exhibit 24: Chart on End-user - Market share 2021-2026 (%)



Exhibit 25: Data Table on End-user - Market share 2021-2026 (%)

5.2 Comparison by End-user

Exhibit 26: Chart on Comparison by End-user



Exhibit 27: Data Table on Comparison by End-user

5.3 Commercial - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Exhibit 28: Chart on Commercial - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 29: Data Table on Commercial - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 30: Chart on Commercial - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)



Exhibit 31: Data Table on Commercial - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

5.4 Residential - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Exhibit 32: Chart on Residential - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 33: Data Table on Residential - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 34: Chart on Residential - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)



Exhibit 35: Data Table on Residential - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

5.5 Market opportunity by End-user

Exhibit 36: Market opportunity by End-user ($ million)

6 Customer Landscape

6.1 Customer landscape overview

Exhibit 37: Analysis of price sensitivity, lifecycle, customer purchase basket, adoption rates, and purchase criteria

7 Geographic Landscape

7.1 Geographic segmentation

Exhibit 38: Chart on Market share by geography 2021-2026 (%)



Exhibit 39: Data Table on Market share by geography 2021-2026 (%)

7.2 Geographic comparison

Exhibit 40: Chart on Geographic comparison



Exhibit 41: Data Table on Geographic comparison

7.3 APAC - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Exhibit 42: Chart on APAC - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 43: Data Table on APAC - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 44: Chart on APAC - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)



Exhibit 45: Data Table on APAC - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

7.4 North America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 46: Chart on North America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 47: Data Table on North America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 48: Chart on North America - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

Exhibit 49: Data Table on North America - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

7.5 Europe - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 50: Chart on Europe - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 51: Data Table on Europe - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 52: Chart on Europe - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

Exhibit 53: Data Table on Europe - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

7.6 South America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 54: Chart on South America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 55: Data Table on South America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 56: Chart on South America - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

Exhibit 57: Data Table on South America - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

7.7 Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

and - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 58: Chart on Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

and - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 59: Data Table on Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

and - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 60: Chart on Middle East and Africa - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

and - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

Exhibit 61: Data Table on Middle East and Africa - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

7.8 China - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 62: Chart on China - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 63: Data Table on China - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 64: Chart on China - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

Exhibit 65: Data Table on China - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

7.9 US - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Exhibit 66: Chart on US - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 67: Data Table on US - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 68: Chart on US - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)



Exhibit 69: Data Table on US - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

7.10 India - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 70: Chart on India - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 71: Data Table on India - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 72: Chart on India - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

Exhibit 73: Data Table on India - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

7.11 Japan - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 74: Chart on Japan - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 75: Data Table on Japan - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 76: Chart on Japan - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

Exhibit 77: Data Table on Japan - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

7.12 Germany - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 78: Chart on Germany - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 79: Data Table on Germany - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 80: Chart on Germany - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

Exhibit 81: Data Table on Germany - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

7.13 Market opportunity by geography

Exhibit 82: Market opportunity by geography ($ million)

8 Drivers, Challenges, and Trends

8.1 Market drivers

8.2 Market challenges

8.3 Impact of drivers and challenges

Exhibit 83: Impact of drivers and challenges in 2021 and 2026

8.4 Market trends

9 Vendor Landscape

9.1 Overview

9.2 Vendor landscape

Exhibit 84: Overview on Criticality of inputs and Factors of differentiation

9.3 Landscape disruption

Exhibit 85: Overview on factors of disruption

9.4 Industry risks

Exhibit 86: Impact of key risks on business

10 Vendor Analysis

10.1 Vendors covered

Exhibit 87: Vendors covered

10.2 Market positioning of vendors

Exhibit 88: Matrix on vendor position and classification

10.3 Allied Motion Technologies Inc.

Exhibit 89: Allied Motion Technologies Inc. - Overview



Exhibit 90: Allied Motion Technologies Inc. - Product / Service



Exhibit 91: Allied Motion Technologies Inc. - Key offerings

10.4 Atomberg Technologies Pvt. Ltd.

Exhibit 92: Atomberg Technologies Pvt. Ltd. - Overview



Exhibit 93: Atomberg Technologies Pvt. Ltd. - Product / Service



Exhibit 94: Atomberg Technologies Pvt. Ltd. - Key offerings

10.5 Brilltech Vayu

Exhibit 95: Brilltech Vayu - Overview



Exhibit 96: Brilltech Vayu - Product / Service



Exhibit 97: Brilltech Vayu - Key offerings

10.6 Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals Ltd.

Exhibit 98: Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals Ltd. - Overview



Exhibit 99: Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals Ltd. - Business segments



Exhibit 100: Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals Ltd. - Key offerings



Exhibit 101: Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals Ltd. - Segment focus

10.7 Fantasia Distribution Ltd.

Exhibit 102: Fantasia Distribution Ltd. - Overview



Exhibit 103: Fantasia Distribution Ltd. - Product / Service



Exhibit 104: Fantasia Distribution Ltd. - Key offerings

10.8 Havells India Ltd.

Exhibit 105: Havells India Ltd. - Overview



Exhibit 106: Havells India Ltd. - Business segments



Exhibit 107: Havells India Ltd. - Key news



Exhibit 108: Havells India Ltd. - Key offerings



Exhibit 109: Havells India Ltd. - Segment focus

10.9 OCECO ENERGY Pvt. Ltd.

Exhibit 110: OCECO ENERGY Pvt. Ltd. - Overview



Exhibit 111: OCECO ENERGY Pvt. Ltd. - Product / Service



Exhibit 112: OCECO ENERGY Pvt. Ltd. - Key offerings

10.10 Orient Electric Ltd.

Exhibit 113: Orient Electric Ltd. - Overview



Exhibit 114: Orient Electric Ltd. - Business segments



Exhibit 115: Orient Electric Ltd. - Key news



Exhibit 116: Orient Electric Ltd. - Key offerings



Exhibit 117: Orient Electric Ltd. - Segment focus

10.11 Perfect Enterprises

Exhibit 118: Perfect Enterprises - Overview



Exhibit 119: Perfect Enterprises - Product / Service



Exhibit 120: Perfect Enterprises - Key offerings

10.12 Versa Drives Pvt Ltd.

Exhibit 121: Versa Drives Pvt Ltd. - Overview



Exhibit 122: Versa Drives Pvt Ltd. - Product / Service



Exhibit 123: Versa Drives Pvt Ltd. - Key offerings

11 Appendix

11.1 Scope of the report

11.2 Inclusions and exclusions checklist

Exhibit 124: Inclusions checklist



Exhibit 125: Exclusions checklist

11.3 Currency conversion rates for US$

Exhibit 126: Currency conversion rates for US$

11.4 Research methodology

Exhibit 127: Research methodology



Exhibit 128: Validation techniques employed for market sizing



Exhibit 129: Information sources

11.5 List of abbreviations

Exhibit 130: List of abbreviations

About Technavio

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 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.

Contacts

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
DURHAM, N.C., July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Bio Products Laboratory USA (BPL), our US affiliate located in Durham, NC, has been awarded as a 'Best Place to Work 2022' by the Triangle Business Journal. This is the second time that BPL USA has won this award, the first being in 2020.

BPL USA was one of 50 companies selected for the award based on employee survey results that examined communication and resources, manager effectiveness, personal engagement, individual needs, team dynamics, and trust in leadership. Eligible companies were required to have at least 10 employees in the 16 counties that make up the Triangle region.

The Triangle region is a thriving business community in a fast-paced, high-tech area of North Carolina, anchored by the cities of Raleigh and Durham, and home to a hotbed of well-known and emerging healthcare & technology companies. North Carolina has received a number of recent accolades, including being ranked as the nation's "Top State Business Climate" in 2020 and 2021 by Site Selection magazine, and ranking No. 2 on CNBC's "America's Top States for Business" list for 2021.

"We are honored to be recognised again for this award," said Bob Rossilli, US President and Chief Commercial Officer, Global Business at BPL. "As a team, we have a razor-sharp focus on delivering high-quality and clinically differentiated medicines. These are underpinned by our values, which drive how we interact with each other, and how we work together to achieve results. We are very proud to work for a company that allows us to create a sense of purpose, team cohesion, and a sense of belonging and commitment.

I believe it's our strong and differentiating corporate culture that makes us such a great place to work. Congratulations to the BPL USA team and other finalists. We look forward to celebrating with all the winners in August."

This award is further testimony of BPL's increasingly positive impact in the rare disease space. By building a culture of integrity and teamwork, and with a patient-first approach, the BPL USA team look forward to continuing its commitment to patients by raising awareness and supporting the ongoing development of innovative medicines for the world's rarest conditions.

About Bio Products Laboratory (BPL)

Recognising the importance of plasma and with many years of experience in the industry, BPL supplies high-quality plasma derived medicines to meet the needs of clinicians, patients, and customers globally. Headquartered in the United Kingdom, with a US affiliate in Durham, NC, and plasma collection centres across the United States, we are dedicated to producing medicines for the treatment of immune deficiencies, bleeding disorders and infectious diseases as well for critical care. BPL invests in the latest R&D, technology, and manufacturing methods, and continuously adapts to ensure that we continue to serve all our stakeholders effectively. For more information visit http://www.bplgroup.com or https://www.bpl-us.com.

BPL consists of two operating divisions  BPL Plasma and BPL Therapeutics. BPL Plasma, headquartered in Austin, Texas and operating in the USA, collects plasma from donors in around 29 centers across the U.S. BPL Plasma employs over 900 staff to support the needs of donors and to ensure high-quality plasma collection in all their centers. Plasma collection is regulated by both FDA and MHRA, and BPL Plasma follows industry guidelines. BPL Plasma operates plasma facilities, staffed with trained personnel, dedicated to supporting donors through the process that leads to the donation of plasma. Plasma is shipped to the headquarters of BPL Therapeutics in Elstree, United Kingdom. The plasma is fractionated, purified, and filled through the efforts of our over 1,000 employees involved in production, quality, R&D, commercial, customer services, and administrative activities. BPL's plasma-derived medicines are commercially available in the U.K., USA, and 30 plus other countries around the world through our network of local affiliates and distribution partners.

SOURCE Bio Products Laboratory
DETROIT, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Hospital (Karmanos) welcomes Brian Gamble into a new role as President. He began his new role Monday, July 4, 2022.

Brian Gamble, president of Karmanos Cancer Hospital

As Chief Financial Officer at Karmanos since 2015, Gamble worked closely with Gerold Bepler, M.D., Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of Karmanos, Justin Klamerus, M.D., MMM, his predecessor who recently accepted the executive vice president and chief medical officer role at McLaren Health Care, and David Mazurkiewicz, executive vice president and chief financial officer at McLaren. Gamble led the accounting and finance activities at Karmanos as the CFO and he has been an active participant in strategic planning, joint ventures and growth into new markets.

"Brian will do an outstanding job leading the only free-standing cancer hospital in the state," said Chad Grant, executive vice president and chief operating officer at McLaren Health Care. "We are fortunate that we have had Brian serve in the lead financial position, ensuring that Karmanos operates efficiently and provides the best care to our cancer patients. He has proven to be a results-orientated executive.

"This is an ideal time for Brian to step into his new role as President, as Karmanos has made wonderful strides in cancer research and care, including treatment access. Brian has been instrumental in achieving these milestones for the organization, and we know he'll be just as valuable in future efforts. With decades of experience in health care finance and operations and the accomplishments that Brian has made over the last seven years, we are confident in his abilities to continue leading Karmanos forward as our team works toward a world free of cancer."

As an executive at Karmanos, Gamble has provided strategic counsel on financial plans, revenue forecasts and expenses in the complex world of healthcare finance. Recently, Gamble provided financial stewardship during the multi-phase expansion of Karmanos' Lawrence and Idell Weisberg Cancer Center in Farmington Hills. He also helped guide the growth of cancer services throughout the Karmanos Cancer Network and was a key contributor to the organization entering the Ohio market and opening Karmanos Cancer Institute at The Toledo Clinic Cancer Center in Maumee.

"As I step into this new leadership role at Karmanos, I am focused on continuing the work that Dr. Klamerus and our colleagues have already begun," Brian Gamble said. "Over the last seven years, I have been part of the continued growth of Karmanos, from new therapies and treatments, clinic expansions, the purchase of leading-edge treatment equipment, development of KSP, the Karmanos Specialty Pharmacy, and continued investment in our staff. I look forward to working with our team members to expand access for our patients and to introduce new therapies and treatments as we strive to cure cancer. It is a privilege to work alongside our dedicated clinical and administrative staff who have provided the best cancer care to our patients."

Gamble has over 30 years of business experience in treasury operations, investment management, debt management, financial analysis and mergers and acquisitions. Before joining Karmanos in 2015, he most recently served as vice president of finance and assistant treasurer at Henry Ford Health System and CFO at Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital.

About the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute

Karmanos Cancer Institute is a leader in transformative cancer care, research and education through courage, commitment and compassion. The Karmanos vision is a world free of cancer. As part of McLaren Health Care, Karmanos is the largest provider of cancer care and research in Michigan. For more than 75 years, the administrative and research headquarters, along with the premier specialty cancer hospital, have been located in downtown Detroit. With 16 network sites, Karmanos delivers world-renowned care and access to clinical trials throughout Michigan and northern Ohio. The National Cancer Institute recognizes Karmanos as one of the best cancer centers in the nation with a comprehensive cancer center designation. Its academic partnership with the Wayne State University School of Medicine provides the framework for cancer research and education  defining new standards of care and improving survivorship. For more information, call 1-800-KARMANOS (800-527-6266) or visit www.karmanos.org. Follow Karmanos on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.

SOURCE Karmanos Cancer Institute
Build-A-Bear Workshop Releases New Limited Edition Collectibles and Exclusive Collaborations as Part of Year-Long Anniversary Event

ST. LOUIS, July, 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Build-A-Bear Workshop (NYSE: BBW) continues its year-long silver celebration to commemorate its landmark 25th anniversary with exciting new releases from the Vault and new collaBEARations with popular licensed partners. Expand your collection with these unique furry friends that promise to be filled with heart and hugs.

CELEBRATE 25 YEARS OF FURRY FRIENDS WITH THIS EXCLUSIVE RELEASE FROM THE VAULT

Following the successful re-imaginings of several classic furry friends Build-A-Bear today announced the launch of Floppy Kitty. Inspired by the 1998 design, this plush animal makes the purrr-fect addition to any collection! Available exclusively online, this limited-edition product includes a commemorative silver 25th Celebration Collection emblem on its right paw pad.

New furry friends inspired by classic Build-A-Bear plush continue to be released from the Vault each month, with Floppy Kitty being the seventh anniversary collectible. Use the handy Collector's Guide to keep track, but don't wait, two have already sold out! Don't miss a release by visiting the 25th Celebration page to learn more and to sign up for updates throughout the year!

NEW COLLECTORS' ITEMS FOR FANS: TWO NEW PIKACHU

Pokemon fans will love the two new Pikachu plush for the Build-A-Bear 25th Celebration! Pikachu was the first Pokemon plush ever released at Build-A-Bear Workshop, and this fan-favorite Electric-type Pokemon is now available in two special limited editions to celebrate our 25th year. Two different plush styles are available in stores and online, both with sparkly yellow fur and a collector's emblem on the paw pad, with one featuring a winking face. Signature 6-in-1 sound chips, Pokemon varsity jackets and sleepers complete the look for each Pikachu. The adorable Pikachu is a must-have addition to any Pokemon Trainer's team!

ENJOY FAIRY-TALE FUN WITH THE NEW DISNEY PRINCESS-INSPIRED BEAR

Go on fairy tale adventures with the Disney Princess-Inspired Bear, created specifically for Build-A-Bear's 25th Celebration! With its sparkly fur, Disney Princess characters on the paw pads, and a silver 25th Celebration emblem to commemorate the special year, this enchanting bear makes the ultimate gift for any Disney fan or collector. Bringing magic to homes, the Disney Princess-Inspired Bear features six of the strong heroines beloved by generations of Disney fans on its paw pad. Fans can also select their favorite Disney Princess costume and dress the bear up for the ultimate Disney Princess collectible.

As part of the ongoing celebration of the brand's 25th year, Build-A-Bear will continue releasing limited editions of fan-favorite characters this year! Featuring updated designs, including special silver details, these furry friends are must-have additions to any Build-A-Bear fan's collection! Sign up to be updated on new releases on Build-A-Bear's 25th Celebration page.

CELEBRATING 25 YEARS OF MEMORIES

As Build-A-Bear celebrates 25 years of fun and laughter, Guests are invited to share their favorite and furriest memories  or make new ones! Guests can join the celebration and "Show Your Stuff" by uploading pictures to the gallery at buildabear.com or post to social media using #buildabear. With over 200 million furry friends made since the company's inception, there are sure to be many memories to share, whether it's a photo of a very first Build-A-Bear furry friend, furry friends that commemorate special moments, or the making of an all-new furry friend. The anniversary is the perfect opportunity to remember past hugs & celebrate future connections by creating an epic time capsule of memories and personal stories.

ENTER THE BEARY BIG ADVENTURE SWEEPSTAKES

Build-A-Bear fans have a chance at a unique opportunity to celebrate their love of Build-A-Bear in a beary special way. Enter the BEARY BIG Adventure Sweepstakes for a chance to win a grand prize trip to celebrate the brand's 25th anniversary! One lucky winner will experience a trip for four to the World Bearquarters in St. Louis, complete with a VIP experience at the company's flagship Workshop and exclusive entry to the Build-A-Bear Silver Celebration Gala in October 2022. Enter now for your chance to win!

JOIN THE BONUS CLUB

Build-A-Bear's Bonus Club will have member-exclusive store and online offers throughout the year. Bonus Club members will be among the first to receive news of the latest products, events and those still to come surprises. Sign up online to start receiving the latest updates.

SHOP ONLINE

Guests can also engage in unique digital experiences and shop online at www.buildabear.com including the interactive "Bear-Builder", the animated "Bear Builder 3D Workshop" and the age-gated adult-focused "Bear Cave". They also have delivery options including Buy Online, Pickup In Store to have their purchase ready to pick up at a local Workshop. To explore gift options by occasion, recipient, category and price, guests can visit the Build-A-Bear GiftShop.

LEGAL DISCLAIMER NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR TO WIN. Many will enter only one (1) will win. The Build-A-Bear Workshop"Beary Big Adventure" Sweepstakes begins 12:00:00 a.m. CT on June 25, 2022 and ends 11:59:59 p.m. CT on August 25, 2022. Open only to legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia who are 18 years of age or older at time of entry. For details on how to enter, timing, and Official Rules go to: www.buildabear.com/sweepstakes. Void where prohibited. SPONSOR: Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc., 415 South 18th Street, St. Louis, MO 63103, USA.

ABOUT BUILD-A-BEAR

Build-A-Bear is a multi-generational global brand focused on its mission to "add a little more heart to life" appealing to a wide array of consumer groups who enjoy the personal expression in making their own "furry friends" to celebrate and commemorate life moments. Nearly 500 interactive brick-and-mortar retail locations operated through a variety of formats provide guests of all ages a hands-on entertaining experience, which often fosters a lasting and emotional brand connection. The company also offers engaging e-commerce/digital purchasing experiences on buildabear.com including its online "Bear-Builder", the animated "Bear Builder 3D Workshop" and its age-gated adult-focused "Bear Cave". In addition, extending its brand power beyond retail, Build-A-Bear Entertainment, a subsidiary of Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc., is dedicated to creating engaging content for kids and adults that fulfills the company's mission, while the company also offers products at wholesale and in non-plush consumer categories via licensing agreements with leading manufacturers. Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. posted total revenue of $411.5 million in fiscal 2021. For more information, visit the Investor Relations section of buildabear.com

SOURCE Build-A-Bear Workshop
NAPLES, Fla., July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- FloridaNNN.com and the Income Realty Advisors (IRA) recently highlighted their platform as the perfect gateway to property investing in the Sunshine State. Specializing in Single Tenant, Net-Lease Properties with Credit Tenants (NNN), IRA helps investors to own properties that are generally leased for long periods of time, providing a solid source of steady wealth but without the high taxes of other states. Coupled with the tax-deferral power of the 1031 Exchange, purchasing NNN properties has never been more lucrative. IRA is a brokerage firm that provides Exclusive Buyer's brokerage services, helping real estate developers find sites and selling the finished NNN properties to net lease investors.

"There are plenty of great real estate sites across America that offer beauty and location, but investors have to be mindful of taxes  there is a steep price for doing business in many U.S. states," said Patrick J. Moorton, President of Income Realty Advisors. "This is one of the major reasons why purchasing property in Florida is such a wise investment decision. We have beauty, location, and low taxes."

Who Should Consider NNN Property Investments in Florida?

Individuals and investors with high net worth.

Investors who have qualifying property to sell and/or swap with a 1031 Exchange.

Investors with property currently in high-income tax states.

Investors who prefer real estate holdings that do not require constant maintenance from a "landlord."

Those who would like to increase their after-tax investment income.

Advantages of Investing in FloridaNNN Properties

Investors have already begun to leave high-tax states like New York, New Jersey, and California to take advantage of Florida's state tax rates and the pro-business environment. The wealth-building strategies for selling property in high-tax states to purchase and hold property in Florida are surprisingly simple:

Buy one or multiple NNN properties in Florida . Florida charges no personal state income tax, and no state income tax on Limited Partnerships, LLCs, or Subchapter S Corporations.

. charges no personal state income tax, and no state income tax on Limited Partnerships, LLCs, or Subchapter S Corporations. Use a 1031 Exchange. Sell properties in high-tax states and exchange them for a "Like Kind" of property in Florida . Investors can defer federal taxes while lowering state taxes in Florida to zero  as long as these exchanges are structured in entities that comply with Florida state law and IRS rules for the 1031 Exchange.

"There are many advantages to holding NNN properties," said Moorton. "You get a lot of control because you own the asset. And because most of these tenants  big chain stores, banks, etc.  like to take care of their own maintenance and repair, there are little or no property management headaches. These properties also provide good credit for borrowing and remain a healthy cash flow that far exceeds the tiny interest on other investments like CDs or money markets. And due to the long-term leases, this is a steady cash flow that can last for 5, 10, or even 25 years."

For more information on how investors can begin investing in Florida real estate, contact Income Realty Advisors directly to schedule a short phone consultation.

About Income Realty Advisors

Income Realty Advisors is a Florida-based Commercial Real Estate Brokerage firm specializing in the sale of Single Tenant, Net-Leased Properties with Credit Tenants through a dedicated FloridaNNN.com website. The firm also provides site selection services to real estate developers throughout Florida, with access to a high-quality pipeline of deals under construction or available for future delivery. Income Realty Advisors is a one-stop location for real estate investors seeking to expand their portfolios with high-quality, low-tax Floridian property.

Learn more at: www.FloridaNNN.com.

Media Contact:

Patrick J. Moorton

1-239-272-1640

[email protected]

SOURCE Florida NNN
New Collaborative Pushing to Make the Business World More Inclusive

JACKSON, Miss., July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- A newly formed organization wants to change the face of the business world. Eight business schools and one industry leader make up the new board of directors of the Business School Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI) Collaborative. It recognizes the importance of DEI in higher education and the business world and wants to serve as a robust resource for academics and businesspeople to increase opportunities for historically underrepresented groups. The organization seeks even more members to make an even bigger impact.

"Twenty-seven years ago, when we founded The PhD Project, there was nothing like this," says board member Bernard J. Milano, the retired former president at KPMG Foundation and The PhD Project. "I'm thrilled to see business schools stepping up like this."

The seed for the DEI Collaborative was planted in 2016 when a group of business school administrators, faculty and staff first came together to create the SEC Business School Diversity Conference. With support from industry leaders in the DEI space such as The PhD Project, EY, and Sage Publishing, the group has grown and is expanding its reach across the United States. It hopes to contribute to a more consistent approach to DEI as a way to ensure a thriving culture that prepares future business leaders for the modern workplace.

"We realized pretty quickly that by coming together, we were able to make a greater impact at our own schools," says board member Angela R. Guidry of Louisiana State University. "Everyone continued to network throughout the year and began sharing ideas and building off each other's energy. We saw that we needed to develop a more permanent resource."

The DEI Collaborative held its first official conference as the new organization in March, hosted by the Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia. More than 80 attendees gathered in person and virtually to network and grow their skills around the theme, "Building World-Class Diversity Practitioners." Representatives from 33 schools and 12 businesses and nonprofits attended sessions over three days.

"I learned more in those few days than I could ever pick up on my own," says board member Mike Breazeale of Mississippi State University.

Planning is underway for next year's conference, which will take place March 8 through 10, 2023, and will be hosted by the Haslam College of Business at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Membership is open to all business schools, businesses and nonprofit organizations.

The initial board of directors of the DEI Collaborative is made up of the following:

Chair, Danielle Beu Ammeter, University of Mississippi

Vice-Chair, Angela R. Guidry , Louisiana State University

, Louisiana State University Treasurer, Clarence Vaughn , University of Tennessee

, University of Tennessee Secretary, Scott Kelley , University of Kentucky

, Marketing / Social Media Chair, Mike Breazeale , Mississippi State University

Conference Co-Ambassador, Barbara Lofton , University of Arkansas

Conference Co-Ambassador, Sonja Wiley , Louisiana State University

And members:

Bernard J. Milano , retired former president at KPMG Foundation and The PhD Project

, retired former president at KPMG Foundation and The PhD Project Ann Tasby , Texas Christian University

Robert Thomas, University of Florida

About the Business School DEI Collaborative

Founded on June 1, 2022, the Business School Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Collaborative advances diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging in higher education through hosting conferences to discuss best practices and programs, granting awards, and serving as a resource for educators and businesspeople who are interested in increasing the opportunities for historically underrepresented groups.

For more information about membership, conferences or participating in any way, visit https://www.businessschooldeicollab.com/.

Media Contact:

Dr. Mike Breazeale

601-316-2134

[email protected]

SOURCE Business School DEI Collaborative
BOSTON, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Caldwell is pleased to announce its recent continued expansion in Los Angeles with the recent acquisition of Palisades Patent Law, led by Patent Attorney Kasia Zebrowska-Trauben, Founder and Principal Attorney.

"Bringing on Kasia and joining forces with Palisades Patent Law will leverage and expand the experience, depth and breadth that both firms have in the IP space, while providing all of our clients with increased access to individual attention and innovative solutions," noted Managing Partner Keegan Caldwell.

While at Palisades Patent Law, Kasia led the firm serving as counsel for various luxury fashion apparel and home wear companies offering counseling on all aspects of intellectual property law such as creative design patents, trademark application preparation and prosecution, copyright infringement and intellectual property portfolio strategy and management.

Kasia is also the founder and host of the top-rated Fashion Law Network podcast which recently ranked #22 in the United States and #1 in the Italy Business Apple Podcast charts. It is the #1 fashion law podcast and top 10 general fashion podcast. Fashion Law Network is the first-of-its-kind intellectual property-based podcast which discusses fashion related legal news and lawsuits and is in the top 1.5% of all podcasts (over 2 million). The Fashion Law Network podcast can be listened to on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and iHeart Radio among other platforms.

In the past year, Caldwell's aggressive expansion strategy in Los Angeles has doubled the team on the west coast which is home to high-growth, disruptive companies, a burgeoning venture capital community, and some of the largest and most sophisticated companies. The addition of this top legal talent to Caldwell's roster brings an unparalleled combination of prowess and scale to the market.

Kasia and her firm's addition to the Caldwell team combines the skills and expertise of two highly competent and innovative law firms with areas of practice that include intellectual property, corporate and litigation.

"You have to work with people you respect and trust, and in Kasia and Palisades Patent Law, we found the perfect alignment in terms of philosophy, culture and long-term goals," notes Caldwell. "I'm energized and inspired, and definitely looking forward with great excitement and high expectations."

The combined firm will have offices in Boston, MA; Santa Monica, CA; Burlington, VT; and London, UK with sights toward further expansion into tech hubs both domestic and international.

About Caldwell Intellectual Property Law

Ranked #1 Fastest-Growing Company in the US by Inc. Magazine, Caldwell IP Law is a boutique intellectual property law firm that better serves innovators and investors by providing strategic, high caliber IP services aimed at maximizing profits. A modern law firm for cutting-edge solutions, Caldwell has a proven and systematic approach for developing IP portfolios that reap financial success, proven by an allowance rate of 100% (38.2% higher than the industry standard).

Media Contact: Eyob Yohannes, [email protected]

SOURCE Caldwell Intellectual Property Law
Technology (locally installed and cloud-based) and

Geography ( North America , Europe , APAC, South America , and MEA)

Read the 120-page report with TOC on "Calibration Management Software Market Analysis Report by Technology, Geography, and the Segment Forecasts". Request Sample Report.

Parent Market Analysis

Technavio categorizes the calibration management software market as a part of the global application software market within the global information technology market. The end-to-end understanding of the value chain is essential in profit margin optimization and evaluation of business strategies. The data available in our value chain analysis segment can help vendors drive costs and enhance customer services during the forecast period.

The value chain of the global application software market includes the following core components:

Inputs

Inbound logistics

Operations

Outbound logistics

Marketing and sales

Service

Support activities

Innovation

Technavio's sample reports contain multiple sections of the report, such as the market size and forecast, drivers, challenges, trends, and more. Buy sample report

Major Five Calibration Management Software Companies

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.

AVL List GmbH- The company offers various powertrain elements such as the battery, e-drive, engine, transmission, vehicle system, controls, and electronics.

The company offers various powertrain elements such as the battery, e-drive, engine, transmission, vehicle system, controls, and electronics. Beamex Oy Ab- The company offers a range of calibration software such as Beamex CMX calibration management software, Beamex LOGiCAL calibration software, and Beamex bMobile calibration application.

The company offers a range of calibration software such as Beamex CMX calibration management software, Beamex LOGiCAL calibration software, and Beamex bMobile calibration application. CompuCal Calibration Solutions- The company offers calibration management software that reduces business running costs and ensures full compliance with industry regulations.

The company offers calibration management software that reduces business running costs and ensures full compliance with industry regulations. Prime Technologies Inc.- The company offers a range of calibration management software which includes ProCal Direct and ProCalV5.

The company offers a range of calibration management software which includes ProCal Direct and ProCalV5. Productivity-Quality Systems Inc.- GAGEpack is a calibration management software that assists users with their calibration tracking needs and ensures that their gages are calibrated correctly and on time.

Find additional highlights on the growth strategies adopted by vendors and their product offerings, Read Latest Sample Report .

Related Reports:

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Market in Healthcare Sector by Application and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2022-2026: The artificial intelligence market share in the healthcare sector is expected to increase to USD 13 billion from 2021 to 2026, and the market's growth momentum will accelerate at a CAGR of 29.16%.

Operations Support Business Support (OSS BSS) Software Market by Product and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2022-2026: The operations support business support (OSS BSS) software market share is expected to increase to USD 63.64 billion from 2021 to 2026, at a CAGR of 16.89%.

Calibration Management Software Market Scope Report Coverage Details Page number 120 Base year 2020 Forecast period 2021-2025 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 5.7% Market growth 2021-2025 $ 100.84 million Market structure Fragmented YoY growth (%) 5.41 Regional analysis North America, Europe, APAC, South America, and MEA Performing market contribution North America at 35% Key consumer countries US, China, Germany, UK, and Canada Competitive landscape Leading companies, Competitive strategies, Consumer engagement scope Key companies profiled AVL List GmbH, Beamex Oy Ab, CompuCal Calibration Solutions, CyberMetrics Corp., ETQ LLC, Fortive Corp., P.J. Bonner & Co. Ltd., Prime Technologies Inc., Productivity-Quality Systems Inc., and Quality America 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 you are looking for, you can reach out to our analysts and get customized segments.

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 for application software

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 Technology

5.1 Market segments

Exhibit 15: Technology - Market share 2020-2025 (%)

5.2 Comparison by Technology

Exhibit 16: Comparison by Technology

5.3 Locally installed - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Exhibit 17: Locally installed - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million)



Exhibit 18: Locally installed - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%)

5.4 Cloud-based - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Exhibit 19: Cloud-based - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million)



Exhibit 20: Cloud-based - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%)

5.5 Market opportunity by Technology

Exhibit 21: Market opportunity by Technology

6 Customer landscape

6.1 Overview

Exhibit 22: 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 North America - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

- Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Exhibit 25: North America - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million)

Exhibit 26: North America - 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 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 (%)

7.6 South America - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

- Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Exhibit 31: South America - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million)

Exhibit 32: South America - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%)

7.7 MEA - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Exhibit 33: MEA - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million)



Exhibit 34: MEA - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%)

7.8 Key leading countries

Exhibit 35: Key leading countries

7.9 Market opportunity by geography

Exhibit 36: Market opportunity by geography ($ million)

8 Drivers, Challenges, and Trends

8.1 Market drivers

8.1.2 Integration of calibrators with maintenance management systems

8.2 Market challenges

Exhibit 37: Impact of drivers and challenges

8.3 Market trends

9 Vendor Landscape

9.1 Overview

Exhibit 38: Vendor landscape

9.2 Landscape disruption

Exhibit 39: Landscape disruption



Exhibit 40: Industry risks

10 Vendor Analysis

10.1 Vendors covered

Exhibit 41: Vendors covered

10.2 Market positioning of vendors

Exhibit 42: Market positioning of vendors

10.3 ACG Infotech Ltd.

Exhibit 43: ACG Infotech Ltd. - Overview



Exhibit 44: ACG Infotech Ltd. - Product and service



Exhibit 45: ACG Infotech Ltd. - Key offerings

10.4 Ape Software Inc.

Exhibit 46: Ape Software Inc. - Overview



Exhibit 47: Ape Software Inc. - Product and service



Exhibit 48: Ape Software Inc. - Key offerings

10.5 AVL List GmbH

10.6 Beamex Oy AB

Exhibit 52: Beamex Oy AB - Overview



Exhibit 53: Beamex Oy AB - Product and service



Exhibit 54: Beamex Oy AB - Key offerings

10.7 Business Analysis Ltd.

Exhibit 55: Business Analysis Ltd. - Overview



Exhibit 56: Business Analysis Ltd. - Product and service



Exhibit 57: Business Analysis Ltd. - Key offerings

10.8 CompuCal Calibration Solutions

Exhibit 58: CompuCal Calibration Solutions - Overview



Exhibit 59: CompuCal Calibration Solutions - Product and service



Exhibit 60: CompuCal Calibration Solutions - Key offerings

10.9 CyberMetrics Corp.

Exhibit 61: CyberMetrics Corp. - Overview



Exhibit 62: CyberMetrics Corp. - Product and service



Exhibit 63: CyberMetrics Corp. - Key offerings

10.10 ETQ LLC

Exhibit 64: ETQ LLC - Overview



Exhibit 65: ETQ LLC - Product and service



Exhibit 66: ETQ LLC - Key offerings

10.11 Fortive Corp.

Exhibit 67: Fortive Corp. - Overview



Exhibit 68: Fortive Corp. - Business segments



Exhibit 69: Fortive Corp. - Key offerings



Exhibit 70: Fortive Corp. - Segment focus

10.12 Techgate LLC

Exhibit 71: Techgate LLC - Overview



Exhibit 72: Techgate LLC - Product and service



Exhibit 73: Techgate LLC - Key offerings

11 Appendix

11.1 Scope of the report

11.2 Currency conversion rates for US$

Exhibit 74: Currency conversion rates for US$

11.3 Research methodology

Exhibit 75: Research Methodology



Exhibit 76: Validation techniques employed for market sizing



Exhibit 77: Information sources

11.4 List of abbreviations

Exhibit 78: List of abbreviations

About Technavio

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 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.

Contacts

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
SACRAMENTO, Calif., July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The California Privacy Protection Agency Board ("Board") will be holding a Special Meeting on July 28, 2022 pursuant to Government Code 11125.4 to Discuss and Take Possible Action on Proposed Federal Privacy Legislation, Including the American Data Protection and Privacy Act and Similar Legislation. Information on how to attend the meeting and the meeting agenda can be found on the California Privacy Protection Agency's site at https://cppa.ca.gov/meetings/ .

SOURCE California Privacy Protection Agency
LONDON, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Cardiac Imaging Software Market is valued at USD 403.7 Million in 2021 and expected to reach USD 560.5 Million by 2028 with a CAGR of 4.8% over the forecast period. Increasing prevalence of cardiovascular diseases, rising geriatric population, and growing number of technological advancements are some of the major factors driving the growth of the Global Cardiac Imaging Software Market.

Cardiac Imaging Software Market Size, Share, And Trends Analysis Report By Imaging Type (Ltrasound Imaging, Computed Tomography, Magnetic Resonance, X-Ray Imaging, Combined Modalities) By Application (Patient Monitoring, Diagnostic Imaging, Image Guided Treatment), By End-User (Hospitals And Clinics, Cardiovascular Clinics, Ambulatory Surgical Centers, Diagnostics Centres), Based On Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2022  2028.

Get Sample of Report at https://brandessenceresearch.com/requestSample/PostId/2004

Cardiac Imaging Software Market: Market Scope

Cardiac disease is one of the leading causes of death in the world and has been on the rise in the last few years. Cardiac imaging software offers upgraded resolution and overall details of heart's working for productive diagnosis. The software can exhibit the auxiliary useful valuable contrast in the heart that can be furthermore examined and considered to see any present and future expected results of heart conditions. This cardiac imaging software is utilized for determination of heart related issues with the assistance of CT scan, MRI, and angiography, radioactive substances, and different types of radiant energy. Cerebrovascular disease, rheumatic heart disease, peripheral arterial disease, congenital heart disease, coronary heart disease, pulmonary embolism, and deep vein thrombosis are a portion of the significant diseases that can be treated through the cardiac imaging software.

Cardiac Imaging Software Market: Segmentation Analysis

The global cardiac imaging software market is segmented on the basis of the imaging type, applications, end-user, and region & country level. On the basis of imaging type, the global cardiac imaging software market is segmented into ultrasound imaging, computed tomography, magnetic resonance, x-ray imaging, and combined modalities. By application, the global cardiac imaging software market is segmented into patient monitoring, diagnostic imaging, and image-guided treatment. By end-user, the global cardiac imaging software market is segmented into hospitals & clinics, cardiovascular clinics, ambulatory surgical centers, diagnostics centers, and others.

By Imaging Type

Ultrasound Imaging

Computed Tomography

Magnetic Resonance

X-Ray Imaging

Combined Modalities

By Application

Patient Monitoring

Diagnostic Imaging

Image Guided Treatment

By End-User

Hospitals and Clinics

Cardiovascular Clinics

Ambulatory Surgical Centers

Diagnostics Centres

Others

Buy this report now: https://brandessenceresearch.com/Checkout?report_id=2004

Cardiac Imaging Software Market: Competitive Analysis

Some major key players for the global cardiac imaging software market report cover prominent player's like FUJIFILM Corporation, Siemens, Canon Inc., NeoSoft LLC, Arterys, Pie Medical Imaging, Medis Medical Imaging, Symphony Innovation, LLC, Circle Cardiovascular Imaging Inc, Koninklijke Philips N.V., GE Healthcare, and others.

FUJIFILM Corporation

Siemens, Canon Inc.

NeoSoft LLC

Arterys

Pie Medical Imaging

Medis Medical Imaging

Symphony Innovation, LLC

Circle Cardiovascular Imaging Inc

Koninklijke Philips N.V.

GE Healthcare

Others

News: inHeart Won FDA Clearance for 3D Cardiac Modeling Software

On May 24th, 2022; inHeart announced that it got FDA 510(k) clearance for its inHeart Models software suite for cardiac modelling. France-based inHeart planned its inHeart Models software to empower the 3D visualization and investigation of physical structures for pre-procedural preparation and intraprocedural use. FDA clearance considers the development of the organization's business impression in the U.S. to further develop cardiovascular removal methodology like ventricular tachycardia (VT).

Singapore Launched New AI-Driven Research Laboratory in Cardiac Imaging

On March 9th, 2022; The National Heart Center Singapore announced the establishment of a Cardiovascular Systems Imaging and Artificial Intelligence (CVS.AI) research laboratory. It is an AI-powered research laboratory set up in Singapore and Southeast Asia, studying various aspects of heart disease using different imaging methods.

Get Methodology at https://brandessenceresearch.com/requestMethodology/PostId/2004

NIH Researchers Developed MRI with Lower Magnetic Field for Cardiac and Lung Imaging

On October 1st, 2019; Researchers at the National Institutes of Health, along with researchers at Siemens, developed a high-efficiency, low-magnetic-field MRI system that greatly improves the image quality of the lungs & other internal structures of the human body. The new system is more compatible with interventional devices that can greatly enhance the image-guided process of diagnosing and treating the disease, making the system more affordable and accessible to medical imaging for patients.

Cardiac Imaging Software Market: Key Drivers

One of the major factors driving the growth of the cardiac imaging software market is the increasing prevalence of the cardiovascular diseases. For example; according to World Health Organization (WHO); in 2019, there are about 17.9 million individuals died from cardiovascular diseases, addressing 32% of every single worldwide death. Of these deaths, 85% were because of stroke and heart attack. The increasing dominance of cardiovascular disease (CVD) increases the need of perfect diagnosis to treat the patients. Cardiac imaging software provides upgraded resolution and overall details of heart's working for productive diagnosis. Hence, increasing dominance of cardiovascular disease increases the need of cardiac imaging software.

Cardiac Imaging Software Market: Regional Analysis

North America is expected to dominate the global cardiac imaging software market within the forecast period due to the increasing high occurrence of cardiovascular diseases, rising disposable income, and growing technological advancements in this region. The increasing high occurrence of cardiovascular diseases is driving the growth of the market. For instance; according to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); in 2019, Unites States, coronary illness is the most well-known sort of heart disease, killing 360,900 individuals in the United States.

On Special Requirement Cardiac Imaging Software Market Report is also available for below region:

North America

U.S., Canada

Europe

Germany, France, U.K., Italy, Spain, Sweden, Netherlands, Turkey, Switzerland, Belgium, Rest of Europe

Asia-Pacific

South Korea, Japan, China, India, Australia, Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Rest Of APAC

Latin America

Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Rest of Latin America

Middle East and Africa

Saudi Arabia , UAE, Egypt, South Africa, Rest of MEA

Get Full Access of all Report: https://brandessenceresearch.com/healthcare/cardiac-imaging-software-market-size

Related Reports:

i-Factor: Live Market intelligence platform

I-Factor is our guaranteed seal to keep our clients ahead of the competition, always. This knowledge platform delivers real-time updates on key economic indicators, competitive landscape, changing demand, trends, customized regional insights, and more. The platform visualizes key data points to help make decision making agile, trustworthy, and holistic. Register for free trial here at https://brandessenceresearch.com/i-factor/login/userRegister

Brandessence Market Research & Consulting Pvt ltd.

Brandessence Market Research publishes market research reports & business insights produced by highly qualified and experienced industry analysts. Our research reports are available in a wide range of industry verticals including aviation, food & beverage, healthcare, ICT, Construction, Chemicals and lot more. Brand Essence Market Research report will be best fit for senior executives, business development managers, marketing managers, consultants, CEOs, CIOs, COOs, and Directors, governments, agencies, organizations and Ph.D. Students. We have a delivery center in Pune, India and our sales office is in London.

Follow Us: Linkedin

Blog: Data Storage Companies

Contact:

Mr. Vishal Sawant

Email: [email protected]

Email: [email protected]

Corporate Sales: +44-2038074155

Asia Office: +917447409162

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1392316/BEMR_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Brandessence Market Research and Consulting Private Limited
BETHESDA, Md., July 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Walker & Dunlop, Inc. announced today that Carol McNerney is joining the company as Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), where she will have responsibility for brand, product marketing and public relations. Ms. McNerney's more than 20 years of global marketing experience spans across a variety of industries, including commercial real estate (CRE), technology, and media. Immediately prior to joining Walker & Dunlop, Ms. McNerney served as Chief Marketing Officer for SThree, plc, a STEM recruitment firm where she transformed their brand and built go-to-market strategies for various subsidiary brands.

Carol McNerney is joining W&D as Chief Marketing Officer (CMO)

"Walker & Dunlop's ambitious five-year growth goals, incapsulated in the Drive to '25, include continued investments in People, Brand and Technology. We are delighted to have someone with Carol's experience join the company to drive our brand development forward in coordination with our exceptional people and innovative technology," said Steve Theobald, Walker & Dunlop's Chief Operating Officer. "As we continue to expand the mandate of our award-winning marketing team, Carol's leadership and industry experience will allow us to think outside of the box and further differentiate Walker & Dunlop in the marketplace."

Ms. McNerney also served as CMO for Information Builders Inc., a data analytics and software company, where she collaborated with product, sales, and service teams to enhance the lead management process and drive revenue growth. During her tenure as CMO for Savills, a CRE services firm, Ms. McNerney supported 700 brokers across the U.S. and Canada to drive leads, cross-selling, and client retention. She also created the firm's first business development function while revamping the Savills' brand. Ms. McNerney spent the early part of her career at IBM where she worked in various capacities.

Ms. McNerney assumes her position from Susan Weber, who has been with Walker & Dunlop for 18 years and is moving into a new role as chief of staff to Willy Walker, Walker & Dunlop's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Ms. Weber's knowledge of the CRE industry, and tremendous management of W&D's award-winning marketing team for the past 14 years, make her the ideal professional to assume the chief of staff role and drive Walker & Dunlop's dramatic growth and exceptional management forward. Ms. Weber will work directly with W&D's C-suite executives to identify and implement key strategic business initiatives.

"I want to take this opportunity to welcome Carol McNerney to Walker & Dunlop. We are extremely excited to have her!" said Willy Walker. "And I want to thank Susan Weber for building a world class marketing team, taking the W&D brand to new heights, and being willing to take-on this new and exciting role as chief of staff," continued Mr. Walker. "Susan and Carol will do great things in their new roles!"

About Walker & Dunlop

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE: WD) is one of the largest providers of capital to the commercial real estate industry in the United States, enabling real estate owners and operators to bring their visions of communities  where people live, work, shop and play  to life. Our people, brand, and technology make W&D one of the most insightful and customer-focused firms in our industry. With more than 1,400 employees across every major U.S. market, Walker & Dunlop has consistently been named one of Fortune's Great Places to Work and is committed to making the commercial real estate industry more inclusive and diverse while creating meaningful social, environmental, and economic change in our communities.

SOURCE Walker & Dunlop, Inc.
BEIJING, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Earlier this month, Indonesia's Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway saw the laying of ballasted tracks begin on its main line, marking a solid step of this landmark Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) project and signaling the pragmatic cooperation between China and Indonesia.

With a design speed of 350 kilometers per hour, the railway built with Chinese technology will cut the journey between Jakarta and Bandung, the country's fourth-largest city, from more than three hours to around 40 minutes.

While meeting Indonesian President Joko Widodo in Beijing, Chinese President Xi Jinping Tuesday voiced the hope that key bilateral cooperation projects, including the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway project, would advance smoothly. Meanwhile, Widodo called the high-speed railway project another milestone of bilateral friendship.

Under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state, China and Indonesia have set the direction of building a China-Indonesia community with a shared future and forged a new pattern of bilateral relations featuring the "four-wheel drive" of political, economic, cultural and maritime cooperation.

"China and Indonesia are at similar development stages, have entwined interests, follow similar philosophies and development paths and share a closely connected future," Xi said, adding that building a China-Indonesia community with a shared future is the common aspiration and expectation of the two peoples.

He said sound Sino-Indonesian relations not only serve the long-term shared interests of the two countries but also have positive and far-reaching effects regionally and globally.

Widodo is the first foreign head of state to visit China after the Beijing Winter Olympics, and China is the first stop of Widodo's first trip to East Asia since the pandemic.

Resilient and vibrant ties

Despite COVID-19 outbreaks and growing uncertainties, China and Indonesia see unstoppable momentum in their cooperation and are ready to further deepen their comprehensive strategic partnership.

As Xi mentioned in the meeting, the bilateral relationship has shown great resilience and vitality in recent years. China remained Indonesia's largest trading partner in 2021. According to Chinese customs statistics, trade volume between the two sides was valued at $124.3 billion, with a growth rate of 58.4 percent year on year.

Major cooperation projects, including the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway Project, the Two Countries Twin Parks program and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Corridors, reflect the highly synergized connectivity between the BRI and Indonesia's national strategy. Thus, the cooperation projects will produce win-win outcomes in the economic recovery of the country and the wider region.

Vaccine cooperation has also become a new highlight of bilateral relations between the two countries as China is actively supporting Indonesia in building a COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing hub. The hub will, in turn, help Southeast Asia's vaccine rollout.

Noting that the two countries are an example of major developing countries seeking strength through unity and win-win cooperation, Xi also told Widodo that the Chinese side is willing to foster more growth points with Indonesia, such as in digital economy and green development.

Asian input in global governance

Starting from June, several high-level global or regional economic forums have been scheduled in Asian countries, including China and Indonesia, ushering in an Asian moment due to their role in global governance.

The Chinese president on Tuesday called on the two countries to stand together in solidarity, fulfill the responsibilities of major developing countries, follow true multilateralism, uphold open regionalism and contribute Oriental wisdom and Asia's input to the development of global governance.

In June, China hosted the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) summit. In November, Indonesia is scheduled to host the G20 Summit, Cambodia will host the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Related Summits, and Thailand will host the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting.

Facing a turbulent international situation, the international community is expecting Asia, the largest continental economy, accounting for roughly 40 percent of the world's total gross domestic product (GDP), to play a leading role in promoting peace, stability and development in the region and the world at large.

Confronting changes in the world that are unfolding in ways like never before, China has put forward the Global Development Initiative and the Global Security Initiative, which have contributed to China's approach to advancing building a more just and reasonable global governance system and won extensive support and response from the international community, especially Asian countries.

The two presidents also exchanged views on the Ukraine crisis. They shared the view that the international community should create conditions for peace talks, play a constructive role in de-escalating the situation in Ukraine and stabilizing the global economic order, and work together to maintain the hard-won peace and stability in the region.

SOURCE CGTN
New group compensation functionality added for growing Provider Performance Management Technology platform

MINNEAPOLIS, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Clinician Nexus, a clinical workforce technology company, announced enhancements to its innovative Provider Performance Management Technology (PPMT) that allow for unique insight into the composition of physician pay arrangements within academic practice settings. PPMT is a comprehensive physician compensation software solution that engages the clinical workforce and informs leaders through transparent performance-based compensation administration, reporting, and analytical capabilities.

PPMT currently allows organizations utilizing group compensation models to automate the aggregation of the group's total earned compensation and then distribute pay to physicians based on client-defined rules such as full-time equivalent status, individual contributions, and other factors. Building on this existing functionality, PPMT now permits authorized stakeholders such as Department Chairs and Division Leaders to adjust recommended pay distribution under a specified set of parameters. This provides physician leaders in academic medical centers with added flexibility to help better support the tripartite mission of education, research, and high-quality patient care while also rewarding physicians based on special circumstances.

"These critical enhancements help to streamline decision-making and provide greater flexibility within an automated system to easily implement necessary adjustments each pay cycle. More importantly, it improves transparency and reinforces the unique mission of academic medical centers  where managing departmental compensation can be highly complex  through an improved review and approval process across multiple leadership levels," said Jason Tackett, a managing principal in SullivanCotter's Physician Workforce Practice. SullivanCotter is a leading independent consulting firm in the assessment and development of total rewards programs, workforce solutions, and data products for the health care industry and not-for-profit sector.

PPMT helps health care organizations to improve and engage their physician and advanced practice provider workforce through a greater understanding of overall departmental compensation while also combining this with detailed analysis and reporting at the individual provider level.

"With customizable solutions designed to support each stage of the clinical workforce lifecycle  from planning and training to measuring, rewarding, and driving performance  Clinician Nexus is focused on helping clients to deliver best-in-class patient care. PPMT is a critical piece of the puzzle as organizations look to align provider compensation with performance and drive meaningful results, and we continue to make vital system improvements in order to help clients achieve these goals," said David Schwietz, chief information officer, Clinician Nexus.

For more information on these enhancements or our entire suite of Provider Performance Management Technology, visit www.cliniciannexus.com or contact us at 888.254.3503.

About Clinician Nexus

Clinician Nexus enables health care organizations to build thriving clinician teams with industry-leading technology products, workforce and compensation analytics, and automated workflow solutions. Backed by extensive technical expertise and industry-leading data, we deliver innovative approaches to help clients to plan, educate, and engage their clinical workforce at every stage of the lifecycle. We are committed to providing our clients with outstanding guidance and support as they focus on shaping the future of health care.

Contact: Becky Lorentz

[email protected]

314.414.3719

SOURCE Clinician Nexus
PLANO, Texas, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Community Hospital Corporation (CHC) is proud to announce Deanna Robinson, LPN, as this year's winner of the 2022 Dan Wilford Award for Compassion and Community Service. Robinson is a full-time licensed practical nurse at ContinueCARE Hospital at Baptist Health Deaconess Madisonville, Madisonville, Kentucky, a long-term acute care hospital owned by CHC.

"Deanna's level of commitment to community service and the hospital has been truly outstanding," said Jim Kendrick, president and CEO for CHC. She was chosen as the national winner among 12 nominees. The award, named after Dan Wilford, a founding CHC board member and retired CEO of Memorial Hermann Healthcare System of Houston, Texas, represents outstanding care and remarkable concern for a community and its local hospital. Kendrick will co-present the award to Robinson this August.

Robinson was nominated for this prestigious award by ContinueCARE Hospital at Baptist Health Deaconess Madisonville leaders, including Michelle Mullen, CEO/CNO, Donna Bell, human resources coordinator, Lisa McGregor, case manager and Megan Ashby, director of quality management.

"Deanna provides an exemplary level of care as a licensed practical nurse while she pursues a registered nursing degree," said Michelle Mullen, CEO/CNO.

Robinson is flexible and highly considerate of others. As example, while the hospital recruits for night shift nurses, Robinson graciously agreed to cover those shifts. Mullen added, "She shows passion and commitment, always putting others' needs before her own."

An example of her compassion was demonstrated on December 10, 2021, when Western Kentucky was hit with one of the worst tornadoes in its history. This tornado caused a catastrophic loss to many area towns, including Dawson Springs where Robinson resides. Her own home was severely damaged but livable; others were not so fortunate. Robinson left her home to help rescue efforts and worked through the night, responding to cries for help. The next day, after getting coverage for her hospital shift, she continued to work through her fatigue to help first responders and those in need  friends, neighbors and family.

She returned to work the following week because she was worried about staffing resources at the hospital.

Mullen concludes on behalf of the entire ContinueCARE Hospital at Baptist Health Deaconess team: "Deanna remains one of the strongest, most admirable and committed LPNs we could ever hope for."

Final nominees for the national 2022 Dan Wilford Award include diverse and highly qualified healthcare leaders:

Angela Cavaness, RN , Arkansas Continued Care Hospital of Jonesboro , Jonesboro, Arkansas

, Arkansas Continued Care Hospital of , Mary Dumas , QM multimodality tech, Baptist Hospital of Southeast Texas , Beaumont, Texas

, QM multimodality tech, Baptist Hospital of , Liza Peterson, RN , clinical supervisor, ContinueCARE Hospital at Baptist Health Corbin, Corbin, Kentucky

, clinical supervisor, ContinueCARE Hospital at Baptist Health Corbin, Danielle Davis, RN , ContinueCARE Hospital at Hendrick Medical Center, Abilene, Texas

, ContinueCARE Hospital at Hendrick Medical Center, Tammy Marcum, RN , charge nurse, ContinueCARE Hospital at Medical Center, Odessa, Texas

, charge nurse, ContinueCARE Hospital at Medical Center, Cedric Shephard , social worker, Huntsville Memorial Hospital, Huntsville, Texas

, social worker, Huntsville Memorial Hospital, Sherry Meaker, RN , nurse supervisor, Intensive Care Unit, Montrose Regional Health, Montrose, Colorado

, nurse supervisor, Intensive Care Unit, Montrose Regional Health, Carey Spring, RN , case manager, North Texas Medical Center, Gainesville, Texas

, case manager, North Texas Medical Center, Doris Klesel, RN, OR circulator nurse, St. Mark's Medical Center, La Grange, Texas

Dr. Kevin Matteson , general surgeon, Southwest Health System, Cortez, Colorado

, general surgeon, Southwest Health System, Elizabeth Jendrzey , physician assistant, Yoakum Community Hospital, Yoakum, Texas

About Community Hospital Corporation  HELP WHERE HOSPITALS NEED IT

Community Hospital Corporation owns, manages and consults with hospitals through CHC Hospitals, CHC Consulting and CHC ContinueCARE, with the purpose to guide, support and enhance the mission of community hospitals and healthcare providers. Based in Plano, Texas, CHC provides the resources and experience community hospitals need to improve quality outcomes, patient satisfaction and financial performance. For more information about CHC, please visit http://communityhospitalcorp.com .

CONTACT: Anne Block

972-943-6470

[email protected]

SOURCE Community Hospital Corporation
Fortune Business Insights reports HR Tech's projected growth: $24.04 billion in 2021 to $35.68 billion in 2028

CALGARY, AB, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Communo , a leading talent acquisition AI SaaS platform, today announced the appointment of Olivier Gachot as CEO. Gachot, a Silicon Valley veteran and four-time builder of successful acquisitions, will help major brands intelligently find and hire talented and diverse people using the company's AI- and ML-fueled talent matching platform. His vision is to help reinvent recruitment by developing and showcasing authentic communities and causes to attract the brightest minds from top companies and universities globally. Gachot will replace current CEO Ryan Gill, who will continue to serve as an adviser and remain executive chair on Communo's Board of Directors. Gachot will also join the company's Board.

Olivier Gachot, Communo CEO (CNW Group/Communo Corp.)

"Olivier is the perfect choice to lead Communo as we scale to the next level in one of the hottest emerging markets - HR Tech," said Chris Kneeland, co-founder of Communo. "His experience and knowledge with go-to-market SaaS platforms and proven leadership in product innovation made our choice evident. Olivier and I will work closely with our Board and executive team to supercharge Communo's exponential growth as we continue to gain market share with enterprise customers."

According to Fortune Business Insights , the global HR technology market size is projected to reach USD 35.68 billion in 2028, at a CAGR of 5.8% during the forecast period. For the past two years, Communo has experienced 200% YoY growth.

Gachot most recently served as chief revenue officer at Workspot and NewVoiceMedia (acquired by Vonage), and has held senior leadership positions at Lombardi (acquired by IBM), Spredfast (acquired by Vista Equity Partners) and Skire (acquired by Oracle). Gachot started his career in the French armed forces stationed in the Middle East.

"Communo has built an amazing platform in record time and the customer base is very impressive," said Gachot. "During the CEO search process I got to know the founders, staff, board and shareholders, and deeply recognized the potential of Communo's people and technology platform. I am excited to lead this incredible organization as we scale up and meet customer needs in the rapidly transforming race for talent."

In a planned succession, Communo's CEO and co-founder Ryan Gill is passing leadership responsibilities to Gachot, effective July 2022. "We thank Ryan for his tremendous contributions to Communo's success in its mission to 'eradicate loneliness' in an industry plagued by it," said Michael Volcko, co-chairman of Communo's Board. "Ryan has been a driving force and visionary in bringing the future of talent recruitment and staffing into the digital age. Steering the company from the beginning, from its first paying customers through the early funding rounds, all while creating value for investors, team members and clients over the last five years, was no easy task. We know Ryan will continue to serve Communo moving forward as we leap into this next growth phase."

About Communo

Communo is changing the way job seekers "find their happy." The Communo platform uniquely allows candidates to present their authentic selves, matching them with organizations that are enthusiastic in taking a holistic approach to talent acquisition. The Communo SaaS platform uses advanced artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) algorithms to connect job seekers with employers based on mutual affinities for community and causes, as well as traditional qualifications such as skills, experience and education. In turn, Communo helps companies source talent from a critical mass of enriched professional profiles, meaningfully engage with candidates and hire the most interested, exceptional individuals. HR leaders from Fortune 1000 companies to startups today use the Communo SaaS platform to achieve application-to-hire cycles of one to three weeks. To learn more about how to reduce the time to find and hire talent, and enhance employee retention from Day 1, visit communo.com .

SOURCE Communo Corp.
The Independence Fund Urges Senate to Pass Honoring our PACT Act of 2022 Toxic Exposure Bill Ahead of Recess

WASHINGTON, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Independence Fund again endorses the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our PACT Act of 2022, and pleads with the Senate to pass it without amendment, without delay, and before Congress goes into its August recess. The Veteran-serving non-profit submitted a letter of endorsement for the bill co-signed by 13 additional Veteran-serving organizations ahead of Senate reconsideration.

"Toxic exposure has plagued the Veteran community for decades," explains Bob Carey, Executive Vice President of Advocacy and Strategy for The Independence Fund. "More than three million Veterans have symptoms ranging from asthma to unexplained neurological disorders, rare cancers, pulmonary diseases, and more. Our government has allowed them to be on the front lines of exposure to the horrors of toxic exposure without relief for far too long."

The Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our PACT Act of 2022, which passed the House in June, passed the Senate soon thereafter, passed the House again two weeks ago to fix a minor clerical error, and now lies before the Senate for what should be a quick and easy passage; however, the vote is languishing due to minor objections As a result, the bill is in danger of further delay due to Senate recess, or even more catastrophically, being killed.

"The Senate is taking advantage of Congress being procedurally correct in changing a single line of the previously passed bill, to try to get an amendment added in," explained Carey, "But if the amendment were adopted, it would delay enactment for at least another month, probably two, and may kill the bill altogether. For the tens of thousands of disabled Veterans suffering from toxic exposure symptoms served by The Independence Fund, four to six weeks is an eternity when awaiting medical care for cancer and other highly specialized conditions. As soon as this bill is enacted into law, the VA can start treating these sick Veterans. The Independence Fund, and many other Veteran organizations, will be happy to work with Senators on budgetary issues after this bill becomes law. But now, after two and a half years of work, is not the time to try to be a budgetary perfectionist, and to do so on the backs of sick Veterans. We urge the Senate to pass this bill now!"

The Independence Fund works closely with Veterans suffering the harmful side effects of burn pit and other toxins exposure during Operation Desert Storm and post-9/11 operations. Currently, 78% of all disability claims related to toxic exposure are denied by the VA, and those who register in the VA's Burn Pit Registry can still wait years before receiving a response. "The PACT Act will provide a vital lifeline for these Veterans who have given so much in the defense of our country, but who are left behind by the bureaucratic inertia of the VA's disability claims process," Carey said.

Available for Interview:

Nick Ooley and Heidi Yurack - Army Veteran, Arlington, Indiana

Nick Ooley, 35, is an Army Veteran who was regularly exposed to burn pits as convoy security. He has been facing the effects of toxic exposure for more than 6 years, including restrictive lung disease and a new, still-undiagnosed disease in his lungs.

Ben and Seida Johnson - Air Force, Katy, Texas

Ben Johnson, 35, is an Air Force Veran who was exposed to jet fuel, burn pits, and sewage ponds in Afghanistan and Qatar as engineer assistant. He was diagnosed with advanced bone cancer that was deteriorating his spine and had spread through 90% of his body.

Linda Sorrells - Air Force, Pine Level, NC

Linda Sorrells' husband Dwight was a Vietnam Veteran who was exposed to Agent Orange in Thailand and diagnosed with multiple service-related cancers, but his disability claim remained in review for nearly 3 years. Dwight passed away in 2022 with the claim still unresolved and benefits left unpaid.

ABOUT THE INDEPENDENCE FUND:

Founded in 2007, The Independence Fund (501c3) is committed to serving the Warfighter Community by providing innovative programs and services to support the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual independence of our servicemembers, combat Veterans, their caregivers, families, and those allies who served in combat alongside our troops, through innovative mobility and adaptive technologies and therapies for combat veterans; suicide prevention; caregiver and family support; and Veteran advocacy with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, other government agencies, federal and state legislators, and other partners. The Independence Fund believes in fairness and equality for all veterans and families irrespective of race, gender, religion, and sexual orientation, and will continue to uphold these American values.

Media Contact:

Caroline Arey

The Independence Fund

Strategic Messaging Director

704.608.8770

[email protected]

SOURCE The Independence Fund
Jersey City / Hoboken-based firm, formerly known as Sawyer Smith Residential, to now operate as Corcoran Sawyer Smith; welcomes local firm Hudson Place Realty

NEW YORK, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Corcoran Group, LLC today announced its continued expansion by welcoming its newest affiliate in the state of New Jersey, with the launch of Corcoran Sawyer Smith. The firm formerly known as Sawyer Smith Residential is owned and led by Timothy Sawyer Smith, and serves Hoboken and Jersey City. The announcement, made by Pamela Liebman, President and CEO of The Corcoran Group, marks another significant region for the firm in the tri-state area  particularly given its proximity to Corcoran's origins in nearby New York City.

Corcoran Sawyer Smith is not only celebrating its new affiliation, but is also welcoming the firm formerly known as Hudson Place Realty Inc. to its operation. Founded in 1979, Hudson Place Realty is led by Jon Sisti and will now also operate as Corcoran Sawyer Smith.

Behind New York City and Newark, Jersey City is the third largest city in the New York metropolitan area, and Hoboken is strategically located on the banks of the Hudson River across from lower Manhattan  both perfectly positioned hubs close to New York City. The region has beautiful, well-maintained parks that offer ample community spaces, as well as access to amazing restaurants and a bustling arts & culture scene. Ranked as one of the best places to live in the state of New Jersey by Niche and straddling the best of both worlds with beautiful suburban respite and vibrant city environments, Jersey City / Hoboken is an ideal match for the Corcoran brand's rapidly expanding affiliate network.

"I'm thrilled that we're growing our footprint in our neighboring New Jersey with Corcoran Sawyer Smith, especially as they're welcoming team members on day one," said Liebman. "With Jersey City / Hoboken serving as a key feeder market in and out of New York City, this decision was a strategic one. There are plenty of eager clientele and the area is simply a lovely place to live. I look forward to seeing all that the Corcoran Sawyer Smith team will do as stewards of our growing brand."

Sawyer Smith has practiced real estate for more than 20 years, having started in New York City and later moving across the Hudson River to work in the burgeoning Jersey City real estate market. After 11 years in new construction sales and marketing, he transitioned to residential sales with the launch of the brokerage that bears his name, founded in 2012 with only two agents. Over the next 10 years, the firm became a driving force in the community and today, the firm recently reached the number three position in total sales volume in Jersey City overall. Smith and his team also value supporting local arts and social organizations as a cornerstone of their growth.

"As a young agent starting in real estate in the mid-1990s in New York City, the Corcoran brand for me represented the very best in properties and professionalism. Fast-forwarding 20 years now, having the opportunity to represent this legacy in New Jersey is quite surreal," said Smith. "Having run a successful boutique real estate firm for more than 35 years, I am delighted to merge with Sawyer Smith and thereby Corcoran," added Sisti. "Both companies have impressed me throughout the years. We share similar values, principles, and company cultures. We're very excited to take things to the next level."

About The Corcoran Group

The Corcoran Group has been a leading residential real estate brand for nearly 50 years. Through its New York City, Hamptons, and South Florida brokerages, along with its rapidly growing affiliate network, the firm is home to more than 170 offices and more than 6,000 independent salespersons in key urban, suburban, and resort markets nationwide. Corcoran agents earn and keep their clients' trust with an unwavering commitment to white-glove service, expertise, and integrity. In every market served, Corcoran helps you find the home that's just right for you. The Corcoran brand comprises both offices owned by a subsidiary of Anywhere Advisors LLC (f/k/a Realogy Brokerage Group LLC) and franchised offices, which are independently owned and operated. For more information about The Corcoran Group, please visit www.corcoran.com.

SOURCE The Corcoran Group
DUBLIN, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "DENSO CASE (Connectivity, Automation, Sharing and Electrification) Layout Research Report, 2022" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

DENSO CASE Research: The semiconductor business will help it go "from Toyota to the world"

ResearchInChina has released DENSO CASE (Connectivity, Automation, Sharing and Electrification) Layout Research Report, 2022 to Sort out and study the layout of Japan-based DENSO Group in the fields of automation, connectivity, electrification and other fields, to summarize its development dynamics in 2021-2022 and predict its future business focus.

DENSO's future growth will mainly hinge on CASE

With the transformation and development of CASE, DENSO has built relatively sound technical capabilities in the fields of automation, connectivity, and electrification, and its future growth will mainly hinge on CASE.

In the field of automation, DENSO has formed ADAS (L2-L4), surround-view systems, AVP, autonomous platooning, autonomous taxis, a series of active safety systems, AD systems and ADAS through the provision of cameras (front-view monocular/binocular, surround-view), radar (forward, corner), LiDAR, ultrasonic radar, integrated control software for autonomous driving and other products. In addition, it provides users with integrated software and hardware solutions.

At this stage, DENSO mainly applies the autonomous braking function to the front, rear, left and right directions, and to avoid traffic accidents in scenarios such as crossing intersections. In the future, DENSO will strengthen the development of early warning functions with the help of V2X and other infrastructure.

In the field of connectivity, DENSO's products cover automotive communication, IVI systems, digital keys, OTA solutions, cyber security solutions, cockpit domain control platforms, clusters & center consoles, HUD, DMS, etc. Among them, automotive V2X communication equipment features wireless communication, vehicle positioning and status judgment, and it enables safe driving assistance through wireless vehicle-to-vehicle and road-vehicle communication.

It has been installed in Toyota Prius, Crown, Lexus RX, Lexus LS and other models. DENSO plans to integrate V2X, V2V, display systems, DMS/OMS and other functions into the bottom layer of cockpit to offer a more intelligent cockpit solution by 2025.

In the field of electrification, DENSO focuses on the development of core products across electrified powertrain platforms (PHEV, HEV, BEV, FCEV): battery packs, motors, inverters, and energy management systems.

According to the plan, DENSO will center on the development of inverter and stator winding technologies before 2025, extend to power modules, control modules and thermal management systems from 2026 to 2030, and further enhance its supply chain.

Toyota contributes over 50% to DENSO's revenue

After DENSO was separated from Toyota in 1949, the two have maintained an amicable and cooperative relationship. In FY2022, Toyota contributed 51.4% to DENSO's revenue, an increase of 0.8 percentage point from the previous fiscal year; the order intake worth JPY2,837.6 billion, up 13.5% year-on-year.

DENSO's CASE products are mainly tested and mass-produced through Toyota.



For instance:

In April 2021 , DENSO announced it had developed products for Advanced Drive, an advanced driver assistance technology featured on the new Lexus LS and the new Toyota Mirai. DENSO's newly developed products used in Advanced Drive include LiDAR, a binocular vision system, an Spatial Information Service Electronic Control Unit (SIS ECU), an Advanced Drive System Electronic Control Unit (ADS ECU) and Advanced Drive Extension Electronic Control Unit (ADX ECU).

, DENSO announced it had developed products for Advanced Drive, an advanced driver assistance technology featured on the new Lexus LS and the new Toyota Mirai. DENSO's newly developed products used in Advanced Drive include LiDAR, a binocular vision system, an Spatial Information Service Electronic Control Unit (SIS ECU), an Advanced Drive System Electronic Control Unit (ADS ECU) and Advanced Drive Extension Electronic Control Unit (ADX ECU). In May 2022 , BluE Nexus Corporation, AISIN Corporation, and DENSO Corporation announced that they had jointly developed eAxle for Toyota's new battery electric vehicle (BEV), bZ4X.

, BluE Nexus Corporation, AISIN Corporation, and DENSO Corporation announced that they had jointly developed eAxle for Toyota's new battery electric vehicle (BEV), bZ4X. In addition, DENSO's forward-looking layout and innovative products in CASE almost reflect Toyota's presence. They are deeply bound and closely tied up in CASE transformation.

The semiconductor business will help DENSO go "from Toyota to the world"

In 2022, DENSO's layout concentrates on the semiconductor field.

In February 2022 , DENSO acquired a more than 10% stake in Japan Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing, Inc. (JASM), TSMC's majority-owned manufacturing subsidiary in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan . With this equity investment, DENSO became JASM's third largest shareholder. TSMC will build a new chip factory in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan through JASM to produce cutting-edge logic semiconductors for image sensors and MCUs, with mass production scheduled to begin by the end of 2024. The acquisition will enable DENSO to stably purchase cutting-edge semiconductors with circuit line widths of around 10-20 nanometers in Japan .

, DENSO acquired a more than 10% stake in Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing, Inc. (JASM), TSMC's majority-owned manufacturing subsidiary in Kumamoto Prefecture, . With this equity investment, DENSO became JASM's third largest shareholder. TSMC will build a new chip factory in Kumamoto Prefecture, through JASM to produce cutting-edge logic semiconductors for image sensors and MCUs, with mass production scheduled to begin by the end of 2024. The acquisition will enable DENSO to stably purchase cutting-edge semiconductors with circuit line widths of around 10-20 nanometers in . In February, DENSO announced that it will increase its annual inverter capacity to 10 million units by FY2025 (ending in March 2026 ), tripling the current level. In order to achieve this goal, DENSO will expand or build new factories in Japan , the United States , China , Europe , Southeast Asia , India and other countries and regions. In addition to supplying products to Toyota, it will contact European and American OEMs.

), tripling the current level. In order to achieve this goal, DENSO will expand or build new factories in , , , , , and other countries and regions. In addition to supplying products to Toyota, it will contact European and American OEMs. In April 2022 , DENSO and United Semiconductor Japan Co., Ltd. (USJC), a subsidiary of global semiconductor foundry United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC), announced that they had agreed to collaborate on the production of IGBTs at USJC's 300mm fab. The production is scheduled to start in the first half of 2023.

, DENSO and United Semiconductor Japan Co., Ltd. (USJC), a subsidiary of global semiconductor foundry United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC), announced that they had agreed to collaborate on the production of IGBTs at USJC's 300mm fab. The production is scheduled to start in the first half of 2023. "DENSO is considering spinning off its JPY420 billion chip business", CTO Yoshifumi Kato said in an interview in June 2022 .

With the development of mobility technologies such as autonomous driving and electrification, the importance of semiconductors in the automotive industry is becoming more and more prominent. Recently, DENSO's semiconductor layout mainly pivots on digital chips with high computing power, which will be mainly used in AD systems/ADAS. In order to obtain more semiconductor-related resources, DENSO has successively formed close capital bonds with Renesas, Infineon, TSMC, and UMC.

At present, DENSO keeps an eye to meet the internal chip demand and support Toyota. If DENSO splits its semiconductor business in the future, the relationship with Toyota is expected to be loosened, facilitating its global expansion. After all, DENSO has become the world's fifth-largest supplier of automotive chips by sales volume, and digital semiconductors to mass-produced in 2023-2024 will be a blessing.

Key Topics Covered:

1 Profile and Global Layout of DENSO

1.1 Profile

1.2 Core Business

1.3 Revenue

1.4 Product System

1.5 R&D System: Global Layout

1.6 R&D System: R&D Center in China

1.7 Business Layout in China

1.8 CASE Strategy

1.9 Strategy for 2030



2 ADAS and Autonomous Driving

2.1 Development Roadmap of Autonomous Driving

2.2 Layout of Autonomous Driving Products

2.3 Autonomous Driving Sensors

2.4 AD System/ADAS

2.5 Autonomous Driving Tests and R&D Layout



3 Internet of Vehicles and Intelligent Cockpit Layout

3.1 Connectivity and Intelligent Cockpit Layout

3.2 Internet of Vehicles Business

3.3 Intelligent Cockpit Business



4 Electrification Products and Layout

4.1 Goals for Electrification Business

4.2 Automotive Electrification Strategy

4.3 New Electrification Brand: ELEXCORE

4.4 Electrification Layout

4.5 Battery Management System

4.6 Thermal Management System Business

4.7 Power Semiconductors

4.8 EV Control Units and Components



5 Shared Mobility and Others

5.1 Overview of MaaS

5.2 MaaS: Mobility Service Terminal

5.3 MaaS: MaaS Platform for Fleet Management

5.4 MaaS Technology

5.5 Investment in MaaS

5.6 DENSO Takes a Stake in Envoy to offer the benefits of MaaS to Businesses



6 Summary

6.1 Layout of CASE Industry Alliance

6.2 CASE Dynamics, 2021-2022

6.3 Organizational Structure Adjustment Highlights the Business Status of Software

6.4 The Future Performance Improvement Hinges on Higher Sales of CASE Products

6.5 CASE Software Revolution

6.6 ADAS Planning

6.7 Electrification Planning

6.8 New Business Expansion: Fuel Cells, Flying Cars, etc.

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/kkj91w

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
World's first 11.6" fully rugged tablet equipped with 12th Gen Intel processor, boasting a sleek and compact design with enterprise-class performance for the modern mobile workforce.

FREMONT, Calif., July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Durabook, the global rugged mobile solutions brand owned by Twinhead International Corporation, today announced significant updates to its R11 fully rugged tablet, achieving a world-first with its 11.6" fully rugged tablet featuring the latest 12th Gen Intel processor and architectural innovations to elevate the user experience.

The DURABOOK R11 is the world's first 11.6" fully rugged tablet equipped with 12th Gen Intel processor, boasting a sleek and compact design with enterprise-class performance for the modern mobile workforce.

"Durabook designs devices to meet the demanding needs of field service workers who rely on rugged technology to streamline workflows and improve productivity in even the harshest environments," said Twinhead CEO Fred Kao. "The updated R11 employs the latest technology to meet the ever-changing needs of workforces operating in some of the most demanding sectors, including warehouse, field service, law enforcement, and logistics."

Performance for the professionals

Designed for professional users demanding optimum performance, the R11 now comes equipped with Intel Core i7 and i5 processors. At the same time, its CPU has been upgraded to the latest Intel 12th generation Alder Lake platform, making it up to 300% faster than previous models with 8th Gen CPU. In addition, the R11 is delivered with Intel Iris Xe Graphics, boosting computing power to process large amounts of data, images, and video feeds in real-time.

Rock-Solid Design to meet extreme challenges

Durabook understands that professionals often need to work in challenging environments. With this in mind, this model is MIL-STD-810H certified and has an IP66 rating, which means it can withstand excessive dust and water exposure, low and high temperatures, shocks, vibrations, and drops of up to four feet. It also boasts an impressive ultra-long battery life of up to 14 hours, so users can be confident in undertaking multiple applications and uninterrupted operations with minimal risk of downtime.

In addition, its smooth, streamlined exterior and neat form complement its tough image, guaranteeing optimum operational performance in every situation. The R11 is also tested for MIL-STD-461F and meets ANSI/ISA 12.12.01 standards for Class I Division 2 hazardous locations. This allows customers across law enforcement departments, government, federal agencies, logistics, industrial, and utility companies to improve efficiency and reduce operational costs.

Exceptional clarity in every environment

R11 also features an 11.6" FHD (1920 x 1080) 10-point capacitive multi-touch display with Durabook's proprietary DynaVue technology and up to 1,000 nits brightness, providing exceptional viewing even in direct sunlight. It also offers four advanced touch modes - glove, stylus, water, and finger - optimizing the device's use for both indoor and outdoor applications and improving accuracy in every environment.

Unparalleled connectivity

Equipped with Thunderbolt 4 technology, the R11 is designed to support the modern workspace by providing powerful yet simple and flexible connectivity. In addition to providing exceptional wireless capability via Intel Wi-Fi 6E AX211, which is five times faster than its predecessor, the R11 features an additional Micro HDMI port for video output and can connect to multiple devices via its Bluetooth V5.2 bandwidth.

Infinite customization flexibility

Durabook knows that customization is key, which is why the latest R11 model has been designed with flexibility in mind. Expansion options include a barcode reader, RJ-45, RS-232, RFID reader, smart card, and magnet stripe reader. All of these options increase readability and usability for workers outside of the traditional office, for example, field service personnel needing to gather relevant information and track work progress or customer account records.

Availability

Packed with Durabook's exceptional 3-Year Accidental Damage Warranty, the new updated R11 starts at $1,849 and is available for purchase now. For more details, visit https://www.durabook.com/us/products/r11-tablet. For sales inquiries, please contact [email protected], or call 800-995-8946.

Follow the DURABOOK Brand

The Durabook product family of rugged laptops and tablets can be followed on various social media channels, including LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

ABOUT DURABOOK

Durabook is the core brand of Twinhead International Corporation in Taiwan, a world-renowned manufacturer of rugged mobile solutions for more than 30 years. All Durabook devices are designed, manufactured, and tested to the highest standards to ensure maximum quality and reliability. Committed to engineering and service excellence, Durabook products have been widely adopted by government and enterprise customers, including oil and gas, utilities, field service, military, and public safety for more than a decade. For more information, visit www.durabook.com.

PR Contact:

Rita Lee

Copernio

(714) 891-3660

[email protected]

All products/services and trademarks mentioned in this release are the properties of their respective companies.

 2022 Durabook Americas. All rights reserved.

SOURCE Durabook Americas
Generation Investment Management and Ascension Ventures co-led the round for Elation's primary care platform supporting practices in new payment models and more than 12.8 million patients

SAN FRANCISCO, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Elation Health , the clinical-first technology company powering innovation in primary care, today announced a Series D financing round of $50 million. Generation Investment Management, a firm established in 2004 to back businesses driving sustainability, co-led the round alongside Ascension Ventures with participation from Threshold Ventures, Ascend Partners, and individual investors including Fay Rotenberg and Jonathan Bush. This new round brings Elation Health to $108.5 million in venture funding to date.

Funding will be used to continue rapidly scaling Elation's market reach and platform features for high-value primary care success in all settings. In addition to being a market leader for independent primary care practices  including those taking insurance, in risk-bearing contracts, and in the direct primary care setting  Elation is the operating technology for many of the largest and fastest-growing primary care innovators such as Crossover Health, Cityblock Health, and Firefly Health.

Participant statements:

Anthony Woolf , Growth Equity Partner at Generation Investment Management  "We believe Elation Health is powering primary care's value-based future, which needs to be more physician-managed and patient-centric and less administratively driven. We need to move away from a fee-for-service system to one where incentives align with long-term health outcomes for patients. Elation has built the leading cloud-hosted, API-enabled electronic health record system fit for the modern digital health environment. This funding round aims to accelerate what Elation offers to physicians and patients as the company continues to work with forward-thinking leaders to build a more sustainable primary care-driven healthcare system."

, Growth Equity Partner at Generation Investment Management  "We believe Elation Health is powering primary care's value-based future, which needs to be more physician-managed and patient-centric and less administratively driven. We need to move away from a fee-for-service system to one where incentives align with long-term health outcomes for patients. Elation has built the leading cloud-hosted, API-enabled electronic health record system fit for the modern digital health environment. This funding round aims to accelerate what Elation offers to physicians and patients as the company continues to work with forward-thinking leaders to build a more sustainable primary care-driven healthcare system." John Kuelper , Senior Managing Director and head of Healthcare Technology at Ascension Ventures  "Ascension Ventures believes that independent primary care practices will continue to be a foundational component of care delivery, particularly as healthcare moves towards value-based care. Elation has demonstrated that it can enable these clinicians to operate at top-of-license by making clinical and practice management more intuitive and efficient with technology and automation. With this foundation in place, we are particularly excited by opportunities to further enable these practices to collaborate more deeply with insurers, specialists, and hospitals around value-based initiatives. Elation has the potential to make care delivery much more collaborative by empowering the primary care clinic with the information and tools needed to better coordinate complex care."

, Senior Managing Director and head of Healthcare Technology at Ascension Ventures  "Ascension Ventures believes that independent primary care practices will continue to be a foundational component of care delivery, particularly as healthcare moves towards value-based care. Elation has demonstrated that it can enable these clinicians to operate at top-of-license by making clinical and practice management more intuitive and efficient with technology and automation. With this foundation in place, we are particularly excited by opportunities to further enable these practices to collaborate more deeply with insurers, specialists, and hospitals around value-based initiatives. Elation has the potential to make care delivery much more collaborative by empowering the primary care clinic with the information and tools needed to better coordinate complex care." Former athenahealth CEO and Founder Jonathan Bush , now CEO of Elation Health partner Zus Health  "athenahealth's original mission was to remove all the scut work from the practice of medicine so doctors could be doctors. Decades later, the industry still needs far better solutions to enable primary care to work best in support of clinicians doing just that and developing trusted relationships with their patients. This requires flexibility and space for listening, not checklists and a focus on CPT codes. I first met Kyna when she was automating her family's primary care practice and believe the sensibility she developed in that effort is what makes Elation such a unique technology platform. The bonus is that discerning engineers and builders love using Elation as well as clinicians. I can't wait to see what's next!"

, now CEO of Elation Health partner Zus Health  "athenahealth's original mission was to remove all the scut work from the practice of medicine so doctors could be doctors. Decades later, the industry still needs far better solutions to enable primary care to work best in support of clinicians doing just that and developing trusted relationships with their patients. This requires flexibility and space for listening, not checklists and a focus on CPT codes. I first met Kyna when she was automating her family's primary care practice and believe the sensibility she developed in that effort is what makes Elation such a unique technology platform. The bonus is that discerning engineers and builders love using Elation as well as clinicians. I can't wait to see what's next!" Kyna Fong , Ph.D., co-founder and CEO of Elation Health  "There is tremendous power in a primary careled future. The concept of specialty-led, billing-first care from the last few decades, and the technologies that have enabled it, has delivered unsustainable costs, burnout, and declining health outcomes. We are in the midst of a major shift toward primary care returning to its leadership position, and Elation is honored to have a role in powering that change. Every patient deserves a primary care physician they can trust."

Designed from the start as a Collaborative Health Record, the Elation Health technology platform has a unified patient architecture that intuitively makes real-time shared data available to every clinician without overwhelming data noise. In 2021, the company was invited to work with the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) on technology that can ease administrative burden on physicians. Elation Health has invested significantly in technology tools that make it easy for clinicians to get credit for the relationship-driven care they provide to patients. Today, millions of patients are being cared for by clinicians in value-based care arrangements using Elation.

Additionally, Elation has become the API-driven, EHR platform of choice for development teams at primary care organizations to accelerate innovative care models without creating technology systems from scratch. The platform currently supports more than a million API calls each day with connections to 300+ technology and healthcare organization collaborators including Dock Health, Hint Health, and Zus Health.

The company will continue to build for clinician delight. In an increasingly complex healthcare landscape, Elation is maintaining the highest NPS and KLAS scores while advancing primary care success across the wide variety of new practice and payment models. For more information about Elation Health's platform for primary care, visit elationhealth.com .

About Elation Health

Elation Health is the most trusted technology platform for high-value primary care. Since 2010, the company has delivered clinical-first solutions  built on a collaborative EHR platform  that help practices start, grow, communicate, and succeed in delivering the highest-quality personalized care to patients. Elation Health supports primary care clinicians in upholding the craft of medicine, while thriving in an evolving healthcare landscape. Today, Elation Health serves 24,000 clinicians caring for millions of Americans. Learn more at elationhealth.com , LinkedIn , and Twitter

About Generation Investment Management

Generation Investment Management is dedicated to long-term investing, integrated sustainability research and client alignment. It is an independent, private, owner-managed partnership established in 2004 and headquartered in London, with a U.S. presence in San Francisco. Generation Investment Management LLP is authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by the Financial Conduct Authority. In the U.S. Generation operates via Generation Investment Management US LLP, a Registered Investment Adviser with the Securities and Exchange Commission. www.generationim.com

About Ascension Ventures

Ascension Ventures is a strategic healthcare venture fund with more than $1 billion in capital under management. Our limited partners are some of the most respected, values-driven nonprofit healthcare systems in the U.S. As a strategic investor, Ascension Ventures adds value by sharing its portfolio companies' solutions across its limited partner base. The work we do at Ascension Ventures generates returns to our limited partners that help support their missions to provide care to the poor and vulnerable. http://www.ascensionventures.org/

SOURCE Elation Health
SALT LAKE CITY, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- England Logistics, one of the nation's top freight brokerage firms, has been awarded a silver Stevie Award in the 20th annual American Business Awards Achievement in Customer Satisfaction category in recognition of exceptional service provided by their full truckload team. More than 3,700 nominations from organizations of all sizes and in virtually every industry were submitted this year for consideration in a wide range of categories.

The England Logistics team received accolades for exceptional efforts in the implementation of technology to enhance the client experience and educational opportunities to help shippers optimize their business strategy.

"We are very honored to be recognized as a Stevie Award winner for outstanding service to our clients," stated Shaun Beardall, executive vice president of logistics services. "We are committed to identifying and implementing technology and education to help our clients find stability in an ever-changing supply chain environment."

The American Business Awards (ABA) is the nation's premier business awards program. All organizations operating in the United States, both public and private, are eligible to submit nominations to the ABA. The applications were reviewed by 240 professionals worldwide, and the scored average determined the winners.

About England Logistics

England Logistics offers a vast portfolio of non-asset based transportation solutions including full truckload services, intermodal, dry and temp controlled LTL, parcel, and complete supply chain management. The company was recently recognized among the 50 Best Companies to Sell For by Selling Power magazine, ranked in the Training Top 100 by Training magazine, and awarded multiple Stevie Awards by the American Business Awards. Headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, the company also has offices nationwide. For more information visit www.englandlogistics.com .

Contact: Wendy Barclay

England Logistics

801.656.4718

[email protected]

SOURCE England Logistics, Inc.
Sticker Mule's Purchase of the SurePress L-6534VW UV Press Marks Epson America's 100th Unit Sold

LOS ALAMITOS, Calif., July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Epson America today announced it has sold 100 SurePress digital label presses in North America. The 100th unit was a SurePress L-6534VW UV press purchased by custom printing company Sticker Mule for its Amsterdam, N.Y. location. The SurePress portfolio is engineered to meet the production, quality and service and support demands of label converters, specialty printers and vertical manufacturers.

"Epson helped us take over the online label market and it's a great honor to install the 100th Epson SurePress printer sold in North America," said Anthony Constantino, co-founder and CEO of Sticker Mule. "No one can touch the combination of Sticker Mule magic and Epson print quality. Not only is the SurePress a great machine, but the Epson team behind it is an innovative powerhouse. They deserve a big congratulations for reaching such a major milestone. I only wish we owned all 100."

Continuing its legacy as a trusted digital label and packaging press provider and innovator, Epson recently introduced two new SurePress digital label presses with fine-tuned feature sets for prime label converters and commercial printers. The SurePress L-6534VW with Digital Varnish or optional Orange Ink delivers reliable and repeatable high-speed printing of up to 2.0 million square feet per month.2 The new SurePress L-4733AW is the only digital press in its class with White Ink1 for prime labels and thin films.

"Our 100th SurePress installation in North America is a testament to the acceptance in the market of Epson technology for high-end digital inkjet label production," said Victor Gomez, director, Industrial Labels, Epson America. "We have installed presses at label converters of all sizes, as well as at promotional products printers, print-for-use sites, and many other traditional and non-traditional label and packaging providers. It's appropriate that this milestone was reached with the SurePress L-6534VW UV press at Sticker Mule, who coincidentally also bought the very first SurePress L-6534VW."

Epson SurePress digital label presses are engineered for flexibility and reliability, and with a remarkable color gamut, are designed to deliver accurate spot colors and gradients required for brand-quality color prime labels and packaging. SurePress presses are designed as a system with Epson manufactured components including ink, printheads, LED pinning and curing, offering stable, predictable production.

For additional information, visit www.epson.com/surepress. For inquiries in North America, contact:

Western Region: Mark Elsbernd , (818) 620-2730 or [email protected]

, (818) 620-2730 or Central Region: Bob Ochalla , (630) 710-6005 or [email protected]

, (630) 710-6005 or Eastern Region and Canada : Frank Connelly , (615) 585-9058 or [email protected]

About Epson

Epson is a global technology leader dedicated to co-creating sustainability and enriching communities by leveraging its efficient, compact, and precision technologies and digital technologies to connect people, things, and information. The company is focused on solving societal issues through innovations in home and office printing, commercial and industrial printing, manufacturing, visual and lifestyle. Epson's goal is to become carbon negative and eliminate use of exhaustible underground resources such as oil and metal by 2050.

Led by the Japan-based Seiko Epson Corporation, the worldwide Epson Group generates annual sales of around JPY 1 trillion. global.epson.com/

Epson America, Inc., based in Los Alamitos, Calif., is Epson's regional headquarters for the U.S., Canada, and Latin America. To learn more about Epson, please visit: epson.com. You may also connect with Epson America on Facebook (facebook.com/Epson), Twitter (twitter.com/EpsonAmerica), YouTube (youtube.com/epsonamerica), and Instagram (instagram.com/EpsonAmerica).

1 Compared with similar digital label presses priced at $250,000 (USD) or less as of May 2022.

2 Verified by Epson Remote Management System.

EPSON and SurePress are registered trademarks and EPSON Exceed Your Vision is a registered logomark of Seiko Epson Corporation. All other product and brand names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective companies. Epson disclaims any and all rights in these marks. Copyright 2022 Epson America, Inc.

SOURCE Epson America, Inc.
Acquisition to Further Equifax Global Footprint in Digital Identity and Fraud Prevention Solutions

ATLANTA, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Equifax (NYSE: EFX) is expanding its global footprint in digital identity and fraud prevention with a definitive agreement to acquire Midigator LLC , a provider of post-transaction fraud mitigation solutions. With the rise of global ecommerce sales, expected to hit $5.5 trillion in 2022, transaction disputes and chargebacks are also surging. Midigator's highly automated, data-driven chargeback prevention and chargeback dispute management solutions complement the Equifax Kount Identity Trust Global Network , which uses award-winning Artificial Intelligence (AI) to link trust and fraud data signals from 32 billion digital interactions, 17 billion unique devices, and five billion annual transactions across 200 countries and territories.

Midigator

"We're energized to expand our Identity & Fraud capabilities with the acquisition of Midigator. The New Equifax is much more than a credit bureau. Midigator expands our robust differentiated data assets and Kount acquisition in 2021 to bring global businesses the information and solutions they need to better manage fraud across the complete customer lifecycle," said Mark W. Begor, CEO of Equifax. "With our Equifax Cloud driven data & analytics capabilities and the powerful combination of Midigator and our Kount Identity & Fraud solutions, Equifax is poised to capitalize on new revenue streams and relationships, broadening our digital identity footprint in a fast growing space. This is our 12th acquisition since the beginning of 2021 and we are continuing to reinvest our strong free cash flow in strategic bolt-on acquisitions to expand our capabilities and drive growth in the future."

With global omnichannel digital payments expected to grow from 2.6 billion users in 2020 to over 4.4 billion in 2025 , dispute and chargeback rates present growing problems for businesses around the world. Founded in 2013, Midigator offers a technology platform designed to not only automate the dispute response process, but to provide the real-time data businesses need to know why chargebacks are occurring in the first place and better understand their customers. Midigator has prevented more than 2.7 million chargebacks. The resulting granular, post-transaction data and digital signals complement the Equifax Kount dataset and augment AI-driven Kount preventative fraud products to combat the illegitimate chargebacks known as "friendly" fraud as well as criminal fraud activities.

"The acquisition of Midigator will bolster the expansion of our digital identity network for current and prospective customers while further enabling new forms of engagement in online commerce," said Sid Singh, President of United States Information Solutions (USIS) at Equifax. "We're seeing strong demand from clients and partners for digital identity and fraud prevention solutions that encompass the entire customer journey, specifically around the desire to mitigate and manage post-transaction issues. Many organizations are in markets that weren't prone to friendly fraud before. Now they are. By combining our Kount pre-authorization and preventative protection capabilities with Midigator's complementary intelligent post-authorization and automated chargeback technologies, we'll be able to provide a complete solution that enhances customer experience while helping businesses to protect and recover revenue."

"We believe that Midigator's chargeback representment and dispute management solutions are a strong complement to the current Equifax digital enablement and fraud control offerings," said Brad Wiskirchen, General Manager of Kount, an Equifax company. "This acquisition will strongly position us for continued product innovation and provide our customers and partners with the advanced tools and insights they need to protect and recover revenue by combatting illegitimate chargebacks."

"Midigator was founded by e-commerce merchants to solve friendly fraud challenges. Over the last decade, companies ranging from startups to established brands have used Midigator for intelligent chargeback responses, in-depth analytics, real-time account reporting and dispute processes," said Corey Baggett, Founder and CEO of Midigator. "Our solutions are grounded in a strong foundation of data analysis and we're excited for the new opportunities and product innovation that will come from having our offerings combined with the expansive set of Equifax data, analytics and products."

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2022. The acquisition is not anticipated to have a material impact on 2022 Equifax financial results. As part of the transaction, LLR Partners, who invested in Midigator in 2018, will exit the business. Raymond James served as financial advisor and Goodwin Proctor served as legal advisor to Midigator in this transaction. King & Spalding LLP served as the legal advisor to Equifax.

Once the transaction closes, Midigator will become part of the Equifax USIS business unit.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information. All statements that address operating performance and events or developments that we expect or anticipate will occur in the future, including statements relating to our ability to successfully consummate the proposed transaction, the expected financial and operational benefits, synergies and growth from the Midigator acquisition and our ability to integrate Midigator and its products, services, technologies, IT systems and personnel into our operations, and similar statements about our outlook and our business plans are forward-looking statements. We believe these forward-looking statements are reasonable as and when made. However, forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from our historical experience and our present expectations or projections. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those described in our 2021 Form 10-K and subsequent SEC filings. As a result of such risks and uncertainties, we urge you not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date when made. We undertake no 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 EQUIFAX INC.

At Equifax (NYSE: EFX), we believe knowledge drives progress. As a global data, analytics, and technology company, we play an essential role in the global economy by helping financial institutions, companies, employees, and government agencies make critical decisions with greater confidence. Our unique blend of differentiated data, analytics, and cloud technology drives insights to power decisions to move people forward. Headquartered in Atlanta and supported by more than 11,000 employees worldwide, Equifax operates or has investments in 25 countries in North America, Central and South America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific region. For more information, visit Equifax.com .

ABOUT MIDIGATOR LLC

Midigator provides an effective and efficient alternative approach to the manual processes typically used to manage chargeback disputes: intelligent chargeback technology. With intuitive features that remove complexities and flexible automation that reduces costs, clients recover more revenue and prevent more chargebacks  all with unparalleled ROI. To learn more about managing chargebacks smarter, visit Midigator.com today.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Eric Abercrombie for Equifax

[email protected]

Ray Lau for Midigator

[email protected]

SOURCE Equifax Inc.
GRANBURY, Texas, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- In what will be his first full year as a real estate agent, Eric Wilkins has achieved exceptional results in the industry already: more than $13 million in sales in the first two quarters of 2022. Notably, this has been accomplished in a market that has been extraordinarily competitive, requiring skills and instincts to negotiate multiple offers, bidding wars and contract anomalies beyond the norm.

Eric Wilkins

Part of the top luxury brokerage in the Dallas-Fort Worth region, Briggs Freeman Sotheby's International Realty, Wilkins brings his professional experience as a marketer to every real estate client, whether they are selling or buying. As the former creative director at a large, multisite church and the current owner of a successful digital marketing agency, Wilkins knows consumer behavior, technology and trends  and blends it all in his real estate career, whether marketing a seller's property to its fullest using the industry's most advanced tools or seeking the perfect place for his buyers.

In 2022, Wilkins has sold a range of properties, from a 1900s Victorian house near historic Granbury Square to sprawling luxury homes in sought-after neighborhoods. Wilkins' immediate real estate success is a testament to his innate ability to connect people to the ideal solutions and experiences for them.

The first person in his family to graduate from a four-year university  he earned a bachelor's degree from Tarleton State University  Wilkins was born in Dallas and lives in Granbury with his wife and five children. He is on the board of directors of the Granbury Chamber of Commerce, is a board member of the Lake Granbury Medical Center and is on the Career and Technical Education (CTE) advisory committee of Granbury High School. He is also a musician at The Bridge church in Granbury.

For Wilkins, the opportunity to help people with a significant part of their lives is one of the most rewarding jobs anyone can have. "The purchase or sale of a property often signifies a new shift in life," he says. "Whether it's moving to a new location or moving from one, it's an opportunity for a fresh start." That is why Wilkins does what he does. He has learned, he says, "that new beginnings are often the catalyst to hopes and dreams becoming realities."

Wilkins is based in the Fort Worth office of Briggs Freeman Sotheby's International Realty. Contact him at 214-991-8180 or [email protected]. His current listings, sold listings and biography are at briggsfreeman.com.

SOURCE Briggs Freeman Sotheby's International Realty
License allows Lepton, with their proprietary Castling Technology, to develop and commercialize products and services using CRISPR/Cas9 technology

DUBLIN and ZIKHRON YA'AKOV, Israel, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- ERS Genomics Limited ('ERS') is pleased to announce a new license agreement with Lepton Pharmaceuticals LTD ('Lepton"). This is a non-exclusive licensing agreement granting Lepton access to the ERS CRISPR/Cas9 patent portfolio for certain applications.

ERS, co-founded by Dr. Emmanuelle Charpentier, 2020 Nobel Prize winner for gene-editing, provides access to the foundational CRISPR/Cas9 intellectual property. Over 90 patents are held in over eighty countries.

Lepton Pharmaceuticals LTD Logo

Lepton Pharmaceutical LTD is a biotechnology company developing a proprietary, breakthrough technology (Castling Technology) to substantially improve adaptive cell-mediated immune response (T-cells, CAR-T-cells, NK-cells.)

Dr. Daniel Zurr, CEO of Lepton said: "We are very pleased to establish this relationship and license agreement with ERS Genomics. It will greatly assist us to develop our innovative Castling technology to significantly improve immune cells efficiency and longevity to fight cancer."

Eric Rhodes, CEO at ERS Genomics added: "Lepton's Castling technology has great potential to impact the field of immunotherapies and we are pleased to help enable Lepton in pursuing this exciting approach."

The Castling technology is a proprietary, miRNA-based general technology platform, essentially consisting of the manipulation of miRNA expression to achieve enhanced efficacy and longevity (reduced exhaustion) of cell-based therapies. miRNAs are noncoding RNAs that each affects the expression of hundreds of coding genes. The Castling technology allows, in a single gene editing event in the immune cell (either allogeneic or autologous), to impact the expression of a multitude of genes in the immune cells, once such miRNAs penetrate the microenvironment of cancer cells. This technology aims to revolutionize the immune cell cancer therapy field.

Financial details of the agreement are not disclosed.

About ERS Genomics

ERS Genomics is a biotechnology company based in Dublin, Ireland. The company was formed to provide broad access to the foundational CRISPR/Cas9 intellectual property held by Dr. Emmanuelle Charpentier. Non-exclusive licenses are available for research and sale of products and services across multiple fields including: research tools, kits, reagents; discovery of novel targets for therapeutic intervention; cell lines for discovery and screening of novel drug candidates; GMP production of healthcare products; companion animal and livestock health; production of industrial materials such as enzymes, biofuels and chemicals; and synthetic biology. For additional information please visit www.ersgenomics.com

About Lepton Pharmaceuticals

Lepton Pharmaceuticals LTD. is based in Israel. Lepton focuses on subtle and precise silencing of coding RNA expression by small non-coding RNA molecules, working via the DROSHA/DICER/RISC pathways, small interfering RNA (siRNA), and microRNA (miRNA), to develop products and services to, ultimately, improve therapies for underserved diseases and improve and change patients' lives. For additional information please visit www.leptonpharma.com

Media contact:

Dara O'Donnell

ERS Genomics

Tel: + 353-1-539 0083

[email protected]

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1756881/ERS_Genomics_Logo.jpg

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1865560/Lepton_Pharmaceuticals.jpg

SOURCE ERS Genomics
TULSA, Okla., July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Exaeris Water Innovations, LLC has received two new patents that enhance its Atmospheric Water Generating capabilities and open new doors for the company to meaningfully participate in the global decarbonization effort. These new issuances allow Exaeris to apply its revolutionary technologies in new ways that will significantly increase the output of water and enhance the efficiency of larger atmospheric water generating (AWG) systems that utilize vapor-compression-based cooling methods. At the same time, initial testing of the newly patented Exaeris technologies indicate potentially significant energy efficiency improvements in devices reliant on vapor-compression such as HVAC and refrigeration.

Vapor-compression-based cooling methods have been in use for over a century and account for over 16% of the world's energy consumption. Exaeris believes these new patents will allow for increased scalability and water production within Exaeris' suite of AWG products, leveraging the organization's commitment to look for new and creative ways to provide water where it's needed. Exaeris also believes they will enhance energy efficiency and carbon avoidance across a spectrum of vapor-compression based products and further expand the company's desire to look beyond water generation and integrate its technologies into traditional vapor-compression based products that are commonly used throughout the world.

"Exaeris is extremely excited about the newly issued patents and what they will mean for the application of our technology across a spectrum of existing products and toward the development of new ones," said John Galbraith, CEO of Exaeris. "Our continued pursuit of the mission to provide water wherever it's needed and support global decarbonization efforts is at the forefront of everything we do. This expansion of our applied technologies will allow us to pursue new alliances and opportunities that will facilitate the transition to a 'net-zero' world."

Exaeris continues to lead the way in leveraging advancements in atmospheric water generation and carbon avoidance technologies to help individuals, businesses and communities prepare for and manage water availability and decarbonization challenges, two of the most pressing issues of our time. Exaeris is currently seeking licensing, alliance, and collaboration opportunities to help expand the path forward in addressing these issues.

Exaeris Water Innovations, LLC is a closely held Delaware limited liability company with primary offices located in Tulsa, Oklahoma. For more information about the company and its products, visit Exaeris.com or contact Mike Joyce at [email protected] or Aaron Taylor at [email protected].

SOURCE Exaeris Water Innovations
SHANGHAI, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- This month, Faces We Love Shanghai by Derek Muhs and Marisa Tarin officially became a #1 best seller on Amazon. The book had its global release on April 12, 2022 and is jointly published by City Point Press and Human Touch Media and distributed by Simon & Schuster.

Faces We Love Shanghai is described on Amazon as "a collection of 100 photographs captured by a team of passionate photographers, that takes you on a journey through the city's narrow alleyways and secluded backstreets. Each photograph reveals an untold story, showcasing the beauty and joy behind the everyday moments of people that are often overlooked."

This critically acclaimed, 5 star rated photography book was described in The New York Times as a "photographic journey starring the people of Shanghai".

Co-author Derek Muhs commented, "This collection of photographic memories was everyday life for 13 years. Shanghai was home. It's very gratifying that so many people have connected with this book".

International newspaper China Daily published the article "Framing the Soul of a City" and described the 240-page coffee table book as, "capturing the essence of a remarkable place".

Faces We Love Shanghai has been hailed on Good Reads, the world's largest site for book recommendations, as a collection that shows "unbiased appreciation for Shanghai's people and culture" and has inspired travellers, writers, and photographers to "explore this gorgeous city" for themselves.

Faces We Love Shanghai is available on Amazon and in all major bookstores as a hardcover book, and the eBook is available on all major online digital platforms.

About Faces We Love

Faces We Love Shanghai was co-published with City Point Press and is distributed globally by Simon & Schuster. Faces We Love (FWL) is a subsidiary of Human Touch Media which has produced the first edition of what will be a series of photography books and collections. Faces We Love publishes photographs from around the world from their international group of contributors.

About Human Touch Media

Human Touch Media is a privately owned media company established in 2017 that brings together photographers and videographers to produce books and documentaries. Human Touch Media also funds selected non-profit projects via the Human Touch Media Foundation.

Related Links

www.humantouchmedia.com

www.faceswelove.com

@facesweloveofficial

City Point Press

Simon & Schuster

SOURCE Human Touch Media
AI Academy Sessions to be Taught by Leading Experts in the Fields of AI, Fertility, Clinical Research, Digital Health and Patient Care

TEL AVIV, Israel, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Fairtility, the transparent AI innovator powering in vitro fertilization (IVF) for improved outcomes, announced the launch of the AI Academy, a new educational platform that will host healthcare and technology experts to engage the IVF community in the conversation around the responsible adoption of AI innovation in IVF care.

Fairtility launched the AI Academy at the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) 38th Annual Meeting, which took place in Milan, Italy, July 3-6. Dr. Gerard Letterie, a leader in reproductive endocrinology and infertility specialist at Seattle Fertility, serves as the Academic Head of the AI Academy.

Dr. Letterie introduced the first AI Academy session, which was followed by a panel discussion with four of the world's recognized authorities in the field of IVF, including:

Weill Cornell Medical College's Dr. Nikica Zaninovic , Associate Professor of Embryology in Clinical Obstetrics and Gynecology

, Associate Professor of Embryology in Clinical Obstetrics and Gynecology IVIRMA's Dr. Marcos Meseguer , Scientific Supervisor and Senior Embryologist at the IVI Valencia IVF unit

, Scientific Supervisor and Senior Embryologist at the IVI Valencia IVF unit Dr. Cristina Hickman , Clinical Embryology Consultant and VP Clinical Affairs for Fairtility

, Clinical Embryology Consultant and VP Clinical Affairs for Fairtility Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center's Dr. Assaf Ben Meir , Director of Fertility and IVF Unit, and co-founder and chief medical officer of Fairtility.

"At ESHRE, we confirmed our understanding of the state of AI in IVF: the field is evolving and maturing rapidly and the uptake of these tools hinges on education and understanding. The industry knows that AI presents an important opportunity in fertility care, but does not fully understand what capabilities and limitations exist, nor what to expect out of AI in this field," commented Dr. Letterie. "Our goal with the AI Academy is to provide the needed education, bringing IVF professionals into the conversation on AI transformation for fertility care. IVF professionals will develop a deeper understanding of this technology and how it can serve them in their work, and ultimately, improve IVF outcomes for prospective parents. I am honored to head the AI Academy with the support of Fairtility, hosting the finest minds from diverse fields including embryology, AI, digital health, clinical research and more."

"We believe that knowledge is the best tool to resolve concerns of the unknown and help usher in the capabilities of AI to advance the efficacy of IVF treatment. We are investing in education for IVF professionals to better understand the potential for AI to transform the IVF industry," said Eran Eshed, CEO and Co-Founder of Fairtility. "We are building a community of experts and creating a space for dialogue, the sharing of ideas, innovation and productive argumentation  all in an effort to advance our industry to its fullest potential."

The AI Academy will host an impressive roster of speakers covering a range of topics from the basics of AI, AI and the IVF lab, AI in clinical and management, as well as ethics and best practices in AI's application. The first AI Academy session, entitled, "AI, the new frontier: Everything you need to know about this tech" will take place on September 2, 2022, and will be led by Dr. Nadav Rapoport of Ben Gurion University's Department of Software and Information Systems Engineering.

"We see expanding interest as AI technology for IVF continues to advance, yet there are no definable parameters or baselines for AI's adoption in this industry. Our AI Academy is poised to center the pendulum on AI by establishing a coherent, organized field that provides accessible education and conversation, bringing early and late adopters together to shorten the innovation adoption cycle for AI in fertility care," added Eshed.

For further information or to register for AI Academy, visit: www.fairtility.com/AIAcademy

About Fairtility

Fairtility is powering in vitro fertilization (IVF) through transparent AI to improve outcomes. Equipping clinicians and their patients with unparalleled visibility into IVF treatment, CHLOE (Cultivating Human Life through Optimal Embryos) is the first and only transparent AI-based decision support tool that provides clinicians with complete visibility into the clinical and laboratory parameters that make up data output to help improve IVF outcomes. Beginning with CHLOE EQ, a proprietary embryo grading platform, Fairtility is on a path to expand CHLOE's application to span the full IVF journey - from infertility cause assessment through transfer optimization. To learn more about Fairtility or schedule a demo, visit our website and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn .

Media Contact

Finn Partners for Fairtility

Nechama Feuerstein

[email protected]

929-222-8004

SOURCE Fairtility
As an Extension of This Year's Tour, Farmer John is Launching its California Kindness Project to Support California Non-profits with $100,000 in Grants

VERNON, Calif., July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Farmer John brand has been rooted in California since 1931 and has had the privilege of feeding and supporting its communities for more than nine decades. Farmer John's heart will always be in California and that's why the brand is dedicated to finding even more ways to invest in the Golden State's communities and support brand fans for years to come. As part of this promise, the brand is embarking on year three of its California Commitment Tour to feed, celebrate, and serve residents across the state. Over the course of eight weeks this summer, Farmer John is making 3-4 stops per week with its food truck to deliver free grab-and-go lunches to Californians and essential businesses and donating much-needed protein to local food banks.

Farmer John California Commitment Tour Farmer John California Kindness Project Alameda County Community Food Bank Farmer John celebrated year three of its California Commitment Tour by donating 150,000 servings of much-needed protein to the Alameda County Community Food Bank and catering lunch for the deserving food bank employees and volunteers with the help of local chef Brenda Buenviaje, left, food bank Executive Director Regi Young, middle, and Farmer John representative Clara Meschini, right.

Yesterday, the brand made a pit stop at Alameda County Community Food Bank in Northern California to recognize the organization's positive impact and commitment to serving the local community by donating 150,000 servings of protein to aid in local hunger relief. Farmer John also showed its gratitude to the organization and its unwavering efforts by partnering with Brenda Buenviaje, renowned local chef and owner of Brenda's Oakland, who delivered her Thick Cut Bacon, Ham and Pimento Cheese Breakfast Sandwiches featuring Farmer John Thick Cut Bacon and Farmer John Classic Hickory Smoked Ham Steak to the hardworking food bank employees and volunteers.

"Generous contributions like the donation we received from Farmer John are incredibly important for organizations like ours," said, Michael Altfest, director of community engagement at Alameda County Community Food Bank. "Protein items are among the most requested at our distributions, but are also among the most expensive for us to procure. This donation is greatly appreciated and goes a long way in helping us meet the need in our community."

"I've called California home for twenty-four years now and giving back to my community is very important to me, so I was honored when Farmer John approached me to partner to serve up meals to the deserving food bank workers and volunteers," said Brenda Buenviaje, chef and owner of Brenda's Oakland. "I'm a big believer of celebrating the people you care about with good food, and I hope my Thick Cut Bacon, Ham and Pimento Cheese Breakfast Sandwiches brought a little more joy to this community."

As an extension of this year's tour, Farmer John is also introducing the California Kindness Project  a program designed to support committed California non-profits who are making an impact in their local areas. Whether newly founded in the midst of the pandemic or around for generations, Farmer John is inviting charities and organizations in the Golden State to apply for one of the California Kindness grants, so that the brand can help support these nonprofits on their mission of improving the lives of their neighbors.

Through the California Kindness Project, Farmer John will provide $100,000 in financial support via grants, ranging from $3,000 to $25,000 each, to eligible California nonprofit organizations through an open application process ending September 5.* To submit an application or to learn more about eligibility, guidelines, and the selection process, organizations can visit CAKindnessProject.com.

"Our hearts will always be in California, and we look forward to continuing to show our appreciation, to say thank you, and to honor the Golden State's communities for years to come," said Lauren Connelly, brand manager for Farmer John at Smithfield Foods. "Initiatives like the California Commitment Tour and California Kindness Project are small tokens of our appreciation and give us the opportunity to celebrate and serve Californians  one meal at a time."

Farmer John fans are invited to recreate Brenda Buenviaje's recipes  Asian Cajun Po' Boy and Thick Cut Bacon, Ham and Pimento Cheese Breakfast Sandwiches  at home and share their masterpieces on social using the hashtags #CommittedToCalifornia, #SoFarmerJohn, and #SoCalifornia. For more information and to see where the Farmer John California Commitment Tour goes next, follow Farmer John on Facebook (@FarmerJohn), Instagram (@FarmerJohnLA), or Twitter (@FarmerJohnLA), and visit www.farmerjohn.com. Farmer John is a brand of Smithfield Foods.

*Subject to terms and conditions.

About Farmer John

Serving Californians since 1931, Farmer John has pioneered a revolution in the supply of local flavorful meats. The journey began with Irish-American brothers Francis and Bernard Clougherty curing and selling pork bellies and smoked hams to local grocery stores and continues today with staples like breakfast sausage and hot dogs. This longstanding Southern California brand remains committed to crafting the highest quality meats full of freshness and flavor. For more information on our products and recipe inspiration, please visit www.farmerjohn.com or follow us on Facebook (@FarmerJohn), Instagram (@FarmerJohnLA) or Twitter (@FarmerJohnLA). Farmer John is a brand of Smithfield Foods.

About Smithfield Foods, Inc.

Headquartered in Smithfield, Va. since 1936, Smithfield Foods, Inc. is an American food company with agricultural roots and a global reach. With more than 60,000 jobs globally, we are dedicated to producing "Good food. Responsibly." and serve as one of the world's leading vertically integrated protein companies. We have pioneered sustainability standards for more than two decades, including our industry-leading commitments to become carbon negative in our U.S. company-owned operations and reduce GHG emissions 30 percent across our entire U.S. value chain by 2030. We believe in the power of protein to end food insecurity and have donated hundreds of millions of food servings to our communities. Smithfield boasts a portfolio of high-quality iconic brands, such as Smithfield, Eckrich and Nathan's Famous, among many others. For more information, visit www.smithfieldfoods.com, and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.

About Alameda County Community Food Bank

Alameda County Community Food Bank has been at the forefront of hunger relief efforts in the Bay Area since 1985. The Food Bank serves 1 in 4 Alameda County residents by distributing food through a network of 420 food pantries, soup kitchens, and other community organizations, as well as direct distribution and COVID-relief programs including school-based, home delivery and drive-through distributions. This year, the Food Bank will distribute the equivalent of 45 million meals. In addition to its extensive emergency food programming, ACCFB's hunger-relief efforts include California's largest CalFresh (food stamp) outreach department and a robust advocacy team which works with elected officials to seek long-term solutions to hunger and poverty. Alameda County Community Food Bank was named Feeding America's Food Bank of the Year in 2016, and for 15 consecutive years has received Charity Navigator's top rating  Four Stars  ranking the organization among the top 1 percent of charities nationwide. Learn more at www.accfb.org.

SOURCE Smithfield Foods, Inc.
New American Wild Horse Campaign report documents at least 840 American wild horses and burros sold at slaughter auctions since program began

WASHINGTON, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- A government program that pays people $1,000 to adopt a wild, untamed horse or burro has become a pipeline to slaughter for these federally-protected animals, according to a 19-month long investigation by the American Wild Horse Campaign (AWHC). Issued today, AWHC's investigative report documents that at least 840 wild horses and burros have been sold at slaughter auctions since the program began in 2019.

American Wild Horse Campaign

The Adoption Incentive Program ("AIP"), implemented by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), is being routinely defrauded by adopters who are pocketing the cash then dumping their animals at livestock auctions known as kill pens, which sell horses directly or via middlemen known as kill buyers for slaughter in Canada and Mexico.

The sale of wild horses for slaughter violates a Congressional prohibition as well as a provisionenforceable under federal lawin the adoption contract under which adopters pledge not to sell their animals to any person or organization that intends to sell, resell, or give away such animals for slaughter or commercial processing.

"The findings of our report are irrefutable. The BLM's Adoption Incentive Program has resulted in a flood of wild, untrained mustangs and burros into kill pens sending hundredsperhaps thousandsof these cherished animals into the slaughter pipeline," said Amelia Perrin, AWHC's Investigations Manager. "By failing to act immediately to eliminate the cash incentives that are driving the problem, the BLM is placing federally-protected wild horses and burros at risk of slaughter."

Among the report's most shocking findings:

Groups of related individuals are adopting the maximum number of four horses or burros per person, then flipping the animals to kill pens once they receive title, in one case netting $82,000 in taxpayer funded incentive payments.

in taxpayer funded incentive payments. Numerous individuals are allowed to continue adopting through the AIP a second or even a third time despite disposing of their previous animals in kill pens.

The fraud is centered in states under the jurisdiction of the New Mexico BLM, which was embroiled in a slaughter scandal in the 1990s.

AWHC's initial investigative findings prompted a May 2021 New York Times investigative report on the program. AWHCs new reportbased on records obtained under the Freedom of Information Act and paperwork obtained from auctions via rescue groupsdocuments that the extent of the problem is far greater than previously reported. AWHC notes that its findings represent the tip of the iceberg as many BLM horses and burros are directly shipped across the border without being advertised for resale by the auctions.

Since the Times report, the agency has taken inadequate steps to modify the program. Meanwhile, wild horses and burros continue to be sold at slaughter auctions, including 20 wild mustangs being sold at a kill pen in Eaton, Colorado this week.

"We're calling for BLM to immediately eliminate cash incentives and make additional adoption program reforms, including strengthening adoption contract language, improved compliance inspections, background checks on all adopters, and stricter restrictions on the number of animals adopted. These changes are critically needed to stop the flow of wild horses and burros into the slaughter pipeline," said Perrin.

Background Here

Full Investigative Report Here

About the American Wild Horse Campaign

The American Wild Horse Campaign (AWHC) is the nation's leading wild horse protection organization, with more than 700,000 supporters and followers nationwide. AWHC is dedicated to preserving the American wild horse and burros in viable, free-roaming herds for generations to come, as part of our national heritage.

Contact: Grace Kuhn, [email protected], (804)-218-4252

SOURCE American Wild Horse Campaign
IRVINE, Calif., July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Federal Government is taking new steps to attack suspected tax evasion and fraud schemes. The most recent of these efforts is expected to take effect later this year, with wide-ranging implications for how much information business entities must provide on their owners.

Why you should use an Attorney to represent you in an audit

This new law is expected to impact small businesses, as smaller corporate entities are more likely to be shell corporations that the law intends to target. Even if you have remained compliant in the past, new requirements must be attended to if invasive government action is to be avoided.

When dealing with complex new regulation, you will want a seasoned dual licensed Tax Attorney and CPA on your side. Call the Tax Law Offices of David W. Klasing at (800) 681-1295 to schedule your first-time case assessment for a reduced rate or schedule online here.

What is the Corporate Transparency Act?

The Corporate Transparency Act, or CTA for short, is a new law passed in 2021 that requires corporate entities like LLCs and others to provide information about their owners and members to the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, better known as FinCEN.

The CTA is part of a major government effort to crack down on corruption, money laundering, terrorist financing, tax fraud, and other illicit activity. The CTA targets the use of anonymous shell companies that facilitate the flow and sheltering of illicit money in the United States.

The legislation package attempts this through new requirements for these companies for disclosure practices, specifically concerning ownership interests. Very few states have laws that require business entities to disclose information about beneficial owners or founders, and the CTA is the first federal effort in this area.

The CTA empowers FinCEN to establish a massive database containing beneficial owner information for most types of smaller business entities. These include U.S.-based businesses and foreign entities that register to do business in the U.S. The database will not be publicly accessible; it is solely for the use of law enforcement, national security and intelligence agencies, and federal regulators enforcing anti-money-laundering laws.

What Businesses Will Be Affected by the CTA?

The primary focus of the CTA is smaller business entities, which are more likely to be shell companies, or business entities erected solely for privacy and advantageous corporate structure rather than earning individual profits.

To narrow down the scope of the CTA, there are more than 20 exemptions that will apply to various types of businesses. This includes banks, credit unions, securities trading firms, and many other companies in the financial services sector. Generally, any entity with more than 20 full-time employees will not fall under the CTA's disclosure requirements. The same goes for entities with a physical presence at a business office in the U.S., as well as those whose previous year's federal tax return shows more than $5 million in gross receipts or domestic sales.

If you are not sure whether your business will be subject to the CTA's new disclosure requirements, be sure to bring your questions to the attention of a seasoned Dual Licensed Tax Attorney and CPA.

How Will the CTA Be Enforced?

FinCEN has only recently issued regulations that propose their implementation and enforcement strategies of the CTA. These new revelations create several surprises for small business owners.

The CTA Applies to Almost Every Type of Small Business

FinCEN has determined that the CTA as written will apply to corporations and limited liability companies, including the almost 2.5 million LLCs that have only one member and are taxed as Schedule C sole proprietorships ("disregarded entities").

But the CTA will also apply to any other non-exempt entity that is created through filing with a secretary of state or other applicable state agency. This will include partnerships, limited liability partnerships, and business trusts, to name a few.

The only two of these types of entities that may not require filing with the state for creation are sole proprietorships (which make ownership information apparent on their own) and general partnerships. According to FinCEN's estimates, the total number of affected business entities could reach as high as 30 million.

The CTA Applies to May Types of Beneficial Owners

Under statutory definition, a beneficial owner is any person that actually owns or controls a business entity. The CTA requires businesses to file a "beneficial owner information" report that includes personal information about all beneficial owners, such as names, birth dates, street addresses, and official identifying numbers from driver's licenses and passports. Entities may have more than one beneficial owner, so it is important to know how the law classifies these individuals.

A beneficial owner is someone who either owns at least 25% of the business or who exercises substantial control over the company. This includes senior officers, boards of directors, or anyone who has material say in business functions such as major expenditures, investments, corporate organization, or the ability to enter into significant contracts, to name a few.

When will the CTA Take Effect?

The expectation is that the regulations created by the CTA will be finalized sometime in the second half of 2022. The practical effects of the new legislation will apply differently to new companies versus existing ones.

For new companies, beneficial owner information reports will be expected within 14 calendar days after their formation. Existing companies have up to one year from the date that the regulations take effect to file their initial report, meaning that the deadline will likely fall in the later part of 2023. However, because these laws are not yet finalized, the specific deadline is not certain.

The Tax Law Offices of David W. Klasing Can Help Your Small to Middle Market Business Today

Remaining compliant in today's corporate tax world requires a constant eye on developments in legislation. To schedule a reduced rate initial consultation and learn more about our services and how they can benefit you, call the Dual Licensed Tax Attorneys and CPAs at the Tax Law Offices of David W. Klasing today at (800) 681-1295 or schedule online here.

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
Livent's battery-grade lithium hydroxide, made primarily from lithium extracted at its brine-based operations in South America , to be used in production of GM's electric vehicles

100% of Livent's downstream lithium hydroxide processing for GM to transition to North America over the course of the agreement

Both companies prioritize commitment to responsible operations and sustainable supply chains



GM has contractually secured all battery raw material to support its goal of 1 million units of EV capacity in North America by the end of 2025

PHILADELPHIA and DETROIT, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Livent and General Motors Co. announced today a significant multi-year sourcing agreement in which Livent will supply GM with battery-grade lithium hydroxide made primarily from lithium extracted at Livent's brine-based operations in South America. Lithium hydroxide is crucial to GM's plans to make higher performance, higher mileage EVs. The lithium hydroxide from Livent will be used in GM's Ultium battery cathodes, which will power electric vehicles such as the recently revealed Chevrolet Blazer EV, Chevrolet Silverado EV, GMC HUMMER EV and Cadillac LYRIQ.

Livent will provide battery-grade lithium hydroxide to GM over a six-year period beginning in 2025. Over the course of the agreement, Livent will increasingly supply battery-grade lithium hydroxide to GM from its manufacturing facilities in the U.S., with the goal of transitioning 100% of Livent's downstream lithium hydroxide processing for GM to North America. The agreement is expected to help secure supply for GM while assisting Livent in expanding its North American capabilities.

Both GM and Livent share a commitment to responsible operations and sustainable supply chains through industry and multi-stakeholder platforms. General Motors is a member of the Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI), joined the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA) in 2021 and plans to become carbon neutral in global products and operations by 2040. Livent is actively engaged in an IRMA third-party assessment, has a gold rating from EcoVadis for sustainability and has announced a goal of overall carbon neutrality by 2040.

"We are building a strong, sustainable, scalable and secure supply chain to help meet our fast-growing EV production needs," said Jeff Morrison, GM vice president, Global Purchasing and Supply Chain. "We will further localize the lithium supply chain in North America over the course of the agreement. In addition, it is aligned with our approach to responsible sourcing and supply chain management and demonstrates our commitment to strong supplier relationships."

"Importantly, GM now has contractual commitments secured with strategic partners for all battery raw material to support our goal of 1 million units of EV capacity by the end of 2025," added Morrison.

Paul Graves, president and chief executive officer of Livent commented, "We are excited to begin this long-term relationship with GM, one of the most iconic brands in the automotive industry and a leading force in the transition to electrification. With a shared commitment to sustainability and responsible operations, we look forward to building a broad partnership that will support GM's electric vehicle strategy, its supply chain goals and the future requirements of its growing EV fleet for reliable, high-performance lithium products."

GM will discuss the agreement as part of its earnings call later this morning, and Livent will do the same as part of its upcoming second quarter 2022 earnings call on August 2.

About General Motors

General Motors (NYSE:GM) is a global company focused on advancing an all-electric future that is inclusive and accessible to all. At the heart of this strategy is the Ultium battery platform, which powers everything from mass-market to high-performance vehicles. General Motors, its subsidiaries and its joint venture entities sell vehicles under the Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, Cadillac, Baojun and Wuling brands. More information on the company and its subsidiaries, including OnStar, a global leader in vehicle safety and security services, can be found at https://www.gm.com.

About Livent

Livent (NYSE: LTHM) is a fully integrated lithium company with a rich heritage of innovation and a long, proven history of producing performance lithium compounds. For nearly eight decades, Livent has partnered with its customers to safely and sustainably use lithium to power the world. Livent is one of only a small number of companies with the capability, reputation, and know-how to produce high-quality finished lithium compounds that are helping meet the growing demand for lithium. The company has one of the broadest product portfolios in the industry, powering demand for green energy, modern mobility, the mobile economy, and specialized innovations, including light alloys and lubricants. For more information, visit Livent.com.

CONTACTS:

David Barnas

GM Communications

248-918-8946

[email protected]

Juan Carlos Cruz

Livent Communications

215-299-6725

[email protected]

Daniel Rosen

Livent Investor Relations

215-299-6208

[email protected]

Livent Forward-Looking Statements

Statement under the Safe Harbor Provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: This release contains forward-looking statements, which are based on management's current views and assumptions regarding future events, future business conditions and the outlook for the company based on currently available information. In some cases, you can identify these statements by forward-looking words such as "may," "might," "will," "will continue to," "will likely result," "is on track," "should," "expect," "expects," "intends," "plans," "anticipates," "believe," "believes," "estimates," "predicts," "potential," "continue," "could," "forecast," "future," "is confident that," "plans," or "projects," the negative of these terms and other comparable terminology. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to be materially different from any results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by any forward-looking statement. These factors include, among other things, the risk factors and other cautionary statements included within Livent's 2021 Form 10-K filed with the SEC as well as other SEC filings and public communications. Livent cautions readers not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. Forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by the above cautionary statement. Livent undertakes no obligation, and specifically disclaims any duty, to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances arising after the date on which they were made, except as otherwise required by law.

The Company's investor relations website, located at https://ir.livent.com, should be considered as a recognized channel of distribution, and the Company may periodically post important information to the website for investors, including information that the Company may wish to disclose publicly for purposes of complying with federal securities laws.

General Motors Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements: This press release and related comments by management may include "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the U.S. federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements are any statements other than statements of historical fact. Forward-looking statements represent our current judgement about possible future events and are often identified by words such as "aim," "anticipate," "appears," "approximately," "believe," "continue," "could," "designed," "effect," "estimate," "evaluate," "expect," "forecast," "goal," "initiative," "intend," "may," "objective," "outlook," "plan," "potential," "priorities," "project," "pursue," "seek," "should," "target," "when," "will," "would," or the negative of any of those words or similar expressions. In making these statements, we rely upon assumptions and analysis based on our experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions, and expected future developments, as well as other factors we consider appropriate under the circumstances. We believe these judgements are reasonable, but these statements are not guarantees of any future events or financial results, and our actual results may differ materially due to a variety of important factors, many of which are described in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and our other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. We caution readers not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and we undertake no obligation to update publicly or otherwise revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or other factors that affect the subject of these statements, except where we are expressly required to do so by law.

SOURCE Livent Corporation
DUBLIN, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Craft Beer Market Size, Market Share, Application Analysis, Regional Outlook, Growth Trends, Key Players, Competitive Strategies and Forecasts, 2022 to 2030" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

In 2020, the global craft beer market was worth over $95 trillion

This study report represents analysis of each segment from 2020 to 2020 considering 2021 as the base year. Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) for each of the respective segments estimated for the forecast period of 2022 to 2030.



The current report comprises of quantitative market estimations for each micro market for every geographical region and qualitative market analysis such as micro and macro environment analysis, market trends, competitive intelligence, segment analysis, porters five force model, top winning strategies, top investment markets, emerging trends and technological analysis, case studies, strategic conclusions and recommendations and other key market insights.

Globally, the impact of COVID-19 was unprecedented. The market evidenced a decrease in demand across all regions due to the pandemic. The market is projected to grow at a CAGR exceeding 8% between 2022-2030.

Due to constant taste modification and improvements, as well as the availability of many flavorful options, the market is experiencing steady growth across the globe. Consumers are constantly looking for new and innovative beverages, which has led to an increase in the demand for flavorful options.



Covid-19 Impact: Market Bounced Strongly Post Covid-19 Leading to the Change in Coping Strategies

Beer is considered as a relaxing beverage by many consumers. To maintain social distancing, governments closed many bars, restaurants, taprooms, and pubs during the global COVID-19 pandemic. This led to a negative impact on the global market. According to the Brewers Association's May study, total brewery sales in the U.S. fell by 30% in May compared to the previous year.

Nearly 90% of the brewing firms had either stopped or slowed their production as their YoY sales declined in April. Due to lockdown enforcement S. and cancellation of orders by distributors, over 85% of craft breweries were forced to close their brew pubs in the U.S. This adversely affected most of the local craft breweries. The market has recovered immensely due to the opening of taprooms and the ease of production. This revival has led to significant changes in the market trends and our report contains a detailed analysis of the same.



Go green Technology, Change in Customer Preferences, and Increasing Socialization are all Contributing to the Market Growth

The rise in socializing, especially among millennials has increased their visits to taprooms and brewpubs. The rise in independent and small breweries has also contributed to this increase.

Breweries are working to improve their beer production in order to meet increasing consumer demand. According to the Brewers Association, the United States' small and independent brewers produced around 26.3 million barrels of beer in 2019, a 4 percent increase over the previous year. Craft production was responsible for 25.2% of the total U.S. product retail market in 2019, which has contributed to overall market growth. However, the impact of covid-19 led to a significant loss in 2020.



Go-green technology, which is a result of recent developments in craft beer development, is being integrated into beer production to increase market growth and reduce waste. Canning has been a major factor in the development of craft beer over the past few years. The demand for craft beer is increasing due to the rise in restaurants, bars, and pubs in cities. The market has seen a rise in demand for craft breweries due to the proliferation of social trends among millennials.



Non-alcoholic craft beer sales have increased due to growing health awareness and awareness among millennials about all the benefits of non-alcoholic beer. With a rising preference for low alcohol volume beverages, sales of low-alcohol and no-alcohol beers are increasing. This is due to the growing demand from health-conscious customers and an increased variety of options with better taste.

Low-alcohol ciders and beers are on the rise due to increasing awareness about alcohol consumption and customers' willingness to try new drinks. Anheuser-Busch InBev, for instance, launched four low- and no-alcohol beers in 2020 to expand its product range. These beers contain less than 4% alcohol. This shift is evident in the volume of low-alcohol drinks in the United Kingdom. Off-licences and supermarket sales have reached a new record. Low-alcohol beers, which are those with 2.8% ABV or less, are more affordable than their higher-alcohol alternatives. This is to increase the demand for low-alcohol beer, such as craft beer.



Innovations in Alcoholic Drinks is Impeding the Market Growth

Although alcoholic beverages are popular worldwide, there are many other alcohol craft beverages like gin and whiskey that are hindering market growth. Due to consumers' willingness to experiment with new types of craft spirits, there is a growing preference for such spirits. The other alcoholic craft drinks are also more varied than the alcoholic beverage, and undergo several distillation methods to produce high-quality liquor. The market is also restrained by the availability of many flavors in alcoholic craft drinks such as grapefruit and raspberry, lemon, and other.



Customers to Prefer Low Alcohol Beer Alternatives During the Forecast Period

As consumers become more health conscious, they are drawn to low-alcohol beverages. Sales of no-alcohol and lower-alcohol beers are on the rise due to increased competition from new, better-tasting products. Ciders and beers with low alcohol levels have enjoyed increasing popularity due to increased awareness about alcohol consumption and the desire to try new drinks.

This trend can be seen in the volume of low-alcohol drinks in the United Kingdom, which has seen record sales at the supermarket and off-license levels. Low-alcohol beers, those with less than 2.8% ABV, are also cheaper. Low-alcohol beer could be more popular in craft beer and provide a significant opportunity for growth.



Craft Lager to Evidence Significant Growth While Off Trade Channels are Being Preferred and Millennials are the Key Target

Craft lager is experiencing significant growth due to brewers adding new varieties such as pales and light lager to their product ranges in an effort to attract consumers' attention away from the main brands. Craft lagers are becoming more popular due to their light, malty flavor. Brewers are now looking for products with longer shelf life and lower-cost ingredients. This has led to an increase in craft lager production. Ale is the second most popular alcoholic beverage on the market, followed closely by lager.



Due to the wide variety of beer types and flavors, off-trade channels have seen an increase in craft beer sales in recent years. Off-trade channels like convenience stores and supermarkets are preferred by consumers as they offer convenient cans or pre-chilled bottles. Consumers are inclined towards purchasing alcoholic beverages from off-trade sources. Consumers prefer to drink at home over in pubs, which is more comfortable, relaxing, and cost-effective.



On-trade markets have a completely different approach to product distribution and sales than the off-trade. The on-trade market is dominated by the bar/restaurant manager and any trade professionals (bartenders, waiters) who play a crucial role in the sales process. On-trade establishments that offer tasting rooms, brewpubs and tiki bars provide a more luxurious and comfortable experience for customers. This has led to the increase in millennials adopting pub and bar culture in turn driving the growth in the craft beer market.



Market Consolidation to Toughen the Competition During the Forecast Period

Global market is largely dominated by key players that includes The Boston Beer Company, Heineken NV, Constellation Brands, Inc., Anheuser-Busch Inc., and Constellation Brands, Inc.

These companies are all actively focusing on new product launches, incorporating novel ingredients, and improvising the process. Strategic mergers is also a notable strategy adopted by the major players to strengthen their businesses and increase their market presence. To diversify its product range, Anheuser-Busch InBev purchased the remaining 68.8% of Craft Brew Alliance in June 2020.



Key questions answered in this report

What are the key micro and macro-environmental factors that are impacting the growth of craft beer market?

What are the key investment pockets with respect to product segments and geographies currently and during the forecast period?

Estimated forecast and market projections up to 2030.

Which segment accounts for the fastest CAGR during the forecast period?

Which market segment holds a larger market share and why?

Are low and middle-income economies investing in the craft beer market?

Which is the largest regional market for craft beer market?

What are the market trends and dynamics in emerging markets such as Asia Pacific , Latin America , and Middle East & Africa ?

, , and & ? Which are the key trends driving global craft beer market growth?

Who are the key competitors and what are their key strategies to enhance their market presence in the craft beer market worldwide?

Company Profiles

Anheuser-Busch InBev

Beijing Enterprises Holdings Limited (Beijing Yanjing Brewery Co., Ltd.)

Carlsberg Group

Diageo PLC

Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Inc.

Heineken Holding NV.

Squatters Pub and Beers.

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.

The Boston Beer Company, Inc.

United Breweries Limited

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/xgn0qr

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
DUBLIN, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Global Electrosurgical Devices Market (2022-2027) by Type, 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 Electrosurgical Devices Market is estimated to be USD 6.24 Bn in 2022 and is projected to reach USD 7.67 Bn by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 4.21%.



Market dynamics are forces that impact the prices and behaviors of the Global Electrosurgical 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 Applied Medical Resources, B Braun Melsungen, Boston Scientific, Bovie 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 Electrosurgical 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 Electrosurgical 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 Electrosurgical 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 Increasing Demand from Minimally Invasive Surgeries

4.1.2 Growing Number of Medical, Cosmetic, and Age-Related Surgeries

4.1.3 Technical Advancement in Electrosurgical Devices

4.2 Restraints

4.2.1 Stringent Government Rules & Regulations for Product Approval

4.3 Opportunities

4.3.1 Growing Skin Lesions and Dermatologic Disorders

4.3.2 Potential in Emerging Economies

4.4 Challenges

4.4.1 High Cost Associated with the R&D



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 Electrosurgical Devices Market, By Type

6.1 Introduction

6.2 Electro Cautery Devices

6.2.1 Bipolar

6.2.2 Monopolar

6.3 Electrosurgical Accessories

6.4 Radiofrequency Electro Surgery Devices

6.4.1 Bipolar

6.4.2 Monopolar



7 Global Electrosurgical Devices Market, By Application

7.1 Introduction

7.2 Cardiology

7.3 Dentistry

7.4 Dermatology and Cosmetology

7.5 Gastrointestinal Surgery

7.6 General Surgery

7.7 Gynecology

7.8 Neurology

7.9 Oncology

7.10 Orthopedics

7.11 Urology



8 Global Electrosurgical Devices Market, By End User

8.1 Introduction

8.2 Ambulatory Surgery Centers

8.3 Hospitals



9 Americas' Electrosurgical Devices Market

9.1 Introduction

9.2 Argentina

9.3 Brazil

9.4 Canada

9.5 Chile

9.6 Colombia

9.7 Mexico

9.8 Peru

9.9 United States

9.10 Rest of Americas



10 Europe's Electrosurgical Devices Market

10.1 Introduction

10.2 Austria

10.3 Belgium

10.4 Denmark

10.5 Finland

10.6 France

10.7 Germany

10.8 Italy

10.9 Netherlands

10.10 Norway

10.11 Poland

10.12 Russia

10.13 Spain

10.14 Sweden

10.15 Switzerland

10.16 United Kingdom

10.17 Rest of Europe



11 Middle East and Africa's Electrosurgical Devices Market

11.1 Introduction

11.2 Egypt

11.3 Israel

11.4 Qatar

11.5 Saudi Arabia

11.6 South Africa

11.7 United Arab Emirates

11.8 Rest of MEA



12 APAC's Electrosurgical Devices Market

12.1 Introduction

12.2 Australia

12.3 Bangladesh

12.4 China

12.5 India

12.6 Indonesia

12.7 Japan

12.8 Malaysia

12.9 Philippines

12.10 Singapore

12.11 South Korea

12.12 Sri Lanka

12.13 Thailand

12.14 Taiwan

12.15 Rest of Asia-Pacific



13 Competitive Landscape

13.1 Competitive Quadrant

13.2 Market Share Analysis

13.3 Strategic Initiatives

13.3.1 M&A and Investments

13.3.2 Partnerships and Collaborations

13.3.3 Product Developments and Improvements



14 Company Profiles

14.1 Applied Medical Resources

14.2 B Braun Melsungen

14.3 Boston Scientific

14.4 Bovie Medical

14.5 Bowa-Electronic

14.6 Conmed

14.7 Encision

14.8 Erbe Elektromedizin

14.9 Johnson & Johnson

14.10 Kirwan Surgical Products

14.11 KLS Martin

14.12 Medtronic

14.13 Meyer-Haake

14.14 Olympus

14.15 Smith & Nephew

14.16 Surgical Holdings

14.17 Utah Medical Products



15 Appendix

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/x72ct3

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
DUBLIN, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Global Nanowire Battery Market (2022-2027) by Components, Material, Industry, Geography, Competitive Analysis and the Impact of Covid-19 with Ansoff Analysis" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The Global Nanowire Battery Market is estimated to be USD 67.5 Bn in 2022 and is projected to reach USD 292.72 Bn by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 34.1%.



Market dynamics are forces that impact the prices and behaviors of the Global Nanowire Battery 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 Amprius Inc, Boston Power Inc, Enevate Corp, Envia Systems Inc, Imprint Energy Inc, LG Chem, Lithium Werks, NEI Corp, Nexeon Novarials Corp, OneD Material, Panasonic, Pellion Technologies, Prieto Battery Inc, Samsung SDI, Sila Nanotechnologies Inc, Targray, XG Sciences, Xilectric Inc, 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 Nanowire Battery Market. Ansoff Matrix, also known as Product/Market Expansion Grid, is a strategic tool used to design strategies for the growth of the company. The matrix can be used to evaluate approaches in four strategies viz. Market Development, Market Penetration, Product Development and Diversification. The matrix is also used for risk analysis to understand the risk involved with each approach.



The analyst analyses the Global Nanowire Battery 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 Nanowire Battery Market. The report includes in-depth qualitative analysis, verifiable data from authentic sources, and projections about market size. The projections are calculated using proven research methodologies.

The report has been compiled through extensive primary and secondary research. The primary research is done through interviews, surveys, and observation of renowned personnel in the industry.

The report includes an in-depth market analysis using Porter's 5 forces model and the Ansoff Matrix. In addition, the impact of Covid-19 on the market is also featured in the report.

The report also includes the regulatory scenario in the industry, which will help you make a well-informed decision. The report discusses major regulatory bodies and major rules and regulations imposed on this sector across various geographies.

The report also contains the competitive analysis using Positioning Quadrants, the analyst's Proprietary competitive positioning tool.

Key Topics Covered:



1 Report Description



2 Research Methodology



3 Executive Summary



4 Market Dynamics

4.1 Drivers

4.1.1 Rising Demand for Batteries With High Charge Retention Capacity

4.1.2 Increasing Expenditure on R&D Activities By Automotive Companies

4.1.3 Growing Consumer Electronics Industry

4.2 Restraints

4.2.1 High Volume Change of Silicon Nanowires During Charge and Discharge Cycles

4.3 Opportunities

4.3.1 Emergence of Electric Vehicles

4.3.2 Need for High-Performance Batteries in Electric Grid Storage Applications

4.4 Challenges

4.4.1 Presence of Substitute Battery Technologies

4.4.2 Operational Obligations Such as Conducting Pilot and Safety Tests



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 Nanowire Battery Market, By Components

6.1 Introduction

6.2 Common Cathode Materials

6.2.1 Lithium Iron Phosphate

6.2.2 Lithium Cobalt Oxide

6.2.3 Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt

6.2.4 Lithium Nickel Cobalt Aluminum

6.3 Common Anode Materials

6.4 Electrolytes

6.5 Separators

6.6 Other Materials



7 Global Nanowire Battery Market, By Material

7.1 Introduction

7.2 Silicon

7.3 Germanium

7.4 Transition Metal Oxides

7.5 Gold



8 Global Nanowire Battery Market, By Industry

8.1 Introduction

8.2 Consumer Electronics

8.2.1 Smartphones

8.2.2 Laptops

8.2.3 Digital Cameras

8.2.4 Wearables

8.3 Automotive

8.3.1 Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV)

8.3.2 Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs)

8.4 Aviation

8.5 Energy

8.6 Medical Devices



9 Americas' Global Nanowire Battery Market

9.1 Introduction

9.2 Argentina

9.3 Brazil

9.4 Canada

9.5 Chile

9.6 Colombia

9.7 Mexico

9.8 Peru

9.9 United States

9.10 Rest of Americas



10 Europe's Global Nanowire Battery Market

10.1 Introduction

10.2 Austria

10.3 Belgium

10.4 Denmark

10.5 Finland

10.6 France

10.7 Germany

10.8 Italy

10.9 Netherlands

10.10 Norway

10.11 Poland

10.12 Russia

10.13 Spain

10.14 Sweden

10.15 Switzerland

10.16 United Kingdom

10.17 Rest of Europe



11 Middle East and Africa's Global Nanowire Battery Market

11.1 Introduction

11.2 Egypt

11.3 Israel

11.4 Qatar

11.5 Saudi Arabia

11.6 South Africa

11.7 United Arab Emirates

11.8 Rest of MEA



12 APAC's Global Nanowire Battery Market

12.1 Introduction

12.2 Australia

12.3 Bangladesh

12.4 China

12.5 India

12.6 Indonesia

12.7 Japan

12.8 Malaysia

12.9 Philippines

12.10 Singapore

12.11 South Korea

12.12 Sri Lanka

12.13 Thailand

12.14 Taiwan

12.15 Rest of Asia-Pacific



13 Competitive Landscape

13.1 Competitive Quadrant

13.2 Market Share Analysis

13.3 Strategic Initiatives

13.3.1 M&A and Investments

13.3.2 Partnerships and Collaborations

13.3.3 Product Developments and Improvements



14 Company Profiles

14.1 Amprius Inc

14.2 Boston Power Inc

14.3 Enevate Corp

14.4 Envia Systems Inc

14.5 Imprint Energy Inc

14.6 LG Chem

14.7 Lithium Werks

14.8 NEI Corp

14.9 Nexeon Novarials Corp

14.10 OneD Material

14.11 Panasonic

14.12 Pellion Technologies

14.13 Prieto Battery Inc

14.14 Samsung SDI

14.15 Sila Nanotechnologies Inc

14.16 Targray

14.17 XG Sciences

14.18 Xilectric Inc



15 Appendix



For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/bxeww3

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
DETROIT, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) today reported second-quarter net income attributable to stockholders of $1.7 billion and EBIT-adjusted of $2.3 billion, in line with the earnings update the company issued on July 1. GM continues to expect to meet its full-year earnings guidance.

Downloads

Results Overview



Three Months Ended

($M) except where noted June 30, 2022 June 30, 2021 Change Revenue $ 35,759 $ 34,167 $ 1,592 Net income attributable to stockholders $ 1,692 $ 2,836 $ (1,144) EBIT-adjusted $ 2,343 $ 4,117 $ (1,774) Net income margin 4.7 % 8.3 % (3.6) ppts EBIT-adjusted margin 6.6 % 12.0 % (5.4) ppts Automotive operating cash flow $ 3,469 $ 4,007 $ (538) Adjusted automotive free cash flow $ 1,407 $ 2,478 $ (1,071) EPS-diluted(a) $ 1.14 $ 1.90 $ (0.76) EPS-diluted-adjusted(a) $ 1.14 $ 1.97 $ (0.83) GMNA EBIT-adjusted $ 2,299 $ 2,894 $ (595) GMNA EBIT-adjusted margin 8.0 % 10.4 % (2.4) ppts GMI EBIT-adjusted $ 209 $ 15 $ 194 China equity income $ (87) $ 276 $ (363) GM Financial EBT-adjusted $ 1,106 $ 1,581 $ (475)

__________ (a) EPS-diluted and EPS-diluted-adjusted include a $(0.05) and $0.12 impact from

revaluation on equity investments in the three months ended June 30, 2022 and 2021.



Six Months Ended

($M) except where noted June 30, 2022 June 30, 2021 Change Revenue $ 71,738 $ 66,641 $ 5,097 Net income attributable to stockholders $ 4,631 $ 5,858 $ (1,227) EBIT-adjusted $ 6,387 $ 8,534 $ (2,147) Net income margin 6.5 % 8.8 % (2.3) ppts EBIT-adjusted margin 8.9 % 12.8 % (3.9) ppts Automotive operating cash flow $ 5,104 $ 2,911 $ 2,193 Adjusted automotive free cash flow $ 1,413 $ 546 $ 867 EPS-diluted(a) $ 2.49 $ 3.93 $ (1.44) EPS-diluted-adjusted(a) $ 3.23 $ 4.21 $ (0.98) GMNA EBIT-adjusted $ 5,440 $ 6,028 $ (588) GMNA EBIT-adjusted margin 9.3 % 11.2 % (1.9) ppts GMI EBIT-adjusted $ 537 $ 323 $ 214 China equity income $ 147 $ 584 $ (437) GM Financial EBT-adjusted $ 2,390 $ 2,763 $ (373)

__________ (a) EPS-diluted and EPS-diluted-adjusted include a $(0.16) and $0.20 impact from

revaluation on equity investments in the six months ended June 30, 2022 and 2021.

2022 Guidance

Full-year net income of between $9.6 billion and $11.2 billion , and EBIT-adjusted of between $13.0 billion and $15.0 billion

and , and EBIT-adjusted of between and Full-year EPS-diluted of between $5.76 and $6.76 , and EPS-diluted-adjusted of between $6.50 and $7.50

and , and EPS-diluted-adjusted of between and Full-year net automotive cash provided by operating activities guidance range of between $16.0 billion and $19.0 billion , and adjusted automotive free cash flow guidance range of between $7.0 billion and $9.0 billion

See below for reconciliations of non-GAAP measures to their most directly comparable GAAP measures or visit the GM Investor Relations website for complete details.

Conference Call for Investors and Analysts

Mary Barra and Chief Financial Officer Paul Jacobson will host a conference call for investors and analysts at 8:30 a.m. ET today to discuss these results and the company's growth strategy. Introductory remarks will be followed by a question-and-answer session.

Those who wish to listen to the call may dial in using the following numbers:

United States : 1-800-857-9821

: 1-800-857-9821 International: +1-517-308-9481

Conference call passcode: General Motors

General Motors (NYSE:GM) is a global company focused on advancing an all-electric future that is inclusive and accessible to all. At the heart of this strategy is the Ultium battery platform, which powers everything from mass-market to high-performance vehicles. General Motors, its subsidiaries and its joint venture entities sell vehicles under the Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, Cadillac , Baojun and Wuling brands. More information on the company and its subsidiaries, including OnStar , a global leader in vehicle safety and security services, can be found at https://www.gm.com .

Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements: This press release and related comments by management may include "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the U.S. federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements are any statements other than statements of historical fact. Forward-looking statements represent our current judgment about possible future events and are often identified by words such as "anticipate," "appears," "approximately," "believe," "continue," "could," "designed," "effect," "estimate," "evaluate," "expect," "forecast," "goal," "initiative," "intend," "may," "objective," "outlook," "plan," "potential," "priorities," "project," "pursue," "seek," "should," "target," "when," "will," "would," or the negative of any of those words or similar expressions. In making these statements, we rely upon assumptions and analysis based on our experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions, and expected future developments, as well as other factors we consider appropriate under the circumstances. We believe these judgments are reasonable, but these statements are not guarantees of any future events or financial results, and our actual results may differ materially due to a variety of factors, many of which are described in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and our other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. We caution readers not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and we undertake no obligation to update publicly or otherwise revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or other factors that affect the subject of these statements, except where we are expressly required to do so by law.

Non-GAAP Reconciliations

The following table reconciles Net income (loss) attributable to stockholders under U.S. GAAP to EBIT (loss)-adjusted (dollars in millions):



Three Months Ended Six Months Ended

June 30, 2022 June 30, 2021 June 30, 2022 June 30, 2021 Net income (loss) attributable to stockholders(a) $ 1,692 $ 2,836 $ 4,631 $ 5,858 Income tax expense (benefit) 490 971 462 2,148 Automotive interest expense 234 243 460 493 Automotive interest income (73) (32) (123) (64) Adjustments







Cruise compensation modifications(b)   1,057  Patent royalty matters(c)   (100)  Cadillac dealer strategy(d)  17  17 GM Korea wage litigation(e)  82  82 Total adjustments  99 957 99 EBIT (loss)-adjusted $ 2,343 $ 4,117 $ 6,387 $ 8,534

__________ (a) Net of net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests. (b) This adjustment was excluded because it relates to the one-time modification of Cruise stock incentive awards. (c) This adjustment was excluded because it relates to the resolution, in the three months ended March 31, 2022,

of substantially all matters related to certain royalties accrued with respect to past-year vehicle sales. (d) This adjustment was excluded because it relates to strategic activities to transition certain Cadillac dealers from

the network as part of Cadillac's electric vehicle strategy. (e) This adjustment was excluded because of the unique events associated with Supreme Court of Korea decisions

related to our salaried workers.

The following table reconciles diluted earnings (loss) per common share under U.S. GAAP to EPS-diluted-adjusted (dollars in millions, except per share amounts):



Three Months Ended Six Months Ended

June 30, 2022 June 30, 2021 June 30, 2022 June 30, 2021

Amount Per Share Amount Per Share Amount Per Share Amount Per Share Diluted earnings per common share $ 1,666 $ 1.14 $ 2,790 $ 1.90 $ 3,653 $ 2.49 $ 5,767 $ 3.93 Adjustments(a)   99 0.07 957 0.65 99 0.06 Tax effect on adjustments(b)   (4)  (296) (0.20) (4)  Tax adjustments(c)     (482) (0.33) 316 0.22 Deemed dividend adjustment(d)     909 0.62   EPS-diluted-adjusted $ 1,666 $ 1.14 $ 2,885 $ 1.97 $ 4,741 $ 3.23 $ 6,178 $ 4.21

__________ (a) Refer to the reconciliation of Net income (loss) attributable to stockholders under U.S. GAAP to EBIT (loss)-adjusted for

adjustment details. (b) The tax effect of each adjustment is determined based on the tax laws and valuation allowance status of the jurisdiction

to which the adjustment relates. (c) These adjustments consist of tax benefit related to the release of a valuation allowance against deferred tax assets that

are considered realizable as a result of Cruise tax reconsolidation in the six months ended June 30, 2022, and tax expense

related to the establishment of a valuation allowance against deferred tax assets that were considered no longer realizable

for Cruise in the six months ended June 30, 2021. These adjustments were excluded because significant impacts of valuation

allowances are not considered part of our core operations. (d) This adjustment consists of a deemed dividend related to the redemption of Cruise preferred shares from SoftBank in the six

months ended June 30, 2022.

The following table reconciles net automotive cash provided by (used in) operating activities under U.S. GAAP to adjusted automotive free cash flow (dollars in millions):



Three Months Ended Six Months Ended

June 30, 2022 June 30, 2021 June 30, 2022 June 30, 2021 Net automotive cash provided by (used in) operating activities $ 3,469 $ 4,007 $ 5,104 $ 2,911 Less: Capital expenditures (2,073) (1,546) (3,717) (2,406) Add: GMI restructuring    24 Add: Cadillac dealer strategy  17  17 Add: GM Korea wage litigation 10  26  Adjusted automotive free cash flow $ 1,407 $ 2,478 $ 1,413 $ 546

Guidance Reconciliations

The following table reconciles expected Net income (loss) attributable to stockholders under U.S. GAAP to expected EBIT-adjusted (dollars in billions):



Year Ending

December 31, 2022 Net income attributable to stockholders $ 9.6-11.2 Income tax expense 1.6-2.0 Automotive interest expense, net 0.8 Adjustments(a) 1.0 EBIT-adjusted(b) $ 13.0-15.0

__________ (a) Refer to the reconciliation of Net income (loss) attributable to stockholders

under U.S. GAAP to EBIT (loss)-adjusted for adjustment details. (b) We do not consider the potential future impact of adjustments on our

expected financial results.

The following table reconciles expected EPS-diluted under U.S. GAAP to expected EPS-diluted-adjusted:



Year Ending

December 31, 2022 Diluted earnings per common share $ 5.76-6.76 Adjustments(a) 0.74 EPS-diluted-adjusted(b) $ 6.50-7.50

__________ (a) Refer to the reconciliation of diluted earnings (loss) per common share

under U.S. GAAP to EPS-diluted-adjusted for adjustment details. (b) We do not consider the potential future impact of adjustments on our

expected financial results.

The following table reconciles expected automotive net cash provided by operating activities under U.S. GAAP to adjusted automotive free cash flow (dollars in billions):



Year Ending

December 31, 2022 Net automotive cash provided by operating activities $ 16.0-19.0 Less: Capital expenditures 9.0-10.0 Adjusted automotive free cash flow $ 7.0-9.0

SOURCE General Motors Co.
Organizations looking to secure their business assets can now leverage GoodAccess Cloud VPN solution on top of phoenixNAP infrastructure to minimize the risk of network breaches.

PRAGUE, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- GoodAccess, the company reinventing secure cloud access for small and medium businesses, today announced its partnership with phoenixNAP, a global IT services provider offering security-focused cloud infrastructure, dedicated servers, colocation, and specialized Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) technology solutions.

Built to provide an encrypted connection between users and business systems, GoodAccess Cloud VPN improves network security and helps address increased cyber risks in work-from-home environments. By securing employees' access to a company's network, GoodAccess Cloud VPN helps protect business data and applications from intrusion or breach. The solution makes it impossible for malicious actors to detect business systems, helping organizations enable zero-trust network access and ensure advanced protection of their networks.

As a phoenixNAP recommended Cloud VPN option, GoodAccess can be easily deployed on top of Bare Metal Cloud and other phoenixNAP's infrastructure solutions. Providing robust network protection through an intuitive interface, GoodAccess adds a critical security layer to a corporate infrastructure.

"Enabling secure network access for employees is vital to maintaining a safe and healthy IT environment," said Ron Cadwell, CEO of phoenixNAP. "In an effort to provide businesses with advanced security tools and solutions, we collaborated with GoodAccess to offer organizations an easy way to deploy Cloud VPN for network protection. This is particularly important for organizations with remote work policies as it enables their employees to securely access corporate data and systems regardless of where they are located. We are excited to work with GoodAccess and offer its advanced solutions to organizations leveraging phoenixNAP's infrastructure."

"Our collaboration with phoenixNAP enables businesses to easily deploy advanced infrastructure and network security technologies to address emerging security concerns," said Artur Kane, VP of product, GoodAccess. "GoodAccess Cloud VPN helps organizations protect both their assets and their employees by ensuring zero-trust remote access to corporate data. In our effort to deliver secure and compliance-ready solutions at a flexible and affordable model, we are aligned with phoenixNAP and we are looking forward to helping businesses take their security to a new level."

Through its diverse infrastructure-as-a-service portfolio, phoenixNAP enables organizations to build stable and secure IT environments at an opex-based model. They can leverage a wide variety of security and availability solutions to ensure advanced data protection, business continuity, and compliance-readiness. phoenixNAP's solutions are available from strategic locations in the U.S., Europe, and Asia-Pacific, providing global reach and consistent connectivity worldwide.

As one of phoenixNAP's most agile infrastructure solutions, Bare Metal Cloud enables organizations to automatically deploy dedicated servers and manage them easily through API or IaC tools. Its flexible hourly and monthly billing models make it possible for organizations to optimize their budget and easily scale resources as their demands grow. GoodAccess Cloud VPN can be easily added to Bare Metal Cloud as a network protection option to ensure advanced environment security.

Learn how to enable remote teams to securely access your corporate network. Join an expert webinar hosted by phoenixNAP and GoodAccess. Click here to register.

Visit phoenixNAP's website to learn more about its infrastructure solutions or deploy your Bare Metal Cloud instance in minutes.

About GoodAccess

GoodAccess is the global company dedicated to simplifying "anytime, anywhere" secure connectivity and access for small and medium businesses around the world, beginning with its free GoodAccess Starter product for unlimited usage for up to 100 employees. For companies with the need for static IP addresses, Zero Trust access and other requirements, GoodAccess provides a competitively priced platform that maintains simplicity and ease of use. GoodAccess products are designed for set-up within 10 minutes and the flexibility to meet varying conditions.

About phoenixNAP

phoenixNAP is a global IT services provider with a focus on cyber security and compliance-readiness, whose progressive Infrastructure-as-a-Service solutions are delivered from strategic edge locations worldwide. Its cloud, dedicated servers, hardware leasing, and colocation options are built to meet always evolving IT business requirements. Providing comprehensive disaster recovery solutions, a DDoS-protected global network, and hybrid IT deployments with software and hardware-based security, phoenixNAP fully supports its clients' business continuity planning. www.phoenixnap.com

For more information please contact [email protected]

SOURCE GoodAccess
BOSTON, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Goulston & Storrs, an Am Law 200 firm, has received a top ranking in Private Wealth Law in Massachusetts in the 2022 edition of Chambers USA High Net Worth (HNW) Guide. Five Goulston & Storrs directors  Mark Balk, Mark Christopher, Andrew Rothstein, Marshall Senterfitt, and Mark Swirbalus  also ranked among the top attorneys in the directory.

(PRNewsfoto/Goulston & Storrs PC)

Goulston & Storrs was one of only four firms to receive a Band 2 ranking in Private Wealth Law. Highly-regarded for handling trust and estate planning and administration for domestic and international clients, Goulston & Storrs' private client team "also has a particular expertise in contentious probate and fiduciary matters" and is known for "top quality work that is thoughtful and contextual."

In the Private Wealth Disputes category, Mark Swirbalus, co-chair of Goulston & Storrs' Litigation group, and Marshall Senterfitt received top rankings. According to Chambers, Swirbalus is an "outstanding" trust and estates litigator who is "smart, reasonable and practical, but zealous in representation for clients." Senterfitt "totally instills confidence" and is "thoughtful and careful and as good a probate and general civil litigator as you will find."

In the Private Wealth Law category, Mark Christopher was ranked with Chambers noting that he "advocates with heart and energy" in trust and estate administration and fiduciary litigation matters. Andrew Rothstein, who co-chairs the firm's Private Client & Trust Group, also ranked for his "tax efficient wealth planning for families." Rothstein is "good at explaining things and following through so the client is sure what they want to do." Finally, Mark Balk was recognized with Chambers highlighting that his "excellent reputation as a thoughtful advisor to high net worth families is well deserved."

The Chambers USA HNW Guide to the world's leading private wealth advisors is culled from thousands of in-depth interviews with clients to assess the reputations and expertise of business lawyers worldwide. Rankings are based on technical legal ability, client service, depth of team, commercial vision and business understanding, diligence, and value for money.

About Goulston & Storrs

Collaboration is not just a pillar of our strategy; it is the key to our competitive advantage and approach to clients, community, and each other. At Goulston & Storrs, we practice law with excellence and integrity. We are a place where mutual respect and collaboration drive open discussion, transparency, creativity and optimal results for our clients. We are committed to being a diverse and inclusive workplace where sophisticated business is conducted with genuine camaraderie. To learn more about us, visit www.goulstonstorrs.com.

Contact:



Leigh Herzog

Amy Blumenthal Goulston & Storrs PC

Blumenthal & Associates PR (617) 574-2259

(617) 879-1511 [email protected]

[email protected]

SOURCE Goulston & Storrs PC
Strong growth of Grupo Elektra's consolidated gross portfolio; increases 18%, to Ps.149,219 million

12% increase in consolidated deposits, to Ps.202,884 million, generates solid perspectives for the financial business, with an optimal cost of funding

MEXICO CITY, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Grupo Elektra, S.A.B. de C.V. (BMV: ELEKTRA* Latibex: XEKT), Latin America's leading specialty retailer and financial services company, and the largest non-bank provider of cash advance services in the United States, today announced second quarter 2022 financial results.

Second quarter results

Consolidated revenue grew 8% to Ps.38,817 million in the period, compared to Ps.36,068 million in the same quarter of the previous year. Operating costs and expenses were Ps.33,684 million, from Ps.30,983 million in the same period of 2021.

As a result, EBITDA was Ps.5,133 million, compared to Ps.5,085 million a year ago. Operating income was Ps.2,672 million this quarter, from Ps.3,062 million in the same period of 2021.

The company reported a net loss of Ps.1,764 million, compared to a profit of Ps.6,948 million a year ago.



2Q 2021 2Q 2022 Change





Ps. %









Consolidated revenue $36,068 $38,817 $2,749 8 %









EBITDA $5,085 $5,133 $47 1 %









Operating profit $3,062 $2,672 $(390) -13 %









Net result $6,948 $(1,764) $(8,712) ----









Net result per share $30.50 $(7.81) $(38.31) ----











Figures in millions of pesos

EBITDA: Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization.

As of June 30, 2021, Elektra* outstanding shares were 227.8 million and as of June 30, 2022, were 225.9 million.

Revenue

Consolidated revenue increased 8% in the period, as a result of an 11% growth in financial income and a 4% increase in commercial revenue.

The increase in financial income  to Ps.22,171 million, from Ps.20,014 million in the previous year  largely reflects a 14% increase in revenue from Banco Azteca Mexico  which further strengthens its solid financial margin in the context of dynamic growth of the gross credit portfolio in the period, which improves the well-being of millions of families and the growth of businesses.

The increase in sales of the commercial business  to Ps.16,646 million, from Ps.16,054 million a year ago  is largely the result of strong growth in sales from Italika motorcycles  which strengthen the productivity of businesses and the mobility of families , home appliances  which boost the quality of life in households  and income related to electronic money transfers, in the context of growing transfer flows from the United States to Mexico, which contribute to the well-being and progress of millions of families.

Costs and expenses

Consolidated costs for the quarter were Ps.17,801 million, practically unchanged compared to Ps.17,753 million from the previous year. This is explained by a 4% decrease in the financial cost  derived from a lower creation of allowance for credit risks, partially offset by higher interest paid, in line with rising market rates  and a 2% increase in the commercial cost, consistent with higher income from merchandise sales.

Sales, administration and promotion expenses were Ps.15,883 million, from Ps.13,230 million a year ago, as a result of higher personnel and operating expenses in the period. The increase is related to the development of supply logistics strategies that will further strengthen the product distribution process, to promptly meet the growing demand for world-class merchandise by millions of families, both on the sales floor and through the company's omnichannel operations.

Additionally, expense increases come from systems development to additionally promote high efficiency standards, both in digital banking  which currently has more than 17 million users that grow dynamically  and in omnichannel sales  with higher levels of security, comfort and time savings  as well as higher personnel and maintenance expenses, in the context of a solid expansion of points of contact, which allow maximizing the customer's shopping experience.

EBITDA and net result

EBITDA was Ps.5,133 million, from Ps.5,085 million the previous year. The company reported operating income of Ps.2,672 million, compared to Ps.3,062 million in the same quarter of 2021.

The most important variation below EBITDA was a reduction of Ps.12,025 million in other financial results, which reflects a 10% loss this quarter in the market value of the underlying financial instruments held by the company  and which does not imply cash flow  compared to gain of 18% a year ago.

Consistent with the results of the quarter, a reduction of Ps.3,709 million in the tax provision was recorded in the period.

Grupo Elektra reported a net loss of Ps.1,764 million, from a profit of Ps.6,948 million a year ago.

Unconsolidated Balance Sheet

A proforma balance sheet exercise of Grupo Elektra is presented, which allows knowing the non-consolidated financial situation, excluding the net assets of the financial business, whose investment is valued in this case under the participation method.

This presentation shows the debt of the company without considering Banco Azteca's immediate and term deposits, which do not constitute debt with cost for Grupo Elektra. Also, the pro forma balance sheet does not include the bank's gross loan portfolio.

This provides greater clarity on the situation of the different businesses that make up the company, and allows financial market participants to make estimates of the value of the company, considering only the relevant debt for said calculations.

Consistent with this, the debt with cost was Ps.36,379 million as of June 30, 2022, compared to Ps.32,185 million of the previous year. During the quarter, the company issued short-term Certificados Busatiles for Ps.1,500 million and obtained bank loans for Ps.1,800 million.

The balance of cash and cash equivalents was Ps.5,891 million, from Ps.10,355 million in the previous year.

As of June 30, 2022, the company's stockholders' equity was Ps.96,327 million, and the ratio of stockholders' equity to total liabilities was 1.25 times.





















As of June 30 2021 As of June 30 2022 Change Ps. %



















Cash and cash equivalents $10,355 $5,891 (4,464) (43 %) Marketable financial instruments 34,697 34,915 218 1 % Inventories 16,972 23,602 6,630 39 % Accounts receivables 58,924 46,480 (12,444) (21 %) Other current assets 3,361 4,062 701 21 % Investments in shares 37,288 37,779 491 1 % Fixed assets 7,090 9,075 1,985 28 % Right of use assets 8,779 9,523 744 8 % Other assets 1,433 1,870 436 30 %









Total assets $178,900 $173,198 (5,703) (3 %)









Short-term debt $14,539 $14,905 367 3 % Suppliers 6,462 9,257 2,796 43 % Other short-term liabilities 12,934 16,532 3,598 28 % Long-term debt 17,646 21,474 3,828 22 % Differed taxes 12,373 3,180 (9,193) (74 %) Other long-term debt 11,248 11,522 274 2 %









Total liabilities $75,200 $76,871 1,670 2 %









Stakeholders equity $103,700 $96,327 (7,373) (7 %)









Liabilities and equity $178,900 $173,198 (5,703) (3 %)



















Figures in millions of pesos

Consolidated Balance Sheet

Loan Portfolio and Deposits

As detailed in the previous quarter, starting on January 1, 2022, Banco Azteca Mexico adopted IFRS-9 ('Financial Instruments') and IFRS-16 ('Leases'), contained in the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) to report their financial statements. These changes implied: growth in its portfolio, in the reserve for credit risks and in the accumulated results (IFRS-9) and a growth in the assets for rights of use and in the liabilities for leases (IFRS-16), when compared to figures for 2021.

The consolidated gross portfolio of Banco Azteca Mexico, Purpose Financial and Banco Azteca Latin America as of June 30, 2022, grew 18%, to Ps.149,219 million, from Ps.126,674 million in the previous year.

Banco Azteca Mexico's gross portfolio balance increased 32% to Ps.143,262 million, from Ps.108,858 million a year ago. The Bank's delinquency rate at the end of the quarter was 3.6%, compared to 3.8% a year earlier.

Grupo Elektra's consolidated deposits grew 12%, to Ps.202,884 million, from Ps.180,695 million a year ago. Banco Azteca Mexico's deposits were Ps.199,360 million, 12% above the Ps.177,723 million of the previous year.

Banco Azteca Mexico's ratio of deposits to gross portfolio was 1.4 times, which allows solid growth for the Bank, with optimal funding cost.

Banco Azteca Mexico's capitalization ratio as of June was 15.49%, a level that accounts for the institution's notable financial strength.

Infrastructure

Grupo Elektra currently has 6,165 points of contact, compared to 6,400 units the previous year. The decrease derives mainly from the closure of 294 Purpose Financial points of contact in the United States  in the context of strategies aimed at boosting online credit operations and strengthening the company's operational efficiency.

In Mexico, in the last twelve months, 29 new Elektra stores were opened in strategic locations, with a format that offers an optimal mix of merchandise and services, and allows maximizing the customer's shopping experience.

The company has 4,774 storefronts in Mexico at the end of the quarter, 1,017 in the United States, and 374 in Central America. The important distribution network allows the company to maintain close contact with customers and grants a superior market positioning in the countries where it operates.

Six-month consolidated results

Consolidated revenue in the first six months of the year grew 13%, to Ps.76,349 million, from Ps.67,453 million registered in the same period of 2021, driven by a 15% growth in financial income and a 10% growth in commercial business sales.

EBITDA was Ps.10,754 million, compared to Ps.10,520 million in the previous year. The company reported operating income of Ps.5,278 million, from Ps.6,556 million a year ago.

In the first six months of 2022, a net loss of Ps.6,379 million was recorded, compared to a net income of Ps.9,997 million a year ago. The change reflects a decrease in the market value of the underlying financial instruments held by the company  and which does not imply cash flow  compared to gain in the previous year.



6M 2021 6M 2022 Change





Ps. %









Consolidated revenue $67,453 $76,349 $8,896 13 %









EBITDA $10,520 $10,754 $234 2 %









Operating profit Net result $6,556 $9,997 $5,278 $(6,379) $(1,278) $(16,376) -19% ----









Net result per share $43.88 $(28.24) $(72.12) ----











Figures in millions of pesos

EBITDA: Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization.

As of June 30, 2021, Elektra* outstanding shares were 227.8 million and as of June 30, 2022, were 225.9 million.

Alvaro Calderon is appointed CFO

Grupo Elektra appointed Alvaro Alberto Calderon Jimenez, CFO of the company.

Mr. Calderon has more than 20 years of experience in financial planning and administration in important organizations, where he has achieved superior efficiencies in costs and expenses, as well as optimization of purchasing processes and logistics. Since 2018, he has held the position of CFO of Banco Azteca Mexico, where he has been responsible for the implementation of accounting process models, which generate solid advances in effective management control.

Alvaro Calderon has a degree in public accounting from La Salle University; he has a MBA from the Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, and the Executive Management D1 Program from the IPADE.

Administration and Finance of Banco Azteca Mexico will be lead by Juan Carlos Reyes Soto, who in the last four years has coordinated solid Financial and Budget Planning and Control strategies in Grupo Salinas companies, further boosting their results. He has more than 20 years of proven experience in finance, accounting, and management at leading institutions.

Mr. Reyes Soto is a CPA from the Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, with a MBA in finance from the same institution and a master's degree in banking and finance from Universidad Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, Spain.

Mauro Aguirre Regis, who was the CFO of Grupo Elektra, has been appointed Director of Strategic Analysis of Grupo Salinas, from where he will develop important financial strategy projects that will further boost the strong dynamism of the Groups companies, and their solid profitability.

Company Profile:

Grupo Elektra is Latin America's leading financial services company and specialty retailer and the largest non-bank provider of cash advance services in the United States. The group operates more than 6,000 points of contact in Mexico, the United States, Guatemala, Honduras and Panama.

Grupo Elektra is a Grupo Salinas company (www.gruposalinas.com), a group of dynamic, fast growing, and technologically advanced companies focused on creating: economic value through market innovation and goods and services that improve standards of living; social value to improve community wellbeing; and environmental value by reducing the negative impact of its business activities. Created by Mexican entrepreneur Ricardo B. Salinas (www.ricardosalinas.com), Grupo Salinas operates as a management development and decision forum for the top leaders of member companies. These companies include TV Azteca (www.TVazteca.com; www.irtvazteca.com), Grupo Elektra (www.grupoelektra.com.mx), Banco Azteca (www.bancoazteca.com.mx), Purpose Financial (havepurpose.com), Afore Azteca (www.aforeazteca.com.mx), Seguros Azteca (www.segurosazteca.com.mx), Punto Casa de Bolsa (www.puntocasadebolsa.mx), Totalplay (irtotalplay.mx; www.totalplay.com.mx) and Totalplay Empresarial (totalplayempresarial.com.mx). TV Azteca and Grupo Elektra trade shares on the Mexican Stock Market and in Spains' Latibex market. Each of the Grupo Salinas companies operates independently, with its own management, board of directors and shareholders. Grupo Salinas has no equity holdings. The group of companies shares a common vision, values and strategies for achieving rapid growth, superior results and world-class performance.

Except for historical information, the matters discussed in this press release are concepts about the future that involve risks and uncertainty that may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Other risks that may affect Grupo Elektra and its subsidiaries are presented in documents sent to the securities authorities.

Investor Relations:

Rolando Villarreal

Grupo Elektra, S.A.B. de C.V.

Tel. +52 (55) 1720-9167

[email protected]



Bruno Rangel

Grupo Salinas

Tel. +52 (55) 1720-9167

[email protected]



Press Relations:

Luciano Pascoe

Tel. +52 (55) 1720 1313 ext. 36553

[email protected]

GRUPO ELEKTRA, S.A.B. DE C.V. AND SUBSIDIARIES CONSOLIDATED INCOME STATEMENTS MILLIONS OF MEXICAN PESOS





































































2Q21

2Q22

Change

























Financial income 20,014 55 %

22,171 57 %

2,157 11 %



Commercial income 16,054 45 %

16,646 43 %

592 4 %



Income 36,068 100 %

38,817 100 %

2,749 8 %

























Financial cost 6,117 17 %

5,897 15 %

(220) -4 %



Commercial cost 11,636 32 %

11,905 31 %

269 2 %



Costs 17,753 49 %

17,801 46 %

49 0 %

























Gross income 18,315 51 %

21,016 54 %

2,701 15 %

























Sales, administration and promotion expenses 13,230 37 %

15,883 41 %

2,653 20 %

























EBITDA 5,085 14 %

5,133 13 %

47 1 %

























Depreciation and amortization 2,033 6 %

2,228 6 %

195 10 %

























Other (income) loss, net (11) 0 %

232 1 %

243 ----

























Operating income 3,062 8 %

2,672 7 %

(390) -13 %

























Comprehensive financial result:



















Interest income 159 0 %

204 1 %

45 28 %



Interest expense (929) -3 %

(999) -3 %

(70) -8 %



Foreign exchange loss, net 0 0 %

(38) 0 %

(38) -100 %



Other financial results, net 7,577 21 %

(4,448) -11 %

(12,025) ----





6,807 19 %

(5,282) -14 %

(12,089) ----

























Participation in the net income of



















CASA and other associated companies 72 0 %

94 0 %

22 30 %

























Income (loss) before income tax 9,941 28 %

(2,516) -6 %

(12,457) ----

























Income tax (2,955) -8 %

754 2 %

3,709 ----

























Income (loss) before discontinued operations 6,986 19 %

(1,762) -5 %

(8,748) ----

























Result from discontinued operations (38) 0 %

(2) 0 %

36 95 %

























Consolidated net income (loss) 6,948 19 %

(1,764) -5 %

(8,712) ----

























GRUPO ELEKTRA, S.A.B. DE C.V. AND SUBSIDIARIES CONSOLIDATED INCOME STATEMENTS MILLIONS OF MEXICAN PESOS















































6M21

6M22

Change

























Financial income 38,015 56 %

43,886 57 %

5,870 15 %



Commercial income 29,438 44 %

32,464 43 %

3,026 10 %



Income 67,453 100 %

76,349 100 %

8,896 13 %

























Financial cost 10,476 16 %

11,112 15 %

636 6 %



Commercial cost 20,878 31 %

23,481 31 %

2,603 12 %



Costs 31,353 46 %

34,592 45 %

3,239 10 %

























Gross income 36,100 54 %

41,757 55 %

5,658 16 %

























Sales, administration and promotion expenses 25,580 38 %

31,003 41 %

5,423 21 %

























EBITDA 10,520 16 %

10,754 14 %

234 2 %

























Depreciation and amortization 4,062 6 %

4,439 6 %

377 9 %

























Other (income) loss, net (98) 0 %

1,038 1 %

1,136 ----

























Operating income 6,556 10 %

5,278 7 %

(1,278) -19 %

























Comprehensive financial result:



















Interest income 379 1 %

396 1 %

17 4 %



Interest expense (1,915) -3 %

(1,947) -3 %

(31) -2 %



Foreign exchange gain, net 244 0 %

5 0 %

(239) -98 %



Other financial results, net 9,110 14 %

(12,818) -17 %

(21,928) ----





7,818 12 %

(14,364) -19 %

(22,182) ----

























Participation in the net income of



















CASA and other associated companies 21 0 %

212 0 %

191 100 %

























Income (loss) before income tax 14,395 21 %

(8,874) -12 %

(23,269) ----

























Income tax (4,270) -6 %

2,494 3 %

6,764 ----

























Income (loss) before discontinued operations 10,125 15 %

(6,380) -8 %

(16,505) ----

























Result from discontinued operations (128) 0 %

0 0 %

129 ----

























Consolidated net income (loss) 9,997 15 %

(6,379) -8 %

(16,376) ----



























GRUPO ELEKTRA, S.A.B. DE C.V. AND SUBSIDIARIES





CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET







MILLIONS OF MEXICAN PESOS























Commercial Business Financial Business Grupo Elektra

Commercial Business Financial Business Grupo Elektra





















Change























At June 30, 2021

At June 30, 2022

























Cash and cash equivalents 10,355 24,434 34,790

5,891 33,116 39,008

4,218 12 %





















Marketable financial instruments 7,846 95,806 103,652

8,004 91,165 99,170

(4,483) -4 %





















Performing loan portfolio - 74,676 74,676

- 81,142 81,142

6,465 9 % Total past-due loans - 3,958 3,958

- 4,817 4,817

859 22 % Gross loan portfolio - 78,634 78,634

- 85,959 85,959

7,325 9 %





















Allowance for credit risks - 10,599 10,599

- 11,125 11,125

527 5 %





















Loan portfolio, net - 68,035 68,035

- 74,833 74,833

6,798 10 %





















Inventories 16,972 - 16,972

23,602 0 23,602

6,630 39 %





















Other current assets 15,436 12,619 28,055

17,256 10,195 27,450

(605) -2 %





















Total current assets 50,610 200,895 251,504

54,754 209,309 264,063

12,559 5 %





















Financial instruments 26,851 90 26,941

26,911 36 26,947

5 0 %





















Performing loan portfolio - 47,158 47,158

- 61,795 61,795

14,638 31 % Total past-due loans - 882 882

- 1,465 1,465

582 66 % Gross loan portfolio - 48,040 48,040

- 63,260 63,260

15,220 32 %





















Allowance for credit risks - 1,859 1,859

- 3,859 3,859

2,000 108 %





















Loan portfolio - 46,181 46,181

- 59,401 59,401

13,220 29 %





















Other non-current assets 34,297 529 34,826

19,949 486 20,435

(14,391) -41 % Investment in shares 1,768 - 1,768

2,301 - 2,301

533 30 % Property, furniture, equipment and



















investment in stores, net 7,090 8,402 15,493

9,075 9,447 18,522

3,029 20 % Intangible assets 519 6,357 6,877

542 7,207 7,749

872 13 % Right of use asset 8,582 2,343 10,925

9,340 2,348 11,688

763 7 % Other assets 914 7,528 8,442

1,328 7,969 9,297

855 10 % TOTAL ASSETS 130,632 272,325 402,957

124,199 296,203 420,402

17,445 4 %











































Demand and term deposits - 180,695 180,695

- 202,884 202,884

22,189 12 % Creditors from repurchase agreements - 21,967 21,967

- 20,802 20,802

(1,165) -5 % Short-term debt 14,539 100 14,638

14,385 342 14,727

89 1 % Leasing 1,294 1,045 2,339

1,884 963 2,847

508 22 % Short-term liabilities with cost 15,833 203,806 219,639

16,269 224,991 241,260

21,621 10 %





















Suppliers and other short-term liabilities 17,868 17,557 35,425

23,689 21,344 45,033

9,608 27 % Short-term liabilities without cost 17,868 17,557 35,425

23,689 21,344 45,033

9,608 27 %





















Total short-term liabilities 33,701 221,364 255,064

39,958 246,335 286,293

31,228 12 %





















Long-term debt 17,646 15 17,660

19,844 10 19,854

2,194 12 % Leasing 8,161 1,288 9,449

8,475 1,502 9,977

527 6 % Long-term liabilities with cost 25,807 1,302 27,109

28,319 1,512 29,831

2,721 10 %





















Long-term liabilities without cost 15,459 1,624 17,083

6,227 1,725 7,951

(9,131) -53 %





















Total long-term liabilities 41,266 2,926 44,192

34,546 3,236 37,782

(6,410) -15 %





















TOTAL LIABILITIES 74,966 224,290 299,256

74,504 249,571 324,075

24,818 8 %





















TOTAL STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY 55,665 48,035 103,700

49,695 46,632 96,327

(7,373) -7 %











































LIABILITIES + EQUITY 130,632 272,325 402,957

124,199 296,203 420,402

17,445 4 %























INFRASTRUCTURE





















2Q21

2Q22

Change

















Points of sale in Mexico















Elektra 1,142 18 %

1,167 19 %

25 2 % Salinas y Rocha 36 1 %

36 1 %

- 0 % Banco Azteca 1,848 29 %

1,887 31 %

39 2 % Freestanding branches 1,695 26 %

1,684 27 %

(11) -1 % Total 4,721 74 %

4,774 77 %

53 1 %

















Points of sale in Central America













Elektra 107 2 %

108 2 %

1 1 % Banco Azteca 206 3 %

209 3 %

3 1 % Freestanding branches 55 1 %

57 1 %

2 4 % Total 368 6 %

374 6 %

6 2 %

















Points of sale in North America















Purpose Financial 1,311 20 %

1,017 16 %

(294) -22 % Total 1,311 20 %

1,017 16 %

(294) -22 %

















TOTAL 6,400 100 %

6,165 100 %

(235) -4 %





















































Floor space (m) 1,448 100 %

1,483 100 %

35 2 %





















































Employees















Mexico 62,230 88 %

64,317 88 %

2,087 3 % Central and South America 5,221 7 %

5,836 8 %

615 12 % North America 2,983 4 %

2,717 4 %

(266) -9 % Total employees 70,434 100 %

72,870 100 %

2,436 3 %



















SOURCE Grupo Elektra, S.A.B. de C.V.
GLEN ALLEN, Va., July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Hamilton Beach Brands Holding Company (NYSE: HBB) announced today that it will release its 2022 second quarter financial results and file its 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2022, after the close of the market on Wednesday, August 3, 2022.

The Company will host a conference call on Thursday, August 4, 2022, to discuss its results.

Conference Call: Thursday, August 4, 2022 Time: 11:00 a.m. (Eastern Time) Telephone: 844-200-6205 (US) or 929-526-1599 (all other locations)

Access Code: 733621

(Call in at least five minutes before start time)

The conference call will also be webcast live over the internet. To access the call, go to www.hamiltonbeachbrands.com. Please allow 15 minutes to register, download and install any necessary software. An archive of the webcast will be available on the company website.

About Hamilton Beach Brands Holding Company

Hamilton Beach Brands Holding Company operates through its wholly owned subsidiary Hamilton Beach Brands, Inc., a leading designer, marketer, and distributor of a wide range of branded small electric household and specialty housewares appliances, as well as commercial products for restaurants, fast food chains, bars, and hotels. The Company's owned consumer brands include Hamilton Beach, Proctor Silex, Hamilton Beach Professional, Weston, TrueAir, Brightline and Hamilton Beach Health. The Company's owned commercial brands include Hamilton Beach Commercial and Proctor Silex Commercial. Hamilton Beach Brands licenses the brands for Wolf Gourmet countertop appliances, CHI premium garment care products, Clorox air purifiers, and Brita countertop water appliances. Hamilton Beach Brands markets and distributes the Bartesian premium cocktail delivery system through an exclusive multiyear agreement. Hamilton Beach Brands has entered the home medical market through a multiyear agreement with HealthBeacon plc and is the exclusive marketer and distributor of a smart Injection Care Management System in the U.S. and Canada under the new owned brand name Hamilton Beach Health. For more information about Hamilton Beach Brands Holding Company, visit hamiltonbeachbrands.com.

SOURCE Hamilton Beach Brands Holding Company
SACRAMENTO, Calif., July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - As the U.S. healthcare labor market continues to face unprecedented worker shortages, the nursing workforce pipeline is approaching a crisis point. It is estimated that by 2025, the United States will have a gap of between 200,000-450,000 nurses available for direct patient care.

Lawmakers in several states, including California, have recently passed bills designed to expand funding to incentivize solutions that generate more nursing assistants, vocational (practical) nurses and registered nurses to ensure equitable care. But these solutions are not coming quick enough for many healthcare employers who have been increasing their use of travel nurses, often paying them as much as three times more than their full-time counterparts, driving up labor costs.

"In California, we're seeing higher-than-usual exits of seasoned registered nurses and slow absorption of new graduates, creating a 2021 gap in California of 40,567 RNs," explains Joanne Spetz, PhD, Director, Institute for Health Policy Studies at the UCSF HealthForce Center, and board member of Futuro Health. "We need to groom the nursing pipeline and, until new RNs are grown, other allied health occupations shall be needed to augment the care team."

With plans to generate innovative and comprehensive solutions, healthcare workforce leaders Futuro Health and Dignity Health Global Education (DHGE) have announced a new collaboration to develop healthcare workforce pathways from education-to-employment and advancement. The partnership intends to create more tuition-free entry points into the nursing path for jobs that are strategically aligned with California's future healthcare employer trends and to work closely with those employers to customize student training to meet their organizational skill set requirements.

Both Futuro Health and DHGE represent relatively new entities established by major health systems searching for better solutions to the industry's acute workforce needs. Futuro Health was established by Kaiser Permanente, the largest healthcare plan in the country with 12 million members, and a nonprofit agenda to grow the next generation of allied health workers. Launched in the first year of the pandemic, during a period where higher education enrollment has dropped consistently, Futuro Health has already successfully brought over 7,000 adults back into higher education, with 80% diversity, to train at partner colleges.

DHGE is backed by CommonSpirit Health, one of the largest nonprofit hospital systems in the U.S. DHGE's nursing residency offering for retention is the largest in the nation and reaches 45,000 nurses across 21 states.

The new partnership will build upon the success of recent collaborations between the two organizations, including co-developing a Community Health Worker with Behavioral Health (CHW/BH) Program. Futuro Health provided inclusive access to flexible and scalable training for more than 200 students debt-free since the CHW/BH program's launch last year.

"Our collaboration will focus on the breakdowns in the workforce pipeline," states Van Ton-Quinlivan, CEO of Futuro Health. "Our best practices can combine in novel ways and surface scalable solutions that pay attention to diversity and the skills needed for workers to be relevant."

With an emphasis on working with employers in diverse, marginalized rural and urban communities, other goals of the new partnership include a focus on developing affordable, flexible training pathways across nursing and additional healthcare professions, while paving the way for students to advance in their career to higher paying positions through supplemental training, licensing, and add on micro-credentialing options.

About Futuro Health

Futuro Health is a non-profit organization focused on improving the health and wealth of communities by growing the largest network of allied healthcare workers in the nation. Futuro Health makes education journeys into allied health careers possible by growing the talent that employers need and creating a path to the opportunity that workers want.

About DHGE

Dignity Health Global Education (DHGE) is the leading healthcare workforce development company. Dedicated to providing customized educational opportunities and a student-centric experience, we develop online programs and workforce development solutions with industry, for industry. We achieve this goal by partnering with top-ranked academic institutions and thought-leading professionals.

SOURCE Dignity Health Global Education
Strategic acquisition expands Data Activation into European market

SAN FRANCISCO, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Hightouch, the leader in Data Activation and Reverse ETL, has announced its acquisition of the London-based knowledge management startup Whatisa move that accelerates Hightouch's path towards owning the market in implementing Data Activation on an enterprise scale.

Two of Whatis' co-founders, Hugo Darwood and Mitchell Friedman, worked at leading tech companies including Wayve, Twilio, and Deliveroo, before launching Whatis in 2020.

"The Whatis team has been building Data Activation since 2018 when they were on the restaurants data engineering team at Deliveroo," says Kashish Gupta, Co-CEO of Hightouch. "So when the Whatis team set out to build extensions of their platform into Salesforce and other SaaS tools, it clicked on both sides that we ought to work together as one company."

Darwood describes the acquisition as a natural fit given Whatis' mission of activating siloed knowledge: "Whatis addressed the complicated nature of operations, which meant teams could lack context and waste time searching thousands of wiki pages." Now, Darwood says, "Joining Hightouch allows us to continue our mission of helping teams focus on meaningful work."

Mitchell Friedman says that interactions with Whatis customers gave him a renewed appreciation for the data warehousewhich makes him particularly excited to join Hightouch's warehouse-centric method of Data Activation. "As we grew, we saw the importance of the warehouse, with customers asking to directly integrate data from their warehouse into Whatis to make real-time metrics accessible to their teams," says Friedman.

Hightouch VP of Engineering Corey Stein says the synergy between Hightouch and Whatis was obvious from his first conversation with them: "I was struck by how value-aligned they were to the type of engineering team we're building at Hightouch, finding the most efficient way to provide value for our customers while also building against a longer-term plan."

With the Whatis acquisition Hightouch expands its global presence to Europe, with offices now in San Francisco, New York, Sydney, and London.

Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

About Hightouch

Hightouch is the world's leading Data Activation platform, which syncs data from data warehouses directly into the SaaS tools business teams use every day. From sales and marketing to support and customer success, all teams need to be fully empowered with relevant, accurate, and near real-time customer data to add critical context inside the software they already use. Whether you're optimizing communications with customers via CRM, catering ad copy, or personalizing email, Hightouch supports more integrations than any other tool available todayall with SQL, no scripts or CSVs required. Learn more at Hightouch.com. or get started for free today.

SOURCE Hightouch
Flucker will focus on equity in curriculum, solutions and services and serve as strategic advisor for HMH employee resource groups

BOSTON, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Learning technology company HMH today announced the appointment of Benita Flucker as Chief Equity and Inclusion Officer. In this critical new position, Flucker will oversee HMH's multifaceted commitment to building and delivering curriculum solutions and services that foster a holistic understanding of the world and honor the diverse students, educators and communities HMH serves each day. Working closely with HMH's Chief People Officer Alejandro Reyes, who will continue to lead HMH's employee-focused diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, Flucker will also be an essential guiding voice for HMH's employee community as leader and strategic advisor for its nine employee resource groups, which are devoted to nurturing an inclusive, affirming culture at HMH.

Flucker's appointment builds upon deep industry experience and more than a decade of exceptional service at HMH, most recently in the role of senior vice president of the cross-functional Enterprise Development Strategy and Services team, driving strategic content development operations in close partnership across all lines of business.

In 2018, Flucker launched HMH's content equity, inclusion and diversity initiative and became a founding member of Innovation for Equity, of which HMH is a proud sponsor. In 2020, she became the executive sponsor and co-founder of HMH's Black Alliance Employee Resource Group.

"HMH's commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion spans four key pillarsbusiness, talent, leadership and culture. With our customer-facing solutions and business top of mind, I am thrilled that Benita will step into this expanded and critical role to elevate and expand our vision for inclusive education, further our mission and reinforce our values so that the meaningful work we do each day is in service of all students and teachers," said Jack Lynch, CEO, HMH. "Benita is a passionate champion for educators and students, and she is relied on by internal and external partners for her solution-oriented and collaborative mindset."

"I am excited to take on such an important role for HMH and to further our commitment to creating programs that reflect and resonate across learning communities. I have focused my career on equity in education and creating high-quality programs that empower teachers to do their best work," added Flucker. "I have a deep passion for ensuring students feel affirmed and can excel academically, and I strongly believe that it is essential all students see themselves and the possibilities for their future success in the materials we offer."

Flucker will focus on the essential intersection of internal and public-facing DEI efforts through leadership within two key areas: She will continue to ensure equity in curriculum, solutions and services, leading ongoing content equity, inclusion and diversity projects forward and working with internal and external stakeholders, including program authors and advisors, to advance this critical work. She will lead process and policy-making across lines of business and will connect directly with customers and other external audiences to uphold HMH's values-driven approach to equity and inclusivity in its content.

Working closely with Reyes, Flucker will continue HMH's efforts to align an inclusive and affirming culture with business strategy through HMH's employee resource groups and serve as a prominent voice on HMH's DEI Council, ensuring alignment with HR initiatives. HMH takes direct actions to attract, hire and retain diverse talent, nurture an inclusive workplace and create opportunities for meaningful conversations with its community.

About HMH

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt is a learning technology company committed to delivering connected solutions that engage learners, empower educators and improve student outcomes. As a leading provider of K12 core curriculum, supplemental and intervention solutions, and professional learning services, HMH partners with educators and school districts to uncover solutions that unlock students' potential and extend teachers' capabilities. HMH serves more than 50 million students and 4 million educators in 150 countries. For more information, visit www.hmhco.com

Follow HMH on Twitter, Facebook , Instagram and YouTube.

Media Contact

Leah Riviere

Communications Director

HMH

[email protected]

SOURCE Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
August brings mindful indulgence on the go for soaking up the last days of summer

NEW YORK, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- This National Wellness Month, premium indulgence is on the rise as a form of emotional wellness. Consumers are seeking, more than ever, to immerse their senses in flavor and experience, and expect quality and artisanal ingredients with every indulgent moment. Loacker Minis , now available in a single-serve package at Costco stores nationwide, offer occasions for moments of mindful indulgence as people soak up the last days of summer.

Loacker, an Italian family company known for the world's number one wafer brand, has made snack time more special since first founded in the Italian Alps in 1925. Focused on pure goodness, Loacker Minis are baked with four crispy wafers and three layers of delicious Hazelnut, Vanilla, or Chocolate cream filling. Loacker Mini wafers are made with Non-GMO ingredients, including creamy Alpine milk, delicious Italian hazelnuts harvested and roasted locally, as well as authentic Madagascar vanilla and sustainably-sourced cocoa.

Moments of Wellness and Indulgence

"As Americans head back to school, work, and back to a lot of their pre-pandemic routines this August, finding little moments throughout the day gets harder," said TJ Rooney, President Loacker USA. "Loacker Minis provide a convenient package for mindful indulgence on-the-go, bringing a little joy into everyday moments. They're a high-quality, convenient indulgence anyone can enjoy."

Committed to the well-being of consumers, employees and the planet, Loacker conducted a survey* of more than 2,000 Americans (over the age of 18) to better understand snacking preferences and how these preferences relate to elevated emotional wellness and break times throughout the day. The survey found that for most (90%) survey respondents, snacking moments are a way to offer themselves a moment of emotional wellness and indulgence in their day.

When asked what is important when selecting snacks for themselves, 46% of survey respondents reported they like to be indulgent, and 42% confirmed that snackable, bite-sized treats were the way to go.

Convenience, Variety, Loacker Single-Serve Minis

As Americans return to routine, demand for convenient, on-the-go snacks is increasing. Whether packed with lunch for the office, paired with a cappuccino on a coffee break, or slipped into a yoga bag or hiking backpack, Loacker Minis are perfect to fuel moments of bite-sized indulgence. Convenient, delicious and made with the same high-quality ingredients of all Loacker products, the new Loacker Mini single-serve variety pack at Costco contains an 80-count variety mix of Loacker's fan favorite flavors: Hazelnut, Vanilla, and Chocolate.

Loacker Minis are now available at all Costco locations nationwide between $10.49 - $10.99 and will be featured in the Costco Back-to-School September Mailer. Be on the lookout for some great savings! Loacker Minis are also available at Amazon in a 40 ct pack for $14.99.

About Loacker

Loacker is an Italian Wafers & Chocolate family company known for the world's #1 wafer brand and its delicious patisseries and chocolates. Founded in the heart of the Italian Alps more than 95 years ago, the geography of Loacker's origins (Mount Sciliar in the South Tyrolean Dolomites of the Italian Alps) is meaningful because it embodies the natural values of the brand and unique sourcing of ingredients. Since the company was first founded, the Loacker family has always had the highest level of respect for their natural surroundings. From Italian hazelnuts freshly roasted by Loacker in the Noccioleto (hazel groves), to nuine Bourbon vanilla pods from Reunion and Madagascar, Loacker aims to create the best taste using the best quality, natural ingredients.

*Loacker Snacking Survey of more than 2,000 Americans over the age of 18 was conducted between August 10, 2021 and August 11, 2021. The data for this survey was collected using SurveyMonkey Audience. Information on how respondents are recruited to SurveyMonkey is available here: www.surveymonkey.com/mp/audience

SOURCE Loacker
BEDFORD, Mass., July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Instylla, Inc., a privately held company developing next-generation liquid embolics for peripheral vascular embolotherapy, today announced two publications that evaluated the Embrace Hydrogel Embolic System (HES) in preclinical porcine hemorrhage models.

In a Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology (JVIR) publication, Dr. Gandras et al. evaluatedi the ability of Embrace HES to achieve hemostasis in a porcine mesenteric artery hemorrhage model that replicates injury in humans. Results demonstrated that Embrace HES achieved complete, rapid, and durable embolization in 100% of the injured arteries with a mean delivery time of 5.3 minutes. There was no angiographic evidence of non-target embolization.

"Embrace was effective in achieving hemostasis in an animal hemorrhage model without evidence of non-target embolization. This next generation liquid embolic has tremendous potential to play an important therapeutic role in a wide variety of clinical applications including hemorrhage and interventional oncology," commented Dr. Eric Gandras, Associate Chief, Vascular and Interventional Radiology at North Shore University Hospital, New York, and lead author of the study.

In an independent studyii conducted by Dr. Kauvar et al., splenic injury and resulting hemorrhage were induced in swine models. A comparison was made between a control group having no embolic treatment to treatment groups that received embolization with Embrace HES, gel foam slurry, or coils. Under coagulopathic conditions, Embrace HES showed improved survival time and a significant reduction in bleeding compared to the control group, gel foam slurry, and coil treatments.

About Embrace Hydrogel Embolic System:

Embrace HES is an investigational device intended to be used to embolize peripheral arterial bleeds in vessels  6 mm. Embrace HES consists of two liquid precursors that solidify when simultaneously delivered into blood vessels, forming a soft hydrogel that fills the vessel lumens during the embolization procedure. The Embrace HES embolization uses no solvents, does not need sizing to the vessel diameter, and eliminates the possibility of catheter entrapment. Its main components are water and polyethylene glycol (PEG).

About Instylla:

Instylla, Inc. is a privately held company based in Bedford, MA, focused on developing next-generation liquid embolics for interventional radiology, with initial clinical applications in interventional oncology and peripheral hemostasis. The company's first product, Embrace HES, is designed for controlled, complete, and persistent embolization in these clinical conditions. Instylla was founded in 2017 by Incept LLC and is funded by several leading venture capital groups.

To learn more, please visit https://www.instylla.com/

i Eric John Gandras, Timothy Jarrett, Raymond Lareau, Evaluation of a Hydrogel Liquid Embolic Agent in a Porcine Mesenteric Hemorrhage Model, Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology, Volume 33, Issue 6, 2022,

Pages 653-659, ISSN 1051-0443, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvir.2022.02.022

ii David S. Kauvar, I. Amy Polykratis, Rodolfo De Guzman, M. Dale Prince, Amber Voelker, Bijan S. Kheirabadi, Michael A. Dubick, Evaluation of a novel hydrogel intravascular embolization agent in a swine model of fatal uncontrolled solid organ hemorrhage and coagulopathy, JVS-Vascular Science, Volume 2, 2021, Pages 43-51,

ISSN 2666-3503, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvssci.2021.01.004

Caution: Investigational Device. Limited by Federal (or US) law to investigational use only. Not available for sale.

SOURCE Instylla, Inc.
RESTON, Va., July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Internet Society Foundation has launched a second round of grants through its Resiliency program, which aims to help communities enhance preparedness and build Internet resiliency when faced with adverse events. This funding will support projects that increase network resiliency in communities prone to natural and climate-related disasters, ensuring these communities are better able to prepare for and withstand the effects of a disaster on Internet connectivity. A resilient Internet connection is one that maintains an acceptable level of service in the face of faults and challenges to normal operation.

"Connectivity to the Internet becomes a vital tool when disaster strikes, both for people in need and those responding to the emergency," noted Sarah Armstrong, Executive Director of the Internet Society Foundation. "Through these grants, we aim to support communities to reduce vulnerabilities and build the capacity and resilience to navigate future emergencies."

Examples of the types of projects the Foundation will support include: supporting development of temporary networks for crisis response, protecting data centers and Internet exchange points (IXPs) against environmental threats, fortifying sub-sea cables and/or stations, and supporting Internet service providers (ISPs) to upgrade infrastructure.

Organizations currently implementing projects around the world through the Resiliency grant program include Help.NGO, NetHope, Inc., and Telecoms Sans Frontieres.

The Resiliency program will open for applications between 25 July and 19 August. Grants of up to US$500,000 will be awarded for projects lasting up to 12 months.

More information on the grant including the application process can be found at: https://www.isocfoundation.org/grant-programme/resiliency-grant-program/

About The Internet Society Foundation:

The Internet Society Foundation was established in 2019 to support the positive difference the Internet can make to people everywhere. Guided by our vision of an Internet for Everyone, the Foundation champions ideas and enables communities to unlock the Internet's potential to tackle the world's evolving challenges. Focusing in five program areas, the Foundation awards grants to Internet Society Chapters as well as non-profit organizations and individuals dedicated to providing meaningful access to an open, globally connected, secure and trustworthy Internet for everyone.

SOURCE Internet Society Foundation
DENVER, July 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Lumen Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: LUMN) (the "Company" or "Lumen") and its indirect, wholly owned subsidiaries Level 3 Financing, Inc. ("Level 3 Financing") and Embarq Florida, Inc. ("Embarq Florida") have commenced cash tender offers pursuant to which (i) Level 3 Financing has offered to purchase any and all of its outstanding 5.375% Senior Notes due 2025 (the "2025 Notes") and 5.250% Senior Notes due 2026 (the "2026 Notes" and, together with the 2025 Notes, the "Any and All Notes") (collectively, the "Any and All Tender Offers") and (ii) Embarq Florida has offered to purchase its 7.125% Senior Notes due 2023 (the "2023 Notes") and 8.375% Senior Notes due 2025 (the "8.375% 2025 Notes" and, together with the 2023 Notes, the "Embarq Notes") and the Company has offered to purchase its outstanding 5.125% Senior Notes due 2026 (the "Lumen Notes" and, together with the Embarq Notes, the "Maximum Tender Notes" and together with the Any and All Notes, the "Notes") (collectively, the "Maximum Tender Offers" and, together with the Any and All Tender Offers, the "Tender Offers") up to an aggregate principal amount of Maximum Tender Notes that will not exceed $1,000,000,000 less the aggregate principal amount of Any and All Notes purchased on the Early Settlement Date (as defined herein), if any (or, if no Early Settlement Date, on the Final Settlement Date (as defined herein)) (subject to increase or decrease by the applicable offeror, the "Aggregate Maximum Tender Amount"); provided that the Tender Offer for the Lumen Notes will be subject to an aggregate principal amount sublimit of $350,000,000 (subject to increase or decrease by us, the "Series Tender Cap"). There is no aggregate principal amount sublimit applicable to any other series of Notes. The Notes subject to the Tender Offers are identified in the tables below:

Any and All Tender Offers

Title of Notes Issuer and Offeror CUSIP

Number(s)(1) Aggregate

Principal

Amount

Outstanding Any and All

Tender Offer

Consideration(2) Any and All

Tender

Early

Tender

Premium(2) Any and All Tender

Total

Consideration(2)(3) 5.375% Senior Notes due 2025 Level 3 Financing, Inc. 527298BH5 $800,000,000 $950 $50 $1,000 5.250% Senior Notes due 2026 Level 3 Financing, Inc. 527298BM4 $775,000,000 $940 $50 $990

_________________ (1) No representation is made as to the correctness or accuracy of the CUSIP numbers. They are provided solely for the convenience

of holders of the Notes. (2) Per $1,000 principal amount of Notes validly tendered (and not validly withdrawn) and accepted for purchase by the offeror.

Excludes Accrued Interest (as defined herein), which will be paid on Notes accepted for purchase by the offeror as described below. (3) Includes the Any and All Tender Early Tender Premium (as defined herein) for Notes validly tendered prior to the Early Tender Date

(and not validly withdrawn) and accepted for purchase by the offeror.

Maximum Tender Offers

Title of Notes Issuer and Offeror CUSIP

Number(s)(1) Aggregate

Principal

Amount

Outstanding Acceptance

Priority

Level Series Tender Cap Maximum

Tender Offer

Consideration(2) Maximum

Tender

Early

Tender

Premium(2) Maximum

Tender Total

Consideration(2)(3) 7.125% Senior Notes due 2023 Embarq Florida, Inc. 913026AU4 $73,999,000 1 N/A $950 $50 $1,000 8.375% Senior Notes due 2025 Embarq Florida, Inc. 913026AT7 $63,556,000 2 N/A $950 $50 $1,000 5.125% Senior Notes due 2026 Lumen Technologies, Inc. 156700BB1

U1566PAB1 $1,250,000,000 3 $350,000,000 $845 $50 $895

_________________ (1) No representation is made as to the correctness or accuracy of the CUSIP numbers. They are provided solely for the convenience of holders of the Notes. (2) Per $1,000 principal amount of Notes validly tendered (and not validly withdrawn) and accepted for purchase by the applicable offeror. Excludes Accrued Interest,

which will be paid on Notes accepted for purchase by the applicable offeror as described below. (3) Includes the Maximum Tender Early Tender Premium (as defined herein) for Notes validly tendered prior to the Early Tender Date (and not validly withdrawn) and

accepted for purchase by the applicable offeror.

In conjunction with the Any and All Tender Offers, Level 3 Financing also commenced solicitations (each, a "Consent Solicitation" and, collectively, the "Consent Solicitations"), on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Offer to Purchase and Consent Solicitation Statement (as defined herein), of consents (each, a "Consent" and, collectively, the "Consents") from holders of such Any and All Notes to amend certain provisions (the "Proposed Amendments") of the indenture of Level 3 Financing, dated as of April 28, 2015 (as supplemented, the "2015 Indenture") or the indenture of Level 3 Financing, dated as of March 22, 2016 (as supplemented, the "2016 Indenture"), under which the applicable series of Any and All Notes were issued (each, an "Indenture" and, collectively, the "Indentures"). Subject to the terms and conditions of the Consent Solicitations, the Proposed Amendments would amend the applicable Indenture as described in the Offer to Purchase and Consent Solicitation Statement to, among other things, eliminate substantially all of the restrictive covenants, eliminate certain events of default and modify certain redemption notice requirements contained in such Indenture.

Holders may not tender Any and All Notes without delivering their Consents pursuant to the related Consent Solicitation and may not deliver Consents without tendering their Any and All Notes pursuant to the related Any and All Tender Offer.

The terms and conditions of the Tender Offers and Consent Solicitations are described in an Offer to Purchase and Consent Solicitation Statement, dated July 25, 2022 (as it may be amended or supplemented from time to time, the "Offer to Purchase and Consent Solicitation Statement"). The Tender Offers and Consent Solicitations are subject to the satisfaction or waiver of certain conditions as described therein, including, among other things, completion of the Company's previously-announced divestiture of its Latin America business pursuant to a definitive agreement, dated July 25, 2021, with an affiliate of a fund advised by Stonepeak Partners LP (the "Divestiture Condition").

The amounts of each series of Maximum Tender Notes to be purchased may be prorated as set forth in the Offer to Purchase and Consent Solicitation Statement. The order of priority for the purchase of Maximum Tender Notes (the "Acceptance Priority Levels") is shown in the second table above, with "1" being the highest Acceptance Priority Level and "3" being the lowest Acceptance Priority Level.

Each Tender Offer and Consent Solicitation will expire at midnight, New York City time, at the end of the day on August 19, 2022, unless extended by the applicable offeror with respect to such Tender Offer or Consent Solicitation (such date and time, as it may be extended, the "Expiration Date") or earlier terminated. No tenders of Notes or deliveries of related Consents submitted after the Expiration Date will be valid.

Subject to the terms and conditions of the Tender Offers and the Consent Solicitations, the consideration for each $1,000 principal amount of Notes validly tendered (and not validly withdrawn) and accepted for purchase by the applicable offeror pursuant to the Tender Offers will be the tender offer consideration for such series of Notes set forth in the applicable table above (as applicable, the "Any and All Tender Offer Consideration" or "Maximum Tender Offer Consideration"). Holders of Notes that are validly tendered (with Consents that have been validly delivered, if applicable) and not validly withdrawn (and Consents not validly revoked, if applicable) at or prior to 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on August 5, 2022 (such date and time, as it may be extended by the applicable offeror, the "Early Tender Date") and accepted for purchase by the applicable offeror pursuant to the Tender Offers will be entitled to receive the applicable Any and All Tender Offer Consideration or Maximum Tender Offer Consideration, plus the applicable early tender premium for such series of Notes set forth in the applicable table above (as applicable, the "Any and All Tender Early Tender Premium" or "Maximum Tender Early Tender Premium", and, together with the applicable Any and All Tender Offer Consideration or Maximum Tender Consideration, the "Any and All Tender Total Consideration" or "Maximum Tender Total Consideration", as the case may be), subject to the terms and conditions of the Tender Offers and the Consent Solicitations. Holders of Notes that are validly tendered (with Consents that have been validly delivered, if applicable) after the Early Tender Date but before the Expiration Date and accepted for purchase by the applicable offeror pursuant to the Tender Offers will not be eligible to receive the applicable Any and All Tender Early Tender Premium or Maximum Tender Early Tender Premium, as the case may be. All Notes validly tendered and accepted for purchase by the applicable offeror will, in addition to the applicable consideration set forth in the applicable table above, be entitled to accrued and unpaid interest on such Notes from the last interest payment date with respect to such Notes to, but not including, the applicable Settlement Date (as defined herein) ("Accrued Interest").

Tendered Notes may be validly withdrawn, and delivered Consents may be revoked, at or prior to 5:00 p.m., New York time, on August 5, 2022, unless extended by the applicable offeror with respect to any Tender Offer (or Consent Solicitation, as applicable) (such date and time, as may be extended by the applicable offeror, the "Withdrawal Deadline"). If the applicable Supplemental Indenture (as defined herein) with respect to a series of Any and All Notes effecting the Proposed Amendments is executed, withdrawal of a tender of Any and All Notes of such series after the Withdrawal Deadline will not constitute a revocation of the related Consent. Tenders of Notes and delivery of Consents after the Withdrawal Deadline, but prior to the Expiration Date, may not be validly withdrawn or validly revoked at any time (except in certain limited circumstances where additional withdrawal or revocation rights are required by law).

The applicable offeror reserves the right, but is under no obligation, to increase or decrease the Aggregate Maximum Tender Amount or Series Tender Cap at any time, in each case without extending the Early Tender Date or the Withdrawal Deadline for any Tender Offer or otherwise reinstating withdrawal or revocation rights of holders, subject to applicable law, which could result in the applicable offeror purchasing a greater or lesser amount of Maximum Tender Notes in the Maximum Tender Offers.

The applicable offeror reserves the right, but is under no obligation, at any point following the Early Tender Date and before the Expiration Date, subject to the satisfaction or waiver of the conditions to the Tender Offers and the Consent Solicitations, including the Divestiture Condition, to accept for purchase any Notes validly tendered (with Consents that have been validly delivered, if applicable) and not validly withdrawn (and Consents not validly revoked, if applicable) at or prior to the Early Tender Date (the settlement date of any such purchase being the "Early Settlement Date"), subject to the Aggregate Maximum Tender Amount, the Series Tender Cap, the Acceptance Priority Levels and proration. The Early Settlement Date will be determined at the option of the applicable offeror and is currently expected to occur on August 9, 2022, the second business day after the Early Tender Date, assuming that all conditions to the Tender Offers and the Consent Solicitations have been either satisfied or waived by the applicable offeror, including the Divestiture Condition. The applicable offeror will purchase any remaining Notes that have been validly tendered (with Consents that have been validly delivered, if applicable) and not validly withdrawn (and Consents not validly revoked, if applicable) at or prior to the Expiration Date and that the applicable offeror accepts for purchase, subject to all conditions to the Tender Offers and the Consent Solicitations having been either satisfied or waived by the applicable offeror, including the Divestiture Condition, promptly following the Expiration Date (the settlement date of such purchase being the "Final Settlement Date"; the Final Settlement Date and the Early Settlement Date each being a "Settlement Date"), subject to the Aggregate Maximum Tender Amount, the Series Tender Cap, the Acceptance Priority Levels and proration. The Final Settlement Date is expected to occur on August 23, 2022, the second business day following the Expiration Date, assuming that the conditions to the Tender Offers and the Consent Solicitations are satisfied or waived, including the Divestiture Condition. Notes accepted on the Final Settlement Date, if any, will be accepted subject to the Aggregate Maximum Tender Amount, the Series Tender Cap, the Acceptance Priority Levels and proration, each as described in the Offer to Purchase and Consent Solicitation Statement.

Subject to the Aggregate Maximum Tender Amount, the Series Tender Cap and proration and the satisfaction or waiver of the conditions to the Tender Offers and the Consent Solicitations, including the Divestiture Condition, with respect to the applicable offeror, all Maximum Tender Notes tendered at or before the Early Tender Date having a higher Acceptance Priority Level will be accepted before any Maximum Tender Notes tendered at or before the Early Tender Date having a lower Acceptance Priority Level are accepted, and all Maximum Tender Notes validly tendered after the Early Tender Date having a higher Acceptance Priority Level will be accepted before any Maximum Tender Notes tendered after the Early Tender Date having a lower Acceptance Priority Level are accepted in the Maximum Tender Offers. However, if the Maximum Tender Offers are not fully subscribed as of the Early Tender Date, Maximum Tender Notes tendered at or before the Early Tender Date will be accepted for purchase in priority to other Maximum Tender Notes validly tendered after the Early Tender Date, even if such Maximum Tender Notes tendered after the Early Tender Date have a higher Acceptance Priority Level than Maximum Tender Notes tendered prior to the Early Tender Date, in all cases as further described in the Offer to Purchase and Consent Solicitation Statement.

Acceptance of tenders of any Maximum Tender Notes may be subject to proration if the aggregate principal amount for any series of Maximum Tender Notes validly tendered and not validly withdrawn would result in an amount that exceeds the Aggregate Maximum Tender Amount, or if the Lumen Notes validly tendered and not validly withdrawn would results in an amount that exceeds the Series Tender Cap. If the aggregate principal amount of Maximum Tender Notes or Lumen Notes validly tendered (and not validly withdrawn) at or before the Early Tender Date equals or exceeds the Aggregate Maximum Tender Amount or the Series Tender Cap, respectively, the applicable offeror will not accept for purchase any Maximum Tender Notes or any Lumen Notes tendered after the Early Tender Date, unless the applicable offeror increases the Aggregate Maximum Tender Amount or the Series Tender Cap, respectively, in such offeror's sole discretion.

None of the Tender Offers is contingent upon the delivery of any minimum amount of Consents in the related Consent Solicitation (with respect to the Any and All Tender Offers), the tender of any minimum amount of Notes (either of any series or in the aggregate) or the consummation of any other Tender Offer. The adoption of the Proposed Amendments with respect to either series of Any and All Notes is not conditioned upon the consummation of the other Consent Solicitation or the adoption of the Proposed Amendments in respect of the other series of Any and All Notes.

Level 3 Financing intends to execute a supplement to each Indenture (each, a "Supplemental Indenture") with the trustee with respect to the Proposed Amendments to the applicable Indenture if the requisite consents to effect such Proposed Amendments (the "Requisite Consents") are received, as described in the Offer to Purchase and Consent Solicitation Statement.

Each Supplemental Indenture will become effective upon execution, but will provide that the Proposed Amendments applicable to the relevant series of Any and All Notes will not become operative unless Level 3 Financing accepts for purchase all validly tendered (and not withdrawn) Any and All Notes in the applicable Any and All Tender Offer.

The Company, Level 3 Financing and Embarq Florida may individually amend, extend or, subject to certain conditions and applicable law, terminate the relevant Tender Offer or Consent Solicitation, if applicable, at any time in its sole discretion. Full details of the terms and conditions of the Tender Offers and the Consent Solicitations are described in the Offer to Purchase and Consent Solicitation Statement, which is being sent by the Company to holders of the Notes. Holders of the Notes are encouraged to read the Offer to Purchase and Consent Solicitation Statement, as it contains important information regarding the Tender Offers and the Consent Solicitations.

The Company, Level 3 Financing and Embarq Florida have retained Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, Barclays Capital Inc., RBC Capital Markets, LLC and TD Securities (USA) LLC to act as dealer managers for the Tender Offers and the solicitation agents for the Consent Solicitations. Questions and requests for assistance regarding the terms of the Tender Offers and the Consent Solicitations should be directed to Citigroup Global Markets Inc. at (800) 558-3745 (toll-free) or (212) 723-6106 (collect), Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC at (800) 624-1808 (toll-free) or (212) 761-1057 (collect), Barclays Capital Inc. at (800) 438-3242 (toll-free) or (212) 528-7581 (collect), RBC Capital Markets, LLC at (877) 381-2099 (toll-free) or (212) 618-7843 (collect) or TD Securities (USA) LLC at (866) 584-2096 (toll-free) or (212) 827-2842 (collect). Requests for copies of the Offer to Purchase and Consent Solicitation Statement and other documents relating to the Tender Offers and the Consent Solicitations may be directed to Global Bondholder Services Corporation, the tender and information agent for the Tender Offers, at (212) 430-3774 (for banks and brokers only) or (855) 654-2014 (toll-free) (for all others) or [email protected].

None of the Company, Level 3 Financing, Embarq Florida, any subsidiaries, affiliates, directors, managers or officers of any of the aforementioned parties, the dealer managers and solicitation agents, the tender and information agent or the trustees with respect to the Notes is making any recommendation as to whether holders should tender any Notes in response to the Tender Offers or deliver any Consents pursuant to the Consent Solicitations, and no one has been authorized by any of them to make such a recommendation. Holders must make their own independent decision as to whether to tender their Notes and, if applicable, to deliver their Consents, and, if so, the principal amount of Notes as to which any such action is to be taken.

The Tender Offers and the Consent Solicitations are only being made pursuant to the Offer to Purchase and Consent Solicitation Statement. This press release is neither an offer to purchase nor a solicitation of an offer to sell any Notes in the Tender Offers. The Tender Offers and the Consent Solicitations are not being made to holders of Notes 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. In any jurisdiction in which the Tender Offers and the Consent Solicitations are required to be made by a licensed broker or dealer, the Tender Offers and the Consent Solicitations will be deemed to be made on behalf of the applicable offeror by the dealer managers and solicitation agents, or one or more registered brokers or dealers that are licensed under the laws of such jurisdiction.

About Lumen

Lumen Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: LUMN) 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.

Lumen and Lumen Technologies are registered trademarks of Lumen Technologies LLC in the United States. Lumen Technologies LLC is a wholly-owned affiliate of Lumen Technologies, Inc.

Forward Looking Statements

Except for historical and factual information, the matters set forth in this release and other of Lumen's oral or written statements identified by words such as "estimates," "expects," "anticipates," "believes," "plans," "intends," and similar expressions are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future results and are based on current expectations only, are inherently speculative, and are subject to a number of assumptions, risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond Lumen's control. Actual events and results may differ materially from those anticipated, estimated, projected or implied by Lumen in those statements if one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or if underlying assumptions prove incorrect. Factors that could affect actual results include but are not limited to: the ability of the applicable offeror to consummate the Tender Offers and Consent Solicitations; the possibility that the existing noteholders will not be receptive to the Tender Offers or Consent Solicitations, as applicable; corporate developments that could preclude, impair or delay the aforementioned transactions due to restrictions under the federal securities laws; changes in the credit ratings of the applicable offeror; changes in the cash requirements, financial position, financing plans or investment plans of the applicable offeror; changes in general market, economic, tax, regulatory or industry conditions; and other risks referenced from time to time in our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). For all the reasons set forth above and in the SEC filings of Lumen and Level 3 Parent, LLC, you are cautioned not to unduly rely upon any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. Lumen undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements for any reason, whether as a result of new information, future events or developments, changed circumstances, or otherwise. Furthermore, any information about the applicable offeror's intentions contained in any forward-looking statements reflects such offeror's intentions as of the date of such forward-looking statement, and is based upon, among other things, existing regulatory, technological, industry, competitive, economic and market conditions, and their assumptions as of such date. Lumen may change its intentions, strategies or plans (including the plans expressed herein) without notice at any time and for any reason.

Maximum Tender Offers

SOURCE Lumen Technologies, Inc.
NEW YORK and CARY, N.C., July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Lyfebulb, a patient-empowerment platform that connects patients with industry experts to support user-driven innovation, and Veloxis Pharmaceuticals, an Asahi Kasei, fully integrated specialty pharmaceutical company, invite entrepreneurs to apply to their "Transforming Organ Transplantation Through Innovation" Challenge.

The Lyfebulb-Veloxis Innovation Challenge is seeking a wide range of solutions to improve lived-experience and outcomes for individuals affected by transplant:

Treatments, methods and/or procedures

Diagnostics, patient monitoring and/or services

System-wide improvements to care

Advancements in health equity

Improvements to quality of life

"Transplantation is a complex medical, surgical, and mental process that not only gives the recipient a new take on life, but also brings new challenges that need to be addressed personally and understood by society. Living life post-transplant should not mean hiding from activities you loved before your diagnosis, nor should it lead to the need for additional medical procedures. Through this Innovation Challenge, we encourage entrepreneurial thinkers globally to bring us concepts, services and products that will allow patients, care partners and donors to thrive," said Dr. Karin Hehenberger, CEO and Founder of Lyfebulb.

Selected applicants will receive an invitation to pitch their business ventures to an expert panel of judges composed of healthcare industry, medical and patient leaders over the course of a two-day summit at Veloxis' headquarters in Cary, N.C. on October 13-14, 2022. Prizes will be awarded to two finalists to further grow their companies. The Innovation Award will be presented to a for-profit company and includes a $25,000 monetary grant. The Impact Award will be presented to a not-for-profit company and includes a $15,000 monetary grant. Additionally, Veloxis Pharmaceuticals may consider possible partnerships or investment opportunities with finalists beyond the challenge.

In addition to the pitch competition, finalists will have the opportunity to engage with representatives from the patient community, industry, Lyfebulb and Veloxis through workshops, learning hubs and informal networking.

"At Veloxis, we are committed to improving the lives and outcomes of transplant patients across the globe," says Mark Hensley, CEO of Veloxis. "We are excited to partner with Lyfebulb in hosting the Innovation Challenge and are looking forward to seeing what talented entrepreneurs come up with as solutions to problems facing this unique population."

The competition is free to enter and open to U.S. and international applicants. Official eligibility criteria and terms and conditions can be found on Lyfebulb.com: https://lyfebulb.com/innovation-challenges/challenges/veloxis-pharmaceuticals-innovation-challenge-the-future-of-transplantation/.

About Lyfebulb

Lyfebulb is an innovation accelerator that bridges the gap between patient communities and the healthcare industry by working directly with patients and care partners to generate insights and build new solutions to reduce the burden of living with chronic disease. The company operates two digital patient communities, TransplantLyfe and IBDLyfe. For more information, visit Lyfebulb.com, TransplantLyfe.com, IBDLyfe.com, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Karin Hehenberger's personal LinkedIn.

Veloxis Pharmaceuticals

Veloxis Pharmaceuticals, Inc, an Asahi Kasei company, is a fully integrated specialty pharmaceutical company committed to improving the lives of transplant patients. Headquartered in Cary, North Carolina, USA, Veloxis is focused on the global development and commercialization of medications utilized by transplant patients and by patients with serious related diseases. For further information, please visit Veloxis.com.

About Asahi Kasei

The Asahi Kasei Group contributes to life and living for people around the world. Since its foundation in 1922 with ammonia and cellulose fiber business, Asahi Kasei has consistently grown through the proactive transformation of its business portfolio to meet the evolving needs of every age. With more than 40,000 employees around the world, the company contributes to sustainable society by providing solutions to the world's challenges through its three business sectors of Material, Homes, and Healthcare. Its healthcare operations include devices and systems for acute critical care, dialysis, therapeutic apheresis, transfusion, and manufacture of biotherapeutics, as well as pharmaceuticals and diagnostic reagents. For further information, please visit Asahi-Kasei.com.

For more information:

Lyfebulb Contact:

Karin Hehenberger, MD, PhD

CEO & Founder, Lyfebulb

Phone: + 1 917-575-0210

Email: [email protected]

Veloxis Contact:

Caroline Barnhill

Oak & State Communications

919.244.1130

[email protected]

SOURCE Lyfebulb
C$ unless otherwise stated TSX/NYSE/PSE: MFC SEHK: 945

TORONTO, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Manulife has been notified of an unsolicited mini-tender offer made by Obatan LLC (Obatan) to purchase up to 500,000 Manulife common shares, or approximately 0.026% of the common shares outstanding, at a price of USD$12.00 per share.

Manulife is in no way associated with Obatan and does not recommend or endorse acceptance of this unsolicited offer.

Manulife cautions shareholders that the mini-tender offer has been made at a price below the current market price for Manulife shares. The offer represents a discount of 34.04% and 34.21%, respectively, below the closing prices of Manulife common shares on the TSX and NYSE on July 14, 2022, the last trading day before the mini-tender offer was commenced, and a discount of 37.67% and 37.71%, respectively, below the closing prices on the TSX and NYSE on July 25, 2022.

Mini-tender offers are designed to seek less than 5% of a company's outstanding shares, avoiding disclosure and procedural requirements applicable to most bids under Canadian and U.S. securities regulations. The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have expressed serious concerns about mini-tender offers, including the possibility that investors might tender to such offers without understanding the offer price relative to the actual market price of their securities.

The SEC states that "bidders make mini-tender offers at below-market prices, hoping that they will catch investors off guard if the investors do not compare the offer price to the current market price."

According to Obatan's offer documents, Manulife shareholders who have already tendered their shares can withdraw their shares at any time before 5:00 P.M. New York City Time on December 31, 2022, by following the procedures described in the offer documents.

Shareholders should carefully review the Obatan offer documents and current market price for Manulife shares, and consult their investment advisors regarding any offer they may receive and review with their advisors all options for their investment in Manulife shares.

Manulife has stock transfer agents providing shareholder services in Canada, the United States, Hong Kong and the Philippines. These local agents provide services directly to our registered shareholders and can provide information on share account management, direct deposit of dividends, dividend reinvestment and share purchase plans. Please email [email protected] for more information.

Manulife requests that a copy of this news release be included in any distribution of materials relating to Obatan's mini-tender offer for Manulife common shares.

About Manulife

Manulife Financial Corporation is a leading international financial services provider that helps people make their decisions easier and lives better. With our global headquarters in Toronto, Canada, we provide financial advice and insurance, operating as Manulife across Canada, Asia, and Europe, and primarily as John Hancock in the United States. Through Manulife Investment Management, the global brand for our global wealth and asset management segment, we serve individuals, institutions, and retirement plan members worldwide. At the end of 2021, we had more than 38,000 employees, over 119,000 agents, and thousands of distribution partners, serving over 33 million customers. Our principal operations are in Asia and Canada, and the United States, where we have served customers for more than 160 years. We trade as 'MFC' on the Toronto, New York, and the Philippine stock exchanges and under '945' in Hong Kong. In the previous 12 months we made CAD$32.7 billion in payments to our customers.



Not all offerings are available in all jurisdictions. For additional information, please visit manulife.com.

SOURCE Manulife Financial Corporation
Almonds power-packed nutrient package fuels and sustains Marvel fans this summer

MODESTO, Calif., July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- California Almonds teams up with Marvel Studios' "Thor: Love and Thunder," which premiered in theaters July 8, to celebrate the release of the film.

Experience the interactive Multimedia News Release here: https://www.multivu.com/players/English/9067851-california-almonds-marvel-studios-thor-love-and-thunder/

Marvel Studios' Thor: Love and Thunder and California Almonds Team Up to Inspire Fans' Wellness Journeys Marvel Studios' Thor: Love and Thunder and California Almonds Team Up to Inspire Fans' Wellness Journeys

In the new cosmic adventure, the God of Thunder (Chris Hemsworth) teams up with King Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), Korg (Taika Waititi) and ex-girlfriend-turned-Mighty-Thor Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) to take on a galactic killer known as Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale).

Many can relate to the feeling of wanting to make healthy lifestyle choices - whether you're on an epic journey of self-discovery or taking a trip to the movies, almonds can help contribute to the goal of a balanced, healthy routine.

A good source of essential vitamins and nutrients, including antioxidant vitamin E, magnesium, 6g of plant-based protein, 13 grams of unsaturated fat and 1 gram of saturated fat, plus 4g of fiber per 1 oz serving, almonds can be your super-powered friend in wellness.

"Earlier this year in the U.S., the Almond Board of California launched a new campaign to demonstrate how almonds can be a reliable "Friend in Wellness," said Emily Fleischmann, Vice President, Global Market Development at the Almond Board of California. "With Marvel Studios' Thor: Love and Thunder highlighting Thor's own journey that would guide him in this epic adventure, we couldn't have imagined a more organic synergy to inspire more people around the world to live well. The lead up to the film release was a sensational moment in time to share the many ways that almonds can be a weapon in wellness in your everyday hero journey."

The Almond Board of California and Marvel Studios' "Thor: Love and Thunder" advertising campaign will run in five markets including the U.S., Mexico, Italy, U.K. and India. Look for the U.S. campaign through the end of July on popular television channels, streaming platforms and social media.

This summer, don't miss Thor and Mighty Thor's journey in Marvel Studios' Thor: Love and Thunder, now in theaters.

About Marvel Studios' Thor: Love and Thunder

Marvel Studios' "Thor: Love and Thunder" finds the God of Thunder (Chris Hemsworth) on a journey unlike anything he's ever faced  one of self-discovery. But his efforts are interrupted by a galactic killer known as Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale), who seeks the extinction of the gods. To combat the threat, Thor enlists the help of King Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), Korg (Taika Waititi) and ex-girlfriend Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), who  to Thor's surprise  inexplicably wields his magical hammer, Mjolnir, as the Mighty Thor. Together, they embark upon a harrowing cosmic adventure to uncover the mystery of the God Butcher's vengeance and stop him before it's too late. Directed by Taika Waititi ("Thor: Ragnarok," "Jojo Rabbit") and produced by Kevin Feige and Brad Winderbaum, "Thor: Love and Thunder" opened in U.S. theaters July 8, 2022.

About California Almonds

California Almonds make life better by what we grow and how we grow. The Almond Board of California promotes natural, wholesome and quality almonds through leadership in strategic market development, innovative research, and accelerated adoption of industry best practices on behalf of the more than 7,600 almond farmers and processors in California, most of whom are multi-generational family operations. Established in 1950 and based in Modesto, California, the Almond Board of California is a non-profit organization that administers a grower-enacted Federal Marketing Order under the supervision of the United States Department of Agriculture. For more information on the Almond Board of California or almonds, visit Almonds.com or check out California Almonds on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and the California Almonds blog.

Media Contact: Megan Brodsky | [email protected] | (209) 687-9212

SOURCE California Almonds
PLANTATION, Fla., July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- MASA Medical Transport Solutions (MASA MTS) is proud to announce the newest platform partner, PlanSource, now available for benefit enrollment solutions. PlanSource is a leading provider of cloud-based benefits administration technology. Through their user-friendly interface, PlanSource will enable brokers and businesses of all sizes to offer MASA to their employees and help bridge the gap of out-of-pocket costs for emergency medical ground and air transportation in the United States and Canada.

Due to the nature of modern health insurance, there's an almost 80% chance that your employees could be responsible for a large portion of their emergency transportation bill.1 Even if health insurance covers part of the bill, there are many scenarios where it may not cover the total cost. The ambulance that picks them up may be out-of-network, the reason for the trip may not be deemed a medical necessity or they might still have to meet your health insurance deductible. Once a healthcare plan pays its portion, MASA MTS works with providers to ensure that MASA Members incur zero out-of-pocket costs, including coverage for out-of-network charges and healthcare plan co-pays and deductibles.

"Today's workforce demands more from their employers," said Tony Lodovico, Senior Vice President, B2B Sales. "By adding MASA MTS to their benefits enrollment, employers can offer a valuable option and showcase their care for the wellbeing of their employees. We are excited that PlanSource will help us bring this essential coverage to even more employees and their families."

"Benefit diversity is more important than ever as companies combat the incredibly competitive talent landscape. PlanSource's desire is to stock the partner marketplace with plans that help employers attract and retain while helping deliver peace of mind. That's why we see MASA MTS as a great addition," says Bradley Taylor, Chief Strategy Officer at PlanSource.

About MASA Medical Transport Solutions

MASA MTS is the leading Emergency Transportation gap coverage benefit that covers the out-of-pocket** costs associated with emergency medical transport. Our coverage area includes the continental United States, Hawaii, Alaska, and Canada. For more information, visit www.masamts.com.

About PlanSource

PlanSource is a technology company that automates and simplifies every aspect of employee benefit programs, so employees and HR teams can make smarter, more confident benefits decisions. PlanSource provides the best experience possible for benefits communications, shopping, enrollment, billing, compliance and ongoing administration.

SOURCE MASA Global
Syria hands over 146 IS militants' family members to Tajikistan

Xinhua) 14:09, July 26, 2022

Zabidullah Zabidov (C), the ambassador of Tajikistan in Kuwait, talks with officials from the Asia Department of the Syrian foreign ministry and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent in Damascus, Syria, on July 25, 2022. Syria on Monday handed over a total of 146 Tajik nationals, who are family members of Islamic State (IS) militants, to their home country, according to the state news agency SANA. (Photo by Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua)

DAMASCUS, July 25 (Xinhua) -- Syria on Monday handed over a total of 146 Tajik nationals, who are family members of Islamic State (IS) militants, to their home country, according to the state news agency SANA.

Zabidullah Zabidov, the ambassador of Tajikistan in Kuwait, was in Syria on Monday to take the Tajik nationals, who had been accommodated in the al-Hol camp in northeastern Syria.

The al-Hol camp, which is run by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), is known to be housing refugees, largely family members of foreign IS militants.

Zabidov said that the Tajik side had taken the necessary measures and arrangements for the return of Tajik citizens to their country.

He hailed the cooperation and support provided by the Syrian authorities to secure the transportation of children and women from the al-Hol camp to the Damascus International Airport, from where they would fly home, according to SANA.

The process took place in cooperation between the Syrian Foreign Ministry and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, SANA said.

Zabidullah Zabidov (C), the ambassador of Tajikistan in Kuwait, meets with officials from the Asia Department of the Syrian foreign ministry and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent in Damascus, Syria, on July 25, 2022. Syria on Monday handed over a total of 146 Tajik nationals, who are family members of Islamic State (IS) militants, to their home country, according to the state news agency SANA. (Photo by Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua)

(Web editor: Wu Chaolan, Liang Jun)
NOIDA, India, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a new report published by UnivDatos Markets Insights the Matcha Powder Market is expected to grow at a CAGR of around 13% from 2021-2027. The analysis has been segmented into Grade (Classic, Ceremonial, and Culinary); Application (Regular Tea, Matcha Beverages, Food, Personal Care); Production Technology (Steamed, Pan-Fried); Region/Country.

Click here to view the Report Description & TOC

The matcha powder market report has been aggregated by collecting informative data of various dynamics such as market drivers, restraints, and opportunities. This innovative report makes use of several analyses to get a closer outlook on the matcha powder market. The matcha powder 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 Matcha Powder market at the global and regional levels.

Request for Sample Pages

Market Overview

The Global Matcha Powder Market is experiencing significant growth on account of the increasing patient pool and higher mortality rate due to chronic diseases (heart diseases, cancer, and diabetes worldwide) due to which people are inclining towards adoption of a healthy lifestyle. According to World Health Organization, the prevalence of chronic diseases is anticipated to rise by 57% in 2020 and 71% of all deaths are due to non-communicable diseases. 8.89 million deaths due to ischemic heart disease and about 6.19 million deaths because of stroke in 2019. Furthermore, in 2020, there were an anticipated 19.3 million new cancer cases (18.1 million excluding NMSC, except basal cell carcinoma) and 10 million cancer mortality cases (9.9 million excluding NMSC, except basal cell carcinoma) worldwide.

Furthermore, an increasing Innovation in the field of food and technology is contributing to the emergence of innovative variants and products using matcha powder. In addition to this, the expansion of the scope of matcha powder applications in the confectionary and personal care industry further augments the growth of the matcha powder market. The overall demand is being propelled by a paradigm change away from other non-alcoholic beverages toward Nutrient-rich beverages.

The global Matcha Powder market report is studied thoroughly with several aspects that would help stakeholders in making their decisions more curated.

Classic segment dominated the global matcha powder market and is expected to grow at a significant CAGR during the forecast period.

Amongst application type, regular tea accounted for the largest share in 2020 and is expected to grow at a considerable CAGR during the forecast period 2021-2027 owing to the increased consumption of green tea regularly due to numerous health benefits associated with it.

Have a Look at the Chapters

Matcha Powder Market Geographical Segmentation Includes:

North America ( United States , Canada , and Rest of North America )

( , , and Rest of ) Europe ( Germany , United Kingdom , Italy , France , Spain , and the Rest of Europe )

( , , , , , and the Rest of ) Asia-Pacific ( China , India , Australia , Japan , and the Rest of Asia-Pacific )

( , , , , and the Rest of ) Rest of the World

Geographically, the Asia-Pacific region dominated the matcha powder market in 2020 as China and Japan are the major non-fermented tea producers. For instance, China produced nearly, 1.77 million metric tons of green tea in 2019.

The major players targeting the market include

AOI seicha

Aiya America Inc.

DoMatcha

Nestle S.A.

Unilever

ITO EN Ltd.

The Hain Celestial Group Inc.

ShaoXing Royal Tea Village Co. Ltd.

Mizuba Tea Co.

MaruKyu Koyamaen

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 matcha powder 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 matcha powder market?

Which factors are influencing the matcha powder market over the forecast period?

What are the global challenges, threats, and risks in the matcha powder market?

Which factors are propelling and restraining the matcha powder market?

What are the demanding global regions of the matcha powder 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: +91-7838604911

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://univdatos.com/

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1225049/UnivDatos_Logo.jpg

SOURCE UnivDatos Market Insights Pvt. Ltd.
NEW YORK, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the market research study published by P&S Intelligence, the size of the medical polymer market was around $17,843 million in 2021, and it is projected to grow at a rate of above 8% over this decade, to reach about $36,035 million by 2030. This is due to the expanding pharmaceutical sector, itself owing to the increasing expenditure on healthcare globally.

North America holds a share of about 42% in the medical polymer market, with the U.S contributing the higher proceeds, because of a surge in the number of healthcare services and progressions in medical technologies. The rising population in the country will raise the requirement for tooth implants, hip and knee implants, and denture base materials, which will additionally inspire the use of medical-grade polymers.

Get the sample pages of this report: https://www.psmarketresearch.com/market-analysis/medical-polymer-market/report-sample

Europe has the second-largest share, mostly attributable to the growing political support and promising reimbursement guidelines for medical devices. Moreover, updates to the region's medical device regulations will advance the innovation potential, effectiveness, and safety of such products.

Polymers are extensively used in surgical instruments, medical devices, and packaging, as a consequence of which the healthcare sector's recent expansion has augmented the requirement for these materials. The average healthcare spending growth was about 5% in 2020, while it increased to about 10% across OECD countries.

Fibers & resins were the medical polymer market dominators, with a share of around 73%, in 2021. This is because of the high electrical and chemical resistance, low weight, better biocompatibility, and low cost of polypropylene and polyethylene, which help them replace glass and metals in numerous medical products, such as implants.

Polymers are utilized for creating monofilaments, which are threadlike synthetic fibers that can be utilized in MRI machines as a substitute for filaments made from metal. Furthermore, plastic pill casings made from plastics containing tartaric acid help in slowly breaking down the drug and releasing it timely. These casings also decrease the count of pills essential to get the set dose.

Browse detailed report on Global Medical Polymer Market Trends, Segment Analysis, Growth Drivers and Forecast Report 2030

Wound care applications will have the highest growth rate, of about 9%, in the medical polymer market in the years to come because of the growing elderly population, increasing cases of diabetes, and rising prevalence of chronic wounds. Synthetic polymers, natural polymers, and inorganic polymers are utilized for wound care, such as for the healing of wounds and tissue engineering.

Medical device packaging is the second-largest market contributor. This is because of the creation of advanced biomaterials that can improve the biocompatibility and performance of medical devices; furthermore, they become hardened or malleable with temperature. A medical device requires to be protected by preserving the integrity of the packing, to avoid biological contamination, physical damage, and other external disturbances.

Browse Other Related Reports

Polymer Market Size & Share Analysis by Type, Base Material, Application - Industry Development and Demand Forecast to 2030

Wound Care Market Size & Share Analysis by Product Type, Wound Type, Age Group, End User  Industry Development and Demand Forecast to 2030

Biodegradable Polymers Market Size & Share Analysis by Product Type, Application  Industry Development and Demand Forecast to 2030

About P&S Intelligence

P&S Intelligence provides market research and consulting services to a vast array of industries across the world. As an enterprising research and consulting company, P&S believes in providing thorough insights on the ever-changing market scenario, to empower companies to make informed decisions and base their business strategies with astuteness. P&S keeps the interest of its clients at heart, which is why the insights we provide are both honest and accurate. Our long list of satisfied clients includes entry-level firms as well as multi-million-dollar businesses and government agencies.

Contact:

Prajneesh Kumar

P&S Intelligence

Phone: +1-347-960-6455

Email: [email protected]

Web: https://www.psmarketresearch.com

Follow Us: LinkedIn Twitter

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1224988/P_and_S_Intelligence_Logo.jpg

SOURCE P&S Intelligence
DETROIT, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- This July, Meridian of Michigan kicked off a new partnership with three local health providers to put brand new shoes on children and adults who receive their COVID-19 vaccine.

As the coronavirus and new emerging variants remain a very real threat in Michigan, people continue to test positive, and residents continue to be hospitalized. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends everyone ages six months and older get vaccinated against COVID-19. To thank community members for getting vaccinated against COVID-19, the "Shots for Shoes" campaign will provide eligible Meridian members with a gift card for a new pair of shoes.

"At Meridian, we believe it's vital to protect the health of our members and local communities by ensuring the vaccine is accessible in convenient locations where members feel safe and heard," said Dr. Kay Judge, Meridian's Chief Medical Officer. "We believe this is one way to overcome vaccine hesitancy, while also identifying other needs members may have like food and housing because health is more than just about healthcare."

Meridian members ages six months or older who receive any dose of the COVID-19 vaccine (1st, 2nd, or booster) are eligible to receive a shoe store gift card from Shoe Dept. or Famous Footwear. Members can schedule their vaccinations at participating providers at Wayne County Healthy Communities (WCHC) in Hamtramck, Family Health Center in Kalamazoo, or Great Lakes Bay Health Centers in Saginaw. Walk-in appointments will also be accepted.

"As a Federally Qualified Health Center, our mission is to provide community members with healthcare services regardless of their ability to pay," said Dr. Raouf Seifeldin, Chief Medical Officer at WCHC. "We focus on addressing social determinants of health including transportation, interpretation, food resources, and more. We serve an underserved community with a low socioeconomic status. Therefore, being able to provide gift cards for shoes to those who have trouble purchasing basic necessities is fundamental. Ultimately, we do not want patients to have to choose between seeing a doctor or purchasing food and clothing. We want to work towards alleviating these barriers by providing patients with 'one-stop shop' access to a variety of different healthcare services."

"Shots for Shoes" runs through the end of the month. Gift cards will be mailed to members the end of the campaign.

Meridian has served Michigan residents since 1997 across its Medicaid, Medicare, and Marketplace plans. These efforts to get everyone vaccinated reinforce the company's long-standing commitment to supporting the whole-health of its local communities.

About Meridian

Meridian in Michigan provides government-sponsored managed care services to families, children, seniors, and individuals with complex medical needs primarily through Medicaid (Meridian), Medicare Advantage and Medicare Prescription Drug Plans (Wellcare), Medicare-Medicaid Plans (MeridianComplete), and the Health Insurance Marketplace (Ambetter from Meridian). Meridian is a wholly owned subsidiary of Centene Corporation, a leading healthcare enterprise committed to helping people live healthier lives. For more information about Meridian, please visit mimeridian.com.

SOURCE Meridian of Michigan
MEMPHIS, Tenn., July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare has named Kate Dowd senior vice president and chief legal officer. In this role she will direct the Memphis-based integrated healthcare system's legal department and risk management goals.

Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare has named Kate Dowd senior vice president and chief legal officer. In this role she will direct the Memphis-based integrated healthcare systems legal department and risk management goals.

"After a comprehensive nationwide search, it became clear the right candidate was already within our organization," said Monica Wharton, MLH executive vice president and chief administrative officer. "Kate's experience navigating complex healthcare-related legal matters gives me great confidence she will successfully lead our multifaceted legal affairs efforts and serve as a trusted member of our system leadership team."

Dowd has a decade of experience specializing in health and regulatory law, most recently serving as MLH's regulatory counsel. Prior to joining MLH in 2019, she served as an attorney in the Healthcare Regulatory and Transactions Practice Group at Butler Snow LLP.

"Our policies, best practices and unshakeable commitment to our patients enable us to deliver outstanding care," added Wharton. "Kate's core values align perfectly with our mission to improve the health and wellbeing of our community."

Originally from Charlotte, North Carolina, Dowd has called Memphis home for 17 years. She received her undergraduate degree from Rhodes College and graduated cum laude from the Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law at the University of Memphis. She is a member of the American Health Law Association, the Tennessee Bar Association and the Memphis Bar Association, and recently served as chair and president emeritus of the local Memphis Bar Association's health law section.

Photo 1 attached: Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare has named Kate Dowd senior vice president and chief legal officer.

About Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare

Based in Memphis, Tennessee, Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare has been caring for patients and families regardless of ability to pay for more than 100 years. Guided by roots in the United Methodist Church and founded in 1918 to help meet the growing need for quality healthcare in the greater Memphis area, MLH has grown from one hospital into a comprehensive healthcare system with 13,000 Associates supporting six hospitals, including nationally ranked Le Bonheur Children's Hospital, ambulatory surgery centers, outpatient facilities, hospice residence and physician practices serving communities across the Mid-South.

SOURCE Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare
Get a comprehensive report summary describing the market size and forecast along with research methodology. View our Report Sample

Monoclonal Antibodies Market 2021-2025: Scope

The monoclonal antibodies market report covers the following areas:

Monoclonal Antibodies Market 2021-2025: Segmentation

Application

Oncology: This segment will contribute the highest market share during the forecast period. This growth is driven by factors such as the increasing incidences of different types of cancers and the willingness of people to pay for highly-priced monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of cancers.



Autoimmune DisordersiInfectious Diseases



Other Applications

Geography

North America : This region will account for 61% of the market's growth during the forecast period. This growth is driven by factors such as the high demand for biologics in North America. HUMIRA, Rituxan, and REMICADE are some of the biologics available in the market.

: This region will account for 61% of the market's growth during the forecast period. This growth is driven by factors such as the high demand for biologics in North America. HUMIRA, Rituxan, and REMICADE are some of the biologics available in the market.

Europe



Asia



ROW

Learn about the contribution of each segment summarized in concise infographics and thorough descriptions. View our Sample Report

Monoclonal Antibodies Market 2021-2025: Vendor Analysis

We provide a detailed analysis of around 25 vendors operating in the monoclonal antibodies market, including AbbVie Inc., AstraZeneca Plc, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., GlaxoSmithKline Plc, Johnson & Johnson, Merck & Co. Inc., Novartis AG, Pfizer Inc., and Sanofi SA among others. The key offerings of some of these vendors are listed below:

AbbVie Inc. - It is adalimumab, an immunosuppressant monoclonal antibody for the treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis, Plaque Psoriasis, Crohn's disease, and Ulcerative colitis.

AstraZeneca Plc - It is a human immunoglobulin G1 kappa monoclonal antibody that blocks the interaction of PD-L 1 with the PD-1 and CD80 molecules.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. - It offers nivolumab, a PD-1 inhibitor monoclonal antibody approved for the treatment of various head and neck cancers, including oral cancer.

F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. - It is atezolizumab, a monoclonal antibody, sold under the brand name TECENTRIQ for treating various cancers.

GlaxoSmithKline Plc - It is mepolizumab sold under the brand name NUCALA which is used as maintenance treatment for patients aged 6 and older with severe eosinophilic asthma.

Get lifetime access to our Technavio Insights. Subscribe to our "Basic Plan" billed annually at USD 5000.

Monoclonal Antibodies Market 2021-2025: Key Highlights

CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2021-2025

Detailed information on factors that will assist monoclonal antibodies market growth during the next five years

Estimation of the monoclonal antibodies market size and its contribution to the parent market

Predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior

The growth of the monoclonal antibodies market

Analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors

Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of monoclonal antibodies market vendors

Related Reports:

Bispecific Antibodies for Cancer Market by Type and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2022-2026

Anti-CD20 Monoclonal Antibodies (mABs) Market by Product and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2022-2026

Monoclonal Antibodies 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 63.41 billion Market structure Concentrated YoY growth (%) 7.48 Regional analysis North America, Europe, Asia, and ROW Performing market contribution North America at 61% Key consumer countries US, Germany, France, UK, and Japan Competitive landscape Leading companies, competitive strategies, consumer engagement scope Companies profiled AbbVie Inc., AstraZeneca Plc, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., GlaxoSmithKline Plc, Johnson & Johnson, Merck & Co. Inc., Novartis AG, Pfizer Inc., and Sanofi SA 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

2.2 Market characteristics

Exhibit 02: Market characteristics

2.3 Value chain analysis

Exhibit 03: Value chain analysis: Pharmaceuticals Market

3 Market Sizing

3.1 Market definition

Exhibit 04: Offerings of vendors included in the market definition

3.2 Market segment analysis

Exhibit 05: Market segments

3.3 Market size 2020

3.4 Market outlook: Forecast for 2020 - 2025

Exhibit 06: Global - Market size and forecast 2020 - 2025 ($ billion)



Exhibit 07: Global market: Year-over-year growth 2020 - 2025 (%)

4 Five Forces Analysis

4.1 Five forces summary

Exhibit 08: Five forces analysis 2020 & 2025

4.2 Bargaining power of buyers

Exhibit 09: Bargaining power of buyers

4.3 Bargaining power of suppliers

Exhibit 10: Bargaining power of suppliers

4.4 Threat of new entrants

Exhibit 11: Threat of new entrants

4.5 Threat of substitutes

Exhibit 12: Threat of substitutes

4.6 Threat of rivalry

Exhibit 13: Threat of rivalry

4.7 Market condition

Exhibit 14: Market condition - Five forces 2020

5 Market Segmentation by Application

5.1 Market segments

Exhibit 15: Application - Market share 2020-2025 (%)

5.2 Comparison by Application

Exhibit 16: Comparison by Application

5.3 Oncology - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Exhibit 17: Oncology - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ billion)



Exhibit 18: Oncology - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%)

5.4 Autoimmune disorders - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Exhibit 19: Autoimmune disorders - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ billion)



Exhibit 20: Autoimmune disorders - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%)

5.5 Infectious diseases - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Exhibit 21: Infectious diseases - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ billion)



Exhibit 22: Infectious diseases - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%)

5.6 Other applications - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Exhibit 23: Other applications - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ billion)



Exhibit 24: Other applications - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%)

5.7 Market opportunity by Application

Exhibit 25: Market opportunity by Application

6 Market Segmentation by Type

6.1 Murine antibodies

6.2 Human antibodies

6.3 Humanized antibodies

6.4 Chimeric antibodies

7 Customer Landscape

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 Asia - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

8.6 ROW - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

8.7 Key leading countries

8.8 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 Vendor landscape

10.2 Landscape disruption

10.3 Competitive scenario

11 Vendor Analysis

11.1 Vendors covered

11.2 Market positioning of vendors

11.3 AbbVie Inc.

11.4 AstraZeneca Plc

11.5 Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.

11.6 F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd.

11.7 GlaxoSmithKline Plc

11.8 Johnson & Johnson

11.9 Merck & Co. Inc.

11.10 Novartis AG

11.11 Pfizer Inc.

11.12 Sanofi SA

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
PHILADELPHIA, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- NetDiligence, a leading provider of cyber risk management solutions for almost 20 years, has announced a major update to their cyber incident response plan solution, Breach Plan Connect.

Breach Plan Connect (BPC) is a turnkey solution for senior managers to develop a cyber incident response plan to help oversee and coordinate their organization's response to a cyber incident. BPC users can set up an incident response plan within minutes and easily customize it to best serve their particular organization.

Breach Plan Connect Now Including Incident Response Playbooks!

This cloud-based software solution is a favorite among many major cyber insurance providers, in part, because it allows users to update and access their plan remotely, and coordinate their response to a cyber incident by using the Breach Plan Connect mobile app.

This major upgrade Breach Plan Connect includes the following new features and enhancements:

Incident Response Playbooks



The BPC response plan template serves as a strategic roadmap for your senior managers, helping them guide and monitor the organization's overall response. BPC now includes tactical guidance for IT/Operations teams for specific types of incidents: ransomware, business email compromise, data loss/exposure, and malware infection. This guidance was developed by a former forensic investigator who now serves as CISO for a major corporation.

One-Click Access to eRiskHub

Users will now be able to access their cyber insurer's eRiskHub cyber risk management portal (also powered by NetDiligence) directly from the menu in the mobile app without logging in separately.



Threat Intelligence Alerts in Mobile App



Users will also be notified when authorities like the FBI or CISA issue major cyber threat alerts. Once users log into the mobile app, they will be able to read about the threat and click through to the eRiskHub portal to download the full threat bulletin.



Enhanced Security for Mobile App



The BPC mobile app is now protected by multifactor authentication (MFA). This update augments the MFA protection already available in the cloud-based version of Breach Plan Connect.

To learn more about Breach Plan Connect, visit Netdiligence.com/solutions/breach-plan-connect/ or contact Sharon Lyon at [email protected].

To learn more about NetDiligence and the cyber risk management solutions they provide, visit NetDiligence.com.

Media Contact:

Steve Kopanski

Director of Marketing

484.883.7523

[email protected]

About NetDiligence 

NetDiligence specializes in Cyber Risk Readiness & Response services. With 20 years of experience in cyber, NetDiligence is an award-winning provider of innovative cyber risk management software and services to the insurance industry, including QuietAudit Cyber Risk Assessments, the eRiskHub cyber risk management portal, and Breach Plan Connect, a securely hosted solution designed to help senior managers plan and execute their organization's response to a cyber incident, and which also includes a free mobile app for convenient access and alternative means of communication if company systems are compromised. NetDiligence publishes an annual Cyber Claims Study and traditionally hosts Cyber Risk Conferences in Philadelphia, Santa Monica, Toronto, Florida, London, and Bermuda. For more information, visit Netdiligence.com.

SOURCE NetDiligence
Summer Program Will Help Students from Underresourced Communities Recover Emotionally from COVID-19 & Prevent Summer Slide

WASHINGTON, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Camps, schools, and advocates are partnering to provide underresourced middle school students with a week of summer camp that will help address their emotional well-being and academic losses caused by the pandemic over the past two years.

Through the collaboration of the American Camp Association (ACA), the National Summer Learning Association (NSLA), and the New York Life Foundation, middle schoolers will have the opportunity to gain social, emotional, and noncognitive skills through a camp experience, which will help put them on track for the upcoming school year. The partnerships are happening at 10 summer camps across seven states in 2022, with plans to double the number of camps and participants in 2023.

The 10 participating camps each received $25,000 in grant funding for the programs, which will allow students from the partner schools to attend accredited summer camps for one week. Summer camps focus on the social-emotional well-being of children and provide them with the opportunity to gain essential life skills such as problem-solving, leadership, and communication in a safe environment. Intentional summer learning programs such as camp help stem summer learning loss and prepare students for a successful upcoming school year.

"The need for summer learning and enrichment opportunities has never been greater," said Aaron Dworkin, CEO, NSLA. "Helping young people experience the unique camp experience with their schoolmates and teachers promises to engage them and ease the transition back to school."

"Summer camp experiences are essential to the education and development of the whole child," said Tom Rosenberg, President/CEO, ACA. "These school-camp partnership programs will provide students with crucial opportunities to learn beyond the classroom, to bridge summer learning gaps, to take positive risks and try new things, and that will help set them up for increased academic success in the new school year."

"Children, particularly young adolescents, continue to struggle with negative impacts of the pandemic on their well-being and academic learning. These camp-school partnerships will provide thousands of middle school students with important emotional and social supports that create a strong foundation for academic growth when the school year resumes," said Marlyn Torres, senior program officer, New York Life Foundation. "This initiative strongly aligns with the Foundation's educational enhancement focus to support middle schoolers during the critical out-of-school time hours."

The school-camp partnership is another initiative in the push by national, state, and local organizations to increase summer learning opportunities as encouraged by US Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona during the Discover Summer campaign: "Summer learning programs have always been important for our students but in the last couple of years, they have become essential. Quality summer learning and enrichment programs are key to recovering from the pandemic."

Camps participating in the camp-school partnership include:

Camp Echo Lake ( Warrensburg, NY )

( ) Camp Twin Lakes ( Atlanta, GA )

( ) Frost Valley YMCA ( Claryville, NY )

) Change Summer ( New York, NY )

) Hale Education ( Westwood, MA )

) Trailblazers ( Montague, NJ )

) Mo Ranch ( Hunt, TX )

( ) Guided Discoveries ( San Juan Capistrano, CA )

) BGCSF-Camp Mendocino ( Fort Bragg, CA )

) BGCM-Whitcomb-Mason ( Hartland, WI )

For more information about this camp-school partnership, please contact [email protected].

About the American Camp Association

The American Camp Association (ACA) is a national organization serving the more than 15,000 year-round and summer camps in the US who annually serve 26 million campers. ACA is committed to collaborating with those who believe in quality camp and outdoor experiences for children, youth, and adults. ACA provides advocacy, evidence-based education, and professional development, and is the only independent national accrediting body for the organized camp experience. ACA accreditation provides public evidence of a camp's voluntary commitment to the health, safety, risk management, and overall well-being of campers and staff. For more information, visit ACAcamps.org or call 800-428-2267.

About the National Summer Learning Association (NSLA)

The National Summer Learning Association (NSLA) is the only national nonprofit exclusively focused on closing the achievement and opportunity gaps by increasing access to high-quality summer learning opportunities. NSLA recognizes and disseminates what works in summer learning, develops and delivers community capacity-building offerings and convenes and empowers key actors to embrace summer learning as a solution for equity and excellence in education. For more information, visit www.summerlearning.org.

About New York Life Foundation

Inspired by New York Life's tradition of service and humanity, the New York Life Foundation has, since its founding in 1979, provided over $390 million in charitable contributions to national and local nonprofit organizations. The Foundation supports programs that benefit young people, particularly in the areas of educational enhancement, childhood bereavement and social justice. The Foundation also encourages and facilitates the community involvement of employees and agents of New York Life through its Volunteers for Good program and Grief-Sensitive Schools Initiative. To learn more, please visit newyorklifefoundation.org

SOURCE American Camp Association
More than half of travelers would consider booking their transportation to and from the airport through their airline or online travel agent - but availability and awareness is holding them back

DUBLIN, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Airport mobility beyond car rental, or how consumers travel to and from the airport, is a 50-60 billion ($60-70 billion) market opportunity for the travel sector, according to an industry-first survey of 11,500 travelers from CarTrawler , the world's leading B2B travel technology company. Despite the potential market size, there has been minimal data on the economics, and no research on traveler's airport mobility preferences. This report sets out to understand the opportunities that the travel industry has to tap into the market.

The report, The Airport Mobility Opportunity , found 60% of airport journeys are made by either private car or rental car for North American travelers. While the travel industry has focused largely on car rental when it comes to airport mobility, there are seven times as many at-airport transfer bookings (including private transfer, ride-hailing, taxi, and shared shuttle) as there are at-airport car rental bookings  creating space for online travel agencies, airlines, hotels and travel management companies to help travelers reach their final mile.

Travelers are already looking to their airlines and travel agencies for airport mobility options, with more than half of them reporting that they would consider booking their airport transfer with their airline (51%) or online travel agent (60%). The biggest hurdles in doing so however are a lack of options and awareness. Only 44 of the top 100 airlines offer mobility options outside of car rental. For those that do offer a mobility option, travelers' awareness of those options is low, with nearly a third (30%) of travelers reporting that they do not consider airlines for mobility because they were not aware they offered those options.

"There is clear, pent up demand among travelers to stick with their airline or travel agency for their entire airport journey, not just the flight itself," said Aileen McCormack, Chief Commercial Officer at CarTrawler. "Travel companies that want to surpass the competition should pay attention to the evolving needs of travelers, and actively address gaps in both offerings and awareness  creating a more seamless travel experience while maximizing ancillary revenue. This CarTrawler report shows just how significant the opportunity is for airlines and OTAs to offer that enhanced travel experience, grow revenue and truly own the last mile."

For more information about CarTrawler, visit www.cartrawler.com .

About CarTrawler

CarTrawler is the leading global B2B provider of car rental and mobility solutions to the travel industry. Our purpose is to drive successful partnerships.

CarTrawler's end-to-end technology platform expands our airline and travel partners' offering to their customers, creating substantial ancillary revenue opportunities. We provide unrivalled breadth and depth of content worldwide, including car rental, private airport transfer and ride-hailing services.

CarTrawler creates innovative, data-led solutions for some of the largest travel brands in the world, including United Airlines, American Express, easyJet, Alaska Airlines, SWISS, Hotels.com and Emirates. As a B2B company we focus solely on helping our airline and travel partners build their brands, not our own.

SOURCE CarTrawler
WEST MONROE, La., July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- It has never been easy to be a trucker, but lately things have been worse than normal. Skyrocketing diesel prices have made the economics almost impossible for independent operators. Now, a new company, Extra Mile Ads, is offering truckers a little good news: the chance to earn extra income by advertising on their trucks.

Charles Morton, the co-founder of Extra Mile Ads , explains that "Every truck driver knows they are towing a 53' foot double sided billboard and billboards are not cheap." The average cost of a billboard ranges from $1,312 in a month in Nebraska to an average of $8,480 in New York, but a market for truck advertising does not exist.

Trackable Results

Extra Miles Ads' proprietary software allows advertisers to track every ad. This allows advertisers to see which truck generated a sale in real time, and add additional resources in that area.

"Our goal is to generate sales, not just views," Morton explained. The advertisements will be polymer stickers that can be placed directly on the trucks by the driver, and the ads will be focused on making sales.

Extra Mile Ads believes that advertisers will pay a premium for their service, because, except for a small set up charge to cover printing and shipping the ad to the truck driver, right now advertisers only pay for results.

This is a different strategy from traditional billboard advertising. It is only made possible by recent technological developments, and Extra Mile believes it will be appealing to both advertisers and truckers.

How Much Will Truck Drivers Earn?

This issue is tricky. "I could say truckers are going to make $5000 a month. That would get a lot of drivers to sign up, but lying is no way to start a business." Morton explains that Extra Mile has to build trust among truckers.

"Our driving partners are critical. They will earn a percentage of what the company earns on every sale and sometimes bonuses based on the offer and they will get paid on time," Morton explained, noting that many offers will include lifetime commissions to drivers who remain in the program. Earnings will depend on which advertising campaigns the drivers join, how many miles they drive, and the region they operate in.

However, Morton is optimistic in the long run, "It is going to start slow, but I believe that some drivers will eventually earn $1,500 a month or more." First, they need to sign up enough truckers to be viable. "We have to have the trucks."

Drivers Registration

Extra Mile has already had interest from some advertisers, but to really launch the business they need truck drivers to sign up. "We need to be able to approach advertisers with our offer and to do that we need trucks."

Morton hopes drivers will appreciate his honesty, go to Extra Miles' Driver Sign-Up page, and register. "It is a simple process. It only takes a few minutes, and there is no commitment."

Drivers always have 100% control of what they display on their truck.

Registering as a Driving Partner just makes drivers eligible to learn about possible ad campaigns. "Driving Partners will simply get texts and emails about upcoming ad campaigns. If they are interested then they apply for that campaign," Morton explained.

"Hopefully, this will be a win-win for everyone, but until we get enough trucks registered to test the model we will never know."

Contact:

Charles Morton

(833) 591-2277

[email protected]

SOURCE Extra Mile Ads
CHICAGO, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- A first-of-its-kind test could make it easier for newborns to get care for spinal muscular atrophy, a common genetic disease that is life-threatening but treatable if caught in time. Findings on this method and a second innovative test that could improve diagnosis of pediatric urinary tract infections (UTIs) will be discussed today at the 2022 AACC Annual Scientific Meeting & Clinical Lab Expo.

Increasing Access to Spinal Muscular Atrophy Testing

Spinal muscular atrophy is the leading inherited cause of infant death after cystic fibrosis, and early diagnosis and treatment are crucial to giving affected newborns the best chances at healthy lives. However, most newborn screening panels that use next-generation sequencing (NGS) do not detect this condition. The most common form of spinal muscular atrophy is caused by an abnormal version of the gene SMN1, which produces a protein essential to nerve cells involved in muscle movement. NGS panelswhich analyze hundreds of genes for disease-causing changestypically exclude SMN1 because of difficulty distinguishing it from another gene known as SMN2. The two differ only in a small spot.

Gustavo Barcelos Barra, PhD, and colleagues at Sabin Medicina Diagnostica in Brasilia, Brazil, developed a NGS panel that detects a mutation in that small spot on the SMN1 gene that causes spinal muscular atrophy. Using this NGS panel, they tested 52 DNA samples from spinal muscular atrophy patients, then compared the results to those from a single-gene PCR test (a widely used method for diagnosing this condition). After eliminating four samples for technical reasons, the researchers found that panel results for SMN1 and the single-gene test agreed in all cases.

Including spinal muscular atrophy on NGS panels means that "parents do not have to look for an additional test for [this condition]," said Barra. He added that his innovation would save laboratories from performing an extra test for spinal muscular atrophy along with NGS newborn screening.

Identifying Children's UTIs Quickly

UTIs are common in children and when left untreated, they can cause acute distress, septic shock, and even kidney damage. The gold standard for diagnosing UTIs, thoughurine cultureis slow and labor-intensive for laboratory staff, leading doctors to sometimes inappropriately prescribe antibiotics before getting results. This is a serious issue that is contributing to the rise of antibiotic resistance.

A team led by Jingcai Wang, MD, PhD, of Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, is the first group of researchers to show that a faster method for diagnosing UTIs in adults could also work in children. Known as UTOPIA, this method uses urinalysis results and other variables to predict UTIs, and delivers answers well before the 2-3 days needed for culture results.

In order to evaluate this method's performance in children, the researchers used it to analyze data from the medical records of 5,353 children who previously underwent both urinalysis and urine culture for UTI. For each of these patients, the researchers entered their age, sex, risk for UTI, and urinalysis results into UTOPIA's algorithm to see how accurately it predicted their urine culture results.

Based on receiver operating curve (ROC) value, UTOPIA predicted positive urine culture results more accurately than any individual variable did on its own. The algorithm's ROC value was 0.825, versus values for individual variables, which ranged from 0.546 to 0.776. The closer the ROC value is to 1, the more accurate the testing strategy, Wang explained.

"UTOPIA is a simple way to predict urine culture results. You get quicker diagnosis of UTI and prevent potential kidney damage," Wang said. "It can potentially reduce unnecessary urine cultures, save money, and reduce use of unnecessary antibiotics in children."

Abstract Information

AACC Annual Scientific Meeting registration is free for members of the media. Reporters can register online here: https://www.xpressreg.net/register/aacc0722/media/landing.asp

Abstract A-155: Incorporating spinal muscular atrophy screening by next-generation sequencing into a comprehensive multigene panel for newborn sequencing: a pilot evaluation will be presented during:

Scientific Poster Session

Tuesday, July 26

9:30 a.m.  5 p.m. (presenting author in attendance from 1:30  2:30 p.m.)

Abstract B-243: Evaluation of a prediction algorithm value in predicting positive urine culture in pediatrics: a retrospective cohort study at Nationwide Children's Hospital will be presented during:

Scientific Poster Session

Wednesday, July 27

9:30 a.m.  5 p.m. (presenting author in attendance from 1:30  2:30 p.m.)

Both sessions will take place in the Poster Hall of the Clinical Lab Expo show floor at the McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago.

About the 2022 AACC Annual Scientific Meeting & Clinical Lab Expo

The AACC Annual Scientific Meeting offers 5 days packed with opportunities to learn about exciting science from July 24-28. Plenary sessions will explore artificial intelligence-based clinical prediction models, advances in multiplex technologies, human brain organogenesis, building trust between the public and healthcare experts, and direct mass spectrometry techniques.

At the AACC Clinical Lab Expo, more than 750 exhibitors will fill the show floor of the McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago with displays of the latest diagnostic technology, including but not limited to COVID-19 testing, artificial intelligence, mobile health, molecular diagnostics, mass spectrometry, point-of-care, and automation.

About AACC

Dedicated to achieving better health through laboratory medicine, AACC brings together more than 70,000 clinical laboratory professionals, physicians, research scientists, and business leaders from around the world focused on clinical chemistry, molecular diagnostics, mass spectrometry, translational medicine, lab management, and other areas of progressing laboratory science. Since 1948, AACC has worked to advance the common interests of the field, providing programs that advance scientific collaboration, knowledge, expertise, and innovation. For more information, visit www.aacc.org .

Christine DeLong

AACC

Senior Manager, Communications & PR

(p) 202.835.8722

[email protected]

Molly Polen

AACC

Senior Director, Communications & PR

(p) 202.420.7612

(c) 703.598.0472

[email protected]

SOURCE AACC
CHICAGO, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- AACC 2022 Open Lab Solutions, Inc., is announcing the formation of a new division, AMCAR Scientific, that will focus on an expanding product line of plastic consumables used in the medical industry. OLS is exhibiting within booth #3257 at the 74th American Association for Clinical Chemistry Annual Scientific Meeting and Clinical Laboratory Exposition (AACC 2022) at the McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago, July 24  28th.

Medical Consumables Manufacturing

This division will be based in the United States and will manufacture medical plastic consumables that are used in the daily operations by healthcare providers such as clinics, diagnostic laboratories, doctors' offices, hospitals, and research hospitals.

"Over the past two years we have seen the impact of offshoring the manufacturing of items used every day in our own Laboratories," said Dennis Loudermilk, the CEO of Open Lab Solutions. "It has been challenging to maintain adequate stock of every-day items we use like pipette tips, plates, and reservoirs, which are all manufactured overseas. Frequent shortages cause strain on our own internal inventory. Without these types of consumables, we cannot make our products and without our products our customers cannot perform the testing that patients need. The past two years have shown that a local source for these goods is needed."

AMCAR Scientific, will initially focus on producing various styles of pipette tips; multiple plates, reservoirs, and trough configurations: and the required storage solutions from polypropylene and polystyrene materials. All of the raw materials and other goods required for manufacturing of these products will be sourced from US based suppliers, and as part of OLS' long term "Medical Consumables Made in America" strategy. AMCAR Scientific's manufacturing facilities will be located within the continental United States to allow for faster services and delivery of supplies and consumables to the healthcare industry.

OLS plans for AMCAR Scientific to begin shipping product by the end of the 3rd quarter of 2023. Longer term plans in development will result in the creation and support of more than 1,000 employees devoted to scientific research, development, and manufacturing.

A site selection process was started earlier this year to determine a suitable location that will provide the best environment for its current and future needs. Three primary candidates have been selected and are undergoing additional evaluation. These sites are located in Allen, Texas; Phoenix, Arizona; and Tulsa, Oklahoma. OLS plans to complete the site evaluations in the next 45 days and announce the final site selection at that time.

About Open Lab Solutions

Open Lab Solutions, Inc. is a Tulsa, Oklahoma based biotech manufacturer of molecular testing kits with divisions engaged in healthcare software development, medical supply distribution, and managed laboratory services.

Contact Information:

Open Lab Solutions, Inc.

7780 E 106th St.,

Suite 202

Tulsa, OK 74133

Sales Inquiries

[email protected]

Press Inquiries

[email protected]

Investor Relations

[email protected]

Jason Macer

918-602.1100 Ext. 810

OpenLabSolutions.com

SOURCE Open Lab Solutions, Inc.
Oracle Fusion Sales provides sellers with AI-powered recommendations and guided steps to close deals faster

AUSTIN, Texas, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Oracle today announced the next generation of Oracle Fusion Sales, a sales automation application that identifies high-quality sales opportunities and guides sellers to close deals faster. Part of Oracle Fusion Cloud Customer Experience (CX) and powered by artificial intelligence (AI), Fusion Sales automatically provides sellers with quotes, proposals, and recommended steps to help them increase productivity, close more deals, and instill confidence among buyers.

Nearly one third of sellers struggle to close deals and meet quotas, according to a recent study conducted by CRM analyst firm Beagle Research Group in partnership with Oracle. The study, " Does Your CRM Leave Money on the Table ," highlights the struggles that sellers face with customer churn and archaic sales processes. In turn, sellers have noted that they are open to greater automation and trust AI to take on greater responsibilities, including qualifying leads (70 percent), identifying priority deals (60 percent), and tracking deal progress (80 percent).

"Traditional CRM systems were designed to be a system of record for planning and forecasting versus a tool to help sellers sell more. As a result, sellers spend countless hours on data entry and administration that stunts sales productivity," said Rob Tarkoff, executive vice president and general manager, Oracle Fusion Cloud Customer Experience (CX). "Applying 40 plus years of data and business process expertise, we have done the heavy lifting to engineer the next era of CRM. Oracle Fusion Sales removes the manual steps in the B2B sales process to help sellers close more deals faster and more efficiently."

Oracle Fusion Sales provides sellers with:

Step-by-Step Guided Processes: Sellers can onboard faster and improve productivity with a guided step-by-step process to help engage with accounts, progress opportunities, and close deals faster. Customers can choose to base the processes on best practices set by leadership or customizable, industry-specific templates.

Sellers can onboard faster and improve productivity with a guided step-by-step process to help engage with accounts, progress opportunities, and close deals faster. Customers can choose to base the processes on best practices set by leadership or customizable, industry-specific templates. Conversation Ready Opportunities: Sellers can automate the process of re-qualifying and converting marketing leads into opportunities. Connected to Oracle Fusion Marketing, Fusion Sales automatically creates highly qualified leads and then passes them to sellers for follow-up.

Sellers can automate the process of re-qualifying and converting marketing leads into opportunities. Connected to Oracle Fusion Marketing, Fusion Sales automatically creates highly qualified leads and then passes them to sellers for follow-up. Automated Quotes and Proposals: Sellers automatically receive initial quotes, proposals, and implementation schedules when opportunities are created. The quotes are automatically updated throughout the sales process as a deal progresses and are based on historical data that includes prior successful deals, a customer's industry, and other account attributes.

Sellers automatically receive initial quotes, proposals, and implementation schedules when opportunities are created. The quotes are automatically updated throughout the sales process as a deal progresses and are based on historical data that includes prior successful deals, a customer's industry, and other account attributes. Intelligent Content Recommendations: Sellers can automatically receive marketing-approved content that is most likely to progress the sale. This saves sellers' and buyers' time at each step in the sales process and puts the right offers and answers to commonly asked questions directly in the seller's hands.

Sellers can automatically receive marketing-approved content that is most likely to progress the sale. This saves sellers' and buyers' time at each step in the sales process and puts the right offers and answers to commonly asked questions directly in the seller's hands. Digital Sales Rooms : Sellers can improve the buying experience and better engage buyers by building personalized microsites. Helpful resources like quotes, past contracts, reference stories, and details for past or upcoming Zoom meetings are aggregated to help move buyers closer to a purchasing decision. As buyers use Digital Sales Rooms, sales operations can capture buying signals and other customer engagement data that can inform sales insights, internal training and enablement, and drive future deal success.

: Sellers can improve the buying experience and better engage buyers by building personalized microsites. Helpful resources like quotes, past contracts, reference stories, and details for past or upcoming Zoom meetings are aggregated to help move buyers closer to a purchasing decision. As buyers use Digital Sales Rooms, sales operations can capture buying signals and other customer engagement data that can inform sales insights, internal training and enablement, and drive future deal success. Advanced Revenue Intelligence: Sales leaders can easily access and report on business trends, spot outliers, and monitor customer sentiment and sales performance with Oracle Fusion CX Analytics. Fusion Sales provides a complete view across the business being able to pull in data from sales, marketing, service, finance, and HR all without support from IT.

What Customers and Partners are Saying About Fusion Sales

"CRM is an integral tool especially as we sell complex and expensive equipment and software solutions in 180 countries across the globe. We used to stitch together sales insights from an array of applications, Excel spreadsheets, and post-it notes. It wasn't an efficient process," said Samantha Mohr, vice president, inside sales, Ricoh. "Oracle Fusion Sales provides our sellers with a guided experience that focuses their time and improves deal success by delivering better insights to help us adapt to market shifts faster."

"Our customers are always searching for new approaches that drive real value and instill confidence in buyers. Oracle Fusion Sales helps solve significant challenges of the B2B selling environment with a boundaryless, adaptable, and radically human engineered architecture" said Andrea Cesarini, Europe Oracle business group lead, Accenture. "Having partnered for over 30 years now, Accenture and Oracle bring unparalleled innovation, industry, and technology acumen to our joint clients."

To learn more, please tune into Oracle Live on July 26, 2022, here.

Part of Oracle Fusion Cloud Applications Suite , Oracle Fusion Cloud Customer Experience (CX) connects data across advertising, marketing, sales, and service to make every customer interaction matter. Going beyond traditional CRM, learn about how Oracle Advertising and CX helps businesses improve customer experience and build brand loyalty.

About Oracle

Oracle offers integrated suites of applications plus secure, autonomous infrastructure in the Oracle Cloud. For more information about Oracle (NYSE: ORCL), please visit us at oracle.com.

Trademarks

Oracle, Java, and MySQL are registered trademarks of Oracle Corporation.

SOURCE Oracle
DUBLIN, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Intravenous Immunoglobulin Market By Product Type, By Application, By Form, By End-Use, and By Region Forecast to 2030" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

Global Intravenous Immunoglobulin (IVIG) market size is expected to reach USD 20.22 Billion in 2030 and register revenue CAGR of 6.9% over the forecast period, according to latest report. Market revenue growth will be driven by the increasing prevalence of autoimmune diseases, the report said. The market is also driven by the increasing demand for biologics, the report added.



Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) is a blood product prepared from plasma that contains antibodies. These antibodies are extracted and purified from the pooled plasma of hundreds or thousands of donors and are used to treat several immune-related conditions. It is also used for prophylaxis purpose in patients who have weakened immune system, as their body is unable to produce antibodies. The rising prevalence of autoimmune diseases such as myasthenia gravis, Guillain-Barre syndrome, Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy (CIDP), Kawasaki disease, and thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura is one of the key factors driving the growth of this market.



According to the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), in 2015, around 23.5 million people in the U.S. were affected by autoimmune diseases and this number is expected to grow in the years to come. Moreover, increasing government initiatives to create awareness about autoimmune diseases and their treatment options is also expected to fuel the market growth.

For instance, in May 2018, National Institutes of Health (NIH) launched "All of Us" precision medicine program that aims to collect data from one million or more people and create a research resource to help scientists develop new ways to treat, prevent, and even cure disease based on individual differences in lifestyle, environment, and genetics. However, the high cost of treatment is expected to hinder the market growth over the forecast period.



Healthcare infrastructure faces more burden in poor and remote areas. However, the situation is improving with time as many organizations are striving to improve healthcare services in these areas. The market faces a challenge in terms of reimbursement as the government is reluctant to reimburse for certain treatments and therapies. This may be due to the lack of awareness about these products or their high costs.



Some Key Highlights in the Report

Hypogammaglobulinemia segment is expected to lead in terms of revenue contribution to global market due to its therapeutic properties. Immunoglobulin is a protein produced by plasma cells. It helps in protecting the body against infections. Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) is a blood product prepared from healthy donor plasma that contains antibodies to common infections. IVIG is used as replacement therapy in patients with primary or secondary immunodeficiency disorders. IVIG is also used in the treatment of autoimmune diseases, chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP), and Kawasaki disease.

disease. Liquid segment is expected to account for larger market share over the forecast period due to its wide applications in various therapeutic areas. Various advantages associated with liquid immunoglobulin including ease of administration, flexibility in dose and route of administration are expected to fuel segment growth over the forecast period. Powder segment is projected to grow at a CAGR of over 8% from 2019 to 2025.

North America will account for the largest market share in IVIG market over the forecast period due to the well-established healthcare infrastructure. The Asia Pacific IVIG market is poised to grow at the highest CAGR over the forecast period due to rapidly improving healthcare facilities and a large patient population in this region.

will account for the largest market share in IVIG market over the forecast period due to the well-established healthcare infrastructure. The Asia Pacific IVIG market is poised to grow at the highest CAGR over the forecast period due to rapidly improving healthcare facilities and a large patient population in this region. In August 2021 , ADMA Biologics, Inc. received Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for RI-002, an intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg). ADMA Biologics' proprietary manufacturing technology platform uses plasma from a small pool of donors to produce large batches of highly pure IVIg. The company plans to launch the product in early 2022.

Companies in global market report include Hualan Biological Engineering Inc., Omrix Biopharmaceuticals Ltd, Shanghai RAAS Blood Products Co., Ltd, CSL Behring LLC, ADMA Biologics, Inc., Baxalta Inc., Biotest AG, Kedrion Biopharma, Inc., China Biologic Products Holdings, Inc., Octapharma AG, Grifols S.A., Pfizer Inc., and LFB Biomedicaments SA.

Key Topics Covered:



Chapter 1. Market Synopsis



Chapter 2. Executive Summary



Chapter 3. Indicative Metrics



Chapter 4. Intravenous Immunoglobulin (IVIG) Market Segmentation & Impact Analysis

4.1. Intravenous Immunoglobulin (IVIG) Market Material Segmentation Analysis

4.2. Industrial Outlook

4.2.1. Market indicators analysis

4.2.2. Market drivers analysis

4.2.2.1. Increase in prevalence of immunodeficiency diseases

4.2.2.2. Rise in adoption of immunoglobulin therapies

4.2.2.3. Rapid technological advancements

4.2.2.4. Growing geriatric population

4.2.3. Market restraint analysis

4.2.3.1. Expensive treatment procedure

4.2.3.2. Stringent regulatory policies

4.3. Technological Insights

4.4. Regulatory Framework

4.5. ETOP Analysis

4.6. Porter's Five Forces Analysis

4.7. Competitive Metric Space Analysis

4.8. Price trend Analysis

4.9. Customer Mapping

4.10. COVID-19 Impact Analysis

4.11. Global Recession Influence



Chapter 5. Intravenous Immunoglobulin (IVIG) Market By Product Type Insights & Trends

5.1. Product Type Dynamics & Market Share, 2022 &2030

5.2. Immunoglobulin G(IgG)

5.2.1. Market estimates and forecast, 2019 - 2030 (USD Billion)

5.2.2. Market estimates and forecast, By Region, 2019 - 2030 (USD Billion)

5.3. Immunoglobulin A (IgA)

5.3.1. Market estimates and forecast, 2019 - 2030 (USD Billion)

5.3.2. Market estimates and forecast, By Region, 2019 - 2030 (USD Billion)

5.4. Immunoglobulin M (IgM)

5.4.1. Market estimates and forecast, 2019 - 2030 (USD Billion)

5.4.2. Market estimates and forecast, By Region, 2019 - 2030 (USD Billion)

5.5. Immunoglobulin E (IgE)

5.5.1. Market estimates and forecast, 2019 - 2030 (USD Billion)

5.5.2. Market estimates and forecast, By Region, 2019 - 2030 (USD Billion)

5.6. Immunoglobulin D (IgD)

5.6.1. Market estimates and forecast, 2019 - 2030 (USD Billion)

5.6.2. Market estimates and forecast, By Region, 2019 - 2030 (USD Billion)



Chapter 6. Intravenous Immunoglobulin (IVIG) Market By Application Insights & Trends

6.1. Application Dynamics & Market Share, 2022 & 2030

6.2. Hypogammaglobulinemia

6.2.1. Market estimates and forecast, 2019- 2030 (USD Billion)

6.2.2. Market estimates and forecast, By Region, 2019-2030 (USD Billion)

6.3. Immunodeficiency Diseases

6.3.1. Market estimates and forecast, 2019- 2030 (USD Billion)

6.3.2. Market estimates and forecast, By Region, 2019- 2030 (USD Billion)

6.4. Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy (CIDP).

6.4.1. Market estimates and forecast, 2019 - 2030 (USD Billion)

6.4.2. Market estimates and forecast, By Region, 2019 - 2030 (USD Billion)

6.5. Congenital AIDS

6.5.1. Market estimates and forecast, 2019 - 2030 (USD Billion)

6.5.2. Market estimates and forecast, By Region, 2019 - 2030 (USD Billion)

6.6. Myasthenia Gravis

6.6.1. Market estimates and forecast, 2019 - 2030 (USD Billion)

6.6.2. Market estimates and forecast, By Region, 2019 - 2030 (USD Billion)

6.7. Multifocal Motor Neuropathy

6.7.1. Market estimates and forecast, 2019 - 2030 (USD Billion)

6.7.2. Market estimates and forecast, By Region, 2019 - 2030 (USD Billion)

6.8. Guillain-Barre Syndrome

6.8.1. Market estimates and forecast, 2019 - 2030 (USD Billion)

6.8.2. Market estimates and forecast, By Region, 2019 - 2030 (USD Billion)

6.9. Kawasaki Diseases

6.9.1. Market estimates and forecast, 2019 - 2030 (USD Billion)

6.9.2. Market estimates and forecast, By Region, 2019 - 2030 (USD Billion)

6.10. Others

6.10.1. Market estimates and forecast, 2019 - 2030 (USD Billion)

6.10.2. Market estimates and forecast, By Region, 2019 - 2030 (USD Billion)



Chapter 7. Intravenous Immunoglobulin (IVIG) Market By Form Insights & Trends

7.1. Form Dynamics & Market Share, 2022 & 2030

7.2. Liquid

7.2.1. Market estimates and forecast, 2019- 2030 (USD Billion)

7.2.2. Market estimates and forecast, By Region, 2019 - 2030 (USD Billion)

7.3. Lyophilized

7.3.1. Market estimates and forecast, 2019 - 2030 (USD Billion)

7.3.2. Market estimates and forecast, By Region, 2019 - 2030 (USD Billion)



Chapter 8. Intravenous Immunoglobulin (IVIG) Market By End-Use Insights & Trends

8.1. End-Use Dynamics & Market Share, 2022 & 2030

8.2. Hospitals

8.2.1. Market estimates and forecast, 2019 - 2030 (USD Billion)

8.2.2. Market estimates and forecast, By Region, 2019 - 2030 (USD Billion)

8.3. Clinics

8.3.1. Market estimates and forecast, 2019 - 2030 (USD Billion)

8.3.2. Market estimates and forecast, By Region, 2019 - 2030 (USD Billion)

8.4. Homecare

8.4.1. Market estimates and forecast, 2019 - 2030 (USD Billion)

8.4.2. Market estimates and forecast, By Region, 2019 - 2030 (USD Billion)

8.5. Others

8.5.1. Market estimates and forecast, 2019 - 2030 (USD Billion)

8.5.2. Market estimates and forecast, By Region, 2019 - 2030 (USD Billion)



Chapter 9. Intravenous Immunoglobulin (IVIG) Market Regional Outlook



Chapter 10. Competitive Landscape

10.1. Market Revenue Share By Manufacturers

10.2. Manufacturing Cost Breakdown Analysis

10.3. Mergers & Acquisitions

10.4. Market positioning

10.5. Strategy Benchmarking

10.6. Vendor Landscape



Chapter 11. Company Profiles

11.1. Hualan Biological Engineering Inc.

11.1.1. Company Overview

11.1.2. Financial Performance

11.1.3. Technology Insights

11.1.4. Strategic Initiatives

11.2. Omrix Biopharmaceuticals Ltd

11.2.1. Company Overview

11.2.2. Financial Performance

11.2.3. Technology Insights

11.2.4. Strategic Initiatives

11.3. Shanghai RAAS Blood Products Co., Ltd

11.3.1. Company Overview

11.3.2. Financial Performance

11.3.3. Technology Insights

11.3.4. Strategic Initiatives

11.4. CSL Behring LLC

11.4.1. Company Overview

11.4.2. Financial Performance

11.4.3. Technology Insights

11.4.4. Strategic Initiatives

11.5. ADMA Biologics, Inc.

11.5.1. Company Overview

11.5.2. Financial Performance

11.5.3. Technology Insights

11.5.4. Strategic Initiatives

11.6. Baxalta Inc.

11.6.1. Company Overview

11.6.2. Financial Performance

11.6.3. Technology Insights

11.6.4. Strategic Initiatives

11.7. Biotest AG

11.7.1. Company Overview

11.7.2. Financial Performance

11.7.3. Technology Insights

11.7.4. Strategic Initiatives

11.8. Kedrion Biopharma, Inc.

11.8.1. Company Overview

11.8.2. Financial Performance

11.8.3. Technology Insights

11.8.4. Strategic Initiatives

11.9. China Biologic Products Holdings, Inc.

11.9.1. Company Overview

11.9.2. Financial Performance

11.9.3. Technology Insights

11.9.4. Strategic Initiatives

11.10. Octapharma AG

11.10.1. Company Overview

11.10.2. Financial Performance

11.10.3. Technology Insights

11.10.4. Strategic Initiatives

11.11. Grifols S.A.

11.11.1. Company Overview

11.11.2. Financial Performance

11.11.3. Technology Insights

11.11.4. Strategic Initiatives

11.12. Pfizer Inc.

11.12.1. Company Overview

11.12.2. Financial Performance

11.12.3. Technology Insights

11.12.4. Strategic Initiatives

11.13. LFB Biomedicaments SA

11.13.1. Company Overview

11.13.2. Financial Performance

11.13.3. Technology Insights

11.13.4. Strategic Initiatives



For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/568pza

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
MENLO PARK, Calif., July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Patient Square Capital announced today that Colin Shannon has joined as a Senior Advisor. Mr. Shannon was most recently Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at global contract research organization PRA Health Sciences (formerly PRA International). During Mr. Shannon's time as CEO of PRA Health Sciences, revenue of the company grew over seven-fold from less than $460mm to over $3.3 billion.

"Colin is one of the most talented executives with whom I have ever worked, and I am personally thrilled to be working with him again," said Jim Momtazee, Managing Partner of Patient Square. "His proven track record as an operator, talent developer and strategic thinker at hugely successful health care organizations will bring an important additional perspective in our assessment of new investment opportunities and in creating value in the companies in which we invest."

"I am a huge believer in Patient Square's approach to partnering with innovative companies that will have a meaningful impact and improve the lives of patients," said Mr. Shannon. "I look forward to collaborating with the team to support their efforts to invest and grow companies."

Prior to PRA Health Sciences, Mr. Shannon was at Pharmaceutical Product Development Inc. (PPD), where he held various executive roles, including Executive Vice President of Global Clinical Operations. Other key positions included Chief Operating Officer for European operations, Vice President and Chief Financial and Administrative Officer for International Operations, and Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer for Europe. Before PPD, Mr. Shannon spent over 15 years in the utility and multimedia industries, focusing on financial and accounting capabilities. Mr. Shannon holds a M.B.A. from City University in London and is a Fellow Member of the Chartered Association of Accountants. Mr. Shannon currently serves on the Board of Directors of Icon PLC.

About Patient Square Capital

Patient Square Capital (www.patientsquarecapital.com) is a dedicated health care investment firm that partners with best-in-class management teams whose products, services and technologies improve health. Patient Square utilizes deep industry expertise, a broad network of relationships and a true partnership approach to make investments in companies grow and thrive. Patient Square invests in businesses that strive to improve patient lives, strengthen communities, and create a healthier world. Patient Square's team of industry-leading executives is differentiated by the depth of focus in health care, the breadth of health care investing experience, and the network it can activate to drive differentiated outcomes.

Media Contact:

Zach Kouwe/Shree Dhond

Dukas Linden Public Relations

646-808-3665

[email protected]

SOURCE Patient Square Capital
WESTBURY, N.Y., July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Paylogix, the premium technology solutions provider in the administration of voluntary benefits welcomes American Public Life to their Co-Op Funding Program. APL distributes a wide range of workforce insurance products and solutions to industries through independent brokers nationwide.

"We pride ourselves in delivering the best in voluntary benefits to the insurance industry," said Richard Pfadenhauer, CISSP, president and founder. "For over 75 years, American Public Life has offered a supplemental health and voluntary insurance products to employers. This partnership will combine over 100 years of industry expertise and be invaluable to brokers by simplifying the administration of these benefits to their clients."



"We strive to be the broker's carrier of choice by delivering products, technology and service that give our broker partners an advantage in the marketplace," said Jerry Horton, APL's President/CEO. "Through this partnership, our brokers will have another tool to enhance the service to their clients."



Through the Paylogix platform, brokers can merge multiple products from multiple vendors and carriers into one online Consolidated Billing statement. Brokers who offer APL's workforce benefits will have access to the full suite of Paylogix enrollment and billing solutions. Through partnerships with over 60 benefit providers nationwide, Paylogix can provide this service at no additional cost to brokers or their clients.

Brokers who offer APL's benefits will have access to the full suite of Paylogix enrollment and billing solutions. Tweet this

About American Public Life

Founded in 1945, American Public Life Insurance Company (APL) is expanding the benefits horizon as a leading provider of workforce benefits, with offices in Oklahoma City, OK and Jackson, MS. APL is licensed to conduct business in 49 states with sales through independent brokers. APL has a financial rating of "A+ (Superior)" through A.M. Best (www.ambest.com). For more information, please visit www.ampublic.com.

About Paylogix 

Paylogix is the trusted premium technology solution provider for efficiency and transparency in the administration of voluntary benefits. Our thoughtfully designed tools to facilitate enrollment through billing processes, are automated, innovative, and secure to provide users with the data they need, when they need it. If you are an insurance carrier, broker, or enrollment company, interested in learning more about how Paylogix can help provide accurate and more efficient enrollment and billing processes, visit http://www.paylogix.com or email [email protected] for more information.





Media Contact:

Lisa Sanderson, Paylogix

[email protected] 516-570-9987





SOURCE Paylogix
The investment will support the tutor management and reporting platform to launch, scale and provide efficacy for partners including enterprise tutoring companies, districts and states

RICHMOND, Va., July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The leading research backed, all-in-one tutor management platform, Pearl , today announces its tranche seed fundraise surpassing $4M led by Blu Venture Investors with participation from Fidi Ventures , among others. The company partners with enterprise tutoring providers, districts and state agencies to launch, scale, and run hybrid tutoring programs, while also assuring quality of impact. The recent injection of capital will be used for talent development and expansion, new data and reporting engines and to improve the engagement experience for educators and their partners.

"Stressed and cracked by the pandemic, our education systems and services need help and very few things can fill the gaps and provide support to teachers, students and parents better or more quickly than quality tutoring," said John Failla, Founder and CEO of Pearl. "This latest investment is a recognition of the power of tutoring as well as a show of great confidence that Pearl's unique tutor management and reporting tools are both timely and critical to meet our growing education needs."

Approved in 2021, the American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (APR ESSER) Fund provides substantial resources for many tutoring-related initiatives aimed at helping school districts partner with tutors who can help mitigate the learning losses from the pandemic and a growing national teacher shortage .

Pearl's robust and partner-first features for districts, states and enterprise tutoring solution providers include individual profiles for administrators, tutors, students, parents, and teachers. Additional features include scheduling, document sharing, an integrated 1:1 and small group virtual classrooms, and a post-session reporting. Importantly, Pearl also provides participants and users with evidence and data so interventions can improve tutoring quality and sustainability. Finally, Pearl can provide all required reporting on usage and efficacy, freeing teachers and districts to teach instead of report.

"Pearl is the right service in the right place at the right time, helping schools and districts to use their new resources to move from wanting to provide tutoring to actually doing it in a professional and accountable way that meets all government requirements," said Eric Adler, Partner of Blu Venture Investors. "It's a strong solution to a real problem and we're glad to be Pearl's partner in this timely expansion."

In addition to offering tutor management services, Pearl's partners can also opt into analysis and reporting to inform student learning outcomes. For example, as part of the company's research and efficacy focus, Pearl has developed data-related product features in collaboration with the Annenberg Institute at Brown University and the National Student Support Accelerator (NSSA) to safely access and share data. These evidence-based tutoring practices guide major research into future learning models, showing not just how tutoring works but also when it works, for whom, and under what conditions.

"Our partnership with Pearl is and will be important in building best practices and best tools to maximize the educational outcomes of high dosage and 1:1 and small group instruction, especially for under-resourced or otherwise disadvantaged learners and providers," said Susanna Loeb, Director of the Annenberg Institute. "That would not be possible without the valuable information we are able to get from Pearl."

One virtual tutoring provider partnering with Pearl, OnYourMark , has seen its reach and effectiveness grow, not only internally but in delivering and measuring the impact of its services. With Pearl as their virtual tutoring platform, OnYourMark knew and was able to report that the average reading scores of its students increased from the 21st to the 47th percentile within just 18 weeks and that the number of its students reading at or above grade level tripled across the year.

"Pearl just makes us better at tutoring, at delivering the important reading skills and social emotional learning students really need right now," said Mindy Sjoblom, CEO of OnYourMark. "The Pearl team has been so collaborative, supportive, and open to understanding and acting on what types of data our growing organization needs to optimize results for the students we have the privilege of working with in schools across the country."

"Collecting empirical data about program effectiveness sits at the core of everything we do," said Failla. "With this new funding and key research partnerships, we are excited to do it even better and for more partners, ultimately delivering an improved tutoring experience and better learning outcomes for all students to thrive."

About Pearl

Richmond based, Pearl develops software for tutoring at scale. Our fully integrated classroom and administrative tools allow enterprise tutoring companies, academic organizations, districts and states to launch and scale hybrid tutoring programs with ease. Whether instruction occurs online or in person, Pearl's all-in-one tutor management system provides education decision makers with the tools needed to improve student learning outcomes. Additionally, in collaboration with the Annenberg Institute at Brown University and its National Student Support Accelerator, Pearl safely collects and protects the necessary data to prove efficacy to ensure all students thrive. To learn more about Pearl, start a free trial, or book a demo, visit: TutorwithPearl.com .

Media Contact:

Alyssa Miller

[email protected]

973-615-1292

SOURCE Pearl
NIJMEGEN, Netherlands and NEWARK, N.J., July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Pleco Therapeutics BV, a specialty biopharmaceutical company developing novel treatments designed to detoxify the cancer promoting cellular micro-environment, today announces its expansion, with the incorporation if a U.S. subsidiary, Pleco Therapeutics USA, Inc., alongside the appointment of Michael Stalhamer as its President and first employee. Mr Stalhamer also serves on the global leadership team as Vice President (VP) Product Development and Regulatory Affairs.

Incorporated in Delaware, Pleco Therapeutics USA, Inc., will operate from New Jersey. The formation of a U.S. subsidiary reflects Pleco's corporate development as it advances its Plecoid product, PTX-061 and readies for commercialisation, with the aim of improving the effectiveness of chemotherapy in patients with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML).

Mr. Stalhamer joins from STI Pharma where he has been VP Regulatory Affairs & Product Development for the past 13 years. He brings over 25 years' experience in pharmaceutical /biotechnology and medical device research, operations, engineering, facility and equipment design, regulatory affairs, quality assurance and marketing gained in the US, India and Europe. Prior to STI Pharma, his experience included roles at Heritage Pharmaceuticals, Artes Medical, Amylin Pharmaceuticals, GlaxoSmithKline and Novartis. During that time, he managed facility upgrades, progressing products from Phase II/III through to commercialization of sterile and non-sterile pharmaceutical products as well as medical devices. He has worked closely with the FDA in putting together IND/NDA/ANDA and PMA submissions and gaining timely approval of a number of pharmaceutical and medical device products in a variety of therapeutic areas. He also has experience in negotiating and managing development contracts for the launch and manufacturing of generic as well as branded products. He received his MS in Chemical Engineering from New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) and his BS from Rutgers University, College of Engineering.

Ivo Timmermans, Chief Executive Officer of Pleco Therapeutics BV, said: "We are delighted to welcome Michael to head up our new US operations. He will be a valuable addition to our leadership team as he has exactly the experience we need to manage the development, registration and commercialization of our first Plecoid product.

"The USA is a critical market and getting our products to patients will deliver on our goal of improving the effectiveness of existing chemotherapy and changing the outcome for patients with relapsed cancers."

Plecoid agents are patented, innovative treatments that include chelating agents with specific characteristics, that change the balance of toxic metals in the cell as a novel approach to treating cancer.

Michael Stalhamer newly appointed President of Pleco Therapeutics USA, Inc., said: "This is an exciting time to be joining the Pleco team, as it is at a pivotal point in its product development. Whilst there are always hurdles ahead, the potential of our Plecoid products looks very promising in various cancer models and other therapeutic areas."

In the coming months, Pleco anticipates securing additional finance and further expanding its team.

About Pleco Therapeutics

Pleco Therapeutics is a clinical stage specialty biopharmaceutical company which aims to extend the life span and enhance the quality of life of patients through its novel Plecoid therapies that have been designed to dramatically increase the effectiveness of current cancer treatments. Its novel Plecoid therapies have the potential to positively change the balance of protein expression within the cancer microenvironment, removing the burden of toxic metals within the cell, thereby improving the effectiveness of existing chemotherapy. A private company, Pleco is headquartered in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, with a U.S. subsidiary, Pleco Therapeutics USA Inc, based in Newark, New York.

For more information visit www.plecotherapeutics.com. Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter

For more information, please contact:

Media

Sue Charles, Charles Consultants  [email protected] +44 (0)7968 726585

SOURCE Pleco Therapeutics
ROCKVILLE, Md., July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- After one and a half years of disruptive learning, nearly 100% of Prek-12 students returned to school full time by the third quarter of 2021.

That's one of the findings of SIMBA's just-published report PreK-12 Enrollment and Demographics 2022-2023, which examines data, trends, and outlook for students enrolled in public and private schools in the US. Along with broader enrollment and demographic trends, the report identifies how COVID has impacted enrollment, and other key drivers.

For example, digital and online learning, which surged during the pandemic, continues to grow and play a major role in US schools, and is spurring the federal government to ensure uninterrupted internet connections. The FCC is pushing for 1Mbps per student bandwidth goal; as of late 2021 59% of districts or 18.8 million students and 7,675 school districts met or exceeded that goal. This focus on online and digital learning also is necessitating a corresponding increase in the availability and use of digital learning materials.

The report also identifies the total numbers of enrolled students and schools. In the 2020-2021 school year, there were 19,254 public school districts and 98,609 public schools. California has the highest number with 10,328 public school, followed by Texas with 9,002 and then New York with 4,807. Enrollment in public elementary and secondary schools trended up from 47.2 million in 2020 to 50.6 million in 2021, a 7.3% increase. That growth has been driven by increasing birth rates, immigration and expanding access to prekindergarten. The report also reveals that total public school enrollment is expected to increase at a slower rate through fall 2030.

Changes in enrollment of certain types of schools are also examined. For example, homeschooling, charter schools and virtual schools all reported enrollment increases during the pandemic. Charter schools in particular continue to grow rapidly: in 2020-2021 there were 7,644 charter schools serving 3.5 million students; in 2019-2020 there were 7,547 charter schools serving 3.4 million students. This increase is a continuation of a larger trend: in 2000 there were 1,993 charter schools serving just 448,000 students.

Overall, though private school enrollment dropped from a total of 11.6% of students in 2000 down to 10.1% in 2019, (representing 5.7 million students; remaining the same number as it was in 2018). Other trends include a declining enrollment in Catholic schools, and an increasing support for the notion of school choice.

Simba's new report identifies other trends as well of importance to those serving the educational market. For example, the study found that the growth in ELL (English Language Learners) was growing with 5.1 million students in the 2019-2020 school year. Overall graduation rates recently increased as well.

Some negative trends are also surfaced in the report. One is the problem of dropping out or disenrollment, notably highest in preschool and kindergarten, which has created long lasting serious fiscal consequences for schools. The report also notes that efforts to provide universal PreK is moving slowly, declining in the 2019-2020 to 2020-2021 years in nearly every state. Furthermore, socioeconomic gaps have widened as students who did not have access to computers, reliable connectivity, and productive instruction fell further behind their better-situated schoolmates. The report notes that these factors might stimulate the market for products that can remediate learning gaps and address standards across multiple grade levels as traditional schooling resumes

About Simba Information

Simba Information is widely recognized as the authority for market intelligence in the media and publishing industries. Its extensive information network delivers top quality, independent perspectives on the people, events and alliances shaping the industry. Simba routinely assists clients and the press with publishing and media industry analysis. Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Please direct all media inquiries to:

Corinne Gangloff

+1-440-842-2400

[email protected]

SOURCE Simba Information
KNOXVILLE, Tenn., July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- For the second consecutive year, Realty Trust Group has been named one of Modern Healthcare's Best Places to Work.

This award program recognizes outstanding healthcare employers who are continuously striving to improve their work environment and increase employee engagement, satisfaction and retention through innovative changes in the workplace.

Realty Trust Group Ranks Among Modern Healthcare's 2022 Best Places to Work

"At RTG, we believe our success is attributed to the embodiment of our core values," says Greg Gheen, President for Realty Trust Group, "and the best measure of our success, is the success of our clients. Having a positive culture is key in recruiting and retaining top talent to develop innovative solutions so our clients can focus on what matters most, care of the patients. We are proud to be recognized for fostering a healthy work environment and culture providing opportunities for employee learning and career growth."

This win is the latest of many honors for RTG, which recently accepted two TOBY Awards from BOMA Georgia, accolades at the most recent DOC Management Summit, and top scores in the annual tenant survey for all health system clients. RTG has experienced substantial growth in 2022 with the opening of a southwest regional office in Texas and the onboarding of significant new client relationships including Saint Francis Healthcare in Missouri.

"RTG has always been known for our people," says Chad Simpson, Executive Vice President of Realty Trust Group. "During these unprecedented times for the healthcare industry, it is more important than ever to promote an employee-focused culture to navigate new challenges and always look to take the next best step together. Our core values support the notion that 'what is right is more important than who is right' which can only be epitomized when employees feel they are respected and have a voice. We are proud to be recognized as a Best Place to Work and remain dedicated to maintaining a thriving work environment to retain top talent, empower our team to flourish, and deliver results for our clients."

All selected companies will be celebrated at the 2022 Best Places to Work in Healthcare awards gala taking place on September 29 at the Hilton Nashville Downtown. Information on the award gala and conference is available at ModernHealthcare.com/BestPlacesGala.

Modern Healthcare will publish a special supplement featuring a ranked list of all the winners along with its October 3 issue.

About Realty Trust Group

Realty Trust Group, LLC ("RTG") is a healthcare and life science real estate advisory and services firm offering a full spectrum of real estate services including advisory, development, transactions, operations and compliance.

Since 1998, RTG has helped hospitals, physician groups, and property owners navigate the rapidly changing industry with growth strategies that gain market leadership as well as enhance patient and physician experiences for better delivery of care. Our philosophy is to provide innovative solutions to the complex and challenging issues found in today's healthcare real estate market.

These solutions include strategic campus and facility planning, portfolio optimization, portfolio monetization, project development, leasing, acquisition and disposition services, portfolio management, regulatory compliance, and many other ideas and services. For more information about RTG and our innovative healthcare real estate services, visit www.realtytrustgroup.com, Facebook, LinkedIn, or call 865-521-0630.

Modern Healthcare

Modern Healthcare is the most trusted business news and information brand in the healthcare industry. Modern Healthcare empowers healthcare leaders and influencers to make timely and informed business decisions. To learn more or subscribe, go to http://www.modernhealthcare.com/subscriptions.

Contact: Angie Surface

Realty Trust Group

Phone: 865-684-2891

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.realtytrustgroup.com

SOURCE Realty Trust Group LLC
CORAL SPRINGS, Fla., July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Referrizer, LLC, the world's most advanced marketing automation platform for local businesses today reported its financial results for the quarter and trailing twelve months "TTM" June 30, 2022. The company reported year-over-year 41% revenue growth and annual TTM revenue growth of 52% from 2021 to 2022.

Second Quarter 2022 Compared to Second Quarter 2021:

41% increase in revenue in Q2'22 compared to Q2'21, increasing to $855,020 from $606,533 in Q2'21.

from in Q2'21. Revenue per customer increased by 34% from $474 in Q2 2021 to $635 in Q2 2022.

in Q2 2021 to in Q2 2022. Number of successful payments increased 19% to 4,443 compared to 3,721 in Q2 2021.

Full Year TTM 2022 Compared to Full Year TTM 2021:

Revenue increased by 52% from $2,029,584 in 2021 to $3,090,420 in 2022.

in 2021 to in 2022. Revenue per customer increased by 35% from $1,121 in 2021 to $1,516 in 2022.

in 2021 to in 2022. Number of successful payments increased 27% to 16,856 compared to 13,292 in 2021.

Upcoming Highlights

Revenue Growth TTM 2nd Qtr. 2022 and Quarter over Quarter sequential growth

TTM 2nd Qtr. 2022 revenue of $3,090,420 vs $2,841,781 Q1 2022 revenue for a 9% growth quarter to quarter.

vs Q1 2022 revenue for a 9% growth quarter to quarter. Q2 2022 Revenue of $855K increased 12% compared to Q1 2022 Revenue of $761K

Valuation

With our TTM Quarterly Growth of 9%, provides a 9% improvement in pre-money valuations for investors.

Crowdfunding Campaign

Launched $1 million crowdfunding campaign with Republic, a platform with over 1.5 million members. Currently raised $41K . Visit www.republic.co/referrizer

Sales

Victory Martial Arts Corporate Account onboarding 40 locations.

Approved by Restore Hyper Wellness as Approved Agency Partner (Potential for 160 locations)

Active pipeline with 3 additional corporate accounts for approved vendor relationships.

New Website launched.

Product

Continuing with UX (User Experience) improvements.

Completed two additional integrations ( Sun Lync and Restore POW)

and Restore POW) Completed Design for New Marketplace (Projected to represent 20% of our revenue when we hit $50M ARR)

ARR) Completed Design for New Offer Creation (As part of our Product-Led future)

"Our second quarter and TTM full year results continue to thrive with 41% revenue growth over the same quarter last year and TTM full year growth of 52%" said Andre Cvijovic, the Company's Chairman and CEO.

Mr. Cvijovic continued, "We continue to look for participation in our crowdfunding campaign and or direct investment in Referrizer and also investor referrals for interested parties in this round of funding. The deadline is fast approaching to September 30th, 2022, so if you are interested, act now."

George O'Leary, Vice Chairman, said "Our TTM annual revenue has exceeded the $3M milestone. With it going from $2.8M to $3.1M during the last quarter increases the calculated market capitalization by another $2M, similar to last quarter, creating an even larger buying opportunity for the current investment round."

About Referrizer, LLC

The Referrizer platform is revolutionizing and setting a new standard for local business marketing. Getting more clients and keeping them longer is now easier, more convenient, and more effective than ever before. The most powerful way to grow your business is through referrals combined with marketing automation.

Referrizer is helping local wellness businesses to solve two of their biggest business challenges: getting new customers and keeping existing customers longer. It's the worlds' most advanced marketing automation for local businesses offering end-to-end solutions.

Referrizer is a cloud software service platform that integrates with existing POS or business scheduling software. It empowers local businesses with an automated Referral Marketing System that turns existing customers into brand ambassadors. Our Reputation Management system prevents businesses from getting bad reviews while delivering 10x improvement in positive 5-star reviews. Our set of tools for Retention Marketing include: a loyalty program, Email and Text marketing automation that empowers communication with customers, so businesses can increase upsell value, prevent cancellations, reduce churn and extend lifetime value of their customers.

Our newest "Quick Connect" feature increases conversion rate from leads to customers by 400% by reducing time to contact leads from hours to less than 60 seconds.

As a result, businesses in our network experience positive ROI in the very first month, save hundreds of hours in manual labor through automation and most importantly get predictable, long-lasting results.

Referrizer is growing incredibly fast. Our upcoming releases in development will simplify user experience and the onboarding process while delivering even better results for our clients. For more information, visit our website at www.referrizer.com or reach [email protected]

Forward Looking Statements

Forward-Looking Statements in this press release, which are not historical facts, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Our actual results, including as a result of any acquisitions, performance or achievements may differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the use of words such as "may," "could," "expect," "intend," "plan," "seek," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "potential," "continue," "likely," "will," "would" and variations of these terms and similar expressions, or the negative of these terms or similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by our management, and us are inherently uncertain. We caution you not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which are made as of the date of this press release. We undertake no obligation to update publicly any of these forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, new information or future events, changes in assumptions or changes in other factors affecting forward looking statements, except to the extent required by applicable laws. If we update one or more forward-looking statements, no inference should be drawn that we will make additional updates with respect to those or other forward-looking statements.

Contacts:

Andre Cvijovic

Chairman and CEO

(954) 667-3648

[email protected]

George O'Leary

Vice Chairman

(561) 779-8338

[email protected]

Referrizer, LLC Selected Financial Data Quarters Ended June 30, 2022 and 2021









Three Months Ended June 30,



2022



2021 Statement of Operations Data





















Total revenue $ 855,020

$ 606,381 Net loss $ (135,618)*

$ (75,135)



































Balance Sheet Data











June 30, 2022

June 30, 2021 Total Assets $ 757,949

$ 885,741 Total Liabilities $ 508,824**

$ 181,893 Total Unitholders' Equity $ 249,126***

$ 703,848 Net Capitalized Software Development Costs $ 308,381

$ 322,850

* Net Loss decreased 29% from $190,794 in Q1 2022 to $135,618 in Q2 2022 mainly due to the increase in revenue during the period.

in Q1 2022 to in Q2 2022 mainly due to the increase in revenue during the period. ** Includes $350,000 of new SBA loan with a 30-year term at 3.75% interest.

of new SBA loan with a 30-year term at 3.75% interest. *** Decrease in Equity due to ( $584k ) in TTM net loss offset by equity compensation of $133k .

SOURCE Referrizer, LLC
OKLAHOMA CITY, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Riley Exploration Permian, Inc. (NYSE American: REPX) ("Riley Permian" or the "Company"), plans to release fiscal third quarter 2022 financial and operating results on August 10, 2022 after the U.S. financial markets close.

In connection with the earnings release, Riley Permian management will host a conference call for investors and analysts on August 11, 2022 at 10:00 a.m. CT to discuss the Company's results and to host a Q&A session. Interested parties are invited to participate by calling:

Toll Free Dial-In, 1 (888) 330-2214

Toll Dial-In, 1 (646) 960-0161

Conference ID number 5405646

An updated company presentation, which will include certain items to be discussed on the call, will be posted prior to the call on the Company's website (www.rileypermian.com).

A replay of the call will be available until August 25, 2022 by calling:

Toll Free Dial-In, 1 (800) 770-2030

Toll Dial-In, 1 (647) 362-9199

Conference ID number 5405646

About Riley Exploration Permian, Inc.

Riley Permian is a growth-oriented, independent oil and natural gas company focused on the acquisition, exploration, development and production of oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids. For more information please visit www.rileypermian.com .

Investor Contact:

Rick D' Angelo

405-438-0126

[email protected]

SOURCE Riley Exploration Permian, Inc.
New Medicine Cabinets and Mirror Join Robern Coordinated Bathroom Suites

BRISTOL, Penn., July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Robern has unveiled new designs to the Robern Craft Series, an assortment of seven coordinated vignettes that made its debut in June 2021 and featured bathroom vanities, linen cabinets, and decorative mirrors. These latest introductions include three new medicine cabinets, a first for the series, and a new mirror design. Drawing inspiration from earlier, celebrated eras of design and emerging new trends, the Robern Craft Series brings a curated assortment of statement-making products to transform bathrooms into luxury spaces of distinction.

Robern Industrial Metal Medicine Cabinet & Mirror Robern Industrial Metal Medicine Cabinet

The Craft Series new Medicine Cabinets and Mirror feature clean, minimalist styles in a choice of W. 20" x H. 30" or W. 24" x H. 40" sizes and a variety of rich singular and mixed metal finishes to coordinate and complement surroundings. The new mirror is based upon the Industrial Metal Medicine Cabinet, joining the 10 earlier decorative mirrors currently in the series.

THE CRAFT SERIES 2022

The Industrial Metal Medicine Cabinet presents an air of handcraft and earthy, industrial vibe by incorporating a unique four-corner brushed metal overlay intricately detailed with round metal rivets. The surrounding stainless steel frame is slightly raised from the unbeveled mirror in visual contrast. The Industrial Metal Medicine Cabinet and Mirror are available in mixed metal finish choices of Bronze with Aged Brass corners or Iron Black with Brushed Pewter corners.

The Thin Framed Metal Medicine Cabinet is a simple, geometric design with a versatility to appeal to interiors from traditional to contemporary in scope. The expertly crafted, rectangular stainless steel frame has crisp mitered corners and stands just proud from the unbeveled mirror. The Thin Framed Metal Medicine Cabinet is available in Aged Brass, Brushed Pewter, or Iron Black finishes.

The Round Corner Metal Medicine Cabinet is an approachable form of understated elegance. The rectangular frame is softened by gently curves at each point. A simple, unbeveled mirror sits slightly back from the sleek frame and follows the design's sensual lines. The Round Corner Metal Medicine Cabinet is available in Aged Brass, Polished Stainless Steel, or Matte Black finishes.

The medicine cabinets can be recessed or surface mounted, with each expertly engineered at a 4" depth and fitted with hand-constructed mirrors surrounded by stainless steel frames. The cabinets stand a slim one inch from the wall for an almost seamless appearance while its generous depth provides an expansive interior for discreet storage. The cabinets are equipped with Blum slow-close hinges that opens to a 155-degree angle for enhanced styling visibility. Easy-clean, cantilever shelving can be effortlessly moved in small increments by a Robern-designed grid of almost imperceptible adjustment holes to accommodate incidentals of virtually any height.

The Craft Series Medicine Cabinets are also offered with an optional Electric Upgrade package to assist with tasks, enhance storage capabilities, and keep essentials charged and within reach:

USB Charging Ports/Electric Outlet : A strategically located unit in color-coordinated gray houses two built-in, customer configurable, USB charging ports and a tamper-resistant electric outlet to accommodate all electrical and recharging needs.

: A strategically located unit in color-coordinated gray houses two built-in, customer configurable, USB charging ports and a tamper-resistant electric outlet to accommodate all electrical and recharging needs. Magnetic Strip : A discreet, left- or right-side configurable, magnetic strip designed to securely hold tweezers and other metal grooming necessities.

: A discreet, left- or right-side configurable, magnetic strip designed to securely hold tweezers and other metal grooming necessities. Interior Lighting : A soft backlighting to illuminate the interior when the cabinet is opened and automatically shuts off when closed.

: A soft backlighting to illuminate the interior when the cabinet is opened and automatically shuts off when closed. Phone Holder : Designed with a conveniently placed shelf that sits above an electric outlet and port area to house your phone or keep it near for easy access at a moment's notice.

THE CRAFT SERIES  THE COLLECTIONS

Branching out beyond the more modern aesthetic represented within the Robern brand portfolio, The Craft Series was introduced in 2021 and broadens Robern's product scope with forms that reference 19th and 20th traditional and contemporary design. Organic textural elements and intriguing decorative touches to surprise and delight, the solution-based Craft Series is a compelling catalog of bathroom couture designed to reflect the lifestyles of today's sophisticated consumer.

Bergman

Taking its cues from the glamour of 1950s Hollywood, Bergman creates a sense of high style by juxtaposing deep wood stains against contrasting metal finishes. The solid Oak and Oak veneer Bergman vanity is shown with the Robern Rounded Corner Metal Mirror.

Bodo

Reflecting the organic beauty and nature-inspired surroundings that are part and parcel to the Aspen and Vail lifestyle, Bodo strips away undue ornamentation to allow the figured Oak and straightforward character of this prominent design take centerstage. Bodo presents a certain rustic appeal with an open, truss beam vanity and shown with the Robern Thin Wood Frame Mirror.

Chestnut Hill

Chestnut Hill is inspired by the vintage furnishings of storied New England homes, the beauty of well-crafted form, and the sense of familiarity and acquired sophistication of early American design that still plays a prominent role in the interiors of today. Chestnut Hill is also a versatile option with three vanity sizes and is shown with the Robern Wood Mirror with Metal Inlay.

Helden

Helden has an air of casual refinement, its natural honeyed tones and soft rounded corners drawing attention to the organic beauty of the materials selected and the craft employed to create Helden's approachable form. The Oak floating vanity is matched with the Robern Pill Wood Mirror.

Mackey

Inspired by the raw, edgy appeal of unfinished industrial furnishings and fixtures, Mackey reflects that same forgiving style allowing the metal ground the designs while incorporating textural elements to accentuate the forms' natural beauty and strength of line. The Mackey vanity and enclosed linen cabinet are expertly crafted from stainless steel and is shown with the Mixed Metal Mirror.

Sendai

Blending industrial design elements with the understated sophistication of Japanese form, the Sendai vanity and accompanying linen cabinet and Robern Thin Frame Mirror are pared down forms simply dressed in rich wood finishes with contrasting mixed metals and decorative touches.

Skaarsgard

Based on the clean, understated forms of Nordic design, Skaarsgard draws its strength from natural wood and burnished metals for a look that is warm and inviting. Appropriately scaled with purity of line and minimal decoration, the Skaarsgard Oak vanity and linen cabinet is joined by the Robern Thin Frame Wood Mirror

Robern Craft Series vanities feature solid Oak frame construction, solid Oak legs, and full plywood back panels meticulously hand-stained, including the interiors. Vanity doors are equipped with adjustable Blum slow close hinges and dovetail constructed drawers equipped with adjustable Blum full extension, undermount slow close slides. Robern also offers coordinated, engineered stone tops and a rectangular porcelain undermount sink as optional purchases. In addition to the vanities, linen cabinets were designed for the Craft Series. The linen cabinets match the details of three of the vanities but have the stand-alone quality that makes them an attractive choice as a singular addition to any room.

About Robern

At Robern, the bathroom is our favorite room. It is our private space. It is our sanctuary. For more than 50 years, Robern has specialized in creating luxurious spaces with a powerful product portfolio that moves beyond the expected industry standard to transform rooms into interiors of impeccable elegance. By taking a more holistic approach to the bathroom and its importance, not only aesthetically, but to overall health and wellbeing, Robern has become a driving force within residential and commercial design with an artful blend of sophisticated form, innovative technology, impeccable craftsmanship, and quality materials.

Founded in 1968 in Bristol, Penn. by Rosa and Bernie Meyers, Robern's mission remains grounded in the Meyers' belief that individual style should be celebrated and fostered. Today, their pioneering approach, commitment to craftsmanship, quality, attention to detail, and utilization of the finest materials available, remains foundational to the Robern brand and is evident in every piece still hand-assembled on-site at its Bristol headquarters today.

In 1995, Robern joined the Kohler Co. family of businesses, building upon the breadth and depth of the brand's comprehensive and thoughtful approach to creating exceptional styling spaces. From its humble beginnings to a technological force within home design, Robern has become a leading choice for designers, architects, and consumers seeking out the finest in vanities, medicine cabinets, mirrors, and lighting. For additional information on Robern products, customers may call 1 (800) 877-2376 or visit www.robern.com.

CONTACT: Robin L. Richter

Kohler Co. Public Relations

+ (920) 457-4441, x. 72340

[email protected]

SOURCE ROBERN
NEW YORK, July 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Weiss Law is investigating possible breaches of fiduciary duty and other violations of law by the board of directors of Shell Midstream Partners, L.P. ("Shell" or the "Company") (NYSE: SHLX), in connection with the proposed acquisition of the Company by Shell USA, Inc. ("Shell USA"). Under the terms of the merger agreement, the Company's unit holders will receive $15.85 in cash for each Public Common Unit of Shell common stock owned. A subsidiary of Shell USA currently owns 269,457,304 Shell common units, or approximately 68.5% of Shell common units. The transaction is valued at approximately $1.96 billion.

If you own Shell shares and wish to discuss this investigation or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights or interests, visit our website:

https://www.weisslaw.co/news-and-cases/shlx

Or please contact:

Joshua Rubin, Esq.

Weiss Law

305 Broadway, 7th Floor

New York, NY 10007

(212) 682-3025

(888) 593-4771

[email protected]



Weiss Law is investigating whether (i) Shell's board of directors acted in the best interests of Company unit holders in agreeing to the proposed transaction, (ii) the merger consideration adequately compensates Shell's unit holders, and (iii) all information regarding the sales process and valuation of the transaction will be fully and fairly disclosed.

Weiss Law has litigated hundreds of stockholder class and derivative actions for violations of corporate and fiduciary duties. We have recovered over a billion dollars for defrauded clients and obtained important corporate governance relief in many of these cases. If you have information or would like legal advice concerning possible corporate wrongdoing (including insider trading, waste of corporate assets, accounting fraud, or materially misleading information), consumer fraud (including false advertising, defective products, or other deceptive business practices), or anti-trust violations, please email us at [email protected]

SOURCE Weiss Law
Company appoints Mary Santoro, an ex-Big 4 & GE executive; Charlotta Carter, a technology entrepreneur and small business champion; Jay King, President California Black Chamber of Commerce; & Brian Hickie, CFO, and an ex-Big 4 executive.

DUBLIN, Calif., July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Silicon Valley Consulting Group, a rapidly scaling strategy, technology, and management consulting firm, today announced the appointments of Mary Santoro, Charlotta Carter, Jay King, and Brian Hickie to the company's Board of Advisors, on a two-year term effective July 21, 2022.

Review our best practices based case studies and blogs from our recently completed programs to learn about the strategic services we provide.

Quotes

Jai Sharma , Founder, Silicon Valley Consulting Group

"It is a true honor and a great pleasure to have key industry leaders and my mentors over the years to join us and provide Thought Leadership on our journey as we continually evolve and provide creative and outside the box strategies and solutions to our esteemed clients. With the key appointments, we are positively positioned to expand and scale our strategy and technology transformation business model as well as our stealth SaaS product development ambitions"

Mary Santoro , Advisory Board Member

"I am honored to be a part of this great team and am excited about the continued success of Silicon Valley Consulting Group!"

Jon Walton , CIO, Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska

"Silicon Valley Consulting Group has shown that their agile and responsiveness approach is helping government agencies and businesses meet their business technology transformation goals today and into the future"

SaaS Product Development

Company further revealed that its product development team is the early stages of launching a core cross industry SaaS based B2B product built on AWS platform, which will revolutionize the industry and fill in large gaps which have not been addressed by tier 1 SaaS providers.

About

We are an SBA 8(a) certified, California corporation with headquarters in the heart of Silicon Valley. Our focus is on strategy and technology transformations, and we exclusively serve the c-suite as trusted business partners and lead major initiatives across tech manufacturing, Software (SaaS), and Public sectors. We are proudly serving the state of California on its historic Middle Mile Broadband Initiative and also providing executive technology advisory services to CalSTRS, the largest educator-only pension fund in the world.

SOURCE Silicon Valley Consulting Group
GAITHERSBURG, Md. and SUZHOU, China, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Sirnaomics Ltd. (the "Company" or "Sirnaomics", stock code: 2257.HK), a leading biopharmaceutical company in discovery and development of RNAi therapeutics, announced today that the Company has received regulatory clearance from the Taiwan Ministry of Health and Welfare (TMHW) of its Investigational New Drug (IND) application to commence a Phase I trial of STP705, siRNA (small interfering RNA) drug candidate, for the treatment of patients with advanced liver tumors.

The Phase I multicenter, open-Label, dose escalation study in Taiwan is part of a global study of STP705 designed to evaluate the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and anti-tumor activity. STP705 is administered intratumorally for cholangiocarcinoma, hepatocellular carcinoma, or liver metastases in subjects with advanced/metastatic or surgically unresectable solid tumors who are refractory to standard therapy. The study was started in the United States in March 2021, and the study in Taiwan is expected to begin enrolling in the coming months.

"The IND green light in Taiwan for STP705 represents a major milestone for the Company's expansion of its clinical studies into Asia," said Dr. Patrick Lu, founder, chairman of the Board, Executive Director, President and CEO of Sirnaomics. "We believe that the study results in Taiwan will strengthen the body of data in a multicenter global trial, which will also include a future study in the mainland China. Sirnaomics is currently in a strong position to lead the way in RNAi therapeutics for the development of novel oncology therapies."

"This IND approval will allow more opportunities to manage critical diseases such as liver cancer with high unmet clinical need in Taiwan and the region," stated Steven Long, Ph.D. Sirnaomics Chief Development Officer. "Taiwan's regulatory bodies and clinical testing hospitals are well known for meeting international standards. We expect to conduct more oncology clinical studies in Asia-Pacific regions in the coming years."

About STP705

STP705 is composed of two siRNA oligonucleotides, targeting TGF-1 and COX-2 mRNA respectively, formulated in nanoparticles with a Histidine-Lysine Co-Polymer (HKP) peptide as the carrier. Each individual siRNA was demonstrated to inhibit the expression of the target mRNA, and combining the two siRNA's produces a synergistic effect that diminishes pro-inflammatory factors. Over-expressions of TGF-1 and COX-2 have been well-characterized in playing key regulatory roles in tumorigenesis.

About Sirnaomics

Sirnaomics is an RNA therapeutics biopharmaceutical company with product candidates in preclinical and clinical stages that focuses on the discovery and development of innovative drugs for indications with medical needs and large market opportunities. Sirnaomics is the first clinical-stage RNA therapeutics company to have a strong presence in both China and the United States, and also the first company to achieve positive Phase IIa clinical outcomes in oncology for an RNAi therapeutics for its core product, STP705. Learn more at www.sirnaomics.com.

CONTACT:

Michael Molyneaux, MD, MBA

Executive Director and Chief Medical Officer, Sirnaomics

Email: [email protected]

Investor Relations:

Nigel Yip

Chief Financial Officer, China, Sirnaomics

Email: [email protected]

US Media Contact:

Alexis Feinberg

Tel: +1 203 939 2225

Email: [email protected]

Asia Media Contact:

Bunny Lee

Tel: +852 3150 6707

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Sirnaomics Ltd.
DUBLIN, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Supercapacitor Market by Type (Double Layer Capacitors, Pseudocapacitors, Hybrid Capacitors), Electrode Material (Carbon, Metal Oxide, Conducting Polymers, Composites), Application (Automotive, Energy, Consumer Electronics) - Global Forecast to 2027" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The global supercapacitor market size is expected to grow from USD 472 million in 2022 to USD 912 million by 2027, at a CAGR of 14.1%. The growing need for energy conservation solutions and high storage capabilities in sectors such as automotive, energy, and consumer electronics applications is driving the demand for supercapacitors during the forecast period.

Escalated usage of supercapacitors for the development of wind turbines, grid energy storage systems, EVs/HEVs, railways/trains and aircraft, smart wearables, and so on are some of the major factors accelerating the growth of the supercapacitor market.

Double-layer capacitor segment to account for the larger share of market in 2022

The double-layer capacitor segment is projected to account for the largest share of the supercapacitor market in 2022. These capacitors are used as an alternative to conventional batteries. They work excellently in all those applications where a stable supply of energy is required over a short period of time. Double-layer capacitors replace conventional batteries in consumer electronics applications, such as smart wearables, computers, laptops, and foldable phones. These supercapacitors are a clean source of energy as opposed to conventional batteries; hence, several battery manufacturers are focused on expanding their product portfolio with the inclusion of double-layer capacitors.

Automotive Industry is expected to grow at the highest CAGR of the supercapacitor market during the forecast period

The automotive segment is projected to hold the largest share of the supercapacitor market in 2022. The advent of electric vehicles is likely to create opportunities for supercapacitors in the automotive sector. Several automotive manufacturers across the world are eventually likely to switch from battery-powered electric vehicles to supercapacitor-powered electric vehicles owing to the high scalability and broad operating temperature range offered by supercapacitors. Hence, the automotive industry is expected to exhibit significant growth from 2022 to 2027.

Asia Pacific is expected to account for the largest share of market during the forecast period

Asia Pacific is expected to contribute the largest size of the supercapacitor market in 2022. Rapid industrialization and infrastructure development are driving the growth of consumer electronics and automotive industries in China, which is expected to increase the demand for supercapacitors in the region.

Market Dynamics

Drivers

Rising Use of Supercapacitors in Energy Storage Devices and Wind Power Systems

Growing Popularity of Electric Vehicles

Increasing Utilization of Supercapacitors in Smart Wearables

Outstanding Ability of Supercapacitors to Store More Energy Than Electrolytic Capacitors

Restraints

Unreliability of Supercapacitors in Long-Term Energy Storage Applications

Decline in Demand for Consumer Electronics Owing to Outbreak of COVID-19

Opportunities

Increasing Applications of Supercapacitors in Aviation Sector

Elevating Use of Supercapacitors as Replacement for Conventional Batteries

Challenges

High Cost and Constant Requirement for Periodic Maintenance of Supercapacitors

Research Coverage:

The supercapacitor market has been segmented into type, electrode material, application ,and region. The supercapacitor market has been studied for North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Rest of the World (RoW).

Key Topics Covered:

1 Introduction



2 Research Methodology



3 Executive Summary



4 Premium Insights



5 Market Overview



6 Chargeability Types of Supercapacitors



7 Supercapacitor Market, by Type



8 Supercapacitor Market, by Electrode Material



9 Supercapacitor Market, by Application



10 Geographic Analysis



11 Competitive Landscape



12 Company Profiles



13 Adjacent Market



14 Appendix

Companies Mentioned

Cap-Xx

Cellergy

Cornell-Dubilier

Din Electronics

Eaton

Elna

Energ

Evans Capacitor Company

Ioxus

Jinzhou Kaimei Power

Korchip

Maxwell Technologies

Nanoramic Laboratories

Nawa Technologies

Nichicon

Nippon Chemi-Con Corporation

Panasonic

Skeleton Technologies

Spel Technologies

Targray

Tokin

Vinatech

Wuxi Cre New Energy Technology

Yunasko

Zoxcell

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/f1xw4e

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]rkets.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



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
SAN DIEGO, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Surglogs, the nation's leading regulatory compliance platform for healthcare facilities, today announced a strategic partnership with EyeCare Partners.

Surglogs' platform enables EyeCare Partners facilities to maintain patient safety compliance standards and remain ready for accreditation surveys at all times. Surglogs' easy-to-use digital platform replaces the pen and paper documentation process, and automates clinical workflows for greater efficiency.

EyeCare Partners centers will take advantage of a number of patient safety modules, including the latest enterprise feature, Corporate Dashboard, that allows management to monitor its analytics and adherence to regulations from one view. EyeCare Partners will roll out this initiative across the entire enterprise with their saturation growth expected to reach over 100 locations by the end of 2023.

"Surglogs has helped us standardize processes across all centers for real time compliance while allowing us to monitor everywhere with the corporate dashboard. The ease of use has made enterprise wide adoption a success with staff and leadership alike," said Todd Albertz, CASC, Vice President, Ambulatory Surgery Centers and Northmark Pharmacy. "This partnership is an important step towards accomplishing the aggressive growth goals we have for 2022."

"This was a savvy business and clinical decision by EyeCare Partners and their leadership team. Ultimately, they have invested in putting their patient and staff's safety first. I am excited to watch this partnership change the way we work in healthcare in a positive way," said Brandon Coombs, VP of Business Development at Surglogs.

About Surglogs

Surglogs' easy-to-use digital platform enables healthcare facilities to maintain health and safety compliance standards and remain survey-ready at all times. Surglogs replaces cumbersome regulatory compliance paperwork and automates clinical workflows for greater efficiency, bringing peace of mind to healthcare staff and leadership. Visit https://surglogs.com to learn more.

About EyeCare Partners

EyeCare Partners is dedicated to providing clinically integrated eye care. Our national network of over 300 ophthalmologists and 700 optometrists provides a lifetime of care to our patients with a mission to enhance vision, advance eye care and improve lives. Based in St. Louis, Missouri, over 680 ECP-affiliated practice locations provide services that span the eye care continuum in 19 states and 30 markets. For more information, visit www.eyecare-partners.com and follow us on LinkedIn.

Media contact:

Barbora Ilic

[email protected]

SOURCE Surglogs
LAKELAND, Fla., July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Outstanding international students and researchers are slated to arrive at Florida Polytechnic University in the 2022-2023 academic year to pursue their academic goals and advance research at the University as part of the United States' Fulbright Program. A Florida Poly student and assistant professor also will travel abroad as part of the program.

Florida Polytechnic University will host several students and researchers this academic year through the international Fulbright Program. (PRNewsfoto/Florida Polytechnic University)

Joining Florida Poly during the academic year as Fulbright chairs, which are senior professors seeking to advance their research, are Dr. Alex Frino, senior vice president at the University of Wollongong in Australia; Dr. Fernando Gonzalez Fermoso, head scientist at the Spanish Research Council in Spain; and Dr. Luis Alonso Zarate, professor at the University Polytechnic of Catalunya in Spain.

"Florida Poly is an outstanding STEM institution with a solid concentration of faculty working on environmental engineering," said Fermoso, whose research focuses on solid waste and wastewater treatment. "I'm delighted to work with the Florida Poly team to establish a solid research group that can lead to great work of significance in environmental protection and resource recovery approaches."

Florida Poly will also welcome Tom Mann, a Fulbright graduate awardee from Germany studying engineering management, and Sophie Hayes, a student at the University of Prince Edward Island in Canada studying sustainable design engineering who will arrive on campus as a Killam Fellow. Florida Poly electrical engineering major Shane Holmes will study in Canada as a Killam Fellow. Dr. Sesha Srinivasan, assistant professor in the Department of Engineering Physics at the University, will work on a project at Institucion Universitaria Pascual Bravo in Colombia as a Fulbright Specialist.

Florida Poly has Fulbright agreements with several countries, including Spain, Canada, Australia, Luxembourg, and Belgium. It also has hosted scholars from Iraq and Germany. The program provides opportunities for students and faculty in education and research while enhancing industry partnerships.

"It is exciting to see that Fulbright Scholars are choosing Florida Poly as their home institution in the U.S.," said Mustapha Achoubane, the University's associate director of international relations. "Such collaboration is fostering the culture of excellence within our organization and leveraging relationships between our nations."

The U.S. State Department's Fulbright Program works with more than 160 nations to increase educational and cultural exchanges to study, learn, and pursue academic and professional projects.

SOURCE Florida Polytechnic University
ZURICH, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Teralytics, the global platform for human mobility analysis, today announced it has acquired the Streetlytics mobility data business from Bentley Systems (Nasdaq: BSY), the infrastructure engineering software company.

Michael Clarke, President (left) and David Reed, CEO (right)

Streetlytics' team of mobility data analytics experts, led by industry veteran Michael Clarke, will boost Teralytics' capabilities and grow their presence in the North American market. Mr. Clarke, previously President and CEO of Citilabs, will join Teralytics in the newly appointed role of President, reporting directly to Teralytics' CEO, David Reed. Bentley has partnered with Teralytics to leverage the company's data services for Bentley's mobility simulation solutions, which support transportation planners and engineers around the globe. As part of the transaction, Bentley is investing in Teralytics and will join its Board of Directors. Teralytics' existing investors are also taking part in the round.

"The Streetlytics' mission and values align perfectly with ours," said Mr. Reed. "Having the team on board will deepen our ability to serve customers across a number of industries through our truly global, independent analytics platform. We are also looking forward to partnering with Bentley, whose global reach opens new opportunities for Teralytics to deliver our insights at scale."

Streetlytics delivers mobility analytics for audience measurement across the out-of-home advertising industry in the United States and Canada, as well as to experts in real estate, retail, transportation planning, traffic engineering and air quality analysis. Teralytics analyzes data from a diverse set of sources, applying powerful data science to create transformative insights into human mobility. The integration of the Teralytics and Streetlytics technical stacks will create a powerful scalable mobility analytics platform providing unmatched global data coverage and insights.

"I am thrilled for our team to be joining Teralytics, whose quest to improve decision-making in governments and businesses through mobility analytics matches our own beliefs and ambitions," said Mr. Clarke. "Global, always-on understanding of mobility has never been more relevant, as governments and operators seek to plan, design, operate and maintain effective, efficient and sustainable transportation systems during a period of unprecedented change. Businesses everywhere are also looking to improve their growth and profitability through a rich understanding of the moving consumer."

"Combining Teralytics' and Streetlytics' capabilities, technology and experience will create a global mobility insights powerhouse much needed in today's world to better model, forecast and analyze movement," said Santanu Das, Chief Acceleration Officer, Bentley. "We look forward to seeing the combined entity grow and exploring opportunities to leverage these mission-critical insights to assist our users who analyze the effects of new projects and government policies on city transportation networks through comprehensive digital twins."

About Teralytics

Teralytics provides population-level mobility insights that transform our customers' understanding of people's interactions with locations, routes and modes of transport. Starting with a comprehensive view of mobility, we apply sophisticated data science and domain expertise to shed light on people's journeys and factors impacting their choices. Our customers use this knowledge to evaluate existing infrastructure, inventory and services; shed light on new possibilities, and ensure outcomes with the greatest possible impact over time. Teralytics operates in Europe and North America, powering decisions across a number of industries, including transportation, public policy, tourism, media and retail. www.teralytics.net

Press contact:

Maja Zupan

[email protected]

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1862215/Teralytics_Image.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1862216/Teralytics_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Teralytics
LIAOCHENG, China, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Under the guidance of the International Exchange and Cooperation Bureau of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the International Cooperation Department of the National Radio and Television Administration, the launching ceremony for China's Grand Canal Overseas Tourism Promotion Season 2022 was held recently in Liaocheng, the Water City to the north of the Yangtze River. The event was hosted by the Network of International Culturalink Entities and Departments of Culture and Tourism of eight provinces along the Canal, and organized by the CPC Liaocheng Municipal Committee and the People's Government of Liaocheng.

The launching ceremony for China's Grand Canal Overseas Tourism Promotion Season 2022 The Grand Canal runs through the city. Key projects are being signed.

With the theme "Touring the ancient Canal and enjoying the beauty of its intangible cultural heritage", the main purpose of the launching ceremony was to showcase and promote the Canal culture by demonstrating the charm of this historic Canal, according to the Foreign Affairs Office of the People's Government of Liaocheng.

At the ceremony, representatives from the Network of International Culturalink Entities and the National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts signed a strategic cooperation agreement; attendees watched a highlight video of the event; and Liaocheng's 12 key cultural tourism projects were signed.

During the ceremony, a variety of other activities were held, such as the Grand Canal Handicraft Exhibition, the Grand Canal and Yellow River Painting and Calligraphy Exhibition, the Grand Canal and Yellow River Cultural Tourism Photography Exhibition, and the Promotion of the Grand Canal City.

Over recent years, Liaocheng has achieved great results in its transformation into a stellar city by showing the cultural and modern value of the Yellow River and the Grand Canal, and demonstrating the unique charm in the combination of the agricultural and commercial sectors.

Image Attachments Links:

Link: http://asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=426292

Caption: The launching ceremony for China's Grand Canal Overseas Tourism Promotion Season 2022

Link: http://asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=426295

Caption: The Grand Canal runs through the city.

Link: http://asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=426296

Caption: Key projects are being signed.

SOURCE Foreign Affairs Office of the People's Government of Liaocheng
If You Love Chicken Wings, Then You Must Be at Chicago's Jake Melnick's Corner Tap on July 29th

CHICAGO, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Jake Melnick's Corner Tap , one of the Windy City's most beloved neighborhood hangouts widely known for their outstanding wings, is celebrating National Chicken Wing Day (July 29th) in a BIG way!

Jake Melnick's Corner Tap Jake Melnick's Corner Tap

From Friday, July 29th through the weekend, Jake Melnick's will be serving 20 different types of wings  including the country's hottest wings made with weapons-grade peppers (yes, that's right: Jake Melnick's had to secure approval from Homeland Security and the FDA to purchase the world's hottest peppers for the original recipe.) Known as the XXXX Hot Wing, these tongue-scorchers feature four of the hottest peppers known to mankind: Habanero Peppers, Ghost Peppers  which are so spicy they have been weaponized and used in pepper spray for crowd control  Scorpion Peppers, which are twice as hot at Ghost Peppers and Reaper Peppers.

Over the years, Jake Melnick's has earned "best wings" accolades locally and nationally, including being named a Top Spot for Wings in the U.S. by the TODAY show. Jake's wings are wonderfully meaty, a little bit crispy and lacquered in the best-tasting gourmet sauces you've ever had.

Guests can celebrate the foodie holiday by indulging in the following wing flavors (many of which are available for a limited time only):

PB & J

Thai Peanut Sauce, Raspberry Chipotle Jelly

Traditional Buffalo

As classic as it gets: Medium or Spicy

Kalbi (Korean Barbeque)

Soy Sauce, Brown Sugar, Mirin & Pear

Poncho's

Grilled with Garlic & Cayenne

Thai Red Curry

Lemongrass, Galangal & Creamy Coconut

Butter Chicken

Mildly sweet with notes of Onion, Tomato, Butter & Cream

Peach Habanero

Sweet, spicy and tangy housemade Peach Habanero Chutney

Whiskey BBQ Bacon

Brown Sugar, Molasses, Bacon & Whiskey

KC BBQ

Sweet Kansas City-style BBQ Sauce

Space Truffle

Tangy Truffle Mustard & Lemon Zest

Firecracker

Sweet Chili & Sriracha

Nashville Hot

Cayenne, Chili Peppers, Honey & Vinegar

Char Sui with Hot Chinese Mustard

Sticky, sweet & salty with deep Umami undertones  a bold & vibrantly flavored wing!

Super Hot

Roasted Habanero Pepper

XXXX

Habanero Pepper, Ghost Pepper, Scorpion Pepper, Reaper Pepper

Kung Pao

Sweet, Sour & Savory with the signature tingle of heat from Sichuan Pepper

Lemon, Pepper & Honey

A hit of spice + refreshing Lemon with Honey on the side to tie it all together.

Chile Verde

Mexican Green Salsa  tart, tangy & tasty!

Mediterranean with Tzatziki

Black Pepper, Coriander, Cumin, Fennel, Garlic, Marjoram, Mint, Parsley, Smoked Paprika, Olive Oil & Lemon

Wing Frites

Lemon, Parsley + served over Jake's famous Parmesan Garlic Fries

Jake Melnick's Corner Tap is located at 41 E. Superior St. in Chicago, IL.

Media Contact:

Samantha Crafton

847-502-2001

[email protected]

SOURCE Jake Melnick's Corner Tap
NEW ORLEANS, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Focus Group Consulting, a healthcare consulting firm dedicated to healthcare growth and transformation, announced the arrival of R.J. Briscione as Principal effective this month.

R.J. is a national expert in patient/member engagement and social determinants of health (SDoH) across government-sponsored plans. The Focus Group believes his addition will advance their leadership in building the economic value and business case for social care and population health as growth levers for patient-centered healthcare delivery.

R.J. Briscione

"R.J. has worked tirelessly in public markets to help build the value of social determinants. We believe that the future of healthcare delivery lies in economically sustainable investments in holistic care management that drive quality, cost, and net value," said David Kulick, Managing Director.

"I'm excited to partner with organizations looking towards the future of SDoH and building meaningful engagement for better care outcomes and stronger care management. As a former managed care operator, I know how significant the unmet needs are where there continues to be whitespace," said R.J. Briscione.

Prior to joining The Focus Group, R.J. led social determinants for CVS Health, scaling the strategy across the CVS Health enterprise for all lines of CVS and Aetna business. Prior to this role, R.J. led Medicaid Business Development for Aetna's East Region across all stages of proposal response for multi-year, Medicaid managed care contracts, new product creation, and renewal & de novo business growth. Prior to joining Aetna, R.J. served as director of Medicaid and Duals Operations in multiple states for Anthem and before that he worked for Centene and the Georgia House of Representatives.

R.J. holds a BS in Aeronautics from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

The Focus Group Consulting

The Focus Group is a boutique healthcare consulting firm focusing on high impact strategy and transformation. The firm has worked nearly all F500 healthcare organizations including providers, payors, medical device, pharma, biotech, and healthcare services companies, on assessing market and consumer access as well current industry gaps, and then developing effective, holistic, and equitable strategies for growth.

Media Contact:

David Kulick

[email protected]

716-864-5070

SOURCE The Focus Group Consulting
Australia's most famous forensic case solved after nearly 75 years.

FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif., July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Identifinders International and the University of Adelaide announce the identification of the Somerton Man as Carl "Charles" Webb, born 16 November 1905, Footscray, Victoria to Richard August Webb (1866-1939) and Eliza Amelia Morris Grace (1871-1946). He was resident of Melbourne, and by profession an electrical engineer and instrument maker.

The Somerton Man is Australia's most well-known forensic case that has defied analysis since the man was found dead on Somerton Beach, South Australia, on 1 December 1948. The identification was made based on DNA obtained from hair found embedded in the man's plaster death mask held at the South Australia Police Museum. Professor Derek Abbott of the University of Australia was permitted access to the mask and the hair in 2011 by the South Australian Police.

In 2018 the Australian Center for Ancient DNA (ACAD) at the University of Adelaide successfully extracted the whole mitochondrial genome of the Somerton Man to establish that he was Caucasian European along his direct maternal line. In July 2022, Abbott and Fitzpatrick were able to obtain additional DNA from the hair to create an autosomal SNP profile that enabled them to use forensic genetic genealogy (FGG) to identify the man.

The team discovered additional clues to support the Somerton Man's identification as Charles Webb. For example, Webb's sister Freda was married to Thomas Keane. The name "T. Keane" or "Keane" appeared on several items in the Somerton Man's suitcase, discovered at the Adelaide train station shortly after he died.

A twist in the story is that Robin Thomson who has been thought to be the Somerton Man's son was found to have no DNA link. Fitzpatrick and Abbott were able to conclusively eliminate Robin as a relative, even though he shares rare teeth and ear features with the Somerton Man.

Identifinders International is a fee-based forensic service that works with law enforcement agencies and medical examiners to apply forensic genetic genealogy to solving violent crime cold cases and identifying unidentified remains. For more information, please visit www.identifinders.com. For Media Relations contact [email protected].

Contact: Misty Gillis

Phone: (312) 285-1578

E-mail: [email protected]

SOURCE Identifinders International LLC
DUBLIN, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Robotic Prosthetic Market By Product Type, By Technology, By Application, By End-Use, and By Region Forecast to 2028" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The global robotic prosthetic market size is expected to reach USD 2,384.4 Million in 2028 and register a revenue CAGR of 8.9% over the forecast period, according to latest report. The increase in number of people with amputation and technological advancements are the primary factors driving the market growth.

According to the National Diabetes Statistics Report 2020 published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 34.2 million people in the U.S., aged 18 years or older, had diabetes in 2018. This number is expected to grow to about 54.3 million by 2030. Type 2 diabetes is the most common type of diabetes, accounting for around 90% to 95% of all diagnosed cases of diabetes.



Robotic prosthetic devices are used in place of missing limbs or body parts. These devices help in improving the quality of life of people with amputations and provide them with the ability to perform their daily activities. The market for robotic prosthetics is expected to grow at a significant rate owing to the increasing number of people suffering from diabetes and other chronic diseases, which may lead to amputations. Moreover, the rising awareness about these devices and the technological advancements in these devices are some of the factors expected to drive the market growth over the forecast period.



Furthermore, rising cases of injuries, road accidents, and increasing geriatric population are also fuelling the growth of the robotic prosthetic market. According to WHO, road traffic accidents resulted in about 1.35 million deaths globally in 2016. Moreover, as per the stats published by National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in the U.S., around 6,000 pedestrians were killed and around 85,000 injured in traffic crashes in 2016. Such a large number of accidents are estimated to create a demand for robotic prosthetic devices in the coming years.



The increasing adoption of robotic prosthetic devices is also attributable to the growing awareness about these devices among patients and physicians. In addition, government initiatives to promote the use of these devices are also expected to drive the growth of the robotic prosthetic market in the coming years. For instance, in January 2017, The Scottish government announced a new funding package of GBP4 million for transforming care for people living with limb loss in Scotland. This initiative is expected to create demand for robotic prosthetic devices in the country.



Some Key Highlights From the Report:

By application, lower body extremities segment accounted for largest revenue share in 2020. The growth can be attributed to the rising number of lower limb amputations due to diabetes and vascular diseases. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), in 2015, around 1.6 million people underwent lower limb amputation globally. Moreover, technological advancements in robotic prosthetics such as powered knee & ankle systems are also expected to boost the segmental growth.

By end-use, hospital segment accounted for largest revenue share in 2020. This can be attributed to rising number of accidents and increasing prevalence of diabetes and cancer, which are resulting in amputation. According to WHO, in 2015, around 1.9 million people worldwide underwent amputations due to diabetes. Moreover, as per Cancer Research UK, in 2018, there were 2.5 million cancer patients in the U.K., which is projected to increase to 4 million by 2030. Hence, rising number of cancer and diabetes patients is expected to propel growth of the robotic prosthetic market during the forecast period.

Robotic prosthetic market in North America accounted for largest revenue share in 2020. This is attributed to well-established healthcare infrastructure and presence of leading market players in the region. Moreover, increasing investments by government bodies for developing advanced prosthetic devices is anticipated to support growth of the North American robotic prosthetic market over the forecast period. For instance, in September 2019 , U.S.-based organization National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID) received a government grant of over USD 1 million from National Science Foundation (NSF), which will be used for developing bionic arm that can provide sensation to amputees.

Major players in the market include Artificial Limbs and Appliances, Endolite, Hansen Medical Inc., HDT Global Inc., Open Bionics, Ottobock, Ossur, ReWalk Robotics, Smith & Nephew, SynTouch Inc., The Shadow Robot Company, and Touch Bionics.

Key Topics Covered:



Chapter 1. Market Synopsis



Chapter 2. Executive Summary



Chapter 3. Indicative Metrics



Chapter 4. Robotic Prosthetic Market Segmentation & Impact Analysis

4.1. Robotic Prosthetic Market Material Segmentation Analysis

4.2. Industrial Outlook

4.2.1. Market indicators analysis

4.2.2. Market drivers' analysis

4.2.2.1. Increasing number of patients suffering from vascular diseases, arthritis, and congenital disorders.

4.2.2.2. Advancement in robotics technology

4.2.2.3. Government and nonprofit organizations' initiative to fund robotic prosthetic devices

4.2.3. Market restraints analysis

4.2.3.1. High implantation and maintenance cost of robotic prosthetic devices

4.2.3.2. Lack of awareness among people in developing and less developed countries.

4.3. Technological Insights

4.4. Regulatory Framework

4.5. ETOP Analysis

4.6. Porter's Five Forces Analysis

4.7. Competitive Metric Space Analysis

4.8. Price trend Analysis

4.9. Customer Mapping

4.10. Covid-19 Impact Analysis

4.11. Global Recession Influence



Chapter 5. Robotic Prosthetic Market By Product Type Insights & Trends

5.1. Product Type Dynamics & Market Share, 2021 & 2028

5.2. Prosthetic Arms

5.2.1. Market estimates and forecast, 2018 - 2028 (USD Million)

5.2.2. Market estimates and forecast, By Region, 2018 - 2028 (USD Million)

5.3. Prosthetic Ankle/Feet

5.3.1. Market estimates and forecast, 2018 - 2028 (USD Million)

5.3.2. Market estimates and forecast, By Region, 2018 - 2028 (USD Million)

5.4. Prosthetic Knees

5.4.1. Market estimates and forecast, 2018 - 2028 (USD Million)

5.4.2. Market estimates and forecast, By Region, 2018 - 2028 (USD Million)

5.5. Prosthetic Hands

5.5.1. Market estimates and forecast, 2018 - 2028 (USD Million)

5.5.2. Market estimates and forecast, By Region, 2018 - 2028 (USD Million)

5.6. Others

5.6.1. Market estimates and forecast, 2018 - 2028 (USD Million)

5.6.2. Market estimates and forecast, By Region, 2018 - 2028 (USD Million)



Chapter 6. Robotic Prosthetic Market By Technology Insights & Trends

6.1. Technology Dynamics & Market Share, 2021 & 2028

6.2. Bluetooth

6.2.1. Market estimates and forecast, 2018 - 2028 (USD Million)

6.2.2. Market estimates and forecast, By Region, 2018 - 2028 (USD Million)

6.3. Microprocessor

6.3.1. Market estimates and forecast, 2018 - 2028 (USD Million)

6.3.2. Market estimates and forecast, By Region, 2018 - 2028 (USD Million)

6.4. Myoelectric Technology

6.4.1. Market estimates and forecast, 2018 - 2028 (USD Million)

6.4.2. Market estimates and forecast, By Region, 2018 - 2028 (USD Million)

6.5. Targeted Muscle Reinnervation

6.5.1. Market estimates and forecast, 2018 - 2028 (USD Million)

6.5.2. Market estimates and forecast, B2018 - 2028 (USD Million)



Chapter 7. Robotic Prosthetic Market By Application Insights & Trends

7.1. Application Dynamics & Market Share, 2021 & 2028

7.2. Upper Body Extremities

7.2.1. Market estimates and forecast, 2018 - 2028 (USD Million)

7.2.2. Market estimates and forecast, By Region, 2018 - 2028 (USD Million)

7.3. Lower Body Extremities

7.3.1. Market estimates and forecast, 2018 - 2028 (USD Million)

7.3.2. Market estimates and forecast, By Region, 2018 - 2028 (USD Million)



Chapter 8. Robotic Prosthetic Market By End-Use Insights & Trends

8.1. End-Use Dynamics & Market Share, 2021 & 2028

8.2. Hospitals

8.2.1. Market estimates and forecast, 2018 - 2028 (USD Million)

8.2.2. Market estimates and forecast, By Region, 2018 - 2028 (USD Million)

8.3. Ambulatory Surgical Centers

8.3.1. Market estimates and forecast, 2018 - 2028 (USD Million)

8.3.2. Market estimates and forecast, By Region, 2018 - 2028 (USD Million)

8.4. Clinics

8.4.1. Market estimates and forecast, 2018 - 2028 (USD Million)

8.4.2. Market estimates and forecast, By Region, 2018 - 2028 (USD Million)

8.5. Others

8.5.1. Market estimates and forecast, 2018 - 2028 (USD Million)

8.5.2. Market estimates and forecast, By Region, 2018 - 2028 (USD Million)



Chapter 9. Robotic Prosthetic Market Regional Outlook



Chapter 10. Competitive Landscape

10.1. Market Revenue Share By Manufacturers

10.2. Manufacturing Cost Breakdown Analysis

10.3. Mergers & Acquisitions

10.4. Market positioning

10.5. Strategy Benchmarking

10.6. Vendor Landscape



Chapter 11. Company Profiles

11.1. Artificial Limbs and Appliances

11.1.1. Company Overview

11.1.2. Financial Performance

11.1.3. Technology Insights

11.1.4. Strategic Initiatives

11.2. Endolite

11.2.1. Company Overview

11.2.2. Financial Performance

11.2.3. Technology Insights

11.2.4. Strategic Initiatives

11.3. Hansen Medical Inc.

11.3.1. Company Overview

11.3.2. Financial Performance

11.3.3. Technology Insights

11.3.4. Strategic Initiatives

11.4. HDT Global Inc.

11.4.1. Company Overview

11.4.2. Financial Performance

11.4.3. Technology Insights

11.4.4. Strategic Initiatives

11.5. Open Bionics

11.5.1. Company Overview

11.5.2. Financial Performance

11.5.3. Technology Insights

11.5.4. Strategic Initiatives

11.6. Ottobock

11.6.1. Company Overview

11.6.2. Financial Performance

11.6.3. Technology Insights

11.6.4. Strategic Initiatives

11.7. Ossur

11.7.1. Company Overview

11.7.2. Financial Performance

11.7.3. Technology Insights

11.7.4. Strategic Initiatives

11.8. ReWalk Robotics

11.8.1. Company Overview

11.8.2. Financial Performance

11.8.3. Technology Insights

11.8.4. Strategic Initiatives

11.9. Smith & Nephew

11.9.1. Company Overview

11.9.2. Financial Performance

11.9.3. Technology Insights

11.9.4. Strategic Initiatives

11.10. SynTouch Inc.

11.10.1. Company Overview

11.10.2. Financial Performance

11.10.3. Technology Insights

11.10.4. Strategic Initiatives

11.11. The Shadow Robot Company

11.11.1. Company Overview

11.11.2. Financial Performance

11.11.3. Technology Insights

11.11.4. Strategic Initiatives

11.12. Touch Bionics

11.12.1. Company Overview

11.12.2. Financial Performance

11.12.3. Technology Insights

11.12.4. Strategic Initiatives



For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/iy5rqk

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
NEW YORK, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the latest market research report published by P&S Intelligence, in 2021, the tokenization market was worth around $2,590.6 million, which is set to touch $12,684.2 million worth by 2030, progressing at a 19.3% compound annual growth rate from 2021 to 2030. This is mainly ascribed to the growing incidence of financial frauds and surging demand for protected payment gateways.

Organizations that receive, transfer, and keep any cardholder's data are required under the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DDS) to make sure the data is safeguarded appropriately. Retailers must abide by the rules and accept credit card payments to do this. Additionally, secured networks need to be kept up to date on the database of merchants.

Get the sample pages of this report: https://www.psmarketresearch.com/market-analysis/tokenization-market/report-sample

Important Points of Tokenization Market Report

Globally, the demand for tokenization is the highest in the BFSI industry. Due to an increase in the demand for the security of the data while making digital payments, the category is predicted to produce around $5.0 billion in revenue by 2030.

in revenue by 2030. Another important factor driving banks to embrace tokenization solutions is the strong need to protect the transactions in any commerce environment. Tokenization is no longer restricted to card payments, because of the advent of newer payment systems and schemes that promote the usage of digital transactions.

The tokenization market outlook predicts that the cloud category will have the faster growth, around 20%, between 2021 and 2030. Since merchants are not needed to create secure credit card information, usernames, passwords, and other credentials, using the cloud, this deployment approach is quite advantageous.

Tokenized payment cards improve the security of consumers' detail before they enter a merchant's payment gateway, by using cloud-based tokenization, which makes use of PCI-compliant technologies to handle and safeguard cardholder data.

On-premises deployment is predicted to have a significant share throughout the forecast period, though. Because sensitive data may be stored inhouse, companies have more control over the database with this deployment model.

The North American tokenization market is predicted to generate more than $6 billion in revenue in 2030, with a CAGR of almost 20% between 2021 and 2030. The increasing data breach incidence, rising payment regulatory compliance, and concerns about payment security are some of the key drivers for the market growth.

Regardless of whether a person is a resident of the EU or not, companies that retain or transfer personally identifiable information (PII) of EU residents are subject to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Primary account numbers and credit card information are included in the PII.

Browse detailed report on Tokenization Market Size, Share, Growth and Demand Forecast Report 2030

The tokenization market is heavily consolidated, with a few significant players holding a significant share of it. To keep ahead of the competition, they have participated in alliances and cooperation in recent years. These players are:

Fidelity National Information Services Inc.

THALES

American Express Company

Micro Focus LLC

Mastercard International Incorporated

Visa Inc.

Fiserv Inc.

Tokenization Market Report Coverage

By Component

Solutions

Services

By Organization Size

Small & Medium Enterprises

Large Enterprises

By Deployment Mode

Cloud

On-Premises

By Application

Payment Security

User Authentication

Compliance Management

By End Use

BFSI

Healthcare

IT & Telecom

Retail & E-Commerce

Education

Regional Analysis

North America

U.S.



Canada

Europe

Germany



Italy



Spain



U.K.



France

Asia-Pacific

Japan



India



China



Australia



South Korea

Latin America

Brazil



Mexico

Middle East and Africa

and Saudi Arabia



South Africa

Browse More Reports Published by P&S

Security as a Service Market Size Analysis and Growth Forecast to 2030

Low-Code Development Platform Market Size Analysis and Growth Forecast to 2030

About P&S Intelligence

P&S Intelligence provides market research and consulting services to a vast array of industries across the world. As an enterprising research and consulting company, P&S believes in providing thorough insights on the ever-changing market scenario, to empower companies to make informed decisions and base their business strategies with astuteness. P&S keeps the interest of its clients at heart, which is why the insights we provide are both honest and accurate. Our long list of satisfied clients includes entry-level firms as well as multi-million-dollar businesses and government agencies.

Contact:

Prajneesh Kumar

P&S Intelligence

Phone: +1-347-960-6455

Email: [email protected]

Web: https://www.psmarketresearch.com

Follow Us: LinkedIn Twitter

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1224988/P_and_S_Intelligence_Logo.jpg

SOURCE P&S Intelligence
TORONTO, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Skyservice Business Aviation, a leader in business aviation in North America, is pleased to announce the appointment of Ty Dubay as Skyservice's Chief of Staff. This new position at Skyservice will provide added support to the company's strategic growth objectives and expansion plans.

Ty Dubay, Chief of Staff, Skyservice Business Aviation (CNW Group/Skyservice Business Aviation Inc. - Mississauga, ON)

"Ty has an exceptional track record in delivering top-line results and operational accomplishments in business aviation," said Ben Murray, President and CEO of Skyservice. "He is a valuable asset to our team as we continue to accelerate our growth and scale our operations to serve a wider aviation community. We are thrilled to have him part of the Skyservice team."

Mr. Dubay has more than 20 years of global leadership and operational experience in aviation and automotive services. Prior to joining Skyservice, Mr. Dubay was Chief Operating Officer for Mike's Carwash, one of the largest exterior carwash chains in the United States. Under his leadership, the business expanded its retail footprint by 75%. Prior to Mike's Carwash, Ty held progressively responsible roles at NetJets Inc., the largest private aviation company in the world, including as Senior Vice President, Charter Sales & Customer Experience, where he was responsible for the worldwide operations, dispatch and logistics for over 210 aircraft. Mr. Dubay was also the former President of NetJets China, where he led the establishment of NetJets in Hong Kong and the People's Republic of China (PRC), obtaining CCAR Parts 135 and 145 certifications and building the facilities and world-class team of aviation experts in the region.

"I am excited to join Skyservice as the company's Chief of Staff. It is a privilege to work for a company that cultivates and keeps the best business talent while providing clients with excellent service and uncompromising safety," said Mr. Dubay. "We are an organization committed to delivering the best that business aviation has to offer --- and my focus is to expand this caliber of service to more business aviation clients."

Last week, Skyservice announced the appointment of Qi Tang as the company's new Chief Financial Officer. Since taking the helm of the company last spring, Mr. Murray has led Skyservice's expansion to the United States with the rebranding of Leading Edge Jet Center in four Pacific Northwest markets including Seattle, WA. Skyservice also opened Toronto South, its second location at Toronto Lester B. Pearson International Airport (YYZ) and the airport's newest FBO in over 15 years.

About Skyservice

Skyservice is a North American leader in business aviation dedicated to innovation, responsible operations, safety, and service excellence. Skyservice is at the forefront of the business aviation industry with best-in-class facilities across North America. Our skilled maintenance teams, outstanding fixed base operation facilities, first-class aircraft management, charter services, aircraft sales and acquisition teams have provided world-class solutions and service for over 35 years. At Skyservice, we aim higher and reach further to best serve our clients. To learn more, visit http://www.skyservice.com/.

SOURCE Skyservice Business Aviation Inc. - Mississauga, ON
NEW YORK, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Klein Law Firm announces that a class action complaint has been filed on behalf of shareholders of Unilever PLC (NYSE: UL) alleging that the Company violated federal securities laws.

This lawsuit is on behalf of all persons who purchased or otherwise acquired Unilever American Depositary Receipts between September 2, 2020 and July 21, 2021, inclusive.

Lead Plaintiff Deadline: August 15, 2022

No obligation or cost to you.

Learn more about your recoverable losses in UL:

https://www.kleinstocklaw.com/pslra-1/unilever-plc-loss-submission-form?id=30187&from=4

Unilever PLC NEWS - UL NEWS

CLASS ACTION CASE DETAILS: The filed complaint alleges that Unilever PLC made materially false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: a) in July 2020, the board of Ben & Jerry's, one of Unilever's marquee brands, passed a resolution to end sales of its ice cream in "Occupied Palestinian Territory" ; and b) this boycott decision risked adverse governmental actions for violations of laws, executive orders, or resolutions aimed at discouraging boycotts, divestment, and sanctions of Israel adopted by 35 U.S. states.

WHAT THIS MEANS TO YOU AS A SHAREHOLDER: If you have suffered a loss in Unilever you have until August 15, 2022 to petition the court for lead plaintiff status. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn't require that you serve as a lead plaintiff.

NO COST TO YOU: If you purchased Unilever securities during the relevant period, you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out-of-pocket fees.

HOW TO PROTECT YOUR FINANCIAL INTERESTS: For additional information about the UL lawsuit, please contact J. Klein, Esq. by telephone at 212-616-4899 or click this link: https://www.kleinstocklaw.com/pslra-1/unilever-plc-loss-submission-form?id=30187&from=4.

ABOUT KLEIN LAW FIRM

J. Klein, Esq. represents investors and participates in securities litigations involving financial fraud throughout the nation. The Klein Law Firm is a boutique litigation firm with experience in a wide range of areas including securities law, corporate finance and commercial litigation. Since 2011, our experienced attorneys have achieved superior results for our clients with a personalized focus. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.

CONTACT:

J. Klein, Esq.

Empire State Building

350 Fifth Avenue

59th Floor

New York, NY 10118

[email protected]

Telephone: (212) 616-4899

www.kleinstocklaw.com

SOURCE The Klein Law Firm
Unions Power America Contest and Sweepstakes give back to hardworking union workers who never let America down.

WASHINGTON, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Union Plus is proud to announce that our annual Labor Day celebration, Unions Power America, is back and bigger than ever. Union Plus will be giving away a total of $185,000 in cash prizes through the Unions Power America Contest and Sweepstakes in honor of exceptional union workers who make our country strong.

"Union members are America's heroes," reects Mitch Stevens, Union Plus president, "and Union Plus is proud to honor them this, and every Labor Day with the Unions Power America Contest, Sweepstakes and Labor Day event. Recent efforts and victories by workers to unionize their workplaces remind us that unions are for, and built by, hardworking, extraordinary people. Unions and their members are the backbone of our nation and it is Union Plus' great privilege to celebrate their vital contribution to our communities."

The Unions Power America Contest

July 18-August 8

Union members can nominate themselves or another union member for the $25,000 Unions Power America Contest Grand Prize by visiting unionplus.org/laborday and sharing how they power America forward by going the extra mile to support others at work, in their neighborhoods and communities. In addition to the $25,000 Grand Prize, an additional $85,000 in cash prizes for First, Second and Third Prize winners will also be awarded. For Official Rules, visit unionplus.org/laborday.

The Unions Power America Sweepstakes

August 10-August 29

By entering the Unions Power America Sweepstakes at unionplus.org/laborday , union members have an opportunity to win the $50,000 Grand Prize or one of 25, $1,000 prizes. After initial entry, entrants can earn bonus entries by completing simple, fun, online activities to increase their chances of winning. For Official Rules, visit unionplus.org/laborday.

Winners of the Unions Power America Contest and Sweepstakes will be announced during the Union Plus Labor Day virtual celebration, at 6pm ET on September 5th, at unionplus.org/laborday .

This year's Labor Day giveaways surpass the cash prizes awarded last year, going further to celebrate the diversity of union members across the country who are powering America forward.

The Unions Power America Contest and Sweepstakes are extensions of the year-round support Union Plus offers. Union Plus provides exclusive savings and discounts to union members, as well as exclusive benefits such as scholarships and hardship programs. Since 2009, Union Plus has awarded over $16 million in grants and scholarships to union members.

About Union Plus

Union Plus, founded by the AFL-CIO in 1986, uses the collective buying power of America's 14 million union members to deliver top-quality benets and services at competitive prices for working families. Union Plus offers a wide range of programs created specifically for union members, including hardship help, scholarships, cash back shopping, credit cards, home mortgages, discounts on mobile plans, insurance plans, travel and entertainment discounts and so much more.

SOURCE Union Plus
ALEXANDRIA, Va., July 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, United Way Worldwide (UWW) announced the election of seven new trustees by United Way members at the Annual Meeting of the Members held on July 18, 2022.

"I am excited to welcome our newest trustees to the board," said President and CEO, Angela F. Williams. "Each trustee brings a unique perspective and passion to our mission that will collectively build upon our foundational work as we position United Way Worldwide for the future."

Remarking on the new trustees, Marc Bitzer, Chair of the Worldwide Board of Trustees, shared, "I am delighted to welcome a distinguished group of individuals and look forward to serving with them in the coming years. We have diligently ensured a UWW board that reflects a broad diversity of expertise and experience that will guide United Way into its next century of service and a renewed period of growth."

The trustees below began their three-year terms with United Way Worldwide effective July 18, 2022:

Brian K. Hulseman-Abrams , Entrepreneur, CPA, and Attorney

, Entrepreneur, CPA, and Attorney Juliana Azevedo , Latin America President, P&G Brazil

, Latin America President, P&G Brazil The Honorable Elaine Chao, public servant, experienced leader, trailblazer, and former President of United Way of America

Yuri Fulmer , Chairman, Fulmer, and Company

, Chairman, Fulmer, and Company Suneeth Katarki, Senior Partner, Indus Law

Swati Mylavarapu , Managing Partner, Incite.org

, Managing Partner, Incite.org Francesco Vanni d'Archirafi, Chairman, Euroclear Holding, and Euroclear SA/NV

The Annual Meeting of the Members also marked the conclusion of six trustees' service from the Worldwide Board of Trustees and U.S.A. National Board:

Dr. Juliette Tuakli, Worldwide Board of Trustees Immediate Past Chair

Neeraj Mehta , U.S.A. National Board Immediate Past Chair and Worldwide Board of Trustees At-Large Member

, National Board Immediate Past Chair and Worldwide Board of Trustees At-Large Member Luis Javier Castro , Worldwide Board of Trustees Secretary and Audit Committee Chair

, Worldwide Board of Trustees Secretary and Audit Committee Chair Susan Somersille Johnson , U.S.A. National Board At-Large Member

, National Board At-Large Member Kate Quinn , U.S.A. National Board Nominating Committee Chair

, National Board Nominating Committee Chair Byron Spruell , U.S.A. National Board At-Large Member

"We also want to recognize and thank those dedicated trustees whose service has come to an end," said Mr. Bitzer. "They served with distinction and commitment, including during a time of uncertainty and change, consistently meeting the challenges with thoughtful solutions and an unwavering commitment to our mission."

To learn more about the United Way Worldwide Board of Trustees and read trustee bios, click here.

About United Way:

United Way brings people together to build strong communities where everyone thrives. As the world's largest privately funded charity serving 95% of U.S. communities and 37 countries and territories, our humanitarian aid supports 48 million people every year. Through United Way, communities tackle tough challenges and work with private, public, and nonprofit partners to boost education, economic solutions, and health resources. United Way is the mission of choice for 2.5 million volunteers, 7.7 million donors, and 45,000 corporate partners in more than 1,100 communities worldwide in our second century of service. Together, we are building resilient, equitable communities across the globe. Learn more at UnitedWay.org. Follow us: @United Way and #LiveUnited.



Media Contact: Omoiye Kinney, [email protected].

SOURCE United Way Worldwide
WASHINGTON, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors will meet Aug. 9, 2022, in open session at Postal Service headquarters, 475 L'Enfant Plaza, SW, Washington, DC. The public is welcome to observe the meeting beginning at 4:00 p.m. ET in the Benjamin Franklin Room on the 11th floor. The Board is expected to discuss the following items:

Remarks of the Chairman of the Board of Governors Remarks of the Postmaster General and CEO Approval of the Minutes Committee Reports Quarterly Financial Report Quarterly Service Performance Report Approval of Tentative Agenda for Nov. 10 Meeting Adjournment

A public comment period will begin immediately following the adjournment of the open session on Aug. 9. During the public comment period, which shall not exceed 45 minutes, members of the public may comment on any item or subject listed on the agenda for the open session above. Additionally, the public will be given the option to join the public comment session and participate via teleconference. Registration for participation in the public comment period is required. Should you wish to participate via teleconference, you will be required to give your first and last name, a valid email address to send an invite and a phone number to reach you should a technical issue arise. Speakers may register online at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/bog-08-09-2022. No more than three minutes shall be allotted to each speaker. The time allotted to each speaker will be determined after registration closes. Registration for the public comment period, either in person or via teleconference, will end on Aug. 7 at 4 p.m. EDT. Participation in the public comment period is governed by 39 C.F.R. 232.1(n).

Open session meetings of the Board of Governors are available on live audio webcasts at http://about.usps.com/who/leadership/board-governors/briefings/welcome.htm. Three hours after the conclusion of the open session meeting, a recorded audio file will be available for listening. In compliance with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, the audio webcast will be open-captioned.

The Postal Service generally receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

Please Note: For U.S. Postal Service media resources, including broadcast quality video and audio and photo stills, visit the USPS Newsroom. Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and LinkedIn. Subscribe to the USPS YouTube Channel, like us on Facebook and enjoy our Postal Posts blog. For more information about the Postal Service, visit usps.com and facts.usps.com.

Contact: Dave Partenheimer

202-268-2599

[email protected]

usps.com/news

SOURCE U.S. Postal Service
NEW YORK, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The US MSB (Money Services Business) license is a financial license provided by FinCEN, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Bureau of the US Treasury Department. FinCEN publishes MSB, which stands for Money Services Business. MSB is the starting point for blockchain payment firms. The accomplishment of USMining Group in acquiring a US MSB license is important positive news for investors.

Since its inception, USMining Group has attracted the attention of the blockchain industry. USMining Group thinks that blockchain technology requires practical applications as well as public involvement. It is vital to decrease the barrier to blockchain investment. USMining Group was able to acquire the public's trust in a short amount of time, and the US MSB license became the key to market development.

The USMining Group team claims that "Previously, we primarily provided system development and maintenance assistance to enterprises and huge financial institutions. Because of the emergence of blockchain in recent years, the firm has opted to pursue a broader end-user market. Ideally, it would be feasible to make money, develop communities, amass traffic, form consensus, and eventually build a blockchain ecosystem using USMining Group's technology."

About USMining Group

USMiningGroup, created in 2016, is a cloud mining equipment sharing platform located in the United States. USMiningGroup is a pioneer in the realm of ASICs, or specialized devices, and it develops Cryptomining equipment under the Bitminer name. As a result, it is considered one of the greatest Crypto cloud mining sites.

This company also works with two of the world's largest cryptocurrency mining pools, Bitpool and BTC.com. USMiningGroup saves customers the trouble of obtaining and maintaining their own mining equipment. By acquiring a contract, users may mine digital currencies and earn money.

SOURCE USMining Group
Trading of Bitcoin Zero, Etherium Zero, Valour Uniswap ETP, Valour Polkadot ETP, Valour Cardano ETP, Valour Solana ETP, Valour Avalanche ETP, and Valour Cosmos ETP began July 25, 2022 . Valour Enjin ETP will commence trading later in the week

Lang & Schwarz operates a platform for OTC trading that trades in stocks, funds, bonds, and ETPs.

TORONTO, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Valour Inc. (the "Company" or "Valour") (NEO: DEFI) (GR: RMJR) (OTCQB: DEFTF), a technology company bridging the gap between traditional capital markets and decentralized finance, announced today that it began trading its exchange traded products ("ETPs") on the Lang and Schwarz Exchange. Trading of Bitcoin Zero, Etherium Zero, Valour Uniswap ETP, Valour Polkadot ETP, Valour Cardano ETP, Valour Solana ETP, Valour Avalanche ETP, and Valour Cosmos ETP began July 25, 2022. Valour Enjin ETP will commence trading later in the week.

Lang & Schwarz Aktiengesellschaft, through its subsidiaries, engages in the development and issuance of derivative financial instruments in Germany. The company operates a platform for OTC trading that trades in stocks, funds, bonds, and ETPs; LS Exchange, an electronic trading system; and IT hardware and software services. Lang & Schwarz Aktiengesellschaft was founded in 1996 and is based in Dusseldorf, Germany.

"Listing our products on the LS Exchange is a natural step in our process to increase our footprint in the German market. The LS Exchange is a very well used platform and will support our distribution power and commercial possibilities," said Tommy Fransson, CEO of Valour ETPs. "With this we will offer our existing German product range to a larger investment community."

By gaining exposure to digital assets via Valour, investors benefit from the standardisation, risk reduction and operational efficiency of a centrally cleared product listed on a regulated stock exchange. For each ETP of Valour that is bought and sold on exchanges, Valour purchases or sells the equivalent amount of the underlying digital assets, meaning the ETPs are fully backed at all times.

Valour offers fully hedged digital asset ETPs with low to zero management fees, with product listings across four European exchanges. Valour's existing product range includes Valour Uniswap ( UNI ), Cardano ( ADA ), Polkadot ( DOT ), Solana ( SOL ), Avalanche ( AVAX ), Cosmos ( ATOM ) and Enjin ( ENJ ) ETPs, as well as Valour's flagship Bitcoin Zero and Valour Ethereum Zero products, the first fully hedged, passive investment products with Bitcoin ( BTC ) and Ethereum ( ETH ) as underlyings which are completely fee-free, with competitors charging up to 2.5% in management fees.

Learn more about Valour at https://valour.com/

About Valour

Valour Inc. is a technology company bridging the gap between traditional capital markets and decentralized finance. Our mission is to expand investor access to industry-leading decentralized technologies which we believe lie at the heart of the future of finance. On behalf of our shareholders and investors, we identify opportunities and areas of innovation and build and invest in new technologies and ventures in order to provide trusted, diversified exposure across the decentralized finance ecosystem. For more information or to subscribe to receive company updates and financial information, visit https://valour.com

About Lang and Schwarz

Lang & Schwarz Aktiengesellschaft, through its subsidiaries, engages in the development and issuance of derivative financial instruments in Germany. The company operates a platform for OTC trading that trades in stocks, funds, bonds, and ETPs; LS Exchange, an electronic trading system; and IT hardware and software services. Lang & Schwarz Aktiengesellschaft was founded in 1996 and is based in Dusseldorf, Germany.

Cautionary note regarding forward-looking information:

This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to the listing of ETPs on the LS Exchange; the pursuit by Valour and its subsidiaries of business opportunities; and the merits or potential returns of any such opportunities. Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company, as the case may be, to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Such risks, uncertainties and other factors include, but is not limited the acceptance of Valour ETPs by exchanges; growth and development of DeFi and cryptocurrency sector; rules and regulations with respect to DeFi and cryptocurrency; general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

SOURCE Valour, Inc.
NEW YORK, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Klein Law Firm announces that a class action complaint has been filed on behalf of shareholders of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) alleging that the Company violated federal securities laws.

This lawsuit is on behalf of persons and entities that purchased or otherwise acquired Wells Fargo common stock between February 24, 2021 and June 9, 2022.

Lead Plaintiff Deadline: August 29, 2022

No obligation or cost to you.

Learn more about your recoverable losses in WFC:

https://www.kleinstocklaw.com/pslra-1/wells-fargo-wfc-lawsuit-loss-submission-form?id=30191&from=4

Wells Fargo & Company NEWS - WFC NEWS

CLASS ACTION CASE DETAILS: The filed complaint alleges that Wells Fargo & Company made materially 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.

WHAT THIS MEANS TO YOU AS A SHAREHOLDER: If you have suffered a loss in Wells Fargo you have until August 29, 2022 to petition the court for lead plaintiff status. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn't require that you serve as a lead plaintiff.

NO COST TO YOU: If you purchased Wells Fargo securities during the relevant period, you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out-of-pocket fees.

HOW TO PROTECT YOUR FINANCIAL INTERESTS: For additional information about the WFC lawsuit, please contact J. Klein, Esq. by telephone at 212-616-4899 or click this link: https://www.kleinstocklaw.com/pslra-1/wells-fargo-wfc-lawsuit-loss-submission-form?id=30191&from=4.

ABOUT KLEIN LAW FIRM

J. Klein, Esq. represents investors and participates in securities litigations involving financial fraud throughout the nation. The Klein Law Firm is a boutique litigation firm with experience in a wide range of areas including securities law, corporate finance and commercial litigation. Since 2011, our experienced attorneys have achieved superior results for our clients with a personalized focus. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.

CONTACT:

J. Klein, Esq.

Empire State Building

350 Fifth Avenue

59th Floor

New York, NY 10118

[email protected]

Telephone: (212) 616-4899

www.kleinstocklaw.com

SOURCE The Klein Law Firm
ST. CLOUD, Fla., July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The start of the school year is quickly approaching and Wild Florida is excited to partner with the Education Foundation of Osceola County to collect school supplies for local students. From August 1 through August 13, Osceola, Orange, Brevard, Polk and Seminole residents who donate new pencils, headphones, highlighters and other needed school supplies will receive free lettuce to feed the giraffes at Wild Florida.

More than 70% of teachers in Osceola County have reported that their students do not have the materials they need to fully participate in the classroom. A student not having adequate supplies can lead to a disinterest in learning and a decrease in academic success. Because of this, each year, the Education Foundation of Osceola County hosts a school supply drive to help raise donations for the materials teachers need for their classrooms.

"Engaging with and investing in our community is crucial to our sustainability," states Sam Haught, "By partnering up with the Education Foundation of Osceola, we're able to support the families in our community to make sure our students have everything they need to excel in school from day one."

If you're planning to donate and wondering what to bring, the most requested items are loose-leaf paper, pencils, earbuds, highlighters and expo markers. For a full list of items students are in need of, please visit the Education Foundation of Osceola County's website at: https://www.foundationosceola.org/

The Education Foundation is the product of a partnership between the Osceola County business community and the Osceola School District. The foundation is a non-profit organization that has a mission to support the efforts of educators and the lives of students in the community. Wild Florida Airboats, Gator Park & Drive-thru Safari, opened on Lake Cypress in 2010, with a focus on educating individuals on Central Florida's natural resources. Florida residents can experience Wild Florida's Drive-thru Safari for $22 per adult and $17 per child. Admission to the Gator Park is included for any guest who purchases an airboat tour, visits the Drive-thru Safari, or experiences an animal encounter. Learn more about Wild Florida's offerings at WildFL.com .

Contact: Sam Haught, Co-owner at Wild Florida

[email protected]

407-957-3135

SOURCE Wild Florida
MECCA, Saudi Arabia, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Um Al-Qura Development and Construction Company, owner and developer of Masar Destination and AlZamel Real Estate Development company signed an acquisition agreement today; according to which AlZamel Real Estate Development will become the owner of one of the luxury residential towers overlooking Masar Front at a value of half a billion riyals.

Masar Destination and AlZamel Real Estate Development Sign an acquisition agreement (PRNewsfoto/Umm Al Qura For Development & Construction  Masar Destination)

The signing agreement took place between Um Al-Qura Development and Construction company's CEO, Mr. Yasser Abuateek, and AlZamel Real Estate Development company Chairman of the Board of Directors, Mr. Abdul Hamid Abdullah AlZamel. Mr. AlZamel expressed his contentment and gratitude confirming that the acquisition is in line with the high aspirations of AlZamel Real Estate Development, as they are keen to provide the highest levels of Real estate services and the development of luxury residential solutions. AlZamel company will be developing supreme residential apartments for sale that are worthy of the distinctive and upscale Masar Destination.

In the meantime, Mr. Yasser Abuateek, CEO of Um Al-Qura Development and Construction, expressed the company's eagerness for the agreement with AlZamel Real Estate stressing keenness to support the hospitality sector and Masar Destination's efforts to seek development of a distinguished residential experience that meets the requirements of Makkah residents and visitors.

Masar is an urban destination with a development and investment vision that adopts the highest environmental and community sustainability standards. Masar will be a distinctive landmark that enhances the quality of life of the people of Makkah and its visitors through a diverse range of offerings and capabilities. Its integrated and diverse ecosystem that attracts investment in many vital sectors and the quality of its facilities and services, will make Makkah an attractive destination that drives long-term investments.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1866787/Umm_Al_Qura_For_Development_and_Construction_Masar_Destination.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1863084/Um_Al_Qura_For_Development_and_Construction_Masar_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Umm Al Qura For Development & Construction - Masar Destination
Revenue Up 68.5% Year-Over-Year to RMB17,756 Million

Net Profit Attributable to Owners of the Company Up 73.3% Year-Over-Year to RMB4,636 Million

Diluted Earnings Per Share (EPS) Up 62.6% Year-Over-Year to RMB1.48

Adjusted Non-IFRS Net Profit Attributable to Owners of the Company Up 75.7% Year-Over-Year to RMB4,301 Million

Adjusted Non-IFRS Diluted EPS Up 73.8% Year-Over-Year to RMB1.46[1]

SHANGHAI, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- WuXi AppTec (stock code: 603259.SH / 2359.HK), a global company that provides a broad portfolio of R&D and manufacturing services that enable companies in the pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device industries to advance discoveries and deliver groundbreaking treatments to patients, is pleased to announce its financial results for the first half of the year ending June 30, 2022 ("Reporting Period").

This release provides a summary of the results and is not intended to be a comprehensive report. For additional information, please refer to the 2022 Interim Report and other relevant announcements published on the websites of the Shanghai Stock Exchange (www.sse.com.cn) and the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (www.hkexnews.hk), and the designated media for dissemination of the relevant information. Investors are advised to exercise caution and be aware of the investment risks in trading Company shares.

All financial information disclosed in this press release is prepared based on International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), in currency of RMB.

The 2022 First-Half Report of the Company has not been audited.

[1] In the first half of 2021 and 2022, WuXi AppTec had a fully-diluted weighted average share count of 2,924,395,370 and 2,951,897,466 ordinary shares, respectively.

First-Half 2022 Financial Highlights

Revenue grew 68.5% year-over-year to RMB17,756 million. This is primarily attributable to the Company's continued focus on leveraging its unique Contract Research, Development and Manufacturing Organization (CRDMO) business model to achieve synergy and strong growth across our business segments:

WuXi Chemistry revenue grew 101.9% to RMB12,974 million and adjusted non-IFRS gross profit grew 94.3% to RMB5,314 million , with a gross profit margin of 41%.

and adjusted non-IFRS gross profit grew 94.3% to , with a gross profit margin of 41%. WuXi Testing revenue grew 23.6% to RMB2,605 million and adjusted non-IFRS gross profit grew 26.1% to RMB927 million , with a gross profit margin of 35.6%.

and adjusted non-IFRS gross profit grew 26.1% to , with a gross profit margin of 35.6%. WuXi Biology revenue grew 18.5% to RMB1,091 million and adjusted non-IFRS gross profit grew 30.7% to RMB444 million , with a gross profit margin of 40.7%.

and adjusted non-IFRS gross profit grew 30.7% to , with a gross profit margin of 40.7%. WuXi ATU revenue grew 35.7% to RMB615 million and adjusted non-IFRS gross profit was RMB(43) million , with a gross profit margin of -6.9%.

and adjusted non-IFRS gross profit was , with a gross profit margin of -6.9%. WuXi DDSU revenue declined 26.7% to RMB455 million and adjusted non-IFRS gross profit declined 52.4% to RMB140 million , with a gross profit margin of 30.7%.

Unit: RMB million

Segment Revenue Change Adjusted

Non-IFRS

Gross Profit Change Adjusted

Non-IFRS

Gross Profit

Margin WuXi Chemistry 12,974.12 101.9 % 5,313.85 94.3 % 41.0 % WuXi Testing 2,605.05 23.6 % 926.57 26.1 % 35.6 % WuXi Biology 1,090.65 18.5 % 444.11 30.7 % 40.7 % WuXi ATU 615.40 35.7 % -42.74 Note 1 -6.9 % WuXi DDSU 455.07 -26.7 % 139.63 -52.4 % 30.7 % Others 15.96 74.3 % 8.20 173.1 % 51.4 % Total 17,756.26 68.5 % 6,789.63 65.5 % 38.2 %

Note: 1. Adjusted Non-IFRS Gross Profit of WuXi ATU was RMB(42.74) million in the first half of 2022, compared

to RMB(3.41) million in the first half of 2021, decreased by RMB(39.34) million. 2. Any sum of the data above that is inconsistent with the total is due to rounding.

IFRS gross profit increased 65.5% year-over-year to RMB6,427 million . Gross profit margin was 36.2%. [2]

. Gross profit margin was 36.2%. Adjusted Non-IFRS gross profit increased 65.5% year-over-year to RMB6,790 million . Adjusted Non-IFRS gross margin was 38.2%.

. Adjusted Non-IFRS gross margin was 38.2%. EBITDA increased 64.4% year-over-year to RMB6,483 million .

. Adjusted EBITDA increased 66.6% year-over-year to RMB6,077 million .

. Net profit attributable to owners of the Company increased 73.3% year-over-year to RMB4,636 million .

. Adjusted non-IFRS net profit attributable to owners of the Company increased 75.7% year-over-year to RMB4,301 million .

. Diluted EPS increased 62.6% year-over-year to RMB1.48 , while adjusted diluted non-IFRS EPS increased by 73.8% year-over-year to RMB1.46 .

[2] If prepared under Accounting Standard for Business Enterprises of PRC, the gross profit grew 65.2% year-over-year to RMB 6,437 million. Gross profit margin was 36.3%.

First-Half 2022 Business Highlights

- In the first half of 2022, demand for our services was strong and we grew our customer base to more than 5,850 active accounts by adding over 650 new customers. We continued to optimize cross-platform synergies to better serve our customers worldwide, strengthen our unique competitive advantage as a fully integrated CRDMO (Contract Research, Development and Manufacturing Organization) and CTDMO (Contract Testing, Development and Manufacturing Organization), and provide one-stop services for our clients from discovery to development and manufacturing. Revenue growth was demonstrated across our expanding global customer base:

Revenue from US-based customers grew 104% to RMB11,909 million ; revenue from Europe -based customers grew 24% to RMB1,853 million ; revenue from China -based customers grew 27% to RMB3,175 million ; and revenue from other regions grew 15% to RMB819 million .

; revenue from -based customers grew 24% to ; revenue from -based customers grew 27% to ; and revenue from other regions grew 15% to . We continued to expand our customer base and retain existing clients. During the Reporting Period, revenue from existing clients grew 79% to RMB17,366 million and new clients contributed RMB391 million in revenue.

and new clients contributed in revenue. During the Reporting Period, revenue from the top 20 global pharmaceutical companies grew 165%, up to RMB7,856 million ; revenue generated from all other customers grew 31% to RMB9,900 million .

; revenue generated from all other customers grew 31% to . Our unique positioning across the pharmaceutical development value chain drove our "follow-the-customer" and "follow-the-molecule" strategies and enhanced synergies across our business segments. Customers using services from multiple business units contributed RMB15,744 million in revenue, growing 82% year-over-year.

- WuXi Chemistry: CRDMO integrated business model drives revenue to double



Revenue grew 101.9% to RMB12,974 million and adjusted non-IFRS gross profit grew 94.3% to RMB5,314 million , with a gross margin of 41.0%. Excluding COVID-19 commercial projects, WuXi Chemistry revenue grew 36.8%.

and adjusted non-IFRS gross profit grew 94.3% to , with a gross margin of 41.0%. Excluding COVID-19 commercial projects, WuXi Chemistry revenue grew 36.8%. Revenue from small molecule discovery services ("R") grew 36.5% to RMB3,504 million .

i. Our industry-leading small molecule drug discovery platform delivered more than 180,000 custom synthesized compounds to our clients in first half 2022. Through our small molecule discovery services, we enabled our customers to accelerate their research while generating opportunities for our downstream business units. As part of our "follow the customer" and "follow the molecule" strategies, we established trusted partnerships with our global customers, which supported the rapid and sustainable growth of our CRDMO business.

ii. We continued executing our "long-tail" strategy, and those customers continue to have strong demands for our discovery services in small molecules, oligonucleotides and peptides.

. i. Our industry-leading small molecule drug discovery platform delivered more than 180,000 custom synthesized compounds to our clients in first half 2022. Through our small molecule discovery services, we enabled our customers to accelerate their research while generating opportunities for our downstream business units. As part of our "follow the customer" and "follow the molecule" strategies, we established trusted partnerships with our global customers, which supported the rapid and sustainable growth of our CRDMO business. ii. We continued executing our "long-tail" strategy, and those customers continue to have strong demands for our discovery services in small molecules, oligonucleotides and peptides. Revenue from our small molecule development and manufacturing (D&M) service grew 145.4% to RMB9,470 million .

i. During the Reporting Period, the Company added 473 new molecules to our D&M pipeline funnel for a total of 2,010 molecules, including 43 in commercial stage, 52 in phase III, 288 in phase II and 1,627 in phase I and pre-clinical stages.

ii. D&M services for new modalities is also gaining strong momentum. During the reporting period, the number of oligonucleotide and peptide D&M clients increased 123% to 98, and the number of oligonucleotide and peptide molecules increased 63% to 142. Revenue from oligonucleotide and peptide D&M reached RMB705 million .

. i. During the Reporting Period, the Company added 473 new molecules to our D&M pipeline funnel for a total of 2,010 molecules, including 43 in commercial stage, 52 in phase III, 288 in phase II and 1,627 in phase I and pre-clinical stages. ii. D&M services for new modalities is also gaining strong momentum. During the reporting period, the number of oligonucleotide and peptide D&M clients increased 123% to 98, and the number of oligonucleotide and peptide molecules increased 63% to 142. Revenue from oligonucleotide and peptide D&M reached . Capacity expansion of WuXi Chemistry continued to accelerate in the first half of 2022 to meet demands. In June 2022 , we announced the opening of another high-potency API plant at our Changzhou site. The new plant will meet growing demand for high-potency API process R&D and manufacturing services. In July 2022 , we announced the opening of a new large-scale oligonucleotide and peptide manufacturing facility at our Changzhou campus. The new facility underscores our ongoing commitment to enhancing our capacity and capability to meet the fast-growing customer needs for oligonucleotide and peptide therapeutics development and manufacturing worldwide. In addition, we opened a continuous manufacturing (flow chemistry) plant at our Changzhou campus for large-scale API and advanced intermediate production. This new expansion marks our ongoing effort to enhance our flow chemistry platform in response to increasing customer demand for safe and sustainable pharmaceutical manufacturing.

- WuXi Testing: strong growth in lab testing services

Revenue from WuXi Testing grew 23.6% to RMB2,605 million and adjusted non-IFRS gross profit grew 26.1% to RMB927 million , with a gross margin of 35.6%.

and adjusted non-IFRS gross profit grew 26.1% to , with a gross margin of 35.6%. Revenue from lab testing services grew 34.6% year-over-year to RMB1,890 million .

i. The Company provides a full range of laboratory testing services to our customers, including DMPK (drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics), toxicology, and bioanalysis for drug development testing as well as medical device testing. We leveraged our integrated WuXi AppTec Investigational New Drug (IND) program (WIND) to generate preclinical data and prepare global regulatory submissions of IND packages, expediting the IND application process for many customers worldwide. Customers signed 72 WIND service packages with us in the first half of 2022.

ii. Drug safety evaluation services achieved strong revenue growth of 53% year-over-year. We maintained our industry-leading position in Asia for drug safety evaluation services that meet global regulatory requirements.

iii. Our largely US-based medical device testing business has turned around and grew 31% year-over-year.

. i. The Company provides a full range of laboratory testing services to our customers, including DMPK (drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics), toxicology, and bioanalysis for drug development testing as well as medical device testing. We leveraged our integrated WuXi AppTec Investigational New Drug (IND) program (WIND) to generate preclinical data and prepare global regulatory submissions of IND packages, expediting the IND application process for many customers worldwide. Customers signed 72 WIND service packages with us in the first half of 2022. ii. Drug safety evaluation services achieved strong revenue growth of 53% year-over-year. We maintained our industry-leading position in for drug safety evaluation services that meet global regulatory requirements. iii. Our largely US-based medical device testing business has turned around and grew 31% year-over-year. Revenue growth of 1.7% from clinical CRO & SMO (Site Management Organization) slowed down significantly, mainly due to Covid-19 Omicron variants outbreak in many cities in China during the second quarter of 2022.

i. For clinical CRO, the Company provided services to 170 projects, enabling our customers to obtain 10 IND approvals.

ii. For SMO, the Company continued its rapid expansion. Our SMO maintained more than 4,600 staff in around 150 cities in China , providing services in more than 1,000 hospitals. The team size increased 16% year-over-year, demonstrating strong demand for our SMO services. In the first half of 2022, SMO supported our clients for 16 new drug approvals.

- WuXi Biology: new modalities-related biology services drive growth

Revenue from WuXi Biology grew 18.5% to RMB1,091 million and adjusted non-IFRS gross profit grew 30.7% to RMB444 million , with a gross margin of 40.7%.

and adjusted non-IFRS gross profit grew 30.7% to , with a gross margin of 40.7%. The Company has the largest discovery biology enabling platform, with more than 2,500 experienced scientists who provide comprehensive biology services covering all stages and therapeutic areas of drug discovery. The Company has established 3 centers of excellence for non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), anti-viral, neuroscience & aging.

The Company has a leading DNA Encoded Library (DEL) and compound generation platform, providing services for more than 1,200 customers globally. We leverage our global network across Asia , Europe and North America , to develop and use new technologies such as OBOC ("One-Bead-One-Compound") to drive growth.

, and , to develop and use new technologies such as OBOC ("One-Bead-One-Compound") to drive growth. The Company continues to build new biology capabilities related to new modalities, including target protein degradation, nucleic acid-based and conjugated modalities, vector platform, and novel drug delivery vehicles. During the Reporting Period, WuXi Biology revenue from new modalities and large molecules grew 67%, and its revenue contribution rose to 19.0% in the first half of 2022 from 14.6% in 2021, suggesting that new modalities-related biology services have become an increasingly important growth driver.

- WuXi ATU: CTDMO business model drives growth

Revenue from WuXi ATU grew 35.7% year over year to RMB615 million and adjusted non-IFRS gross profit was RMB(43) million , with a gross margin of -6.9%. Gross profit declined largely due to under-utilized capacities of the newly built Shanghai Lingang site. With capacity utilization ramping up in the coming quarters, gross profit is expected to turn positive and improve.

and adjusted non-IFRS gross profit was , with a gross margin of -6.9%. Gross profit declined largely due to under-utilized capacities of the newly built Shanghai Lingang site. With capacity utilization ramping up in the coming quarters, gross profit is expected to turn positive and improve. During the Reporting Period, the Company focused on improving our CTDMO integrated enabling platform and strengthened testing services, capabilities, and capacities. We provided development and manufacturing services for 67 projects, including 51 pre-clinical and Phase I projects, 9 Phase II projects, and 7 Phase III projects (4 projects are in BLA preparation stage).

The Company announced the launch of Tetracycline-Enabled Self-Silencing Adenovirus (TESSA) in March 2022 . TESSA technology is a revolutionary and novel process for transfection-free, scalable manufacturing of adeno-associated virus (AAV). Process now scaled to 200L that produces more than 10 times AAV products compared to traditional plasmid-based manufacture. At the end of the first half of 2022, we had 30 TESSA evaluation projects by customers.

- WuXi DDSU: business evolving to focus on innovative drug discovery services

Revenue from WuXi DDSU declined 26.7% to RMB455 million and adjusted non-IFRS gross profit declined 52.4% to RMB140 million , with a gross margin of 30.7%. DDSU's revenue decline was mainly attributed to business evolution that aim to better serve the growing needs of clients in China for novel and innovative products, which will take longer to deliver INDs.

and adjusted non-IFRS gross profit declined 52.4% to , with a gross margin of 30.7%. DDSU's revenue decline was mainly attributed to business evolution that aim to better serve the growing needs of clients in for novel and innovative products, which will take longer to deliver INDs. During the first half of 2022, our success-based drug discovery service unit filed INDs for 9 drug candidates and obtained 19 CTAs on behalf of China -based customers. As of June 30, 2022 , we have cumulatively submitted 153 new chemical entity IND filings with the NMPA and obtained 129 CTAs, with 1 project in NDA review stage, 5 projects in Phase III clinical trials, 18 projects in Phase II clinical trials, and 77 projects in Phase I clinical trials. Upon these products' successful launch to the market by our customers, we will begin receiving royalty income.

-based customers. As of , we have cumulatively submitted 153 new chemical entity IND filings with the NMPA and obtained 129 CTAs, with 1 project in NDA review stage, 5 projects in Phase III clinical trials, 18 projects in Phase II clinical trials, and 77 projects in Phase I clinical trials. Upon these products' successful launch to the market by our customers, we will begin receiving royalty income. We are now putting our efforts towards the discovery of potential best-in-class molecules and new modalities molecules for customers. In the first half of 2022, we worked for customers on 15 pre-clinical projects in new modalities that include Peptide/Peptide-Drug-Conjugation (PDC), protein degraders and oligonucleotides. Several of these projects are expected to file an IND in late 2022 or early 2023.

Our commitment to ESG

As an innovation enabler, a trusted partner, and a contributor to the global healthcare industry, WuXi AppTec Co., Ltd. ("WuXi AppTec", or "we") is committed to environmental protection and sustainability, and to be a good global corporate citizenship.

In the first half of 2022, WuXi AppTec was recognized as a "Top Rated" ESG company by Sustainalytics, a leading ESG research, ratings and data firm. In the same assessment, WuXi AppTec was placed in the top four percent of companies in the global pharmaceutical industry with a "Low Risk" of experiencing material financial impacts due to ESG factors.

We continuously strengthen sustainability management and technologies, and actively build green chemical technology platforms such as biocatalysis, flow chemistry and direct isolation. In the first half of 2022, our energy consumption intensity, carbon emission intensity and water use intensity reduced by 18.8%, 22.5% and 23.6%, respectively, as compared to that of 2021.

Management Comment

Dr. Ge Li, Chairman and CEO of WuXi AppTec, said, "We achieved record growth in the first half of 2022. Our revenue increased 68.5% year-over-year and our adjusted Non-IFRS net profit increased 75.7% year-over-year. WuXi AppTec's performance during the first half of 2022 underscores that our unique CRDMO and CTDMO business models continue to drive rapid growth for our company and allow us to better serve customers worldwide."

"After Shanghai experienced an Omicron outbreak in the second quarter, we effectively implemented our business continuity plan and leveraged our global capacities and comprehensive capabilities to ensure the health of our employees and continue our business operations. Since June 1st, we have resumed operations of our facilities in Shanghai, and continue to meet project delivery timelines and capture new business opportunities. We have increased our revenue growth target for year end 2022 to the range of 68-72% from 65-70% year-over-year, and we are confident to deliver strong growth in 2022 and beyond."

"We have made good progress in achieving excellent results in ESG. Looking forward, we remain committed to 'doing the right thing and doing it right.' We will continue to focus on delivering our ESG commitments and ensuring that ESG remains a priority across our business operations today and in the future."

Consolidated Statement of Profit or Loss[3]



RMB Million Six Months

Ended June 30,

2022 Six Months

Ended June 30,

2021 Year-

over-Year Change Revenue 17,756.3 10,536.6 68.5 % Cost of services (11,329.4) (6,652.8) 70.3 % Gross profit 6,426.8 3,883.7 65.5 % Other income 240.5 206.1 16.7 % Other gains and losses 1,389.9 740.6 87.7 % Impairment losses under expected credit

losses ("ECL") model, net of reversal (58.8) (21.6) 171.4 % Selling and marketing expenses (355.6) (355.3) 0.1 % Administrative expenses (1,307.8) (995.3) 31.4 % Research and development expenses (657.2) (404.4) 62.5 % Operating Profit 5,677.9 3,053.8 85.9 % Share of results of associates (70.8) 217.3 -132.6 % Share of results of joint ventures 1.4 (22.3) -106.4 % Finance costs (67.6) (68.9) -1.8 % Profit before tax 5,540.9 3,179.9 74.2 % Income tax expense (865.2) (487.7) 77.4 % Profit for the period 4,675.7 2,692.2 73.7 % Profit for the period attributable to:





Owners of the Company 4,635.7 2,675.1 73.3 % Non-controlling interests 39.9 17.1 133.5 %

4,675.7 2,692.2 73.7 %

[3] If the sum of the data below is inconsistent with the total, it is caused by rounding.

Consolidated Statement of Profit or Loss (continued)[4]



Six Months

Ended June 30,

2022 Six Months

Ended June 30,

2021 Year-over-

Year Change







Weighted average number of ordinary

shares for calculating EPS (express in

shares)





 Basic 2,922,374,327 2,903,298,268 0.7 %  Diluted 2,951,897,466 2,924,395,370 0.9 %







Earnings per share attributable to

ordinary shareholders of the Company

(expressed in RMB per share)





 Basic 1.59 0.92 72.8 %  Diluted 1.48 0.91 62.6 %

[4] If the sum of the data below is inconsistent with the total, it is caused by rounding.

Consolidated Statement of Financial Position[5]



RMB Million June 30, December 31,

2022 2021





Non-current Assets



Property, plant and equipment 20,064.1 15,848.7 Right of use assets 1,789.1 1,779.5 Goodwill 1,919.2 1,925.6 Other intangible assets 872.1 889.8 Interest in associates 1,078.1 619.4 Interest in joint ventures 61.6 58.9 Deferred tax assets 474.3 389.8 Financial assets at fair value through profit or

loss ("FVTPL") 9,344.3 8,714.1 Other non-current assets 1,675.6 2,182.4 Biological assets 956.9 733.5

38,235.3 33,141.7





Current Assets



Inventories 5,752.1 4,554.6 Contract costs 583.2 594.9 Biological assets 947.2 755.5 Amounts due from related parties 71.8 343.3 Trade and other receivables 7,767.1 5,968.5 Contract assets 862.7 773.4 Income tax recoverable 0.2 0.2 Financial assets at FVTPL 40.6 527.3 Derivative financial instruments 13.2 229.1 Pledged bank deposits 0.4 63.4 Bank Balances and Cash 7,094.2 8,175.3 Other current assets 545.4 -

23,678.2 21,985.6





Total Assets 61,913.5 55,127.4

[5] If the sum of the data below is inconsistent with the total, it is caused by rounding.

Consolidated Statement of Financial Position (continued)[6]



RMB Million June 30, 2022 December 31, 2021





Current Liabilities



Trade and other payables 8,527.2 6,856.0 Amounts due to related parties 13.3 21.4 Derivative financial instruments 467.6 3.7 Contract liabilities 3,231.1 2,986.4 Borrowings 2,870.9 2,261.5 Income tax payables 665.2 459.3 Lease liabilities 248.1 220.2 Other current liabilities 180.1 176.2

16,203.5 12,984.6





Non-current Liabilities



Deferred tax liabilities 399.6 324.1 Deferred income 873.9 770.6 Lease liabilities 987.6 1,019.0 Convertible bonds-debt component 646.8 607.1 Convertible bonds-embedded derivative

component 408.6 657.3 Other long-term liabilities 0.1 7.2

3,316.7 3,385.3





Total Liabilities 19,520.1 16,369.9





Net Assets 42,393.3 38,757.5





Capital and Reserves



Share capital 2,956.8 2,955.8 Reserves 39,123.6 35,535.7 Equity attributable to owners of the Company 42,080.4 38,491.5 Non-controlling interests 312.9 266.0 Total Equity 42,393.3 38,757.5

[6] If the sum of the data below is inconsistent with the total, it is caused by rounding.

Reconciliation of Non-IFRS and Adjusted Non-IFRS Net Profit Attributable to the

Owners of the Company[7]



RMB Million Six Months Ended June 30, 2022 Six Months Ended June 30, 2021 Profit Attributable to the owners of the Company 4,635.7 2,675.1 Add:



Share-based compensation expenses 360.0 310.6 Issuance expenses of convertible bonds 0.9 1.8 Fair value (gains)/losses from derivative component of convertible bonds (274.5) 1,493.3 Foreign exchange related (gains)/losses (158.5) 66.8 Amortization acquired intangible assets from merge and acquisition 28.7 26.2 Non-IFRS Net Profit Attributable the owners of the Company 4,592.2 4,573.8 Add:



Realized and unrealized gains from

venture capital investments (290.1) (2,148.2) Realized and unrealized share of (gains)/ losses from joint ventures (1.4) 22.3 Adjusted non-IFRS net profit attributable to the owners of the Company 4,300.7 2,447.9

[7] If the sum of the data below is inconsistent with the total, it is caused by rounding.

EBITDA[8]



RMB Million Six Months

Ended June 30,

2022 Six Months

Ended June 30,

2021





Profit before tax 5,540.9 3,179.9 Add:



Interest expense 66.5 68.9 Depreciation and amortization 875.8 693.6 EBITDA 6,483.1 3,942.4 EBITDA margin 36.5 % 37.4 % Add:



Share-based compensation expenses 430.9 375.0 Issuance expenses of convertible bonds 1.1 2.4 Fair value (gains)/losses from derivative component of convertible bonds (274.5) 1,493.3 Foreign exchange related (gains)/losses (206.6) 79.0 Realized and unrealized gains from venture capital investments (355.1) (2,266.0) Realized and unrealized share of (gains)/losses from joint ventures (1.4) 22.3 Adjusted EBITDA 6,077.5 3,648.5 Adjusted EBITDA margin 34.2 % 34.6 %

[8] If the sum of the data below is inconsistent with the total, it is caused by rounding.

About WuXi AppTec

As a global company with operations across Asia, Europe, and North America, WuXi AppTec provides a broad portfolio of R&D and manufacturing services that enable the global pharmaceutical and healthcare industry to advance discoveries and deliver groundbreaking treatments to patients. Through its unique business models, WuXi AppTec's integrated, end-to-end services include chemistry drug CRDMO (Contract Research, Development and Manufacturing Organization), biology discovery, preclinical testing and clinical research services, cell and gene therapies CTDMO (Contract Testing, Development and Manufacturing Organization), helping customers improve the productivity of advancing healthcare products through cost-effective and efficient solutions. WuXi AppTec received an AA ESG rating from MSCI in 2022 and its open-access platform is enabling more than 5,850 collaborators from over 30 countries to improve the health of those in need  and to realize the vision that "every drug can be made and every disease can be treated." Please visit: http://www.wuxiapptec.com

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain certain "forward-looking statements" which are not historical facts, but instead are predictions about future events based on our beliefs as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to our management. Although we believe that our predictions are reasonable, future events are inherently uncertain and our forward-looking statements may turn out to be incorrect. Our forward-looking statements are subject to risks relating to, among other things, the ability of our service offerings to compete effectively, our ability to meet timelines for the expansion of our service offerings, our ability to protect our clients' intellectual property, unforeseeable international tension, competition, the impact of emergencies and other force majeure. Our forward-looking statements in this press release speak only as of the date on which they are made, and we assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statements except as required by applicable law or listing rules. Accordingly, you are strongly cautioned that reliance on any forward-looking statements involves known and unknown risks and uncertainties. All forward-looking statements contained herein are qualified by reference to the cautionary statements set forth in this section. All information provided in this press release is as of the date of this press release and are based on assumptions that we believe to be reasonable as of this date, and we do not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as required under applicable law.

Use of Non-IFRS and Adjusted Non-IFRS Financial Measures

We provide non-IFRS gross profit, exclude the impact in revenue and cost from effective hedge accounting, share-based compensation expenses and amortization of intangible assets acquired in business combinations, and non-IFRS net profit attributable to owners of the Company, which exclude share-based compensation expenses, issuance expenses of convertible bonds, fair value gain or loss from derivative component of convertible bonds, foreign exchange-related gains or losses, amortization of intangible assets acquired in business combinations and goodwill impairment. We also provide adjusted non-IFRS net profit attributable to owners of the Company and earnings per share, which further exclude realized and unrealized gains or losses from our venture capital investments and joint ventures. Neither is required by, or presented in accordance with IFRS.

We believe that the adjusted financial measures used in this press release are useful for understanding and assessing our core business performance and operating trends, and we believe that management and investors may benefit from referring to these adjusted financial measures in assessing our financial performance by eliminating the impact of certain unusual, non-recurring, non-cash and non-operating items that we do not consider indicative of the performance of our core business. Such adjusted non-IFRS net profit attributable to owners of the Company, the management of the Company believes, is widely accepted and adopted in the industry the Company is operating in. However, the presentation of these adjusted non-IFRS financial measures is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with IFRS. You should not view adjusted results on a stand-alone basis or as a substitute for results under IFRS, or as being comparable to results reported or forecasted by other companies.

SOURCE WuXi AppTec
NEW YORK, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Wells Fargo Advisors today announced an expansion in the New York Madison Avenue branch with the addition of Yakub Mathew. Mathew will serve as Managing Director  Investments for the New York City office, which now includes 34 financial advisors in the New York City Area. Mathew has more than 34 years of wealth management experience and will focus on building and managing the investment business, strengthening client relationships and growing services for Ultra High Net Worth clients, focusing on the South-Asian market segment.

Yakub Mathew Joins Wells Fargo Advisors

Prior to joining Wells Fargo Advisors, he served as a Managing Director and Global India Head, USA at Citi Private Bank for 12 years. Mathew also served as National Head of South Asian Banking at HSBC for 8 years.

Yakub graduated from St. Stephens College, Delhi, India with a B.A. (Honors) Degree in Economics and a Masters in Economics. He also holds an MBA from the Asian Institute of Management, Manila.

Wells Fargo Advisors' Madison Avenue office is located at 535 Madison Avenue.

About Wells Fargo Advisors

With $1.88 trillion in client assets as of March 31, 2022, Wells Fargo Advisors provides advice and guidance to help clients maximize all aspects of their financial lives. Our vast network of financial advisors, one of the nation's largest, serves investors through locations in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Wells Fargo Advisors is a part of Wells Fargo Wealth & Investment Management (WIM), a division within Wells Fargo & Company and one of the largest wealth managers in the U.S. WIM provides financial products and services through various bank and brokerage affiliates of Wells Fargo & Company. Wells Fargo Advisors is a trade name used by Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC and Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network, LLC, Members SIPC, separate registered broker-dealers and non-bank affiliates of Wells Fargo & Company. All data includes Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC and Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network, LLC, as of March 31, 2022. www.wellsfargoadvisors.com

Investment and Insurance Products are:

Not Insured by the FDIC or Any Federal Government Agency

Not a Deposit or Other Obligation of, or Guaranteed by, the Bank or Any Bank Affiliate

Subject to Investment Risks, Including Possible Loss of the Principal Amount Invested

About Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a leading financial services company that has approximately $1.9 trillion in assets, proudly serves one in three U.S. households and more than 10% of small businesses in the U.S., and is the leading middle market banking provider in the U.S. We provide a diversified set of banking, investment and mortgage products and services, as well as consumer and commercial finance, through our four reportable operating segments: Consumer Banking and Lending, Commercial Banking, Corporate and Investment Banking, and Wealth & Investment Management. Wells

Fargo ranked No. 37 on Fortune's 2021 rankings of America's largest corporations. In the communities we serve, the company focuses its social impact on building a sustainable, inclusive future for all by supporting housing affordability, small business growth, financial health, and a low-carbon economy. News, insights, and perspectives from Wells Fargo are also available at Wells Fargo Stories.

Additional information may be found at www.wellsfargo.com | Twitter: @WellsFargo

Investment products and services are offered through Wells Fargo Advisors, a trade name used by Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC, Member SIPC, a registered broker-dealer and non-bank affiliate of Wells Fargo & Company.

Wells Fargo Advisors associates referenced, when registered, are registered with Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC.

2022 Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC. All rights reserved. CAR- 0722-02474

Contact Information

Caryl Ann Caristo

Wells Fargo Advisors

[email protected]

SOURCE Wells Fargo Advisors
Cookie Policy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping us understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful. See our Cookie Policy for more information.
Canadian Overseas Petroleum Limited (LSE:COPL, CSE:XOP) told investors its acquisition of further oil-producing assets in Wyoming is expected to close today.

Picking up Cuda Energy, which is partnered with COPL in assets, will see the companys interests in three projects rise to between 85% and 100% - and the deal is expected to significantly increase operating cash flow as it adds unhedged production volumes.

COPLs proved and probable reserves increases by 47% to 38.2mln barrels, whilst the companys net asset value improves to US$380mln from US$258mln

In addition, the bolstered asset base results in a weightier borrowing base in the American subsidiarys asset-backed lending facilities.

"I am delighted we have finally completed this acquisition, Arthur Millholland, COPL chief executive, said in a statement.

The market continues to misunderstand the full potential of our Wyoming assets. In my near forty years within the oil industry, I have seldom come across assets with such prolific oil and gas potential.

We now have full ownership which we have secured when the assets are at an early stage in development with everything to play for. With the financing arrangements we also now have in place we look to the future with confidence."

COPL is paying US$19.15mln of cash consideration for the acquisition, along with assuming liabilities estimated to be around US$1.6mln.

It is supported by the convertible bond issue announced last week as well as a planned reserves-based lending financing.

Following the acquisition, COPL sees itself ramping up activity on the ground across its American assets.

The company highlighted that its American deals have been transformative  it now holds majority interests in some 48,000 contiguous acres of leasehold which host more than 40 years of reserves life.

Since the original Atomic Oil & Gas acquisition, in 2021, the company has increased the assets production volumes to around 1,600 bpd (restricted presently by facility constraints) from 1,000 bpd. It expects to further unlock production volumes through well optimization, staged facility upgrades, and new well drilling.

The company, meanwhile, today noted that it expects consultant Ryder Scott to next week report its new resource assessment for a major discovery, announced last year.
BlackEarth Minerals NL (ASX:BEM) expects to increase the proposed mine life of Maniry Graphite Project in Southern Madagascar thanks to a 63% increase in the total mineral resource, which now stands at 37.6 million tonnes at 6.4% total graphite content (TGC), with shares trading higher.

This increase was achieved with an upgrade to the inferred and indicated resource at Razafy prospect, which now holds 25.7 million tonnes at 6.2% TGC.

The Razafy prospect remains open along strike and down dip, offering the potential to add further tonnes to the overall inventory of defined graphite resources  currently some 2.4 million tonnes of contained graphite.

Project holds exceptional potential

The success at Maniry of discovering and continual upgrading the mineral resources at Maniry is testament to the exceptional potential that exists at the project, BlackEarth Minerals managing director Tom Revy said.

This updated and expanded mineral resource will be incorporated into the current Maniry definitive feasibility study (DFS) and has the potential to significantly increase the proposed mine life for Maniry.

Work continues on the Razafy Northwest area with an updated mineral resource expected ahead of the completion of the Maniry DFS. All assays from recent drilling in the area have now been received.

Shares higher

Securities have been as much as 20.75% higher intra-day to $0.099 and have climbed from $0.065 at the market close on June 23.

BlackEarth Minerals is a vertically integrated graphite developer with advanced mining projects in Madagascar and several base metal prospects in Western Australia.

The company holds the flagship Maniry Graphite Project which is in Southern Madagascar, with a bankable feasibility study (BFS) underway and a focus on products which are in high demand.

BlackEarth is reviewing several downstream value-added graphite processing opportunities.
SensOre Ltd (ASX:S3N) has demonstrated the effectiveness of its Discriminant Predictive Targeting (DPT) technology with the discovery of a basement gold mineralised system at Yilgarn Exploration Ventures (YEV) North Darlot property in Western Australias Goldfields.

YEV is part-owned by SensOre (60%) and Gold Road (40%), which recently acquired S3Ns joint venture (JV) partner DGO Gold.

SensOres DPT workflow platform is designed to create geological data cubes for prospective mineral regions. The technology is capable of defining discrete exploration targets within cover sequences and in basement contacts below non-mineralised rock cover.

In June this year, S3N used this AI-based DPT technology to predict the presence of two mineralised gold corridors at North Darlot.

Read: SensOre's proprietary AI technology pinpoints two gold corridors at North Darlot

The gold finds have since been backed up with a round of aircore drilling and now by further reverse circulation (RC) drilling, which returned results including:

7 metres at 1.11 g/t gold from 52 metres, including 1-metre at 5.13 g/t and 14 metres at 0.63 g/t from 68 metres within a broad lower grade intercept of 30 metres at 0.56 g/t from 52 metres; and

11 metres at 0.41 g/t from 58 metres and 10 metres at 0.55 g/t from 88 metres within a broad lower grade intercept of 45 metres at 0.27 g/t from 53 metres



Another successful gold discovery

The drill results indicate we are on to another gold mineral system by utilising our technology, SensOre CEO Richard Taylor said.

The results suggest an east dip of the mineralised zone, away from the boundary and into our tenement, highlighting the potential of the western part of the tenement.

SensOre highlights that these results underscore the untested potential of the west end of the project (Journey Prospect) which hosts 5 kilometres of potential strike.

The company now intends to complete a follow-up RC and diamond drilling program, to further define and explore the potential of the project and its technology.
Scout RC drilling of hole KERC001 within an abandoned quarry at Kensington prospect.

Flynn Gold Ltd (ASX:FG1) has begun exploring the kilometre-scale potential of the gold mineralisation system at the Golden Ridge Project in northeast Tasmania with a reverse circulation (RC) drilling program, designed to test the Kensington, Blinding and Link Zone prospects.

The program will involve 10 shallow holes and 1,350 metres of scout drilling, the first to be conducted outside the Brilliant and Trafalgar prospects at Golden Ridge.

Simplified geology plan and compiled reconnaissance rock and stream sediment geochemistry, Gold Ridge Project.

Data from exploration will be very valuable

We are excited to commence our shallow RC drilling program at Kensington which will represent the first-ever drilling at the prospect and the first drilling outside the Brilliant and Trafalgar prospects, Flynn Gold executive director Sam Garrett said.

This work is being carried out in conjunction with the ongoing diamond drilling program at Trafalgar.

The geological and geochemical information gained will be very valuable to our ongoing exploration efforts at Golden Ridge.

Flynn now has three active drilling programs in operation in northeast Tasmania and we look forward to updating investors on progress and results.

Once the scout drilling program at the Kensington, Blinding and Link Zone prospects is complete, Flynn plans to test shallow targets at the Brilliant and Trafalgar prospects with the RC rig.

FG1 is also exploring two zinc-silver tenements on Tasmanias mineral-rich west coast. The company holds additional gold assets in the Pilbara and Yilgarn regions of Western Australia.
Dart Mining NL (ASX:DTM) has entered into an earn-in agreement for the Dorchap Lithium Project in northeast Victoria with Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile, via its wholly-owned subsidiary SQM Australia Pty Ltd.

On June 23, Dart Mining announced encouraging drilling results for the project, which includes 10 metres at 14.5% spodumene, the primary ore mineral mined globally for hard-rock lithium deposits.

Mineralogical analyses have determined that spodumene is the primary lithium mineral in the lithium-caesium-tantalum (LCT) pegmatite dykes of the Dorchap Range.

Global lithium partner

SQM is a world-leading lithium miner and producer with commercial offices in 20 countries and customers in more than 110 countries. It is involved in a 50/50 joint venture at the Mt Holland Lithium Project in Western Australia, partnering with Wesfarmers.

Dart Mining has given SQM the obligation-free right to sole-fund exploration expenditure of A$12 million over the next six years.

During the first earn-in period, SQM may earn an initial 30% interest in the Dorchap Lithium Project by sole-funding exploration expenditure of A$3 million for the next three years.

Subject to meeting its initial funding obligations, and during the second and third earn-in periods, SQM may elect to sole fund exploration expenditure of a further A$9 million in aggregate over two further periods totalling three years to earn a further 40% interest in the project.

SQM may, at any time after it has earned an initial 30% interest in the project, elect to enter into a joint venture agreement with Dart Mining  and cease earning a further interest  on terms to be agreed. If that occurs, each party will be liable to fund their expenditure commitments in proportion to their percentage interests in the project.

Dart Mining will be the initial manager of the project during the earn-in phase.

World-class technical and operational expertise

Dart Mining is delighted to be partnering with SQM on the further exploration of its Dorchap Lithium project. The collaboration with SQM brings world-class technical and operational expertise to a very worthy exploration target," said Dart Mining chairman James Chirnside.

Dart Mining was the first exploration company to discover lithium on the East Coast of Australia in 2016. Through Darts persistence and early exploration efforts, the project is finally getting the recognition it deserves.

We have a clear pathway for project exploration through to the next stage, and our partnership with SQM will ensure that we are able to both attain that objective and enhance our knowledge and understanding of the project within an accelerated timeframe.

SQM executive VP for lithium Carlos Diaz said: We are looking forward to this new endeavour with Dart to find and potentially develop the first lithium project in Victoria.

We believe that the combination of both partners strengths and expertise will factor in the success of this partnership.
Havilah Resources Ltd (ASX:HAV) has progressed an agreement with OZ Minerals Ltd and OZ Exploration Pty Ltd by executing definition transaction documents for the grant of an option to acquire the Kalkaroo Copper-Gold Project and to explore for copper in Havilah's prospective tenement holding in the Curnamona Province of northeast South Australia.

The company entered into a conditional binding terms sheet on May 17, 2022, a move that was met with great enthusiasm by shareholders, which raised HAVs share price some 165% intraday to a high of more than five years.

Execution of the transaction documents satisfies one of the conditions precedent necessary for the proposed transaction as per the terms sheet.

Alliance provides funding and expertise

Funding provided under the strategic alliance would allow us to accelerate exploration for new copper deposits in the region that could potentially be additive to Kalkaroo, as well as advancing our other promising mineral projects south of the Barrier Highway, Havilah Resources technical director Dr Chris Giles said in an earlier release on the deal.

We see the proposed transaction as the first important step in our strategy of realising the value of Havilahs multi-commodity minerals portfolio by either production, sale or farm-out with suitable well-funded partners, as stated in the letter from the Board of Directors in the 2021 Annual Report.

Read: Havilah Resources soars on new OZ Minerals alliance including Kalkaroo Copper-Gold Project option

Havilah has now moved to hold a general meeting of shareholders to approve the proposed transaction on Wednesday, August 31, 2022.

The notice of meeting documents, including a full copy of the independent experts report prepared by BDO Corporate Finance (SA) Pty Ltd and a summary of the material terms of the transaction documents, will be provided to Havilah shareholders later this week.
Atlantic Lithium Limited (AIM:ALL, OTCQX:ALLIF)'s interim chief executive Len Kolff joins Proactives Andrew Scott over the air to discuss more broad, high-grade lithium results from its flagship Ewoyaa Lithium Project in Ghana, West Africa. Drilling at the project returned results up to 46 metres at 1.21% lithium oxide, which are solid grades and tenor for a hard rock lithium deposit, all originating from outside the current mineral resource estimate boundary. Apart from the potential to add materially to the projects resource, these new drilling results also extend the mineralised system some 75 metres down-dip at the main deposit, offering further opportunity for new discoveries in step-out drilling. Atlantic still has 28,000 metres of drilling to complete and assay, and expects to receive more high-grade results based on visual observations in collected core samples.The company is also advancing a pre-feasibility study for delivery this quarter, which will not include these latest drilling results, and is seeking a dual ASX-listing in the near future.
Montem CEO Peter Doyle and Piikani COO Corbin Provost sign the agreement, witnessed by Albertas Minister of Indigenous Relations Rick Wilson and Minister of Environment and Parks Whitney Issik.

Montem Resources Ltd (ASX:MR1) is buoyed by positive pre-feasibility studies (PFS) for two elements of the Tent Mountain Renewable Energy Complex (TM-REX) in Alberta, Canada, that confirm it as an important renewable energy project with robust economics.

The company says the studies for the Pumped Hydro Energy Storage (PHES) and Green Hydrogen Electrolyser elements show the project is outstanding and the economics are compelling.

Pre-feasibility engineering and design, cost estimates and project economics for the PHES element have been completed by Hatch Engineering while a business case analysis has been carried out by GHD for the Green Hydrogen Electrolyser element.

Adding to Montems confidence in the TM-REX future has been the signing of a framework agreement with the Piikani Nation with Tent Mountain lying within the Piikanis traditional territory.

Our conviction yielding results

Montems CEO Peter Doyle said: Following a period of sustained activity, we are excited to complete the PFS and have confirmed the TM-REX as an important energy infrastructure project.

Our conviction to explore an alternate development pathway to the coal mine at Tent Mountain is yielding results.

We now have a viable alternate investment at Tent Mountain, with the potential for strong returns, and importantly, a social licence to pursue this investment.

We continue to receive support for TM-REX from Indigenous and local communities, and the provincial government. We are working with the Piikani Nation on advancing this important infrastructure project for southern Alberta.

We have an exciting phase of work ahead at Tent Mountain and we are well underway in advancing commercial aspects to find a strategic partner to work with us to develop the TM-REX.

Leveraging existing assets

The proposed Tent Mountain PHES will leverage Montems existing assets at Tent Mountain, including a large water reservoir on Montems freehold land, which was left behind from historical mining operations.

TM-PHES design and layout positioned on current landscape, of the historical Tent Mountain Mine, on freehold land owned by Montem.

The site, in the Crowsnest Pass, Alberta, is close to important infrastructure including high voltage power lines and interprovincial Highway 3.

Montem has completed its initial investigations into the potential transition of the Tent Mountain Mine into a renewable energy complex.

Strong economics

It says the results of the PFS are compelling, identifying no fatal flaws and strong economics.

Together, the Tent Mountain PHES (TM-PHES) and Green Hydrogen Electrolyser have the potential to provide strong returns for shareholders and to create value for Alberta.

The TM-REX development concept includes three primary elements:

320 MW/2,560 MWh Pumped Hydro Energy Storage;

100 MW Green Hydrogen Electrolyser; and

100 MW Wind Farm (offsite).

The PFS by Hatch details the TM-PHES development concept for an 80+ year project life with a 320 MW installed capacity, 2,560 MWh storage capacity allowing for eight hours of continuous generation.

Proposal to lift reservoir size

It determined that based on the current data, there are no geotechnical fatal flaws in developing the TM-PHES and recommends that optimization work be completed to investigate increasing the size of the TM-PHES upper reservoir.

This could be done with potentially low capital cost and would have the potential to almost double the energy storage capacity to 4,955 MWh, providing continuous generation for 15 hours.

Hatch estimates an additional direct capital cost of approximately C$35 million will be required to increase the upper reservoir storage capacity.

Tent Mountain Mine Pit 4 which will be repurposed as the TM-PHES upper reservoir.

The PFS also identified nearby interconnection options for both the 500 kV and 240 kV transmission line to connect the TM-PHES to the Alberta power grid, and the relevant applications for connection are lodged.

Montem says results of the PFS returned compelling capital cost estimates for the TM-PHES that support attractive base case economics, with material upside for project economics in an evaluated 'Net Zero Electricity' market scenario.

Favourable comparison

The TM-PHES compares favourably to similar PHES projects in North America and to the Kidston PHES project in Queensland, Australia.

Primary reasons for the TM-PHES cost competitiveness are due to the 300-metre head between the upper and lower reservoirs and the ability to leverage Montems existing assets at Tent Mountain, including the large water reservoir on Montems freehold land.

TM-PHES also benefits from its proximity to the Alberta power grid, which significantly reduces the capital cost, permitting requirements, and environmental footprint typical of large-scale energy projects.

The next stage of project engineering will be to complete additional geotechnical work in order to provide site-specific geotechnical conditions for each of the major PHES civil structures. Following the geotechnical work, Montem will complete the front-end engineering design (FEED) work.

Green Hydrogen Electrolyser

The GHD study for the Green Hydrogen Electrolyser identified the optimum business case which includes co-location of the electrolyser facility 'behind the meter' with a renewable energy source, such as an offsite wind farm.

Subject to further evaluation, the Tent Mountain Green Hydrogen Electrolyser has the potential to meet growing global hydrogen demand. The project could be scalable, starting with a 10 MW pilot plant before expanding to a 100 MW facility.

In conjunction with GHD, Montem continues to explore potential customers for the green hydrogen produced at TM-REX, aiming to leverage nearby key infrastructure and major transportation industries.

Piikani Nation agreement

Tent Mountain is in the traditional territory of the Piikani Nation, with Piikanis reserve lands in the heart of southern Albertas wind power generating region.

Signing of the agreement with the Piikani was witnessed by Alberta Minister of Indigenous Relations Rick Wilson and Alberta Minister of Environment and Parks Whitney Issik.

The agreement creates a framework for cooperation in relation to review of the development concept of the PHES. Under the agreement:

The parties agree to work together to implement a negotiation process.

To work together to jointly develop an engagement strategy with relevant stakeholders.

Montem commits to provide regular updates on the PHEs, including its potential impacts, benefits and economic opportunities.

The parties nominate the primary representatives of each party.

Montem agrees to reimburse certain costs of Piikani.

A major milestone

Peter Doyle said: The signing of an agreement with the Piikani Nation is a major milestone for Montem.

"We are excited by the opportunity to develop a meaningful partnership with the Nation that will deliver mutual benefits. Piikani will add value to our developments within the Piikani Traditional Territory.

"For Montem it represents our first significant agreement with an Indigenous group, and we couldn't be more pleased than to have an agreement with the Piikani Nation.
Insolvent crypto lender Voyager Digital (CSE:VYGR, OTCQX:VYGVF) has slapped down a buyout offer by Sam Bankman-Frieds venture fund Alameda Research, court documents reveal.

The offer, forwarded to Voyagers lawyers on Friday July 22, proposed a purchase of all remaining digital assets and digital asset loans held by Voyager excluding those owed by Three Arrows Capital.

Under the rejected deal, customers would have been given immediate access to 75% of their withheld assets under a voluntary basis, while also retaining a claim to future assets recovered from Voyagers primary creditor Three Arrows Capital.

Lawyers at Kirkland & Ellis said: Voyager will entertain any serious proposal It seems clear, however, that AlamedaFTXs proposal, which was made in contravention of the proposed bidding procedures, was designed to generate publicity for itself rather than value for Voyagers customers.

Voyagers counsel accused the deal of being harmful to customers, calling it a low-ball bid dressed up as a white knight rescue.

In retaliation, Bankman-Fried criticised Voyager for failing to return customers' funds, despite estimating that 75% still remains with the company.

According to Bankman-Fried, a prolonged bankruptcy process could see Voyager's consultants slowly draining the remaining funds by charging fees every month the bankruptcy process dragged on.

1) Voyager lost customer assets, but it still has the majority left.



Why haven't those been returned to customers yet?



Sad facts from a bankruptcy process.  SBF (@SBF_FTX) July 25, 2022

Alameda Research has its own US$75mln stake in Voyagers bankruptcy, which Bankman-Fried conceded could be lost under the bailout proposal.

Voyager Digital was one of the worst hit in the recent bout of bankruptcies that has plagued the crypto sector.

Ther Toronto-listed crypto lender filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in early July before the New York courts.
Bitcoin fell 3.5% to US$21,150 in Tuesdays early-morning trade, stemming hopes of a sustained recovery on the crypto markets.

Ethereum suffered greater losses with a 6.45% decline, pulling the coin back below the US$1,500 support line.

Global market capitalisation was unable to hold onto the key US$1tln price barrier, dropping 3.73% to US$971.1bln.

Its been a bearish morning for network tokens, with Binances BNB coin, Cardano, Solano, Polygon and Avalanche all shedding between 4% and 10%.

Decentralised finance took a 4.43% hit in total locked volumes, with Curve and Convex Finance being among the biggest double-digit losers.

The large-cap play-to-earn (P2E) segment continued to lose ground; Decentralands MANA token fell by 5%, The Sandbox by 7% and Axie Infinity by over 8%.

In the news

Centralised exchange Coinbase is facing a Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) probe into the listing of unregistered securities, according to a Bloomberg report.

The news follows a complaint filed last week by the crypto-sceptic regulator (which has often classified digital assets as securities) that cited nine digital assets as securities, although a similar lawsuit into Ripples XRP token has so far been unsuccessful.

The most hated man in America Martin Shkreli is back in business two months after serving seven years behind bars for securities fraud.

The so-called pharma bro, who infamously price gauged the pharmaceuticals industry, announced a tokenised, blockchain-based medical technology project in an interview with popular newsletter Milk Road.
Royal Helium anticipates receiving the first credits during the current quarter, with the remainder to come as the project continues to advance

Royal Helium Ltd (TSX-V:RHC, OTCQB:RHCCF) said the Climax/Nazare project has received approval from the Minister of Energy and Resources of the Government of Saskatchewan and the Saskatchewan Petroleum Innovation Incentive (SPII) program.

Under the terms of the approval, Royal Helium can receive up to $4,227,185 in royalty tax credits based on eligible project costs incurred to date at Nazare.

"We are extremely pleased with the agility the Saskatchewan government has shown in quickly implementing their new Helium Action Plan and how quickly they have been able to process and approve our first submission, Andrew Davidson, Royal Helium president and CEO said in a statement.

An obvious benefit to Royal now and going forward, this program provides Saskatchewan operators with a significant cost advantage over most jurisdictions in North America. All proceeds received or royalties saved by Royal as a result of this program will be re-invested into the continued expansion of our helium production plans in Saskatchewan," he added.

Additional royalty tax credits will be applied for on an ongoing basis for eligible costs associated with expenditures such as the upcoming horizontal wells drilled into Nazare, construction of processing facilities, and all other applicable programs into the future, the company said.

Royal Helium anticipates receiving the first credits during the current quarter, with the remainder to come as the project continues to advance. The royalty tax credits are readily transferable and salable within the province. Any transfers and/or sales will be reported in the company's quarterly financial statements.

Royal Helium controls over 1,000,000 acres of prospective helium land in southern Saskatchewan and southeastern Alberta.

Contact the author at jon.hopkins@proactiveinvestors.com
TraceSafe said that increasingly larger event and sporting federations have recognized the importance of organizing carbon neutral events and have made commitments in this direction

TraceSafe Technologies Inc has announced the launch of a unique, free-to-use carbon emissions calculator for the global events industry as the world races to fight climate change.

It comes after the IoT solutions firm recently acquired the carbon offset marketplace Offsety.

The company said the tool will aid event organizers, venue owners and sport federations and provide unique insights into key sources of emissions, including the impact of individual teams and attendees.

"The race to net zero is on and it is only a matter of time when commitments to carbon-neutral events will be non-negotiable," Wayne Lloyd, the CEO of TraceSafe, told investors in a statement. "It can be an overwhelming experience if you are a small to mid-size organization trying to reduce your event's carbon footprint".

"Our experience with some of the largest sporting federations, hospitality and event organizers has uniquely positioned us to create this tool for anyone looking to get started on their journey toward carbon neutral events. We are excited to offer this tool as part of our long-term strategy to support all areas of decarbonization for companies of all scales. From measurement to mitigation to offset and reporting, we will be a one-stop solution for the sustainable businesses of the future," the TraceSafe CEO added.

The company noted that the calculator was available free of cost on tracesafe.io/calculator. After calculating the carbon footprint of an event, organizers can offset their emissions by investing in TraceSafe's curated high-quality offset projects across the world, it added.

TraceSafe said that increasingly larger event and sporting federations have recognized the importance of organizing carbon-neutral events and have made commitments in this direction, including the NHL, FIFA, Formula 1, and International Olympics Committee.

It noted that the Paris 2024 Olympics has an ambitious target, namely to become the "greenest" games ever.

"However, the first step to low or no carbon events is an accurate measurement of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions. TraceSafe's tool has been designed to get this data in the simplest and fastest way possible, to get organizations on the journey to net zero," said the company.

Contact the writer at giles@proactiveinvestors.com
Fireweed said three drills will focus on the Boundary and Boundary West zones, with the fourth targeting the Tom and Jason zones

Fireweed Metals Corp (TSX-V:FWZ, OTCQB:FWEDF), formerly known as Fireweed Zinc Ltd, announced that the 2022 diamond drilling program has begun at its Macmillan Pass zinc-lead-silver project in Canadas Yukon Territory, which involves the use of four drills.

The mineral exploration company said three drills will focus on the Boundary and Boundary West zones, with the fourth targeting the Tom and Jason zones.

After a delayed start-up mainly due to a late spring, drilling has begun, Fireweed Metals CEO Brandon Macdonald said in a statement.

Even with the late start, we anticipate drilling over 7,000 metres this summer to make it the largest drill program Fireweed has ever carried out at the project, Macdonald added.

Fireweed noted that the Boundary zones are open in every direction, and the 2022 program has been designed to test step-outs around the peripheries of Boundary and Boundary West, in addition to testing a potential connection between the two zones.

It added that the step-outs will include testing potential down-dip continuation of the recently discovered high-grade stratiform mineralization at Boundary West, and testing for additional massive sulphide mineralization in the near-surface.

Drilling at the Tom West, Tom North, Jason, and Jason South subzones, meanwhile, will target select extensions and other parts of these four large zinc-lead-silver deposits, with the potential to increase zinc, lead, and silver grades in these areas by drilling modern larger diameter holes, according to the company.

As well, Fireweed Metals reported that by the end of the 2022 campaign, it will have four seasons of additional drill data to inform new mineral resources for the project, including an inaugural resource for the Boundary, Boundary West, End Zone, and Tom North zones, and an updated resource for Tom West, Tom East, Tom Southeast, Jason and Jason South subzones.

Fireweeds Metals is a mineral exploration company on the leading edge of critical minerals project development with three projects located in northern Canada.

Contact Sean at sean@proactiveinvestors.com
Based in Vancouver, TNR is working to become the green energy metals royalty and gold company

TNR Gold Corp (TSX-V:TNR, OTC:TRRXF) said it has entered into a royalty purchase agreement with an Ontario limited partnership affiliated with Lithium Royalty Corp (LRC) for the sale of a portion of its net smelter returns (NSR) royalty involving the Mariana lithium project.

TNR has sold LRC a 0.5% NSR royalty for US$9,000,000, including a 0.05% NSR royalty sold by TNR on behalf of its shareholder. This represents one-quarter of the NSR royalty held by TNR.

The company also said that International Lithium Corp (TSX-V:ILC) (ILC) has completed the sale to Ganfeng Lithium Netherlands Co BV s of ILC's remaining 8.58% stake in Litio Minera Argentina SA, the owner of the Mariana Lithium Project in Salta, Argentina, where TNR holds a 2% NSR royalty.

TNR CEO Kirill Klip said the company was pleased to have achieved this major milestone, which he said was further validation of TNRs business model.

By monetizing part of our royalty holdings, we are providing a very important benchmark for valuations of assets in our royalty portfolio and generating very significant capital, while selling to LRC only a portion of our royalty holding on the Mariana lithium project, Klip said.

This strategic transaction with LRC allows us to significantly improve our working capital position and strengthen our balance sheet.

Klip noted that the parties expected the transaction to close within 60 days. The company has received an initial advance of US$350,000 from LRC under the terms of the royalty purchase agreement, he said.

Further details of the royalty purchase agreement can be found here.

Based in Vancouver, TNR is working to become a green energy metals royalty and gold company.

Contact the author Emily Jarvie at emily.jarvie@proactiveinvestors.com

Follow her on Twitter @emilyjjarvie
Hyderabad, July 25 : The Telangana Police are focusing on building the capacity of the police personnel for Dark Web investigation to deal with rising cyber crime.

With the steep rise in cyber crimes and cyber perpetrators resorting to sophisticated cyber attacks, through Deep and Dark Web, hacking, crypto currencies, the cyber world has turned out to be a tough digital terrain for the law enforcement agencies to investigate and apprehend the perpetrators as most of the crimes are being committed from remote countries.

To deal with this alarming trend, the Telangana Intelligence Department, in association with Convergence Innovation Labs, is working to synergise the capacity building programme of the police personnel in Telangana.

Convergence Innovation Labs had collaborated with Mark Bentley, a former police officer in the UK and an expert trainer with 40 years of experience.

A five-day workshop for Dark Web investigators began at the Telangana State Police Academy (TSPA) on Monday. This course is being attended by police officers from all over the country and central and state government agencies.

Hyderabad Police Commissioner C.V. Anand inaugurated the workshop.

Addressing the trainees, he said that the state government and Telangana Police are spearheading the digital initiatives in policing and has an impressive record in training thousands of police officers.

He gave examples of 15 types of cyber frauds, especially the loan apps, which is responsible for suicide committed by three persons in the last 10 days and how it has become very difficult to investigate and catch these perpetrators.

"The recent detection of the Mahesh Bank hacking case and the Xsilica epayment gateway hacking case show that it is possible to investigate these cases, but requires special expertise and resources to do so," he said.

He added that the recent crackdown by Telangana Police revealed that even narcotic drugs are being trafficked using the Dark Web.

Highlighting the advantages of these workshops, Anand said: "Simulating real world examples and incidents, materials, open source intelligence tools (OSINT) and exercises, the 5-day workshop and master class equips cyber investigators with the latest cutting-edge tools and investigation methodology."
Thiruvananthapuram, July 25 : The Kerala High Court on Monday came down heavily on solar scam accused Saritha Nair over her petition seeking a copy of the confession statement of Swapna Suresh, the prime accused in the gold smuggling case.

Her petition for the same submitted before a local court in Kochi was dismissed, after which she approached the high court.

When the high court bench asked what right she had to seek Suresh's confession statement, her counsel replied that Nair believed her name was mentioned in it and hence she sought a coopy.

Incidentally, ever since Suresh submitted a confession statement before a magistrate in June, she herself has revealed bits and pieces of information mentioned in it, including allegations against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, his wife and their daughter of indulging in malpractices.

While those 'close' to Vijayan have been trying to get hold of a copy of the explosive confession statement of Suresh, they have not yet succeeded in their attempt.

Nair is accused of having duped several influential people to the tune of RS 70 lakh by offering to make them business partners or by offering to install solar power units for them, and receiving advance payments for the same.
Mumbai, July 25 : The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday filed its supplementary charge sheet in connection with the Rs 3,700 crore Yes Bank-DHFL loan fraud case.

"A supplementary charge sheet has been filed today against Avinash N. Bhosale, Satyan Gopaldas Tandon, Metropolis Hotels LLP, ABIL Infraprojects Pvt Ltd, ABIL Hospitality Pvt Ltd, Arindam Developers LLP, Avinash Bhosale Group and Flora Developments Ltd," the CBI said.

The federal probe agecny had arrested Sanjay Chabaria of Radius Developers, in May. Radius Developers took loan of Rs 3,000 crore from Dewan Housing Finance Ltd (DHFL) on the pretext of financing a project in Mumbai.

"Bhonsle, Goenka and Balwa were allegedly used their firms to channel money of the loan. Hence their premises were also raided," the CBI had said.

In March 2020, a case of loan fraud of Rs 3,600 crore was lodged by the CBI against Rana Kapoor, the promoter Director and CEO of Yes Bank for entering into a criminal conspiracy with Kapir wadhawan, the promoter Director of DHFL and others.

Financial assistance was extended to DHFL by Yes Bank in lieu of substantial undue benefit to himself and his family members through the companies held by them.

Between April to June 2018, Yes Bank Ltd invested Rs 3,700 crore in the short term debentures of DHFL. Simultaneously, Wadhawan paid a kickback of Rs 600 crore to Kapoor and his family members in the garb of builder loan of Rs 600 crore given by DHFL to DOIT Urban Ventures (India) Pvt Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of RAB Enterprises (India) Pvt Ltd in which Bindu Kapoor, the wife of Kapoor, is a director and 100 per cent shareholder.

Kapoor's daughters - Roshini Kapoor, Radha Kapoor Khanna, and Raakhe Kapoor Tandon were 100 per cent shareholders of DOIT Urban Ventures (India) Pvt Ltd through Morgan Credits Pvt Ltd.

It was learnt that loan of Rs 600 crore was sanctioned by DHFL to DOIT Urban Ventures on the basis of a mortgage of a sub-standard property having very meagre value and by considering its future conversion from agricultural land to residential land.

It was also learnt that DHFL had not redeemed the amount of Rs 3,700 crore invested by Yes Bank in its debentures till date. In addition to the above, Yes Bank also sanctioned a loan of Rs 750 crore to RKW Developers Pvt Ltd - a DHFL group company - for their Bandra Reclamation Project.

The whole amount was siphoned off by Wadhawan since the entire amount was transferred by RKW Developers to DHFL without making investment in the Bandra project for which the loan was sanctioned. Thus, Kapoor obtained undue pecuniary advantage from DHFL through the companies held by his wife and daughters. It was also learnt that Kapoor had obtained illegal kickbacks directly or indirectly through entities controlled by him or his family members
United Nations, July 26 : Humanitarians are delivering aid primarily in the Cite Soleil neighbourhood of Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince, where a week of violence claimed 471 casualties, a UN spokesman said.

"In the past few days, the UN has distributed enough food to feed 7,000 people for a week," said Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

"We have also distributed drinking water, as well as kits of basic relief items, including hygiene and baby supplies, plastic sheeting and repair items for damaged houses." Haq added that the world body tallied more than 471 people killed, injured or unaccounted for in clashes between rival gangs in the capital city on July 8-17 alone. About 3,000 people fled their homes, including hundreds of unaccompanied children. At least 140 houses were destroyed, several of them by fire.

Access to healthcare is limited or non-existent, while food and water have been in short supply, he said.

The Humanitarian Coordinator, Ulrika Richardson, called on all parties to end violence and to ensure unhindered access to provide emergency humanitarian and medical assistance to civilians in need, Xinhua news agency reported.

"Protection remains a real concern," the Spokesman told correspondents at a regular briefing, adding there were reports of serious incidents of sexual violence against women and girls and boys recruited by gangs.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported earlier this month in a background report that since June 2021, violent clashes between armed gangs have dominated socio-economic life in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area, spreading fear and terror among the population. The security situation has deteriorated significantly and reached new levels since April 2022.

The report cautioned that "the situation is expected to remain tense and volatile in the coming months".
Los Angeles, July 26 : Comedian Chris Rock said he is "not a victim" as he joked about Hollywood star Will Smith slapping him at the Oscars.

Co-headlining a stand-up show, the 57-year-old comic took the opportunity to address the scandal at the Academy Awards, which saw the 'King Richard' star lash out at him after he made a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, reports aceshowbiz.com.

A source told Us Weekly that Chris referred to Will as 'Suge Smith', which is assumed to be a reference to incarcerated Death Row Records boss Suge Knight. He also joked, "Anyone who says words hurt has never been punched in the face." Later, during a sketch about people playing the victim and being overly sensitive, Rock said: "I'm not a victim motherf**ker," and joked he had "shook that s**t off" and put it behind him. He said, "Yeah, that s**t hurt, motherf**ker. But I shook that s**t off and went to work the next day a I don't go to the hospital for a papercut."Smith, who has been married to Jada since 1997, previously described his behaviour at the Oscars as "shocking, painful, and inexcusable." As a result of his actions, the 'Men in Black' actor resigned from the Academy after issuing an apology.

"My actions at the 94th Academy Awards presentation were shocking, painful, and inexcusable," he said.

"The list of those I have hurt is long and includes Chris, his family, many of my dear friends and loved ones, all those in attendance, and global audiences at home. I betrayed the trust of the Academy." The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences also announced that the 'King Richard' actor would be banned from attending any of their events, both virtually and in person, for 10 years.
Washington, July 26 : The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed insider trading charges against several Indian-Americans in connection with three separate schemes that together yielded more than $6.8 million in illicit gains.

The SEC alleged that Amit Bhardwaj, the former chief information security officer (CISO) of Lumentum Holdings, along with his friends, Dhirenkumar Patel, Srinivasa Kakkera, Abbas Saeedi, and Ramesh Chitor, traded ahead of two corporate acquisition announcements by Lumentum, thereby generating more than $5.2 million in illicit profits.

In addition, the SEC's complaint sought disgorgement of illicit profits with prejudgment interest from relief defendants Gauri Salwan, the Kakkera Family Trust, All US Tacos Inc, and Janya Saeedi.

In another action, the SEC alleged insider trading by investment banker Brijesh Goel and his friend Akshay Niranjan, who was a foreign exchange trader at a large financial institution.

Late Monday night, the SEC said in a statement that the two men, close friends from business school, made more than $275,000 from illegally trading ahead of four acquisition announcements in 2017 that Goel learned about through his employment.

"If everyday investors think that the market is rigged at their expense in favour of insiders who abuse their positions, they are not going to invest their hard earned money in the markets," said Gurbir S. Grewal, Director of the SEC's Enforcement Division.

The SEC's complaints charge all nine defendants with violating the antifraud provisions of the securities laws and seek permanent injunctive relief, disgorgement with prejudgment interest, and civil penalties.

At Lumentum, Bhardwaj learned material nonpublic information (MNPI) about the company's plans to first acquire Coherent, Inc. and later acquire NeoPhotonics Corporation.

Based on this inside information, Bhardwaj allegedly purchased Coherent securities ahead of the January 2021 announcement of Lumentum's agreement to acquire Coherent and tipped his friend Patel, with the understanding that Patel would later share some of his ill-gotten gains.

During October 2021, Bhardwaj shared the inside information about Lumentum's planned acquisition of NeoPhotonics with his friends Kakkera, Saeedi, and Chitor, who then amassed large positions of NeoPhotonics based on Bhardwaj's tips.

"After the November 2021 announcement of the NeoPhotonics acquisition, Chitor indirectly transferred funds to Bhardwaj's relative in India, as instructed by Bhardwaj," said the SEC.
New Delhi, July 26 : After the two-day GST council meeting held on July 23-24 at Bengaluru, the GST Council's Group of Ministers (GoM) discussed the tax rates levied on the online gaming industry from 18 to 28 per cent.

The online skill-based games are being clubbed with casinos, horse racing, lottery, betting, and other chance-based games. This, along with the increase of tax rates being imposed on the whole contest entry amount (CEA), has caused upheaval in the online gaming industry.

As of now, the 18 per cent GST is levied on the platform's commission taken from the pool of money invested by the players in small amounts on skill-based games, which is known as the Gross Gaming Revenue.

However, with the new tax policies being discussed, 28 per cent GST can be levied on the full Contest Entry Amount. The increase in tax slab may negatively affect the gaming platforms' profit margins and the overall gaming ecosystem.

Moreover, clubbing of skill-based games with chance-based games for the new taxation policies blur the distinction between the two, which has been made and upheld by Indian courts for over 60 years. The two are different in terms of law as well as practice, and therefore can't be treated at par with each other.

The GoM, led by Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangama, have made efforts to understand the functioning of the online gaming industry and have held meetings with the industry leaders to address the concerns raised by them to reconsider the tax rates.

As per industry sources, these issues have been raised by the All India Gaming Federation (AIGF) during their meeting with the GoM, whose representatives, according to sources, stated that such form of taxation will be catastrophic for the gaming industry and will nip out the slightest potential the industry has towards contributing to the Indian economy.

There has been no decision with regards to reconsideration of tax rates yet. However, the GoM will meet again in the first week of August and have been given time till August 10 to submit their final report, and the industry is awaiting the final decision with bated breath.
Chennai, July 26 : Massive protests have been planned in Tamil Nadu's Ramanathapuram area against the arrest of six fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy.

The fishermen were arrested on July 20 for crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) into Sri Lankan waters.

The development sparked protests in many parts of Tamil Nadu.

K. Senthilnathan, President, Fishermen Association of Ramanathapuram, told IANS: "The fishermen are now apprehensive of going to the sea fearing arrest for crossing the IMBL. Six of our fellow fishermen are in jail since July 20 and their mechanised boat has also been impounded. We demand the government of India to strongly against this injustice.

"We have no other options but to conduct massive protests to highlight the plea of our brethren who are languishing in Lankan jails." Some 92 costly fishing boats are currently in the custody of the Sri Lankan Navy leading to major losses of fishermen living in Ramanathapuram, Dhanushkodi, Nagapattinam, and other fishing hamlets.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has written a letter to External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar requesting him to intervene in the matter and secure the release of all fishermen, and their boats seized by the Sri Lankan authorities.
Lucknow, July 26 : An all-important meeting of Samajwadi Party (SP) MLAs, scheduled to be held on Tuesday, has been put off.

A party spokesman said that a fresh date would be announced soon.

According to him, SP CHIEF Akhilesh Yadav is in Kannauj and hence the meeting is being rescheduled.

Some of the SP MLAs had already arrived in Lucknow when they were informed that the meeting has been put off.
New Delhi, July 26 : As food delivery platform Zomato saw its stock tumbling to an all-time low, global brokerage and research firm Jefferies has said it is time to buy as the stock can be a good entry point for long-term investors.

Zomato share price tanked over 11 per cent on Monday and another 7 per cent on Tuesday to hit an all-time low of Rs 44.10.

In a note, Jefferies said that now is the time for long-term investors to Buy Zomato stock with a target price of Rs 100.

"Zomato management has also accelerated its journey towards better unit economics and is now eyeing a break-even in the food delivery business in the foreseeable future," the note read.

The online food delivery giant's stock has fallen more than 69 per cent this year.

"Zomato is now unloved, having underperformed peers ytd. Blinkit acquisition elongates path to profitability and despite management guidance on a break-even in food delivery, investors are not giving much benefit of doubt," Jefferies said in its note.

"The only exception to mgmt's conservative stance is its decision to buy Blinkit, which may be driven by FOMO or protect its food delivery turf, as highlighted post acquisition. Time horizon is probably longer for the mgmt. as against investors as this business will likely be a cash guzzler in the medium term," said the global brokerage and research firm.

"Zomato itself has guided for $400m of investment over the next two years. This remains a medium-term concern for investors as this would weigh on company profitability," Jefferies added.

Zomato shares fell to their lowest levels on Monday since the IPO was launched at Rs 76 per share as the one year lock-in period for investors considered insiders has ended.
Los Angeles, July 26 : Hollywood star Ashton Kutcher is set to return for the spinoff of 'That '70's Show' on Netflix titled 'That '90's Show'.

"It was really nostalgic to be back on the set," Kutcher told Variety's Carson Burton at the red carpet premiere of 'Vengeance' at the Ace Hotel in Los Angeles Monday evening.

"It's all the same folks that made 'That '70s Show,' so it was pretty bizarre." Kutcher went on to explain that he and his wife, his 'That '70s Show' co-star Mila Kunis, felt a return to the property was the right thing to do - beyond being a blast, of course, reports 'Variety'.

"Mila and I were contemplating it," Kutcher said.

"We thought, Listen, we're only in the position that we're in because of that show, so let's just go back and do this. We just went back and had fun for a week. It was so random and fun." Kutcher also gave some encouraging words about the new '90s-set series: "It's really funny. The new cast is phenomenal." "That '90s Show" is set to follow Eric (Topher Grace) and Donna's (Laura Prepon) daughter Leia Forman (Callie Haverda) as she visits her grandparents for the summer." Kurtwood Smith and Debra Jo Rupp are returning from the original cast to once again play Red and Kitty. The series, set in 1995, will follow a new generation of Point Place kids and includes newcomers Haverda, Ashley Aufderheide, Mace Coronel, Maxwell Acee Donovan, Reyn Doi and Sam Morelos.

Kutcher will reprise his character of Michael Kelso in a guest role for the new series. Fellow original castmates, including Grace, Prepon, Kunis and Wilmer Valderrama, are also all set to join in guest appearances.

On the immediate horizon, Kutcher plays a supporting role in 'Vengeance', the directorial debut of 'The Office' alum BJ Novak, who wrote and stars in the film.

'Vengeance' follows an aspiring podcaster, played by Novak, as he travels from New York to Texas to investigate the death of a woman he had a relationship with. Kutcher plays Quinten Sellers in the film, a music producer in Texas.

'Vengeance' is set to hit theatres on Friday, while 'That '90s Show' has no official release date announced.
Ottawa, July 26 : The Royal Canadian Mounted Police confirmed that three people were dead, including a suspect, after four victims were shot in several locations in Langley, British Columbia province.

Local media quoted the police as saying that two other people were also seriously hurt in Monday's shootings, reports Xinhua news agency.

The suspect was later identified and shot dead by the police, ending a series of attacks police believed were targeted at homeless people in the area.

The police said in an initial statement that one man had been arrested, but updated later that the suspect was shot and pronounced dead at the scene.

The police said they still did not know the motive behind the incident, nor if there was any relationship between the deceased suspect and the victims.

While the investigation was underway, multiple areas in the city of Langley and Langley Township were closed to the public, media reports said.

Langley is about 50 km southeast of Vancouver.
New Delhi, July 26 : India on Tuesday reported marginal decline in new Covid-19 infections in the last 24 hours, at 14,830, against 16,866 cases reported on previous day, said Union Health Ministry.

In the same period, the country has reported 36 more Covid-19 deaths, taking the nationwide death toll to 5,26,110.

Meanwhile, the active caseload of the country has marginally dropped to 1,47,512 cases, accounting for 0.34 per cent of the country's total positive cases.

The recovery of 18,159 patients in the last 24 hours took the cumulative tally to 4,32,46,829. Consequently, India's recovery rate stands at 98.47 per cent.

Meanwhile, India's daily positivity rate has sharply declined to 3.48 per cent, while the weekly positivity rate in the country currently stands at 4.53 per cent.

In the same period, a total of 4,26,102 tests were conducted across the country, increasing the overall tally to over 87.31 crore.

As of Tuesday morning, India's Covid-19 vaccination coverage exceeded 202.50 crore, achieved via 2,67,49,821 sessions.

Over 3.85 crore adolescents have been administered with a first dose of Covid-19 jab since the beginning of vaccination drive for this age bracket.
Seoul, July 26 : All overseas air routes operated by South Korea's seven regional international airports have been nornalised for the first time since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020, the airport operator said on Tuesday.

With the reopening of the route linking Cheongju International Airport in South Korea's central region to Vietnam's Da Lat on Tuesday, all seven of the country's international airports were normally operating all of their international air routes, according to the Korea Airports Corp.

It marks the first reopening of those air flight routes since February 2020, when international flights were suspended or scaled down due to Covid-19, reports Yonhap News Agency.

The other international airports are the Gimpo, Yangyang, Daegu, Muan, Gimhae and Jeju.

Starting with Daegu International Airport's reopening of its route to Vietnam's Da Nang on May 28, those regional airports have been resuming their international flights on the back of the receding pandemic, including the Gimhae-Fukuoka route on May 31 and the Gimpo-Haneda line on June 29.
New Delhi, July 26 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday held a meeting with cabinet members to discuss the government's strategy in Parliament amid face-off with the opposition over suspension of four Lok Sabha MPs for the entire Monsoon session for "misconduct".

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi, Minister of Information & Broadcasting Anurag Singh Thakur, Law Minister Kiren Rijiju were among those who attended the meeting.

Notably, four Congress MPs were suspended for the entire Monsoon session on Monday over unruly behaviour.

Manickam Tagore, Ramya Haridas, Jothimani and T.N. Prathapan have been suspended for the entire Monsoon Session ending August 12 for holding placards inside the House while protesting.

Speaker Om Birla had earlier warned them against it.

On Monday, as the House assembled 2 p.m. after the swearing-in ceremony of President Droupadi Murmu, the opposition members started sloganeering on the issues of price rise and hiked GST rates. Some of them were seen holding placards and banners, while rushed to the Well of the House.

Stating that the government was ready to discuss the issues, the Speaker warned them against waving placards as it violated the rules of the House.

When his constant requests were not paid heed to, he suspended the four Congress Members for the remaining part of the session.
Panaji, July 26 : Goa Health Department has set a target to administer precautionary doses of COVID-19 vaccine to 10.5 lakh people in next two months, for which it has decided to rope in various departments.

So far only 79,655 people have taken precautionary doses. I urge people to come forward and take booster doses," Health Minister Vishwajit Rane said on Tuesday.

"Health ministry is monitoring booster dose progress in the state. We have administered precautionary doses to around 79,655 people. Our target is to administer the dose to 10.50 lakh," he said.

He informed that the age group between 18 to 59 has received 33,772 precautionary doses, while 45,883 people of 60 plus age have taken doses.

"By September 30, we have to finish (achieving target). We are trying to reach out in villages and to everyone. We need to organize focus camps to achieve success," he said.

"We have to speed up this process. We will take assistance from the Women and Child Department and other concerned departments to organize vaccination camps," he said.

"We will spread awareness that there is nothing to worry to take shot of booster dose. All 40 MLAs will be taken into confidence to achieve the target. I will write to all MLAs and will speak personally and request them to support," Rane said.

"As Covid rate has come down, people have taken it easy. But we need to take precaution. We don't know when and how these things (Covid) will behave," Rane said, urging people to take precautionary doses.

He said that the government will carry out a campaign about why booster is important, through official video and messages, which will run on every available platform.
Chennai, July 26 : About Rs. 25,000 crore of policyholder's money of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has been invested in IDBI Bank Ltd and they should not incur a loss while the government and the insurer sell their stakes to a private party, said a union official.

"The LIC had bought the IDBI Bank's shares at about Rs. 61 per share. The total investment of LIC policyholder's money in the deal was about Rs. 25,000 crore," Vithal Koteswara Rao A.V., General Secretary, All India IDBI Officers Association (AIIDBIOA) told IANS.

The IDBI Bank's shares are being traded on the bourses in the Rs.35 band.

Further, IDBI Bank also sells the life insurance policies of LIC and once it goes out of its fold, the life insurer may lose out a major distribution channel.

Currently, a bank can sign up with only three life insurers to sell their policies and there is a tough competition out there in the market for banks.

In fact, insurers do offer attractive incentives/bonus to banks to rope in as their corporate agents.

The Indian government and LIC, the promoters of IDBI Bank hold 45.48 per cent and 49.24 per cent stakes respectively.

As per reports, the Indian government and LIC are planning to dilute their holdings to the extent that a private party can own over 60 per cent of the IDBI Bank's equity.

Rao said LIC acquired stakes in IDBI Bank in January 2019 and it is almost three years now during which the bank did not declare any dividends.

An equity investment is expected to give a rate of return of 12 per cent per annum. So, the value of IDBI Bank's share should be a minimum of Rs. 90, he said.

"At this juncture, if at all, LIC of India wants to sell away its shareholding in IDBI Bank, it should sell at a rate "above Rs. 90/- per share only in order to protect the interest of the policy holders as per the mandate given by IRDAI to LIC of India before acquiring 51 per cent stake in IDBI Bank," Rao added.

Any attempt to sell the stake of IDBI Bank "below Rs. 90/- per share by LIC will be nothing but deceiving its policyholders and it tantamount to unethical business practices, he stated.

He said, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) should ensure that LIC does not sell IDBI Bank's share at a price below Rs. 90 per share and protect the interests of policyholders.

It may be recalled that the shareholders of Lakshmi Vilas Bank (LVB) did not get anything when the bank was allowed by the Indian government to be amalgamated with DBS Bank.

Opposing the government's move to privatise the bank, Rao also said the job security of about 5,050 permanent women employees and about 390 permanent employees with disabilities (physically challenged/visually impaired) of the bank are at risk if the bank is privatised.

At an investor's conference, the IDBI Bank management said the entire process of disinvestment is being held by the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) and they are basically owners of the bank -45 per cent share with Government of India and 49 per cent with LIC.

Meanwhile, the Expression of Interest to acquire IDBI Bank is expected to be issued soon.

(Venkatachari Jagannathan can be reached at v.jagannathan@ians.in)
Washington, July 26 : The US has urged China to increase pressure on Myanmar following the military junta's execution of four democracy activists.

State Department spokesperson Ned Price said China could influence Myanmar more than any other country, the BBC reported.

"We are calling on countries around the world to do more. We will be doing more as well," he said.

Price said there could be "no business as usual" with the junta regime in Myanmar and called on all countries to ban sales of military equipment to the country and "refrain from lending the regime any degree of international credibility".

He said the US was considering "all options" to cut off the regime's revenue, BBC reported.

But Zhao Lijian, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, said Beijing did not interfere in other countries' internal affairs.

Asked about the executions, Zhao said Myanmar should use its laws and constitution to resolve differences.

Activist Kyaw Min Yu, better known as Ko Jimmy, and former lawmaker Phyo Zeya Thaw were among those executed.

The activists were arrested after an army-led coup last year and accused of committing "terror acts". They were sentenced to death in a closed-door trial that rights groups criticised as being unjust.

Both Phyo Zeya Thaw and Ko Jimmy lost their appeals against their sentences in June.

Less is known about the two other activists, Hla Myo Aung and Aung Thura Zaw.

They were sentenced to death for killing a woman who was an alleged informer for the junta.
Kiev, July 26 : Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has signed a decree to appoint a new commander of the Special Operations Forces (SOF), a branch of the Armed Forces.

According to the decree, published on the presidential website, Viktor Khorenko was appointed the commander of the SOF, reports Xinhua news agency.

Ukrainian lawmaker Oleksiy Honcharenko wrote on Facebook that Khorenko previously served as a commander of the special reserve of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Defence Ministry.

Khorenko will replace Hryhorii Halahan, who was dismissed by Zelensky earlier on Monday.

Last week, Zelensky dismissed Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova and head of the Security Service of Ukraine Ivan Bakanov, blaming them for insufficiently dealing with a large number of traitors in their agencies.
New Delhi, July 26 : Elon Musk, currently in news for his alleged affair with Google Co-founder Sergey Brin's wife Nicole Shanahan (which he has vehemently denied), said on Tuesday that he has not had sex in the longest time.

After slamming the media for publishing his alleged brief affair with Brin's wife, he said: "Haven't even had sex in ages (sigh)".

A follower asked, "damn not even on vacation?, to which Musk replied, "Nope".

Another Musk follower tweeted: "You can make babies without sex".

The Tesla CEO was responding to a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report that claimed that "Musk engaged in a brief affair last fall with the wife of Sergey Brin, prompting the Google Co-founder to file for divorce earlier this year and ending the tech billionaires' long friendship".

Musk later hit out at the WSJ, asking his more than 102 million social media followers to slam the publication for going ahead with a false story.

He told his followers to "call them out on it".

His die-hard fan Pranay Pathole asked: "Elon, why do you think these hit pieces and attacks against you have increased in the recent past? Do you think these are all politically motivated hit pieces? Who's paying for this? It's really saddening and disheartening to see this nonsense hate against you." The Tesla CEO replied: "Mostly just that the media is a click maximising machine and a story involving me gets a lot of clicks."
Los Angeles, July 26 : The 'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever' trailer has got 172 million views in its first 24 hours, turning out to be one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's top trailer debuts for a superhero movie.

A source close to Marvel confirmed the viewership number to 'Variety'.

The 'Wakanda Forever' teaser's viewership nearly doubled the 88 million views the original 'Black Panther' teaser garnered in 2017, reports 'Variety'.

The teaser also set social media ablaze, with topics relating to 'Black Panther' garnering over 893,000 mentions. Chadwick Boseman, Namor, Shuri, T'Challa, Ryan Coogler and Angela Bassett all became national trending topics after the teaser's debut, and the hashtag #WakandaForever held the No. 1 trending spot for over five consecutive hours.

By pulling in 172 million views in its first 24 hours, 'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever' becomes one of the top trailer launches for a standalone Marvel movie following titles like the 'Spider-Man: No Way Home' teaser and the 'Thor: Love and Thunder' teaser.

Four 'Avengers' trailers also pulled in bigger numbers: 'Avengers: Endgame' teaser, 'Avengers: Endgame' final trailer, 'Avengers: Infinity War' teaser and 'Avengers: Infinity War' final trailer.

The teaser marked the first unveiling of the 'Black Panther' sequel, which marks the next feature film entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The footage showcases the nation of Wakanda going to war against an army of Atlanteans, led by the fearful Namor (Tenoch Huerta). Lupita Nyong'o, Letitia Wright, Danai Gurira, Florence Kasumba Winston Duke and Angela Bassett are reprising their roles from the original 'Black Panther', joined by series newcomer Michaela Coel, Dominique Thorne, Alex Nivilani and Mabel Cadena.

Before the teaser was shown to the Hall H crowd at Comic-Con, director Ryan Coogler and several members of the film's ensemble took the stage to introduce the film and discuss the legacy of the late Chadwick Boseman, who led the original 2018 'Black Panther' before he died in 2020 after a private battle with colon cancer.

"It's going to be hard to follow that up, but we'll try," Coogler told the crowd.

'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever' will hit theaters on November 11.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Chennai, July 26 : Swiss brokerage UBS Securities on Tuesday upgraded Reliance Industries Limited's (RIL) shares to buy from neutral with a 12-month price target of Rs 2,900-Rs 3,150.

On Tuesday, the scrip was changing hands at about Rs 2,438.

According to UBS, the key among Reliance Industries' stock price performance drivers are new investment opportunities to deploy large cash flows profitably.

With India's commitment to net-zero carbon emissions by 2070, UBS estimates it as an $20 trillion opportunity in renewables, batteries and hydrogen.

"Our analysis of RIL's New Energy business suggests it can invest around $36 billion in new energy this decade. However, we think investors have yet to appreciate this, given the lack of details on capacity, capex, earnings drivers etc," UBS said in a report.

"We estimate this opportunity could create $35 billion value by FY30, which discounted back to FY24, adds Rs 234/share to our SOTP (sum of parts) valuation. We also factor in the impact of fuel export taxes (reducing near-term oil-to-chemicals [O2C] earnings), which seems priced in, while removal of export taxes provides upside potential," the report adds.

According to UBS, Reliance Industries is targeting 20GW solar photovoltaic (PV) manufacturing capacity which would be integrated with 90ktpa polysilicon from Jamnagar (supported by the company's environmental clearance proposal).

Similarly, its focus is on the battery energy storage system (BESS) manufacturing facility of 20GWh UBS expects the solar PV/BESS capacity to expand from 15GW/5GWh in FY26 to 27GW/15GWh by FY30.

The New Energy division can offer grid scale power with BESS to its other businesses on fixed returns, consuming over 50 per cent of capacity captive for the next few years.

The UBS also expects the retail and telecom ventures to grow faster.

The UBS also upgraded Reliance Industries' global depository receipts (GDR) to Buy, and raised the price target from $77.33 to $78.75.
Vijayawada, July 26 : Tension prevailed here on Tuesday during Dalit Garjana dharna by main opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP).

When the police denied permission for the protest, some TDP leaders climbed on a water tank near Dharna Chowk.

The protest was called by Scheduled Caste cell of the TDP to demand implementation of welfare schemes for the Dalits.

A group of TDP leaders led by SC cell president M. S. Raju climbed on the water tank to register their protest.

Police arrested the TDP leaders and shifted them to police station.

The TDP leaders alleged that the police withdrew permission after granting the same for the dharna. They termed the YSRCP government as 'anti-Dalit'.

Several TDP leaders were placed under house arrest by the police since early morning in view of the dharna.

Police erected barricades at various places to stop the protestors from gathering at Dharna Chowk.

Former minister Diveneni Uma, Varla Ramaiah, Buddha Venkanna, G. Rammohan Rao and Ashok Babu were among the leaders placed under house arrest.

Meanwhile, TDP politburo member and former minister Nakka Anand Babu alleged that the state government was not providing funs for the welfare schemes for Dalits.

He was stopped by police when he was heading to Dharna Chowk in Vijayawada to participate in the protest.

Anand Babu had heated arguments with police officers who stopped him. He took strong objection to the attitude of police.

He alleged that the Jagan Mohan Reddy government was using undemocratic means to stop peaceful and democratic protests.
Damascus, July 26 : Syria handed over a total of 146 Tajik nationals, who are family members of Islamic State (IS) terrorists, to their home country.

Zabidullah Zabidov, the ambassador of Tajikistan in Kuwait, was in Damascus on Monday to take the Tajik nationals, who had been accommodated in the al-Hol camp in northeastern Syria, reports Xinhua news agency.

The al-Hol camp, which is run by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), is known to be housing refugees, largely family members of foreign IS terrorists.

Zabidov said that the Tajik side had taken the necessary measures and arrangements for the return of the citizens to their country.

He hailed the cooperation and support provided by the Syrian authorities to secure the transportation of children and women from the al-Hol camp to the Damascus International Airport, from where they would fly home.

The process took place in cooperation between the Syrian Foreign Ministry and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent.
New Delhi, July 26 : A fresh political controversy has erupted surrounding Silly Souls Cafe and Bar, allegedly operated by Union Minister Smriti Irani's daughter Zoish Irani in Goa's Assagao.

The Congress party has alleged that the daughter of Smriti Irani was running an illegal bar in the BJP ruled Goa.

While Smriti Irani refuted Congress' allegations terming them as "malicious" intended to "malign" her and assassinate the character of her 18-year-old student daughter, the Congress party urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to sack her as Union minister.

Smriti Irani has served legal notice to Congress leaders Pawan Khera, Jairam Ramesh, and Netta D' Souza and demanded a written unconditional apology and asked them to withdraw the allegations against her daughter with immediate effect.

CVoter-IndiaTracker conducted a nationwide survey on behalf of IANS to know what people think about the whole controversy and claims and counter claims made by Smriti Irani and leaders of the Congress party.

During the survey, while people were divided in their views about the whole issue a bigger proportion of respondents did not agree with the allegations made by the Congress party. As per survey data, while 56 per cent respondents insisted that Congress' accusations against Smriti Irani's daughter were wrong, 44 per cent respondents agreed with the charges.

During the survey, while a majority of NDA voters - 71 per cent insisted that Congress' allegations were incorrect, opinion of opposition voters was divided on the issue. As per the survey data, while 55 per cent opposition supporters agreed with Congress' claims in the case, 45 per cent disagreed.

The survey revealed that while views of both urban and rural voters were divided on the issue, a bigger proportion of respondents from both the categories refused to agree with Congress' allegations. During the survey, 57 per cent urban voters and 56 per cent respondents from the rural areas termed Congress' charges as wrong.
New Delhi, July 26 : The Delhi government's liquor policy that it had claimed to check the malpractices in the spirit business in the national capital, besides boosting the revenues, has landed into major controversy.

Delhi's Lt. Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena has recommended a CBI probe into the AAP government's Excise Policy, 2021-22, over alleged violation of rules and procedural lapses. Proposed in 2020, the Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22 came into effect from November 2021.

As per the new policy, all the liquor shops run by the Delhi government were shut down and replaced with the private shops. Under the new Excise policy, retail licences were given to private bidders for 849 vends across the city divided into 32 zones.

While the opposition in the national capital alleged violation of rules and procedural lapses in the implementation of the new Excise policy, AAP said that the BJP was rattled because the new liquor policy will check the sale of illegal alcohol in the city.

CVoter-IndiaTracker conducted a countrywide survey on behalf of IANS to know people's views on the whole controversy.

During the survey, people were divided in their views about claims of the AAP and BJP surrounding the new liquor policy of the Arvind Kejriwal Government.

As per the survey data, while 52 per cent respondents said that the claims made by AAP are correct, 48 per cent agreed with the allegations made by BJP.

During the survey, both urban and rural voters were divided in their opinion about the claims and counter claims made by AAP and BJP on the issue. According to the survey data, while 54 per cent rural voters placed their faith in the statements made by AAP on the issue, 52 per cent urban voters asserted that BJP's allegations are correct.

Political polarisation was clearly evident during the poll. During the survey, while 65 per cent of the opposition voters stressed that the claims made by AAP are correct, 65 per cent of the NDA supporters were in agreement with the accusations made by the BJP.
Tokyo, July 26 : Japan on Tuesday executed a man who killed seven people in Tokyo's Akihabara district in 2008 during a stabbing rampage, Justice Minister Yoshihisa Furukawa announced.

Tomohiro Kato, 39, drove a truck into pedestrians in a no-vehicle zone in the popular shopping and tourist district on June 8, 2008, killing three people on the spot, reports Xinhua news agency.

After stopping the truck, he exited and proceeded to indiscriminately stab four other people and injured eight others with a long-bladed dagger, the 2015 court ruling said.

"The incident had had a significant impact on society as it deprived seven people of their precious lives," Furukawa told a press briefing here.

"After careful and then more careful consideration," Furukawa said he signed the execution order for Kato on July 22.

He was hanged in the Tokyo Detention Centre.

Kato had lost his challenge to commute the sentence in Japan's top court in 2015.

Two executions have been conducted under the administration of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, with three death-row inmates involved in multiple murders hanged in December 2021.

The number of death-row inmates in Japan now stands at 106, according to official figures.
Jaipur, July 26 : Heavy rain wreaked havoc in Jodhpur as water was seen gushing through the streets making parked cars float in some areas. The traffic came to a standstill due to waterlogging reported at many places and schools were closed.

In fact, torrential rain in the city which started from 7 p.m. on Monday continued for five hours due to which roads were waterlogged and over 30 colonies were flooded with water.

Looking at the flood-like situation in the city, district collector Himanshu Gupta ordered the closure of the schools, both government and private.

At the same time, the administration cancelled two trains due to water overflowing the tracks.

It was being said that this was Jodhpur's first heavy rain in the last 22 days of the monsoon season. It has rained 118mm since Monday evening till 8 a.m. Tuesday. Several areas reported power outages.

Commuters had to face a harrowing time due to waterlogging at the Jodhpur railway station.

Rajasthan has been witnessing heavy rainfall since the start of the week.

Bhilwara recorded the highest 205mm rainfall in the last 24 hours, which was followed by Chittaurgarh with 179 mm rain and Jodhpur with 111mm.
Lucknow, July 26 : The Allahabad High Court on Tuesday rejected the bail petition of Ashish Mishra, the son of Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Ajay Mishra, in connection with the October 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence.

The verdict was delivered by a Lucknow bench of the court comprising Justice Krishna Pahal, which said that Ashish Mishra might influence witnesses if granted bail.

Ashish Mishra, whose car was part of the convoy that ran over eight people, including four protesting farmers, in Lakhimpur Kheri last year, is the prime accused in the murder and conspiracy case.

The Lucknow bench had granted bail in February this year.

However, the Supreme Court in April set aside the bail order and had directed the high court to reconsider his bail plea after affording adequate opportunity to the victims' side.

In May, the high court rejected the bail pleas of co-accused Lavkush, Ankit Das, Sumit Jaiswal, and Shishupal.

The Uttar Pradesh Special Investigation Team (SIT), which has been probing the case, said in January that the unrest created at the protest site of the farmers agitating against agricultural laws was a "pre-planned conspiracy", and not an act of negligence.

The SIT had filed a charge sheet spanning approximately 5,000 pages against the 14 accused in the case.

It also recommended the state government to challenge Ashish Mishra's bail, stating that he is an influential person and could tamper with evidence while being out on bail.

However, the state government had not challenged the bail in the Supreme Court.

The appeal in the apex court had been filed by the families of the victims.
Gandhinagar, July 26 : In a damage control exercise, Gujarat government on Tuesday formed a Fact Finding Committee headed by Inspector General of Police (IGP) to inquire into reasons behind the hooch tragedy case. Till Tuesday afternoon, 28 persons have died after drinking illicit liquor in Ahmedabad rural and Botad districts. Out of the 28 deaths, two are suspicious.

Announcing the formation of the Fact Finding Committee, Minister of State for Home, Harsh Sanghvi said, "Subhash Trivedi- IGP (CID- crime) will head the committee, while other members are IAS Nikhil Gandhi and H.P. Sanghvi Director of Gujarat Forensic Science Laboratory. The committee will submit its report within three days to the government." Later addressing the media persons in Gandhinagar, Ashish Bhatia, Director General of Police (DGP) said, "The kingpin in the hooch tragedy is one Jayesh Khavadia, who is working with AMOS company as supervisor. The company deals in industrial alcohol (Methyl Alcohol) as it repacks the industrial alcohol from 100 liter barrel to 2.5 liter bottles and supply them to a factory in Changodar." The officer further said, "During this transportation, Jayesh had stolen 600 liters and sold them to his far related cousins Vinod and Sanjay Bhikhabhai, against the payment of Rs 40,000. Police have recovered unused 460 liters from the brothers." One bootlegger Vipul who had brought the alcohol from Vinod had also died after drinking illicit liquor, said the officer.

After drinking illicit liquor, 22 persons have died in Botad district, six in Ahmedabad rural areas, while two deaths are suspicious. In these connections, three FIRs have been lodged, one each with Barwala, Ranpura and Dhandhuka.

"Rojid Village Panchayat had earlier complained to local police about the hooch activity, and police carried out raids six times. I this regard, FIRs were filed and two bootleggers were arrested," the DGP said.
Colombo, July 26 : Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the former Sri Lankan President who secretly fled the country on July 13 amid violent protests in the wake of the island nation's ongoing economic crisis, is set to return, a Minister said on Tuesday.

When asked by reporters on Rajapaksa fleeing Sri Lanka, Media Minister Bandula Gunawardena refuted that the former leader was hiding in Singapore and said that he would return.

"I don't agree that the former President is in hiding in Singapore because he had followed the official procedure and gone to Singapore obtaining an legitimate visa," the Minister said.

"I was aware that he would return and the authorities in our country would take necessary precautions to prevent any harm to the former President." Meanwhile, G.L. Peiris, Chairman of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), the party formed by the Rajapaksas to win the 2019 Presidential election, also said that Gotabaya Rajapaksa will return to the country and would be entitled to all the perks and privileges that are due for any former head of state.

In Sri Lanka, former Presidents and their family are entitled to a residence in Colombo, vehicles and security, including military and police, in addition to other perks and privileges.

According to media reports, Gotabaya Rajapaksa's escape had been brokered by the Maldivian Parliament Speaker and former president Mohamed Nasheed.

Amid the unprecedented economic crisis, the worst since Sri Lanka gained independence in 1948, triggered severe shortages of food, fuel, medicines and other essentials.

In response, the public first took to the streets on March 31 and surrounding the former President's private residence.

On April 2, the protesters occupied the entrance to the President's office And on July 9 despite heavy security presence in Colombo, anti-government protesters took over the President's official house, his office and later the rime Minister's residence, triggering Gotabaya Rajapaksa to go into hiding and finally announced his resignation on July 14.

From the Maldives, he fled to Singapore.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was named acting President.

The International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP), a South Africa-based rights group, has filed a complaint with the Attorney General of Singapore demanding the arrest of Gotabaya Rajapaksa for war crimes allegedly committed during the final days of the over two-decades long Civil War.
Chennai, July 26 : A Class 12 student committed suicide at her home in Tamil Nadu's Cuddalore on Tuesday, the third such death in the state in the last two weeks.

The Cuddalore district superintendent of Police told IANS that the student had a rift with her mother and in a fit of fury she entered her room and committed suicide.

This is the third incident of a Plus two student committing suicide in Tamil Nadu in a span of two weeks.

On July 13 a Class 12 student in Kallakurichi jumped to death from the third floor of the hostel of a private school. The suicide of the girl sparked violence in Kallakurichi with hundreds of protesters vandalizing the school building, torching school buses, burning a police vehicle, and destroying and burning down several two-wheelers on July 17.

Intense stone and bottle pelting also took place at the spot against the police, injuring senior IPS officers, including Inspector General of Police, B. Pandyan, and Superintendent of Police, R. Selvakumar. The Chief Minister sent a fact-finding team comprising state police chief and home secretary to ascertain the facts and to report to the home department.

In a similar incident, a Class 12 student of Tiruvallur district hanged herself to death in her hostel room on Monday (July 25). The family and relatives of the girl protested in front of the school and were not ready to take the body. They finally relented after police and district administration put pressure.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, M.K. Stalin has ordered a comprehensive inquiry into the factors leading to the suicides of these three girls.
Canberra, July 26 : The Australian Parliament on Tuesday resumed two months following the federal election in May.

New and returning MPs and Senators gathered in Canberra on Tuesday to be officially sworn in to the 47th Parliament of Australia.

Delivering his opening remarks, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, whose Labor Party won power in the election on May 21, urged his colleagues to make their time in Parliament count.

The Labor government is expected to introduce about 18 pieces of legislation to Parliament in the first two sitting weeks.

They will include legislation that will give more than 11 million workers access to paid domestic violence leave and for Labor's emissions reduction target.

Albanese has committed to reducing Australia's carbon emissions by 43 per cent from the 2005 levels by 2030.

On Tuesday, the Prime Minister said he hopes to lead a more unified Parliament than that of previous governments.

"I want to see a Parliament that functions much better than the last one. I want more unity, less division. I want to bring the country together with a sense of our common purpose which is there."
Mumbai, July 26 : The Richard Gere-Shilpa Shetty on-stage kiss at a charity event in New Delhi in 2007, doesn't seem to leave the Bollywood actress.

Shetty, acting through her lawyer, Prasant Patil, has sought the dismissal of a plea challenging the January order of a Ballard Pier, Mumbai, magistrate court discharging her from an obscenity case resulting from the incident.

In April, the Alwar, Rajasthan, police had approached the sessions court against the magistrate's order and stated in its plea that the magistrate had erred in discharging Shilpa and that her act in kissing or allowing to be kissed in a public place amounted to obscenity.

The police had contended if the court examines the FIR, it would find that a prima facie case is made out against the actress.

In her reply, Shetty noted that she was a victim of malicious proceedings and harassment at the hands of the complainant, and that she as an artist had always acted responsibly in public. She also alleged that the complainant was approaching the court for cheap publicity.

The complainant, who had approached the Alwar police in 2007, had contended that Shilpa did not protest while being kissed by the Hollywood star. Shilpa countered this charge by stating in her plea that it did not make her a conspirator or perpetrator of any crime.

-- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed
Thiruvananthapuram, July 26 : It was a rare occasion on Tuesday when the outgoing district collector of Alappuzha Renu Raj handed over charge to Sriram Venkitraman, presently a joint secretary and her husband.

While Renu Raj invited Venkitraman to take her seat and gave him a handshake, there was chaos outside the office with Congress-led UDF workers protesting seeking cancellation of his posting.

They were protesting against his posting as he was arrested and suspended from service for his involvement in an accident. In 2019, Venkitraman along with his woman friend Wafa Firoz who was driving a car at a high speed, hit and killed a journalist who was on a two-wheeler, here.

He was reinstated in 2020 is currently on bail. The Congress is up in arms ever since he was posted as the new district collector at Alappuzha.

His posting, they say, is not acceptable as he by virtue of being the district collector will also hold the rank of a district magistrate and he himself being an 'accused' will not be able to deliver justice to the people.

This April, the two Kerala cadre IAS officials, both medical doctors tied the knot.
Lucknow, July 26 : Lucknow University (LU) has been accredited with an A++ grade by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC).

The NAAC team visited the campus of Lucknow University for a field visit on July 21 and the assessment was conducted till July 23.

After three days evaluation, NAAC gave the A++ grade to the university for the first time.

LU shared the news on Twitter and wrote: "University of Lucknow accredited A++ with NAAC. Our sincere gratitude to Her Excellency @GovernorofUp Smt @anandibenpatel for her constant mentorship and congratulations to the entire @lkouniv family." Lucknow University had got a B grade in NAAC evaluation in 2020.

NAAC grading team evaluated every section of the university that is the administrative block, library, hostels and other sections.

LU spokesperson Durgesh Srivastava said the NAAC team suggested that a reading room should be constructed in University's Cooperative Lending Library.

NAAC team released LU grade on Tuesday and the report was submitted to Lucknow University Vice Chancellor, Professor Alok Kumar Rai.

As per the reports, NAAC team also evaluated Lucknow's National PG college and the grade of the college dipped this time. National PG college has been accredited with B++ grade.
Hong Kong: Peer leaders commended

Secretary for Education Choi Yuk-lin today officiated at the Peer Power Student Gatekeeper Training Programme closing ceremony where she commended participants for their efforts in completing the training and promoting students' mental health in the past year.

A total of 450 students finished the training this year.

Speaking at the event, Ms Choi said school is the second home of students and thus school authorities have the responsibility to establish a strong safety net for students and identify those with distress and mental health problems at an early stage so as to encourage them to seek help in order to prosper healthily.

She also motivated students to embrace challenges at different developmental stages, learn how to manage their emotions and cultivate a good attitude towards life in order to strengthen their resilience.

Since the 2019-20 school year, the Education Bureau has commissioned non-governmental organisations to arrange gatekeeper training for secondary school students under the programme.

The students have been trained to become peer leaders by boosting their knowledge of mental health and skills in managing stress and emotions.

In additon to equipping them to identify and deal with peers with mental health needs, the programme also promotes cultures of facing adversity positively and help-seeking in schools.

As of the 2021-22 school year, more than 500 students from 26 secondary schools have been assigned as peer leaders.

The education chief affirmed the role and contribution of the peer leaders, adding that students should aspire to be a young person with aspiration, enthusiasm and capability in addition to acquiring knowledge from books.

Apart from the programme, the bureau said it continues to provide gatekeeper training for teachers, parents and students, including a 60-hour thematic course for teachers and online workshops for parents.

This story has been published on: 2022-07-26. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
China welcomes Libyan parties' efforts to ensure normal oil production

Xinhua) 15:31, July 26, 2022

UNITED NATIONS, July 25 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Monday welcomed the efforts the Libyan parties are making to ensure the normal order of oil production in the country.

"China welcomes that the Libyan parties are working to remove political interference, negotiate and resolve differences in the management of the oil sector and revenue distribution, and ensure the normal order of oil production in Libya," Dai Bing, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, told the UN Security Council briefing on Libya.

Describing Oil as "an important source of income for national reconstruction and livelihood improvement in Libya," Dai said, "Libya's oil industry should continue to be managed by the country, and all oil revenues be used for the benefits of its people."

"Frozen assets are an important resource for national reconstruction. And the countries concerned should ensure the integrity of the frozen assets in strict accordance with Security Council resolutions," he said.

On the political situation in Libya, Dai said that since Dec. 24 last year, the political transition in Libya has continued to face challenges, and the negative impact on the situation in the country is gradually emerging.

Speaking about the mandate of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya's (UNSMIL), Dai said, "considering that the political process in Libya is at a critical stage, China supports the extension of UNSMIL's mandate."

"The Security Council should continue to maintain the frequency of its deliberations and devote its attention to the issue of Libya," he said.

(Web editor: Wu Chaolan, Liang Jun)
Chennai, July 26 : The Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Tamil Nadu Police has arrested a person, Manikandan of Poosapadi in Salem district, for burning a police bus during the Kallakurichi violence on July 17.

Police in a statement said the arrest was made on Monday night after analyzing the video clippings of the Kallakurichi violence. Manikandan was produced before the judicial magistrate court on Tuesday and remanded to judicial custody for 15 days.

SIT sources told IANS that the CCTV footage of the Salem- Chennai national highway was being analysed for getting details and to identify rioters of the July 17 violence. The mobile phone numbers of the rioters were also being analysed by using the cellphone networks in the vicinity.

It may be noted that 309 people have already been arrested in the case related to the violent incidents on July 17. More than 30 school buses, one police bus, several two-wheelers, and two tractors were burnt during the riots. The school was totally destroyed and the losses are pegged at around Rs 10 crore.

Police intelligence has given inputs to Kallakurichi and Villupuram district police on the possibility of caste clashes as a fallout of the Kallakurichi incident.
Patna, July 26 : A woman, who was missing for the past one and a half months and allegedly murdered by her husband, was traced and arrested in Bihar's east Champaran district, police said on Tuesday.

Her husband, who was in jail after being arrested on charges of murder, will be released soon, a police official said.

Nazneen Khatun eloped with her paramour Fyaz Khan in the first week of June, and they were living in a rented accommodation in Agarwa locality in Motihari city.

On the other hand, her father Shafi Ahmed lodged a complaint of dowry murder against her husband Sheikh Saddam in Sugauli police station after a semi-decomposed body of a woman was found in his native village Nimui, few days after Nazneen went missing.

On the basis of Ahmed's complaint, Sugauli police arrested Saddam.

However, Saddam's family was not satisfied with the police action and alleged foul play but police did not listen to them. Then they started their own investigation and managed to trace Nazneen Khatoon in Motihari city.

"On the basis of information passed by the family members of Saddam, we raided the house in Agarwa locality and arrested Nazneen. We have produced her in the local court and the process of releasing Saddam is being initiated," said an officer of the women police station of Motihari.

"Investigation is currently on to identify the dead body. Nazneen is currently facing the charges of framing her husband in murder case. Her father will be also quizzed in this matter," she added.

The police officer also said that lapses were found in the investigation of the case.
Bhopal, July 26 : The body of a B-Tech student was found on the railway tracks hours after his father lodged a missing person complaint with the Bhopal police. The postmortem on the body was performed in Bhopal's AIIMS on Monday, which mentioned that death occurred after coming under a moving train.

However, a message received by the deceased Nishant Rathore's friends and family mentioning that "Gustakh-e-Nabi ki ek hi saja, Sar Tan se juda", has forced the police of two adjoining districts, Bhopal and Raisen, to investigate the matter from other angles also.

Nishant was pursuing B-Tech (3rd year) and was living with his college friends in a rented accommodation in Bhopal. His body was found on the railway tracks near Obaidullaganj in Raisen district, around 37 km from the state capital.

As per reports, Uma Shankar Rathore, the father of the deceased, received a message at 5.45 p.m. on Sunday on his mobile which read "Gustakh-e-Nabi ki ek hi saja, Sar Tan se juda". The message was sent from Nishant's mobile number.

Suspecting some untoward incident, the father made several calls to Nishant's mobile number, but received no answer. He then contacted one of Nishant's roommates and was told that his son left the room saying 'he is going to meet his sister'.

However, Nishant did not reach his sister and therefore the family decided to lodge a missing person complaint at TT Nagar police station in Bhopal. Later in the night, his father received a call from the police that a body has been found on the railway tracks and upon reaching there the family identified him as Nishant.

The Bhopal police said during the preliminary investigation it was found that Nishant took fuel from a petrol pump in Bhopal's board office area. As per the police, CCTV footage suggested that he was heading towards Bagsewaniya (outer part of Bhopal).

After the postmortem on Monday, Inspector General (IG) of Police Narmadapuram range, Deepak Suri said, "the cause of death was impact from a moving train." However, the family of the deceased ruled out the possibility of suicide, suspecting the Nishant was murdered. The family has demanded a further investigation in the matter, mentioning the message received before his death.

Responding to the message received by the deceased's father and friends, Additional Commissioner of Police, Bhopal, Sachin Atulkar said, "The family has informed about the message, but they have not submitted the details. The body was found in the jurisdiction of the Raisen police and they are investigating the case. The boy was living in Bhopal and therefore, we are also investigating and we are in touch with the Raisen police." Meanwhile, sources told IANS that the deceased had invested money on 'Cryptocurrency' and lost it. The sources also claimed that he had borrowed money from someone to invest in Cryptocurrency.

Responding to this issue, a senior police official told IANS that, "We are investigating the matter from all possible angles, but so far it appears and as the postmortem report also suggested that death was caused by being hit by a train. We will interrogate his roommates and some other friends who were close to Nishant." However, questions remain unanswered like who sent the message to the deceased's father and friends before his body was found on the railway tracks.
London, July 26 : Almost 16 cities across the UK have raised their hat in the ring to host the 2023 Eurovision song contest, which can't be held in Ukraine due to security concerns.

"Bidding is expected to be competitive, with several mayors, councillors and MPs already informally expressing an intention to bid, including representatives from: Aberdeen, Belfast, Birmingham, Brighton, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Newcastle, Nottingham, Sheffield and Wolverhampton," said the EBU.

After weeks of discussions, it was revealed on Monday that the UK would host the event on behalf of the war-torn nation - and the idea has evidently landed well with cities all around the country. Not even six hours since the news broke, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which organises the contest, said in a statement that 16 cities plan to bid, reports 'Variety'.

The BBC has staged the Eurovision Song Contest more times than any other broadcaster, hosting in London in 1960, 1963, 1968 and 1977, Edinburgh in 1972, Brighton in 1974, Harrogate in 1982 and Birmingham in 1998.

As soon as news of the UK being the host country was confirmed, Sadiq Khan, mayor of four-time host city London, tweeted: "London is ready and willing to step in. We would be honoured to put on a contest that celebrates the people of Ukraine and shows off the very best of Britain." Birmingham and Leeds had revealed their decision to bid in June, with the former getting a first hand experience of staging a global event in the shape of the Commonwealth Games, which begin Thursday. Newcastle joined the fray earlier this month, with councillor Alex Hay talking up the city as "welcoming, well-connected and ambitious...with a proven track record of staging world class events".

Similarly, Liverpool's director of culture, Claire McColgan, told Variety: "We're a city well-versed in staging major events, and if we meet the criteria we will definitely submit a bid. As a UNESCO City of Music, Liverpool is filled with joy, colour and exuberance which would be a perfect match for Eurovision, and we would take the opportunity to pay tribute to Ukraine, standing in solidarity with its wonderful people and honouring their incredible resolve." Brighton and Hove had also revealed their intention to bid in June, and has already been in touch with relevant UK government departments to make their plans clear. Council leader Phelim Mac Cafferty told Variety: "The circumstances in Ukraine that have led to the Eurovision Song Contest being hosted in the UK in 2023 are beyond tragic. But in Brighton and Hove we would pull out all the stops to be the 'next best' host. We firmly believe that as a UK city that's previously hosted Eurovision, we have the people, the sheer musical talent and a proud place on the global stage to make Eurovision 2023 just as memorable and magnificent as 1974." Cafferty says that the Brighton and Hove administration is currently waiting for further information about dates, venue capacity and any other requirements that the EBU may have.

While this year's requirements haven't been published yet, in addition to their vision for the contest, bidding cities are expected to demonstrate that they can meet a list of expectations to be provided by the EBU.

Last year, the EBU's host city criteria was based on providing a venue that could accommodate at least 10,000 spectators, as well as a press centre, which should be within easy reach of an international airport and with ample hotel accommodation.

Edinburgh, a city with deep connections with Ukraine, having officially twinned as sister cities with Kyiv in 1989, is another keen potential host. City of Edinburgh council leader Cammy Day told Variety: "Edinburgh had the pleasure of hosting Eurovision 50 years ago at our very own Usher Hall - the first time it had been held outside London. Of course, I'd far rather the event was being held in Kiev but, as its sister city and new home to many thousands of Ukrainians, Edinburgh would be a fitting host. Clearly, the scale of the event has grown since 1972, but we'll look at all options and make a decision on whether to bid as soon as we can." Sheffield, located in South Yorkshire, twinned with Donetsk in Ukraine in 1956. South Yorkshire's Mayor Oliver Coppard told Variety that Sheffield seems to be the "obvious choice" to host the contest.

"With Tramlines - the biggest urban music festival in Europe - we've just shown what a great show we're capable of putting on," said Coppard. "We've got an international airport right on our doorstep and world-class venues." Meanwhile, administrators in Aberdeen echo their rivals in saying that they have the people and infrastructure to support international events such as the contest. "It would provide a major boost to the Aberdeen and Scottish economies and raise the city's profile with potential investors and visitors," the administrators add.

The BBC and the EBU will await official approaches and applications from this week onwards and will publish the long list later in the summer.

Latest updates on Commonwealth Games 2022
New Delhi, July 26 : Phishing attacks via social media are on the rise and India witnessed over 1.5 crore such cyber threats in the second quarter (Q2) this year, an average of more than 17.5 lakh attacks per day which were blocked by Norton Labs, the cyber-security company said on Tuesday.

In the April-June period, Norton thwarted over 900 million threats, or around 10 million threats per day globally. During that three month period, there were 22.6 million phishing attempts and 103.7 million file threats globally.

Globally, there were 302,000 mobile threats and 78,000 ransomware attacks, according to Norton Labs, NortonLifeLock's global research team.

"Threat actors use social media for phishing attacks because it's a low-effort and high return way to target billions of people around the world," said Darren Shou, head of technology, NortonLifeLock.

"As social media is intertwined in our daily lives, it's key to know how to spot the signs of a scam and keep a sharp eye on where requests for your information are coming from," he added.

The researchers uncovered the top tactics cybercriminals use to get victims to reveal personal information, and while classic login phishing pages are still the most common ploy, cybercriminals are finding new ways to deceive social media users.

Tactics include account lockouts which makes it seem that a victim's account has been locked due to "copyright violations".

Other tactics include luring victims to reveal login credentials or install malware on the promise of increasing follow count and prompting users to login to obtain, or not to lose, their verified status on the platform.

Another phishing campaign tactic aims to intercept temporary codes, to break into profiles with two-factor authentication enabled. "These tokens are generally tied to the victim's device and allow the scammer to perform privileged operations, such as modifying personal details or login credentials, the report mentioned.
Chandigarh, July 26 : Haryana Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala on Tuesday said the state government will also promote the textile industry through MSMEs so that more and more youth can get employment.

For this, Haryana Atmanirbhar Textile Policy 2022 will be implemented soon.

The Deputy Chief Minister gave this information after a meeting held in New Delhi to discuss the draft prepared for the policy.

Earlier, Chautala presided over a meeting of the Cabinet Sub-Committee regarding the draft of Haryana's proposed policy in New Delhi.

Haryana Agriculture Minister Jai Prakash Dalal and Labour and Employment Minister Anoop Dhanak were also present at the meeting.

The Deputy Chief Minister said the policy draft has been thoroughly discussed by the Cabinet Sub-Committee. "Now this policy will be placed before the Cabinet for approval. This policy, prepared for the time period till 2025, is expected to invest about Rs 4,000 crore and provide employment to 20,000 youth," he said.

In the meeting various goals of Haryana Atmanirbhar Textile Policy such as entrepreneurship expansion, investment, employment generation, grants, textile parks and other relevant topics were discussed.

The meeting also discussed the National Technical Textiles Mission. He said under this policy, technical textiles will be specially encouraged and expanded.

Promotion of synthetic fiber and regenerated fiber units has also been included in the policy.

Chautala said in the last few years investors are coming forward to set up industries as the state government has taken several major steps to improve the industrial-environment due to which Prime Minister Narendra Modi awarded Haryana for its remarkable work done in the field of MSME.

In this field, where the state has got the third position at the national level, Haryana has been ranked in the top achievers category in the fifth edition of State Ease of Doing Business released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, which is a matter of pride for the state, he added.
San Francisco, July 26 : Dell Technologies has announced that it is going to discontinue its Mobile Connect platform, and it will no longer be available for download.

Dell Mobile Connect is software available on all Bluetooth-enabled Inspiron, Vostro, G-Series, Alienware, and Consumer XPS devices with Windows 10 or above that syncs user's phone's texts, calls, and notifications to their computer.

"This software requires the Dell Mobile Connect or Alienware Mobile Connect companion app to create a wireless PC-Smartphone integration," the company said in a statement.

"With the app, Dell users can remotely interact with their mobile phone from their computer to reply to SMS messages, make and receive phone calls, and more," it added.

For the US, Canada and Japan, the app will no longer be available for download from November 30 and will be discontinued on January 31, 2023.

Meanwhile, for other countries, the app will no longer be available for download from July 31 and will be discontinued on November 30.

The company recommends uninstalling Dell Mobile Connect or Alienware Mobile Connect from both Dell computer and mobile devices by the regional discontinue date.

To uninstall the app from a mobile device, users must follow the app removal instructions from the device manufacturer.

To uninstall the app from a Dell computer, first users need to select Start, then select settings, go to apps then apps and features, from there, choose Mobile Dell Connect or Alienware Mobile Connect, then select Uninstall.
Colombo, July 26 : People of India on Tuesday donated humanitarian assistance worth around $9.5 million (SLR 3.4 billion) to Sri Lanka which is going through a severe economic crisis.

Indian High Commissioner Gopal Baglay handed over the supplies consisting of 16,594 MT of rice, 200 MT of milk powder, and around 38 MT of medicines, donated by the

Tamil Nadu government.

The humanitarian supplied were handed over to Foreign Minister Ali Sabry, Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella, and MP Jeevan Thondaman and Ceylon Workers' Congress

leader Senthil Thondaman, representing the Indian origin Tamils in the central hills.

"This was the third such consignment from Government of Tamil Nadu, which has donated a total of 40,000 MT of rice, 500 MT of milk powder and more than 100 MT of medicines whose total worth is more than $22 million," the Indian High Commission in Colombo said.

The medicines included 25,000 doses of anti-rabies vaccine which is in a severe shortage at the moment.

"The people of India have been complementing Government of India's efforts in standing with the people of Sri Lanka towards addressing their diverse needs," the Indian mission said.

During this year, the Indian people, including independent initiatives of various hospitals, Indian community organisations and several other entities based in India, have donated generously for the Sri Lanka people with over $3.8 billion worth of financial assistance.

"The coming together of the people and Government of India towards the cause underscores the abiding people to people connect between India and Sri Lanka and the mutual care and concern for each other," the High Commission added.
Dakshina Kannada, July 26 : Fear of moral policing in the coastal districts of Karnataka, especially in Dakshina Kannada district, is back with Hindu organisations warning the state police that if they don't act on drugs, entry of minors into pubs, they will ensure things are set right.

Speaking to the media, district convener of the Bajrang Dal, Punith Attavar stated that if the police department does not ensure action on drugs and entry of minors into pubs, the Bajrang Dal will take care of it and ensure that no one misuses the law or misguides the younger generation in Dakshina Kannada district.

Meanwhile, leaders of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) met BJP MLA Vedavyasa Kamat in connection with the incident of partying college students being sent back from a pub in Mangaluru. The delegation headed by VHP south region assistant secretary Sharan Pumpwell demanded action against pubs operating beyond time limits.

They also asked him to check drug peddling and college students. Kamat assured the VHP activists that he will speak to the police about it.

Punith Attavar maintained that the Bajrang Dal activists informed the police and took everyone along to the Recycle pub where minors were consuming liquor and indulging in other activities. No law was violated and no one was harmed, he maintained.

A debate has now started on the activism of Hindu organisations leading to moral policing in the state. The recent incident of sending back partying students from the pub has brought back memories of more than 40 Hindu activists barging into the pub 'Amnesia- The Lounge' in Mangaluru and beating up young women and men, which made international news in 2009.

Mangaluru Police Commissioner N Shashikumar stated that information will be gathered from the students who were sent out from the pub and further action will be initiated. There is no provision for outsiders to carry out checks in pubs.
Navsari : , July 26 (IANS) Learning lessons from the Barwala hooch tragedy, Gujarat's Telada village has decided to voluntarily implement liquor prohibition strictly.

A delegation of the villagers led by village Sarpanch A.Z. Rathod submitted a letter to the district superintendent of police requesting for help in implementing the prohibition in the village.

Villagers passed a resolution in which it was resolved that no one will manufacture, sell or drink country liquor, nor will anyone bring IMFL into the village, neither sell nor drink.

Sarpanch told the local media, "There are a few people who are running country liquor distillery. People buy and drink liquor. Every year at least seven to eight youths die because of liquor addiction. And, all social and economic liabilities fall on the widows, this issue is turning very serious and needs to be addressed. So this decision has been taken by the village." S.K. Rai, Navsari Deputy Superintendent of Police, said, "Villagers from Telada had paid a visit to me requesting for our support. I have assured them that police patrolling will be increased in the village. Police will raid liquor dens and ensure liquor does not flow in the village."
New Delhi, July 26 : The Supreme Court on Tuesday flagged the issue of political parties promising freebies to influence voters as serious, and asked the Central government to examine the matter so as to control promises of freebies to induce the electorate.

A bench, headed by Chief Justice N.V. Ramana asked the Centre, to find out from the Finance Commission, if there is a possibility of curbing state governments and political parties from promising and distributing irrational freebies to induce voters.

Initially, the bench queried Additional Solicitor General K.M. Nataraj to find out Centre's stand on the issue.

"You take a stand whether freebies should continue or not," the bench, also comprising Justices Krishna Murari and Hima Kohli, told Nataraj, representing the Central government.

On the other hand, counsel representing the Election Commission submitted that it was held in previous judgments that a manifesto was part of the promises of a political party.

At this, the bench replied: "We are on freebies to bribe the electorate. Now if you say it's hands off for you, then what is the purpose of the Election Commission of India?" In April this year, the EC told the Supreme Court that offering freebies either before or after the elections is a policy decision of the political party, and it cannot regulate state policies and decisions taken by the parties.

The EC counsel suggested that the Central government could bring a law to deal with the issue, but Nataraj suggested that it falls under the domain of the EC.

Taking exceptions to Nataraj's submissions, the bench asked the Central government to take a stand on the matter.

"Why don't you say that you have nothing to do with it and the ECI has to take a call? I'm asking if the government of India is considering whether it's a serious issue or not? "Why are you hesitating to take a stand? You take a stand and then we'll decide whether these freebies are to be continued or not," it told Nataraj.

At this juncture, the bench turned to senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who was present in the courtroom for another matter. "Mr. Sibal is here as a senior parliamentarian. What is your view?.... How to control these freebies?" Sibal said freebies were a "serious issue" and it would be not fair to put the liability on the Central government. He said this issue had to be tackled at the state government level and suggested tapping into the expertise of the Finance Commission.

Citing that the Finance Commission is an independent body, Sibal added that while making allocations to the states, it can examine debts of each individual state and could scrutinise whether offers of freebies are viable, or not.

The bench then told Nataraj: "Please find out from the Finance Commission. Will list this sometime next week... what is the authority to initiate debate...".

The top court scheduled the matter for further hearing on August 3.

Petitioner advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay termed the issue serious and submitted that EC should bar the state and national political parties from giving such things. "There should be some reasonable promise," said Upadhyay citing a total debt of Rs 6.5 lakh crore. "We're on our way to becoming Sri Lanka," he said.

The top court was hearing a PIL by Upadhyay against the announcements made by political parties for inducing voters, through freebies, during elections.

In an affidavit, the ECI said: "Offering/distribution of any freebies either before or after the election is a policy decision of the party concerned and whether such policies are financially viable or its adverse effect on the economic health of the state is a question that has to be considered and decided by the voters of the state." It added: "The Election Commission cannot regulate state policies and decisions which may be taken by the winning party when they form the government. Such an action without enabling provisions in the law, would be an overreach of powers." Upadhyay's PIL claimed that the promise or distribution of irrational freebies from public funds before polls shakes the roots of a free and fair election, and vitiates the purity of the election process. The plea sought a direction from the top court to declare that the promise of irrational freebies, which are not for public purposes, from public funds before election, violates Articles 14, 162, 266(3), and 282 of the Constitution.

The plea contended that a condition should be imposed on the political party that they would not promise or distribute irrational freebies from the public fund. The EC responded that it "may result in a situation where the political parties will lose their recognition even before they display their electoral performance". The top court had issued notice on the plea on January 25.
New Delhi: Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh pays tribute to martyrs at National War Memorial to mark the Kargil Vijay Diwas, in New Delhi on Tuesday, July 26, 2022. (Photo: Twitter) Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi: Tri-services chiefs pay tribute to martyrs at National War Memorial to mark the Kargil Vijay Diwas, in New Delhi on Tuesday, July 26, 2022. (Photo: Twitter) Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi, July 26 : As the country celebrated Kargil Vijay Diwas on Tuesday, Army chief General Manoj Pandey, Navy chief Admiral R. Hari Kumar and Air Force's Air Chief Marshal V.R. Choudhary laid wreaths at the National War Memorial in Delhi.

Kargil Vijay Diwas is celebrated across the country on this day. 23 years ago on July 26, 1999, the brave soldiers of India gave a befitting reply to Pakistan and drove out the Pakistani intruders.

On this occasion, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has saluted the spirit of the soldiers, remembering the valour of the Indian Army. "Kargil Vijay Diwas is a symbol of pride and glory of Mother Bharati. On this occasion, my salute to all the brave sons of the country who have accomplished their valour in the defence of the motherland," Modi tweeted.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has also saluted the bravery, courage and sacrifice of the armed forces on Kargil Vijay Diwas. "India salutes the bravery, courage and sacrifice of our armed forces. They fought bravely in extremely harsh conditions to protect our motherland. Their valour and indomitable spirit will always be etched as a defining moment in the history of India," he tweeted.

President Droupadi Murmu also remembered the valour and determination of the army on this occasion. "Kargil Vijay Diwas is a symbol of extraordinary valour and determination of our armed forces. I bow to all the brave soldiers who laid down their lives to protect Mother India. All the countrymen will always be indebted to them and their family members," Murmu wrote on Twitter.
New Delhi, July 26 : The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) on Tuesday said Jagdeep Dhankhar, National Democratic Alliance's (NDA) candidate for vice presidency, has withdrawn from the process of seeking a chamber on the Supreme Court premises, as a lawyer.

In a letter to the Registrar of the Supreme Court, SCBA President Vikas Singh said keeping the interest of the bar at heart, Dhankhar has conveyed his wish to voluntarily withdraw from the process of chamber allotment so that other lawyers in need of a chamber may be allotted the same. "In view of the above, you are requested to kindly exclude the name of Jagdeep Dhankar from the list and re-work the same accordingly," he said the letter.

Name of senior advocate Dhankhar, the former Governor of West Bengal, was mentioned on the chamber allotment list issued vide notice on July 19.

On Monday, an issue connected with chambers allotment came up before the apex court and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud recalled how he occupied a small 120 square feet chamber in Mumbai when he was an Additional Solicitor General. Several lawyers raised objections against twin-sharing allotment of chambers on the apex court premises.

A bench headed by Justice Chandrachud permitted the advocates to submit a representation before a judges' committee, which is overseeing the process.
Taipei, July 26 : A long-running heatwave in China has pushed electricity usage to record levels in some areas and led to blackouts, with warnings that the high temperatures are expected to continue for at least another week, a media report said.

More than 300 cities were forecast to reach temperatures above 35 degrees Celsius on Tuesday. China Southern Power Grid Company said Monday's usage had surpassed last year's peak load by 3 per cent, The Guardian reported.

The Guangdong province power grid also hit a record high, reaching 142m kilowatts, an increase of 4.89 per cent over last year's peak load. Blackouts were reported in the provincial capital, Guangzhou, which has recorded a full week of maximum temperatures above 37 degrees Celsius, including highs of 40 degrees Celsius on Sunday and Monday.

Yang Lin, the manager of the company's dispatching office, said once temperatures in Guangzhou surpassed 35 degrees Celsius, every extra degree meant a corresponding load increase of 3m-5m kilowatts.

The company said it was inspecting equipment to avoid overheating and malfunction, and pledged to maintain power supply. In recent years there have been widespread blackouts that have caused havoc across China, blamed on extreme temperatures, rising demand for electricity and shortages in coal, which is still the main source of China's power, The Guardian reported.

China is among several countries to have moved back towards a coal-focused energy supply, despite ambitious emissions reduction pledges, amid a global crisis exacerbated by the Ukraine conflict. On Friday the ministry of emergency management warned safe operation of the power grid faced "severe tests".

On Monday, 21 red warnings and 140 orange warnings were issued for high temperatures, predominately across the south-east and in the far west, including Xinjiang, The Guardian reported.
Ahmedabad, July 26 : Following the death of 28 people in Ahmedabad Rural and Botad districts in Gujarat due to the consumption of illicit liquor, the opposition has slammed the state government over the poor implementation of liquor prohibition policy. The ruling party on the other hand has accused the opposition of playing "dirty political games".

With the Assembly elections near, all the political parties are making a beeline to meet the affected people. The opposition leaders as well as the Ministers and other BJP leaders are all rushing to meet the affected families and trying to score points.

Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghvi paid visits to the Ahmedabad civil hospital where the affected patients are admitted. Health Minister Rishikesh Patel and Education Minister Jitu Vaghani and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal visited the victims in Bhavnagar hospital. Gujarat Congress president Jagdish Thakor, Leader of Opposition Sukhram Rathwa, MLA Jignesh Mewani visited the victim's family in Rojid village of Botad and later visited the patients in Bhavnagar hospital.

Thakor said, "Ruling party is protecting people who are running illegal liquor business in the state for election fund. Even after being warned about this, police did not act. This is just not lapse but protection, for which police are given bribes. Because of illicit liquor 28 persons have lost their lives, so the government should pay minimum Rs 10 lakh compensation to each deceased's family." Independent MLA Jignesh Mewani wants the state monitoring cell head Superintendent of Police Nirlipt Rai to be assigned to investigate the hooch tragedy.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national Joint Secretary Isudan Gadhvi, blamed the state government for its failure, and demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghvi should resign. They don't have any morale to continue in the office after 28 deaths.

Jitu Vaghani, Education Minister said, "This is not the time to play politics and try to score, it is a tragic incident, everyone is sympathetic towards families who have lost their loved ones." He said the state police alertness has stopped a major tragedy, "had not the police acted fast and all 600 liters of methyl alcohol would have been consumed, many lives would be lost," he said.
New Delhi, July 26: Not all's well between China and Pakistan even as the two countries keep reiterating their support and commitments towards each other.

The much-hyped China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is yet to yield the desired dividend. While most of the projects are running "woefully" behind schedule, the main problem is lack of demand. Business is yet to take off at the deep-sea Gwadar port despite being operational.

"Though we hear that the Gwadar port is operational, there are several critical issues plaguing operations. While it is a given that issues have come up due to security lapses and incomplete projects, we need to understand that demand, which is the most critical factor, is not adequate," Abhijnan Rej, researcher and consultant focusing on Asian security and geopolitics.

Though authorities of both countries claim that progress at the Gwadar port - the flagship project of the $60 billion infrastructure exercise-- has been satisfactory, concerns are rising. And now China and Pakistan have thrown open the door to other countries to come on board.

Third Pole, a research platform dealing specifically with issues of water, climate, livelihoods across the Himalayas and Asia's great rivers, said that on paper, the port's potential is promising. At present, it has space to berth two or three large ships with a capacity of 50,000 deadweight tonnage. But the lives and livelihood of the people living in the region have not improved.

"It is ready for anyone to use. It's up to investors and traders to use it to do profitable business. We cannot trade for them," Third Pole quoted Naseer Khan Kashani, chairman, Gwadar Port Authority (GPA) as saying.

In a report by the research firm published in August last year "there were buildings, sheds and godowns (warehouses) on the land, but no people in sight." Rej said that the situation has not changed much. Another analyst added that internally China is unhappy with the way the CPEC is progressing though it is a central plank of Beijing's overall geopolitical strategy in the region. "With the rising challenges on the home front, China's ability to deal with BRI is slowing though CPEC is important for the country as it is also meant to curb India's influence," he said.

The Gwadar port aimed at connecting China's Xinjiang province to the Arabian Sea was envisaged to be a trade hub.

Besides being more or less an idle port, other issues relating to security breach, corruption, misappropriation of funds and protests from local residents have also marred the progress of the project.

In an interview with India Narrative earlier, the late Shakti Sinha, who was director, Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Policy Research and International Studies, MS University said that the route mapping of the CPEC including the Gwadar port project will not be successful on its own.

"Until other countries including India come on board, it will not be a success story... it is unlikely that India will join the club," he had said.

Media reports a few months ago indicated that only three projects under the CPEC umbrella have been completed.

Officially launched in 2015, the grand project is part of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) spread across countries in multiple continents.

However, the two countries are trying to maintain a facade that everything is hunky dory. China and Pakistan after the meeting of the CPEC joint working group last week decided "to continue to deepen media cooperation and do a good job in telling CPEC stories." China's Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian at the regular press conference yesterday said that leaders of both countries have agreed to push forward all CPEC projects in a safe, smooth, and high-quality manner that will benefit the people of the region.

He added that the two sides have also agreed to "cope with risks and challenges to accumulate positive energy for, inject new impetus into, and provide a strong guarantee for the development of CPEC." (The content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com) --indianarrative
Chennai, July 26 : A special CBI court here has sentenced three officials of a private firm two years rigorous imprisonment for cheating UCO Bank to the tune of Rs 1.05 crore.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Egmore, also slapped a Rs 40,000 fine each on G.T. Vijayan, then Managing Director of Chennai-based Seaglad Pharamceuticals Pvt Ltd in Chennai, and then Directors, S.P. Nagarajan and D. Vijayakumar.

The CBI had registered the case in 2011 on the basis of a complaint from UCO Bank, against Seaglad Pharamceuticals Pvt Ltd and its management.

It was alleged that the company's MD alongwith other directors, availed credit facility of Rs 70 lakh from UCO Bank, for developing their business by hypothecation of stock of raw materials, chemicals, finished goods, book debts not more than 90 days, proposed machinery and collateral security of vacant land at Thiruvanmiyur in Chennai.

The account became a non performing asset (NPA) in 2003. It was later revealed that the said property was already acquired by Tamil Badu Housing Board (TNHB) which was suppressed by the accused and thereby, defrauding the bank and causing a loss to the tune of Rs 1.05 crore.

After investigation, a charge sheet was filed by the CBI.
Hyderabad, July 26 : Samples collected from a man with suspected symptoms of monkeypox were found to be negative, a top Telangana health official said on Tuesday.

"The samples sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune for monkeypox testing are found to be negative," announced Director of Public Health Dr G. Srinivasa Rao. There is no need to panic, he added.

Five types of samples of the 40-year-old man were sent. They include swab from throat, blood, urine, and from lesions on skin.

The man had arrived in Kamareddy from Kuwait on July 6. He developed fever on July 20 and later when there were rashes on the body, he approached a private hospital in the town.

Suspecting it to be a case of monkeypox, doctors referred him to Kamareddy District Hospital and from there he was sent in an ambulance to Hyderabad and admitted in a special isolation ward for suspected monkeypox cases at Fever Hospital on Sunday.

"The lesions on his neck, hands and chest are like lesions from monkeypox. It may also be chickenpox," Fever Hospital Superintendent Dr K. Shankar had said on Monday.

The man's six close contacts were also identified and kept in isolation.

The director of public health had earlier said that people need not panic over monkeypox as it is not a fatal disease.

This was the first suspected case of monkeypox in Telangana. Neighbouring Andhra Pradesh had reported the first suspected case on July 17. two-year-old child, who had gone to Dubai with family, was found with skin rashes on return. However, the samples sent to NIV, Pune tested negative for monkeypox.

Latest updates on Monkeypox Virus Outbreak
Kolkata, July 26 : Did Partha Chatterjee and Arpita Mukherjee travel to Singapore together for a business summit in 2012? The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is piecing together evidence after several people reported that the two were seen together in Singapore to where Chatterjee had flown in his official capacity as minister to attend the 'Beautiful Bengal' summit that was meant to attract investment for the state of West Bengal.

This was barely a year after the Trinamool Congress stormed to power in the state.

"Yes, we have received certain inputs and are looking into the matter. This business summit was held during an alumni get-together of a renowned educational institution in Kolkata at Singapore. This has nothing to do with the institution. However, there were several people from the city present during the event and some have reported that they spotted Mukherjee with the minister during the trip. We are corroborating evidence," an ED official said.

This information in the hands of the ED is significant as certain incriminating documents seized from Chatterjee's residence and the upscale apartment of Mukherjee date back to recruitments through the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) of 2012. While some have claimed that Chatterjee, with full knowledge of the party's top leadership, began recruiting non-qualified or under-qualified teachers in lieu of money since 2012, those close to the Trinamool maintain that all the unaccounted-for cash recovered from Mukherjee's condo is post demonetisation, hence the racket doesn't go so far back.

"There have been several clandestine land deals for nearly 10 years now. Several properties worth crores of rupees are now under our scanner. Money earned before demonetisation may have been invested in property. What was seized from the residence of Arpita Mukherjee may have been some of the earnings after new currency notes got circulated. We are sure that this is not something that happened over the last 3-4 years alone. Yes, a hue and cry by eligible candidates over the last two years did lead to this investigation. Those who suffered earlier may not have been aware that they had been cheated," the official added.

Even a section of Trinamool leaders is now worried about the kind of brazenness being displayed by Chief Minister and party supremo Mamata Banerjee. Ideally, people would have liked to see Chatterjee removed from his post as a cabinet minister after his arrest and remand to ED custody for 10 days. Instead of doing that, Mamata seems to be protecting her image.

"We are worried. This is the time of social and digital media and nearly every person sitting in a remote village has access to a smartphone. Many TET and SSB aspirants who were cheated are from the rural areas. We will be going in for the panchayat polls in 2023. Will Didi's bravado suffice in convincing voters that she knew nothing for so many years? Then, why is she not sacking Chatterjee immediately instead of creating a martyr out of him? Today, there is no doubt in people's minds that Chatterjee is corrupt. The party need not stand by him any longer," a senior Trinamool leader said.

Opposition leaders like Sujan Chakraborty and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury maintain that Mamata can't ditch Chatterjee just like that as he may spill the beans on other corrupt practices adopted by the West Bengal Government over the last decade. While Suvendu Adhikari, BJP MLA and Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, continues to Tweet video clips of Mamata addressing Mukherjee as if she knows her for long at public gatherings, Chowdhury has demanded Chatterjee's removal from the Cabinet.
Mumbai, July 26 : Ahead of the movie's release on Thursday, the makers of "Vikram Rona" have released the video teaser of yet another dance number "Ra Ra Rakkamma". The lyrical video of the song from the Kichcha Sudeep-starrer has already had party goers grooving to its beats.

Image Source: IANS News

Featuring the stunning Jacqueline Fernandez on its poster along with handsome hunk Kichcha Sudeep, the dance number promises a feast for the eyes with some trendsetting signature dance moves.

The song has vocals by Sunidhi Chauhan and Nakash Aziz while Shabbir has penned the lyrics.

Image Source: IANS News

The music from "Vikrant Rona" is turning out to be a hit among music lovers. From the lullaby song which portrayed the sensitive side of lead actor Sudeep, to "Hey Fakira", the soundtrack has been impressive.

Image Source: IANS News

The makers had recently released 'The Devil's Fury' video of "Gumma Banda Gumma" theme song from the movie that gives the audience a sneak peek into the mysterious world of "Vikrant Rona".

'Vikrant Rona' is a multilingual action-adventure that will see a 3-D release in 14 languages across 55 countries.

Billed as an adventure-based mystery thriller, it is one of the most-anticipated movies releasing this year. After Yash-starrer "KGF: Chapter 2", it is the second Sandalwood industry offering to be made for pan-India audiences.

"Vikrant Rona" will release worldwide in 3D on July 28. Directed by Anup Bhandari, it also stars Nirup Bhandari, and Neetha Ashok.

The movie is presented by Salman Khan Films, Zee Studios, and Kichcha Creatiions in north India, and produced by Jack Manjunath under his production Shalini Artss, and co-produced by Alankar Pandian of Invenio Origins. The film will be distributed in north India by PVR Pictures.

-- Syndicated from IANS
Bhopal, July 26 : The Madhya Pradesh Congress won five mayoral seats against the ruling BJP's nine in the recently concluded urban body elections, but the win that elated the Opposition the most was undoubtedly the Gwalior mayoral post.

The reason was that the grand old party got to taste a win in Gwalior after nearly seven decades and more importantly this victory was against Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, whose shifting to the BJP had resulted in the fall of the Kamal Nath- led Congress government in Madhya Pradesh in 2020.

Also, the BJP had always won the Gwalior mayoral post, but lost this time despite the Scindia family campaigning for the party's candidate in their home turf for the first time, reports suggest.

The Scindia family has held full sway over the politics of the Gwalior-Chambal division, which includes Morena. The Congress also won the Morena mayoral seat against the BJP despite the saffron party having two senior politicians from the Gwalior-Chambal division in the Union cabinet -- Jyotiraditya Scindia and Narendra Singh Tomar.

The Congress won the Gwalior mayoral post for the first time in 57 years. There was a myth that the Scindia family could never win this post despite having strong domination in its home turf. Scindia switched to the saffron party, but the myth remained constant.

Like his father, late Madhavrao Scindia, Jyotiraditya also maintained a distance from the local elections in Gwalior, except giving tickets to candidates loyal to the family. This time, Jyotiraditya campaigned for the BJP's candidate Suman Sharma.

During the selection of mayoral candidates, Scindia was strongly backing Maya Singh, whom he address as "mami ji", but the party gave the ticket to Suman Sharma, who is considered close to Tomar and state BJP president V. D. Sharma.

Sources in the BJP told IANS that the party was confident of wining Gwalior, but lost because of factionalism. "Gwalior's loss has undoubtedly dented the BJP and the party's leadership has taken the issue seriously," a BJP leader said requesting not to be named.

What is interesting is that the mayoral candidates fielded by both the BJP and the Congress had switched from their parties to join the rival unit. The Congress' Shobha Sikarwar, wife of Congress MLA, Gwalior East, Satish Sikarwar, had switched to the Congress from the BJP in 2020. Similarly, Suman Sharma, the BJP's candidate for the mayoral post, had shifted to the saffron camp from the Congress.

Talking to IANS, Satish Sikarwar said the Congress won in Gwalior because of the strong determination of the party's local workers. After Scindia switched to the BJP, it was said that the Congress has lost ground in Gwalior.

"No doubt, I got support from all sections of people as my family has been in politics for the last several decades, but honestly speaking, we could win the Gwalior mayoral post because of the strong determination of party workers. They had decided to give a message to the BJP that the Congress still has domination in the Gwalior-Chambal division. The entire Congress unit under the leadership of Kamal Nath fought the elections and won, " Sikarwar said.
New Delhi, July 26 : The Supreme Court has refused to review its judgment delivered on April 19, commuting the death sentence to a man, for rape and murder of a four-year-old girl, to life term.

Commuting the sentence, the top court had said: "We are reminded of what Oscar Wilde has said - The only difference between the saint and the sinner is that every saint has a past and every sinner has a future." Two review petitions were filed - one by the mother of the victim and the other by an organisation namely Bharatiya Stree Shakti. Both review petitions were dismissed by a bench of Justices U.U. Lalit, S Ravindra Bhat, and Bela M. Trivedi.

On the mother's review petition, the bench said in the instant review petition, exception is taken to the commutation of death sentence which was awarded by the high court to that of the sentence for imprisonment of life for the offence punishable under Section 302 of the IPC.

It is submitted inter alia that as against the decision of this court in Shatrughna Baban Meshram v. State of Maharashtra, the death was caused by conscious act on the part of the accused and that the matter was not under clause four of Section 300 IPC, noted the bench.

"After considering the landmark decisions of this court in Bachan Singh vs State of Punjab (1980) and Machi Singh and Others vs State of Punjab (1983), this court did not deem it appropriate to sustain the sentence of death awarded under Section 302 of the IPC. As the discussion in Paragraph 40 and 41 indicates (of April 19) the legislative policy under Sections 354 (3) and 235 (2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 was noted and the commutation was directed," the bench said.

The top court noted that even after conclusion of hearing, certain material from the probation officer, the Director General of Prisons, and trained psychiatrist was also called so that the matter pertaining to sentence could be considered. "Thus, the commutation of sentence of death to that of life imprisonment was done by the court after bestowing attention to the relevant factors. In the circumstances, no case is made out to take a different view in the matter and this Review Petition is dismissed," it said.

Victim's mother filed the review through advocate Alakh Alok Srivastava. She had contended that her daughter, who was deceitfully kidnapped, brutally raped and viciously murdered by Mohd Firoz, also had a future.

The accused was sentenced to death by the trial court, which was confirmed by the Madhya Pradesh High Court. However, the top court commuted the death sentence saying: "Since, Section 376A IPC is also applicable to the facts of the case, considering the gravity and seriousness of the offence, the sentence of imprisonment for the remainder of appellant's natural life would have been an appropriate sentence, however, we are reminded of what Oscar Wilde has said - The only difference between the saint and the sinner is that every saint has a past and every sinner has a future." "One of the basic principles of restorative justice as developed by this Court over the years, also is to give an opportunity to the offender to repair the damage caused, and to become a socially useful individual, when he is released from the jail." --IANS

ss/vd

A
New Delhi, July 26 : In a major organisational restructuring, the BJP is getting ready to include Pasmanda Muslims in its OBC (other Backward Classes) Morcha as office-bearers.

In May, IANS had reported that the BJP was planning to identify individuals among the backward Muslim community for leadership role in the party. According to the party estimates, there is around 85 per cent backward or Pasmanda Muslim population across the country.

During the party's national executive committee meeting in Hyderabad earlier this month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked the party leaders to start exploring new social equations by reaching out to marginalised sections among other religious groups, including the Pasmanda Muslims, who have benefitted from the various government welfare schemes.

Sources said that the decision to include Pasmanda Muslims as national office-bearers in OBC Morcha was taken after the Hyderabad meeting. "During the Hyderabad NEC meeting, Prime Minister asked about the number of Muslim office-bearers in OBC Morcha. Now, the party has decided to appoint backward or Pasmanda Muslim as national office-bearers," a senior BJP leader said.

The BJP leader claimed that the state units of OBC Morcha have representation of Muslim leaders but there is no one at the national level. "In states, we have Muslim office-bearer of OBC Morcha. But at the national level we don't have a single office-bearer from the Muslims. After the Prime Minister asking about the numbers of Muslim office-bearers in the OBC Morcha, the party has decided to include leaders from the community at the national level," he said.

Another party leader said that to ensure representation in the organisational structure, some leaders of the Pasmanda community will be made office-bearers in the BJP OBC Morcha soon.

"Giving organisational responsibility other than the Minority Morcha will also show that the BJP is more inclusive and is a welcome step," a senior functionary said.

The functionary added that after the Prime Minister's word of advice, the BJP leadership is working to give the appropriate representation to the Backward Muslims in the organisational structure in future. "Leaders from the Backward Muslim communities will be given different leadership role in different position in future," he said.

A party leader said that like other backward communities of Hindus, which is turning out to be a major vote bank, the BJP now focuses on backward communities of Muslims to expand its reach ahead of the next Parliament election.
New Delhi, July 26 : Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was released by the Delhi Police almost over six hours after he was detained during his party's march from Parliament to Rashtrapati Bhawan, officials said Tuesday.

"They have been released," Deputy Commissioner of Police (New Delhi) Amrutha Gugolth said while responding to a query about the Congress party leaders' detention.

The Congress MPs carried out a protest march from the Parliament House to Rashtrapati Bhawan in wake of questioning of Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi by the Enforcement Directorate and no discussion on important issues like price rise in Parliament.

However, as the parliamentarians moved forward to give a memorandum to President Droupadi Murmu, the Delhi Police stopped them midway near Vijay Chowk.

Subsequently, the Congress parliamentarians, including Rahul Gandhi, sat in protest in front of the Vijay Chowk. The protesting Congress leaders, holding placards, raised slogans against the probe agency ED and the Central government.

There was a heavy police deployment, including para military and Rapid Action force. Initially, the police began detaining other leaders, including women MPs, and at last Deepender Singh Hooda and Rahul Gandhi were left at the spot. The woman Congress MPs could be seen being dragged by the police personnel and bundled in a bus.

"What is the problem? We want to go there to meet the President and handover the memorandum. Why are we not allowed?," Rahul Gandhi could be heard while he was talking to a Delhi Police official.

After detaining every protesting leader from near the Vijay Chowk, Rahul Gandhi was then detained and taken from there in a bus along with other MPs to new police lines, Kingsway Police camp.

Apart from Vijay Chowk, hundreds of party workers were also detained from outside the Congress party headquarters at 24, Akbar Road.
Kolkata, July 26 : A public interest litigation (PIL) was filed in the Calcutta High Court on Tuesday against the recent comments by Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha member, Mahua Moitra associating Goddess Kali with alcohol and meat.

In the PIL filed before the division bench of Chief Justice Prakash Srivastava and Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj, the petitioner, the state BJP's minority cell, claimed that although her Trinamool Congress has distanced itself from the comments by its MP, no action was taken against her on this count.

The petitioner also pointed out that while the police administration in West Bengal became active against suspended BJP leader Nupur Sharma over the latter's controversial comments on the Prophet, the same police administration remained silent about Moitra despite FIRs were filed against her for her controversial comments about Goddess Kali.

The petitioner's counsel, Tanmay Basu, argued that it is unfortunate that Moitra, who is a Lok Sabha member, got away even after making such controversial comments that had hurt the sentiments of the millions of Goddess Kali worshippers. "It is even more unfortunate that the state administration did not take any action against her despite such derogatory comments," he argued.

On the other hand, Moitra's counsel, Sounak Mitra argued that only a portion of his client's comments on this count had been highlighted to create controversy over the issue. "This petition is not admissible," he said.

Appearing for the state government, state Advocate General S.N. Mukhopadhyay said that Moitra did not make this comment with any intention to hurt anyone's sentiment and hence, there was no need to take any action against her.

At this, Basu said that it is unfortunate that the Advocate General, despite representing the state government, was actually holding the brief in favour of Moitra.

The division bench after hearing all the parties reserved its judgement for the day.

Maitra, at a public programme recently, referred to some Tantrik rituals and said that Goddess Kali accepts meat and alcohol as bhoga. Her comments created a furore and even her own party described the statement as personal of Moitra. But she had stuck to her stand.
Surat, July 26 : The Special Designated POCSO Court in Surat on Tuesday found accused Ramprasad alias Lalansingh Gaun guilty in the rape and murder of a minor girl and awarded the death penalty to him.

Additional District Civil and Sessions Judge D P Gohil while pronouncing the order observed, "Prosecution has convinced the court that the accused has committed crime, based on scientific, circumstantial evidence and witnesses statements. This court finds accused Lalansingh guilty for rape and murder." The court also ordered payment of Rs three lakh as compensation to the victim's family, said public prosecutor Nayan Sukhadwala. The court decided the case in 104 days.

Sukhadwala told the local media, "Forty six witnesses were examined, CCTV footage and forensic evidence were accepted by the court, FSL team with the help of face recognition software established the identity of the accused, and a medical officer's statement helped in convincing the court." The five-year-old girl was living in a roadside makeshift hut along with her parents in Punagam area of Surat. On April 13, 2022 night, when the victim's father woke up at 1.30 a.m. he found that his daughter was missing. They searched the surrounding area but could not find her.

They informed the police, who too started searching for her. Meanwhile they received information that a youth was seen with a minor girl. The police were able to trace the suspect. During interrogation Lalansingh broke down and showed the place where he had buried the girl after raping and killing her by hitting her with a stone on her head.
New Delhi, July 26 : The Supreme Court on Tuesday said those premises which were earlier sealed in the capital for illegal constructions should be de-sealed, if such constructions have been rectified, under the existing changed law.

A bench of Justices S.K. Kaul and M.M. Sundresh also pulled up the Centre for bringing ordinances to protect illegalities, which include the unauthorised colonies, and asked it to look after the entire city, rather than concentrating only central Delhi's re-development.

It pointed out that due to non-enforcement of law, a large number of illegal and unauthorised constructions have propped up across the city, and the current scenario requires both the court and authorities concerned to adopt a realistic approach.

The bench said the authorities concerned should explore the possibility to bring the illegal structure within the norms, and then it could be regularised with penalty. The bench noted that those premises which were earlier sealed in the capital for illegal constructions should be de-sealed, if such constructions are rectified, under the existing changed law.

The top court made these observations while hearing matters connected with the validity of the Delhi masterplan 2021.

Senior advocate A D N Rao, amicus curiae in the matter, said: "The government should look after the entire Delhi, rather than concentrating on the re-development of the central Delhi." The top court was also assisted by senior advocate Sanjiv Sen, representing the municipal corporation, while dealing with issues regarding the masterplan.

In May, the top court had said that Delhi had witnessed a planning disaster over the years, as it criticised how single plot houses have been converted into multi-storeyed buildings with authorities looking the other way to such illegalities. The top court was dealing with applications filed in the MC Mehta case dealing with sealing of properties misused for commercial purposes.

The top court had then emphasized that continued monitoring is essential as there is a tendency to repeat illegal constructions, otherwise the authorities look the other way.

--IANS ss/vd

A
Patna, July 26 : The BJP's Bihar unit on Tuesday demanded Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker M. Appavu immediately tender an apology to the nation and Bihar's people for his "shocking statement" on its education system.

BJP state spokesman Arvind Kumar Singh said that Appavu, sitting on the constitutional post, has given "shocking statements" on Bihar and its people and alleged that he was a person of "anti-Hindu mindset".

The Tamil Nadu speaker, during an event in a St Paul's centenary celebration in Chennai on June 29 when he pointed out how a certain community (Christians) has helped Tamil Nadu and Kerala's education system which led to these two states being on the top.

"Catholic Christians are responsible for the development of Bihar. 57 per cent graduates in the state are due to Catholic Christian schools and colleges. If we have no priests in the state, then Tamil Nadu would perhaps become like Bihar," he had said.

Singh said: "The Tamil Nadu Speaker's statement is outrageous, communal and against Bihar and Bihari people. It is an anti-Hindu and divisive statement. He should apologise to the country and people of Bihar.

"He does not know Bihar has an ancient history where people from across the world came to world-class Nalanda and Takshashila Universities for study. The foreign rulers came here and attacked and looted the universities." "At present, a number of IAS and IPS officers are posted in Tamil Nadu and helping the government in running the state. If Hindu of Bihar would stop studying in the Catholic Christian schools, their education industry will close," he said.

Singh also demanded that the Congress and the RJD should also react to "such an outrageous and communal comment".
New Delhi, July 26 : The Enforcement Directorate has moved the Delhi High Court seeking directions that the medical examination of Delhi Minister Satyender Jain, who is presently in judicial custody in an alleged corruption case, be done at an independent hospital instead of the city government run Lok Nayak Jai Prakash (LNJP) Hospital.

Jain is admitted in the LNJP as he complained of medical issues.

Challenging the July 6 and July 19 orders passed by the Special Judge rejecting its prayer, the ED sought the medical evaluation of Jain to be done at hospitals like AIIMS, RML, or Safdarjung Hospital, instead of the present health facility.

Though the plea was listed before Justice Yogesh Khanna on Tuesday, the proceedings were not done.

The ED, in its plea, levelled serious allegations as on June 27, the Investigating Officer (IO) in the corruption case visited LNJP Hospital in connection with the crime. However, the official found that Jain was sleeping on the bed without any cannula on his hand and even the multipara patient monitor was switched off and he was not being monitored by any medical instrument.

His wife was present in the room, the ED stated.

It added, "When the IO reached the room, the respondent immediately wore the oxygen mask, the BP apparatus belt, and the monitor was switched on. It was under these suspicious circumstances and the fact that prima facie the condition of the respondent was not such which required hospitalisation, an application was preferred (before the trial court) seeking a direction that he may be admitted to any independent hospital like the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital or AIIMS Hospital at New Delhi for an independent evaluation of his health." On June 27, a special CBI court extended the judicial custody of Satyendar Jain -- arrested in connection with an alleged money laundering case, by 14 days.

The CBI has accused Jain, his wife and others of offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act. On March 31, the ED provisionally attached immovable properties worth Rs 4.81 crore belonging to companies beneficially owned and controlled by the minister.

On June 6, the ED conducted raids at multiple locations belonging to Jain, his wife and his accomplices, who had either directly or indirectly assisted him or participated in the processes of money laundering. The recovery of Rs 2.85 crore in cash and 133 gold coins weighing 1.80 kg was made during the raid.
Thiruvananthapuram, July 26 : Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday mocked the Congress over its state unit's recent 'Chintan Shivir' (brainstorming camp), quipping one needs to find out what all happened after their previous such meetings.

The state Congress unit had held a Chintan Shivir on Saturday and Sunday where nearly 200 state leaders, besides a few national leaders, took part and it was basically done to enthuse the state unit, which appears to be on a high after the Thrikkakara Assembly by-election victory and to lay the path forward for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

Asked about the Chintan Shivir at his media interaction, Vijayan said if he has to say about it, it will take a long time and soon he pulled out a piece of paper and started reading out from it.

"The Congress at present is finding to stand on its own legs and is trying to get props from outside, but for that, they need not look towards us. If we look into the past Chintan Shivirs, there have been four national such events with this name and it was first held in 1998. One has to find out what all actions they have taken from these four events," he said.

Vijayan also said the two-day event failed to discuss any burning issues that the country is facing or what the state are facing.

"It was a meeting which failed to discuss any major issues and we all are seeing on the contradicting positions they take... in Delhi, they oppose the Enforcement Directorate, but here they take a different stand. There was no discussion on any significant issues," he claimed.
New Delhi, July 26 : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi again on Wednesday to join the investigation in connection with the National Herald matter.

Wednesday will be the third day of her questioning. On Tuesday she was questioned for almost six hours in two sessions.

Earlier in the day, she arrived at the ED headquarters at 11 a.m. along with her daughter Priyanka Gandhi who was carrying a medicine box.

After three hours of questioning Sonia Gandhi was allowed a lunch break. She again joined the probe at around 4 p.m. She was questioned by a team led by additional director Monika Sharma.

Priyanka Gandhi was allowed to be present in another room in case Sonia Gandhi needed any medicine.

Priyanka had requested to be present at the ED headquarters during the questioning of her mother. It was accepted by the ED.

Sources have indicated that she was asked the same set of questions which were asked to Rahul Gandhi during his five-day questioning.
Jammu, July 26 : In a major success, Jammu police arrested three drug peddlers and seized 12 kg of heroin, valued at around Rs 24 crore in the international market, and approximately Rs 11 lakh cash, from them, officials said on Tuesday.

Giving details, Additional Director General of Police, Jammu, Mukesh Singh said that police, working on a tip-off, laid a special naka in the jurisdiction of police station Bahu Fort.

Three suspects, travelling in a car, were intercepted and searched, he said, adding the drug and the cash was recovered from them.

An FIR was registered and three accused, identified as Sarvwan Singh, Malkeet Singh, and Balbir Singh, all residents of Amritsar, were arrested.

ADG Jammu said that the Jammu police is working tirelessly to uproot the chain of drug supply in the region.

"Thorough questioning of the accused is going on to know the origin of the drugs taking into account both the forward as well as backward linkages. From the packing material of the drugs, it appears to have been dropped by drones. Further details will be available after detailed interrogation."
Patna, July 26 : The Bihar education department has demanded clarifications from the district education officers (DEO) of Seemanchal region following the Friday weekly holiday in government schools.

Education minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary said: "We have a report about Friday being declared as a weekly off in many government schools in Bihar. We have asked the DEOs of the respective districts to submit a clarification on this matter. We have also asked them to clarify who has given the order for the weekly off in government schools on Friday. We will take action after their reply to the department." According to an education department official, Muslim dominated Araria district has 244 government schools and 229 of them have declared Friday as the weekly off in the schools instead of Sunday. Purnea and Kishanganj districts' 200 schools were closed with weekly off on Friday. The report about Katihar is also similar where a large number of schools were shut on Friday, he added.

Subhash Kumar Gupta, district education officer of Kishanganj, said that it is a common practice in the Muslim dominated areas in the Seemanchal districts.

Districts such as Purnea, Araria, Katihar and Kishanganj have domination of the Muslim community -- 30% to 70% in several localities. The schools in these areas have a Friday off as the Muslims offer "Jumme Ki Namaz" on Friday. The officer said that it is not a recent practice in Bihar. In fact, Friday has been a weekly off in many government schools not only in Seemanchal region but across Bihar for a long time.

According to an official of the education department, there is no such policy of Friday as weekly off in the state. The Muslim leaders in the minority dominant areas have forced schools to close on Friday. Sources said that the majority of these leaders belong to the ruling JD-U and the opposition party RJD. They are not objecting to this practice as their vote bank could desert them in the elections.
New Delhi, July 26 : Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju dropped hints in Parliament on Tuesday over his party's stand on the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC).

The minister was responding to a question by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey who asked Rijiju if the time has arrived for the implementation of the UCC.

Dubey also wanted to know the Central government's stand on the matter.

Responding to the query, the Law Minister said: "You know what our government's thinking is. Whatever is our ideology, consider it as the country's ideology. Whatever we think... is for the country... I'm proud of it." Notably, just a few days ago, Rijiju had said in Parliament that no decision has been yet taken by the government on the implementation of the UCC in the country as the matter is still subjudice with some petitions pending in the Supreme Court.

Rijuju's statement "Party's ideology is country's ideology" was, however, strongly objected by the opposition Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MPs.

BSP's Kunwar Danish Ali said that it should not be part of proceeding, saying "when India is multicultural democracy, how could it be one party's ideology".
Shillong, July 26 : The BJP's Meghalaya unit Vice-President Bernard N. Marak, against whom look out notice was issued by the state police after five children were rescued and 73 people arrested on Saturday from a brothel reportedly run by him in West Garo Hills district, has been arrested from Uttar Pradesh, the police said on Tuesday.

An official said a Meghalaya Police team led by senior officers would be leaving for Uttar Pradesh to bring Marak here on transit remand.

The BJP leader, who has been absconding following the Saturday's police raid at the farmhouse at Tura, was arrested in Hapur district by the Uttar Pradesh police, hours after the Meghalaya police issued a look out notice against Marak, who had been booked under different sections under POCSO and the Immoral Trafficking Act.

A Meghalaya court had also issued a non-bailable arrest warrant against Marak, who through several statements and video messages denied the charge and accused Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma of political vendetta.

On Saturday, the police acting on a tip-off conducted an eight-hour-long raid at Rimpu Bagan, a farmhouse owned by militant-turned-politician Marak alias Rimpu, in West Garo Hills district.

West Garo Hills district police chief Vivekanand Singh had said that police rescued five minors -- four boys and one girl -- who were found locked inside dingy cabin-like unhygienic rooms at Rimpu Bagan, comprising 30 rooms.

The police also arrested 68 boys and girls and several farmhouse staff.

The police had also seized 36 vehicles, 47 mobile phones, liquor, 500 unused contraceptives (condoms) and other incriminating materials during the raid.

Marak, an elected member of the Garo Tribal Autonomous District Council, in a statement, strongly criticised Chief Minister Sangma for the raid at the farmhouse, denying allegations about running a "brothel".

"The Chief Minister is getting desperate as he knows he is losing his South Tura seat to the BJP. The raid at my farmhouse is a desperate attempt by him to malign my image and a political vendetta," Marak claimed.

He alleged that the Chief Minister is doing everything within his power to ensure that the BJP does not win a seat in Meghalaya.

A day after the police raid on Marak's farmhouse, Meghalaya BJP in a statement on Sunday had said: "We have spoken with renowned and respected individuals from Tura and surrounding areas and we have come to the conclusion that Marak has been unjustly framed and maligned. It appears that he is a victim of a political vendetta." With two MLAs, the BJP is a part of the ruling Meghalaya Democratic Alliance, led by Sangma's National People's Party.

According to police, there are more than 25 criminal cases against Marak, the then self-styled chairman of now disbanded militant outfit Achik National Voluntary Council-B.
Moscow, July 26 : Russia on Tuesday announced its withdrawal from the International Space Station (ISS) project after 2024 and is building its own space station in the meantime.

According to Yuri Borisov, the new head of Russia's state space corporation Roscosmos, the country will begin to form the Russian Orbital Service Station (ROSS) by that time, reports Tass news agency.

Borisov conveyed the decision reportedly to Russian President Vladimir Putin during a meeting.

"Of course, we will fulfill all our obligations to our partners, but the decision to leave this station after 2024 has been made," Borisov was quoted as saying.

He said that the main priority of the Russian Federation will be the creation of ROSS.

"We will continue the manned programme in accordance with the approved plans. The main priorities will be made on the creation of the Russian orbital station," Borisov said.

Earlier this year, former Roscosmos chief Dmitry Rogozin said that due to financial constraints, it was difficult to simultaneously implement the ISS project and build a new station.

Russia this month fired Rogozin, known for making wildly outlandish statements and threats against the US space agency NASA.

Rogozin has been in charge of Roscosmos since his appointment as director general in 2018.

He's been a controversial figure, resulting in strained relations with NASA.

At the start of the Russia-Ukraine war, Rogozin indicated that Roscosmos might pull out of the ISS collaboration and cause the ISS to come crashing down to Earth.

Rogozin later said NASA astronauts could use "broomsticks" to get to orbit.
Kolkata, July 26 : After the first day of full-fledged questioning on Tuesday by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials probing the multi-crore West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) recruitment irregularities scam, the central agency officials are getting a different set of responses from former state education minister, Partha Chatterjee and his close aide, Arpita Mukherjee.

ED sources said that since their arrest on Saturday, the officials for the first time got a full-fledged opportunity to grill both Chatterjee and Mukherjee at the agency's office at CGO Complex at Salt Lake in the northern outskirts of Kolkata.

While Arpita Mukherjee has been sheltered at a lockup dedicated for women in that office, for Chatterjee the probe officials have set up a make-shift lockup at one of the conference rooms there.

"On Tuesday, our two sperate teams questioned Partha Chatterjee and Arpita Mukherjee separately. At the end of the day what we have witnessed is that Arpita Mukherjee has started showing signs of breaking down and started responding positively to the systematic questioning of our officers. On the other hand, Partha Chatterjee is still putting up an apparent brave face in the face of questioning and ducking most of our questions on the pretext of being faded out of memory," an ED official said.

Sources further said that Partha Chatterjee and Arpita Mukherjee will be questioned for another day or two separately so that the interrogating sleuths have a clear idea of the inconsistencies in the statement given by the two in this connection.

After that, both will be confronted with one another and questioned together.

"We have time till August 3 since both will be in our custody till that date. We hope that by that time we will have adequate information about the remaining tentacles of the octopus in the multi-crore scam. Depending on the information secured, our higher officials will decide whether to make a plea for extension of the two after August 3," a ED official said.

Meanwhile, state Congress president and veteran party Lok Sabha member, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, on Tuesday has written a letter to West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee requesting the latter to strip Partha Chatterjee of all his ministerial posts.
New Delhi, July 26 : The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed Ludhiana Municipal Corporation to deposit Rs 100 crore with the District Magistrate as interim compensation in relation to the fire that broke out at a garbage dumpyard in the city in April, killing seven people.

"If the corporation is unable to make such deposit, it may be done by the state government. It is open to the corporation to recover the amount from those contributing to the garbage or those who failed to perform their duties, as per law," NGT Chairperson Justice (retd) Adarsh Kumar Goel said in an order passed on Monday but made available on Tuesday.

The tribunal further directed the DM to deposit a sum of Rs 5 lakh immediately with a bank, to the sole surviving male member of the family and the remaining be kept in fixed deposit, and Rs 5 lakh be paid every year with accrued interest till the entire amount is disbursed.

It also directed an action taken report to be filed by the Municipal Corporation, the District Magistrate, the state Pollution Control Board (PCB), the state Chief Secretary, and the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) within two months.

The green court further directed the Chief Secretary to appear before the Tribunal bthrough video conference on August 18 for interaction on the issue of non-compliance with the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016.

"We hope the Chief Secretary will also deal with the issues arising from the above order on that date pending further action in terms of the order," the order read.

According to the green court, the CPCB may collate information on legacy and active dump sites in the cities with population over one million and, in the state/UT capitals, with timelines to prepare and execute fire management plans, with requisite facilities and infrastructure.

"In particular, Ludhiana Municipal Corporation may set up requisite facilities/ infrastructure to prevent fires. The PPCB may grant necessary Authorisation under MSW Rules as per norms. Remediation of legacy waste which has already been delayed beyond timelines under the Rules may now be done without further delay," the order stated.

On April 20, seven members of a family, including five children, were burnt to death in a fire that broke out in their shanty next to a landfill in the Punjab industrial city.
New Delhi, July 26 : The Lok Sabha on Tuesday passed the Family Court Amendment Bill.

The Bill was introduced in Lok Sabha on July 18, 2022. It allows state governments to establish Family Courts, and the Central government is empowered to notify dates for the Act to come into force in different states.

Speaking in the Parliament, Law Minister Kiren Rijuju has expressed concern over the pendency of cases which are reaching 5 crore despite fast disposal of cases.

He said the rate of disposal is also high but the cases are being filed as well.

The Minister also that the government does not interfere in the appointment of judges but it can't appoint anyone as it has also the process of due diligence and the government has every right to do that.

The Bill seeks to extend retrospectively the Act to the state of Himachal Pradesh, with effect from February 15, 2019, and to the state of Nagaland, with effect from September 12, 2008.

The establishment of Family Courts in both the states will be retrospectively valid from these dates. All actions taken under the Act in both the states, including the appointment of judges, and orders and judgments passed by the Family Courts, will also be deemed to be valid from these dates retrospectively.
New Delhi, July 26 : Chief Justice N.V. Ramana on Tuesday observed that independent journalism is the backbone of democracy and the media must confine itself to honest journalism without using it as a tool to expand its influence and business interests.

"When a media house has other business interests, it becomes vulnerable to external pressures. Often, the business interests prevail over the spirit of independent journalism. As a result, democracy gets compromised," he said at at the release of book "The Geeta Vijnana Upanishad" authored by Gulab Kothari.

The Chief Justice stressed that independent journalism is the backbone of democracy and journalists are the eyes and the ears of the people. "It is the responsibility of media houses to present facts. Especially in the Indian social scenario, people still believe that whatever is printed is true. All I want to say is that the media must confine itself to honest journalism without using it as a tool to expand its influence and business interests," he added.

The CJI, who had been a journalist for some time before entering the legal profession, said that a brilliant story filed by a journalist, which he/she had filed after taking risks and putting in a lot of hard work and energy, is killed at the desk.

"It is thoroughly demoralising for a genuine journalist. You cannot blame him or her, if they encounter such situations repeatedly and lose faith in the profession," he said.

He pointed out that there is still a huge lacuna when it comes to systemic support for journalists in India. "Unfortunately, we still do not have an award which is comparable to the Pulitzer, and neither do we produce many Pulitzer winning journalists in India. I urge upon all the stakeholders to introspect as to why our standards are not considered good enough for international recognition and laurels," said the Chief Justice.

He said it is equally important for us to critically engage with the texts one read. "It is vital that we question the books we read, the people who write them, and refuse to blindly accept the information that we encounter. A well-informed and rational citizenry is crucial for healthy development of the nation," he said.

On July 23, Justice Ramana hit out at electronic and social media 'trials', saying that media run 'kangaroo courts' at times on issues and even experienced judges find it difficult to decide.

"New media tools have the enormous amplifying ability but appear to be incapable of distinguishing between the right and the wrong, the good and the bad and the real and the fake. Media trials cannot be a guiding factor in deciding cases," he said in the speech.
New Delhi, July 26 : There is no provision to accommodate or transfer medical students from any foreign medical institutes to Indian medical colleges, the Parliament was told on Tuesday.

"There are no such provisions in Indian Medical Council Act 1956 & National Medical Commission Act, 2019 as well as the regulations to accommodate or transfer medical students from any foreign medical institutes to Indian medical colleges," Minister of State for Health & Family Welfare Bharti Pravin Pawar told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply to a question of the delay in accommodating those medical students.

Pawar also said that the permission has not been given by the NMC to transfer or accommodate any foreign medical students in any Indian medical institute or university.

On a question of the total numbers of such students, she said that as per information received from the Ministry of External Affairs, about 20,000 Indian students returned from Ukraine.

"As per information received from MEA, Indian Embassy in Kyiv has communicated with all the concerned universities in Ukraine for providing transcript and other documents in a smooth manner to the students," Pawar told the house on the question of assistance provided by the government to students.
New Delhi, July 26 : The Supreme Court Tuesday dismissed a clutch of petitions filed by various private tour operators seeking Goods and Services Tax (GST) exemption for the Haj and Umrah tours offered by them.

A bench, headed by Justice A.M. Khanwilkar and comprising Justices Abhay S. Oka and C.T. Ravikumar said: "The service rendered by HGOs (Haj group organisers) to Haj pilgrims is to facilitate them to reach at the destination to perform rituals/religious ceremonies. No religious ceremony is performed or conducted by the HGOs. The religious ceremony is conducted by Haj pilgrims or by someone else in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia." The bench added that a clear distinction has been made between a service provided in respect of religious pilgrimage and a service rendered by way of conduct of any religious ceremony. "We may give an example of a person engaging a priest to perform certain religious ceremonies or ritual or puja on his behalf. In such a case, the priest renders service by way of conducting a religious ceremony", it noted, in a 78-page judgment.

The top court said the real question is whether HGOs are rendering service by way of conduct of any religious ceremony. "As held earlier, HGOs have no role to play in actual conduct of religious ceremonies which are a part of Haj pilgrimage. The service rendered by HGOs is by way of providing air bookings, arranging for the stay of Haj pilgrims in Saudi Arabia, arranging for food while they are in Saudi Arabia, arranging for foreign exchange, and arranging registration with Tawafa establishment in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia," it pointed out.

The petitions seeking exemption had alleged discrimination against the pilgrims travelling to Saudi Arabia. However, the top court dismissed the petitions on both the grounds of exemption and discrimination.

The bench said: "The exemption as regards religious pilgrimage has been confined only to the services rendered by the specified organisations in respect of a religious pilgrimage facilitated by the Ministry of External Affairs of the Government of India under a bilateral arrangement. An exemption has not been provided to any other service provider rendering service in respect of a religious pilgrimage." It said petitioners' contention in connection with extra-territorial application of GST for services given outside India is kept open, as it is pending consideration before another bench.

The top court said as far as the services rendered by HGOs are concerned, there is no material change brought about by the GST and the IGST Acts except for the fact that the service tax is chargeable under these two statutes and not under the Finance Act.

"Thus, the HGOs supply service to the service recipient having a location in India. The service is rendered by providing a package for the Haj pilgrimage to the service recipient who is located in the taxable territory. That is how the service provided by HGOs is taxable for service tax," it said.

The tour operators moved the top court against the levy of GST on Hajis who avail themselves of services offered by registered private tour operators. The petitioners contended that services consumed outside India cannot be subjected to GST and it is discriminatory, exempting certain hajis who undertake the pilgrimage through the Haj Committee of India.
New Delhi, July 26 : Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal top the list of states in terms of cases registered in respect of custodial deaths, the Parliament was told on Tuesday.

A total of 501 and 451 cases of custodial deaths were registered in Uttar Pradesh in 2021-22 and 2020-21, respectively, and 257 and 185 such cases were registered in West Bengal during the same years, Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai told the Lok Sabha in a written reply.

These were amongd the total 2,544 and 1,940 cases of custodial deaths registered across the country during 2021-22 and 2020-21 as per the information provided by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), he said.

The minister also said "police" and "public Order" are State subjects as per the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution, and it is primarily the responsibility of the state government concerned to ensure protection of human rights of the citizens.

Similarly, Jammu & Kashmir tops the list of states in terms of cases registered in respect of death in police encounters with 45 cases in 2021-22. A total of 151 and 82 cases in respect of death in police encounters were registered across the country in 2021-22 and 2020-21, respectively.

The minister said that the Central government issues advisories from time to time and has also enacted the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, which stipulates establishment of the NHRC and State Human Rights Commissions to look into the alleged human rights violations by public servants.

"When complaints of alleged human rights violations are received by the NHRC, action is taken by the Commission as per the provisions laid down under the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993. Workshops/seminars are also organised by the NHRC from time to time to sensitise public servants for better understanding of human rights and, in particular, the protection of rights of persons in custody," he said.
New Delhi/Kohima, July 26 : The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) on Tuesday finalised the seat sharing deal to contest for the 60-member Nagaland assembly elections, which is around seven months away.

BJP's in-charge for Nagaland, Nalin Kohli and NDPP's General Secretary Abu Metha in a joint statement, issued in Delhi, said that in the forthcoming assembly polls, expected to be held in February next year, the NDPP will contest in 40 seats and the BJP will fight in the remaining 20 seats.

The seat sharing deal was done after Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and his Nagaland counterpart and NDPP leader Neiphiu Rio met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Parliament House office.

The statement said that the leadership of the two parties led by BJP President J.P. Nadda and Chief Minister Rio of the NDPP have mutually agreed to continue the alliance with seat sharing in the forthcoming elections to the Nagaland Assembly of 40:20 ratio, wherein the NDPP will contest in 40 seats and the BJP in 20 seats.

"There will be no friendly contest in any constituency. A Core Committee of NDPP and BJP members will formulate the election strategy to finalise the specific seats at an appropriate time to decide in which seat each party will contest," it said.

The NDPP is the dominant party of the ruling United Democratic Alliance (UDA) in Nagaland with the BJP, which has 12 MLAs, as one of the important constituents.

Former Chief Minister and ex-Naga People's Front (NPF) supremo T.R. Zeliang is the chairman of the UDA-led all party government.

Earlier this year, 21 of the 25 MLAs of the NPF led by Zeliang merged with the NDPP increasing the strength of the NDPP to 42 in the 60-member Assembly.

Both the BJP, the NPF and the NDPP are the constituents of the opposition less all-party UDA government, formed last year to take forward the Naga political issue between the Centre and Naga outfits and various other groups.

The next general election to the Nagaland assembly is considered crucial in view of the ongoing Naga peace talks between the Central government and the Naga groups, specially the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (Isak-Muivah).

All the political parties and the state government are keen to resolve the much expected Naga issue before the assembly polls.

The NSCN-IM's repeated insistence on a separate Naga flag and Constitution have become a big hurdle in the way of resolving the Naga issue.
United Nations, July 26 : Two Indian police personnel in the UN peacekeeping operation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) were killed on Tuesday during attacks on peacekeepers by local people.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar tweeted that the two were from the Border Security Force and demanded that the perpetrators be brought to justice.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres's Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq said that at the Butembo base "violent attackers snatched weapons from Congolese police and fired upon our uniformed personnel", killing three persons with the UN mission.

He said that a peacekeeper had also been killed in the rioting at Butembo in the DRC, but did not disclose that victim's nationality.

Guterres sent his condolences to the Indian government on the death of the two Indian police personnel, he said.

Haq said that Mobs threw stones and petrol bombs at UN facilities and broke into bases, looting, vandalising and setting them on fire in Eastern DRC.

At the Security Council on Tuesday afternoon, India will be raising the attacks on UN personnel in the DRC, diplomatic sources said.

There are 139 police and 1,888 military personnel from India in the DRC mission known by the French initials MONUSCO for UN Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the DRC.

MONUSCO started operations in the DRC in 2010 from an earlier operation set up in 1999 to stabilise the country wracked by rebel attacks.

Haq said that the situation in the DRC aceis very volatile and reinforcements are being mobilised".

"Our quick reaction forces are on high alert and have been advised to exercise maximum restraint, using tear gas to disperse protestors and only firing warning shots when UN personnel or property are under attack," he said.

Tuesday was the second day of protests against the UN in Eastern DRC.

Haq blamed "hostile remarks and threats made by individuals and groups against the UN, particularly on social media" for the attacks by hundreds of assailants on UN bases in Goma as well as other parts of North Kivu province.

MONUSCO staff residences were targeted in four incidents and staff have been relocated to camps, he added.

The protests were reportedly called by a section of the youth wing of the ruling, the UDPS.

They were complaining about the UN's inability to stop the attacks by rebel groups on civilians and the government.

There are several rebel groups operating in the DRC, chief among them is the M23 organisation, which has targeted UN peacekeepers.

There were reports of several casualties, including civilians, in the protests against the UN in the DRC that entered its second day on Tuesday.

DRC Government Spokesperson Patrick Muyaya tweeted on Tuesday that at least five people were killed in Goma during the protests.

"Warning shots (were fired) to disperse the demonstrators and prevent any attack on the @MONUSCO base and installations", he said.

Several news reports from the DRC said that UN personnel had opened fire on the demonstrators.

In April, a Nepali peacekeeper was killed in the DRC in an attack by the militia of the Cooperative pour le developpement du Congo (CODECO).

Six Pakistani peacekeepers were killed when a helicopter was shot down in an area where the M23 was active.

(Arul Louis can be contacted at aru.l@ians.in and followed at @arulouis)
Bhopal, July 26 : The Madhya Pradesh Youth Congress workers were allegedly seen defacing the Enforcement Directorate (ED) office in the state on Tuesday to protest against the questioning of party's Interim President Sonia Gandhi by the central investigating agency in the national capital.

In Indore, a Congress Youth worker barged into ED's office and painted the agency's office board in black. This incident made the police angry and they beat up the party worker for his act.

A video of the alleged incident surfaced on social media showing a Congress Youth worker blackening the ED office board while the party's youth wing held a protest outside the ED office in Indore.

Similarly in Bhopal, a group of protesters covered ED's board with a banner calling it BJP's office.

Responding to ED's action against the Gandhi family, Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee Head and former state Chief Minister Kamal Nath accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of dictatorship.

Nath alleged that the way "Sonia Gandhi is being called to appear before the ED for questioning regarding a false case and detained Rahul Gandhi, is opposite to functioning of a democratic system".

He added, "It showed that democracy is in danger in the country. I want to tell the Central government that by doing politics of horse-trading, you can oppress leaders but time does not take long to change." The ED has summoned Sonia Gandhi again on Wednesday to join the investigation in connection with the National Herald case. Wednesday will be the third day of her questioning.

Earlier on Tuesday, the interim Congress President arrived at ED headquarters at 11 a.m. along with her daughter Priyanka Gandhi, who was carrying a medicine box.

After three hours of questioning, Sonia Gandhi was allowed a lunch break after which she again joined the probe.
Delhi Police detained Congress leader Rahul Gandhi after he sat in protest with other parliamentarians against the Central government in between Parliament house and Rashtrapati Bhavan, in New Delhi. Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi : Police detain Congress MP Digvijaya Singh during a protest march from Parliament to Rashtrapati Bhawan against EDs interrogation of the party's interim President Sonia Gandhi in the National Herald case in New Delhi on Tuesday, July 26, 2 Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi, July 26 : A total of 259 Congress party workers, including 57 MPs including former chief Rahul Gandhi, were detained on Tuesday as they staged a protest here against the Centre's "vendetta politics" and avoiding important issues like price rise in the Parliament.

Special Commissioner of Police, Law and Order, Dr. Sagar Preet Hooda said inputs from various sources indicated that senior Congress functionaries may hold gatherings and demonstrations at the party headquarters on Akbar Road to show their solidarity with party's interim President Sonia Gandhi who was summoned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for a second round of questioning.

"Owing to the law and order situation and sensitivity of the matter, a letter was again sent to the Organiser, AICC to inform that large gathering at around Akbar Road, New Delhi cannot be permitted as prohibitory orders under section 144 CrPC are in force in New Delhi District," he said.

Hooda said that the Congress was also informed that only office functionaries and staff would be permitted into the office after due authentication by AICC volunteers.

"At about 11 a.m., a large number of the AICC workers started gathering at various locations i.e. Akbar Road, Man Singh Road, Vijay Chowk, Janpath, etc. and started protesting," he said.

Around the same time, Congress lawmakers carried out a protest march from the Parliament house to Rashtrapati Bhavan in the wake of the questioning of Sonia Gandhi by the Enforcement Directorate and no discussion of important issues like price rise in Parliament.

However, as the parliamentarians moved forward to give a memorandum to President Droupadi Murmu, the Delhi Police stopped them midway near Vijay Chowk. Subsequently, Congress parliamentarians, including Rahul Gandhi, sat in protest in front of the Vijay Chowk.

The protesting Congress leaders, holding placards, raised slogans against the ED and the Central government. There was a heavy security force deployment, including paramilitary, to prevent any untoward situation.

Initially, the police began detaining other leaders, including women MPs, and at last Deepender Singh Hooda and Rahul Gandhi were left at the spot. The woman Congress MPs could be seen being dragged by the police personnel and bundled in a bus.

"What is the problem? We want to go there to meet the President and handover the memorandum. Why are we not allowed?" Rahul Gandhi could be heard telling a Delhi Police official.

Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, who was among other protesting leaders, said that they wished to meet President Murmu and apprise her of many issues including the misuse of probe agencies especially to target the Opposition members. Congress leader K.C. Venugopal said the government is not allowing any discussion on price rise and the issue of vendetta politics of the Enforcement Directorate.

Special CP Hooda said that the protestors were appropriately warned about the prohibitory orders in force in the area and repeatedly requested to disperse from there but they continued the protest, thereby violating prohibitory orders under section 144 CrPC. After detaining every protesting leader from near the Vijay Chowk, Rahul Gandhi was then detained and taken from there in a bus along with other MPs to new police lines, Kingsway Police camp.

All the party leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, were released from detention around 7 p.m.

"The protestors were detained under section 65 of the Delhi Police Act in order to maintain law and order in the area. Some protestors were also detained from Akbar Road and other places. All in all 259 persons including 57 Hon'ble MPs were detained," the senior Delhi Police official said.

Meanwhile, Indian Youth Congress President B.V. Srinivas was allegedly manhandled and roughed up by the police personnel while he was being detained from outside the party's headquarters at the 24, Akbar Road.

Deputy Commissioner of Police, New Delhi, Amrutha Guguloth said they were trying to identify the police staff who allegedly manhandled Srinivas. "Disciplinary action would be initiated against the staff after identifying," the DCP assured.

In a video of Srinivas which is going viral on social media, a police personnel could be seen snatching the Congress leader's hair as a dozen policemen tried to bundle him inside their vehicle. In the same video, Srinivas too could be seen struggling to get out of their grip and talk to the media persons.
Jaipur, July 26 : An independent legislator's brother has been arrested in Rajasthan for allegedly making a dummy candidate appear in an examination, the police said on Tuesday.

Hariom Meena, the younger brother of Independent MLA from Mahua, Omprakash Hudla, was arrested for taking money and making one Rishi Kumar son sit in the exam as dummy candidate.

Both were arrested from the Shivdaspura area of Jaipur.

A police officer said the SSC-MTS (Staff Selection Commission Examination of Multi Tasking Staff) examination was going on in Yagnavalya Institute of Technology college on Monday in which Rishi Kumar, as a dummy candidate, appeared in the exam in place of one Umesh Meena.

Police reached the spot after getting information about it.

Eventually, the police arrested the MLA's brother Hariom Meena who was in the car outside the exam centre, as well as Rishi Kumar. Both are being questioned by the police at Shivdaspura police station.

As per police, both the accused during questioning spilled beans and said that the kingpin of this "copy gang" is Kamal Kumar Meena of Todabhim.

It was Kamal who contacted the MLA's brother Hari Om Meena.

Eventually, according to the "deal", they made the photograph of Rishi Kumar resemble to that of the dummy candidate, and Kumar was sent to the exam centre in place of the actual candidate.

During questioning, the accused said till now they have got dummy candidates seated at four places and indulged in fraudulent practices in the examinations.

The police are looking for Kamal Kumar Meena, who is currently absconding, and the main candidate -- Umesh Meena, a resident of Sapotra.

Om Prakash Hudla is an independent MLA from Mahua assembly seat in Dausa district. He is a former IRS officer.
New Delhi, July 27 : A group of HIV patients from last few days have been protesting before the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) office in Delhi over the shortage of crucial anti-retroviral (ARV) drugs at government centres recommended to control the infection from progressing.

NACO centrally procures ARV medicines for people living with HIV as per national guidelines.

India provides free ARV medicines for life-long treatment of more than 14.5 lakh People Living with HIV (PLHIV) through 680 anti-retroviral therapy (ART) centres under its National AIDS Control Programme, funded by the Government of India.

The protestors said ART centres claimed that there was a shortage of medicines at Delhi's major hospitals such as Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital and Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital.

However, the sources from the Health Ministry said that there is adequate stock nationally for nearly 95 per cent HIV patients in the country, who are on first and second line ARV regimens like tablet TLD (Tenofovir + Lamivudine + Dolutegravir) and other ARV regimens.

"The mainstay of treatment for more than 85 per cent PLHIV is Tablet TLD (a fixed-dose combination of three anti-retroviral drugs -- Tenofovir (300mg) + Lamivudine (300mg) + Dolutegravir (50mg)), for which there is sufficient stock nationally to last more than three months," the source added.

Tablet Dolutegravir (DTG)- 50mg is required for nearly 50,000 PLHIV who are either on alternate --first/second or third-line regimens or those with TB co-infection.

"There is no reported stock out for any ARV drugs at the state level and the fresh supply orders for procurement of the next lot of several drugs are already placed. Individual ART centres may have this issue at times but the medicines are immediately relocated from nearby centres," said the source from the Ministry.

The source also said that after persuasion by NACO and with active cooperation of national networks of persons living with HIV (PLHIV), four representatives of the protestors had a round of discussion with senior officers of NACO on Monday afternoon.

They were informed about the position regarding drugs availability and they were told to jointly work with state AIDS control societies and NACO for the availablity of drugs at those few ART centres which were running short on supplies, temporarily, it added.
New Delhi, July 27 : Union Minister of State for Finance, Pankaj Chaudhary has informed the Rajya Sabha that since the NDA government has been in power, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) attached proceeds of crime worth Rs 99,356 crore and filed charge-sheets in 888 cases resulting in conviction of 23 accused whereas no person was convicted during the previous UPA government's tenure.

He said that the ED carried out 3,010 search operations between 2014-2022 (NDA government's tenure) whereas it was only 113 between 2004-2014 (UPA government's tenure). Thus, the ED witnessed a hike of 27-fold increase in its raids.

He gave the reply in written form to a question asked by Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi on behalf of the ruling Union government.

The Union Minister added that the ED raids increased in numbers but it was done to dispose off pending cases.

Chaudhary said that in a number of cases there are multiple accused and therefore multiple raids were required in those cases to complete the investigation during prescribed time period.

Chaturvedi had asked whether ED raids have increased nearly 90 per cent since 2014 or not.

The Union Minister while responding to the question added that during the nine years of the previous UPA government, only 112 search operations were conducted and property worth Rs 5,346.16 crore were attached.

He said that during the last nine years of UPA government, only 104 charge-sheets were filed by the ED and the court did not convict a single accused.

Chaudhary further added that during the NDA government's tenure, 3,010 search operations were conducted in order to complete the investigation in old and new cases. He said that from 2014-2022, the ED attached proceeds of crime to the tune of Rs 99,356 crore, charge-sheets were filed in 888 cases while the court convicted 23 accused.

The Union Minister also added that confiscation of proceeds of crime was to the tune of Rs 869.31 crore during the last eight years of the NDA government.

Chaudhary said that action was also taken in cases related to Foreign Exchange Management Act.

He added that between 2004 to 2014, 571 raids were conducted and 8,586 cases were lodged while showcause notices were sent in 2,780 cases. Penalty of Rs 1,754 crore was imposed during this period and properties worth Rs 14 crore were also seized, the Union Minister said.

"During 2014-2022, the ED took up 22,330 cases and conducted 996 searches while showcause notices were sent in 5,329 cases. During this period, a penalty of Rs 6,376.51 crore was imposed on the accused and properties worth Rs Rs 7,066 crore were seized," Chaudhary said.
Patna, July 27 : Saharsa Special MLA-MLC Court in Bihar has acquitted former Lok Sabha MP and strongman Anand Mohan in a 33-year-old kidnapping case.

Sangeeta Singh, the defense lawyer of Anand Mohan, said: "It was a kidnapping case of 1989 (case number 431/89). He is acquitted due to the lack of evidence. This is a 33-year-old case and there was no evidence against my client which proved him guilty. Hence, the Special MLA-MLC Court Additional District Judge, Vikas Kumar Singh acquitted him on Tuesday." Mohan was facing charges of allegedly kidnapping a presiding officer during Lok Sabha by-election in Saharsa in 1989.

He was present in the court when Justice Vikas Kumar Singh announced his acquittal.

"I have great faith in the court of law and I firmly believe that I will get justice one day. Today is the day when I was acquitted in a 33-year-old case and I am thankful to the court of law," Mohan said.

"I was booked for alleged murder of the then Gopalganj District Magistrate G. Krishnaiah but everyone knows that I had no role in his murder. Even the top leaders of the ruling parties also know that I was innocent in this case. I was still booked under murder charges and was serving a jail term. I am hopeful that I will be acquitted from every case pending against me in the courts," the former MP added.

Anand Mohan has completed the jail term for the alleged murder of Krishnaiah in 1994.

The lower court had given him death penalty in 2007 but the judgement of lower court was challenged before the Patna high court which gave benefit of doubt to him and commuted the death penalty into life imprisonment. He is serving jail terms in other cases.

The Patna high court found that the then Gopalganj District Magistrate was killed due to mob lynching and Anand Mohan was present there.

As per an official, Mohan had a close relation with the then Muzaffarpur mafia don Chotan Shukla.

When Chotan Shukta was killed in 1994, Anand Mohan attended his funeral.

When supporters of Chotan Shukla were taking his body to the cremation ground, a red beacon car came there, following which an angry mob attacked it.

The car was driven by G. Krishnaiah but the angry mob lynched him to death.

As Anand Mohan was also present there, he was booked under murder charges and abetting the mob to kill the government officer.
New York, July 27 : Two Indian-origin men have been charged with the alleged killing of two others in a gang-related violence in Canada, according to police.

Gursimran Sahota, 24, and Tanvir Khakh, 20, were charged with first-degree murder on Monday, said Sergeant David Lee, Integrated Homicide Investigation Team.

They had been arrested shortly after Meninder Dhaliwal and Satindera Gill were shot while being present in their car on Sunday at the British Columbia resort village of Whistler.

"This act was outrageous and shock to the visitors and community of Whistler" and the arrests "are thanks to the real-time information provided and the quick action of the First Responders," Lee added in a statement on the arrests.

Three others were also arrested but the extent of their involvement in the incident is being investigated, he said.

CityNews quoted Federal police investigators as saying that the shootings were linked to an ongoing gang conflict and the suspects and victims knew each other.

The killing of Dhaliwal and Gill happened 10 days after the unsolved killing of Ripudaman Singh Malik, who had been acquitted of alleged charges of bombing Air India's Boeing 747 Kanishka in 1985.

The two incidents had eerie similarities: They occurred in broad daylight while the victims were sitting in cars in public places and other cars were found ablaze nearby.

The police officials have not linked the two cases.

Meninder Singh Dhaliwal and his brother Barinder were on the Vancouver Police Department's list of six "gangsters" -- four of them of Indian descent -- who "pose a significant risk to the safety of the public".

The Vancouver Sun said that according to sources, Sahota and Kakh belonged to a gang known as the "United Nations" which had been fighting with the Dhaliwal's gang called the "Brothers Keeper".

The newspaper daily said that Sahota had earlier been charged in three armed robberies of drug stores along with Karman Grewal, another "United Nations" gang member.

Grewal was shot dead in May 2021 at Vancouver Airport in what is believed to be retaliation for the killing of Dhaliwal's brother Barinder in April 2021, the Vancouver Sun added.

While Grewal's murder remains unsolved, Meninder Dhaliwal was a suspect along with another "Brothers Keeper" member Jaskeert Kalkat, who was also killed in May 2021.
Andreessen Horowitz fintech lead Rex Salisbury launches Cambrian Ventures with a $20 million fund

Cambrian Ventures, a new early-stage venture capital firm led by former Andreessen Horowitz partner Rex Salisbury, today launched its inaugural $20 million fintech-focused fund investing at the angel, pre-seed and seed stage.

Among the fund's investors are some of the most influential entrepreneurs and operators in the fintech sector. This includes the founders of Nerdwallet, Plaid, Simple, Alloy, Modus, SentiLink, Jeeves, Betterment, Blend, Routable, Trim, LendUp, One, SoFi, Moonpay, LoanPro, Altruist, Melio, and more.

Through the fund, Salisbury will extend the Cambrian fintech community he established in 2016 to share resources, knowledge, and mentorship among industry peers to the next generations of visionary founders. Initially founded as a passion project outside of his day job as a software engineer at a fintech startup, Salisbury has quickly grown the community to a global network with over 15,000 subscribers, 4,000 meetup attendees, and a Slack community with 1,100+ fintech founders.

Prior to launching the fund, Rex was a founding partner of the fintech team at Andreessen Horowitz (A16Z), a role he began three years after launching Cambrian in 2016. While at A16Z, he helped build the fintech vertical and invested in a number of deals including Deel and Tally, companies he had previously encountered in his work with Cambrian. In launching the fund, Salisbury is going back to the community roots, where he is able to help founders at the earliest stage.

In seeing the positive and meaningful impact this community of experienced fintech founders and investors has had thus far, Cambrian's venture fund was a logical next step. There is a unique opportunity to mobilize the Cambrian community to facilitate vital connections while adding operational expertise and capital at the earliest and most critical stage of founder-market fit, said Rex Salisbury, Founder and General Partner of Cambrian. The fund aims to leverage the entrepreneurial experience, subject matter expertise, operational expertise, and industry insights within the Cambrian community to support the next generation of fintech entrepreneurs.

Rex has pioneered a new frontier for fintech entrepreneurs by harnessing the power of community around a fund structure, said Andy Carra, co-founder of SoFi and investor in the fund. Cambrians success to date is due to Rexs passion, sense of camaraderie, and extensive belief in both fintech's potential and the power of community.

Cambrian plans to invest in 30 companies, with investments of up to $500K at the angel, pre-seed, and seed stage within the fintech sector. Cambrian has made five investments over the last few months, including Keep Financials recent seed round. To date, Cambrian has assisted in matching more than 500 co-founders and investors and has helped members make key hires through its talent collective and referral job board.

Cambrian is an ideal partner for us because they blend a community ecosystem with Rex, an investor with extensive experience in building and scaling fintech startups, said Rob Frohwein, co-founder of Keep Financial and Kabbage, which was acquired by American Express in 2020."

"Rex's influence, reach, and ability to identify the next great entrepreneurs in fintech are impressive and made him a valuable asset at A16Z, said Anish Acharya, General Partner on the A16Z fintech team. We are delighted to see how he and Cambrian will continue to support the fintech ecosystem with the launch of this fund."

For more information, please visit https://www.cambrianhq.com.

About: Cambrian Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm supporting entrepreneurs in fintech. The firm was started by Rex Salisbury, a founding member of A16Zs fintech practice. The fund serves as the investment arm of the Cambrian fintech community created by Salisbury in 2016 with over 15,000 subscribers, 4,000 meetup attendees, and a Slack community for 1,100+ fintech founders. The firm is backed by leading fintech founders, operators and investors. For more information, please visit https://www.cambrianhq.com.

Media contact:

Tanya Hayre Gillogley

Tanya@cambrianhq.com
Public Opinion book jacket A heavy, disturbing novel about the secret lives of powerful men.  Kirkus

The latest from author Nathan Pettijohn is set in Los Angeles and exposes the dark underbelly of Hollywoods public relations world. PUBLIC OPINION (July 19, 2022; Cordurouy Books) follows Herb, a fixer, a social media manipulator, and an anonymous barracuda in a sea of wealthy marks. Blackmail, character assassination, fraud are all in a day's work for him. But Herb is also building a family, and trying - though not always succeeding - to build a conscience. When a quick scam introduces him to a cold-blooded director on a quest to film the Marquis de Sade's Justine, Herb quickly enters a world of porn stars and celebrity sociopaths, massage parlors and murder. Despite his best efforts to change, Herb will get his money, no matter how many lives he has to ruin along the way.

PUBLIC OPINION is an indictment of our celebrity obsessed culture, and a smart, savvy and sordid thrillride that pulls back the curtain on the modern age of media and the nefarious lives of the rich and famous.

About the Author

Nathan Pettijohn is an author and entrepreneur. A contributing writer for Forbes on topics relating to what business leaders need to know about innovations in media and technology, Nathan is also the author of a travelogue called Travels With Hafa. In 2011, Nathan founded Cordurouy, a digital strategy agency based in Los Angeles, where he serves as CEO. He resides somewhere in Central or South America with his dog, Raphael. You can contact Nathan on social media at @nrpettijohn.

PUBLIC OPINION

By Nathan Pettijohn

Publisher/Imprint: Cordurouy Books

Publication Date: July 19, 2022

ISBN-10: 1544532237

ISBN-13: 978-1544532233

264 pages

CONTACT

Victoria Comella

High10 Media

victoria@high10media.com
WorldWideGreeks.com, a free online forum giving people the opportunity to discuss all things Greek. There is information here about anything you would want to know about the Greek culture, including traveling to Greece, Greek food, Greek cultural information, history, and Greek Mythology. The newest of these sections is the newly-launched Mykonos Travel Forum, and you can visit it at the following page: https://www.worldwidegreeks.com/forums/mykonos/

This forum allows community members the chance to discuss everything they want to know about Mykonos, including shopping, nightlife, sites to see, getting there, local tips, and more. Mykonos is one of the most popular travel destinations in Greece and there is a wealth of information on this website. It is a place to share information, as well as ask questions. The section connects people from all over the world who are interested in traveling to Mykonos, Greece.

Started in 2005 WorldwideGreeks.com was originally created as a Greek social media website. It has since evolved into a Greek forum community for everyone, whether you are Greek, married into a Greek family, are traveling to Greece, or simply love the Greek food and culture. You will have a chance to discuss your love of all things Greek, no matter what your background is, while participating in the community.

Nick Stamoulis, of WorldwideGreeks.com, said about the Mykonos Travel Forum, We are excited to provide people a space to share their love of all things Greek. This includes providing a Mykonos Travel Forum for those who love the island. People can ask questions, share their experiences, and meet other like-minded people who also love Greece and everything that goes with it.

The purpose of WorldwideGreeks.com is for people that are interested in Greek culture, including Greek food. This can be a great benefit to those who love Greece, and it can also help people who plan to visit Greece be connected with resources that can help them plan their trips.

WorldwideGreeks.com is owned by the same company that owns and operates the top Greek website in English, GreekBoston.com. It offers people a place to have friendly, public discussions about all things Greek, and offers a great, friendly environment for people to interact with those who love all things Greek.

More information about the Mykonos, Greece online forum:

https://www.worldwidegreeks.com/forums/mykonos/
We want carriers to think of us as a trusted and compliant TPA that is also their incubator to test cutting-edge technologies and AI solutions to push the envelope of claims innovation and efficiency,

Reserv announced today the completion of an $8M seed round led by Altai Ventures and Bain Capital Ventures. Reserv is a digital-native third party administrator (TPA) that also develops and sells software to power the next generation of claims adjusters.

Reserv leverages modern systems and creates new cutting-edge solutions to optimize any P&C claim. From complex data ingestion to automated coverage decisioning to dynamic customer experiences, Reserv is setting the new industry standard for adjusters, TPAs, and technology providers alike.

We want carriers to think of us as a trusted and compliant TPA that is also their incubator to test cutting-edge technologies and AI solutions to push the envelope of claims innovation and efficiency, said CJ Przybyl, co-founder and CEO of Reserv. We are empowering a new generation of adjusters and claims leaders with modern technology and advanced AI capabilities; our adjusters  whom we call analysts  and engineers are side-by-side partners solving the most complex problems in claims. This approach fosters an open and innovative culture unlike any other organization in the industry.

Mr. Przybyl is no stranger to driving radical claims innovation. He co-founded Snapsheet, where he spent over a decade creating the world's first virtual claims process for auto losses. Under Mr. Przybyls leadership, Snapsheet managed over 2.5 million claims and over $10B in indemnities as well as serving 7 of the top 10 US P&C carriers.

Signing up with Reserv is easy. Carriers, MGAs, self-insureds, or any other claims organization can simply onboard Reserv following their standard TPA approval process. Reservs technology combined with best-in-class customer service then creates a unique claims experience and provides real-time status, metrics, and reporting to everyone involved. The granularity of metrics across the entire process enables detailed analysis of each technology module which are independently available for purchase. Additionally, the entire platform configuration can simply be mirrored as-is and lifted and shifted to in-house resources, a simple and elegant alternative to traditionally costly claim system transformations, and a must-have for startup MGAs.

We're excited to be an early adopter of Reserv's digital-first TPA technology, which will be a big asset for MGAs and carriers who we know can greatly benefit from more data and intelligence from their claims portfolios  while also receiving best-in-class speed and service," said Jeff Radke, CEO and co-founder of Accelerant, the insurtech platform empowering underwriters with superior risk exchange, better data analytics, and long-term capacity commitments.

We recognized a massive opportunity in a $250B U.S. TPA market that has yet to face any notable disruption, said Oleg Ilichev, founder and managing partner of Altai Ventures. Our team, together with our design partners at Runyon, spent months confirming the pain points in the industry and, with a human-centered design lens, interviewed experts across all lines of P&C to come up with a thesis around what a truly differentiated value proposition might be.

BCV is excited to support CJ and the Reserv team, said Matt Harris, partner at Bain Capital Ventures. We see Reserv becoming the backbone of claims processing as technology continues to shift the industry dynamics.

Additional participants in the round included Arch Capital Group Ltd., AXIS Capital, Runyon, and select industry angels, including Rick Taketa (former CEO of York), Jon McNeill (founder of TrueMotion and former COO of Lyft), and Ahmed Khaishgi (founder of SquareTrade).

Visit http://www.reserv.com or email sales@reserv.com to learn more. If you are an adjuster or engineer looking to reshape the claims industry through technology, email future@reserv.com.

About Reserv

Reserv is a digital-native TPA incubating next generation automation technology and AI focused on bringing speed, advanced data science, and simplicity to the experience of consumers, insurance adjusters, and carriers. There is a better way to manage claims and we are building it. For more information about Reserv visit http://www.reserv.com.

About Altai Ventures

Altai Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm with a mission to empower extraordinary founders to reinvent financial services through technology.

About Bain Capital Ventures

Bain Capital Ventures is a multi-stage VC firm with over $10B under management investing across four core domainsfintech, application software, infrastructure, and commerce. Leveraging the unique resources of Bain Capital, we deploy targeted support at every stage of the company-building journey. For over 20 years, BCV has helped launch and commercialize more than 400 companies including Attentive, Bloomreach, Clari, Docusign, Flywire, LinkedIn, Moveworks, Rapid7, and Redis. BCV has offices in San Francisco, Palo Alto, New York, and Boston and you can follow us on Twitter @BainCapVC.

About Runyon

Runyon is a product design and venture studio that helps companies grow. With a team of customer-centered researchers and designers, the firm translates a deep understanding of user behavior into digital experiences that meet peoples needs and business models that scale. Runyons team has decades of experience partnering with the most impactful global organizations including Disney, The New York Times, Goldman Sachs and others.
We are so proud to reward and recognize all of our 2022 Sammy winners, as they provide the leadership and vision needed to help companies educate and connect with customers, said Maria Jimenez, Chief Nominations Officer, Business Intelligence Group.

Today, the Business Intelligence Group announced the winners in the 2022 Sales and Marketing Technology Awards program, also known as The Sammys. The Sammys recognize the technologies and organizations helping to solve the challenges companies have connecting and collaborating with prospects and customers.

We are so proud to reward and recognize all of our 2022 Sammy winners, as they provide the leadership and vision needed to help companies educate and connect with customers, said Maria Jimenez, Chief Nominations Officer, Business Intelligence Group.

The 2022 Sammy Award winners are:

Individual of the Year



Susan Rothwell, Chief Revenue Officer, Vericast

Doina Harris, Chief Product Officer, Simon Data

Organization of the Year

Very Small Company (up to 100 employees)



a4 Advertising

Anchor Audio

FullThrottle

HealthLink Dimensions

Jabmo

Jebbit

MarketBridge

Sales Boomerang

Stringr

UMI Marketing Solutions

UPshow

Wow Digital Inc.

Small Company (101 - 999 employees)



Accela

AuditBoard

CaptivateIQ

Cordial

EWI Worldwide

Georgia Aquarium | Narwhal Digital

Invoca

Megaphone

MikMak

Optime Care

Pacvue

SHRM - Marketing Technology

SuccessKPI

SugarCRM

Typeform

WebFX

YCharts

Medium-Sized Company (1000 - 9,999 employees)



ActiveCampaign

Attentive

Automation Anywhere

Bottomline Technologies with Dun & Bradstreet and Snowflake

CrowdStrike

DemandScience

Modernizing Medicine

One80 Intermediaries

Large Company (10,000 or more employees)



BAYADA Home Health Care

IBM

IBM Enterprise Operations and Services

Verizon Business Group, Marketing Sciences

Product of the Year

Very Small Company (up to 100 employees)



Anisign

Anura.io

Biosero Acceleration Lab

Black Book Market Research LLC

ChildcareCRM

Full Circle Insights Journey Explorer

Puretalk.ai

Reveal Mobile

S.N.A.P. Platform

SetSail

Switcher, Inc.

Versium

Small Company (101 - 999 employees)



83bar Market Feasibility Test

ActionIQ CX Hub

Ad Tester

Anteriad Marketing Cloud

Apollo.io

Arc XP Digital Experience Platform

Bango Audiences

Bethowen by Surf

Bigtincan Sales Enablement Platform

DailyPay Pay Balance

Clearbit Data Activation Platform

Emplifi ShopStream

InMarket

Lilt, Inc.

Litmus

Marchex Conversation Intelligence Platform

MarketingCloudFX

Marketron NXT

Measured

Perfect Corp.s AgileHand Technology

Piano

Practix by Collective Measures

Pricefx

QuickSuite

RainFocus

SHRM - Business Intelligence

Smartly.io

SOCi

Surefire CRM by Black Knight

Medium-Sized Company (1000 - 9,999 employees)



Applied Systems - Applied Marketing Automation

CDK Global IT Solutions Team

IFS assyst

LivePerson

Outreach

Pega

Progress Sitefinity

The Trade Desk, Solimar

The NPD Group

Large Company (10,000 or more employees)



IBM's Patterns of Interest (POIs)

Accentures Solution.AI for Marketing: Attribution Platform

Nielsen's TVTY

A small group of companies, selected by judges, were also named Finalist in this years award program, including: Adgile Media Group, HG Insights' Market Intelligence, Intentsify, Invoca, Moloco, Nexstar Digital, and Refersion.

About Business Intelligence Group

The Business Intelligence Group was founded with the mission of recognizing true talent and superior performance in the business world. Unlike other industry award programs, business executivesthose with experience and knowledgejudge the programs. The organizations proprietary and unique scoring system selectively measures performance across multiple business domains and then rewards those companies whose achievements stand above those of their peers.
NCU-Press-Release.png The merging of two long-time Dallas credit unions gives more digital access to our newest members from Pollock Employees Credit Union and allows us to build more financial relationships in our neighborhoods.

Pollock Employees Credit Union was a Dallas-based credit union founded in 1934 with a little over 900 members. After 40 years of dedicated service, the Pollock Employees CU CEO, Gene Pittman, made the decision to retire. As a part of his legacy, Mr. Pittman hand-picked Neighborhood Credit Union as a partner because of the financial institution's exceptional digital and member service excellence.

The merging of two long-time Dallas credit unions gives more digital access to our newest members from Pollock Employees Credit Union and allows us to build more financial relationships in our neighborhoods, said Neighborhood Credit Union CEO, Chet Kimmell. I am grateful to Kelly Gidney, our Chief Risk Officer, and Mr. Pittman for bringing this partnership together.

Chet Kimmell serves as President and CEO of Neighborhood Credit Union. A former certified public accountant, Kimmell has been CEO of Neighborhood Credit Union since 1994, overseeing growth from $100 million to over $1 billion in assets.

Neighborhood Credit Union provides members with top-of-the-line products and services, including Prize Savings Accounts that reward members for saving their money, free Kasasa Checking accounts, High Yield Savings accounts and Auto Loans with some of the best rates in the region, along with 24/7 digital services and a commitment to financial empowerment in the community.

The first credit union in Dallas (chartered April 18, 1930), Neighborhood Credit Union is a not-for-profit financial organization serving anyone who lives, works or worships in the State of Texas. With more than 60,000 members and locations across North Texas, Neighborhood Credit Union has been a loyal and trusted financial partner for 92 years and continues to welcome new members daily. For more information, call (214) 748-9393 or visit http://www.myncu.com.
For the second time the Guru Krupa Foundation (GKF), a non-profit created by Mukund Padmanabhan, a graduate of the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IITKGP), has awarded international internships for IITKGP students to attend top global universities. This years awards were bestowed on seven students and provided up to $5,000 in support for each student.

The selection of the scholars for these internships is overseen by IIT-Kharagpur and GKF, using a merit cum means based model. The students can be pursuing undergraduate or graduate degrees, including PhD's and can be from any department, school, or center of IIT-Kharagpur.

The selected students and their institutes are listed below:

Aishik Mandal--Inria Paris Centre, Sesetty Shanmukha Sai Vardhan--Queen's University, Samik Mukhopadhyay--University of Tokyo, Yashvi Jain--University of Waterloo, Dhatri Raghunathan--Xiamen University, Malaysia, Apoorva Vashisth--National University of Singapore, and Raghav Aggarwal--City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Said Mukund, "Attending summer programs at renowned international universities is a wonderful opportunity for students to add to their skill sets, develop connections and explore future courses of study and careers. It makes the KGP experience all the more invaluable, and also improves the KGP brand name. I feel privileged to be able to give back to the institute by supporting this initiative."

The IITKGP Foundation USA would like to congratulate and wish the seven scholarship awardees the best of luck in their internships!

ABOUT GKF SUPPORT

GKF has been a generous supporter of many programs at IIT-KGP, including the Academy of Classical and Folks Arts (ACFA), which is a branch of the Science and Heritage Initiative (SandHI). SandHI aims to introduce IITKGP architecture and engineering students to the classical and folk arts and encourages use of such artistic talents to supplement the highly competitive technical education.

More recently, Mr. Padmanabhan provided a significant boost to the Nehru Hall Ka Tempo renovation project. His contribution will completely renovate, refurbish, and modernize all the rooms in D-Top West Wing of the Nehru Hall of Residence.

ABOUT MUKUND

After graduating from IIT KGP, Mukund got his PhD from the University of California, Los Angeles, in signal processing and circuits. Subsequently he worked in IBM's Research Division on speech recognition algorithms, before pivoting to Wall Street, where he is currently a Partner and Researcher at hedge fund Renaissance Technologies.

Mukund is a recipient of the "Distinguished Alumni Award from IIT-Kharagpur and the "Professional Achievement Award" from the Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science at UCLA.
Online education has become mainstream in the last several years, in part due to the pandemic but also because as our technology-based society has evolved, so has our understanding of the growing needs of learners and our workforce, said Megan Bowen, USCI High School Director.

U.S. Career Institute has launched a new online high school program aimed at meeting the needs of adult learners who left school without earning their diploma.

USCI High School offers open enrollment, allowing students to sign up any time and begin their studies. Program options include a general diploma program and career pathway programs.

Online education has become mainstream in the last several years, in part due to the pandemic but also because as our technology-based society has evolved, so has our understanding of the growing needs of learners and our workforce, said Megan Bowen, USCI High School Director. It has the capacity to meet the needs of adult learners who may be working and supporting a family as well as traditional-aged learners.

Research has shown that having a high school diploma opens up more career opportunities and the potential for higher earnings. However, the responsibilities of adults make it hard to go back to high school without the flexibility of online learning.

Adult learners have different needs, said Janet Perry, U.S. Career Institute Vice President of Academics. Many have other responsibilities, such as children or jobs. One of the great things about USCI High School is that it fits an adult learners needs. Adults can study during the time of day that works best for them.

All USCI High School programs include tuition and course materials at one affordable price. Payment plans are also available to make these diploma programs more accessible.

USCI has over 40 years of experience in serving distance learners. Because of this experience, we understand the special needs of distance learners and develop programs that meet these special needs, Perry said.

USCI High School offers two different online programs: a general diploma program and a career pathway program, the latter of which focuses on the development of job knowledge and career exploration. Popular career pathways include health care, veterinary, business, fitness and paralegal.

For more information about USCI High School online diploma programs, call 1-866-250-6851 or visit http://www.uscareerinstitute.edu/online-high-school/adult-learners.

About U.S. Career Institute

U.S. Career Institute offers affordable, high-quality online education programs that have helped thousands of students to reach their career goals. Weston Distance Learning, U.S. Career Institutes parent company, has more than 40 years of experience in the field of distance education, and U.S. Career Institute has earned accreditation from the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC), which is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Because of this, USCIs programs and staff are reviewed frequently to ensure compliance with DEACs accreditation standards. To learn more about U.S. Career Institute, visit http://www.uscareerinstitute.edu.
The launch of these new features serves as a continued effort to deepen our relationship with RelPro and the thousands of bankers that use our platforms to grow their commercial lending portfolios. Matt Murphy, IBISWorlds VP of Commercial Banking.

Building and deepening the partnership that they announced a year ago, IBISWorld and RelPro are announcing new integrations between their platforms to expand their Business Development and Relationship Management solutions for Commercial Banks.

The new integrations will provide mutual clients with increased accessibility to capabilities and content, resulting in valuable time-savings, and will also deliver insights & increased visibility to each others solutions for users who are not yet clients of the other partner.

This expanded partnership between IBISWorld, the worlds largest independent publisher of industry reports, and RelPro, the fast-growing business development and relationship management solution for Financial & Professional Services follows a successful launch of the partnership in July 2021. There has been enthusiastic adoption of the RelPro-to-IBISWorld integration that was released at that time, which made IBISWorlds industry research content available through the RelPro platform. More than 20 major US Banks are already benefiting from the RelPro-IBISWorld partnership, and the additional integrations announced today incorporate positive feedback & requests from these initial clients.

These additional integrations comprise:



IBISWorld-to-RelPro integration: This will enable increased accessibility to RelPros valuable company and executive insights, and time saving efficiencies, for mutual clients who are researching industries in IBISWorld and then want to find & research prospect companies and their executives in RelPro.

Freemium IBISWorld content displayed in RelPro: RelPro clients who do not currently use an industry research solution will now be able to see sample IBISWorld content on industries associated with companies that they are reviewing in RelPro.

RelPro solution capabilities will also now be highlighted in IBISWorld for IBISWorld clients who do not yet subscribe to RelPro, promoting the value of the integrated platforms.

Mutual clients of RelPro and IBISWorld benefit immediately from this deeper integration of both solutions, as there are no additional charges and no technical or installation requirements.

This alliance is advantageous because many of the business development professionals using RelPro & IBISWorld have generalist coverage roles targeting businesses across many industry sectors. Industry research provides them with vital intelligence as they prepare for meetings with executive prospects, and keeps them up to date on economic and environmental changes impacting their clients.

The partnership is consistent with RelPros mission to deliver valuable insights and time-saving efficiencies to business development and relationship management professionals in banking and other financial and professional services sectors. For IBISWorld, the expanded partnership continues their development of commercial banking-focused solutions.

IBISWorld aims to assist bankers throughout the entire commercial loan cycle, from helping them identify industries that are ripe for new business, to preparing for client meetings, to comparing customer financials with industry averages and best practices, said Matt Murphy, IBISWorlds VP of Commercial Banking. Our new integrations with RelPro will provide bankers that dont currently subscribe to IBISWorld with a sample of our industry research, as well as an enhanced workflow for the bankers that already use both IBISWorld and RelPro. Murphy added, The launch of these new features serves as a continued effort to deepen our relationship with RelPro and the thousands of bankers that use our platforms to grow their commercial lending portfolios.

RelPro CEO and Founder, Martin Wise, said that RelPro has become the platform of choice for business development and relationship management professionals in financial services through our focus on addressing bankers needs, and integrating best-in-class data and content that saves bankers time to help them grow their business and deepen relationships with clients and prospects. Lauren Meyers, RelPros VP of Partnerships & Customer Success continued, Industry insights have become vital in the shifting & turbulent economic environment, as our users research market opportunities and prepare for informed meetings and relevant interactions with prospects and clients. We are thrilled to be deepening our partnership with IBISWorld, and delivering even more of our combined capabilities to mutual clients and to new prospects.

About IBISWorld

Founded in 1971 in Melbourne, Australia, IBISWorld provides credible research on thousands of industries worldwide, including niche and emerging industries that other platforms dont offer. Our analysts leverage economic, demographic and market data, then add analytical and forward-looking insight, to provide comprehensive industry solutions. With our trusted research and expert tools, clients take advantage of IBISWorld products to make smarter decisions that benefit their organizations, clients, and prospects.

My IBISWorld for Banking is now available for IBISWorlds US and Canada Banking clients. To learn more or to request a demo, visit https://www.ibisworld.com/solutions/ibisworld-for-commercial-banking/. For Media inquiries or to schedule an interview with an analyst, please contact Gavin Ross at gavin.ross@ibisworld.com.

About RelPro

Founded in 2009, RelPros Relationship Intelligence platform was built with the experience that there is no one nirvana source of B2B Company and Decision-Maker data  so why rely on one source of data? RelPro integrates data from best-in-class partners and the web to deliver a unique global database of over 7 million Companies and 150 million business decision-makers, allowing B2B Marketing, Business Development and Relationship Management professionals to quickly identify new prospects and close deals faster. RelPro includes automated Prospect Research to quickly inform your outreach, and powerful Alerts that provide a call-to-action prompting timely interactions with prospects and clients. To learn more about RelPro, visit our website http://www.relpro.com, give us a call  (888) 561 7890, send us an email  info@relpro.com, or schedule a demo now. To learn what our customers are saying about RelPro, read the reviews on G2 Crowd.
Steven Flack named CFO at Lightwave Dental, a leading management services partner in the mid-Atlantic region. Lightwave is a preferred partner for high quality dental practices, because the organization puts people first and empowers doctors to lead.

Lightwave Dental (Lightwave) continues to grow as a leading management services partner for top dentists in the mid-Atlantic region. Today Lightwave announced the hiring of Steven Flack as chief financial officer. He is responsible for directing finance strategies and processes for Lightwave and its network of affiliated dental practices.

Flack joins Lightwave with more than 30 years of experience helping to transform private equity backed multi-location healthcare providers in behavioral health, physical therapy, and occupational medicine. Most recently, he served as chief financial officer of Invo Healthcare-Progressus Therapy, a leading behavioral health and special education organization that specializes in school-based therapy and early intervention services for school districts and communities.

Steven Flack has deep experience guiding strategic growth of multi-location healthcare providers, said Justin Jory, Lightwave founder and chief executive officer. He has excellent leadership skills and is an expert at developing financing strategies. His guidance will benefit operational and clinical leaders at Lightwave affiliated dental practices, helping them with creative financing options to fuel expansion and continue to provide excellent patient outcomes.

Previously, Flack spent seven years growing a multi-site outpatient provider of occupational healthcare services and worked as CFO for two provider-owned health plans and a leading behavioral health-based autism platform. Over the first 15 years of his career, Flack held progressive financial management roles with a leading insurance and financial services organization, including in the London reinsurance market.

Lightwave is a preferred partner for high quality dental practices, because the organization puts people first and empowers doctors to lead, said Flack. I enjoy guiding teams in rapidly changing business environments and am honored to support entrepreneurial dentists with better access to financing that creates opportunities to grow and reach their goals.

About Lightwave Dental

Founded in 2016, Lightwave Dental is a high-growth company building the group model for the future of the dental industry. As the industrys first Dental Leadership Organization, Lightwave focuses on partnering, training, and developing dentists as the natural leaders of the dental practice. The company helps dentists launch their careers, supports those leading high-growth dental groups, and assists with preserving their legacy as they transition into retirement. Lightwave is solving the big problems in dentistry around retirement, management, reimbursements, and partnership by providing the benefits of a group while preserving the essence of private practice. The company currently supports more than 200 dentists and 1,800 active employees in 76 dental offices across Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Alabama.
"The outcomes of this report reflect a troubling gap both in terms of understanding the nuances of CPRA, and preparedness to comply with what is one of the most technical privacy laws to date."

Transcend, the privacy platform that makes it easy to encode privacy across a companys tech stack, today announced the release of new research into corporate readiness for the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) and the compliance challenges that remain. With enforcement beginning January 1, 2023, companies have less than six months to complete their compliance efforts.

Based on a survey of legal and engineering leaders conducted by Gartner Peer Insights, the findings from Transcends 2022 CPRA Preparedness Report reflect significant knowledge gaps around new CPRA requirements, insufficient resources to achieve compliance, and new risks due to expanded regulations around data transfers for the purpose of targeted advertising.

Transcends research found that:



Only 10% of survey respondents consider themselves well versed on the new CPRA requirements.

As the creation of the California Privacy Protection Agency translates to greater scrutiny than ever before, over half of those surveyed were either not confident or unsure if their organization will be fully compliant with CPRA before the January 1, 2023 deadline. Only 30% are confident or very confident that their organization will be fully compliant.

97% of respondents reported using one or more advertising tracking platforms that collect personal information on their organizations website(s). But close to half (46%) either dont have or dont know if they have proper event tagging to ensure Do Not Sell or Share requests are passed through to these platforms.

As a result, 50% of leaders feel the new opt-out requirements for Do Not Share will increase their compliance risk.

The outcomes of this report reflect a troubling gap both in terms of understanding the nuances of CPRA, and preparedness to comply with what is one of the most technical privacy laws to date. With just a few months to go until CPRA comes into effect, and alongside the establishment of the California Privacy Protection Agency to oversee enforcement, the burden of corporate compliance with a growing canon of more technically complex privacy laws is only increasing, said Transcends General Counsel and Head of Privacy Brandon Wiebe.

Transcends research also found that while 50% of leaders feel Do Not Share will increase their compliance risk, and 41% are attempting to implement Do Not Share with in-house resources, only a fraction of those surveyed (4%) currently having the engineering bandwidth to build and maintain compliance across all their ad-tech.

The most painful and time-consuming part of getting ready for any new privacy law is finding the engineering and product resources to re-architect data processing activities at a technical level, and this is more true than ever with CPRA and shown in these findings said Wiebe.

Despite significant knowledge gaps, insufficient resources, and lagging compliance, the majority of companies (58%) reported they are willing to invest considerable amountsbetween $50,000 to $250,000to reduce their compliance risk in the future.

The future resource commitment reflected in this report is a positive signsignaling that, though corporations arent yet where they need to be in terms of technical privacy compliance, they are starting to head in the right direction. said Wiebe.

The full 2022 CPRA Preparedness Report from Transcend can be found at: go.transcend.io/cpra-preparedness-report-2022/

About Transcend

Transcend is the privacy platform that makes it easy to encode privacy across a companys tech stack for complete personal data observability, governance, and compliance. Backed by Accel and Index Ventures, the company is the data privacy partner of choice for brands such as Robinhood, Clubhouse, Eventbrite, CircleCI, and more. Transcend customers go beyond the patchwork compliance and manual offerings of yesterday to realize an easy, efficient, and secure privacy program at scale, with industry-leading technical solutions for the most urgent data mapping, consumer request, and consent management challenges. By future-proofing its technology, Transcend also enables customers to confidently address new or future regulatory requirements, whatever they might be. In addition, Transcends privacy platform incorporates a standard-setting secure by design architecture that security-conscious brands have come to expect, including an on-premise security gateway, E2EE (end-to-end encryption), and more.

Founded in 2017, Transcend is headquartered in San Francisco.

You can also find us on:

Twitter

LinkedIn

GitHub

Sign up for Transcend's weekly newsletter on privacy and technology, Privacy XFN.
Defining US "Our goal is to provide audiences with a fresh, new perspective on what educators are really teaching our children and what they can teach us about the hope and healing that occurs through a revolution of the heart and mind."

Children of color are now the majority of our nations youth. Historically left behind, these students are now positioned to lead America into the future; but their success hangs in the balance of a national debate about race that is fueling a culture war in Americas schools.

CWK Network, Inc., today announced the release date of their new documentary, Defining US: Children at the Crossroads of Change. Scheduled to debut on August 23, the film takes audiences inside the nations largest school systems to see and hear the untold stories of educators fighting to protect students rights to have open conversations about race and other issues that impact their identity.

The nations two largest school systems, New York City Department of Education and Los Angeles Unified School District provided unprecedented access to producers along with Atlanta Public Schools, Guilford County Public Schools, and others. Leading voices in education from Yale University, Columbia University, University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), and New York University (NYU) also participated.

To not talk about race, is to not talk about what it means to be human, says Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz, Ph.D., Associate Professor of English Education at Teachers College, Columbia University.

Defining US shares the stories of Black and Brown students who are directly impacted by the race debate and provides an up close and personal look at the commitment of educators who fight daily for the right of all students to know their history, celebrate their heritage, and access the opportunities they need to achieve and succeed.

The idea to produce the film began as part of a conversation between Paul Forbes, a Black educator from New York and Stacey DeWitt, a White producer from Atlanta who have different backgrounds and perspectives, but share similar hearts and minds. That discussion was the beginning of a friendship and many honest, sometimes uncomfortable, but always constructive conversations about race that informed the film and continue today.

When Stacey and I met, I saw her as the director of a video shoot, but our relationship has blossomed into one where we are now co-conspirators blending our spheres of influence to disrupt and dismantle structures and systems that are leading to inequitable outcomes, says Forbes, Executive Producer of the film, CEO of Leading with Hearts and Minds, and former Executive Director of Educational Equity, Anti-Bias, and Diversity, New York City Department of Education.

Defining US lifts up teachers and students as a voice of reason in the divisive national dialogue", says DeWitt, Executive Producer and Director of Defining US, and CEO of CWK Network, Inc., the company in charge of production.

Our goal is to provide audiences with a fresh, new perspective on what educators are really teaching our children and what they can teach us about the hope and healing that occurs through a revolution of the heart and mind, says DeWitt.

Click here to get a sneak preview of the documentary.

For more information about Defining US: Children at the Crossroads of Change, please visit definingus.org.

Connect socially on social media @definingusofficial on Instagram, @definingus on Twitter, Defining US on LinkedIn, and Defining US on Facebook.

Media Contact: India Hollis | 10 Squared Agency | india@10squaredagency.com | 478-960-6393

About Defining US:

Defining US is a non-partisan documentary that tells the unheard stories of teachers and students inside the nations largest school systems who are fighting for the freedom to talk about race. Watch and learn what educators are really teaching our children and how that is defining us.

About CWK Network:

Defining US is produced by Connect with Kids Network (CWK) that combines the power of media and the promise of education to tell the compelling stores of people and organizations that are improving important social and emotional issues that define our times. The company began by producing and syndicating documentaries and corresponding educational resources on social issues distributed through a network of local school districts and local ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox television station affiliates reaching over 55 million households. CWK now produces national feature documentaries and corresponding evidence-based educational resources, teacher training, and parent programs delivered through digital platforms. The company is an Effective Producer of Programs on the U.S. Department of Educations What Works. CWKs documentaries have won over 27 Emmy nominations and awards.

About Gravitas Ventures:

Gravitas Ventures is a leading, all-rights distributor of independent feature films and documentaries. Founded in 2006, Gravitas connects independent feature films and producers with distribution opportunities across the globe. Working with talented directors and producers, Gravitas Ventures has distributed thousands of films into over a hundred million homes in North America  over a billion homes worldwide. Recent releases included Queen Bees directed by Michael Lembeck; Our Friend directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite, starring Casey Affleck, Dakota Johnson, and Jason Segel; Vanguard directed by Stanley Tong and starring Jackie Chan; The Secret: Dare to Dream, directed by Andy Tennant and starring Katie Holmes. For more information, please visit http://www.gravitasventures.com, and follow @GravitasVOD on Twitter and @gravitasventures on Instagram.
BlackArch Partners (BlackArch) is pleased to announce that Eureka Equity Partners (Eureka) has completed the sale of Jansy Packaging (Jansy or the Company) to Berlin Packaging (Berlin).

Founded in 2007 by Brad Zaikov, Jansy combines in-house design and engineering expertise with a deep network of manufacturing and logistics partners to provide customers with award-winning packaging solutions. Jansy also boasts a full suite of value-added services, including product formulation, lab services and testing, blending and filling services, sustainable packaging solutions and sourcing and logistics across all packaging substrates. With a one-stop-shop approach to its customers, Jansy serves as a single-source partner, delivering premium, tailored solutions spanning materials, products and applications to address any customer need. Jansy also has expansive quality assurance teams in the United States and abroad to ensure consistent, timely and high-quality finished goods.

Brad Zaikov, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Jansy, commented, BlackArchs hands-on approach to navigating the transaction process is second to none. Their expertise and industry knowledge enabled a smooth and successful outcome for Jansy.

Chris Miller, Partner at Eureka, added, We are pleased to have completed our exit from Jansy in a successful sale and believe the Jansy team will continue to have tremendous success under the Berlin umbrella. BlackArch did an exceptional job navigating our sale process and understanding the intricacies of our business to best advocate for Jansys shareholders and employees.

BlackArch was retained by Jansy and Eureka to serve as the Companys exclusive financial advisor. The transaction builds upon BlackArchs significant experience in both the packaging industry and the health and beauty sector, and the outcome is representative of the firms focus on delivering tailored M&A advisory services for market-leading companies with differentiated business models.

About Jansy Packaging

Jansy Packaging is a provider of outsourced, specialty packaging solutions for branded consumer products companies across a host of end-use industries. The Company offers a turnkey consumer packaging platform that combines a full suite of value-added services, including product formulation, lab services and testing, blending and filling services, sustainable packaging solutions and sourcing and logistics. To learn more, visit http://www.jansypkg.com.

About Eureka Equity Partners

Eureka Equity Partners is a private equity firm targeting niche market leaders with up to $100 million in revenue across industry segments in which Eureka brings significant experience and operating resources, including business services, health care services, specialty industrials and consumer products. Eureka focuses on partnering with proven managers to drive the growth of promising companies into outstanding enterprises. Eureka leads buyouts that bring significant ownership to the operators driving the success of the business. With this core principle that aligns the interests of our operators and our investors, Eureka is also experienced and comfortable effecting minority recapitalizations with flexible investment structures designed to uniquely meet the needs of the company, its management team and other shareholders. To learn more, visit http://www.eurekaequity.com.

About Berlin Packaging

Berlin Packaging is the worlds largest Hybrid Packaging Supplier of glass, plastic and metal containers and closures. The company supplies billions of items annually along with package design, financing, consulting, warehousing and logistics services for customers across all industries. Berlin Packaging brings together the best of manufacturing, distribution and income-adding service providers. Its mission is to increase the net income of its customers through packaging products and services. To learn more, visit http://www.berlinpackaging.com.

About BlackArch Partners

BlackArch Partners is a leading middle market investment bank offering a full spectrum of advisory services to financial sponsors, private companies and diversified corporations. BlackArch addresses the needs of owner-operators, founders and shareholders of private companies with specialized services that include M&A advisory, strategic advisory and private capital solutions. Headquartered in Charlotte, NC, BlackArch features a total of 12 industry-focused practices that cover all sectors of interest to middle market investors. BlackArch professionals have closed more than 450 transactions in 16 countries on four continents. To learn more, visit http://www.blackarchpartners.com.

Securities offered through BlackArch Securities LLC. Member FINRA and SIPC. Testimonials may not be representative of the experience of all clients. Testimonials are not a guarantee of future performance or success.
Mark D. Pitchford Elected Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of California Casualty Mark brings incredible experience and capabilities which will strengthen our executive management team.

Mark D. Pitchford has been elected Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of California Casualty Management Company (CCMC) effective July 25, 2022. In this role, Pitchford will lead the marketing and sales efforts of the company.

Pitchford has more than 30 years of wide-ranging experience, including in marketing, service and sales, as a senior executive in the insurance industry. He holds an M.B.A. from Santa Clara University and a Bachelor of Science in engineering from Harvey Mudd College. Pitchford was most recently head of the insurance practice for Afiniti, applied artificial intelligence provider. Prior to Afiniti, Pitchford was the Chief Sales & Marketing Officer at Esurance. In this role, he was responsible for Esurances advertising, sales and customer service operations, customer experience, and digital transformation. His other previous experience includes leading Allstates direct business and time in various senior-level marketing, sales/service and product management positions at Lumen/Qwest and AT&T/Pacific Bell.

Im excited about this opportunity, Pitchford said. The mission of California Casualty to serve those who are heroes in our communities is inspiring.

Jonathan D. Adkisson, CCMCs President & CEO, stated, Mark brings incredible experience and capabilities which will strengthen our executive management team. I am looking forward to working with him again as we move forward.

California Casualty is an affinity-based auto and home insurance provider with group partnerships across the nation, offering the highest level of care, service, compassion and understanding, to people who make a difference for our communities  educators, education support professionals, peace officers, firefighters and nurses.

Carl B. Beau Brown, CCMCs Chair, commented: Adding Mark to our team will help ensure that California Casualty can keep delivering on our promise to our members who serve our communities.

About California Casualty:

Founded in 1914 and headquartered in San Mateo, CA, California Casualty has service centers in Arizona, Colorado and Kansas. The company provides auto and home insurance with special rates, generous discounts, and unique benefits not available to the general public to educators, education support professionals, peace officers, firefighters and nurses across the country. To learn more about California Casualty, or to request an auto insurance quote, please visit http://www.calcas.com or call 1.800.800.9410.


Capstone Facilitates Partnership Between PSCU and Amount We have enjoyed a long-term, mutually beneficial relationship with Capstone and the Amount partnership is the latest result from one recent, targeted initiative, noted Vel Davidov, SVP, Finance and M&A for PSCU.

Capstone Strategic, Inc. (Capstone) announced today that credit union service organization PSCU of St. Petersburg, Florida has entered into a partnership with Chicago-based Amount, a company offering end-to-end omnichannel consumer, small business and buy-now, pay-later (BNPL) solutions, in order to provide credit unions with credit card origination services through a digitally optimized platform. PSCU and Amounts collaboration will supply a best-in-class solution that will help further deepen credit unions relationships with members by introducing one of the most sophisticated digital lending solutions in the market. Capstone advised PSCU on the development of this partnership.

PSCU was seeking a technology provider with superior functionality for digital credit card opening and loan origination. Utilizing its external growth process, Capstone identified, provided research, and opened the door with Amount for PSCU. Founded in 2020, Amount provides cloud-based lending origination and account opening solutions to some of the nations top financial institutions.

Our new partnership with and investment in Amount will add significant value for our credit unions by enabling a digital-first credit card application experience that is simple to implement, said Denise Stevens, SVP, chief product & digital officer for PSCU. The Amount platform is built by digital lending experts and designed with a simple interface that powers instant approvals. We have enjoyed a long-term, mutually beneficial relationship with Capstone and the Amount partnership is the latest result from one recent, targeted initiative, noted Vel Davidov, SVP, Finance and M&A for PSCU.

We were delighted that Capstone could participate in bringing this collaboration together, said John Dearing, Capstone Partner. Not only will this strategic partnership be additive to the growth of both PSCU and Amount, but the net effect will be a better experience for credit union members across the country.

About PSCU

PSCU has leveraged its influence on behalf of credit unions and their members for more than 40 years. As the nations premier payments CUSO, PSCU supports the success of 1,900 credit unions representing nearly 7 billion transactions annually. PSCUs payment processing, risk management, data and analytics, loyalty programs, digital banking, marketing, strategic consulting and mobile platforms help deliver possibilities and seamless member experiences. 24/7/365 member support is provided by contact centers located throughout the United States. Today, PSCU provides an end-to-end, competitive advantage that enables credit unions to securely grow and meet evolving consumer demands. For more information, visit pscu.com

About Capstone Strategic, Inc.

Capstone Strategic, Inc. is the leader in mergers and acquisitions for credit union service organizations (CUSOs). The firm has helped numerous credit unions and CUSO leaders develop, evaluate, and implement initiatives for growth. Established in 1995 by CEO David Braun, Capstone specializes in strategic not-for-sale acquisitions and corporate growth strategies and has facilitated over $1 billion in transactions in more than 100 industries. For additional information go to the Capstone website at https://www.capstonestrategic.com or call 703-854-1910


Clearwater now has capabilities to provide 24/7 expert detection and response services, giving clients enhanced cyber resiliency to protect data, reduce business interruption, and achieve better security outcomes."

Clearwater, the healthcare industrys top-ranked Security Advisors and Consultants and Compliance and Risk Management Solution provider, announced today that it has completed the acquisition of TECH LOCK, a leading provider of security management, threat detection, incident response, and compliance services. TECH LOCK operated as a subsidiary of RevSpring, a market leader in patient engagement and payment solutions. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Built to scale for organizations of all sizes, TECH LOCKs Managed Detection and Response (MDR) service uses a proprietary security orchestration and response (SOAR) engine that pulls together in seconds threat insight and provides quick access to multiple signals for an immediate and effective security response. Security operations center (SOC) analysts actively watch and hunt every event and threat signal. They have extended detection and response with immediate contextual data to neutralize threats based on severity and risk.

As healthcare organizations grapple with a rapidly evolving threat landscape, TECH LOCKs proven security services that bundle 24/7 SOC, MDR services, along with other foundational security options, will provide Clearwaters customers with valuable capabilities, delivered directly by Clearwater. These capabilities include preventing ransomware threats in real-time and blocking events, even on compromised or infected devices if needed. Services from TECH LOCK leverage cloud delivery and infrastructure, removing heavy on-site requirements and allowing for the security of hybrid environments and everything from workstations and servers, current and legacy operating systems, POS systems, and manufacturing operational technology.

In addition, TECH LOCK brings strength across several areas of compliance that complement Clearwaters deep HIPAA expertise. TECH LOCKs compliance services are led by industry-certified assessors able to provide HITRUST certifications, PCI audits, and CMMC assessments. They bring cost-effective value to clients with integrated and bundled assessments across multiple standards and offer compliance maintenance and validation to ensure that assessments run smoothly and that clients stay up-to-date with new requirements.

This is a very exciting day for our company and for our customers as weve added great people, powerful technology, and key services to our solution portfolio that position Clearwater to deliver even greater value to the healthcare industry, said Clearwater CEO Steve Cagle. Clearwater now has capabilities to provide 24/7 expert detection and response services, giving clients enhanced cyber resiliency to protect data, reduce business interruption, and achieve better security outcomes. With these capabilities, Clearwater continues to be a partner that can address our customers growing list of cybersecurity and compliance needs. We will continue to innovate and deliver value-added solutions that enable our customers to succeed in building and executing strong cybersecurity, risk management, and compliance programs.

TECH LOCK will operate as a new Clearwater subsidiary and continue serving customers in Healthcare, as well as Account Receivables Management, Financial Services, Hospitality, Insurance, and Manufacturing. TECH LOCK CEO Brian McManamon will serve as business unit leader, reporting to Mr. Cagle. TECH LOCKS Chief Information Officer Steve Meyer and Chief Security Officer & Chief Technology Officer Steve Akers also will continue in senior roles within the new organization operating under the Clearwater umbrella.

We are incredibly excited to join the Clearwater family, McManamon said. TECH LOCK and Clearwater share the goal of making accessible services that ease compliance challenges, enhance cybersecurity protection, and help address the growing problem of advanced threats. There is a tremendous opportunity to build on this foundation as one organization moving forward.

ArentFox Schiff LLP served as legal counsel to Clearwater in the transaction. Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis, LLP served as legal counsel to RevSpring and TECH LOCK in the transaction.

About Clearwater

Clearwater is the leading provider of cybersecurity, risk management, and HIPAA compliance software, consulting, and managed services for the healthcare industry. Our solutions enable organizations to avoid preventable breaches, protect patients and their data, meet regulatory requirements, and optimize cybersecurity investments. More than 400 healthcare organizations, including 70 of the nations largest health systems and a large universe of physician groups and digital health companies, trust Clearwater to meet their cybersecurity and compliance needs. For more information about Clearwater, please visit http://www.clearwatercompliance.com.

About TECH LOCK

TECH LOCK enables organizations to respond to todays modern cybersecurity and compliance challenges. Our focus is on delivering cohesive managed security and compliance services. We provide industry-leading technology, security operations, and threat response. Our clients receive premium threat detection, security management, and compliance maintenance with personalized support. TECH LOCK is uniquely qualified to perform PCI QSA/ASV, HITRUST, and CMMC assessments. To learn more, please visit http://www.techlockinc.com.

About RevSpring

RevSpring leads the market in patient engagement and payment solutions that inspire patients to participate in and pay for their healthcare. The company has built the industrys most comprehensive and impactful suite of patient engagement, OmniChannel communications and payment solutions backed by behavior analysis, propensity-to-pay scoring, contextual messaging, and user experience best practices. Using proprietary data analytics to tailor the engagement from preservice to post-service, RevSpring improves the patient experience and outcomes for providers and their patients. To learn more, visit http://revspringinc.com/healthcare.
Cleave America, Patriot Flames 1774: The Fate of the Brigantine Peggy Stewart and Those Whose Lives She Touched: a gripping tale of American history. Cleave America, Patriot Flames 1774: The Fate of the Brigantine Peggy Stewart and Those Whose Lives She Touched is the creation of published author Dan E. Hobbs, a retired military officer and former Air Force futures consultant to the Department of Defense.

Hobbs shares, The year 1774 was a sea of turbulence in America. The brigantine Peggy Stewart sailed in this sea laden with a cargo of unbridled hatred and undying love. The tides of social change ebbed and flowed while the winds of newfound faith pushed those who had to cleave unto this ship to uncertain destinies. At a critical time for those touched by the Peggy Stewart, a simple message of faith reached across the Atlantic to transform despair into hope.

Cleave is a word in English that though spelled the same has diametrically opposite meanings. The definitions of the word cleave found in modern dictionaries validates that it is indeed contradictory: cleaveto divide or cleaveto cling. This word is an apt description of todays American society. Ask almost anyone today about the political mood of the United States, and they will begin to describe how America is deeply divided United States. Many believe we have unreconcilable differences as never seen before. This novel seeks to contest this belief and to tell an old American story when our political cleave, a division, led to dreadful violence, right or wrong, but ultimately to a cleave, a clinging together and eventually the birth of a United States of America.

What is often lost to most in a simple narrative of pre-Revolutionary history is the turmoil up and down the Atlantic Coast preceding and following the Tea Party in Boston. Our ship, the brigantine Peggy Stewart, sailed into infamy in this 1774 sea of turmoil on American land. Ordinary folks like you and Ifarmers, merchants, seamen, and laborswere pulled and pushed by the tides and winds of social change. So we were then, so we are today. Are you aboard?

Published by Christian Faith Publishing, Dan E. Hobbss new book is a carefully researched historical fiction that will bring new relevance to a key point in American history.

Hobbs offers a compelling journey to the past that brings an obscure yet fascinating tale to modern readers.

Consumers can purchase Cleave America, Patriot Flames 1774: The Fate of the Brigantine Peggy Stewart and Those Whose Lives She Touched at traditional brick & mortar bookstores, or online at Amazon.com, Apple iTunes store, or Barnes and Noble.

For additional information or inquiries about Cleave America, Patriot Flames 1774: The Fate of the Brigantine Peggy Stewart and Those Whose Lives She Touched, contact the Christian Faith Publishing media department at 866-554-0919.
Leaving the Place Called Stuck: Launching into Your New Season: an encouraging discussion of how one can break the cycle and find a path forward. Leaving the Place Called Stuck: Launching into Your New Season is the creation of published author Dr. April Griseta, a Doctor of Ministry who holds a license to practice mental health counseling. Dr. Griseta copastors New and Lively Hope Ministries with her husband, Joe, and is a sought-out national conference speaker and hosts the popular show Bounce Back on Christian Television Network. She also holds advanced degrees in divinity, theology, and counseling.

Dr. Griseta shares, Are you stuck in your life journey and want to move forward? Do you want to learn why you are stuck and how to get out?

Come and explore the following:



The whys of procrastination

The secondary gains for staying in stuck

The forces of darkness thwarting your destiny

The spiritual paralysis binding you

The ungodly mindsets entrapping you

Leaving the Place Called Stuck is a book to awaken the bride of Christ out of her slumber. In this new awakening, she will be propelled into her God-given destiny.

Published by Christian Faith Publishing, Dr. April Grisetas new book offers a message of empowerment for those in need of guidance to overcome spiritual or personal stagnation.

Dr. Griseta shares in hopes of reaching those in need of encouragement and spiritual motivation to aid them in overcoming lifes hurdles.

Consumers can purchase Leaving the Place Called Stuck: Launching into Your New Season at traditional brick & mortar bookstores, or online at Amazon.com, Apple iTunes store, or Barnes and Noble.

For additional information or inquiries about Leaving the Place Called Stuck: Launching into Your New Season, contact the Christian Faith Publishing media department at 866-554-0919.
GT at HBA Awards

When the Houston Bar Association (HBA) called out the winners at its 2022 Diversity Awards, law firm Greenberg Traurigs name was heard twice. The Houston office won in the Organization Category and Litigation Practice Shareholder Roland Garcia won in the Individual Category. HBA presented the awards at the HBA Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DE&I) Summer Associate luncheon July 21.

Since our founding, Greenberg Traurig has actively worked towards meaningful change in diversity, equity, and inclusion. It is an immense honor to have our Houston office recognized by the Houston Bar Association, said Shari L. Heyen, managing shareholder of the firms Houston office. We are also thrilled that Roland has been recognized for his individual commitment to diversity. In addition to being a trusted advisor, Roland continues to be a passionate advocate and champion for underrepresented individuals.

According to HBA, the Diversity Awards recognize an organization and an individual who have shown exceptional commitment and achieved significant progress on diversity, equity, and inclusion in the legal field.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion are at the core of innovation and advancement in society. We must be dedicated to the cause and intentional with our actions in order to make true impact, Garcia said. HBA is an organization that is dear to me and I am humbled and honored to accept its 2022 Diversity Award.

Garcias commitment to DE&I is evident by the time and attention he gives to various organizations. He was the first member of a minority community to be elected president of the HBA, the fifth largest voluntary bar association in the country, with more than 11,000 members.

He also served as president of the Hispanic Bar Association and as a member on the Texas Supreme Court's Gender Fairness Task Force, and is now co-chairman of the Mayor's Hispanic Advisory Board and a member of the Racial Equity Committee of the Greater Houston Partnership.

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, LLP  Texas: Texas is important to Greenberg Traurig, LLP and the firms history. With approximately 140 Texas lawyers in Austin, Dallas, and Houston, Greenberg Traurig has deep roots in the Texas business, legal, and governmental communities. Greenberg Traurig Texas works with clients to address their interdisciplinary legal needs across the state utilizing the firms global platform. The Texas attorneys are experienced in industries key to the states future, including: aviation, chemicals, construction, education, energy and natural resources, financial institutions, health care, hedge funds, hospitality, infrastructure, insurance, media, medical devices, pharmaceutical and biotechnology, real estate, retail, sports, technology and software, telecommunications, transportation, and video games and esports.

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.
New Jersey Associate Clarissa A. Gomez of global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP was elected to the board of directors for the New Jersey Women Lawyers Association (NJWLA), an independent bar association whose mission is to advance and retain women of all backgrounds in the legal profession. Gomez will serve as co-director of diversity.

In this role, Gomez will be responsible for promoting diversity and inclusion both within the association as well as in the legal profession. NJWLAs diversity efforts are designed to promote acceptance and respect regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, age, physical abilities, religious beliefs, or other ideologies, and to explore the issues that impact these various groups of people. NJWLAs diversity committees goals for this year include an expansion and involvement in various diversity functions, and to continue the associations strong and growing presence in the New Jersey legal community on all levels, from local to state events.

Several Greenberg Traurig attorneys have served on NJWLAs board, including Past Presidents Wendy Johnson Lario and Galit Kierkut.

About Greenberg Traurig New Jersey: Established in 2002, Greenberg Traurigs New Jersey office has grown into a team of nationally recognized attorneys who provide legal advice to international, national, and local business and technology clients. The New Jersey offices practice areas include Complex Commercial and Class Action Litigation; Hatch-Waxman Litigation; Pharmaceutical, Medical Device & Health Care Litigation; Product Liability & Mass Torts; Corporate; Restructuring & Bankruptcy; Construction Law; Franchise & Distribution; Immigration & Compliance; Intellectual Property & Technology; Labor & Employment; Real Estate; Tax; and Private Wealth Services. As a significant contributor to the firm's international platform, the New Jersey team offers clients both the know-how and geographic reach of a global law firm combined with the dedication and responsiveness of a local firm.

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.
Kaitlyn R. Maxwell, a shareholder in global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLPs Philadelphia office, is among the professionals recognized on the 2022 City & State Pennsylvania Forty Under 40 list. The magazine touts the compilation as the next generation of rising stars under the age of 40, providing an overview of some of the rising leaders across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Maxwell, a member of the firms Environmental Practice, has experience advising clients on complex litigation, including major environmental contamination, product liability, and toxic tort cases, as well as environmental remediation projects. A graduate of Dickinson College and Boston University School of Law, she rose to shareholder at the firm in 2020.

Maxwell holds several leadership positions in both professional and community realms, including serving as co-chair of the Philadelphia Bar Associations Environmental and Energy Law Committee and a recent appointment to the board of directors for the Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia. A staunch supporter of women and young legal professionals, she also serves as a mentor and co-liaison for the Philadelphia offices engagement with the Greenberg Traurig Womens Initiative, a firmwide affinity group that cultivates and advances career opportunities.

About Greenberg Traurigs Philadelphia Office: Now celebrating its 25th anniversary, Greenberg Traurigs Philadelphia office has grown from an initial three-attorney Public Finance Practice to include more than 60 attorneys whose practices include Real Estate; Litigation; Intellectual Property; Labor & Employment; Environmental; Government Law & Policy; Restructuring & Bankruptcy; White Collar Defense & Special Investigations; Corporate; Investment Management & Regulation; Immigration & Compliance; Health Care & FDA; and Tax. The Philadelphia office represents a broad range of clients in real estate, manufacturing, health care, financial, and insurance industries, as well as state and local governments, professional services, and energy firms. The office also is known for its pro bono work and community service/social action initiatives in the Philadelphia region.

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.
High Plains Housing Developers joins the Rocky Mountain E-Purchasing System Registered vendors can access bids, related documents, addendum and award information.

The High Plains Housing Development Corp. (High Plains) announced today that it has joined the Rocky Mountain E-Purchasing System, a regional purchasing group that helps local governments post, distribute and manage RFPs, quotes, addendums and awards online. Bidnet Directs Rocky Mountain E-Purchasing System provides notification to registered vendors of new relevant solicitations, any addenda and award information from over 325 participating agencies from across Colorado and Wyoming. All potential High Plains Housing Developers vendors are encouraged to register online with http://www.bidnetdirect.com/colorado/highplainscdc to access upcoming solicitations.

The High Plains joined the purchasing group in July 2022. In joining, the organization has become the 333rd participating local government agency utilizing the system to streamline the purchasing process. The Rocky Mountain E-Purchasing System is a single, online location for managing sourcing information and activities and provides local Colorado and Wyoming government agencies a method to minimize costs and time delays associated with the procurement process. High Plains was distributing bids and managing the procurement process manually before joining the system. In joining, High Plains looks to save time, increase competition and achieve cost savings over the traditional paper-based bid process.

The High Plains now has access to an extensive vendor pool, thereby enhancing competition without increasing distribution costs. In addition to the existing vendors on the Rocky Mountain E-Purchasing System, all vendors looking to respond to bids with local government agencies can register online: http://www.bidnetdirect.com/colorado/highplainscdc. High Plains invites all current vendors not already registered on the purchasing group to do so today. Vendor registration is easy and takes only a few minutes online.

Registered vendors can access bids, related documents, addendum and award information. In addition, the Rocky Mountain E-Purchasing System offers a value-added service to notify vendors of new bids targeted to their industry, all addenda associated with those bids and advance notice of term contract expiration. A robust NIGP code category list allows vendors registering to find the correct codes and receive matched bids.

By using the Rocky Mountain E-Purchasing System, our valued vendors can now access not only our open bids, but those from other municipalities, counties and school districts throughout the state. In addition to the time savings we anticipate, our vendors will also benefit from registering in one location for all local bid opportunities.

Vendors may register on the Rocky Mountain E-Purchasing System: http://www.bidnetdirect.com/colorado/highplainscdc. Bidnet Directs vendor support team is available to answer any questions regarding the registration process or the bid system at 800-835-4603 option 2.

Other local Colorado and Wyoming government agencies looking to switch from a manual bid process, please contact the Rocky Mountain E-Purchasing System for a demonstration of the no-cost sourcing solution.

About the High Plains Housing Development:

High Plains Housing Development Corp., a 501c3 nonprofit organization, is the leading community partner in the development of housing opportunities for low-to-moderate income households in Greeley/Weld County, Colorado. Our focus is on developing housing for the most vulnerable households in our community - the chronically homeless, veterans, older adults (age 55+), families living at or below 30% of the area median income, and those experiencing disabling conditions.

About Bidnet Direct:

Bidnet Direct, powered by mdf commerce, is a sourcing solution of regional purchasing groups available at no cost to local government agencies throughout the country. Bidnet Direct runs regional purchasing groups, including the Rocky Mountain E-Purchasing System, across all 50 states that are used by over 1,600 local governments. To learn more and have your government agency gain better transparency and efficiency in purchasing, please visit https://www.bidnetdirect.com/buyers
oak9 recommended security and compliance fixes directly in Azure Repos "We needed a platform that would fit in our SDLC [software development lifecycle]...oak9 has made it easy to prioritize security along with product features."

oak9, developer-first IaC security leader, today announced it is now a Microsoft Azure IP co-sell partner and released a native integration for Azure Repos, continuing the companys drive to make its Security as Code platform available to customers wherever they do their work.

The Azure IP co-sell relationship between Microsoft and oak9 is an incentive program geared toward partners so that Microsoft and oak9 can jointly go-to-market to support Azure customers IaC security needs.

oak9's Azure Repos integration allows customers to monitor and analyze Terraform natively in Azure Repos. The repo can be analyzed manually or on a recurring schedule, with tailored IaC fixes via pull requests with recommended changes for any security and compliance gaps found directly in Azure Repos. oak9 customers continuously monitor their Infrastructure as Code, finding design gaps early in the CI/CD process to reduce the cost, effort, and headaches of securing cloud native applications.

We are absolutely focused on Microsofts Azure ecosystem. You can see that based on what we support today, and how quickly oak9 added support for Azure APIs, Azure DevOps, Azure Boards, Github (now a part of Microsoft) and now Azure Repos, said Matt McGillen, VP Partnerships and Alliances at oak9. With every product development sprint, we add more support for Azure cloud native components, and well continue rolling out integrations to provide customers with even more options.

We needed a platform that would fit in our SDLC [software development lifecycle], said Cohesion, a Microsoft Azure and oak9 customer. Not only to notify us of ongoing security checks and risks, but also to auto-create work tickets with appropriate criticality level. oak9 has made it easy to prioritize security along with product features...

oak9 recently shipped an industry-leading Infrastructure as Code (IaC) remediation capability and last month announced an $8 million round of additional funding, bringing the companys total to $14 million raised over the last 15 months. The Chicago-based company moved into a new Michigan Ave. headquarters and recently expanded its presence in India, one of the fastest growing IaC markets in the world.

Find oak9 on the Microsoft Azure Marketplace. Learn more about oak9s partnership with Microsoft.

About oak9

oak9 secures cloud native infrastructure for developers. oak9 Security as Code continuously finds, analyzes, and remediates security and compliance issues in real-time, as infrastructure as code (IaC) changes  the only software solution automating cloud native security across the entire software development lifecycle. oak9s proprietary Security as Code (SaC) blueprints support 20-plus compliance standards out-of-the-box including HIPAA, HITRUST, PCI, SOC2 and ISO27001. oak9s open-sourced Security as Code also enables security engineers to extend oak9 security blueprints for additional guard rails. Headquartered in Chicago, oak9 is a Built in 2022 Start-up to Watch with key investors Menlo Ventures, HPA, Cisco Investments, and Morgan Stanleys Next Level Fund. oak9 partners with HashiCorp, AWS, and Microsoft, and actively supports the Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) and Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP). Keep in touch with oak9 on LinkedIn, Twitter, Youtube, and TikTok, or visit oak9.io.

***

All trademarks are the property of their respective owners in the U.S. and other countries.
I Would Like to Be Unnecessary: a thought-provoking collection of poetic works. I Would Like to Be Unnecessary is the creation of published author Josef Brisuda, a native of the Czech Republic who has been living in the United States for over thirty years.

Brisuda shares, This book is about how you use common sense in every day of your life. That is what God is expecting from us, and that is what is absolutely necessary to live happily every day in our lives. Please dont be afraid to use common sense. It is the second-best gift from God after love. I thank you all.

Published by Christian Faith Publishing, Josef Brisudas new book explores a variety of themes and motivates readers to look closely at all God has provided.

Brisuda brings readers an enjoyable collection of poems in hopes of encouraging and promoting strong relationships and determined faith.

Consumers can purchase I Would Like to Be Unnecessary at traditional brick & mortar bookstores, or online at Amazon.com, Apple iTunes store, or Barnes and Noble.

For additional information or inquiries about I Would Like to Be Unnecessary, contact the Christian Faith Publishing media department at 866-554-0919.
We are deeply grateful to Sandy Spring Bank for this life-changing philanthropic investment to support our patients and community, and for the wonderful partnership we have enjoyed with the bank throughout the years.

MedStar Health, today announced a $250,000 philanthropic gift from long-time community partner Sandy Spring Bank to expand cancer care services at MedStar Montgomery Medical Center. The gift will be used toward the development of the Oncology Pavilion at MedStar Montgomery to house oncology services such as chemotherapy, immunotherapy, radiation, and other treatment and support services.

Sandy Spring Banks support of MedStar Montgomery dates back to the founding of the then Montgomery General Hospital in the early 1900s and has continued for more than 100 years through various community, philanthropic, and volunteer support initiatives.

We are deeply grateful to Sandy Spring Bank for this life-changing philanthropic investment to support our patients and community, and for the wonderful partnership we have enjoyed with the bank throughout the years. With this gift, we will expand access to our world-class team of experienced oncologists, surgeons, researchers, specialists, and support cancer care services, said Thomas J. Senker, FACHE, President of MedStar Montgomery Medical Center.

Upon completion, the Oncology Pavilion will optimize coordination of patient care, enhance effective communication between providers, decrease length of time between medically necessary day-of services, increase patient care capacity, improve wayfinding, and more.

Sandy Spring Bank has supported MedStar Montgomery Medical Center since the hospital was founded over 100 years ago. Through our philanthropic gift toward the Oncology Pavilion, we will help the hospital expand the Cancer Center, improve the patient experience, and achieve another milestone in its storied history, said Daniel J. Schrider, President and CEO of Sandy Spring Bank. Our organizations have been pillars in the community for over a century, and this gift is our way of showing our appreciation for our original, hometown hospital.

About MedStar Montgomery Medical Center and MedStar Health

MedStar Montgomery Medical Center is a not-for-profit, acute care community hospital serving Montgomery County, Maryland. For 100 years, MedStar Montgomery has served as a medical care provider and community health resource offering high-quality, personalized care. MedStar Montgomery provides a broad range of healthcare specialties, advanced technologies, and treatments not traditionally found at community hospitalsincluding cutting-edge care in obstetrics, orthopedics, breast health, and oncology. MedStar Health is the region's largest non-profit and most trusted integrated healthcare delivery system, giving patients access to the latest in modern medicine and medical technology within a community hospital setting.

About Sandy Spring Bank

Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc., headquartered in Olney, Maryland, is the holding company for Sandy Spring Bank, a premier community bank in the Greater Washington, D.C. region. With over 50 locations, the bank offers a broad range of commercial and retail banking, mortgage, private banking, and trust services throughout Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. Through its subsidiaries, Rembert Pendleton Jackson and West Financial Services, Inc., Sandy Spring Bank also offers a comprehensive menu of wealth management services.
Mauritius has established itself as an International Financial Centre (IFC) of excellence. Along with its ongoing positive achievements in corporate governance, Mauritius is attractive for both launching and administration of private equity funds, said Deepak Middha, NAV VP  Fund Accounting.

NAV Fund Administration Group, a leading provider of fund administration services to alternative asset managers, has launched NAV (Mauritius) Ltd, a new business entity in Mauritius.

In the last few years Mauritius has established itself as an International Financial Centre (IFC) of excellence. Along with its ongoing positive achievements in corporate governance, Mauritius is attractive for both launching and administration of private equity funds, said Deepak Middha, NAV VP  Fund Accounting. We look forward to introducing NAVs flexible administration solutions to new clients in Mauritius, backed by a team of 2,250 professionals and award-winning proprietary technology designed to support nearly every fund structure and asset class traded."

The Mauritius regulating body, Financial Services Commission, granted a Management Licence in early July, authorizing NAV (Mauritius) Ltd to operate as a Managed Corporate Service Provider and to provide management and administrative services to Global Business Companies such as Funds, Trusts and Authorised Companies domiciled in Mauritius, including corporate secretary functions.

Beyond fund administration, NAV will also offer services to other companies and trusts. Mauritius is a jurisdiction ideally positioned for the comprehensive range of services, industry expertise, responsive client support, and competitive fee structure that NAV offers, said Madhusudan Mittal, NAV AVP  Fund Accounting.

NAV (Mauritius) Ltd is based at 12th Floor, Standard Chartered Tower; 19, Cybercity, Ebene; Mauritius. For more information or to discuss available services, email Deepak Middha at deepak.middha@navconulting.net or Madhusudan Mittal at madhusudan.mittal@navconsulting.net, or call +1 630.954.1919. Learn more about NAV: https://www.navconsulting.net/

Recognized for its innovative and highly cost-competitive fund administration solutions, NAVs experienced team provides award-winning services for all alternative fund types and sizes, including cryptocurrency funds. Since its founding in 1991, NAV has grown to more than 2,000 clients worldwide with $180 billion AUA while maintaining a 99% client retention rate. The company is headquartered in the United States, with four facilities in India supporting Back Office services, and locations in Australia, the Cayman Islands, and Singapore; plus ability to service clients domiciled in multiple additional countries around the globe.
Rentec Direct announces a new update to its tenant portal to ensure that landlords can offer a more modern and streamlined experience to tenants. Our development team is constantly innovating to make sure landlords and property managers have the very best resources at their fingertips to make their rental businesses a success, said Nathan Miller, President of Rentec Direct

Rentec Direct has announced a new update to its industry-leading property management software: a remodeled tenant portal to support landlords and property managers in developing stronger landlord-tenant relationships. Following the launch of Rentec Directs software redesign, the new tenant portal features streamlined, modern design improvements that improve user experience and create a seamless, responsive workflow.

Our development team is constantly innovating to make sure landlords and property managers have the very best resources at their fingertips to make their rental businesses a success, said Nathan Miller, President of Rentec Direct. Building strong landlord-tenant relationships can positively impact vacancy rates and reduce turnover costs, which are crucial to your bottom line as a landlord. This new tenant portal experience will help support this relationship for both tenants and landlords using the Rentec Direct software platform.

The Tenant Portal remodel maintains all of the same convenient features tenants have come to know and love in a modern design format that mirrors the Rentec Direct software. Tenants continue to have access to tools like online rent payment, maintenance requests, viewing lease agreements and other shared files, payment history, property notices and even the ability to obtain renters insurance within the platform. This free upgrade will automatically integrate into the software before July 31, 2022.

A tenant portal is the best way for landlords and property managers to connect with tenants. To learn more about Rentec Directs Tenant Portal remodel, visit: https://www.rentecdirect.com/blog/rentec-direct-brings-a-fresh-new-design-to-tenant-portals/.

About Rentec Direct

Rentec Direct offers industry-leading property management software and tenant screening solutions for real estate professionals. Features include online rent payments, tenant and owner portals, one of the industrys largest vacancy listing syndication networks, full property, tenant, and owner accounting, 1099-MISC reporting and more. Rentec Direct was recognized as Real Estate Company of the Year in the 2022 American Business Awards, named a SaaS Company of the Year in the 2022 American Best in Business Awards, was named one of the Most Customer Friendly Companies of the Year in the 2021 Best in Biz Awards, has been named to the Inc. 5000 List of Fastest-Growing Private Companies for five years in a row. http://www.rentecdirect.com

###
Noodoe CEO Jennifer Chang For hotels and resorts looking for a competitive edge, EV charging stations run by Noodoe hardware and hospitality apps are an essential amenity,

Noodoe EV, a global leader in EV charging technology, has launched a specific set of EV chargers and apps for hotel properties, making it easier than ever for those in the hospitality industry to grow their business. The announcement was made by CEO Jennifer Chang.

For hotels and resorts looking for a competitive edge, EV charging stations run by Noodoe hardware and hospitality apps are an essential amenity, says Chang. Every destination needs to install charging stations because customers demand it. Noodoe has a complete line of charging stations and guest-centric apps that make your property stand out.

Noodoes robust Apps Library accessed via Noodoe EV OS feature a rich set of options for hotel owners to entice guests. Noodoe station owners are allowed special charging access codes, discount codes and voucher codes to reward loyal customers and special employees. Noodoe EV OS oversees charging station activities with minimal management but maximum revenue potential. All Noodoe chargers are easy to install and run on Noodoe EV OS, meaning any model and capacity of charger supports all applications.

Around the world, many nations are on the fast track to EV adoption. As noted on a recent CNBC newscast, European lawmakers just voted to ban the sale of new diesel and gasoline cars and vans in the EU from 2035. Many countries are expected to follow Europes lead.

About Noodoe Inc.

To accelerate the worlds transition to electric vehicles, Noodoe provides the mission-critical network operating system, Noodoe EV OS, that runs the EV charging networks for their operators.

Noodoe EV OS is one of the most advanced cloud-based operating system today; it is a charging networks central brain that runs all the charging stations across multiple locations and automates the entire operation of the EV charging network.

What makes Noodoe EV OS different is the core technology that empowers extreme automation, which enables the operators to achieve the lowest possible operating cost. Controlling and running all EV charging stations, Noodoe EV OS fully automates everything  24/7 charging service delivery, automatic peak-hour price adjustment, automatic transaction billing, automatic payment processing, automatic bank transfer, automatic infrastructure diagnostics, and intelligent energy management. Its so automated that the network operators can practically generate revenue automatically and continuously.

Noodoe provides products and services that are used in 110 countries worldwide.

Noodoe.com
Champion Homes finds NovikStone skirting to be lightweight and easy to work with, while delivering natural stone's intricate detail and curb appeal At the Homes on the Hill displays, NovikStone complemented our Odyssey models navy-blue exterior and white trim as well as added a luxurious texture on our all-white ADU. -- Tammie Davidson, Interior Design Manager, Champion Homes

Champion Homes, an industry leading factory-built home builder, recently displayed a manufactured home and an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) with innovative upgrades at the 2022 Innovative Housing Showcases Homes on the Hill. Held in June at the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the showcase was created through a partnership between the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Manufactured Home Institute (MHI).

With an eye for unique quality materials, Tammie Davidson, Interior Design Manager for Champion, chose NovikStone Skirting products for the featured modular home and ADU.

Subcontractors installed the homes at the National Mall, but each was built on production lines and delivered from our facilities, explained Davidson. Products like NovikStone are easily integrated into Champions manufacturing process because they can be installed quickly --this allowed the timely construction of both homes.

Choosing the NovikStone Carrara Collection in Grigio color for its stunning blue-gray marble aesthetic, the Tuscany-inspired dry stack profile offered Champion the look of stone that complemented its homes varied exterior styles. Using NovikStone across multiple home designs, Champion adds the beauty of stone without the added shipping weight or cost or labor of a stone mason.

At the Homes on the Hill Displays, NovikStone complemented our Odyssey models navy-blue exterior and white trim as well as added a luxurious texture on our all-white ADU, explained Davidson. Weve also used the product for skirting and to accent dormers on several other manufactured home designs.

Unlike traditional stone veneers, NovikStone is lightweight and easy to work with, yet delivers natural stone's intricate detail and curb appeal. Perfect as an accent for Champions manufactured homes, NovikStone is also impervious to moisture, allowing for ground contact and mulch.

Learn more about NovikStone at http://www.novik.com and more about Champion Home Builders at http://www.championhomes.com

About Novik

The Novik brands, NovikStone and NovikShake, are game-changing exterior building materials manufactured by Derby Building Products in Quebec City, Canada. Novik is a vinyl siding complement as well as a DIY-focused brand in the home improvement retail channel. All Novik products are impervious to moisture making them an excellent choice for gable, roofline, and ground contact applications. They are also easy to install and work perfectly in mixed material exteriors. Visit http://www.novik.com or like us on Facebook at Novik; and visit the new NovikStone YouTube page here.

About Skyline Champion Corporation:

Skyline Champion Corporation (NYSE: SKY) is the largest independent, publicly traded, factory-built housing company in North America and employs approximately 8,700 people. With almost 70 years of homebuilding experience and 42 manufacturing facilities throughout the United States and western Canada, Skyline Champion is well positioned with a leading portfolio of manufactured and modular homes, ADUs, park-models and modular buildings for the single-family, multi-family, and hospitality sectors.

In addition to its core home building business, Skyline Champion operates a factory-direct retail business with 30 retail locations spanning the southern United States, and Star Fleet Trucking, providing transportation services to the manufactured housing and other industries from several dispatch locations across the United States.

Skyline Champion builds homes under some of the most well-known brand names in the factory-built housing industry including Skyline Homes, Champion Home Builders, Genesis Homes, Athens Park Models, Dutch Housing, Atlantic Homes, Excel Homes, Homes of Merit, New Era, Redman Homes, ScotBilt Homes, Shore Park, Silvercrest, Titan Homes in the U.S. and Moduline and SRI Homes in western Canada.
With the partnerships we expect MEIG to create, well make it faster and more convenient than ever to access Radcliffes highly regarded cardiovascular content, improving health care outcomes in the process.--Leiah Norcott, Publishing and Editorial Director of Radcliffe Group

Today Radcliffe Group, which brings the latest and best science, information, and knowledge to cardiovascular clinicians around the world, announced it has selected content distribution consultancy MEI Global, LLC (MEIG) to develop third-party licensing partnerships that will help medical practitioners, researchers, and innovators more easily and efficiently access Radcliffes unique content collection.

Powerful research and creative innovation have always accelerated progress in health, but its the way that new ideas are shared that ensures positive change happens quickly and equitably, says Leiah Norcott, Publishing and Editorial Director of Radcliffe Group. Our industry-leading review journals Arrhythmia & Electrophysiology Review (AER), Cardiac Failure Review (CFR), European Cardiology Review (ECR), Interventional Cardiology: Reviews, Research, Resources (ICR), US Cardiology Review (USC), Vascular and Endovascular Review (VER), and Journal of Asian Pacific Society of Cardiology (JAPSC), as well as our medical education materials in the Cardiovascular, Renal, and Metabolic space, are always in demand by the medical community. Norcott says, With the partnerships we expect MEIG to create, well make it faster and more convenient than ever to access Radcliffes highly regarded cardiovascular content, improving health care outcomes in the process.

MEIG was founded to help publishers identify, negotiate, and grow their third-party distribution partnerships. Chris Broekhoff, MEIGs president, says, The landscape for content licensing is constantly changing. Without the time and resources to focus on redistribution partnerships, publishers cant always optimize a complementary network of deals that ensure everyone interested in their content can find it.

Says Broekhoff, Medical professionals in the cardiovascular community around the world rely on Radcliffes content to refine their skills and shape best practice. Our dealmakers are excited for the opportunity to help broaden the reach of Radcliffes journals and continuing education materials, so that cardiovascular patients can get the best possible care.

About MEI Global, LLC: MEIG provides a suite of services to help publishers monetize their digital assets. MEIGs expertise includes prospecting, negotiating, relationship management, and extensive knowledge of vendors and their needs, thanks to decades of industry experience within MEIGs dealmaker team. The company assists publishers with strategic decision making through a lens of revenue growth, brand extension and intellectual property protection. For additional information, please contact Vice President of Business Development Nancy Davis Kho at ndkho@marcinko.com.

About Radcliffe Group: We bring medical knowledge to life and put great communication at the heart of better healthcare. We are an independent digital producer and publisher for the global cardiovascular community, equipping clinicians with the tools, skills and practical insights they need to do the best for their patients. We combine scientific rigour with communications expertise and technical mastery, to make knowledge-sharing as effortless and effective as possible, through great science writing, smart journal editing and engaging digital formats.

Our portfolio of journals and digital media cover all aspects of cardiovascular medicine and are an indispensable tool for both specialist and general clinicians who want to stay abreast of the latest global news and continue their professional development. Whatever your focus, youll discover original content, open-access and peer-reviewed articles by the fields leading authorities written with balance, clarity and insight that cut through the noise. For additional information, please contact info@radcliffe-group.com.


RLS Logistics Awarded for Customer Centric Culture We are proud that our team of cold chain experts remains resilient today. We couldnt have won this award without their support."

RLS Logistics, a leading cold chain solutions provider, announces winning a national customer experience award distinguished by Awards International USA.

RLS Logistics was honored with bronze for the customer centric culture category after a rigorous submission and presentation process. The proposals premise was based on RLS strategic business plan and key performance indicator (KPI) tracking, which allows the team to hyperfocus on its people, operations, and customers.

The strategy began several years ago and has evolved and is firmly rooted in our culture centered around customers but, most importantly, accountability. We hold each other accountable for meeting our KPIs to ensure we are exceeding our customers expectations, said John Gaudet, Vice President of Business Development, RLS Logistics.

Awards International USA hosts the largest customer experience award program globally and hosted its first USA based program this year. The program promotes best practices, encourages distinction within customer experience, and boosts the stories of CX winners.

RLS developed in 1968 with humble beginnings in agriculture in New Jersey and has since grown to be one of the largest family owned cold chain solutions providers in the U.S. The RLS team attributes its success to the dedication of the RLS team members, the strategic business plan, and the customer centric culture. At the base of RLS Logistics strategy is its people. Customer experience stems from team member experience; one cannot be successful without the other. In addition, the company prides itself on its family owned roots and on putting customers first at every touchpoint in the customer journey.

We are proud that our team of cold chain experts remains resilient today. We couldnt have won this award without their support, Courtney Keenan, Marketing and Customer Experience Manager, RLS Logistics.

Discover a data driven 3PL company that never stops working for the betterment of your business. Connect with an RLS Business Development team member today.

ABOUT RLS LOGISTICS: Headquartered in Newfield, NJ, RLS Logistics is a family-owned, third-party logistics provider specializing in value-added cold chain solutions, including LTL and FTL transportation, cold storage warehousing, and direct-to-consumer fulfillment. Founded in 1968, the company has been owned and managed by the Leo family for over 50 years and has grown into a leading integrated cold chain 3PL. For more information, visit https://www.rlslogistics.com/.


Schoox supports learning for hundreds of hospitality companies, from regional brands to multi-national franchises.

Learning management and talent development company Schoox will join the Council of Hotel and Restaurant Trainers (CHART) at its Summer Hospitality Training Conference in Austin, Texas, July 31 - August 3, 2022.

A non-profit professional association, CHART is the leading resource for the development and advancement of hospitality training professionals and their organizations. The associations members represent over 350 of the nations top restaurant, foodservice, and lodging companies.

Matthew Brown, Chief People & Culture Officer for Schoox, will facilitate a discussion on trauma-informed supervision with Jennifer Belk White, Senior Vice President, Human Resources, for Mental Health Cooperative. The breakout session will dive into the topic of trauma in the workplace and provide actionable steps for how learning professionals can influence and reframe approaches to training.

Event attendees can visit Schoox during the vendor fair to learn more about its SaaS learning platform and content marketplace. Schoox supports learning for hundreds of hospitality companies, from regional brands to multi-national franchises. Its people-first learning platform helps hospitality providers simplify learning and development, easily track all L&D activity, and cost-effectively administer compliance and other mandatory safety training.

For hospitality and other industries with a predominantly frontline workforce, Schoox published Real-world Learning for Frontline Workers: Top 5 Learning & Development Must-haves for Employees Working on the Go. This new whitepaper expands on the must-have requirements for learning platforms, which include:



Flexible organizational structure

Mobile-friendly learner experiences

On-the-job training and skills development

Built-in learning experience platform

Business impact, reporting, and analytics

About Schoox

Schoox transforms learning into business growth. Our SaaS learning platform and course marketplace help companies accelerate business results by unlocking employee potential, boosting customer retention, and driving revenue through learning. Schoox powers learning experiences for organizations around the world, including Subway, Celebrity Cruises, Phillips 66, and Sonesta Hotels. Learn more at schoox.com.


With the skills and talent that Ms. Clark and Ms. Weiss bring to the team, Ive never been more confident in the direction Simpplr is heading and cant wait to expand the impact our product has on workforces across the world," said Dhiraj Sharma, CEO of Simpplr.

Simpplr, a leading provider of employee experience software, announced today that two veteran industry leaders, Carolyn Clark and Janis Weiss, have joined their growing team.

Veteran communications and employee experience leader Carolyn Clark joins as Vice President of Strategy and Transformation. A seasoned leader with deep roots in employee communications and experience, Clark will help Simpplr elevate the employee experience by driving innovation and reimagining employee communication in today's world. She is responsible for enhancing Simpplrs industry capabilities, refining product quality, and driving innovation for its customers, along with serving as an industry expert and spokesperson.

Previously, Clark led Employee Communications at companies such as Yahoo, Oath (Verizon Media), GoDaddy, and Opendoorand also founded her own communications consulting company. Prior to her time in the tech industry, she worked in public relations on campaigns for celebrities, consumer brands, and media companies. Clark started her career as a news producer at ABC and paid her dues as an NBC page.

I am incredibly passionate about Simpplrs approach to combining a full stack of employee experience technology with a forward-thinking customer focus, said Clark. And I look forward to building on the incredible momentum the team has already started.

Janis Weiss joins Simpplr as Vice President of Corporate Marketing. Weiss, accomplished marketing leader with more than 20 years of experience in high-growth SaaS and technology companies, has expertise in communications and content strategy, brand, media, social marketing, and customer advocacy.

In this vital role, Weiss will oversee all brand marketing and corporate communications, helping Simpplr, as a fast-growing pre-IPO company, amplify brand awareness, and enhance its position as a leading employee experience platform. Prior to joining Simpplr, Weiss headed corporate marketing at Openprise, where she established the brand and communications functions and introduced strategic and creative initiativesall of which elevated the companys brand. Weiss has also led marketing communications at Jasper (Cisco), WhiteHat Security (Synopsys), Intacct (Sage), and held various marketing roles at Cisco, WebEx, and PeopleSoft.

A positive employee experience correlates to a superior customer experience, Weiss said. Simpplr helps drive a better experience across the board, and Im thrilled to join the team and work with a company I truly believe in.

Building our talent bench is a key element to maintaining our lead in the industry, said Dhiraj Sharma, CEO of Simpplr. With the skills and talent that Ms. Clark and Ms. Weiss bring to the team, Ive never been more confident in the direction Simpplr is heading and cant wait to expand the impact our product has on workforces across the world.

About Simpplr

Simpplr provides employee experience software that helps companies connect and align employees. With what Simpplr calls Live EX, the platform helps companies communicate better in a distributed world and measures an organizations heartbeat by understanding employee alignment and sentiment in real time. Ultimately, Simpplr aims to enable more positive work environments by helping organizations be more open and caring.

Trusted by leading brands, including DocuSign, Eurostar, and AAA, our customers are achieving measurable productivity gains, increased employee engagement, and retention, and accelerated business performance.

Simpplr is headquartered in Redwood Shores, CA, with offices in the UK, Canada, and India, and is backed by Norwest Venture Partners, Salesforce Ventures, and Tola Capital. Simpplr is widely acknowledged as one of the fastest-growing, most innovative, and most liked solutions in our market. We boast numerous top-tier accolades and encourage you to check us out on various review sites. Learn more at http://www.simpplr.com
SOLV Energy employs over 700 full-time employees across the U.S. SOLV Energy was ranked the No. 1 Solar Contractor overall in the latest release of Solar Power World's annual list, installing 1943.2 megawatts of utility solar capacity in six states in 2021.

Despite concerns over supply chain interruptions and tariff investigations, the U.S. solar industry saw record solar and energy storage demand in 2021. SOLV Energy can attest to this, having one of its busiest years yet. Solar Power World has recognized the company's installation success by ranking SOLV Energy at No. 1 on the 2022 Top Solar Contractors list.

The Top Solar Contractors list is developed each year by industry magazine Solar Power World to honor the work of solar installers in the United States. Solar firms in the utility, commercial and residential markets are ranked by number of kilowatts installed in the previous year. Companies are grouped and listed by specific services, markets and states.

The utility-scale solar market, of course, puts up huge installation numbers each year, but the majority of workers in the industry are constructing projects in the commercial and residential markets, which continue to break records, said Kelly Pickerel, editor in chief of Solar Power World. Over 85% of the companies on the 2022 Top Solar Contractors List primarily work in the residential and commercial sectors, and they all reported closing out the last year in a positive light.

According to data released by energy research firm Wood Mackenzie  before recent federal decisions to prevent additional tariffs on imported solar panels  the United States is expected to install 11 GW less than originally predicted in 2022, due to continued supply chain constraints, price increases and interconnection challenges. Still, a survey of the 2022 Top Solar Contractors class found that 59% predicted their business would increase in the next year, with only 9% assuming business would decrease.

SOLV Energy employs 703 workers who installed 1943.2 megawatts (MW) of solar power in 2021. Since its founding in 2008, the company has installed 8,724.2 MW of solar. SOLV Energy builds, operates and maintains utility-scale solar, high-voltage substation and energy storage facilities in nearly 30 states, powering 2.8 million homes across the U.S.

Despite the challenges facing our industry, it has been a year of growth and expansion for our company, said George Hershman, CEO of SOLV Energy. In 2021, we launched the new SOLV Energy brand, welcomed dozens of employees to our team and invested in our experienced, hardworking people through expanded talent development, diversity and sustainability initiatives. Equipped with greater resources and backed by a strong partner, the SOLV Energy team remains committed to quality, innovation and safety. We're proud to make our SOLV Energy debut at #1 on this year's Top Contractors list.

About SOLV Energy

SOLV Energy offers engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) and operations and maintenance (O&M) services for solar photovoltaic plants throughout North America. We believe that good energy has a ripple effect. Thats why we only take on projects that provide cleaner power, better jobs, greater education and a brighter future for our communities. Backed by a powerful legacy, weve branched out to focus solely on renewable energy initiatives.

About Solar Power World

Solar Power World is the leading online and print resource for news and information regarding solar installation, development and technology. Since 2011, SPW has helped U.S. solar contractors  including installers, developers and EPCs in all markets  grow their businesses and do their jobs better.
We are beyond excited about the new solution partnership... we have been impressed by the focus and drive the 7shifts team has in supporting a modernized scheduling application built for restaurant operators," said Alex Miklin, Vice President of Strategic Markets for TalentReef.

TalentReef, the only talent management platform purpose-built for the hourly workforce, today announced that they have partnered with 7shifts, used by more than 30,000 restaurants to simplify team management.

With the new integration, new employee information is sent from the TalentReef platform to 7shifts in near real-time, allowing customers to easily schedule new employees within minutes. The 7shifts platform is built by and for restaurateurs, so it was created with the functionality that restaurants need  and nothing they dont.

We are beyond excited about the new solution partnership between TalentReef and 7shifts. Weve seen a lot of competition in the Workforce Management space and have been impressed by the focus and drive the 7shifts team has in supporting a modernized scheduling application built for restaurant operators," said Alex Miklin, Vice President of Strategic Markets for TalentReef. Mutual customers will now benefit from an API integration with both systems [TalentReef and 7shifts] saving time and money in synchronizing employee data.

Speed is key in hourly hiring these days, so once you onboard an employee, getting them scheduled for their first shift as quickly as possible is essential. The drag-and-drop scheduler allows managers to quickly create and assign shifts in 80% of the time as other methods. Schedule views can be customized and templated to make it even easier to factor in availability, time-off, overtime, and labor compliance. 7shifts is mobile-friendly for managers and employees.

At the core, we strive to integrate essential pieces of restaurant technology that make life easier for restaurant operators, said Jordan Boesch, CEO of 7shifts. Through this integration with TalentReef, we cut down the manual processes involved when a new team member gets hired. New hires instantly get pushed directly into the 7shift platform, which eliminates the painful double-entry that managers are typically plagued with. This creates a simpler experience for owners, managers, and the employees themselves when it comes to getting onboarded and scheduled successfully.

About TalentReef

TalentReef solves talent management for the hourly workforce. Our unique combination of industry expertise and digital innovation drives more quality candidates, creates efficiencies, ensures compliance, eliminates errors in the hiring and onboarding process, and empowers great enterprises to retain talent longer. As an industry-leading talent management solution provider, we leverage over a decade of serving national brands at more than 100,000 locations to establish optimized recruiting, hiring, onboarding, training, and assessment workflows. Our platform integrates seamlessly with business systems to create a single, streamlined experience for all internal and external stakeholders. For more information, go to http://www.talentreef.com.

About 7shifts

Founded in Saskatoon, Canada, in 2014, with offices in Toronto and New Jersey, 7shifts is simplifying team management, one shift at a time. The restaurant team management solution is used by over 700,000 restaurant pros across North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Australia, including multi-unit restaurant groups like Bareburger, Smoke's Poutinerie, YogurtLand, Juice It Up!, and many others. More than a scheduling platform, 7shifts empowers restaurant managers to optimize their workforce to better manage employees, resulting in reduced labor costs. To learn more, or to sign up for free, visit http://www.7shifts.com.
UBCF is the 2022 Title Sponsor for the Twisted Pink Gala, "An Evening Inspired held on July 16th, 2022 a Churchill Downs in Louisville, KY. Twisted Pinks vision is a world where breast cancer is eliminated, and until that glorious day arrives, UBCF is here to make a positive difference in the lives of those affected by breast cancer! I believe our joint collaboration is critical to empowering women and men affected by breast cancer!

United Breast Cancer Foundation (UBCF) was honored to be the Title Patient Sponsor of the 8th annual Twisted Pink Gala An Evening Inspired at Churchill Downs in Louisville, KY held on Saturday, July 16, 2022. The Gala was an immense success, raising $221,650 in total proceeds and providing hope, positivity, and celebration to 400 attendees.

The event was held to raise critical funds to support metastatic breast cancer research and educate the public on metastatic breast cancer (MBC). Attendees included people facing metastatic breast cancer, breast cancer survivors, oncology professionals, researchers, and caregivers along with friends and supporters of Twisted Pink. Thanks to UBCFs sponsorship, 16 patients and their guests (for a total of 32 people) attend the event at no cost.

Stephanie Jones, Twisted Pinks Community Outreach Coordinator, shared Thanks to the United Breast Cancer Foundation, Twisted Pink was able to welcome more individuals affected by breast cancer from all over the country for this year's annual gala. This is a first for Twisted Pink to be able to invite individuals as far away as New York and Wisconsin and pamper them at no cost. This expanded support is a direct result of the commitment from UBCF as our 2022 Title Patient Sponsor, Jones continued, The patients, survivors and our entire organization are forever grateful. The future for support of breast cancer patients looks bright after An Evening Inspired. We are eager to continue this amazing work with UBCF for some exciting future opportunities and together create more hope in action in the months and years to come.

UBCF has been collaborating with Twisted Pink for several years and the 2022 sponsorship is one of the most significant collaborations.The Gala was an opportunity to highlight that separately, both organizations contribute positively to the breast cancer community in unique ways, and when two organizations join forces, the impact multiplies. Twisted Pink benefits patients by contributing to MBC research. UBCF helps patients, survivors, and families on a more individual level with direct financial support.

Ken Petterson, UBCFs Senior VP of Donor Engagement and Philanthropy, attended the Gala and shared, I always enjoy our work with Twisted Pink - to provide hope and connection to people living with metastatic breast cancer by funding bold breakthroughs in research and awareness of the disease. Petterson continued, Twisted Pinks vision is a world where breast cancer is eliminated, and until that glorious day arrives, UBCF is here to make a positive difference in the lives of those affected by breast cancer! I believe our joint collaboration is critical to empowering women and men affected by breast cancer!

As the Title Patient Sponsor, UBCF facilitated a lovely evening filled with dancing, inspiring speeches, and an auction. Elaine, a metastatic breast cancer patient and gala attendee shared, I couldn't end my evening without thanking Twisted Pink and United Cancer Foundation for making this a truly Cinderella night for me and my friend Robin!!! All of you will be in my heart and daily prayers  Words cannot express my gratitude.

UBCF board member Kendall Merrick attended the gala and shared, What a great night at Churchill Downs attending Twisted Pinks annual gala. I got to share time with great friends, meet new friends, and reconnect with some of the most inspirational survivors and warriors one could know.

UBCF programs include financial support for breast screenings, breast reconstruction, covid grants, the Audrey B. Mastroianni college scholarship, individual grants, holistic care, and child sponsorship. Additionally, UBCFs Network of Giving program provides those in need with tangible and useful gifts such as mattresses, personal care products and clothing. For more information on our programs, please visit https://www.ubcf.org/programs/.

About UBCF

UBCF is committed to offering breast health and wellness services focused on cancer prevention, screening, treatment and overall wellness. UBCFs mission is to make a positive difference in the lives of those affected by breast cancer and does so through seven life-supporting patient and family programs available to women, men and families nation-wide. UBCF never denies services to anyone regardless of age, race, gender, ethnicity, income or medical insurance coverage. Tax-deductible contributions may be made towards UBCFs programs. UBCF accepts Donor Advised Fund contributions and vehicle donations as well. Combined Federal Campaign #77934. https://www.ubcf.org
Unitek Learning is the parent company of several distinguished learning institutions: Unitek College, Unitek EMT, Eagle Gate College, Provo College, and Brookline College. This new partnership will be an excellent opportunity for Kaweah Health employees to continue their education and to help address the nursing shortage at both Kaweah Health and across the state.

Unitek Learning and Kaweah Health are thrilled to announce a new partnership to help reduce the nursing shortage in California. Together, they seek to implement a customized workforce solution that will produce skilled and educated graduates who are ready to enter the medical field and help integrated health systems such as a Kaweah Health care for their patients.

Kaweah Health, which for 60 years has served patients in Californias agriculture-rich Central Valley, has worked diligently over the years through local and regional partnerships to solve its nursing shortage, but the pandemic highlighted the need to do more.

Founded in 2002, Unitek College is a division of Unitek Learning and an accredited, private institution that combines unique academic and technical specialties to provide a superior education in the areas of healthcare and nursing. Unitek College offers seven convenient facilities in California with campuses in Fremont, San Jose, Hayward, Concord, South San Francisco, Sacramento, and Bakersfield.

The pandemic has been absolutely crippling to our workforce, the majority of which are bedside nurses. Its shown us that we have to do more, we have to think outside the box to grow the next generation of nurses, said Lynn Havard Mirviss, RN, Ed.D, and Vice President of Kaweah Healths Board of Directors. There are many out there who like Florence Nightingale are ready to step up and serve. This partnership with Unitek is one way to help these men and women become nurses and raise the standards of care for patients.

Through this partnership, employees of Kaweah Health can start their career in nursing through Uniteks Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) as soon as 2023. At full complement, the Kaweah Health school of nursing powered by Unitek will graduate up to 50 Kaweah Health RNs a year. The college also offers an LVN to BSN option for the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program. It serves as an advanced placement track for qualifying students.

This new partnership will be an excellent opportunity for Kaweah Health employees to continue their education and to help address the nursing shortage at both Kaweah Health and across the state, said Dianne Cox, Chief Human Resources Officer at Kaweah Health. She added: In the future, we plan to open this school to members of the community, who will be able to join Kaweah Health as an employee while pursuing their nursing degree.

It has been a pleasure to work with the Kaweah Health Team and develop this partnership, said Karilyn Van Oosten, Vice President of Strategic Business Development at Unitek Learning. Their commitment to the community and the workforce has been evident in every step they took to ensure that students can flourish in their facilities.

By joining this partnership, Unitek Learning has committed to providing employees of Kaweah Health with a specialized tuition rate and an opportunity to advance their healthcare career. Kaweah Health is committing financial resources to help offset the nursing students tuition. Through this partnership, Unitek Learning has identified themselves as one of the nations most dedicated academic institutions.

At Unitek, we are committed to education and workforce alignment so that the next generation can thrive, said Janis Paulson, Chief Executive Officer at Unitek Learning. Were honored to join forces with Kaweah Health and help transform the healthcare workforce. As a learning institution, we want to create career-ready professionals that are needed in the medical industry. This partnership is a step forward for Unitek as we continue to educate future healthcare professionals.

Unitek Learning is the parent company of several distinguished learning institutions: Unitek College, Unitek EMT, Eagle Gate College, Provo College, and Brookline College. Unitek programs teach the clinical practices and theory used in the field today. Equipped with a multitude of sought-after skills, Unitek graduates are prepared to excel in many of the fastest-growing careers in healthcare and nursing.

To find out how to take advantage of all this partnership affords, call 888.382.8183 or contact us today.
Confronting challenges is de rigeur for Maya Gabeira, a Brazilian big wave surfer who in 2018 set a Guinness World Record for the largest wave ever surfed by a woman. Two years later, she shattered her own record when she mastered a wave of 73.5 feet, the biggest surfed by anyonemale or femalein 2020. Gabeira, now 35 and a resident of Nazare, Portugal, accomplished a non-aquatic feat when she landed a three-book deal with Abrams in early fall 2021. The first book in the deal, Maya and the Beast, is a picture book inspired by the authors personal story of resilience, in which young Maya wants to tame a giant, much-feared wave so that others will see the beauty it has to offer. The story is illustrated by Ramona Kaulitzki, as is Gabeiras second picture book, due from Abrams in fall 2023. A YA memoir, which Amulet will release in spring 2023, chronicles the authors life since leaving home at 17 to launch her surfing career. PW spoke with Gabeira about her diverse personal and professional journeys.

What compelled you, as a teenager, to pursue such a physically and mentally demanding sport?

I fell in love with surfing at the age of 13, after watching lots of surfing movies, many set in Hawaii. When I was 17, I left home to move to Hawaii, and fell in love with the idea of the big perfect wave. I began on smaller waves, and finally discovered the open blue water and bigger waves. There were no women surfing professionally there at the time, but men with years of experience befriended me and took me under their wing, and I had the appetite, focus, and passion for surfing, which helped me start winning awards.

Still, here I was a shy, asthmatic girl from Rio de Janeiro, alone in Hawaii without my family, and there was probably nothing more complicated that I could have chosen to do. It actually continues to be a very challenging lifeit is the ocean, after all! Its a very risky sport and environment, and I was trying to establish world records, but I loved surfing very much.

How did your passion for surfing lead to an interest in writing for young readers?

When the pandemic began in 2020, I began making a mural of what I should do, since I suddenly found myself with time on my hands. I started thinking of things I wanted to accomplish next, and about how this might be an opportunity to broaden my horizons. I have a six-year-old nephew, and I decided to write something for him. And my other inspiration was that though no one else in my family surfed, my father is a very good writerhe has written more than 14 books.

I started thinking that that talent has to be somewhereand that maybe I was born with some kind of writing gene. Also, my sister, my nephews mother, is a teacher of young children. I saw all that as a sign, and I thought maybe I could pull off writing for kidsand that it would fulfill me.

This is obviously a dramatic departure from breaking surfing recordswas it as great a challenge?

A very different one, of course. I dont think of myself as a writer, but I do like to express myself, and for me surfing is a form of that. I first expressed myself through dancing, and then transferred my passion and means of expression to surfing. I have found that writing is also a way to express myself as well as to share my love of the ocean.

Most of my creative work happens when I am outside. I hike every dayat least onceand I am inspired by nature. I often develop stories while I am hiking, or while I am surfing, waiting or paddling for a wave.

The writing doesnt come naturally to me. I find that with writing a picture book, shaping emotion and ideas into a sentence or two or a situation or two that exemplify what you want to share is the biggest challenge. The fine-tuning is the easier part for me. Writing YA is very differentit is a lot of writingand you can just talk and talk without counting words.

Why did you opt to debut your writing career with Maya and the Beastand what message do you hope it imparts to picture book readers?

In my life, Ive always tried to push myself into an uncomfortable zone with whatever I do. I find thinking and writing can be very scarybut as a writer, I know I just have to run with my thoughts.

Since a young age, I have always made an effort to be connected to and listen to my inner voice. I always found ways of being alone. I left home at a young age and did a lot on my own. With Maya and the Beast, I want to encourage readers to find their passions by listening to their own voices rather than to others voices, and to learn about themselves.

When I look back on my life, I realize how important it was to me to follow my own dreams. I want this book to let kids know that they must believe in themselves and stick to their goalsand always be resilient.

Maya and the Beast by Maya Gabeira, illus. by Ramona Kaulitzki. Abrams, $18.99 Aug. 2 ISBN 978-1-4197-6000-6
It might have been hard to tell because of the mask requirement, but there were a lot of smiles at the 2022 San Diego Comic-Con, held July 21-24, which returned to an in-person event for the first time in three years. Though somewhat subdued, the 2022 version of the show provided a welcome opportunity for publishers and media companies to reconnect with fans and colleagues, even if it took place in the shadow of the latest Covid surge.

Despite those fears, the star power and spectacle of Comic-Con was back, from the cast of the much-anticipated blockbuster Marvel film, Wakanda Forever, aka Black Panther 2revealed in an emotional panel held in the convention centers Hall Hto acclaimed cartoonist Gene Luen Yang at a party to promote American Born Chinese, the upcoming Disney+ streaming series based on Yangs award-winning graphic novel.

The show floor was crowded, but not as much as in past years, doubtless due to Covid attrition. Full vaccination or a negative test were required for entrance to the show floor, and masks were also required. Mask compliance on the show floor was generally high, in contrast to other recent events such as Anime Expo.

Despite the absence of several large publishers (Dark Horse and Skybound did not exhibit, though both have vowed to return in 2023), there was publishing news, although in lesser measures than in years past. Dynamite made a splash with the announcement theyd be bringing back two beloved Disney properties, Gargoyles and Darkwing Duckwith reprints of classic tales, and in the case of Gargoyles, all new stories by creator Greg Weisman picking up where the cult animated series ended.

DC teased a new team-up between Batman and Todd McFarlanes Spawn, while Marvel offered hints about a new comics series from writer Jonathan Hickman and artist Valerio Schiti.

Boom! Studios made headlines with a panel featuring BRZRKR, the blockbuster, Kickstarter-funded adventure comics series based around movie star Keanu Reeves and created by writer Matt Kindt, and artist Ron Garney. The big news was that a comics panel was held in Hall Hone of the very few times a comics publishing property has been featured in the 6,000 seat centerpiece of the convention center. The event was co-sponsored by Netflix, Random House, and BAIT and showcased the growing BRZRKR franchise, which includes more comics, a Netflix feature in development, plans for an anime version, prose novelization, and merchandise.

At this years Publishers Weekly industry panel, Comics Survived a Pandemic, Now What? (organized and moderated by this writer), which focused on the future of graphic novel publishing, a panel of comics retailing and publishing figures shared stories of sales growth during the pandemic and their biggest concerns about the industrys trajectory. Viz Media director of sales Kevin Hamric noted that manga sales in 2021 made up 25% of the increase in overall adult fiction sales. We went from selling 10-20 copies a year of some titles to 3,000 copies in a month, he said.

Despite booming salescomics and graphic novel sales rose 62% in 2021concerns remains. Comics retailer Jen Haines, president of the comics retailer association ComicsPRO, is apprehensive about the possibility of her Canadian shop having to close down again due to growing Covid problems. Fantagraphics associate publisher Eric Reynolds is worried about printing issues and rising paper costsWeve had sales increase but its also way-more expensive to make any given work right now. Reynolds is also worried about the growing retail supremacy of Amazon, and the consolidation of distribution channels.

IDW publisher Nachie Marsham also expressed concerns about price points. Were really trying to figure out what we can increase price on that isn't going to be too damaging. Nevertheless the overall mood of the panelistsdespite supply chain issues and the growing threats against books from organized censorshipwas more than upbeat. The mix of creators, publishers, retailers and librarians assembled in the hall seemed eager to take on these challenges and more.

Sean Edgar, director of publicity and marketing at Z2 Comics, a first-time exhibitor at SDCC, noted many sell-outs of its celebrity-focused line of graphic novels inspired by music. Edgar said the response from fans was overwhelming. To actually see fans come and discover these books and meet the creators is such a delight, Edgar said.

While pre-SDCC buzz centered around which publishers would not attend, many houses debuted new booths. Penguin Random House showed off a large new consolidated booth space that combined PRH imprints (and artists) previously scattered around the show floor into one centralized booth that can accommodate signings, giveaways, and book sales. Abrams ComicArts added space to its booth and IDW, Top Cow, Heavy Metal and Scout Comics were among those debuting new set-ups, with IDWs giant Godzilla cut-out attracting lots of attention.

Returning to SDCC in-person was fantastic on so many levels, according to Heavy Metal associate publisher Kris Longo. The house announced several projects, including the Metalverse, a slate of live-action and animated productions for film and TV, developed in the spirit of the cult-favorite 1981 Heavy Metal animated film. They also announced the launch of Metal+, an NFT-based publishing arm, and a return to monthly release for Heavy Metal magazine.

Top Cow also debuted a new booth for its 30th Anniversary. Top Cow president and COO Matt Hawkins called SDCC 2022 a little more laid back, but in a good way. Because there was less film hoopla, there are more people walking by checking us out.

Chris Powell, Diamond Comics Distributors chief sales and service officer, deemed it a successful show for the distributor, despite the entry of two new distribution competitorsLunar and PRH Publisher Servicesinto the comics shop marketplace since the last Comic-Con was held in 2019. Diamond held a retailer luncheon event with four publishers presenting their lists. Retailer attendance at the event was down, attributable to the convention not offering free passes to retailers as it has in the past. But everybody has been upbeat, and seems to be enjoying themselves, Powell observed. So I think Comic-Con is actually back. And theres more to come: Diamond announced they will hold their first in-person retailer summit later this year in conjunction with the Baltimore Comic-Con.

Despite snafus with new software for processing convention badgessome attendees had to wait in line an hour for their credentialsthe overall chipper mood of fans and exhibitors was on display all around the convention floor. Even if theres a mask involved, meeting face to face is just so much more powerful, said Z2s Edgar. Being able to hang out with colleagues again is such an epiphany. This show was thoroughly wonderful.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind.  The Indiana Forage Council (IFC), with assistance from Purdue Extension and SureTech Laboratories, is hosting a contest for Indiana producers who will harvest forage for hay or baleage for the 2022 hay season.

The Hoosier Hay Contest, sponsored by Huston Inc., seeks to promote forage production, inform hay producers on the nutritive value of their hay and encourage producers to sample and test their hay or baleage before feeding it to livestock. The event also creates a friendly competition among Indiana producers on who produces higher-quality hay.

SureTech Laboratories in Indianapolis will analyze all samples and release them to the contest organizer, producer and producers local Purdue Extension agriculture and natural resources educator. The Purdue Extension educator and producer can then work together to interpret the analysis and determine how best to use the forage in the producers operation.

The Hoosier Hay contest has two categories: hay or baleage. Prize money will go to first-, second- and third-place entries in both categories. First place will receive $250 and a one-year membership to IFC, second place $150 and third place $100.

Winners will be recognized at the annual IFC meeting and on the IFC website. The cost to participate is $10 per sample with the contest being limited to 100 samples. Entries must be received by SureTech Labs and the Indiana Forage Council by Sept. 30.

Rules and entry forms can be found at online. For more information, contact Nick Minton at 812-279-4330 or nminton@purdue.edu and Jason Tower at 812-678-4427 or towerj@purdue.edu.

Writer: Abby Leeds, 765-494-7817, mayer36@purdue.edu

Source: Keith Johnson, johnsonk@purdue.edu

Agricultural Communications: 765-494-8415;

Maureen Manier, Department Head, mmanier@purdue.edu

Agriculture News Page
* The second China International Consumer Products Expo opened Monday on the resort island of Hainan, presenting a unique platform for global consumer products companies to access the Chinese market.

* The six-day expo has attracted 1,107 overseas companies and 1,643 brands from 61 countries and regions, as well as over 1,200 domestic brands. * It proves a pivotal confidence-booster as the pandemic is still raging across the world and China's consumer spending gradually recovers after the impact of COVID-19 outbreaks. HAIKOU, July 25 (Xinhua) -- The second China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE) opened Monday on the resort island of Hainan, presenting a unique platform for global consumer products companies to access the Chinese market. With a larger exhibition area, more participating brands, and a special focus on new and quality products, the expo remains the largest consumer boutique exhibition in the Asia-Pacific region. The global platform of displaying and trading high-end consumer products showcases China's pledge of a higher level of opening-up. It proves a pivotal confidence-booster as the pandemic is still raging across the world and China's consumer spending gradually recovers after the impact of COVID-19 outbreaks. A staff member arranges jewelry exhibits during the second China International Consumer Products Expo in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, July 25, 2022. (Xinhua/Chen Jianli) HIGHER-LEVEL OF OPENING-UP The six-day expo has attracted 1,107 overseas companies and 1,643 brands from 61 countries and regions, as well as over 1,200 domestic brands. The exhibition area has expanded to 100,000 square meters from 80,000 square meters last year, with the international area covering 80 percent of the total exhibition space. Notably, companies from members of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, including Japan, the Republic of Korea, and Malaysia, have shown particular interest in the expo, with their total exhibition area reaching 5,000 square meters, up nearly 20 percent from last year. The expo will showcase over 600 new products from more than 200 brands and is expected to attract more than 40,000 buyers and visitors. Visitors try gaming capsules during the second China International Consumer Products Expo in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, July 25, 2022. (Xinhua/Guo Cheng) Zhang Xiangchen, deputy director-general of the World Trade Organization, said in a video address that while countries are making efforts for economic recovery, China's hosting of the expo, which focuses on consumer goods, will have a positive impact on boosting consumption, promoting trade and improving the economy. Fabrice Megarbane, president of L'Oreal North Asia Zone and chief executive officer of L'Oreal China, sees the national-level expo as a signal of greater opening-up of the Chinese market. China is committed to further opening-up and is increasingly determined to unleash the potential of its market by boosting consumption, said Megarbane. Tapestry, an American luxury fashion company, attended the expo for the second time. The success of the first CICPE demonstrated to the world the huge potential and great vigor of China's consumer market, said Yann Bozec, president of Tapestry Asia Pacific, adding that Tapestry's continuing participation in the expo shows its confidence in the Chinese market. "China is one of the largest consumer markets in the world. We can see the Chinese economy is very resilient and has a lot of market potential," said Bozec. "The development of the Chinese market continues to prop up the global economy, and brings great opportunities for our brands." A staff member introduces wine during the second China International Consumer Products Expo in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, July 25, 2022. (Xinhua/Hu Zhixuan) VITALITY, RESILIENCE OF CONSUMER MARKET Despite the complex, grave situation abroad and COVID-19 resurgence at home, the Chinese economy has increasingly regained its footing, showing resilience and potential amid headwinds. Consumption has improved as retail sales of consumer goods rallied 3.1 percent year on year in June, following year-on-year drops in April and May. The recovery is expected to continue as China is on a trajectory of consumption expansion, upgrades, and innovations. Consumption remains strong with huge potential in China and the fundamentals for consumption expansion stay positive, said Sheng Qiuping, vice minister of commerce, adding that the CICPE is conducive to consumption recovery and unleashing its potential. In order to encourage consumer spending, China has introduced a raft of policies, enticing consumers to open up their wallets and help businesses not just survive but thrive. Restaurant owners, retailers and other businesses susceptible to COVID-19 have been offered lower rents and platform commissions, as well as stronger financing support. At the local level, governments are handing out billions of yuan in vouchers and subsidies to support local spending. The expo offers an opportunity for internationally-renowned companies and brands to showcase their products and establish connections with domestic distributors, facilitating their access to the Chinese market, said Xu Xingfeng, an official with the Ministry of Commerce. Last year, China's import volume of consumer goods rose 9.9 percent year on year to 1.73 trillion yuan (about 256.2 billion U.S. dollars), official data showed. (Video reporters: Guo Liangchuan, Zhou Xuan, Fang Kuan; video editors: Chen Sihong, Zhu Cong, Li Qin)
Massacres in Russias Krasnodar region during WWII qualified as genocide by court

MOSCOW, July 26 (RAPSI)  The Krasnodar Krai Court has held that the crimes committed by the Nazi invaders during the Great Patriotic War on the territory of the region are to be recognized as genocide, the press service of the regional prosecutor's office has reported.

The court granted a move of the regional prosecutor on the recognition of already established and newly revealed crimes committed by the Nazi invaders during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 on the territory of the Krasnodar Krai occupied in the period from July 1942 to August 1943 as war crimes and crimes against humanity, genocide of the population and peoples of the Soviet Union.

The respective petition was drafted and sent to the court as instructed by the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation Igor Krasnov.

It has been established that in the period 1942-1943 on the territory of the Krasnodar Krai the German and occupation authorities and their accomplices, by shooting, torture, torture, hanging, gassing, burning alive and in other ways, as well as using an extensive network of concentration camps and labor service camps, deliberately massacred more than 48,000 civilians, including more than 9,000 children, as well as over 9,000 prisoners of war. More than 129,000 people were forcibly deported to be used as forced laborers in Germany and other countries.

By studying the available archival documents, it was also established that the sick and the disabled were subjected to systematic extermination, including through the use of "gas chambers". The stated facts are confirmed by the testimonies of numerous eyewitnesses about the extermination of Soviet civilians on the territory of the Krasnodar Krai, the materials of criminal cases and archival data. The killings of the civilians and prisoners of war have also been established and confirmed by courts.

The process was held with the personal participation of citizens who had been prisoners of concentration camps, with the involvement of specialists from the research staff of the Southern Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
DPR Supreme Court to hear case against commander of Ukrainian neo-Nazi group

MOSCOW, July 26 (RAPSI)  Alexander Kravtsov, the commander of the Ukrainian neo-Nazi group SS Bears will stand trial in the Supreme Court of the Donetsk Peoples Republic.

A case against him with the approved indictment has already reached the court, according to the highest instances press service.

Kravtsov and eight other members of the group are charged with participation in an illegal foreign militia, committing actions aimed at forceful seizure of power in violation of the DPR Constitution and forceful change of constitutional order and undergoing training to commit the said crimes.

If convicted, they could face death penalty.

Kravtsov earlier pled guilty to the charges.




We use cookies to ensure you get the best experience on the website. The purposes of using cookies are defined in the Privacy Policy of RAPSI

If you agree to continue using cookies, please click the "Confirm" button. If you do not agree, you can change your browser settings.
Documentary series Icons Unearthed: Star Wars features Marcia Lucas, editor and ex-wife of George Lucas, giving her first on-camera interview, and writer-director Brian Volk-Weiss said the conversation was wrought with emotion.

ADVERTISEMENT

Volk-Weiss, founder and CEO of the Nacelle Company, the production house responsible for Netflix docu-series The Toys that Made Us and The Movies that Made Us, wrote and directed the six-part Icons Unearthed series.

The filmmaker said he aimed to chronicle the making of the original Star Wars trilogy and the prequel trilogy in a way that sets his show apart from the dozens of other documentaries made on the subject.

"You can really take all Star Wars documentaries and put them into two categories. Category one, they were made by Lucasfilm before Disney, or by Disney after Lucasfilm, and when they're making a doc, there might be a couple of things they don't want to put in," Volk-Weiss told UPI in a recent Zoom interview.

The second category typically involves "somebody in their garage, or even a beautiful $10 million house, making a documentary, but they have another job," he said. Such documentaries are often hindered by years-long production times and often lack the time and resources to do the level of research and interviews that went into Icons Unearthed.

The Nacelle Company has "a full-time research team that's been operating for six years. So in 90 days of research, we can find out the stuff we need to find out, but equally important, we can find the people we need to get," he said.

"For example, Marcia Lucas has done one interview before us, and it was for like a newspaper in 1978 or something like that, and then we got her first televised, recorded interview ever."

Marcia, Marcia, Marcia

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!

Volk-Weiss said he knew when he set out to cover Star Wars that Marcia Lucas would be his "white whale." He said Richard Edlund, who worked on the visual effects for the original Star Wars trilogy, turned out to be the key.

"We had been trying to book Marcia for a month or two, and then it was Richard Edlund -- we interviewed him, and after the interview, he was like, 'Who are you trying to get?' And I was like, 'Our white whale is Marcia Lucas,'" the director recalled. He said Edlund put him in touch with Lucas' assistant.

"We had the interview booked less than a week later -- maybe two weeks," he said.

Marcia Lucas won the Academy Award for Best Film Editing in 1977 for her work on A New Hope, and went on to edit the next two films -- even working on The Return of the Jedi while she and George Lucas were going through their divorce.

Volk-Weiss said he spoke with Marcia Lucas for nearly six hours about the Star Wars saga about her contributions inside and outside of the editing room, as well as previously undisclosed details about the end of her marriage to George Lucas.

He said the conversation became especially emotional when Marcia became candid about the divorce.

"It was an hour drive from her house to my hotel, and I just sat there in silence looking out the window. I didn't return one email, one text, I didn't check in with my office, nothing," he said.

"I just literally stared out the window, it was like I had been hit in the gut with a 2x4. She was crying, I was crying, I probably cried about a half a dozen times."

Volk-Weiss promised the documentary will show how "the divorce absolutely affected the history of Star Wars."

He said only about a half-hour of the nearly six hours of interview footage with Marcia Lucas made it into the series, but the rest might one day find another home.

"I think it's very valuable for Star Wars history," he said.

Other break-ups

Volk-Weiss said the end of the Lucas marriage isn't the only messy separation to be examined for the first time in a documentary -- the series also explores the rift that formed between George Lucas and his hand-picked producer, Gary Kurtz, during the filming of The Empire Strikes Back.

"I've known since I was 17 that Lucas and Kurtz had a falling out. It's funny, we're always talking about Marcia Lucas, but the interview with Howard Kazanjian was equally bonkers, in a good way," he said.

Kazanjian came on board during Empire and took over the producer's role entirely for Return of the Jedi.

"Kurtz, to me, was always, for lack of a better expression, a Phantom Menace type," Volk-Weiss said, explaining the producer "was always kind of in the background, always smiling, [a] nice guy."

Volk-Weiss said his interviews with Kazanjian, Marcia Lucas and C3PO actor Anthony Daniels changed his mind.

"I came away with a very different opinion of what Kurtz was doing on A New Hope and Empire, and we go into it quite a bit," he said.

He said Kurtz's bitterness over his falling out with Lucas led to his ensuring that Kazanjian didn't receive any credit for his work on Empire.

"Kurtz was in charge of doing the credits for Empire, even after he had been fired ... and he went out of his way to make sure Kazanjian did not have a credit on Empire. Even though Kurtz basically got fired off of Empire, and Kazanjian produced 85% to 90% of the movie, if you include post. It was bad, like it was really bad," he said.

Lucas and Monet

Volk-Weiss said the enduring appeal of Star Wars, especially the original trilogy of films, can be attributed largely to the genius of George Lucas.

"I would say it's really two things," he said. "Number one, George was a genius who literally cherry-picked the best parts of storytelling from a million different stories. ... I think that he loved movies, and he loved television."

Volk-Weiss clarified that he wasn't accusing Lucas of "stealing," as all of his influences, William Shakespeare included, were "picking from something else" when they were creating their own stories.

"He cherry-picked the best of the best, put it in a blender and came up with the perfect story for human beings," he said.

The second reason "is the exact opposite of number one," Volk-Weiss said.

Lucas "took everything that had been done before, then with staggering precision and relentlessness, created the most unique character names, vehicle names, alien species, planets [and] the 'lived-in' universe."

Volk-Weiss compared Lucas to French painter Claude Monet.

"Star Wars is what I like to call 'a Monet.' Take someone my age, or someone younger. You show them a Monet, and if they don't know the history, they're like, 'Yeah, this is pretty boring.'

"If you show them what art looked like before Monet, and what art looked like after Monet, it's like, 'Oh my god, how did Monet think of this?'

"That's what George did. He revolutionized everything the audience saw and heard, even though the plot line and the character interactions are as old as human storytelling is."

Icons Unearthed: Star Wars airs Tuesday at 10 p.m. EDT on Vice.
Harry Styles and Sam Fender were among the shortlisted candidates announced Tuesday for the Mercury Prize.

ADVERTISEMENT

Presented annually since 1992, the Mercury Prize is awarded to the year's best album from the U.K. or Ireland.

This year's ceremony is scheduled to take place on Sept. 8 in the London suburb of Hammersmith.

Unlike many other awards shows, there are no categories dividing the albums, and any genre of music may be considered for the title. In another difference from most awards shows, the winner will receive a monetary prize of 25,000.

A total of 12 albums are shortlisted for the prize, selected by a panel of music professionals, including artists, producers and journalists.

Among the names on this year's list, Harry Styles is expected to come into the competition strong.

The 28-year-old Brit has been having a momentous year owing to the success of his third studio album, Harry's House.

The album received widespread critical acclaim upon its release in May, and debuted in the top spot on the Billboard U.S. 200 list. The album's hit song, "As It Was," reached the top spot on both the American and British charts.

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!

As a result of the album, Styles has recently been nominated for six MTV Music Video Awards. Billboard reported that Harry's House is also likely to be nominated for Album of the Year at the upcoming Grammy Awards.

Another artist from the shortlist, Sam Fender, has also been making headlines for his breakout year.

Fender, 28, released his second studio album Seventeen Going Under last October to similarly critical acclaim.

The album was nominated for British Album of the Year at the Brit Awards. While it didn't take home the prize, it fared better at the 2022 NME Awards, winning for Best Album by a U.K. Artist and Best Album in the World.

The album's title track, also called "Seventeen Going Under," was named the BBC's Hottest Record of the Year and reached the top three on the U.K. charts.

Other nominated acts include British stars such as Little Simz, Yard Act and Wet Leg.

Here are all 12 of the shortlisted albums for the 2022 Mercury Prize:

Fergus McCreadie, Forest Floor

Gwenno, Tresor

Harry Styles, Harry's House

Jessie Buckley & Bernard Butler, For All Our Days That Tear The Heart

Joy Crookes, Skin

Kojey Radical, Reason to Smile

Little Simz, Sometimes I Might Be Introvert

Nova Twins, Supernova

Sam Fender, Seventeen Going Under

Self Esteem, Prioritise Pleasure

Wet Leg, Wet Leg

Yard Act, The Overload
Actress Laura Linney has been honored for her 30 years in show business with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

ADVERTISEMENT

Linney, 58, received her star on the iconic plaza during a ceremony on Monday.

"Regardless of your profession or your belief system, the arts are just good for you, for your family, for your community at large," Linney said during her remarks at the ceremony. "They make everyone and everything better. That is a truth that I hold dear."

"I wish I was the type of person who could just do a jig and be outrageously loud about all of it. It's just not my nature," she added. "But that doesn't mean that it doesn't mean something to me. It really does."

"To have my name held and protected by a star on this famous stretch of sidewalk is beyond my wildest dreams," she said.

A number of friends and family members attended the festivities, including Linney's mother, Ann Perse, who told KABC-TV that Linney had "popped out of the womb knowing exactly what she wanted to do," adding that her daughter was "a gift from God to me."

Linney has received widespread critical acclaim for her role as Wendy Byrde in Netflix's crime drama Ozark, so it only made sense that her star was placed next to the one belonging to her partner from the show, Jason Bateman.

"Laura Linney is known for her roles playing strong and vulnerable women from all walks of life," said Ana Martinez, producer of the Hollywood Walk of Fame. "We have placed her star next to the Walk of Fame star of her TV husband Jason Bateman in honor of their amazing work as a rogue married couple involved in some hair-raising adventures deep in the Ozarks!"

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!

For her role in Ozark, Linney has been nominated for major industry awards.

This includes three Emmy nominations for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama, in addition to a Golden Globe nomination for the same and four straight SAG Award nominations.

Linney recently told Vulture that she was "having real withdrawal from Ozark" following the end of the show this past April.

"Everything about it worked. All the right people were in the right positions. Everyone had a similar viewpoint. Everyone had a similar work ethic," she said.

Beyond her work on Ozark, Linney has become well known as a veteran of the stage and screen.

She broke onto the scene in the 1990s with small film parts, as well as an extensive stint on Broadway.

Her first Academy Award nomination would come in 2001 when she was up for Best Actress for her role in the drama film You Can Count on Me.

She would receive a second Best Actress nomination in 2008 for The Savages, and has also been nominated for Best Supporting Actress.

She has won a total of four Emmy Awards and two Golden Globes, and has also been nominated for five Tonys for her work on the stage.
By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 07/25/2022



ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade.

alum Nayte Olukoya is reportedly not dating The Bachelor alum Deandra Kanu despite recent rumors.According to a source, "there's absolutely nothing going on between Nayte and Deandra," Us Weekly reported.Rumors recently swirled that Nayte had quickly moved on from Season 18 star Michelle Young and begun dating Deandra, who competed on Peter Weber 's The Bachelor season in 2020.Deandra and Nayte raised eyebrows when she attended his birthday party with other Bachelor Nation members earlier this month and appeared to be wearing his necklace in photos uploaded on social media.Michelle reportedly unfollowed -- or blocked, according to speculation -- Nayte on Instagram the same weekend as his party."Him giving her his necklace to wear was just a friendly gesture," the source insisted to Us."Nayte is single and happy that way -- he's not looking to jump into another relationship right away. He's not dating and he's not on the prowl. He's happy being single."While photos of Michelle remain on Nayte's Instagram page from their time on together, Michelle wiped her account clean of Nayte, erasing any trace or memory of him.Nayte and Michelle announced their split on June 17 via separate statements on their Instagram accounts.A couple of weeks later, Nayte reportedly moved from Houston, TX, to Los Angeles, CA, to pursue a career as a model "It's something that's been in the back of his mind for some time," the Us source said, adding that he also planned to continue working in tech sales for steady income.Nayte is currently sharing a place with fellow 18 suitor Rodney Mathews , and the insider said he's "enjoying his summer" with plans to travel more.Nayte proposed marriage to Michelle on 's Season 18 finale, which aired in December 2021, and the couple appeared blissfully happy. The couple was even gifted a $200,000 check for a down payment on their first house.However, Michelle seemingly wanted to stay in her hometown of Minnesota, where her family currently lives and where she also held down a job as a fifth-grade teacher.Nayte therefore said after the show wrapped that he intended to move to Minneapolis for Michelle in the next two or three months -- which would've been in early 2022 -- and the couple claimed they had already begun house-hunting.But Nayte clearly never made the move, and he and Michelle continued dating long-distance until they announced their breakup.Nayte claimed in June via social media that he and Michelle had decided not to move to the same city in order not to rush anything."Plans changed as we decided there was no need to rush anything and get to know each other on a deeper level before taking the leap of living together," Nayte wrote via Instagram."There's no rush in life. There's no rule book or timeline on how to go about your relationship. We believed that since the love was there, everything would fall into place naturally and in its own time.""We tried," he added. "It didn't work. We're sad about it. We all grieve different."During a May episode of the "Bachelor Happy Hour" podcast, which is co-hosted by Michelle and Season 14 alum Becca Kufrin , Michelle explained how she and Nayte had been talking about settling down together.Michelle suggested that she was ready to cool her jets after traveling to New York, Los Angeles, Mexico, Canada and more."I feel like [us moving in together] is the burning question. Every time I do a Q&A online, everyone is like, 'Why haven't you moved in yet? When are you moving in together?'" Michelle said."And really, it's just that we're trying to figure out where we want to be and what location we want to be at. It's just a constant, ongoing conversation and kind of depends [on] what next year is going to look like for me."Michelle announced in late May that she planned to step out of the classroom in 2023 in order to take a breather from teaching and exit "survival mode."Michelle subsequently insisted to Ashley Iaconetti on the "Ben & Ashley I: Almost Famous Podcast" that her decision would've been the same regardless of the status of her relationship with Nayte and new career goals to be an influencer.Michelle, however, noted how a break from teaching would have "naturally" resulted in spending more time with Nayte, suggesting the career change may have been a last-ditch effort to save her romance before he pulled the plug in June.Neither Michelle or Nayte have explained why exactly they broke up, but Nayte denied ever cheating on Michelle in a June 25 Instagram Stories posting."No, I didn't cheat," Nayte reportedly wrote."Not every breakup needs to have someone to blame. Yes, many of you seem to paint me as a red flag [or] f-ck boy... But I'm actually a decent guy, and I only want to continue getting better. As we should all want for ourselves."But Michelle hinted on the July 5 episode of the "Almost Famous Podcast" that Nayte was the one who decided to end their engagement."I will say this is not something that I foresaw , and I'll leave it there," Michelle admitted.alum Kaitlyn Bristowe , who hosted Michelle's season alongside Tayshia Adams , confirmed on a recent episode of her "Off the Vine" podcast that she has spoken to Michelle and Michelle was "definitely blindsided" by the "abrupt" breakup."She was confused because I think it was, like, after her birthday, and she was like, 'Wait, what?'" Kaitlyn explained. "I don't know what happened."Kaitlyn questioned Nayte's motivation, wondering if he just liked the attention from fans while dating Michelle or if he found someone else.While Michelle has given the impression she's pretty brokenhearted over the last month, a source told Us that she looked happy and radiant while attending Miami Swim Week in Florida.Michelle "was in the best of spirits, sporting her megawatt smile," according to the source.When Nayte first announced his split from Michelle in June, he wrote on Instagram Stories, "When we both started this journey, we were looking for our Soulmates. Our forever. Our best friends. However, as we grow and learn, we also realize that sometimes somebody that you hold dear to your heart isn't somebody that you're meant to spend the rest of your life with.""Michelle and I are going to move forward separately. Hearts are heavy, emotions are high, and we are dealing with this the best way we can," he continued.Nayte said his "heartbreak is real" and the couple agreed to keep the details of their split private. He also defended the genuineness of their relationship, which ended only six months after the finale of their season aired last year.In Michelle's statement, she thanked Bachelor Nation for their support and noted how having a relationship in the public eye was not easy."I'm struggling to say that Nayte and I will be going our separate ways but I stand with him in knowing the heaviness that is present in both our hearts as this relationship has been very real for us," she wrote in June."To you, Nayte," she added, "you quickly became my best friend and the love I have for you is incredibly strong. I will never stop wanting to see you succeed.""I will always acknowledge and appreciate the adventures, support, and growth both Nayte and this experience have brought me. At the same time, I'm deeply hurting and will need time and space to work through this heartbreak."Michelle and Nayte's split announcement came only a few weeks after Michelle took to Instagram on May 30 to deny rumors that couple had split up and ended their engagement.Michelle was spotted without her engagement ring on, but Michelle said her friend had tried on her ring momentarily and she's not a "zoo exhibit" for people to watch and record on their phones.In April, Michelle had said she and Nayte were in the beginning stages of wedding planning."Nayte and I, we know so many different people and we have such big families and that's a huge part of [our planning process]," Michelle explained at the time."And so coming out of a pandemic... one thing that we both can't imagine is having a small wedding, and so we want to make sure that we're completely clear of that so that's not even a stressor for us, and then, [we want to have] warm weather [on our big day]."Interested in more The Bachelor news? Join our The Bachelor Facebook Group
WWE superstar Roman Reigns made an appearance on The Today Show on Tuesday to promote his upcoming fight with Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam.

ADVERTISEMENT

The two foes will battle in the headlining match this Saturday at the 35th annual WWE SummerSlam event in Nashville, Tenn.

Reigns previously beat Lesnar during WrestleMania 38 this past April, and said during the interview that he "[feels] great."

"I'm on a course now to do something that no one's ever done -- dominate Brock Lesnar," Reigns said. "We're really entering that kind of timeframe in my career where I'm really pushing myself to a different level and just trying to achieve things that have never been done before."

"Anytime you can beat Brock Lesnar three times in a row, that's pretty good," he said.

While Reigns recently turned 37, Lesnar is 45, so Reigns was asked about the speculation that SummerSlam could be the last time that the two face off in the ring.

"I hope it's the last time," Reigns said. "It hurts, it's brutal being in the ring with Brock. He's a big old country boy and he's got such a great legitimate background...the only problem he has is that Roman Reigns showed up and took over, so, it's going to be great."

The conversation eventually turned to Reigns' personal life.

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!

The wrestler has two sets of twins with his wife Galina, and said of his daily life, "It's loud, it's hectic...when you have that many kids, you really have to have a schedule and try to get everything in line."

Reigns added that his schedule had recently shifted, allowing him to spend more time at home with his family.

Despite his kids still being young, Reigns, who comes from a wrestling family, was asked if he has seen the "wrestling bug" in them.

"[Wrestling is] a big part of my family. My father, my uncle, their mentor Peter Maivia, who is Dwayne Johnson -- The Rock's -- grandfather," Reigns said. "So it has been something that has been involved in our family for a very long time so I would not be surprised at all."

Reigns, whose real name is Leati Anoa'i, is a member of the Anoa'i family of wrestlers.

Hailing originally from American Samoa, the extended family includes a number of well known wrestlers, many of whom are in the WWE Hall of Fame.

Besides Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, members of the Anoa'i family include Rikishi , Yokozuna and The Usos.
Actress Sarah Paulson is set to star in the upcoming horror thriller film Dust from Searchlight Pictures.

ADVERTISEMENT

Paulson, 47, will also serve as the film's executive producer.

Dust will reportedly follow Paulson's character as she becomes trapped by a series of dust storms, becoming haunted by past encounters and being forced to take extraordinary steps to save her family.

The film will be jointly directed by Will Joines and Katie Crouse. Dust will debut on streaming as a Hulu original film, and while a release date has not yet been announced, the project is scheduled to begin principal photography in late August, according to Deadline.

"Sarah is an extraordinary artist and we are thrilled to be working with her again," said Searchlight Pictures presidents David Greenbaum and Matthew Greenfield in a statement.

This will not be Paulson's first stint with the production company.

She previously starred in Searchlight's critically acclaimed drama 12 Years a Slave. The 2013 film received nine Academy Award nominations, winning for Best Picture.

Paulson was also seen in the studio's 2011 film Martha Marcy May Marlene alongside Elizabeth Olsen.

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!

Besides these projects, Paulson has become known for her star performances in a variety of other roles.

This includes blockbuster films such as Ocean's 8 and Glass, as well as another Best Picture nominee, 2017's The Post.

She is most widely recognized, though, for her award-winning roles on television.

Paulson starred in FX's smash-hit American Horror Story, portraying numerous characters during the show's life cycle and receiving five Primetime Emmy nominations for her work.

She would later take the Emmy home with her following her performance as prosecutor Marcia Clark in The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, one of nine Emmys that the show would go on to win.

Paulson would return to American Crime Story for the show's third season, this time portraying civil servant Linda Tripp during the impeachment trial of former President Bill Clinton.

The role would earn her yet another Emmy nomination.

While her last film appearance was in 2020 in Run, Paulson is currently preparing to helm a number of other projects.

This includes beginning production on Bruce Norris' film adaptation of his Tony and Pulitzer-winning play, Clybourne Park. She is also attached to star in an adaptation of Glennon Doyle's memoir Untamed by J.J Abrams' production company, Bad Robot.
Authorities say that a San Francisco Bay Area man suspected of a 2021 rape has been arrested in the killings of two women that had been unsolved for decades
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, national supply chain issues have impacted the supply of products in Athens grocery stores and made it hard for shoppers to find necessities. On top of that, national grocery prices have seen a significant rise in the last year and local Athenians see this issue first-hand through everyday shopping, getting gas and buying groceries.
Brattleboro, VT (05301)

Today

Partly cloudy skies this evening will give way to occasional showers overnight. Low 61F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies this evening will give way to occasional showers overnight. Low 61F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%.
MANCHESTER  A Texas-based developer is the choice of the towns redevelopment agency for revival of the long dormant dark side of the Manchester Parkade.

The agency recommended that the towns board of directors negotiate a development agreement with Anthony Properties of Dallas, town planning and economic development Director Gary Anderson said.

The approximately 20-acre site off Broad Street has been the focus of a mixed-use development vision since voters in 2009 approved $8 million for area revitalization. The town tore down a vacant and blighted shopping plaza that gave the site its nickname, but since then, the parcel has been vacant.

Town officials had an agreement with developer Manchester Parkade LLC for a residential, retail and office project, but the town pulled the plug in January, citing the slow pace of progress and market changes. The developers subsequent lawsuit against the town for breach of contract is pending in Superior Court.

Were moving ahead, Anderson said. We feel like we can move ahead and the community is anxious to do so.

Anderson would not comment on the Dallas developers concept for the site, citing the board of directors pending decision on whether to sign with the company.

Described on its website as a real estate development and investment firm, Anthony Properties had proposed a 264-unit apartment complex in Newington near the CTFastrak station and a mixed residential/retail project on West Street in Southington.

Town planners could not be reached for updates on those projects, but Anthony Properties lists the Southington site as available for sale and development of 21,000 square feet of retail space.

The companys development portfolio includes multi-screen cinemas, apartment, retail and office projects and residential communities.

Jesse.Leavenworth@hearstmediact.com
The Chinese military flew a reconnaissance and strike drone near Taiwan for the first time just as the island staged its largest multi-force drills to boost self-defense capabilities.

Japans Ministry of Defense Joint Staff issued a press release on Monday saying that a Chinese TB-001 reconnaissance and strike unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was spotted flying between the Japanese islands of Okinawa and Miyakojima before heading towards Taiwan.

The drone, nicknamed the "Twin-Tailed Scorpion," then flew very close to the coast of Taiwans Hualien County, deep inside the islands air defense identification zone (ADIZ).

An ADIZ is an area where foreign aircraft are tracked and identified before further entering into a country's airspace.

The Japanese defense ministry also provided the UAVs flight path which did not intrude into Japans airspace. The ministry still scrambled fighter jets in response and continued to monitor the situation.

This was also the first time that a TB-001 has flown solo from the East China Sea to the Pacific, the ministry noted.

Chinese TB-001s Monday flight path. CREDIT: Japanese Ministry of Defense





Taiwans Ministry of National Defense has yet to say anything about the drones flight operation but on Monday it said China sent another reconnaissance aircraft, a Shaanxi Y-8, to Taiwans ADIZ.

"The TB-001 could also carry weapon systems and conduct attack missions," Jyh-Shyang Sheu, a military expert at Taiwan's Institute for National Defense and Security Research told RFA.

"We have seen the UCAVs playing a role in attacking aircraft in some armed conflicts in recent years. By sending the drone, China might also want the challenge the air defense capability of Taiwan, but these kinds of UCAV are normally easily detected by radar systems," said Sheu, who added that Taiwan needs to make sure that its integrated air defense system works well.

Chinese air sorties have become much more regular in recent months as tension rises in the Taiwan Strait.

The TB-001 is Chinas modern medium-altitude, long-endurance UAV that can also be armed for combat purposes. Designed by Tengden Technology, an UAV manufacturer based in Sichuan, it is believed to help greatly boost the Chinese militarys reconnaissance capabilities.

A Taiwan Navy frigate fires a missile during the combined drill on Tuesday. CREDIT: Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense





Tracking Taiwans exercise

Japanese media quoted anonymous military sources as saying that China may have flown the drone to gather information about Taiwan's annual large-scale military drills, as well as to give a warning to Taiwan.

The annual Han Kuang military exercise entered Day Two on Tuesday, with President Tsai Ing-wen observing a joint naval combat readiness drill aboard a Kidd class destroyer.

Some 20 different naval and coast guard vessels took part in the drill, believed to be the largest live-fire exercise ever staged with combined forces from all branches of the army.

Tuesdays drill also included port air defense and anti-mining exercises, and an anti-submarine operation.

Elsewhere, thousands of army reservists are taking part in counterattack exercises in different locations, including some of Taiwans most strategic beaches.

Larger and more active participation of civilians and reservists is seen as the highlight of this years exercise.

In Miaoli County, about 100 km west of Taipei, reservists were seen building concrete barriers on the beach in sweltering heat to block an enemy landing.

The Taiwanese defense ministry introduced a new, more demanding, reservist training program in March to improve the combat readiness of the islands reserve forces in the face of threats from China, which considers Taiwan a breakaway province.
The course content has yet to be made public, amid concerns over academic freedom under a crackdown on dissent.

A man walks down a flight of stairs at the University of Hong Kong in China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, June 3, 2022.

Students at the University of Hong Kong will be required to take a course including "national security" content from September, according to an email recently sent out to undergraduates.

The compulsory course bears no credits but will be needed to graduate from all undergraduate degrees, the email said.

"The ... non-credit bearing course required ... is UG5E1001 Introduction to the Constitution, the Basic Law and the National Security Law," a July 25 email from the University of Hong Kong Registrar told undergraduates.

"This is an online course which will adopt a self-directed learning approach," it said. "There is NO NEED TO ENROL in this course during the upcoming course selection."

Details of the course won't be published until Sept. 1, the email said.

Eric Lai, an expert in Hong Kong law at Georgetown University, said the university is required to offer the course under government regulations spanning 2022-2025.

"There is no explanation [in the email] of what the content will be, who designed it, whether the content was written by Hong Kong's national security [apparatus]," Lai told RFA. "All of this is completely unknown."

Lai said that while the content is in line with the government's insistence on "national security education" starting in kindergarten, a bigger concern is whether students and faculty could get reported to the city's national security hotline by informants if they say something critical of the authorities in class.

"I am still concerned that students ... could use the national security hotline to report what teachers or students are saying in class," he said. "This is the bigger issue."

All primary and secondary schools, special schools and kindergartens in Hong Kong have been required to hold a flag-raising ceremony, with the nationalistic ritual expected once a week in primary and secondary schools since Jan. 1, 2022.

The move is aimed at "promoting national education ... and affection for the Chinese people," according to the government.

All primary and secondary schools must display the national flag on every school day, as well as on Jan. 1, the July 1 handover anniversary and on China's Oct. 1 National Day, in a position of prominence alongside the bauhinia flag of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

A political mission

Meanwhile, a nationalistic program of Moral, Civic and National Education is replacing Liberal Studies in Hong Kong's primary and secondary schools, which are also required to promote the national security law to staff and students.

The Liberal Studies critical thinking program, rolled out in Hong Kong schools in 2009, was blamed by Chinese officials and media for several mass protests in recent years, from the 2011 campaign against patriotic education by secondary school students, to the 2014 youth-led Umbrella movement, to the 2019 protests that began as a campaign against extradition to mainland China and broadened to include demands for fully democratic elections.

"It's pretty clear that the government will use national security as a pretext to roll out patriotic education, or ideological education, as rapidly as possible over the next couple of years," Lai said.

"[This program] denies the separation of powers in Hong Kong and emphasizes China's total control over Hong Kong, as well as teaching that national security takes precedence over human rights and freedoms," he said.

Secretary for education Christine Choi said Hong Kong schoolchildren will receive new teaching materials distributed in partnership with the national security police, and will also be required to visit mainland China on educational trips.

"The civic exchange program isn't an elective program; it's a very valuable program paid for by the government," Choi said. "Students shouldn't drop out other than in special circumstances such as ... serious illness."

"They can't just write a letter saying they don't want to take part; that's not allowed," she said.

Former Liberal Studies teacher Raymond Yeung said the exchanges had previously been a positive experience for Hong Kong students, but making them compulsory would likely change that.

"I've taken two trips to mainland China, and the students saw it as a summer vacation activity, as something they weren't forced to take part in," Yeung told RFA.

"If students are forced to participate in the exchange from the outset, it will definitely have an impact on the educational benefits," he said.

Yeung described the move as a step backwards.

"The government is on a political mission and is ... using [coercive] methods it has used on adults," he said. "This is really not ideal from an educational point of view."

"These students will be smart enough to give them the answers they want ... but it will turn them into the little pinks that people in Hong Kong so often laugh at," Yeung said, in a reference to the ideologically brainwashed supporters of the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Former student leader Andrew To said the culture of Hong Kong's universities has changed since the CCP imposed the national security law on Hong Kong from July 1, 2020, ushering in an ongoing crackdown on political opposition and public dissent.

"In the past, if a university wanted to run such a highly politically sensitive course, it had to consult the student union," To said. "If they tried to skip the consultation, the student union would definitely counterattack and hold campus gatherings and forums to put pressure on the school."

"Now, universities can implement such things with a single directive," he said. "Without the student unions, there is no voice and no force that can oppose them ... which is a huge step backwards."

Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
Detained rights lawyer Chang Weiping -- whose lawyers say he has suffered torture in incommunicado detention -- stood trial for subversion on Tuesday behind closed doors, as his wife was prevented from traveling to the court in the northern Chinese province of Shaanxi.



Chang's trial on charges of "subversion of state power" began at 9.00 a.m. local time at the Feng County People's Court, as his wife Chen Zijuan tweeted that she had been pulled over at a highway exit and prevented from taking the exit for the court.



The sentence carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment and a minimum jail term of 10 years.



The trial lasted around 90 minutes, with sentencing to be announced at a later date, Chen said via her Twitter account.



"Chang Weiping, I stand here today at the highway exit for Feng county," Chen, clad in a green suit and holding a large bouquet of flowers, says in a short video recorded as police and COVID-19 enforcement officials mill around her.



"I want to present these flowers to you. Today is your Good Friday; but also I think your day of glory," she said. "I'm so sorry that I was unable to be there for you in person despite traveling more than 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles) in the hope of seeing you with my own eyes."



"But they have been holding me here on this highway for more than 10 hours now," Chen says. "I just heard from the lawyer that the trial is over already."



"But whatever the outcome, this has not been a fair trial. This trial wasn't yours; instead it was the scene of their crime."



Chang Weiping in an undated photo. Credit: China Human Rights Lawyers Global response



German ambassador to China Patricia Flor hit out at the treatment of Chen.



"#ChangWeipings wife @zijuan_chen was held up at a roadblock when trying to enter Feng [county], where she wanted to attend the trial," Flor said via her official Twitter account.



"It is unacceptable that relatives are obstructed from supporting a defendant. #Justice needs #transparency."



The French embassy in Beijing also tweeted on Tuesday: "The French Embassy in Beijing stands with human rights lawyer CHANG Weiping and his family ahead of his closed trial on 26 July ... and reiterates its support for human rights lawyers working for the rule of law in China."



The British government account @UKinChina called for the release of Chang and all prisoners of conscience in China.



"#ChangWeiping, arrested in 2020 after raising issues of torture and #humanrights in China (including his own mistreatment) is today scheduled for trial behind closed doors," the account tweeted.



"The UK calls for the release of all those currently detained for promoting fundamental rights and freedoms."



Chen said she had been told she couldn't visit Feng county because she had traveled from Dongguan in the southern province of Guangdong, which the authorities said contained medium- and high-risk areas for COVID-19.



"After that, an ambulance came to take me away to an isolation facility," she told RFA.



"They are going too far," she added. "I had no problem getting out of Xianyang Airport, and had called to inquire about the COVID-19 policy for [the area] but then they pulled me over in Feng county."



"They used COVID-19 policy as an excuse."



Chen, who was traveling with an older relative and an eight-year-old child, called a lawyer to get some food delivered to the car, but was prevented from receiving it by police at the scene.



Two friends of Chang's, Tian Qiuli and Long Kehai, were also prevented from traveling to the court buildings, and ordered to return to nearby Baoji city by local police.



Tian's hair was pulled by a police officer during an altercation, and they were later detained, Chen said.



Luo Shengchun, the wife of fellow detained rights lawyer Ding Jiaxi, slammed the authorities' treatment of Chang's family.



"It's been really heard on [Chen] Zijuan, her mother and child, who have to stay overnight," Luo told RFA. "I don't know if they even have food to eat."



Attendees targeted



Chang's detention came after he attended a dinner with prominent activists in Xiamen, including the founder of the New Citizens' Movement, Xu Zhiyong, in early December 2019.



He and several others who had attended that dinner were arrested in a nationwide operation.



The rights group Safeguard Defenders said in an October 2021 report on "residential surveillance at a designated location" (RSDL) that the authorities have detained more than 57,000 people under the system since its inception in 2013, detailing a system of grueling interrogations and torture used to elicit "confessions" from detainees, who can be held for up to six months without access to a lawyer.



The report said Chang was tortured during six months of RSDL between October 2020 and April 2021.



Chang, who was only allowed to meet with a lawyer after nearly a year in detention, was strapped immobile into a "tiger chair" torture device for six days straight, and deprived of food and sleep, his lawyer said in September.



Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
Leaders use the 1953 armistice anniversary to praise veterans, but residents said they are suffering.

Veterans head to a hotel to attend a national conference of war veterans on the occasion of the 67th anniversary of the end of the Korean War, which the country celebrates as the day of "victory in the fatherland liberation war" in Pyongyang, North Korea, July 25, 2020.

North Korea is trying to encourage its exhausted citizenry to struggle on by highlighting the sacrifices made during the 1950-53 Korean War, a lesson sources told RFA is undermined by a growing number of deaths among elderly veterans to malnutrition and illness.

The country is set to celebrate the signing of the armistice that ended hostilities in the war on Wednesday, a holiday Pyongyang officially calls the Day of Victory in the Great Fatherland Liberation War.

In preparation for the day, the government has ordered people to stay after work for propaganda lectures telling them to follow the heroic spirit of the War Generation, who defeated the armed invasion of the United States and other imperialists in the 1950s and defended the leader and the country with their lives, said a resident of South Pyongan province, north of Pyongyang, speaking to RFA on condition of anonymity for security reasons, in mid-July.

The workers ended their shift at 6 p.m. and gathered at each workplace meeting room. It began with a question and answer session about the spirit of the War Generation and how they struggled. We discussed what we should learn and emulate from them even after the years and generations have passed, the source said.

In a company-wide lecture, the workers learned about the War Generations revolutionary spirit, and how North Koreans overcame obstacles to construct a socialist society with miraculous speed across 1,000 miles during the post-war restoration period, the source said.

So, the workers were called to adopt that fighting spirit in the factorys production plan, the source said. The workers have not been eating properly due to food shortages and are already exhausted from going to work in this heat wave.

The poor living conditions of the factory workers in South Pyongan are causing them to resent being made to stay after work for propaganda meetings.

They are complaining that they cannot live because of the heat wave, and the government is trying to increase its control over them, the source said.

Food scarcity is a constant problem in North Korea, but the closure of the border with China and suspension of trade since the beginning of the pandemic in January 2020 has made it worse. With no imports to bridge the gap between food supply and demand, prices have gone up and the people have had to do without.

The propaganda lectures note that the heroes of the glorious past extend beyond the soldiers fighting in the war, a source in North Hamgyong province.

The factory gathered the miners for lectures on the spirit of the War Generation, and they talked about the 1950s, when miners carried out missions that cost them their lives, the second source told RFA on condition of anonymity to speak freely.

Now that the COVID-19 crisis has been resolved and the major task as part of the five-year plan [2021-2025] is to be carried out, the lectures were given to encourage the miners to accelerate production with the fighting spirit of the War Generation, the source said.

The lecture said they should devote themselves to the party and the leader without asking for any honor or remuneration just as their forebears did during the post-war period of restoration and construction, according to the second source.

The miners complain that they are exhausted from the hardships of the pandemic and the severe heat, but the authorities focus on lectures and learning sessions that bind the thoughts and spirits of the residents instead of rationing food, she said.

Though the second source said that the COVID-19 crisis has been resolved, reflecting the North Korean governments declaration that it was set to finally defuse the crisis, the World Health Organization has cast doubt over the claim, saying instead that the situation could worsen.

North Korea has officially reported a minimal loss of life during the recent outbreak that caused the country to declare a maximum emergency, but reports have surfaced saying that those who die of COVID-19 symptoms are quickly cremated before a cause can be determined.

Sources told RFA that elderly veterans who served in the Korean War are among those who have died either from the coronavirus or malnutrition due to the lack of food, angering North Koreans who say the government uses the veterans for propaganda but does nothing when they starve or contract a deadly disease.

The country is set to hold an 8th National Conference of War Veterans in Pyongyang to commemorate the armistice holiday on Wednesday, but sources told RFA that the number of participating veterans has sharply declined.

In North Pyongan provinces Ryongchon county, about a third fewer veterans are participating in the conference this year, a resident there told RFA on condition of anonymity for safety reasons.

[Weve seen] a decrease of nine out of the 28 participants in the 7th National Conference of War Veterans held last year, the third source said.

The third source said that three war veterans from the rural village of Sosok-ri were alive in the spring. In May, two had developed a high fever and shortness of breath, typical symptoms of COVID-19. They died without receiving adequate treatment, quarantined in their homes, she said.

In Jinhung village, an elderly veteran living with his son and daughter-in-law died of malnutrition in April. Since March, the familys food has started to run out, so they have been eating dried radish stem and leaves mixed with corn powder as a meal, she said.

In total, the number of veterans who died was nine in Ryongchon county, reducing the number of participants in the National Conference of War Veterans, the third source said. The residents are critical of the intention of holding the conference of war veterans when the elderly war veterans are dying for lack of food.

In Songchon county, South Pyongan, the number of veterans sent to Pyongyang fell by half compared with last year, a resident there told RFA.

Every year, elderly veterans die from malnutrition because they cant eat properly. This year, many elderly veterans showed symptoms suspected of COVID-19, such as severe high fever and coughing. They couldnt even swallow water and died due to the symptoms. In June, in my town, three veterans died from coronavirus symptoms, the fourth source said.

Despite knowing the tragic situation of war veterans who are dying of lack of food and COVID-19 symptoms, the authorities have not come up with any measures to improve the lives of the veterans. Under such circumstances  they are using the veterans as a propaganda tool, calling them treasures of the revolution that they defended with their lives.

The National Conference of War Veterans only recently became a regular event. The first conference was in 1993, marking the 40th anniversary of the end of Korean War hostilities. Since then, veterans conferences were held in 2012, 2013, 2015, 2018 and 2020-2022.

All but the first conference occurred after the countrys leader Kim Jong Un came to power, Seo Jae-Pyoung, the chairman of the South Korea-based Association of the North Korean Defectors told RFA.

Taking care of the veterans is a political calculation to induce the residents to be loyal to the system, Seo said.

Even though hostilities in the Korean War ended in 1953, North and South Korea technically remain at war because no formal peace treaty has ever been signed.

Translated by Claire Shinyoung O. Lee and Leejin J. Chung. Written in English by Eugene Whong.
Protests at three prisons turned violent when guards tried to shut them down.

Prison officials prepare for the release of prisoners outside of the Insein prison in Yangon on Feb. 12, 2022.

UPDATED 8.28 P.M. EDT on 2022-7-26

Inmate protests of the junta's decision to execute four democracy activists turned violent in three of Myanmar's prisons on Monday, disrupting a trial in one facility and prompting guards to discharge their weapons in another, according to sources with knowledge of the country's penitentiary system.

Tun Kyi, a spokesman for Myanmar's Former Political Prisoners Association, told RFA Burmese that the unrest occurred in Yangon's Insein Prison, Mandalays Oboh Prison, and Bago region's Pyay Prison following an official announcement of the executions of veteran democracy leader Ko Jimmy, former National League for Democracy (NLD) lawmaker Phyo Zeya Thaw and activists Hla Myo Aung and Aung Thura Zaw. While no information was provided about the date and method of the killings, it is believed the men were all hanged on Saturday in Insein Prison.

"The riot in Insein Prison was the most violent," he said, adding that the incident had involved "a problem among the prison staff."

"There was also a protest in Mandalays Oboh that resulted in some shootings. It also happened in Pyay."

Tun Kyi said a political prisoner from Insein Prison had "escaped" while being brought to court on July 18, leading to "action taken against the guards," adding that reports suggested "officials have been ordered not to leave the prison compound."

He was unable to provide further details about the incidents of unrest at the three prisons on Monday.

Tun Kyi said he expects similar unrest to occur throughout the country in response to the executions, the announcement of which prompted widespread condemnation.

"These incidents will happen. In prisons as well as outside. They will also be more intense," he predicted. "The junta has declared war on the people."

A source in Pyay township with knowledge of the situation at the prison told RFA on condition of anonymity that inmates rioted when guards attempted to shut down their protest of the executions, causing authorities to suspend the proceedings of a trial being held in the compound.

It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the shootings or whether anyone was injured in the incident or the unrest at the other two prisons.

RFA was not able to independently verify the reports of the prison unrest and calls to the Yangon Prison Department went unanswered on Tuesday.

Tight security in Mandalay two days after the military coup on Feb.1, 2021. Credit: RFA Mandalay arrests

The incidents of prison unrest came amid reports that junta forces conducted stop-and-search operations in Mandalay on Monday, carrying out house-to-house checks and arresting around 20 young people following the announcement of the weekend's executions.

The searches were carried out by fully-armed members of the military, checking identity cards, an official of the Urban Strike Movement Group told RFA on condition of anonymity.

Another Mandalay resident told RFA the soldiers were mainly targeting young people, checking their mobile phones for social media posts of a black logo mourning the four executed activists and a red logo supporting revolution against the military's Feb. 1, 2021 coup.

The entire city was searched day in and out, a Mandalay resident told RFA. Pyi Gyi Dagon township was searched in the night. Cell phones were searched. People didnt dare come out if they had the red and black logos on their social media profiles. Young people were arrested on suspicion by the regime forces. Now, no matter where people live, life is insecure.

Mandalay-based militia the Freeland Attack Force claimed responsibility for laying mines in a military compound near Amarapura township on Monday. The group said the attack was in retaliation for the weekend executions.

It is still not clear whether the military raids and arrests were connected with the attack.

RFA is still investigating the ages and names of the arrested youths.

Calls by RFA to junta Deputy Information Minister Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun went unanswered on Tuesday.

Translated by Khin Maung Nyane. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.

Updated to include reports of unrest amid prison protests of the weekend's executions.
Burmese nationals chant slogans against their countrys junta during a rally outside the Myanmar Embassy in Bangkok to protest Naypyidaws execution of veteran democracy activist Ko Jimmy and three other political dissidents, July 26, 2022.

UPDATED 5.10 P.M. EDT on 2022-7-26

ASEAN on Tuesday issued its harshest criticism of the Burmese junta yet, calling Myanmars execution of four political prisoners highly reprehensible and saying it displayed a gross lack of will to return the member-state to normalcy.

Malaysia, an outspoken member of the Southeast Asian bloc, separately called their killings a crime against humanity. The top Malaysian diplomat said no Myanmar military regime representative should be allowed at any meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, including the next ASEAN foreign ministers gathering, scheduled for Aug. 3.

This was a rare rebuke of one of the members of the 55-year-old bloc, which operates mostly on consensus, as ASEAN and member-state governments joined a global chorus of condemnation over the executions of the four by the junta. Its forces have also killed more than 2,000 people since the generals seized power by toppling an elected government last year.

The executions have caused ASEAN to distrust Myanmar, said Indonesia  next years chair of the 10-nation bloc  with Indonesian human rights representative Yuyun Wahyuningrum wondering whether the renegade members standing in the regional bloc was now shaky.

Cambodia, the 2022 holder of the ASEAN chair, said it was strongly disappointed that the executions took place despite appeals from Cambodian leader Hun Sen. The first judicial executions in Myanmar since 1976 came despite a direct appeal on June 11 by Hun Sen to Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, the junta leader.

"While the complexity of the crisis is well recognized and the extreme bellicose mood can be felt from all corners of Myanmar, ASEAN as a whole has called for utmost restraint, patience and efforts to avoid escalating the situation," Cambodia said in a statement as ASEAN chair.

"The implementation of the death sentences, just a week before the 55th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting is highly reprehensible as it created a setback to and present[s] a gross lack of will to support the efforts, particularly by the ASEAN Chair, in expediting progress on the implementation of the Five-Point Consensus (5PC), namely in building trust and confidence to engender a dialogue among all parties concerned, in order to end violence and alleviate the suffering of the innocent people."

The statement reiterated ASEAN's commitment to the 5PC and urged the junta to "take concrete actions" to implement it.

The junta has reneged on a five-point consensus it agreed to with ASEAN in April 2021 to put the country back on the path to democracy. The consensus called for an end to violence; constructive dialogue among all parties; the mediation of such talks by a special ASEAN envoy; the provision of ASEAN-coordinated humanitarian assistance and a visit to Myanmar by an ASEAN delegation to meet with all parties.

The Burmese junta put to death veteran democracy activist Ko Jimmy (whose real name is Kyaw Min Yu), former National League for Democracy lawmaker Phyo Zeya Thaw, as well as activists Hla Myo Aung and Aung Thura Zaw, likely on Saturday, but announced their executions at the gallows on Monday.

A military court had convicted them over terrorist acts and they lost appeals against their death sentences. The junta had also rejected the possibility of a pardon for the condemned men.

It seems that the Myanmar junta is making a mockery of the five-point consensus, Malaysian Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah said during a joint press conference with Noeleen Heyzer, United Nations special envoy on Myanmar, after they met in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday.

I believe the foreign ministers when we meet in Phnom Penh on Aug.3 will look into this, he told reporters.

Myanmar should not be invited to send political representation to all ministerial level meetings. This is to show that we are very serious on the issue of political representation. 

Malaysian Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah (right) and the U.N. Secretary-General's Special Envoy on Myanmar, Noeleen Heyzer, attend a press conference at Parliament House in Kuala Lumpur, July 26, 2022. Credit: Handout photo from Malaysia's Department of Information via AP Photo A direct rebuke of ASEAN

Indonesia, too, indicated that the Southeast Asian bloc could no longer carry on with business as usual.

With these executions, ASEAN is increasingly distrusting Myanmar. Does Myanmar have good intentions to implement the consensus? Yuyun Wahyuningrum, representative of Indonesia to the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights, told BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated news service.

Will there be more serious implications in ASEAN for Myanmar or not?

During a press briefing in Washington on Monday, Ned Price, spokesman for the U.S. State Department, which had pressed ASEAN to take action the Burmese regime, characterized the executions as a direct rebuke of appeals made by regional bloc and others.

Elsewhere, a Cambodian academic concurred with Washingtons views.

The execution of the four Burmese political prisoners reflects that the junta government does not respect ... and give value to Cambodias ASEAN chair, who has urged them not to execute political prisoners, Van Bunna, a research fellow at the Cambodian Center for Cooperation and Peace, told Radio Free Asia (RFA), an online news service affiliated with BenarNews.

It also reflects that the junta government does not care about the ASEANs 5-point consensus. The execution sentence also proves that the junta government does not care what the international community says about them, Van Bunna added.

Meanwhile in Thailand, some 500 young Thai and Burmese protestors rallied outside the Myanmar Embassy in Bangkok to vent their anger over the executions. They waved Myanmar flags and banners, and chanted slogans against Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing.

One of the protesters, Saw Kyaw Aie Paing, 19, had fled Myanmar with her mother after the coup in February 2021.

She said she wanted the world community to stand with the people of Myanmar and give them humanitarian aid. She also urged the Thai government not to deal with the Burmese junta.

In a statement about the executions, the Thai government, via its foreign ministry, said it was profoundly concerned about such and other developments that could foreclose all efforts towards achieving peace.

We regret so deeply the loss of four lives which aggravates the vexing problems of Myanmar. Use of force, cruelty and violence could never settle political differences, Tanee Sangrat, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in the statement on Tuesday.

The use of force, cruelty and violence could never settle political differences. We call upon all parties to the conflict to seek, with all their might, a durable political resolution so no more lives would be wasted, and the people of Myanmars rights to live in peace are respected.

BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated news service.

Updated to include additional quotes from Tuesday's ASEAN statement.
The returnees are lectured on how to live a decent life, a source says.

Chinese paramilitary police in the streets of Ngaba, in China's Sichuan province, in a file photo.

Tibetans returning from exile to their home regions in Tibet are being summoned for questioning by Chinese authorities watching for signs of disloyalty or separatist sentiment, Tibetan sources say.

Returnees living in Golog (Chinese, Guoluo) and Ngaba (Aba) counties, Tibetan-populated regions in western Chinas Qinghai province, have recently been called in by police without warning, a Tibetan living in exile told RFA this week.

They are being asked about possible involvement in political activities, RFAs source said, citing contacts in the region and speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons.

Frequent meetings are being held to tell them how to live a decent life under Chinese government rule and to stay away from sensitive political issues, and they are also being questioned over the phone from time to time, the source said.

As part of a broadening Chinese campaign of political education, Tibetans returning from exile to their former homes have been taken on excursions to Chinese cities to show them what the authorities call evidence of progress and development under Communist Party rule, the source added.

Tibetans returning from exile to Tibets regional capital Lhasa are kept under particular scrutiny, another source in exile said, with their cell phones regularly inspected and monitored and their movements restricted around politically sensitive dates like the July 6 birthday of exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.

Efforts by China to bring Tibetans back to Tibet have escalated in recent years, with Chinese authorities reaching out to Tibetans living in India and Nepal about their plans to return and asking them what kind of work they are currently doing, sources say.

The Chinese government tried to send me money back when India was experiencing its worst wave of COVID cases, but I wouldnt take their money, said a Tibetan man now living in India but formerly from Qinghai. They called me and tried to convince me to return, and they also interrogated my parents at their homes back in Tibet, he added.

COVID status

Chinese authorities in Sichuan are meanwhile demanding that local Tibetans report the COVID status of relatives living outside the country, threatening them with the loss of housing subsidies and other government support if they fail to disclose the information, sources told RFA in earlier reports.

Tibetan families must also reveal the cell phone numbers and social media accounts of their relatives living outside of China, one source said.

China closely tracks communications from Tibetans living in Tibetan areas of China to relatives living abroad in an effort to block news of protests and other politically sensitive information from reaching international audiences, sources say.

Formerly an independent nation, Tibet was invaded and incorporated into China by force more than 70 years ago, and the Dalai Lama and thousands of his followers later fled into exile in India and countries around the world following a failed 1959 national uprising against Chinas rule.

Tibetans living in Tibet frequently complain of human rights abuses by Chinese authorities and policies they say are aimed at eradicating their national and cultural identity.

Translated by Tenzin Dickyi for RFA Tibetan. Written in English by Richard Finney.
The state's online propaganda efforts are said to be silencing criticism of its treatment of Uyghurs.

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is using increasingly elaborate online tactics to counter information about human rights abuses in western Chinas Xinjiang region in hopes of influencing audiences across the globe, according to a new report.

In response to criticism of its mistreatment of Uyghurs and other Turkic minorities in Xinjiang, the CCP has coordinated its state propaganda arms and security agencies in an effort to contradict and reframe narratives about the region, says the policy paper issued on July 20 by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI). The Canberra-based independent, nonpartisan think tank provides defense, security and strategic policy recommendations to the Australian government.

Xi Jinping and the Communist Party view information operations as the domain of warfare as a battlefield to fight other people's public opinion, said Albert Zhang, an analyst with ASPIs Cyber Policy Centre who wrote the report with researcher Tilla Hoja.

The 39-page paper titled Assessing the Impact of CCP Information Operations Related to Xinjiang says China marshals a variety of resources to distract from revelations or claims of arbitrary detention, mass sterilization and cultural degradation of the predominantly Muslim Uyghurs and other minorities in Xinjiang.

The impact of these operations isnt widely understood, and the international community has failed to adequately respond to the global challenges posed by the CCPs rapidly evolving propaganda and disinformation operations, the paper says.

The CCPs use of U.S.-based social media and content platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube, are fundamental to its efforts and allow it to test online tactics, measure responses and improve its influence and interference capabilities on a variety of topics, the report says.

For instance, posts by official Chinese state media and diplomatic accounts inundate U.S.based social media platforms with proCCP content to drown out opinions that are critical of the Chinese government by reducing the efficacy of hashtags such as #Xinjiang or #GenocideGames, the paper says.

State media and Chinese diplomats routinely take to social media to discredit and undermine researchers and journalists who publish influential reports about Xinjiang and undercut the impact of their findings. Arian Zenz, a researcher at the Washington, D.C.-based Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation and an expert on Xinjiang who has produced several reports based on Chinese government documents, has been one such target.

Zenz was mentioned in roughly 200 articles published by state media and in about 530 tweets on Twitter by Chinese diplomatic and state media accounts between Jan. 1, 2020, and Dec. 31, 2021, according to the report.

The policy brief quoted Chinese President Xi Jinping as saying that online public opinion work should be the top priority of propaganda and ideological work' and that China must grasp the initiative in this public opinion battlefield against the West.

These Chinese Communist Party information operations are successfully silencing people in the world, and that includes government entities, corporations, as well as civil society people from actually being able to speak up about and speak up for the Uyghurs and other minorities in Xinjiang, Zhang said.

The CCP has been notably successful in silencing governments in Muslim-majority and non-Western countries, the report says. Of the 57 member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, only two  Albania and Turkey  have condemned the CCP for its policies in Xinjiang.

Beginning in 2019, we saw a lot of Chinese diplomats start registering official accounts on Twitter and as well as developing Facebook accounts to push those messages, and using those social media platforms to spread their narratives, Zhang said. They also likely have hired or contracted out public relations or [used] other entities to actually amplify the messages.

At the same time, the Chinese government completely censors any kind of external kind of media into their own environment, and so theres just this sort of asymmetric access to information that really gives the Chinese government a competitive advantage in the information space, he said.

Countering 'information warfare'

Chinese authorities began in 2017 to ramp up their crackdown on Uyghurs and other Turkic minorities in Xinjiang through abductions and arbitrary arrests and detentions in re-education camps or prisons.

An estimated 1.8 million members of these groups have been held in the camps, where detainees who were later freed reported widespread maltreatment, including severe human rights abuses, torture, rape, forced sterilization and birth control, and forced labor.

Following several credible reports and eyewitness testimony of the abuses, the U.S. and some Western parliaments have determined that the Chinese governments actions in Xinjiang constitute genocide and crime against humanity and have heavily condemned Beijing for its actions.

The findings of the policy paper are based on publicly available information, including statements by senior CCP officials about influencing global public opinion over their human rights record in Xinjiang, literature reviews of Chinese academic studies, and news reporting of CCP information.

The report recommends that foreign governments and civil society groups work more closely with social media platforms and broadcasters to counter the CCPs global campaign of transnational repression and information warfare.

It also recommends that governments expand economic sanctions targeting the perpetrators of serious human rights abuses to include those who distribute disinformation and foreign propaganda and who silence and continue to abuse victims and survivors of rights violations.

The report goes on to propose that governments impede Chinese propaganda resources and pinpoint strategic data sources, such as public opinion mining of U.S.-based social media, which the CCP is exploiting to improve its interference capabilities.

Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.
Detainees families say they are struggling to get any information on why their relatives are still being held.

The families of seven people arrested during clashes with police over the demolition of a road in Vietnams Nghe An province say they are desperate for information on the detainees, who have been held for nearly two weeks.

Hundreds of riot police descended on Binh Thuan parish in Nghi Thuan commune on July 13, where a similar number of protestors were trying to remove parts of a fence built around the road, which was handed over to a private company by the government to make way for an industrial zone.

The road connecting the parish to a main road has been used for more than 100 years.

Police tried to disperse the protesters with smoke grenades and explosives but the locals fought back.

Nge An provincial police issued a news release on July 13 saying locals "used bricks, stones, bottles, sticks [and petrol bombs], attacked and detained a police officer and injured five other police officers.

Police arrested 10 people, releasing one woman the same night and two men three days later. The men claim they were beaten and threatened into signing confessions.

One woman, 72-year-old Bach Thi Hoa, was treated for her injuries in the district hospital, according to the two men who were released. She was accompanied by police at all times and her family were refused permission to see her.

Two protesters are being held at the Nghi Loc district detention center. The other four are at Nghi Kim detention center.

Police say they are collecting evidence to clarify their claims of "causing public disorders," "resisting on-duty state officials" and "illegal detention.

Nguyen Minh Duc, the husband of detainee Ha Thi Hien, said although the police issued an arrest warrant for his wife on the day of the riot he only received a copy a few days ago.

"They took the paper that day. They sent it the next day but the commune did not immediately give it to my family, he told RFA.

Duc said other detainees families are also struggling to get information and meet daily to tell each other what they know.

Locals say they have heard from an unofficial source that Nghi Loc district police transferred two women to Nghi Kim detention center on July 21 when they no longer had the authority to hold them.

Article 118 of the Criminal Procedure Code states that a person can be held in custody for three days and the detention can only be extended for two further three-day periods.

If police want to hold someone for more than nine days they need the approval of the district or provincial procuracy to investigate further.

State and local media have remained silent on the story for the past week.

RFA called the leaders of the People's Committees of Nghe An province and Nghi Loc district as well as the police agencies and the provincial and district procuracies but no one answered.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has decried "Russia's nuclear terrorism" in a phone call on August 16 with his French counterpart, as Ukrainian and international nuclear experts continue to demand greater safeguards against catastrophe at the occupied Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine.

Zelenskiy tweeted that he had also informed President Emmanuel Macron about the "situation at the front" and thanked Paris for its "tangible defense aid," as well as discussing economic aid and food-security challenges.

"We must increase sanctions on Russia," Zelenskiy said, continuing a recent push for harsher international penalties to encourage Russian President Vladimir Putin to call off his five-month-old invasion.

Macron's office said the French leader "underlined his concern about the threat posed by the presence and actions of the Russian armed forces and the context of war with the ongoing conflicts over security and safety of Ukrainian nuclear installations, and called for the withdrawal of these forces."

Champs-Elysees said Macron also stressed his support for the possible terms of the UN nuclear agency director-general's proposal to send a mission of experts to Zaporizhzhya as soon as possible.

Macron along with Zelenskiy also hailed the continued implementation of a UN- and Turkish-brokered deal with Russia and Ukraine on the export through Ukrainian ports of Ukrainian grain "essential for world food security."

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has asked for a demilitarized zone to be created around Zaporizhzhya.

Both the UN and its nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), have said IAEA inspectors should be allowed to visit the plant.

Guterres reportedly spoke with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on August 15, when Russia's Foreign Ministry also insisted it would do "everything necessary" to allow IAEA experts access to the facility, which lies near the front lines in southeastern Ukraine.

Exhausted Ukrainian workers at the plant have complained of being held at gunpoint, and the plant's operator, Enerhoatom, has said Russia is preparing a risky maneuver to divert Zaporizhzhya's energy production to a Russian-controlled grid.

Ukraine's nuclear power company Enerhoatom alleged on August 16 that Russian-based hackers had unleashed an hours-long attack on its website but said major problems had been avoided.

Russia's permanent representative to international organizations in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov, acknowledged in a state TV interview on August 16 that the Zaporizhzhya situation represents "dangers all of us are facing... as major contamination or a Chernobyl-like disaster could occur there under certain conditions."

Russia's TASS also quoted him repeating Moscow's accusations that Ukrainian forces and its Western backers are behind the recent shelling around Zaporizhzhya, which Russian forces captured in March.

Kyiv has insisted that Russian troops are using Europe's largest nuclear plant as a military base, including storing dangerous weapons and shelling in the area.

On August 14, 42 countries condemned Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and said the presence of Russian military forces at Zaporizhzhya is preventing authorities from maintaining nuclear and radiation safety obligations.

"It is undeniable that Russia's invasion and its continued presence at Ukraines nuclear facilities significantly raise the risk of nuclear incidents and accidents," the statement on the European Union's website says.
Russia targeted Ukraines southern Black Sea regions of Odesa and Mykolayiv with air strikes on July 26, hitting private buildings and port infrastructure, the Ukrainian military said.

The buildings that were hit in the Odesa region caught fire, Ukraines Operational Command South said on Facebook. In the Mykolayiv region, port infrastructure was targeted despite a deal intended to allow grain shipments to resume from Ukraine's Black Sea ports.

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, global reaction, and the plight of civilians. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war, click here.

A Ukrainian Air Force spokesman said long-range Russian bombers and fighter jets launched the strikes from the Black Sea.

The attacks came days after Russian strikes that hit Odessa called into question a deal to resume exports of grain from Ukraine that have been blocked because of the war.

Hours after the strikes on July 26, Kirill Stremousov, the Moscow-appointed deputy head of the military-civilian administration of the Kherson region, said the Odesa and Mykolayiv regions would soon be liberated by Russian forces.

The Ukrainian military said separately that it shot down a Russian drone that was trying to attack a radar station in the Mykolayiv region.

Russian shelling over the previous 24 hours killed at least three civilians and wounded eight more in Ukraine, the Ukrainian presidents office said on July 26.

Shelling continued along the entire front line in the eastern Donetsk region as Russian forces targeted Bakhmut and other cities, the presidential office said.

The head of the military administration of the eastern Donetsk region, Pavlo Kyrylenko, again accused Russian troops of using illegal cluster munitions and repeated his call for civilians to evacuate.

There is not a single safe place left. Everything is being shelled," Kyrylenko said on Ukrainian television. "But there are still evacuation routes for the civilian population.

Britain said earlier that there was "no indication" that a Ukrainian warship and a stock of anti-ship missiles were located in the Black Sea port of Odesa at the weekend, contradicting the Kremlin's claim that it targeted a Ukrainian ship and military installations with a missile strike on July 23.

The strike came a day after an agreement on the export of grain by Russia, Ukraine, the United Nations, and Turkey raised hopes that a global crisis could be averted after a spike in food prices prompted by the Ukraine war.

Ukraine is one of the worlds largest exporters of wheat, corn, and sunflower oil, but Russias invasion of the country and its naval blockade of Ukrainian ports have halted shipments.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on July 24 acknowledged the missile strikes on Odesa the day before but claimed that they had destroyed military infrastructure and a Ukrainian Navy patrol boat.

The British ministry said Russia sees Ukraines use of anti-ship missiles as a key threat limiting its Black Sea Fleet.

This has significantly undermined the overall invasion plan, as Russia cannot realistically attempt an amphibious assault to seize Odesa, the ministry said. Russia will continue to prioritize efforts to degrade and destroy Ukraines anti-ship capability.

However, Russia's targeting processes are highly likely routinely undermined by dated intelligence, poor planning, and a top-down approach to operations," the intelligence update concluded.

The Russian Defense Ministry said on July 26 that it plans to hold strategic military exercises in the east of the country starting next month.

The "Vostok" (East) exercises will take place in the Far East from August 30 to September 5, the ministry said.

In addition to the troops of the Eastern Military District, some airborne forces and military contingents of other states will take party, the ministry said, according to Interfax.

The exercise appears intended to show that Russia is capable of sustaining its schedule for such exercises and that it remains focused on the defense of its entire territory.

The ministry statement emphasized that its capacity to stage such drills was unaffected by what it calls its "special military operation" in Ukraine.

With reporting by Reuters, AFP, dpa, and Interfax
Shareholders of the Canadian company Centerra Gold have approved a resolution with the Kyrgyz government and the firm Kyrgyzaltyn that paves the way for the completion of an agreement resolving a dispute that will put the Kumtor gold mine back in Kyrgyz hands.

Centerra Gold said 96.8 percent of the company's shareholders supported the resolution, while only 3.17 percent were against it.

Approval of the resolution was necessary to implement an April 4 agreement between Centerra Gold and Kyrgyzstan.

Kumtor had been the target of financial and environmental disagreements for years before turning into the subject of a control battle between the Kyrgyz state and Centerra Gold.

The Kyrgyz government has insisted that Centerra's operations endangered human lives and the environment, which the company denied.

In May 2021, the Canadian firm said it had "initiated binding arbitration to enforce its rights under longstanding investment agreements with the government."

Many Kyrgyz lawmakers have expressed concern about an alleged lack of transparency at Kumtor since the Kyrgyz government took control of the gold mine in April.
The URL has been copied to your clipboard

The code has been copied to your clipboard.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock says the European Union won't give in to Moscow's "blackmailing" after Gazprom announced another large reduction in gas supplied through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline linking Russia and Germany.

Speaking to RFE/RL in an interview on July 26, Baerbock said Germany and the EU see Russias tactic as another attempt to divide the EU, one that will be unsuccessful because Europe is united like never before and understands that it must end its dependence on Russian energy.

We want to get independent 100 percent -- independence from fossil energy from Russia as fast as we can, she said, adding that Europe intends to stay on this path.

WATCH: German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said the European Union would not give in to Russian "blackmailing," after Gazprom announced a large reduction in gas supplied via the Nordstream 1 pipeline linking Russia and Germany.

Baerbock made the comments a day after the Russian state-owned energy giant said it would cut flows through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Germany to one-fifth of capacity from July 27.

Gazprom made the announcement just days after resuming gas flows through the pipeline after a 10-day maintenance break, but only at 40 percent of the pipeline's capacity. It said it was forced to lower the volume because of the delayed return of a turbine that was sent to Canada for maintenance.

Gazprom blamed the latest reduction on the need to halt the operation of another turbine at a compressor station on the Russian end of the pipeline.

Both Germany and the EU have said there is no technical justification for slowing the flow of gas. They say Russias moves are politically motivated and are linked to EU sanctions over Russias invasion of Ukraine.

Baerbock said the turbine maintenance was another example of how Russia tries every kind of tool and trick to divide Europe, and Europe has to stick together.

She also said that if Russia cuts off the gas flow completely through Nord Stream 1, there is no doubt at all that Germany will continue its sanctions policy toward Russia.

Europe banned Russian coal imports beginning on August 1, and most oil imports are to end by December 31.

Baerbock also discussed Germany's supply of high-powered weapons to Ukraine, saying there is no lack of political will in Berlin to deliver them. She said Germany initially was in a poor position to supply modern arms to Ukraine because it "did the worst you can ever imagine" with keeping its military stocks up to date during peace time.

The criticism Germany faced over being slow to provide military support went to her heart, she said, and "this is why we try to get better."

WATCH: German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said her country's military "did the worst you can ever imagine" with keeping up-to-date, leaving Berlin in a poor position to supply modern arms to Ukraine. She said criticism that Germany had been slow to provide military support went to her heart, and "this is why we try to get better."

Germany is now delivering artillery, including howitzers, and has helped train Ukrainian forces. She added that Germany hopes to deliver an air-defense system by the beginning of September.

The top German diplomat also commented on Bosnia-Herzegovina's hopes to join the EU after some frustration in the country when Ukraine and Moldova were granted candidate status. She noted that nationalistic rhetoric is coming up again in the country, but said she believes young Bosnians want unity among the countrys ethnic groups and a chance to live together and build a future together.

On Afghanistan, she said sending military support to the armed resistance opposing the Taliban is not on the agenda. She said the country is suffering a humanitarian disaster and that Germany is one of the largest donors of aid to help alleviate the situation, but there is no contact with the Taliban-led government.

Germany must support the people of Afghanistan and continue bringing out people whose lives are endangered because of their past work for the coalition and Western governments, she said.

She also underscored that women in Afghanistan are experiencing "the biggest violation of womens rights on Earth" and there must therefore be a special focus on women and girls, whose lives "stopped" when the Taliban took over.

With reporting by Ray Furlong
Two Iranian mothers whose sons were killed during protests in November 2019 have been released from detention after they were arrested two weeks ago ahead of a demonstration over the country's mandatory hijab law.

Mahboobeh Ramezani and Rahimeh Yousefzad, the mothers of Pejman Gholipur and Navid Behboodi, were released on July 25.

The two were among several people -- all of whom were family members of victims of the November 2019 protests -- arrested by security agents on July 11, one day before a planned protest against the mandatory hijab law that requires women to wear head scarves when in public.



The charges against those detained have not been officially announced, but the Fars news agency, which is affiliated with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), quoted an "informed source" as saying that the family members of the November 2019 victims were arrested for "receiving money from a foreign financial link to create chaos and insecurity in the country."



For the past three years, Mahboobeh Ramezani and Rahimeh Yousefzad have been grieving the loss of their sons while calling for justice over their death at the hands of Iran's security forces.



Pejman Gholipur, 18, and Navid Behboodi, 23, were shot and killed during the November 2019 protest in Tehran that was triggered by a sudden rise in the price of gasoline.



Gholipur and Behboodi were among thousands of citizens who joined the protests in more than 100 Iranian cities and towns. The protests quickly turned political, with many chanting against the Iranian clerical establishment and its leaders.



The Iranian Human Rights Organization has confirmed the death of 324 citizens, including 14 children, in the protests, but others estimate that the actual number of people killed was as much as five times higher.



Iranian authorities have not held anyone accountable for the killings.

With reporting and writing by Ardeshir Tayebi
The Kremlin says a gas turbine for Russia's Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline has not yet arrived after maintenance in Canada, but officials hope it will be installed "sooner rather than later" to allow gas flows to Europe to rise.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on July 26 that sanctions against Russia for its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine have complicated the work on Nord Stream 1, a major artery for gas supplies to reach the European Union, which has accused Moscow of weaponizing energy in retaliation for its isolation over the war.

Russian state-owned energy giant Gazprom resumed gas flows through Nord Stream 1 last week after a 10-day maintenance break, but only at 40 percent of the pipeline's capacity. Russia said it was forced to lower the volume because of the delayed return of a turbine that was sent to Canada for maintenance.

This is an open gas war that Russia is waging against a united Europe."

Gazprom then said late on July 25 that it would further restrict the flows by another 50 percent from July 27 to 33 million cubic meters per day because it needed to halt the operation of a gas turbine at a compressor station on instructions from an industry watchdog.

Gazprom is expecting the turbine, serviced by Siemens Energy, to arrive from Canada after maintenance.

"Yes, indeed, there are some defects with the turbines. The turbine has not arrived after a major maintenance; it's on its way. We hope that it will happen...sooner rather than later," Peskov said.

He added that another turbine has also some defects.

Germanys energy regulator on July 25 reiterated Berlins position that the cuts are not necessary for technical issues.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on July 25 urged Europe to retaliate against Russia's "gas war" by boosting its sanctions against Moscow.

"Today we heard new gas threats to Europe," Zelenskiy said in his evening video address on July 25. "This is an open gas war that Russia is waging against a united Europe."

With reporting by Reuters and dpa
Syria's semiautonomous Kurdish administration has repatriated 146 Tajik women and children who were held in Syria because a relative fought in the ranks of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group.

The group of 104 children and 42 women arrived in Tajikistan's capital, Dushanbe, late on July 25.

The transfer process was coordinated by the Syrian Foreign Ministry, the International Red Cross, and the diplomatic representatives of Tajikistan in Kuwait.

Fanar al-Kaeet, a Kurdish foreign-affairs official, said it was the first repatriation to Tajikistan. He said the coronavirus pandemic was among the reasons for the delay in the repatriation operation.

The women "did not commit any crimes or terrorist acts in northeastern Syria," he told a news conference.

Thousands of foreign extremists joined IS as fighters, and many of them brought their wives and children to live in the caliphate declared by the group across parts of Iraq and Syria in 2014.

The jihadists were dislodged in 2019 from the last bit of territory they held in Syria by Kurdish-led forces backed by a U.S.-led coalition.

Kurdish authorities have repeatedly called on countries to take back their citizens, but there have been only sporadic repatriations because countries fear a domestic political backlash.

According to Human Rights Watch, more than 41,000 people are being held in crowded camps and prisons in northeastern Syria over their alleged links to IS.

More than 500 Tajik women are believed to be at the Al-Khol and Roj camps. Many of them followed their husbands to Syria without knowing where they were going or why.

The women have complained about the difficult living conditions in the camps and repeatedly asked the Tajik authorities to organize their return to their homeland.

With reporting by AFP
Russian missile strikes have hit civilian buildings, including a marketplace, in Bakhmut, Ukraine, and most recently a school on July 24, resulting in vast destruction. Information on deaths and injuries was still pending as RFE/RL's Current Time obtained drone footage from Ukrainian government sources. More drone video of an earlier attack on a Kramatorsk school showed destruction on a similar scale. This pattern of artillery attack has become a common occurrence in the Donbas region as Russia continues to focus its air strikes here.
DUSHANBE -- Tajik prosecutors are seeking a life sentence for retired Major General Kholbash Kholbashov for his alleged role in organizing deadly protests in the Gorno-Badakhshan region (GBAO) in May, a charge human rights organizations have called "bogus."

Sources close to law enforcement in Dushanbe told RFE/RL that prosecutors also asked the court to convict and sentence a second defendant in the case, noted journalist and human rights activist Ulfatkhonim Mamadshoeva, to 25 years in prison. Mamadshoeva is Kholbashov's ex-wife.

The trial for the two began on August 3 and is being held behind closed doors on the premises of the State Committee for National Securitys detention center in Dushanbe.

Kholbashov and Mamadshoeva also face several charges of publicly calling for violent change to Tajikistan's constitutional order, organizing a criminal group, murder, attempted murder, and terrorism.

They were arrested on May 18 and later shown on the Tojikiston television channel saying that they, along with opposition politician Alim Sherzamonov and Mahmadboqir Mahmadboqirov, an informal leader in GBAO, had planned and organized the protests. Authorities in the Central Asian nation have claimed those actions were "terrorist" in nature.

The day before her arrest, Mamadshoeva, 65, told RFE/RL that she had nothing to do with the anti-government protests in GBAO's capital Khorugh, and in the district of Rushon.

Authorities say in the footage showing the so-called "confessions" that an unspecified Western country was involved in organizing the unrest. A total of 78 residents from GBAO's Rushon district were arrested at the time.

Mahmadboqirov was killed on May 22 in Khorugh. His relatives say law enforcement officers killed him, while authorities insist he was killed when criminal groups were settling scores.

Sherzamonov told RFE/RL that he had nothing to do with the planning of the riots in GBAO and that he suspects Mamadshoeva and Kholbashov were forced to make their televised statements.

Tajik authorities have said 10 people were killed and 27 injured during the clashes between protesters and police. Residents of the Rushon district, however, have told RFE/RL that 21 dead bodies were found at the sites where the clashes took place.

Deep tensions between the government and residents of the restive region have simmered ever since a five-year civil war broke out shortly after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Still, protests are rare in the tightly controlled nation of 9.5 million where President Emomali Rahmon has ruled for nearly three decades.

The latest protests were sparked in mid-May by anger over the lack of an investigation into the 2021 death of an activist while in police custody and the refusal by regional authorities to consider the resignation of regional Governor Alisher Mirzonabot and Rizo Nazarzoda, the mayor of Khorugh.

The rallies intensified after one of the protesters, a 29-year-old local resident Zamir Nazrishoev, was killed by police on May 16, prompting authorities to launch what they called an "anti-terrorist operation."

The escalating violence in the region has sparked a call for restraint from the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Western diplomatic missions in Tajikistan, and human rights groups.

Gorno-Badakhshan, a linguistically and ethnically distinct region, has been home to rebels who opposed government forces during the conflict in the 1990s.

While it occupies almost half of the entire country, its population is just 250,000. The region is difficult to travel around because of the mountainous terrain, while its economy is wracked by unemployment, difficult living conditions, and high food prices.
Talks involve significant trade and investment projects throughout Africa and the Middle East

By Chris Devonshire-Ellis

Sergei Lavrov, Russias Foreign Minister, has been in Africa discussing food and fertilizer supplies amongst regional concerns over supply chains impacted by the Ukraine conflict. He has visited Egypt, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, with Ethiopia and Uganda to follow on a trip notable because Russia has made commitments to Africa to discuss these issues while the EU nations have not. We discuss the various meetings in Cario as follows:

Egypt

Lavrov met with Egypts President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi and Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry on Sunday, stating Russia is committed to fulfilling its grain export obligations as per the recent UN-brokered deal it signed with Kiev last week. That agreement should unblock shipments of grain from Ukrainian ports. Egypt is a huge importer of wheat and grains, with bread a daily staple for its 102 million nationals, however prices have risen extensively over the past three months as EU nations have been buying up alternative supplies on global markets and pushed prices up to record levels. The Russian harvest is expected to be at record volumes this year, with Russia also proposing shipments of grains to Egypt (and Africa) via the INSTC supply chain from Russias Caspian Sea Ports to Irans Persian Gulf Ports. From there they will access the Suez Canal as an option to the normal Black Sea / Suez routes. Lavrov stated that We discussed the specific parameters of cooperation in this area, agreed on further contacts between the relevant ministries, and we have a common understanding of the causes of the grain crisis.

Egypt has also been holding discussions with Russia over a Free Trade Agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union, while Russian investors are also developing a Free Trade Zone at Port Said, near to the entrance to the Suez Canal. Discussions also focused on progress with the Russian built El-Dabaa nuclear power plant being built northwest of Alexandria and issues concerning Egypts dispute with Ethiopia over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. Lavrov will be visiting Ethiopia on Tuesday.

Egypt was the primary foreign partner at this years St.Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF). Bilateral trade between Russia and Egypt has been growing, reaching US$4.7 billion in 2021. An EAEU trade agreement would push that far higher and also allow Egypt easier trade with fellow Islamic nations Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, about to become far more accessible via the INSTC routes through Iran.

The Arab League

While in Cairo, Lavrov met with Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit, and reiterated mutual interest in invigorating business ties. The Arab League includes Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.

The Russian Foreign Ministry stated that During the meeting, all sides assessed the level of cooperation between Russia and the Arab League in the interests of settling the crisis situation in the Middle East and North Africa, strengthening security and stability in the region. Special attention was focused on the prospects for expanding trade and economic cooperation between Russia and Arab countries. The sides reiterated mutual interest in invigorating Russian-Arab business ties to promote trade, industrial cooperation and implement joint projects in Russia and in the Arab League member countries.

The sides also exchanged view on the current aspects on the regional agenda with a focus on the search for ways of settling the conflicts in Libya, Syria, Yemen, and Palestine-Israel. Part of this dialogue will have touched on opportunities created by the Abraham Accords, an agreement between Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco, with Egypt and Saudi Arabia expected to join. This has already prompted significant trade flows between members with Dubai (UAE) developing as a regional hub overseeing billion-dollar regional investment inflows and outflows. That has attracted Russian businesses with an estimated 135,000 Russian expats currently based in the UAE.

Reaction

The Western political response has been predictable with suggestions that Russia is short of diplomatic friends, an issue somewhat denigrating towards Egypt and the Arab league members. Although Lavrov will be looking for political support, much of the meetings in Cairo related to trade and investment as Russia is seeking to increase these with Africa after having been shut out of the EU markets.

In fact, Russia views Egypt in particular as a gateway to Africa, which Moscow has been developing for a number of years. Trade volumes between Russia and Africa reached US$16.9 billion in 2021, increasing 21.6% over 2020.

Russian investment flows to Africa in 2021 reached US$97 billion, a 147% compared to 2020. Egypt meanwhile has maintained its position as the biggest receiver of FDI in Africa for the third year in a row. While Russia has sent its Foreign Minister to Africa to boost trade and create food and energy supply chains to alleviate concerns, the West has not  yet continues to criticize. Egypt and the Arab league members will no doubt be increasing their Russian trade in the near future with an Egyptian-EAEU Free Trade Agreement very much on the cards by early-mid 2023.

Related Reading
LatAm refuses to listen to Ukraine in a show of defiance in favour of Russia

In a telling sign of global fractures concerning the situation in Ukraine, the South American Mercosur trade bloc has declined a request by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy to address its summit on July 21, host Paraguay said yesterday (Wednesday, July 20).

Mercosur bloc members Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, and Paraguay rejected Zelenskiys request which he made to Paraguay last week, according to Paraguayan deputy foreign relations minister Raul Cano, whose country is currently holding the Mercosur chair. He declined to say which members were against it although the vote was believed to be comprehensive.

Mercosur is one of the worlds largest free trade blocs, which apart from its member states also has agreements with most of the other Latin American (LatAm) nations. The rebuttal to Ukraine is indicative of an acceptance that Russia, not Ukraine is the more important and sustainable regional power. Mercosur affiliate nations essentially include all other LatAm countries and their unwillingness to even discuss the Ukraine situation with Zelensky is a huge rebuttal to Kiev.

Russia has long targetted the LatAm region, which is becoming far more aligned with the Russian-China axis than with the West. Brazil, the dominant partner, agreed numerous energy and agricultural deals with Russia earlier in the year and is a member of BRICS. Argentina is a candidate country to join BRICS, while Russia has also been discussing free trade agreements with LatAm nations such as Ecuador.

China has also been making inroads into LatAm with the majority of nations being Belt and Road Initiative members.

Zelenskiy has addressed several national parliaments since Russias invasion of his country in February, including the European parliament, World Economic Forum and the United Nations. His attempts to influence matters in LatAm however have fallen on deaf ears. Zelenskiy spoke to Paraguays president Mario Abdo Benitez last week and requested to address a summit to be held on Thursday (July 21), following a ministerial meeting Wednesday (July 20). There was no consensus, said Cano, adding the decision had been communicated to Kiev that there was no basis for discussions.

The issue raises questions about the viability of Ukraines defensive position against Russia, and Kievs ability to truly muster non-European and North American solidarity behind it. With Ukraine being one of the more backward countries in Eastern Europe and possessing little or no attractiveness for foreign investment or trade, Zelensky has little to offer other than requests for money, outside of his EU political sphere and the desire for the US to continue funding conflicts a long way from its own shores in support of its own weapons and energy industries.

With the entire Latin American continent washing their hands of Ukraine, the wall of dominos in terms of Ukrainian support within the UN support may start to crumble as other regions start to take stock of who is their more strategic investment and energy partner: Moscow, or Kiev. Choices are now being made with geopolitical repercussions for the United States on its doorstep as nearby countries begin to rebel against Washingtons foreign policy and ideology. The West may not care to admit it, however the refusal of the entire LatAm subcontinent will create alarm signals and especially within the United States.

Related Reading
The team behind Carlsbads popular restaurant Campfire has announced plans to open an 80-seat French bistro just down the street this fall.

Jeune et Jolie will open sometime around October at 2659 State St. in Carlsbad Village. It will be the second project conceived by Campfires owner John Resnick and executive chef Andrew Bachelier.

Jeune et Jolie  which translates from French as young and beautiful  is named after the longtime friends young daughters, Elsie June Resnick and Margot Jolie Bachelier.

Were a couple of guys who live in Southern California opening a French restaurant, Resnick said. We wanted it to feel inspired by French restaurants but also draw a lens to who we really are.

Advertisement

Resnick said diners can expect the new location to have the same inspired design ethos and hyper-focus on culinary technique as Campfire, which has become one of the countys most successful new restaurants since it opened in late 2016.

Its been incredible, Resnick said of Campfires success. I think I had very high hopes for the restaurant and how the community would respond and those hopes were far surpassed.

Campfire celebrates the communal aspects of camping and campfires. Virtually everything on the menu is prepared over an open flame or in a wood-fired oven and the restaurants whimsical interior and its teepee-dominated patio resemble a 1950s-era campground.

Like Campfire, Jeune et Jolie will be designed by L.A.s Bells & Whistles interior design firm. Resnick said the petite, white-walled restaurant will have the casual elegance of a classic Parisian bistro.

Jeune et Jolie is being built inside a revamped 2,000-square-foot commercial building just a one-minute walk north of Campfire on the same street. Because of their proximity, Resnick said creating a unique niche for the new restaurant is important.

A six-year resident of Leucadia, Resnick said his restaurant research process involves constantly being on the lookout for concepts that are new to North County.

With Campfire we were trying to make a restaurant with really good food, cocktails and hospitality in an engaging environment and vibe. For Jeune, we are trying to create a French restaurant that would be dynamic and new but still authentic and true to who we are and the location.

For Jeune, Resnick and Bachelier have been inspired by the many trips they have taken, separately, to France, and Bachelier is eager to dust off his culinary skills in classic French technique.

Carlsbad Village already has an upscale French restaurant, Paon, which is a favorite of Resnick and his wife. To distinguish itself, Jeune will have a menu inspired by the cuisine of France as well as its former colonies in the Caribbean, Vietnam and Africa.

In keeping with Southern California tastes, Bacheliers dishes at Jeune will be lighter in style with more vegetable and seafood-driven entrees. The restaurant will also have a raw bar.

Campfires bar manager Leigh Lacap is overseeing Jeunes wine and cocktail program. The restaurant will serve only natural wines, which are organically farmed and unfiltered. Cocktails will feature French spirits like Cognac and Armangnac and absinthe drinks will be served from a 1920s-style tower fountain.

Rather than the toddler-friendly Campfire, Jeune will be more for grown-up get-togethers, date nights and celebrations. It will be open for dinner and brunch only.

This will still have that incredible energy and vibrancy of Campfire, but it will be a bit more geared to the big nights of your life, Resnick said.

pam.kragen@sduniontribune.com
Province sheds agricultural image to become national manufacturing powerhouse From a once largely agricultural province, Anhui has risen in the recent decade to become a manufacturing powerhouse, according to provincial leaders and entrepreneurs. Ranked 11th among the 31 provincial-level regions on the Chinese mainland, Anhui's annual gross domestic product last year climbed to nearly 4.3 trillion yuan ($636.8 billion)higher than that of Swedenfrom 1.83 trillion yuan in 2012. Over the course of the decade, Anhui has reversed the old stereotype that it is an agricultural region or inland hinterland, Zheng Shanjie, Anhui's Party chief, said at a news conference on July 20 in the provincial capital, Hefei. Wang Qingxian, the provincial governor, has witnessed the change firsthand. Starting out as a journalist, he remained in media until 2004, when he entered politics. He became Anhui governor early last year. "I used to come to Anhui to cover agriculture as a reporter, but when I came back 20 years later, I discovered that the province had become a powerhouse of industrial development," Wang recently said during a program on China Central Television. In recent years, provincial authorities have emphasized the manufacturing sector more than ever. Wang cited three factors to explain the sector's success: technological strength, the rapid growth of the gross volume of leading high-tech companies and the consolidation of the scientific base. In the past, local governments nationwide pursued somewhat similar policies to attract investors, offering land use incentives and tax cuts. Anhui seemingly shaped a philosophy of its own. The province listed 10 main sectors as strategic emerging industries, among them new-generation information technology, new-energy vehicles (NEV) and intelligent and connected vehicles (ICV), artificial intelligence and new materials. "The provincial government has created a team of officials specifically for each of the sectors, and each is headed by a provincial leader who is known as the 'chain head'," Wang said during the CCTV program. The governor himself is the chain head of the new-generation information technology sector, which now includes major semiconductor makers like ChangXin Memory Technologies and Nexchip Semiconductors, as well as some 300 upstream and downstream firms. "The chain is actually four-in-one, namely combining the industrial development, science and technology innovation, financial and talent chains," he said. The main plants of BOE Technology Group Co Ltd and Visionox Technology Incboth leading domestic Chinese display panel suppliersare in Hefei. "We have located our flexible and foldable screen plant here primarily because of market regulations," said Zhang Deqiang, president of Visionox. "With the support of successive chain heads over the years, Anhui has built up a cluster of display panel and semiconductor companies. For example, we can easily get materials like glass, chips and organic materials locally, which helps us save up to 15 percent on logistics costs," he said. Li Bin, president and CEO of Nio, a major NEV maker whose China headquarters are in Hefei, echoed the Visionox president's comments. With an intact supply chain in Anhui and the Yangtze River Delta Region, which also includes Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces and Shanghai, manufacturing vehicles in Hefei helps save the firm as much as 5,000 yuan per car, Li said. The Anhui and Hefei governments have made plentiful governmental funds available to support firms through investment, rather than subsidies. When Nio, a publicly-traded company, was facing financial difficulties in 2020, the Anhui government invested billions of yuan in the company via its funds, which Li considered vital to the firm's continued development. Later, Nio's share price surged. "So we bought back part of the government stake in 2020 and 2021. Its original value was 1.5 billion yuan, and we paid 7.5 billion yuan to buy it back," said Li, adding that the Anhui government then used the gains to establish another fund to further support the entire NEV and ICV industry. "Governmental departments must familiarize themselves with market laws and learn to respect and use them, and also take advantage of macro regulation tools when they fail. Doing these things will allow governments to better play their role," Wang said. Realizing that many companies did not have enough knowledge of financing and relied too heavily on banks, the provincial government launched a plan last year to comprehensively train their senior executives. "So far, about 16,000 entrepreneurs have participated in the training program," said Wang, adding that 23 Anhui companies became publicly traded last year, the highest single figure ever. "A region's business climate is best examined during hard times, just as fuel delivered when it snows moves more hearts," Zheng told the news conference, using a traditional Chinese proverb. The Chinese Government Transparency Index Report (2021) recently released by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences shows Anhui ranked third among provincial-level administrative regions, behind Beijing and Shanghai. With a plethora of scientific institutes, among them the Hefei-based University of Science and Technology of China, Anhui got central authority approval in 2017 to create the Hefei Comprehensive National Science Center, one of four in the country. "Training well-rounded talent familiar with science and technology, industrialization, finance, marketing and management is crucial to promoting the integration of sci-tech and industrialization, but we still don't have enough of these people," Wang said. To that end, the CPC Anhui Provincial Committee and the provincial government plan to create a top-notch science and technology business school at USTC, which will be part of the province's more ambitious plan to create the university's version of Silicon Valley.
Cambridge researchers published a study in the journal PNAS about the development of an artificially intelligent algorithm called IcePic. The algorithm is capable of outperforming scientists in predicting how and when different materials produce ice crystals. It may assist atmospheric scientists in improving climate change predictions in the future.

How Artificial Intelligence Helps in Understanding Ice Formation

Water expands when it freezes. Yet, understanding water and how it freezes around different molecules has far-reaching implications, from weather systems that can affect entire continents to keeping biological tissue samples in a hospital.

The Celsius temperature scale was designed with the assumption that it is the transition temperature between water and ice. Yet, while ice always melts at 0C, water does not always freeze at that temperature, as water can remain liquid at -40C. It is also found that the impurities in water allow ice to freeze at higher temperatures.

An Artificial Intelligence Algorithm Measures Ice Nucleation

One of the field's primary goals has been to anticipate various materials' ability to encourage ice production, often known as a material's ice nucleation ability.

The concept of ice nucleation begins with understanding what an ice nucleus is. According to Wikipedia, an ice nucleus, also known as an ice nucleating particle, which is present in the environment and serves as the nucleus for the development of an ice crystal. In the atmosphere, ice nuclei can catalyze the creation of ice particles by various methods of ice nucleation.

Water vapor can deposit directly on solid particles in the high troposphere. Ice nuclei can cause droplets to freeze in clouds warmer than 37 C, where liquid water can remain in a supercooled condition. Contact nucleation can occur when an ice nucleus collides with a supercooled droplet, but the more important freezing mechanism occurs when an ice nucleus becomes submerged in a supercooled water droplet and then freezes. In the absence of an ice nucleating particle, pure water droplets can be supercooled to temperatures approaching 37 C before freezing homogeneously.

ALSO READ:Recently Known Ways Insects and Bacteria Control Ice

Artificial Intelligence VS Human Researcher in Predicting Ice Nucleation

Researchers at the University of Cambridge created a deep learning program capable of predicting the ice nucleation capabilities of various materials. The tool has outperformed scientists through an online quiz in which they were asked to guess when ice crystals would form.

Deep learning is the process by which artificial intelligence (AI) learns to derive insights from raw data. It discovers its own patterns in the data, removing human intervention and allowing it to analyze results more quickly and precisely. In the instance of IcePic, it can infer various ice crystal formation parameters around various materials. IcePic has been trained on thousands of photos to examine completely new systems and make reliable predictions.

The researchers devised a quiz in which scientists were asked to predict when ice crystals would develop under various conditions depicted by 15 different photographs. The outcomes were then compared to IcePic's performance.

When tested, IcePic outperformed over 50 researchers from across the world in determining a material's ice nucleation ability. It also helped in pinpointing the areas where people were making mistakes. The study of ice formation has become increasingly crucial in climate change studies.

Water travels continuously inside the Earth's atmosphere, condensing to form clouds and falling in the form of rain and snow. Different foreign particles, such as pollution-related smoke particles, influence how ice forms in these clouds.

"The nucleation of ice is really important for the atmospheric science community and climate modeling. At the moment, there is no viable way to predict ice nucleation other than direct experiments or expensive simulations. IcePic should open up a lot more applications for discovery," said the first author of the study Michael Davies.

RELATED ARTICLES: Ice Formation on Graphene Shows the Need for Heat

Check out more news and information on Technology in Science Times.
(Photo : Pixabay/nicotamari) Hawaiian Monk Seal Attacks Swimming Woman Who Ignored Beach Warnings to Protect Her Pup

A woman swimming in Waikiki waters on Sunday morning, July 24, near the roped-off section of the beach, was injured after a nursing Hawaiian monk seal attacked her in an attempt to protect her two-week-old pup.

State officials stated that the woman would not be fined after the unfortunate encounter with the endangered species citing that the 60-year-old swimmer from California was in the "wrong place at the wrong time" and that she did nothing to provoke the monk seal. Experts remind the public to always keep a 50 feet distance between them and the monk seals and 150 feet from the pup with its mother.

Monk Seal Attacking A Woman Captured in A Video

Around 8:30 AM on Sunday, onlookers saw a terrified woman swimming close to a nursing Hawaiian monk seal named Rocky and her pup off Kaimana Beach. The incident was captured in a video provided to the local news outlet Honolulu Star-Advertiser, showing Rocky, who appears to confront the woman while onlookers watch, gasp, and yell at her to get out of the water.

A boat then goes to the woman to assist her to the shore before two men pick her up and carry her to safety. Markus Faigie, a local in Honolulu, told Hawaii News Now that the woman was terrified by the incident as they hear her screaming. While another local also said that the woman was lucky that guy kayaked toward her to save her, or else she would have been in worse trouble.

According to a Facebook post by Hawaii Marine Animal Response (HMAR), the swimmer was wounded after the incident and the City & Country EMS transported her immediately to the hospital for further medical assistance.

Larry Akiyama, a local and regular at the beach, told news outlet KHON2 that he noticed people would only cross the fenced area erected to protect Rocky and her pup. Hawaiian monk seals are like humans that take nine months to gestate. The mother will take care of their pup for six weeks and tend to be protective of them without leaving the pup at all.

These endangered species are federally and state protected with laws passed for their conservation. Violations of these restrictions could lead to a maximum fine of $50,000.

ALSO READ: Elephant Seals Have Map Sense That Works Like GPS to Ensure They Get Home to Give Birth



The Most Endangered Seal Species in the World

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Hawaiian monk seal is one of the most endangered seal species in the world, with an overall population of only one-third of its historical population as they have been declining in the past 60 years. But through the recovery efforts of NOAA Fisheries, their number has slowly increased.

Hawaiian monk seals are found in Hawaii and are endemic to the archipelago. They are protected under laws advocating their conservation, such as the Endangered Species Act, the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and the State of Hawai'i law.

Rocky has been one of the most famous Hawaiian monk seals since 2017, when she gave birth to a pup on a busy beach in Waikiki on the island of Oahu.

For now, there are 1,570 monk seals in Hawaii, of which an estimated 1,200 of them are in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands and the rest of 400 seals are in the main Hawaiian Islands. The decline in their population is attributed to many factors, but low juvenile survival is more likely related to inadequate prey availability, which has been a problem for 25 years.

RELATED ARTICLE: Endangered Seals Recieve Government Protection and Funding Until 2025



Check out more news and information on Endangered Species in Science Times.
Blaise Compaore, Ex president du Burkina Faso, demande pardon

L'ancien president burkinabe Blaise Compaore, condamne par contumace a perpetuite pour l'assassinat en 1987 de son predecesseur Thomas Sankara, a "demande pardon", a la famille de ce dernier mardi, dans un message a ses compatriotes.





"Je demande pardon au peuple burkinabe pour tous les actes que j'ai pu commettre durant mon magistere et plus particulierement a la famille de mon frere et ami Thomas Sankara", indique ce message lu par le porte-parole du gouvernement burkinabe Lionel Bilgo.





"J'assume et deplore du fond du coeur, toutes les souffrances et les drames vecus par toutes les victimes durant mes mandats a la tete du pays et demande a leurs familles de m'accorder leur pardon", poursuit l'ancien chef de l'Etat.





Blaise Compaore, 71 ans, etait arrive au pouvoir en 1987 a la faveur d'un putsch qui avait coute la vie au president d'alors, Thomas Sankara.





En avril, M. Compaore a ete condamne par contumace a la prison a perpetuite pour son role dans cet assassinat.





Renverse par la rue en 2014, il vit depuis en Cote d'Ivoire, mais il a pu faire un bref retour de quelques jours dans son pays, debut juillet, sans etre arrete.





Il etait invite par le lieutenant-colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, actuel president de transition arrive au pouvoir lors d'un coup d'Etat en janvier, dans le but de "sceller la reconciliation nationale" face aux attaques jihadistes qui endeuillent le pays.





Apres avoir rencontre le nouvel homme fort du pays, il etait apparu amaigri a ses cotes.





Exprimant "sa profonde reconnaissance" aux autorites de transition il a appele dans son message les Burkinabe "a une union sacree, a la tolerance, a la retenue, mais surtout au pardon pour que prevale l'interet superieur de la Nation".




Bisa French has returned to her post as Richmond chief of police after a nine-month leave of absence, her attorney said Monday.

Frenchs attorney Mike Rains said she was reinstated early last week by the city.

From what I have seen and understand from the city, its back to where she was. Theres no conditions, Rains said.

Frenchs return to her post comes after she was placed on administrative leave last year as officials looked into allegations that she and her husband assaulted a then-18-year-old female family member.

Frenchs husband, Oakland Police Department Sgt. Lee French was also placed on leave at the time.

During an emotional hearing late last year, the couple agreed in Contra Costa County Superior Court to stay away from the relative for two years, despite saying they believed she was being sex-trafficked. The Chronicle is not publishing the young womans name because she is an alleged victim of sex trafficking, though she denies she is a victim.

Rains said that stay-away order is still in place, although it was modified to allow both French and her husband to possess firearms in accordance with their law enforcement duties. Rains said he plans to ask for the order to be thrown out since investigators in Solano and Contra Costa counties previously informed him they will not pursue charges against either of the Frenches.

The then teenager alleged that last September, the Frenches tried to physically stop her from seeing her partner, Oho McNair, then 34. The relative said the Frenches physically assaulted her and had said theyd put their policing careers at risk to break the contact between her and McNair.

Bisa and Lee French have alleged that McNair, who also uses the moniker Joe Goldman, manipulated their relative into becoming a prostitute in Oakland. McNair briefly faced pimping and pandering charges in connection with the case, but the young woman refused to testify against him, according to Rains.

McNair was previously convicted of human trafficking in Alameda County.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Updated to include drought zones while tracking water shortage status of your area, plus reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

Both officers went to McNairs mothers house in Vallejo last year to confront her about her son, and an altercation led to a criminal threats investigation by the Vallejo Police Department  a probe that resulted in both officers being placed on leave.

Rains said investigators interviewed both Frenches, and the people that are making allegations, against them.

The determination not to file (charges) was based on the information those folks provided as well as an assessment of their overall credibility and the credibility of Mr. and Mrs. French, Rains said.

Richmond Mayor Tom Butt tweeted last week that Speaking for myself, Im glad to have Bisa back. I think shes been a great police chief and she will continue to be, and Im glad to have her back at work. I think shes very well respected.

A Richmond Police Department spokesman could not be reached for comment. Bisa French is the first Black woman to lead the Richmond department.

Chase DiFeliciantonio is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: chase.difeliciantonio@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ChaseDiFelice
Nine conservative U.S. appeals court judges called Monday for the Supreme Court to overrule their colleagues and uphold a federal law that made it a crime to encourage or persuade an undocumented immigrant to remain in the United States.

Under the 1985 law, anyone who encourages or induces an unauthorized immigrant to enter or live in the U.S., knowing or in reckless disregard of the fact that the immigrants presence is illegal, is guilty of a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison. In a case from Sacramento, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 3-0 in February that the law violates freedom of speech because it could be used against a wide range of innocent statements, like advising someone about available social or legal services.

On Monday, the appeals court said a majority of its 29 judges had rejected the governments request for a new hearing before a larger panel. Nine judges dissented and indicated the U.S. Supreme Court should take up the case and reaffirm the law.

The ruling invalidates a 70-year-old alien smuggling law, Judge Patrick Bumatay wrote, referring to an earlier version of the law. He contended the current law prohibits only criminal solicitation, not innocent encouragement, and that the court had managed to contort its scope and then imagine ways the misconstrued law might cover protected speech.

Judges Sandra Ikuta, Consuelo Callahan, Ryan Nelson, Kenneth Lee, Lawrence VanDyke, Mark Bennett and Daniel Bress signed Bumatays dissent. Judge Daniel Collins, in a separate dissent, said the court should have interpreted the law more narrowly to avoid any conflict with the First Amendment.

All the dissenters were appointed by Republican presidents, who have chosen 13 of the courts 29 active judges. The Ninth Circuit, the largest U.S. appeals court, handles federal cases from California and eight other Western states.

The case involved Helaman Hansen, who ran a Sacramento business from 2012 to 2016 falsely offering citizenship to hundreds of migrants who went through adoption ceremonies.

Hansen was convicted in 2017 of two counts of violating the law and sentenced to 20 years in prison. In its February ruling, the Ninth Circuit upheld his separate conviction for defrauding the immigrants, which also carried a 20-year sentence, but said the law that banned encouraging or inducing unauthorized migrants to stay in the U.S. was unconstitutional.

Many commonplace statements and actions could be construed as encouraging or inducing an undocumented immigrant to come to or reside in the United States, Judge Ronald Gould wrote in the 3-0 ruling.

Statements like I encourage you to stay here, or telling a tourist they are unlikely to be deported simply for overstaying a visa, are likely repeated countless times across the country every day and are protected by the First Amendment, said Gould, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton. He said the law might be used legitimately to punish smuggling unauthorized immigrants or aiding their illegal entry, but not to criminalize speech that encourages them to enter or remain in the U.S.

Attorney Vera Eidelman of the American Civil Liberties Union, which took part in the challenge to the law, said the courts action Monday helps ensure that everyone can speak freely, from concerned Americans who criticize or warn about ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) raids to pro bono attorneys who host free legal clinics for undocumented immigrants.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Updated to include drought zones while tracking water shortage status of your area, plus reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

But Bumatay said Monday that the terms encouraging and inducing have been interpreted by courts for centuries as complicity in the commission of a crime.

He said the ruling creates a split between federal appeals courts, often a basis for Supreme Court review. But those splits refer to rulings that a court publishes as precedents for future cases  and as Gould noted Monday, the only ruling to find the law constitutional was a 2011 decision by the Fourth Circuit in Richmond, Va., which specified that it set no future precedent. The Tenth Circuit in Denver issued a published, precedential ruling this month that found the law invalid and cited the Ninth Circuit case as authority.

Bumatays authorities for interpreting the language of the laws included the 17th-century British jurist Sir Matthew Hale, also cited by Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito as a source of the reasoning in his June 24 Supreme Court decision that found no constitutional right to abortion. Hale, as commentators have noted, also endorsed a husbands right to rape his wife and sentenced three women to death for witchcraft.

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @BobEgelko
UPDATE: Here are the latest updates on COVID in the Bay Area and California.

People leaving San Francisco during the pandemic were the wealthier residents as time went along. President Biden says hes feeling good, albeit with a raspy voice and some congestion, and feeling better every day in isolation during his COVID bout. His administration is holding a summit on Tuesday, gathering experts and drug manufacturers around developing a new generation of vaccines to more effectively guard against new coronavirus strains.

Latest updates:

Some COVID-19 trends improving in California, but hospitalizations and deaths rising

California's BA.5 surge may have peaked, with new cases trending down, according to state data analyzed by The Chronicle. The state reported an average of 43 new daily cases per 100,000 residents on Tuesday, down from 49 per 100,000 two weeks ago. The Bay Area is also showing improvement, with 38 cases per 100,000 as of Tuesday, a 21% decrease since July 12. California's average coronavirus test positive rate, which reflects the proportion of tests coming back positive, fell to 15% after peaking at 16.3% on July 15. Hospitalizations, a lagging indicator of pandemic trends, are rising. There were 4,826 people hospitalized with COVID-19 across the state Tuesday  up from 4,377 two weeks ago  with 907 in Bay Area hospitals. Deaths are also up. Nearly 44 people die of COVID-19 daily in California, with the Bay Area reporting seven new daily deaths.

Los Angeles may be able to avoid new mask mandate this week

With signs that COVID-19 may be slowing down in Los Angeles County, health officials are now reconsidering what had appeared to be a march toward a new universal indoor mask mandate. Recent declines in case numbers and coronavirus-positive hospitalizations could pull the county back from the brink of such a mandate, news accounts reported. We may be positioned to pause the implementation of universal masking, Barbara Ferrer, the countys health director, told the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. The county is set to decide on the mandate by Thursday.

Ferrer said if the countys hospital admission rate of new COVID patients falls to 10 per 100,000 residents, it would trigger a reassessment on the need to re-implement an indoor masking mandate. The county did not have current hospitalization data Tuesday due to a reporting delay from the California Department of Public Health. It is categorized in the "high" transmission level, and the Los Angeles Times reported that the county was averaging about 6,100 coronavirus cases a day over the previous week, as of Monday, which was down 11% from the prior weeks average of nearly 6,900 cases a day.

Study links smoking to risk of severe COVID-19 complications

Adults who reported smoking or vaping prior to being hospitalized for COVID-19 were more likely than those who didn't imbibe to experience severe COVID-19 complications, including death, according a new study published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal PLOS ONE. The study used the American Heart Associations COVID-19 registry data to look at patients with COVID-19 in 107 hospitals nationwide between January 2020 and March 2021. People who reported smoking were 45% more likely to die and 39% more likely to receive mechanical ventilation compared to nonsmokers, researchers found.

In general, people who smoke or vape tend to have a higher prevalence of other health conditions and risk factors that could play a role in how they are impacted by COVID-19. However, the robust and significant increase in the risk of severe COVID-19 seen in our study, independent of medical history and medication use and particularly among young individuals, underscores the urgent need for extensive public health interventions such as anti-smoking campaigns and increased access to cessation therapy, especially in the age of COVID, said Aruni Bhatnagar, the studys senior author and a professor of medicine, biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of Louisville. These findings provide the clearest evidence to date that people who smoke or vape have a higher risk of developing severe COVID-19 and dying as a result of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Bay Area vaccination for babies and toddlers outpaces national average

About 24% of Marin County children ages 6 months to 4 years, who became eligible for COVID vaccination shots last month, have gotten their first dose  much higher than the 3% of children nationally. Several other Bay Area counties are reporting similar rates: in San Francisco and San Mateo counties, 21% of children in this age group have gotten their first dose. In Alameda County, 16% of babies and toddlers have gotten their first shot. Vaccine uptake for these youngest Americans has long been expected to be lower than that in older children and adults, and the latest local and national figures reflect that. The Bay Area had already gotten off to a fast start three weeks after the shots became available.

Scientists trace earliest COVID-19 cases to critters in Wuhan market

A new study points to evidence that the earliest cases of COVID-19 in humans emerged at a wholesale fish market in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, a finding earlier rebuffed by China. An international team of 18 researchers linked these cases to infected bats, foxes and other live mammals sold either for consumption as meat or for their fur. The study published in Science on Tuesday supports early reports that animals sold at Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market were the likely source of the pandemic that has claimed at least 6.4 million lives since emerging in China.

These are the most compelling and most detailed studies of what happened in Wuhan in the earliest stages of what would become the COVID-19 pandemic, said Stephen Goldstein of the University of Utah School of Medicine and a co-author of the study led by U.S. researchers. We have convincingly shown that the wild animal sales at the Huanan Market in Wuhan are implicated in the first human cases of the disease.

Dont wait to get second booster, health official says

Residents 50 and older should not wait until the fall to get a second booster shots based on their hopes for an updated vaccine better tailored to targeting omicron subvariants, Marin County Public Health Officer Dr. Matt Willis said Tuesday. During a COVID-19 update to the county supervisors, he said, BA.5 is much better at evading the immune system, in reference to the coronavirus strain now dominating. Youre protected for 60 to 90 days with that second booster. We dont need to wait for the fall vaccine. We recommend people 50 and over dont wait .because of the increase in infectivity and immune evasion of BA.5. BA.5 now represents at least 82% of new COVID cases. There have been no COVID deaths reported among those who received a second booster, Willis said.

Marin case rates near January high, but hospitalizations stable

Wastewater surveillance data shows COVID-19 infection rates in Marin County are now similar to those reached at the peak of the first omicron surge in January, but hospitalization rates remain stable  which means the risk of an infected person being hospitalized is decreasing over time, county Public Health Officer Dr. Matt Willis told the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. Death rates are down significantly thanks to immunity from vaccination and prior infection, widespread availability of the oral antiviral Paxlovid, and the most recent variants being less virulent, he said.

Over 40% of parents of kids under 5 will definitely not get them vaccinated: poll

About 43% of parents with children ages 6 months to 4 years said they will definitely not get their child vaccinated against COVID-19, in a survey published Tuesday by the Kaiser Family Foundation. That marks a substantial increase from the 27% of parents who answered the same way in April. The reasons parents provided for their stance on vaccines, which became available for the youngest children on June 18, include concerns about the newness of the vaccine, potential side effects, and overall safety. Additionally, about 1 in 10 parents didn't think their child needed the vaccine or were not worried about COVID-19, the nationally representative survey found.

Social media has strongest tie to conduct disorder in tweens

On the heels of pandemic years that shepherded youth into virtual activity, UCSF researchers published a study Tuesday linking screen time to disruptive behavior disorders in tweens. They found social media has an especially strong influence, compared to activities like video games and texting. According to the UCSF-led national study published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, kids ages 9-11 who spend more time on screens have a higher likelihood of developing such disorders.

Social media use was most likely to be linked to conduct disorder  marked by violating others basic rights or societal rules with actions such as bullying and stealing. Activities like watching videos and television, playing video games, and texting  were more likely to be associated with oppositional defiant disorder, a pattern of angry or irritable mood, argumentative or defiant behavior, and vindictiveness. Self-reported screen time in the study averaged four hours per day. Researchers found that time above four hours was associated with a 69% higher prevalence of conduct disorder and a 46% higher prevalence of ODD.

Meta seeks to stop removing COVID misinformation

The parent company of Facebook and Instagram asked its oversight board on Tuesday of it could pull back on its efforts to slow the spread of dangerous COVID-19 misinformation. Now that the COVID-19 situation has evolved, were seeking the Oversight Boards opinion on whether we should change the way we address this type of misinformation through other means, like labeling or demoting it, Metas president of Global Affairs Nick Clegg wrote in a blog post. That suggests the company would no longer remove misleading posts related to the pandemic, reversing a 2020 policy that currently provides for removal of 80 distinct false claims about COVID-19 and vaccine. Meta is fundamentally committed to free expression and we believe our apps are an important way for people to make their voices heard, Clegg said, acknowledging, inherent tensions between free expression and safety isnt easy.

BA.5 and BA.4 make up 95% of new cases in U.S.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Updated to include drought zones while tracking water shortage status of your area, plus reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

The highly transmissible BA.5 coronavirus variant made up 82% of the sequenced cases in the U.S. last week, with its BA.4 sister strain making up an additional 13%. The two omicron sublineages have effectively crowded out BA.2, at 0.3%, and BA.2.12.1, at 5%, which drove the spring wave of COVID-19 cases across the nation. The U.S. is averaging about 120,000 new cases per day, up from 105,000 a month ago before the newer subvariants gained dominance.

UCSFs Wachter highlights that awkward period after at-risk exposure

Dr. Bob Wachter, whose twitter feed has become a source of critical COVID information in the Bay Area and a polestar for many struggling about how to navigate living through a pandemic, said Tuesday morning that he was in that awkward period after at-risk exposure. He said he is now self-isolating after a weekend college reunion of sorts out of state. Two out of 20 people in attendance tested positive for a coronavirus infection, Wachter tweeted. The event was mostly outdoors but a few indoor maskless times. Wachter said he planned to get tested Tuesday morning. Will mask everywhere, isolate from wife/others, wait for (negative) tests x (two days) before I let down guard. said Wachter, UCSFs chair of medicine.

Biden tells reporters hes feeling better every day

President Biden told reporters on Monday that hes feeling better every day as he recovers from his coronavirus infection, and the White House planned a summit on Tuesday to focus on a new generation of vaccines. After participating in a virtual meeting to talk about computer chip manufacturing, Biden replied to reporters questions posed virtually, saying everythings on the button with the medical tests hes been receiving each evening. He also said hes been sleeping better, joking that his dog had to wake him up Monday, the fourth day of Bidens COVID isolation. Im feeling good - my voice is still raspy, he said, adding he still had nasal congestion, but is on his way to fully recovered, God willing.

Wealthier residents moved out of San Francisco as pandemic endured

The average income of people who moved out of San Francisco during the early part of the pandemic surged from a year earlier: More wealthy, white-collar workers, many of whom could work remotely, left the city. Between 2019 and 2020, the number of taxpaying San Franciscans fell by 39,202, a drop of 4.5%, Internal Revenue Service data shows. Those departing made an average of about $138,000 per year in 2019, up 67% from the prior year. Read more about San Franciscos out-migration, and the net migration, the number of people who moved out minus the number of people who moved in, that nearly tripled in one year.

White House summit focuses on developing new vaccines to thwart future variants

The White House planned a Tuesday vaccine summit, gathering top administration officials, scientists and pharmaceutical executives to discuss a new generation of vaccines that could more effectively guard against contagious variants, and to lay out a roadmap to develop them. The White House told Stat that the administration is preparing a sweeping initiative focused on such immunizations in hopes of thwarting future coronavirus variants and dramatically reducing coronavirus infection and transmission rates, building on current shots whose impact has been mainly to prevent serious illness and death. The summit comes as the country faces a surge of infections from BA.5, a variant thats a highly contagious, fast-spreading offshoot of the omicron strain.

COVID-19 outbreaks hit LAX

COVID outbreaks sweeping through Los Angeles International Airport have caused at least 400 confirmed COVID cases among Transportation Security Administration staff and workers at American and Southwest airlines, according to a Los Angeles Times report confirmed by the county Department of Public Health. At least 220 staff with the TSA at LAX have tested positive for the coronavirus, according to the county agency, the largest active outbreak currently being monitored by county health officials. LAX and TSA officials said however, that services have not been impacted because of the outbreaks.

AP debunks fake claim that U.S. military found motion sickness drug in COVID-19 vaccines for children

The COVID-19 vaccines dont contain scopolamine, according to experts and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Associated Press reported in response to false claims on a website known for satire and parody content. Claims that the military made such a finding also are false, a spokesperson for the Department of Defense told The Associated Press, stating, There is absolutely no truth to that claim. Scopolamine is a drug used to treat motion sickness.

Less than 3% of kids under 5 are vaccinated

The U.S. vaccination campaign for children under 5 is fizzling, with just 544,000 kids in that age group having received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose as of last week  2.8% of the 19 million eligible kids in the age group, according to federal data analyzed by the Kaiser Family Foundation. A little over a month since the vaccines became available to the youngest Americans, uptake has peaked and is rapidly decreasing. By comparison, the first month vaccines were made available to children ages 5-11, more than 5.3 million received their first dose, representing about 19% of that age group. The seven-day rolling average vaccination rate for children under 5 peaked at just over 28,000 on July 1 and decreased to about 13,000 on July 20. California is doing better at uptake than the national average but lagging behind several other states, with 4.3% of California kids having received at least one dose. The least vaccinated states for children under 5 are Mississippi, 0.4%, and Alabama, 0.6%.
Two Confederate flags were removed from campsites at Sonoma Raceway on Sunday, race officials said, in an incident that brought swift backlash from the Sonoma County branch of the NAACP.

Confederate flags, including signs and banners that contain the flag, are not allowed at Sonoma Raceway, which banned their display in 2018.

One of the flags was removed during a sweep of the property in which employees make sure visitors and campers comply with the raceways policies, race officials said. A second flag was removed later.

While an earlier sweep resulted in one flag being removed, we regret that another campsite was unoccupied when staff went to address display of a flag in question, the statement by race officials said. When the campers returned, they were immediately asked by a staff member to remove the flag, and they cooperated at once.

Kirstyne Lange, president of the NAACPs Sonoma branch, said in a letter to raceway officials that her group had called the raceway on Sunday after receiving reports from concerned community members. One flag was removed after the first call, and the second after a second call, Lange said.

Indivisible Petaluma, a community activist organization, posted a photo on social media on Sunday of what appeared to be a Confederate flag at a raceway campsite.

Zahyra Garcia, co-chair of Indivisible Petaluma, told The Chronicle Monday that the photo was taken by a community member who drove by the trackway. Garcia said it was not uncommon to see Confederate flags displayed in Sonoma County.

The track hosted the National Hot Rod Association Sonoma Nationals this weekend.

NASCAR banned the Confederate flag from its races and venues in June 2020, two days after Darrell Bubba Wallace Jr., NASCARs only full-time Black driver, called for a ban. Protests were then sweeping the world following the police killing of George Floyd.

The Confederate flag, adopted by the Confederacy and its military during the Civil War, has long been a symbol of white supremacy.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Updated to include drought zones while tracking water shortage status of your area, plus reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

Lange said she found it problematic that people of color and allies must not only bear witness but also bring the flag issue to the attention of the raceway. She called on Sonoma Raceway officials to be more proactive in making sure visitors are complying with its policy, so that people of color can attend your events without fear.

Sonoma Raceway must maintain awareness and continue to be proactive in addressing the harmful ideologies of racism that plague this country and that are shared by some of its patrons, Lange wrote.

Race officials, in their statement, vowed to do better.

While having a policy and believing in that policy are the important first steps, the crucial work is to monitor and act on the adherence to it by all of our guests, FOR all of our guests, the statement said. Our procedures to manage incidents like this are a top priority and will be further refined to prevent future incidents, the statement continued.

Jessica Flores (she/her) is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jessica.flores@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jesssmflores
At least two people were injured and multiple vehicles and buildings damaged during early-morning gunfire near the intersection of 25th and Utah streets, according to the San Francisco Police Department.

The area is near Bryant Elementary School and the Potrero del Sol Skate Park.

Police said officers from Mission Station responded to a shots fired call in the area at 4:23 a.m. They located spent shell casings and cars and buildings apparently damaged by gunfire.

Officers were told that a victim had brought himself to a hospital, where he was suffering from an apparent gunshot wound and was being treated for injuries that were not life-threatening. Another victim arrived at the hospital also suffering from non-life-threatening injuries while the officers were still there.

Officers from the SFPDs Night Investigations Unit are investigating the case, and no arrests have been made.

Police are asking anyone with information to call the SFPD Tip Line at 415-575-4444 or send a text to TIP411; both can be done anonymously.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Updated to include drought zones while tracking water shortage status of your area, plus reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

San Francisco Unified School District spokesperson Laura Dudnick said in a text message that the incident occurred before the school was open and did not involve the school. All students and staff are safe, she said, and summer programs were not disrupted.

Bryant Elementary could not be reached for comment.

Chase DiFeliciantonio is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: chase.difeliciantonio@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ChaseDiFelice
Sometimes, it takes zooming out to a birds eye view to fully understand the devastating impacts of drought in California.

Images captured from space by government and private satellites offer a sobering look at how the current drought  in year three  is affecting the states land and natural resources.

The latest data from the U.S. Drought Monitor shows about 97% of California in moderate or worse drought, with much of the Central Valley and southern portions of the state in the worst conditions.

The south fork of Feather River, which is connected to Lake Oroville, looks far different now than it did in 2017  a dramatically wet year that ended a five-year drought, according to the state water department. Images from the European Space Agencys Sentinel satellite show just how dry.

Images from Planet, a satellite company providing daily imagery of the Earth, show how drought, and reduced water deliveries, have changed the Anderson-Cottonwood Irrigation District area in the Sacramento River Valley in just one year, from May 2021 to 2022.

As the multi-year drought continues, many Central Valley farmers who couldnt secure as much  or any  water from state and federal water projects are having to leave their farmlands fallow.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Updated to include drought zones while tracking water shortage status of your area, plus reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

Outside Corcoran, south of Fresno, Sentinel images show patches of unirrigated land.

Drought is expected to continue throughout California for the foreseeable future, according to the National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center.

Yoohyun Jung is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: yoohyun.jung@sfchronicle.com
A person was found fatally shot in San Franciscos McLaren Park shortly after noon on Monday, police said.

Officers assigned to the Ingleside Station responded to a call that someone had been shot in the area of Mansell Street and Shelley Drive.

When they arrived they found a victim suffering from a gunshot wound. Paramedics from the San Francisco Fire Department were summoned and administered life-saving measures on the victim, who was pronounced dead at the scene, near the western entrance to the citys second-largest park.

As of Tuesday morning no arrests had been made. The investigation is being led by the homicide unit. Anyone with information regarding this case is asked to contact the San Francisco Police Department 24-hour-tip line at 1-415-575-4444, or Text a Tip to TIP411 and begin the message with SFPD. You may remain anonymous.

Sam Whiting is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: swhiting@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SamWhitingSF
In the early hours of Napa Valleys 2020 Glass Fire, luxury resort Calistoga Ranch burned to the ground. Less than 24 hours later and 7 miles south, Napas most famous resort, Meadowood Napa Valley, also caught fire, leaving its three-Michelin-starred restaurant in ashes.

It was the third round of devastating wildfires to hit Napa and Sonoma since 2017, and the region has been in a constant state of rebuilding. But wildfires have not slowed new development, especially when it comes to lodging. Three new Wine Country resorts opened in Napa and Sonoma after the Glass Fires incursion: the Montage in Healdsburg, the Four Seasons in Calistoga and Stanly Ranch on the southern end of Napa. Another upscale Healdsburg hotel, Appellation, co-founded by chef Charlie Palmer, is scheduled to open next year.

This huge expansion of the tourism industry comes at a contentious time. Environmental experts say that such development increases the risk of wildfires, yet visitor demand in Wine Country is high. Some of these resorts have undertaken exhaustive and expensive fire mitigation measures to protect their properties and guests, but it might not be enough.

Humans are responsible for 95% of wildfire ignitions in California, according to Peter Broderick, a staff attorney at the nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity, which sued Lake County over development in 2020. When you bring people to wildfire-prone areas, you increase the wildfire risk, he said. We should not be building in these areas.

The state Attorney Generals Office has criticized and delayed several development projects in recent years because of wildfire concerns. And low-density developments, like resorts, are especially fire prone, Broderick said.

Jessica Christian/The Chronicle

Consistent wildfires have not resulted in less tourism during fire season, which happens to overlap with the popular wine harvest season. Wine lovers continue to seek out luxurious retreats tucked among vines and nature, despite nightly room rates that often exceed $1,000. These businesses are also a boon for the local economy  in 2018, Napa Valley visitors spent $476 million in lodging, according to an economic impact report. According to Visit Napa Valley President and CEO Linsey Gallagher, the regions 2021 hotel revenue reached roughly 98% of 2019 levels. During fire season specifically, demand was down just 8% on average from 2019.

We have been talking about it and thinking it would slow down during fire season, said Patrick Nayrolles, Meadowood general manager. While the restaurant remains closed, Meadowood has reopened to guests and members at the resort. People have been talking about September and October becoming like hurricane season in Florida, but we havent felt that impact.

Arguably, all of these new properties are located in areas where wildfires could strike. In 2020, the Glass Fire unexpectedly jumped the highway and threatened urban areas of Napa Valley. The Montage, for instance, is in a moderate severity zone, with high severity areas within close proximity, according to Cal Fires Fire Hazard Severity Zones mapping tool.

Theres no way to predict the way a natural disaster will unfold, and the last few years have certainly taught us that, said Jennifer Chiesa, the Montages director of public relations.

Thats why fire mitigation has been a top priority for the hotel, according to Chiesa. During the construction process, developers made landscaping adjustments, like replacing mulch with rocks around the buildings to reduce accelerants. They installed a pump station, which will provide extra water in case of a fire, and the resort has cleared vegetation extensively. As part of the original development agreement, the city of Healdsburg also committed to building a fire substation on the property, an area where task forces and strike teams can organize. This is set to be completed in 2023.

Jessica Christian/The Chronicle 2021

When asked about fire preparedness, representatives of Auberge Resorts, which operates Stanly Ranch and the Four Seasons, declined an interview with The Chronicle. Ed Gannon, general manager of Stanly Ranch, said in an email that Stanly Ranch is uniquely positioned at the southern edge of Napa Valley in a low risk fire zone. But Stanly Ranch sits in the wind-prone Carneros wine region where the Nuns Fire burned in 2017.

Meadowood has been busy removing dead trees and brush that could fuel fires. Its working with a herd of 1,200 sheep and goats that graze dry grasses and replanting fire-resistant tree species like oaks and coast redwoods. Paul Asmuth, a manager at Meadowood, credits the resorts extensive clearing and pruning work in the spring of 2020 with saving the majority of the property when the Glass Fire struck.

The team plans to rebuild structures with noncombustible materials like hardy wood. This was used for Meadowoods spa renovation in 2015 and seemingly proved effective in 2020. The fire burned right up to the edge of the spa and stopped right where the building was, said Asmuth, who believes Wine Country is now more experienced and thus better prepared to face fires.

Food Guide Top 25 Restaurants Where to eat in the Bay Area. Find spots near you, create a dining wishlist, and more.

Theres a lot more knowledge throughout the space and a lot more preparedness going on, he said. The county has made a great effort to have a very responsive team in the case of fires starting. Weve seen it twice this year already.

Nina Riggio/Special to The Chronicle 2020

But Broderick argues there are other factors to consider, like the potential impacts of development on residents and other businesses. While these resorts were erected according to modern building codes and have the resources for extensive mitigation, their very existence increases the danger for higher-risk homes and structures in the area that were built 30 or 40 years ago, he said.

Evacuations are also a concern, as more visitors would increase traffic during evacuations. Many parts of Napa and Sonoma counties consist of two-lane roads. That said, no one was injured in previous Wine Country resort fires, and guests were able to evacuate safely.

When you have a limited amount of roadway capacity and increase the number of people in vehicles who need to use that roadway, youre increasing exposure to injury and death, Broderick said.

Thats how people die in wildfires.

Jess Lander is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jess.lander@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jesslander
Its a telling coincidence that School official pressed to resign (Front Page, July 21) ran right above Survey: Half of Americans think civil war coming.

Few stories better illustrate our current inability to endure honest dialogue than the wildly overblown controversy over San Francisco school board member Ann Hsus remarks, immediately branded by The Chronicle as racist when what they were was over-generalized, careless (for a political candidate) and impolitic.

While The Chronicle seems to think it has the right to define words any way it wants, racist (and racism) have long-established definitions that refer to beliefs that one race is superior to another. Nothing in Hsus comments suggests this.

She was asked to comment on how the district can improve outcomes for marginalized students. In light of radical differences in student results by race and ethnicity, and generations of unsuccessful efforts to alleviate those, Hsu referred, in an overgeneralized way, to a need to somehow address differences in family environments.

If people crying racism at this have better ideas to improve childrens outcomes, it would be great to hear them.

Steve Koppman, Oakland

Hsu should resign

I am writing to request the immediate resignation of San Francisco Board of Education Commissioner Anne Hsu due to her damaging racist remarks aimed at our most vulnerable Latino and African American families.

As a 23-year veteran teacher in the San Francisco Unified School District, I know her remarks to be untrue, and that her flawed belief enforces racist stereotypes and deeply injures those at who they are aimed. She cannot with clear conscience continue to serve and represent the students, families and teachers of the district.

She has claimed to take this as a learning moment. If she did not learn during the collective awakening of systemic racism following George Floyds death (and many others), it is highly doubtful she will take this time to do so.

Tiffany Delloue, San Francisco

Put a new UC in S.F.

The University of California plans to add 33,000 more students by the year 2030. Instead of shoehorning college students into existing crowded campuses around the state, why not create an exciting new urban campus in downtown San Francisco?

Creating a campus with that many students, staff and faculty would revitalize post-pandemic San Francisco. There would also be space for international students to attend.

A new UC campus is a bold approach that the governor and the UC regents should embrace.

Carla Woodworth, Berkeley

Keep pressure on Dems

Regarding Dems, pull it together (Letters to the Editor, July 25): I reject Guy Vigiers characterization of some Democrats as whiners. Unlike Republicans, Democrats are not an authoritarian cult. Democrats value dissent and debate.

If we look at the positive developments of the past century  from womens suffrage to labor laws to the New Deal to the Civil Rights Act to marriage equality  all were pushed forward by citizen pressure and protests. Politicians rarely lead, they see where the crowd is going and jump in front of the line.

A shift in attitude and perspective toward elected politicians is in order.

We need to understand that these people are not our bosses, not our parents, not our friends. Politicians are not saviors or heroes. They are our employees, and they need to perform and deliver on their promises, or we should find someone who will.
As the parent of a 14-year-old student in San Francisco Unified School District, I pay close attention to the decisions and actions taken by the citys school board. Like any concerned parent, I want the best for my child. And in the past several school board elections, including the recent recall, I have exercised my right to vote to protect her education.

But Thursday, the San Francisco Superior Court might take that right away from me and every other noncitizen parent in the city.

Since the passage of Proposition N in 2016, San Francisco has allowed noncitizen immigrant parents with a child eligible for the school district to vote in Board of Education elections. Voting eligibility extends to permanent residents, immigrants with temporary visas  like students or workers in the tech industry  as well as undocumented immigrants. This week, however, the court is hearing Lacy v. San Francisco, a challenge to city Ordinance 128-18, which gives noncitizen immigrant parents this voting right.

It is critical that the ordinance continue to stand.

Immigrant families face particular challenges within the school system, including school-family communication gaps, language accessibility and technology access. A 2017 report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation found that children of immigrants are more likely to struggle in school and more likely to live in poverty. The report also found that while children of immigrants represent less than a quarter of the countrys child population, they account for nearly a third of those from low-income families.

The COVID-19 pandemic only exacerbated many of the challenges these families face, with many students from immigrant families disproportionately experiencing economic uncertainty, food insecurity and learning loss. While the direct health impact of COVID-19 on noncitizens is not well understood, a May 2022 study found that communities with larger proportions of noncitizens had higher COVID-19 mortality rates.

No one understands how these challenges affect the education of our children better than we do  which makes us noncitizen parents the best people to weigh in how the San Francisco school district can meet our childrens needs. But without the right to vote, how will we be able to ensure that those responsible for our childrens education actually listen to us?

Voting is what allows me to make public comments at school board meetings and know that my feedback will be taken seriously.

Those opposing noncitizen parents right to vote in school board elections would have you believe that the right to vote is inextricably linked to citizenship. But noncitizen voting is not a new concept in this country and is in fact rooted in American history and tradition. Before the rise of anti-immigrant movements in the early 1900s, noncitizens voted in local, state and even federal elections in as many as 40 states and federal territories. The restricting of noncitizen voting was just one of many discriminatory strategies used at the time to disenfranchise voters, including poll taxes, literacy tests and registration requirements.

Why cant parents like me just wait until we become naturalized citizens? Because naturalization is not always an option. Many immigrant parents will not be able to become a U.S. citizen before their child graduates from high school while others do not have a pathway to citizenship. A broken immigration system should not prevent community members from having a say in the policies and leaders impacting their childrens educational experiences.

Immigrant voting is based on a founding principle of our country: no taxation without representation, or in other words, no decisions about us, without us. Noncitizen immigrants are long-term residents of our communities, pay taxes and hold up our local economies, often without ever being included in the decision-making processes. Expanding access to voting strengthens our democracy and incentivizes community members to participate in and shape our society. Our city needs more community engagement, not less.

Knowing I have the ability to vote encourages me to learn about the educational policies governing the school district, the positions and beliefs of the school board members and each candidates plans to address issues of accessibility, education equity and mental wellness. Removing that right can only lead to disenfranchisement.

The San Francisco Board of Education is responsible for policies impacting the needs and well-being of all district students, not just those with U.S. citizen parents. For the 54% of children in the city with at least one immigrant parent, noncitizen voting has been a crucial way to make their concerns visible and hold school board members accountable.

I believe in the value of civic participation and have always spoken to my daughter about the importance of voting. As a parent, I want to instill in her by example that voting is both a right and responsibility of every member of society.

Like voting rights for people of color, women and young adults, noncitizen voting in San Francisco was a right won through decades of grassroots organizing and advocacy. Now more than ever, maintaining the right for immigrant parents to vote is just one step toward creating a more equitable, transparent and representative school district that supports all students, rather than just some.

Amos Lim is a noncitizen parent and the Economic Justice Program manager at Chinese Affirmative for Action.
SACRAMENTO  The story of an Ohio 10-year-old who traveled to Indiana for an abortion after she was raped sparked a national media frenzy earlier this month.

It also raised questions about what legal obligations doctors have to report instances of minors receiving abortions and whether that could alert authorities in their home state that they had the procedure.

Officials in California say state agencies wouldnt share information about a minors abortion, though legal experts say mandated reporting in these situations could still be a concern because efforts to ban abortions across state lines are an active and untested area of the law.

Across the country, mandated-reporting laws require physicians to report when they suspect minor patients in their care have been abused.

In Indiana, state law also requires physicians to report all abortions they perform to the state.

The doctor who treated the 10-year-old reported her abortion to state authorities, according to the Indianapolis Star. She also reported to the Indiana Department of Health that the minor said she was raped.

California does not require physicians who perform abortions to report them to the state. It does require doctors to report suspected abuse of minor patients to either local law enforcement or child welfare agencies. The state provides a form for mandated reporting that does not have space for doctors to detail any medical information about the victim, such as whether they had an abortion.

It does include fields for identifying information about the mandated reporter, however, including their name, business address and the name of their employer. Mandated reporters cannot report abuse anonymously.

California doctors must submit the form to their local law enforcement or child welfare agency in California within 36 hours of learning of the suspected abuse. Then, those agencies would be responsible for contacting authorities where the suspected abuse occurred.

The report is limited and focuses on the abuse, not on what type of medical care the patient receives, Tara Gallegos, a spokesperson for Attorney General Rob Bonta, wrote in an email.

The San Francisco Human Services Agencys Family and Childrens Services division investigates allegations of maltreatment and neglect by a childs caretakers. When it receives reports of abuse that occurred outside San Francisco, it typically cross-reports those incidents to the child welfare agency in the persons county of residence, said Teresa Young, a spokesperson. If officials receive a report of a potential crime, they would use the states mandated-reporter form to also report the incident to local police, Young said.

Its rare for the San Francisco Police Department to encounter a case like the one in Indiana, Public Information Officer Kathryn Winters said. If it were to happen, the department wouldnt tell out-of-state authorities the minor had an abortion, she said. The department also would not identify the mandated reporter in its referral to an out-of-state agency because California law forbids disclosing their identity, she said.

Californias mandated-reporter law says mandated reporters identities should be kept confidential but can be disclosed to agencies receiving or investigating mandated reports, to the prosecutor in a criminal prosecution or child abuse investigation or as required by a court order.

California already has laws that aim to protect childrens sensitive information, such as in cases where a minor is undocumented, from disclosure to out-of-state entities, said Rebecca Gudeman, a lawyer focused on health issues at the National Center for Youth Law.

In cases of rape and abuse, state officials dont need to share all the details of a patients health record, only those pertaining to abuse, she said. Agencies in California work to ensure they dont cause further harm to children they suspect are being abused, such as by disclosing information related to an abortion they received.

Gudeman says she doesnt believe doctors in California would hesitate to fulfill their reporting duties, but that questions about whether information about their patients abortion would be shared could be a cause for concern. She said she would like to see Bonta and the states Department of Social Services clarify publicly how the local agencies they oversee should handle reporting cases of abuse to out-of-state agencies.

There is a way to appropriately share in order to protect a young person, she said. It may be that we need to do some clarification, just like we did around immigration.

Several bills to prohibit California agencies from sharing information about abortions with law enforcement in other states are currently moving through the legislative process. AB1242 would bar police from providing information about abortions to people or agencies from out of state. Another bill, AB2091, would prohibit health providers from releasing a patients medical information in response to a subpoena based on another states abortion ban.

Earlier this year, California enacted a law shielding people who get abortions or help others obtain abortions, such as doctors who perform the procedure, from civil liability.

Gov. Gavin Newsom also issued an executive order prohibiting state agencies and departments from sharing medical records related to reproductive health care with an agency in another state. Through the order, he also announced he will decline non-fugitive extradition requests for abortion-related charges.

At the same time, some lawmakers in conservative states are trying to pass laws that would restrict their residents from traveling out of state for an abortion. Newsom has said he believes Texas abortion ban, which allows private citizens to sue people who help women obtain abortions, could be used to sue people in California who help women from Texas get abortions or people who help them travel to the state.

Jessica Levinson, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, said she doesnt think laws that aim to regulate travel to other states for an abortion will hold up under legal scrutiny, though she acknowledged theres some debate among legal scholars about the issue.

Even so, efforts to ban interstate travel for abortions could still be intimidating for people. Levinson argued in a recent MSNBC op-ed that efforts like the attempts to intimidate the doctor who performed the abortion for the Ohio 10-year-old will have a chilling effect.

Mandated-reporting laws are coming under more intense scrutiny since Roe was overturned because they create data that could be used by entities or law enforcement in states that ban abortion to reveal someone traveled out of state to obtain the procedure, said Tracy Thomas, a constitutional law professor at the University of Akron in Ohio.

Thats the concern we have with a lot of these reporting laws, she said. If you require the report, will that trigger further harm to that person?

Even if the form for a mandated report of abuse doesnt include any information about the minors abortion, just the fact that a mandated reporter was a doctor at a California clinic that provides abortions could be a sign the minor had the procedure, she said. Efforts to ban residents from traveling to other states to obtain abortions are new and untested, so its difficult to say whether or how that information might be used against a minor or their family, but its a reasonable question in the wake of Roe being overturned, she said.

Everybody's worried about data out there, whether it's your period app, or whether its your GPS following where youve been, she said. Those are all normal ways that criminal law enforcement uses to figure out what happened, so those become areas of concern.

Sophia Bollag is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sophia.bollag@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SophiaBollag
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

Hundreds of workers at the Tenderloin Housing Clinic, the largest operator of single-room-occupancy buildings in San Francisco, said they were planning a one-day strike expected to commence on Wednesday.

The employees voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike in May, with 99% in support. Since then, the union and THC have continued meeting for bargaining talks that have now been grinding on for nearly eight months.

While the two sides made progress addressing worker fatigue  agreeing to allot three mental health days for each employee  they remain at odds over wages, the key issue driving the strike.

Wages pay rent, they pay rising gas bills, they pay for groceries, said Evan Oravec, a THC community organizer and president of its union, which is affiliated with Service Employees International Union Local 1021.

So far, THCs position on wage increases is not satisfactory for workers, Oravec said. It doesnt raise everyone enough, he said, referring to the proposed scale of $19 to $21 an hour for desk clerks, $20 to $22 for janitors and $22 to $24 for maintenance workers.

That range is too low, Oravec said, and has triggered fears of pay compression, which occurs when employees with different levels of experience earn roughly the same amount. A desk clerk with one or two years of experience already makes $18.40 an hour, Oravec said, fearing the new rates would effectively lock these employees in at a salary barely better than their current earnings.

Tenderloin Housing Clinics executive director, Randy Shaw, said he shares the unions concerns about setting the bottom of the pay scale too low. Though Shaw believes that Wednesdays action will have little impact on SRO residents  given its short anticipated duration  he and other managers have pressed the city to raise the proposed bar as contract negotiations wear on.

We know its disruptive to not go in for a day, clinical case manager Marissa Roarty said, indicating that without janitors, toilets might get clogged and trash might not get taken out, and without desk clerks, guests might not be able to come and go.

She said the workers feel like this is a last resort.

Union organizers were threatening to strike for several days, even as they continue bargaining with management. Though the talks appear amicable, workers sent a strong message when they held a picket sign-making party last Wednesday.

Mayor London Breed and the Board of Supervisors boosted funding in San Franciscos budget this year for city-contracted nonprofits  and specifically those that oversee permanent supportive housing  with an eye toward increasing wages. The budget includes a 5.25% pay increase for all employees of nonprofits funded by the city, plus a 2.5% increase for all nonprofit contracts, which could also go to worker earnings.

Additionally, the city is providing $3 million annually to nonprofits in the permanent supportive housing sector, to bring case manager salaries up to $28 an hour, according to the mayors office.

However, Shaw said hes been assured only that case managers salaries would rise to $25 an hour.

Another item in the budget allocates $12 million annually to raise wages of other frontline workers in the permanent supportive housing sphere.

Shaw said he agrees with the union that the minimums established in the current proposed pay scales for desk clerks, janitors and maintenance workers are all too low. He said the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing set those ranges, and the Tenderloin Housing Clinic has emphatically pushed to increase them.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Updated to include drought zones while tracking water shortage status of your area, plus reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

A representative of the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing said officials have prioritized wage equity in this years budget.

Weve been pounding HSH as hard as we can, Shaw said, adding that clinic management also tried lobbying members of the Board of Supervisors Budget and Appropriations Committee, but could not persuade the majority of its five members to mandate that the department set pay at the higher end of the scale.

Robert Crockett, a custodian at THC who currently makes $17.37 an hour, said hes confident his union will negotiate a better wage.

The cost of living in San Francisco is very high: telephone bills, washing clothes and then I have grandkids, Crockett said during a phone interview Thursday afternoon from the Raman Hotel, one of the clinics buildings on Howard Street.

Crockett lives in the Galvin Apartments, a separate Tenderloin Housing Clinic property in SoMa.

Chronicle staff writer Sabrina Pascua contributed to this report.

Rachel Swan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: rswan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @rachelswan
As Russia relentlessly bombards Kharkiv, Ukraines second-largest city, the work of its firefighters has changed dramatically.

They are toiling around the clock to handle almost four times as many calls. Theyre not only extinguishing fires  many ignited by bombs  but also searching destroyed buildings for survivors and dead bodies, said Oleksander Volobuev, the fire chief, who spoke through a translator in a video interview from the main fire station.

An already hazardous job is exponentially more so as rockets often thunder overhead while they work. Three firefighters and three fire technicians have been killed by Russian artillery, 23 more have been injured, and about a third of 110 fire engines have been damaged by airstrikes or mines, Volobuev said.

Now their counterparts in San Francisco have mobilized to help from afar.

These are our brothers and sisters in Ukraine, said Heather Buren, a captain in the San Francisco Fire Department. They were having difficulty getting around their city because it was bombed out. They really needed vehicles that are not fire trucks, big cargo vans so they can bring supplies to different places, and put people in the back to get them out. Besides being harder to maneuver, fire trucks need a lot of gas.

The United Fire Service Women of San Francisco, a nonprofit affinity group, has raised tens of thousands on its website, UFSW.org, to buy two trucks to help Kharkiv firefighters maneuver through the rubble and is fundraising for another vehicle, a passenger van to carry supplies and survivors.

Donations are tax-deductible and all funds are used for Ukrainian firehouses with no overhead subtracted. (Donations via PayPal are subject to its processing fees; donations by check do not incur any fees.)

Kharkiv Fire Department

Located just 25 miles from the Russian border, Kharkiv is a prime target for Russia as a gateway to eastern Ukraine. So far, the city has repelled Russian advances, but the assaults continue almost daily. Press reports describe the once bustling, cosmopolitan metropolis as a devastated wreck.

Kharkiv firefighters are the warriors of the war behind the front lines, said Tatiana Zaharchenko, an expert in international environmental policy and law who is originally from Kharkiv, and helped connect its firefighters to their San Francisco counterparts. When I read (in the Times Kharkiv, an online Ukranian newspaper) that they didnt have enough equipment and were desperate, I had such an urge to do something.

Zaharchenko said she felt strongly that you need to ask people what they need versus dumping on them what you think they might need.

The San Franciscans partnered with the French-Ukrainian Association of the Cote dAzur, or AFUCA, a nonprofit providing humanitarian assistance to Ukraine. The group scoured France for suitable used trucks and had candidates examined by a mechanic before purchasing a used Mercedes and a used Iveco. Its volunteers filled the trucks with supplies and drove them to a point in Ukraine where the firefighters rendezvoused to drive them home.

The trucks arrival was the first time Ive seen our guys smile since the war began, Zaharchenko said her liaison at the Fire Department told her.

The Ukrainian firefighters emblazoned the trucks with their logo framed by text recognizing their San Francisco comrades and an image of an American and Ukrainian shaking hands.

Ordinarily the citys firefighters handle about 11 calls a day. Since the war started, the department has fielded 6,000 calls, averaging 40 a day, said Volobuev, the fire chief, who has been a firefighter since 1978. It has rescued 280 people from collapsed buildings and recovered the bodies of 180 people.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Updated to include drought zones while tracking water shortage status of your area, plus reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

And were doing it with the shellings and missiles going over our heads, he said. Yesterday it was three dead civilians killed and 19 injured, its going like this almost every day, he said Friday. Everyone on our team handles this hard job.

Felipe Dana/Associated Press

Some strikes have been so large that the department needed to deploy 50 trucks because about 30 structures at a time were on fire, he said. Ambulance services in Ukraine are run separately from the fire departments, but all the firefighters are now getting intensive training in first aid.

Another challenge: Russian strikes have knocked out electricity, which causes fire hydrants to lose water pressure. We are thinking we need firetrucks (that) have inside at least 1,000 gallons of water, he said. Also we need more fire ladders from 30 meters (32 yards) to 50 meters (54 yards) (to reach the top floors) of buildings after massive shelling.

Volobuev said he is incredibly grateful for the support from the San Francisco firefighters.

We are happy to have any help, but more we are happy that (Americans) are on our side and are with us and fighting with us, he said.

Carolyn Said is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: csaid@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @csaid
A nurse in a remote location touches a wand to an ailing patients body, and artificial intelligence begins scanning the body and planning the patients treatment.

Of all the futuristic innovation emerging from Silicon Valley, this scenario from med tech startup Exo (pronounced "echo") might sound like the most pie-in-the-sky technology.

This is not pie-in-the-sky technology, Sandeep Akkaraju, CEO at Exo, says. In the next year we anticipate seeing some of this technology being out in peoples hands.

Heres how it will work, the company says:

Exos small wand  a high-tech stick with a ball on the end  hooks up to a smartphone with a cable to create a powerful handheld medical imager that will take ultrasound images, Akkaraju says. Then AI programs analyze the images to determine whats wrong, build a workflow for the patients care, and make treatment recommendations.

Ultrasound machines usually cost from $25,000-$75,000, are found only in big medical facilities, and require extensive training. About 75% of the world has lacked any access to any medical imaging, Akkaraju says. Not all of those are in far-flung nations. People have to drive a few hundred miles to a major hospital in order to get imaged in parts of West Virginia, he says.

Exo says its device will cost as much as a decent laptop and be so easy to use that doctors and nurses untrained in ultrasound will be able to use it anywhere. It will provide the ability to get a window into the body on demand, Akkaraju says.

RELATED: Startup's AI changes speakers' accents in real time

Exo is not the only company working to bring ultrasound imaging anywhere in the world via smartphones and connected devices. Butterfly Network, a public company of more than 400 people based in Connecticut, makes competing hardware.

AI gives Exo new capabilities in key ways, Akkaraju says. First, the AI will make it easier to take images, analyzing in real time what it is seeing so a doctor or nurse untrained in ultrasound imaging doesnt have to perfectly aim the camera. The AI knows how to scan the body, and evaluate where problems are in real time. Later, the AI will be able to provide clinical guidance and suggest treatment for the patient.

The AI piece is being added Tuesday as Exo, a 180-person company with offices in Redwood City, acquires Medo, a Canadian AI startup of 20 people. Medos ultrasound AI tech coupled with Exos wand technology will lower the expertise required to diagnose common and critical conditions, the companies say.

At this point you might want to know if an expert, like a big-name Stanford doctor, believes in all of this. The answer is yes.

Dr. Richard Popp taught medicine at Stanford from 1971-2005, and remains a professor emeritus. His research on ultrasound has appeared in more than 300 scientific publications. He has served as president of the American College of Cardiology. Now he is the chair of a medical advisory board for Exo.

Exo is executing on its mission to capture high-quality imaging at the point of care, Popp says, praising the startups powerful medical imaging ecosystem. The AI piece supercharges the operation, Popp says. The company's new artificial intelligence technology can help even the non-expert use ultrasound appropriately and easily.

Exo has raised a little more than $320 million from investors including Blackrock Innovation Capital Group, TDK Ventures and Intel Capital. The company has planned a trial with Henry Ford Health, a Michigan healthcare company with 6,000 doctors.

We believe this is going to really change healthcare in a significant manner, says Akkaraju. This is something that is going to be in the pockets of caregivers everywhere.
Where have all the students gone?

California's K-12 enrollment decline of more than 270,000 students since the pandemic began is largely attributable to people leaving the state, not enrolling children in transitional kindergarten or kindergarten, or deciding to home-school their children but failing to file the paperwork to account for them, the head of the state's largest school district and other experts said Sunday.

"In Los Angeles, in a very, very obvious and evident way, the greatest loss was in (transitional) kindergarten and kindergarten students," LA Unified School District Superintendent Alberto Carvalho told a gathering of education journalists. "You have to really accept that parents made a decision, 'I'm not going to send my kid to pre-k or kindergarten.'"

Regardless of where the students ended up, their learning has been harmed, Stanford University education professor Thomas Dee said. Dee's research described how the youngest students were most affected by not returning to school following Covid. His work was highlighted in a collaboration report that included EdSource, The New York Times and Big Local News, a data journalism project at Stanford.

RELATED: Calls increase for SF Board of Education commissioner Hsu to resign

"Enrollment data shows a disruption that students are experiencing, and those disruptions matter because research literature shows switching schools, particularly in a reactive manner, impacts development," Dee said.

And "missing out on early childhood educational experiences can be really consequential," Dee added.

Across California, the number of students enrolled in the public school system dropped below 6 million this year for the first time in two decades. As districts navigated the sudden shift to virtual learning amid the pandemic, declines steepened as many families faced extra barriers, considered alternatives to the public school system or chose to delay enrollment for their youngest learners.

The enrollment declines, both in California and nationally, are going to lead to fiscal impacts and school closures in the years ahead, said Daniel Domenech, executive director of the American Association of School Administrators.

"You're going to have to sell buildings when they become empty. You're going to have to exit staff because you won't need the number of teachers that you have," Domenech said. "Parents didn't want their children in school because they were afraid."

But, he added, the impact of the pandemic on students is profound.

"The whole virtual learning experience was a fiasco because school districts were not prepared for virtual learning," Domenech said. Nationally, there's "a pulling away of students from the public school system because of the impact of Covid." But he said it's unclear how many of the students will return.

The three men spoke Sunday afternoon at the national conference of the Education Writers Association in Orlando, Florida.

In Los Angeles, enrollment has been steadily declining for two decades. The district has 58 percent of the student population it had at its peak in the early 2000s, now at 430,000 students.

But data shows those students did not migrate in large numbers to private and charter schools, the superintendent said. Charter schools in the district also had an enrollment decline of about 2 percent during the pandemic, he said.

LAUSD's enrollment decline has only increased since the pandemic hit. The district lost "9,000 kindergartners when the pandemic hit," Carvalho said. "That's a huge, a huge number."

The district has hired people to go into neighborhoods to try to track down missing students and interview their parents, he said, describing a massive push in which he and other top administrators have joined others to try to keep track of 30 children each.

In some cases, he said, district workers have found that undocumented families left the country during the pandemic "because there was no opportunity to work. The kids left with the families. And they left by the thousands."

In other instances, he added, families left California for other states such as Florida "because of political ideology and lower taxes. If they had the means, parents made decisions."

They went to another state where "their child could go to a school that was more aligned with their own beliefs in terms of medicine and in terms of schooling."

Perhaps the biggest problem in figuring out the decline student by student is the lag in parents letting the district officially know they have decided to home-school their children by filing an affidavit with school officials.

"Parents are taking their time to file the documents," he said.

Statewide, during the height of the pandemic, a record 35,000 families had filed an affidavit with the state to open a private home school, but the numbers dropped the following year, according to California Department of Education records. That level is still much higher than the 15,000 affidavits filed in the years prior to the pandemic.

According to LAUSD's enrollment analysis conducted as a part of Carvalho's 100-day plan that launched when he became superintendent in February, LAUSD has seen the most significant declines by grade at the elementary school level and the most significant declines geographically among west and central local districts over the last six years.

The district has also noticed that the largest drops have been among middle-class families, but that analysis does not take into account the students who left to attend the City of Angeles virtual school during the pandemic.

LAUSD doesn't consider private schools a large factor in its enrollment decline because local private school enrollment has also been on the decline for the past few years, dropping more than 6% since 2017. Reflective of the national trend, homeschooling in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim metropolitan statistical area doubled to 8% in 2020.
I am never alone in this city.

Walking west on 20th Street near Dolores Park, I look up at the house with the two odd-angled doors. David stands in one, beaming his winning, wicked smile, waving, beckoning me in. He is a minx of a man, all carnality and intellect, oddly angled himself. I wave back. Another time, David, I mumble and walk on.

At Dolores Park I see Paul in the corner window of a building on Church and 19th. He is watering his plants. There are so many its like peeking into a terrarium. He is so proud of that apartment, with its morning light and classic San Francisco view. Moving there after years of spare-rooming with friends was for him a dream come true. I wave, but Paul doesnt see.

In the Castro on Noe and 18th, I pass a cute gingerbread restored to perfection by two men, happy homeowners in their corner of the gayborhood. Ricky stays with them when hes not off wandering the globe.

Ricky is beautiful, with a heart and soul to match. So beautiful, he is welcome everywhere he goes, no matter that hes a gay man from San Francisco. His stories of traveling the Sahara  the Sahara!  passing days and nights with Bedouins in the oases there, are a gay mans Scheherazade. I dont see him this time, though. Where, I wonder, has Ricky got to now?

On Castro and 18th, I have a choice. If I catch the 24 Divisadero bus south to Noe Valley, maybe Ill see Allen and Alan. Allen, the one with two Ls and an E, lives between 19th and 20th. He is an older man, kind, fun, gracious, the type of person who welcomes you in, gives you whatever he has, what you didnt know you need. Spend time with Allen and you part happier than when you arrive.

Up the hill at Alvarado is Alan, one L and an A. He is a human whirlwind. No one can keep up with him. He is always painting, meeting, reading, debating, writing, organizing. He has a job, paperwork in a downtown building, but its just a way to get money for food and rent so he can get on with the important work of creating art and figuring out the world. Alan introduced me to Beckett. It took me 10 years to glimpse in those rare pages what Alan saw on his first reading.

I leave Allen and Alan for another day and take the bus north.

At the point where Castro becomes Divisadero, I look up at Dicks house, a modest two-bedroom cottage on the edge of Buena Vista. Dick is out front waxing his beloved Mercedes, a rich dark chocolate anachronism of a town car left over from the 1960s. Dick is a man more comfortable in suit and tie than in jeans. The house, the car, the suit, all perfectly match the banker he is.

On Divisadero near Hayes, I see another David outside his building, sweeping the block. He moved there after two years spent caring for a partner who suffered through every hell the AIDS epidemic had to offer. He hoped the change would heal him, a new neighborhood would give him something to look forward to. It doesnt. He doesnt see me waving. David doesnt see anyone, really. His pain wraps around him too thick, too tight.

I get off the bus at Golden Gate, walk two blocks west to Baker Street, up half a block and stop across from an old Queen Anne. John and I lived there, once upon a time. He is standing out front, critiquing his handiwork. Disapproval lines his face.

A single home hacked into two flats decades earlier, it was a wreck when he bought it. He restored the curved windows and classic lines of the old facade, then modernized the rest into something out of Bauhaus. It was dizzying, walking from one end of that flat to the other, a sort of time travel via interior design.

John doesnt notice me standing across the street. Hes too busy figuring out how to paint the restored facade. He didnt live long enough. The task of choosing colors, hiring a painting crew, seeing the job through, that task passed to me after he died.

Baker Street puts a cruel end to my wandering. Something has to. I can only take so much. I go home, my head strapped tight in blinders, refusing to look at the other ghosts I pass as I retreat. I sense them anyway. Michael, Geoff, and another Alan. 

Thirty years on and I still cannot walk a neighborhood in this city, take a bus, ride a bicycle or drive a car without seeing the ghosts. A turn of a corner onto a block I havent been on in years and there is yet another one, reminding me of yet another loss, one Id forgotten. Forgive me, I plead, when that happens. There are just so, so many of you.

The census says 815,201 people live in San Francisco today. The number of those living, breathing souls I know, after living here for 44 years, is down to an unfilled handful. The rest are hardly real to me. I barely see them. I know they do not see me, an aging man preoccupied by ghosts. Why would they? Im fast on my way to becoming one myself.

More than once Ive sworn to leave The City, to run from all these ghosts who refuse to let me be, refuse to forgive my mortal sin of staying alive when they could not. I fantasize some small town where nothing is written, not for me anyway, where the local ghosts ignore me because I am a stranger, ephemeral to their histories, just passing through.

But you dont avenge the dead by running. Or by giving up and joining them, for that matter. You avenge them by carrying on, living out your life. So we are told, anyway. So I wave back at David when I see him on 20th Street. Pick up a rag and help Dick shine his Mercedes. Help Alan move his monstrous canvases of experimental art. I ask John if he approves of the color choices I made for his beloved Queen Anne.

The ghosts wont let me be. Do I want them to? I dont know. What would be left of me if they did?

I am never alone in this city.

I am always alone in this city.

Editor's Note The series So much has been written about loneliness: about the joy and pain and self knowledge that can come from self-imposed exile. Rudyard Kipling observed, Were all islands shouting lies to each other across seas of misunderstanding." Whitney Houston said it simpler: Loneliness comes with life. Yet as we enter the third summer of the pandemic, many are in an exile not of their own choosing or for reasons of self-edification. This is especially true for people with chronic health conditions or older people who fear sudden death after a meal with their family. The vaccine has helped, but a season of loneliness has set in for many as the pandemic extends its indiscriminate claws. To explore the sense of being alone in The City, and perhaps the peculiar nature of experiencing isolation in a town that feels both a beacon and the edge of the world, The Examiner is launching a series were calling Alone in The City. The first installment, which inspired the series, is by local writer and scholar Jonah Raskin. If you would like to contribute, please send your essays (500-1200 words) to opinion@sfexaminer.com.
CochiseVista/Getty Images/iStockphoto

The National Weather Service issued a warning on Monday of a marginal risk of thunderstorms in California's San Francisco Bay Area early Tuesday, followed by a warming trend later in the week.

"The potential for thunderstorms is spotty at best," the weather service said in a statement on Monday afternoon. "Confidence is low as the risk may only skirt the periphery of the East and North Bay regions. However, some hi-resolution models show that a few thunderstorms could pop up within East & North Bay and given the fuels are very dry, any strike could mean a fire start."
The monkeypox vaccine clinic at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital will be closed Tuesday due to a shortage of shots, officials said on Monday.

The San Francisco Department of Public Health said on Twitter that it has not been told by the federal government how many shots it will receive in its next allotment or when those vaccines will arrive. The department requested 35,000 doses and has only received 7,800.

Last week, people in line to get shots at the SF General clinic were being turned away as there's not enough supply to meet demand.

This news comes as the department announced a total of 197 cases on Friday, up from 141 cases a few days before.

RELATED STORY: What to know about monkeypox in San Francisco right now

Sen Scott Wiener, who has repeatedly advocated for SF receiving more shots, commented on the clinic's closure on Twitter.

"This is beyond unsustainable," Wiener said. "It cant go on this way."

Last week, Mayor London Breed shared a letter on Twitter she wrote to federal health officials demanding more vaccines. Breed said this "is a critical point in the spread of this virus, and we need to take more urgent action."

While anyone can get monkeypox through close physical contact with an infected person, the current outbreak in North America and Europe is disproportionately affecting men who have sex with other men. No deaths have been reported in the U.S. outbreak so far, although the rash caused by the virus can be painful and can last for two to four weeks.

Wiener, along with 10 other lawmakers, advocated for the gay community in a letter on Wednesday addressed to Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Gay and bisexual men, transgender people and others at risk desperately want the vaccine in order to protect themselves and those around them, Wiener wrote. Yet instead of quickly mobilizing into a mass vaccination campaign with this existing safe and effective vaccine, many of our counties lack the supply to vaccinate everyone seeking the vaccine. In San Francisco, for example, people have been waiting in lines for as long as 9 hours in the hope of getting a scarce vaccine.
BOSTON (AP) _ Boston Properties Inc. (BXP) on Tuesday reported a key measure of profitability in its second quarter. The results beat Wall Street expectations.

The real estate investment trust, based in Boston, said it had funds from operations of $304.6 million, or $1.94 per share, in the period.

The average estimate of seven analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for funds from operations of $1.85 per share.

Funds from operations is a closely watched measure in the REIT industry. It takes net income and adds back items such as depreciation and amortization.

The company said it had net income of $223 million, or $1.42 per share.

The real estate investment trust posted revenue of $773.9 million in the period. Its adjusted revenue was $721.9 million, which also beat Street forecasts. Three analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $718 million.

Boston Properties expects full-year funds from operations to be $7.48 to $7.53 per share.

The company's shares have decreased 23% since the beginning of the year, while the S&P's 500 index has decreased 18%. In the final minutes of trading on Tuesday, shares hit $88.33, a decrease of 23% in the last 12 months.

_____

This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on BXP at https://www.zacks.com/ap/BXP
When Steven Cornell started in the banking industry more than three decades ago, there were over 100 banks with headquarters in Connecticut.

Now, according to the Connecticut Department of Banking, there are 25 state-chartered banks based here and another seven nationally chartered financial institutions that headquartered in the Nutmeg State. Cornell is president and chief executive officer of Salisbury-based National Iron Bank, where he has worked for the last 30 years, the last 10 as president and chief executive officer.

National Iron will celebrate its 175th anniversary by opening its a new branch in Litchfield in the Village Green Plaza. Bank officials filed an application with the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency earlier this month.

We have a loan office there and it has done pretty well with home mortgages and home equity loans, he said. A lot people tell us if you had a branch, Id do all my banking here. Litchfield is similar to the other towns we serve: Small, rural communities where people still want to see bricks and mortar.

But National Iron is adding a branch in an era when many Connecticut banks are losing branches. A total of 59 bank branches in Connecticut closed in 2021, according to a report issued by S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Serving the local community takes many forms, Cornell said, whether its donating to local environmental groups or sponsoring the local Little League team.

The comment period for National Irons branch application request ends Aug. 14, according to the filing with the OCC, which is an independent bureau of the U.S. Treasury.

National Iron has stockholders, according to Cornell, but the stock is tightly held.

Were a community bank, we remember who our customers are and reinvest back into the local community, he said.

When pandemic hit and the federal government responded by with the Paycheck Protection Program, National Iron did over $20 million worth of the forgivable loans, according to Cornell.

A lot of that went to mom and pop businesses, including a lot of restaurants, he said.

John Carusone, president of the Bank Analysis Center, a Hartford-based industry consulting firm, said National Iron is a boutique bank that is focused on serving a small geographic area.

They are something of an anachronism and I dont mean that in a bad way, Carusone said. They are well-run and there are plenty of banks that would be interested in acquiring them if their stock wasnt so closely held.

National Iron has an enviable record of profitability, capital strength, strong liquidity, and a pristine quality loan portfolio, Carusone said.

Although diminutive in overall size, it nonetheless is a powerhouse and competes mightily and effectively in very select geographic markets in Litchfield County, he said of National Iron. They are selective about their clients, and it shows in the quality of their balance sheet.

National Iron is unusual, according to Carusone in that they are a sub-chapter S corporation, meaning that the profits of the bank flow directly to the handful of owners of the bank for tax purposes.

National Iron was founded in 1847, the same year Samuel Colt sold his first revolver to the U.S. government. Its name comes from Salisburys historic role smelting iron for use in U.S. armaments.

Were one of the oldest private banks in the country, Cornell said.

While Colt was making a name for himself in Hartford, many of the Housatonic River Valley in northwest Connecticut worked in ore beds or in one of the many iron works in the area. Others were farmers.

To serve these businesses and others, National Iron opened on October 11, 1847 with assets of $193,725.

The Civil War started 14 years later and the National Banking Act was adopted in 1864 to help finance it. National Iron became a federally chartered bank on July 5, 1865.

luther.turmelle@hearstmediact.com
HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. (AP) _ UDR Inc. (UDR) on Tuesday reported a key measure of profitability in its second quarter. The results matched Wall Street expectations.

The real estate investment trust, based in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, said it had funds from operations of $197 million, or 57 cents per share, in the period.
LATEST July 26, 8 p.m. As damage assessment teams continue their work in the Oak Fire burn scare, the number of houses destroyed is going up.

Cal Fire said Tuesday night that 42 homes and 19 outbuildings burned in the fire that started on Friday. This morning the number of residences destroyed stood at 25.

The blaze grew minimally on Tuesday, increasing to 18,532 acres, but containment remains at 26%.

"Although good progress continues on the fire, there is much work to be done," Cal Fire said. "An infrared flight over the fire showed minimal heat in Lushmeadows and surrounding communities."

Crews have improved the fire line in the Mariposa Lines area, Cal Fire said.

More evacuation orders were reduced to a fire advisement Tuesday afternoon, the agency said. Get details on the updated evacuations from the Mariposa County Sheriff's Office.

The north and northeastern edges of the fire continue to challenge firefighters with steep, rugged terrain that's difficult to access.

Humidity levels increased over the fire today as monsoonal moisture from the desert southwest pushed into the Sierra, calming the fire.

The sheriff's office said Tuesday evening that Highway 140 is open through Mariposa County to Yosemite National Park.

July 26, 7:30 a.m. Firefighters are gaining control of California's Oak Fire near Yosemite National Park: On Tuesday morning, Cal Fire said containment increased to 26%, up from 16% the night before.

The blaze that ignited Friday grew minimally overnight, reaching 18,087 acres on Tuesday morning.

"Fire crews continue providing structure defense, extinguishing hot spots and building and improving direct fire lines," Cal Fire said. "Persistent drought, critically dry fuels and tree mortality continue to contribute to the fire's spread."

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Humidity levels increased overnight as monsoonal moisture from the desert Southwest pushed into the area and helped calm the blaze. The subtropical moisture brought a chance of thunderstorms to the Sierra, and National Weather Service forecaster Carlos Molina said a system passed over the Oak Fire Tuesday morning, delivering rain.

"It was very light," Molina said. "Just a trace of precipitation. There were no lightning strikes."

The chance for thunderstorms continues Tuesday, but Molina said these are more likely to pass east of the fire and hit higher elevations of the Sierra crest.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Damage assessment teams are on the ground identifying houses lost. The total number of homes destroyed by the fire rose to 25 in the latest count, Cal Fire said. An additional 16 outbuildings were destroyed. Two structures and one outbuilding were damaged. In an earlier report on Monday morning, the total number of residences destroyed stood at seven. As firefighters have secured the blaze, the number of structures threatened dropped from a high over over 3,000 homes to 1,440 structures on Tuesday morning.

The Oak Fire ignited Friday afternoon southwest of the national park, near the town of Midpines, triggering evacuations in the communities of the Sierra foothills. The blaze exploded on Saturday, tearing through bone-dry brush and dead trees amid historic drought conditions and becoming the largest fire in the state so far this year. About 6,000 residents are still under evacuation orders on Tuesday morning.

Heavy smoke from the fire is drifting more than 200 miles, flooding Lake Tahoe and parts of Nevada and traveling all the way to the San Francisco Bay Area, officials said.

Weather service forecaster Brayden Murdock said most of the smoke in the Bay Area is staying high in the atmosphere and, while it's causing hazy skies, it's not impacting air quality on the ground. The Bay Area Air Quality Management District has an air quality advisory in effect through Wednesday.

Courtesy of Frank Binney

The fire has closed many roads, including a stretch of State Route 140, one of the main arteries into Yosemite.

Fires are an essential part of maintaining forest health, but a large body of research indicates that climate change is resulting in increasingly larger and deadlier wildfires that burn hotter than in the past.
Brad Pitt just forked over $40 million for a historic clifftop home unlike any on the California coast.

The megastar  who once said whilst acting is my career, architecture is my passion  purchased the iconic D.L. James House in a deal described as "one of the priciest ever closed in the Carmel area" by the Wall Street Journal.

Hanging over the bluffs in the Carmel Highlands, the sandstone Mediterranean castle was built a century ago by famed Arts and Crafts architect Charles Greene to resemble Tintagel in Cornwall, England  the medieval fortress where King Arthur was conceived, so the legend goes.

Built in 1918 for Kansas city businessman D.L. James, the house was later lived in by James' son, controversial writer Daniel Lewis James. James was most famous for writing about Chicano culture in Los Angeles and kept his identity secret for most of his life. He came under criticism later for instead going by the pseudonym Danny Santiago as he achieved fame.

Wikimedia Commons

More recently, the property was owned by Chicago financier Joe Ritchie, who died earlier this year.

Also known as "Seaward," the house was described by critic Randell Makinson as "a monument unique in this country."

Built from granite and sandstone quarried from the cliffs there, Makinson wrote that "the stone structure seems to have grown out of its site atop the rocky cliffs south of Carmel. At places it is difficult to ascertain just where nature's rock has ended and man's masonry genius has begun."

Located south of Gibson's Beach, between the Pacific Coast Highway and the ocean, the home is the latest addition to Pitt's properties, which include the reportedly haunted Briarcliff Manor in Los Angeles. Pitt bought from the mansion from Cassandra Peterson, better known as horror hostess Elvira.

Samir Hussein/Samir Hussein/WireImage

The sale marks the latest celebrity home in and around Carmel where former mayor Clint Eastwood was a longtime resident. More recently, the home of the late Betty White sold for nearly $5 million over its $7.95 million asking price.
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP)  A crypto mining company plans to redevelop a northeastern North Dakota anti-ballistic missile site abandoned in the 1970s into data center that may be used for the mining of bitcoin and other digital currencies, Gov. Doug Burgum announced Monday.

Bitzero Blockchain Inc., which is backed by strategic investor and Shark Tank star Kevin OLeary, announced last month that it planned to make North Dakota its headquarters for North American operations. The company said within three years it intends to build 200 megawatts of data centers in the state and is involved in a joint venture to become an assembly and distribution hub for graphene battery technology.

Long considered a white elephant and waste of taxpayers money, the site at Nekoma grew out of a 1972 treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union.

The $6 billion Stanley R. Mickelsen Safeguard Complex once housed a radar system within a concrete pyramid, with 7-foot-thick, steel-reinforced walls. It was deactivated in 1976 after only a few months of operation. Nekomas population reached several hundred, compared with about 30 today, and surrounding towns benefited from an influx of highly paid missile experts and support personnel.

The Cavalier County Job Development Authority has owned the site since 2017. Spokeswoman Carol Goodman said the facility would be sold to the company for $250,000.

Burgum said waste heat captured from the data centers servers will be used to heat an on-site greenhouse, and the company also is planning an interpretive center, representing a total investment estimated by Bitzero at $500 million.

This important piece of history will be restored and become a beacon for North Dakota innovation to the rest of the world, Burgum said.

Bitzero has signed leases in both Bismarck and Fargo for administrative operations. The Nekoma site will be their primary data center site in North Dakota, Burgum spokesman Mike Nowatzki said.

Separately, Burgum in January announced construction of a $1.9 billion data center located near the biggest city in the states oil-production region in northwest North Dakota.

The second-term Republican governor hailed the Atlas Power Data Center to be built by Missoula, Montana-based FX Solutions Inc. as one of the biggest such centers in the world, and one that will help diversify the economy in Williston-area that has suffered oil boom-bust cycles for decades.

Burgum, a wealthy former Microsoft executive, called data centers an incredible forward- looking industry not dependent on the price of oil.

Uses for data centers include the mining of bitcoin and other digital currencies. Cryptocurrency mining involves supercomputers to solve complex calculations needed to provide security for transactions in the digital currency.

The process requires vast amounts of power and generates much heat. Burgum has said North Dakota is an ideal place for data centers because it has a reliable and affordable power supply, and a climate that lowers cooling costs.

Burgum spokesman Nowatzki said no public money has been earmarked for any of the projects, though they are expected to qualify for tax credits already given to agriculture, energy and other industries.
DC films have a reputation for being a little too self-serious. Theyve made significant strides to chip away at that dark and dour image in recent years, but it lingers even with things like The LEGO Batman Movie. Sometimes its even easy to forget that when it comes down to it, superheroes are for kids.

This makes  DC League of Super-Pets, a straightforward cartoon with a sense of humor about itself and an all-star voice cast, somewhat refreshing. It also could be viewed as a shameless early advertisement to get impressionable young minds hooked on the Justice League so that several years from now when its inevitably rebooted, theyll have a youthful, built-in audience. But well take the charitable route here considering it does come from director Jared Stern and his LEGO Batman co-writer John Whittington, who have managed to find joy and humor within cynical toy-hawking, fan-recruiting constructs.

After all, this is a film that gives us Kevin Hart as a shelter pup, Marc Maron as Lex Luthor, Kate McKinnon as a murderous guinea pig named Lulu, Natasha Lyonne as an ancient, libidinous turtle named Merton and Keanu Reeves as Batman. Its impossible to top Will Arnett as the caped crusader, but Reeves makes a good case for himself delivering lines like Batman works alone. Except for Gordon. And Alfred... and whoever Morgan Freeman played in a way only he could.

Wearing its heart on its sleeve, DC League of Super-Pets opens on the planet Krypton where a cherubic baby Kal-El is being sent to earth. But hes not alone. A puppy named Krypto (Dwane Johnson) goes along for the ride and signs up to be the future Supermans (John Krasinski) lifelong watcher and crimefighting pal. Krypto takes his mission very seriously. In his eyes, hes not just Supermans best friend, hes his only friend and things start to get a little tense when Lois Lane (Olivia Wilde) enters the picture. In his jealous rage one night (eating ice cream, watching The Great British Bake Off and listening to Taylor Swifts Bad Blood), Krypto doesnt notice that Superman is in distress. His beloved owner is captured along with the rest of the Justice League by Lulu the guinea pig.

It is McKinnon who really makes the movie as Lulu, a displaced Lex Luthor science experiment who has been biding her time in an animal shelter, building a device to wield the powers of orange kryptonite waiting for the right moment to strike at the Justice League. Her compatriots in the shelter are Harts Ace, a pig named PB (Vanessa Bayer), a squirrel Chip (Diego Luna) and Lyonnes Merton, none of whom are ever selected for adoption (its always a kitten on their first day). But at least they get their freedom when Lulus plan works and suddenly they all have superpowers. You can guess what happens from there.

The visuals, though, are less inspired. These CG characters, especially the Justice League, are smooth and dull creatures, computer generated to the point of blandness. Wonder Woman in particular even veers into uncanny Cocomelon territory with her minimally expressive face and unfocused eyes. Perhaps the superheroes were an afterthought to their animal counterparts.

Johnson and Hart seem to have fun, too, but a fair amount of their charm as a comedic duo is lost without their physical presence  not that the audience of kids will know this or care. Parents might just be wishing they were watching this cast in live-action instead.

DC League of Super-Pets, a Warner Bros. release in theaters Friday, is rated PG by the Motion Picture Association for action, mild violence, language and rude humor. Running time: 106 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four.

-

MPA Definition of PG: Parental guidance suggested.

-

Follow AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ldbahr
Back in June, Berkeley residents mourned the loss of Shen Hua, a well-loved Chinese restaurant that was open for nearly 25 years on College Avenue. Now, the Elmwood neighborhood is getting a new restaurant: 5 Tacos & Beers, the second location of the Albany Mexican restaurant, as first reported by What Now San Francisco.

5 Tacos chef-owner Lito Saldana ran Berkeley's Cancun Sabor Mexicana for 15 years until he decided to open his own restaurant, Los Moles in Emeryville (Los Moles now also has locations in El Cerrito and San Rafael). The idea for 5 Tacos & Beers, which opened in Albany in 2020, grew out of the popularity of "taco Tuesday" at Los Moles.

"We were really popular with the taco Tuesdays, so we decided to open a concept for just tacos and beers," Saldana told SFGATE.

Courtesy of 5 Tacos & Beers

When 5 Tacos first opened, they only served five types of tacos, thus the name. But Saldana eventually added more options to the menu, including ceviche, flautas and vegan options. Still, the speciality is the tacos.

"It's kind of like street tacos, but more like homestyle  homestyle meaning that we make everything from scratch, like we make handmade corn tortillas," Saldana said. "... I grew up in Mexico in a little town where we used to grow everything. We used to raise the animals and that was the meat that we were eating. So the idea is bringing quality ingredients. We really care about what the customer is going to eat here."

5 Tacos also is serving an extensive list of craft beers from local breweries, with no "corporate beers" on the menu, Saldana said.

Courtesy of 5 Tacos & Beers

For him, moving into the space at 2914 College Ave. is a bit of a homecoming.

"I actually grew up mostly in Berkeley," he said. "I'm looking forward to being back in Berkeley. I believe this location is great. I really love the area."

The new Berkeley 5 Tacos & Beers is expected to open in September. Another new location in Walnut Creek is also slated to open in the next few months at 1352 Locust Street.

5 Tacos & Beers, 2914 College Ave, Berkeley. Opening in September.
Red A Bakery, a cherished restaurant and pastry shop at 634 Clement St. in the Inner Richmond, is closing after 31 years of business. The last day of service is set for sometime in mid-August.

The multifaceted eatery, known for Chinese pastries like egg tarts as well as Hawaiian barbecue staples such as spam musubi, is a quintessential story of immigrants moving to the United States and sharing their expertise in food with the community.

Both originally from Zhaoqing, a city in the Guangdong Province, China, partners Guo Lam Yu, 62, and Li Hong Chen, 58, immigrated to San Francisco in 1984.

My dad immigrated here first with no money. He worked a series of blue collar jobs and saved enough to sponsor my mom to come here, Eric Yu, son of Yu and Chen, told SFGATE via email. Red A Bakery is an American dream story.

Courtesy of Eric Yu

After saving enough money from Yus blue collar jobs and from Chens work as a seamstress, they started making pastries out of a small shop in Oakland, where they would wholesale the goods to local businesses. Yu, a master cake patissier, composed light and soft cakes with sponge-like centers and airy, semi-sweet creams that were most popular in vanilla, mocha and chocolate. Chen was the lead operator of all things baked, such as pineapple buns, which were beloved by local old-timers and construction workers who would pair them with a piping hot cup of Hong Kong-style milk tea in the morning.

After a few years, they rented out a section of a Chinese delicatessen in San Franciscos Chinatown, where they shifted to a direct-to-consumer business model. After saving enough money, they were able to open their first brick-and-mortar in the Inner Sunset, and then three additional stores in the Inner Richmond, the Mission and Chinatown, two of which have since closed. The couples lone remaining outpost on Clement Street, the second of their expansion, opened in 1991.

If you have ever walked down Clement Street, youve likely noticed the electronic sign that reads Hawaiian Style B.B.Q. hanging above the Red A Bakery awning. In 2002, the couple was able to buy a turnkey Hawaiian barbecue restaurant in Vallejo. Eventually, they consolidated the two businesses at the Clement Street location.

Courtesy of Eric Yu

It also became a family affair, as is common with many immigrant businesses. Eric recalls he and his sister would earn allowance money by working there as young kids.

My older sister and I practically grew up there, he said. From 5th grade through high school, we would go there after class and operate the cash register and do homework whenever there was a lull in customer traffic.

For a few months, when Eric was 13, he even took over making the cakes while his father was in the hospital for an extended period of time. He had learned by watching his dad, who also let him experiment in the kitchen.

Now, Yu and Chen plan to retire.

Theyve worked, in my opinion, long enough for two lifetimes, Eric said. In the past, they worked seven days a week from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. It wasnt until 2019 that they decided to take Tuesdays off.

Upon retiring, the duo plan to travel more, and Yu, a tai chi aficionado, plans to spend more time in Golden Gate Park exercising with his friends. But the real catalyst for their retirement was the birth of their grandson, Erics 16-month-old baby, whom they want to spend more time with.

For the past 34 years, being owners and operators of a small business was not only tough on their bodies, but kept them tethered to their work, Eric said in an email. Seeing as how they are still relatively spry and mobile, they dont want to miss out on the opportunity to chase their grandson around.

Red A Bakery, 634 Clement St., open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday through Monday. Closed Tuesday. Last day expected to be mid-August.
A California woman was wounded while swimming in Hawaii on Sunday by an endangered monk seal who was protecting her pup, officials said.

The 60-year-old elementary school teacher received lacerations to her face, back, and an arm, the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources said in a statement.

The attack occurred at 8:30 a.m. on Oahu about 150-feet off Kaimana Beach where the department said two seals have been caring for their new offspring.

Video taken by the woman's husband and shared by the department shows the animal aggressively attacking the woman as she screams. The video also shows that the seal was with her pup. The mother is a well-known seal named Rocky who "created a huge sensation when she gave birth to the first pup ever recorded on Waikiki Beach in 2012," the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said.

The Department of Land and Natural Resources determined the woman did nothing to provoke the attack and she wasn't aware the seals were in the water.

The incident occurred before lifeguards were on duty and 10 swimmers including the woman were in the water when the seal attacked, officials said.

The woman's husband told the department that people on the beach were screaming at swimmers to get out of the water but she had a swim cap on and her head was in the water so she didn't hear. She eventually heard people screaming and started swimming away from the seals, he said, but it was too late.

Im thinking shes going to die, by the time I get down to the beach," he said. "When I got there, three rescuers, including one in an outrigger canoe were bringing her to shore, while the seals were swimming toward them again.

Hawaii monk seals are typically not aggressive but moms with pups are protective, can be dangerous, and have inflicted serious wounds on nearby swimmers, Hawaii Marin Animal Response said in a statement.

The group advises that people stay at least 150 feet away from monk seal mothers with pups.

Hawaiian monk seals are among the most critically endangered mammals in the world, according the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources. The current population is about 1,200 seals.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP)  California correctional officer Arturo Pacheco was upset while escorting a prison inmate, so he yanked the inmate's feet from under him, sending him crashing to the ground and ultimately killing him. A few months earlier, without provocation, he sprayed pepper spray at short range into the eyes of another inmate, later calling the incident funny in a text message, according to a plea agreement.

Pacheco, 40, of Elk Grove, who was fired from his job in 2018, pleaded guilty Monday to federal charges stemming from both on-duty 2016 assaults under a plea agreement in which prosecutors will seek less than 13 years in prison when he is sentenced in October.

The charges carry up to 10 years on each of two assault charges and up to 20 years on each of two false reporting charges from attempts to cover up the abuse. That would amount to 60 years in prison if the maximum sentences were imposed consecutively, but Pacheco will likely face no more than 14 years based on federal sentencing guidelines.

In the fatal incident, the 65-year-old inmate's hands were cuffed behind him in September 2016 when Pacheco reached down and pulled his legs from under him.

The fall sent the inmate face first onto the concrete floor, breaking his jaw and several teeth. The inmate was being treated in the hospital two days later when he died of a pulmonary embolism.

A second correctional officer who also was fired in 2018 previously pleaded guilty to submitting a false report about Pacheco's actions. Both officers worked at California State Prison, Sacramento, which neighbors Folsom State Prison east of Sacramento.

Ashley Marie Aurich of Sacramento is awaiting sentencing after her guilty plea in January 2021. She inaccurately detailed how Pacheco brought the inmate to the ground and failed to identify another eyewitness.

Pacheco was evidently counting on similar cooperation from his fellow officers when he pepper-sprayed the calm and compliant 54-year-old prisoner in the face in May 2016, leaving him temporarily blind, prosecutors said.

Pacheco falsely claimed the man had a piece of glass and refused to drop it. He then texted a friend describing how funny the incident was.

(I)ts all about how u write ur report, plus ur partners have ur back, he texted, according to his plea deal. (B)lood, broken glass, n just u n ur partners.  Green light!

While Pacheco thought a green wall or code of silence would protect him, he was wrong," U.S. Attorney Phillip Talbert said in a statement announcing the guilty plea.

Pacheco's attorney, David Fischer, declined comment.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP)  As Pope Francis pays a historic visit to Canada, he is encountering a country that is less Catholic, more secular and more religiously diverse than the last time it hosted a pontiff two decades ago.

And the city where he landed on Sunday  Edmonton  reflects that diversity more than outsiders might expect from a provincial capital in Canadas prairie heartland.

Edmonton and its province of Alberta do have a large, long-settled population of Christians of European descent.

But Alberta also has had a religiously and ethnically diverse population from its early 20th century founding as a province, when small groups of Sikh immigrants arrived and Lebanese Muslims launched Al-Rashid Mosque, believed to be the nations oldest. Its original red-brick structure now stands in a city park featuring historical exhibits.

We always think of Ontario when we think of diversity, said Noor Al-Henedy, public relations director for the the mosque. Nobody ever thinks (Alberta is) such a diverse land with so many ethnic groups, so many religious groups that have lived here for a long time. 

The Edmonton metropolitan areas population of 1.1 million was about 59% Christian, including 26% Catholic, as of 2011, according to the most recent Canadian census figures for religious demographics.

About 10% belonged to other religious groups, such as Muslim, Sikh, Hindu or Buddhist. Their presence is reflected in multiple mosques, gurdwaras and temples in the region.

An additional 31% claimed no religion.

Those figures are echoed nationwide. In Canada overall, the 2011 census found 67% Christians, including 39% Catholics, with 9% belonging to other religions and 24% having none.

Thats fewer Christians overall and fewer Catholics than tallied in the 2001 census, a year before the last papal visit to Canada by St. John Paul II. In that decade, other religious and secular populations grew.

A 2018 Pew Research Center report indicates those trends have continued in recent years, as they have to a less rapid extent in the United States.

The Rev. John Dowds, chaplain for the city of Edmonton, has seen these changes in the increase in the number of folk from other traditions who really need to find a specific place at a specific time of day to offer prayer.

Dowds, a Presbyterian minister, worked to create sacred spaces in city workplaces for people of any faith to pray or meditate.

The very existence of his position  the only city chaplaincy that hes aware of in Canada, an expansion of his role as fire department chaplain  testifies to Edmonton's awareness of its diverse faith communities. He and others on the citys wellness team counsel people of all faiths or none.

That counseling can have a spiritual component, but we dont narrow that spiritual part down to anything specific, Dowds said. It can be as broad as having a conversation about Who am I and  what makes me tick and where I want to go with my life?

The Edmonton Interfaith Centre for Education and Action has provided training and cooperation among multiple religious and secular groups.

The center and the city host a rotating display of information on different religions  for July, its Zoroastrianism  in the skylit atrium of City Hall.

Dowds acknowledged there are challenges, including cases of antisemitism and Islamophobia. I think we counter that," he said, by "assertively addressing and then inviting opportunities for dialogue.

Mayor Amarjeet Sohi added that, in a city with a substantial Indigenous population, some residents may not have a deep understanding of the struggle Indigenous communities are facing, given the history of colonialization and culturally repressive residential schools. That is being addressed through education, interfaith dialogue, intercultural dialogue, he said.

Those issues are central to Francis' visit to Alberta, where on Monday he made a formal apology for decades of abuse of Indigenous children at church-run residential schools they were forced to attend.

Sohi, who immigrated here from India four decades ago, is the first person of Sikh background and first person of color to be elected mayor. While he experienced prejudice early on, this is also a community that lifted me up, that provided resources to help him succeed, and he now wants to help create similar opportunities for newer arrivals.

In a sign of cross-religious cooperation, volunteers to help with the papal visit have come from the local Muslim community, the Salvation Army and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

More than 200 members of the latter have signed up for such tasks as coordinating park-and-ride lots.

The faith groups look out for each other, said John Craig, a church elder who oversees a region that includes Alberta.

The church has taken similar steps, he said, such as offering one of its buildings as a rest station along a Sikh parade route and providing supplies for refugees through a Ukrainian Catholic church.

A Salvation Army crew has been serving meals to workers preparing Lac Ste. Anne, a lake that was considered sacred for Indigenous peoples before colonization and remains a popular pilgrimage destination, for Francis visit.

This is going to be a historic moment in Canada, said Captain Peter Kim, pastor of the Salvation Army Church Community in Grand Prairie, Alberta. Were blessed just to be a part of it.

Within the Christian population, Indigenous ministries and recent immigration have boosted ethnic and denominational variety. Catholics celebrate Mass in at least 16 languages in the Archdiocese of Edmonton.

Worshippers used English and Cree liturgy at the recent dedication of a restored sanctuary at Sacred Heart Church of the First Peoples, a Catholic parish oriented toward Indigenous people and culture. Eritrean worshippers, who also have regular Masses in the church, contributed a poignant, rhythmic hymn in their own language.

There is similar culture, especially in the Mass, said Simon Tekle, who is originally from Eritrea. Its very similar with the drums."

At the end of the service, Indigenous drummers sang robustly outside the church. Across the street, onlookers watched curiously from the steps of a Pentecostal church with roots in Nigeria. On adjacent blocks, others worshipped at a Ukrainian Catholic parish and a Lutheran church with a Danish-language liturgy.

Francis paid tribute to the region's diversity on Tuesday at Lac Ste. Anne, which he compared to the biblical Sea of Galilee, a cultural crossroads where Jesus began his ministry.

This lake, with all its diversity, thus became the site of an unprecedented proclamation of fraternity; not a revolution bringing death and injury in its wake, but a revolution of love, the pope said. Here, on the shores of this lake, the sound of drums, spanning the centuries and uniting different peoples, brings us back to that time.

The Sikh population began to grow in the 1960s and 1970s through immigration. Sikh elders say they experienced prejudice and vandalism early on.

The local community, I don't think they knew who we were, said Surinder Singh Hoonjanbut, a Sikh community leader. But he said that has changed greatly as the the Sikh population has grown, interacted with neighbors and engaged in community service.

Also, growing awareness of issues such as the Indigenous experience helps to build more general multicultural awareness, said Sikh community member Gagan Kaur Hoonjan.

Movements that help one group be understood opens everyone's mind up to conversations for other communities, she said.

___

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the APs collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

The U.S. Supreme Court on June 24 overturned Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that had provided a constitutional right to abortion. The ruling was expected to lead to abortion bans in roughly half the states, although the timing of those laws taking effect varies.

Some Republican-led states banned or severely limited abortion immediately after the Dobbs v. Jackson decision, while other restrictions will take effect later.

In anticipation of the decision, several states led by Democrats took steps to protect abortion access. The decision also set up the potential for legal fights between the states over whether providers and those who help women obtain abortions can be sued or prosecuted.

Here is an overview of the impact the ruling has had so far in every state and the status of their laws.

ALABAMA

Political control: Alabamas Republican-controlled Legislature and Republican governor want to ban or restrict access to abortions.

Whats happened since Dobbs: Hours after the Dobbs ruling, a judge lifted an order that had blocked a 2019 law with one of the nations most stringent abortion bans from being enforced.

Whats in effect: The ban is now in effect. It makes it a felony to perform an abortion at any stage of pregnancy with no exceptions for rape or incest. There is an exception in cases where the womans health is at serious risk. The penalty is up to 99 years in prison.

Clinics offering abortions? No.

Whats next: Some Republican lawmakers have said they would like to see the state replace the 2019 ban with a slightly less stringent bill that would allow exceptions in cases of rape or incest. Proponents said the 2019 ban was deliberately strict in the hopes of sparking a court challenge to Roe.

___

ALASKA

Political control: Republicans hold a majority of seats in the Legislature, but the House has a bipartisan coalition majority composed largely of Democrats. Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy, who believes life begins at conception, is seeking reelection. His main challengers  independent former Gov. Bill Walker, and Democrat Les Gara  have said they would protect abortion rights if elected.

Whats happened since Dobbs: The Legislature ended its regular session before the decision came out, and there has been no push for a special session.

Whats in effect: The state Supreme Court has interpreted the right to privacy in the state constitution as encompassing abortion rights.

Clinics offering abortions? Yes.

Whats next: Voters in the fall will be asked if they want to hold a constitutional convention, a question that comes up every 10 years. Many conservatives who want to overhaul how judges are selected and do away with the interpretation that the constitutions right to privacy clause allows for abortion rights see an opportunity in pushing for a convention.

___

ARIZONA

Political control: The GOP controls both chambers of the state Legislature. Republican Gov. Doug Ducey must leave office in January because of term limits.

Whats happened since Dobbs: Legal uncertainty about two different abortion laws prompted clinics to stop providing the procedure. Republican Attorney General Mark Brnovich has asked a judge to lift a decades-old order that blocks enforcement of an abortion ban passed before Arizona was a state. But a new law scheduled to take effect Sept. 24 would be less stringent, banning abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. Also after the Dobbs ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court began allowing the state to enforce a 2021 ban on abortions done solely because the fetus has a genetic abnormality such as Down syndrome. But a federal judge in Phoenix in July blocked enforcement of another part of that so-called personhood law that grants legal rights to fertilized eggs or fetuses. Abortion rights supporters said that could have been used to charge providers with assault, child abuse or other crimes for otherwise-legal abortions.

Whats in effect: The law before Dobbs barred abortions after about 22 weeks.

Clinics offering abortions? No.

Whats next: More court battles are expected over whether the earlier, more complete ban is in effect and whether Arizonas less stringent law can take effect in September.

___

ARKANSAS

Political control: The Legislature and governors office are controlled by Republicans. Gov. Asa Hutchinson is term-limited and will leave office in January. Republican nominee Sarah Sanders, press secretary to former President Donald Trump, is widely favored to succeed him in the November election.

Whats happened since Dobbs: A trigger ban on most abortions adopted in 2019 went into effect.

Whats in effect: Abortions are banned with the exception of when the procedure is needed to protect the life of the mother in a medical emergency.

Clinics offering abortions? No.

Whats next: Hutchinson favors exceptions in the case of pregnancies caused by rape or incest, but he does not expect to ask lawmakers to consider it at a special legislative session.

___

CALIFORNIA

Political control: Democrats who support access to abortion control all statewide elected offices and have large majorities in the Legislature.

Whats happened since Dobbs: The day of the Dobbs ruling, Gov. Gavin Newsome signed a bill intended to protect patients or providers from being sued in states that have abortion bans. He has also launched a commitment with Oregon and Washington to defend access to abortion.

Whats in effect: Abortion is legal in California until viability, generally considered to be around 24 weeks.

Clinics offering abortion? Yes.

Whats next: Lawmakers plan to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot in November that would explicitly guarantee the right to an abortion and contraceptives.

___

COLORADO

Political Control: Colorados Democratic-controlled Legislature adopted and its Democratic governor signed into law a fundamental right to abortions in April.

Whats happened since Dobbs: After the legislature introduced the bill codifying abortion rights, Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed an executive order saying Coloradans will not participate in out-of-state abortion-related investigations.

Whats in effect: Colorados Reproductive Health Equity Act declares fundamental rights to abortions at any stage of pregnancy. The law also prohibits local governments from denying, restricting, or depriving individuals of an abortion. State law still prohibits public funding for abortions and requires that minors inform their parents.

Clinics offering abortions? Yes.

Whats next: Republican lawmakers in Colorado have spoken about legislative challenges to the new state law. Colorado clinics are gearing up for an expected wave of out-of-state abortion seekers as surrounding states pass abortion bans.

___

CONNECTICUT

Political control: Democrats who control the Connecticut General Assembly support access to abortion, as does the states Democratic governor.

Whats happened since Dobbs: A law protecting abortion providers from other states bans took effect July 1. It created a legal cause of action for providers and others sued in another state, enabling them to recover certain legal costs. It also limits the governors discretion to extradite someone accused of performing an abortion, as well as participation by Connecticut courts and agencies in those lawsuits.

Whats in effect: Abortion is legal in Connecticut until viability, generally considered to be around 24 weeks. A law adopted in 2022 allows advanced practice registered nurses, nurse-midwives or physician assistants to perform aspiration abortions in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.

Clinics offering abortions? Yes.

Whats next: Theres been discussion of amending the state constitution to enshrine the right to abortion, which could take many years.

___

DELAWARE

Political control: Democrats control the governors office and the General Assembly and have taken several steps to ensure access to abortion.

Whats happened since Dobbs: The state already had a 2017 law to codify the right to abortion and a 2022 law allowing physician assistants and advanced practiced registered nurses to prescribe abortion-inducing medications. After the ruling, the state adopted another law allowing physician assistants, certified nurse practitioners and nurse midwives to perform abortions before viability that includes legal protections for providers and patients.

Whats in effect: Abortion is legal until viability.

Clinics offering abortions? Yes.

Whats next: With protections in place, no major abortion policy changes are expected.

___

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Political control: The local government in the nations capital is controlled by Democrats, with a Democratic mayor and the D.C. Council split between Democrats and nominal independent politicians, who are all, invariably, Democrats.

Whats happened since Dobbs: No policy changes have come about since the ruling.

Whats in effect: Abortion is legal at all stages of pregnancy.

Clinics offering abortions? Yes.

Whats next: The D.C. Council is considering legislation that would declare Washington, D.C., a sanctuary city for those coming from states where abortion is banned. But because Congress has oversight power over D.C. laws, a future ban or restrictions remain possible depending on control of Congress.

___

FLORIDA

Political control: Republicans control the House and Senate and governors office, with GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis pledging to expand pro-life protections after the Dobbs decision.

Whats happened since Dobbs: Floridas new 15-week abortion ban law went into effect July 1. The law is the subject of an ongoing lawsuit from abortion providers in Florida but remains in effect.

Whats in effect: The Florida law prohibits abortions after 15 weeks, with 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 exceptions in cases where pregnancies were caused by rape, incest or human trafficking. Violators could face up to five years in prison. Physicians and other medical professionals could lose their licenses and face administrative fines of $10,000 for each violation.

Clinics offering abortions? Yes.

Whats next: The lawsuit against Floridas 15 week ban is ongoing and is expected to eventually reach the state Supreme Court. Republicans believe the conservative-controlled court will uphold the law.

___

GEORGIA

Political control: Georgia has a GOP-controlled General Assembly and a Republican governor who support abortion restrictions, but all are up for election this November.

Whats happened since Dobbs: A federal appeals court allowed the states 2019 abortion law to be enforced in a July 20 ruling after three years of being on hold.

Whats in effect: The law bans abortion when fetal cardiac activity can be detected and also declares a fetus a person for purposes including income tax deductions and child support. There are exceptions in cases of rape  if a police report is filed  and incest. There are exceptions if a womans life or health would be threatened.

Clinics offering abortions? No.

Whats next: Some Republican lawmakers and candidates want Georgia to go further and ban abortion entirely, but Gov. Brian Kemp is unlikely to call a special session before Novembers general election. Lawmakers are likely to consider further action when they return for their annual session in January. A major factor is whether Kemp is reelected or unseated by Democrat Stacey Abrams in Novembers election.

___

HAWAII

Political control: Hawaiis governor is a Democrat and Democrats control more than 90% of the seats in the state House and Senate.

Whats happened since Dobbs: The law hasnt changed.

Whats in effect: Hawaii legalized abortion in 1970, three years before Roe v. Wade. The state allows abortion until a fetus would be viable outside the womb. After that, its legal if a patients life or health is in danger.

Clinics offering abortions? Yes.

Whats next: Democratic lawmakers are considering how they might protect Hawaii medical workers from prosecution or civil litigation from other states for treating residents who arent full-time Hawaii residents such as military dependents or college students. Policymakers are paying attention to how the state may increase access to abortion on more rural islands where there is a doctor shortage, for example by boosting training for some nurses who under a new law passed last year are allowed to perform first-trimester abortions.

___

IDAHO

Political control: Republicans hold supermajorities in the House and Senate and oppose access to abortion, as does the states Republican governor.

Whats happened since Dobbs: The ruling triggered a ban on all abortions except in cases of reported rape or incest or to protect the mothers life. It is to take effect Aug. 25. President Joe Biden's administration has sued over the measure, arguing that it conflicts with a federal law requiring doctors to provide pregnant women with medically necessary treatment.

Whats in effect: Current law allows abortions up to viability, around 24 weeks, with exceptions to protect the womans life or in case of nonviable fetuses.

Clinics offering abortions? Yes.

Whats next: The Idaho Supreme Court is expected to rule in August on whether to lift an injunction that blocked enforcement of a law that could subject medical providers who perform abortions to lawsuits and criminal charges.

___

ILLINOIS

Political control: Illinois is overwhelmingly Democratic with laws providing greater access to abortion than most states. Democrats hold veto-proof supermajorities in the House and Senate, and the Democratic first-term governor seeking reelection this year, J.B. Pritzker, has promoted peaceful protests to protect the right to an abortion.

Whats happened since Dobbs: No major policy changes. Pritzker has called for a special legislative session to expand abortion rights.

Whats in effect: Abortion is legal in Illinois to the point of viability, and later to protect the patients life or health.

Clinics offering abortions? Yes.

Whats next: A possible expansion of abortion access rights.

___

INDIANA

Political control: Indiana has a Republican-dominated Legislature and a GOP governor who favors restricting abortion access.

Whats happened since Dobbs: On Aug. 5, Indiana became the first state in the nation to approve such legislation banning abortions since the Supreme Court's ruling. The ban, which takes effect next month, includes some exceptions. Abortions will be permitted in cases of rape and incest, before 10-weeks post-fertilization; to protect the life and physical health of the mother; and if a fetus is diagnosed with a lethal anomaly. Victims of rape and incest wont be required to sign a notarized affidavit attesting to an attack, as had once been proposed.

Whats in effect: Abortion in Indiana is currently legal up to about 20 weeks, with tighter restrictions after 13 weeks. Federal judges have lifted several previous injunctions  including abortions based on disability, gender, and race. Indiana doctors must also report abortions they perform on patients under 16 and procedures with complications.

Clinics offering abortions? Yes

Whats next: The new ban takes effect Sept. 15.

___

IOWA

Political control: Iowa has a Republican governor and Republicans have large majorities in both legislative chambers.

Whats happened since Dobbs: Gov. Kim Reynolds has asked state courts to reverse earlier decisions following the U.S. Supreme Court ruling and an Iowa Supreme Court decision that found the state constitution doesnt guarantee the right to an abortion. Among the cases is a law she signed but was blocked by a district court that would have banned abortion once cardiac activity can be detected in an embryo or fetus.

Whats in effect: A law banning abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy remains in effect while Reynolds pursues the tougher ban in court, as does a 24-hour waiting period before an abortion.

Clinics offering abortions?: Yes.

Whats next: Reynolds says she will wait for the courts to act on her request to reverse previous rulings before proposing additional restrictions.

___

KANSAS

Political control: Kansas has a Legislature controlled by Republicans who want to ban or restrict access to abortions but a Democratic governor who supports access and is up for reelection this year.

Whats happened since Dobbs: Kansas voters on Aug. 2 rejected a proposed amendment to the state constitution that would have given lawmakers the authority to restrict or ban abortion.

Whats in effect: Kansas allows abortion until the 22nd week of pregnancy. After that, abortion is allowed only to save a patients life or to prevent a substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function. Stricter laws are on hold after a 2019 state Supreme Court ruling that the states constitution grants a fundamental right to abortion.

Clinics offering abortion? Yes.

Whats next: The constitutional amendment vote was the first of its kind in the U.S. since the Dobbs ruling, and it's likely to have activists on both sides across the country recalibrating their strategies.

___

KENTUCKY:

Political control: Republicans have super majorities in the Kentucky House and Senate, and the GOP passed a trigger law in 2019 that imposed a near-total abortion ban. Kentuckys Democratic governor opposes the ban and notes that it doesnt provide exceptions for rape or incest.

Whats happened since Dobbs: Kentuckys only two abortion clinics halted the procedure, but a Louisville judge halted enforcement of the states trigger law a few days later.

Whats in effect: On July 22, the Louisville judge issued an injunction blocking the states near-total abortion ban while the abortion clinics challenge its constitutionality.

Clinics offering abortions? Yes.

Whats next: Kentuckians are set to vote in November on a constitutional amendment that would ensure there are no state constitutional protections for abortion.

___

LOUISIANA

Political control: Louisianas Legislature is controlled by Republicans who passed a trigger law to ban most abortions. Its Democratic governor, who is Catholic, also opposes abortions, though he supports exceptions for victims of rape or incest.

Whats happened since Dobbs: Immediately after the ruling, Louisianas three abortion clinics halted abortion procedures as the trigger law went into effect. However, since then, the ban has taken effect and been blocked multiple times in the form of rulings and temporary restraining orders.

Whats in effect: The ban is currently being enforced. Plaintiffs filed an appeal with the Louisiana Supreme Court that would have blocked the ban for a third time, but were denied Friday, Aug. 12.

Clinics offering abortions? No.

Whats next: A state district judges order gives attorneys until Aug. 20 to develop plans for a trial on whether the law should be permanently blocked. In Louisiana, where the Legislature has long been dominated by abortion opponents, there is little question that an abortion ban will eventually be in effect.

___

MAINE

Political control: Both chambers of the Maine Legislature, which has adjourned, are controlled by Democrats and the state has a Democratic governor.

Whats happened since Dobbs: Gov. Janet Mills has signed an executive order that bars state agencies from cooperating with other states abortion investigations and says extradition attempts in those cases would be denied.

Whats in effect: A 1993 law signed by a Republican governor affirms the right to abortion before the fetus is viable. Abortion is allowed after viability if the health or life of the patient is at risk, or if the pregnancy is no longer viable. Nurse practitioners, physician assistants and other medical professionals may perform abortions.

Clinics offering abortions? Yes.

Whats next: No major changes are expected unless Republican former Gov. Paul LePage unseats Mills in her reelection bid and Republicans take control of both chambers of the Legislature.

___

MARYLAND

Political control: Marylands General Assembly is controlled by Democrats who expanded abortion access this year by ending a restriction that only physicians can provide them and requiring most insurance plans to cover abortion care without cost. The legislature overrode Republican Gov. Larry Hogans veto of the bill in April.

Whats happened since Dobbs: Nothing changed immediately.

Whats in effect: State law prohibits restrictions to abortion prior to viability. The state approved legislation in 1991 to protect abortion rights if the U.S. Supreme Court ever restricted access; voters approved that right in 1992. Some nurse practitioners, nurse midwives and physician assistants already have received training on medication abortion.

Clinics offering abortions? Yes.

Whats next: Hogan, who will leave office due to term limits in January, has said he will not advance state funds to train non-physicians to provide abortions before its required next year.

___

MASSACHUSETTS

Political control: Democrats control the Massachusetts Legislature and support access to abortion, as does the states Republican governor, although they differ on specific policies.

Whats happened since Dobbs: Gov. Charlie Baker signed an executive order on June 24 barring state agencies from assisting another states investigation into people or businesses for receiving or delivering reproductive health services that are legal in Massachusetts. The state also wont cooperate with extradition requests from other states pursuing criminal charges. Just over a month later, Baker signed into law a measure intended to protect access to abortion and expand access to emergency contraceptives.

Whats in effect: Recent changes to Massachusetts law allows abortions after 24 weeks of pregnancy in cases where the child would not survive after birth, and lowers from 18 to 16 the age at which women can seek an abortion without consent from a parent or guardian.

Clinics offering abortions? Yes.

Whats next: In liberal Massachusetts, restrictions are unlikely to be adopted.

___

MICHIGAN

Political control: Both chambers of Michigans Legislature are controlled by Republicans who want to ban or restrict abortion access. The Democratic governor, who is up for reelection this year, supports access.

Whats happened since Dobbs: Abortion remains legal in Michigan after a state judge issued a preliminary injunction in May blocking immediate enforcement of a 1931 law banning nearly all abortions. Michigans Legislature has appealed the decision. Abortion rights activists have taken steps to bring a constitutional amendment before voters on the November ballot. The amendment would affirm the right to make pregnancy-related decisions without interference, including about abortion and reproductive services such as birth control.

Whats in effect: The May temporary injunction, which stems from a Planned Parenthood lawsuit, blocked the 1931 law from going into effect and has kept abortion legal for now. The Michigan Court of Appeals suddenly changed course and said county prosecutors werent covered by the injunction and could enforce the ban. But another judge stepped in and said prosecutors  for now  must not follow the prohibition.

Clinics offering abortions? Yes.

Whats next: The state's election bureau and board of canvassers still need to verify and validate that the Reproductive Freedom for All ballot initiative submitted at least 425,000 valid signatures before the constitutional amendment officially makes the ballot. The issue is also expected to shape legislative and statewide elections this fall; the Democratic governor and attorney general have made abortion rights a centerpiece of their reelection campaigns.

___

MINNESOTA

Political control: Anti-abortion Republicans control the Senate and Democrats hold the House, but the majorities are slim. Democratic Gov. Tim Walz is stressing his support for abortion rights as he seeks another term.

Whats happened since Dobbs: Minnesota abortion clinics are starting to see a surge of out-of-state patients. On July 11, a state judge further eased access to abortion by striking down as unconstitutional several restrictions such as a 24-hour waiting period and parental notification.

Whats in effect: A Minnesota Supreme Court ruling from 1995 says the state constitution protects abortion rights. Minnesota allows abortions up to the point of viability, typically 24 weeks. However, some legal experts have questioned whether that cutoff would stand up in court.

Clinics offering abortions? Yes.

Whats next: Democrats are making abortion rights a major issue as they seek to hold the governors office and House and take control of the Senate. Some Republican candidates are notably trying to downplay the issue.

___

MISSISSIPPI

Political control: Mississippis Republican-controlled Legislature and Republican governor have pushed for years to ban or restrict access to abortions. A 2018 Mississippi law to ban abortions after 15 weeks was the basis of the case that the U.S. Supreme Court used to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Whats happened since Dobbs: Mississippis only abortion clinic, Jackson Womens Health Organization, did its final abortions July 6 and has permanently closed. The clinic owner said she is selling the building and the clinics lawyers have withdrawn a lawsuit challenging a trigger law that bans most abortions.

Whats in effect: The trigger law passed in 2007 is in effect. It allows abortions only if a patient's life is in danger or if a pregnancy was caused by a rape that was reported to law enforcement.

Clinics offering abortions? No.

Whats next: Republican House Speaker Philip Gunn says he will oppose any effort to allow abortion for pregnancies caused by incest because he believes life begins at conception.

___

MISSOURI

Political control: Both GOP Gov. Mike Parson and the Republican-led General Assembly support laws against abortion.

Whats happened since Dobbs: A 2019 trigger ban on most abortions went into effect.

Whats in effect: The ban makes abortions illegal except in cases of medical emergency. Performing illegal abortions is punishable by 5 to 15 years in prison.

Clinics offering abortions? No.

Whats next: The city of St. Louis proposed a $1 million fund to help residents travel to neighboring Illinois for abortions, but Missouri Attorney General Schmitt has sued to block it.

___

MONTANA

Political control: The Republicans who control the Montana Legislature and Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte want to limit access to abortion.

Whats happened since Dobbs: The Montana Republican Party updated its party platform to say it opposes all elective abortions. The party rejected a proposal to include an exception for rape or incest.

Whats in effect: Abortion used to be legal in Montana up until viability, or about 24 weeks of pregnancy, but the state Legislature passed a bill in 2021 to reduce that to 20 weeks. That law, along with one that requires chemical abortions to be done with in-person medical supervision, are being challenged in court. A state judge temporarily blocked enforcement in October 2021 while the challenges move through the courts. The Montana Supreme Court on Aug. 9 upheld the temporary injunction. Justices also denied the states motion to overturn a 1999 Montana Supreme Court opinion that found the states constitutional right to privacy guarantees a womans access to abortion care. The justices said they would not take up the merits of the case while ruling on a preliminary injunction.

Clinics offering abortions? Yes.

Whats next: The Montana Legislature passed a referendum to ask voters this November whether they support a state law to require abortion providers to give lifesaving treatment to a fetus that is born alive after a botched abortion. Opponents argue federal law already offers those protections.

___

NEBRASKA

Political control: Nebraska has a Republican governor who favors a full abortion ban with no exceptions for rape or incest. The officially nonpartisan one-chamber Legislature is dominated by lawmakers who identify as Republicans.

Whats happened since Dobbs: Nebraska law has not changed.

Whats in effect: Abortion remains legal up to 20 weeks of pregnancy in Nebraska. Those seeking an abortion must receive counseling and wait 24 hours before getting an abortion. People under 19 must have parental consent to undergo an abortion.

Clinics offering abortions? Yes.

Whats next: Gov. Pete Ricketts remains noncommittal about calling a special session to address abortion, despite many Republican lawmakers pushing to outlaw the procedure. Abortion opponents dont appear to have the 33-vote supermajority needed to overcome a filibuster waged by abortion-rights supporters.

___

NEVADA

Political control: Nevadas governor and state attorney general are Democrats who are up for reelection this year. Democrats control the state Senate and Assembly.

Whats happened since Dobbs: Abortion has become a campaign issue in top state and federal races, and Gov. Steve Sisolak has signed an executive order to protect access to abortion for residents and those from other states.

Whats in effect: Nevada voters enshrined the right to abortion in state law in 1990. A pregnancy can be terminated during the first 24 weeks, and after that to preserve the life or health of the pregnant person. It would take a statewide vote to change or repeal the law. Most Republican candidates for statewide posts say they oppose abortion.

Clinics offering abortions? Yes.

Whats next: Anti-abortion advocates are not expected to try to repeal Nevadas abortion law. They have said theyll seek laws requiring waiting periods, mandatory counseling or parental consent.

___

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Political control: New Hampshire has a Republican governor and the GOP controls the 424-member Legislature. All legislative seats are up for election in November.

Whats happened since Dobbs: Legislative Democrats have urged Gov. Chris Sununu, who calls himself pro-choice to call a special session to codify abortion rights in state law. Sununu and Republican legislative leaders say theres no need.

Whats in effect: Under a law that went into effect this year, abortion is allowed until 24 weeks of pregnancy, later for the health or life of the patient or if the fetus has been diagnosed with abnormalities incompatible with life.

Clinics offering abortion? Yes.

Whats next: Republican lawmakers are divided over whether the state should further restrict abortions.

___

NEW JERSEY

Political control: Democrats control both houses of the state Legislature. Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy started his second consecutive term this year.

Whats happened since Dobbs: A week after the Supreme Courts ruling overturning Roe v. Wade, Murphy signed into law two bills aimed at protecting the right to abortion for out-of-state residents and barring extradition to states that have prohibited the procedure. The governor also signed a state budget that includes $45 million to expand family planning and abortion services and security upgrades for clinics. Acting Attorney General Matthew Platkin and U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger of New Jersey on July 20 announced a partnership to share intelligence about threats to clinics and patients.

Clinics offering abortions: Yes.

Whats next: The states Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness is preparing to distribute money from the $5 million Reproductive Health Security Grant program.

___

NEW MEXICO

Political control: The Democrats who control the New Mexico Legislature support access to abortion, as does the states Democratic governor. Several conservative Democratic state senators who voted against the repeal of the abortion ban in 2019 were ousted from office in 2020 by more socially progressive primary challengers.

Whats happened since Dobbs: Soon after the ruling, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed an executive order protecting abortion access. The order seeks to block New Mexico providers from being punished in other states for providing abortions to residents of other states.

Whats in effect: Abortion is legal in New Mexico, even in the third trimester.

Clinics offering abortions: Yes.

Whats next: The owner of the Jackson Womens Health Organization at the center of the Dobbs decision plans to open a clinic in the city of Las Cruces, near Texas. Conservative counties are considering anti-abortion resolutions that say clinics are not welcomed. Abortion has taken center stage in the gubernatorial campaign.

___

NEW YORK

Political control: The Democrats who control the New York Legislature support access to abortion, as does the states Democratic governor.

Whats happened since Dobbs: Gov. Kathy Hochul announced $25 million to expand access to abortion services and $10 million in grants to provide security at clinics. Less that two weeks before Dobbs, she signed other measures intended to protect abortion access.

Whats in effect: Abortion is legal in the first 24 weeks of pregnancy, and after that to preserve the patients life or health or if the fetus isnt viable.

Clinics offering abortions? Yes.

Whats next: Some abortion rights advocates are pushing lawmakers to begin the process of passing a constitutional amendment to protect access to abortion.

___

NORTH CAROLINA

Political control: Republicans hold majorities in both chambers of the states General Assembly. Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper supports abortion rights, but his veto power could be nullified if Republicans win more seats in November.

Whats happened since Dobbs: On the day of the ruling, Republican legislative leaders asked Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein, an abortion rights supporter, to demand a federal court lift an injunction on a 1973 state law that banned most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. Stein declined. Cooper has signed an executive order that shields out-of-state abortion patients from extradition and prohibits state agencies from assisting other states prosecutions of those who travel to North Carolina for the procedure.

Whats in effect: A 2019 federal court ruling, affirmed last year by the 4th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, extended the right to an abortion in North Carolina until fetal viability, which typically falls between 24 and 28 weeks of pregnancy. An abortion can be still be performed after viability in certain medical emergencies.

Clinics offering abortions? Yes.

Whats next: Republican General Assembly leaders have signaled that Steins inaction on the 20-week abortion ban injunction might lead them to petition the court on their own. A federal judge could also consider reinstating the ban without lawmaker involvement. The Republican party will likely intensify its efforts in this years elections to gain the five additional seats it needs for a veto-proof supermajority. Cooper and other Democrats already are making abortion rights a key campaign issue. Abortion politics also are expected to figure in two state Supreme Court elections in November. Republicans would gain a majority on the court if they win at least one.

___

NORTH DAKOTA

Political control: North Dakota has a legislature dominated by Republicans who want to ban abortion, and the GOP governor had wanted Roe v. Wade wiped off the books in favor of states rights.

Whats happened since Dobbs: The ruling triggered a 2007 law to ban most abortions, but a judge blocked enforcement on July 27, the day before it was to kick in.

Whats in effect: Under current law, abortions are legal in the first 20 weeks of pregnancy and after that in the case of rape, incest, or to protect the life of the patient.

Clinics offering abortions? Yes.

Whats next: The states only clinic, the Red River Womens Clinic in Fargo, is fighting implementation of the ban and plans to move to Moorhead, Minnesota, if abortion is outlawed. The order putting enforcement on hold gave the clinic a reprieve.

___

OHIO

Political control: Both legislative chambers are controlled by Republicans. Republican Gov. Mike DeWine, an abortion opponent, is seeking reelection.

Whats happened since Dobbs: A ban on abortions after the first detectable fetal cardiac activity has taken effect. Clinics dropped a federal lawsuit challenging the law and have filed a challenge under the Ohio Constitution. Republican Attorney General Dave Yost is fighting them.

Whats in effect: A law prohibiting most abortions once fetal cardiac activity is detected except when the patients life is threatened or their health is at significant risk.

Clinics offering abortions? Yes.

Whats next: Republican lawmakers will move for a total abortion ban after the November election. Some support recently introduced legislation declaring personhood begins at conception. Statehouse plans may change if the Ohio Supreme Court allows the clinics state constitutional challenge to proceed.

___

OKLAHOMA

Political control: Republicans in Oklahoma have a supermajority in both chambers of the Legislature and a Republican governor up for reelection this year who has vowed to sign every pro-life legislation that came across my desk.

Whats happened since Dobbs: Abortion services were halted in the state in May after Gov. Kevin Stitt signed a law blocking all abortions with few exceptions. The ruling also triggered a 1910 law that makes it a felony, punishable by two to five years in prison, to perform an abortion or for anyone advising or using any other means whatever to help a woman obtain an abortion.

Whats in effect: Abortions are banned except to protect the life of a patient. Current laws carry civil penalties, as well as criminal penalties for those who perform an abortion or help a woman get one.

Clinics offering abortions? No.

Whats next: A separate criminal statute takes effect on Aug. 27 that makes it a felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $100,000, to perform an abortion, with an exception only to save the life of the pregnant woman.

___

OREGON

Political control: The Democrats who control the Oregon Legislature support access to abortion, as does the states Democratic governor.

Whats happened since Dobbs: Gov. Kate Brown has said she will protect abortion access for all.

Whats in effect: Oregon does not have any major abortion restrictions and it is legal at all stages of pregnancy.

Clinics offering abortions? Yes.

Whats next: Democratic lawmakers have formed a group to make recommendations to expand access to all forms of reproductive care.

___

PENNSYLVANIA

Political control: Republicans who control the Pennsylvania Legislature are hostile to abortion rights, but the states Democratic governor is a strong supporter and has vetoed three GOP-penned bills in five years. The race for governor this year could tilt that balance.

Whats happened since Dobbs: No changes in the law or major court battles.

Whats in effect: Pennsylvania allows abortions up to 24 weeks of pregnancy.

Clinics offering abortions? Yes.

Whats next: In November, voters will decide on a new governor between the states Democratic attorney general, Josh Shapiro, who supports abortion rights, and Republican state Sen. Doug Mastriano, who supports banning abortion with no exceptions. The Legislature is expected to remain in Republican hands. The state Supreme Court is considering a lawsuit filed by Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers aiming to overturn a 1982 law that bans the use of state dollars for abortion, except in cases of rape, incest or to save the life of the mother. Republican lawmakers are advancing a proposal to amend the state constitution to declare there is no constitutional right to an abortion or to public funding for an abortion. The proposal could go before voters as early as May 2023.

___

RHODE ISLAND

Political control: Democrats who control Rhode Islands General Assembly support access to abortion, as does the Democratic governor.

Whats happened since Dobbs: Gov. Daniel McKee signed an executive order prohibiting state agencies from cooperating with other states investigations into people who travel to Rhode Island for abortions or health care providers that perform them.

Whats in effect: A 2019 law enshrined abortion protections in the state. The law says Rhode Island cannot restrict abortion prior to fetal viability or after if it is necessary to protect the health or life of the patient.

Clinics offering abortions? Yes.

Whats next: Legislative leaders have said they would address abortion insurance coverage for state employees and people in the Medicaid program in 2023.

___

SOUTH CAROLINA

Political control: Both the House and Senate are controlled by Republicans, but they are a few seats short of a two-thirds majority. Republican Gov. Henry McMaster is up for reelection and Democratic opponent Joe Cunningham has said his veto of any stricter abortion bill would likely stick.

Whats happened since Dobbs: The states 2021 ban on abortion once cardiac activity is detected  typically around six weeks after fertilization  was allowed to go into effect. A Republican-dominated special House committee is working on a bill to ban all abortions unless the life of the mother is at risk.

Whats in effect: Whats in effect: South Carolina bans abortion after an ultrasound detects cardiac activity. There are exceptions for pregnancies cause by rape or incest, or when the life of the mother is in danger.

Clinics offering abortions? Yes.

Whats next: Lawmakers are planning special sessions to consider stricter abortion laws.

___

SOUTH DAKOTA:

Political control: Republicans hold supermajorities in both legislative chambers. Republican Gov. Kristi Noem is up for reelection this year and is an ardent opponent of abortion rights.

Whats happened since Dobbs: A trigger law took effect banning abortion in South Dakota except to save the life of a pregnant woman. Some conservatives had wanted to do more, including trying to stop organizations or companies from paying for women to travel out of state for an abortion, but Noem  who had initially been eager to call a special session  announced in July that any action could wait until the regular session in 2023. Meanwhile, abortion rights supporters are considering a possible campaign for a ballot initiative aimed at overturning the state abortion ban or making it less restrictive.

Whats in effect: Abortion is illegal in South Dakota except to save the life of the mother.

Clinics offering abortions? No.

Whats next: Possible legislative action in 2023 aimed at making it more difficult for South Dakota residents to obtain abortion care elsewhere. Abortion rights supporters may to take the issue directly to voters to undo the ban.

___

TENNESSEE

Political control: Tennessee has a Republican governor who is consistently vocal about his opposition to abortion. The GOP holds a supermajority in the General Assembly and has steadily chipped away at abortion access. Voters approved an amendment in 2014 declaring that the state constitution does not protect or secure the right to abortion or require it to be funded.

Whats happened since Dobbs: A court allowed enforcement of a law, adopted in 2020, that bans abortions after fetal cardiac activity is detected.

Whats in effect: The so-called heartbeat ban has exceptions only to prevent death or major health risks.

Clinics offering abortions? Most are not.

Whats next: An even more stringent ban triggered by the Dobbs ruling is to take effect in late August.

___

TEXAS

Political control: The GOP has commanding majorities in the Texas Legislature and has controlled every statewide office for nearly 30 years. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott is up for reelection in November and is favored to win a third term.

Whats happened since Dobbs: The fall of Roe put in motion a trigger law to ban virtually all abortions starting in August. In the meantime, there has been litigation over whether a 1925 state abortion ban can be enforced.

Whats in effect: A 2021 law bans abortions once fetal cardiac activity can be detected, normally around six weeks.

Clinics offering abortions? No.

Whats next: There are legal questions to be settled about which ban is in effect, but nearly all abortions are expected to be illegal soon in the nations second most populous state. Some Republican lawmakers are also looking for ways to punish companies that help Texas-based employees get abortions elsewhere, although its not clear how much support that would have in the 2023 legislative session.

___

UTAH

Political control: Utah is deeply conservative and the Legislature is controlled by a Republican supermajority.

Whats happened since Dobbs: A trigger law banning nearly all abortions was put into effect and then paused by a court amid a legal challenge. Meanwhile, a court allowed a 2021 ban on abortions after 18 weeks to be enforced.

Whats in effect: Abortions after 18 weeks are banned except in cases of rape and incest if those crimes are reported to law enforcement, and if there's a serious risk to the life or health of the mother, as well as confirmed lethal birth defects.

Clinics offering abortions? Yes.

Whats next: A court will decide whether the near-total ban is allowed under Utahs state constitution.

___

VERMONT

Political control: Democrats control both the House and Senate of the Vermont Legislature. Republican Gov. Phil Scott is a firm supporter of abortion rights.

Whats happened since Dobbs: Vermont has doubled down on its commitment to abortion rights. In 2019, the Vermont Legislature passed a law guaranteeing abortion rights in anticipation of the possible overturning of Roe. At the same time, the state began the process of amending the state constitution to protect abortion rights. The proposal must be passed by two consecutively elected legislatures, a process that was completed in February 2022. The final step in the process is a statewide referendum, scheduled for November.

Clinics offering abortions? Yes.

Whats next: The vote on the Reproductive Liberty Amendment will be held Nov. 8.

___

WASHINGTON

Political control: The Democrats who control the Washington Legislature support access to abortion, as does the states Democratic governor.

Whats happened since Dobbs: Gov. Jay Inslee issued a directive barring the Washington State Patrol from cooperating with other states investigations related to abortions.

Whats in effect: Abortion is legal in Washington until viability, and after in cases where the patents health or life is threatened.

Clinics offering abortions? Yes.

Whats next: Democratic officials say theyll keep looking for ways to preserve access to abortion services for people within the state and who travel from places with restrictions.

___

WEST VIRGINIA

Political control: West Virginias Legislature is controlled by Republicans who want to ban or restrict access to abortions. Gov. Jim Justice, a Republican, opposes abortion access and has signed two anti-abortion laws since taking office in 2017.

What's happened since Dobbs: The state's only abortion clinic initially closed out of concern that the staff could be prosecuted under an abortion law that dates to the 1800s. But the Womens Health Center of West Virginia, in Charleston, announced it would challenge the law and resumed offering abortions. The state's House of Delegates on July 27 passed a sweeping abortion ban that the Senate amended two days later. The House rejected those amendments and sent the bill to a conference committee. Both chambers adjourned but could be called back in August.

Whats in effect: Abortion is legal in the first 20 weeks of gestation, longer in cases where the patient's life or health is at risk. Other restrictions include a 24-hour waiting period, required counseling to discourage abortion, parental permission for minors; a ban on the use of telemedicine to administer a medication abortion; and prohibition of abortions on the grounds that the child will be born with a disability.

Clinics offering abortions? Yes.

What's next: Whether the old nearly total ban can be enforced is playing out in courts. At the same time, lawmakers are forging ahead with consideration of a new nearly total ban.

___

WISCONSIN

Political control: Wisconsins Legislature is controlled by Republicans who want to ban or restrict access to abortions, but the Democratic governor supports access and is up for reelection this year.

Whats happened since Dobbs: Abortion clinics have stopped performing the procedure in Wisconsin under an 1849 law that banned abortions except to save a mothers life. Attorney General Josh Kaul, a Democrat, has filed a lawsuit in state court challenging the ban. He argues that a 1985 state law prohibiting abortion after a fetus can survive outside the womb trumps the older law. While that lawsuit is pending, anti-abortion groups have said they will work with the Republican-controlled Legislature next year to update or replace the 1849 law.

Whats in effect: Possibly the 1849 ban on all abortions except to save a womans life.

Clinics offering abortions? No.

Whats next: The attorney generals lawsuit against the 1849 law is pending in Dane County.

___

WYOMING

Political control: Wyoming has one of the most Republican Legislatures in the U.S. and a Republican governor who in March approved a trigger law banning nearly all abortions.

Whats happened since Dobbs: A trigger ban on nearly all abortions took effect on July 27, only to have enforcement blocked by a court the same day.

Whats in effect: With enforcement of the new law blocked, Wyoming allows abortions until a fetus would survive outside its mothers body, around 23 weeks. The new law banning abortion only provides exceptions in cases of rape or incest or to protect the mothers life or health, not including psychological conditions.

Clinics offering abortions: No.

Whats next: Legal arguments will continue on the challenge to the more stringent ban brought by four women and two nonprofits who argue it violates the state constitution. The plaintiffs include organizers of a womens health and abortion clinic that was damaged in a May 2022 arson attack.

___

Associated Press reporters from across the U.S. contributed.

___

For APs full coverage of the Supreme Court ruling on abortion, go to https://apnews.com/hub/abortion
An Indiana man fishing on the Muskegon River near Newaygo landed a fish among the rarest in the country for its genetic condition that produces odd coloring.

Josh Chrenko, an angler who has fished for smallmouth bass from Minnesota to Virginia, was vacationing in Michigan when he hooked a smallie that experts classify as rare due to its golden hue.

"I would call this condition rare, but it has been seen in the Muskegon River before," Jay Wesley, Michigan Department of Natural Resources fisheries division Lake Michigan basin coordinator, said.

The genetic condition is called Xanthism, according to Wesley. It occurs when yellow pigments are expressed more than usual in the skin of an animal.

In the case of a smallie with Xanthism, the usual red hues are replaced with yellow hues, giving the fish a golden or orange coloration. Birds, reptiles and amphibians can also have this condition, according to Wesley.

Photo provided/Josh Chrenko

The last orange smallie reported in Michigan was also from the Muskegon River in 2018, according to Wesley. "We do not know why this has shown up in the Muskegon River in the past," Wesley said.

"For someone that lives and breathes fishing for smallmouth, this is one Ill remember my entire life," Chrenko wrote in a Facebook post.

Chrenko's friend, a fish biologist, told him that "in nature, theres about a 1-in-10,000 chance of even being born" with Xanthism.

Josh Chrenko's background Chrenko has dedicated a large portion of his life to smallmouth bass. Some readers may recognize him as one of the hosts (alongside Chris Vaughan) of the weekly podcast "Smallie Talk." The podcast features anything related to smallmouth fishing and is available on all platforms. In the latest episode, Chrenko details catching the orange smallmouth. Chrenko is also the co-owner of an apparel and sporting goods company called Achigan which he called the "official brand of smallmouth bass." It offers shirts, hoodies, hats, buffs and more. See More Collapse

Considering the fact the fish was mature, measuring about 13.5 inches long, Chrenko was impressed.

"I can only imagine that this little guy had to overcome crazy odds to survive the first couple years of his life from predation," Chrenko wrote in the post. "Being neon orange would make for a tough life as a small freshwater fish where pretty much everything is earth tones."

Wesley agreed.

"Usually, fish with this orange color are preyed upon early in life so that anglers rarely see it," Wesley said. "The orange color makes it hard to blend in with the natural habitat of the river. To me, the size of the fish is most unusual because it survived predation."

Chrenko released his once-in-a-lifetime find back into the river. He said he believed it to be a third-year smallie. While Wesley, judging based on photos, guessed it was four or five years old.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

NEW ORLEANS (AP)  Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbotts executive order that forbids school districts from imposing mask mandates on schools to prevent the spread of COVID-19 has been upheld by a divided federal appeals court panel.

The ruling from the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ended a lower federal court injunction allowing such mandates.

Families of seven children with disabilities  the court record listed Down syndrome, asthma, attention deficit hyperactivity, epilepsy, heart defects and cerebral palsy, among others  had sued, saying the children were vulnerable and that the lack of a masking requirement at their schools endangered their health.

Writing for the majority in a 2-1 ruling Monday, Judge Andrew Oldham said there are other options for schools to accommodate the childrens health concerns. He specifically mentioned vaccines, plexiglass barriers, use of hand sanitizer and social distancing.

It is plainly within the States power to remove one possible accommodation from consideration, so long as other reasonable options remain, Oldham wrote in the opinion issued Monday, rejecting arguments that the prohibition on mask mandates violated the Americans with Disabilities Act and other federal law. Judge Don Willett concurred in the judgment.

Judge W. Eugene Davis dissented. Davis agreed that the lower court injunction was overbroad. But, he said, the courts should allow the school districts to impose mask mandates at the schools attended by the seven students.

Because of their disabilities and based on the testimony of their personal physicians, the district court found that because of their heightened susceptibility of contracting COVID-19 and, if contracted, a heightened risk of severe illness or death from it, the children could not safely attend school where they would be in close proximity to unmasked students or staff members, Davis wrote.

The 5th Circuit handles appeals of federal decisions in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi. Oldham and Willett were appointed to the court by former President Donald Trump; Davis, by former President Ronald Reagan.
BERLIN (AP)  People infected with COVID-19 will no longer have to quarantine themselves in Austria if they don't exhibit any symptoms, the country's health minister announced Tuesday.

The alpine country is scrapping mandatory quarantine for people who have tested positive but don't feel ill, Austrian news agency APA reported. The new regulations will apply next month.
NEW YORK (AP)  Buzz Aldrin's jacket worn on his historic first mission to the moon's surface in 1969 has been auctioned off to a bidder for nearly $2.8 million.

The $2,772,500 paid for the Apollo 11 Inflight Coverall Jacket is the highest for any American space-flown artifact sold at auction, according to Sotheby's, which handled the sale. The unidentified winning bidder, who participated by phone, outlasted several others in a bidding that spanned almost 10 minutes.
WASHINGTON (AP)  Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Tuesday with the family of a Palestinian-American reporter killed while covering an Israeli raid in the occupied West Bank.

The State Department said Blinken met with relatives of Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh and vowed that the U.S. would demand accountability for her death.

The secretary is deeply appreciative of the opportunity to meet with Shireens family, State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters. Not only was she an American citizen, she was a reporter whose fearless pursuit of the truth earned her the profound respect of audiences around the world.

Price said Blinken would use the meeting to underscore for Shireens family our deepest condolences on her tragic death and to reiterate the priority we attach to accountability, something we continue to discuss with our Israeli and Palestinian partners as well.

He could not say, however, what that accountability might mean.

After reviewing investigations by Israeli and Palestinian authorities, the U.S. concluded on July 4 that Abu Akleh was likely killed by Israeli fire, although not intentionally. But it has not conclusively blamed Israel for her death and has left the question of accountability to the Israelis, prompting anger from the Palestinians and her family.

Relatives  including her brother Tony Abu Akleh, her niece Lina Abu Akleh and her nephew Victor Abu Akleh  have been seeking a meeting with President Joe Biden to make the case for pressing Israel to account for her death. Blinken invited them to visit Washington after Biden was unable to see them while on a visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories earlier this month.

We are in Washington, D.C., to insist on a thorough, credible, independent, and transparent U.S. investigation into the Israeli militarys killing of our dear Shireen, the family said in a statement. It called the July 4 U.S. conclusion an affront to justice that enabled Israel to avoid accountability for Shireens murder.

This is totally unacceptable to us, they said. If we allow Shireens killing to be swept under the rug, we send a message that the lives of U.S. citizens abroad dont matter, that the lives of Palestinians living under Israeli occupation dont matter, and that the most courageous journalists in the world, those who cover the human impact of armed conflict and violence, are expendable.

A reconstruction by The Associated Press lent support to Palestinian eyewitnesses who said she was shot by Israeli forces without making a final determination. Investigations by CNN, The New York Times and The Washington Post, as well as monitoring by the U.N. human rights office, reached similar conclusions.

Abu Akleh, who was 51, had spent a quarter-century reporting on the harsh realities of life under Israeli military rule. Palestinians view her as a martyr to journalism as well as their national cause.
BISMARCK, N.D, (AP)  Gov. Doug Burgum is pressing federal officials to expedite a review of a Chinese companys purchase of land in North Dakota for a wet corn milling plant to ensure it is not detrimental to national security.

Fufeng Groups planned $700 million project in Grand Forks has stirred some opponents to raise fears of espionage due to its proximity to a U.S. Air Force base.

Our top priority is, and always will be, the safety and security of our citizens and our nation, Burgum, a Republican, said in a letter Monday to U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, calling for an expedited review of the project by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.

We ask that this review process be completed with the utmost urgency to aid Grand Forks officials in their decision-making process and provide clarity on whether this land purchase has national security implications, Burgums letter said.

The agency told The Associated Press that it does not publicly comment on its reviews.

City Administrator Todd Feland said the company, which is privately owned, voluntarily submitted a formal request Monday to have federal officials review the project.

They werent required to, but they did," Feland said.

The city and the company continue to be 100% behind the project, even with growing opposition and suspicion toward it, he said.

I think we're caught into this nationwide rhetoric about concerns about the Chinese and what they may be doing, and we've become a symbol of that, Feland said.

City Council meetings have turned ugly in recent weeks, with people becoming angry, loud and vile, he said.

The issue has drawn people to the meetings from far outside the city and police officers now are in attendance because of threats to city officials, he said.

The governors letter was sent in support of a formal request made last week by North Dakota U.S. Sens. John Hoeven and Kevin Cramer, and Sen. Marco Rubio, of Florida, all Republicans, for a federal review of the land purchase.

The Grand Forks City Council in February gave initial approval to the Chinese agribusiness for its proposed corn-milling facility that officials said could be the largest private sector investment in the communitys history.

Fufeng makes products for the animal nutrition, food and beverage, pharmaceutical, health and wellness, oil and gas, and other industries. Its a leading producer of xanthan gum. The Grand Forks site would be its first U.S.-based manufacturing facility.

Burgum at the time endorsed the project and hailed it as a huge opportunity for producers and workers in the Grand Forks area and our entire state. He did not raise security concerns then.

Burgum spokesman Mike Nowatzki would not say if the governor still supports the project.

"The letter speaks for itself, Nowatzki said Tuesday. The governor still believes its a huge opportunity for North Dakota to have value-added agriculture. If there are security concerns that are brought to light, then that would change the project.

The Chinese agribusiness picked an approximately 370-acre (150-hectare) site in Grand Forks agri-business park last year. The facility is about 14 miles (22 kilometers) from the Air Force base, which primarily has an unmanned aircraft mission.

Feland said it was curious that the anti-Chinese sentiment has appeared and only recently. For decades, the University of North Dakota's flight school based in Grand Forks has trained scores of Chinese pilots, including from Air China, which is based in Beijing.

The site also is farther away than an aircraft manufacturing facility in Grand Forks controlled by the Chinese government.

China Aviation Industry General Aircraft Co. Ltd. purchased Duluth, Minnesota-based Cirrus Aircraft in 2011. Cirrus employs several hundred people in Duluth and at its plant in Grand Forks. Duluth is home to a Minnesota Air National Guard fighter wing.

The sale was slowed to allow for federal authorities to determine if the deal involved any sensitive technology that could be detrimental to national security. Former Minnesota Congressman Chip Cravaack, who requested the review, said he was satisfied the sale received proper scrutiny.
MEXICO CITY (AP)  Mexico was outraged when a woman who had reported threats from her neighbors because of her autistic son's loudness was set afire with alcohol and suffered fatal burns this month.

But on Tuesday, prosecutors in the western state of Jalisco suggested the woman had bought medicinal alcohol and a lighter, then set herself alight in a park.

The case of Luz Raquel Padilla comes after a string of brutal killings of women in Mexico that havent been solved by prosecutors.

Activists had charged that police failed to act on a restraining and protection order obtained by Padilla after the warning Im going to burn you alive was scrawled outside her apartment. Neighbors were reportedly angry over the loud noises her son made.

After her death, police detained a neighbor apparently named in the protection order, but authorities said there was no evidence he was anywhere near where Padilla was burned.

On Tuesday, Luis Mendez Ruiz, head prosecutor in Jalisco, said video footage from security cameras showed Padilla had bought two bottles containing about a quart (liter) of alcohol and a lighter at shops near the park where she was found badly burned July 16. She died later at a hospital.

The intention isn't ever to re-victimize or criminalize anybody, said Mendez Ruiz. The person who has been detained has rights as well.

On May 6, Padilla had requested a restraining order against a neighbor she characterized as likely being behind the threats. A judge granted the order, and the fact she died while under supposed protection fueled anger over her death. Activists said authorities hadn't done enough.

This feminicide could have been prevented if the authorities had taken stronger measures against the seriousness of the threats, Maria de la Luz Estrada of the activist group National Feminicide Observatory, said after Padilla's death. They minimized it.

But the prosecutor suggested Tuesday that the case was not straightforward, saying Padilla had had a long-running conflict with neighbors.

Mendez Ruiz said the mother of the detained man provided police with her own security footage showing Padilla apparently setting paper on fire outside her own door. Another video clip shows Padilla changing the angle of the neighbor's camera to hide the stairway where the threat was scrawled, he said.

Mendez Ruiz said the mother of the detained man has now reported receiving threats.

On Sunday, another woman in the southern state of Morelos died after a relative doused her with gasoline and set her afire July 1, local prosecutors reported. They attributed the killing to a family dispute.

The cases came as President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador claimed progress in bringing down Mexico's stubbornly high homicide rate.

Figures from the National Statistics Institute showed there were 35,625 homicides in 2021, down slightly from 36,773 in 2020. That translates to about 28 killings per 100,000 people last year, compated to 29 per 100,000 in 2020.

The homicide rate for men declined to 50 per 100,000 people from 52 per 100,000. But the rate for women remained unchanged, at about 6 per 100,000.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

In 1998, as nations around the world agreed to cut carbon emissions through the Kyoto Protocol, America's fossil fuel companies plotted their response, including an aggressive strategy to inject doubt into the public debate.

Victory, according to the American Petroleum Institute's memo, will be achieved when average citizens understand (recognize) uncertainties in climate science... Unless climate change becomes a non-issue... there may be no moment when we can declare victory."

The memo, later leaked to The New York Times that year, went on to outline how fossil fuel companies could manipulate journalists and the broader public by muddying the evidence, by playing up both sides of the debate and by portraying those seeking to reduce emissions as out of touch with reality."

Nearly 25 years later, the reality of a changing climate is now clear to most Americans, as heatwaves and wildfires, rising sea levels and extreme storms become more common.

Last week, President Joe Biden announced moves intended to expand offshore wind, though he stopped short of declaring a national climate emergency. A Supreme Court ruling last month limited the federal government's ability to regulate carbon emissions from power plants, meaning it will be up to a divided Congress to pass any meaningful limits on emissions.

Even as surveys show the public generally has become more concerned about climate change, a sizeable number of Americans have become even more distrustful of the scientific consensus.

The tragedy of this is that all over social media, you can see tens of millions of Americans who think scientists are lying, even about things that have been proven for decades, said Naomi Oreskes, a historian of science at Harvard University who has written about the history of climate change disinformation. Theyve been persuaded by decades of disinformation. The denial is really, really deep.

And persistent. Just last month, even with record heat in London, raging wildfires in Alaska and historic flooding in Australia, the Science and Environmental Policy Project, a pro-fossil fuel think tank, said all the scientists had it wrong.

There is no climate crisis, the group wrote in its newsletter.

Years before COVID-19 set off a wave of misinformation, or former President Donald Trump's lies about the 2020 election helped spur an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, fossil fuel companies spent big in an effort to undermine support for emissions reductions.

Now, even as those same companies promote investments in renewable energy, the legacy of all that climate disinformation remains.

It's also contributed to a broader skepticism of scientists, scientific institutions and the media that report on them, a distrust reflected by doubts about vaccines or pandemic-era public health measures like masks and quarantines.

It was the opening of a Pandora's Box of disinformation that has proven hard to control, said Dave Anderson of the Energy and Policy Institute, an organization that has criticized oil and coal companies for withholding what they knew about the risks of climate change.

Starting in the 1980s and 1990s, as public awareness of climate change grew, fossil fuel companies poured millions of dollars into public relations campaigns denouncing the accumulating evidence supporting the idea of climate change. They funded supposedly independent think tanks that cherrypicked the science and promoted fringe views designed to make it look like there were two legitimate sides to the dispute.

Since then, the approach has softened as the impact of climate change has become more apparent. Now, fossil fuel companies are more likely to play up their supposedly pro-environmental record, touting renewables like solar and wind or initiatives designed to improve energy efficiency or offset carbon emissions.

Aggressive approaches to address climate change are now dismissed not on scientific grounds but on economic ones. Fossil fuel companies talk about lost jobs or higher energy prices  without mentioning the cost of doing nothing, said Ben Franta, an attorney, author and Stanford University researcher who tracks fossil fuel disinformation.

We are living within an extended multi-decade campaign executed by the fossil fuel industry," Franta said. The debate (over climate change) was manufactured by the fossil fuel industry in the 1990s, and we are living with that history right now."

The impact of that history is reflected in public opinion surveys that show a growing gap between Republicans and other Americans when it comes to views on climate change.

While the percentage of overall Americans who say theyre concerned about climate change has risen, Republicans are increasingly skeptical. Last year, Gallup found that 32% of self-identified Republicans said they accepted the scientific consensus that pollution from humans is driving climate change, down from 52% in 2003.

By comparison, the percentage of self-identified Democrats that say they accept that human activities are leading to climate change increased from 68 to 88 over the same time period.

Fossil fuel companies deny any intent to mislead the American public and point to investments in renewable energy as evidence that they take climate change seriously.

ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods told members of Congress last fall that his company has long acknowledged the reality and risks of climate change, and it has devoted significant resources to addressing those risks. ExxonMobil's public claims about climate change, he said, are and have always been truthful, fact-based ... and consistent with mainstream science.

Asked about its role in spreading climate misinformation, a spokesman for the Southern Company pointed to recent expansions in renewable energy and initiatives meant to offset carbon emissions.

The 1998 victory memo laying out the industry's strategy was created by the American Petroleum Institute. In a statement emailed to The Associated Press, API spokesperson Christina Noel said the oil industry is working to reduce emissions while also ensuring access to reliable, affordable energy.

Thats exactly what our industry has been focused on for decades, Noel said. "Any suggestion to the contrary is false.

The 1998 memo is one of several documents cited by climate activists and some Democratic lawmakers who say they could be used to hold them legally responsible for misleading ratepayers, investors or the general public.

"Its time for these companies to answer for the harm they have caused," said Rep. Ro Khanna, D-California.

Republicans, however, have said Democrats want to focus on climate misinformation to distract from failed environmental policies that are driving up gas and energy costs.
GODFREY  Cowboy is a young male tri-color Aussie.

He can be shy and cautious at first but can be very friendly after he warms up to you.

He has never been indoors and will need some training and grooming.

Alton's Five As would love to for a caring family or individual adopt Cowboy for a forever home.

To adopt an animal from Alton's Five As, which stands for Alton Area Animal Aid Association, come out to the shelter and visit the animals. The no-kill shelter is open daily from 11a.m.-3 p.m. Come visit with the animals, fill out some needed paperwork and pay the adoption fee. 5A's is located at 5430 N. Alby St., in Godfrey.

If an animal requires surgery, you will get the animal day of surgery; if they have had their surgery, they are available for adoption that day.

The nonprofit no-kill shelter was organized and opened in 1956 and is an affiliate member of Illinois Federation of Humane Societies and the American Humane Association based in Denver, Colorado. A premier humane shelter in the Riverbend, 5A's has served the area for more than 60 years, providing compassion and care to abused, unwanted and abandoned animals.

The shelter serves Alton, Godfrey, Bethalto, East Alton and Wood River, as well as other adjoining communities. 5A's places approximately 500 "forever friends" into "forever homes" every year. Check out its website regularly for new incoming pet pics and fun upcoming events. Also, to support the shelter, don't forget to check out the area's largest thrift shop, "The 5As Thrift" in North Alton by Joe K's Restaurant.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

JERSEYDALE, Calif. (AP)  Firefighters continue to make progress against a huge California forest fire that forced evacuations for thousands of people and destroyed 41 homes and other buildings near Yosemite National Park, officials said Tuesday.

Crews battling the Oak Fire in Mariposa County got a break from increased humidity and lower temperatures as monsoonal moisture moved through the Sierra Nevada foothills, said a Tuesday night report by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire.

After minimal growth Monday and overnight, the blaze had consumed nearly 29 square miles (75 square kilometers) of forest land, with 26% containment on Tuesday, Cal Fire said. The cause was under investigation.

Although good progress continues on the fire, there is much work to be done," Cal Fire said.

Crews were able to strengthen some areas of fire line although steep, rugged terrain was challenging firefighters on the northern and northeastern sides of the blaze, making it inaccessible to bulldozers and requiring fire lines to be cut by hand, Cal Fire said.

Smoke from the blaze also was hampering aircraft, the agency said.

About 6,000 residents from mountain communities were still under evacuation orders, although a few places were downgraded to advisories Tuesday afternoon.

Heavy smoke from the fire drifted more than 200 miles (322 kilometers), reaching Lake Tahoe, parts of Nevada and the San Francisco Bay Area, officials said.

More than 3,000 firefighters supported by two dozen helicopters and 94 bulldozers were battling the blaze that erupted last Friday southwest of the park, near the town of Midpines. It exploded in size on Saturday as flames churned through tinder-dry brush and trees amid the worst drought in decades.

Numerous roads were closed, including a stretch of State Route 140 thats one of the main routes into Yosemite.

California has experienced increasingly larger and deadlier wildfires in recent years as climate change has made the West much warmer and drier over the past 30 years. Scientists have said weather will continue to be more extreme and wildfires more frequent, destructive and unpredictable.

The Oak Fire burned as firefighters also made progress against an earlier blaze that burned to the edge of a grove of giant sequoias in the southernmost part of Yosemite. The Washburn Fire, spanning a 7.6-square-mile (19-square-km) area, was 91% contained on Tuesday after burning for more than two weeks and moving into the Sierra National Forest.

In North Texas, crews are battling a wildfire that destroyed 16 homes and damaged five others amid sweltering temperatures and strong winds. In a Tuesday statement, officials said there were significant hotspots throughout the Chalk Mountain Fire near Glen Rose involving unburned and partially burned fuels. The blaze was 20% contained.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

ZAGREB, Croatia (AP)  Croatia on Tuesday opened a long-awaited bridge connecting two parts of the country's Adriatic Sea coastline while bypassing a small sliver of Bosnia's territory.

Top officials and guests gathered in the evening for a formal opening ceremony that included a flyover by military jets, speeches, performances and fireworks.

Earlier Tuesday, many Croats braved summer heat to be among the first to cross the Peljesac bridge on foot as it opened for pedestrians ahead of the official inauguration.

Co-funded by the European Union and built by a Chinese company, the elegant, cable-stayed bridge with six pylons is a rare venture of its kind amid concerns in Europe over China's bid to boost its economic influence through investment in infrastructure.

In a video message aired at the opening ceremony, Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang said the bridge illustrates friendly relations between his country and Croatia, but also between China and the EU.

China and the EU present important political forces and leading global economic powers, said Li.

The 2.4-kilometer (1.5-mile) bridge spans the Adriatic Sea to link Croatia's mainland to the Peljesac peninsula in the south, allowing easier access to the country's most important tourism destination  the medieval walled city of Dubrovnik.

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic described the day as historic for the country, which joined the EU in 2013 after splitting from the former Yugoslavia and going through a war in the 1990s.

I am overwhelmed by the feelings of pride, joy and gratitude, said Plenkovic.

The Yugoslav federation had no internal borders between its six republics, including Croatia and Bosnia. But when it broke up in the early 1990s, the two parts of Croatia's Adriatic Sea coastline were split by a narrow strip of Bosnia.

Both residents and tourists had to pass border checks, which slowed down traffic and left the inhabitants of the southern area feeling isolated from the rest of the country.

That area includes Dubrovnik, a stunning medieval town that has been on UNESCOs protected heritage list and is Croatia's biggest tourist attraction.

The bridge finally became a reality in 2017 when the EU allocated 357 million euros ($365m), which covered much of the 526 million-euro ($533) cost. The China Road and Bridge Corporation in 2018 won an international tender to construct the bridge.

The project, however, had faced criticism from Bosnia, whose officials complained of unresolved border issues and said the bridge would hamper access to its part of the coastline.

Known for its stunning nature and hundreds of Adriatic Sea islands, Croatia is a major tourism destination, attracting millions from Europe and all over the world every summer. Tourism also is key for Croatia's economy, which remains among the weakest in the EU.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

NEW YORK (AP)  Four New York City jail guards have been indicted for failing to intervene in an inmate's suicide attempt until it was too late to save the teenager from serious brain damage, authorities announced.

The correction captain and three correction officers waited nearly eight minutes before providing any assistance to 18-year-old Nicholas Feliciano at the Rikers Island jail complex on Nov. 27, 2019, Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark said Monday.

Prosecutors said the officers can be seen on surveillance video walking past Feliciano and taking no action for seven minutes and 51 seconds.

The defendants ignored their duty as correction officers to maintain custody, care and control of the person incarcerated, by allegedly waiting nearly eight minutes until they rendered assistance to the inmate whom they saw hanging," Clark said. "The young man is now living with extensive brain damage.

Correction Capt. Terry Henry and Officers Daniel Fullerton, Kenneth Hood and Mark Wilson were arraigned Monday on charges of first- and second-degree reckless endangerment and official misconduct. They were released without bail and are due back in court on Sept. 15.

A spokesperson for the correction department said Fullerton and Wilson resigned from the department in February, Hood has been suspended and Henry is on modified duty.

Benny Boscio, president of the Correction Officers' Benevolent Association, said the union would defend the officers vigorously. Todays indictment of our officers, stemming from an incident that occurred over three years ago, is further evidence that this case is being driven more by politics than by facts," Boscio said.

Boscio said the district attorney's office should prosecute the nearly 800 inmates whove committed vicious crimes in jail, including the slashing and stabbing of inmates and officers.

The charges against the four officers come as federal authorities are considering a takeover of the troubled Rikers Island complex to institute reforms.

David B. Rankin, an attorney for Feliciano, said the indictments are another example of the festering sore that is Rikers Island. He said Rikers "is a disgrace to our city and needs to be shut down immediately.

Feliciano has been in a hospital brain injury unit since the suicide attempt.

Every day I see Nicholas fighting and its been traumatic seeing the pain of him even trying to breath, eat, talk, and to learn how to live again, Felicianos grandmother, Madeline Feliciano, said in a statement. She said the officers who failed to help her grandson need to be held accountable for their actions.
This article, Do Home COVID Tests Work for BA.5?, originally appeared on CNET.com.

BA.5, a mutation of the original omicron variant that is now responsible for almost 80% of all current COVID-19 cases, is extremely contagious. It's also the target of the booster shots that will likely be rolled out to Americans this fall or winter, and is also likely to be the version of COVID-19 that sickened President Joe Biden Thursday.

But are the at-home rapid tests we've come to rely on (and have even gotten shipped to our homes) able to detect BA.5?

While it's possible new research could come out and prove that BA.5 makes some tests less effective at picking up positive COVID-19 cases, the rapid tests seem to be doing their jobs. Here's what to know.

How do home COVID tests work?

At-home COVID-19 tests are usually rapid antigen tests, which work by identifying proteins in the coronavirus. If the proteins are present in your nose when you swab it, there will be a second line on your test, and you should consider yourself positive and contagious with COVID-19. This is similar to how a home pregnancy test works, but pregnancy tests pick up the presence of a hormone instead of a virus. (And pregnancy isn't contagious, of course.)

"Positive results remain highly accurate for these tests, though there still can be false negatives," Shaili Gandh, vice president of pharmacy at SingleCare, said in an email. This is because it takes a higher amount of virus to test positive on a rapid test than the highly sensitive PCR or lab-based tests. Someone who's fully vaccinated and boosted, for example, may have a very low viral load (smaller amount of virus) and that may mean they test negative even if they do have COVID-19. If that's the case, you might need a lab-based PCR test before COVID-19 is confirmed. (That doesn't mean you shouldn't use a home test if you're boosted, though, but more on that below.)

Read more: Put Down That Cloth Mask. These Are The Best Masks to Help Avoid COVID

Tang Ming Tung/Getty Images

Do home tests work against BA.5? When's the best time to test?

Research continues on BA.5, which includes how effective tests are at detecting it, according to Gandh. But how well the home COVID-19 tests work may have less to do with the subvariant and more to do with when you test.

You're most likely to test positive for COVID-19 when you have symptoms. Similarly, asymptomatic people or someone with mild symptoms might be more likely to have a false negative result than someone who has a lot of symptoms.

"Under these conditions, at-home tests are as effective at detecting omicron as with other variants," Sandra Adams, a professor of biology and virologist at Montclair State University, told New Jersey Advance Media.

"The accuracy varies with when the tests are taken," she added.

Gandh said a "good rule of thumb" is to take at least two tests, with a day or two between tests. You should also follow the instructions on whatever box you have, which often comes as a pack of two tests, and stay up-to-date on the US Food and Drug Administration's extension of the shelf lives of some home tests.

And, if there are home tests discovered to not work against BA.5, the FDA will remove its authorization of that particular test.

"The FDA would know if there are performance concerns because they continue to monitor all authorized tests and scientific evidence over a period of time in the event that they need to make changes," Dr. Mark Fischer, Regional Medical Director at International SOS, said in an email.

What's BA.5's incubation period?

At the beginning of the omicron surge in December last year, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention changed its quarantine guidance based on the understanding people were most contagious with COVID-19 in the one or two days before they developed symptoms, and two to three days after.

While some research suggests BA.5 doesn't have a different incubation period than other versions of COVID-19, some people are reporting testing positive for longer, Gandh notes. Dr. Eric Topol, a professor of molecular medicine at Scripps Research, noted in a report earlier this month that changes in BA.5 that make it easier to get into cells may explain why some people are taking a long time to test negative.

"For now, while this new variant is still elusive, I recommend testing multiple times with at-home tests, and if symptoms persist [and you're still testing negative], get a PCR test from your pharmacy or doctor," Gandh said.

And, unfortunately, a positive result on a home rapid test in all likelihood means you have COVID-19. So consider yourself contagious and follow the CDC's guidelines for isolation and masking.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

CAIRO (AP)  Sudanese security forces killed at least one person while violently dispersed anti-coup protesters Tuesday in the capital of Khartoum and other cities, a medical group said.

The Sudan Doctors Committee, which is part of the pro-democracy movement, said the protester was shot dead when security forces opened fire on demonstrators in Omdurman, Khartoums sister city.

It said the fatality brought the death tally among protesters to at least 118, mostly young people, since the military seized power in October 25 in a globally condemned coup that plunged the country into worsening turmoil.

Thousands of people were injured in the nearly weekly street protests since the coup, according to the medical group, which tracks casualties among protesters. The coup derailed the countrys short-lived transition to democracy following a popular uprising forced the militarys removal of longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir and his Islamist-allied government in April 2019.

The leading pro-democracy movement, known as the Forces for the Declaration of Freedom and Change, called for Tuesdays protests to denounce the coup and dayslong tribal clashes in the southern Blue Nile province that killed at least 105 people earlier this month.

The group said men wearing civilian clothes and armed with guns and knives attacked a protest march in the capital city of Khartoum. It claimed that security agencies and al-Bashir supporters were behind this attack. It did not offer evidence supporting its claims.

There was no immediate comment from police.

Tuesdays protests came barely three weeks after the countrys top military officer, Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, said the generals would not take part from U.N.-facilitated talks with the pro-democracy movement and that the military would return to the barracks after political forces agree on a transitional government.

Burhans July 4 declaration was supported last week by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, who commands the feared Rapid Support Forces. The RSF, which grew out of the notorious Janjaweed militias, was accused by rights and protest groups, of implicating in atrocities against protests over the past three years.

The pro-democracy movement rejected Burhans declaration as a tactical maneuver that was likely meant to inflame divisions within the already fractured pro-democracy groups. It called for the general to step down and allow the pro-democracy groups to form a civilian government and restructure the military.
MECOSTA COUNTY  The August primary is fast approaching, and Mecosta County voters will be seeing some familiar names, as well as some new names on the ballot.

The primary election provides voters the chance to select a candidate to be a political partys nominee for a given office in the general election.

In the race for the Mecosta County board of commissioners, current commissioners Jerrilyn Strong (R), District 2; Linda Howard (R), District 3; Ray Stienke (R), District 4 and Tom ONeil (R), District 5, are running unopposed. However, Districts 1, 6 and 7 will face some new challengers.

In District 1, current commissioner Marilyn Bradstrom (R) is being challenged by Randy Vetter (R) and write in candidate Theresa Beeckman (D).

In District 6, current commissioner Wendy Nystrom will not run for re-election. Chris Jane (R) and Theresa Ventocilla (R) will compete for that seat.

In District 7, current board chair Bill Routley (R) is being challenged by Brad Meyers (R).

The Pioneer attempted to reach out to the local candidates on the ballot, but was unable to contact all candidates prior to publication.

Why did you decide to run for election to the county board of commissioners?

Bradstrom: Every year that I have spent as a county commissioner representing Green, Grant and Colfax townships has been enjoyable, yet challenging. I really love this job. I love understanding how local government works and interacts with other cities and counties through collaboration. I am excited to see what is ahead for Mecosta County and I want to continue to be a part of it.

Vetter: Well, I am not happy with the direction our current administration has taken in spending our, meaning the people's, tax dollars. I think we can do a lot better.

Jane: The short answer is I was asked. My term as the Big Rapids Public School board treasurer is coming to an end and I was looking for an area in which I could be more useful. The BRCS administration and staff are wold class and I have been proud to be their supporter and cheerleader with the challenges that have been thrown at them in the last couple of years, but we only have so much time in this life and I want to serve where I can the most good.

Ventocilla: I am a lifetime resident of Big Rapids. I have been attending the county commission meetings, and it is something I have always wanted to do. When Wnedy Nystrom could no longer run, I chose to run for the District 6 seat.

Routley: I have faithfully served all the residents of Mecosta County for 19 years as the District 7 commissioner and we have had many positive advances during this time, including computerization, building a solid ES and many other services.

What do you feel are the most pressing issues facing the county right now?

Bradstrom: The issues facing Mecosta County are much the same as the rest of the country, i.e., economy, drugs, crime, employment, childhood hunger, and homelessness, among others.

Vetter: First and foremost, our roads. With the influx of over $8 million in ARPA funds coming into the county, I think we need to make an effort to redirect some of those funds to our roads.

Secondly, our Sheriff's Department and our EMS, which I wholeheartedly support, have turned into training grounds for new young officers and or paramedics. They get jobs here. They get some experience, and they're gone. And why is it that they're leaving? Pay and benefits to surrounding counties. The people in this county have religiously approved and reapproved a half a mill levy for ambulance and paramedic care. We are not accessing the full half mil and like I say, we're losing paramedics, as fast as we're losing sheriff deputies.

Jane: With the amount of uncertainty, fear and suffering going on all around us, I would not presume to know all of the issues the people of Mecosta County are going to face in the next few years, such as housing and material shortages, essential infrastructure, road repairs, public transportation and rising crime. One problem we can no longer ignore is our growing irrelevance in the state. Without people moving here, building businesses here and spending their tax and recreational dollas here, there wont be any money to fix the roads and hire deputies, EMTs and Fire personnel that a county as big as ours continues to need.

Ventocilla: A balanced budget with a reasonable tax rate; small business growth; accessibility to concerned citizens on community issues through an open-door dialogue; and accountability on expenditures.

Routley: Some pressing needs are affordable healthcare, housing, and services for the needy; good recreational opportunities for healthy living and a healthy environment for our senior citizens to live in; maintaining a good EMS, Sheriff's Office, and other departments; and a great Commission on Aging to serve and keep our senior residents safe.

How will you tackle those issues if elected?

Bradstrom: The board of commissioners works with the Mecosta County economic Development Corporation to attract new businesses and jobs to the area. The board continually provides its departments with the tools and support needed to operate effectively in attracting and maintaining personnel for the Sheriffs Office and EMS, which are vital, and works closely with the Commission on Aging and many other program critical to our senior population. The American Rescue Plan Act funding that the county received will be used in ways that have a major impact on bettering life for all Mecosta County residents

Vetter: Hopefully, earmark more funding for those two departments (Sheriff's Department and EMS), so they can retain some more people. And we can have quality service with some tenure.

Jane: If elected, I will continue to be fiercely supportive of independent businesses of all size, take advantage of any and all initiatives aimed at expanding affordable housing and high speed internet access to our rural areas. I will be a vocal and visible advocate for the positives throughout Mecosta County. And if I am not elected, I plan to do the same thing.

Ventocilla: I will talk to the people involved, study those things I need more knowledge on and ask the questions on how the community stands on the issue, with the intent of getting the public more involved in the matters on which the board of commissioners is making decisions.

Routley: We as a county commission have been working very hard as a team to develop ways to accomplish our goals, including most recently implementing a plan to invest up to $8 million that will benefit residents in all areas of the county.

Why should people vote for you?

Bradstrom: I have served as county commissioner for nine years and have experience in business and county government. My sincere desire to serve makes me an excellent candidate for this position. I want to do all I can to assist my county in moving forward.

Vetter: Because when I went to school, I was taught the government is of the people, by the people, for the people. I want us to get back to that, because I dont think were there. I have never been asked by any county commissioner, ever, what do I think we should be spending our time, effort, and money on and I want to change that.

Jane: I have a simple creed I live by, and part of it is to serve well. Ive gotten the opportunity to serve in a lot of different areas, from the boards of nonprofits like the Salvation Army, to city works committees, to hands-on church ministry and leadership. I have no agenda or axe to grind. I will listen thoughtfully to and read about each item brought before the commission, ask questions, hear arguments, learn what I can, and vote consistently with my conscience. With the average age of the commission being that of post-retirement, I think I can bring some new energy and a fresh perspective that could be helpful.

Ventocilla: I have owned my own small business for 17 years and lost several contracts due to COVID, so I understand the immediate financial environment and the struggles of the small business owners. I believe in integrity and accountability, and I am a Christian and focus on Biblical guidance for my values and principles through the reading of scripture and prayer every day. I strive for honesty, integrity, and trustworthiness and I am a team player not afraid of asking the hard questions. I am up-to-date on the current issues that involve Mecosta County and the Board of Commissioners. There are challenges ahead and I am willing to take those on and work toward a resolution.

Routley: I am a Christian strongly committed to serving the Lord and an Elder in my church. I am honest, hardworking, dependable and love seeing our county prosper. We have a great group of county employees that are a joy to serve with and I would love to spend another two years working with them to keep Mecosta County a great place to live and visit.

For more information on polling locations, or to view a sample ballot, contact your local clerks office or visit michigan.gov/elections.
MODESTO, Calif. (AP)  Lawyers filed a wrongful death and excessive force lawsuit against the city of Modesto after police fatally shot an intoxicated man armed with a trailer hitch after his father-in-law called 911 seeking help.

Civil rights attorney John Burris announced the federal lawsuit Tuesday at the Modesto home of David Chavez, 30, who died after police were called there July 14. Burris said police had an opportunity to de-escalate the situation but did not, showing a callous disregard for human life.

The police were called to protect the family, but because they failed to communicate, lack of patience, or worse yet, lack of respect for lives in this community, they destroyed the lives of the people they were called to protect," Burris said in a statement.

In response, the Modesto Police Department posted information about the fatal encounter on social media, The Modesto Bee reported. The video montage includes a 911 call made by a man eventually identified as Chavez's father-in-law, who said that his son-in-law was drunk and at his door, threatening his life and ripping off the screen door.

The caller said Chavez had picked up a tow hitch and called it a weapon.

Responding officers told Chavez repeatedly to drop the hitch, but he didn't. Police shot twice and used a Taser on him. Chavez later died at a hospital.

In the video, Modesto Police Chief Brandon Gillespie said the California of Department of Justice will not investigate the officer shooting because Chavez was carrying a deadly weapon, the trailer hitch. The department is charged with investigating officer shootings that result in the death of unarmed civilians.

Burris said Chavez was not holding the trailer hitch in a threatening manner. He and the family are calling for the officer who fired to be prosecuted for manslaughter or murder.

The police department is conducting both criminal and administrative investigations, and the district attorney's office is conducting its own review, Gillespie said.
A former Macomb County priest will spend years in prison after being convicted of sex abuse, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced Tuesday.

Macomb County Circuit Court Judge Diane Druzinski sentenced Neil Kalina, 67, to seven to 15 years in prison for fondling a 14-year-old boy and having the boy fondle him in the rectory at St. Kieran Church in the mid-1980s. Kalina was a priest at St. Kiernan Catholic Church in Shelby Township from 1982-1985, according to Nessel's office in a press release on Tuesday.

Kalina was also accused of providing alcohol and drugs to children at the rectory, Nessel's office has reported.

Druzinski sentenced Kalina at the top of the guideline range after he was convicted on two counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct by a jury in the circuit court in June 2022, according to the release.

At sentencing on Tuesday, Druzinski called Kalina a "horrible person" who should never "see the light of day," according to reporting by Macomb Daily.

"This is a victory for the survivors who fought to see their abusers held accountable," Nessel said in the release. "Regardless of how much time has passed or how difficult a case may be, my prosecutors are committed to securing justice for the victims of clergy abuse. Adults who prey upon and subject children to abuse belong in prison."

Kalina was first charged in May 2019 and arrested in Littlerock, California. The jury was also presented first-degree CSC and rendered a not guilty verdict to that charge, according to the release.

The conviction is part of the Department of Attorney General's Clergy Abuse Investigation. So far, 11 people have been charged and six of those convicted.

For instance, in August 2021, former Catholic school music teacher Joseph Comperchio was sentenced to 12 to 30 years in prison.

In July 2021, former U.P. priest Gary Jacobs received his second prison sentence. Jacobs' sentence is between eight and 15 years in prison.

Also in July 2021, Gary Berthiaume - a former priest at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Wyandotte and later Our Lady of Sorrows in Farmington - was ordered to stand trial on two counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct. He faces two additional cases, which were first charged in June 2021.

Anyone who would like to report an incident related to clergy sexual abuse in Michigan can call Nessel's investigation hotline at (844) 324-3374.
GILLESPIE  A Macoupin County man is facing charges related to a fatal accident near Witt on Saturday night.

According to Illinois State Police, Daniel Adams, 34, of Gillespie, was driving a 2016 Dodge van on Illinois 16 southwest of 5th Street in Witt at 7:25 p.m. Saturday when he left the roadway, striking and embankment and tree.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP)  Republicans are warming up to Doug Mastriano.

When he crushed a nine-person field to win the GOP nomination for Pennsylvania governor in May, some in the party warned that Mastriano's far-right views on everything from abortion to the 2020 presidential election would squander an otherwise attainable seat in a critical battleground state. But now, as the general election season intensifies, the GOP machinery is cranking up to back Mastriano's campaign and attack his Democratic rival, Josh Shapiro.

Mastriano spoke in Aspen, Colorado, last week at an event with donors sponsored by the Republican Governors Association. At the GOP's Rally at the Rock campaign event in northern Pennsylvania earlier this month, the independently elected state treasurer, Stacy Garrity, introduced Mastriano as our next governor." County offices and booths are festooned with his campaign signs and he spoke at this month's closed-door state party meeting. And on Wednesday, a pair of top party officials are hosting a fundraiser for Mastriano.

In one of America's most politically divided states, the GOP's embrace of a candidate who opposes abortion rights with no exceptions, spread conspiracy theories about the 2020 election and was outside the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 insurrection risks alienating moderate party members. But some Republicans say they're duty bound to get behind their party's nominee.

When you play team sports, you learn what being part of a team means, said Andy Reilly, the state GOP's national committeeman and co-host of Wednesday's fundraiser. Our team voted for him in the primary and, no matter how you slice it, his philosophies are much better to run the state than a career politician like Josh Shapiro.

November's election has major implications.

Working with a Republican-controlled Legislature, Mastriano could dramatically scale back access to abortion. And he would be able to appoint Pennsylvania's secretary of state, giving him tremendous power over elections in a state that is often decisive in presidential campaigns.

Perhaps with that in mind, some Republicans have been tentative about vocally supporting Mastriano.

The Republican Governors Association  typically a source of millions of dollars for GOP campaigns  has done next to nothing to publicly praise Mastriano, as it has other Republican nominees.

But that could change as the fall campaign nears. Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, the RGA's co-chairman, told CNN this month that he would not rule out helping Mastriano and suggested that the group would help if Shapiro appears beatable.

The job of the RGA is to elect Republican governors, and thats what were going to do in this cycle, Ducey said.

Mastriano and Shapiro are vying for the right to succeed Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf, who is constitutionally term-limited after entering office in 2015.

Shapiro, the state's two-time elected attorney general, unified the party behind his candidacy, running an uncontested primary campaign and rolling up strong fundraising numbers. He also has ties to some prominent Republicans in Philadelphia and its heavily populated suburbs.

His campaign recently rolled out a list of onetime Republican elected officials who are endorsing him, while another group of Republicans have started a group called Republicans for Shapiro to sway votes against Mastriano.

Mastriano dismissed them as has-beens.

Still, the party's traditional donor community around the state is  by many accounts  sitting on their wallets at a time when Mastriano is badly lagging Shapiro in fundraising. That includes prominent Philadelphia-area donors and fundraisers who long have financed Republican campaigns but know Shapiro well and likely reject Mastriano's socially conservative politics.

Thats going to make it much tougher for Mastriano to break into that southeastern Pennsylvania kind of money, that group of big-time donors and fundraisers, said David Urban, a Republican strategist who worked on Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign.

Beyond that, Mastriano as the partys standard-bearer is causing heartburn, and some party officials declined to speak on the record about him.

The unifying theme is a distaste for Mastriano.

No GOP contender for governor in the U.S. did more to subvert the 2020 presidential election than Mastriano  and no one may be better positioned to subvert the next one if hes elected governor.

He has rubbed elbows with QAnon conspiracy theorists, Trump's most prominent election-denying allies and people arrested in the attack on the U.S. Capitol. His active account on Gab  a social media site popular with white supremacists and antisemites where he also spent $5,000 for advertising  prompted a condemnation by the national Republican Jewish Coalition.

He has been one of Pennsylvanias leading spreaders of Trumps lies about fraud in the 2020 presidential election.

His plan to overturn the election results  introduced as a resolution in the Legislature  drew a subpoena from the U.S. House committee investigating the insurrection.

Mastriano later organized bus trips to Trumps Stop the Steal rally near the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 and, afterward, can be seen in photos walking past breached police lines to where he watched pro-Trump demonstrators clash with police on the Capitol steps. That prompted an FBI interview, though he has not been charged with a crime.

Then there's Mastriano's embrace of Christian nationalism, which scholars generally define as championing a fusion of American and Christian values, symbols and identity. Christian nationalism, they say, is often accompanied by a belief that God has destined America, like the biblical Israel, for a special role in history, and that it will receive divine blessing or judgment depending on its obedience.

Mastriano has also condemned the GOP establishment, refuses to speak with most mainstream media organizations and backed a ban on abortion, with no exceptions, that turns off some party officials in Pennsylvania.

That  plus Mastriano's talk of decertifying voting machines, opposing gay marriage and ridiculing climate change as fake science  hasn't escaped Shapiro, whose campaign is running a TV ad calling Mastriano extreme, and way too risky for Pennsylvania.

Once a Mastriano primary victory appeared inevitable, Trump endorsed him, despite party leaders fearing that he couldnt win over enough moderate voters to beat Shapiro in November.

State Senate Majority Leader Kim Ward, R-Westmoreland, who once warned that Democrats will destroy him with swing voters, had dinner with Mastriano following the primary.

Ward said she told Mastriano that he has my full support because I want a governor who isnt going to kowtow to the Biden administration and the Democrats anti-fossil fuel policy on energy.

Mastriano is also getting help from an organization whose political action committees are a conduit for campaign cash from billionaire Jeffrey Yass and spent $13 million fruitlessly backing a primary rival to Mastriano while warning that Mastriano could not win swing voters in a general election.

The organization, the Commonwealth Partners Chamber of Entrepreneurs, has already commissioned anti-Shapiro billboards and plans to spend millions against Shapiro, its president, Matt Brouillette, said.

Its board has made no decision on whether to endorse Mastriano, he said.

For now, many Republicans are watching Mastriano's efforts to mend fences with the party, raise money and broaden his appeal to swing voters. He has called up some party officials and donors. Some have given him advice, other say they have yet to.

I will tell him that hes got to his message out, and hes got to raise money to get his message out to counter the false portrayal that Josh Shapiro is putting out, Reilly said.

Some say they see him focusing more on standard GOP talking points, such as inflation, and moving away from talk of 2020's election denial and banning abortion.

Charlie Gerow, a conservative activist who lost to Mastriano in the primary, said he will help Mastriano any way he can  and will tell Mastriano to expand his campaign efforts beyond the most conservative voters.

A lot will depend on his ability to put together a campaign necessary to win in November, Gerow said. And I think he recognizes that hes got to broaden his appeal in order to win in November.

___

Follow Marc Levy on Twitter at https://twitter.com/timelywriter.
WASHINGTON (AP)  House Speaker Nancy Pelosis reported plans to travel to Taiwan have upended Washingtons political divide, with a rift emerging with President Joe Biden over the visit to the self-governing island while prominent Republicans offer encouragement to a political opponent they normally scorn.

Pelosis supporters include a conservative Republican senator, at least two former Trump administration officials and the last speaker of the House to make the trip to Taiwan, also a Republican. They are urging Biden to back the trip even as China threatens a forceful response if she goes.

Pelosi, D-Calif., has not confirmed the trip publicly. The White House and the speakers office have yet to challenge each other directly, and Biden has not said publicly that Pelosi should not go.

Biden has made blunting Chinas rising influence a core part of his foreign policy ethos, but the Biden-China relationship is complicated and he has sought to avoid unnecessarily aggravating tensions. China considers democratic, self-ruling Taiwan its own territory and has raised the prospect of annexing it by force.

The White House is preparing for another call between Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping, a conversation the U.S. president said he expects this week despite his COVID-19 diagnosis.

The growing chorus pushing Biden to support Pelosi publicly is also raising the risk that the president could be perceived as insufficiently tough on China.

Speaker Pelosi should go to Taiwan and President Biden should make it abundantly clear to Chairman Xi that theres not a damn thing the Chinese Communist Party can do about it, Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., said Monday. No more feebleness and self-deterrence. This is very simple: Taiwan is an ally and the speaker of the House of Representatives should meet with the Taiwanese men and women who stare down the threat of Communist China.

The White House on Monday declined to weigh in directly on Pelosi's trip  including whether the speaker has Biden's blessing  considering she has not confirmed it.

The administration routinely provides members of Congress with information and context for potential travel, including geopolitical and security considerations," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, without responding directly to Pelosi's possible plans. Members of Congress will make their own decisions.

State Department spokesman Ned Price also declined to discuss any concerns.

I will just restate our policy, and that is that we remain committed to maintaining cross-strait peace and stability and our One China policy, said Price, referring to the U.S. position that recognizes Beijing as the government of China but allows for informal relations and defense ties with Taipei.

In private, the administration is particularly concerned that a convergence of upcoming events could make a Chinese response to a Pelosi visit even stronger and more animated than it might otherwise be, according to officials. The Chinese Communist Party congress, expected in November, at which Xi intends to further cement his hold on power, is one of those events.

International events in the coming months also could prompt China to react more forcefully than it has in the past if it believes its concerns are being ignored or its president is being disrespected, the officials said. Those include the annual U.N. General Assembly in September and several summits in Asia  the G-20 in Indonesia, the East Asia Summit in Cambodia and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Thailand  set for October and November. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the administration's perspective.

The U.S. officials said the administration doubts that China would take action against Pelosi herself or try to sabotage or otherwise interfere with a visit, but they said the administration does not rule out the possibility that China could escalate provocative overflights of military aircraft in or near Taiwanese airspace and naval patrols in the Taiwan Strait should the trip take place. The officials also said the administration does not preclude that China might also step up its actions outside the immediate area of Taiwan as a show of strength, thus possibly expanding military operations in contested areas of the South China Sea.

Earlier Monday, Taipei staged air raid drills and the island's military performed routine defense exercises amid rising tensions over the potential visit, although there was no direct link between those exercises and threats posed by Beijing should Pelosi make the trip.

The Chinese in general dont fully appreciate or understand the concept of the separation of powers between the executive, legislative and judicial branches. Those distinctions to them are muddied further because the last time a speaker of the House visited Taiwan, Newt Gingrich, he was the speaker of a Republican-controlled House under a Democratic president.

Pelosi would be visiting at a time when the Democrats control the House, Senate and the White House, so there are concerns that the Chinese may see this as an administration move.

Gingrich himself tweeted support for Pelosi on Monday: What is the Pentagon thinking when it publicly warns against Speaker Pelosi going to Taiwan? If we are so intimidated by the Chinese Communists we cant even protect an American Speaker of the House why should Beijing believe we can help Taiwan survive. Timidity is dangerous.

Mark Esper, a defense secretary during the Trump administration, said Monday that he had recently returned from Taipei and that more high-ranking U.S. officials should visit to help shape U.S. policy in the region. He also stressed that China should not have veto power over where U.S. officials travel.

I think if the speaker wants to go, she should go, Esper said on CNN's New Day.

Meanwhile, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, a Republican who served in the Trump administration, tweeted on Sunday: Nancy, Ill go with you. Im banned in China, but not freedom-loving Taiwan. See you there!

Biden last week raised the U.S. government concerns about Pelosi's possible visit, telling reporters after returning from Massachusetts that the military thinks her trip is not a good idea right now."

A spokesman for Pelosi again declined to comment on Monday, citing security protocol. Last week Pelosi said it was important for us to show support for Taiwan and that she believed Biden meant "maybe the military was afraid our plane would get shot down or something like that by the Chinese.

Pelosi has positioned herself as a lawmaker unafraid to confront Beijing almost since the moment she was sworn into Congress in 1987. When she visited Tiananmen Square two years after the 1989 massacre, she defiantly unfurled a banner that read To those who died for democracy in China." Three years ago, Pelosi voiced support for pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong, again triggering the ire of the Chinese government.

She had planned to visit Taiwan in April, but postponed the trip after testing positive for COVID-19.

___

AP Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

BOISE, Idaho (AP)  A regional Planned Parenthood organization has filed a third lawsuit over Idaho's anti-abortion laws and the latest targets the state's ban on abortions for pregnancies beyond six weeks of gestation.

Planned Parenthood Great Northwest, Hawaii, Alaska, Indiana, Kentucky was joined by family medicine Dr. Caitlin Gustafson in the lawsuit filed Monday.

They are asking the Idaho Supreme Court to overturn the ban because they say it is vague and unconstitutional. They also want the high court to hear arguments in the case on Aug. 3  the same day the court is scheduled to hear arguments in the other two lawsuits.

Idaho, like many Republican-led states, has several anti-abortion laws on the books, creating a legal quagmire now that the U.S. Supreme Court has overturned the landmark abortion rights case Roe v. Wade.

In court filings, Planned Parenthood said the ban on abortions after six weeks, often dubbed a heartbeat ban, is likely to go into effect first on Aug. 19, because it was written to be triggered 30 days after any federal appellate court upholds a similar ban somewhere in the United States.

That trigger happened last week when the 11th U.S. Court of Appeals allowed a restrictive 2019 abortion law in Georgia to take effect.

The Georgia and the Idaho laws ban abortions once a vaginal ultrasound can detect electrical activity in the embryonic cells that may eventually develop into a heart. That happens as early as six weeks into a pregnancy  before many people know they are pregnant.

Not satisfied with criminalizing abortion once, the Legislature did it twice (in 2020 and 2021)  and then, for good measure, added a private right of action as well in 2022, hoping to make that unconstitutional ban effective through a bounty hunter system of private enforcement, attorneys for Planned Parenthood wrote in court documents.

The reproductive health organization also sued in June over Idaho's total abortion ban passed in 2020. That law automatically goes into effect around Aug. 25, 30 days after the U.S. Supreme Court issued its formal judgement stripping decades-old constitutional protections for abortion in the U.S. Though the nation's highest court made that ruling earlier this year, the formal judgment was issued on Tuesday.

Planned Parenthood sued in March over Idaho's newest anti-abortion law. The 2022 law allows potential relatives of a fetus or embryo to sue medical providers who perform an abortion. The law prohibits rapists from suing, but allows rapists' relatives to sue.

The multiple lawsuits are necessary because of the piecemeal and unlawful way in which the Idaho Legislature has attempted to ban abortion, Planned Parenthood wrote.

The group said the six-week ban violates the Idaho Constitution's guarantee of the fundamental right to privacy, the equal protection clause and the Idaho Human Right Act's prohibition against sex discrimination. Planned Parenthood also contends the law is unconstitutionally vague.

The six-week ban only allows abortions in a few narrow exceptions  medical emergencies and cases of rape or incest that have been reported to law enforcement, as long as the pregnant person provides a copy of the police report to the person performing the abortion. The law defines a medical emergency as when a pregnant woman needs an immediate abortion to prevent death or the risk of substantial, irreversible damage to a major bodily function.

Health care providers who violate the ban face up to five years in prison.

The medical emergency provision is impossible to interpret, Planned Parenthood wrote in court documents, and challenges and delays in getting police reports render the rape and incest exception mostly meaningless.

It would be very difficult, if not impossible, for me to implement the medical exception and provide care to a pregnant person whose life may be at risk, said Gustafson, the family medical specialist.

She added: For example, women can sometimes die or suffer long-term harm if they do not receive an abortion following placental abruption, an infection, or the onset of preeclampsia, but none of these is certain to cause death or those consequences if the woman does not receive an abortion.

The Idaho Attorney General's office has not yet filed a response to the latest lawsuit over the six-week abortion ban, but the state's attorneys have maintained in the other court cases that it is in the government's interest to ban abortions and that state Legislatures have the right to enact abortion-related policies. That means the ballot box, not the courts, is the appropriate place to go for a remedy, state officials have said.
BAGHDAD (AP)  A retired British geologist sentenced to 15 years for antiquities smuggling in Iraq may soon go free after a Baghdad court overturned his conviction, his family and lawyer said on Tuesday.

Baghdad's Court of Cassation, or appeals court, overturned the verdict against Jim Fitton, 66, last month, his lawyer Thair Soud told the Associated Press. The decision was made on the basis of an appeal filed by Soud shortly after Fitton was convicted.

Fitton's release date was not immediately known, but Soud said pending paperwork, he should be freed soon.

The court "agreed with the justifications we drove in the memo against the sentence and how it was based on mistakes in the application of the law, and further, in the assessment of the evidence, Soud told The Associated Press.

Fitton drew international attention last month after the conviction for picking up shards of pottery from an archeological site in southern Iraq. Many feared the incident would deter tourists from visiting Iraq, where the government hopes to grow the nascent tourism sector.

Some of the pieces he picked up were no larger than a fingernail, he later told the criminal court. He was arrested in March at Baghdad Airport and sentenced in June.

Documents posted to the judiciary website said the appeals court found that Fitton's trial judges had made mistakes and that key circumstantial evidence had been overlooked, including Fitton's unfamiliarity with local laws. It also pointed out that the areas where he had picked up the pieces were unguarded.

The court noted that Fitton had made no attempt to hide the items at the airport. The shards were clearly visible when airport staff checked his luggage. Based on this, court found that Fitton harbored no criminal intent to smuggle antiquities and ordered his immediate release, according to the document.

The decision was a a real win, said Soud.

Fitton's family said they were over the moon but that we still have no idea what the timeline looks like and do not want to do any formal interviews until Jim is safely home with us, his son-in-law, Sam Tasker, told the AP.

Fitton missed his daughter's wedding last month in Malayisa as he faced trial in Iraq.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

TOKYO (AP)  Japan on Tuesday executed a man who killed seven people in a vehicle crash and stabbing rampage in a crowded Tokyo shopping district in 2008.

Justice Minister Yoshihisa Furukawa told reporters that Tomohiro Kato was hanged at the Tokyo detention center earlier Tuesday.

Japan has maintained the death penalty despite growing international criticism. Furukawa said capital punishment was a justified response to continuing heinous and violent crime and scrapping it wasn't appropriate at this point.

Furukawa said Kato had thoroughly prepared to commit the mass killings  an atrocious act that led to extremely serious consequences and had a major impact on society.

In the attack, Kato drove down his truck on a street in the Akihabara electronics shopping area, slamming into a crowd of people and killing three pedestrians in June 2008. He then got out of the vehicle and stabbed four people to death. He injured or wounded 10 others.

Surveillance footage aired by national broadcaster NHK afterward showed Kato buying hunting knives two days before the attack, laughing with a store worker and at times making stabbing motions with his hands. Media reports also said he had posted on internet message boards several despondent messages and warnings that he was planning to kill people in a mass attack.

Kato, 39, was sentenced to death in 2011 by the Tokyo District Court, and the Supreme Court rejected his appeal in 2015.

Furukawa denied Tuesdays hanging was related to the shooting death of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe earlier this month, which shocked the nation known for strict gun controls and low crime rate.

Tuesday's hanging was the second under the government of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who took office in October.

Japan now has 107 people on death row, including 61 seeking retrials, Furukawa said.

Japan and the U.S. are the only two countries in the Group of Seven advanced nations that retain capital punishment. A survey by the Japanese government showed an overwhelming majority of the public supports executions.

Executions are carried out in high secrecy in Japan, where prisoners are not informed of their fate until the morning they are hanged. Since 2007, Japan has begun disclosing the names of those executed and some details of their crimes, but disclosures are still limited.

Three prisoners were hanged in 2021.

In 2018, Japan hanged 15 people, including the guru of the Aum Shinrikyo cult and 12 former followers convicted in the sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway that killed 13 people and sickened thousands.
ATLANTA (AP)  A judge in Atlanta has rejected an appeal by a group of voters and affirmed the Georgia secretary of state's decision that U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is eligible to run for reelection.

The five voters from Greene's district sought to have her removed from the ballot, saying that she played a significant role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol that disrupted Congress certification of Bidens presidential victory. That was a violation of a rarely invoked provision in the 14th Amendment against insurrection or rebellion, they argued.

Represented by Free Speech for People, a national election and campaign finance reform group, the voters filed a complaint with Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in March.

Greene was questioned extensively during a daylong hearing in April before Georgia Administrative Law Judge Charles Beaudrot, who ruled on May 6 that Greene should not be disqualified. Raffensperger immediately affirmed the decision.

The voters appealed in Fulton County Superior Court, where Chief Judge Christopher Brasher affirmed Raffensperger's adoption on Monday.

The voters said Beaudrot made four legal errors, but Brasher found that Beaudrot acted properly.

Free Speech for People said in a statement that Brasher ruled with minimal legal analysis, and that it has not decided whether to appeal to the Georgia Supreme Court.

The challenge to Greene's eligibility was based on a section of the 14th Amendment that says no one can serve in Congress who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress ... to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same.

Ratified shortly after the Civil War, it was meant in part to keep representatives who had fought for the Confederacy from returning to Congress.

Beaudrot found that the voters hadn't produced sufficient evidence that Greene's actions before, during and after the Capitol siege encouraged and helped facilitate a violent attack on the U.S. government and democracy in violation of the U.S. Constitution.

Greene won about 70% of the vote in the May Republican primary, easily defeating five challengers who tried to unseat her. She faces Democrat Marcus Flowers in Novembers general election.
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP)  A lawsuit filed Monday by a Casper women's health clinic and others seeks to block Wyoming's new abortion ban just before it's scheduled to take effect.

The lawsuit claims the new law violates the state constitution with restrictions that will discourage potentially lifesaving pregnancy healthcare in Wyoming, forcing pregnant women to go to other states for necessary procedures.

As with all Wyoming laws challenged in court, Wyoming Attorney General Bridget Hill will defend the new law set to go into effect Wednesday, Michael Pearlman, spokesman for Gov. Mark Gordon, said by email.

Gordon, a Republican, signed the ban on nearly all abortion in Wyoming in March.

The ban was to take effect if the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, which happened June 24. After a more than three-week review, Hill last week gave the go-ahead for Gordon to certify the law to take effect this Wednesday.

The law will outlaw abortions except in cases of rape or incest or to protect the mothers life or health, not including psychological conditions. Wyoming until now has allowed abortions up to the point of viability outside the mother, or around 23 weeks into pregnancy.

The lawsuit filed in Teton County District Court by four Wyoming women and two nonprofits seeking to maintain abortion access claims the new law violates several rights guaranteed by the state constitution, including a fundamental right to be left alone by the government.

The lawsuit claims the abortion ban will harm the women  two obstetricians, a pregnant nurse and a University of Wyoming law student  by outlawing potentially life-saving treatment options for their patients or themselves.

For example, the ban would force one of the women, Dr. Giovannina Anthony, a Jackson OB-GYN, to decline care to women with desired pregnancies out of concern she could go to jail if a miscarriage resulted in prosecution, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit could meanwhile discourage procedures performed by Dr. Rene Hinkle, a Cheyenne OB-GYN, to remove miscarried fetuses or end pregnancies occurring outside the uterus out of concern she could be prosecuted, according to the lawsuit.

The law could also discourage pregnant patients with complications from seeking care out of fear they could be prosecuted, the lawsuit alleges.

The lawsuit's other plaintiffs include the Chelsea's Fund, a nonprofit providing information about abortion options and financial help to women seeking them, and the Wellspring Health Access women's and LGBTQ healthcare clinic in Casper.

An arson attack in late May heavily damaged the clinic just a few weeks before it was set to open, delaying the opening by several months. Police have reported no arrests.

Also suing are Danielle Johnson, of Teton County, a Wyoming hospital nurse who is 22 weeks pregnant and who asserts the law will limit treatment options for her patients and herself; and University of Wyoming law student Kathleen Dow, who plans to have a family soon but now faces similar restrictions, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit asks for a judge to declare the abortion ban unconstitutional and to bar its enforcement.

____

Follow Mead Gruver at https://twitter.com/meadgruver
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 1 of 3 Stephen Smith/AP Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Evan Vucci/AP Show More Show Less 3 of 3





BATON ROUGE (AP)  Five days after a state judge blocked enforcement of Louisianas abortion ban, the same judge on Tuesday denied a motion by state officials to suspend the ruling while they pursue an appeal.

Lawyers for state Attorney General Jeff Landry and health secretary Courtney Phillips filed the request last week in Baton Rouge. They wanted Judge Donald Johnson to suspend his ruling and allow enforcement of a ban that was put into state law in anticipation of the U.S. Supreme Courts June 24 ruling reversing abortion rights. Johnson denied the motion.
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP)  Police have arrested a 29-year-old man they say fired at officers who were responding to a disturbance at a home in suburban Denver on Sunday night.

Police said Monday that the 29-year-old was arrested for his role shooting at police officers last night.
Illinois has seen a 50% increase in cannabis tax revenue since last year, thanks to the booming adult-use cannabis industry.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker's office said Monday that adult-use cannabis sales exceeded $1.5 billion so far this year.

"Illinois has done more to put justice and equity at the forefront of this industry than any other state in the nation and has worked to ensure that communities hurt by the war on drugs have had the opportunity to participate," Pritzker said in a release. "The $1.5 billion in sales of adult-use cannabis in Illinois translates into significant tax revenue with a portion of every dollar spent being reinvested in communities that have suffered for decades."

Cannabis tax disbursements to the local governments climbed from $82.8 million in 2021 to $146.2 million in 2022  a 77% increase.

The state saw total tax reported from adult-use cannabis increase from $297.7 million in 2021 to $445.3 million in 2022. Total adult-use sales increased from $1 billion to $1.5 billion in the same timeframe.

According to the state's Cannabis Regulation Oversight Officer website, more than 30 existing medical marijuana dispensaries were issued licenses to sell adult-use cannabis. To see if any locations sell adult-use near you, visit the state's website.

Under Illinois law, 25% of the tax revenue generated from adult-use cannabis sales must support economically distressed communities, or those experiencing high rates of violence or are disproportionately impacted by the criminalization of drugs.

The state, through the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority's Restore, Reinvest, and Renew Program, has awarded $113.5 million in grants with funds generated by the adult-use cannabis sales to underserved communities, according to the release.

"Created by Illinois historic cannabis legalization law, the R3 Program is designed to help communities with issues of gun violence, child poverty, unemployment, and imprisonment by providing funding from the taxes of adult-use cannabis sales," the release read.

"The cannabis industry continues to have a positive impact in Illinois, Illinois Department of Revenue Director David Harris said in the release. "It has created hundreds of jobs at cultivation centers and dispensaries throughout the state, and tax revenue generated continues to flow to local governments, help with drug programs and treatments, and is also being reinvested back into the communities that need it the most."

For more information on the adult-use legal cannabis industry, visit https://www2.illinois.gov/cannabis/Pages/default.aspx.
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP)  Max Reiss, the face of Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont's administration for the past three years, said Tuesday he is leaving next month to take a new position in the private sector.

Reiss, 36, will become a senior vice president at M&T Bank, which recently completed the acquisition of Connecticut-based Peoples United Financial, Inc. and will now have a presence in 12 states.
As nearly 170 new medical students filed into a University of Michigan auditorium on Sunday, some wondered how they would explain to their overjoyed parents that they were going to walk out of the ritual marking the start of their studies.

Each member of the incoming class had their own calculus about whether to stay seated during the keynote address by Kristin Collier, an openly antiabortion health provider, or join fellow students in a peaceful protest. When the day came, about 70 people quietly rose from their seats and walked out as Collier took the stage - a show of dissent one month after Roe v. Wade was overturned. A clip of the walkout quickly went viral, with one video viewed more than 15 million times by Tuesday morning.

For some conservatives, the walkout was the latest example of "cancel culture" on university campuses. For others, it was a welcome sign of young people standing up for a procedure now severely restricted in some states.

But for the students involved, it was a chance to advocate for one of the four pillars of medical ethics: autonomy.

"We saw an opportunity to utilize our positions as future physicians to advocate for and stand in solidarity with individuals whose rights to bodily autonomy and medical care are endangered," the organizers said in a statement to The Washington Post.

A University of Michigan spokesperson said in a statement that Collier, the director of the medical school's health, spirituality and religion program, had been selected to give the keynote address "based on nominations and voting by ... medical students, house officers and faculty."

Collier, who has taught at the University of Michigan for 17 years, did not respond to a request for comment from The Post. The university spokesperson said Collier is not speaking to the media.

In a June interview with the Catholic newsletter the Pillar, Collier detailed her "conversion to a pro-life person" after years of being secular and staunchly "pro-choice." A month earlier, she posted on Twitter that she "can't not lament the violence directed at my prenatal sisters in the act of abortion, done in the name of autonomy."

In her Sunday address, Collier urged students to "get to know your patients as human beings, not just as their scans, labs, chemistry and data." Although she didn't explicitly mention abortion, she appeared to address the controversy by saying, "I want to acknowledge the deep wounds our community has suffered over the past several weeks."

"We have a great deal of work to do for healing to occur," she continued. "And I hope that for today, for this time, we can focus on what matters most - coming together to support our newly accepted students and their families with the goal of welcoming them into one of the greatest vocations that exists on this earth."

One student told The Post that after the Dobbs decision, having a speaker who has expressed antiabortion views "felt inappropriate and like a slap in the face."

"She can hold whatever opinion ... but I think the professional sphere is where one needs to be objective, especially as health care providers," added the student, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of safety concerns over backlash to the walkout.

Before the ceremony, the students created a poll to gauge whether to take action. When about 91% of respondents said they were either against or strongly against having Collier speak, according to the organizers, they created a petition to have her removed as the keynote speaker. They also proposed having a conversation with Collier at a later date - just not during a ceremony considered a rite of passage in their field of study.

University officials, however, stood by their decision. Collier "never planned to address a divisive topic" during the ceremony, the statement read.

"The University of Michigan does not revoke an invitation to a speaker based on their personal beliefs," it added.

As students prepared for the white-coat ritual, some were planning their protest. They wore pins with abortion rights slogans to the ceremony, recited an added line about patients' rights to their statement of ideals and then eventually walked out.

"You could tell there was this overwhelming sense of pride in the air. They didn't know each other before, but there was this sort of big breath of relief when everyone got outside and they were able to stand together in solidarity," said Brendan Scorpio, a Detroit-based social organizer who attended the ceremony and posted the clip of the walkout. "It was a very meaningful, powerful moment."

The debate surrounding Collier's speech is preceded by decades of culture clashes on university campuses, said Peter Cajka, who teaches in the department of American studies at the University of Notre Dame. The University of Michigan was known for the student activism it sparked in the 1960s.

"These culture-war-type debates at universities erupted in the '60s as the university became a more political space," Cajka said.

More recently, students at Boston University left an April lecture featuring a conservative political commentator, the school's newspaper reported. In 2017, graduating seniors at Notre Dame walked out of their commencement ceremony as Vice President Mike Pence delivered an address.

But Cajka sees a switch in the clashes occurring on campuses today. Politics are bleeding into areas that were historically apolitical, such as medicine, technology and science, he said. The catalyst of these protests often boils down to speakers seemingly embodying "the politics people are pushing against at times when said politics are at an issue."

"Without the Dobbs decision, does this speech even matter? No," he said of Collier's keynote. "Because this person who's pro-life, well, that's normally just an opinion. But now it seems like it has or represents some political power."

Michigan is among the handful of Midwestern states that still protect access to abortion, though the procedure is subject to restrictions.

Its flagship university and medical center "remain committed to providing high quality, safe reproductive care for patients," the University of Michigan said.
MILFORD TOWNSHIP, Ohio (AP)  A medical helicopter responding to the scene of a fatal accident in southwestern Ohio crashed early Tuesday when it hit power lines, but no one aboard the aircraft was seriously injured, authorities said.

Three crew members were in the CareFlight helicopter, en route to a two-vehicle accident involving two pickup trucks that occurred around 4:15 a.m. in Milford Township, according to the Butler County Sheriffs Office. The aircraft was approaching the scene when it crashed into the power lines and went down.
MEXICO CITY (AP)  In a bid to stoke nationalism and justify his policies, Mexicos president has increasingly taken to calling his opponents traitors and accused them of working for the foreign governments.

Analysts say President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is starting to sound more like right-wing Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, calling anyone who opposes him a foreign agent.

The issue came to a head last week when President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador tried to side-step court challenges to one of his pet projects by declaring a tourist train line an issue of national security," without explaining why a tourism project warranted that status.

On Monday, the president said it was a case of foreign intervention by environmentalists paid by the U.S. government, a heady accusation in a country that has been invaded several times.

Pseudo environmentalists come from Mexico City and other parts of the country, financed by the government of the United States, and they file these injunctions against us, said Lopez Obrador. It is an issue of national security for many reasons, because a foreign government is interfering.

Activist Pepe Urbina filed one of the court challenges that stalled the Maya Train project, which is cutting a swath through the jungle on Mexico's Caribbean coast. The project threatens extensive sinkhole caverns where some of the oldest human remains in North America have been discovered.

They are slandering us, by claiming we work for the U.S. government, said Urbina, who makes his living as a professional diver and denies receiving U.S. money. It is absurd.

The 950-mile (1,500- kilometer) Maya Train line is planned to run in a rough loop around the Yucatan peninsula, connecting beach resorts and archaeological sites. Lopez Obrador has exempted it from environmental impact statements, but a judge disagreed and froze work on a 36-mile (60 kilometer) stretch of train line between Cancun and Tulum.

Antonella Vazquez, a lawyer who took on the appeals on a volunteer basis, also denied getting any U.S. government funding.

It's shameful that they attack us, just to justify a national security designation that doesn't apply to a tourist train, said Vazquez, who noted the judge in the case refused Monday to lift the work stoppage, even though the government has started to ignore it.

Vazquez says I have received messages (on social media) that I am corrupt, or that someone is financing me or that I don't love my country. No! We aren't doing anything other than asking that the law be respected. 

Over the weekend, Lopez Obrador used similar language to attack anyone  environmentalists or businessmen  who opposes his plan to give dirty, fuel-oil and coal government power plants preference in electricity purchases, over private gas-fired, wind and solar plants.

Lopez Obrador's actions on electrical power led the U.S. and Canadian governments to file complaint against Mexico under the U.S.-Mexico Canada free trade pact, which forbids discriminating against foreign companies.

They are defending foreign oil companies, foreign electricity companies. They are traitors to the country! Lopez Obrador said of domestic opposition to his plans to favor the state-owned electrical company.

Mexican security analyst Alejandro Hope said Lopez Obrador's comments are like Viktor Orban, (Russian President Vladimir) Putin," noting the accusations are crossing dangerous lines.

Social movements, non-governmental organizations are suspect by definition, and if they have any link to any international network, more so, Hope said.

What follows next is to criminalize the opposition, right? Treason is a crime in the penal code, Hope said, adding I don't think they're at that point yet, but they are putting that out there, on the table.

Ivonne Acuna Murillo, a political science professor at the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City, said Lopez Obrador may be justified in thinking that Mexico's weak, disorganized opposition may in some cases be looking to score points abroad that it can't win at home, where the president remains largely popular. The opposition appears to agree on little other than its hatred for Lopez Obrador.

If we look at it in isolated fragments, one could think that the president is exaggerating or wrong on some points, said Acuna Murillo. But the context is that some people have taken systematic actions to block the Fourth Transformation (the term Lopez Obrador uses for his government) in any way they can, to make the president's projects fail.

There is a fierce opposition that won't accept one single, not one single good thing the president has done, so that makes it hard for him to work with them, she said. And so the president gets in a bunker mentality in the face of constant, constant, constant attacks, and that could cloud his vision.

With just about two years left in his six-year term and time running out on finishing his big pet projects  the tourist train, oil refineries, and several airports  Lopez Obrador's level of rhetoric is likely to get more frenetic.

He certainly appeared to draw the line Sunday on the electrical power dispute in starkly nationalistic terms.

We are not going to retreat one step, Lopez Obrador said of the electricity dispute, which could lead to U.S. trade sanctions. Mexico is an independent country, it is not a colony of any foreign country, and the president of Mexico isn't a puppet, isn't the lackey of any foreign government.
McDonald's restaurants in Midland, Auburn and Bay City now have a new owner. Trish Hollingsworth has taken over the restaurants at 5111 S. Mackinaw Road in Bay City, 601 Waldo Avenue in Midland and 4885 Garfield Road in Auburn.

Hollingsworth also owns the McDonalds restaurant in Sebewaing and helps with operations at her fathers four restaurants in the Thumb region and three other locations in Bay City, according to a press release issued by McDonald's on Monday.

"It's very exciting for us. These are three great locations," Hollingsworth said in the release. "The people, the employees, the managers, everybody is amazing. Were looking forward to getting involved in these communities and getting to know the customers."

Photo provided/Spencer Wheelock

Hollingsworth, who is called "Miss McDonalds" among the community and her friends, started her journey to becoming a franchisee in the same place as nearly every McDonalds employee  working in the kitchen and the drive-thru, according to the company in the release.

She spent years training under her father, longtime McDonalds owner Jim Luth, before eventually entering McDonalds Next Generation training program that prepares future owners.

According to McDonald's Senior Media Coordinator Spencer Wheelock, the family's organization works like any other family business. Hollingsworth can be found helping out at one of Luth's seven restaurants and he will now be helping out at hers.

Jim Luth became an owner of a McDonald's restaurant in 1997 but started working with the company's corporate operations in 1973 at the age of 16.

Photo provided/Spencer Wheelock

"I preach to my daughters and my crew members to go for it, to get involved, to keep pushing and to follow their dreams," Hollingsworth said in the release. "There are so many possibilities in life and McDonalds is about so much more than burgers and fries. Its about achieving goals, being successful and creating a welcoming and supportive environment where people thrive."

In Michigan, roughly 20% of McDonalds owners are women.

When asked about the gender parity in leadership roles Wheelock wrote: "McDonalds is committed to offering employment opportunities to all. In the United States, there are more than 600 female McDonalds franchisees. McDonalds expects that number to continue to grow."

Wheelock added that last year, McDonalds corporate made a vow to increase women and minorities in executive ranks.

Globally, by the end of 2025, McDonalds expects to increase the representation of women in leadership roles to 45% and reach gender parity in leadership roles by the end of 2030, according to the company in the release.

"I like to work with the women on my team and I just hope to be that role model for them to show them that anything is possible," Hollingsworth said in the release. "Big things can happen in your career at McDonalds."
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP)  The invasive hornet found in Washington state that has been referred to as the Asian giant hornet or murder hornet has a new name.

Washington state Department of Agriculture officials said Monday that the Entomological Society of America (ESA) has adopted northern giant hornet for the species Vespa mandarinia in its Common Names of Insects and Related Organisms List.

There has been no official ESA common name since its introduction in North America became widely known in 2020, officials said. Washington state will use the new common name.

The proposal to establish a common name came from Dr. Chris Looney, who has been actively involved in the state's hornet research and efforts to eradicate northern giant hornet from Washington, officials said.

The new name is intended to comply with ESAs insect common names guidelines, which include avoiding naming insects using geographic regions.

The northern giant hornet is native to Asia and has been the target of eradication efforts in Washington state and British Columbia, Canada, after hornets were first discovered in both locations in 2019.

The insects are the worlds largest hornets, with queens reaching up to 2 inches (5 centimeters) long. They are considered invasive in North America for their ability to kill other bee and hornet species, which is how they got the nickname murder hornets.

Scientists believe the hornets in the U.S. are confined in Whatcom County, which is located on the Canadian border north of Seattle. Washington state entomologists have so far eradicated four northern giant hornet nests.

Scientists said in May they were setting about 1,000 hornet traps in the area in 2022. Hornets caught in traps help scientists find the location of nests.
GREAT FALLS, Mont. (AP)  A Montana man was sentenced Tuesday to 100 years in prison without the possibility of parole for the November 2019 beating death of his 5-year-old son. The boy's mother and a family friend were also sentenced for their roles in the death of Tony Renova.

Tony had a gash on his head, had been bleeding from the nose and mouth, had bruising all over his body and had dropped from 44 pounds (20 kilograms) to 31 pounds (14 kg) in the nine months since he had been returned to the custody of his biological parents from foster care, charging documents said.
RICHMOND, Calif. (AP)  A police chief in the San Francisco Bay Area who was put on administrative leave after a relative accused her and her police sergeant husband of abuse has been reinstated to her job, her attorney said.

Bisa French was reinstated as police chief in the city of Richmond on July 15 following a nine-month leave of absence, her attorney, Mike Rains, told the San Francisco Chronicle.

Rains did not immediately return a phone message from The Associated Press seeking comment Tuesday.

French was placed on administrative leave following several incidents that started last September involving a then 18-year-old relative who accused French and her husband, Oakland Police Sgt. Lee French, of attacking her in Contra Costa County and threatening to kill her and her 34-year-old boyfriend, who the couple said was pimping her.

An altercation between the officers and the man's relatives in neighboring Solana County led to an investigation by the Vallejo Police Department  a probe that resulted in both officers being placed on leave.

Lee French remains on administrative leave and the Oakland Police Departments internal investigation is ongoing, the East Bay Times reported.

Their relative sought a restraining order and the couple agreed in Contra Costa County Superior Court last year to stay away from her for two years, despite saying they believed their relative was being sex-trafficked. Earlier this year, both the Solano and Contra Costa district attorneys offices declined to charge Bisa and Lee French with criminal wrongdoing, including allegations that they made threats to people in both counties.

The Determination not to file (charges) was based on the information those folks provided as well as an assessment of their overall credibility and the credibility of Mr. and Mrs. French, Rains told the newspaper.

Rains said that the restraining order is still in place but it was modified to allow both officers to possess firearms in accordance with their law enforcement duties. Rains said he plans to ask for the order to be thrown out.
WARSAW, Poland (AP)  A respected Polish scientific institute has classified domestic cats as an invasive alien species, citing the damage they cause to birds and other wildlife.

Some cat lovers have reacted emotionally to this month's decision and put the key scientist behind it on the defensive.

Wojciech Solarz, a biologist at the state-run Polish Academy of Sciences, wasn't prepared for the disapproving public response when he entered Felis catus, the scientific name for the common house cat, into a national database run by the academy's Institute of Nature Conservation.

The database already had 1,786 other species listed with no objections, Solarz told The Associated Press on Tuesday. The uproar over invasive alien species No. 1,787, he said, may have resulted from some media reports that created the false impression his institute was calling for feral and other cats to be euthanized.

Solarz described the growing scientific consensus that domestic cats have a harmful impact on biodiversity given the number of birds and mammals they hunt and kill.

The criteria for including the cat among alien invasive species, are 100% met by the cat, he said.

In a television segment aired by independent broadcaster TVN, the biologist faced off last week against a veterinarian who challenged Solarz's conclusion on the dangers cats pose to wildlife.

Dorota Suminska, the author of a book titled The Happy Cat, pointed to other causes of shrinking biodiversity, including a polluted environment and urban building facades that can kill birds in flight.

Ask if man is on the list of non-invasive alien species, Suminska said, arguing that cats were unfairly assigned too much blame.

Solarz pushed back, arguing that cats kill about 140 million birds in Poland each year.

Earlier this month, the Polish Academy institute published a post on its website citing the "controversy and seeking to clarify its position. The institute stressed that it was opposed to any cruelty towards animals. It also argued that its classification was in line with European Union guidelines.

As far as categorizing cats as alien," the institute noted that Felis catus was domesticated probably around 10,000 years ago in the cradle of the great civilizations of the ancient Middle East, making the species alien to Europe from a strictly scientific point of view.

The institute also stressed that all it was recommending was for cat owners to limit the time their pets spend outdoors during bird breeding season.

I have a dog, but I don't have anything against cats, Solarz said.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP)  A now-retired Portland, Oregon, police officer has pleaded guilty to official misconduct and assault related to an incident during a protest against police brutality.

Scott Groshong, 52, pleaded guilty on Monday and was sentenced to three years of probation and 80 hours of community service, Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt said in a statement. Groshong's police certification was also revoked.

He was employed by the Portland Police Bureau and working during a June, 15, 2020 protest when prosecutors said he drove an unmarked police van into a man seen running with an item from a skateboard shop that was vandalized. A resident recorded video of the incident, prosecutors said.

Groshong recklessly drove his vehicle into the man, striking him and causing him a serious physical injury, according to the District Attorneys office.

Groshong failed to stop or try to help the man, didnt report the collision, didnt mention the crash in a police report, or to a supervisor or the state Department of Motor Vehicles, according to prosecutors.

The man as well as other Portland police officers, testified before a Multnomah County grand jury in October 2020, leading to a nine-count indictment against Groshong.

Groshong retired in August 2020 after a 27-year career. His lawyer, Brian Scott Davidson, told The Oregonian/OregonLive that Groshong is working in the construction industry. Davidson said he had no comment on the plea or sentencing.

The man who was hit has not been charged with crimes stemming from the alleged theft from the skateboard shop. The Multnomah County District Attorneys office said that case is still under investigation.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP)  A TV cameraman for Portland, Oregons NBC affiliate, KGW-TV, has been assaulted while filming a local news story on a cooling station set during this week's Pacific Northwest heat wave, the station and police said.

KGW said in a story posted Tuesday that the photojournalist, who was not named, was wrapping up a Monday video shoot at Lents Park, where a non-profit was offering water and cooling supplies, and had his camera beside him. The man jumped over a picnic table, punched the cameraman and chased him to his news van.
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP)  Suspected gang members set fire to a courthouse near Haitis capital early Tuesday in the most recent incident targeting the countrys crumbling judicial system.

Roosevelt Zamor, prosecutor for the Croix-des-Bouquets region, told The Associated Press that important documents were set on fire and that authorities shut down the partially burned courthouse located northeast of Port-au-Prince.

The fire occurred in a region controlled by the 400 Mawozo gang, whom authorities blame for killing a police inspector on Sunday inside a church in Croix-des-Bouquets and later setting the building on fire.

Police have been working day and night to try to stabilize the community, Zamor said in a brief interview.

A video posted on social media showed alleged gang members surrounding the slain police officer as they show his ID on camera and later cut off his hands and shoot up his body, with the suspected gang leader saying it was retribution for the officer supposedly killing motorcycle drivers associated with the gang as he threatened to kill another policeman.

The courthouse fire occurred a month after another gang raided the Court of First Instance in downtown Port-au-Prince, looting and burning case files and pieces of evidence. The gang still retains control of a portion of that courthouse.

Gangs throughout Haitis capital and beyond have grown more powerful since the July 7, 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise. Kidnappings have skyrocketed and increasingly violent turf wars have shut down the main roads leading to the countrys northern and southern regions.

The United Nations has warned that Haitis National Police needs immediate help to fight crime and violence even as the United States and other countries continue to provide training and resources to help strengthen an agency that has only 12,800 active police officers serving a country of more than 11 million people.

Police also have been trying to quell recent gang violence in the capitals Cite de Soleil slum, where the U.N. says more than 470 people have been killed, injured or disappeared in the span of one week. Another estimated 3,000 people have been forced to flee their homes in that neighborhood.
Federal prosecutors say a Vermont man charged with killing his mother at sea in 2016 in a plot to inherit millions should remain behind bars pending trial because he poses a flight risk and danger to others.

The prosecutors filed a motion in U.S. District Court in Burlington, Vermont, on Friday, opposing a request by Nathan Carman to be released.

Carman, 28, who lives in Vernon, was charged in May with killing his mother, Linda Carman of Middletown, Connecticut, during a fishing trip in 2016 off the coast of New England in which his boat sank. He was found floating in a raft and rescued eight days after departing from a Rhode Island marina. He pleaded not guilty in May in his mothers death.

Prosecutors also have accused Carman of killing his grandfather, John Chakalos, who they say was shot in his home in Windsor, Connecticut, in 2013 as part of a scheme to obtain money and property from his grandfathers estate. Carman has not been charged in that case.

Earlier this month, Carman's lawyers filed a motion seeking his release, saying the evidence against him is tenuous at best and he does not pose a flight risk or danger. The lawyers said 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.

Prosecutors wrote in opposing Carman's motion on Friday that Many of the claims made by Carman in support of his request for release are misleading or mistaken.

"Carmans motion for release fails to adequately address the risk of flight and similarly fails to address his dangerousness," they wrote. "Moreover, the conditions of release he proposes would do little to mitigate these concerns."

An email was sent to Carmans public defenders seeking comment.

They wrote in the motion for release that he has never attempted to threaten or influence a witness and has led a quiet life in Vernon for the last eight years with solid ties to the community.

The prosecutors say Carman is a flight risk because he is charged with an offense that carries a mandatory life sentence and has few connections that would encourage him to stay in this country. They wrote that the letters Carman submitted in support of him are primarily from people who knew him as a child.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

ATHENS, Greece (AP)  Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman arrived in Greece Tuesday on his first trip to a European Union country since the killing in 2018 of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi that triggered widespread international condemnation.

Bin Salman, who is traveling with a large government and business delegation, met with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and will attend the signing of a series of bilateral investment and defense agreements.

Khashoggi, a U.S.-based journalist, was killed at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul and his body was dismembered with a bone saw, according to Turkish officials.

A U.S. intelligence report, made public last year, said the crown prince likely approved the killing but he has denied any involvement.

Greece has forged close ties with Saudi Arabia in recent years as it seeks allies in the wider region to address long-standing tension with neighbor Turkey, mostly over sea boundaries and drilling rights. Last year, Greece and Saudi Arabia held joint military exercises out of the Greek island of Crete, and Athens lent the kingdom a missile battery from its Patriot air defense system.

I promise you that when I come to Greece, I'm not coming empty-handed. We have many issues that will be game-changers for both our countries and for the whole region, Bin Salman was quoted as saying in a transcript of his remarks distributed to reporters by the government.

He said the two countries were working on a project that would make Greece a hub for Europe in terms of hydrogen (fuel), but gave no further details.

Journalists were not invited to attend the meetings and were given no opportunity to ask the visiting Saudi royal questions.

The two countries are also planning a data cable link worth a reported 800 million euros that would run under the Mediterranean Sea and be completed in 2025.

The Saudi Princes trip to Greece follows his meeting earlier with month in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, with President Joe Biden. Mitsotakis visited Saudi Arabia last October and met the crown prince who also later received visits from French President Emmanuel Macron and the outgoing British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
DOVER, Del. (AP)  Senate Democrats voted in a special session Monday to seek to remove Delawares state auditor from office, an action criticized as meaningless political theater by the Democratic House speaker.

Senators voted 13-7 for a resolution to hold a joint session of the legislature regarding the removal of Auditor Kathy McGuiness, a Democrat. The resolution must also be approved by the House, but Speaker Pete Schwartzkopf said he has no intention of calling his chamber into special session.

This isnt taking decisive action: its political theater, Schwartzkopf, a longtime political ally of McGuiness, said in a statement issued by Democratic House leadership.

Under a provision in Delawares constitution, the governor may remove any officer, except the lieutenant governor or a state lawmaker, for any reasonable cause if asked to do so by at least two-thirds of the members of both the House and Senate. The person against whom lawmakers are acting would be entitled to at least 10 days notice before any proceeding, at which he or she could be represented by an attorney, call witnesses and present evidence.

The Senates resolution would simply start a lengthy process to ultimately ask the governor to remove the state auditor from office  request hes not required to fulfill, and a request hes indicated that he wouldnt carry out at this time anyway, Schwartzkopf said.

Senate Democrats contend that McGuiness should be removed from office for betraying the public trust.

McGuiness, who is responsible as auditor for rooting out government fraud, waste and abuse, was convicted this month on misdemeanor charges of conflict of interest, official misconduct and structuring a contract with a consulting firm to avoid compliance with state procurement rules. She was acquitted on felony charges of theft and witness intimidation.

The case marked the first time in Delaware history that a sitting statewide elected official had been convicted on criminal charges.

Any public official who engages in the actions that Auditor McGuiness was found guilty of by a jury is unfit for public office, but especially the states top financial watchdog, said Senate President Pro Tem David Sokola, a Newark Democrat.

As McGuiness looked on, Republican senators criticized the resolution as an act of political theater that was both premature and unfair.

McGuiness convictions have yet to be formally entered, and no sentencing date has been set. Her attorney has filed motions asking for a judgment of acquittal, or, in the alternative, a new trial. The attorney generals office responded to those motions on Monday just minutes before the Senate convened.

This individual, in the eyes of the law, is still innocent, said Senate Minority Whip Brian Pettyjohn, a Georgetown Republican whose motion to table the resolution was defeated.

Sen. Colin Bonini, a Dover Republican, argued that voters should decide the fate of McGuiness, who is seeking re-election and faces a Democratic primary challenger on Sept. 13. McGuiness and Democratic Attorney Kathleen Jennings also have been mentioned as possible Democratic gubernatorial candidates in 2024.

You should always default to what the people decide, Bonini said.

Schwartzkopf noted that House Democrats had sent a letter to Democratic Gov. John Carney earlier this month supporting the use of his authority under a different constitutional provision to unilaterally remove McGuiness from office if the guilty verdicts against her are entered as convictions.

Under that provision, the governor is required to remove any public officer convicted of misbehavior in office or of any infamous crime. Carney said earlier this month that Delawares Supreme Court made it clear in a 1979 ruling that the governor has no power to act until after the entry of a judgment of conviction.

Senate Democrats said Schwartzkopf was abdicating the legislatures constitutional responsibility to the executive branch while allowing McGuiness to continue collecting her taxpayer-funded salary.

McGuiness was convicted of conflict of interest in the hiring of her daughter in 2020. Prosecutors alleged that Saylar McGuiness, 20, was hired even as other part-time workers in the auditors office left because of a lack of work early in the coronavirus pandemic, then allowed special privileges not available to other casual-seasonal workers. McGuiness also was convicted of structuring payments under a no-bid communications services contract with a consulting firm she had used in a 2016 campaign for lieutenant governor to avoid having to get them approved by the state Division of Accounting. The structuring and conflict of interest convictions laid the foundation for jurors to also find McGuiness guilty of official misconduct

Among the Democrats who voted to seek McGuiness ouster were Sokola, Sen. Trey Paradee of Dover, and Sen. Nicole Poore of New Castle, all of whom have children who obtained jobs as legislative staffers. Also voting in favor of the resolution was Wilmington Democrat Spiros Mantzavinos, a friend of McGuiness who once served as her chief of staff in the auditors office.

That was quite disturbing, said McGuiness, who continues to maintain her innocence.
A customer tries cosmetic products at a duty-free shop in Haikou, capital of south China's Hainan Province, Jan. 3, 2022. (Xinhua/Guo Cheng) BEIJING, July 25 (Xinhua) -- With a larger and richer consumer group, China's market has expanded its charm to global companies, as they have boosted their presence to meet Chinese consumers' evolving demand over the past decade. From Monday to Saturday, the second China International Consumer Products Expo will be held in Haikou, capital of the southern tropical province of Hainan, providing a platform for the display and trading of high-level consumer goods from China and abroad. More than 1,600 international brands from 61 countries and regions will attend the expo, with top brands in many subsectors attending for the first time. The expo is one example of foreign enterprises actively enlarging their footprint in China over the past decade. The U.S. coffee chain Starbucks has scaled up rapidly since 2010 when China became its largest overseas market. The number of stores jumped by about 9 times to surpass 5,700 nationwide over the past 10 years. In 2019, Firmenich, a privately-owned fragrance and flavor company, launched its largest flavor manufacturing plant in China's eastern city of Zhangjiagang with an investment of 75 million U.S. dollars, and opened a customer experience center in the southern city of Guangzhou in 2021 to tap into China's tailored perfume and flavor demands. What exactly is fueling foreign companies to continuously cash in on Chinese consumer markets? China is now the world's second-largest consumer market, boasting a middle-income group of over 400 million people. Retail sales of consumer goods were 44.1 trillion yuan (about 6.97 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2021, seeing an increase of 1.1 times, compared with 2012. Chinese people have become more well-off compared with 10 years ago. The country's per capita disposable income reached 32,189 yuan in 2020, more than double the figure of 2010, official data showed. "China is definitely a huge market that cannot be ignored by any foreign consumer goods company now," Denis MK Cheng, consumer sector leader of the EY Greater China, told Xinhua. Accompanying the country's expansion of the consumer market were also new trends that have presented business opportunities for foreign enterprises. The internet industry's fast development over the past decade has brought a radical change to how people buy goods, Cheng said. "Chinese people have shifted from mainly shopping in physical stores to a combination of shopping both in online and physical stores." Data from the commerce ministry showed that China has been the largest online retail market in the world for nine consecutive years since 2013. By June 2021, China's online shoppers surpassed 812 million. Eyeing Chinese people's ever-growing demand for greater speed and convenience, Starbucks China launched its online delivery platform Starbucks Delivers in 2018. In 2019, the company launched Starbucks Now, a service that allows customers to place their order in advance and pick up their beverage and food when they arrive at the store. Now the sales revenue of the two services combined accounted for over 40 percent of the total, according to Leo Tsoi, chief executive officer of Starbucks China. As online shopping prevails, the consumption potential of people from lower-tier cities and rural areas has been realized. Data from China's online retail giant JD.com showed that the proportion of new users in JD's "618" shopping bonanza who were from lower-tier cities and rural areas increased year by year from 2012 to 2021. The figure reached 90 percent of the total new users in 2021. Tsoi said Starbucks China has opened more stores in smaller cities and townships, witnessing China's fast and steady urbanization. Foreign companies' commitment to China's market has in turn seen an improved business environment, and the government has stepped up its efforts in continuing to further open up. The country has kept shortening the negative list for foreign investment and passed laws and regulations, including the Foreign Investment Law, to protect the legitimate rights and interests of foreign investors. Business environment is also improving, with China's ease of doing business ranking ascending to 31 from 91 in 2012, according to a World Bank report. "Looking forward, we at EY firmly believe that China will strive for a higher-level as it continues to open up," Cheng said.
A sole finalist has been named in the search for Lamar Institute of Technology's next president.

South Florida State College Vice President for Academic Affairs and Student Services Sidney E. Valentine was selected by Texas State University System Chancellor Brian McCall, according to a news release.

The search, assisted by executive search firm AGB Search, has been ongoing since February 2022 when President Lonnie Howard announced his intention to step down in July after six years of service.

"Lamar Institute of Technology is one of the fastest-growing two-year institutions in the nation, offering high-quality programs that prepare students for meaningful careers in the Southeast Texas workforce," McCall said in the release. "I'm excited that we have found a leader who has the experience and knowledge to build on the institute's foundation of growth and success."

RELATED: LIT president to step down in July

Valentine has served in his role at South Florida State College since 2015, providing "leadership for the college's transfer, vocational, technical, adult and community education and workforce education programs."

Additionally, he supervised the college's applied research activities, grants and institutional effectiveness efforts.

Prior to working at South Florida State College, Valentine served as associate vice president of industrial and engineering technology at York Technical College in South Carolina from 2011 to 2015. Prior to that, he was the director of workforce and economic development at the West Virginia Community and Technical College System.

Valetine holds a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from West Virginia University Institute of Technology and master's and doctoral degrees in computer engineering from The University of South Carolina.

RELATED: Committee searching for new Lamar Institute of Technology president

Before he can assume the presidency, Valentine must be confirmed by the Texas State University System Board of Regents.

He is expected to begin his tenure with the beginning of the fall semester.

State law requires a candidate for president of a public college or university to remain the sole finalist for 21 days before a governing board can confirm the appointment.
MADRID (AP)  Spain on Tuesday eased requirements for foreign laborers without legal documents in an effort to bring thousands of workers into the official labor force and regulate jobs in understaffed sectors including the hospitality and farming industries.

The government decree reforms an existing immigration law and makes it easier for Spanish employers to hire workers from their home country. It also eases work permit requirements for workers already settled in Spain.

The Migration Ministry acknowledged that previous procedures were often slow and inadequate", leading to high social and economic costs for the country.

There are an estimated 500,000 people working in Spains underground economy.

These measures will provide us with better tools to tackle the challenges posed by migration, Social Security and Migration Minister Jose Luis Escriva said at a press conference following the government cabinet meeting that approved the bill.

Foreign workers who have lived in the country for two years or more can seek temporary residency papers by enrolling in training courses for jobs in high-demand sectors.

International students will be able to start work in Spain at the end of their studies instead of waiting for three years. Foreign students will be also allowed to work up to 30 hours a week while studying. Foreigners who can show they have been in Spain for at least two years and have worked without papers for at least six months can also seek work permits.

Escriva said the ministry will update a list of job areas needing workers to provide a more exact picture of the labor market. Sectors like hospitality and agriculture are traditionally understaffed in Spain and businesses often resort to migrant laborers without documents.
EVANSTON, Ill. (AP)  Suburban Chicago police asked for the public's help Tuesday finding the man who fired a gun over a fence and wounded a 13-year-old girl critically in the neck.

Teens had gathered in a backyard around 6:20 p.m. Monday when an unknown person fired several shots, Evanston Police Commander Ryan Glew said.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 1 of 3 Antonio Perez/AP Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Antonio Perez/AP Show More Show Less 3 of 3





CHICAGO (AP)  The person who was stabbed to death while taking part in the attempted armed robbery on a Chicago commuter train was a 15-year-old boy, authorities said.

The Cook County Medical Examiner's office said Monday that Darin McNair, who was stabbed in the chest during the attack earlier that day, was pronounced dead at the University of Chicago Medical Center. In earlier reports, authorities said the person who died was a man.
Today in History

Today is Tuesday, July 26, the 207th day of 2022. There are 158 days left in the year.

Todays Highlight in History:

On July 26, 2016, Hillary Clinton became the first woman to be nominated for president by a major political party at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.

On this date:

In 1775, the Continental Congress established a Post Office and appointed Benjamin Franklin its Postmaster-General.

In 1847, the western African country of Liberia, founded by freed American slaves, declared its independence.

In 1863, Sam Houston, former president of the Republic of Texas, died in Huntsville at age 70.

In 1945, the Potsdam Declaration warned Imperial Japan to unconditionally surrender, or face prompt and utter destruction. Winston Churchill resigned as Britains prime minister after his Conservatives were soundly defeated by the Labour Party; Clement Attlee succeeded him.

In 1947, President Harry S. Truman signed the National Security Act, which reorganized Americas armed forces as the National Military Establishment and created the Central Intelligence Agency.

In 1953, Fidel Castro began his revolt against Fulgencio Batista (fool-HEN-see-oh bah-TEES-tah) with an unsuccessful attack on an army barracks in eastern Cuba. (Castro ousted Batista in 1959.)

In 1956, the Italian liner Andrea Doria sank off New England, some 11 hours after colliding with the Swedish liner Stockholm; at least 51 people died, from both vessels.

In 1971, Apollo 15 was launched from Cape Kennedy on Americas fourth successful manned mission to the moon.

In 1990, President George H.W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act.

In 2002, the Republican-led House voted, 295-132, to create an enormous Homeland Security Department in the biggest government reorganization in decades.

In 2013, Ariel Castro, the man whod imprisoned three women in his Cleveland home, subjecting them to a decade of rapes and beatings, pleaded guilty to 937 counts in a deal to avoid the death penalty. (Castro later committed suicide in prison.)

In 2020, a processional with the casket of the late U.S. Rep. John Lewis crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Alabama, where Lewis and other civil rights marchers were beaten 55 years earlier. Authorities declared a riot in Portland, Oregon, after protesters breached a fence surrounding the citys federal courthouse; thousands had gathered for another night of protests over the killing of George Floyd and the presence of federal agents.

Ten years ago: The White House said President Barack Obama would not push for stricter gun laws, one day after his impassioned remarks about the need to keep assault weapons off the streets. With the Olympics Games as a backdrop, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney held a day of meetings with Britains most powerful people; however, Romney rankled his hosts with comments hed made upon his arrival calling Londons problems with the games preparation disconcerting.

Five years ago: President Donald Trump announced on Twitter that he would not accept or allow transgender people to serve in the U.S. military. (After a legal battle, the Defense Department approved a policy requiring most individuals to serve in their birth gender; that policy was reversed by the Biden administration, which allowed transgender people who met military standards to enlist and serve openly in their self-identified gender.) A thrill ride broke apart at the Ohio State Fair, killing an 18-year-old high school student and injuring seven others. Actor June Foray, the voice of Rocky the Flying Squirrel and hundreds of other cartoon characters, died in a Los Angeles hospital at the age of 99.

One year ago: Caeleb Dressel won his first of five gold medals in swimming at the Tokyo Olympics by leading the United States to victory in the mens 4x100-meter freestyle relay. California and New York City announced that they would require all government employees to get the coronavirus vaccine or face weekly COVID-19 testing. A relative reported that the final victim of the condo collapse in Florida had been identified, more than a month after the catastrophe that claimed 98 lives.

Todays Birthdays: Actor Robert Colbert is 91. Actor-singer Darlene Love is 81. Singer Brenton Wood is 81. Rock star Mick Jagger is 79. Movie director Peter Hyams is 79. Actor Helen Mirren is 77. Rock musician Roger Taylor (Queen) is 73. Actor Susan George is 72. Olympic gold medal figure skater Dorothy Hamill is 66. Actor Nana Visitor is 65. Actor Kevin Spacey is 63. Rock singer Gary Cherone is 61. Actor Sandra Bullock is 58. Actor-comedian Danny Woodburn is 58. Rock singer Jim Lindberg (Pennywise) is 57. Actor Jeremy Piven is 57. Rapper-reggae singer Wayne Wonder is 56. Actor Jason Statham (STAY-thum) is 55. Actor Cress Williams is 52. TV host Chris Harrison is 51. Actor Kate Beckinsale is 49. Actor Gary Owen is 49. Rock musician Dan Konopka (OK Go) is 48. Gospel/Contemporary Christian singer Rebecca St. James is 45. Actor Eve Myles is 44. Actor Juliet Rylance is 43. Actor Monica Raymund is 36. Actor Caitlin Gerard is 34. Actor Francia Raisa is 34. Actor Bianca Santos is 32. Actor-singer Taylor Momsen is 29. Actor Elizabeth Gillies is 29.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

LONDON (AP)  David Trimble helped end decades of violence in Northern Ireland by shunning his hardline unionist past and negotiating with a former foe in pursuit of a goal they both shared: Peace.

That willingness to compromise was remembered Tuesday on both sides of the Atlantic as world leaders honored Trimble, who died Monday at the age of 77.

Trimble shared the 1998 Nobel Peace Prize with John Hume for their work in securing the Good Friday Agreement, which helped end three decades of bloodshed that killed more than 3,000 people on both sides of Northern Irelands sectarian conflict.

Time after time during the negotiations that led to the Good Friday Agreement, he made the hard choices over the politically expedient ones because he believed future generations deserved to grow up free from violence and hatred, former U.S. President Bill Clinton said in a statement. His faith in the democratic process allowed him to stand up to strong opposition in his own community, persuade them of the merits of compromise, and share power with his former adversaries.

The agreement, negotiated with the help of Clintons Northern Ireland envoy, George Mitchell, created a power-sharing government that sought to bridge the divide between unionists, who support continued ties with the United Kingdom, and nationalists, who back reunification with the Republic of Ireland. It also forced both sides to accept previously unthinkable concessions such as reorganizing the pro-unionist police force and requiring the Irish Republican Army to give up its weapons.

Former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair said Trimble had the courage to make the deal, even though he knew he would be called a traitor by some members of his community.

It wouldnt have happened without him; its as simple as that, really, Blair told the BBC. What he gave, not just through the period of the negotiations  but then in the years afterwards, it was a master class in leadership.

Born William David Trimble in Belfast on Oct. 15, 1944, he was educated at Queens University, Belfast, and pursued an academic career in law before entering politics in the early 1970s as a member of the hardline Vanguard Party. After moving to the Ulster Unionist Party, he became leader of what was then the largest unionist party in 1995.

Like most Protestant politicians at the time, Trimble initially opposed power-sharing with the largely Catholic republicans as something that would jeopardize Northern Irelands union with Britain. At first he refused to speak directly with Gerry Adams, leader of Sinn Fein, the political wing of the IRA. But ultimately he relented and in 1997 became the first unionist leader to negotiate with Sinn Fein.

Formal peace talks began the next year, with Trimble and Hume signing the Good Friday Agreement on April 10, 1998.

Trimble was elected first minister in Northern Irelands first power-sharing government the same year, with Seamus Mallon of the Social Democratic and Labour Party representing the nationalist community as deputy first minister.

In accepting the Nobel Peace Prize, Trimble encouraged other would-be peacemakers to pursue pragmatic solutions and avoid being too precise or pedantic.

Heaven knows, in Ulster, what I have looked for is a peace within the realms of the possible, he said. We could only have started from where we actually were, not from where we would have liked to be.

But Trimble paid a huge price for his pragmatism.

There were threats to his safety, and ultimately he was replaced by more hard-line politicians who hadnt supported the peace deal. As he worked to make sure both sides implemented the terms of the agreement, Trimble was forced to look on as his former opponents were celebrated for the concessions they had made.

But he never complained, Blair said.

The hardest thing in leadership is to say no to your own supporters, Blair said. Its easy to say yes to them and its easy to say no to your opponents, but to say no to your own supporters, that is tough. And he did it, and he carried it.

In his Nobel speech, Trimble told his audience not to fear the future.

The dark shadow we seem to see in the distance is not really a mountain ahead, but the shadow of the mountain behind  a shadow from the past thrown forward into our future," he said.

"It is a dark sludge of historical sectarianism. We can leave it behind us if we wish.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 1 of 3 AP Show More Show Less 2 of 3 AP Show More Show Less 3 of 3





LONDON (AP)  British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday presented Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy with the Sir Winston Churchill Leadership Award, drawing comparisons between the two leaders in times of crises.

Zelenskyy accepted the award by video link during a ceremony at Johnson's London office that was attended by members of the Churchill family, Ukrainian Ambassador Vadym Prystaiko and Ukrainians who have received training from British soldiers.
UNITED NATIONS (AP)  A dispute between Iraq and Turkey over a recent deadly attack in Iraqs northern Kurdish region escalated at an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday.

Iraqs foreign minister demanded the withdrawal of all Turkish troops from his country, while Turkeys deputy ambassador said his government will keep pursuing fighters it considers terrorists who take refuge in Iraq.

The Iraqi government sought the meeting after the July 20 artillery attack that killed nine Iraqi tourists and injured 33 other people. Its foreign minister, Fuad Hussein, said the government has proofs that Turkish armed forces were responsible.

Turkey has denied it was behind the attack and blamed fighters from the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, which is considered a terrorist organization by Ankara and the West. It has for decades waged an insurgency against the government in Ankara and maintains hideouts in Iraqs mountainous north.

At the start of the Security Council meeting, the U.N. special envoy for Iraq had said Turkey and Iraq were ready for a joint investigation into the artillery shelling at the Parkha resort in the Zakho district of the semi-autonomous Kurdish region.

Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert said Iraqs caretaker prime minister, Mustafa al-Kadhimi, emphasized in a conversation Monday the importance of a transparent and thorough investigation: independent or jointly. She quoted him as saying it is vital to put a stop to speculations, denials, misunderstandings and rising tensions.

The U.N. envoy said she understood that Turkey is also ready to address the issue jointly, with Iraq, in order to determine exactly what happened.

Iraqs Hussein called on the Security Council to set up an international independent team of inquiry to look into what he called the Turkish armys flagrant aggression.

The foreign minister told journalists later that Iraq is also ready to have a joint investigation with Turkey, but he said they didnt approach us and never sent us an official letter about having an investigation.

Turkeys deputy U.N. ambassador, Oncu Keceli, countered that we made it clear that Turkey is ready to take all the steps to unveil the truth, stressing to the council that our officials at many different levels have given the same message.

He said some Iraqi authorities were on the same page as Turkey and wanted to find out the truth. But other Iraqi officials, he said, chose escalation instead of diplomacy and cooperation, and started a media smear campaign aimed at driving a wedge between the Turkish and Iraqi people.

Hussein said the Iraqi government is sure the Turkish military was responsible for the attack. He pointed to the findings of its investigation that Turkey's army has bases in the area near the resort, PKK fighters have not been in the area for the last month and the Turkish army uses 155 mm artillery projectiles whose fragments were found at the scene.

Hussein added that many people in the area gave us enough information about the activity of Turkish soldiers there.

He called on the Security Council to urgently adopt a resolution demanding that Turkey withdraw what he said were about 4,000 combat soldiers from Iraq, and halt incursions into Iraqi airspace.

Turkeys Keceli countered that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iraq are breached by terrorist organizations, not by Turkey, which he said has always supported Iraqs sovereignty.

As we speak, the flags of the PKK terrorist organization are raised in certain parts of northern Iraq, not the flags of the federal government or the Kurdish regional government, he said,

Turkey estimates the PKK controls an area of at least 10,000 square kilometers in Iraq, he said. Nearly 800 villages have been forcefully evacuated by the PKK and all these spots have become a safe haven for the terrorists. In the first six months of this year the PKK carried out 339 attacks against Turkey, he said.

Iraq has so far proven to be either unable or unwilling to fight the terrorists, and therefore it cannot blame Turkey for exercising its right to self-defense, Keceli said.

Hussein said Iraq's government is ready to work alongside the United Nations and concerned countries to ensure that elements of the PKK leave Iraq because this destabilizes Iraq" and undermines security in the country.

The Security Council issued a statement Monday condemning the attack on the resort in the strongest terms, expressing support for Iraqi authorities in their investigations and urging all countries to cooperate with the Iraqi government and all other relevant authorities in support of these investigations. The council did not mention Turkey.

Diplomats said chances of the council approving a resolution demanding the withdrawal of Turkish forces from Iraq are slim, especially given the key role Turkey is playing in the recently announced deal to export desperately needed grain from Ukraine and grain and fertilizer from Russia to countries facing food shortages, rising prices and widespread hunger.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

UNITED NATIONS (AP)  Libya is mired in a constitutional and political stalemate that has sparked increasing clashes, a dire economic situation and demonstrations across the country by frustrated citizens, a senior U.N. official said Monday.

Assistant Secretary-General Martha Pobee told the U.N. Security Council the overall situation in Libya remains highly volatile, with a tense security situation, deeply disturbing shows of force and sporadic violence by militias engaged in political maneuvering.

She also cited a dispute over leadership of the National Oil Corporation and serious human rights concerns, including the reported arrest by armed groups of dozens of protesters who took part in July 1 demonstrations decrying deteriorating living conditions and demanding progress on elections.

Oil-rich Libya has been wracked by conflict since a NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. The country was split by rival administrations, one in the east backed by military commander Khalifa Hifter and a U.N.-supported administration in the capital of Tripoli in the west. Each side is supported by different militias and foreign powers.

In April 2019, Hifter and his forces, backed by Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, launched an offensive trying to capture Tripoli. His campaign collapsed after Turkey stepped up its military support for the U.N.-supported government with hundreds of troops and thousands of Syrian mercenaries.

An October 2020 cease-fire accord led to an agreement on a transitional government in early February 2021 headed by Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah and to the scheduling of elections for last Dec. 24.

But the elections werent held. Dbeibah has refused to step down, and in response the countrys east-based lawmakers elected a rival prime minister, Fathy Bashagha, a former interior minister who is now operating a separate administration out of the city of Sirte.

Pobee said a meeting in Geneva last month between the speaker of the countrys east-based parliament, Aguila Saleh, and Khaled al-Meshri, head of the governments Supreme Council of State in Tripoli overcame important contentious points in a 2017 proposal for a new constitution. But she said they could not agree on one major issue  eligibility requirements for presidential candidates.

The Tripoli-based council insists on banning military personnel as well as dual citizens from running for the countrys top post. That is apparently directed at Hifter, a divisive commander and U.S. citizen who had announced his candidacy for the canceled December election.

Pobee said the U.N. special adviser on Libya, Stephanie Williams, has remained in contact with both sides and urged them to bridge this gap.

At a July 21 meeting of international partners in Istanbul, Williams reiterated that elections are the only lasting solution that places Libya firmly on the path towards peace and stability," Pobee said.

Pobee urged council members and Libyas international partners to use their influence on the rivals to agree on elections as soon as possible.

Libyas U.N. ambassador, Taher El Sonni, who represents the Tripoli government, said that the current situation could get out of hand at any moment unless radical solutions are found away from foreign interventions and political maneuvers.

He accused the Security Council of doing nothing out of paralysis and internal divisions. He urged its members to listen to Libyan protesters and their overwhelming desire to end this nightmare and get out of this cycle of conflict and never-ending crises.

The council meeting took place ahead of the July 31 expiration of the mandate for the U.N. political mission in Libya, which includs a Joint Military Commission monitoring the 2020 cease-fire.

The council's resolution authorizing the mission called for the withdrawal of all foreign forces and mercenaries from Libya, and Pobee said the monitors plan to meet in Sirte in early August to finalize a proposed plan for their withdrawal.

The council voted April 29 to extend the U.N. mission for just three months because of Russias insistence that it must have a new special representative before it has a longer mandate.

Russias deputy U.N. ambassador, Dmitry Polyansky, told the council Monday that Moscow recognizes that Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is trying to solve the problem. But he said until a candidate satisfies the Libyans, regional players and all council members, the best option is another three month extension for the mission.
CENTRALIA, Ill. (AP)  An aircraft passenger who died last weekend when a small plane crashed into a swimming pool in southern Illinois has been identified as a 56-year-old woman from the Peoria area.

Centralia police said Cheryl Monserat-LaGreca of Lacon, Illinois, died on impact when the 1948 Beechcraft A35 aircraft crashed Saturday less than a mile from the Centralia Municipal Airport. She was the plane's only passenger.
Members of the GOP are encouraging House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to move forward with her plans to visit Taiwan next month, despite warnings from both U.S. and Chinese officials.

Pelosi had planned to visit Taipei  Taiwan's capital  in April, but moved the trip to August after she tested positive for COVID-19, according to the Financial Times. When news that her trip was rescheduled for August broke last week, China warned it would take "resolute and forceful measures" if the trip moves forward.

Chinese officials didn't specify what those measures would be, but, according to CNN, China's Foreign Ministry said the potential trip would "have a severe negative impact on the political foundation of China-U.S. relations, and send a gravely wrong signal to 'Taiwan independence' separatist forces."

Beijing sees self-governed Taiwan as a territory that rightfully belongs to mainland China. China's president, Xi Jinping, has said "reunification" with Taiwan "must be fulfilled," and many in the international community believe he's willing to use military force to achieve that goal. And while the U.S. has had a long-standing policy of "strategic ambiguity" when it comes to the conflict, President Joe Biden has said he would be willing to defend Taiwan should China attack.

Pelosi's trip can be viewed as a balancing act: The U.S. has historically shown support for nations like Taiwan  an independent country with its own constitution and democratically elected leaders  but, in this case, officials don't want to anger China, which is considered one of America's biggest rivals on the world stage. That fear of upsetting China was on display last week when Biden told reporters that the military believes its not a good idea for Pelosi to visit Taiwan, and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan reaffirmed that U.S. policy on Taiwan remains "unchanged."

Despite those warnings, prominent Republicans have signaled support for Pelosi's potential trip.

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who served under Donald Trump, weighed in on the matter Sunday and offered to join Pelosi if she goes.

"Nancy, I'll go with you. I'm banned in China, but not freedom-loving Taiwan. See you there!" he said on Twitter.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, a Republican who visited Taiwan in 1997  the last time such a prominent U.S. official visited the country  also took to Twitter to voice his opinion.

"What is the Pentagon thinking when it publicly warns against Speaker Pelosi going to Taiwan?" he tweeted Sunday. "If we are so intimidated by the Chinese Communists [that] we can't even protect an American Speaker of the House why should Beijing believe we can help Taiwan survive. Timidity is dangerous."

Those comments were reportedly echoed by U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., on Monday.

"Speaker Pelosi should go to Taiwan and President Biden should make it abundantly clear to Chairman Xi that there's not a damn thing the Chinese Communist Party can do about it," Sasse said. "No more feebleness and self-deterrence."

Pelosi has not said whether she will continue with the trip as planned, but she did respond to Biden's comments about the military's thought process during a press conference the day after the president spoke to reporters about her trip.

"I think what the president was saying is maybe the military was afraid our plane would get shot down or something like that by the Chinese," she said. "I don't know exactly."
Two wealthy Bay Area executives who've helped bankroll special recall elections of California politicians are now throwing their financial support behind U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., according to FEC filings reviewed by SFGATE.

The two executives, David Sacks and William Oberndorf, have already come under fire for their prodigious spending in statewide and San Francisco city elections that have sought to unseat prominent left-wing and liberal politicians from their posts. Together, the duo spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in an ultimately successful effort to remove San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin, plus three members of the San Francisco Board of Education, during separate recall elections. Sacks and his wife Jacqueline also donated more than $100,000 to groups seeking to oust Gov. Gavin Newsom from office during last year's recall, while Oberndorf gave more than $30,000 to a Republican who hoped to replace Newsom. (Those efforts failed.)

In giving to Sinema, Sacks and Oberndorf are once again sticking a thorn in the side of progressives. Sinema has drawn the ire of her own party for  among other things  refusing to change filibuster rules to pass legislation on voting rights and abortion protections. She and West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin have utilized Democrats' narrow majority in the senate (51-50 with the vice presidential tiebreaker) to their advantage. Without enough senators to break the 60-vote threshold required by the filibuster, Democratic party leaders have often found themselves beholden to the wishes of the two "moderate" Democratic senators.

Together, Sinema and Manchin have squashed votes on bills that would have protected voting rights and access to abortion. They were also responsible for derailing the $3.5 trillion spending package that Democrats hoped to pass last year. That spending plan would have paid for a number of Democratic wish-list items, including universal pre-kindergarten, subsidized child care, paid family and medical leave, free community college and expanded tax credits.

An SFGATE review of election finance records shows that Sacks  an investor who co-founded the San Francisco-based venture capital fund Craft Ventures  donated $5,800 to Sinema's 2024 re-election campaign during the second quarter of 2022, which stretched from April 1 to June 30. That $5,800 figure is the maximum amount allowed for an individual contributor split between the primary and general elections.

Oberndorf  the billionaire founder of the San Francisco-based investment firm, Oberndorf Enterprises LLC  gave $10,800 to the "Sinema Leadership Fund," a political action committee (PAC) that supports Sinema. The PAC redirected $5,800 from Oberndorf's donation to Sinema's 2024 re-election campaign.

Sinema's political fate in Arizona is years away from being decided, but is already on shaky grounds, which may explain why Sacks and Oberndorf have already sent along significant sums to her re-election efforts. Democratic Party financiers have signaled that they'll run a Democratic opponent to Sinema in the 2024 senate primaries, and her Arizona counterpart  Sen. Mark Kelly  enjoys wide support in the state despite identifying more to the left than Sinema.

Apart from Sinema, Sacks and Oberndorf also both recently gave to Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., who, while known for sometimes critiquing his own party, is a supporter of former President Donald Trump.

Most notably, in April, Sacks also gave a whopping $1 million to a super PAC that supports J.D. Vance, the Republican candidate for senate in Ohio. Vance  who was endorsed by Trump  has promoted the racist "great replacement theory" and falsely claimed the 2020 election was stolen from Trump. Additionally, in late April, Sacks cut a check to the Republican National Committee for $100,000. And Oberndorf, as reported by SFGATE on Monday, recently donated $5,000 to Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., a possible 2024 Republican presidential candidate.




Old Saybrook will appeal a Freedom of Information Commission order to release the exit interview of a former police officer, the attorney who handled the FOI case for the town said in an email Monday.

The interview reportedly contains negative comments about Chief of Police Michael Spera.

To justify withholding the document, the town previously invoked a statute that exempts personnel or medical files and similar files the disclosure of which would constitute an invasion of personal privacy from the Freedom of Information Act.

Releasing the interview would constitute an invasion of personal privacy because it attacks the reputation of the police chief and could be harmful to the police chief or the Police Department, attorney Pat McHale told the FOIC at its July 13 meeting, a recording of which is available on the state website.

But the commission ultimately concurred with Hearing Officer Zack Hydes recommendation to order the records release. Hyde determined the exemption did not apply because the information contained within the interview was a matter of public interest and was not highly offensive to a reasonable person, according to his report.

The case goes back to a complaint former Old Saybrook police Officer Justin Hanna filed with the commission last year.

Upon leaving the Old Saybrook Police Department, Hanna completed an exit interview in which he shared his opinions about his employment there.

But when Hanna, who was not available for comment Monday, tried to get a copy of the interview, the town would not release it. He ultimately turned to the FOIC to appeal the denial.

The FOIC then used a standard established by a state Supreme Court Decision known as Perkins v. Freedom of Information Commission to decide the record did not qualify for the invasion of privacy exemption.

Under the Perkins decision,the claimant must establish both of two elements: first, that the information sought does not pertain to legitimate matters of public concern, and second, that such information would be highly offensive to a reasonable person, says the FOIC order, which concludes Old Saybrooks claim did not meet either requirement.

McHale disagreed, citing a different Connecticut Supreme Court decision to support his case. In 1991, the courts decision in Chairman, Criminal Justice Commission v. Freedom of Information Commission held exemption applied to the performance evaluation of a states attorney because its release would constitute an invasion of privacy.

Old Saybrooks case, McHale told the commission, was analogous to the 1991 case.

Though the Perkins decision is more recent  it came down in 1993  the Chairman decision still is considered law, McHale said.

He also argued the case met the Perkins requirements.

Theres no legitimate matter of public concern since the chief was given a reasonable expectation of privacy in the document, given the way it was handled by the police commission, he said. The commission discussed the exit interview privately in executive session, he said.

As for the second prong of the Perkins test, McHale said, disclosure of the document would be highly offensive to the police chief and the Police Department because it attacks the reputation of the police chief.

But in responding to McHale before the commission, Hyde, the hearing officer who handled the case, said there was nothing in there that would be highly offensive to a reasonable person. The case included an in-camera review of the exit interview, according to the FOIC order.

Colleen Murphy, executive director of the FOIC, also chimed in.

Certainly here there would be a legitimate public concern in comments made about the chief of police, she said.

Moreover, while the Perkins decision did not overrule the Chairman decision, Murphy said, the court was clear the Perkins case would set the standard for applying the exemption.

Attorney McHale would be hard-pressed to find a case since Perkins where some of the factors that he is asking you to consider here were considered by the courts, she said.

The vote to adopt Hydes recommendation was unanimous.

Agencies must file appeals with the court within 45 days of receipt of the final decision, said Thomas Hennick, public education officer for the FOIC.

Hennick spoke generally about the process and did not make specific comments about Old Saybrook.

If an agency does not appeal the decision or release the records, Hennick said, that agency could face a noncompliance complaint.

If they fail to or refuse to (release the records) then the complainant would file another complaint  a noncompliance complaint  and ask the commission to take harsher steps than just ordering the release of the document, Hennick said.

meghan.friedmann@hearstmediact.com
WFO LAS VEGAS Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Monday, July 25, 2022

_____

FLASH FLOOD WARNING

The National Weather Service in Las Vegas has issued a

* Flash Flood Warning for...

Southwestern Mohave County in northwestern Arizona...

San Bernardino County in southern California...

South Central Clark County in southern Nevada...

* Until 900 PM MST /900 PM PDT/.

* At 559 PM MST /559 PM PDT/, Doppler radar indicated thunderstorms

producing heavy rain across the warned area. Flash flooding is

ongoing or expected to begin shortly.

HAZARD...Life-threatening flash flooding. Thunderstorms

producing flash flooding.

SOURCE...Radar.

IMPACT...Life-threatening flash flooding of low-water

crossings, creeks, normally dry washes and roads.

* Some locations that will experience flash flooding include...

Bullhead City, Laughlin, Needles, Mojave Ranch Estates, Mohave

Valley, Mesquite Creek, Arizona Village, Highway 95 And I-40,

Needles Highway, Laughlin Highway, Big Bend Rec Area and Willow

Valley.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

Turn around, don't drown when encountering flooded roads. Most flood

deaths occur in vehicles.

Please report observed flooding to local emergency services or law

enforcement and request they pass this information to the National

Weather Service when you can do so safely.

_____

Copyright 2022 AccuWeather
WFO ALBANY Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Monday, July 25, 2022

_____

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT

Special Weather Statement

National Weather Service Albany NY

625 PM EDT Mon Jul 25 2022

...Strong thunderstorms will impact portions of northern Litchfield

and east central Dutchess Counties through 700 PM EDT...

At 624 PM EDT, Doppler radar was tracking strong thunderstorms along

a line extending from near Tolland to 6 miles southeast of Falls

Village to near Sharon. Movement was east at 25 mph.

HAZARD...Winds in excess of 40 mph and heavy rain.

SOURCE...Radar indicated.

IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around

unsecured objects. Heavy rains could cause flooding.

Locations impacted include...

Torrington, New Hartford, Amenia, Sharon, Norfolk, Litchfield, Falls

Village, Northwest Harwinton, Cornwall Bridge, Winsted, New Hartford

Center, Harwinton, Barkhamsted, Goshen, Colebrook, Warren, Cornwall,

Bantam, South Norfolk and West Torrington.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building.

These storms may intensify, so be certain to monitor local radio

stations and available television stations for additional information

and possible warnings from the National Weather Service.

A Severe Thunderstorm Watch remains in effect until 800 PM EDT for

northern Connecticut...and western Massachusetts.

LAT...LON 4186 7362 4195 7337 4208 7316 4208 7306

4204 7305 4204 7301 4197 7303 4197 7289

4190 7291 4189 7294 4185 7295 4184 7294

4183 7294 4181 7295 4180 7302 4177 7301

4170 7326

TIME...MOT...LOC 2224Z 286DEG 21KT 4202 7307 4191 7325 4184 7349

MAX HAIL SIZE...0.00 IN

MAX WIND GUST...40 MPH

_____

Copyright 2022 AccuWeather
WFO DALLAS / FT. WORTH Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Tuesday, July 26, 2022

_____

HEAT ADVISORY

URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE

National Weather Service Fort Worth TX

832 PM CDT Mon Jul 25 2022

...HEAT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 PM CDT TUESDAY...

* WHAT...Temperatures between 103 and 105.

* WHERE...Portions of North Texas.

* WHEN...Until 8 PM CDT Tuesday.

* IMPACTS...Hot temperatures and high humidity will increase the

risk for heat-related illnesses to occur, particularly for

those working or participating in outdoor activities.

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 PORTLAND Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Saturday, July 30, 2022

_____

EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING

URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE

National Weather Service Portland OR

1038 AM PDT Tue Jul 26 2022

...EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 PM PDT SATURDAY...

* WHAT...High temperatures 98F to 103F.

* WHERE...In Oregon, Upper Hood River Valley, Western Columbia

River Gorge and Central Columbia River Gorge. In Washington,

Western Columbia River Gorge and Central Columbia River Gorge.

* WHEN...Until 9 PM PDT Saturday.

* IMPACTS...Extreme heat will significantly increase the

potential for heat related illnesses, particularly for those

working or participating in outdoor activities and for those

that do not have access to air conditioning.

* ADDITIONAL DETAILS...There is a 20% chance that high

temperatures will begin to drop into the low 90s or lower by

Saturday. Overnight lows in the mid to upper 60s across the

higher hills of the region will provide little relief for those

without air conditioning. Overnight temperatures are expected to

drop below 70F between 3 AM and 7 AM most nights. Low

temperatures in low lying areas, particularly in the upper Hood

River Valley will drop into the upper 50s to low 60s most nights

between now and Saturday.

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. If attempting to find relief from the

heat in rivers, lakes, or the ocean please apply safe water

practices and wear a life preserver.

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...High temperatures 97F to 102F.

* WHERE...In Oregon, Greater Portland Metro Area. In Washington,

Greater Vancouver Area.

* ADDITIONAL DETAILS...There is a 30% chance that high

Saturday. Overnight lows in the mid to upper 60s in the

Portland/Vancouver Metro and higher hills of the region will

provide little relief for those without air conditioning.

Overnight temperatures are expected to drop below 70F between 5

AM and 7 AM most nights. Low temperatures in more rural low

lying areas, particularly in western Washington County and

northern Clark County will drop into at least the low 60s most

nights between now and Saturday.

...HEAT ADVISORY NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 PM PDT SATURDAY...

* WHAT...High temperatures 90F to 95F.

* WHERE...In Oregon, Coast Range of Northwest Oregon and Central

Coast Range of Western Oregon. In Washington, Willapa Hills.

* ADDITIONAL DETAILS...There is a 50% chance that high

temperatures will drop into the 80s by Saturday.

under any circumstances.

* WHAT...High temperatures 93F to 98F.

* WHERE...In Oregon, Lower Columbia and South Willamette Valley.

In Washington, I-5 Corridor in Cowlitz County.

* IMPACTS...Hot temperatures may cause heat illnesses to occur.

Saturday. Overnight low temperatures will generally fall in the

lower 60s most nights between now and Saturday.

* WHAT...High temperatures 94F to 99F.

* WHERE...In Oregon, Northern Oregon Cascade Foothills and

Cascade Foothills in Lane County. In Washington, South

Washington Cascade Foothills.

temperatures will drop into the 80s by Saturday. Overnight low

temperatures will generally fall in the lower 60s most nights

...HEAT ADVISORY NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 PM PDT SATURDAY BELOW

4000 FEET...

* WHAT...High temperatures 90F to 95F below 4000 feet.

* WHERE...In Oregon, Northern Oregon Cascades and Cascades in

Lane County. In Washington, South Washington Cascades.

_____

Copyright 2022 AccuWeather
WFO SPOKANE Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Friday, July 29, 2022

_____

EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING

URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE

National Weather Service Spokane WA

934 PM PDT Mon Jul 25 2022

...EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 11 PM PDT FRIDAY...

* WHAT...Afternoon temperatures will be near 100 to 105 degrees on

Tuesday then continue to steadily rise a few degrees throughout

the week. High temperatures Wednesday into Friday will range

between 105 and 110 degrees. Overnight temperatures will only cool

into the upper 60s to mid 70s.

* WHERE...Loomis, Quincy, Winchester, Brewster, Waterville, Methow,

Nespelem, Ephrata, Wenatchee, Holden Village, Conconully, Telma,

Mansfield, Plain, Okanogan, Othello, Winton, Moses Lake,

Bridgeport, Omak, Stehekin, Leavenworth, Dryden, Malott, Mazama,

Lucerne, Cashmere, Peshastin, Entiat, Winthrop, Nighthawk,

Carlton, Monse, Twisp, Palisades, Oroville, and Chelan.

* WHEN...Until 11 PM PDT Friday.

* IMPACTS...Extreme heat will significantly increase the potential

for heat related illnesses, particularly for those working or

participating in outdoor activities. Residents without air

conditioners will experience a build up of heat within their home

through late in the week.

* ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Temperatures will continue to climb this

week. Overnight lows will become increasingly warmer making it

challenging for structures without air condition to cool off each

night.

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.

Take extra precautions when outside. Wear lightweight and loose

fitting clothing. Try to limit strenuous activities to early morning

or evening. Take action when you see symptoms of heat exhaustion and

heat stroke.

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.

...EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM TUESDAY TO 11

PM PDT FRIDAY...

* WHAT...Afternoon temperatures will reach the upper 90s to lower

100s. Temperatures near 105 degrees along the Snake River Valley

and portions of the Upper Columbia Basin. Overnight temperatures

in the 60s to lower 70s.

* WHERE...Portions of North and North Central Idaho. Portions of

East Central, North Central, Northeast, and Southeast Washington.

* WHEN...From 11 AM Tuesday to 11 PM PDT Friday.

Do not leave young children and pets in unattended vehicles. Car

interiors will reach lethal temperatures in a matter of minutes.

_____

Copyright 2022 AccuWeather
At the meeting

Today, the Ministry of Planning and Investment coordinated with the World Bank in Vietnam (WB) to organize a seminar to listening to opinions of international organizations and international consulting units for the Master Plan in Hanoi for the period of 2021-2030 with a vision for 2050.

At the workshop, Director of the Institute of Development Strategy under the Ministry of Planning and Investment Tran Hong Quang produced three scenarios of average income in 2030 and 2050.

According to Mr. Tran Hong Quang, the country's population is about 105 million people in 2030, by 2050 it will increase to 115 million people. In option one, with the economy's average GDP growth rate of about 6.34 percent per year in the period 2021-2030, the country's GDP per capita will reach about $7,000 by 2030.

The countrys economy continues to maintain an average GDP growth rate of 6.63 percent a year in the 2031-2050 period GDP per capita in 2050 will reach $25,000 annually. GDP Per Capita is a measurement of the approximate value of a countrys gross domestic product (GDP) contributed by each member of its population.

As per option 2, with an average GDP growth rate of 7.05 percent, a year in the 2021-2030 period, GDP per capita will reach US$7,500 by 2030. In the period 2031-2050, if it continues to be maintained maintaining the average GDP growth rate of the economy at 7.3 percent a year, GDP per capita in 2050 will reach US$32,000.

In the 2031-2050 period, if the average annual GDP growth rate of the economy is only 6.7 percent, the GDP per capita of the country in 2050 will reach US$27,000.

According to the draft national master plan for the period 2021-2030, with a vision for 2050, in the period from now to 2030, the country will develop the North-South economic corridors associated with the North-South expressway and the North-South expressway, the National Highway 1A, and the East-West economic corridor.

At the same time, dynamic zones such as the dynamic triangle Hanoi - Hai Phong - Quang Ninh; the coastal area of Da Nang - Quang Ngai, the dynamic quadrilateral of Ho Chi Minh City - Binh Duong - Dong Nai - Ba Ria - Vung Tau, the triangle of Can Tho - An Giang - Kien Giang will be formed.

The national master plan developed by the Ministry of Planning and Investment also provided comments on four options for zoning and regional linkage. The first option will keep the current division of the country into six socio-economic regions, the remaining three options are to divide the country into seven socio-economic zones in the direction of separating the northern midlands and mountains now into two regions including the northeast and the northwest. The other two options separate the south central region into two central highlands and south central regions.

Commenting on the draft National Master Plan of Vietnam, Dr. Danny Leipziger of the WB said that the planning has shown more attention to the environment, climate change, and economic corridors. The mid-term planning adjustment was also mentioned. In some economic regions, with large-scale projects that need to be carefully selected, the quality of existing investment should be re-evaluated before considering new investment projects.

Dr. Danny Leipziger added that Vietnam should consider the master plan as a living document, which needs to be continuously updated and adjusted every year.

By Anh Phuong  Translated by Anh Quan
Every year on July 28, World Nature Conservation Day is observed to raise awareness about the importance of protecting our environment, wildlife, and rethinking how we use natural resources. One of the primary goals of World Nature Conservation Day is to save endangered plant and animal species.

The protection of New Zealand's environment and the animals that live there is very important to the Kiwis. The Department of Conservation (DOC) was established in 1987 as a government-led organisation tasked with protecting and restoring New Zealand's species, places, and heritage. The country is teeming with unique living creatures and landscapes, ranging from the world's only alpine parrot, the kea, to UNESCO World Heritage National Parks. We bring you 5 unique wildlife species and landscapes that New Zealand is proud of:

The national symbol - the kiwi:

The kiwi is a well-known and endemic species in New Zealand. Despite their scarcity, you may be able to find this national symbol in wildlife parks and sanctuaries. The National Kiwi Hatchery in Rotorua is a conservation leader in kiwi husbandry, egg incubation systems, hatching techniques, and kiwi chick rearing. If you're lucky, you might see them in the wild, which is unusual even for locals.

The world's rarest dolphin - the Hector's dolphin:

The Hector's dolphin is the world's rarest dolphin, and it can only be found in New Zealand. This endangered species has a rounded dorsal fin that resembles Mickey Mouse's ears! Akaroa is home to one of the largest pods of Hector's dolphins; on your next trip, take the family-owned and operated dolphin harbour nature cruise.

The flightless parrot - the kakapo

The kakapo is a flightless nocturnal parrot with an owl-like face and a waddling gait. Flightlessness hasn't stopped this resilient bird, who is an expert climber! Before humans arrived, kakapos were common throughout New Zealand, but they are now critically endangered, with only 197 remaining. Visit kakapo Recovery to learn more about kakapo conservation efforts today.

Auckland's ancient island sanctuary - Motutapu Island:

Motutapu, which means "holy island" in Mori, is an island off the coast of Auckland that serves as a breeding ground for endangered native birds such as kiwi and takah. It is home to a variety of native flora as well as endemic, protected species. The site is a must-see for nature lovers who want to get involved in conservation efforts.

New Zealand's oldest national park - Tongariro National Park

Tongariro National Park was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its outstanding biodiversity as well as its cultural significance to the Mori. The southern limits of the Taup Volcanic Zone, a horseshoe-shaped series of volcanoes that forms the Pacific Ocean's 'Ring of Fire,' are marked by three volcanoes: Ruapehu, Nguruhoe, and Tongariro. Tongariro National Park rangers collaborate closely with local indigenous communities to ensure the region's environmental and cultural values are preserved.
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!
Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size Tim Winton has been a part-time novelist for the past three years. Yes, he has a book on the go, but he has also been writing and narrating a documentary about the Ningaloo Reef off the coast of north-west Australia. And for once, hes not quite sure what hes writing: is it homage or elegy? Perhaps even eulogy; possibly all three. However the documentary turns out, it has been unsettling. As is so much at the moment. Look at whats going on in the UK and Europe. Weve reached a place that they told us about but that we never thought was going to happen. I think anyone whos not frightened [about climate change] is just not paying attention. If you live close to the natural world and youve got a little bit invested  whether you grow grapes or crops or youre swimming on coral  its pretty confronting. Several years ago, Winton told me he was an optimist, so I had to ask: is he still? Winton in Denmark, Western Australia, in 2008. Credit:Erin Jonasson I dont see any alternative. I have to wake up and revive and restabilise my optimism daily if not hourly, and its a discipline I have to reinforce and nurture however I can. Hope is not something that you just inherit like rich parents or good genes, its something you manufacture, fashion or make. So how do you do that?

Advertisement

By action. I think we create hope by the actions that we take even if they are just moments of kindness or tenderness among people. You only see whats possible by what other people are doing around you. You look to other people, to the best in people. Whether thats in politics or art or trade, its when you see people doing something decent that they dont need to do. I was always being told you were too this or too that, it was too Australian and this vernacular was too difficult. Tim Winton, author In August, Winton marks 40 years as a published author. He won the Vogel award for an unpublished manuscript when he was 20, and that first novel, An Open Swimmer, reached the shops in August 1982. Since then, he has won the Miles Franklin award four times, been shortlisted for the Booker a couple of times and written Cloudstreet, a classic that has frequently been named the most loved Australian novel of all time. He has been praised for his commitment to the vernacular in Australian literary fiction and is one of the few Australian writers whose work is both literary and sells in big numbers. He writes of Australia, its land, seas and people for the world, but without compromise. And hes proud of it. Tim Winton pictured in 1984, the year he first won the Miles Franklin award. I was published very early on internationally and was always being told you were too this or too that, it was too Australian and this vernacular was too difficult and the place was too alien and strange. I didnt know any better, I just said too bad: like it or lump it. Winton turns 62 in early August. When he was only 10 he knew he wanted to be a writer, stuck his flag in the ground, as he puts it, and told his parents. They must have thought he was crazy.

Advertisement

Of course. I didnt know any writers, I didnt know what a writer was, I hadnt met one, I didnt meet one until I was 18 or 19 years old. I had no idea what a writing life entailed. Neither of his parents had finished school, and for a white, working-class family in the 1960s, a writer was someone from a different life, place or era. As he regularly says, he was constantly told he was from the wrong side of the wrong country in the wrong hemisphere. So he was an optimist even back them, or at least stubborn and defiant. The new cover of Cloudstreet and, right, a signed title page of Scission. But his family  who, when he was 12, moved from Perth to Albany where his father was a traffic cop specialising in fatal accidents and mortality, havoc hung over the house  was entirely supportive. Loading I rode on the currency of the life that they could have had if theyd been able to make choices, if theyd had agency. I also came of age at a time when the culture was exploding with confidence that it had never had before and the difference between me and my parents was a Labor Party in power at a time when a Labor Party actually meant something. It was a social democratic outfit and it was about liberating people. He was at university in Perth when he won the Vogel, and had to get on a plane for the first time to go to Sydney.

Advertisement

It said on the invitation that you had to wear a lounge suit. I had to ask someone what that was. I had to borrow a beige suit off a friend who worked in an insurance office, so it was a whole different life. How did they let me get away with this? ... I just literally stepped out of my white, working-class reality into something from a different world. His life might have been very different had he started writing when he was older, but he was young, flexible and had energy. A lot of [Cloudstreet] was hard work, but it was a kind of thrill to write once I found the voice and I had Fish Lamb whispering in my ear. Tim Winton, author When he was still a student he met Clives James who told him no one should write a novel before they were 40. I just thought Id better not mention I had written two. At that stage he had already written the bulk of Shallows, which in 1984 was to be his first Miles winner, and half of Scission, his first short-story collection. I think I wrote the best part of three books when I was an undergraduate. But this [James] was an important person, you dont want to contradict him ... you just think okay this guys an enormously well-educated person, but he doesnt know anything. From left: Tom Russell as the young Fish Lamb, Geoff Morrell as Lester Lamb and Callan McAuliffe as the young Quick Lamb in the TV adaptation of Cloudstreet. Credit:David Dare Parker His early writing years were prolific and demanding. At one point he had three writing desks set up and moved from one to another depending on how each bit of work was going, from a novel to a story to a childrens book.



Advertisement

Cloudstreet, the beautiful, benign, slightly bonkers saga of the Lamb and Pickles families sharing an old house in Perth, was his fifth published novel for adults, Scission was out, as was the first of his Locky Leonard novels for children. But Cloudstreet transformed his and his wife Denises life and precarious finances, selling more than 60,000 copies in its first nine months and going straight into Australias collective heart. It has also been adapted for stage and small screen. Since then, he has published The Riders, Dirt Music, The Turning (a collection of linked stories), Breath, Eyrie, The Shepherds Hut and more. Winton at the Sydney Theatre Company for the production of his play Signs of Life in 2012. Credit:Marco Del Grande He remains a bit bewildered by the life Cloudstreet has had. While he tends not to re-read his books, he did have to look at it again when he was adapting it for television. Loading All gags aside, I remember the pleasure I got, the excitement I had in writing it. A lot of it was hard work, but it was a kind of thrill to write once I found the voice and I had Fish Lamb whispering in my ear ... It felt good to write. There was almost a disaster, however. On the way from Rome to Athens he left half the manuscript on a bus while wrangling children and luggage, but fortunately an Italian man  I could have kissed that whiskery Italian guy  rescued it.

Advertisement
The supercomputers in our hands broadcast our images and voices across ever-proliferating social media platforms. Its difficult to keep track of the ever-expanding ways our digital selves could be used  and possibly abused. Australian-Greek vocal artist Tina Stefanou has a keener idea than most.

She was shocked to discover a fragment of her digital self had been captured without her consent by a right-wing French media outlet that supports all sorts of ideologies and policies that Im totally against. She prefers not to say who  she feels shes given them enough publicity already.

Jessica Aszodi for Chamber Mades latest performance features one live singer and a chorus of 49 tablets. Credit:Simon Schluter

They sampled around 40 seconds of a song called Outro she performed with a rock band. It kind of went viral, and five years later, I find out it was used as their introduction for over 240 episodes, Stefanou says.

All of which makes her a natural fit for contemporary performance art company Chamber Mades latest form-fusing work, My Self in That Moment. Stefanou, alternating throughout the season with Jessica Aszodi, will perform live, accompanied by a polyphonic chorus of 49 tablets within Newports grand brick cathedral, the Substation.
The development industry has told us for many years that if the government would just pick up the pace of planning approvals, the supply they could bring to market would bring house prices down.

In submissions to government and evidence to inquiries, theyve emphasised red tape, planning delays and the lack of suitably zoned land. Theyve rarely suggested that they are, in fact, constrained by commercial imperatives to obey the markets speed limit on new housing supply.

We looked at 26,000 property purchases in nine master planned communities for our research paper. Credit:Eddie Jim

Thats the key finding from a detailed analysis of what developers do in our new research paper Staged Releases: Peering Behind the Land Supply Curtain.

With the University of Sydneys Dr Cameron Murray, we looked at 26,000 property purchases in nine master planned communities. We wanted to understand how the size and timing of staged releases influenced price. With 110,000 housing lots approved, we were surprised that developers had only sold 24 per cent of available sites after nearly 10 years.
First published in The Sun-Herald on July 28, 1957



A reporter below

I talked to stay-in miners

Eerie trek in tunnels

Cessnock - I squeezed into the Bellbird Colliery last night and talked with 48 miners on stay-down strike.

Miners discuss their course of action at the Bellbird Colliery, July, 1957. Credit:Fred Murray

Groping and stumbling down a sloping tunnel in the dark was an eerie experience.

The tunnel where the men received their food was padlocked and guarded so I found my way in through another tunnel.
Sydneys commuters face major delays to train services on Thursday after rail workers vowed to press ahead with a four-hour stoppage despite a last-ditch appeal from two senior government ministers for them to call off the action.

Rail workers will stop work for four hours from 12.01am on Thursday, which the government warns will cause significant disruption to rail services during the morning peak. The two sides remain locked in a standoff over modifications to the states intercity train fleet, and a new pay deal.

Commuters face major disruptions to train services on Thursday morning. Credit:Louise Kennerley

In a letter to rail unions seen by the Herald, Employee Relations Minister Damien Tudehope and acting Transport Minister Natalie Ward say that the objections to the governments offer are without basis, and called for workers to drop plans for further industrial action.

The ministers warned that the industrial action created risks to safety which, while being effectively managed by the rail agencies, will impact services and unduly burden ... commuters.
The federal governments proposed $400 million quarantine centre near Brisbane Airport is months behind schedule and unlikely to be ready before Christmas.

An inspection by Brisbane Times suggested the incredibly busy Pinkenba site  where several hundred tradesmen and women were clearing land, shifting huge mounds of soil and assembling accommodation units  was many months from completion.

Significant work remains to be completed at the federal governments proposed new quarantine centre at Pinkenba. Credit:Tony Moore

But on Tuesday evening, a spokeswoman for Finance Minister Katy Gallagher insisted the centre would be completed in the coming weeks.

The site, on land previously used as Damascus Barracks, was found to have been contaminated, with one area still cordoned off with tape warning of an asbestos dust hazard.
WARNING: This story contains an image of an Indigenous person who has died, which is being used with family consent.

The family of an Indigenous man who took his life at a Perth prison say their pleas for help fell on deaf ears as his mental health deteriorated.

Mr Blanket, a Noongar and Torres Strait Islander man, was 30 years old when he was found dead in his cell at the privately-operated Acacia Prison in June 2019.

Mr Blanket, a Noongar and Torres Strait Islander man, was aged 30 when he died.

An inquest into the father-of-threes death is set to begin in Perth on Tuesday, with his family desperate to learn what happened in his final hours.
Trade Minister Stuart Ayres signed off on a ministerial briefing identifying former senior bureaucrat Jenny West as the successful applicant for a coveted New York trade post but later told parliament that no suitable candidate had been found.

New documents released to the upper house on Tuesday reveal that Ayres, who was then investment minister, signed the brief saying after a full recruitment process, the successful candidate is Ms Jenny West on August 17 last year.

Stuart Ayres heads to India on Tuesday for more trade meetings after opening a new Investment NSW office in Singapore. Credit:Jessica Hromas

The papers have been released as part of the parliamentary inquiry into how former deputy premier John Barilaro was then appointed to the lucrative $500,000-a-year role.

Despite the August 2021 document showing Ayres was aware of Wests selection, the minister has repeatedly told parliament and the public that the first recruitment process for the New York-based trade role did not find an appropriate candidate.
Singapore: Beijing has warned Washington of serious consequences if House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visits Taiwan, escalating its threats of retaliation as politicians in Asia and America back her planned visit to the democratic island.

Addressing a Taiwan defence conference via video on Tuesday, three US congressmen and senators said Washington and its allies had no choice but to take Chinese President Xi Jinpings threats to unify with Taiwan seriously. But the plans for Pelosis visit, made public by The Financial Times last week, have put the US government in a difficult position: risk triggering a military dispute or back down to Chinas intimidation.

US Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi. Credit:AP

Pelosi would be the highest-ranking serving US official to visit Taiwan in decades. The Chinese Communist Party regards self-ruled Taiwan as a province of China and views any visit by serving top officials as a threat to its sovereignty, despite never having governed the island.

Previous visits by European officials have also been met by unfulfilled threats of retaliation from the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
A spokeswoman for Trump did not reply to a request for comment from Reuters. Trump has denied wrongdoing. Criminally charging a former president would be unprecedented, but an investigation by the January 6 committee has laid out evidence for a number of potential charges, including obstruction of an official proceeding and conspiracy to defraud the US. A California judge said earlier this year, it was more likely than not that Trump and lawyer John Eastman committed those crimes. If Attorney-General Merrick Garland decides to bring charges, he will want his prosecutors to pursue a straightforward case that can withstand the scrutiny of court proceedings and appeals, which may be the scheme to create false electors, former law enforcement officials said. In an interview with NBC Nightly News on Tuesday, US time, Garland was asked whether the Justice Department would indict Trump if the evidence supported such an action. We will hold accountable anyone who was criminally responsible for attempting to interfere with the transfer, legitimate, lawful transfer of power from one administration to the next, Garland responded. In an interview with CNN earlier this year, Deputy Attorney-General Lisa Monaco confirmed the Justice Department had received referrals about slates of alternative fake electors that were sent to the National Archives, and said prosecutors were reviewing them.

The fake elector plot has featured prominently in multiple hearings of the Democratic-led US House of Representatives committee probing the attack on the Capitol. Trump returned to Washington for the first time since leaving office on Tuesday, US time, vigorously repeating his false election claims that sparked the January 6 insurrection at the nearby Capitol. Loading It was a catastrophe that election. A disgrace to our country, he said, insisting, despite all evidence, that he won in 2020. We may just have to do it again, he said, repeating as he does in all recent appearances the ever-clearer hints that he will run again in 2024.

He received frequent applause and cheers from his audience, a meeting organised by a group of former White House officials and cabinet members who have been crafting an agenda for a possible second Trump term. Trumps appearance in the nations capital  his first trip back since January 20, 2021, when President Joe Biden was sworn into office despite Trumps frantic efforts to remain in power  came as allies urged him to spend more time talking about his vision for the future and less relitigating the 2020 election. The White House seized on Trumps comments about there being no respect for the law and...no order. Bidens Twitter account posted: You cant be pro-insurrection and pro-cop  or pro-democracy, or pro-American.

Trump spoke hours after Pence, a potential 2024 rival, outlined his own Freedom Agenda in a speech nearby. Pences speech Pence again implored conservatives to stop looking backwards and focus on the future as he mulls his own. Trump and I differ on focus: Former US vice president Mike Pence. Credit:AP Some people may choose to focus on the past, but elections are about the future, Pence said in an address to Young Americas Foundation, a student conservative group. I believe conservatives must focus on the future to win back America. We cant afford to take our eyes off the road in front of us because whats at stake is the very survival of our way of life.

Marc Short, former chief of staff to Mike Pence has testified to the January 6 committee. Credit:AP That contrast was on display Tuesday as Trump spoke before an audience of hundreds gathered for the America First Policy Institutes two-day America First Agenda Summit. The event had the feel of a Trump White House reunion  but one without Pence. Pence, meanwhile, received a friendly  but not enthusiastic  welcome from the students, who struggled to break into a USA! chant. In his remarks, he repeatedly touted the Trump-Pence administration, but the first question he was asked was about his growing split with Trump, which is particularly stark given the years he spent as the former presidents most loyal sidekick.

Pence denied the two differ on issues but acknowledged we may differ on focus. Loading I truly do believe that elections are about the future and that its absolutely essential, at a time when so many Americans are hurting and so many families are struggling, that we dont give way to the temptation to look back, he said. Also on Tuesday, Simon & Schuster announced the title of Pences upcoming book, So Help Me God, which will be published in November. The publisher said the book would, in part, chronicle President Trumps severing of their relationship on January 6, 2021,when Pence kept his oath to the Constitution. Trump has spent much of his time since leaving office spreading lies about his loss to sow doubt about Bidens victory.
HAVANA, Cuba:--- In the first half of the 1970s, the Curacao couple Diana Lebacs and Pacheco Domacasse appeared in Havana, Cuba. Both were young musicians and writers, she an actress and he a theater director.

We established such a partnershipinitially based on my interest in the literature of the Dutch territories in the Caribbeanthat shortly afterward Diana began to send me (in her own handwriting) bio-bibliographies of authors close to them, and of the published writers that I had requested information about, to expand the wealth of information I had access to at that time.

These mailings and correspondence were related to an overly ambitious plan for an encyclopedic dictionary that would make the writers of the Greater Caribbean visible. But due to its size and lack of resources, the voluminous book project could not be completed. One of the contributors, who wrote a number of articles on Cuban writers, was Raul Hernandez Novas.

As a consequence of our ties, in 1976 Pacheco participated in a Meeting of Caribbean Writers in Havana. Although our exchanges continued by post, it was not until the end of the 1990s that we met again during my brief visit to Curacao.

Given the scenario of balkanization and little contact between writers from the Netherlands territories in the Caribbean and the rest of the region, I directed the initial proposal toward the preparation of a Dictionary of Writers from the Caribbean Netherlands.

After Diana and I discussed the idea, it became a dream for both of us. She assumed her part of the task spontaneously, with the dynamism and youthful passion with which she undertook all work for the culture of Curacao.

The elegant and passionate lady, a winner of important literary prizes, invited to countless cultural activities, with many published books, never abandoned our dream of the encyclopedia of Caribbean writers.

Diana also recruited the writer Hilda de Windt-Ayoubi, and they created an advisory committee. The committee held numerous meetings, of which they sent me minutes with questions, clarifications, doubts, and proposals.

My project was presented to the Prins Bernhard Culture Fund Caribbean Region, and in 2019, that institution granted a financial subsidy to expand the research to be carried out in the six islands concerned: Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, Saba, St. Eustatius, St. Martin (Netherlands part).

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, with the impossibility of traveling to the islands, the research has been slowed down, but not abandoned. All the people committed to the literary project have maintained an interest in completing the Dictionary, imbued by Dianas immeasurable energy.

When Hilda called me early in the morning of July 12 with news of Dianas passing the previous day, she also told me that Diana used to visit her to brainstorm about advancing the literary research project, something that I intuited from a distance.

I understand that the linguistic complexity of the Caribbean region means that some of my friends on Facebook are unaware of many of its writers. That is why my tribute to Diana has focused generally on her perseverance towards the Dictionary that we longed for togethera dictionary that will also include a more updated version of the article I wrote about her for the Dictionary of Caribbean and Afro-Latin American Biography (Oxford University Press, 2016).

Be assured, we will continue to dream of the project that you cherished as our own, Diana. Wherever you are, receive my immense love and respect.

Brasa, Diana.

Works by Diana Lebacs in Papiamentu and Dutch

(Selected by Emilio Jorge Rodriguez)

Sherry - het begin van een begin (young adult novel, 1971); Kompa datu ta konta, 1975; Nancho van Bonaire (childrens literature, 1976); Chimina-kome-lubida, 1976; Ken-ken pia di wesu (1977); Nancho matroos (childrens literature, 1977); Nancho niemand (childrens literature, 1979); Sabio, Nachi i Bueno: un cuenta di Luango (childrens literature, 1979); Nancho kapitein (childrens literature, 1982); Yomi-yomi (childrens literature,1982); Suikerriet Rosy (youth literature, 1983); Kas ta kas (childrens literature, 1985); De spokenband (childrens literature, 1985); Robin en de reuzerobot (childrens literature, 1985); Het witte licht (youth literature, 1986); Kuantu nan ta? (childrens literature, 1987); Dies dede enkanta (childrens literature, 1987); Rini ta bai took (childrens literature, 1987); Moru Rini (childrens literature, 1987); Ataki mi boka (childrens literature, 1987); Nanishi riba dje (childrens literature, 1987); Dos wowo pa mi mira (childrens literature, 1987); Orea pa tende (childrens literature, 1987); Ocho kuenta di maravia (childrens literature, 1987); De toembakoning (childrens literature, 1989); De langste maand (novel, 1994); Caimin su sekretu (childrens literature, 2001); Fula fula (childrens literature, 2005); Waarover wij niet moeten praten/Vrouwen aan het woord (short stories, 2007); Waar is Olivier? / Unda Olivier ta? (childrens literature, 2010); Ubuntu (youth literature, 2010); Kaboemmm! En toen (childrens literature, 2013); Belumbe/de waterlijn (poetry, 2014); Duizend leugens bruidstaart (novel, 2016); Grandesa di Amistat (youth literature, 1918).
Shawn Richards squandered two opportunities, the first in 2015 and the second in 2020, to become prime minister of the Federation of St. Kitts & Nevis. And on each occasion, he kowtowed to Timothy Harris. The latter aka the Rajapaksa of the Eastern Caribbean and leader of the Peoples Labour Party won one and two seats respectively in the 2015 and 2020 General Elections. Yet, he ascended to the highest political office in the Land. From a planetary perspective, Harris has the unique distinction of being a prime minister twice with a minority of seats won in two General Elections. And it was all because of the complete lack of testicular fortitude shown by Shawn Richards. Now this blowhard of a political leader is running to become the next prime minister of the Federation. And he believes that his time is Now, and he is ready. Oh judgment, thou hast fled to brutish beasts and Shawn Richards has lost his mind and ability to reason.

A short background is in order. In 2015 three political parties in St. Kitts and Nevis joined forces and campaigned as Team Unity in the General Elections and formed the new government. The three parties, the Peoples Action Movement (PAM) led by Shawn Richards, the Peoples Labour Party (PLP) led by Timothy Harris, and the Concerned Citizens Movement (CCM) led by Mark Brantley won a combined seven out of the total 11 Electoral Seats. But the victory reflected a highly skewed distribution of the seats won. PAM walked away with half (4) of the eight seats available in St. Kitts to the single seat won by PLP. Yet, Timothy Harris became Prime Minister given the complete abdication of leadership by Shawn Richards. And for seven years Shawn was the deputy prime minister in the two Harris administrations that he (Harris) completed dominated. Shawn was not playing second fiddle; he was completely subservient to the Rajapaksa with barely a peep or a mutter coming from him. And now this make-belief, serio-comic political leader wants to be the next prime minister. But him nah ready yet.

Shawn Richards held the office of deputy prime minister for seven years from 2015 to early 2022. And during this period, he has shown not even a scintilla of readiness for the job he is Now seeking in the upcoming General Elections scheduled to be held on Friday 5th August 2022. On his campaign trail, he bellows his readiness to a crowd of less than 200 wherever and whenever he turns up. And his manner of speaking is fine-tuned and synced to a rhythmic gesticulation of his right hand moving up and down as if orchestrating and sending a message to the proposed builders of the Basseterre High School that he is ready to be a carpenter with a hammer in hand. But on a more serious note, Shawn is universally viewed by many in St. Kitts & Nevis as lazy and a ladys man with a cavalier disposition.

Being a prime minister is serious business, one that requires a combination of both hard and soft skills. An accountant by training, Shawn is a bean counter and a bottom line guy. Accountants do not make effective leaders. And the best example we have of this is the accountant, Timothy Harris, who at best was a mediocre political leader and a narcissist. Moreover, and more importantly, they are not strategic thinkers. Strategic thinking requires the ability to not only think and plan for the long term but to thrive in the world of the complexity of often conflicting data and be able to make meaningful linkages and ferret out implications and unexpected findings. The world of 2022 is complex and complicated. It requires a mind that is trained in the nuances of international politics, diplomacy and negotiation, geopolitics, international trade, and security. Strategic thinking also requires the ability to take risks and how deal with and treat people. Sad to say, Shawn does not have this mindset or even the inclination to acquire knowledge in these areas.

Finally, a strategic leader must have a vision. He or she must be able to sell that vision and translate it into reality. This is not as easy as it sounds. The process requires a keen and sagacious intellect combined with a singleness of mind or determination to achieve worthwhile goals. For a political leader, this vision translates into commitment, hard work, patience, impeccable integrity, and dedication to high and unselfish ideals. This brings us to Shawn and Timothy Harris. The latter is a spectacular model of corruption, nepotism, and selfishness, a man who has betrayed the peoples trust and desecrated the Office of the Prime Minister. And then there is the mother of weaklings, Shawn Richards, campaigning to become prime minister. The very notion of having a vision is alien to Shawn. Accountants are not people of vision. And the voters of The Federation must stay clear of their empty promises and reject them at the polls on Election Day.

Shawns seven years in office as a minister and deputy prime minister were characterized by empty promises and calculated neglect. Like his prime minister, Shawn also was involved in questionable projects and kickbacks. The well-drilling and road-paving and rehabilitation contracts come to mind. In the latter, he followed closely the modus operandi of his boss by engaging a cousin; a sure way to receive kickbacks. Both he and his partner in crime, Timothy Harris, were bedfellows in high jacking the commanding heights of the economy and enriching themselves. Now they have become estranged bedfellows, hurling torrents of invectives at each other like market women. And both are desperate, agitated, and stressed as they read the handwriting on the wall. Doomsday awaits both when the people of The Federation resoundingly reject them on Election Day. Shawn may after all end up working as a carpenter, his dream job.
Prime Minister Timothy Harris of St. Kitts & Nevis is, without a doubt, the Rajapaksa of the Eastern Caribbean. We do well to recall how the former president of Sri Lanka, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, abdicated office and fled for his life a few weeks ago because of economic mismanagement, financial corruption, and a flair for capital projects, and converting government into a private business of family and friends. Timothy Harris fits this profile to a tee. He has been at the helm of political power in the Federation for seven years and his tenure is littered with episodes of mismanagement, rampant corruption, unprecedented levels of nepotism, and accusations of electoral fraud in the General Election two years ago in June 2020. The real Rajapaksa was a megalomaniac; his Caribbean counterpart is not far behind. The real Rajapaksa squandered hundreds of millions in gargantuan capital projects; the guy from the Eastern Caribbean is following suit.

A little background and context are in order. Sensing imminent and certain defeat at the polls in the General Election of June 2020, Harris pulled out of his political toolkit a number of tactical tools, which are not only heinous and despicable, but are also anathema to democracy and the rule of law. First, Prime Minister Harris declared a State of Emergency (SoE) as a way of addressing a health issue brought on by the Covid-19 Pandemic. The SoE was akin to using a sledgehammer to drive a tack nail. Second, he dissolved Parliament in a sneaky, surreptitious manner, not informing members of the Opposition or the country at large. And third, within days of this dastardly act, he set a date for the General Election firmly believing that he would have sufficient time to undermine the electoral process and rig the election. What Harris did was not simply rigging an election, he was frigging it. It was massive, purposeful, and well planned.

Harris reach into every nook and cranny in St. Kitts and Nevis is far, deep, and wide. And his control of the levers of political and financial power is legendary. To secure his victory in the last election, he moved swiftly to capture and then control the electoral machinery from the central electoral office to the polling stations in each constituency. Moreover, he directed his brother to hand out EC$25,000 to members of certain constituencies that he perceived he might lose. The use of taxpayers' money to buy an election was a brazen disregard of the law and another tactic in his fraudulent electoral tool bag. There is more! The central electoral office did not post any list of registered voters or even designated places where voters in their respective constituencies can go and cast their vote. Harris created a state of electoral uncertainty and introduced artificial darkness in the country in an effort to return to power. And finally, while he did not openly block international observer groups from coming into the country, he employed an artful device while seeking Covid-19 cover: 14-days of mandatory quarantine.

Timothy Harris is a genius, second only to Rajapaksa. He is a genius in electoral fraud, a genius in turning a beautiful country into a nepotistic state, a genius in the art of deception, a genius in mendacity, second only to Trump, and a genius in hollow bombast. But Harris is not a lone actor in the perpetration of electoral fraud in the Commonwealth Caribbean. There have been others. But what singles out Harris and sets him apart from the rest of his fellow travelers is the manner of his unrelenting pursuit of political power. He has insufflated into the body politic of a small island a cancerous virus that is eating away the heart of democracy. This self-styled, soi-disant political leader was, for the past seven years, forcefully bending the arc of justice and fair play to the breaking point. In sum, he was well on his way to destroying the Federation and turning it into his personal fiefdom.

And Timothy Harris is in good company. In 1968, Guyanas ruling PNC party under Forbes Burnham unleashed massive electoral fraud. And he continued it until his death on 6th August 1985. His successor continued the electoral legacy, and the new guy on the block, fierce ideological kin, and military brigadier general has followed suite. And the PPP under Bharat Jagdeo has also tasted the forbidden fruit and rigged elections. In Guyana rigging of elections and committing electoral fraud are stitched into the DNA of political leaders. Harris attempts to rig the 2020 general election sent a chilling message to the people of the Commonwealth Caribbean that the legacy of Burnham has taken up new residence outside of Guyana.

Other electoral shenanigans included Grenadas ULP's use of the police and military to suppress votes in 1976. The UNC in Trinidad and Tobago was accused of voter padding in 2000. This led to a return to the polls. In 2015, Trinidad and Tobagos Elections Commission extended voting by one hour: the Opposition PNM won. Grenadas ruling NNP was accused of voter padding in 2018. And also in 2018, Antiguas ruling ABPL was accused of paying voters US$1,000 to hold their ID Voter Cards for 24 hours. And that saga of rigging played out in Guyana after the 2nd March 2020 Elections.

This brings us to St. Kitts and Nevis. After seven years in power by a unity government consisting of a triumvirate of three political parties, with Harris Peoples Labour Party (PLP) securing only two parliamentary seats in the 2020 Elections, the inevitable death knell finally struck. It was not a bolt out of the blue; its genesis was rooted in the hasty arrangement of convenience concocted by the three-party political leaders who did not share a common set of values and aspirations for the people of the Federation and for good and effective governance.

Harris values and megalomania are anathemas to democracy and to the people of St. Kitts & Nevis. He values political power and how he can wield it against his opponents. He values family and during his seven-year tenure as Prime Minister, he placed them in commanding positions in every office of government. Harris has an insatiable appetite for power combined with monumental greed for wealth. He also sees himself as a champion of huge capital projects, which is his gateway to wealth accumulation. It is alleged that he siphoned over US$100M from the Citizen by Investment Program and placed it into his offshore accounts. Three mega projects, the Prison Construction Project, a stand-alone Solar Farm, and the Basseterre High School construction project, reek of corruption and kickbacks with the Eastern Caribbean Rajapaksa being the only beneficiary.

The people of the Federation of SK&N should reject him and his co-conspirator, the leader of the Peoples Action Movement (PAM) at the polls come 5th August 2022. They have a heaven-sent opportunity this time to finally rid their beautiful and peaceful country from this Rajapaksa and his minions.
~ broad-based programme to bridge the digital divide across the Caribbean~

Miami, FLORIDA:--- C&W Communications has unveiled its strategy to help bridge the digital divide across the Caribbean.

An initiative entitled JUMP has been introduced by the operators of the Flow, Flow Business, C&W Business, and BTC brands in a bid to foster greater digital inclusion in a region that today still enjoys less than 50% broadband penetration.

Low broadband penetration in the Caribbean contributes to diminished opportunities for individuals, communities, and local economies, but with the support of funding partners, we aim to significantly close this gap within three to five years through a comprehensive program that focuses on providing access, devices, and digital skills, said Rosario Veras, Senior Director, Marketing and Operations, C&W Communications.

Veras was speaking to an audience of regional heads of state and heads of government, along with regulators, telecom operators, and industry stakeholders at CANTOs 37th Annual Conference & Trade Exhibition in Miami.

Digital inclusion is about ensuring the benefits of digital technologies are available to everyone, and we must have intentional digital inclusion strategies and strive to eliminate institutional and structural barriers to technology accessibility, she added.

Veras said JUMP was a long-term investment aimed at changing lives, unlocking the potential of economies, and truly enabling progress across the Caribbean.

We are committed to harnessing our resources and capabilities so more students can connect to their virtual classrooms, more people can benefit from telehealth, and job seekers can improve their search for work and application access. Our core social mission is to connect everyone to the internet - irrespective of their income or where they live, she said.

C&W Communications will be partnering with regional governments, along with non-profit organizations and private sector partners to ensure the success of JUMP.

The digital divide is a large, multifaceted issue that requires holistic solutions, and a successful strategy requires building innovative partnerships, so we must co-create solutions in partnership with the communities we serve to ensure no citizen is left out, she said.

There is a role for each business, government, and community, and we are hoping to create an opportunity for all to bring their energy, commitment, and collaboration on the mission of uplifting our region.

Aamir Hussain, Chief Technology & Product Officer at Liberty Latin America, the parent company of C&W Communications, also addressed the conference on The Future of Broadband in the Caribbean.

Broadband is a fundamental right of every citizen, and although there are currently 27 million users in the Caribbean, this only represents 60% of the total population and therefore there is a tremendous opportunity for growth, he said.
WILLEMSTAD:--- The naval ship Zr.Ms. Groningen, which is currently sailing for the Caribbean Coast Guard, intercepted a fast boat, a so-called go-fast, in the Caribbean Sea, which was carrying a large load of narcotics, presumably cocaine.

There were five people on board the go-fast who, the moment they realized they had been caught, threw several bales overboard. That part of the cargo has been lost, but more than 1620 kg of narcotics have still been seized. During this interception action, in which the KW also shot, one person on board the go-fast was killed.

The suspects, the remains, and the contraband have been handed over by the Caribbean Coast Guard to the Curacao Police Force, which is continuing the investigation. Now that the Coast Guard was involved in the interception and someone was killed, the National Criminal Investigation Department is also involved in the investigation.
GCM Mining and Aris Gold Combine to Create a Leading Americas Gold Producer

br />Creates a company with larger scale and significant free cash flow to unlock shareholder value

Substantial combined gold reserve of 3.8 Moz and resource base of 18.3 Moz Measured & Indicated and 7.7 Moz Inferred[1]

Strengthened mine-building, operating and financial capacity

Streamlined corporate structure with direct realizable synergies

No premium, all-share business combination

GCM Mining Corp. (GCM) (TSX: GCM; OTCQX: TPRFF) and Aris Gold Corporation (Aris Gold) (TSX: ARIS; OTCQX: ALLXF  https://www.commodity-tv.com/ondemand/companies/profil/gran-colombia-gold-corp/ ) announce they have entered into a definitive agreement (the Arrangement Agreement) under which GCM will acquire all the outstanding Aris Gold shares not already held by GCM (the Transaction). The resulting entity will be named Aris Gold Corporation and will be led by Ian Telfer as Chair and Neil Woodyer as CEO and Director.

Ian Telfer, Aris Gold Chair, stated: \The combined group creates a top-in-class company with multiple tier one assets. After Aris Gold became operator of the Soto Norte joint venture, joining forces with GCM became a logical next step.A Our increased scale will also broaden our future opportunities to continue building a +1 million ounce producer over the next few years.\

Serafino Iacono, Executive Chair of GCM, stated: Each team has unique strengths with GCM being the Colombian leader for responsible, sustainable mining practices. Together with Aris Gold\-s Board and management, the combined group brings a track record of building sizable and successful mining companies; this transaction further diversifies the companya?s portfolio and reaffirms Colombia as an area of focus. While I am stepping down from a day-to-day executive role, I will remain a director and advisor on matters in Colombia as well as an enthusiastic securityholder.\A

Neil Woodyer, CEO of Aris Gold, stated: \We are building a gold mining business with scale, cash flow, a strong financial position with US$397 million of cash and US$260 million of additional committed funding, and a high-quality growth pipeline. Our teams are well known to each other, and together we will optimize the delivery of the growth projects to unlock shareholder value.\

Under the terms of the Transaction, all the outstanding Aris Gold shares not held by GCM will be exchanged at a ratio of 0.5 of a common share of GCM for each common share of Aris Gold (the Exchange Ratio). The Exchange Ratio was determined at-market giving consideration to the 10-day and 20-day volume weighted average prices on the TSX for each of GCM and Aris Gold for the period ended July 22, 2022. A Both the GCM and Aris Gold Boards of Directors (other than certain interested directors) have approved the terms of the Arrangement Agreement, and all of the directors and officers of both GCM and Aris Gold have entered into binding voting support agreements in favour of the Transaction, representing in aggregate 3.0% of GCM\-s issued shares and 9.0% of Aris Gold\-s issued shares.

Transaction highlights

Creates the top-of-the-class company among junior producers and the largest gold company in Colombia, with diversification in Guyana and Canada.

Experienced Board of Directors and management team with a track record of building value in the gold sector

Brings together teams with unmatched experience in Colombia and extensive project development and mine building expertise

Strong financial position to de-risk growth projects, with combined cash and committed funding of US$657 million[2] and free cash flow generation from the Segovia Operations (US$84 million on a 12-month trailing basis to March 31, 2022)[3]

Estimated G&A cost savings of US$10 million per year through the reduction of duplicative public company expenses and rationalizing other expenses

No premium transaction that simplifies the ownership structure within a single company

Substantial long-term re-rating potential, with share price upside from enhanced market visibility, trading liquidity, access to capital, and reduced cost of capital

Board of Directors

The Board of Directors of the resulting entity will have nine members, with Ian Telfer as Chair and Daniela Cambone, David Garofalo, MAnica de Greiff, Serafino Iacono, Peter Marrone, Hernan Martinez, Attie Roux and Neil Woodyer as members.

MAnica de Greiff is new to the Aris Gold team and is a former Board Member of GCM, from 2018 to 2020, when she left to accept the position of Colombian Ambassador to Kenya. She has held positions in both the public and private sectors, including Minister of Justice for the Republic of Colombia and Vice Minister of Mines and Energy. Ms. de Greiff is a former member of the Board of Directors of the United Nations Global Compact, the world\-s largest corporate sustainability initiative. A

Management team

The combined group will be led by Neil Woodyer as CEO and the corporate office will be based in Vancouver, Canada. Both Lombardo Paredes, CEO of GCM, and Mike Davies, CFO of GCM, will retire from their roles with GCM. Serafino Iacono will step back from an executive role but will continue as a member of the Board of Directors and an advisor on matters in Colombia.

Building a globally relevant, sustainable gold producer

The combined group will have a balanced mix of production, development, and exploration assets across the Americas with proven and probable mineral reserves of 3.8 million ounces of gold, measured and indicated mineral resources of 18.3 million ounces of gold, inclusive of mineral reserves, and inferred mineral resources of 7.7 million ounces of gold.[4]

Segovia Operations (Antioquia, Colombia): a high-grade underground mining district that produced 206,389 ounces of gold in 2021. Operations at Segovia have been ongoing for over 150 years and there is a well-established history of mineral resource and reserve replacement. The Segovia Operations include the purchase of mined material from small-scale miners, which are described in the Segovia Technical Report[5] and represented about 16% of 2021\-s gold production, as part of an industry-leading Colombian program for the integration of informal small-scale miners into the supply chain, with added environmental, social and security benefits.

Marmato Mine (Caldas, Colombia): a historic producing underground gold mine currently undergoing a modernization and expansion program, which includes the construction of a new decline, mine workings, 4,000 tpd carbon in pulp processing plant and dry stack tailings facilities. The Pre-Feasibility Study disclosed in the Marmato Technical Report estimates production of 175,000 ounces per year (oz/yr) from the optimized Upper Mine and the Lower Mine expansion project.5

Toroparu Project (Cuyuni-Mazaruni, Guyana): an advanced stage open pit and underground gold project with estimated average gold production of 225,000 oz/yr over a 24-year mine life, as described in the Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) disclosed in the Toroparu Technical Report.[6] Located approximately 50 kilometres southwest of the recently constructed Aurora gold mine, Toroparu is one of the largest undeveloped gold projects in the Americas and provides the combined company with a foothold in the emerging and highly prospective Central Guiana Shear Zone.5

Soto Norte Project (Santander, Colombia): a large-scale feasibility-stage underground gold project undergoing permitting and licensing. In April 2022, Aris Gold became the operator of the Soto Note joint venture and is leading a new and reframed environmental permitting process. The Feasibility Study disclosed in the Soto Norte Technical Report estimates average gold production of 450,000 oz/yr over the steady state production years. Upon exercising its option to increase its joint venture ownership interest from 20% to 50%, the attributable gold production to Aris Gold would be 225,000 oz/yr.5

Juby Project (Ontario, Canada): an advanced stage gold project with an open pit mineral resource located in the Abitibi greenstone belt.

While the combined company embarks on delivering its growth projects, the Board of Directors of the combined company is expected to initially adopt a no-dividend policy based on the strategic principle that internal cash flow generation is best deployed to advance high-return growth opportunities within the company.

Terms of the Transaction

On closing, GCM shareholders and Aris Gold shareholders (taking into consideration the 44.3% of Aris Gold currently held by GCM) are expected to own, on a diluted in-the-money basis, approximately 74% and 26% of the combined group, respectively.

The Arrangement Agreement includes customary transaction protection terms. GCM and Aris Gold have agreed to not solicit any alternative transactions and each party has the right to match any superior competing offer, with a reciprocal Transaction termination fee of US$6 million to be paid in certain circumstances.

The material conditions to completion of the Transaction include:

Approval by Aris Gold\-s shareholders, with greater than 66 2/3% approval threshold and approval of disinterested minority shareholders.

Approval by GCM\-s shareholders, with greater than 50% approval threshold.

Receipt of all required governmental and regulatory approvals including TSX and Colombian anti-trust approvals.

Other customary conditions.

It is anticipated that both the GCM and Aris Gold shareholder meetings will take place in mid September 2022, and completion of the Transaction is expected to occur promptly thereafter.

GCM Board of Directors\- recommendation

The Board of Directors of GCM determined it was advisable to establish a special committee of the independent directors of GCM (the GCM Special Committee), comprising Robert Metcalfe, De Lyle Bloomquist, Belinda Labatte and Jaime Perez Branger to, among other things, review and evaluate the merits of the proposed Transaction and to consider such materials and information needed, including an independent fairness opinion, and to make a recommendation to the Board of Directors of GCM in respect of the proposed Transaction.

The GCM Special Committee and the Board of Directors of GCM received a fairness opinion from its co-financial advisors, National Bank Financial Inc. (National Bank) and Stifel Nicolaus Canada A (Stifel GMP) that, based upon and subject to the respective assumptions, limitations, qualifications of and other matters set forth in connection with the preparation of such opinion, the Transaction is fair, from a financial point of view, to GCM (the GCM Fairness Opinions).

Following the report and favourable recommendation of the GCM Special Committee, the Board of Directors of GCM (other than certain interested directors) approved the Transaction and determined to recommend approval of the Transaction to the GCM shareholders. In addition, all of the directors and officers of GCM have entered into binding voting support agreements with Aris Gold and GCM under which such individuals have agreed to support the Transaction and vote their GCM shares in favour of the Transaction.

A copy of the GCM Fairness Opinions, the factors considered by the GCM Special Committee and the Board of Directors of GCM and other relevant background information will be included in the management information circular and related documents that are expected to be delivered to the GCM shareholders in connection with a special meeting of GCM shareholders to be called to consider and approve the Transaction, filed with the applicable Canadian securities regulatory authorities and made available on GCM\-s SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com, and posted on GCM\-s website at http://www.gcm-mining.com/.

Aris Gold Board of Directors\- recommendation

As of today, GCM beneficially owns 60,991,545 Aris Gold shares representing approximately 44.3% of the issued and outstanding Aris Gold shares. GCM is considered a \related party\ of Aris Gold and the Transaction is a \business combination\ of Aris Gold for the purposes of Multilateral Instrument 61-101 a Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions (MI 61-101). The Board of Directors of Aris Gold formed a special committee of independent directors comprising of Ian Telfer, Peter Marrone and Daniela Cambone (the Aris Special Committee) to, among other things, review and evaluate the merits of the proposed Transaction and to consider such materials and information needed including an independent fairness opinion and formal valuation, and to make a recommendation to the Board of Directors of Aris Gold in respect of the proposed Transaction.

BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc. (BMO Capital Markets) was retained by the Aris Special Committee to provide, under the supervision of the Aris Special Committee, an independent formal valuation prepared in accordance with MI 61-101 and independent fairness opinion. BMO Capital Markets provided its opinion (the BMO Fairness Opinion) to the Special Committee that, as of July 24, 2022, and subject to the assumptions, limitations and qualifications contained therein, the consideration to be received by the Aris Gold shareholders (other than GCM) pursuant to the proposed Transaction is fair from a financial point of view to the Aris Gold shareholders (other than GCM). BMO Capital Markets also prepared a formal valuation of the Aris Gold common shares (the Aris Gold Valuation) and the GCM common shares (the GCM Valuation), which are being issued as consideration, as required under MI 61-101. BMO Capital Markets concluded that, as of July 24, 2022, and subject to the assumptions, limitations, and qualifications included in the Aris Gold Valuation and GCM Valuation, respectively, that the value of the Aris Gold common shares on an en bloc basis[7] was in the range of C$2.30 to C$3.10 per share and the value of the GCM common shares on a trading value basis was in the range of C$3.70 to C$5.75 per share.

Canaccord Genuity Corp. (Canaccord) was retained by the Aris Board of Directors and provided its opinion (the Canaccord Fairness Opinion) to the Aris Board of Directors that, as of July 24, 2022, and subject to the assumptions, limitations and qualifications contained therein, the consideration to be received by the Aris Gold shareholders (other than GCM) pursuant to the proposed Transaction is fair from a financial point of view to the Aris Gold shareholders (other than GCM).

Following the report and favourable recommendation of the Aris Special Committee, the Board of Directors of Aris Gold (other than certain interested directors) approved the Transaction and determined to recommend approval of the Transaction to the Aris Gold shareholders. In addition, all of the directors and officers of Aris Gold have entered into binding voting support agreements with GCM and Aris Gold under which such individuals have agreed to support the Transaction and vote their Aris Gold shares in favour of the Transaction.

A copy of the BMO Fairness Opinion, the Canaccord Fairness Opinion, the Aris Gold Valuation, the GCM Valuation, the factors considered by the Aris Special Committee and Board of Directors of Aris Gold and other relevant background information will be included in the management information circular and related documents that are expected to be delivered to the Aris Gold shareholders in connection with a special meeting of Aris Gold shareholders to be called to consider and approve the Transaction, filed with the applicable Canadian securities regulatory authorities and made available on Aris Gold\-s SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com, and posted on Aris Gold\-s website www.arisgold.com.

Advisors and counsel

National Bank Financial and Stifel GMP are acting as co-financial advisors to GCM and each has provided a fairness opinion to the GCM Special Committee and the Board of Directors of GCM.

Wildeboer Dellelce LLP, Proskauer Rose LLP and CLA Consultores S.A.S. are acting as Canadian, US and Colombian legal advisors to GCM, respectively, and the GCM Special Committee has retained Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP as its independent counsel.

Canaccord is acting as financial advisor to Aris Gold and has provided a fairness opinion to the Board of Directors of Aris Gold. BMO Capital Markets was retained by the Special Committee and has provided a formal valuation and fairness opinion to the Aris Gold Special Committee.

Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP and Dentons are acting as Canadian and Colombian legal advisors to Aris Gold, respectively. A

Conference call details

Ian Telfer, Serafino Iacono, and Neil Woodyer will host a conference call and webcast today, Monday, July 25, 2022 at 9am EDT/6am PDT.

No passcode is necessary to access the call or webcast.

Conference callA A A A A A

Toll-free US and Canada: 1-800-319-4610

International: +1 604-638-5340

Webcast a link here

A replay of the call will also be available by dialling the following numbers and using passcode 9244:

Toll-free US and Canada: 1-800-319-6413

International: +1 604-638-9010

In Europe:

Swiss Resource Capital AG

Jochen Staiger

info@resource-capital.ch

www.resource-capital.ch

[1] See Table 1, 2 and 3 in section a Pro Forma consolidated mineral reserves and resources of this News Release.

[2] Combined cash balances of US$397 million as of March 31, 2022, plus committed stream financing of US$122 million for construction of the Marmato Lower Mine and US$138 million for the construction of Toroparu.

[3] This non-IFRS measure has been calculated from the GCM Mining Q1 2022 MD&A as US$34 million consolidated Free Cash Flow reported by GCM for the trailing 12 months to March 31, 2022 adjusted to exclude corporate general and administrative expenses (US$22 million) and exploration and non-sustaining capital expenditures (US$28 million) during the trailing 12 months period.

[4] See Table 1, 2 and 3 in section a Pro Forma consolidated mineral reserves and resources of this News Release.

[5] See the Technical reports section of this News Release.

[6] A preliminary economic assessment is preliminary in nature, and includes inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves, and there is no certainty that the preliminary economic assessment will be realized.A

[7] As required under MI 61-101, BMO Capital Markets prepared the Aris Gold Valuation on an en bloc basis, without including a downward adjustment to reflect the liquidity of Aris Gold common shares, the effect of the Transaction on the Aris Gold common shares, or the fact that the Aris Gold common shares held do not form part of a controlling interest.

Technical reports and data verification

Technical reports for Marmato, Soto Norte, and Juby have been filed with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities and are available for review on Aris Gold\-s website at www.arisgold.com and on the profile of Aris Gold Corporation on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. A A Technical reports for Segovia and Toroparu have been filed with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities and are available for review on GCM\-s website at www.gcm-mining.com and on the profile of GCM on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. A These reports confirm that the qualified persons responsible for the preparation of the technical reports have verified the data disclosed, including drilling, sampling, assaying, and QAQC protocols and results, and are of the opinion that the sample recovery, preparation, analyses, and security protocols used for the mineral resource estimates are reliable for that purpose.A

Scientific and technical information concerning Marmato is summarized, derived, or extracted from the Marmato Technical Report entitled \Revised NI 43-101 Technical Report Pre-Feasibility Study Marmato Project Colombia\ dated September 18, 2020 with an effective date of March 17, 2020. The Marmato Technical Report was prepared by Ben Parsons, MSc, MAusIMM (CP), Eric J. Olin, MSc Metallurgy, MBA, SME-RM, MAusIMM, Fernando Rodrigues, BS Mining, MBA, MAusIMM, MMSAQP, Jeff Osborn, BEng Mining, MMSAQP, Joanna Poeck, BEng Mining, SME-RM, MMSAQP, Fredy Henriquez, MS Eng, SME, ISRM, Breese Burnley, P.E., Cristian A Pereira Farias, SME-RM, David Hoekstra, BS, PE, NCEES, SME-RM, David Bird, PG, SME-RM, Mark Allan Willow, MSc, CEM, SME-RM, and Tommaso Roberto Raponi, P.Eng, each of whom is independent of the Company within the meaning of NI 43-101 and is a \Qualified Person\ as such term is defined in NI 43-101.

Scientific and technical information concerning Soto Norte is summarized, derived, or extracted from the Soto Norte Technical Report entitled \NI 43-101 Technical Report Feasibility Study of the Soto Norte Gold Project, Santander, Colombia\, dated March 21, 2022 with an effective date of January 1, 2021. The Soto Norte Technical Report was prepared by Ben Parsons, MSc, MAusIMM (CP), Chris Bray, BEng, MAusIMM (CP), Dr John Willis PhD, BE (MET), MAusIMM (CP), and Dr Henri Sangam, Ph.D., P.Eng., each of whom is independent of the Company within the meaning of NI 43-101 and is a \Qualified Person\ as such term is defined in NI 43-101. The report was also prepared by Robert Anderson, P.Eng., a Qualified Person who is considered non-independent of the Company.

Scientific and technical information concerning Segovia is summarized, derived, or extracted from the Segovia Technical Report entitled \NI 43-101 Technical Report, Prefeasibility Study, Segovia Project, Antioquia, Colombia\ dated May 6, 2022 with an effective date of December 31, 2021. The Segovia Technical Report was prepared by Ben Parsons, MSc, MAusIMM (CP), Eric Olin, MSc, MBA, MAusIMM, SME-RM, Cristian A. Pereira Farias, SME-RM, David Bird, MSc, PG, SME-RM, Fredy Henriquez, MS Eng, SME, ISRM, Jeff Osborn, BEng Mining, MMSAQP, Fernando Rodrigues, BS Mining, MBA, MAusIMM, MMSAQP, Giovanny Ortiz, BS Geology, FAusIMM, Joshua Sames, PE, BEng Civil, Mark Allan Willow, MSc, CEM, SME-RM, and Jeff Parshley, P.G., each of whom is independent of the Company within the meaning of NI 43-101 and is a \Qualified Person\ as such term is defined in NI 43-101.

Scientific and technical information concerning Toroparu is summarized, derived, or extracted from the Toroparu Technical Report entitled \Revised NI 43-101 Technical Report and Preliminary Economic Assessment for the Toroparu Gold Project, Upper Puruni River Region of Western Guyana\ dated February 4, 2022 with an effective date of December 1, 2021. The Toroparu Technical Report was prepared by Glen Kuntz, P. Geo., Brian Wissent, P.Eng, Daniel Yang, P.Eng, Ben Peacock, P.Eng, Kurt Boyko, P.Eng, Fernando Rodrigues, MMSAQP, and David Willms, P.Eng, each of whom is independent of the Company within the meaning of NI 43-101 and is a \Qualified Person\ as such term is defined in NI 43-101.

Scientific and technical information concerning Juby is summarized, derived, or extracted from the Juby Technical Report entitled \Technical Report on the Updated Mineral Resource Estimate for the Juby Gold Project, Tyrrell Township, Shining Tree Area, Ontario\ dated October 5, 2020 with an effective date of July 14, 2020. The Juby Technical Report was prepared by Joe Campbell, B.Sc., P.Geo., Alan Sexton, M.Sc., P.Geo., Duncan Studd, M.Sc., P.Geo. and Allan Armitage, Ph.D., P.Geo., each of whom is independent of the Company within the meaning of NI 43-101 and is a \Qualified Person\ as such term is defined in NI 43-101.

Technical information and qualified person

The technical information in this news release was reviewed and approved by Pamela De Mark, P.Geo, Vice President Exploration of Aris Gold, who is a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101.

About GCM Mining Corp.

GCM Mining is a mid-tier gold producer with a proven track record of mine building and operating in Latin America. In Colombia, the Company is the leading high-grade underground gold and silver producer with several mines in operation at its Segovia Operations. Segovia produced 206,389 ounces of gold in 2021. In Guyana, the Company is advancing its fully funded Toroparu Project, one of the largest undeveloped gold/copper projects in the Americas, which is expected to commence production of more than 200,000 ounces of gold annually in 2024. GCM Mining has equity interests in Aris Gold Corporation (~44%; TSX: ARIS; Colombia a Marmato, Soto Norte; Canada  Juby), Denarius Metals Corp. (~32%; TSX-V: DSLV; Spain a Lomero-Poyatos and Colombia a Guia Antigua, Zancudo) and Western Atlas Resources Inc. (~26%; TSX-V: WA: Nunavut a Meadowbank).

Additional information on GCM Mining can be found at www.gcm-mining.com and www.sedar.com.

For further information, contact:

Mike Davies

Chief Financial Officer

e investorrelations@gcm-mining.com

t + 416.360.4653

About Aris Gold

Aris Gold is a Canadian mining company listed on the TSX under the symbol ARIS and on the OTCQX under the symbol ALLXF. The Company is led by an executive team with a demonstrated track record of creating value through building globally relevant gold mining companies. In Colombia, Aris Gold operates the 100%-owned Marmato mine, where a modernization and expansion program is under way, and as of April 12, 2022, operates the Soto Norte joint venture, where environmental licensing is advancing to develop a new gold mine. Aris Gold also owns the Juby project, an advanced exploration stage gold project in the Abitibi greenstone belt of Ontario, Canada. Aris Gold plans to pursue acquisition and other growth opportunities to unlock value creation from scale and diversification.

Additional information on Aris Gold can be found at www.arisgold.com and www.sedar.com.

For further information, contact:

Tyron Breytenbach

Senior Vice President, Capital Markets

Meghan Brown

Vice President, Investor Relations

e info@arisgold.com

t + 778.899.0518

Forward-looking Information

This news release contains \forward-looking information\ or forward-looking statements\ within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. All statements included herein are forward-looking, other than statements of historical fact, including without limitation statements relating to: the Transaction; the resulting entity of the Transaction, including its management, board of directors, assets, capitalization, strategy, plans and goals; the benefits of the Transaction; shareholder meetings, conference calls and webcasts in connection with the Transaction. Generally, the forward-looking information and forward looking statements can be identified by the use of forward looking terminology such as \plans\, \expects\ or \does not expect\, \is expected\, \budget\, \scheduled\, \estimates\, \forecasts\, \intends\, \anticipates\ or \does not anticipate\, \will continue\ 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. Statements concerning mineral resource estimates may also be deemed to constitute forward looking information to the extent that they involve estimates of the mineralization that will be encountered. The material factors or assumptions used to develop forward looking information or statements are disclosed throughout this news release.

Forward looking information and forward looking statements, while based on management\-s best estimates and assumptions, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of GCM, Aris Gold and the resulting entity to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information or forward looking statements, including but not limited to: the completion and the timing of the Transaction; the ability of GCM and Aris Gold to receive, in a timely manner, the necessary regulatory, court, securityholder, stock exchange and other third-party approvals; the ability of GCM and Aris Gold to satisfy, in a timely manner, the other conditions to the closing of the Transaction; interloper risk; the ability to complete the Transaction on the terms contemplated by the arrangement agreement between GCM and Aris Gold and other agreements, including the voting support agreements, or at all; failure to achieve and sustain mine-building, operating and financial capacity; the ability of the combined group to realize the anticipated benefits of, and synergies from, the Transaction and the timing thereof; the timing of the commencement and completion of construction activities, first production and sales, if at all; the impacts of a changing risk profile and possible subjection to a credit rating review, which may result in a downgrade or negative outlook being assigned to the combined group or a portion thereof; the combined group\-s dividend policy; the potential exposure to political, economic or social instability related to the combined group\-s international operations; the consequences of not completing the Transaction, including the volatility of the share prices of GCM and Aris Gold, negative reactions from the investment community and the required payment of certain costs related to the Transaction; actions taken by government entities or others seeking to prevent or alter the terms of the Transaction; potential undisclosed liabilities unidentified during the due diligence process; the accuracy of the pro forma financial information of the combined group after the Transaction; the interpretation of the Transaction by tax authorities; the success of business integration; the focus of management\-s time and attention on the Transaction and other disruptions arising from the Transaction; the ability of the Aris Gold management team to successfully integrate with the current operations, risks related to international operations; risks related to general economic conditions; uncertainties relating to operations during the COVID-19 pandemic; actual results of current exploration activities; availability of quality assets that will add scale, diversification and complement the resulting entity\-s growth trajectory; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; fluctuations in prices of metals including gold; the ability to convert mineral resources to mineral reserves; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; increases in market prices of mining consumables; risks associated with holding derivative instruments (such as credit risks, market liquidity risk and mark-to-market risk); possible variations in mineral reserves, grade or recovery rates; failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated; changes in national and local government legislation, taxation, controls, regulations, and political or economic developments in Canada, Colombia or Guyana; risks of the mining industry including, without limitation, accidents, operations, labour disputes, title disputes, claims and limitations on insurance coverage; delays in obtaining governmental approvals including obtaining required environmental and other licenses; the completion of development or construction activities; and those factors discussed in the section entitled \Risk Factors\ in GCM\-s most recent AIF available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and in the section entitled \Risk Factors\ in Aris Gold\-s most recent AIF available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Although GCM and Aris Gold have attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information and forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information or statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information or statements. Each of GCM and Aris Gold has and continues to disclose in its Management\-s Discussion and Analysis and other publicly filed documents, changes to material factors or assumptions underlying the forward-looking information and forward-looking statements and to the validity of the information, in the period the changes occur. The forward-looking statements and forward-looking information are made as of the date hereof and each of GCM and Aris Gold disclaims any obligation to update any such factors or to publicly announce the result of any revisions to any of the forward-looking statements or forward-looking information contained herein to reflect future results. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and information.

Although information provided by GCM for inclusion in this news release is believed by Aris Gold to be reliable, Aris Gold has not independently verified such information and cannot provide any assurance of its accuracy, currency, reliability or completeness. Although information provided by Aris Gold for inclusion in this news release is believed by GCM to be reliable, GCM has not independently verified such information and cannot provide any assurance of its accuracy, currency, reliability or completeness.

This announcement does not constitute an offer of securities for sale in the United States, nor may any securities referred to herein be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an exemption from registration as provided in the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 as amended (the \Securities Act\) and the rules and regulations thereunder. The securities referred to herein have not been registered pursuant to the Securities Act and there is no intention to register any of the securities in the United States or to conduct a public offering of securities in the United States.

Source: Aris Gold Corporation and GCM Mining Corp.
Trailer

Promotional Photos

Synopsis

Not Okay follows Danni Sanders (Zoey Deutch), an aimless aspiring writer with no friends, no romantic prospects and  worst of all  no followers, who fakes an Instagram-friendly trip to Paris in the hopes of boosting her social media clout. When a terrifying incident strikes the City of Lights, Danni unwittingly falls into a lie bigger than she ever imagined. She returns a hero, even striking up an unlikely friendship with Rowan (Mia Isaac), a school-shooting survivor dedicated to societal change, and scooping up the man of her dreams, Colin (Dylan OBrien). As an influencer and advocate, Danni finally has the life and audience she always wanted. But its only a matter of time before the facade cracks, and she learns the hard way that the Internet loves a takedown.




Gaborone (Botswana) 26 July 2022 (SPS)- The National Elective Congress of Botswana National Front (BNF) expressed its resolution to continue condemning the Moroccan occupation of parts of Western Sahara, and supports Saharawi peoples right to self-determination.

The Congress held last 16 to 19 July, adopted a resolution in which it continues to condemn the colonisation of the peoples of the Republic of Western Sahara by Morocco and stand with the oppressed masses therein in their struggle for political and economic self-determination.

The Congress to which the Ambassador of the Saharawi Republic, H.E. Malainin Mohamed, was invited as guest last 17 July, listened to various speakers including the Saharawi diplomat.

In his speech Malainin Mohamed stressed that BNF leadership and militants have an obligation of solidarity with their brothers and sister in Western Sahara and a duty of contributing to the decolonization of the last colony in Africa.

He recalled the audience that the struggle of the Saharawi people for their freedom and independence is not the duty of Saharawis alone. It is the responsibility of all Africans and all peace lovers worldwide he said.

During the 17th July session of the Congress, the Saharawi Ambassador had had the opportunity to meet the leader of opposition in Botswana, Mr. Duma Boko, and various other members of BNF Leadership, in addition to representatives of other political parties, Trade Unions and civil society.

Botswana National Front (BNF) is a social democratic political party in Botswana. It has been the main opposition party in Botswana since the 1969 elections. Its President, Duma Boko, is also the President of the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) an opposition coalition. (SPS)

090/500/60 (SPS)
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP)  Two inmates at separate California prisons were killed in weekend attacks by other inmates, corrections officials said Monday. One victim was previously suspected in his cellmate's death, and two of the four attackers were also suspected in prior slayings, authorities confirmed.

The first happened Friday night at High Desert State Prison in Susanville, when officials say Joseph Gama and Alvaro Saldana attacked Albert Martinez in a maximum-security housing unit.

Martinez, 52, of Sacramento County, was pronounced dead 20 minutes later. He was originally sentenced for armed robbery and related charges, but while in prison was sentenced to a life term for battery, his third strike.

Gama, 24, is serving a 15-year sentence from Stanislaus County for assault with a firearm. Officials confirmed Gama was also suspected in the slaying of an inmate at the same prison two years ago.

Saldana, 37, is serving a life term for first-degree murder as a second-striker, also from Stanislaus County.

The second assault was Saturday morning at California State Prison, Sacramento, located next to Folsom State Prison.

Officials said Daryl Cull and Nicholas Mangelli attacked fellow inmate Wayne Caskey with manufactured weapons in a maximum-security exercise yard, requiring guards to fire 40mm less-lethal direct impact rounds to stop the assault.

Caskey, 59, was declared dead within a half-hour.

He was serving a life sentence from Sacramento County for first-degree murder. While in prison, he was given four more years for assault by a prisoner with deadly weapon as a second-striker.

Officials confirmed Caskey was also suspected in the 2018 death of his cellmate.

Cull, 56, is serving a life sentence from San Diego County for first-degree attempted murder, torture, assault, and battery. He has two additional four-year sentences for assault with a deadly weapon and possession of a deadly weapon, both as a second-striker.

Mangelli, 32, is serving a life sentence from Sacramento County for first-degree murder. He has an additional eight-year sentence for assault with a deadly weapon as an inmate.

Officials confirmed he also was suspected in the death of another inmate in 2019 in the same prison.

Prison officials could not immediately say what became of the prior investigations into the three earlier deaths.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

BEIJING (AP)  Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Tuesday formally invited Chinese leader Xi Jinping to the Group of 20 summit in Bali this fall, although it's unclear whether he would attend in person.

The invitation came during a meeting in Beijing where the two discussed issues ranging from trade to maritime cooperation.

President Xi expressed his thanks and wished complete success for the summit, China's state broadcaster CCTV said, without giving further details. The summit is to be held on the Indonesian resort island on Nov. 15-16.

Xi has not left China since January 2020 because of the COVID-19 outbreak, choosing instead to attend major events via video. It is also unclear whether he will attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Bangkok shortly after the G-20 summit.

The G-20 is considered a valued grouping for China because it includes not only the rich Western countries but also the voices of major middle-income nations such as China, India and Brazil.

State Councilor Yang Jiechi and Foreign Minister Wang Yi have acted as Xis proxies over the recent years, even while Chinas foreign and economic policies, including its tacit support for Russia in the Ukraine conflict, have put its relations with the U.S., Europe and other countries under heavy stress.

Indonesia and China enjoy generally positive ties, although Jakarta has expressed concern about Chinese encroachment on its exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea, which China claims virtually in its entirety.

Widodo arrived in Beijing on Monday night on the first stop of a trip that will also take him to Japan and South Korea later this week. A statement from Widodos office said he described China as Indonesias comprehensive strategic partner.

We must fill this partnership with cooperation that is beneficial for our country, and at the same time for the region and the world, the statement quoted Widodo as saying.

CCTV said the two leaders touched on cooperation battling the pandemic and committed to boosting trade and investment.

A delayed project to build a high-speed rail line from Indonesias capital Jakarta to the city of Bandung would be completed as scheduled and other flagship projects launched, it said.

They also agreed to speed up the formulation of a new five-year action plan for relations that would better improve the well-being of the two peoples, and demonstrate greater responsibility for maintaining regional peace and stability and safeguarding global fairness and justice, CCTV said.

On maritime issues, it said the sides agreed to strengthen communication and engage in fisheries cooperation to tap the potential of the marine economy.

The Indonesian president is one of the few foreign leaders to travel to China, which has strictly limited visitors from overseas because of the pandemic.

___

This story corrects year when Xi has last left China.
Ben Lambert / Hearst Connecticut Media /

A Norwalk man faces up to 40 years in prison after leading an effort to sell drugs across the state, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office for Connecticut.

Tajh Wiley, 26, also known as Yung, was found guilty Monday in U.S. District Court in New Haven of conspiracy to distribute, and to possess with intent to distribute, fentanyl, 500 grams or more of cocaine and marijuana, as well as possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine, prosecutors said.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

STAMFORD  Mayor Caroline Simmons husband is in line to be one of Connecticuts first cannabis growers, records show. But if his company gets final approval, Stamford will not be where they set up shop.

A company in part owned by former state senator and current Stamford first gentleman Art Linares last week was announced to be one of the LLCs tapped by the state Social Equity Council to receive a cultivation license. The 16 businesses chosen by the state must still undergo a background check and review by consumer protection officials to obtain final approval.

Linares owns a slice of Connecticut Social Equity, the entity that received a license  through his involvement in Linares Faye LLC. State business records available through the Secretary of the States office show that Linares is one of three business partners alongside Southington-based mortgage broker Brian Faye and his father, Luis Arturo Linares.

Simmons and Linares have been married since 2017. Together, they welcomed their third child in January. But beyond his marriage to the citys first female mayor, who is a former state representative, Linares launched his own career in business and politics.

Linares, a registered real estate agent, represented Connecticuts 33rd district in the state senate from 2013 until 2019 . He also owns Linares Land Capital LLC, a private investment company. Previously, he co-founded the solar energy company Greenskies, which was acquired by another company in 2017.

Even though the company snagged preliminary approval for the license through the states social equity cultivators program  meant to open up the industry to communities disproportionately impacted by cannabis criminalization  Linares Faye is not the so-called social equity applicant.

Van Scoy LLC and its principal officer Steve Van Scoy fill that role. The social equity partner for any growing operation must own at least 65 percent of the business. To have the social equity designation, an applicant must make less than three times Connecticuts average household income. The applicant must have lived either in a disproportionately impacted area for at least five of the last 10 years or lived in a disproportionately impacted area for a minimum of nine years before turning 18.

Art is the son of a Cuban immigrant who has found success as an entrepreneur and investor and views this as an opportunity to pay it forward by supporting a social equity applicant, Carter Johnson, a consultant and the spokesperson for Connecticut Social Equity, said in a statement. Connecticut Social Equity LLCs mission is to grow, create and sell high quality products at great locations and give back to their local community.

As Van Scoys backer, Linares owns at least 5 percent of the business as defined by state statute, Johnson said.

Disproportionately impacted areas are census tracts with either a significant criminal conviction rate for drug-related offenses or an unemployment rate greater than 10 percent.

If Connecticut Social Equity goes on to get final approval, their facility will be set up within the time frame dictated by statute, 14 months after obtaining the license, Johnson said. The company is in discussions to locate the cultivation facility in a disproportionately impacted area in Connecticut outside of Stamford, she added.

Faye did not respond to requests for comment. Simmons declined to comment on her husbands business through a spokesperson.

veronica.delvalle@hearstmediact.com
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

WASHINGTON (AP)  The intensifying rivalry between former President Donald Trump and his once fiercely loyal vice president, Mike Pence, was put on stark display Tuesday as the two gave dueling speeches in Washington on the future of the Republican Party.

Trump, in his first return to Washington since Democrat Joe Biden ousted him from the White House, repeated the false election fraud claims that sparked the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, while Pence, in a separate address, implored the party to move on from Trumps defeat.

Federal and state election officials and Trumps own attorney general have said there is no credible evidence the 2020 election was tainted. The former presidents allegations of fraud were also roundly rejected by courts, including by judges he appointed.

It was a catastrophe, that election, Trump nonetheless declared to an audience of cheering supporters at the America First Agenda Summit, about a mile from the White House he once called home.

Hours earlier, addressing a student conservative group, Pence said, Some people may choose to focus on the past, but elections are about the future.

The speeches highlighted the divisions within the party between Trump loyalists who still refuse to accept the results of the 2020 election and other Republicans who believe the party should instead focus on the future heading into this falls midterm elections and beyond.

And they come as both men have been laying the groundwork for expected presidential runs. Trump, in particular, has been teasing his intentions and said Tuesday that he may just have to do it again" as he addressed a group of former White House officials and Cabinet members who have been crafting an agenda for a possible second Trump administration.

Pence, once Trump's loyal vice president, spoke about his own Freedom Agenda as he presented a different vision for the party at a conference nearby.

I believe conservatives must focus on the future to win back America. We cant afford to take our eyes off the road in front of us because whats at stake is the very survival of our way of life," he said in an address to Young Americas Foundation, a student conservative group.

Trump, too, said America's survival was at stake. In a speech billed as focused on public safety, he painted a dark picture of a nation in decline and one in imminent danger from rising crime. Among his proposals, he called for executing drug dealers, sending the homeless to tent cities on the outskirts of cities, and expanding his Southern border wall.

Biden joined in  on Twitter  dismissing Trump's claim to have been a law-and-order president.

Referring to the Capitol riot, he tweeted: I dont think inciting a mob that attacks a police officer is respect for the law. You cant be pro-insurrection and pro-cop  or pro-democracy, or pro-American.

Trump, in his remarks, also spent plenty of time airing his usual grievances even as some advisers have urged him to move on.

If I renounced my beliefs, if I agreed to stay silent, if I stayed home and just took it easy, the persecution of Donald Trump would stop immediately, he said. But thats not what I will do.

Despite Trump's reputation for harshly criticizing rivals, Pence and other potential GOP contenders have been increasingly brazen in their willingness to take on the man who remains a dominating force in the Republican Party, despite his actions on Jan. 6, when he stood by as a mob of his supporters ransacked the Capitol and tried to halt certification of Biden's win.

The former White House partners also campaigned for rival candidates in Arizona Friday, while Pence's former chief of staff, Marc Short, recently testified before a federal grand jury investigating the assault on the U.S. Capitol.

Short was at the building that day as Pence fled an angry mob of rioters who called for his hanging after Trump wrongly insisted Pence had the power to overturn the election results.

Pence has repeatedly defended his actions that day, even as his decision to stand up to his boss turned large swaths of Trump's loyal base against him. Polls show that Trump remains, by far, the top choice of GOP primary voters, with Pence far behind.

That contrast was on display Tuesday as Trump spoke before an audience of hundreds of cheering supporters gathered for the America First Policy Institute's two-day America First Agenda Summit. The group is widely seen as an administration in waiting that could quickly move to the West Wing if Trump should run again and win.

The event had the feel of a Trump White House reunion  but one without Pence.

Pence, meanwhile, received a friendly  but less exuberant  welcome from the students, who struggled to break into a USA!" chant.

In his remarks, Pence repeatedly touted the Trump-Pence administration." But the first question he received during a brief question-and-answer session that followed his speech was about his growing split with Trump, which is particularly stark given the years he spent as the former president's most loyal sidekick.

Pence denied the two differ on issues, but acknowledged, we may differ on focus."

I truly do believe that elections are about the future and that its absolutely essential, at a time when so many Americans are hurting and so many families are struggling, that we dont give way to the temptation to look back, he said.

Pence has spent recent months delivering policy speeches, traveling to early voting states and penning a book that Simon & Schuster announced Tuesday would be titled So Help Me God" and published in November. The publisher said the book would, in part, chronicle President Trumps severing of their relationship on January 6, 2021, when Pence kept his oath to the Constitution.

Trump, meanwhile, has spent much of his time since leaving office spreading lies about his loss to sow doubt about Biden's victory. Indeed, even as the House Jan. 6 committee has been laying bare his attempts to remain in power and his refusal to call off a violent mob of his supporters as they tried to halt the peaceful transition of power, Trump has continued to try to pressure officials to overturn Biden's win, despite there being no legal means to decertify it.

The America First Policy Institute is one of several Trump-allied organizations that have continued to advocate for his priorities in his absence. In addition to the summit, the group has been making preparations for another possible Trump administration, hoping to avoid the early chaos of Trump's first term by making sure we have the policies, personnel and process nailed down for every key agency when we do take the White House back," said AFPI president Brooke Rollins, who previously served as head of Trumps Domestic Policy Council.

While the organization was once dismissed as a landing zone for ex-Trump administration officials shut out of more lucrative jobs, it has grown into a behemoth, with an operating budget of around $25 million and 150 staff, including 17 former senior White House officials and nine former Cabinet members overseeing nearly two dozen policy centers.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

In a July 15 opinion piece, state Sen. Kevin Kelly with state Rep. Vincent Candelora claimed that we need more legislators voting like them in Connecticut. I am running to replace Sen. Kelly because we need fewer legislators voting like him.

With more senators voting like Kevin Kelly, we would not have passed the smart and responsible budget he opposed. The budget provided record tax cuts of over $600 million targeting families with children, retirees and suspending the gas tax through December. At the same time, it also paid down our pension obligations in a big way  saving us over $440 million a year moving forward. Sen. Kelly wants more tax cuts funded by paying less toward that debt, which only means paying more later. That is a shell game, not a tax cut.

While Sen. Kelly is pounding lecterns, I have been out pounding the pavement, knocking on thousands of doors and meeting hundreds of constituents. They too have concerns with his voting record. In the opinion piece, he claimed to be the voice of middle and working class families. How can he be for our workers and their families when he voted against Paid Family and Medical Leave (SB 1, 2019)? He tried to stand in the way of a huge step forward in protecting workers and their families when they get hurt, sick or have children.

He claims to favor lowering health care costs, yet he voted against a bill to lower prices on generic drugs by increasing competition among manufacturers (HB 262, 2021). He also stood in the way of a public option that would lower insurance costs, especially for small businesses.

If we had more senators voting like Kevin Kelly, we would not be leading on climate initiatives like the Clean Air Act that passed despite his opposition (SB 4, 2022).

With more legislators voting like Sen. Kelly, we would not have passed the bill fortifying a womens right to choose in Connecticut, which he did not vote on (HB 5414, 2022). He voted against a bill prohibiting deceptive advertising by anti-abortion pregnancy centers as well (SB 835, 2021). Sen. Kelly has not clarified where he stands on future legislation restricting a womans right to choose, stating only that the Dobbs decision does not change a womens right to choose in the state of Connecticut.

With more legislators voting like Sen. Kelly, Connecticut would not be making strides toward democratic accessibility. He voted against expanding early in-person voting (HJR 59, 2021) and against expanding the availability of absentee voting (SB 5, 2021 and HJR 58, 2021).

More legislators voting like Kevin Kelly would weaken the progress Connecticut made on gun safety. He voted against a common-sense bill about safer storage of firearms in vehicles (HB 7223, 2019) and against updating and reinforcing our red flag laws (HB 6355, 2021).

Where Sen. Kellys voting record fails to move Connecticut forward, I am ready to replace him and fight for our families and our future.

Voters expect to see us present our competing visions in an actual debate, not just through press releases and opinion pieces. I look forward to that opportunity, as well.

Christopher Green is a Democratic candidate for state Senate in District 21, which includes Monroe, Seymour, Shelton and Stratford.
BEIJING, July 25 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese mainland spokesperson on Monday voiced firm opposition to certain content within Japan's 2022 defense white paper regarding Taiwan, urging Japan to immediately rectify its wrongful remarks.

Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said that Japan hyped up so-called "military threats" posed to Taiwan by the mainland in the white paper, completely disregarding the fact that Taiwan is a part of China.

Zhu noted that, in the 50 years of its colonial rule over Taiwan, Japan committed heinous crimes and caused misery to Taiwan compatriots. She said Japan ought to reflect on its past misdeeds, abide by the four political documents between China and Japan, and handle the Taiwan question with discretion.

Zhu also warned Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party authority and "Taiwan independence" secessionists that their attempts to seek "Taiwan independence" will come to nothing.
AGERPRES Romanian National News Agency and ANSA (Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata) signed on Tuesday a collaboration protocol, the main purpose of this being the exchange of news between the two agencies.

The document was signed by the director general of AGERPRES, Claudia Nicolae, and by the CEO and general manager of ANSA, Stefano de Alessandri, in a ceremony held at the Italian Embassy in Bucharest.

"In recent years, the key words in journalism have been: verified news, how to combat disinformation and fake news. I think this is the beginning of a good and long collaboration between AGERPRES and ANSA, because we need each other. Each news agency develops every year or in a certain period a new technological infrastructure and, by helping each other, we can create better platforms for our readers and for our users," said the director general of the AGERPRES National News Agency, Claudia Nicolae, Agerpres.ro informs.

ANSA official, Stefano de Alessandri, emphasized the importance of signing this collaboration protocol, which, as he stated, "will substantially improve" bilateral cooperation.

"We have been working with AGERPRES for a long time. At the agency level, we are not in competition, but share the same values, the same problems and the same experience. It is very important to sign such an agreement, which will substantially improve our cooperation. Through this agreement, mainly, we do two things: we distribute our news, which will improve knowledge about Italy in Romania and about Romania in Italy, and secondly, this agreement aims to improve commercial relations between the two countries, developing projects together. (... ) It is a first step for expanding our cooperation," stated Stefano de Alessandri.

The Ambassador of the Italian Republic to Romania, Alfredo Maria Durante Mangoni, showed that the document signed between the two news agencies can contribute to combating disinformation and erroneous information.

"This agreement signed between ANSA and AGERPRES is an important instrument that adds value to the already excellent bilateral relations between Italy and Romania, it is an instrument that can better reflect the vibrant and dynamic reality of the strategic partnership between the two countries regarding the development of political dialogue, strong economic cooperation, investments and better knowledge about social trends and cultural activities," said the Italian diplomat, during the ceremony.

The Romanian Ambassador to Italy, Gabriela Dancau, was also present at the event, via video conference, who highlighted the importance of strong mass media.

She specified that, in the current context, the mass media must fight against misinformation. "And I believe that this goal will be reached by signing this agreement today," said the Romanian ambassador to Italy.

The collaboration protocol provides for the exchange of news between the two news agencies, which allows each party "to enrich its own information services with news from abroad provided by the other party, without any possibility of creating competing or similar products". Also, according to the protocol, the two signatories "can develop from time to time projects to support Italian companies and institutions in communication in Romania, and Romanian companies and institutions in communication in Italy".
The acting president of the Senate, Alina Gorghiu, on Tuesday said that the recent statements made by the Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orban, in Baile Tusnad, are worrying and "repeat the Kremlin's rhetoric," which is "unacceptable on Romanian territory."

"I was worried - and I'm glad that the Foreign Minister came out to make a statement, I was worried about Prime Minister Orban's statements made in Romania. They are statements that I hardly understand, I find them unacceptable on Romanian territory, statements that mirror Kremlin's rhetoric and they roll it in all forms. However, you should know that Romanians are pro-European, pro-NATO and this will not change because of some dangerous messages," said Alina Gorghiu, during a press conference organized on Tuesday in the resort town of Sangeorz-Bai, in the Bistrita-Nasaud county.

The interim president of the Senate participated in the official launch of the 13th edition of the "ARC" camp program for the children of Romanians in the diaspora, which is organized by the Department for Romanians Everywhere, in partnership with the Ministry of Family, Youth and Equal Chances and the Ministry of Sports. The programme is organized this year both in the Sangeorz-Bai camp and at the Oglinzi leisure centre in Neamt county.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bogdan Aurescu, stated on Monday for Digi24.ro, regarding the speech of the Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, in Baile Tusnad, that it is "regrettable such ideas are propagated from Romania's territory, in the complex global context we are all forced to deal with, especially when our official standpoints are very different from such ideas."

"It is clear we cannot agree with such ideas. And I won't even mention here the statements regarding the human races, which are unacceptable," he showed, Agerpres.ro informs.

Bogdan Aurescu added that, "at the same time, Prime Minister Orban's speech on Saturday did not bring anything fundamentally new, these are the same concepts that we have already seen in the positions of Hungarian officials, only that they were put together, and some were elaborated more broadly. Plus other internal Hungarian policy considerations."

"Of course, each state defines its positions on international issues as it considers, but, as it is well known, Romania does not share these inappropriate views, which we clearly distance ourselves from, because they affect European solidarity regarding the action in support of Ukraine," the Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs told Digi24.ro.
Approximately 266,980 people entered Romania, on Monday, through the border crossing points, with over 63,760 means of transportation (both inbound and outbound), the General Inspectorate of the Border Police informs in a press release sent to AGERPRES.

According to the source, there were 125,237 persons inbound, including 11,668 Ukrainian citizens (going up by 7.4% from the previous day).

As of February 10, 2022 (pre-conflict period), 1,694,369 Ukrainian nationals entered Romania.

Regarding the specific activities, in their areas of competence - the crossing points and the "green border" - the border police discovered 65 illegal acts (33 offences and 32 contraventions) committed by both Romanian and foreign nationals, with the total amount of fines applied reaching over 38,625 RON," the same source shows. Moreover, 16 foreign citizens, who did not meet the conditions provided by law, were not allowed to enter the country.AGERPRES
Chief of Defense Staff, General Daniel Petrescu, and Major General Joseph P. McGee, Commanding General of the 101st Airborne Division will participate on Saturday, starting 15:30, in the presentation ceremony of the US unit battle flag, which will take place at the 57th Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base in (southeastern) Constanta County, the Ministry of Defense announces in a press release sent to AGERPRES.

On this occasion, the forces and capabilities belonging to 2nd Brigade Combat Team within the 101st Airborne Division, deployed in Romania following the decisions of the Madrid Summit, will carry out a demonstration exercise with soldiers of the 9th Mechanized Brigade Marasesti of Land Forces

At the same time, a technical exhibition will be organized that will include attack helicopters, tanks, armored amphibious transporters, artillery and anti-aircraft artillery elements, as well as specific engineering and first aid equipment from the endowment of the participating Romanian and American subunits in the exercise.

Starting at 16:45, General Daniel Petrescu and Major General Joseph McGee will hold a joint press conference.
Romania is the main supplier of wheat to Jordan, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bogdan Aurescu, said in a joint press statement with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Ayman Safadi.

"Thank you for the continuity with which you help us bring the wheat to Jordan. This is something I thank you for," said the Jordanian official, according to the official translation.

Minister Aurescu underscored, in his intervention, that "Romania is the main supplier of wheat to Jordan" and "especially in the current complicated international context, which is generated by Russia's war against Ukraine, it is all the more important to assume this role to help our friends, and Jordan is among Romania's closest friends."

The head of Romanian diplomacy said that "the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan remains an anchor of regional stability and is thus a real partner for the peace and stability of the Middle East."

He spoke of the "essential role of regional balance factor" of this state and, in this context, of the "just and sustainable solution based on the two-state solution," in the case of the conflict between Israel and Palestine.

"Our collaboration is continuous in terms of defence and combating terrorism," Ayman Safadi said. He added, related to the Middle East Peace Process, that "Romania, like Jordan, shares the same vision when it comes to the solution of the two states, Palestinian and Israeli."

"We continue the efforts to resume direct negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis to establish the two states, according to the international law. In this context, we spoke about the importance of finding a diplomatic and political solution to the Syrian crisis and providing the necessary support for the refugees. We thank Romania for its support and we rely on Romania's efforts to support UNRWA, which helps Palestinian refugees," he stated.

The two ministers signed the Protocol amending the intergovernmental cooperation programme in the field of culture, education, tourism and media for 2019-2024. In this context, the Jordanian minister pointed out, the number of scholarships for students from this country studying Medicine in Romania increases from 10 to 26. AGERPRES
The Ministry of Health announces that more than 40 million euros from the PNRR (National Recovery and Resilience Plan) will be earmarked for the construction, rehabilitation, modernization and endowment of 200 integrated community centres.

"The Ministry of Health published today, July 26, 2022, the Financing Guide for Integrated Community Centres related to Component 12 - Health, Investment 1. The development of the pre-hospital medical infrastructure, Specific Investment I1.4: Integrated Community Centres," according to a press release sent to the Ministry on Tuesday.

According to the same source, a number of 200 integrated community centres will be built/rehabilitated/modernized/extended and/or endowed within the National Rehabilitation and Resilience Programme (PNRR), Agerpres.ro informs.

The main purpose of the integrated community centres is to increase access to quality medical services for the population and, in particular, for vulnerable groups, the Ministry of Health shows.

"The investment has a total budget of 40,200,000 euros. 70pct of the budget (more than 28,000,000 euros) will represent a financial grant available to the 200 preselected beneficiaries for new constructions or renovations. The remaining of 30pct (a little more than 12,000,000 euros) will be for the selection from a list of equipment and supplies of positions that are of interest to the beneficiary. The budget of a project will be composed of: equipment and supplies selected from a predefined list with a maximum value of 60,300 euros; financial grant the beneficiary will be able to use for the construction or rehabilitation works of the Integrated Community Centres in the amount of 140,700 euros," the same source mentions.

The opening date of the platform for uploading files is September 30, 2022, the deadline for uploading files for the first 200 beneficiaries - November 15, 2023, 4 pm., the deadline for signing the 200 contracts - December 30, 2022, and the implementation deadline of projects - June 30, 2025, the Ministry of Health also specifies.
It is important for the Romanian state to continue to offer future prospects to all Ukrainian nationals who cross the border into our country and to ensure the conditions of a life as close to normal as possible, President Klaus Iohannis conveyed on Tuesday in a message presented by presidential advisor Ligia Deca at the Conference "A vision for medium and long-term Refugees Response in Europe - Romania's Plan for an integrated and inclusive response to protect Refugees from Ukraine".

"The unprovoked and illegal war launched by the Russian Federation against Ukraine at the beginning of this year has devastating effects on millions of people, who were forced to leave their homes behind to flee the horrors. These are terrible dramas, lives forever changed, the only comfort being the warmth and care of those who offered them refuge. More than a million people crossed the Romanian border, of whom almost 90,000 remained in our country. Romanians opened their souls and homes and did their best to help them, with impressive solidarity," Iohannis said.

According to the head of state, along with protecting the lives of refugees, a series of measures are also necessary to allow them to continue their studies, to work, to be able to raise their children safely.

Klaus Iohannis also conveyed that, "considering the evolution of the security situation, it is important that the Romanian state continues to offer future prospects to all Ukrainian nationals who cross the border and provide them with the conditions of a life as close to normal as possible", namely that their children can continue their studies, and those of active age can find a job.

"Last but not least, we must provide access to living spaces in decent conditions for those who had to leave their homes," said the president.

Iohannis recalled that, in order to manage this humanitarian crisis of such proportions, the Romanian state quickly developed an extensive plan of measures aimed at supporting the refugees, showing that it often worked against the clock, in a context with a constantly changing dynamic.

The President emphasized that, through its solidarity and the assumed commitments, Romania has become an example in the region.

He stressed the need to "stand in solidarity and be tolerant" in order to offer the refugees "the protection and peace they need, until the moment when those who want to return home will be able to do so safely".AGERPRES
Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca welcomed, on Tuesday, at the Victoria Palace, Israel's Ambassador in Bucharest, David Saranga, on a farewell visit, at the end of his mission in Romania.

According to a press release of the Government, during the meeting the state of bilateral relations, the achievements in the field of military cooperation, in the field of security, health and economy, as well as elements that can be developed at the level of cooperation in water management, agriculture and cyber security were reviewed, where there is room for the development of collaboration, against the backdrop of future challenges.

Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca thanked Ambassador Saranga for his entire activity in Bucharest.

"Assuming the mandate in a difficult period, he managed, through his presence and unique activities, to change things, to return them to normal and to determine a closeness and unanimous sympathy towards himself and his agenda in Romania," reads the release, Agerpres.ro informs.

For his part, Ambassador David Saranga noted that the achievements were in line with the expectations and the very good traditional relationship between the parties.

"Romania is ranked by Israel among the first three partners in the EU, just as Israel is for Romania the most important partner in the Middle East," the press release states.

Prime Minister Ciuca and the ambassador of Israel analyzed in detail the evolution of the conflicts near the two states, in Syria and Ukraine, conflicts that influence both sides.

"It is the complex context that recommends the expansion of bilateral relations and the maintenance of sectoral relations in areas that mark a strategic relationship," the Government mentions.

At the end of the meeting, Prime Minister Ciuca wished Ambassador David Saranga success in his future work and expressed confidence that he will remain a valued "ambassador" of Romania in Israel, as recommended by all the activities carried out in our country.
Several migrants were discovered while trying to exit the country, through the western Nadlac II Border Crossing Point, hidden in the trunks of four automobiles driven by Romanians, but also inside a semi loaded with refrigerators.

All cases were registered in the last 24 hours, the Arad Border Police informed on Tuesday.

Thus, following thorough verifications of the four automobiles, the border police discovered 12 foreign citizens hidden in the car trunks.

"The persons were picked up and transported to the police station for investigations, where it was established that they are citizens from Morocco, India and Syria, intending to illegally cross into Schengen Space. Our law enforcement workers carried out the investigation regarding the crimes of migrant trafficking for all automobile drivers and attempt to illegally cross the state border for the foreign citizens," according to a press release sent by the Arad Border Police.

Furthermore, while verifying a semi, also driven by a Romanian, who was transporting refrigerators to Spain, four Afghans were found, asylum seekers in our country, who were trying to illegally cross the border into Hungary.AGERPRES
Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca on Tuesday had a meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Ayman Safadi, who is currently paying a visit to Romania, the two addressing topics like the management of the flow of refugees, as well as aspects related to bilateral cooperation.

According to a press release of the Government, the Prime Minister underscored the importance of cooperation in the field of agriculture and the expectations of the Romanian side that the Jordanian authorities speed up the issuance of the sanitary-veterinary approvals necessary for exports.

"They also referred to the need to rebalance the trade balance through the imports of compliant chemical fertilizers from Jordan," the same release says.

For his part, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates from the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan presented the situation of bilateral relations in different fields, with an emphasis on the economic dimension.

In this context, Prime Minister Ciuca proposed the organization of meetings in a business-to-business format to strengthen bilateral economic cooperation, as well as collaboration in the fields of defence, intelligence and terrorism combat.

An important component of the talks concerned the Middle East Peace Process and the prospects for its relaunch, with the support of Romania and Jordan.

"The high Jordanian official appreciated Romania's balanced position and its role as a mediator in the Middle East, which is a traditional one, due to the trust existing between our country and the two parties involved, Israel and Palestine," the same source said.

Prime Minister Ciuca thanked Minister Ayman Safadi for the invitation to visit the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and, in his turn, extended the invitation for his Jordanian counterpart, Bisher Al Khasawneh, to visit Bucharest. AGERPRES
The government treats the financing and development of the water sector as a priority, Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca stated on Tuesday, during the first meeting of the inter-ministerial working group established to ensure the integrated approach to financing for the water-canal sector and monitoring of the fulfillment of the specific conditions requested by the COM in the context of the case no. 2018/2109, informs the Executive.

"We need to manage these investments more efficiently at the national level. The platform you are a part of will provide the opportunity for government institutions and local authorities to collaborate and coordinate their efforts, making the most of the opportunity offered by European money and offering Romanians living conditions at the standards necessary for a civilized life. This approach is the most appropriate to support the coherence of the dialogue that Romania has with its partners from the European Commission on topics such as water and the environment. The water-canal sector represents one of the most important sectors for the quality of life of Romanians and for the development of the Romanian economy. The Government of Romania treats the financing and development of the water sector as a priority. Bringing the coordination of this Inter-ministerial Working Group to the core of the Government represents a first signal in this sense," said the Prime Minister, quoted in a press release of the government.

The objectives of the working group are the exact identification of the situation regarding the degree of compliance with the provisions of the Council Directive no. 98/83/EC on the quality of water intended for human consumption, of the Council Directive no. 91/271/EEC on the treatment of waste water and the actions to achieve the compliance targets, including the necessary financial resources, the responsibilities and the time period necessary for their implementation. AGERPRES
Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca welcomed on Tuesday officials of the Daruieste Viata Association healthcare NGO Oana Gheorghiu and Carmen Uscatu to look into solutions, including legislative ones, so that after the completion of the construction of the first national children's hospital for cancer, serious diseases and injuries, the organisation can get involved, with all the expertise it has, in the smooth operation of the healthcare facilities and replicate the model.

According to a government press statement, Ciuca acknowledged the efforts made by the association and all those involved in this endeavor and assured that the We Make a Hospital project will enjoy government support.

He hailed the association getting involved and reacting pro-actively to the crises that the Romanian healthcare system has faced in recent years, contributing to the identification of the best solutions, Agerpres.ro informs.

"During the meeting, Prime Minister Nicolae-Ionel Ciuca highlighted the openness towards the identification of a pilot mechanism that would facilitate the association's involvement even after the completion of the project, in order to maintain all the competitive advantage created by its equipment, ideas and strategy. At the same time, the discussions covered the necessary changes in the public healthcare system, with an emphasis on prioritising the needs of patients and introducing new standards."

The meeting was also attended by lawmaker Alexandru Muraru, a special representative of the government for the promotion of remembrance policies, combatting anti-Semitism and xenophobia, and Irina-Dumitrita Solomon, a top official with the Prime Minister's Chancellery.
The Romanian Lottery obtained certification to be aligned to the standards of Responsible Gaming, on behalf of European Lotteries, the company informs through a press release sent to AGERPRES on Tuesday.

According to the quoted source, the Romanian gambling market is more and more dynamic and has known sustained development in the last years. For the Romanian Lottery, the message for responsible gaming or responsible behavior towards gambling is perhaps the center of the company's communication strategy, now more than ever.

The Romanian Lottery had constant support from DigitalRG.com collaborator, in order to achieve necessary steps to obtain certification, as well as educating employees in regards to the importance of carrying out certain actions so that our games remain only a distraction, not an addiction, the release adds.

Furthermore, along with the Joc Responsabil Association, the Romanian Lottery has implemented a project through which players and their families can access a TEL-VERDE free hotline, 0800.800.099, through which people with potential gambling problems can make a psychotherapy appointment for 5 free evaluation sessions and psychological counseling.
As many as 12,353 new cases of people infected with SARS-CoV-2 were recorded in the last 24 hours in Romania, up 7,398 from the previous day, Health Minister Alexandru Rafila informed on Tuesday.

Of the new cases, 2,502 were in re-infected patients, who tested positive more than 90 days after the first time they recovered from the disease.

Most of the newly confirmed COVID-19 cases in Romania since the previous reporting were recorded in Bucharest City - 1,492 and in the counties of Cluj - 1,301, Brasov - 660, Timis - 649, Constanta - 550, Prahova - 480, and Iasi - 461.

The 14-day notification rate nationwide is 2.30 cases per 1,000 population.

The highest ratesare in Bucharest City - 7.17, followed by the counties of Cluj - 5.71, Ilfov - 5.15, Constanta - 4.6, Brasov - 4.39, Sibiu - 4.29, Prahova - 3.6, and Timis - 3.5.

In the last 24 hours, 6,491 RT-PCR tests were performed (3,995 based on the case definition and medical protocol and 2,496 upon request) and 28,430 rapid antigen tests.

So far,13,289,361 RT-PCR tests and 10,645,260 rapid antigenic tests have been processed nationwide.

As of Tuesday, 3,024,064 cases of people infected with the novel coronavirus were confirmed in Romania.

Distinct from the newly confirmed cases, following the retesting of the patients who were already positive, 359 people were reconfirmed positive.
Senate Vice-President Robert Cazanciuc and Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany in Bucharest Peer Gebauer had a meeting on Monday during which they discussed "in earnest the need to close the door called CVM and to open the one expected and deserved by Romanians: Schengen".

Robert Cazanciuc stated, on his Facebook page: "I discovered a good advocate of an open, solid cooperation, worthy of the history and the huge potential of the relationship between Romania and Germany, an ambassador worthy of the country he represents."

Cazanciuc states that, during the meeting with the German diplomat, he expressed the Social Democratic Party (PSD)'s full support so that the new package of laws on justice can ensure all the resources the judicial system needs to offer Romanian citizens courts they can go to with confidence that justice will be served to them.

"An efficient and responsible judiciary can play an extremely important role in Romania's economic development, offering investors and external partners the guarantee of a mediator who can contribute to maintaining social balance," emphasizes the Vice-President of the Senate.

He mentions that he received good news regarding the achievement of some legislative progress in the matter of health and social insurance for Romanians who work seasonally in Germany.

"We did not shy away form the topics on taxation and the need for solidarity in times of crisis. We agreed that any measure must start from a real need and following a transparent dialogue, based on mutual respect, between the state and the private sector," Cazanciuc concludes.AGERPRE
The water reserve in Romania is decreasing, but it is enough for those who are supplied in a centralized manner from the surface water source, informs the Apele Romane National Administration (ANAR), in a press release sent on Tuesday to AGERPRES.

At this moment, at the national level, there are 274 localities (from 18 counties) with supply restrictions from the surface water source, respectively 384 from the drillings/wells (from 13 counties).

According to the source, the drought phenomenon further manifests itself especially in the area of small towns and villages in eastern Moldavia (the most affected counties: Botosani, Iasi, Vaslui, Galati, Suceava, Neamt, Bacau and Vrancea) where water is provided either from the surface water source or from the underground.

According to the analyzed data, the reserve in the lakes is, at the moment, down by 0.8%. Thus, in the main 40 storage lakes (managed by ANAR, respectively Hidroelectrica), there is currently available a volume of water of 3.27 billion cubic meters (compared to July 5 when there were 3.45 billion cubic meters of water). Also, the coefficient of filling in the main 40 lakes is 75.40%, compared to 82%, on July 5.

ANAR estimates show that, by the end of July, in the 40 storage lakes with an important role in the water supply for the population, industries and electricity production for the National Power Grid, the filling coefficient of over 70% will be maintained.

The flow of the Danube at the entrance to the country was around 1,950 cubic meters/s, below the multiannual average of July, respectively of 5,350 cubic meters/s. This value represents 35% of the multiannual average of July. The flow will be stationary for the next few days, then in a slight decrease reaching on July 31 around 1,900 cubic meters / s, according to the forecast issued by the National Institute of Hydrology and Water Management (INHGA). At the same time, downstream of the Iron Gates, the flows will be decreasing.

At the moment, for the Cernavoda Nuclear Power Plant (CNE), there is a level reserve of about 28 cm, enough for the operation of the CNE up to the first warning step.
Medicare fraud is big business, and like most businesses, it has adapted to the new environment of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The public health emergency created an opportunity for fraudsters to modify and repurpose existing schemes, a spokesperson for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, or CMS, said in an email. CMS has seen bad actors take advantage of wider demand for telehealth, COVID-19 testing and vaccines as avenues for identity theft and fraudulent billing.

The Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, or HHS-OIG, investigates fraud, waste and abuse in federal health care programs, including Medicare. Nearly 9,000 calls came into its fraud hotline each month, on average, from April through September 2021, according to HHS-OIGs Spring 2022 report to Congress.

Calling a fraud hotline is one of several actions Medicare beneficiaries can take to protect themselves. Here are five tips to help you avoid, detect and report Medicare fraud.

1. Protect your medicare number

In the wrong hands, your Medicare number could be used to steal your identity or submit fraudulent medical bills.

Our top tip is to guard your Medicare number just like your Social Security [number] and credit cards, the CMS spokesperson said. You should only share your Medicare number with trusted health care providers or verified COVID-19 vaccine administrators.

Unexpected callers or visitors who ask for your Medicare information are suspicious, especially if they claim to work for Medicare. According to CMS, Medicare will never visit you at home, and a Medicare representative would ask for your Medicare number by phone only if youve given permission in advance.

2. Beware of free gifts

Fraudsters might try to get your information by offering you something for free in exchange. If youre asked to provide your medical or financial information and promised a supposedly free gift or service, thats something to question, or at least run by a medical professional that you trust, says Isaac Bledsoe, an HHS-OIG criminal investigator.

Common examples of free offers might include COVID-19 tests, genetic testing services, or durable medical equipment like walkers or braces.

3. Dont get talked into unnecessary care

Some schemes involve billing for expensive services that you might not need. For example, unscrupulous COVID-19 testing sites might add on unnecessary respiratory pathogen panels that can cost upwards of $500. Thats according to a January 2022 white paper by the Healthcare Fraud Prevention Partnership, a public-private anti-fraud group.

If youre not certain, check with a trusted health care provider to confirm whether a service is necessary and what it might cost.

4. Review your health care documents

Medicare sends statements to explain what you were billed for, how much Medicare approved and paid for services, and the maximum amount you may owe to health care providers. Watch for any unexpected items or charges on these statements.

To help you keep track of everything, you can request a free My Health Care Tracker from your states Senior Medicare Patrol, or SMP. SMPs are grant-funded projects that provide resources and counseling to help counter Medicare fraud, errors and abuse.

My Health Care Tracker documents include sheets to record information about your health care, instructions for how to compare your statements to what was billed, and contact information for agencies that can help with issues like errors or fraud.

5. Reach out for help

If youre concerned about potential Medicare fraud, there are free resources you can call for help. Dont hesitate to call even if youre not certain. Bledsoe encourages beneficiaries to report anything that you may think is potentially harmful or potentially fraudulent.

There are two main government hotlines:

Call CMS Medicare help line at 800-MEDICARE (800-633-4227).

Call HHS-OIGs fraud, waste and abuse hotline at 800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477) or submit an online complaint at oig.hhs.gov/fraud/report-fraud.

You can also contact your Senior Medicare Patrol for help, and they can refer your issue to the appropriate authorities. Visit smpresource.org for contact information.

Whoever you call first can help, and you dont need to contact separate hotlines. Bledsoe says that different agencies have made coordination a priority, so theres no need to call nine different places to report it nine different ways.

We can look into [issues] immediately and give sort of a quick answer of yes, this is something that is not good, Bledsoe says. We can put your Medicare number on a potential vulnerable list to look out for any future billing that you may not have asked for, and we can help you going forward.

This article was written by NerdWallet and was originally published by The Associated Press.

Alex Rosenberg writes for NerdWallet. Email: arosenberg@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @AlexPRosenberg.

The article 5 Ways to Protect Yourself From Medicare Fraud originally appeared on NerdWallet.
WASHINGTON  Two U.S. senators have urged the U.S. Transportation Department to fine airlines that delay or cancel flights because of staffing or operational issues, the latest push by lawmakers to convince regulators to get tough on the aviation industry.

Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Alex Padilla asked Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in a letter released on Tuesday to take a harder line with airlines in the face of thousands of flight cancellations this summer.

The department should use its authority to impose fines designed to change airlines calculus about harming consumers to pad their own profits, the senators said, noting Buttigieg can order airlines and ticket agents to stop unfair or deceptive practices and may issue fines of up to $37,377 per violation.

The department, Warren and Padilla added, can take meaningful actions to hold airlines accountable for avoidable delays and cancellations. The department could issue more concrete rules requiring airlines to offer refunds to passengers whose flights are delayed.

Airlines for America, a trade group representing Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and others, said Tuesday U.S. airlines have trimmed capacity by 16% and are ramping up hiring initiatives and increasing communication with travelers while addressing a range of challenges, outside carrier control, such as inclement weather.

Last month, Senate Budget Committee chair Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, urged Buttigieg to take immediate action to substantially reduce the number of airline cancellations and delays in our country and to protect the rights of airline passengers.

Some House Republicans in June asked if Buttigieg would use department tools to ensure the airline industry is able to operate at peak efficiency without stranding millions of families.

A department spokesperson said Tuesday when airlines fail to met their responsibilities, they will be held accountable and noted the department had completed 10 airline investigations into delayed or withheld passenger refunds.

Buttigieg, who met virtually with airline CEOs in June to demand better performance, told CNN Sunday that since then, airlines have improved their performance.

You look at cancellation rates for the last couple of travel weekends. They have been around 1.5%, which is getting closer to normal, Buttigieg said.

During the height of summer travel woes, the system was seeing 3-4% cancellation rate and is now seeing 1-2% typically on any given day, officials told Reuters.
CLAYTON  Caleres announced that CEO Diane Sullivan will retire on Jan. 15 next year and will be replaced by company president Jay Schmidt.

Sullivan joined the shoe company as president in 2004 and was named chief operating officer in 2006, CEO in 2011 and chairman of the board of directors in 2014. During her tenure, the company acquired such brands as Allen Edmonds, Sam Edelman and Vionic and increased its earnings per share six-fold, according to a statement.

Company profits in 2021 were higher than they had been in decades. Online sales and new distribution centers helped push net earnings to $137 million, or $3.56 in earnings per share.

The strong year helped to more than triple Sullivan's compensation for 2021, to $10.2 million. About one-third of that amount came from a bonus for exceeding profit targets.

Sullivan will continue at the company as executive chairman.

"Dianes extraordinary vision for our company and unwavering belief in the power of our people and brands led to the transformation of the earnings power of the organization," said Schmidt in the company's announcement.

Schmidt was named president in 2020 after serving as division president for the Caleres Brand Portfolio. He has worked for more than 25 years at a number of national retail clothing chains.

Caleres was formed in 1878 as Bryan, Brown and Co. in downtown St. Louis. In 1893 it changed its name to the Brown Shoe Co. and became nationally known for its Buster Brown shoes.

After a couple of later name changes, it was rebranded once again as Caleres in 2015.

The corporation's brands now include Naturalizer, Dr. Scholl's Shoes, LifeStride, Vince, Franco Sarto, Circus by Sam Edelman and Ryka. The company also owns the Famous Footwear chain of shoe stores.

Caleres stock dropped 0.66% Monday to $26.89.
CLAYTON  Centene Corp. reported a jump in quarterly revenues on Tuesday, along with divestitures of real estate and overseas subsidiaries.

Despite higher revenues, the Clayton-based health insurer still reported a $172 million loss for the quarter that ended on June 30. But that was an improvement from the $535 million loss reported during the same quarter last year.

Revenues totaled $35.9 billion, up 16% from the same quarter last year. The company credited growth in its Medicaid and Medicare businesses, and the acquisitions of Magellan Health and Circle Health.

Centene has seen expansive growth over the years, much of it through acquisitions, transforming from a small firm into a Fortune 25 giant. But more recently, the company has been reviewing its portfolio, with an eye toward improving margins. Last year it announced plans to exit the pharmacy benefit management industry, and in May announced plans to sell two pharmacy businesses.

Centene entered 2022 with a focus on value creation, CEO Sarah London told investors during a call Tuesday morning.

On Monday, the company announced plans to sell three businesses in Spain and Central Europe. The businesses included Spanish hospital operator Ribera Salud, a public-private partnership it operates, and a subsidiary that runs radiology clinics in Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

Centene plans to sell the businesses to Vivalto Sante, a French hospital operator. The deal is expected to close by the end of the year, pending approval from regulators. Centene said it plans to use the proceeds to repurchase stock and pay down debt.

The company reported a $1.45 billion impairment charge for the quarter, related to reduction of its real estate footprint. The company said it expects about $200 million more over the next few quarters. The reductions represent a 70% decrease in its domestic leased space.

We got a lot done in the second quarter, but we still have the broader portfolio of non-health plan assets, and were sort of methodically working through those, London said.

London became CEO in March. Her predecessor, longtime Centene CEO Michael Neidorff, was on a medical leave of absence. Neidorff passed away in April at the age of 79.
Edwardsville has a historic theater, Collinsville a giant catsup bottle and East St. Louis its jazz, all Americana from the glory days of Route 66.

Now a series of 12 outdoor murals will link some Southern Illinois towns along the Mother Road. Tapping into history, kitsch and modern points of pride, the public artwork is being called the Route 66 Mural Art Trail.

The templates for the murals are similar, but they are all unique to the city they are representing, said artist Daniel Ricketts, owner of St. Louis Sign & Mural.

On Monday, he and two others painted Edwardsvilles colorful mural at the corner of Vandalia and Main streets, a couple of doors down from the popular Stagger Inn and not too far from Wildey Theatre, built in 1909, and a life-size fiberglass steer at Goshen Butcher Shop. He expected the artwork to be finished Wednesday.

Ricketts, who lives in St. Louis, was enjoying hearing from residents about the town and their interest in the mural.

Were excited to be working on it, he said.

Hes confident visitors will want to take selfies in front of the mural and share pictures on social media: I think its good for businesses, the town and people having fun taking pictures in front of the murals with their friends.

Organizers hope the murals  coming four years before the centenary celebration of Route 66  will draw visitors to Illinois last 100 miles of the route.

Traveling along Route 66 is a huge draw for international travelers, said Stephanie Tate, marketing and communications director for Great Rivers & Routes Tourism Bureau.

Visitors will come to the U.S. for a month to make the roughly 2,400-mile road trip from Chicago to Los Angeles, she said. She hopes to draw more domestic fans to Southern Illinois portion of Route 66, which morphed over the years, adding and subtracting local and state roads.

In May, the tourism bureau received a state grant for $919,000 to pay for the murals and a series of other projects. Towns expecting murals are Hamel, Granite City, Livingston, Staunton, Carlinville, Girard, Gillespie, Virden, Litchfield and East St. Louis. Their artwork will also be personalized, with nods to Granite City steel, Litchfields 1924 Ariston Cafe and Stauntons Henrys Rabbit Ranch (which includes both Volkswagen Rabbits and furry hoppers). One East St. Louis symbol will be a trumpet.

The tourism bureau also plans to use the grant over the next few years for six monuments, restoration of the Cannonball Jail in Macoupin County and transformation of the West End Service Station, 620 St. Louis Street in Edwardsville, as a new interpretative and educational museum and Route 66 visitor center. Formerly a gas station for Route 66 travelers, the building became a dental office in 1965, after Route 66 bypassed Edwardsville. The Illinois Department of Transportation purchased the site in 2021, the bureau said.

Alderwoman Elizabeth Grant of Edwardsville said in a news release about the mural that we take pride in some of our additions (to the art template) that make Edwardsville unique, including the Leclaire water tower, our Tiger paw and trees for our Tree City distinction. She also said, This will be a tourist attraction for all ages, and especially our Instagram friends.

According to the National Park Service, more than 250 buildings, bridges, road alignments and other sites along Route 66 are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. (One is the old Chain of Rocks Bridge.)

As the countrys automobile culture grew in the 1920s, some of the roads designated as part of Route 66 in 1926 still had not been paved. But the highway soon became a symbol of freedom and adventure.

While not the first long-distance highway, or the most traveled, Route 66 gained fame beyond almost any other road, says the National Museum of American History. Dubbed the Mother Road by John Steinbeck in The Grapes of Wrath, Route 66 carried hundreds of thousands of Depression-era migrants from the Midwest who went to California hoping for jobs and a better life.

During World War II, the route was used for military transportation. In the 1950s, President Dwight D. Eisenhower supported construction of new high-speed interstates, and in 1985, Route 66 was officially decommissioned. But support for the highway remained, and Congress passed an act in 1999 to create the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program. Nostalgia has never waned.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP)  Kansas' attorney general is trying to get ahead of arguments that an anti-abortion measure up for a statewide vote next week would hinder medical care for patients with life-threatening pregnancies.

Attorney General Derek Schmidt, a Republican running for governor who supports the measure, argues in a legal opinion issued Friday that treating miscarriages, removing dead fetuses and ending ectopic pregnancies do not fall under Kansas' legal definition of abortion. The proposal on the ballot Aug. 2 would amend the Kansas Constitution to allow the Legislature to further restrict or ban abortion. It's the first referendum on abortion policy by a state since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last month.

The Texas Medical Society told the state medical board this month that some hospitals were delaying care for pregnancy complications over fears of violating the state's ban on most abortions. An Ohio clinic reported calls from two women who said their doctors would not end their ectopic pregnancies, which occur when an embryo grows outside the womb and often are life-threatening to the women involved.

Opponents of the Kansas measure predict it will lead to an abortion ban, while backers including Schmidt are not saying whether they would pursue one. Schmidts opinion says the proposed amendment would not itself ban or restrict abortion or any medical treatment.

Nor would it affect a physicians ability to render care for ectopic pregnancies, miscarriages or fetal demise, the opinion states.

Schmidt's opinion confirms what the coalition leading the vote yes campaign has said all along about the Kansas measure, spokesperson Mackenzie Haddix said.

Television ads opposing the measure have not specifically mentioned ectopic pregnancies, stillbirths or miscarriages, but they've said that women's lives could be in danger if voters approve the measure. The proposal is anti-abortion lawmakers' response to a 2019 Kansas Supreme Court decision declaring access to abortion a fundamental right under the state constitution.

What these abortion bans are doing that weve seen across the country is bringing with them a whole host of other unintended consequences, said Zack Gingrich-Gaylord, a spokesperson for the abortion-rights group Trust Women, which operates a Wichita clinic.

State Rep. John Eplee, a doctor and a northeastern Kansas Republican, asked Schmidt to issue an opinion earlier this month. Although he already believed the amendment wouldn't hinder medical care, he said he had gotten enough questions from constituents that he wanted Schmidt to weigh in.

You know, people believe things better when they hear it from an attorney, said Eplee, who voted to put the proposed amendment on the ballot.

Schmidt's legal opinion says that the states legal definition of abortion already excludes treating miscarriages and removing dead fetuses. But it acknowledges that Kansas law contains no reference to ectopic pregnancies.

Schmidt's opinion notes that an abortion is the termination of a pregnancy, and that's defined as having an unborn child in the mother's body. The opinion says at least two laws define an unborn child as being in the womb, not outside it. The opinion also argues that the embryo in an ectopic pregnancy is no longer in a stage leading to birth.

On balance, we believe the best interpretation is that the termination of an ectopic pregnancy does not constitute an abortion as defined by Kansas law, Schmidt wrote, adding that even if it were, state law has consistently allowed abortions to save a patient's life.

Also, the state health department said it does not require providers to report the termination of an ectopic pregnancy as an abortion and does not include such procedures in state abortion statistics.

But opponents of the Kansas amendment find no comfort in Schmidt's legal analysis, saying the measure would allow lawmakers to change the definition of abortion. Dr. Beth Oller, a family physician in Rooks County in northwest Kansas, said Monday that if abortion is banned, doctors might wonder how long they'd have to wait for a woman to be "in jeopardy for her life before ending an ectopic pregnancy.

We know that the reason for the amendment is to allow the Legislature to make decisions to restrict reproductive access, she said in a text to The Associated Press.

Follow John Hanna on Twitter: https://twitter.com/apjdhanna
TUESDAY, July 26, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Parents have had to wait a long time to have access to a COVID-19 vaccine for their kids under the age of 5, but a new survey shows many still wont get a shot for their children.

About 43% of U.S. parents of children aged 6 months to 4 years said they would not get their children a coronavirus shot, while another 27% said they were not yet certain what they will do, the Kaiser Family Foundation found in its July poll.

Most of the parents in the survey said they had greater concerns about potential risks to their children from the vaccine than from the virus.

Still, its not yet clear how individual children will do if they contract the virus.

We have no marker for that, Patricia Stinchfield, president of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, told The New York Times. Half the kids who come down with severe COVID are healthy kids, with no underlying conditions. So the idea of saying Im going to skip this vaccine for my kid, were not worried about COVID is really to take a risk.

Parents of the youngest children may be the most hesitant, with only 2.8% getting their children vaccinated since they became eligible on June 18. Thats compared to 18.5% of children aged 5 to 11 who by the same time in their rollout had been vaccinated, the Times reported. Those children have been eligible since last October.

Reasons that parents are choosing not to vaccinate their young children vary. A majority said they found the information shared by the federal government to be confusing.

But politics played a part: Republican parents were three times more likely than Democratic parents to say they would definitely not have their child vaccinated.

Others said lack of access was a significant barrier. This concern was expressed by more Black and Hispanic parents than white parents, the findings showed.

About 44% of Black parents said they worried about taking time off work to get their kids the vaccine and to care for them if they had side effects. About 45% of Hispanic parents surveyed expressed concern about finding a trustworthy location for the shots, while about one-third were worried about having to pay a fee for shots.

Overall, about 70% of those surveyed said they had not talked with their pediatricians about the vaccine, but only 27% of those considering the vaccine said they would make an appointment to talk about it.

Stinchfields grandchildren, ages 1 and 3, received their vaccines, but she noted their mom had to take time off work to get them.

The message to clinics is, make the vaccine for kids available in the evenings and on weekends, Stinchfield said.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on COVID-19 vaccines.

SOURCES: KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor, July 2022; The New York Times
LANSING, Mich. (AP)  Dozens of University of Michigan medical students walked out of a weekend ceremony to protest a speaker who publicly opposes abortion rights.

Dr. Kristin Collier, an assistant professor of medicine, was the keynote speaker Sunday at an annual event where new medical students are formally welcomed and given a white lab coat.

A video of some students walking out was posted to social media and has received more than 11 million views.

Collier didn't refer to abortion in her remarks, but she has shared her opinions on social media and in interviews.

Holding on to a view of feminism where one fights for the rights of all women and girls, especially those who are most vulnerable. I cant not lament the violence directed at my prenatal sisters in the act of abortion, done in the name of autonomy, she said on social media earlier this year.

A petition signed by 340 medical students, including some of the new ones, had urged the university to drop Collier as a speaker.

Spokeswoman Mary Masson said the university does not revoke an invitation to a speaker based on their personal beliefs.

The ceremony is not a platform for discussion of controversial issues, and Collier never planned to address a divisive topic as part of her remarks, Masson said.

Collier didn't immediately respond to a Monday request for comment.

Dr. Joseph Kolars, a senior associate dean, said Collier was nominated to speak by members of a medical school student honor society. He told the audience that she is an enormously popular teacher and physician.

During her address Sunday, Collier offered philosophical advice to students about how to thrive in medical school. She opened by noting the deep wounds our community has suffered over the past several weeks, apparently a reference to the controversy over her appearance.

We have a great deal of work to do for healing to occur, Collier said.

The petition signed by her critics said it wasn't simply a disagreement on personal opinion.

"Through our demand we are standing up in solidarity against groups who are trying to take away human rights and restrict medical care, students said of abortion rights.

Joey Cappelletti 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.
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP)  Alaska U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski said Monday that she recently tested positive for COVID-19.

She made the announcement on the social media.

In the brief statement, the Republican said she recently tested positive after experiencing flu-like symptoms. The statement did not specify the timing of the test. Her campaign posted photos of events that Murkowski participated in Friday and Saturday in Fairbanks.

I will be following guidance and advice from doctors and will be quarantining at home in Alaska while continuing my work remotely, Murkowski's statement said.

Karina Borger, a spokesperson in Murkowskis Senate office, said by email that Murkowski is vaccinated and boosted. Borger said she had nothing more to share beyond the social media post.

Murkowski is Alaska's senior U.S. senator. She is seeking reelection this year.

Shea Siegert, a spokesperson for Murkowski's campaign, by email noted the campaign office opening and parade Murkowski participated in on Friday and Saturday, respectively. The campaign is reaching out to anyone who may have been at these events to notify them," Siegert said.

Siegert called Murkowski's diagnosis a minor setback for the campaign, and we look forward to getting Lisa back on the campaign trail as soon as she is recovered and safely able to do so. No campaign staff have tested positive, and we will continue to monitor this, Siegert said.

Sen. Joe Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat, also announced Monday that he has tested positive for COVID-19. He said in a statement online that he is experiencing mild symptoms.
MONDAY, July 25, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Monkeypox, which has now spread to 75 countries and sickened at least 16,000 people, has been declared a global health emergency by the World Health Organization (WHO).

The declaration came after WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, M.D., overruled a panel of advisors that could not come to a consensus on whether the virus had reached that level of concern or not. "We have an outbreak that has spread around the world rapidly through new modes of transmission, about which we understand too little, and which meets the criteria" for a public health emergency, Tedros said during a media briefing on Saturday.

The WHO panel was hesitant to make the declaration because the virus is still spreading mostly in the primary risk group, men who have sex with men, and not among more vulnerable groups, including pregnant women, older adults, or children, The New York Times reported. However, of the 3,000 cases now reported in the United States, two were children.

Only COVID-19 and polio have received the same designation, which can help prompt member countries to invest resources to help curb the outbreak and to share vaccines and treatments.

Symptoms in the latest monkeypox outbreak include lesions in the throat, urethra, and rectum that can be very painful. Fever, body aches, or respiratory symptoms are typically associated with the disease, but those symptoms are not being experienced by all during this outbreak, The Times reported.

Meanwhile, a recent genetic analysis of samples from infected patients showed the monkeypox genome has collected nearly 50 genetic mutations since 2018, far more than the six or seven it would have been expected to express in that period. Whether the mutations have changed the transmission, severity, or other qualities of the virus is not clear, but the data hint that monkeypox may be spreading more easily since 2018.
WASHINGTON (AP)  The Senate on Tuesday advanced a $280 billion bill designed to boost the semiconductor industry in the United States and to accelerate high tech research that backers say will be critical to the economy in future decades.

The Senate needed 60 votes to advance the bill and the vote was 64-32. The legislation is now on a glidepath to final passage in the Senate, likely on Wednesday. The House is also expected to take up the package this week.

The White House has led support for the bill, along with industry leaders who say government subsidies are necessary to compete with other nations that are also spending billions of dollars to lure manufacturers. They say the pandemic has exposed the dangers to the economy and to national security of relying too heavily on foreign-made computer chips.

The bill provides about $52 billion in grants and other incentives for the semiconductor industry as well as a 25% tax credit for those companies that build chip plants, or fabs, in the U.S. The cost of the tax break is projected to be about about $24 billion over 10 years. The bill also authorizes about $200 billion to enhance scientific research over the same timeframe.

The bill attracted support from lawmakers in both parties who say the investment is critical to U.S. innovation and staying ahead of economic rivals in coming decades, namely China.

I firmly believe that passing this bill will be a turning point for American leadership in this century, said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. The benefits of this legislation will reverberate across the country for years and decades to come.

The Congressional Budget Office has projected that the bill would increase deficits by about $79 billion over 10 years. Critics have objected to the spending called for in the bill either as misplaced or excessive.

At a time when the working families of this country are falling further and further behind while the very rich are getting much richer, let us get our priorities right," said Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell led a group of 17 Republicans senators who voted to limit debate and advance the bill. While some Republicans have voiced concerns about the spending in the bill, others have emphasized the need to address national security vulnerabilities resulting from the U.S. reliance on plants in Taiwan and South Korea for the most advanced computer chips.

We are not used to providing these kinds of financial incentives to businesses, but when it costs 30 percent less to build these manufacturing facilities across the seas in Asia and our access to that supply chain is potentially jeopardized by very real threats, it is a necessary investment for us to make," said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.

Schumer said in an interview with The Associated Press that without the federal government making an investment in chip manufacturing and scientific research, our economy would fade and the prospects of good paying jobs in America would shrink."

Its not chatted about like some other things that are more immediate, but this is going to change America for the better in a very real way and be regarded as a turning point where America said, We can compete and we can win,' instead of running away, Schumer said.
JEFFERSON CITY  A state appeals court Tuesday sided with 118 Missouri cities in their fight to get Charter Communications Inc. to pay taxes on the phone service it offers customers.

In a 36-page decision, the Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District ruled that the cable company must pay nearly $40 million to the municipalities and St. Louis County for underpayment of taxes between 2005 and 2020.

The decision upholds a 2021 lower court ruling that found Charters voice-over-internet protocol service establishes it as a telephone company and thus eligible to pay certain license taxes.

(W)e find the trial courts determination that the Class Members in this case are generally entitled to back taxes on all revenue generated by Charters telephone business in each jurisdiction, whether the calls were alleged to be intrastate, interstate, local, or long distance, Appeals Court Judge James Dowd wrote.

The decision could pave the way for St. Louis County to receive $4.1 million in back taxes. The city of St. Louis is in line for $1.6 million, while Chesterfield, OFallon and the city of St. Charles also will see payments over $1 million, according to the trial courts judgment.

The city of Winchester, the original plaintiff in the lawsuit, is to receive about $17,500 after fees and expenses.

Communities outside the St. Louis region that will receive a payout include Sedalia, Sikeston and Lake Ozark.

Charter also will have to pay the tax going forward.

Charters attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
JEFFERSON CITY  Missouri taxpayers are on the hook for another multimillion-dollar legal payout because of widespread harassment problems of workers in the states prison system.

In a decision Tuesday, a Jackson County jury found in favor of Leesa Wiseman, who alleged in a 2018 lawsuit that she was subjected to a hostile work environment at the Missouri Department of Corrections.

The jury awarded $11 million to Wiseman, who had served in a number of different administrative roles dating to 1989. Some of the money was for back pay and economic losses, but $9.2 million was for punitive damages.

The verdict and the award are the latest in a string of high-profile discrimination cases against the department, which have resulted in millions of dollars in legal payments by the state.

In Wisemans case, she said she rose to the post of deputy warden at the Kansas City Reentry Center. In her original complaint, she said she was asked by then-Warden Lily Angelo to create a plan to prevent employees from using leave due to their disabilities.

Plaintiff opposed this directive and told the Warden that such a plan would be illegal, the complaint said.

In response, Wiseman was reported to top prison brass and was later demoted.

Wiseman also provided favorable testimony in a number of cases that resulted in verdicts against the department, including one involving prison employee Shelley Gray.

In June, the Post-Dispatch reported that Gray has received $1.1 million in connection with her discrimination case that also centers on Angelos behavior.

Employee problems at the Kansas City Reentry Center are not new.

In January 2020, for example, Missouri paid out more than $2 million to Richard Dixson, a white employee of the minimum security facility, who won the award after a jury agreed in 2017 he was subjected to racial discrimination and a hostile work environment.

In the aftermath of her questioning Angelo, Wisemans job location and job responsibilities were shuffled, forcing her to commute to other workplaces.

The problems at Corrections have been a focal point of Gov. Mike Parsons administration. In a cabinet meeting earlier this month, records obtained by the Post-Dispatch show Director Anne Precythe outlined how the agency has attempted to change the workplace culture.

According to the documents, all supervisors and staff have undergone training aimed at stopping a discriminatory workplace.

Each of the states 20 prisons have undergone an administrative rebuilding. Since taking office, Parsons administration has replaced 99 of the 107 top leadership positions in the department.

The report says department and division directors have been meeting individually with disgruntled employees.

Records show Angelo was last paid by the Department of Corrections in 2019.
MADISON COUNTY  Several people were rushed to the hospital Monday after a crash on Interstate 270 involving a semitrailer and at least five other vehicles.

Illinois State Police reported the crash around 4 p.m. on I-270 near milepost 3.

The semitrailer was driving in the westbound lanes of I-270 when it struck the first vehicle. The semitrailer then veered to the left and went through the highway's median cable wires before hitting at least four more vehicles, Illinois State Police stated.

Police said, as of 6 p.m., I-270 eastbound was shut down, and traffic was rerouted onto Route 3. One lane is expected to open.

Police did not confirm the status of any of the victims' injuries.
Five children from the St. Louis area were recovered as part of a nationwide operation led by the FBI that recovered 84 victims of child sex trafficking and sexual exploitation offenses, and found 37 missing children.
ST. LOUIS  The St. Louis School Board has been short two members for three months, awaiting appointments from Mayor Tishaura O. Jones.

Were designed to be a seven-member board, and weve had five members since April, said SLPS board president Matt Davis. Theres a lot of work to do, so it is a bit of a stress being down two people.

Joyce Roberts and Regina Fowler resigned from the board April 26. Roberts term was set to expire in November and Fowlers in April 2023.

Because SLPS is considered a metropolitan school district under state law, the mayor is tasked with appointing new members to fill any board vacancies. In all other Missouri school districts, the board picks new members through an open application process.

A spokesman for Jones said five interviews have been conducted, and an update is expected next week. Tuesday is the filing deadline for candidates to run in the November election for Roberts seat and a second open position on the school board.

If they were to pick somebody now, they could pick somebody whos filed for the election, and it becomes political at that point, Davis said.

At least three candidates have signaled their intent to run for school board in Novembers election, according to the citys election department.

The mayors office did not release the names of the aspiring school board candidates who filled out applications for the appointed positions out of respect for their privacy, said spokesman Nick Desideri.

At least one candidate, SLPS parent Emily Hubbard, applied for the appointed seat and also filed to run in November. Hubbard has not been contacted by Jones about her application, she said.

Jones has not commented on the school board vacancies since May, when she released a statement after meeting with Davis that said, Our administration is ready to engage fellow community stakeholders as we move this appointment process forward as outlined by state law.

Desideri attributed the lengthy appointment timeline in part to the massive political earthquake at City Hall, referring to the June indictments on corruption charges for the president and two members of the board of aldermen.

The mayors protracted, behind-the-scenes process contrasts with earlier appointments as well as other school boards in the region:

 In 2021, Jones took less than four weeks to appoint Alisha Sonnier to the SLPS board to replace Adam Layne, whom the mayor appointed to city treasurer after her election in April. Jones had endorsed Sonnier in her unsuccessful run for the SLPS board on the same ballot.

 The Parkway School Board last spring publicly released the names of 12 candidates before deciding on Tiffany Mapp Franklin a month before Kristy Klein Davis planned to step down.

 Fowler, who resigned from the SLPS board in April, was appointed by then-Mayor Lyda Krewson in August 2020, six weeks after board member Tracee Miller resigned. Both Fowlers and Sonniers seats are up for election in April 2023.

If Jones names appointees to both vacant school board seats next week, three of the seven members will be mayoral appointments. The elected SLPS board only regained oversight of the district in 2019 after 12 years under state control.

When people resign on the board of aldermen, you hold a special election, you dont wait, board president Davis said. Its unfortunate that the statutes treat school boards unlike other elected officials. We have an immensely important responsibility.
CLAYTON  St. Louis County Executive Sam Page asks voters to consider his record leading the states most populous county through three years of historic challenges.

The indictment and resignation of his predecessor, Steve Stenger. The unprecedented coronavirus pandemic. Racial strife and turmoil within the police department. Partisan rancor over issues from COVID-19 vaccines to abortion.

I will stand on my record of accomplishments in St. Louis County around some really historic, difficult complex issues, Page said.

His opponent in the Democratic primary, Jane Dueker, points to that same record and concludes Pages lack of leadership contributed to the conflict that has roiled county government in recent years.

Dueker, an attorney and former lobbyist and Stenger adviser, blames Page for frequent clashes with a bipartisan County Council majority, stoking conservative opposition to COVID-19 restrictions and interfering with the process to pick a county police chief.

A former assistant attorney general, Democratic gubernatorial chief of staff and longtime lobbyist for the St. Louis County and St. Louis police associations, Dueker says shes uniquely qualified to tackle what her campaign has centered as the No. 1 job of government: preventing crime.

Im able to be the bridge between government and the police officers to make policing better, Dueker said.

Dueker, who has used her Twitter account and radio appearances to direct a near-constant barrage of attacks on Page and his progressive Democratic allies over the past three years, entered the race on the last day of candidate filing. Pages campaign has since painted her as an unserious candidate and denied her demands for a debate. But shes drawn significant financial support from right-leaning donors, including several business owners and police boosters.

In heavily Democratic St. Louis County, the winner of the Democratic primary is favored in the November general election, although Rep. Shamed Dogan, the likely GOP nominee, is expected to mount a vigorous campaign.

Page, an anesthesiologist and former state representative who chaired a bipartisan council coalition against Stenger, was chosen by the council to replace Stenger in April 2019. He won election in 2020 to finish the term after weathering criticism of the countys health orders and federal pandemic aid spending, including from council members who had been allies during Stengers tenure. Business owners sued to challenge occupancy restrictions and curfews and parents protested restrictions on youth sports.

Page kept a mask requirement through early 2022, which riled conservative opponents. They found allies in a new bipartisan council majority that blocked mask orders issued by Pages administration, adding ammunition to Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitts lawsuits to overturn the public health measure.

That anti-Page majority was cemented in a move in early 2021 by Pages council allies to keep Councilwoman Lisa Clancy as chair. That effort depended on the vote of lame-duck Councilwoman Rochelle Walton Gray, who lost her bid for reelection in 2020. A court eventually blocked that maneuver. Page, meanwhile, hired Gray to a newly created public health job. The council subsequently approved a law, signed by Page, that bars former council members from getting county jobs for at least two years after leaving office.

Dueker, a supporter of the council majority, has seized on the conflicts, as well as recent scandals involving two of Pages handpicked aides.

Tony Weaver, who was appointed in 2019 to a jail liaison job by Page, was charged on June 7 with four counts of wire fraud for a scheme to obtain COVID-19 relief funds. Three weeks later, Pages chief of staff, Cal Harris, abruptly resigned after learning the Missouri Highway Patrol was investigating a recording of a video of him and a woman engaged in a sex act in his county office.

He does bear some responsibility for that because he picks the people around him, Dueker said about Page.

When they (employees) do things that they shouldnt do, or they make a mistake, I discipline them, I terminate them and we move on, he said.

The council disputes, he argued, were part of opposition politics.

I would expect my political opponents to dwell intensely on the things we need to improve and try to distract away from the things weve done well, Page said.

The right direction

Dueker said she would give the council its own lawyer independent from the County Counselors office, though the council wouldnt be able to sue the executive branch.

She said she wants a national search for a new police chief and to retool Proposition P, the countys public safety tax, to ensure two officers per vehicle.

But she has offered few details about how she would respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, other than opposing restrictions on restaurants in early 2021. Page relaxed restrictions in May of that year.

Page stands by his approach to the pandemic, citing in part a study that found local mask orders in the county and city of St. Louis slowed infection.

We saved lives in St. Louis County; thats been well-documented and well-established, Page said.

Page last year revamped the Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority, which had been at the center of a real estate deal with Stengers donors. The county settled a lingering lease dispute with the owners of Crossings at Northwest. The Port Authority, after reaching a deal to develop the long-empty Jamestown Mall into an industrial park, agreed to clear the site for a different development, under a demand by Councilwoman Shalonda Webb, D-4th District, and local residents.

Three years after an audit ripped the countys pet shelter, the county contracted a local nonprofit to oversee operations of the facility.

An audit of the county jail, released last week, found major improvement since 2019, when five inmates died of medical complications. Outspoken jail reformers have criticized the audit, which Page delayed for a year, for failing to address the systemic workplace issues that led to the deaths. But even critics have lauded educational and health reforms.

Page said the reentry programs are part of preventative efforts to combat crime, along with workforce development initiatives like a planned expansion of the MET Center job training site in Wellston.

Democratic values

Dueker says endorsements by the St. Louis County Police Association and the Fannie Lou Hamer Coalition, a group of north St. Louis County Democrats founded by former Councilwoman Hazel Erby, show officers and some north St. Louis County Democrats lost faith in Page.

Page, points to endorsements from several labor unions, several Democratic officials, and abortion advocates to signal traditional Democratic support.

Meanwhile, he said, Duekers past lobbying show she opposed core Democratic policies.

Dueker worked for Peabody, the St. Louis-based coal giant, to block a vote activists wanted to bar tax breaks for major contributors to climate change. She lobbied for Kingdom Principles Inc., a dark-money group that pushed changes to Title IX policies to give more power to people accused of sexual assault. And she represented businesses that sued to block the city of St. Louis from raising the minimum wage above the wage set by the Republican-led Missouri Legislature.

Dueker said criticism ignored debate around each case. A higher city minimum wage without an equal bump in the neighboring county would have destroyed the restaurant industry, she said. The Title IX case, she said, was about defending due process for all.

Another divide between the two Democrats is their relationship with the Democratic administration next door.

Page had endorsed Mayor Tishaura O. Jones candidacy before she was elected, in an unusual move. The city and county leaders have since coordinated COVID-19 health orders, planning for a long-discussed north-south MetroLink line and responded to the overturn of Roe v. Wade with plans to fund travel for abortions across state lines.

Dueker, on the other hand, has frequently criticized Jones and her Democratic allies, accusing them of being lax on crime in the city.

Combative by nature, Dueker said shed had drag-out fights with Republicans while a Democratic gubernatorial chief of staff but set aside differences when it came to policy.

I know I can put it aside because guess what: Its not about me. ... It is about whats good for the people, she said.
ST. LOUIS  City officials on Tuesday sent two companies notice of their intention to continue a ban on the use of rentable electric scooters in the citys Downtown and Downtown West neighborhoods through the beginning of next year.

Interim Public Safety Director Dan Isom wrote in a letter to scooter companies Bird and Lime that the downtown area has experienced safer and quieter weekends since discontinuing the use of scooters beginning June 8.

Isom noted in the letter that the scooter companies representatives have met with several city departments and community groups to discuss policies to reduce the public safety hazards that some argue the scooters pose.

With these developments in mind, as well as community feedback from businesses and residents in these neighborhoods, the City of St. Louis has decided to continue halting scooter sharing operations in Downtown and Downtown West until the end of 2022, he wrote.

LeAaron Foley, Limes director of government and community affairs, said the company is extremely disappointed by the citys decision, particularly after what they say were unprecedented efforts to work with St. Louis leaders on solutions including ID scans, decreasing the number of scooters, and parking restrictions.

We have done everything asked of us and more ... but the city seems determined to create conditions that make it nearly impossible for any type of micro-mobility program to succeed, Foley wrote in a statement. These solutions have helped us ease concerns and improve programs in cities around the country but St. Louis seems to be an outlier in their unwillingness to budge. Our disappointment is no doubt shared by our [tens of thousands] of riders who continue to look for safe, affordable, and sustainable ways to get around, especially with gas prices remaining at all-time highs.

Adam Davis, Birds senior manager of government partnerships, echoed Foleys disappointment in the decision, saying the city is cutting off an essential, eco-friendly transportation when many are struggling to pay for gas.

Its especially troubling that the city is regulating an essential private business, in the name of safety, and yet violent incidents persist downtown, Davis wrote. Despite operators community engagement efforts and hundreds of St. Louisans asking their elected officials to bring Bird back to the downtown area, the city continues to scapegoat e-scooters amidst unrelated city safety problems.

Isom wrote in the letter that the decision is in line with policies enacted in cities such as Milwaukee, Cincinnati, Chicago and Columbus, Ohio, all of which have established limitations or outright bans in parts of the city.

Isom said he and his team plan to revisit the issue in early 2023 based on performance and further community feedback.

Rentable electric scooters will remain available across many other St. Louis neighborhoods.

The downtown ban on scooters began as part of the citys effort to curb what they described as weekend mayhem during the summer caused by large groups of juveniles zipping into and around downtown on scooters while also engaging in disruptive and, at times, criminal behavior.

Bird argued at the time that temporarily cutting off access to the scooters would not solve the issues facing downtown and could create more problems for those dependent on scooters for transportation.

A company spokeswoman said the St. Louis market is one of the safest areas in the country for Bird, with only 0.0013% of rides resulting in injuries that require medical treatment.

The scooter ban was one of several actions downtown by the citys public safety department, including a curfew for minors that begins at 11 p.m. on weeknights and midnight on Fridays and Saturdays, and a stronger law enforcement presence along Washington Avenue. In addition, downtowns special taxing district set aside $100,000 for an ambassador initiative, which includes a youth ambassador program to build relationships with teenagers.

But while city officials have focused on teens and scooters, downtown business owners and residents say there are broader issues at play. They question whether even stronger police enforcement is needed, they point to the violent crimes by adults as another source of stress and they blame parents for not taking a stronger hand.

During police briefings in the last few months, Isom has agreed with them by reiterating he believes parents need to hold their children accountable. He has mentioned with little detail the possibility of holding parents legally responsible for childrens actions after repeat run-ins with law enforcement.

Some measure of legal accountability of the parents, Isom said in a June media briefing. Thats what we are exploring. We are determining what that would look like.(tncms-asset)aac1c6f8-f3ec-11ec-8f49-00163ec2aa77[0](/tncms-asset)
ST. LOUIS COUNTY A west St. Louis County police chief was arrested on suspicion of boating while intoxicated by the Missouri State Highway Patrol, according to public records obtained by the Post-Dispatch.

Stephen Dodge, the police chief of Sunset Hills, was arrested June 17 at Lake of the Ozarks and refused to take a breathalyzer test, highway patrol records show. His attorney disputes that Dodge refused the breathalyzer.

Officials at the Camden County Detention Facility said they had no record of Dodge being booked at the jail.

A state water patrol officer pulled over Dodge while he was operating a boat in Camden Countys jurisdiction of the water. The investigation is still pending and will be turned over to the Camden County Prosecuting Attorney's Office for possible charges.

Dodge did not answer calls for comment. His attorney, Travis Noble, said he has not heard of the investigation affecting his client's job as police chief.

My only comment is right now hes assured me he was not intoxicated, said Noble. We will be fighting the case vigorously if hes charged.

Noble filed a petition in Camden County's Circuit Court on June 21 seeking review of the case and stating that Dodge did not refuse to take a breathalyzer test. One week later, Noble sought to dismiss the petition, noting it was filed inadvertently.

If a person is suspected of boating while intoxicated and refuses a breathalyzer test or has a blood alcohol concentration that registers above the legal amount  .08  the arrest is handled the same as a DWI. Authorities will either tow the boat, have it towed or release it to another sober person who has a required boater safety identity card.

On a first offense, with no injuries or accidents involved, boating while intoxicated could result in a class B misdemeanor charge. The consequences, if convicted, are a possible six months in jail and a maximum $1,000 fine.

Though not as common as a driving while intoxicated charge, boating while intoxicated charges are still serious, according to Missouri State Highway Patrol spokesperson Cpl. Kyle A. Green.

Its certainly a dangerous offense, said Green. A boat cant stop like a car can, and you have traffic everywhere."

While it has been more than a month since the arrest, Green said a number of factors  such as lab results, witness or officer statements  can affect when a case is handed to prosecutors for their review.

Dodges last reported salary was $109,196, records show. He has been chief of the Sunset Hills Police Department for more than 5 years.
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP)  A federal judge agreed on Monday to block for now any enforcement of a state law in a political ad investigation of North Carolina Attorney General Josh Steins campaign, saying its likely to win on legal claims that the law is unconstitutional.

Following a court hearing in Greensboro, U.S. District Judge Catherine Eagles ruled for Steins campaign and other plaintiffs who filed an unusual lawsuit last week against State Board of Elections members and Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman.

The temporary restraining order that Eagles signed means that Freeman's office is prevented from using that law to prosecute anyone associated with a 2020 commercial that the Democratic incumbent aired against then-Republican challenger Jim ONeill.

The law prohibits anyone from knowingly publishing or circulating false information about a candidate with the intent of hurting that candidates chances in the election. It enabled an ongoing investigation into the Stein commercial, which focused on untested rape kits held by local law enforcement agencies.

ONeills campaign cited the law in his September 2020 election board complaint against Steins campaign committee over the ad. That led to interviews by board investigators, while the State Bureau of Investigation later talked to Stein, his campaign staff and a woman who appeared in the ad. The plaintiffs called the law overbroad and outdated and said it fails to protect core political speech, leading it to violate the First Amendment.

In her order, Eagles wrote that a temporary order was necessary because the plaintiffs and others would have been subject to potential criminal prosecution for violating an overly broad criminal libel statute before a hearing for a more long-term injunction could be held.

Eagles told the legal parties to return as soon as Aug. 4 to give any reasons why the order shouldnt be extended into a preliminary injunction.

Before the laws constitutionality can be closely examined, the balance of the equities favors an injunction protecting the First Amendment right of the plaintiffs and other political candidates to free speech, she wrote Monday.

Outside lawyers representing the state board and the Wake DA -- Steins office would otherwise defend the constitutionality of a state law -- urged Eagles to reject the campaigns request to block enforcement of the law. In court filings, the attorneys questioned why Steins campaign and the other plaintiffs had taken so long to challenge the law.

Now the plaintiffs seek to interfere with the work of a state grand jury regarding potential violations of state criminal law caused by a political ad that occurred in 2020, almost two years ago, wrote Joe Zeszotarski, who is representing Freeman. While Eagles didn't issue a blanket prohibition of enforcing the law, which dates back to at least 1931, Stein's campaign lawyer said it could find no legal records of it ever being previously enforced.

Steins campaign, the consulting firm that produced the ad and the woman in the ad wrote they filed the lawsuit now because enforcement action by the Wake DAs office appears imminent. It didnt elaborate. The statute of limitations on the misdemeanor -- punishable by up to 60 days in jail with fines -- is two years. Any charges in the case would be a political blow to Stein, the states top law enforcement officer and a possible 2024 gubernatorial candidate.

In a written statement, Stein's campaign said it was pleased with Monday's ruling and we look forward to this issue being resolved soon once and for all.

Freeman recused herself from the investigation  citing a close working relationship with both Stein and ONeill  and has left it to her to assistant DA to lead the case. Freeman and a majority of the elections board members are Democrats.

The ad in question featured a woman who asserted that ONeill left 1,500 rape kits sitting on a shelf in Forsyth County. ONeill said at the time that the ad was bogus because police agencies, not prosecutors, are responsible for testing the kits.

ONeill said in an emailed statement late Monday that Stein has gone to court to avoid potential criminal prosecution and so that politicians like himself can routinely lie to the public without repercussion or punishment.

The lawsuit called the ad a corrective political advertisement designed to counter false accusations by ONeill that Stein had failed to act on over 15,000 untested rape kits during his time as attorney general.
BEIJING (AP)  Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Tuesday formally invited Chinese leader Xi Jinping to the Group of 20 summit in Bali this fall, although it's unclear whether he would attend in person.

The invitation came during a meeting in Beijing where the two discussed issues ranging from trade to maritime cooperation.

President Xi expressed his thanks and wished complete success for the summit, China's state broadcaster CCTV said, without giving further details. The summit is to be held on the Indonesian resort island on Nov. 15-16.

Xi has not left China since January 2020 because of the COVID-19 outbreak, choosing instead to attend major events via video. It is also unclear whether he will attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Bangkok shortly after the G-20 summit.

The G-20 is considered a valued grouping for China because it includes not only the rich Western countries but also the voices of major middle-income nations such as China, India and Brazil.

State Councilor Yang Jiechi and Foreign Minister Wang Yi have acted as Xis proxies over the recent years, even while Chinas foreign and economic policies, including its tacit support for Russia in the Ukraine conflict, have put its relations with the U.S., Europe and other countries under heavy stress.

Indonesia and China enjoy generally positive ties, although Jakarta has expressed concern about Chinese encroachment on its exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea, which China claims virtually in its entirety.

Widodo arrived in Beijing on Monday night on the first stop of a trip that will also take him to Japan and South Korea later this week. A statement from Widodos office said he described China as Indonesias comprehensive strategic partner.

We must fill this partnership with cooperation that is beneficial for our country, and at the same time for the region and the world, the statement quoted Widodo as saying.

CCTV said the two leaders touched on cooperation battling the pandemic and committed to boosting trade and investment.

A delayed project to build a high-speed rail line from Indonesias capital Jakarta to the city of Bandung would be completed as scheduled and other flagship projects launched, it said.

They also agreed to speed up the formulation of a new five-year action plan for relations that would better improve the well-being of the two peoples, and demonstrate greater responsibility for maintaining regional peace and stability and safeguarding global fairness and justice, CCTV said.

On maritime issues, it said the sides agreed to strengthen communication and engage in fisheries cooperation to tap the potential of the marine economy.

The Indonesian president is one of the few foreign leaders to travel to China, which has strictly limited visitors from overseas because of the pandemic.

This story corrects year when Xi has last left China.
MADISON, Wis. (AP)  Tom Nelson, a candidate who tried to position himself as the most progressive in Wisconsin's Democratic primary race for U.S. Senate, announced Monday he dropped out of the contest to face Republican incumbent Ron Johnson in November.

Nelson, the Outagamie County executive, threw his support to Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, who is in a tight race with Milwaukee Bucks executive Alex Lasry. State Treasurer Sarah Godlewski is polling further behind. Nelson was in fourth place.

"Mandela can now count on me to be on his side every step of the way, Nelson said in a statement. I urge other Democratic primary voters to also support him now as well.

Nelsons decision ends a campaign he launched in October 2020.

Federal filings show Nelson raised a little less than $1.4 million for his campaign and he said unfortunately, money matters way too much in politics and running against two self-funding millionaires proved too much for this pastors kid.

Lasry and Godlewski are both multi-millionaires. Lasry has poured in more than $12 million on his campaign, while Godlewski has spent nearly $4 million.

Barnes issued a statement welcoming the endorsement.

I deeply respect Tom Nelsons commitment to the working people in this state and Im thankful for his endorsement, Barnes said. It will take all of us coming together in every corner of this state to beat Ron Johnson.

Nelsons name will still appear on the ballots Aug. 9 because they have already been printed.
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP)  The U.S. is sending a high-profile diplomatic delegation to visit the Solomon Islands next week led by Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and including Ambassador to Australia Caroline Kennedy.

The U.S. State Department said Tuesday the trip is to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Guadalcanal and for the diplomats to meet with Solomon Islands officials to highlight the enduring relationship between the two nations.

The visit will hold particular personal interest for Sherman and Kennedy, whose fathers both fought there during World War II.

And it comes after the U.S. and several Pacific nations expressed deep concern about a security pact the Solomon Islands signed with China in April, which many fear could result in a military buildup in the region.

The trip will also highlight the reopening of the U.S. embassy in the capital, Honiara, which is part of an express U.S. strategy to counter China's growing influence.

The U.S. previously operated an embassy in the Solomon Islands for five years before closing it in 1993.

Kennedy has just begun her role in Australia after formally presenting her credentials on Monday. When she arrived in Australia last week, she told reporters the Pacific region was critical and I think the U.S. needs to do more.

"Were putting our embassies back in and the Peace Corps is coming, and USAID is coming back and were coming back, she said.

Kennedy said the Pacific held great personal significance because her father, the late President John F. Kennedy, had served there during World War II and "was rescued by two Solomon Islanders and an Australian coast watcher.

Sherman's father Mal Sherman was a Marine who was wounded during the Battle of Guadalcanal.

As well as Sherman and Kennedy, the delegation will include Kin Moy, a state department principal deputy assistant secretary, and Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Stephen Sklenka, the deputy commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.

During the Aug. 6-8 trip, Sherman is scheduled to give speeches at Skyline Ridge, the site of the U.S. Guadalcanal Memorial, and at Bloody Ridge.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP)  Thousands of people arguing the abortion issue surrounded the Indiana Statehouse and filled its corridors Monday as state lawmakers began consideration of a Republican proposal to ban nearly all abortions in the state and Vice President Kamala Harris denounced the effort during a meeting with Democratic legislators.

Harris said during a trip to Indianapolis that the abortion ban proposal reflects a health care crisis in the country. Despite the bills abortion ban language, anti-abortion activists lined up before a legislative committee to argue that the bill wasnt strict enough and lacked enforcement teeth.

Indiana is one of the first Republican-run state legislatures to debate tighter abortion laws following the U.S. Supreme Court decision last month overturning Roe v. Wade. The Supreme Court ruling is expected to lead to abortion bans in roughly half the states.

Maybe some people need to actually learn how a womans body works, Harris said Monday, eliciting murmurs and laughs from the Democratic legislators. The parameters that are being proposed mean that for the vast majority of women, by the time she realizes she is pregnant, she will effectively be prohibited from having access to reproductive health care that will allow her to choose what happens to her body."

Confrontations erupted periodically between anti-abortion and abortion-rights demonstrators around the Indiana Statehouse. One person carrying a message on cardboard  Forced Birth Is Violence  followed a man, who carried a fake red fetus in a plastic bag over his shoulder, and tried to obscure his sign that read Save Our Babies.

Some people had virulent arguments encircled by other demonstrators

You think you should dictate my life and my kids lives. Thats what youre saying, Kait Schultz, who wore a dark gray Pregnant and Pissed shirt, shouted to Christopher Monaghan.

You dont want to have a conversation, Monaghan replied as they spoke over each other. He held a vertical sign that read Babies Lives Matter.

Elsewhere Monday, Lawmakers in West Virginia's Republican majority hurried to advance legislation that would criminalize abortion with few exceptions. A bill introduced Monday makes providing an abortion a felony carrying up to 10 years in prison. It provides exceptions only in cases where there is an ectopic pregnancy, a nonmedically viable fetus or a medical emergency.

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice abruptly added state abortion law to the states Legislatures agenda for a special session he called for Monday to focus on his income tax cut plan.

In his announcement, Justice asked legislators to clarify and modernize the state abortion laws in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling. A week ago, a Charleston judge blocked enforcement of the states 150-year-old abortion ban, saying the recent laws enacted by the West Virginia Legislature hopelessly conflict with the criminal abortion ban.

In Tennessee, meanwhile, the attorney generals office said its still unknown when the states anti-abortion trigger ban will go into effect, but some state lawmakers are raising alarm that the ban has no exceptions for victims of rape or incest.

Tennessee has been limiting abortion as early as six weeks into pregnancy  when most women dont know theyre pregnant  ever since the U.S. Supreme Courts abortion decision last month. Republican Gov. Bill Lee refused last week to answer questions from reporters on he supported tweaking the trigger law, particularly sidestepping on whether he supported exempting children who were raped and then became pregnant.

In Wyoming, a lawsuit filed Monday by a Casper womens health clinic and others seeks to block the state's new abortion ban just before its scheduled to take effect. The lawsuit claims the new law violates the state constitution with restrictions that will discourage potentially lifesaving pregnancy healthcare in Wyoming, forcing pregnant women to go to other states for necessary procedures.

Indianas Republican Senate leaders proposed a bill last week that would prohibit abortions from the time an egg is implanted in a womans uterus with limited exceptions  in cases of rape, incest and to protect the life of the mother. The proposal followed the political firestorm over a 10-year-old rape victim who traveled to the state from neighboring Ohio to end her pregnancy.

She is a baby, Democratic Rep. Cherrish Pryor of Indianapolis, one of the lawmakers at the meeting with Harris, said of the child. Why should we force babies to have babies?

The case of the Ohio girl gained wide attention when an Indianapolis doctor said the child had to go to Indiana because Ohio banned abortions at the first detectable fetal heartbeat after the Supreme Court's abortion decision.

The ultimate fate of the Indiana abortion bill in the Republican-dominated Legislature is uncertain, as leaders of Indiana Right to Life, the state's most prominent anti-abortion group, are decrying the Senate proposal as weak and lacking enforcement provisions.

Republican Senate leaders said the bill would not add new criminal penalties against doctors involved with abortions, but they would face possibly having their medical licenses revoked for breaking the law.

Numerous anti-abortion activists argued against including the exceptions allowing abortions in cases of rape and incest.

I dont believe children should be murdered based on their circumstance of conception, Emma Duell of Noblesville told the Senate committee. What happened the night they were conceived, something they have no control over should not affect whether they are protected from abortion violence or not.

Republican Sen. Sue Glick, the abortion ban bills sponsor, said she expected amendments would be considered tightening the exceptions before the Senates anticipated vote on the proposal later this week.

Representatives of several physician groups raised concerns about the Indiana proposal possibly being questioned and prosecuted over their medical decisions.

Ariel Ream of Indianapolis said she was undergoing fertility treatments and worried that the abortion ban could leave her health threatened if she were to have a miscarriage and face bleeding.

When am I hemorrhaging enough to be able to get care? Ream said. We dont know if you go to the ER that doctors going to be scared enough to put their license on the line for me.
WASHINGTON (AP)  Less than 24 hours after the unprecedented leak of the draft opinion that overturned Roe v. Wade, Chief Justice John Roberts ordered an investigation into the egregious breach. "

Since then? Silence.

The Supreme Court won't say whether it's still investigating.

The court also won't say whether the leaker has been identified or whether anyone has been disciplined.

Or whether an outside law firm or the FBI has been called in.

Or whether the court will ever offer an accounting of what transpired.

Or whether it has taken steps to try to prevent a repeat.

To these and other emailed questions, Supreme Court spokeswoman Patricia McCabe said by email: The Court has no comment.

Roberts announced the investigation on May 3, the day after Politico published its explosive leak detailing the draft of Justice Samuel Alito's opinion. Court Marshal Gail Curley was tapped to lead the investigation.

The story filled the airwaves, news pages and online comment sections. There were calls for impeachment if a justice was involved. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said the leak was a pressure campaign to sway the outcome and he suggested the lawless action should be investigated and punished to the fullest extent possible.

Justice Clarence Thomas, the longest tenured member of the court, said the court had been irrevocably harmed. When you lose that trust, especially in the institution that Im in, it changes the institution fundamentally. You begin to look over your shoulder. Its like kind of an infidelity that you can explain it, but you cant undo it.

If any justice was swayed, it didn't manifest itself in a visible way. The draft was largely incorporated in Alitos final opinion, which added in responses to points made by the dissenting justices, and on June 24, a conservative majority of the court overturned Roe and eliminated a nearly 50-year-old right to abortion.

Abortions have largely stopped in at least nine states, and the decision is expected to lead roughly half the states to ban or severely restrict abortions.

The court finished its work for the summer on June 30, after which the justices' law clerks began leaving for their next jobs. That means roughly three dozen people who likely had access to the draft opinion, out of about 70 in all, are no longer within easy reach of investigators.

Roberts should close the investigation, said Gabe Roth, leader of the court transparency group Fix the Court.

There's just so many other things the marshal's office needs to worry about right now that's far more important than the leak. The justices safety is under threat probably more now than in years past, Roth said.

The security concerns reached alarming levels in early June, when police arrested an armed man near Justice Brett Kavanaugh's house after he called 911 and said he was going to the kill Kavanaugh.

The courthouse has been closed to the public since March 2020, a combination of the coronavirus pandemic and threats to the court and the justices that led, shortly after the leak, to the installation of 8-foot-high, hard-to-climb fencing.

There's little precedent in Supreme Court annals for the leak and investigation.

"This was a singular and egregious breach of that trust that is an affront to the Court and the community of public servants who work here, Roberts said when announced the investigation.

In 1973, Chief Justice Warren Burger was infuriated by the leak of the outcome of the Roe case a few hours ahead of its announcement. Burger threatened to subject employees to lie detector tests, but the leaker quickly came forward and explained it had been an accident.

If the leak of the Alito draft was deliberate, it might have been from someone who was so upset by the prospect of overturning Roe that informing the public at the earliest possible moment was of paramount importance.

Or it could have come from a supporter of the decision who worried that one of the five justices in the majority was wavering. In this scenario, the leak was intended to make it harder for a justice to vote to leave Roe standing, if significantly weakened.

The public might never know. Then again, Supreme Court clerks often go on to prominent legal jobs. Six of the nine justices once served as law clerks.

Sometime in the next few decades, one or more of them might appear for a confirmation hearing for a judgeship or some other high-ranking government job where they might be asked if they leaked the document or know who did.

For APs full coverage of the Supreme Court ruling on abortion, go to https://apnews.com/hub/abortion
If your flight is delayed or canceled on an international trip, the law may protect you against losses like the cost of accommodation, meals or alternative transportation. The Montreal Convention is an international treaty with over 130 participating countries, including the U.S. It creates strict rules for how airlines handle claims for flight delays and cancellations.

This article provides an overview of how the Montreal Convention protects travelers but it is not legal advice and does not replace the professional opinion of your attorney.

Montreal Convention History

When the aviation industry was getting started in the early 1900s, crashes were an unfortunately common occurrence. As a result, airlines and their insurers were potentially exposed to immense liability. Insurance companies were appropriately nervous about issuing policies to airlines, a fact which would substantially hamper the potential of the aviation sector. To foster a prosperous aviation industry, governments developed rules to limit airline liability. This gave insurers confidence to issue airline policies at affordable prices. In 1929, the Warsaw Convention was created, which limited the value of claims travelers could make against airlines among member countries.

In 1999, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a United Nations body, held a convention in Montreal, Canada, with the goal to modernize the Warsaw Convention. Today, the Montreal Convention is a global standard and ratified in most countries with sophisticated aviation systems.

When Traveling Abroad, the Montreal Convention Likely Applies

With few exceptions, the Montreal Convention applies when passengers travel on an airline reservation that includes travel between two countries which ratified the treaty. If travel is entirely domestic, then the Montreal Convention does not apply. This is also the case if one of the countries involved has not signed either the Montreal Convention or the Warsaw Convention. Both countries must be parties to at least one of the two Conventions, with at least one being part of the Montreal Convention for it to apply.

For example, travel from New York City to Paris would be covered by the Montreal Convention, as travel is international between two treaty countries. However, travel from New York City to San Francisco is not. If travel is entirely domestic, then local law applies. In the U.S., Department of Transportation rules and an airlines contract of carriage govern domestic travel.

Domestic connections with an international destination are covered if the connecting flight is on the same ticket as the international flight. If you travel from New York City to Tokyo via San Francisco, and your first flight is delayed or canceled resulting in a misconnection, then the Montreal Convention applies. But, if your domestic and international flights are on separate tickets, then your domestic flight is not covered.

Considering the wide adoption of the Montreal Convention, these scenarios apply to nearly all international air travel. Rare exceptions, like travel between two countries not part of any convention, may complicate matters.

Whats Covered by the Montreal Convention

Article 19 of the Montreal Convention makes airlines liable for damages resulting from trip delay on an international ticket subject to its rules. For example, if your eligible flight is delayed or canceled and you incur accommodation, meal or transportation costs, the airlines Montreal Convention responsibilities may be triggered.

You may also be entitled to compensation for things like lost wages and missed non-refundable travel, but success in collecting travel costs is inconsistent among countries and U.S. states and may involve prolonged legal action.

Its important to note that an airline is only responsible for reimbursing your expenses, not for compensating you. Just because your trip is delayed does not mean you will be owed anything. You actually have to incur costs.

Unlike the European Unions EU261 regulation, which requires compensation for trip delay, Montreal Convention claims for trip delay require provable damages, like hotel or restaurant receipts.

Whats Not Covered by the Montreal Convention

There are two important exceptions to an airlines responsibility to reimburse for trip delays established in Article 20 of the Montreal Convention.

First, if you incur damages because of your own negligence or fault, the airline may not be required to reimburse you. For example, if your connecting international flight is delayed, but you still had plenty of time to make the connection, but you simply lost track of time at an airport bar and therefore missed your connection, the airline is likely exonerated from reimbursing you.

Second, if the airline can prove that it took all measures that it could reasonably take to prevent damage, or prove that it was impossible to take measures, then it may not be liable to you. This would typically include delays due to weather or other natural disasters. However, delays like mechanical or staffing issues would not usually be excluded, since the airline isnt usually able to prove that it took all reasonable measures to prevent the delay.

Its important to note that you have an obligation to act reasonably. So if an airline offers you accommodation at a decent hotel due to a canceled flight, and instead you book the Shangri-La, the airline could argue you acted unreasonably and, therefore, your damages arent reimbursable.

Sometimes airlines will try to escape responsibility by pointing to a clause in their contract of carriage, also known as a tariff. The Montreal Convention specifically states at Article 26 that clauses that limit an airlines responsibilities are null and void. So if an airline responds to your claim by saying something like our contract states that no compensation is owed for flight delays, thats an incorrect application of the law.

Maximum Compensation

Special Drawing Rights (SDR) is a monetary reserve currency, or a basket of currencies, established by the International Monetary Fund and used by the Montreal Convention. For each form of luggage compensation, for example, the airlines liability is capped at 5,346 SDR. 5,346 SDR is worth roughly $7,695 as of June 2021.

This limit is a hard cap. If your once-a-week flight is canceled and you incur $10,000 of hotel and meal expenses, the airline is only responsible to reimburse you up to $7,695.

You may also consider purchasing insurance if you want a higher level of protection for trip delay.

Timeline

If you experience a trip delay, you need to make a claim for damages within two years from the date which you arrived at your destination or from the date on which you were scheduled to arrive. This is a strict deadlineif you do not make a claim within two years, you forfeit your rights.

Its important to note that the two-year limitation period is if you choose to bring legal action against an airline. You should make a claim with the airline directly as soon as possible in order to amicably settle your claim without risking the expiration of the two-year period.

Domestic Flights

The Montreal Convention only applies to international trips. If your travel is wholly within the U.S., then domestic law applies. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation there are no federal laws that require airlines to compensate passengers for a trip delay. In these cases, the airlines contract of carriage will establish the rules for compensation. Most airlines post their contract of carriage directly on their website.

How to Enforce Your Rights

Your rights are clearly established by the Montreal Convention and there is little room for interpretation. You should make your claim with the airline as soon as possible.

Start by making your claim in writing with the airline that was responsible for the trip delay, including by email, fax, post or courier. Your claim should include copies of your flight itinerary, a brief explanation of what happened and an itemized list of damages. Finally, make sure you include receipts for all damageswhile not technically required, making a claim without them will be challenging.

If you dont get full compensation at first, escalate your complaint to a supervisor and make it clear that youre claiming your rights under Article 19 of the Montreal Convention.

If, after speaking with a supervisor, you are unable to resolve your claim, make a complaint with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) online. Airlines are required to acknowledge the complaint within 30 days and must respond in writing within 60 days. Valid claims are usually resolved at this stage since airlines are well-aware of their obligations.

Should the airline continue to reject your claim, the DOT may review your complaint and determine whether the airline broke the law and issue an enforcement action.

Bottom Line

When traveling internationally, your trip is likely protected for damages incurred due to delay by the Montreal Convention. There are strict rules requiring airlines to compensate you. In turn, you must file a claim in writing and on time. Compensation is limited to 5,346 SDR (~ $7,695), so consider purchasing insurance if you want protection for damages above that amount.
The Czech Republic and other East European NATO members are quietly donating hundreds of Russian helicopters, tanks, rocket launchers, rockets, artillery shells and other items of military equipment to Ukraine without providing many details. This forces Russia to guess who gave what and when, which is fine with Ukraine, where Western systems get most of the detailed publicity.

The Czech are apparently unloading their entire inventory of Russian Mi-35/24V armed transports as well as older Mi-8 and Mi-17 transports. All of these are basically the Mi-8, the Russian answer to the American UH-1, and both helicopters are still in production. The Czech Mi-8s are being replaced by eight newly built UH-1Y transports and four AH-1Z gunships. The AH-1 was the first helicopter gunship, which was basically a reconfigured UH-1. The Russians also used their Mi8 as the basis for their early gunships, but did so by just adding a lot of weapons and a fire control system to an M-8 and calling it an Mi-24 gunship. By the end of the 20th century, it was possible to simply add lots of weapons and a fire control system to an Mi-8 to create a really formidable armed transport while retaining much of the transport capability. This worked on the Mi-8 because it was larger and heavier than the UH-1. There were always a lot of AH-1 gunships, and in the 1980s, AH-64 gunships. In the American military the larger and more capable UH-60 began replacing UH-1s in the 1980s. That process was only completed in the last few years because there were a lot of jobs the elderly UH-1 were still quite capable of handling. For many countries the cheaper but updated UH-1 and AH-1 remain cost-effective.

The Mi-8 took on a number of different names over the years. The export model of the Mi-8 was the Mi-17 while the gunship version was the Mi-24 with the export model called the Mi-35. All of these were regularly upgraded over the decades and the latest gunship versions are Mi-24V and Mi-35M. which sell for $10 to15 million each. The Czechs received at least fourteen of the later Mi-24/35 models two decades ago from Russia to repay debts for non-military Czech exports to Russia. Some of these Mi-24/35s are still in service with the rest in storage. At least two active-duty Czech Mi-24Vs were spotted in Ukraine with the Czech air force markings painted over with Ukrainian identification.

The Ukrainians use most of the Czech-donated Russian Mi-8 type helicopters as transports. Helicopter gunships face a lot of hostile fire in combat zones and the Ukrainian need transports more than gunships. These helicopters can carry up to three tons of cargo or 24 passengers.

The Mi-24/35 gunship models still retain a lot of cargo/passenger space that can hold up to eight people, or four stretchers. The basic Mi-8 is a 12-ton helicopter with a reputation for reliability. Most have an availability rate of at least 70 percent. Without all the space and weight taken up by weapons and other accessories, the ability to carry up to three tons of cargo or 24 passengers on missions lasting up to two hours at speeds of up to 335 kilometers an hour is a valuable air transport asset.

In the last two decades Russia has developed and put into service gunships and transports similar to the AH-64 and UH-60. Despite that the modernized Mi-8 models are still the most effective transport helicopters for Russia and the more than 30 countries these older designs have been exported to. These exports continue, but at a reduced rate because of sanctions imposed on Russia after its 2014 attacks on Ukraine.
India is having major problems with its southern neighbor, the island state of Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan president, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, in office since 2019 has fled the country and found temporary refuge but not political asylum in Singapore. India would not grant asylum, in part because of the close ties Rajapaksa and his family have had with China. Rajapaksa literally ruined the Sri Lankan economy with a series of disastrous decisions that ended with economic collapse, national bankruptcy and massive protests against him and his government. He fled the country on July 13th after resigning earlier. It took a few days to find a country that would let him in.

Rajapaksa belongs to a prosperous Tamil family based in the capital. He joined the army as an officer cadet in 1971 and when the Tamil civil war broke out in 1983, he served with an infantry regiment, eventually becoming commander of one of its battalions. The Tamil insurrection seemed to be ending in 1990 and Rajapaksa took early retirement and enrolled at a local university to study computer science. That led to emigration to the United States for graduate studies, post graduate employment and U.S. citizenship. He returned to Sri Lanka in 2006 at the request of his older brother Mahinda, who was running for president. The older brother won and served until 2015, with Gotabaya as his Secretary of Defense. Gotabaya oversaw the end of the Talil civil war by 2009. The Tamils realized that Gotabaya was the key man in the government supervising the defeat of the rebels and made several attempts to assassinate him. One such attempt in 2006 almost succeeded, had not the car carrying the army commander swerved into the path of the Tamil suicide car bomber. The army commander and another officer died.

With the end of the civil war in 2008 Gotabaya shifted his efforts as a government minister to urban development. At the same time Gotabaya and Mahinda were on bad terms with the West over allegations they had won the civil war via the use of murder, deception and corruption. This led Gotabaya to renounce his U.S. citizenship, run for president of Sri Lanka in 2019 and win. These accusations of criminal behavior led Gotabaya to develop good relations with the Chinese as his relations with India and the West declined. Once he was president, he sharply cut taxes so that much of the government budget had to be covered with loans. When all the debts came due, China would not bail him out. This may have been because ten percent of the national debt was owed to China.

In another effort to regain solvency he banned many imports. A 2021 order halting imports of fertilizer and insecticides for famers, who were told to switch to organic farming, failed. Gotabaya had brought his older brother Mahinda into government as his prime minister, along with several cousins in lesser posts. Most of these kin quit as Gotabayas decisions destroyed the economy. Mahinda remained, trying to convince Gotabaya to change direction. Gotabaya was the first Sri Lankan elected to office with no previous elected office experience.

Sri Lanka continued to collapse and by 2022 there was not enough money to pay for all the imported fuel needed to keep the power plants operating full time. Unemployment was rising and so were popular protests that drove Gotabaya to resign on July 9th and discover that no nation would grant him political asylum. Sri Lanka is still a mess but the main cause of the catastrophe is gone. The solution is another matter. Sri Lanka now finds itself in a situation similar to that afflicting Pakistan; too much debt caused, in part, by Chinese investments. In both cases China is now being asked for more loans so that debt-crippled Sri Lanka and Pakistan can avoid further economic and political damage. The initial Chinese response was to offer some money but not nearly as much as was asked. A similar disaster has been developing in Pakistan for over a decade while normally prosperous and stable Sri Lanka became an economic disaster in a few years.

When Britain dissolved its Indian (including what is now Pakistan, Bangladesh, Burma and Sri Lanka) colonial government in 1947, the new nations that emerged were quite different and remain so, each in their own unique way. Sri Lanka, formerly Ceylon, is very distinct from India, with a native population that is 75 percent Sinhalese. This is an ethnic group similar to northern Indians but speaking a different language and using a different alphabet. Most Sinhalese are Buddhist while the Tamil minority is about 25 percent of the population. The Tamils originally came from Southern India (Tamil State) are Hindu (like most Indians) and generally appear and act differently than the Sinhalese. The two groups never got along well, in part because the Tamils got there first, about a thousand years before the Sinhalese showed up as part of the Central Asian Indo-European invasion of India. The Indian Tamils developed northern Ceylon, especially the coastal areas while the rest of the island remained sparsely populated by tribal groups. The Sinhalese went after the less populous and defended south but never absorbed the Tamil north. This was similar to what happened in India where the Tamils kept the Central-Asian invaders out of the south. After the British departure Ceylon was an independent state. Now known as Sri Lanka, its people became more prosperous, better educated and healthier than average Indians. Sri Lanka GDP per capita was nearly twice the Indian average.

Since the 1950s Sri Lanka developed tense relations with India because many Indians believed that Sri Lanka should have been part of post-British India. In response to that Sri Lanka developed better relations with the West and China to avoid being absorbed into India. Sri Lanka became the beneficiary of substantial Chinese economic and military aid over the last decade and has become very friendly with the Chinese. Sri Lanka received crucial military aid from China during the war with Tamil separatist rebels that began in the 1980s. The Tamils received a lot of aid from Tamils in southern India until they were finally defeated in 2009. India can't become too friendly with Sri Lanka without causing political problems with its own Tamils, many of whom still support the defeated Tamil rebels of Sri Lanka, where Tamils remain a troublesome minority.

Pakistan Meltdown

Pakistan continues to have major problems with its western neighbor; Afghanistan. Despite the unpredictable IEA (Islamic Emirate) government, some countries continue to send some aid. The best example of this is a rare Pakistani agreement with India that enables Indian food aid convoys, each carrying several thousand tons of wheat to enter Afghanistan at northwest Pakistans 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 refuse 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 for 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 current Islamic terrorist violence in Afghanistan is the work of ISK while the TTP maintains bases in Afghanistan from which they launch attacks inside Pakistan.

Technically the TTP has a ceasefire agreement with the Pakistani military, which is seeking to work out a real peace deal with the TTP. These negotiations are stalemated because the TTP is willing to halt their war to establish an Islamic dictatorship in Pakistan if Pakistan agrees to autonomy for the tribal territories and pays compensation for damage the Pakistani army did after 2014 remove Islamic terrorists from the tribal territories. To maintain its shaky ceasefire with TTP, the army pretends the TTP attacks on soldiers and border guards in Pakistan are the work of other Islamic terrorist groups based in Afghanistan. These include Al Qaeda and ISIL groups.

The TTP is the least of the armys problems. The survival of the current military leadership depends on finding a way out of the current economic crisis in Pakistan. The country is bankrupt and foreign lenders are unwilling to provide much help until Pakistan does something about its armed forces. The generals have demanded, or strongly encouraged the elected government to provide the military with more money than the economy could sustain. The deficits were made up with loans. Accumulate too much of that debt and you find yourself in major trouble that often becomes a civil war between the military and supporters of democracy. Burma had a similar problem with its military while India and Sri Lanka did not, India made sure that the feudal landowners and military leaders could not get out of control. The post-British Indian government bought out the feudal landlords and outlawed any efforts to rebuild such enormous family land ownership. The new Indian government was organized with rules prohibiting retired officers from serving as senior government officials, especially in the defense ministry. This worked in Sri Lanka and India but failed to take hold in Pakistan and Burma. Too much political power for the military eventually causes economic collapse and chaos, or the very real threat of a disaster.

July 23, 2022: In northwest Pakistan (North Waziristan) soldiers clashed twice with Islamic terrorists, killing three terrorists and wounding several others. One the wounded terrorists was captured and identified as a leader in the Hafiz Gul Bahadar faction of the TTP. The Bahadar faction is, like many TTP factions, more inclined to operate independently, often contrary to orders from TTP leadership. In contrast the Afghan Taliban was always more disciplined because they were dependent on the Pakistani military for and other essential aid. This included cash payments from the Afghan heroin cartels that also depend on the Pakistani military for essential supplies and services. The Afghan Taliban help protect cartel operations inside Afghanistan. Now that the Afghan Taliban once more, after 20 years in exile, control the Afghan government they find they have a lot in common with the TTP. Both Talibans see the Pakistani military as the enemy and that is causing major problems for the Pakistani military and Pakistan as a whole.

July 15, 2022: In southwest Pakistan (Baluchistan) Baluchi separatists who had kidnapped an army colonel and his young cousin, were tracked to their rural camp by army commandos and attacked. Nine Islamic terrorists were killed along with one soldier. Two days earlier the army was pursuing a group of the Islamic terrorists moving the colonel to another location. The Islamic terrorists escaped after killing the colonel with a shot to the head.

July 13, 2022: In northwest Pakistan (North Waziristan) soldiers clashed with Islamic terrorists in two different locations. Ten Islamic terrorists were killed as well as one soldier.

July 11, 2022: In eastern India (Bihar State) a commando battalion of the para-military CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) deployed to eliminate leftist rebel activity seized many cached Maoist bombs, bomb making materials and weapons but no Maoists rebels. The Maoists have been under constant attack in Bihar for two decades and in 2016 suffered major defeats. The political reforms had eliminated most of the popular in Bihar and since the CRPF operations against the Maoists have been more police work than violent encounters. At this point apparently all that is left is caches of material hidden by Maoists who were killed, captured or surrendered. In nearly a week of searching, often based on information provided by Maoists who had surrendered, 612 bombs, 495 detonators, some assault rifles and ammunition were found. Bihar State is one of the eastern India states that destroyed the Maoist rebel presence with political reforms in addition to CRPF activity. The Maoists were often armed and attacked government officials and CRPF forces as well as civilians who wound not cooperate with them. This left nearly 9,000 local civilians dead since 2000. That violence declined sharply after 2016.

The CRPF forces were the key to defeating the armed Maoists. This was something the CRPF had been doing since colonial times. Founded in 1939, and retained when India became independent in 1947, by 2010 the CRPF had nearly 200,000 personnel. It deployed over 70 battalions of para-military police back then, including seven rapid action battalions that could be quickly sent to any part of the country to deal with outbreaks of violence. The CRPF is heavily involved in fighting Maoists. Since 2010 the CRPF has been expanded 50 percent with 12 if the 17 new battalions (of about 1,100 men each) going to eastern India for use against Maoist rebels. This campaign has been successful because the CRPF now had enough personnel to clear Maoist groups out of most rural areas where the leftists had become a dominant factor in local affairs and increasingly unpopular. But the CRPF is criticized for not being able to finish the job and that is often because there was not enough political reform, and support, in the Indian state where they operated. India is a federation of 28 states and eight territories administered by the central government. The states resist interference by the central government that means large differences between how states are governed. This has caused problems with establishing nationwide standards for counter-terrorism efforts, against both Islamic terrorists, tribal separatists and leftist (Maoist) rebels. As a result, each state implemented different solutions. Bihar State has a population of 104 million, much of it rural and poor. Bihar contains about 7.5 percent of the national population but the per-capita GDP is about half of the national average.

July 10, 2022: In Pakistan the self-inflicted economic crisis has caused Chinese firms to leave or cancel plans to move some of their operations to Pakistan to take advantage of lower labor costs. The lack of security for foreign firms as well as the growing corruption made Pakistan an increasingly risky area to set up manufacturing operations.

July 9, 2022: Ukrainian president Zelensky fired the Ukrainian ambassadors to India, Germany, Czech Republic, Norway and Hungary. Replacements were not immediately announced. Zelensky was dissatisfied with Ukrainian diplomatic efforts to obtain more foreign support for the fight against the invading Russians and Russian efforts to evade economic sanctions. For example, Russia and China have already organized a method for conducting trade in Russian rubles and Chinese yuan. A few other nations are willing to join this network, but none of them can help with the Russian airliner spare parts problem. China sees the situation as a useful and low risk challenge while for Russia it's more a matter of life and death for airline passengers facing lower flight safety levels and Russian officials responsible for the war crimes in Ukraine. Substitute spares can keep the airliners flying for a year or so but then the need for more difficult to counterfeit components will make this massive improvisation more difficult and unsafe. China is involved but Russia is committed to making this work and willing to risk lives to make it happen.

June 30, 2022: In Pakistan problems with the TTP and other separatist or Islamic terror groups have been causing more casualties this year compared to 2021. At the moment it appears that Pakistan will suffer twice as many terrorism related deaths in 2022 and that trend is largely because of the new Taliban government in Afghanistan which was supposed further reduce terrorism activity in Pakistan. In contrast, India is trending in the other direction and expecting a slight reduction in 2022.

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 northwest Pakistan (North Waziristan) Islamic terrorists based across the border in Afghanistan (Khost province) clashed with a Pakistani troops. Two soldiers and seven terrorists were killed. The Islamic terrorists were probably TTP but the Pakistan military preferred to just describe the enemy as Islamic terrorists. 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 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.
Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) are up about 1% after the soft-drinks maker delivered strong Q2 results and hiked its full-year forecast. Bernstein called the report another absolute blockbuster.

KO reported an EPS of $0.70 to top the estimate of $0.67. Adjusted revenue was reported at $11.3 billion to easily top the $10.56 billion expected. Coca-Cola saw its organic revenue soar +16% to smash the analyst consensus of +8.19%

Following the strong Q2 results, KO hiked its organic revenue growth guidance for the full year to +12% to +13%, up from the prior outlook that was calling for +7% to +8%. Analysts were expecting growth of 10.3%. The company also reiterated its EPS guidance of rising 5-6%.

Our results this quarter reflect the agility of our business, the strength of our streamlined portfolio of brands, and the actions weve taken to execute for growth in the face of challenges in the operating and macroeconomic environment, said James Quincey, Chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company.

KO also said it expects to suffer a 1% to 2% impact on net revenues and operating income on a full-year basis from the conflict in Ukraine and the decision to suspend its business in Russia. It also sees a $0.03 impact on comparable EPS.

Bernstein analyst Callum Elliott described the Q2 results as another absolute blockbuster of a quarter.

Over the past couple of weeks, KO has faced fears over FX headwinds, and a supposedly "high-bar" after strong a strong PEP Q2 raised expectations. Much like Armand "Mondo" Duplantis, who continues to smash pole vault world records, Coke has flown well clear of this bar today. This is another absolute blockbuster of a quarter, with +16% organic revenue growth despite a 4%pt headwind from timing of shipments, making Pepsi's outstanding Q2 numbers look somewhat pedestrian, Elliott told clients in a note.

The analyst continues to see KO stock as somewhat of a safe-haven in these stormy times, and we think the stock should do well, relatively, today.

Goldman Sachs analyst Bonnie Herzog also reflected positively, although in a less enthusiastic manner compared to his Bernstein colleague.

Investor expectations for KO heading into results today were high, and KO's Q2 print likely exceeded expectations on the topline, but given margin pressures, the bottom line results were likely softer than expected (~$0.04 EPS beat). All in, we expect investors may have a mixed reaction to KO's results today as topline expectations for 2H need to come up but will be offset by increasing cost pressures as well as FX, Herzog wrote in a client note.

By Senad Karaahmetovic
CAIRO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Celfocus has selected Advansys ESC to support the setup of a new Delivery Centre in Egypt. This Delivery Centre is an extension of Celfocus delivery of high-tech system integration services in the digital and cognitive space, with a focus on the MENA region.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220726005742/en/

Advansys ESC-Celfocus-MEA Delivery center (Photo: AETOSWire)

Advansys ESC will support Celfocus Delivery Centre by bringing together diverse and specialized teams with various profiles and backgrounds, seniority levels, and proven experience in state-of-the-art technologies such as React, Java, API, Web methods, SQL, Oracle, CICD, microservices and Automation. With Advansys ESCs strong capabilities in providing highly skilled specialists in various business sectors, through their set of best practices for different engagement models that enable teams to perfectly integrate this Delivery Center in Egypt, Celfocus will continue to develop solutions that deliver meaningful experiences for their clients.

Advansys ESCs Strategic Outsourcing services will enable us to create our engineering center in MEA by bringing together diversified teams with expertise in different skills, seniority levels and industries helping us to offer a more customer-centric experience while simplifying our operational model in the area for better results, says Alvaro Ferreira, Executive Director at Celfocus.

Advansys ESC is always persistent in its footsteps towards partnering with Multinational Organizations and Corporates hence we are glad to be providing our strategic outsourcing services to a global technology player as Celfocus. And we will be harnessing our expertise and capabilities in delivering a bespoke delivery center that helps Celfocus deliver great customer experience and seize more business opportunities, says Ahmed El Moghazy, CEO at Advansys ESC.

This is a significant project for us that underlines our expertise in Strategic Outsourcing through different engagement models. We are excited to help Celfocus to establish their engineering software center in Egypt which will be covering different SW Development projects & Services which will be helping in bridging the Digital-Deviance in MEA, says Sharaf El-Din Mohamed, Director of Strategic Outsourcing at Advansys ESC.

About Celfocus:

Celfocus delivers high-tech system integration services in the digital and cognitive space as a Technology company, accelerates Product & Service innovation, by promoting innovative digital capabilities and delivering business value in the most complex critical challenges. The main offers are centered on three pillars: Digital Transformation, Cognitive and Network Automation, focusing on business efficiency and customer experience.

Founded in 2000, Celfocus is fully owned by Novabase, the largest Portuguese Information Technology Company, listed on the Euronext Lisbon Stock Exchange. Celfocus was initially a joint venture between Novabase and Vodafone Portugal.

About Advansys:

Advansys ESC is a dynamic international solutions provider, passionate about building smart, modular, comprehensive, and sustainable solutions for todays world of business. We resolve problems, improve operations, and enhance customer experience through technology. we constantly help our clients find smarter ways to perform business and modernize the way they work by offering tailored solutions in different areas as strategic outsourcing, business automation, digital transformation, and industrial automation.

LinkedIn

*Source: AETOSWire

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220726005742/en/

Marwa Mamdouh, +201225115355

Source: Advansys ESC
Partnership will strengthen NEORIS digital transformation services and international presence

CEMEX to remain a key strategic partner and customer of NEORIS, supporting CEMEX's efforts to provide a superior customer experience enabled by digital technologies

Under the new partnership, Advent will hold a majority stake in Neoris

MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- CEMEX, S.A.B. de C.V. (CEMEX) and Advent International (Advent) announced today that Advent, one of the largest and most experienced global private equity investors, will partner with CEMEX to accelerate the growth and development of NEORIS. As a global provider of tech consultancy and digital transformation services, NEORIS will strengthen its capabilities and reach through Advents expertise in the space.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220726005274/en/

Neoris offices - Miami, Florida. (Photo: Business Wire)

With Advents support, NEORIS will deepen its focus on cutting-edge, high-growth verticals such as artificial intelligence, data science, cloud solutions, and automation, among others. These verticals are aligned with CEMEXs priorities for its continued digital transformation. NEORIS will also continue focusing on strategic industries such as financial services, telecommunications, media, manufacturing, retail, and consumer packaged goods, among others.

We are thrilled to become shareholders of NEORIS. The technological sector is growing fast and has relevant tailwinds for this to continue going forward, as companies of all sizes embark on the digital transformation journey. We are excited to be part of a leading business in the sector such as NEORIS, says Juan Pablo Zucchini, Managing Partner of Advent.

We are excited that Advent is investing in NEORIS, launching the next stage of a journey that started two decades ago, says Luis Hernandez, Executive Vice President of Digital and Organization Development at CEMEX. CEMEX remains committed to leveraging digital technology to spearhead the evolution of the building materials industry. This partnership strengthens NEORIS and its role as a strategic ally for us.

Founded over 20 years ago, NEORIS has successfully executed over 1,200 large-scale projects for more than 350 blue chip clients. It currently has more than 5,000 employees located in 14 countries in Latin America, USA, and Europe, working under a nearshore delivery model.

We are delighted to partner with NEORIS and CEMEX. NEORIS provides a phenomenal value proposition to its ever-growing customer base. We look forward to working together in this new phase of accelerated growth and further internationalization, says Ariel Blumenkranc, Managing Director of Advent in Mexico.

"This is excellent news and a great opportunity to propel our growth strategy," says Martin Mendez, CEO of NEORIS. "The arrival of Advent is a reflection of our success, which we could not have achieved without the support of CEMEX, our 5,000 employees, and our customers. Our achievements and strategy have benefited from our management teams deep understanding of digital trends, industries, and markets. We look forward to collaborating with Advent to grow the business further and taking full advantage of the tailwinds of the technology space. We also look forward to bringing new ideas and our expertise to our ongoing relationship with CEMEX."

As part of the creation of the partnership, Advent will acquire from CEMEX a 65% stake in NEORIS. CEMEX will retain a 35% stake and remain as a key strategic partner and customer of NEORIS, supporting CEMEXs efforts to provide a superior customer experience enabled by digital technologies.

Subject to satisfaction of closing conditions, including approvals from antitrust authorities, Advent and CEMEX expect to finalize the transaction during the second half of 2022.

About NEORIS

NEORIS, founded by CEMEX, is a digital accelerator and business partner to some of the largest companies in the world. It has provided tech consulting services for over 20 years and serves clients across the globe. NEORIS has successfully executed over 1,200 large-scale projects for more than 350 clients. It provides services in 14 countries, plus delivery centers and innovation labs staffed with some of the best minds in the industry working hard to create the future of business.

About Advent International

Founded in 1984, Advent International is one of the largest and most experienced global private equity investors. The firm has invested in over 390 private equity investments across 41 countries, and as of March 31, 2022, had $75.9 billion in assets under management. With 15 offices in 12 countries, Advent has established a globally integrated team of over 265 private equity investment professionals across North America, Europe, Latin America and Asia. The firm focuses on investments in five core sectors, including business and financial services; health care; industrial; retail, consumer and leisure; and technology. For over 35 years, Advent has been dedicated to international investing and remains committed to partnering with management teams to deliver sustained revenue and earnings growth for its portfolio companies.

For more information, visit:

Website: www.adventinternational.com

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/advent-international

About CEMEX

CEMEX (NYSE: CX) is a global construction materials company that is building a better future through sustainable products and solutions. CEMEX is committed to achieving carbon neutrality through relentless innovation and industry-leading research and development. CEMEX is at the forefront of the circular economy in the construction value chain and is pioneering ways to increase the use of waste and residues as alternative raw materials and fuels in its operations with the use of new technologies. CEMEX offers cement, ready-mix concrete, aggregates, and urbanization solutions in growing markets around the world, powered by a multinational workforce focused on providing a superior customer experience, enabled by digital technologies. For more information, please visit: www.cemex.com

CEMEX assumes no obligation to update or correct the information contained in this press release. This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. federal securities laws. CEMEX intends these forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements in the U.S. federal securities laws. These forward-looking statements reflect CEMEXs current expectations and projections about future events based on CEMEXs knowledge of present facts and circumstances and assumptions about future events, as well as CEMEXs current plans based on such facts and circumstances. These statements necessarily involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from CEMEXs expectations, including the announced divestment to not close or that NEORIS does not develop as expected. The content of this press release is for informational purposes only, and you should not construe any such information or other material as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. CEMEX is not responsible for the content of any third-party website or webpage referenced to or accessible through this press release.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220726005274/en/

NEORIS US MEDIA CONTACT:

Deborah Hartmann, Newlink (USA)

Tel: +1 786 678 2249

Email: [email protected]

Source: NEORIS
Scores of housing Advocates to testify at Wednesdays (July 27) Los Angeles City Council Meeting to urge City Council to preserve the citys single room occupancy buildings (SROs) as future affordable housing

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- A platoon of housing advocates affiliated with AHF and its housing advocacy division, Housing Is A Human Right (HHR), will attend and testify at this Wednesdays Los Angeles City Council meeting (July 27, meeting commences at 10:00 a.m.). The advocates will urge City Council Members and other city officials to do what it takes to preserve the citys supply of single room occupancy buildings (SROs) as future affordable housing at a time when the L.A. homeless crisis continues to escalate.

What: AFFORDABLE & HOMELESS HOUSING ADVOCATES TO TESTIFY @ L.A. CITY COUNCIL MEETING URGING COUNCILMEMBERS TO: SOS!  Save Our SROs! Where: Los Angeles City Hall (Council Chambers) 200 N Spring St, Los Angeles, CA 90012 When: Wednesday, July 27, 2022   Housing advocates start to gather starting at 8:30 a.m., Council Meeting begins at 10:00 a.m.

We will be pressing the city to preserve Los Angeles single room occupancy buildings and to stop allowing owners to leave them in disrepair or vacant for years and to also stop developers from demolishing or converting these properties into luxury units, said Susie Shannon, policy director for Housing Is A Human Right. The affordable housing crisis in the city of Los Angeles is only getting worse. SROs are a much-needed resource to combat homelessness, as the buildings allow very low-income, single, homeless individuals the opportunity to obtain adequate housing. City Council should use its powers to help preserve SROs like the Morrison, the Holland and others and to do more to get hotels like the Cecilwith 601 rooms, but only about 60 currently filledfully leased-up as housing for those in need.

AHF/Housing Is A Human Right Housing Ads in the L.A. Times

As part of its developing SOS! advocacy campaign (Save Our SROs!), AHF and Housing Is A Human Right have run a series of ads in the Los Angeles Times over the past month. These include ads headlined: City Hall: Save LAs SROs (June 26, 2022); City Hall: Save the Morrison! (July 3, 2022) and City Hall: Save the Holland (July 10, 2022) and most recently, S.O.S. - Save Our SROs (July 24, 2022).

Since 2017, AHF through its Healthy Housing Foundation (HHF) has purchased, restored, and re-occupied a total of 13 single room occupancy buildings, totaling 1,405 rooms at a low cost, conclusively providing everyday Angelinos with the access to desperately needed affordable housing for the city of Los Angeles.

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest global AIDS organization, currently provides medical care and/or services to over 1.6 million individuals in 45 countries worldwide in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region and Eastern Europe. To learn more about AHF, please visit our website: www.aidshealth.org, find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/aidshealth, follow us @aidshealthcare or subscribe to our AHF podcast AHFter Hours.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220726006158/en/

MEDIA CONTACT:

Lauren Hogan, Associate Director, Communications for AHF, +1.310.940.0802 cell, [email protected]

Source: Housing Is A Human Right
Enabling continued development and expansion of its advanced climate tech offering for commercial real estate

MONTREAL--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- BrainBox AI, a leader in autonomous building technology, today announced the close of its Series A fundraise at $30M USD to further expand its global footprint and impact across the built environment. The Series A round, led by ABB in the first close last October, concludes with a $3.5M USD investment from Export Development Canada (EDC), Canadas export credit agency dedicated to helping Canadian companies of all sizes succeed on the world stage.

Ensuring Canadian businesses can reach global markets is vital for their success and for Canadas economic future. This partnership between our government and BrainBox AI will ensure they can further export their artificial intelligence cleantech solution. Through this investment, BrainBox AI will enable more commercial buildings around the world to intelligently reduce their carbon emissions footprint by up to 40%. - The Honourable Francois-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science, and Industry.

Since BrainBox AIs launch in 2019, its ground-breaking artificial intelligence technology for the built environment has been installed in over 100 million square feet of commercial building space, in 70 cities and over 20 countries worldwide. At the most recent United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, the company was selected as winner of the Tech for Our Planet Challenge, for innovative climate tech solutions. BrainBox AI creates value with savings in energy costs of up to 25%, up to 40% reduction in carbon footprint and improved occupant comfort for commercial real estate owners.

Just this year, BrainBox AI has been installed in over 180 new buildings and 5 additional countries, with expansion into major cities around the world, including New York City and Milan. Most recently, BrainBox AI announced its partnership with SAIL Outdoors, a leading Canadian outdoor equipment retailer, to deploy its new AI-driven smart thermostat for multi-site retail offering across its entire nation-wide portfolio.

Our government is committed to reaching carbon neutrality within the decade, including through the kind of partnerships like the one we are celebrating today. Not only is BrainBox AI helping commercial buildings across Canada cut emissions, but through this investment, they will be able to export this technology around the world. This will see them reach new heights while bringing game-changing clean technology to a carbon-intensive industry. A great example of the economy and the environment working hand-in-hand as Canadian businesses scale up and access new markets.  The Honourable Mary Ng, Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business and Economic Development.

The world requires new solutions that will support the global energy transition and greater emissions reductions, and BrainBox AI is an excellent example of a Canadian company driving cleantech innovation in the commercial real estate sector, said Guillermo Freire, Senior-Vice President, Mid-Market, and responsible for EDCs cleantech practice. We are pleased to join forces with other investors to support BrainBox AI through our Investment Matching Program, which will help the company expand in key markets in Europe, the Asia-Pacific and the Middle East.

With the official close of our Series A fundraise, were thrilled to be working with investors that share our vision of providing a meaningful solution to decrease countries reliance on natural gas, said Sam Ramadori, CEO, BrainBox AI. This raise will go towards technological development and fueling our international growth, especially in Europe, a region that is actively looking for technologies to aide in its clean energy transition. As the energy industry continues to change, we are constantly innovating in order to provide the required demand flexibility via AI-enabled grid interactive buildings.

About BrainBox AI

Founded in 2017, BrainBox AI was created to address the dilemma currently facing the built environment, its energy consumption, and significant contribution to climate change. As innovators of the global energy transition, BrainBox AIs game-changing HVAC technology leverages AI to make buildings smarter, greener and more efficient. Working together with our trusted global partners, BrainBox AI supports real estate clients in various sectors, including office buildings, hotels, commercial retail, grocery stores, airports and more.

Headquartered in Montreal, Canada, a global AI hub, our workforce of over 150 employees, bring with them talent from all sectors with the common thread of being in business to heal our planet.

BrainBox AI works in collaboration with research partners including the US Department of Energys National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the Institute for Data Valorization (IVADO) as well as educational institutions including Montreals Institute for Learning Algorithms (MILA) and McGill University.

Learn more about BrainBox AI.

About Export Development Canada

Export Development Canada (EDC) is a financial Crown corporation dedicated to helping Canadian businesses make an impact at home and abroad. EDC has the financial products and knowledge Canadian companies need to confidently enter new markets, reduce financial risk and grow their business as they go from local to global. Together, EDC and Canadian companies are building a more prosperous, stronger and sustainable economy for all Canadians.

For more information and to learn how we can help your company, call us at 1-800-229-0575 or visit www.edc.ca.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220725005939/en/

BrainBox AI

Rebecca Bender

Montieth & Company

[email protected]

EDC Media Contact

Media

Export Development Canada

1-888-222-4065

[email protected]

Source: BrainBox AI
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The Church Pension Group (CPG), a financial services organization that serves The Episcopal Church, shared demographic insights about Episcopal clergy via a webinar (www.cpg.org/clergytrends) that was presented by its Research & Data team last week. The research was collected in response to several resolutions passed by the 79th General Convention of The Episcopal Church.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220725005810/en/

The Church Pension Group (CPG), a financial services organization that serves The Episcopal Church, shared demographic insights about Episcopal clergy via a webinar (www.cpg.org/clergytrends) that was presented by its Research & Data team last week. The research was collected in response to several resolutions passed by the 79th General Convention of The Episcopal Church. (Photo: Business Wire)

This research shines a light on the evolving demographics of Episcopal clergy, said Matthew J. Price, PhD, Senior Vice President, Research & Data at CPG. Some of the results were expected, but some were a surprise to usand may surprise others as well."

The Rev. Alistair So-Schoos, Data Scientist, Research & Data at CPG, added, Our findings offer insights into the trends in ordination, deployment, and compensation that could inform the Churchs discussion of diversity, equity and inclusion. I encourage anyone who has an interest in the diversity of the Churchs clergy to view our webinar to learn more.

Among the key findings:

Episcopal clergy are gradually becoming more diverse, in particular with respect to sexual orientation.

There has been a significant increase in the number of female bishops over the past five years.

Clergy of color are disproportionately represented at higher and lower compensation ranges.

Clergy of color and LGBTQ+ clergy are more likely to serve outside the parish than white heterosexual clergy.

The path to becoming a bishop can differ by race/ethnicity.

Compensation is higher for male clergy than female clergy.

CPG has hosted several webinars to share information about its work, to collect feedback, and to discuss topics of interest to the Church. Individuals are encouraged to view past webinars with senior leaders of CPG and its Board of Trustees who have engaged in conversations on topics ranging from pension parity to racial reconciliation and socially responsible investing. Past webinars can be viewed on CPGs YouTube channel.

About the Church Pension Group

The Church Pension Group (CPG) is a financial services organization that serves The Episcopal Church. It maintains three lines of businessbenefits, insurance, and publishing. CPG provides retirement, health, life insurance, and related benefits for clergy and lay employees of The Episcopal Church, as well as property and casualty insurance and book and music publishing, including the official worship materials of the Church. Follow CPG on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and LinkedIn. cpg.org

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220725005810/en/

Media:

C. Curtis Ritter

Senior Vice President

Head of Corporate Communications

(212) 592-1816

[email protected]

Source: The Church Pension Group
Ameresco will upgrade more than 77,000 of all citywide streetlights from high pressure sodium luminaires to LED fixtures

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. & MEMPHIS, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Ameresco, Inc., (NYSE: AMRC), a leading cleantech integrator specializing in energy efficiency and renewable energy, today announced its partnership with the City of Memphis and Memphis Light, Gas and Water (MLGW) to lead a comprehensive LED streetlighting, controls and networking project designed to reduce energy costs citywide and enhance operations and maintenance capabilities with the upgrade of over 77,000 fixtures to LED.

In addition to providing improved illumination, enhanced safety and reduced maintenance needs, the project is expected to result in annual energy savings of more than 37 million kWh and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 26,000 metric tons. The resulting energy and operating cost savings will allow the project to pay for itself over the life of the system. Updated luminaires will be fully controllable through remote monitoring on a secure network capable of additional smart city applications. The City of Memphis aims to significantly reduce its carbon emissions, while simultaneously improving both streetscape and nighttime visibility in a cost-effective and energy-efficient manner through the completion of this project.

Additionally, throughout the construction process, local residents from Memphis and the surrounding communities will be employed to participate in the construction of the streetlighting upgrades. By working in conjunction with the community, Ameresco hopes to exceed Memphiss goals for MWBE participation for job creation and workforce development and create lasting opportunities for residents that extend beyond the project term.

"We are now almost ready to begin converting all 77,000 streetlights across our city to LED bulbs. By doing this, we will be bringing significantly improved lighting to every neighborhood in Memphis, Mayor Jim Strickland said. As I stated in my State of the City last year, no longer will criminals have a safe harbor to operate under cover of darkness and prey on our citizens in dimly lit parts of the City. Im pleased this much-needed project will be starting soon.

MLGW is pleased to work with the City of Memphis and Ameresco to upgrade MLGWs streetlighting system within the City of Memphis to provide enhanced lighting, substantial energy savings, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, and lower maintenance costs, said J.T. Young, President and CEO, Memphis Light, Gas and Water.

As the leading Energy Services Company (ESCO) provider of LED streetlighting conversions and the largest non-utility purchaser of LED streetlights, Ameresco brings national streetlighting and controls experience to the project. In total, Ameresco has experience developing projects for and converting more than 800,000 streetlights to LED light sources, of which over 50% are controlled by a lighting management system.

Our experience leading complex streetlighting modernization projects with some of the largest cities in the U.S., like Chicago and Phoenix, has prepared us well for our work with the City of Memphis, said Louis P. Maltezos, Executive Vice President, Ameresco. Our goal is to outfit the city with state-of-the-art solutions that will greatly reduce light pollution and ensure a cleaner, safer and healthier future for all Memphis residents.

Construction is expected to begin in Fall 2022 and reach completion by Fall 2023.

To learn more about the smart cities solutions offered by Ameresco, visit https://www.ameresco.com/smart-cities/.

About Ameresco, Inc.

Founded in 2000, Ameresco, Inc. (NYSE: AMRC) is a leading cleantech integrator and renewable energy asset developer, owner and operator. Our comprehensive portfolio includes energy efficiency, infrastructure upgrades, asset sustainability and renewable energy solutions delivered to clients throughout North America and the United Kingdom. Amerescos sustainability services in support of clients pursuit of Net Zero include upgrades to a facilitys energy infrastructure and the development, construction, and operation of distributed energy resources. Ameresco has successfully completed energy saving, environmentally responsible projects with Federal, state and local governments, healthcare and educational institutions, housing authorities, and commercial and industrial customers. With its corporate headquarters in Framingham, MA, Ameresco has more than 1,000 employees providing local expertise in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit www.ameresco.com.

About City of Memphis

The City of Memphis, founded in 1819 and incorporated in 1826 is the second largest city in Tennessee and the 28th-largest city in the United States in terms of population. For more information, visit https://www.memphistn.gov/.

About Memphis Light, Gas and Water

Memphis Light, Gas and Water is the largest three-service public power utility in the nation, serving more than 439,000 customers in Memphis and Shelby County.

The announcement of an award of a customers project contract is not necessarily indicative of the timing or amount of revenue from such award, of the companys overall revenue for any particular period or of trends in the companys overall total project backlog. This project was included in our previously reported awarded backlog as of March 31, 2022.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220726005922/en/

Media:

Ameresco: Leila Dillon, 508-661-2264, [email protected]

City of Memphis: Arlenia Cole, 901-569-1971, [email protected]

Source: Ameresco, Inc.
e-Mission Control has debuted a new website that combines enhanced features, design, and functionality.

SACRAMENTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- A visit to www. e-missioncontrol.com now reveals a completely new online experience. The new e-Mission Control (eMC) website project was led by Colleen Harrison, e-Mission Controls Head of Marketing. We put months of effort into this project to bring our partners, prospects and people interested in clean fuel programs the most informative, useful, and user-friendly site possible, said Colleen.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220726005952/en/

e-missioncontrol.com home page on their new site. (Photo: Business Wire)

Brand new features on the e-Mission Control website include information about active and pending clean fuel programs, qualifying electric equipment and vehicles, and incentive calculators for multiple state programs spanning a wide range of electric equipment. The new website also features a robust FAQ section with over 30 new questions and answers about clean fuel program enrollment, participation, and management. Lastly, the new site features expanded blog entries including regulation updates, funding resources, industry events, and partner spotlights.

The partner spotlight is becoming one of my favorite parts of the new site. This gives us the opportunity to highlight some of our forward-thinking partners and their sustainability programs, remarked Colleen.

For existing partners, the new website still allows easy access to My-eMC, e-Mission Controls SaaS platform designed for seamless clean fuel program management. As programs like Californias LCFS and Oregons CFP come online in other states, the new website was built with the flexibility to easily accommodate and promote participation in those programs.

About e-Mission Control

e-Mission Control is a SaaS company that designs, manages, and executes electricity consumption data platforms and services for forward-thinking on- and off-road vehicle fleet operators. With a specific focus on clean fuel programs in California, Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia, e-Mission Control partners with owners and operators of zero-emission vehicles and equipment at airports, seaports, retailers, grocers, manufacturers, campuses, distribution facilities, municipalities, and many others along the West Coast and beyond. For more information, please visit www.e-missioncontrol.com

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220726005952/en/

Colleen Harrison

Telephone:(916) 261-6483

Email: [email protected]

Source: e-Mission Control
Researcher, policymaker and strategist promoted to new role to advance the Foundations impact

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Eastern Bank Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Boston-based Eastern Bank, is pleased to announce the promotion of Turahn Dorsey to Chief Impact Officer, a newly created role focused on advancing the Foundations impact across the communities it serves in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island. For over 25 years, Mr. Dorsey has been leading and supporting civic change and building collaborative solutions as an evaluator, grant maker, strategist and public official focused on reform and innovation at the intersections of education, health, housing and economic development in Boston and across the U.S.

With more than $250 million in assets and annual donations of more than $14 million, the Eastern Bank Foundation is seizing this moment to advance our focus on addressing economic inclusion and mobility while continuing to support more than 1,000 local non-profit organizations on a wide variety of social needs during a time of unprecedented need, said Nancy Huntington Stager, President and CEO of the Eastern Bank Foundation. Rahn Dorsey is a transformational leader with comprehensive experience and knowledge across the issues of importance to the Foundation. His track record of effective leadership, recognized community impact, and multi-layered perspectives in philanthropy, corporate volunteerism and public advocacy, combined with his firsthand familiarity of our organization as a Foundation Fellow, will continue to serve us exceptionally well. We are excited to benefit from his leadership and congratulate him on his well-deserved promotion.

The Chief Impact Officer will play a key leadership role in advancing the Foundations approaches to economic mobility and inclusion, as well as guide efforts in measurement, evaluation and learning.

From 2014 to 2018, Mr. Dorsey was the Chief of Education for the City of Boston and prior to that, served as Evaluation Director and Education Program Officer at the Barr Foundation where his responsibilities included developing and leading the evaluation practices for the Foundations education and climate change portfolios. He was also deeply involved in programs supporting youth, including co-founding the Opportunity Youth Collaborative and co-designing Bostons nation-leading Summer Learning System. As Bostons Chief of Education, Mr. Dorsey co-led the creation of the Citys Universal Pre-K system as well as the first phase of the Boston Public Schools facilities master planning process, which led to $200 million in school improvement investments. He also led the redesign of the City of Bostons college scholarship program and co-created the Family-Led Stability Pilot focused on ending homelessness among Boston Public Schools families. Prior to these roles, Mr. Dorsey was a program evaluator and researcher at Abt Associates and Moore and Associates where he led research projects spanning public policy and community change issues for government entities and foundations.

Most recently, Mr. Dorsey served as an Eastern Bank Foundation Fellow where he developed and executed strategies to improve early childhood outcomes in the region. In addition, he is currently dedicated to projects expanding economic opportunity in Bostons Nubian Square, co-developing the Jazz Urbane Cafe, a state-of-the-art arts and restaurant venue, and as Chair of the Board at Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology, partnering with college leadership to build a new headquarters in Roxbury. Mr. Dorsey will initially ramp up in his Chief Impact Officer role with the Eastern Bank Foundation on a part-time basis, while he continues to deliver on his current commitments serving the Roxbury community.

In my time at Eastern, Ive learned that Join Us for Good is far more than a slogan. It is an expectation of civic leadership and partnership that the organization aspires to live up to every day across the communities it serves. The Eastern Bank Foundation delivers on this expectation by operating in a community-centered way, encouraging shared learning and collaborative problem-solving. I am excited to help lead the Foundations team and to work with our many community partners to ensure that the places we call home are places where all who live and work there can thrive and prosper, said Turahn Dorsey.

About Eastern Bank Foundation

Created in 1994, the Eastern Bank Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Boston-based Eastern Bank. Through philanthropy, employee volunteerism, advocacy and collaborations with other businesses and community partners, Eastern Bank Foundation responds to community needs and supports sustainable solutions to our communities most vexing challenges across eastern Massachusetts, southern and coastal New Hampshire, and Rhode Island. To learn more, visit easternbank.com/foundation.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220726005802/en/

Media contact:

Andrea Goodman

Eastern Bank Foundation

[email protected]

781-598-7847

Source: Eastern Bank
Seabob and Kiru-Kiru wells in Stabroek block are sixth and seventh discoveries in 2022

Guyana investment strategy continues to yield positive results; additional exploration wells planned later this year

Production from two vessels currently operating offshore has exceeded their initial combined target of 340,000 barrels per day

IRVING, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- ExxonMobil has made two new discoveries offshore Guyana to the southeast of the Liza and Payara developments in the Stabroek block. The discoveries at Seabob and Kiru-Kiru are the sixth and seventh in Guyana this year, with the total number of discoveries in Guyana at more than 25.

The Seabob-1 well encountered approximately 131 feet (40 meters) of high-quality hydrocarbon-bearing sandstone and was drilled in 4,660 feet (1,421 meters) of water by the Stena Carron drill ship. The Kiru-Kiru-1 well encountered approximately 98 feet (30 meters) of high-quality hydrocarbon-bearing sandstone and was drilled by the Stena DrillMAX in 5,760 feet (1,756 meters) of water. Drilling operations at Kiru-Kiru are ongoing.

ExxonMobil and its partners continue to accelerate exploration, development and production activities for the benefit of all stakeholders, including the people of Guyana, said Liam Mallon, president of ExxonMobil Upstream Company. The resources we are investing in and discovering offshore Guyana will provide safe, secure energy for global markets for decades to come.

The companys 2022 investment plans include further exploration drilling and resource development in Guyana, where it is already increasing production at an accelerated, industry-leading pace. Two floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessels operating offshore Guyana  Liza Destiny and Liza Unity  have exceeded their initial combined production target of 340,000 barrels of oil per day.

A third project, Payara, is expected to produce 220,000 barrels per day. Construction on its production vessel, the Prosperity FPSO, is approximately five months ahead of schedule with start-up likely before year-end 2023. The fourth project, Yellowtail, is expected to produce 250,000 barrels per day when the ONE GUYANA FPSO comes online in 2025.

Guyanas Stabroek block is 6.6 million acres (26,800 square kilometers). ExxonMobil affiliate Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited is the operator and holds 45% interest in the block. Hess Guyana Exploration Ltd. holds 30% interest, and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited holds 25% interest.

About ExxonMobil

ExxonMobil, one of the largest publicly traded international energy and petrochemical companies, creates solutions that improve quality of life and meet societys evolving needs.

The corporations primary businesses - Upstream, Product Solutions and Low Carbon Solutions - provide products that enable modern life, including energy, chemicals, lubricants, and lower-emissions technologies. ExxonMobil holds an industry-leading portfolio of resources, and is one of the largest integrated fuels, lubricants and chemical companies in the world. To learn more, visit exxonmobil.com and the Energy Factor.

Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Cautionary Statement

Statements of future events or conditions in this release are forward-looking statements. Actual future results, including project plans, schedules, capacities, production rates, and resource recoveries could differ materially due to: changes in market conditions affecting the oil and gas industry or long-term oil and gas price levels; political or regulatory developments including obtaining necessary regulatory permits; reservoir performance; the outcome of future exploration efforts; timely completion of development and construction projects; technical or operating factors; and other factors cited under the caption Factors Affecting Future Results on the Investors page of our website at exxonmobil.com and under Item 1A. Risk Factors in our annual report on Form 10-K. References to recoverable resources, oil-equivalent barrels, and other quantifies of oil and gas include estimated quantities that are not yet classified as proved reserves under SEC definitions but are expected to be ultimately recoverable. The term project can refer to a variety of different activities and does not necessarily have the same meaning as in any government payment transparency reports.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220726006117/en/

ExxonMobil Media Relations

(972) 940-6007

Source: Exxon Mobil Corporation
Latest Data and Live Broadcast Show Promise of Vascular Dynamics MobiusHD Device

IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Vascular Dynamics, Inc. (VDI), a privately held medical device company focused on developing game-changing endovascular device-based solutions for patients suffering from heart failure, announced that the endovascular baroreflex amplification (EVBA) procedure using its MobiusHD device to treat patients with heart failure was featured during last months CSI Frankfurt 2022 25th anniversary Congress.

The first German EVBA procedure treating heart failure was performed by Horst Sievert, MD, Director of the CardioVascular Center in Frankfurt, and was broadcast live during the meeting. Dr. Sievert stated that the placement in this case, while using established, relatively straightforward techniques, was perfect. This case also represented the 30th patient enrolled in the ongoing clinical trial titled, A Feasibility Study Exploring the Effect of the MobiusHD Device in Patients with Heart Failure.

The EVBA approach allows for precise placement of the MobiusHD implant in the pre-procedurally targeted location where baroreceptors are located along the carotid body. The technique can be completed in less than 30 minutes and offers a potential solution for symptomatic heart failure patients who are not responding to drug treatment.

CSI Education has selected the live case to be recognized as its Podcase of the Month, and it can be viewed here.

Also during the CSI Frankfurt meeting, Kerstin Piayda, MD of the CardioVascular Center in Frankfurt, presented updated results from the clinical trial. Improvements in outcomes for patients receiving EVBA treatment with the MobiusHD device including 3-, 6-, and 12-month follow-up were reported. Based on the results of quality of life, six-minute walk distance (6MWD), and NT-proBNP biomarker measurements, almost all of the study patients had positive responses at 12 months (90% with improved quality of life and 100% showed improvements in 6MWD and NT-proBNP levels), and a high percentage benefited from what were considered to be clinically meaningful results. Dr. Piayda also shared data reflecting the promising trend of reduced heart failure hospitalization for these patients after treatment at 6 and 12 months.

Results to date from the feasibility study in heart failure patients have been very promising, commented Ed Roschak, CEO of Vascular Dynamics. With our recently announced $20 million financing round, we are currently expanding these efforts to multiple clinical centers around the world and are continuing to enroll more patients.

"MobiusHD is a registered trademark of Vascular Dynamics, Inc.

About Vascular Dynamics, Inc.

Vascular Dynamics develops innovative, endovascular platform technologies to offer compelling treatment options for patients at risk of life-threatening conditions underserved by conventional treatments. The companys MobiusHD technology features the first endovascular device to use the bodys natural baroreflex mechanism to modulate the autonomic nervous system and help restore sympathetic balance. Clinical evaluations are in progress. More information is available at www.vasculardynamics.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220726005862/en/

Paul Williams

310-569-0023

[email protected]

Source: Vascular Dynamics, Inc.
TEL AVIV, Israel--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Genetika+, a company developing personalized medicine solutions to optimize treatment for psychiatric and neurological diseases, announced today an award of up to 17.5 million of grant funding combined with equity investment to bring NeuroKaire to market. This represents the maximum possible grant from the European Commission and will be used for the companys precision medicine tool for optimizing drug choice to treat major depressive disorder (MDD). The award was granted through the European Commissions European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator for Europes high potential start-ups. Genetika+s proposal was selected from over 1000 start-ups and SMEs.

We are excited by this important vote of confidence from the European Commissions Innovation Council, said Talia Cohen Solal, co-founder and CEO of Genetika+. This funding is a validation of our work to date and will accelerate our bringing this much needed tool to market, enabling providers to effectively match the right therapy to their patient's unique needs."

MDD affects 300 million people globally and can reduce an individuals lifespan by as much as 14 years. A physician must choose from over 70 different medications and combinations when selecting a drug for a patient with MDD. Each drug takes 4 - 6 weeks to test, causing the patient to lose months to years of their lives to disability and suffering, including risk of suicide during the process of searching for the right treatment. Up to 63% of people suffering from depression do not receive adequate treatment due to the heterogeneity of the disease, uniquely affecting each individual. Response to treatment varies significantly. This trial-and-error process impacts patients lives, physicians time and payers and governments budgets. Precision mental health treatment is urgently needed.

The EIC funding will go toward further clinical validation of the platform, with several clinical studies underway and additional ones planned. It will also support platform scale-up to enable large scale clinical use.

About Genetika+

Genetika+, founded in 2018 by Talia Cohen-Solal, Ph.D., and Daphna Laifenfeld, Ph.D., is developing personalized medicine solutions to optimize treatment for psychiatric and neurological diseases. The companys Brain-in-a-Dish technology helps physicians find the best treatment for their patients. In its first indication, depression, Genetika+ uses patented technology to rapidly test more than 70 approved antidepressants and drug combinations against an individual patients unique neurological biomarkers. Combined with patients genetic and medical history, Genetika+ can predict the optimal drug or combination therapy for each patient. This opens the door to faster treatment, fewer side effects, and lower dosing, and the elimination of arduous trial-and-error treatment protocols and needless loss of life. To learn more, follow us on LinkedIn or on Twitter @Genetikaplus.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220725005850/en/

Media:

Michael Falcone

MacDougall Advisors

781-235-3060

[email protected]

Source: Genetika
WATSONVILLE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Granite (NYSE: GVA) announced today that it has been awarded an approximately $40 million dollar contract for improvements to State Highway 288 in the Houston Metro Area. The project will increase connectivity on the south side of the Houston metro area and improve access to the Texas Medical Center. The contract was awarded by and will be funded by the TxDOT. The award is anticipated to be included in Granites third quarter CAP.

This contract is the first in a series of four projects to improve the SH 288 corridor. The first phase of the project covers 1 mile of SH 288; consisting of a new overpass along the highway, frontage roads, and four main lanes which will improve access into Houston for the communities using County Road 48. Granite will work with approximately 250,000 cubic yards for embankments, and another 50,000 cubic yards during excavation.

This project will reduce congestion on SH 288 and will improve the daily lives of commuters in the Houston metro area, said Domingo Gonzalez, Granite project executive. In addition, this win bolsters the Texas Regions strategy to expand Granites home market presence in Houston. We have a great relationship with the subcontractor and supplier communities in the area and this project will improve Granites strategic position to pursue the additional contracts in TxDOTs upcoming bid lettings later this summer."

The project is anticipated to begin in Q4 2022 and expected to be completed in early 2024.

About Granite

Granite is Americas Infrastructure Company. Incorporated since 1922, Granite (NYSE: GVA) is one of the largest diversified construction and construction materials companies in the United States as well as a full-suite civil construction provider. Granites Code of Conduct and strong Core Values guide the Company and its employees to uphold the highest ethical standards. Granite is an industry leader in safety and an award-winning firm in quality and sustainability. For more information, visit the Granite website, graniteconstruction.com, and connect with Granite on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220726005210/en/

Media

Erin Kuhlman - 831-768-4111



Investors

Wenjun Xu - 831-761-7861

Source: Granite
BLANQUEFORT, France--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Regulatory News:

Groupe Berkem, a leading player in bio-based chemicals (ISIN code: FR00140069V2 - Ticker: ALKEM) (Paris: ALKEM), today announced the successful completion of a financing with a pool of six French banks, as well as the issuance of Recovery Bonds in France.

Anthony Labrugnas, Chief Financial Officer of Groupe Berkem, stated: "The success of the Group's senior financing demonstrates the attractiveness of the Company and the confidence of our banking partners. With its new financial resources, the Group now has expanded resources to carry out future external growth operations.

The financing operation consists of the setting up, for the benefit of Berkem Developpement, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Groupe Berkem, of a Refinancing Loan for a total amount of 12 million (including two tranches of respectively 7.8 million to be amortized and 4.2 million in fine), a 6.5 million investment credit facility (including two tranches of 4.2 million and 2.3 million respectively), a 5 million revolving credit facility and a 40 million external growth credit facility, of which 20 million are confirmed.

TP ICAP Midcap was the exclusive financial advisor to Berkem Developpement and coordinator of the transaction. Caisse Regionale de Credit Agricole Mutuel d'Aquitaine and Helia Conseil were mandated co-arrangers. The banking pool is composed of 6 lenders: Caisse Regionale de Credit Agricole Mutuel d'Aquitaine, Caisse d'Epargne et de Prevoyance Aquitaine Poitou Charentes, Banque Palatine, Banque Populaire Aquitaine Centre Atlantique, Credit Lyonnais and Banque Postale.

Fieldfisher advised Berkem Developpement on senior debt and bond issues, and Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner advised the senior banking pool.

6.5 million of Recovery Bonds subscribed by the Obligations Relance France fund (an investment fund managed by Eurazeo Investment Manager) and by the Obligations Relance France - Eurazeo Investment Manager fund.

Kramer Levin acted as advisor to Eurazeo Investment Manager.

ABOUT THE FRENCH RECOVERY BOND FUND

The French Recovery Bond fund, endowed with 1.7 billion, subscribed by 19 insurers members of the Federation Francaise de l'Assurance (FFA) and by Caisse des Depots, finances SMEs affected by the health crisis, which invest in their development and transformation. Part of the Recovery Plan of the Ministry of the Economy, Finance and Recovery, the French Recovery Bond fund was created by the insurers and Caisse des Depots, in cooperation with the French Treasury. It benefits from a partial guarantee from the State.

The Recovery Bonds have a term of eight years; they are redeemable at maturity; they offer SMEs-ETIs unsecured subordinated financing which can be obtained from the asset management companies delegated to manage the fund.

ABOUT GROUPE BERKEM

Founded in 1993 by Olivier Fahy, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Groupe Berkem is a leading force in the bio-based chemicals market. Its mission is to advance the environmental transition of companies producing the chemicals used in everyday lives (cosmetics, food and beverages, construction, public hygiene, etc.). By harnessing its expertise in both plant extraction and innovative formulations, Groupe Berkem has developed bio-based boostersunique high-quality bio-based solutions augmenting the performance of synthetic molecules. Groupe Berkem achieved a revenue of 46 million and an EBITDA margin close to 20% in 2021. The Group has almost 170 employees working at its head office (Blanquefort, Gironde) and three production facilities in Gardonne (Dordogne), La Teste-de-Buch (Gironde), and Chartres (Eure-et-Loir).

Groupe Berkem has been listed on Euronext Growth Paris since December 2021 (ISIN: FR00140069V2  ALKEM)

www.groupeberkem.com

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220726005821/en/

Groupe Berkem

Olivier Fahy, Chief Executive Officer

Anthony Labrugnas, Chief Financial Officer

Tel.: +33 (0)5 64 31 06 60

[email protected]

NewCap

Investor Relations

Mathilde Bohin / Nicolas Fossiez

Tel.: +33 (0)1 44 71 94 94

[email protected]

NewCap

Media Relations

Nicolas Merigeau

Tel.: +33 (0)1 44 71 94 94

[email protected]

Source: Groupe Berkem
Strategic investment to support the foundation of Solena Materials, a spin-out from Imperial College London, accelerating the development of synthetic fibers for high-performance, intrinsically sustainable clothing

MUNICH--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Insempra, a biology-powered company enabling businesses to make superior products in partnership with nature, today announces a strategic investment in Solena Materials Ltd (Solena), a synthetic biology company. Solena, a spin-out from Imperial College London, develops synthetic proteins for high-performance clothing fibers.

The investment will allow Insempra, formerly Origin.Bio, to accelerate its strategy of harnessing new technologies to advance biological production processes, creating naturally superior products to drive the regenerative revolution. Solena will be a major part of Insempras platform to deliver high-performance, intrinsically sustainable ingredients for a broad array of industries.

Solena is using computational design to develop new classes of synthetic proteins to produce high-performance clothing fibers, which can absorb large amounts of kinetic energy. Insempra will accelerate the development and production of these synthetic proteins on an industrial scale, offering better, biobased solutions to the petrochemically sourced, non-biodegradable materials or fibers extracted from nature or animals, such as silk, currently used in the textile and clothing industries. This technology also reduces other environmental impacts such as the rise of microplastics in water bodies coming from washing petrochemically-sourced textiles.

Jens Klein, founder and CEO of Insempra and CEO of Solena Materials, commented: We are hugely excited by this investment in Solena, which will help to accelerate our market-first approach to develop superior, intrinsically sustainable ingredients. We look forward to fast-tracking Solenas development and production of their unique synthetic proteins to develop customized, high-performance fibers for a variety of applications.

Dr James MacDonald, inventor, co-founder and CTO of Solena Materials, added: The team and I are very excited to make this technology a huge success.

Professor Paul Freemont of Imperial College London, added: This investment from Insempra recognizes the potential of our technology to revolutionize high-performance fabrics, and their supply chains. Together, we can harness our synthetic biology capabilities to develop, produce and manufacture a new class of superior, more sustainable fiber technology.

Insempra, a co-founder of Solena, will be the sole contributing shareholder in Solena, which is based at Imperial Colleges Translation & Innovation Hub (I-HUB) in White City, London. Solenas Board will be comprised of Dr James MacDonald of Solena, Professor Paul Freemont and Professor Milo Shaffer of Imperial College London, and Jens Klein and Andreas Heyl of Insempra.

About Insempra

Insempra is a biology-powered company enabling businesses to make superior products with nature. We combine bioscience and technology to grow matter for new and better products.

For too long, businesses have relied on chemical industrialization processes and petrochemicals, depleting our planets limited resources. Thats why we are committed to drive the regenerative revolution to manufacture at scale in collaboration with nature.

Led by a hand-picked team of biologists, technologists and entrepreneurs with rebel hearts, Insempra is here to create a new school of thought and collective action. The time to restore the balance between people and the planet is now. We don't wait for change. We do what needs to be done to grow a better future.

Learn more about Insempra at insempra.bio

About Solena Materials

Solena is a protein materials design company. We use world-leading computational design, machine learning, and automation to accelerate the development of bespoke materials targeted at multiple sectors, from fashion apparel to medical textiles. Our new protein-based fibers will replace materials extracted from nature such as silk and petrochemically-derived materials, to create a new world of biodegradable, functional and sustainable smart materials for consumers, industry, and the planet.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220725005756/en/

FTI Consulting

Ann Bartling / Michael Trace

Tel: +44 (0)20 3727 1000

[email protected]

Source: Insempra
Sale includes up to 67% off select tablets, laptops starting at $450

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- During Lenovos Back to School Sale, customers can shop the top technology products at low prices. Students and educators need the best tech as they return to school, and beginning on July 25 and running until August 15, Lenovo is offering doorbuster deals, and huge discounts on laptops, tablets, monitors, and accessories, exclusively at lenovo.com.

The sale will feature MyLenovo Rewards member deals, deep discounts on nearly all ThinkPad products, and laptops starting at $350. Lenovo also partnered with ID.me to offer students and teachers the opportunity to save an extra 5% off sitewide from July 25 through August 15 to help everyone gear up for learning this year.*

Check lenovo.com each week of the sale to save big on Lenovo's best-selling products. Below are just some of the many deals and promotions included in this years sale*:

Sneak Peak July 25-August 1 Save up to 67% off doorbusters. Students and Teachers save up to $100 more with code BTS2022 and save an extra 5% when you verify with ID.me. Save up to 35% on most premium 2-in-1 laptops for school, work & home. Plus, earn 2X MyLenovo Rewards (that's 6% back!) Get up to 67% off on select ThinkPad, ThinkBook, ThinkCentre & ThinkStation PCs.

August 1-8 Laptops starting under $450 Flex 2-in-1 laptops under $800 Up to 50% off select ThinkPad laptops Up to 40% off select ThinkBook laptops Up to 47% off mobile workstations  great for engineering students or those who need high power PC Accessories starting under $15 Also shop dorm essentials like alarm clocks, smart TVs

August 8-15 Chromebooks starting under $300 Yoga laptops up to 30% off Up to 50% off ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 Gaming mice starting at under $50 Backpacks under $20 Headsets starting under $30



The past few years have emphasized the need for smart technology at home and in classrooms, said Carlo Savino, Vice President of North America and Latin America eCommerce at Lenovo. During the Lenovo Back to School Sale students, parents, and educators will find great deals on the technology necessary to tackle any challenge that comes their way.

For more details on all the great offers included in Lenovos Back to School Sale, visit https://www.lenovo.com/ca/en/d/deals/doorbusters

Customers who sign up for the MyLenovo Rewards program and make purchases on Lenovo.com always receive a percentage of the purchase price returned to them as rewards points for use on future purchases and can earn extra rewards points during sales periods like the Lenovo Back to School Sale. MyLenovo Rewards members also receive free expedited shipping on all qualifying purchases. Learn more at https://www.lenovo.com/ca/en/rewards/

*Offers good while supplies last. Shop early for the best availability.

About Lenovo

Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) is a US$70 billion revenue global technology powerhouse, ranked #159 in the Fortune Global 500, employing 75,000 people around the world, and serving millions of customers every day in 180 markets. Focused on a bold vision to deliver smarter technology for all, Lenovo has built on its success as the worlds leading PC player by expanding into new growth areas of infrastructure, mobile, solutions and services. This transformation together with Lenovos world-changing innovation is building a more inclusive, trustworthy, and sustainable digital society for everyone, everywhere. To find out more visit https://www.lenovo.com, and read about the latest news via our StoryHub.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220726005937/en/

Lisa Marie Ferrell, Lenovo

[email protected]

Ph: +1 (919) 805-1919

Source: Lenovo
NEUILLY-SUR-SEINE, France--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Regulatory News:

M6 Metropole Television (Paris: MMT):

In accordance with the provisions of Article 221-4 IV of the General Regulations of AMF, we inform you that the first half-year 2022 financial report (ended 30 June, 2022) is available on the companys website www.groupem6.fr under the heading Finance/Regulated Information/Reports.

www.groupem6.fr

M6 Metropole Television is listed on Euronext Paris, compartiment A

Code MMT, code ISIN : FR0000053225

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220726006045/en/

INVESTOR RELATIONS

Guillaume Couturie +33 (0)1 41 92 28 03 / [email protected]

Source: M6 METROPOLE TELEVISION
MedX Health has partnered with Central Health, the second largest health authority in Newfoundland and Labrador, to introduce DermSecure Screening Platform Services to 176 communities across the province.

MISSISSAUGA, Ontario--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- MedX Health Corp. ("MedX" or the "Company") (TSXV: MDX), a global leader in teledermatology, and Central Health are pleased to announce the launch of MedXs DermSecure skin screening services in Newfoundland and Labrador.

The paid pilot program, which will span 60 days, will see MedX implement its training program for nurses and supervisors to easily integrate the DermSecure Screening Platform into the Central Health patient service offerings. Additionally, the Company will provide training for dermatologists who will be reading the scans and establishing the protocols in conjunction with mobile services already provided by Newfoundlands health care system to improve access to dermatological services in remote communities across the province. Upon the successful completion of the pilot, the MedX DermSecure Screening Platform will be made available to Central Healths patients across Newfoundland and Labrador.

"The paid pilot further verifies that our DermSecure platform meets all the necessary privacy and security requirements of a Canadian Provincial Government health care system, stated MedX Director of North American Sales, Paul Ziemer. The challenges for physicians to effectively deliver care across this geography have been instrumental in Newfoundland and Labradors prioritization and establishment of one of Canadas most robust telemedicine programs. The DermSecure platform and the images it provides for the doctors and dermatologists in the province will fit seamlessly into their telemedicine program and get the doctors and patients the information they need quickly and efficiently.

Central Health is the second largest health authority in Newfoundland and Labrador, serving approximately 93,000 people (18 per cent of the provinces population) living in 176 communities. With a geographical area encompassing more than half the total land mass of the island, the Central Health region extends from Charlottetown in the east, Fogo Island in the north, Harbour Breton in the south, to Baie Verte in the west. Central Health provides a variety of primary, secondary, long-term care, community health, and other enhanced secondary services through:

2 Regional Referral Centres

Regional Referral Centres 9 Health Centres

Health Centres 11 Long-term Care facilities (seven co-located in Health Centres) 2 new Long-term Care facilities (Gander and Grand Falls-Windsor) and a protective care unit expansion at Dr. Hugh Twomey Health Centre in Botwood

Long-term Care facilities (seven co-located in Health Centres) 24 Community Health Centres

Community Health Centres 2 Residential Treatment Centres

Residential Treatment Centres 1 Regional Office

Implementing MedX's DermSecure solution will serve to relieve the pressure facing family physicians and dermatologists in the Newfoundland and Labrador region, allowing them to alleviate the stress of melanoma screenings for their roster of patients in their practices quickly and efficiently. It will also greatly speed up the management of non-life threatening but potentially difficult cases such as inflammatory conditions like acne, psoriasis and eczema.

Naman Demaghlatrous, CEO of MedX Health said, "We are delighted to bring our DermSecure screening solution to the residents of Newfoundland and Labrador. MedX would like to thank Dr. Ian Landells, lead dermatologist for this pilot, the team at Central Health, and Ashley Dinn, Program Manager for the Virtual Care and Registry Integrity Unit at the Newfoundland and Labrador Centre for Health Information, for all of their hard work in driving this project to success.

Teledermatology is a subspecialty of dermatology that offers safe and effective virtual care  patient screening and assessment  eliminating the need for in-person appointments with a dermatologist. MedX is a global leader in teledermatology through its high-definition image capture technology, SIAscopy, and its secure, cloud-based patient management system, DermSecure, which transmits and stores patient data throughout the assessment process. MedX's SIAscopy is the only technology globally that captures five high-resolution images of suspicious moles, lesions and skin conditions, including four spectrophotometric images 2mm below the skin's surface. This technology provides detailed patient scans for virtual dermatological assessment by a certified dermatologist within 72 hours.

About MedX Health Corp.

MedX, headquartered in Ontario, Canada, is a leading medical device and software company focused on skin health with its SIAscopy on DermSecure telemedicine platform, utilizing its SIAscopy technology. SIAscopy is also imbedded in its products SIAMETRICS, SIMSYS, and MoleMate, which MedX manufactures in its ISO 13485 certified facility. SIAMETRICS, SIMSYS, and MoleMate include hand-held devices that use patented technology utilizing light and its remittance to view up to 2mm beneath suspicious moles and lesions in a pain free, non-invasive manner, with its software then creating real-time images for physicians and dermatologists to evaluate all types of moles or lesions within seconds. These products are cleared by Health Canada, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Therapeutic Goods Administration and Conformite Europeenne for use in Canada, the US, Australia, New Zealand, the European Union, Brazil and Turkey. Visit www.medxhealth.com.

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 Media Release may contain forward-looking statements, which reflect the Company's current expectations regarding future events. The forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220726006140/en/

Bill Mitoulas, Investor Relations

MedX Health Corp.

[email protected]

+1-416-479-9547

Source: MedX Health Corp.
STAMFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE: PBI), a global shipping and mailing company that provides technology, logistics, and financial services, today released its 2021 ESG Report. Since 2008, the company has reported annually on environmental, social and governance matters in its Corporate Responsibility Report. The reports new title reflects the companys commitment to responsible citizenship through the way it conducts business, creates meaningful impact in local communities, achieves environmental sustainability, focuses on safety and strengthens its commitment to a diverse and inclusive company culture.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220726005369/en/

2021 Pitney Bowes ESG Report (Graphic: Business Wire)

We remain committed to safeguarding our colleagues while delivering quality and value for our clients and a good return for our investors, said Marc B. Lautenbach, Pitney Bowes President and CEO. At the same time, we are steadily raising the bar on environmental, social and governance matters in keeping with our responsibilities as employer, neighbor and corporate citizen.

Among the many ESG initiatives this report covers, key highlights from the past year include:

Progress towards Carbon Neutrality: Since announcing our commitment to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040, we have taken further steps to reduce energy consumption, accelerate our move to renewable energy sources and increase the transparency of our reporting. Starting with this 2021 report, our coverage of CO2 emissions will include not only direct Scope 1 and 2 emissions from our operations, but also indirect Scope 3 emissions across our entire value chain. We recognize that a critical component in the growth of our logistics operations will require the diversification of sources of energy and use of alternative energies. In 2021, we continued to turn toward more sustainable fuel for our fleet, e.g., fuel with 2 and 11 percent biodiesel and diesel blend.

Increase Use of Renewable Energy in our Sites: We are proud of the significant increase in the number of our sites procuring electricity from renewable sources through our Green Retail program of electrical contracts with bundled Renewable Energy Certificates (REC). In 2019, we set a goal of procuring at least 20 percent of our energy from renewable sources by the year 2025. We surpassed this goal in 2021, reaching 29.7 percent, and have now made the further commitment to source renewable energy in all sites located in deregulated energy market states (where it is readily available), which will bring us to approximately 50 percent renewable energy by 2025.

Reimagining the Way We Work: In 2021, Pitney Bowes reexamined the ways we work together, driving new modes of onsite and remote collaboration under a unified system we call [email protected] This approach capitalizes on our rich culture of diversity and inclusion, encouraging and supporting everyone in our organization to be their authentic selves.

Deepening our Long-term Diversity and Inclusion Efforts: The companys long record of advocacy and commitment to diversity and inclusion was recognized in 2021 with numerous awards including Forbes Best Employers (2021), Best Employers for Diversity (2020, 2021, 2022), and Best Employers for Women (2018, 2019, 2020, 2021); Human Rights Campaigns 100 percent Corporate Equality Index (2021, 2022); Womens Forum of New Yorks Breakfast of Corporate Champions 2019 and 2021, for higher-than-average gender representation on Board of Directors  50% of the independent directors on the Pitney Bowes board of directors are women. The companys efforts have resulted in a U.S. workforce that is 52 percent people of color and a global workforce that is 43 percent women. As of 2022, people of color comprise 21 percent of Pitney Bowes senior management, have key roles on the executive team and constitute 33 percent of overall management.

Continuing Pitney Bowes Commitment to Supplier Diversity: In keeping with the companys enterprise-wide commitment to diversity and inclusion, Pitney Bowes is committed to growing its business using diverse suppliers. The company believes diverse businesses enhance its global supply base, providing innovative strategies and solutions while meeting or exceeding expectations in the areas of cost, quality and delivery.

Bringing the same commitment to the communities where we operate: Last year, the companys signature volunteer program, Dedication to Education, mobilized teams in seven countries for programs that advanced childhood literacy and educational opportunity. Closer to home, the Fairfield County Business Collaborative for Education Equity (a joint venture with other nearby business leaders) raised more than $1.4 million for use in programs dealing with early childhood education, summer learning, college readiness, and food insecurity.

Pitney Bowes measures its performance against the highest ESG standards and increasingly aligns its reporting with leading international benchmarks. The 2021 ESG Report was prepared in accordance with the Global Reporting Index, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures. To learn more about Pitney Bowes ESG efforts, visit pb.com/responsibility.

About Pitney Bowes

Pitney Bowes (NYSE: PBI) is a global shipping and mailing company that provides technology, logistics, and financial services to more than 90 percent of the Fortune 500. Small business, retail, enterprise, and government clients around the world rely on Pitney Bowes to remove the complexity of sending mail and parcels. For the latest news, corporate announcements and financial results visit https://www.pitneybowes.com/us/newsroom.html. For additional information visit Pitney Bowes at www.pitneybowes.com.

About Pitney Bowes Foundation

The Pitney Bowes Foundation is a private entity with a mission to support literacy and education and the diverse community interests of Pitney Bowes employees. We commit our resources to supporting students and families from underserved communities, closing the opportunity gap and preparing the workforce of tomorrow. For information about these programs and other Pitney Bowes Global Corporate Citizenship and Philanthropy initiatives, please visit pb.com/community.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220726005369/en/

John Spadafora

Pitney Bowes

M +1 518 708 3466

[email protected]

Source: Pitney Bowes Inc.
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Point72 today announced that it has expanded its economics team with the addition of Sophia Drossos as Economist and Strategist based in New York, and Soeren Radde as Head of European Economic Research, based in London.

Ms. Drossos will cover U.S. and global economic and policy developments, while Mr. Radde will analyze and forecast the euro area and UK economies. They join Point72s existing team of economists, led by Head Economist Dean Maki, and also including Joy Yang, the Firms Head of Asian Economic Research based in Singapore.

With Sophia and Soerens arrivals, we have significantly boosted our economic forecasting and analysis capabilities, adding to the support we offer our global teams of investment professionals at a time when macro factors are affecting asset prices perhaps more than ever, said Mr. Maki.

Ms. Drossos has spent more than two decades as an economist and researcher. Prior to joining Point72, she served as Head of Research at Light Sky Macro and held similar positions at Thiel Macro and Element Capital Management. Previously, she was Co-Head of Currency Research at Morgan Stanley, as well as a Senior Investor in the banks Global Macro and Asset Allocation division. Earlier in her career, Ms. Drossos was the Chief Dealer at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, where she oversaw and planned open market operations and provided financial market analysis for Federal Open Market Committee and U.S. Treasury officials. She began her career as an analyst at the U.S. Department of State. She earned a masters in Public Policy and bachelors degree from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Mr. Radde brings deep familiarity and expertise in European markets. He most recently led coverage of the European Central Bank (ECB) and was the economist responsible for Germany forecasting and political commentary at Goldman Sachs. Prior to Goldman, he spent over five years at the ECB, where he was an economist in the Monetary Policy Strategy Division. In that role, he briefed the ECBs Governing Council and senior management on the monetary stance and policy options, conducted research into the transmission of monetary policy measures, and contributed to speeches of executive board members. Earlier in his career, he held roles at the German Institute for Economic Research in Berlin, the IMF in Washington, and the European Commission in Brussels. Mr. Radde earned a PhD in Economics at the Technical University of Berlin, an MPhil at the University of Cambridge, and a bachelors degree in Philosophy and Economics from the University of Bayreuth.

About Point72 Asset Management

Point72 Asset Management is a global firm led by Steven Cohen that invests in multiple asset classes and strategies worldwide. Resting on more than a quarter-century of investing experience, we seek to be the industry's premier asset manager through delivering superior risk-adjusted returns, adhering to the highest ethical standards, and offering the greatest opportunities to the industry's brightest talent. For more information, visit www.Point72.com/about.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220726006078/en/

Tiffany Galvin-Cohen

[email protected]

+1 203-890-2052

Source: Point72 Asset Management
The first airline-owned flight academy will begin flight training operations in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

INDIANAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Leadership In Flight Training (LIFT) Academy, a flight school in Indianapolis, Indiana launched by Republic Airways in 2018, announced today that it will expand its flight training operations to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina at the Myrtle Beach International Airport.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220726005725/en/

LIFT Certificated Flight Instructor (CFI) and student prepare an airplane for takeoff at LIFT Academy's hangar at the Indianapolis location. (Photo: Business Wire)

Weve experienced rapid growth of the LIFT program due to the quantity and quality of students weve attracted from all over the country, so we know there is demand to expand our operations outside of the Midwest. South Carolina, and in particular Myrtle Beach, is an ideal location with favorable weather for flying and strong investments being made to its airport infrastructure and surrounding area, said Ed Bagden, LIFT Director of Operations and Academic Programs.

The Indianapolis program has grown to become one of the largest flight training institutions in the United States over the past four years, training up to 300 students each year. Students attending LIFT Academy are trained to exceed the stringent commercial pilot certifications outlined by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Uniquely to LIFT, its graduates have a direct pathway to a position as a commercial airline pilot at Republic Airways which includes compensation while building the FAA-required flight hours needed to operate in the commercial airline field.

LIFT plans to begin its operations in Myrtle Beach as early as October of this year in a temporary hangar location on Myrtle Beach International Airport property. LIFT will use this location for its Indianapolis winter operations, and negotiations are underway with the airport, city and state for a suitable long-term facility for its flight training program.

LIFTs training fleet is one of the largest and newest in the flight training environment. Students operate an efficient, lead-free fleet of Diamond DA40-NG single-engine aircraft and Diamond DA42-VI twin-engine aircraft with advanced Garmin G1000 avionics throughout each flight hour of their training curriculum. LIFT has plans to expand its aircraft fleet to support this additional training location.

We are thrilled that Republic Airways has selected Myrtle Beach International Airport (MYR) as its next location for expansion of LIFT Academy, said Scott Van Moppes, Director of Airports. Through LIFT, MYR will welcome pilots in training from all areas of the country, looking to take advantage of the ideal flying weather and our close proximity to other Horry County airports. We look forward to building a great partnership with LIFT Academy and offer a warm welcome to the Grand Strand.

The LIFT flight training program, which takes approximately 12 months from start to finish, is the first of its kind that provides mission-specific flight training designed to bring airline protocols, manuals and standards to the training environment, best preparing its pilots for their careers in the airline industry.

To learn more about LIFT Academy and to apply for the flight training program, visit www.flywithlift.com.

About LIFT Academy: Leadership In Flight Training (LIFT) Academy is a U.S.-based commercial aviation pilot training school owned by Republic Airways. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, LIFT revolutionizes commercial aviation training, utilizing state-of-the-art, eco-friendly training technologies and systems to educate future aviators. Students receive instruction from experienced pilots, under FAA and industry standards, with the most advanced equipment and curriculum that combines flight, flight simulator, online and in-classroom training. LIFT Academy students train on a fleet of advanced new aircraft and flight simulators produced by Diamond Aircraft Industries, including the DA40 single-engine, the DA42 twin-engine aircraft and the DA20 single-engine, as well as Diamond Flight Simulation Training Devices (FSTD) built to achieve the most realistic cockpit simulation environment. LIFT offers its graduates a defined pathway to a pilot career at Republic Airways.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220726005725/en/

Republic Airways Communications

[email protected]

Source: LIFT Academy
LOUISVILLE, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Sierra Space, a leading commercial space company at the forefront of creating and building the future of space transportation and infrastructure for low-Earth orbit (LEO) commercialization, announced today the formation of a National Security Advisory Group.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220726005321/en/

National Security Advisory Group Formed by Sierra Space to Explore Versatility of Dream Chaser Spaceplane (Photo: Business Wire)

The council will conduct independent assessments of existing and emerging threats, monitor technology trends and advise on potential national security solutions. Its goals are to ensure the safety and security of the commercial space infrastructure, preserve the freedom of space and protect the United States ability to operate effectively in space.

As we develop a robust and vibrant commercial space economy where thousands of people are living and working in space, we must ensure its freedom, safety and security, said Sierra Space CEO Tom Vice. Utilizing the deep expertise of our advisory group, we will better understand the challenges  including debris  and invent and deploy solutions that affordably and effectively neutralize these challenges.

Sierra Spaces National Security Advisory Group is chaired by Honorable James F. Geurts, who performed the duties of Under Secretary of the U.S. Navy, Chief Operating Officer of the U.S. Navy and Chief Management Officer of the U.S. Navy, prior to his retirement in 2021. He previously served as the Service Acquisition Executive for the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Special Operations Command.

Other members of the advisory group include:

General (ret) William M. Fraser III, a retired U.S. Air Force officer who served as Commander, U.S. Transportation Command, Commander of Air Combat Command and as 34th Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force.

Honorable Lori B. Garver, former Deputy Administrator of NASA from 2009-2013. Garver previously worked at NASA from 1996-2001 as special assistant to the NASA administrator and senior policy analyst, and then as the Associate Administrator, both for the Office of Policy and Plans.

Honorable Susan M. Gordon, the former Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence, the nations senior-most career intelligence officer, from 2017 to 2019. Gordon previously served as the Deputy Director of the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency from 2015 to 2017, following a career at the CIA.

Mr. David E. Hamilton, Jr., the former Director of the U.S. Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, where he was responsible for delivering the Air Forces most sensitive capabilities at speed using innovative technologies and operating concepts.

General (ret) Paul J. Selva, a retired Air Force officer who served as the 10th Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 2015-2019, the nation's second highest-ranking military officer as well as the Commander, U.S. Transportation Command and Air Mobility Command.

Honorable William M. Thornberry, who represented the Texas 13th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995-2021, serving as chairman of the Armed Services Committee from 2015-2019. Thornberry also previously served on the U.S. House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence for more than a decade.

General (ret) Stephen W. Wilson, a retired Air Force Officer who served as the 39th Vice Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force, Deputy Commander for U.S. Strategic Command and Commander of Air Force Global Strike Command.

Each member of the group will utilize their experience and perspective on todays defense, intelligence and homeland security challenges to help Sierra Space continue to meet the evolving and complex needs of the United States and its impacts on the commercial space industry. The advisors will meet regularly, working in tandem with Sierra Spaces executive leadership team.

Sierra Space has an important and bold mission to open affordable access to space for all in this next great period of human innovation that we call the Orbital Age, added Vice. We are building the future of space to benefit life on Earth, and the construction of this advisory group brings together a wide array of incredible expertise and hugely experienced voices. Collectively, the team will not only serve our Board and Sierra Space, but will also ensure that the United States is properly prepared through the advanced and ready technologies and projects that Sierra Space maintains to face the ever-changing technological landscape of space.

Im honored to bring together this group of national security experts to enable the future space economy, commented Honorable James F. Geurts. Forming this National Security Advisory Group is the logical next step for Sierra Space, as it brings together the most innovative and pioneering minds in the industry to help ensure the safety and security of space.

About Sierra Space

Sierra Space (www.sierraspace.com) is a leading commercial space company at the forefront of innovation and the commercialization of space. Sierra Space is building platforms in space to benefit life on Earth. The company is in the latter stages of doubling its headcount, with large presences in Colorado, Florida and Wisconsin. Significant investors in Sierra Space include General Atlantic, Coatue, and Moore Strategic Ventures.

With more than 30 years and 500 missions of space flight heritage, Sierra Space is enabling the future of space transportation with Dream Chaser, the worlds only winged commercial spaceplane. Under construction at its Colorado headquarters and expected to launch in 2023 on the first of a series of NASA missions to the International Space Station, Dream Chaser can safely carry cargo - and eventually crew - to on-orbit destinations, returning to land on compatible commercial airport runways worldwide. Sierra Space is also building an array of in-space destinations for low Earth orbit (LEO) commercialization including the LIFE habitat at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a three-story commercial habitation and science platform designed for LEO. Both Dream Chaser and LIFE are central components to Orbital Reef, a mixed-use business park in LEO being developed by principal partners Sierra Space and Blue Origin, which is expected to be operational by 2027.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220726005321/en/

Alex Walker

Sierra Space

(303) 803-2297

[email protected]



Eric Becker

ICR for Sierra Space

(303) 638-3469

[email protected]

Source: Sierra Space
Spires data will be used to demonstrate the quality and impact of commercial data on NOAAs space weather forecast models

VIENNA, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Spire Global, Inc. (NYSE: SPIR) (Spire or the Company), a leading global provider of space-based data, analytics and space services, today announced that it has been awarded a Commercial Weather Data Pilot (CWDP) space weather contract as part of the Commercial Data Program (CDP) issued by the National Oceanographic and Oceanic Administration (NOAA). Spire will provide near real-time radio occultation (RO) data for NOAAs space weather forecast models to measure ionospheric conditions that impact activities such as aviation, satellite operations, navigation, and communications.

NOAAs focus on space weather data has allowed commercial providers opportunities to showcase the growing quality and impact their data can have on ionospheric weather models and applications, said Chuck Cash, Vice President of Federal Sales, Spire. Spire is honored to continue working with NOAA to provide radio occultation measurements that will help NOAA meet its objectives and ultimately safeguard society.

The award, valued at $1.7 million, represents Spires continued ability to provide high quality commercial data for NOAAs weather forecast models. NOAAs CWDP studies using Spires data are expected to last 12 months.

Spire has provided data to NOAA since 2016, demonstrating the value of commercial satellite data in weather forecasting models. Earlier this year, NOAA awarded Spire an $8 million contract to increase the number of RO profiles it provides from 3,000 to 5,500 for use in operational weather forecasts. The award represented the single largest U.S. government purchase of commercial, operational RO data.

With a fully-deployed constellation of more than 100 satellites, Spire is the largest producer of radio occultation data and offers a vast portfolio of current weather, historical weather data, and weather forecasts solutions.

About Spire Global, Inc.

Spire (NYSE: SPIR) is a leading global provider of space-based data, analytics and space services, offering access to unique datasets and powerful insights about Earth from the ultimate vantage point so that organizations can make decisions with confidence, accuracy, and speed. Spire uses one of the worlds largest multipurpose satellite constellations to source hard to acquire, valuable data and enriches it with predictive solutions. Spire then provides this data as a subscription to organizations around the world so they can improve business operations, decrease their environmental footprint, deploy resources for growth and competitive advantage, and mitigate risk. Spire gives commercial and government organizations the competitive advantage they seek to innovate and solve some of the worlds toughest problems with insights from space. Spire has offices in San Francisco, Boulder, Washington DC, Ontario, Glasgow, Oxfordshire, Luxembourg, and Singapore. To learn more, visit www.spire.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220726005246/en/

For Media:

Hillary Yaffe

Head of Communications

[email protected]

For Investors:

Benjamin Hackman

Head of Investor Relations

[email protected]

Source: Spire Global, Inc.
WILMINGTON, Del.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The LYCRA Company, a global leader in developing innovative and sustainable fiber and technology solutions for the apparel and personal care industries, today announced a partnership with Browzwear that will provide designers using VStitcher and Lotta, the pioneering platforms for 3D fashion design, the ability to quickly and easily develop products incorporating fabrics containing LYCRA, LYCRA T400, and COOLMAX fibers.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220726005001/en/

The LYCRA Company Partners with Browzwear in the Development of 3D Digital Offerings (Photo: Business Wire)

The partnership with Browzwear is the latest element of a multifaceted digital transformation that The LYCRA Company began last year with the launch of the LYCRA ONE customer portal, an online marketplace connecting brands, retailers, and garment makers to a global network of partner mills in a virtual capacity. The expansion of The LYCRA Companys digital infrastructure is enabling new forms of engagement with its global customer base, and online platforms, like Browzwear, demonstrate the differentiation and sources of innovation that The LYCRA Company is helping bring to its customers across the apparel value chain.

With the true-to-life visualizations made possible with Browzwear's innovative software, the industry's leading 3D software for apparel design and development, designers can digitally create activewear, denim, swimwear, ready-to-wear, and intimate apparel fashions using fabrics showcased in the LYCRA Brand Materials Library. The Browzwear platform enables designers to visualize how garments made with LYCRA fiber offer a comfortable, lasting fit that will move with the wearer.

All the materials with digital versions in the LYCRA Brand Materials Library can be sourced directly from one of 15 global mills initially featured on Browzwear. These materials have been tested and certified by The LYCRA Company, ensuring they contain the companys authentic fibers that are designed to meet consumer needs for comfort, fit and ease of movement. In addition, The LYCRA Company will continue to work with Browzwear to add new resources to the materials library as they become available, further enhancing the digital design capabilities.

This partnership also advances The LYCRA Companys sustainability commitment to offering a variety of fiber and fabric solutions that reduce or divert waste and keep materials in use longer. Creating digital garments via Browzwear streamlines the production process and reduces the need to manufacture samples, saving time and reducing waste for more efficient and sustainable operations.

At The LYCRA Company, innovation is in our DNA, and we constantly look at new ways to create value for our mill customers, brands, and retail partners," said Julien Born, CEO of The LYCRA Company. "Digital transformation and sustainability offer opportunities, but also stretch our approach to innovation as fast and meaningful advances in those areas cannot be achieved alone. By teaming up with Browzwear, we are taking an important step in that direction, with the goal of ultimately changing the way the apparel industry will engage and interact digitally to optimize the sourcing of high-quality fabrics that extend garment wear life and reduce the need for samples.

"We are thrilled to collaborate with The LYCRA Company and enable our users to leverage its well-known performance fibers to better incorporate them into designs, faster, easier, and more sustainably. Our Fabric Analyzer ensures the 3D versions of fabrics made with fibers from the LYCRA Brand Materials Library result in true-to-life simulations of the garments, with physics and movement that reflect the durability and unique functionality of these fibers, said Avihay Feld, Browzwear co-founder and CEO. We believe this partnership will drive positive impact throughout the industry by helping brands and retailers to operate a more sustainable, efficient development process."

About The LYCRA Company

The LYCRA Company innovates and produces fiber and technology solutions for the apparel and personal care industries. Headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, The LYCRA Company is recognized worldwide for its innovative products, technical expertise, sustainable solutions, and unmatched marketing support. The LYCRA Company owns leading consumer and trade brands: LYCRA, LYCRA HyFit, LYCRA T400, COOLMAX, THERMOLITE, ELASPAN, SUPPLEX, and TACTEL. The LYCRA Companys legacy stretches back to 1958 with the invention of the original spandex yarn, LYCRA fiber. Today, The LYCRA Company focuses on adding value to its customers products by developing unique innovations designed to meet the consumers need for comfort and lasting performance. For more information, visit www.thelycracompany.com.

LYCRA and COOLMAX are trademarks of The LYCRA Company.

About Browzwear

Founded in 1999, Browzwear is a pioneer of 3D digital solutions for the fashion industry, driving seamless processes from concept to commerce. For designers, Browzwear accelerates collection development, opening limitless opportunities to create iterations of styles. For technical designers and pattern makers, Browzwear rapidly fits graded garments with accurate, true-motion material replication. For manufacturers, Browzwears Tech Pack delivers everything needed to produce physical garments perfectly the first time, and at every step from design to production. Worldwide, more than 650 organizations such as Columbia Sportswear, PVH Group and VF Corporation leverage Browzwears open platform to streamline processes, collaborate and pursue data-driven production strategies so they can sell more while manufacturing less, which increases both ecologic and economic sustainability. For more information, visit www.browzwear.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220726005001/en/

Karie J. Ford

[email protected]

Source: The LYCRA Company
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Vertical Relevance (VR), a financial services focused consulting firm, announced today that it has achieved Amazon Web Services (AWS) Security Competency status. The competency designation recognizes that Vertical Relevance has demonstrated deep cloud security expertise and has proven technology that helps customers further enhance their security measures across cloud environments.

Achieving the AWS Security Competency differentiates Vertical Relevance as an AWS Partner Network (APN) member that provides specialized security, compliance, and DevSecOps solutions on AWS. To receive this designation, APN members must possess deep AWS expertise and deliver solutions seamlessly on AWS. Vertical Relevance achieved its AWS Security Competency status through a rigorous qualification process based on references and feedback from its customers.

The AWS Security Competency provides a sense of trust to our customers knowing we have been vetted, validated, and verified with AWS technical expertise and proven customer success, said Brian Jakovich, Managing Director of Vertical Relevance.

Achieving the AWS Security Competency status is an important reflection of the work we provide our customers. Being that we focus exclusively on the financial services industry, achieving the AWS Security Competency status provides an important distinction for us as an APN Partner. As a recognized leader in FS, weve heavily invested in the AWS Security competency to continue to drive innovation for our customers and thought leadership within the community. This helps our customers simplify meeting their security and regulatory requirements by leveraging the agility, breadth of services, and pace of innovation that AWS provides, said Robert Summers and Hemant Jaiswal, Managing Partners and Co-Founders of Vertical Relevance.

AWS is enabling scalable, flexible and cost-effective solutions from startups to global enterprises. To support the seamless integration and deployment of these solutions, AWS established the AWS Competency Program to help customers identify Consulting and Technology APN Partners with deep industry experience and expertise. For more information about Vertical Relevances services, visit https://www.verticalrelevance.com/services/cloud-transformation/.

About Vertical Relevance

Vertical Relevance was founded to help business leaders drive value through the design and delivery of effective transformation programs across people, processes, and systems. Our mission is to help Financial Services firms at any stage of their journey to develop solutions for success and growth. To learn more visit, www.verticalrelevance.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220726005857/en/

Media:

Jessica Giordano

Alliances Manager

Vertical Relevance

[email protected]



Source: Vertical Relevance
VANCOUVER, British Columbia--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Western Exploration Inc. (TSXV: WEX; OTCQX: WEXPF) (the "Company" or "Western Exploration") is pleased to announce the commencement of the 2022 diamond drill program (the "Drill Program") at its 100% owned Aura project, located in Elko County, Nevada (the "Aura Project").

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220725005215/en/

Figure 1. Aura Project  Land holdings and Infrastructure. (Graphic: Business Wire)

The Drill Program forms a part of the recommended two-phase exploration program as outlined in the Company's technical report on the Aura Project, entitled "2021 Updated Resource Estimates and Technical Report for the Aura Gold-Silver Project in Elko County, Nevada" and dated October 20, 2021 (with an effective date of October 14, 2021), which was prepared for Western Exploration by Mine Development Associates (the "Aura Technical Report"). The Phase 1 Drill Program provides, among other things, for approximately 2,000 meters of large diameter core drilling in 10 to 12 drill holes at the Doby George mineral deposit.

The purpose of the Phase 1 Drill Program is to evaluate areas within, and adjacent to, the current resource boundary to:

validate and delineate current mineral resources;

locally test for the expansion potential and structural controls on mineralization;

provide samples for metallurgical test work to outline leach kinematics, as well as ore and waste rock characteristics; and

expand upon geotechnical studies through additional test work.

The results of the Drill Program, including all metallurgical testing and other exploration activities completed at the Aura Project, will be used to determine the basis for completing Phase 2 of the exploration program on the Aura Project, which is expected to focus on advancing the Doby George deposit towards the completion of a pre-feasibility study ("PFS").

Following the commencement of drilling at Doby George, Western Exploration's Chief Executive Officer, Darcy Marud, commented: "The Aura Technical Report recognized Doby George as an undeveloped high-grade oxide resource located in one of the most favorable mining jurisdictions in the world. We see the execution of the Drill Program as the first step towards unlocking the full potential of the Aura Project and towards the completion of a PFS at Doby George."

About Doby George

Doby George is one of the highest grade, undeveloped open pit heap leach resources in northeast Nevada and one of three mineral deposits on Western Exploration's 100% owned Aura Project. The Aura Project is located 32 kilometers north of the Jerritt Canyon mine, which has been in continual operation since 1981. The deposit is an outcropping, high-grade sediment hosted mineral deposit that has been defined by drilling along a strike length of approximately 2 kilometers and to a depth of approximately 250 meters, with the zone of oxidation extending approximately 150 to 200 meters below surface.

The deposit was initially discovered by Homestake Mining Company in the mid 1980s. Since that time, 827 drill holes have been completed, totaling 115,197 meters of drilling. This includes 74 drill holes, totaling 22,622 meters that were drilled by Western Exploration LLC between 1998 and 2017.

Metallurgical test work completed on oxidized material by Homestake Mining Company, Independence Mining Company, and Atlas Precious Metals Inc., has indicated favorable metallurgy for standard cyanide heap leach processing. Results from the previous metallurgical testing completed on 52 bottle rolls and 23 column leach samples indicate that heap leach gold recoveries approaching seventy percent can be expected via a crush of 1 to 1.5 inches.

In addition to an established mineral resource estimate (as determined in accordance with NI 43-101  Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101")), the Aura Project has well established infrastructure including year-round accessibility by highway and county-maintained road and nearby access to water and electricity. Western Exploration has exploration, development, and mining rights on 930 hectares of privately owned fee lands through a mineral lease agreement with a local landowner and may purchase those fee lands at any time for the development of Doby George.

The 6,000-hectare Aura Project is unique in the junior mining space insofar as resources have been identified in three different deposits (Doby George, Gravel Creek and Wood Gulch), as supported by the Aura Technical Report (see Table 1 below).

Table 1. Updated resource estimates for the Aura Project

MINERAL RESOURCE(1) Indicated Inferred Tonnes Au (g/t) Au

(ozs) Ag (g/t) Ag

(ozs) AuEq (g/t) AuEq (ozs) Tonnes Au (g/t) Au

(ozs) Ag (g/t) Ag

(ozs) AuEq (g/t) AuEq (ozs) Doby George(2) 12,922,000 0.98 407,000 - - 0.98 407,000 4,999,000 0.73 118,000 - - 0.73 118,000 Wood Gulch(3) - - - - - - - 4,359,000 0.66 93,000 5.80 808,000 0.74 104,543 Gravel Creek(4) 1,315,000 4.73 200,000 75.0 3,169,000 5.81 245,271 2,744,000 4.16 367,000 60.20 5,307,000 5.02 442,814 TOTAL 14,237,000 1.33 607,000 75.0 3,169,000 1.43 652,271 12,102,000 1.48 578,000 15.74 6,115,000 1.71 665,357

Notes:

(1) Au equivalent oz assumes US$1,800 per oz Au and 70:1 ratio of Ag:Au.

(2) Pit constrained 0.2 g/t AuEq cutoff for oxide, 0.4 g/t Au cutoff for mixed and 1.4 g/t Au cutoff for unoxidized.

(3) Pit constrained 0.2 g/t AuEq cutoff.

(4) 3.0 g/t Au cutoff.

In 2017, Agnico Eagle Mines Limited became a partner of the Company and has invested over US$14 million in support of the Company's exploration initiatives. In addition, Agnico Eagle Mines Limited provides technical expertise to the Company through a joint technical committee with Western Exploration's management team.

About Western Exploration

Western Exploration Inc. is Nevada-focused precious metals exploration company, aiming to be a premier gold and silver development company in North America. The Company was born out of a 25-year history of advancing exploration projects in Nevada as a private company. Its principal asset is the Aura gold-silver project, located in Elko County, Nevada, approximately 120 kilometers north of the city of Elko, Nevada.

Qualified Person Approval

The scientific and technical content of this news release has been reviewed, prepared and approved by Mark Hawksworth, General Manager of the Western Exploration's Aura Project, who is a "qualified person" within the meaning of NI 43-101.

Quality Control

Drill Program design, Quality Assurance/Quality Control ("QA/QC") and the interpretation of results is performed by qualified persons employing a QA/QC program consistent with NI 43-101 and industry best practices. Standards and blanks are included with every 20 samples for QA/QC purposes by the Company as well as the lab.

Please see below under the heading "Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information" for further details regarding risks facing Western Exploration.

For additional information on the Aura Project, please see the Aura Technical Report, which has been prepared in accordance with NI 43-101, a copy of which available on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) under Western Exploration's issuer profile and on Western Exploration's corporate website (www.westernexploration.com).

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This news release may contain "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the applicable Canadian and United States securities legislation (collectively, "forward-looking statements"). These forward-looking statements, by their nature, require the Company to make certain assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. Any statement that involves predictions, expectations, interpretations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often, but not always, using phrases such as "expects", or "does not expect", "is expected", "interpreted", "management's view", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", "plans", "budget", "scheduled", "forecasts", "estimates", "potential", "feasibility", "believes" or "intends" or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results "may" or "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken to occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking information and are intended to identify forward-looking information. This news release contains the forward-looking information pertaining to, among other things: the focus and results of the Phase 1 Drill Program; the expectations for the Phase 2 Drill Program; the timing and ability of Western Exploration, if at all, to publish a PFS for the Doby George deposit or a PEA for the Wood Gulch-Gravel Creek deposits; the Doby George deposit being located in one of the most favourable mining jurisdictions in the world; Doby George being one of the highest grade, underdeveloped open pit heap leach resource in northeast Nevada; the accuracy of results from prior exploration activities conducted at the Aura Project; the key assumptions, parameters and methods used to estimate the mineral resource estimate disclosed in this news release; the prospects, if any, of the Doby George and Wood Gulch-Gravel Creek mineral deposits; the amount and type of drilling to be completed and the timing to complete such drilling; future drilling at the Aura Project; the significance of historic exploration activities and results. Such factors include, among others, risks relating to the ability of exploration activities (including drill results) to accurately predict mineralization; errors in management's geological modelling; the ability of Western Exploration to complete further exploration activities, including drilling; property and royalty interests in respect of the Aura Project; the ability of the Company to obtain required approvals; the results of exploration activities; risks relating to mining activities; the global economic climate; metal prices; dilution; environmental risks; and community and non-governmental actions. Although the forward-looking information contained in this news release is based upon what management believes, or believed at the time, to be reasonable assumptions, Western Exploration cannot assure shareholders and prospective purchasers of securities of the Company that actual results will be consistent with such forward-looking information, as there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended, and neither Western Exploration nor any other person assumes responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of any such forward-looking information. Western Exploration does not undertake, and assumes no obligation, to update or revise any such forward-looking statements or forward-looking information contained herein to reflect new events or circumstances, except as may be required by law.

For additional information with respect to these and other factors and assumptions underlying the forwardlooking statements and forward-looking information made in this news release concerning Western Exploration, see the management information circular dated November 12, 2021, available electronically under Western Exploration's issuer profile on SEDAR (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 news release. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220725005215/en/

Nichole Cowles

Investor Relations

Phone: 775-240-4172

Email: [email protected]

Source: Western Exploration Inc.
ROSEMONT, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Wynnchurch Capital, L.P. (Wynnchurch), a leading middle market private equity firm, announced today the sale of Foss Floors (Foss or the Company) to Mohawk Industries (Mohawk), a producer of floor covering products for residential and commercial applications in North America and residential applications in Europe.

Headquartered in Rome, Georgia, Foss is a leader and pioneer in non-woven needle punch floor coverings and specialty flooring products. With an unwavering commitment to environmentally sustainable and American-made manufacturing, the Companys products are produced in state-of-the-art, computerized production facilities in Rome and Chatsworth, Georgia. Foss uses 100% recycled PET polyester made from post-consumer plastic drinking bottles and is one of the worlds largest needle-punch based manufacturers.

Neel Mayenkar, Partner at Wynnchurch, stated, Foss represented an opportunity to invest in a company with a market leading product and service offering. We are pleased to have partnered with the management team and are proud of the growth and accomplishments achieved in partnership with management during our ownership period.

Foss represented an opportunity to revitalize a company with a strong brand. We are very proud and appreciative of the teams leadership and accomplishments, added John Hatherly, Managing Partner at Wynnchurch.

Wynnchurch has been a valued partner as we continued to build on our position as the leader in non-woven floor coverings. Wynnchurch provided tremendous support which helped grow the business and execute on our strategy, said A.J. Nassar, former CEO and Wynnchurch co-investor in Foss. We are excited to embark on this new journey with Mohawk to continue to build on our product portfolio, added Brian Warren, President of Foss.

Stifel Investment Banking served as financial advisor and Perkins Coie and McDermott Will & Emery served as legal counsel to Foss and Wynnchurch Capital.

Wynnchurch is actively seeking investment opportunities for its $2.277 billion Fund V. In July, Wynnchurch acquired FCA, a leading manufacturer of customized industrial protective packaging solutions. Other recent Wynnchurch investments include: Mattress Warehouse, a leading independent mattress retailer with over 300 locations. Premier Franchise Management, the largest U.S. residential pool-build and pool-service franchisor; Appvion, a leading provider of specialty and high performance direct thermal coatings; and Owen, a leading provider of critical infrastructure equipment, aftermarket parts and services.

About Foss Floors:

Foss Floors, headquartered in Rome, Georgia, is a leader and pioneer in non-woven needle punch floor coverings and specialty flooring products. With an unwavering commitment to environmentally sustainable and American-made manufacturing, the Companys products are produced in state-of-the-art, computerized production facilities in Rome and Chatsworth, Georgia. Foss uses 100% recycled PET polyester made from post-consumer plastic drinking bottles and is one of the worlds largest needle-punch based manufacturers. For more information, please visit: https://www.fossfloors.com.

About Wynnchurch Capital:

Wynnchurch Capital, L.P., headquartered in the Chicago suburb of Rosemont, Illinois, with offices in California, New York and an affiliate in Canada, was founded in 1999, and is a leading middle-market private equity investment firm. Wynnchurchs strategy is to partner with middle market companies in the United States and Canada that possess the potential for substantial growth and profit improvement. Wynnchurch Capital manages a number of private equity funds with $5.3 billion of regulatory assets under management and specializes in recapitalizations, growth capital, management buyouts, corporate carve-outs and restructurings. For more information, please visit: https://www.wynnchurch.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220726005127/en/

John Hatherly

Managing Partner

[email protected]

847-604-6100



Neel Mayenkar

Partner

[email protected]

847-604-6100



Chris Waldock

Senior Associate

[email protected]

847-604-6100

Source: Wynnchurch Capital, L.P.
FILE PHOTO: White House economic advisor Brian Deese speaks during a briefing about the bipartisan infrastructure law at the White House in Washington, U.S., May 16, 2022. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Biden administration does not plan to continue releases from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) beyond the original six-month period, White House economic adviser Brian Deese said on Tuesday.

The administration said in late March it would release a record 1 million barrels of oil per day for six months from the SPR, held in hollowed-out salt caverns on the coasts of Louisiana and Texas.

"As we sit here today, we don't have an intention to continue that further," Deese said.

(Reporting By Jarrett Renshaw; Editing by Chris Reese)
Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE: AXTA) (Axalta), a leading global coatings company, today announced that Robert Bryant will step down as President and Chief Executive Officer to pursue other opportunities, effective August 31, 2022. He will also step down as a member of the Board of Directors at such time. Rakesh Sachdev, an independent director and former Chief Executive Officer of Platform Specialty Products Corporation (now renamed Element Solutions Inc.) and Sigma-Aldrich Corporation, will assume the role of interim Chief Executive Officer at that time. The Board has initiated a comprehensive search process to identify a new CEO.

Bill Cook, Axaltas Board Chair, said, On behalf of the Board of Directors, I would like to thank Robert for his leadership and dedication to Axalta. Robert joined the company as CFO in 2013 when it was first carved out of DuPont and played a key role in Axaltas successful IPO and listing on the NYSE in 2014. Since being appointed President, CEO and Director in 2018, Robert has built a strong leadership team and spearheaded our transition to a business-centric operational model that has allowed us to be more customer focused, while also advancing our innovation and human capital programs. Id like to extend a special thanks for his leadership during the unprecedented challenges weve faced over the past few years related to the COVID-19 pandemic and global supply chain issues. We wish Robert continued success in his next endeavors.

Cook continued, Our Board remains committed to continuing the acceleration of Axaltas performance and unlocking long-term value for our shareholders and enhanced opportunities for our employees. With more than three decades of experience in the management of public and private chemical, life sciences and industrial businesses, Rakesh is a proven leader and the right choice to serve as Axaltas interim CEO. The Board has tremendous confidence in Axaltas leadership team and is focused on ensuring the teams continuity during this transition.

Sachdev commented, Axalta is an industry leader with clear priorities and paths to achieve secular growth and market share gains by leveraging our technology platforms and continuing to launch new and innovative products. During this transitionary period, I look forward to partnering with Axaltas deep bench of senior leaders to drive further growth as end-markets normalize over time and to execute flawlessly on our strategy to significantly enhance value for all our stakeholders.

Bryant said, It has been an honor and a privilege to lead such a talented team across the globe. I am proud of the tremendous progress our company has made during my tenure. I want to thank our leadership team and employees for their tireless commitment to the company and our customers around the world. I look forward to watching Axalta realize its full potential.

About Rakesh Sachdev

Rakesh Sachdev has served as an independent director of Axalta since August 2020. Mr. Sachdev is currently Chairman of the Board of Regal Rexnord Corporation and serves as a board member of Edgewell Personal Care Company and Herc Holdings. He is also a senior advisor at New Mountain Capital. Mr. Sachdev has deep experience in the chemical, industrial and life sciences industries and brings significant global expertise in strategy, finance, operations and M&A. He most recently served as CEO of Platform Specialty Products Corporation, a leading global specialty chemicals company, from 2016 to 2019. Prior to that, he led Sigma-Aldrich Corporation, a leading S&P 500 global life sciences and technology company, as its President and CEO from 2010 until 2015, when it was acquired by Merck KGaA. Mr. Sachdev previously held executive positions at Meritor, Inc., a global supplier of automotive systems and components, and Cummins Inc., a global engine and power systems manufacturer. Mr. Sachdev received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, his M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and his M.B.A. from Indiana University.

Second Quarter 2022 Earnings Conference Call

Axalta announced today its financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2022. The press release and supporting materials can be accessed on the Investor Relations portion of axalta.com.

The company will host a conference call at 8 a.m. ET on Wednesday, July 27, 2022. Robert W. Bryant, Chief Executive Officer, Rakesh Sachdev, incoming interim Chief Executive Officer, and Sean Lannon, Chief Financial Officer, will review the Company's financial performance for the period. A live webcast of the conference call will be available online at www.axalta.com/investorcall. A replay of the webcast will be posted shortly after the call and will remain accessible through July 27, 2023.

The dial-in phone number for the conference call is 201-689-8560. For those unable to participate, a replay of the call will be available through August 3, 2022. The replay dial-in number is 412-317-6671. The replay passcode is 13731360.

About Axalta Coating Systems

Axalta is a global leader in the coatings industry, providing customers with innovative, colorful, beautiful and sustainable coatings solutions. From light vehicles, commercial vehicles and refinish applications to electric motors, building facades and other industrial applications, our coatings are designed to prevent corrosion, increase productivity and enhance durability. With more than 150 years of experience in the coatings industry, the global team at Axalta continues to find ways to serve our more than 100,000 customers in over 140 countries better every day with the finest coatings, application systems and technology. For more information visit axalta.com and follow us @axalta on Twitter.

This release may contain certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 regarding Axalta and its subsidiaries. Axalta has identified some of these forward-looking statements with words such as anticipated, assumes, believe, expect, estimates, likely, outlook, project, may, will, plans, guidance, could, looking, we see, strategy, should, potential, continue, growth, and look forward and the negative of these words or other comparable or similar terminology. All of these statements are based on managements expectations as well as estimates and assumptions prepared by management that, although they believe to be reasonable, are inherently uncertain. These statements involve risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, economic, competitive, governmental, geopolitical and technological factors outside of Axaltas control, including the effects of COVID-19 and risks and uncertainties associated with a transition in leadership of Axalta, that may cause its business, industry, strategy, financing activities or actual results to differ materially. More information on potential factors that could affect Axaltas financial results is available in Forward-Looking Statements, Risk Factors and Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations within Axaltas most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, and in other documents that we have filed with, or furnished to, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Axalta undertakes no obligation to update or revise any of the forward-looking statements contained herein, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Axalta Coating Systems

50 Applied Bank Blvd

Suite 300

Glen Mills, PA 19342

USA Investor Contact

Christopher Evans

D +1 484 724 4099

[email protected] Media Contact

Robert Donohoe

D +1 267 756 3803

[email protected]




Build-A-Bear Workshop (NYSE: BBW) continues its year-long silver celebration to commemorate its landmark 25th anniversary with exciting new releases from the Vault and new collaBEARations with popular licensed partners. Expand your collection with these unique furry friends that promise to be filled with heart and hugs.

CELEBRATE 25 YEARS OF FURRY FRIENDS WITH THIS EXCLUSIVE RELEASE FROM THE VAULTFollowing the successful re-imaginings of several classic furry friends Build-A-Bear today announced the launch of Floppy Kitty. Inspired by the 1998 design, this plush animal makes the purrr-fect addition to any collection! Available exclusively online, this limited-edition product includes a commemorative silver 25th Celebration Collection emblem on its right paw pad.

New furry friends inspired by classic Build-A-Bear plush continue to be released from the Vault each month, with Floppy Kitty being the seventh anniversary collectible. Use the handy Collector's Guide to keep track, but don't wait, two have already sold out! Don't miss a release by visiting the 25th Celebration page to learn more and to sign up for updates throughout the year!

NEW COLLECTORS' ITEMS FOR FANS: TWO NEW PIKACHU Pokemon fans will love the two new Pikachu plush for the Build-A-Bear 25th Celebration! Pikachu was the first Pokemon plush ever released at Build-A-Bear Workshop, and this fan-favorite Electric-type Pokemon is now available in two special limited editions to celebrate our 25th year. Two different plush styles are available in stores and online, both with sparkly yellow fur and a collector's emblem on the paw pad, with one featuring a winking face. Signature 6-in-1 sound chips, Pokemon varsity jackets and sleepers complete the look for each Pikachu. The adorable Pikachu is a must-have addition to any Pokemon Trainer's team!

ENJOY FAIRY-TALE FUN WITH THE NEW DISNEY PRINCESS-INSPIRED BEARGo on fairy tale adventures with the Disney Princess-Inspired Bear, created specifically for Build-A-Bear's 25th Celebration! With its sparkly fur, Disney Princess characters on the paw pads, and a silver 25th Celebration emblem to commemorate the special year, this enchanting bear makes the ultimate gift for any Disney fan or collector. Bringing magic to homes, the Disney Princess-Inspired Bear features six of the strong heroines beloved by generations of Disney fans on its paw pad. Fans can also select their favorite Disney Princess costume and dress the bear up for the ultimate Disney Princess collectible.

As part of the ongoing celebration of the brand's 25th year, Build-A-Bear will continue releasing limited editions of fan-favorite characters this year! Featuring updated designs, including special silver details, these furry friends are must-have additions to any Build-A-Bear fan's collection! Sign up to be updated on new releases on Build-A-Bear's 25th Celebration page.

CELEBRATING 25 YEARS OF MEMORIESAs Build-A-Bear celebrates 25 years of fun and laughter, Guests are invited to share their favorite and furriest memories  or make new ones! Guests can join the celebration and "Show Your Stuff" by uploading pictures to the gallery at buildabear.com or post to social media using #buildabear. With over 200 million furry friends made since the company's inception, there are sure to be many memories to share, whether it's a photo of a very first Build-A-Bear furry friend, furry friends that commemorate special moments, or the making of an all-new furry friend. The anniversary is the perfect opportunity to remember past hugs & celebrate future connections by creating an epic time capsule of memories and personal stories.

ENTER THE BEARY BIG ADVENTURE SWEEPSTAKESBuild-A-Bear fans have a chance at a unique opportunity to celebrate their love of Build-A-Bear in a beary special way. Enter the BEARY BIG Adventure Sweepstakes for a chance to win a grand prize trip to celebrate the brand's 25th anniversary! One lucky winner will experience a trip for four to the World Bearquarters in St. Louis, complete with a VIP experience at the company's flagship Workshop and exclusive entry to the Build-A-Bear Silver Celebration Gala in October 2022. Enter now for your chance to win!

JOIN THE BONUS CLUBBuild-A-Bear's Bonus Club will have member-exclusive store and online offers throughout the year. Bonus Club members will be among the first to receive news of the latest products, events and those still to come surprises. Sign up online to start receiving the latest updates.

SHOP ONLINEGuests can also engage in unique digital experiences and shop online at www.buildabear.com including the interactive "Bear-Builder", the animated "Bear Builder 3D Workshop" and the age-gated adult-focused "Bear Cave". They also have delivery options including Buy Online, Pickup In Store to have their purchase ready to pick up at a local Workshop. To explore gift options by occasion, recipient, category and price, guests can visit the Build-A-Bear GiftShop.

LEGAL DISCLAIMER NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR TO WIN. Many will enter only one (1) will win. The Build-A-Bear Workshop"Beary Big Adventure" Sweepstakes begins 12:00:00 a.m. CT on June 25, 2022 and ends 11:59:59 p.m. CT on August 25, 2022. Open only to legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia who are 18 years of age or older at time of entry. For details on how to enter, timing, and Official Rules go to: www.buildabear.com/sweepstakes. Void where prohibited. SPONSOR: Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc., 415 South 18th Street, St. Louis, MO 63103, USA.
CEMEX, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE: CX) and Advent International (Advent) announced today that Advent, one of the largest and most experienced global private equity investors, will partner with CEMEX to accelerate the growth and development of NEORIS. As a global provider of tech consultancy and digital transformation services, NEORIS will strengthen its capabilities and reach through Advents expertise in the space.

With Advents support, NEORIS will deepen its focus on cutting-edge, high-growth verticals such as artificial intelligence, data science, cloud solutions, and automation, among others. These verticals are aligned with CEMEXs priorities for its continued digital transformation. NEORIS will also continue focusing on strategic industries such as financial services, telecommunications, media, manufacturing, retail, and consumer packaged goods, among others.

We are thrilled to become shareholders of NEORIS. The technological sector is growing fast and has relevant tailwinds for this to continue going forward, as companies of all sizes embark on the digital transformation journey. We are excited to be part of a leading business in the sector such as NEORIS, says Juan Pablo Zucchini, Managing Partner of Advent.

We are excited that Advent is investing in NEORIS, launching the next stage of a journey that started two decades ago, says Luis Hernandez, Executive Vice President of Digital and Organization Development at CEMEX. CEMEX remains committed to leveraging digital technology to spearhead the evolution of the building materials industry. This partnership strengthens NEORIS and its role as a strategic ally for us.

Founded over 20 years ago, NEORIS has successfully executed over 1,200 large-scale projects for more than 350 blue chip clients. It currently has more than 5,000 employees located in 14 countries in Latin America, USA, and Europe, working under a nearshore delivery model.

We are delighted to partner with NEORIS and CEMEX. NEORIS provides a phenomenal value proposition to its ever-growing customer base. We look forward to working together in this new phase of accelerated growth and further internationalization, says Ariel Blumenkranc, Managing Director of Advent in Mexico.

"This is excellent news and a great opportunity to propel our growth strategy," says Martin Mendez, CEO of NEORIS. "The arrival of Advent is a reflection of our success, which we could not have achieved without the support of CEMEX, our 5,000 employees, and our customers. Our achievements and strategy have benefited from our management teams deep understanding of digital trends, industries, and markets. We look forward to collaborating with Advent to grow the business further and taking full advantage of the tailwinds of the technology space. We also look forward to bringing new ideas and our expertise to our ongoing relationship with CEMEX."

As part of the creation of the partnership, Advent will acquire from CEMEX a 65% stake in NEORIS. CEMEX will retain a 35% stake and remain as a key strategic partner and customer of NEORIS, supporting CEMEXs efforts to provide a superior customer experience enabled by digital technologies.

Subject to satisfaction of closing conditions, including approvals from antitrust authorities, Advent and CEMEX expect to finalize the transaction during the second half of 2022.
Livent (NYSE: LTHM) and General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) announced today a significant multi-year sourcing agreement in which Livent will supply GM with battery-grade lithium hydroxide made primarily from lithium extracted at Livent's brine-based operations in South America. Lithium hydroxide is crucial to GM's plans to make higher performance, higher mileage EVs. The lithium hydroxide from Livent will be used in GM's Ultium battery cathodes, which will power electric vehicles such as the recently revealed Chevrolet Blazer EV, Chevrolet Silverado EV, GMC HUMMER EV and Cadillac LYRIQ.

Livent's battery-grade lithium hydroxide, made primarily from lithium extracted at its brine-based operations in South America, to be used in production of GM's electric vehicles

100% of Livent's downstream lithium hydroxide processing for GM to transition to North America over the course of the agreement

Both companies prioritize commitment to responsible operations and sustainable supply chains

GM has contractually secured all battery raw material to support its goal of 1 million units of EV capacity in North America by the end of 2025

Livent will provide battery-grade lithium hydroxide to GM over a six-year period beginning in 2025. Over the course of the agreement, Livent will increasingly supply battery-grade lithium hydroxide to GM from its manufacturing facilities in the U.S., with the goal of transitioning 100% of Livent's downstream lithium hydroxide processing for GM to North America. The agreement is expected to help secure supply for GM while assisting Livent in expanding its North American capabilities.

Both GM and Livent share a commitment to responsible operations and sustainable supply chains through industry and multi-stakeholder platforms. General Motors is a member of the Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI), joined the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA) in 2021 and plans to become carbon neutral in global products and operations by 2040. Livent is actively engaged in an IRMA third-party assessment, has a gold rating from EcoVadis for sustainability and has announced a goal of overall carbon neutrality by 2040.

"We are building a strong, sustainable, scalable and secure supply chain to help meet our fast-growing EV production needs," said Jeff Morrison, GM vice president, Global Purchasing and Supply Chain. "We will further localize the lithium supply chain in North America over the course of the agreement. In addition, it is aligned with our approach to responsible sourcing and supply chain management and demonstrates our commitment to strong supplier relationships."

"Importantly, GM now has contractual commitments secured with strategic partners for all battery raw material to support our goal of 1 million units of EV capacity by the end of 2025," added Morrison.

Paul Graves, president and chief executive officer of Livent commented, "We are excited to begin this long-term relationship with GM, one of the most iconic brands in the automotive industry and a leading force in the transition to electrification. With a shared commitment to sustainability and responsible operations, we look forward to building a broad partnership that will support GM's electric vehicle strategy, its supply chain goals and the future requirements of its growing EV fleet for reliable, high-performance lithium products."

GM will discuss the agreement as part of its earnings call later this morning, and Livent will do the same as part of its upcoming second quarter 2022 earnings call on August 2.
FILE PHOTO: The S&P Global logo is displayed on its offices in the financial district in New York City, U.S., December 13, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

(Reuters) - S&P Global Ratings said on Tuesday it had revised its outlook on its unsolicited BBB/A-2 ratings on Italy to stable from positive.

The ratings agency, which affirmed all of its sovereign ratings on the country, said the stable outlook balances rising risks to the economy and public finances from external and domestic factors.

(Reporting by Anirudh Saligrama in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva)
FILE PHOTO: A view shows pipes at the landfall facilities of the 'Nord Stream 1' gas pipeline in Lubmin, Germany, July 21, 2022. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse/File Photo

By Victoria Waldersee and Riham Alkousaa

BERLIN (Reuters) - German firms are attempting to reduce gas use in response to a government plea to spare reserves, but savings may be limited without production cuts, companies and industry associations across autos, chemicals and engineering told Reuters.

Switching from gas to other fuels, such as coal or oil as a short-term solution is possible for companies with burners on-site, but Berlin needs to help by speeding approvals for resulting higher carbon emissions, associations said.

Mercedes-Benz said it is now replacing its natural gas-fuelled combined heat and power plants with green electricity, declining to specify what type.

Germany's car association VDA said others were also exploring a similar measure - but if the entire auto industry made the switch, its electricity demand on the grid would rise up to 15%, it warned.

"Both options imply cost increases for industry and require a stable electricity grid as well as quick bureaucratic approval for fuel switching," VDA president Hildegard Mueller said, referring to a switch to electricity from the grid or oil.

In its push to curb its reliance on Russian gas after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, Germany has already cut the share of gas in its electricity production to around 6% this year from 15.2% last year and has permitted reconnecting coal-fired power plants to the grid.

Germany's gas-guzzling chemicals industry could lower gas consumption by 2% to 3% by fuel switching, national chemical industry association VCI told Reuters.

Germany's energy regulator, the Bundesnetzagentur, is currently assessing data from the country's 2,500 biggest industrial gas consumers on their needs and emergency reduction plans to set up a so-called "gas safety platform," due to go live in October.

The government will also allow large gas users to auction contracted gas volumes they will not use to stabilize the market.

Still, it is an open question whether any companies will have gas to spare, industry representatives contacted by Reuters said. And given limits on fuel switching, more substantial gas savings were likely to require lowering production or shifting it abroad, they warned.

Whether companies would opt for cutting production to save energy would depend on the auction model and whether potential government compensation for gas savings outweighed the cost of production losses, VCI energy expert Joerg Rothermel said.

"One or the other product would no longer be produced, or perhaps bought somewhere else on the global market. We would be losing added value," said Matthias Zelinger, climate expert at German engineering association VDMA, said.

Germany's engineering companies could cope with 20-40% less gas in the short term but there has to be less red tape required to switch fuels, change shifts or reduce workplace temperatures, he said.

"We're losing time... this is the time to save and store gas to have enough stocks for winter," Zelinger said.

BMW said it was already reducing its gas intake but further savings were only possible for a limited period without jeopardising output.

"The entire industry must be taken into account and savings managed centrally in order to ensure neutrality in competition," a spokesperson for the premium carmaker said.

Bosch, the world's largest auto supplier, said it had lowered the temperature in offices and logistics spaces, as has Volkswagen's premium car brand Audi.

"These measures largely exhaust the potential for short-term energy savings," the VDA's Mueller said. "Any further cuts would involve far-reaching interventions into production, with consequences for employees and suppliers."

(Reporting by Victoria Waldersee, Riham Alkousaa; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)
FILE PHOTO: The Cruise Origin autonomous vehicle, a Honda and General Motors self-driving car partnership, is seen during its unveiling in San Francisco, California, U.S. January 21, 2020. REUTERS/Stephen Lam

By Joseph White

DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Co has lost nearly $5 billion since 2018 trying to build a robotaxi business in San Francisco, and now as the automaker's Cruise unit starts charging for rides, the losses are accelerating.

GM said on Tuesday it lost $500 million on Cruise during the second quarter - more than $5 million a day - as it began charging for rides in a limited area of San Francisco.

Cruise's costly effort to transform autonomous driving technology from a long-term research project to a profit-spinning business comes as investors are backing away from riskier bets on technology, and reassessing how soon robot vehicles of any kind will be deployed in large scale on public roads.

Shares of autonomous vehicle technology company Aurora Innovation Inc, for example, are down 80% for the year to date. Shares of robo-trucking company TuSimple Holdings Inc have lost more than 70% of their value. Some automakers, including Ford Motor Co, have scaled back investments in automated vehicle units, or taken on partners to share the costs.

Tesla Inc has missed deadlines to deploy software to enable what it calls "full self driving" capability as regulators investigate accidents involving its Autopilot assisted driving system.

Cruise's losses for the first six months of the year deepened to $900 million from $600 million during the same period in 2021 - when Cruise was not charging for rides. Higher compensation costs to keep staff on board after putting aside plans for an IPO were one factor in the results, GM executives said.

Chief Executive Mary Barra said on Tuesday she is still bullish on Cruise, and reaffirmed a forecast that the unit could generate $50 billion a year in revenue from automated vehicle services and technology by 2030.

But turning the losses around will depend on some factors GM cannot control, including winning approval from California regulators to greatly expand Cruise's hours of operation, and widening the territory covered by its automated taxis.

GM said in an investor presentation the permit from San Francisco was "a major event" in pursuing the $50 billion target.

Cruise in February petitioned U.S. auto safety regulators to grant exemptions to deploy up to 2,500 self-driving vehicles without human controls like steering wheels and brake pedals. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) last week published the petition and opened it for public comment for 30 days.

SCALING UP

GM wants to deploy the Origin, a vehicle with subway-like doors and no steering wheels, for both rideshare and delivery operations.

Reports of accidents involving Cruise automated cabs and brief traffic tie-ups caused by Cruise-operated Chevy Bolt electric cars could complicate that effort, as will opposition from San Francisco transit unions. NHTSA said earlier this month it opened a special investigation into a recent crash of a Cruise self-driving vehicle in California that resulted in minor injuries.

During a call with analysts on Tuesday, Barra and Cruise's chief executive, Kyle Vogt, portrayed the losses at Cruise as investments in scaling up a business with enormous growth potential.

"When youve got the opportunity to go after a trillon-dollar market, you dont casually wade into that," Vogt said. "Aggressively pursuing the market is a competitive advantage."

Barra said Cruise and GM plan to offer a more detailed explanation of the strategy to turn a profit at an event in San Francisco in September.

But some analysts were skeptical.

"Can this unit (or any other AV/robotaxi effort) scale without exacerbating the losses?" Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas asked in a note. "We are fans of autonomy with a 10- to 20-year view, but believe investor expectations are due for a major reset. "

Cruise is not in immediate need of cash. GM said the robotaxi unit has $3.7 billion, and a $5 billion credit facility from GM's financial arm dedicated to buying automated Cruise Origin electric vehicles from the automaker.

However, that cash would run out in less than two years if Cruise keeps burning money at the current rate.

Asked whether Cruise could consume even more cash as it tries to grow next year, Barra told analysts they will have to wait for an answer until a Goldman Sachs conference in September.

"I would say we are going to make sure we fund Cruise and the spending is done in such a way that we can gain share and have a leadership position," Barra said. "We have plans that we're taking cost out as well, as the technology matures."

(Reporting By Joseph White in Detroit, David Shepardson in Washington and Hyunjoo Jin in San Francisco; Writing by Joseph White; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
McLean, VA, July 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- After two days of its first-ever fixed-wing test flights in western Maryland, AURA Network Systems (AURA) reported successful demonstrations of its critical communications links to assure safe operations of remotely piloted commercial flights beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS).

The testing was designed to simulate remotely piloted regional air cargo flights, which many operators plan to utilize as an early commercial application of BVLOS technology.

Company officials said the flightsconducted in conjunction with Hagerstown aviation integration, testing and training company DSTconfirmed three years of engineering development that included significant on-ground testing. Last weeks evaluation featured a demonstration of AURAs safety-critical Control and Non-Payload Communications (CNPC) links by outfitting a DST aircraft with an AURA airborne radio and voice communications module. Both AURA and DST officials lauded the results.

Our entire AURA team is thrilled that our collaboration with DST confirms the progress were making, noted AURA CEO Bill Tolpegin. It reflects our momentum and underscores why weve designed our network to provide safe and reliable command and control (C2) links encompassing command data, telemetry data and our own air traffic control (ATC) voice solution.

AURA Chief Network Officer Mike Gagne, who directed the demonstration, explained, Our two-day testing confirms our private network is capable of meeting federal requirements assuring safe operations of remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) in controlled airspace. Weve simulated what the future of air transportation will look like by utilizing our proprietary air interface and introducing services like ATC voice relay, C2 and detect and avoid.

He particularly credited AURAs network and engineering teams for demonstrating a pathway for the company's partners to comply with the Federal Aviation Administrations (FAA) ATC voice requirements. The company plans to continue its flight testing during the National Advanced Air Mobility Industry Forum held August 22-23 in Springfield, Ohio.

DST CEO Dana Smith echoed the AURA comments: We are excited to be at the tip of the spear in supporting AURAs disruptive technologies to more quickly usher in the future of remotely piloted aircraft operations. Our role has been to integrate AURA antennas and sensors on our aircraft and help provide a real-world simulation for their unique technologies.

Tolpegin also said, AURA has positioned itself at the center of functional and regulatory solutions integrating remotely piloted aircraft into controlled airspace. We remain determined to deliver our industry a certifiably safe and reliable communications network. That approach has led to a four-year FAA cooperative R&D agreement and two Space Act agreements with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

About AURA Network Systems

AURA is on a mission to deliver an FAA-compliant nationwide network utilizing unique, licensed aviation spectrum to accelerate advanced levels of autonomy in the National Airspace System. Its vision is to empower the aerospace industrys pioneering technology solutions that improve accessibility and safety, drive economic expansion and further environmental sustainabilitywhile transforming the concept of aviation for crewed and remotely piloted aircraft. AURAs frequencies in the 450 MHz band have extraordinary propagation characteristics ideal for secure and reliable communications. The companys technology increases the commercial viability of autonomous operations. See auranetworksystems.com for more information.

Source: AURA Network Systems
Coalition of Large California Payers Commit to Accelerating Widespread Adoption of Advanced Primary Care with The Goal of Reducing Costs and Improving Quality and Equity

San Francisco, July 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As part of a new multi-stakeholder initiative, six health care organizations serving California have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to increase investment in and access to advanced primary care, a model that emphasizes comprehensive, person-focused care, integration of behavioral and physical health services and high-quality outcomes. The agreement outlines a new initiative that strengthens the primary care delivery system throughout the state by enabling primary care practices to transform to a high-performing, value-based care model that reduces costs and improves quality and equity.

Known as the California Advanced Primary Care Initiative, the effort is jointly led by California Quality Collaborative (CQC), a program of the nonprofit coalition Purchaser Business Group on Health (PBGH), and the Integrated Healthcare Association (IHA). CQC and IHA convened the states largest payers to collectively adopt a model to transform primary care statewide.

The six organizations committed to the California Advanced Primary Care Initiative include Aetna, Aledade, Blue Shield of California, Health Net, Oscar and UnitedHealthcare. The initiative is a first-of-its kind agreement that represents a voluntary joint effort among payers to standardize the way they finance, support and measure the delivery of Advanced Primary Care.

This initiative builds upon a long history of stakeholder collaboration to improve the care and health of Californians and moves us from vision to action with aligned priorities to scale high-quality primary care throughout the state, says Crystal Eubanks, senior director of CQC.

This initiative reflects our understanding that the impact of any one payer alone is limited, says Peter Long, executive vice president of Strategy and Health Solutions at Blue Shield of California. Thats why Blue Shield is committed to partnering with our peer payers and providers to scale delivery of high-quality primary care across the state. Ultimately, we know this is what is best for our members, and we all must work together to make this vision a reality.

California Advanced Primary Care Initiative stakeholders committed to pursuing the following goals in the MOU:

Transparency: Report primary care investment and adoption of value-based payment models that support the delivery of advanced primary care and performance on the advanced primary care measure set jointly developed by CQC and IHA, a list of metrics that enable purchasers, health plans and providers to identify primary care practices in a given market that are delivering the best results for patients. Payment: Adopt an agreed upon value-based payment model for primary care providers that offers flexibility, supports team-based care delivery and incentivizes the right care at the right time. Investment: Collaboratively set increased primary care investment quantitative goals without increasing the total cost of care. Practice Transformation : Provide technical assistance to primary care practices to implement clinical and business models for success in value-based payment models, integration of behavioral health and reduction of disparities.

"Health Net is proud to be part of this groundbreaking collaboration that will support physicians in providing high-quality, coordinated care for millions of Californians. As a practicing primary care doctor, I am especially heartened by the opportunity to better integrate behavioral and physical health, a key strategy for effectively addressing our behavioral health crisis, says Todd May, M.D., vice president and medical director of Health Nets commercial business.

Primary care is the heart of all health care, says Jeff Hermosillo, California Market President at Aetna. This innovative initiative will help ensure accessible, affordable and high-quality primary care to improve the well-being of all Californians. Working together with our peers, providers, plan sponsors and members, we are committed to primary care that makes a difference in peoples lives.

CQC and IHA have been collaborating since 2019 to develop shared standards of advanced primary care, including common definitions of practice attributes, a performance measure set, methods to identify quality at the practice level and a value-based primary care payment model.

I am so inspired to see payers collaborating together in a new way toward this timely, crucial cause that will elevate primary care and improve patient lives in California, says Dolores Yanagihara, vice president of Strategic Initiatives at IHA.

###

About Purchaser Business Group on Health

PBGH is a nonprofit coalition representing nearly 40 private employers and public entities across the U.S. that collectively spend $350 billion annually purchasing health care services for more than 21 million Americans and their families. In partnership with large employers and other health care purchasers, PBGH initiatives are designed to test innovative operational programs and scale successful approaches that lower health care costs and increase quality across the U.S.

About Integrated Healthcare Association

The Integrated Healthcare Association (IHA) brings the healthcare community together to solve industry-wide challenges that stand in the way of high-value care. As a non-profit industry association, we use our decades of expertise, objective data, and unique role as a trusted facilitator to make the healthcare system work better for everyone. We provide insights that help the healthcare system continuously improve. We build new tools that simplify how the industry works together. And we provide a forum for cross-industry leaders  through our boards and programs  to have honest conversations that guide the future of healthcare.

Attachment
Grand Baie, MAURITIUS, July 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In the news release issued earlier today there was an error. In relation to the dividend declared on 5 July 2022, the dividend record date should have read 22 July 2022, and not 29 July 2022. Please find below the complete and corrected news release.

Alphamin Resources Corp. (AFM:TSXV, APH:JSE AltX)( Alphamin or the Company), a producer of 4% of the worlds mined tin1 from its high grade operation in the Democratic Republic of Congo, is pleased to provide the following operational update for the quarter ended June 2022:

Record quarterly tin production of 3 ,1 8 0 tonnes

Q 2 EBITD A 3 of US $ 6 7 m

of Interim dividend for FY2022 of CAD$0.03 per share declared on 5 July 2022

Operational and Financial Summary for the Quarter ended June 20222

Description Units Actual Quarter ended June 2022 Quarter ended March 2022 Change Ore Processed Tonnes 112,569 105,565 7 % Tin Grade Processed % Sn 3.65 3.73 -2 % Overall Plant Recovery % 77.3 77.7 -1 % Contained Tin Produced Tonnes 3,180 3,061 4 % Contained Tin Sold Tonnes 3,229 3,336 -3 % EBITDA3 US$'000 67,004 98,104 -32 % AISC3 US$/t sold 14,677 15,782 -7 % Net Cash3 (Cash less debt) US$'000 138,146 129,775 6 % Tin Price Achieved US$/t 35,345 43,834 -19 %

__________________________________________________________________________________________

1Data obtained from International Tin Association Tin Industry Review Update 2021 2Production information is disclosed on a 100% basis. Alphamin indirectly owns 84.14% of its operating subsidiary to which the information relates. Totals may not add due to rounding effects. 3This is not a standardized financial measure and may not be comparable to similar financial measures of other issuers.See Use of Non-IFRS Financial Measures below for the composition and calculation of this financial measure. Operational and Financial Performance  Q2 2022

Contained tin production of 3,180 tonnes represents a quarterly record, 4% above the previous quarter. Underground mining and processing plant recoveries were in line with expectations. Year-to-date contained tin production of 6,241 tonnes exceeded the run-rate to achieve market guidance of 12,000 tonnes for the year ending December 2022. We expect contained tin production and sales of approximately 3,000 tonnes for the quarter ending September 2022.

AISC per tonne of tin sold decreased by 7% to US$14,677 following a 4% increase in production and the impact of lower tin prices on off-mine costs related to product marketing fees, royalties, export duties and smelter payables.

EBITDA for Q2 2022 amounted to US$67m (Q1: US$98m) at an average achieved tin price of US$35,345/t (Q1: US$43,834/t). In addition to a higher tin price, the previous quarters sales volumes included a catch-up from delayed sales during Q4 2021.

The Alphamin consolidated Net Cash position increased by US$8,3 million during Q2 2022 to US$138.1 million. This increase is after a FY2021 corporate tax payment of US$43.5 million to the DRC government in April 2022.

Alphamins unaudited consolidated financial statements and accompanying Managements Discussion and Analysis for the quarter ended 30 June 2022 have been filed and are available under the Companys profile at www.sedar.com.

Interim FY2022 Dividend Declared

On 5 July 2022, the Board resolved to declare an interim FY2022 cash dividend of CAD$0.03 per share on the common shares (approximately US$30m in the aggregate) (the Dividend). The Dividend will be payable on 5 August 2022 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on 22 July 2022. Dividend distributions will be considered semi-annually based on excess free cash after taking account of capital funding requirements, including for the new Mpama South expansion project.

Qualified Person

Mr. Clive Brown, Pr. Eng., B.Sc. Engineering (Mining), is a qualified person (QP) as defined in National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information contained in this news release. He is a Principal Consultant and Director of Bara Consulting Pty Limited, an independent technical consultant to the Company._________________________________________________________________________________________

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Maritz Smith CEO Alphamin Resources Corp. Tel: +230 269 4166E-mail: [email protected]

JSE SponsorNedbank Corporate and Investment Banking, a division of Nedbank Limited

CAUTION REGARDING FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

Information in this news release that is not a statement of historical fact constitutes forward-looking information. Forward-looking statements contained herein include, without limitation, statements relating to contained tin production guidance for Q3 2022 and FY 2022. Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions management believes to be reasonable at the time such statements are made. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Although Alphamin has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from expected results described in forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: uncertainties regarding estimates of the expected mined tin grades, processing plant performance and recoveries, uncertainties with respect to social, community and environmental impacts, uninterupted access to required infrastructure and third party service providers, adverse political and geopolitical events, uncertainties regarding the legislative requirements in the Democratic Republic of the Congo which may result in unexpected fines and penalties, impacts of the global Covid-19 pandemic on mining operations and commodity prices as well as those risk factors set out in the Companys Management Discussion and Analysis and other disclosure documents available under the Companys profile at www.sedar.com. Forward-looking statements contained herein are made as of the date of this news release and Alphamin disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its regulation services provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

USE OF NON-IFRS FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE MEASURES

This announcement refers to the following non-IFRS financial performance measures:

EBITDA

EBITDA is profit before net finance expense, income taxes and depreciation, depletion, and amortization. EBITDA provides insight into our overall business performance (a combination of cost management and growth) and is the corresponding flow driver towards the objective of achieving industry-leading returns. This measure assists readers in understanding the ongoing cash generating potential of the business including liquidity to fund working capital, servicing debt, and funding capital expenditures and investment opportunities.

This measure is not recognized under IFRS as it does not have any standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS and is therefore unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers. EBITDA data is intended to provide additional information and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS.

NET CASH

Net cash is defined as cash and cash equivalents less total current and non-current portions of interest-bearing debt and lease liabilities.

AISC

This measures the costs to produce and sell a tonne of contained tin plus the capital sustaining costs to maintain the mine, processing plant and infrastructure. AISC includes mine operating production expenses such as mining, processing, administration, indirect charges (including surface maintenance and camp and tailings dam construction costs), smelting costs and deductions, refining and freight, distribution, royalties and product marketing fees. AISC does not include depreciation, depletion, and amortization, reclamation expenses, borrowing costs and exploration expenses.

Sustaining capital expenditures are defined as those expenditures which do not increase contained tin production at a mine site and excludes all expenditures at the Companys projects and certain expenditures at the Companys operating sites which are deemed expansionary in nature.

Reconciliation of operating profit to EBITDA Q2 2022 Q1 2022 Variance Q2 2022 Q2 2021 Variance Operating Profit $'000 59,534 90,438 -34 % 59,534 27,120 120 % Adjustments; Depreciation, depletion & amortisation $'000 7,015 6,852 2 % 7,015 6,419 9 % Depreciation in stock movement $'000 73 398 -82 % 73 (37 ) -297 % Borrowing costs in G&A $'000 20 12 67 % 20 383 -95 % Share based payments in G&A $'000 235 278 -15 % 235 85 176 % Depreciation in G&A $'000 127 126 1 % 127 107 19 % EBITDA 2,3 $'000 67,004 98,104 -32 % 67,004 34,077 97 %

Further information on the calculation of our EBITDA and AISC is contained on pages 5 and 6 of our Managements Discussion and Analysis  Quarterly Highlights dated July 26, 2022 which has been filed and available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and is incorporated by reference herein.

Source: Alphamin Resources Corp.
WINNIPEG, Manitoba, July 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- DELTA 9 CANNABIS INC. (TSX: DN) (OTCQX: DLTNF) (Delta 9 or the Company) is pleased to announce the completion of the cash repayment of its unsecured 8.5% convertible debentures issued on July 17, 2019, which had a maturity date of July 17, 2022 (the "Convertible Debentures"). The $11.8 million cash repayment represents a full payout of the Convertible Debentures. The Convertible Debentures were previously traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the trading symbol DN.DB.

The Company met the pre-disbursement conditions required to draw-down $11.8 million under its credit facility with ConnectFirst Credit Union and concurrently made the cash repayment of the Convertible Debentures. The Company's $11.8 million draw-down from its credit facility is subject to a 60-month repayment term at a fixed rate of 4.55% per annum, amortized over 144 months.

For more information contact:

Investor & Media Contact:Ian Chadsey VP Corporate AffairsMobile: 204-898-7722E-mail: [email protected]

About Delta 9 Cannabis Inc.

Delta 9 Cannabis Inc. is a vertically integrated cannabis company focused on bringing the highest quality cannabis products to market. The Company sells cannabis products through its wholesale and retail sales channels and sells its cannabis grow pods to other businesses. Delta 9's wholly-owned subsidiary, Delta 9 Bio-Tech Inc., is a licensed producer of medical and recreational cannabis and operates an 80,000 square foot production facility in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Delta 9 owns and operates a chain of retail stores under the Delta 9 Cannabis Store brand. Delta 9's shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "DN" and on the OTCQX under the symbol DLTNF. For more information, please visit www.delta9.ca.

Disclaimer for Forward-Looking Information

Certain statements in this release are forward-looking statements, which reflect the expectations of management regarding the Companys future business plans and other matters. Forward-looking statements consist of statements that are not purely historical, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, performance or developments to differ materially from those contained in the statements, including the Companys actual financial results being different from its estimates as well as all risk factors set forth in the annual information form of Delta 9 dated March 31, 2022 which has been filed on SEDAR. No assurance can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will occur or, if they do occur, what benefits the Company will obtain from them. Readers are urged to consider these factors carefully in evaluating the forward-looking statements contained in this news release and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which are qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws.

Source: Delta 9 Cannabis
CHICAGO, July 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Dresner Partners, a leading FINRA-registered, middle-market investment bank and Mergers Alliance member firm, is pleased to announce that it advised IVF1 in its sale to Pinnacle Fertility. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Founded over 20 years ago by Randy S. Morris, M.D., IVF1 is a leading fertility center headquartered in Naperville, Illinois with three office locations and an ambulatory surgery center in the Chicagoland area. IVF1s experienced clinical staff and laboratory provide cutting edge assisted reproductive technologies (ART) services, including in vitro fertilization (IVF), frozen embryo transfers and egg freezing.

Pinnacle Fertility was founded in 2021 and is one of the nations fastest-growing physician-centric fertility care platforms, supporting more than 25 high-performing fertility clinics and comprehensive fertility service providers nationwide. Under a united mission of fulfilling dreams by building families, Pinnacle clinics offer innovative technology and processes, compassionate patient care, and comprehensive fertility treatment services, ensuring families receive a high-touch experience on their path to parenthood. I would like to thank the Dresner team for helping us find the right partner to support the long-term growth of IVF1, said Dr. Morris, Medical Director of IVF1. By partnering with Pinnacle Fertility, well benefit from a broad range of centralized services which will enable us to focus more of our time and resources on delivering the best possible personalized care for couples experiencing infertility, recurrent miscarriage or are in need of fertility preservation.

Andrew Mintz, CEO of Pinnacle Fertility said, We are thrilled to have Dr. Morris and the entire IVF1 team join the Pinnacle family. Dr. Morris experience and expertise is a valuable addition to our presence in the Chicago area. We are honored that he chose Pinnacle Fertility as his partner.

Mitchell Stern, Managing Director and Head of the Healthcare Group at Dresner Partners said, We are very pleased that IVF1 and Pinnacle completed this transaction as both organizations represent the highest standard for patient-focused fertility care. By utilizing Pinnacles physician-centric fertility care platform and national reach, IVF1 is poised to accelerate its growth and expand its presence as one of the leading fertility clinics in the Midwest.

Steven M. Dresner, President of Dresner Partners added, Dresners healthcare practice continues to grow both domestically and internationally, and we expect to see continued consolidation within fertility and other healthcare industry verticals. We look forward to watching the continued success of IVF1 and Pinnacle as a combined entity, as they capture a greater share of the growing fertility market.

More information on IVF1 can be found at www.ivf1.com. More information on Pinnacle Fertility can be found at www.pinnaclefertility.com.

Dresner Partners is a leading provider of investment banking services to the fertility (IVF) sector, having closed numerous transactions including the sale of IGENOMIX, the merger of RMA of N.J. and IVI of Spain, the sale of Advanced Fertility of Chicago to Prelude Fertility, the sale of Santa Monica Fertility to Webster Equity Partners, the sale of In Via Fertility to InVitro Sciences (now First Fertility), the sale of Institute for Human Reproduction to Webster Equity Partners, the sale of Dominion Fertility to Webster Equity Partners, the sale of Center of Reproductive Medicine to US Fertility, and the sale of IVF1 to Pinnacle Fertility.

About Dresner Partners Dresner Partners is a FINRA-registered, middle-market investment bank headquartered in Chicago, with offices in New York City; Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Dallas, Texas; and Palo Alto, Calif. For more than 30 years, Dresner Partners has provided financial advisory services to middle-market companies throughout the world including merger and acquisitions advisory, institutional private placements of debt and equity, financial restructuring, valuations, and strategic consulting services. Dresner Partners has extensive international and cross-border transaction experience and is a member of Mergers Alliance, one of the worlds leading global mergers and acquisitions partnerships focused on the middle market. An affiliated company, Dresner Corporate Services, is a strategic communications firm specializing in public relations, investor relations and corporate development. More information is available at www.dresnerpartners.com. You can also follow Dresner Partners on Twitter at www.twitter.com/DresnerPartners

For Media Inquiries David Gutierrez, Head of PR, IR and Corporate Development, (312) 780-7204, [email protected]

For Transaction Related Inquiries Mitchell Stern, Managing Director and Head of Healthcare, (917) 370-0891, [email protected]Steven M. Dresner, President, (312) 780-7206, [email protected]

Source: Dresner Partners
Gen. Mark Milley testifies before the Senate Arms Services Committee on his nomination to be chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Capitol Hill in Washington DC,the United States, on July 11, 2019.Photo:Xinhua

US high-level officials, ranging from politicians to military chiefs, kick start a new brainwashing tour in the Asia-Pacific region.

During his trip to Indonesia on Sunday, Mark Milley, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that the Chinese military has become "significantly and noticeably more aggressive," because the number of interceptions by Chinese aircraft and ships in the Pacific region with the US and its allies have increased.

Also on Sunday, Western media outlets hyped that US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and US ambassador to Australia Caroline Kennedy planned to visit the Solomon Islands in August, with the aim to push back China's influence.

Milley's visit to Indonesia is the first by a top US general since 2008. The timing seems delicately arranged given the fact that Indonesian President Joko Widodo's China tour started on Monday. Sherman and Kennedy's upcoming visit to the Solomon Islands is filled with utilitarian mentality. For decades, Pacific islands have not received high-level diplomatic attention from Washington, but right after China signed a deal with the Solomon Islands, Americans started visiting the island country one after the other.

Be it Milley or Sherman and Kennedy's visit, they all share a single goal - that of demonizing China and if possible, turning regional countries against China. But regional countries are well aware what rhetoric such as "China becomes more aggressive" means - when the US stretches its hands too far, China's legitimate defense is portrayed as aggression, when the US goes to extremes in provoking China via tactics like close-in reconnaissance, China's justified interception is called a "threat."

When US officials travel across the Asia-Pacific region, telling people how dangerous China is, while acting as an innocent party, Washington is treating regional countries as fools. Widodo's China visit right after Milley's remarks could be a coincidence. But to some extent it shows that Indonesia is not buying the US' rhetoric, or taking the US' side.

While cozying up to ASEAN members, lately the US has also been putting more effort on the Pacific islands. When Western media covers Sherman and Kennedy's Solomon tour, they tend to highlight that the two politicians' fathers fought in World War II in the region, and the US is now in a modern-day battle for influence with strategic rival China.

This comparison is a wrong abuse of history. During the WWII, Sherman and Kennedy's fathers fought against the expansion of the Japanese Empire and the fascist Axis powers' ambitions for world hegemony. Today, US politicians abandoned their fathers' spirit and are doing the exact opposite, pursuing their own hegemony and privileges. In the case of Pacific countries, they are demanding regional countries not to accept China's assistance in local development, even when they have no ability to do it by themselves and when the US can offer zero help, Shen Yi, a professor at Fudan University, told the Global Times.

It is the US that seeks to dominate the Pacific region and even the world. In other words, the US is playing the role which Japan had once played during the WWII.

China is helping the Solomon Islands and other regional countries with their development, including infrastructure construction and China would be willing to see the US participate in it. "If the US takes the islands as its own sphere of influence, it has more reasons to invest there," Song Zhongping, a Chinese military expert and TV commentator, told the Global Times. Unfortunately, the US owes them too much throughout history. The fallout of US nuclear test in the region is still wreaking havoc; The US would overthrow local regimes once they are not obedient; and when it comes to local economic and social development, the US has done nothing, according to Song.

Seeing it has less and less to compete with China, the US is getting desperate, and the most convenient tool it has left is to hype the "China threat."

The US wishes to see as much tension as possible in the Asia-Pacific region, but it has one principle when stirring up trouble - the villain must be China, not the US. That's why the Pentagon suggested that US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's Taiwan visit is "not a good idea" - if Pelosi made the visit, the villain would be the US. That does not conform to the US playbook. What other option does the US have when China is not aggressive? Demonizing China, advertising the idea across the region, attempting to turn China's neighbors against it.

But not all countries are fools. People can see that when China brings practical cooperation, all the US talks about is containing China. When China exports infrastructure commodities, the US exports weapons and wars. For quite some time, Western domination has meant poverty and stifled foreign policy for other countries.

The facts clearly show who is being aggressive and dangerous. The more the US attacks China, the more weakness and lack of confidence the world smells from the US.
SAN JOSE, Calif., July 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- DuploCloud, the industry pioneer for no-code/low-code infrastructure automation and compliance, announced today the company has achieved AWS Security Competency status. The Amazon Web Services (AWS) Security Competency designation recognizes that DuploCloud has demonstrated and successfully met AWSs technical and quality requirements for providing customers with a deep level of software expertise to help them achieve their cloud security goals.

It also differentiates DuploCloud as an AWS Partner Network (APN) member that provides specialized software designed to help companies ranging from startups and mid-sized businesses to the largest global enterprises to adopt, develop and deploy security into their AWS environments, increasing their overall security posture on AWS. To receive the designation, APN Partners must possess deep AWS expertise and deliver solutions seamlessly on AWS.

We are excited to achieve AWS Security Competency status, said Venkat Thiruvengadam, Founder and CEO of DuploCloud. We believe that innovation is unlocked when teams are able to deploy secure, compliant, and fully automated applications. However, we see all too often that companies are faced with a lack of subject matter expertise, technical debt, and limited access to IT and cloud resources to adopt microservices, serverless computing, and security/compliance practices. Its for this reason that DuploCloud has teamed up with AWS to lower the technical barriers to cloud automation.

DuploClouds no-code/low-code platform for cloud infrastructure automation and compliance is easy to use and quick to deploy. Most cloud security software solutions are employed for post-provisioning and monitoring of the security and compliance controls, limiting their impact to a mere 30% of the entire solution. This leaves the core of the problem to be solved by human DevOps experts writing thousands of lines of automation code. DuploCloud, on the other hand, is fundamentally a provisioning system with built-in compliance controls, which then adds monitoring and auditing. The solution frees DevOps engineers from mundane tasks, allowing them to focus on activities that truly differentiate the business.

DuploCloud offers one uniform platform with many pricing options based on customer needs. With DuploCloud, companies see 10x faster deployment, faster implementation of security and compliance frameworks, and 24x7 infrastructure monitoring and alerting. To learn more about DuploCloud and its pricing visit https://duplocloud.com/pricing/.

AWS is enabling scalable, flexible, and cost-effective solutions from startups to global enterprises. To support the seamless integration and deployment of these solutions, AWS established the AWS Competency Program to help customers identify AWS Partners with deep industry experience and expertise.

About DuploCloud DuploCloud is the industrys only end-to-end low-code/no-code DevOps automation and compliance platform, designed to make DevOps and Infrastructure-as-Code accessible for everyone. Founded in 2017 and built by the original engineers of Microsoft Azure and AWS, the software platform helps startups, SMBs, and companies that are building enterprise-grade applications or migrating to the cloud, save time and money. The DuploCloud platform translates high-level application specifications into detailed and fully managed cloud configurations utilizing best practices around security, availability, and compliance guidelines. Investors in the company include Mayfield and Monta Vista Capital. Learn more at https://duplocloud.com/.

Contact:CommStrat for DuploCloud[email protected]

Source: DuploCloud
Starseed signs with HelloMDs telehealth network to support high volume of patient consultations

Debuts customized patient treatment plans which could support pain management and opioid-displacement

TORONTO, July 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Entourage Health Corp. (TSX-V:ENTG) (OTCQX:ETRGF) (FSE:4WE) (Entourage or the Company), a Canadian producer and distributor of award-winning cannabis products is pleased to announce the expansion of its Starseed Medicinal (Starseed) offerings and services as it partners with HelloMD, a leading online cannabis telehealth Company, to expand patient access to experienced and knowledgeable healthcare practitioners across Canada. With its Starseed patient base growing over 50% since merging under the Entourage family in late 2019, the Company has expanded partnerships with unions, employers, insurers and benefit providers which has seen a surge in patient registrations.

Additionally, Starseed debuted a first-of-its-kind digital Patient Treatment Plan as a set of core offerings available to registered patients looking for tailored products along with practical dosing guidelines based on recommendations from a health care practitioner. With the launch, Starseed is the first known provider to offer standardized dosing regimens which could be used as alternate approaches to therapy for various indications including those relating to the pain triad (chronic pain, sleep and emotional distress), opioid displacement, and mental health support.

Expanding our medical platform with enriched patient care, services and new products is reshaping how Canadians access medical cannabis and exemplifies Starseeds commitment to improving patient outcomes, said Joseph Mele, Chief Commercial Officer, Entourage. Were partnering with HelloMD and its network of experienced practitioners to complement our medical team of experts addressing the needs of our growing patient base. Additionally, we continue to listen to our patients and will be providing them the additional educational support they seek. With the launch of our individualized Patient Treatment Plans, clients and providers can build programs based on specific medical cannabis products and dosing schedule being used to meet their needs.

Patient Treatment Plans, New Products and Launch of Virtual Education Resource Centre

The Companys professional network of practitioners now specialize in developing personalized Patient Treatment Plans, a standardized and simplified dosing tool, designed to improve medical cannabis access and overall patient experience. Further, Starseed recently collaborated with patients to develop the Starseed 2.0 system, a more accurate method for determining cannabinoid profiles - 1 star for high CBD, 2 stars for balanced, and 3 stars for high THC.

As a team of health care professionals providing medical cannabis guidance, we are committed to offering medical pathways and patient-centric services through technology, innovation, and education to ensure safe and effective use," said Sara Ryan, Director of Medical Education, Starseed Medicinal. Currently, opioids are being overused despite their well-known harm, while patients are often conflicted about safe treatment options. Medical cannabis could be considered an alternative, providing patients with a novel therapeutic option. Empowering patients and health care practitioners with education and resource tools for alternate treatments will help us close this knowledge gap as more people add medical cannabis to their daily self-care regimes.

Patients and their providers can access the virtual resource and education platform via the Starseed Blog and Product Guide, which is also accessible to the cannabis community looking for expanded medical cannabis information. Starseeds comprehensive education and support services could connect visitors with healthcare professionals and/or provide best-in-class education resources keeping patients informed and up-to-date. Available information varies from cannabis news and research treatment options, to support channels.

Starseeds direct-to-patient medical marketplace currently offers over 45 products, including cannabis-infused soft chews, transdermal patches, compounds (balms), oils, capsules, vapes, and dried flower products, including a new high-THC cultivar reserve (15g). The Company recently announced it has partnered with Pineapple Express to provide same-day/next day delivery as an additional convenience to patients residing within select areas in Ontario. For more information, visit Starseeds website here.

Visit Entourages website here to access the latest Company updates.

About Entourage Health Corp.

Entourage Health Corp. is the publicly traded parent company of Entourage Brands Corp. (formerly WeedMD RX Inc.) and CannTx Life Sciences Inc., licence holders producing and distributing cannabis products for both the medical and adult-use markets. The Company owns and operates a state-of-the-art hybrid greenhouse and processing facility located on 158-acres in Strathroy, ON; a fully licensed 26,000 sq. ft. Aylmer, ON processing facility, specializing in cannabis extraction; and a micropropagation, tissue culture and genetics centre-of-excellence in Guelph, Ontario. With its Starseed Medicinal medical-centric brand, Entourage has expanded its multi-channeled distribution strategy. Starseeds industry-first, exclusive partnership with LiUNA, the largest construction union in Canada, along with employers and union groups complements Entourages direct sales to medical patients. Entourages elite adult-use product portfolio includes Color Cannabis, Saturday Cannabis and Royal City Cannabis Co. sold across eight provincial distribution agencies. The Company also maintains strategic relationships in the seniors market and supply agreements with Shoppers Drug Mart. It is the exclusive Canadian producer and distributor of award-winning U.S.-based wellness brand Marys Medicinals sold in both medical and adult-use channels. Under a collaboration with The Boston Beer Company subsidiary, Entourage is also the exclusive distributor of cannabis-infused beverages TeaPot in Canada, expected to launch in 2022.

For more information, please visit us at www.entouragehealthcorp.com

Follow Entourage and its brands on LinkedIn

Twitter: Entourage, Color Cannabis, Saturday Cannabis, Starseed & Royal City Cannabis Co.

Instagram: Entourage, Color Cannabis, Saturday Cannabis, Starseed & Royal City Cannabis Co.

For further information, investor or media inquiries, please contact:

Marianella delaBarreraSVP, Communications & Corporate Affairs416-897-6644[email protected][email protected] [email protected]

Forward Looking Information This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation which are based upon Entourage's current internal expectations, estimates, projections, assumptions and beliefs and views of future events. Forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "expect", "likely", "may", "will", "should", "intend", "anticipate", "potential", "proposed", "estimate" and other similar words, including negative and grammatical variations thereof, or statements that certain events or conditions "may", "would" or "will" happen, or by discussions of strategy.

The forward-looking information in this news release is based upon the expectations, estimates, projections, assumptions and views of future events which management believes to be reasonable in the circumstances. Forward-looking information includes estimates, plans, expectations, opinions, forecasts, projections, targets, guidance or other statements that are not statements of fact. Forward-looking information necessarily involve known and unknown risks, including, without limitation, risks associated with general economic conditions; adverse industry events; loss of markets; future legislative and regulatory developments; inability to access sufficient capital from internal and external sources, and/or inability to access sufficient capital on favourable terms; the cannabis industry in Canada generally; the ability of Entourage to implement its business strategies; the COVID-19 pandemic; competition; crop failure; and other risks.

Any forward-looking information speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and, except as required by law, Entourage does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for Entourage to predict all such factors. When considering this forward-looking information, readers should keep in mind the risk factors and other cautionary statements in Entourages disclosure documents filed with the applicable Canadian securities regulatory authorities on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The risk factors and other factors noted in the disclosure documents could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those described in any forward-looking information.

NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE

Source: Entourage Health Corp.
PHOENIX, July 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- EPCOR USA (EPCOR) announced today it has officially kicked off construction of the new Copper Basin Water Reclamation Facility (Copper Basin), a pivotal piece of water infrastructure in one of the nations fastest growing regions.

The new state-of-the-art facilitys treatment process will be fully enclosed and designed to integrate seamlessly into the community. Equipped with industry-leading advanced treatment technologies that meet the Arizona Department of Environmental Qualitys Best Available Demonstrated Control Technology (BADCT) requirements, Copper Basin will ensure delivery of safe, clean, and reliable wastewater service.

We couldnt be more pleased to see construction begin on this critical wastewater treatment facility, said EPCOR USA President Joe Gysel. We take our responsibility to the communities EPCOR serves very seriously. Our commitment to, and the smart management of water resources is equally important  it is our goal to return more than 90% of the wastewater we collect and treat to the natural water cycle.

Located in the heart of Pinal Countys San Tan Valley, Copper Basin will replace the existing and outdated Section 11 lagoon-style plant that was constructed more than 20 years ago. In doing so, EPCOR will also return more than 1 billion gallons of safe, clean water annually to the natural water cycle through aquifer recharge. The new facility will be operational by December 2023. Decommissioning of the Section 11 lagoons is slated for completion by 2025.

EPCOR received the necessary approvals to move forward from the Pinal County Board of Supervisors in April 2022.

Pinal County is one of the most attractive regions in the country, with impressive residential, commercial and high-tech industrial growth. This new facility will not only support the regions future, it will ensure that we are returning every drop of water possible to the aquifer and that people who call the San Tan Valley home today will be ensured safe and reliable service, said Mike Goodman, Pinal County Supervisor.

Note to Media: EPCOR leadership is available for telephone/virtual interviews  additional images are available.

To learn more, visit epcor.com.

For further information, please contact:

Rebecca StenholmDirector, Public AffairsEPCOR USAO 623.445.2424 | C 602.390.5662 | [email protected]

About EPCOR USAEPCOR USA is among the largest private utilities in the Southwest and the largest in Arizona, providing water, wastewater and natural gas service to approximately 780,000 people across 42 communities and 18 counties in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. With corporate offices in Phoenix, EPCOR USA employs approximately 425 people.

Photos accompanying this announcement are available athttps://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/9e61da73-df4a-40bd-854b-d41393f23be0

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/df494f02-1c90-4869-b21b-c3558cb51b6e

Copper Basin Water Reclamation Facility Now under construction, EPCORs $48 million Copper Basin Water Reclamation Facility in Pinal County, Arizona, will return 1 billion gallons of water to the natural water cycle each year. Copper Basin Water Reclamation Facility New $48 million Copper Basin Water Reclamation Facility in one of the countrys fastest-growing regions slated for December 2023 completion.

Source: EPCOR Utilities Inc
Dallas, July 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Theres only one way to spend International Friendship Day  sharing barbecue with the besties! And of course, theres only one place to celebrate the day right! Join us at Dickeys Barbecue Pit to enjoy our Legit. Texas. Barbecue. menu items for you and your best friends special day! What better way to spend this holiday, than with a plate of fall-off-the-bone pork ribs and our competition-style brisket? Dont forget to grab our savory southern-style sides to complete your meat plate, perfect for you and your BFF! On Saturday, July 30, give your friends the gift of cue with Dickeys Barbecue Pit. In honor of friendships all over the world, the Texas-style BBQ brand is offering different ways to have your barbecue and share it, too! Whether you want to dine in-store or celebrate with a carryout Big Yellow Box at home, Dickeys has these smokin options that are perfect for International Friendship Day:

Share Plates and Platters with pals (includes two sides and a roll): Poultry Plate  Marinated chicken breast and turkey. Competition Plate  brisket, brisket burnt ends. Pork Out Platter  pork ribs, pulled pork, kielbasa, pork burnt ends (available in a two meat or three meat plate).

Loaded Side cue creations: Brisket Mac Stack Buffalo Chicken Mac Stack Fritos Pie Stack Chicken Caesar Salad

Big Yellow Pack for your pack: XL Pack  Feeds four to six with 2 pounds of meat, three medium sides and six rolls. Picnic Pack  Feeds two to four with 1 pound of meat, two medium sides and four rolls.  Wing Pack  Feeds four to six with 24 wings, medium sides of barbecue beans, cabbage slaw, potato salad and six rolls. Includes ranch and choice of two sauces.

Dickeys is all about celebrating special moments with family and friends, making us the go-to place to spend International Friendship Day with your besties, said Laura Rea Dickey, CEO of Dickeys Barbecue Restaurants, Inc. Our Big Yellow Box takes the pressure off trying to cook for everyone and lets you focus on enjoying time with your loved ones. All you have to do is order your box, and youre ready to dig into hickory-wood smoked meats and iconic sides and sauces! Theres truly no better way to celebrate your best friends than with delicious barbecue.

Whether you want to serve Dickeys to the whole pack in your neighborhood or cater your cue-mmunity with a signature Big Yellow Box, Dickeys has you covered with orders for carryout, in-store pickup, to-go and even delivery this International Friendship Day! Order ahead in our Dickeys mobile app, order online by visiting dickeys.com, or you can even call your local Dickeys BBQ Pit. While you are here, be sure to sign up for Dickeys Big Yellow Cup Rewards Program to get more BBQ for your buck! Earn BBQ points with every purchase you make at any one of our locations from coast to coast. Rack up those points (and ribs) to be redeemed in house towards your favorite BBQ menu items for FREE! You might as well earn BBQ points with your catering purchase this International Friendship Day!

To learn more, follow Dickeys Barbecue Pit on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Download the Dickeys Barbecue Pit app from the Apple App Store or Google Play.

About Dickeys Barbecue Restaurants, Inc. Dickey's Barbecue Restaurants, Inc., the worlds largest barbecue concept, was founded in 1941 by the Dickey family. For the past 80 years, Dickeys Barbecue Pit has served millions of guests in 44 states Legit. Texas. Barbecue. At Dickeys, all our barbecued meats are smoked onsite in a hickory wood burning pit. Dickeys proudly believes theres no shortcut to true barbecue and its why our name isnt BBQ. The Dallas-based, family-run barbecue franchise offers eight slow-smoked meats and 12 wholesome sides with 'No B.S. (Bad Stuff)' included. Dickeys Barbecue has 550 locations across the United States and eight other countries. Dickeys was named to Newsweeks 2022 Americas Favorite Restaurant Chains list and USA Today 2021 readers choice awards. Dickeys won first place on Fast Casuals Top 100 Movers and Shakers list, been named a Top 500 Franchise by Entrepreneur and named to Hospitality Technologys Industry Heroes list. Led by CEO Laura Rea Dickey, who was named among the countrys 50 most influential women in foodservice in Nations Restaurant News, was recognized by Fast Casuals Top 100 Movers and Shakers list and honored by Dallas Business Journal. Dickey's Barbecue Pit has also been recognized by Fox News, Forbes Magazine, Franchise Times, The Dallas Morning News, The Wall Street Journal, People Magazine and QSR Magazine. Dickeys Barbecue is part of Dickeys Restaurant Brands which has more than 700 restaurants nationwide including brands Wing Boss, Trailer Birds, Big Deal Burger and bbqathome.com. DRB is led by CEO Roland Dickey Jr. For more information, visit www.dickeys.com.

# # #

Attachment

Shannon Santos Dickey's Barbecue Pit 214-334-8066 [email protected]

Source: Dickey's Barbecue Pit
Mutual Fund and Exchange-Traded Fund Assets and Sales

TORONTO, July 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Investment Funds Institute of Canada (IFIC) today announced investment fund net sales and net assets for June 2022.

Mutual fund assets totalled $1.788 trillion at the end of June 2022. Assets decreased by $107.0 billion or 5.6% compared to May 2022. Mutual funds recorded net redemptions of $10.4 billion in June 2022.

ETF assets totalled $288.9 billion at the end of June 2022. Assets decreased by $22.0 billion or 7.1% compared to May 2022. ETFs recorded net redemptions of $0.7 billion in June 2022.

Mutual Fund Net Sales/Net Redemptions ($ Millions)*

Asset Class Jun. 2022 May 2022 Jun. 2021 YTD 2022 YTD 2021 Long-term Funds Balanced (4,980 ) (5,347 ) 8,168 (3,968 ) 39,723 Equity (3,441 ) (994 ) 3,825 3,501 25,956 Bond (3,358 ) (882 ) 1,158 (6,284 ) 9,382 Specialty 64 57 764 970 3,573 Total Long-term Funds (11,716 ) (7,166 ) 13,915 (5,781 ) 78,633 Total Money Market Funds 1,287 774 (1,039 ) 2,254 (6,099 ) Total (10,429 ) (6,391 ) 12,876 (3,527 ) 72,534

Mutual Fund Net Assets ($ Billions)*

Asset Class Jun. 2022 May 2022 Jun. 2021 Dec. 2021 Long-term Funds Balanced 882.4 932.8 961.2 1,024.9 Equity 626.5 674.4 689.4 747.7 Bond 228.6 238.1 257.6 261.5 Specialty 21.6 22.1 18.9 22.2 Total Long-term Funds 1,759.1 1,867.4 1,927.1 2,056.3 Total Money Market Funds 28.9 27.6 27.7 26.4 Total 1,788.0 1,895.0 1,954.8 2,082.7

* Please see below for important information regarding this data.

ETF Net Sales/Net Redemptions ($ Millions)*

Asset Class Jun. 2022 May 2022 Jun. 2021 YTD 2022 YTD 2021 Long-term Funds Balanced 23 229 320 1,165 2,328 Equity (2,248 ) 1,634 2,727 9,543 18,087 Bond 1,499 (235 ) 1,230 2,775 8,029 Specialty (609 ) 593 665 764 5,800 Total Long-term Funds (1,336 ) 2,221 4,942 14,248 34,244 Total Money Market Funds 666 347 103 1,792 (1,573 ) Total (670 ) 2,568 5,046 16,040 32,671

ETF Net Assets ($ Billions)*

Asset Class Jun. 2022 May 2022 Jun. 2021 Dec. 2021 Long-term Funds Balanced 11.3 12.1 10.1 12.1 Equity 184.6 203.3 195.4 225.2 Bond 75.2 75.7 85.8 89.6 Specialty 9.7 12.4 9.8 13.6 Total Long-term Funds 280.8 303.4 301.2 340.5 Total Money Market Funds 8.1 7.5 5.7 6.6 Total 288.9 310.9 306.9 347.1

* Please see below for important information regarding this data.

IFIC direct survey data (which accounts for approximately 91% of total mutual fund industry assets) is complemented by data from Investor Economics to provide comprehensive industry totals.

IFIC makes every effort to verify the accuracy, currency and completeness of the information; however, IFIC does not guarantee, warrant, represent or undertake that the information provided is correct, accurate or current.

* Important Information Regarding Investment Fund Data:

Mutual fund data is adjusted to remove double counting arising from mutual funds that invest in other mutual funds. Starting with January 2022 data, ETF data is adjusted to remove double counting arising from Canadian-listed ETFs that invest in units of other Canadian-listed ETFs. Any references to IFIC ETF assets and sales figures prior to 2022 data should indicate that the data has not been adjusted for ETF of ETF double counting. The Balanced Funds category includes funds that invest directly in a mix of stocks and bonds or obtain exposure through investing in other funds. Mutual fund data reflects the investment activity of Canadian retail investors. ETF data reflects the investment activity of Canadian retail and institutional investors.

About IFICThe Investment Funds Institute of Canada is the voice of Canadas investment funds industry. IFIC brings together 150 organizations, including fund managers, distributors and industry service organizations, to foster a strong, stable investment sector where investors can realize their financial goals. By connecting Canadas savers to Canadas economy, our industry contributes significantly to Canadian economic growth and job creation. To learn more about IFIC, please visit www.ific.ca.

For more information please contact: Pira KumarasamySenior Manager, Communications and Public Affairs[email protected]416-309-2317

Source: The Investment Funds Institute of Canada
FOND DU LAC, Wisc., July 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mercury Marine, a division of Brunswick Corporation (NYSE: BC), today announced a partnership with Alliant Energy to build a 5-megawatt, 32-acre solar array in eastern Fond du Lac County to advance the companys sustainability initiatives and the regions growing commitment to renewable energy. The Ledgeview Solar Project, pending review and approval by the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin in the coming months, is the first to be developed under Alliant Energys Renewable Energy Partner program. The project will offset 10% of the electricity Mercury uses on its Fond du Lac campus.

This solar project is good for Mercury, the Fond du Lac community and the environment, said Chris Drees, Mercury Marine president. Our investment in this solar infrastructure, combined with our other solar investments, will provide clean, renewable energy and propel us toward our goal to derive 50% of our electricity usage from renewable sources by the end of 2030.

The project will include more than 12,000 solar panels generating enough electricity to power approximately 1,300 homes annually. The array will be located on privately-owned land in eastern Fond du Lac County, south of Highway 23 and just east of County Road UU.

Construction on the project is anticipated to start in spring 2023 with operation to begin in October 2023. The project is being developed and constructed by OneEnergy Renewables out of their regional office in Madison.

The Ledgeview Solar Project is the latest in a series of investments by Mercury to embrace emissions-free energy, both at home and across the globe.

In January 2021, Mercury made fully operational a rooftop array of 320 photovoltaic solar panels at its Fond du Lac world headquarters. The array was Mercurys first in the U.S. and will generate enough power to light a warehouse operation on the Fond du Lac campus for the next 30 years.

Mercury launched its first solar project in 2017 with the installation of a 2,000panel array at the companys European headquarters in Petit Rechain, Belgium. That solar array, combined with improved insulation at the location, reduces the amount of electricity the facility draws from the grid by 33%, thus lowering the facilitys utilities costs and enabling substantial use of clean andsustainable energy.

Alliant Energys Renewable Energy Partner program helps commercial and industrial customers achieve their sustainability goals. Mercury will directly benefit from renewable generation without having to commit resources to the planning, development and operation of the project.

Alliant Energy is proud to assist Mercury Marine as it undertakes this transformative clean energy initiative, said Barbara Tormaschy, senior vice president of sustainability and regulatory strategy for Alliant Energy. The Renewable Energy Partner program ensures our commercial customers can offset their energy use with safe, reliable, and clean electricity for decades to come.

About Mercury MarineHeadquartered in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, Mercury Marine is the worlds leading manufacturer of recreational marine propulsion engines. A division of Brunswick Corporation (NYSE: BC), Mercury provides engines, boats, services, and parts for recreational, commercial, and government marine applications. The company empowers boaters with products that are easy to use, extremely reliable, and backed by the most dedicated customer support in the world. Mercurys industryleading brand portfolio includes Mercury outboard engines, Mercury MerCruiser sterndrive and inboard packages, Mercury propellers, Mercury inflatable boats, Mercury SmartCraft electronics, Land 'N' Sea marine parts distribution, and Mercury and Quicksilver parts and oils. More information is available at www.MercuryMarine.com.

Lee Gordon Vice President  Brunswick Global Communications & Public Affairs Brunswick Office: 847-735-4003 Cell: 904-860-8848 [email protected]

Source: Brunswick Corporation
SAN LEANDRO, Calif., July 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Nanomix Corporation (OTCQB: NNMX) (Nanomix or the Company), a leader in mobile, affordable, point-of-care diagnostics, today announced the appointment of Dr. Thomas Schlumpberger as Chief Executive Officer and as a member of the Board of Directors, effective immediately. David Ludvigson, the Companys previous Chief Executive Officer, will provide support through the transition and will serve as interim Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Ludvigson will continue to serve as a member of the Companys Board of Directors and will serve as a senior business advisor to Nanomix.

Garrett Gruener, Chairman of the Board of Directors, stated, We are excited to welcome Dr. Schlumpberger to the management team. His strong leadership will be invaluable as we work to establish our technology as a standard of care in point-of-care (POC) diagnostics. His breadth of experience in POC diagnostics will be instrumental as we accelerate the commercialization of the eLab system worldwide. The Company and Board of Directors would like to express our sincere gratitude to David Ludvigson for his contributions and leadership he provided Nanomix over the years. We have been preparing this transition for some time and look forward to Thomas leadership as we prepare for the next phase of our growth.

Dr. Schlumpberger, commented, I am thrilled and excited to join Nanomix. I truly believe the Nanomix eLab system is the best POC diagnostic technology on the market today, which is why I chose to join the Nanomix management team. Nanomixs quantitative and highly sensitive detection platform that performs a range of in vitro diagnostic assays, including but not limited to sepsis diagnosis and monitoring, has the potential to transform POC diagnostics. The Nanomix eLab system offers a variety of benefits, including results in minutes, lower cost, and portability, while providing accurate, quantitative results comparable in quality to those provided by central lab testing. We will be laser focused on sales and marketing activities, including building our global distribution network.

Dr. Schlumpberger is a recognized expert in POC diagnostics and a seasoned senior executive with more than 20 years in the life sciences industry. His broad base of experience is directly applicable to the next phase of growth at Nanomix as the Companys POC platform gains customer adoption. At Epocal, a POC company, he was responsible for international business and business development. He successfully launched a point-of-care product in India, Japan and Europe and, notably, he led the sale of Epocal to Alere. At Singulex, he concluded an investment from Grifols and successfully launched an ultra-high sensitivity assay in Europe. Most recently, as CEO of Pictor Limited, he successfully revamped the product portfolio and launched a COVID-19 antibody product successfully into several CLIA-certified laboratories. Dr. Schlumpberger has held senior executive roles with several other diagnostic companies, including Anixa, InVitae, Inivata, and Affymetrix. He received his Ph.D. in molecular and cell biology with distinction from the University of California, Berkeley.

Over the past year and a half, we transformed our business from the development stage to a commercial operation, said Mr. Ludvigson. Dr. Schlumpberger has extensive experience in the POC industry and a proven track record of driving sales and global market adoption of diagnostic devices. Thomas skill sets will be invaluable as the Company moves forward, focused on the commercial rollout of the eLab system. I look forward to supporting Thomas in his leadership role.

About Nanomix Corporation

Nanomix (OTCQB: NNMX) is developing mobile point-of-care diagnostics with its Nanomix eLab System platform and assays that provide rapid, accurate, quantitative information for use in settings where time is critical to clinical decision-making and improved patient care. The companys products are designed to broadly impact healthcare delivery by bringing diagnostics to the point of initial patient interaction, whether in the hospital or in pre-hospital, remote or alternate-care settings, thereby enabling faster clinical decision-making and potentially treatment-in-place. Nanomixs first assays address the need for faster diagnosis of critical infections including sepsis. The company is developing a pipeline of other tests designed to improve patient outcomes by making high-quality diagnostic information available within minutes. For more information, visit www.nano.com .

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Forward looking statements include statements regarding the Companys intentions, beliefs, projections, outlook, analyses or current expectations concerning, among other things, the Companys ongoing and planned product development; the Companys intellectual property position; the Companys ability to develop commercial functions; expectations regarding product launch and revenue; the Companys results of operations, cash needs, spending, financial condition, liquidity, prospects, growth and strategies; the industry in which the Company operates; and the trends that may affect the industry or the Company. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, as well as those risks more fully discussed in the section entitled Risk Factors in the Companys Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, as well as discussions of potential risks, uncertainties, and other important factors in the Companys subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All such statements speak only as of the date made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Investor Relations Contact:

Natalya Rudman

Crescendo Communications, LLC

Email: [email protected]

Tel: (212) 671-1020 Ext.304
NEW YORK, July 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- OTC Markets Group Inc. (OTCQX: OTCM), operator of regulated markets for 12,000 U.S. and international securities, today announced CanAlaska Uranium Ltd. (TSX-V: CVV; OTCQX: CVVUF), a Uranium exploration company in the Athabasca Basin, Canada, has qualified to trade on the OTCQX Best Market. CanAlaska Uranium Ltd. upgraded to OTCQX from the OTCQB Venture Market.

CanAlaska Uranium Ltd. begins trading today on OTCQX under the symbol CVVUF. U.S. investors can find current financial disclosure and Real-Time Level 2 quotes for the company on www.otcmarkets.com.

The OTCQX Market is designed for established, investor-focused U.S. and international companies. To qualify for OTCQX, companies must meet high financial standards, follow best practice corporate governance, and demonstrate compliance with applicable securities laws. Graduating to the OTCQX Market from the OTCQB Market marks an important milestone for companies, enabling them to demonstrate their qualifications and build visibility among U.S. investors.

President Peter Dasler commented, CanAlaska has advanced and grown its uranium, copper and nickel portfolios, and has shown increasing success with its Canadian exploration. It is now timely to expand access to USA investors who wish to invest in exploration for metals that support future clean energy requirements. We are very pleased to step up to the OTCQX trading platform.

About CanAlaska Uranium Ltd.

CanAlaska Uranium Ltd. (TSX-V: CVV; OTCQX: CVVUF; Frankfurt: DH7N) holds interests in approximately 300,000 hectares (750,000 acres), in Canadas Athabasca Basin  the "Saudi Arabia of Uranium. CanAlaskas strategic holdings have attracted major international mining companies. CanAlaska is currently working with Cameco and Denison at two of the Companys properties in the Eastern Athabasca Basin. CanAlaska is a project generator positioned for discovery success in the worlds richest uranium district. The Company also holds properties prospective for nickel, copper, gold and diamonds. For further information visit www.canalaska.com.

About OTC Markets Group Inc.

OTC Markets Group Inc. (OTCQX: OTCM) operates regulated markets for trading 12,000 U.S. and international securities. Our data-driven disclosure standards form the foundation of our three public markets: OTCQX Best Market, OTCQB Venture Market and Pink Open Market.

Our OTC Link Alternative Trading Systems (ATSs) provide critical market infrastructure that broker-dealers rely on to facilitate trading. Our innovative model offers companies more efficient access to the U.S. financial markets.

OTC Link ATS, OTC Link ECN and OTC Link NQB are each an SEC regulated ATS, operated by OTC Link LLC, a FINRA and SEC registered broker-dealer, member SIPC.

To learn more about how we create better informed and more efficient markets, visit www.otcmarkets.com.

Subscribe to the OTC Markets RSS Feed

Media Contact:

OTC Markets Group Inc., +1 (212) 896-4428, [email protected]
NEW YORK, July 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pegasus Merger Co. (the Company), an affiliate of certain investment funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management, Inc., announced today that it has amended the terms of the Companys previously announced cash tender offers (together, the Tender Offer) and consent solicitations (together, the Consent Solicitation) to purchase any and all of Tenneco Inc.s (Tenneco) outstanding 5.125% Senior Secured Notes due 2029 (the 5.125% Notes) and 7.875% Senior Secured Notes due 2029 (the 7.875% Notes and together with the 5.125% Notes, the Notes) to extend the expiration date from 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on July 26, 2022 to 5:00 p.m., New York City Time, on September 7, 2022 (as so extended, and as may be further extended, the Expiration Date).

Holders have until the Expiration Date, unless extended or earlier terminated, to tender their Notes pursuant to the Tender Offer. Holders who validly tender Notes after the Early Tender Date but before the Expiration Date will receive the Tender Consideration listed below, which does not include the Early Participation Premium. The Early Tender Date was 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on July 19, 2022. Holders are not entitled to withdraw previously tendered Notes or revoke Consents delivered pursuant to the Consent Solicitation, unless otherwise required by law.

The table below sets forth the consideration payable in connection with the Tender Offer:

Notes CUSIPs Tender Consideration(1) Early Participation Premium(1)(2) Total Consideration (1)(2)(3) $800,000,0005.125% Senior Secured Notes due 2029 CUSIP: 880349 AT2;U88037 AG8 $982.50 $30.00 $1,012.50 $500,000,0007.875% Senior Secured Notes due 2029 CUSIP: 880349 AS4; U88037 AF0 $982.50 $30.00 $1,012.50

(1) For each $1,000 principal amount of Notes, excluding accrued but unpaid interest, which interest will be paid in addition to the Tender Consideration or Total Consideration, as applicable.

(2) Payable only to holders who validly tendered (and did not validly withdraw) Notes prior to the Early Tender Date.

(3) The Early Participation Premium is included in the Total Consideration.

According to information provided by Global Bondholder Services Corporation, the Information and Tender Agent for the Tender Offer, as of 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on July 26, 2022, the Company had received tenders and consents from holders of $795,555,000 in aggregate principal amount of the 5.125% Notes, representing approximately 99.44% of the total outstanding principal amount of the 5.125% Notes, and tenders and consents from holders of $491,689,000 in aggregate principal amount of the 7.875% Notes, representing approximately 98.34% of the total outstanding principal amount of the 7.875% Notes.

Consummation of the Tender Offer and payment for the Notes validly tendered pursuant to the Tender Offer are subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions, including, but not limited to, the consummation of the Merger and a financing condition. The Company reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to waive any and all conditions to the Tender Offer. The Company intends to further extend the Expiration Date, without extending the July 12, 2022 Withdrawal Deadline (unless required by law), to have the Settlement Date coincide with the closing of the Merger. The completion of the Merger and settlement for Notes tendered and not withdrawn is currently expected to occur in the second half of 2022.

Except as set forth herein, all other terms, provisions and conditions of the Tender Offer and the Consent Solicitation will remain in full force and effect as set forth in the Companys Offer to Purchase and Consent Solicitation Statement, dated June 27, 2022 (as amended or supplemented from time to time, the Statement). The complete terms and conditions of the Tender Offer and Consent Solicitation are described in the Statement, copies of which may be obtained at no charge from Global Bondholder Services Corporation. All capitalized terms used but not defined herein shall have the same meaning ascribed to them in the Statement. The Company reserves the right to further amend the terms of the Tender Offer and Consent Solicitation, to further extend the Expiration Date for the Tender Offer and Consent Solicitation or to waive any and all conditions to the Tender Offer and Consent Solicitation, in its sole discretion, at any time.

Requests for documents relating to the Tender Offer and the Consent Solicitation may be directed to Global Bondholder Services Corporation, the Information and Tender Agent, at (866) 654-2015 or (212) 430-3774 (Banks and Brokers). BofA Securities, Inc. and Citigroup Global Markets Inc. are acting as Dealer Managers for the Tender Offer and the Consent Solicitation. Questions regarding the Tender Offer and the Consent Solicitation may be directed to BofA Securities at (980) 388-0539 (collect) or (888) 292-0070 (toll free) and Citigroup Global Markets Inc. at (212) 723-6106 (collect) or (800) 558-3745 or by email to [email protected].

None of the Company, Tenneco, the Dealer Managers and Solicitation Agents, the Information and Tender Agent, or the trustees with respect to the Notes is making any recommendation as to whether Holders should tender any Notes in response to the Tender Offer. Holders must make their own decision as to whether to tender any of their Notes and, if so, the principal amount of Notes to tender.

This press release is for informational purposes only and is not an offer to buy, nor the solicitation of an offer to sell any of the Notes. No offer, solicitation or purchase will be made in any jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or purchase would be unlawful. The Tender Offer and Consent Solicitation is being made solely by the Statement. The full details of the Tender Offer and Consent Solicitation, including complete instructions on how to tender the Notes, are included in the Statement. Holders of the Notes are strongly encouraged to carefully read the Statement because it contains important information.

Forward Looking Statements

The above information includes forward looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements about the Tender Offer, the Consent Solicitation and the intended completion of the Merger. Such statements only reflect the Companys best assessment at this time and are indicated by words or phrases such as plans, intends, will or similar words or phrases. These statements are based on the Companys current expectations, estimates and assumptions and are subject to many risks, uncertainties and unknown future events that could cause actual results to differ materially. Actual results may differ materially from those set forth in this press release due to the risks and uncertainties inherent to transactions of this nature, including, without limitation, whether or not the Company completes the Tender Offer and Consent Solicitation on terms currently contemplated or otherwise and whether or not the Merger is consummated. The Company is under no obligation to (and specifically disclaims any such obligation to) update or alter these forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

About Apollo

Apollo is a global, high-growth alternative asset manager. In the asset management business, Apollo seeks to provide its clients excess return at every point along the risk-reward spectrum from investment grade to private equity with a focus on three business strategies: yield, hybrid, and equity. For more than three decades, Apollos investing expertise across its fully integrated platform has served the financial return needs of its clients and provided businesses with innovative capital solutions for growth. Through Athene, Apollos retirement services business, it specializes in helping clients achieve financial security by providing a suite of retirement savings products and acting as a solutions provider to institutions. Apollos patient, creative, and knowledgeable approach to investing aligns its clients, businesses it invests in, its team members, and the communities it impacts, to expand opportunity and achieve positive outcomes. As of March 31, 2022, Apollo had approximately $513 billion of assets under management. To learn more, please visit www.apollo.com.

Apollo Contacts

For investor inquiries regarding Apollo, please contact:

Noah GunnGlobal Head of Investor RelationsApollo Global Management, Inc.(212) 822-0540[email protected]

Joanna RoseGlobal Head of Corporate CommunicationsApollo Global Management, Inc.(212) 822-0491[email protected]

Source: Apollo Global Management, Inc.
Purespring Therapeutics Expands Senior Team with Key Appointments

Appointments include Dr Pille Harrison as VP of Clinical Development, Dr Aoife Waters as Medical Director, Nick Cetateanu as Head of Operations and Andreea Iuras as Programme Manager

London 26 July 2022 Purespring Therapeutics, a pioneering gene therapy company focused on transforming the treatment of kidney diseases, is expanding the Companys medical and operational capabilities with four senior appointments. Dr Pille Harrison joins as Vice President of Clinical Development, Dr Aoife Waters as Medical Director, Nick Cetateanu as Head of Operations and Andreea Iuras as Programme Manager.

These appointments bring decades of expertise in both gene therapy and kidney disease, which will be critical to Puresprings goal to advance its proprietary gene therapy platform to revolutionise the treatment of chronic kidney diseases.

Dr Pille Harrison is a rheumatologist with extensive experience in early and mid-stage clinical trials at small biotech. Pille joins from Alpine Immune Sciences Inc, where she was the VP of Clinical Development. Before this position she worked at Argenx and Cyxone. Pille also consulted in rheumatology at the Taunton & Somerset NHS Foundation Trust and holds a D.Phil from the University of Oxford in genetic susceptibility and severity factors in rheumatoid arthritis.

Dr Aoife Waters is a specialist in childrens kidney disease with over two decades experience in tertiary paediatric centres in Ireland, the UK and Canada and 15 years experience in nephrology. Her areas of focus include clinical and molecular aspects of glomerular disorders involving complement-mediated renal disease, haemolytic uraemic syndromes and childhood nephrotic syndromes. Academic partnerships include the Kidney Development and Disease group at UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health and Bristol Glomerular Disease Group.

Nick Cetateanu has held a variety of senior roles across cell and gene therapy including in operations, CMC, research and development, commercial launch readiness and strategy. Most recently, Nick was Senior Director at Orchard Therapeutics, before which he worked at global pharmaceutical companies BTG and Novartis.

Andreea Iuras joins from Orchard Therapeutics where she was Senior Project Manager. Prior to this, she held senior roles at gene therapy start-up Autolus as well as GSK and AstraZeneca. Her background spans program leadership, scientific research, the formulary process and product planning to drive forward multi-pipeline biopharmaceutical programs.

Richard Francis, Chief Executive Officer of Purespring, commented: Its great to be able to hire people who are so well qualified to support us in our goal of developing renal gene therapy, addressing the gap in innovation that exists in the treatments for kidney diseases for which there are limited options. These new members of the team play an important role as we build out our capabilities and we look forward to working with them.

In addition, Purespring has appointed Dimple Raval as Finance Business Partner, Kushal Paudel as Senior Scientist and Umar Ishaque as Associate Scientist, critical supporting roles that augment those senior hires.

ENDS

For further information, contact:

Purespring:

Richard Francis, CEO[email protected]+44 (0)20 3855 6324LinkedIn

Consilium Strategic Communications:

Amber Fennell, Jessica Hodgson, Genevieve Wilson[email protected]

Notes to Editors

About Purespring

Purespring is the first company to treat kidney diseases by directly targeting the podocyte, a specialised kidney cell implicated in many kidney diseases, through AAV gene therapy.

Headed by former Sandoz CEO, Richard Francis, Purespring was founded on the work of Professor Moin Saleem, Professor of Paediatric Renal Medicine at the University of Bristol, where he heads a world leading group researching glomerular diseases. Purespring seeks to advance gene therapies for the treatment of both monogenic and non-monogenic chronic renal diseases that are currently poorly addressed with existing treatments.

The company also has a proprietary in-vivo pipeline engine, FunSel, which is a library of all biological factors that could be candidates for gene therapy, combined with a screening method to evaluate these factors in disease models. FunSel allows Purespring to discover new gene therapy candidates across all indications, unconstrained by genetics, to find the right candidate to make the best therapy.

An initial 45 million commitment to Purespring from Syncona Ltd is enabling Purespring to progress its assets to the clinic. Synconas Chief Investment Officer, Chris Hollowood, serves as Chairman. For more information please visit: purespringtx.com and follow us on LinkedIn.

Source: Purespring Therapeutics
Toronto, July 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Toronto, ON, July 26, 2022  With the steep rise in online grocery shopping - due to the COVID-19 pandemic and less people able or willing to shop at physical locations - more and more grocers are adopting digital marketing as a way to transform the way their customers shop and what they are adding to their grocery carts.

During the height of the pandemic, 20-30% of grocery store businesses in the US shifted online (1). But although many physical stores have returned to business as usual, the trend and preference for online shopping have remained.

In the US, 46.9% of respondents said they plan to buy groceries online in the next 12 months, compared with only 25.8% in 2018 (2). Similarly, in Canada, the surge in online shopping is strong, with more than 1 in 5 people predicting to do even more online grocery shopping (3).

So what is it about online shopping that has consumers and increasing numbers of grocers across North America hooked? It all comes down to the power of convenience, and additional perks, made possible through marketing technology. In fact, according to Graphical Research, artificial intelligence (AI) - a key trend in digital marketing - is expected to grow in retail market value to over 10 billion by 2027 (4), and grocery delivery is a large part of that pie.

Loblaw Companies Ltd. is a key leader and early adopter of online groceries. In fact, it amplified the online experience in 2019 with its move to offering products not available from its brick-and-mortar stores through a curated marketplace (something Amazon has been mastering since 2000). The marketplace offers shoppers greater access to what they want while getting customers to spend more through online orders (5).

Other Canadian grocers are also riding the trend wave, including Sobeys, Metro and Costco Canada, and profiting from it. Overall, digital grocery sales reached 99.64 billion across Canada in 2021 (6).

Canadas largest Asian grocery store, T&T Supermarket (acquired by Loblaws Inc. in 2009) took advantage of digital technology to meet customers on their preferred device - mobile phones. They launched their first mobile app in the spring of 2021, with over 10,000 products to choose from, in an effort to use technology to meet the growing demand of consumers seeking convenience and variety in their kitchens. The app helps customers get the latest promotions and sales, plus allows T&T to offer additional payment options such as WeChat Pay and Alipay (7). It also lets customers earn and redeem points, easily access coupons, and much more. (8)

Advances in online marketing are powerful for attracting customers and keeping them engaged and loyal, said Mary Wang, VP of Noah Digital, and English and Chinese digital marketing specialist. Weve seen more and more traditional grocery brands (including Asian grocery stores) investing in eCommerce sites and mobile applications to embrace the current and increasing wave of online grocery shopping demand, she said.

Wang also commented that online marketing could improve overall customer experiences for grocery stores. Trending e-commerce features allow for improved customer experiences, which simply cannot be replicated in physical stores. This can include things like saved shopping lists, product suggestions, personalized coupons and the use of mobile apps to deliver notifications such as special offers, she said. Just a few of these features can make a big difference to the bottom line for our clients.

Wang added that other key marketing features include product videos, store maps, product comparison charts, ad retargeting and frequent buyer promotions.

Retail grocery stores that Go Digital have a massive advantage in offering customers enhanced options, experiences, and conveniences not even imagined a few short years ago. All indicators point out that the online grocery shopping trend is one that will not only stay but evolve and grow even more as time goes on.

For more about how digital marketing and eCommerce can help grocery stores go digital in multicultural markets, please visit Noah Digital at https://www.noahdigital.ca or contact Mary Wang at [email protected]

About Noah Digital

Noah Digital Marketing provides businesses with omnichannel integrated digital marketing solutions specialized in both English and Chinese markets. From brand and digital marketing strategies to execution, our proven system helps businesses accelerate online growth and build brand awareness by leveraging the power of AI technologies and predictive analytics. Were a team of digital marketing experts you can count on.

About T&T Supermarket

T&T Supermarket is Canadas largest Asian grocery store with 28 stores across Canada, and the soon addition of 29, with its new store in Montreal. T&T Supermarket offers a wide variety of Asian grocery products that customers can order online via website or T&T mobile app. It is the Chinese supermarket where everyone loves to shop!

Footnotes:

McKinsey & Company. (2021). MAKING ONLINE GROCERY SHOPPING A WINNING PROPOSITION. Retrieved from https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/consumer-packaged-goods/our-insights/making-online-grocery-a-winning-proposition Supermarket News. (2022). SHARE OF U.S. SHOPPERS BUYING GROCERIES ONLINE STABILIZES. Retrieved from https://www.supermarketnews.com/online-retail/share-us-shoppers-buying-groceries-online-stabilizes Insider Intelligence. (2022). ONLINE GROCERY DELIVERY IS EXPLODING IN CANADA. Retrieved from https://www.insiderintelligence.com/content/delivery-now-essential-channel-canadian-food-service-grocery Graphical Research. (2021). NORTH AMERICA ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) IN RETAIL MARKET. Retrieved from https://www.graphicalresearch.com/industry-insights/2001/north-america-artificial-intelligence-in-retail-market Toronto Star. (2019). LOBLAWS TAKES ON AMAZON WITH CURATED ONLINE MARKETPLACE. Retrieved from https://www.thestar.com/business/2019/11/21/loblaw-launching-online-marketplace-that-will-include-new-brands-and-products.html Statista. (2021). RETAIL SALES OF SUPERMARKETS AND OTHER GROCERY STORES IN CANADA FROM 2012 TO 2021. Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/statistics/432696/retail-sales-of-supermarkets-and-other-grocery-stores-in-canada/ Daily Hive. (2021). T&T SUPERMARKET JUST LAUNCHED A BRAND NEW APP ACROSS CANADA. Retrieved from https://dailyhive.com/toronto/tt-supermarket-launch-app-ordering-online-toronto

Surrey Now-Leader. (2021). NEW APP MAKES SHOPPING FOR YOUR FAVOURITE ASIAN GROCERIES EVEN EASIER. Retrieved from https://www.surreynowleader.com/marketplace/new-app-makes-shopping-for-your-favourite-asian-groceries-even-easier/

Attachments

Mary Wang Noah Digital 905 639 3398 [email protected]

Source: Noah Digital
KRAKOW, Poland, July 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ryvu Therapeutics (WSE: RVU), a clinical-stage drug discovery and development company focusing on novel small molecule therapies that address emerging targets in oncology, today announced the promotion of Hendrik Nogai, M.D., Chief Medical Officer, and Vatnak Vat-Ho, Chief Business Officer to its Management Board.

We are excited to promote Vatnak and Hendrik to the Management Board of Ryvu, said Piotr Romanowski, President of Ryvu Therapeutics Supervisory Board. Given our recent pipeline progress and new partnerships, these nominations come at an exciting time for Ryvu and reflect each individuals significant contributions towards advancing our lead candidate, RVU120 and expanding our business development activities. As highly respected and seasoned pharma executives, Vatnak and Hendrik bring multiple areas of expertise to the Management Board that will help guide our company on critical decisions about partnering, clinical trial design and operations, and alliance management.

Dr. Nogai has served as Chief Medical Officer at Ryvu since February 2022. He is a board-certified medical doctor in Hematology/Oncology as well as in Internal Medicine, with almost 10 years of experience in patient care and basic research in various academic settings. Besides his clinical expertise, Dr. Nogai has 17 years of industry experience including business consulting at Mercer Management Consulting/ Oliver Wyman, a Medical Advisor role at Nordic Biotech Capital ApS, and positions of increasing responsibility at Bayer AG, with his most recent role of Vice President, Global Development Leader NTRK program.

Mr. Vat-Ho has been Ryvus Chief Business Officer since April 2021 and has 20 years of experience in pharma, biotech, as well as capital markets expertise. Vatnak Vat-Ho spent the first 10 years of his professional career in a variety of investment banks and global equity healthcare funds followed by 8 years at Pfizer where he held several roles, concluding in the position of Senior Director/Team Lead, Strategy, Business Development & Alliances in the commercial development organization. Most recently Mr. Vat-Ho served as Vice President, Business Development at Affimed Inc. where he was responsible for leading partnering activities for both the preclinical and clinical pipeline, as well as serving as alliance manager for the companys collaborations.

About Ryvu Therapeutics

Ryvu Therapeutics is a clinical-stage drug discovery and development company focused on novel small molecule therapies that address emerging targets in oncology. Internally discovered pipeline candidates make use of diverse therapeutic mechanisms driven by emerging knowledge of cancer biology, including small molecules directed at kinase, synthetic lethality, and immuno-oncology targets.

Ryvus most advanced programs are RVU120 - a selective CDK8/CDK19 kinase inhibitor with potential for the treatment of hematological malignancies and solid tumors currently in Phase I clinical development for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndrome, and Phase I/II for the treatment of r/r metastatic or advanced solid tumors and SEL24 (MEN1703) - dual PIM/FLT3 kinase inhibitor licensed to the Menarini Group, currently in Phase II clinical studies in acute myeloid leukemia.

The company was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Krakow, Poland. Ryvu is listed on the main market of the Warsaw Stock Exchange and is a component of sWIG80 index. For more information, please see www.ryvu.com.

Contacts:

Investors John Fraunces LifeSci Advisors +1 917-355-2395 [email protected] CorporateNatalia Baranowska Ryvu Therapeutics +48 784 069 418 [email protected]

Source: Ryvu Therapeutics
Washington, D.C., July 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Elected representatives and private donors need to redouble their support for historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), according to a report issued today by UNCF (United Negro College Fund).

Entitled, Greater Funding, Great Needs: A Report on Funding for HBCUs, the new UNCF report reveals the influx from the past two years of federal government funding and private donations are not enough and do not begin to make up for decades of neglect.

We are calling for Congress to act now and pass the Senate appropriations bill providing more funds for HBCUs and the HBCUs IGNITE Excellence Act, which will make available badly needed funds to rebuild the infrastructure of aging facilities, said Lodriguez Murray, senior vice president, public policy and government affairs, UNCF.

Thanks to the massive influx of funding and private donations, HBCUs entered 2022 in a much stronger position than before the start of the pandemic, said Murray,

If Congress fails to act now, HBCUs now run the risk of losing out on funding from stakeholders who may erroneously believe the need has lessened. Now, a critical challenge for HBCUs will be overcoming common myths about these institutions.

Over the past two years, HBCUs have distinguished themselves in the face of uncertainty and difficulty resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and civil unrest from the death of George Floyd, which brought renewed and broader attention to growing racial justice issues.

HBCUs continue punching above their weight, producing graduates who are productive citizens contributing to the success of our country, and they have an annual impact on our national economy of $15 billion, Murray said.

HBCUs innovated to embrace remote learning and redirected funds to provide their students with much-need support. And they received an outpouring of funding; the federal government allocated more than $6.5 billion to 101 HBCUs over the past two years, and private donors have significantly stepped up their giving. As a result, HBCUs gained a renewed sense of optimism and hard-won resilience.

However, for decades, the federal government has ignored its legally mandated obligations to allocate funding at prescribed levels, noted Murray.

Theres an inherent immorality that underpins this pattern that HBCUs are the institutions that perform the best for Black students, yet they remain chronically underfunded. Whats more, this cycle feeds the perception that they arent worthy of support, said Murray.

To produce the report, UNCFs Frederick D. Patterson Research Institute conducted a survey of UNCFs 37 member-institution HBCUs in January and February 2022.

The goal was to better understand each responding institutions ability to gain access to federal funds and increased philanthropic donations during the COVID-19 pandemic, said Nadrea Njoku, director, Frederick D. Patterson Research Institute, UNCF.

The survey also highlighted the fiscal condition of HBCUs, their funding needs and their top priorities for the coming year. In all, executive leaders from 31 HBCUs participated.

Respondents noted funds over the past two years were used to implement and upgrade technology on campus to better assist students and faculty with delivering and accessing remote instruction during and throughout the pandemic.

Also, funds were used to stabilize operations to cover payroll expenses, improve technical capabilities by giving students laptop computers, and help students ease their debt.

However, funding for the maintenance of obsolete buildings and student housing has not kept pace.

The report revealed nearly two-thirds of the HBCUs surveyed indicated they had more than $5 million in deferred maintenance.

According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), public HBCUs, on average, have total deferred maintenance of more than $60 million.

Federal spending bills such as Build Back Better and the HBCUs IGNITE Excellence Act would allocate significant levels of funding to HBCUs, but they are currently stalled in Congress.

In addition to shortfalls in deferred maintenance for facilities, the endowments of HBCUs are just a fraction of their non-HBCU counterparts, according to the UNCF report.

Colleges and universities use endowments to support among other things scholarships, upgrade facilities and hire faculty. The report found endowments at HBCUs currently trail those of other institutions by at least 70%. A GAO study identified in the report found HBCUs have an average of $15,000 in endowment per student, compared with $410,000 in endowment per student at comparable non-HBCUs.

To increase the funding needs of HBCUs, the report offered the following calls to action:

Commit to fund HBCUs, collectively, at federally mandated levels going forward while providing extra funds to address the deferred maintenance backlog.

Rally public- and private-sector donors to help HBCUs attain unrestricted funds to obtain parity in their endowments.

Capitalize on the greater awareness of HBCUs to attract a higher level of contributions from private donors and reinforce the importance of unrestricted gifts.

There is much more work to be done, but UNCF is constantly building up its broad coalition of stakeholders to ensure Black students and HBCUs have the resources they need to thrive. My hope is that policymakers, elected representatives and private donors use this report as a fact base to inform their funding decisions and redouble their support for HBCUs, said Murray.

To read the full report, visit UNCF.org/GreaterFunding.

###

About UNCF

UNCF (United Negro College Fund) is the nations largest and most effective minority education organization. To serve youth, the community and the nation, UNCF supports students education and development through scholarships and other programs, supports and strengthens its 37 member colleges and universities, and advocates for the importance of minority education and college readiness. While totaling only 3% of all colleges and universities, UNCF institutions and other historically Black colleges and universities are highly effective, awarding 13% of bachelors degrees, 5% of masters degrees, 10% of doctoral degrees and 24% of all STEM degrees earned by Black students in higher education. UNCF administers more than 400 programs, including scholarship, internship and fellowship, mentoring, summer enrichment, and curriculum and faculty development programs. Today, UNCF supports more than 60,000 students at over 1,100 colleges and universities across the country. Its logo features the UNCF torch of leadership in education and its widely recognized trademark, A mind is a terrible thing to waste. Learn more at UNCF.org or for continuous updates and news, follow UNCF on Twitter at @UNCF.

Monique LeNoir United Negro College Fund, Inc. (UNCF) 202-810-0231 [email protected]

Source: United Negro College Fund, Inc. (UNCF)
Dallas, Texas, July 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Vaycaychella, Inc. (OTC Pink: VAYK) (VAYK) is a technology company that last year introduced an award-winning Peer-2-Peer Alternative Finance Application (APP) for sourcing financing to purchase income-producing vacation properties.

The company recently released an update on its plans to add new functionality to the app.

Today, the company announced the update on new functionality garnered the interest of a new investor. The company has initiated discussions that could result in a new strategic investment before the end of the Q3.

To learn more and keep up with the latest updates at Vaycaychella, and to access the Vaycaychella App, visit https://www.vaycaychella.com/.

Disclaimer/Safe Harbor: This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Securities Litigation Reform Act. The statements reflect the Company's current views with respect to future events that involve risks and uncertainties. Among others, these risks include the expectation that any of the companies mentioned herein will achieve significant sales, the failure to meet schedule or performance requirements of the companies' contracts, the companies' liquidity position, the companies' ability to obtain new contracts, the emergence of competitors with greater financial resources and the impact of competitive pricing. In the light of these uncertainties, the forward-looking events referred to in this release might not occur.

VAYK Contact: William "Bill" Justice [email protected] (800) 871-0376

Source: Vaycaychella, Inc.
TORONTO, July 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Wallbridge Mining Company Limited (TSX: WM, OTCQX: WLBMF) (Wallbridge or the Company) is pleased to report positive assay results from ongoing resource drilling at the Fenelon Gold Project (Fenelon or the Project), which further expand the lateral footprint of the deposit beyond the 2021 maiden Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE). Fenelon is located 80 kilometres east of Agnico Eagles Detour Lake gold mine at the centre of Wallbridges strategic land package, which covers roughly 910 square kilometres of the most prospective ground on the Detour-Fenelon Gold Trend.

Todays results add new gold mineralization along the eastern and western margins of the 2021 MRE. We are particularly pleased with the gold endowment in the eastern part of the deposit, where the host diorite is pervasively mineralized and we have encountered high-quality gold zones that remain entirely open toward the southeast, said Marz Kord, Wallbridges President and CEO. Overall, the drilling at Fenelon this year has continued to prove extensions of new gold zones in multiple directions, which will help strengthen the Project by delivering a more robust orebody with the flexibility to develop an optimal mine design. Our geologists and technical staff envision the next mineral resource estimate could point to a primarily bulk-mineable underground resource at Fenelon with possible smaller open pits on shallow mineralized zones such as at Gabbro and Area 51.

The western and eastern extensions of mineralization are exemplified by drill holes FA-22-401 (3.01 g/t Au over 17.95 metres) in the West and FA-22-420A (25.14 g/t Au over 3.27 metres) in the East, both of which intersected gold mineralization outside the 2021 MRE at approximately 795 to 865 metres below the surface. Furthermore, the areas directly surrounding these intercepts remain untested with further room to expand the mineralization (see Figure 3).

Highlights of the drilling results released today include the following:

Western Expansion

FA-21-295 2.83 g/t Au over 8.30 metres, including 21.68 g/t Au over 1.00 metres within Area 51, outside of the 2021 MRE block model. FA-22-401 3.01 g/t Au over 17.95 metres, including 8.42 g/t Au over 4.65 metres within Area 51, outside of the 2021 MRE block model. 3.54 g/t Au over 7.60 metres, including 5.85 g/t Au over 2.40 metres within Cayenne, adjacent and within the 2021 MRE block model.

Eastern Expansion

FA-22-394-W1 10.96 g/t Au over 2.20 metres, including 18.76 g/t Au over 1.20 metres within Area 51, adjacent to and within the 2021 MRE block model. This intersection is in addition to assay results released previously in Wallbridge press release dated May 30, 2022. FA-22-420A 25.14 g/t Au over 3.27 metres, including 140.00 g/t Au over 0.50 metres within Area 51, outside of the 2021 MRE block model 16.44 g/t Au over 2.10 metres within the Contact Zone, outside of the 2021 MRE block model FA-22-425 56.05 g/t Au over 0.60 metres within the Contact Zone, outside and adjacent to the 2021 MRE block model. FA-22-426 73.98 g/t Au over 0.50 metres within the Tabasco Zone, outside and adjacent to the 2021 MRE block model.

The assay results from 22 drill holes are reported in the table and figures below (19 DH w/ complete assays, 3 DH with partial assays). All figures and the table with drill hole information of recently completed holes are posted on the Companys website under Current Program at www.wallbridgemining.com/s/fenelon.asp.

Figure 1. Fenelon Gold, Plan View

Figure 2. Fenelon Gold, Cross-Section 10600_E

Figure 3. Fenelon Gold, Plan View West (B) and East (C)- 785m & 815m Vertical Depth

Table 1. Wallbridge Fenelon Gold Property, Recent Drill Assay Highlights (1) Drill Hole From To Length Au Au Cut(2) VG(3) Zone/Corridor (m) (m) (m) (g/t) (g/t) 21-5130-005 263.15 278.90 15.75 1.21 1.21 VG Contact Zone Including 266.85 267.50 0.65 19.20 19.20 VG Contact Zone 21-5130-005 300.95 306.25 5.30 0.96 0.96 Area 51 FA-20-171-W2 769.50 772.00 2.50 3.79 3.79 Area 51 FA-20-171-W2 792.90 794.00 1.10 5.02 5.02 Area 51 FA-20-171-W2 905.50 906.20 0.70 7.13 7.13 Area 51 FA-20-171-W2 914.50 915.80 1.30 6.74 6.74 Area 51 FA-20-171-W2 1053.50 1055.00 1.50 3.49 3.49 Area 51 FA-20-171-W2 1100.00 1103.00 3.00 5.46 5.46 Area 51 FA-21-295 663.40 671.70 8.30 2.83 2.83 Area 51 Including 670.70 671.70 1.00 21.68 21.68 Area 51 FA-21-295 716.00 716.50 0.50 16.65 16.65 Area 51 FA-21-295 840.20 843.50 3.30 2.50 2.50 Area 51 Including 840.20 841.00 0.80 7.59 7.59 Area 51 FA-21-295 1022.50 1024.60 2.10 4.26 4.26 Cayenne FA-21-336 No Significant Mineralization (4) FA-21-343 No Significant Mineralization (4) FA-21-344(5) 127.35 128.80 1.45 0.81 0.81 New Zone FA-21-353 No Significant Mineralization (4) FA-22-394-W1 939.00 941.20 2.20 10.96 10.96 Area 51 Including 940.00 941.20 1.20 18.76 18.76 Area 51 FA-22-401 305.50 307.00 1.50 5.66 5.66 VG Area 51 FA-22-401 626.65 644.60 17.95 3.01 3.01 VG Area 51 Including 626.65 631.30 4.65 8.42 8.42 VG Area 51 And 643.00 644.60 1.60 8.70 8.70 Area 51 FA-22-401 785.20 788.10 2.90 2.41 2.41 Area 51 FA-22-401 1026.40 1034.00 7.60 3.54 3.54 Cayenne Including 1031.60 1034.00 2.40 5.85 5.85 Cayenne FA-22-406 No Significant Mineralization (4) FA-22-412 490.00 490.60 0.60 15.79 15.79 Area 51 FA-22-415 543.10 551.50 8.40 0.69 0.69 Tabasco FA-22-418 169.20 187.00 17.80 0.70 0.70 Tabasco Including 186.10 187.00 0.90 6.97 6.97 Tabasco Table 1. (cont.) Wallbridge Fenelon Gold Property, Recent Drill Assay Highlights (1) Drill Hole From To Length Au Au Cut(2) VG(3) Zone/Corridor (m) (m) (m) (g/t) (g/t) FA-22-419 242.00 253.70 11.70 1.23 1.23 Area 51 Including 242.00 243.20 1.20 7.06 7.06 Area 51 FA-22-419 1084.50 1086.00 1.50 5.50 5.50 Area 51 FA-22-420A 1030.50 1033.77 3.27 25.14 15.20 VG Area 51 Including 1030.50 1031.00 0.50 140.00 75.00 VG Area 51 FA-22-420A 1070.50 1071.00 0.50 13.45 13.45 Contact Zone FA-22-420A 1086.00 1088.10 2.10 16.44 16.44 Contact Zone FA-22-423 249.50 268.35 18.85 0.51 0.51 Contact Zone FA-22-423 395.50 398.50 3.00 3.48 3.48 Tabasco FA-22-425 125.40 126.00 0.60 56.05 56.05 VG Contact Zone FA-22-425 183.45 184.80 1.35 4.41 4.41 Area 51 FA-22-425 210.50 231.00 20.50 0.36 0.36 Area 51 FA-22-426 98.50 99.00 0.50 73.98 73.98 VG Tabasco FA-22-427 246.00 250.00 4.00 1.63 1.63 Tabasco FA-22-430 No Significant Mineralization (4) FA-22-432 No Significant Mineralization (4) FA-22-435 86.00 88.50 2.50 3.43 3.43 VG Area 51 Including 88.00 88.50 0.50 14.75 14.75 VG Area 51 (1) Table includes only assay results received since the latest press release dated June 07th, 2022. (2) Au cut at: 110 g/t Au for the Tabasco/Contact /Cayenne zones; 75 g/t Au for the Area 51 zones. (3) Intervals containing visible gold ("VG"). (4) Metal factor of at least 5 g/t*m and minimum weighted average composite grade of 0.35 g/t Au within the 2021 MRE open pit shell and 1.5 g/t Au for outside open pit shell. (5) Metal factor of at least 1 g/t*m and minimum weighted average composite grade of 0.3 g/t Au for exploration drillholes. Note: True widths are estimated to be 50-80% of the reported core length intervals.

Assay QA/QC and Qualified Persons

Drill core samples from the ongoing drill program at Fenelon are cut and bagged either on-site or by contractors and transported to SGS Canada Inc. or Bureau Veritas Commodities Canada Ltd. for analysis. Samples, standards and blanks are included for quality assurance and quality control, were prepared and analyzed at the laboratories. Samples are crushed to 90% less than 2mm. A 1kg riffle split is pulverized to 85% passing 75 microns. 50g samples are analyzed by fire assay and AAS or ICP. At SGS and Bureau Veritas, samples >10g/t Au are automatically analyzed by fire assay with gravimetric finish or screen metallic analysis. To test for coarse free gold and additional quality assurance and quality control, Wallbridge requests screen metallic analysis for samples containing visible gold. These and future assay results may vary from time to time due to reanalysis for quality assurance and quality control.

The Qualified Person responsible for the technical content of this press release is Peter Lauder, P.Geo, Exploration Manager of Wallbridge.

About Wallbridge Mining

Wallbridge is focused on creating value through the discovery, acquisition, development, and production of gold from a portfolio of advanced exploration stage assets located in established mining jurisdictions within Canada. Wallbridges flagship project, Fenelon, is located on the highly prospective Detour-Fenelon Gold Trend in Northern Abitibi, Quebec. A mineral resource estimate completed in 2021 validated the multi-million-ounce gold potential of Fenelon as well as Wallbridges nearby Martiniere Property, incorporating a combined 2.67 million ounces of indicated resources and 1.72 million ounces of inferred resources. Fenelon and Martiniere, located within a 910-square-kilometre exploration land package controlled by Wallbridge, have the potential to be developed into mines, and are close to existing power and transportation infrastructure. Wallbridge also has interests in several copper, nickel and platinum group metal properties, including a 17.8% interest in Lonmin Canada Inc.

Further information about Wallbridge can be found in the Companys regulatory filings available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on the Companys website at www.wallbridgemining.com.

This news release has been authorized by the undersigned on behalf of Wallbridge Mining Company Limited.

Wallbridge Mining Company Limited

Marz Kord, P. Eng., M. Sc., MBAPresident & CEOTel: (705) 6829297 ext. 251Email: [email protected]

Victoria Vargas, B.Sc. (Hon.) Economics, MBAInvestor Relations AdvisorEmail: [email protected]

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This press release of Wallbridge Mining Company Limited ("Wallbridge" or the "Company") contains forward-looking statements or information (collectively, FLI) within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. FLI is based on expectations, estimates, projections and interpretations as at the date of this press release.

All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein are FLI that involve various risks, assumptions, estimates and uncertainties. Generally, FLI can be identified by the use of statements that include words such as seeks, believes, anticipates, plans, continues, budget, scheduled, estimates, expects, forecasts, intends, projects, predicts, proposes, "potential", targets and variations of such words and phrases, or by statements that certain actions, events or results may, will, could, would, should or might, be taken, occur or be achieved.

FLI herein includes, but is not limited to: future drill results; the Companys ability to convert inferred resources into measured and indicated resources; environmental matters; stakeholder engagement and relationships; parameters and methods used to estimate the mineral resource estimates (each an MRE) at the Fenelon and Martiniere properties (collectively the Deposits); the prospects, if any, of the Deposits; future drilling at the Deposits; and the significance of historic exploration activities and results.

FLI is designed to help you understand managements current views of its near- and longer-term prospects, and it may not be appropriate for other purposes. FLI by their nature are based on assumptions and 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 FLI. Although the FLI contained in this press release is based upon what management believes, or believed at the time, to be reasonable assumptions, the Company cannot assure shareholders and prospective purchasers of securities of the Company that actual results will be consistent with such FLI, as there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended, and neither the Company nor any other person assumes responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of any such FLI. Except as required by law, the Company does not undertake, and assumes no obligation, to update or revise any such FLI contained herein to reflect new events or circumstances, except as may be required by law. Unless otherwise noted, this press release has been prepared based on information available as of the date of this press release. Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on the FLI or information contained herein.

Furthermore, should one or more of the risks, uncertainties or other factors materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in FLI.

Assumptions upon which FLI is based, without limitation, include: the ability of exploration activities to accurately predict mineralization; the accuracy of geological modelling; the ability of the Company to complete further exploration activities; the legitimacy of title and property interests in the Deposits; the accuracy of key assumptions, parameters or methods used to estimate the MREs; the ability of the Company to obtain required approvals; the results of exploration activities; the evolution of the global economic climate; metal prices; environmental expectations; community and non-governmental actions; and any impacts of COVID-19 on the Deposits, the Companys financial position, the Companys ability to secure required funding, or operations. Risks and uncertainties about Wallbridge's business are more fully discussed in the disclosure materials filed with the securities regulatory authorities in Canada, which are available at www.sedar.com.

Covid19  Given the rapidly evolving nature of the Coronavirus (COVID19) pandemic, Wallbridge is actively monitoring the situation in order to continue to maintain as best as possible the activities while striving to protect the health of its personnel. Wallbridges activities will continue to align with the guidance provided by local, provincial and federal authorities in Canada. The Company has established measures to continue normal activities while protecting the health of its employees and stakeholders. Depending on the evolution of the virus, measures may affect the regular operations of Wallbridge and the participation of staff members in events inside or outside Canada.

Information Concerning Estimates of Mineral Resources

The disclosure in this press release and referred to herein was prepared in accordance with NI 43-101 which differs significantly from the requirements of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). The terms "measured mineral resource", "indicated mineral resource" and "inferred mineral resource" used in this press release are in reference to the mining terms defined in the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum Standards (the "CIM Definition Standards"), which definitions have been adopted by NI 43-101. Accordingly, information contained in this press release providing descriptions of our mineral deposits in accordance with NI 43-101 may not be comparable to similar information made public by other U.S. companies subject to the United States federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder.

Investors are cautioned not to assume that any part or all of mineral resources will ever be converted into reserves. Pursuant to CIM Definition Standards, "inferred mineral resources" are that part of a mineral resource for which quantity and grade or quality are estimated on the basis of limited geological evidence and sampling. Such geological evidence is sufficient to imply but not verify geological and grade or quality continuity. An inferred mineral resource has a lower level of confidence than that applying to an indicated mineral resource and must not be converted to a mineral reserve. However, it is reasonably expected that the majority of inferred mineral resources could be upgraded to indicated mineral resources with continued exploration. Under Canadian rules, estimates of inferred mineral resources may not form the basis of feasibility or pre-feasibility studies, except in rare cases. Investors are cautioned not to assume that all or any part of an inferred mineral resource is economically or legally mineable. Disclosure of "contained ounces" in a resource is permitted disclosure under Canadian regulations; however, the SEC normally only permits issuers to report mineralization that does not constitute "reserves" by SEC standards as in place tonnage and grade without reference to unit measures.

Canadian standards, including the CIM Definition Standards and NI 43-101, differ significantly from standards in the SEC Industry Guide 7. Effective February 25, 2019, the SEC adopted new mining disclosure rules under subpart 1300 of Regulation S-K of the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "SEC Modernization Rules"), with compliance required for the first fiscal year beginning on or after January 1, 2021. The SEC Modernization Rules replace the historical property disclosure requirements included in SEC Industry Guide 7. As a result of the adoption of the SEC Modernization Rules, the SEC now recognizes estimates of "measured mineral resources", "indicated mineral resources" and "inferred mineral resources". Information regarding mineral resources contained or referenced in this press release may not be comparable to similar information made public by companies that report according to U.S. standards. While the SEC Modernization Rules are purported to be "substantially similar" to the CIM Definition Standards, readers are cautioned that there are differences between the SEC Modernization Rules and the CIM Definitions Standards. Accordingly, there is no assurance any mineral resources that the Company may report as "measured mineral resources", "indicated mineral resources" and "inferred mineral resources" under NI 43-101 would be the same had the Company prepared the resource estimates under the standards adopted under the SEC Modernization Rules.

Figure 1. Fenelon Gold, Plan View Figure 2. Fenelon Gold, Cross-Section 10600_E Figure 3. Fenelon Gold, Plan View West (B) and East (C)- 785m & 815m Vertical Depth

Source: Wallbridge Mining Company Limited
FILE PHOTO: Test tubes are seen in front of a displayed Biontech logo in this illustration taken, May 21, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

By Ludwig Burger

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - COVID-19 vaccine maker BioNTech said on Tuesday that it and partner Pfizer have filed a complaint with the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts, seeking a judgment that they did not infringe U.S. patents held by rival CureVac.

The lawsuit, filed Monday, said CureVac is trying to profit from the success of BioNTech and Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccines after CureVac's efforts to create its own vaccine failed.

CureVac earlier this month filed a patent lawsuit in Germany against BioNTech over its use of mRNA technology and did not rule out further legal action against BioNTech's partner Pfizer or rival mRNA vaccine maker Moderna Inc.

BioNTech said that CureVac's U.S. patents were equivalent to German patents invoked by CureVac in the German court case.

BioNTech and Pfizer asked the Boston court to declare that their Comirnaty vaccine does not violate three CureVac patents related to RNA-based vaccines. The companies told the court that Comirnaty does not work in the same way as CureVac's patented technology.

One of the patents concerns messenger RNA (mRNA) connected to lipid nanoparticles (LNPs), which the vaccines use to deliver the molecules safely into the body. Pfizer, BioNTech, and Moderna have been hit with U.S. patent lawsuits by other biotech companies this year over the LNP technology used in their vaccines.

Pfizer has said that it expects $32 billion in revenue from Comirnaty this year.

CureVac said in a statement it was aware of BioNTech's legal action but had not yet been formally served.

"We will review the matter legally in detail and represent our position accordingly," it added.

(Reporting by Ludwig Burger and Blake Brittain; Editing by David Bario and Mark Potter)
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - July 26, 2022) - Datametrex AI Limited(TSXV: DM) (FSE: D4G) (OTCQB: DTMXF)(the "Company" or "Datametrex'')is pleased to announce that the Company's wholly owned telehealth subsidiary, Medi-Call Inc., introduces mental health services. Virtual mental care services will be available for Medi-Call subscribers in Vancouver who are experiencing anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts, or other mental health challenges. With virtual counselling, support, medical attention and prescription services, patients can get the help they need virtually.

The Company advocates for mental health awareness and plans to provide accessible mental health services for those in need. The Company plans to adapt its Nexalogy, AI technology with Medi-Call's App to help detect mental health issues through social posting and provide our services and solutions through our AI integrated software to those in need.

According to the latest mental health data, patient comfort with virtual behavioural healthcare is high across all age groups. Among Baby Boomers, 45 percent said they are comfortable with virtual care for mental health. 55 percent of Generation X said they were equally comfortable with virtual mental care, while 15 percent said they were more comfortable with receiving mental health care virtually, than in-person. Further data shows patients had greater comfort levels with virtual behavioural healthcare over in-person. 24 percent of patients liked the idea of being able to remain in the comfort of their own home receiving care, 18 percent liked virtual care for the ease of attending sessions from anywhere, and 15 percent felt like they can be more open and honest virtually about their mental health concerns than in person. Source: (https://mhealthintelligence.com/news/patient-comfort-with-virtual-mental-healthcare-is-high)

With a high volume of patients adapting to virtual healthcare and a rising margin for more people open to mental health care in the virtual space, the Company believes adding this service will be a beneficial service for all. The World Health Organization states that the COVID-19 pandemic triggered a 25 percent increase of anxiety and depression worldwide and urges all countries to step up their mental health services and support, which is why Medi-Call is dedicated to providing more accessible mental healthcare to Canadians. Source: (https://www.who.int/news/item/02-03-2022-covid-19-pandemic-triggers-25-increase-in-prevalence-of-anxiety-and-depression-worldwide)

The Company is also pleased to announce that three (3) physicians joined the Medi-Call team. Dr. Vincent Fung, Dr. Reem Habtezion and Dr. Dale Raj Dhillon joined Dr. Omar Sharif, advancing Medi-Call further into the healthcare and telehealth space.

"We are thrilled to be expanding Medi-Call by adding new mental health services and adding more physicians to the team. We expect Medi-Call to continue to gain traction. Ensuring we are staffed sufficiently is a priority, so patients' needs are met,"said Marshall Gunter, CEO of the Company.

"According to the latest Canadian statistics, the mental health crisis continues to plague Canadians at an alarming rate. Some groups in particular include our youth, minorities and the elderly. In addition, those reporting poor mental health are 400% more likely to report increased substance use since before the pandemic. We believe that our robust practitioners and accelerated access to care will help to combat this problem," said Dr. Omar Sharif, Chief Medical Officer of the Company.

About Medi-Call

Medi-Call is a subscription-based software as a service (SaaS) mobile application that connects patients with doctors. It is an integrated grid system that connects patients with providers in real time. Medi-Call solves accessibility issues for patients living in rural or isolated communities and those also have limited mobility while improving coordination and communication of treatment among healthcare team members and their patients. Medi-Call facilitates mobile health care services, including prescriptions and is passionate about building doctor-patient relationships virtually.

Visit Medicallmd.ca to learn more about the Company.

Download the Medi-Call App for Android: https://bit.ly/MCGooglePlay

Download the Medi-Call App for iOS: https://apple.co/3oos9m2

About Datametrex

Datametrex AI Limited is a technology-focused company with exposure to artificial intelligence, machine learning, telehealth and has recently entered the electric vehicle (EV) market. Datametrex's mission is to provide tools and solutions that support companies in fulfilling their operational goals, including health and safety, with predictive and preventive technologies. By working with companies to set a new standard of protocols through artificial intelligence and health diagnostics, the Company provides progressive solutions to support the supply chain. For additional information on Datametrex and other corporate information, please visit the Company's website at www.datametrex.com.

For further information:

Investor Relations & Communications

Priya Monique Atwal, Director of Communications

Email: [email protected]

Tel: 416-901-5611 x 204

Marshall Gunter, CEO

Email: [email protected]

Tel: 514-295-2300

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-Looking Statements

All statements included in this press release that address activities, events, or developments that the Company expects, believes, or anticipates will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the Bid. These forward-looking statements involve numerous assumptions made by the Company based on its experience, perception of historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments and other factors it believes are appropriate in the circumstances. In addition, these statements involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties that contribute to the possibility that the predictions, forecasts, projections, and other forward-looking statements will prove inaccurate, certain of which are beyond the Company's control. Except as required by law, the Company does not undertake to revise or update these forward-looking statements after the date hereof or revise them to reflect the occurrence of future unanticipated events.

###

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/131803
Rendezvous, Barbados--(Newsfile Corp. - July 26, 2022) - On Tuesday, Triton & West, the international asset management company, announced they will be launching a philanthropic trust aimed at providing underprivileged children with the opportunity to secure a scholarship for further education and grants to support early education.

CEO and founder of the Triton & West Philanthropic Trust, David Barnard, has made a personal initial contribution of $1.4M USD. The company has also pledged an annual donation of $5M USD to the trust. Client donations have already topped $3.9M USD ahead of the launch. The trust will initially focus on two key geographical regions, the West Indies and South East Asia, as the company has a presence in both of these areas. As part of their corporate social responsibility strategy, the company plans to partner up with local charities, as well as providing direct support into the communities that most require the assistance.

Speaking at a press conference, CEO David Barnard stated, "The reason we set up the Triton & West Philanthropic trust is simply to give back. Having personally accumulated generational wealth, I have felt a deep obligation to give back and provide underprivileged children with the opportunity to have an education and not worry about the associated cost. I have always lived by the philosophy if you give a man a fish; you feed him for a day, if you teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime. Moreover my father instilled in me the importance of education, he told me the greatest investment one can ever make is the investment in their children's education. This is the reason we felt the scholarship programs were the most effective way to give back and enable underprivileged children the opportunity to compete on a level playing field."

Triton & West is an international asset management company with their headquarters in Barbados. They have been a global leader in offshore financial services since inception in 2017, providing solutions to individuals, trustees, corporations and governments.

CONTACT

Company Name - Triton & West

Contact - Samuel Thompson

Email - [email protected]

Company address - Rendezvous Corporate Centre Rendezvous, Christ Church, BB15131 Barbados

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/131921
FILE PHOTO: A Russian service member is seen on a BMP-3 infantry fighting vehicle during drills held by the armed forces of the Southern Military District at the Kadamovsky range in the Rostov region, Russia February 3, 2022. REUTERS/Sergey Pivovarov

By Mark Trevelyan

LONDON (Reuters) -Russia plans to hold strategic military exercises in the east of the country starting next month, the defence ministry said on Tuesday, thousands of miles from the war in Ukraine.

The "Vostok" (East) exercises will take place from Aug. 30 to Sept. 5. They appear intended to send a message that Russia, despite the costly five-month war in Ukraine, remains focused on the defence of its entire territory and capable in military terms of sustaining "business as usual".

But that may be a challenge given Moscow's heavy losses in men and equipment in Ukraine - including troops and hardware sent there from the eastern military district where the war games will take place.

"A lot of troops and gear from the eastern MD (military district) have already been deployed, rotated, lost and killed in Ukraine since February, so this will be interesting to see what they can salvage," said Mathieu Boulegue, a military specialist at London's Chatham House think-tank.

In a statement, the defence ministry emphasised that its capacity to stage such drills was unaffected by what it calls its "special military operation" in Ukraine.

It said Russia had not cancelled any training activities or international cooperation, and the exercises would be supplied with all necessary personnel, weapons and equipment.

"We draw your attention to the fact that only a part of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation is involved in the special military operation (in Ukraine), the number of which is quite sufficient to fulfil all the tasks set by the Supreme Commander-in-Chief," the statement said.

CIA Director William Burns said last week the United States estimated that 15,000 Russian troops had been killed in Ukraine since February - as many deaths as the Soviet army sustained in a decade of war in Afghanistan from 1979 - and three times that many may have been wounded.

The eastern military district includes part of Siberia and has its headquarters in Khabarovsk, near the Chinese border. The exercises will include some foreign forces, the defence ministry said, without specifying from which countries.

The previous Vostok drills in 2018 took place on a massive scale with nearly 300,000 troops reported to be involved, including for the first time from the Chinese army.

Whether and on what scale China takes part this year will provide significant clues to the state of bilateral relations as Putin attempts to court Beijing at a time of heightened confrontation between Russia and the West.

(Reporting by Mark Trevelyan; Editing by Nick Macfie, Angus MacSwan and Jonathan Oatis)
PARIS, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Vauban Infrastructure Partners ("Vauban") is pleased to announce the appointment of Adam Schiff as CEO of Cartier Energy Holding (the "Company"), which owns a portfolio of eight district energy systems in New Jersey, Michigan, Delaware, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. The systems provide reliable, sustainable, and cost-efficient sources of energy solutions to a key customer base including universities, hospitals, municipalities, and commercial & industrial customers. The portfolio is part of the top 5 District Energy systems in the United States providing key services (steam, chilled water, hot water and electricity generation) to its customers.

Vauban plans to continue supporting the Company's sustainable development, and to further enhance long-term growth of the platform to serve the communities with resilient and reliable energy solutions. The acquisition of this platform expands Vauban's global footprint to North America and demonstrates its strong commitment to sustainability, while building upon its significant experience owning and managing five other district energy systems in Europe.

Adam Schiff comments, "I'm excited to be leading the Cartier Energy business and Vauban Infrastructure Partners' entry into the US market with a focus on driving the Company towards a resilient and sustainable future for the benefit of the customers that we serve."

DCO Energy, an industry-leading developer and operator, will maintain operations and maintenance of the asset facilities under a long-term contract. DCO Energy will also support Cartier Energy and Vauban with the carbon footprint reduction objectives and ongoing investment in the development and expansion of the facilities and asset base.

Adam Schiff further comments, "I look forward to working with DCO Energy, they are a valuable strategic partner by having capabilities in development, operations, engineering and construction. Our companies will grow together as we work on additional development and expansion opportunities for the portfolio and pursue our carbon reduction goals. "

Gwenola Chambon, CEO and Founding Partner at Vauban Infrastructure Partners comments: "We are very excited to welcome Adam, an accomplished professional with a deep knowledge base in the energy sector, to lead the platform's business and growth."

Mounir Corm, Deputy CEO and Founding Partner of Vauban adds, "We look forward to the collaboration between DCO Energy, Cartier Energy under Adam's leadership, and Vauban to deliver these essential services to communities while building a long-term, sustainable platform in the United States."

Adam Schiff will work with the Cartier Energy Board of Directors with Steven Klein appointed as Chairman of the Board and Aveen Ghurbhurn, Leonie Maruani, Adeline Morin, Lea Salvy and Olivier Ta as members of the Board.

Prior to joining Cartier Energy in 2022, Adam was a 15-year energy industry veteran most recently serving as Director of Strategy & Finance for NextEra Energy. He held many different roles for the company in asset management, M&A, and business development. From 2009 to 2015 he had P&L responsibility for approximately 4,800 MW of wind and natural gas generation projects in Texas and from 2015 to 2021 executed over $3.5B in M&A transactions in wind, solar, storage, natural gas generation and water. In 2020, he led the company's first acquisition into the water industry and in 2021 led the company's strategy into the P3 campus and district energy market. He also sat on the NextEra PAC Board of Trustees from 2014 to 2022. Prior to joining NextEra Energy, Adam spent three years working for JPMorgan. Adam graduated from the University of Florida with a Bachelors of Science in Finance and Masters of Science in Finance.

About Vauban Infrastructure Partners

Vauban Infrastructure Partners is a leading Infrastructure Asset Manager focused on core infrastructure investments. Headquartered in Paris, it employs 65 professionals who have been working together for a decade. Vauban is dedicated to sustainable infrastructure equity investments. Vauban targets predominantly mid-market infrastructure assets pursuing a long-term yield-driven strategy matching the underlying nature of assets and long-term commitment to all stakeholders' interests through a strong focus on creating sustainable value. Vauban has raised c. $7.2 billion across 6 funds in core infrastructure from over c.100 investors within 17 different countries, and has invested in over 65 assets in mobility, energy transition, social & digital infrastructure across 13 different geographies.

https://vauban-ip.com/

Press ContactEstelle Bleuze  Consultant  Havas ParisTel.: +33 (0)6 73 97 94 17[email protected]

Vauban Investor Relations ContactDaria Litvinova  Head of Investor Relations - PartnerTel.: +33 (0)6 07 03 24 12[email protected]

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/adam-schiff-is-appointed-ceo-of-cartier-energy-holding-a-vauban-infrastructure-partners-investment-funds-owned-company-301593623.html

SOURCE Vauban Infrastructure Partners
NEW YORK, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- BizVibe, a business intelligence platform providing detailed company data for both buyers and suppliers, has recently added new insights for the sawmills and wood preservation industry. This platform contains 30M public and private company profiles spanning across 300+ industries and 200+ countries, and features more than 1,800 sawmills and wood preservation companies. These company profiles range from global market leaders to specialized manufacturers, with each profile containing 50+ unique insights.

View all sawmills and wood preservation company profiles. Try for Free!

Company profiles provide the following insights:

Company summary

Product and service offerings

Risk level report

Financial reports and management team contacts

Similar companies and competitors (by region)

Industry trends and challenges

Real-time news updates

Sawmills and Wood Preservation Industry Insights: Trends and Challenges

The global foresting industry, including sawmills, is shifting towards sustainable wood products. The largest driving factor for this is government regulations, as international policy dialogue around sustainable wood practices and their benefits is widely popular now.

Through a combination of factors such as deforestation, wildfires, sawmill closures, and supply chain disruption, there has been a global shortage of lumber. With a surging housing and remodeling market, lumber prices have spiked to new highs as a shortage affects the global supply chain. The closure of sawmills during the pandemic played a big part in lumber shortages as the housing market exploded and more people started to take on DIY remodeling projects.

Sawmills and Wood Preservation Company Insights on BizVibe: Top Players and Specialized Manufacturers

Some of the public and private sawmills and wood preservation companies on BizVibe include:

Market Leaders:

Stora Enso

Georgia Pacific

Weyerhaeuser

Canfor

Arauco

Specialized Manufacturers:

Stella-Jones Inc.

Key Products: pressure-treated wood products

West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd

Key Products: lumber, plywood, engineered wood products

UPM-Kymmene Corp.

Key Products: lumber, plywood, biocomposites

Metsa Group

Key Products: wood products, paper products

Cox Wood Preserving Company

Key Products: outdoor wood products

View 50+ insights for all sawmills and wood preservation companies

Key Segments Covered

BizVibe's sawmills and wood preservation industry insights cover the following segments.

Top Sawmill Categories:

Chipper Mills

Stud Mills

Siding Mills

Shingle Mills

Other Wood Preservation Categories:

Wood Treating Companies

Sawing and Treating Wood Companies

Learn more about company insights for this industry

Looking for Additional Company Insights?

Want to evaluate a specific list of suppliers and companies?

Need to identify key suppliers and compare which are best suited for you?

Looking for extensive related category lists to send RFQs?

Trying to invite buyers/sellers to an event you're organizing?

Get customized company insights tailored to your exact business needs. Speak to our analysts now.

About BizVibe

BizVibe is transforming the way buyers and sellers do business online. Our supplier intelligence and sales intelligence tools provide best-in-class company insights to help businesses discover, track, monitor, and evaluate companies of interest. BizVibe's platform contains more than 30 million company profiles, each packed with 50+ unique insights. For more information, please visit www.bizvibe.com or start your free trial today.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bizvibe-adds-new-company-insights-for-1-800-sawmills-and-wood-preservation-companies--risk-evaluation--regional-analysis--similar-companies--financials-and-management-team-301592076.html

SOURCE BizVibe
PANAMA CITY, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S.A. (NYSE: BLX) cordially invites you to participate in its upcoming conference call to discuss its 2Q22 results and provide a business strategy update

Date and time:Thursday, August 4, 202211:00 a.m. Eastern Time

Presenting for Bladex:Mr. Jorge Salas, Chief Executive OfficerMrs. Ana Graciela de Mendez, Chief Financial Officer

To participate, please dial:+1 888 686 3653 (U.S. Participants)+1 718 866 4614 (From outside the U.S.)Passcode: 877068

This event will be webcast live at www.bladex.com

Bladex's Second Quarter 2022 Earnings Release will be announced on Wednesday, August 3, 2022 after the market closes and will be available on the Bank's corporate website, along with the webcast presentation.

About Bladex:

Bladex, a multinational bank originally established by the central banks of Latin-American and Caribbean countries, began operations in 1979 to promote foreign trade and economic integration in the Region. The Bank, headquartered in Panama, also has offices in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, the United States of America, and a Representative License in Peru, supporting the regional expansion and servicing of its customer base, which includes financial institutions and corporations.

Bladex is listed on the NYSE in the United States of America (NYSE: BLX), since 1992, and its shareholders include: central banks and state-owned banks and entities representing 23 Latin American countries, commercial banks and financial institutions, and institutional and retail investors through its public listing.

Contact Information:

Carlos Daniel Raad  Chief Investor Relations OfficerE-mail address: [email protected] Tel: +507 210-8563

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bladexs-second-quarter-2022-conference-call-301593819.html

SOURCE Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S.A. (Bladex)
DETROIT, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Hospital (Karmanos) welcomes Brian Gamble into a new role as President. He began his new role Monday, July 4, 2022.

As Chief Financial Officer at Karmanos since 2015, Gamble worked closely with Gerold Bepler, M.D., Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of Karmanos, Justin Klamerus, M.D., MMM, his predecessor who recently accepted the executive vice president and chief medical officer role at McLaren Health Care, and David Mazurkiewicz, executive vice president and chief financial officer at McLaren. Gamble led the accounting and finance activities at Karmanos as the CFO and he has been an active participant in strategic planning, joint ventures and growth into new markets.

"Brian will do an outstanding job leading the only free-standing cancer hospital in the state," said Chad Grant, executive vice president and chief operating officer at McLaren Health Care. "We are fortunate that we have had Brian serve in the lead financial position, ensuring that Karmanos operates efficiently and provides the best care to our cancer patients. He has proven to be a results-orientated executive.

"This is an ideal time for Brian to step into his new role as President, as Karmanos has made wonderful strides in cancer research and care, including treatment access. Brian has been instrumental in achieving these milestones for the organization, and we know he'll be just as valuable in future efforts. With decades of experience in health care finance and operations and the accomplishments that Brian has made over the last seven years, we are confident in his abilities to continue leading Karmanos forward as our team works toward a world free of cancer."

As an executive at Karmanos, Gamble has provided strategic counsel on financial plans, revenue forecasts and expenses in the complex world of healthcare finance. Recently, Gamble provided financial stewardship during the multi-phase expansion of Karmanos' Lawrence and Idell Weisberg Cancer Center in Farmington Hills. He also helped guide the growth of cancer services throughout the Karmanos Cancer Network and was a key contributor to the organization entering the Ohio market and opening Karmanos Cancer Institute at The Toledo Clinic Cancer Center in Maumee.

"As I step into this new leadership role at Karmanos, I am focused on continuing the work that Dr. Klamerus and our colleagues have already begun," Brian Gamble said. "Over the last seven years, I have been part of the continued growth of Karmanos, from new therapies and treatments, clinic expansions, the purchase of leading-edge treatment equipment, development of KSP, the Karmanos Specialty Pharmacy, and continued investment in our staff. I look forward to working with our team members to expand access for our patients and to introduce new therapies and treatments as we strive to cure cancer. It is a privilege to work alongside our dedicated clinical and administrative staff who have provided the best cancer care to our patients."

Gamble has over 30 years of business experience in treasury operations, investment management, debt management, financial analysis and mergers and acquisitions. Before joining Karmanos in 2015, he most recently served as vice president of finance and assistant treasurer at Henry Ford Health System and CFO at Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital.

About the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute

Karmanos Cancer Institute is a leader in transformative cancer care, research and education through courage, commitment and compassion. The Karmanos vision is a world free of cancer. As part of McLaren Health Care, Karmanos is the largest provider of cancer care and research in Michigan. For more than 75 years, the administrative and research headquarters, along with the premier specialty cancer hospital, have been located in downtown Detroit. With 16 network sites, Karmanos delivers world-renowned care and access to clinical trials throughout Michigan and northern Ohio. The National Cancer Institute recognizes Karmanos as one of the best cancer centers in the nation with a comprehensive cancer center designation. Its academic partnership with the Wayne State University School of Medicine provides the framework for cancer research and education  defining new standards of care and improving survivorship. For more information, call 1-800-KARMANOS (800-527-6266) or visit www.karmanos.org. Follow Karmanos on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/brian-gamble-named-president-of-barbara-ann-karmanos-cancer-hospital-301593651.html

SOURCE Karmanos Cancer Institute
Premier independent real estate brokerage expands to Mid-Valley with a new office Near Aspen

BASALT, Colo., July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Douglas Elliman Realty, one of the largest independent residential real estate brokerages in the United States, announced today that it has expanded its footprint in Colorado. With the opening of a new office in Basalt  its fourth office in the state  the company is well positioned to bring its market expertise and unparalleled service to the Mid-Valley communities of Basalt, Carbondale and Glenwood Springs, near Aspen where Douglas Elliman consistently sets record-breaking sales. Located at 310 Market Street, the 800-square-foot office will provide space for both agents and staff members.

With more than 330 active listings, the Mid-Valley is poised to exceed the $943 million in total sales volume generated in 2021. *Statistics provided by Land Title Guarantee and Aspen Glenwood MLS.

"Like the increasing numbers of homebuyers and investors drawn to the region, we see tremendous opportunity in Colorado's Mid-Valley," said Scott Durkin, CEO, Douglas Elliman Realty. "With the current inventory and growing demand for new developments, we expect to substantially increase our market share."

As a result of remarkable sales activity in nearby Aspen over the past two years, numerous Aspen sellers have taken their financial gains and migrated to the Mid-Valley. And with two luxury country clubsThe Roaring Fork Club in Basalt and Aspen Glen in Carbondalethe region has become a draw for out-of-state buyers, including from Texas.

"Our strong sales in Aspen propelled Douglas Elliman to the number two position in overall market share," said Stephen Kotler, CEO of Douglas Elliman Realty's Western Region. "Our new presence in Basalt combined with our ability to leverage our national and international referral network positions us to replicate that success in the Mid-Valley."

"With the increased demand for new inventory, numerous development projects are currently under construction or scheduled to break ground over the next 12 months," said Edmund Foran, Executive Manager of Sales and Managing Broker, Aspen and Snowmass Village, for Douglas Elliman Realty. "Having a visible presence in the Mid-Valley will enhance our ability to secure new listings."

Some of Elliman's current listings in the Mid-Valley communities include 5616 County Rd 100 in Carbondale listed by Amy Doherty and Julia Herman for $9.8 million, 227 Sage Rim Circle in Basalt listed by Mary Kate Farrell for $9.925 million, 1270 County Road 240 in Glenwood Springs, a 1123 acre ranch on the Colorado River listed by Michael Latousek for $38.647 million and 2561 Frying Pan Road in Basalt, featuring 137 acres and half a mile of frontage of Gold Medal fly fishing on the Frying Pan River for $15.95 million also listed by Michael Latousek.

About Douglas Elliman Inc. Douglas Elliman Inc. (NYSE: DOUG, "Douglas Elliman") owns Douglas Elliman Realty, LLC, which is one of the largest residential brokerage companies in the United States with operations in New York City, Long Island, Westchester, Connecticut, New Jersey, the Hamptons, Massachusetts, Florida, California, Colorado, Texas and Nevada. In addition, Douglas Elliman sources, uses and invests in early-stage, disruptive property technology ("PropTech") solutions and companies and provides other real estate services, including development marketing, property management and settlement and escrow services in select markets. Additional information concerning Douglas Elliman is available on its website, www.elliman.com.

Investors and others should note that we may post information about Douglas Elliman on our website at www.elliman.com or, if applicable, on our accounts on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, Twitter, YouTube or other social media platforms. It is possible that the postings or releases could include information deemed to be material information. Therefore, we encourage investors, the media and others interested in Douglas Elliman to review the information we post on our website at www.elliman.com and on our social media accounts.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/douglas-elliman-expands-into-basalt-colorado-301593565.html

SOURCE Douglas Elliman Realty
CHARLOTTE, N.C., July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Summer's not quite over, but the back-to-school season is certainly almost here. There's nothing more stressful than last-minute shopping, so when it comes to the essentials, shopping early is a must! Starting with the most important school essentials, backpacks are usually an annual purchase for students. Get a head start on your shopping list with Pretty Dope Society and enhance your child's backpack with a whole lot of Black representation.

In her continued effort to breathe life into Black art, Pretty Dope Society Founder, Chrishonda Benson, rebranded her company and launched a new back-to-school collection on July 1st. Far too often, Black families are left out of the narrative in the designs geared toward children. When you walk into many big department stores during the back-to-school season, it's rare for Black children to see themselves portrayed in any of the product designs. Pretty Dope Society's new collection was created to give Black children an opportunity that many of their parents didn't have growing up. As part of their rebrand, Pretty Dope Society is now geared 100% for the kids to ensure that families with Black children can always find amazing products for the back-to-school season and all year round.

As a Black mother herself, Chrishonda knew the perfect person to collaborate with on this launch, her 9-year-old daughter, Mariah. With direct insight into what children want to see, Pretty Dope Society expands on the Black narrative by showcasing the sun-kissed hue of black and Brown children on their educational paths.

Each backpack was designed by the mother-daughter duo to present a fun, creative, and melanin-filled experience. The new Pretty Dope Society collection celebrates the back-to-school season with a necessary emphasis on Black representation in all forms, especially in education. From backpacks, lunch boxes, pencil pouches, and more, there was always a lack of diversity when it came to school essential products, but not anymore with Pretty Dope Society. It's undeniable that when Black and Brown children are able to view themselves as the main character in their book of life, there's a boost of confidence and self-love. Get your child ready for school this year by purchasing a backpack and matching accessories that they can feel great about on that first day back.

For more information on Pretty Dope Society's Back-to-School Collection, visit their website at https://www.prettydopesociety.com/ and follow them on social media @prettydopesociety.

Contact InformationName: Chrishonda BensonEmail: [email protected]Phone: 980-737-3673

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/enhancing-black-representation-in-back-to-school-gear-pretty-dope-society-launches-new-collection-for-kids-301592895.html

SOURCE Pretty Dope Society
As an Extension of This Year's Tour, Farmer John is Launching its California Kindness Project to Support California Non-profits with $100,000 in Grants

VERNON, Calif., July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Farmer John brand has been rooted in California since 1931 and has had the privilege of feeding and supporting its communities for more than nine decades. Farmer John's heart will always be in California and that's why the brand is dedicated to finding even more ways to invest in the Golden State's communities and support brand fans for years to come. As part of this promise, the brand is embarking on year three of its California Commitment Tour to feed, celebrate, and serve residents across the state. Over the course of eight weeks this summer, Farmer John is making 3-4 stops per week with its food truck to deliver free grab-and-go lunches to Californians and essential businesses and donating much-needed protein to local food banks.

Yesterday, the brand made a pit stop at Alameda County Community Food Bank in Northern California to recognize the organization's positive impact and commitment to serving the local community by donating 150,000 servings of protein to aid in local hunger relief. Farmer John also showed its gratitude to the organization and its unwavering efforts by partnering with Brenda Buenviaje, renowned local chef and owner of Brenda's Oakland, who delivered her Thick Cut Bacon, Ham and Pimento Cheese Breakfast Sandwiches featuring Farmer John Thick Cut Bacon and Farmer John Classic Hickory Smoked Ham Steak to the hardworking food bank employees and volunteers.

"Generous contributions like the donation we received from Farmer John are incredibly important for organizations like ours," said, Michael Altfest, director of community engagement at Alameda County Community Food Bank. "Protein items are among the most requested at our distributions, but are also among the most expensive for us to procure. This donation is greatly appreciated and goes a long way in helping us meet the need in our community."

"I've called California home for twenty-four years now and giving back to my community is very important to me, so I was honored when Farmer John approached me to partner to serve up meals to the deserving food bank workers and volunteers," said Brenda Buenviaje, chef and owner of Brenda's Oakland. "I'm a big believer of celebrating the people you care about with good food, and I hope my Thick Cut Bacon, Ham and Pimento Cheese Breakfast Sandwiches brought a little more joy to this community."

As an extension of this year's tour, Farmer John is also introducing the California Kindness Project  a program designed to support committed California non-profits who are making an impact in their local areas. Whether newly founded in the midst of the pandemic or around for generations, Farmer John is inviting charities and organizations in the Golden State to apply for one of the California Kindness grants, so that the brand can help support these nonprofits on their mission of improving the lives of their neighbors.

Through the California Kindness Project, Farmer John will provide $100,000 in financial support via grants, ranging from $3,000 to $25,000 each, to eligible California nonprofit organizations through an open application process ending September 5.* To submit an application or to learn more about eligibility, guidelines, and the selection process, organizations can visit CAKindnessProject.com.

"Our hearts will always be in California, and we look forward to continuing to show our appreciation, to say thank you, and to honor the Golden State's communities for years to come," said Lauren Connelly, brand manager for Farmer John at Smithfield Foods. "Initiatives like the California Commitment Tour and California Kindness Project are small tokens of our appreciation and give us the opportunity to celebrate and serve Californians  one meal at a time."

Farmer John fans are invited to recreate Brenda Buenviaje's recipes  Asian Cajun Po' Boy and Thick Cut Bacon, Ham and Pimento Cheese Breakfast Sandwiches  at home and share their masterpieces on social using the hashtags #CommittedToCalifornia, #SoFarmerJohn, and #SoCalifornia. For more information and to see where the Farmer John California Commitment Tour goes next, follow Farmer John on Facebook (@FarmerJohn), Instagram (@FarmerJohnLA), or Twitter (@FarmerJohnLA), and visit www.farmerjohn.com. Farmer John is a brand of Smithfield Foods.

*Subject to terms and conditions.

About Farmer JohnServing Californians since 1931, Farmer John has pioneered a revolution in the supply of local flavorful meats. The journey began with Irish-American brothers Francis and Bernard Clougherty curing and selling pork bellies and smoked hams to local grocery stores and continues today with staples like breakfast sausage and hot dogs. This longstanding Southern California brand remains committed to crafting the highest quality meats full of freshness and flavor. For more information on our products and recipe inspiration, please visit www.farmerjohn.com or follow us on Facebook (@FarmerJohn), Instagram (@FarmerJohnLA) or Twitter (@FarmerJohnLA). Farmer John is a brand of Smithfield Foods.

About Smithfield Foods, Inc.Headquartered in Smithfield, Va. since 1936, Smithfield Foods, Inc. is an American food company with agricultural roots and a global reach. With more than 60,000 jobs globally, we are dedicated to producing "Good food. Responsibly." and serve as one of the world's leading vertically integrated protein companies. We have pioneered sustainability standards for more than two decades, including our industry-leading commitments to become carbon negative in our U.S. company-owned operations and reduce GHG emissions 30 percent across our entire U.S. value chain by 2030. We believe in the power of protein to end food insecurity and have donated hundreds of millions of food servings to our communities. Smithfield boasts a portfolio of high-quality iconic brands, such as Smithfield, Eckrich and Nathan's Famous, among many others. For more information, visit www.smithfieldfoods.com, and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.

About Alameda County Community Food BankAlameda County Community Food Bank has been at the forefront of hunger relief efforts in the Bay Area since 1985. The Food Bank serves 1 in 4 Alameda County residents by distributing food through a network of 420 food pantries, soup kitchens, and other community organizations, as well as direct distribution and COVID-relief programs including school-based, home delivery and drive-through distributions. This year, the Food Bank will distribute the equivalent of 45 million meals. In addition to its extensive emergency food programming, ACCFB's hunger-relief efforts include California's largest CalFresh (food stamp) outreach department and a robust advocacy team which works with elected officials to seek long-term solutions to hunger and poverty. Alameda County Community Food Bank was named Feeding America's Food Bank of the Year in 2016, and for 15 consecutive years has received Charity Navigator's top rating  Four Stars  ranking the organization among the top 1 percent of charities nationwide. Learn more at www.accfb.org.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/farmer-john-celebrates-year-three-of-its-california-commitment-tour-with-protein-donation-at-alameda-county-community-food-bank-301593784.html

SOURCE Smithfield Foods, Inc.
TSX/NYSE/PSE: MFC SEHK: 945

BOSTON, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - John Hancock Retirement, a company of Manulife Investment Management, today announced the launch of a prospect finder tool for financial professionals. The tool is the latest innovation in John Hancock's suite of online tools for financial professionals to help add scale and efficiency to a retirement practice. Prospect finder is an interactive, data-rich system which can make finding and managing leads simpler, with the ability to run plan comparisons at the industry, state, and national levels. It identifies potential gaps in plans and provides helpful insights and actions to help with the conversations regarding plan design and retirement readiness.

"We understand that more than a third of financial professionals feel that prospecting is the toughest part of business development," said Gary Tankersley, head of sales and distribution, John Hancock Retirement. "We help make it easy to prospect, onboard, and manage your plans so making time with clients is prioritized. The prospect finder tool is accessible and integrated into a financial professional's personalized dashboard as part of our financial professional digital experience to help make plans work as efficiently as possible for both financial professionals and their clients."

Features included in the prospect finder tool

Smart filter by all of the plan characteristics (location, assets, participants, etc.)

Scouting reports that can be downloaded as a PDF and the ability to save individual prospects

Plan score comparisons at the industry/state/national level

A more robust 'Overview' of the plan, giving a snapshot of key plan characteristics, and potential gaps in plan design

Co-branding capabilities

For more information on the John Hancock Retirement prospect finder tool click here.

About John Hancock Retirement

John Hancock Retirement is the U.S. retirement business of Manulife Investment Management. For more than 50 years, we've helped people plan and invest for retirement; today, we're one of the largest full-service providers in the United States.i We take a hands-on consultative approach based on the idea that no two plans- and no two plan participants are exactly alike. We partner with plan sponsors, financial professionals, and third-party administrators to ensure that every plan is personal to the participant and delivers results.

As of March 31, 2022, John Hancock serviced over 54,000 retirement plans with over 3.1 million participants and over $215 billion in AUMA.ii

About John Hancock Investment Management

A company of Manulife Investment Management, we serve investors through a unique multimanager approach, complementing our extensive in-house capabilities with an unrivaled network of specialized asset managers, backed by some of the most rigorous investment oversight in the industry. The result is a diverse lineup of time-tested investments from a premier asset manager with a heritage of financial stewardship.

About Manulife Investment Management

Manulife Investment Management is the global brand for the global wealth and asset management segment of Manulife Financial Corporation. We draw on more than a century of financial stewardship and the full resources of our parent company to serve individuals, institutions, and retirement plan members worldwide.

Headquartered in Toronto, our leading capabilities in public and private markets are strengthened by an investment footprint that spans 18 geographies. We complement these capabilities by providing access to a network of unaffiliated asset managers from around the world. We're committed to investing responsibly across our businesses. We develop innovative global frameworks for sustainable investing, collaboratively engage with companies in our securities portfolios, and maintain a high standard of stewardship where we own and operate assets, and we believe in supporting financial well-being through our workplace retirement plans. Today, plan sponsors around the world rely on our retirement plan administration and investment expertise to help their employees plan for, save for and live a better retirement. Not all offerings are available in all jurisdictions. For additional information, please visit manulifeim.com.

John Hancock Retirement Plan Services LLC provides administrative and/or recordkeeping services to sponsors or administrators of retirement plans through an open-architecture platform. John Hancock Trust Company LLC provides trust and custodial services to such plans. Group annuity contracts and recordkeeping agreements are issued by John Hancock Life Insurance Company (U.S.A.), Boston, MA (not licensed in NY), and John Hancock Life Insurance Company of New York, Valhalla, NY. Product features and availability may differ by state. All entities do business under certain instances using the John Hancock brand name. Each entity makes available a platform of investment alternatives to sponsors or administrators of retirement plans without regard to the individualized needs of any plan. Unless otherwise specifically stated in writing, each entity does not, and is not undertaking to, provide impartial investment advice or give advice in a fiduciary capacity. Securities are offered through John Hancock Distributors LLC, member FINRA, SIPC.

NOT FDIC INSURED. MAY LOSE VALUE. NOT BANK GUARANTEED.

 2022 John Hancock. All rights reserved.

____________________________________________________________ i "PLANSPONSOR 2021 Defined Contribution Recordkeeping Survey,"  2021 Asset International, Inc., June 2021. ii As of Mar 31, 2022, John Hancock Life Insurance Company (USA) supported 49,948 plans, 1,612,474 participants, and $ 103,486,356,639.34 in AUMA. John Hancock Life Insurance Company of New York supported 2,616 plans, 77,356 participants, and $ 5,901,987,236.84 in AUMA. John Hancock Retirement Plan Services LLC supported 1,710 plans, 1,420,555 participants, and $106,486,666,017.89 in AUMA. Participant Counts reflect all active participants with a balance. Approximate unaudited figures for John Hancock, provided on a U.S. statutory basis.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/john-hancock-retirement-launches-prospect-finder-tool-for-financial-professionals-to-help-build-scale-and-efficiency-301593780.html

SOURCE John Hancock Retirement
MEMPHIS, Tenn., July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare has named Kate Dowd senior vice president and chief legal officer. In this role she will direct the Memphis-based integrated healthcare system's legal department and risk management goals.

"After a comprehensive nationwide search, it became clear the right candidate was already within our organization," said Monica Wharton, MLH executive vice president and chief administrative officer. "Kate's experience navigating complex healthcare-related legal matters gives me great confidence she will successfully lead our multifaceted legal affairs efforts and serve as a trusted member of our system leadership team."

Dowd has a decade of experience specializing in health and regulatory law, most recently serving as MLH's regulatory counsel. Prior to joining MLH in 2019, she served as an attorney in the Healthcare Regulatory and Transactions Practice Group at Butler Snow LLP.

"Our policies, best practices and unshakeable commitment to our patients enable us to deliver outstanding care," added Wharton. "Kate's core values align perfectly with our mission to improve the health and wellbeing of our community."

Originally from Charlotte, North Carolina, Dowd has called Memphis home for 17 years. She received her undergraduate degree from Rhodes College and graduated cum laude from the Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law at the University of Memphis. She is a member of the American Health Law Association, the Tennessee Bar Association and the Memphis Bar Association, and recently served as chair and president emeritus of the local Memphis Bar Association's health law section.

Photo 1 attached: Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare has named Kate Dowd senior vice president and chief legal officer.

About Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare

Based in Memphis, Tennessee, Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare has been caring for patients and families regardless of ability to pay for more than 100 years. Guided by roots in the United Methodist Church and founded in 1918 to help meet the growing need for quality healthcare in the greater Memphis area, MLH has grown from one hospital into a comprehensive healthcare system with 13,000 Associates supporting six hospitals, including nationally ranked Le Bonheur Children's Hospital, ambulatory surgery centers, outpatient facilities, hospice residence and physician practices serving communities across the Mid-South.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/methodist-le-bonheur-healthcare-names-kate-dowd-svpchief-legal-officer-301593674.html

SOURCE Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare
WEST CHESTER, Pa., July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- VESTECK, Inc. is pleased to announce that, international thought leader, Professor Andrew Holden has graciously agreed to join the VESTECK Scientific Advisory Board (SAB).

"The VESTECK SUTURE-TIGHT(TM) catheter... the right technology at the right time" Said Dr. Andrew Holden.

A New Zealander, Professor Holden is currently the Director of Northern Region Interventional Radiology Service and is based at Auckland City Hospital. As well, he is Professor of Radiology at the University of Auckland and Co-Director of the Auckland Endovascular Service.

Professor Holden is known worldwide as an educator, clinician and the author of over 100 peer reviewed articles. He has been involved in over 75 medical device trials and is a frequent Principal Investigator, personally performing many "first in human" procedures.

"The VESTECK SUTURE-TIGHT catheter appears to be very straightforward, the right technology at the right time," said Dr. Holden. "Around the world, approximately 80% of all Aortic Abdominal Aneurysm patients needing repairs, receive an endovascular repair (EVAR). The "SUTURE-TIGHT"TM catheter, fixes the EVAR graft to the aorta. This should significantly reduce the number of patients returning for complex repair procedures and eliminate their associated procedural costs."

In 2018 Dr. Holden was recognized for his contributions to vascular and endovascular intervention, being awarded an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit medal.

We are humbled that Dr. Holden thinks so highly of the VESTECK technology and team to join the Scientific Advisory Board, commented VESTECK CEO Joe Rafferty. "Professor Holden is respected around the world as a skilled interventionalist and critical thinker. He will absolutely challenge us to bring the finest technology for physicians and patients."

The VESTECK "SUTURE-TIGHT" catheter secures endovascular aortic repair grafts to the aorta at the time of initial implant or during repair procedures. VESTECK is in preparation for a 100-patient clinical trial.

About Vesteck Inc.:

VESTECK, Inc. (WWW.VESTECK.com) is an early-stage medical device company focused on bringing their platform technology to the aortic repair and structural heart markets. The first product, the "SUTURE-TIGHT" nitinol suture delivery catheter secures endovascular grafts to the aorta at the time of initial implant or during complex and expensive repair procedures.

VESTECK is represented by Kevin M. Granahan of Fox Rothschild LLP

MEDIA CONTACTS: VESTECK, Inc. CEO, Joe Rafferty, [email protected] 610-457-7324

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-zealand-endovascular-thought-leader-joins-the-vesteck-scientific-advisory-board-301593638.html

SOURCE VESTECK, Inc.
Leading Black-owned multimedia company announces Gen Z hybrid series confronting the issues that mean the most to African American women

LOS ANGELES, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Leading Black-owned independent multimedia company REVOLT today announced the upcoming premiere of Black Girl Stuff: an exciting new female-driven talk show addressing important cultural topics and conversations. Produced by REVOLT's culture-forward programming, the weekly Gen-Z hybrid series is geared towards a whole spectrum of African-American women in their twenties and thirties and will include disruptive and unapologetically Black content.

Produced and presented by REVOLT Media, Black Girl Stuff is hosted by four exceptional young women including Demetria Obilor, Brii Renee, Akilah Ffriend and Tori Brixx alongside correspondent Kennedy Rue. Filmed at REVOLT's Atlanta-based production headquarters, each weekly episode will include round table discussions with exciting guests such as Usher, Ludacris, and more, who will shed light on a variety of important cultural topics. Continuing to build upon REVOLT's fresh approach to content creation, Black Girl Stuff will premiere on the company's linear channel and streaming app, alongside a podcast format featuring exclusive social and digital content. Serving its modern audience with original content available in a variety of platforms, this series expands the company's creative strategy anchored in Hip Hop and powered by creators.

"We are excited to continue amplifying the voices of unapologetic Black women who represent diversity in backgrounds, experiences and perspectives to drive the conversations that matter to Black women globally," said Detavio Samuels, CEO of REVOLT. "Black women have proven to be the most influential demographic driving culture across categories and Black Girl Stuff provides a platform to explore important topics through their lens in a way that will empower Black women to speak their truth, share their stories and embrace their power."

Filmed in REVOLT's Atlanta-based headquarters, Black Girl Stuff was produced by a team of talented Black female creatives who identify with the show's themes. Thoughtfully created with the company's young female viewers in mind, each episode will include relevant conversations that connect with Black women from a relatable lens. As part of REVOLT's ongoing mission to create impactful content, Black Girl Stuff is the result of experienced and creative Black women who authentically relate to the show's topics and discussions.

"REVOLT focuses on untapped stories relevant within Black culture, and we're excited to continue carrying out this mission with 'for us, by us' content with Black Girl Stuff," said Monique Chenault, President of REVOLT's News and Documentary. "We've always prioritized putting diverse and creative individuals both in front of and behind the camera. With an incredible lineup of influential Black women along with a talented production team, we're thrilled to welcome these powerful female co-hosts to the show and look forward to the different perspectives they bring to the table."

Introducing a well-rounded and all-female cast, each of Black Girl Stuff's co-hosts will provide unique perspectives to insightfully discuss issues such as pink collar topics, social justice conundrums, relationship issues and more. This new series further expands REVOLT's ties within the Atlanta community and carries out its mission in creating culture-driven content.

"Black Girl Stuff provides a look behind the curtain of what Black women really discuss within their inner circle," said Demetria Obilor, Brii Renee, Akilah Ffriend and Tori Brixx, Co-Hosts of Black Girl Stuff. "This talk show is a fresh take on what it's like navigating our current world from the perspective of the younger generation. We hope these conversations spark much needed dialogue in a powerful yet entertaining way."

Black Girl Stuff will premiere on REVOLT's linear platforms on Tuesday, August 2nd with new episodes airing weekly at 9pm ET.

ABOUT REVOLT TV REVOLT is the leading Black-owned and operated multimedia platform servicing content 24/7 across digital, linear and live media channels. The platform produces rich content and original material with the biggest names in Hip-Hop, along with reports of breaking news, current events, trends and announcements within the Black cultural movement and Hip-Hop world. REVOLT takes pride in its diversity, both in its mindset and its company makeup, further instilling its dedication to culture within its staff and audiences. Founded by Sean "Diddy" Combs in 2013, REVOLT attracts over 50 Million millennials and Gen Z audiences through their disruptive, authentic material across all platforms. In 2021, REVOLT launched a brand new digital mobile app where users can view extended releases, live updates from relevant news, exclusive specials and much more.

For more information on REVOLT's linear content, please visit https://www.revolt.tv/ and visit www.revolt.tv/providers for local broadcast listings.

###

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/revolt-announces-disruptive-new-female-driven-talk-show-black-girl-stuff-hosted-by-demetria-obilor-brii-renee-akilah-ffriend-and-tori-brixx-301592930.html

SOURCE REVOLT
MENLO PARK, Calif., July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Global talent solutions and business consulting firm Robert Half (NYSE: RHI) has been named to Forbes' list of America's Best Employers for Women for the fourth consecutive year. This prestigious list ranks large employers based on an independent survey of more than 50,000 U.S. workers, including more than 30,000 women. Respondents rated their employer on several attributes, including workplace conditions, potential for development, company image and issues that support gender equality, such as parental leave, family support, flexibility and pay equity.

"We are committed to supporting the women who make up more than half of our global workforce and who choose to build their careers with us," said M. Keith Waddell, president and chief executive officer of Robert Half. "Diversity and inclusion are critical to the success of our business and this recognition acknowledges our dedication to creating and maintaining an equitable workplace."

Robert Half supports the Women's Empowerment Principles, a joint initiative of the UN Global Compact and UN Women. Learn more about the company's social responsibility efforts at roberthalf.com/esg-report.

About Robert HalfRobert Half 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.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/robert-half-named-to-forbes-list-of-americas-best-employers-for-women-2022-301593484.html

SOURCE Robert Half
First-of-its-kind oral care center celebrates ribbon-cutting ceremony with Stanley Bergman, Henry Schein Chairman, and CEO; Rahma Samow, EVP & Global Head DSO, Straumann Group

Free, comprehensive dental care to be offered to estimated 2,500 underserved patients annually

CHICAGO, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- TAG - The Aspen Group, a nationwide leader in consumer health care, today debuted its TAG Oral Care Center for Excellence  a state-of-the-art clinic designed to provide comprehensive dental care at no cost to underserved Illinois residents.

"We're thrilled to officially open the TAG Oral Care Center after many years of intensive planning, organizing, and building," said Bob Fontana, chairman, and CEO of TAG. "We're extremely proud to put our resources, clinical expertise, and passion toward expanding access to quality dental care for underserved patients in Illinois. We believe that the services provided at the TAG Oral Care Center have the power and potential to change people's lives for the better, and we can't wait to get to work."

The new 25,000 sq. ft. clinic  centrally located in Chicago's West Loop  will offer patients access to the latest dental care technology and services offered by a team of dentists and dental support staff for up to 2,500 qualifying patients each year. To qualify, patients must be Illinois residents who are eligible for Medicaid, or who are uninsured with a household income that is at or below 200% of the federal poverty level.

Patients will receive comprehensive dental care, including fillings, extractions, non-surgical periodontal treatment, dental implants, and associated restorations, 3D imaging and scanning, and restorative dentistry, including crowns, bridges, and dentures.

"The TAG Oral Care Center for Excellence will fill a critical gap for thousands of underserved patients in Illinois who struggle to access routine dental services," said Dr. Julie Frantsve-Hawley, CAE, executive director of the TAG Oral Care Center for Excellence. "To have reached this remarkable milestone is a testament to the efforts of so many  policymakers, local community organizations, our corporate sponsors, TAG doctors and teams, and many more. I hope it gives everyone involved a reason to smile a little brighter today."

The center was made possible with the support and advocacy of Representative Lakesia Collins (D-Chicago) and Senator Mattie Hunter (D-Chicago), the Senate's Majority Caucus Chair, who shepherded legislation through the General Assembly in 2021 to expand the opportunity for licensed dentists to provide free care to underserved Illinois residents through education and training programs.

"As a former healthcare provider myself, I uniquely understood the value a facility like the Oral Care Center could offer to residents of my district, too many of whom simply can't afford quality dental care," said Rep. Collins. "I was proud to sponsor this bill to help overcome this challenge in our community with the opening of the TAG Oral Care Center."

"Regular dental care is critical for overall good health, but for so many underserved communities, it's simply not a realistic option to maintain good oral health," said Sen. Hunter. "With clinics like the Oral Care Center, we can start to reverse that reality so that no matter where you live, you can get the care you need to support healthy living."

The TAG Oral Care Center for Excellence builds on TAG's history of breaking down barriers and expanding access to care. TAG is committed to meeting patients where they are and empowering leading clinicians and teams to provide state-of-the-art care through strategic professional development initiatives and access to the latest dental technology.

Most recently, Aspen Dental, one of TAG's core consumer brands providing dental care through doctor-owned practices across the country, hosted its annual Day of Service, providing free dental care to over 3,000 veterans and their family members. This annual initiative seeks to close the gap in dental care for veterans who are only eligible for dental benefits through the United States Department of Veterans Affairs if they're 100% disabled, have a service-related mouth injury, or were a prisoner of war. The TAG Oral Care Center seeks to build on that foundation of service for many years to come.

If you would like to enquire about booking an appointment at the new center and believe you fit the criteria, call 1-866-TAG-OCCE or visit our website: https://www.aspendental.com/tag-oral-care-center/patient

About TAG - The Aspen Group

TAG  The Aspen Group was built on the simple idea of bringing better health care to more people. TAG and the independent healthcare practices it supports operate more than 1,100 locations in 45 states through its four consumer healthcare brands: Aspen Dental, ClearChoice Dental Implant Centers, WellNow Urgent Care, and Chapter Aesthetic StudioSM. Combined, the companies serve more than 35,000 patients a day and more than 8 million patients each year. TAG is headquartered at 800 W. Fulton Market in Chicago. For more information, visit teamtag.com, and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-aspen-group-debuts-its-tag-oral-care-center-for-excellence-providing-free-dental-care-to-underserved-illinois-residents-301593467.html

SOURCE TAG - The Aspen Group
9% Growth in Total Revenues to $1.2 Billion

17% Growth in Professional Service Revenues to $182 million

Net Income per Diluted Share of $1.35 and Adjusted Net Income per Diluted Share $1.72

DUBLIN, Calif., July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- TriNet Group, Inc. (NYSE: TNET), a leading provider of comprehensive human resources solutions for small and medium-size businesses, today announced financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2022. The second quarter highlights below include non-GAAP financial measures which are reconciled later in this release.

Second quarter highlights include:

Total revenues increased 9% to $1.2 billion as compared to the same period last year.

Professional service revenues increased 17% to $182 million as compared to the same period last year.

Net income was $85 million, or $1.35 per diluted share, compared to net income of $91 million, or $1.37 per diluted share, in the same period last year.

Adjusted Net Income was $108 million, or $1.72 per diluted share, compared to Adjusted Net Income of $104 million, or $1.56 per diluted share, in the same period last year.

Adjusted EBITDA was $162 million, compared to Adjusted EBITDA of $154 million, in the same period last year.

Finished the second quarter with over 610,000 Users across our PEO and HCM products.

Average PEO WSEs increased 6% as compared to the same period last year, to approximately 351,000.

Average HCM Users for the period was approximately 253,000.

At June 30, 2022, TriNet had cash and cash equivalents of $336 million and total debt of $495 million.

"TriNet's strong second quarter financial results, delivered in the context of an increasingly difficult macroeconomic environment, reflect the strength of our customer base and our operational discipline," said Burton M. Goldfield, TriNet's President and CEO. "In the quarter, we were able to leverage three important dynamics and highlight TriNet's value to the market. First, our customers who reside in our core verticals continued to grow and add employees. Second, we started to realize the promise of the combined TriNet and TriNet Zenefits offerings as customers optimized their HR needs and moved between the two products. Finally, the Supreme Court Dobbs' ruling extended regulatory complexity to health care increasing the value of TriNet's benefits offering."

Mr. Goldfield added, "In this period of economic uncertainty and regulatory complexity, TriNet will continue to strive to act in the best interests of all of our stakeholders. We are listening to our customers, and we are leveraging our scale to create products and services that best fit their needs. We are positioned well for a strong second half, and we believe the long term secular trends remain supportive for TriNet."

Third Quarter and Full-Year 2022 Guidance

In addition to announcing our second quarter 2022 results, we provide our third quarter and full-year 2022 guidance. Non-GAAP financial measures are reconciled later in this release. Percentages reflect the increase or (decrease) from the prior year quarter and prior year end.

Q3 2022 Full Year 2022 Low High Low High Total Revenues 7 % 8 % 8 % 9 % Professional Service Revenues 18 % 20 % 17 % 18 % Insurance Cost Ratio 88.5 % 90.0 % 87.0 % 86.0 % Diluted net income per share of common stock $ 0.46 $ 0.66 $ 4.10 $ 4.68 Adjusted Net Income per share - diluted $ 0.87 $ 1.08 $ 5.60 $ 6.20

Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q

We anticipate filing our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q ("Form 10-Q") for the first half of 2022 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and making it available at http://www.trinet.com today, July 26, 2022. This press release should be read in conjunction with the Form 10-Q and the related Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements and Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations contained in the Form 10-Q.

Earnings Conference Call and Audio Webcast

TriNet will host a conference call at 2:00 p.m. PT (5:00 p.m. ET) today to discuss its second quarter results for 2022 and provide second quarter and full-year financial guidance for 2022. TriNet encourages participants to pre-register for the conference call. Callers who pre-register will be given a unique PIN to gain immediate access to the call and bypass the live operator. To pre-register, go to: https://dpregister.com/sreg/10169096/f3a24c8ba0. For those who would like to join the call but have not pre-registered, they can do so by dialing +1 (412) 317-5426 and requesting the "TriNet Conference Call." The live webcast of the conference call can be accessed on the Investor Relations section of TriNet's website at http://investor.trinet.com. A replay of the webcast will be available on this website for approximately one year. A telephonic replay will be available for two weeks following the conference call at +1 (412) 317-0088 conference ID: 7851836.

About TriNet

TriNet provides small and medium-size businesses (SMBs) with full-service HR solutions tailored by industry. To free SMBs from HR complexities, TriNet offers access to human capital expertise, benefits, risk mitigation and compliance, payroll, all enabled by industry leading technology capabilities. TriNet's suite of products also includes services and software-based solutions to help streamline workflows by connecting HR, Benefits, Employee Engagement, Payroll and Time & Attendance. From Main Street to Wall Street, TriNet empowers SMBs to focus on what matters mostgrowing their business and enabling their people. TriNet, incredible starts here. For more information, visit TriNet.com or follow us on Twitter.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures to TriNet's financial results as determined in accordance with GAAP are included at the end of this press release following the accompanying financial data. For a description of these non-GAAP financial measures, including the reasons management uses each measure, please see the section titled "Non-GAAP Financial Measures."

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains, and statements made during the above referenced conference call will contain, statements that are not historical in nature, are predictive in nature, or that depend upon or refer to future events or conditions or otherwise contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, among other things, TriNet's expectations and assumptions regarding: TriNet's financial guidance for the second quarter and full-year 2021 and the underlying assumptions, and the extent, length and growth impact of economic reopening efforts. Forward-looking statements are often identified by the use of words such as, but not limited to, "ability," "anticipate," "believe," "can," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "guidance," "impact," "intend," "may," "plan," "predict," "project," "seek," "should," "strategy," "target," "value," "will," "would" and similar expressions or variations. Examples of forward-looking statements include, among others, TriNet's guidance and expectations regarding future financial performance, the potential impact of the strategic initiatives executed by TriNet during the first quarter, TriNet's expectations regarding client hiring rates, the financial impact of our tender offer, and the impact of our newly expanded product offerings on future growth in TriNet's installed base. These statements are not guarantees of future performance, but are based on management's expectations as of the date hereof and assumptions that are inherently subject to uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from our current expectations and any past or future results, performance or achievements. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements.

Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements include: the economic, health and business disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic; the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our clients and prospects, insurance costs and operations; the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the laws and regulations that impact our industry and clients; our ability to manage unexpected changes in workers' compensation and health insurance claims and costs by worksite employees; our ability to mitigate the business risks we face as a co-employer; the effects of volatility in the financial and economic environment on the businesses that make up our client base and the concentration of our clients in certain geographies and industries; loss of clients for reasons beyond our control; the short-term contracts we typically use with our clients; the impact of regional or industry-specific economic an health factors on our operations; the impact of failures or limitations in the business systems we rely upon; the impact of our 2020 Recovery Credit program and 2021 Credit Program; adverse changes in our insurance coverage or our relationships with key insurance carriers; our ability to improve our services and technology to satisfy regulatory requirements and meet the expectations of our clients and manage client attrition; our ability to effectively integrate businesses we have acquired or may acquire in the future; our ability to effectively manage and improve our operational processes; our ability to attract and retain qualified personnel; the effects of increased competition and our ability to compete effectively; the impact on our business of cyber-attacks and security breaches; our ability to secure our information technology infrastructure and our confidential, sensitive and personal information; our ability to comply with constantly evolving data privacy and security laws; our ability to manage changes in, uncertainty regarding, or adverse application of the complex laws and regulations that govern our business; changing laws and regulations governing health insurance and employee benefits; our ability to be recognized as an employer of worksite employees under federal and state regulations; changes in the laws and regulations that govern what it means to be an employer, employee or independent contractor; our ability to comply with the laws and regulations that govern PEOs and other similar industries; the outcome of existing and future legal and tax proceedings; fluctuation in our results of operation and stock price due to factors outside of our control, such as the volume and severity of our workers' compensation and health insurance claims and the amount and timing of our insurance costs, operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements; our ability to comply with the restrictions of our credit facility and meet our debt obligations; and the impact of concentrated ownership in our stock. Any of these factors could cause our actual results to differ materially from our anticipated results.

Further information on risks that could affect TriNet's results is included in our filings with the SEC, including under the headings "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" and elsewhere in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, which are available on our investor relations website at http://investor.trinet.com and on the SEC website at www.sec.gov. Copies of these filings are also available by contacting TriNet Corporation's Investor Relations Department at (510) 875-7201. Except as required by law, neither we nor any other person assumes responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of the forward-looking statements in this press release, and any forward-looking statements in this press release speak only as of the date of this press release. In addition, we do not assume any obligation, and do not intend, to update any of our forward-looking statements, except as required by law.

Key Financial and Operating Metrics

We regularly review certain key financial and operating metrics to evaluate growth trends, measure our performance and make strategic decisions. These key financial and operating metrics may change over time. Our key financial and operating metrics for the periods presented were as follows:

Three Months Ended June 30, Six Months Ended June 30, (in millions, except per share and Operating Metrics data) 2022 2021 % Change 2022 2021 % Change Income Statement Data: Total revenues $ 1,200 $ 1,100 9 % $ 2,418 $ 2,160 12 % Operating income 119 121 (2) 323 259 25 Net income 85 91 (7) 230 192 20 Diluted net income per share of common stock 1.35 1.37 (1) 3.58 2.87 25 Non-GAAP measures (1): Adjusted EBITDA 162 154 5 404 317 27 Adjusted Net income 108 104 4 276 215 28 Operating Metrics: Insurance Cost Ratio 84 % 85 % (1) % 82 % 84 % (2) % Average WSEs 351,366 332,719 6 347,306 327,007 6 Total WSEs at period end 357,855 339,935 5 357,855 339,935 5 Average HCM Users 252,565 N/A N/A 252,969 N/A N/A

(1) Refer to Non-GAAP measures definitions and reconciliations from GAAP measures under the heading "Non-GAAP Financial Measures".

(in millions) June 30, 2022 December 31, 2021 % Change Balance Sheet Data: Working capital $ 374 700 (47) % Total assets 3,044 3,309 (8) Debt 495 495  Total stockholders' equity 763 881 (13)

Six Months Ended June 30, (in millions) 2022 2021 % Change Cash Flow Data: Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities $ 125 $ (190) (166) % Net cash used in investing activities (191) (135) 41 Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities (385) 43 (995) Non-GAAP measure (1): Corporate Operating Cash Flows 293 240 22

(1) Refer to Non-GAAP measures definitions and reconciliations from GAAP measures under the heading "Non-GAAP Financial Measures".

TRINET GROUP, INC. CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME AND COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (Unaudited) Three Months Ended June 30, Six Months Ended June 30, (in millions except per share data) 2022 2021 2022 2021 Professional service revenues $ 182 $ 156 $ 376 $ 309 Insurance service revenues 1,018 944 2,042 1,851 Total revenues 1,200 1,100 2,418 2,160 Insurance costs 852 798 1,675 1,549 Cost of providing services 76 66 146 130 Sales and marketing 62 45 107 91 General and administrative 55 40 102 76 Systems development and programming 20 11 36 24 Depreciation and amortization of intangible assets 16 19 29 31 Total costs and operating expenses 1,081 979 2,095 1,901 Operating income 119 121 323 259 Other income (expense): Interest expense, bank fees and other (5) (5) (11) (10) Interest income 2 1 3 3 Income before provision for income taxes 116 117 315 252 Income taxes 31 26 85 60 Net income $ 85 $ 91 $ 230 $ 192 Other comprehensive loss, net of income taxes (3)  (11) (1) Comprehensive income $ 82 $ 91 $ 219 $ 191 Net income per share: Basic $ 1.36 $ 1.38 $ 3.62 $ 2.91 Diluted $ 1.35 $ 1.37 $ 3.58 $ 2.87 Weighted average shares: Basic 62 66 64 66 Diluted 63 67 64 67

TRINET GROUP, INC. CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (Unaudited) (In millions) June 30, 2022 December 31, 2021 Assets Current assets: Cash and cash equivalents $ 336 $ 612 Investments 120 135 Restricted cash, cash equivalents and investments 1,028 1,195 Accounts receivable, net 9 15 Unbilled revenue, net 309 324 Prepaid expenses, net 62 67 Other current assets 93 91 Total current assets 1,957 2,439 Restricted cash, cash equivalents and investments, noncurrent 149 166 Investments, noncurrent 159 168 Property, equipment and software, net 84 79 Operating lease right-of-use asset 45 42 Goodwill 430 294 Other intangible assets, net 95 6 Other assets 125 115 Total assets $ 3,044 $ 3,309 Liabilities and stockholders' equity Current liabilities: Accounts payable and other current liabilities $ 108 $ 86 Client deposits and other client liabilities 74 97 Accrued wages 568 369 Accrued health insurance costs, net 151 174 Accrued workers' compensation costs, net 54 55 Payroll tax liabilities and other payroll withholdings 597 929 Operating lease liabilities 15 11 Insurance premiums and other payables 16 18 Total current liabilities 1,583 1,739 Long-term debt, noncurrent 495 495 Accrued workers' compensation costs, noncurrent, net 127 135 Deferred taxes 22 11 Operating lease liabilities, noncurrent 45 41 Other non-current liabilities 9 7 Total liabilities 2,281 2,428 Stockholders' equity: Preferred stock   Common stock and additional paid-in capital 861 808 Retained earnings (Accumulated deficit) (86) 74 Accumulated other comprehensive loss (12) (1) Total stockholders' equity 763 881 Total liabilities and stockholders' equity $ 3,044 $ 3,309

TRINET GROUP, INC. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS Six Months Ended June 30, (in millions) 2022 2021 Operating activities Net income $ 230 $ 192 Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities: Depreciation and amortization 46 45 Stock based compensation 30 24 Amortization of ROU asset, lease modification and impairment 6 6 Other 3 2 Changes in operating assets and liabilities: Accounts receivable, net 8 10 Unbilled revenue, net 16 (100) Other assets and prepaid expenses, net (17) (37) Accounts payable and other liabilities 2 26 Client deposits and other client liabilities (23) (2) Accrued wages 196 197 Accrued health insurance costs, net (23) (17) Accrued workers' compensation costs, net (9) (7) Payroll taxes payable and other payroll withholdings (332) (523) Operating lease liabilities (8) (6) Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities 125 (190) Investing activities Purchases of marketable securities (157) (267) Proceeds from sale and maturity of marketable securities 175 149 Purchases of property and equipment (26) (17) Acquisition of Zenefits, net of cash acquired (183)  Net cash used in investing activities (191) (135) Financing activities Repurchase of common stock (382) (74) Proceeds from issuance of common stock 5 5 Awards effectively repurchased for required employee withholding taxes (8) (9) Payment of long-term financing fees  (2) Payment of debt issuance costs  (7) Proceeds from issuance of 2029 Notes  500 Repayment of debt  (370) Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities (385) 43 Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents, unrestricted and restricted (451) (282) Cash and cash equivalents, unrestricted and restricted: Beginning of period 1,738 1,643 End of period $ 1,287 $ 1,361 Supplemental disclosures of cash flow information Interest paid $ 9 $ 2 Income taxes (refund) paid, net $ 37 $ 45

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

In addition to the selected financial measures presented in accordance with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), we monitor other non-GAAP financial measures that we use to manage our business, to make planning decisions, to allocate resources and to use as performance measures in our executive compensation plan. These key financial measures provide an additional view of our operational performance over the long term and provide information that we use to maintain and grow our business.

The presentation of these non-GAAP financial measures is used to enhance the understanding of certain aspects of our financial performance. It is not meant to be considered in isolation from, superior to, or as a substitute for the directly comparable financial measures prepared in accordance with GAAP.

Non-GAAP Measure Definition How We Use The Measure Adjusted EBITDA  Net income, excluding the effects of: - income tax provision, - interest expense, bank fees and other, - depreciation, - amortization of intangible assets, - stock based compensation expense, and - transaction and integration costs.  Provides period-to-period comparisons on a consistent basis and an understanding as to how our management evaluates the effectiveness of our business strategies by excluding certain non-recurring costs, such as transaction and integration costs, and non-cash charges, such as depreciation and amortization, and stock-based compensation recognized based on the estimated fair values. We believe these charges are either not directly resulting from our core operations or not indicative of our ongoing operations.  Enhances comparisons to prior periods and, accordingly, facilitates the development of future projections and earnings growth prospects.  Provides a measure, among others, used in the determination of incentive compensation for management.  We also sometimes refer to Adjusted EBITDA margin, which is the ratio of Adjusted EBITDA to total revenues. Adjusted Net Income  Net income, excluding the effects of: - effective income tax rate (1), - stock based compensation, - amortization of intangible assets, net, - non-cash interest expense (2), - transaction and integration costs, and - the income tax effect (at our effective tax rate (1) of these pre-tax adjustments.  Provides information to our stockholders and board of directors to understand how our management evaluates our business, to monitor and evaluate our operating results, and analyze profitability of our ongoing operations and trends on a consistent basis by excluding certain non-recurring costs and non-cash charges. Corporate Operating Cash Flows  Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities, excluding the effects of: - Assets associated with WSEs (accounts receivable, unbilled revenue, prepaid expenses and other current assets) and - Liabilities associated with WSEs (client deposits and other client liabilities, accrued wages, payroll tax liabilities and other payroll withholdings, accrued health benefit costs, accrued workers' compensation costs, insurance premiums and other payables, and other current liabilities).  Provides information that our stockholders and management can use to evaluate our cash flows from operations independent of the current assets and liabilities associated with our WSEs.  Enhances comparisons to prior periods and, accordingly, used as a liquidity measure to manage liquidity between corporate and WSE related activities, and to help determine and plan our cash flow and capital strategies.

(1) Non-GAAP effective tax rate is 25.5% for the second quarters of 2022 and 2021, which excludes the income tax impact from stock-based compensation, changes in uncertain tax positions, and nonrecurring benefits or expenses from federal legislative changes. (2) Non-cash interest expense represents amortization and write-off of our debt issuance costs and loss on a terminated derivative.

Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Measures The table below presents a reconciliation of net income to Adjusted EBITDA: Three Months Ended June 30, Six Months Ended June 30, (in millions) 2022 2021 2022 2021 Net income $ 85 $ 91 $ 230 $ 192 Provision for income taxes 31 26 85 60 Stock based compensation 18 13 30 24 Interest expense, bank fees and other 5 5 11 10 Depreciation and amortization of intangible assets  16 19 31 31 Transaction and integration costs 7  17  Adjusted EBITDA $ 162 $ 154 $ 404 $ 317 Adjusted EBITDA Margin 13.5 % 14.0 % 16.7 % 14.7 %

(1) Amount includes amortization of cloud computing arrangements included in operating expenses.

The table below presents a reconciliation of net income to Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Net Income per share - diluted:

Three Months Ended June 30, Six Months Ended June 30, (in millions, except per share data) 2022 2021 2022 2021 Net income $ 85 $ 91 $ 230 $ 192 Effective income tax rate adjustment  (4) 5 (4) Stock based compensation 18 13 30 24 Amortization of intangible assets 5 9 8 10 Non-cash interest expense 1 1 1 3 Transaction and integration costs 7  17  Income tax impact of pre-tax adjustments (8) (6) (15) (10) Adjusted Net Income $ 108 $ 104 $ 276 $ 215 GAAP weighted average shares of common stock - diluted 63 67 64 67 Adjusted Net Income per share - diluted $ 1.72 $ 1.56 $ 4.30 $ 3.20

The table below presents a reconciliation of net cash provided by (used in) operating activities to Corporate Operating Cash flows:

Six Months Ended June 30, (in millions) 2022 2021 Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities $ 125 $ (190) Less: Change in WSE related other current assets 9 (96) Less: Change in WSE related liabilities (177) (334) Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities - WSE $ (168) $ (430) Net cash provided by operating activities - Corporate $ 293 $ 240

Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Measures for the third quarter and full-year 2022 guidance.

Low and high percentages represent increases (decreases) from the same period in the previous year and excludes transaction and integration cost percentages as there is no comparative amount in the second quarter and full year of 2021, respectively, and no percentages can be provided. Adjusted Net Income excludes transaction and integration costs for 2022.

The table below presents a reconciliation of net income to Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Net Income per share - diluted:

Q3 2021 Q3 2022 Guidance FY 2021 Year 2022 Guidance (in millions, except per share data) Actual Low High Actual Low High Net income $ 77 (63) % (46) % $ 338 (22) % (11) % Effective income tax rate adjustment  8 (34) (10) (124) (135) Stock based compensation 13 37 37 50 33 33 Amortization of intangible assets 1 355 355 12 48 48 Non-cash interest expense    3 (63) (63) Income tax impact of pre-tax adjustments (4) 151 151 (17) 96 96 Adjusted Net Income $ 87 (37) % (22) % $ 376 (4) % 6 % GAAP weighted average shares of common stock - diluted 67 67 Adjusted Net Income per share - diluted $ 1.31 $ 0.87 $ 1.08 $ 5.64 $ 5.60 $ 6.20

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/trinet-announces-second-quarter-2022-results-301593622.html

SOURCE TriNet Group, Inc.
Belani Brings Decades of Expertise in Commodities and Derivatives to Firm

NEW YORK, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Akshay N. Belani, a well-known and highly respected derivatives attorney, has joined Troutman Pepper's Corporate Practice Group in New York as a partner. Belani joins the firm from Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP.

Belani focuses his practice on the application of derivatives in trading, structured products, and capital markets. He represents corporations, funds, banks, institutional investors, broker-dealers, and other financial institutions in all aspects of their securities, futures, derivatives, and commodities trading.

"Akshay offers our clients in-demand expertise around the transactional and regulatory issues associated with derivatives, complex finance, and structured products," said Mason Bayler, chair of the firm's Transactional department. "His skillsets pertaining to NFA and CFTC rule and regulations, securities financing, futures and derivatives contract negotiations and reviews, and related Dodd-Frank questions are similarly sought after."

"It's rare to find an attorney with Akshay's level of derivatives experience," added Steven Khadavi, managing partner of Troutman Pepper's New York office. "We are delighted to welcome him to the firm and know he will have an immediate impact on our clients."

Belani is a member of several industry associations and has an active pro bono practice, previously handling matters with Emma's Torch, Kids in Need of Defense, New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, and Teens for Food Justice. He earned his JD from St. John's University School of Law and bachelor's degree from Tufts University.

"Troutman Pepper is known for its high-performance teams and providing superior client service," Belani said. "I'm looking forward to partnering with my new colleagues as we seek to deliver even more value for clients."

Consistently recognized as a top-tier national practice, Troutman Pepper's corporate attorneys regularly handle multimillion- and multibillion-dollar transactions. Core areas of service include capital markets transactions and other significant domestic and cross-border transactions, mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, securities laws compliance, and corporate finance.

About Troutman Pepper

Troutman Pepper is a national law firm with more than 1,200 attorneys strategically located in 23 U.S. cities. The firm's litigation, transactional, and regulatory practices advise a diverse client base, from startups to multinational enterprises. The firm provides sophisticated legal solutions to clients' most pressing business challenges, with depth across industry sectors, including energy, financial services, health sciences, insurance, and private equity, among others. Learn more at troutman.com.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/troutman-pepper-adds-partner-akshay-belani-to-corporate-practice-in-new-york-301593541.html

SOURCE Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP
FAIRFAX, Va., July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- USmax Corporation ("USmax"), a leading provider of Global Mission Support, Cyber Security, IT Modernization, and Professional services, has been awarded a five-year task order on its GSA OASIS contract for General Support Services (GSS) to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Bureau for Democracy, Development, and Innovation (DDI or "the Bureau").

USmax will provide Administrative and Institutional Support Services to include Program Management, Development, Monitoring Evaluation and Learning, Financial Analysis, Training and Professional Development, and Acquisition and Assistance, among other services to DDI. These services are considered essential to ensure USAID employees who serve at USAID Missions worldwide are enabled with world-class technical assistance.

Said Erin Pak - CEO USmax, "It is our distinct privilege to have been selected along with our teaming partners, Highlight Technologies, Inc. and The Kenjya-Trusant Group, LLC to support this important program for the Bureau for Democracy, Development, and Innovation, and USAID missions overseas."

USAID DDI is USAID's central resource for providing world-class technical assistance to its Missions. DDI's cross-cutting, global perspective enables the Agency to anticipate and respond to evolving trends and issues, catalyze innovation and financing, and broaden its partnership base, all with the goal of sustainably meeting USAID's development and humanitarian goals.

About USmax Corporation

USmax Corporation is an SBA Certified Woman-Owned Small Business (WOSB) Enterprise IT and Professional Services firm. We specialize in Global Mission Support, IT Modernization, Cyber, and Safety and Security Services. Our commitment to quality and continuous process improvement is demonstrated by our CMMI-SVC ML 3 appraisal, as well as ISO 9001:2015, ISO 20000-1:2018, and ISO 27001-2013 registrations. Our services are based on trust, quality, efficiency, and innovation to drive the mission of our federal and commercial customers.

For more information, please visit: www.usmax.com

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/usmax-awarded-79-million-task-order-by-usaid-bureau-for-democracy-development-and-innovation-for-general-support-services-301593796.html

SOURCE USmax Corporation
UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

Form 6-K

Report of Foreign Private Issuer

Pursuant to Rules 13a-16 or 15d-16 under

the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Dated July 26, 2022

Commission File Number: 001-10086

VODAFONE GROUP

PUBLIC LIMITED COMPANY

(Translation of registrants name into English)

VODAFONE HOUSE, THE CONNECTION, NEWBURY, BERKSHIRE, RG14 2FN, ENGLAND

(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  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): 

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): 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant by furnishing the information contained in this Form is also thereby furnishing the information to the Commission pursuant to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

Yes  No 

If Yes is marked, indicate below the file number assigned to the registrant in connection with Rule 12g3-2(b): 82-____.

This Report on Form 6-K contains a Stock Exchange Announcement dated 26 July 2022 entitled  Results of Annual General Meeting .

26 July 2022

Vodafone Group Plc (Vodafone or the Company)

Results of Annual General Meeting

The Annual General Meeting of the Company was held at The Pavilion, Vodafone House, The Connection, Newbury, Berkshire, RG14 2FN on Tuesday, 26 July 2022 at 10.00 am.

Resolutions 1 to 19 (inclusive) and 23 were passed as Ordinary Resolutions. Resolutions 20 to 22 (inclusive) and 24 were passed as Special Resolutions.

The results of the poll on all 24 resolutions were as follows:

Resolution Total votes validly cast Percentage of

relevant

shares in issue

(%) For For (% of

shares

voted) Against Against (% of

shares voted) Votes withheld 1. To receive the Companys accounts, the strategic report and reports of the Directors and the auditor for the year ended 31 March 2022. 19,493,946,517 69.68% 19,485,490,846 99.96 8,455,671 0.04 51,088,718 2. To re-elect Jean-Francois van Boxmeer as a Director. 19,306,763,916 69.01% 17,210,770,653 89.14 2,095,993,263 10.86 238,192,481 3. To re-elect Nick Read as a Director. 19,502,708,111 69.71% 19,447,795,495 99.72 54,912,616 0.28 42,224,951 4. To re-elect Margherita Della Valle as a Director. 19,503,016,256 69.71% 19,431,003,165 99.63 72,013,091 0.37 41,924,736 5. To elect Stephen A. Carter C.B.E. as a Director. 19,501,246,254 69.71% 19,452,464,590 99.75 48,781,664 0.25 43,710,312 6. To re-elect Sir Crispin Davis as a Director. 19,501,506,610 69.71% 18,894,436,667 96.89 607,069,943 3.11 43,460,905 7. To re-elect Michel Demare as a Director. 19,502,149,516 69.71% 18,917,342,070 97.00 584,807,446 3.00 42,866,619 8. To elect Delphine Ernotte Cunci as a Director. 19,502,375,951 69.71% 19,438,367,304 99.67 64,008,647 0.33 42,634,408 9. To re-elect Dame Clara Furse as a Director. 19,501,833,866 69.71% 19,415,658,222 99.56 86,175,644 0.44 43,132,354 10. To re-elect Valerie Gooding as a Director. 19,501,730,858 69.71% 18,914,896,189 96.99 586,834,669 3.01 43,254,507 11. To elect Deborah Kerr as a Director. 19,501,087,979 69.71% 19,452,796,768 99.75 48,291,211 0.25 43,891,939 12. To re-elect Maria Amparo Moraleda Martinez as a Director. 19,501,823,775 69.71% 18,848,895,461 96.65 652,928,314 3.35 43,184,656 13. To re-elect David Nish as a Director. 19,501,266,969 69.71% 19,450,797,473 99.74 50,469,496 0.26 43,709,200 14. To elect Simon Segars as a Director. 19,498,848,477 69.70% 19,453,708,826 99.77 45,139,651 0.23 46,112,414 15. To declare a final dividend of 4.50 eurocents per ordinary share for the year ended 31 March 2022. 19,509,242,715 69.74% 19,457,795,003 99.74 51,447,712 0.26 35,760,312

16. To approve the Annual Report on Remuneration contained in the Remuneration Report of the Board for the year ended 31 March 2022. 19,496,903,239 69.69% 19,086,924,682 97.90 409,978,557 2.10 47,875,529 17. To re-appoint Ernst & Young LLP as the Companys auditor until the end of the next general meeting at which accounts are laid before the Company. 19,507,516,261 69.73% 19,379,132,140 99.34 128,384,121 0.66 37,394,082 18. To authorise the Audit and Risk Committee to determine the remuneration of the auditor. 19,504,142,249 69.72% 19,490,192,112 99.93 13,950,137 0.07 40,760,118 19. To authorise the Directors to allot shares 19,505,861,334 69.72% 18,474,217,163 94.71 1,031,644,171 5.29 39,092,919 20.* To authorise the Directors to dis-apply pre-emption rights. 19,433,291,115 69.47% 19,007,099,920 97.81 426,191,195 2.19 111,673,329 21.* To authorise the Directors to dis-apply pre-emption rights up to a further 5 per cent for the purposes of financing an acquisition or other capital investment. 19,433,585,400 69.47% 18,739,915,910 96.43 693,669,490 3.57 111,360,006 22.* To authorise the Company to purchase its own shares. 19,486,245,723 69.65% 19,272,281,803 98.90 213,963,920 1.10 58,753,588 23. To authorise political donations and expenditure. 19,262,313,290 68.85% 18,917,554,866 98.21 344,758,424 1.79 282,628,828 24.* To authorise the Company to call general meetings (other than AGMs) on a minimum of 14 clear days notice. 19,488,586,719 69.66% 18,483,731,105 94.84 1,004,855,614 5.16 56,331,018

* Special resolution

The number of Ordinary Shares in issue on 22 July 2022 (excluding shares held in Treasury) was 27,975,521,625. Shareholders are entitled to one vote per share. A vote withheld is not a vote in law and is not counted in the calculation of the proportion of votes validly cast.

In accordance with Listing Rule 9.6.2, a copy of the Resolutions, passed as Special Business at the Annual General Meeting, have been submitted to the Financial Conduct Authority via the National Storage Mechanism and will shortly be available for inspection at: https://data.fca.org.uk/#/nsm/nationalstoragemechanism.

Following conclusion of the Annual General Meeting, the below changes to the composition of the Board were effective:

- Stephen A. Carter C.B.E was appointed as a Non-Executive Director; - Delphine Ernotte Cunci was appointed as a Non-Executive Director; and - Simon Segars was appointed as a Non-Executive Director.

For more information, please contact:

Registered Office: Vodafone House, The Connection, Newbury, Berkshire RG14 2FN, England. Registered in England No. 1833679

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 authorised.
(Tribune News Service)  The 92nd Air Refueling Wing bid a fond farewell to its commander of two years and welcomed in a new one during a change-of-command ceremony at Fairchild Air Force Base on Monday.

Col. Cassius Bentley said goodbye to the airmen at Fairchild and passed the baton  or in this case the 92nd Air Refueling Wing flag called a guidon  to incoming commander, Col. Chesley Dycus, before a crowd of a few hundred airmen, their families and civic leaders in one of the bases hangars.

Dycus assumed responsibility for the approximately 6,500 airmen, dependents and Department of Defense employees at Fairchild immediately after the ceremony.

Its been fun, its been challenging at times, but mostly its been very rewarding, Bentley said in his outgoing address, in front of two KC-135 Stratotankers. To the wing, I am sad today, but I am also very happy because youre getting a great leader.

The outgoing commander spent much of his outgoing address personally thanking the individuals he worked closest with across the base and expressing his gratitude to the 92nd Air Refueling Wing.

No one gets tasked more, no one answers the call more, and we always deliver, he said.

Bentley, who took command at Fairchild on July 1, 2020, also spoke in favor of the bases resiliency in the face of challenges. His command endured the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, as well as an August 2020 brushfire that forced base evacuations, and hazardous air quality that same summer, among other challenges.

Air Force personnel and guests walk between two KC-135 tanker aircraft arranged as a backdrop to the change of command ceremony at Fairchild Air Force Base on Monday, July 25, 2022. Outgoing commander, Col. Cassius Bentley, turned his command over to Col. Chesley Dycus. ( Jesse Tinsley/ The Spokesman-Review)

Quoting Rocky Balboa, the outgoing commander said: It aint about how hard you hit, its about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.

Bentley, who has 24 years in the Air Force, is preparing for his next assignment as deputy director of the Transportation Command at Scott Air Force Base in southern Illinois. Although, he and his family also are looking forward to some downtime, he said.

Incoming commander Col. Dycus was formerly the vice commander of the 22nd Refueling Wing at McConnell Air Force Base in Kansas. Prior to that assignment, he served as a national defense fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., where he provided Air Force and military expertise for U.S. leaders to help implement national security strategies.

Dycus is also a command pilot with more than 3,600 flying hours on the C-5 Galaxy, C-17 Globemaster III, the KC-46A Pegasus and the KC-135 Stratotanker.

In his first address to the airmen at Fairchild as commander, Dycus said he was honored.

You provide a critical flexibility to defending our nation, he said. I will do everything I can to help our mission, our area and our families.

(c)2022 The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Wash.)

Visit The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Wash.) at www.spokesman.com
RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany  The scripted emergency scenarios devised to kick off a basewide exercise gave way to an actual urgent situation Tuesday, providing a real test of the 86th Airlift Wings ability to respond.

An elderly man who was later identified as a resident of Germany employed on base was found unconscious near Ramstein Middle School, officials said Tuesday, adding that he had been evacuated by air for medical care. No information was given about his condition.

At the time, even the wings inspection team, which was evaluating a mock aircraft crash response, didnt know the details of what had really happened.

When the call about the real emergency came in, some firefighters grabbed their gear, jumped in one of about half a dozen fire trucks at the scene and took off with lights flashing.

Meanwhile, U.S. military and German first responders on the base continued to treat the patients retrieved from the plane at the simulated crash scene: six mannequins and one airman.

Tech. Sgt. James Bennett, 30, played the part well. Stage makeup applied by medical personnel to his hand mimicked a burn injury. After being helped off the plane, Bennett tore off his oxygen mask and rolled in the grass toward the other patients, repeatedly asking if they were OK.

First responders tried to treat the survivors. More than an hour after the call came in to respond to the crash, the firefighters were still waiting for the medics to show up. The patients still needed to be transported to the hospital for the exercise.

They would have been there by then if not for the real emergency call involving the elderly man, said Senior Master Sgt. Jimmy Drybola, the readiness section team chief for the 86th Inspector General office.

Drybola said the wing commander would decide whether to pause the exercise for the day and continue it Wednesday.

When were planning these exercises, we do our best to space them out throughout the year so that we dont interfere with operations, he said. Thats always our goal, but you can never plan for the unplanned.
WASHINGTON  The Army has created a new program designed to help potential recruits meet academic and fitness eligibility requirements as the service scrambles to address falling recruitment rates, the service announced Tuesday.

A pilot program called the Future Soldier Preparatory Course is set to start in early August at Fort Jackson, S.C. The program will offer two three-month courses  one to help potential recruits raise their Armed Forces Qualification Test score to the desired 31 or higher and another to help recruits slim down to the services body fat requirement, according to the Army.

The course is in response to the precipitous drop in the number of young Americans meeting Army enlistment standards, according to an Army statement. Only 23% fully meet the Armys eligibility requirements, down from 29% in recent years.

To qualify for Army service, potential male soldiers can have a maximum of 20-26% body fat and female soldiers can have about 30-36%, depending on their age. To participate in the new weight-loss course, potential recruits can have up to 6% more body fat than the acceptable amount for their age and gender category.

Participants who meet the standards through the courses will then move on to basic training, the Army said. Participants can take up to 90 days to meet the standards and will be re-evaluated every three weeks to see if they can leave the program early.

Those who do not meet the standards in that time will exit the program and not move forward with basic training, according to the service.

Each course is separate, but potential recruits who need to participate in both programs might be allowed to do so on a case-by-case basis, the fitness portion prior to basic combat training and the academic portion following basic training, the Army said.

Potential recruits must be able to meet all other eligibility requirements, such as moral and medical accessions standards, and be willing to work toward their goals to participate in the program.

The young men and women who will participate in this pilot must have the desire to improve themselves and want to honorably serve their country, said Gen. Paul E. Funk II, leader of the Armys Training and Doctrine Command. This [program] is a great way to increase opportunities for them to serve without sacrificing the quality needed across our force.

The program is part of a series of steps that the Army is taking to expand its pool of eligible recruits as the service remains behind in recruiting goals, service officials told reporters on Tuesday.

Over the past few years, student test scores have dropped and childhood obesity has increased [and] the Army is making every effort to overcome these challenges, said Lt. Gen. Maria Gervais, the Training and Doctrine Commands deputy commanding general. These conditions have negatively affected the Army's ability to meet its recruiting targets.

The service expects its force to drop to about 466,400 by October and believes it could further decrease to between 455,000-452,000 by the end of fiscal 2023, the service said in a statement last week.

Though it will take time, our objective is to regrow our end strength to 460,000 or more as quickly as possible, and we will pursue this objective aggressively, the Army said.

Last month, the Army announced another measure to attract more candidates  a $35,000 bonus offer to new recruits willing to sign a four-year contract and ship out to boot camp within 45 days.

Recruiting in the current environment is a challenge, and we have positions we need to fill right now, Maj. Gen. Kevin Vereen, who leads the Recruiting Command, said at the time. Our Army is counting on us to fill these training vacancies quickly, so we are able to offer incentives to gain interest in critical career fields.
YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan  Navy Lt. Ridge Alkonis, convicted of causing the deaths of two Japanese citizens last year, reported to a Japanese prison on Monday after U.S politicians voiced disappointment with Japans handling of his case.

Alkonis, 34, of Claremont, Calif., was sentenced in October in Shizuoka District Court to three years in prison for negligent driving causing death. The Tokyo High Court rejected his appeal on July 13.

U.S. Naval Forces Japan spokeswoman Cmdr. Katie Cerezo confirmed by phone Tuesday that Alkonis reported to the Tokyo High Courts Prosecutors Office on Monday and was taken to the Tokyo Detention House for processing. She said hell ultimately be placed in Yokosuka Prison, although the timeline for that is unclear, she said.

Alkonis was driving on May 29, 2021, in Shizuoka prefecture, about two hours from Yokosuka, when his car plowed into pedestrians and parked cars outside a soba restaurant in Fujinomiya. Alkonis, his wife and three children were returning from a hike on Mount Fuji.

A woman, 85, died that day; her son-in-law, 54, died June 11, 2021. A second woman, 53, the daughter and wife of the other victims, was injured.

Alkonis testified Aug. 24 that a case of mountain, or altitude, sickness caused him to lose consciousness behind the wheel. The Shizuoka District Court and the Tokyo High Court dismissed his argument.

After the high court ruled on July 13, U.S. politicians called on President Joe Biden to intervene in Alkonis case, pleas also made by Alkonis wife, Brittany, and his parents on U.S. network TV.

Rep. Mike Levin, D-Calif., on July 22 said the trial process was unfair to Alkonis and violated the status of forces agreement that outlines the rights and responsibilities of individuals affiliated with the U.S. military in Japan. Congresswoman Aumua Amata Radewagen, a Republican from Samoa, speaking in the House on July 20, said she was deeply troubled by Japans mistreatment of Alkonis and called on Biden and U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel to act.

These abuses are hurting the U.S.-Japan alliance exactly when it needs to be strengthened, she said.

On Monday, Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, tweeted that the U.S. should consider reevaluating SOFA if this is how Japan is going to treat U.S. military personnel who have done NOTHING wrong 

The veteran advocacy group Pipe Hitters Foundation alleges that Japanese authorities violated SOFA by unjustly holding Alkonis for 26 days after the crash, according to its website. It also alleged SOFA was violated because the judges ruling was not made immediately. The foundation was not immediately available for clarification.

Under SOFA, Japanese authorities are required to release offenders to U.S. custody unless they can deem adequate cause and necessity to continue holding them. The foundation also alleged Alkonis human rights were violated by lengthy interrogations and sleep deprivation.

Aspects of Alkonis treatment, however, appear to be the norm in Japan. Suspects in criminal cases may be held up to 23 days without an opportunity to post a release bond until theyre formally charged, according to information from the Japan Federation of Bar Associations.

Alkonis was formally charged within 23 days of the incident. Police may question a suspect in a closed interrogation room for a long time over many sessions without an attorney present, according to the bar associations. Video or audio recordings are required only in cases to be tried by juries, also called lay judges, and those in which public prosecutors make their own investigations.
WASHINGTON  Navy leaders are strengthening their commitment to developing more advanced weapons and other capabilities over some traditional ships to challenge the increasing aggression from China and Russia around the globe, according to the services 2022 Navigation Plan released Tuesday.

Retiring legacy platforms that cannot stay relevant in contested seas  and investing in the capabilities we need for the future  is essential for our national security, the Navy wrote in the document that lays out the services long-term priorities.

Citing Chinas ongoing efforts to build its military rapidly and Russias dismantling of the post-Cold War peace in Europe when it invaded Ukraine in February, the service said prioritizing new capabilities and weapons will be key to future conflicts, according to the document.

The world is entering a new age of warfare, one in which the integration of technology, concepts, partners, and systems  more than fleet size alone  will determine victory in conflict, the service said in the document.

The navigation plan helps lay out the services requirements for Congress, which has been hesitant to allow the Navy to cut ships as China grows its fleet, Adm. Mike Gilday, chief of naval operations, told reporters Wednesday.

Theres more work to be done with the Hill, particularly with respect to composition of the force  explaining ourselves better with respect to that composition, the why behind it, Gilday said about explaining the Navys plan for the force to lawmakers.

In its 2023 proposed budget, the Navy said it wants to cut 24 ships next year to save $3.6 billion in the next five years that could be used to develop new technologies. They included nine Freedom-class littoral combat ships, five Ticonderoga-class cruisers, two Los Angeles-class submarines, four landing dock ships, two oilers and two expeditionary transfer dock vessels.

Whether Congress will allow the Navy to cut 24 ships remains in question. Last year, lawmakers ordered the Navy to build 13 ships in the fiscal 2022 budget in pursuit of a larger fleet after service leaders asked for just eight.

Some lawmakers, such as Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Va., spoke out against the ship cuts since the budget was made public March 28, noting the strategy prioritizes future technologies over the capacity and capabilities service members need now.

I am particularly disappointed that even as we aim to grow our naval and projection forces, this budget continues the divest-to-invest strategy that will shrink our fleet once again, the congressman said at the time.

The service wants to shift to a larger, more capable Navy that incorporates a host of manned, unmanned and operationally manned platforms, according to the document.

The Navy is required by Congress to reach a fleet of 355 ships as soon as possible under the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act, which sets the militarys goals and spending priorities. Its new plan calls for a hybrid fleet of more than 350 warships, about 150 unmanned ships and underwater vehicles, and approximately 3,000 aircraft by the 2040s, according to the document.

The why behind the composition and the size is grounded on how we're going to fight, Gilday said. In short, it is our intent to face any adversary with our forces spread out with our effects masked across multiple vectors, both physically and virtually in all domains from the seabed to space.

Six new priorities

The plan for the future force is broken down into six categories: distance, deception, defense, distribution, delivery and decision advantage.

The six different force design imperatives are informed by the challenges that we've seen based on the rise of China, Gilday said.

The service wants to expand distance by developing and focusing on long-range weapons that allow the Navy to strike an enemy from further away, thus increasing our own survivability against a potential counterattack, according to the plan.

Leveraging deception will be done by prioritizing capabilities such as stealth and electronic warfare technologies to degrade enemy surveillance and increase adversary uncertainty, allowing the Navy to operate more effectively in battle.

The Navy aims to harden defense by incorporating directed energy weapons such as high-powered lasers alongside traditional weapons such as missiles to disrupt attacks by adversaries.

Increasing distribution will be done by spreading out the force across the world and focus on building smaller, lethal and less costly platforms, such as unmanned ships, according to the plan. The idea is to further complicate threat targeting, generate confusion and impose dilemmas for adversaries.

By ensuring delivery, the service aims to boost logistics to keep the fleet sustained with supplies at sea and strengthening its communications technologies, which are key to keeping ships engaged in battle, according to the plan.

Finally, the Navy will generate decision advantage through communication technologies and artificial intelligence that will connect sensors and weapons across the world, according to the plan. The tools should allow warfighters more time to make quicker decisions about incoming threats.

Naval forces will out-sense, out-decide and out-fight any adversary by accelerating our decision cycles with secure, survivable and cyber (attack)-resilient networks, accurate data and artificial intelligence, according to the plan.

China and Russia

The changes are necessary so the Navy can keep up with a battlespace that is quickly growing in lethality and complexity, according to the document.

For example, China has tripled the size of its Navy since the early 1990s, expanded its nuclear weapons capabilities, advanced its cyber and space capabilities and developed long-range weapons and hypersonic missiles, the Navy said.

These investments in offensive warfighting systems  across all domains  are aimed at the heart of Americas maritime power, according to the document. China designs its force for one purpose: to reshape the security environment to its advantage by denying the United States military access to the western Pacific and beyond.

Additionally, Russias ongoing war in Ukraine also presents a challenge to the United States. Russia seeks to fracture NATO and reestablish its sphere of influence and threaten global peace with nuclear threats, cyberattacks and submarine deployments near American shores, according to the document.

The Navy, which handles about 70% of Americas deployed nuclear arsenal on platforms such as submarines, will play a major role in countering such threats, according to the document.

Decisive naval power is essential in this security environment. America cannot cede the competition for influence, the document said. A combat-credible U.S. Navy  remains our nations most potent, flexible and versatile instrument of military influence.
This article first appeared in the Stars and Stripes Pacific edition, Feb. 6, 1966. It is republished unedited in its original form.

A career as an actress would seem to be a natural profession for the daughter of comedian Edgar Bergen. Especially for one as young, talented and beautiful as Candice Bergen.

But on a set of "The Sand Pebbles," which she is making in Taiwan with Steve McQueen, Miss Bergen disclosed that she has two additional professional goals. Neither has anything to do with stage or screen.

One is photography. The other is writing.

Nor is either goal an idle dream for the talented young actress who achieved star status even before release of her first movie, "The Group."

An article she wrote about her experiences making "The Group" appeared in the December issue of Esquire magazine. Entitled "What I Did Last Summer," it presents candid portraits of seven actresses in the film. Illustrated with Bergen photographs, the account bears evidence that each of the actresses is fully as individualistic as the screen character she portrays.

"I am afraid it is pretty candid," said Miss Bergen.

A play she wrote, subject undisclosed, is being considered for production on Broadway. Additionally, Miss Bergen has co-authored a photographic essay on the South and is now turning her pen and camera to new subjects in Taiwan.

During her interview with Pacific Stars and Stripes it was evident that Miss Bergen also yearns for a chance to work as a war correspondent in Vietnam. Screen commitments, however, are likely to keep her from tackling this job. She is signed to do approximately nine films for Hollywood studios after finishing "The Sand Pebbles," which is based on the best seller by Richard McKenna.

But, she noted, at least one member of the Bergen family  her father  went to Vietnam in January to entertain the troops.

As to assisting the war effort in Vietnam, Miss Bergen said: "I'd be a good public relations man for the troops and I wouldn't want the VIP treatment, either. I have a great sense of pride in our military. I feel the troops in Vietnam are doing more than fighting to win the war; they are fighting to win the people and the peace. They are like a military peace corps."

Miss Bergen speaks with sincerity and her remarks fly out with electrical emphasis. But she was in a relaxed mood as she talked. She laughed when Steve McQueen opened the door of the conference room  it was lunch time  to tell her where the peanut butter they had been hoarding could be found.

Miss Bergen describes McQueen as "a very nice" person, encouraging to and considerate of his fellow actors, especially someone new to the business. She had compliments, also, for British actor and producer Richard Attenborough, TV star Richard Crenna, other members of "The Sand Pebbles" cast and for Robert Wise, who is directing the $8.5 million production.

Miss Bergen's role in "The Sand Pebbles" is in direct contrast to her role in "The Group," the film version of Mary McCarthy's controversial novel. In "The Group" Miss Bergen is the sophisticated Lakey Eastlake, leader and nucleus of her 1930 social set. In "The Sand Pebbles" she is a missionary schoolteacher who finds love and adventure on the Yangtze River in China during the gunboat era of the 1920s.

The diverse roles show her versatility as an actress and indicate why she is likely to continue being busy with studio work for a long time.

Shooting on "The Sand Pebbles," an Argyle-Solar production for release by 20th Century Fox, started on Taiwan in November and continued through January. Additional scenes are to be made in Hong Kong, Hollywood and Texas.

The long stay on the island is providing Miss Bergen with many opportunities for sightseeing when she is not studying her lines or before the cameras. She was looking forward to finding camera subjects in mountainous Taroko Gorge on the east coast; to trips to Quemoy, the Pescadores and, if possible, to remote Orchid Island.

She likes visiting out-of-the-way places that tourists seldom see. One day, for example, she observed operations at a Taipei soup kitchen run by Father Walter P. Morse, an Episcopalian missionary and Old China Hand  the "Happy, Happy Beggar" of John Hersey's classic story which appeared in "The New Yorker Magazines" in 1940 when Hersey visited China.

"One of the nicest days I have ever had," Miss Bergen summed up her visit with Father Morse.

She has no present thought, she said, of returning to the University of Pennsylvania, where she was a sophomore art and history major during the 1964-65 school year.

While still going to school she made trips to New York where she modeled clothes at $300 a day  tops in the profession.

She admitted to nostalgia for New York, where her success began and where she has an apartment decorated with an antique carousel horse and a ragged lion skin rug which she imaginatively describes as a "sausage with feet."

Want to read our coverage of other movies being filmed throughout the decades in Europe and the Pacific? Subscribe to Stars and Stripes historic newspaper archive! We have digitized all of our 1948-1999 European and Pacific editions, as well as several of our WWII editions and made them available online through http://starsandstripes.newspaperarchive.com/
STUTTGART, Germany  The U.S. needs a revised approach to security in western Africa, as militant groups make inroads and Russian-backed mercenaries proliferate, U.S. Africa Commands Gen. Stephen Townsend said Tuesday.

Townsend, who has commanded military efforts in Africa from his Stuttgart headquarters for the past three years, said the tumult stretches from Mali to Nigeria and the broader Sahel. As a result, countries are examining their paths forward in the region.

The United States is also recalibrating our approach and striving to find a way to be more effective in the future, said Townsend, who is slated to retire in the coming weeks after a 40-year military career.

In Africa, numerous Islamic militant groups are operating and the allegiances between them are often shifting.

A few years ago, the Nigeria-based terrorist group Boko Haram was regarded as perhaps the most lethal in all of Africa but now is hanging on, Townsend said. Meanwhile, ISIS West Africa appears to have become the dominant force in the region, he said.

Violence is accelerating faster in the Sahel than in any other African region, the Africa Center for Strategic Studies said in a report issued Tuesday.

Violence in Burkina Faso, Mali and western Niger surged by 140% since 2020, with militant Islamist groups in the Sahel accounting for 60% of violence against civilians in all of Africa.

Meanwhile, Russias mercenary Wagner Group has increased its numbers in Mali, Townsend said. The organization, which is propping up Malis transitional government, also has brought sophisticated Russian air defenses into the country.

Unlike the case in Libya, where some Wagner personnel have been relocated to Ukraine to support Russias war there, the group appears to be doubling down in Mali, Townsend said.

The main motivation for the Wagner Group in Africa is to prop up governments and give Russia a foothold into the continents vast natural resources, Townsend said.

While Wagner is advertised as a military contractor organization, Townsend said that in practice it is a mercenary group that functions as an arm of the Kremlin.

They are doing President (Vladimir) Putins bidding, he said.

On the other side of the continent, AFRICOM is in the initial stages of getting U.S. troops back on the ground in Somalia, Townsend said.

At the tail end of former President Donald Trumps administration, all 700 American troops were pulled from the volatile east African country.

But in the absence of a steady American presence, al-Qaida-aligned militants gained ground, U.S. military officials have said. President Joe Biden in May authorized the return of an unspecified number of forces to Somalia.

Townsend said the numbers will be small but the mission will be the same as before: train, advise and equip Somalias military in its fight against the al-Shabab militant group.

Our mission in Somalia has not changed, he said.
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  U.S. military travelers arriving in South Korea must immediately take a polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, test for COVID-19, according to a policy update by U.S. Forces Korea on Monday.

The change applies to all arrivals regardless of their vaccination status, according to a post on USFKs official Facebook page.

USFK personnel, including family members, Defense Department civilian employees and contractors, should take the PCR test within a day of their arrival in South Korea. Their movements are restricted until the test returns a negative result.

The command adjusted its PCR test policy in order to align with [South Koreas] entry requirement changes, its website said.

South Korea on Monday reinstated its requirement that travelers take a PCR test within a day of arriving in the country, a change from a three-day window.

USFK continues to recommend its personnel obtain a rapid antigen test on the sixth or seventh day in the country but has not made the test mandatory.

In June, the command rescinded its seven-day mandatory quarantine for arriving personnel who were not fully vaccinated. Fully vaccinated personnel have not been required to quarantine since March.

USFK, which oversees roughly 28,500 troops in South Korea, remains at health protection condition Alpha, which indicates an elevated risk of the virus spreading but allows personnel to visit most off-base businesses regardless of their vaccination status.

USFK changed its testing policy as COVID-19 cases in South Korea continue to climb.

South Korea reported 99,327 new cases on Monday, an increase from 35,883 cases on Sunday, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. The KDCA reported a one-day record of 621,328 new cases on March 17.

COVID-19 infections within USFK are also growing. The command in its weekly update Tuesday reported 380 cases between July 19 and Monday, up from 157 cases during the previous week.

The COVID-19 omicron subvariant, BA.5, is the dominant variant in the country, according to the KDCA. South Korean health officials estimated that daily positive cases in the country may reach as high as 200,000 in August and September.

Despite the surge of new cases, South Korea has not reimposed social distancing restrictions, mandatory masks outdoors or business curfews that were rescinded in May.
(Tribune News Service)  A South Carolina man charged in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot is back in the hot seat after federal prosecutors say the man's cellphone included 80 Nazi and white supremacist images, according to a government sentencing memorandum in the case.

Prosecutors are seeking 30 days in jail for Elliot Bishai, 22, of Fort Mill, South Carolina, for his participation in the riot, during which he climbed through a broken window and encouraged rioters to invade the Capitol. Inside he yelled, "Civil War 2!", according to the government memorandum.

At the time of the riot, Bishai was a member in the federally-supported Civil Air Patrol, the civilian auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force.

He should have known that being part of the Capitol meant that he "betrayed his duty to keep the homeland safe," the prosecution memo said. The Civilian Air Patrol's mission is "devoted to public safety," the memo said.

In a related court filing, Bishai's lawyers revealed that because of his arrest in the Capitol riot, he has been dropped from being accepted in an elite military program to train to become a pilot to fly U.S. Army helicopters. At the time of the Jan. 6 riot, he was planning to join to the Army and become a helicopter pilot.

Bishai is due to be sentenced Friday in Washington before Judge Tanya Chutkan on the charge of entering and remaining in a restricted building.

Prosecutors also said that in addition to Nazi and white supremacist images, Bishai had more than 400 videos made by an online personality, known as the "Gypsy Crusader," but who is described in court documents as a "far-right ... commentator, streamer, white supremacist and convicted felon" named Paul Nicholas Miller.

Miller has been tied to "multiple alt-right and far-right organizations, including the Proud Boys and the Boogaloo movement," the prosecution memo said.

Bishai downplayed the Nazi and white supremacist images and videos in court documents, saying he kept them only because he found them "to be humorous, not because he actually agreed with their content" and did not share them with anyone, according to a prosecution memo.

A 2021 Defense Department report cited the dangers of white supremacists inside America's military. It warned of the dangers that even a small number of such extremists can do inside the military. It also said that terrorist organizations like to recruit members with military training.

On Jan. 6, 2021, Bishai drove Elias Irizarry, a Citadel cadet, and Grayson Sherrill, of Gaston County, North Carolina, to Washington in response to the false claims by former President Donald Trump that the election had been stolen.

Irizarry and Sherrill will go on trial in Washington on Jan. 3.

Before the riot, all three attended a Trump rally during which the former president urged people to march on the Capitol to"stop the steal." Bishai and Irizarry entered the Capitol through the broken window at 2:26 p.m., 13 minutes after the initial breach, the prosecution memo said.

Inside the Capitol, Sherrill struck a police officer with a metal pole, and Irizarry carried a metal pole with him but did not hit anyone, according to evidence in their cases.

Although Bishai did not commit violent acts, his being in the Capitol that day "took place in the context of a large and violent riot that relied on numbers to overwhelm law enforcement, breach the Capitol, and disrupt the proceedings. But for his actions alongside so many others, the riot likely would have failed," prosecutors said.

"A riot cannot occur without rioters, and each rioter's actions  from the most mundane to the most violent  contributed, directly and indirectly, to the violence and destruction of that day," prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said Bishai appeared to experience "excitement and joy" during the riot while inside the Capitol.

"Bishai celebrated the violence of the day by filming videos on his cellphone and encouraging the other rioters to scale the walls, climb the stairs, and enter the building," prosecutors said.

When Bishai pleaded guilty in April, other charges against him from the Capitol riot were dismissed as part of a plea agreement, testimony and documents show.

Bishai has been free on bail since he was arrested on the charge in April 2021. A friend of Bishai and Irizarry tipped the FBI to their participation in the riot, documents show.

Bishai's lawyers, John Maher and Donald Brown, could not immediately be reached for comment.

Bishai's lawyers ask for leniency

In a defense sentencing memo, Bishai's lawyers set forth a competing narrative, describing him as being peaceful during the 27 minutes he spent in the Capitol and not deserving of a jail sentence of any length.

Bishai has already suffered enough, having "lost an opportunity to serve the United States Army as a pilot in the Army Warrant Officer Flight Program," said the defense memo, written by Charlotte attorney Dan Brown.

"That has been Elliot's lifelong dream and his actions have already cost him dearly. Additionally, Elliot has also had his student pilot's license revoked by the Federal Aviation Administration, in conjunction with the Transportation Safety Administration. Mr. Bishai has lost his student pilot's license and his opportunity to serve as an Army Warrant officer for having been in the Capitol for 27 minutes.

"Mr. Bishai has already paid dearly for his actions, and having him serve any sort of active incarceration would not serve the best interest of either the United States or the Defendant," Brown wrote.

At the time of his arrest, in March 2021, defense attorneys said Bishai had been accepted into a U.S. Army program to become a warrant officer to pilot military helicopters. Warrant officer is a rank between enlisted and officer ranks, and many warrant officers fly Army helicopters. The Army has numerous kinds of helicopter pilots, including those who fly the Black Hawk air assault helicopters on secret combat missions.

While Bishai has been awaiting sentencing, he has been employed as a firefighter battling forest fires and a jail term of any length would take him away from his vital first responder job, Brown argued.

"Should the Court elect not to impose an active sentence at the conclusion of this case, the Defendant will head immediately to Oregon, to battle brush fires, until that situation is under control and until he is given another assignment on the fire line," Brown wrote. "We believe it will be in the best interests of the United States, and of the American people, and of the Defendant, to keep the Defendant in this case on the front lines, fighting fires to help save property and help save lives."

Brown also noted that Bishai willingly pleaded guilty, is remorseful for his actions, has apologized and has cooperated with the FBI. Federal prosecutor Grace Albinson is handling the case for the government.

___

(c)2022 The Herald (Rock Hill, S.C.)

Visit The Herald (Rock Hill, S.C.) at www.heraldonline.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
The Biden administration is weighing whether to declare the nation's monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency and also plans to name a White House coordinator to oversee the response as officials attempt to keep the virus from becoming entrenched in the United States.

White House and health agency leaders deliberated through the weekend about their next steps to fight the virus, after the World Health Organization on Saturday declared monkeypox a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, the agency's highest-level warning. Almost 18,000 cases have been confirmed outside of Africa since May  including nearly 3,500 in the United States  as infections continue to climb in countries where the virus is not historically found.

While the new cases have been overwhelmingly in the gay and bisexual community, experts warn the virus is likely to spread to other groups. The first two U.S. cases of monkeypox in children were confirmed Friday, probably the result of sharing a household with an infected adult. But federal health authorities said there was no evidence yet of sustained transmission among broader population groups.

While some health officials say an emergency declaration is necessary to give the government authority to cut through red tape and collect data about the virus's spread, others argued that the move is mostly symbolic and will not address vaccine shortages, treatment barriers or other challenges that have hindered the U.S. response, said three people who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment.

Officials also have raised questions about whether such a declaration is warranted for a virus yet to be linked to a single confirmed U.S. death. The strain of monkeypox implicated in this outbreak is tied to fever, lesions and severe pain that may last for weeks, in addition to complications in pregnant people, children and other vulnerable individuals.

Officials are hoping to make a decision on the emergency declaration this week, tied to a planned announcement that about 800,000 additional vaccine doses will be distributed following completion of a review by the Food and Drug Administration, two of the people said.

The decision also is complicated by domestic politics. Advocacy groups and health associations have called on the Biden administration to declare public health emergencies for abortion and gun violence, and the White House has said it is considering a broader emergency declaration for climate change, sparking debate about which issues to prioritize. The Biden administration has also continued to renew public health emergency declarations, which expire every 90 days, for opioids and the coronavirus.

Officials at the Department of Health and Human Services have privately acknowledged that it is unclear whether an emergency declaration is needed.

A declaration is "a tool that could be used to both align with WHO and raise additional awareness, as well as provide significant justification for HHS to use (though limited) tools that would aid in the response," according to a memo sent to President Biden on Sunday, a copy of which was obtained by The Washington Post.

White House officials say that the decision rests with HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra, and that they continue to be concerned about the slow pace of the response. Patients say they still face days-long delays in getting test results, physicians have complained about bureaucratic barriers when trying to prescribe treatment, and officials such as New York Mayor Eric Adams, D, have called for more vaccine doses as their existing supply is rapidly exhausted.

"Our focus is on getting HHS to move as quickly as possible . . . it's about strengthening and accelerating the response, not just tacking on a different name," said an official familiar with the response, saying Biden "is pushing HHS to get vaccine allocations out the door, and pushing FDA to get the vaccine cleared in the next few days, without cutting corners."

Becerra told CNN on Monday that his department is still reviewing the merits of a declaration. "We want to get ahead of [monkeypox]. You don't want it to become a part of life. But how many people have died compared to covid?" he said. "Zero . . . We declare public health emergencies based on the data and the science, not on our worries."

Some outside experts contend a 90-day emergency declaration could be an important tool to focus the response.

"This could allow for all hands on deck to mobilize as big an effort as possible," said Jennifer Kates, who leads global health policy for the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan think tank. "To prevent this from becoming endemic  and hopefully not being too late."

Kates said emergency declarations should be reserved for "truly unique events," adding, "In the case of monkeypox, those criteria are being met. It's crossing states, it's spreading rapidly, it's never happened here before, and it has all these risks associated with it."

The White House is also closing in on a national monkeypox coordinator, having concluded the role is necessary to manage an increasingly sprawling response that has drawn in Chief of Staff Ron Klain  who coordinated the U.S. response to Ebola during the Obama administration  as well as White House coronavirus coordinator Ashish Jha, infectious-disease expert Anthony Fauci, and dozens of other national security and health officials. Two people who were not authorized to discuss the plan said the administration is considering people with expertise in epidemic response and government operations.

The White House declined to comment on the discussions.

Some worry it may already be too late to stop the virus from gaining a permanent foothold in this country based on the rapid increase in cases and the difficulties in accessing tests.

"I think if we've allowed monkeypox to become endemic in the U.S.  and we may have already crossed that threshold  then it will be looked back on as among the biggest public health failures of recent times," said Scott Gottlieb, who led the FDA during the Trump administration and has advised the Biden administration on the coronavirus.

Biden officials counter that the virus can still be contained, pointing to the United States' stockpile of treatments and vaccines, as well as the rapidly increasing availability of testing.

"There is no other place in the world where they have 300,000 doses of vaccines . . . distributed to the states, as we have here in America," Becerra said on Monday.

Some health officials have argued that declaring an emergency would allow the administration to unlock authority to collect data about monkeypox cases and vaccinations that are not currently being shared with the federal government.

While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that more than 1.5 million men who have sex with men are eligible for the vaccine, "we at CDC currently have no data on who's been vaccinated," CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said in a Washington Post Live virtual event on Friday.

FDA officials also said they are waiting on the emergency decision before pursuing a separate declaration that would expedite the use of medical countermeasures. A similar move during the coronavirus response allowed pharmacists to vaccinate young children and doctors to vaccinate out-of-state patients.

Meanwhile, those on the front lines say the response continues to be overly bureaucratic, leading to a byzantine maze for patients who test positive and can experience days of often-searing pain. One man in New York City told The Post about an eight-day saga to get treated that began last week, as he navigated multiple providers that provided misleading or incorrect information, including being rebuffed by an urgent care clinic.

Slow access to testing, treatment and vaccines in the early U.S. monkeypox response has been a "bit of a debacle" that has paralleled missteps in the early coronavirus response, said Megan Ranney, an emergency physician and academic dean of the Brown University School of Public Health.

"I can't help but wonder if part of the delay is that our public health workforce is so burned out," Ranney added. "Everyone who's available to work on epidemiology or contact tracing is already doing it for covid."

- - -

The Washington Post's Laurie McGinley and Lena H. Sun contributed to this report.
ST. LOUIS (Tribune News Service)  At 3:14 p.m. Saturday, Erick Cedeno arrived on his bicycle in St. Louis to a crowd of about 50 people at the Missouri History Museum in Forest Park, 5700 Lindell Boulevard.

After 1,900 miles, he wasnt sure what to say, except:

That was a tough, tough ride. Known on Instagram as @bicycle_nomad, Cedeno rode the same route  as closely as he could  that the Buffalo Soldiers took.

One hundred twenty-five years ago, a ragtag yet triumphant group of Black U.S. Army soldiers, who became known as the Buffalo Soldier Bicycle Corps of the 25th Infantry, took a similar cross-country journey. The Buffalo Soldiers, who rode specially made military bicycles, were on a mission to determine whether it was more effective to move across the country via bicycle than by horse.

Enduring the elements, coping with cars and worrying almost constantly about things like running out of water were worth it to Cedeno to pay homage to the soldiers.

When Cedeno, 48, rode into the museums front drive on Sunday afternoon, the crowd erupted into applause. He parked his bicycle, took off his helmet and shook out his silvery-black dreadlocks. He greeted friends and family with hugs before making a short speech on a stage set up in front of the museum.

Cedeno, and others who have made similar journeys, admit its easier to do, now, with modern, multispeed bicycles.

Its so epic, what they did, Cedeno said to the crowd, about the soldiers journey 125 years ago. He took a moment to compose himself. Im so emotional, because it was such a hard trip. Its almost superhuman, what those guys accomplished.

Janet Howard, 67, followed Cedeno at all of his stops in Missouri. She heard about his journey through her local library in Hannibal, and became interested in the history. She said she prayed for him to get through the weekend heat, and she felt his effort was superhuman, too.

Im just so proud of him, Howard said. I would do it if I could.

Mike Higgins, 60, a retired history teacher from Wyoming, has blogged extensively about the Iron Riders  a modern-day nickname for the group  and he rode the path on his bicycle in 2010. Through their mutual interest in the story of the 25th Infantrys cross-country bicycle trek, Higgins and Cedeno became close friends. Higgins flew from his home in rural Wyoming to be at the finish line for Cedenos journey.

As a history teacher, Higgins wants more people to learn the story, which to him, is like a beautiful piece of music, or a great painting. Cedeno, Higgins said, just gets it.

I hope kids will learn about it, Higgins said. Kids need heroes.

The 45-day journey of the soldiers was muddy, dusty, sweaty and sometimes freezing, across 1,900 miles from Montana. Cedenos, in comparison, was 41 days. When he began riding from Montana, the temperature was close to freezing. The heat index in St. Louis on Sunday reached 109 degrees.

Cedenos wife, Antoinette Reagan, 37, was relieved to see him complete the journey. Though he went on the ride with her blessing, she admitted on Sunday that its been stressful  because of worrying about him riding in the recent hot weather, and because she and Cedeno have a 14-month-old son, Gabriel.

Seeing Gabriel and spending time with him is what Cedeno looks forward to the most, now.

I want to teach him how to ride a bike, Cedeno said.

___

(c)2022 the St. Louis Post-Dispatch Visit the St. Louis Post-Dispatch at www.stltoday.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Earplug manufacturer 3M has set aside more than $1 billion to resolve the more than 290,000 pending cases from veterans who claim the companys earplugs that they used during military service damaged their hearing.

The move announced Tuesday is part of a voluntary bankruptcy filing of Aearo Technologies, the 3M subsidiary responsible for the earplugs.

"We have great respect for the brave men and women who protect us, and remain committed to the military as an active partner and valued customer going forward," said Mike Roman, 3Ms chairman and chief executive officer. "We determined that taking this decisive action now will allow 3M and Aearo Technologies to address these claims in a way that is more efficient and equitable than the current litigation."

Since May 2021, a series of 16 cases involving 19 veterans have gone to trial in Florida federal courtrooms with varying results. The veterans won in nine cases with juries awarding nearly $300 million in damages. 3M won in six of the cases. In another case, a jury found both sides were at fault.

Each of the cases focuses on a product called the combat arms version 2 dual-sided earplug. The earplugs were used in the military until 2015. According to lawsuits against 3M, the earplug could imperceptibly slip in the wearers ear and cause hearing loss or tinnitus.

Aearo Technologies, which was acquired by 3M in 2008, has voluntarily initiated chapter 11 proceedings in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Indiana and is seeking court supervision to help establish the trust  funded by 3M  to efficiently and equitably resolve all claims determined to be entitled to compensation, according to Tuesdays announcement.

As of July 15, there are more than 290,000 actions pending from veterans in federal civil courts. 3M said this move is intended to speed up the resolution of cases, which could take decades at the current pace.

The company committed $1 billion to fund the trust, as well as an additional $240 million to fund projected related case expenses. If required, 3M said it would provide additional funding.

Bryan Aylstock of Aylstock Witkin Kreis & Overholtz, PLLC, and Christopher Seeger of Seeger Weiss LLP, the court-appointed lead counsel for the veterans, described 3Ms strategy as further proof that they value their profits and stock price more than the well-being of veterans who fought and served our country.

The $1 billion trust is woefully underfunded and not the efficient and equitable resolution that 3M is desperately pretending it is, they said.

The attorneys for the veterans said they will raise arguments in bankruptcy court to have the petition be denied.

Instead of negotiating in good faith, 3M decided to move its relentless attack on U.S. soldiers from the civil courts to the bankruptcy system. 3M is a massively profitable corporation that knowingly caused hearing damage to hundreds of thousands of U.S. service members, Aylstock and Seeger said.
WASHINGTON  Sen. Jon Tester on Tuesday proposed legislation designed to modernize the Department of Veterans Affairs' medical centers and other infrastructure after he and 11 other senators last month blocked a nearly $2 trillion VA plan to close, consolidate and upgrade agency facilities across the country.

The bill, dubbed the Build, Utilize, Invest, Learn, and Deliver [or BUILD] for Veterans Act of 2022, would require the VA to develop plans and workforce hiring strategies to complete new facility projects, examine infrastructure budgeting, and provide Congress with its plans and performance data for enhanced accountability.

When it comes to delivering new hospitals, clinics, cemeteries, benefits offices, and other facilities for veterans and the employees that serve them, weve got to set VA up for success, said Tester, D-Mont., chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. The BUILD for Veterans Act pushes VA to modernize and manage its current and future infrastructure needs through common-sense provisions thatll save taxpayer dollars in the process.

Additionally, the bill would also require the VA to provide plans and performance data to Congress, implement a schedule to eliminate or repurpose unused and vacant buildings and examine infrastructure budgeting strategies. Moreover, it will require the VA to provide yearly budget requirements for 10 years.

In June, Tester and 11 other senators opposed the VAs Asset and Infrastructure Review, saying the recommendations would not expand or strengthen the agencys infrastructure and put veterans in rural and urban areas at a disadvantage.

The VA was required to establish the Asset and Infrastructure Review as part of the Maintaining Internal Systems and Strengthening Integrated Outside Networks Act of 2018, or MISSION Act. The review was designed to analyze the health care needs of veterans as well as the departments infrastructure. That same year, Congress approved the creation of an Asset and Infrastructure Review Commission to work on the "modernization or realignment" of VA properties.

Testers new bill builds off of the infrastructure portion of the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act of 2022, or PACT Act, which he and Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas, the ranking Republican on the Senate VA Committee, introduced in May.

The PACT Act seeks to provide an easy path to health care and benefits for veterans who served near open-air burn pits, which were used throughout the 1990s and the post-9/11 wars to burn garbage, jet fuel and other materials. The bill would establish 31 new VA health care facilities in 19 states.

Veterans diagnosed with cancer, respiratory issues and lung disease at young ages have blamed exposure to the toxic fumes from these pits, but the VA contended for years that there wasnt sufficient evidence to support their claims.

The bill also would improve the VAs workforce and claims processing to speed up efforts to meet the needs of veterans. Additionally, the bill would expand health care eligibility to post-9/11 combat veterans and add 23 conditions related to burn pits and other toxic exposures to the VAs list of service presumptions. It will also expand the list of presumptions related to Agent Orange exposure to include Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Guam, American Samoa and Johnston Atoll, strengthen federal research on toxic exposure, and improve the VAs resources and training.

The PACT Act could reach a vote in the Senate this week.

Various veteran service organizations announced their support for the BUILD for Veterans Act, including Disabled American Veterans, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and Paralyzed Veterans of America.

Ensuring VA has state-of-the-art facilities to support the medical and mental health care needs of veterans is a top priority of the American Legion, said Paul Dillard, national commander of the American Legion, in a prepared statement about the BUILD Act. Investing in and revitalizing the aging VA infrastructure is vital to the overall success of the VA health care system. We must ensure that VA is properly resourced and structured to manage the infrastructure of the largest integrated health care network in the nation.
Bogdan Sandor (27) had empty beer cans and bottles in car footwell

A BARBER caught drink driving the wrong way down Luas tracks in Dublin city centre had beer cans and bottles in his car footwell when gardai stopped him.

Bogdan Sandor (27) was emotionally distraught and had been drinking after breaking up with his girlfriend earlier that day.

Judge John Brennan fined him 300, banned him from driving for two years and said Sandor was a hard-working young man who did something silly. Sandor, of Belton Park Villas, Donnycarney, pleaded guilty to drink driving.

Dublin District Court heard that on June 12 at 12.05am, gardai saw a car driving the wrong way down the Luas tracks on OConnell Street Lower, a one-way street.

It drove on to the far side of the road and stopped when signalled. The driver, Sandor, smelled strongly of alcohol, and the garda saw empty cans and bottles of Heineken in the car footwell.

Sandor was arrested and a breath sample was over the alcohol limit. He had no previous convictions. Defence solicitor Andrew Broderick said earlier on the day he was stopped, Sandors girlfriend ended their relationship.

The accused got very upset and began drinking, which carried on throughout the day.

Sandor had not intended to drive and the incident spiralled, Mr Broderick said.

Judge Brennan said the manner in which Sandor had been driving was quite dangerous and the circumstances were quite worrying but he noted there was no dangerous driving charge.
A female supporter of O Leidhin broke down in tears after the sentence was handed down.

Micheal O Leidhin (38) of Sunnyside, Malahide Road, Artane was convicted last April of sexual assault at his former home in south Dublin in the early hours of the morning of May 13, 2018.

O Leidhin, a native of Ballinskelligs, Co Kerry, had denied the offence but his lawyers told a sentence hearing earlier this month at the Central Criminal Court that he now accepts the verdict of the jury.

Sentencing him today, Ms Justice Karen OConnor agreed with a defence application to stay the sentence until next Monday, August 1, when O Leidhin is to present himself at Mountjoy Prison.

The judge said that O Leidhin has accepted the verdict but not the import of the verdict and this is relevant when asked to consider remorse.

She said the complainant had given compelling evidence of the ongoing trauma she suffered in the wake of the assault.

She handed down a sentence of 18 months and suspended the final three months on a number of conditions.

A female supporter of O Leidhin broke down in tears after the sentence was handed down.

At a previous sentence hearing, Garda Niall Freyne told Michael Delaney SC, prosecuting, that the complainant, who is legally entitled to anonymity, was out drinking in a Dublin pub with a female friend when they met the defendant who knew her friend.

The group went on to another pub and the woman and O Leidhin were kissing. At the end of the night, O Leidhin asked the woman to go back to his flat in south Dublin and they got a taxi there.

In the flat they were kissing and O Leidhin engaged in consensual sexual foreplay type activity. O Leidhin suggested they have penetrative sex. The woman said no but left open the possibility that they could do this the next morning, Mr Delaney told the court.

In his account to gardai, O Leidhin said that he was unable to get an erection.

The woman then fell asleep and woke later to find O Leidhin on top her of her and groping her breasts. She said she told him to stop and get off her. He did stop and told her: Sorry, I'm horny.

The court heard that she was annoyed and told the defendant that she was clearly asleep.

The woman said she went back to sleep. Later that night O Leidhin drove her home and over the following days she texted him expressing annoyance at what had happened.

Micheal O Leidhin

He met up with her and they spoke for an hour and they agreed to differ about what had happened, Gda Freyne said. Nearly a year later in April 2019, the woman went to gardai and made a complaint of sexual assault.

The following July, O Leidhin met with gardai and said that after falling asleep together he had woken up and started to kiss the woman and got on top of her. He said he had tried to wake her up and when she did wake up, she was annoyed at what he was doing while she was still asleep.

He told gardai that he told her that they had engaged in sexual foreplay and that he had been trying to wake the woman to continue fooling around.

Gda Freyne told the court O Leidhin has no other criminal convictions and has never come to garda attention before or since the incident.

He agreed with Bernard Condon SC, defending, that he was fully co-operative with the investigation and has a good working history as a journalist.

Mr Condon said that his client has been suspended from his position in RTE and will have difficulties ever working in his chosen field again. He handed in a number of references from long standing acquittances who described the defendant as a supportive friend and described his shame and sorrow at the events of the night.

Mr Condon said his client is remorseful and that having put his understanding of what took place to the jury he accepts the jury verdict.

Reading from her own victim impact statement, the woman said that while she wished to retain her anonymity, she did not want O Leidhin to remain anonymous.

She said the assault had left her traumatised and feeling lost in the world. She said she was sexually violated when she was at her most vulnerable.

She said the night of the attack was the last time she would ever go to sleep feeling safe from attack.

She said she replays the assault again and again and has felt depressed and suicidal. She said she did attempt to kill herself by overdosing and ended up moving back in with her parents outside of Dublin to cope with the trauma and stress.

She was unable to get public transport for a long time because the touch from a stranger was unbearable.

My whole life and sense of self have been destroyed, she said. She said she has since found it extremely difficult to trust men and would completely freeze during any intimate sexual activity.

She said it had taken three years from the time she reported the assault before the trial took place. This was completely unacceptable she said and forced victims of sexual violence to be stuck in a state of trauma.

She said that giving evidence and being cross examined was unbelievably distressing and she felt at times she was going to have a heart attack.

Handing down sentence this/yesterday (TUES) morning, Ms Justice O'Connor noted that O Leidhin is a person of prior good character, who lost a prominent and promising career in the media in the wake of the conviction. She said she considers him to be at a low risk of sexual offending in the future.

Defence counsel had urged the judge to consider dealing with the sentence by way of a community sanction, but the judge said the offence merited a custodial sentence.

< ends >  CCC.nuacht Teoranta 2022
Harrowing case details relentless physical and mental torture victim was put through while trying to fight cancer

A terminally ill woman has outlined how her former partner, a garda, told her the only reason he had visited her while in hospital was to watch you bleed to death.

The 43-year-old woman was giving her victim-impact statement in the sentence hearing of the 42-year-old man who harassed, threatened, assaulted, stole from and controlled the woman for over four years after they met online in 2017.

The court heard that the man sent the woman more than 30,000 messages over those years and in one 14-hour period, in July 2018, he sent her 652 messages, amounting to one message every 90 seconds.

The messages were described in court as threatening, degrading, vile and abusive. In one message he described her as being riddled with cancer, in another, while she was on holiday without him, he said he hoped she would get raped and bleed.

In another, after they had a row while on holiday together, he messaged her the following morning and said she was flaunting your body around the pool calling her a dirtbox and a scumbag.

The man threatened to stick a knife in her in one voice message. He also also took photos of her naked, unbeknownst to her, and threatened to post them online.

He pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to a charge of coercive control in relation to the woman within the State on dates between January 1, 2019, and November 30, 2020. The law for the offence came into effect in January 2019.

The guilty plea was accepted on the basis of full facts in relation to a further 19 counts including harassment, assault causing harm, criminal damage, threats to cause criminal damage, endangerment, theft and threats to kill.

The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, joined the gardai in 2000 but was suspended from duty in March 2021, following a search of his home arising out of this investigation. Today Sean Gillane SC, defending, confirmed that the officer he will resign from An Garda Siochana.

Detective Inspector Cormac Brennan told Shane Costello SC, prosecuting, that an investigation was launched against the man after he made a complaint about one of the womans relatives and handed in his own phone to allow for it to be examined in the context of that allegation.

Officers became concerned that there was an abusive relationship between himself and the victim and they arranged to meet the woman. She later made a statement of complaint, which ran to 280 pages.

The book of evidence also includes 1GB of electronic data, communication between him and the woman, which counsel said equates to 33,000 pages of information or almost two volumes of the Encyclopaedia Britannica.

He was aware of how weak and sick she was from chemotherapy and described him stealing her cancer medication, knowing that she couldnt afford to replace it

The woman took to the stand to read her victim-impact statement in which she outlined how, after an initial normal relationship with a charming and funny man, he slowly and surely broke her down.

I was not just fighting cancer. I was up against a monster who would take away any chance I had of surviving, she said.

She said she couldnt battle cancer and a war with him. I always thought if I could get better, I could get away from him.

I believed he was going to kill me so many times. I can feel the weight of him on my body, choking me, ripping out my hair from the roots. I was afraid to show vulnerability as that was when he attacked me the most, the woman continued.

She said he was aware of how weak and sick she was from chemotherapy and described him stealing her cancer medication, knowing that she couldnt afford to replace it.

She described an occasion of driving to hospital with the man in the passenger seat. He became verbally abusive and she pulled over to let him get out. He then took her hospital bag with him.

Later he came to the hospital. He told her that the only reason he was there was so he could watch you bleed to death. He began to record her and she asked that he be removed from the hospital.

That was the last straw..that is the day he broke me, she said.

The woman said she felt like the man knew what was going on in her mind because he had access to her phone.

It felt like my mind was broken glass. I didnt know what was right or wrong anymore because he was breaking my mind, the woman continued.

She said she can no longer walk past a garda or a garda station without feeling physically sick and described how "the process to get justice has taken its toll.

My time is very precious as I dont know how much time I have left, the woman said before she added that the mental abuse she suffered was worse than the violence. He was beyond evil with his words.

I thought having cancer was the worst thing that ever happened me but I believe he is worse than any cancer. I couldnt endure any more pain and torture from this man, the woman said before she added that she had considered taking her own life.

He has robbed me of so much that I cannot get back. I was ashamed of what I put up with from him. The shame and judgment from other people allows the abuser to get away with so much, the woman said.

Women are afraid to tell the truth. I have survived him with cancer, so I want others to know they can too.

The woman concluded her statement by encouraging other people in a similar position to come forward.

Judge Martin Nolan adjourned the case overnight to allow him to consider an application by Mr Gillane to adjourn the case pending the preparation of a psychological report. He said if he refuses the adjournment he will proceed to sentence.

The man was remanded in custody pending that decision after counsel said his client was prepared to have his bail revoked.

Mr Gillane asked Judge Nolan to accept that his client had given 20 years of service to An Garda Siochana during which he did good and difficult work but accepted that the man has brought dishonour to himself and the organisation.

Being a garda was something that he always wanted to be and it was regarded by him as a great achievement and very, very important to him, Mr Gillane said. He added that it was an essential part of his identity and sense of self.

Mr Gillane said there was nothing in his clients work and upbringing either personally, professionally or otherwise for anyone to suspect or conclude that he would end up in court for something as upsetting or serious as this.

Counsel said his client had had long-standing unaddressed mental health difficulties including depression and anxiety and said he was referred to a GP for help as an older teenager.

People can, for a period of time, seek to keep the cork on the bottle, can operate both professionally and socially that can give no reason for concern but eventually the cork comes out of the bottle and long-overdue issues emerge, Mr Gillane said.

He added that in this case the issues that emerged contributed to devastating consequences for the victim.

It quickly descended into assaults, criminal damage and threats to kill

He asked Judge Nolan to take into account the fact that his client has pleaded guilty, has said he is responsible for what he has done and there is a public acknowledgement of what he has done.

Mr Gillane said his client had not put a foot wrong before this offence and is now stripped of everything that was important to him. He asked the court to consider adjourning the case to allow for a psychological report.

Det Insp Brennan said that while it was a normal relationship from the outset, it quickly descended into assaults, criminal damage and threats to kill.

She was tormented and tortured physically and emotionally by him, Det Insp Brennan said before he outlined the number of text messages, WhatsApp, voice messages and videos sent by the man to the woman from 2017 to the time of the investigation in 2021.

In 2017, there were a total of 5,398 interactions between the pair between May 2017 and December 2017, 4,351 of which were sent by the man to the woman.

One of the mans goals was to isolate the woman from family and friends and to take away her support network at a time when she was going through treatment for terminal cancer

On November 23 that year, there were 399 text messages sent over 10.5 hours, 11 of those messages came from the woman.

In 2018, 8,806 messages were sent and on one day he sent her 628 messages, while in 2019, 15,577 messages were sent.

The following year, 23,920 messages passed between the pair, 20,108 of which were sent by the man and on March 31, 2020, he sent 810 messages over an 18-hour period.

Det Insp Brennan said that these messages do not include the thousands and thousands of phone calls the woman also got from the man.

He said one of the mans goals was to isolate the woman from family and friends and to take away her support network at a time when she was going through treatment for terminal cancer.

He said the man terrorised the womans friends and family who felt he was capable of doing or saying anything about them.

Det Insp Brennan outlined some of what he termed the abusive, threatening and degrading messages the man sent to the woman and to her family and friends.

He often referred to her being riddled with cancer and at one point told her to kill yourself if you like, as cancer is going to kill you anyway.

She had set up a GoFundMe page to allow for her to raise funds for specialist treatment and in some messages he accused her of begging.

Det Insp Brennan said the man was annoyed that the woman would not allow him to access the money raised through her campaign.

The man told her he hoped she died of cancer and the detective inspector said she received a litany of text messages, all of which were abusive, used foul language and had aspirations that she will die in pain, die screaming on the operating theatre.

He said the woman felt if she did what the man wanted her to do, it would put an end to the abuse he was giving her family and friends.

If she went against him there would be a campaign and reign of terror on her family and friends. She had to endure his behaviour to save them, Det Insp Brennan said.

He outlined incidences where the man stole the womans house keys and car keys and caused criminal damage to her home. He took naked photographs of her unbeknownst to her and threatened to put them online or send them to Facebook friends.

He demanded she delete certain male friends as her Facebook friends and sent threatening voice notes that he would break up her car. He threw a brick at her window when she refused to answer her phone one night while she was in bed.

During one incident in November 2017, he followed her in his car and as she was driving onto the slipway on the motorway, he tried to cut in front of her while shouting abuse at her.

In October 2018, there was a huge volume of text messages  over 700 in one day. The woman ultimately messaged him with an emoji of hands placed in a surrendered position, the court heard, with the text: I surrender. I cant do this anymore.

The messaging continued from the man, again referring to her dying a painful death.

In the summer of 2019, he assaulted her after she refused to allow him into the shower with her. He dragged her from the shower and punched and kicked her. She ran downstairs while trying to get dressed and he continued to kick her as she went down the stairs.

She ultimately got dressed, managed to get outside and a woman she knew, who happened to be driving past, brought her to a relatives home. She had a footprint mark on her back.

The following August, he sent her a voice message threatening to stick a knife in her and days later he assaulted her again by attempting to choke her. Another assault involved him holding her up against a wall, choking her and pulling out some of her hair.

During another assault the following month, the woman feared the man would kill her and she climbed out a window to escape her home. A neighbour who heard the attack had already called 999 and the gardai arrived shortly afterwards.

She said the man took away her human rights, her dignity and made her life a living hell

The woman stated in her victim-impact statement: I was one of the strongest girls you could ever meet. I grew up always believing I would never let a man treat me badly or be violent towards me.

She said she could never understand why women would put up with such behaviour, but added: Now I have walked in their shoes, I understand that they didnt have a choice.

She said what she had previously only seen in horror movies suddenly became my life. She said the man took away her human rights, her dignity and made her life a living hell.

She said the her ex-partner told her straight away he was a garda and that made her trust him. He was a very funny, charming guy, pretended to be the perfect gentleman.

They established they had a mutual friend but he later used this friend to get information out of her that she said he then used to charm his way into my life and into my affections.

The woman said they became very close, very quickly and had intimate conversations but he later used these to twist and emotionally blackmail me if I was ever to leave him.

She said he terrified her family so much with the power he had and threatened them. She said he used his position in the force to his advantage to intimidate herself and her family. Everyone was so afraid of the power he had.
Objecting to Glenn Sheridan being freed on bail, police told the Court this illustrate lengths drug gang will go to to get rid of anyone in their way

A man who was tortured, stabbed, beaten and left to die in a freezing field while scantily clothed was allegedly offered 25,000 to withdraw his evidence, a court heard on Tuesday.

Objecting to Glenn Sheridan being freed on bail, police told Antrim Magistrates Court, sitting in Ballymena, the alleged bribe and the offences illustrate the lengths this drug gang will go to to get rid of anyone in their way.

Belfast man Sheridan is one of five defendants accused of kidnap, attempted murder and arson arising from what District Judge Nigel Broderick described as a harrowing set of circumstances.

The five defendants are David Coleman from Fountain Street in Ballymena; Mark Bradshaw (51) from High Street in Ballymena; David Philip Cherry (39), from Waveney Park in Belfast; Sean Davies (39, from Queens Park in Saintfield; and Glen Sheridan (43), of Florence Walk in Belfast.

Cherry and Bradshaw are also accused of possessing class C drug pregabalin, while Davies is accused of having class A drug cocaine.

Police say the man was summoned to Colemans house on October 11 last year. Once there, he was stabbed with a hot knife, had his jaw and skull smashed with a hatchet and was forced to use his own clothes to mop up his blood. He was then forced into the boot of a car and driven to a field outside Ballymena where he was dumped unconscious, wearing just his shoes and boxer shorts.

The court heard previously that according to the police case, the victim was summoned to Colemans flat under the pretence of packing cocaine to repay a debt.

At the house, however, he was forced to hand over his mobile phone and Cherry went through its contents. It is said he provided Mr Coleman with information from the phone to suggest the victim had been hacking customers phones and taking customers from Mr Coleman.

Mr Coleman then assaulted the victim while Sheridan stood laughing in the kitchen encouraging the assault.

Although the man was attacked on October 11, he was not able to make a statement until November 19 because he had been under sedation in ICU. However, he claimed that Coleman had produced a knife, heating it on a gas hob, stabbing the injured party in the chest, close to his heart before slicing his face to the bone.

The court also heard claims the victim was ordered to strip and clean up his own blood and he allegedly heard Coleman make a phone call during which he asked where he could get rid of someone.

While there is no forensic evidence connecting the man to Colemans home, police believe he changed his flooring.

It has been alleged that Sheridan was armed with a hatchet and the knife which he used to threaten the victim and forced him into the boot of a BMW car. With Cherry behind the wheel, they drove the man to the field where Sheridan allegedly used the back end of the hatchet to smash his head and shatter his jaw.

At around 8am, a passing bin lorry spotted the victim. Doctors said the man, who was only seen because of the extra height of the lorry, was within an hour from death from possible hypothermia or blood loss due to the injuries.

In court on Tuesday, defence counsel Aaron Thompson conceded the charges amounted to brutal allegations but that the gravity of the offences was not a bar to bail being granted.

He highlighted that Sheridan has not been in court for anything for 15 years and with the police investigation completed and the file shared with the PPS, the chances of witness interference were slim.

He suggested that Sheridan could be tagged and completely excluded from Ballymena in an effort to assuage police concerns, but the judge said while there has been some delay in progressing the case, its not to the extent that the court should revisit bail.

Remanding Sheridan into custody and adjourning the case to August 18, District Judge Broderick said he still felt there was a risk of further offences and witness interference.
The Dublin woman (29) did nothing to protect her child or seek medical attention when she was allegedly raped aged at the age of two

A mother who recklessly endangered her two children, one of whom is believed to have been raped by her partner as a toddler, has been jailed for five years.

The 29-year-old Dublin woman, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the children, broke down and wept as Judge Patricia Ryan handed down the sentence in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on Tuesday.

The court heard that the woman was aware that one of her children, a little girl aged two at the time of the offences, had been seriously sexually assaulted by her partner but she did nothing to protect her child or seek medical attention for her.

This man, who is not the child's father, is wanted for questioning by gardai and has fled the jurisdiction.

The woman pleaded guilty to two counts of reckless endangerment of her children on dates between April and November 2018 at an address in Dublin. Five further counts of child cruelty were taken into consideration, including one count of the mother punching her son to the face.

Her children were aged two and three at the time of the offending. The woman has no previous convictions.

Sentencing the woman, Judge Ryan said it is clear that the children, who were taken into care, will suffer life-long trauma as a result of the abuse they suffered.

She said the woman failed to get medical attention for her then two-year-old daughter and three-year-old son when they suffered a range of injuries, including a fractured wrist, bite marks and bruising. She noted the woman had admitted to gardai that she witnessed her daughter being abused by her partner and did nothing about it.

The children will have difficulties for the rest of their lives as a result of the trauma they sustained, Judge Ryan said. Handing down a jail term of five years, the judge said: This matter is so grave, a custodial sentence has to be imposed.

A local detective sergeant previously told the court the woman has three children - two of whom are the injured parties in the case.

The court heard that the abuse came to light when the woman brought her daughter to hospital with injuries that were not considered by medical staff to be accidental. The toddler had extensive bruising to her body and gardai and Tusla were informed.

After gardai and social workers called to the home, they observed the little girl was lethargic and depressed, with no energy and was deemed in need of medical attention. The court heard the girl had facial swelling, bruising and symptoms of being grappled with or held firmly.

When doctors attempted to examine her genital area, the mother initially refused to let staff remove her daughter's nappy. When they eventually examined the little girl, they found she had extensive injuries to her vagina.

The woman initially told gardai this was a result of her partner rubbing the little girl's bottom too vigorously when she had diarrhoea.

Doctors concluded the child had been a victim of physical and sexual abuse and would likely suffer lifelong problems, both physically and mentally. They were unable to say if this significant trauma was caused by an object or the insertion of a part of another person's body, the court heard.

Evidence was given that the boy had been punched and bitten and was bruised when examined. He made reference to the monster biting him which was the woman's partner, the court heard. Creche workers expressed concern about the children being covered in bite marks and bruises.

Padraig Dwyer SC, defending, handed in a psychologist report to the court outlining the woman's history. The court heard the woman's father was an alcoholic and she moved away with her mother as a child.

The woman lived abroad for a period of time and was the alleged victim of a rape. The case went to court but both of the accused men were acquitted, Mr Dwyer said.

The woman has a history of drug and alcohol abuse and has had a number of troubled and violent relationships with men, the court heard. The man who allegedly sexually abused her daughter has left the jurisdiction and is on the run from the law, Mr Dwyer said.

The mother has shown remorse and insight into her offending, Mr Dwyer said. She poses no danger to society and hopes to be reunited with her children one day.

The woman wept in court throughout the sentence hearing.
Fraudster says he is opti-mystic about life  despite pleading guilty to two new charges.

Gold, who this week pleaded guilty to two further fraud charges for which he will be sentenced in November, told the Sunday World theres no such thing as bad publicity and he plans to return to doing psychic readings now that hes out of prison.

Self-proclaimed psychic Gold shot to fame in Ireland when he launched Astrology Ireland  the countrys first fortune-telling service over the phone.

He billed himself as Irelands leading seventh generation psychic, astrologer and tarot master and charged 4 a minute to those willing to part with their cash for his services.

Speaking to the Sunday World this week, Gold said he was confident he wont spend any more time behind bars on the latest charges and that hes getting used to be being out of prison.

He is currently serving a seven-and-a-half year sentence for the laundering of 1.6 million, deception and control of false instruments.

The smooth-talking fraudster, who operated under several aliases, swindled money from desperate business people looking for loans during the financial crash.

He appeared in court on Friday, where he pleaded guilty to two fresh deception charges in relation to two bank accounts he opened in 2017 and 2018.

When Gold (57), with an address at Windy Ridge House, Athlone, Co. Westmeath, appeared in court, Judge Martin Nolan appeared surprised that he was not in prison. Time flies, he said to Gold, before setting a sentencing date of November 22.

Simon Gold pleaded guilty to two charges related to money-laundering

Speaking to the Sunday World after his court appearance Gold, who had been in prison since May 2018, said he recently got out of prison on licence to serve the remainder of his sentence on community return.

Youre eligible for community return from halfway through your sentence. I did four years before I got out, so it was over half, he said.

The years have actually flown in. Listen  dont worry, justice has been served and the public are quite safe Im out.

Even the judge was surprised. Hes not the worst by the way. Hes a fair judge.

Gold, who had previously escaped from custody in the UK, joked: Did you think Id escaped or something?

Simon Gold says he may take up psychic reading again

Before his conviction on the 1.6m money- laundering charges, Gold, who was involved in fraud and dodgy business practices for years, had 17 previous convictions, 12 of which were in the UK. These include convictions for burglary, theft, larceny and escaping from lawful custody.

Its over and done with now. As far as Im concerned, Ive paid my price. I dont have hundreds of victims out there looking for my blood, hopefully.

Im going to rebuild my life. It is what it is. Im not bitching about it. I got the sentence the judge thought was appropriate and I think hes a very fair judge.

Gold said prison was, at times, difficult.

I did find it tough inside but, you know what, its meant to be. The first three years were spent in Cloverhill, which was terrible. That was a nightmare. I was on remand for 15 months.

Then I was in Mountjoy, which is a sh*t hole, and then Shelton Abbey for the last year and Shelton Abbey is lovely. They treated me well. Really, some people dont want to leave Shelton Abbey, its that nice.

He said prisoners in Shelton Abbey are given a chance to reintegrate into society before their release.

In Shelton Abbey, guys can go out on work release, get jobs, earn a proper wage and then by the time they get fully released they either have a new skill or a work ethic and they have money.

Theyre not back to scoring drugs.

Gold said he has no intention to return to a life a crime and hopes to return to doing psychic readings provided he gets approvals from the probation service.

I am basically all about getting up on my feet now. Im 57 years of age. Ill be 58 on the day Im sentenced. I think well leave the money-laundering aside. With all the publicity you guys give me maybe I should [return to psychic readings]. Yeah I am going back to the psychic readings.

Asked if he thought people would be sceptical of his psychic abilities given hes a convicted fraudster, he said: Theres no such thing as bad publicity. They might say you never saw that one coming. I was opti-Mystic about my appeal, Ive heard them all.

He said that he didnt kill anyone, so should be able to get on with his life.

Were not a bad country, are we? We give people a second chance.

Sometimes I feel like maybe I did [murder somebody] because I got seven-and-a-half years. Sometimes its hard to reconcile the fact there are people committing heinous violent, disgusting crimes and theyre getting released on bail. Violent offences dont seem to attract long enough in prison.

He said while hed prefer the latest charges were dealt with previously, hes not overly concerned about them.

They were two charges when they arrested me for two bank accounts that were frozen for the last four years. I was happy to sign the bank accounts over.

Simon Gold pleaded guilty to two charges related to money-laundering

As part of his community return he does two days community work a week and reports regularly to the probation services and the Irish Prison Service.

Its probably not a bad thing either, after a few years it takes a while to adjust.

The self-proclaimed psychic predicted he wouldnt be spending any more time behind bars on the latest charges.

Itll be suspended dont worry about that.
Paul Mooney (34), of Ring Street, Inchicore, pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court today

A second Dublin man has pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to possession of a semi-automatic handgun in connection with the attempted murder of a mother who was left paralysed after a shooting at her home in the city last year.

Mother-of-one Sinead Connolly was shot while her eight-year-old daughter hid under the kitchen table in their home at Bernard Curtis House apartments in Bluebell, Dublin 12, in March of last year.

Ms Connolly suffered paralysis below the chest as a result of her injuries.

She told the court that the gunman - Dean McCarthy (33) - was "an evil, sadistic and cowardly bully" who led a campaign of abuse against her before leaving her permanently paralysed in the attempted gun murder, which had "obliterated" her and her family's lives.

Gardai at the scene of the shooting that left Sinead paralysed

On Tuesday at the Central Criminal Court, Paul Mooney (34), with an address at Ring Street, Inchicore, Dublin 8 pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm and ammunition, to wit, a G9A Grand Power semi-automatic handgun and Luger Barnaul ammunition, in such circumstances as to give rise to a reasonable inference that he had not got it in his possession for a lawful purpose at Bernard Curtis House, Bluebell in Dublin 12 on March 6, 2021.

Last May, Joseph Byrne (33), with an address at La Touche Road, Bluebell, Dublin 12 pleaded guilty to possession of the same firearm with intent to endanger life in Bluebell on the same date.

Byrne also pleaded guilty to having in his possession Luger Barnaul ammunition, in such circumstances as to give rise to a reasonable inference that he had not got in his possession for a lawful purpose on the same occasion.

Sinead

Byrne's sentence hearing will take place on Friday.

Prosecution counsel Anne-Marie Lawlor SC told Mr Justice David Keane today that the victim Ms Connolly is confined to a wheelchair and that she [Ms Connolly] was anxious to get the matter disposed of.

The matter was listed for mention on October 4 and Mooney was remanded on continuing bail.

Last April, Dean McCarthy was jailed for 15 years after he pleaded guilty to Ms Connolly's attempted murder on March 6, 2021.
Paul Moody told the woman the only reason he had visited her while in hospital was to watch you bleed to death

The 43-year-old woman told Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on Monday how her former partner Paul Moody told her the only reason he had visited her while in hospital was to watch you bleed to death.

She was giving her victim impact statement in the sentence hearing of the 42-year-old man who harassed, threatened, assaulted, stole from and controlled the woman for over four years after they met online in 2017.

The court heard that the man sent the woman over 30,000 messages over those years and in one 14-hour period, in July 2018, sent her 652 messages, amounting to one message every 90 seconds.

The messages were described in court as threatening, vile and abusive. In one message he described her as being riddled with cancer, in another, while she was on holiday without him, he said he hoped she would get raped and bleed.

In another, after they had a row while on holiday together, he messaged her the following morning and said she was flaunting your body around the pool calling her a dirtbox and a scumbag.

The man threatened to stick a knife in her in one voice message.

He also took photos of her naked, unbeknownst to her and threatened to post them online.

Moody of St Raphaels Manor, Celbridge, Kildare, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to a charge of coercive control in relation to the woman within the state on dates between January 1, 2019 and November 30, 2020.

The law for the offence came into effect in January 2019.

Sentencing him today Judge Martin Nolan noted that the maximum sentence available to the court for this offence is five years.

He said Moody's behaviour was at the highest end of the offence but the court had to take Moody's guilty plea into consideration and he reduced a five year headline sentence to three years and three months.

Paul Moody. Photo: Collins Courts

He said Moody had carried out a catalogue of vile and humiliating criminal misbehaviour. He said he abused his position as a garda to obtain information which he used to harass and humiliate the victim and he also endangered her life by driving recklessly at one point.

The guilty plea was accepted on the basis of full facts in relation to a further 19 counts including harassment, assault causing harm, criminal damage, threats to cause criminal damage, endangerment, theft and threats to kill.

Moody joined the gardai in 2000 but was suspended from duty in March 2021, following a search of his home arising out of this investigation.

Sean Gillane SC, defending, told the court that his client will resign from An Garda Siochana.

Detective Inspector Cormac Brennan told Shane Costello SC, prosecuting, that an investigation was launched against the man after he made a complaint about one of the womans relatives and handed in his own phone to allow for it to be examined in the context of that allegation.

Officers became concerned that there was an abusive relationship between himself and the victim and they arranged to meet the woman. She later made a statement of complaint, which ran to 280 pages.

The book of evidence also includes 1GB of electronic data, communication between him and the woman, which counsel said equates to 33,000 pages of information or almost two volumes of the Encyclopaedia Britannica.

The woman took to the stand to read her victim impact statement in which she outlined how, after an initial normal relationship with a charming and funny man, he slowly and surely broke her down.

I was not just fighting cancer. I was up against a monster who would take away any chance I had of surviving, she said.

She said she couldnt battle cancer and a war with him. I always thought if I could get better, I could get away from him.

I believed he was going to kill me so many times. I can feel the weight of him on my body, choking me, ripping out my hair from the roots. I was afraid to show vulnerability as that was when he attacked me the most, the woman continued.

She said he was aware of how weak and sick she was from chemotherapy and described him stealing her cancer medication, knowing that she couldnt afford to replace it.

She described an occasion of driving to hospital with Moody in the passenger seat. He became verbally abusive and she pulled over to let him to get out. He then took her hospital bag with him.

Paul Moody arriving at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court for his sentence hearing. Photo: Collins Courts

Later he came to the hospital. He told her that the only reason he was there was so he could watch you bleed to death. Moody began to record her and she asked that he be removed from the hospital.

The was the last straw..that is the day he broke me, she said.

The woman said she felt like Moody knew what was going on in her mind because he had access to her phone.

It felt like my mind was broken glass. I didnt know what was right or wrong anymore because he was breaking my mind, the woman continued.

She said she can no longer walk past a garda or a garda station without feeling physically sick and described how "the process to get justice has taken its toll.

My time is very precious as I dont know how much time I have left, the woman said before she added that the mental abuse she suffered was worse than the violence. He was beyond evil with his words.

I thought having cancer was the worst thing that ever happened me but I believe he is worse than any cancer. I couldnt endure any more pain and torture from this man, the woman said before she added that she had considered taking her own life.

He has robbed me of so much that I cannot get back. I was ashamed of what I put up with from him. The shame and judgement from other people allows the abuser to get away with so much, the woman said.

Women are afraid to tell the truth. I have survived him with cancer, so I want others to know they can too. The woman concluded her statement by encouraging other people in a similar position to come forward.

On Monday Judge Nolan had adjourned the case overnight to allow him to consider an application by Mr Gillane to adjourn the case pending the preparation of a psychological report. He said if he refuses the adjournment he will proceed to sentence.

The man was remanded in custody pending that decision after counsel said his client was prepared to have his bail revoked.

Today Judge Nolan said a psychological report was not necessary It is inconceivable to me that it would change in any way my decision by reason of the five-year maximum penalty, the judge commented.

Mr Gillane asked Judge Nolan to accept that his client had given 20 years of service to An Garda Siochana during which he did good and difficult work but accepted that the man has brought dishonour to himself and the organisation.

Being a garda was something that he always wanted to be and it was regarded by him as a great achievement and very, very important to him. He added that it was an essential part of his identity and sense of self.

Mr Gillane said there was nothing in his clients work and upbringing either personally, professionally or otherwise for anyone to suspect or conclude that he would end up in court for something as upsetting or serious as this.

Counsel said his client had had long standing unaddressed mental health difficulties including depression and anxiety and said he was referred to a GP for help as an older teenager.

People can, for a period of time, seek to keep the cork on the bottle, can operate both professionally and socially that can give no reason for concern but eventually the cork comes out of the bottle and long overdue issues emerge, Mr Gillane said.

He added that in this case the issues that emerged contributed to devastating consequences for the victim.

He asked Judge Nolan to take into account the fact that his client has pleaded guilty, has said he is responsible for what he has done and there is a public acknowledgement of what he has done.

Mr Gillane said his client had not put a foot wrong before this offence and is now stripped of everything that was important to him.

Speaking on the steps of the Criminal Courts of Justice in Dublin city, Detective Inspector Cormac Brennan said that he wanted to acknowledge the extreme bravery and courage of the complainant.

"We want to thank you for speaking up and telling your story. You can be proud of your immense personal courage, self-esteem and resilience. In taking that step to speak to An Garda Siochana, to trust An Garda Siochana, and to follow through with your case.

"You have shown to any other person out there in an abusive and controlling relationship that when an abusive partner says no one will believe you they are wrong."

He said that coercive control was a degrading act of control which could be overwhelming for the victim.

"Coercive control is about power, is about isolating a partner, about breaking that person down, is a heinous degrading reign of control. Coercive control is overwhelming and that power is even more overwhelming where the abusive activity is by an abuser who appears to hold profession or a position of respect from the community such as in this case, a member of An Garda Siochana."

He urged anyone who was in an abusive relationship to take the first step and speak to somebody about what was happening to them.

"To any person in an abusive relationship, you have done nothing wrong. You do not need to accept it. You are not alone. Please take that first step and speak to somebody; a guard, a support helpline, a family relative or a friend. You will be believed.

"An Garda Siochana is committed to tackling domestic abuse. It does not matter who the abuser is. If you speak to us you will be dealt with empathetically, professionally and with respect. We will advise and support you in whatever way you want to deal with your individual case. Please take that first step and speak to someone today."

The detective also acknowledged the professionalism of the garda investigation team and the legal team in investigating and prosecuting this case and the Courts Service and support groups who assisted the case.
How an international hitman-for-hire was brought down by the Irish authorities

Sam 'Skelly' McCrory was one of Northern Ireland's most feared terrorists

THEY remain Irelands most notorious loyalist terrorists, but 'Mad Dog' Johnny Adair and his right-hand man Sam Skelly McCrory had been enjoying a retirement of sorts in Scotland.

Friends since childhood, they had embraced anarchy, fascism and later formed the murderous UDA 'C Company' which terrorised Northern Ireland for years.

But this week, the tight-knit duo were finally separated for good when McCrory died in a tragic accident after battling alcoholism for years, leaving behind Adair to forge his future alone.

Nicola Tallant talks with Sunday World journalist Hugh Jordan, author of 'Mad Dog; The Rise and Fall of Johnny Adair and C Company', who became an unlikely confidant of the pair in recent years.

He tells me about the fear they brought to the streets of Belfast, about their blood-brother bond which survived through the decades, and about the death of McCrory on a lonely stone stairway

.

Crime Word Podcast can be found on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts and Soundcloud.

MORE EPISODES 
Mr Martens, a former FBI agent, and his daughter, Molly were unanimously convicted of Mr Corbett's second-degree murder in 2017

Authorities in the USA have said they are hopeful the wife of an Irishman and her father-in-laws retrial will be before the end of the year.

Molly Martens and Thomas Martens beat Jason Corbett, a packaging executive born in Limerick, to death in his luxury home Winston-Salem in North Carolina in August 2015.

The pair say they acted in self-defence and were convicted of second degree degree murder in 2017.

Mr Corbetts children are both back in Ireland being raised by their aunt.

Last year a court in North Carolina overturned the verdict and both Molly and Thomas were released.

Mr Martens, a former FBI agent, and his daughter, Molly, who was Jason Corbett's second wife, were unanimously convicted of Mr Corbett's second-degree murder after a five-week trial in August 2017.

They received 20 to 25-year prison sentences but subsequently won a retrial after a challenge to the North Carolina Court of Appeal and then North Carolina Supreme Court.

Both served three-and-a-half years in prison before being freed.

However, a backlog of cases due to the Covid-19 crisis has meant the retrial has been delayed.

Michael Hewlett of the Winston-Salem Journal reported the District Attorney said they are trying to work out maybe a date in August to have this hearing.

And hes hoping that within the next week or so that date might be finalised.

Theyre hoping to have a hearing next month where attorneys would gather, they would be able to figure out a trial date.

He added that the District Attorney is hopeful that a trial could be held sometime this year.
The 6-year-old was found dead in her home on December 26th 1996.

A scientist has said that she is confident that the killer of 6-year-old JonBenet Ramsey could be identified within a matter of hours.

Americas leading genetic genealogist Cece Moore has said she is confident she could solve the mystery if police in Colorado release DNA found on the young girls body.

One crucial piece of evidence found on her underwear was the DNA of an unknown male.

Her father John Bennett Ramsey is petitioning for police to release the DNA sample so that it can undergo testing at the private laboratory Parabon Nanolabs where Cece Moore, who has helped solve almost 100 cases, is the head of the genealogy unit.

It might only be a matter of hours before that DNA contributor is identified, Moore told 60 Minutes Australia.

The process would involve comparing the DNA to other profiles taken during consumer DNA testing and then uploaded open database GEDmatch.

If the killers profile is already in the system, the match can be made automatically.

However, if their DNA profile is not available, Cece and her team of genealogists would be able to build a family tree in order to track down the suspect, which could take months.

There are people all over the world that want to see her killer brought to justice, who want to know what happened, and who want the answers, Moore added.

"People write to me every day and ask why I havent solved it I cant solve it if I dont have access to the DNA.

In a petition to Colorado governor Jared Polis, the family of the young girl begged him to help.

Jared Polis, you are the only person with enough power and independence in the state to put Ramsey DNA testing decisions in the hands of a new agency thats free from Boulders significant history with the case.

Since her death in 1996, advances in DNA have allowed for testing of even trace amounts of severely degraded samples, the petition continues.

Combined with innovation in fornsic genetic genealogy (which led to the arrest of the Golden State Killer), new arrests and identifications in cold cases are happening across the country at an unprecedented rate.

Explaining the process of using genetic genealogy, Paul Holes, who pioneered the technique to solve the Golden State Killer case previously told Sunday World: With genetic genealogy, first you have to have a DNA profile of your offender, or the person youre looking for. With the Golden State Killer, he had left DNA behind.

Taking your DNA sample you get a special DNA type profile, not a law enforcement style profile, but a profile used by ancestry websites, in order to link relatives together in their database.

Once the profile is created, ancestry websites can be searched for any matches that share DNA with the person youre looking for.

Of course there's a lot of privacy issues that people are concerned about, but I have to really emphasise that I, as a law enforcement officer, during this process, never had access to anyones genetic information in these databases.

I am no different than a typical user of an ancestry website, getting an email saying we found a third cousin.

All it does is give me this random list of say 10 third cousins of the Golden State Killer, at this point it is then pure genealogy work, anybody can do this.

You just start building family trees of the people in the list, Holes explained.

JonBenet, who was a child pageant queen was found dead in the basement of her home in Boulder, Colorado on the morning of December 26th 1996.

Her body was discovered by her father just hours after the family awoke to a strange ransom note explaining that she had been kidnapped for ransom by a small foreign faction.

The note warned the family not to contact police and demanded $118,000.

However, it appears the young girl never made it out of her home before she was bludgeoned and strangled to death.

Her death was ruled a homicide, but nobody has ever been convicted of her murder.
Criminal Logan Jackson has requested a transfer to England to serve out his sentence near his family

The mother of champion Limerick boxer Kevin Sheehy who was murdered in a deliberate hit and run three years ago, has won the right to bring a challenge aimed at preventing her sons killer being transferred to a UK prison to be near his family.

Tracey Tully, whose 20-year old son had been tipped to represent Ireland at the 2024 Olympic Games, is seeking a High Court order preventing Coventry criminal Logan Jackson, who is serving a life sentence for the murder, being repatriated to England to serve out the remainder of his sentence near his family.

At the High Court this morning, Ms Justice Siobhan Phelan, granted Ms Tully leave to appeal in a judicial review action aimed at challenging a decision by the Minster for Justice Helen McEntees to sanction the prison transfer, last March.

The transfer has been put on hold pending the outcome of the action.

Kevin Sheehy was a talented boxer   SPORTSFILE

Jackson, (31), denied Mr Sheehys murder but admitted manslaughter, and was jailed for life in December 2021 after a jury at the Central Criminal Court unanimously rejected his defence of provocation.

The court heard Jackson, of Longford Road, Coventry, attempted to lead Gardai on a merry dance with a tapestry of self-serving lies, and that Mr Sheehy, a five times national champion, was an innocent victim.

Ms Tully said she had not been made aware of Jacksons transfer request nor had she being immediately informed of the transfer being sanctioned only three months into Jacksons life sentence.

Ms Tullys application is being opposed by legal representatives of the minister and Jackson, who is a notice to the proceedings.

Ms Tullys barrister, Arthur Griffin BL, instructed by Sinead Nolan of Mark Murphy solicitors, has claimed that if the transfer goes ahead, Ms Tully will not have a say, nor be able to make submissions to the UK authorities should Jackson apply for parole.

logan jackson

Mr Griffin has also argued that the transfer now would breach Ms Tullys rights under the 2017 Victim of Crime Act; that it is unconstitutional; and that it is an abdication of the Irish States responsibility to determine when a person serving a life sentence may be paroled.

Speaking today, Ms Nolan described the first part of her clients application as 100pc success.

Ms Nolan said she felt confident the court would ultimately find in Ms Tullys favour.

Speaking after todays judgement was delivered online, Ms Tully, said: Im very good today, delighted with the news that we got, its great.

Im overwhelmed, Im very proud of myself to be honest to get this far, I had no idea what way it was going to go this morning, so I can breathe a little easier now, yes, Im very happy with the decision.

The Ministers decision was made without any consideration to any member of my sons family, and I just think the way it was handled was very disrespectful to victims families, and we have rights.

Im very proud of myself today because the day that I heard about the transfer decision I only had a month to try and figure out what was actually happening and to try and to try and stop this, and today now I am very proud.

Im just waiting on Kevins daughter and my granddaughter, Kevaeh, who was born shortly after Kevin was murdered, to come over to the house and play all day happily. I believe my Kevin was working with us today, the 26th of September is his birthday and I hoped that the 26th would come with some good news.

Kevin is always with me, I feel that, I wouldn't be able to do it without him. I feel we are being heard now, Im very thankful to the judge today."

A date for a hearing to make a final decision will be fixed at the end of this week.
It is with great sadness that the family of Lord Trimble announce that he passed away peacefully earlier today following a short illness

In a statement on behalf of the Trimble family, the UUP said: It is with great sadness that the family of Lord Trimble announce that he passed away peacefully earlier today following a short illness.

Lord Trimble was one of the principal architects of the Belfast Agreement ending decades of conflict in Northern Ireland and jointly won the Nobel Peace Prize along with SDLP leader John Hume.

The Co Down man distinguished himself in an academic career in the law faculty at the Queens University Belfast before moving into politics.

He initially became involved in the unionist offshoot organisation Vanguard in the early 1970s and while he was best known for his involvement with the Belfast Agreement, in his younger days he had opposed an earlier attempt, the Sunningdale Agreement.

He went on to join the then dominant Ulster Unionist Party in 1978.

The current leader of the Ulster Unionist Party has led tributes on Monday evening.

Doug Beattie said there will be deep sadness throughout Northern Ireland and further afield.

David Trimble was a man of courage and vision, he added.

He chose to grasp the opportunity for peace when it presented itself and sought to end the decades of violence that blighted his beloved Northern Ireland.

He will forever be associated with the leadership he demonstrated in the negotiations that led up to the 1998 Belfast Agreement.

The bravery and courage he demonstrated whilst battling his recent illness was typical of the qualities he showed in his political career, at Stormont and at Westminster.

We need your consent to load this Social Media content. We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review your details and accept them to load the content

He will be remembered as a First Minister, as a Peer of the Realm and as a Nobel Prize Winner. He will also be remembered as a great Unionist.

On behalf of the Ulster Unionist Party, and with a very heavy heart, I would like to extend my deepest sympathies to his wife Lady Trimble and his children, Richard, Victoria, Sarah and Nicholas.

Sinn Fein vice president Michelle ONeill has offered her condolences to the Trimble family.

"It is with genuine regret that I have learned of the passing of former First Minister, David Trimble, she said.

"I wish to offer my sincere condolences to his wife Daphne, their four children and wider family circle who will feel his loss deeply.

David Trimbles very significant contribution to the peace process and his courage in helping achieve the Good Friday Agreement leaves a legacy a quarter century on which he and his family can be rightly proud of.

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said he is deeply saddened as he hailed Lord Timbles huge contribution to our society.

Throughout some of the most difficult years of the Troubles David was a committed and passionate advocate for the Union, at a time when doing so placed a considerable threat to his safety, he said.

Whilst our political paths parted within the Ulster Unionist Party, there can be no doubting his bravery and determination in leadership at that time.

He was a committed and passionate unionist who always wanted the best for Northern Ireland.

Sir Jeffrey said Lord Trimble used his political skill and intellect even in recent times citing his support of the Brexit and opposition to the Northern Ireland Protocol as examples.

As a Nobel laureate, his words carried significant weight and he helped raise awareness of the threat the protocol posed to Northern Ireland, particularly amongst the wider UK audience, he added.

He leaves a huge and lasting legacy to Northern Ireland.

He can undoubtedly be said to have shaped history in our country.

Meanwhile TUV leader Jim Allister expressed sadness as he offered his condolences.

I am greatly saddened to learn of the passing of Lord David Trimble and wish to express to Lady Trimble and the family sincere condolences, he said.

Though politically we fundamentally disagreed over the Belfast Agreement, latterly as joint applicants in the Judicial Review challenge to the Protocol we shared a common determination to rid Northern Ireland of this iniquitous assault on our constitutional position.

David had a very clear and correct view of the dangers and unacceptability of the Protocol.

I have known David and Daphne Trimble since my university days when David was one of my lecturers and Daphne was a fellow student in my law year.

As a couple throughout their married life Daphne gave exemplary support to David and in his declining health was a tower of strength to him.

"So, in losing David, Daphne has suffered a great loss and Northern Ireland has lost a foremost thinker within unionism.

SDLP leader Colum Eastwood paid tribute to the man who left an indelible mark on our shared islands story.

Over the course of his political career but particularly in difficult years of the Good Friday Agreement negotiations he demonstrated immense courage and took political risks that sustained the life of our fledgling peace process, he said.

He doesnt often enough get credit for it but without David Trimbles fortitude, there would simply have been no agreement.

The image of David and Seamus Mallon walking through Poyntzpass together in 1998 to comfort the families of Damien Trainor and Philip Allen is an enduring icon of the peace process that inspired a whole generation of people who wanted, and needed, to believe that our shared future could be different from our divided past.

It is my enduring memory of his commitment to reconciliation.

Mr Eastwood said his thoughts and prayers are with Mr Trimbles family.

I hope they are comforted by the immense legacy that David left to the people of Northern Ireland, he said.

Alliance leader Naomi Long also offered her sympathy to Lord Trimbles family, friends and former colleagues as she reflected on his achievements.

Lord Trimbles greatest legacy to his political career is the Good Friday Agreement and the risks he took to both help achieve it, and ensuring the resulting Assembly remained during its unsteady early days, she said.

It was at times an unenviable role.

His contribution to the peace process and the ending of violence in our society helped secure his place in history.

My condolences go to Lord Trimbles family.

Former Alliance leader David Ford has expressed his personal sadness.

He [Lord Trimble] led his party to  with others  reaching the Good Friday Agreement and deserves all the credit he received for his part in the peace process, Mr Ford said.

Northern Ireland would be a much poorer place without his achievements.

I join in expressing sympathy to Daphne and to their family and colleagues."
The court heard Savannah Daisley was severely intoxicated at the time of the alleged offending

A glamorous entrepreneur, fitness influencer and heiress in Australia allegedly told a 14-year-old boy she allegedly slept with that their conversations should be locked in a chest and put in the depths of the ocean.

Savannah Daisley (45), who has over 40,000 followers on Instagram, appeared in a Sydney court accused of four counts of having sexual intercourse with the boy.

The alleged incidents happened in May 2021.

Ms Daisley has been arrested by the child abuse unit in Australia

The court was told that there was a strong prosecution case against Daisley, who is the daughter of a renowned horse breeder, Ross Daisley.

Mr Daisley bred and trained a champion horse called Choisir who became the first Australian-trained winner of the Group One King's Stand Stakes.

The court heard Savannah Daisley was severely intoxicated at the time of the alleged offending.

A prosecutor said a legal phone tap was placed on the phone of Ms Daisley, in which she is said to have made admissions about the incidents.

The police prosecutor also told the court one incident was not a spontaneous act and that she had allegedly described her feelings to the boy before the incident occurred.

The prosecutor then said Ms Daisley had acted on those feelings.

She added: From the phone call there certainly is inferences that can be drawn in respect of admissions, while they may not be outright admissions.

Following on from the apologies she continues to what we say influence the complainant in respect of the offending.

She then goes on in an attempt to shift the blame.

She seeks reassurance from the child, she accepts what the potential ramifications are going to be.

Now shes guilt-tripping this child.

Ms Daisleys legal representative said her client should not be remanded because prison is the worst its ever been" and cited the national death toll for Covid.

It was also heard that Ms Daisley was allegedly blacking out due to alcohol consumption at the time, but the magistrate released her on bail on a $100,000 (68,600) surety.
Three Court of Appeal judges on Monday upheld a ruling by a High Court judge who had decided that doctors could lawfully stop treating Archie Battersbee.

The mother of Archie Battersbee, Hollie Dance speaks to the media outside the Royal Courts of Justice, London. The parents of Archie, 12, have lost their appeal to prevent their son's life support being switched off. Picture date: Monday July 25, 2022.   PA

The mother of Archie Battersbee, Hollie Dance (centre) speaks to the media outside the Royal Courts of Justice, London. The parents of Archie, 12, have lost their appeal to prevent their son's life support being switched off. Picture date: Monday July 25, 2022.   PA

Archie Battersbee's father, Paul Battersbee, leaves the Royal Courts Of Justice in London, after asking the Court of Appeal judges to overturn a ruling by High Court judge Mr Justice Hayden, who decided that life-support treatment for their 12-year-old son who suffered a "devastating" brain injury could stop. Picture date: Thursday July 21, 2022.   PA

Three Court of Appeal judges in London have upheld a ruling by a High Court judge, who had decided that doctors could lawfully stop treating Archie.

The parents of a 12-year-old British boy left in a comatose state after suffering brain damage aim to ask judges at the European Court of Human Rights to intervene after losing the latest round of a treatment fight in London, a lawyer says.

Three Court of Appeal judges on Monday upheld a ruling by a High Court judge who had decided that doctors could lawfully stop treating Archie Battersbee.

Archies parents, Hollie Dance and Paul Battersbee  who are separated but both live in Southend, Essex, had mounted an appeal bid and argued that Mr Justice Hayden had made errors after High Court hearing.

A lawyer representing them said after the appeal ruling that their fight would continue.

Archies family are devastated, said David Foster, who is based at law firm Moore Barlow.

The family maintain that fair and proper balance was not carried out when looking at Archies best interests and will appeal directly to the European Court of Human Rights, or the United Nations, as a result.

Ms Dance had asked appeal judges to adjourn their ruling.

She said she had seen indications that Archie, who is attached to a ventilator, had twice tried to breathe for himself in the last few days.

The mother of Archie Battersbee, Hollie Dance speaks to the media outside the Royal Courts of Justice, London.   PA

Judges were also told that Mr Battersbee had been taken ill outside court before the start of the hearing.

Barrister Edward Devereux QC, who led Archies parents legal team, told judges that Mr Battersbee, who is in his 50s, had been taken to hospital and was feared to have suffered a heart attack or stroke.

But appeal judges Sir Andrew McFarlane, the president of the Family Division of the High Court and most senior family court judge in England and Wales, Lady Justice King and Lord Justice Peter Jackson, said it was in Archies best interests that their ruling was delivered as planned.

Mr Foster said Archies parents now also intended to apply back to Mr Justice Hayden and ask him to review his decision in the light of the new evidence about Archie breathing.

Archie Battersbee's father, Paul Battersbee, leaves the Royal Courts Of Justice in London   PA

We will continue this fight, said Ms Dance after the appeal ruling.

We are discussing options with our lawyers.

She said she thought appeal judges should have adjourned the ruling once they knew that Mr Battersbee was ill, and added: I do think it was insensitive.

Ms Dance said Mr Battersbee was having checks and would stay in hospital overnight.

Mr Justice Hayden delivered a ruling recently after reviewing evidence at a hearing in the Family Division of the High Court in London.

He described what had happened to Archie as a tragedy of immeasurable dimensions, but said medical evidence was compelling and unanimous and painted a bleak picture.

Archies parents wanted the appeal court to remit the case to another High Court judge for another hearing.

They complained that Mr Justice Hayden had based his decision on Archies medical best interests, not his best interests in the wider sense.

The mother of Archie Battersbee, Hollie Dance (centre) speaks to the media outside the Royal Courts of Justice, London.   PA

But Sir Andrew said Archies parents challenge had no reasonable prospect of success.

It is clear to me that (Mr Justice Hayden) discharged the important responsibility laid upon him carefully, he said.

I do not accept there is any prospect of the decision being shown to be wrong or unjust.

Lady Justice King and Lord Justice Jackson said they agreed.

Judges have heard how Ms Dance found Archie unconscious with a ligature over his head on April 7.

She thinks he might have been taking part in an online challenge.

The youngster has not regained consciousness.

Doctors treating Archie at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel, east London, think he is brain-stem dead and say continued life-support treatment is not in his best interests.

Bosses at the hospitals governing trust, Barts Health NHS Trust, had asked for decisions on what medical moves were in Archies best interests.

Another High Court judge, Mrs Justice Arbuthnot, initially considered the case and concluded that Archie was dead.

But Court of Appeal judges upheld a challenge by his parents against decisions taken by Mrs Justice Arbuthnot and said the evidence should be reviewed by Mr Justice Hayden.
Members of the armed forces, media and public came together to celebrate the life and accomplishments of Charlie Bird

Lillian McGovern of IMNDA with Charlie Bird and partner Claire and their dog Tiger, and Stephanie Manahan of Pieta. Picture: Robbie Reynolds

Stephanie Manahan of Pieta, Charlie Bird and Lillian McGovern of the Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association. Picture: Collins

Members of the armed forces, media and public came together to celebrate the life and accomplishments of Charlie Bird today as he handed over the 3 million fundraised during the momentous climb up Croagh Patrick.

The former RTE broadcaster celebrated the ceremony with his wife Claire and loyal dog Tiger at Merrion Square Park this morning, surrounded by close friends and admirers from all walks of life, including presenter Joe Duffy, Defence Forces chief of staff Sean Clancy and Father Charles McDonnell of the Westport Parish.

Speaking directly to Charlie, Duffy compared him to George Bernard Shaw and celebrated Charlies incredible days as an investigative journalist for RTE, days we should remember with great gratitude.

You have generated a feeling in this country Charlie, and you did it in less than a year. This feeling is what we will all remember most, Duffy said.

Lt Gen Clancy of the Defence Forces said he stood in awe of the triumph of what Charlie achieved in the past year.

Speaking on Charlies appearance on The Late Late Show, he praised Charlies courage, determination, and resilience.

"These are values and attributes that we, in the Defence Forces, try to espouse. But they were just jumping out of the television that day, he said.

What has followed since has had an enormous impact on society as a whole.

The second of April was indeed a great triumph. But it was a triumph not only for the money and the fundraising, but because of the courage and a spirit which it symbolised. It is no doubt that it will be etched in our memories and our experiences for a lifetime, Lt Gen Clancy said.

Chief executive of the Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association (IMNDA) Lillian McGovern thanked Charlie for reaching out the hand of friendship and presented him with a framed piece of two hands joined together in friendship.

Lillian McGovern of IMNDA with Charlie Bird and partner Claire and their dog Tiger, and Stephanie Manahan of Pieta. Picture: Robbie Reynolds

Chief executive of Pieta Stephanie McGovern communicated a similar sentiment, saying that Charlie was and always will be a member of the Pieta family.

Father McDonnell compared Charlie to the statue of a Celtic warrior that he and Claire had presented to the people of Westport.

We are here today to acknowledge and to thank our own warrior who has brought us to this place, he said.

"A man who out of his weakness and in tremendous strength, not just motivated the country but brought the country alive again. At a time when we were coming out of winter, coming out of darkness and coming out of Covid. He really ignited something in us all.

Charlie and Claire and Tiger you've become our friends.

Along with presenting two cheques of 1,680,000 each to the IMNDA and Pieta, Charlie and those present were treated to live music from the Army Band 2 Brigade from Athlone.

Charlie even indulged in conducting the brass band for a song, surprising Claire and his friends. A fitting act for a man who conducted the national mood by leading this act of charity.

Afterwards, former RTE broadcaster Sean ORourke exclaimed: You should be in the Concert Hall Charlie.

Also playing at the ceremony was Charlies close friend and musician Matt Molloy, who played two songs in honour of Charlie: Easter Snow and Stony Steps.

The latter of which was inspired by the climb up Croagh Patrick.

After the renditions and speakers, many of the public approached and introduced themselves to the emotional Charlie, thanking him for the strong presence and impact he has had on the Irish people.

Matt Molloy playing the flute. Picture: Collins

Rounding off the speeches, Charlie, Claire and Tiger came up to close off the final chapter of the Climb with Charlie Campaign.

Last October, I was diagnosed with a terminal illness and I have had many dark days since then. But remarkably here this morning is one of the happiest days of my life, he said.

Charlie expressed his deep gratitude, thanking the public, the charities, and the media that supported the climb.

To all of you out there, this is your day. You have all shown love and kindness and of course extended the hand of friendship. This is your day of celebration, he said.

I had an awful fear of dying when I was first diagnosed, but every one of you out there has helped me so much. This is not a glib remark, I love everyone who has helped me on my journey and we must all continue to extend the hand of friendship. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Im sorry we didnt get to see our story have a happy ending and so sorry for the turmoil that upended her life, through no fault of her own.

The Dublin presenter took to social media to confirm the news following reports that he was no longer with the doctor who he first began dating in 2016.

The 39-year old said the past year-and-a-half had been life-altering as he credited the brunette beauty with making him a better person.

McDermott began the Instagram post saying it has been tough anticipating that a private story would play out in public.

He continued: All I can say is that the last 18 months have been devastating and life-altering in ways that I havent fully processed yet. I met Aoife 15 years ago and think she has been and will remain the most wonderful person Ive ever known. Im sorry we didnt get to see our story have a happy ending and so sorry for the turmoil that upended her life, through no fault of her own.

All I can do is thank her for the main wonderful years together and wish her every happiness in her new life.

He added: Pretty much every bit of myself Ive worked on and improved over the years has been on account of wanting to live up to her standards and match her best qualities. She made me kinder, gentler, more patient, less selfish and better in most ways a person could measure. I hope she finds the happiness and peace she so richly deserves."

Eoghan McDermott and girlfriend Aoife Melia. Photo: Brian McEvoy

In March 2021, we revealed how McDermott was due to part ways with RTE's 2FM after six and a half years with the station.

The radio DJ was one of the national broadcasters brightest stars having worked across radio and TV since joining them in June 2014.

The shock decision comes after the star took unplanned annual leave nearly two weeks ago and has not been on air since, we reported.

RTE later confirmed that he would not be returning to host his radio show on 2FM.

In a statement, the national broadcaster wrote: RTE confirms that Eoghan McDermott will not be returning to RTE 2FM. His contract is due to expire shortly."

In March, McDermott issued a legal letter via Twitter which acknowledged that false allegations were made against him on social media.

Despite not being investigated or verified, these allegations were spread widely, the effects of which I am still processing," he wrote on Twitter.

"I hope the below can close this chapter. "

McDermott also filed legal papers against Twitter International Unlimited Company.

McDermott posted the letter that revealed how the former Love Island Australia narrator made sincere efforts to resolve this matter over the last few months in a manner that can ensure that our client retains her anonymity.

Eoghan McDermott

In the letter sent from solicitor firm Mary Cowhey and Co, it states that during the course of internet postings and a number of tweets published through an anonymous Twitter account in March 2021, our client made false allegations against your client, Mr McDermott.

These remarks arose out of a relationship which they had some years previously, in or around October 2010.

Our client accepts that there were a number of serious falsehoods contained in her publications, which have caused distress to your client and those closest to him.

Our client sincerely regrets publishing the inaccuracies contained in these publications and acknowledges that they have had a harmful effect on your client and those close to him.

Eoghan McDermott is expected to part ways with RTE's 2FM after six years

Eoghan McDermott shuts down Twitter account one week after publishing legal letter

Eoghan McDermott shares legal letter after accuser admits making 'false claims' against him

It adds: For the record our client accepts without reservation that she was above the age of consent at all times that she and Mr McDermott met or engaged in a physical relationship, contrary to her original claim.

She acknowledges the severity of this false claim and retracts it unequivocally.

Further on the letter adds: Our client also accepts that it was wrong for her to retweet and tweet unfounded allegations of sexual assault by third parties.

Our client also accepts that it was entirely false to allege that your client engaged in illegal drug use in a work-related video.

The letter states that their client also deleted the statements published both on Twitter and Reddit.com and adds that the client hopes "that the above will bring the matters identified in your correspondence to a close.

McDermott tweeted alongside the letter: At the request of and with consideration for the other party to this dispute, I will not be commenting any further on this matter.

McDermott shut down his Twitter account one week after publishing the letter.
The Accident Compensation Corporation - ACC - has extended its Support Your Wellbeing service for over 4,000 staff to include rongoa Maori which is traditional Maori healing.

This means ACC kaimahi - staff - can choose rongoa Maori services when they need it. The service is there to support their wellbeing in the workplace and in their personal lives.

The offering is being made alongside ACCs existing Employee Assistance Programme - EAP - service. It is available to Maori and non-Maori kaimahi.

"It's the first government organisation that I have heard of offering rongoa to their kaimahi  and I travel around a lot," says Donna Kerridge, a traditionally trained rongoa Maori practitioner with more than 20 years experience.

"The fact that ACC is doing it is just amazing. First or last it doesnt matter. I am really grateful that the people who are looking after the health and wellbeing of those who have had injuries, they themselves are being looked after.

ACC employee Cheryl Pakaru is a proud Maori employee.

I acknowledge, and Im grateful, that there has been a huge journey behind the scenes for this to become a reality," says Cheryl.

Cheryl works with seriously injured clients in Tauranga who have sustained a life changing injury. Her goal is to make a difference every day.

When I come to mahi, its not just me who I represent, says Cheryl, who is from Ngaiterangi, Ngati Ranginui, Ngati Pukenga, Tainui, and grew up living off the moana - ocean.

Its my tupuna, it is my whanau. In terms of my upbringing, it was not only my parents. It was kuia and kaumatua (grandparents). Growing up with them, they certainly influenced me to be the person I am today.

There have been times when I have needed to access EAP Its not only me going, it is who I represent. When Im looking for a provider, Im looking for someone who understands me in terms of who I am and what my values are.

Like many Maori, I needed a holistic approach to my wellbeing.

Cheryl is thrilled to see the commitment ACC has made to its kaimahi with rongoa Maori.

Rongoa Maori has been used by Maori for generations to support hauora - health, and oranga - wellbeing.

Rongoa Maori recognises that where an imbalance in the wairua or mauri of an individual exists, it will manifest in the body as an illness or ailment.

Rongoa Maori techniques are used for treating the cause of the illness, not just the injury.

Common rongoa Maori modalities include: mirimiri, romiromi (bodywork), rongoa rakau, wai rakau (herbal remedies), karakia, (prayer, incantations) and whitiwhiti korero (support, advice).

ACCs Tumu Pae Ora Michelle Murray is very proud of this initiative.

In the past two years, weve supported more than 2,000 clients through traditional Maori healing  its fantastic to now offer that same choice for our own kaimahi, says Michelle.

We have set the stage for increased trust and meaningful change  a new chapter in ACCs relationship with Maori that has already begun.

ACC and rongoa Maori summary:
Update 3.35pm: Police say there is "no specific safety risk" following an investigation of schools in Waikato, Thames and Gisborne.

The investigation comes after multiple North Island schools recieving 'several threats via phone,' leading them to lockdown and evacuate.

A police spokesperson says investigations into the source of the threats are ongoing.

"Police have responded following threats to five North Island schools today," says the police spokesperson.

"The schools were in Waikato, Thames and Gisborne.

"Police have made inquiries into the threats and believe there is no specific safety risk.

"Investigations into the source of the threats are ongoing.

"Police extends thanks to the schools involved for following their emegency procedures, and to the wider school communities for their co-operation."

EARLIER 3.18pm: Thames High School says caregivers or parents can now pick students up from Jack McLean centre, in a post made to Facebook.





EARLIER: 1.07pm: Matamata Intermediate School is requesting parents and caregivers to collect their children at the Smith Street entrance, and to not come onto the school grounds.





EARLIER 12.56pm: Thames High School students are being evacuated due to a "low risk bomb threat," according to a post made on their Facebook page.

A police spokesperson says they are aware of the threats made via phone to "several North Island schools."

"Police are liasing with the schools and making further inquiries," says the police spokesperson.

Matamata Intermediate is being advised to 'stay in lockdown' by police, According to a post on their Facebook page.





Cambridge High School students are also being evacuated on the advice of police, according to their Facebook page.





Lytton High School in Gisborne is also evacuating according to their Facebook page, and is informing caregivers that they can collect students from Lytton Road, but must not enter the school.
The Ministry of Health is today reporting 9256 new community cases of Covid-19 in the last 24 hours and 822 current hospitalisations. There have been 38 deaths.

Of the 38 people whose deaths we are reporting today, eight were from Auckland region, one was from Waikato, two were from Bay of Plenty, five were from Lakes, one was from Tairawhiti, two were from MidCentral, two were from Whanganui, two were from Wellington region, two were from Nelson Marlborough, four were from Canterbury, one was from South Canterbury, eight were from Southern, says a Ministry of Health spokesperson.

Three were in their 50s, one was in their 60s, five were in their 70s, 18 were in their 80s and 11 were aged over 90. Of these people, 19 were women and 19 were men.

The seven-day rolling average of community case numbers today is 8,335.

There are now a total of 1,396 deaths confirmed as attributable to Covid-19, either as the underlying cause of death or as a contributing factor. The seven-day rolling average of the increase in deaths attributable to Covid-19 is now 17.

There are 41 people in Bay of Plenty hospitals with Covid-19 and 12 in Lakes hospitals.

Covid-19 Hospitalisations

Covid-19 cases in hospital: total number 822: Northland: 19; Waitemata: 99; Counties Manukau: 60; Auckland: 89; Waikato: 100; Bay of Plenty: 41; Lakes: 12; Hawkes Bay: 35; MidCentral: 49; Whanganui: 14; Taranaki: 14; Tairawhiti: 3; Wairarapa: 15; Capital and Coast: 28; Hutt Valley: 27; Nelson Marlborough: 14; Canterbury: 149; West Coast: 1; South Canterbury: 12; Southern: 41.

Weekly Covid-19 Hospitalisations - 7 day rolling average: 772 (This time last week 764)

Average age of current COVID-19 hospitalisations: 64

Cases in ICU or HDU: 24

Vaccination status of new admissions to hospital*: Unvaccinated or not eligible (64 cases); partially immunised <7 days from second dose or have only received one dose (4 cases); double vaccinated at least 7 days before being reported as a case (71 cases); received booster at least 7 days before being reported as a case (414 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 and Hutt, and Northland.

Covid-19 vaccinations administered

Vaccines administered to date: 4,029,111 first doses; 3,981,891 second doses; 33,936 third primary doses; 2,702,185 first booster doses: 261,674 second booster doses: 265,767 paediatric first doses and 143,915 paediatric second doses

Vaccines administered yesterday: 22 first doses; 33 second doses; 17 third primary doses; 703 first booster doses; 10,815 second booster doses; 34 paediatric first doses and 122 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): 3,117

Number of Rapid Antigen Tests reported total (last 24 hours): 17,653

PCR tests rolling average (last 7 days): 3,439

Number of Rapid Antigen Tests dispatched (last seven days as of 25 July 2022): 2.3 million

Covid-19 Cases

Total number of new community cases: 9,256

Number of new cases that have recently travelled overseas: 430

Seven day rolling average of community cases: 8,335

Seven day rolling average of community cases (as at same day last week): 9,534

Number of active cases (total): 58,303 (cases identified in the past seven days and not yet classified as recovered)

Confirmed cases (total): 1,568,469

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

There are now a total of 1,396 deaths confirmed as attributable to Covid-19, either as the underlying cause of death or as a contributing factor. This is the number that will be reported to the World Health Organization as it provides the most accurate assessment of Covid-19 related mortality in New Zealand.

In the past seven days there have been an average of 17 deaths confirmed each day as being attributable to Covid-19.

This is a very sad time for whanau and friends of those who have died and our thoughts and condolences are with them, says a Ministry of Health spokesperson.

Information on the number of new deaths of people with Covid-19 reported to the Ministry of Health in the last 24 hours, and the seven-day rolling average, is available on the Ministry of Health website. This includes information on the age band and location of these newly reported deaths.

COVID-19 case data

These newly reported deaths have not yet been categorised as to whether they are attributable to Covid-19, either as the underlying cause of death or as a contributing factor, or are unrelated to Covid-19. As this categorisation is made over coming days, the attributable deaths will be added to the total reported above.
New Zealand Police is reminding people to be alert to fraudulent activity and to take particular care when selling goods through social media platforms and online websites.

"If you plan to sell your unwanted items, make sure you take care when doing so," says Police Tactical Crime Unit Detective Sergeant Carl Newton.

There has been a notable increase in people handing over property to people posing as buyers after being falsely led to believe that theyve been paid for the item.

In such cases, it is common for the claimed buyer to show proof of payment in the form of a cell phone screenshot of a bank transfer of fund to the sellers.

However, the money is never actually deposited into the sellers account despite the claimed buyer appearing honest and genuine.

These type of fraudulent purchases occur with lower value items but also happen with more expensive things such as the sale of motor vehicles.

"Whenever selling goods, make sure you deal in cash or ensure the money has been actually received in your bank before handing the item over," says Detective Sergeant Carl Newton.

It is easy for someone to claim a bank transfer has been made by showing a false record of a deposit, only for the seller to find out later on that the item hasnt been paid for.

"If you cant see the money in your bank account, treat it as not being in there and retain the goods."

In addition to taking appropriate steps to ensure the money is actually received before handing over sold items, Police recommend not conducting these sales at the sellers address or inviting someone into your own address. Police recommend a safe trading zone and some additional advice is below:

Police tips

 Meet in a public, well-lit area or consider only trading in daylight hours.

 Trade near, or in front of, a known/working CCTV camera, in busy foot-traffic or perhaps by a Police station.

 Dont go to the transaction alone.

 Make sure a friend or family member is aware of the transaction meet-up

 Be extra cautious when buying or selling valuable items such as vehicles and jewellery.

 Trust your instincts, if it sounds like a scam, it probably is.

 If somebody is not willing to come to a safe trade zone, it is probably not a legitimate transaction.

Call 111 in an emergency.

"We would rather attend to prevent a crime happening, than attend after an offence has occurred," says Detective Sergeant Carl Newton.

"If its already happened you can provide information via 105.police.govt.nz, call Police on 105, or report anonymously via Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111."
Morning rain is expected to ease for the Bay of Plenty, Waikato, Northland and Auckland regions today.

WeatherWatch are forecasting gusty northwesterlies will ease in the evening and rain will move into Northland overnight.

Highs for these regions are expected to be between 15-17 degrees Celsius.

WeatherWatch are reporting that a couple of low centres are straddling the South Island today.

"Expect more cloudy weather with rain or showers," says a WeatherWatch spokesperson.

"Rain should ease for the eastern South Island. Overnight a low coming out of the Tasman to the northwest brings rain into the western North Island."

Western North Island (including Central North Island)

Rain eases to showers in the afternoon with northwesterlies freshening, winds strong for coastal Taranaki. Rain moves back into Taranaki overnight.

Highs: 11-16

Eastern North Island

Any morning spots of rain clear then becoming mostly sunny, northwesterly winds. Wairarapa has rain spreading from the west, easing afternoon, winds stronger.

Highs: 14-19

Wellington

Rain eases to showers in the morning with southerlies tending northwest in the afternoon.

Highs: 13-14

Marlborough & Nelson

Morning rain clears then dry with sun breaking through in the afternoon as northwesterlies freshen. A few showers may continue to pass into Nelson from the west.

Highs: 14-16

Canterbury

Mostly cloudy with patchy showers or drizzle, quite a few dry areas may develop from afternoon. Southwesterly winds.

Highs: 6-14

West Coast

Mostly cloudy with rain north of about Greymouth, in the afternoon rain or showers moves in further south. Winds eventually tend to the north or northeast.

Highs: 11-14

Southland & Otago

Rain, easing from afternoon for Otago. South to southeasterly winds.

Highs: 9-10
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.
BEIJING, July 25 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday sent a congratulatory message to Droupadi Murmu on her assuming office as the president of the Republic of India.

In his message, Xi pointed out that China and India are important neighbors of each other, and that a healthy and stable China-India relationship is in line with the fundamental interests of the two countries and their people, as well as conducive to peace, stability and development in the region and across the world.

Xi also said that he attaches great importance to China-India relations, and stands ready to work with Murmu to enhance political mutual trust, deepen practical cooperation, properly handle differences and push bilateral ties forward on the right track.
vigsom Distinguished - BHPian



Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: NSEW Posts: 3,369 Thanked: 16,918 Times

re: Airport Experiences | Small airport (Tiruchirappalli) vs Larger one (Hyderabad) Experiences at Hyderabad Airport



I needed to get a cab to take me to a place called Manoharabad on the Hyderabad - Nagpur highway, and was surprised to see no Uber or Ola accepting the booking despite a healthy amount being estimated. After three trials, I decided to check at the counter of another service provider whose folks were donning green T-Shirts (Quick Ride IIRC). They tried fooling me by showing the SUV fare of INR 3,500 when I knew that the actual fare by a sedan was in the region of INR 2,600. I eventually got my ride from Meru - a Verito diesel that had done some 5,07,000km but was mechanically perfect. No hassles whatsoever, and I had a great ride via the Nehru ORR.



Return to Hyderabad Airport after work



After completing my assignment in Hyderabad, I was back at the airport to experience some hassles, in stark contrast to what I saw in TRZ.



1. Some gates to the terminal were closed so had to do some walking

2. Management of the passenger queue inside the check in/ baggage drop area at Indigo was far from satisfactory - I saw several passengers jumping the queue and moving ahead since they were late for their flight(s)

3. Security Check - Saw many bags that would be diverted off the main belt to the loop line, where a CISF representative would ask for the bag to be opened to check for every electronic item inside.



TIP : When packing, please keep all electronic items on the tray. Here's what I do



a) put all chargers and USB drives in one see-through perforated case and put it along with the laptop bag in one large tray

b) Laptop, mobile, headphones in another large tray

c) all metallic items inside the bag



I was told by a security person that as long as the scanner can see electronics and metal items separately, they are fine. It is only when electronics and metals overlap that the bags go off the belt into the loop line.



The gate area is much improved from what I saw a few months back. The bus gate area at the lower level is cramped, as usual.



Approach to the various gates at Hyderabad Airport









Bus Gates

I needed to get a cab to take me to a place called Manoharabad on the Hyderabad - Nagpur highway, and was surprised to see no Uber or Ola accepting the booking despite a healthy amount being estimated. After three trials, I decided to check at the counter of another service provider whose folks were donning green T-Shirts (Quick Ride IIRC). They tried fooling me by showing the SUV fare of INR 3,500 when I knew that the actual fare by a sedan was in the region of INR 2,600. I eventually got my ride from Meru - a Verito diesel that had done some 5,07,000km but was mechanically perfect. No hassles whatsoever, and I had a great ride via the Nehru ORR.After completing my assignment in Hyderabad, I was back at the airport to experience some hassles, in stark contrast to what I saw in TRZ.1. Some gates to the terminal were closed so had to do some walking2. Management of the passenger queue inside the check in/ baggage drop area at Indigo was far from satisfactory - I saw several passengers jumping the queue and moving ahead since they were late for their flight(s)3. Security Check - Saw many bags that would be diverted off the main belt to the loop line, where a CISF representative would ask for the bag to be opened to check for every electronic item inside.TIP : When packing, please keep all electronic items on the tray. Here's what I doa) put all chargers and USB drives in one see-through perforated case and put it along with the laptop bag in one large trayb) Laptop, mobile, headphones in another large trayc) all metallic items inside the bagI was told by a security person that as long as the scanner can see electronics and metal items separately, they are fine. It is only when electronics and metals overlap that the bags go off the belt into the loop line.The gate area is much improved from what I saw a few months back. The bus gate area at the lower level is cramped, as usual. Last edited by vigsom : 24th July 2022 at 23:37 .
Editor's take: Internet service providers are notorious for squeezing their customers. Advertising higher speeds than they typically provide in practice, numerous hidden fees not disclosed before signing up, and data caps are enough to have consumers pulling their hair out in frustration. Congress wants to address at least one of those problems, but it could just end up raising overall prices for everyone.

The US Senate proposed a bill called the "Uncap America Act," which looks to ban data caps from broadband providers that appear predatory. However, the Act would allow limits for "reasonable network management or managing network congestion."

Democratic Senators Ben Ray Lujan of New Mexico and New Jersey's Cory Booker introduced the proposal last week. The legislators say internet service providers should not gouge families with unnecessarily high overage fees for high-speed broadband access.

"As internet usage continues to be a necessity for work, education, and health care, no family should have to worry about extra fees and costs because of unnecessary limits on their data," said Lujan in a joint press release.

Good story in @arstechnica @jbrodkin on the new Uncap America Act from @SenatorLujan @SenatorBooker. INCOMPAS is proud to join this effort with leading consumer advocateshttps://t.co/3vsTLMxgwz  INCOMPAS (@INCOMPAS) July 22, 2022

"Internet access is a basic necessity and has been increasingly important throughout the coronavirus pandemic," added Senator Booker. "Unfortunately, many internet providers have imposed predatory data caps, making it difficult for many vulnerable families to access high-speed internet."

The bill does not explicitly define "predatory data caps" but leaves that to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The FCC will devise regulations and determine what exactly constitutes predatory practices. However, the color of the bill points toward the fees associated with going over a given data limit deemed purely for profit purposes.

Broadband service providers will undoubtedly have lobbyists working overtime to block the bill's passage. However, it might not be necessary since proposals like this tend to struggle in Congress during election years. Although, with the current recession, lawmakers might be more open to passing anything that could ease the economic strain on their constituents.

Several watchdog groups have voiced their support for the proposed law, including Consumer Reports, Public Knowledge, and Incompas.

Senior Policy Counsel Jenna Leventoff, at Public Knowledge, says that providers often use data caps as a backdoor to raising prices for access and disproportionately prey on low-income families.

"CR strongly supports the Uncap America Act authored and introduced by @SenatorLujan [and Senator @CoryBooker]. Americans need fast, reliable and affordable internet connections that are free from the burden of data caps," said CR's @jonschwantes https://t.co/yDpUi9tNPa  Consumer Reports Advocacy (@CRAdvocacy) July 21, 2022

"The pandemic has proven that data caps are rarely necessary as an economic matter, often operating as a roundabout way for providers to increase prices," said Leventoff. "These data caps disproportionately impact low-income people who can't afford to pay up in the first place."

An Incompas spokesperson claims it supports the measure because overage fees threaten "an open, robust, and innovative internet ecosystem" and create an "artificial scarcity" to justify raising prices.

Consumer Reports agrees, calling most data caps "frivolous" fees that "chill internet" usage. However, it does support meaningful limits when it comes to network-essential reasons such as maintenance.

"This bill will ensure that ISPs are not allowed to include frivolous data caps at the expense of consumers," said Consumer Reports Senior Policy Counsel Jonathan Schwantes. "We encourage Congress to vote yes on this bill so Americans will be able to install new security updates, conduct a job interview, or let their children complete their homework online without the fear of being penalized for exceeding data caps. Where caps are legitimate and justified, so be it. But we can't allow ISPs to maximize profits at the expense of consumers."

Unfortunately, we have seen too many times how broadband providers get around regulatory pressure like this proposed legislation. Without further protections, there is nothing stopping an ISP from lifting data caps, but inflating prices across the board  a lose-lose situation for everybody.
Something to look forward to: Naughty Dog had already confirmed its PlayStation 5 remake of The Last of Us would eventually land on the PC. However, someone from the studio recently indicated that PC users shouldn't need to wait too long after the initial PS5 launch. Naughty Dog also released a new deep-dive on the upcoming title.

Over the weekend, a senior artist from Naughty Dog hinted that the studio's remake of the original The Last of Us will hit PC "very soon" after it releases on PlayStation 5. Those words are vague, but they may set a precedent for the cadence of Sony's PC ports going forward.

Glad to hear you're hyped man! PC version should come out a bit later, but very soon after the PS5 release!  Jonathan BENAINOUS (@JonathanBenaino) July 23, 2022

So far, all of the former PlayStation-exclusive games Sony has brought to PC arrived on the platform multiple years after releasing on PlayStation 4. However, they all initially came out on PS4 before Sony started porting games to PC. The company hasn't yet indicated how quickly it will release PC conversions of games made after the start of its multi-platform policy. Horizon Forbidden West launched on PS5 in February but thus far, Sony hasn't confirmed a PC version.

Naughty Dog's hint comes after the studio published a deep-dive video explaining everything it did to refresh The Last of Us, which it originally released in 2013 for the PlayStation 3. Naughty Dog rebuilt every model and texture from scratch, overhauled the enemy AI, and added extensive accessibility features.

The Last of Us lands on PS5 on September 2.
What just happened? Meta employees are reportedly preparing themselves for job cuts that could see up to 10% of employees lose their jobs. The claim comes a few weeks after CEO Mark Zuckerberg warned workers he was introducing "ruthless prioritization" and "modified performance standards."

Insider reports that Meta's human-resources chief, Lori Goler, sent a memo to staff warning that the company has started to operate with "increased intensity" and that it plans to "transition" low performers out of the company, which is probably the nicest way to say people are being fired.

The memo also tells managers to build high-performing teams, ruthlessly prioritize, and make the most of synchronous and asynchronous time with teams.

According to the report, a person with knowledge of director-level conversations said up to 10% of workers at the Facebook parent could lose their jobs this year. One employee said the feeling of engineering managers looking for people to cut was like being subject to a "witch hunt."

Another person said the company recently gave them an "offer to leave," which they took rather than waiting to be pushed.

The news isn't entirely surprising. It was just a few weeks ago when Zuckerberg, during a Q&A with employees, said the company intends to clamp down on underperformers. "...some of you might decide this isn't the place for you, and that self-selection is OK with me," the CEO added. The company's head of engineering, meanwhile, recently told managers to place low and "neutral" performers on review and performance plans. Those unable to "get on track" would be shown the door.

Meta also said it planned to slow down its number of hires in 2022, reducing the number of new workers coming into the company from an original target of 10,000 to between 6,000 and 7,000. Moreover, Meta CPO Chris Cox sent a memo to staff confirming it intends to "prioritize ruthlessly" and "operate leaner, meaner, better executing teams."

Facebook/Meta ramped up its hiring during the pandemic to cope with the extra demand while allowing staff to be more relaxed when it came to meeting targets. That's all changed this year as many people return to the office and the world deals with an economic downturn. We've already seen Google, Microsoft, Seagate, Snap, Twitter, and Corsair impacted by and reacting to "macroeconomic headwinds," and more companies will doubtlessly follow suit.
General Motors is set to receive a joint venture loan from the United States Department of Energy for its battery cell production that mainly focuses on the Ultium power packs from the company. The Energy Department will loan GM and LG Energy Solution a whopping $2.5 billion for the project to bring more lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles in the future.

Tesla was the previous recipient of this loan for their EV production.

GM to Receive US Energy's Joint Venture Loan for Batteries

(Photo : Steve Fecht for General Motors)

General Motors reveals its all-new modular platform and battery system, Ultium, Wednesday, March 4, 2020 at the Design Dome on the GM Tech Center campus in Warren, Michigan.

General Motors and LG Energy Solution are set to receive a joint venture loan from the US Department of Energy, according to Reuters, and it will focus on providing a budget that will help build manufacturing facilities. It would benefit both the EV maker and the battery maker as they would get a significant boost in their production budget.

The sites would focus on battery cell facilities in Ohio, Tennessee, and Michigan that will focus on a conditional commitment for GM's Ultium Cells LLC. It comes from the US Department of Energy's Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing (ATVM) loan program, which last gave funding to projects back in 2010.

Read Also: Cadillac Celestiq EV: GM to Hand Build the Car, Invests $81M on the Project

GM, LG to bring More Lithium Ion Batteries Under Ultium

According to CNET, this is the first battery cell facility-exclusive loan for the project, which GM will soon receive. The program is a low-cost government loan that previously provided funding for companies like Tesla ($465 million), Ford Motor Company ($5.9 billion), and Nissan ($1.6 billion).

It is the first time that the program would bring a boost to its battery cell production facility to fund, a first with GM and LG.

GM's Ultium and EVs

GM's Ultium Drive is a platform that is suitable for all types of vehicles from the company, may it be SUVs, sedans, crossovers, or pickup trucks; it features the famous batteries at the car's base. The Ultium batteries and Ultium Drive brings a complete set that would bring a car mobility, and it is available for different trims or vehicle types from GM.

The latest there is from GM that will feature the Ultium Drive, and a clean energy option from the company is the Chevrolet Blazer EV, a new electric SUV for family or personal use. What it brings are the famous Ultium power cells that will provide its function for all needs, centering on what the EV requires to power the entire car.

Hard work pays off, and this time, it is GM on the other receiving end for a boost in their production needs and requirements from the government, mainly focusing on a joint venture loan. The money that the Energy Department will soon grant the car manufacturer aims to boost its battery cell creation that would translate to more EVs that would sell.

Related Article: GM Hummer Production: 12 Trucks a Day, Price Increase Coming for EV Pickup

This article is owned by TechTimes

Written by Isaiah Richard

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Google is taking the next step in computer glasses as it recently began testing camera-equipped Augmented Reality (AR) glasses in public, as reported by The Verge.

(Photo : NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images)

Allyson Cannon, recruitment manager of the National Press Club, tries Google Glass at the National Press Club in Washington on April 4, 2014. Google Glass is a wearable computer with an optical head-mounted display (OHMD) which displays information in a smartphone-like hands-free format.

Based on Google's blog post, it won't be the Glassholes all over again. Instead, it is working on a few dozen testers and the cameras and microphones on its glasses won't support photography and videography.

What Google is testing will gather visual data, which means you won't be able to record someone while wearing it. What it will do is it can translate things in front of you. They also have listed FAQs.

The glasses may also feature LED that will light up if it decides to save images for analysis and will be deleted after 30 days. The images will be stored on a secure server with limited access by a small number of Googles for debugging and analysis.

For now, the testers won't be using them in hospitals, churches, schools, playgrounds, etc. The tech giant hasn't revealed where in the US the glasses will be tested.

The glasses will also be similar to how Google Lens can recognize objects and text with phone cameras.

When it comes to its physical aesthetic, the glasses look almost normal. It is focused on assistive and utility users.

Also Read: Facebook AR Glasses No More? New 'Smart Glasses' Will Arrive in 2021 But Without the Digital Overlay Tech

The Rise of Smart Glasses

Testing for smart glasses continues to grow.For one, Meta has started testing pretty depth-sensing camera arrays for Project Aria two years ago. It is focused on how smart sensor-filled glasses can be used responsibly in public places.

On the other hand, Google already has its large-scale smart glasses test almost ten years ago when it launched Google Glass. The Google Glass faced controversy regarding the public use of the camera.

But with this new project, it looks to be a smaller one and on a more focused scale right now. Google also hasn't announced plans for the glasses to be available to the market.

Technology is always changing. And with that comes more tools for people to use to make their lives better and easier. Smart glasses may be the next big thing.

The benefits of lenses are endless. It is obvious why it will be a main weapon in AR. Glasses are a natural companion for AR because they are already used for magnification and text reading. With AR, it becomes a whole new world.

Imagine living in a world where you can interact with things without having to pick up your phone. It will be a revolution.

The future of smart glasses will be a lot better than the first generation of Google Glass. It will be like any other normal lens glasses you see on the street. It will be friendly and seamless. The future of AR is bright.

Related Article: Google AR Specs Rumored to be in Development to Keep Up with Apple

This article is owned by TechTimes

Written by April Fowell

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
If you work on construction sites, doing home appliances installation, doing a DIY tile laying, you probably heard of a laser level to do the job well. Over the years, there has been a gradual shift from red to green line laser levels since this color is just easier to see. However, there's more to it than that, so let's take a deeper look and learn what green line laser levels are, what they do, the best type of laser level, and the top manufacturing companies to help you with your construction demands.

What Is a Green Laser Level?

A laser level is a type of construction equipment that emits red or green beams along horizontal and vertical axes. Both red and green laser levels allow you to hang pictures perfectly, align wall studs, and draw precise circles on a wall easily. It's a must-have for every contractor or carpenter for accurate site measurements.

Note that there are several sorts of laser levels. To mention a few are rotary, cross line, and dot lasers. A rotating laser level is a device that spins a light beam quickly enough to form a complete 360-degree horizontal or vertical plane. Meanwhile, the Dot Laser Level line is your best chance of finding a level point or 90-degree angle between a wall, the floor, and the ceiling.

But for interior applications, whether you're installing cabinets, staircases, tile, or anything else that demands a straight line, a cross line would fit the role. Plus, both visibility and range may be much improved if you use a green laser.

Why Are Green Laser Levels Better Than Red?

Aside from the noticeable color difference, there are substantial variances when comparing red vs green laser levels. Red lasers are ideal for do-it-yourself and modest home jobs like setting light fixtures, painting horizontal lines, and leveling decorative objects on walls. Since there's no need to require a long-range, a red laser would function just as well as a green laser.

They are also less expensive and have always been the standard choice in construction sites. Because of its design and functionalities, red laser levels use less energy to operate and have longer battery life than green laser levels.

On the other hand, Green laser technology has a significant advantage over red laser light in terms of visibility. It is more visible, especially when the surrounding circumstances are brighter, since humans can sensitively perceive green light better than red light.

In return, the green reference line will be easier to see than a red reference line, especially on a sunny day outside or in a room with a lot of natural light.

Plus, a green laser level is significantly preferable for any longer-range applications, typically more than 25 meters. While it is somewhat more costly than red beams, it has a cleaner, sharper line, a reasonable range, and fewer twitches.

Does "Made in China" Mean a Worse-Made Tool?

Part of wondering if a construction tool is safe is discovering that it is produced in China, or at least some of its components are. That, however, is not the case. In fact, Bosch, situated in China, is a multinational and recognized maker of construction tools all over the world. They have been selling their items across the globe with no reports of flaws, malfunction, or other issues that consumers stereotypically think when it comes to Chinese-made goods.

In the same industry, Huepar is a freshly growing construction tool brand that features Chinese-made items and parts. It is getting fine feedback in the market due to its realiable quality at relatively lower price. Like Bosch, it manufactures high-quality construction equipment for both personal and commercial usage. With orders exceeding average and more products customers anticipate, it's a mistake to assume that a Chinese-made construction tool is the worst.

Which Brand Laser Is Best?

As mentioned, construction tools made in China aren't subpar in condition. Employees on construction sites and even homeowners entrust their time and effort to brands that can offer the best features for their cross laser needs.

Now, if you have a sufficient budget, Bosch would be a go-to. But if you seek a dependable tool at a fair price, Huepar is the best option.

Huepar was founded in 2013 and has been specializing in laser level for over nine years. Their tools are accessible and in use in over 130 countries, and they have developed over 20 warehouses with a favorable rating of 95 percent and above. When it comes to laser levels, Huepar has long been a go-to brand for construction workers, builders, and even homeowners. The E011G is one of their newest models to look forward to.

Huepar E011G is a cross line laser level. It functions similarly to a standard laser level, except that it gives cross lines instead of turning 360 degrees and leveling out. A vertical line and a horizontal line may be used independently. In return, letting you be more precise while installing walls or putting up objects on walls since you can attest that they are absolutely parallel to one other.

Key Specifications

Projects green laser beam for better light visibility and range

Two green laser lines that let you quickly line up accurate horizontal and vertical coordinates, making your task faster and easier

Safe for eye exposure with Class 2 safety level (IEC/EN60825-1/2014) with <1mW power output

A laser wavelength that ranges from 505-520nm

Boasts both horizontal and vertical accuracy: 3mm/10m

Offers a leveling and compensation range of 3.5  0.5

Leveling time only takes 3 seconds

A working distance of 25m (100 LUX), 50m with Huepar Laser Detector LR-5RG / LR-6RG

The operating time is approximately 7 hours and comes with a built-in Li-ion battery of 3.7V / 2200mAh

A mount size of 1/4"-20

Presents an IP rating of IP54 and is waterproof, dustproof, and shockproof

The operating temperature ranges between -10 and +50

The storage temperature is between -20 and +70

Are Huepar Lasers Any Good?

This Huepar E011G cross line laser can be used to swiftly and correctly set up a number of projects, from mounting artwork or placing tiles to installing trim molding or closet installations, thanks to its properties. This cross line laser level would be great for both DIY homeowners and professionals due to its precision in both the vertical and horizontal axes.

Moreover, this one has an operating time of 7 hours, a standard run-time for a green cross line laser. Perhaps, you may also find the working distance a good feature with the help of its 100 LUX level of light, which is sufficient since it's big enough for a warehouse aisle.

Nevertheless, this does not negate the fact that it is dependable for all construction applications. It offers better visibility, as expected from green light lasers, and comes with class 2 safety specifications in case your eye gets unintentionally exposed. Then, because it has a good IP rating, you may use it in various environments without being concerned much about its condition.

Since this is a new model from Huepar, you may exclusively test it yourself upon release. You may pre-order the Huepar E011G for a 20% discount using the code E011G.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Google's Pixel 6a is the latest smartphone shaping up to release from the company, and it offers a budget smartphone that now faces reports regarding security issues from its in-screen fingerprint scanner. Several owners that had the chance to get the device early noticed this strange issue in the latest smartphone that showed concerns about this problem.

Google Pixel 6a Security Issues: Fingerprint Scanner is Inaccurate?

(Photo : Google Official Blog)

A YouTuber called "Geekyranjit" claimed on his latest vlog and product review of the Google Pixel 6a that he could use different fingerprints to unlock the smartphone via its in-screen scanner. It presents a massive concern over the new smartphone from Google that remains unreleased today, raising an issue despite being its latest release.

Reddit's r/GooglePixel subreddit also talked about this new dispute, especially with the YouTuber's sentiments regarding the issues of the current device. There are those that claim otherwise, while some say that it is also an issue experienced in the new smartphone. Several claims focus on its security issue, and it brings a massive dispute on the device now.

Read Also: Google Meet New Feature: Integration with YouTube Lets Users Live Stream Meetings

Google Pixel 6a: Unlocks for Unregistered Prints?

The review's claims on the Pixel 6a facing this issue that unlocks the smartphone despite not having these prints registered on the device is a massive security issue. There are several claims from YouTubers and reviews regarding this issue, with Google not addressing this or talking about the security issue.

For now, the Pixel 6a is set to release to the world as the budget version of the latest smartphone.

Google and its Pixel Phones

Pixel 6 is the latest flagship device from the Mountain View internet company, and it features the famous Tensor chip that puts a Google-designed Silicon SoC to the smartphone for its process. It did not immediately feature a new budget smartphone under the A-suffix designation for its devices, with the present Pixel 6a.

The last budget smartphone from Google is the Pixel 5a, launched in the past year and brought the world an affordable device that completes their need for a mobile phone. Pixel 5a is already a 5G-enabled smartphone, but it did not make its systems connect to the 5G C-Band despite having the means to do so.

Moreover, the focus of the Pixel phones brings a chance to fully access Google's Android, a device dedicated to getting the latest features there is from the company.

Now, Google is preparing to release the Pixel 6a device, aiming to bring the latest budget smartphone for the company. Still, it already faces several scrutinies regarding its security concerns. There is still time before Google releases the smartphone and fixes this alleged issue, especially with users complaining on a forum regarding its fingerprint problems.

Related Article: Google Pixel 6, Pixel 6 Pro Screen Repairs 50% Cheaper Compared To Competitors? Here's Why Price is So Low

This article is owned by TechTimes

Written by Isaiah Richard

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
NASA is now inviting content creators and influencers to watch the Artemis I mission and its upcoming uncrewed launch for the world, focusing on showcasing it to different platforms and audiences. The space agency mostly invites the media to stream or cover the events, and this opportunity is a new one that will also bring an all-access pass to the coming flight.

NASA Invites Content Creators, Influencers for Artemis I Launch

(Photo : NASA)

NASA announced via its Twitter page that it is inviting content creators to join its Artemis I launch coverage that would include these influencers to witness the event live and on the spot. However, these content creators must apply on NASA's platform to have their names considered for the draw, as they would only choose a limited number of participants.

The landing page for application is available on NASA's website, and it opens on Tuesday, July 26, where they will start to accept applicants that aim to join the festivities once it goes live. There are still three dates to choose from for the launch, depending on the weather conditions and the spacecraft's status on the said dates.

Read Also: NASA James Webb's Permanent Damage Not a Big Deal? Space Agency Shares Conclusion About JWST's Condition

NASA Collaboration for Artemis I: Livestreaming Soon

NASA will live stream the launch event for the Artemis I soon, but its recent development would invite content creators to co-present the possibility for them alongside their streams. It may help in extending the launch event to different audiences and reach more people to witness the historic event that would test the SLS and Orion for the upcoming mission.

NASA and its Artemis I Launch

There are significant developments for the Artemis I launch that have already come to the public, and it talks about the upcoming launch dates for the uncrewed mission set for 2022 to happen. There are three dates that NASA plans to launch the spacecraft, all coming this Summer and towards the Fall season for the mission.

The space agency confirmed that the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft are a go for the Moon mission in the coming weeks or months, especially as it will prove to the agency and the world that it is ready. After this mission, several tweaks and checking will take place before the actual Artemis I crewed mission will happen for the world to witness.

NASA is preparing a lot for the Artemis I mission and it is a significant and historical one as it would bring humanity back to the Moon, with the first female astronaut to land and step foot on the lunar surface. For now, the uncrewed mission will take place alongside content creators and influencers that will collaborate with NASA and bring it to specific global audiences.

Related Article: NASA to Hold Key Insights Amid the 11th Annual International Space Station Research and Development Conference

This article is owned by TechTimes

Written by Isaiah Richard

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Buy Best is set to open a tiny-digital first store as it tests out this new retail format near Charlotte, North Carolina.

The new digital-first store stays away from the typical "big box" retail shops of Best Buy.

(Photo : Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

People walk by a Best Buy store on August 20, 2013 in New York City.

Best Buy is Opening a Small Digital-First Store

As per a news story by The Verge, the giant retailer is testing out a new retail store format, which flaunts a smaller space than its typical locations.

In fact, the online news outlet notes that the new digital-first location of Best Buy only takes up to 5,000-square-foot.

For context, the usual retail shops of Best Buy in the United States span from 35,000 to 40,000-square-foot. So it appears that the new digital-first format is only 15 percent of the size of its typical stores.

The Verge further adds in its report that it is even smaller than most Apple Stores in the US, which only takes roughly 6,000 to 8,5000 square feet on average.

How Did Best Buy Make it So Small?

It turns out that this new digital-first store of Best Buy only provides its visitors with the "curated selection" of the giant retailer.

(Photo : Don and Melinda Crawford/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Entrance to Best Buy consumer electronics store showing company logo above entry, Spokane Valley, Washington, headquartered in Richfield, Minnesota.

It specifically includes various tech merchandise, such as smartphones, computers, LED TVs, smartwatches, wireless earbuds, and more.

However, it leaves out large appliances like washing machines, which fill up its bigger stores, to keep the space impressively small.

But Best Buy says that its tiny retail format still carries small appliances.

Read Also: Black Friday July Deals: Best Buy is Offering Three-Digit Discounts For Beats, MacBook Pro, TVs

Best Buy Digital-First Store

According to a recent report by GSM Arena, the digital-first store of Best Buy requires its customers to scan the QR code of the product they wish to buy using their smartphones. And from there, they could conveniently pay for it.

It is worth noting that the items on the shelves are merely displays like how the Cupertino-based tech giant showcases the iPhones and Macs in its Apple Stores.

So upon scanning and paying via QR code, the employees of the digital-first store get notified of the orders, which they will get from the stockroom to hand it over to their customers.

But the process is pretty straightforward for smaller items like charging cables as customers could readily check them out using their mobile devices.

However, the digital-first store still caters to folks who prefer to shop the traditional way. The new format still has Best Buy employees ready to help their customers with their purchases.

The new small digital-first Best Buy format store opens its doors to customers on July 26 in Monroe, North Carolina.

Related Article: Google Play Store Kicks Out Apps Secretly Collecting User Data! Outdated Apps To Be Removed?

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Teejay Boris

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
(Photo : OSWALDO RIVAS/AFP via Getty Images) An employee packs a Zebra tarantula (Aphonopelma seemanni) to be exported to the United States, at the Exotic Fauna zoo in Managua, on June 27, 2022

Faye Yap, a graduate student in mechanical engineering, wondered if a dead spider coiled up in the corridor could be utilized as a robot component.



It might sound creepy for some people to witness a dead spider having mechanical grippers, but it might also have real advantages.

Necrobotics

According to ScienceAlert, spider legs are able to gently and securely grasp huge, delicate, and asymmetrically shaped objects without damaging them. Hence, Yap and her coworkers at Rice University developed a method to make a dead wolf spider's legs unfold and grab onto objects in partnership with mechanical engineer Daniel Preston.

They named this new branch of robotics "necrobotics."

Interestingly, spider legs are not extended by muscles but rather by hydraulic pressure. ScienceAlert explained that when the prosoma chamber, also known as the cephalothorax, contracts, inner body fluid is forced into the legs, causing them to lengthen.

The team had to insert a needle into the spider's prosoma chamber and then use a dab of superglue to seal the needle's tip. The spider's legs may be made fully mobile in less than a second by simply inflating the syringe with a small puff of air.

The scientists got the dead spider to grasp a tiny ball, and they used that experiment to calculate the highest grip force, which was 0.35 millinewtons.

After that, they performed a demonstration in which a dead spider was used to pick up fragile items and electronics, removing a jumper wire from an electric breadboard and moving a block of polyurethane foam afterward.

Additionally, they demonstrated that the spider could support the weight of another spider of the same size.

Read also: Rogue Robot? Chess-Playing Robot Harms 7-Year-Old Child During Match

Future Uses Of These Dead Spiders

When the spiders pass away, the hydraulic system stops functioning in the cephalothorax. The spider curls up when the flexor muscles in its legs develop into rigor mortis because they can only move in one direction, according to ScienceAlert.

Preston stated in the video that one of the uses the team foresees for this invention is micro-manipulation, which may apply to objects like micro-electronic devices.

Since spiders can be biodegraded, utilizing them as robot components would reduce waste in the robotics industry.

However, the dead spider gripper has a striking downside because, after two days or 1,000 open-and-close cycles, it begins to show signs of wear and tear.

But Preston said that this problem could be resolved by applying polymeric coatings.

When the wolf spiders were coated in beeswax, the researchers found that over 10 days, their mass decreased 17 times less than the uncoated spider, indicating that the beeswax increased water retention and prolonged hydraulic system function.

Related Article: Stanford Scientists Create 'OceanOneK' - A Humanoid Robot That Can Dive In Ocean Depths!

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Joaquin Victor Tacla

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Not so long ago, mankind had no knowledge of what life was like on Mars' surface. But now that NASA's Perseverance rover has sensors on board, we have been provided with a clear view of the Red Planet's landscape!

Paul Byrne, an associate professor of planetary geology at North Carolina State University, has discovered some especially stunning photographs in the collection of unprocessed rover images that NASA made public.

The agency has provided roughly 300,000 images from the mission, including this stunning Martian landscape image.

Exploring The Jezero Crater

Perseverance has spent the majority of its time on Mars, which is equivalent to more than 500 Martian days, or "sols," exploring a portion of the well-known Jezero Crater. The low-lying plain may have originally been a river delta covered in fresh water, according to scientists.

River channels burst over the crater wall and formed a lake more than 3.5 billion years ago. According to NASA, scientists have discovered evidence that water transported clay materials from the local area into the crater lake.

Microorganisms might have originally inhabited the area. If that's the case, NASA believes sediments from the coastline or lakebed may include indications of their remains.

Layers of sedimentary rock can be seen from Perserverence's vantage point in the Jezero crater in this fascinating photo that Byrne provided, reported first by Interesting Engineering.

However, the picture offers more than simply a breathtaking view of the Martian landscape. Geologists can use it to make fairly precise inferences by gauging the depth of the layers in the pictures and examining the rock's physical characteristics.

Read also: 'Largest Canyon in The Solar System:' ESA's Mars Express Snaps Stunning Views of Mars's Grand Canyon

All About Perseverance

Since it touched down on Mars in February of last year, Perseverance, a robot about the size of a car, has been exploring the planet's surface.

The primary task of the rover is to look for evidence of prehistoric microbial life, which it accomplishes with the aid of a drill that it uses to take samples of rock and dirt. In the future, NASA intends to send another mission to gather those samples.

The rover also gathers a ton of digital data, which it sends back to researchers on Earth. Spectrometers, a radar that can probe the planet's rocky surface, a weather station, and a camera named Mastcam-Z are just a few of the devices that provide this data.

Similar to the cameras aboard the Mars Exploration Rover, which started sending pictures of the surrounding area almost 20 years ago, this equipment has two cameras installed side by side. According to the agency, their color fidelity is comparable to consumer digital cameras.

Related Article: [PHOTO] NASA's HiRISE Camera Captures Mars' Weird Honeycomb Pattern Made of CO2 and Water Ice

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Joaquin Victor Tacla

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
In order to create a European powerhouse that can compete with Elon Musk's SpaceX, Eutelsat and OneWeb are preparing to merge in an all-share deal valued at $3.4 billion for the UK satellite operator, according to a report by Bloomberg.

According to a statement released by the firms on Tuesday, OneWeb stockholders will own 50% of Eutelsat, which will remain listed in Paris and apply to be listed on the London Stock Exchange.

The agreement is the newest merger that has evolved into a competition between businesses and governments to provide quick access via low-orbit satellites.

Merging Government-Owned Entities

It is worth noting that OneWeb and Eutelsat are both owned by the UK and French governments, and the UK will continue to have a special share that gives it some veto power over business-related decisions like where to locate the company's headquarters.

Even though shareholders would split the company, the agreement has a look and feel of a Eutelsat takeover, according to Bloomberg.

OneWeb will continue to operate the combined group's low-orbit business under its name, with a principal listing in Paris. Dominique D'Hinnin, chairman of Eutelsat, will serve as the combined company's chairman, with Sunil Bharti Mittal, chairman of OneWeb, serving as vice president.

Additionally, the new organization will be led by Eutelsat Chief Executive Officer Eva Berneke.

According to a statement from the UK government, it has consented to several national security privileges and for OneWeb to favor purchasing goods from UK-based manufacturers.

At the same time, France and UK will be represented on the board.

Read also: OneWeb to Use SpaceX's Falcon 9 to Deliver Satellites; Elon Musk Says It will 'Do the Right Thing' for Rival

"Unique Position"

OneWeb, established in 2012, failed in 2020 because lead investors withdrew their funds during the COVID-19 outbreak. To safeguard a potentially crucial tech asset after Brexit, the UK government contributed roughly $500 million as part of a $1 billion collaboration with Bharti Global.

According to the firms, the merger will provide Eutelsat with a "unique position" in the market and could result in investments, cost efficiencies, and an increase in revenue of 1.5 billion euros ($1.53 billion).

Bloomberg reported that Monday's market response to the transaction was unfavorable, with shares of Eutelsat falling 18% after sale talks were announced. On Tuesday, July 26, the share price was still unchanged.

Additionally, Eutelsat will put a two-year hold on paying out dividends following this year to support the launch of OneWeb's next round of satellites.

According to a research report by Deutsche Bank analyst Roshan Ranjit, government contracts and short-term cash burn are two issues that the combination raises.

Connections To Russia

Bloomberg noted that OneWeb and Eutelsat both offer different connections to Russia. After Russia halted planned satellite deployments with the French rocket manufacturer Arianespace SA, OneWeb said in March that it would launch satellites using SpaceX.

Even in the face of pressure from European regulators, Eutelsat has continued to offer a limited number of satellite services to Russia. According to its website, it reaches 50% of houses in Russia and the surrounding area.

This is because the company has a "policy of neutrality," as stated by Berneke.

Bloomberg reported that the merged entity expects its fiscal 2022-2023 revenue to be 1.2 billion euros and its EBITDA to be 0.7 billion euros.

Related Article: Relativity Space, OneWeb Pen Deal for Terran R Launch of Second-Gen Broadband Satellites

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Joaquin Victor Tacla

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
GM's EV mass production 2025 is expected to manufacture more than one million zero-emission vehicles. To make it possible, the giant automaker is making drastic efforts to get assistance from other companies.

(Photo : Photo by Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)

A vehicle is welded by robot arms as it goes through the assembly line at the General Motors Lansing Delta Township Assembly Plant March 10, 2010 in Lansing, Michigan. The Delta plant has more than 3,000 workers on two shifts and is expected to add a third shift of 900-1,000 workers in April.

Now, General Motors confirmed that it was able to secure two major deals from Livent and LG Chem. Both of these tech firms are expected to offer long-term lithium (Livent) and cathode material (LG Chem) supplies.

As of press time, GM is among the giant carmakers that decided to transition to electric vehicle development and production.

Although it is among the top automakers, it still needs assistance from other manufacturers so that its EV mass production can become a reality.

GM Secures Two Major Deals for Its EV Mass Production 2025

According to Electrek's latest report, the long-term lithium and cathode supplies that GM secured are a great help for its upcoming EV mass production.

(Photo : Photo by Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)

A Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric vehicle sits at an event where Fritz Henderson, CEO and President of General Motors, announced that GM will invest $43 million in Brownstown Township, Michigan to manufacture lithium-ion battery packs for the Chevrolet Volt and other extended-range electric vehicles at the GM Brownstown Battery Assembly.

Also Read: GM Sold 26 EVs Only in Q4 2021 Compared to Tesla's 300k, Elon Musk Said THIS to the Company

Lithium-ion cells are the most common batteries used for EV integrations. These power packs contain lithium, which is used for the cathode.

Before these materials become useful, they need to be refined to battery grade so that they can go into battery cell production.

As of press time, some automakers are already involved in securing battery-graded lithium hydroxide for their battery suppliers.

This allows them to ensure that needed EV cell volume for their long-term electric car production goals. Among these automakers is General Motors.

GM CEO Says They Will Beat Tesla

Fortune previously reported that GM's CEO Mary Barra claimed that they will be able to beat Tesla, the top EV maker, in EV sales this coming 2025.

As of press time, Tesla still outsells GM by around 14 times. This means that it will be hard for General Motors to produce higher EV sales than Tesla since many consumers still prefer Elon Musk's brand.

But, it seems like Barra is sure with their goal, saying that they will roll out 30 new EV models across the globe by 2025.

"We already have the best-selling EV in China. Our EV deliveries in North America in 2022 are growing again now that the Chevrolet Bolt EV and EUV are back in production," said GM's spokesperson.

Previously, General Motors' EV First Responder Training program was launched.

On the other hand, experts claim that GM and Ford can overtake Tesla in EV market shares by 2025.

For more news updates about General Motors and its upcoming EV mass production, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes.

Related Article: GM Receives Joint Venture Loan for $2.5B on Battery-Cell Production from US Energy, Previously Tesla

This article is owned by TechTimes

Written by: Griffin Davis

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The Roscosmos-NASA cooperation will soon end as Russia confirmed that they will leave the International Space Station by 2024.

(Photo : Photo credit should read STR/AFP via Getty Images)

Members of the International Space Station (ISS) expedition 54/55, NASA astronaut Scott Tingle (back), Roscosmos cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov (C) and Norishige Kanai of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) (front) take part in the preflight preparation at the Russian leased Kazakh Baikonur cosmodrome on December 05, 2017.

For the past months, Russia and NASA had experienced various conflicts, especially when the former head of Roscosmos, Dmitry Olegovich Rogozin, was the one still in charge.

Although this is the case, NASA and Roscosmos maintained their collaboration. They even signed a new deal recently, allowing Russian cosmonauts to fly on U.S.-based spacecraft.

In exchange, NASA astronauts will be able to ride Russia's advanced Soyuz rocket. But, all good things really do have their ends.

Roscosmos-NASA Cooperation To Official End

According to Tech Crunch's latest report, NASA already announced that it would retire the giant ISS.

(Photo : Photo by Bill Ingalls/NASA via Getty Images)

In this handout image provided by NASA, the Soyuz rocket with Expedition 33/34 crew members Soyuz Commander Oleg Novitskiy, Flight Engineer Kevin Ford of NASA, and Flight Engineer Evgeny Tarelkin of ROSCOSMOS onboard the TMA-06M spacecraft launches to the International Space Station October 23, 2012 in Baikonur, Kazakhstan.

Also Read: Roscosmos Says It Will Use Its ISS Part in Any Way - A Reply To NASA's Criticism Over Russian-Backed Territory Flagsv

However, the original schedule has been moved to 2030, allowing the space union and its other partners to continue using the orbiting lab.

But, Roscosmos has a plan of its own. AP News reported that the Russian space agency plans to leave the space laboratory by 2024.

"The decision to leave the station after 2024 has been made," said Yuri Borisov, the newly appointed Roscosmos leader.

During his announcement, Borisov also highlighted the recent hints made by Roscosmos about their ISS departure.

Once Russia completes its plan to leave the International Space Station, its collaboration with NASA and other space agencies working at the orbiting lab will also end.

As of press time, Roscosmos is firm with its decision to leave the ISS. Meanwhile, ESA and other space agencies will still use the giant space laboratory until its retirement.

Roscosmos' Next Plan

Before Roscosmos leaves the ISS, the Russian space agency's leader says they would still fulfill their obligations.

On the other hand, once the ISS departure is completed, Russia said that they would create their own orbiting laboratory.

This means that Russia will join China in creating its own space station. But, Roscosmos hasn't shared any detail yet regarding its planned orbital laboratory.

Previously, Roscosmos brought back the longest ISS-staying NASA astronaut to Earth.

Recently, Russia-NASA cooperation was suspended due to sanctions imposed by the U.S.

For more news updates about Roscosmos and its upcoming ISS departure, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes.

Related Article: 'NASA-Russia Deal': SpaceX Will Send Russian Cosmonauts To ISS, Swapping With US Astronauts

This article is owned by TechTimes

Written by: Griffin Davis

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
"If you go to Thailand, be careful about what you eat." Without realizing it, can I use hemp?
A small group of pro-life supporters, foreground, stand near the street as clinic escorts, right, stand waiting to support patients at Delta Clinic of Baton Rouge, Tuesday morning, June 28, 2022, after a Louisiana judge judge Monday temporarily blocked enforcement of the state's trigger law banning abortions in the wake of last week's U.S. Supreme Court decision.
Another major property developer, Caydon Property Group, has collapsed into receivership, threatening the future of projects worth over a billion dollars, including the historic Nylex site on Melbournes Yarra River.

Receivers McGrathNicol and liquidators Jirsch Sutherland were appointed on Tuesday to take control of Caydons assets, including the Nylex site development in Cremorne and apartment projects under construction in Moonee Ponds, Preston and Alphington.

The iconic Nylex site in Cremorne. Credit:

Caydons managing director, Joe Russo, blamed falling property prices, COVID lockdowns and business uncertainty for his companys difficulties, saying it was extremely difficult to make this decision to put them into liquidation.

Sadly, over the last few years, Caydon has had to deal with one difficult market situation after another. The latest and really confronting challenge weve been facing has been the pricing factors affecting the Australian property and construction industry, Russo said.
THE REASON I JUMP 

(M) 82 minutes

The Reason I Jump offers a profound insight into what it is like to be autistic, or more correctly, what it might be like.

Its based on a book published in Japan in 2007. Naoki Higashida was then aged about 13. He does not speak. Working with his mother, who used a symbol board, he allegedly picked out the words to describe his feelings as an autistic boy. The book was a huge success, translated by English novelist David Mitchell and his wife, Keiko Yoshida, who also have an autistic son.

The Reason I Jump stars Jim Fujiwara, whose presence in the film is one of many stones unturned.

The book has been criticised from the start as an unreliable source. Higashidas mother held his arm while he picked out the symbols. This kind of facilitated communication has been denounced as pseudo-science. The inference is that, consciously or not, Higashidas mother wrote the book. In other words, it was an act of empathy and love rather than transcription. The questions that flow from this could keep a symposium of psychologists busy for a year.
Australians are breaking all records for switching electricity providers.

In June, more than 240,000 customers saw the light in the benefits of switching to take advantage of better offers in the competitive power market. About 87,000 households changed providers in Victoria, 85,000 in NSW, 51,000 in Queensland and 17,000 in South Australia.

There has never been more incentive to become an electricity switcher. Credit: Matt Davidson

In the past seven years, the only bigger month for switching was in April 2021, when a mid-sized retailer was sold to a large rival and 267,000 of its customers were automatically switched, so that number did not really count.

However, the big driver for those switching recently is some of the biggest power price rises the nation has seen, with multiple retailers increasing rates by up to 80 per cent, and about half a dozen smaller providers advising customers to leave to take up cheaper offers.
Archibald prize finalist collaborates with kinder students in regional Victoria

Were sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. Were working to restore it. Please try again later.

Dismiss
The mother of three children killed during a Port Hedland house fire has been charged with their murders.

Margaret Hawke, 36, fronted Perth Magistrates Court on Tuesday morning over the allegations, as well as one count of criminal damage by fire.

Wearing a ripped jumper and a mask, Hawke glanced briefly at family members in the public gallery before listening as the magistrate read out the four charges against her.

With her arms crossed, she nodded as each charge was read and was remanded in custody until August 31.
Tell me how this ends? This question was posed in 2003 by General David Petraeus during Americas invasion of Iraq, and it cut to the dead heart of that catastrophic campaign.

Its a handy mental tool for probing almost any public policy so lets apply it to the latest spike in cases of COVID-19.

As the number of COVID cases spikes, experts are calling for more government intervention. Credit:AP

Unsurprisingly, the spike has prompted another epidemic of expert demands for yet more overweening government intervention in the lives of the vast majority who have nothing to fear from this disease. And, given the mob has now worked that out, the only argument for mask mandates is to protect the hospital system.

Cast your mind back to 2020 when the first lockdowns were imposed, expressly for the purpose of preparing the hospital system for the pressure that was bound to come. Then, we were assured, intensive care capacity would be buttressed, so it could be surged to more than 7000 beds.
The boyfriend of a German backpacker found dead in Lismore 17 years ago has been arrested in Perth, and will be extradited to NSW to face charges relating to the homicide.

Simone Strobel, 25, had been travelling with her boyfriend, then named Tobias Suckfuell, his sister and another friend, all from Germany, when she went missing from Lismore Tourist Caravan Park on February 11, 2005.

Her naked body was found six days later under a pile of palm fronds at a sports ground, less than 100 metres from where she disappeared.

The body of German backpacker Simone Strobel was found in Lismore 17 years ago. Credit:NSW Police

Strobels boyfriend, now named Tobias Friedrich Moran after he took the surname of his Australian wife Samantha Moran, was arrested in the Perth suburb of City Beach before facing an extradition hearing in Perth Magistrates Court on Tuesday.
Primary school's pet chickens slaughtered in regional Victoria

Were sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. Were working to restore it. Please try again later.

Dismiss
At some point in the near future, we are likely to see a large Ukrainian counter-offensive in southern Ukraine. This region is a significant source of Ukrainian GDP. It is also the location of major power plants, and the ports through which goods are dispatched that represent over half of Ukraines export earnings.

Russian government agents, assisted by the military, are seeking to institute a range of Russian government systems to annexe Ukraines southern region.

The Danger Mines warning sign is pictured at a local beach in Odesa, southern Ukraine. Credit:Getty

These all provide an imperative to undertake large scale military operations to take back their lands seized by Russia. The Ukrainian president has recently directed his armed forces to conduct such a campaign, and over the past several weeks, the Ukrainians have made impressive gains in the Kherson region.

But there are more preparations required for the Ukrainians to recapture those areas that were seized by Russian after February 24. Offensive operations are much more difficult than the defensive operations that the Ukrainians have primarily been conducting so far. Before a wide scale southern counteroffensive, the Ukrainians will need to have made a concerted effort in training replacement leaders and planners in the complexities of the attack, command and control, and operational exploitation.
Each night, Divya Nandha finishes cooking dinner by 6.30pm, ignores her phone (although everyone who knows her already knows not to call) and settles down on her couch in Sale, in Victorias south-east.

The mother and former nurse, who lives with her husband, Rakesh, has built her evening routine around Neighbours, the soap she first fell in love with from the other side of the globe.

Long-term Neighbours fan Divya Nandha visited the set of her favourite show in May, when she heard it was coming to an end. Credit:Facebook

On Thursday, shell be among the millions of fans around the world tuning in for the last time.

And she wants to watch it undisturbed.
A traditional owner group in Victorias north-west Mallee region has made an urgent application to the Commonwealth seeking protection for the states oldest-known site of Aboriginal habitation and cultural practice.

The application to federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek raises serious and ongoing concerns over threats to our tangible and intangible cultural heritage posed by the potential return of the Mallee Rally, a popular off-road car race around the foreshore of Lake Tyrrell. Ongoing industry and a new tourist park development also posed a threat, the group says.

Direl (Lake Tyrell). Aboriginal traditional owners have sought Commonwealth heritage protection application. Credit:Justin McManus

The off-road race was scrapped in 2019 after a conservation management plan assessment, but a campaign to have the event restored has gathered pace and was recently endorsed by both the local council and the deputy leader of the state opposition, Peter Walsh.

Direl is the local Wergaia word for sky, and refers to the phenomenon of the lakes waters mirroring the sky overhead. About eight years ago it became popular with Chinese tourists because of the reflection and the pink salt that forms across the bed of the lake in summer.
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet has defended Stuart Ayres as a strong trade minister amid the escalating saga around the appointment of John Barilaro, as it was revealed Ayres signed a brief naming former bureaucrat Jenny West as the successful applicant for the New York job.

As Ayres was en route to India to join Perrottet on a trade mission, new documents released to the upper house on Tuesday reveal the deputy Liberal leader, who was then investment minister, signed the briefing note saying after a full recruitment process, the successful candidate is Ms Jenny West on August 17 last year.

Dominic Perrottet, Stuart Ayres, John Barilaro and Jenny West. Credit:Oscar Colman, Kate Geraghty, Dominic Lorrimer, Nick Moir

Ten months later  after West was dumped from the role and Barilaro had gone on to secure the $500,000-a-year job  Ayres told parliament that there was no suitable candidate identified in the first recruitment round.

The Opposition accused both Perrottet and Ayres of misleading parliament. The papers released under an order of parliament on Tuesday reveal that Perrottets office received the same briefing about Wests selection as the successful candidate.
Former Victorian treasurer John Lenders will step down from the Labor Partys campaign committee amid renewed scrutiny over his role in the so-called red shirts scandal.

The Victorian Ombudsman is preparing to release a second report into the ALP misusing almost $400,000 in the lead-up to the 2014 election campaign, in which taxpayers funded casual electorate officers to campaign in marginal seats.

John Lenders will step down from the Labor Partys campaign committee. Credit:Daniel Pockett

Ombudsman Deborah Glass in 2018 said Lenders held the greatest share of culpability for the scheme, into which she has reopened an investigation following a referral from the Victorian Parliament.

On Tuesday, Lenders told The Age he was quitting the partys campaign committee preparing for the November 26 election.
Singapore/Jakarta: Its a police drama with more twists and turns than a Hollywood spy thriller and a cast of characters to fit the bill.

With allegations of an affair, missing CCTV footage and claims of a cover-up, Indonesia has been transfixed for the past two weeks by the shooting death of a junior policeman at the home of his boss  one of the highest ranking officers in the country  and the mysterious circumstances of it.

Slain policeman Brigadier Nopryansyah Yosua Hutabarat.

Now, as the policemans body is to be exhumed for a second autopsy and with several senior officers suspended, public trust in one of the south-east Asian nations most important institutions is on the line and even President Joko Widodo has weighed in.

The controversy revolves around the death of 27-year-old Brigadier Nopryansyah Yosua Hutabarat at the Jakarta home of Inspector General Ferdy Sambo, the Indonesian National Polices head of internal affairs.
Kyiv: Russias top diplomat says his countrys overarching goal in Ukraine is to free its people from its unacceptable regime, expressing the Kremlins war goals in some of the bluntest terms yet.

The remark from Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov comes as Russian forces continue to pummel the country with artillery barrages and airstrikes.

We are determined to help the people of eastern Ukraine to liberate themselves from the burden of this absolutely unacceptable regime, Lavrov said at an Arab League summit in Cairo, referring to Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskys government.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov: We are determined to help the people of eastern Ukraine to liberate themselves from the burden of this absolutely unacceptable regime. Credit:AP

Apparently suggesting that Moscows aims extend beyond Ukraines industrial Donbas region in the east, Lavrov said: We will certainly help the Ukrainian people to get rid of the regime, which is absolutely anti-people and anti-historical.
Wellington: In a political blunder Australians will find familiar, New Zealands opposition leader has gone on holiday in Hawaii while telling Kiwis he was at work back at home.

National Party leader Christopher Luxon travelled to Hawaii last week for a week-long family holiday during a parliamentary recess.

His social media said otherwise, with Luxon declaring in a video Today Im in Te Puke, the heart of kiwifruit country.

National MP Christopher Luxon. Credit:AP

In the clip, he meets with IT workers, shares a morning tea with community leaders, and describes a special automated logging process at a timber business.
The Wyoming Democratic Party is utilizing a new method to connect with the Cowboy States voters to help overcome the states long distances.

With Repd, a digital civic engagement platform, voters can ask questions of candidates and officials.

People type questions into a list maintained on the website and vote on questions theyre interested in seeing answered.

A question is answered through a video message and the person who asked the question is notified of the answer.

The video stays on the page for others to view.

This particular tool uses some well-known online methods that are really pretty democratic, such as upvoting questions that have already been asked and asking questions you feel might be neglected, Greg Haas, the WDPs rural organizing director said. If others think your question is important, they can give it a boost.

The service allows voters to have a more direct conversation with candidates and officials in a state where candidates often need to travel long distances to speak with voters.

The WDP views Repd as a means of overcoming that physical distance and creating meaningful dialog between candidates and voters.

It continues to impress me how the Wyoming Democratic Party continues to reach out to citizens to include those who might otherwise go unheard, Haas said.

Residents are invited to join the discussion at www.repd.us/wyoming.


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.
BEIJING, July 26 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese military will not sit back if U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi visits Taiwan, a Chinese defense spokesperson warned on Tuesday.

Tan Kefei, a spokesperson for China's Ministry of National Defense, made the remarks in response to a press inquiry regarding the issue.

China demands that the United States honor its promise that it would not support "Taiwan independence," Tan said, adding that if the U.S. side insists on making the visit, the Chinese military will take strong actions to thwart any external interference or "Taiwan independence" separatist scheme, and will be resolute in safeguarding China's national sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The Chinese side has repeatedly made clear to the United States its firm opposition to Pelosi's potential visit to Taiwan, Tan noted.

"If Speaker Pelosi visits Taiwan, it would seriously violate the one-China principle and the stipulations in the three China-U.S. joint communiques, seriously harm China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and seriously damage the political foundation of China-U.S. relations," Tan said.

It will inevitably result in extremely serious damage to the relations between the two countries and the two militaries, and lead to further escalation of the tensions across the Taiwan Strait, the spokesperson said.
Britney captioned the post 'Here are text messages to my mom in that place 3 years agoI show it because there was no response When I got out, her words were you should have let me visit you and give you a hug'.
71-Year-Old Man Mauled to Death by 7 Dogs in Texas; Owner Arrested, Sheriffs Office Says

A 71-year-old man in Texas was mauled to death by seven dogs on his way to a local neighborhood store last Tuesday, according to a statement released by authorities.

The tragic incident unfolded in Fresno on July 18, the Fort Bend County Sheriffs Office said. Fresno-native Freddy Garcia was walking down the street before being attacked by a pack of seven dogs.

Samuel Cartwright, 47, is the suspected owner of the seven pit bull mixes, said the Sheriffs Office on Friday.

At approximately 1:30 p.m Tuesday, the Sheriffs Office received a call from a witness who reported the gruesome mauling.

After the immediate arrival of law enforcement, Garica was quickly transported to a downtown Houston hospital via Life Flight to Memorial Hermann. Garcia was pronounced deceased later that day due to the wounds he received.

Four of the seven dogs were soon captured, and three escaped for an unspecified period of time before their capture.

Cartwrights arrest followed an investigation conducted by the Sheriffs Office, the Fort Bend Animal Control, and the Fort Bend County District Attorneys Office. Police confirmed he is currently facing a second degree felony along with a $100,000 bond, charged with attack by dog resulting in death.

However, according to a brief CNN interview prior to his arrest, Cartwright claimed he does not own the dogs, that they were trespassing on his property, and that he alerted animal control immediately after sighting them.

Theres 20 dogs around here right now. If you drive down this back street, there will be 20 loose dogs running around, said Cartwright. People just dump them around here. The dogs go wherever they can find food.

Sheriff Fagan expressed his condolences to Garcias family.

This devastating tragedy didnt have to happen. I extend my deepest condolences to the Garcia family and his neighbors as they adjust to the loss of Mr Garcia, he said. Special thanks go out to our deputies, Fort Bend Animal Services Director Rene Vasquez, and Fort Bend District Attorney Brian Middleton for the collaborative work of capturing the dogs and making an arrest.

The investigation is still currently ongoing.
A general view of the Kusile Power Station, a coal-fired power plant located on the Hartbeesfontein Farm in eMalahleni on June 8, 2022. (Phill Magakoe/AFP via Getty Images)

Amid Energy Crisis, South Africa to Re-Employ White Engineers Fired After Apartheid

JOHANNESBURG, South AfricaPresident Cyril Ramaphosa announced on July 25 that South Africa will rehire some white electricity experts to address a worsening energy crisis.

The African National Congress (ANC) began dismissing whites shortly after Nelson Mandela became President in April 1994. It accelerated so-called broad-based black economic empowerment in 2000 at the countrys state-owned enterprises.

South Africa has endured frequent, widespread blackouts since 2008, when most of its old coal-driven power stations began failing. The crisis has been worsened by corruption and mismanagement at the state electricity company, Eskom, which has warned the power grid is collapsing.

Eskom, one of its major cash cows, was a prime target. Thousands of white managers, technicians, and engineers lost their jobs. Many left for top posts in the field of electricity generation internationally, helping countries across Europe, the Middle East, and southeast Asia to overcome energy crises.

The utilitys now recruiting skilled personnel, including former senior plant managers and engineers from the private sector. Some of these had left Eskom and had gone to various locales in the world. Eskoms now seeking to bring them back, President Cyril Ramaphosa said in a televised address to the nation on July 25.

Ive also been heartened by approaches weve received from former plant managers whod left Eskom and have come forward voluntarily to say that they want to lend a hand. These skilled personnel will help to ensure that world-class operating and maintenance procedures are reinstated.

Ted Blom, a senior mining, energy, and utilities strategist with a masters degree from Harvard Business School, was dismissed as a consultant to the corporation 22 years ago.

At the time, we warned the government that affirmative action changes were being made at Eskom too fast and that it would lead to catastrophe. You cant suddenly lose hundreds of highly-skilled experts, no matter the color of their skin, and then fail to replace that with a skillset of equal or better quality; thats looking for trouble, Blom told Epoch Times.

According to its website, Eskom currently employs almost 45,000 people, mostly at its 15 power plants.

Dirk Hermann, the leader of the Solidarity trade union, told Epoch Times: In discussing the present skills vacuum at Eskom you have to consider the historic context. Eskom, encouraged by the ANC, was reckless in the implementation of a transformation program. It offered billions of rands in packages to workers who should never have been allowed to leave.

Eskoms current chief operating officer, Jan Oberholzer, told Epoch Times the loss of skilled workers is an ongoing, major driver of the utilitys failure to keep the lights on, which costs the economy billions of dollars a week.

A general view of shows coal operations at the Kusile Power Station, a coal-fired power plant located on the Hartbeesfontein Farm in eMalahleni on June 8, 2022. (Phill Magakoe/AFP via Getty Images)

The power outages are also blamed for the loss of life. There have been numerous reports over the years of people being killed in collisions because traffic lights fail. Criminals take advantage of dysfunctional security systems to attack homes and businesses. Patients die in medical facilities when life support equipment fails or is damaged by surges in electrical current.

In 2018, Solidarity provided the government with a list of experts, mostly white, willing to return to Eskom to help it end the blackouts.

The average experience on that list was almost 17 years in power generation. It was more than 1,000 names. It wasnt just ex-Eskom employees. There were mechanical engineers, for example, whove been designing power plants in Vietnam and the Philippines, telling us they wanted to plough their skills back into their home country, Solidaritys research head, Connie Mulder, told Epoch Times. There were people working in the electricity generation sector across North America, Australia, and New Zealand.

Last week, as South Africa suffered some of the worst outages in years, the union finally heard back from the government. The reply, said Mulder, came from Public Enterprises Minister, Pravin Gordhan.

He asked us to send the list again, saying government desperately needs more skills in the generation space. Were now working on an updated list, and were making sure who of the original people we put forward are still willing and able to return to help fix the countrys energy crisis. Then well shorten the list to 100 topnotch experts.

Pravin Gordhan, South African Minister of Public Enterprise, returns after a lunch break at the hearings of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture, Corruption, and Fraud in the Public Sector including Organs of State on November 19, 2018, in Johannesburg. (Wikus de Wet/AFP via Getty Images)

Mulder said the list currently contains the names and qualifications of individuals with vast experience in the electrical, mechanical, nuclear, and systems maintenance fields, plus senior artisans and plant operators for coal and nuclear power stations.

Gordhans office confirmed the veracity of Mulders information to Epoch Times.

But the looming return of white experts to Eskom has angered trade unions with majority black membership at the power company.

Irvin Jim, leader of the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa, told Epoch Times: Theres no place in modern society for Solidaritys inference that old, white males come and save the day at Eskom.

He said the utilitys black technicians are more than capable of fixing power stations, if they get better and more resources.

Jim added that his union rejects Solidaritys blatant attempt to reverse black economic empowerment. There are many black engineers who are even better qualified than white engineers.

He described Ramaphosas announcement as a slap in the face of black South Africans and a stunning insult to the intelligence and skill of Eskoms many excellent black technical staff.

Mulder said Solidaritys offer isnt about white engineers being better than black engineers, and that anyone able to help Eskomno matter their raceshould be allowed to do so.

Jim hit back: Eskom is managed by two white men, yet it is failing in its mission. They have plunged the country into rolling blackouts for the past two years.

Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter and Oberholzer deny theyre racist. They blame the electricity breakdowns on the neglect of essential maintenance and upgrades at power plants stretching back to the mid-1990s, but especially during the allegedly corrupt reign of former president Jacob Zuma between 2009 and 2018.

Former South African President and former president of the ruling party African National Congress (ANC) Jacob Zuma (C) waves to supporters as he arrives for a short visit in Shakaskraal township, on April 16, 2019. (Rajesh Jantilal/AFP via Getty Images)

In April, a commission of inquiry found that Zuma appointed cronies to loot Eskom, and that the equivalent of almost a billion dollars was plundered from the company, mostly during the final four years of Zumas tenure.

Zuma denies orchestrating corruption at state-owned enterprises, including Eskom.

In 2010, Brian Dames was appointed chief executive at Eskom, becoming the first black South African to lead the corporation. He held the post until 2014, when he resigned in protest at the ANCs mishandling of Eskoms mounting problems.

Dames, a nuclear physicist, now serves as CEO of African Rainbow Energy & Power and is president of the World Banks executive council driving its Sustainable Energy for All initiative.

He told The Epoch Times South Africas present power generation crisis is a state of emergency and that the country cant afford to engage in race debates while it suffers electricity meltdown.

Whoevers able to help Eskom must help. We cant afford the luxury anymore of saying, So-and-so should not be allowed in the door to help because his or her skin color is wrong. This is not the time for politics. Fix the chaos, and then you can play politics, said Dames. I am very pleased by the presidents announcement.

Mulder said whatever the color and nature of new skills employed to end the outages, theyll offer only temporary relief as Eskoms coal-driven model is obsolete.

Were calling for an explosion of small-scale generation; the answer to South Africas energy needs lies on millions of rooftops. It doesnt lie in a few megaprojects. We need to get everyone who wants to generate power to push electricity into the grid so we can get out of this hole weve been digging.

Dames agreed, also calling on the government to expand the grid.

We can do this if we build an integrated network by connecting the whole region of Southern Africa by means of shared gas, hydroelectric, wind and solar initiatives. If that happens, the whole regions energy needs will be met.

For now, said Dames, Eskom has to optimize the performance of its power stations and decommission those performing poorly and proving difficult and costly to maintain.

Like many experts, he said the sooner South Africa ends its reliance on burning coal for electricity the better. But that isnt going down well with certain leading ANC officials whose stakes in coal mines are a matter of public record.
In 1934, Ernest Gantt, also known as Donn Beach, opened his first Tiki bar in California. Victor Bergeron, also known as Trader Vicas Tiki joint owners apparently dont tend to use their real namessoon opened his first as well. The purportedly Polynesian theme caught on. Bergeron, who created his cocktail menu himself, came up with the mai tai in 1944.

The drink was built to showcase the rich, pungent flavors of dark Jamaican rum. (cosma/Shutterstock)

Forget what you might think you know about the mai tai. While the tropical theme might suggest sweet juices, the original drink balanced tart and sweet with an unapologetic showcase of a Jamaican rum Bergeron described as having a rich, pungent flavor. The recipe had just four ingredients: rum, Curacao liqueur (made with the dried peel of the bitter orange laraha), orgeat (sweet almond) syrup, and freshly squeezed lime juice. The name came from Bergerons Tahitian friends reaction to the first sip: Maitai roa ae, meaning Out of this world! The best! So this is literally The Best cocktail.

That original rum, a 17-year-old J. Wray & Nephew Jamaican, soon ceased production, and Bergeron adapted the recipe. By the second edition of Trader Vics Bartenders Guide in 1972, his recipe used one ounce of dark Jamaican rum and one ounce of Martinique rum, in an effort to try to find a flavor similar to the original.

The lime juice should be freshand the only juice involved. (showcake/Shutterstock)

But most recipes went off the rails, offering up syrupy sweetness and little umbrellas (not ever for Bergeron). In 1953, Bergeron adapted his own drink for a menu of signature cocktails he was contracted to create for the Hawaiian hotels owned by Matson steamship lines. The new recipe added orange, pineapple, and lemon juices, plus both a light and a dark Jamaican rum. He called it the royal Hawaiian mai tai.

Much of what we see today has evolved from this digression, but note that Bergeron did call it something else. Some bartenders will also float the dark rum on top of the drink for visual effect and garnish with a pineapple wedge and a cherry. A friend of mine just returned from Hawaii with photos of a mai tai topped with lilikoi foam, a passionfruit-infused frothy egg white.

Bartenders may add sweet pineapple and orange juices, float the dark rum, and go wild with garnishes. (Brent Hofacker/Shutterstock)

To each their own. But if you want to start with the historic original, keep it simple.

Mai Tai

2 ounces aged rum

1/2 ounce orange Curacao

3/4 ounce fresh lime juice

1/2 ounce orgeat

Garnish: lime shell, mint sprig

Pour the rum, Curacao, lime juice, and orgeat into a shaker of crushed ice and shake vigorously. Serve in a rocks glass and garnish with an unsqueezed lime shell, rind up, and a sprig of mintmeant to represent an island and a palm tree.
Texas Gov Greg Abbott shows off Senate Bill 1, also known as the election integrity bill, after he signed it into law in Tyler, Texas, on Sept. 7, 2021. (LM Otero/AP Photo)

As Midterms Approach, Texas Republicans Happy About Stronger Voter Integrity Laws

With midterm elections taking center stage in Texaswhere Republicans hope to flip deep-blue territories in the Rio Grande Valley redelection integrity laws are key.

Like other states, Texas began focusing on strengthening voting laws after the 2020 election raised questions about irregularities mainly centered on mail-in ballots, drop boxes, and ballot harvesting.

In 2021, the Republican-led legislature in Texas passed Senate Bill 1, a sweeping election reform bill applauded by conservatives for adding protection against voter fraud.

Democrats, on the other hand, vehemently opposed the bill calling it voter suppression.

A voter heads into a polling station to vote in the Texas primary runoff, in Del Rio, Texas, on May 24, 2022. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

The law banned several practices, such as 24-hour and drive-thru voting, which Harris County used in 2020.

It forbids counties from sending out mail-in ballot applications to people who didnt request them. It also required mail-in ballots that are dropped off to be received by an election official, not a drop box.

The bill authorized election audits starting with the 2020 election. Phase one of the audit results released in December found a total of 11,737 potential non-U.S. citizens registered to vote in Texas.

Auditors are now working on phase two of the audit to address voter rolls in four heavily populated countiesCollin, Dallas, Harris, and Tarrant, which account for about 10 million people or a third of Texas population.

Watchdog groups and politicians think the new voter integrity laws will help Texas administer fair elections going into 2022. But that doesnt mean Texas should let its guard down, especially with the upcoming midterm elections.

In South Texas, Republicans hope to flip three Congressional seats and win back control of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Republican candidates Mayra Flores, Monica De la Cruz, and Cassy Garcia are running for Texas Congressional Districts 34, 28, and 15, respectively, in heavily Hispanic districts that are traditionally blue.

Flores won her seat temporarily during a special election in June, making her the first Republican to win the district in more than a century. Flores must defeat Democrat Congressman Vicente Gonzalez in November to keep the seat.

Ballot harvesting, while illegal, has been around for years in Texas.

During the 2017 special session of the Texas Legislature, lawmakers were concerned enough with ballot harvesting to pass Senate Bill 5. The law tightened mail-in ballot rules and increased criminal penalties for ballot fraud during the 2018 election cycle.

An election official checks a voters photo identification at an early voting polling site in Austin, Texas, in 2014. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

In June, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced the successful prosecution of a vote-harvesting in Victoria County, in the Rio Grande Valley area.

Monica Mendez of Port Lavaca pleaded guilty to 26 felony counts of voter fraud, including three counts of illegal voting, eight counts of election fraud, seven counts of assisting a voter to submit a ballot by mail, and eight counts of unlawful possession of a mail ballot.

Mendez ran a vote-harvesting operation on behalf of a subsidized housing corporation in order to influence the outcome of a utility board election.

After Mendez entered a guilty plea on all 26 counts, District Judge Eli Garza sentenced Mendez to five years deferred adjudication probation.

In South Texas, the practice of paying operatives called politiqueras to get out the vote has sometimes crossed the line into guaranteeing the vote through ballot harvesting.

Orthal Brand Jr., who ran for mayor of McAllen, Texas, was promised hundreds of votes in 2021.

A politiquera walked into his office and told Brand he could deliver hundreds of ballots already signed by voters but with the chosen candidate left unchecked. Brand didnt accept the mans offer, which was illegal.

As a resident of South Texas for more than 60 years, Brand, whose father before him was a longtime mayor, told The Epoch Times he believes election integrity laws will cut back on vote harvesting. But, he has no illusions that it will stop.

Its not gone by any stretch of the imagination, Brand said. Politics and the culture here are just different than anywhere else in the state of Texas.

He remembers stories in the past of politiqueras giving voters strings with knots in them.

Voters would line up the string on a ballot and vote for the candidate next to the knot. These operatives would get paid per vote delivered. Most of their harvesting is conducted at adult daycare centers. Mail-in ballots are the most significant area of fraud, Brand said.

I never used politiqueras. Obviously, maybe thats why I lost, Brand said of his unsuccessful mayoral bid.

Up-to-date voter rolls play a part in securing elections as well.

Of the 11,737 potential non-citizen records found statewide during phase one of the Texas audit, 327 records were identified in Collin County, 1,385 in Dallas County, 3,063 in Harris County, and 708 in Tarrant County.

As of December 2021 audit release, Dallas County had canceled 1,193 of these records, and Tarrant County canceled one. Neither Collin nor Harris canceled any potential non-voting forms.

Phase two of the forensic audit will determine the counties efforts to correct the records.

Christian Adams, president and general counsel of Public Interest Legal Foundation, told The Epoch Times inaccurate voter rolls are a nationwide problem.

The voting watchdog foundation filed a lawsuit in federal court against the election administrator in Starr County, Texas, in 2016 for failing to make a reasonable effort to maintain the countys voter rolls.

Federal and Texas data suggested that from 2010 to 2014, the registration rate ranged from 100 to 110 percentvery much outside the norm for other Texas counties of similar size.

Starr County agreed to a settlement in 2018 on a process to update and maintain voter rolls, according to the foundation.

Adams also pointed to a 2020 Texas case against Ann Harris Bennett in her capacity as Harris County Voter Registrar. She allegedly processed voter applications when applicants marked no on the citizenship question.

While the Texas audit showed areas of concern, the secretary of states office said the issues werent significant enough to affect the presidential election in 2020.

Of the four counties being audited, former president Donald Trump won Collin County, with President Joe Biden taking Dallas and Harris counties. Tarrant County, traditionally a red county, flipped to Biden with a slim 1,826 vote margin.

Overall, Trump carried Texas with 52.1 percent of the vote to Bidens 46.5 percent.

Secretary of state John Scott portrayed the Texas audit in November as the countrys most comprehensive forensic audit of the 2020 election.

Scott added that the audit would use analytical tools to examine the literal nuts and bolts of election administration to determine if any illegal activity may have occurred.
Former President Donald Trump speaks during a "Save America" rally at Alaska Airlines Center on July 09, 2022 in Anchorage, Alaska. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

At Washington Summit, Republicans Forge a Vision for the Future

WASHINGTONAs former President Donald Trump flirts with announcing a run to retake the White House, his loyalists gathered in Washington for the America First Policy Summit, where a key speech suggested that Trump was part of something larger than himself.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich traced Trumps policies to those of the 1994 Contract With America which he led after the Republicans seized the House for the first time in four decades. He then traces the America First policies further back to Ronald Reagans presidency and the agenda Reagan advocated as early as 1965.

We were standing on Reagans shoulders, he said of the 1994 policy platform.

Gingrich spoke Monday to the 1,200 attendees at the America First Policy Institute, a group set up in 2021 to continue the work on the Trump agenda. The AFPI summit features more than 150 leading conservative voices, including present and former members of Congress and high-ranking administration officials. Trump will deliver Tuesdays keynote speech.

As Republicans try to win back Congress, Gingrich called on them to run a big campaign, not a small one. The former speaker said the campaign should be based on the serious questions facing Americans, such as rising food and energy costs, a crime wave aggravated by progressive prosecutors, foreign policy weakness, and schools disregarding parents wishes about what their children are taught.

And they should ignore Democrat distractions, like Raphael Warnocks attack ads on Herschel Walker in Georgias Senate campaign or the Jan. 6 investigation, which he called a Stalinist show trial disguised as a Congressional hearing.

Americans are tuning out the latter, he said. They want the larger questions of the day addressed. Republicans can win when they do that, take a united stance on them and commit themselves publicly, he added.

It worked in 1994, and it worked earlier when Reagan not only swept into office in 1980 but showed coattails long enough for Republicans to take the Senate for the first time in 26 years.

Reagan had gathered all the Republican candidates on the Capitol steps before the election to commit to the platform, and it worked. At his first Cabinet meeting, Reagan plunked down a thousand-page document from the Heritage Foundation and said, This is the policy of my administration.

And they hired most of the 250 (experts) who had written the report to actually go execute the report, Gingrich said.

The AFPIs agenda lists basic principles reminiscent of the Contract With America. They include items like make America energy independent, provide safe and secure communities so all Americans can live their lives in peace, and deliver peace through strength and American leadership.

Gingrich said these goals come less from Republicans than from what the public wants. The principles poll well, often with around 80 percent approval.

The first time Gingrich ran for Congress in 1974, he learned a fundamental rule from Reagan. Find that 80 percent issue, stand next to it, and smile. Broadly popular principles cant be eroded by media opposition.

The crowd responded well to it.

Im a big believer in having a vision, Chuck Williams, former Assistant Secretary of the Navy under Trump, told The Epoch Times during a break. That was the whole concept of the Contract With America. It means a lot to me.

Sticking to that kind of vision might convince disillusioned Democrats to side with it, he said. This is not just about an individual.

The policy initiative seems to offer Republicans a way out of post-Trump divisions within the party, appealing to the partys establishment and MAGA factions alike, and giving Republicans a place to go whether or not Trump decides to run.

Speaker after speaker, though, reminded the crowd of Trumps work on these policies and what the nation looked like under a leader who delivered prosperity at home and strength abroad.

Former national security adviser Keith Kellogg, a retired lieutenant general, emphasized that America First is not isolationist. Instead, it supports projecting strength abroad while demanding that foreign policy first be shown to benefit Americans.
Australian Business Groups Pan Decision to Rollback Building Watchdogs Powers

The Australian Industry (AI) Group has called the federal Labor governments decision to roll back the building code to its bare minimum and strip back the powers of the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC) a backward step for the industry.

Innes Willox, the AI Groups chief executive, said the announcement is of great concern to businesses and the broader community.

It is a backwards step for the fight against bullying and intimidation and will add costs and delays to vital community infrastructures such as roads, hospitals and schools, Willox said on July 25.

The Building Code and the ABCC are playing a critical role in addressing bullying and intimidation by union officials on building sites. There are major skill and labour shortages in the construction industry, and it is, of course, difficult to attract people into the industry, including women and young people, without a respectful work environment.

Labourers work at a construction site in the central business district of Sydney in Australia on June 18, 2020. (Saeed Khan/AFP via Getty Images)

Willox said he believed that if the government continued with this plan, the construction industry will be at risk of not meeting the standards of work health and safety on job sites.

How can it be a positive or appropriate step to abolish the drug and alcohol testing requirements that apply on projects funded by the federal government? Workers should not have to risk their lives or limbs by working alongside other workers who are impaired by drugs or alcohol, he said.

Labor Fulfilling Its Election Pledge

The comments from Willox come after the federal Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke made the announcement on the ABC Insiders program on July 24 that as of the 26th, the government would be rolling back the powers of the ABCC to the bare minimum.

Burke said what the ABCC was enforcing was ridiculous and could be done by another regulator or not at all. He also signalled that unions were no longer going to be targeted.

We will no longer be spending taxpayers money determining what sticker someones allowed to put on their helmet, whether or not a safety sign has to be pulled down because its got a union logo in the bottom corner, or what flag might be flying at a building site, Burke said. Those sorts of issues should never have been something for an official government regulator to be wasting taxpayers money. As of Tuesday, those offences are gone all together.

Minister for Employment Tony Burke during a press conference in the Mural Hall at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia on June 17, 2020. (Sam Mooy/Getty Images)

The changes will see the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) take on the job of enforcing and prosecuting the Fair Work Act in the building and construction industry. However, the Albanese government will retain the federal safety commissioner to maintain the safety culture of the building and construction industry.

Further, Burke confirmed that the rollback will mean that building and construction workers will now be able to freely bargain for agreements in the same way as other workers. This will include agreements that include clauses promoting job security, jobs for apprentices, and safety at work.

The decision to dump the ABCC was expected by the Albanese government, which had campaigned for its removal during the May election.

The Australian Council of Trade Unions welcomed the announcement by Burke, with ACTU Secretary Sally McManus saying it was the first and most important step to the Albanese government fulfilling its commitments.

Secretary of the ACTU Sally McManus during a doorstop in the media gallery at Parliament House on March 18, 2021 in Canberra, Australia. (Sam Mooy/Getty Images)

The Code was one of the ideological projects of the previous government, which spent nearly a decade attacking unions and suppressing wages, McManus said.
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet speaks to the media during a press conference at Rosehill Public School in Sydney, Australia, Jan. 31, 2022. (AAP Image/Bianca De Marchi)

Australian State Pitched as Clinical Trial Hub in Seoul

With COVID-19 cases surging across Australia, NSW is being spruiked to Korean scientists as a clinical trial hub where drugs can be developed.

After meeting with executives from car giant Hyundai in Seoul to talk about investments in hydrogen production, NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet shifted his attention to health as part of his 10-day Asia trade trip.

Australia accounts for 4.2 percent of all global clinical trials activity last year, and the premier wants to pitch NSW as the go-to state for clinical research worldwide.

Perrottet visited the Seoul Bio Hub, a health start-up funded by the Seoul metropolitan government, on Tuesday to sell Korean scientists on NSW as the capital of start-ups.

We lead when it comes to med tech (medical technology) and innovation, and there was a strong interest today in our precincts at Westmead, Randwick and Liverpool, he told reporters before heading to lay a wreath at the War Memorial of Korea.

There was strong interest, particularly in clinical trials given our large population and our extensive multicultural community.

But his investment-focused trip has been hounded by the mounting political controversy of former deputy premier John Barilaro being appointed to a lucrative $500,000 New York-based trade commissioner role after it was offered to another candidate Jenny West.

On Tuesday, government documents provided to a parliamentary inquiry revealed Perrottet, as then-treasurer received a ministerial briefing on the chosen candidate last year.

The documents also indicate that then-investment minister Stuart Ayres was also informed by Investment NSW in August that Ms West was the preferred candidate recommended by an independent recruitment panel.

Ayres, who opened a trade commissioners office in Singapore on Monday, will join the premier in India on the last leg of his Asia tour later this week.

The briefing note urged the selection of Ms Jenny West as the successful candidate for the Senior Trade & Investment Commissioners Americas role.

West previously told the inquiry she was verbally offered the role and subsequently lost her senior job at Investment NSW after it was withdrawn.

It eventually went to Barilaro, who last month relinquished the job, saying it had become untenable.
Barbara Kay: Femicide Can Be Added to Criminal Code, but Only If Sex-Selection Abortion Is Also Included

Commentary

Last month, the jury of a special coroners inquest into three womens deaths in 2015, all related to intimate partner violence (IPV), made a recommendation that femicide be added to the Criminal Code as a distinct offence. The justice system already differentiates between the killing of an adult and infanticide, so the idea is worthy of discussion.

Men are far more likely to be killed by other men for a variety of reasons. And yet, while most IPV violence is bilateral, at its extreme end, women are disproportionately the victims. So yes, I think there is a case to be made for adding femicide to the Criminal Code. But only if sex-selection abortion (SSA) is included in its remit. Women seek abortions for many reasons. Only one of them is based in hatred of women.

Pro-choice activists take the position that if a right is immutable, as they argue abortion is, then the motivation cannot be questioned. Its the individual womans choice. Privacy, right? But what do we do when womens privacy and public health needs collide?

SSA is creating a public health crisis on a worldwide scale. A recent story in the Wall Street Journal illustrates the need for attention to this odious practice. It begins with reference to a video clip that circulated on Chinese social media last winter, in which a woman is shown in a doorless shed, chained by the neck. It was suspected she must be a bought wife, alluding to the illegal practice, often involving human traffickers who lure poor women from remote provinces to provide rural men with brides.

In spite of official protestations that she was not a victim, public outrage elicited the truth: The woman had been twice-sold and had eight children. Her husband was arrested, but public protest did not die down. The issue of bride-buying was raised to the level of national soul searching. A national campaign on a dramatic scale is now underway to track down and rescue women in this victims situation. Bride traffickings root cause is SSA, a consequence of patriarchal norms and Chinas former one-child policy.

As early as the 1980s, some researchers anticipated the pitfalls of early-stage ultrasound technology, which was narrowly celebrated for its role in predicting genetic deficits. Its ability also to predict the babys sex was perceived in the West as a meaningless but agreeable perk. We were slow to grasp the potential downside of this momentous change in prenatal care. While the normal ratio of male to female births is on average 105/100, in some regions, thanks to SSA, the birth ratio ranges from 160/100 to a shocking 200/100. Nobel prize-winner Amartya Sen estimates that there are about 160 million missing women in Asia and North Africa.

China is one SSA hot spot, and India is another. Here too, cultural norms assign greater value to males. Not only are sons responsible for their parents care in old age, girls represent dowry expenses. It used to be argued that higher literacy rates and socio-economic advances would result in higher status for girls. But a 2008 study found no relation between the sex ratio and religion or years of education of the mother. This is in agreement with the findings of others who have shown that gender bias exists regardless of religion, caste and socio-economic class. Indeed, according to SSA expert Mara Hvistendahl, author of the 2011 book Unnatural Selection: Choosing Boys Over Girls, and the Consequences of a World Full of Men, shortlisted for the 2012 Pulitzer Prize, female empowerment preceded SSA.

Even though gender equality is well established in the West, we must assume some responsibility for what is happening abroad. Hvistendahl says. From the 1950s on, abortion in Asian countries was encouraged and funded by American philanthropic institutions like the Rockefeller Foundation and the International Planned Parenthood Federation. On this issue, Cold War warriors and leftists became unlikely bed fellows. Conservatives feared population growth would further the spread of communism, while left-wing scientists and feminists thought abortion was necessary for womens empowerment, and even, as Planned Parenthoods medical director put it in 1976, for the future prosperity  or maybe survival  of mankind. For many global-population alarmists, Hvistendahl states, sex selection was a feature rather than a bug, since a society with fewer girls was guaranteed to reproduce itself at lower rates.

In Asia, only South Korea has managed to reverse this troubling trend. By the late 1980s, South Koreas skewed ratio peaked at 116/100. The government decided intervention was necessary. In 1988 it became illegal for a doctor to reveal the gender of a foetus to expectant parents. That alone was insufficient; notably, both China and India have laws or regulations against SSA, but they are simply ignored. It seems that a combination of urbanization, womens educational advances plus reforms in social security, and perhapsas a much smaller country than the other population behemothsmore nimbleness in acceptance of social change, coalesced for success in normalizing South Koreas gender ratios.

Deeply ingrained cultural norms emigrate with those who hold them, making SSA there a problem here. The 2008 study mentioned above describes Canada, where abortion is entirely unregulated, as a haven for parents who would terminate female fetuses in favour of having sons, despite overwhelming censure of the practice. Statistics from communities with a large Asian immigration population in Quebec, Ontario, and B.C. all show skewed male/female birth ratios.

Everyone agrees SSA is an ethical problem, even those who take a libertarian view of womens abortion rights. Forcing ultrasound technicians to become moral gatekeepers (Why do you want to know the sex of the fetus?) is unfair and unworkable. In any case, ultrasounds are rapidly becoming irrelevant in the light of newer strategies, such as blood test kits for determining sex that can be done in the privacy of ones home.

Very few Canadians are opposed to abortion under any circumstances. Rape, incest, and predictable birth anomalies all resonate with the general public as a rational basis for choosing abortion. Likewise, very few Canadians endorse abortion for any reason. A woman who willingly conceives a baby, then willingly terminates a healthy fetus when its wrong sex is discerned, crosses a bright moral line for most of us. No matter how feminists spin it, SSA is femicide and an abomination.

Skeptical? Imagine the eventual invention of a simple home blood test kit that can predict homosexuality or gender dysphoria in the womb. Everyone knows that womens right to abortion privacy would then disappear in a heartbeat. A human heartbeat.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Xavier Becerra, Secretary of Health and Human Services, speaks at the HHS headquarters in Washington on June 28, 2022. (Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images)

Biden Admin Proposes Restoring Obama-Era LGBT Health Care Non-Discrimination Rule

The Biden administration on Monday announced that it is looking to restore an Obama-era health care non-discrimination rule that interpreted sex to mean sexual identity or gender.

The proposed U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) rule would implement Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, and disability in certain health programs and activities.

The Biden administration is proposing to restore an abstract Obama-era definition of sex as ones internal sense of gender, which may be male, female, neither, or a combination of male and female. For this reason, the move is seen as a win by the LGBT community and its advocates.

This was previously struck down in October 2019 during the Trump administration, after a federal court found the ruling was probably contrary to applicable civil rights law, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, and the Administrative Procedure Act.

The move forms part of U.S. President Joe Bidens agenda to advance gender and health equity and civil rights and championing of LGBT issues, and comes as a number of states move to ban or place restrictions on trans-related surgeries for minors.

HHS stated in a press release that the proposed rule will affirm protections against discrimination on the basis of sex, including sexual orientation and gender identity.

Proposed Changes

Officials from HHS said the proposed rule was about providing access to health services, including abortion, free from discrimination.

Health care should be a right not dependent on looks, location, love, language, or the type of care someone needs, said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra.

HHS said the proposed changes to Section 1557 of the ACA will address gaps in regulations. It cites the Supreme Court decision in Bostock vs. Clayton County in its rule-making proposal.

Among other things, the proposed rules will clarify for health insurance issuers that receive federal funding that discrimination on the basis of pregnancy, including abortion, is prohibited.

Under the proposed rule, an LGBT patient would be protected if a doctor refuses to provide medical care due to discomfort with, for example, an intersex persons traits, according to an LGBT organization.

The proposed rule also refines and strengthens the process for raising conscience and religious freedom objections.

The statute and current regulations are in effect while HHS undertakes the rule-making, according to the department.

Sex vs. Gender

Conservatives have sought to put clearer boundaries around the definitions of sex as being based on biological anatomy. Progressive leftists, left-wing activists, and Democrats meanwhile have clouded the concepts of biological sex and gender by using them interchangeably.

Many institutions and individuals use the word gender rather than sex when obtaining personal information, especially on fillable forms and documents.

Some state legislatures have sought to address this, with a number of states passing bills that seek to put measures in place to safeguard the integrity of mens and womens sports, or to set requirements for changing the sex markers on birth certificates.
US President Joe Biden meets vitually with the Chairman and Principal Owner of SK Group Chey Tae-won in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington on July 26, 2022. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)

Biden Well Enough to Resume Physical Exercise: Doctor

President Joe Biden is feeling well enough to resume physical exercise five days after beginning treatment for COVID-19, his doctor said on July 26.

Biden finished the five-day course of Paxlovid, Pfizers COVID-19 pill, and his symptoms have now almost completely resolved, Dr. Kevin OConnor said in a memorandum (pdf) to White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.

His pulse, blood pressure, respiratory rate and temperature remain absolutely normal. His oxygen saturation continues to be excellent on room air. His lungs remain clear, OConnor said.

The President now feels well enough to resume his physical exercise regimen, he added.

Biden, 79, will remain isolated for now. Hes been staying in the White Houses residence since testing positive for COVID-19 on July 21.

Biden had received four doses of Pfizers COVID-19 vaccine before testing positive for the illness, which is caused by SARS-CoV-2, also known as the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus.

Because of his advanced age, the president is considered at high risk of progressing to severe disease, but his doctor said he expected Biden to respond favorably to Paxlovid.

Biden experienced symptoms including body aches, fatigue, and a dry cough.

According to OConnor, the presidents symptoms had been improving since July 22.

President Joe Biden covers his mouth while coughing during a virtual meeting with CEOs and labor leaders regarding the Chips Act, in Washington on July 25, 2022. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)

Working

Biden has continued working since contracting the CCP virus, receiving the Presidents Daily Brief on weekdays and participating in meetings remotely.

Biden attended an economic briefing with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and other officials on Friday. He had no public events over the weekend. On Monday, Biden delivered remarks to the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives Conference and met with various CEOs on the CHIPS Act, which Congress is poised to pass this week. And on Tuesday, Biden joined a meeting with SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won.

He was scheduled to speak to the House Bipartisan Disabilities Caucus on Tuesday evening. Bidens schedule for Wednesday has not yet been released.

Im feeling great, Biden said during the meeting on Monday.

Im feeling better every day, he said, adding later, And I think Im on my way to a full, total recovery, God willing.

Bidens illness has triggered fresh calls to rescind COVID-19 vaccine mandates, and the White House has acknowledged that vaccines no longer provide much protection against the disease.

As we have said, almost everyone is going to get COVID, Jean-Pierre told reporters in Washington.

But officials also allege that Bidens experience shows the importance of getting vaccinated.

His current health speaks to how Americans should avail themselves of boosters and treatments, the press secretary said.
The Communications Security Establishment Canada (CSEC) complex in Ottawa in a file photo. (The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick)

Big Brother Vibes: Spy Agency Ditches Job Ads After Mixed Reviews From Focus Groups

Canadas cyberspy agency has changed course on proposed recruitment efforts after focus groups found job ads had too much of a Big Brother vibe.

The Communications Security Establishment spent just over $56,000 earlier this year on research from Earnscliffe Strategy Group that explored reactions to various branding concepts, including graphic designs that featured big camera lenses.

Some focus group participants told the researchers that the agencys logo in the middle of a lens evoked surveillance, a Big Brother vibe, and that CSE is always watching.

In a statement, the cybersecurity agency specifically tested Chinese-language ads as part of its effort to recruit diverse analysts to monitor foreign intelligence.

After the research found little awareness of CSEs mission among potential recruits, it is pivoting its efforts around a new tag line this fall: The most important organization youve never heard of.

The agency says it has grown its workforce by more than 20 percent since 2019.
Survivors sit on a capsized boat as they are about to be rescued near New Providence in the Bahamas, early on July 24, 2022. (Royal Bahamas Defense Force via AP)

Boat Carrying Haitian Migrants Sinks Off Bahamas, Killing 17

SAN JUAN, Puerto RicoAuthorities in the Bahamas combed shorelines and open waters on Monday in hopes of finding more survivors after a boat carrying up to an estimated 60 Haitian migrants apparently capsized.

Divers have found the bodies of 15 women, one man, and a toddler, while another 20 men and five women have been rescued since Sunday, according to Bahamian officials.

The U.S. government is helping with the ongoing search as local authorities deploy drones, planes, and submersibles, said Capt. Shonedel Pinder, deputy commander of the Bahamas Defense Force.

Its a combined effort using all available resources  to see if there are any potential survivorsas well as to recover any remains, he told reporters.

Two Bahamian men are in custody, although it wasnt immediately clear if they have been charged as officials launch a criminal investigation into a suspected human smuggling operation.

The twin-engine speed boat named Bare Ambition apparently capsized about seven miles from New Providence after leaving the Bahamas around 1 a.m. on Sunday, likely bound for Miami. It became the latest deadly voyage for Haitian migrants.

In May, at least 11 people died and 38 others were saved near Puerto Rico, while another boat carrying 40 migrants went down near Florida, with only one man rescued and another found dead.
Bus Plunges Into Kenyan River Valley, 34 People Dead: Reports

NAIROBIThirty-four people died in central Kenya when their bus veered off a bridge and plunged into a river valley, local media reported on Monday.

The Daily Nation and Standard newspapers reported that the incident occurred on Sunday evening in Tharaka Nithi County, when the bus belonging to the Modern Coast company travelling from Meru to the port city of Mombasa veered off the Nithi Bridge, and fell into the valley 40 metres below.

Up to now, we have lost 14 women, 18 men, and two girls, so the total deaths are 34. We have rescued 11 who are undergoing treatment in hospital, Tharaka Nithi County Commissioner Nobert Komora told NTV Kenya television near the crash site.

Nation reported Komora as saying that initial investigations showed the buss brakes may have failed, preventing its driver from properly turning on a sharp bend at the bridge.

The National Transport and Safety Authority, Kenyas transport regulator, had ordered all buses belonging to Modern Coast to suspend operations pending an investigation into the crash.

National Bureau of Statistics data shows 4,579 people died in road accidents in Kenya in 2021, a 15 percent increase from a year earlier.

By George Obulutsa and Humphrey Malalo
The Flight butterfly exhibit at the Santa Ana Zoo in Santa Ana, Calif., on July 21, 2022. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

Butterflies Find a New Home in Santa Ana

Dad, look at this one! a child exclaimed, pointing at a large blue butterfly, roughly the size of an adult hand, as it flew over their heads toward the wall of the enclosure.

Look, now hes resting, Dad!

Santa Ana Zoos Flight exhibit opened July 25, exposing visitors to a live butterfly experience where zoogoers have the opportunity to interact with butterflies from South, Central, and North America within a 2000-foot enclosure.

Last week, the zoo had its soft opening at the exhibit.

The Flight butterfly exhibit at the Santa Ana Zoo in Santa Ana, Calif., on July 21, 2022. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

While a typical lifespan of a butterfly lasts 26 weeks, new butterflies emerge on a daily basis within the exhibit, located on the Northern end of the 20-acre zoo front property, which is home to more than 260 animals.

What was once an open picnic area, the newly launched butterfly exhibit was funded by private donations to the Santa Ana Zoo, which averages in 240,000 annual visits a year; many visits which include local students.

The zoo offers many opportunities for fun, adventure, and learning in a unique setting with an educational focus, Santa Ana Zoo Manager Ethan Fisher told The Epoch Times. [It] provides a place in the community where people can gain an understanding of the complexity and interdependence of nature and the extraordinary diversity of life.

The Santa Ana Zoo in Santa Ana, Calif., on July 21, 2022. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

Around the enclosure, families slowly walked together surrounded by the greenery that capture the attention of various species of butterflies.

Connected to a hanging metallic try, some of the butterflys gathered in groups of three or four as they indulged themselves with thinly cut pieces of fruit that included watermelon and pineapple.

The butterflies are not shy around people. As families watched them, many butterflies would softly fly by the guests within inches displaying a beautiful array of colors and patterns along their wingspans.

With over a dozen species of butterflies, zookeepers received special training before working within the exhibit, in time for the grand opening to the public.

The Flight butterfly exhibit at the Santa Ana Zoo in Santa Ana, Calif., on July 21, 2022. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

Guests are encouraged to wear brightly-colored clothing to attract the butterflies.

Santa Ana Zoo tickets are $12, and $9 for children aged 312.

The Flight exhibit of the Santa Ana Zoo will be open through the end of September and reopen for guests in Spring 2023 under the daily hours of 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Dairy cows await their turn to be milked at Armstrong Manor Dairy Farm on September 4, 2018 in Caledon, Canada. (Cole Burston/Getty Images)

Canada, Ireland Issue Emission Restrictions for Farmers, Similar to Netherlands

Farmers warn new restrictions will affect food production

Canada and Ireland are rolling out policies to force their farmers to cut carbon emissions to a point that the farmers say would affect food production. Despite the potential negative consequences, the policies would seem to only achieve minute results for the decarbonization agenda.

Some Canadian provincial officials recently criticized their federal government for setting a goal of cutting emissions from synthetic fertilizer use by 30 percent by 2030 without first consulting the provinces on what is achievable or attainable.

Provinces pushed the federal government to discuss this important topic, but were disappointed to learn that the target is already set, Saskatchewan and Alberta ministers of agriculture said in a July 22 statement.

This has been the most expensive crop anyone has put in, following a very difficult year on the prairies, Alberta Minister of Agriculture Nate Horner said in the release.

The world is looking for Canada to increase production and be a solution to global food shortages. The Federal government needs to display that they understand this.

Slashing fertilizer use by 20 percent could cost Canadian farmers more than $48 billion in lost sales due to lower yields by 2030, according to a 2021 study commissioned by Fertilizer Canada, an industry group (pdf).

Synthetic fertilizer use is responsible for less than 2 percent of Canadas carbon emissions, according to Canadian government data. Canada, in turn, is responsible for about 1.4 percent of global emissions.

Meanwhile, the Canadian fertilizer industry already has a program called 4R Nutrient Stewardship that would, if rolled out across the major farming areas, cut emissions by 15 to 22 percent while also boosting profits by using fertilizers more efficiently. The governments insistence on the 30 percent figure thus translates to a reduction of about 0.10.2 percent of Canadas 2019 emissions and about 0.0020.005 percent of world emissions beyond what the industry works to achieve on its own.

Ireland is in a similar situation. Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue is reportedly about to agree to a 27 or 28 percent carbon emission reduction goal for his sector.

Agriculture accounts for more than a third of the countrys carbon-equivalent emissions, notably due to its robust cattle farming that feeds not just its domestic market, but also significant beef and dairy exports.

The Irish governments climate plan calls for a cut of 22 to 30 percent. At the top end of the range, the plan would cause significantly reduced production and potentially devastate the farming sector in Ireland, Irish Farmers Association President Tim Cullinan previously said.

A beef cattle farmer in Lifford, Ireland, on Jan. 9, 2015. (Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)

Irelands agriculture emissions add up to about 21 megatons of CO2 a year. Cutting it by 28 percent would lead to global emissions dropping by 0.05 percent.

Cullinan has questioned what good it would do if other countries dont follow suit.

We have to question what it is for, he said at a November demonstration, The Irish Times reported.

He pointed out that Ireland already runs one of the most efficient farming operations in the world.

Regulations that in effect downsize farming have recently prompted large protests in the Netherlands and led to the economic collapse of Sri Lanka.

The last round of carbon emission targets was pledged by governments at the COP26 climate summit last year. Many climate scientists predict that growing emissions will cause more severe weather events, such as storms and droughts, though historically the more catastrophic predictions havent materialized.

Critics have pointed out the decarbonization agenda would undercut living standards without achieving meaningful change in the climate. For one thing, China, the worlds largest carbon emitter by far, and India dont intend to constrict their economies toward carbon reductions.
GOP lawmakers are laying out their priorities to take back the majority in November. What are their top priorities on energy and law enforcement, and what changes are they vowing to make?

NTD was at the America First Policy Summit and had a chance to catch up with Mark Lotter, chief communications officer of the America First Policy Institute. We asked him about former President Donald Trumps first visit back to Washington and the significance behind it.

The January 6th select committee is ready to subpoena the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, Ginni Thomas. And more Trump cabinet members will be interviewed. Congressman Byron Donalds shares his thoughts on how the GOP should move forward.

Roads were emptied and people were ordered to stay indoors in parts of Taiwan, including its capital city Taipei, during an air-raid exercise as the island steps up preparations for a potential attack by Beijing.

An investigation by The Heritage Foundation has uncovered plans by Washington officials to transport illegal immigrants to Florida.

U.S. House Representative Michael Waltz is saying that the vaccine mandates imposed on the National Guard are only going to make the service weaker.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed insider trading charges against former Congressman Stephen Buyer. Hes facing four counts of securities fraud over the alleged deals.

* Click the Save button below the video to access it later on My List.

Follow CapitolReport on social media:

Twitter https://twitter.com/capitolreport

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/CapitolReport/

Gettr https://gettr.com/user/capitolreport

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
A screen shows a rolling feed of new generic top-level domain names (gTLDs) that have been applied for during a press conference hosted by ICANN in central London, on June 13, 2012. The U.S. intention to relinquish control of ICANN opens the door for China to gain greater control over the internet. (Andrew Cowie/AFP/GettyImages)

China Races Into Cyber Totalitarianism With Tightened Internet Rules: Experts

Chinas cyber watchdog issued new rules on internet users and outbound data transfers that become effective in August and September respectively. Experts believe the regimes racing into the age of digital surveillance will only facilitate the collapse of its economy.

The new regulations refine the regimes firm grip on personal data and livelihood, and the operations of private enterprises.

Analysts warned that while the new rules will enforce further self-censorship of foreign enterprises, they also facilitate businesses leaving China, and ultimately, the collapse of the Chinese economy.

Tight Control of Personal Data

Recently, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) successively introduced Provisions on the Management of Internet Users Account Information, effective on Aug. 1, and Measures for the Security Assessment of Outbound Data Transfer, effective on Sept. 1.

Beijings latest regulations acquire full disclosure and certification of personal information for internet users during registration, and clearance of data export via the governmental agencies, reportedly for the sake of national interest and security.

Cyber security analyst Jiu Jushui told the Chinese language edition of The Epoch Times that the so-called rules are just a tactic to endorse violence and privacy invasion in the name of national security.

Global Trend of Mass Surveillance

Xiaogang Zhang, an IT expert in Australia, said, Big data has become a strategic resource; it serves the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) by transforming control of society to the web.

A publication by Pew Research in 2020 predicted that by 2030, as much of 75 percent of the worlds population will be enslaved by artificial intelligence-based surveillance systems developed in China and exported around the world.

Borrowing the title of the 2019 book by author Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, economist Klaus Solberg Soilen once indicated that mass surveillance is now a global trend. He wrote, In the West the suppressors are mostly private monopolies (e.g. Google, Facebook), while in the East it is primarily the government that is snooping (e.g. Chinas Social Credit System).

A screen shows visitors being recorded by AI security cameras with facial recognition technology at the 14th China International Exhibition on Public Safety and Security at the China International Exhibition Center in Beijing on Oct. 24, 2018. (Nicolas Asfouri/AFP via Getty Images)

The Red Powers Fear

China affairs specialist Tang Jingyuan said the internet users provision puts all Chinese internet users into the walls of its surveillance, like a prison. Netizens no longer enjoy freedom of speech or personal privacy.

However, what lies behind the rule is the CCPs fear.

The massive data harbors the massive reality of Chinese societyone that the CCP has been hiding, Tang said, thats what threatens the CCP.

Tightened Self-censorship

Regarding the regulation on outbound data transfer, Tang explained that Beijing set a low threshold for data handlers to submit assessment applications.

For instance, data handlers with cumulative personal information of more than 100,000 people or the sensitive personal information of more than 10,000 people should apply for the security assessment.

The regulation also requires all outbound transfers of important data to seek assessment by the government agency.

Tang explained that the policy will force multinational companies to adjust their IT platforms and internal organizational structures. Companies may be forced to comply with self-censorship to save themselves the trouble, and to ultimately localize inside China.

This would amount to unfair competition, and conflict in the free flow of data for multinational corporations. It may force foreign companies to leave China, Tang said.

Regarding total control through cybersecurity, Zhang said, It will only speed up the collapse of the already failing Chinese economy, like in Maos era.

Chang Chun, Li Xinan and Luo Ya contributed to this report.
A health worker is carrying out a COVID-19 test in Dalian, in China's northeast Liaoning Province on July 26, 2020. (STR/AFP via Getty Images)

Chinese Hospital Delays Salaries Five Months: Medical Staff

How bad are the local governments finances in China? A piece of recent Chinese news gives a clue.

A hospital in a northeastern coastal city has not paid its employees since March, according to a video report from state-run Chinese media The Paper.

While the COVID pandemic was blamed, the hospital administrators admitted that the hospital has not paid pension insurance and provident funds since the year 2000 due to the hospitals poor performance.

In reaction to the news, Chinese netizens said that this is not an isolated case and many indicated that they themselves were also the victims of their local hospitals. One responded: Its all too regular. Our county hospital has paid us on the basis of once a year.

A Chinese netizen Heri_seldon wrote: If the in-patients medical card runs low on balance, the hospital would call and demand the deposit. Otherwise, the medication will be stopped right away. Talking about the poor performance in the hospital? I wont believe it. Is there a way to check the books?

Public Funds Ran Out

Dandong Hospital in the Zhenan district of Liaoning Province is a public hospital with local governmental subsidy as its main funding source.

Hospital staff told the media that the hospital has not paid any salary for five consecutive months.

Also in the video, the staff was heard saying with a voice changer, Since 2000, the hospital has deducted whatever categories from our salary, but none went [to the pension and the provident fund].

After the news broke out, local authorities promised to look into the problem and hoped to resolve it shortly. Local governmental finance issues have been exposed frequently these years. Sharp pay cuts among the public servants in wealthy Chinese cities such as Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Tianjin, were already widely reported in 2021, signaling the severity of the ubiquitous budget crisis among local governments inside China.

A group of apartments that were built in Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang Province, sit vacant, as the construction company has gone bankrupt, on April 10, 2012. Also in Hangzhou, the developer China Metallurgical Group Corporation faces huge losses, as the local governments do not have the money to pay off debts to the company. (STR/AFP/Getty Images)

In 2020, Chinas hidden local government debt swelled to more than half the size of the economy, according to economists at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Bloomberg reported.

Goldmans analysis took the local government financing vehicle (LGFV) debt as an example. The LGFV was local governments selling off land to themselves in order to free up cash. In 2020, the LGFV debt was estimated to be at 53 trillion yuan ($7.85 trillion), roughly 52% of Chinas gross domestic product. The local debt risk is believed to continue to rise.

Xia Song contributed to this report.
Sing Tao Daily's Toronto office building is seen in a file photo. (The Epoch Times)

Chinese-Language Newspaper Sing Tao Daily Ends Print in Canada

The Chinese-language newspaper Sing Tao Daily which often takes pro-Beijing positions is shutting down its print version in Canada, shifting its operations entirely to digital platforms starting late August.

The [Sing Tao Group] has decided to stop printing the Sing Tao Daily in Canada on Aug. 28, 2022, and will concentrate resources on the development of new media platforms, the publication said on its Chinese-language website on July 25.

The company will be laying off 83 employees in Toronto, Vancouver, and Calgary, and keeping over 80 staff members, the companys CEO said in an article published in the paper.

The publication, which is headquartered in Hong Kong, was established in Canada in 1978.

The publications content favour the Chinese Communist Party. In May 2020, it published a full-page commentary by the papers chairman in support of Beijings national security legislation in Hong Kong, which Canada and other allies have called an affront to democracy.

Beijing Ties

In 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice ordered the U.S. subsidiary of Sing Tao to be registered as a foreign agent, joining Chinese state-owned media CGTN and Xinhua in carrying the designation.

The company denies that its under the direction of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), saying that it is neither controlled nor influenced by the CCP, reported Radio Free China.

The Canada Sing Tao Daily is co-owned by Torstarwhich is also the parent company of the Toronto Star. The newspaper has an editorial relationship with the Sing Tao parent company in Hong Kong, Sing Tao News Group.

The former Chairman of Sing Tao News Group, Charles Ho, is a member of the Standing Committee of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference, a distinctive circle for the Chinese Communist Partys political elites.

According to a 2001 report by the U.S. think-tank The Jamestown Foundation, many Chinese-language publications in North America including Sing Tao Daily and Ming Pao Daily News are under the direct influence of the Chinese communist regime.

As preparation for Hong Kongs return to China in 1997, the Chinese government made vigorous attempts in the early 1990s to purchase several major media agencies in Hong Kong. This was done through the use of third-party merchants who have close business ties with China, said the report.

The report added that Sing Tao Daily transformed into a procommunist newspaper starting around the 1990s, after the communist regime provided financial support to the owner of the publication.
City Votes Not to Enforce COVID-19 Restriction Proposed by Health Department

The City Council in Beverly Hills, California, unanimously voted not to enforce a Los Angeles County COVID-19 mask mandate if one is adopted by the county health department.

Los Angeles County is poised to impose a new indoor mask mandate at the end of July, according to Department of Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer in an update on July 21. However, she said that if reported cases see a steep decline next week, the county may take a pause on moving too quickly on indoor masking, universal indoor masking.

But on Monday, the Beverly Hills City Council voted down the mandate. If Los Angeles County implements the mask mandate, it now means that it will have to dedicate staff and resources to enforce it in Beverly Hills, according to a news release from the city.

Mayor Lili Bosse said in the release Monday that we are not where we were in 2020, and now we need to move forward as a community and be part of the solution.

I feel it is our job to lead and I support the power of choice, Bosse, who presented the item at the City Council meeting, also said. Our job is to be proactive and public about what we believe.

The Epoch Times has contacted the Los Angeles Health Department for comment.

More Details

After it was suggested earlier this month that a mask mandate could be imposed in Los Angeles, top officials at a Southern California hospital system dismissed a recent rise in COVID-19 cases as media hype.

Brad Spellberg, the chief medical officer of Los Angeles County and University of Southern California Medical Center, and epidemiologist Paul Holtom, told reporters in mid-July that there have been no changes in the transmission levels of COVID-19.

Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer, at podium, speaks at a news conference with Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti (L), in Los Angeles on March 12, 2020. (Damian Dovarganes/AP Photo)

Its just the same. Its not changed. Its been the same. Its like  two months of the same, Spellberg said.

He added: Of those who are admitted, theyre 90 percent of the time not admitted due to COVID. Only 10 percent of our COVID-positive admissions are admitted due to COVID. Virtually none of them go to the ICU, and when they do go to the ICU, it is not for pneumonia. They are not intubated.

On July 14, Ferrer said that the county will likely reimpose the mask rule on July 29, saying that there is high transmission for two consecutive weeks, then it will trigger a universal mandatory indoor mask-wearing mandate.

Last week, a preprint study published by the University of CaliforniaDavis found that mask mandates in schools didnt have much impact on preventing the spread of COVID-19.

Our findings contribute to a growing body of literature which suggests school-based mask mandates have limited to no impact on the case rates of COVID-19 among K-12 students, they wrote after evaluating data from two school districts in Fargo, North Dakota, in which one had a mask mandate and the other did not.

We observed no significant difference between student case rates while the districts had differing masking policies nor while they had the same mask policies, they said, adding that the impact of school-based mask mandates on COVID-19 transmission in children is not fully established amid mask rules around the United States.
A view of the Confucius Institute building on the Troy University campus in Troy, Ala., on March 16, 2018. (Kreeder13 via Wikimedia Commons)

Confucius Institutes 2.0: Chinese Government Money Speaks Loudly

Commentary

In my book Red-Handed, we meet a remarkable young man named Nathan Law, the Chinese-born, Hong Kong-raised leader of a pro-democracy effort called the Umbrella Movement, which protested Beijings suppression in Hong Kong. Laws efforts were brutally crushed by the Chinese government, and he went to prison for eight months.

Time magazine named him one of the 100 Most Influential People of 2020.

Once freed from Chinese prison, Law decided to attend graduate school at Yale University, an institution whose history of educating Chinese students goes back to 1850, when the first Chinese student to graduate from a U.S. university took his degree from there.

Times are different now. Laws welcome at Yale was anything but warm. Most Chinese students there today owe their education to the Beijing regime, but when Law tried to speak out on campus, they subjected him to sustained harassment based on his firsthand experience against Chinas repression of democracy and freedom in Hong Kong. Even Yales administration remained deaf to the harassment he endured. Why? Because Chinese government money spoke too loudly.

Laws story highlights a decades-long effort by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to co-opt Americas most gleaming ivory towers by funding Confucius Institutes at leading U.S. colleges and universities. It has been going on since about 2005. By 2020, more than 118 such institutes had sprung up, offering innocent-sounding language and cultural education, directly funded by Hanban, an arm of the Chinese communist regimes ministry of education.

Donald Trumps administration and Congress recognized the perniciousness of the influence campaign. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo flagged Confucius Institutes as part of the Chinese Communist Partys global influence and propaganda apparatus in a 2020 statement that officially designated the Confucius Institute U.S. Center as a foreign mission of the Peoples Republic of China. The State Department warned college and university governing boards that Confucius Institutes exert malign influence on U.S. campuses and disseminate CCP propaganda.

Even more, FBI Director Chris Wray told the U.S. Senate in 2018 that the bureau was investigating Confucius Institutes because it detected that China uses nontraditional collectors, especially in the academic setting to engage in espionage.

Under such pressure, universities moved to shutter these arrangements, and 104 of the 118 Confucius Institutes that once existed in the United States have closed or are being closed. But as I have learned from my own study of Chinas influence on American institutions, Chinese money doesnt need to speak loudly to co-opt foreign institutions. Sometimes, a whisper will do.

A new, detailed, and thorough report by the National Association of Scholars (NAS) confirms that not a single one of these institutes disappeared; they were just rebranded under a sister university arrangement with universities in China, given a different name, or moved to a different sponsor school. And the money continues to flow.

The Chinese government renamed Hanban to the Ministry of Education Center for Language Education and Cooperation (CLEC). It spun off a separate organization, called the Chinese International Education Foundation (CIEF), that continues to fund and oversee Confucius Institutes and many of their replacements, the NAS report tells us.

The NAS report traces the fate of each of the 109 Confucius Institutes and did deep case study investigations of several of them. One case study that stood out was the Confucius Institute at the University of Washington in Seattle, which was spun off to Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington. The Confucius Institute at Western Kentucky University wound up partnering with the county K12 school system in Simpson County, where it continues to be run by the same people.

The tendency in academia is to treat these institutes as they do other donor gifts, but there are disclosure laws concerning foreign funds that go to American schools. Yale was caught looking the other way at precisely this when it accepted $30 million from billionaire entrepreneur and Yale graduate Joe Tsai (Alibaba co-founder) to the China Center of Yale Law School, which was renamed the Paul Tsai China Center for his father. The Tsai Center, which studies Chinese law, might have been a good place for a man with Laws experience to have spoken, given his deep knowledge of the subject. But the Tsai Center apparently wasnt interested in hearing his perspective. He was never invited.

Jamie P. Horsley, senior fellow of the Tsai Center and its former executive director, defends the purpose of Confucius Institutes on American campuses. She argues that theyre needed to teach students Mandarin, a language increasingly necessary for business success. She has also written articles minimizing the effects of Chinas social credit system and supporting its Belt and Road Initiative.

Thats exactly what many Americans fear about placing Chinas government-funded institutes, whatever theyre called, on American campuses. Its what led the State Department to classify them as diplomatic missions.

After the NAS studys author, Rachelle Peterson, concluded her prepared remarks about the research before an audience at The Heritage Foundation recently, she shared a conversation she had with the Chinese director of one Confucius Institute at a U.S. university, which she declined to name.

Peterson asked the Chinese director how she would respond if a student asked her about Tiananmen Square. The director answered that she would show a photograph [of it] and point out the beautiful architecture. Thats the most important thing about that square.

Originally published by Gatestone Institute.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Workers are seen next to a cage with mice (R) inside the P4 laboratory in Wuhan, capital of China's Hubei province, on Feb. 23, 2017. (Johannes Eisele/AFP via Getty Images)

Congress Should Investigate NIH to Learn More About Origins of COVID-19, Urges Pete Hoekstra

An investigation into how the National Institutes of Health cooperated with a research lab in the central Chinese city of Wuhan would shed further light on the origins of the coronavirus, said former chair and ranking member of the House Intel Committee, Pete Hoekstra.

This is important as Chinas ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has obstructed all efforts to investigate the origins of the virus, Hoekstra said.

The best source of information that we might have, would be Dr. [Anthony] Fauci, people in our own NIH, that coordinated and worked with the Chinese, and their labs, he recently told Epoch TVs China Insider program.

Maybe a full-bore investigation by Congress after the November elections can get to the bottom of this, said Hoekstra who is also the former U.S. ambassador to the Netherlands.

Hoekstra further pointed to NIHs denial of allegedly funding gain-of-function research in Wuhan where the virus was first reported at the end of 2019. These individuals  at this point of time have not demonstrated any willingness to open up or share more information with the American government or with the American people, he said.

Dr. Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, an agency under the NIH, told members of a Senate panel on May 11, 2021, that the NIH has not ever and does not now fund gain-of-function research in the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

Yet, documents released in September 2021, unearthed U.S.-funded research on various types of coronaviruses at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

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/Getty Images)

Evidence Backs Lab Leak Theory

The Trump-era State Department had nearly reached a conclusion on the evidence that the virus probably came from the lab, according to Hoekstra.

He said the evidence that the then department had resembled those presented in his new book The CCP is at War with America: The Chinese Communist Partys COVID-19 Biological Warfare Attack and Whats Next.

I dont think its a whole lot more than what weve outlined in our book, which is the circumstantial evidence  because again, most of that is open source, he said

Theres very little intelligence insight into what was going on in China, he added.

But the available evidence affirmed the theory of the lab leak, he said.

We came to the compelling conclusion that the virus developed out of a lab, we dont know if it was intentionally released or whether it was accidentally released, Hoekstra said.

A file image of Pete Hoekstra when he was the U.S. Ambassador to the Netherlands while attending a Memorial Day ceremony at the Margraten American Cemetery, in Margraten, the Netherlands, on May 24, 2020. (Patrick van Katwijk/ANP/ AFP)

Call for Probe

Hoekstra asserted that it would be extremely difficult to find the smoking gun as, he said, the wet market [in Wuhan] was scrubbed, the [virology] labs were scrubbed, information was destroyed.

I really dont anticipate that were going to see a change of heart from the CCP. And theyre going to say, after three years of hiding this stuff, were going to come clean, and were going to share with the world how this thing came out, he said.

Perhaps therell be some whistleblowers in China. But somehow I believe the Chinese Communist Party has probably found those, and theyve either silenced them, or eliminated them.

So to get to the bottom of the story, Hoekstra has urged Congress to conduct an investigation to figure out what funding that Fauci and the NIH provided? What labs did this money go to? What types of projects were they involved with? Who else was in those labs?

Just dig out the facts, and then let the facts lead us to a resolution, he said.

Gathering the evidence, wherever it may lead, may take a year, he noted.

But if you go about it, right you can actually do an investigation, because the most important thing at the end of it is that it is a credible piece of work, that the American people will accept, Hoekstra said.

David Zhang Follow David Zhang is the host of China Insider on EpochTV. He is currently based in New York and Washington DC covering China-related news. He focuses on expert interviews and news commentary on China affairs, especially issues regarding the U.S.China relationship.
Freedom Convoy organizer Tamara Lich smiles as she stands with her lawyer Lawrence Greenspon as they leaves the courthouse after being released on bail, in Ottawa on July 26, 2022. (The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld)

Freedom Convoy Organizer Tamara Lich Released on Bail Again

An Ontario court has granted bail to Freedom Convoy organizer Tamara Lich following a new bail hearing on July 26. During a bail review held earlier in the day, a judge said a previous decision by another court to detain her was clearly inappropriate.

Ontario Superior Court Judge Andrew Goodman said on July 26 that apart from the impugned breach of bail terms at a June 16 award ceremony in Toronto, Lich has fully complied with her conditions for a period of nearly four months, including prohibition from using social media and prohibition from organizing further protests.

She was ordered to return to her residence in Medicine Hat, Alberta, and is not allowed to set foot in Ottawa except for court appearances. Except through her legal counsel, Lich is again prohibited from contacting organizers and key figures of the Freedom Convoy, including Tom Marazzo, Christopher Barber, Daniel Bulford, Benjamin Dichter, among others. Her release also required another $37,000 bond.

Lich is not prevented from giving interviews or speaking to the media, as long as she doesnt breach bail conditions of promoting the Freedom Convoy.

Lich, who was initially arrested in February and stayed in custody for 19 days before being granted bail, was kept in jail for 30 days since her re-arrest on June 27.

She was brought to court in shackles, which the judge ordered to be removed once she was granted bail.

Rearrest

Lich was rearrested in Medicine Hat on June 27 under a Canada-wide warrant for allegedly breaching her bail conditions of having no contact with fellow convoy organizers.

Crown prosecutors alleged that Lich breached her bail conditions during a June 16 award ceremony in Toronto, where she was presented with the 2022 George Jonas Freedom Award from the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms.

The Crown presented as evidence a photograph of Lich and a fellow convoy organizer Tom Marazzo taken at the event, and a video briefly showing Lich sitting at a table where Marazzo and others were seated.

Lichs defence had argued that the less than three-second congratulatory interaction after Lich had delivered a speech at the awards dinner wouldnt lead to any illegal activity.

Following a series of bail hearings, the Justice of the Peace Paul Harris said on July 8 that he was siding with the Crown in that Lich chose to sit at a table with Marrazo and that it was absolutely ridiculous for her to believe she could justify interacting with Marazzo by having her lawyers in the room. Lichs bail terms specified that there should be no communication with convoy organizers except in the presence of counsel.

The court heard testimony that her lawyers, who were present at the June 16 event, approved of the picture taken of Lich and Marazzo.

Harris also said Lich continues to pose a risk to public safety, as some Freedom Convoy protests are still being held in Ottawa from time to time.

Defence lawyers later filed for a bail review, which began on July 25.

Bail Review

Goodman ruled during the bail review that preceded the bail hearing that the previous court had made erroneous conclusions and misapprehended the evidence against Lich when deciding she broke her bail conditions on July 8. The court next moved directly to a new round of bail hearingsde novoin the afternoon.

Goodman said that the belief that an individual will commit a criminal offence does not in itself provide justifiable cause for detention, and that bail should be denied only for those who pose a substantial risk of committing an offence or interfering with the administration of justice.

He added that he was not aware of any other legal case in Canada in the past 25 years where the Crown recommended a maximum sentence of 10 years for mischief over $5,000, or even a penitentiary sentence for that matter.

Goodman said that there was no evidence showing that Lich has done anything in relation to the alleged breach that would endanger the protection or safety of the public and would lead to a violation of her bail terms.

Goodman also said he found it an overstatement when Harris asserted in a previous hearing that the vulnerable victims of the February freedom trucker convoy protests undoubtedly will continue to fear a reoccurrence of the protests if persons such as Ms. Lich and Mr. Marazzo are allowed to continue to communicate and socialize in whatever manner they deemed legitimate.

He added that theres no evidence of such fear either directly or circumstantially

He further noted that it is not reasonable to believe that the two convoy organizers interaction lasting less than three seconds while in public, as well as a group photograph, would reasonably cause such fear regarding a potential breach.

He also said Harris made a legal error in sustaining the notion that the onus was on Lich to provide evidence at the bail hearing that there was legal counsel present at the June 16 event where she and Marazzo interacted.

Charges

Lich, who has remained in custody since her recent arrest on June 27, is facing trial for her role as a key organizer of the truckers Freedom Convoy protest held for more than three weeks at Ottawas downtown core to protest the federal COVID-19 vaccine mandates.

Lich was first arrested on Feb. 17 on charges of mischief, counselling to commit mischief, obstructing police, among other charges, after the Liberal government invoked the Emergencies Act to quell the protests.

After initially being denied bail, Lich was released in March on a number of conditions, including having no contact with fellow convoy organizers.
One of the greatest joys in life is receiving a thank you note, especially when it was written or made especially for you by a child. Theres just something truly special about a child who is grateful and who takes the time and makes the effort to create and send a note of thanks. As loving parents, we strive to model thankfulness and to teach our children the importance of expressing their gratitude to others.

Asking your child to write a thank you note may seem like another homework assignment to them and yes, they may whine and stall or tell you they dont know how. But thank you notes dont have to be a lesson in penmanship. Encourage your kids to be creative and think of it as art.

If you have younger kids, its a good idea to work together and brainstorm what to say in the thank you note. Help your child to write out or dictate a first draft to use as a guide for the final project.

Make It Fancy

When our two kids were young, I happened upon a delightful book entitled The ABCs of Creative Lettering by Lindsay Ostrom at a local bookstore. The lettering styles like Tinkertoy created by adding dots at different points on each letter and Puff Prints fat, cloud-like letters, add an artistic touch to even the simplest message. And as your kids have fun practicing favorite styles, encourage them to invent a new style.

Also, if you have a child who enjoys writing in cursive, italics, or the fancier style of calligraphy, their handwritten note will definitely be a treasure most cherished by the recipient.

Cut Out and Paste Magazine Letters, Words, and Pictures

Gather all of your old magazines and get out the scissors and the glue sticks. Your kids will have great fun piecing together a unique and colorful thank you note using a variety of letters, words, and pictures theyve cut out from magazines and paste on to a blank card, piece of stationery, or construction paper.

Looking through the pages of magazines in search of the perfect letters, words, and pictures is like going on a scavenger hunt.

Stamp and Print

The great thing about using rubber stamps is that the ink pads come in a wide variety of colors and your kids can stamp letters, words, numbers, and objects like hearts, flowers, stars, and smiley faces as well as seasonal and special occasion art.

Just like in the above magazine cut and paste style, encourage your kids to jazz things up a bit by using a mixture of individual letter stamps and whole word stamps like love, thank you, and fun in the same sentence.

Now, lets talk printing. Pique your kids curiosity and ask them: Who wants to get messy? When you get a resounding and a unanimous yes, its time to get out the tempera paints. Show your kids how to use their fingerprints to make flowers, ladybugs, and clouds. When the paint is dry, they can add finishing touches with fine-point markers.

A good resource is Ed Emberleys Great Thumbprint Drawing Book. I never realized a simple thumbprint could be transformed into so many different things.

Both the magazine cut-and-paste style and the stamp-and print style make it so much

easier for kids who struggle with writing to make and send a heartfelt note of thanks.

Compose an Original Poem or Work of Art

The writer or the artist in your family can truly make his or her thank you note a one-of-a-kind expression of gratitude by composing an original poem or drawing coupled with a few words of thanks.

Maybe the poem or drawing was inspired by the gift or the gift giver. Your child might want to add a special note to share why the gift or the gift giver is so special.

Mix and Match Styles

Since creativity knows no boundaries, your kids can mix and match any of the above styles with another or incorporate a little something from all of these styles.

What matters most though, is your kids desire to express gratitude. It doesnt matter whether their thank you notes are fun and colorful or elegantly crafted, or even if the notes include misspellings or ink blotches because its always the thought that counts.
Aydin Coban is shown in this handout photo from the time of his arrest by Dutch police, entered into an exhibit at his trial in British Columbia Supreme Court in New Westminster, B.C.. (The Canadian Press/HO-Dutch Police)

Crown Begins Closing Argument in Trial for Dutch Man Accused of Extorting BC Teen

Crown and defence counsel have finished calling evidence in the British Columbia Supreme Court trial for the Dutch man accused of harassing and extorting teenager Amanda Todd before she died a decade ago.

Aydin Coban pleaded not guilty at the jury trial in New Westminster to charges of extortion, harassment, communication with a young person to commit a sexual offence and possessing child pornography.

Crown attorney Kristen LeNoble began closing arguments by telling jurors she would spend the next few days helping them unpack the evidence, including testimony from more than 30 witnesses and binders full of 80 exhibits.

By the time the Crown is finished, LeNoble says they will have proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Coban was the person behind 22 separate online aliases used to harass and extort Todd with child pornography that depicted her.

LeNoble says Todds harassment began just before her 13th birthday when she received a message that threatened to send a video of her to friends, family and local media.

Crown prosecutor Louise Kenworthy told the jury at the start of the trial last month that the teenager from Port Coquitlam, B.C., had been the victim of a persistent campaign of online sextortion over three years before her death in October 2012.

Carol Todd testified that her daughter was scared when she brought messages to her mothers attention, and Amandas distress increased with each incident.
A rally at the California State Capitol in Sacramento to protest the current sex education curriculum in public schools on Jan. 25, 2019. (Ilene Eng/The Epoch Times)

Demi Minors Case Prompts California Asian Community to Review Schools Transgender and Sex Education Policies

Demi Minors case has sparked the California Asian communitys concerns about transgender policies and sex education curricula in local schools. Leaders warn that abuses have already taken place on some campuses.

Demi Minor is a biological man who identifies as a woman. After the New Jersey correctional facility transferred Minor to a female prison per her request, she impregnated two female inmates.

Related Issues in Public Schools

While Minors case has caused heated debate about gender-related public policies, a few Asian community leaders in the San Francisco Bay Area have urged parents to pay attention to incidents that occurred in local schools.

Jeff Wang served as a board member of the New Haven School District in Union City from 2016 to 2020. Wang told The Epoch Times that some school boys claiming to be girls entered female restrooms and attacked female students. This has happened in California, and even in the Bay Area already, Wang stated.

Wang is one of the candidates currently running for Union City council member.

Wang declined to disclose more details about the events, citing privacy protection of the minors involved. He said that the current policies related to transgenderism and sex education have gone too far.

George Yang was a candidate for this years California State Superintendent of Public Instruction in the primary election. When commenting on the Demi Minor case, Yang said, This is something most people would think of as idiotic just 20 years ago, or even 10 years ago  Yet no one dares to call it out because it is the prevailing view allowed by the people in charge.

The State Department of Education, which is overseen by the Superintendent of Public Instruction, has tried to give guidelines that recommend materials for kids not appropriate for their grades, especially in the area of telling kids they have multiple choices when it comes to gender. I think thats very dangerous, Yang stated.

This [Demi Minor case] is becoming not about LGBTQ. It is a test if you are willing to set aside what is true and what is false, set aside your honor, to placate the people in power so youll also have power, Yang further asserted.

Sex Education in California

What Wang and Yang said are part of the long controversy about Californias public school sex education programs. Parents and educators have debated for years about how early and to what level the school curricula will include sex education.

As an Asian American, Wang believes sex education is good, and said traditionally Asian communities did not provide enough sex education to children. But today in kindergartens, preschools, and at the first grade talk about oral sex and anal sex in the sex education thats a little too far, Wang stated.

Wang said when he served as a board member of New Haven School District, his district was the only school district in Union City that blocked the progressive curricula of sex education.

In California, each school district board can decide what sex education curricula to use. However, most school district boards just automatically adopt the curricula recommended by the State. But when Wang served as a school board member, he insisted that every school board member needed to study the details of the curricula before adopting them.

Wang told The Epoch Times that New Haven School District board members, led by Wang, sat down and read through most of the chapters of the sex education textbook. The board members found many surprises and felt uncomfortable about a lot of the content. The New Haven School District ended up not adopting the progressive sex education curricula.

Most parents would not want their children, especially those who are younger than fourteen, to be exposed to sexually explicit materials, Yang said. He believes that the parents, instead of schools, should be the ones to decide for their children the content of sex education to ensure it is age appropriate.

Parent Involvement Is Key

Both Wang and Yang urged Asian parents to get more involved in their childrens education.

When working as a school board member, Wang found that many Asian parents are first generation immigrants. They dont get involved in their local school districts decision-making process. As a result, they leave their childrens education entirely in the hands of the schools.

Parents are the bosses. They elect the school district board members, Wang said. He explained that school district boards usually consist of five elected members, and they can vote to decide which sex education curricula are to be adopted for their district. Wang strongly believes that sex education should not start earlier than the sixth grade.

For years, parents in California have taken different approaches to deal with the States controversial sex education curricula.

In December 2020, The Epoch Times reported how concerned parents like Denise Pursche fought to have a say in their childrens education. In a recent follow-up The Epoch Times found that Pursche eventually took her children out of the local school programs, and started to homeschool them. Her daughter has already successfully graduated from high school and started her college education.

Wang said that the least parents can do is read through the textbook and decide if the sex education curriculum is appropriate for their children. Wang pointed out that parents in California have the right to opt their children out of sex education. All they need to do is go to the school and sign a paper.

Yang urged Asian parents to look into your local school board elections. Try to find out who is running, and try to find out their moral compasses.

Yang said lots of Asian parents simply put their children into a good school district, and then automatically assume their kids will learn what they want them to learn. You just cannot assume that, Yang said.
Disney Adds 2 Orange County Schools to Its Free-Tuition Program

The company will now cover tuition for its employees at Cal State UniversityFullerton and Fullerton College

The Walt Disney Company July 20 added two more Orange County schools to its program that allows its employees to attend college for free.

The company recently partnered with Cal State UniversityFullerton and Fullerton College through Disney Aspire, which covers 100 percent tuition for employees and cast members who have been working with Disney for over three months.

Were beyond proud to be a neighbor to Disneyland Resort, and even more excited to embark on this new adventure together, Fram Virjee, president at California State UniversityFullerton, said in a statement. This is just the first step in working together to help build a better tomorrow for Orange County and our community.

Disneys other partnered educational providers include Purdue University Global, Southern New Hampshire University, University of Arizona, University of Central Florida, Valencia College, Brandman University, University of Florida Online, University of Denver, Wilmington University, and Bellevue University.

More than 13,000 employees are currently enrolled in a school through Disney Aspire and 2,600 have graduated since it was launched in 2018, according to the company.

Enrollees participate in various programs from high school completion to vocational and masters degree certificates.

In addition to covering the cost of tuition, employees will also be reimbursed for additional fees and books required for the programs.

Employees are not required to stay at Disney after they complete their degree or certificate.

Returning to school as a working adult is no easy feat, and weve heard from our employees time and time again how important it is that, when they make that decision, they want it to be at a place they already know and love, Chris Trout, vice president of learning and development at The Walt Disney Company, said in a statement.

Currently, over 29,500 Walt Disney employees in California are eligible for this opportunity. One in four applicants applying for hourly jobs said Disney Aspire is one of the primary reasons to apply, according to the company (pdf).
Medical workers and pedestrians cross an intersection outside of the Houston Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas, on June 9, 2021. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

Doctor Announces $25 Million Defamation Lawsuit Against Houston Methodist Following Suspension

A doctor in Texas is suing the health care institution that suspended her for allegedly purveying dangerous misinformation.

Dr. Mary Bowden, who now runs her own clinic, is seeking $25 million from Houston Methodist for alleged defamation.

Bowden became concerned that the COVID-19 vaccines were not preventing contraction of the virus that causes COVID-19, and spoke out against vaccine mandates and, later, the vaccines themselves, according to the 19-page lawsuit, which was slated to be filed in Harris County District Court.

After Bowden began sharing her opinions on social media, Houston Methodist and its CEO, Dr. Marc Boom, retaliated against her in an unprecedented manner, the filing states.

Without notice, they published false and defamatory statements to the press and on social media, affording no due process, acting contrary to and with reckless disregard for both the letter and spirit of Methodists bylaw, it says.

Statements

On Nov. 12, 2021, Houston Methodist took to Twitter and released a five-part statement, saying Bowden, who had recently joined the hospitals staff, is using her social media accounts to express her personal and political opinions about the COVID-19 vaccine and treatments.

These opinions, which are harmful to the community, do not reflect reliable medical evidence or the values of Houston Methodist, where we have treated more than 25,000 COVID-19 inpatients, and where all our employees and physicians are vaccinated to protect our patients, the hospital said.

Dr. Bowden, who has never admitted a patient at Houston Methodist Hospital, is spreading dangerous misinformation which is not based in science, it added.

Boom, meanwhile, told KHOU-TV that he and other hospital officials decided to suspend Bowden for her inappropriate behavior, including spreading misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines and treatments.

As a physician, I am personally offended by her behavior and by her misleading comments about COVID-19 and our hospital system, he said.

The statements triggered numerous articles, from both local and outside media outlets.

False and Defamatory

Bowden, who later resigned from Houston Methodist, says the statements were materially false and defamatory.

Bowdens statements, including the promotion of ivermectin, were based on first-hand experience treating COVID-19, studies, and the published opinions of other medical professionals, including Dr. Peter McCullough. According to the suit, none of the patients who have received early treatment under her care have died, and many have been kept out of hospitals.

Because of the statements, Bowden lost patients and she and her business, BreatheMD, received negative reviews, the filing says.

Houston Methodist was served with a written notice demanding a retraction and/or correction but the notice was ignored.

Bowden is seeking $25 million in damages as well as other damages to be determined by a jury.

Houston Methodist declined to comment.
When a toxic landfill in Ohio was reassigned as a recreational greenspace in the 70s, authorities had no idea just how massive the cleanup would be. From 1948 to 1980, the 47-acre Krejci dump had been a junk heap of old tires, garbage, noxious chemicals, and rusted cars. It would take over two decades to swap that for native flora and fauna, transforming landfill into thriving marshland, as it is today.

This was a toxic wasteland only a few decades ago, Cuyahoga Valley National Park Ecologist Chris Davis told National Geographic. To find the diversity of species there today is remarkable.

(Courtesy of NPS Collection)

In the 1940s, Ohios Krejci family opened the landfill on a 200-acre site in Boston Township as a convenient dumping ground for rust belt manufacturers. This was before municipal waste management was offered.

Such sites went largely unregulated at the time. Without lining the landfill, chemicals from solid and hazardous waste leached into the soil and spread toxicity.

(Courtesy of NPS Collection)

In 1974, President Gerald Ford reassigned the dumping ground as the Cuyahoga National Recreation Area, an offshoot of the U.S. Clean Water Act. Cuyahoga Valley National Park acquired the site in 1985, yet visitors began getting sick.

We found out through staff members becoming ill and things like doing source [and] resource checks that we had a problem, Veronica Dickerson, environmental protection and safety manager for Cuyahoga Valley National Park, told ABC News 5 Cleveland. Radiation sources werent found, but pretty much everything else that you could think of was found.

(Courtesy of NPS Collection)

It was time for a drastic overhaul.

A former assistant attorney general for Colorado, Shawn Mulligan, was called to take companies, such as Chevron, Ford, Federal Metal Co., and Chrysler, to task on behalf of the National Park Service (NPS) using the Superfund law, which holds parties accountable for environmental damage after disposing their hazardous waste.

Mulligan secured almost $50 million in damages through these actions, which paid for an epic transformation. As reported by the NPS in 2016, Ford fronted $29 million, and also led the cleanup operation itself.

(Courtesy of NPS Collection)

The chemical damage ran deep. It took 25 years to remove 375,000 tons of contaminated soil and debris, with diggers having to excavate waste as deep as 25 feet.

As soon as soil samples came back clear of contaminants, the grounds were landscaped to match the natural surroundings, and soon the 47-acre former dumping ground became a thriving wetland; replacing the rusted cars, old tires, industrial chemicals, paint, and pesticides were now trees and ponds filled with indigenous fish, insects, and amphibians.

(Courtesy of NPS/Ted Toth)

In December 2020, the NPS declared the cleanup complete. It was their most extensive and costly reclamation project to date. Photos of the restored site must be seen to be believed.

It was amazing to  start to work on this project and see it through completion, said Dickerson. [The site] is now as clean as any natural area in the park. Thats something remarkable, considering what it was in 1985.

I always say if anybody has a desire to eat dirt, this is where you come to eat the dirt. This site is clean!

(Courtesy of NPS/Chris Davis)

(Courtesy of NPS/Chris Davis)

(Courtesy of NPS/Chris Davis)

(Courtesy of NPS/Chris Davis)

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
Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) listens during a hearing at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, on June 21, 2022. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

EXCLUSIVE: US Oil Sales to China Could Be Unlawful Activity, GOP Lawmakers Tell Biden

Republican lawmakers are pressing President Joe Biden to make clear whether he had a role in auctioning off oil from U.S. emergency reserves to a Chinese entity that has been previously linked to his younger son.

Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) led a July 26 letter flagging the sale of U.S. strategic oil reserves worth hundreds of millions of dollars to Chinese state-owned Unipec over concerns that such transactions could stand to benefit the presidents son, Hunter Biden.

If true, this would mark an unlawful activity, potentially posing an unethical and potentially illegal abuse of the powers of the office of the President of the United States, the lawmaker wrote in the letter shared with The Epoch Times.

Unipec is the U.S. subsidiary of Chinese state-run oil giant Sinopec. Since September 2021, Unipec has won contracts for nearly 6 million barrels of reserve oil, with a total worth of about $464 million, The Epoch Times has reported.

If Hunter Biden Were Instead Hunter Trump

BHR Partners, a Chinese private equity firm co-founded by Hunter Biden, has made investments in Sinopec. While Hunters lawyer said in November 2021 that the younger Biden has divested his 10 percent stake in BHR, the Chinese firms 2021 annual report released in June still listed Hunter as a shareholder, according to Chinese financial records.

Sadly, the allegations about Hunters self-profiting did not come as a surprise to many of us as we have grown to expect seeing reports of nepotism within this administration, Norman wrote, citing reports of Biden family members allegedly profiting off official positions Biden has held since he was a Delaware senator, such as Hunter traveling on Air Force Two to China, when his father was vice president, to broker a multimillion-dollar business deal with Chinese corporations.

Then-Vice President Joe Biden waves as he walks out of Air Force Two with his granddaughter Finnegan Biden (C) and son Hunter Biden (R) at the airport in Beijing on Dec. 4, 2013. (Ng Han Guan-Pool/Getty Images)

If the allegations before us now are true, the American people deserve to know whether or not their President directly participated and benefited from any and all unethical actions.

The lawmaker described the allegations regarding the oil sale as severely unsettling, and if true, may even constitute an impeachable offense under the bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors clause of Article 2 of the Constitution.

If Hunter Biden were instead Hunter Trump, every media outlet across this nation would be screaming non-stop about his shady dealings, Norman told The Epoch Times.

Its bad enough that the Presidents policies have caused energy prices to skyrocket to the point where he felt compelled to release our emergency strategic reserves to artificially lower prices. The fact that his son stands to profit financially from this should outrage every American.

National Security Concerns

The Strategic Petroleum Reserve is the worlds largest oil reserve that intends to alleviate oil shortages in the United States in times of wars or natural disasters.

A third of the Unipec purchase, or 1.9 million barrels, came after Biden ordered the largest oil release in the reserves history in March. The measure will see the oil stock shrink by a third by this fall, which the president has described as necessary to help American families who are paying more out of pocket because of Putins price hike at the pump.

Selling oil to China is helping an adversary while compromising U.S. national security, Norman said.

The oil within the Strategic Petroleum Reserve was intended for the American people, not for adversarial countries, and certainly not to make the Biden Family richer at a time when our citizens are paying almost $5.00 a gallon for gasoline and $6.00 for diesel, he wrote in the letter.

Ian Sams, a spokesperson for the White House Counsels Office, dismissed on July 22 Republican criticisms of the sale as ridiculous and false.

He told Fox News that the Department of Energy is required by law to sell the oil supply to the highest bidder, regardless of whether that bidder is a foreign company and that the president had no personal involvement in this process whatsoever.

White House officials didnt respond to a request for comment by press time.

Norman, in the letter, requested a list of documents, including Treasury Department records on all corporate entities linked to Hunter, financial reports stating whether Hunter is still bound to BHR, and a signed affidavit from Hunter promising to not benefit from the oil sales, as well as communications between the president and Hunter since the president took office relating to China, oil, Sinopec, Unipec, BHR, and Hunters overseas business transactions.

Norman, a member of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, was joined by 11 other House Republicans, including Reps. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), Glenn Grothman (R-Wis.), Scott Perry (R-Pa.), Jody Hice (R-Ga.), Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), Fred Keller (R-Pa.), William Timmons (R-S.C.), Randy Weber (R-Texas), Pat Fallon (R-Texas), Louie Gohmert (R-Texas), and Jeff Van Drew (R-N.J.).
Extreme Policies for Organic Farming Ignore Soil Science: Former USDA Soil Scientist

We don't need more regulation; we need more education

Under pressure from environmentalists, some governments have implemented extreme nitrogen fertilizer restrictions that ignore the time needed to restore depleted soil microbiology, resulting in protests from some scientists and farmers who are seeing the concerning effects of such restrictions.

According to organic farming proponent and former U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) soil scientist Kelly Walker, in order to keep the billions of people around the world fed, a paced switch to a hybrid approach is needed over any extreme changes based on an arbitrary number to allow the soil the many years it needs to transition away from chemical fertilizers to a more organic future.

But unfortunately, there has been an ongoing conflict between some environmentalists and regulators with landowners and producers who make a living raising crops and cattle off the land on the approach and extent to take to move toward the common goal of going organic, Walker told EpochTVs Crossroads.

This battle has been going on for a long time, according to Walker, who has done work with groups on both sides of the conflict. There were some people who were willing to meet in the middle and compromise, who have worked through some issues and found solutions. But lately, there have been some more extremist views appearing, kind of seizing power on this issue.

We cant feed the world strictly on organics, he said, citing one of the first things he learned in graduate school.

Some environmental groups are portraying chemical fertilizers as toxins or poisons, but that isnt the case, he said.

Its a matter of how you manage them, how you use them, so theres no need to switch over 100 percent to organic, according to Walker.

Nitrogen is nitrogen, he said. And the plants recognize it as such.

Its a challenge to switch large industrial farms, which operate on small profit margins and have to be very efficient, to organic farming in an instant, Walker said. A largely organic approach can be successful on smaller farms, he noted, but it has to be carefully managed.

Then, to feed billions of people on limited land, the most productivity out of farmland needs to be achieved. Switching in one step to an organic approach on carbon-depleted and almost chemically addicted soils wont succeed, he said.

You have to think about things like the residual nitrogen value from the organics, Walker said. You cant just switch over in a year; you have to calculate how much nitrogen is being made available in year one and year two of the organics that you incorporate.

You have to have several years of residual value from the organics [to avoid crop failure].

I think getting the soil microbiology fixed is a good first step.

He explained that the healthy communities of microbes are whats needed to make nutrients available to plants in organic-rich soil.

So even if you wanted to go organic on these large farms, you cant just suddenly cut off the flow; you have to transition.

Maintaining Healthy Soil Microbiology

To restore soil health, microbial communities of bacteria, fungi, algae, and other organisms are needed, with conservation programs managing the restoration, Walker said.

Implementing such programs takes a good amount of planning and professionals with expertise, he said. There are such experts in state and federal agencies, such as the USDA.

Walker pointed to private efforts as well.

[There are] a lot of farms, whove made a lot of progress in this direction, who are implementing conservation programs, and thats been part of our government outreach to have conservation reserves.

Farmers care very much about the land, and those who have the means put a lot of money into conservation, he said.

They dont want to live in a dust bowl. They dont want to live in a contaminated area.

The first step farmers use to increase the organic content in their depleted soils is to add compost or grow alfalfa, which Walker called green manure. They then determine how much extra nitrogen any plants would need, given their current microbial health.

The organic portion is being broken down and is mineralized by the soil microbes to make it available to the plants, he said. And then, if thats not enough for the plants, then we can put in some more nitrogen, and the plants are happy, but we havent killed the soil.

Agricultural Policies Need Decentralization

Walker said progress is being made in soil conservation. But some groups have now decided to jump way ahead to the extreme of itwe just cant jump that fast.

If this trend continues across more farms, we could have crop failures; we could have sort of dustbowl scenarios, like we saw in the 30s, in my opinion.

You cant just give a blanket cure for the world or for a nation or even for a region because soils vary in their properties. They vary in their organic matter percentages, the types of soils and silt, clay, he said. We dont need more regulation; we need more education.

Policies that are based on ideology instead of science are problematic, according to Walker.

We want to avoid contaminating our water systems; we want to have healthy soils, but you dont just go off on an ideology without knowing what youre dealing with, he said.

Walker advises policymakers to first consult the very talented, knowledgeable people at U.S. universities and colleges.

We need less centralization  and we need to work with the local colleges of agriculture, USDA, the professionals who know what theyre doing, he said.

The more we get centralized, the more we get up into the bureaucracy, the less realistic were going to be on the ground. You cant necessarily set arbitrary amounts or benchmarks.

A lot of our farmers are stretched really thin right now. Theyre facing the costs of petrol and everything else and just hanging on by a thread. So I find it very concerning.

Walker said its rather obvious that there is a plan unfolding.

Its no coincidence, he said. All of these things are linked together. And if we go down this path, I think we could have famine. I think there are people who want that; there are people are who would like to significantly reduce the population of the planet. And I think its a very cold-hearted way to look at doing it.

It just leaves a lot of progress undone, and it gives a one size fits all approach thats not even going to be good for the planet.

Sri Lankas Approach

A farmer prepares a paddy field for sowing in Biyagama on the outskirts of Colombo, Sri Lanka, on Oct. 21, 2020. (Ishara S. Kodikara/AFP via Getty Images)

Farming in Sri Lanka has basically been one big case study for what can happen if farmers are forced to switch to organic farming immediately, according to Walker, who spent a year teaching in Sri Lanka.

This is a canary in the mineshaft, he said of the country, which suddenly banned the use of chemical fertilizers in April 2021.

Doing such a quick switch overtheres massive, massive problems with that. We all want to help the planet. But if youre going to make policy decisions based on idealism or some sort of utopia that youre trying to create, youre gonna create huge problems.

Walker said soil specialists could work with farmers to try and help them wean their soils off synthetic fertilizers.

But again, I really would question if we can feed such a large population just on organics, he said of the governments plan.

If you had most of the people in Sri Lanka owning five to 10 acres, yeah, maybe we could do that. But for the most part, to feed themselves, much less to have some exports to other countries for the sake of their national budget, you probably do need some extra supplemental fertilizer [in addition] to the organics.

If we were to cut that off, cold turkey, in the U.S., I think it would be disastrous. I think we would see famine. I think we would see crop shortages.

It takes a while to build back up the organic matter and necessary microbes in the soils, he said.

Ella Kietlinska Reporter Follow Ella Kietlinska is a reporter for The Epoch Times focusing on U.S. and world politics.
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/Getty Images)

Fauci: Emergency Declaration for Monkeypox Under Active Consideration

The federal government is actively considering making an emergency declaration for monkeypox, according to White House medical adviser Anthony Fauci.

Speaking Tuesday in a CNN interview, Fauci told CNN that an emergency declaration on the virus is something thats obviously under active consideration. He made the comment when asked by CNN about whether such a declaration is in the works for the virus, with health officials say is overwhelmingly being transmitted by homosexual males.

Fauci similarly noted that monkeypox mainly affects homosexual men. Theres an entire layered group of people who are at risk, Fauci said, adding, Were doing well, but weve got to do much better.

Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that two children contracted the virus, with one child case being reported in the District of Columbia and the other occurring in California. Public health officials are investigating how the two kids became infected.

Both of those children are traced back to individuals who come from the men-who-have-sex-with-men community, the gay mens community, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said at a Washington Post-hosted event.

On Saturday, World Health Organization (WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus ruled that monkeypox is a global emergency despite a lack of consensus among experts on the U.N. health agencys emergency committee. It was the first time a U.N. health agency chief has unilaterally made such a decision without an expert recommendation.

What It Means

While Tedross declaration does not impose any requirements on national governments, it can serve as an urgent call to action to deal with the virus. The last time such a declaration was issued was in early 2020 for COVID-19, the illness caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus.

We have an outbreak that has spread around the world rapidly, through new modes of transmission, about which we understand too little, Tedros said. For all of these reasons, I have decided that the global monkeypox outbreak represents a public health emergency of international concern.

Five deaths from monkeypox have been reported in Africa this year. No deaths have been reported outside Africa, including in the United States or Europe.

As for what a U.S.-wide emergency declaration on monkeypox would even accomplish, a White House memo sent Sunday suggests it could be used as a tool that could be used to both align with WHO and raise additional awareness, as well as provide significant justification for [Health and Human Services] to use (though limited) tools that would aid in the response, reported the Washington Post.

Like Fauci, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra told CNN Monday that his agency is still reviewing whether an emergency declaration is needed.

We want to get ahead of [monkeypox]. You dont want it to become a part of life. But how many people have died compared to COVID? he stated. Zero  We declare public health emergencies based on the data and the science, not on our worries.
(L) Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and (R) Dr. Anthony Fauci at a Senate hearing on the federal response to COVID-19, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, on Sept. 23, 2020. (L: Alex Edelman R: Graeme Jennings/Pool via Reuters)

Fauci Fires Back at Sen. Rand Paul: Go Ahead and Investigate

White House COVID-19 adviser Anthony Fauci said Tuesday that he welcomes a Republican-led investigation into his records, claiming they are an open book.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) told The Hill on Monday that if the GOP takes over the House or Senate after the 2022 midterms, Fauci could be investigated when Republicans take control of committees. Some Republicans including Paul have said that Fauci has been publicly misleading on the origins of COVID-19 and have also accused him of supporting mandates that they have described as draconian.

One way or another, if we are in the majority, we will subpoena his records and he will testify in the Senate under oath, Paul said.

In response to Pauls statement, CNNs John Berman asked Fauci on Tuesday morning: Your reaction to Rand Paul and others saying theyre going to investigate you if they take office?

Fauci initially said that theres no reason to do that but stressed that if they want to, go ahead. He added, My records are an open book. They are talking about things that are really bizarre, John, like crimes against democracy by shutting down the government.

All I have ever done, and go back and look at everything Ive ever done, was to recommend commonsense, good, CDC-recommended public health policies that have saved millions of lives. If you want to investigate me for that, go ahead, Fauci said.

Namely, Paul and other Republicans have questioned Fauci over the origins of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus that causes COVID-19 and the gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China. Last year, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Faucis parent organization, ultimately conceded that it provided funding to third-party groups to perform gain-of-function research on bat coronaviruses at the Wuhan lab

Open Book

The Epoch Times for months has tried to obtain several of Faucis records via Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, including his employment contract. According to watchdog OpenTheBooks.com, Fauci is among the highest-paid government employees.

You requested Dr. Anthony Faucis job contract(s) and job description(s). NIH has processed 5 pages related to Dr. Faucis current job description, consisting of the most recent director of NIAID duties statement and NIAID director functional statement. Please note that since 2000, Dr. Fauci is appointed under Title 42, where there is a statement of duties versus a position description, NIH spokesperson Gorka Garcia-Malene told The Epoch Times in April about a request for his contracts of employment.

At the time, OpenTheBooks.com founder and CEO Adam Andrzejewski described Fauci as untouchable, protected, and essentially unreviewable even by his own employer, the NIH.

The Fauci employment contract is so sensitive that the agency is violating FOIA statutes and using expensive taxpayer-funded litigation to withhold it from the American people, he said in April.

Months before that, two of Faucis most recent financial disclosures for 2019 and 2020 were made publicly available by Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), showing the longtime federal employee has a net worth in the millions of dollars range.

Those records also showed that Fauci invested in large Chinese regime-backed companies that advance Beijings interests and benefit from state policies, including companies like Tencent Holdings, Alibaba Group Holdings, Hong Kong Exchange and Clearing Ltd., and WuXi Biologics Cayman.

Zachary Stieber contributed to this report.
Hunter Biden walks to Marine One on the Ellipse outside the White House in Washington on May 22, 2021. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)

FBI Wrongly Labeled Derogatory Information on Hunter Biden as Disinformation: Whistleblowers

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) alleged on July 25 that there were systemic and existential problems within the Justice Department and the FBI, after highly credible whistleblowers informed his office that officials from the bureau labeled evidence against Hunter Biden as disinformation.

The allegations provided to my office appear to indicate that there was a scheme in place among certain FBI officials to undermine derogatory information connected to Hunter Biden by falsely suggesting it was disinformation, Grassley wrote in a letter (pdf) to Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray.

Grassley, the ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the volume and consistency of the whistleblowers allegations substantiate their credibility.

Senate Judiciary Ranking Member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) speaks at a hearing with the Senate Judiciary Committee in the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington on July 12, 2022. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

The latest revelation is part of Grassleys ongoing effort to probe into Hunter Bidens business activities. In September 2020, he and Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) released a report, discovering that there was potential criminal activity relating to transactions among and between Hunter Biden, his family, and his associates with Ukrainian, Russian, Kazakh, and Chinese nationals, while Joe Biden was vice president during the Obama administration.

In March, the two senators presented bank records on the Senate floor showing CEFC China Energy, a now-defunct company, made payments to Hunter Biden. Currently, the U.S. attorneys office in Delaware is investigating Biden for possible tax violations.

Whistleblowers

According to whistleblowers, the FBI came into possession of information about Hunter Bidens criminal financial and related activity in 2020, which prompted FBI supervisory intelligence analyst Brian Auten to open an assessment in August 2020, according to the letter. An FBI headquarters team subsequently used the assessment to improperly discredit negative Hunter Biden information as disinformation and caused the bureaus investigation on Hunter Biden to cease.

A month later, the FBI team placed findings by FBI agents involved in Autens assessment in a restricted access sub-file. Grassley said the decision was problematic.

[I]t does not allow for proper oversight and opens the door to improper influence, Grassley explained.

Auten was previously known for being under investigation for failing to properly vet the now-discredited Steele dossier, which contained false and fabricated claims accusing former President Donald Trump of colluding with Russia.

In October 2020, an avenue of additional derogatory Hunter Biden reporting surfaced, and the reporting was verified or verifiable via criminal search warrants, whistleblowers told Grassley. However, the FBI did not pursue the reporting after Timothy Thibault, an assistant special agent in charge of the Washington field office, shut it down.

Thibault allegedly ordered the matter closed without providing a valid reason as required by FBI, the letter said. FBI officials, including Thibault, then tried to improperly mark the matter in FBI systems so that it could not be opened in the future.

Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz testifies in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee in Washington on Dec. 11, 2019. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

In May, Grassley requested an Inspector General investigation into Thibault, expressing concerns about how the agent had demonstrated a pattern of active public partisanship, in violation of his ethical obligation as an FBI employee. In his letter (pdf) to Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz at that time, Grassley documented Thibaults left-wing social media posts, including retweeting a post from the anti-Trump political-action committee the Lincoln Project.

In response to Grassleys letter, Horowitz wrote back (pdf) saying that Thibault may have violated the Hatch Act, and asked the Office of Special Counsel to review the case. The Act, passed in 1939, bans federal government officials from taking in certain political activities.

Request

Grassley said Garland and Wray must take the whistleblower allegations seriously.

If these allegations are true and accurate, the Justice Department and FBI areand have beeninstitutionally corrupted to their very core to the point in which the United States Congress and the American people will have no confidence in the equal application of the law, Grassley wrote in his letter.

Grassley ended his letter by asking Garland and Wray to turn over records and information relating to the Biden family, Austen, and Thibault before Aug. 8.

The senator requested all leads that were either ordered closed or denied further review by Thibault.

All records related to derogatory information on Hunter Biden, James Biden, and their foreign business relationships, Grassley wrote as one of his requests.

The FBI said it has received the letter but declined to comment further.

Eva Fu contributed to this report.
Feds Seek Dental-Care Program Ideas From Industry, No Details on Shape It Will Take

The federal government has asked the private sector to weigh in on how companies could play a role in Canadas national dental-care plan.

The Liberals set aside $5.3 billion over the next five years to launch a dental-care program for uninsured low- and middle-income families.

The have committed to starting with kids under the age of 12 in households with an annual income of less than $90,000 by the end of this year, with plans to extend coverage to under-18-year-olds, seniors, and persons living with disabilities in 2023.

The program is a key part of the confidence and supply deal the Liberals signed with the NDP to stave off a potential election until June 2025.

NDP health critic Don Davies said in a statement that the two parties recently agreed on an implementation plan for national dental care that includes learning from stakeholders with expertise in claims processing.

The government issued a formal request for information, seeking input from industry players between now and Aug. 22.

Canada is exploring different models to deliver on this commitmentincluding a federal direct delivery option, whereby Health Canada would deliver the program itself with the support of one or more third-party benefits providers, the government said in the document.

The government could also give cash to the provinces along with a list of coverage they have to provide.

Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos reiterated that the government hasnt yet settled on which form the program will take. The responses from various companies, along with consultations with provinces and territories, will inform federal decisions about how to proceed, he said.

The NDP and Liberals agreed the program would be expanded to include all uninsured family members under the $90,000 income threshold before the term of the deal runs out.

In the request-for-information document, the government estimates seven to nine million Canadians would be eligible for the program once its fully phased in. If the Liberals contract the program out to a private firm, there would be a six-month startup phase between when the contract was awarded and when it would begin.

That would make it impossible for the Liberals to meet the end-of-year deadline to fulfil their promise to the NDP in the confidence and supply agreement between the two parties.

In the document, the government asks companies to explain whether they have the capacity to handle claims from the millions of Canadians who will qualify for coverage.

The Liberals also want to know if an off-the-shelf insurance plan already exists that the government could adapt to suit its needs, and how quickly that could come together.

The document asks companies to answer key questions, like what basket of services should be covered and how the program would be best delivered.

The government has also solicited advice about how to handle the complicated industry landscape, which includes provincial and territorial programs and private insurers.

By Laura Osman
A burnt house following a forest fire near the beach resort of Vatera, on the eastern Aegean island of Lesbos, on July 24, 2022. (Panagiotis Balaskas/AP Photo)

Firebreaks Halt Blaze on Greek Island, Homes Saved

ATHENS, GreeceFire Service and municipal crews dug firebreaks outside evacuated villages on the Greek island of Lesbos early Monday halting a wildfire that had threatened scores of homes, authorities said.

The overnight work, using excavators and other heavy machinery, took place before six water-dropping planes returned to the southern coast of the eastern Aegean Sea island where the fire was burning for a third day.

Heat wave temperatures continued to make conditions difficult Monday, mostly in southern Greece where fire warnings remain in effect and national parks are closed to the public.

A firefighter aircraft drops water over a forest fire as smoke rises near Vrisa village, on the eastern Aegean island of Lesbos, on July 24, 2022. (Panagiotis Balaskas/AP Photo)

A major fire in the southern Peloponnese region prompted the evacuation of six villages Sunday, but conditions have improved and the blaze was contained in areas where homes had been threatened.

At the Dadia National Park, in the northeast of the country, a wildfire burned for a fifth day. Special operations firefighters were needed to access areas where firebreaks were being set up but fast-changing winds were hampering that effort.
Mature, oval-shaped monkeypox virions (L), and spherical immature virions (R), obtained from a sample of human skin associated with the 2003 prairie dog outbreak. (Cynthia S. Goldsmith, Russell Regner/CDC via AP)

First Case of Monkeypox Detected in Japan From Europe

One case of monkeypox has been identified in Tokyo, Japans Health Ministry and the Tokyo metropolitan government confirmed on Monday.

The case involved a man in his 30s who had recently returned from Europe. The ministry said the patient had close contact with someone who was later diagnosed with monkeypox before returning to Tokyo in mid-July.

He developed fever, rash, headache, and malaise before testing positive for the monkeypox virus. According to the ministry, the patient is in stable condition and is being treated at a hospital in Tokyo.

We will collect information while keeping close attention to the infection situation in other countries, in cooperation with the governments of each country, WHO [World Health Organization], and experts, the ministry said in a statement.

The government also urged residents returning from overseas to seek medical attention if they were feeling unwell or developing symptoms, and issued the lowest Level 1 alert for the virus, urging residents to take extra precautions when traveling abroad.

The Monkeypox virus can cause symptoms similar to those of smallpox patients, but its clinically less severe, according to the WHO.

The virus is transmitted through contact with bodily fluids, lesions on the skin, or internal mucosal surfaces. Symptoms of monkeypox include headache, fever, sore throat, malaise, fatigue, rash, and swollen lymph nodes.

Cases Concentrated to Men

WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared the monkeypox virus a public health emergency of international concern on July 23, despite a lack of consensus among experts.

Tedros based his decision on the global growth in monkeypox cases, which have now been reported in 75 countries and territories, with over 16,000 reported cases. Of these, only five deaths have been recorded.

So in short, we have an outbreak that has spread around the world rapidly, through new modes of transmission, about which we understand too little, and which meets the criteria in the International Health Regulations, he said in a statement.

For all of these reasons, I decided that the global monkeypox outbreak represents a public health emergency of international concern, Ghebreyesus said.

Although I am declaring a public health emergency of international concern, for the moment this is an outbreak that is concentrated among men who have sex with men, especially those with multiple sexual partners, he added.

Some committee members opposed the declaration of monkeypox as a global health emergency, claiming that the disease isnt severe enough to warrant such attention and that it could risk hampering response efforts.

A WHO emergency committee decided last month that monkeypox did not constitute a public health emergency of international concern, which at the time had 3,040 cases reported in 47 countries.

In the United States, New York has seen the most monkeypox cases with 990 cases, followed by California with 356 cases, and Illinois with 344 cases, according to data provided by the CDC. The majority of reported cases are attributed to international arrivals.

The first major peer-reviewed study of monkeypox infections has since confirmed that the virus is primarily being transmitted through the sexual activity of gay and bisexual men in the United States and around the world.

The Journal of New England Medicine published a study last week that looked at monkeypox infection across 16 countries between April and June, when cases began to emerge in countries outside of Africa.

Caden Pearson contributed to this report.

Update: This article has been updated to include the alert from Japans foreign ministry.
Fentanyl contained in or substituted for other drugs adds significant danger to those who struggle with addiction. (FotoMaximum/iStock)

Florida Man Arrested in Theft of 125 Bronze Cemetery Vases

He sold them as scrap to buy fentanyl, sheriff's office says

PUNTA GORDA, Fla.A 31-year-old St. Petersburg man was arrested on July 24 after the Pinellas County Sheriffs office said he stole 125 bronze vases from a cemetery and sold them as scrap for quick cash to buy fentanyl.

According to arrest records, Douglas Deck, Jr. removed more than 125 vases from various burial plots at a St. Petersburg cemetery in mid-July. The vases were attached to concrete headstones at the gravesites and are intended to hold flowers or other ornamental and sometimes sentimental decorations.

Detectives were tipped off on July 21 by a local scrap metal yard and determined Decks identity for selling the vases for cash on four separate occasions, the arrest report says. The total weight of the stolen vases was 661 pounds of bronze for which Deck received $1,149 during four separate visits to the scrap yard, the report says. Detectives said they were able to recover 124 of the stolen vases, however, the damages were estimated to be approximately $150,000.

During the investigation when detectives told Deck that his bicycle was found in the cemetery where the crimes occurred, he said that he found the vases, then decided to keep them for himself.

The report says Deck was arrested on four counts of dealing in stolen property, one count of damage or removal of a tomb or monument and one count of possession of a controlled substance after deputies found 0.25 grams of fentanyl on him at the time of his arrest. Deck was booked into the Pinellas County Jail on a $107,000 bond, according to jail records.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 150 people die every day from overdoses resulting from opioids such as fentanyl. The CDC website estimates that Fentanyl can be up to 50 times stronger than heroin and up to 100 times stronger than morphine. The site also warns that it is often laced with other drugs such as heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine, in pills that resemble other prescription opioids.

Recently, GOP lawmakers and Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody asked the Biden administration to designate fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction (WMD) because of the increased number of overdose deaths associated with the drug.

U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) introduced a bill in June that would classify synthetic opioids a WMD.

On July 19, at a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs hearing, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) asked Gary Rasicot, the acting Assistant Secretary for the Department of Homeland Securitys (DHS) Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction, about Boeberts proposal.

Rasicot, however, cautioned lawmakers about declaring such a designation because it could affect legitimate uses of fentanyl.

Any declaration of fentanyl as a WMD, I think you have to carefully consider that because there are legitimate medical uses for fentanyl, Rasicot said at the hearing.

In regards to illicit fentanyl, I think you have to proceed with caution there as well because I think what you want to avoid is creating overlapping jurisdictions or even diverting limited WMD resources into a counternarcotics arena, he added.
(L-R) Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, attend a briefing on the administration's CCP virus response in the press briefing room of the White House in Washington on March 2, 2020. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Former CDC Director Fires Back at Faucis Natural Claim

Former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Robert Redfield rejected White House adviser Anthony Faucis claims that its more likely COVID-19 originated naturally.

In a recent interview, Fauci said he has an open mind but still believes that the virus occurred naturally after previously dismissing the theory that it emerged from the Wuhan Institute of Virology in late 2019. It looks very much like this was a natural occurrence, but you keep an open mind, Fauci said.

When asked about Faucis recent comments on Monday, Redfield told Fox News that he still suspects COVID-19 emerged from the laboratory and had to be educated in the laboratory to gain the efficient human-to-human transmission capability that it has.

Theres very little evidence, if you really want to be critical, to support the natural emergence theory, he said. The former Trump administration official then compared COVID-19 to prior coronaviruses such as Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) that emerged about 10 years ago, saying that neither virus had the same transmission capacity as COVID-19.

So its really exceptional that this virus is one of the most infectious viruses for man. And I still argue thats because it was educated how to infect human tissue, Redfield told Fox News.

Laboratory

The same Wuhan laboratory, he added, was the subject of a 2014 report amid claims that researchers performed research on bat-borne viruses that could impact humans.

The P4 laboratory on the campus of the Wuhan Institute of Virology in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, on May 13, 2020. (Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images)

Im disappointed in the [National Institutes of Health] for not leading an objective evaluation from the beginning, Redfield told the outlet. I think it really is antithetical to the science where they took a very strong position that people like myself who are somehow conspiratorial just because we have a different scientific hypothesis.

A reason why the Wuhan lab leak theory has not been fully recognized, Redfield argued, is due to the politicization of the pandemic response and the pressure that was heaped on scientists who sought objective approaches while studying the origins of COVID-19.

Ive been very disappointed in the scientific community led by [National Institutes of Health] that has really dug their heels in from the beginning to try to minimize any of us that have a different hypothesis, he said.

Both the NIH and Fauci have come under scrutiny over the agencys decision to provide hundreds of thousands of dollars to a third-party group to assist in researching bat coronaviruses at the Wuhan lab.

After spending years working at the NIH, Redfield was named by former President Donald Trump to head the CDC in March 2018. He stepped down at the end of Trumps term in January 2021.
In the June 2022 issue of Virologica Sinica, researchers at Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) published a paper that said WIV efficiently assembled a large fragment of the monkeypox virus genome for the purpose of developing a PCR test for monkeypox.

This WIV article is not particularly eye-catching at the first glance, but it does raise doubts when one thinks about its objective and approaches.

First, the development of a PCR test is a mature and routine practice in molecular biology and does not require a large fragment of the virus as a template or positive control. Secondly, from a biotechnology point of view, to assemble a large virus genome in the lab is no small feat. These two do not add upwhy undergo a difficult endeavor in synthetic biology just to accomplish a simple goal?

What Is WIV Really Doing?

In this WIV paper, the researchers knew very well about the biosafety concern, so they explained why they had to make the virus fragment in the lab. Because MPXV [monkeypox] infection has never been associated with an outbreak in China, the viral genomic material required for qPCR detection is unavailable.

In other words, since there was no monkeypox in China, they did not have access to the natural virus. So, to develop a PCR test for monkeypox, they had to make a fragment of it in the lab. The researchers further stated that they only made less than one third, or in more technical terms, 55-kb length, of the genomic fragment of monkeypox virus. If the MPXV fragment was used as a template for primers, DNA fragments in several hundreds to 1kb lengths would usually be sufficient. If the fragment is needed for positive control, it does not need to be as long as 55-kb in length. The whole SARS-CoV-2 virus genome is only about 29kb in length.

Note that at the time of WIVs research, monkeypox outbreaks had long been found in many countries in Africa and around the world. Moreover, the gene sequence of the monkeypox virus already exists. The researchers in WIV could simply use the available sequence to obtain shorter fragments commercially in a very cost-effective and time-saving manner. It is common practice to develop PCR tests without a large virus genome or fragment.

Furthermore, Chinese media reports have already shown that other Chinese companies have successfully developed monkeypox PCR tests with minimum effort.

A report by Beijing Economic Technological Development Area dated May 30, 2022 said that several companies in the area had developed PCR testing kits for monkeypox. One of them is BioChain, whose research only took 17 days, from May 8, when a focused team was formed, to May 24, when the test kit received the European commission CE marking, deeming that it met the safety, health, and environmental protection requirements of the European Union.

The key to the rapid development lies in the companys Pathogen Molecular Identification Database (PMDB). By comparing the monkeypox virus genome sequences in PMDB against the known monkeypox or orthopoxvirus whole genome sequences, they were able to identify the specific gene sequence of monkeypox virus strains. They were then able to quickly develop the PCR assay within one month.

In addition, Beijing Kinghawk Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., on May 27 announced a similar test kit, which also received European commission CE marking. The report says the team started the research in mid-May, and that they mostly relied on information in published research papers.

This indicates that designing a PCR test for MPXV is not a daunting task at all.

If these lesser-known companies can accomplish the task, why did WIV choose the difficult and unnecessary route of constructing a large fragment of the virus genome? Maybe the real purpose of WIV assembling the genome was to exercise the new synthetic technology called TAR (Transformation-associated recombination) cloning.

The WIV paper says, a 55-kb genomic fragment of monkeypox virus encompassing primary detection targets for quantitative PCR was assembled by TAR using pGFCS in VL6-48B.

Again, being able to assemble a considerable portion of a large monkeypox virus genome by TAR is remarkable. Is this all just for designing a PCR test?

Indeed, the WIV researchers were fully aware of the safety concerns. So they wrote in the paper, since they only cloned less than one-third of the monkeypox genome, it is fail-safe by virtually eliminating any risk of recovering into an infectious virus.

To paraphrase, since they only made one third of the virus, there is no need to worry about the whole virus being made. Apparently, the peer reviewers were satisfied with this explanation.

Its worth mentioning that Virologica Sinica is managed by the Chinese Society for Microbiology, and the infamous bat-woman Shi Zhengli from WIV is the editor-in-chief.

Synthetic Biology

Synthetic biology has been developing rapidly in the past decade. The first synthetic bacterial cell was constructed in 2010 by Dr. Daniel Gibson at the J. Craig Venter Institute in San Diego, California. Since then, an enabling suite of DNA synthesis and assembly methods has been developed.

In recent years, synthetic biology has found applications in biosensing, therapeutics, and the production of biofuels, pharmaceuticals, and novel biomaterials. All these possibilities made synthetic biology platforms powerful, promising, and dangerous at the same time.

Like a double-edged sword, if this technology falls into the hands of people with no moral baseline and a history of unethical practices, it could spell trouble.

Genome-edited Babies

In 2018, Chinese scientist He Jiankui invoked bioethical controversy when he announced that he had created the first genetically edited human babies. He Jiankui was working at the Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen, China, at the time.

He used CRISPR gene editing (CRISPR/Cas9) technology to modify the DNA of the embryos genomes. In November 2018, He announced the birth of genome-edited twin girls via Youtube videos. It is said that a third baby was born in 2019. The experiment was conducted in secrecy at the beginning with consenting parents, some reports say.

An editor for biomedicine of the MIT Technology Review exposed the secret project based on He Jiankuis applications for conducting a clinical trial on the Chinese clinical trials registry. This could indicate that the Chinese authorities and the university He Jiankui worked at knew about the project.

Moreover, after the twin girls were born, Chinese state media Peoples Daily praised it as a historical breakthrough in the application of gene editing technology for disease prevention.

Some news reports claim that three Chinese state institutions were listed as the funders of Hes experiment: the Ministry of Science and Technology (the nations federal science agency), the Shenzhen Science and Technology Innovation Commission, and Southern University of Science and Technology, where He was a professor.

As the international community started to criticize the controversy, Southern University of Science and Technology said they were not aware of the project. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) investigated and found that He Jiankui and two colleagues acted alone in this secret experiment.

On December 30, 2019, He Jiankui and two collaborators were found guilty of having forged ethical review documents and misled doctors into unknowingly implanting gene-edited embryos into two women, effectively clearing any alleged involvement of the CCP. He Jiankui was sentenced to three years in prison, and was released in April 2022.

Michael W. Deem, an American bioengineering professor at Rice University, was Hes doctoral advisor, and was investigated by Rice University. No results have been announced.

Stanford University also investigated its faculty William Hurlbut, Matthew Porteus, and Stephen Quake, who were Hes main mentors in gene editing. The investigation concluded that they had no research, financial or organizational ties to this research.

Finally, the controversy was settled as He and two other people were sent to prison. No other entities or individuals were involved. Case closed. Really?

Concerning Ambiguity

Through these cases, the ambiguity in ethics concerning synthetic biology is clear.

It is also concerning that no internationally recognized regulations to ensure biosafety in the field of synthetic biology exist today.

As the United States provides the most favorable conditions for the advanced technology to be developed, it is equally important for the United States to be the leader in setting the regulations. So, how is it being done?

Cooperating With China

One high profile event on biosafety is particularly puzzling.

In July 2019, Johns Hopkins University and Tianjin University (Tianjin, China) co-hosted a meeting in Washington D.C., titled Biosafety and Biosecurity in the Era of Synthetic Biology: Perspectives from the United States and China.

Why Johns Hopkins, a world-renowned institution, would join efforts with the Center for Biosafety Research and Strategy at Tianjin University is beyond explanation.

On its website, Center for Biosafety Research and Strategy at Tianjin University says that it was

founded in September 2016 under Chinas Ministry of Education, and in response to CCP secretary Xi Jinpings order to strengthen the nations capability in biosafety.

The director of the Center was part of the CCPs Thousand Talents program, which has lured tens of thousands of overseas scientists to bring the latest advances in their respective fields of expertise to China in a clandestine way.

The one-day meeting generated a report (PDF) which includes nothing substantial. The meeting participants agreed that biotechnology has the potential to have a positive impact on international economies, sustainability, human health, and security. However, the current international governance structure for biological sciences is ill-equipped to manage risks from emerging biological technologies while still promoting beneficial research and development. Improved governance will require increased investment and a concerted global effort to create norms that support biosafety and security.

Albert Einstein once said, The human spirit must prevail over technology. Einstein seems to have prophesied the modern technological advancement. Indeed, synthetic biology is undoubtedly one of the greatest technological accomplishments in recent human history. Yet, without the clear conscience and human morality, it can be disastrous to humanity.

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.
Lufthansa flight attendants silhouetted as they pose for a photograph on occasion of the company's annual press conference in Munich, Germany, on March 16, 2017. (Matthias Schrader/AP Photo)

German Union Calls 1-Day Strike by Lufthansa Ground Staff

BERLINA German union has called on Lufthansa ground staff to walk out on a one-day strike Wednesday in a dispute over pay.

The ver.di service workers union said Monday that the call applies to all Lufthansa locations in Germany. It comes amid negotiations on pay for about 20,000 employees of logistical, technical, and cargo subsidiaries of the airline.

The strike was set to start at 3:45 a.m. (0145 GMT) Wednesday and end at 6 a.m. (0400 GMT) on Thursday.

The union aims to raise the pressure on Lufthansa ahead of the next round of negotiations on Aug. 3 and 4.

Such warning strikes are a common tactic in German labor negotiations and typically last from several hours to a day or two. This walkout comes at a time when airports in Germany and elsewhere already are seeing disruption and long lines for security checks.

A Lufthansa Boeing 747 aircraft approaches the international airport in Frankfurt, Germany, on Aug. 13, 2021. (Michael Probst/AP Photo)

Ver.di is calling for a 9.5 percent pay increase this year and says an offer by Lufthansa earlier this month, which would involve a deal for an 18-month period, falls far short of its demands.

Lufthansa human resources chief Michael Niggemann said in a statement that ver.dis strike call is all the more incomprehensible given that the employer side has offered high and socially balanced pay increases despite a tense economic situation for the company and an uncertain economic outlook.
A view of the Confucius Institute building on the Troy University campus in Troy, Ala., on March 16, 2018. (Kreeder13 via Wikimedia Commons)

GOPs Press Defense Secretary on Federal Funds to Colleges Tied to Beijing

A group of Republican lawmakers is pushing Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on federal funds flowing to U.S. universities with ties to Beijing.

Republican Study Committee Chairman Jim Banks (R-Ind.) and 56 of his GOP colleagues sent a letter to Austin on July 25, asking the secretary why federal funds were going to schools that are linked to the Chinese Communist Party.

We have learned that DoD [Department of Defense] has awarded funding with contractual periods extending beyond October 1, 2023, to some universities, including a number of major state universities, the lawmakers wrote, adding that all these institutions are currently carrying a program or institute directly or indirectly funded, or materially supported by the communist regime of China.

The timeline mentioned refers to a law that will go into effect in 14 months, restricting grants to any U.S. academic institutions hosting Beijing-funded programs.

The 9-page letter spotlighted Beijing-funded Confucius Institutes (CI) on U.S. campuses, which Beijing once called an important part of Chinas overseas propaganda setup. Given their longstanding and formal ties to the regimes foreign influence operations, the presence of CIs has raised serious concerns about Chinas attempts to infringe on academic freedom and illicit technology transfer on American campuses since the mid-2000s.

Opponents of the Confucius Institutes rally in front of the Toronto District School Board on Oct. 1, 2014. (Zhou Xing/Epoch Times)

The lawmakers noted the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), a massive bill that funds the military, which banned federal grants to any academic institution that hosts a Confucius Institute and pressured most American universities to close Confucius Institutes on their campuses.

Confucius Institutes, however, are far from meeting their demise on our university campuses, the Republicans wrote, citing a June report by the National Association of Scholars (NAS) that warns that China has rebranded its CIs in U.S. universities.

Researchers found that out of the 118 CIs that once existed in the United States, 104 have closed or announced closures. However, at least 38 colleges have replaced their closed programs with similar alternatives, according to the report.

The single most common reason universities give when they close a Confucius Institute is that they are replacing it with a new PRC partnership program, the Republicans said in the letter.

The lawmakers noted that, when the 2021 NDAA was introduced into Congress, CIs parent agency under the Chinese regime, known as Hanban, was promptly rebranded in July 2020 as the Center for Language Exchange and Cooperation. The letter urged the DoD to focus its efforts on the restructured programs and institutes that function similarly to CIs.

According to the NAS report, universities that hosted replacement programs still received federal funds, including the University of Michigan, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Michigan State University, University of Minnesota, North Carolina State University, Stony Brook University, and the University of Texas at San Antonio.

The lawmakers provided Austin a list of questions over the rebranded CIs and funds, setting a deadline of Aug. 15.

At least 28 American universities also collaborate with Chinese sister universities, many of which are involved in research that aids the communist regimes military, according to a December 2021 report from a Washington-based think tank.

Several Chinese universities have already been recognized by the U.S. government as posing a national security risk to the United States and have been placed on the Commerce Departments entity list.

Although no laws require American universities to sever ties with Chinese institutions that appear on a U.S. blacklist, inclusion on the entity list would require U.S. universities to seek permission from the Commerce Department for certain research collaborations.
Has Florida Man Finally Met His Match? Meet Florida Sheriff

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.When a naked man in southwestern Florida recently raised a ruckus outside his house and threatened a deputy with a kitchen knife, the SWAT team swooped in and apprehended him.

Soon afterward, Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno stood on the mans driveway in combat gear for a news conference while the suspect went to the jailhouse that the sheriff likes to call the Marceno Motel.

Hes an oxygen-stealer and a scumbag, and Im glad hes outta here, Marceno told reporters. Im proud to say that in this county, if you present deadly physical force  we meet you with deadly force every time, and we win. Its pretty clean, pretty quick.

The Sunshine State has become internationally notorious for the oddball miscreants who populate its police blotters and local news reportsknown collectively as Florida Man. There are murders and mayhem, like anyplace else, and then there are the only-in-Florida incidents like the man charged with assault with a deadly weapon for throwing an alligator through a Wendys drive-thru window in Palm Beach County in 2015.

But an equally eccentric cast of hard-boiled sheriffs make a career of going after these guys. Florida Man, meet Florida Sheriff.

All but one of Floridas 67 counties have an elected sheriff, and they wield enormous influence in part because theyre often the only countywide elected official. They head agencies that typically patrol unincorporated portions of their county but also provide backup to city police departments and sometimes patrol small cities that lack their own force. Many, like Marceno, hold made-for-YouTube news conferences and use TikTok and other social mediafrequently going just as viral as the perpetrators.

Take Santa Rosa County Sheriff Bob Johnson, in Floridas Panhandle.

During a recent news conference about a burglary, Johnson, elected in 2016, said a homeowner had fired shots but didnt hit the suspect. Johnson encouraged that homeowner to take a gun safety course offered every other Saturday at the sheriffs office so he could better take matters into his own hands.

Learn to shoot a lot better, Johnson said. Save the taxpayers money.

On the Atlantic Coast, near Cape Canaveral, Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey makes a game of crimeliterally. His weekly  Wheel of Fugitive  videos feature the sheriff spinning a wheel with photos of 10 of the countys most wanted.

Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey gets ready to spin his popular Wheel of Fugitive in Titusville, Fla. (Malcolm Denemark/Florida Today via AP)

Everybody watches it. Even the fugitives watch it to see who becomes fugitive of the week, Ivey said.

The lucky winner of one recent episode was a 32-year-old white male accused of petit theft and failure to appear. The sheriff, first elected in 2012, looked into the camera as if speaking directly to the man and urged him to surrender: Stop messing up and stop breaking the law. Get all of it behind you.

The Twitter account of Pasco County Sheriff Chris Noccowho has starred in A&E Networks Live PD showmade a splash with local Sad Criminal of the Day posts. His agency also copyrighted the now-viral hashtag, #9pmroutine, a reminder to lock car doors and homes every night.

In January, the department cut off social media comments because the accounts fell victim to their success. With over 300,000 Facebook followersmore than double that of much larger Hillsborough County Sheriffs Office in nearby TampaNocco said people were too often reporting crimes online rather than calling 911.

Over in central Florida is, perhaps, the highest-profile enemy of Florida Man (and Florida Woman).

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, who constantly targets gangs, drug dealers and prostitution rings in his folksy Southern drawl, has been a frequent hit on TV since he was first elected with no party affiliation in 2005. Judd says of school shooters: Were going to shoot you graveyard dead.

Sheriff Grady Judd holds a bobblehead of his likeness given to him by his staff. (Polk County Sheriffs Office via AP)

He also has praised homeowners for firing on intruders, including one last December: He gave him an early Christmas present. Only Santa Claus gets to come in your house, Judd told a news conference.

Judd often refers to the Polk County Jail as the Polk Pokey, and last holiday season, his office sold their version of the popular Elf on the Shelf doll, dubbed Sheriff on a Shelf, and he personally autographed Sheriff Judd bobbleheads.

One of Judds latest targets was not exactly the crime of the century. But Judd had plenty to say about a woman accused of assaulting workers at a McDonalds because her order was wrong.

Shes a pretty lady. But she was McMad, Judd said on May 20. I dont know if she was two fries short of a Happy Meal, but she created a McMess and acted like a McNut.  This is Polk County. We dont put up with that McJunk.

By Freida Frisaro and Curt Anderson
Whatever you think of the American healthcare system, one thing is clear: Americans pay dearly for healthcare. Those who get insurance through their employersonly 54 percent of Americans employees in 2020pay handsomely for that.

The many Americans who do not get health insurance through their jobs often pay even more to be covered. As a result, there are over 31.6 million Americans who have no health insurance at all, according to the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention.

For those who do have insurancewhether through work or on their ownmedical treatment still involves out-of-pocket expenses. While some simple matters may require only a small co-pay, more extensive medical care generally requires the patient to pay beyond what the insurance company is going to cover.

Worse, millions of Americans without health care insurance must pay out of pocket for every medical expense they incur.

This brings us to the crisis of health care debt.

How Extensive is Health Care Debt in The United States?

A 2022 study by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) determined that 100 million Americans currently carry health care debt. For some, the debt is in the hundreds of dollars: for others, the debt is five or six digits worth of debt.

The 2020 U.S. Census revealed that 17 percent of American citizens have medical debt. Analyzing the census data further, KFF found that almost 1 in 10 Americans owe more than $250 in medical debt. Americans owe at least $195 million for medical services.

Americans attempt to pay off these debts in a variety of ways: payment plans, putting the debt on a credit card, taking out loans, using home equity or even second mortgages. More than half a million Americans file for bankruptcy annually in order to deal with medical debt.

Lets look at the issue for two different audiences: those who currently have medical debt and want to eliminate it, and those who do not yet have medical debt and want to avoid it.

How to Eliminate Medical Debt

For the most part, eliminating medical debt is the same as eliminating any other kind of debt. You increase personal revenue and decrease expenses in order to have more funds to direct toward the debt. Consolidating debt, selling valuables, obtaining a loan, using home equity, and, unfortunately, bankruptcy are ways to reduce any debt, including overdue medical bills

However, there are moves you can make that are directly related to your medical debt.

Contact your insurer . Anyone who has undergone a serious medical procedure knows the insurance process is slow and cumbersome. Payments come sporadically, and not all at once. Make sure your insurance company has paid all that it is supposed to pay, before looking for other payment options.

. Anyone who has undergone a serious medical procedure knows the insurance process is slow and cumbersome. Payments come sporadically, and not all at once. Make sure your insurance company has paid all that it is supposed to pay, before looking for other payment options. Examine your bill. Are you being charged properly for the services provided? Are you being charged for a service you did not receive? Mistakes in medical billing happen all of the time (some question whether they are actually mistakes). Billing firms may bill you for out-of-network service incorrectly. They may use the wrong code for a procedure, charging you for a more expensive service. And if a provider balance bills, Are you being charged properly for the services provided? Are you being charged for a service you did not receive? Mistakes in medical billing happen all of the time (some question whether they are actually mistakes). Billing firms may bill you for out-of-network service incorrectly. They may use the wrong code for a procedure, charging you for a more expensive service. And if a provider balance bills, you may not have to pay

Can I use a payment plan? This is really no different than a payment plan you have for a mortgage or automobile. Medical providers often offer very low interest, low penalty plans in order to get the money they are owed. A payment plan would at least reduce some of the stress associated with your debt. Some medical providers will offer a payment plan with no interest charged. Unlike credit card companies or loan issuers who profit through interest charges, medical providers are not so inclined.

This is really no different than a payment plan you have for a mortgage or automobile. Medical providers often offer very low interest, low penalty plans in order to get the money they are owed. A payment plan would at least reduce some of the stress associated with your debt. Some medical providers will offer a payment plan with no interest charged. Unlike credit card companies or loan issuers who profit through interest charges, medical providers are not so inclined. Can I use my retirement fund savings without penalty? If you are under the age of 59.5, you can take a distribution from a retirement account, without penalty, to pay for medical expenses. However, those expenses must be more than 10 percent of your adjusted gross income. That means your medical bill has to be extremely high for this to work in your favor.

If you are under the age of 59.5, you can take a distribution from a retirement account, without penalty, to pay for medical expenses. However, those expenses must be more than 10 percent of your adjusted gross income. That means your medical bill has to be extremely high for this to work in your favor. Discuss a negotiated settlement. Unlike credit card companies, medical providers are often willing to discuss your outstanding debt. They may reduce your total debt if there is an amount you are more able to pay. Medical companies do not like sending overdue bills for collection. It costs them money. A negotiated settlement of costs is not only possible but is a common practice.

Unlike credit card companies, medical providers are often willing to discuss your outstanding debt. They may reduce your total debt if there is an amount you are more able to pay. Medical companies do not like sending overdue bills for collection. It costs them money. A negotiated settlement of costs is not only possible but is a common practice. Contact a medical debt counselor. If you are not having success negotiating with your medical provider, hire a professional. You will be charged for the services of the medical debt counselor, but that charge will be mitigated by the lower total bill. In fact, make certain when talking to a counselor that you will NOT be charged more than you save in the mediation. There are non-profit organizations that aggregate the names of counselors and verify their practices so you know you are working with a respected counselor.

If you are not having success negotiating with your medical provider, hire a professional. You will be charged for the services of the medical debt counselor, but that charge will be mitigated by the lower total bill. In fact, make certain when talking to a counselor that you will NOT be charged more than you save in the mediation. There are non-profit organizations that aggregate the names of counselors and verify their practices so you know you are working with a respected counselor. Check your credit score for medical bill assessments. As of July 1, 2022, overdue medical bills or bills that have been sent to collection may not be counted against your credit score. If a medical bill is showing up on your credit report, it should be removed.

As of July 1, 2022, overdue medical bills or bills that have been sent to collection may not be counted against your credit score. If a medical bill is showing up on your credit report, it should be removed. Your health insurance company may be willing to negotiate for you. If you believe you are being billed unfairly or incorrectly, ask your insurance company to reach out to the provider.

Avoiding Medical Debt

Avoiding medical debt may be impossible. But there are measures you can take to prevent acquiring medical debt, or lowering the amount you will owe.

Find out what is covered. Before any medical procedure, check with your insurance to see if the cost is completely covered, or what percentage is covered. This requires that you get a detailed list from your doctor as to what procedures are going to take place. If you dont ask, doctors will seldom volunteer those detail in advance.

Before any medical procedure, check with your insurance to see if the cost is completely covered, or what percentage is covered. This requires that you get a detailed list from your doctor as to what procedures are going to take place. If you dont ask, doctors will seldom volunteer those detail in advance. If you discover that the cost is not covered by insurance, or only partially covered, discuss the cost of the procedure with the doctors billing department. The medical provider may be willing to drop the cost of the procedure before it takes placeand before you are billed for it.

The medical provider may be willing to drop the cost of the procedure before it takes placeand before you are billed for it. Discuss your finances with your doctor before undergoing any examination. Some doctors run tests routinely and without concern over their cost to the patient. If you have a concern about the cost of testing, ask your doctor if there is an alternative test or if a certain routine test can be skipped.

Some doctors run tests routinely and without concern over their cost to the patient. If you have a concern about the cost of testing, ask your doctor if there is an alternative test or if a certain routine test can be skipped. Go over your bill in detail, promptly. Contact the doctors billing department and discuss with them the specific costs for each procedure. Ask if that amount can be adjusted. It cant hurt to do so.

Contact the doctors billing department and discuss with them the specific costs for each procedure. Ask if that amount can be adjusted. It cant hurt to do so. Avoid the emergency room , unless you have a real emergency. The cost of emergency service is significant. Speak to someone at your doctors office first; there may be a nurse on call who can assist you. Research your illness before jumping into the car to go to the ER.

, unless you have a real emergency. The cost of emergency service is significant. Speak to someone at your doctors office first; there may be a nurse on call who can assist you. Research your illness before jumping into the car to go to the ER. For those people with insurance, stick to in-network providers if possible.

if possible. Be proactive: take care of your health. Take advantage of preventative care offered to you through your insurance, including wellness programs or health club memberships.

Once you have exhausted the above steps, if you do end up with medical debt, go back to the how to eliminate medical debt steps.

You Are Not Alone!

As with almost all financial situations, you are not the first to have to deal with medical debt. Any effort you make to avoid or reduce debt has been made by others, often successfully.

And, since medical debt is so prevalent, there is no embarrassment in having to deal with it. Half of Americans are already doing so. Talk with friends or co-workers to see how they have handled the situation. Find out what has worked for others, and apply those methods to your situation. In the meantime, try to stay well.

The Epoch Times Copyright  2022 The views and opinions expressed are only those of the authors. They are meant for general informational purposes only and should not be construed or interpreted as a recommendation or solicitation. The Epoch Times does not provide investment, tax, legal, financial planning, estate planning, or any other personal finance advice. The Epoch Times holds no liability for the accuracy or timeliness of the information provided.
Heat Waves: The Hidden Cost of Heat

Commentary

It is the middle of summer, and the weather has been unavoidably hot across the globe and the free world. Here in Atlanta, where I am based, the summer heat is impossible to escape. Apart from certain mountain communities in the southern Appalachians, Atlanta is completely surrounded by similar geography and heat indexes. It is always hot in the summer in the Southeast, let alone in parts of the Midwest and East Coast. The only differentiator is whether or not the humidity is manageable or if it is completely off the charts.

Regardless, this particular heat wave is scheduled to last through the weekend and next week, as the National Weather Service warned Wednesday: Across the southern tier of the U.S., monsoon showers and thunderstorms will develop each day in the Southwest, with heavy downpours potentially leading to areas of flash flooding. The WPC [Weather Prediction Center] has issued a Marginal Risk (Threat level 1/4) of Excessive Rainfall for parts of eastern Arizona, southern Colorado, and most of New Mexico. A stronger push of tropical moisture arrives this weekend, prompting the issuance of a Slight Risk (Threat level 2/4) of Excessive Rainfall in southeast Arizona both Saturday and Sunday, while a Slight Risk was also issued for parts of the Colorado Rockies for Sunday. In the Deep South, a Marginal Risk of Excessive Rainfall is in place today, from the ArkLaTex [Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas region] on east to the Carolina coast and Virginia Tidewater. Torrential rainfall within slow moving thunderstorms may lead to flash flooding Friday afternoon and evening.

However, as hard as it is to imagine, and despite the pain and discomfort heat brings, there have been worse heat waves. For instance, the heat wave of 1936. The Epoch Times recently reported: The heat wave in 1936, which occurred in the middle of the Great Depression and Dust Bowl, produced some of the hottest temperatures on record across the United Statesnamely across the Midwest, Plains, and Great Lakes regions. Some places in Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin hit above or close to 110 degrees F. For decades, 1936 remained the hottest U.S. year on record, although some scientists estimate that 2021s summer was hotter.

In 2016, the ever stable and ready Farmers Almanac discussed the 1936 heat wave, describing the state of New York City and its suffering residents: Central Park in New York City hit 106F on July 9. The next day, Waterbury, Connecticut, saw 103F, while many other New England towns hit over 100F. Those who could left the steaming asphalt of the cities. Others stood under sprinklers or slept on roofs. In New York City, Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia declared public beaches open all night for the duration, promising not to arrest anyone. City swimming pools lengthened their hours. Nearly 1,000 deaths nationwide76 in New York Citywere attributed to the 10-day heat wave, some from heat stroke or lung ailments, others from accidental drownings as nonswimmers desperately attempted to cool off.

Earlier this week, the hyper-liberal Washington Post chimed in, reporting: In 2015, researchers at the University of New South Wales in Australia determined that the 1936 heat wave was born of the ocean: specifically, high surface sea temperatures. Areas of the Pacific from the Gulf of Alaska to Los Angeles had warmed in tandem with the Bay of Fundy between Maine and Nova Scotia.

The Economics of Heat Waves

I have included a chart showing the most economically damaging heat waves in recent decades, as well as a downward sloping trendline, which oddly enough shows a decreasing economic cost in regards to heat waves.

According to the AARP (formerly the American Association of Retired Persons), the heat wave in 1988 was especially disastrous, stating: From June through August 1988, heat and drought across a large portion of the U.S. caused severe losses to agriculture and related industries. Eleven states declared disasters, and water levels in the three largest rivers within the continental U.S. were 45 percent below normal in June. An estimated 5,000 people perished from direct and indirect effects of the heat.

Regarding subsequent heat waves, the AARP continued: The 2012 drought is considered the worst that has affected the U.S. since the 1930s. Extreme conditions affected more than half the country for most of the year, resulting in widespread loss of corn, sorghum, and soybeans, among other crops. The associated summer heat wave was directly tied to 123 deaths, but the estimated number of deaths due to heat stress is still unknown. In 2020, the temperature hit an astounding 130 degrees Fahrenheit in Death Valley as widespread drought and record heat affected more than a dozen western and central states for much of the summer and continued into the fall. Crops and livestock suffered, and 45 died.

Heat waves are undeniably dangerous, but cities are hotter than the countryside, especially major, built-up areas covered in concrete.

As NASA reported in June this year, cities are usually markedly warmer than the surrounding countryside due to human activities and the materials used in the built environment. The image clearly delineates these urban heat islands. Nighttime temperatures in Delhi, India, for example, and several smaller villages in the vicinity were above 95 degrees Fahrenheit (35 degrees Celsius), peaking at about 102 degrees F (39 degrees C), while the rural fields nearby had cooled to around 60 degrees F (15 degrees C). These data suggest that city dwellers are experiencing considerably higher temperatures than the average temperatures reported for their regions.

In other words, if you are in a heat wave, the worst place to be is in a city surrounded by glass, steel, concrete, and asphalt.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Those familiar with traveling across continents, hopping oceans, and skipping over time zones know that jet lag is tough. And that first day in a new destination, after a less-than-stellar night trying to sleep upright? The toughest.

Which is how I found myself dozing rather heavily as my taxi wound through some of the most awe-inspiring mountain beauty in the Adriatic. Heading away from the airport after a trans-Atlantic flight, we skimmed past Athens, heading west on a flat, fast freeway. But before long, the cab left the busy highway and rolled into a landscape usually reserved for storybooks, romantic paintings, and Technicolor dreams about the Mediterranean. But it was only when I opened my eyes that I saw these wonders.

Honestly, I fought the urge to sleep. One minute Id be marveling at a peek-a-boo view of aquamarine, the blue sea visible through a narrow, steep-sided valley. The next, I would catch myself snoring. I would challenge myself to keep my eyes open long enough to see what was around the corner of another switchback, one of dozens along the route. Moments later I was out again, only to force my eyes open to see a series of rugged, jagged peaks, red earth up the flanks, a cliff just outside the window, and olive groves sprawling down below.

In that jet lag haze, my arrival in Porto Heli felt even more like a dream. Soft sea breezes cooled the natural heat of a summer afternoon in southern Greece. A cool drink was slipped into my hand before I had even checked into the hotel. A fresh-seafood lunch waited, perhaps capped off by a coffee, to help fuel the rest of the day.

Porto Heli (sometimes called Porto Cheli) is tucked away on a hidden corner of the Peloponnese Peninsula. When most North Americans picture a Greek beach vacation, they usually think of islands, especially Santorini and Mykonos, which are receiving a crush of American tourists this summer. So, youll have to search a bit to escape the crowds. So its a good thing thateven by Peloponnese standardsPorto Heli is a bit remote.

Porto Helis Nikk Beach Resort and Spa. (Courtesy of Nikki Beach Porto Heli)

Connected to the rest of mainland Greece by the Isthmus of Corinth, the Peloponnese has a long history. The Mycenaeans, a Bronze-Age people and Europes first major civilization with roots reaching back to 1750 B.C., were based here. This is the land of Sparta, and Argos, and where the first Olympics were held, on the western side of the peninsula, in 776 B.C.

Porto Heli is set on the tip of a finger of land behind a curtain of mountains, reachable only by winding two-lane roads. It is this feeling of remoteness that makes the place feel so special. The totally worthwhile effort to get here is part of the experiencethe reward of being here reserved for just a relative few willing to make the trip.

Until fairly recently, Porto Heli was just a sleepy little fishing village, and the small-town friendliness here remains. Now its home to a small handful of hotels, and Nikki Beach Resort, my home for a few days, is one of the finest. I spent most of my time in pursuits befitting a beach vacation, after a long journey. I sipped rose and enjoyed the view of the Argolic Gulf, indulging in a massage at the spa, eating a late-night, long dinner at Qurio, the hotels rooftop restaurant, where the menu is curated by Arnaud Bignon, a chef with two Michelin stars.

A view of the sunset. (Tim Johnson)

Nikki Beachs upscale restaurant, Qurio, at night. (Courtesy of Nikki Beach Porto Heli)

A signature suite at Nikki Beach offers a private balcony and beautiful ocean views. (Courtesy of Nikki Beach Porto Heli)

Honey Farm

I learned a little more about the people who work the land here. Rolling up another series of switchbacks, a friendly taxi driver deposited me on a sunny hilltop, crowned with a series of stone buildings. A young woman named Eleni greeted me with a bright smile, welcoming me to Ermionis.

She walked me around the farm that has been in her family for five generations. The road leading from the capital to this area is a recent addition, she said, noting that her grandfather had to sail his goods to Athens by boat.

It was a really old boat. You couldnt be sure youd survive, she said.

The apiary at Ermionis. (Tim Johnson)

Honey from Ermionis. (Tim Johnson)

Today, the farm has grown its modest bee operation to an apiary with more than 600 hives. How many bees in total, I asked?

Oh, I dont know, Eleni laughed. Millions and millions.

I saw old, traditional equipment used by former generations, like a clay smoker, and a crank-style extractor, from the days when honey was gathered by hand. We walked past the hives, and she told me about the importance of healthy bees to properly pollinate our natural environment, noting that theyve planted 10,000 different herbs on this organic farm.

The tour included a tasting, from thick and creamy honey made from heather, to the stronger, earthier flavor of a batch made from thyme. Its a big operation now, Eleni said, with four seasonal harvests yielding 10 tons of honey every year. They bottle it on site, and also use it in a variety of natural products, from lip balm, soap, and sunscreen.

After a little wine and cheese slathered in honey, I was returned to Nikki Beach to pack and head for the hills. The seething streets of Athens awaited, but this time I was awake. I was sad to leave this tucked-away paradise of Porto Heli, though excited for the drive with my jet lag behind me. This time I appreciated every curve, peak, valley, and vista, all the way back to the city.

If You Go

Fly: Athens International Airport (ATH) is Greeces largest hub, with direct flights from both the United States and Canada, as well as major European cities.

Getting Around: Located about 2 1/2 to 3 hours by road from Athens, a rental car is recommended, especially if youre looking to tour around on the peninsula. If this is strictly a beach vacation, and youll spend basically all of your time at the hotel, you can also book a transfer, either by car or, more intriguingly, by helicopter.

Stay: Set right on the sand, Nikki Beach offers 66 rooms and suites just steps from the sea. Qurio has an upscale vibe and serves meals into the wee hours of the morning, or you can enjoy pizza and pasta seasoned with salty breezes at Cafe Nikki. Theres also a full-service spa, a swim-up bar, and lovely poolside loungers where you can soak up the sun.

The lobby at Nikki Beach. (Courtesy of Nikki Beach Porto Heli)

An attendant prepares the spa beds at Nikki Beach. (Courtesy of Nikki Beach Porto Heli)

Take Note: During the summer, when afternoon temperatures rise into the 90s almost every day, its best to book any excursions in the cool of the morning, including a visit to the apiary at Ermionis.
Attendees from various forces march next to a banner promoting the new national security law at the end of a flag-raising ceremony to mark the 23rd anniversary of Hong Kong's handover from Britain in Hong Kong on July 1, 2020. (Anthony Wallace/AFP via Getty Images)

Hong Kongs US$1 Billion Fund for National Security: How Much Has Been Spent?

Scholar: Nobody knows; NSD is not supervised

Since the enactment of the Hong Kong National Security Law in 2020, the Hong Kong governments expenses for safeguarding national security are unknown to the public, except that the government allocated HK$8 billion (US$1 billion). Recently, the government submitted The Report on the Control and Management of the Special Fund to Meet the Expenditure for Safeguarding National Security to the Legislative Council (LegCo), but it contains only three pages without any details on the spending.

Chung Kim-wah, assistant professor in the Department of Applied Social Sciences at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, criticized in an interview with The Epoch Times that all the departments and tasks established in the name of the National Security Law are entirely out of the supervision of the system of Hong Kong.

On July 13, the Financial Secretary (FS) of Hong Kong submitted a report to the Legislative Council on the Control and Management of the Special Fund to Meet the Expenditure for Safeguarding National Security. The report was prepared for the expenditure for safeguarding national security in 2021. However, it contains only three pages, and no press release was issued. It is a very low-key report.

The report pointed out that Article 19 in Hong Kong National Security Law states, the Financial Secretary of Hong Kong shall, upon approval of the Chief Executive, appropriate, from the general revenue a special fund to meet the expenditure for safeguarding national security and approve the establishment of relevant posts, which are not subject to any restrictions in the relevant provisions of the law in force in the Region. The Financial Secretary shall submit an annual report on the control and the management of the fund for this purpose to the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

The document claimed that the Hong Kong governments funding for safeguarding national security is appropriated strictly following the relevant regulations of the Hong Kong National Security Law.

After reviewing the budgeting of the recurrent and non-recurrent expenditure of the personnel and execution of the relevant tasks, the FS appropriated a special fund of HK$8 billion (US$1 billion) from the general revenue in December 2020 for the expenditure of safeguarding national security in the coming years. The funding does not involve any expense of the National Security Department (NSD) in Hong Kong because Article 51 in the Hong Kong National Security Law states that Beijing will provide funding for this.

No Breakdown Revealed

The Hong Kong government only revealed that the expenditure of 2021 is categorized into two types, but no breakdown or amounts are shown. First, recurrent expenditureincluding salaries and allowances, expenses on engaging specialized services, rents, and other operating and administrative expenses. Second is a non-recurrent expenditure, including minor construction works, specialized equipment, system set-up, machinery and vehicles, and other capital expenditures. In terms of revenue, it is mainly in the form of interest from deposits. During the reporting period, the government did not further inject funds into the Special Fund.

The government explained that according to Article 14 of the Hong Kong National Security Law, no institution, organization or individual in Hong Kong shall interfere with the work of the Hong Kong Committee on National Security, and information relating to its work shall not be subject to disclosure. Therefore, the government will not disclose further details concerning the use of the Special Fund.

Quite a number of jurisdictions regard the expenditure and manpower establishment concerning national security as secret information and do not disclose details of the expenditure involved. said the government.

Dedicated Accounting and Financial Unit

The report pointed out that given the unique and confidential nature of the work about safeguarding national security, a dedicated accounting and monetary unit has been set up in the Hong Kong Committee on National Security secretariat. The unit reports directly to the FS and is responsible for the revenue and expenditure arrangements and financial matters relating to such work.

The FS said that he had perused the independently audited 2021 financial statements prepared in respect of the Special Fund and noted that the independent auditor had agreed that the financial statements were prepared, in all material respects, in accordance with the requirements of Article 19 of the Hong Kong National Security Law. The financial audit was conducted in accordance with the Hong Kong Standards on Auditing.

According to research by The Epoch Times, the report submitted by the government on July 13 is nearly identical to the one presented on Oct. 19, 2021; both contained three pages.

The July 13 report mentioned that in terms of revenue, it is mainly in the form of interest from deposits. During the reporting period, the government did not further inject funds into the Special Fund.

NSD Not Supervised

Chung Kim-wah said in the interview that the so-called national security is a false proposition. The government is controlling the freedom of speech and suppressing opposition instead of dealing with national security. Therefore the report and the expenditure do not make any sense to anyone.

Also, Chung mentioned that the governments report submitted to the LegCo does not answer the core questions about the expenditure; it is just a routine official article.

He cited that Article 19 of the National Security Law stated that the expenditures for safeguarding national security are not subject to any restrictions in the relevant provisions of the laws in force in Hong Kong. It is why all the departments and the tasks in the name of National Security Law are entirely out of the supervision of the system of Hong Kong.

They can do whatever they want and get whatever money they want due to the confidential nature of national security. Is this reasonable? Chung said. He further explained that the government in a civilized society should be accountable for everything, but the current one is not accountable for anything.

More Secretive Than Top Secret

in an interview with The Epoch Times, Ben Lam Siu-pan, former Chairman of the Working Group on Security Affairs in Hong Kongs Yau Tsim Mong District Council, questioned why the expenditure on national security is confidential. He thought that people did not want to know how many bullets the NSD of the Hong Kong Police Force had purchased or the locations investigated by the national security police officers.

However, we have no idea how much money is left from the HK$8 billion. Hongkongers only want to know roughly what the taxpayers money has been spent on, such as wages, number of personnel, equipment purchased, and rents, among others, and the percentage for each item, Lam said.

He said it was incomprehensible that the Hong Kong governments national security expenditure is more secretive than the top secret of the international military.

He compared Hong Kongs national security expenditure to a black hole, which is beyond supervision. How many people in Hong Kong can access the national securitys ledger? Perhaps only ten people?
How to Make Money

Commentary

If youre looking for advice about how to make a profit or a capital gain, then my apologies for the clickbait: this post is about how money itself is created.

This should be common knowledge: capitalist economies are inherently monetary, and youd think that, after a few centuries of capitalism, wed understand how money is created. But there are few topics about which there are more myths, and more false answers, than this fundamental question.

In fact, theres an easy way to understand how money is createdthough easy means easy, once you understand double entry bookkeeping. Ill elaborate below, but the TL;DR takeaway is that any operation which increases the assets of the banking sector creates money.

To understand this, you have to understand double-entry bookkeepingor DEB for short. Its essential, because its the way accountants have kept track of financial transactions for centuries, and its fundamental to how banks operate.

The key rules in DEB are that all transactions are recorded twice, and each row in a DEB table must sum to zero (if it doesnt, youve made a mistake). All accounts are also classified as either assets, or liabilities, or equity, and the fundamental law of accounting is that assets minus liabilities equals equity: the gap between what you are owed (assets) and what you owe (liabilities) is your net worth (equity).

In conjunction with my TL;DR rule abovethat anything which increases the assets of the banking sector creates moneythis means that a financial operation that creates money must occur on both the assets and the liabilities-equity side of the banking sectors ledger. Conversely, any operation which occurs only on the assets side of the banking sectors ledger, or on the liabilities-equity side, does not create money.

Key Financial Operations

Now lets check some key financial operations, using a software package I invented for this purpose called Minsky (its free, and you can download it from here: https://sourceforge.net/projects/minsky/.

Firstly, bank loans. A bank loan adds an amount to your deposit account at your bankwhich is a liability of the bankand it adds the identical amount to your loan account at the bankwhich is an asset of the bank. Call the flow of new loans each year lending. Then the double-entry bookkeeping is as shown in Figure 1: bank lending increases the assets of the banking sector, and it therefore creates moneywhich shows up as an increase in your deposit account.

Figure 1: Godley Table in Minsky showing that bank lending creates money. (Steve Keen)

Repayment has the opposite effect: it reduces bank assets, and it therefore destroys money. This is something that I was wrong about, by the way, before I understood double-entry bookkeeping: I thought that once money was created, banks wouldnt just destroy it. But when you look at the double-entry, its obvious: if you tell the bank to reduce your deposit account, in return for an identical reduction in your debt to the bank, then precisely that much money is destroyed.

Bank lending is something that economics textbooks get wrong, and in fact, economics textbookswhich should be a source of wisdom on economicsare actually the primary source of myths about money. The Bank of England said this explicitly, if politely, in 2014: The reality of how money is created today differs from the description found in some economics textbooks: Rather than banks receiving deposits when households save and then lending them out, bank lending creates deposits. (McLeay, Radia, and Thomas 2014)[1]

Government Spending, Taxation

What about government spending and taxation? Spending adds to the publics deposits, with a matching entry in bank reserveswhich are the deposit accounts of the private banks at the central bank. Therefore, government spending also creates money, just as bank loans doby increasing bank liabilities (deposits) and bank assets (reserves) by precisely the same amount: see Figure 2.

Figure 2: Government spending creates money, and taxation destroys money. (Steve Keen)

Since spending minus taxation equals the government deficit, this means that a government deficit creates money, while a government surplus destroys it.

This is also the opposite of what economics textbooks say; to quote from Mankiws influential first-year economics textbook: When its spending exceeds its revenue, the government runs a budget deficit, which represents negative public saving. (Mankiw 2016, p. 253)[2]

But in fact, since the deficit increases deposit accounts, the deficit represents positive public saving.

Obviously, if economics textbooks teach fallacies and falsehoods, then theres something seriously wrong with economicsand Ill explore that in my next column How to Mangle Money.

But now, lets look at government borrowing through double-entry bookkeeping eyes. In practice, the government borrows by the Treasury selling Treasury Bonds to the banking sector. Does this create money?

As Figure 3 illustrates, Treasury Bond sales do not create money, because everything happens on the assets side of the banking sectors ledger: the monetary value of bank holdings of Treasury Bonds rises, but the value of bank reserves fall by the same amount.

Figure 3: Sales of treasury bonds to banks do not create money. (Steve Keen)

What about central bank purchases of Treasury Bonds from the banks? Here, Ill admit another mistake of mine: before I modeled this in Minsky, I thought that central bank bond purchases did create money. But as Figure 4 illustrates, they dont, because both operations take place on the asset side of the banks ledger: the monetary value of bonds owned by the banks falls, while bank reserves rise by precisely as much. Therefore, theres no change in the value of bank assets from central bank purchases. Instead, theres an asset swap.

Figure 4: Central bank purchases of government bonds do not create money. (Steve Keen)

Of course, government bonds pay interest: this is shown in Figure 5. And this might be another surprise: these interest payments create money, since they increase both the asset side of the banks ledger (reserves) and the liabilities-equity side (in this case, the short-term equity of the banking sector).

Figure 5: Interest payments on government bonds do create money. (Steve Keen)

Banks often sell most of the bonds they buy to non-banksnormally, financial institutions like hedge funds, pension funds, insurance companies, etc, rather than the ordinary public. This operation actually destroys money: bank deposits fall, as do bank holdings of Treasury Bonds.

Figure 6: Bank sales of bonds to the public destroys money. (Steve Keen)

Finally, what about QE: quantitative easing? This is the central bank buying bonds, and whether it creates money depends on who the central bank buys from. If it buys from banks, theres no money creation, as the second-last line in Figure 7 shows. But QE also included buying bonds from non-bank financial institutions. This does create moneybut money that circulates on Wall Street, rather than Main Street.

Figure 7: QE doesnt create money when its with banks, but does when its with non-banks. (Steve Keen)

Those are the basics, and I hope you agree that its all pretty simple. But it also contradicts much of what youll find in economics textbooks and public discourse about how money functions. This is because everything about money in economics textbooks is as wrong as Ptolemaic astronomers once were about the nature of the universe.

It took Galileos telescope to point out that the models of Earth-centric astronomy were wrong, and economics needs such a telescope today. Minsky, with its Godley Tables, is that telescope. If youre at all interested in the topics of how money is created, and how much should be created, and by whom, and for whom, please, get your free telescope from https://sourceforge.net/projects/minsky/. Widespread use of this computerized telescope into money creation may be the only way to finally kill the many myths about money creation.

Notes

1. McLeay, Michael, Amar Radia, and Ryland Thomas. 2014. Money in the Modern Economy: an Introduction, Bank of England Quarterly Bulletin, 2014 Q1: 4-13.

2. Mankiw, N. Gregory. 2016. Macroeconomics, 9th edition (Macmillan: New York).

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
HSBC Becomes First Foreign Bank to Install Communist Party Committee

HSBC has become the first foreign bank with investment business in mainland China to set up a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) committee as part of its operations, according to a July 21 Financial Times report.

HSBC Qianhai is a securities joint venture between HSBC and Qianhai Financial Holdings. After HSBCs stake in the joint venture increased from 51 to 90 percent it established a CCP committee, the Financial Times reported, citing two people familiar with the matter.

The article noted that the British multinational has not yet commented on the matter, but people with close ties to the bank stressed that HSBC would not have any Party committee members in a management role like other Chinese state-owned enterprises.

As the largest bank in Hong Kong, HSBC collects most of its profits from Hong Kong. Its business has been affected by escalating geopolitical tensions between China and the West.

There are seven foreign investment banks in China, including HSBC. The move by HSBC in having a CCP presence in its operations may force other foreign banks to follow suit.

Some banks have been examining whether they are required to do so after taking full ownership of their mainland securities and brokerage operations in the last two years, Financial Times said, citing several senior people at those institutions.

In China, the CCP seeks to control all aspects of peoples lives, including economic activities. All Chinese companies are required to have a Party committee.

Financial Times noted that a Party representative is usually installed within a companys top ranks, sometimes in a director or management role.
I Got This Wrong: Shopify Announces Major Layoffs

Canadian eCommerce company Shopify Inc. informed employees on July 26 that it is laying off about 1,000 workers, or 10 percent of its workforce, effectively immediately.

Shopify has to go through a reduction in workforce that will see about 10 percent leave by the end of the day, said CEO and founder Tobi Lutke in the email, posted on the companys website on July 26.

Most of the impacted roles are in recruiting, support, sales, and over-specialized and duplicate roles, as well as some groups that were convenient to have but too far removed from building products, Lutke said.

Lutke said he decided to increase the staff in the company as it was predicted that the eCommerce retail growth rate was going to rise significantly during the pandemic. However after 2021 the rate of online retail sales started to decline to previously predicted levels of business without the factors of the lockdowns.

Ultimately, placing this bet was my call to make and I got this wrong. he said in the email. Now, we have to adjust. As a consequence, we have to say goodbye to some of you today and Im deeply sorry for that.

Those being laid off will get 16 weeks of severance pay, plus an additional week for every year of tenure at at the company.

Lutke founded Ottawa-based Shopify in 2006 to provide essential internet infrastructure for eCommerce. Investopedia reported in November 2021 that Shopify is the largest publicly-traded Canadian company in any industry, with a market capitalization of $206 billion.
Incorruptible: The Man Standing Between Beijing and One of the Worlds Largest Copper Mines

In the heart of the South Pacific region of Bougainville lies Panguna, home to one of the worlds largest copper mines.

President Ishmael Toroama knows he has a limited window to revive the mine and, along with it, the hopes of the soon-to-be worlds youngest nation.

Yet precarious waters lie ahead.

Millions of dollars of investment are needed, corruption remains a constant in the fledgling democracy, and the Chinese Communist Partys (CCPs) interest in the strategically important region is no secret.

What Makes Bougainville So Special?

Panguna mine has sat dormant for more than three decades after a bloody civil war erupted in 1988 forcing Rio Tinto to shut down the once-massive operation that powered the economy of Papua New Guineajust north of Australia.

So valuable was Panguna that at its peak it accounted for 12 percent of Papua New Guineas national gross domestic product and nearly half of its exports.

The mine is estimated to contain around 1 billion tons of copper and 12 million tons of gold, with a worth of around $100 billionrivalling some of the largest copper mines in operation today.

Locals overlooking the site of the Panguna mine in Bougainville. (Courtesy of John D. Kuhns.)

Yet its not only Bougainvilles resources that are so valuable.

The town of Arawa just north of the mine is home to a major deep-water port built by Mitubishi and Bechtel during the mining heyday. It was used for shipping ore overseas and could conceivably serve as a home for naval vessels.

Further, Bougainvilles location is critical. Wedged between Papua New Guinea to the west and the Solomon Islands to the east, the island region forms a chain with fellow Pacific Islands across the north of Australia and New Zealand.

Reviving Panguna From Its Blood-Stained Past

Tribal leaders know bringing Panguna back online will be the key to Bougainvilles future, which aims to be independent by 2027.

Behind the push is its president, Toroama, formally the defense chief of the Bougainville Revolutionary Army.

Bougainville has been blessed by a miracle, said John D. Kuhns, an American investor in Panguna who spends much of his time in the region meeting with tribal leaders and the president.

Toroama is not only highly intelligent, but hes absolutely incorruptible, Kuhns told The Epoch Times. He is the son of Christian missionary parents and very well-read, despite having to sacrifice his university education to go to war to protect Bougainville.

The Bougainville Revolutionary Army fought the Papua New Guinean government after dissatisfaction with how Panguna was being operated and how profits were shared.

Tens of thousands of lives were lost during the bloody war, which waged from 1988 to 2001. It ended with the signing of the Bougainville Peace Agreement, which gave the region autonomy and the right for its citizens to vote for its leaders.

Bringing Stability to a Troubled Region

Kuhns said Toroama soon became the Texas ranger of the region.

In the Bougainville Peace Agreement, Papua New Guinea retained control of the police force, he said. The police force is worthless, theyre in it to get bribed. Ishmael is the real Texas ranger, the real cop who dealt with serious problems.

While some have derided Toroama as a street gang leader, others have panned these claims as nothing more than mischaracterisations.

Kuhns himself has struck a close friendship with Toroama and is working with the president to build the Bougainville economy via Numa Numa Resources.

Numa Numa has already carried out major infrastructure works including construction of a major road and hydroelectric dam, assembling a limestone plant to create exports, and reviving the gold panning industry.

Ishmael Toroama, president of Bougainville (L) photographed with Panguna mine investor John D. Kuhns, director of Numa Numa Resources. (Courtesy of John D. Kuhns.)

Kuhns has developed a tight trust with Toroama and tribal leaders, and set up residence in the region after locals grew frustrated with fly-by-night parties who tried to muscle their way in.

Specter of Beijing Hangs Over Bougainville

In 2013, then-President John Momis launched a stinging rebuke of the Panguna Mine Affected Landowners Association after it attempted to circumvent several stakeholders and lock in a deal with Beijing Aerospace Great Wall Mineral Investment Ltd.

The signed memorandum of understanding was for the Chinese firm to be involved in redevelopment of the mine.

It has no legal effect. It is null and void as far as we are concerned. We will certainly throw it out, Momis told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation on Aug. 14, 2013. He was Papua New Guineas ambassador to China from 2007 to 2010.

Former Bougainville President John Momis (C) arrives at a polling station to cast his ballot in a historical independence vote in Buka, Papua New Guinea, on Nov. 23, 2019. (Ness Kerton/AFP via Getty Images)

The Chinese have tried for years to figure out how to get control of Bougainville, specifically the Panguna mine, and theyre not going to go away. Theyll keep trying as long as they can, Kuhns said.

He said at one point, Chinese actors bought and paid for 10 mining licensessans a formal applicationto build a 50-man camp in Panguna. However, this sparked a fierce response from the locals.

That was later burned down by the customary land owners, Kuhns said, because the Chinese did not pursue any relationship with the people.

Yet under the tenure of Momis, Beijing remained a preferred partner, with the leader signing several memoranda of understanding and backing the establishment of a Special Economic Zone with China in 2011.

Momis, along with Fidelis Semoso, the former minister for economic development, also signed a deal wherein the government purchased 500,000 shares in Bougainville Import and Export General Corporation Limiteda joint venture with a Chinese corporation.

Both ran in the 2020 presidential election, along with Sam Kauona, former general of the Bougainville Revolutionary Army, who openly stated he would align the country with Beijing over Taiwan.

I see China is now an emerging country; its going to become powerful in the near future, not TaiwanTaiwan is going to go down, he told 60 Minutes in 2019. I see China has culture; they are cultured people. Bougainville are cultured people; our culture is something we can connect with.

An Unclear Future

Bougainville leaders are allowed to serve two five-year presidential terms, which means Toroama will need to get Panguna up and running by 2030 and also solidify the democratic institutions before and after the independence referendum in 2027.

If you were to ask me, Whos Ishmaels No. 2? Is there a very reliable No. 2 if something should happen to him? And the answer is, unfortunately, no, Kuhns said.

Everybody knows this, the people that Ive talked to in Australia, but also in the United States and the higher reaches of government. What happens when Ishmael isnt president anymore? Whats going to happen then? And honestly, its anybodys guess. The same kind of thing that happened in the Solomons could happen here.

Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare forged ahead with a secret security deal with the CCP in Aprila moved that stunned democratic leaders.

The deal enshrined deeper ties between Beijing and the Solomon Islands, paving the way for Chinese authorities to station troops, weapons, and even naval ships in the regionwhich could usher in militarization akin to the South China Sea.

However, its not just deeper ties that have concerned South Pacific experts. Some have warned that Beijings involvement has allowed corrupt leaders to ignore rule of law and allow democratic institutions to erode. In fact, Sogavare faces immense pressure domestically from the opposition, provincial leaders, and even the populationexemplified by riots in November 2021 that saw the Chinatown district razed in the capital Honiara.

Yet the prime minister has managed to hold onto power and convince U.S., Australian, and New Zealand leaders that Beijing will not militarize the regioneven grabbing an opportunity at a recent Pacific Islands Forum meeting to embrace Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, which South Pacific expert Cleo Paskal says will be used to show the Solomons who was really in charge.

Australias Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (L) hugs Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare as they meet for a bilateral meeting at the Pacific Islands Forum in Suva, Fiji on July 13, 2022. (Joe Armao/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

You start to get this distortion in the society that creates an enormous amount of social anger, Paskal, the senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told The Epoch Times.

If you are from a democratic background, you think thats a bad thing. But if you accept this premise of entropic warfare being the desired outcome from Beijing, you actually do want to create disruption within the society.

Paskal said the South Pacific was a petri dish for Beijings ongoing use of entropic warfareto erode a nations institutions to the point where it cant react or deal with foreign interference.

This is a template that is particularly easy to see in the smaller countries in the Pacific because the mechanisms of governance are thinner, the bureaucracies are smaller, and the parliaments are smaller, she said, adding that Bougainville was no exception.
Increased Drinking During Lockdown Could Potentially Cause 25,000 Excess Deaths in the UK: Study

A new UK study has found that heavy drinking increased during the lockdowns during the CCP virus pandemic and the increased costs to NHS England are expected to cast a long shadow.

The study developed by the University of Sheffield for NHS England found that lockdown and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) virus pandemic may lead to thousands of extra hospital admissions, deaths, and cases of disease over the next 20 years.

Billions From Additional Alcohol Consumption

The team looked at five alternative scenarios for how alcohol consumption may develop from 2022 onwards. In a best-case scenario, where all drinkers return to their 2019 levels of drinking this year, there would still be an extra 42,677 hospital admissions and 1,830 deaths over 20 years due to alcohol.

In a worst-case scenario, this would rise to 972,382 extra hospital admissions and 25,192 deaths, at a cost to the NHS of 5.2 billion ($6.2 billion) over 20 years.

In our main scenario, we estimate that, over the next 20 years, there will be an additional 207,597 alcohol-attributable hospital admissions and 7,153 alcohol-attributable deaths, costing the NHS an additional 1.1 billion [$1.3 billion] compared to if alcohol consumption had remained at 2019 levels, the team wrote.

These impacts are not evenly distributed across the population, with heavier drinkers and those in the most deprived areas, who already suffer the highest rates of alcohol-attributable harm, expected to be disproportionately affected, it added.

Colin Angus, senior research fellow who led the University of Sheffield study, said: These figures highlight that the pandemics impact on our drinking behaviour is likely to cast a long shadow on our health and paint a worrying picture at a time when NHS services are already under huge pressure due to treatment backlogs.

In a separate study, the Institute of Alcohol Studies (IAS) and modelling specialists HealthLumen found that if drinking does not to return to pre-pandemic patterns, then by 2035 there will be 147,892 additional cases of nine alcohol-related diseasessuch as liver cirrhosis and breast cancerand 9,914 more premature deaths. They projected that this would cost the NHS 1.2 billion ($1.4 billion).

In the Sheffield study, they modelled that there are expected to be just over 124,000 additional hospital admissions in men and 83,000 in women over the next 20 years.

If you really dig into the data, for example, you see that theres a particular sort of bump in womens drinking at the point where theyre most likely to have been doing homeschooling during the initial lockdown, said Angus.

Richard Piper, CEO of Alcohol Change UK, told The Epoch Times by email that these two news reports highlight how the coronavirus pandemic has created conditions for more people to drink more heavily putting them at greater risk of serious alcohol harm.

This could potentially lead to thousands of additional premature deaths with even more lives cut short and families left grieving, he said. To help prevent this, we need an urgent set of policies from the government to tackle alcohol harm, including proper, sustainable funding for treatment services, a minimum unit price for alcohol, improved labelling of alcoholic drinks and products, and better regulation of alcohol marketing. These policies will make a huge difference in changing and saving lives.

Alcohol During the CCP Virus Pandemic

The increased consumption of alcohol during the pandemic has been observed in multiple countries.

Last year, it was found that the number of people dying of alcohol consumption reached a 20-year high during the CCP virus pandemic, official figures for England and Wales showed.

The number was 19.6 percent higher than in 2019, during which 6,209 people were killed by alcohol. It was also the highest annual death toll for the past 20 years.

A survey conducted in September 2020 revealed that two in five Australians had been drinking more alcohol than usual since the pandemic began.

In the United States, hospitals across the country have reported dramatic increases in alcohol-related admissions for critical diseases such as alcoholic hepatitis and liver failure.

PA Media and Alexander Zhang contributed to this report.
A loaded truck travels through a newly built tunnel in northern Pakistan's Gojal Valley on Sept. 29, 2015. (Aamir Qureshi/AFP via Getty Images)

India Blasts China and Pakistan for Inviting Other Countries to Participate on Economic Corridor Projects

On July 26, Indian officials denounced a move by Pakistan and China to involve other nations in the ChinaPakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects, which India does not recognize as legitimate, claiming the territory belongs to India and has been illegally occupied by Pakistan.

Indias external affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said that any participation from third parties in the CPEC would directly infringe on Indias sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Bagchi said the Indian government firmly and consistently opposes projects in the so-called CPEC, which passes through the disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

Such activities are inherently illegal, illegitimate and unacceptable, and will be treated accordingly by India, he said in a written statement.

Bagchis remarks came after Pakistan and China announced on July 22 that they would invite any third country to join the multibillion-dollar infrastructure CPEC projects for mutually beneficial cooperation.

In written statement, Pakistans foreign ministry said that the CPEC was a flagship of the Belt and Road Initiative and had broken new ground to strengthen international and regional connectivity, especially with regard to its expansion into Afghanistan.

Chinas Debt Trap

The CPEC is part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) launched by Chinese leader Xi Jinping in 2013. Other countries, including the United States, have criticized the BRI infrastructure program as a debt trap for smaller nations.

China has invested over $62 billion in infrastructure under the CPEC, including the construction of a deep-water port in Gwadar that triggered massive protests in November 2021.

The U.S.-based think tank Foreign Policy Research Institute stated in its July report that only a handful of Pakistans BRI-funded transportation infrastructure projects were ever entirely finished.

Hence, even though Pakistans trade deficit with China ballooned over 164 percent between 2013 and 2021, it is difficult to attribute that deterioration to the BRI, said Felix K. Chang, a Foreign Policy Research Institute researcher.

Pakistan entered a $6 billion funding program with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in July 2019 following a balance payment crisis. But the funding was stalled due to issues over the required reforms.

Islamabad is negotiating with the IMF to revive the bailout package fund. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in May that Pakistans foreign debt has reached a level that even the future generations would not be able to pay off.

Imran Khans government took such hefty amount of loans that our generations might not be able to pay them, Sharif said in a public address, referring to his predecessor.

Massive protests erupted in November 2021 against the CPEC as locals opposed the government granting licenses for Chinese trawlers to fish near Gwadar.

They also protested against the severe shortage of drinking water and electricity, restrictions on movement, and limited sea access resulting from the high level of security for CPEC that runs through the province.

The protests eased after the government agreed to most of the protesters demands in December.

Reuters contributed to this report.
A logo sits outside the Intel booth during the GSMA Mobile World Congress 2019 in Barcelona, Spain, on Feb. 26, 2019. (David Ramos/Getty Images)

Intel to Produce Taiwanese Company MediaTeks Chips

OAKLAND, CalifU.S. chipmaker Intel Corp. said on Monday it will produce chips for Taiwans MediaTek Inc., one of the worlds largest chip design firms.

The manufacturing arrangement is one of the most significant deals Intel has announced since it launched its so-called foundry business early last year.

A foundry business builds chips that other companies design and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) is the top player in that space. Intel has mainly built chips it designed itself.

Thats a pretty big deal for us to engage a customer from Taiwan and them betting on us to grow and try this. And so this is a major anchor customer win, Randhir Thakur, president of Intel Foundry Services, told Reuters.

TechInsights chip economist Dan Hutcheson said there were doubts in the industry on whether Intel could pull off the foundry business, but the deal with MediaTek shows its on the right path and its investments, including in recruiting the right executives, are paying off.

When you go into a foundry, youre putting at risk about two years of work, said Hutcheson about the risk for chip design firms like MediaTek. If something happens and the foundry cant pull it off, youve lost that design window in that market window.

While Intel didnt give any financial details of the deal or say how many chips it would be producing for MediaTek, it said the first products would be manufactured in the next 18- to 24- month period and will be in a more mature technology process called Intel 16, with the chips used for smart devices.

MediaTek has always adopted a multi-sourcing strategy, MediaTek said in a statement. In addition to maintaining close partnership with TSMC in advanced process nodes, this collaboration will enhance MediaTeks supply for mature process nodes.

Intel previously announced that its foundry business has signed deals with Qualcomm Inc. and Amazon.com.

By Jane Lanhee Lee and Stephen Nellis
A Chinese navy formation, including the aircraft carrier Liaoning (C), during military drills in the South China Sea, in an aerial photo taken on Jan. 2, 2017. (STR/AFP via Getty Images)

Japan Outlines Taiwans Security Importance in Latest Defense Report

Japans Ministry of Defense appears to be increasing its focus on Taiwan and the threat from China, which views Taiwana self-ruled islandas a renegade province to be reunited with the mainland.

Japan devoted 10 pages of its annual defense report (pdf) to Taiwan, double the pages of the previous years edition, giving an extensive overview of the security situation there.

The annual defense report stated that stability surrounding Taiwan is critical for Japans security and must be closely monitored with a sense of urgency while cooperating with the international community.

China has made clear that it would not hesitate to unify Taiwan by force, further increasing tensions in the region, Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi said in the report released on July 22.

Kishi further criticized the Chinese regime for continuing to unilaterally change, or attempt to change, the status quo in the East China Sea and the South China Sea by coercion.

The countrys ties with Russia, an aggressor nation, have deepened in recent years, with joint navigations and flights being conducted in the areas surrounding Japan by both Chinese and Russian vessels and aircraft, he stated.

USChina Conflict Over Taiwan

The defense report stated that conflict between the United States and China is becoming prominent over Taiwan, with Washington increasing warship transits through the Taiwan Straits while China increases its military presence near Taiwan.

The United States issued new guidelines in 2021 to boost interaction with Taiwanese officials, which demonstrated that Washington was committed to accelerating involvement in Taiwan. The report also cited U.S. arms sales to Taiwan.

China, on the other hand, has increased its military activities in Taiwans airspace territorial zone and in the East China Sea, where the Japanese-controlled Senkaku Islands are located.

The Japanese Ministry of Defense emphasized in its report that any changes to the status quo by coercion are globally shared challenges, and that it will seek to reinforce defense capabilities.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin responded by criticizing Japans new defense paper and accusing Japan of meddling in Chinas internal affairs regarding Taiwan.

Eight Chinese naval vessels, including the Liaoning aircraft carrier, passed between islands in Japans southern Okinawa chain on May 2. Japan has claimed that Chinese fighter jets took off from and landed on an aircraft carrier near Okinawa more than 100 times from May 3 to May 7.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has planned to increase the countrys defense spending to 2 percent of its gross domestic product within the next five years, according to the policy roadmap released by his administration on June 7.

Reuters contributed to this report.
John Robson: Lets Leave Literary Pomposity to the Deer Flies

Commentary

The Canadian dream of paradise surely includes a book on the dock in the dog days of summer. Or possibly on the screened-in cottage porch given the Canadian deer flys dream of tearing out a ragged chunk of your meat, inspiring the further Canadian dream of a dragonflys jaws piercing the absconding miscreant with an audible crunch. Paradise Regained.

Perhaps a dissenting voice will be heard objecting that the whole cottage/book thing is the dream only of a certain slice of the populace. And I do worry that its a dwindling slice. For instance Jonathan Kay, a brave dissenting urban leftist literary snob, just forwarded a tweet (already you feel the great books turning over in their dusty mausolibraries) of a Toronto bookstores display of BOOKS WE PRETEND WEVE READ) and I found myself wishing we still did.

As Kay noted, it was an odd selection because it contained The Hobbit and 1984, which many of us have actually read. And Ulysses by James Joyce, whereas no one even pretends to have read it anymore. And I was going to comment pretentiously about having read another item on the list, the original Odyssey, which Doc Monty actually made us summarize in Grade 7 (in an abridged edition), and 1984, which we have in the very edition the photo depicts. But I digress.

No really. Because what interest would it hold for a young person today that I would not for all the world pose as the sort of litterateur whod read Margaret Atwoods The Handmaids Tale? (She visited Afghanistan under the Taliban and had an epiphany about American oppression of women. Nuff said.) And speaking of epiphanies, we were also forced to read Joyces The Dubliners in high school, and I had the epiphany that he wasnt worth the dreary slog. Apparently even his wife and partial muse Nora Barnacle once asked him, Why dont you write books people can read? and I second the motion.

I also felt smug about not having heard of most of the books, as I routinely do when the latest Nobel Prize-winner in literature is announced, or the new U.S. poet laureate. Everyone went (Lady) gaga over Amanda Gorman, an American poet and activist whose work, Wikipedia says, focuses on issues of oppression, feminism, race, and marginalization, bold orthodoxy I imagine making Atwood gape with envy. But whens the last time someone offered advice on lifes difficulties based on some verse by this person?

I literally have heard strangers dissecting one anothers love lives based on St. Paul. And men approaching the beaches on D-Day really found Shakespeare playing unbidden in their heads (He that outlives this day etc.) and helping them rally their courage in that crisis. Whereas Gorman?

Who in fact is the Youth Poet Laureate, a job that if it did not exist would not be necessary to invent. The new grown-up one, chronologically, is Ada Limon, who doesnt like the American national anthem or the word wife. Oh, thats original. But I wont pretend to have read her and assume you wont either. I Googled.

Among the other titles I could discern from the tweeted photo were The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. Ditto. And something Amazon claims is a moral examination of how we treat the vulnerable and different in our society. Gee. Wait until Charles Dickens gets wind of that theme.

Or the youth of today get wind of Dickens. Or get Bob Newharts joke that you can generally fake cleverness by throwing in a reference to Kafka [e]ven if you never read any of his  or her  works.

Not anymore, I fear. And theres my real objection. There might be merit in some of these books I dont pretend Ive read, though to posture about modern transgressive works when you have no idea whether Jane Austen spent her time poking fun at traditional gender roles and conventional pomposity is ignorance on steroids. But even that attitude would be preferable to people whose world doesnt include swimming in a real lake, playing a physical board game, or getting knowledge of the world from anything but TikTok and YouTube videos curated to reinforce their existing prejudices and rage at all the intolerant people who dont instantly accept their ill-shaped views as the ultimate in wisdom and morality.

Ive never held with folks gasping You havent read Pentacles Extramagan? and I grew up in academia. But Id prefer people who pretend theyve read books they havent to ones who think knowledge, including of the best (and worst) ever said and thought, is cringy, including because its unnecessary now that theyve come along.

Thus I find myself crying Where are the pomposities of yesteryear? Without pretending I ever read a word of Proust. For my money, the deer flies can have him.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Judge Blocks Clearing of Oakland Encampment; Newsom Says It Will Endanger the Public

A district judge in San Francisco issued a restraining order July 22 blocking an effort by the California Department of Transportation (CalTrans) to clear a homeless encampment on Oaklands Wood Street, the largest such encampment in the city.

Gov. Gavin Newsom said Friday the ruling will endanger the public.

Our roadways and highways are no place for individuals to live, and this encampment is risking public health and safety. The state provided $4.7 million in grants to the City of Oakland specifically to rehouse individuals at the Wood Street encampment, Newsom said in a statement.

District Judge William H. Orrick said officials could not clear the encampment unless they had a proper plan to rehouse individuals living in the tents.

I understand everybody wants to wash their hands of this particular problem, and thats not going to happen, Orrick told officials during a Zoom hearing Friday, as reported by The Oaklandside.

But an attorney for CalTrans, Stephen Silver, said the encampments are simply a potential catastrophe that cannot be tolerated.

Orricks July 22 order extends one he issued several days earlier. The clearing of some 200 homeless people was scheduled to begin July 20 and finish on Aug. 1 after CalTrans reported fire incidents, with one occurring in July that damaged several vehicles on Interstate 880. In April, a man was killed by a fire in the RV in which he was living.

While Orrick agreed the encampment needs to be cleared, he urged government officials to provide resources for the residents living there. CalTrans, as a transportation agency, is not equipped to provide resources to the homeless.

But Oakland has received a $4.7 million state grant to build temporary housing for the homeless living on Wood Street by June 2024. The city council is expected to vote to accept the grant, which would fund up to 100 beds and shelter roughly 200 people. The temporary housing would be located in a city-owned parking lot on Wood Street.

Despite many homeless advocates over the years battling CalTranss efforts to clear encampments across the state, Newsom supports the department.

It is beyond time to meet this moment and address this challenge, Newsoms statement read.
In this image from video, Mark Ponder (C) strikes a U.S. Capitol Police officer on Jan. 6, 2021. (Department of Justice via The Epoch Times)

Judge Sentences Jan. 6 Defendant to Over Five Years in Prison, Matching Longest Sentence for Capitol Breach

A Washington resident was sentenced on July 26 to more than five years in prison, matching the longest term of imprisonment so far among hundreds of Capitol breach prosecutions.

Mark Ponder, 56, said he got caught up in the chaos that erupted on Jan. 6, 2021, and didnt mean for any of this to happen.

I wasnt thinking that day, Ponder told U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, asking her for mercy before she sentenced him to five years and three months in prison.

Chutkan, an Obama appointee, said Ponder was leading the charge against police officers trying to hold off the crowd that disrupted Congress from certifying President Joe Bidens electoral victory.

This is not caught up, Mr. Ponder, she said. He was intent on attacking and injuring police officers. This was not a protest.

Chutkan has consistently taken a hard line in punishing Capitol rioters. She has handed down terms of imprisonment to all 13 defendants who have come before her, matching or exceeding the Justice Departments sentencing recommendation in every case, according to a review of court records.

Ponders sentence of 63 months was three months longer than that requested by prosecutors and the same length as Chutkan gave Robert Palmer, a Florida man who also pleaded guilty to assaulting police at the Capitol.

None of the more than 200 other Jan. 6 defendants who have been sentenced so far have received a longer prison sentence than Ponder or Palmer.

Joseph Conte, a lawyer representing Ponder, declined to comment.

Caught Up

Ponder was charged with eight counts, including civil disorder, disorderly conduct, and entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon.

The defendant pleaded guilty in April to one count of assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers using a dangerous weapon.

According to court documents, Ponder assaulted three police officers outside of the Capitol, on Capitol grounds, after rioters broke through police lines. Ponder swung a long, thin pole at a U.S. Capitol Police officer, who blocked the blow with a riot shield, causing the pole to break into two. Ponder grabbed a new pole and struck a different officer, who again put out a shield and blocked the pole. The third blow struck an officer in the left shoulder.

U.S. Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonell, one of the officers, said the force of Ponders blow shattered his shield.

It was horrific, Gonell said during Ponders sentencing hearing. That particular day will impact me for the rest of my life.

Ponder intended to peacefully protest the 2020 election results on Jan. 6 but he got caught up in the riotous atmosphere of the crowd and erroneously perceived the police as standing in the way of the crowds desire to protest the election results, Conte wrote in a sentencing memorandum.

The charge can bring up to 20 years of imprisonment. Sentencing guidelines called for a prison term of 57 to 71 months. Conte asked the judge to impose a sentence below 57 months, arguing that sentence would still reflect the seriousness of the offense, promote respect for the law and provide just punishment afford adequate deterrence and protect the public from other crimes by the defendant.

While Ponder expressed regret for assaulting officers during his first interview following his arrest, he also outlined why he thought his conduct was justified by his grievances, prosecutors said in their memo to Chutkan.

They asserted that factors such as how Ponder committed violence at multiple times weighed in favor of a lengthy term of incarceration, and requested five years imprisonment.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A lifeguard scans his territory near the famous Santa Monica Pier in Santa Monica, Calif., on Aug. 20, 2013. (Joe Klamar/AFP via Getty Images)

LA Health Department Cautions Against Contaminated Beaches

The Los Angeles County Public Health Department cautioned residents on July 25 to avoid swimming, surfing, and playing in the ocean at Avalon Beach on Catalina Island, the Santa Monica Pier, and Mothers Beach in Marina Del Reythough these beaches remain open.

The warnings are due to a high level of bacteria exceeding state health standards, which may cause illness, especially for children and elderly people, according to the health department. The bacteria was identified during routine testing.

LA Public Health originally published alerts about the Santa Monica Pier and Mothers Beach on July 12. Avalon Beachs warning was first issued on July 21.

Information on the days these beaches are tested and updates on what areas to avoid can be found on an interactive map on the LA Public Health departments website.

In some cases, the contaminated waters can be cleared quickly. For example, the Herondo Street storm drain in Hermosa Beach was identified as contaminated on July 18. However, it was cleared by the department on July 22.

Health experts advise residents to normally avoid beaches for three days after heavy rainfall since it commonly raises bacteria levels to unhealthy amounts due to pollution runoff returning to the oceanespecially around storm drains, rivers, and creeks.

Until the oceans bacteria levels return to a safe number, residents stuck in the flaming summer heat should turn to pools or other Southern California beaches offering a fun day to cool off.
Let Hong Kong Be Hong Kong: US Consul General Hanscom Smith Bids Farewell

We want Hong Kong to succeed. Let Hong Kong be Hong Kong, said U.S. Consul General Hanscom Smith in his Farewell Remarks this July as he leaves the land where the National Security Law and patriots only sham elections have altered Hong Kongs democracy and high degree of autonomy originally promised by Beijing.

Americas vision for Hong Kong is simple: We support a stable, prosperous Hong Kong that enjoys the high degree of autonomy Beijing promised in the Sino-British Joint Declaration, said Smith

He criticized Beijing and the Hong Kong government for policies that have changed to the detriment of Hong Kongers and Hong Kongs status as a global hub, and pledged that U.S. policy toward Hong Kong has been consistent and will not waver.

He said that the United States recognizes that Hong Kong is part of China [and does not] support Hong Kong independence, but asked Beijing to honor the terms of the Joint Declaration as a strong, prosperous Hong Kong is in the best interest of mainland China, Hong Kong, and the United States.

US Government Supports the One Country, Two Systems Rule and Hong Kongs Autonomy

The Joint Declaration, the One Country, Two Systems framework, and the Basic Law created the legal foundation for the citys continued dynamism after 1997, emphasized Smith.

The Sino-British Joint Declaration signed by the United Kingdom and China is a legally binding agreement and by signing this agreement, said Smith, China has the responsibility to uphold, until at least 2047, freedoms of speech, of the press, and of assembly [and] to maintain the independent judiciary and stated that laws then in force in Hong Kong would remain basically unchanged.

Smith quoted then-Secretary of State Madeline Albright before the 1997 handover ceremony, It is said accurately that Hong Kong is the glittering jewel in Asias economic emergence. But it owes its success not to the glitter of gold but to the gold of principle. The ability of journalists to tell it like it is, of legislators to raise their voices in dissent, of businesspeople to know that their agreements will be honored, and of residents to know that the courts are fair and the civil service accountable to all, not just a handful of powers that be.

But in recent years, China has taken step after step to dismantle and destroy Hong Kongs freedoms and the high degree of autonomy it was promised, said Smith.

National Security Law Significantly Undermined The Citys Autonomy

One way Beijing has significantly undermined Hong Kongs autonomy is the National Security Law it imposed in June 2020, as it fosters an atmosphere of fear and coercion through a vague definition of national security.

Its imposition is the most obvious sign of the PRCs fundamental self-doubt. A responsive, representative government does not use fear, deliberate ambiguity, and autocratic judicial processes to rule its people.

Smith calls the application of the law broad, crude, and chilling.

It has, thus far led Hong Kong authorities to arrest or detain over 100 activists, opposition figures, and ordinary peopleHong Kongers have faced criminal penalties merely for peaceful assembly, attempting to arrange a political primary, posting personal opinions on Facebook, hanging a poster outside an apartment, and even writing childrens books.

True patriotism is earned by winning the allegiance of free people, rather than futile efforts to legislate patriotism and loyalty from above.

The Chief Executive Election is a Sham Election

Smith mentioned the 2019 Hong Kong local election where nearly three million Hong Kongers came out to voteover 70 percent of registered votersand delivered 388 out of 452 elected seats to pro-democracy candidates, but [China] once again refused to listen. He called the disqualification of democratically elected District Councilors a brazen attempt to ignore election results on vaguely defined grounds of patriotism and loyalty.

Since then, Beijing has not allowed another broadly free and fair election to take place, he said, because it knows that Hong Kong residents support neither the NSL, nor the ongoing crackdown on all forms of dissent and free expression.

Furthermore, the number of directly elected Legislative Council seats was also slashed, said Smith, packing the body with appointed members and refusing to allow Hong Kongers a direct vote on more than three quarters of the legislature.

[China] stacked the Chief Executive Election Committee with pro-Beijing loyalists. And even then, Beijing only endorsed one candidate, leading to a sham election made all the more obvious as it was uncontested.

Sharp and Growing Divide

There is a sharp and growing divide between Beijings promises and its actions,  said Smith, it seems increasingly clear that Beijing has decided not to keep its promises. It appears it no longer wishes to honor its obligations in the Joint Declaration, and no longer supports One Country, Two Systems.

He urges Beijing to foster true stability by restoring to the residents of Hong Kong the basic rights and freedoms they were promised and to withdraw the overt and subtle pressures that have pushed Hong Kongers to flee overseas, to self-censor, and to withdraw from civic life and to allow its people to exercise the rights that enabled Hong Kong to flourish for decades.

The United States will continue to stand with people in Hong Kong in support of the high degree of autonomy promised in the Joint Declaration and the original vision of One Country, Two Systems that served the city well for years, concluded Smith in his farewell speech.
Marc Short, Chief of Staff to Vice President Mike Pence, at NYPD headquarters in New York City on Sept. 19, 2019. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Marc Short, Former Top Aide to Pence Confirms He Testified Before Jan. 6 Grand Jury

Marc Short, who served as former Vice President Mike Pences chief of staff during the Trump administration, has confirmed that he complied with a subpoena to testify in the Department of Justices (DOJ) criminal investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol.

Short appeared before the grand jury on July 22 in Washington, D.C.

I can confirm that I did receive a subpoena for the federal grand jury and I complied with that subpoena, he told CNN on Monday night. Under the advice of counsel, I cant say much more than that.

Shorts appearance was first reported by ABC News, which reported that he was seen departing a D.C. District Court on Friday alongside his attorney.

Details of what Short said during his testimony are not known.

The former Pence aides testimony before the grand jury makes him the highest-profile Trump administration official known to have done so thus far.

Short served as chief of staff to Pence for nearly two years and was with the former Vice President in the Capitol on the day of the breach. He has previously said that he accompanied Pence to the Capitol building before they both went to a secure location following the breach.

He testified earlier this year before the House select committee investigating the events of Jan. 6 and has previously said publically that he spoke with the secret service ahead of Jan. 6 to warn them that former President Donald Trump may go public with his belief that Pence could overturn the election results.

No Specific Intelligence

But I didnt have any specific intelligence, I did not have any knowledge the Capitol would be attacked the way it was, he said at the time.

While the former top aide declined to give further details about his subpoena to CNN or other outlets, Short did speak to ABC about the day of the breach and praised law enforcement for their efforts.

I think that having the Capitol ransacked the way that it was, I think did present liability and danger, he told the outlet. And I think the Secret Service did a phenomenal job that day. I think that the bigger risk and despite the way perhaps it was characterized in the hearings last week, candidly, is that if the mob had gotten closer to the vice president, I do think there would have been a massacre in the Capitol that day.

Short was not the only high-profile individual to appear before the federal grand jury last week.

According to the New York Times, former Pence counsel Greg Jacob also testified before the grand jury, although neither Jacob nor his attorney has confirmed the reported appearance.

The Epoch Times has contacted Jacob for comment.

Jacob also previously testified publicly during a recent televised hearing of the Jan. 6 committee.

The latest high-profile appearances before the federal grand jury came in the same week that former White House strategist Steve Bannon was found guilty of contempt of Congress by a jury in Washington.

Bannon was convicted on two counts after refusing to comply with a Jan. 6 select committee subpoena for testimony and documents, asserting a right to executive privilege as a former White House staff member.
U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) holds her weekly press conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on July 21, 2022. (Nathan Howard/Getty Images)

Mike Pompeo Offers to Visit Taiwan With Nancy Pelosi Amid Outrage From Beijing

President Joe Biden opposes the proposed visit, while others are in support

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (R) sent a message to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Twitter on July 24 saying that he would like to visit Taiwan with her if she decides to go in August.

The offer is the latest addition to voices of support for a potential Pelosi visit Taiwan, although U.S. President Joe Biden has said he and the military believe its not a good idea right now.

Several U.S. representatives have also voiced support for a visit by the House speaker.

Across the Taiwan Strait, Beijing and Taipei have opposing view on the potential trip, with the Chinese Communist regime opposing the high level visit, threatening serious consequences.

Pelosi said of any intentions to visit Taiwan: I dont ever discuss my travel plans  its a security issue, she told reporters on July 21. She then said that deterring China from attacking Taiwan is a very major issue, and its important for us to show support for Taiwan.

Pelosi said that supporting Taiwan against Beijings threats doesnt mean that the United States stands for Taiwans independence, as the Chinese Communist Party claims.

Thats up to Taiwan to decide, the House speaker said.

She said that Biden and the U.S. military might have been expressing concerns that Beijing might shoot down her plane or something like that in their comments the previous day, adding, I havent heard it from the President.

The Chinese regime claims the self-ruled liberal democratic island as its own, despite the fact that Taiwan is a de facto independent island, with its own military, democratically-elected government, and constitution.

Former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference at The Rosen Shingle Creek in Orlando, Florida, on Feb. 25, 2022. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

@SpeakerPelosi. Nancy, Ill go with you, Pompeo posted on Twitter on Sunday afternoon. Im banned in China, but not freedom-loving Taiwan.

Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) and Don Bacon (R-Neb.) expressed their support for a possible Pelosi Taiwan visit on Twitter the same day.

Communist China does not get to dictate who in America can visit Taiwan, Bacon wrote, while Fitzpatrick wrote: I urge you to show strength and do not cower to the bullying of the Chinese Communist Party.

We strongly encourage you to reject the objections of Chinas rulers and President Biden and proceed with your planned trip, Reps. Tom Tiffany (R-Wis.) and Scott Perry (R-Pa.) wrote in a joint letter to Pelosi dated July 22, which was published by Taiwanese state media CNA. As the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, you should never have to ask a foreign dictatorship or the State Department for permission to talk to Americas friends and allies.

Contrasting the above voices of support, Biden said of the trip after arriving at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on July 20: I think thatthe military thinks its not a good idea right now, but I dont know what the status of it is.

U.S.-based China affairs commentator Wang He told The Epoch Times on July 25, President Biden said last Wednesday that he would talk to Chinese leader Xi Jinping by end of this month. He doesnt want to anger Beijing now, which is the reason why he doesnt support Pelosis trip.

Pelosis possible visit and the strong support from Pompeo and the U.S. lawmakers delivered a strong message to Xi: Beijing should not invade Taiwan.

Tension Across the Taiwan Strait

Su Tseng-chang, Chairman of Taiwans Democratic Progressive Party, speaks about A New Partnership for a New Age: Strengthening U.S.-Taiwan Relations at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., on June 13, 2013. (Paul Richards/AFP via Getty Images)

The Chinese regime threatened consequences for a Pelosi August visit after it was first reported by the Financial Times on July 19.

If the U.S. side insists on visiting, the Chinese side will take firm and strong measures to safeguard our sovereignty and territorial integrity, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said on July 25. The U.S. must assume full responsibility for any serious consequence arising thereof.

On the other side of the Taiwan Strait, the government of Taiwan welcomed the U.S. speaker of the House.

Warmly welcome Pelosi to visit Taiwan, Taiwan Premier Su Tseng-chang told the Legislative Yuan on April 8. [Pelosi visits Taiwan] because we (U.S. and Taiwan) uphold the common values of democracy and freedom. The Chinese regime should not make irresponsible remarks.

[Pelosis possible visit] is absolutely a positive message [for Taiwan]. Its a support to Taiwan, Lo Chih-Cheng, a Taiwanese legislator, told RFA on July 21.

Chieh Chung, a military expert and a research fellow at Taiwans Association of Strategic Foresight, told The Epoch Times on July 25 that Taiwan welcomed Pelosi, adding that he doesnt believe the Chinese regime would dare to take military action to target Pelosi if she visited.

Once their (Chinas air force) warplanes approach our airspace, our (Taiwans) air force will take action immediately. We even will fire missiles to stop the warplanes. This will cause a military conflict, Chieh said. I dont think mainland China will do this.
RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki is seen during a news conference in Ottawa on April 20, 2020. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)

Blairs Office Asked If Info on Firearms Used in Nova Scotia Tragedy Would Be Released: RCMP Commissioner

RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki said on Monday she was not directed by the government to release information on the firearms used in the Nova Scotia mass shooting, but said she was asked by the chief of staff of the minister of public safety if she would do so.

Asking questions is not interference, Lucki told a special meeting of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Safety examining allegations of political interference in the RCMP investigation into the tragedy that left 22 dead on April 1819, 2020.

I can clearly say that I was not interfered with, I was not directed, and I did not cross any line.

At the heart of the issue is a promise Lucki made to then-minister of public safety Bill Blair and the Prime Ministers Office that the firearms information would be released and that it was tied to pending gun control legislation.

These allegations surfaced last month when the Mass Casualty Commission (MCC) examining the tragedy released documents from two RCMP employees who wrote about a meeting with Lucki on April 28, 2020.

Lucki said she had provided the government information about what would be shared during the April 28, 2020, press conference on the events.

At that time, I was asked if the information about the weapons would be included. When my communications team told me that it would be, I relayed this information back to Minister Blairs Chief of Staff and the Deputy Minister of Public Safety, she said.

Regarding my use of the word promise during the [April 28] meeting I had with my team following that press conference at that time, and in that context, I was trying to convey that Id already confirmed to the minister that the information about the weapons would be released during the press conference, a confirmation made based on the information I had been provided.

This miscommunication resulted in Lucki providing inaccurate information to her superiors, she said.

I felt I had misinformed the minister and by extension, the prime minister.

Lucki said the question about whether information on firearms would be released came not from Blair, but rather from his chief of staff.

Zita Astravas was Blairs chief of staff as minister of public safety at the time. She kept the role when he was moved to emergency preparedness.

Blair, who testified at the same committee before Lucki, said he had not directed the RCMP to release any specific information nor did I receive a promise for them to do so.

RCMP H Division in Nova Scotia did not want to release information on the firearms so as to not jeopardize the investigation, which involved the United States. All firearms used by the killer were obtained illegally, with three coming from south of the border.

Lucki had told her superiors in an email dated April 23, 2020, that information about weapons should not be shared.

Was there a meeting that you had in those previous five days where you said Actually, its not a big deal if the information is released? asked Conservative MP Dane Lloyd about Luckis reversal on releasing the information.

No, its because things changed. Like everything was changing hourly, like those weapons were seized. Things changed so that we can release certain points of information, Lucki said.

A few days after the tragedy, on May 1 the Liberal government announced it would be banning 1,500 models of what it calls assault-style weapons.

Blair told the committee the May 1 date was decided upon after the mass shooting occurred.
World Health Organization declaration of Monkey Pox as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), was made by one man, WHO Director-General Tedros, who has no medical training, over the objection of the majority of his own expert committee of medical and scientific advisors. The same committee met just one month ago and declined to declare Monkey Pox a public health emergency on a vote of eleven against and three for. Now in July, nine of the committee members thought a PHEIC should not be declared and six supported a declaration. Nine and six is very, very close. Since the role of the committee is to advise, I then had to act as a tie-breaker, Tedros said in a news conference called to announce the decision.

Perhaps it is the new math that leads to the conclusion of a tie with a 3-vote majority on one side?

To further quote Rosamund Lewis, the WHO technical lead for monkeypox, in a press conference July 20, 2022: About 98 percent of (Monkeypox) cases are among men who have sex with menand primarily those who have multiple recent anonymous or new partners. She then said they are typically of young age and chiefly in urban areas.

This raises the obvious question for thinking people: Why is a disease that occurs 98 percent in men having sex with men now being applied to a world-wide population of peoplemen, women, childrenof all ages, who do not fit this risk profile?

What is Monkeypox Virus?

Monkeypox has been known in Africa primarily as a disease of ground squirrels since 1958. It is one type of zoonotic viral infections. Zoonotic means a virus that lives in an animal host (e.g., ground squirrels) but can spread to monkeys and humans with close contact and poor hygiene, though it takes much higher viral load to cause disease in monkeys and humans.

Monkeypox is one of several different POX virus infections, though it is much milder than Smallpox (variola virus), which was essentially eradicated with the successful long-standing world-wide vaccination. It is a DNA virus, more stable than RNA viruses like COVID, Marburg, Ebola, Lassa and others. Milder diseases Cowpox, Horsepox, Camelpox, and Vaccinia are others in this group.

How Do You Catch It?

As the WHO expert just confirmed July 20, 2022, Monkeypox is spread mainly between men having sex with men. Women can be infected by semen ejaculated in the vagina by an infected man. The virus causes a viremia in the blood stream that causes the skin lesions (pustules). The virus in the blood stream also means there is live virus in bodily secretions: saliva, semen, blood, open skin lesions, pox scabs, vaginal secretions, feces, and soiled linens or clothing from an infected person.

Other than direct sexual contact, humans can be infected with monkeypox when they come into direct contact with an infected animal or persons blood, body fluids or feces. It can then spread to other humans who have direct contact with bodily secretions from infected, symptomatic people.

Monkey Pox is not a respiratory virus. It is far easier to control spread of monkeypox than to control spread of influenza, COVID-19 or the common cold that are spread by coughing and sneezing in respiratory droplets.

In order to control the spread of monkeypox, you dont need masks, mass lockdowns and quarantines for everyone. You simply need to avoid direct contact with bodily secretions of an infected person! To summarize, these are:

Blood

Semen, vaginal, and mucus secretions

Feces

Open lesions, both ones that are oozing and ones with scabs that contain the live virus

Soiled linens or clothing from an infected person

Who Is At the Most Risk From Monkeypox?

Basically, the risk factors are the same as any zoonotic disease: humans coming in contact with animal carriers of the virus. In Africa the pattern has been mostly children who bring home sick animals, which are then eaten.

Outside of Africa, individuals most at risk for contracting monkeypox are men having sex with men. The recent outbreak occurred in Central and West Africa with those who had close contact with an infected person or animal. The larger outbreaks that spread to other countries first in Europe primarily were traced to the large international PRIDE event in the Canary Islands earlier this spring.

In addition to men having sex with men, others at risk of serious Monkeypox illness include:

Individuals living in unsanitary conditions or areas with little to no medical services

Individuals who have vaccine-induced immune deficiency syndrome following the COVID experimental shots

Immunocompromised people, which occurs in cancer therapy, chronic illness, after organ transplants, or after radiation exposure (Havana Syndrome), exposure to toxic chemicals, such as pesticides and others.

What Are the Symptoms of Monkeypox?

If the viral load is high enough, particularly in immunocompromised people, Monkeypox can cause lung damage with an aerosol challenge, and can cause damage to the vascular beds of the lungs. Secondary bacterial infections/pneumonia can also occur if the viral load is high enough. With severe disease, it doesnt typically cause cytokine storm or blood clots as we have seen with COVID-19 illness and those who have had the COVID experimental shots and then develop COVID illness.

There are three phases of the viral illness, and early symptoms mimic many other viral illnesses (COVID-19, Marburg, and others), as well as mimic symptoms of EMF radiation exposure:

Phase 1: Prodromal phase (Incubation): 7-17 days from exposure

Phase 2: Viremia phase: live virus in saliva, semen and other bodily secretions found at this stage of systemic illness. Viremia seeds the virus into the skin, leading to the pox lesions. Systemic symptoms include:

Fever

Fatigue

Headache

Chills

Body Aches

Swollen lymph glands

Phase 3: Topical Rash/ Lesions: can last 2-4 weeks, occasionally longer

Topical lesions appear over the body across several days of time. Lesions will be circular, often weeping fluid. Gradually lesions crust over, form a scab and then the scab falls off. Studies have confirmed that the scabs contain live virus. Lesions appear to the follow areas on the body:

Face

Arms and legs

Palms of hands

Soles of feet

How is Monkeypox Treated?

STEP 1. AVOID CONTACT with bodily fluids of an infected person. Infected people need to be quarantined.

STEP 2. Symptom management:

Adequate hydration to prevent dehydration, with attention to electrolyte balance

Balanced meals with whole food, primarily plant based, to give the body energy and nutrients

Comfort management for skin irritation related to the skin lesions of developing pox.

Increase intake of vitamin C, D, zinc, B complex, NAC to improve immune response and wound healing

STEP 3. Treatment:

Many of same evidence-based medicines and other measures we have been using to effectively treat COVID-19 can be used off-label in the medical judgment of the treating physician, even though there are limited data from clinical trials. These include safe, effective, older antiviral medicines listed in our COVID Early Home Treatment Guide here https://www.truthforhealth.org/2022/02/covid-home-treatment/

What About the New Medicine or Monkeypox Vaccine?

Oral and IV Tpoxx:

There is a current FDA approved antiviral treatment for variola virus, including monkeypox, Tpoxx. Tpoxx has been nationally stockpiled by the US since 2018 and was recently approved for IV use on MAY 19, 2022. This new medicine has ONLY undergone Phase I Clinical Trials, with just one human trial of only 359 healthy patients being given the medicine before it was granted full FDA approval. There was no testing in sick people to determine effectiveness. We have no long-term safety testing.

Truth For Health Foundation Position: There are several antiviral alternatives in widespread use for many decades with known safety profiles that are available for both prevention and treatment of monkeypox and other viral illnesses that have more data on risks, benefits, and safety.

Monkeypox Vaccine:

The FDA approved the Monkeypox and Smallpox live non replicating vaccine in September 2019. On May 19th 2022, with only TWO cases confirmed in the US, the US Government placed an order for $119 million dollars worth of this new vaccine from the manufacturer, Bavarian Nordic, even though it isnt reported to be manufactured until 2023.

Of greater concern is the already published data showing that Jynneos Monkeypox vaccine causes myocarditis, a devastating heart inflammation that has already caused deaths and severe heart disease in young people after the Covid shot. Thornhill, et. al. in the same medical review article listed these additional conclusions about monkeypox, which is consistent with WHO quote cited above:

Disease 98% in homosexual/bisexual individuals

95% transmission by sexual activity

41% have concurrent Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)

13% hospitalized for severe dermatological and anogenital lesions

No deaths

Past Monkeypox outbreaks have not happened in the setting of broader immune- compromised human population as we are now seeing after mass vaccination with the COVID experimental shots. So that will mean it is more important than ever for health professionals to be teaching patients basic approaches to improving health and immune function (see below).

For more information read:

https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-approves-first-live-non-replicating-vaccine-prevent-smallpox-and-monkeypox

https://www.fiercepharma.com/vaccines/bavarian-nordic-scores-fda-nod-for-smallpox-and-monkeypox-vaccine-jynneos

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2207323

To Improve Health and Resilience and Reduce Risk of Infections:

Supplements and Nutraceuticals: These have research-based evidence for anti-viral, anti-inflammatory, immune-boosting, and neuro-protective benefits in the spectrum of viral illnesses, COVID vaccine injury, EMF radiation damage, and other inflammatory conditions. We do not have sufficient clinical research data to document benefits of these supplements and nutraceuticals in Monkeypox specifically but since these supplements have such significant benefits to reduce inflammation, improve immune response and improve cellular oxygenation, we include them here as part of an overall plan to improve health and resilience and reduce risk of infectious disease.

We recommend having your individual physician or other trusted health professional check blood levels of vitamins and supplements that may be detrimental if used in excessive amounts, such as Vit D, zinc, B6, B12, magnesium. Then an individual dose tailored to your needs can be decided based on objective lab data.

Basic List of Nutraceuticals with Documented Anti-Viral, Anti-Inflammatory, Antioxidant, and Immune Boosting Benefits:

Vitamin D (in oil): 5000 IU AM and PM

N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) 600-1200 mg daily

Glutathione, Co-Q-10 and resveratrol

Vitamin C with bioflavonoids 2000 mg (increase if symptoms times a day

Magnesium 400 mg once or twice a day

B complex

Zinc sulfate 220 mg daily (50 mg elemental zinc)

Quercetin

Green Tea

Monolaurin (derived from coconuts)

Immune-boost Mushroom complex powder (Lions Mane, Turkey Tail, Reishi, Maitake, Chaga etc.)

Aspirin 81 mg prevention dose, 325 mg full-strength anti-platelet dose (to reduce risk of blood clotting. If abnormal bleeding is happening, do NOT use aspirin, or supplements that have anticoagulant effects such as Vitamin E and fish oils).

Blackseed oil (N-sativa seed)

Decontamination Strategies Adaptable for Home Use

Chlorine dioxide (CD) is the leading agent used for environmental decontamination to control the spread of many different viral outbreaks in Africa by the US Miliary. Chlorine dioxide has been used safely and effectively in cleaning and sterilization efforts around the world (including the USA) in medical, agricultural, and industrial uses for decades. Check our educational resources for effective environmental decontamination solutions entitled The Universal Antidote found under the Health and Resilience tab on our Home page at www.TruthForHealth.org. These approaches are widely used in hospitals, food processing, and even recommended by NASA (research documents on our website in this section of resources to guide you with options.)

There are many patents related to the safe use of CD for purifying water, treating wounds, sterilizing of medical equipment and much, more. The two solutions used to make the activated CDC are easy to purchase, inexpensive and stable to store. Read more about it on our website under Health and Resilience section. There are many references and resources described in the video and resource guidebook.

More NIH/NIAID Monkey Business:

In 1979, the US government launched a self-sufficient breeding program on Morgan Island in South Carolina, begun with 1,400 rhesus monkeys. Today the Morgan Island monkey population is nearly 4,000. The claim is the monkeys on this island are no longer used for research and are owned by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.

However, a FOIA request by local Congresswoman, Nancy Mace, identified that it is in fact Anthony Faucis agency at NIH, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), who OWNS THE MONKEYS AND TAKES 500-600 monkeys per year for NIAID research. Following the FOIA request, NIAID acknowledged its practice of taking the monkeys, claiming they abide by federal policies and regulations for basic care. Investigations are ongoing.

Some of the testing facilities the monkeys are shipped to are known to be among the most cruel animal testing facilities in the country. Justin Goodman, VP of Defense and Public Policy for the White Coat Waste Project (WCWP) in an Epoch Times interview in October 2021 said that NIAID spent $13.5 million in taxpayer funding of experiments in which monkeys are injected with various infectious diseases such as Ebola and Lassa virus, which lead to bleeding, pain, brain damage, loss of motor control, organ failure, and death. In many of these experiments, Fauci and his collaborators deliberately abandon pain relief, even though this is one of the most excruciating experiments in the federal government, Goodman said.

Dr. Tiffany Milless, pathologist and medical advisor to WCWP, said infecting nonhuman primates with painful and debilitating diseases to heal humans is not only brutal but incredibly wasteful. The NIH needs to stop wasting tax money on useless and brutal primate research that doctors like me cant really use to help humans.

Important Questions Regarding the Morgan Island Monkeys:

The American people deserve honest answers to these and many more questions about the latest public health threat unleashed on us and being used to threaten more quarantines and vaccines:

Why does the NIAID under Fauci own and control nearly 4,000 rhesus monkeys on a private island in South Carolina with no oversight? Why does Anthony Faucis NIAID invest American tax dollars into owning and participating in cruel and inhumane animal research on these monkeys? Could these monkeys on American soil be the source of what President Biden himself and the media are now promoting as a new public health threat, giving WHO the excuse to step in and declare a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (i.e., PHEIC) to take authority and control over the US Public Health response, similar to what was done with COVID-19? If Anthony Fauci has authorized or given tacit approval to such cruel and inhumane to monkeys and dogs, we should question whether his agency has any higher regard for people in experiments carried out under his authority.

Dr. Elizabeth Lee Vliet, M.D. is the president and CEO of Truth for Health Foundation, a faith-based human rights charity that advocates for early outpatient COVID treatment, treatment and resources for vaccine-injured patients, and more. She is the co-author/editor of the Guide to COVID Early Treatment: Options to Stay Out of Hospital and Save Your Life, with Dr. Peter McCullough.

Nicole is a registered nurse with over 25 years of experience across a variety of clinical care settings. She is specialized in the clinical case management of medically complex pediatric and adult patients in the home and community setting, and she is also a certified legal nurse consultant and has extensive experience in medical-legal reviews. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Nicole has become highly skilled at care collaboration for patient access to evidence-based early COVID treatment and nationwide medical rescues of hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Nicole is currently the director of the Truth For Health Foundation COVID Care Strategy team, a group of medical and legal professionals working together to advocate for the medical rights of patients and to assist patients getting access to proper treatment either in-patient or at home. Nicole is also the co-author with Dr. Vliet of many of the Foundations FACT SHEETS for consumer education on critical medical, faith and resilience topics.

Fact Sheet Links:

Monkeypox

Marburg Hemorrhagic Fever



REFERENCES:

Threadsirish. Did You Know That A 2021 Report Predicted The Monkeypox Outbreak On May 15th 2022 ? Both Companies Involved In The Report Have Received Millions From The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Threadsirish. Published May 20, 2022. Accessed May 21, 2022. https://threadsirish.substack.com/p/did-you-know-that-a-2021-report-predicted

U.S. government places $119 million order for 13 million freeze-dried Monkeypox vaccines. Fortune. Accessed May 21, 2022. https://fortune.com/2022/05/19/monkeypox-vaccine-purchase-2022-us-government/

Fauci delivered 100 million of NIH/NIAID funding to Bavarian Nordic to produce these Monkeypox vaccines under an Anti-Bioterrorism program. https://khn.org/morning-breakout/dr00034151/

Profit-driven Bill Gates, 5 years and also more recently, predicted that the next epidemic could be a genetically engineered mutation of Smallpox deployed through a bioterrorist attack. https://youtu.be/6QmH3SCX0Ro

Browne E. Monkeypox outbreak Newsweek. Published May 20, 2022. Accessed May 21, 2022. Note the reality of fewer cases in 2022 than in previous years, in spite of the sensational headline. https://www.newsweek.com/monkeypox-cases-democratic-republic-congo-europe-1708527?piano_t=1

Research C for DE and. Drug Trial Snapshot: TPOXX. FDA. Published online February 9, 2019. Accessed May 21, 2022. https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-approvals-and-databases/drug-trial-snapshot-tpoxx

Babkin I, Babkina I. The Origin of the Variola Virus. Viruses. 2015;7(3):1100-1112. doi:10.3390/v7031100

Smallpox & Other Orthopoxvirus-Associated Infections  Chapter 4  2020 Yellow Book | Travelers Health | CDC. Cdc.gov. Published 2018. https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/yellowbook/2020/travel-related-infectious-diseases/smallpox-and-other-orthopoxvirus-associated-infections

Articles on the Morgan Island monkeys:

Litterst I. SC congresswoman accuses national organization of testing on monkeys for research. WTGS. Published December 16, 2021. Accessed May 25, 2022. https://fox28media.com/news/local/sc-congresswoman-accuses-national-organization-of-testing-on-monkeys-for-research

Weismann L. Congresswoman draws attention to testing on S.C. island monkeys. https://www.wrdw.com. https://www.wrdw.com/2021/12/17/congresswoman-attempts-draw-attention-testing-done-morgan-island-monkeys/

South Carolina Rhesus Monkey Island Is The Source Of Faucis harrowing Experiments. Published November 27, 2021. Accessed May 25, 2022. https://worldnationnews.com/south-carolina-rhesus-monkey-island-is-the-source-of-faucis-harrowing-experiments/

May 07 SL, 2020. Theres an Island in South Carolina With 4,000 Wild Monkeys. Travel + Leisure. https://www.travelandleisure.com/trip-ideas/island-vacations/morgan-island-south-carolina-monkeys

The Secret that Lies Off the Coast of South Carolina. South Magazine. Published March 29, 2017. https://www.southmag.com/the-secret-that-lies-off-the-coast-of-south-carolina/

Articles related to current NIAID related testing on monkeys (WARNING: Graphic images)

PETA Scientist Slams Monkey Fright Tests by Elisabeth Murray. PETA. Published September 14, 2020. https://www.peta.org/blog/neuroscientist-slams-elisabeth-murray-tests-monkeys/

Government Experimenters Scare Monkeys With Snakes | PETA. PETA Exposes and Undercover Investigations. https://investigations.peta.org/nih-monkey-torture/

NewsDesk 6Park. Who is Sam Smith? Meet a monkey used in experiments. 6PARK.NEWS/SOUTHCAROLINA. Published May 4, 2022. Accessed May 25, 2022. https://6park.news/southcarolina/who-is-sam-smith-meet-a-monkey-used-in-experiments.html

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.
Police collect evidence at the site of the shootings in Langley on July 25, 2022. (Jeff Sandes/The Epoch Times)

Motive in Langley Shooting That Left 2 Dead Still Unknown: Police

LANGLEY, British ColumbiaPolice continue to investigate what led a gunman to shoot several people at multiple locations in the City of Langley during the early hours of July 25, leaving two dead. The shooting involved transient victims.

Police say the motive of the gunman, identified as as 28-year old Jordan Daniel Goggin, is still unknown.

During an RCMP press conference in nearby Surrey, the chief officer of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of BC, Manny Mann, said police believe Goggin acted alone, although the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team is looking for people with connections to Goggin.

Goggin was shot dead by police in a strip mall less than two kilometres from where he is alleged to have started his shooting spree in the parking lot of Cascades Casino in Langley. The provinces Independent Investigations Office will review police conduct related to the incident.

Goggin is suspected of shooting four people. Police said all have been identified, although their names have not been released. They include two men who were killed, a woman who remains critically injured in hospital, and another man who is recovering after being shot in the leg.

Police look for evidence at the site of the shootings in Langley on July 25, 2022. (Jeff Sandes/The Epoch Times)

Police activated the Emergency Alert System, notifying everybody with a cellular phone in the region of an active shooter situation at 6:19 a.m. on July 25, including a description of the suspect and brief details of transient victims. Further notifications went out during the day until 3:32 p.m. when police determined no further threat to the community existed.

While Goggin was known to police, Mann said he did not have a history of violent crime or behaviour.

As far as the motive is concerned, that is ongoing as we are in the preliminary stages of our investigation, he said. Once that information is revealed, we will be able to disseminate some of that information to the community.

Concern for Safety

Chris Watt, who says he is among the homeless in the area, told The Epoch Times hes concerned for his safety, saying violent attacks have escalated in recent times.

It was random targeting, thats what I heard last night, he said as he gathered with his homeless friends a few metres from where shots were first fired several hours earlier.

Watt says he himself was shot when he was in a Langley hotel room in a targeted shooting meant for someone else. The attack shredded part of his right leg, leaving him permanently disabled and having to use a wheelchair. He said he was also attacked with bear spray less than two weeks ago in downtown Langley, again in an unprovoked incident.

It was brutal, he said. The fire trucks came down and washed me down to get off all that stuff. They targeted a handicapped guy, and what for?

Lisa, who didnt want to provide her last name, is battling addiction and is a mainstay outside the casino. She said shes sad for the loss of the victims of the shooting.

Any way you look at it, it is sad, she said. I mean, we are family down here, no matter what. And a lot of us fight each other and we can rip each other off, but at the end of the day, were all in this together.

Not everybody who is homeless is living with the same fear of being attacked.

A police forensics unit vehicle at the site of the shootings in Langley on July 25, 2022. (Jeff Sandes/The Epoch Times)

Frank Mirza migrated to Langley approximately one year ago from Calgary and has found a local shelter which he said gives him a nightly bunk to sleep in, three meals a day, showers, lockers, and other amenities he feels provide security.

I feel safe and Ive never been targeted, so I dont know why people feel unsafe, Mirza said in an interview.

Maybe the reason could be mental illness, higher risk drugs, medication? Im not ending up like that. Different people, different ways.

Local resident Lynn Gergens also says she feels generally safe living in the area, despite the shootings on July 25.

It didnt make me feel any less safe, and it doesnt scare me, Gergens told The Epoch Times.

Gergens said she moved to the area five years ago and comes out into the neighbourhood almost daily, interacting with people she sees, including the homeless.

We need to do something better for the homeless people than we are doing now, and I dont know what that is.
Recruits of the Azov Ukrainian volunteer battalion take their oaths during a ceremony in Kiev, on Aug. 14, 2015. (Sergei Supinsky/AFP via Getty Images)

My Enemys Enemies Are My FriendsEven If Some of Them May Be Neo-Nazis

Commentary

As the war in Ukraine grinds on, the UK is stepping up its support for the embattled nation by training new recruits for its depleted army on British soil. When I recently contacted the Ministry of Defense (MOD) for details I was informed, The UK-led training programme has capacity to train up to 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers every 120 days.

The spokesperson added: We have a long history of military cooperation with Ukraine that predates Russias invasion in February 2022. This includes Operation ORBITAL during which British troops trained more than 22,000 members of the Ukrainian Armed Forces between 2015 and 2022.

Over a thousand UK service personnel from 11 Security Force Assistance Brigade have been deployed to run the program, which is part of a nearly $3 billion defense support package to Ukraine.

Defense minister Ben Wallace has said, Using the world-class expertise of the British Army, we will help Ukraine to rebuild its forces and scale-up its resistance as they defend their countrys sovereignty and their right to choose their own future.

The new soldiers will be given uniforms and equipment to take to the front line, including AK assault rifles, or Kalashnikovs as theyre better known. Ironically, perhaps, these were originally made in Russia and are also used by the Ukrainian army, but not the British.

When I asked the MOD where they got them from, I was told, The government has rapidly procured AK variant assault rifles through a combination of international donations and private purchase, meaning Ukrainian soldiers can train on the type of weapons they will be using on the front line.

The spokesperson didnt elaborate as to which nations those donations had come from, but to make sure they worked proficiently, soldiers from the Welsh Guards were brought in to test more than 2,400 of them. As 10,000 will be needed every four months, thats a lot of rifles to test.

One of those who will be training the Ukrainians is Sgt. Dan Hayes, and he told The Times of London: Ive been in the army 14 years, and I chose to join. These guys are all civvies [civilians]  and we are investing everything we can because we know they are going to need it.

But are they really all civvies doing their bit? When I asked the MOD if their numbers might include members of the alleged neo-Nazi Azov Regiment, I was told, The Armed Forces of Ukraine undertake vetting of Ukrainian personnel coming to the UK for military training.

Which means they probably have no idea about the backgrounds of those who will be coming.

The Azov Regiment, with its neo-Nazi origins, recently suffered heavy losses at the huge Azovastal complex in Mariupol in the south of the country and was eventually ordered to surrender by the Ukrainian General Staff.

Whether or not its new recruits find their way onto the UK training program, theres also the issue of how much of Britains weaponry found its way to the Azovs and other far-right volunteer fighters in Ukraine itself.

Unusually, Ukraine has numerous private or volunteer armies as well as its regular forces: Some are foreign fighters and mercenaries; some are nationalist; some are Muslim; some are funded directly by the government and some by oligarchs.

Back in 2015, Kateryna Zarembo was working as deputy director of the Institute of World Policy in Kyiv. She told Deutsche Welle: Oligarchs are the most powerful people in Ukraine. Its the oligarchs that are subsidizing the politicians and control much of the mass media in the country.

Efforts have been made to bring these armed groups under the state, and in 2022 many, but not all, were reorganized to form the official Territorial Defense Force.

When I asked the MOD directly if the British government is working with the Azovs in Ukraine itself, they stated, The British government does not work with or fund the Azov Brigade.

However, how much control does the British government have over how the billions of dollars it has given to the Ukrainian government are spent? It would certainly make sense to give your best weapons to your best troops, and the Azovs have consistently proven their battle skills.

I was further told by the MOD, We have a very strong relationship with the Armed Forces of Ukraine who have been clear with us that the weapons provided by the UK are not intended for targeting into Russia but will be used to defend Ukraine, in Ukraine.

But by whom exactly in Ukraine? That isnt so clear. But its reassuring to hear that steps have been taken to prevent British weapons firing into Russia itself and the unthinkable mission creep that this could bring with it.

Especially following scary comments by the new head of the British Army, Gen. Sir Patrick Sanders, that the world has changed since February 24 and there is now a burning imperative to forge an army capable of fighting alongside our allies and defeating Russia in battle.

Now, there was I thinking the Cold War had ended, but you know old soldiers and politicians.

When I asked what steps are in place to prevent Britains support for Ukraine turning into a hot war between Russia and the United Kingdom, the MOD spokesman explained, The UK maintains a diplomatic framework that allows us to keep open a channel for crisis communication with Russia and space for diplomacy.

Nazis? What Nazis?

When Vladimir Putin sent his troops into Ukraine, he claimed his purpose was the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine.

This was dismissed with incredulity by Western leaders who believed that its Jewish leader, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, would never countenance an openly Nazi group as part of his nations defense force. NBC News even ran a story titled Putin using false Nazi narrative to justify Russias attack on Ukraine, experts say.

It reported Michael McFaul, a former U.S. ambassador to Russia from 20122014, saying on MSNBCs Morning Joe program: Hes talking about denazification. There are no Nazis in Ukraine. Really, Mr. Ambassador?

Professor Kim Lane Scheppele of Princeton University told the Financial Times about the fall-out from the decision to include the Azovs in the National Guard: Once the Azov battalion is in the Ukrainian military, it causes lots of problems. So, for example, the U.S. government discovered there was this neo-Nazi battalion  literally, in the U.S. legislation it says, no money shall go to this battalion.

So, were the Azovs also receiving training from Britain at that time as part of Operation ORBITAL?

Times Change, Minds Change

As early as March 7, Zelenskyy told ABC News that he was now ready for his country to become neutral and he had given up his ambitions to join NATO. He said, I have cooled down regarding this question a long time ago after we understood that  NATO is not prepared to accept Ukraine.

Had he said this just 17 days earlier at the Munich Security Conference on Feb. 19, instead of making his provocative speech where he said, I want to believe that the North Atlantic Treaty and Article 5 will be more effective than the Budapest Memorandumi.e., we want to join NATOthe Russians might not have invaded his country five days later on Feb. 24.

But the emboldened President Vladimir Putins price is now much higher. Hes demanding more than neutrality; he also wants Russias claims to Crimea and the Donbas region to be recognized, which Zelenskyy refuses, and so the fighting continues.

Whatever the outcome of this unnecessary and terrible conflict is, the fortune of the Azov Regiment is likely to rise in post-war Ukraine due to the sacrifices it has made. This is what happened in November 2014 after the last major conflict when it was enrolled into the Ukrainian National Guard and began to receive state funding.

As for Britain, even with Boris Johnson soon to leave office, its foreign policy is not about to change. The final comment I received from the MOD was, We maintain the right to continue this relationship and deliver lethal and non-lethal defensive equipment to enable Ukraine to better defend itself against Russian aggression.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
NDP member of Parliament Brian Masse speaks at a press conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on June 1, 2021. (The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick)

NDP MP Brian Masse Calls on MPs to Protest Feds Use of ArriveCan App

New Democrat MP Brian Masse is calling on parliamentarians to speak up against the continued use of ArriveCan at Canadian borders, saying the app will destroy the countrys tourism sector.

Launched by the federal government in November 2020, the ArriveCan app was created as a COVID-19 screening measure that ensures arrivals are vaccinated, as well as facilitating contact tracing.

Masse, who represents the riding of Windsor West in Ontario, alleges that the app does not provide Canadians the protection it claims, but rather serves to track travellers.

I always fight for safety 1st, #ArrivCan is not that. Its being used as a back door to permanently track all border crossing, he said in a July 24 Twitter post.

MPs need to speak up now or it will destroy our tourism industry, frustrate & create longer line ups when the technology fails.

Masses tweet was in response to a July 22 report by CBC News for which he was interviewedthat said up to 40 percent of people arriving at the Windsor border did not have ArriveCan completed because they forgot to do so, didnt know it was required, or filled out the app incorrectly.

Mark Weber, the president of the Customs and Immigration Union representing border staff, says the situation has prolonged travel processing times amid an already chaotic travel season.

Were so short-staffed and spending so much time dealing with this app that we really dont have time to do our actual jobs anymore, said Weber in an interview reported by The Canadian Press on July 25.

Man-Made Disaster

The Trudeau government announced in June that the app will be mandatory until at least Sept. 30 but Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino has indicated that ArriveCan will outlast the pandemic as part of a strategy that aims to shrink border bottlenecks.

In mid-June, a group of mayors from Canadian border communities called on the Liberal government to scrap both the app and vaccination requirements at Canada-U.S. land borders.

Niagara Falls Mayor Jim Diodati said the federal app is discouraging cross-border travel and causing a man-made disaster in communities that rely heavily on tourism.

[If] you upset your customers, they go back and tell all their friends. Many people are bypassing Canada. Thats going to have long-lasting effects on this country. Its a more than $100 billion industry in this countrywe need to do everything we can to open things up, Diodati said.

A recent technical glitch in ArriveCan that potentially affecting thousands of users also saw the app mistakenly instruct fully vaccinated travellers to undergo quarantine.

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.
A herd of cows make their way down the race to the milking shed at a dairy farm in Morrinsville, New Zealand, on April 18, 2012. (Sandra Mu/Getty Images)

New Zealand Alert Against Foot and Mouth Disease After Fragments Detected in Australia

With foot and mouth disease spreading across Indonesia, vigilance against the disease has increased in New Zealand, which the government has called a doomsday biosecurity risk for the countrys farming sector.

While not a threat to humans, it would devastate our national herd. Essentially, all animals that are of cloven hoof are at risk, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told reporters on July 25, adding that it could put 100,000 jobs at risk.

New Zealand already has protocols in place for people from Malaysia and China against the disease but will now also apply those measures to Indonesia.

Damien OConnor, the minister of agriculture, told Newshub that, like in Australia, all parcels and freight containers from Indonesia would also be checked.

Over 60 percent of our exports come from the primary sector, he said. This would affect every single New Zealander, which is why were asking every one of us to keep an eye out.

If were travelling overseas, keep an eye out for where we go and ensure were not in contact with animals.

Travellers returning from Bali via Australiaas no direct flights between Indonesia and New Zealand currently operatewill be required to do foot baths, have baggage checked, and asked if they have been near any animals. They are also banned from carrying meat products.

High Alert Levels

The changes in New Zealands biosecurity measures come as fragments of foot and mouth disease were detected in pork products at a Melbourne retailer in Australia, bringing the disease one step closer to New Zealand.

The detected fragments did not contain the live virus, meaning Australia remains free of the disease.

Nationals agriculture spokesperson Barbara Kuriger said it was pleasing to see the Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) upping the rules for people returning from countries where the disease is present.

Every possible avenue for the disease to enter the country needs to be identified and on high alert, she said in a statement. Farmers need to re-ensure their farms have stringent biosecurity measures in place, while all returning travellers must carefully declare where they have been while overseas.

However, while the New Zealand government has significantly increased biosecurity protocols against Indonesia, the agriculture minister said its risk remains low.

But its important that everyone in New Zealand understands what that risk is, OConnor told Newstalk ZB. Low risk still does not mean this is not significant in terms of its possibilities for New Zealand.

The risk of foot and mouth disease has been present for decades, particularly highlighted after the United Kingdom got hit with an outbreak in 2001, costing its economy over eight billion British pounds (US$9.6 billion).
Assistant State Attorney Mike Satz checks into evidence the weapon used in the MSD shooting during the penalty phase of shooter Nikolas Cruz at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on July 25, 2022. (Carline Jean/ Florida Sun Sentinel via AP, Pool)

Parkland Shooter Nikolas Cruzs Rifle Shown to His Jurors

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.Jurors in the penalty trial of Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz got their first view Monday of the AR-15-style rifle he used to murder 17 students and staff members four years ago at Parklands Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, staring intently as it was carried to the front of the courtroom.

Lead prosecutor Mike Satz removed the black Smith & Wesson from a cardboard box and carried it to Broward sheriffs Sgt. Gloria Crespo, who said it was found in a third-floor stairwell after the Feb. 14, 2018, shooting. Video seen by jurors previously showed Cruz placed it on the landing along with his backpack and the black shooters vest he had been wearing before fleeing the school.

The defense objected to the weapons introduction, saying without explanation that it lacked relevance and was unfairly prejudicial. The defense also objected to Satz placing the gun on the floor behind him in easy view of the jurors instead of placing it on an evidence table away from them. Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer rejected the objections.

David S. Weinstein, a Miami criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor who is not involved in the case, said the defense believes that since Cruz pleaded guilty, the gun and other evidence such as surveillance video and crime scene photos are no longer relevant and serve to inflame the jurors emotions.

Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooter Nikolas Cruz is led into the courtroom during the penalty phase of his trial at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on July 25, 2022. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP, Pool)

Prosecutors have successfully argued that such evidence is necessary to prove the murders included at least one aggravating factor such as being committed in a cruel or heinous manner or during a crime that endangered the lives of many people.

Crespo also testified that Cruz, then 19, had five gun magazines remaining in the vest, containing 160 total bullets. He had fired more than 100 shots as he stalked the three-story building for seven minutes, firing down hallways and into classrooms. The former Stoneman Douglas student, who had been expelled a year earlier, wounded 17 in addition to the 14 students and three staff members.

BSO crime scene detective Miguel Suarez points to bullet casings collected at the scene of the shooting as he testifies in the penalty phase of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooter Nikolas Cruzs trial at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on July 25, 2022. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP, Pool)

The jurors also were shown photos Crespo took of the bodies of five students and a teacher who died on the third-floor, all shot at close range, and photos from three autopsies. Those were not shown to the gallery, where several parents and family members sat, but were later shown to reporters in private. As most mass shooters die during their attacks and arent brought to trial, it is rare that such photos are seen outside of law enforcement.

The crime scene photos show two girls and one boy lying dead next to each other in the hallway, a Valentines Day stuffed animal next to one girls head. One boy lying nearby was shot 12 times, including four times in the head. His autopsy photos showed gaping wounds to his skull and shoulderone female juror wiped away tears as those were shown.

The parents of one boy and the wife of a staff member wept as the doctors discussed their family members autopsy. Members of other families grasped their hands and rubbed their shoulders, then hugged them when the session ended.

This showing came three days after jurors saw their first graphic crime scene and autopsy photos. The defense has also objected to the photographs being shown, saying they are unneeded and only meant to arouse the jurors anger.

Earlier Monday, the seven-man and five-woman jury and their 10 alternates heard from Uber driver Laura Zecchini, whom Cruz hired to drive him to the school. She said he appeared nervous during the 13-minute ride and was carrying a large black soft-sided carrying case. Cruz told Zecchini he was going to his music lesson.

Cruz pleaded guilty in October to 17 counts of first-degree murder, so the jury will only decide if he is sentenced to death or life without parole.

His is the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history to reach trial. Nine U.S. gunmen besides Cruz who killed at least 17 people died during or immediately after their shootings, either by suicide or police gunfire. The suspect in a 10th, the 2019 slaying of 23 people at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, is awaiting trial.

When jurors eventually get the case, probably in October or November, they will vote 17 times, once for each of the victims, on whether to recommend capital punishment.

For each death sentence, the jury must be unanimous or the sentence for that victim is life. The jurors are told that to vote for death, the prosecutions aggravating circumstances for that victim must, in their judgment, outweigh the defenses mitigators. A juror can also vote for life out of mercy for Cruz, now 23. During jury selection, the panelists said under oath that they are capable of voting for either sentence.
Former President Donald Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence confer during a briefing in Washington on April 23, 2020. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Pences Former National Security Adviser Endorses Trump

Former Vice President Mike Pences national security adviser, retired Gen. Keith Kellogg, said he would back former President Donald Trump in a hypothetical 2024 matchup with his former boss.

Sometimes, you have to pick the lane youre gonna run with, Kellogg told the Washington Examiner on Tuesday when asked about a possible contest between Trump and Pence. Ive always been a Trump guy.

Of the relationship between Trump and Pence, We tried to bring him in tight, Kellogg said in reference to Pence. Its not because we havent reached out to him. Pence advisers like Marc Short, Kellogg added in the interview, have pulled away from the Trump team, referring to the former vice presidents chief of staff.

Neither Pence nor Trump have declared their candidacies for president. While Trump has strongly suggested that he might run again, there is growing speculation about a Pence 2024 candidacy as he continues to deliver speeches, including one to a conference of young conservatives in Washington on Tuesday.

If I was putting money in Las Vegas down on the table as to whether he is going to run or not, I think he is running, Kellogg said of Trump, but I dont know. The retired general said he spoke with the former president several weeks ago.

Dual Speeches

Trump also returned to Washington to speak for the first time in more than a year, telling a crowd that the United States needs to place more emphasis on public safety amid rising crime, drug use, and homelessness.

Then- President Donald Trump (C) and Keith Kellogg (R) in a file photo. (Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images)

Americans dont have safety and dont have freedom right now, Trump said during a speech at the America First Policy Institutes America First Agenda Summit on Tuesday.

Our country is now a cesspool of crime, the former commander-in-chief said. We have blood, death, and suffering on a scale once unthinkable because of the Democrat Partys effort to destroy and dismantle law enforcement.

Trump added: Were living in such a different country for one primary reason  there is no longer respect for the law and there certainly is no order.

Pence, meanwhile, told an audience on Tuesday that conservatives should look toward the future.

In order to win, conservatives need to do more than criticize and complain, Pence said. We must unite our movement behind a bold, optimistic agenda that offers a clear and compelling choice to the American people.

During the Joint Session of Congress on Jan. 6, 2021, Trump issued a rare critical comment about Pence for taking part in the congressional certification of the 2020 election.

Trump wrote on his now-deleted Twitter account that the former vice presidentbefore the breach of the Capitoldid not do what should have been done to protect the United States and Constitution.

The Epoch Times has contacted Pences Advancing American Freedom PAC for comment.
CCP Intelligence Recruits US Federal Reserve Economists, Congressional Investigators Reveal

Chinese intelligence has a systematic and well-funded campaign that successfully recruits U.S. Federal Reserve System economists and others to provide sensitive financial information and data in exchange for money and other benefits, according to Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio).

This investigation makes clear that Chinas malign efforts at influence and information theft are not limited to science and technology fields. American economic and monetary policy is also being targeted by the Chinese government, Portman, the top Republican on the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs (HSGAC), said in a statement in conjunction with the release of a new report by congressional investigators.

The investigative report Portman made public on July 26 was prepared by the Republican staff of the Senate panel. The document updates a report on Chinese subversion in the United States released in 2019, when Portman was the committees chairman.

As our investigation reveals, the Chinese government is using every tool at its disposal to infiltrate and steal valuable information, Portman said. We cannot let the American taxpayer continue to unwittingly fund Chinas military and economic rise, which is why our report makes strong recommendations to enhance and protect our Federal Reserve.

This report shows that we cannot make any American taxpayer-funded investment in science, technology, or economic policy without including safeguarding and security protections like my proposed Safeguarding American Innovation Act.

While Portmans proposal has 17 co-sponsors, including a dozen Republicans and five Democrats, the Democratic-controlled HSGAC hasnt held a hearing or otherwise moved to consider the proposal. Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) succeeded Portman as committee chairman in 2021.

This investigation of the U.S. Federal Reserve shows how China has used a variety of tactics to recruit U.S.-based economists to provide China with knowledge and intellectual capital in exchange for monetary gain and other benefits, the report says.

The report says Fed investigators have identified at least 13 individuals within the financial system who represent stark examples of the ways in which the Chinese government has attempted to gain access to sensitive internal information and influence the Federal Reserve.

The investigators, according to the report, dubbed the 13 individuals as the P-Network, and noted they work in eight of the central banks 12 regional banks.

One Federal Reserve Bank employee with sensitive access to Federal Reserve Board data provided modeling code to a Chinese university with ties to the Peoples Bank of China (PBOC). Another Federal Reserve Bank employee attempted to transfer large volumes of data from the Federal Reserve to an external on at least two occasions, the report says.

Another Fed employee was forcibly detained while in China on four occasions, and he and his family members were threatened with imprisonment if he didnt cooperate, the report says.

Yet another Federal Reserve employee, when confronted by investigators with concerns about his activities with Chinese individuals and programs, changed his email addresses and began using an encrypted communication channel, according to the report.

Investigators even found a Fed employee who regularly communicates with officials within Chinas Xinhua News Agency, which is notorious for being a tool of the Beijing regimes international spying efforts.

In addition, the report found that a number of Federal Reserve employees have maintained close ties for years to Chinese academic organizations known to be affiliated with Chinas Thousand Talents Program, which is central to the Chinese Communist Partys (CCP) subversion campaign aimed at the United States and other Western nations.

Investigators also found that another employee working for a Fed bank had been searching for articles relating to individuals who had been arrested for economic espionage and lying about providing intelligence agents with confidential information in exchange for financial compensation, the report says. The individual used xijinping as a password.

The report says the situation is complicated by the Federal Reserves lack of sufficient counter-intelligence resources to deal effectively with the Chinese attack.

Despite the long-running and brazen acts by Chinese officials and certain Federal Reserve employees, the investigation found the Federal Reserve unable to counter this threat effectively, the report says. Compounding this was a lack of internal counter-intelligence competency at the Federal Reserve or sufficient ongoing cooperation with federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies.

After the HSGAC investigation was initiated, Fed officials implemented a new requirement barring employees from accepting any compensation from any country of concern, including China, according to the report.

But there are still serious gaps in the Federal Reserves defenses, with a result that China still has an open avenue to disrupt the integrity of the American financial system and jeopardizing American national security, the report says.

Despite having an internal program to protect the security of data used in the Federal Reserves most significant financial decision making, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) that sets economic policies, the report says only one of the 13 individuals identified as having links to or being influenced by the Chinese subversion effort has had data access withdrawn.

The remaining 12 Federal Reserve employees, including those suspected of sharing sensitive data, are still able to access FOMC information.

I am concerned by the threat to the Fed and hope our investigation, which is based on the Feds own documents and corresponds with assessments and recommendations made by the FBI, wakes the Fed up to the broad threat from China to our monetary policy. The risk is clear, I urge the FBI and the Fed to do more to counter this threat from one of our foremost foreign adversaries, Portman told a group of journalists given an advance briefing on the report on July 25.

Portman is retiring from the Senate at the end of his current term in January 2023.
Preferred Pronouns and More: What I Saw at a Teachers Union Convention

Commentary

As a teacher, I attended the recent National Education Association convention, and my worst fears were confirmed.

Public schools are no longer a safe place for families who hold traditional values or for families who believe gender (as in malefemale binary) is biologically determined.

It also was evident that the teachers union is a lobbying arm of the Democratic Party.

The NEA seems to think that there are many gender options, and thats why teachers and students must always address themselves with their preferred pronouns. It thinks this pronoun practice is essential and will create a more inclusive society.

That was demonstrated firsthand when each state delegate who spoke during the three-day convention from July 4 to July 6 was encouraged to state his or her name and preferred pronouns before addressing the assembly.

The pronouns I heard were he, she, theyand hex. One delegate even announced they had a uterus before addressing the assembly, apparently because that was something we all needed to know.

In the teachers unions preamble, it reads, NEA is to be the national voice for education managed by and for the public good, to advance the cause for ALL individuals.

However, as I read the 70 new business items and 40 amendments to bylaws, legislation, and resolutions and listened to the platform speeches, it was obvious the NEA only represents those who hold the same ideologies and radical leftist political views.

From what I observed, the NEAs goal is for public education to be a training ground for political activism while demonizing anyoneincluding students and their familieswho doesnt share those same political and sociological beliefs.

The NEA doesnt want public education to be neutral ground in developing critical thinkers with an emphasis on academic achievement.

Its priorities were apparent, because of the 110 motions discussed and voted on, only four remotely addressed student academic achievement. Those four dealt with student financial literacy and resources for English learners and language acquisition.

Nearly half of the motions dealt with identity politics, social justice, and ways to promote the goals of the Democratic Party.

Some examples included broad-brushing police as biased and corrupt; mocking the Second Amendment as a societal harm; fighting for preferential treatment for any and all groups considered marginalized, especially nonconforming genders and infinite sexual identities; fighting misinformation in the media (that is, any media outlets that dont agree with their views); increasing abortion rights; adding seats to the Supreme Court; and advocating for more queer representation on school boards.

Some other outlier items addressed environmental issues, hiring illegal immigrants as teachers, funding research concerning autism as it relates to gender identity, and funding global feeding programs.

Close to 40 percent of the motions were related to protecting teachers jobs and increasing their benefits and their right to be social justice cadres.

Although the NEA says it fights for nondiscrimination and civil rights, the only state delegates able to attend the Chicago event in person were those who were fully vaccinated. Any teachers who didnt have vaccination cards could only attend virtually, regardless of whether they tested negative for COVID-19 or their reasons for not getting the vaccine.

The vaccinated delegates, who attended in person, had all their expenses paid by their union local, while unvaccinated teachers were excluded and stigmatized as a harm to attendees. For a group that screams My body, my choice, the double standard is appalling.

On a positive note, the NEA voted down a new business item trying to mandate that all teachers in the nation be vaccinated. It lost, with 84 percent of the vote opposing.

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at the National Education Association 2022 Annual Meeting and Representative Assembly at the McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago on July 5, 2022. (Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP via Getty Images)

Vice President Kamala Harris addressed the gathering on July 5 and repeatedly called Republican leaders in Washington extremists.

The NEAs executive director, Kim Anderson, said that the Supreme Court has removed the right to marry someone of a different race. (Thats flat-out false.)

This Supreme Court and a significant number of radicalized elected officials have walked away from freedom for all for an extreme discriminatory, exclusionary, misogynist, homophobic, out of touch, racist, cruel, corrupt ideology! Anderson said.

I spoke up during a debate opposing a new business item to create a smear list of organizations seeking to dismantle public education due to diminishing freedoms of sexual and gender identities and honest education (a smokescreen for critical race theory).

This was my virtual statement:

I, Brenda Lebsack, oppose [new business item] 15. NEA says they strive for a safe school climate for all, yet forget that, according to the 2021 Pew Research, 56 percent of Americans believe gender is based on biological reality. NEA does not believe this. NEA believes that a child can choose their gender based on their feelings and that there are infinite options and pronouns. How can public schools be a safe place for all students, when NEA leaders demonize over half of the families represented in our public schools?

If NEA creates a fact sheet of the organizations dismantling public education, please include NEA on that list.

As founder of the Interfaith Statewide Coalition and a teacher in California, I can tell you that many orthodox Muslims, Jews, Catholics, and Christians no longer feel public schools are a safe place.

Your social justice goals to assault family cultures that do not match your own, and to use public education to propagate extremist views, is wrong. This is an abuse of power. Thats why I, as a teacher, support parent rights and school choice.

I was tempted to state my preferred pronouns as Com, U, and Nism, but I resisted the urge to do so.

In conclusion, with respect to almost everything the NEA accuses others of doing, its one of the biggest offenders.

The United States is in desperate need of educational reform because this powerful union, the National Education Association, is using teachers and students as its political pawns.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Members of the National Guard patrol the area outside of the U.S. Capitol during the impeachment trial of former president Donald Trump at the Capitol in Washington on Feb. 10, 2021. (Jose Luis Magana/AP Photo)

Trump Authorized National Guard for Jan. 6 but Congress, DC Didnt Request Its Use, Former Aide Says

Under the law, a president can't order domestic deployment of Guard; local officials must request it

A claim by the vice chair of the House Jan. 6 Select Committee that President Donald Trump didnt order the use of National Guard troops in the District of Columbia on Jan. 6, 2021, is true because that would have been a violation of the law, former Pentagon chief of staff Kash Patel says.

Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) told Fox News Bret Baier that Trump never issued any order to deploy the National Guard to protect the Capitol.

Patel said that Trump authorized up to 20,000 National Guard troops for use in D.C. or elsewhere on Jan. 6, 2021, but the use of those troops was later rejected by D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and the U.S. Capitol Police.

Under the law, the president cant order the deployment of the military for use inside the United States, Patel said. At the time of the Jan. 6, 2021, unrest, Patel was chief of staff for Acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller.

She knows the truth45 [Trump] authorized the National Guard days before Jan. 6, and Pelosi and Bowser rejected it, Patel told The Epoch Times. Cheney knows its unconstitutional for any president to ever order the military to deploy domestically. He may only authorize their use, then there must be a request.

In the new documentary, The Real Story of Jan. 6, Kash Patel, former chief of staff for the U.S. secretary of defense, said National Guard troops were rejected by Capitol Police and the D.C. mayor. (Screenshot/EpochTV)

Read More The Real Story of January 6 | Documentary

By her own quote, she has cleared Trump of the very thing she has accused him of from Day 1an insurrection, Patel said. So, yes, Trump never made that illegal order. He followed the law.

Authorized 20,000 Guard Troops

As Patel explains in the new EpochTV documentary, The Real Story of Jan. 6, Trump authorized as many as 20,000 Guard troops for use on Jan. 6, 2021, during a meeting several days earlier. The offer of troops was rejected by Bowser and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), he said.

Under the 1878 Posse Comitatus Act, the U.S. military cant be used domestically for enforcing laws or keeping order. Part-time citizen-soldiers can only be used under certain conditions.

The Supreme Court said two things must happen, said Patel, the host of Kashs Corner on EpochTV. One: the President of the United States has to authorize, not order, the use of the National Guard.

DC Mayor Muriel Bowser rejected President Trumps offer of National Guard troops on January 6 in this letter a day before. (Kash Patel/Screenshot via The Epoch Times)

Once that happens, step two has to happen as well before they can be deployed, he said, and that is a request from the head of state, the governor, or in this case, Mayor Bowser because its Washington, D.C. Or federal law enforcement needs to request the National Guard to be deployed.

If those two things dont happen, then any issuance of the National Guard would be literally unconstitutional.

According to the U.S. Department of Defense Inspector Generals report regarding the events of Jan. 6, 2021, the use of National Guard troops was discussed during a White House meeting on Jan. 3, 2021.

In attendance were Miller, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Gen. Mark Milley, presidential chief of staff Mark Meadows, and Patel.

The President told Mr. Miller that there would be a large number of protestors on January 6, 2021, and Mr. Miller should ensure sufficient National Guard or soldiers would be there to make sure it was a safe event.

Patel said at the end of the meeting that Trump brought up Jan. 6, 2021.

President Trump pivoted and said, basically, Hey, what are you guys doing for securityIm paraphrasing herefor anything that might happen on Jan. 6?

He said, If you need up to 20,000 National Guardsmen and women, not just in Washington, D.C., but anywhere in the country, you have my authorization, Patel recalled.

The Defense Department then took the presidential authorization to the U.S. Capitol Police and Bowser.

Mayor Bowser, in writing, pursuant to her own letter that we released from her, sent to the Department of Defense, declined to issue any more National Guardsmen and women, Patel said.

The same authorization was taken to the Capitol Police, which declined additional National Guard personnel, Patel said.

Official Jan. 6 Timeline

According to the Capitol Polices official Jan. 6, 2021, timeline, the Pentagon contacted USCP on Jan. 2, 2021, to determine whether USCP is considering a request for National Guard soldiers for Jan. 6, 2021, event.

Former President Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla., on Jan. 31, 2022. (The Epoch Times)

A day later, Capitol Police Deputy Chief Sean Gallagher responded that a request for National Guard support is not forthcoming at this time after consultation with COP [chief of police] Sund.

During a June appearance on the Fox News program Hannity, Miller recalled the meeting in which the use of the National Guard was discussed.

The president said while were leaving, Hey, one more thing, and we all sat back down and discussed what was going on on Jan. 6th, Miller said.

The president was doing just what I expect the commander in chief to do, any commander in chief to do. He was looking at the broad threats against the United States and he brought this up on his own. We did not bring it up.
Emile-Antoine Roy-Sirois is shown in a handout photo. A Quebec volunteer fighter has died in Ukraine helping the country fight against the Russian invasion. (The Canadian Press/HO)

Quebecer EMile-Antoine Roy-Sirois, Code Name Beaver, Dies on Front Lines in Ukraine

Emile-Antoine Roy-Sirois, a 31-year-old Quebecer who recently died in Ukraine fighting Russian forces, volunteered on the front lines because he wanted to protect innocent women and children, according to a soldier who fought with him.

Roy-Sirois was an intellectual who cared about humanity, said Blackhawk, a fighter who, for security reasons, would only use a code name in an interview Monday on Instagram.

He was kind and never meant anyone harm. He listened to orders and was brave.

Roy-Sirois died on July 18 after spending about four months fighting in Ukraine, said Blackhawk, who is from Idaho. He died a hero beside his friends trying to transport a wounded American named Luke, code name Skywalker.

The Ukrainian Canadian Congress issued a statement on Monday saying it was saddened to learn about the death of Roy-Sirois.

Mr. Roy-Sirois will be remembered by the Ukrainian people and our community for his selflessness and commitment to the values of liberty and justice that Canada and Ukraine share, the organization said.

The leader of Roy-Siroiss team of fighters in Ukraine said the Quebecer and three other volunteers were killed by a Russian tank shell near Siversk, in the eastern part of the country. Angelwho also wouldnt use his real name for security reasonssaid he felt lucky to have Roy-Sirois as a brother in battle.

We were the only two Canadians who made it to the front lines and stayed, Angel, who is from Saskatchewan, said Monday in an interview on Facebook Messenger. He had the option to leave the front line but stayed. Anyone would be proud of his bravery, and I was lucky enough to have him.

Angel and Blackhawk both described Roy-Sirois as an easygoing, funny guy whose code name was Beaver.

He said there were a lot of beavers in Canada, Blackhawk said.

Global Affairs Canada said in a statement it is aware of the death of a Canadian in Ukraine but did not give details.

By Virginie Ann
Family members who lost a sibling place flowers outside Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on May 25, 2022. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times via TNS)

Robb Elementary School Principal Placed on Leave by Uvalde Officials

The principal of Robb Elementary School in Texas, where a gunman opened fire on students and teachers in May, has been placed on paid administrative leave this week her attorney confirmed.

Mandy Gutierrezs lawyer confirmed the news to multiple outlets on Monday but did not provide any further information as to why his client was placed on leave.

I can confirm that Ms. Gutierrez was placed on Administrative Leave With Pay today by Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Superintendent Hal Harrell, attorney Ricardo Cedillo told The Epoch Times. Ms. Gutierrez has no further comment at this time.

The Epoch Times has contacted Gutierrezs attorney and the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District for comment.

Gutierrez has worked in the Uvalde school district for more than 20 years, starting as a fourth-grade teacher in 2008 before becoming assistant principal in 2018, according to a report on the handling of the shooting massacre which was recently released by the Texas state House of Representatives.

Gutierrez became principal of the school in 2021, according to the report. She is currently not listed in the staff directory on the schools official website.

The report features testimony from Gutierrez, who said the school administration knew prior to the May 24 massacre about security problems in the form of a door that did not lock.

The same door was likely used by the gunman to get into one of the classrooms, the report said, and despite knowing that there were issues with the door, no one placed a written order to have it repaired.

Regrettable Culture Of Noncompliance

There was a regrettable culture of noncompliance by school personnel who frequently propped doors open and deliberately circumvented locks, the report reads. At a minimum, school administrators and school district police tacitly condoned this behavior as they were aware of these unsafe practices and did not treat them as serious infractions requiring immediate correction.

In fact, the school actually suggested circumventing the locks as a solution for the convenience of substitute teachers and others who lacked their own keys, it continues. The school district did not treat the maintenance of doors and locks with appropriate urgency.

The same report also found that there were failures across the board by some of the roughly 400 law enforcement officers who responded to the mass shooting.

Gutierrez is the latest individual linked to the mass shooting to be placed on leave after Lt. Mariano Pargas, who was the acting police chief on duty the day of the incident, was placed on leave last week.

Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin said in a statement that the leave is decided while an investigation takes place into whether Lt. Pargas was responsible for taking command on May 24th, what specific actions Lt. Pargas took to establish that command, and whether it was even feasible, given all the agencies involved and other possible policy violations.

CISD police Chief Pete Arredondo, who was one of the first responders on the scene, was also placed on leave in June amid mounting backlash over his failure not to immediately breach the classroom where the gunman was fatally shooting students at the school.

Nineteen children and two adults were killed in the May 24 massacre at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde
Safari Park Relocating Birds in Response to Avian Flu Outbreak

By Gary Warth

From The San Diego Union-Tribune

ESCONDIDO, Calif.About 120 birds at San Diego Zoo Safari Park were moved to new protected habitats at Safari Park last week and more will be relocated in the next few weeks in response to a highly contagious strain of avian flu that recently was detected in California.

There was a little squabbling here and there, but thats what wed expect, bird curator Andrew Stehly said about the animals reaction to the move, which he said has gone smoothly so far.

The San Diego Zoo and Safari Park had been preparing for the arrival of the Highly Pathogenic Eurasian H5N1 strain of avian influenza since it was detected on the East Coast late last year. The strain has been causing illness and death in a higher diversity of wild bird species than during previous outbreaks and is highly contagious for domestic poultry.

The strain has not been detected in San Diego County, but was found in two Canada geese and one American white pelican this month in Colusa and Glenn counties.

The disease is spread by migratory birds, and the first step in protecting the avian collections at the Zoo and Safari Park has been to remove water fowl from exposed ponds where they might come into contact with infected wild birds. Flamingos at the Zoo were moved from the open pond near the entrance to a covered duck pond earlier this month. Peacocks and peahens that once roamed the Zoo have been moved to an enclosure not open to the public behind the veterinarian hospital.

The sprawling open spaces of Safari Park have been more of a challenge, but officials at the attraction began work on a new habitat for birds about 40 days ago in anticipation of the virus, Stehly said.

Three flamingo feeding pools and one large pelican pool have been installed at the Safari Parks Bird Breeding Center, he said. All the pools are covered, and the park plans to install wire deterrents on top of the covering to prevent wild birds from roosting on it, Stehly said.

Unfortunately for the guests, all of the new habitats will not be visible to the public.

To compensate for the empty spaces, Stehly said the parks horticulture department is looking into adding more plants to the habitats to make them more visually interesting. Signs are being installed to inform guests of the situation.

Nadine Lamberski, chief conservation and wildlife health officer for the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, said migrating Canada geese usually are seen at Safari Park in October and November, so the threat of the H5N1 strain occurring locally is a real concern.

Lamberski said the path of the avian flus spread is perplexing for a number of reasons.

We were kind of anticipating maybe we would see cases in late summer or early fall, but to have them identify in mid-summer makes you scratch your head quite a bit, she said about the avian flus arrival in California.

Because of the time of year the virus was found in California, Lamberski said the infected Canada geese probably were resident rather than migratory birds. But that raises the question of how it arrived in California, she said.

It has everybody confused, she said. If you look at the way it moved across the country, it went east to west and the migratory patterns are usually north to south in the fall and south to north in the spring. So it is a bit perplexing. Why are we having this lateral movement?

Its also unclear how long the virus will remain in an area, although some zoos on the East Coast have reported it already has subsided, she said.

Lamberski likened the uncertainties of the spread to the confusion about COVID-19 in mid-2020. For now, she said, the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliances response will be to take an abundance of caution to protect its birds.

Well certainly learn a lot and well learn as we go, but right now were maintaining the best decisions we can with the available information and doing our best to keep our birds healthy, she said, adding that the outbreak likely will be a topic of discussion at the upcoming Wildlife Disease Association annual conference in Madison, Wisconsin.

At Safari Park, birds are moved early in the day before temperatures rise, and Stehly said the relocations may be complete in about three weeks. About 200 to 300 birds are moved at a time to make the work less stressful on both the birds and the teams capturing them.

After the birds are relocated, Stehly said keepers watch them to ensure they are eating and not stressed by the move. The relocation may be less of an ordeal for water fowl in a pond that is drained once a year, but it could be more stressful to flamingos who were hatched in their habitat and never moved, he said.

Ducks and geese were the first birds to be moved because they were most susceptible to the catching the flu through contact with migratory birds, and eventually all birds except for those already in enclosed aviaries will be moved to new locations, Stehly said.

Nationwide, 40 million cases have been reported in domestic poultry in 37 states, according to data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

2022 The San Diego Union-Tribune. Visit sandiegouniontribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Santa Ana Founder William Spurgeons Fascinating History

The story of William H. Spurgeonthe founder of the city of Santa Ana and one of Orange Countys first supervisorsis a microcosm of the countys dramatic early history.

Spurgeon, known as Uncle Billy, was born on Oct. 10, 1829, in Henry County, Kentucky. In 1830, his parents moved with him to Indiana, and then to Clark County, Missouri, in 1840.

In 1845, his father, Granville, got the 16-year-old a job in a dry goods store, giving him early experience in doing business.

An undated photo of William H. Spurgeon, who was the founder of the City of Santa Ana and served on the Orange County Boards of Supervisors from the 1st District. (Courtesy of Orange County Archives)

At age 23, he moved to the West Coast, where he worked as a rancher, miner, and trade-post operator in Oregon and Californiawhich became a U.S. state two years before, in 1850.

His time in Northern California at the trade post brought several hostile interactions with the local tribe, the Rogue River Indians. He later joined a military campaign against them under General Joseph Lane.

Taking his gold profits with him, he moved in 1856 back to Missouri, where he married Martha Moreland four years later. Unfortunately, after they returned to California in 1864, settling in Solano County, Martha died from an illness four years after setting foot in the Golden State.

Map of Orange County, Calif., 1900. (Courtesy of Orange County Archives)

The following year, he settled in an area southeast of Los Angeles, where he purchased 70 acres from the Yorba Linda family heirs who had established the City of Yorba Linda. There he founded the City of Santa Ana and became its first mayor.

The name was chosen because the land originally was a part of the Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana, with the Santa Ana River nearby.

An undated photo of Santa Ana Canyon and Santa Ana River. (Courtesy of Orange County Archives)

According to a biography about Spurgeon, when in Los Angeles, he met an engineer working for the Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana, who testified to the areas excellent qualities.

Spurgeon laid out plans for the development of Santa Ana and constructed businesses in what is now the northeast corners of Fourth and West streets.

From 1870 to 1879, he was named the citys postmaster at the areas only post office. He also developed roads for the Stage Line running between Anaheim and San Diego, and a stop with a water line to freshen horses.

Exterior view of the Santa Ana Public Library ca. 1910, to which the citys founder, William Spurgeon, donated for its early operation. (Public Domain)

He remarried in 1872 a former Missouri native named Jessie English. Together they had five childrenthree girls and two boys.

He built a house for himself nearby in 1875, until he moved his home and constructed a brick business building in place of the former five years later. The two-story building stretching 137 feet along Fourth Street was known as the Spurgeon Block.

W. Fourth St., Santa Ana, circa 1920. (Courtesy of Orange County Archives)

In 1877, he became a supervisor in Los Angeles County. Then, as a Democrat, he became an Assemblyman for the states 78th District from 1887 to 1889. The committees he served on included those on Irrigation, County and Township Government, and Viticulture.

He pushed for the 1889 separation of Orange County from Los Angeles County. In July 1890, he was elected as the chairman of the new Orange County Board of Supervisors.

The first courthouse and government offices for the County of Orange were rented in Congdon Building at 305 E. 4th Street, near Spurgeon Street in Santa Ana, Calif., in 1895. (Courtesy of Orange County Archives)

Exterior view of the Santa Ana (Orange County) Court House in 1905. (Public Domain)

Spurgeon held stock in the Santa Ana Valley Irrigation Company, where he servedas a director and later the presidentfor eight years. He served as a director of the Santa Ana Land and Improvement Company, the Newport Wharf and Lumber Company, and the Santa Ana & Newport Railroad Company. He also was the president of the First National Bank of Santa Ana.

As a successful businessman and politician, Spurgeon spent his life traveling on trains, mules, and horses. He died in Santa Ana in 1915 and now rests in Fairhaven Memorial Park.

Parade in Santa Ana, Calif., circa 1908. (Courtesy of Orange County Archives)

President Benjamin Harrisons Reception at the Santa Ana Train Station in Santa Ana, Calif., on April 23, 1891. Others in the photo include William H. Spurgeon, Judge J. W. Towner, James McFadden, Assemblyman Charles S. McKelvey, and Postmaster General John Wanamaker. (Courtesy of Orange County Archives)

More than any other city in Orange County, Santa Ana has preserved its historical buildings, especially those from the era of William Spurgeon.

Downtown Santa Ana, Calif., on Dec. 17, 2020. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)
Santa Ana May Allow Illegal Immigrants to Vote in Local Elections

The city council may place the issue on the general election ballot in November

Santa Ana voters may decide in November to allow illegal immigrants to vote in local city elections, after the city council discussed July 19 placing the issue on the General Election ballot.

These are people who pay taxes. These are people who live in our community, City Councilman Ryan Hernandez, who introduced the item, said at a council meeting.

The discussion arose when the city council considered several possible ballot measures at a Tuesday meeting. It received support from Mayor Vicente Sarmiento, and councilors Thai Phan, Jessie Lopez, and Nelida Mendoza.

Councilmen Phil Becerra and David Penaloza were opposed.

Becerra said the issue was introduced at the last minute during the meeting and did not have a chance to undergo a more in-depth discussion by the citys committee that reviews charter changes.

The council has not yet decided to place the issue on the ballot, but it may return for reconsideration on Aug. 2.

If the council votes for it, it will appear as a ballot measure before Santa Ana voters in November.

The mayor said voters are likely to be in favor of Hernandezs idea, as there is a large population of illegal immigrants in the majority-Hispanic city.

More than 82,000 illegal immigrants are estimated to live in Santa Anaabout 26 percent of the citys 310,000 total peopleaccording to 2020 U.S. Census data.

In March 2021, the council made changes to allow illegal immigrants to sit on city boards, committees, and commissions.

If the ballot measure passes, Santa Ana will join San Francisco among others that have allowed illegal immigrants to vote in local elections. New York City passed a similar law, but it was struck down last month by a state Supreme Court judge in a lawsuit that alleged the rule violated the U.S. Constitution.

Aug. 12 is the last day for the city to file ballot measures.
Scientists Are Destroying Our Trust in Science

Commentary

A just-published expose in the journal Science claims that a seminal study on the causes of Alzheimers disease may contain falsified data.

The 2006 report concluded that Alzheimers is caused by a buildup of a certain type of plaque in the braina finding that has guided research into cures for Alzheimers ever since.

But now, critics claim that the original authors appeared to have composed figures by piecing together parts of photos from different experiments, calling their conclusions into significant question.

If true, this is a scientific scandal of the worst order. As the Science article notes, the questionable study strongly influenced the funding of research into treatments, with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) spending $1.6 billion pursuing the plaque hypothesis this fiscal year.

Even worse, if scientific mistakes in the study werent caught during peer review because of data manipulation, it deprived Alzheimers researchers investigating other hypotheses of badly needed funding, perhaps delaying the development of effective treatments.

Falsification of scientific research has been a chronic problem for the sector in recent years. For example, a South Korean researcher committed outright research fraud when, in 2004 and again in 2005, he convinced Sciencethe same publication now exposing the problems with Alzheimers plaque researchthat he had perfected a method of cloning human embryos and had created 11 patient-specific embryonic stem cell lines. Despite peer review, it was all a lie, and eventually the papers were withdrawn.

But those reports had a major political impact, influencing the governments funding of embryonic versus adult stem cell research and affecting political debates around this controversial area of biotechnology. (Experiments to create cloned human embryos eventually succeeded in 2013.)

Of course, not all false studies are fraudulent or based on manipulated data. As in all human endeavors, scientists sometimes make mistakes.

That appears to be the case with long-accepted research showing that clinical depression is caused by a chemical imbalance of serotonin in the brain. But a new, in-depth review of the data reached the startling conclusion that the huge research effort based on the serotonin hypothesis has not produced convincing evidence of a biochemical basis to depression, which serves as the starting point behind many antidepressant medications.

Does that mean that antidepressants dont work? The new study doesnt say. But that crucial question will now requireyou guessed itmore research. Lets hope the correct answer comes quickly as these medications can cause suicidal ideation and other potentially serious side effects.

At this point, many scientists will be screaming that catching fraud and research mistakes is part of the scientific method, which allows questioning ofand challenges toeven the most seemingly settled scientific findings. Thats true, at least in theory.

But lately, that fail-safe process has been increasingly short-circuited by nonscientific ideological or political gamesmanship at the highest levels of the public health and science sectors.

Why, just the other day, former presidential COVID adviser Dr. Deborah Birx admitted that she has known all along that the vaccines wouldnt prevent transmission of the disease. But that isnt what she and the administration said at the time, as she acknowledged in an interview on Fox News.

I knew these vaccines were not going to protect against infection, she told Neal Cavuto. And I think we overplayed the vaccines, and it made people then worry that its not going to protect against severe disease and hospitalization.

But Birxs mendacity by omission led to far worse consequences than that. The falsehood that the jab would prevent the disease became the supposed scientific basis for vaccine mandates both in the public and private sectors.

Indeed, remember President Joe Biden demagoguing by claiming that COVID had become a pandemic of the unvaccinated? I sure do, and because of that, family members turned against each other and friends against friends. I also remember the mass firings past and pending of soldiers, cops, firefighters, medical personnel, and other essential workers who refused the jab.

Perhaps if Birx and her colleagues in the national public health sector had been forthcoming about that issue from the beginning, all that societal discord and personal pain would have been avoided.

Dr. Anthony Fauci engaged in the same kind of gaslighting when he said early in the pandemic that masks werent protective. He now admits that he lied because he wanted to make sure there were enough masks available for medical personnel.

But what justifies Faucis and then-NIH head Francis Collinss dastardly campaign to discredit the authors of the Great Barrington Declaration for daring to question the public health advisability of society-wide lockdowns? Nothing.

Then there was Faucis hubristic claim that criticizing him is anti-science because, I represent science. Good grief, what a failure of leadership.

And lets not forget how blatantly ideologically woke the scientific and medical establishments have become. Today, critical race theory, radical gender ideology, and climate change hysteria are pitched as if they are scientifically settled issueswhich they are not. Indeed, remember the advocacy article in The Lancet calling women bodies with vaginas?

How can we trust the conclusions of scientific studies published about these controversial cultural issues when the journals in which they appear are so clearly biased? Moreover, who among us believes that these journals would publish solid research if the findings cut against the editors ideological grain? I sure dont.

The harm done to science by fraudsters, data manipulation, sloppy peer review, ideological bias, and outright lying by public scientific spokespersons cant be overstated.

Theres only one cure to the current malaise: unremitting and apolitical scientific excellence. Or, to state it more simply: If the public is going to ever trust science again, scientists will have to do a better job being scientists.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
RCMP Chief Superintendent Chris Leather (L), and Assistant Commissioner Lee Bergerman field questions a news conference at RCMP headquarters in Dartmouth, N.S. on April 19, 2020. (The Canadian Press/Andrew Vaughan)

Senior NS Mounties Back Claims Feds Pressured Lucki to Release Gun Details in Mass Killing

A former RCMP assistant commissioner has backed her colleagues claims that Commissioner Brenda Lucki said she was pressured by then-Public Safety Minister Bill Blair and the Prime Ministers Office (PMO) to release details of firearms used in the 2020 mass shooting incident in Nova Scotia to further the Liberal governments gun control legislation.

Lee Bergerman, also the former RCMP Commanding Officer of H Division in Nova Scotia, testified before the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security on July 25, saying that she agrees with the handwritten notes of her subordinate Superintendent Darren Campbell that Lucki had made a promise to Blair and the PMO that the details on firearms would be made public.

So [Lucki] said the pressure was from [Blair] and the Prime Ministers Officethat she had promised them that that information would be releasedand the pressure was a result of it being tied to the forthcoming gun policy from the Liberal government. Is that correct? said Conservative MP Raquel Dancho.

Thats correct, said Bergerman, who retired earlier this year after having served 36 years in the RCMP.

The evidence on Lucki allegedly citing requests from the federal government over releasing the firearms information was contained in documents released by the Mass Casualty Commission in June. The evidence includes the handwritten notes of Campbell and an email letter to Lucki by then strategic communications director Lia Scanlan.

Both documents related to an April 28, 2020, teleconference between Lucki and RCMP H Division.

Lucki and Blair have said there was no political interference in the investigation into the killings.

Disrespected and Disobeyed

Bergerman said shortly after Campbell updated the media on the investigations of the incident on April 28, 2020, she was approached by a visibly upset Scanlan, who told her that Deputy Commissioner Brian Brennan was very mad with the division, and demanded they join the conference call later that day.

We all assembled in my boardroom, and were joined by the commissioner and Deputy Commissioner Brennan and Sharon Tessier from national headquarters and Daniel Brien, she told the committee.

The commissioner started the conversation. It was evident she was very angry at my team, the tone of her voice, and what she said to all of us, made it apparent she was not happy. She felt disrespected and disobeyed.

Nova Scotia RCMP had reportedly pushed back on Luckis directive to release information on firearms to the public, which according to them, could compromise their investigation of the tragedy that left 22 dead on April 18-19, 2020.

Chief Superintendent Chris Leather, director of criminal operations in Nova Scotia, who also attended the teleconference, said he was taken aback by the discussion.

Similar to Bergerman, he testified at the committee that Lucki did reference the impending gun legislation by the Liberal government recorded in Campbells comprehensive and detailed notes.

I would agree with the statements made concerning the minister, the Prime Ministers Office, and the impending gun legislation, Leather said.

Neither Bergerman nor Leather was aware that the Trudeau government planned to announce the ban on 1,500 types of assault-style weapons in Canada on May 1, in the aftermath of the mass killing, they testified.

Differing Views

Lucki said she had provided the government information about what would be shared during the April 28, 2020, press conference on the events.

At that time, I was asked if the information about the weapons would be included. When my communications team told me that it would be, I relayed this information back to Minister Blairs Chief of Staff and the Deputy Minister of Public Safety, she said.

Regarding my use of the word promise during the [April 28] meeting I had with my team following that press conference at that time, and in that context, I was trying to convey that Id already confirmed to the minister that the information about the weapons would be released during the press conference, a confirmation made based on the information I had been provided.

This miscommunication resulted in Lucki providing inaccurate information to her superiors, she said.

I felt I had misinformed the minister and by extension, the prime minister.

Asked by Liberal MP Ken Hardie if there is a possibility that Lucki was unhappy due to a failure in the communication process, rather than a failure to release the details of the firearms, Bergerman said no.

Thats not what was communicated from her during the phone callit was directly related to pressure about the caliber of weapons, and that we didnt understand the big picture of the dynamic here with downtown, and [she] certainly didnt say on the call that she was displeased about our overall communication, Bergerman said.

Tessier, a former director general at National Communication Services, said she remembered Lucki being irritated during the teleconference as the commissioner had told the minister that the RCMP would release the gun details.

But I do not remember [any] talk of pressure or any of the like. I didnt take notes, said Tessier, who retired last November.

Dancho said she found it interesting that the testimonies of officers from RCMP headquarters in Ottawa and RCMP in Nova Scotia differed while noting Tessier worked with headquarters.

So the four individuals from the RCMP in Nova Scotia have a different recollection than Miss Tessier and Commissioner Lucki. I find that very interesting, she said.

Firearms Details Only Allowed Within RCMP

Leather said Lucki contacted him on April 22, 2020, requesting the gun inventorymakes, models, and serial numbersof weapons used in the mass shootings, which prompted him to discuss the matter with the director of RCMPs Serious Incident Response Team (SIRT) the next day.

It was quite clear from our conversation with the SIRT director, that we would be allowed to provide that gun inventory to the commissioner, so long as it was used within the RCMP, and thats it, he said.

That was the agreement and the commitment that we made to the director of SIRT, which I passed along to Miss Bergerman, which presumably went to Ottawa.

Noe Chartier contributed to this report.
Test tubes labelled "Monkeypox virus positive and negative" in a photo illustration taken on May 23, 2022. (Dado Ruvic/Reuters)

Should Not Expect Monkeypox to Stay Within LGBT Population, Senior WHO Officials Warns

A senior official from the World Health Organization (WHO) has forewarned that monkeypox virus infections are likely to spread beyond the LBGT community in a matter of time.

The warning by Dr. Catherine Smallwood, a senior emergency officer at the WHO, comes after the United Nations health agency declared monkeypox a public health emergency of international concernas it did with COVID-19.

It also comes after the Journal of New England Medicine on July 21 published a major peer-reviewed study that found that the virus is primarily being transmitted through the sexual activity of gay and bisexual men.

Smallwood noted that public health officials are paying attention to the progression of monkeypox as an emerging virus outbreak that began in the LGBT community among gay and bisexual men.

Until the spring of 2022, monkeypox was endemic to Africa, where it was mostly spread by animals. But for the first time, the virus is spreading among gay and bisexual men in over 75 countries and territories, with over 16,000 infections and five deaths.

At the moment cases continue to be reported among men who have sex with men, for the most part. But we should not expect that to remain such, Smallwood said in an interview with CNBC.

It may be that this particular population group, as it is for any new disease spreading, it starts in one community or it starts in one setting, and then it might spread.

Smallwood said the progression of monkeypox really might be the canary in the mine alerting the world to a new disease threat that could spread from the LGBT community to other population groups.

If that happens, she said that monkeypox could have an increased public health impact, particularly for groups that a prone to more severe illness.

Most recently, two cases have been reported in a toddler and an infant in the United States, both of whom come from households with adults who are part of the gay mens community, according to an official from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

WHO Declared Monkeypox a Global Health Emergency

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared the virus a global health emergency on July 23, prompted by the global growth in monkeypox cases.

I have decided that the global monkeypox outbreak represents a public health emergency of international concern, Ghebreyesus said in a statement.

Ghebreyesus announced his decision after a meeting of independent experts on the WHOs Emergency Committee.

The WHO experts previously convened in June but did not reach a consensus on whether monkeypox met the criteria for a public health emergency of international concern. At the time, there were 3,040 cases in 47 countries.

At the reconvened meeting on July 21, the experts once again failed to reach a consensus, but Ghebreyesus made the final call, noting that the outbreak has spread rapidly around the world in a way that it has never before.

I thank the Emergency Committee for its deliberations and advice. I know this has not been an easy or straightforward process, and that there are divergent views among the members, he said.

Primarily Transmitted Sexually by Gay and Bisexual Men: Study

Although disease experts and officials from the CDC dont consider monkeypox a sexually transmitted infection, a major peer-review study has found that it is primarily being transmitted through the sexual activity of men who have sex with men.

The Journal of New England Medicines study reported on 528 infections diagnosed between April 27 and June 24, of which 98 percent were in gay or bisexual men. Of these cases, 95 percent of the infections were suspected to have been transmitted through sexual activity. Of this group, 41 percent also had HIV.

The initial outbreak in Europe was linked to large-scale LGBT events in Spain and Belgium, with the leading theory among disease experts being that the monkeypox virus was sexually transmitted at those events.

An uptick in recent U.S. cases suggests transmission occurred at the tail end of Pride Month in late June and early July, based on the study finding that incubation is between three and 20 days (usually seven days).

The CDC acknowledged the possibility of spread during U.S. LGBT events in June, but was hesitant to recommend canceling them, opting instead to target messages to the population group via the health sector.

Dr. Paul Alexander, a former Trump administration health official and researcher, has said the CDC should have done more and sooner.

All this needed was leadership saying no skin to skin contact, no anal sex, no sex, none for a few weeks and we would have helped this high risk group, but no, its political games and now the low-risk general heterosexual population is at risk especially from bisexual males, Alexander wrote in a blog post.
People wait in line to check in at Pearson International Airport in Toronto on May 12, 2022. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press)

Six More Nations Added to CDCs High Risk COVID-19 Travel Category

In its latest update to COVID-19 travel recommendations, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has added six countries to its list of level three high risk nations.

The July 25 update added Bangladesh, Bosnia and Herzegovina, El Salvador, Fiji, Honduras, and Poland to the high risk category.

The CDC has now added 18 nations in total to the high risk list during the month of July. The other 12 nations added in that period are Colombia, Iraq, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Paraguay, Bolivia, Lebanon, Peru, Tunisia, Guatemala, Morocco, and Sweden.

The CDC updated its COVID-19 travel health notice system on April 18, reserving level four for special circumstances, such as rapidly escalating case trajectory or extremely high case counts, emergence of a new variant of concern, and healthcare infrastructure collapse, the agency stated.

Levels one through three will still be primarily determined by 28-day incidence or case counts, the CDC said.

In level three, travelers are advised to be up-to-date with their COVID-19 vaccines before traveling.

Although the CDC recommends COVID-19 vaccination, several studies have pointed to harmful side effects from the injections. One study found increased menstrual bleeding among women. Other research points to COVID-19 shots temporarily impairing semen concentration and motility in men.

International Travel from the United States

International travel from the United States took a significant hit during the COVID-19 pandemic, but its recovered to a good extent in recent months.

According to a July 20 article by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), U.S. outbound flight bookings have grown 35 percent year-over-year compared to 2021.

Bookings have nearly reached pre-pandemic levels and are just 5 percent short of the 2019 numbers. The top destinations for American travelers are Canada, Mexico, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the Dominican Republic.

The good news is the Travel & Tourism sector is resilient and sensible border-crossing policies and reduced restrictions are helping to fuel the sectors recovery. But more international travel is key to ensuring the pace and scale of full recovery, said Julia Simpson, president and CEO of the WTTC, in a news release.

In February 2022, the WTTC predicted that the U.S. travel and tourism industry could rebound to almost $2 trillion worth of GDP contribution, exceeding pre-pandemic levels by 6.2 percent.
Suspected Gunmans Motive in Iowa Park Killings a Mystery

The question at the center of an investigation into the killings of three family membersincluding a 6-year-old girlat an eastern Iowa state park campground is: Why?

Its a question that, so far, investigators havent been able to answer as they look for any connection between the family and the suspected shooter. They have uncovered little to establish a motive, noting they have not turned up any connection between Anthony Sherwin and those investigators say he killed.

What police have said is that Sherwin, 23, of the Omaha suburb of La Vista, had no criminal history prior to the attack, and investigators said he appeared to target the victims at random. The mans parents, who had been camping with their son, expressed incomprehension that he would carry out such an attack.

The shooting happened early Friday morning, when the victims from Cedar Falls, Iowa, were found shot to death in their tent at the Maquoketa Caves State Park Campground, about 180 miles east of Des Moines. Police have said Tyler Schmidt, 42; his 42-year-old wife, Sarah Schmidt; and their 6-year-old daughter, Lula Schmidt, all died in the attack.

Tyler Schmidt (L) and his wife Sarah pose with their son Arlo and daughter Lula (R) while hiking near Cedar Falls, Iowa, in 2022. (Courtesy of the Schmidt and Morehead families via AP)

The couples 9-year-old son, Arlo, survived the attack without physical injury, but police have not said whether he was in the tent when the shootings happened. Mitch Mortvedt, assistant director of the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, said Monday that investigators have spoken to the boy, but declined to reveal what the child said.

At this time, theres been nothing discovered as far as anything that precipitated the attack at the campground, Mortvedt said.

Sherwins parents had suggested that he might have heard the shots and grabbed a firearm in the familys vehicle for self-protection, but Mortvedt discounted that theory.

Without getting into the fine details of it, with everything that we have learned, we are confident that everything we have reported is how it played out and that he is responsible, Mortvedt said.

Autopsies on the Schmidts and Sherwin began Sunday and were continuing on Monday, Mortvedt said.

The La Vista Police Department in Nebraska released records Monday showing that it had only one prior contact with Sherwin, when he walked into a police station in July 2017 to report someone had tried to use his insurance to get dental work done in Oklahoma. Sherwin later called police to inform them his insurance company had mistakenly sent him someone elses bill.

An Iowa State Patrolman walks past a Maquoketa Caves State Park sign as police investigate a shooting that left several people dead, in Maquoketa, Iowa, on July 22, 2022. (Nikos Frazier/Quad City Times via AP)

Sherwins mother, Cecilia Sherwin, in a statement emailed to The Associated Press described her son as kind, sensitive, an exceptional student, and an aspiring businessman.

We just arrived home and are trying to absorb the loss of our son and arriving home without him which is unfathomable, she said. I didnt think we had any tears left, but we still find ourselves breaking down and care deeply for the little boy and the loss of his family.

By Ryan J. Foley and Margery A. Beck
Tasmanias Premier Jeremy Rockliff at a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, on June 17, 2022. (AAP Image/Mick Tsikas)

Tasmanian Liberal Government Loses Fourth Cabinet Member in 2022

Tasmanias Police Minister Jacquie Petrusma has become the fourth cabinet member departing from the states Liberal government in 2022 after resigning from the parliament due to personal reasons.

Premier Jeremy Rockliff made the announcement on July 25 on behalf of the police minister as she is currently on leave.

She has been an enormously dedicated member of my team. I will miss her. Jacquie has been a great friend to me, he told reporters.

This is Jacquies personal decision. She has reflected on her 12 years in parliament and has every right to come to that decision to spend more time with her family.

The Tasmanian cabinet has lost four members so far in 2022, with education minister Sarah Courtney the first to quit politics in February for family reasons.

Shortly after that, Minister for Disability Services Jane Howlett resigned from her position on Feb. 25, following her brothers death. And in April, then-premier Peter Gutwein stepped down after two decades in politics.

The departures of cabinet members has come one after another since the Liberty party won the state election in May 2021.

A year later, Rockliff announced plans to raise the number of Tasmanias lower house members from 25 to 35, citing concerns over MP workloads.

Its a tough gig being a member of parliament, and its a tough gig being a minister, he said. That comes with sacrifice, and families wear the brunt of that sacrifice.

Recount To Be Held

Meanwhile, the Tasmanian Electoral Commission will organise a recount in Petrusmas electorate of Franklin from Aug. 15, and a Liberal candidate will likely take over her seat.

In addition, the scheduled resumption of the state parliament on Aug. 9 could be postponed, given the Liberal government currently holds a one-seat majority in the lower house.

Petrusma, who held the police, fire and emergency management, prevention of family violence and parks portfolios, said in a statement that resigning was challenging for her.

As a victim-survivor of family and sexual violence, responding to and the prevention of family and sexual violence was one of the strongest motivations for me becoming an MP, she said.

I will continue to be a strong advocate  to help drive further actions and change in attitudes and behaviours to eliminate family and sexual violence in Tasmania.

Tasmanias youngest parliamentarian Felix Ellis will replace Petrusma in cabinet and take over the police, fire and emergency management portfolio, while Petrusmas other duties have been allocated elsewhere.
SpaceX owner and Tesla CEO Elon Musk grimaces after arriving on the red carpet for the Axel Springer award in Berlin, Germany, on Dec. 1, 2020. (Hannibal Hanschke/Reuters)

4 Potential Outcomes of the Twitter Versus Musk Trial

News Analysis

What started off as a 9.2 percent stake in Twitter this past spring has turned into a litigious affair between billionaire Elon Musk and the social media giant.

The Tesla and SpaceX CEO decided to terminate his $44 billion agreement to acquire Twitter based on the issue of bots, alleging that the company is misrepresenting the number of fake accounts on the social media platform. But Twitter has accused Musk of breaching the obligations of the merger agreement, filing a lawsuit that could force Musk to complete his purchase of the San Francisco-based tech firm.

The corporate dispute has been expedited to a Delaware court for five days in October. Musk had requested two weeks in February, arguing that there was no need to rush a trial. But Chancery Court Chief Judge Kathaleen St. J. McCormick wasnt convinced of that delay, arguing that the battle was creating a cloud of uncertainty and that continued delays threaten imminent harm to the business.

With the case occurring this fall, which Musk attorney Andrew Rossman calls a warp speed trial, there is plenty of speculation on what could happen.

Legal experts contend that the most likely outcome is that the two sides will settle and reach an agreement at a lower price because that would be more beneficial for shareholders. For now, Musk is the only person interested in buying the social network. Therefore, his takeover bid is only competing with the market value, so he may have more to gain by threatening to walk away from the deal, some attorneys assert.

But what are some of the other potential outcomes?

The Next Stage in the MuskTwitter Saga

Francis Pileggi, the managing partner at the Wilmington office of law firm Lewis Brisbois, told The Epoch Times that there could be plenty of developments in this case. One of these scenarios is that the court will decide that Musk is justified in walking away from his takeover bid.

Just to give you a hypothetical: If it turns out that instead of 5 percent, its 45 percent, or 50 percent of all accounts are bots, that would be a game-changer, he said.

Another situation could see the judge concluding that the agreement must be enforced, and requiring Musk to finish the transaction. That would be based on a precedent from more than 20 years ago, when a judge ruled that Tyson Foods had to complete its acquisition of meatpacker IBP, Pileggi noted.

A Delaware Chancery Court ruled in June 2001 that Tyson improperly terminated the $30-a-share merger, despite the food company claiming that it received misleading financial information from IBP.

A third scenario: Musk wont be forced to buy Twitter, although he could be mandated to pay some money in damages for any losses suffered by the tech firm.

Whenever you go to court, almost anything is possible, Pileggi said, adding that the odds of Musk and Twitter reaching a settlement are high.

But this could be the first of many lawsuits, according to Dale Saran, the former CrossFit general council who helped that company avoid a corporate takeover.

Saran said he wouldnt be surprised if Musk filed a shareholder derivative lawsuit. Thats when a lawsuit is established by a shareholder on behalf of the corporation against the companys directors or officers.

I have no doubt that hes got an army of attorneys who have already looked into this, and it seems to me hes been a step ahead of Twitter at every turn, and I dont doubt that hes headed up now and already booked down this road, Saran told The Epoch Times.

He also noted that there is a lot of opportunity to prove that the owner had been engaged in immense fraud.

And thats really, to me, where its likely to churn. Were going to see a lot of twists and turns and a lot of PR being done, on whose fault and all that, he added. But it wouldnt shock me to see this eventually trend the way of shareholder derivative lawsuits based on discovery that comes up in this case.

Will Musk Lose?

Domenic Romano, the founder and managing partner of Romano Law, thinks Musk will ultimately lose the case, telling The Epoch Times that the Delaware court has already stated that buyers remorse is not grounds to back out of a deal, referring to the TysonIBP case.

The [court] wants him to come up with or prove some kind of evidence that he [Musk] was materially misled and that whatever the number it was, which is the best argument, really his only argument here, is significantly greater than what Twitter is reporting, he said.

He believes, too, that the court will rule that Musk must either buy the company or pay an amount of money that is more than the $1 billion termination fee.

At the same time, Delaware courts also have encouraged settlements or renegotiations of buyout prices, said Rita Mkrtchyan, a senior attorney at Oak View Law Group. In 2020, for example, LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton purchased Tiffany & Co. at the discounted price of $131.50 per share, down from $135.

If Twitter renegotiates its acquisition price or accepts a breakup fee, it could lead to additional legal strife among shareholders.

Shareholders may sue over either situation if Twitter agrees to further reduce its acquisition price, Mkrtchyan told The Epoch Times. If it comes down to it, as a legal strategy, it may be smarter for Twitter to request the court to renegotiate a deal as a layered form of protection from shareholders.

A Coin Flip

Twitter shares have come under tremendous pressure as investors doubt that Musk will become the owner of the social media giant.

The stock has erased all of its postMusk gains, with shares down about 9 percent year to date.

According to MarketBeat, Twitter maintains a consensus hold rating and a price target of $43.01.

Yet many Wall Street firms have downgraded their outlooks for the company. Most notably, investment bank Cowen on July 25 slashed its price target to $22 from $38. Robert W. Baird cut its target to $33 and established a neutral rating. Mizuho trimmed its price objective to $35, with a neutral rating.

Jason Moser, an adviser and market analyst at The Motley Fool, says that the downgrades are justified because the fundamentally challenged company has become uninvestable.

At this point, youre basically flipping a coin as to whether this acquisition happens or not, he told The Epoch Times.

With the stock trading at around $39 as of July 26, shareholders would enjoy immense gains if the $54.20-a-share acquisition goes through, he noted.

Literally, theres money to be made there. But whether that actually is the case or not is completely out of anyones controlright? Moser added. It doesnt matter how the business performs. Its ultimately going to come down to a judges decision.

Until the case is resolved, investors have been monitoring quarterly results.

In the second quarter, Twitter reported a loss of 8 cents per share, compared to the market estimate of earnings of 14 cents. Revenue slipped 1 percent year over year to $1.18 billion, while monetizable daily active users jumped to 237.8 million.

While Twitters user base grew impressively during the quarter, the resulting higher ad inventory did not attract more advertisers or higher bids, which we suspect is mainly due to the ongoing questions regarding who will be at the helm of Twitter once the legal battles are settled, Ali Mogharabi, a senior equity analyst at Morningstar, wrote in a note.

In addition, the impact of Apples policies and uncertainty surrounding the macro-environment further made advertisers hesitant. With advertiser pullback a bit more than we had anticipated, we lowered our top- and bottom-line projections, resulting in a $44 standalone fair value estimate (below our previous estimate of $47), given significant uncertainty surrounding the potential outcome of the Twitter and Musk legal battles.

Andrew Moran Follow Andrew Moran covers business, economics, and finance. He has been a writer and reporter for more than a decade in Toronto, with bylines on Liberty Nation, Digital Journal, and Career Addict. He is also the author of "The War on Cash."
The Small Print That Destroyed America

Commentary

In a maddening interview yesterday, Anthony Fauci performed his usual song and dance when faced with even the most mild questioning. He stonewalled in his trademarked way.

He spoke in long, drawn-out sentences, emphasizing the word consonants, punctuated by pauses and silences that convey the sense of precision without the reality. He strung together terms that seem vaguely scientific which intimidated his interviewers into an overly cautious pose.

Oh wow, Im interviewing a very powerful person, the interviewer thinks, so I had better not say anything wrong!

Hes been pulling this trick for 40 years. He is very good at it.

In this interview, several messages stands out: 1) in retrospect, we should have locked down even more, 2) he never pushed lockdowns; he was only passing on CDC guidance, and 3) he is utterly and completely blameless for all things, particularly in funding gain-of-function research which, in any case, is not responsible for the creation of the virus in Wuhan.

The first part is startling because many of us have had the sense that lockdowns are in disrepute. Far from it: Faucis message is that next time, the lockdowns will be harder and longer. And there certainly will be more. The third part I feel sure will be revealed in time. The fear that the virus escaped from the lab is likely what drove the lockdowns agenda.

What intrigues me the most is the second part, the claim that he never ordered lockdowns. This was the CDC and he only served as messenger. Everyone else is to blame for anything that went wrong.

In a second interview the same day, Fauci says this explicitly: All I have ever done, if you go back and look at everything Ive ever done, was to recommend common-sense, good CDC-recommended public health policies that have saved millions of lives. If you want to investigate me for that, go ahead.

Im going back to the March 16, 2020, press conference at which Fauci, Deborah Birx, and Donald Trump are announcing a fundamental change of life in the United States, one that would disregard all normal rights and liberties. Its not entirely clear, to me in any case, that Trump knew what was happening even then. He had a sense that he was doing something to stop the spread but he didnt know entirely what.

This has always puzzled me. Its one thing for him to be hornswoggled into greenlighting the destruction of the economy that was booming and roaring under his administration. Thats bad enough. But to be confused even about the details of what he was ordering that day is next-level stuff.

The following exchange occurred that day. Trump is asked whether restaurants and other venues should close. Trump responds: Right now we dont have an order one way or the other. We dont have an order, but I think its probably better that you dont [go to restaurants].

From that, I gather that Trump believed that he was not forcing anything on anyone.

A reporter asks for a clarification: Telling people to avoid restaurants and bars is a different thing than saying that bars and restaurants should shut down over the next 15 days. So why was it seen as being imprudent or not necessarily to take that additional step offered at additional guidance?

At this point, Trump demurs and turns over the microphone to Deborah Birx, who must not have been paying attention and says something vague about the virus living on hard surfaces.

At this point, Fauci interrupts and says: I just want, theres an answer to this.

Fauci says the following: The small print here. Its really small print. In states with evidence of community transmission, bars, restaurants, food courts, gyms and other indoor and outdoor venues where groups of people congregate should be closed.

This was obviously a very startling thing to sayit means the end of regular lifebut it is not clear that Trump was paying attention. A reporter asked a follow-up question. So Mr. President, are you telling governors in those states then to close all their restaurants and their bars?

Trump says: Well we havent said that yet  were recommending things. No, we havent gone to that step yet. That could happen, but we havent gone there yet.

I take from this exchange that Trump did not believe that he was calling for lockdowns. However, he believed that he might. And yet Fauci himself had just read from the CDC guidelines that called for exactly that.

Curious, I looked up the guidelines to which Fauci referred. It is a two-page PDF that was sent all over the country, the one labeled 15 Days to Flatten the Curve.

They are here reproduced in graphic form:

The only part that truly matters is the section with a black background with white print, the part that looks like boilerplate fluff. It was not. It was the scraping of freedom itself.

As he demonstrated at the press conference, Fauci knew this fine print was there. He might even have been the one to make sure it was there and that it was too small for Trump to read. No question that Trump had no idea that it was there. He makes clear in the press conference that he didnt know it was there. Even after Fauci highlighted its existence, Trump remained oblivious.

What does the fine print say? Its the full loaf: lockdown.

School operations can accelerate the spread of the coronavirus. Governors of states with evidence of community transmission should close schools in affected and surrounding areas. Governors should close schools in communities that are near areas of community transmission, even if those areas are in neighboring states. In addition, state and local officials should close schools where coronavirus has been identified in the population associated with the school. States and localities that close schools need to address childcare needs of critical responders, as well as the nutritional needs of children.

Older people are particularly at risk from the coronavirus. All states should follow Federal guidance and halt social visits to nursing homes and retirement and long-term care facilities.

In states with evidence of community transmission, bars, restaurants, food courts, gyms, and other indoor and outdoor venues where groups of people congregate should be closed.

Consider the implications of this. Your mother is in the nursing home that you are paying for. But now you are even banned by the government from visiting. Its an utterly shocking violation of human rights. You are deploying the state to separate families, as in a dystopian novel. Its a death sentence.

As for schools, astounding. There was never any evidence that schools spread death and, in any case, we already knew that the risk of COVID to kids is near zero. Sweden never closed schools and not a single death resulted. And yet in the United States, the kids were denied education and likely traumatized for life.

As for the last sentence banning all gatheringssports, weddings, funerals, gyms, mallsand completely wrecking all enterprise, this is an edict worthy of historys most horrible despots in the annals of history.

And it was all buried right there in tiny print, so small the president of the United States didnt even read it. Whats more, no one in his inner circle at the time read it. Surely, Fauci and Birx knew it was there. Any reporter in the room could have read it. It was only a few sentences but they overrode the U.S. Constitution, all American law, plus 500 years of progress in rights and liberties. And it came to America in small print!

What happened then? State health departments took the two-pager and rendered the small print into larger print. Here is a screen shot of the order from the state of Georgia.

The small print quickly became the large print that transformed life for everyone. You think there was no plot here? That this was just some mistake that somehow caused the end of America to be buried in the fine print? Wise up. This is a level of malice that is truly boundless.

As for Deborah Birx, she admits later in her book that the idea of 15 Days was always a trick. No sooner had we convinced the Trump administration to implement our version of a two-week shutdown than I was trying to figure out how to extend it, she admits.

This was how the chaos in American life began: in small print. Very quickly, this small print was extended to the entire world. And then extended to two years. And now we face a devastating economic, cultural, and political crisis. The population is demoralized and hope is nearly lost.

Who to blame? Anthony Faucis fingerprints are all over this sadistic caper, but he denies having anything to do with it.

Its our fault, he says: We didnt read the fine print.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Archbishop Charles Balvo celebrates the Opening Mass of the Second Assembly of the Plenary Council from Mary MacKillop Memorial Chapel in Sydney, Australia, on July 3, 2022. (Screenshot via The Epoch Times)

The Witch of Endor

Commentary

If you have a theoretical interest in Christianity, you should watch a video of the Australian Catholic Churchs Plenary Mass on July 3.

The service doesnt actually begin for about seven minutes of the video (it was poorly edited), and the first 10 minutes thereafter are devoted to the Aboriginal smoking ceremony, a reported religious practice dating back to the 70s. It is accompanied by the evocative music of the didgeridoo.

Much more importantly, and of enormous theological significance, what follows is an invocation of male and female spirits by a woman who is introduced as an elder of the indigenous community.

Rituals Forbidden in Christian Church

The invocation of spirits is and always has been strictly forbidden by the whole Christian church.

The clearest early manifestation of this prohibition is found in the Bible, in the First Book of Samuel, where King Saul secretly consults a witch at Endor, having previously forbidden his subjects to engage in any form of necromancy. This deceit on Sauls part leads to his own downfall and suicide. Such a practice has always been regarded, in both Judaism and Christianity, as an insult to God.

The inclusion of this ritual at the start of the Plenary Mass was completely inappropriate, without intellectual content or integrity.

It should never have taken place within a Christian Church. The fact that it did, and that it did so as a sort of preface to the Eucharist, and in the presence of a high proportion of the bishops, is almost beggars belief. You couldnt make it up.

Its a sorry fact, however, that in todays Church, such an absurd folly is all too easily believable. The Australian church, like so many others in the West, has lost its way.

Saul and the Witch of Endor by Master of Otto van Moerdrecht, 15th century. (Public domain via Wikimedia Commons)

There are some good grounds for taking heart. As I write this, fewer than 5,000 people have watched the clip. It has therefore been viewed by a tiny proportion of the nations practising Catholics, an even tinier proportion of the nominal ones, and a vanishingly small number of their non-Catholic fellow citizens.

As an item of news, it ranks with small town fetes and minor folk festivals and well below even the most trivial localised sporting event in our sports-mad country.

So really, on the larger scale of things, the deliberations of the Plenary dont carry much weight. The delegates oh-so-predictable apologies to all the usual victims (predictably right at the top of the agenda) will contribute nothing to the unity and harmony of the nation, but neither will they further weaken its social fabric.

Indigenous Australians and the Church

As Australia advances in maturityif not always in wisdomthat sad old woke company of baby boomers, rusted into the fancies of the 70s, is fast fading into insignificance and oblivion.

I do not question the personal integrity of those who conducted the smoking ceremony. Undoubtedly, they passionately value their aboriginal inheritance and consider its preservation a matter of the highest import.

But the plain, sad truth is that the culture and language of some of the coastal aboriginal tribes are now extinct and that rituals such as this are largely synthetic and, therefore, in a strict sense, spurious.

My DNA predates Australia, claimed the elder, and that is no doubt correct. But what DNA? Aboriginal DNA only, or the DNA of all the other peoples whose blood flows and blends together in our veins?

Many Australian families of Indigenous and European descent, or both, have lived here for centuries. Is not the land our common home?

The congregation was invited to touch the ground, and all obediently complied. A nice gesture, perhaps, but hardly appropriate at a Mass that has its focus on Heaven.

A second non-Aboriginal speaker apologised on behalf of the Church for its abuse of Indigenous people. Nothing new in that, of course, and fair enough in its place.

But surely, we have come of age and can take this as read, after years of sorry days, could we also acknowledge the good work that men and women of the Church did for many Aboriginal groups around Australia: not just religious instruction (which counts for little in the secular mind) but education in the arts and sciences of the world, social work, housing, medical care. And most of that at a time when the state did next to nothing to aid the native people.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
David Trimble reflects on the Good Friday Agreement at his home in Lisburn, Northern Ireland, on April 8, 2018. (Nial Carson/PA Media)

Tributes Pour in for David Trimble, Key Figure in Northern Ireland Peace Process

British, Irish, and American political leaders of the past and present have paid tribute to David Trimble, a key figure in the peace process in Northern Ireland, who died on July 25 at the age of 77 following a short illness.

The former first minister of Northern Ireland and former leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) was one of the principal architects of the Good Friday/Belfast Agreement that ended decades of conflict in the region.

He jointly won the 1998 Nobel Peace Prize along with John Hume, late leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP).

A Giant

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Lord Trimbles achievements would never be forgotten.

He was a giant of British and international politics and will be long remembered for his intellect, personal bravery, and fierce determination to change politics for the better, he said.

Micheal Martin, prime minister of the Republic of Ireland, praised Trimbles central contribution to peace and reconciliation on the island of Ireland.

All of us in politics at the time witnessed his crucial and courageous role in the negotiations leading to the Good Friday Agreement and his leadership in building support in his party and his community for the Agreement, he said.

Former UK and Irish prime ministers Sir Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern, both of whom were involved in the Good Friday negotiations, also paid tribute.

Blair said his contribution was immense, unforgettable, and frankly irreplaceable while Ahern described him as a courageous leader.

Ex-Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams, a once bitter political adversary of the unionist leader, thanked him for helping to get the Good Friday Agreement over the line in 1998.

U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price said the United States is saddened by Trimbles death.

Lord Trimble personified the integrity and compromise necessary to help Northern Ireland transcend its violent past, he said.

Inspiration for Today

Trimbles death comes amid another political crisis in the British province, with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) blocking the creation of a power-sharing administration in protest at the Northern Ireland Protocol in the Brexit treaty.

The protocol, which Boris Johnson signed in 2019, includes measures aimed at preventing a hard border on the island of Ireland, which have been fiercely opposed by unionists, who complain that it effectively keeps Northern Ireland within the E.U. single market while erecting a border in the Irish Sea between the province and mainland Britain.

As a result of the DUP boycott, Northern Ireland has not had a functioning local government since February.

Michelle ONeill, Sinn Feins leader in the Northern Ireland Assembly, said the current generation of Northern Irish politicians should draw inspiration from Trimble.

I think that none of us should underestimate what was achieved back in 1998 and David Trimble had the courage to step forward in his leadership role, to bring people with him, to work with others, she said.

I think that should be a message to us all even today, 24 years later. It takes courage. It takes leadership. It takes parties working together actually to achieve things and we need that same determination today as we had back in 1998.

PA Media contributed to this report.
Cars queue at the check-in at the Port of Dover in Kent on July 23, 2022. (Gareth Fuller/PA Media)

Truss and Sunak Vow to Curb Trade Unions Powers Ahead of Fresh Rail Strikes in UK

Both Conservative leadership candidates have vowed to limit trade unions ability to stage industrial actions amid waves of strikes across rail, postal, and other industries over pay.

It comes as members of two trade unions at 14 train operators are about to strike on Wednesday, with further service-crippling rail strikes announced for August.

Liz Truss on Tuesday said its completely wrong that passengers are being held ransom by militant unions.

The foreign secretary said on Monday night that if she becomes the prime minister, she would introduce legislation within 30 days to require a minimum level of service on vital national infrastructure.

Tailored minimum thresholds, including staffing levels, would be determined with each industry.

The minimum threshold for voting in favour of strike action will be raised from 40 percent to 50 percent, and the minimum notice period for strike action would be raised from two weeks to four weeks, Truss said.

A cooling-off period would be implemented so that unions can no longer strike as many times as they like in the six-month period after a ballot, and members would no longer receive tax-free payments from trade unions on the days they are on strike.

Truss said tough and decisive actions are needed to limit trade unions ability to paralyse our economy and cripple the vital services that hard-working people rely on.

Series of Rail Strikes

On June 22, June 24, and June 26, members of the National Union of Rail, Maritime, and Transport Workers (RMT) at 14 train operators staged a series of 24-hour strikes over pay, job security, and working conditions.

RMT members will strike again on July 27. Members of the Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) at Avanti West Coast are walking out on the same day.

Another union, the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (Aslef), said its members at eight train operators will strike on July 30. The union staged two smaller strikes involving two train operators on July 16 and July 23.

RMT members are set to walk out again next month on Aug. 18 and Aug. 20, with TSSA announcing on Monday that its members at 11 operators are striking on the same days.

RMT general secretary, Mick Lynch, speaks at a rally outside Kings Cross station, London, on June 25, 2022. (Dominic Lipinski/PA Media)

Commenting on the TSSA announcement, former Chancellor and Conservative leadership candidate Rishi Sunak said the strikes are irresponsible and will cause hardship for millions of ordinary workers across the country.

Sunak also criticised Labour and its leader Sir Keir Starmer, saying they should stand up to their Union paymasters instead of joining them on the picket line.

We need to urgently deliver our 2019 manifesto commitment to require minimum service levels during transport strikes, he said, vowing, As prime minister, I will stop the unions holding working people to ransom. I will do whatever it takes to make sure that unions cannot dictate how the British people go about their daily life.

Union Boss: Trusss Proposal Biggest Attack on Trade Union And Civil Rights

Trusss proposal was met with fury from RMT General Secretary Mick Lynch, who said they amount to the biggest attack on trade union and civil rights since labour unions were legalised in 1871.

Lynch accused Truss of effectively outlawing trade unionism and robbing working people of a key democratic right, and threatened the biggest resistance mounted by the entire trade union movement, rivalling the general strike of 1926, the Suffragettes, and Chartism if the proposals become law.

Trades Union Congress General Secretary Frances OGrady said Sunak and Truss should come up with plans to get wages rising again instead of taking potshots at working people and their unions.

Thats how to deal with the cost-of-living emergency, OGrady said.

Asked about Lynchs threat, Truss told Sky News on Tuesday that she doesnt take any notice of these bellicose threats.

Were facing a global economic crisis. Its completely irresponsible of the trade unions to call these strikes at the time as were seeking to get the economy going. And I will legislate to make sure that those core services are provided to the public, Truss said.

She said shes on the side of people who work hard, who go into work, who want to run their businesses.

When the reporter put to her that railway workers also work hard, Truss said they are well rewarded for the work they do.

Labour: Conservative Plans Unworkable

Angela Rayner, Labour deputy leader and shadow secretary of state for the future of work, said Truss was looking to blame anyone and everyone else other than herself for the mess the Conservatives have made of the last 12 years.

Calling Trusss proposal her latest Tory fantasy, Rayner said her plan is dangerously out of touch with reality and ignores the stubborn fact that she has sat around the Cabinet table for nearly a decade of pitifully low wage growth, crumbling public services and sleaze at the heart of government.

As we saw with the governments plans to break strikes with agency workers, these plans are unworkable, will only erode working peoples rights further and inflame industrial relations at a critical time, Rayner said.

Criminal defence barristers rally in support of the ongoing Criminal Bar Association (CBA) action, outside the Houses of Parliament, in London, on July 11, 2022. (Stefan Rousseau/PA Media)

Public and private sector workers including postal workers, Barristers, Court security staff, Scottish police officers, British Airway workers, and BT workers are also among those who staged or voted to stage strikes in the last two months.

During the Conservative leadership debate on July 17, all five candidates at the time were united on resisting the unions demand, saying there are pay review bodies evaluating the appropriate amount of pay rises.

Candidates said the UKs current economy cant sustain what the unions demand and that the government needs to show respect to the unions and win their trust in order to avoid further disruptions.

PA Media contributed to this report.
The Twitter logo is seen at the company's headquarters in San Francisco, on Oct. 4, 2013. (Robert Galbraith/Reuters)

Twitter Suspends Moms for Liberty for Criticizing Predators Backing California Trans Refuge Bill

In its latest effort to stamp out criticism of radical LGBT ideology on its platform, Twitter on Monday suspended Moms for Liberty for calling out predatory adults who back a bill that would encourage young children to be brought to California for transgender treatment.

Moms for Liberty, a parental rights advocacy group that recently held its first national summit in Tampa, Florida, wrote on Twitter that gender dysphoria is being normalized by predators across the USA.

California kids are at extreme risk from predatory adults, the now-removed post reads. Now they want to liberate children all over the country. Does a double mastectomy on a preteen sound like progress?

The post was referring to a bill introduced by California state Sen. Scott Weiner, a San Fransisco Democrat, to fight against what he called brutal attacks on transgender children in states that restrict minors from receiving gender-affirming care such as puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and sex-reassignment surgery. Some states, notably Texas, consider such irreversible procedures as a form of child abuse when theyre performed on someone too young to fully understand the consequences.

If passed, the bill would effectively prevent California from extraditing individuals charged for breaking another states law related to putting a minor into medical gender transition. Specifically, Californias law enforcement agencies must flag out-of-state criminal arrest warrants as the lowest priority and not intentionally participate in the arrest of wanted persons if it involves gender-affirming care.

Supporters of the measure said it would establish California as a trans refuge for children who may not otherwise obtain gender-affirming care without their parents approval.

Twitter, which has been on a spree of punishing accounts for criticizing grooming behavior in pro-LGBT activism, promptly blocked the Moms for Liberty from the site. The California-based platform claimed the post had engaged in hateful conduct, or the promotion of violence on the basis of gender and gender identity.

The suspension of Moms for Liberty comes after James Lindsay, a vocal critic of progressive ideologies, was banned for saying ok, groomer. Podcast host and YouTuber Tim Pool was also locked out of his account for saying Twitter actively protects and supports pedophilia.

The Daily Dot, a progressive-leaning online publication, reported last week that Twitter is actively banning users who refer to people as groomers on the site. The term groomer has recently gained much popularity in usage among conservatives, who use it when discussing adults who expose young children to highly sexualized drag queen performances or teachers discussing inappropriate things of a sexual nature with their students.

In a statement to the Daily Dot, Twitter said that using the term groomers violates the platforms hateful conduct policies.

We are committed to combating abuse motivated by hatred, prejudice, or intolerance, particularly abuse that seeks to silence the voices of those who have been historically marginalized. For this reason, we prohibit behavior that targets individuals or groups with abuse based on their perceived membership in a protected category, Lauren Alexander, Twitters health product communications lead, told the Daily Dot.

Use of this term is prohibited under our Hateful Conduct policy when it is used as a descriptor, in context of discussion of gender identity.

This was not the first time Moms for Liberty experienced censorship from a major social media platform. In January, Facebook flagged 22 Moms for Liberty chapter groups for community violation, prohibiting them from posting basic information about local government operations such as school board meeting times, or questions about student textbooks. Its national page was also restricted from posting because of alleged security reasons.
A sign above an office of the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) in Beijing on July 8, 2021. (Thomas Peter/Reuters)

Two Senior Managers of Chinese Online Financial Platform Sentenced to Prison for Alleged Illegal Operation Offences

The founder of a Chinese financial news media and a director of his company were reportedly sentenced to different imprisonment periods for alleged illegal business operations.

Wu Xiaopeng, the founder of Wallstreetcn.com, an online financial news media, was sentenced to two years and nine months, while Fan Dianhua, a director of the company, received a five-year prison term, according to Ittime.com.cn, a Chinese financial media company, on July 22.

They were held for criminal charges for a stock picking app launched in May 2017 without obtaining official approval, the Ittime report said.

Wallstreetcn.coms website is at present in operation, its app is available for download, and its VIP membership is still open for subscription as of the publication of this article.

Wu was a Wall Street correspondent sent to work in the United States by the state-owned financial newspaper The 21st Century Business Herald from Apr 2006 to Sep 2012. He was the first Chinese journalist to interview the previous Fed chairman, Ben Bernanke, according to his companys LinkedIn webpage.

Wu founded Wallstreetcn.com in 2010, and went back to China at the end of 2012. He and his founding team registered the companys headquarters in Shanghai in May 2013. With the stock picking app launched in 2017, Wallstreetcn.com had 600,000 unique visitors and nearly 1 million followers on WeChat.

Part of the Chinese Communist Partys army of internet trolls in an undated leaked photo, in Fangzheng County, Harbin City, China. (The Epoch Times)

The total sum involved in the illegal securities business operation amounted to 75 million yuan (about $11 million), according to the Ittime report.

CCP Fears that Its Economic Lies will be Exposed: Expert

Frank Tian Xie, a John M. Olin Palmetto professor in business at the University of South Carolina Aiken, said in an interview with the Chinese language edition of The Epoch Times that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has always been afraid of its fake economic data being exposed.

In China, politics and economy are closely linked, Xie said, those self-media report the true data of foreign countries, which serve as a reflection that the Chinese economy is in recession, which is of great concern to the CCP.

In August last year, the CCP cyberspace watchdog launched a purging campaign on commercial platforms and self-media accounts, mainly targeting four categories of mediafinancial self-media accounts, major public accounts, financial webpages of major commercial websites, and financial information platforms.

China Tightening Its Grip on Financial Media Outlets

The Chinese regime issued Measures for the Supervision and Administration of the Directors, Supervisors, Senior Executives, and Practitioners of Securities and Fund Business Institutions on Feb. 18, 2022, and put it into effect on Apr. 1. However, the regime had imposed censorship on the financial and business circles long before the implementation of these measures.

The Wallstreetcn website and its stock picking app were suspended from operation by Chinas top cyberspace watchdog in June 2019. The cyberspace authority said in its notice that Wallstreetcn has seriously violated Chinas Cybersecurity Law and Administrative Provisions on Information Services of Mobile Internet Application Programs, but did not provide details of the violations.

Chinese volunteers wait for attendees at the China Internet Security Conference in Beijing on Aug. 16, 2016. (Fred Dufour/AFP/Getty Images)

A notice posted by the company on June 10, 2019, stated that both the companys official website and its app would be offline for rectification and that the company would comprehensively strengthen website business and personnel management in a serious manner.

In Sept. 2020, the website and the app resumed operation.

The stock picking app launched by Wallstreetcn invites financial and business influencers to publish analyses and forecasts on the stock markets and individual stocks and provide suggestions on buying and selling specific stocks.

A 2019 report by Radio Free Asia (RFA) revealed that Wallstreetcn was purged mainly because the website published an article on June 7, 2019, reporting a rising U.S. stock market, which offended the Chinese regime and was labeled worshipping the U.S. and derogating China. The Wallstreetcns report also pointed out that by July, the U.S. economy would record the longest expansion cycle in history.

The bullish wording on U.S. stocks angered the Chinese authorities, who believed that the company was not in line with the official propaganda rhetoric. Chinas top cyberspace watchdog thus ordered Wallstreetcns internet access service to be cut off on June 10, according to the RFA report.

Over a dozen financial and business self-media were shut down before Wallstreetcn was suspended, and by the end of 2018, over 9800 self-media accounts had been closed by the regime, the RFA report said.

It is noteworthy that the content of the verdict of the Shanghai Huangpu District court on Wu and Fan first appeared in a report by Ifeng, an online news portal of state-owned Phoenix Television, on July 21, but only the title of the report is visible on Google. The article has been removed from the web page, which is marked 404 and says The page you visited does not exist.

Zhao Xinghong, a legal scholar at Peking University Finance Law Research Center wrote an article in 2005, titled Crime of Illegal Operation: A Fuzzily Defined Offense that Urgently Needs to be Abolished. He compared this crime literally to a pocket crime, explaining that the regimes legal system uses this as a tool to charge any imprecisely defined offense.

To realize the human rights protection function of criminal law, Zhao wrote at the end of his article, it is urgent to abolish the infinite pocket crime of illegal business operations.

The Epoch Times reached out to Shanghai Huangpu district court via its registered phone number, but could not get through after multiple efforts on July 22 and July 25. The publication also contacted Wallstreetcn for comment, and has received no reply as of the publication of this article.

Li Jing and Luo Ya contributed to the report.
A passenger walks past signage displaying the way to a COVID-19 test centre, in Terminal 5 at Heathrow airport in London, on June 3, 2021. (Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP via Getty Images)

UK Government Doesnt Know Whether COVID-19 Traffic Light Travel System Worked: Report

The UK government does not know whether its traffic light system to manage foreign travel during the COVID-19 pandemic has worked or whether the almost half-a-billion-pound cost was worth the disruption caused, according to a select committee of MPs.

The House of Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report (pdf) published on Tuesday said the government should publish a report, setting out the lessons it has learned, including how to track overall cost in cross-government projects, how to protect taxpayers from fraud, and how departments would re-introduce measures in response to future health threats if needed.

Citing figures (pdf) estimated by the National Audit Office (NAO), the PAC report said the government spent at least 486 million on the traffic light system in a bid to control the spread of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, commonly known as the novel coronavirus.

Between February and December 2021, travelers who arrived from a red list of destinationshot spots of new CCP virus variantswere subjected to up to 10 days of self-funded mandatory managed hotel quarantine and tests, costing up to 2,200 per adult.

According to the report, people who suffered financial hardship did not have to pay upfront, but for 8 out of the 11 months when the policy was in place, people could self-certify that they were suffering financial hardship to avoid paying upfront.

The report said taxpayers ended up subsidizing 329 million of the 757 million bill, and the government does not know to what extent its system for claiming financial hardship was abused.

It said only 2 percent of all quarantine guests tested positive for the virus, 6 percent during the Omicron wave.

International passengers walk through the arrivals area at Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport in London on Nov. 26, 2021. (Leon Neal/Getty Images)

Under the traffic light system, passengers from amber list destinations were required to take tests and self-isolate.

According to the NAO, 114 million was spent on a contract for home visits to check compliance, but between May 2021 and February 2022, the UK Health Security Agency could not confirm around one-third of those who were meant to be self-isolating had done so.

MPs also said theyre concerned that government did not attempt to measure whether its health measures were successful, particularly as research commissioned by the airport industry suggested health measures only delayed the peak in the number of cases from new variants by seven days.

The PAC said government departments granted exemptions from parts of the travel restrictions to an estimated 2.5 million people between May and December 2021, equivalent to around 9 percent of arrivals. According to the NAO, an estimated 14,000 claimed exemptions from hotel quarantine between April and December 2021.

The report also said the Department for Transport has no data on how many people with exemptions tested positive for COVID-19. Nor did it set out the reasons for exemptions for those attending Euro 2020 and London Fashion Week.

MPs also said the government didnt clearly communicate the rule changes with airlines and passengers, gave airlines little notice, relied on them to enforce the rules while given no extra support, failed to protect taxpayers from low-quality CCP virus tests, and was too slow to move from a crisis response mode to a systematic approach.

A woman gestures from her window towards reporters outside the Radison Blu hotel after arriving at Heathrow airport, and now quarantining, in London, on Feb. 15, 2021. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

PAC chair Dame Meg Hillier said, The approach to border controls and quarantine caused huge confusion and disruption with 10 changes in a year. And now we can see that it is not clear what this achieved.

We can be clear on one thingthe cost to the taxpayer in subsidising expensive quarantine hotels, and more millions of taxpayers money blown on measures with no apparent plan or reasoning and precious few checks or proof that it was working to protect public health.

We dont have time and it is not enough for government to feed these failures into its delayed public inquiry.

It is not learning lessons fast enough from the pandemic and is missing opportunities to react quickly to future emergencies or even current events like new variants of COVID or the spread of monkeypox.

Paul Charles, chief executive of travel consultancy The PC Agency, said: Government departments should be ashamed of the suck-it-and-see approach they took regarding travel measures during COVID.

The constantly changing policies not only caused enormous damage to the travel sector in terms of financial harm, but also hurt UK plcs image around the world.

Urgent steps need to be taken to ensure the countrys borders are kept open should another variant emerge, and that government has a more positive policy in place to enable airlines, airports, and other travel businesses to keep functioning so as to protect jobs and livelihoods.

The PAC report comes after a report published in January said the system had a very limited impact on the spread of the CCP virus, and after the Transport Committee said in April that the travel restrictions imposed were disproportionate to the risks to public health.
A sign of the World Economic Forum (WEF) is seen at the Congress centre during its annual meeting in Davos on May 23, 2022. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images)

UN, World Economic Forum Behind Global War on Farmers: Experts

They say 'Agenda 2030' development goals at root of sustainability policies that could lead to food shortages

The escalating regulatory attack on agricultural producers from Holland and the United States to Sri Lanka and beyond is closely tied to the United Nations Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and the U.N.s partners at the World Economic Forum (WEF), numerous experts told The Epoch Times.

Indeed, several of the U.N.s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are directly implicated in policies that are squeezing farmers, ranchers, and food supplies around the world.

High-level Chinese Communist Party (CCP) members within the U.N. system helped create the SDGs and are currently helping lead the organizations implementation of the global plan, The Epoch Times has previously documented.

If left unchecked, multiple experts said, the U.N.-backed sustainability policies on agriculture and food production would lead to economic devastation, shortages of critical goods, widespread famine, and a dramatic loss of individual freedoms.

Already, millions of people worldwide are facing dangerous food shortages, and officials around the world say those are set to get worse as the year goes on.

There is an agenda behind it all, experts told The Epoch Times.

Even private land ownership is in the crosshairs, as global food production and the world economy are transformed to meet the global sustainability goals, U.N. documents reviewed by The Epoch Times show.

As explained by the U.N. on its SDG website, the goals adopted in 2015 build on decades of work by countries and the U.N.

One of the earliest meetings defining the sustainability agenda was the U.N. Conference on Human Settlements known as Habitat I, which adopted the Vancouver Declaration.

The agreement stated that land cannot be treated as an ordinary asset controlled by individuals and that private land ownership is a principal instrument of accumulation and concentration of wealth, therefore contributes to social injustice.

Public control of land use is therefore indispensable, the U.N. declaration said, a prelude to the World Economic Forums now infamous prediction that by 2030, youll own nothing.

Numerous U.N. agencies and officials have outlined their vision of sustainability since then, including calls for drastic restrictions on energy, meat consumption, travel, living space, and material prosperity.

Experts interviewed by The Epoch Times say that some of the worlds wealthiest and most powerful corporate leaders are working with communists in China and elsewhere in an effort to centralize control over food production and crush independent farmers and ranchers.

The WEF, a network of major multinational businesses that collaborates closely with the CCP, is a strategic partner of the U.N. on Agenda 2030.

The increasing regulation of food production and even efforts to shut many farms and ranches come as officials around the world such as U.S. President Joe Biden and U.N. World Food Programme chief David Beasley warn of looming food shortages worldwide.

But instead of easing restrictions and encouraging more production, Western governments and many governments dependent on aid are clamping down even harder.

Dutch farmers, already at the breaking point, have responded this summer with massive nationwide protests. That followed violent unrest in Sri Lanka tied to food shortages caused by government policy.

Governments and international organizations have cited various pretexts for the policies, ranging from increasing sustainability and protecting various flora and fauna, to promoting economic justice and even returning lands to aboriginal peoples.

According to critics of the policies, though, the goal isnt to preserve the environment or fight climate change at all. Instead, the experts warn that the sustainability narrative and the other justifications are a tool to gain control over food, agriculture, and people.

The end goal of these efforts is to reduce sovereignty on both individual nations and people, said Craig Rucker, president of the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT), a public policy organization specializing in environmental and development issues.

The intent for those pushing this agenda is not to save the planet, as they purport, but to increase control over people, he told The Epoch Times, adding that the goal is to centralize power at the national and even international level.

UN Sustainable Development GoalsAgenda 2030

The U.N. Sustainable Development Goals, often referred to as Agenda 2030, were adopted in 2015 by the organization and its member states as a guide to transforming our world. Hailed as a master plan for humanity and a global declaration of interdependence by top U.N. officials, the 17 goals include 169 targets involving every facet of the economy and life.

All countries and all stakeholders, acting in collaborative partnership, will implement this plan, declares the preamble to the document, repeatedly noting that no one will be left behind.

Among other elements, the U.N. plan calls for national and international wealth redistribution in Goal 10, as well as fundamental changes in the way that our societies produce and consume goods and services.

Using government to transform all economic activity is a critical part of the SDGs, with Goal 12 demanding sustainable consumption and production patterns.

Among the specific targets outlined in Goal 12 are several directly linked to agricultural policies that undermine food production. These include sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources.

Perhaps more importantly, the document demands environmentally sound management of chemicals and all wastes throughout their life cycle, in accordance with agreed international frameworks.

As a result, people and especially farmers must significantly reduce their release to air, water, and soil in order to minimize their adverse impacts on human health and the environment.

Other SDGs that are directly tied to what critics have called the war on farmers include Goal 14, which addresses marine pollution of all kinds, in particular from land-based activities, including  nutrient pollution. The U.N. regularly describes agriculture and food production as a threat to the ocean.

The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), led by former CCP Vice Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Qu Dongyu, is helping to lead the charge.

In its 2014 report Building a Common Vision for Sustainable Food and Agriculture: Principles and Approaches, the U.N. agency calls for drastic restrictions on the use of fertilizers, pesticides, emissions, and water in the agricultural sector.

As an example of how agriculture must be reformed to be considered sustainable by the U.N., the FAO report declares that excessive use of nitrogen fertilizer is a major cause of water pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.

The Rome-based FAO didnt respond to a request for comment.

Another of the 17 SDGs with a direct impact on agriculture and food production is Goal 2, with its calls for sustainable agriculture and sustainable food production.

Goal 6, meanwhile, calls for sustainable management of water, which includes various targets involving agricultural water use and runoff.

Because U.N. leaders see agriculture and food production as key contributors to what they call manmade climate change, Goal 13 is important, too. It calls for governments to integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies, and planning.

Goal 15, which deals with sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, also has multiple targets that affect agriculture and food production.

All over the world, national and regional governments are working with U.N. agencies to implement these sustainability goals in agriculture and other sectors.

For instance, responding to U.N. biodiversity agreements, the European Union has enacted various U.N.-backed biodiversity programs such as Natura 2000 and the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, which have been cited by the Dutch government and others in their agricultural policies.

The U.N. also boasts publicly about its role in imposing the SDGs in Sri Lanka and other nations suffering from food shortages and economic calamities linked to the very same global sustainability programs.

Around the world, almost every national government says its incorporating the SDGs into its own laws and regulations.

World Economic Forum Partnership

Alongside the U.N. are various stakeholders that are critical to implementing sustainable development policies through public-private partnerships.

At the heart of that effort is the WEF, which since 2020 has been pushing a total transformation of society known as the Great Reset. In 2019, the WEF signed a strategic partnership with the U.N. to advance Agenda 2030 within the global business community.

The official agreement defined areas of cooperation to deepen institutional engagement and jointly accelerate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Many of the key officials behind Agenda 2030, including top U.N. leaders such as current Secretary-General Antonio Guterresa self-proclaimed socialisthave also been working with the WEF for decades.

Meanwhile, the WEF has been explicit with its goals. It recently launched a Food Action Alliance (FAA) that acknowledges on its website that Agenda 2030 informs the ambition of the FAA to provide an enduring and long-term platform for multi-stakeholder action on food systems to meet the SDGs.

Alongside the U.N.s Food Systems Summit in September 2021, the WEFs FAA released a report outlining its own leadership agenda for multi-stakeholder collaboration to transform food systems.

Among other elements, the document summarizes the FAAs insights on supporting transformative food system partnerships, and its value proposition beyond the UN Food Systems Summit 2021 towards achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

The WEFs public concern with transforming agriculture and the food supply goes back over a decade, at least.

In partnership with various companies, the WEF released a 2010 report outlining a new vision for agriculture that included a roadmap for stakeholders. Many of the worlds largest food companies that dominate the market and own countless popular brands are involved.

The WEFs website is packed with information purporting to justify a total transformation of the food supply by stakeholders.

As global food systems become increasingly interconnected, effective coordination among a diverse set of stakeholders will be required, WEF says on its Strategic Intelligence platform, frequently citing the FAO as its source.

The potential to craft new, systemic approaches to food systems that include a diverse array of stakeholders presents opportunities to help sustainably feed the world well into the future.

The organizations frequent references to stakeholders refers to governments, companies, and so-called nongovernmental organizations that are often funded by those same companies and governments. They are all working together on the issue.

For instance, the WEF boasts that it has brought corporate giants such as Coca-Cola and Unilever into the fold toward promoting a more sustainable future.

The Rockefeller Foundation, which recently released a report on how to Reset the Table and Transform the U.S. Food System, is also a key player.

The WEFs Food Innovation Hubs around the world are set to be a major part of this global transformation.

Speaking to the World Economic Forum on transforming food systems and land use at last years Davos Agenda Week, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced that the Netherlands would host the Global Coordinating Secretariat of the World Economic Food Innovation Hubs.

The secretariat, he said, will connect all other Food Innovation Hubs in order to facilitate creating the partnerships we need.

Neither the WEF nor the Rockefeller Foundation responded to requests for comment on their role in Agenda 2030 and on the agricultural policies being pursued around the world.

Other organizations and entities involved in the push include powerful tax-exempt foundations such as the Gates Foundation, the EU-style regional governments proliferating around the world, and various groups funded by them.

Squeezing Farmersand the Food Supply

All over the globe, U.N. SDG-aligned government policies are squeezing farmersespecially smaller, independent producers unable to absorb the added costs of added regulation and control.

Celebrating U.N. sustainability ideas, recently ousted Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa announced at the U.N. COP26 climate summit in 2021 that his government was banning chemical fertilizers and pesticides.

Sri Lanka recently restricted the imports of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and weedicides due to public health concerns, water contamination, soil degradation, and biodiversity impacts, Rajapaksa told world leaders, to widespread acclaim.

Although opposed by entrenched lobbies, this has created opportunities for innovation and investment into organic agriculture that will be healthier and more sustainable in future.

In reality, even though they were promptly rolled back, the policies produced catastrophic food shortages, widespread hunger, and eventually a popular revolt that ousted the president and his government.

In 2019, the socialist Sri Lankan government also partnered with the U.N. Environment Programme to establish the U.N. Global Nitrogen Campaign, which promotes the U.N.-backed policies on nitrogen that are now proliferating worldwide.

In the Netherlands, headquarters for the WEFs Food Innovation Hub secretariat, authorities are imposing nitrogen policies that are expected to decimate the nations highly productive agricultural sector. The plans also include widespread expropriation of farms.

The expropriation plans of the cabinet are a downright declaration of war on the agricultural sector, said Dutch Member of Parliament Gideon van Meijeren, of the Forum for Democracy party, as cited by De Dagelijkse Standaard. Under false pretenses, farmers are being robbed of their land, centuries-old farms are being demolished and farmers families are being totally destroyed.

Experts warned of dangerous consequences stemming from such sustainability policies including food shortages, skyrocketing prices, social unrest, and more.

You can glimpse the green, sustainable future by beholding Holland and Sri Lanka now, Bonner Cohen, a senior fellow at the National Center for Public Policy Research, told The Epoch Times.

And yet, the agenda is spreading rapidly. Canadian federal authorities last week announced similar restrictions on fertilizers and nitrogen after restrictions on energy production were put in place, sparking outrage from provincial officials and farmers.

In Ireland, the United Kingdom, and other European nations, various government entities are also working to slash agricultural production under sustainability programs.

Meanwhile, aside from continuing with policies that pay farmers not to grow food, the Biden administration is seeking to impose WEF-backed Environmental, Social, Governance metrics and reporting on companies through the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Farm associations and more than 100 members of Congress argue that the plan would bankrupt owners of small and medium-size farms unable to comply with climate reporting requirements to do business with public firms, even as the world moves toward widespread food shortages.

In part, experts say the insistence on these sorts of policies is because those imposing them are largely insulated from the damage they are causing.

Global elites in government, transnational organizations, corporate boardroomswell represented in the WEFare so caught up in their climate virtue signaling, from which many hope to benefit financially through investments in green energy, that they are slow to notice that they are completely detached from reality, said National Center for Public Policy Researchs Cohen, who specializes in environmental issues.

Few of those imposing regulations on farmers have ever set foot on a farm. By virtue of the power and wealth these people already have, they are shielded from the consequences of the misguided policies they impose on the rest of the world. That burden is borne by ordinary people around the world, about whom the Davos crowd and their partners in crime know nothing.

Small, Independent Farms at Risk: Experts

Sri Lankas disaster offers a preview of what will happen to the United States and Europe if policymakers continue to follow the U.N. sustainability agenda, according to Sterling Burnett, who holds a doctorate in environmental ethics and leads the nonprofit Heartland Institutes Arthur B. Robinson Center on Climate and Environmental Policy.

Its not a war on farming; its a war on small farming and independent farmers, he told The Epoch Times. Its a war in support of elite, large-scale agricultural industries.

Even though the U.N. SDGs speak of helping small-scale food producers, Burnett argued that independent farms and ranches are in the U.N.s crosshairs to help consolidate control over the food supply.

Policymakers are in the pocket of major corporate interests including Conagra, BlackRock, State Street, Vanguard, and others, he said.

They would just as soon have all their small competitors put out of business, he said, echoing concerns expressed by numerous other experts.

BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, whose firm manages more money than any other company in the world, wants to impose his values on companies using other peoples money, Burnett said.

Fink, who serves on the board of the powerful Council on Foreign Relations and works closely with the WEF, is a key architect of the push to impose environmental, social, governance metrics on U.S. companies.

This is the super-rich foisting their values on the rest of us, said Burnett, pointing to those he says are happy to work with communists on the effort.

As far as the World Economic Forum is concerned, you cant have a Great Reset if you dont reset the food supply, because food is necessary to everybody, he said. Stalin recognized this: Whoever controls the food controls the people. Same with energy.

As prices soar and farmers go bankrupt, major corporations, in league with governments and international organizations, will pick up the pieces.

In the meantime, as seen recently in Sri Lanka, hungry people pushed to the brink are likely to react.

People were not starving on January 6, said Burnett, referring to the Jan. 6, 2021, protest and breach at the U.S. Capitol. The supply chain crisis is happening, shelves are already going empty, and when people are hungry, they will not sit around and do nothing.

American Policy Center founder and President Tom DeWeese, a leading expert on and critic of U.N. notions of sustainability, warned that the war on farmers was part of a broader agenda to strip people of freedom.

Always in the past, when tyrannical forces wanted to rule the world, they built armies and invaded, broke things, killed people, and forced subjugation, DeWeese told The Epoch Times. We are now dealing with a diabolical force that has figured out a way to get us to voluntarily surrender our liberties and help them subjugate us.

What could be such a powerful tool? The threat of Environmental Armageddon, he said, pointing to the climate-change narrative as the prime example.

Citing numerous U.N. officials and documents, DeWeese says the agenda isnt to save the climate, but to transform the planet and centralize control over the populace.

Aside from the U.N. and the WEF, major companies such as Vanguard and BlackRock are working to take over and control the food supply, he said.

Already, a handful of companies in which those two investment firms are top shareholders dominate the global food and beverage industry. By taking over the farming, they will control it all.

The goal is to have total control over food production, he said, noting that they seek to own all seeds and even grow synthetic meat in facilities already being backed financially by Bill Gates and other billionaires.

Genetically engineered crops are high on the agenda, too.

The U.N., the WEF, and others are also moving forward with promoting insects and weeds as food. Across the Western world, insect protein production facilities are popping up rapidly.

But it gets even darker, DeWeese says.

If people are starving, they are much easier to subjugate, he said, adding that depopulation and control over humanity have been on the agenda of global elites for decades.

The war on farmers also comes amid what critics have described as a government-backed war on energy thats affecting agriculture and virtually every other sector.

This includes limiting energy exploration, shutting down power plants, charging special fees and taxes, and other policies that have resulted in rapidly rising costs across the Western world, although not in places such as China.

The experts interviewed by The Epoch Times urged Americans to resist the war on farmers and the U.N.-backed sustainability policies using a variety of means. These include getting involved politically, adopting different shopping habits, finding alternative sources of food such as local farmers, and other measures.

Officials at the U.N. didnt respond to requests for comment.
Ohio Supreme Court Justice Patrick Fischer said the majority's landmark decision "wields Lady Justice's sword to cut away the state's right to select a representative to aid it throughout criminal proceedings." (Lady Justice image via Shutterstock)

Very Bold Decision: Ohio Supreme Court Voids Rape Conviction Because Victim Sat With Prosecutors

The Ohio Supreme Court voted 4-3 to reverse a mans conviction for rape and kidnappinga ruling that one defense lawyer called a very, very bold decision.

For the first time in its 220-year history, the states highest court was asked to consider whether a defendant was denied a fair trial because the crime victim was introduced as the prosecutors representative and then was allowed to sit at the prosecution table throughout the 2018 acquaintance-rape trial of Theodis Montgomery.

Montgomerys trial lawyer Dennis Lager, based in Canton, Ohio, told The Epoch Times: This was a case of first impression with the court; theyve never seen something like this  where the state attempted to use the victim as the states representative.

Theodis Montgomery

(Courtesy of Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction)

Lager who has practiced law for 45 yearsincluding a stint as a chief assistant prosecutorsaid he has been involved in 102 felony jury trials in 10 Ohio counties and I had never seen where the state would even attempt something like that, and then have a judge allow it.

He said he was amazed and kind of shocked during Montgomerys trial when it became clear that prosecutors were going to allow the victim to occupy a seat at their tablea spot usually reserved for someone acting in an official capacity, such as a police officer or a coroners investigator.

Lager said that when he objected to the victims seating arrangement that preserved the error for the record and helped lead to the Supreme Courts June 30 decision.

During any trial a lawyer is really trying the case to two courts: the trial court and the future appeals court, Lager said and added its important for lawyers to make objections so appeals courts will be able to review them.

Im happy that my preservation of the error resulted in the overturning of Mr. Montgomerys conviction, Lager said.

He predicted that this victim-seating scenario would never be repeated in an Ohio court again because of the Supreme Courts ruling.

Asked to comment, Stark County Prosecutor Kyle Stone said in an email: We respect the ruling of Ohio Supreme Court. This case was tried under the prior administration. However, we will evaluate and try it accordingly as we would any other case.

An advocate told The Epoch Times that the victim did not wish to comment on the matter.

Now 36, Montgomery had been sentenced to serve 10 years in prison after his conviction in 2018. He is still being held in a state prison awaiting an Aug. 17 initial hearing for his retrial in Stark County.

Noting the split decision among the Supreme Courts seven justices, a Columbus attorney Brad Koffel blogged about the case on his website, calling the ruling a very, very bold decision and an important victory for criminal defendants across the state.

Justice Melody Stewart, writing an opinion for the majority, said the victims designation and position in the courtroom created a dual role for her, produced a structural error that warped the framework of the trial and violated Montgomerys right to the presumption of innocence.

The victim of an alleged crime is not a party to the criminal proceedings against the defendant  [and] is not a surrogate of the state, Stewart wrote.

It is therefore incongruous that a victim could be designated as the representative for the state during the prosecution of the defendant.

Ohio Supreme Court Justice Melody Stewart (File photo/The Epoch Times)

Further, Stewart wrote, the situation risked misleading the jury into thinking that just as defense counsel represents the defendant, the prosecuting attorney represents the alleged victim, or even more harmful, that the alleged victim as the complaining witness and the prosecution are one and the same.

The scenario in Montgomerys case undermines the fairness of the fact-finding process and erodes the presumption of innocence accorded a criminal defendant, Stewart wrote in her 17-page decision.

Justices Michael Donnelly and Jennifer Brunner concurred, along with Chief Justice Maureen OConnor.

Justice Sharon Kennedy called the errors in Montgomerys case harmless.

She said Montgomery was entitled to a fair trial but not a perfect one, and there was no indication that the victim-related errors affected the outcome of his trial.

Kennedy pointed out that other witnesses testimony supported the victims contentions that Montgomery forced sexual advances on her in March 2018 after a decade-long acquaintanceship.

The victim suffered facial injuries and shared her account with other witnesses, who testified she was upset.

Montgomery chose not to testify, leaving jurors without his side of the story, Kennedy said.

Montgomerys lawyer argued that the sex act between his client and the victim was consensual; Lager disputed parts of the victims testimony.

Justice Patrick DeWine joined in Kennedys dissent.

In a separate dissenting opinion, Justice Patrick Fischer declared: I believe that there was no error, let alone structural error.

Fischer said he doubted that Montgomerys jury would have interpreted the victims credibility any differently than if she had merely sat right behind the prosecutors table instead of beside the prosecutor.

The dissenting opinions pointed to rulings in other U.S. states, where convictions survived legal challenges despite victims or their relatives being seated next to prosecutors, and noted that the Ohio Constitution gives alleged crime victims the right to be present during courtroom proceedings against the accused.

Further, the states court rules allow prosecutors to choose a representative.

But, Stewart said, current laws and rules do not specifically give victims the right to sit alongside prosecutors as the states representatives, and it is not the judiciarys role to expand the victims privileges and authorize such an arrangement.

Fischer said he was concerned that the majority opinion wields Lady Justices sword to cut away the states right to select a representative to aid it throughout criminal proceedings.

Fischer said that it should be up to Ohio lawmakers to decide whether to impose limits on who may be designated as the states representative in trials, and this court should be hesitant to expand constitutional rights in such a manner.
Kuching, in Malaysian Borneo, is such is such a special city to explore and the state of Sarawak is a coastal jungle paradise. There is so much to enjoy on your Kuching trip like boat rides on the Sarawak River, exploring tribal long houses, spotting roaming wildlife, visiting the impressive culture centre and other local Kuching tourist attractions that are super fun  like Top Spot hawker centre on the top of a parking lot in the middle of town. Buy key lapis from women selling it along the backstreets  we live this soft cake  spot cats everywhere and enjoy this beautiful city. Here are our favourite and best places to visit in Kuching.

Before You Go:

Make sure you have your travel insurance  we use Cover More  and a VPN to protect your data (and let you access your favourite shows from platforms at home!).

Public art alongside the Sarawak River, Kuching. (Courtesy of Evie Farrell)

Where is Kuching?

Kuching is the capital of Sarawak, Borneos northwest state, and home to lush tropical rainforest, stretches of coastline, meandering rivers, mountain ranges suffocated by steamy jungle and abundant and fascinating wildlife  from inquisitive macaques, big-nosed proboscis monkeys, wild boar, fluroescent vipers and everyones favourite, the orangutans.

Sabah is Malaysias other state in Borneo, and it has so much to offer too like river safaris on the Kinabatangan, the Mari Mari Culture Centre, the stunning Tip of Borneo and exploring its capital, Kota Kinabalu.

You could spend at least a few weeks exploring both Sarawak and Sabah, or three to five days in Kuching and at least a week in Sabah  getting around is easy and affordable flying with MASwings. There is just so much to explore in Borneo.

All About Kuching

The city of Kuching has a rich history of rajahs, exotic trade, colonisation and federation and is a vibrant cultural combination of indigenous ethnicities and immigrants. Built on the Sarawak River which carries cooling breezes along the foreshore to counter the steamy humidity, the beauty of the city is will make you pause.

Hues of gold and bronze colour each bank, amplified through the glorious setting sun which bursts off the surrounding buildings and reflects on the water. Each night the riverside comes alive with market stalls selling trinkets and food, buskers voices floating through the air and boats waiting to take you along the river to watch the setting sun.

Once of the best things about Kuching though is its location. It is a veritable gateway to the rainforest, jungles, beaches and mountains of Sarawak, giving you and your family the chance to experience Borneos incredible wildlife and natural beauty before returning for a dip in your hotel pool  or use a day pass to the Hiltons Hotels rooftop pool and bar.

(Courtesy of Evie Farrell)

Where to Stay?

Id booked a room at the Tune Hotel just a minutes walk from the waterfront and at $25 a night our budget accommodation was an absolute bargain. Our room was clean and tidy with an attached bathroom and toiletries, and the rate included wifi and breakfast packets of chicken, sambal, rice and tea. It was also conveniently located on the Sarawak River, a five minute walk to the centre of town, and even more conveniently opposite the Hilton Hotel which, to our absolute delight, offered a $10 day pass to its swimming pools  absolutely necessary in the heavy Kuching heat.

Kuching has all kinds of accommodation from luxury high end to budget and beautiful boutique stays. Find all Kuching accommodation options here. Just out of town, Cove 55 has a beautiful beach front pool, big rooms and a fab restaurant for around $130 AUD a night while at Permei Rainforest Resort $60 AUD will get you a beautiful treehouse room and it has lots of activties from SUP to bike rides and day trips.

Rent the lifestyle with a Hilton pool day-pass. (Courtesy of Evie Farrell)

Here are some of the best activities in and around Kuching:

For a list of tours in Kuching and around Sarawak check out Klook here.

Hang out on the Riverside

The riverside esplanade is perfect for children and Emmie loved watching the boatmen push their wooden sampans along the river as they patiently waited for customers, and hunting out the cat statues and beautiful public artworks that dot the walkway. Kuching is the self-appointed cat capital of the world, and cat statues proudly occupy the riverside and key locations around the city.

Kuching Cat Museum

Children will love spending time at the Kuching Cat Museum  a fascinating couple of hours amidst 4,000 pieces of kitsch and absurd memorabilia including ceramic cats, newspaper articles about cats, cats in films, cemeteries, music and stamps, and dedicated Garfield and Hello Kitty galleries!

Stay Top Spot for Dinner

Kuching has a well-deserved reputation for its culinary excellence and delicious laksa, however our favourite dinner was at Top Spot, a fresh seafood hawker market on the top floor of a carpark. You can find it by looking out for the big prawn  or ask locals, everyone knows where Top Spot is.We ate freshly cooked lobster, calamari and fish dishes, washed down with coconut water and sugar cane juice for around $20. We were the only non-locals there and Emmie did her evening journaling while we waited for our food to be cooked.

Semmangoh Rehabilitation Centre

Just a 30 minute drive from Kuching, this well-managed park is home to semi-wild orangutans, and one infamous, dominant male called Richie. If youre lucky you will see them swing down from the jungle to eat bananas, milk and other snacks at the twice-daily feeding sessions. Viewing areas put you only metres from mothers and babies, young playful organutans and if youre lucky, Richie. An incredible opportunity to see these endangered beauties in their natural environment and learn about how we can protect their habitat.

This trip with Klook is only $25 per person and organises everything for you.

See semi-wild orangutans at Semenggoh Wildlife Centre, a short drive from Kuching. (Courtesy of Evie Farrell)

Bako National Park

Another highlight of our visit, Bako is a stunning national park only accessible by boat. Walk steamy jungle trails searching for the fascinating proboscis and spot vipers, wild boar, lemurs and other incredible wildlife, gaze over the wild shoreline and jagged cliff-faces. Look out for the cheeky macaques who will pull your shoelaces and try to steal your food. Read all about our trip to Bako here.

Proboscis monkey at Bako National Park. (Courtesy of Evie Farrell)

Sarawak Cultural Village

A great day out learning about the nine ethnicities that make up the Sarawak culture from descendants of each tribe who live at the Village. See dart blowing and traditional performances, visit longhouses, learn historical dance and try traditional food. Set in beautiful grounds, the Sarawak Cultural Village is a lovely morning or afternoon activity. You can book your tickets here.

Sarawak Cultural Village  a great day trip with lots to see and learn. (Courtesy of Evie Farrell)

Kuching City + Evening Boat Cruise

Spend a day wandering the city  check out the Chinese History Museum, the Sarawak State Museum and the Cat Museum, take an evening sunset boat cruise along the river and see the city as it lights up, walk along waterfront and enjoy riverside food and performances. Youll find the boat cruises along the riverfront or you can jump into a sampan and explore the local way.

Rafflesia

Unfortunately these giant flowers were not blooming while we were in Kuching but do check in with tour operators/hotel reception in case one flowers while youre there. The rafflesia in Sarawak are found at Gunung Gunung National Park, a 90 minute trip by car/bus from the city. This tour will get you there and includes a hike past waterfalls.

Eat Kek Lapis

Kek Lapis, a traditional Sarawak multi-coloured layer cake, is sold on most corners and is a delicious treat.This delicious colourful cake is made by locals and sold in shops and on the streets. We just love it  and key lapis is only sold in Sarawak, its a speciality of the state so make sure to stock up if youre heading to Sabah.

Delicious Kek-Lapis, you have to try it. (Courtesy of Evie Farrell)

Visit Gunung Mulu National Park and stay at the Mulu Marriott

One of our favourite places in the world, the Gunung Mulu National Park UNESCSO World Heritage Site is truly incredible and the Mulu Marriot is nestled under the karst mountains in the jungle. Read all about our stay here  I recommend this is strongly. Its a fab adventure for all ages for the rainforest, the incredible caves and underground rivers and the most spectacular bat exodus at dusk.

Rainforest Kayaking Adventure

We havent done this but we will when we return  kayaking through the rainforest and a visit to a local village. You may even spot orangutans. Cant wait! Find out more here.

We hope you have an amazing trip! Enjoy!

This article was originally published on mumpacktravel.com.

Follow on Instagram.
With apologies to James Garner and the film company that made his superb comedy-western about a local sheriff, I recommend that wine lovers support their local winery.

There are several reasons why this is not only a sound idea, but potentially enlightening, especially since many people may once have done this in the past with disastrous results. I did and although I vowed never to do it again, I have done it many times since and with amazing results.

Every state now makes wine. Though this has been true for 20 years or more, today the results are not only astoundingly interesting, but some of their efforts exceed anything I ever imagined when I began writing about wine.

In 1976, I visited what then was called the Oregon wine country. It was a time when the entire state had approximately a half-dozen wineries.

In 1977, I visited New Yorks wine country, the Finger Lakes, and was disappointed that the most popular wines were being made from Native American grapes, only a tiny percentage of them worth drinking.

When I began writing about wine two years later, I never thought about writing about anything other than wines from the West Coast. But wow, have things changed!

As winemaking and grape-growing improved and the price of winery equipment declined from ludicrously expensive to simply pricey, wineries began to improve. Even in places like Missouri, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Texas, Minnesota, and Ohio, quality wine now is being produced.

For wine lovers who would love to visit Napa or Sonoma to learn about how wine actually is made, thats limited by such tricky issues as travel in the era of COVID-19 and the costs of visiting.

So, Napa and Sonoma may seem out of reach, but its not difficult to find wineries near where you live. If youre in New York City and want to see an excellent wine country region, visit Pennsylvanias Lehigh Valley. If youre in Austin or San Antonio, you can see great wineries in the Texas Hill country.

In all those cases, the drive is well under two hours each way, making daytrips feasible. Overnights are recommended.

And what youll get when youre there usually is exceptional. Hospitality in smaller wine regions often is far more accommodating than in busy, crowded, expensive places like Napa Valley, and the wines have improved so much that most people wouldnt believe their taste buds.

That was obvious in 1993 on a visit to Virginia, where I found so many good wines that I was shocked. A friend who then lived in D.C. asked why I was wasting my time with Virginia wines, adding, Theyre awful.

When was the last time you tried any Virginia wines? I asked. He said it had been at least 10 years. I told him that a lot had changed. He continued to buy California wines, not realizing the treasures he had in his own backyard.

Of course, not every wine being produced throughout the United States is going to be excellent. But many California wines arent very interesting either.

Theres a lot of high-quality work going into wines from places like South Dakota, New Jersey, and Idaho. You have to taste them to see.

And the benefits are obvious. In the more prestigious areas, most tasting rooms have fees, some rather substantial (like $50 per person!). But in places like Michigan, Wisconsin, New Mexico, and Texas, tasting room fees basically do not exist.

Also, in places like Napa, hotel rooms are ludicrously expensive, which will not be the case in most other states where the attractions are more limited to wine tourism.

Finally, many remote tasting rooms often have tables that you can sit at and enjoy the glass of wine. Even though the high-priced tasting rooms can be expensive, its rare when you can find a chair.

Embrace local wineries!

Wine of the Week

2021 Eberle Viognier, Paso Robles ($34): The grape called viognier (vee-own-yay) is blessed with a wild tropicality that at its best has hints of pineapple, mango, and honeysuckle. Some wineries make it with treatments that mute this exotic flower-basket brightness. When made right, its a bit like having gewurztraminer on steroids! This version is a delight, with a softness that, when chilled, makes it perfect with Thai food.
How dare you?!

Thats so unlike you!

I cant believe you would do/think/act like that!

Im so disappointed

Have you had one of these interactions (or internal experiences) lately? Our relationships  to each other, to systems, to groups, and even to ideas, are coming up for review. We are seeing the true colors, and sometimes the shock can cause weeks of ripple effects as we process the feelings of betrayal. But are we really being victimized or did we just not want to see, acknowledge, and accept the full truth of the dynamic previous to a given offense? Did we somehow play into a fantasy of what we thought was going on only to be taken aback when the truth was exposed?

When it goes from all good to all bad, that plummeting fall from grace can be referred to as a rupture of idealization.

This rupture is the end of the childlike illusion that merger, sameness, and agreement equal love. Embedded in the seeming harmony is a promise: that she is who you think she is and she will stay that way. This is why you can rely and depend on those you have love relationships with. You know them and you expect them to be that person that you know, for good. The promise of this kind of love soothes the nervous system. It feels like safety.

But what happens when there is an event so shocking, so distressing, so inexplicable that it turns the lights on in the room? And you cant NOT see whats in front of you?

When the fantasy is compromised, you have an experience of the true separateness and individuality of the person you were bonded with. And you have an opportunity to recalibrate around an interdependent rather than codependent relationship, or to end direct connection, entirely.

So lets pause and take a survey of the interpersonal anxieties you are experiencing:

Do you have relationships in your life that are marked by a nagging fear that the other will die?

Do you have relationships in your life where you feel repeatedly betrayed or disappointed?

Which entities/resources/people in your life need to be present for you to feel safe: your spouse? Your parents? Your sibling? Maybe your doctor? The police department? The president?

Who or what can do no wrong in your eyes?

What is Love?

Im not sure Im in any way qualified to address the question of what love is, but I have amassed some experience to inform my understanding of what love is NOT.

Love is not control. It is not manipulation. It is not a shared vision, belief, opinion, nor an agreement.

Of course its not! you might eyerollbut the truth is thats the only love we are raised to know. In fact, we are so wired for compliance, obedience, and abandonment of self that a number of experiments have demonstrated that we will conform to senseless behaviors, harm others, and violate our own judgment in service of obedience. Check out this amazing compendium on the subject as relates to mask wearing and other aspects of the current psychological operation. It makes sense that we would feel the power of merger  it is truly an opportunity to create reality together.

We were raised to expect attention and affection based on conditional approval of behavior. Which is to say, when you act the way I want you to, Ill show you love through gifts, gestures, words of affirmation, touch, or my presence. We (Id wager that includes all of us) were raised by parents or caregivers, who, themselves, did not know what love is, did not love themselves, and so, naturally, could not possibly have actually loved us in fulfillment of our deepest human need.

This conditional love is fundamentally hierarchical control-based love, and it inspires the pursuit of safety through management of external variables rather than honoring, devotion, respect, or the sharing of a resonant field of beauty between individuals.

We didnt experience reverence from our caregivers, we experienced the power of compliance and obedience. We didnt experience the nurturing of our intuitive compass. We experienced shame and self-suppression. We didnt experience the unfoldment of our unique, boundaried personhoodour emergent self-ness. We experienced the wholesale adoption of inter-generational programs, beliefs, and ideas without room to question. And this is why we find ourselves, as a human society struggling with the sequelae of an unquestioning, obedient, compliant, fear-based populace relating to parentified Mommy Medicine and Daddy Government.

Because of this conditional access to our caregivers heart energy, we naturally curated a strategic arsenal of behaviors to gain as much love and avoid as much rejection as possible. This, my friends, is called, your personality. This personality gets us far in life. It keeps us from feeling the pain of rejection, abandonment, or betrayal through reflexes that keep us in the right and someone else in the wrong. Personality defenses keep us at an arms distance, withdrawn or avoidant, slinking in the shadows of anothers dramatic flourishes so that we learn to retreat into numbness when things feel uncomfortable. Your personality keeps you dancing, anticipating, and guessing what your loved one wants and needs so that you can fulfill, appease, and manage expectations to keep the peace, even if it means silencing, ignoring, or otherwise disassociating from your own needs.

What It Takes to Feel Safe

The truth is that safety does not come from outside and no one is obligated to make you feel safe. No one. That doesnt mean that you arent entitled to create the conditions for your own personal experience of safetyin fact, thats been my advocacy for yearssend your nervous system a signal of safety through an empowered mindset, detox, meditation, and intelligent nutrition. But, its when we arrange essential figures, entities, and relationships around us that we feel we couldnt live without that these power and control-based patterns emerge. Because you cant truly love someone that you depend on. You end up trying to control them. Even if thats through submission and generosity. Have you ever felt irate that someone didnt appreciate all that you were doing for them? Yeah, thats because you were trying to control them through those acts of kindness.

And this extends beyond human relationships. You cant truly relate with sovereignty to a system  be it the medical, legal, law enforcement, educational system  that you cant imagine living without. You cant even live with joy and pleasure in a house you worry about being blown away in a hurricanebecause this dependent attachment recruits old patterns of vigilance that obscure our ability to see with clear eyes who we are, what it is that we are relating to, and how and when they may be out of sync, out of alignment, or in need of reassessment.

There comes a point in life when the strategic game of unspoken power dynamics stops working or is exposed for the surrogate of love and connection that it always was. Love, as my therapist Alison Birnbaum told me many times, has two pillars  connection and individuation. And these two pillars emerge from the rubble of childlike merger and good/bad object relations. In this immature stage of connection dynamics, we are almost always in the vibration of helplessness and victimhood because we are blaming or holding responsible, another entity, for our experience of peace, happiness, or stability. We see the other as idealized or vilified and that can switch from hour to hour. In this field of connection, there is only a two-headed monster, not two separate entities expressing who they are and connection through that expression without manipulation. When love evolves to encompass individuation, it complexifies to the paradox of all-one and alone. And learning how to love with two sovereign individuals in the roomwell, thats what we came here for! I do believe we came here to remember love.

When We See Reality Clearly

Challenges to our expectationsincidents that feel out of character, and times when she may just not be acting like herself have the potential to generate unresolvable and conflicting impressions. We resolve the cognitive dissonance of these experiences by making light of them, spiritually bypassing we all make mistakes sometimes or we take a more overtly critical approach and express our judgment and condemnation expecting that she will snap out of it, get back in line, or repent for bad behavior.

Sometimes the energy of betrayal creeps in with a little tap on the shoulder. Then the tap turns to a heavier hand. Then it turns into a punch in the face. But when the betrayal happens, embrace it because it is the beginning of a new chapter and the truth truly does set you free. Betrayal may be, itself, seeing something that you were unwilling to see previously. It is the juxtaposition of reality and fantasy and it feels like an assault of the heart that can launch you into the victimhood of the child. OR  it can invite you toward personal responsibility and self-ownership.

How can you narrate what happened to you through the language of empowerment? How can you own your part in this rupture? How were you holding this person, group, or system to an expectation that was never consciously declared. An expectation that you fabricatedor an understanding of what they were that was based on your own hopes rather than what was actually shown, demonstrated, and told to you over time?

Sovereign Love

This personal exploration in the wake of rupture of idealization can take us through a terrain of anger, disappointment, and deep sadness, almost like a mourning. But once, we see clearly, and choose to actually accept the person, group, or system in front of us, for what it has shown itself (probably repeatedly) to be, then we can choose what kind of relationship we would like to have. This is also an opportunity to represent a personal truth, non-coercively, and without attachment to a particular response. Individuation and connection.

There is a phrase Ive shared with our Vital Life Project community  Ill be ok if you leave. To my mind (and heart), when we can say this about everything and every person we love and imagine we need, then we are arriving in the terrain of sovereign love. A kind of love that allows the other to be what they are and for the connection to be founded on freedom, admiration, appreciation, and acceptance.

For example

Heres how it seems to work. Because we carry our personalities well into our 30s and 40s, we are still hiding the parts of us that we dont want to show the world AND we are projecting those bad parts on to those we judge and condemn as well as projecting our unclaimed amazing parts on to those we idealize, idolize, and venerate. Either way, there are emotional tethers between us and our projections and we are engaged in power-based connection as the child in relation to the good or bad mommy or daddy out there.

So when this rupture happens, we let the illusion of the all good mommy and the illusion of the all bad mommy die. We end the search for the love we never got. We end the fight over the love we never got. We step into adult sovereignty.

I, personally, went through this process first with conventional medicine. I, like so many, had parentified this system and imagined that it was the ultimate authority here to take care of me. And then, after reconciling the fact that I had, indeed, put my Hashimotos thyroiditis diagnosis into remission through lifestyle changes I had never been taught about in my extensive training, I flew into a rupturous rage. I swung from idealization to vilification. It wasnt until I learned to live life without any reference to conventional medicine and began celebrating my beliefs about health publicly that I began to truly accept that this system exists because people want it, consent to it, choose it, and maintain it. Its not for me, and thats ok. Only then could I perceive my next best step in how to orient towards the seemingly heavy hand medical tyranny.

This process has rinsed and repeated itself in my relationship with Sayer when we have disagreed about aspects of truth we each feel strongly about. Through our process, Ive learned to deeply listen and really hear what he is saying, accept it, and relinquish that toddler-like protest that he be something other than he is. And through this fresh lens, I have chosen him, anew. Its even presented in my womens group where I was confronted with the fact that I had imagined we shared health values and that we were gathered around a mission to raise and protect our childrens bodies, and there was even a time that I thought I would never want to leave Miami because of this group. But this intention was never stated, never declared, and was entirely my assumption and even more like my fantasy that I would finally feel safe with these women warriors by my side. But when I saw truer colors around masking children, capitulating to vaccination, and faltering belief in the bodys capacity to heal, I was awakened from my own projections and able to see with fresh eyes who I was actually in relationship with, and to choose how I wanted to engage that dynamic going forward.

My susceptibility to this cycle of idealization, rupture, vilification, reclamation, is only as extreme as my persistent hope and fantasy that one day I will be made to feel safe by something outside of me.

We are, collectively, in the midst of an epochal paradigm shift  from one where safety is achieved through external variables to one where it is accessed internally through full self-possession and trust. I (and Im sure others) call it strong spine, soft heart. When we navigate the world this way, we dont give anything we dont want to give, and we always show up as who it is that we are. Lets get real and start to practice sovereign love. It may just be that unexpected wrench in the works of a certain Agenda

 Kelly Brogan MD. This work is reproduced and distributed with the permission of Kelly Brogan MD. For more articles, sign up for the newsletter at www.kellybroganmd.com
U.S. First Lady Jill Biden is seen in a file photograph in Tokyo, Japan. (Clive Rose/Getty Images)

White House Hit by Another Senior Staff Departure

First lady Jill Bidens longtime press secretary Michael LaRosa is leaving the White House, he confirmed Tuesday.

For a kid from Easton, Pennsylvania, who only ever dreamed of stepping foot into this history-rich residence for a tour, working for First Lady Jill Biden in the White House has been the proudest and most rewarding experience of my life, LaRosa said in a statement to The Washington Post about his departure. His last day is Friday.

LaRosa, a former MSNBC producer, joined Joe Bidens campaign in 2019 as Jill Bidens spokesman before he was named press secretary to the first lady in January of last year.

I am forever grateful to her for taking a chance on me nearly three years ago, bringing me on this journey with her around the country, and the privilege of being a small part of the history, he added to the paper.

Reports say LaRosa is planning to join Hamilton Place Strategies, a Washington-based public affairs company. Its not clear who will be named to replace him as the first ladys spokesperson.

For nearly three years, from the campaign to the White House, Michael has brought an encyclopedic knowledge of politics and media to my team as my spokesperson and adviser, Jill Biden told CNN. On a small team, loyalty and friendship are lifelongwe will miss Michael. However, we are excited for him to begin a new chapter in his career.

Other Departures

In recent months, the White House has seen a number of top communications officials leave. Former White House press secretary Jen Psaki left earlier this year before she was replaced by current press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.

Vice President Kamala Harriss chief spokesperson Symone Sanders left her position in late 2021. And later, top Harris aides Tina Flournoy, Ashley Etienne, and Vincent Evans quickly followed Sanders.

Earlier in July, it was confirmed that White House Communications Director Kate Bedingfield would be stepping down from her position. In confirming her exit, White House chief of staff Ron Klan said that Bedingfield played a huge role at the White House but will now spend more time with her husband and young children.

Before that, Cedric Richmond, a former congressman from Louisiana, had led Bidens Office of Public Engagement but recently departed to work with the Democratic National Committee. Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms replaced him in the administration.

LaRosas departure comes several weeks after Jill Biden drew controversy for comparing Hispanic voters to breakfast tacos and mispronouncing the word bodega at an event in San Antonio, Texas. LaRosa later apologized on her behalf.

The First Lady apologizes that her words conveyed anything but pure admiration and love for the Latino community, he wrote on Twitter on July 12.
The parents of Lt. Ridge Alkonis, Derek and Suzi, pose with a photo of their son in Dana Point, Calif., on June 1, 2022. (Denis Poroy/AP Photo)

Wife of US Navy Lieutenant Jailed in Japan Calls on Lawmakers to Bring Him Home

The family of Ridge Alkonis, a U.S. Navy lieutenant who was sentenced in Japan to three years prison over a deadly car accident he was involved in last year, is calling on lawmakers and the White House to help bring him home.

Brittany Alkonis, the wife of the 34-year-old specialist in undersea warfare and acoustic engineering who has spent nearly seven years in Japan as a civilian volunteer and naval officer, told Fox News on July 26 that she made contact with Rahm Emanuel, the former mayor of Chicago who was appointed by President Joe Biden as U.S. Ambassador to Japan.

So, it was a phone call, but I think it was a good one, she told the network, referring to her conversation with Emanuel. He does have a good relationship with President Biden and Im hopeful that that relationship will turn into my husband coming home.

Along with Emanuel, Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) has also called for Alkoniss release, saying the naval officers case is no way for a friendly nation to treat a friendly nation.

I find it nothing short of inexcusable that an American who experienced a medical emergency should be treated so poorly by an Allied nation that hes protecting, Lee said.

Clearly the Japanese judicial system is trying to make an example of Lt. Alkonisperhaps stemming from a history of disputes over our Status of Forces Agreement, he added. He is being targeted because he is an Americanand because he was in the unfortunate position of having suffered a medical emergency that resulted in tragedy.

Rep. Mike Levin (D-Calif.) said hes deeply concerned over the Japanese governments handling of Lt. Ridge Alkonis [and his case], adding that his office is working with the Pentagon to support Alkoniss family.

Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) asks a question during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing titled Police Use of Force and Community Relations, in Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, on June 16, 2020. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/Pool)

I will not be giving up on Lt. Alkonis and the Department of Defense must not either, he said.

In May 2021, Alkonis abruptly lost consciousness in his car after hiking and sightseeing on Mount Fuji with his family. They had climbed a portion of the mountain and were back in the car, heading to lunch and ice cream.

Alkonis was talking with his then-7-year-old daughter when his family says he suddenly fell unconscious behind the wheel. He was so out of it, they say, that neither his daughters screams to wake him up nor the impact of the collision roused him.

While he was incapacitated, the car veered into parked cars and pedestrians in a parking lot, striking an elderly woman and her son-in-law, both of whom later died. After the crash, he was arrested by Japanese authorities and held for 26 days in solitary confinement at a police detention facility, interrogated multiple times a day and was not given medical treatment or evaluation, according to a statement of facts provided by a family spokesman.

Alkonis was indicted on a charge of negligent driving, resulting in death, and sentenced last October to three years in prison. The charge carries up to seven years imprisonment in Japan. He has appealed the case.

English-language court records obtained by The Associated Press show that the judge expressed skepticism over the mountain sickness claim, citing an initial statement from Alkonis to police in which he said he felt drowsy after driving through mountainous curves.

Neurologists eventually diagnosed him with Acute Mountain Sickness, which can cause sudden fainting up to 24 hours after rapid altitudinal change.

However, Japanese prosecutors and the judge who sentenced him said that though it was conceivable Alkonis was suffering from light mountain sickness, it was difficult to imagine he went from not feeling drowsy at all to becoming suddenly incapacitated.

Meanwhile, Alkonis family told Fox News in June that their son had committed to offering a customary gomenasaior apologyto the family of victims and paid a record $1.65 million gomenasai settlement, a highly valued custom in Japans justice system to show remorse. However, the naval officer was still sentenced.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

From NTD News
Xi Finds Another Way to Hurt Chinas Economic Prospects

Pushing communist cells on foreign firms will thwart development

Commentary

Sometimes Chinese leader Xi Jinping seems determined to cut China off from western involvement and the technologies that have contributed to Chinas economic miracle. The list of impediments to this important source of development is long. The latest addition is Beijings decision to require foreign firms in China to host communist party cells within their management structures and give those cells power to make business decisions. By adding to the list of burdens imposed on foreign investors Beijing seems to have decided, though no doubt inadvertently, to impose yet another impediment to the countrys economic prospects.

The list of development hurdles keeps growing. At the top is Beijings growing insistence on a more centralized direction of economics overall, an act that cannot help but stifle economic dynamism. The list also includes Beijings reluctance to take steps to reduce Chinas dependence on foreign buying by weaning the economy from its export focus. For more detail on these issues, see this discussion. Beijing has also taken steps to deny Chinese business the help of western financing sources, especially critical now that China faces a huge debt overhang of its own. For detail on this matter, see this article and this one. The latest rule requiring party cells just adds to the list.

The communist cell mandate has emerged from the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the equivalent of Americas Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). It would require foreign-owned fund managers, only recently invited into China to presumably enhance that countrys financial sophistication and technology, to accommodate communist party cells when operating in China. Stated in this way, the imposition seems narrowly focused, perhaps because these fund managers seem to have been excused from the requirement to partner with a Chinese firm. But indications are that this may not be the end. For some years now, talk has circulated about imposing a more general rule of this sort on all foreign businesses operating in China, most of which already have a Chinese partner.

Although issued through Chinas securities regulator, the rule reflects a September 2020 statement from the General Office of the Communist Partys Central Committee. In the clumsy prose so typical of communist governments, it is entitled: Opinion on Strengthening the United Front Work of the Private Economy in the New Era. As stated, the effort seems to aim at increasing the influence of the party in business decisions. It is still not entirely clear how this effort will influence decision-making in foreign firms, but an indicator lies in how several Chinese firms, and not necessarily state-owned, have instructed their boards to seek the opinion of the leading party group of the company before making any significant decision.

American and other foreign firms in China have long chafed at interference from their Chinese partners and Beijing. Their top complaints concern how Beijing insists that any foreign firms operating in China have a Chinese partner and transfer to that partner all technology and business secrets. Such rules and the complaints of American firms have already impelled the U.S. Congress to consider legislation to limit American involvement in China. For more detail on this matter see this discussion. So far, American fund managers entering China have failed to comment, but it is hardly a stretch to imagine that few managements would be happy consulting a party cell about business decisions. Many may decide that Chinese exposure is nonetheless worth the bother. Even then, managers will worry about legal ramifications in the United States. Managing funds at the direction of in-house communist cells might prompt American shareholders to claim a breach of managements fiduciary obligation to act solely to their benefit.

Alone, this new cell requirement is probably not enough to tip the scale against foreign businesses and even fund managers seeking Chinese exposure. Fund managers could find ways to sidestep fiduciary liabilities. But along with the increasing list of other burdens imposed by Beijing, many foreign firms may reconsider the benefits of Chinese exposure. That would work against Chinas economic interests. Even Xis New Development Concept (NDC) recognizes the value of foreign ventures and otherwise encourages them. For more on this see this article. It is becoming apparent that Chinas leadership is either working at cross purposes or more likely is following a true believer approach to communism regardless of how it hurts economic development.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Klondike announced it would discontinue the Choco Taco after nearly 40 years  and ice cream lovers are heated.

The ice cream truck staple, featuring a waffle cone folded into a taco shape, filled with vanilla ice cream and coated in milk chocolate with a peanut topping, is no longer. Klondike's parent company Unilever confirmed the treat was entirely discontinued in July, due to "an unprecedented spike in demand for different Klondike products over the past two years."

The outrage was swift on social media, and even Sen. Chris Murphy weighed in with a tweet:

The Choco Taco was invented in 1983, according to an Eater article exploring its history. And as recently as February, Taco Bell partnered with Klondike to offer the dessert at select restaurants in Southern California and the Milwaukee, Wis. area.

But here in Connecticut, Choco Taco fans have some local options.

Courtesy of The Ice Box

Dom's Creamery in Avon, which opened in May, celebrates "Taco Tuesday" with its own version of the ice cream taco, featuring housemade waffles folded into a taco shape. The treats are available every Tuesday.

Main Street Creamery in Wethersfield offers ice cream tacos twice a year for Cinco de Mayo and National Taco Day in October, with choice of ice cream and toppings. The shells are made fresh in house, available in plain, chocolate and chocolate-dipped flavors.

Michael Clarke, who owns the shop with his wife, Kathy, said they'll keep the treat as a limited-time offer. "People look forward to those days at our shop, so we don't want to dilute the excitement for it," he said.

The Ice Box in Brooklyn has offered ice cream tacos seasonally in several flavors, celebrating holidays like Halloween and St. Patrick's Day. Jenn Nemeth, who owns the shop with her husband, Matt, says they produce the tacos from fall to spring during the creamery's less-busy months.

But in light of the recent Choco Taco news, "we're talking about bringing them back, at least the chocolate ones, while the story is hot," she said. They'll offer the treat on Tuesdays.

And in Rocky Hill, Scoops and Sprinkles offers "ice cream nachos," with waffle pieces topped with your choice of ice cream and toppings.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP)  South Carolina can continue enforcing its six-week abortion ban after a judge on Tuesday denied a request to temporarily block it amid a legal battle that is now headed to the state Supreme Court.

Since the U.S. Supreme Court ended the federal right to the procedure last month, abortion rights advocates in conservative states have turned to state constitutions as they seek to protect abortion access.

Planned Parenthood South Atlantic and other plaintiffs had asked the judge for an injunction while their lawsuit challenging the ban moves through the courts. The lawsuit argues that the law violates the state constitutions rights to privacy and equal protection.

State lawyers on Tuesday argued the significance of the issues raised and the need for a speedy trial made it necessary for the state Supreme Court to hear the case now.

Circuit Court Judge Casey Manning  who said this case raised the most fundamentally important constitutional issue he has seen  agreed and transferred the case. While the judge said Planned Parenthood could seek an injunction there, Planned Parenthood's attorney Hannah Swanson argued that patients in South Carolina need more urgent action to protect their health and freedom.

We need protection right now, Planned Parenthood South Carolina Director of Public Affairs Vicki Ringer told reporters. We need the constitution to do what it says it does: protect our right to privacy. And privacy begins with our bodies.

South Carolina Deputy Solicitor General Thomas Hydrick on Tuesday argued that voters did not intend to cover abortion rights when they approved the states right to privacy in 1971.

Many state restrictions have increased in the South since the Supreme Court last month overturned the federal right to the procedure. A Georgia law banning most abortions once fetal cardiac activity is present  as early as six weeks into a pregnancy  took effect last week.

In contrast to the South Carolina judge's decision, a Louisiana judge ruled last week that three abortion clinics in that state can continue operating while a lawsuit goes through the courts.

South Carolinas Republican-dominated legislature is on track to further restrict the procedure. A special committee last week advanced a proposal to ban almost all abortions, except when the mothers life is at risk.

GOP Gov. Henry McMaster signed the six-week ban last year but a federal appeals court prevented it from taking effect in February. That hold lasted until the Supreme Court ruled in Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization.

___

James Pollard 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.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

WESTPORT  The latest art installation at the Saugatuck Train Station honors a hometown hero: Olympic silver medalist Julia Marino.

The lenticular art piece transforms from a picture of her competing in midair to her receiving the medal based on how the viewer approaches it. It was created by local artist Miggs Burroughs.

The police department unveiled the art piece on Monday alongside Marino, Burroughs and other officials and it will be on display for the next year.

Our hope is that those who view this will take pride in Julias accomplishments as well as appreciate the artists great work, said Lt. David Wolf. We are also hoping that this piece serves as a reminder of what can be accomplished through hard work and commitment.

Marino won a silver medal in Womens Slopestyle Snowboarding at the 2022 Beijing Winter games, making her the first American to medal in the competition.

The department has had various art displays at the train station, which it manages, in the past.

We thought it would be great to commission a project that highlights the significant accomplishments of one of our residents, Wolf said.

He said the train station is the perfect spot for it because it has a lot of foot traffic and could be appreciated by both residents and visitors.

Burroughs is no stranger to having his artwork at the train station. About six years ago he was asked to do an installation of six lenticular images of various Westport landmarks in a collection entitled Now and Then. He has another public installation that showcases 16 lenticular images in the pedestrian passageway off Main Street.

Lenticular is an optical process invented in the 1950s as a novelty item for children that integrated two images into one, so that when held in the hand it would change from one image, such as an open eye, into a closed eye, therefore getting the nickname of Winkies, he said. Twenty years ago I learned how to make larger, more thoughtful Winkies to exhibit.

He usually takes the photos that appear in his art but used images from the Marino family this time since he wasnt at the Olympics. It took several hours at the computer and test images to get it right. He then sent it out to Duggal Visual Solutions in New York to print it due to its size.

Burroughs said he has two hopes for the piece.

First is to honor Julia Marinos amazing achievement, and to entertain Westporters in this highly trafficked area, with the magically changing images of Julia, telling the story of her win in two images, he said.

He also appreciates being able to have art in public spaces, which he said isnt that common in Westport, although the police have been actively looking at other sites they manage to install other art.

Burroughs said the Westport Arts Advisory Committee, of which he is a member, is also doing a great job evaluating potential outdoor art donations, as well as prospective creations. It recently commissioned five large mural panels depicting Westports history, which are located in the passageway behind Anthropologie.

Someone once said that art is the oxygen that can invigorate and educate a community, Burroughs said. Not everyone is near a gallery or can afford to go to a museum, so public art is a way of bringing artistry and visual information to the greater public. It can breathe new life into any environment.
Post 199 installs its first Cold War-era commander Edwardsville American Legion Post 199 is welcoming a new slate of officers. On Sunday night,...

Dolly Parton's theme park gaining $25M roller coaster Guests will embark on an unforgettable expedition through the Smokey Mountains in search of the...

Granite City man indicted for Cottage Hills home invasion A Granite City man was indicted Thursday in a July 14 home invasion in Cottage Hills, one of...
A Madison man was charged with three firearm felonies by Madison County officials on Wednesday.

Caleb W. Jones, 22, of Madison, was charged with aggravated battery with a firearm, a Class X felony; aggravated discharge of a firearm, a Class 1 felony; and aggravated unlawful use of weapons, a Class 4 felony.

The case was presented by the Madison Police Department.

According to court documents, on July 19, Jones allegedly shot a person in the leg with a 40-caliber Smith and Wesson handgun and used that same gun to shoot in the direction of another person. Jones allegedly carried when he was not on his own land or in his own place of business.

The bail was set at $100,000.

Other felonies filed on July 20 include:

 Christopher Hill, 36, of Pontoon Beach, was charged with two counts of possession of weapons by a felon, a Class 2 felony. The case was presented by the Pontoon Beach Police Department. According to court documents, on July 19, Hill allegedly had a 40-caliber semi-automatic pistol and a previous armed robbery charge from 2014. Bail was set at $75,000.

 Ryan W. Whary, 40, and Rachel N. Jorden, 30, both of the same address in Alton, were charged with two felonies each. Whary was charged with possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and possession of methamphetamine, both Class 3 felonies. Jorden was charged with two counts of possession of a controlled substance, a Class 4 felonies. The case was presented by the Alton Police Department. According to court documents, on July 18, Whary allegedly had psilocybin with the intent to deliver, as well as less than five grams of methamphetamine. Jorden allegedly had less than 15 grams of fentanyl and less than 15 grams of psilocybin. Bail was set at $30,000 for each.

 Kenya S. White, 38, of Alton, was charged with criminal trespass to a residence, a Class 4 felony. The case was presented by the Madison County Sheriff. On July 18, White allegedly entered a residence in Godfrey. Bail was set at $25,000.

 Lindsay Stees, 27, of Alton, was charged with theft over $500, a Class 3 felony, and criminal trespass to a residence, a Class 4 felony. The case was presented by the Alton Police Department. According to court documents, on May 9, Stees allegedly entered a residence in Alton and took an iPhone 13 MaxPro. The bail was set at $25,000.

 Jennifer M. Johnson, 36, of East Alton, was charged with retail theft under $300, a Class 4 felony. The case was presented by the Madison County Sheriff. On July 19 Johnson allegedly took a mini fridge, a case of water and boys clothing from the Godfrey Walmart. Johnson was convicted in 2018 of a retail theft charge in Madison County. The bail was set at $25,000.

 Michael L. Maddalino, 42, of Edwardsville, was charged with retail theft under $300, a Class 4 felony. The case was presented by the Collinsville Police Department. On July 19, Maddalino allegedly took a pair of sunglasses and mens shoes from the Collinsville Walmart. It was Maddalinos second offense following a 2022 burglary charge. The bail was set at $20,000.

 Robert D. Temple Jr., 34, of Collinsville, was charged with possession of methamphetamine, a Class 3 felony. The case was presented by the Madison County Sheriff. On July 19, Temple allegedly had less than five grams of methamphetamine. Bail was set at $20,000.

 Eric J. Carter, 48, of Wood River, was charged with possession of a controlled substance, a Class 4 felony. The case was presented by the Alton Police Department. On July 19, Carter allegedly had less than 15 grams of fentanyl. Bail was set at $20,000.

 James J. Betts, 47, of Granite City, was charged with possession of a controlled substance, a Class 4 felony. The case was presented by the Collinsville Police Department. On May 11, Betts allegedly had less than 15 grams of fentanyl. Bail was set at $20,000.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

BANGKOK (AP)  Myanmar's government confirmed Monday it had carried out its first executions in nearly 50 years, hanging a former lawmaker, a democracy activist and two other political prisoners who had been accused of a targeted killing after the country's military takeover last year.

The executions, first announced in the state-run Mirror Daily newspaper, were carried out despite worldwide pleas for clemency for the four men, including from United Nations experts and Cambodia, which holds the rotating chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

There were swift condemnations.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly condemned the executions, which mark a further deterioration of the already dire human rights environment in Myanmar," U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said, stressing the U.N. chief's opposition to the death penalty.

The secretary-general reiterates his call for the immediate release of all arbitrarily detained prisoners, including President Win Myint and State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi," Haq said.

U.N. human rights chief Michelle Bachelet said she was dismayed by this cruel and regressive step." She added: "For the military to widen its killing will only deepen its entanglement in the crisis it has itself created.

According to the newspaper, the four were executed in accordance with legal procedures for directing and organizing "violent and inhuman accomplice acts of terrorist killings. It did not say when they were hanged.

The military government later issued a brief statement about the executions, while the prison where the men had been held and the prison department refused comment.

Aung Myo Min, human rights minister for the National Unity Government, a shadow civilian administration established outside Myanmar after the military seized power in February 2021, rejected the allegations the men were involved in violence.

Punishing them with death is a way to rule the public through fear, he told The Associated Press.

Among those executed was Phyo Zeya Thaw, a former lawmaker from ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyis National League for Democracy party. Also known as Maung Kyaw, he was convicted in January by a closed military court of offenses involving possession of explosives, bombings and financing terrorism.

His wife, Thazin Nyunt Aung, told AP the world needs to hold the military accountable for the executions. They have to pay, she said.

The European Union, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, United Kingdom and United States issued a joint statement condemning the executions. The Myanmar military regimes executions of pro-democracy and opposition leaders are reprehensible acts of violence that further exemplify the regimes disregard for human rights and the rule of law, they said.

In China, a longtime ally of Myanmar's military, Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian refused to comment on the executions, saying Beijing always upholds the principle of non-interference in other countries' internal affairs.

Phyo Zeya Thaw, 41, was arrested last November based on information from people detained for shooting security personnel, state media said at the time. He was accused of being a key figure in a network that carried out what the military described as terrorist attacks in Yangon, the countrys biggest city.

Phyo Zeya Thaw had been a hip-hop musician before becoming a member of the Generation Wave political movement formed in 2007. He was jailed in 2008 under a previous military government after being accused of illegal association and possession of foreign currency.

Also executed was Kyaw Min Yu, a 53-year-old democracy activist better known as Ko Jimmy, for violating the counterterrorism law. He was one of the leaders of the 88 Generation Students Group, veterans of a failed 1988 popular uprising against military rule.

He already had spent more than a dozen years behind bars for political activism before his arrest in Yangon last October. He had been put on a wanted list for social media postings that allegedly incited unrest, and state media said he was accused of terrorist acts including mine attacks and of heading a group called Moon Light Operation to carry out urban guerrilla attacks.

The other two, Hla Myo Aung and Aung Thura Zaw, were convicted of torturing and killing a woman in March 2021 who they allegedly believed was a military informer.

Elaine Pearson, acting Asia director of Human Rights Watch, called the military trials of the four politically motivated. The junta's barbarity and callous disregard for human life aims to chill the anti-coup protest movement," she said.

Thomas Andrews, an independent U.N.-appointed expert on human rights, called for a strong international response.

"I am outraged and devastated at the news of the junta's execution of Myanmar patriots and champions of human rights and decency," he said in a statement. These individuals were tried, convicted and sentenced by a military tribunal without the right of appeal and reportedly without legal counsel, in violation of international human rights law.

Myanmars Foreign Ministry had rejected the wave of criticism that followed its announcement in June, declaring that its judicial system is fair and that Phyo Zeya Thaw and Kyaw Min Yu were proven to be masterminds of orchestrating full-scale terrorist attacks against innocent civilians to instill fear and disrupt peace and stability.

They killed at least 50 people, military spokesperson Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun said at a televised news conference last month. He said the decision to hang the prisoners conformed with the rule of law and the purpose was to prevent similar incidents in the future.

The military's seizure of power from Suu Kyis elected government triggered peaceful protests that soon escalated to armed resistance and then to widespread fighting that some U.N. experts characterize as a civil war.

Some resistance groups have engaged in assassinations, drive-by shootings and bombings in urban areas. Mainstream opposition organizations generally disavow such activities, while supporting armed resistance in rural areas that are more often subject to brutal military attacks.

The last judicial execution to be carried out in Myanmar is generally believed to have been of another political offender, student leader Salai Tin Maung Oo, in 1976 under a previous military government led by dictator Ne Win.

In 2014, the sentences of prisoners on death row were commuted to life imprisonment, but several dozen convicts received death sentences between then and last years takeover.

The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a non-governmental organization that tracks killing and arrests, said Friday that 2,114 civilians have been killed by security forces since the military takeover. It said 115 other people had been sentenced to death.
LONDON (AP)  British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has defended meeting a Russian oligarch with a KGB past, saying as far as I am aware no government business was discussed at the 2018 get-together.

Johnson, who quit as Conservative Party leader July 7 after months of ethics scandals, is facing questions about his relationship with Russia-born newspaper owner Evgeny Lebedev and his father, Alexander. The older man is a businessman and former Cold War-era KGB officer who has been sanctioned by Canada for his alleged role in enabling Russias invasion of Ukraine.

In April 2018, Johnson went to a party at Evgeny Lebedevs Italian mansion that was also attended by Alexander Lebedev. Johnson, who was British foreign secretary at the time, was not accompanied by any officials.

The event was held as Johnson returned from a NATO meeting, and weeks after former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were poisoned with the nerve agent Novichok in the English city of Salisbury. A police officer and two local people were also sickened, one of whom, Dawn Sturgess, later died.

Britain blames Russias GRU security service for the Salisbury attack, a charge Moscow denies.

Johnson told a committee of senior lawmakers that his meeting with Alexander Lebedev was not a formal meeting, nor something that was pre-arranged. He said it was normal for Britains top diplomat to attend a private, social occasion without officials or security staff.

He said in a letter published Tuesday by Parliaments Liaison Committee that as far as I am aware, no government business was discussed at the party.

Angela Rayner, deputy leader of the opposition Labour Party, said Johnsons mealy-mouthed statement raises more questions than it answers.

She said Johnson apparently still cannot recall whether he discussed government business or not. This letter suggests the Prime Minister has something to hide.

Evgeny Lebedev owns Britains Evening Standard and Independent newspapers. In 2020 was given a noble title  Lord Lebedev of Siberia  and a seat in Parliaments House of Lords by Johnsons government. British media have reported that U.K. intelligence agencies had expressed concerns about the appointment.

Since Russias invasion of Ukraine in February, Johnsons government has sanctioned hundreds of wealthy Russians and moved to clamp down on money laundering through Londons property and financial markets.

Opposition politicians and anti-corruption campaigners say Johnsons Conservatives have allowed ill-gotten money to slosh into U.K. properties, banks and businesses for years, turning London into a laundromat for dirty cash.
The high level of insecurity in Nigeria is so intolerable that terrorists now threaten to kidnap the head of the most populous country in Africa, President Muhammadu Buhari, and a sitting Governor.

It was just some weeks ago that terrorists used explosives to breach a federal prison in Kuje, Abuja, the nations capital. Still at large are many terrorists released by the extremists. One of the released terrorists was seen in a viral video threatening to kidnap and destroy the president and a governor.

A few months ago, in the Abuja-Kaduna train attack, hundreds of passengers who were on a train that was attacked were killed, some released, and many were still in the custody of terrorists. Among the train victims are a retired Army general's wife and children. As reported by one of the female captives, Nigerias sitting Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, was her classmate at the Law School.

Just a few days ago, a widely notorious terror honcho and lynchpin, known for committing killings across the North and on the government's wanted list, was recently given chieftaincy and turbaned in Zamfara State, with Ibrahim Mamman Tsafe, a former inspector general of police and now the Zamfara State Commissioner for Security, in attendance. Tsafes son was recently killed by terrorists in Zamfara State.

Now the attackers of the Abuja-Kaduna train have released a video of themselves mercilessly whipping victims that include men, women, the aged, and children, and threatening to murder them. One of the train terrorists in the viral video seen by the media said: "This is our message to the government of Nigeria and just as you have seen these people here, by Gods grace, you will see your leaders; your senators and governors will come before us". By Gods grace, el-Rufai and Buhari, we will bring them here." They are threatening to abduct and kill President Muhammadu Buhari and the Governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasir El-Rufai.

One of the captives in the video, who appeared weak and distressed, spoke in Hausa dialect on behalf of other victims, alleging that the government was insensitive to their predicament. He added that "the government has the responsibility to rescue us but has failed." "We are therefore calling on these big nations of the world; France, Saudi Arabia, England, and America; the international community; ECOWAS, AU; they should please help and intervene in this matter."

For how long will this brutal and ongoing insecurity and economic war against Nigerians by all types of terrorist groups continue? Nigerians are facing a crisis of gun-related homicides. Guns are traumatizing villages and towns. Violence, like institutional corruption, has affected communities across the country over recent years, marked by severe social, economic, and environmental challenges.

Nigerias ever-expanding population remains a source of unemployment and a weak labor market as its demographics continue to outstrip economic expansion, resulting in enraged and disenchanted Nigerians looking to terrorist recruitment.

Even as these problems deepen, which include food supplies under strain, food insecurity, malnutrition, disrupted roads due to abduction, kidnappings for ransom, ongoing attacks and insecurity, Nigerians feel ignored and not seen as a foreign policy priority. The superpowers' ambivalence toward Nigeria has partly led China and Russia to become helping hands, but these obscured and corrupt nations have further expanded their practices and influence on Nigeria's leadership, who are already pillaging the Nigerian public. Nigeria, a young democracy that took after the American political and constitutional systems, although in a defective manner, needs a more forceful western policy response to the peoples needs. One major way for Western powers to work together to reduce massive problems in Nigeria is to stop criminals and corrupt officials from stealing public funds and enriching themselves by collaborating with terrorist groups.

Like many Africans, Nigerians know that many Europeans and Americans generally have an image of Africa as a primitive home of deprivation, disease, and domestic war. As such, many see systemic racism at play. Such a perception can fundamentally change with the American government and other western powers' democratization and humanitarian assistance. With Russia, China, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia as major violators of human rights influencing Nigeria, and the hands of terrorism everywhere under bad leadership and benevolent dictators, instability, insecurity, and impoverishment of the people deepen.

Terrorists see Nigeria as a fertile ground due to several factors, including a weak legal system, an untrustworthy judicial system, inadequate law enforcement, a dysfunctional electoral system, and persistent ethnoreligious tensions. The difficulties in institution building get more complex and become more pronounced with governors who leave office, who have been arrested and charged in court but find their way into the Senate or ruling political party, as that is how they become untouched, and their cases go into amnesia.

Politicians, judges, law enforcement officers, and other elites are perpetuating themselves in power through children, who through their parents' influence are dominating the political and institutional space, further weakening democratic institutions.

The global and American powers need to understand that raw materials like oil and natural gas are required to continuously build the western future, especially with the ongoing tension with Russia over the Ukraine invasion.

What would it sound like if the president of Africa's most populous country was kidnapped? Would America and its allies then demand the safe release of the president, or a governor? The governments of the United States, the United Kingdom, and other Western powers regularly advise their citizens to exercise extreme caution in Nigeria due to social unrest and security disasters. Nigeria remains a country on the path to becoming a nation in shock due to the deep economic crisis, worsening insecurity, corruption, and poor handling of institutions. As such, its democracy is in danger. It should be our commitment to always protect the president and his allies.

Many superpowers and the United States remain the largest donor of humanitarian assistance to Nigeria, helping to meet its developmental needs, but all that has not stopped its poverty, corruption, ethnic/religious intolerance, weak governance and increasing instability.

What the Nigerian people need is state building, not a periodic round of aid for pitiful people. Nigeria appears to be in a slow-motion train wreck, with public frustration growing, persistent protests and sparked demonstrations, and for a country with a fragile environment, indiscriminate use of abduction, terrorizing elites, gang violence, and violent protests engulfing the country is not what is required.

No one is calling for the US and other western nations to invade a shaky place like Nigeria, especially not in the face of their non-interventionism policy, but the world must find a way to slow down or even stop the chaos and fire in Nigeria before it is too late.

John Egbeazien Oshodi, who was born in Uromi, Edo State in Nigeria to a father who served in the Nigeria police for 37 years, is an American based Police/Prison Scientist and Forensic/Clinical/Legal Psychologist. A government consultant on matters of forensic-clinical adult and child psychological services in the USA; Chief Educator and Clinician at the Transatlantic Enrichment and Refresher Institute, an Online Lifelong Center for Personal, Professional, and Career Development. He is a former Interim Associate Dean/Assistant Professor at Broward College, Florida. The Founder of the Dr. John Egbeazien Oshodi Foundation, Center for Psychological Health and Behavioral Change in African Settings In 2011, he introduced State-of-the-Art Forensic Psychology into Nigeria through N.U.C and Nasarawa State University, where he served in the Department of Psychology as an Associate Professor. He is currently a Virtual Behavioral Leadership Professor at ISCOM University, Republic of Benin. Founder of the proposed Transatlantic Egbeazien Open University (TEU) of Values and Ethics, a digital project of Truth, Ethics, and Openness. Over forty academic publications and creations, at least 200 public opinion pieces on African issues, and various books have been written by him. He specializes in psycho-prescriptive writings regarding African institutional and governance issues.

Prof. Oshodi wrote in via [email protected]
Judgment Day Very Close For Perpetrators Of Horrendous State Crimes Under Buhari; Thousands Of Local And Intl Victims Criminal And Civil Lawsuits Mandatorily A Must Against The Perpetrators And Culpable Others

... Intersociety

...hails Court verdict against invasion of Lawyer Ifeanyi Ejiofor's House and UN Rights Council's damning report against Nigeria and Kenya on Nnamdi Kanu's unlawful rendition and continued captivity

Onitsha, Eastern Nigeria, Tuesday, 26th July 2022 : The International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law has welcomed the two positive developments above mentioned. The judgment of the Federal High Court, Awka Division, which strongly declared as illegal, oppressive and strongly condemnable the commando style invasion of the peaceful ancestral home of Barr Ifeanyi Ejiofor, Nnamdi Kanu's Lead-Lawyer at the hours of the Blue-Law in June 2021 and killings, abductions and property burnings that followed; are clear acts of State brigandage, arson, persecution and terrorism. The monetary awards, though unmerited, are further recognition by the Honorable Federal High Court that the Nigerian Government and top heads of its security forces have brazenly turned the State coercive instruments into instruments for wanton destruction of the lives of innocent and defenseless citizens and their peacefully acquired properties. This is even when the Criminal Laws of Nigeria are fundamentally established for defense of innocent and defenseless private and corporate persons and their properties. That the present central Government of Nigeria could turn its State instruments of coercion against an innocent and professional person simply because he is exercising his constitutional and professional rights to defend any citizen or body corporate as a Lawyer irrespective of the gravity of offense(s) alleged or under prosecution is totally strange and unheard of.

It must be remembered that the ugly incident of June 2021 in the Lawyer Ifeanyi Ejiofor's ancestral home at Oraifite, during which his two domestic staffers were abducted, elder brother abducted but later freed, and personal assistant (Okoro) abducted and later burnt to ashes along with the Lawyer's Camry Car; was not the first time such animalistic dastardly act was perpetrated by murderous State actors. In Dec 2019, the Lawyer was nearly killed after soldiers of the Nigerian Military invaded and attacked his ancestral abode at Oraifite during which dozens of surrounding houses, sales stores, parked automobiles and fixed properties were set ablaze. Intersociety was at the center of advocacy for justice in the two incidents and was also the first to have reported them. Till date, the Nigerian Government authorities have kept mute and shielded the perpetrators. The worst of it all is continued denial and refusal of the Nigerian Government and its security agencies involved to free the two abducted domestic staffers held unlawfully since June last year. This is even when it had severally been independently confirmed that the country's secret police (DSS) are presently holding them without trial or release. It was further reported as contained in the available Court processes that not only that the two detainees are sharing the same captivity facility with the detained IPOB Leader but also one of them has visited him twice or more. One of the recently freed DSS captives had also confirmed seeing them during his recent captivity in the DSS dungeon in Abuja.

Intersociety hereby strongly calls on DSS to set them free without further delays or excuses and denials. We also call for the enforcement to the letter of the Awka Federal High Court judgment delivered against the Army, Police, DSS and others. The monetary awards attached to the landmark verdict must also be complied with and fully paid by the respondents/defendants in compliance with the Court Order. In the event of failure to comply, further orders of the High Court of Justice including a Garnishee Order must be obtained to retrieve the monetary awards from the Dedicated Accounts of the named corporate perpetrators.

A Job Well Done For UN Rights Commission Report On Nigeria: Intersociety wishes to commend the UN Rights Council on Arbitrary Detention over its recent landmark decision concerning the unlawful rendition of IPOB Leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, from Kenya to Nigeria by the authorities of the Governments of Nigeria and Kenya and his continued detention without proper trial under the captivity of the Nigeria's secret police, the DSS. It is sad and deeply disappointing that the present Government of Nigeria has continued to make mockery of regional and international treaties the country willingly acceded to, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, enacted by UN in 1976 and willingly acceded to or ratified by Nigeria in 1993.

As exhaustively explained or elaborated by the UN Rights Council Working Committee on Arbitrary Detention, the Nigerian Government under Buhari has remained the worst violator of the country's regional and international treaty obligations; and by this, the present Government of the country is undermining the international peace and security under UN and AU Systems; thereby constituting a threat to same. The latest UN bashing on Nigeria, is one out of numerous similar pronouncements or verdicts in recent times as cited in the UN Report including various verdicts of the ECOWAS and the AU Human and Peoples Rights Courts and similar others by respected UN bodies and local and international human rights advocacy and research groups including Amnesty International, the Christian Solidarity Intl, the Intersociety, the UK Inter-Parliamentary Committee on International Religious Freedom or Belief and the International Committee on Nigeria and respected others.

Sadly and shockingly, these reports have totally continued to be observed by the present Nigerian Government in monumental breach. Nigeria has continued to refuse to ensure speedy fair trial of the IPOB Leader and conclusion of same; or discharging and acquitting him for want of indictable or triable evidence defined and known to written Criminal Laws of Nigeria. Instead, the country under Buhari has continued to prove that it is a 'Government of vindictiveness, ethnic hatred and profiling'. The Nigerian Government has gone against all known constitutional rights provisions on arrested and detained persons by detaining them arbitrarily without fair and proper trials. This is also to the extent that the Government of Nigeria under Buhari has recklessly resorted to indiscriminate use of 'hate profiling and prosecutorial vindictiveness' which clearly amount to State persecution of the arrested, unprocessed and untried citizens or meting out such grave treatments on them not because they voluntarily and consciously offended the written treasonable offenses but they are being mistreated on the grounds of their ethnicity or tribe and faith or religion.

Judgment Day Is Very Close For Perpetrators Of Horrendous State Crimes

Finally, Intersociety is strongly calling on all victims of horrendous State Crimes in Nigeria under Buhari to buckle up for the JUDGMENT DAY IS VERY CLOSE! This is considering the fact that time is speedily when all perpetrators of horrendous State crimes in Nigeria under Buhari will be called upon to account for conduct atrocities perpetrated. It is therefore the conscientious duty of leading and respected local and international human rights groups and activist lawyers to prepare to come to the aid of victims of horrendous State Crimes and other internationally prohibited acts in Nigeria or any part thereof especially dating back to August 2015 by assisting them in filing compensatory and punitive lawsuits in Nigeria and across international borders for purpose of ensuring that the victims get adequate compensations for wrongs done to them. The criminal aspect of the local and international justice actions will be targeted at securing the behind the bar punishments against those responsible for the perpetration and perpetuation of the horrendous State Crimes. These are in accordance with the 'International Law's Principle of Complimentarity', as most, if not all the horrendous State Crimes perpetrated in Nigeria under Buhari have never been properly investigated and remedied within the framework of domestic judicial process by the authorities in Nigeria or any part thereof; thereby making their perpetrators and sponsors to remain on the prowl as untouchable repeat-offenders.

Signed:

For: International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law



Emeka Umeagbalasi (Criminologist)

Board Chair

Ndidiamaka Chinaza Bernard Esquire

Head, Int'l Justice and Human Rights

Chidinma Udegbunam Esquire

Head, Campaign and Publicity



Contacts:

Mobile Line/Whatsapp: +2348174090052

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://intersociety-ng .org




President Muhammadu Buhari has written a formal request to the Senate to confirm the nomination of Honourable Justice Olukayode Ariwoola as the Chief Justice of Nigeria.

President's letter which was dated 25th July, 2022, was read by the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, at the start of plenary on Tuesday.

The letter read: Pursuant to Section 231(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), I forward for confirmation by the Senate, the appointment of Hon. Justice Olukayode Ariwoola as the Chief Justice of Nigeria.

While I hope that the submission will be considered in the usual expeditious manner, please accept, Distinguished Senate President, the assurances of my highest consideration.

Justice Ariwoola was appointed as CJN by President Buhari following that the resignation of former Chief Justice Muhammad Tanko on 27th June, 2022.

Tanko resigned after a protest by 14 aggrieved Justices over issues of welfare.

However, the former CJN, in his resignation letter, cited health grounds as reason for his decision.
The Peter Obi Support Network (POSN) Austria reprimands Bola Ahmed Tinubu of APC and Atiku Abubakar of PDP for what the group described as continuous unwarranted verbal attacks and derogatory statements on Peter Obi and the Labour Party.

The group also asks APC and PDP to withdraw their candidates from the 2023 presidential election for lack of vision and in the best interest of Nigeria and to support Obi and Ahmed.

In a statement signed on behalf of the group by Prince Dyke Anyanwu, Mag. Leonard Kazie Obiagwu and Uzoma Ahamefule, the convener, it says,  Only trees that bear fruits get stoned .

Atiku Abubakar, Bola Tinubu and their two parasitic parties (PDP and APC) know the value of Peter Obi and that is why they have kept on attacking him unnecessarily just to see if they could bruise his soaring image and personality. But no one can stop an idea its time has come. The more they attack Obi, the more they make him popular.

For the unity, peace, progress and general interest of Nigeria, we call on APC and PDP to look into the mirror, examine themselves very well and withdraw their presidential flag bearers from the 2023 presidential election and support Peter Obi and Datti Baba-Ahmed or get ready to be disgraced. We kindly appeal to Tinubu to jettison his self acclaimed life time ambition and accept to step down because the reality is that nature has turned against the desire. In the same vain too, Atiku should gently forget the desperation of wanting to become a president. Events have overtaken having a president like him who does not think of ranching but rather still believes in rearing cows from Sokoto to Benue, Ogun States and to cities like Abagana and Benin etc. without minding the millions worth of crops they have destroyed, people they have rendered jobless, homeless, useless and killed because of this analog way of life.

Tinubu had during the campaigning period of the just concluded Osun governorship election made not only a derogatory remark by calling the Labour Party a mushroom party, but he also made a shocking and embarrassing statement that members of the Labour Party will labour till they die. On the other hand, Atiku Abubakar of PDP in his own delusions of grandeur a few days ago said he really did not expect the Labour Party to get respectable votes as people think, because They have no structure at all levels, with no governor, and lawmakers. In his bid to further belittle LP and play down the mammoth crowd that follows Obi as only on social media, he ended up exposing his failure.

In the northern part of the country, about 90 per cent of the people dont have access to social media. Most of the electorates are not on social media, Atiku said. For Atiku who was a vice president for eight years to make such a lousy statement shows the kind of a leader he was and why the northern part of Nigeria remains not only the poorest in the country but equally one of the most backward in the world. Atiku should tell us what he achieved as a vice president for the northern people that should make them trust him again?

Tinubus deliberate action not to tell Nigerians the schools he attended and when he finished is a reminiscent of Buharis primary school certificate saga in 2014 where instead of him (Buhari) providing his certificate as requested by law, he went on to spend millions of the Nigerians tax payers money to employ SANs to defend him from answering a very simply question of: where is your certificate? And as a people we are yet to overcome the colossal effect of that quagmire and cannot afford to take the same path again. Therefore, Nigerian people have resolved never again will they allow someone who cannot simply tell them the primary and the secondary schools he attended and show them the certificates.

If one had a few months ago told Bola Ahmed Tinubu of APC and Atiku Abubakar of PDP that they would today be acting like opposition parties to the Labour Party  or consider Peter Obi as torn in their flesh that would cause them sleepless nights  they would not have believed. How could they have? Because they believed that they were the only two parties that could challenge each other, that they had buildings as structures in every part of Nigeria, and that they had the money to influence and curry any political favor they want, but the reality of the huge followership of Peter Obi in every part of Nigeria has destabilized and shocked them, and it seems very difficult for them to accept the hard truth.

Take this message to all the Nigerian political parties and their presidential flag bearers and tell them to wake up from their delusional slumbers of thinking that when they shamelessly make Obi their cardinal points of campaign of disparagement in any given opportunity Nigerians will hate him. Tell them also not to be deceived by the Osun State governorship election results because Osun people voted Adeleke and not PDP, the same way Nigerians will vote for Obi and Ahmed in 2023, and that they should be prepared for fantastic defeats.

In their archaic method of campaigning, the camp of APCs Tinubu is packaging rice and garri in nylon bags, and perhaps would give tokens for tomatoes when the time comes as political strategies to win the vote of Nigerians, and they are in competition with PDPs serial presidential contestant, Atiku Abubakar, of who would give more rice and beans. These two failed political parties have nothing to offer Nigerians at the center, and they are consciously aware that Nigerians have woken up and that every plan of vote buying will fail, hence they are jittery, making rascal statements and telling lies against Peter Obi, the most popular and accepted candidate across the nation. Nigerians must reject every Greek gift they plan to offer during campaign and election times proper.

The collective decision of Nigerians to take back their country and to get out from the state of corruption, retrogression and abyss caused by PDP and APC is heightened by everyday events. And this resoluteness is closing up the nostril of PDP and APC that has irredeemably forced them into a very uncomfortable situation and they are choking, said POSN Austria.

The group (POSN - Austria) said they would be having their inaugural online zoom meeting this coming Sunday (31.07.22), by 7PM Nigeria time and 8PM Austrian time and urge the public especially those living in Austria to join the meeting.

Uzoma Ahamefule, a concerned patriotic citizen, purveyor of Peter Obi & Datti Baba-Ahamed 2023 presidential election and a refined African traditionalist, writes from Vienna, Austria.

+436607369050 (WhatsApp messages only

[email protected]


ASEAN says Myanmar executions highly reprehensible

YANGON: Myanmars execution of four prisoners, including a former member of Aung San Suu Kyis party, is highly reprehensible, said the chair of a regional bloc leading diplomatic efforts to resolve the post-coup crisis.

Myanmarpoliticsdeath

By AFP

Tuesday 26 July 2022, 12:49PM

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has personally appealed to halt proceedings. Photo: AFP

Cambodia, which currently heads the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), said the bloc was extremely troubled and deeply saddened by the executions - Myanmars first in decades.

In a statement issued today, it accused the junta of a gross lack of will to engage with ASEANs efforts to facilitate dialogue between the military and its opponents.

The statement also noted the executions had taken place despite the personal appeal of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen to halt proceedings.

The 10-nation bloc - of which Myanmar is a member - has led diplomatic efforts to end the chaos unleashed by last years putsch.

In April 2021 it reached a Five-Point Consensus with the junta which calls for a cessation of violence and constructive dialogue.

But violence has continued, with anti-junta groups clashing regularly with the military, which is accused of torching villages.

Divisions in ASEAN, long criticised as a toothless talking shop, have also complicated attempts to resolve the crisis, critics say.

Myanmars junta-appointed foreign minister has not been invited to the blocs foreign ministers meeting next week, according to Cambodian state media.

Myanmar remains isolated on the international stage, with Cambodias leader Hun Sen the only foreign head of state to visit since the putsch.

Since Myanmars coup, more than 2,100 people have been killed in the military crackdown on dissent, according to a local monitoring group.
BIE Expo delegation touch down in Phuket

PHUKET: The delegation from the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) arrived in Phuket today (July 26) to finally begin their inspection of the island in person as part of the assessment of whether Phuket should be selected to host the World Specialised Expo 2028.

tourismeconomics

By The Phuket News

Tuesday 26 July 2022, 05:40PM

The 10-member delegation exited the terminal at Phuket International Airport jut after 2pm to be greeted by 600 local women in traditional Phuket-style dress performing traditional Thai dance.

Among the mass troupe were many elderly women of ages reaching up into their late 70s. One woman was 81 years old. Their ages did not diminish their performance or enthusiasm, and were thankful to be under a bright blue sky.

The delegation received puang malai garlands from representatives of the troupe before boarding vehicles to leave the airport.

The delegation arrived in Phuket after meeting Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha this morning at the Purple Room of the Thai Khu Fa building at Government House before the PM joined the Cabinet meeting today.

Joining PM Prayut was Anutin Charnvirakul, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Health, along with Atchaka Sibunruang, Chairman of the Board of the Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau (TCEB).

Also present were TCEB Director Chiruit Isarangkun Na Ayudhya as well as Phuket Governor Narong Woonciew and Phuket Provincial Administrative Organisation (PPAO) President Rewat Areerob.

PM Prayut welcomed the delegation and expressed the potential and readiness of Thailand to host the Expo, as well as the governments full commitment to support all aspects for Thailand to be entrusted to host the world-class exhibition, explained Traisulee Traisornkul, Deputy Spokesperson for the Prime Ministers Office, after the meeting.

The government is ready to support and create awareness among the people of being a good host to welcome the participants. Recently, it has been brought to discuss in the Cabinet resolutions and approved in the budget framework, the PM told the delegation, led by Alain Berger, delegate of France and the Chairman of the Executive Committee of the BIE.

Mr Berger said that he was aware of Thailands stance and commitment in hosting the event. This is considered part of the important activities in the selection of the host country or city, he said.

The BIE committee will assess the feasibility of the project proposed by Thailand, as well as the support from various sectors, including the government, local authorities and people through a survey of the availability of areas in Phuket, and prepare a report on the area and potential of Thailand for further consideration of the project.

The BIE emphasises on presenting projects that will be able to spark a guideline to drive the local economy and extend it to the region effectively, he added.

The delegation arrived in Bangkok on Sunday, and spent yesterday receiving a full day of presentations of Phukets bid to host the Expo in 2028.

In the first session yesterday, TCEB Director Mr Chiruit delivered his presentation About Expo 2028, Phuket Thailand / Thailand as the Host Country.

Danucha Pichayanan, Secretary-General of the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC), delivered his presentation on Economic, Social & Political Environment of Thailand.

Former NCPO spokesperson Yongyuth Mailarp delivered his presentation on Thailand as Asias Medical & Wellness Hub, while Phuket Governor Narong delivered his on Phuket as the Host City.

The second session focussed on the theme and subthemes to be promoted by Phuket hosting the event. Phuket officially entered its bid in Paris late last month under the theme Future of Life: Living in Harmony, Sharing Prosperity. In this arena former Phuket Tourist Association President Bhummikitti Ruktaengam delivered his presentation on Expo with Purposes, Subthemes and their relation to global issues and the Phuket Expo logo to be used.

The second session yesterday closed with a discussion of what pavilions are to be at the Expo if Phuket is selected.

Ms Traisulee this morning explained Thailand is one of five countries that have bid to host the World Specialised Expo in 2028. The other countries are Serbia, Spain, Argentina and the United States.

Each country is required to present the countrys readiness data three times. The BIE will visit each venue twice to inspect the venue and will announce the selection results in June 2023, she said.
HM Kings birthday brings four-day weekend

PHUKET: Government offices across the island will be closed this Thursday and Friday (July 28-29) as the nation commemorates the 70th birthday of His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun on July 28.

culture

By The Phuket News

Tuesday 26 July 2022, 10:40AM

People may send their birthday wishes online. Image: Bureau of the Royal Household

Friday is one of four extra national holidays approved by Cabinet late last year to help boost domestic tourism.

Most government offices on the island will be closed including the Phuket Immigration Office, Employment Office, Land Transport Office and the islands three District Offices.

All main bank branches will be closed, except branches in shopping centres, which will remain open as normal.

There will be no ban on the sale of alcohol.

Police stations across the island will remain open for the public and some local consulates will also be open to serve their respective citizens on this national holiday.

Local officials have yet to announce official events in Phuket to mark the birthday of HM The King, though the Bureau of the Royal Household invites people to send birthday messages online through https://wellwishes.royaloffice.th/

People must submit their name, address and telephone number in order to register before submitting their birthday wishes.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has produced an e-book in the English language entitled A Legacy for All in honour of His Majesty the King on the occasion of his birthday on July 28, government deputy spokeswoman Rachada Dhnadirek said on Monday.

Ms Rachada said the book is about the role of the royal institution in Thai history and society, reports the Bangkok Post.

The book also includes the monarchys involvement in the countrys advancement in the fields of public health, sustainable development, water management, humanitarian assistance, international relations and promotion of a multicultural society.

The book can be downloaded free of charge.
Phuket children learn essential water-safety skills

PHUKET: More than 100 local children took part in a water-safety education and training campaign and learned basic life-saving skills yesterday (July 25) in the hope that they learn essential skills that may prevent them from drowning, and that they might be able to help save the lives of others.

marineSafety

By The Phuket News

Tuesday 26 July 2022, 10:00AM

The Educate Water Safety for Youth activity held at Ao Yon yesterday saw 105 children from Baan Borrae School, Baan Laem Panwa School and elsewhere from throughout Muang District take part.

Phuket Vice Governor Anupap Rodkwan Yodrabam presided over the opening, joined by Australian Consul-General in Phuket Matthew Barclay.

At the event, Mr Barclay handed over a donation of Pirate Kim books, bilingual books created to help children learn basic water safety, to Wichit Mayor Kreetha Chotiwitpipat so they could be handed out to children at schools in the area.

Leading the training were lifeguards from the Phuket Lifeguard Service, led by PLS Vice President Witanya Chuayaun, who also serves as the PLS Lifeguard Education Coordinator and International Lifeguard Supervisor.

The project to educate children about water safety was focussed on children aged 7-15 years old, Ms Witanya said.

Over the past 20 years, since the project began in 2004, more than 8,000 children have participated, she explained.

July 25 each year is World Drowning Prevention Day, when we call on the world to come together to prevent drowning, especially children, Ms Witanya said.

Children are taught how to swim and other water skills, but learning in the pool and the sea are different, she noted.

Therefore we want children to learn to swim in the sea and how to use water equipment to keep themselves safe  and to enjoy these things, she said.

They should learn how to use nature to their advantage, especially while waiting for help from an adult, including knowing how to help other people and first aid, Ms Witanya explained.

During their special day out at Ao Yon yesterday, the children were taught general knowledge about the beach and the sea, about poisonous animals and treatment methods, fun sea knowledge, basic buoyancy and swimming skills, and the basics of surfing.

They also learned basic emergency first aid, and even CPR.

Each section received a lot of attention from the children, especially the fun sea part and the paddleboard part, because the children had the opportunity to swim in the sea and use life-saving equipment, Ms Witanya said.
Walailak University expands workplace education drive

PHUKET: State-owned Walailak University in Nakhon Sri Thammarat has expanded its initiative to provide higher education to people in the workplace with the goal of doubling the number of workplace graduates by 2024.

Educationeconomics

By The Phuket News

Tuesday 26 July 2022, 12:08PM

Walailak University President Sombat Thamrongthanyawong signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Phuket Provincial Public Relations Office (PR Phuket) yesterday (July 25) under its Cooperative and Work iIntegrated Education (CWIE) programme.

Signing the MoU on behalf of the Phuket Provincial Public Relations Office was Duchanee Sachaboonthawee.

The MoU aims to promote cooperation in supporting the practice of cooperation education and integrated education management, specifically to develop students knowledge, skills and ability to work through real work experience in the workplace, said a PR Phuket report of the event.

The signing of the MoU is an important step in academic progress between Walailak University. and network partners in co-developing the quality of university students to be graduates who are skilled in academics, expert in practice as graduate and at work, in accordance with the goals of the university, Mr Sombat said.

It will be an important mechanism in driving the policy of manpower production of the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation, which has announced the CWIE Platform and the goal of driving CWIE by doubling the number of CWIE students within five years from the academic years 2020-2024, he added.

Therefore, the period of cooperative education has been extended from four months to eight months for new students from the academic year 2019 onwards in order to provide students with professional skills have more expertise and expertise and promote the organisation of international-level cooperative education and cooperative education practice in large organisations, Mr Sombat said.

The signing of the MoU yesterday brought the number of organisations Walailak University has signed CWIE agreements on to 20, as follows:
Tyler Cowen is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He is a professor of economics at George Mason University and writes for the blog Marginal Revolution. He is coauthor of Talent: How to Identify Energizers, Creatives, and Winners Around the World.
Kevin Wolf/AP

LOS ANGELES (AP)  TBS is canceling Full Frontal With Samantha Bee after seven seasons, removing a rare female voice from late-night TV, the channel said Monday.

In a statement announcing the cancellation, TBS said it has made some difficult, business-based decisions as part of its new programming strategy
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

BEIJING (AP)  China is warning it will respond forcefully if U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi proceeds with a visit to Taiwan, the self-governing island democracy it claims as its own territory.

Pelosi is second in line to the presidency and would be the highest ranking U.S. politician to visit Taiwan since 1997. China has threatened unspecified resolute and strong measures" if she goes ahead, which analysts say could cause tensions to spike in the Taiwan Strait, considered a major potential Asian powder keg.

Here's a look at what's happening.

___

WHY DOES PELOSI WANT TO VISIT TAIWAN?

Pelosi has been a staunch critic of China throughout her more than three decades in Congress, once unfurling a banner on Beijing's Tiananmen Square memorializing those killed in the bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in 1989. She was also a strong supporter of 2019 pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, making her a target of caustic criticism from Beijing.

Taiwan enjoys strong bipartisan support in Congress, and Pelosi said last week it was important for us to show support for Taiwan. Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen has defied Beijing's threats and her administration has favored core democratic values and liberal policies close to Pelosi's heart, including same-sex marriage and a strong social security net.

___

WHY WOULD THE VISIT CAUSE A RISE IN TENSIONS?

China claims Taiwan as its own territory to be annexed by force if necessary and its military buildup in recent years has largely been oriented toward such a mission.

Beijing objects to all official contact between Taipei and Washington, and routinely threatens retaliation. This time, the stakes appear to be higher. China launched military exercises and fired missiles into waters near Taiwan in response to a 1995 visit to the U.S. by Taiwan's then-President Lee Teng-hui, but it's military capabilities have advanced massively since then.

While experts say it's unlikely China would use force to prevent Pelosi's U.S. government plane from landing in Taipei, its response remains unpredictable. Threatening military drills and incursions by ships and planes are considered potential scenarios that would set the entire region on edge.

___

WHY IS THE TIMING SENSITIVE?

The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden, who will speak to Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Thursday, is keen to keeping America's crucial but often turbulent and highly complex relationship with China on an even keel.

Pelosi had planned to visit in April but postponed after getting COVID-19. She has declined to discuss reported plans to travel to Taiwan in coming weeks. That could coincide with China's celebrations of the Aug. 1 anniversary of the founding of the People's Liberation Army, the military wing of the ruling Communist Party.

A more robust Chinese response could also be driven by Xi's desire to bolster his nationalist credentials ahead of a party congress later this year at which he is expected to seek a third five-year term in office. Xi's expansion of his powers into every sphere and his hardline zero-COVID response to the domestic epidemic has sowed a degree of resentment and appealing to raw patriotism, particularly over Taiwan, might help him fend off criticism.

___

WHAT IS TAIWAN'S ATTITUDE TOWARD A VISIT?

Tsai has been welcoming of all foreign dignitaries, serving and retired, from the U.S., Europe and Asia, using such visits as a bulwark against China's refusal to deal with her government and relentless campaign of diplomatic isolation. Still, her rhetoric on such occasions has generally been relatively low-key, reflecting her own calm demeanor and possibly a desire not to further antagonize China, which remains a crucial economic partner, with around a million Taiwanese residing in mainland China.

The capital Taipei staged a civil defense drill Monday and Tsai on Tuesday attended annual military exercises, although there was no direct connection with tensions over a possible Pelosi visit. While the Taiwanese public strongly rejects China's demands for unification, the ability of the island's military to defend against the PLA without U.S. help is highly questionable, so shoring up the armed forces has been a hallmark of Tsai's term in office.

Speaking Tuesday during the exercises, Defense Ministry spokesperson Sun Li-fang said the military was monitoring all movements of Chinese warships and aircraft around the island. At the same time, we have the confidence and ability to ensure the security of our country, Sun said.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

JERUSALEM (AP)  The Israeli military demolished the homes on Tuesday of two Palestinians suspected of killing an Israeli security guard in a West Bank settlement in April.

Smoke erupted from the site as the building came tumbling down in a controlled explosion. Palestinians clambered over the rubble after the soldiers left and pulled items from the ruins.

The security guard, Vyacheslav Golev, was killed in a shooting at the entrance to a Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank on April 29. The Palestinian militant group Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.

The Israeli military later apprehended two Palestinians suspected of carrying out the attack. On Tuesday, the army said it demolished their residences in the northern West Bank village of Qarawat Bani Hassan.

In a statement, the military said forces faced a violent protest, with firebombs and burning tires thrown at the troops.

Israel routinely demolishes the homes of slain or captured Palestinian assailants who killed Israelis, saying it serves as a deterrent against future attackers. The Palestinians and rights groups say the practice amounts to collective punishment.

Israeli troops have been carrying out near-daily raids across West Bank for months in the aftermath of a string of deadly attacks in which Palestinian attackers killed 19 Israelis.

The military has faced resistance during some of those raids, which in several instances have turned deadly. More than 60 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since the start of the year, according to an official Palestinian tally.

The Palestinians seek the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, territories Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast war, for a future independent state.
greatriverroad.com

ALTON  Michelle Berg, director at the McCully Heritage Project, will be the featured speaker at the Sierra Club's July 12 meeting at 6:30-8 p.m. at the Old Bakery Beer Company in Alton.

The McCully Heritage Project is a 940-acre non-profit environmental center in Calhoun County. Berg will discuss the history and current programs at the McCully Heritage Project and the environmental education opportunities the project offers.
AP

SAN RAFAEL, Calif. (AP)  A Northern California burglar returned to the scene of the crime this weekend after he forgot his keys inside a doughnut company's corporate office.

The thief stole some petty cash from Johnny Doughnuts' office in the San Francisco Bay Area on Saturday night, police said. In another twist, he also grabbed the keys to a bakery vehicle, but didn't steal the vehicle itself.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

LAC SAINTE ANNE, Alberta (AP)  Pope Francis prayed for healing Tuesday from the terrible effects of colonization as he led a pilgrimage to a Canadian lake that has been known to Native peoples for centuries as a sacred place of healing.

The prayer service at Lac Sainte Anne in Alberta was one of the spiritual highlights of the pontiff's six-day visit to Canada to atone for the Catholic Churchs role in running residential schools that forcibly assimilated the country's Indigenous children into Christian society. On Monday he apologized for the catastrophic ways families were torn apart; the following day he transitioned to praying to help them heal from the wounds of violence.

In this blessed place, where harmony and peace reign, we present to you the disharmony of our experiences, the terrible effects of colonization, the indelible pain of so many families, grandparents and children, Francis said on the shore of the lake. Help us to be healed of our wounds.

The ceremony fell on the Feast of St. Anne, the grandmother of Jesus and a figure of particular devotion for Indigenous Catholics, who every year make pilgrimages to Lac Sainte Anne to wade into its waters. Francis highlighted the importance grandmothers have in Indigenous families, and recalled the critical role his own grandmother Rosa had in transmitting the faith to him as a youngster in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Part of the painful legacy we are now confronting stems from the fact that Indigenous grandmothers were prevented from passing on the faith in their own language and culture, he said.

More than 150,000 Native children in Canada were taken from their homes and made to attend government-funded Christian schools from the 19th century until the 1970s in an effort to isolate them from the influence of their families and culture. The aim was to Christianize and assimilate them into mainstream society, which previous Canadian governments considered superior.

In his first event in Canada, Francis blasted the residential schools Monday as a disastrous error and apologized at the site of a former school in Maskwacis for the evil committed by so many Christians against the Indigenous peoples.

Emotions were still raw a day later as those words were digested and dissected.

Murray Sinclair, the First Nations chairman of Canadas Truth and Reconciliation Commission, welcomed the apology but said Tuesday that it didnt go far enough in acknowledging institutional blame for the papacys own role in justifying European colonial expansion and the hierarchys endorsement of Canadas assimilation policy.

It is important to underscore that the church was not just an agent of the state, nor simply a participant in government policy, but was a lead co-author of the darkest chapters in the history of this land, Sinclair said in a statement.

Sinclair said church decrees led directly to the cultural genocide of Indigenous peoples by underpinning colonial policy and the Doctrine of Discovery, a 19th-century international legal concept has been understood to justify colonial seizure of land and resources by European powers.

Trip organizers pushed back on his criticism, insisting that Francis had indeed accepted full responsibility for the Catholic Churchs role in the residential school system.

His decision to apologize on Canadian soil, in a year where he faces significant health challenges and has had to cancel other international travel, demonstrates his understanding of the Catholic Churchs institutional responsibility to contribute to the reconciliation journey, Neil MacCarthy, communications chief for the papal visit, told The Associated Press via email.

He added that Canadas Catholic bishops were working with the Vatican on issuing a new statement on the papal bulls associated with the Doctrine of Discovery, even though the Holy See has already said the decrees have no legal or moral authority in the church today.

We understand the desire to name these texts, acknowledge their impact and renounce the concepts associated with them, MacCarthy said.

Gerald Antoine, Dene national and Assembly of First Nations regional chief, said he had hoped the pope might renounce the decrees while in Canada but he was grateful for the attention the visit and apology have brought to a history that his own family experienced.

The world is seeing we are telling the truth, Antoine said. Our family got uprooted, displaced and relocated. This is what our people have been saying. Nobody ever cared to listen.

Francis didnt dwell on the apology or the churchs fraught history during a morning Mass in Edmontons Commonwealth Stadium dedicated to St. Anne and grandparents, which drew some 50,000 people. Due to knee problems, the 85-year-old pontiff celebrated the Mass from a seated position behind the altar.

Thanks to our grandparents, we received a caress from the history that preceded us: We learned that goodness, tender love and wisdom are the solid roots of humanity, Francis said. We are children because we are grandchildren.

He later carried the grandparental theme to Lac Sainte Anne, where an estimated 10,000 pilgrims gathered at and around the shores of the lake amid vast acres of bright yellow canola flowers that bloom at the peak of summer. Some traveled from faraway parts of Canada to participate in the pilgrimage, which was restarting after two years of COVID-19 closures.

I am happy he apologized, said Myles Wood, who came from Saint Theresa Point in remote northern Manitoba with his wife, mother and members of their parish. Ive got a lump in my throat, he said after Francis passed by and blessed the crowd with holy water from the lake.

Francis arrived to the sound of drums and ululating and paused for a minute of prayer at the waters edge. Ahead of the visit, Alberta health authorities issued a blue-green algae bloom advisory for the lake, warning visitors to avoid contact with the blooms and refrain from wading where they are visible.

The lake is known as Wakamne, or Gods Lake, by the Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation who live nearby, and Manito Sahkahiga, or Spirit Lake, by the Cree. The name Lac Sainte Anne was given to it by the Rev. Jean-Baptiste Thibault, the first Catholic priest to establish a mission on the site.

For Lorna Lindley, a survivor of the Kamloops residential school in British Columbia, where the first presumed unmarked graves were discovered last year, the day was difficult. She attended the morning Mass to honor her late parents, who were taken to a residential school at age 5 in a cattle truck.

For myself its really heavy, Lindley said. Its hard. No matter how many times you apologize, it doesnt take away the hurt and pain.

___

Winfield reported from Edmonton, Alberta, and Gillies reported from Toronto.

___

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the APs collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
EDWARDSVILLE  A Wood River man faces battery charges after a domestic incident in which he also attacked three police officers.

Joseph M. Rabus, 35, of Wood River, was charged July 25 with aggravated domestic battery and three counts of aggravated battery, all Class 2 felonies; aggravated battery, a Class 3 felony; and resisting a peace officer, a Class A misdemeanor.

The case was presented by the Wood River Police Department.

According to court documents, on July 24 Rabus allegedly strangled a household or family member who was 60 or older, kicked three Wood River police officers, and resisted attempts by a Wood River police officer to place him under arrest.

Bail was set at $75,000.

In an unrelated case, a Collinsville man was charged with two counts of domestic battery and child endangerment.

Eric D. Tate, 32, of Collinsville, was charged with aggravated domestic battery, a Class 2 felony, and domestic battery and child endangerment, both Class A misdemeanors.

The case was presented by the Madison County Sheriffs Department.

According to court documents, on July 23 Tate allegedly strangled a household or family member, struck the victim in the face with his hand, and left a 6-year-old boy unattended at his home.

Bail was set at $75,000.

Other felony charges filed July 25 by the Madison County States Attorneys Office include:

 Justin Sikorski, 33, of Collinsville, and Brendan M. Bowles, 29, of OFallon, Illinois, were each charged with aggravated battery, a Class 3 felony, and mob action, a Class 4 felony. Sikorski was also charged with aggravated fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer, a Class 4 felony. The cases were presented by the Pontoon Beach Police Department. According to court documents, on July 24 the two allegedly struck a third person in the face and body, and Bowles kicked the victim in the face, fracturing an eye socket and nasal bones. Sikorski allegedly was driving a Kia when he attempted to flee from a Pontoon Beach police officer, reaching speeds in excess of 21 miles above the posted speed limit. Bail was set at $75,000 for Sikorski and $50,000 for Bowles.

 Kristy L. Fox, 44, of St. Jacob, was charged with criminal damage to property over $500, a Class 4 felony, and violation of bail bond conditions and domestic battery, both Class A misdemeanors. The case was presented by the Madison County Sheriffs Department. According to court documents, on July 25 Fox allegedly caused more than $500 damage to a 2021 Jeep SUV, struck a family member in the face with her hands, and violated bail bond conditions for a domestic battery charge stemming from May 25. Bail was set at $15,000.
I am jetting off on holiday to Egypt with my family in August. Having witnessed the airport chaos and flight cancellations this year, one of the first things I did after I booked was to take out a decent travel insurance policy.

But since then, I've found out that the current account I recently opened offers me free worldwide travel insurance - so now I have two lots of cover for the same trip.

Hopefully I won't need to make a claim, but I'm not sure what will happen if I do.

Would being double insured invalidate my policies? If not, could I claim on both and potentially get double the pay out? T.M. via email.

Doubled up: Our reader has found themselves with two insurance policies for the same trip

Emilia Shovelin of This is Money replies: Having the right travel insurance - and taking it out as soon as you book your holiday - is especially important at the moment.

With international travel at its peak and airports at breaking point, taking out a comprehensive policy with disruption cover seemed like a sensible move.

However, you have since learned that your current account offers both you and your family full worldwide coverage.

This is a fairly common feature of the big banks' premier accounts, but you didn't realise you were covered until after you had already paid for separate insurance for your Egypt trip.

We explain the rules around having multiple travel insurance policies, as well as other types of cover such as car, home and health insurance.

Is it ok to have two travel insurance policies?

The biggest concern when it comes to having two travel insurance policies is which provider you turn to if you need to make a claim.

If you have double cover, one insurer could ask the other to make a contribution to your payout.

This could significantly delay your claim, and you could also be left paying two excess charges.

Making two separate claims, rather than just one, could also mean a rise in your insurance premiums in the future.

Weight off your mind: Travel insurance can cover you for anything from lost luggage to cancelled flights and emergency medical cover

'It's best to insure once and insure well,' says Helen Phipps, director at Compare The Market.

'If you want to make a claim and have two insurance policies, you are required to register the claim with both insurers and inform them you have multiple active policies.

'If you have two insurance policies and need to make a claim, both insurers may suggest that the other one should pay.

'Ultimately, if both insurers end-up paying out a share of costs, you may be subject to two excesses.'

While having two insurance policies isn't illegal, having one good one is usually a better bet.

Ceri McMillan, a GoCompare travel insurance expert, adds: 'It's not illegal to be dual insured, but it can make claiming more complicated.

'The more complicated a claim - and the more insurers involved - the trickier it can be to get sorted.'

So which one should you cancel? First, you should consider what your travel insurance with HSBC offers compared to the policy you bought when you booked your holiday.

You will generally want to stick with the policy that covers the most different eventualities, and pays out the biggest sums.

> We explain what to look for in a good travel insurance policy here.

Phipps said: 'It's a good idea to carefully compare policies and prices. The insurance provided by your bank may cover you, but it could be quite basic.

'Whereas a standalone policy is independent to any other service, and specifically suits your needs.

'If you decide you no longer need a policy, cancel it.'

What about car or home insurance?

With home insurance, it is common to take out buildings, and contents insurance with two different providers and this does not count as dual coverage.

However, as with travel insurance, if two policies cover the same thing it could make it more difficult to make a claim.

When it comes to car insurance, experts say that motorists often unknowingly find themselves paying double premiums when they don't need to.

Darryl Bowman, from the flexible car insurance provider, Cuvva, says: 'With motor insurance it can arise innocently.

'For example, someone could take out temporary insurance on a friend's car, and then it transpires that their friend's policy covers additional drivers.

No claims: if you have two car insurance policies and you need to make a claim, you could be stuck waiting while your insurers decide who is responsible for paying for your claim

Bowman recommends you cancel any additional car insurance premiums if you find yourself with dual coverage.

He said: 'Unless one insurer is covering for something additional, there is no need to pay double for the same thing.

'You also run the risk of losing two no-claims discounts with both insurers.'

It's not illegal to have two car insurance policies for the same car, but it is illegal to claim the full amount from two different insurance companies.

Bowman adds that it's worth checking the terms and conditions, as in some cases holding two car insurance policies could render them invalid.

He says: 'Some insurers may include a clause in their policy stating that if you hold dual insurance for the same risk and don't provide written notice to the insurer that you're covered elsewhere, you may run the risk of your policy being voided.

Can I have two life insurance policies?

Unlike most other types of insurance, over-50s life insurance, commonly used to cover funeral and other costs after someone passes away, is one area where it is relatively normal to have more than one policy.

A spokesperson from insurer SunLife said: 'Over 50s life insurance is a good example of insurance that you can have more than one policy of.

'Many customers take out one at first and then, as funeral costs rise over the years for example, they could take out another plan to boost their cover.'

However, there is sometimes a monetary cover limit so if you have multiple policies you should check you are still within that.

It is also worth checking your insurance policy to ensure there are no conflicts, or to see if you have an 'excess clause'.

An 'excess clause' means you might be able to claim from a second insurance policy if the total amount of your claim exceeds the cover limit of your first policy.
My wife and I booked a holiday to Cyprus for us and our daughter as a gift to thank her for her continuing help.

Unfortunately, my wife fell ill prior to our departure and we had to cancel. I claimed on our Aviva travel insurance, which is linked to our Barclays bank account, and was paid in full for our portion of the trip.

My grown-up daughter, who lives independently at another address, had her travel insurance as an add-on to her home policy with Direct Line.

But the firm refused to refund her share  around 1,000  on the basis that she had not contributed to the cost. I feel this is grossly unfair.

J. D., East Sussex.

Out of pocket: A family was forced to cancel their holiday due to illness but were denied a full refund because they do not all live at the same address

Sally Hamilton replies: It certainly seemed harsh to me that the generosity you showed in footing the bill for a holiday for your daughter was not reflected in the behaviour of her insurer, Direct Line.

Your daughter had been battling depression following her divorce from an abusive husband, but was starting to make a good recovery while holding down a job, raising her child and supporting you and your wife.

You wanted to celebrate this by inviting her on a holiday to coincide with your wife's 80th birthday.

There was disappointment all round when the Cyprus trip had to be cancelled. Happily, though, you were able to recoup the loss of your share of the bill from your insurer.

But both you and I found it hard to fathom why Direct Line declined your daughter's claim. You took the case to the Financial Ombudsman, but the complaint was not upheld.

Direct Line refused to refund the daughter's share of the holiday cost  around 1,000  because it was paid for her as a gift

Despite my request to reconsider, Direct Line stuck to its guns. A spokesman says: 'The claim was declined on the grounds [the daughter] did not pay for the holiday, a point clearly outlined in our terms and conditions.

'The individual that suffered a financial loss had a policy with another insurer.'

I was disappointed to pass this on to you especially as you told me later the terrible news that your wife passed away recently.

Your experience is not an isolated one. Not long after dealing with this case, I read a letter from another concerned parent about a daughter facing a vexed insurance claim.

She had booked a March trip to the Aspinall Foundation's Port Lympne wildlife park in Kent for herself, her husband and their three-year-old son, paying 1,177 for a lodge that sleeps up to five.

Since the charge was the same regardless of the number of occupants, she invited her parents to join them for free.

But just before travelling, her son fell ill with norovirus. Since no refund or rebooking is permitted on a last-minute cancellation, the daughter claimed on the travel policy linked to her Nationwide current account, which is provided by UK Insurance Ltd.

After much correspondence and long delays (leading to a 50 compensation) the insurer agreed to pay  but only 606, which was three-fifths of the claim, minus the 100 excess.

UK Insurance (the main underwriter behind Direct Line, as it happens) ignored the fact the price was for the property and stated it would only pay for those insured on the Nationwide policy. I felt this was blatantly unfair.

I asked it to reconsider. It repeated the same line, that the policy only covers the costs of insured people and not any portion related to uninsured guests, 'even if the trip is paid for as a gift'.

However, I am pleased to say Nationwide stepped in and, in recognition of the circumstances, made an ex-gratia payment of 471, so that the claim has now been met in full. That's the holiday spirit!

So where does this leave people who want to treat their family to a holiday? Direct Line's spokesman advises: 'They should discuss options for a guest extension with their insurer, so they are financially protected for that person's proportion of the overall cost.'

Eharmony fixed me a date with a debt collector

Last year, I joined the dating site eharmony on a special offer for a year's membership. I rarely used it, then forgot about it and later cancelled the payment method.

When the year ended, eharmony contacted me to demand the full fee of 286, but it used the email address I'd set up specifically for the service. By chance, I looked at it a few weeks ago and realised my careless mistake.

I explained the situation and suggested that I pay for the two months that had passed since the offer ended.

Eharmony declined and said the debt had been passed to a debt collection agency.

M. P., Southend-on-Sea.

Dating disaster: Eharmony passed this reader's debt to a collection agency after they forgot to cancel their membership following a special offer period

Sally Hamilton replies: I thought your suggestion was a pragmatic solution. Compromises are key to a successful romantic relationship, and should be for business arrangements, too.

Eharmony agreed to waive the debt, and says you won't be hearing from the debt collection agency.
Rolls-Royce has named a petroleum industry veteran as its incoming chief executive ahead of Warren East's departure in the new year.

Tufan Erginbilgic, 62, will join in January to replace East, who has led the aerospace and defence giant for the past seven years.

An engineer by training, the dual Turkish-British national had a stint working at oil company Mobil prior to its merger with Exxon, before moving to BP in 1997, where he was to spend 23 years.

Long-time: An engineer by training, Tufan Erginbilgic had a stint working at oil company Mobil prior to its merger with Exxon, before moving to BP in 1997, where he was to spend 23 years

He steadily rose through the ranks of the oil and gas supermajor, becoming the head of its European funds and global lubricants businesses, and chief operating officer of its international fuels arm.

Erginbilgic eventually joined the London-listed group's executive team in 2014 after taking charge of its downstream segment, whose responsibilities include BP's refining, petrol stations and lubricants operations.

Since leaving BP in 2020, he has become a partner at private equity investor Global Infrastructure Partners, and a non-executive director at Irish business services provider DCC and commercial vehicle maker Iveco.

Rolls-Royce chair Anita Frew described Erginbilgic as a 'proven leader of winning teams within complex multinational organisations, with an ability to drive a high-performance culture and deliver results for investors.'

She added: 'He has extensive strategic and operational experience and a firm understanding of safety-critical industries, including aerospace, as well as the challenges and commercial opportunities presented by the drive for low carbon technologies.'

As part of his signing-on package, Erginbilgic will earn a base salary of 1.25million, 30 per cent of which will be paid as shares deferred for two years.

Difficulty: Rolls-Royce has experienced some of its most tumultuous years in history under Warren East's leadership, including a record annual loss and the Covid-19 pandemic

On top of this, he will receive a 'golden hello' in the form of two share tranches worth 3.75million each as compensation for the earnings and bonuses he will lose as a consequence of leaving GIP.

His move to the top job will follow the very volatile tenure of Warren East, whose first week after ascending to the chief executive role in 2015 saw Rolls-Royce post its fourth profit warning in 18 months.

In his second year in charge, the FTSE 100 firm plunged to a record 4.6billion pre-tax loss due to a massive writedown on the value of its currency hedges and huge fines related to bribery and corruption charges.

Further financial trouble arose when its Trent 1000 and Trent 900 engines were found to have major faults, something Rolls-Royce estimates will cost it 2.4billion to fix by 2023.

The coronavirus pandemic then piled even greater financial pressure on the company, given its revenues are heavily dependent on how often planes with its engines are flying, as the introduction of strict travel restrictions led to the airline sector being virtually grounded.

East embarked on a radical restructuring programme, slashing nearly 9,000 jobs and raising 7billion in debt refinancing, but he could not prevent the firm from plummeting to a 3.1billion loss in 2020.

But the high restructuring savings, combined with a successful roll-out of Covid-19 vaccine programmes and loosening of cross-border travel rules, led to a huge rebound in trade and helped the group return to a 124million profit last year.

Mr Erginbilgic said: 'I am honoured to be joining Rolls-Royce at a time of significant commercial opportunity, and strategic evolution as its customers embrace the energy transition.

'I am determined to deliver the full potential of the market positions which the company has built over many years, through its engineering excellence and innovative technology, and to build a platform for growth in order to create value for all stakeholders.'

Rolls-Royce shares closed trading 4.6 per cent lower at 87.7p on Tuesday, meaning their value has declined by around 69 per cent in the past three years.
The merger of a British satellite firm with a French rival faced a backlash last night as a former science minister claimed it handed technology to Europe on the cheap.

London-based OneWeb  which is backed by the UK Government after being rescued by taxpayers from bankruptcy two years ago agreed to join forces with Frances Eutelsat yesterday.

The deal is expected to be completed by the middle of next year.

Fired up: A rocket carries 36 OneWeb satellites to space. The satellite firm, which was rescued by taxpayers two years ago, agreed to join forces with Frances Eutelsat yesterday

But George Freeman, who quit as Britains science minister earlier this month, told the Mail it would hand over another key UK industrial asset to our competitors.

The deal is billed as a merger of equals, with OneWebs UK future continuing to be safeguarded by the UK Governments special share and ownership of the newly-enlarged company split equally between investors in both firms.

It also gives Britain a veto over any move abroad as well as the power to block sales on national security grounds and first preference on manufacturing and launch site decisions.

But it will ultimately mean OneWeb becomes part of the Paris-listed Eutelsat group  although there are plans for a secondary listing in London.

Freeman said: We will never grow an innovation economy if we keep selling all our best companies to our competitors.

The deal will also see Chinas sovereign wealth fund, an investor in Eutelsat, take a 1.8 per cent holding in the combined company, though it will not have a board seat or access to any information that is not publicly available.

It brings together OneWebs pioneering lower Earth orbit (LEO) satellite technology, aimed at allowing access to high-speed internet where traditional ground infrastructure is unavailable, with the older geostationary orbit (GEO) satellites deployed by Eutelsat.

The British and French Governments will each own about 10 per cent.

Freeman said: The EU have long dreamt of having an LEO constellation. This deal gives them one much more cheaply than building their own.

But unless our rights are protected, this sale to Frances Eutelsat  with Chinese partners  will hand over another key UK industrial asset to our competitors. I hope both [Conservative] leadership candidates will make clear they will not allow it without a commitment to satellite manufacturing, maintenance and insurance in the UK.

Recent foreign takeovers have seen satellite company Inmarsat being swallowed up by Americas Viasat  a deal being probed by the competition watchdog  and Welsh chip maker Newport Wafer Fab bought by a Chinese-backed Dutch firm  a deal now facing a national security review.

Neil Masterson, OneWebs chief executive, defended the deal, citing the advantages of combining LEO and GEO technology.

He said: The business prospects are much stronger together than they are individually.

A source at the Department for Business said Freeman was involved in the process throughout as the minister responsible and supported the merger.

The source added: And the golden share is protected  its part of the deal. He obviously wasnt listening in meetings.
The topic on everyones lips here and throughout the Hudson Valley is housing: where to find it, how expensive it is, will the bubble ever burst? Rising prices and shrinking inventory generated by the early pandemic exodus of New York City residents have been borne forward by rising interest rates, supply-chain issues and a transformation in how Americans work, making what once seemed like a temporary, localized bubble into a long-term affordable housing issue.

Housing is partly an issue of supply, and from January 2020 to April 2022, the number of available homes on the market in the Mid-Hudson Valley declined by 63 percent, according to a recent report by Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress.

The rise of short-term rentals listed on sites such as Airbnb and Vrbo in a region heavily dependent on tourism has exacerbated that problem. A recent estimate by For the Many, an activist group for progressive political causes, concluded that approximately two-thirds of available housing in Kingston is taken up by short-term rentals, according to data from apartments.com and AirDNA, a short-term rental data site. In Newburgh, the number was 58 percent; in Poughkeepsie, 50 percent.

These short-term rentals keep valuable housing assets off the market for local residents and hollow out working-class neighborhoods by turning housing into hotels, said Evan Menist, Poughkeepsie Common Council majority leader. We must use all of the tools at our disposal to combat the housing crisis, and making sure that existing housing stock is available for existing residents is a huge priority to make that happen.

To that end, Menist is among several local elected officials who have come out in support of a new campaign by For the Many to regulate short-term rentals in several key cities throughout the Hudson Valley, including Poughkeepsie, Beacon, Newburgh, Kingston and New Paltz. Billed as Homes Are Not Hotels, the group announced the campaign surrounded by local officials at a news conference Thursday in Newburgh.

The campaign includes template legislation that outlines three policy goals:

A comprehensive registration system that requires documented proof of primary residence; A complete ban on non-owner-occupied vacation rentals; A strong enforcement system so the municipality can hold both hosts and platforms accountable, with hefty fines for violations.

Taking on greedy investors and giant tech companies like Airbnb wont be easy, but this fight is necessary to help ensure that long-time Hudson Valley residents can stay in the communities they call home, For the Many Executive Director Jonathan Bix said.

To shape the law, For the Many worked with short-term-rental regulation lawyers and partner organizations including Local Progress, the Coalition Against Illegal Hotels, and the watchdog site InsideAirbnb.com. The group also coordinated with elected officials in some of the targeted municipalities that already have some form of short-term rental regulations on the books.

Theyre right on the money with what needs to be done, said Beacon Councilman Dan Aymar-Blair. Beacons short-term rental law checks a lot of boxes, but one it doesnt is we allow single-family homes to be rented out 100 days a year. If theres an area that needs tweaking in Beacon, its that.

The enforcement piece is super important, Aymar-Blair added. We had our law in place for maybe a year and a half when someone checked and we had seven to eight Airbnbs registered.

Beacon Council member Palome Wake says the Common Council has already taken steps to address enforcement by signing onto a county contract to hire a company that mines social-rental data. As that data comes in, the city will continue to update its regulations.

The bottom line here is that we want our neighbors to be able to stay in their homes and communities, and also know that low- and fixed-income people are the ones struggling the most to do so in this skyrocketing housing market, Wake said.

The city of Kingston also has some short-term rental regulations on the books, having adopted a resolution last year that amended the definition of hotel to align with Ulster Countys definition, which includes short-term rentals, so that theyre subject to the county hotel occupancy tax. (In May, Kingston Mayor Steve Noble announced new efforts to increase enforcement of the regulations.) The city also is in the process of implementing a form-based zoning code, which will include guidelines for short-term rentals, according to Summer Smith, Kingstons communications director.

The village of New Paltz has had a rental registry for nearly a decade, which includes all long- and short-term rentals and mandates annual inspections, according to Deputy Mayor Alexandra Wojcik, and the village adopted further regulations last summer. The town of New Paltz also has a registry and is looking into further legislation. Deputy Town Supervisor Dan Torres said the town believes in the For the Many campaigns broader mission and will be looking at its template legislation.

Being able to strike the balance between acknowledging that Airbnb can have a positive economic impact in our communities while also realizing that some people have turned them into businesses that have greatly harmed our housing market  that can be done the right way or the wrong way and were trying to find that balance, Torres said.

Municipalities with no short-term rental regulations on the books, such as Poughkeepsie and Newburgh, appeared to be moving faster.

In Poughkeepsie, Menist is working with fellow Council member Megan Deichler on adopting For the Manys legislation, and he expects to introduce it by the end of August. Following the typical process, the bill could be passed as soon as the end of September and in effect before winter, he said.

The highest-ranking municipal leader to signal his support so far is city of Newburgh Mayor Torrance Harvey. This proposal will pass in the city of Newburgh with unanimous support, he said.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

SCHENECTADY  A raging debate over free speech is materializing in Schenectady over three words: Black Lives Matter.

The city Republican Committee on Monday sharpened its attacks against the message painted in front of City Hall, delivering a petition containing 223 signatures calling for the words to be scrubbed or for a comparable message to be painted elsewhere  preferably God Bless America on Erie Boulevard, according to the GOP.

Matt Nelligan, chairman of the committee, said hes been stonewalled by City Hall on obtaining the correct procedures one would go through to install street art, and said city policy is ambiguous. He blasted lawmakers for creating what he said was a divisive environment and said favoring one group's message is unfair.

He suggested litigation may be possible in the future.

We want everyones message on a city street, Nelligan said at Monday night's City Council meeting, and we want you to pay for it because you paid for the Black Lives Matter message.

The heated discussion unfolded as a half-dozen speakers debated the art and its implications for free speech. The City Council unilaterally approved the messaging in summer 2020 following the nationwide protests responding to the murder of George Floyd by a now-convicted Minneapolis police officer.

City resident Claudia Kavanagh told the meeting that she thinks the country has been ripped apart by groups espousing the principles of "antifa" and Black Lives Matter, and alleged the city was bullied into applying the message, which cost $10,000. (While there are local and national organizations that identify as Black Lives Matter groups, they can vary widely in their goals and strategies; "antifa" is a catchall term often used by conservatives to criticize activists that identify as anti-fascist.)

You should have put it to a referendum vote to ask people what they wanted, but I understand you were bullied and hustled like other cities in this country, Kavanagh said.

More than 70 murals expressing support for the Black Lives Matter movement have been painted across the U.S. in the past two years.

City resident Matt Marshall countered that Republicans have a poor understanding of the Constitution and accused them of whipping up an imaginary bogeyman that doesnt exist.

The GOPs rhetoric around the street painting is part of its strategy to reverse the historic trends that have pushed the party to the sidelines: Republicans haven't won a citywide race in years, and Democrats enjoy a 4-1 registration advantage. The local party organization was mostly dormant until a new crop of more vocal leaders took over last year, including Nelligan and Thomas A. Kennedy III, the committee's vice president.

The issue of whether a municipality can be forced to allow political messages on public streets is settled precedent, Marshall said, pointing at last years decision by a U.S. District Court judge upholding a lower court's dismissal of a lawsuit brought by a conservative group who unsuccessfully sought to paint a mural in front of Trump Tower in Manhattan.

Others called for the City Council to tamp down the rhetoric and hash out issues through a diversity committee or open forums.

Roy S. Gutterman, an associate professor and director of the Tully Center for Free Speech at Syracuse University, said the debate unfolding in Schenectady is a merger of multiple issues: Theres the matter of government speech; what art can be created in a public forum; and accusations of content discrimination.

Multiple U.S. Supreme Court cases support government-issued speech, Gutterman said, including the late conservative Justice Antonin Scalias belief that the chief purpose of free speech is to protect the communication of political ideas and the very business of government is to support or disavow different viewpoints.

Theres a broad, bipartisan view that government has the right to disseminate viewpoints and information, Gutterman said. The government can speak on its own and disseminate information and disseminate messages that reflect the community.

The U.S. Supreme Court 2009 decision Pleasant Grove City v. Summum, for instance, ruled that a government entity is entitled to say what it wishes.

The lawsuit was brought by a church that sued the Utah city after the locality allowed a Ten Commandments statue to be planted in a public park but denied the churchs request to erect their own religious monument there.

The city was allowed to speak the way it wanted to and dictate what goes in a public park, Gutterman said.

Similarly, ex-Justice Stephen Breyer, who sided with the court's liberal wing, delivered the court's unanimous opinion in May when it reversed a lower court's decision that determined the city of Boston violated the First Amendment when it denied a religious group's application to fly a Christian flag at City Hall.

Schenectady lawmakers on Monday largely avoided addressing the debate and didnt indicate a path forward.

I just want to say Black Lives Matter, thank you, Councilman Damonni Farley said.

City Council President Marion Porterfield, who pushed for City Hall to apply the art two years ago based on constituent feedback, urged attendees to remember the original reason for the slogans application.

We should not be divisive, Porterfield said. We shouldnt even have to say that. But unfortunately, because things have happened in our city and our country, its a reminder.

City code does not provide a procedure to allow the public to paint murals on city streets.

The citys public street surface is not a traditional public forum, said city Corporation Counsel Andrew Koldin, and the city is not required to, nor has it made street surfaces a designated public forum by permitting and maintaining murals on streets.

The city is entitled to its own government speech and may use its street surfaces, subject to laws and regulations  including those related to traffic control  to communicate to the public, Koldin said.

City Mayor Gary McCarthy on Tuesday said the debate is a tactic by Republicans to divert attention away from the Jan. 6 hearings that are investigating the attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of former President Donald J. Trump.

Im not going to continue to wallow in the muck of this and will continue to focus on the day-to-day delivery of services, McCarthy said.

All of Us, the Schenectady-based civil rights group, said they appreciated McCarthy and City Council's ongoing support of the art.

"Also, we look forward to the city moving with actionable steps that will continue to change Schenectady for the better," the group said in a statement.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

SOUTHPORT, N.C. (AP)  Jean Heller was toiling away on the floor of the Miami Beach Convention Center when an Associated Press colleague from the opposite end of the country walked into her workspace behind the event stage and handed her a thin manila envelope.

Im not an investigative reporter, Edith Lederer told the 29-year-old Heller as competitors typed away beyond the thick grey hangings separating news outlets covering the 1972 Democratic National Convention. But I think there might be something here.

Inside were documents telling a tale that, even today, staggers the imagination: For four decades, the U.S. government had denied hundreds of poor, Black men treatment for syphilis so researchers could study its ravages on the human body.

The U.S. Public Health Service called it The Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male. The world would soon come to know it simply as the Tuskegee Study  one of the biggest medical scandals in U.S. history, an atrocity that continues to fuel mistrust of government and health care among Black Americans.

I thought, 'It couldnt be, Heller recalls of that moment, 50 years ago. The ghastliness of this.

___

The story of how the study came to light began four years earlier, at a party in San Francisco.

Lederer was working at the AP bureau there in 1968 when she met Peter Buxtun. Three years earlier, while pursuing graduate work in history, Buxtun had taken a job at the local Public Health Service office in 1965; he was tasked with tracking venereal disease cases in the Bay Area.

In 1966, Buxtun had overheard colleagues talking about a syphilis study going on in Alabama. He called the Communicable Disease Center, now the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and asked if they had any documents they could share. He received a manila envelope containing 10 reports, he told The American Scholar magazine in a story published in 2017.

He knew immediately that the study was unethical, he said, and sent reports to his superiors telling them so, twice. The reply was essentially: Tend to your own work and forget about Tuskegee.

He eventually left the agency, but he couldnt leave Tuskegee.

So, Buxtun turned to his journalist friend, Edie, who demurred.

I knew that I could not do this, Lederer said during a recent interview. AP, in 1972, was not going to put a young reporter from San Francisco on a plane to Tuskegee, Alabama, to go and do an investigative story.

But she told Buxtun she knew someone who could.

At the time, Heller was the only woman on the APs fledgling Special Assignment Team, a rarity in the industry. Still, she was not spared the casual sexism of the era. A 1968 story on the team for AP World, the wire services employee newsletter, described the squad as 10 men and one cute gal.

A caption under the 5-foot-2 Hellers photo called the pixie-like reporter lovely and competent.

Lederer knew Heller from their days together at AP's New York headquarters, then at 50 Rockefeller Plaza, where Heller started out on the radio desk.

I knew she was a terrific reporter, Lederer says.

During a trip to visit her parents in Florida, Lederer made a short detour to Miami Beach, where Heller was part of a team covering the convention  from which U.S. Sens. George McGovern of South Dakota and Thomas Eagleton of Missouri would emerge as the Democratic presidential and vice presidential nominees.

During a recent interview at her North Carolina home, Heller recalled putting the leaked PHS documents in her briefcase. She says she didnt get around to reading the contents until the flight back to Washington.

Seated next to her was Ray Stephens, head of the investigative team. She showed him the documents. Stephens realized the government wasnt denying the studys existence, just refusing to talk about it.

Heller recalls Stephens saying: When we get back to Washington, I want you to drop everything else youre doing and focus on this.

The government stonewalled her and refused to talk about the study. So, Heller began making the rounds elsewhere, starting with colleges, universities and medical schools.

She even reached out to her mothers gynecologist, a straight down the line, middle of the road, superior doctor.

I asked him if hed ever heard about this, and he said, Thats not going on. I just dont believe it.

Finally, one of her sources recalled seeing something about the syphilis study in a small medical publication. She headed to the D.C. public library.

I asked them if they had any kind of documents, books, magazines, whatever ... that would fit a, what today we would call a profile or a search engine search, for Tuskegee, farmers, Public Health Service, syphilis, Heller says.

They found an obscure medical journal  Heller cant recall the title  that had been chronicling the studys progress.

Every couple of years, they would write something about it, she says. Mostly it was about the findings  none of the morality was ever questioned.

Normally, reporters celebrate these Eureka moments. But Heller felt no such elation.

I knew that people had died, and I was about to tell the world who they were and what they had, she says, her voice dropping. And finding any joy in that ... would have been unseemly.

Armed with the journal, Heller went back to the PHS. They caved.

She says the lede of the story  the first paragraph or sentence of a news article  came to her quickly.

Marv Arrowsmith, the bureau chief, walked by my desk and, I said, Hey, Marv. Will you publish this? she recalls. And he read it and he looked at me and he said, Can you prove it? I said, Yes. He said, You got it.

An AP medical writer helped interview doctors for the story. Within just a few short weeks, the team felt they had enough to publish.

Arrowsmith suggested they offer the story first to the now-defunct Washington Star, if it promised to run it on the front page.

The Star was a highly respected PM (afternoon) newspaper, and if they took it seriously, others might follow, Heller says.

____

The story ran on July 25, 1972, a Tuesday. It was a harrowing tale.

Starting in 1932, the Public Health Service  working with the famed Tuskegee Institute  began recruiting Black men in Macon County, Alabama. Researchers told them they were to be treated for bad blood, a catch-all term used to describe several ailments, including anemia, fatigue and syphilis. Treatment at the time consisted primarily of doses of arsenic and mercury.

In exchange for their participation, the men would get free medical exams, free meals and burial insurance  provided the government was allowed to perform an autopsy.

Eventually, more than 600 men were enrolled. What they were not told was that about a third would receive no treatment at all  even after penicillin became available in the 1940s.

By the time Hellers story was published, at least seven of the men in the study had died as a direct result of the affliction, and another 154 from heart disease.

As much injustice as there was for Black Americans back in 1932, when the study began, I could not BELIEVE that an agency of the federal government, as much of a mistake as it was initially, could let this continue for 40 years, says Heller. It just made me furious.

Nearly four months after the story ran, the study was halted.

The government established the Tuskegee Health Benefit Program to begin treating the men, eventually expanding it to the participants wives, widows and children. A class-action lawsuit filed in 1973 resulted in a $10 million settlement.

The last participant died in 2004, but the study still casts a long shadow over the nation. Many African Americans cited Tuskegee in refusing to seek medical treatment or participate in clinical trials. It was even cited more recently as a reason not to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

At 79, Heller is still haunted by her story and the effects it had on the men and women of rural Alabama, and the nation as a whole.

For the story, Heller would win some of journalisms highest honors  the Robert F. Kennedy, George Polk and Raymond Clapper Memorial awards. (Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward of The Washington Post, writing about the Watergate scandal, finished in second place for the Clapper Award.)

Hanging in her office is a copy of the front-page byline she got in The New York Times, exceedingly rare for an AP staffer. But the hype surrounding Tuskegee would play a big role in Hellers decision to leave the AP in 1974.

I felt after all of the brouhaha over ... Tuskegee, and what came after it, that I should move on, she says. She went on to a three-decade career that would take her from the hills of Wyoming to the beaches of South Florida.

These days, Heller spends her time cranking out fiction. Shes five books into a mystery series featuring Deuce Mora, a hard-driving female reporter who is a very un-pixie-like 6 feet tall.

Despite her distress over the state of the news business, she has never thought about returning to journalism.

You cant go home again; I firmly believe that, she says. And I dont want to be competing against myself or against expectations.

When asked if she regretted giving up what is arguably one of the great scoops in American journalism, Lederer replied: Possibly, you know, a little bit. But she knew the story was bigger than her or Heller or any individual reporter.

What I cared about most was that this seemed to be a horrible and deadly injustice to innocent Black men, says Lederer, who was the first woman assigned full time to cover the Vietnam War for the AP and remains its chief U.N. correspondent.

And for me, the important thing was to verify it and to see that it got out to the broader American public  and that something was done to prevent any such experiments from happening again.

Heller agrees.

The story isnt about me anyway, she says. Its about them.
TROY  Hudson Valley Community College says it is beginning to see results from several international trips officials have taken, efforts that they say have brought in hundreds of additional students after some criticism about the expensive travel.

Top administrators have traveled to China, Germany, Aruba, Costa Rica, Israel and other countries in recent years, including 10 trips in the last four years. Spouses came along last year on the trip to Israel, sparking criticism that it looked like a vacation trip.

The spouses paid their own way, and it was the only trip they attended, HVCC President Roger Ramsammy said. But he acknowledged it left a poor impression.

For many years, he has said the trips would lead to more students, and thus more revenue for the college. After the Israel trip, Democrats in the Rensselear County Legislature called him on it, demanding to know the return on investment.

Now Ramsammy says has numbers to give them.

The college just signed an agreement with the Costa Rica Ministry of Public Education to teach 1,000 high school teachers, he said. The teachers will learn, in live lessons, how to teach English effectively. The program starts with 90 teachers this fall.

He estimated that would bring in $200,000 to $500,000 a year.

In Aruba, the college is also linking up with American University School of Medicine, a medical school.

Our students will be able to go straight to a medical school, Ramsammy said. And their students can sign on to take our classes.

The college has about 200 full-time-equivalent international students taking classes virtually now, and he hopes that will grow with the Aruba initiative.

About 50 percent of the graduates of Caribbean medical schools match for a United States medical residency, a crucial step to becoming a doctor here. Many others stay in the Caribbean and become physicians there. About 90 percent of the graduates of American medical schools get matched after graduation. Those who go to Caribbean schools are encouraged to apply for a match in a less competitive specialty, such as family medicine, for which matches are much more likely.

In Germany and Denmark, HVCC officials toured commercial sites so they could build classrooms with the exact equipment big companies need their employees to use. They just finished building a lab that looks like the modern wind turbines Welcon of Denmark uses for its off-shore wind farms, including one Welcon is about to build at the Port of Albany. Now students use that lab in Troy to learn to weld those turbines.

Ramsammy is also working with Israeli officials to craft agreements in which HVCC would train high school teachers who will teach workforce training classes.

Were not anywhere yet, were just starting this one, Ramsammy said, but the proposal is for teachers to come to HVCC, get training in a specific workforce development program, and then return to Israel to create that program.

Soon, all of that is going to pay off for us, too, he said.

The details will be worked out via Zoom, but he said he has to travel to places in person at times to make connections.

If I can sit in my office and never go on one more airplane I would be happy, because its the worst thing I ever do, he said. I hate travel. It irks me because I wish I never had to travel and I could Zoom everything. It just doesnt work in business.

Last year, the college spent $69,000 on international travel. This year, its budgeted at $137,000 and next year the budget calls for spending $186,000, which is 0.2 percent of the operating budget.

The minority Democratic members of the Rensselaer County Legislatures Education Committee asked for those figures before voting on the 2023 college budget. HVCC told them they had to submit a Freedom of Information request, and that they wouldn't receive the data before the scheduled vote.

Legislator Cynthia Doran, who asked for the figures, said she was glad to hear through a reporter that the college was seeing a return on its investment. But she said the college should have given her that information.

If it can bring revenue to Hudson Valley while revenue is declining, hallelujah, she said. But I would still like to know (before a vote). Were asking for a budget line on a budget were going to vote on and we cant be given the information? How much did it cost you to go and what did you receive as a result, I dont think that is unreasonable.

She still has questions about whether its truly necessary to travel.

Do we always have to go on these trips? We have Zoom capability, she said.

She added that she isnt trying to hurt the college.

Im a supporter of Hudson Valley. Its an amazing community college. The programs are creative, theyre relevant. This is not a situation where Im trying to make things difficult for people, she said. I asked information and I was denied it.
PORTLAND, Maine (AP)  A judge has granted a request for additional DNA tests by a man convicted of killing a 12-year-old girl more than three decades ago.

Dennis Dechaine is serving a life sentence for the murder and sexual assault of Sarah Cherry, who was abducted while babysitting in Bowdoin. Her body was found two days after she disappeared in July 1988.
ATLANTA (AP)  The prosecutor who's investigating whether former President Donald Trump and his allies illegally tried to interfere in the 2020 election in Georgia cannot question a lawmaker who signed a certificate falsely stating that Trump won the state, a judge ruled Monday.

Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney agreed with Republican state Sen. Burt Jones that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis had a conflict of interest because she hosted a fundraiser last month for Jones' Democratic opponent in Novembers election for lieutenant governor. McBurney said during a hearing last week that Willis' decision to host the fundraiser was a What are you thinking?" moment with horrible optics.

Willis can still ask other witnesses about Jones, the judge said, but will not be able to bring charges against him. It is now up to the Prosecuting Attorneys Council of Georgia, a nonpartisan association of Georgia district attorneys, to appoint another prosecutor to determine whether any charges should be brought against Jones, one of 16 Georgia Republicans who signed the certificate falsely asserting Trump won the state and claimed to be the states duly elected and qualified electors, McBurney wrote.

Todays ruling is a huge win for our campaign  but more importantly, for due process and the rule of law in Georgia, Jones said in an emailed statement.

Willis office was still reviewing the order and didnt have an immediate comment, spokesperson Jeff DiSantis said.

The judge's decision disqualifying Willis from questioning Jones likely has no real bearing on the future of Willis' overarching investigation into what she has called a multi-state, coordinated plan" by Trump's campaign to influence the results of the 2020 election. But it served as a rebuke of Willis and provided ammunition to her critics who have accused her of pursuing a politically motivated case.

A number of high-ranking state officials have already been questioned before the special grand jury investigating the case. Willis is also seeking to compel testimony from some close Trump associates, including U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, as well as state lawmakers and the 15 other Republicans who served as fake electors. Rudy Giuliani, the Trump attorney and former New York mayor, has been ordered to testify next month.

In other developments in the case Monday, a federal judge in Georgia said she would not quash a subpoena to compel testimony from U.S. Rep. Jody Hice, who was among the GOP lawmakers who attended a December 2020 meeting at the White House in which Trump allies discussed various ways to overturn Joe Bidens victory.

And Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican, was scheduled to appear at Willis' office on Monday to record video testimony to be shown to the special grand jury. In early December 2020, Trump called Kemp and urged him to order a special legislative session to appoint electors who would vote for Trump. Kemp has said Trump also asked him to order an audit of signatures on absentee ballot envelopes.

Meanwhile, speaking at a news conference Monday in Greenville, South Carolina, Graham said he would continue to fight efforts to subpoena him in the investigation. Willis has indicated she wants to question him about phone calls he made to the Georgia secretary of state.

I think this is a constitutional overreach, and Im confident the courts will take care of it, Graham said.

In ruling for Jones on Monday, McBurney said that Willis was within her rights to host the fundraiser but that her decision has consequences.

She has bestowed her offices imprimatur upon Senator Joness opponent. And since then, she has publicly (in her pleadings) labeled Senator Jones a target of the grand jurys investigation, the judge wrote. This scenario creates a plain  and actual and untenable  conflict. Any decision the District Attorney makes about Senator Jones in connection with the grand jury investigation is necessarily infected by it.

The order says Willis and her team cannot subpoena Jones or seek to obtain any records from him, may not publicly categorize him as a subject or target of the special grand jurys investigation and may not ask the special grand jury to include any recommendations about him in its final report.

Pete Skandalakis, executive director of the Prosecuting Attorneys' Council, said that since the special grand jury can't issue criminal indictments it may be premature to appoint another prosecutor to handle the matter. His office is reviewing the order and case law and will make a decision at the appropriate time, he said in a statement.

McBurney denied a request from 11 of the other people who signed the false electoral certificate to disqualify Willis from matters regarding them and also declined to quash subpoenas for them.

In Hice's failed bid to avoid testifying, he argued that any actions he took to investigate alleged irregularities in the election were within his authority as a member of Congress and are shielded by the U.S. Constitution from any legal proceedings and inquiry. He also cited a doctrine that excludes high-ranking officials from having to testify.

The judge in his case, U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May, said she would send the matter back to Fulton County Superior Court and instruct the parties to come up with a process to handle objections by Hice on the basis of those federal principles. If disagreements arise that they cant settle, Hice can bring the federal issues back to her to settle, she said.

Hice will leave office in January after an unsuccessful campaign, backed by Trump, to unseat Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who rejected the then-president's entreaties to find 11,870 votes  enough to beat Biden in Georgia by one vote.

___

Associated Press writer Meg Kinnard in Columbia, S.C., contributed to this report.
Michael P. Farrell / Times Union

COLONIE  State Police have charged a 20-year-old man who allegedly made a threat while at the New York Air National Guard - Joint Force Headquarters in Latham Saturday, and had an illegally possessed assault rifle and large capacity ammunition feeding devices at his home, police said.

At 1:47 p.m. Saturday, State Police said they were contacted by a soldier at the guard base who became concerned by the man. Officers said the man, Thomas Greene, of Colonie, made a terroristic threat while on the property on Old Niskayuna Road.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

A man who attacked police officers with poles during the riot at the U.S. Capitol was sentenced on Tuesday to more than five years in prison, matching the longest term of imprisonment so far among hundreds of Capitol riot prosecutions.

Mark Ponder, a 56-year-old resident of Washington, D.C., said he "got caught up in the chaos that erupted on Jan. 6, 2021, and didn't mean for any of this to happen.

I wasn't thinking that day, Ponder told U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, asking her for mercy before she sentenced him to five years and three months in prison.

That was three months longer than the prison sentence requested by prosecutors. And it's the same sentence that Chutkan gave Robert Palmer, a Florida man who also pleaded guilty to assaulting police at the Capitol.

More than 200 other Capitol riot defendants have been sentenced so far. None received a longer prison sentence than Ponder or Palmer.

Chutkan said Ponder was leading the charge against police officers trying to hold off the mob that disrupted Congress from certifying President Joe Bidens electoral victory.

This is not caught up, Mr. Ponder, she said. He was intent on attacking and injuring police officers. This was not a protest.

Chutkan has consistently taken a hard line in punishing Capitol rioters. She has handed down terms of imprisonment to all 13 riot defendants who have come before her, matching or exceeding the Justice Department's sentencing recommendation in every case, according to an Associated Press review of court records.

Prosecutors had recommended a five-year prison sentence for Ponder, who has been jailed since his arrest in March 2021.

In April, Ponder pleaded guilty to an assault charge punishable by a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Federal sentencing guidelines called for a prison term ranging from nearly five years to just under six years, but Chutkan wasn't bound by those recommendations.

More than 100 police officers were injured during the riot.

Defense attorney Joseph Conte said Ponder was caught up in the madness that was January 6. Conte asked for a sentence below the guidelines range.

Ponder swung a pole at a Capitol police officer on the Capitol's West Plaza, breaking it against the officer's shield. After retreating into the crowd, Ponder grabbed a sturdier pole colored in red, white, and blue stripes. He used it to assault two other officers, hitting one of them in the left shoulder, before police detained and handcuffed him.

Outnumbered officers released Ponder because they couldn't get a police vehicle to transport him. They told him to leave the Capitol, but Ponder stayed and joined a mob of rioters clashing with police at a tunnel.

Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonell, one of the officers assaulted by Ponder, said the force of Ponder's blow shattered his shield.

It was horrific, Gonell said during Ponder's sentencing hearing. That particular day will impact me for the rest of my life.

After his arrest, Ponder told FBI agents that he typically supports police but viewed the officers as part of the problem that day.

At some point in time, the way this country is going, you gonna have to pick a side, he said, according to prosecutors.

Ponder attended the Stop the Steal rally on Jan. 6 to hear then-President Donald Trump's speech and to peacefully protest the results of the election and the lack of attention to alleged voting irregularities, Conte wrote in a court filing.

He did so with no intent to do anything but add his voice to the vocal protests over the injustice he perceived had happened in the election," the attorney added. Unfortunately, he got caught up in the riotous atmosphere of the crowd and erroneously perceived the police as standing in the way of the crowds desire to protest the election results.

Ponder has a substantial criminal record spanning three decades, including a 2008 conviction for bank robbery, according to prosecutors.

More than 840 people have been charged with federal crimes for their conduct at the Capitol on Jan. 6. Over 350 riot defendants have pleaded guilty or been convicted by a jury or a judge after trials.

More than 220 of them have been sentenced, including approximately 100 who received a term of imprisonment. Ponder is the 15th to be sentenced to a prison term exceeding one year.

The prison sentences for Ponder and Palmer may not be the lengthiest for much longer. Prosecutors are seeking a 15-year prison sentence for Guy Reffitt, a Texas man who was convicted of storming the Capitol with a holstered handgun. U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich is scheduled to sentence Reffitt on Monday.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

NEW YORK (AP)  A preacher known for his close friendship with New York Citys mayor was robbed of more than $1 million worth of jewelry Sunday by armed bandits who crashed his Brooklyn church service, just as he was sermonizing about keeping faith in the face of grave adversity, police said.

Bishop Lamor Miller-Whitehead, who embraces his flashy lifestyle and can often be seen driving around the Big Apple in his Rolls Royce, was delivering a sermon at his Leaders of Tomorrow International Ministries when police say three robbers walked in. They showed guns and demanded property from Miller-Whitehead and his wife, Asia K. DosReis-Whitehead, police said.

The service was also being livestreamed online.

In the video, which appears to have been removed from the churchs social media channels, Miller-Whitehead is heard asking his flock, How many of you have lost your faith because you saw somebody else die? moments before the robbers entered the church.

Hes then seen dropping to his hands and knees and repeatedly saying, alright, alright, before a man holding a gun and wearing a black sweatshirt enters the frame. The man, who was also wearing a black face mask, is then seen approaching Miller-Whitehead, who was hiding behind a gold-colored lectern, and stuffing the bishops jewelry into his pockets.

Another man, dressed in similar garb, is then seen heading toward Miller-Whitehead, lingering near him for a few minutes and then running off. Miller-Whitehead said in a video posted to Instagram that the robbers ripped his collar off to grab his chain and held a gun to his infant daughters face while stealing his wifes jewelry.

Police said the robbers fled in a white Mercedes that was last seen on Avenue D near the church, in Brooklyns Canarsie neighborhood. Neither Miller-Whitehead, 44, nor DosReis-Whitehead, 38, were physically injured, police said. They daughter was also unharmed.

In a video posted to Instagram, Miller-Whitehead said he felt a demonic force enter the church and wasnt sure if the gunmen wanted to shoot the church up or if they were just coming for a robbery. He said hes thankful no one was hurt.

When I see them come into the sanctuary with their guns, I told everybody to get out, everybody just get out, said Whitehead, who on Monday offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the robbers.

A message seeking comment was left with Leaders of Tomorrow International Ministries.

Miller-Whitehead, 44, formed Leaders of Tomorrow International Ministries in 2013, after serving a five-year prison sentenced for identity theft and grand larceny. Miller-Whitehead claims he was illegally convicted.

A city hall spokesperson said New York Mayor Eric Adams spoke with Miller-Whitehead after the robbery Sunday.

No one in this city should be the victim of armed robbery, let alone our faith leaders and congregants worshiping in a House of God, Adams said in a statement. The NYPD is investigating this crime and will work tirelessly to bring the criminals involved to justice.

In a video posted Monday to YouTube, Miller-Whitehead thanked the mayor for his support. He said next Sundays church services would go on as planned.

Adams, a former police captain, grew close to Miller-Whitehead while serving as Brooklyns borough president  the position he held for eight years until becoming mayor in January. Miller-Whitehead made an unsuccessful bid last year to succeed Adams in that post.

In May, Miller-Whitehead made headlines for showing up to a Manhattan police precinct in a Rolls Royce SUV as he attempted to negotiate the surrender of a man accused of gunning down a stranger on a New York City subway train.

Miller-Whitehead told reporters at the time that he had multiple conversations with Adams regarding Andrew Abdullahs surrender, though the suspect was ultimately picked up by police outside the offices of the public defender organization that was representing him.

In an Instagram post Sunday, Miller-Whitehead defended his bling-loving lifestyle, saying hes going to live his life the way God has it set up for him.

Its not about me being flashy, Miller-Whitehead said. Its about me, purchasing what I want to purchase. And its my prerogative to purchase what I want to purchase.

___

Follow Michael Sisak on Twitter at twitter.com/mikesisak
DALLAS (AP)  A 37-year-old woman fired several gunshots, apparently at the ceiling, inside of Dallas' Love Field Airport on Monday before an officer shot and wounded her, authorities said.

The woman was dropped off at the airport at about 11 a.m., walked inside near the ticketing counters and entered a bathroom, Dallas police Chief Eddie Garcia said at a news conference. She emerged wearing a hooded sweatshirt or some other clothing that she hadnt arrived in, pulled a gun and fired several shots, apparently at the ceiling, he said.

At this point, we dont know where exactly the individual was aiming, Garcia said.

An officer nearby shot the woman in her lower extremities," wounding her and enabling her to be taken into custody, Garcia said. She was taken to a local hospital for treatment.

No other individuals were injured in this event other than the suspect, Garcia said.

Police later identified the woman as Portia Odufuwa, 37, and did not speculate as to her motive.

We wanted to ensure that our community knows that this is not an active situation, the chief said.

Karen Warner told The Dallas Morning News that she was checking in for her flight when she heard a loud argument about 20 feet (6 meters) behind her, followed by a gunshot. Then she started running.

I heard about 10 more shots while I was running away, said Warner, who couldn't discern what the argument was about.

Love Field, which is one of the Dallas-Fort Worth area's two major airports, suspended airport operations after the shooting but said at around 3:45 p.m. that they had resumed. The Federal Aviation Administration held up flights for a couple of hours while police investigated, but flights were cleared to resume around mid-afternoon.

A spokesman for Southwest Airlines, which uses Love Field as a hub, said the airline canceled most of its flights that were scheduled to depart or arrive at Love Field before 6 p.m. CDT. Southwest canceled 85 flights at Love Field on Monday, according to the flight tracking website FlightAware.

The shooting wasn't the first violent incident at the airport.

In 2016, a police officer shot and wounded a man outside of Love Field after police said he advanced toward the officer with large landscaping rocks in his hands after battering his ex-girlfriend's car with a traffic cone and rocks as she dropped him off at the airport.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP)  Tunisians voted in favor of a new constitution that critics fear could entrench efforts by the president to consolidate power, according to official preliminary results late Tuesday.

Initial results announced by Tunisias electoral commission said 94.6% of the votes backed the new constitution, with 5.4% against. Turnout for Mondays referendum was low, with under a third of the nations voters taking part.

The new political system will see sweeping executive powers given to the president and the removal of key checks and balances, including weakening the influence of Tunisias parliament and judiciary.

The text was proposed and revised by Tunisian President Kais Saied himself, and has sparked concerns that the North African nation will see a reversal of hard-won democratic gains.

Critics warn that Saieds new structure could pave the way to a new autocracy in the country that rose up against strongman Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in 2011 and kicked off the Arab Spring pro-democracy protests. Tunisia is the only nation to emerge with a democracy from those protests.

The referendum took place a year to the day after Saied froze Tunisias parliament and dismissed his government. Opponents then derided the move as a coup, but many Tunisians celebrated it due to growing exasperation with the countrys political elites and years of economic stagnation.

In the year since, Saied has given himself the power to rule by decree and has fired dozens of judges, decisions that have provoked a series of protests. Winning the presidency in 2019 with over 70% of the votes, Saied continues to enjoy widespread popular support, with recent polls putting his approval rating at well over 50%.

Many believe the new constitution will put an end to years of political deadlock and reduce the political influence of Tunisias largest party, Ennahdha, an Islamist party unpopular with many Tunisians.

Saied joined a large crowd of supporters in the early hours of Tuesday as they marched down Tunis central thoroughfare waving national flags and blaring car horns after an unofficial exit poll result late Monday suggested a majority of voters had approved the new constitution.

We have gone from the shore of despair and disillusion to the shore of hope, Saied said. There will be no turning back. .. This is a total break with a system forever rejected."

However, turnout Monday was low, with preliminary figures putting participation at 30.5% of the 9.2 million registered voters.

Political apathy has increased in recent years. Tunisians have grown disenchanted with politics and preoccupied with daily struggles as unemployment has risen and purchasing power declined.

But Saieds critics also called for a boycott of the referendum, saying the process was flawed. Among complaints, they said Saied altered the makeup of Tunisias electoral commission, undermining its independence, and alleged that political parties wanting to campaign against the constitution were blocked from holding campaign events.

Opposition leaders denounced the referendum at a news conference Tuesday.

Samira Chaouachi, a former speaker of Parliament, said a high percentage Tunisians showed that they will not engage in this crime that is being committed against democracy and Tunisia.

The National Salvation Front, a coalition of opposition parties and groups, urged Saied to resign, calling the referendum results a fiasco. The leader of the opposition Attayar party, Ghazi Chaouachi, denounced the distortion of reality and the lies that he said marked the referendum process.

Concerns were also echoed by the international community.

The U.S. State Department on Tuesday noted the low turnout and said weakened checks and balances in Tunisias new constitution could compromise the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms.

Saied sidestepped a question from The Associated Press whether a low turnout cast doubt on the referendums validity. Speaking to reporters as he walked with supporters early Tuesday, Saied said he had tried to get as many Tunisians as possible engaged with this election.
New York State Police and a half-dozen municipal police departments  including Troys force  apparently didnt get the memo that the state Legislature repealed a 1976 statute that had allowed agencies to shield the personnel records of police officers and others.

Two years ago, in the wake of protests following the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer, the statute commonly referred to as 50-a was repealed so that the public could get a sense of how disciplinary actions were handled against police, firefighters and corrections officers.

The New York Civil Liberties Union launched an effort to access those records by filing Freedom of Information Law requests. The State Police and the other agencies that NYCLU ultimately sued cited the lamest of excuses, including that the records requests were too onerous  because digital records are apparently hard to access in this era of modern technology.

What the lawsuit hinges on is the police agencies claim that the public is not privy to unfounded complaints. However, the repeal of the statute didnt come with any exclusions. Many other police agencies have promptly disclosed the full disciplinary records of officers.

Further, how can the public get a sense of how law enforcement agencies handle disciplinary actions without also seeing those cases that were found to be unsubstantiated? How can the public trust that investigations are thorough?

Beyond that, the Police Benevolent Association of the New York State Troopers notes the state Committee on Open Government agrees that unfounded complaints shouldnt be released, and then noted that NYCLU itself isn't required to release disciplinary actions of its lawyers  as if theres remotely a correlation between a private attorney and a law enforcement officer.

This implies a complete misunderstanding of the wide-scale protests following Mr. Floyds death, and the special role law enforcement holds as a government-sanctioned paramilitary force with wide discretion to suspend liberty and use deadly force when it deems necessary.

Information already disclosed to NYCLU from a dozen police departments and the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision makes clear that police agencies document misconduct differently.

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.

NYCLU first sought the State Police records in 2020. The State Police produced some records, but mostly leaned on its arguments that the request was burdensome and would invade the privacy of the troopers involved in unfounded complaints. NYCLU went through the appeals process, which ultimately led to the lawsuit filed this month. NYCLU also has filed court petitions against police departments in Rochester, Syracuse, Freeport, Troy, Buffalo and Nassau County.

NYCLUs petition in the State Police case, filed in state Supreme Court in Albany, notes that the Legislatures floor debates repealing 50-a made clear the intent that all complaints would be subject to disclosure.

The courts must clarify that the repeal of 50-a applies to all police and other disciplinary records previously shielded by this statute. More, the Legislature must make sure the Committee on Open Government understands that its role is to ensure the publics access to public records, not to come up with picayune arguments that prevent a clear understanding of the disciplinary process.



Editor's note: An earlier version of this editorial misstated NYCLU's policy regarding disciplinary matters concerning its own attorneys. NYCLU has no policy on this, and by law, complaints against attorneys and judges are confidential.
ALBANY  U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin said that just minutes after he was accosted by a veteran with a sharp object at a campaign event last week, the Republican gubernatorial candidate conferred offstage with Monroe County District Attorney Sandra J. Doorley.

"She said, 'I guess I'm not going to be able to be in charge of this (case),'" Zeldin said at a news conference Monday. "Because she was present; she was a witness. So it was her instant decision ... to recuse herself, and I support that decision."

Doorley's office, however, offered a different version of the story.

The district attorney now finds herself facing criticism on two fronts: an ethics debate about her connections to Zeldin's campaign as well as a legal debate over her office's handling of David G. Jakubonis, who was carrying a sharp key-ring-style defense tool when he approached Zeldin at the event outside Rochester on Thursday evening.

Zeldin said Doorley had informed his campaign months ago that she would "love to be" a campaign co-chair, but after speaking with the District Attorneys Association of New York (DAASNY) had decided against it. But an April news release from the campaign lists Doorley as a campaign co-chair  the only district attorney on the list  and there are no records indicating otherwise. As recently as Monday morning, she was still listed as a co-chair on the campaign's website. (Zeldin claimed the posting was merely an archival news release.)

On Monday afternoon, Zeldin and Doorley claimed that she had never been a campaign co-chair, a role that would almost certainly have violated DAASNY's ethics guidelines.

But on Monday evening, several hours after this story was posted on line, Doorley's spokeswoman called to say that she had misspoken when initially describing the timeline: She said the district attorney had in fact agreed to serve as a co-chair before the campaign announced her participation, and only then made outreach to DAASNY that caused her to change her mind. The spokeswoman could not immediately offer copies of communications backing up this version of events.

"District attorneys and assistants shall not be a member or serve as an official of any political committee, club, organization or group having a political purpose," according to the group's 2021 ethics guidebook.

Zeldin asserted that a district attorney is "entitled to attend a political rally."

Doorley also is a semi-regular donor to the Conservative Party of Monroe County. In February, she contributed $1,000 to the political party, according to state Board of Elections records. Since 2015, she has donated more than $3,000 to political causes, including money in support of a town supervisor and Supreme Court justice.

District attorneys are not allowed, according to the ethics guidelines, to endorse a political candidate or attend political or social functions in a manner in which they "publicize their attendance at such functions," according to the ethics guidelines, "nor act in a manner which could be interpreted as lending the prestige and weight of their office to the political party or function."

"However, this shall not prohibit normal political activity during the course of a campaign year," the guidelines read.

Recusal in a rare case

A spokeswoman for Doorley said that she intends to recuse herself in the prosecution of Jakubonis, although as of Monday afternoon she had not yet formally done so. She plans to ask for the appointment of a special prosecutor.

Contradicting Zeldin, her spokeswoman said the need for Doorley to recuse herself did not cross the district attorney's mind until Friday morning, following Jakubonis' initial court appearance, where he was charged with attempted assault in the second degree, a nonviolent felony.

After he was released on his own recognizance without bail, Zeldin and other Republicans reacted with expressions of outrage, claiming that the defendant's freedom was a sign that Democrat-backed changes to bail laws were imperiling New Yorkers.

But the decision by the Monroe County Sheriffs Office to not file more serious charges against Jakubonis after consulting with prosecutors was criticized by Democrats, who noted that law enforcement in Monroe County is known for pressing heavier charges than prosecutors in many other counties. According to a review by the Times Union, state data shows the prosecutor's office has sought bail on criminal cases at higher rates than in most highly populated counties in New York.

Doorley's spokeswoman said an assistant district attorney spoke with an investigator for the Monroe County Sheriff's Office, which investigated the incident at the rally, and agreed to the terms of the charges. Once the charges were not bail-eligible, the prosecutor's office decided not to send a representative to the court proceeding where they could have pressed for bail or supervised release as a condition of release for someone who may have been exhibiting mental health issues.

The attempted-assault charge that the Monroe County Sheriff's Office ultimately selected is rarely pursued in New York, let alone within the county, according to state data.

In 2021, the offense was the "top charge" brought forward in a New York criminal case about 200 times  and only once in Monroe County.

In about a quarter of those roughly 200 cases in the state, bail was sought for the defendant despite the offense not being automatically bail-eligible. Often in those cases, the defendant had an apparent domestic dispute or a criminal history. In about a third of the cases, a judge released a person under a type of supervision.

Zeldin blamed the nature of the state's bail laws and the offense that was being levied against Jakubonis. "This was a violent felony this attacker was charged with and he still got released on cashless bail," he said Monday, misstating the nature of the charge.

Jakubonis, a veteran, drew the charge because the attack was thwarted and therefore, according to law enforcement and prosecutors, only attempted. On Saturday, federal prosecutors charged him with assaulting a member of Congress with a dangerous weapon.

Gov. Kathy Hochul has remained relatively quiet on the issue publicly. She expressed her concerns for Zeldin after the initial reports of the incident.

Hochul, who was fought in April for additional alterations to the state's bail laws to roll back some of the changes imposed by Democrats in 2019, has generally defended the state's criminal justice system and says she is looking for additional data before proposing any other tweaks to the system.
ALBANY  Bishop Edward B. Scharfenberger has agreed to meet on the steps of Corpus Christi Church in Round Lake on Sunday with a 47-year-old man who was allegedly sexually abused as a child by a former priest.

The unprecedented encounter  which is scheduled to take place before Scharfenberger presides over an 11 a.m. Mass at the church  was arranged after the alleged victim, Stephen Mittler, wrote a letter inviting the Albany bishop and other officials with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany to follow through on their pledge to "walk with the survivors."

In June, the diocese agreed to pay $750,000 to Mittler to settle a lawsuit he had filed under New York's Child Victims Act. It had been the first case against the diocese scheduled for trial under the law that temporarily lifted the statute of limitations to give alleged victims of sexual abuse a two-year window to file claims against their abusers or the institutions that harbored them.

Scharfenberger "remains committed to walking with any survivor who will permit him to do so, to listen and to learn, so that no one may be on this journey toward healing alone," said Kathryn Barrans, a spokeswoman for the diocese.

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 multiple 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.

In an interview Tuesday, Mittler said that diocesan officials had recently acknowledged that although the bishop had pledged to "walk with survivors" that had not yet occurred.

"I think its an opportunity for the bishop to really have a moment with a survivor and do it publicly," Mittler said, adding that Corpus Christi is the church where he and his family were introduced to Haight  on the same steps where Mittler plans to meet with Scharfenberger.

Mittler said that on the day he met Haight, in August 1988, the priest took him for a ride in his small plane  where he had been accused of sexually abusing other boys. Mittler said the rape and molestation began that fall after a period of "grooming" and continued until 1990, when Haight was sent for treatment in New Mexico. Mittler said when Haight returned from that treatment, he continued to sexually abuse him until he was a senior in high school.

Last weekend, Pastor George Fleming informed his congregation at Corpus Christi Church about the bishop's scheduled visit. He called it "a very poignant moment in the history of our diocese and our church" and encouraged attendance.

Abuse allegations surfaced at nearly every assignment where Haight was posted, according to court records. The church's response, as it was in many other instances of alleged child sexual abuse by priests, 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.

It was after Haight had been sent to a treatment program and returned to ministry that he allegedly sexually abused Mittler.

Haight 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. Mittler said the former priest has never offered him an apology.

But in August, Mittler said that Michael L. Costello, a longtime attorney for the diocese, offered him an apology during a pre-trial deposition. Mittler said that Costello told him: "I want to extend, on behalf of the Roman Catholic Diocese ... a sincere apology for the physical, psychological, (and) spiritual anguish that you have experienced associated with the abuse by defendant Haight."

Mittler settled his case with the diocese just before it was announced the 14-county organization 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. The diocese and attorneys for alleged victims subsequently negotiated the mediation plan that will be used to compensate the roughly 400 alleged victims of sexual abuse who have pending claims.

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.

"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."
ALBANY  The 11 nominees to the state's new ethics panel are being asked about their relations with the Fourth Estate as part of a lengthy confirmation process.

A questionnaire recently distributed to the candidates asked: "When, if ever, is it appropriate for commission members to speak to the press about commission related matters?"

The responses from the nominees to the Commission on Ethics and Lobbying and Government will be weighed by an "independent review committee"  made up of the deans of New Yorks 15 accredited law schools  who have the power to confirm or reject the candidates nominated by top New York lawmakers.

The states prior ethics agency that was recently disbanded, the Joint Commission on Public Ethics, was frequently criticized for being too secretive over its 11 years in operation.

For the new panel, the vetting questionnaire sent out by the law school deans focuses attention on the issue of "confidentiality," and how commissioners will go about ensuring it. The most detailed of its seven questions asks commissioners what protocols the body should pass to ensure that their deliberations remain secret, and whether they would commit to voting other members off the body who ran afoul of rules they formulate.

"Maintaining confidentiality in the communications between commission members, staff, and other public servants, and in the management of information possessed by the commission, and the content of its deliberations, will be fundamental to the commission's legitimacy and safeguarding the public's trust and confidence in sensitive processes, the questionnaire states.

Anthony Crowell, dean of New York Law School, is chairman of the vetting panel that has the power to reject nominees.

The April law creating the ethics body charges its commissioners with writing confidentiality protocols. And in an interview, Crowell said that the questionnaire was meant to gauge nominees views of what confidentiality protocols they should adopt. The vetting committee was not making a case for broadly keeping the internal deliberations of the panel confidential, he said.

As for the question about speaking to the news media, Crowell said that the genesis was 11 years he spent as a senior government attorney for former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

"Its perfectly fine to talk to the press, but there has to be boundaries about what youre not allowed to not talk about," Crowell said. "As a management tool, good government almost requires that you have some sort of guideline that serves to provide a basis for the ability to speak."

At times, confidentiality was controversial for the prior ethics body. The Times Union reported in 2019 that details of a vote that the commission took on whether to move forward with an investigation was leaked to former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, although it was never revealed how he became aware of the information. The matter apparently concerned a complaint filed against Joseph Percoco, a former top aide to Cuomo who had been accused of misusing government resources for campaign work.

Leaking that information would have been considered a misdemeanor crime under state law.

The new bodys writing of additional rules leaves the possibility of more sweeping secrecy measures being adopted, according to Gary Lavine, a Senate Republican nominee to the new panel.

Lavine  who previously served for a decade as a JCOPE commissioner  wrote in response to the questionnaire that the deans statement about confidentiality was essentially the definition embraced by Cuomos appointees to former ethics commission, as well as its senior staff. According to Lavine, that secrecy helped Cuomo exert control over the commission.

"Over the decade and a half existence of JCOPE, certain senior staff and the Cuomo cohort of commissioners exhorted the rest of us that confidentiality is paramount, that the commissioners are bound by their oath and the Executive Law to elevate confidentiality above all other considerations and that we risked litigation exposure by not erring on the side of secrecy," Lavine wrote to the law school deans. "These high tone exhortations had as their ulterior objective institutionalizing JCOPE as a modern-day Star Chamber."

The Cuomo-appointed commissioners, as well as the former commission's staffers, routinely sought to keep matters out of the public domain beyond what was required to be withheld under state law. As one recent example, the former executive director, Sanford Berland, steered a discussion about the transition to the new ethics body into a private executive session; a spokesman declined to tell the Times Union why it was necessary.

For much of the prior ethics panel's history, commissioners routinely referred media inquiries to a spokesman. Public portions of monthly meetings sometimes lasted fewer than five minutes, while the executive sessions often went on for hours.

That began changing in 2019, when several legislatively appointed commissioners began speaking up about the Cuomo leak allegation. Lavines frequent comments to the media recently about internal disputes had drawn the ire of Cuomo commissioners, staffers, as well as at one point Jose Nieves, the bodys final chairman, who was appointed by Gov. Kathy Hochul in 2021.

Lavine said that on two occasions, former JCOPE general counsel Monica Stamm told him that speaking to the Times Union could expose him to criminal prosecution. More recently, Cuomo's attorney Rita Glavin filed a complaint with the state inspector generals office alleging that Lavine had improperly shared information about the former governor with the media. In late June, the commissioners responded with a lengthy statement calling Glavins allegations "spurious."

Lavines conversations with the Times Union have focused on internal disputes at the commission. But Lavine refused to speak about ongoing confidential investigations and other matters off limits under state law.

On JCOPE, commissioners had no power to throw another commissioner off the body for allegedly violating confidentiality rules. By contrast, a commissioner on the new panel who is found to violate confidentiality rules can be removed by a simple majority vote.

The new confidentiality protocols will also be made by a majority vote of the commission, which at its outset, will feature nine appointments made by Democrats, and only two by Republican leaders. Lavine wrote in response to the questionnaire that, "the potential for removal by the commission of commissioners on spurious grounds accentuates the danger of partisan capture of investigations."

Crowell said the questionnaire was written by the law school deans. The sentiments of government officials previously consulted by the vetting panel, however, were weighed in writing the questions, including discussions with staffers for the various politicians that are making the nominations.

"There is a sentiment among appointing officials that the confidentiality issue is a real problem," Crowell said.

Specifically, he said, government staffers cited concern that the "absence of confidentiality can really be prejudicial" to investigations. The issue of airing other types of internal disputes did not come up, Crowell added.

Among those consulted was Hochuls ethics counsel, Pei Pei Cheng-de Castro, a former longtime JCOPE staffer. But Crowell said that unlike some of the other government staffers, de Castro did not bring up confidentiality when she spoke to the deans.

Hochul's administration pushed for the new ethics panel to be subject to the state Freedom of Information Law, a change that was included in the legislation creating the new commission in April. The prior ethics commission had been exempted from the records-access statute.
Through 15 years, 14 productions and one pandemic, Adirondack Center Stage has persevered. The next challenge on the youth theater companys horizon is losing its home stage due to a total renovation of Corinth High Schools auditorium.

For its final performance in the schools current auditorium, Center Stage is letting its freak flag fly with Shrek the Musical. It starts this weekend.

Center Stage, founded in 2008, offers year-round theater workshops with the four-week summer program being Center Stages largest.

Because of the grant funding through Saratoga Arts Community Arts Fund, the nonprofit is able to keep tuition and ticket costs low, charging $200 for the workshop and offering need-based scholarships. Given that 25 percent of kids under the age of 18 in Corinth live at or under the poverty line according to the 2020 U.S. census, this funding is crucial to keep the program accessible.

Because of those grants, the productions have to remain within Saratoga County, said Kendra Schieber, the executive producer and grants administrator for the summer theater workshop, which is going to be a huge challenge next year. August 1, the day after we close, they are starting demolition of our space.

With that in mind, Schieber says she believes the stretch of northern Saratoga County along the Hudson River could be developed for use beyond manufacturing. She dreams of seeing a new theater and art venue built where the commissary on the International Paper Company property was or purchasing the old Main Street School in the village and repurposing it as a performing arts space.

In reality, we can request the use of the Corinth Elementary School, which is not air-conditioned, or the new open-air bus garage shed on Saratoga Avenue, she said.

The Corinth High School renovations are slated to take two years. If Center Stage doesnt settle into a new home by the time construction wraps, itll return to the school.

Center Stage is also rebounding from the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, the summer program pivoted to online and outdoor workshops. Last year, it returned to an in-person model with a limit of 25 kids to allow for safe distancing practices.

This years production of Shrek the Musical, directed by Center Stage alumna Lauren Ogden, didnt have an enrollment cap: There are 28 students compared to before the pandemic when enrollment would reach up to 40 students.

I had to go through and figure out what roles could double because there are a lot of parts, Ogden said. There's a lot of costume changes that are going to be pretty quick backstage.

Shrek the Musical is an ambitious choice considering the length of the program and pandemic setbacks. Its also the largest show Center Stage has produced in several years.

We knew that we had a really stellar group and that we would have a lot of kids that would be able to play some really big roles, Ogden said. We needed a show with a lot of meaty parts in it, and Shrek offers that for sure.

The cast stepped up to the challenge. MJ Sprague, 16, is taking on his first leading role, as Shrek, after eight years of performing with Center Stage.

It's been pretty fun, he said. I catch myself speaking in a Scottish accent when I'm offstage sometimes.

Lorelai Peterson, 17, credits her five years attending Center Stage for her personal progress. Through playing comedic characters like Donkey, taking on student leadership roles like apprentice director and working alongside younger kids and her peers, shes found a way to translate her onstage confidence to the rest of her life.

You definitely grow into yourself being able to just be free on the stage, she said.

Ogden, who started as an actor with Center Stage 15 years ago, is proud of not only the impact Center Stage has had on the kids but also the village of Corinth.

Over the years, I've seen a transformation in Corinth, she said. When it first began, it was like we were on the outskirts of the community, and I feel like the community has really come to own this and be proud of its arts program here.

Shrek the Musical runs July 29-31 at Corinth High School. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at the door or by calling 518-744-7396.
WFO PORTLAND Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Thursday, July 28, 2022

_____

EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING

URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE

National Weather Service Portland OR

401 PM PDT Mon Jul 25 2022

...EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 PM PDT

THURSDAY...

* WHAT...Dangerously hot conditions with temperatures of 99 to

103 expected.

* WHERE...In Oregon, Upper Hood River Valley, Western Columbia

River Gorge and Central Columbia River Gorge. In Washington,

Western Columbia River Gorge and Central Columbia River Gorge.

* WHEN...Through 9 PM PDT Thursday.

* IMPACTS...Extreme heat will significantly increase the potential

for heat related illnesses, particularly for those working or

participating in outdoor activities and for those that do not

have access to air conditioning.

* ADDITIONAL DETAILS...The hottest temperatures are expected on

Tuesday. Overnight lows in the mid to upper 60s will provide

little relief for those without air conditioning. Overnight

temperatures are expected to lower below 70 degrees between 2

and 4 AM.

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. If attempting to find relief from the

heat in rivers, lakes, or the ocean please apply safe water

practices and wear a life preserver.

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...Dangerously hot conditions with temperatures of 98 to

* WHERE...In Oregon, Greater Portland Metro Area. In Washington,

Greater Vancouver Area.

* WHEN...From noon Monday to 9 PM PDT Thursday.

* ADDITIONAL DETAILS...The hottest temperatures are expected

Tuesday. Overnight lows spanning 65 to 70 in the

Portland/Vancouver Metro will provide little relief for those

without air conditioning. Overnight temperatures are expected

to lower below 70 degrees between 2 and 4 AM.

...HEAT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 PM PDT THURSDAY...

* WHAT...Temperatures of 91 to 95 expected. Temperatures of 96

to 100 possible.

* WHERE...In Oregon, Coast Range of Northwest Oregon and Central

Coast Range of Western Oregon. In Washington, Willapa Hills.

* IMPACTS...Hot temperatures may cause heat illnesses to occur.

* ADDITIONAL DETAILS...The hottest temperatures are likely to

occur on Tuesday. Overnight lows are expected to be in the upper

50s to lower 60s.

under any circumstances.

* WHAT...Temperatures of 97 to 103 expected.

* WHERE...In Oregon, Lower Columbia and South Willamette Valley.

In Washington, I-5 Corridor in Cowlitz County.

Tuesday and Wednesday. Considerable uncertainty surrounds

temperatures on Thursday. Overnight lows are expected to be in

the upper 50s to lower 60s.

* WHAT...Temperatures of 93 to 97 expected. Temperatures of 98

to 102 possible.

* WHERE...In Oregon, Northern Oregon Cascade Foothills and

Cascade Foothills in Lane County. In Washington, South

Washington Cascade Foothills.

* ADDITIONAL DETAILS...It currently appears that Tuesday and

Wednesday will be the hottest days. Considerable uncertainty

surrounds temperatures on Thursday.

...HEAT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 PM PDT THURSDAY BELOW

4000 FEET...

* WHAT...Temperatures up to 95 expected. Temperatures 96 to 100

possible at lowest elevations.

* WHERE...In Oregon, Northern Oregon Cascades and Cascades in

Lane County. In Washington, South Washington Cascades.

_____

Copyright 2022 AccuWeather
Almost 40,000 people are expected to travel through Shannon Airport this August Bank Holiday weekend as the airport is set to enjoy a bounce back. This is 87% of passenger numbers for the same period in 2019.

The pent-up desire to take off on an overseas break following the past two years is evident, with destinations like Malaga, the Canary Islands, Alicante, Barcelona and Malta proving popular with Shannon Airport passengers.



Those looking for a city break are jetting off to destinations such as London, Edinburgh, Budapest, and Marseille on last-minute getaways this weekend. The airports summer 2022 schedule offers 27 destinations in 11 countries, with 108 weekly frequencies to the US, UK and Europe.



Shannon Airports operations and commercial director, Niall Maloney said: We are delighted to welcome passengers through the airport this weekend and can see the demand out there for those well-deserved breaks. This is the largest number of passengers for this period in three years."

He said that they had worked with the other service providers at the airport to ensure that the journey through the airport was as easy and hassle free as possible.

Facilities such as US Preclearance, the airport sensory room, along with the short distance from our car parks to the terminal building, complimented their latest investment in high-tech security screening.

Passengers taking to the skies this bank holiday weekend from Shannon will experience the airports multi-million euro passenger screening system, which eliminates the 100ml rule and cuts time spent through screening by half. Shannon is the first state airport in Ireland to introduce this time saving security screening system.
Politicians who played key roles at various junctures in Northern Irelands arduous peace process have paid tribute to David Trimbles efforts to end the bloodshed.

Former prime minister Sir Tony Blair said his contribution was immense, unforgettable and frankly irreplaceable.

Sir Tonys predecessor Sir John Major praised Trimbles critical role in peace building, while ex-Irish premier Bertie Ahern described him as a courageous leader.

Ex-Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams thanked him for helping to get the Good Friday Agreement over the line in 1998.

Sir Tony said: David Trimble, in his support of the peace process, showed politics at its very best.

When some within his own ranks were opposed to the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement, he supported it. When we needed his willingness to go the extra mile for peace, he travelled that mile. When there was the prospect of collapse of the process without strong leadership, he provided that leadership.

His contribution to Northern Ireland and to the United Kingdom was immense, unforgettable and frankly irreplaceable.

Former Conservative PM Sir John said: When David Trimble became leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, he made a critical contribution to the Northern Ireland peace process.

He shed his former opposition to the process, and became an innovative advocate for a peaceful settlement.

This was a brave and principled change of policy, and critical to the creation of peace in Northern Ireland.

He thoroughly merits an honourable place amongst peacemakers.

Mr Ahern said: He was a courageous man and I had many a row with him and many arguments.. and in more recent years weve had good laughs about those debates. But he was tough.

As a good negotiator I think when he made the deal, when he settled something, he stuck by it. Subsequently he paid the price. And in spite of the horrendous problems that he was under from within his own party and from outside the wider Unionist group, in that last week of the Good Friday agreement he stuck by it.

He got a lot of criticism from the wider unionist family but you know, I have great admiration for him.

Speaking to RTE, Mr Ahern recalled his first visit to the unionist headquarters with Mr Trimble on Glengall Street in Belfast in 1995: That day, we said, listen, should we give this a try? If it works, its good. If it doesnt, you know, lets not fall out too much.

I never fell out with him: fought with him, rowed with him and argued with him. But I think we had the one determination: that we would end violence in Northern Ireland.

Mr Adams expressed his deep regret at Lord Trimbles passing.

David faced huge challenges when he led the Ulster Unionist Party in the Good Friday Agreement negotiations and persuaded his party to sign on for it. It is to his credit that he supported that Agreement. I thank him for that, he said.

In the years immediately following the Agreement I met David many times. Our conversations were not always easy but we made progress. We used to meet quite often on our own and I got to know him quite well. While we held fundamentally different political opinions on the way forward nonetheless I believe he was committed to making the peace process work.

Davids contribution to the Good Friday Agreement and to the quarter century of relative peace that followed cannot be underestimated.

Former Northern Ireland secretary Lord Peter Mandelson said: David Trimble not only took on the Herculean task of negotiating the Good Friday Agreement on behalf of unionists but went through all the pain and strife of implementing it.

Throughout, he faced unending onslaught from people in his own community  I know because we faced many of these audiences together  and ultimately he didnt buckle. He was a courageous man who has earned his place in history.
A substantial increase in acute hospital staff will be needed by 2035  driven by the countrys aging population, a new report has found.

Workforce requirements for all staff categories in publicly-funded acute hospitals are set to increase, according to the latest analysis by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).

The report stated: Workforce requirements for all staff categories examined are projected to increase substantially by 2035.

The largest increases in workforce are projected for health and social care professionals who are particularly required by older people in hospital.

Nationally, the ESRI projects the population to rise by almost 500,000 to 5.4 million people by 2035.

The number of people aged 85 years and older is projected to more than double.

By 2035, the ESRI projected between 2,575 and 3,236 more medical staff will be needed, representing an increase of up to 2.1% on average per annum.

Additional nursing and midwifery staff of between 5,726 and 8,868, nationally will be needed, also representing an increase of up to 2.1% on average per annum.

Up to 3,277 additional healthcare assistants and health and social care assistants are also expected to be required nationally, representing an increase of 2.9% on average per annum.

The largest projected increases in workforce requirements are recorded for regions located in the east of the country.

The research, funded by the HSE, focused on acute public hospitals workforce requirements across the country between 2019 and 2035.

ESRI report author Dr Conor Keegan said: The findings show that expansion of public acute hospital workforce will be required across all regions and all staff categories examined in this report.

In the context of ongoing Slaintecare implementation, policymakers will need to consider how workforce supply can be increased to meet these demand pressures.

HSE national director of human resources Anne Marie Hoey said the findings raise important considerations in terms of acute workforce investment, workforce planning and training over the coming years.

She said: The workforce projections, provided on a regional basis, better inform our decisions and resource planning for the RHAs will be a critical enabler for our joint discussions on workforce planning both with our funders and stakeholders.

Furthermore, this will facilitate the medium and longer-term planning necessary in areas such as training and education to ensure the availability of graduates to fulfil the workforce requirements within the domestic market.

Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said: This report makes a key contribution to inform the needs of the health sector for the future in the context of the wider work in strategic workforce planning being undertaken in my Department.

It informs our efforts to ensure the availability of suitably qualified individuals across a range of healthcare disciplines to support integrated care across the health service.
An Oireachtas committee has heard that hundreds of thousands of euro has been paid out so far to people who missed flights due to delays at Dublin Airport at the start of the summer.

On Sunday May 29, lengthy queues at security screening areas caused by unusually high staff absences resulted in 1,400 people missing their flights and prompted criticism from Government ministers, politicians and members of the public.

Dublin Airport is compensating those who were left out of pocket as a result.

At a session of the Oireachtas Transport Committee on Tuesday  where Aer Lingus and Dublin Airport appeared alongside ground handlers to answer questions about delays, cancelled flights and lost baggage  TDs and senators were told that more than 75% of claims have either been closed out or are at an advanced stage of processing.

Louise Bannon, head of marketing at Dublin Airport Authority (DAA), told the committee the airport has received 702 claims with an average of 1.9 people involved.

Ms Bannon said that 44% of claims, or 313, have been closed, and staff expect to have all claims completed by the end of August.

Asked for the overall cost of the claims paid out to date, Ms Bannon said roughly it was in the hundreds of thousands, adding: Id say wed need to allow a million, and well see where we come in relation to that.

She said people are mostly claiming for flights if they had not been rebooked by their airline free of charge, incidental expenses, and food and drink.

Sometimes it takes a bit of to-ing and fro-ing in terms of working through all of the claims very quickly, and weve actually found people to be very reasonable and that has helped expedite clearance of the claims, Ms Bannon said.

Aer Lingus chief executive Lynne Embleton said the airline was incredibly frustrated at the operational disruptions at Dublin Airport this summer, and thanked her staff for dealing with the many, many challenges.

Among those challenges were staff shortages in airports and airlines across Europe, baggage system failures, staff absences due to Covid-19, and industrial action in parts of France, she said.

Ms Embleton added that sickness levels at the airline are around four times higher now compared with 2019, and under half of Aer Lingus cancellations are caused by Covid-related issues.

Weve been seeing sickness levels running roughly four times what we would have seen in 2019.

Our sickness is tracking quite consistently with what were seeing in Covid cases in Ireland more generally.

The majority of cancellations are not caused by that, they are caused by the restrictions put in place by other airports, she told the committee.

Asked what percentage of cancelled flights were scrapped due to Covid-19, Ms Embleton said: I would say under half. And of course, as the Covid wave comes down, we would expect those cancellations to come down as well.

DAA managing director Vincent Harrison said that during the Omicron wave of Covid-19, the airport had well in excess of 25-30% staff absences, particularly in security screening  but current staff absence is under 10%, meaning the Defence Forces are not expected to be required.

These are a high level of absence, which we would have anticipated would have been driven by Covid. Those absence levels have not materialised to date, he said.
The installation of three new 60 tonne airbridges is currently underway at Shannon Airport.

This latest investment by Shannon Group - costing 1.8 million - is part of a range of planned enhancement projects at the airport totalling almost 10 million.

The airbridges - used to board passengers directly from terminal to aircraft - were manufactured by CIMC-Tianda Airport Support in China and arrived at Shannon Airport after a long journey halfway across the globe from Shenzhen.

The first of the three has just been installed at the airport and took over two days, using multiple cranes to fit it to the terminal building.

CEO of Shannon Group, Mary Considine, said, "Shannon Group is focused on future proofing the airport infrastructure, and this latest airbridge programme forms part of our investment strategy across the Shannon Airport campus.

"We are extremely grateful for the funding support from the Department of Transport, under the Regional Airports Programme, which has enabled us to undertake this work.

Projects already completed at the airport - with support from the Department of Transport under the Regional Airports Programme - includes a 2.5 million state-of-the-art security screening system, as well as airfield rehabilitation works worth 5.3 million.

According to Shannon Group, the security system is halving the wait time for passengers through security and eliminates the need to remove liquids and electronics.
A judge in Atlanta has rejected an appeal by a group of voters who sought to make Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene ineligible to run for reelection
Lawmakers in West Virginia's Republican majority are hurrying to advance legislation that would ban abortion in the state with few exceptions
Page Not Found





It looks as though the page you're looking for doesn't exist or the link you followed was incorrect. Please ensure that you have input the correct address or contact us to let us know the bad link and we will endeavour to fix it as soon as possible.
A national news source takes aim at a local law man in a scathing report sent out across the globe.



The only fun fact that stands out is that the Sheriff questioning the 2020 election is kind of ironic because he was also elected in that year . . . But again . . . This political flexing is oversold even if the elected official with law enforcement power bragging to Las Vegas right-wingers justifiably upset progressives.

Here's the summary from the Associated Press . . .



"Now he's assigned detectives to investigate what he claims is election fraud, even though there has been no evidence of any widespread fraud or manipulation of voting machines in 2020. Calvin Hayden in Johnson County, which covers suburban Kansas City, isn't the only sheriff in the U.S. to try to carve out a bigger role for their office in investigating elections.



"Promoters of baseless conspiracy theories that the last presidential election was stolen from Trump are pushing a dubious theory that county sheriffs can access voting machines and intervene in how elections are run - and also have virtually unchecked power in their counties."

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .
Even the newspaper is calling out Mayor Q on his biggest campaign promise FAIL.



In a mostly puff piece editorial blaming gun legislation, here's the most important passage . . .



When Quinton Lucas campaigned for mayor, he promised to reduce homicides to under 100 per year. Since Lucas was elected in 2020, the number of killings has reached triple digits each year.



People of Kansas City have a right to say, what the hell? Lucas said Monday. We are not where we want to be.

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .
We play just a bit of catch-up and share this quick compilation of news on local ALLEGED misdeeds along with ongoing community support for police.



Check TKC news gathering . . .

Investigation underway after two people were found dead in 'suspicious' fire KANSAS CITY, Mo. - One of the buildings at the Vivion Oak Apartments is just a shell. Investigators want to know what ignited a fire that killed two people Monday morning in the building at 5056 North Oak Trafficway. Several neighbors told KSHB 41 News they woke up to pops, screaming then an explosion.

More details in Independence PD excessive overtime report released Editor's Note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly attributed a quote to the author of the report, Daniel Nelson, rather than to Halsey, who the report was quoting. A correction has been made. INDEPENDENCE, Mo. - It's been one week since the five-month investigation into excessive overtime within the Independence Police Department concluded and the summary was released.

Pilot who landed plane on Interstate 70 contesting driver license revocation KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A pilot who authorities say was intoxicated when he landed on Interstate 70 near Grain Valley is challenging his driver's license revocation in Missouri. An attorney for John Seesing, 35, of Prairie Village, filed a petition for review in the Circuit Court of Jackson County.

Lee's Summit PD searching for car theft suspects LEE'S SUMMIT, Mo. - The Lee's Summit Police Department is looking for two suspects involved in multiple vehicle thefts. Police provided images of both suspects and a suspect vehicle. Both men are seen wearing black T-shirts and the vehicle is a silver or grey sedan.

Gov. Kelly orders flags be flown at half-staff for slain NKC officer KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly has ordered for all flags on state ground, buildings and facilities in Kansas to be flown at half-staff Wednesday in honor of the North Kansas City police officer Daniel Vasquez, who was shot and killed at a traffic stop on Tuesday, July 19.

14 local McDonald's donating proceeds to the family of fallen North Kansas City officer 14 Northland McDonald's in Kansas City are gearing up for a unique fundraiser. On Tuesday, July 26, 10% of all daily sales will be donated to the family of fallen North Kansas City police officer Daniel Vasquez.

Funeral services for Officer Daniel Vasquez covered by Public Servant Program The Kansas City community is preparing to say its final goodbyes to fallen Officer Daniel Vasquez. Vasquez was shot and killed during a traffic stop last Tuesday. The visitation for Vasquez is Tuesday from 5 to 9 p.m. at Vineyard Church.

Slain North Kansas City officer remembered as 'protector to all' NORTH KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Fallen North Kansas City police officer Daniel Vasquez loved to help, and he loved his community. He showed that dedication throughout his life, according to his obituary. Daniel Vasquez was born on Jan. 19, 1990 to Francisco Vasquez Hernandez and Guadalupe Nunez De Vasquez.

Developing . . .


Credit where it's due . . . The prog blogs are an important part of the discourse inasmuch as they give voice to voter frustration with promotional hype vs. grassroots organizing.



Here's the word . . .



National support for the Democratic Party is plummeting; approval ratings for Biden have reached 36% overall, and among individuals younger than 45 the support is worse, with 63% disapproving of his performance.



Kansas Democrats seem content to allow this drop to continue, and do nothing to try and persuade people to vote for them in elections. The Republicans in my life have done more to persuade people to vote no on Aug. 2 than the Kansas Democratic Party.

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .
We repeat our analysis that will likely hold true moving forward . . .



The fist pump didn't hurt Sen. Hawley one bit, in fact it helped. However . . . The running footage might have set back his presidential aspirations and even his chance at reelection.

Here's a brilliant New York writer having a bit of fun at the politico's expense . . .



People are focusing on the totally chickenshit Josh Hawley and ignoring the lusting-for-autocracy Josh Hawley, he complained.

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .

Hawley Concerned That Being a Coward Is Overshadowing His Work as a Fascist WASHINGTON ( The Borowitz Report)-Senator Josh Hawley is "deeply concerned" that his newfound national reputation for cowardice is overshadowing his commitment to end democracy. "People see one video of me fleeing like a terrified bunny, and they think that's all there is to me," Hawley told reporters at a press conference.

Even better . . . One of the best local t-shirt shops is profiting from this embarrsement down in the Crossroads . . .

'Josh Hawley Runs' and 'Josh Hawley Crossing' T-Shirts Now Available We also have a slogan Josh can use (for free!) when he next runs from ---- oh, sorry, when he runs FOR Senate. #raygun https://t.co/RgEgtpxd5n pic.twitter.com/NZa0V5ZJF2 - RAYGUN (@RAYGUNshirts) July 22, 2022 Our favorite Midwest t-shirt company is at it again and this time they mean business.

You decide . . .


Toronto police search for man after woman assaulted on TTC bus

Toronto police said a man boarded a TTC bus near Pharmacy and Lawrence avenues and assaulted a woman while on the bus around 3:30 p.m. April 4.
Holiday Factory is a company that organizes holiday trips for UAE residents at very low costs.



(TRAVPR.COM) UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - July 25th, 2022 - Dubai 25-July-2022: Welcome to Holiday factory, where you can get the best Europe tour package with easy terms and conditions. So, todays announcement will talk about the best Europe package in detail. In this package- you will get three hotels: Auroom Hotel, Russel Park Hotel, and Hyatt Regency Baku Hotel. Moreover, this package includes:

Direct flights from Abu Dhabi to Baku on Wizzair

Three nights stay with breakfast

Return Airport-Hotel transfers

Holiday Factory representative

Schengen standard Travel Insurance

In the remaining two hotels, you will find similar facilities.

The Managing Director at the event says: Holiday Factory is an

an organized and cost-effective tour operator. Those who book our holiday packages get all the benefits and enjoy their holidays at a low price. Moreover, our team members pick up our clients from airports and take them to the hotel where they will stay during their holidays. The sales head also said that the valuable reviews from our clients about our company make us feel proud, and we show gratitude to all our clients for this. Furthermore, this is a place that should certainly make its way into the list of all those who desire to experience something different.

About Holiday Factory

Holiday Factory is a company that organizes holiday trips for UAE residents at very low costs. However, you can book holiday packages through holidayfactory.com if you are residing in UAE temporarily. Furthermore, their exciting offers were extended to those who are spending their days in the Middle East countries. All the tour packages offered by Holiday Factory are easy to get at an economical price, and you can book them anytime by following an easy and simple procedure. You just need to select your preferred holiday destination and book tour packages by visiting holidayfactory.com.

###
You are going to have to watch what you say on those Whatsapp messages, memes and Blogs afte
The latest missile strike on the Odesa port repeats the scenario Russia earlier employed in Syria where they shelled humanitarian shipments.

Thats according to the White House strategic communications coordinator John Kirby, who spoke in an interview with CNN, as reported by Ukrinform.

Unfortunately, we've seen this out of the Russians before  you can go back, even into the war in Syria, where they were hitting humanitarian aid shipments that were meant for Syrian citizens and Syrian refugees, the U.S. administration official noted.

The spokesman says Russias move sure flies in the face of what they say is their commitment to be good-faith participants in this arrangement to get  to get grain out.

Kirby also expressed hope that such attacks won't happen again, and that the Russians will actually participate in good faith in Istanbul.

For its part, the U.S. will be watching very, very closely the damage that the port infrastructure sustained and whether it could affect operations of the Odesa port grain terminals.
The total combat losses of the Russian invasion forces from February 24 to July 26 are estimated at 39,870, including 170 in the past day alone.

Thats according to the press service of Ukraine Armed Forces General Staff, Ukrinform reports.

Also, the Ukrainian troops destroyed 1737 main battle tanks (+7 over the past day), 3,959 (+9) armored combat vehicles, 880 (+4) artillery systems, 258 (+1) multiple rocket launchers, 117 (+1) air defense systems, 222 aircraft, 189 (+1) helicopters, 722 (+3) operational and tactical level UAVs, 174 cruise missiles, 15 warships/cutters, 2,835 (+3) trucks and tankers, and 75 (+2) units of special equipment.

The General Staff reported that on Monday, the enemy suffered the greatest losses in the Bakhmut area.
Ukraines anti-ship capability creates significant problems for the Black Sea fleet of the Russian Federation in the southern direction and makes it impossible to implement Moscow's plan to seize Odesa from the sea.

The UK Ministry of Defense said this in its latest intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine, Ukrinform reports.

Russia almost certainly perceives anti-ship missiles as a key threat which is limiting the effectiveness of their Black Sea Fleet. This has significantly undermined the overall invasion plan, as Russia cannot realistically attempt an amphibious assault to seize Odesa, the report reads.

The British intelligence added that Russia would continue to prioritise efforts to destroy Ukraines anti-ship capability. However, Russias targeting processes are highly likely routinely undermined by dated intelligence, poor planning, and a top-down approach to operations.

It is noted that Russian cruise missiles hit Ukraines Odesa port. The Russian MoD claimed to have hit a Ukrainian warship and a stockpile of anti-ship missiles. There is no indication that such targets were at the location the missiles hit, the report reads.

As reported, on July 23, the Russian forces struck the Odesa port with Kalibr cruise missiles. Two missiles were shot down by Ukrainian air defense forces. Two other missiles hit the ports infrastructure facilities.

iy
The Kremlin has decided that the time has come for peace talks and is complaining about the tragic history of Ukrainians.

The Centre for Strategic Communication and Information Security has collected the main fakes and narratives of the Russian propaganda for July 22-24.

How Erdogan was a puppet of the West Why Moscow needs peace talks What price for gas did the Hungarian PM bargain for? Whats wrong with Lavrovs regret about Ukrainian history

How Erdogan was a puppet of the West

Here is a brief timeline of Russias high-precision military and diplomatic victory in Odesa.

On Friday, April 22, Russian Defence Minister Shoigu personally met with his Turkish counterpart Hulusi Akar. They signed the so-called grain deals. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres immediately called it critical progress.

On Saturday, April 23, Russia struck a grain warehouse in the Odesa seaport. On the same day, Akar stated that Moscow assured him that it was not the Russian military that did it.

On Sunday, July 24, Russian official MFA representative Zakharova admitted that the shooting was indeed done by the Russian military. Nobody even publicly apologized to Akar for the lie.

IN REALITY, the screenshots of these two messages with the development of the plot from wasnt us to yes, its us, but it was a high-precision strike became another monument to Russian propaganda. In addition, Shoigu claimed to have destroyed Harpoon missiles, while Lavrov said they had destroyed a military boat.

After the port was struck, everyone remembered the phrase attributed to Otto von Bismarck about paper that costs more than any deals with Russians signed on it.

Many tried to play fair with the Russians, but few succeeded. Since 2014 alone, Russia has violated about 400 international agreements with Ukraine. For Ukrainians, its nothing new. The rest of the world is just getting used to it. The last victim was Turkish President Recep Erdogan. Back in the day, he also went through the Kremlin propaganda purgatory.

Now. the narrative of external management of all countries unfriendly to the Russian Federation (with the Bahamas recently added to the list) is advancing mainly in the western direction. But if they act that way with Erdogan again, who knows how things can go. About a dozen wars with Turkey show that Russia never learns anything from history.

Why Moscow needs peace talks

The Kremlin so stubbornly believes in its great diplomatic victory in Istanbul that on July 24, Foreign Minister Lavrov spoke about readiness for negotiations with Kyiv on a wider range of issues.

Lets remember that four days before that, Putin claimed that conditions for negotiations were basically there when Russian troops pulled back from the capital of Ukraine The Kyiv authorities refused to implement the agreements, even though they were almost reached. Therefore, the final result does not depend on the mediators, but on the willingness of the parties to fulfil the agreements reached. We see today that Kyiv authorities do not really want this.

But on his way towards new agreements, Lavrov expectedly shot himself in the foot, saying that the task of denazification, demilitarization in the sense that there should be no threats to our safety from the territory of Ukraine, remains. There goes the wide range of issues.

IN REALITY, it should be noted that Lavrov said it in Egypt, right after the strike on the Odesa seaport.

The purpose of this statement was to show, on Lavrovs African tour, that a) Moscow is peaceful, b) Kyiv is not ready to negotiate, c) the US wont let Ukraine finish the war, and d) who owns the situation.

Here are some more facts supporting this theory:

Lukashenkos recent statement that it is time for Kyiv to come to terms with the loss of territories;

urgent preparation for September 11  the single day of voting in Russia  when pseudo-referendums on the occupied Ukrainian territories should take place with their further inclusion into Russias nuclear defence doctrine;

the occupiers lack of strength to advance further into the territory of Ukraine and efforts to somehow legally formalize the existing situation;

extreme activity as of recent to promote the narrative in Western media that if Russia captures something, it wont give it back, so its best to just agree;

Moscow is trying to implement the Ukrainian version of the 2008 operation to compel Georgia to make peace. The strike on Odesa is an element of forcing Ukraine into negotiations.

In this regard, several things should be understood:

Russia is effectively demanding that Ukraine capitulate on its terms;

Moscow believes that now the conditions for Istanbul-1 are more favourable than when Minsk-2 was signed;

Putin will not stop at any borders of the so-called LDPR;

Anything can become the pretext for another attack;

Most importantly, after the blitzkrieg failed to ensure the return of Yanukovych as Ukraines Gauleiter, Putins primary goal remains the destruction of Ukraine;

All attempts to legitimize the occupied territories based on peace talks are just ways for the aggressor to win some time and regroup before another attack;

Western society should keep in mind the phrase about the cost of paper and agreements with Russia signed on it;

after Poland and the Baltic States, Putins next goal may be the denazification of the regime of Olaf Scholz, whose grandfather was already reported to have served in the SS, according to Russia. Nord Stream 2 remains very much on the agenda, considering its cost. And then, after Berlin, they may go for the Anglo-Saxons.

What price for gas did the Hungarian PM bargain for?

All Europeans understand perfectly these plans of Putin regarding the new world order. Everyone except Hungarian Prime Minister Orban, it seems. On July 23, he said, rather provocatively, that Ukraine will never win the war with Russia.

Instead of Putin, Orban is blaming Western allies for Russias attack on Ukraine. Let us keep in mind that before this, the Hungarian PM stubbornly demanded proof that the war crimes in Bucha were not staged by the Ukrainian authorities. In addition, Orban expressed his disappointment with the current world politicians, noting that the war in Ukraine would not have happened if Trump were the President of the United States and Merkel were the chancellor of Germany.

At the same time, he is rather in favour of peace talks with Moscow, but not of Kyiv, but of Washington, thus repeating the Kremlin narrative that Ukraine has no agency.

In addition, Orban returned to his rhetoric about the alleged ineffectiveness of EU sanctions against the Russian Federation. Not even any Russian allies, including Belarus, Nicaragua, Eritrea, China, North Korea and Iran, dared to make an assessment this categoric.

Interestingly, Orban said this after the recent visit of his chief diplomat Szijjarto to Moscow, where he fought for special conditions for the supply of gas to Hungary.

Before that, as we remember, Szijjarto made a rather roundabout statement that Hungary cannot supply weapons to Ukraine because otherwise Russia would strike Zakarpattia, where Hungarians live. (At the beginning of May, that part of Ukraine was also shelled, but for some reason Orban and Szijjarto did not rush to save its residents. Didnt even say anything.)

This regional segregation caused indignation among Hungarians in Ukraine, particularly the head of the Hungarian community of Kyiv Tibor Tompi: According to Szijjarto, it is acceptable to fire at me, a Ukrainian Hungarian living in Kyiv instead of Zakarpattia, and at the other 500 members of our community.

IN REALITY, he is probably right. Its not even about the fact that, according to some experts speculations, Putin promised Zakarpattia to Hungary. The problem is that the Hungarian authorities have not learned the lesson of two world wars, associating themselves with a dictator who is provoking the third world war.

Hungary did not enter the First World War of its own free will; it was part of the dual Austro-Hungarian monarchy allied to the Kaisers Reich. For their loyalty to the enemies of the Entente, the Hungarians paid with two-thirds of the territory of the kingdom.

But Hungary deliberately entered into an alliance with Berlin during the Second World War. And this led to participation in war crimes together with the Nazis, tragic losses on the fronts, bloody storming of Budapest by Soviet troops.

So, why do they keep wanting to make a losing bet in the looming global conflict  once again?

Is the European bureaucracy more loathsome to Hungarians than a country that is currently reviving the worst Stalinist practices? Which restored filtration and concentration camps for citizens of the occupied country in the 21st century? Which robs, deports and executes civilians? Which shells cities of a peaceful country with missiles? Which rhetorically denies a European country the right to exist? Which, in addition, also honours the organizers and participants of the suppression of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956.

It is notable that gas in Europe was free in Hitlers gas chambers in the recent past. By the way, it was in Hungary that they filmed Son of Saul  one of the most prominent films of the modern time about Nazi crimes. Orban must have forgotten about it. But Putin will definitely remind him. If Orban keeps indulging him the way he is doing now.

What is wrong with Lavrovs regret about Ukrainian history

On the same day, July 24, Lavrov expressed regret about what is happening with the Ukrainian history, while in Africa, and promised that the Russian and Ukrainian people would live together.

IN REALITY, there are countless examples of the occupiers destroying everything Ukrainian over the five months of the war. But if someone thinks that these are only the consequences of Putins intolerance, they are severely mistaken. The roots of the Russian attitude towards Ukrainians go way back in history.

1620  the Moscow Church Council, contrary to Christian dogmas, approved the previously common practice of rechristening Latins, which also extended to Orthodox Ukrainians who came from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth to Muscovy.

1627  the order of Tsar Michael on the submission of the Moscow Patriarch Filaret to burn all copies of the Teachers Gospel by Kyrylo Stavrovetskyi printed in Ukraine.

1690  Russian Orthodox Church council bans new Kyiv books by Petro Mohyla, Kyrylo Stavrovetskyi, Symeon Polotskyi, Lazar Baranovych, and others.

1720  the decree of Peter I on the prohibition of printing in the Ukrainian language and the removal of Ukrainian texts from church books.

1764  Catherine IIs instructions to Prince Alexander Vyazemsky to ensure maximum assimilation of Ukraine with Russia.

1784  the Synod ordered Metropolitan Samuel of Kyiv and Galicia to punish the students and dismiss the teachers of the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy for abandoning the Russian language. Also, in all churches, services were ordered to be conducted in a voice peculiar to the Russian dialect.

1804  school education in the Ukrainian language was prohibited by royal decree.

1863  Valuev circular prohibited the granting of censorship permission for the printing of spiritual and popular educational literature in the Ukrainian language.

1870  explanation of the Minister of Education of Russia, Tolstoy, that the ultimate goal of the education of all foreigners must undoubtedly be russification.

1876  Emsk Decree of Alexander II on the ban on the printing and import from abroad of any Ukrainian-language literature, as well as on the ban on Ukrainian performances and the printing of sheet music of folk songs.

1881  ban on teaching in folk schools and delivery of church sermons in the Ukrainian language.

1888  the decree of Alexander III prohibiting the use of the Ukrainian language in official institutions and baptism with Ukrainian names.

1895  the prohibition of the Main Department of Printing Affairs to publish Ukrainian books for children.

1914  a ban on celebrating the 100th anniversary of Taras Shevchenkos birth; Nikolay IIs decree banning the Ukrainian press.

1919  repression against Ukrainian culture and language by the White Guard regime of Anton Denikin.

1926  Stalins letter sanctioning the fight against national bias, the beginning of the persecution of Ukrainization activists.

1937  execution of the Ukrainian Soviet intelligentsia in Sandarmokh forest massive, later dubbed Executed Renaissance.

1946  the resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR on the approval of the Ukrainian orthography, making it closer to the Russian one.

1958  legislative consolidation of the right of students parents to give up studying the Ukrainian language in schools of the Ukrainian SSR.

1972  mass arrests of Ukrainian opposition intelligentsia. Detainees were intimidated by shooting, torture, mental hospitals and harming their relatives; many were sent to camps.

This is a far from complete chronicle of the fraternal attitude of Russians towards Ukrainians.

What is currently happening in the occupied territories is simply history repeating  the only difference being that now Ukrainians have their own country and an army, and can stand up for themselves. We therefore have only one choice: to fight and to liberate our land.

The Centre for Strategic Communication and Information Security
An ongoing gas war waged by Russian President Vladimir Putin against Europe is nothing but a continuation of his war against Ukraine.

Thats according to Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba, who addressed the issue on Twitter, Ukrinform reports.

Putins gas war against Europe is a direct continuation of his war on Ukraine. Wherever he can bring harm, he will. He will use every dependence Europe has on Russia to ruin the normal life of every European family. The only way is to hit back hard and get rid of any dependence, Kuleba tweeted.

As reported earlier, Russian energy monopoly Gazprom said, it would stop another turbine on its Nord Stream 1 pipeline, thus reducing the pressure of gas flow to 33 million cubic meters per day. Speaking of the reason behind the move, Gazprom cited repair needs.

As reported earlier, Canada decided to return to Germany another gas turbine repaired in Canada by Siemens Energy AG, which was used in the Nord Stream 1 pipeline system. The decision was made despite objections from the government of Ukraine and the large Ukrainian diaspora in Canada, who stressed that returning the equipment would undermine sanctions imposed on Russia.

Canada's Minister of Natural Resources Jonathan Wilkinson said that the temporary export permit was granted after lengthy discussions with European allies, as well as the International Energy Agency.

In turn, Germanys top diplomat Annalena Baerbock admitted her government had warned Ottawa that Berlin could be forced to suspend military and economic aid to Kyiv if a Russian gas pipeline turbine stranded in Canada, was not returned. The missing turbine, Germany argued, could lead to a stoppage of Russian gas supplies to Germany, which could spark popular uprisings.

Despite Canada's decision to return the turbine, Russia never stopped its gas blackmail targeting Europe, curbing the gas flow anyway.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has lifted a ban on the export of rye and mineral fertilizers.

The relevant statement was made by the Ukrainian Economy Ministry, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

Government has lifted a ban on rye and mineral fertilizer exports. For such goods, the automatic licensing mode was introduced, the report states.

According to the ministry, Ukraines ending wheat stocks have been estimated at about 73,000 tonnes, and grain production output is expected to reach about 351,000 tonnes. This will allow the country to meet the annual domestic demand of 353,000 tonnes.

In addition, as the sowing campaign has ended, the demand for mineral fertilizers is significantly lower. Meanwhile, directing the surplus of such commodity items to exports will increase the countrys foreign exchange earnings, which is an important prerequisite for economic recovery.

A reminder that, in early March 2022, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine introduced a zero quota on rye and mineral fertilizer exports. Such measures were needed to ensure the availability of these critically important goods in the Ukrainian market.

mk
Poland and Lithuania will not decrease their support for Ukraine, and presidents Andrzej Duda and Gitanas Nauseda plan to pay new visits to Kyiv.

"Two days of extremely valuable conversations with President of Lithuania Gitanas Nauseda. Our countries will not reduce their activity in Ukraine, both of us plan to pay new visits to Kyiv. We will not succumb to Russias blackmail," President of the Republic of Poland Andrzej Duda posted on Twitter.

He added that Poland and Lithuania would also strengthen bilateral military cooperation.

Since February 24, Russia has been waging full-scale aggression against Ukraine.

Photo credit: Jakub Szymczuk/KPRP

ol
This Sunday, Polands campaign to raise funds for the purchase of a Bayraktar TB2 unmanned aerial vehicle for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has met its target. At the same time, the fundraising effort will continue for several more days.

In an interview with Ukrinform's own correspondent, the initiator of the campaign, an acclaimed Polish journalist, sociologist, editor-in-chief of the Political Criticism outlet Slawomir Sierakowski, revealed the details of the fundraiser, spoke of what impressed him most in the process, and reflected on whether the Western assistance currently provided to Ukraine is sufficient.

IF BAYRAKTAR IS GIVEN TO THE ARMY FOR FREE - THE MONEY COLLECTED WILL BE SPENT ON HUMANITARIAN AID TO UKRAINE

- Slawomir, the fundraising campaign in Poland for the purchase of a Bayraktar drone for Ukraine was successfully completed a few days ahead of schedule this Sunday. How do you feel now?

- Everyone around me is happy about this. Im also very pleased that weve pulled it off. But Im not relaxing because we still have the process of completing the whole thing ahead of us, to make sure the drone makes it to the Ukrainian Army. This must be done so Im focusing on it now.

- Do you have expectations that the Turkish manufacturer will hand the "Polish Bayraktar" to Ukraine for free, as was the case of the Lithuanian drone or the three drones of the Ukrainian Serhiy Prytula Foundation?

- There is such a hope, but I cant just expect that it will be exactly this way. It depends on the goodwill of Baykar Makina. Weve heard the statements of the company owner, and I understand that he is very sensitive to the issue of social unity. So far, under the impression of public efforts, this company decided to hand their drones to Ukraine for free. In this case, the funds collected could go to humanitarian aid to Ukraine, and we would actually double our aid. Of course, it would be really good, the Poles would be satisfied, because more than 200,000 people took part in the Bayraktar fundraiser. This would have a huge positive effect in Poland.

However, we are also prepared for the situation where this doesnt go this way. Then we will try to sign an agreement with one of the organizations in Ukraine, which has a clause in its charter allowing arms purchases, so we will transfer the money raised to them.

- You mentioned the option of sending money to humanitarian aid in the case the Turkish UAV is handed to Ukraine for free. What exactly could these funds be used for?

- We have so far focused on actually raising money. So we wouldnt rush ahead of time, we go step by step. We try to act responsibly: not to raise excessive expectations of Baykar Makina and not make any promises. Now begins the stage where one of the scenarios will have to be implemented. The first of them assumes that we will spend this money on the drone purchase. In another scenario, if Baykar Makina hands over the drone for free, we donate the funds to humanitarian aid. We haven't thought of where we could transfer the money yet. But the scale of Ukraine's needs is so huge that it wont be a problem to find an appropriate field of support.

I REALLY WANTED NOT TO LET THE UKRAINIANS DOWN

- During the fundraiser for Bayraktar, did you have moments of doubt that you would never be able to raise the target amount?

- To be honest, I wanted so badly not to let Ukrainians down, seeing how the Ukrainian mass media and Ukrainian society were interested in this, that I didnt think at all in the categories of "we can" or "we can't". All thoughts revolved around raising as much as possible, collecting every next 100,000 zlotys, and whom else to persuade to support the effort. I was completely focused on the next step, with neither optimism nor pessimism prevailing. The significant attention of the Ukrainian media obliged us morally to do everything in our power because Ukrainians are fighting and awaiting our help.

- When it all started, on June 28, you wrote that first post on Facebook, where you noted that the fundraiser was launched almost by accident. Could you tell us more about it?

- In our country, the effort unfolded a little differently than in Lithuania. It was the government that was behind collecting money there, there were several weeks of preparation, and all Lithuanians were on one side of the barricade. In Poland, it was all spontaneous, since I couldnt count on the authorities. Im a journalist of the leftist spectrum, we have a significant political conflict within our country. Instead, I wanted this effort to be as apolitical as possible. To a large extent, I succeeded. Many people from the right side of the political scene transferred funds, paying no attention to the person of its organizer.

But back to your question, the way I started the campaign was really a little crazy. Before that, I read in the newspaper that Baykar Makina handed over three drones for free following Ukraines campaign. Then I thought that such a chance to help Ukraine just cant be lost. Youve got to give it a try  it could yield the same result.

While flying to a scientific conference in Stockholm, for the first time in my life, I opened a website where crowdfunding efforts are posted, created a short description, and pressed "start." And I immediately realized that I had done something wrong: the campaign wouldnt activate so I thought I should just take it down. I believed I had it done, but after I landed at the airport it turned out that the campaign was actually already on the platform, but it hadn't started yet. People started messaging me that they were unable to donate. Then I sat down at the airport and tried to activate it again, and I eventually succeeded. I was also wrong about the target amount: not knowing that the drone is so expensive, I initially set the final goal at 4.5 million zlotys (about US$1 million - ed.) and then it was too late to fix it. And only after I called the chief of the crowdfunding platform, he helped me change the target amount. Then I already understood that Ill have to fight with all my might because the amount was astronomical. This is the largest fundraiser for weapons in Poland since 1939.

- Who among famous Poles supported the effort?

- Practically all high-profile people whom I addressed publicly supported it. Among them are are such role models as film director Agnieszka Holland and former Polish Ombudsman Adam Bodnar. If he backed it and even collected funds into his virtual piggy bank as part of the campaign, then we are doing everything well. Dozens of famous people have joined: from the most popular actors and directors in Poland, for example, the Oscar winner Pawel Pawlikowski, and former dissidents, including Adam Michnik, to top influencers with several million followers on social media. These influencers may have feared that arms fundraiser might hurt their image, but they decided to help anyway. This is a very unique situation  it has never happened before.

IF THE GOVERNMENTS OF EU COUNTRIES FAIL TO MOBILIZE EVEN STRONGER TO HELP UKRAINE, CIVIL SOCIETY DOES THE THING

- You read a lot of comments about the campaign in social networks, on the fundraising platform, and in mass media. Which ones impressed you the most?

- There are so many, but Id name three that impressed me the most. A few days ago, Mr. Jacek donated 5 zlotys (nearly $1) from his very modest social assistance sum of 717 zlotys, which is very small by Polish standards. In the comment, the man wrote that he is disabled and cannot put much in, but feels the need to help. This comment was one of three thousand and could have been overlooked. But this story moved me so much that at night we prepared a separate fundraiser for this man. We planned to collect the equivalent of three of his monthly social assistance sums  we collected this money in two days.

Another story: a married couple had their 50th wedding anniversary and they asked friends to donate to our effort instead of giving them gifts.

The third story: a man followed the campaign very closely, but, unfortunately, he died before it was completed. His family asked everyone ahead of the funeral to donate to Bayraktar instead of buying flowers.

I can recall dozens of such stories. I would also like to draw attention to how Belarusians actively supported the drone fundraiser for Ukraine. From day 1, I invited Belarusians living in Poland to create their virtual piggy bank as part of the campaign, and as a result, they collected the most funds of all such piggy banks. This is evidence that Lukashenko may be on Putins side, but the majority of Belarusians side with Ukraine.

- Concluding our conversation, I can't help but ask, in your opinion, does the world support Ukraine sufficiently in the fight against Russian aggression, or can it do much more?

- The world is not doing enough, in particular in providing defense assistance. I dont hide that this was my motivation for the Bayraktar fundraiser. I believe that Ukraine receives fewer weapons than it should, especially from Western Europe. I dont understand this excessive respect for Russia, especially since the Ukrainians have proven that Russia can be defeated. Ukraine is fighting not only for its own security, but also for the security of all of Europe. A large part of our continent has repeatedly fallen victim to Russia. As a member of the German Association for Foreign Policy (DGAP), one of the country's largest think tanks, I wrote many critical articles in Germany about their government's delay in aid to Ukraine. By raising funds for Bayraktar, I sought to set an example: if the governments of Western Europe do not mobilize more strongly to help Ukraine, then we as a civil society will mobilize.

Yuriy Banakhevych

Photo: newspix.pl, Agencja FORUM
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky received the Winston Churchill Leadership Award from the International Churchill Society.

The Head of State took part in the award ceremony in the format of a video conference, the Presidents press service informs.

As noted, Chairman of the International Society Laurence Geller speaking from the press center of the Office of the Prime Minister of Great Britain (London) noted that these days there are events and phenomena that have not happened since the time of Winston Churchill 80 years ago.

"Democracy in Europe is now threatened by tyranny, and this threat is stopped by leadership and heroism. Like Winston Churchill, President Zelensky shows that tyranny must not succeed, that people must have the right to choose their own path and their own life," the Presidents press service quotes Laurence Geller as saying.

According to Geller, Zelenskyy's devotion to the fundamental principles of democracy and firmness in defending his country helps Europe understand itself, and "his defense of democracy inspires us all."

Laurence Geller also praised the role of Great Britain under the leadership of Prime Minister Boris Johnson in strengthening the ability of democracy to defend itself and deter aggression.

For his part, Boris Johnson noted that Volodymyr Zelenskyy proved his leadership after the start of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine.

As the Russians launched their lightning assault on Kyiv, you knew that you were at the top of their target list And you could have left Kyiv, you could have said  and it would have been hard to contradict you  that the survival of the Ukrainian state required the survival of the President. But of course Volodymyr you did none of those things: you chose to stay in Kyiv, among the Ukrainian people, just as Churchill stayed in London in 1940. And when one world leader offered you a way out, you replied I need ammunition, not a ride, Johnson said.

The British PM added: And like Churchill youve understood that you are not yourself the lion, the Ukrainian people are the lion, but you have been called upon to give the roar, the roar of freedom against tyranny, good against evil, of light against darkness. And you have delivered that roar magnificently and thats why it was such a huge stroke of good fortune that you should have been in office at this time of crisis for Ukraine and the world. And inspired by your leadership, I know not just that Ukraine can win but Ukraine will win, and when that day comes, as it will, Ukraine will rise and take its place, as a free sovereign and independent nation.

Expressing gratitude for the award, the President of Ukraine noted that this award reflects not only his efforts, but also the heroism of tens of thousands of Ukrainian men and women who distinguished themselves in battles with the Russian aggressor.

This award would not be possible if the entire Ukrainian people had not risen up to defend freedom from the attack of tyranny, Zelensky stressed.

He also expressed conviction that Ukrainians and European history will always remember those who did not hesitate to come to the aid of the Ukrainian people and the idea of freedom in general. In particular, the President commended Boris Johnson's leadership.

According to the Head of State, now we are fighting not just for the land, the rights of people or the Ukrainian people, not just for freedom in Europe - we are fighting together so that no aggressor ever again considers war as a means to achieve aggressive goals.

And perhaps for the first time in the history of mankind we are now able to show everyone in the world and for ages that democracies, united, can stop any tyranny, even if at first it seems that it has unlimited resources for aggression. But this can become a reality only if Russia loses on the battlefield in Ukraine, Zelensky said.

In this regard, he called for continuing the supply of modern and effective weapons to Ukraine in sufficient quantities, strengthening sanctions against Russia, and involving more nations in the coalition to protect freedom, especially those against whom Russia decided to use artificial famine in the 21st century.

The democracies of the world are capable of stopping any tyranny. We are capable of stopping any evil that threatens our freedom. Only the joint leadership of the entire free world can be enough for this. And patience should be enough. Patience on the way to victory. No one knows today how much time and effort it will take to reach it. However, the victory is worth the effort. And it will become our shared history. So outstanding that you and I will later be quoted in the same way as we are now quoting Sir Churchill, Zelensky noted.

The award was handed over to Ambassador of Ukraine to Great Britain Vadym Prystaiko for delivery to the homeland.

Photo credit: Volodymyr Zelensky / Facebook

ol


(Photo : Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash)

The Breakthrough Junior Challenge is a global science video competition. Founded by philanthropist and scientist Yuri Milner, the challenge enables young people, ages 13 to 18, to share important scientific ideas with their peers. They explain complicated concepts of physics, mathematics, and life sciences in short, original videos. Judges choose the winners based on engagement, difficulty, creativity, and illumination.

Breakthrough Junior Challenge winners receive $250,000 in college scholarships, $50,000 for teachers who inspired them, and $100,000 for science labs built at their schools.

Several other organizations partner with Milner in presenting the challenge. They include Khan Academy, National Geographic Partners, and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, which designs the science lab for the winning student's school.

Who Are Some Previous Winners?

Here's a look at three previous Breakthrough Junior Challenge winners.

Amber Kwok, an 18-year-old from Mauritius, presented a video on two concepts in physics: the Van Der Waals and Casimir forces. Kwok won in 2021 for her fast-paced video, which uses animation and other tools to engage viewers.

Gornekk Suwattanapong, a 17-year-old from Thailand, presented a video on "What do black holes have to do with time travel?" He explained aspects of Einstein's theory of relativity and then related the theory to black holes and time travel. Suwattanapong won in the Space Exploration category for 2021.

Maryam Tsegaye, a 17-year-old from Canada, presented a video on quantum tunneling, in which she described how "electrons can walk through walls." Tsegaye won in 2020.

Who is Yuri Milner?

Yuri Milner is an Israeli scientist and the founder of DST Global. His firm is one of the world's leading technology investors, and its portfolio has included some very prominent internet companies.

Milner was born in Moscow and began his career in theoretical physics. He also attended the Wharton School of Business and worked at the World Bank in Washington, D.C. for three years. Milner became an Israeli citizen in 1999. He moved to California's Silicon Valley in 2011 and appears on the Forbes magazine billionaire list.

Milner founded the Breakthrough Prize Foundation. This organization aims to raise the profile and prestige of scientists, raise the big questions of science in the public consciousness, and inspire the next generation with scientific ideas. It also supports leading researchers in fundamental science and mathematics while investing in cutting-edge space programs.

In 2012, Yuri and his wife Julia joined Sergey Brin, Priscilla Chan, Anne Wojcicki, and Mark Zuckerberg to launch the Breakthrough Prizes - the world's most significant scientific awards. Every year, the Breakthrough Prizes award $3 million each to researchers in fundamental physics, the life sciences, and mathematics.

In 2015, he and Stephen Hawking launched Breakthrough Initiatives, a suite of space science programs investigating the fundamental questions of life in the universe.

Yuri Milner and his wife invest in many other projects, including an initiative known as Tech for Refugees. It leverages the networks and expertise of tech companies and organizations to provide shelter and provisions for Ukrainian refugees.

Julia and Yuri Milner joined the Giving Pledge in 2012. Warren Buffett collaborated with Bill and Melinda Gates to create the pledge, and the Milners were impressed by the way the Giving Pledge brings a scientific approach to philanthropy.
Administered by VisitScotland, the Rural Tourism Infrastructure Fund (RTIF) supports sustainable, inspiring and collaborative infrastructure projects that focus on improving the visitor experience and support the enjoyment of Scotlands rural communities.

The dramatic increase in visitor numbers at Doune Castle due to its filming popularity has resulted in a number of significant challenges alongside the opportunities that this increased profile presents. A major barrier to addressing these has been a lack of infrastructure. Up to now, there have been no obvious routes between Doune Castle and Doune Village and therefore, the majority of visitors to Doune Castle are not exposed to the other attractions in Doune.

The most significant RTIF project at Doune is a new pedestrian bridge crossing the Ardoch Burn. This new route leading from the Castle to the Mill of Doune, Castle Farm and access along the Ardoch Burn allows these important cultural and natural assets to be enjoyed by both visitors and the local community. The configuration for the bridge is a double arch: 20m across the Ardoch Burn and 10m across the flood plain. This arch arrangement is ideally suited to an innovative structure made from short lengths of timber. This is a glue and screw method whereby the timbers are vertically laminated using glue and screws between each row of laminates to create what is effectively a single solid mass of timber.

The bridge is then installed in two completed arches without the need for scaffolding in the sensitive watercourse. The primary timber for the bridge is homegrown Scottish Larch, sourced locally from the woods to the north-east of Doune. The use of a laminated solution is particularly suited to using local larch as this approach greatly improves the structural performance of the material that otherwise would not be appropriate for bridge construction. The main span of this bridge at Doune Castle is currently the longest single span of a timber glue and screw arch ever built.

During the prefabrication works, the riverbank abutments and intermediate pier were completed with the latter clad in stone by the in-house HES apprenticeship team. New paths then completed the connection from the Castle to the riverside and further on to connect with the village. Along with the other RTIF projects, this new infrastructure has delivered important links between Doune Castle and the local community, promoting the many natural assets and attractions that Doune has to offer.
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

QALAT, Afghanistan, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 26th Jul, 2022 ) :Four commuters were killed and 48 others injured as a passenger bus turned turtle in Afghanistan's southern Zabul province on Tuesday, a traffic police officer said.

The accident took place in Shahr-e-Safa district in the wee hours of Tuesday, said the official on condition of anonymity, without giving more details.

In the meantime, director of provincial Public Health department Abdul Hakim Hakimi confirmed that four dead bodies including three women and 48 injured people including women and children had been taken to hospital.

Reckless driving and congested roads often lead to deadly road mishaps in war-torn Afghanistan, according to traffic police officials.
BEIJING, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 26th Jul, 2022 ) :The foreign ministers of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states have confirmed that will attend the upcoming meeting of the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers (CMFA) scheduled to be held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on July 28-29.

"All eight ministers confirmed their readiness to come in person," the press service of the SCO Secretariat told APP here.

It may be mentioned here that Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto will be representing Pakistan in the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers meeting to be held in Tashkent.
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 26th Jul, 2022 ) :Pakistan and United States will advance and deepen their health cooperation in areas of immunization, nutrition, mother's health, child survival and health security across borders.

The two countries have also started a collaborative effort to develop the Centre for Disease Control in Pakistan, said a message received here on Tuesday.

These remarks were made by Pakistan's Federal Health Minister for National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination Abdul Qadir Patel while addressing the US-Pakistan Health Dialogue hosted by the US State Department, United States Agency for International Development and Department of Health and Human Services.

The minister thanked the US administration for the provision of 61.5 million COVID vaccines, 16 million pediatric vaccines and other equipment including protective kits and ventilators in the country's fight against the pandemic.

He said, "Pak-US cooperation during COVID pandemic clearly demonstrated that a robust Pak-US partnership in the health sector could prove a bulwark against pandemic and diseases thus saving millions of precious human lives." "Disease knows no boundaries. A pandemic will not only be a challenge for a particular country but the region and beyond", said the minister.

Highlighting Pakistan's efforts towards polio eradication, the minister emphasized that a holistic approach comprising immunization, mother and child nutrition was critical to the success of polio eradication efforts.

He said that Pakistan was strengthening its Border Health Agency, as part of its pursuits of the Global Health Security Agenda, to effectively monitor and counter cross-border movement of disease.

The two sides pledged a greater exchange of information, expertise and best practices in fighting diseases.

The US side appreciated Pakistan's successful handling of the COVID pandemic with a commitment to continue its close collaboration with the country. In this regard, the United States which has already provided 61.5 million COVID vaccines will further donate 16 million doses of pediatric Pfizer vaccines to Pakistan.

An additional $20 million was also pledged by USAID to support Pakistan's vaccination efforts.

The Dialogue also highlighted the donation of four mobile testing labs by the United States that would augment Pakistan's capacity in diagnosing COVID-19 and other communicable diseases, especially in remote areas. The USAID will also undertake new programs in Pakistan under Global Health Security Agenda.

It was also decided to strengthen cooperation between US' food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP).

The US Centre for Disease Control will also help NIH in strengthening the disease data centre in Pakistan.

The US side also appreciated Pakistan's campaign for polio eradication and reiterated its commitment to continue its support against the crippling disease.

Ambassador Masood Khan in his concluding remarks thanked the US Government for its support and welcomed the positive outcome of the US-Pakistan Health Dialogue.

He said, "the dialogue is part of multiple engagement processes in critical areas like trade, science and technology, agriculture and climate change, to further strengthen Pak-US ties." Highlighting the importance of a high-level US-Pakistan Health Dialogue, Ambassador Masood Khan said that "this engagement process will help Pakistan and the US to develop an arc of cooperation in the non-security areas and will further cement our robust partnership." The day-long session of the US-Pakistan Health Dialogue deliberated upon establishing the Pakistani Center for Disease Control (CDC), Global Health Security, childhood immunizations, COVID-19 engagement, regulatory engagements, maternal and child health and non-communicable diseases.

The two sides reiterated their commitment to continue close collaboration in the aforementioned areas and to regularly monitor progress into agreed areas of cooperation.

The next session of the US-Pakistan Health Dialogue is planned to be held in Pakistan.
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

Hungary on Tuesday slammed an EU proposal to reduce gas consumption as "unenforceable" after the bloc's energy ministers approved the plan

Budapest, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 26th Jul, 2022 ) :Hungary on Tuesday slammed an EU proposal to reduce gas consumption as "unenforceable" after the bloc's energy ministers approved the plan.

"This is an unjustifiable, useless, unenforceable and harmful proposal," Hungary's Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said.

Hungary was the only member state to oppose the plan, which passed on a majority vote.

"We were the only ones to signal that we are voting no... given that this decree completely ignores the interests of Hungarian people," Szijjarto told reporters in Brussels.

The plan asks the bloc's 27 member states to voluntarily reduce gas use by 15 percent -- based on a five-year average for the months in question -- starting next month and over the subsequent winter through March.

Russia has halted or reduced gas deliveries to a number of EU countries for a variety of reasons that are considered in Europe to be pretexts for retaliation for sanctions over the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine.

"In an effort to increase EU security of energy supply, member states today reached a political agreement on a voluntary reduction of natural gas demand by 15 percent this winter," the Council of the European Union said.

"The Council regulation also foresees the possibility to trigger a 'Union alert' on security of supply, in which case the gas demand reduction would become mandatory," the statement continued.

But Szijjarto said the "the legal basis of a decree that decides how much member states can consume from which supplier is at best doubtful".

"Will someone in Brussels be explaining to Hungarians how Hungarian people or companies won't be able to use gas while there is gas in Hungary, the whole thing is clearly nonsense," he said.

Hungary, which largely depends on Russian oil and gas, declared a "state of danger" over the energy crisis this month. It currently imports 65 percent of its oil and 80 percent of its gas from Russia.

Last week, Szijjarto visited Moscow to discuss the purchase of an additional 700 million cubic metres of natural gas.

The amount represents around 6.7 percent of Hungary's 2020 natural gas consumption, according to data from Hungary's natural gas pipeline operator FGSZ.
An Iraqi court has overturned the conviction and 15-year sentence handed to a British pensioner last month for antiquities smuggling, the retiree's lawyer said Tuesday

Baghdad, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 26th Jul, 2022 ) :An Iraqi court has overturned the conviction and 15-year sentence handed to a British pensioner last month for antiquities smuggling, the retiree's lawyer said Tuesday.

James Fitton had been charged under a 2002 law against "intentionally taking or trying to take out of Iraq an antiquity," the maximum penalty for which under the country's legal code is death by hanging.

The conviction has been "overturned today by the Court of Cassation and my client will soon be free", lawyer Thaer Saoud told AFP.
President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday said the archives on French colonial rule in Cameroon would be opened "in full" and asked historians to shed light on the period's "painful moments".

Yaound, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 26th Jul, 2022 ) :President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday said the archives on French colonial rule in Cameroon would be opened "in full" and asked historians to shed light on the period's "painful moments".

Macron, speaking in the Cameroonian capital Yaounde, said he wanted historians from both countries to work together on investigating the past and establish "responsibilities".

French colonial authorities brutally repressed armed Cameroonian nationalists before the country's independence in 1960.

Tens of thousands of supporters of the Union of the Peoples of Cameroon (UPC) party, including independence leader Ruben Um Nyobe, were killed by the French army.

The Cameroonian army under the country's first post-independence leader Ahmadou Ahidjo also slayed UPC fighters.

Former president Francois Hollande in 2015 conceded that France's colonial past in Cameroon brought "tragic" moments and said he was open to opening the archives.

A group of Cameroonian political parties on Monday called on Macron to recognise the "crimes" France committed during the colonial era.

A French diplomat said providing access to military and diplomatic archives would allow historians to complete their work on Cameroon, after which political action could be taken.

Macron's comments came on the first leg of a trip to three African countries where he hopes to reset France's relations with the continent, where many nations are former French colonies.

- Turning the page - The 44-year-old has made concerted efforts to turn the page on painful episodes in France's past.

The first French president born after Algeria's bitter and protracted independence war ended, Macron called the colonisation of the country "a crime against humanity" and said it was time France "looked our past in the face".

He also commissioned a report by Algerian-born French historian Benjamin Stora on the colonial era in the North African country, although he ruled out making an official apology.
USMs Childrens Centers Advisory Board Now Under New Leadership

Tue, 07/26/2022 - 13:15pm | By: Courtney Tesh

Pictured from left to right: Mike Dixon, Amanda McLeod, Terri Daniels, Jennifer Ingram Johnson, Sarah Myers.

Over the nearly 50 years that has passed since The Childrens Centers inception in 1974, it has seen remarkable change and growth, and been through hills and valleys along its path, as any evolving organization might expect.

But for the past 16 years, one thing has remained constant  the unwavering support, counsel, and leadership provided by The Childrens Centers Advisory Board Co-Chairs, Jennifer Ingram Johnson and Terri Daniels.

The Childrens Center for Communication and Development is a non-profit with locations on The University of Southern Mississippis Hattiesburg and Gulf Park campuses. The Center provides early intervention therapies for children ages 0-5 with complex disabilities at no cost to their families.

Yet beyond the therapy provided, the Center offers a safe place, a listening ear, and a hand to hold (figuratively and literally), for families who have oftentimes just been given a diagnosis for their little one. Through the years of enrollment at the Center, bonds are formed that are not easily broken. A child may graduate at the age of five, but connections can last a lifetime.

The Childrens Center for Communication and Development is near and dear to my heart and has been since my daughter entered the program almost 20 years ago, said Jennifer Johnson. Serving as Chair of the Advisory Board along with my Co-Chair, Terri Daniels, is among my most cherished positions of leadership. It has been an honor to support The Childrens Center and its Director and staff as they work tirelessly each and every day to truly change for the better the lives of the children and families in our community.

And Daniels echoes her sentiments. Frequently, I ask myself, Does what Im doing matter? says Daniels. Without question, work on behalf of The Childrens Center at USM matters. Babies, toddlers, and preschoolers receive life-changing services on a regular basis, such as learning to communicate or walk. What an honor it has been serving as Co-Chair of The Centers Advisory Board alongside Jennifer Johnson.

This year marks a change in the Centers board leadership as Johnson and Daniels step down from their roles and excitedly pass the torch to devoted friends of The Childrens Center and current board members, Mike Dixon and Amanda McLeod.

About the change, Daniels remarked that she looks forward to serving such a worthy program in a new way. I cant wait to continue this work as a board member, because this program, its services, and especially children with developmental challenges matter. And both Daniels and Johnson have full confidence that the Center and its Board will continue to thrive with Dixon and McLeod taking on their new roles.

It is right and good to pass the mantle of leadership of the Board to Mike Dixon and Amanda McLeod, strong leaders in their respective fields, at this time when the Center is experiencing prosperity and growth, said Johnson. I know they will lead from a place of integrity and purpose. I look forward to continuing my service as an active Board member in support of the program for the years ahead.

And strong leaders in their fields and within their communities, they are. Dixon currently acts as Executive Director of Greater Pinebelt Community Foundation and is Vocational Minister at Ekklesia Hattiesburg while McLeod is Vice President of Enrollment Management at Jones College in Ellisville, Mississippi. Both have a passion for helping others and a profound belief in the work of The Childrens Center and its impact on South Mississippi.

I could not be more excited to play even a small role in the life changing work of the Children's Center, said Dixon. There are no more deserving children and families than those that walk through these doors every day. From the first time I walked into the Children's Center, I knew I wanted to help however I could, and I suspect the same is true of everyone who is lucky enough to get to see it up close.

Stepping into the role of Advisory Board Co-Chair is a great honor, said McLeod. Jennifer Johnson and Terri Daniels have laid a strong foundation over the past 16 years as they have worked hard to build and grow the Center into what it is today. I look forward to working with Mike and the Centers Director, Sarah Myers to ensure that the Center prospers in years to come and serves the children and families of Mississippi well.

Director Sarah Myers is excited about the Centers future with this shift in Board leadership. Jennifer and Terri have not only been integral in helping the Center grow and thrive through many seasons, but they have played an important role in supporting the staff and myself throughout our journey with the Center, said Myers. Leading The Childrens Center has been that much more fulfilling and enjoyable with them by my side, and I have no doubt that the same will be true as our new Board leaders take the reins. Its times like these, as I watch four incredible human beings making decisions, giving of themselves, and taking on roles solely for the betterment of our organization, that I find I have to pinch myself at the good fortune of The Childrens Center. We are so thankful, hopeful, and energized and we cant wait to see what the future holds.

To follow The Childrens Center for Communication and Development, visit https://www.facebook.com/TheChildrensCenterUSM and https://www.instagram.com/usmchildrensctr/

About The Childrens Center for Communication and Development

The Childrens Center for Communication and Development at The University of Southern Mississippi is a non-profit that provides cost-free comprehensive early intervention therapy for children age 0-5 with complex disabilities while educating, training and supporting families, university students and professionals. For more information, visit www.usm.edu/childrenscenter.

About the Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi Foundation

The Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi Foundation has a vision for a healthy Mississippi and provides targeted grants to fund initiatives and programs to improve the health and well-being of Mississippians. Learn more about the Foundation at www.healthiermississippi.org.
Pope Francis meets with members of the Sacred Heart Church of the First Peoples in Edmonton, and says reconciliation is a gift of Christ to move forward in the wake of the pain caused by the Churchs role in the Canadian residential school system.

By Devin Watkins

This is the way forward: to look together to Christ, to love betrayed and crucified for our sake; to look to Christ, crucified in the many students of the residential schools.

Pope Francis set out that path for the Catholic Church in Canada on Monday, as he met with members of the countrys only designated Indigenous parish church.

The Pope held the encounter in the western city of Edmonton with parishioners of the Sacred Heart Church of the First Peoples, which came on the heels of his public apology for the Churchs role in running residential schools.

Pope Francis at Sacred Heart Church in Edmonton, Canada

Church as a house for all

In his address , Pope Francis expressed his joy for the opportunity to come as a friend and pilgrim in your land, adding that his Apostolic Journey to Canada is meant as a concrete sign of his desire to support the process of healing.

The Sacred Heart Church welcomes people from the First Nations, Metis, and Inuit communities, as well as immigrants from other countries.

The Pope said the parish offers an example of how the Church should be a house for all a home where everyone should feel welcome, regardless of past experiences and personal life stories.

Pope Francis at Sacred Heart Church in Edmonton, Canada

Listen to our report

Pain for Churchs past

Pope Francis recalled the reason for his penitential pilgrimage to Canada.

It pains me to think that Catholics contributed to policies of assimilation and disenfranchisement that inculcated a sense of inferiority, robbing communities and individuals of their cultural and spiritual identity, severing their roots and fostering prejudicial and discriminatory attitudes; and that this was also done in the name of an educational system that was supposedly Christian.

Education, added the Pope, should be based on respect and never imposed in a pre-packaged format, but rather undertaken as an adventure to discover together the mystery of life.

Reconciliation on tree of life

The Pope then focused on the theme of reconciliation, saying Christ brought a form of reconciliation which goes beyond outward appearances.

Jesus reconciles us with one another on the cross, on the tree of life, as the ancient Christians loved to call it.

That tree of life, said Pope Francis, joins heaven and earth and embraces all Creation, even things that seemed unthinkable and unforgiveable.

He said indigenous peoples attribute powerful cosmic significance to the cardinal points, noting how Sacred Heart Church appropriates that symbolism and gives it a Christological meaning.

Jesus, through the four extremities of His cross, has embraced the four cardinal points and has brought together the most distant peoples; He has brought healing and peace to all things, he said.

Scandalous love and peace

Recognizing the pain endured by many indigenous peoples and families at the hands of Canadas residential schools, Pope Francis said he can only imagine the effort it must take, for those who have suffered so greatly because of men and women who should have set an example of Christian living, even to think about reconciliation.

Nothing can ever take away the violation of dignity, the experience of evil, the betrayal of trust. Or take away our own shame, as believers. Yet we need to set out anew, and Jesus does not offer us nice words and good intentions, but the cross: the scandalous love that allows his hands and feet to be pierced by nails, and his head to be crowned with thorns.

The path forward, said the Pope, is to look together to Christ and to embrace Christs gift of reconciliation, a peace that radiates from the heart of Jesus, a grace which must be sought.

If we want to be reconciled with one another and with ourselves, to be reconciled with the past, with wrongs endured and memories wounded, with traumatic experiences that no human consolation can ever heal, he said, our eyes must be lifted to the crucified Jesus; peace must be attained at the altar of his cross.

Sacred Heart Church in Edmonton, Canada

Living body of reconciliation

Pope Francis went on to say that the Church is the living body of reconciliation, since she is the one body in which Christ has reconciled us.

He said the Church can never lead people to Christ by imposing Him through proselytism. Rather, Jesus must be preached as He desires, in freedom and charity.

The Church, he added, must be a place of welcome in which the Holy Spirit fosters the healing of wounded memories, which he said should be carried out at the local level in praying and sharing life with one another.

Pope Francis at Sacred Heart Church in Edmonton, Canada

Teepee: Sign of Gods closeness

The Pope concluded his address to members of the Sacred Heart Church of the First Peoples with the image of the teepee.

He noted that above the altar and tabernacle are four poles representing the typical indigenous tent, saying it recalls the Tent of Meeting where God dwelt as the people of Israel journeyed in the desert for forty years.

The teepee reminds us that God accompanies us on our journey and loves to meet us together, said Pope Francis. God is a God of closeness, and in Jesus He teaches us the language of compassion and tender love.

May God, he concluded, take us by the hand, and even through the deserts of history, and continue to guide our steps on the way of reconciliation.
A Democratic Republic of Congo government spokesman said at least five people were killed and 50 wounded during protests against a U.N. peacekeeping mission in the eastern city of Goma on Monday.



Congolese government spokesman Patrick Muyaya announced the fatalities in a Twitter post Tuesday, without saying who was responsible for the deaths or injuries.



The demonstrations began Monday when hundreds attacked and looted a U.N. peacekeeping warehouse in Goma, demanding that the U.N. mission, known as MONUSCO, leave the country.



Carrying signs and chanting anti-U.N. slogans, the protesters accused MONUSCO of failing to achieve peace while leaving citizens vulnerable to ongoing attacks by M23 rebels.



In a Twitter post, MONUSCO condemned the protest, rejected protester accusations of causing chaos and instability, and vowed to help make progress towards stabilization and peace.



Local officials have called for calm but similar protests began Tuesday in Butembo  some 300 kilometers north of Goma  where the M23 rebels recently advanced.
President Joe Biden's COVID-19 symptoms are now "almost completely resolved," said Dr. Kevin O'Connor, the president's physician.

Biden completed a five-day course of the antiviral drug Paxlovid Monday night, O'Connor said, and Bidens pulse, blood pressure, respiratory rate and temperature remain normal.

Biden now feels well enough to resume his physical exercise routine, but he will continue isolation Tuesday for a fifth day. The president has been isolated in the White House since he tested positive for COVID-19 last Thursday.

Health officials believe Biden contracted the BA.5 variant of omicron. Dr. Ashish Jha, White House coronavirus response coordinator, said the BA.5 variant is now responsible for 75% to 80% of COVID-19 cases in the United States.

Biden, who is fully vaccinated and double boosted, experienced mild symptoms over the past five days, including "some residual nasal congestion and minimal hoarseness."

Biden has canceled all in-person events for this week, but he will continue to attend events virtually until he is cleared from isolation.

First lady Jill Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris both tested negative on Monday. Jill Biden is residing in the family home in Delaware while the president is in isolation. Harris was cleared Monday to attend an event in Indiana on abortion.
Britain and the European Union have extended sanctions on Russia in response to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

The U.K. Foreign Office said on its website Tuesday that the sanctions, which included travel bans and asset freezes, were imposed on 42 new people and entities, including several governors of Russian regions and the Kremlin-installed prime minister of the separatist-controlled Donetsk region of Ukraine, Vitaly Khotsenko.

The EU, meanwhile, approved the extension of its sanctions for another six months until January 31, the European Council said in a statement.

The U.K. said its list also includes Vladislav Kuznetsov, the Moscow-imposed first deputy chairman of the Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine, which is held by Russia-backed separatists.

"We will not keep quiet and watch Kremlin-appointed state actors suppress the people of Ukraine or the freedoms of their own people," Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said in a statement "We will continue to impose harsh sanctions on those who are trying to legitimize Putins illegal invasion until Ukraine prevails."

Since Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine on February 24, Britain has sanctioned more than 1,100 people and over 100 businesses.

The EU has introduced six rounds of sanctions on Russia in coordination with its Western partners.
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's potential plan to visit Taiwan during her trip to Asia in August has prompted a belligerent response from China, with the spokesman for the Foreign Ministry warning that Beijing would "act strongly to resolutely respond" and "take countermeasures" if Pelosi traveled to the island.

In a news conference on Monday, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian confirmed a report in the Financial Times over the weekend that said China's warnings were "significantly stronger" over the House speaker's potential visit than during the previous times it had been unhappy with U.S. policy toward Taiwan.

"The Chinese side has repeatedly made clear to the U.S. side our serious concern over Speaker Pelosi's potential visit to Taiwan and our firm opposition to the visit," he said. "We are fully prepared for any eventuality. If the U.S. side insists on making the visit, the Chinese side will take firm and strong measures to safeguard our sovereignty and territorial integrity. The U.S. must assume full responsibility for any serious consequence arising thereof."

In statements to different news outlets on Monday, Joanne Ou, the spokesperson for Taiwan's Foreign Ministry, said that while Taiwan always welcomes visits from U.S. lawmakers, the government had not yet received any "definite information" about a visit from Pelosi.

Tense relationship

Taiwan has long been a point of tension in the U.S.-China relationship. China claims the island democracy as part of its territory. While the U.S. nominally has a "one China" policy that recognizes both Taiwan and China as part of the same country, it maintains "strategic ambiguity" in its relations with them.

The U.S. has official diplomatic relations with mainland China only; however, it maintains unofficial relations with the government in Taipei, to which it supplies military aid and weapons.

Since taking office, President Joe Biden has on several occasions suggested that the U.S. would defend Taiwan militarily if China attempted to retake the island by force, appearing to deviate from the U.S. tradition not stating definitively how it would respond to Chinese aggression against Taiwan.

On China's part, its incursions into the Taiwan's airspace and waters have become significantly more aggressive in recent years, raising concerns about Beijing's intentions.

History of contention

While Pelosis national and international profile is tied to her leadership of the broader Democratic Party in the House of Representatives, the district in San Francisco that has sent her to Congress every two years since 1986 is nearly one-third Asian American.

Pelosi has been a critic of Chinas social policies for many years. When asked about her upcoming Asia trip last week, she said, Its important for us to show support for Taiwan. None of us has ever said were for independence when it comes to Taiwan. Thats up to Taiwan to decide.

Chinas Foreign Ministry has criticized Pelosi for her complaints about the countrys treatment of minority groups such as the Muslim Uyghurs of the Xinjiang region, accusing her of smearing Beijing.

Timing sensitive

Pelosi's trip to Asia comes at a politically sensitive time for the Beijing regime. Chinese Communist Party senior leaders are about to gather for their annual summer retreat, which comes just months before the National Party Congress. At that meeting, which happens once every five years, President Xi Jinping is expected to seek an unprecedented third term in office.

David Sacks, a research fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, told VOA in an email exchange that the timing of Pelosi's visit likely has much to do with the vehemence of China's reaction.

"Xi likely fears that Pelosi's high-profile visit to Taiwan could cause him to look weak in the eyes of other Party members and appear as someone who does not have a firm handle on one of the most important issues for the Chinese leadership," Sacks said.

He added, "Facing significant economic headwinds and pushback to his zero-COVID policies and tough lockdowns at home, Xi will at the very least try to avoid another blow on Taiwan and could even find a crisis useful as a way to distract the public or rally public opinion."

Options unclear

Having raised expectations that its response would be more powerful than any in the past, the Chinese government has raised concerns about exactly what it will do if Pelosi visits Taiwan.

In China, political commentator Hu Xijin, the former editor in chief of the state-run Global Times, suggested that Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) jets might intercept Pelosi's plane and "escort" it to Taiwan.

This would escalate tensions because while Chinese planes regularly enter Taiwan's air defense identification zone, they have not violated its territorial airspace.

Other experts doubt that Xi would be willing to risk open conflict.

"I don't think that Xi Jinping will let PLA fighter jets fly with her if Pelosi really goes (to Taiwan)," Arthur Ding, a professor emeritus of National Chengchi University in Taiwan, told VOA.

More likely, he said, are major economic moves, such as a repudiation of the Phase 1 agreement, reached during the Trump administration, to move toward a relaxation of the tariffs that the U.S. and China have imposed on each other's exports.

"I think China may (respond) in this regard, instead of suddenly raising this tension through the PLA fighter jets accompanying Pelosi's aircraft, because that is tantamount to direct provocation by China to the United States," Ding said.

Biden cautious

Although the Biden administration has no authority to tell Pelosi not to go to Taiwan, the administration has apparently been trying to dissuade her from the journey. Last week, Biden told reporters, "I think that the military thinks it's not a good idea right now."

"I think what the president was saying is that maybe the military was afraid of my plane getting shot down or something like that," Pelosi said Thursday.

National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said that the NSC had briefed Pelosi on the security situation. However, members of the administration have made it clear that the choice is Pelosi's to make, not the president's.

Pelosi urged to go

Numerous current and former U.S. government officials have urged Pelosi to make the trip to Taiwan over Beijing's objections.

Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper, during an appearance in Taipei last week, said, "I don't think we should allow China to dictate the travel schedules of American officials." He also urged the U.S. to reconsider its "One China" policy, saying that the stance had outlived its usefulness.

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Sunday tweeted an offer to accompany her, writing, "Nancy, I'll go with you. I'm banned in China, but not freedom-loving Taiwan. See you there!"

Crisis may be inevitable

The discussion of China possibly using military aircraft to intimidate Pelosi speaks to the level of stress in the relationship among China, the U.S. and Taiwan.

There have been three major "Taiwan Strait Crises," named for the body of water separating the island from the mainland. The first two, in the 1950s, involved armed conflict centered around small islands claimed by Taiwan but located close to the Chinese mainland. The third, in 1995 and 1996, involved China's firing missiles into waters surrounding Taiwan.

Sacks, of the Council on Foreign Relations, said current tensions over the status of Taiwan seem to be moving toward a breaking point.

"If China were to try to prevent Pelosi's plane from landing, we would be in a full-blown Taiwan Strait crisis, which would be far more dangerous than previous crises given the political contexts in Washington and Beijing," he said.

However, he added, "Even if we are able to navigate this trip and it does not cause a crisis, I believe a Taiwan Strait crisis is on the horizon."
A Philippines news outlet investigating human rights abuses has seen traffic to its site drop by over 40% after accusations that it supports "communist terrorists" resulted in a web ban.

Run by a team of volunteer journalists, the news website Bulatlat has made a name for itself by covering underreported issues including mistreatment of health workers, corruption, and the rights of women and Indigenous communities.

At the start of June it had an average of over 50,000 monthly users, but that figure dropped dramatically after the Philippines National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) blocked access to the site.

In early June, the NTC ordered internet service providers (ISPs) in the Philippines to block more than 20 websites, including Bulatlat, that it said were supporting or linked to "communist-terrorists."

Hermogenes Esperon Jr., then the National Security adviser, signed the order.

Bulatlat, which denies links to terrorism, said in a statement no evidence was cited in the order.

Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders described the move as "yet another example of 'red-tagging'"  a decades-long practice where media, activists and others are accused of links to Communist parties and groups in the Philippines.

The Philippines has been fighting the New People's Army  an armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines  for five decades. And the government in 2018 formed the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict to eradicate any communist rebellions.

But journalists and rights groups say that task force also labels critics as having terrorist links.

"If we have a big story, [the Task Force] will refute it and label us as terrorist or supporters of Communist insurgency of the Philippines," Janess Ellao, a reporter for Bulatlat, told VOA.

Sometimes, the accusation comes after a journalist covers militias.

Ellao said she was accused of supporting terrorist factions after she embedded with communist groups in Mindanao to report on militarization.

"Those who want to investigate human rights violations in those communities, sometimes they are subjected to surveillance or subjected to being attacked or labeled  as someone providing support to the armed communist insurgency," she said.

Neither the Presidential Communications Operations Office nor the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict responded to VOA's emails requesting comment.

The country's new national security adviser has indicated that she plans to end the practice of red-tagging.

For now, Bulatlat is trying to appeal the ban.

The site's editor, Ronalyn Olea, testified in a Quezon City court on July 13 that the website's monthly unique visitors dropped by 43% between June 8 and July 7 because of the order.

War on critics

Bulatlat and its journalists have been accused of terrorist links previously and come under cyberattack from troll farms.

The attacks send a "message that anyone who practices independent journalism would be targeted. And that's very chilling," Olea told local media last month.

The Philippines has a long history of red-tagging, according to Daniel Bastard, the Asia-Pacific director for RSF.

"Under Ferdinand Marcos, everything that wasn't pro-government was deemed anti-government and pro-communist," Bastard told VOA in a phone call. "That's where this red-tagging phenomenon came, it was really a label that authorities would put on some people, who were dissidents, who were not [toeing the] line of the government and that's basically where it comes from."

After Marcos fled in 1986, after two decades of rule marked by human rights abuses and corruption, the Philippines opened up, with democratic elections and a free press.

But, said Bastard, the use of red-tagging against government critics returned.

"Things started to polarize in the year 2010, more or less. And a bit like under Ferdinand Marcos, everything that that wasn't pro-Duterte was deemed anti-Duterte," Bastard said.

Danilo Arao, an associate editor at Bulatlat, said red-tagging became "intense" and more "brazen" under then-President Rodrigo Duterte, with accusations made against media outlets and journalists, including himself.

"In relation to my work at Bulatlat, I was once tagged as one of those involved in a move to oust Duterte," said Arao, who is also a journalism professor at the University of the Philippines.

In 2019, a graphic published by the Manila Times identified 58 people, including Arao, said to be part of a movement to destabilize the government.

Arao described the allegations as "ridiculous and laughable" but, he said, "It was very dangerous for our safety and security as we could be targets of state agents."

New direction

On June 30, Ferdinand "Bong Bong" Marcos Jr.  the son of Ferdinand Marco Sr.  was inaugurated as president, returning the Marcos family to power after more than three decades.

His newly appointed National Security Adviser Clarita Carlos has said she wants red-tagging to stop, saying the practice is counterproductive.

Journalists at Bulatlat hope that could ease the pressures they are under.

"It's already under review. We're hoping the review will lead to them revoking the request," said Ellao, referring to the website block.

While Bulatlat's team wait for their appeal against the ban to be heard, the website is using circumvention methods, including mirror sites, to reach audiences.

"Fortunately for us, we have been able to launch the mirror site right away," Ellao told VOA, adding that their social media sites remain accessible.
Former South African president Thabo Mbeki launched a rare attack last week on the ruling African National Congress party and President Cyril Ramaphosa. Mbeki said public discontent with the government is so high the country could be headed toward its own "Arab Spring," the uprising that toppled leaders starting in 2010 and spread across parts of the Arab world.

In his address at the funeral of an ANC stalwart, Mbeki was unequivocal in his criticism of the party to which hes dedicated his life, saying there was no national plan to address the poverty, unemployment, and inequality plaguing South Africa and warning that it could lead to violence.

One of my fears is that one of these days, were going to have our own version of the Arab Spring, said Mbeki.

Independent political analyst Asanda Ngoasheng said she thinks Mbekis warning is on target.

I think that former President Thabo Mbeki is right in his assessment that South Africa is ripe for an Arab Spring," Ngoasheng said. "In fact, I would even take it further and say that South Africa has already had the preemptions and predecessors of revolt.

Ngoasheng pointed to the riots that broke out after the brief jailing of former president Jacob Zuma last year as one example. She said the COVID-19 pandemic had also exacerbated poverty.

South Africa has a ticking time bomb of youth unemployment and the combination of the post-Covid world," Ngoasheng said.

But analyst and author Ralph Mathekga said he thought Mbekis comparison went a step too far, arguing that even if the ANC lost power it wouldnt mean the country would fall apart.

The problem is that the formulation by Mbeki then says if the ANCs not holding, then South Africas going to an Arab Spring, what that means is only the ANC can actually lead politically," Mathekga said.

President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed Mbekis criticism that he had failed to create jobs in a speech over the weekend, saying we should challenge the claim that nothing is being done.

While we all agree that our overriding objectives are to grow the economy, create jobs, and reduce poverty and inequality and we must remember that the problem and challenge of jobs did not start yesterday," Ramaphosa said.

Wandile Sihlobo, chief economist of the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa, said its vital for government to address unemployment and poverty to prevent growing discontent.

The crux of this is actually making sure we grow the economy, said Sihlobo.

But will it be a case of too little too late? With youth unemployment at 63 percent, frequent blackouts and failing state services, South Africa could be primed for a repeat of last years violence.
For full coverage of the crisis in Ukraine, visit Flashpoint Ukraine.

The latest developments in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. All times EDT.

11:35 p.m.: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has presented Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy with the Sir Winston Churchill Leadership Award, drawing comparisons between the two leaders in times of crises, The Associated Press reported.

Zelenskyy accepted the award by video link Tuesday during a ceremony at Johnsons London office. The event was attended by members of the Churchill family, the Ukrainian ambassador and Ukrainians who have received training from British soldiers. Johnson recalled how Zelenskyy confirmed on Feb. 24 that Russia had invaded, adding: In that moment of supreme crisis, you faced a test of leadership that was, in its way, as severe as Churchills challenge in 1940. Zelenskyy thanked Johnson and Britain for their support.

10:45 p.m.: U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen highlighted a proposed price cap on Russian oil on a phone call with British Finance Minister Nadhim Zahawi on Tuesday, a move to reduce the impact of the war in Ukraine on global energy prices.

Reuters reported that both discussed the need to continue to accelerate budgetary support for Ukraine, and opportunities to build on sanctions imposed on Russia, the U.S. Treasury Department said in a statement.

9 p.m.: U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinas Xi Jinping are expected to speak on Thursday, according to a source, on a call the White House said earlier would include the topics of Taiwan and Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Reuters reported.

The White House declined to comment on the timing of the call.

8 p.m.: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiyy on Tuesday said Russia was deliberately cutting supplies of natural gas to impose a price terror against Europe, and he called for more sanctions on Moscow.

Using Gazprom, Moscow is doing all it can to make this coming winter as harsh as possible for the European countries. Terror must be answered  impose sanctions, he said in a late-night video address.

7 p.m.: Local residents say when Russian troops occupied their village in the Kyiv region, they were dumbfounded by Ukraine's high living standards. Now, most of the village is in ruins, leaving many locals homeless and in need. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty has this story.



6 p.m.: Ukrainian soldier Mykola Zabavchuk planned to marry his girlfriend when he next returned home from the war against Russia, but never made it back, Reuters reported.



Zabavchuk, who was 25, and two other soldiers were buried in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv on Tuesday after being killed in action.



He was a very good boyfriend, a sincere one. He loved and took care of me very much. He was very devoted to me and to his friends, his fiancee Oleksandra told Reuters at the funeral.



5 p.m.: All over the Donetsk region, close to the front lines of Russias war in Ukraine, Nataliia Voronkova turns up at Ukrainian field positions and hospitals wearing high heels. A helmet and a protective vest arent part of her uniform, either, as she distributes first-aid kits and other equipment to Ukrainian soldiers and paramedics. She is a civilian, the founder of a medical non-profit. The former adviser to the Ukrainian Defense Ministry with graduate degrees in banking and finance is a familiar sight to officers and troops in eastern Ukraine, The Associated Press reported.





4 p.m.: A new issue of International Monetary Fund Special Drawing Rights (SDF) reserves is among options that could be considered to aid countries struggling with spillovers from the Ukraine war but there are no active discussions on the matter, IMF officials said on Tuesday, according to Reuters.



There has been no discussion at the IMF of a further SDR allocation, an IMF spokesperson said in an emailed statement. Despite recent developments and high global uncertainty, it would be premature to conclude that the long-term global need for reserves has changed significantly.



More than 45 progressive U.S. lawmakers led by Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representative Pramila Jayapal, both Democrats, earlier this month urged President Joe Biden and U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to support a new SDR allocation of at least $650 million to avoid famine and a destabilizing debt crisis in developing countries.

3 p.m.: German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said her country's military did the worst you can ever imagine with keeping up-to-date, leaving Berlin in a poor position to supply modern arms to Ukraine. Speaking to Radio Free Europe/Radio Libertys Ray Furlong in Prague on Tuesday, she said criticism that Germany had been slow to provide military support went to her heart, and this is why we try to get better.

2:30 p.m.: German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said the European Union would not give in to Russian blackmailing, after Gazprom announced a large reduction in gas supplied via the Nordstream 1 pipeline linking Russia and Germany. Speaking to Radio Free Europe/Radio Libertys Ray Furlong in Prague on Tuesday, she said the EU was united as never before despite Kremlin efforts to divide it.

2:05 p.m.: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has defended meeting a Russian oligarch with a KGB past, saying as far as I am aware no government business was discussed at the 2018 get-together, The Associated Press reported.



Johnson, who quit as Conservative Party leader July 7 after months of ethics scandals, is facing questions about his relationship with Russia-born newspaper owner Evgeny Lebedev and his father, Alexander. The older man is a businessman and former Cold War-era KGB officer who has been sanctioned by Canada for his alleged role in enabling Russias invasion of Ukraine.



In April 2018, Johnson went to a party at Evgeny Lebedevs Italian mansion that was also attended by Alexander Lebedev. Johnson, who was British foreign secretary at the time, was not accompanied by any officials.



Johnson told a committee of senior lawmakers that his meeting with Alexander Lebedev was not a formal meeting, nor something that was pre-arranged. He said it was normal for Britains top diplomat to attend a private, social occasion without officials or security staff.



1:35 p.m.:

1:10 p.m.: With two years to go until the Paris Olympics open, Russia is making plans for its athletes to live and compete in the French capital even though many remain barred from upcoming qualification events because of the war in Ukraine, The Associated Press reported.

Russian Olympic Committee president Stanislav Pozdnyakov wrote on the Telegram messaging app Tuesday that the country was working to get its athletes access to qualification events and already making plans for the Olympic village in 2024.

Most Olympic sports have suspended athletes from Russia and Belarus since the invasion of Ukraine began in February, following a recommendation from the International Olympic Committee. However, the IOC has not suspended the Russian Olympic Committee, the body which enters Russian teams for the Games.

In exactly two years, the Olympic Games start in Paris. Despite all of the circumstances, the Russian Olympic Committee is a full-fledged participant in the Olympic movement, Pozdnyakov wrote. We are continuing our systematic preparations for the Games and are also carrying out work to ensure qualifying opportunities and equal presence of our athletes in the Olympic village and at the venues, their participation in events during the Games.

12:45 p.m.:

12:30 p.m.: Ukraine can save $5.45 billion for priority needs by deferring its external debt repayments, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Tuesday, according to Reuters.

Ukraine has launched a formal consent solicitation to holders of its international bonds, proposing a two-year debt freeze on most of its bonds and giving creditors until August 9 to vote on the proposal.

Shmyhal also said the Ukrainian government had approved a request to the U.S. government for a "gas lend-lease" arrangement to help Ukraine through what he said would be the toughest heating season in its history.

11:55 a.m.: The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA) reported Tuesday on efforts by members of a Ukrainian non-governmental organization to help civilians in the besieged eastern region of the country. Andrii, a driver with the Ukrainian NGO Proliska, explains how he navigates tremendous challenges to evacuate people from areas under constant bombardment, UN OCHA said in a story published on its website.

11:25 a.m.: A fire broke out overnight at an oil depot in Russian-controlled territory of eastern Ukraine after Ukrainian forces shelled the city of Donetsk, the head of the city administration said on Tuesday, according to Reuters.

"As a result of overnight shelling in the Budennovsky district, there was a fire at a fuel storage warehouse," Donetsk mayor Alexey Kulemzin said in a post on the Telegram social network.

There were no casualties as a result of the blaze, Donetsks emergency services said. The fire was extinguished around 1000 a.m. local time, Kulemzin said.

Reuters could not verify the reports or the cause of the fire.

11:10 a.m.:

11:00 a.m.: Russia will hold wide-ranging military drills in the countrys east as it continues regular troop training despite the action in Ukraine, Russias military authorities said Tuesday, according to The Associated Press.

The Russian Defense Ministry said that the Vostok 2022 (East 2022) exercise scheduled for August 30-September 5 will involve troops on maneuvers at 13 firing ranges of the Eastern Military District. It added that units of Airborne troops, long-range bombers and military cargo planes will also be involved in the war games.

The ministry said troops from unspecified foreign countries will participate. Russian and Chinese troops took part in a series of joint military maneuvers last year, reflecting increasingly close military ties between Moscow and Beijing.

The ministry rejected allegations that its mobilizing forces to beef up its forces in Ukraine, noting that only part of the Russian military has been involved in the special military operation. Without disclosing details, the ministry said the number of troops operating in Ukraine are quite sufficient for fulfilling the tasks and emphasized that the military hasnt canceled any of the planned drills.

10:30 a.m.: European Union countries on Tuesday agreed to an emergency plan to use less gas, as they attempt to save fuel for a winter of uncertain Russian supplies. Reuters has this review of what they agreed to.

10:10 a.m.: Russias foreign minister said his country supports reforming the U.N. Security Council to give a more powerful role to developing nations, including African countries, The Associated Press reported.

Sergey Lavrov spoke Tuesday in Kampala, the Ugandan capital, after meeting with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni. We confirmed our positions when it comes to the reforming of the U.N. Security Council, Lavrov said. The main problem here is the underrepresentation in the Security Council of developing states and the only solution to this problem is bigger representation of Asian, African and Latin American countries.

Uganda is the third stop on Lavrovs tour of Africa as Russia tries to break diplomatic isolation over its war in Ukraine. Lavrov will end his trip with a visit to Ethiopia, the headquarters of the 54-nation African Union.

Lavrov spoke alongside Museveni, a U.S. ally whose government also maintains friendly ties with Russia. Uganda is one of 25 African nations that abstained or didnt vote in the U.N. General Assembly resolution condemning Russias invasion of Ukraine earlier this year.

9:55 a.m.:

9:45 a.m.: Russian energy giant Rosneft said on Tuesday it has started construction of an Arctic oil terminal at the Bukhta Sever port, part of its huge Vostok Oil project, aimed at facilitating development of the Northern Sea Route, Reuters reported.

Russia is facing challenges in developing its oil industry due to the sweeping Western sanctions imposed against Moscow after the Kremlin sent troops into Ukraine on February 24.

9:30 a.m.: Earlier this month, Germany agreed to allow the reactivation of coal-fired power plants or an extension to their lifespans as it braces for falling Russian supplies of gas, Reuters reported. But high coal prices, supply bottlenecks and aged plants are posing a challenge to Germanys plan to increase electricity production from hard coal-fired power plants to compensate for declining gas deliveries, according to operators and industry experts.

9:10 a.m.: French President Emmanuel Macron described the global food crisis as one of Russias "weapons of war" during a visit to Cameroon on Tuesday, dismissing suggestions Western sanctions were to blame, Reuters reported.



Cameroon, like many developing countries, is grappling with sharp increases in prices for oil, fertilizer and foodstuffs. Severe fuel shortages hit the capital Yaounde last week leading to long queues at petrol stations.



Macron is on a three-leg tour of Africa, a trip meant to strengthen political ties with the continent and help boost agricultural production amid the growing food insecurity linked to the war in Ukraine.



African governments have largely avoided taking sides and refused to join Western condemnation and sanctions.



8:55 a.m.: Russia says it will quit the International Space Station (ISS) after 2024 to focus on building its own project in outer space at a time of heightened tensions between the Kremlin and the West over Moscows invasion of Ukraine, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported Tuesday.

8:40 a.m.: The Joint Coordination Centre (JCC), established as part of a landmark deal to resume grain exports from Ukraine, has started work in Istanbul, Russias defense ministry said on Tuesday, according to Reuters.

The Russian delegation to the JCC will arrive in Turkey today and begin work in a four-way format, alongside Turkey, Ukraine and the United Nations, the ministry said in a statement posted on social media.

Russia and Ukraine signed a landmark deal last Friday, brokered by Ankara and the U.N., to unblock grain exports from Ukraines Black Sea ports and ease an international food crisis.

8:20 a.m.: In late June, HBO premiered a new documentary called Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes, which features newly recovered documents about the events of 1986. VOAs Ukrainian Service interviewed the documentary director James Jones on the details of his work. Khrystyna Shevchenko has this story.

8:05 a.m.: The Kremlin says a gas turbine for Russias Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline has not yet arrived after maintenance in Canada, but officials hope it will be installed "sooner rather than later" to allow gas flows to Europe to rise, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday that sanctions against Russia for its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine have complicated the work on Nord Stream 1, a major artery for gas supplies to reach the European Union, which has accused Moscow of weaponizing energy in retaliation for its isolation over the war.

Germanys energy regulator on Monday reiterated Berlins position that the cuts are not necessary for technical issues. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday urged Europe to retaliate against Russias "gas war" by boosting its sanctions against Moscow.

7:45 a.m.:

7:30 a.m.: Russias Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is visiting Egypt, Ethiopia, Uganda and the Republic of Congo this week, trying to counteract Western blame of Russia for a growing global food crisis, VOAs Mohammed Yusuf reports.



Experts say Russia will push its own narrative as to why its attacking Ukraine and use the visit to show it has friends. Steven Gruzd is the head of the Russia-Africa Program at the South African Institute of International Affairs, said Russia will play the victim card when meeting with African leaders.



Its a propaganda war as much as its a shooting war and we have seen from the Ukrainian side how successfully President Zelensky has used social media, Gruzd said. He gives daily messages, he talks to parliaments and to [the U.S.] Congress and to groups around the world. Virtually, he is seen being on the frontline and Russia is mounting a counter-offensive. I think this is all part of that same trend.



Gruzd said its interesting that it is an in-person visit rather than online communication. I think its deliberately calculated to show that Russia is not isolated, that Russia still has friends in the world, that Russia still cares about Africa, Gruzd said.





7:15 a.m.:

7:05 a.m.: The Kremlin said on Tuesday that it believes former German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder is in Moscow, and did not rule out possible contact with him, Reuters reported.

"As far as we know, he is in Moscow," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters when asked if the Kremlin was aware of reports that Schroeder had travelled to Moscow on Tuesday. "There is no meeting as such, but we do not rule out possible contact," Peskov added.

German broadcaster RTL late on Monday reported that Schroeder was in Moscow, posting a picture of him on its website. Asked by RTL whether he would meet Russias President Vladimir Putin, Schroeder was quoted as saying: "Im on holiday here for a few days. Moscow is a beautiful city."

Schroeders office in Germany did not immediately reply to a request for comment on why Schroeder had travelled to Moscow.

6:55 a.m.:

6:30 a.m.: Britain said on Tuesday it had added 42 new designations under its Russian sanctions regime in response to Moscows invasion of Ukraine, Reuters reported.

The sanctions, which included travel bans and asset freezes, were imposed on several governors of Russian regions.

6:10 a.m.: European Union countries agreed on Tuesday to an emergency regulation to curb their gas use this winter, as Europe prepares for a winter of uncertain supplies from Russia.

This was not a Mission Impossible! Ministers have reached a political agreement on gas demand reduction ahead of the upcoming winter, the Czech Republic, which holds the rotating EU presidency, said in a Twitter post.

6 a.m.: Ukraines military reported Russian missiles strikes struck areas of the Ukrainian Black Sea coast on Tuesday.

The attacks hit multiple locations, including the Odesa area and port infrastructure in the city of Mykolaiv.

The strikes happened days after a Russian missile attack against Odesa raised questions about an agreement to resume Ukrainian exports from the region.

5:45 a.m.:

5:30 a.m.: Germanys second-largest importer of Russian gas, VNG, warned Tuesday that the current environment creates significant challenges, a day after Gazprom unveiled fresh supply cuts according to Reuters.

The market situation remains tense. The current situation in the gas market continues to pose major challenges for companies like VNG, across its business areas, said the company, which is majority-owned by EnBW, a publicly traded energy company headquartered in Karlsruhe, Germany.

We continue to see our mission as contributing to securing supply and averting damage to our customers and VNG. We explicitly support the German government in its efforts to stabilize the market.

5 a.m.:

4:30 a.m.: European Unions energy policy chief Kadri Simson said Tuesday Russian gas giant Gazproms decision to cut gas delivery to Europe claiming it had to halt the operation of a turbine is a politically motivated step.

Speaking to reporters after arriving at a ministers meeting in Brussels, Simson said, we have to be ready for that. And exactly for that reason, the pre-emptive reduction of our gas demand is a wise strategy.

Energy ministers from EU countries are meeting to discuss gas use reduction until next spring, among other pressing energy concerns, caused in the wake of Russias invasion of Ukraine.

The European Commission last week proposed emergency rules requiring each country to cut its gas use by 15% from August to March. The target would be voluntary, but the Commission could make it binding in a supply emergency.

4 a.m.: The trial of U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner resumed Tuesday in a Russian courtroom.

Griner is facing drug possession charges in connection to her February arrest at a Moscow airport. She acknowledged at an earlier trial session that she was carrying vape canisters with cannabis oil, but did not have criminal intent.

U.S. officials have said Griner was wrongfully detained.

Griners lawyers provided documentation at the trial that a U.S. medical center had permitter her to use cannabis to treat chronic pain.

Russias foreign ministry rejected that line of defense, saying last week that U.S. laws do not apply in Russia, and that Russian laws must be respected.

Griner faces a sentence of up to 10 years if convicted.

3:30 a.m.: According to a report released on The Kyiv Independents Telegram account, Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said a Russian strike hit a residential area of the city on July 26. There is no information about casualties.

2:30 a.m.: Russia said it will cut gas supplies to Europe from Wednesday in a blow to countries that have backed Ukraine, while missile attacks in Black Sea coastal regions raised doubts about whether Russia will stick to a deal to let Ukraine export grain, Reuters reported.

The first ships from Ukraine may set sail in days under a deal agreed on Friday, the United Nations said, despite a Russian missile attack on the Ukrainian port of Odesa over the weekend. Russian forces have also struck port infrastructure in Ukraines southern Mykolaiv region, Reuters reported Tuesday citing Mayor Oleksandr Senkevich.

Soaring energy costs and the threat of hunger faced by millions in low- and middle-income countries show how the biggest conflict in Europe since World War II, now in its sixth month, is having an impact far beyond Ukraine.

European Union countries are set to approve on Tuesday a weakened emergency proposal to curb their gas demand as they try to wean themselves off Russian energy and prepare for a possible total cut-off.

2 a.m.: Britain said on Tuesday there was no indication that a Ukrainian warship and a stock of anti-ship missiles were at the dock-side in Odesa port on Sunday, after Russia earlier said it had destroyed those targets with high-precision missiles.

Russia will continue to prioritize efforts to degrade and destroy Ukraines anti-ship capability. However, Russias targeting processes are highly likely routinely undermined by dated intelligence, poor planning, and a top-down approach to operations, the British Ministry of Defense said in a regular intelligence update.

Ukrainian military has said two Kalibr missiles fired from Russian warships hit the area of a pumping station at the Odesa port and two others were shot down by air defense forces.

1:30 a.m.: Russian forces have struck port infrastructure in Ukraines southern Mykolaiv region, Reuters reported Tuesday citing Mayor Oleksandr Senkevich.

A massive missile strike was launched on the south of Ukraine from the direction of the Black Sea, and with the use of aviation, he told Ukrainian state television, providing no details on the aftermath of the strike.

Last Saturday, Russia struck another southern Ukrainian port of Odesa, casting doubt on a plan to restart Ukrainian grain exports.

The grain deal aims to allow safe passage for grain shipments in and out of Ukrainian ports, blockaded by Russia since its February 24 invasion. Russia has blamed Ukraine for stalling shipments by mining the port waters.

1:05 a.m.:

12:15 a.m.: Starlink, a satellite based broadband service founded by Elon Musk, provides internet access to Ukrainians since Russias invasion.

Some information in this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters.
South Africa: Pandor calls on global political leaders to support Palestine

International Relations and Cooperation Minister, Dr Naledi Pandor, has once again used her public platform on Tuesday to urge the global political leaders to work together to resolve the Israel-Palestine conflict.

South Africa calls upon the international community to work tirelessly for the attainment of peace and to provide strong humanitarian, economic and political support. Advocating for the rights of the Palestinian people must be accompanied by material and practical support, she said.

In addition, she said South Africa will continue to put pressure on Israel, as the occupying power.

The Minister was speaking during the Palestinian African Heads of Mission Conference, invited by the Palestinian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Dr Riad Malki, who is currently in South Africa.

She also raised concerns about the continued human rights violations in the occupied territories and that such violations only contribute to the fostering of hatred.

Israels security and that of its future generations do not lie in the annexation of all Palestinian territories, the imprisonment of Palestinians, the erecting of high concrete walls and checkpoints, or the continued blockade of Gaza, she said.

Rather it lies in a peaceful and stable neighbour, a sovereign and independent Palestinian State, whose children, like Israeli children, can go to school, play, attend places of worship and compete in sporting activities in peace and security.

The clash over the holy land, including disputes over borders, Jerusalem, security, and Palestinian refugees has been at the heart of a decades-long conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.

However, the Minister believes that the Israel-Palestine conflict resolution could be attained through sustained dialogue, negotiations, mediation, compromise and understanding from both parties.

Meanwhile, she said recent developments in Ukraine and the response of the most powerful should now make it plausible for the West to support the legitimate struggle of Palestinians.

Israel Observer Status

Pandor has once again lambasted the African Union Commissions (AUC) unilateral decision to grant Israel an observer status last year.

The decision is even more shocking in a year in which the oppressed people of Palestine were subjected to bombardments and continued illegal settlements on their land. The AU strenuously objected to the deaths of Palestinians and the destruction of civilian infrastructure. The decision by the AU Commission in this context is inexplicable.

She said the unjust actions committed by Israel offended the spirit of the AU Charter, which embodies the aspirations of all Africans, especially on issues relating to self-determination and decolonisation.

She reminded a group of Ambassadors that Israel continues to illegally occupy Palestine, in defiance of its international obligations and relevant UN resolutions.

It is therefore incomprehensible that the AU Commission chooses to reward Israel at a time when its oppression of Palestinians has been demonstrably more brutal.

She said the South African government would continue to support all efforts aimed at the establishment of a viable Palestinian State, existing side-by-side in peace with Israel within the internationally recognised 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, in line with all relevant UN resolutions, and international law.

South Africa affirms that the only way to achieve peace and stability in the Middle East is through reaching a lasting peace between Palestine and Israel, and restoring the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, in accordance with the two-state solution and the relevant UN resolutions.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2022-07-26. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
The run-up to Kenyas Aug. 9 elections has seen an increase in hate speech aimed at influencing voters, mainly through social media. Groups such as the U.S.-based charity Mercy Corps are running education campaigns to counteract such speech and raise awareness on misinformation and disinformation.



The inciteful comments are both online and at campaign stops ahead of the countrys general elections.



Research by the U.S.-based humanitarian group Mercy Corps finds a growing use of words that amount to hate speech and could spark violence, especially in the event of a contested election.



Charles Apondu, program manager for peace-building and conflict management at Mercy Corps in Kenya, said some speakers use code words in an effort to promote ethnic tension.



There is the term Kihihi, Apondu said. Kihihi means uncircumcised male, basically terming them a child and unfit for leading. There is the use of the term fumigation, which sort of means target for the extermination of particular groups.



The National Cohesion and Integration Commission, a body that promotes good relations and peaceful coexistence in Kenya, published a list of 23 words and phrases they say could spark intercommunal violence.



Some of the words call for communities not original to a specific area to leave.



Daniel Omondi is the head of the Global Peace Foundation Kenya office, which like Mercy Corps is trying to combat the rise in hate speech. He said hes seen inflammatory speech on the campaign trail, though he shies away from predicting disaster.



When you go to where people meet, there is a lot of tough speech, tough sloganeering, he said. But as a peace actor, I do not want to spread fear as a result of what is going on. It's just that our politics is strong, vibrant.



Analysts say potential hot spots for election-related violence are Nairobi, the neighboring counties of Kiambu and Nakuru, Deputy President William Ruto's home county of Uasin Gishu and former Prime Minister Raila Odingas home, Kisumu County.



Political commentator Michael Agwanda said Ruto and Odinga are partially to blame for the tension in the country.



People are deviating from real campaign slogans, philosophies and beliefs and development structures and getting too personal, Agwanda said. I think this is as a result of cues that they are getting from their presidential aspirants. And mainly, they tend to follow through what the leader says and what the leader believes in.



In an effort to tamp down the tension, peace campaigners are mounting campaigns on social media and holding town halls to educate voters on how to get reliable information regarding the election.



Apondu said they are trying to demonstrate ways of resolving political issues besides violence.



We are also using social media to create awareness on what are the available alternative dispute resolution mechanisms in the country other than resorting to protests, resorting to violence, or targeting each other's supporters, Apondu said. They need to know that we have a political party dispute tribunal. You can go to the courts. You can use internal party dispute resolution mechanisms.



Previous Kenyan elections have been marked by violent protests and attacks on people because of their ethnicity. In the 2007 election, a disputed presidential poll sparked attacks that killed more than 1,100 people and displaced a quarter million from their homes.
The call from a deputy district attorney unnerved Hanna Merzbach.

The freelance journalist from the city of Bend, in the western U.S. state of Oregon, had been reporting on a dispute between climbers at a state park.



Now the county attorney wanted her to testify about one of her sources.



When Merzbach refused, she was issued a subpoena.



"I was pretty overwhelmed," Merzbach told VOA. "I don't have the same kinds of support that staff writers do."



Unsure of her rights, Merzbach turned to Twitter, posting about her subpoena.



Soon other journalists in Oregon reached out, suggesting that she seek legal help from the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (RCFP).



The Washington-based group runs a program called the Local Legal Initiative that offers free legal support in media rights cases. Staff attorneys are based in five states: Colorado, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Tennessee, with plans to add more. The attorneys are available to help journalists no matter where they are located in the U.S.



Since its inception in 2020, Local Legal Initiative attorneys have represented more than 120 journalists and news outlets, helping them access public records and contest demands to turn over reporting materials. Funds from the Knight Foundation helped to set up the program.



Lisa Zycherman, deputy legal director and policy counsel at the RCFP, said that state and local governments have "grown emboldened" in efforts to shield information from the public and the media.



"They can do so if they're confident that newsrooms may not be able to challenge a lack of transparency," Zycherman said.



In a time of economic downturn for local media, journalists often also lack the resources to push back, she said.



"When journalists are routinely stymied by a culture of secrecy that shields data, documents and other public records, our Local Legal Initiative attorneys can help journalists push back against that kind of secrecy," Zycherman said.



Legal relief



In Merzbach's case, journalists on Twitter helped connect her with Ellen Osoinach, an RCFP attorney based in Oregon.



"We spoke the next morning and basically she got everything resolved that day," Merzbach said.



Osoinach spoke to the deputy district attorney about Oregon's shield law, which protects journalists from being compelled to testify or to share materials.



"And then," said Merzbach, "everything just went away."



The journalist, who covers climate change and housing issues on the West Coast, said if she had been forced to comply with the subpoena, it would have damaged her credibility and made it seem like she was "taking a side."

Merzbach was also concerned about hurting her relationship with the source, whose trust she had worked to gain.



As an independent journalist, Merzbach said it was a relief to have a lawyer she could consult.



No resources to fight

With thousands of local newspapers now out of business, the U.S. has seen a rise in "news deserts" across the country  communities lacking a credible local news source. Many surviving publications continue to grapple with the financial challenges of staying in print.



Zycherman said that financial constraints can be a barrier to local newsrooms pushing for access.



"We saw that newsrooms often lack the financial resources to fight for access to information that helps all journalists tell stories in the public interest," Zycherman said.



In denying access to public records, companies and government bodies cite various reasons ranging from privacy to related criminal investigations.



Osoinach is currently working on another case involving Merzbach, in which a central Oregon water company refused a records request for information about its top water users.



At the time, Merzbach was writing about water usage in a drought-hit region for the Source Weekly, a central Oregon newspaper with an online monthly readership of 150,000.



When Merzbach appealed to the district attorney, he ruled that the company must provide the records. The company then filed a lawsuit against Merzbach and the Source Weekly.



Osoinach was able to have Merzbach dismissed from the case and is now representing the news outlet.



Merzbach said the case was "just another instance of Ellen swooping in and taking all of my worries away."



Refusing a records request

The RCFP handled a similar case in Pennsylvania in 2020 for Dylan Segelbaum, who at the time was a courts reporter for the York Daily Record.



Segelbaum had submitted a request under Pennsylvania's Right to Know Law for a forensic audit of a local fire department. The department refused, citing an exemption because the audit contained information used as part of a criminal investigation.



As in Merzbach's case, the Office of Open Records in Pennsylvania ruled in Segelbaum's favor and ordered the department to provide the document. The department then filed an appeal.



"During my time at the York Daily Record, it seemed like local governments in York County were increasingly taking us to court if we had prevailed on appeal in open records cases," Segelbaum said.



Paula Knudsen Burke, the Local Legal Initiative attorney in Pennsylvania, took on the case, representing Segelbaum and his paper.



In August 2021, a York County judge ruled in their favor.



Segelbaum was able to get a copy of the audit and post it so that "the people in the community could see what the investigation turned up at the fire company, to shed light on what their tax dollars had paid for."



The public's right to know is what drives Merzbach too.



She acknowledged that local news reporting may often provide fewer resources than working for national publications. But, Merzbach said, she "can't get away from it."



"It just feels like where you can make the biggest impact and tell the stories that the community actually wants to be told," she said.



Segelbaum attested to the importance of the free legal counsel to not only defend against appeals, but to seek records that "might have been tougher calls in the past."



For Zycherman, the focus is on protecting public interest journalism.



The initiative aims to help journalists "hold state and local government agencies and officials accountable to the public," she said.
Pope Francis celebrates a stadium Mass on Tuesday, his first big open-air event on a trip to Canada centered around apologizing for the Catholic Church's role in residential schools that tried to erase native cultures.

The Mass at Edmonton's Commonwealth Stadium takes place on the day the Roman Catholic Church marks the feast of the grandparents of Jesus.

Francis is expected to repeat his frequent appeals to younger generations to cherish their elders and learn from them, a custom still revered in indigenous communities but waning in many Western societies.

As the crowd was awaiting the pope's arrival, that theme was reflected in a talk by Phil Fontaine, a former Assembly of First Nations National Chief and a residential school survivor.

"It's every bit about them as it is about us," Fontaine told the crowd, referring to the respect indigenous people have for their elders.

Fontaine, who was among the indigenous leaders who met the pope at the Vatican earlier this year and invited him to come to Canada, reflected on Francis' visit on Monday to Maskwacis, which was formerly home to two residential schools.

There, the pope issued a historic apology, calling the Church's role in schools and the forced cultural assimilation they attempted a "deplorable evil" and "disastrous error."

"I want to say to you my friends that what we really are talking about is forgiveness. We will never reach reconciliation without forgiveness," Fontaine said.

"We will never forget but we must forgive. We invite the Catholic Church to rebuild the fractured relationship it had with us, for us and for all Canadians."

In the afternoon, Francis, who is using a wheelchair and a cane because of a knee ailment, is due to visit Lac Ste. Anne, a pilgrimage site about 70 km (44 miles) west of Edmonton popular with both indigenous Canadian Catholics and those of European origin.

More than 150,000 indigenous children were separated from their families and brought to residential schools. Many were starved, beaten for speaking their native languages and sexually abused in a system that Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission called "cultural genocide."

Indigenous leaders as well as survivors of the schools said that while the pope's apology evoked strong emotions and was a highly significant step towards reconciliation, more action needed to be taken by the Church and the government.

"You can't just say, 'I am sorry,' and walk away. There has to be effort, and there has to be work in more meaningful actions behind words," said Nakota Sioux Nation Chief Tony Alexis.

On Wednesday, the pope will travel to Quebec City for the more institutional part of his visit, meeting with government officials and diplomats.

On his way back to Rome on Friday, he will stop for a few hours in Iqaluit in the Canadian Arctic, where indigenous affairs will return to the fore.

The Iqaluit area is one of the fastest-warming parts of North America and there the pope is expected to address the dangers of climate change.
Russia said Tuesday it will pull out of the International Space Station after 2024 to build its own orbiting outpost. The countrys space chief made the announcement during a meeting with President Vladmir Putin.

Yuri Borisov, CEO of state space agency Roscosmos, said during the meeting that Russia plans to fulfill a promise to its partners before fully stepping away.

Of course, we will comply with all our commitments to our partners, but the decision to leave this station after 2024 has been made," Borisov said during the meeting. I think we will have started work on the Russian space station by that time.

Moscow has made it clear that creating a Russian space station is one of its main priorities.

The U.S. space agency has not been made specifically aware of Russia pulling out of the International Space Station, a senior NASA official told the Reuters news agency.

NASA and the other partners involved in the International Space Station hope to continue their partnership through 2030, but Russia has been unwilling to commit to anything past 2024.

The announcement comes at a time of heightened tensions between the West and Moscow due to Russias invasion of Ukraine. It also comes just a month after NASA and Roscosmos agreed to continue using Russian rockets to deliver astronauts to the space station.
Russia's foreign minister is heading to Ethiopia Tuesday, his last stop on a four-nation tour of Africa aimed at countering Western criticism of Russias invasion of Ukraine. Western nations blame the invasion for worsening food shortages in record drought-stricken East Africa, including Ethiopia. But Ethiopia has also been under Western pressure over its war with Tigray rebels and has a historic friendship with Russia.

Sergey Lavrov will round off his Africa tour by meeting with Ethiopian officials in Addis Ababa as he fends off accusations that his country is exporting hunger through its war in Ukraine.

He will also try to strengthen ties with Ethiopias federal government, whose relations with the West have soured amid accusations of human rights abuses in the Tigray conflict.

Russias presence in Ethiopia is scant compared to other countries. It does not have a large aid footprint like the U.S. Nor does it invest heavily in infrastructure as the Chinese do.

But the two countries have a strong diplomatic partnership. Since the Tigray war started in November 2020, Russia has shielded Ethiopia at the United Nations Security Council by insisting meetings be held behind closed doors and using its veto to block statements condemning alleged abuses by Ethiopian forces.

It is not unusual to hear people in Addis Ababa express a preference for Russia over Western countries, which Prime Minister Abiy Ahmeds government has suggested are behind a conspiracy supporting the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front rebel group, or TPLF.

Moges Zewdu Teshome, an independent researcher, said the Russia-Ethiopia relationship has deep historical roots.

The Ethiopian government has always been in a good relationship even during those turbulent periods of the Cold War, of course, siding with the Soviet Union, as you may recall, he said. And then if we see it in the context of the current quagmire which Ethiopia is in when it comes to its international relations and foreign policy posture, Russia has been backing the Ethiopian claims and or at least positions in the U.N. Security Council.

Ethiopian officials will likely seek assurances from Lavrov that Black Sea wheat exports will resume. Ethiopia has plans to boost its wheat production in an attempt to become self-sufficient. But for the time being, it imports over 40% of its grain from Ukraine and Russia, and some 30 million Ethiopians currently rely on food aid sourced from global grain markets.

Last year, as the Tigray war continued, Russia signed a security partnership with Ethiopia. The deal raised eyebrows among Western diplomats whose countries suspended aid.

However, Awet Weldemichael, a professor at Queens University in Ontario, said Russia cannot displace the Western presence in Ethiopia, especially as the prime minister tries to rehabilitate ties with the U.S. now that the Tigray conflict is cooling down.

I don't think that the West's relationship with the Ethiopian prime minister is as bad as it was six months ago or a year ago, he said. We increasingly see the West has been actively normalizing the prime minister and his policies. In light of that, in light of the mending of fences, so to speak, between Addis Ababa and Western capitals. I doubt that Foreign Minister Lavrov will have much of a chance.

Ethiopia abstained from voting on the U.N. resolution condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine in March.
The chief diplomat of Afghanistans Taliban government alleged Tuesday while addressing an international conference in neighboring Uzbekistan that sanctions imposed by the United States are a main driver of poverty in his war-ravaged country.

Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi urged Washington again to lift the curbs and unconditionally release some $7 billion in frozen Afghan central bank funds held in the U.S. to enable the Taliban to deal with the countrys deepening economic and humanitarian crises. Another $2 billion in Afghan reserves have been held in European countries.

These actions have not only hampered foreign investment and financial transactions, but also impacted government activities which purely benefit the general public, Muttaqi stated at the event in the Uzbek capital, Tashkent.

He described unfreezing of Afghan reserves and removal of sanctions as a fundamental step towards normalization of relations between Kabul and Washington.

U.S. President Joe Biden issued an executive order in February aimed at unfreezing half of the $7 billion for humanitarian aid to benefit the Afghan people. The rest would be held for ongoing terrorism-related lawsuits in U.S. courts against the Taliban.

Washington says it is working to help find an appropriate mechanism that can serve as a steward of the $3.5 billion that President Biden set aside. The Taliban have demanded the entire sum be released, saying the money belongs to Afghanistan.

Reports said Tuesday that U.S. and Taliban officials had exchanged proposals for the release of the Afghan reserves into a trust fund, hinting at progress in the ongoing dialogue between the former adversaries.

The problem is that the Taliban are still on the U.S. sanctions list, noted Torek Farhadi, a former Afghan official and political commentator.

The Taliban retook power last August when the Western-backed government in Kabul collapsed and all U.S.-led foreign troops abruptly withdrew from the country after nearly 20 years of war with the group.

The surprising insurgent takeover prompted Washington and other donor countries to swiftly suspend financial assistance for the mostly aid-dependent South Asian nation, isolate the Afghan banking sector and strictly enforce long-running sanctions on dozens of members in the male-only Taliban government.

Uzbekistan hosted the conference to discuss ways for the global community to provide urgent humanitarian aid and facilitate economic reconstruction in Afghanistan, ravaged by years of war and persistent drought.

"Unfreezing of financial assets of Afghanistan abroad is one of the main factors in economic reconstruction of Afghanistan," state-run media quoted Uzbek Foreign Minister Vladimir Norov as telling Tuesdays conference.

Uzbek officials said more than 100 participants from 20 countries including China, Iran, Pakistan, Russia, and the U.S., and representatives from the European Union, United Nations, and the 57-nation Islamic bloc known as the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, attended the conference.

Thomas West, the special representative for Afghanistan, led the U.S. delegation.

Women's rights and human rights

Rina Amiri, the special envoy for Afghan women, girls, and human rights, accompanied him.

The international community is committed to a stable, peaceful, and inclusive Afghanistan that respects the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all Afghans, including women and ethnic and religious communities, and that prevents terrorist threats from Afghan soil, the U.S. State Department said Monday.

The international community wants the group to improve its record on women's and other rights before officially recognizing the Taliban regime.

The hardline group has significantly rolled back womens rights to work and education, barring most teenage girls from resuming secondary school in breach of public pledges not to do so. Women employed in the public sector have been told to stay at home, with the exception of those who work for the ministries of education, health and a few others and must use face coverings in public.

The Taliban defend their policies as in line with Afghan culture and Shariah or Islamic law.

Humanitarian emergencies

The U.N. lists Afghanistan among the world's largest humanitarian emergencies, estimating that 18.9 million people - nearly half of the population - could be acutely food insecure between June and November 2022.

We stand ready to establish positive relations with all world countries in the framework of mutual respect and legitimate bilateral interests, Muttaqi said in his address Tuesday.

We also call on other world countries to begin official engagement with the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan to secure long-term legitimate bilateral interests.

The Taliban foreign minister renewed Kabuls assurances that no individual or group would be allowed to use Afghan soil for attacks against any country.

He stated that his government was also effectively pursuing political reconciliation with former Afghan political and military officials, saying a number of them have already returned from self-imposed exile in recent weeks.

Similarly, women continue to work in education, health and other government departments in a reassuring atmosphere. In some areas where a proper environment has not yet been established, women are getting paid salaries in their homes, Muttaqi said.

Critics remain skeptical.

The U.N. women's agency representative in Afghanistan said Monday that the rollback on women's rights is an "alarm bell" to the world that shows how decades of progress can be wiped away in months.

Alison Davidian, from U.N. Women, spoke to reporters at U.N. headquarters in New York via a video link from Kabul.

Washington said Monday the Tashkent conference would be followed by direct talks between Taliban and U.S. delegates scheduled for Wednesday to address the economic challenges faced by the Afghan people.

Brian Nelson, the Treasury Departments under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, would join Thomas West for the meeting in Tashkent, according to a department statement issued Monday.



VOA's Margaret Besheer contributed to this story.
Tunisian President Kais Saied and his supporters are celebrating the apparent adoption of his controversial new constitution, following a referendum Monday. But turnout for the vote was low and the opposition is disputing the results.

Tunisian President Kais Saied promised a new phase for his country as he met cheering supporters. He called the results of Mondays referendum an historic moment that offered lessons for the world.



But President Saieds political opponents, who called on supporters to boycott the vote, see things differently.

Samira Chaouachi, president of the Heart of Tunisia party and vice president of Tunisias now-dissolved parliament, questioned the turnout and numbers presented by Saieds appointed election commission. She said the opposition would do its own check. Either way, she said the low voter turnout, whether out of opposition or indifference, stripped the draft charter of legitimacy.

President Saied says his new constitution, designed to create a strong presidency, dilute legislative powers and establish a new regional assembly, will end the political gridlock that has gripped Tunisia for years.

The opposition fears it will consolidate his one-man rule that began a year ago, when Saied seized far-reaching powers, dissolving government and firing dozens of judges.

Tunis University professor Hamadi Redissi says the outcome threatens the countrys fledgling democracy.

Probably this is not the end of the transition, but it is a big step back. Next, we have no idea.

But voters like furniture salesman Adel Zine are happy with the results.

Still, he believes President Saied cant rule on his own  he lacks experience. If he becomes a dictator, Zine adds, voters will kick him out.
A new Tunisian constitution greatly expanding presidential powers easily passed a referendum on Monday, according to an exit poll, but with very low turnout.

President Kais Saied ousted the parliament last year and moved to rule by decree, saying the country needed saving from years of paralysis. He rewrote the constitution last month.

Opposition parties boycotted the referendum, saying it dismantles the democracy Tunisia introduced after its 2011 revolution and could start a slide back toward autocracy.

Tunisia, meanwhile, faces a looming economic crisis and is seeking an International Monetary Fund (IMF) rescue package, issues that have preoccupied ordinary people far more over the past year than the political crisis.

The exit poll by Sigma Conseil said 92.3% of the eligible voters who took part in the referendum supported Saied's new constitution. There was no minimum level of participation. The electoral commission put preliminary turnout figures at 27.5%.

The new constitution gives the president power over both the government and judiciary while removing checks on his authority and weakening the parliament.

His opponents say his moves last year constituted a coup and have rejected his unilateral moves to rewrite the constitution and put it to a referendum as illegal.

However, his initial moves against the parliament appeared hugely popular with Tunisians, as thousands flooded the streets to support him, but with little progress in addressing dire economic problems, that support may have waned.

Official turnout figures for the referendum will be closely watched and the electoral commission is expected to release its own preliminary number later.

The lowest turnout of any national election since the 2011 revolution, which triggered the Arab Spring, was 41% in 2019 for the parliament that Saied has dissolved.

The president's opponents have also questioned the integrity of a vote conducted by an electoral commission whose board Saied replaced this year, and with fewer independent observers than for previous Tunisian elections.

Casting his own vote on Monday, Saied hailed the referendum as the foundation of a new republic.

Western democracies that looked to Tunisia as the only success story of the Arab Spring have yet to comment on the proposed new constitution, although they have urged Tunis over the past year to return to the democratic path.

"I'm frustrated by all of them. I'd rather enjoy this hot day than go and vote," said Samia, a woman sitting with her husband and teenage son on the beach at La Marsa near Tunis.

Others voiced support for Saied.

Casting his vote on Rue Marseilles in downtown Tunis, Illyes Moujahed said former law professor Saied was the only hope.

"I'm here to save Tunisia from collapse. To save it from years of corruption and failure," said Moujahed, first in line.

But the atmosphere was muted in the run-up to the referendum, with only small crowds attending rallies for and against the constitution.

Economic decline since 2011 has left many Tunisians angry at the parties that have governed since the revolution and disillusioned with the political system they ran.

To address economic privations, the government hopes to secure a $4 billion loan from the IMF, but faces stiff union opposition to the required reforms, including cuts to fuel and food subsidies.


NAIROBI, - The chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee said he would place a hold on U.S. security assistance to Rwanda in Congress over concerns about the Rwandan government's human rights record and role in the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

In a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Senator Robert Menendez called for a comprehensive review of U.S. policy towards Rwanda.

Menendez said he would begin by placing a hold on several million dollars in support for Rwandan peacekeepers participating in U.N. missions, according to the letter, which was leaked to media and which his office confirmed was authentic. A hold is a Senate procedure that prevents a motion from reaching the floor for a vote.

Menendez said he feared that U.S. support for the Rwandan military while it is deployed to Congo and backing rebels would send "a troubling signal that the U.S. tacitly approves of such actions."

The M23 rebel group began a major offensive in Congo's eastern borderlands with Rwanda at the end of March. Congo has accused Rwanda of backing M23, which Kigali denies.

The United States allocated more than $147 million in foreign assistance to Rwanda in 2021, making it Rwanda's largest bilateral donor.

Menendez also cited what he said were credible accusations that the Rwandan government was muzzling critics at home and targeting dissidents living outside the country.

The U.S. State Department reviews its policies in response to events on the ground and would consult closely with Congress on the question of aid to Rwanda, department spokesperson Ned Price said on Monday.

"We've said before that we're concerned about the rising tensions between the DRC and Rwanda," Price told a regular press briefing, urging both sides to exercise restraint and engage in dialog.

A Rwandan government spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Ukraines military reported Russian missiles struck areas of the Ukrainian Black Sea coast on Tuesday.



The attacks hit multiple locations, including the Odesa region and port infrastructure in the city of Mykolaiv.



The new strikes occurred days after a Russian missile attack against Odesa raised questions about an agreement to resume Ukrainian exports from Odesa and two other Ukrainian ports.



Britains defense ministry said Tuesday that Russian forces likely perceive anti-ship missiles as a key threat and one that is preventing them from launching an attempt to seize Odesa using their Black Sea fleet.



Russia will continue to prioritize efforts to degrade and destroy Ukraines anti-ship capability. However, Russias targeting processes are highly likely routinely undermined by dated intelligence, poor planning, and a top-down approach to operations, the British ministry said.

The United Nations said Monday that grain exports from Ukraine should begin again within days.

Ukrainian officials said they were working to get grain exports going again following the deal Ukraine and Russia signed on Friday. Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said grain exports would begin on Wednesday, according to the Kyiv Independent.

The grain exports will be made from Odesa and two other Black Sea ports, Chernomorsk and Yuzhny, U.N. spokesperson Farhan Haq said, and we want to make sure that all conditions are right for the safe travel of ships.

Anything thats not commensurate with that is, of course, not helpful for the success of this initiative, Haq said as he reiterated Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemnation of Russia for launching the Saturday missile attack on Odesa.

Russia said Monday its missile strikes on military installations on Odesa should not affect the agreement to resume grain exports.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the strikes in no way related to infrastructure that is used for the export of grain.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, Theres nothing in the [grain export] commitments that Russia signed up to in Istanbul that would prohibit us from continuing our special military operation, destroying military infrastructure and other military targets.

The United Nations and Turkey helped broker the agreement, which calls for Russias fleet in the Black Sea to allow safe passage through areas that Russia has blockaded since it launched its invasion of Ukraine in late February.

Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that Turkey expects Russia and Ukraine to adhere to the agreement.

Erdogan told state broadcaster TRT Haber, We expect them to own up to the deals they signed and to act according to the responsibilities they undertook, according to Reuters news agency.

The White House said Monday the attack casts doubt on Russias intentions to follow through with the agreement.

We are going to be watching this closely to see if Russia meets their commitments under this arrangement since this attack casts serious doubt on Russias credibility, a National Security Council spokesperson said in a statement.

With the Odesa region under attack, UNICEF said it has delivered 27 cargo trucks of lifesaving supplies for the 50,000 children living in southern Ukraine. The supplies include water purification equipment, and sanitation and hygiene supplies to prevent sickness due to lack of clean water and sanitation.

Gazprom

Russias natural gas giant Gazprom added to the economic and political tensions of the war by announcing Monday it would again cut deliveries to Europe. The company said it would reduce gas flow through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which links Russia to Germany, to 20% of capacity.

The move raised fears that Russia was trying to pressure Europe over its support for Ukraine.

Russia said the action was taken because of mechanical reasons, while Germany said it saw no technical reason for the reduction.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address on Monday that Russia was using the gas restrictions to inflict terror on Europe, and he called for the European Unions next sanctions package against Moscow to be significantly stronger.

All this is done by Russia on purpose to make it as difficult as possible for Europeans to prepare for winter, he said.

Deportations

U.S. intelligence has concluded that Russia almost certainly is using so-called filtration operations to conduct the detention and forced deportation of Ukrainian civilians to Russia.

Russia uses such operations to temporarily detain and screen Ukrainians to identify anyone perceived as a threat to Moscow, according to a memo by the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence released on the agencys website Friday.

The ODNI said Ukrainians often face one of three fates after undergoing filtration.

Those who are deemed non-threatening to Russia may be permitted to remain in Ukraine with certain restrictions. Those deemed less threatening, but still potentially resistant to Russian occupation face forcible deportation to Russia.

And Ukrainians found to be most threatening to Russia, including anyone with ties to the military, probably are detained in prisons in eastern Ukraine and Russia, though little is known about their fates, according to the memo.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
The United Nations said that three of its peacekeepers were killed in ongoing anti-U.N. protests that turned violent in eastern Congo on Tuesday, while several civilians were also killed in the violence.

"At the MONUSCO Butembo base today, violent attackers snatched weapons from Congolese police and fired upon our uniformed personnel," U.N. spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters at U.N. headquarters in New York.

MONUSCO is the acronym for the U.N. Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Protesters in Butembo, in the eastern province of North Kivu, accuse the U.N. of having failed to protect them from an escalation of violence from armed groups.

"Our quick reaction forces are on high alert and have been advised to exercise maximum restraint, using tear gas to disperse protesters and only firing warning shots when U.N. personnel or property are under attack," Haq said. "Some assistance to protect facilities is being received from the Congolese armed forces."

He said one military peacekeeper and two U.N. police were killed, and another was injured.

India's external affairs minister said on Twitter that two Indian peacekeepers were among the dead.



A Moroccan peacekeeper was also identified among those killed, according to multiple wire news outlets.

Diplomats said that India, which is a non-permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, has requested a closed meeting Tuesday evening to discuss the escalating violence.

U.N. peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix is in Mali this week and Haq said he would continue on to the DRC in light of the situation.

In North Kivu's capital city of Goma, angry protesters tried to breach the U.N. Development Program's offices.

"Earlier today, a mob tried to enter the premises of the UNDP compound in Goma but were repelled by security guards," he said.

"Hundreds of assailants have again attacked our bases in Goma as well as other parts of North Kivu province, fueled by hostile remarks and threats made by individuals and groups against the U.N., particularly on social media," Haq said. "Mobs are throwing stones and petrol bombs, breaking into bases, looting and vandalizing, and setting facilities on fire."

DRC government spokesman Patrick Muyaya said on Twitter that at least five civilians had been killed and 50 injured in violence in both cities.





It was the second day of anti-U.N. protests that turned violent. On Monday, demonstrators also targeted MONUSCO bases.

"In Goma, they forcibly entered and looted U.N. facilities, while also throwing stones, setting tires on fire, and creating roadblocks," Haq told reporters on Monday. "Peacekeepers were forced to push back protesters by firing tear gas and warning shots to protect personnel, the U.N. hospital, and other vital infrastructure."

He said there was also a similar protest at the U.N. base in Nyamilima, about 38 kilometers north-east of Rutshuru.

"Several peacekeepers there reportedly suffered minor injuries," he said.

MONUSCO is one of the U.N.'s largest peacekeeping operations, with more than 16,000 uniformed personnel in the DRC's east. The U.N. has warned that the M23 rebel group, which was defeated by the Congolese army and special MONUSCO forces in 2013, had started to re-emerge in November 2021 and is well-armed and equipped.
At least 471 people were killed, injured or missing as a result of fierce clashes this month between rival gangs in Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince, the United Nations said Monday.

"Serious incidents of sexual violence against women and girls as well as boys being recruited by gangs have also been reported," the United Nations said in a statement on the toll from violence between July 8 and 17 in the impoverished neighborhood of Cite Soleil.

It did not specify how many of those people were killed.

At least 3,000 people have fled their homes, among them hundreds of unaccompanied children, and at least 140 houses have been destroyed, the statement said.

"The humanitarian needs in Cite Soleil are immense and are growing due to poverty, lack of basic services, including security, and a recent spike in violence," Ulrika Richardson, the U.N.'s humanitarian coordinator in Haiti, said in the statement.

While U.N. agencies are providing assistance in Cite Soleil, "a more sustainable and holistic approach needs to be found for the medium- and longer-term development of this emblematic commune," Richardson added.

Gangs that operate with widespread impunity have extended their reach beyond the slums of the Haitian capital, carrying out a wave of kidnappings.

At least 155 kidnappings took place in the month of June, compared to 118 in May, according to a report released by the Center for Analysis and Research in Human Rights.

Prime Minister Ariel Henry has yet to comment on the violence that ravaged Cite Soleil in early July.

Haiti is in a political crisis stemming from the 2016 elections, which was aggravated by the assassination of president Jovenel Moise at his home on July 7, 2021.
The United States on Monday condemned Myanmar's execution of political activists and elected officials and called on the military government to immediately end the violence.



U.S. officials said that "all options are on the table," including economic measures to cut off the military junta's revenues that it uses to commit the violence.



Myanmar state media said the Southeast Asian country executed four democracy activists it had accused of helping carry out "terror acts" against the government that seized power last year in a coup. The four had been sentenced to death in closed-door trials in January and April.



Those executed were democracy figure Kyaw Min Yu, better known as Ko Jimmy; former lawmaker and hip-hop artist Phyo Zeya Thaw, an ally of ousted Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi; and two others, Hla Myo Aung and Aung Thura Zaw.



"The United States condemns in the strongest terms the Burmese military regime's heinous execution of pro-democracy activists and elected leaders," the White House National Security Council said in a statement. Myanmar is also known as Burma.



The U.S. called on Myanmar's rulers to "release those they have unjustly detained and allow for a peaceful return to democracy in accordance with the wishes of the people of Burma."



At the State Department, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that "these reprehensible acts of violence further exemplify the regime's complete disregard for human rights and the rule of law."



Myanmar remains mired in civil unrest since a military coup toppled the country's civilian-led government in February 2021.



The junta has killed more than 2,100, displaced more than 700,000, and detained members of civil society and journalists since the coup, the State Department said.



"There can be no business as usual with this regime," State Department spokesperson Ned Price said during Monday's briefing.



"We urge all countries to ban the sale of military equipment to Burma, to refrain from lending the regime any degree of international credibility, and we call on ASEAN [Association of Southeast Asian Nations] to maintain its important precedents, only allowing Burmese nonpolitical representation at regional events."



In the U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Chair Bob Menendez urged President Joe Biden's administration to step up actions against the junta after the executions over the weekend, which were the first such executions in Burma since 1988.



"The Biden administration must exercise the authorities that Congress has already granted it to impose additional targeted sanctions on the Naypyidaw regimeincluding on Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise," Menendez said.



China is among the major suppliers to the Myanmar military and has maintained close ties with the junta. In Beijing, Chinese officials refrained from condemning the Burmese military publicly.



"China always adheres to the principle of noninterference in other countries' internal affairs," said Zhao Lijian, China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson, during a Monday briefing.



"All parties and factions in Myanmar should properly handle their differences and conflicts within the framework of the constitution and laws," Zhao said.

The mother of Phyo Zeya Thaw told VOA Burmese that she had been able to meet her son virtually on Friday.



She said that prison authorities had refused to provide details about her son's execution, including the exact day and time of her son's death, which are critical in planning for traditional funeral rituals. Prison officials also told her there was no precedent in Insein Prison of returning bodies to families.



The executions appeared to be a direct rebuke of ASEAN members' appeals.



In a June letter to the junta, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, who chairs this year's ASEAN, had expressed deep concerns and asked junta chief Min Aung Hlaing not to carry out the executions.



Others, including Malaysian lawmaker Charles Santiago, chair of the ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights, also weighed in.



"Not even the previous military regime, which ruled between 1988 and 2011, dared to carry out the death penalty against political prisoners," Santiago said.



The United Nations was among numerous critics of the executions.



"I am dismayed that despite appeals from across the world, the military conducted these executions with no regard for human rights," U.N. human rights chief Michelle Bachelet said. "This cruel and regressive step is an extension of the military's ongoing repressive campaign against its own people."



She added: "These executionsthe first in Myanmar in decadesare cruel violations of the rights to life, liberty and security of a person and fair trial guarantees. For the military to widen its killing will only deepen its entanglement in the crisis it has itself created."



Myanmar's National Unity Government, a shadow administration outlawed by the ruling military junta, said it was "extremely saddened. ... The global community must punish their cruelty."



Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said, "This goes against our repeated calls for all detainees to be freed. It also will sharpen the feelings of the [Myanmar] people and worsen the conflict as well as deepening Myanmar's isolation from the international community. It is a matter of deep concern."



Richard Horsey, a senior adviser on Myanmar at the International Crisis Group, said, "Any possibility of dialogue to end the crisis created by the coup has now been removed. This is the regime demonstrating that it will do what it wants and listen to no one. It sees this as a demonstration of strength, but it may be a serious miscalculation."



Amnesty International Regional Director Erwin van der Borght said the "executions amount to arbitrary deprivation of lives and are another example of Myanmar's atrocious human rights record.  The international community must act immediately, as more than 100 people are believed to be on death row after being convicted in similar proceedings."



Margaret Besheer, VOA Burma and Reuters contributed to this report.
The U.S. Senate voted 64-32 on Tuesday to advance legislation to dramatically boost U.S. semiconductor manufacturing in a bid to make the domestic industry more competitive with China.

The legislation provides about $52 billion in government subsidies for U.S. semiconductor production as well as an investment tax credit for chip plants estimated to be worth $24 billion.

The Senate is expected to vote on final passage in coming days and the U.S. House could follow suit as soon as later this week.

President Joe Biden and others have cast the issue in national security terms, saying it is essential to ensure U.S. production of chips that are crucial to a wide range of consumer goods and military equipment.

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo called the vote "a symbol of the strong bipartisan coalition working to build more chips in America. These chips keep our economy strong and our country safe."

The bill aims to ease a persistent shortage that has dented production in industries including automobiles, consumer electronics, medical equipment and high-tech weapons, forcing some manufacturers to scale back production. Auto production has been especially hit hard.

"The pandemic made clear with unforgiving clarity how America's chip shortage was creating a crisis," the Senate's Democratic majority leader, Chuck Schumer said before the vote.

The Semiconductor Industry Association said the vote is a "vital step toward enactment of legislation that will strengthen American chip production and innovation, economic growth and job creation, and national security."

Biden pushed hard for the bill, which has been in the works for well over a year, with a version passing the Senate in June 2021 but stalling in the House. This frustrated lawmakers from both parties who view competition with China and global supply chain issues as top priorities.

Critics like Senator Bernie Sanders have called the measure a "blank check" to highly profitable chips companies.

Biden met virtually on Monday with the chief executives of Lockheed Martin Corp, Medtronic and Cummins Inc along with labor leaders as part of the administration's push for the legislation.
The United States is sending a high-profile diplomatic delegation to visit the Solomon Islands next week led by Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and including Ambassador to Australia Caroline Kennedy.

The U.S. State Department said Tuesday the trip is to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Guadalcanal and for the diplomats to meet with Solomon Islands officials to highlight the enduring relationship between the two nations.

The visit will hold particular personal interest for Sherman and Kennedy, whose fathers both fought there during World War II.

And it comes after the United States and several Pacific nations expressed deep concern about a security pact the Solomon Islands signed with China in April, which many fear could result in a military buildup in the region.

The trip will also highlight the reopening of the U.S. embassy in the capital, Honiara, which is part of an express U.S. strategy to counter Chinas growing influence.

The United States previously operated an embassy in the Solomon Islands for five years before closing it in 1993.

Kennedy has just begun her role in Australia after formally presenting her credentials on Monday. When she arrived in Australia last week, she told reporters the Pacific region was critical and I think the U.S. needs to do more.

Were putting our embassies back in and the Peace Corps is coming, and USAID is coming back and were coming back, she said.

Kennedy said the Pacific held great personal significance because her father, the late President John F. Kennedy, had served there during World War II and was rescued by two Solomon Islanders and an Australian coast watcher.

Shermans father Mal Sherman was a Marine who was wounded during the Battle of Guadalcanal.

As well as Sherman and Kennedy, the delegation will include Kin Moy, a state department principal deputy assistant secretary, and Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Stephen Sklenka, the deputy commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.

During the Aug. 6-8 trip, Sherman is scheduled to give speeches at Skyline Ridge, the site of the U.S. Guadalcanal Memorial, and at Bloody Ridge.
French President Emmanuel Macron is on a first trip to Cameroon and will meet Tuesday with long-ruling President Paul Biya to discuss security, economic, and food challenges. Like much of Africa, Cameroon is struggling with rising prices for fuel and grain caused in part by Russias invasion of Ukraine.

French President Emmanuel Macron says Russia's targeting of Ukrainian exports is responsible for global food and fuel shortages that are causing untold suffering across Africa.

Speaking Tuesday in Yaounde after meeting with Cameroons president, Paul Biya, Macron said he is particularly worried that the consequences of the war will be increasingly felt in Africa, where many people go without sufficient fuel and food, and shortages have led to unprecedented price increases.

Macron says France will help African countries face the shock caused by the war by encouraging local investments in agriculture to increase food production. Macron says he totally agrees with European Union leaders' call on Russia to immediately stop targeting Ukrainian agricultural facilities and to permit the export of Ukrainian grain.

Macron said European economic sanctions on Russia, which are having an indirect effect on Africa, are intended to stop Russia's attack on Ukraines sovereignty and not to punish Africans. He said France is interested in the well-being of civilians in both African countries and Ukraine.

The visiting French president did not say how much France would invest to boost agricultural production in Africa, but said Cameroon is one of the countries chosen for agricultural investments.

The U.N. says that Africa depends on Russia and Ukraine for more than 50 percent of its wheat imports.

Marcon said France will give support to countries fighting terrorism, should the affected countries request Frances military assistance. He said his country is still considering if French troops can be deployed to Africa as was the case in some countries, including Mali.

Cameroon faces Boko Haram terrorism that has killed over 30,000 people and displaced two million within 10 years in its northern border with Chad and Nigeria. The central African state also faces separatist conflicts that have killed at least 3,300 people and displaced more than 750,000 in 5 years, according to the U.N.

Cameroons President Biya said he is very happy that France has pledged to help with what he called Africa's predicaments. He said living conditions will improve in Africa when terrorism is eliminated or reduced and if western countries negotiate an end to Russias war in Ukraine.

Biya says he is very happy that France has agreed to assist not only Cameroon but the entire African continent to fight against security threats. He says support from France will enable Cameroon to totally destroy Boko Haram. Biya says he suggested to Macron that Russia's war in Ukraine, which is causing untold suffering across Africa, should be ended by way of dialogue between Western powers and Russia, not through confrontation or war.



France says Macron, accompanied by the French ministers of foreign affairs, armed forces and foreign relations and the French secretary of state for development, will leave Cameroon Tuesday night for Benin and later Guinea-Bissau.
Tensions over Taiwan and Russia's invasion of Ukraine are likely topics for a phone call expected this week between U.S. President Joe Biden and China's leader Xi Jinping, the White House said Tuesday.

White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters in a briefing that managing economic competition between the two countries also is expected to come up in the call, which Biden said Monday is expected later this week.

It will be the fifth call between the two leaders and comes as China has delivered heightened warnings to the Biden administration about a possible visit by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to democratically governed Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its territory.

"Everything from the tensions over Taiwan, to the war in Ukraine, as well as how we better manage competition between our two nations, certainly in the economic sphere," Kirby said of the topics to be discussed.

"This is a call that has been scheduled for a long time and there's already a pretty robust agenda of things for these two leaders to talk about," he said.

Under its one-China policy, the United States does not have official diplomatic relations with Taiwan, but it is bound by U.S. law to provide the island with the means to defend itself. The White House has been quick to reiterate that stance has not changed despite speculation over a possible trip by Pelosi.

Kirby said Pelosi is in the line of succession to the presidency and as such, her overseas travel was a matter of U.S. national security. But only she could make decisions about her travel.

"Bellicosity" in rhetoric from Beijing over the potential trip only escalates tensions, he said.

"We find that unhelpful and certainly not in the least bit necessary given the situation," Kirby said.

The administration has been debating whether to lift some tariffs on Chinese goods as a way to boost the U.S. economy, but Kirby said a decision was not expected ahead of the call.
The World Health Organization is urging people who may have been exposed to or at risk of monkeypox to get vaccinated against the disease as a preventive measure.

Since it declared monkeypox a global health threat last week, the WHO says the disease has continued to spread around the world, with cases topping 16,000 in at least 75 countries.

The WHO says the outbreak is mainly concentrated among men who have sex with men, especially those with multiple sexual partners. It warns against stigmatizing a whole group of people, as this could cause the outbreak to accelerate exponentially by driving the disease underground.

The WHO technical leader on monkeypox, Rosamund Lewis, says the outbreak can be stopped with the right strategies in the right groups. She says mass vaccination is not required, but the WHO recommends vaccination for those who have been exposed or are at risk.

"When someone is vaccinated, it takes several weeks for the immune response to be generated by the body. So, it is not something you can be vaccinated one day and be protected the next. You need to give it some time," Lewis said. "So, the folks we are recommending to be vaccinated right now are anyone who has exposure, a contact with someone who may have been confirmed to have monkeypox. And so, that could be family members. It could be other close contacts."

She says even children are not immune from getting the disease. Between 80 and 90 cases of monkeypox in children have been reported in several countries, mostly in households where someone was infected.

The monkeypox virus is spread from person to person through close bodily contact. It can cause a range of symptoms, including painful sores. Those at higher risk for the disease or complications include women who are pregnant, children and people who are immunocompromised.

European countries have the highest number of confirmed cases. Although monkeypox is endemic in Africa, where it has been present since 1970, the reported caseload is relatively low. For example, Nigeria reports 101 cases, and the Democratic Republic of Congo has confirmed 163 cases out of more than 2,000 suspected cases.

Lewis says the number of suspected cases in the DRC is high because the country's ability to confirm cases through laboratory testing is limited. She says testing needs to be supported and ramped up.

"Suspected cases may be other things. They may even be measles. They may be chickenpox. There is no vaccine for chickenpox being used in that environment. So, it is critically important to support countries to access testing. That is one of the most important things that WHO is trying to do right now," she said. "At the same time, in the global reports, what we are reporting are confirmed and probable cases."

For now, no travel-related monkeypox restrictions are in place. However, the WHO recommends anyone with signs or symptoms compatible with the monkeypox virus should avoid travel and isolate for the duration of the illness.


A leading human rights lawyer, Beatrice Mtetwa, has challenged the Zimbabwe Republic Police, National Prosecution Authority and other government bodies to arrest a well-known ruling Zanu PF supporter, who was filmed calling for the killing of the country main opposition party leader, Nelson Chamisa, his children and supporters.

In a letter to the ZRP Commissioner General Godwin Matanga and others, Mtetwa said the police and other relevant authorities have a constitutional mandate to arrest people inciting violence.

The video of the Zanu PF supporter was taken recently at a rally where he urged his supporters to kill Chamisa, his children and supporters and the person has not been arrested at a time when two opposition lawmakers belonging to Chamisas party and being denied bail since last month when they were arrested for allegedly inciting violence.

The lawyer says there should be no selective application of the law and is demanding the arrest of the accused person.

Like other citizens, I have been waiting with bated breadth for the arrest of the inciter and for the law to take its course. As it does not appear that the law enforcement agencies have taken any action on this inciteful calls, I shall assume that the countrys ever alert law enforcement agents missed this video in their usual sourcing of social media sites in search of offensive and possibly criminal material.

Investigations have determined that the incitement to murder and violence was issues by one Abton Mashayanyika, with the nickname Bhito who is said to be a bishop of a religious organization known as Habakkuk Apostolic Faith Mission. The inciter was addressing a ruling party rally at Rampopo Hills under Chief Mapiravana in Mberengwa North and that he is from the Dlehari area under sabhuku Kuraicha.

Mtetwa, an award-winning attorney, said, To the Commissioner General, I request that in line with your Constitutional mandate to detect, investigate, and prevent crime, in addition to protecting and securing the lives and property of Zimbabweans, you investigate these utterances with a view of prosecuting what is clearly a criminal offence which has the potential of affecting the countrys internal security and the various rights that citizens are entitled to enjoy as provided for in the Constitution.

She also urged the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission to investigate the matter with a view of handing it to Matanga as there can be no doubt that the killing of Zimbabweans is a clear criminal act which violates Zimbabweans rights to freedom of association and the right to join and participate in the activities of their choice has no place in a country which has full respect for fundamental rights and freedoms.

Mtetwa urged the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission and National Peace and Reconciliation Commission to take action against political violence, hate speech and other issues.

Matanga, ZEC and representatives of the NPRC were not responding to calls on their mobile phones.
The URL has been copied to your clipboard

The code has been copied to your clipboard.

Opposition leaders in the Political Actors Dialogue (POLAD) have called for major reforms ahead of the 2023 harmonized elections. Professor Lovemore Mabhuku speaks about some of the issues being raised by opposition leaders. (Video: Godwin Mangudya)




The expert in infectious and tropical diseases reported that many of the cases in the country involve anogenital lesions, which suggests sexual contact.





However, other cases involved contact with clothing contaminated with body secretions of infected people or transmission by air.





"In our cases, sexual contact now seems to be the main route of infection and the risk behavior is defined as frequent sexual contacts or sexual contact," he said in statements to TVPeru.





Suarez remarked that, although the most affected population are men who have sex with other men, the transmission of the virus can occur between any two individuals, since it occurs through skin-to-skin contact, even more so if the infected people have injuries and are not isolated.





Regarding the concern that the monkeypox virus can be transmitted through a handshake, the head of the INS warned that this could happen as long as the individuals have lesions (blisters) on their hands and the contact lasts longer.





"If they have blisters (in any part of the body), they need to see a doctor to get a diagnosis," he explained





"If people had sexual or close physical contact with someone who has such lesions, they should still go to the nearest health facility to be diagnosed and isolated, as well as to prevent the transmission," the expert added.









(END) CRR/RMB/MVB

Sexual contact has been one of the most frequent means of transmitting monkeypox infection on an international basis, and the same seems to be true for Peru, following a review of the cases reported so far, National Health Institute (INS) Chief Victor Suarez said on Tuesday.Publicado: 26/7/2022
19:46 | Cusco (Cusco region), Jul. 25.





Javier Alata Yauri, driver of the truck with license plate number D4V-882, and Elias Choqqe Cusi, the co-driver, were intercepted on Quillabamba-Echarate highway.









The truck they were driving was found to be carrying 100 brick-type packages containing 103,955 kg of cocaine hidden between boxes of fruit. The police also seized two cell phones.





The seizure occurred after an effective work of intelligence carried out in collaboration with the prosecutor on duty, with whom legal proceedings and investigations are still coordinated.





Moreover, on Saturday night, agents arrested two individuals identified as Ibo Chipana, 21, and Jose Campos, 30, in Pillcopata a town located in Kosnipata district in the province of Paucartambo.





The two men were aboard a motorcycle without a license plate. They were apprehended with a backpack containing an oval-shaped package of cocaine in one compartment and seven brick-type packages of the same drug in another compartment.





The subjects were brought to the Pillcopata police station as detainees. A report on the total weight of the drug they had is expected to be released, as it might exceed 10 kg.





(END) PHS/TMC/MAO/RMB

The Peruvian National Police (PNP) has dealt a heavy blow to drug trafficking after seizing more than 100 kg of cocaine in two operations carried out in the provinces of La Convencion and Paucartambo last weekend, the VII Macro Police Region of Cusco confirmed on Monday.Publicado: 25/7/2022
Caroline-Marie's teddy went missing in Rome two weeks ago.

A French family visiting Italy has offered a reward of 500 to whoever finds a much-loved teddy bear that went missing in Rome on 11 July.

The missing posters around the capital contain an image of the well-worn white bear, whose distinguishing feature is a black paw, reports Italian newspaper La Repubblica.

The teddy belongs to little Caroline-Marie who is "devastated" by the loss of her favourite toy, prompting her parents to offer the hefty reward.

The family, from Marseilles, stayed four nights on Via Damiano Chiesa in the Balduina area, reports La Repubblica.

On the last day of their holiday, 11 July, the family packed their bags and took the 990 bus into town.

They visited the Feltrinelli bookshop on Viale Giulio Cesare and a tobacconist, also in Prati, before returning to their accommodation on the 990 bus and driving back to France.

It was only when they crossed over the border into France that a distraught Caroline-Marie realised her teddy bear was missing.

That night her father drove back to Rome, checked at the hotel and retraced their footsteps in the hopes of finding the teddy, to no avail.

If found, the family say they will return to Rome to pay the reward and take the bear home.
?? El Ministerio de Salud informa que aumento a 208 los casos confirmados de #ViruelaDelMono, que corresponden a 8 regiones del Peru, todos los pacientes vienen recibiendo asistencia medica, se registraron 27 altas medicas y se esta realizando la identificacion de contactos. pic.twitter.com/UXBMPHTcds
Placeholder while article actions load

By a vote of 267 to 157, the House of Representatives last week passed the Respect for Marriage Act, which declares that marriages performed in one state must be recognized in all states, without respect to sex, race, ethnicity, or national origin. It also codifies same-sex marriages for the purpose of benefits under federal law.

The legislation still needs to get through the Senate, which is unlikely before the August recess. Nonetheless, the Houses move to provide federal recognition of gay marriages  with the support of 47 Republicans  is a breakthrough worth celebrating. In addition to validating the countrys progress on gay rights, the vote signals that lawmakers may finally be embracing their responsibility to tackle social issues through the legislative process, rather than leaving the task to the courts.

Congress previously addressed the issue of gay marriage in 1996, when it passed the Defense of Marriage Act, which former President Bill Clinton signed into law. That legislation defined marriage as between one man and one woman and banned federal recognition of same-sex marriages. The Supreme Court subsequently overruled DOMA, requiring states to recognize gay marriages sanctioned in other states and declaring gay couples eligible for the same federal benefits as straight people. However, the federal statute remained on the books. Thus, DOMA could have been reinstated if the conservative high court opted to overturn its prior gay marriage rulings.

Advertisement

Indeed, after the courts decision last month in Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization striking down abortion rights, progressive activists warned that other court decisions covering sodomy laws, gay marriage and contraception could be next for repeal. Democratic lawmakers promptly introduced bills to codify protections on those issues  in part as message votes to energize their base and embarrass Republicans, who they assumed would block such bills. On gay marriage, however, nearly one-quarter of the House Republican conference voted in favor, and theres a realistic prospect of finding the 10 Republicans necessary to produce the 60 votes to guarantee Senate passage.

Given current levels of partisanship in Washington, this is a significant achievement, particularly in an election year. Its also how the system is supposed to work. Public support for gay marriage has never been higher, with more than 70% of Americans approving. Responding to such changes in public sentiment is  and always has been  a job for elected legislators. Yet for too long, lawmakers have instead surrendered decisions about controversial social policies to unelected judges.

The bipartisan passage of the Respect for Marriage Act is a heartening sign that Congress is still capable of doing its job. Better late than never.

More From Bloomberg Opinion:

 How Will Roes Fall Affect Politics? No One Knows: Jonathan Bernstein

 Whats Not Going to Happen After Roe Falls: Ramesh Ponnuru

 LGBT Rights Supreme Court Ruling Is a Power Play by Gorsuch: Noah Feldman

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
Placeholder while article actions load

Russian gas has been attractive to Europe because it was easy to transport and almost always available. Its importance grew in recent years as some countries moved to end coal and nuclear power generation and production from their own gas fields declined. Russian state-controlled company Gazprom was supplying about a third of all gas consumed in Europe, until the war in Ukraine disrupted supplies and underscored the risk of overdependence on one energy provider.

1. What changed as a result of the war?

After Russia invaded Ukraine, the European Union drew up a plan to cut gas imports from Russia by two-thirds by the end of 2022. Russia, after suffering punishing sanctions, hit back, with President Vladimir Putin signing a decree demanding that all buyers from unfriendly countries pay in rubles starting from April. They would have to open special accounts with Russias Gazprombank JSC, in foreign currency and rubles, to handle their payments. Buyers in Poland, Bulgaria, Denmark, Finland and the Netherlands refused to abide by the new terms and had their gas cut off. Later, Russia also slashed supplies via its biggest pipeline to the continent, cutting shipments even to those who found workarounds to the new payment order. As a result, customers in Germany, Italy, France and Austria didnt get all the gas they asked for. In July, EU energy ministers reached a political agreement to cut their gas use by 15% through the winter of 2022/23. While the target was voluntary, it could become mandatory if an emergency arises.

Advertisement

2. How did Russia become so significant?

With its vast Siberian fields, Russia has the worlds largest reserves of natural gas. It began exporting to Poland in the 1940s and laid pipelines in the 1960s to deliver fuel to and through satellite states of what was then the Soviet Union. Even at the height of the Cold War, deliveries were steady. But since the Soviet Union broke up, Moscow and Kyiv have quarreled over pipelines through Ukrainian territory, prompting Russian authorities to find other routes. Still, Europe has kept its vast dependency on Russian gas, which was often cheaper than alternatives, even when Moscow annexed Crimea in 2014.

3. How vulnerable is Europe?

A supply crunch in 2021 offered an insight into Europes reliance on gas from Russia, with benchmark prices more than tripling. Stockpiles in the EU fell to a record low with heavy maintenance taking place in North Sea fields and supplies of liquefied natural gas redirected to meet soaring demand in Asia. In 2022, with Russian supplies under threat, European LNG imports were pushed to full throttle, domestic producers promised to keep output as high as possible and EU buyers tapped new supplies from Africa to Central Asia. Yet Russian volumes were still too large to fully replace in the short term. In mid-June, flows through the Nord Stream pipeline -- the biggest link from Russia to the EU -- fell by about 60%, with some utilities struggling to stay afloat and big industrial users considering energy saving measures. From late July supplies through Nord Stream were set to drop to around 20% of capacity, with Gazprom saying that a turbine due for maintenance would be taken out of service. But European politicians and Kremlin insiders see political motives in the move, as Russia retaliates against sanctions on the nation over its war in Ukraine.

Advertisement

4. How vulnerable is Germany?

The EUs economic powerhouse used to rely on Russia for more than half of its gas and about a third of its oil. The dependency declined to 26% for gas and 12% for crude by the summer. The standoff with Moscow led Germany to double down on renewables and invest in LNG import facilities, but it will take years for those other sources to come online. In the meantime, the government was reviving heavily polluting coal plants and subsidizing purchases from alternative energy suppliers to offset the sharp drop in Russian gas imports.

5. Which other countries are exposed?

Land-locked nations in eastern and central Europe are more vulnerable to Russian gas disruption as they have fewer alternative options compared with western and southern European nations. Russian supplies accounted for about 40% of Italys demand in 2021, but that country has been scouring the globe for replacements and has secured new agreements with suppliers, particularly in North Africa. Some smaller gas buyers like Finland, which has also been deprived of Russian gas, are planning to use floating LNG terminals. Poland, which generates most of its electricity from coal, invested in a new gas pipeline from Norway, set to start flows in October, while Bulgaria plans to increase Azeri gas imports in 2022 with the opening of a spur from Greece, a country that can also supply LNG.

Advertisement

6. What role does Ukraine play?

About a third of Russian gas flowing to Europe normally passes through Ukraine. Supplies via the country were curbed after May 11 when a transit point was put out of service amid fighting in the eastern part of the country, and Russia refused to redirect flows, keeping transit via the nation limited. Prior to the cuts, Ukraine had been expecting to earn at least $7 billion from transit fees under a five-year transit deal in December 2019.

7. How has Russia disrupted the market before?

In 2006 and 2009, disputes with Ukraine over pricing and siphoning of gas led to cutoffs of Russian supplies transiting through the country. The second shutdown lasted almost two weeks in the dead of winter. Slovakia and some Balkan countries had to ration gas, shut factories and cut power supplies. Since then, the most vulnerable countries have raced to lay pipelines, connect grids and build terminals to import LNG shipped from as far as Qatar and the U.S.

Advertisement

8. What supply networks are there?

Outside supplies, mostly from Russia, Norway and Algeria, account for about 80% of the gas the EU consumes. Germany imports much of its gas via Nord Stream, a pipeline under the Baltic Sea which has been fully operational since 2012. (A further pipeline, Nord Stream 2, was completed in late 2021 but became entangled in politics and is now firmly on ice.) With Nord Streams flows persistently reduced, Germany and its allies have been bracing for the possibility that Putin could cut off flows for good. Belgium, Spain and Portugal face the problem of low storage capacity, as does the UK, which is no longer part of the bloc and closed its only big gas storage site. The continent has a mass of pipelines but many cross several borders, creating plenty of possible choke points, while some nations still lack connecting links.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com

2022 Bloomberg L.P.

GiftOutline Gift Article
Placeholder while article actions load

Close to 3 billion people have never used the internet, and billionaires Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos are on a mission that could narrow the digital divide. The two entrepreneurs are competing to launch thousands of small satellites that will zip around the globe in whats known as low-Earth orbit (LEO), connecting places that are too remote for ground-based broadband or have been cut off by natural disasters or conflict. China and some European nations are backing rival LEO systems for fear of being shut out of a critical future technology. But colonizing this special slice of Earths atmosphere comes with heavy startup costs as well as complex and potentially dangerous challenges.

1. How low is LEO?

Most LEO satellites circle from 500 kilometers (311 miles) to 2,000 kilometers above Earths surface, so they can send data to the ground more rapidly than traditional communication satellites that are stationed at roughly 36,000 kilometers out. Those high-orbit systems have a median signal delay, or latency, of nearly 600 milliseconds for a round trip -- too slow for technologies such as live video streaming, self-driving cars and high-frequency securities trading. Starlink aims for latency as low as 20 milliseconds, which Musk hopes eventually to cut in half. At those speeds, LEO satellites may compete with the fastest ground networks.

Advertisement

2. Why so many satellites?

Satellites that are closer to Earth see a smaller part of its surface, so you need more of them. Also, the speed needed for an object to keep a stable orbit -- achieved by balancing its velocity with Earths gravity -- increases in LEO, so a satellite must travel at about 27,000 kph to stay aloft, circling the planet in 90 to 120 minutes. As each satellite is only briefly in contact with a ground transmitter, another needs to appear on the horizon before the first goes out of view. To ensure theres always a satellite overhead, you need lots of them strung out along crisscrossing paths that envelop the globe.

3. How will the companies make money?

By selling their services to governments, businesses working in remote regions and providers of terrestrial 5G wireless and fixed-line broadband services that need to fill gaps in their own networks. The technology was put through its paces in Ukraine, where Musks Starlink system helped to keep civilians and the military online after Russian forces invaded. The companies also aim to sell direct to consumers in poorer nations where broadband is patchy. For that, theyll have to cut the cost of the ground terminals: A Starlink package costs $599 in the US, excluding the connection fee. Past LEO projects such as Iridium, Globalstar and Orbcomm went bankrupt. Todays are more viable as satellite launch costs have plunged with the introduction of lighter, reusable rockets. Musks Falcon 9 can send up a satellite at a cost of $2,600 per kilogram, down from roughly $10,000 two decades ago. His company Space Exploration Technologies Corp. estimated that Starlink may cost up to $30 billion to install, and Musk has said that annual revenue could eventually reach $50 billion, helping to bankroll his ultimate ambition -- colonizing Mars.

Advertisement

4. What about the competition?

Musks rivals are trying to catch up. In April, Bezoss Amazon.com Inc. struck the biggest launch deal ever, to send up more than 3,000 satellites for his Project Kuiper network. China is building a LEO constellation, and some European governments are eager to develop an independent capability of their own. French President Emmanuel Macron has said creating a satellite offering that could rival Musk is a matter of sovereignty. French satellite operator Eutelsat Communications SA took a step in that direction in July when it announced a merger with UK-based LEO network OneWeb Ltd. By the end of the decade, there could be more than 100,000 satellites zipping around the Earth, more than 20 times the number in operation in early 2022. Astronomers have already noticed the growing traffic, complaining that Starlink satellites are interfering with their view of space.

5. Whats the downside of LEO?

Advertisement

Because the satellites are moving so fast, collisions are harder to predict and can be devastating. A 10-centimeter chunk of debris traveling in LEO can contain about as much energy as 7 kilograms of TNT, enough to shatter a satellite into thousands of pieces. Radar detection systems can estimate a satellites trajectory only to within a few miles as solar radiation and atmospheric drag make orbital paths slightly irregular. LEO is already used by satellites for climate observation, Earth imaging and military purposes, as well as the International Space Station. Its also littered with dead satellites and stray bits of old spacecraft. Theres a worry that a few collisions could cascade into further smashes, creating clouds of debris that put LEOs most useful orbits off-limits for centuries. There are various proposals for removing space junk. But they would cost billions of dollars, and governments cant decide who would pay the bill.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com

2022 Bloomberg L.P.

GiftOutline Gift Article
Placeholder while article actions load

After weeks of frustration, commercial testing for monkeypox is now going strong in the US and has reduced the backlog. The tests show that, as of Monday, the US had nearly 3,500 cases, among the most in the world. Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight Yet wider access to existing tests hasnt made it possible to diagnose infections before they have a chance to spread. For that, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration need to consider new approaches to testing.

The FDA maintains that monkeypox should be detected only by swabbing the lesions of someone who has a rash. In the early days of this outbreak, that guidance was reasonable. Previous outbreaks in African countries where the disease is endemic suggested that contact with lesions was the primary form of transmission.

But now infections are manifesting differently in vulnerable populations of men who have sex with men. Doctors treating people with monkeypox in the US say patients are coming in with rectal pain or severe sore throat (and testing negative for sexually transmitted infections) but have no skin lesions  yet. Before lesions appear, however, doctors have no CDC-validated way to confirm an infection.

Advertisement

Infectious disease doctors on the frontlines of the monkeypox outbreak would like to be able to test other types of samples  saliva, for example, or throat or rectal swabs, which they are often taking anyway to look for an STI  to possibly detect infections before the rash takes hold. Such sampling also could enable public health officials to cast a wider net, to test anyone in a high-risk group who comes into a clinic, regardless of their symptoms. If we were to do a lot of those tests, I suspect many will come back positive, said Abraar Karan, an infectious disease physician at Stanford University.

Another concern: The current strategy assumes that lesions are a proxy for contagiousness when, in reality, not enough is known about the ways in which monkeypox virus might be transmitted. Studies of patients in Italy and Spain show that viral DNA can be detected in nasal swabs, urine, blood, feces, semen and saliva. Using  and studying  alternative kinds of testing might reveal when that viral DNA is shed from the body, and for how long, and under what circumstances it might be passed along to others.

This could not only help identify more cases earlier but also provide monkeypox patients better information about their health. They could get answers to pressing questions such as how long they need to isolate and when they can safely resume sexual activity.

Advertisement

Although the CDC advises patients to remain isolated until their lesions heal, infectious disease doctors would like to understand whether the virus could be passed on through sexual contact for a longer period. Monkeypox viral DNA was found in the semen of 29 out of 32 people in a recent study. Based on other reports of lingering viral DNA in semen, public health authorities in the UK advise recovering patients to use condoms for 12 weeks after their infections.

Meanwhile, testing that could diagnose infections earlier could help prevent people from infecting others before they have visible symptoms. And it could help direct vaccination efforts to close contacts of people early in their infections. The monkeypox vaccine, while still frustratingly limited in supply, can be given after an exposure to prevent a more serious case of the disease.

One testing outfit, Flow Health, is already offering a saliva-based monkeypox test that uses the kind of technology found in widely used Covid spit tests. The company has been collecting data on the accuracy of its test since the first cases of monkeypox started cropping up in the US, and it hopes to soon submit data to the FDA.

Advertisement

A saliva-based test could also make possible at-home sample collection, allowing someone to drop their kit into a mailbox or at a community health site. That could significantly widen access to and uptake of tests, said Jeffrey Klausner, a public health expert at the University of Southern Californias Keck School of Medicine.

The CDC is reportedly considering saliva and other types of tests, but seems be concerned that such tests could produce too many false negatives and thus miss cases. Any alternative testing method would need to be closely studied, its true, but cases are already being missed in the US, either for lack of access to tests or lack of lesions in early cases.

The virus has been opportunistic in finding a network in which it can thrive. Public health must in turn be opportunistic in finding the best way to detect and contain the disease.

Advertisement

More From Bloomberg Opinion:

 Monkeypox Treatments Arent Getting Enough Scrutiny: Lisa Jarvis

 Putin, Natural Gas and Democracy: Elements by Liam Denning

 Bidens Covid Diagnosis Is Wake-Up Call for the US: Tyler Cowen

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Lisa Jarvis is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering biotech, health care and the pharmaceutical industry. Previously, she was executive editor of Chemical & Engineering News.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion

2022 Bloomberg L.P.

GiftOutline Gift Article
Placeholder while article actions load

Why are Democrats boosting an extremist candidate challenging incumbent Republican US Representative Peter Meijer in a Michigan primary election? The Democrats have been using the same strategy in primary after primary. Criticize a fringe-y candidate for being too conservative in advertising intended to help that candidate with Republican primary voters  the ones who love to find the most conservative candidate.

While a lot of people have slammed the strategy for the possibility that it will lead to electing the very extremists whom Democrats deplore, theres a legitimate case to be made for it in some instances. Democrats arent responsible for creating the problem of Republican voters who cast ballots for terrible general-election candidates. Nor are they responsible for candidates willing to embrace unpopular policy positions in order to win primaries by appealing to those voters.

Advertisement

Moreover, far too many mainstream Republicans have either adopted fringe and anti-democratic views, or have been unwilling to stand up to those in the party who have such preferences. In the US, with a two-party system, both parties are going to have their occasional embarrassments, but the majority of Republicans in the House of Representatives voted against accepting legitimate electoral votes cast in the 2020 presidential election, even after the US Capitol riot of Jan. 6, 2021 had delayed the proceedings.

In that atmosphere, theres a good argument that any Republican congressional majority would be dangerous to democracy (in addition to, from the Democrats perspective, making poor policy choices), and what really matters is preventing Republicans from achieving that majority  and so risking the election of a few extra extremists is a reasonable trade-off for reducing the chances of Republicans winning more seats.

But the wisdom of pursuing that strategy in any particular case has to depend on context. The Michigan contest involves a House seat, not the Senate. The Senate is a toss-up, and there are only a handful of competitive seats to begin with. Whats more, the difference between 49 and 50 Democratic senators is the difference between confirming executive branch nominees and judges or not.

Advertisement

But the House  well, it may not be impossible for Democrats to hold their majority in that chamber, but the odds are surely low. The FiveThirtyEight model gives Republicans an 85% chance of winning a majority, and it would be historically remarkable for Democrats to avoid losing seats in a midterm election taking place with an unpopular Democratic president in the White House.

And while Democrats can argue that the difference between a fringe Republican and a mainstream conservative isnt that big a deal when it comes to protecting democracy, that isnt accurate in the Michigan case. Meijer is one of the 10 House Republicans who voted in favor of impeaching President Donald Trump after the attack on the Capitol. Democrats could note that Meijer voted with his party on other votes they consider important to democracy, but his vote to impeach a fellow Republican should count as a big deal.

That doesnt mean that Democrats shouldnt contest the seat, which is in a western Michigan district where Democrats seem to be strong, and is therefore one of a small number of pickup opportunities for the party. Of course they should.

Advertisement

But the case for trying to take Meijer out in a primary by helping him to lose to an extremist is a lot weaker. Incentives matter in politics, and if Democrats treat those who stood up for democracy when it mattered the same way they treat those who didnt, what kinds of incentives will that create? The more that those who stood up to Trump lose in primaries, the more Republican party actors will believe in Trumps influence, which in turn will make him that much more influential within the party.

The spending against Meijer is coming from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the formal party body in Washington that works on House elections, not from a Democratic candidate running for the seat. The campaign committees job is to win elections for Democrats, not to save democracy or establish healthy incentives within the Republican Party. But there are limits to what parties and candidates should do to win, and in this and similar primaries, its hard to defend what Democrats are up to.

Its not actually clear that these kinds of campaigns make any difference; experts believe that Meijer was in trouble even without Democratic assistance, and baroque political gambits regularly get more attention than they deserve. Voters are probably less vulnerable to other-party influence than they are to normal campaign messages, and if theres one thing we can rely on, its political pundits focusing more on clever ads and fancy campaign strategies than on basic fundamentals of elections.

Advertisement

Its also worth remembering that some Democrats were crossover voters for anti-Trump incumbents in Georgia, and the same thing appears to be happening in Wyoming for Representative Liz Cheney, the most prominent anti-Trump Republican in the House (although given how few Democratic voters there are to begin with in that state, its not apt to be enough to save her). But what Democrats are doing in the Michigan House race appears to be a low-reward, high-risk plan, and one that may have unfortunate effects.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Jonathan Bernstein is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering politics and policy. A former professor of political science at the University of Texas at San Antonio and DePauw University, he wrote A Plain Blog About Politics.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion

2022 Bloomberg L.P.

GiftOutline Gift Article
Placeholder while article actions load

In the middle of a glorious family vacation to Greece earlier this month, I was tempted to extend our stay  our first big trip since Covid. So I googled the customer service number for the airline and clicked on the number at the top of the search results. Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight Attempting to make flight changes while admiring the sun setting over Mount Athos and keeping an eye on your small children swimming in the Aegean turns out to be ill-advised. The chaotic summer of 2022 is proving to be a great one for travel scammers, as I was about to discover.

A representative answered at once (which alone should have made me realize something was amiss). He took some personal information, along with my booking confirmation number, and said it would cost about $150 per ticket to change our flights. I knew I had booked a ticket that allowed for changes, but he insisted I had to pay a fare difference.

Advertisement

I decided it was worth it, and gave him my credit card information. Seconds after hanging up, I had a sinking feeling. My fears were confirmed when I received a typo-filled email from Phill Brook at support@ticketsupportdesk a few minutes later. I called my credit card company immediately  fortunately, they had already declined the charge.

Scams like these, where third parties pose as airlines or hotels and charge bogus fees, are nothing new. But this summer is particularly advantageous for bad actors.

First, theres pent-up demand. That means lots of travelers to target, many of whom havent gone anywhere in a while and may be a little less savvy than they once were. In addition, airline delays and cancellations for US carriers are the highest theyve been since 2014 (excluding 2020), according to data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. So its easy to prey on travelers who need to make flight changes. And airlines call centers are overwhelmed, with some wait times stretching to 10 hours or more (if consumers can get through at all).

Advertisement

Even if you catch on quickly, a scam can be a pain.

While I didnt lose any money, Phill Brook still had vital information: my name and confirmation code, which is all you really need to make changes to a flight. He actually went ahead and booked us on the departure date I wanted  but was trying to charge me for something the airline later confirmed shouldnt have cost a dime.

And after my card company declined the charge, I kept getting calls and emails from the scammer saying he was going to change my flight back to the original date. And he did, several times  when I would move our flight to the new date, he would change it back to the original.

Contacting the airline was a dead end. The line either just rang and rang, or an automated recording would say call volume was very high and to call back later. The one time I got through, an agent said he couldnt give me a new confirmation code without canceling my booking and charging me for a new one; when I asked to speak to a supervisor, he told me they were all busy.

Advertisement

The day before we were scheduled to return home on the later flight, I received an email from another representative at support@ticketsupportdesk.com saying that they would be forced to cancel my return flight entirely if I didnt approve the charge.

When we arrived at the airport, I went directly to the ticket counter to explain the situation. But the counter was closed. As a last-ditch effort, I checked us in online for our return trip and crossed my fingers nothing would change. Somehow, thankfully, it didnt  the fraudsters had likely moved on to new targets.

Heres what I wished Id known about how to avoid a travel scam, or mitigate the damage of falling for one.

It may seem like common sense, but always check the web address to make sure it actually belongs to the airline. Scammers may transpose two letters or add a phrase like low cost before the airline name in the web address. When I googled the airlines customer service number as a test after getting back home to the US, legitimate phone numbers were at the top of my search results. That wasnt the case in Greece, so beware that search results could differ abroad. Christopher Elliott, a travel advocate for consumers, says he uses a VPN, or virtual private network, when traveling to ensure a more secure connection to the internet.

Advertisement

Another option is to download the airlines app, according to Zach Griff at The Points Guy. That allows travelers to access bona fide customer service numbers or chat with a representative directly within the app. (He also said checking into our flight could have stopped the madness; it may be harder, though not impossible, for a scammer to mess with a flight after the traveler has checked in.)

Flyers who have any status with the airline can usually use a priority phone number to get in touch. If thats not an option, try the number listed for the airlines office in a smaller country for a potentially shorter wait time. You can also try the number for non-English speakers; most of the agents who staff those lines are bilingual and almost always speak English.

Its also helpful to remember the terms of your booking. If like me, youre the one requesting the change, youre generally responsible for fare differences. Rebooking fees vary by airline, but most US carriers started waiving flight change fees during the pandemic (unless you purchased the most budget class of ticket). If the airline is responsible for making the flight change (say, because of mechanical issues or weather), then travelers typically wont have to pay anything for rebooking.

Advertisement

Finally, if you do fall victim to a flight scam, report it to the Federal Trade Commission, says William McGee, senior fellow for aviation at the American Economic Liberties Project. The agency wont resolve individual claims, but it does aggregate complaints and share them with other law enforcement agencies to spot trends and go after scammers. After I returned from my three extra days in Greece, thats exactly what I did.

More From Writers at Bloomberg Opinion:

 Good Luck Making It to Your Vacation This Summer: Andrea Felsted

 Gen Z Thinks The Money Will Come Back. Will It?: Erin Lowry

 Beleaguered US Airline Passengers Deserve a Bill of Rights: Brooke Sutherland

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Alexis Leondis is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering personal finance. Previously, she oversaw tax coverage for Bloomberg News.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion

2022 Bloomberg L.P.

GiftOutline Gift Article
Placeholder while article actions load

The World Health Organization had a hard time deciding whether to label monkeypox a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) or not. Thats a rare designation, given to Covid-19 and a handful of other diseases such as swine flu in 2009, polio in 2014 and Ebola (twice). It carries binding legal commitments for member nations to act.

A majority of the WHOs Emergency Committee, however, was unconvinced that monkeypox qualified. WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who came under criticism for being slow to declare Covid-19 a pandemic and too deferential to China, cast the deciding vote. With a rising number of monkeypox cases around the world  some 16,000 have now been reported in 75 countries  the WHO chief clearly wanted to err on the side of caution.

Its a tough call: If monkeypox fizzles, the WHO will be accused of crying wolf; if infections reach the millions, there will be questions about why intervention didnt come earlier. Given the sluggish policy response so far, a kick in the behind is probably the right move.

Advertisement

The skeptics noted that the overall risk profile of monkeypox hasnt changed in the past month, with the main burden falling on Europe and North America. They also noted that disease severity is very low (with no deaths reported in Europe or North America). A PHEIC, it was worried, could sow panic, increase demand for vaccines among those who dont need them, or lead to stigmatization of gay and bisexual men, who seem to be most at risk.

All of those are valid concerns. But if the higher profile means more public surveillance, better testing and a proper information campaign, that would be a good thing. Monkeypox may not be the killer that Covid was before vaccines, but the often-painful virus  marked by fever, swollen lymph nodes and a rash that causes lesions  is spreading and needs a more robust response.

Nearly 99% of reported monkeypox infections in the US, UK, Canada and Spain have occurred in males who have sex with other men and largely among those who have multiple partners. Cue a furious debate over Twitter and elsewhere about whether monkeypox should be classified, or at least spoken of, as a sexually transmitted infection. Its a loaded label and one that is problematic on a couple of levels  it can undermine public-health messaging by stigmatizing those at risk, and it may mean we focus surveillance efforts too narrowly.

Advertisement

Monkeypox also behaves differently from other infections contracted primarily through sexual contact, notes Francois Balloux, director of the Genetics Institute at University College London. Sexually transmitted diseases generally cause long-term infections with the patient remaining infectious to others for decades. Monkeypox only appears to be infectious within a window of two to four weeks. From what weve seen so far, monkeypox has recently spread mainly through having multiple sexual partners in a short period of time, which Balloux notes is not the norm.

Of course, there are other ways it can be transmitted  through skin-to-skin contact, or contact with a towel or surface holding the virus  and we may see more cases over time across different populations. After two-plus years of a pandemic, we should not need the WHO to tell us that access to reliable, affordable and accurate diagnostic tests for illnesses compatible with monkeypox is an urgent necessity. Testing has been belatedly increasing, but we need far better diagnostics as existing testing protocols may detect the virus too late or pick up legacy virus that is no longer active. We may also not be picking up cases outside of at-risk communities.

Better public information is crucial now too. Misinformation and fear could create more demand for vaccines, making it harder to get a still limited supply to those who are most at risk. The go-to vaccine against monkeypox is the smallpox vaccine Imvanex, produced by Bavarian Nordic A/S, which has just received an approval by the European Commission to market as a monkeypox vaccine. Older smallpox vaccines can also work, but they carry serious side effects and are not recommended for those who are immunocompromised.

Advertisement

Vaccine supplies are being ramped up, which should help. And the WHOs recommendations also have the longer-term in mind. Since smallpox  also an orthopoxvirus  was eradicated in the 1970s (the WHO declared it vanquished in 1980s), countries have stopped vaccinating against it and so our immunity to these kinds of viruses has declined. Irrespective of what happens with this outbreak, monkeypox is something we might have to deal with in the future, Balloux says.

That the WHO decided to ring the alarm bell now smacks of a certain hypocrisy, given that Africa has struggled with monkeypox for decades, with hundreds of suspected deaths in Democratic Republic of Congo and a mortality rate of about 10% in Central Africa, which has had a more virulent strain. The WHO said it lacked the tools; smallpox vaccines were not licensed for monkeypox and the side-effects of legacy smallpox vaccines meant they were not sent to African nations to deal with monkeypox.

The spread to Europe and North America has prompted the WHO emergency declaration this time, but the hope must be that it will lead to helping African nations respond through better surveillance and vaccinations.

Advertisement

What can we expect ahead? As a DNA virus, monkeypox doesnt mutate as fast as RNA viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 and infection protects the host for life. All else being equal, there is no selective pressure for the virus to become nastier, Balloux notes. And yet, there is much about monkeypox we still need to understand better, including its transmission dynamics. While the emergency declaration isnt reason for panic, if weve learned anything over the past two years, it should be that its better to act early.

More From Bloomberg Opinion:

 What Is Monkeypox and Should We Be Worried: Raphael and Fazeli

 Monkeypox Treatments Arent Getting Enough Scrutiny: Lisa Jarvis

 US Monkeypox Response Repeats the Mistakes Made on Covid: Danzig and Lawler

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Therese Raphael is a columnist for Bloomberg Opinion covering health care and British politics. Previously, she was editorial page editor of the Wall Street Journal Europe.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion

2022 Bloomberg L.P.

GiftOutline Gift Article
Placeholder while article actions load

Mark Zuckerberg will probably wish he was hydrofoiling in Hawaii on Wednesday instead of revealing Meta Platforms Inc.s second-quarter earnings. Analysts have curbed their estimates for the social giant, and Zuckerbergs own foreboding comments to staff suggest the numbers wont be good. He also will have to face a stark reality about the aimlessness of WhatsApp, his biggest investment to date.

Challenges abound across Zuckerbergs conglomerate. Instagram is mired in trying to copy ByteDance Inc.s TikTok, with mixed success. Young people dont want to use Facebook, whose overall growth has slowed, and Apple Inc. is blocking advertisers on Facebooks app from targeting people.

But then theres WhatsApp. The little green app that never really went mainstream in the US is the most popular messaging service for most of the rest of the world. Approximately 2 billion people actively use WhatsApp, but in Zuckerbergs universe it has been more of a defensive ploy and earnings void than a money maker like Instagram.

Advertisement

The contrast couldnt be more stark: Zuckerberg bought Instagram for $1 billion in 2012 and the app contributed $20 billion to Facebooks revenue in 2019 alone. He bought WhatsApp for $19 billion in 2014, and it has contributed pennies by comparison.

Its astonishing that eight years after Zuckerberg made the acquisition, he has yet to turn WhatsApp into a remotely viable business. Founded in 2009, WhatsApp initially made money from a 99 cent annual subscription because its founders despised ads. After the sale, both eventually quit over how Meta was trying to monetize the app with advertising. But by 2020, Meta had backed away from that idea, and said it would try charging businesses to engage with customers on the app instead. (ref)

It looked for a while as if WhatsApp might actually become central to Facebooks future as a business. In March 2021, Zuckerberg announced his privacy-focused vision for social networking and predicted a future where communication would shift to private services like WhatsApp.

Advertisement

But seven months later, Zuckerbergs vision had changed. He announced that the future of the internet lay in the immersive world of the metaverse, representing the next chapter for newly named Meta. Beyond an announcement about the launch of a new customer chat service on WhatsApp in May, Zuckerberg has said little about messaging since.

WhatsApps place within the Meta hierarchy has bobbed up and down like a hydrofoil board. And now, with Zuckerberg resolved to pivot to virtual reality, the apps real value is likely to come from something more ignoble than making money as a viable business. It will probably be the sacrificial offering that Zuckerberg needs to fend off antitrust regulators.

That would explain Zuckerbergs lack of drive to turn WhatsApp into a going concern. The problem has never been that its too difficult to make money from messaging. After all, Tencent Holdings Ltd.s WeChat  a messaging competitor in China  generated more than $500 million in June 2022 alone, according to an estimate by market intelligence firm Sensor Tower, largely from payments, advertising and acting as a gateway to games.

Advertisement

The problem was that Zuckerbergs primary motivation for buying WhatsApp in the first place was to fend it off as a competitive threat, according to mounting evidence from antitrust regulators like the US Federal Trade Commission. Facebook executives even fretted about how WhatsApp might threaten Facebooks business after it had been acquired by the firm, according to a Bloomberg news report last week. That hardly sounds like a parent company with grand visions for its subsidiary.

Now to deal with the FTCs attempt to force the company to divest both WhatsApp and Instagram as part of a lawsuit against the firm, Metas lawyers may push for a settlement that includes divesting just one. If they do, you can probably guess which company Zuckerberg would prefer to carve off.

How might a sale of WhatsApp work in practice? With no substantial revenue, an IPO would be off the table. Meta could sell the company to a private equity consortium, or a company like Microsoft Inc., which has indicated an interest in buying a messaging business before, and (somewhat oddly) has managed to make an array of big acquisitions over the last few years without evoking real scrutiny from antitrust officials. If Softbanks eventual IPO of Arm Holdings proves fruitful, and Masayoshi Son decides to shift his own focus from artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things to the world of messaging, he could be a potential buyer, too.

Advertisement

But closing that chapter on WhatsApp will highlight an unsettling truth for Metas investors: The company cant seem to make money from anything other than traditional online advertising.

Digital advertising makes up approximately 98% of Metas revenue. Meta  like Alphabet Inc.s Google  is hooked on the business. While Microsoft and Amazon Inc. have managed to diversify into cloud computing and gaming, Meta has failed to do the same with cryptocurrency, e-commerce and, of course, messaging.

Maybe the metaverse will be different, and Zuckerberg will find a way to pivot his thriving ad business to virtual reality. But the humbling shift in WhatsApps value from potential business to Metas most likely regulatory offering underscores how much that vision is on shaky ground.

More From Writers at Bloomberg Opinion:

Advertisement



AT&T Jumps Out of the Media Pan and Into the Dividend Fire: Martin Peers



Mark Zuckerbergs Ruthlessness Is What Facebook Needs Now: Parmy Olson



Chinas Cyber Isolationism Has Severe Security Implications: Tim Culpan

(Corrects spelling of WhatsApp in 5th paragraph)

(1) That year around 175 million people were exchanging messages with a business on WhatsApp every day, a promising start but still only about 8% of its total user base.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Parmy Olson is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering technology. A former reporter for the Wall Street Journal and Forbes, she is author of We Are Anonymous.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion

2022 Bloomberg L.P.

GiftOutline Gift Article
Placeholder while article actions load

15 killed, 50 injured in anti-U.N. violence Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight At least 15 people were killed and about 50 wounded on the second day of demonstrations against the United Nations in the Democratic Republic of Congos eastern cities of Goma and Butembo on Tuesday, authorities said. The dead included protesters and U.N. personnel as crowds attacked U.N. sites. The protests were called by a faction of the ruling partys youth wing that accuses the U.N. mission, MONUSCO, of failing to protect civilians against militia violence.

The demonstrations began Monday, with hundreds of people attacking and looting a U.N. warehouse in Goma to demand that the mission leave the country. They flared again Tuesday and spread to Butembo, about 125 miles north of Goma.

Mobs are throwing stones and petrol bombs, breaking into bases, looting and vandalizing, and setting facilities on fire, deputy U.N. spokesman Farhan Haq said in New York.

Advertisement

One peacekeeper and two U.N. police personnel were killed when their base in Butembo was attacked, the U.N. spokesman said. Butembos police chief said seven civilians were killed when the peacekeepers retaliated.

Government spokesman Patrick Muyaya had said earlier that at least five people were killed and about 50 wounded in Goma.

A Reuters reporter in Goma said peacekeepers fired tear gas and live bullets at the crowd, killing two and wounding at least two.

 Reuters

Verdict overturned in Briton's antiquities case

A retired British geologist sentenced to 15 years over antiquities smuggling in Iraq may soon go free after a Baghdad court overturned his conviction, his family and attorney said Tuesday.

Baghdads Court of Cassation, or appeals court, overturned the verdict against Jim Fitton, 66, his attorney Thair Soud told the Associated Press. The decision was made on the basis of an appeal filed by Soud shortly after Fitton was convicted.

Advertisement

Fittons release date was not immediately known, but Soud said his client should be freed soon pending paperwork.

Fitton drew international attention last month after his conviction for picking up shards of pottery from an archaeological site in southern Iraq.

Some of the pieces he picked up were no larger than a fingernail, he later told the criminal court.

He was arrested in March at Baghdads airport and sentenced in June.

Documents posted to the judiciary website said the appeals court found that Fittons trial judges had made mistakes and that key circumstantial evidence had been overlooked, including Fittons unfamiliarity with local laws. It also noted that the areas where he had picked up the pieces were unguarded.

Fitton had made no attempt to hide the items at the airport, the court said. Based on this, it found that he harbored no criminal intent to smuggle antiquities and ordered his immediate release, according to the documents.

Advertisement

 Associated Press

Gang accused of setting Haiti courthouse on fire: Suspected gang members set fire to a courthouse near Haiti's capital in the latest incident targeting the country's crumbling judicial system. The fire occurred in a region controlled by the 400 Mawozo gang, blamed in the killing of a police inspector on Sunday in a church in Croix-des-Bouquets and later setting the building on fire. The courthouse fire occurred a month after another gang raided the Court of First Instance in Port-au-Prince. The gang retains control of a portion of that courthouse.

German woman jailed for taking son to Syria to join ISIS: A German woman was convicted of membership in the Islamic State and other offenses for traveling to Syria with her young son to join the militant group. She was sentenced to 3  years in prison. The Dusseldorf state court found that the defendant traveled to Syria in 2015 with her son, then 5, without the knowledge of his father. It found that she ran the household there while her new husband fought for the group. The defendant, who had two more children in Syria, surrendered to Kurdish forces in 2019 and was repatriated to Germany with her children in October.

Advertisement

28 dead, 60 sick in India from drinking spiked liquor: At least 28 people died and 60 became ill from drinking altered liquor in western India, officials said. A senior official said the deaths occurred in Gujarat state, where the manufacture, sale and consumption of liquor are prohibited. The state's police chief said several suspected bootleggers have been detained. Deaths from illegally brewed alcohol are common in India.

 From news services

GiftOutline Gift Article
This account, in previously unreported detail, shines new light on the road to war and the military campaign in Ukraine, drawn from in-depth interviews with dozens of senior U.S., Ukrainian, European and NATO officials.

MORE COVERAGE
Canciller Landa acompanado del Vicecanciller y viceministras de Hacienda y Comercio Exterior se reunio ayer con lideres @BVLPeru, @cpcperu, @FEPCMAC, @PYME_Peru y @AsomifP para informar sobre el proceso de adhesion a la @OECD, quienes coincidieron en apoyar este interes nacional. pic.twitter.com/Mi3taN0YzM
YEREVAN, JULY 26, ARMENPRESS. For exactly three weeks, employees of various departments of mobile network of the Ucoms Technical Directorate once again shared their professional skills, knowledge and know-hows in telecommunications field with ten students from the Faculty of Information and Telecommunication Technologies and Electronics of the National Polytechnic University of Armenia (NPUA).

The internship was held in 8 departments, including those of Radio Network Planning and Optimization, Radio Network Operation (BSS: Basic Service Set), Service Quality Control (AQP: Advanced Quality Planning) and Transmission Department. The students took part in the works on the localization of the new station, defined the main parameters, integrated them, and operated the station software. Future radio engineers monitored how mobile network management systems were maintained, analyzed station statistics, ensured connectivity between all stations and the mobile core network, as well as international connectivity.

With the help of specific software packages, I conduct a drive-test, through which I study the quality and coverage of the network, said student Nune Baghdasaryan.

During the internship period at Ucom, we studied the operations of all departments: we were in the radio one, we were engaged in planning, installed stations, visited AQP, answered subscribers questions, we opened tickets, redirected them to the relevant departments, which could give solutions on a more serious level. I liked Radio Department and BSS because those seem more interesting, and you have a deeper understanding of what profession you are studying and how you will subsequently work in this role. We have 5 female students on the course, both girls and boys study equally, but mostly it is girls who want to work at Ucom, said Tamara Poghosyan, 4th year student of the Faculty of Telecommunications and Signal Processing of NPUA.

Both Liliya Husikyan, the Head of the Polytechnic University students internship and Senior radio network engineer at Ucom, and Armen Ayvazyan, Head of the Mobile Department, strictly ensured that future colleagues also learn to monitor the operation of stations through a 24/7 system, notice problems, analyze the alarms and offer solutions.

We attach great importance to cooperation with the National Polytechnic University of Armenia. This year, 10 students completed an internship with us, during which they got acquainted with a number of technical professions and realized how to pave their career path in our company, saw our technical team, understood how much they can learn from us. They've spent their internship both in the office and on the streets of the capital city, conducting drive tests; as well as in the regions, visiting base stations; they figured out how they could apply their theoretical knowledge in practice and what practical skills they would need to develop in order to really start working. I believe that this is a model of mutually beneficial cooperation, because it is these students who have shown high involvement and the best results that are our primary candidates for replenishing entry-level technical vacancies, said Viktorya Baghdasaryan, Director of Human Resources Management and Organizational Development at Ucom.

At the end of the internship, with the support of the Ucom Stations Operation and Maintenance Department staff, the students once again visited one of the regions of the country to understand how stations are maintained and how the failed equipment is being replaced, namely, the antennas, modules, cables, generators and batteries.
A surge in online sales will help lift department store Myer to an expected full-year profit of more than $55 million for 2022, helping the retailer buck concerns about a national slowdown in spending.

Shares in the retailer jumped on Tuesday morning and closed up 21.3 per cent to 48.5 cents after the company told investors its total sales were up by as much as 12.7 per cent for the year and would come in at close to $3 billion.

Myers trading update reflects retail figures showing a jump in department store sales. Credit:

The business is expected to bank a net profit after tax for the year of between $55 million and $60 million, an increase of between 86 per cent and 103 per cent on last year, excluding the impact of JobKeeper payments on 2021 earnings.

The numbers put Myer on track for its strongest financial result since 2017, when the company reported a net profit of $67.9 million. In 2020, Myer swung to a net loss of $11.3 million.
The night should have left throats hoarse from screaming and necks sore from head thumping. It did not. Fans can only hope it gets better from here. Reviewed by Carla Jaeger THEATRE

Unsolicited Male 

Chapel off Chapel, until August 7 Sexual relationships in the workplace are a potential minefield in the post #MeToo era and Australian playwright Ron Elishas 2018 play, Unsolicited Male, dissects gender and power politics and issues of consent by taking a deep dive into a single, messy incident between a male boss and his female employee. A #MeToo tale unfolds in Unsolicited Male starring Kym Valentine and Russell Fletcher. Credit:Jodie Hutchinson Boss Zeke (Russell Fletcher) is confident in his business role, but feels awkward, weak and unattractive to women in his personal life, while his employee Wendy (Kym Valentine) knows that her power is limited in the workplace but is very aware of her attractiveness to men.

At the end of a fateful workday, Zeke, a divorced dad of two, invites Wendy, his single, much younger personal assistant, to dinner as a gesture of gratitude for her work. He is harmless, complimentary and even offers her a promotion during their cheerful chatter, but a series of unpredictable and unrelated incidents sees them leave the restaurant early and end up at Wendys house where the conversation turns personal and Zeke assumes that his sexual advances are welcome. Elishas script, with unembellished direction by Suzanne Heywood, starts as a witty comedy with a deceptively simple scenario but rolls inexorably into a drama focussing on the power dynamics of this relationship, highlighting the blurred boundaries, unclear messages, wildly inaccurate assumptions, confused reactions and ensuing chaos. The play shifts back and forward in time, intercutting Zeke and Wendys evening with later scenes between Zeke and his gung-ho life coach Noah (Anthony Scundi), and Wendy with her bolshy sister Chelsea (Gabriella Rose-Carter). Noah and Chelsea have extreme, polar opposite perspectives on the situation  Chelsea sees Wendy as victim and prey while Noah views Zeke as assertive and empowered  and their brutal interjections and negative commentaries force Wendy and Zeke into rigid and perilous psychological positions that escalate the trauma. Fletcher is credible as Zeke, playing him as a pleasant bloke with no agenda who apologises too much, feels like a victim, acts like a wimp, seeks sympathy and feels unworthy of this beautiful womans attention. Valentine effectively charts Wendys emotional journey from capable employee, to playful, obliging dinner companion, then reticent, uncomfortable object of desire and finally, frozen, disempowered and traumatised victim. The simple set of a table and chairs places the main action between Wendy and Zeke centre stage while scenes with Noah and Chelsea unfold stage left and right. This placement of scenes splits the stage and is sometimes uncomfortable to watch, flicking our attention from side to side like a tennis match.

Unsolicited Male will leave audiences debating all the way home and its topical socio-political issues will generate as many opinions as there are audience members. Reviewed by Kate Herbert THEATRE

Paradise Lost 

Northcote Town Hall Arts Centre, until July 30 Bloomsheds bastardised and bonkers reimagining of John Miltons epic poem Paradise Lost is a literary, political and religious satire with a fair dose of blasphemy. James Malcher and Elizabeth Brennan in Paradise Lost. Credit:Sarah Walker There is much to recommend in this production, not least of which are the remarkable set design (Nathan Burmeister) and the inspired and hilarious opening that features lighting trickery (John Collopy) and a cast of tiny cherubs. Milton is satirised mercilessly  described dismissively as a blind 17th century Protestant poet  and his celebrated work is stripped down to its narrative essence in this contemporary interpretation of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.

The Lord God John Milton (James Malcher), a pompous poseur in ridiculously oversized headgear, narrates from his balcony while The Scribe (Anna Louey), seated in the audience, takes notes. Meanwhile, Archangel Michael (Emily OConnor), a smug corporate executive type responsible for the idyllic garden, announces the launch of a perfect lovemaking, toiling and worshipping machine that will relieve the angels of all duties. Welcome Adam (Edan Goodall)! Archangel Lucifer (James Jackson) objects to Adam being used as a machine, so Michael chases Lucifer away with only an armful of cherubs for company. Michael creates Eve (Elizabeth Brennan) from Adams rib then trains them like Pavlovs dogs to do their daily chores of sexing, toiling and worshipping. It all goes wrong of course, and Lucifer returns, manipulates Eve into eating the apple and the garden is revealed to be a plastic, corporate sham. Jackson has impeccable timing and witty delivery as the seductive, charming Lucifer who is passionate about saving Adam from servitude. OConnor is commanding as Michael, playing him as a smarmy, charismatic evangelist running a campaign to lure investors into the garden development. Goodalls Adam and Brennans Eve are sweetly silly and naive, although their dialogue is almost incomprehensible during all their running, toiling and sexing. This reconstruction of Paradise Lost is a barbed commentary on political corruption, capitalism, environmental damage and social responsibility. It includes sharp, satirical dialogue and clever visual comedy such as Lucifers interminable elevator ride to Hell, accompanied by a musak version of Johnny Cashs Ring of Fire. The earlier parts of the show feature cunningly written, well-performed monologues, particularly by Jackson and OConnor, but the final scenes feel confused and have an edge of hysteria. The audience laughs at the last parodic scene and the anachronistic introduction of Jesus, but the final image is poignant, even tragic rather than comical. It would be interesting to know which  if any  other sacred cows this company would be willing to sacrifice. Reviewed by Kate Herbert

DANCE Victory Over the Moon 

Chunky Move Studios, until 30 July The first thing one notices about this new work by Nana Bilus Abaffy is the set. Statues of veiled figures lie prone among sprigs of ivy. Word-search puzzle books and handfuls of coloured markers are scattered about. A small mountain of satin-like sheets extends onto the stage. Victory Over the Moon at Chunky Move.. Credit:courtesy of the artist Abaffy and her collaborators  Milo Love and Geoffrey Watson  have created a world with all the cold, white-on-white mystery of a painting by de Chirico. And the choreography, with its meditative tone and elusive symbolism, suggests a kinship with those metaphysical investigations that can be found in modernist art of the last century.

Even the title recalls the Italian futurists who promised to murder the moonlight in their quest to overturn traditional ideas of beauty. And one can sense here, amid the ironies and ambiguities, a serious desire to elevate human sensibility. This is a work that dreams of flight and a new world harmony. The performers sometimes careen through the space, shouting and grunting and colliding. At other times, they approximate the stillness of the statues while observing each other. They alternate between urgency and procrastination. They arch their backs to stare at the roof or they sit splay-legged contemplating their hands. It could be monotonous, but Abaffy has a talent for the composition of theatrical enigmas that fascinate rather than repel. Her method of juxtaposing images creates semantic gaps that open onto the unexpected. Things become other than what are. They become what they could be or should be. Near the end, for example, it appears for a moment that hands are wings. A video of birds in flight is projected against the back wall. Are these doves returning to the ark, signifying the end of the crisis? Or is it a wry reminder? Do not despair. Today you are the statue, but tomorrow you might be the pigeon. Reviewed by Andrew Fuhrmann OPERA

The Barber of Seville 

On tour until September, visit opera.org.au for dates

Baritone Andrew Williams stars as the Barber of Seville in Opera Australias touring production. Credit:Jeff Busby If Wes Anderson were ever to direct an opera, it would probably look a lot like this one. Opera Australias touring production of Gioachino Rossinis The Barber of Seville is colourful, kitsch, and playful, with a pink-heavy palette and a whole lot of symmetry. This version cant be pinned down to an exact era  in the best of ways, aesthetically its as if the 40s met the 60s with a hint of the early 2000s. Theres a reason this opera, which premiered in 1816, is so enduring  its punchy, funny, contains memorable tunes and theres room around the edges for innovation. This staging relishes in the humour of the source material while having its own distinct personality. The Barber of Seville tells the story of Count Almaviva (initially played by John Longmuir, but then taken on by Nicholas Jones during act one due to sickness), who falls for a woman named Rosina (Cathy-Di Zhang) who is under the jealous guardianship of Dr Bartolo (Michael Lampard). Instead of being a father figure, however, Bartolo intends to marry her. Almaviva enlists the charismatic Figaro (Andrew Williams)  the titular barber of Seville  to help him both win and test Rosinas love. Disguises and hijinks ensue. Loading

Rosina could be a tragic figure  trapped, oppressed, and at the mercy of two different men who want to marry her  but shes not. Rossinis Rosina is already puckish and in control of her own story  at least to a degree  tricking her guardian and ultimately getting her own way. In director Priscilla Jackmans version, Rosinas autonomy is amped up  instead of being set in Dr Bartolos house, the entire opera takes place in and around Rosinas Sevillised Libations and she enjoys tripping, teasing and manipulating Bartolo. Zhang excels at the physical comedy required of the role and in the vocal challenges. Though occasionally some of the mens voices didnt quite manage to fill Bendigos Ulumbarra Theatre, each of the leads demonstrate an impressive command of vocals and acting. Williams delivery of the iconic Figaro, Figaro, Figaro!  a line that has osmosed out of opera and into pop culture  was a particular early highlight. This staging is a crowd-pleasing story dressed up in a thoughtful and fun new way. Reviewer Elizabeth Flux travelled to Bendigo as a guest of Opera Australia. POP MUSIC

Gorillaz 

John Cain Arena, July 24 The first word that comes to mind is joyous.

After a 12-year absence and an unfortunate Splendour false start, Gorillaz played their first Australian date to a packed Melbourne crowd smiling from ear to ear. How couldnt you be, as Damon Albarn bounded on stage, toothy trademark grin intact, to belt out M1 A1 like it was 2001 all over again and we had slightly fewer worries than we do now? Gorillaz at John Cain Arena. Credit:Margot Bishop Gorillaz themselves technically hadnt even taken the stage yet, however Jamie Hewletts animated creations of Hobbs, Murdoc, 2-D and Noodle quickly filled the visuals for the evening, especially Song Machine highlight Strange Timez where they did a duet with Robert Smith on the moon. Thats just cool. High praise must be placed on the impressively diverse stage presence of the band, who looked like they were having just the best time, all the time. They cranked out hit after hit with a great sound mix highlighting just how many members were on stage contributing so much. Damon Albarn leads Gorillaz in Melbourne. Credit:Margot Bishop

Almost everyone made use of the stages small catwalk at one point to soak in the newly believable aspect of playing to an audience, while coincidently making me wish I could buy Albarn a beer as he barged into the crowd during Pirate Jet. Its safe to say we werent ready for the 1-2 punch of Dirty Harry into Feel Good Inc. With so many life-defining songs on display, Albarn proclaimed the set was what you needed and what we needed. A massive encore left us with sore cheeks from smiling for two hours, and a hope that it wont be another 12 years between drinks. Reviewed by Harry Bradley CLASSICAL MUSIC

Shining Strings 

Melbourne Recital Centre, July 23 I alone hold the key to this savage parade. These startling words by poet Arthur Rimbaud launch Benjamin Brittens song cycle Les Illuminations, a work which imparted its exotic and precocious mood to this concert performed by the strings of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.

One of the keys to the program was the French influence on Brittens music, initially celebrated with excerpts from Purcells fashionably Gallic score for The Fairy Queen. Concertmaster Dale Barltrop elicited stylish, lively and luminous playing, apart from the disproportionate presence of three double basses. This possible signal of impending savagery was explained after the Purcell, when regular MSO bass player Stephen Newton declaimed the opening line of the Britten from his place at the rear of the orchestra. Leaving his instrument behind, he then moved to various points around the stage to assume his role as soloist. MSO concertmaster Dale Barltrop. Credit:Laura Manariti Newton presents as a loveable larrikin, of whom Rimbaud would doubtless have approved, but the more strait-laced and exacting Britten might have been pained by Newtons wanderings. Although committed to a highly dramatic rendering of text and music, Newton could not afford the luxury of being anywhere other than front and centre, where his light and not unattractive tenor had some chance of being heard over the orchestra. Ultimately, the net result was more elusive than savage. The undisputed enthusiasm that Barltrop and his colleagues brought to the Britten was also present in Ravels String Quartet in F, carefully arranged for string orchestra to preserve the delicate light and shade vital to Ravels original concept. Beautifully honed solo passages, notably by Barltrop and violist Fiona Sargeant, were offset by brilliant, energetic tuttis.

Showcasing the multifaceted talents of musicians is to be applauded, but greater musical practicality held the key to unleashing the power of this savage parade. Reviewed by Tony Way JAZZ

Ally 

Paris Cat, Friday 22 July Gai Bryant named her latest band Ally because she sees its members as musical allies, uniting their creative resources in pursuit of a common purpose  in this case, exploring traditional Latin rhythms through a contemporary jazz lens. She could also have called the band Alloy, which would neatly describe the fascinating amalgam of styles and cultures on which the music is based. Peruvian, Brazilian, Cuban and Andalusian rhythmic traditions lie at the heart of Bryants compositions, lending the tunes an undercurrent of irresistible buoyancy. Loading

On Friday night at a sold-out Paris Cat, the Sydney sextet filled the room with vibrant Afro-Peruvian festejo, Brazilian maracatu and flamenco bulerias. Percussionist Julio Candela (on cajon and congas) and drummer Ryan Menezes formed the agile twin engine for these polyrhythmic adventures, anchored by Max Alducas supple bass and Daniel Pliners deft piano. Bryant  on alto and soprano sax  and trombonist James Greening typically laid out the melodic themes in taut unison before harmonising or peeling off into authoritative solos. On Cuba the horns rode in a loping canter over the rhythm sections intricate, multi-layered pulse. Spheres That Dont (a flamenco reworking of Thelonious Monks Well, You Neednt) featured fluttering cajon to underline the staccato melody, with Bryants soprano adding flecks of angularity before Greening embarked on a wonderfully exuberant solo excursion. Ally saxophonist and bandleader Gai Bryant. On several tunes the band was joined by Brazilian-born poet Dai Moret, whose liquid phrases in English and Portuguese  half spoken, half whispered  added an air of seductive mystery. Loading
Wet weather has hampered fire mitigation efforts, resulting in only 40 per cent of scheduled works being completed in the past 12 months, as authorities warn summer fires are possible.

In the latest financial year, the NSW Rural Fire Service has treated 40,000 hectares through burning, grazing and clearing efforts  which will offer asset protection to 47,000 homes  well short of its 102,600-hectare target. The previous financial year saw 176,000 hectares burnt.

The RFS has only completed 40 per cent of its planned mitigation efforts because of wet weather. Credit:Nick Moir

But the wet weather does not mean the risk of summer fires has evaporated.

While we have seen significant rainfall over most if not all of the state over the last 12 months, including significant flooding events, we have continued to see good growth in the grassland areas, NSW RFS deputy commissioner of field operations Peter McKechnie said.
Welcome to your five-minute recap of the trading day and how the experts saw it.

The numbers: The Australian sharemarket set a new 20-day high on Wednesday, gaining 0.2 per cent or 15.9 points to 6823.2 by the close, in a session that saw headline inflation hit a two-decade high of 6.1 per cent.

The market was boosted by the banks. The financials sector improved 1.1 per cent. Westpac lifted 1.3 per cent to $21.41 after announcing it was considering the closure of 100 branches, which chief executive Peter King said would achieve a major cost saving.

Wall Street fell across the board. Credit:AP

Commonwealth Bank improved 2.2 per cent to $98.90, NAB rose 1.4 per cent to $30.13 and ANZ gained 0.4 per cent to $22.73. The healthcare sector gained 1.4 per cent, while materials fell 1.2 per cent as BHP, Fortescue and Rio Tinto retreated between 2 and 2.8 per cent.

Zip charged to $1.24 with a 21 per cent rally. The mystery of the market was Sezzle, which rocketed by 95 per cent before entering a trading halt at 3pm AEST. The reason for the surge isnt obvious given the sharemarket hasnt heard from the buy now, pay later company since its merger with Zip was abandoned.

The lifters: Zip 21%, Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals 8%, Silver Lake Resources 6%

The laggards: Champion Iron -4.5%, Iluka Resources -4.3%, Bluescope Steel -3.8%

The lowdown: The sharemarket was undaunted by todays consumer price index (CPI) figures. Inflation did fall slightly short of market expectations - hitting 6.1 rather than the predicted 6.3 per cent - but trimmed inflation is at its highest since 1991. The Commonwealth Bank is expecting headline inflation to peak at 6.75 per cent in December.

All countries are dealing with the highest inflation rates in decades and Australia is no exception said Commonwealth Bank chief economist Craig James. Workers keep succumbing to Covid or influenza, restraining production of goods. At the same time, the war in Ukraine is lifting prices of a range of commodities, notably oil.

Read more here.
AMA delegates from around the nation will gather in Sydney on Friday for the associations annual conference and one item on the agenda will be a call for a royal commission, if you please, into AHPRA. Things got rough between the two outfits after the regulator imposed restrictions on Broome-based GP David Berger over his behaviour on Twitter, where he would take aim at governments, chief health officers and others over their approach to the pandemic. Credit:Virginia Star But former AMA president Mukesh Haikerwal told the trade press that the Berger matter was just the latest example of AHPRA overreach. Berger has other high-profile backers, including prolific talking head Professor Raina MacIntyre AMA WA president Dr Andrew Miller and Medical Journal of Australia editor-in-chief Professor Nick Talley. So its interesting timing, to say the least, for AHPRA to put out a joint public statement with the Medical Board of Australia on Monday, calling for the profession as a whole to cool it on the socials, warning that social media is not a forum to bully, harass or intimidate. The regulator also returned fire on critics who have accused it of stifling free speech.

There is no place for bullying and harassment in healthcare because it harms the lives and careers of doctors and it harms patients, the statement reads. Oversimplifying this debate to freedom of speech fails the first challenge in improving the culture of medicine  the ability to disagree with respect. We cant think of a profession that likes being told what to do less than doctors do, and we fear there might be precious little of that disagree with respect spirit in the air when the medicos gather in Darling Harbour this weekend. PHAT CHANCE Newby senator for the Australian Capital Territory  and Norfolk Island  David Pocock had an experience too many of us can identify with while visiting his farthest flung constituents last week.

His luggage failed to show up in the Pacific Ocean paradise. Not to be deterred from his regular exercise regimen by a mere lack of activewear, the former ACT Brumby and Wallaby got a little local help in sourcing some training gear from the islands op shop. New senator David Pocock. Credit:Terry Cunningham But the footy jersey Pocock managed to buy for his evening hill sprints was less than ideal: the team name Phatphux was emblazoned on the back. The senator reflected that the episode was a good reminder to always check the team name when buying secondhand jerseys. There wasnt much that fitted and we were in a bit of a rush. A LIDDELL LIFE

A change of government brings with it a change in fortunes for the lobbyists swarming federal parliament this week. Since Anthony Albaneses election victory in May, Labor-aligned lobbying shops have had a major boost, among them being Principle Advisory, run by Bill Shortens former chief of staff Ryan Liddell. Liddell, who was with Shorten for his entire tenure as opposition leader, landed a major coup picking up Facebook as a client last week, his seventh new signing since the change of government. The traditionally Labor-linked Hawker Britton, run by former Kevin Rudd and Simon Crean chief of staff Simon Banks, had a bonanza, picking up over 20 new clients since May, including Transgrid, Citigroup and law firm MinterEllison. And Anacta Strategies, whose chief, Evan Moorhead, is a Labor powerbroker currently blacklisted from speaking with the Queensland government, listed a flurry of clients on the federal lobbyist register following its post-election debut on the list, including mining giant Glencore. BATS LIFE

Car-crash Liberal MP Tim Smiths dislike of the vast colony of grey-headed flying foxes  fruit bats to most of us  is well known. Loading So Daniel Andrews Labor government would not have been surprised on Monday morning when Smith was triggered by news that $180,000 was to be spent on a sprinkler system to keep the heat-vulnerable creatures cool during the extremely hot days that have bats literally falling dead from the trees most summers. The Andrews Labor government is bat sh*t crazy  Smith tweeted on hearing the news. These bats are a nuisance, they spread disease, and now the government is going to spend almost $200k to hose them down when it gets hot over summer.
YEREVAN, JULY 26, ARMENPRESS. Negotiations are being held to organize a meeting between the Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, according to a senior lawmaker.

Recently rather active work is done in the diplomatic sector, including in the context of the parliament, parliamentary diplomacy, the Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee of the Armenian Parliament Eduard Aghajanyan told reporters when asked whether or not meetings between the Armenian and Azeri leaders or foreign ministers are expected. And meetings are rather often, in various formats. And as far as I know there are also negotiations that sometime later a meeting must take place between the leaders of the countries.

Aghajanyan did not mention possible timeframes.
The search stopped on Monday afternoon due to poor weather.

Police said he usually returned from fishing trips about 4pm, and his vehicle and trailer remained at the boat ramp.

Emergency crews are continuing their search for a missing fisherman off Green Head, north of Perth.

The search for Gray comes after a bulk carrier crew member who went missing off the West Australian coast was rescued after spending the night in the water.

Loading

The Chinese national, aged in his 30s, was reported missing on Sunday evening from a vessel anchored about 11 kilometres off the coast of Geraldton.

An initial search co-ordinated by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority failed to find the man.

He was later discovered on Monday morning about 10km off the Oakajee coast and 24km northwest of Geraldton.
Maskwacis, Alberta: Pope Francis has apologised to Canadas native people for the Catholic Churchs role in schools where indigenous children were abused, branding forced cultural assimilation a deplorable evil and disastrous error.

Speaking on their land near the site of two former schools in Maskwacis, Alberta on Monday (Canada time), Francis went even further, apologising for Christian support of the overall colonising mentality of the times and calling for a serious investigation of the schools to assist survivors and descendants in healing.

Pope Francis delivers his apology to indigenous people for the churchs role in residential schools, at a ceremony in Maskwacis. Credit:AP

With shame and unambiguously, I humbly beg forgiveness for the evil committed by so many Christians against the indigenous peoples, Francis said in the town, whose name means hills of the bear in the Cree language.

The 85-year-old Pope, who is still using a wheelchair and cane because of a fractured knee, is making the week-long apology tour of Canada to fulfil a promise he made to indigenous delegations that visited him at the Vatican earlier this year. There he made his initial apology.
So wilful rejection of electoral reality is now compulsory in Trumpworld. And, as Swan reveals, hes gone much further, planning a systematic, mass-scale purge of the permanent US public service to root out the so-called deep state. Unlike a Westminster democracy, the American system reserves the uppermost echelon of the public service for political appointees. In Australia, a mere handful of senior officials will be replaced by an incoming government. The entire bureaucracy is supposed to be professionally apolitical. In the US, about 4000 of the most senior public servants are political appointees and all of them typically are replaced by an incoming administration, a time-honoured turnover. Violent insurrectionists loyal to then-president Donald Trump stand outside the US Capitol in Washington on January 6, 2021. Credit:AP But Trump, unsatisfied with the traction he was able to establish over the federal public service, plans an assault on many thousands more using an untested mechanism called Schedule F.

Its a plan to radically reshape the federal government, to stack it with loyalists to his America First ideology, writes Swan, formerly a political reporter with this masthead. The impact could go well beyond typical conservative targets such as the Environmental Protection Agency and the Internal Revenue Service. Trump allies are working on plans that would potentially strip layers at the Justice Department  including the FBI, and reaching into national security, intelligence, the State Department and the Pentagon, sources close to the former president say. US-based Australian journalist Jonathan Swan has written an extensive report for Axios delving into Donald Trumps plans for a second term as US president. According to Swan, a constellation of right-wing organisations are working with Trump to prepare a personnel pool of thousands ready to be tapped immediately should he win in 2024. One of Trumps recruiters, Andrew Kloster, has said: I think the first thing you need to hire for is loyalty. The funny thing is, you can learn policy. You cant learn loyalty.

The personnel are also the policy, an echelon of ideological and policy loyalists who will deliver Trumps agenda. The head of one of the Trumpist talent-spotting outfits is Saurabh Sharma of American Moment. He favours people who are protectionist on trade and anti-interventionist on foreign policy, Swan writes. They must be eager to fight the culture war. Credentials are almost irrelevant. We have been warned. These Biden years may be but a brief interregnum, a calm between two storms. And the second storm, according to these omens, would be more savage than the first. For countries like Australia, this is a grave risk. The US alliance is founded on a shared interest in an open trading system and mutual assistance in case of war. Trump is opposed to both concepts.

Canberra will try to reassure itself on two grounds. First, it will point out that the alliance survived the first Trump presidency intact. But one of the Morrison governments survival techniques was to emphasise dealing with a wide array of US government agencies, beyond the White House. Loading Australia sought to avoid the mad king in the castle by working through the saner barons and earls in Washingtons various federal fortresses. Pentagon Secretary Jim Mattis, for instance. If Trump succeeds, there will be no more Jim Mattises. It will be impossible to avoid Trumpist America First fanatics. When Australia looks to America for help, there may be none forthcoming. Thats what America First is all about. Second, Canberra will point out that Trump has a history of antagonism toward China. Even Trumps America, surely, would stand with Australia in resisting Beijings ambitions.

Dont be so sure. As Trumps national security adviser, John Bolton, told me, Australia banned the Chinese communications champion Huawei first and Trump hesitated to follow. Why? Because Trump was holding out hope for a big trade deal with Xi Jinping. Loading He was prepared to trade Huawei away for the deal of the century. Everything was on the table. If hed gotten the deal he sought with China, Australia would have been the only country to ban Huawei, left to face Xis retribution alone. Trump would be prepared to sell out Australias interests in a heartbeat. And we know he has a special fondness for tyrants, Vladimir Putin, for instance. Trump recently complained that the US is spending too much to aid Ukraine. And on Saturday, he told a Florida rally that he would not respect Americas NATO treaty in the event of an attack from Russia: Thats right, I will not come to your defence, he said, to the cheers of his crowd. So much for the defence of the free world.
YEREVAN, JULY 26, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian delegation initiated 3 amendments in the reports submitted at the summer sitting of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly. The amendments pertained also to the issue of the PoWs, preservation of cultural heritage, but the amendments were not adopted, the Head of the Armenian Parliamentary Delegation to the OSCE PA Eduard Aghajanyan said at a news conference.

He said that the very first day of the winter sitting coincided with the events in Ukraine. From that moment on, the OSCE PA was entirely focused on this conflict only, he said.

Frankly speaking, practically it was very difficult to draw the attention of the parliamentary assembly on any other issue, including naturally on the processes taking place in our region, he said.

Before the summer sitting, Aghajanyan and MP Maria Karapetyan visited Lithuania to meet with the OSCE PA Political Affairs Committee Rapporteur and present the developments in the region.

The three amendments initiated by the Armenian delegation in the annual report pertained to the political affairs report and the human rights report. These pertained to the developments taking place in the region, the conflict which practically continues since November 9, 2020, and there are outstanding issues which arent being solved. These changes aimed at drawing the attention of the international community and the OSCE PA on the outstanding issues, Aghajanyan said, stressing that their amendments had the maximum number of endorsements by various delegates in the initial period.

The changes pertained to the outstanding PoWs issue, which isnt solved since November 9, 2020, despite the trilateral statement itself containing a term in this regard. Many international organizations have addressed this numerously. We cant see any reason why the OSCE PA shouldve rejected to address this topic. The next issue related to cultural heritage preservation, and the other also the activity of the OSCE Minsk Group and its importance, Aghajanyan said.

The Armenian delegation stressed the importance of resolving the Artsakh conflict in the OSCE MG Co-Chairmanship format. The amendments didnt pass.

Aghajanyan delivered a speech in the PA, condemning this stance. In his speech, he expressed regret that the entire OSCE PA is focused only on one issue  Ukraine. And in essence, we can say for the record that practically our colleagues dont have any interest in any other issue or conflict in the OSCE region at this moment. This is unacceptable behavior for us, and we are yet to analyze the reasons of this all, taking into account also the actions that were done before the annual session, he said.

Aghajanyan said that amid Azeri strategy of widespread false accusations, the perceptions of some OSCE PA colleagues could get distorted.
YEREVAN, JULY 26, ARMENPRESS. From the very beginning Armenia has refused and is refusing to discuss an issue of Zangezur corridor, such logic is not acceptable in any way, Chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on foreign affairs Eduard Aghajanyan said at a press conference today.

Armenia has repeatedly stated that the logic of Zangezur corridor is in no way acceptable for Armenia, he said.

Aghajanyan reminded that the Office of the President of the European Council denied the statement of the Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev over the so-called Zangezur corridor, noting that no such issue has been discussed during the meeting of the Armenian Prime Minister, the Azerbaijani President and the President of the European Council.

This behavior is not something new. Azerbaijan has always been distinguished by such a behavior. This does not help or promote the constructive discussions. But, unfortunately, our neighbors are distinguished by such inappropriate practices of not observing the agreements. Armenias position on this matter has not changed. Armenia refuses to discuss such an issue and has refused to discuss it from the very beginning, the lawmaker said.


NSSF

The U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee recently voted 25-18 to advance the Assault Weapons Ban Act of 2021.

The bill, H.R. 1808, includes a sweeping ban on semi-automatic long guns (what it calls assault weapons), targeting what are, in fact, the most-popular rifles in America today. The legislation would also ban standard-capacity magazines larger than 15 rounds, reported the NRA Institute for Legislative Action (ILA).

This echoes the famous, Hell, yes, were going to take your AR-15 claim that failed presidential candidate Beto ORourke made years ago. While Beto was played off as being a lone voice, thats no longer the case. Just ask Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), the House Judiciary Chairman.

When asked by Rep. Dan Bishop (R-N.C.) if the proposed legislation would ban weapons that are in common use today, Nadler replied, Thats the point of the bill, blatantly spitting in the face of the Supreme Courts Heller (2008) ruling. But he didnt stop there.

To clarify, Mr. Chairman, youre saying it is the point of the bill to ban weapons that are in common use in the United States today, asked Bishop.

Yes, the problem is that theyre in common use, said Nadler, doubling down on his previous response. .....
YEREVAN, JULY 26, ARMENPRESS. US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken had a telephone conversation with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, the Office of the State Department Spokesperson said.

The Secretary and President Aliyev discussed Azerbaijan and Armenias historic opportunity to achieve peace in the region. The Secretary reiterated the United States offer of assistance in helping facilitate the opening of regional transportation and communication linkages. Secretary Blinken encouraged continued bilateral dialogue, such as the recent meeting between the Azerbaijani and Armenian Foreign Ministers in Tbilisi, the statement says. The Secretary also reaffirmed support for productive EU-brokered discussions. He conveyed that the United States has been an OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair since 1994 and stands ready to engage bilaterally and with likeminded partners to help Armenia and Azerbaijan find a long-term comprehensive peace. Secretary Blinken also urged President Aliyev to release all remaining Armenian detainees, it adds.

On July 25 the US Secretary of State had a telephone talk also with Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan.
If you know of local business openings or closings, please notify us here.

PREVIOUS OPENINGS AND CLOSINGS

 Nowhere Coffee Co. to open second location at 318 Main Street in Emmaus, sharing space with South Mountain Cycle

 Jimmys Barbershop in Allentown has moved to 822 N. 19th Street

 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.
YEREVAN, JULY 26, ARMENPRESS. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke about the normalization process with Armenia.

Weve had a phone talk with Prime Minister Pashinyan on the occasion of religious festivals of the two countries, during which we exchanged congratulations. Of course, we also spoke about the process of normalization of relations between our country and Armenia. Azerbaijan was our red line from the beginning. We have said that we will open our border only after the Azerbaijan issue is solved. I was also glad to hear that Pashinyan shares with us similar ideas on regional peace and cooperation. Now we expect them to take concrete actions other than words. We are serious and determined in the normalization process with Armenia. We have the goal of full normalization and establishing good-neighborly relations, Erdogan told the Turkish TRT.

The Turkish leader again said that they are coordinating the process with Azerbaijan.
KINSHASA, Congo (AP)  At least 15 people were killed and dozens of others injured during two days of demonstrations in Congos east against the United Nations mission in the country, officials said Tuesday.

The United Nations said one peacekeeper from Morocco and two international policemen from India serving with the U.N. peacekeeping force were slain and a policeman from Egypt was injured at the U.N. base in Butembo in North Kivu province when violent attackers snatched weapons from Congolese police and fired on U.N. personnel.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly condemned the Butembo attack and violence targeting multiple U.N. bases across North Kivu since Monday, U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said.

Haq said that on Tuesday hundreds of assailants attacked bases of the U.N. force in Goma and other parts of North Kivu, fueled by hostile remarks and threats made by individuals and groups against the U.N., particularly on social media.

Mobs are throwing stones and petrol bombs, breaking into bases, looting and vandalizing, and setting facilities on fire, Haq said. We are trying to calm things down including by dispatching quick reaction forces but there is no evidence the violence has ended.

In addition, Haq said at least four incidents targeted the residences of mission staff, who have now been relocated to U.N. camps. A mob also tried to enter the compound of the U.N. Development Program Tuesday but was rebelled by security guards, he said.

Demonstrators on Monday set fires and forced entry into the U.N. mission offices in Goma, accusing the peacekeeping force of failing to protect civilians amid rising violence in Congos eastern region. They are calling for the U.N. forces, present in Congo for years, to leave.

Congos police said at least six people were killed in Goma on Monday, and eight civilians in Butembo. Earlier, government spokesman Patrick Muyaya said at least five people were killed and about 50 wounded by Monday.

Protesters blamed shots fired by the peacekeepers for the deaths.

The secretary-general regrets the loss of life of demonstrators" and affirms the U.N. peacekeeping mission's commitment to work with Congolese authorities to investigate these incidents, Haq said.

Guterres underscored that any attack directed at U.N. peacekeepers might constitute a war crime and called on Congolese authorities to swiftly investigate the killings and bring those responsible to justice, the spokesman said.

Congos mineral-rich east is home to myriad rebel groups and the regions security has worsened despite a year of emergency operations by a joint force of the armies of Congo and Uganda. Civilians in the east have also had to deal with violence from jihadi rebels linked to the Islamic State group.

The government spokesman didnt say what caused the deaths but on Twitter, he described the response by security forces and peacekeepers as warning shots to disperse the demonstrators and prevent any attack" on U.N. installations.

The government has instructed the security forces to take all measures to ensure a return to calm and the normal resumption of activities in Goma, he said. He also reiterated that steps are already being taken for the peacekeeping forces to be withdrawn.

In June 2021 and June 2022, the peacekeeping mission closed its office in Congos Kasai Central and Tanganyika regions. The mission has more than 16,000 uniformed personnel in Congo, according to the U.N.

The protests are taking place as fighting has escalated between Congolese troops and the M23 rebels, forcing nearly 200,000 people to flee their homes. The M23 forces have shown increased firepower and defense capabilities, according to a report by Human Rights Watch.

Khassim Diagne, acting head of the peacekeeping mission, and Haq condemned the killings of U.N. personnel. Haq said U.N. peacekeeping chief Jean Pierre Lacroix, who is currently in Mali, will be traveling to Congo at his earliest opportunity.

Diagne described the violence against the U.N. as absolutely unacceptable and counterproductive, given the U.N. force's mission to protect civilians, deter armed groups and build the capacity of state institutions and services.

Haq responded to a question asking whether the U.N.s effort had been a failure because armed groups still roam the country saying our presence has provided protection but it has not solved the problem which involves the region and armed groups vying for control of mineral and resource-rich regions.

Within that, he said, the U.N. has been doing our best to ensure that peoples lives and basic freedoms arent taken away.

Haq said the U.N. has had plans to draw down its peacekeeping force and even withdraw from Congo but we have stayed because the situation on the ground is is far too dangerous for us to contemplate leaving and putting that many people at risk.

Guterres later reaffirmed the U.N.'s strong commitment" to Congo's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and the U.N. peacekeeping mission's support for the Congolese government and people in their efforts to bring about peace and stability in the east of the country."

AP writers Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations and Al-Hadji Kudra Maliro in Beni, Congo, contributed to this report.
READING, Pa.  The Schuylkill River Passenger Rail Authority, which held its inaugural meeting earlier this month, is getting busy with the necessary start-up work of the group.

Monday afternoon's virtual meeting primarily focused on presentations from two firms being considered for the vital role of consultant.

Brian O'Leary, director of the Chester County Planning Commission and authority member, explained the need.

"We know we need some help with the process from the technical side, but also from an understanding of the process at the federal level, which we are not really experts in," O'Leary said.

"And then the other part that we potentially need help with is the administrative side," he said. "Right now, the administration is really being handled by each of the counties throwing in some help here and there, and other authority members helping as need be."

"And that's certainly getting us through this process well," O'Leary continued. "But it will eventually be a challenge; it's kind of a multi-headed beast."

The authority is a joint venture among Berks, Montgomery and Chester counties, and is tasked with the long-term goal of restoring passenger rail service from Reading to Philadelphia.

The creation on the SRPRA is not a guarantee that passenger rail will return between the Reading-Philadelphia corridor, but it is a necessary step in a long process of research and planning.

The authority heard presentations from John Roberts Smith, chairman of Transportation for America, and from Alex Metcalf, president of Transportation Economics & Management Systems Inc.

"Transportation for America is a national alliance of elected local and state leaders to see that our voices are heard," Smith said, "not only in state capitals but here in the nation's capital when it comes to policy."

"My work is divided between creating policy for consideration by members of Congress and in the implementation of that policy out in the real world," he said.

"Transportation for America serves as policy adviser to the Southern Rail Commission, which is the oldest passenger rail commission in the country," Smith continued, "and I think the Federal Rail Administration would tell you that they're the most impactful voice when it comes to passenger rail on Capitol Hill for the past four years."

Smith said he can be instrumental in obtaining federal funding on Capitol Hill.

"For funding, what is important is that you want your voice in the room as the law is being written  not after," Smith said. "And you want your voice in the room as administrators and their staff are defining the criteria for you to apply."

"We help you articulate the vision in a way that will resonate with this administration," Smith promised.

Metcalf said he came to the U.S. in 1986 after serving as the chief economist for British Rail in the United Kingdom.

"In terms of the work in America, we have now studied over since 100 passenger rail corridors around the country, and we have actually helped in the implementation of the restoration of passenger services in eight cases," Metcalf said. "Of the one you probably know best would be Boston to Portland."

"Clearly, we regard the Reading-Philadelphia Northeast corridor as a major opportunity, and as a result we are very enthusiastic," he said. "When we were called up and asked for input to your new process, we looked at your process and essentially, we identified what we thought were three areas where we could help."

"The first area is ongoing management and subcommittee support, because the process for implementing a passenger rail system is very complex," Metcalf said.

"The second one is a concern that we might need to identify when we need an executive director, and one of the things we know we can help you with is making that decision and helping you select someone," he continued.

"The third thing is what we call a preparation of the blueprint study, which essentially would lay out all of the aspects of the whole process for implementing the system, giving you timelines, milestones and action plans," he explained, "so that for the next five years you would have a plan that essentially tells you what's going to come next and what you have to get organized for, what you must do in order to make the implementation as smooth and as organized as possible.

The authority said the selection of a consultant is very important and agreed to hold a closed-door executive session next week to further discuss the two candidates.

The next scheduled meeting of the authority will be conducted virtually at 3 p.m. Aug. 22.
A Fleetwood man could face more than three years in prison after pleading guilty to charges related to the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.

Alan Byerly, 55, entered a guilty plea Monday in federal court to two charges: assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers and assault by striking, beating and wounding.

The other charges against Byerly were dropped as part of the agreement.

Attorneys for the U.S. government once again presented evidence they said they could prove in court if the case had gone to trial.

Byerly did take some issue with the details regarding the incident with a taser-like device.

"The part about pointing at the officers, I actually held it upwards," he said. "I did not point it at 'em."

When asked by the judge, Byerly said he was high school educated and had not previously received any mental health treatment.

He initially pleaded not guilty in November after he was charged in September with multiple offenses, including assault.

Authorities say Byerly, who was seen wearing a Kutztown beanie and carrying a Taser-like device, assaulted police officers and a news photographer amid the chaos on Capitol Hill.

According to the judge at the hearing, Byerly could face more than three years behind bars and be forced to pay thousands in restitution.

A sentencing hearing is slated for Oct. 21.
READING., Pa.  Reading City Council voted 5-1 Monday night to appoint Chris Miller, a realtor with RE/MAX of Reading, to the vacant District 6 council seat.

Councilwoman Melissa Ventura cast the dissenting vote.

District 6 encompasses the Centre Park Historic District.

The seat became vacant because of the unexpected death of council President Jeffrey S. Waltman on June 13.

Council appointed then-Vice President Johanny Cepeda-Freytiz to the position of president.

Because the council president does not represent any specific district, Cepeda-Freytiz had to resign her District 6 council seat to assume the presidency.

Council held interviews of three residents who applied last week, and through a scoring process, it selected Miller as the new member of council.

Miller is a board member of the Yocum Institute of the Arts, and previously served as the vice president of the Historical Society of Berks County, president of the Centre Park Historic District, president of the Rotary Club of Reading, and chairman of the city's Historical Architectural Review Board.

During his interview last week, Miller said the city is at a unique point in its history.

"Right now, the city is at a pretty amazing place, with the exiting of Act 47" for financially distressed cities, Miller said.

"The fact that we have the potential of the train (return of passenger rail), the fact that for the first time in a long time the population is growing rather than decreasing," he said, "and it just seems like this is the time where if the city is really going to move forward into the future, that a lot of the decisions will be made in the next couple of years for the future of the city and what direction it goes in."

Nate Rivera, a former employee of the city, criticized the appointment during public comment.

"I'm concerned. I know there's a scale of voting and points for the position, but I hope you guys saw the same interview that I did," Rivera said. "I've seen it, and it was very clear who was the best choice."

"I hope everybody at this table has the best interest at heart," he continued, "but the reality is that there were people sitting in this body that already knew who they wanted to sit in that chair.

"And it's OK, but just know that there's an election coming up next year and I commit to helping whoever runs in that district," Rivera added, "so we can create the diversity that was intended to be there in the last election.

Also interviewed for the position were Kelli Roberts and Joseph Nunez.

Councilwoman Donna Reed said she could attest to Miller's dedication to the city.

"For those who want diversity brought to this board, Chris brings his own diversity to this board, which is something we have not had before," Reed said, referring to Miller being a member of the LGBTQ community.

"He adds to our great diversity among seven folks sitting here, and I'm very proud to support him with his business acumen and his knowledge of the city," she said.

Reading Redevelopment Authority board

Also Monday, council appointed a retired engineer Fred Thompson to one of two remaining vacancies on the redevelopment authority.

Thomas was interviewed for the position on July 11, during which he explained he is originally from Connecticut where he served as the chairman of the redevelopment enterprise committee.

"Right now, I am enjoying my retirement, but I don't like the path that Reading is going on," Thompson said. "I am a firm believer in 'talk about it or be about it.' I'd much rather be out there with the boots on the ground doing the work and trying to make positive changes."

Earlier this month, council also appointed former Mayor Thomas M. McMahon and masonry contractor John Miller Jr. to additional vacancies on the redevelopment authority.

The authority has not been able to function since May when council removed former Chairman Ernest H. Schlegel, which then led to the resignations of Welllington Santana and Thomas Caltagirone.

The five-member board was then left with only one member, Goslyn Fleming, as Nate Rivera resigned earlier in the year.

Reading Housing Authority debt

In other business, council once again tabled a resolution that would forgive a $1.475 million debt for the Reading Housing Authority.

The authority asked that the loan that was extended to the original owner of River Oak Apartments, Schuylkill Avenue, be forgiven so that the authority which now owns the apartments  could incur new debt to make needed repairs to the 72 apartment units.

Councilmembers said the matter is scheduled to be discussed at the Aug. 1 Committee of the Whole meeting.
PHILADELPHIA, Pa.  A Reading man was sentenced Tuesday to nearly six years in prison for repeatedly traveling to the Dominican Republic to engage in a sexual relationship with a 12-year-old girl, with whom he eventually fathered two children.

Valentin Ortiz, 73, was sentenced to five years and 11 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay $10,000 restitution by U.S. District Court Judge John M. Gallagher.

Ortiz in November pleaded guilty to one count of travel in foreign commerce with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, and two counts of engaging in illicit sexual conduct in a foreign place.

The charges arose from an investigation that began when the defendant, a naturalized U.S. citizen, applied to bring his spouse to the United States by filing paperwork with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in June 2018.

The defendant listed August 2013 as the date of their marriage, when his spouse and victim was 18 and he was 65.

Investigators discovered that beginning in 2007, when Ortiz was 59 and the victim was 12, he pursued and maintained a sexual relationship with her when he traveled to the Dominican Republic. That ongoing sexual relationship led to the victim becoming pregnant with their two children when she was 13 and 15.

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Josh A. Davison.

Valentin Ortiz is a sexual predator who targeted a very young and vulnerable victim, travelling internationally so he could prey on this child without the same legal consequences as he might face in the United States, U.S. Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero said in announcing the sentencing.

But as a U.S. citizen, he is prohibited from engaging in such abhorrent conduct abroad, and accordingly, he has now been held accountable for his crimes.

William S. Walker, special agent in charge for the HSI Philadelphia Field Office, said, Catching international predators requires international reach. When it comes to these types of cases, Homeland Security Investigations is a premier U.S. government agency working to track, arrest, and convict these appalling criminals.

This case shows how HSI Philadelphia, along with our colleagues in the Dominican Republic, collaborated closely and stopped at nothing in pursuit of a dangerous sexual predator of children.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice.

Led by United States Attorneys Offices and the Criminal Divisions Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.
CATASAUQUA, Pa.  Officials in Catasauqua, Lehigh County are starting over, as they determine what to do with the old Iron Works property.

At Monday night's meeting, Catasauqua Borough Council voted to create a special committee to explore which direction the borough will take with the former Crane Iron Works property after a plan 12 years in the making fell through last month.

Councilmembers Brian Bartholomew, Howard Cunningham and Cameron Smith are now charged with leading the effort to determine, with public input, what to do with the 12-acre brownfield.

The borough is back to the drawing board, after a deal to turn the property into a mixed-use development was stopped in its tracks. In early June, the borough was in the process of selling the property along Front Street to Bethlehem-based developer Dunn Twiggar Co. LLC.

Dunn Twiggar planned to redevelop the property into a work-life center with residential, office and retail space. However, on June 3, the borough received a letter from the developer terminating the agreement of sale.

That development did not sit well with borough residents, and a number of them showed up Monday prepared to voice their displeasure with council.

However, after hearing a presentation by borough Solicitor Thomas Dinkelacker about the legal options available to the borough to move forward with the Iron Works property, objections were voiced in a civil manner that was lacking at the June 6 council meeting.

Dinkelacker said that, by law, the borough has two options to sell the property. The first is to publicly advertise for bids using either a request for proposal or the auction process. In that option, the highest bid must be accepted.

The second option, Dinkelacker said, "is to negotiate directly with another institution, generally a nonprofit."

The exception to the two options is to sell to a redevelopment authority like the Lehigh County Redevelopment Authority. A downside to this approach, noted Dinkelacker, is that the borough would lose control over the property.

If Catasauqua were to choose to go with the RFP process, the sale must close within 60 days of the approval of bids. To help mitigate that tight closing window, the solicitor said that many municipalities attach an agreement of sale to the RFP and give respondents up to 120 days or more to reply.

What if no one bids? In that case, Dinkelacker said the "no bid law" applies. The borough would advertise the property for bids a second time. If none are received a second time, the borough can negotiate a private sale with a buyer of its choice as long as the selling price is not below fair market value.

Dinkelacker recommended that council establish a special Iron Works committee and hold four public meetings in August and September.

Among the issues he recommended to be addressed: public discussion of the agenda, identifying interested parties, creating an electronic clearinghouse for existing documents, preparing to deal with outside agencies like the Department of Environmental Protection, and determining if adjustments are needed to the waterfront area zoning ordinance.

"Things have not changed since 2017, when I did this the last time," Dinkelacker observed. "Only the 'no bid law' has changed slightly."

Most of residents' concerns expressed Monday night were about maintaining the mixed-use zoning of the Dunn Twiggar approach, which council indicated it also favored.

Some residents also took issue with the selection of the three councilmembers for the special committee.

"I do question the committee of three," one community member at the podium said during public comments. "Brian, it was a little hard to see that you stopped the project and put an end to it, and you were not really forthcoming with the community."

Brian Bartholomew, borough council president, said with changing times, the same stores planned 12 years ago may not be what the borough needs now.

"It seems to me that brick-and-mortar really, you know, is going," he said. "Really, to me, what do you have any more...pizza shops and beauty parlors?"

"I'm a little angry about that, actually I'm a whole lot of angry about that," said Virginia Schlegel, who's lived in Catasauqua for nearly 38 years. "It's something that would be good for the Borough of Catasauqua, would benefit the borough."

"I'm a little angry about that, actually I'm a whole lot of angry about that," Virginia Schlegel, who's lived in Catasauqua for nearly 38 years, said. "It's something that would be good for the borough of Catasauqua, would benefit the borough." The previous borough council president, Vincent Smith, said in June that he had worked on the deal for more than a decade, and he's not sure what went wrong. The developer had also previously said the company had to pull out of the deal when it learned the borough council president was not going to approve an extension of due diligence. That extension was to be discussed during a special council meeting at the beginning of June. It was canceled at the last minute, but some members of the community say they don't know why. Other news

In other business, council voted to name Mayor Barbara Schlegel as the temporary open records officer. Also, the two-hour parking signs on Second Street between Bridge and Strawberry streets were approved to be removed.

In addition, councilmember Cunningham reported on the status of the search for a new borough manager to replace Steve Travers. He said there are currently five applicants, and the first round of interviews are scheduled for Aug. 26. Finalist candidates will be interviewed by council Sept. 6.
L. NAZARETH TWP., Pa.  "Lake Hydra" is going to be the new destination for scuba divers from throughout the Northeast.

New owners Jim Folk and Ken Kraft have a new name for the old Dutch Springs.

They will keep the quarry lake open as a destination for divers and trainees from many states. The old venue is gone after warehouse developer Trammell Crow Co. paid $16.1 million for the land in Lower Nazareth and Bethlehem townships.

Trammell Crow will build two warehouses at the Hanoverville Road property, and the water park will not reopen, but the quarry will be saved. The economic benefits to the region from diving will remain. So far, no opening date has been set for Lake Hydra, which Folk and Kraft own via their corporation, DIVE LLC.

"We're hoping for mid-April," Kraft said Monday, and Folk said there is a chance for a few weekends of diving later this year, depending on Trammell Crow's construction schedule.

Once everything is in place, they plan to be open mid-April through mid-November.

In mythology, the hydra was a monstrous serpent with many heads that was slain by Hercules.

Lake Hydra will be more welcoming: "We want this to be a place where people can have fun and learn about diving," Folk said during an interview at his Atlantis Aquatics dive shop in Bethlehem Township. He will keep the shop, which is a separate business.

Folk and Kraft, a former Northampton County Council president, formed DIVE LLC in a bid to save the lake for diving. Trammell Crow's initial plan for the land included two warehouses, each about 300,000 square feet, and a fence around the quarry.

That changed when the Dallas-based company saw what diving meant to the Lehigh Valley and the local economy.

"I can't say enough about what Trammell Crow did," Kraft said. "They really stepped up."

Trammell Crow is a division of CBRE Group Inc., one of the world's biggest real estate companies. In 2021, the company's revenue was $27.8 billion, or about $534 million per week.

Trammell Crow opened the door to save the lake for divers and the business they bring to local hotels and restaurants. Folk and Kraft negotiated with Matt Nunn of Trammell Crow and were chosen to keep the venue open.

"There were many entities vying to get this," Folk said. The plan he and Kraft put together put them ahead of other groups, and Nunn preferred a local outfit.

Trammell Crow altered its plans to divide the land into two lots, adding a third for the quarry operation. That meant more municipal meetings and more expense.

"Matt Nunn wanted to make this work," Folk said. Kraft, who dealt with big companies in an earlier career as a union official, said, "No other company would have done this."

Once the lake is open again, DIVE LLC will have an online reservation system so divers are not arriving hours early to get a favored spot. Lake Hydra will also have professionals supervising the divers.

"We want to make it as safe as we possibly can," Folk said.

The planned days of operation are Thursday through Sunday, but Lake Hydra will be open other days, at no cost, to first responders and emergency crews for training.

That was important to the DIVE LLC team and Trammell Crow. Dive teams, rescue squads and fire companies will get extra access. Kraft said the New York Fire Department has already reached out about training.

The DIVE LLC partners plan to add pavilions, and the existing bathhouse will remain. They will not have a snack bar, but their plan is to have food trucks come in, another boost to local businesses.

The planes, helicopter, bus and firetruck, among other attractions, remain at the bottom of the quarry for divers to check out. Folk said one tanker truck remains at the bottom, the last large remnant of the quarry.

Divers can learn more about the operation on the Lake Hydra website, or by emailing Folk or Kraft, who is currently a Northampton County public safety administrator.

The two men plan to invest most of DIVE LLC's revenue back into Lake Hydra. Folk said the quarry is a gem, with clear water and great conditions for diving and training.

"We will take the profits and put it back in to making this the best diving spot it can be," Kraft said.
EASTON, Pa. -- The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture has added mental health as a topic of discussion at its events lately, in addition to offering new resources.

Among them: free training for people to learn about the mental health of farmers or to recognize if a loved one is facing a potential crisis.

Emmaus farmer Kegan Hilaire says it's a critical time to talk about the mental health of farmers.

"They call it the 'July Blues' in farming, where everything is being harvested, everything is being planted, everything is being prepped for fall, the first flesh of weeds," said Hilaire, who is also a consultant at the Rodale Institute. "So, everything on the farm is harder right now."

There are stressful decisions, coupled with no control over the weather or changing prices.

"A lot of hours on a tractor. A lot of time away from family," said Landis Zimmerman, a Bradford County farmer. "It can really wear you out."

The state Department of Agriculture recently launched a free hotline that people can call or text 24/7. The number is 833-897-AGRI (2474). The expert is someone with training and experience in farming.

"They know what the struggles are, so you're talking to a friend," said Shannon Powers, the press secretary at the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture. "We have been getting calls from farmers, from their neighbors, from family members."

"What I see is most of it stems from farmers being in debt," said Dr. Drew Smith, the COO at the Rodale Institute and a Montgomery County farmer.

Smith says going organic decreases factors out of your control, which can be helpful to the mind.

"All of our research...shows that organic systems are more profitable than conventional systems and that's why we think organic agriculture is a potential solution to the depression and in many cases leading to suicide in the farming community," said Smith.

Most farmers agree having a network to discuss the issues they face is key to overcoming them.

"You have a bad day harvesting lettuce, just call me while you're washing and I'm probably having a rough day harvesting zucchini," said Hilaire.

Powers says an opportunity to connect is coming up in a couple of weeks; Ag Progress Days at Penn State is a huge event with farmers from across PA.
Oral arguments are underway in Pennsylvania's landmark school funding trial.

The lawsuit argues the public education funding system violates the state's constitution.

It says the system doesn't promise efficient education for all students.

Six school districts, including Shenandoah Valley in Schuylkill County, are suing several state entities, including Gov. Tom Wolf, even though Tom Corbett was the governor when the suit was originally filed, the state board of education, and Senate Pro Tempore Jake Corman.

The four-month long trial started in November, and had 41 witnesses and 14,000 pages of testimony.

The court's decision could come several months after Tuesday's oral arguments. The decision could determine a new course for public education funding.
YEREVAN, JULY 26, ARMENPRESS. Kuwaiti-Armenian philanthropist and businessman Geragos Kuyumjian is again visiting Armenia and is promoting his Shop in Armenia campaign, a project aimed at encouraging inbound travelers from the Diaspora to shop here. The project was launched in 2019 but the work was left unfinished due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The essence of this campaign is to encourage our compatriots to buy the products they need here in Armenia. Why does one need to bring products from abroad if there is everything here? Kuyumjian said.

He believes this campaign would be economically beneficial for local businesses and producers if Diaspora-Armenians start doing most of their shopping in Armenia during every visit.

Kuyumjian says his initiative received positive reaction from government officials at the Office of the High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs and Tourism Committee.

Apart from this campaign, Kuyumjian is actively working in the direction of promoting Armenia in the Arab media, and trying to stand by Armenia and Artsakh with various support programs.

The Kuwaiti-Armenian businessman said that there is a lack of information in Arab countries on the Armenian Genocide.

In general, weve done a poor job in terms of presenting Armenian issues in the Arab world. We have been unable to present the issue to the Arab people as required. Many dont have a complete understanding on the Armenian Genocide and other Armenian issues. And I decided to write articles and present the Armenian issues and counter the denialist positions, he said.

Kuyumjian also founded the Nerses Shnorhali award to encourage students at the Aleppo and Kuwait colleges.
PERKASIE, Pa.  Bucks County Water & Sewer Authority is thinking about selling its sewer system for a little more than $1 billion.

A public hearing on the matter was held Tuesday.

BCWSA says it has an offer from Aqua America, but it's not a done deal, and it wants to share what it's thinking with employees and customers. If consummated, the transaction would result in the largest-ever U.S. public wastewater system privatization.

But not everyone thinks this is a good idea.

The meeting room at Bucks County Community College was filled with a number of residents worried about rate increases if the sale goes through.

BCWSA officials say if it does sell, there would potentially be a $300 million fund to help offset rate increases over the next 10 years.

"The differential between what our rate structure may look like and what Aqua's is projected to be, based upon their independent consultant, that differential will be made up with this rate benefit fund, so that our customers would pay no more over the next 10 years then they would have if they stayed with us," said Benjamin Jones, CEO of BCWSA.

"One of the things we're looking at is whether or not our existence is best put forth in the Aqua's hands, in this case the private sector's hands, or whether or not our task is still to continue," Jones said.

Jones says if the deal goes through, Aqua will take on sewer employees and honor existing union contracts.

This scenario enticed the BCWSA board's July 13 vote to enter into a one-year exclusive negotiation agreement with Aqua. Bucks County commissioners would then vote on any deal if one were made and approved.

Aqua officials on Tuesday touted their ability to comply with a myriad of government environmental regulations and to take on the substantial risk associated with running a wastewater system.

Aqua also will seek state Public Utilities Commission approval to replace damaged customer wastewater laterals to address stormwater inflow. This is something BCWSA is not permitted to do.

The company operates 21 wastewater plans through 4,600 miles of pipe for 1.3 million customers in southeastern Pennsylvania.

However, many people who attended Tuesday's forum were more concerned about rates.

"Aqua Pennsylvania is a for-profit company," said resident Jeanne Voronin. "This is not in the public's best interest, and they will raise our rates again and again and again."

But Aqua officials say the stabilization fund would help offset rate hikes.

"It's a fund that they (Bucks County) would control," said Marc Lucca, president of Aqua Pennsylvania. "They would take proceeds from the sale and put that into a trust that would pay money back to each customer, offsetting the bill so that their bill will not increase more than it would have otherwise had the ownership remained under Bucks County."

The sale proceeds could also pay down acquired debt, create a stabilization funds for sewer rates or provide cash for essential services, or a combination of all three.

One group against the deal is the Pennsylvania Municipal Authorities Association. On Tuesday, officials representing the association's region 1  comprised of Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties  labeled the deal as "corporate greed."

"Instead of sacrificing public ownership and control, these systems should be held and operated in a public trust to be handed down to our children and their children," Michael Sullivan, director of region 1, wrote in correspondence to Bucks County municipal and community leaders.

Warrington Township sold its sewer system to BCWSA in 2018, despite having had a higher bid from Aqua Pennsylvania.

Warrington Board of Supervisors Chair Fred Gaines says as part of that deal, Warrington retained the right of first refusal if the authority sold the system.

He says if the deal with Aqua goes through, Warrington will act upon it.

"Our current intention is to purchase it back and either operate it ourselves or retain somebody else to operate it," Gaines said.

If it decides to sell, BCWSA says a rate freeze will take effect for a year.

The authority says it will make a decision in the fall, and plans to have more public hearings before then.
CAIRO (AP)  Sudanese security forces killed at least one person while violently dispersed anti-coup protesters Tuesday in the capital of Khartoum and other cities, a medical group said.

The Sudan Doctors Committee, which is part of the pro-democracy movement, said the protester was shot dead when security forces opened fire on demonstrators in Omdurman, Khartoums sister city.

It said the fatality brought the death tally among protesters to at least 118, mostly young people, since the military seized power in October 25 in a globally condemned coup that plunged the country into worsening turmoil.

Thousands of people were injured in the nearly weekly street protests since the coup, according to the medical group, which tracks casualties among protesters. The coup derailed the countrys short-lived transition to democracy following a popular uprising forced the militarys removal of longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir and his Islamist-allied government in April 2019.

The leading pro-democracy movement, known as the Forces for the Declaration of Freedom and Change, called for Tuesdays protests to denounce the coup and dayslong tribal clashes in the southern Blue Nile province that killed at least 105 people earlier this month.

The group said men wearing civilian clothes and armed with guns and knives attacked a protest march in the capital city of Khartoum. It claimed that security agencies and al-Bashir supporters were behind this attack. It did not offer evidence supporting its claims.

There was no immediate comment from police.

Tuesdays protests came barely three weeks after the countrys top military officer, Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, said the generals would not take part from U.N.-facilitated talks with the pro-democracy movement and that the military would return to the barracks after political forces agree on a transitional government.

Burhans July 4 declaration was supported last week by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, who commands the feared Rapid Support Forces. The RSF, which grew out of the notorious Janjaweed militias, was accused by rights and protest groups, of implicating in atrocities against protests over the past three years.

The pro-democracy movement rejected Burhans declaration as a tactical maneuver that was likely meant to inflame divisions within the already fractured pro-democracy groups. It called for the general to step down and allow the pro-democracy groups to form a civilian government and restructure the military.
LOS ANGELES (AP)  The parents of a 14-year-old girl killed by Los Angeles police in a clothing store last year have filed a lawsuit against the department and the officer whose rifle round pierced a dressing room wall.

Valentina Orellana Peralta and her mother were shopping for Christmas clothes on Dec. 23 at a Burlington store in the San Fernando Valleys North Hollywood neighborhood. They were inside a dressing room when they heard screams and Orellana Peralta locked the door.

Elsewhere in the store, 24-year-old Daniel Elena Lopez was behaving erratically and wielding a bike lock. He brutally attacked two women, including one who fell to the floor before he dragged her by her feet through the stores aisles as she tried to crawl away.

Following 911 calls, Los Angeles police walked through the store in a formation, body-camera video shows. Officer William Dorsey Jones Jr., wielding a rifle, pushed to the front of the pack even as other officers repeatedly said slow down and slow it down.

The officers saw a woman crawling on the blood-stained floor and Lopez on the other side of the aisle, according to the video footage. Hold up! Hold up! another officer screamed just before Jones fired three shots.

One of the bullets went through the dressing room wall and fatally struck Orellana Peralta as her mother, Soledad Peralta, held her. Peralta felt her daughters body go limp and watched helplessly as her daughter died while still in her arms, the lawsuit states.

Police ordered Peralta to leave the dressing room and wait for what seemed like an eternity," according to the lawsuit. She was not told that her daughter had died.

Her family, who had left Chile to get away from violence and injustice in search of a better life in the U.S., remembered Orellana Peralta as a happy teen with many friends who loved sports, adored animals and excelled in school.

Her father, Juan Pablo Orellana Larenas, and Peralta allege that LAPD failed to adequately train and supervise the responding officers and "fostered an environment that allowed and permitted this shooting to occur, the lawsuit states.

Filing this lawsuit is the first step for Soledad and Juan Pablo in seeking the transparency and justice promised to them by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti following the fatal shooting of their daughter, Valentina," the family's attorney, Rahul Ravipudi, said in a statement Tuesday.

Ravipudi added: "It is their deepest hope that those responsible for her death will be held accountable and that changes will be made to LAPD policies, practices, and standards for using deadly force that will prevent yet another senseless tragedy at the hands of law enforcement.

Lopez was also shot and killed by police. An autopsy report showed he was on methamphetamine at the time of his death.

The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on July 14, alleges wrongful death and negligence, as well as negligent infliction of emotional distress, and seeks a jury trial and unspecified damages. In addition to the LAPD and Jones, the lawsuit also names the city of Los Angeles and Burlington Stores Inc. as defendants.

LAPD Chief Michel Moore on Tuesday offered his condolences to Orellana Peralta's family.

The loss of her life is tragic, he said. It re`mains a point of grief for us as well.

The lawsuit alleges that Burlington Stores Inc. staff failed to use the store's intercom and made no effort to address his increasingly violent and erratic behavior or warn any of the customers inside the store that they may be in danger.

The company declined to comment on the litigation Tuesday but said in a statement that our customers safety and well-being is of paramount importance to us.

It was not immediately clear whether Jones had an attorney who could speak on his behalf. The city attorney's office said it was reviewing the complaint.

The California Department of Justice is investigating the shooting, as is the LAPD.
NEWPORT, RI (AP)  Surprise! Joni Mitchell is back onstage.

The folk legend performed her first full-length concert on Sunday at the Newport Folk Festival in Rhode Island, The Boston Globe reported. Mitchell has contended with health complications since suffering an aneurysm in 2015, and her last full show was in late 2002, according to reports.

Seated in a wingback chair and wearing a blue beret and sunglasses, Mitchell joined festival headliner Brandi Carlile and a bevy of other artists, including Wynonna Judd, Allison Russell and Marcus Mumford. It was Mitchells first Newport festival performance since 1969.

This was, Carlile explained, a recreation of the Joni Jam musical gatherings that have brought famous friends like Elton John to Mitchell's Los Angeles home in recent years.

And Mitchell wasn't there to just to sing. Halfway through the 13-song set, she played an electric guitar solo, which was her first time playing guitar in public since her aneurysm, Carlile said.

The ensemble played Mitchells most familiar songs (Circle Game, Big Yellow Taxi) and a few of her favorites (Love Potion No. 9, Why Do Fools Fall in Love).

After their rendition of Both Sides Now, Carlile was fighting back tears. Addressing the audience, she asked: Did the world just stop?
WASHINGTON (AP)  The Senate unexpectedly launched a new push Wednesday to protect same-sex marriage in federal law after a surprising number of Republicans helped pass landmark legislation in the House. Some GOP senators are already signaling support.

The legislation started as an election-season political effort to confront the new Supreme Court majority after the court overturned abortion access in Roe v. Wade, raising concerns that other rights were at risk. But suddenly it has a shot at becoming law. Pressure is mounting on Republicans to drop their longstanding opposition and join in a bipartisan moment for gay rights.

This legislation was so important, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said as he opened the chamber Wednesday.

The Democratic leader marveled over the House's 267-157 tally, with 47 Republicans  almost one-fifth of the GOP lawmakers  voting for the bill late Tuesday.

I want to bring this bill to the floor, Schumer said, and we're working to get the necessary Senate Republican support to ensure it would pass.

Political odds are still long for the legislation, the Respect for Marriage Act, which would enshrine same-sex and interracial marriages as protected under federal law. Conservatives, including House GOP leaders, largely opposed the bill, and the vast majority of Republicans voted against it.

But in a sign of shifting political attitudes and a need for an election-year win, some Republicans are signaling there may be an opening. Few Republicans spoke directly against gay marriage during Tuesday's floor debate in the House. And Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell was notably silent when asked about the bill, saying he would take a look if it comes to the Senate.

I'm going to delay announcing anything on that issue, McConnell said, adding he would wait to see if Schumer brings it forward.

President Joe Biden wants Congress to send him the bill to sign as soon as possible.

This is something thats personal to the president, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters traveling with the president.

Biden is a proud champion of the right for people to marry whom they love and is grateful to see bipartisan support for that right, she said. He believes it is non-negotiable and that the Senate should act swiftly to get this to the presidents desk. He wants to sign it, so we need this legislation and we urge Congress to move as quickly as possible.

So far, the legislation has just two Senate Republican co-sponsors, Susan Collins of Maine and Rob Portman of Ohio. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Thom Tillis of North Carolina are among others closely watched for possible support.

In all 10 Republican senators would need to join with all Democrats to reach the 60 vote threshold to overcome a GOP filibuster.

Were seeing progress on this, and Ill take progress, Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., the bills chief sponsor, told reporters at the Capitol.

The No. 2 Republican, Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, was doubtful Tuesday, calling the proposed legislation little more than a political message.

Social issues including same-sex marriage and abortion have sprinted to the top of the congressional agenda this summer in reaction to the Supreme Court's action overturning Roe v. Wade, a stunning ruling that ended the nearly 50-year-old constitutional right to abortion access. It set off alarms that other rights conservatives have targeted could be next.

While Justice Samuel Alito, writing for the majority, insisted the Roe v. Wade ruling pertained only to abortion access, it demonstrated the new conservative muscle with three Trump-era justices tipping the court's balance. A concurring opinion by Justice Clarence Thomas, who has gained stature in the new majority, raised questions about gay marriage and other rights.

"We take Justice Thomas  and the extremist movement behind him  at their word," said Speaker Nancy Pelosi during the House debate. This is what they intend to do.

Both Pelosi and Schumer criticized Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who said over the weekend that the Supreme Courts 2015 Obergefell vs. Hodges decision upholding gay marriage was clearly wrong.

The Respect for Marriage Act was rushed to the House floor in an election year with polling showing a majority of Americans favor preserving rights to marry, regardless of sex, gender, race or ethnicity, a long-building shift in modern mores toward inclusion.

A Gallup poll released in June of 2021 showed broad and increasing support for same-sex marriage, with 70% of U.S. adults saying they think such unions should be recognized by law. The poll showed majority support among both Democrats (83%) and Republicans (55%).

Approval of interracial marriage in the U.S. hit a six-decade high at 94% in September, according to Gallup.

McConnell, the Republican leader, is eager to regain control of the Senate, now evenly split 50-50, and his views on whether his party should support or oppose the same-sex marriage protections will almost certainly be viewed through that political lens.

Unlike the abortion issue, where views are deeply held with little room for Congress to find common ground, attitudes toward same-sex continue to evolve and shift among lawmakers.

Incumbent Republican senators seeking to win reelection and GOP candidates running for office may want a chance to support the gay marriage issue that is popular with many voters. Strong Republican-led opposition could be seen as detrimental to the party's candidates in swing states that McConnell needs to win to regain control.

One Republican hopeful, Joe O'Dea, who is challenging incumbent Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet in Colorado, said he was glad to see the same-sex marriage bill pass in the House.

Youve got a lot of politicians in both political parties who spend way too much time trying to tell people how to live their lives. Thats just not me. I live my life. You live yours," O'Dea said. "Lets get on with solving the huge challenges facing the American people.

Still, some vocal leaders in the Republican Party, including Cruz and Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, both potential presidential candidates, have indicated likely opposition to the legislation.

The Respect for Marriage Act would repeal the Clinton-era Defense of Marriage Act, which put into federal law the definition of marriage as a heterosexual union between a man and woman. That 1996 law was largely overshadowed by subsequent court rulings, including Obergefell vs. Hodges in 2015, legalizing gay marriage nationwide.

Associated Press writers Farnoush Amiri, Mary Clare Jalonick and Darlene Superville in Washington and Nicholas Riccardi in Denver contributed to this report.

This story was first published on July 20, 2022. It was updated on July 26, 2022 to clarify that the Gallup poll was released in June of 2021. A Gallup poll released in June 2022 showed similar results, with 71% of U.S. adults saying they think same-sex unions should be recognized by law.
YEREVAN, 26 JULY, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs Armenpress that today, 26 July, USD exchange rate down by 1.89 drams to 409.43 drams. EUR exchange rate down by 5.29 drams to 415.57 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate down by 0.11 drams to 6.98 drams. GBP exchange rate down by 4.36 drams to 491.28 drams.

The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.

Gold price down by 343.15 drams to 22626.70 drams. Silver price down by 1.87 drams to 246.88 drams. Platinum price stood at 16414.1 drams.
WASHINGTON (AP)  The intensifying rivalry between former President Donald Trump and his once fiercely loyal vice president, Mike Pence, was put on stark display Tuesday as the two gave dueling speeches in Washington on the future of the Republican Party.

Trump, in his first return to Washington since Democrat Joe Biden ousted him from the White House, repeated the false election fraud claims that sparked the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, while Pence, in a separate address, implored the party to move on from Trumps defeat.

Federal and state election officials and Trumps own attorney general have said there is no credible evidence the 2020 election was tainted. The former presidents allegations of fraud were also roundly rejected by courts, including by judges he appointed.

It was a catastrophe, that election, Trump nonetheless declared to an audience of cheering supporters at the America First Agenda Summit, about a mile from the White House he once called home.

Hours earlier, addressing a student conservative group, Pence said, Some people may choose to focus on the past, but elections are about the future.

The speeches highlighted the divisions within the party between Trump loyalists who still refuse to accept the results of the 2020 election and other Republicans who believe the party should instead focus on the future heading into this falls midterm elections and beyond.

And they come as both men have been laying the groundwork for expected presidential runs. Trump, in particular, has been teasing his intentions and said Tuesday that he may just have to do it again" as he addressed a group of former White House officials and Cabinet members who have been crafting an agenda for a possible second Trump administration.

Pence, once Trump's loyal vice president, spoke about his own Freedom Agenda as he presented a different vision for the party at a conference nearby.

I believe conservatives must focus on the future to win back America. We cant afford to take our eyes off the road in front of us because whats at stake is the very survival of our way of life," he said in an address to Young Americas Foundation, a student conservative group.

Trump, too, said America's survival was at stake. In a speech billed as focused on public safety, he painted a dark picture of a nation in decline and one in imminent danger from rising crime. Among his proposals, he called for executing drug dealers, sending the homeless to tent cities on the outskirts of cities, and expanding his Southern border wall.

Biden joined in  on Twitter  dismissing Trump's claim to have been a law-and-order president.

Referring to the Capitol riot, he tweeted: I dont think inciting a mob that attacks a police officer is respect for the law. You cant be pro-insurrection and pro-cop  or pro-democracy, or pro-American.

Trump, in his remarks, also spent plenty of time airing his usual grievances even as some advisers have urged him to move on.

If I renounced my beliefs, if I agreed to stay silent, if I stayed home and just took it easy, the persecution of Donald Trump would stop immediately, he said. But thats not what I will do.

Despite Trump's reputation for harshly criticizing rivals, Pence and other potential GOP contenders have been increasingly brazen in their willingness to take on the man who remains a dominating force in the Republican Party, despite his actions on Jan. 6, when he stood by as a mob of his supporters ransacked the Capitol and tried to halt certification of Biden's win.

The former White House partners also campaigned for rival candidates in Arizona Friday, while Pence's former chief of staff, Marc Short, recently testified before a federal grand jury investigating the assault on the U.S. Capitol.

Short was at the building that day as Pence fled an angry mob of rioters who called for his hanging after Trump wrongly insisted Pence had the power to overturn the election results.

Pence has repeatedly defended his actions that day, even as his decision to stand up to his boss turned large swaths of Trump's loyal base against him. Polls show that Trump remains, by far, the top choice of GOP primary voters, with Pence far behind.

That contrast was on display Tuesday as Trump spoke before an audience of hundreds of cheering supporters gathered for the America First Policy Institute's two-day America First Agenda Summit. The group is widely seen as an administration in waiting that could quickly move to the West Wing if Trump should run again and win.

The event had the feel of a Trump White House reunion  but one without Pence.

Pence, meanwhile, received a friendly  but less exuberant  welcome from the students, who struggled to break into a USA!" chant.

In his remarks, Pence repeatedly touted the Trump-Pence administration." But the first question he received during a brief question-and-answer session that followed his speech was about his growing split with Trump, which is particularly stark given the years he spent as the former president's most loyal sidekick.

Pence denied the two differ on issues, but acknowledged, we may differ on focus."

I truly do believe that elections are about the future and that its absolutely essential, at a time when so many Americans are hurting and so many families are struggling, that we dont give way to the temptation to look back, he said.

Pence has spent recent months delivering policy speeches, traveling to early voting states and penning a book that Simon & Schuster announced Tuesday would be titled So Help Me God" and published in November. The publisher said the book would, in part, chronicle President Trumps severing of their relationship on January 6, 2021, when Pence kept his oath to the Constitution.

Trump, meanwhile, has spent much of his time since leaving office spreading lies about his loss to sow doubt about Biden's victory. Indeed, even as the House Jan. 6 committee has been laying bare his attempts to remain in power and his refusal to call off a violent mob of his supporters as they tried to halt the peaceful transition of power, Trump has continued to try to pressure officials to overturn Biden's win, despite there being no legal means to decertify it.

The America First Policy Institute is one of several Trump-allied organizations that have continued to advocate for his priorities in his absence. In addition to the summit, the group has been making preparations for another possible Trump administration, hoping to avoid the early chaos of Trump's first term by making sure we have the policies, personnel and process nailed down for every key agency when we do take the White House back," said AFPI president Brooke Rollins, who previously served as head of Trumps Domestic Policy Council.

While the organization was once dismissed as a landing zone for ex-Trump administration officials shut out of more lucrative jobs, it has grown into a behemoth, with an operating budget of around $25 million and 150 staff, including 17 former senior White House officials and nine former Cabinet members overseeing nearly two dozen policy centers.
YEREVAN, JULY 26, ARMENPRESS. The Vice Speaker of Parliament Ruben Rubinyan held a meeting with the President of the United Nations General Assembly Abdulla Shahid and his delegation.

Rubinyan praised Shahids presidency during the 76th session of the General Assembly, the parliaments press service said in a press release.

The Vice Speaker appreciated the work implemented by the UN Yerevan office aimed at supporting the ongoing reforms in Armenia, and thanked for the contribution aimed at developing the capacity of the Armenian parliament.

Ruben Rubinyan underscored the necessity of visits of UNESCO and other UN agency representatives to Nagorno Karabakh, especially in the context of the dangers facing the Armenian spiritual and cultural heritage.

Other issues of regional security were also discussed.
According to the Buffalo County Sheriff's Office, emergency crews were called around 2:15 p.m. to a residential fire at W348 Bluff Siding Road in the Town of Buffalo. The caller said the single-family structure was struck by lightning and that smoke was coming from upstairs.
A 42-year-old Winona man was arrested Friday in Winona after he allegedly harassed several downtown businesses and threatened police. David Austin Russell was referred to the Winona County District Attorneys Office for making terroristic threats.

According to Winona police, Russell entered several places of business between 8:30-9:30 a.m. Employees told police he created loud disturbances and made statements about the world coming to an end.

After police responded, Russell allegedly cocked his finger in the shape of a gun at a police officer and yelled boom. When police asked him about the gesture, he attributed it to his disgust with police and desire to kill one of the officers who responded to the scene.

Its the second time in six weeks that Russell has been accused of creating a disturbance in a public place. On June 14, he allegedly refused to leave the Winona County Courthouse after a disorderly episode. He was arrested for trespassing.
YEREVAN, JULY 26, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan gave a speech and answered journalists' questions based on the results of the meeting held in Prague with Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky. Mirzoyan, in particular, expressed gratitude to the Czech side for its continuous support to the efforts and role of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs format.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the MFA Armenia, Minister of Foreign Affairs Ararat Mirzoyan said,

Dear Minister,

Dear Colleagues,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Firstly, I would like to thank my colleague Jan Lipavsky for the very warm welcome. I would also like to seize the opportunity to congratulate the Czech Republic on the successful launch of its presidency in the Council of the European Union.

This is my first visit to Czechia - a country which has officially taken the course of pursuing the legacy of Vaclav Havel, underscoring human rights, democratic development, strong civil society and multilateral collaboration. Currently, the Government of Armenia is implementing its ambitious agenda of democratic reforms and transformations and Czechia is our reliable partner in this regard.

We highly value our relations with Czechia, based on shared values and historical friendship and are keen to promote the Armenian-Czech political dialogue and interstate relations to a qualitatively new level, including through high-level reciprocal visits, regular consultations between our Ministries of Foreign Affairs and active inter-parliamentary engagement.

During our discussions, my colleague and I agreed to put our utmost efforts towards the utilization of the potential in the spheres of economy, trade and investment, as well as fostering intercultural exchanges and people-to-people contacts.

Armenia and Czechia have mutually beneficial cooperation also within multilateral formats, including the UN, OSCE, CoE. This is extensively complemented by the Armenia-EU cooperation with its milestone agreement - the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement. We highly value the active role of the Czech Republic in promoting the framework of the Eastern Partnership and stand ready to join efforts in maintaining this cooperation platform in the spirit of mutual understanding, inclusiveness and a merit-based approach.

Dear friends,

Today we also extensively discussed the issues of regional and international security, referred to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the situation resulting from the 44-day war unleashed against the people of Nagorno-Karabakh.

I briefed Minister Lipavsky on Armenias position and efforts toward establishing peace and stability in our region, where the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship plays a key role in reaching a comprehensive and lasting settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. In this regard, I express my gratitude to the Czech side for its continued support to these efforts and the role the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship plays.

Nearly two years after the secession of hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh, humanitarian issues remain unresolved. Azerbaijan continues to hold Armenian prisoners of war and civilian hostages, using them as a political weapon. Also, Azerbaijans policy of destruction, desecration of the Armenian cultural and religious heritage in the territories fallen under Azerbaijani control is of great concern. In this regard, we expect a targeted response and practical action from the international community.

Dear colleagues,

The realities resulting from the use of force and mass violations of human rights cannot create a sustainable foundation for regional peace and security. Armenia has repeatedly stated its readiness for constructive dialogue, refrained from preconditions and warmongering rhetoric, for sustainable peace and development of our region.

I will conclude my speech with this. Once again, thank you very much Mr Lipavsky for your hospitality and please kindly receive my invitation to visit Armenia.

Asked how Armenia is affected by sanctions on Russia, Ararat Mirzoyan answered, Of course, sanctions against Russia have their negative direct or indirect impact on Armenias economic development and economic situation in the region in general. Thus, we are trying to find short-term and mid-term solutions, mechanisms for addressing, and if possible eliminating these threats. And my hope is that we will succeed in this process.
A former Richland Center man has been charged with endangering the safety of his passenger after his alleged drunken driving resulted in a crash in April along State Highway 154 on his way to Baraboo.

Joshua L. Goebel, 21, of Janesville, was released on a $1,500 signature bond July 14. During an initial appearance in Sauk County Circuit Court, Family Court Commissioner Debra ORourke set the bond with the conditions that Goebel not drive without a valid license, maintain absolute sobriety if driving and submit to a chemical test if asked by law enforcement.

Goebel faces more than five years in prison and five years of extended supervision for charges of second-degree recklessly endangering safety, causing injury while driving drunk and causing injury while driving with a prohibited alcohol content of less than 0.15.

According to the criminal complaint:

Goebel was driving a white Pontiac G6 at high speeds April 4 along Hwy 154 when he failed to navigate a corner just east of the village of Hill Point and crashed into a culvert.

A 17-year-old passenger was taken to UW Hospital with serious injuries. A deputy noted in the report that the teen had to undergo emergency surgery for internal injuries.

A nearby resident told police he felt his whole house shake and looked out a window to see the car crashed at the end of his driveway. Another driver who claimed Goebel had passed him going between 90 and 100 mph was at the scene of the crash as he had come upon it while driving behind the Pontiac but told police he did not see the crash happen.

Deputy Isaac Hanson interviewed Goebel at the Reedsburg Area Medical Center the day after the crash, where Goebel told the deputy he and the teen had spent time together in Richland Center. They had consumed watermelon vodka the night before the crash, which was reported around 9:30 a.m.

Goebel said he had three plastic cups of plain vodka, but had not consumed any alcohol after midnight. He told the deputy he did not remember passing anyone on the highway. He had been driving to take the teen back to a Baraboo residence.

Due to his injuries, the deputy could not perform sobriety tests, though Hanson noted in the report that Goebel had the smell of intoxicants coming from him in the hospital room. A breath test found Goebel had a 0.11% alcohol content. Blood later drawn from him was sent to the state laboratory. Results returned June 13 to the Sauk County Sheriffs Office found Goebel had a 0.10% blood alcohol content.

Goebel denied drinking any alcohol between midnight and the time of the crash. He is scheduled to return to court Sept. 21.
More than two dozen people packed the benches on the defense side Tuesday during a sentencing hearing to decide the fate of a Reedsburg man prosecutors described as willing to resort to violence to protect the people he cares about.

Rasmey S. Chhim, 31, was found guilty by a jury March 31 of first-degree attempted intentional homicide, first-degree recklessly endangering safety and endangering safety through reckless use of a firearm.

The charges stem from a drug deal gone bad in January 2021 outside of Walmart in Lake Delton. During the trial, defense attorney John Smerlinski argued Chhim was acting in defense of his friend, Marcus Jones, when Jones and a man named Joshua Thompson got into a fight.

The events which led to the shooting were caught on security cameras overlooking the parking lot. Thompson had arrived in a vehicle driven by Melissa Johnson which had their 2-year-old child in the backseat.

Jones and Thompson initially met outside the silver Buick but walked over to a burnt-orange SUV parked a lane of stalls away. As Thompson neared the SUV, he suddenly changed direction and ran back to the car. Jones followed and tried to pull Thompson, who fought against him, out of the passenger seat. Jones testified during the trial that Thompson had stolen a chain he was wearing and he wanted it back. Thompson yelled for Johnson to drive away while the two scuffled.

Video showed Johnson backing out of the spot, knocking Jones down. As the vehicle backed up farther, Chhim rushed to the front of the vehicle and fired a shot through the windshield toward Thompson from the drivers side.

Johnson sped away, but Thompson had been shot in the chest. They then rushed to SSM Health St. Clare Hospital in Baraboo.

During the sentencing hearing Tuesday, Sauk County Assistant District Attorney Emily Eklund pointed out that the Critical Defense ammunition Chhim used was a hollow point bullet. The effect of a hollow point bullet is that it breaks into multiple pieces when it comes into contact with a solid surface. The only reason Thompson was not killed was due to the bullet first striking the windshield and Johnsons quick movements to avoid any more shots to enter the car.

Mr. Chhim was a centimeter away from life imprisonment, Eklund said.

Though Thompson was shot, he recovered and spoke at the trial. He also took the stand Tuesday to ask that Chhim be shown clemency.

I dont want to see him get locked up for a long time, Thompson said. I believe everybody makes mistakes, Ive made mine, and I just ask the court to show some leniency.

Though his request was thrown into doubt by prosecutors, who presented evidence of text messages and phone calls in which Thompson talks about seeking a monetary reward in exchange for speaking on Chhims behalf in court. Johnson was the motivated one during the trial, not Thompson, Eklund said. One text, sent from a phone belonging to Rachel Sturdevant, 30, of Baraboo, read that it was JT using her phone while she was in jail.

Chhim asked for forgiveness himself when given the chance to speak on his own behalf.

He didnt deserve to be shot, Chhim said of Thompson. I made a terrible decision that night and I take full responsibility for my actions. I know what I did was wrong, but I just hope that you give me a second chance.

Smerlinski refuted Eklunds assertion that Chhim was a danger to society, noting the stockpile of ammunition in his vehicle was due to the fact that Chhim was homeless. He acknowledged Chhim had been charged with battery and shooting at a home while intoxicated roughly a decade ago, but said Chhim is still young even now and is not a potential mass shooter, as Smerlinski asserted Eklund was implying.

Were not talking about someone whos hardened, were not talking about somebody who basically was tagged with first-degree reckless endangerment or any kind of assaultive crime here, Smerlinski said. This is not somebody who poses a danger to the community.

Eklund argued that both the presentence investigation performed by the Wisconsin Department of Corrections and the private one commissioned by the defense did not present a strong enough sentence recommendation. Especially the one conducted by the investigator hired by the defense, who she claimed had a bias favorable to the defendant because if it were not, he would not make money performing those investigations.

I think his recommendation is laughable, Eklund said. Five years of incarceration for shooting into a car with three people, including a baby, is absurd.

Sauk County residents and visitors should not have to deal with public shootings just because Chhim wanted to look like a gangster, Eklund said. His conversations while being held in jail for 548 days showed he enjoyed the notoriety of being in news reports and that he wanted to be cool for others, she argued.

The defendant saw his friend was getting ripped off and decided to shoot the person doing it and not care who got hurt in the process, Eklund said. The defendant clearly has a lot of friends and family who care about him. I dont think their perception of Rasmey Chhim differs all that much from our perception of Rasmey Chhim. He is a loyal person. He is loyal to a fault.

Chhims mother, Sumer Witman, reiterated how much her son supports others.

My son is an amazing person, Witman said. He does whatever he can to help people. I know he makes mistakes, its a big mistake, but hes only human and hes young. I know he has to pay for what he did, but all Im asking is you give him a chance to live his life. So far, he has not had a chance to live for himself; hes always worried about others.

Smerlinski argued for Chhim to serve five years in prison total for the charge of attempted homicide, with concurrent sentences on the other two charges of five years of probation. If he were to violate the terms of his probation, under Smerlinskis recommendation Chhim would go to prison for three years and serve two years of extended supervision.

Eklund argued for more time than the presentence investigations called for, recommending Chhim serve 25 years in prison and 10 years of extended supervision.

Circuit Court Judge Wendy Klicko sentenced Chhim to 14 years in prison and 11 years of extended supervision for attempted homicide. He was given concurrent sentences of three years and two years in prison and three years and two years of extended supervision for the other two charges, respectively.

Klicko also ordered that Chhim submit a DNA sample, cooperate with any mental health assessment and recommended treatment, maintain full-time employment and undergo any counseling recommended by a supervisory agent. He must undergo an alcohol and other drug assessment and treatment as well. He was given 543 days of jail credit for time already served.
Foundation to rejuvenate democracy in Africa and France

We must nurture tolerance, collective wisdom, and democracy.  Nelson Mandela

The safeguarding and promotion of democracy in Africa, France and Europe was enhanced this July through the establishment of the Innovation Foundation for Democracy (FIDEMO), which aims to rejuvenate democracy in Africa, particularly amongst young people, through innovative democratic projects.

Globally recognised scholar and public intellectual, Professor Achille Mbembe from the Wits Institute for Economic Research recommended the establishment of the Foundation in a report which he handed to French President Emmanuel Macron at the New Africa-France Summit in Montpellier last year. The report proposed 13 recommendations to recast an equitable relationship between African countries and France, including the creation of FIDEMO.

The objectives of the Foundation are to educate, inform and capacitate young people to reflect on democratic change in Africa, France, and Europe. It further aims to gather new insights and actionable knowledge about democracy across these regions; to design and develop collective and innovative projects for democracy; and to enable an understanding of the roles that the rule of law, equality, individual and collective freedoms play in a democracy.

It is our hope that the Foundation will become a major continental hub for the new cycle of research and other initiatives which aim to rekindle the democratic agenda on our continent, says Professor Zeblon Vilakazi, the Wits Vice-Chancellor and Principal. We recognise our collective role in solving global challenges, advancing society, governance and justice, whilst developing the next generation of leaders.

The auspicious occasion was attended by the French Ambassador to South Africa, Lesotho and Malawi, His Excellency Mr Aurelien Lechevallier, and esteemed guests from across the continent who will serve as management or executive committee members of the Foundation.

Europe and Africa are facing similar challenges, and we are seeing a widening gap between the youth and the political scene, says Ambassador Lechevallier. There is a growing trend of fake news and the rise of extremists thoughts and political ideas. We need this Foundation to generate new innovative ideas, to think out of the box, to support successful stories and to ground our findings in strong scientific information.

FIDEMO will be hosted at Wits University from where it will serve the continent. The Foundation will be led by the distinguished Senegalese philosopher and literary scholar, Professor Souleymane Bachir Diagne who will serve as the Committee President; Johannesburg-based Advocate Nicholas J Tee who will serve as the Secretary General; and Lesley Donna Williams, the CEO of the Wits Tshimologong Digital Innovation Precinct, who will serve as the Treasurer.

The establishment of this Foundation is timely and will undoubtedly benefit both continents. It is also significant for Wits, a University known for its values and commitment to democracy. It celebrates its centenary in 2022, and seeks, from its vantage point in the Global South, to establish mutually beneficial relationships with entities in the North.
From chemistry to commerce: School learners get the Wits experience

Learners enjoy a fun-filled Wits Integrated Experience of academic and student life on the Braamfontein campuses.

The Wits Integrated Experience kicked off with its fifth short course this year, designed to expose grade 11 learners to skills and knowledge within its various Faculties.

The fun-filled programme allows learners across Gauteng to partake in an integrated problem-solving exercise within the five disciplines of Science, Engineering and the Built Environment, Humanities, Health Science, Commerce, Law and Management.

This year, learners were tasked with a preliminary investigation into a plane crash, using all the elements provided by each Faculty. They went from mixing fuel elements in Science to understanding the effects of fake news and the psychology of the pilots in Humanities.

"We hope that the learners immerse themselves in university life," said Suresh Naicker, Student Recruitment Manager at Wits University.

"It's not just about what you learn inside the classroom, at Wits it's also about what you can learn outside the classroom. Hopefully, they can see what a wonderful place this is and essentially that this could be their premier destination of study."

This interactive course assists learners in making better-informed decisions about subject choices, careers, and higher education opportunities, leading to the world of work.

"I've learned so many new things, it's incredible. We started in the chemistry lab and experimented there. Our school doesn't have a lab like that, it was massive, really something to see," said Muhammad Khan, a grade 11 learner from Auckland Park Academy of Excellence.

Apart from access to the world-class technologies and resources at Wits, learners also got to experience student life at the Braamfontein Campuses.

"It was amazing because I got to be inside this university. I have always wanted to come to Wits because it's considered to be one of the most popular universities in South Africa," said Lindiwe Khoza, a grade 11 learner from Lebohang Secondary School.

Khoza said that she hopes she can be part of the Wits community after she matriculates.

Learners will return to campus at the end of August to complete part two of the short course. Thereafter, team-based project work will be presented to a panel of experts, which will take place on Friday, 26th August 2022.

This will culminate in an awards ceremony on the same day, where certificates and prizes will be handed out.
National Binding Treaty Indaba takes place this week

CALS is co-hosting this year's national indaba on the UN binding treaty on business and human rights at the Parktonian on 27 and 28 July

The Alternative Information and Development Centre (AIDC) together with the Centre for Applied Legal Studies (CALS) and Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) invites you to a two-day indaba which will focus on the UN Binding Treaty on Business and Human Rights in Johannesburg on 27 and 28 July 2022.

The Indaba will bring together activists, academics and trade unionists working towards dismantling corporate power in Southern Africa to unpack the importance of a legally binding mechanism on business and human rights.

In June 2014, the UN Human Rights Council adopted resolution 26/9 to elaborate an international legally binding instrument to regulate the activities of transnational corporations and other business enterprises. The resolution was put forward by Ecuador and South Africa and adopted by a recorded vote of 20 to 14, with 13 abstentions. Out of 20 countries that voted in support, 10 were African countries, an indicator that the continent is ready to curb corporate impunity and hold corporations accountable.

At the Indaba, delegates from communities that face human rights violations by corporations on a daily basis will share their lived experiences and what remedial action have they employed to challenge corporate power as the vast majority of these violations are said to go unpunished. According to the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre, impunity regarding human rights abuses by companies is increasing.

Evidence shows that communities seeking to protect their human rights from the actions of corporations face growing levels of violence and intimidation. Two years ago a KwaZulu-Natal anti-mining activist, Fikile Ntshangase was shot dead by four gunmen in her home. At the time, maNtshangase was part of a group taking legal action against the expansion of the Somkhele coal mine in her area. Sadly no one has been held responsible for her murder. There are similar cases that are reported throughout the globe. The UN Binding Treaty is to pave the way for justice for victims like maNtshangase and to hold companies like Tendele Coal Mining Ltd which may have been directly or indirectly behind her death to account.

Human rights lawyers who are fighting on behalf of communities through legal advocacy will also share some of the legal barriers that currently exist in the Southern African region.

The media is an important resource in the fight for the advancement of human rights as they assist in exposing companies that do not comply with human rights laws. In some countries, the media becomes the voice of human rights defenders who are intimidated or persecuted for speaking truth to power.

We therefore look forward to your attendance.

Event details:

Venue: Hotel Parktonian, Braamfontein

Time: 10 AM - 5 PM

Date: 27 - 28 July 2022

For more information or to RSVP kindly contact:
YEREVAN, JULY 26, ARMENPRESS. The Czech Republic strictly respects international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions and expects the same from other countries, Foreign Minister of the Czech Republic Jan Lipavsky said during the press conference following the meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan, answering the question of ARMENPRESS about what the Czech Republic is doing, as a country that promotes human rights and humanitarian values, to facilitate the return of 38 Armenian prisoners of war and civilian hostages illegally held in Azerbaijan so far.

Lipavsky also added that the Czech Republic supports the mediation efforts of the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, aimed at the settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict.

"At any multilateral or bilateral meeting, we emphasize that international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions must be respected. The Czech Republic strictly respects them and expects the same from other countries. Speaking in particular about the problem you mentioned, the Czech Republic supports the [President of the European Council] Charles Michel's mediation aimed at the settlement of the conflict, and I think he plays a very important role," the Czech Foreign Minister told ARMENPRESS.

ARMENPRESS also reminded that following the 44-day war that took place in 2020, many international structures have called and adopted resolutions for the immediate return of the Armenian prisoners of war and civilian hostages kept in Azerbaijan to their homeland, including the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Parliament, which adopted a similar resolution in February, 2021.
Guizhou, a province located in southwest China, is surrounded by mountain ranges and stony deserts. It was once deeply troubled by poverty due to the poor geographical condition.

Photo taken on July 3, 2022 shows a poverty-alleviation resettlement site in Wenfeng neighborhood, Qianxi, southwest China's Guizhou Province. [People's Daily Online/Zhou Xunchao]

About 92.5 percent of the area in the province is covered by mountains and hills, and 73 percent is made up of karst landscape. Guizhou is the only province in China without a plain.

At the end of 2015, Guizhou kicked off a large relocation program for poverty alleviation. At that time, the province was home to 9,000 impoverished villages and 4.93 million impoverished residents. It used to be a provincial-level region with the largest population of poor people in China.

In the following five years, 1.92 million impoverished people in the province moved into modern residential complexes from the mountains, and thus ushered in a new chapter of life.

"I had to walk more than an hour to go to school in town in the past, and now it takes only around 10 minutes. At school, we have bright classrooms and fun activities, and we like them very much," said Li Tongtong, a student at a primary school in Qianxi, Guizhou.

In 2018, Li moved from Jinlan village in Qianxi to the city's largest poverty-alleviation resettlement site with her family. The relocation not only offers Li's family a big and safe apartment, but also enables Li to go to a school in the community that was built with the pairing assistance from Huadu District, Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province.

Education has always been a major concern of relocated residents. Guizhou, taking education for the children of school age as a priority, has equipped all poverty-alleviation relocation sites with education facilities. It has put an end to the history when children had to cross mountains and rivers to go to school by providing them with fairer and better educational resources.

The province has invested over 18 billion yuan ($2.66 billion) to build or reconstruct 669 schools. More than 30,000 teachers are currently assigned at the schools at poverty-alleviation resettlement sites, which ensures nearby enrollment for all children from relocated families.

A university student volunteer teaches children to dance at a poverty-alleviation resettlement site in Yangguang community, Baiyanglin neighborhood, Qixingguan District, Bijie, southwest China's Guizhou Province, July 11, 2022. [People's Daily Online/Chen Xi]

In the Yucai community, the largest poverty-alleviation resettlement site in Songtao county, Guizhou's Tongren, there is a special factory, which is run by a toy manufacturer in the economic development zone of Songtao County and only hires local middle-aged and senior residents aged over 50. So far, 38 people have secured a stable job at the factory,

"I stitch around 500 toys a day, which earns me 40 yuan," said Zhang Guiying, a 52-year-old worker in the factory.

At large- and medium-sized resettlement sites, Guizhou Province has built workshops, launched labor transfer activities, and developed featured industries as a way to support employment and entrepreneurship, optimize industrial structure and enhance skill training. Based on the sizes and locations of the resettlement sites, as well as the age distribution and labor skills of the relocated residents, the province tailored different development and employment plans.

As of the end of this June, nearly 930,000 people from 414,500 households had been employed, which means that at least one family member with working capabilities has a job.

To ensure that relocated residents enjoy basic public and health services, Guizhou has built and expanded 411 standard medical institutions and newly equipped 759 medical institutions with facilities and medical workers. Public health services have covered all of the province's 949 resettlement sites during the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020), ensuring that all relocated residents have access to healthcare.

Workers of a garment factory work on production lines at a resettlement site in Chengguan Township, Shibing County, Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Guizhou Province, June 14, 2022. [People's Daily Online/Tai Shengzhi]

(Source: People's Daily Online)
The Latourell Falls is a 76m tall waterfall on the Columbia River Gorge situated within the Guy W. Talbot State Park in the US State of Oregon. Latourell Falls and the accompanying Columbia River straddle the Oregon-Washington border.

Location Of Latourell Falls

Surrounded by healthy forest, the beautiful Latourell Falls drops almost 76m, eventually flowing into Columbia River in Oregon.

Latourell Falls is found in the northwestern part of the country, about 46 kilometers drive from Portland, Oregon, and 313 kilometers from Seattle, Washington. Latourell Falls is approximately 25 minutes from Multnomah Falls in driving distance, and both the waterfalls can be accessed along the Columbia River Highway. The Latourell Falls is located within Oregon's Multnomah County.

Geography Of Latourell Falls

A close view of the Latourell Falls, Columbia River Gorge, Oregon.

Latourell Falls is 76 meters in height and features only one drop. The falls are unique in that the water drops straight down from a basalt cliff into the gorge below. The Latourell Falls are a columnar basalt formation. Columnar basalt is formed as a result of the cooling of thick lava, where cracks and gaps in the formation occur over millions of years. The climate of Multnomah County, where the Latourell Falls is characterized by warm summers and rainy winters.

History Of Latourell Falls

The historic Latourell Creek Bridge over the Latourell Creek in Guy W. Talbot State Park.

The Latourell Falls have been named after Joseph Latourell, a 19th-century postmaster whose family settled in a home close to the falls. The land that became Guy W. Talbot State Park was donated for public use by Guy W. Talbot in 1929, and the park was subsequently renamed after him. The Latourell Creek Bridge, located inside the state park, has been designated a national historic landmark.

Layout Of Latourell Falls

A couple taking selfie in front of Latourell Falls along the Columbia River Gorge, Oregon.

Seeing the upper falls requires a 3.4-kilometer trek along a loop trail. The trail merges into George W. Joseph State Park, gifted to the public by the family of George W. Joseph in the 1930s. The Latourell Falls is surrounded by Maple, Douglas-Fir, and Alder trees, as well as the Oregon Wood Sorrel, a local flower. The area is also littered with bridges, the most notable being the Latourell Creek Bridge, built in 1914. The Guy W. Talbot State Park also has a picnic area for hikers and tourists.

The Latourell Falls is one of Oregon's most unique and popular spots for those who want a detox from city life. The falls and parks are close to population centers and boast beautiful views and scenery all throughout. Aside from seeing Portland itself, if one has time while visiting Oregon, they must see Latourell Falls.
Mount Eddy is the Trinity Mountains' highest peak that is located in the northern portion of the US State of California. Many indigenous species thrive along the creeks and fens. In the middle of summer, various butterfly species swarm the wildflowers, making the mountain a favorite among curious botanists and hikers. This area is ideal for a long day hike or backpacking excursion because of the diverse plant life, picturesque alpine lakes, and breathtaking views of Mount Shasta and Castle Crags.

Geography Of Mount Eddy

A view of Mount Eddy from Mount Shasta city, California. Image Credit: Little Mountain 5, via Wikimedia Commons

In California's Siskiyou and Trinity Counties, the Trinity Mountains, a part of the Klamath Mountains System, have Mount Eddy as their highest peak. It is located west of Mount Shasta and has a height of 2,754m. The mountain is located in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, a division of the United States Forest Service, in Mount Eddy RNA, a Research Natural Area. The top can be reached through the Mt. Eddy Trail. The view from the peak is quite amazing, even though it is not as impressive as the surrounding Trinity Alps or neighboring Mount Shasta.

The southern Cascades, which stretch from Mount Lassen to Mount McLoughlin, and practically the whole Klamath Mountains are seen with a single head turn from Mount Eddy. By elevation, Mount Eddy is the highest point out of 730 mountains in the Klamath Mountains, 3574 mountains in the Northwest U.S. Coast Ranges, and 280 mountains in Trinity County. On the other hand, it is the eighth highest out of 446 mountains in Siskiyou County and 337 mountains in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest.

Etymology And Geology Of Mount Eddy

Mount Eddy was named in honor of Olive Paddock Eddy, who married pioneer Nelson Harvey Eddy in 1854. The couple's only possessions when they arrived in Siskiyou County in 1856 were a yoke of oxen and a single cow. They started living at the foot of the mountain and prospered as farmers and ranchers.

Peridotite, a volcanic type of serpentine, is responsible for the formation of Mount Eddy about 400 million years ago. Due to the ultramafic rock's high magnesium and low calcium content, most plants find this soil to be an unfavorable growing medium. Similar to other serpentine regions, this leads to some plants evolving to become endemic to the area by adapting to the severe conditions and profiting from the relative lack of competition. The rock's reddish hue results from the rusting of the iron it contains.

Climate Of Mount Eddy

According to the Koppen climate classification, Mount Eddy has a Warm-Summer Mediterranean Climate, with hot, dry summers and cold, rainy winters. The average annual temperature is 11C, with July and December recording the highest (23C) and lowest (2C) average temperatures, respectively. On average, Mount Eddy gets 176.5 mm of precipitation yearly, with December being the wettest month.

Wildlife In Mount Eddy

Three leopard lily blooms near a lakeshone on Mount Eddy, Shasta-Trinity National Forest, California.

Plenty of wildlife is found in this area, both in the faunal and floral realms. Red and white fir are both plentiful (especially at the trail's lower elevations), and other varieties of pine are also present. The carnivorous pitcher plant, a pretty unique species found in the region, may be spotted in a number of bog areas towards the start of the trek. The region has deer, squirrels, and frogs (esp. at Upper Deadfall Lake). The millipedes, scorpions, and large toads that occasionally cross the trail come out at night. Fortunately, there aren't many bears in the area, so there are fewer safety precautions to take than in many other places.

Mount Eddy Summit Trail

The summit of Mount Eddy. Image Credit: NileGuide, via Wikimedia Commons

The hike up to the peak is an enjoyable one. The first 1,000 feet of the route from the Deadfall Meadows Trailhead will rapidly acquaint you with the meadow. When attempting to cross Deadfall Creek and the nearby marshes in the spring or early summer, hikers may even get their feet wet. Soon after the meadow, the trail ascends to higher land, and you will enjoy a gentle rise into the glacially formed Deadfall Basin. You will come into contact with the Pacific Crest Trail about 1.5 miles into the hike. About 2.5 miles into the walk, you'll come upon Upper Deadfall Lake. You can take a break at this lake and enjoy your best view of Mount Eddy yet. Backpackers can camp here or move 800 feet due south to discover another lake. The trail continues until it reaches the peak of the Trinity Divide. The Sisson-Callahan National Recreation Route descends east toward Lake Siskiyou, and a spur trail climbs north to Mount Eddy at Deadfall Summit (8,020 feet), where the trail splits. After pushing through the final trail intersection, which is 1.1 miles away, you will reach the summit. On top of the summit, there are the remains of an old lookout in addition to breathtaking views.

Mount Eddy has more to offer than just the stunning vistas it provides from its peak. Along with several lakes and meadows, it also includes boisterous creeks. Mount Eddy continues to be a constant presence whether trekking on Mount Shasta or somewhere else in the Trinity Divide. There is no doubt that this mountain is extraordinary and deserves praise.
YEREVAN, JULY 26, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan introduced the situation created as a result of the war unleashed against the people of Artsakh in 2020 during the meeting with the Foreign Minister of the Czech Republic Jan Lipavsky on July 26. ARMENPRESS reports after the meeting with his Czech counterpart, FM Mirzoyan said in his speech that two years after the cessation of military operations, the humanitarian issues still remain unresolved.

Ararat Mirzoyan particularly raised the issue of the Armenian POWs.

"Azerbaijan continues to keep Armenian prisoners of war and civilians in captivity, using them as a political tool. The policy of destruction and desecration of Armenian cultural and religious heritage in the territories that have passed under the control of Azerbaijan is also very worrying. In this regard, we expect a targeted response and practical steps from the international community," Ararat Mirzoyan emphasized.

The Foreign Minister also noted that the realities created by the use of force and massive violations of human rights cannot create a stable basis for peace and security in the region.

"Armenia has repeatedly announced its readiness for a constructive dialogue free from preconditions and bellicose rhetoric for the sake of stable peace and development in our region," Minister Mirzoyan said.
Fugitive Ronnie Sharp remains at large after leading law enforcement on another vehicle chase, Calloway County Sheriff's Office says
Marc Short, the former chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence, testified last week in front of a grand jury investigating January 6 in Washington, DC, a source familiar with the matter tells CNN.
A man fired about 40 shots at a woman who was getting gas at a station in northwest Harris County, deputies said.
The golden arches are shining a little brighter these days at the McDonald's on Grant Avenue in Auburn.

After months of renovations to the building and property, the fast food restaurant will celebrate a grand reopening on Friday, July 29.

Along with a more modern facade and lobby, the restaurant has sharper menu kiosk screens, improved landscaping and accessible parking, and a new Play Place children's area.

The renovations were overseen by the restaurant's new owners, Mc H & N Management of Sparta Township, New Jersey. The group purchased the McDonald's locations on Grant Avenue and Genesee Street in Auburn, along with additional locations in the Ithaca area and Southern Tier, from Cayuga Restaurant Group last August.

Mc H & N's Herb Thomas III told The Citizen that McDonald's tries to update its locations every five to 10 years, putting the 198 Grant Ave. one in line for renovations.

"This was an older restaurant in need of a facelift," he said.

Thomas and his parents, Nellie and Herbert Thomas II, added the upstate New York locations to several they have owned and operated in the New Jersey area for more than 20 years. Their first McDonald's were located in Youngstown, Ohio. Herb Thomas III joined Mc H & N about five years ago, bringing an education and background in finance to the family business.

If you go WHAT: McDonald's WHEN: Open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily WHERE: 198 Grant Ave., Auburn INFO: Call (315) 252-7061 or visit mcdonalds.com

The group's philosophy, Nellie Thomas told The Citizen, isn't just serving hamburgers to customers but opportunity to employees of the world's largest fast food chain.

"Many of our people who go into management move up," she said. "People who may not have decided upon a career can develop one with McDonald's. It's a company where if you get trained in a management position, you really have the skills to take you anywhere not only there, but anywhere else. Companies are eager to hire people with McDonald's management experience."

In Auburn, those employees will be celebrated with a family night during the week of the Grant Avenue restaurant's grand reopening, Nellie Thomas said.

The changes at the restaurant won't stop that week, though. Herb Thomas III said mobile table service, where customers order at tables and have their food and drinks delivered to them, will come to that McDonald's in the future. Mc H & N is also discussing additions to the restaurant's menu, which has not changed with the renovations.

The Grant Avenue location saw its business dip as much as 40% during the renovation, Herbert Thomas III said, as the drive-thru closed for days and the dining room for months.

The restaurant's new owner seeks to make up for that loss, and in the process develop its 60 employees into the community's leaders of tomorrow.

"We came in with an understanding that this was an opportunity to take care of Auburn a little better, so we're trying to capitalize on that," he said. "Anything from making sure we're more hospitable and providing a better, quicker product to getting involved in the community and trying to develop the next generation of leadership."

McDonald's grand reopening events  10 a.m. to noon Friday, July 29: Ribbon-cutting ceremony with community leaders and McDonald's family  1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, July 30: Bike giveaway, face painting, raffles, Justice League character appearances and more for families and the community  1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 6: Employee appreciation event for employees, family and friends, with live music, performance by McDonald's gospel choir, raffles and giveaways (open to the community)
Wrexham to get extra street marshals and a pop-up police station on Eagles Meadow as part of funding boost

Wrexham is to receive a share of a 1.5 million to help fund extra street marshals and a pop-up police station on Eagles Meadow.

The funding is part of Safer Streets, a 75 million Home Office programme that encourages Police and Crime Commissioners and local authorities to bid for investment for initiatives to prevent neighbourhood crime.

The aim of the project is to support areas experiencing crime across England and Wales, such as domestic burglary, robbery, theft, vehicle crime, anti-social behaviour (ASB), and violence against women and girls (VAWG) in public spaces, including in the night-time economy.

Funding from the fourth round of the Safer Streets initiative will go towards supporting projects in Holyhead, Wrexham and Deeside.

Wrexham will receive 491,644, which will go towards a number of projects, including the Safe Space Hub at Hafan y Dref to open on Friday nights to provide welfare and first aid to people in the night-time economy.

Elsewhere in Wrexham, funding from the initiative will go towards school and community grants for youth ASB intervention projects; four street marshals for the night-time economy for one year; the provision of a pop-up police station at Eagles Meadow and a number of Safer Streets Respect days will help target and raise awareness to prevent ASB and VAWG (violence against women and girls).

It will also provide visible police patrols to help tackle and prevent violence against women and girls offences and ASB on Friday and Saturday nights.

North Wales Police and Wrexham Borough Council will also be engaging with Sixth Form colleges and Glyndwr University and the wider public to help increase awareness and signpost individuals to where they can receive support for domestic abuse.

As well as the PCC, North Wales Police, Wrexham County Borough Council, Stepping Stones and North Wales Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre were involved in the Wrexham bid.

The Police and Crime Commissioners team worked closely with North Wales Police, local authorities, schools, justice services and third sector partners to ensure the bid had as much support as possible across the areas receiving funding.

Police and Crime Commissioner for North Wales, Andy Dunbobbin, commented: I am delighted that the bid for funding from the Safer Streets initiative has been such a success and I would like to thank everyone involved in making sure we secured this money for North Wales.

I am determined that residents and visitors to North Wales feel as safe and secure as possible in their communities and this funding will go a great way to tackling some of the crime hotspots across the region. From Holyhead in the west to Wrexham in the east, I am determined to deliver safer neighbourhoods and support victims and communities as part of my plan for policing.

Superintendent for Local Policing Services at North Wales Police, Helen Corcoran, commented: This is another example of how a strong partnership approach can do much to benefit a region.

I am delighted that we will be able to support these excellent initiatives which will a long way towards helping people to be safe and feel safe in their communities.

It is a tremendous achievement and I would like to thank everybody who has been involved.

Cllr Paul Roberts, Lead Member for Partnerships and Community Safety, Wrexham County Borough Council said: We are grateful for the support of the PCC in recognising the work that is ongoing in Wrexham.

This further funding will enhance and drive forward the work being undertaken to ensure our streets are safe for everyone and that help and advice is always available for those in need of assistance and support.
The International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE) at Humboldt University are set to enter the student parliament (StuPa) with all three of their lists candidates. In this video, deputy elect Gregor Kahl explains the significance of the IYSSEs electoral success and their socialist perspective.



The IYSSE will use their renewed entry into the StuPa to intensify the struggle against militarist ideology and historical falsification at Humboldt University. In doing so, they will orient students and youth to the mass protests and strikes of workers that are developing around the world. Only an international socialist movement of the working class against capitalism can stop the development of World War III and a renewed regression into barbarism.

Register here as an active supporter and become a member of the IYSSE.
Are you a port trucker? We want to hear from you. Contact the World Socialist Web Site by filling out the form at the bottom of this article to tell us about your working conditions and what youre fighting for. All submissions will be kept anonymous.

Independent truckers protesting AB5 outside of the Port of Oakland, July 25, 2022 [WSWS Media] [Photo: WSWS]

On Monday, dozens of truck owner-operators rallied in the Port of Oakland, California. For more than a week, truckers have been at the port to demand they be exempted from California State Assembly Bill 5 (AB5), which was passed to reclassify independent contractors as company employees. The rule was nominally to protect Uber and Lyft drivers from extreme exploitation, but under the current interpretation, most of California's 70,000 truck owner-operators will be forced to take on onerous additional costs and administrative work as a result of the law, sell their trucks and become employees of larger companies or leave the state.

The protests last week shut down most port operations, resulting in an ultimatum from the port operators threatening truckers with arrest if they continued to block terminal gates. Although the demonstration Monday was smaller than the hundreds who gathered last week, truckers remain determined.

On Monday, the truckers participating in the Port of Oakland rally began assembling at 7:00 a.m. A heavy police presence kept the port open, with truckers told to remain in designated free speech zones or face arrest. The port managers designated four of these areas in reaction to truckers blockades of entrances, which found support from many dockworkers who refused to cross the truckers picket line. Across the West Coast, 22,000 dockworkers are being kept on the job by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union without a contract.

The organization of the protests have been largely ad hoc, and protesting owner-operators have refrained from identifying leaders, partially out of concern that they will be victimized in past struggles. George, whose name has been changed to protect his identity, explained that the leader of a 2005 trucker action was subject to intimidation by the ports, including a legal subpoena. Speaking of an earlier action, George continued, The Port of Oakland sued the leader in 1999 for $1.5 million.

Tom, another owner-operator whose name has been changed, gave an example of corruption among former trucker protest leaders. Ten years ago, we all gave money to get a lawyer, $100 or $200 each. The leader took the money and we never got the lawyer.

Solomon, a truck owner-operator from Eritrea with three years experience, spoke out against this antidemocratic attack on truckers freedom of speech and assembly. This is the place allowed for the truckers to continue their protest, he said, pointing to the paper sign posted on an orange plastic barricade surrounded by caution tape, but this is ridiculous. You see Free Speech Zone. You don't need a zone to speak freely. You should speak freely anywhere and everywhere.

Im here to oppose the bill AB5. We are demanding the governor of California to exempt us from AB5 because it is taking freedom from truckers, especially owner-operators. Many truckers are going to join us and we are going to continue the protest that we started a week ago and we are sticking with that strike.

Truckers need to stick together. This bill is taking our freedom. We have no choice but to stick with this strike.

Asked what impact AB5 would have on truck owner-operators, Solomon replied, It costs us everything. We cant manage. In the trucking business, we cant survive. This bill is going to destroy so many families. Its going to kill the dreams of our kids. We need to be exempted from this bill.

Solomon, an independent trucker, points out the sign marking the edge of the free speech zone at the Port of Oakland, July 25, 2022 [WSWS Media] [Photo: WSWS]

Typically, owner-operators acquire their trucks by pooling their resources and those of family members. Their trucks are the result of years of sacrifice. As owner-operators, they have the flexibility of setting their own time schedule, and share the operations of their truck with other individuals, often family members. None of that would be possible under AB5. At best, truckers would be part of a two-two check system, working for wages for a firm (first check) that would also rent their truck (second check). This would leave them open to exploitative wages, grueling schedules and loss of control of their trucks.

Opposing paternalistic claims by the Democratic Party and the trade unions that AB5 is for the truckers own good, Solomon explained, We didnt demand this. They are pretending that the truck owners are demanding this for protection. Ive never seen any owner-operator say we need AB5 for protection.

Asked about his thoughts on the Democrats and Republicans, Solomon continued: Politicians: Its always false promises. Once they get the position, they serve the rich people. They dont serve the mass. They dont care. Theyre taking the income of millions of truck drivers and giving it to one or two billionaire guys, like Amazon. Thats what theyre trying to do. Theyre taking our freedoms, our rights, everything.

While some workers claimed there was no need for leadership as long as truckers remained united in opposition to AB5, there was substantial interest in the World Socialist Web Sites call to unite with rank-and-file dockworkers.

Homemade sign denouncing the millionaire Democratic governor of California, Gavin Newsom, at the free speech zone in front of the Port of Oakland, July 25, 2022 [WSWS Media] [Photo: WSWS]

When a WSWS reporter called for truckers to join forces with dockworkers, Solomon went one step further, saying, Its not just truckers unite with dock workers, the whole of America should be united. When these things happen, we need to stick together. We should protect our kids and welfare.

Asked the way forward, Solomon made a call to action. Everybody has to join us. The media are not covering our protests because the media are serving the rich people. Everybody has to be united and organized. Everybody has to join us for the campaign to exempt us from this bill. We all need to stand together.

When a WSWS reporter noted the connection between the wars in Ukraine and beyond and the Biden administrations efforts to keep the ports open to ensure the flow of war materiel, Solomon expressed firm opposition to war. War is not the solution. America has been in a proxy war in so many countries. This is draining the economy and its not bringing any solution. The right choice is not to mobilize the whole world and fight against countries. I dont like the proxy war in Ukraine. Its really affecting the Ukrainians. Its not only a war between the US and Russia or the west and the east. Its really affecting the Ukrainians. This war could be avoided. Its become now the reason so many Ukrainians are displaced. America should stay away from war and focus on its internal economics and its own population.

The protests in Oakland are a continuation of road blockages that took place in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach on July 13.

In the United States alone, West Coast dockworkers have been working without a contract since July 1. The International Longshore and Warehouse Union has been meeting in secret with the port administrators and the Biden administration in a bid to prevent a strike. At the same time, railroad workers have voted by 99.5 percent in favor of a strike, but the Biden administration is likely to intervene and appoint an emergency board to prevent a walkout.

It is crucial that the truck drivers engaged in the California struggle understand their protest strike as part of a powerful link with logistic workers across the world. By breaking their isolation from the global strike movement, they can defeat the conditions of hunger wages, exploitation, growing inequality and war that affect workers across the world.
Jo Ann Brennan

AUBURN/LYONS  Jo Ann Brennan, 75, of Auburn, NY, passed away on Monday, July 18, 2022, with family by her side.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Thursday, July 28, 2022, at St. Alphonsus Roman Catholic Church, 85 East Genesee St., Auburn, NY. Burial will immediately follow at South Lyons Cemetery, Rt. 14 S., Lyons, NY.

Donations in Jo Ann's name may be made to the Calvary Food Pantry, 90 Franklin St., Auburn, NY 13021.

Jo Ann was born and raised in Lyons, NY, the youngest child of Anthony and Josephine (Petocchi) Molinaro.

Jo Ann spent her formative days in the Bridge Tavern, which her family ran for almost 30 years. As an adult Jo Ann moved to Auburn, NY, attended Cayuga Community College, worked as a realtor, and ultimately retired after many years employed in the business office of Cayuga-Onondaga BOCES.

Jo Ann enjoyed a broad, wonderful community of friends and neighbors, with whom she would often visit, go out to breakfast, play cards or word games, and share home-cooked treats.

Jo Ann is survived by her daughter, Colleen Brennan-Barry; son-in-law, James Barry; brother, Bob Molinaro; dear friend, Pat Messina; nieces; grand-nieces and cousins. She was predeceased by her parents, Anthony and Josephine, brother, John, and many aunts and uncles.
With two weeks to go until Unifor convenes its fourth Constitutional Convention, a sordid faction fight between rival bureaucrats vying to succeed disgraced former president Jerry Dias is bringing to light more details about the corrupt practices that are rife at the top of Canadas largest private-sector union. Factions backing Scott Doherty, Lana Payne and Dave Cassidy, the three bureaucrats competing to succeed Dias, continue to leak information about lavish expense accounts and kickback cash.

A Unifor-leadership authored Call Letter to the Convention states that the assembly will be a turning point for our union: one where we will gather and set a course for the future of our union. We have much to debate, much to reflect on, much to mourn, and much to celebrate.

Disgraced ex-Unifor President Jerry Dias addressing union rally [Photo: WSWS]

In fact, looming over the entire convention will be the stench of corruption and attempted cover-up. These are the symptoms of a rotten, state-supported organization whose function is to suppress the class struggle, and enforce the dictates of the corporations and pro-austerity governments in the face of mounting worker opposition.

Dias is accused of taking a $50,000 bribe from a provider of COVID-19 test kits to market their products to businesses employing Unifor members. Until leaks in March made it impossible for the bureaucracy to squelch the scandal, it sought to keep members in the dark as to the true nature of the allegations against Dias. According to news reports, when the executive first admitted Dias was under investigation, it even told union staffers that the probe did not relate to a financial matter.

As the scramble for lucrative union positions between the factions led by Payne, Doherty and Cassidy intensifies, the Toronto Star published highlights last week of 1,600 pages of leaked transcripts of minutes from the unions National Executive Board meetings from February to Junethe period encompassing the unfolding of the corruption investigation and the union apparatus reactions to it.

An additional leak to the Globe and Mail of the expense accounts of 17 senior union officials revealed that top Unifor bureaucrats spent $1.79 million on expenses, including international business class airfares, five-star hotels and other sundries, in 2018, and $1.84 million in 2019. Due to limited travel during the pandemic, the expense-claim payouts dropped significantly in 2020 and 2021.

Dias expenses topped the group, reaching $317,000 in 2018 and $280,000 the following year. Dohertys expenses fell just short of Dias payouts during those years. Secretary-Treasurer Payne, who also racked up six-figure expenses in 2018 and 2019, was in charge of ratifying the expense claims of all union staff outside of the presidents office. In 2019, Unifor raked in $113 million in union dues from rank-and-file workers, accounting for almost 90 percent of its revenues.

Unifors membership of auto, aerospace, forestry, mining, railway, passenger airline and other workers and the public at large first became aware of the Dias kickback scandal as the result of a hastily organized March 23 Unifor press conference. Payne, acting by then as de facto president and flanked by the unions entire national executive, told reporters that a seven-week independent external investigation into Dias recent activities determined on the balance of probability that he had received the kickback. The secret payoff to Dias was in return for his having promoted the kits to various employers of Unifor members. A number of these companies subsequently purchased kits for distribution to their workforces.

Dias, citing health problems, had refused throughout the process to make himself available to the external investigators Unifor had hired. However, the latest spate of press leaks have brought to light information that indicate the now retired Unifor president brought intense pressure on his fellow bureaucrats to cover up the affair entirely.

The scandal came to light when a senior Unifor officialDias assistant and close confidant Chris MacDonaldinformed the union executive on January 26 that Dias had given him a paper bag containing $25,000 on January 20 and said that the money, part of a $50,000 payoff, was provided by a test-kit supplier. The unions executive board has refused to release the name of the company that provided the kickback, or the companies that bought the kits due to lobbying by Dias and MacDonald. In April, police confirmed that they had opened a criminal investigation into the matter, but they have divulged no further information over the past three months.

The freshly leaked minutes show that the third-party investigation into Dias activities found that Dias repeatedly pressured MacDonald to keep the $25,000, suggesting that he could even use it to buy Dias boat. As events then unfolded, the investigators report states, There was an attempt to broker a specific arrangement whereby Dias would resign [as Unifor president] in exchange for MacDonald dropping the complaint, which MacDonald would not agree to do unless Dias admitted what he had done.

Payne later stated that Dias had tied his offer of resignation to a pledge from the unions top leadership, that was never forthcoming, to keep his transgressions private. Minutes of subsequent National Executive Board meetings have shown that senior officials were divided on how much information should be released to the membership about the brewing scandal.

Only this past Friday evening did Unifor release to its local unions a redacted copy of the findings from the external investigation into Dias involvement in the kickback scheme. It confirms that the Unifor president had functioned unabashedly as a COVID profiteer as the highly infectious and potentially deadly Omicron variant began its sweep through the population.

The investigators report reveals that at least $1.2 million in revenues were made by those marketing the test kits. Kits were being sold at $3 above cost with profits coming in upwards of $300,000. It is still unclear where the test kits originated.

Doherty, who was linked in the investigators report to pressuring MacDonald on behalf of Dias, subsequently relinquished his official endorsement by the Executive Board after Secretary-Treasurer Payne, who had previously positioned herself as neutral, suddenly announced her own candidacy as Unifor president.

Paynes opponents soon accused her of weaponizing official proceedings as Board spokesperson to benefit her own campaign. Payne was accused of joining other opponents of Doherty in a successful push to override a constitutional requirement to convene an emergency presidential election if the unions highest post becomes vacant more than 120 days before the regularly scheduled triennial convention.

The third candidate, Dave Cassidy, president of the Windsor autoworkers Local 444, entered the race shortly after the executive board, at Dias urging, endorsed Doherty. Cassidy denounced the unions practice of anointing its presidents and electing them unopposed. Cassidys appeal for union transparency is tailored to open an electoral avenue against Doherty and Payne among the membership and, by so doing, prevent an irrevocable break of the rank-and-file with the entire rotten organization.

Cassidys feigned opposition to the top bureaucracy and posturing as a union reformer are a sham. As he told reporters, he also sought the backing of the unions top brass. I went to Jerry (Dias) and told Jerry, Jerry, Ive supported you for 20 years. I expect you to support me. And it didnt happen, he said. It is what it is.

The faux outrage over Dias corruption by those seeking to succeed him is aimed at diverting attention away from the fact that his behaviour is not a matter simply of personal greed and corruption. Rather, it arises organically out of the role that Unifor and the union bureaucracy play as a whole as appendages of corporate management and the capitalist state. The unions long ago repudiated any connection to the defence of the interests of the workers they claim to represent. Instead, they are staffed by well-paid officials whose six-figure salaries are accompanied by expense accounts that far exceed the annual pay of most Unifor members.

Dias led for almost a decade an organization that embodies the unions emergence as a partner of the political establishment and big business. He functioned to all intents and purposes as an adviser to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his Liberal government, including during the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement to lay the basis for an even more explicitly anti-China protectionist trade bloc to advance the economic, military, and geopolitical ambitions of Canadian and US imperialism around the world.

In each bargaining round Dias led with the Detroit Three automakers, he functioned ever more openly as a cheap-labour contractor, offering big business the givebacks they demanded to remain globally competitive, that is highly profitable, at the expense of workers living standards.

And under Dias leadership, Unifor played a major role in enforcing the ruling class ruinous profits-before-lives pandemic policy, helping herd workers back into unsafe workplaces amid the worst health crisis in a century.

It is this legacy that all three current candidates to succeed him defend and promote.

The Unifor convention, which will open in Toronto on August 8, will follow closely on the heels of the United Auto Workers (UAW) convention that began in Detroit on Monday. The latter union, whose operations are currently under the supervision of an independent monitor after a series of corruption scandals that saw more than a dozen senior union officialsincluding two UAW International presidentsindicted and jailed, begins its convention with fresh criminal allegations against new president Ray Curry and other top officials. They are accused of deliberately keeping information about corrupt officials from investigators.

There is a growing rebellion of rank-and-file UAW members against the corrupt, pro-company union, which, like Unifor, has imposed round after round of concessions and job cuts, and systematically pits workers in Canada, the US and Mexico against each other. It finds expression in the wave of recent militant struggles, including at Volvo Trucks, Dana and John Deere, where workers have taken up the call of the WSWS and WSWS Autoworker Newsletter for the formation of rank-and-file factory committees to break the stranglehold of the UAW bureaucracy and launch a counter-offensive to overturn decades of UAW-backed concessions and win major improvements in living standards and working conditions.

The most conscious expression of this growing opposition is the campaign of William Lehman, a Pennsylvania Mack Trucks worker and socialist who is running for UAW president in the first-ever membership vote for the unions highest office. Lehmans campaign, as he forthrightly explains, is aimed at abolishing the corrupt UAW apparatus and transferring power to worker-led and controlled, rank-and-file committees. He is advancing a global strategy to unite and coordinate the struggles of workers across national boundaries to fight the automakers and other transnational corporations.
July 26 is the sixth day that the Socialist Equality Party (Australia) Twitter account has been locked, a measure effectively disabling it, without reason or rational explanation.

A video posted by the account last Thursday morning (AEST), has been branded by Twitter as breaking the sites rules against posting or sharing privately produced/distributed intimate media of someone without their express consent. The video contained no images that could conceivably be described as such.

The video that Twitter has censored, which is still available on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube

Despite this, Twitter has not responded to an appeal submitted by the SEP on Friday morning (AEST), demanding the reinstatement of the account and an explanation for the censorship.

Yesterday morning, a second appeal was submitted, which has also been posted publicly on Twitter by SEP National Secretary Cheryl Crisp. It states:

Twitter Support has refused to respond to our appeal of 72 hours ago to lift the lock which you imposed on the @SEP_Australia now 4 days ago. Despite proving categorically that we have breached none of the Twitter guidelines, including the ones cited as the basis for your arbitrary and anti-democratic actions, you have remained silent and the lock is still in place.

The Twitter claims were that a video we posted violated rules against posting or sharing privately produced/distributed intimate media of someone without their express consent. A cursory review would reveal this is patently false.

It is absolutely clear that this is a politically motivated censorship of a political party with a more than 50-year history in this country and one which has fought consistently against the attack on democratic rights of which this is one.

We are sending a second appeal to you, @TwitterSupport to reverse its lock on the @SEP_Australia. We oppose, in the strongest terms, the censorship of the SEP for the video we tweeted on Thursday. The video links SEPs campaign in defence of Dr David Berger, an Australian general practitioner targeted for opposing the official let it rip program of mass COVID infection, to the plight of Julian Assange and others who have had their democratic rights attacked.

We demand that Twitter reverse its lock on the @SEP_Australia immediately. We will not take down the video as it breaks no rules. Twitters continued lock is an assault on free speech and underscores the importance of the fight to defend democratic rights.

As of this posting, the second appeal has also not been answered, more than 24 hours after it was lodged.

As Crisp notes, Twitters actions are an extraordinary attack on democratic rights, with broad implications.

Overnight, an Australian political party, with a record of more than 50 years of activity, has had a significant aspect of its public profile shutdown, without any grounds or meaningful ability to appeal.

This affects not only the SEP, but its audience and potential audience. In the first instance, the SEP page has more than 2,000 followers, accumulated over twelve years of continuous postings on Twitter since 2010.

SEP campaigners win strong support from workers and youth in Brisbane [WSWS Media]

Large numbers of workers, young people and professionals, who may not yet have encountered the SEP, peruse Twitter, looking for discussion on current events and politics, including escalating militarism and war, the erosion of democratic rights and the consequences of the let it rip COVID program adopted by governments around the world, including in Australia.

They are being denied the opportunity to access the socialist and internationalist alternative to these ruling-class policies, as it has been advanced by the SEP account previously.

The censorship, moreover, which has a clear impact on Australian political life, has been carried out by a global technology company, headquartered in the United States, which is accountable to no one but its ultra-wealthy shareholders and the government-intelligence agencies that it frequently collaborates with.

The only phone number that can be found for Twitter on the open Internet is answered by an automated message, declaring that it does not accept calls! The company is thus faceless, voiceless and uncontactable, its support representatives free to ignore complaints and appeals from behind their computer screens.

A test carried out by SEP members has underscored the Kafkaesque character of Twitters moderation policies. From their personal accounts, three SEP members posted the video that had been censored on the SEP page, with an identical comment above.

The first had not posted links from the World Socialist Web Site or closely associated their account with the SEP. Their post of the very same video that has resulted in the disabling of the SEP account remains visible on Twitter, a day after it was put there.

Two other SEP members, who do post links to the WSWS and identify their accounts with the SEP also shared the video. Their postings were removed within seconds and their accounts were immediately locked.

This strongly suggests the involvement of an algorithm that is incorrectly labeling the video as an infraction of Twitter rules. The fact that one of the three tweets remained, however, raises questions as to whether this particular algorithm is being selectively applied to close supporters of the WSWS and the SEP.

As with the SEP account, the two members were subjected to a 12-hour lock. After that had elapsed, they were given the option of deleting the video, or their account would remain locked. One of them did delete the video, prompting a message from Twitter: By agreeing to delete the tweet, you acknowledge that it violated Twitter's rules of conduct.

The video, however, violates no rules. Clearly, it is not an option for the SEP, a political party, to acknowledge that it shared intimate media of someone without their express consent, when it did not. Twitters bizarre allegation suggests conduct that in some jurisdictions, including Australia, could be in breach of criminal laws.

The protracted nature of the Twitter lock demonstrates that it is politically-motivated censorship. Whatever the role of the social media companys opaque algorithms, themselves set into motion by administrators, Twitter support has had days to correct any error that was made in falsely labeling the video as a violation of the rules.

The political character of this censorship is clear.

The video defended Dr Berger, who is the target of a malicious witch-hunt by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency, because he opposes the profit-driven let it rip policies that are currently resulting in a massive surge of the virus.

The video also supported Julian Assange, the subject of an unprecedented 12-year witch-hunt by the US, British, Australian and Swedish governments, over his exposure of war crimes. The American intelligence agencies, which are known to direct instructions to Twitter and other social media companies, have orchestrated the persecution of the WikiLeaks publisher.

In other words, these are hot button issues that are followed with the greatest interest in the corridors of power, and around which massive attacks on civil liberties have already been imposed.

The SEP will continue its campaign for the full reinstatement of its account, to defend its own rights and to defeat a precedent for further censorship of left-wing, anti-war and socialist content. We appeal to all workers, students and young people to assist us by posting statements demanding an end to the lock to @TwitterSupport.
At yesterdays White House COVID-19 press briefing, Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre declared, As we have said, almost everyone is going to get COVID and because of the hard work we have done since day one turning around the disjointed COVID response we had inherited, we have the tools to ensure that people can go about their daily life and work.

Bidens spokewoman then added, The president is fully vaccinated, twice boosted, and taking Paxlovid. His current health speaks to how Americans should avail themselves to boosters and treatments.

This is a remarkable admission in that it explicitly states that the Biden administration has washed its hands of any attempt to stem a pandemic that has already killed a million people in America and 20 million around the world. Everyone is going to get COVID should be read as a statement of intent. It confirms that a policy of mass infection, mass death and mass murder is the agenda of the US president and the ruling class for which he speaks.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, left, speaks during a briefing with White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Ashish Jha, right, at the White House in Washington, Monday, July 25, 2022. [AP Photo/Susan Walsh]

Hospitalizations and deaths continue to climb as BA.5s dominance grows. Nearly 450 people are dying every day from COVID-19. This translates to 164,000 a year, five times the average killed by influenza and a toll that would have been considered inconceivable before the beginning of the pandemic. And this does not take into account the predictions by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of another massive surge of infections this fall and winter.

Beyond the immediate death toll, one in five of those who are infected and survive will experience Long COVID, and a third of these can suffer from debilitating disease. Yet, with $1.3 billion given to the NIH (National Institutes of Health) to study the Post-Acute COVID Syndrome (the formal title of Long COVID), there is not a single therapeutic trial up and running. The press secretary was not asked about this and would have had nothing to say.

Meanwhile, study after study has documented that even mild COVID-19 infections can accelerate the aging process in adults and children. Allowing everyone to get infected means a generation of children and teenagers who will be deliberately crippled even before they have ventured into the world on their own.

Hospitals across the country are facing drastic and unprecedented staffing shortages, which are further compounding worker burnout. Infections and reinfections are causing health care workers to fall sick and forcing them to choose between staying home to care for themselves or coming in to work and infecting their patients. Many hospitals are considering eliminating routine COVID-19 testing to cut wait times in overcrowded emergency rooms.

Federal funding for addressing staff shortages is being exhausted. An article published in Politico yesterday reported, As of July 22, hospitals in nearly 40 states reported critical staffing shortages, while hospitals in all 50 states said they expected to within a week.

Nancy Foster, vice president for quality and patient safety policy at the American Hospital Association, told Politico, There is growing concern that this money has run out. Its not really getting sufficient attention. While we have previously experienced staffing shortages, were keenly aware of the staffing shortages at virtually every kind of position within the hospital right now. If we have a large influx of COVID patients, it will be [a] much more challenging surge to meet those demands that ever before. How will everyone catching COVID-19 avail themselves of therapeutics and treatments when the entire health care system is on the verge of collapse?

The Biden administration is keenly aware of the crisis in health care but chooses to ignore the implications. Over the past 10 days, there has been a deliberate shift by the Biden administration to force the population to accept the consequences of living and dying with COVID-19.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the longtime head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), announced in an interview with Politico last week that he would retire before the end of Bidens first term.

Asked if he was staying in his role at age 81 out of a sense of obligation, Fauci replied, Were in a pattern now. If somebody says, Youll leave when we dont have COVID anymore, then I will be 105. I think were going to be living with this.

This was an astonishing statement, implying that the COVID-19 pandemic would continue to plague the world for another quarter century. There have already been three Omicron waves since December, ultimately producing the highly contagious BA.5 subvariant. What does a scenario of 25 years of global pandemic mean for the human race?

Clearly his statement was not a slip of the tongue. Such interviews are rehearsed and prepared in advance by the administration, and the occasion was used as a test of the public response to the declaration that COVID-19 was here to stay.

When news of Bidens positive COVID-19 test broke on Thursday, the media response amounted to a celebration of the health care available to the US president, including Paxlovid, a drug which is out of reach for many working class victims of SARS-CoV-2. Bidens recent world travels, with multiple maskless photo ops, were more than just careless. The president and his staff allowed nature to take its course and dropped all mitigation measures for him. In short, they allowed him to get infected.

Given his age and understanding the airborne nature of the disease, his staff and medical doctors would have demanded protecting him from contracting a virus that has killed millions and pushed life expectancy down by more than two years. Additionally, the risk of Long COVID and the impact it has on nearly every organ system despite vaccination status would have ensured his well-being was guarded carefully. He takes blood thinners and cholesterol-lowering medications which place him in a high-risk category.

The Wall Street Journal wrote on the occasion, The Presidents infection demonstrates how hard it is to avoid the new highly transmissible COVID variants. The White House has gone to great lengths to protect Mr. Biden, but theres only so much staff can do if the President is going to do his job.

The sub-headline of the editorial read, His infection shows that everyone will get the virus eventually. This was echoed nearly word for word by Ms. Jean-Pierre three days later.

The other major aspect of official COVID-19 policy was spelled out by the White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha. In a press briefing Friday on Bidens condition, he said, This virus is going to be with us forever.

Biden ran for president on the promise that he would carry out the measures necessary to bring an end to the pandemic. Now his administration has officially adopted the policy that everyone will get COVID-19 and the virus will be with us forever. While the Trump administration advocated herd immunity, claiming everyone would become immune if the virus was allowed free rein, Biden drops any pretense of a strategy: SARS-CoV-2 has conquered, and his administration has surrendered.

This policy is not unique to the American ruling class. In every country, with the significant exception of China, the financial aristocracy has decided that nothing should be done to fight COVID-19. The elderly, the sick and immunocompromised, working people and their children will pay the price, while those in the most privileged positions, like Biden and the billionaires he serves, will have unlimited resources to survive the deadly pandemic.

The American people have not learned to live with COVID; they have been coerced into it. They have been lied to, as they elected a president who claimed to follow the science but has actually followed the money. The measures necessary to fight the pandemic are in complete conflict with the profit interests of the financial elite, so public health will be sacrificed to private wealth.
Metal stamping facility Smart Alabama LLC, a subsidiary of Hyundai Motors behind the Luverne city signage [Photo by AJ+]

Children as young as 12 have been working illegally at a Hyundai-owned plant in the state, according to a recently published report by Reuters. Workers at the factory have known about the child workers for years; a recent missing child case originating in Enterprise, Alabama has forced the state to acknowledge the plants hiring practices. Alabamas Attorney General has not yet issued a comment.

Pedro Tzi, a Guatemalan migrant living in Enterprise, reported in February that his teenage daughter was missing. In the ensuing investigation, it was revealed that the girl and her brothers, ages 12 and 15, had been working in nearby SMART, LLC, a subsidiary of Hyundai, for years. None of them attended school during this period. Tzi reported his daughters age as 12 initially. In statements to Reuters, he said that she was almost 14.

The plant makes parts for Hyundais Elantra, Sonata and Santa Fe models. Together, these vehicles represent almost 37 percent of the automakers sales in the US.

Tzis daughter was found in Atlanta, Georgia, traveling with a 20-year-old who also worked at SMART. The worker was charged with kidnapping, arrested, and swiftly deported. The teenager claims she left willingly, telling police that she and her companion had hoped to find better working conditions in Atlanta.

Having no jurisdiction over labor laws, the Enterprise Police Department reported the infractions to the State Attorney Generals office. In response to the publication of the Reuters article, the Alabama Department of Labor announced on Friday that they would be launching a thorough investigation of the plant to ensure compliance with labor laws.

Around a dozen current and former employees of SMART spoke to Reuters, most of them on condition of anonymity, about the use of underage workers at the plant.

One worker reported that he knew that about 50 child workers were at the plant. Another former employee reported that she worked with around 12 minors on her shift.

Tabatha Moultry was one of the few workers to speak openly to Reuters. She worked at the SMART plant for years, leaving in 2019. She told Reuters that the plant turned to hiring migrant workers to remedy high turnover and increasing demands on production. Moultry recounted working with a migrant girl who looked 11 or 12 years old and who came to work with her mother every day.

When Moultry pressed the girl about her age, she admitted she was 13.

She was way too young to be working in that plant, or any plant, Moultry told Reuters.

SMART has said that it does not employ minors. Workers say that dozens of child workers were dismissed from the plant in anticipation of scrutiny following the Tzi girls missing persons case.

Minors under the age of 18 are prohibited by both Alabama and federal law from working in metal stamping and pressing operations like SMART. Metal stamping is regarded by many occupational health experts as one of the most dangerous jobs in the manufacturing sector. The hazards in such facilities are manifold and severe: Amputations, lacerations, falls, and electrocution are but a few.

SMARTs Luverne facility has accumulated $48,515 in penalties from Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) since 2013. OSHA citations enumerate crushing and amputation risks at the facility.

According to its website, SMART, LLC is capable of producing parts for over 400,000 vehicles annually. Between its high turnover rates and increasing production demands, the plant relies heavily upon labor from Mexico and Central America, and it frequently contracts with labor recruiters who procure visas for these workers. In late 2020, SMART General Manager Gary Sport penned a letter to U.S. consular officials in Mexico seeking a visa for a Mexican worker, saying that the plant was severely lacking in labor and that Hyundai will not tolerate such shortcomings.

This year, a class-action lawsuit was filed against SMART and several of the staffing agencies on behalf of 40 Mexican workers. The lawsuit alleges that SMART used staffing agencies to hire workers as engineers. Once in the US, they were placed in manual labor jobs instead.

SMART has called these allegations baseless. Its relationship with unethical staffing companies is well-known to workers, though. Workers speaking to Reuters claim that the minors at the plant were hired through staffing agencies.

Hyundai is one of several automakers who have opened plants in Alabama in the past 20 years. The states tax incentives, lax regulation, and depressed salaries make the state an attractive location for companies seeking a cheap labor force.

The pandemic has led to historic turnover and to supply chain issues for these companies. Hyundai has responded to these pressures by deciding to expand its operations in the United States and says it plans to invest over $5 billion.

This will translate to more aggressive hiring strategies. SMARTs child labor practices are nothing but an embarrassment; in the future, the company and its recruitment agencies will proceed, not with a plan to hire ethically, but to cover their tracks more thoroughly.

The automotive industry is not the only sector turning to illegal hiring practices since the pandemic. In Enterprise, the city where Pedro Tzi lives with his children, a 16-year-old Guatemalan migrant was illegally hired to work in a poultry plant. Amelia Domingo had fled Guatemala alone, like many Central American children have done in recent years.

Unaccompanied minor immigrants like Amelia will be especially vulnerable to unethical hiring practices as supply chain issues continue, labor researchers say.
Roger Waters, the renowned musician and activist, co-founder of the group Pink Floyd and its creative driving force from 1968 to 1984, is currently touring his concert and multimedia installation This Is Not a Drill across North America. At least one million people are expected to attend the performances.

The tour, which made a stop in Detroit on July 23, uses Waters extensive artistic catalog to condemn the ruthlessness of the ruling elite in the US and around the world. Virtually every song is directed toward pressing issues of our time: imperialist war, fascism, the poison of nationalism, the plight of refugees, the victims of state oppression, global poverty, social inequality, the attack on democratic rights and the danger of nuclear annihilation.

Roger Waters performing in 2018. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo) [AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo]

Such an event, so unusual and important, demands special consideration, above all because it raises to a high and pressing level, in the actual experience of large numbers of people, the issue of the relationship between art and politics in a period of unprecedented crisis.

The concert in Detroit was a remarkable musical, visual and intellectual experience. This Is Not a Drill incorporates many of the memorable songs from Pink Floyds catalog while Waters was still at the helm, but never becomes a nostalgia tour. Waters, in fact, does not want anyone to forget about their troubles for a while. His main concern throughout the evening was ensuring that the songs corresponded to ongoing social and political developments.

A lesser-known song from Waters solo work, The Powers That Be (1987), is performed in thunderous fashion against footage of police shootings and military bombings. The imagery culminates in a textual memorial to nearly two dozen victims of police violence in the US and other countries. The angry protests of the audience increased with each death notice.

On the searing 1992 anti-war song The Bravery of Being Out of Range, Waters incorporates images of each US president since Ronald Reagan with descriptions of their murderous foreign policies and superimposes the words War Criminal on every one. As for Joe Biden, Waters notes that he is Just Getting Started. At the crescendo of the songwhich has the memorable refrain Old timer, who are you gonna kill next?a sudden red audio-visual blast envelops the audience, intended to provide a sense of what it must be like to be shot at by a military drone or aircraft.

At the end of the nightmarish 1979 song Run Like Hell, the animated imagery transforms into video footage of a US military helicopter firing missiles on a residential neighborhood. The text explains this was actual footage of 10 civilians and journalists killed in Iraq in 2007. It adds that the video was courageously leaked by Chelsea Manning and courageously published by Julian Assange. The installation is then emblazoned with the words Free Julian Assange and Lock Up The Killers, generating some of the loudest cheers of the evening.

The performance ends on a high and disturbing note, richly drawn out. Waters band first performs a medley of songs from the legendary 1973 Dark Side of the Moon albumUs and Them, Any Colour You Like and Brain Damage. The steadily rising chorus of each is set to gradually multiplying images, eventually hundreds of them, of people from around the world. These are portraits of a wide range of human beingsadolescent victims of wars, industrial workers, mothers, sick children, the homeless. It is a humane and unifying imagery, which climaxes in a giant panorama at the conclusion of Brain Damage. It is a reminder from Waters of how much there is to lose in the world.

This medley is immediately followed by the lesser-known but powerful Two Suns in the Sunset (1983). Waters introduces the song with references to the current dangers of nuclear war, clearly pointing to the US/NATO-instigated war against Russia in Ukraine, involving the worlds largest nuclear-armed powers. The initial pastoral and brightly animated imagery of an individual driving in the countryside frighteningly changes character. We realize that the brightness emanates from a nuclear bombs mushroom cloud, which incinerates large masses of people in the visuals.

The conventional wisdom, pumped out by innumerable literary and music journals, taught at every art and drama college, has it that art and politics, like oil and water, had better not be mixed. Various cautionary examples from the past are regularly produced to intimidate young artists, to impress upon them the folly of social engagement. Even more generally, the prevailing notion is that the aesthetic element is a thing existing in and of itself, a value that has little or nothing to do with the lives and concerns of the great masses of people, as though the artist who creates an aesthetic form and the audience who enjoys it are empty machines, one for creating form and the other for appreciating it.

If the artist, the official version goes, has strong views, he or she had better keep them to him or herself. And many artists and musicians, sadly, live up to these notions. But Waters is not one of them. The entire concert tour is a deliberate and conscious refutation of such ideas. An opening message on the multimedia installation spells this out: If youre one of those I love Pink Floyd, but I cant stand Rogers politics people, you might do well to fuck off to the bar right now. How appropriate and eloquent! In reality, how could art in our time of unparalleled turmoil and suffering be significant if it did not possess the element of protest? What would it be saying to its audience? The artist who accepts the false dichotomy between art and politics, who knows his or her proper place, will end up not meaning much to anyone and will certainly not endure.

The powers that be recognize the danger. Though This Is Not a Drill has received some favorable news coverage, there is an obvious lack of reporting on it in the mainstream press. Waters recently denounced the Toronto media after it refused to provide any significant coverage of his two-night performance in that city. The critics prefer their music without the angry unpleasantness.

The decision to ignore Waters performances in Toronto has to be connected with his opposition to the US-NATO war against Russia in Ukraine. The musician has taken a principled stand on the conflict. While firmly opposing the reactionary Russian invasion, Waters commented that a long drawn-out insurgency in Ukraine would be great for the gangster hawks in Washington. Its what they dream of.

It is impossible not to be moved by Waters socially engaged, historically informed musical performance, by the fusion of serious art work and incisive political analysis. Waters is not presenting a systematically developed political perspective, much less the program of a particular tendency. What finds expression in This is Not a Drill is deep outrage against injustice, against war, against official hypocrisy and lies.

Waters at 78, possessing the energy and spirit of an individual half his age, is not conducting a nostalgia tour. Other performers his age continue to travel and play their old hits, presumably earning a living. The vast majority of themparticularly those whose art was rooted in the anti-Vietnam War and civil rights struggles of the 1960slost their anger decades ago. They made their social and artistic peace with society. They have to continue performing their original material because they have nothing new and important to say. Worst of all, they may even have a Kennedy Center Honor, that wide rainbow-colored ribbon of shame, hung around their necks by US presidents whose hands are drenched with blood.

Waters, on the other hand, is not a legend, i.e., a relic. He remains a living, working, thinking artist. He is still engaged, still pressing forward. His work is a response of a serious artist to the conditions of his time.

The three-hour performance was a tour de force, which involves the participation of master musicians. Waters proves in practice at every performance on this tour the truth of Leon Trotskys proposition that a protest against reality always forms part of a really creative piece of work, and that every new tendency in artand such an installation-concert must be considered a new tendencyhas begun with rebellion.

Waters is a serious and, therefore, unflinchingly honest artist, bold in his conceptions about the world. His striking artistry and his opposition to the existing social system are interwoven, they nourish one another. This is not an artificial leftism, grafted on a contrived and superficial radicalism that is careful to avoid stepping over the accepted limits. Waters absorbed rebellion into his bone and marrow a very long time ago, and he continues to live and breathe it. He inspires the audience to think critically, to feel outrage against that which exists, and to believe that a new and better world can and must be brought into being.
In virtual remarks addressed to the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE), President Joe Biden hailed the police as saviors of democracy while announcing billions in new funding for police departments around the country through the Safer America Plan.

Ignoring the over 600 people who have been killed by police so far this year, and the hundreds, or perhaps thousands, more who have been killed due to police cowardice, as seen most vividly in the Uvalde Massacre and subsequent cover-up , Biden said, Every day we rely on law enforcement to save lives.

Then, Biden continued, on January 6th we relied on law enforcement to save our democracy. Biden specifically named the Capitol Police and the D.C. Metropolitan Police. Biden said the while the police were subject to medieval hell for three hours, the defeated president of the United States watched it all happen.

President Joe Biden delivers remarks virtually to the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives Conference, July 25, 2022

The police were heroes that day. Donald Trump lacked the courage to act, Biden said, adding: You cant be pro-insurrection and pro-cop. You cant be pro-insurrection and pro-democracy. You cant be pro-insurrection and pro-American.

In his retelling of history, which is indistinguishable from the narrative advanced by reactionary vice chair of the House Select Committee, Liz Cheney (Republican-Wyoming), Biden claimed that the assault on Congress was instigated by Trump alone, without any support from the police, military and intelligence agencies, and that Trump acted not as the leader of a coup, but instead, a bystander, who did not have the courage to act.

This false narrative is meant to uphold the institutions of the state as legitimate and chloroform the American people as to the role of wide sections of the capitalist state, including the police at all levels, towards Trumps effort to remain in office despite being defeated in the 2020 election.

The police are riddled with fascists and racists. Dozens of police have been arrested for participating in the coup, with ABC News reporting this year that at least 52 former or current police and military members have been charged in the attack.

Additionally, during the coup itself, several cops were filmed taking selfies with Trumps mob while allowing fascists and white supremacists to freely enter the Capitol to carry out their deadly objectives.

That the police played a significant role in almost ensuring the coups success was revealed in a Senate report commissioned last year.

Despite its limitations, the report gives some indication of the massive cover-up by the police and intelligence agencies. It noted that by 10:30 a.m. on January 6, over two hours before the first Proud Boys would break past police lines, a US Capitol Police update noted that organizers of Trumps rally planned to march to the Capitol after the Presidents speech. Despite this planned march, which the Capitol Police estimated to contain as many as 30,000 people, no additional steps were taken to protect Congress.

The hearings have revealed that around this time, prior to Trumps speech at the Ellipse outside the White House, police and Secret Service, who were in constant radio communication, were well aware that Trumps mob included people who were armed with spears, knives, clubs, bear mace, pistols and even long rifles.

The same report notes that despite the Capitol Police employing 1,879 cops as of September 2020, the agency only deployed 195 cops to the exterior and interior posts of the Capitol the morning of January 6. By 2 p.m., over an hour after fascists broke through purposefully underequipped and undermanned police lines, the report notes that 1,214 police were on-site, but only 417 of those cops locations could be verified.

Some of those police missing in action, the World Socialist Web Site has previously reported, included members of the Containment Emergency Response Team, or CERT. While CERT was tasked during the coup with evacuating high-level members of Congress, including members of the vice presidents team, they did not respond, according to former Capitol Police Inspector General Michael Bolton.

While there is no money for social services or COVID-19 and monkeypox vaccines, in a White House fact sheet released last week on the misnamed Safer American Plan, Biden outlined a staggering proposal that calls for $37 billion in funding for the cops in the 2023 budget. Of the $37 billion, $13 billion is earmarked for hiring over 100,000 new police officers, through the COPS hiring program.

Biden has repudiated the demands of millions of working class voters and youth who mistakenly thought the Democratic Party had any intentions of defunding killer cops following massive protests held in the wake of the police murder of George Floyd.

In his comments to the black police leaders gathered in Orlando, Florida, Biden said, when it comes to public safety, the answer isnt to defund the police, its to fund the police. Fund the police. Biden noted that the $350 billion allocated to states, cities and tribes as part of the American Rescue Plan signed into law last year, could also be used, and in many cities already has been used, to hire police.

Over $10 billion of that money is being used to keep cops on the job [and for] new training facilities, Biden said. Appealing to the black bourgeoisie and upper-middle class liberals obsessed with race and identity politics, Biden said that funding included in the American Rescue Plan was part of his relentless efforts to empower black communities.

Under the guise of police reform, the Safer American Plan allocates $15 billion towards a grant program called Accelerating Justice System Reform. Cities and states can apply for and receive the funding as long as they claim it will be used to prevent violent crime. The purposefully broad definition will allow states and cities to use the funds for literally anything they want to that is police related.

As Biden showers increasingly fascistic police departments around the country with billions of dollars in new funding, right-wing sheriffs aligned with ex-President Donald Trump continue to build an authoritarian movement aimed at suppressing voters in future elections.

The same day Biden spoke to NOBLE, the New York Times published an article headlined 2020 Election Deniers Seek out Powerful Allies: County Sheriffs. The Times writes that two right-wing sheriffs groups seek to lend law enforcement credibility to Trumps lies, which have been embraced by a majority of the Republican Party and their voters, that the 2020 election was stolen and that Biden is illegitimate.

The two groups named by the Times are Protect America Now and the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, CSPOA. From July 1316 in Las Vegas the two groups participated in a conference dubbed FreedomFest whose speakers included several right-wing sheriffs, Trumps former Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, Steve Forbes of Forbes magazine and sometimes journalist, full-time Fox News apologist, Glenn Greenwald.

At the event the Times reported that speakers urged sheriffs to open investigation of the 2020 election, which they compared to a rigged sporting event.

CSPOA members, including Barry County, Michigan, Sheriff Dar Leaf, who was also at the Las Vegas event, were linked to the ultra-right political campaign against minimal COVID-19 protections and shutdowns, which sparked the assassination plot against Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer in 2020.

The CSPOA is led by Richard Mack, a former sheriff and co-founder, along with Elmer Stewart Rhodes of the Oath Keepers militia group. Rhodes is currently incarcerated on charges of seditious conspiracy for his role in Trumps failed coup.
The WSWS continues to receive statements in defence of Dr David Berger and in opposition to the censorship of the Socialist Equality Party (SEP) Australias Twitter page. @SEP_Australia was locked out on July 21 over a video in defence of Dr Berger and free speech. This blatantly political attack must be opposed by the broadest layers of workers, young people and professionals.

Dr Berger is an Australian physician and dedicated advocate for the elimination of COVID-19. He has been ordered by the Australia Health Practitioners Regulatory Authority (AHPRA) to undertake a special education program or be deregistered over his social media criticism of governments response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since the publication of our first article on July 8, which calls on scientists, health workers and other sections of workers to speak out in defence of Dr Berger, the WSWS has published eleven articles compiling statements of support.

We urge readers to write to @TwitterSupport on Twitter and demand an immediate reversal of the lock, and to continue to speak out in Dr Bergers defence. Statements of support can be emailed here. Please indicate in the email how you would like to be identified in our next article, and if you want to include a photo, please attach one to the email.

Amanda, a Melbourne teacher:

I strongly oppose the attacks on Dr Berger who has, from the beginning, stood up for measures to prevent misinformation and against mass sickness and death during the COVID-19 pandemic that continues to rage across the world.

Teachers and students at Trundle Central School in NSW (Image: AEU Facebook page)

I am encouraged by the people calling out the anti-democratic action of AHPRA, which is silencing Dr Berger and his supporters such as the SEP in Australia. Its extremely telling that Twitter has banned the SEP for calling this out, an action that should be understood and condemned by all.

This ban must be lifted immediately, along with all other forms of censorship, including that of Dr Berger. We must stand together in his defence, for freedom of speech and for the right to true information about COVID, as opposed to the deliberate and dangerous misinformation provided by governments around the world pushing a let-it-rip, lets pretend its over policy which only serves the interest of big-business at the expense of the most vulnerable.

Connections can and should be made about his silencing and that of Julian Assange. Both men courageously spoke out against governments and provided the public with information that was true and necessary. Through the persecution of Assange, our democratic rights are also taken away, including the right to freedom of speech and the publics right to information.

The fact that nobody has been held to account for the war crimes that Assange exposed, while he rots in jail, tortured and threatened with extradition to the US that will ultimately lead to his death, is a wake-up call for all workers.

I applaud Dr Berger and thank him for his unwavering commitment to sharing his vast medical knowledge. For helping people, like me, to understand the virus and its mitigations so that we can take control of our situation. I attribute to the fact that I have yet to experience COVID on being able to follow his advice.

This is especially important as I am a teacher and therefore, exposed to COVID on a daily basis. This is thanks to the lack of mitigations in schools and the fact that children cannot appropriately distance or take personal responsibility. Having worked remotely on and off for two years, classrooms are now major transmitters of the disease.

Thanks to Dr Bergers advice, my classroom is ventilated, we take outside breaks, eat outside and always have windows and doors open. I monitor CO2 levels and go outside if they rise above safe levels. I wear a well-fitted, P2 or N95 mask all day and, where I can, I encourage my students to wear masks.

As a result, we have had no known transmissions in my classroom this year or last, a very different situation to the majority of my colleagues. With students in packed classrooms without remote options, these mitigations need to be more widely known and understood. Dr Berger is a great advocate for this.

Keith, a school security guard in Queensland:

Im definitely opposed to censorship at all levels. The doctor, as a licensed medical professional, has the right, as anyone does, to go against the system. Its as if when you name names of those responsible for the pandemic you get into trouble.

There is more and more censorship now across the board. We cant talk about anything, like the Russian aspect to the Ukraine war. Twitter might start with an algorithm but then someone takes a look at it. The SEP video must have hit several hot topics. Then Twitter gave a fraudulent excuse about invading privacy!

The SEP account must be restored. The video must be shown. Twitter was probably waiting for something like this to happen, to move against the SEP. [Prime Minister] Albanese and [Foreign Minister] Wong might have sounded a sympathetic tone on Julian Assange, but they are happy to fly to any hotspot to assist Washington, not to defend Assange.

Jenny, a retired worker from Queensland:

The persecution of Dr David Berger is an absolute travesty. Ive watched his interviews and read his statements. He is among those in the medical fraternity who are not afraid to speak out against the let it rip policies which continue to kill and maim millions around the world.

Jenny Campbell [WSWS Media]

Nothing he has said is untrue. From the outset, epidemiologists, virologists and GPs have urged governments to keep mandates in place to prevent great losses of preventable deaths. Those voices have been systematically dropped from mainstream media outlets leaving only the internet.

Dr Berger has been courageous and intransigent, and deserves great support for his principled stand, not persecution by his governing body. How dare they say he needs to be re-educated. This method sounds more like a Stalinist technique than so-called Western democracy. It makes you wonder what they mean by re-education; do they want him to learn how to lie about Covid? The fact that Twitter felt compelled to freeze the Australian SEP account because it posted a video showing four people whove been persecuted for daring to speak the truth is very disturbing.
The German government is playing an increasingly aggressive role in NATOs proxy war against Russia, arming the pro-Western regime in Kiev to the teeth.

On Monday, Ukraine received its first Gepard anti-aircraft tanks from Germany. Today, the first three Gepards officially arrived, Defence Minister Olexiy Resnikov announced on Ukrainian television. In addition, he said, tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition had also been handed over. A total of 15 Gepards were expected to arrive, Resnikov added.

Gepard anti-aircraft tank of the Bundeswehr (Image: Hans-Hermann Buhling/CC BY-SA 2.0/ wikimedia)

This is the second delivery of so-called heavy weaponry from Germany and the first delivery of Western-designed tanks to Ukraine. Like the seven self-propelled howitzer 2000s already handed over to Kiev by Berlin, the Gepard tanks aim to further escalate the war.

The range of the tanks against targets in the air is up to 5,000 metres. The rate of fire of the two tank barrels is 550 rounds per minute each, making a total cadence of 1,100 rounds per minute. The tanks are to be used primarily against the Russian Air Force but can also engage targets on the ground.

The actual number of tanks delivered could end up being even higher than Resnikov indicated. In May, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (Social Democratic Party, SPD) had promised Kiev substantially more Gepards after a closed government meeting in Meseberg Castle. To repel the Russian offensive in the Donbass, he said, the country wanted to supply up to 50 Gepard tanks suitable for this purpose.

Since then, Germany has literally flooded Ukraine with weapons. The governments official tally of German lethal and non-lethal military support for Ukraine is now so long that only a fraction can be reproduced here. Among others, the following have been delivered so far:

900 Panzerfaust 3 bazookas with 3,000 shells

14,900 anti-tank mines

500 STINGER anti-aircraft missiles

2,700 STRELA anti-aircraft missiles

7 self-propelled howitzer 2000s including adaptations, training and spare parts (a joint project with the Netherlands)

21.8 million rounds of small arms ammunition

50 bunker busters

100 MG 3 machine guns with 500 spare barrels and breechblocks

100,000 hand grenades

5,300 explosive charges

100,000 metres of detonating cord and 100,000 explosive charges

350,000 detonators

280 motor vehicles

7,944 RGW 90 Matador anti-tank weapons.

Additional supplies are planned to include:

53,000 rounds of anti-aircraft ammunition

8 mobile ground radars and thermal imagers

3 self-propelled howitzer 2000s

4,000 rounds of anti-aircraft training ammunition

10 (+10 as option) autonomous surface drones

43 reconnaissance drones

54 M113 armoured troop carriers with armament (systems from Denmark, conversion financed by Germany)

30 Gepard anti-aircraft tanks including approximately 6,000 rounds of anti-aircraft ammunition

IRIS-T SLM air defence system

COBRA artillery tracking radar

3 MARS multiple rocket launchers with ammunition

3 armoured recovery vehicles

5,032 handheld anti-tank weapons

And even this is far from enough for the ruling class. Currently, leading government officials are beating the drum for the direct delivery of Leopard 2 and Marder heavy combat and infantry tanks to Ukraine. Up to now, the NATO powers have only delivered Soviet-designed battle tanks to Ukraine via a backfilling procedure to the East European countries providing the hardware. However, this model is not considered effective enough and has recently led to tensions between the Eastern European NATO countries and Germany. In particular, Poland has criticized Germany for not replacing Polish tank deliveries to Kiev quickly enough.

The chairwoman of the Bundestag (parliament) Defence Committee, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann (Free Democratic Party, FDP), said on Monday that Germany had so far not been able to provide replacements for its Eastern European NATO partners arms deliveries to Ukraine as quickly as expected. If this is problematic for our partners, we should stop the backfill arrangement and deliver directly to Ukraineif necessary also the Leopard 2. Time was pressing, Strack-Zimmermann told the dpa news agency.

Similar tones can be heard from the SPD. The aim of the backfill arrangement was primarily to support Ukraine in the short-term with weapons that soldiers there can operate without training, but that has not really worked so far, noted Michael Roth, chairman of the Bundestag Foreign Affairs Committee. He added that it was now a new phase of the war. Deliveries of Western weapons so far had made a real difference in recent weeks, he said, adding this must now be resolutely continued.

Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD) said she had great respect for Poland because the country had very quickly delivered the promised Soviet-designed T-72 tanks to Kiev. The gaps that had arisen would have to be made up quickly under the backfill procedure, she said. However, she was currently unable to do so from Bundeswehr [armed forces] stocks if she wanted to ensure national and alliance defence. She was therefore holding talks with industry and was certain that we will reach a good result.

In other words, the German defence industry will now be even quicker to make more German battle tanks and infantry fighting vehicles fit for purpose and build new onesfor NATOs Eastern European allies, for Ukraine, but above all for Germanys own armed forces.

The Greens, who have been clamouring incessantly for more direct tank deliveries to Ukraine for several days now, are acting particularly aggressively. The backfill arrangement is not working as planned, Katrin Goring-Eckardt, vice president of the Bundestag and long-time parliamentary group leader of the Greens, told the RND press agency. Alternatives belong on the table. For example, supplying weapons directly, if we can. She said the Polish governments criticism was a wake-up call and that Germany must organize sufficient support for Ukraine with weapons. After all, arms deliveries help decide the duration of the war, decide human lives.

The argumentation of the former Green pacifists follows the murderous war logic of German militarism in the last century. The leading representatives of the Imperial Empire and the Nazis Third Reich also justified the mobilization of the German war machine in the First and Second World Wars with the cynical argument of wanting to achieve a quick victorious peace or final victory. In reality, they prolonged the wars and sacrificed millions of lives to the predatory interests of German imperialism.

This is what is at stake today as well. The ruling class knows perfectly well that massive support for Ukraine is not only prolonging the war and the suffering it entails, but even conjures up the danger of a nuclear third world war. Only a few weeks ago, President Joe Biden warned that the delivery of NATO fighter jets to Ukraine could trigger World War III. Now, his administration is planning to do just that. Over the weekend, National Security Council Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby confirmed that the Pentagon was preparing to deliver fighter jets to Ukraine.

The German government is participating in the war madness because it wants to be in the forefront when it comes to dividing up the spoils and subjugating the resource-rich and geostrategically central Eurasian landmass. Moreover, it sees the NATO war as an opportunity to finally throw overboard the last post-war shackles and rise once again as the leading European military power after the defeats and unspeakable crimes of two world wars.

After the German crimes of World War II it was difficult to deal with anything military, complained Bundestag President Barbel Bas (SPD) in a speech to Bundeswehr recruits last Wednesday. Only to then announce, Ladies and gentlemen, our Bundeswehr must now be superbly equipped again. The Ukraine war, she said, makes one aware again of what we need the Bundeswehr forafter years of austerity, the suspension of conscription and base closures.

Bas openly declared that the ruling class was concerned with the comprehensive militarization of society and that the new recruits could soon find themselves at war. When you swear your oath today, you know: At this moment in Ukraine, servicemen and women are defending their homeland and putting their lives on the line to do so. And you know that the case of defence can actually occur for Germany as well, she declared without batting an eye. With the turn of the times and the special fund [of 100 billion for the Bundeswehr], she said, it was now possible to turn the hardship of war more and more into a virtue of appreciation for the Bundeswehr.

The occasion for her war speech was the ceremonial swearing in of new recruits on the 78th anniversary of the failed assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler by Wehrmacht officer Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg on July 20, 1944. That the ruling class is now relying on the July 20 assassins in its war offensive is a sign of the times. Stauffenberg and several of his supporters were staunch militarists and themselves long-time Hitler partisans. Contrary to official propaganda, their assassination attempt on the Fuhrer had nothing to do with the fight for freedom and democracy, but was intended to avert a complete military defeat in World War II and secure the interests of German imperialism.
The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) concluded its biennial convention on July 17. The event, held in Boston, was characterized by a cover-up of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, support for US imperialisms war against Russia, and an overall deepening of the unions integration with the capitalist state. It serves as a warning of the role that the union will play in suppressing the working class as the crisis of capitalism intensifies.

Randi Weingarten, president of the AFT, set the tone for the event in her keynote address. Other high profile speakers expressed the close collaboration between the capitalist state and the teachers union. They included First Lady Jill Biden, Labor Secretary Marty Walsh, Senator Elizabeth Warren, and AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler. Their speeches revealed the nervousness of the union bureaucracy and Biden administration about containing the growing movement of the working class and confining it into a dead-end Democratic Party voting campaign.

The speakers list also included Amazon Labor Union President Chris Smalls, the new darling of the AFL-CIO, which has embraced him in an effort to shore up its waning credibility.

AFT President Randi Weingarten (left), First Lady Dr. Jill Biden and NEA President Becky Pringle at January 21 White House meeting. [Photo by FLOTUS]

The COVID-19 pandemic

Weingarten acknowledged in her speech the unprecedented crisis facing educators and American democracy as a whole, citing the pandemic, the January 6 coup attempt, the war in Ukraine, and the Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade. She asked for a moment of silence for those we have lost. What took their lives and how many were lost, she did not say.

In fact, thousands of educators and school workers have died from COVID-19 since schools reopened in August 2020 according to an unofficial tracker. No official tally has been released by either the AFT or the other teachers union, the National Education Association (NEA), which also held its convention this month. Over 14 million children have been infected and at least 1,700 have died according to the CDC. The vast majority of infections and deaths occurred after September 2021, when children and educators were forced back into classrooms during the Delta and then Omicron waves. This policy was demanded by the Biden administration and ruthlessly enforced by the AFT.

Whitewashing her own culpability in the deadly school reopening campaign, Weingarten said that during the pandemic our members rolled up our sleeves to make in-person learning safe and welcoming. The AFT embarked on an unprecedented Back to School for All campaign last summer, giving $5 million in grants to 1,800 AFT affiliates serving some 20 million students.

It was Weingarten herself who boasted that she spent fifteen hours a day coercing educators and parents to return to unsafe classrooms. The AFT rank-and-file membership, meanwhile, waged a concerted struggle to keep schools, known to be central locations of viral transmission, remote.

Weingartens admission to visiting 150 work sites in the last 14 months is telling. Throughout January and February, thousands of educators and students staged walkouts in dozens of cities. Many of these were wildcats, organized independently or in defiance of the unions. In places where the unions were forced to call a temporary strike, they immediately sought to stifle and sabotage the struggle of teachers.

In Chicago, the AFT-affiliated Chicago Teachers Union (CTU), working closely with Weingarten and the Democratic administration of Mayor Lori Lightfoot, shut down a remote work action by 25,000 educators, who had halted in-person learning as the district faced record infection levels. The CTU shut down the job action before teachers even voted on an agreement negotiated with the district. The deal itself, which CTU President Jesse Sharkey claimed was the best they could get, did nothing to protect educators or students.

Teachers in Chicagos Pilsen neighborhood march against the unsafe reopening of Chicago Public Schools last year [Photo by @rcoppo1]

During her speech, Weingarten criticized the extremiststhe anti-public schools crowd, the anti-union crowd, the privatizers, the haters. This begs the question, why did the AFT collaborate with these very extremists to promote school reopenings?

In late September 2021, as the Delta wave was raging and adult and pediatric hospitals filled up across the country, Weingarten hosted a town hall event in partnership with far-right, anti-public schools parents group Open Schools USA, which featured notorious pseudo-scientists Drs. Jay Bhattacharya, an author of the Great Barrington Declaration, and anti-mask, COVID minimizer Tracy Beth Heg.

It is noteworthy that the AFT convention required proof of vaccination, masks, as well as multiple negative COVID-19 tests for entry. None of these basic, though inadequate, measures are guaranteed to the millions of educators and school children in the US. Over the past six months, the Biden administration has overseen the full dismantling of all mitigation measures, testing and reporting infrastructure. Most of the major school districts opening in the coming weeks will not even require masks, despite a huge surge of the BA.5 variant, which the administration has projected could infect 100 million people this fall.

Indicative of the vast chasm between the concerns of educators and the priorities of the union, of the three dozen resolutions adopted at the convention, not a single one was devoted to the pandemic. To the extent that the pandemic was even mentioned in the resolutions, no concrete measures were proposed to protect educators or students.

The war in Ukraine

While no resolution was passed on the pandemic, the AFT did pass a resolution giving full-throated support to the US-NATO proxy war against Russia. In her speech, Weingarten, who supported the CIA-backed coup in Ukraine in 2014, denounced Russian President Vladimir Putin as an oil gangster, but raised no criticism regarding Bidens meeting with Saudi Arabias blood-drenched despot Mohammed bin Salman.

The resolution reeks of imperialist lies and hypocrisy. In addition to covering up the well documented role of neo-Nazis and fascists within the Ukrainian state and military, it accuses Russian forces of war crimes, while ignoring evidence of war crimes on the part of the Ukrainian military.

The resolution goes on to claim that the AFT affirms the fundamental principle that aggression should not be the answer to conflict among nations. Where was this peace-loving principle and the respect for sovereignty and democracy during the last 30 years as the US waged endless wars in the Middle East and North Africa? Past AFT resolutions endorsed US imperialisms aggressive wars against Afghanistan and Iraq, including one resolution from 2003 that, fully embracing the lies of the Bush administration, demanded Iraqi President Saddam Hussein abandon  weapons of mass destruction or else face unavoidable military conflict.

In lining up behind the Biden administration promotion of the proxy war in Ukraine, the AFT seeks to pull a veil over the eyes of its membership as to the existential dangers the conflict poses. It did not mention that the escalation of the conflict, fueled by the Biden administration, threatens to spiral into a nuclear third world war, which threatens the annihilation of humanity. It supports the sanctions against Russia that have led to an international food crisis for billions of people, while absurdly stating that the US has avoided direct U.S. military involvement, ignoring unprecedented levels of military assistance, including tens of billions of dollars in high tech weaponry, that will be paid for out of the pockets of American educators and the broader working class.

Integration of the unions with the state

The AFTs policies in relation to the pandemic and the war against Russia are dictated by the fact that the union, like the entire AFL-CIO, has become an appendage of American capitalism and specifically the Democratic Party.

In concluding her speech, Weingarten spoke about the ongoing danger posed to American democracy in the aftermath of the January 6 coup attempt, stating we may have seen our last free and fair election. She continued, If this isnt a 10-alarm fire, I dont know what is. We have one shot at changing this. Her only answer, however, is to vote for the Democratic Party, a party that continues to call the Republicans colleagues and has refused to arrest and prosecute Trump or his wide network of collaborators.

The speeches by Marty Walsh and Liz Shuler, which emphasized the Biden administrations ongoing efforts to institutionalize the union apparatus, reveal the real nature of these organizations as a pro-capitalist police force over the working class.

President Joe Biden addresses the AFL-CIO convention, Tuesday, June 14, 2022, in Philadelphia. [AP Photo/Susan Walsh]

Walsh stated that the Administration should make it easy for workers to join unions. In addition to the administrations support for the PRO-ACT, he touted Bidens Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment, which includes high level officials from the State Department, the Pentagon, and the Treasury. Such an organization is organically hostile to the interests of workers and is seen by the Biden administration as an avenue for stifling the working class during an historic upsurge of strikes and walkouts, which are increasingly taking the form of a rebellion against the trade unions.

Walsh ended his speech with a burst of perhaps unintended candor, declaring that the unions are the only chance for the middle class! Indeed, the union apparatus, swollen with bureaucrats making six-figure salaries, who suppress strikes, manipulate votes, and sit on billions of dollars of assets, represent the interests of the affluent upper middle class, not the working class. Weingartens published salary, for instance, is nearly $500,000.

Shuler, who spoke on the urgent need to lead in every election moving forward and to corral more workers into the union apparatus, painted an imaginary picture of a thriving labor movement. She praised the fact that there are 12 million [union members] in 57 unions in the United States. With a certain dose of delusion, she asserted that, Even as public trust in institutions, whether its Congress or religion, its cratering, but theres one they still trust, unions. They trust us.

In reality, workers have left the unions in droves for decades. Union membership has plummeted since the 1950s, when 30 percent of workers were unionized, down to only 10.3 percent in 2021. Since the betrayal of the PATCO strike in 1981, the unions have overseen an endless series of concessions, wage cuts, and plant closures, giving back to the corporations nearly all the gains won in an earlier period.

Finally, the speech by Chris Smalls, whose ALU won a rare organizing victory at an Amazon Warehouse in Staten Island, New York, sought to cultivate illusions in the union apparatus and the capitalist system.

Smalls vaguely referred to a war going on outside and the other side is winning. If he were honest, he would say that there is a class war going on between the capitalists and the workers, and that the capitalists are supported by the so-called labor unions and every other political organization that seek to bind the working class to the Democratic Party.

Smalls asked the crowd to envision the following fantastical scenario: Imagine, imagine, if Liz Shuler told the AFL-CIO, if Randi said, You know what? Teachers dont go to work today. Imagine if everybody in the country, all unions came together if we all withheld our labor.

Of course, millions of educators and other workers around the country have asked themselves this very question and are increasingly calling for a general strike. Why havent the AFT or any other union called a nationwide strike to stop the reopening of schools and workplaces at any point during the pandemic? Why werent any of the dozens of walkouts by educators in Chicago, New York, Montgomery, Oakland, Detroit, Minneapolis, Baton Rouge, to name just a few, combined into a unified movement?

The working class does require unification on a national and international scale to harness its collective strength and put an end to mounting social misery in the form of ongoing mass infection and death, imperialist war, the threat of dictatorship, and the unbearable cost of living.

But the trade unions, in the United States as in every part of the world, are founded on reformist and nationalist politics and have degenerated under conditions of globalized production into corporatist bodies defending their national capitalist class and the state against the strivings of the working class. The ever closer integration of the unions with the Biden administration is a conscious response based on their mutual fear of the growing movement of rank-and-file workers which threatens to break free from the confines of the corporatist unions and develop into a mass movement against capitalism.

The International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees (IWA-RFC), initiated by the International Committee of the Fourth International, seeks to foster this movement of educators and the entire working class on a global scale and unshackle it from the strangling grip of the trade unions.

Teachers across the US and internationally have taken up the call to form rank-and-file committees in their districts, independent of the unions, to fight against the pandemic and the relentless bi-partisan attacks on public education. To carry forward this work and prevent another disastrous school year, the IWA-RFC must be greatly expanded, and rank-and-file committees built in every school.
Autoworkers expressing their support for Will Lehman's campaign for UAW president (WSWS Media)

At last Sundays meeting of the Cross-Canada Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee, participants voted to support a resolution backing the campaign of rank-and-file auto worker and socialist Will Lehman for president of the United Auto Workers (UAW) in the United States. To get involved with the CERSC, contact the committee at cersc.csppb@gmail.com.

***

The Cross-Canada Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee (CERSC) salutes the campaign waged by William Lehman for president of the United Auto Workers. Lehman, a Mack Trucks worker from Pennsylvania, is providing a voice and program for the growing rank-and-file rebellion against the corrupt UAW bureaucracy, which sees its twin tasks as suppressing working class anger over decades of concessions, job cuts, and horrendous working conditions, and protecting its corporatist relationships with big business and the state.

As education workers from all parts of Canada who have united to oppose the homicidal pandemic policy pursued by all levels of government and supported by the education trade unions, we know from first-hand experience that the union bureaucracy is hostile to defending the interests and very lives of the workers they claim to represent. The criminality and self-enrichment that pervades the upper echelons of the UAW is no less rife in Canadas union apparatuses. A sordid faction fight over control of the multi-million-dollar assets of Unifor, the countrys largest industrial union, has brought to light rampant corruption by its top officials, including its now disgraced ex-president and Trudeau Liberal government confidant, Jerry Dias.

The CERSC provides political and organizational leadership to help workers take control of their struggles into their own hands through the establishment of a network of rank-and-file committees independent of the anti-worker syndicates that call themselves unions.

The CERSC unequivocally supports Lehmans campaign demands, which include:

1. A mass mobilization of rank-and-file UAW members to fight for pay increases to keep pace with the cost of living, an end to all tiers, full funding of pensions, and the transfer of all temporary and part-time workers to full-time contracts.

2. The abolition of the bureaucracy and its privileges, and the placing of the UAWs resources under the control of the rank-and-file.

3. The unification of workers internationally to launch a counter-offensive against the corporations global predatory drive for profits. The rejection of the poisonous nationalism promoted by the UAW and all union bureaucracies through the construction of the International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees.

We pledge to do everything in our power to make Will Lehmans campaign known to Canadian education workers and working people across all economic sectors, and to build a powerful rank-and-file movement to join the upsurge of workers struggles around the world against gruelling working conditions, the impossible cost-of-living, and mass infection with COVID-19.
Press Release

July 25, 2022 LEGARDA ELECTED SENATE PRESIDENT PRO-TEMPORE Senator Loren Legarda was unanimously elected as Senate President Pro-Tempore as the Philippine Senate convened for the opening of the 19th Congress on Monday. Senators Sonny Angara, Grace Poe, Nancy Binay, and Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa made the nomination, which gained the support of all Senators present. Angara said Legarda has a long roster of achievements as a legislator. She authored numerous laws that shaped the policy landscape for the environment, climate action, disaster risk reduction, and sustainable development in the country. He also regarded Legarda as a national pride. From the United Nations to the IMF-World Bank, from Sendai to Paris to Bonn, she has been a respected voice at the highest levels of international climate diplomacy, consensus-building, and decision-making. According to Poe, Legarda is committed to the improvement of policies and laws which transform the life and security of present and future generations. Binay, on her part, gave emphasis on the role of Legarda as master weaver of the culture of resilience, not only in the country but also globally. Significant measures are attributed to her efforts to address the needs of the marginalized and vulnerable, fight for the meaningful inclusion of women in the public sphere, support programs upholding our culture and traditions, and stand for the welfare of microentrepreneurs. As for Dela Rosa, Legarda is the lady who leads, as evidenced by the passage of notable pieces of legislation. Legarda was conferred by cultural communities in Mindanao as Bai Matumpis (The One Who Takes Care), which signifies the kind of leader that she is. In her acceptance speech, Legarda thanked the trust and confidence of more than 24 million Filipinos who voted for her in the 2022 national and local elections. The fresh mandate has positioned Legarda as the most senior member of the upper chamber of Congress. The only woman Senate Majority Leader, Legarda, now elected as the Senate President Pro-Tempore, has affirmed her commitment to steer the 19th Congress towards its objectives. "Malayo na ang ating narating ngunit madami pa rin tayong kailangan gagawin. Handa akong salubungin ng buong puso ang bagong tungkulin na inyong iniatang sa akin. Umasa kayo na aking gagampanan ito, sa tulong ninyo, para sa bawat Pilipino,"she said. Legarda brings with her a wealth of knowledge and experience. Her notable contributions as a legislator led to her recognition as United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDDR, formerly UNISDR), Global Champion for Resilience, a Global Leader for Tomorrow of the World Economic Forum, and a Global Ambassador for Disaster Risk Reduction. As Senate President Pro-Tempore, Legarda will discharge the powers and duties of the Senate President in cases of absence, temporary incapacity, and in the event of the resignation, removal, death or absolute incapacity of the Senate President under Section 4 of Rule IV of the Rules of the Senate.
A parolee from Rochester has been charged with taking part in a gunfight in Auburn that seriously injured a woman caught in the crossfire.

The Auburn Police Department said that Antoine T. Clark, 38, was one of two men who fired at each other after an argument outside Lavish Lounge Bar & Restaurant at 288 Genesee St. on June 26. Ciara Kukiela, 24, an employee at the bar, was shot multiple times. She had emergency surgery at Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse and has since been released, police said.

Police said Clark is originally from the Rochester area with a parole address in Rochester but had been frequenting 71 Owasco St. in Auburn. On Monday, members of the Finger Lakes Drug Task Force reported that they saw Clark get into the backseat of car in the vicinity of Owasco Street at about 7:21 p.m. and began following the car.

As the vehicle traveled northeast through the city while utilizing side streets, the task force coordinated with the APD to conduct a traffic stop.

The car was pulled over on North Seward Avenue near Franklin Street, and police said that Clark was positively identified after officers interviewed the occupants. Clark initially refused to exit the vehicle after being commanded multiple times to do so, police said, and when he finally got out of the car, he tried to run.

Woman critically injured in shooting outside Auburn bar Auburn police are searching for suspects in a shooting that critically injured an employee of an Auburn bar and restaurant early Sunday morning.

After a brief struggle in the middle of North Seward Avenue, Clark was handcuffed and found to be in possession of a loaded 9mm handgun, police said, which was located in his waistband. He was also reported to have been in possession of 31.7 grams of powder cocaine, 10.7 grams of crack cocaine and 24.3 grams of a cutting agent, along with over $2,000 in cash.

Clark was arrested and held pending centralized arraignment on felony charges of criminal possession of a weapon and criminal possession of a controlled substance.

He was later charged for his alleged role in the June 26 shooting on charges of first-degree criminal use of a firearm, first-degree assault and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. He is being held in the Cayuga County Jail.

As for the other person involved in the shooting, the APD said the investigation is still pending.

The APD is asking anyone with information regarding the incident at the Lavish Lounge to contact Investigator Charles Augello at (315) 258-9880 or by email at craugello@auburnny.gov. Calls can remain confidential.
Monday evenings first debate in the Conservative Party leadership contest between former Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss was a stark warning to the working class. Whoever wins on September 5 will use the right-wing agenda of outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson as a launch pad for something even worse.

The Conservative Party leadership candidates: Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and former Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak [AP Photo/AP Photo, File]

The two political criminals outlined competing plans for class war at home and military conflict against Russia and China.

As was expected, both proclaimed the UKs commitment to war against Russia in Ukraine. Truss boasted that we were the first European country to send weapons to Ukraine, weve put the toughest possible sanctions on Russia, but stopped short of committing UK troops to a direct role in the conflict. Sunak said that we have put together one of the strongest sets of economic sanctions that the world has ever seen and made sure that we supported Ukraine financially with the arms and weapons they needed to defend themselves, and actually thats something that Liz and I worked together on.

But in the lead up to the debate, Sunak and Truss traded blows over who was the most hawkish against China.

Sunak issued an 800-word press release declaring that China and the Chinese Communist Party represent the largest threat to Britain and the worlds security and prosperity this century. He continued, For too long, politicians in Britain and across the West have rolled out the red carpet and turned a blind eye to Chinas nefarious activity and ambitions.

He announced plans to close all 30 Confucius Institutes in Britain offering Chinese culture and language programmes and pledged to Kick the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) out of our universities by forcing higher education establishments to disclose foreign funding of more than 50,000 and reviewing research partnerships.

Truss responded that when Sunak headed the Treasury he had sought closer economic relations with China, while her Foreign Office has taken the toughest stance against China.

Truss, the favourite to win the contest, declared prior to the debate that the free trade zones rolled out by Sunak were not supportive enough of big business. She would launch investment zones with lower taxes and reduced planning restrictions for corporations and establish full fat freeports by unshackling pre-existing freeports from excessive Whitehall red tape.

War combined with the further transfer of wealth to the major corporations demand a ramping up of the state offensive against a working class fighting back against the destruction of their jobs and living standards.

The BBC asked the candidates, There are two more strikes coming this week, two more train strikes. Will you ban strikes on essential public services like the railways? Both replied instantly, Yes.

This was a commitment making clear the consequences of Tory plans already in place to bring in minimum service requirements during strikes hitting public services.

Truss has made a clampdown on strikes central to her campaign. The Financial Times noted ahead of the debate, Boris Johnsons government had insisted it would take six to 12 months for parliament to pass the legislation. But Truss pledged to enact the minimum service commitments within 30 days of entering Downing Street.

On Monday, Truss announced that further anti-strike laws would be imposed including raising the minimum proportion of workers required to back a strike ballot for industrial action to be legal from 40 percent of those eligible to vote to 50 percent. This would apply to all workers not just, as is the case now, for those in important public services. Truss plans to increase the minimum notice period for strikes to four weeks, up from two weeks at present. She will end legislation allowing strikes to be held in any period and repeatedly in the six month window after a successful strike ballot. Under the plans, striking members will no longer receive tax-free payments from unions on strike days.

The debate was stark confirmation of the Socialist Equality Partys analysis that the palace coup that ended with Johnsons removal as party leader was executed in order to deepen and extend his anti-working class, pro-war agenda under a hopefully more competent and less despised leader. When asked what marks out of 10 they would give Johnson as prime minister, Truss replied seven. Sunak, who earlier praised Johnsons response to the COVID pandemicwhich has already led to over 200,000 deadwas more effusive, saying, when he was great, he was great and on a number of major issues was 10 out of 10.

The degraded spectacle of a near billionaire ex-banker and a deranged Margaret Thatcher clone putting forward their credentials for taking over in Downing Street could not pose more clearly the necessity of the working class intervening into political life in its own interests, independent of all factions of the ruling elite.

This debate and those to follow this week and throughout August are a gigantic fraud, designed to perpetuate the illusion of a popular discussion over who becomes the next prime minister.

There could not be a more anti-democratic operation foisted on the population. A few hundred Tory MPs narrowed down, in several rounds of voting, the field of candidates to Sunak and Truss. And it is now down to paid-up Tory party members to decide who will be prime minister. Latest estimates are that only 120,000 of the nastiest, most right-wing and wealthy individuals in a country with a population of 67 million people will choose who will replace Johnson.

Many Tory members would even back Johnson remaining in office, with a petition among members demanding a vote on keeping Johnson as party leader already passing 10,000. According to a report Monday in the Telegraph, Johnson told the organiser of the Tory membership petition, Lord Cruddas, a Conservative Party donor and businessman, he does not want to resign and wants to fight the next general election as leader of the party. Johnson is already in full campaign mode, last week visiting Ukrainian troops being trained by British Armed Forces in North Yorkshire, posing in army fatigues and throwing a grenade. He plans another trip before September to Ukraine in support of the proxy war against Russia.

This fraud against the population would not be possible were it not for the Labour Party, whose response to a fundamental crisis of rule is a drive to outcompete the Tories to become the favoured party of the ruling class.

Yesterday Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer formally announced Labour as the Tory Party Mark 2, making statements that more than qualified him to be on a third podium in the Sunak/Truss debate.

Starmer did not merely distance himself from the warmed-over reformist nostrums of previous leader Jeremy Corbyn. He declared that Labour in government would work in partnership with business, oppose strikes and not to hark back to our old ideas about redistribution and investment.

For the working class it is immaterial as to whether Sunak, Truss or Starmer is prime minister. All are already working together in a de facto government of national unity, backed fully by the unions, in place since the onset of the pandemic. All will continue the same policies of ramped-up Thatcherism at home while they risk dragging the British population into World War III.

It is to create the conditions for this political conspiracy to be challenged that the SEP has urged workers to demand an immediate general election, forcing an open debate on policies that threaten the livelihoods and lives of millions. We demand an election to develop the industrial and political struggle of the working class against all the big-business parties in Westminster and will make the case for strikes, mass protests and the organisation of a general strike to end austerity, stop war, force the adoption of a zero-COVID policy, and build support for a socialist alternative to capitalism.
Are you a delivery driver? We want to hear from you. Contact us to tell us how heat and other issues affect your job, and what you think needs to be done. Comments will be published anonymously.

On Thursday, July 14, a front door security camera recorded a video of a young United Parcel Service (UPS) delivery worker collapsing from the heat on a porch in Scottsdale, Arizona. The video, which has gone viral following its publishing last week, shows an unnamed worker staggering up to homeowner Brian Enriquezs door. He collapses to the ground when he reaches down to place the package he is delivering on the Scottsdale residents doorstep.

The worker sits there for about 10 seconds, then lays down, immediately struggling to his feet, pushing the doorbell button and staggering away.

Enriquez was concerned about the drivers health, so he posted the video, which was picked up by numerous news outlets. I was concerned for the fact that he was coming, stumbling to the door. Had I gotten to my phone sooner, I could have talked to him through my Ring (doorbell), but he had already left the property at that point, said Enriquez in commentary to a local Arizona NBC affiliate.

According to NBC News, the high on July 14 in the city was 110 degrees Fahrenheit. In a statement to the press, UPS stated the employee was fine. According to the corporation, UPS drivers are trained to work outdoors and for the effects of hot weather.

In fact, UPS drivers have suffered heat-related injuries by the dozens in recent years. A 2019 NBC News survey determined [a]t least 107 UPS workers in 23 states have been hospitalized for heat illnesses since 2015, according to state and federal worker-safety data. The investigation explains that [t]he only U.S. employer with more heat incidents reported to federal regulators than UPS is the U.S. Postal Servicewhich also doesnt currently air-condition the majority of its delivery trucks.

This occurred even as UPSs profits have surged. Prior to the pandemic, NBC reports, the online shopping boom has been a windfall for UPS. Gross revenue has risen almost 40 percent to nearly $72 billion, and its U.S. workforce has ballooned to 396,000, making UPS one of the nations biggest employers. Despite these numbers, workers continue to suffer heat stroke yearly by the hundreds.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the corporations profits have gone even further upward. A yearly breakdown of the corporations revenue by Macrotrends.net states UPS revenue for the twelve months ending March 31, 2022 was $98.757B, a 10.34% increase year-over-year. UPS annual revenue for 2021 was $97.287B, a 14.96% increase from 2020. UPS annual revenue for 2020 was $84.628B, a 14.22% increase from 2019.

Last month, the World Socialist Web Site reported the death of 24-year-old UPS driver Esteban Chavez Jr. Chavezs death, as well as that of an unnamed Amazon worker in Carteret, New Jersey, a few days later that highlights the unsafe environment in the logistics industry during the scorching summer months.

A selfie taken by Esteban Chavez while delivering a package to Los Angeles Dodgers Manager Dave Roberts [Photo by Chavez family]

According to Bonnie Fournier, who posted a petition on change.org, Require UPS to provide air conditioning to delivery driversSAFETY FIRST: [Six] years ago, I started this petition to help other drivers NEVER experience what my husband had to go through. The union reps reached out to me but never followed through with helping to protect their dedicated drivers who have no air in their vehicles. As of this writing, the petition has 187,450 signatures.

Next year, the contract between UPS and the Teamsters union expires. In previous negotiations, the workers demanded air conditioning in their trucks, but the union has always found an excuse not to include it. According to the same NBC investigation, On a long hot day of deliveries, the temperature in the cargo area of a truck can soar to 140 degrees and higher. UPS drivers have recorded temperatures as high as 152 degrees.

Significantly, the news network quotes an anonymous worker, who exclaims, our workload is increasing and were still expected to get done faster I pray every year I dont get a heatstroke. The survey reports that [d]espite their union protections, drivers across the country described a culture of intimidation and retaliation at UPS that keeps them quiet even when their lives could be at risk.

For its part, OSHA has done little for workers because neither the agency nor Congress ever created federal rules on heat exposure.

The investigation came a year after the Teamsters union forced through an unpopular contract by means of an undemocratic clause in its constitution allowing automatic ratification if less than one-half of the workforce votes. No organization that was in any way accountable to workers could have such rules, wrote the WSWS at the time. Why is a two-thirds majority not required to ratify the agreement, rather than to reject it?

The 2019 master contract included the introduction of a hyper-exploited 22.4 driver/warehouse position which allowed the company to expand the total weekly work hours, lower the pay and double the duties expected of new hires. The contract was ratified with less than 18 percent of the membership voting in some locals.

The new Teamsters president, Sean OBrien, has sought to play up the tactical divisions that emerged between former President James Hoffa Jr. and himself in the course of the 20182019 UPS contract negotiations. However, OBrien was in charge of the Teamsters package division in 2013, when the previous UPS contract was undemocratically forced through.

That contract included a no strike/lockout clause which was used to tie the hands of UPS workers following the 2018 contracts undemocratic passage, despite the latter having produced a 93 percent strike vote that year. It also included numerous contract supplements and givebacks for health care, all of which were pushed through by Hoffa despite having been rejected by the membership.
The Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) announced this summer that it would be laying off two dozen staff employees. The declaration came just weeks after workers at the 196-year-old private art school voted to join the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).

Gateway Building at the Maryland Institute College of Art

MICA claims that the move against staff, who include workers like librarians, campus cashiers, and maintenance and security personnel, is not retaliatory. It asserts that restructuring is necessitated by budget constraints and reduced enrollment due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

For its part, SEIU is not opposing the layoffs. It will instead be involved in the restructuring.

On May 24, by a margin of 86 to 17, college staff voted to join SEIU Local 500, which operates at educational and nonprofit institutions in the Maryland and Washington, DC region. Faculty and adjunct faculty had previously joined SEIU Local 500, in 2014.

In an email sent June 29 to all staff and faculty, MICA administration informed employees of layoffs across multiple departments, affecting 24 positions. The email was sent just two days after the SEIU sent a petition to MICA President Samuel Hoi requesting the art school respect the National Labor Relations Act and refrain from changes in working conditions before official contract negotiations begin. No one from the administration responded to the petition, with Hois office claiming it never received it.

The layoffs will reduce the unions bargaining unit at this workplace, that is, the jobs represented by the SEIU, by about 10 percent. In the email announcing the layoffs, Hois office wrote:

Of the approximately 24 filled positions that will be affected, we expect that about half of them will be within the newly formed staff bargaining unit represented by SEIU Local 500. We have agreed to bargain with Local 500 about how the restructuring process will affect those positions and about the details of the severance package that will be offered to the represented staff members in those positions.

In March 2020, MICA moved all in-person classes online. As a result of the $2.2 trillion CARES Act passed two years ago, $14.25 billion was set aside to create the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF). From this pool of funding, MICA received $1,318,621, half of which was required to be spent on emergency financial aid for students.

The pandemic reduced enrollment for fall classes that year, adding to the sort of budgetary pressures that many educational and cultural institutions are presently facing. Hoi announced that as part of its budget planning for fiscal year 2021, which began on June 1, 2020, salaries for all staff and full-time faculty would be frozen with no cost-of-living adjustments. Additionally, a planned 1.5 percent raise for full-time faculty was deferred, while employer match contributions to 403(b) retirement plans were suspended.

MICA would go on to furlough over 100 employees that summer. The school also slashed divisional budgets not related to compensation by $1.5 million. It initially sought to reopen for in-person instruction in the fall of 2020, but that September a faculty assembly voted overwhelmingly92-9, with 10 abstentionsfor a vote of no confidence in Hois leadership, as well as that of Provost David Bogen, and Vice Provost of Operations and Finance Douglas Mann.

The Faculty Assemblys vote of no confidence pointed to poor planning for a return to classes as one of the reasons for the loss of faith in school leadership. MICA would ultimately reopen in fall of 2021. The faculty also blamed administration for low morale.

The Faculty Assemblys recommendations are largely advisory, but faculty enjoy some protections of shared governance and tenure. Staff Empowerment Council is even more impotent. This led some staff at MICA to believe that SEIU would be able to protect their jobs and salaries.

As one of the staff who helped organize the union vote this year, librarian Sian Evans, said to the Maryland Daily Record in May, Youre being asked to advocate for staff but have no actual power.

Now, in the wake of the announcement of layoffs, staff like Evans worry the demands placed upon them at work will only increase. Speaking to Artforum, Evans called it disingenuous of the administration to make any unilateral changes to our working conditions prior to entering contract negotiations. She continued, The elimination of approximately twenty-four staff positions, at least ten of which are union members, will cause the loss of well over forty years combined of institutional knowledge, which will unfortunately have a detrimental impact on our students.

But the SEIU has no perspective to fight layoffs, as has been so quickly revealed at MICA. The American trade unions accept, as a basic principle, managements right to lay off workers to preserve revenue.

Evans acknowledged the union is not working to prevent the layoffs from taking place, saying that, While we believe there are other options to realize cost savings at the college, and we dont believe that these options have been explored, we are in the process of attempting to negotiate a fair and balanced severance package for our members.

Those negotiations began earlier in July with two meetings with the administration. For its part, MICA issued a statement to Artforum saying, the short-term impact of the pandemic on enrollment as well as long-range strategic considerations precipitated its staffing decision. During the pandemic, MICA experienced smaller incoming classes, the school continued, adding that, Having absorbed three academic years of reduced campus-based student cohorts, MICA is effectively a smaller residential college and the current restructuring reflects this reality and is organizationally responsible.

The union vote at MICA occurred as part of a broader effort by unions in the region. Workers at the Baltimore Museum of Art voted this month to join the American Federation of State, Local and Municipal Employees, with an 85-percent participation rate and a final tally of 89 to 29. Meanwhile, workers at the nearby Walters Art Museum, the Enoch Pratt Free Library, and the Baltimore County Public Library may soon follow suit.

Their votes could add to the recent organization by Apple store workers in Towson, Maryland under the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, as well as Starbucks employees at a location in Baltimores Mount Vernon neighborhood who voted unanimously to join SEIU affiliate Workers United.

Workers will discover that these unions are not fighting organizations. SEIU Local 500 is a case in point. Already this year, it undermined a strike of adjunct and non-tenure track faculty (NTT) at Howard University in Washington, DC. In March, the SEIU Local 500-affiliated University Lecturers Union announced a historic victory in negotiations with the university administration literally hours before the faculty strike was set to begin.

Among the demands of the adjunct and NTT faculty were calls for better pay and an end to the hated seven-year rule, under which NTT lecturers are fired after seven years if they do not receive tenure.

The union called off the strike even though negotiations had been strung out for three years by that point. SEIU Local 500 leaders themselves told the Washington Post that Howard University administrators had a tendency of ignoring requests for information, walking out on contract bargaining meetings, and canceling meetings at the last minute.

In June, Howard revealed it had reached agreements with SEIU that provided only market pay increases for three years and did nothing to address the seven-year rule.
Francis Conole has some competition for the title of biggest spender in the Democratic congressional primary, but it's not from any of his three opponents.

Federal Election Commission records show a super political action committee, Protect Our Future, has spent $396,402 in support of Conole's campaign in the 22nd Congressional District. The six independent expenditures were made over an eight-day period from July 13-21. The largest of the group's investments is $250,230 for a TV ad buy.

According to its website, Protect Our Future aims to "help elect candidates who will be champions for pandemic prevention  candidates who, when elected, will have their eyes on the future." The PAC outlines five key principles, including action to prevent the next pandemic, federal funding for pandemic prevention and independent oversight of dual-use research.

The group has endorsed more than 20 House Democratic candidates, including five from New York  U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres (NY-15), Laura Gillen (NY-04), Max Rose (NY-11), Conole (NY-22) and former Rep. Antonio Delgado, who now serves as lieutenant governor.

Protect Our Future spent more than $23.7 million from Jan. 1 through June 30. A bulk of that money  nearly $20.5 million  was for independent expenditures in support of its endorsed candidates.

Mike Levine, a spokesman for Protect Our Future, told The Citizen that the PAC is supporting Conole because they "believe he'll be a champion for pandemic prevention in the next Congress." He referred to Conole's proposals to prepare for the next pandemic, including an analysis of the government's response to COVID-19 and funding for a national personal protective equipment stockpile.

Conole added, "We're still recovering from the worst pandemic in a hundred years and its devastating effect on our health and economy. I worked with the U.S. Navy's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It's critical that this country is better prepared for the next pandemic  so this never happens again. I'm glad to see others focused on this effort, as well."

In the 22nd district, Protect Our Future's spending is more than triple that of Conole's primary foes combined. According to their July quarterly filings, Sarah Klee Hood, Chol Majok and Sam Roberts have spent a total of $124,624 on their congressional bids. Conole, who is approaching $1 million raised in the 2022 election cycle, has spent $532,760.

Klee Hood criticized Protect Our Future's involvement in the primary election, which will be held on Aug. 23. She noted that the group is largely funded by Sam Bankman-Fried, a billionaire who founded FTX, a cryptocurrency exchange. FEC records show that Bankman-Fried has contributed $23 million of the $28.1 million the super PAC has raised since January.

In a statement, Klee Hood accused Bankman-Fried of "trying to buy" the congressional seat.

"As I talk to people in our district, I've learned that addressing climate change is a top voter concern," Klee Hood said. "We need our elected representatives to be accountable to the concerns of voters, and this outside spending raises questions on whether Mr. Conole, if elected to Congress, would undertake efforts to protect our environment from the harmful effects of cryptomining on our region's lakes."

Klee Hood also urged Conole to "tell crypto-billionaires to let the voters decide these elections" and to support federal anti-cryptocurrency mining legislation.

But Bankman-Fried's brother, Gabe, has said that the PAC's focus is not on cryptocurrency. He told NBC News in May that he wants to prevent the next pandemic.

Levine reiterated that message in an email to The Citizen.

"Despite any efforts to distract from the real issues, we're confident voters will elect leaders like Francis Conole who are committed to safeguarding our community and our nation from future pandemics so that we never again face the devastation that COVID has wrought," he said.

Conole has emerged as the front-runner for the Democratic nomination in the 22nd district, which includes all of Onondaga, Madison and Oneida counties, plus a small portion of Oswego County. The winner of the Aug. 23 primary will face the winner of the Republican primary  either Steve Wells or Brandon Williams  in the general election.
New York State Electric & Gas will host an informational open house about the upcoming installation of gas meters for electric and natural gas customers in the company's Ithaca division, which includes portions of Cayuga County.

The open house will take place from 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, July 26, at Moravia Town Hall, 1630 Route 38, Moravia. Attendees are welcome to stop by at any time during the event.
Elon Musk asked a judge to schedule a five-day trial beginning Oct. 17, not Oct. 10 as requested by Twitter Inc, to resolve his bid to walk away from his $44 billion deal to acquire the social media platform, according to a court filing on Tuesday.

(Also Read: Environmental groups urge Tesla to not go ahead with nickel plans in Indonesia)

A lawyer for Musk, the world's richest person, said he was writing to ask the judge to "break the impasse to allow things to move forward promptly."

Twitter declined to comment.

Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick, the chief judge on Delaware's Court of Chancery, last week ordered an October trial, which promises to be one of the biggest Wall Street legal fights in years. However, she left it to the parties to work out the precise schedule.

FOLLOW US:Stay Updated with latest content - Subscribe us on

FOLLOW US:Stay Updated with latest content - Subscribe us on

Musk, who is the chief executive of electric vehicle maker Tesla Inc, had requested a February trial, which he said provided the time he needed for a thorough investigation of fake accounts on Twitter. He said the company misrepresented its user numbers and therefore breached the merger agreement, allowing him to walk away.

The company, which had requested a September trial, said the fake account issue was a distraction and deal terms require Musk to pay up.

The Musk letter also asked the judge to order Twitter to immediately produce what it called "core documents," require Twitter to produce all raw data by Aug. 1 and require the company to produce documents within 18 days of a request.

Musk accused Twitter of refusing to immediately provide documents such as manuals and policies regarding active daily user calculations and artificial intelligence and "all items in the data room."

First Published Date:
A dozen of environment groups wrote an open letter to Tesla chief Elon Musk and shareholders to stop direct investments in the country's nickel industry.

Environmental groups asked Tesla to rethink its investment plans for nickel in Indonesia. Multiple groups wrote an open letter to Tesla chief Elon Musk and shareholders to stop direct investments in the country's nickel industry as the EV company is aiming to procure more nickel in order to boost its production.

The groups wrote about the various adverse effect of nickel specifically mentioning the Wawonii Island located in the country's southeast Sulawesi region. The group stated that this island is particularly vulnerable and mining there can damage the coral reefs. According to a report by Bloomberg, the letter has been signed by groups representing Indonesian and US civil society organizations. The nickel industry in Indonesia has a record of environmental damage, criminalization threats that abuse democracy and equity, the threats to the vulnerable groups, and multiple violations of law," stated the letter.

(Also read | Tesla aims to revolutionise car servicing, plans F1 influenced same-hour service )

Earlier, Musk had stated that getting nickel is a priority for Tesla as it wants to push its output. He urged producers two years ago to mine more nickel. Tesla will give you a giant contract for a long period of time if you mine nickel efficiently and in an environmentally sensitive way," had added the Tesla CEO.

FOLLOW US:Stay Updated with latest content - Subscribe us on

FOLLOW US:Stay Updated with latest content - Subscribe us on

(Also read | Tesla CEO Elon Musk calls for more investment in global lithium refining )

Indonesia holds almost a quarter of global nickel reserves and has received significant attention from investors in the EV sector. The metal is one of the crucial components in EV batteries. Indonesias president, Joko Widodo, offered Musk the opportunity to invest in an end-to-end EV supply chain, according to a CNBC report in June. Though, on the letter written by the environmental groups, representatives of Tesla and the Indonesian government are yet to give their statements.

First Published Date:
Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday held separate calls with the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan, offering U.S. support for what he called a historic opportunity to achieve peace in the region.

The calls followed face-to-face meetings between the foreign ministers of both countries in Georgia on July 16, the first bilateral talks since the 2020 war over the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, which lies within sovereign Azerbaijan but is controlled by ethnic Armenians.

That last round of fighting, between September and November 2020, saw at least 6,500 people killed. A Russian-brokered cease-fire had the Armenian-backed government in the territory cede land to Azerbaijan.

Blinken spoke separately with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev but expressed U.S. support and assistance to help Yerevan and Baku find a long-term comprehensive peace, State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement.

Blinken called on Aliyev to release all remaining Armenian detainees. Its unclear how many Armenians are detained in Azerbaijan, bu the Armenian National Committee of America estimates it at around 140.

Blinken, in his call with Pashinyan, commended the prime minister on positive momentum and concrete agreements toward normalizing relations between Armenia and Turkey.

The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan is a flashpoint of greater power conflicts between Russian-backed Yerevan and Turkish-backed Baku.

There is deep-seated mistrust between Armenia and Turkey over Yerevans charges that Ankara has failed to take responsibility and acknowledge the Ottoman Empires genocide against the Armenian people in the early 20th century.

The U.S. has strategic ties with both Armenia and Azerbaijan, but a strong Armenian diaspora in the U.S. consistently pushes Congress to impose limits on American military assistance to Baku and criticizes Turkeys support of Azerbaijan.

The U.S., Russia and France are co-chairs of the Minsk Group, the international body charged with achieving peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The two sides have fought brutal military conflicts in the 1990s and the 2000s.

Story continues

Efforts to resolve differences between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the contested territory of Nagorno-Karabakh have gained new urgency since Russia invaded Ukraine in February.

While Russias invasion has dramatically reshaped global security postures in general, it has likely caused greater insecurity in Armenia, which has relied on Russian peacekeeping forces to help maintain the November ceasefire achieved with Azerbaijan.

Russias poor military performance in Ukraine and its refusal to withdraw and cease its aggression keeps Moscows attention away from Yerevan, with which it holds a defense pact. Pressure by the U.S. and democratic allies to condemn and isolate Russia on the global stage further weakens its position as an ally of Armenia.

Updated at 7:20 p.m.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
WASHINGTON  Former President Donald Trump returned to the nation's capital Tuesday and gave a policy speech to an organization developing an agenda for what he called "the next Republican president"  someone that many audience members clearly want to be Trump himself.

Speaking to the America First Policy Institute  created, financed, and led by Trump supporters and former administration officials  Trump talked mostly about anti-crime proposals, but also found time to echo false claims about his 2020 election loss to President Joe Biden.

"You know what, that's going to be a story for a long time," Trump said at one point during a speech that lasted more than 90 minutes.

Near the end, members of the crowd began chanting "Four More Years!"

WASHINGTON, DC - Former President Donald Trump speaks about transgender athletes during the America First Agenda Summit, at the Marriott Marquis hotel July 26, 2022. in Washington, DC. Trump returned to Washington for the first time since leaving office in 2021 to deliver the keynote closing address at the summit.

Trump said he plans to give a series of policy speeches in the weeks ahead, covering very familiar topics like immigration and completing the border wall with Mexico, education, trade, and election law changes.

Trump did not discuss in detail the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection by supporters trying to overturn the election, except to condemn the investigations into the riot and his role in it.

Delegates to the America First Policy Institute ate it up. Brooke Rollins, president and CEO of AFPI, and also a former director of Trump's White House Domestic Policy Council, introduced the speech by calling him "one of the greatest living Americans" and "the president that saved America."

It's no small irony that Trump pitched a 2024 election agenda while a special congressional committee and prosecutors investigate alleged attempts to steal the 2020 contest, analysts said.

"Trumps anti-democratic movement continues to pose a unique and ongoing threat to our countrys institutions and civil rights," said Skye Perryman, president and CEO of the organization Democracy Forward.

'Tough ... Nasty ... Mean'

Making his first trip back to Washington, D.C., since leaving office on Jan. 20, 2021, Trump capped a two-day conference on an agenda that also includes increased oil production, opposition to abortion, support for police, and, above all, aggressive attacks on Biden and his administration.

Story continues

Trump focused the first part of his speech on public safety  "our country is now a cesspool of crime"  and said government has to do more to help "law enforcement heroes," from increased funding to better legal liability shields.

Former President Donald Trump speaks at an America First Policy Institute agenda summit at the Marriott Marquis in Washington, Tuesday, July 26, 2022. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) ORG XMIT: DCAH365

Outlining an aggressive agenda, Trump said he wants to make it easier to send the National Guard into states and cities to fight crime. He again called for the death penalty for drug dealers.

Decrying the number of tents for the homeless that have sprung up in Washington, D.C., and other cites, Trump said government should instead send set up tent communities on large and inexpensive parcels on the outskirts of cities.

Calling for an "all out effort" against crime, Trump said the country will have to "be tough and be nasty and be mean if we have to."

More: President Biden slams Trump, praises Capitol Police who were 'brutalized' on Jan. 6

Trump's hardline anti-crime plans drew criticism from law enforcement professionals.

"The former president is delivering a straight up fascist and authoritarian speech, complete with executions, military takeovers and forcible re-locations of citizens," national security lawyer Bradley P. Moss said.

Investigations of Trump

On another law enforcement note, Trump again criticized all the investigations into his own conduct. He cited the probes of Russian interference in the 2016 election and efforts to pressure Ukraine into investigate Biden and his son Hunter Biden, an item that led to his first impeachment.

Now a grand jury in Atlanta and, possibly, the Justice Department in Washington are investigating Trump's attempts to overturn the election and the subsequent Jan. 6 insurrection.

"They want to damage me so I can no longer go back to work for you," Trump said. "And I don't think that's going to happen."

At one point, Trump described Democratic criticisms of violent police practices as the "Big Lie," the same phrase the former president's critics apply to him for his false claims of voter fraud during the 2020 election.

The Republican Accountability Project, an anti-Trump group that monitored his speech, responded by tweeting: "Apparently, he forgot that his supporters attacked Capitol Police officers on Jan. 6 because they believed his Big Lie  that the election was stolen."

In an interview Tuesday with NBC News, Attorney General Merrick Garland did not rule out the possibility that Trump might be prosecuted over his actions around Jan. 6.

Asked if indicting a former president might tear apart the country, Garland said: "Look, we pursue justice without fear or favor ... We intend to hold everyone, anyone who was criminally responsible for the events surrounding Jan. 6, for any attempt to interfere with the lawful transfer of power from one administration to another, accountable."

Trump's appearance at a downtown hotel near the Washington convention center also drew protesters. One drove a mobile video board that broadcast messages mocking Trump, including one that said: "Welcome back to Washington, D.C., Donald ... You lost."

Inside the hotel, demonstrators tossed paper fliers down the atrium to the floor where the America First Policy Institute conference took place. They read "Indict Trump," as did a banner that demonstrators unfurled from a floor above.

Protesters gather across the street from the Marriott Marquis hotel as former President Donald Trump speaks at the America First Policy Institute agenda summit, Tuesday, July 26, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky) ORG XMIT: DCPS123

Trump, Pence and 2024

Trump on the stump:'They want to damage me': Trump campaigns as victim at Arizona rally as Jan. 6 probes heat up

Investigating Trump:Will Trump or his allies face charges over Jan. 6? Legal experts explain hurdles DOJ faces

Trump did not make any formal announcement about 2024. nor did he talk about other Republicans who might vie for the GOP nomination  a group that includes his own vice president, Mike Pence.

Hours before Trump's speech, Pence outlined his own agenda in a speech before the Young America's Foundation, a conservative outreach organization. He also downplayed any divisions with Trump, saying he is proud of the record of the "Trump-Pence administration."

Pence, not for the first time, then appeared to refer to his belief that Trump is spending too much time protesting the 2020 election, saying the party should not "look back" as it attempts to regain control of Congress and the White House.

"I don't know that the president and I differ on issues  but we may differ on focus," Pence said. "I truly do believe that elections are about the future."

WASHINGTON, DC - Former vice president Mike Pence speaks during the Young America's Foundation Student Conference on July 26, 2022. Pence outlined a conservative agenda and took questions about Taiwan and his relationship with former president Donald Trump. (Photo by Nathan Howard/Getty Images) ORG XMIT: 775846620 ORIG FILE ID: 1242121898

Pence made the same point on Friday, as he and Trump traveled to Arizona to campaign for competing Republican gubernatorial candidates. In a tweet that day, Pence said: "If the Republican Party allows itself to become consumed by yesterdays grievances, we will lose."

Trump and AFPI

The America First Policy Institute has not endorsed Trump  it is a tax-exempt 501(c)3 organization, and is forbidden to do so  but the delegates frequently cheered and applauded the many mentions of his name on the conference's first day Monday.

Some Republicans have described the AFPI as a Trump government in waiting. William Kristol, a conservative critic of the ex-president, said the group "seems to aim at providing a quasi-intellectual veneer for Trump."

AFPI officials and delegates to its conference rejected the notion that they belong to Trump. They said they are promoting an agenda that any candidate can use.

"The policies are there for whomever," said Marc Lotter, chief communications officer for AFPI. "We're putting it out there for anyone."

Former President Donald Trump speaks at an America First Policy Institute agenda summit at the Marriott Marquis in Washington, Tuesday, July 26, 2022. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) ORG XMIT: DCAH361

The first day of the AFPI was devoted to panels on such Trumpian issues as energy production, "safe and secure communities," foreign policy, and battling the "Washington Swamp."

On Tuesday, hours before Trump's speech, the policy institute will devote a panel to the former president's favorite topic: "Make it Easy to Vote and Hard to Cheat."

Hogan Gidley, a former spokesman for the Trump White House, said the America First Policy Institute is dedicated topromoting "policy prescriptions" that can help the country and defeat Biden and the Democrats down the line.

Gidley, who is director of the Center for Election Integrity with AFPI, said he didn't know if Trump plans to run again, but was full of praise for the ex-president and his record in office.

"Donald Trump made it happen once," Gidley said. "I'm supremely confident Donald Trump can make it happen again."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Donald Trump gives policy address Tuesday, election gripes included
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt is leading the states Republican Senate primary field and outpacing controversial former Gov. Eric Greitens by double digits, according to a survey from Emerson College Polling and The Hill released on Tuesday.

Thirty-three percent of very likely Republican primary voters in Missouri said they planned on voting for Schmitt in the partys primary, while 21 percent said they would vote for Rep. Vicky Hartzler. Sixteen percent said they would vote for Greitens.

Rep. Billy Long garnered 5 percent in the poll, while Mark McCloskey and Dave Schatz trailed at 4 percent and 2 percent, respectively. Seventeen percent of very likely GOP primary voters remain undecided.

The polls margin of error is plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Republicans in Washington, D.C., and Missouri have expressed trepidation over the thought of a Greitens candidacy.

The former governor has been embroiled in scandal over the past year and has faced bipartisan backlash. Last month Greitens rolled out a new video where he is shown holding a shotgun and urging his supporters to go RINO hunting, referring to Republicans in name only.

Greitens has also been accused of abuse by his ex-wife, Sheena Greitens, who said he grew physically violent with her and her children. He was forced to resign from his governors post in 2018 after allegations of campaign finance violations and sexual assault of a woman he was dating surfaced.

Retiring Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), whom Greitens is running to succeed in the Senate, has said that the former governor should drop out. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), who has endorsed Hartzler, also called for Greitens to exit the race. Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), who chairs the National Republican Senatorial Committee, did not call on Greitens to drop out but called the allegations pretty disturbing.

The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates Missouris Senate race as solid Republican.

Story continues

On the Democratic side of the aisle, the Emerson College Polling-The Hill survey showed what has basically become a two-way race between Anheuser-Busch beer heiress Trudy Busch Valentine and Marine veteran Lucas Kunce. Valentine leads with 39 percent of Democratic primary voters, while Kunce follows at 36 percent support.

The survey from Emerson College Polling and The Hill was conducted July 21-23 using a combination of IVR and SMS-to-web, and each have a sample size of 1,000 which has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
One of the Spartans top targets in the 2023 recruiting cycle will release his top three schools list later this week.

Four-star small forward Devin Royal of Pickerington, Ohio announced on Monday that hes going drop his top 3 on Friday. This is presumed to be his top three schools list.

Announcement: Top 3 coming out Friday!  Devin Royal (@DevinRoyal7) July 26, 2022

Royal ranks as the No. 76 overall prospect and No. 14 small forward in 247Sports composite rankings for the 2023 class. Hes also listed as the No. 2 player from Ohio in the class.

Last week, Royal released his top nine schools which included Michigan State. The Spartans were joined by Alabama, Clemson, Marquette, Michigan, Miami (FL), Ole Miss, Ohio State and Penn State.

It was great to see Michigan State make Royals first cut of schools but Fridays update will be the true announcement Spartans fans should be excited to see. He has been a top priority for Michigan State this recruiting cycle so hopefully that pays off with the Spartans making his top three this week.

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan state news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Robert Bondy on Twitter @RobertBondy5.

More Basketball!

Spartans pick up crystal ball prediction for elite, 5-star PF Xavier Booker MSU basketball draws Alabama in first round of Phil Knight Invitational Michigan State basketball makes 5-star PF Xavier Booker's top schools list

Story originally appeared on Spartans Wire
Security Service of Ukraine

Russia is reportedly sending in its own PR experts and deploying thousands of activists to prepare bogus referendums in occupied Ukrainian territories by Sept. 11.

Ukraines Security Service on Tuesday detailed the tactics it says Moscow is using to simulate local support for a plan to join Russiaand they apparently involve tacky T-shirts, scripted appeals, and free food for anyone willing to play along.

The campaign is reportedly being led by the pro-Russian group Donetsk Republic, which is now expanding beyond occupied Donetsk and calling itself Big Russia, according to the SBU.

There are already 1,000 activists [from the group] who hold meetings every day with residents of the temporarily occupied territories, the Security Service said in a statement.

They are recruiting people by appealing to them to join the organization. Theyve already involved more than 200,000 local residents.

Photos shared by Ukrainian intelligence show T-shirts featuring the Z and V symbols that have served as a rallying cry for Russias war against Ukraine since the full-scale invasion on Feb. 24. For Big Russia, and Into Big Russia, the T-shirts read.

People receive Russian passports at a centre in Kherson after Russian President Vladimir Putin made it easier for residents of Kherson and Melitopol regions to get passports. July 21, 2022. Anadolu Agency via Getty

More than a thousand Russian volunteers are said to have been recruited to help organize rallies and distribute pro-Kremlin propaganda, with plans to also make a big show of releasing pre-written appeals to local Russian-backed authorities that denounce Ukrainian leaders and complain of persecution of Russian speakers.

To boost electoral support, the invaders offer food packages, starter packs for Russian mobile phone operators, and propaganda newspapers, the SBU said.

Russian PR experts are said to have already arrived and set up headquarters in a local shop called Foxtrot in Melitopol, in the Zaporizhia region, where a pro-referendum campaign is underway with help from a group calling itself Were Together With Russia, according to Ukraines National Resistance Center. A similar campaign has also reportedly been launched in Berdyansk. Residents are reportedly offered money if they sign up to take part in pro-referendum rallies.

Story continues

An extensive network of Russian activists urging referendums is said to be in the works in the Kherson, Kharkiv, Zaporizhia, and Dnipropetrovsk regions, the SBU said.

Russias scramble to orchestrate referendums throughout the seized Ukrainian territories is reportedly being overseen by Sergei Kiriyenko, the Russian presidential administrations first deputy chief of staff who is widely seen as Vladimir Putins point man in Ukraine.

But he has help from the local Russian-backed authorities, such as Kirill Stremousov, the self-proclaimed deputy head of occupied Kherson, who vowed in a video posted to Telegram on Tuesday that we will become part of the Russian Federation after the referendum and any attempts by Ukraine to fight back will be seen as an attack on the Russian Federation.

While Russian-backed leaders promise residents a wonderful new life under Russian control, they would perhaps do well to take a look at how things are going in Mariupol, where Russian volunteers have been recruited to help restore the city after it was decimated by Russian forces.

Pyotr Andryushchenko, an aide to Mariupols Ukrainian mayor, announced Tuesday that testing was done on drinking water that had been smuggled out of the city. He said the testing revealed the local authorities are providing residents with water blended with fecal matter.

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.
Prosecutors have dropped murder charges against a Tallahassee man after two trials, a reversal of testimony by a key witness and a social media post by another witness taking credit for a 2019 fatal shooting.

Prosecutors have dropped murder charges against a Tallahassee man after two trials a, reversal of testimony by a key witness and a social media post by another witness taking credit for a 2019 fatal shooting.

State Attorney Jack Campbell on Monday announced that prosecutors dropped charges against Preston Hart in connection with the 2019 shooting of Jason Joseph after consulting with his family.

Joseph was killed in a shooting near the intersection of Callaway and Indiana streets on Jan. 13, 2019. Only two witnesses to the shooting were located by Tallahassee Police Department investigators, Taylor Harris and Deontae Cromartie.

Initially, Taylor told police she was driving a car through the apartment complex when Hart and Joseph got into an argument. She said Hart got out of the car, shot Joseph then got back in before they left. Cromartie told police he was with Joseph and confirmed Taylors story.

Hart was charged with second-degree murder.

At his April trial, Taylor recanted her statement, saying she was present but did not see the shooting and denied that Hart had threatened her to keep quiet about the incident. Cromartie denied a subpoena to testify at trial and after a jury could not unanimously come to a decision, a mistrial was declared.

During a second trial last month, prosecutors discovered a Facebook message by Cromartie, who again refused to testify in court, in which he took credit for the murder. The message had been overlooked in the evidence developed by investigators and provided to Harts defense team.

A continuation of the trial was granted by Circuit Judge J. Lee Marsh to allow a more thorough investigation.

Cromartie has not been located and could have in fact helped frame Hart for the murder, Campbell said in a press release.

It is possible that Preston Hart committed the murder. However, it is also possible that Deontae Cromartie committed it and has helped frame Preston Hart, Campbell wrote. After consultation with the Tallahassee Police Department and the victims family, the State cannot proceed in good faith based on this level of uncertainty, and today dropped the pending murder charges against Preston Hart.

Story continues

Contact Karl Etters at ketters@tallahassee.com or @KarlEtters on Twitter.

Never miss a story: Subscribe to the Tallahassee Democrat using the link at the top of the page.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Prosecutors drop murder charges connected to 2019 shooting
Indiana lawmakers advanced a bill Tuesday that would ban nearly all abortions in the state.

The 7-5 vote by the Indiana Senate Rules and Legislative Procedure Committee took place after members heard arguments from over 50 individuals who protested the bill's current state.

Vice President Kamala Harris traveled to Indianapolis on Monday to meet with lawmakers about the bill.

Luke Howard holds a crucifix aloft as anti-abortion supporters rally as the Indiana Senate Rules Committee discusses a Republican proposal to ban nearly all abortions in the state during a hearing at the Statehouse in Indianapolis, July 26, 2022. (Michael Conroy/AP)

The bill, which bans all abortions from the moment of conception with exceptions for rape, incest, threats to the mother's health or fatal fetal abnormalities, was amended on Monday.

MORE: Indiana Senate hears public testimony on proposed abortion law, protesters gather

One amendment restricts the rape and incest exceptions to within the first eight weeks of pregnancy for those aged 16 and older and 12 weeks for those under 16.

The bill was also amended to require those who are victims of rape and incest, including minors, to sign an affidavit in order to receive an abortion. The affidavit will become part of the patient's permanent medical records.

The committee also voted not to allow telehealth medicine to be used for women seeking abortions within the outlines of the new law.

PHOTO: Anti-abortion supporters try to cover a sign of an abortion rights supporter during an anti-abortion during a hearing at the Statehouse in Indianapolis, July 26, 2022. (Michael Conroy/AP)

MORE: 30 days since Roe was overturned: How the country has changed

There were a number of amendments the committee did not hear, including one that allows for religious exceptions.

The amendment was backed by State Sen. Eddie Melton, who cited the testimony of Rabbi Aaron Spiegel. The bill was against the beliefs of Judaism, according to Spiegel.

The bill passed despite opposition from Indiana Democrats.

MORE: West Virginia lawmakers advance new abortion bill after pre-Roe ban blocked

When we started this process, I thought we were going down the road to protect girls and women. I see the strategy here and Im not going to support it. This is dangerous, Democratic State Sen. Greg Taylor said leading up to the vote.

PHOTO: Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray opens the second day of hearings by the Indiana Senate Rules Committee as they take testimony on a Republican proposal to ban nearly all abortions in the state at the Statehouse in Indianapolis, July 26, 2022. (Michael Conroy/AP)

This bill is not about life, it's about control, lawmaker Shelli Yoder, a Democrat, said at the hearing. Give people time to process what they are about to do.

Story continues

State Sen. Ed Charbonneau, a Republican, voted in favor of the bill but expressed disagreements with its current form.

I have been physically sick to my stomach listening to these discussions, Charbonneau said at the hearing. After two days of testimony, no one has been able or willing to shift from two very extreme positions.

MORE: Vice President Harris hammers 'outrageous' abortion ruling

Charbonneau added that despite being a devout Catholic himself, the testimony in favor of abortion bans over the last two days troubled him.

How can religious freedom only apply to certain religions? Charbonneau said before voting in favor of the bill.

The bill will now go to the Senate floor, where it is expected to pass.

Indiana's restrictive abortion bill advances despite protests originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
The United States has one of the highest levels of monkeypox in the world, new data published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has revealed.

The U.S. has reported a total of 3,590 known monkeypox cases as of Tuesday, July 26, federal and global data shows, surpassing Spain's 3,738. The CDC published data Tuesday that indicated that the U.S. had the world's highest tally of cases, but has since adjusted the figures.

"The international community must work together to protect individuals that have been impacted by monkeypox, and those most at risk of contracting the virus," White House COVID-19 Coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha said during a press briefing on Tuesday.

"We want to make sure that we all Americans understand that we have taken we are continue to take this virus seriously," he added.

PHOTO: An undated photo obtained by Reuters shows monkeypox sypmtons suffered by Harun Tulunay in London, July 15, 2022. (Harun Tulunay via Reuters)

Last week, the World Health Organization declared the monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.

Across the globe, nearly 18,100 cases have been confirmed in 75 countries, including more than 17,800 cases confirmed in countries that have not historically reported monkeypox.

MORE: WHO declares monkeypox outbreak to be public health emergency of international concern

Health experts have said that the number of monkeypox cases is likely much higher than the total that is officially reported, and U.S. health officials have been warning for weeks that the number of monkeypox cases would likely increase across the country, as the government increases testing capacity and surveillance.

"I would like you all to understand that we anticipate an increase in cases in the coming weeks," CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said during a press briefing earlier this month.

PHOTO: A sign lists monkeypox prevention tips, next to a person arriving to receive a monkeypox vaccination at the Northwell Health Immediate Care Center, in New York, July 15, 2022. (Eduardo Munoz/Reuters)

With increased testing, an improved reporting system for states, and the continued spread of disease, more cases will be identified, she said.

MORE: 5 things to know about monkeypox and skin: Analysis

"We know monkeypox symptoms usually start within three weeks of exposure to the virus, so we anticipate we may see an increase in cases throughout the month of July and into August," Walensky added.

Story continues

Monkeypox transmission typically occurs through close contact for an extended period of time, or contact with articles of clothing, bedding, or towels that have been in contact with an infectious patient, Dr. Amy Arrington, Medical Director, Special Isolation Unit at Texas Children's Hospital, told ABC News.

"You cannot get this virus from touching an elevator button, from walking past someone in the mall casually. It is spread by close contact - contact with lesions so touching infectious lesions or infectious scabs," Arrington said.

PHOTO: Healthcare workers with New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene help people register for the monkeypox vaccine at one of the City's vaccination sites, July 26, 2022, in New York. (Mary Altaffer/AP)

Although the vast majority  99%  of the cases reported domestically have been related to male-to-male sexual contact, according to the WHO, last week, federal officials confirmed that two children in the U.S. had tested positive for monkeypox.

One case has occurred in a toddler, who is a resident of California, and the other has been reported in an infant, who is a non-U.S. resident.

MORE: 2 children confirmed with monkeypox in US

The two cases are unrelated, located in different jurisdictions, and were likely the result of household transmission, officials said.

Officials have repeatedly stressed that although monkeypox is affecting the "gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men," community most prominently, at this time, the virus can affect anyone who has close contact with people who have monkeypox, including children.

Editor's note: The story has been updated with new data from the CDC.

ABC News' Dr. Rachel Boren contributed to this report.

US has one of the highest levels of monkeypox in the world: CDC originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Brembo, the Italy-based global manufacturer of automotive brake systems, intends to build a joint venture with Chinese auto parts supplier Shandong Gold Phoenix Co., Ltd. (Gold Phoenix) in Jinan city, capital of Shandong province, according to the latters announcement released on July 26.

Dubbed Shandong BRGP Friction Technology Co.,Ltd., the joint venture will involve a registered capital of 41.4 million yuan ($6,133,060), which will be 50/50 split by Brembo and Gold Phoenix. The two parent companies plan to invest roughly 35 million into the joint venture over the next three years.

The designed business scope of the joint venture extends to cover the production of braking equipment and components for automobiles, machining, as well as sales of the products made by Gold Phoenix.

Photo credit: Brembo

The joint venture is set up to help expand the two parent companies' economic cooperation and technical exchanges, improve product quality, and develop new products, according to Gold Phoenix's announcement. Through the joint venture, the duo expects to gain a favorable foothold regarding quality and price in the global market by absorbing advanced technologies and scientific management approaches.

The joint venture is expected to start operation in early 2023.

Brembo is a world-leading supplier and innovator of disc brake technology for automotive vehicles. It supplies high-performance brake systems for the many manufacturers of cars, commercial vehicles, and motorbikes worldwide, as well as clutches and other components for racing. The company currently operates in 15 countries on 3 different continents, with 29 production and business sites, and a workforce of over 12,200 employees, about 10% of whom are engineers and product specialists active in R&D.
NEW YORK  A long-forgotten sixth suspect in the notorious 1989 Central Park Five rape case was exonerated Monday, more than 30 years after he pleaded guilty to a related crime, the Manhattan district attorneys office announced.

Steven Lopez was 14 years old when he was arrested along with the Central Park Five  Kevin Richardson, Antron McCray, Raymond Santana, Korey Wise and Yusef Salaam. The more well-known five were convicted separately of raping a white woman jogging in the park  a crime that outraged the city and contributed to racial tensions across the five boroughs.

The fives convictions were vacated, and they received a $41 million settlement from the city in 2014.

Lopez pleaded guilty to robbing a male jogger the same night as the rape to avoid a more ruinous conviction. He pleaded after two of the Central Park Five had been found guilty at trial.

Lopez served more than three years in prison and did not appeal his conviction.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg described flawed investigative techniques similar to ones uncovered in the case against the Central Park Five, who were all between 14 and 16 years old when they were arrested.

Mr. Lopez pleaded guilty in the face of false statements, unreliable analysis amidst external pressure, Bragg said at a news conference. There was no physical evidence connecting Mr. Lopez to the charge.

Lopez wore a three-piece suit at a Manhattan Criminal Court hearing and shook Braggs hand before leaving the courtroom.

Mr. Lopez, we wish you peace and healing, Judge Ellen Biben said after signing an order vacating the conviction.

Lopez declined to comment after the hearing.

Bragg apologized for Lopez's decadeslong ordeal.

Im sorry for the circumstances that led to this day. But I hope that this morning was a step forward for him and his loved ones, Bragg said. Many largely forgot that there were six who were falsely accused of rape of the Central Park jogger. He was questioned in the middle of the night. He was implicated by unreliable forensic evidence, and by statements, and as many of you will recall, he was up against incredible public scrutiny.

Story continues

Eric Renfroe, a lawyer for Lopez, said his client was feeling a range of emotions.

I dont think I could describe what this means to him, Renfroe said. I couldnt imagine having gone through this, and I think that hes tremendously strong for having endured it.

Salaam, Santana and McCray were convicted of rape, assault and robbery. Wise was found guilty of sexual abuse, assault and riot, and Richardson was convicted of attempted murder, rape, sodomy, robbery, assault and riot.

All five suspects spent between seven and 13 years in prison. But in 2002, a prison inmate, Matias Reyes, said he was the one who actually raped 28-year-old jogger Trisha Meili on April 19, 1989. DNA evidence backed his confession.

Richardson, McCray, Santana, Wise and Salaam all had their convictions overturned. The fives confessions were widely criticized as coerced during lengthy interrogations without lawyers present.

The 2014 payout from the city was accompanied by outrage from the five exonerees detractors, including future President Donald Trump, who stood by ads he took out in four of the citys newspapers in the aftermath of the incident calling for the death penalty. The five also received a $3.9 million payout from the state in 2016.

Lopez, now 48, received nothing. Braggs move paves the way for Lopez to file a lawsuit against the city.

Critics argued that the defendants were part of a group of young marauders who menaced people in the park, robbing, beating and harassing joggers, walkers and people sitting on benches. The alleged out-of-control behavior was described as wilding.

But supporters have argued that even if they were involved in criminal activity outside the sexual assault, they more than paid the price with the time they spent in jail for a rape they did not commit.

The Central Park Five later became known as the Exonerated Five and have been the subjects of a documentary and Netflix TV drama.


President Joe Biden and "Tiger King" star Carole Baskin Getty Images

The White House announced Biden is backing legislation pushed by Carole Baskin.

Baskin and other animal welfare advocates support the bipartisan "Big Cat Public Safety Act."

The legislation previously passed the House in 2020 before dying in the Senate.

The White House announced on Tuesday that it formally supports a bipartisan bill aimed at limiting exotic animal ownership that has long been pushed by Carole Baskin of "Tiger King" fame.

"The Administration supports H.R. 263, the Big Cat Public Safety Act, which would build on existing laws that protect big cats like tigers, cheetahs, jaguars, and other wild animals living in captivity in the United States," The Office of Management and Budget said in a formal statement of administration policy.

Rep. Mike Quigley, an Illinois Democrat, and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, have led the latest efforts to get the legislation passed. They have teamed up with Republicans, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Sen. Susan Collins of Maine to get the legislation passed in a closely divided Congress.

The House Rules Committee met to consider the bill on Tuesday, a likely step before a full House floor vote. The House passed a similar measure in 2020 by a commanding 272-114 vote but it later died in the Senate.

The legislation would revise the current law that governs the trade of big cats, such as lions, tigers, leopards, cheetahs, and jaguars. The bill would outlaw the type of cub petting business that was highlighted during portions of Netflix's hit "Tiger King," which focused on the battle between exotic zoo operators like Joe Exotic Bhagavan Mahamayavi "Doc" Antle and organizations like Baskin's Big Cat Rescue. Cub petting is when zoos allow people to pay for up-close encounters with tiger and similar exotic cubs, a practice strongly opposed by animal welfare advocates.

Antle was charged earlier this summer with federal money laundering earlier this summer. Prosecutors claimed that he laundered more than $500,00o, the apparent proceeds of a human smuggling operation, the Associated Press previously reported. Antle operates a wildlife safari near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Exotic and his supporters failed to get then-President Donald Trump to pardon him.

Read the original article on Business Insider
A group of downstate lawmakers aligned with Republican candidate for governor Darren Bailey on Monday asked the Illinois Republican Party to censure U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger for his actions on the select House committee investigating the role of Donald Trump, who backs Bailey, in the Jan. 6 insurrection.

In a statement, the five-member ultraconservative Illinois Freedom Caucus contended Kinzinger, a six-term Republican from Channahon, has offered up little but incendiary language, wild exaggerations and personal opinions as so-called evidence of his baseless claims.

The caucus members are part of whats known informally as the Eastern Bloc of House Republicans, a group that includes Bailey and has encouraged separating Chicago from the rest of the state, contending the city and its Democratic leadership is at odds with their rural, conservative culture. The group also has opposed vaccine orders and other pandemic mitigation mandates.

These hearings are a sham without any due process, and a ban on any witnesses for the accused, Freedom Caucus member state Rep. Adam Niemerg of Dieterich said of the Jan. 6 hearings in a statement echoing Trumps complaints. We expect this from Democrats, but it is appalling to see Republicans like Adam Kinzinger to play such a prominent part in these proceedings. He should be censured by the Illinois Republican party for his actions.

Bailey, who is not a member of the Freedom Caucus, overwhelmingly won a six-way primary for the Republican nomination for governor on June 28, just days after receiving an endorsement from Trump that he had actively sought.

But the caucus attack on Kinzinger may be an unwelcome highlighting of Baileys association with the former president, who twice lost Illinois by 17 percentage points, as the wealthy farmer from Xenia tries to broaden his support among independent voters heading into a general election against first-term billionaire Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

Story continues

U.S. House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy pulled all five of his GOP selections to the panel after Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi removed two of them for voting to decertify Electoral College results from the states and criticizing the investigation. Pelosi then invited Kinzinger and U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, two Republicans who voted to impeach Trump over his involvement in the Jan. 6 insurrection, to serve on the panel.

Other members of the state Freedom Caucus include state Reps. Chris Miller of Oakland, the husband of far-right and Trump-endorsed U.S. Rep. Mary Miller; Brad Halbrook of Shelbyville; Blaine Wilhour of Beecher City; and Dan Caulkins of Decatur. The caucus describes itself as advocating limited government, lower taxes and accountability and integrity in government.

In January of last year, Bailey went on social media to encourage the state GOP to call on Kinzinger to stand down or outright condemn his latest personal and political attack on President Trump and the tens of millions of Americans who support the president.

Baileys candidacy for governor also was endorsed by Steve Bannon, the former Trump strategist and right-wing media promoter, who was convicted last week in federal court in Washington on two counts of contempt of Congress for defying the Jan. 6 committees subpoena for his testimony and documents.

In a statement, Baileys campaign did not directly address his allies criticism of Kinzinger but appeared to acknowledge Trump-created divisions within the state GOP.

Darren is focused on uniting the party to defeat Gov. Pritzker in November and make Illinois a safe and affordable place for people to live. Thats what Republicans are rallying around. That is our priority, Bailey campaign spokesman Joe DeBose said in a statement.

Kinzinger did not offer a comment.

Sign up for The Spin to get the top stories in politics delivered to your inbox weekday afternoons.

Kinzinger and Cheney were censured by the Republican National Committee in February for participating on the House committee in a resolution that contended the actions of Jan. 6 were legitimate political discourse.

The Wyoming Republican Party also censured Cheney in February of last year over her vote for Trumps impeachment. Cheney is seeking reelection while Kinzinger opted not to seek another term after his home was mapped by Democrats into a district with GOP U.S. Rep. Darren LaHood of Peoria.

Three county GOP organizations in Kinzingers district voted last year to censure the congressman, who called the actions petty. But the state Republican Party stopped short of issuing a censure resolution against Kinzinger last year, instead offering a mild rebuke expressing strong disagreement with any Republican who voted for impeachment.

A censure declaration has no practical effect, except to serve as a label that the party no longer recognizes someone as a Republican.

Kinzinger has been an outspoken opponent of Trump and his continued influence over the national GOP and has sharply criticized McCarthy and other GOP members of Congress for continuing to embrace the former president and promulgate his false claim that the 2020 presidential election was stolen.

Appearing Sunday on ABCs This Week, Kinzinger said the panels review has shown Trump committed crimes related to the Capitol riot and that he should be criminally charged by the U.S. Justice Department.

I certainly think theres evidence of crimes, and I think it goes all the way up to Donald Trump, said Kinzinger, who helped lead last weeks most recent Jan. 6 committee hearing.

While he said the nation should not get into a pattern of regularly prosecuting previous administrations, there is a massive difference between Im gonna prosecute the last administration for political vengeance and not prosecuting an administration that literally attempted a failed coup. That is a precedent Im way more concerned about.

rap30@aol.com
Cristiano Ronaldo has arrived at Manchester Uniteds training ground to discuss his future at the club.

Ronaldo arrived with his agent Jorge Mendes at Carrington on Tuesday morning ahead of talks with manager Erik ten Hag.

The Portugal forward missed Uniteds pre-season tour to Thailand and Australia because of personal reasons amid speculation over his future.

New boss Ten Hag has previously said the 37-year-old is not for sale and in our plans, but it has been reported that Ronaldo wants to play Champions League football.

Cristiano Ronaldo pictured driving into Manchester Uniteds Carrington training ground (Peter Powell/PA Images).

United failed to qualify for this seasons Champions League after finishing sixth in the Premier League last term.

Ten Hags team instead will compete in the Europa League this season.

Ronaldo has a year left on his United contract after rejoining from Juventus last August.

He made his name at United after signing from Sporting Lisbon in 2003, spending six years at Old Trafford before joining Real Madrid for a then-world record transfer fee of 80million.

Ronaldo, who was Uniteds top scorer with 24 goals last season, has been training at the Portuguese national teams headquarters in Lisbon.

United start their Premier League campaign at home to Brighton on August 7 after final pre-season games this weekend against Atletico Madrid in Norway and Rayo Vallecano at Old Trafford.
G20 talks overshadowed by Ukraine war as host Indonesia seeks consensus G20 finance ministers, central bankers and senior officials meet in Bali

By Fransiska Nangoy and Stefanno Sulaiman

NUSA DUA, Indonesia (Reuters) - G20 finance leaders meeting in Bali must make progress tackling the global economic threats sparked by Russia's war in Ukraine or the humanitarian consequences would be catastrophic, host Indonesia said on Friday.

Some Western ministers blasted Russian officials attending the talks, with U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen saying Russia's "brutal and unjust war" was solely responsible for the economic crisis the world now faces.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which the Kremlin calls a "special military operation", has overshadowed recent G20 meetings, including last week's gathering of foreign ministers.

Host Indonesia's Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said the world had high hopes the G20 could find a solution to the threat of war, rising commodity prices and the spillover effects on the ability of low-income countries to repay debt.

"We are acutely aware that the cost of our failure to work together is more than we can afford. The humanitarian consequences for the world, and especially for many low-income countries would be catastrophic," she said.

G20 members include Western countries that have imposed sanctions on Russia and accuse it of war crimes in Ukraine - which Moscow denies - as well as nations like China, India and South Africa, which have been more muted in their response.

Sri Mulyani urged members to "build bridges between each other" to deliver more technical decisions and concrete action.

She also called for a joint forum involving G20 finance and agriculture ministries to come up with concrete action to tackle growing food insecurity and a looming fertilizer supply crisis.

Indonesia's G20 deputy for finance, Wempi Saputra, told Reuters Friday's discussions were productive and members did not walk out during Russia's address as they have done previously.

Russian Deputy Finance Minister Timur Maksimov addressed the meeting in person, while Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov was participating virtually, a source familiar with the matter said.

Story continues

"It's no secret that there were very frank statements being made (in the meeting), yet what matters is we are at the moment of enormous distress and disruption in our global economy as well as our geopolitical context," Achim Steiner, UNDP administrator, who attended one of the sessions, told Reuters.

Wempi said the group is still discussing the possibility of issuing a communique for this meeting.

But Western countries have repeatedly said G20 meetings cannot be "business as usual" due to Russia's presence.

Canadian Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland told Russian officials that she held them personally responsible for "war crimes" committed during Russia's war, a Western official told Reuters.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov walked out of one session of a G20 meeting with his counterparts in Bali last week, following what he called "frenzied criticism" of his country over the war. That meeting ended without a communique or any announcements of agreements.

EU economy commissioner Paolo Gentiloni via video-link said the global economy faces a "major setback" because of the war.

"Most of the key risks to the global outlook  increasing commodity prices, food shortages and prolonged supply chain disruptions  are dependent on the evolution of the war started by Russia."

Yellen said one of her key objectives was to push G20 creditors, including China, to finalise debt relief for countries in debt distress.

(Reporting by Fransiska Nangoy and Stefanno Sulaiman, Andrea Shalal, Zahra Matarani in Nusa Dua, additional reporting by Francesco Guarascio in Brussels; Editing by Martin Petty, Ed Davies, Michael Perry and Kanupriya Kapoor)
Mayfair's former Boston Store has been sold to the city of Wauwatosa for nearly $4 million.

Mayfair's former Boston Store has been sold for nearly $4 million to the Wauwatosa Community Development Authority  which will seek new uses for the long-vacant building.

The authority bought the two-story, 216,664-square foot building, and its 15-acre lot, at an auction for $3.95 million.

The decision to purchase the property shows the faith the city has in Mayfair mall as an economic beacon, and is an investment in its future, according to Wauwatosa Mayor Dennis McBride.

Mayfair is the premier shopping center in the entire state of Wisconsin. We expect that to continue, and our efforts today and in the future will be to make sure that we support that, said McBride.

He also said that the idea is to meld the purchase into a public-private partnership model that will allow the city to ensure the right business eventually occupies the space.

The idea was to make sure that whatever happened over at Mayfair happened in a way that is most beneficial to the taxpayers of Wauwatosa," McBride said.

We wanted to make sure that we could control the future of the property so that whatever ends up filling it is consistent with the high-quality occupants the mall already has," McBride said.

He added that the city has no plans to hold the property for long.

Mayfair is Wauwatosa's second-largest taxpayer, and city officials want the former Boston Store to generate property tax revenue under private use.

What we're trying to do is make sure that we maximize the value of that space so that it has the greatest beneficial impact on the property tax base," McBride said.

He declined to comment on potential future uses for the property.

We've had preliminary talks with a number of business entities that have ideas that we think would be extremely good for our tax base," McBride said.

Mayfair has seen other transformations, including the 2020 conversion of a former office building into the 12-story, 196-room Renaissance Milwaukee West Hotel.

Story continues

I wouldn't be surprised at all if by the end of the year we had a proposal from some high-level developer for that property," he said.

Plans for other vacant Boston Store properties

Wauwatosa is following a path similar to what Greendale did in 2021, when the village bought Southridge Mall's former Boston Store for $3.3 million.

The Greendale Village Board in December approved a preliminary agreement that calls for selling the property to Barrett Lo Visionary Development LLC.

The firm plans to transform the property into a four-story, 790-unit apartment community as well as 50,000 to 60,000 square feet of commercial space to the nearly 15-acre property.

Meanwhile, Brookfield Square Mall's former Boston Store is to be demolished and replaced with mid-rise office buildings, and possibly other new developments, under plans announced in November by Irgens Partners LLC.

Also, the former Bayshore Boston Store, in Glendale, was converted into a new Target department store and supermarket. It opened in October.

Finally, downtown Milwaukee's former Boston Store just landed its first retail tenant: a small format Kohl's department store, which is to open in 2023.

All of the properties went vacant after Bon-Ton Stores Inc., the Boston Store chain's corporate parent, was liquidated in 2018.

Tom Daykin, of the Journal Sentinel, contributed to this article.

Beck Andrew Salgado can be reached at 512-568-4070 or Bsalgado@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @Beck_Salgado.

Our subscribers make this reporting possible. Please consider supporting local journalism by subscribing to the Journal Sentinel at jsonline.com/deal.

DOWNLOAD THE APP: Get the latest news, sports and more

Subscribe to get the BusinessWatch email newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: City of Wauwatosa buys Mayfair Mall space for nearly $4 Million
Navy veteran Daniel Hurd has a mission even bigger than finishing the 462 miles of RAGBRAI 2022.

Hes riding to promote awareness of suicide prevention tactics.

Hurd, part of team WimpyCARES, finished a 22,000-mile route through the lower 48 states last October. After losing several people in his life, including other veterans, to suicide, he embarked on the three-year trip to save his own life and help others through intervention.

Im glad to still be here, he said.

The Colorado cyclists bike is outfitted with signs sharing resources for suicide prevention, and a bright yellow smiley face over the front wheel. Hurd estimates his nonprofit, the One Pedal at a Time Movement, has raised about $15,000 for suicide prevention and has helped about 100 people along his journey.

Daniel Hurd, a Navy veteran from Colorado on a mission to prevent suicide, is riding RAGBRAI 2022.

More: From the RAGBRAI route to your microwave: Popcorn is a northwest Iowa specialty

This year is his first RAGBRAI, and Hurd is doing everything he can to make people happy.

I love it, he said. Im having a blast. I stand on the top of my bicycle and surf it.

My goal in life is just to make people smile.

Troops on a mission in Schaller

Pass-through town Schaller had some extra help providing food and water to thousands of riders Monday morning.

Members of the Iowa National Guard in Storm Lake spent a few hours grabbing water bottles from cyclists and filling them up from a portable station. As riders walked through the crowded downtown, they gave the troops fist bumps and took photos.

Pfc. Landen Seymour said he enjoyed taking pictures with grateful riders and hearing their stories.

More: Northwest Iowa farmer invites RAGBRAI riders to stop by, and they keep coming, and coming, and coming

We get to serve a lot of people and talk to nice people, he said. Everybodys pretty friendly.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Veterans riding for suicide prevention awareness on RAGBRAI 2022
Work continues on Monday, July 25, 2022, on the new Costco Wholesale store in Redding. The store is scheduled to open in November 2022.

There's been much speculation about when the new Costco Wholesale will open in Redding.

While construction started in May, the company had been tight-lipped on the opening.

But Costco's website now shows the Redding store at 4675 Bechelli Lane will open in November.

Redding is one of six cities where Costco will celebrate a grand opening in November, according to the website. The others are Ankeney, Iowa; Athens, Georgia; Liberty Township, Ohio; Logan, Utah; and University City, Missouri.

A new sign announcing the arrival of Costco Wholesale is up at the corner of South Bonnyview Road and Bechelli Lane.

Costco has not announced the specific opening date for the Redding store.

White steel beams have sprung up on the northeast corner of South Bonnyview Road and Bechelli Lane, signaling the new 152,000-square-foot store.

Work continues on Monday, July 25, 2022, on the new Costco Wholesale store in Redding. The store is scheduled to open in November 2022.

David Thereault, superintendent of W.L. Butler, the project's general contractor, said crews on Wednesday will place the underground tanks for the gas station into the ground.

"We will crane the tanks into the hole, and that will start the process of feeding the fuel lines into the dispensers," Thereault said Monday afternoon.

The gas station will be on the southeast corner of the site. It will feature 20 fueling positions with the ability to expand to 30.

Typically, W.L. Butler will hand over the finished store to Costco 21 days before the opening, Thereault said, adding that he was not authorized to give the date.

Thereault has built or redesigned more than 40 Costcos in his 20 years with W.L. Butler. He said the company has been building Costcos for more than 40 years.

The layout of the River Crossing Marketplace that will be anchored by the new Costco Wholesale warehouse in Redding.

Costco will relocate from its store on Dana Drive, where the big-box retailer has been since 1990.

The Dana Drive location will be repurposed as the River Bend Commons center after Costco leaves.

At Home, which bills itself as "The Home Decor Superstore," will take over the Costco building and anchor River Bend Commons. The shopping center also will feature Chili's.

An artist's rendition shows the front of the new Costco Wholesale warehouse for Redding.

The new store is about 50,000 square feet larger than its predecessor. Also, the current Costco does not have a gas station.

Story continues

New traffic lights have been installed at the intersection of Bechelli Lane and the Blue Shield call center in Redding. Crews will take down the old signals on Tuesday, July 26, 2022.

The new Costco will anchor the River Crossing MarketPlace.

Also coming to the shopping center will be Chipotle, Jersey Mike's, McDonald's and Great Clips.

Meanwhile, road work to accommodate the new Costco is also going on.

On Tuesday, crews with Terry Hansen Electric will take down the old traffic lights at Bechelli Lane and the entrance to the Blue Shield center.

The work will happen from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. and there will be temporary traffic control with flaggers, according to a city of Redding news release.

The new traffic signals are expected to be operating by Wednesday.

Construction of a two-lane roundabout at South Bonnyview and Bechelli began in June. A temporary one-lane traffic circle is in place. The intersection's traffic signal has been removed and yield signs are in place to help guide drivers.

Other traffic improvements needed for the new Costco include widening the southbound and northbound Interstate 5 off-ramps at South Bonnyview, and a new traffic signal at Bechelli and Loma Vista Drive.

David Benda covers business, development and anything else that comes up for the USA TODAY Network in Redding. He also writes the weekly "Buzz on the Street" column. Hes part of a team of dedicated reporters that investigate wrongdoing, cover breaking news and tell other stories about your community. Reach him on Twitter @DavidBenda_RS or by phone at 1-530-338-8323. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Costco store to open on Bechelli Lane in Redding in November
Stephen Colbert has a new nickname for Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.): Fascist Gump.

Hawley has attracted widespread ridicule since the Jan. 6 committee revealed a video at Thursdays hearing showing him running from the U.S. Capitol during the 2021 riot, not long after giving a closed-fist salute to insurrectionists outside.

This weekend, at the right-wing Turning Point USA Summit, we heard from Missouri senator and star of the new film Fascist Gump Josh Hawley, Colbert said Monday on The Late Show.

During his speech at the Florida conference, Hawley boasted that he objected to President Joe Bidens Electoral College victory in Pennsylvania. Hawley did so even after the mob of Donald Trumps supporters laid siege to the Capitol in an effort to overturn the results.

I just want to say to all of those liberals out there and the liberal media, just in case you havent gotten the message yet: I do not regret it. And I am not backing down. Im not going to apologize. Im not going to cower. Im not going to run from you, Hawley told the crowd.

Yeah. He is never going to run from his enemies, Colbert said. In fact, here he is on January 6 bravely moonwalking into danger.

Watch the roast below on The Late Show:

This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.

Related...
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.

Gotion High-Tech's GDRs to trade on SIX Swiss Exchange on July 28

Chinese battery maker Gotion High-Tech is to raise $685 million after pricing its Global Depositary Receipts ("GDR") in Switzerland. It will sell 22.8334 million GDRs at $30 each. According to the company's announcement released today, the GDRs will trade on the SIX Swiss Exchange AG on July 28, 2022.

Photo credit: Gotion High-Tech

Jiangling Motors posts 11.64% YoY growth in H1 2022 net profit

Jiangling Motors Co., Ltd. announced on Tuesday that its net profit attributable to shareholders reached 452,381,022 yuan ($66.913 million) in the first half of 2022, growing 11.64% from the previous year.

Highly Marellis' Xiangyang factory sees first premium-EV-dedicated air conditioner leave line

The joint venture Highly Marelli today said the first premium-EV-dedicated air conditioner produced by its Xiangyang factory had already rolled off the production line.

WEY Latte DHT-PHEV hits market

The WEY-branded Latte DHT-PHEV hits the market on July 25. It is priced from 229,000 yuan-263,000 yuan ($33,870-$38,900).

Haima Automobile's R&D of 4th-generation FCV model is underway

Haima Automobile is developing its fourth-generation fuel cell vehicle (FCV) model, the Chinese automaker recently revealed on a Q/A platform as a response to an investor's question.

SGMW to put first mobile nucleic acid sampling vehicles onto market in August

SAIC-GM-Wuling (SGMW), General Motors' joint venture with Chinese partners SAIC Motor and Guangxi Automobile Group, announced on July 26 its first mobile nucleic acid sampling vehicles would be put into use in August in Shanghai, aiming to further facilitate the epidemic prevention and control works.

GAC Group, SenseTime to ally on intelligent driving, metaverse, smart cockpit

GAC Group announced on July 26 it had already signed a framework agreement with SenseTime, a Chinese AI platform company, to carry out strategic cooperation in a slew of fields including intelligent driving and metaverse.

Tesla Shanghai Gigafactory said to complete retrofit project on Aug. 7th

Tesla's Shanghai Gigafactory retrofit project will be completed on August 7th, a local media outlet reported.

Dongfeng Motor, CEC to cooperate on auto chip, cybersecurity, auto electronics areas

Dongfeng Motor Corporation (DFMC) and China Electronics Corporation (CEC) recently inked a framework agreement to carry out strategic cooperation in the automotive chip, network security, digitalization, and automotive electronics fields.

Changan Automobile SL03 hits market, starting from RMB168,900

Changan Automobile's first production model under the newly formed Shenlan brand, the SL03, officially went on sale on July 25th.

Brembo to build a friction tech joint venture with China's Gold Phoenix

Brembo, the Italy-based global manufacturer of automotive brake systems, intends to build a joint venture with Chinese auto parts supplier Shandong Gold Phoenix Co., Ltd. (Gold Phoenix) in Jinan city, capital of Shandong province, according to the latter's announcement released on July 26.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. KRINFORM/ Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty Images

Ukraine is pursuing war-crimes charges against leaders of major Western banks, an official said.

The Zelenskyy advisor Oleg Ustenko earlier asked the banks to stop financing traders of Russian oil.

Ustenko told CNBC on Tuesday that Ukraine was gathering data on banks and would pass it to the ICC.

Ukraine is pursuing war-crimes charges against leaders of JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, and other major Western banks over their purported indirect financing of the Russian state, an economic advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday.

"There is no doubt that Russia is committing war crimes in Ukraine, against Ukrainians," Oleg Ustenko, the advisor, said in an interview with CNBC. "In our logic, everybody who is financing these war criminals who are doing these terrible things in Ukraine are also committing war crimes."

Earlier this month, Ustenko wrote to JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon and the bosses of Citigroup and HSBC asking them to cut ties with companies that trade Russian oil and sell shares in Russian oil and gas firms such as Gazprom and Rosneft.

Ustenko said of the banks in his CNBC interview: "We are going to pursue, not maybe companies, but managers of these companies."

He added: "We have different options. The first option is definitely ICC."

Ustenko said Ukraine's justice and security services were gathering information about the banks' activities that would be passed to the International Criminal Court.

The ICC has the power to prosecute people but not entities.

In his letters to the bank CEOs, which were seen by the Financial Times, Ustenko accused the banks of "prolonging" the war in Ukraine.

JPMorgan provides credit to Vitol, which trades Russian oil, and the bank's Russian securities investment trust holds shares in Rosneft, Sberbank, and Gazprom, Ustenko said in his letter to Dimon, per the Financial Times. HSBC's asset-management arm also has stakes in Gazprom and Rosneft, and Citigroup extends credit to Vitol and the Russian energy giant Lukoil, the letters said, per the Financial Times.

Story continues

JPMorgan, HSBC, and Citigroup didn't immediately respond to requests for comment from Insider.

Citi told the Financial Times it had cut down its business in Russia. JPMorgan told the publication it had helped implement sanctions against Russia.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Built in 1852, the covered bridge in Philippi marked the site of the first land battle of the Civil War.

PHILIPPI, W.Va.  The country roads of West Virginia often reveal hidden delights for inquisitive travelers who are fascinated by quirky and sometimes touching bits of local history and lore.

My family and I found such a delight last month while making a detour for a rest stop in Barbour County, about 40 miles south of Morgantown.

The stop revealed stories about the first land battle of the Civil War, a poignant and macabre example of 19th-century psychiatric treatment and medical experimentation and, last but not least, a local tie to The Addams Family  yes, that Addams Family.

The little town of Philippi, the Barbour County seat, is filled with stories, some mysterious and spooky.

Although weve often driven through north-central West Virginia, this was our first stop in Philippi, a town of about 3,000 people located at the intersection of U.S. routes 119 and 250.

The sight of a beautiful and unusual covered bridge spanning the Tygart Valley River first lured us away from the gas station wed stopped at near the center of town.

During our explorations, we learned that the 312-foot-long, two-lane double barrel bridge was built in 1852 and was once used as a barracks by Union soldiers during the Civil War.

But our real dive into local history would begin at the old train station next to the bridge, where stood a historical marker titled Philippi Mummies, and a banner hung proclaiming the dates for an upcoming Lurch Fest.

This B&O Railroad depot, built in 1911, is now the Barbour County Historical Museum.

Daytrip destination: A car lover's dream  visiting automotive museums in Auburn, Indiana

Fortunately, the answers to all the obvious questions awaited us inside the former B&O Railroad depot, built in 1911 and now the Barbour County Historical Museum (www.barbourcountyhistoricalmuseum.org).

When we stepped inside, the first thing we saw was a mannequin depicting the huge character Lurch from "The Addams Family" television series.

We were immediately welcomed by museum guide Marisa Terwilliger.

Admission is free, but its $1 to see the mummies, she informed us.

Sold.

Who can't go visit the museum after reading the historical marker outside?

Terwilliger, who works at the museum through AmeriCorps, was a terrific guide who told great stories.

Story continues

Philippi, we learned, was the site of the first organized land battle  actually more of a skirmish  of the Civil War, on June 3, 1861.

Reportedly, no one was killed at the Battle of Philippi, where Union troops attacked and scattered a Confederate force. But the battle did result in the first amputations of the war, including a leg of 18-year-old Confederate soldier James Hanger. Hanger would later design an articulated artificial leg for himself using barrel staves, then found a company producing artificial limbs. The Hanger Orthopedic Group is still a leading supplier of prosthetics.

Yes, that is The Addams Family's Lurch, standing inside the museum.

Marblehead Lighthouse: Travel: Sailors and visitors alike find Marblehead Lighthouse a shining beacon of beauty

The Battle of Philippi was also the first in history in which both sides arrived at the battlefield by train, according to some accounts.

As for our admission to the mummy room, it was money well-spent.

Displayed are two human bodies preserved in 1888 by local farmer and amateur (mad?) scientist Graham Hamrick, who was hoping to sell his secret mummification formula, and actually received a patent on the process.

The bodies he used were two deceased inmates of the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in nearby Weston, whose remains went unclaimed by their families.

Visitors will even find a tie to Columbus in the Philippi museum.

Hamrick never made money from his formula, but the mummies did tour Europe with P.T. Barnum before eventually finding their way back to Philippi.

However, the real story in the mummy room isnt the weird science and weirder marketing of the 19th century, but the sad fate that often awaited those whom society deemed abnormal.

Terwilliger recounted the somber circumstances of those unfortunates who found themselves committed to the state lunatic asylum.

The pretexts for commitment were many, especially for unusual or inconvenient women. The mummies are believed to be two such female inmates, one who died of tuberculosis, one who died in childbirth.

The tale of the Philippi mummies is both weird and tragic.

Hocking Hills: Outdoor adventures: Hocking Hills offer exciting excursions for adrenaline junkies

Among the interpretive displays is a copy of a letter one of the women had sent to her family, asking to be allowed to come home to Philippi.

The letter was returned unopened.

On a lighter, if no less ooky, note, the creepy and kooky, mysterious and spooky presence of Lurch was, as it turns out, easily explained. The 6-foot 9-inch actor who portrayed the character in the 1960s television series, Ted Cassidy, grew up in Philippi and is still, understandably, a hometown hero. Cassidy, who died in 1979, will be celebrated Aug. 6, outside the museum at the towns annual Lurch Fest (search Lurch Fest on Facebook).

The small museum in Philippi holds a large amount of history.

The festival will also feature live music, craft beer, arts and crafts vendors, and a costume parade and contest. (Yes, Id probably go as Uncle Fester.)

For more information about Philippi, visit www.philippi.org.

Steve Stephens is a freelance travel writer and photographer. Email him at sjstephensjr@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Philippi, West Virginia: Eerie, quirky, fascinating, worth a daytrip
PANAMA CITY  Two Panama City teenagers have been extradited to Dothan, Alabama, to face capital murder charges.

Davaciera Booth, 18, and an unnamed girl were among four people wanted in connection to what detectives in Alabama believe was a robbery gone awry.

2019 murder: Last of 5 men accused of killing Panama City Beach man found guilty

Hit-and-run: Bay woman charged with attempted murder after purposely striking motorcyclist

Worksite slaying: Shooter sentenced to life for killing man during dispute at 23rd Street jobsite

Dothan Police Department officers were called at 6:30 a.m. July 14 to Morgan Street and Westmead Street where a man was found lying on the side of the road, according to a statement from Dothan Police.

The man, identified as Gabriel Raynaldo Johnson, 34, of Ashford, Alabama, was shot, Lt. Ronald Hall of the Dothan Police Department confirmed to The News Herald on Tuesday.

"These individuals conspired together to rob Mr. Johnson of money he was believed to be in possession of and it ultimately cost him his life," according to the statement.

Investigators did not know how Johnson was acquainted with those accused of killing him, Hall said.

"We don't think it's going to be a random (incident)," he said. "There may have been an association with one or two of the suspects." But, Hall said, he did not know which suspect or suspects.

Investigators also believe there might have been more than one gun involved, he said.

"Investigators and Patrol Officers worked into the late-night hours (that) night locating and collecting surveillance video, conducting numerous interviews, and executing numerous search warrants," the statement says.

Dothan residents Dialan Z. Beard and Rodgrick J. Holmes, both 18, were arrested in Dothan and, the day after Johnson's body was found, Booth and the younger teen were arrested in Bay County.

Johnson's death was the seventh homicide this year in Dothan, Hall said.

"We would like to extend our appreciation to Sheriff Tommy Ford and the Bay County ... Sheriffs Department for their assistance in this investigation," the Dothan Police Department statement says.

This article originally appeared on The News Herald: 2 Panama City teens among 4 people charged in Dothan, Alabama, slaying
Photo Illustration by Kelly Caminero/The Daily Beast/Getty

Former President Donald Trumps first return to Washington, D.C., since leaving office last January has reanimated the backstabby factions within the MAGA faithfulrival groups who have spent the time since his departure planning a way back to power, and who are intent on keeping others out.

The ex-president will be in town on Tuesday to address the America First Policy Institute, a relatively new Trump-aligned nonprofit group, which this week convened countless MAGA-loving policy wonks and loyalists for a two-day conference in a hotel basement blocks away from the Capitol building. The agenda, AFPI says, is heavy on legislative goals crafted ahead of what they hope is a Republican return to power in Washington after the midterm elections and beyond.

A source close to Trump told The Daily Beast that despite the cloud of investigations over his head, the former commander-in-chief has been excited about his return to the swamp.

The keynote will offer an opportunity to present a binary contrast between America under Trump and America under Biden, according to the source, who regularly speaks with the ex-president.

People are thirsting for solutions, this person said.

Trump Says He Kinda Liked That Taliban Called Him Your Excellency

But just because the group successfully lured Trump back doesnt mean broader Trumpworld plans to cede authority to them.

Instead, ardently pro-Trump sources told The Daily Beast that AFPIa nonprofit created soon after Trump left the White Househas become a foe of MAGAland. These critics point to what they see as an ineffectual, glitzy organization that has failed to deliver tangible victories on behalf of the ex-president, while trying to stake a claim as gatekeeper to a potential second Trump administration.

And raking in tens of millions of dollars in the process.

Its a mile wide and an inch deep, all sizzle and no substance, one current Trump adviser, who remains in the good graces of the former president, told The Daily Beast. Theyre burning through donor money and not doing anything meaningful to advance a coherent policy agenda, and everyone whos paying attention knows it.

Story continues

They launched a bunch of centers and spread way too thin the very little talent the organization has, the Trump adviser, who spoke on condition of anonymity, continued. The Trump stamp of approval is all they really have going for them.

Likewise, former Trump administration official Peter Navarro told The Daily Beast that the pro-Trump Washington, D.C.-based group is nothing more than a Trojan horse that will put RINORepublicans In Name Onlystaffers in a second Trump administration and foster the same mistake[s] when it comes to personnel in a potential Trump second term.

People are using Trumps good name to defeat him, Navarro further said of the incompetent group of grifters. Trumpism without Trump coup detat.

That remark didnt sit well with AFPIs communications chief Marc Lotter, who fired back at Navarro when reached by The Daily Beast.

It is unfortunate to see Mr. Navarro, a former Hillary Clinton supporter, turning into the DC swamp creature he once abhorred, he said. Lotter further directed Navarro to visit AFPIs website for reams of research that build on the Trump administrations successes, including tough stances on China and continuing President Trumps China tariffs.

AFPI was created last spring, and with a board loaded with top Trump White House alums has been billed as something of a White House in waiting.

Bannon Conviction by Trump Haters Wont Hold, Dershowitz Predicts

The nonprofits chair, former Small Business Administration head Linda McMahon, is joined by an array of ex-officials, including former acting Homeland Security secretary Chad Wolf, former acting director of Domestic Policy Council Brooke Rollins, and former economic adviser Larry Kudlow. Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump reportedly serve as informal advisers, according to Axios.

Former Florida attorney general Pam Bondi and special White House adviser Kellyanne Conway contribute to the organizations fundraising firepowerand theres a lot of it.

AFPI launched with a $20 million first-year budget, according to Axios. (Unlike other AFPI bigwigs at the conference, Conway was followed around by supporters and news cameras.)

Despite some in Trumps orbit taking aim at the group, McMahon said Monday to guests at the private event that the over 20 policy centers part of the group are chock full of the patriots and the doers that will usher in the America First Agenda.

That assessment didnt jibe with one former White House aide.

I dont see much happening from AFPI other than cable news interviews and press releases about people theyve hired, the aide told The Daily Beast. I know theyve raised a ton of money from President Trumps supporters, but most of that is going to staff salaries and operating costs.

A Trump spokesperson didnt return The Daily Beasts request for comment on Monday afternoon.

If the group is mostly a flashy donor trap, the first clue came early.

AFPI made its first public splash in the policy space a year ago, when it got behind Trumps ill-advised First Amendment lawsuit against social media companies. Organization leaders even spoke alongside the former president at the televised announcement event, directing supporters to a website where they could allegedly sign on as co-plaintiffs to the class-action suit.

We really are looking for the tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of Americans, AFPI president Brooke Rollins said at the time.

But the site didnt actually allow anyone to sign onto the lawsuit. Instead, it sent people to a separate fundraising page for an entity within AFPI, called the Constitutional Leadership Partnership.

And whatever contributions AFPI made to the legal effort over the next 10 months, they werent enough. A federal judge tossed the suit in May.

The fundraising, by contrast, is going gangbusters.

While the public doesnt know who all of AFPIs donors are, its clear the group has ponied up a lot of money. On Monday, Politico reported it has a current operating budget of $25 million.

MAGA World Freaks Out at Conservative D.C. Examiner for Calling Trump Unfit

But thanks to Federal Election Commission filings, one source of those millions is clear: Trump himself. In June, 2021, his leadership PAC gave the group $1 millionat the time, the only outside gift the PAC had ever made. A few weeks later, AFPI got behind his social media lawsuit.

AFPI also exhibits a fair share of overlap with other groups in Trumps sprawling, byzantine dark money machinewith a focus on fundraising.

The Daily Beast reported that three AFPI officialsBondi, former acting attorney general Matt Whitaker, and former acting director of national intelligence Richard Grenellare also on the payroll for a Trump-endorsed super PAC. Bondi alone has banked hundreds of thousands of dollars heading up that effort.

Those same officials are also aboard another nonprofit, called Make America Great Again Policies, along with Donald Trump Jr.s fiancee, Kimberly Guilfoyle. That group, however, doesnt appear to engage in any publicly known activity.

The same Trump adviser observed that the patina of Trumps affection for the group obscures a deep, longtime rift.

The Trump stamp of approval is all they really have going for them. But in reality, with very few exceptions, the people involved are much more closely aligned with Jared Kushners vision for the country than they are with Trumps, the person said. Thats why Navarro has been criticizing them so openly.

Trumpworld has long been riven with discord between two factionsthe more corporate, polished Kushner wing, and the populist rabble-rousing camp, embodied by aides like Navarro and Steve Bannon.

AFPI emerged when that conflict was at a peakin the months after Trumps ignominious White House departure on the heels of the Jan. 6 attack, an event that drove the spike between the two factions even deeper.

Theyre making a play to be the epicenter of Trumpworld in D.C., so getting Trump back to the capital for the first time since he left and bringing together all of these lawmakers will go a long way toward doing that, one Trump adviser said. D.C. isnt necessarily the place anyone wants to vacation, but its a smart power move to host this event there.

Lotter dismissed other points of criticism from those in Trumpworld, telling The Daily Beast, The fact President Trump is closing this event shows his support for AFPIs work to continue the policies that put America First!

Read more at The Daily Beast.

Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here

Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now.

Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now.
Two months after the May 24 shooting in Uvalde, Texas, which left 19 students and two teachers dead, parents are still frustrated and looking for answers, and the elementary schools principal has been placed on leave.

At Monday nights school board meeting, it was announced that new security measures  including bulletproof glass and additional officers  would be put in place when the delayed school year begins in September. Families of the Uvalde victims walked out of the meeting, frustrated with what they say is a lack of accountability for the massacre that included a botched response from law enforcement at the scene and false information released by officials in the days that followed.

In addition, the school board formally urged Gov. Greg Abbott to call a special session of the Legislature, in order to pass a law raising the age requirement to purchase an assault rifle from 18 to 21. The shooter at Robb Elementary purchased the assault rifle used in his attack days after he turned 18.

Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas speaks with Mandy Gutierrez, principal of Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on May 29. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

The board has also suspended Robb Elementary School principal Mandy Gutierrez with pay, according to her lawyer, although the reasons behind that decision have not been released. A report from the state Legislature released last week found that Gutierrez was among those at the school who knew that the lock on the classroom door was not working properly but did not place an order to have it fixed, stating that she confirmed that school administration knew about the issues with that door, stating that it was reported around spring break of 2022.

The report found that school personnel didnt always respond to alerts with a sense of urgency because the vast majority of alerts were issued by police during pursuits of vehicles with undocumented immigrants on highways near the school. Reports of so-called bailouts  incidents in which officers chase a vehicle containing suspected undocumented migrants who then purposely crash and scatter to avoid apprehension  were frequent. Since late February, there had been 47 secure or lockdown events at Uvalde schools, according to the report; about 90% of them were attributed to bailouts.

Story continues

The employment of the school district police chief, Pete Arredondo, is another continuing issue for the board that has angered members of the community. Arredondo has yet to be terminated or to resign from the position after state officials said he was the on-site commander as officers stood outside the classroom where students called 911 on the day of the attack. Arredondo told the Texas Tribune in June that he didnt consider himself in charge of the scene, and the state Legislature report said that no one from state or federal law enforcement asked to take control of the situation.

The Robb Elementary School sign covered in flowers and gifts on June 17. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

In this crisis, no responder seized the initiative to establish an incident command post, said the report, which added, Despite an obvious atmosphere of chaos, the ranking officers of other responding agencies did not approach the Uvalde [school district] chief of police or anyone else perceived to be in command to point out the lack of and need for a command post, or to offer that specific assistance.

However, an analysis of the body camera footage by CNN released Monday found that Arredondo was at the center of the action, giving orders. The school board president had recommended that Arredondo be fired and the matter had been set to be discussed on Saturday, but the meeting was canceled at the request of Arredondos lawyer. Arredondo was also moved from paid leave to unpaid leave.

In conformity with due process requirements, and at the request of his attorney, the meeting to consider the termination of Chief Arredondo will be held at a later date which has yet to be determined, said a Friday press release from the district.

Parents who attended a July 17 press conference by three of the state Legislature reports authors expressed anger and frustration, calling for discipline against the officers and saying they didnt learn anything new from the report.

On May 26, Uvalde School Police Chief Pete Arredondo, third from left, stands at a news conference outside Robb Elementary. (Dario Lopez-Mills/AP Photo)

Its a joke. Theyre a joke. Theyve got no business wearing a badge. None of them do, Vincent Salazar, grandfather of one of the victims, told the Associated Press.

They should be charged for not going in and for letting that happen to our kids, Evadulia Orta, whose son was killed, told the Texas Tribune.

Earlier this month, Arredondo resigned from his position on the Uvalde City Council, a seat he was elected to prior to the shooting. He had secretly taken the oath of office in June, but had not attended any meetings and has been on administrative leave from his position overseeing the school districts police force since late June.
MADISON, Wis.  Wisconsin's state Senate Minority Leader Janet Bewley was involved in a fatal car crash Friday that left a mother and her 5-year-old daughter dead.

Bewley, a Democrat who represents a district that covers the northwestern part of the state, pulled into the path of a car driven by 27-year-old Alyssa Ortman of Pennsylvania, according to police in Ashland, Wisconsin. When Ortman's car collided with Bewley's, it spun and was hit by another vehicle driven by 45-year-old Jodi Munson.

Ortman's 5-year-old daughter was pronounced dead at the crash scene. Ortman was transported to a nearby hospital where she later died, according to police.

"This is a heartbreaking event for the community. Our thoughts and prayers are focused on the individuals involved, their families and their loved ones," a statement released by Bewley's office said. "Senator Bewley, who was not seriously injured in the accident, wants to thank all the dedicated law enforcement and emergency medical personnel who helped in the aftermath of the accident."

State Sen. Janet Bewley, D-Mason, speaks during a hearing regarding COVID-19 by the Committee on Senate Organization Monday, Jan. 11, 2021, at the Capitol in Madison, Wis.

Ben Baker, a reporting intern for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, part of the USA TODAY Network, was on the phone with Bewley at the time of the crash on Friday afternoon for an interview he had arranged with her staff about this fall's elections for the Legislature.

Shortly after the interview began, Bewley told Baker she had cataract eye surgery the day before. Minutes later, she stopped talking mid-sentence and the call went silent. When Baker asked Bewley if she was still on the line, she sounded concerned. When Baker asked if she was OK, she said, "Yeah, I'm OK. This is not a good accident."

Ashland Police Chief Bill Hagstrom told the Ashland Daily Press on Monday he has not yet determined whether charges will be filed against one of the drivers.

'Just unreal': Boy, 5, hit by vehicle that crashed onto Florida beach, rolled into ocean

India: 28 people dead and 60 sick from drinking spiked bootleg liquor

Story continues

Well be sitting down with them and going over everything as far as determining how it all actually happened, Hagstrom told the newspaper. Then well forward everything to the district attorney for their review because it was a fatal accident.

Molly Beck can be reached at molly.beck@jrn.com.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin lawmaker Janet Bewley involved in car crash that killed two
Seriously opulent, luxurious and meticulously crafted fashion, jewelry and accessories by 100 designers from Saudi Arabia are being spotlighted starting Tuesday at the Iron23 event space in Manhattans Flatiron neighborhood.

The Saudi designers, many considered emerging brands and selected from a field of 1,500, were challenged to create pieces expressly for the exhibit and that reflect Saudi heritage and culture. The exhibit, called Saudi 100 Brands Fashion Exhibition, has been organized by Saudi Arabias Fashion Commission. None of the 100 brands has been seen outside Saudi Arabia until now.

More from WWD

The exhibition, which debuted in Riyadh late last year, is split into eight different categories: ready-to-wear, modest, concept, premiere, demi-couture, bridal, handbags and jewelry. While ornate in terms of the heavy use of fabric, embroidery, laser-cuts, color and references from Saudi architecture and landscape, they are modest to the degree they cover the body. On display are long robes or thobes, long coats or abaya and large scarves for head coverings called tarha. But there is a diversity of style, with some streetwear  a hoodie and some shorts are shown  and more fitted and avant garde designs presented.

This exhibit doesnt have a commercial angle. Its meant to give visibility to creativity from a region of the world that has never been exposed to the rest of the world, Saudi Arabias Fashion Commission chief executive officer Burak Cakmak told WWD in an interview at the exhibit. Its open to anybody. Its a free event. You just have to register.

The exhibit represents the starting point to show the level of creativity, said Cakmak, a former dean of the Parsons School of Design. Each of the brands are working on a wholesale collection. The idea is this fall, we will have wholesale collections available for retail. The majority of these designers have never sold outside the country. Several have sold in the region; one or two internationally. The intention is to show the diverse range of products that are designed in the country, but also with the exhibition we challenged them to create a showpiece, not meant as a retail piece, that projects their creativity and represents who they are.

Story continues

The intent is also to dispel misconceptions about fashion in Saudi Arabia and how people dress there.

From the Saudi 100 exhibit in New York. - Credit: Jared Siskin/PMC

Jared Siskin/PMC

Currently, there are no statistics available on the size of the Saudi fashion industry, though the commission is gathering data to determine that, Cakmak said. Local brands have the ambition to grow internationally and there is a huge appetite for international bands to come to Saudi Arabia, he said.

One thing people dont realize is that life in Saudi includes every kind of product. What is different from the rest of the world is whats public or whats private. That doesnt mean all these products you see in the West are not selling in the East. There is a different way of using the product, but every category is still very much relevant in the region. There are no restrictions. Its really a personal journey of each consumer to decide how they want to dress in the house and outside the house.

The exhibit could travel to other cities, but thats to be determined. To further help the designers, the Saudi government has been setting up mentoring programs and bringing in consultants and experts from fashion houses and academia to guide them.

From the Saudi 100 exhibit in New York. - Credit: Jared Siskin/PMC/PMC

Jared Siskin/PMC/PMC

Asked if international politics could affect the level of acceptance of Saudi design by Americans, Cakmak replied, The intention is to connect creative communities and build a bridge for designers with other creatives, designers and businesses. At the end of the day, individual brands are very much focused on building their own business, and we very much want to focus on the business side with them. This is ultimately letting the creatives shine and helping them grow their business with no other intention. When we see creatives engage with the West, it doesnt matter where they come from. You speak the same language. You are focused on where your inspiration comes from, where the culture comes from and how does that influence each other.

Saudi Arabia is on a growth path across all sectors, including fashion, and there are great opportunities for local entrepreneurs to build new businesses across all parts of the fashion value chain, Cakmak added. A robust fashion sector benefits from local creatives, design studios, marketing and communication agencies, manufacturers and retailers. And through programs like Saudi 100 Brands, we look forward to seeing Saudi designers take their rightful place on the global stage.

The exhibition, which runs from July 26 through Aug. 7, is open Monday through Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Thursday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sunday, 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Iron23, 29 West 23rd Street. Tickets can be reserved at saudi100brands.nyc.

From the Saudi fashion exhibit in New York. - Credit: Jared Siskin/PMC

Jared Siskin/PMC

Launch Gallery: A Look At The Saudi 100 Brands Fashion Exhibition

Sign up for WWD's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.
gold-0725

Canadian gold miners GCM Mining Corp. and Aris Gold Corp. inked an all-share deal that would create the largest gold miner in Columbia and one of the bigger producers in the Americas, the latest example of executives seeking to dominate what they say is a shrinking industry.

The agreement, which the companies said they expect to complete in mid-September after meetings with their respective shareholders, would see Toronto-based GCM acquire all of Vancouver-based Aris Golds shares that it doesnt already own through an exchange at a ratio of 0.5 of a common share of GCM for each common share of Aris Gold.

If the deal closes, GCM would own 74 per cent of the combined company, which will be named Aris Gold Corp.

I think it (the deal) is very significant. There has been some consolidation (in the gold sector), but investors wish there was more, Ian Telfer, chair of Aris Gold, said by phone after the agreement was announced on July 25.

Tefler would become chair of the new company, and Aris CEO Neil Woodyer would remain chief executive.

The gold industry is really fragmented, Telfer continued. Institutional investors have become larger and larger, but the mining companies have stayed the same size, and it (mergers) will continue.

The gold industry has seen at least eight notable mergers since 2018, when Barrick Gold Corp. and Randgold Resources Ltd. announced an $18-billion, zero-premium, all-share merger. In May, Gold Fields Ltd. said it would acquire all of Canadian miner Yamana Gold Inc.s shares to create the worlds fourth largest gold producer.

According to Telfer, the combination with GCM Mining, which came together in the last two months, will bring together multiple tier one assets with a total proven and probable mineral reserves of 3.8 million ounces of gold.

In Colombia, the new company would include GCMs Segovia operations in Antioquia, which produced about 206,389 ounces of gold in 2021; Aris Marmato mine in Caldas, currently undergoing an expansion program; and the Soto Norte project in Santander, which according to a feasibility study is expected to produce about 450,000 ounces of gold annually for 14 years.

Story continues

The new company would also feature the Toroparu project in Guyana, an advanced gold project thats expected to produce about 225,000 ounces of gold a year in the future and the Juby project in Ontario.

The industry is not growing and large ore bodies are very rare and hard to acquire, said Telfer. You have got to get your hands on some large ore bodies if you are going to grow a mining company. At Aris, we have been able to do that with the acquisitions that we made.

Aris Gold was created in 2020, the result of a spin off from GCM, which at the time wanted to sharpen its focus on the Marmato project. The new deal, which marks a reversal of the 2020 plan, is to ensure GCM gets its hands on the Soto Norte project, which Aris acquired in March this year.

With Ariss plan to develop the huge Soto Norte deposit over the next few years, we thought it made sense to combine the cash flowing Segovia asset with the development project, said Telfer.

GCM, which owns about 44% of Aris, echoed a similar sentiment. Its executive chairman Serafino Iacono said in a press release that the merger would further diversify the companys portfolio and help it grow.

GCM, which currently owns about 44 per cent of Aris Gold, echoed a similar sentiment. Its executive chairman Serafino Iacono said in a press release that the merger would further diversify the companys portfolio and help it grow.

Shares of both companies rose after the announcement. GCM was trading at about $3.70 per share near the end of the trading day in Toronto, a nine per per cent increase from the end of last week, and within a 52-week trading range of $3.13 and $6.13. Aris Gold was trading at $1.86, a gain of about 13 per cent, within a 52-week trading range of $1.21 and $2.25.
Maggie Rogers got the best of both worlds.

This past year, the Maryland native lived a Hannah Montana-style double life: During the week, she studied at Harvard Divinity School, earning a master's degree in religion and public life. And on weekends, she played major festivals like Coachella, all while putting the finishing touches on her rousing second album "Surrender" (out Friday).

Juggling pop music and classwork was a no-brainer for Rogers, who craved the structure of school as she struggled with a burnout in her career. Before the pandemic hit, she was touring nonstop in support of her 2019 major-label debut "Heard It in a Past Life," which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 album chart and helped earn her a Grammy nod for best new artist.

5 things to know about viral sensation Maggie Rogers: From 'SNL' to wowing Pharrell

Maggie Rogers performing at the Coachella music festival in Indio, Calif., in April.

"The good news is that I had a job already after graduation," says Rogers, 28, of enrolling at Harvard, where she graduated in May. "Learning is fun at any age, and I would be happy to keep learning my whole life. I'm just a curious person."

"Surrender" was recorded in part in her parents garage, which brought out "an unguardedness and intimacy," she says. That freedom is reflected in the albums title, with the central idea of "Surrender" being "giving over to your fullest emotions and "finding joy as a form of rebellion."

She was discovered in 2016 as a music student at New York University after a video went viral of a speechless Pharrell Williams listening to her song "Alaska" during a masterclass session. She talks to USA TODAY about that breakthrough moment and sharing a release date with Beyonce:

' I was stunned': Maggie Rogers slams hecklers who sexually harassed her while performing

Maggie Rogers, 28, will release sophomore album "Surrender" on Friday.

Question: Although you wrote and recorded most of "Surrender" before starting grad school, were there any songs inspired by what you learned?

Answer: A lot of what I was studying was like, "What do I do with this platform I have? How can music be used as a tool to bring people together?" "Honey" was the one song I wrote at school, which is about being in a position where you're asked to give advice a lot. The chorus says, "Honey, if I knew / I would tell you, wouldn't I?" What I love about making music is how personal it is. Just because I'm telling you about my experience doesn't mean I have any idea what you should do with your experience, which is actually a good tie-in to religion too.

Story continues

Our favorite song of summer contenders: From Bad Bunny and Harry Styles to Lizzo

Looking back to the viral success of "Alaska," what was the biggest challenge of being thrust into the spotlight that way? Did it affect how you approached this album?

In those early days, everything was so fast and intense and immediate. On this record, I got to work on it only when it felt intuitive, and then leave it for a couple months and come back. I've spent so much time with it that I know and love every second of it, so there are no complicated emotions.

Review: The Weeknd tour kicks off with an apocalyptic stadium rave in Philadelphia

Maggie Rogers attending the Met Gala in New York in May.

Q: Do you still keep in touch with Pharrell?

We have a really beautiful, faraway friendship. Of anyone in the music industry that could have opened that first door, I feel really grateful it was him. I love the way he continues to champion women's rights and Black businesses and indigenous rights.

You recently tweeted about the lack of women on the alternative charts. How do you think labels and radio stations can do better in terms of supporting female artists?

That's (their) responsibility to do that work and make that change. Genre sort of doesn't exist in 2022; I love the way music is boundlessly blending together. I just want to see these spaces look as diverse as we are as people. There are so many women of all shapes, sizes and colors making great music, so I was shocked it still looks like the 1990s on there.

'You have to draw the line': Pat Benatar refuses to sing 'Hit Me With Your Best Shot' after gun violence

Q: David Byrne makes a delightful cameo in the video for "That's Where I Am." How did that come about?

I just cold-emailed him and asked if he wanted to be in my video. He was like, "Yeah, I'm getting a haircut downtown around this time. Does that work?" He showed up wearing a shirt that just happened to exactly match my outfit. He's been one of my biggest heroes, mostly in the way that he's so wildly and wonderfully himself. So the fact that he just magically appeared was a nice reminder to always shoot your shot.

You've seen Beyonce in concert a bunch of times and are now sharing an album release date with "Renaissance." Have you already started plotting how you're going to squeeze in a listen come Friday?

Everyone was all like, "Oh, Beyonce, I'm so sorry." And I'm like, "Are you kidding? I get a new Beyonce record." Honestly, I'll probably spend my release day with it. The best thing about release day is that you've done all the (promotional) work ahead of time, so it ends up being quiet. Getting to have a long walk around New York City with fresh Beyonce in my ears  I actually can't imagine a better scenario.

What we know so far: Beyonce reveals 'Renaissance' album track list, wants fans to 'release the wiggle'

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Maggie Rogers is back with new album 'Surrender' and a Harvard degree
Matt Gaetz has doubled down on his claim that only unattractive women are concerned about abortion rights.

The Florida lawmaker first made the controversial remarks to more than 5,000 young people at the right-wing Turning Point USA Student Action Summit.

And Mr Gaetz, who is reportedly under federal investigation over allegations he sex trafficked an underage girl, refused to apologise on Monday.

He was asked by a reporter from WEAR-TV, if he believed that women who attended pro-abortion rallies were ugly and overweight, to which he replied yes.

And he was then asked what he had to say to people who were offended by those comments.

Be offended, the congressman said.

I find these people who go out on these pro-abortion and pro-murder rallies odious and just ugly on the inside and out and I make no apology for it, he told the station.

@RepMattGaetz doubled-down on his comments in our interview this morning.



Q: You're suggesting that these women at these abortion rallies are ugly and overweight?

A: Yes



Q: What do you say to people who think those comments are offensive?

A: Be offended. https://t.co/QNyR4tLI3a pic.twitter.com/ytG7rZ2Vrn  Olivia Iverson (@OliviaIversonTV) July 25, 2022

At the Turning Point event in Tampa over the weekend, Mr Gaetz shared similar thoughts with the crowd.

Why is it that the women with the least likelihood of getting pregnant are the ones most worried about having abortions? Mr Gaetz said.

Nobody wants to impregnate you if you look like a thumb.

Question: misogyny, what does it look like?



Answer: 



pic.twitter.com/BP8LK0tn7g  Molly Jong-Fast (@MollyJongFast) July 23, 2022

And he added: Theyre like 52, 350 pounds and theyre like give me my abortions or Ill get up and march and protest and Im thinking: March? You look like you got ankles weaker than the legal reasoning behind Roe vs Wade.

A few of them need to get up and march. They need to get up and march for like an hour a day, swing those arms, get the blood pumping, maybe mix in a salad.
ATLANTAIndian adult retailer Besharam celebrates its ninth year in business this month.

The company, found online at IMBesharam.com, was founded in 2013 by Raj Armani and Salim Ranjan as a one-stop e-commerce shop designed to bring the top international sexual wellness brands to Indian consumers.

Recalling that at the time of launch, adult toys were considered taboo and even "deviant" in the Indian marketplace, Besharam co-founder Armani commented, "In the initial years of setting up IMBesharam, our path to becoming a viable business was to create acceptance around adult toys. We had to tell people that seeking pleasure was not a sin."

To date, the company reports, it has delivered more than 1 million orders and receives over 2 million visits yearly to its flagship site. It has also helped shift the public perception of pleasure through campaigns including the Great Indian Sex Survey, Log Kya Kahenge and the Kinky Delhi Campaign.

In addition, the company notes, it has "consistently extended sustainable partnerships with Indian sex educators to support individuals in seeing their pleasure on equal terms with self-love and self-exploration. Through its educative and interactive content around sex, gratification and everything around it, the Besharam team strives to encourage Indians to explore, experiment and experience the epitome of their pleasureevery day."

As part of the celebration of its nine-year milestone, Besharam posted a video to its Instagram page of congratulatory wishes from Indian peers including PeeSafe, Sirona, Bleu Condoms, Sangya Project and Tickle.Life, along with international partners MaleEdge and Satifyer USA; youth influencers Under 25 Universe, Kajol Tyagi, Anagha Shinde and Divya Dhawan; sexual wellness influencers Pallavi Barnwal and Aili Seghetti; and medical practitioners Dr. Niveditha and Dr. Rashi.

See the video here.
A Pennsylvania man is dead after being strangled by an 18-foot boa constrictor last week.

Elliot Senseman, 27, died on Sunday at 8:11 a.m. local time while being treated at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest, Lehigh County Coroner Daniel A. Buglio says in a statement sent to PEOPLE.

Senseman's cause of death is anoxic brain injury due to asphyxiation by constriction, according to the statement, which says that his death is being ruled an accident.

"A Boa Constrictor type snake approximately 18' in length constricted around the neck of Mr. Senseman, thus causing the anoxic brain injury (complete lack of oxygen to the brain)," the statement says.

RELATED: Humane Society Saves 80 Dogs From Ohio House in its Largest Rescue Ever

"My son was unique and kind and should still be with his family and friends," Senseman's mother, Heather, told Lehigh Valley Live of Senseman, who often rescued snakes.

She added that Senseman "was still working with" the boa constrictor "because it was so aggressive couldn't be placed yet."

"He was experienced and would never handle that snake alone," Heather said of her son. "He was only checking the enclosure and all appropriate measures were taken. Too many people get these snakes and can't handle or take care of them. They shouldn't be bred to be kept as pets. He wanted them to be in a habitat that was as close to their natural environments as possible since they couldn't be put in the wild."

man dies after being strangled by snake

linkedin

RELATED: Rescuers Save Foster Dog Missing For Days from N.J. Drain Pipe: 'Unbelievable that He's Alive'

A family member told The Daily Beast that Senseman began working with snakes when he was 10 and had experience handling them. He's been rescuing snakes for the last six years and was passionate about finding them a new home, the outlet reported.

"A lot of times the snakes were neglected or mistreated and needed medical care," the relative told the outlet. "He would provide all of that."

Along with the boa constrictor that killed him, Senseman had two other snakes that he had taken in at the time. In his previous home, the boa was abused and malnourished, per The Daily Beast.

Story continues

"This particular snake was aggressive, and that was one of the issues," the family member told the outlet. "With the way that this snake attacked him and how aggressive it became, it wasn't reacting normally."

Last week, Upper Macungie Township police officers responded to a call in Fogelsville about a person in cardiac arrest on Wednesday. The officers discovered a man lying on the floor with a snake tightly wrapped around his neck.

Officers shot and killed the "very large" snake to save him.

Lt. Peter Nickischer of the Upper Macungie Township Police Department told PEOPLE one of the man's family members called dispatch. Lehigh Valley Live reports that it was Senseman's grandmother who found him.

Never miss a story  sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

When officers arrived, he was unconscious and in cardiac arrest.

The ordeal was described in a report filed by Upper Macungie Township Police Department, stating that when patrol officers arrived on the scene, they observed that he was "unresponsive and lying on the floor of the home with the mid portion of a large snake wrapped around the male's neck."

"Due to the massive size of the reptile (estimated to be 15+ feet), one of the officers was able to shoot the snake in the head without risking further injury to the male. Once the snake was injured from the gunshot, the officers were able to pull the male to safety," the report continued.
Empowering a nation: companies set out ambitious deal and plans

SYDNEY, Australia, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Telstra and Microsoft have announced a major expansion of their strategic partnership to drive growth and value for customers and Australia as a nation. The five-year agreement is one of the largest partnerships Microsoft has established with a telecommunications provider globally.

The companies aim to help accelerate Australia's digital transformation by combining Microsoft's technology with Telstra's network reach and technological capabilities. The agreement will:

- Boost Microsoft's connectivity and growth in Australia, with Microsoft becoming an anchor tenant on Telstra's new ultra-fast intercity fibre network.

- Drive Telstra's ambition to have about 90 per cent of its applications on public cloud infrastructure by 2025, which includes Microsoft Azure as a preferred cloud partner as part of Telstra's multi-cloud approach.

- See Telstra launch a dedicated end-to-end Microsoft practice to unlock maximum value for the organisations' joint customers across their digital transformation journey by combining Microsoft's cloud, edge and modern work solutions with Telstra's network leadership and technology experts.

- Increase collaboration between Telstra and Microsoft to support hybrid ways of working and develop environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives.

Boosting connectivity and harnessing cloud capabilities

The strategic agreement sets the foundation for Telstra to become Microsoft's largest supplier of its network capacity requirements on terrestrial fibre in Australia, and for Microsoft to become an anchor tenant on Telstra's new ultra-fast intercity fibre network.

Microsoft will also explore boosting its capacity on Telstra's leading Asia-Pacific subsea cable network. Through these investments, Microsoft will be able to achieve unparalleled end-to-end connectivity across key telecommunications routes in Australia and across the Asia-Pacific region.

Story continues

Boosting connectivity is vital as workforces become more distributed with remote working and as demand for online education, high-definition entertainment and online gaming grows. For Microsoft, more bandwidth and reduced latency will help provide the best possible experiences for customers connecting on Microsoft Teams, businesses that rely on the cloud, and its Xbox community.

In addition, the organisations will collaborate to accelerate Telstra's migration of its internal information technology (IT) workloads to the public cloud, which will include Microsoft Azure as a preferred cloud partner as part of Telstra's multi-cloud approach. Microsoft will bring in expertise to help Telstra scale to meet its ambition of its T25 growth strategy. It will also help Telstra maximise value and efficiencies from the migration and deliver products and services more quickly to customers.

Collaborating on new product offerings and future ways of working

To make it easier for customers to source comprehensive solutions to transform and grow their businesses, Telstra is looking to provide a new suite of digital offerings with Microsoft.

Using Microsoft technology like Azure, Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Teams, Telstra intends to bring to market a series of new industry-based solutions that will help transform the way businesses look at hybrid working and cloud migration. Initially focusing on manufacturing, retail, agriculture, utilities and finance, these new digital offerings will be delivered by dedicated end-to-end Microsoft practice within Telstra Purple, Telstra's managed services and technology consulting business.

The organisations will also continue to co-develop products that reimagine familiar experiences and merge the network and the cloud to create new offers. For example, Telstra and Microsoft recently co-developed Branch Offload, Australia's first 5G-enabled edge computing solution for enterprises. The solution blends Telstra's 5G and fixed connectivity with Microsoft Azure Stack Edge for edge computing, secure edge, SD-WAN and service orchestration, and is delivered by Telstra Purple.

This work will be designed to help more enterprise, government, and small and medium-sized business customers benefit from the combination of Microsoft's cloud solutions with Telstra's market-leading connectivity and the expertise of the Telstra Purple team.

Responsible business: tackling sustainability challenges

Telstra and Microsoft intend to collaborate on ESG areas to improve sustainability outcomes in Australia and enable Telstra to meet its own commitments.

The organisations plan to combine the secure data exchange capabilities of the Telstra Data Hub platform with Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability to help Telstra's enterprise, government and small business customers to accelerate their sustainability progress and business growth through data insights.

Microsoft will also support Telstra in achieving its own sustainability goals using Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability which will provide data insights into sustainability performance.

CEO comments

Telstra CEO Andrew Penn said the deal is aligned to Telstra's T25 growth strategy to deliver growth, exceptional customer experiences, and continued network and technology leadership.

"As the go-to partner for Microsoft in Australia, this expanded agreement will turbocharge how we deliver compelling, all-digital experiences," said Mr Penn.

"The pervasiveness of technology in businesses today and its ability to transform their operations, improve productivity, reduce their environmental impact and meet evolving customer needs means there's no one-size-fits all solution.

"Beyond our network, one of our biggest differentiators is our 2,000-strong Telstra Purple team of technology experts who partner with businesses to design, deliver and manage solutions across cloud, cybersecurity, software development, data and AI, and workplace technologies.

"Our strategic partnership with Microsoft is on a scale not seen before in Australia, and it will be Australian businesses who will benefit at a time when the urgency to digitise and transform their operations has never been greater," said Mr Penn.

"Digital technology is foundational to the resilience and differentiation of every organisation," said Satya Nadella, Chairman and CEO, Microsoft. "Our partnership brings together Telstra's leadership in network connectivity with the breadth and depth of the Microsoft Cloud to address key challenges, including hybrid work and sustainability, and support Australia's growth."

Microsoft and Telstra will work together over the coming months to finalise the detailed scope of this expanded partnership.

About Telstra

Telstra (ASX: TLS) is one of Australia's leading telecommunications and technology companies, offering a range of communications services to millions of customers across the nation. It also has an international presence spanning over 20 countries.

About Microsoft

Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT; @microsoft) enables digital transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower every person and every organisation on the planet to achieve more.

SOURCE Telstra; Microsoft Australia
It looks like The View has found its new cohost, though The View isn't really saying that right now.

According to multiple reports, Alyssa Farah Griffin, who formerly served as White House director of strategic communications and assistant to President Donald Trump, is in the final stages of joining the daytime talk show as the next conservative cohost.

The Daily Mail was among the first to report the news, which was confirmed by EW's sister publication PEOPLE. But a spokesperson for The View said Tuesday in a statement to EW, "We do not have a cohost announcement to make at this time. Stay tuned."

Farah Griffin, 33, has appeared on The View fairly regularly over the summer, alongside Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Sara Haines, and Sunny Hostin. Meghan McCain announced her departure as cohost last August, and the show has welcomed various names to fill in since then, including Farah Griffin.

Alyssa Farah Griffin on 'The View'

Lou Rocco/ABC via Getty Images Alyssa Farah Griffin on 'The View'

Farah Griffin's close association with the Trump administration could prove divisive. It was only after the Jan. 6 insurrection that she disavowed the former president, which happened to coincide with the launch of her television career.

Since then she has often taken an opposing stance to some of the louder members of her party, including Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz and Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert. She recently referred to Gaetz as a "scumbag" on Twitter.

On a recent episode of The View, Farah Griffin urged Republicans to vote in support of codifying same-sex marriage into law. "I think the Republican Party they're on the wrong side of this," she said. "On the one hand, I was pleased that the House was able to pass codifying marriage equality into law, but the number of Republicans who were against it? It's 2022. This is the easiest issue."

She added, "If there is one message I could deliver to my fellow Republicans, this should be the easiest vote you'll ever take."

Ana Navarro had also auditioned for the permanent cohosting gig on The View and seemed like a popular choice among viewers. Some fans of the show have threatened to boycott the show if Griffin were to be the pick. The Daily Beast also reported earlier this month that comedian Wanda Sykes bailed on a View appearance after learning that Farah Griffin was guest-hosting the episode.

Related content:
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

A 70-year-old Wisconsin state senator drove her vehicle into the path of an oncoming vehicle on Friday, killing its occupantsa Pennsylvania mother and her young daughter, according to Ashland authorities.

State Sen. Janet Bewley pulled out of the entrance to a Lake Superior beach around midday, police said, colliding with the car driven by 27-year-old Alyssa Ortman. The younger womans vehicle spun across the highway, hitting a third car.

Ortmans 5-year-old daughter was pronounced dead at the scene. Ortman was transported to a nearby hospital, where she later died of her injuries.

Bewley, a Democrat who has served as the state Senates minority leader since 2020, was not seriously injured in the crash, her office said in a statement released Monday morning. Her involvement in the incident was first reported by KBJR-TV.

This is a heartbreaking event for the community, the statement read. Our thoughts and prayers are focused on the individuals involved, their families and their loved ones.

In a prearranged Friday afternoon interview with a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel intern, Bewley said she had undergone cataract eye surgery on Thursday. She fell silent a few minutes later, pausing abruptly in the middle of a sentence.

The intern asked if she was OK, the newspaper reported.

Yeah, Im OK, she replied. This is not a good accident.

When The Daily Beast emailed a request for comment on the Journal Sentinels report to Bewleys office, her spokesperson sent back the original Monday morning statement.

A police investigation is ongoing, it said. Out of respect for that investigation and the privacy of all the families involved, our office will be withholding further comment at this time.

The statement did not address the newspapers claims, which were published hours later.

Bill Hagstrom, the chief of the citys police department, told the Ashland Daily Press that no charges had yet been filed against anyone involved in the incident.

Story continues

Theres nothing suspected as far as alcohol or foul play or anything, he said.

Bewley, who was elected to the Wisconsin Senate in 2014, announced in February that she would not seek re-election, saying she wanted to spend more time with her family.

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.
Janet Bewley, Wisconsin state senate minority leader, was involved in car wreck on Friday, 22 July, 2022 (Wisconsin State Legislature)

A leader in the Wisconsin state senate was involved in a three-vehicle car accident last week that killed a mother and her five-year-old daughter, according to police.

On Friday, Janet Bewley, the state senates Democratic minority leader, was pulling out Maslowski Beach on Lake Superior to turn onto US Highway 2, when she collided with an oncoming car.

The vehicle, driven by Alyssa Ortman, 27, of Pennsylvania, then spun across the highway and hit another car, driven by Jodi Munson, 45, of Mason, Wisconsin.

Ortmans five-year-old daughter died on the scene, and the mother later died in an area hospital.

The senator was not seriously injured.

Tragically, two people lost their lives. This is a heartbreaking event for the community. Our thoughts and prayers are focused on the individuals involved, their families and their loved ones, the senators office said in a statement.

"A police investigation is ongoing. Out of respect for that investigation and the privacy of all the families involved, our office will be withholding further comment at this time," it added.

Local police and the Wisconsin State Patrol will investigate the wreck and forward their findings to the Ashland County District Attorney to review any potential charges.

Well be sitting down with them and going over everything as far as determining how it all actually happened, Ashland Police Chief Bill Hagstrom told the Ashland Daily Press on Monday. Then well forward everything to the district attorney for their review because it was a fatal accident.

Police say alcohol is not suspected in the wreck, and no charges have been filed thus far.

Photos from the scene showed two badly mangled cars, an SUV and a Honda Civic.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated with new information.
Weather Alert

...HEAT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM WEDNESDAY TO 11 PM PDT FRIDAY... * WHAT...Temperatures up to 102 expected. * WHERE...In Washington, Eastern Columbia River Gorge of Washington, Simcoe Highlands, Kittitas Valley and Yakima Valley. In Oregon, Eastern Columbia River Gorge of Oregon. * WHEN...From 11 AM Wednesday to 11 PM PDT Friday. * IMPACTS...Hot temperatures 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. &&
District 4 candidates call for extrajudicial killings

Two candidates for Central Washington's District 4  Loren Culp and Jerrod Sessler  have called for extrajudicial killings, or killings outside a legal process.

In a tweet, Culp called to get a rope for a Black man who was arrested and charged with felony assault in Seattle in March after pushing a woman down a flight of stairs at a light rail station, and for local judges and prosecutors. His tweet went on to say, No rope, firing squad and I'll volunteer for it.

Culp said he hasnt faced questions about his tweet from individual voters, only from his opponents. He said he believes in capital punishment for people who are found guilty of crimes like that, and said it is ridiculous to use that statement as a basis for claiming he is racist.

Lynchings, part of a distinct and dark history of treatment of Black people in the United States, are public killings of people accused of a crime without any form of due process and most often tied to white supremacy.

I didn't even pay attention to what color the man was, Culp said in an interview with the Yakima Herald-Republic. The point of my tweet was, we need to bring back real punishment for crimes that happen, especially like that.

When asked about reform hed like to see in the criminal justice system, Culp said people need to know there are repercussions for breaking the law.

We need to get rid of these prosecutors that don't prosecute criminals, he said. We can't have just a turnstile to jail. People need to be punished. They need to know that theres going to be repercussions.

He also said he supports reinstating the death penalty in Washington, though he said that is not something he has a say in as a candidate for a federal office.

Sessler called out Culps comments in a video published July 15 on video platform Rumble.

That seems like not exactly the temperament of somebody that we would want representing us, Sessler said in the video. For somebody who thinks its appropriate to tweet, get a rope, to someone who is innocent until proven guilty, is not the right kind of person that we want to send back to Washington, D.C.

Sessler, however, has called for Chief Medical Officer Anthony Fauci to be hanged. At a campaign event in January, Sessler said he was reading, The Real Anthony Fauci, by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a writer, vaccine critic and conspiracy theorist.

If even 10% of whats in that book is true, that guy, we should be building some gallows, he said at the event, according to a live recording on his Facebook page.

Sessler did not respond to a request for comment for this article.

 Kate Smith
When monsoon rains hit the San Francisco Peaks on Saturday, geologist Kyle House began tracking the rain gauge data almost immediately. As a resident of Stevanna Way in Flagstaffs Coconino Estates neighborhood, House knew from recent flood modeling that significant rain on the Pipeline Fire burn scar could send floodwaters surging off the peaks, through Schultz Creek and into his neighborhood.

Rain gauges on the burn scar ticked up rapidly, House said, up to about an inch, within probably around 30 minutes, and he decided to ride his bike up the road to where Schultz Creek passes through a culvert beneath Highway 180.

I waited for that flow to arrive, House said. And eventually, it did.

Within minutes of the flow reaching the culvert, House said water filled up to the top of the culvert, at which point he decided to remount his bicycle and race home.

Within 10 minutes of getting home, water was coming through my backyard, House said. He and his neighbors had prepared for this by protecting their homes with sandbags, removing fencing and making arrangements to convey the floodwater they had been told to anticipate.

This was a lot more water than we expected from that amount of rainfall, House said -- and it didnt come from the direction he expected, either.

Near Houses property is a vent connected to the culvert beneath Highway 180. When the culvert became overtaxed, water started to flood out from the vent. The floodwater that conveyed through House and his neighbors' lots was exclusively coming out of the overflow from the culvert.

That was a real surprise, he said. I was thinking oh my god, it must have overtopped Highway 180 because it's already at my house. But it turns out that it didn't overtop 180, it was all coming out of the culvert.

As water made its way through Houses yard, it met another drain on the other side of the street, one that House said clogged immediately when floodwaters and debris hit it.

So all the flow is coming in through my house and my two neighbors' houses and was just filling a large lake on Stevanna Way, House said. We had water blasting our back yard around a giant berm that we had built to try to keep it away from our house. Thankfully, it was effective in doing that.

The lake on Stevanna Way reached at least three feet in depth, House said, waist-deep, and a little deeper at the peak.

At that point, neighbors banded together to undertake remedial mitigation measures to drain the lake that had inundated their street. In some cases, this meant digging a crude, rudimentary trench through their properties to the nearby Rio de Flag. Fortunately, residents had some assistance from a nearby fire department.

By Monday morning, residents had successfully drained the lake from Stevanna Way, but the incident demonstrated to House and other residents that the existing infrastructure in the area is inadequate to handle floods from the fire-compromised watershed running into Schultz Creek.

We seem to be having 150-year events every year now, or maybe every week, said Stevanna Way resident Jeff Wheless. We're just addressing it one flood at a time.

Currently, Wheless has a temporary channel dug through his property to convey floodwaters out of the street. Its a short-term way to relieve water, Wheless said of the channel, until the city can come back and put in an engineered solution.

Despite the lake that formed on Stevanna, the stormwater systems in the area functioned as they were expected to, said Flagstaff stormwater manager Ed Schenk. Overwhelm was expected; the citys systems are simply not designed to handle natural disasters.

We have stormwater systems that are put in place not for post-fire, they're in place for your typical urban stormwater runoff, Schenk said. When we have a fire up in the mountains, it's going to be a completely different system than what we designed for when there's not a disaster.

Schenk reported that following the Pipeline Fire, long-term flood mitigation improvements for the Schultz Creek watershed have become a priority. These improvements would include expansion of the Schultz Creek culvert that flows under Highway 180, but none can be expected to be implemented this monsoon season. When asked if the ongoing pattern of fires and flooding in Flagstaff might justify proactive widespread expansion of stormwater systems before they are overwhelmed by post-fire flooding, Schenk said such an approach was not realistic.

You're talking about hundreds of millions of dollars, if not billions of dollars, of work in areas that may never see a fire, he said. We really don't have that tax base. We don't have the budget for that.

More realistic are programs such as the Flagstaff Watershed Protection Program, Schenk said, which can help reduce the severity of fires so that stormwater systems are not burdened with reactive fire responses. But to a certain degree, Schenk said these events might just be what Flagstaff should get used to.

If you live in Florida, you have to worry about hurricanes. You live in Kansas, you got to worry about tornadoes. If you live in Flagstaff, you have to worry about fires and floods, he said. But we do work at reducing that risk as best as possible.

House was grateful for the efforts that city staff made to inform his neighborhood, provide them with sandbags, and clean the streets after Saturdays event. But as he sees yearly fires continue to alter the landscape, he estimates that Flagstaff really hasn't planned for this type of absolute transformation of the flood regime. He knows the city works hard, he just believes they are underpowered.

That's kind of the grim reality of politics and money, House said. In the sense that people know that there is this problem and that it's going to grow. And it's just so hard to get the support that you need.

Rain remains in the forecast throughout the week, with the National Weather Service calculating chances of precipitation ranging from 50-90% through Sunday. A Flash Flood Watch was in effect Monday and runs through Wednesday morning, encompassing Flagstaff, the Grand Canyon area, Kingman and most of north-central Arizona.
Today

Generally clear skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low near 85F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph.

Tonight

Generally clear skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low near 85F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph.

Tomorrow

Generally sunny despite a few afternoon clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High around 105F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph.
Our directory features more than 18 million business listings from across the entire US. However, if we're missing your business, add your business by clicking on Add Your Business.
Hungary-China relations are stable, underpinned by good cooperation at a personal level fostered through education and culture, Peter Szijjarto, the foreign minister, said at the opening ceremony of the Q Contemporary art gallery in Budapest.

Hungary and China maintain predictable and mutually respectful relations, including with Hong Kong, abiding by the one country, two systems principle, Szijjarto said at the event.



Hungary would have barely survived the pandemic without the medical PPE and other equipment from China, he said at the museum founded by Hong Kong-born businesswoman Queenie Rosita Law.



When it comes to bilateral cooperation, records are being smashed every year, he said, adding that relations should not be expressed in just numbers but also at a human level through education and culture.



Budapest is home to five Confucius Institutes, while Beijing has hosted the Hungarian Cultural Institute for almost a decade, Szijjarto noted. Also, Hungarian can be studied in several Chinese locations, he added.



Thanking Queenie Rosita Law and her husband for investing much time, energy and money in the project, the minister said the 1,000sqm exhibition space in the former Rausch villa on Andrassy Avenue added colour to Budapests already vibrant art life, creating an opportunity for contemporary Hungarian artists to access the world stage.



The familys corporate group set up its central European headquarters in Budapest, he noted, adding that the government strove to ensure the most competitive investment environment in Europe despite todays unparalleled strife.
The government is fast-tracking the research and development of a non-traditional gas field near Nyekpuszta, in south-east Hungary, so that the first pump may start working in early 2023, the technology and industry ministry said in a statement late on Thursday.
A large majority of 91% of Hungarians think that corruption has spread in their country, while the EU average is 68%, according to a Eurobarometer survey commissioned by the European Commission.

In Hungary, 61% of respondents say the corruption situation has worsened in the past three years (with the EU average at 41%), while 7% believe that the situation has improved (the EU average is 9%).



More than half of Hungarians and EU residents believe that bribery and abuse of power are most common among political parties and politicians, followed by those civil servants who issue construction permits.



Compared to the EU average of 29%, a disproportionately high number of Hungarians, 46%, also consider the health sector to be a hotbed of corruption.



Whereas three years ago 69% of EU residents said corruption is unacceptable, only 63% say so this year. In Hungary 39% say corruption is unacceptable, while the corresponding figures are 34% in the Czech Republic and 30% in Latvia.



Some 74% of Hungarian respondents and 53% of EU residents believe that entrepreneurs can only succeed in business if they have political contacts.



The survey of 26,000 people was conducted in March and April.
YORK  A 23-year-old California man has been sentenced to probation in a case where he was initially charged with six felonies related to illegal firearms and drugs, including cocaine.

The case began when York County Sheriffs deputies were conducting a traffic stop along Interstate 80 and Brandon Martens of Valley Springs, Calif., failed to move over to the far lane while passing the stopped cruisers.

The deputies initiated a traffic stop.

One of the countys drug dogs alerted to the presence of narcotics.

A search of Martens person, according to court documents, resulted in the discovery of a bag of cocaine.

In the vehicle, deputies found approximately 30 pounds of high grade marijuana in a suitcase in the cargo area of the vehicle. Most of the marijuana, according to court documents, was in vacuum-sealed parcels weighing about one pound each.

The deputies say they also found 12 plastic baggies with cocaine residue.

Between the front of the drivers seat and the center console area, the deputies found a Ruger model SR40, 40-caliber handgun. The handgun did not have a bullet in the chamber; however, it is noted in court documents it did have 15 bullets in the magazine which was inserted into the handgun. It was also noted Martens does not possess a concealed carry permit in any state and made no mention of the gun prior to it being located.

The deputies also said they found a duffel bag which contained a box of ammunition, 76 unused sandwich style plastic baggies, 67 unused Ziploc bags and two digital scales. The scales had a white powdery residue scattered across the tops of them, which field tested positive for cocaine.

The deputies said they also found cash that was rolled up and had a white powdery residue on them.

Martens was charged with possession of a firearm while committing a felony, a Class 2 felony; possession of a firearm during the commission of a drug violation, a Class 2 felony; possession of a controlled substance, a Class 4 felony; having no drug tax stamp, a Class 4 felony; and carrying a concealed weapon, a Class 1 misdemeanor.

Per a plea agreement, Martens pleaded no contest to possession of a firearm while committing a felony, which is a Class 2 felony. All the other charges were dismissed.

He was facing a possible maximum sentence of 50 years in prison.

This past week, he was sentenced to a term of three years of traditional probation, in York County District Court. He was also sentenced to two future stints in jail  but those can be waived if he is found to be in compliance with the terms of his probation.
Delhi's much-awaited double-decker flyover in northeast Delhi's Bhajanpura will be completed by 2023. The construction of the project nears completion as 50 percent of work has been completed. Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia reviewed various Public Works Department (PWD) projects during the Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC) meeting, including the double-decker flyover and CCTV and Wi-Fi installation on roads.

Sisodia said the double-decker flyover is an engineering marvel and shows the way for better utilisation of highly populated areas for traffic management and public transport. "The unique 1.4-kilometer-long double-decker flyover between Yamuna Vihar and Bhajanpura will be completed by 2023 as 50 percent of work has been completed," Sisodia said in the statement.

        double decker flyover            



      200               pic.twitter.com/FNvNNZIuWV  Manish Sisodia (@msisodia) July 25, 2022

The double-decker flyover is being built on the upper deck of the Maujpur-Majlis Park metro corridor. To ensure safety on city roads, the PWD will install CCTV cameras on 1,400 km-long roads falling under its jurisdiction at a distance of 100 meters on either side, he said.

The senior AAP leader said 35,000 more CCTV cameras will be installed in the second phase while the first phase has almost been completed. The statement also said of the 500 high masts 115 ft tall tricolours, 497 have been installed and the remaining will be fixed before August 15.

Also read: 2022 MG Hector Facelift SUV teased, to get India's largest 14-inch infotainment screen

The statement said the Delhi Government's free WiFi facility is available at 11,034 locations across the capital. Sisodia said crores of rupees are being saved due to this unique model of the flyover. "Currently, 50 percent of the work of this flyover has been completed and it will be ready for use by the end of 2023," the statement said.

He said after the completion of this project, people of the surrounding areas will not have to deal with traffic jams and their time will also be saved. While reviewing the CCTV project, Sisodia said the security of Delhi residents will be strengthened with 35,000 more CCTV cameras in the second phase.

"In the second phase, installation of 35,000 more CCTV cameras is in progress and will be completed by December 2022," Sisodia said. He also directed to set up an Integrated Control Centre for monitoring these cameras, from where the feed can be received and used towards improving roads, the statement said.

(With inputs from PTI)

Live TV
Its no secret that China is racing ahead in the fight to make the most advanced and lethal fighter jet. In fact, China is only among the three nations to have developed a generation 5 fighter jet, sharing the spot with the United States and Russia, with its Chengdu J-20 multirole aircraft. While China and Russia has only one Gen 5 jet, the United States has got two of them  the F-35 and F-22. It seems like China is all set to take on the US head on with yet another stealth 5th gen fighter jet. As per some social media posts, first high-resolution image of Chinese Shenyang J-35 has surfaced online.

While this is not the first-time reports have suggested that China is prepping an advanced plane, this is for the first time such clear photos of the jet have surfaced on the internet. Also known as the FC-31, the prototype looks like the naval variant of the Chinese Shenyang J-35 and is a direct competitor to the Lockheed Martins F-35 II Lighting, widely regarded as the best fighter jet in the world, with three variants: A, B and C depending on the operational capabilities.

The new pictures show the FC-31 stealth aircraft with the serial number 35003 and a gray tactical paint job. The proto jet also gets toned down national insignia and the aircrafts tail fin has a flying shark emblem resembling those on PLAN J-15 carrier-based fighter jets.

The FC-31 is not only a F-35 competitor, it also gets design inspiration from the latter in the form a front opening canopy, internally bowed with an integral bulkhead at the back. The J-35 gets WS-21 engines and is the enhanced version of the WS-13E.

Being a naval variant, the FC-31 is anticipated to take off and land on Type 004, Chinas planned fourth aircraft carrier. Not just the FC-31, China is also testing J-10D, an advanced variant of the J-10 jointly developed with Pakistan Air Force.

On the other hand, India is working to developed the AMCA Gen 5 aircraft that will replace the Sukhoi Su-30 MKI in the Indian Air Force and one developed, will make India among a handful of nations to have 5th generation fighter jet.

Live TV
India is today on July 26, celebrating the Kargil Vijay Diwas 2022, commemorating win over Pakistani infiltration 23 years ago in the Kargil region of Jammu and Kashmir. This day is celebrated every year to pay homage to the warriors who undertook a successful high-altitude warfare and fought for the defence of the country. While the ground troops played the most important role in the Kargil War, the Indian Air Force also played a vital role in an operation called Safed Sagar that will go down in the history of the IAF as the most successful combat operation for the winged forces of India.

The mighty IAF fleet and its strategy helped India achieve an advantage over the Pakistani infiltrators, who held a high ground over the treacherous mountain conditions and were proving a problem for the ground troops. India deployed its fleet of MiG-29, MiG-21, MiG-27 and Mirage-2000 fighter jets along with the helicopter fleet to scare off the Pakistani Air Force, who did not take part in the war. Heres a look at the IAF fighter jets that helped India have an upper hand over Pakistan:

#KargilVijayDiwas2022#IAF aerial offensive during #OpSafedSagar in 1999, successfully targeted the Intruders with pinpoint accuracy during the Kargil war.



26 July each year is celebrated as the #KargilVijayDiwas to commemorate India's victory. pic.twitter.com/HaEZxDhGAb  Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) July 26, 2022

The Mirage-2000 is widely considered the hero of the Kargil war, and helped India destroy multiple enemy outposts with laser guided bombs. Although MiG-21, MiG-23 and MiG-27 aircrafts were used by the Air Force for ground bombing, it was the Mirage-2000 that was deployed to destroy enemy bunkers with pin point accuracy.

This French made aircraft was equipped with modern weapons and could fly all the time, day or night. Reports says that the attacks were so effective that in a few minutes more than 300 enemies were eliminated. The Dassault-made Mirage-2000 was also used in Balakote strikes for LGB and also helped India select Rafale as its most advanced and lethal aircraft in the IAF.

MiG-29

The MiG-29 made by the erstwhile USSRs Mikoyan Design Bureau is a product of the 1970s and was made to counter United States F-15 and F-16 jets. During the Kargil war, the MiG-29 aircraft was deployed in Kargil and the Pakistani Air Force, lacking the long range air to air missiles in their US sourced F-16, decided not to cross the border, helping India achieve advantage over ground troops.

The MiG-29 fighter plane is an Air Superiority Fighter Plane and is equipped with visual range air-to-air missile (BVR). Although the MiG-29 mostly performed surveillance and support mission and was not directly involved in carrying out attacks, it did stop PAF from entering the Indian territory.

Although the MiG-21 has gained a bad reputation over the years and is the oldest surviving fighter jet from the 1960s era in use by an Air Force, the MiG-21, again made by Mikoyan, is one of the most important workhorses for the IAF and has proved its worth every now and then. Built mainly for an air interception with a secondary role of ground attack, the MiG-21 is capable of operating in restricted spaces, and hence played an important role in the Kargil War due to its tricky terrain.

In fact, the initial ground strikes were carried out by MiG-21 and was later joined by MiG-29 with its Laser Guided Bombs. The MiG-21 has over the years been updated to match the newer gen aircrafts and in its current form, it's helping IAF as the first strike against any infiltration. The IAF will gradually replace MiG-21 Bison with home made Tejas LCA.

Mig-27 (Bahadur)

One of the most dreaded, and horrifying incidents from the Kargil War was the capture of Flight Lieutenant K Nachiketa, who was flying the MiG-27 jet, fondly called Bahadur by the Indian Air Force. The Indian Air Force (IAF) flew its first air support missions on May 26 and the first fatality was suffered on May 27 when a MiG-27 crashed due to engine flame out due to the ingestion of the exhaust gas of the weapons fired.

In 2010, the Indian Air Force grounded its entire fleet of over 150 of the aircraft after a MiG-27 crashed on 16 February 2010 in West Bengal. The MiG-27 was retired from the IAF on 27 December 2019 when the last two MiG-27 squadrons were retired with a ceremony at Jodhpur airbase. It was made by HAL under license agreement with Russia.

Live TV
New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday filed its supplementary charge sheet in connection with the Rs 3,700 crore Yes Bank-DHFL loan fraud case."A supplementary charge sheet has been filed today against Avinash N. Bhosale, Satyan Gopaldas Tandon, Metropolis Hotels LLP, ABIL Infraprojects Pvt Ltd, ABIL Hospitality Pvt Ltd, Arindam Developers LLP, Avinash Bhosale Group and Flora Developments Ltd," the CBI said.

The federal probe agency arrested Sanjay Chabaria of Radius Developers, in May. Radius Developers took a loan of Rs 3,000 crore from Dewan Housing Finance Ltd (DHFL) on the pretext of financing a project in Mumbai. "Bhonsle, Goenka and Balwa allegedly used their firms to channel money from the loan. Hence their premises were also raided," the CBI had said. (Also Read: When is 4% DA hike, 18 months arrears coming for central govt employee?)

In March 2020, a case of loan fraud of Rs 3,600 crore was lodged by the CBI against Rana Kapoor, the promoter Director and CEO of Yes Bank for entering into a criminal conspiracy with Kapir wadhawan, the promoter Director of DHFL and others. Financial assistance was extended to DHFL by Yes Bank in lieu of substantial undue benefit to himself and his family members through the companies held by them. (Also Read: Markets fall for 2nd day in row; Sensex declines 283 points in early trade)

Between April to June 2018, Yes Bank Ltd invested Rs 3,700 crore in the short-term debentures of DHFL. Simultaneously, Wadhawan paid a kickback of Rs 600 crore to Kapoor and his family members in the garb of a builder loan of Rs 600 crore given by DHFL to DOIT Urban Ventures (India) Pvt Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of RAB Enterprises (India) Pvt Ltd in which Bindu Kapoor, the wife of Kapoor, is a director and 100 per cent shareholder.

Kapoor's daughters - Roshini Kapoor, Radha Kapoor Khanna, and Raakhe Kapoor Tandon were 100 per cent shareholders of DOIT Urban Ventures (India) Pvt Ltd through Morgan Credits Pvt Ltd.

It was learnt that a loan of Rs 600 crore was sanctioned by DHFL to DOIT Urban Ventures on the basis of a mortgage of a sub-standard property having a very meagre value and by considering its future conversion from agricultural land to residential land.

It was also learnt that DHFL had not redeemed the amount of Rs 3,700 crore invested by Yes Bank in its debentures to date. In addition to the above, Yes Bank also sanctioned a loan of Rs 750 crore to RKW Developers Pvt Ltd - a DHFL group company - for their Bandra Reclamation Project.

The whole amount was siphoned off by Wadhawan since the entire amount was transferred by RKW Developers to DHFL without making an investment in the Bandra project for which the loan was sanctioned. Thus, Kapoor obtained undue pecuniary advantage from DHFL through the companies held by his wife and daughters. It was also learnt that Kapoor had obtained illegal kickbacks directly or indirectly through entities controlled by him or his family members.
SEN. ESTRADA'S SONA COMMENT/REACTION

Doable and reassuring future ahead of us, is what encapsulates President Marcos' pronouncements in his first State of the Nation Address (SONA). The assurance that there will no longer be any lockdown is an indication of the Marcos administration's strong resolve to bring back to pre-pandemic level our economic activities.

I'm glad to hear the President underscoring the need to protect workers from the creative industry to address among others, their working conditions, rights and welfare. Akma ito sa ipinanukala ko na Freelancers Protection Act.

I'm more than satisfied with what the President presented as he tackled almost everything, from the current problems besetting the health sector to achieving a sound fiscal management. His reassurance that he will not suspend any of former Pres. Duterte's infrastructure projects, he in fact even vowed to expand the infrastructure programs, goes to show that he's not a vindictive leader.

Also, it is quite evident and laudable that one of the goals of this administration is to strengthen the agriculture sector, attain inclusive development and bring the benefits of economic growth to the countryside and the rural areas. Isa sa mga naging pangunahing theme o mensahe sa kanyang SONA ay siguruhin na ang pagbangon at kaunlaran ng Pilipinas ay nararamdaman ng bawat Pilipino sa bawat sulok ng bansa, saan man sila naroroon.

Natutuwa rin akong marinig na ang ilan sa mga priority legislation ng Presidente ay naihain na natin sa Senado katulad ng Internet Transactions Act, Virology Institute of the Philippines Act, unified retirement and pension system of military and uniformed personnel, E-Government Act, Government Financial Institutions Unified Initiatives to Distressed Enterprises for Economic Recovery (GUIDE) bill, and reinstatement of mandatory ROTC. Palagay ko doable naman ang mga hinihingi nyang dapat na isabatas at siguro ang ilan sa mga iyon ay kailangan nyang i-certify as urgent.

All in all, I am very satisfied with what I heard on the first SONA of PBBM.
New Delhi: A few students of Delhi University's Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar College on Tuesday claimed the college administration forcibly changed the name of its theatre society as it was in Urdu, a charge rejected by the authorities. College principal R N Dubey rubbished the charge, terming it a "political ploy" against him. The students alleged that the theatre society which was called 'Ilhaam' (revelation) was renamed Aarambh' which translates into "the beginning".

A student, who is also a member of the theatre group, said a college official informed them a few weeks back that the name of the group was not acceptable to the management and that they should change it. The student, who requested anonymity, alleged that the college threatened to freeze the funds of the theatre society if the members did not toe the line.

"Although at the beginning, members of the society were against it. But we were told that we would be marked absent if the name was not changed. The students got scared and agreed," he said. However, the principal denied the allegations, terming it a political ploy against him.

"I have not asked anyone to change the name of the society. There is a proper procedure to name any society and it is quite independent. I have not asked anyone. I think it is some kind of a political vendetta against me," he told news agency PTI over phone.

Echoing the students' sentiments, an alumnus of the college, who was among the founding members of the theatre society, said this is not the first time such an attempt to rechristen the society has been made.

"Yesterday, my juniors told me that they have changed the name of the society fearing that they would be marked absent and funds of the society would be frozen," Ali Fraz Rezvi, who graduated from the college this year, said.

"When I was a student here, similar threats were given to us as well. I was in the meeting when the principal asked us to change the name of the society," he alleged.
New Delhi: The government on Monday said it has raised a tax demand of Rs 14,820 crore after completing assessment in 368 cases under the black money law dealing with undisclosed foreign income.

In a written reply in the Lok Sabha, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in the cases related to deposits made in unreported foreign bank accounts in HSBC, undisclosed income of more than Rs 8,468 crore have been brought to tax and penalty of over Rs 1,294 crore has been levied.

The minister further informed the House that 648 disclosures involving undisclosed foreign assets worth Rs 4,164 crore were made in the one-time three months compliance window, which closed on September 30, 2015, under the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015.

The amount collected by way of tax and penalty in such cases was about Rs 2,476 crore, she said.

The data provided by the finance minister is up to May 31, 2022.

On questions on money deposited in Swiss banks by Indians, Sitharaman said: "There is no official estimate of amount of money deposited by Indian citizens and companies in Swiss banks".

However, she said certain recent media reports have stated that funds of Indians in Swiss Banks have risen in 2021 as compared to 2020.

These media reports have also mentioned that these deposits do not indicate the quantum of the alleged black money held by Indians in Switzerland.

The minister said the Swiss authorities had conveyed that the Swiss National Bank (SNB) annual banking statistics should not be used for analysing deposits held in Switzerland by residents of India.

Further, they have said that to analyse Indian residents' deposits held in Switzerland, another data source should be used, which is called "locational banking statistics", which the SNB collects in collaboration with the Bank for International Settlements (BIS).

As per the same media reports, the 'locational banking statistics' of the Bank for International Settlement (BIS), showed a decline of 8.3 per cent during 2021 in deposits by Indian individuals in Swiss banks, Sitharaman added.

She also apprised the House about the various measures taken by the government to bring to tax the undisclosed foreign assets and income in recent past.
AP ICET 2022: Andhra University, Visakhapatnam on behalf of APSCHE will release the AP ICET 2022 exam answer key along with the response sheets on July 27. Candidates who appeared for the AP ICET exam 2022 held on July 25 can download the AP ICET 2022 answer key at cets.apsche.ap.gov.in. The answer key of AP ICET will be available for both sessions. Candidates all across Andhra Pradesh appeared for the CBT mode based exam. The AP ICET exams were conducted in 2 shifts.

Candidates will be able to raise objections against the AP ICET 2022 preliminary answer key till August 29 in online mode only. The final AP ICET answer key 2022 will be displayed along with the result and ranks of the candidates on August 08.

AP ICET 2022: Here are the Steps to download question paper and answer key

Step 1- Visit the official website- cets.apsche.ap.gov.in

Step 2- Click on the tab Master question papers with preliminary keys

Step 3- Screen will display session wise question paper with key

Step 4- Download the PDF for further reference Candidates can calculate their estimated scores using the answer key applying the AP ICET marking 2022.

AP ICET answer key 2022: How to raise objection

Step 1- Visit the official website, cets.apsche.ap.gov.in

Step 2- Click on the tab Key objection registration

Step 3- Enter the login credential such as:

Registration number

ICET hall ticket number

Mobile number

Click on the tab get details

Step 4- Now candidates can select the AP ICET question for which they want to raise the objection Step 5- Next, follow the instructions to submit the objection and pay the requisite fee.

AP ICET 2022 result will be declared on August 08 in online mode. On the basis of the marks obtained by the candidates in the exam, the merit list will be prepared by the university and candidates will be called for the AP ICET counselling 2022.
AP TET Admit Card 2022: Andhra Pradesh Government will release Andhra Pradesh Teacher Eligibility Test (AP TET) admit card 2022 today, July 26, 2022. Registered candidates can download their admit cards from the AP TET official website, aptet.apcfss.in. To access their AP TET admit card 2022, candidates must enter their application number and date of birth. The Andhra Pradesh State Teacher Eligibility Test 2022 is set to take place between August 6 and August 21, 2022. The AP TET 2022 will be administered in two shifts, with the morning shift beginning at 9:30 a.m. and ending at 5:00 p.m.

AP TET admit card 2022: How to download

Visit the official website AP TET, aptet.apcfss.in.

On the homepage, click on the link that reads, "APTET 2022 Hall Ticket."

Enter the login details. Your APTET 2022 Hall Ticket will be displayed on the screen.

Download the APTET Hall Ticket 2022 and take a printout of it for future reference.

Paper I A will be held for candidates applying to teach in Grades 15. Paper IB in Special Education will be held for Classes 1 to 5. Paper II A for grades 68 and Paper II B for grades 68 in the case of Special Education Teachers. The APTET 2022 will be held in various districts throughout Andhra Pradesh, including Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai, and Odissa. According to reports, a window will be opened for candidates to choose their district and session from among the available centers. Candidates can select their exam center on the AP TET official website using their candidate login credentials. ALSO READ: UPSSSC PET 2022: BIG UPDATE! Last day to apply 27th July, Exams from THIS DATE-Check date and time here
Kolkata: In a major development in the West Bengal SSC recruitment scam case, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday summoned another Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA Manik Bhattacharya for questioning at the agency`s Kolkata office on Wednesday. Manik Bhattacharya is the former Chief of the Bengal Primary Education Board. This comes just after the agency arrested the current West Bengal Industries Minister and former Education Minister Partha Chatterjee and his close aide Arpita Mukherjee in the SSC (School Service Commission) scam.

Also Read: West Bengal SSC scam: Did Partha Chatterjee and Arpita Mukherjee travel to THIS country in 2012? ED makes NEW revelation

Meanwhile, Partha Chatterjee was bought to the Central Government Office (CGO) complex in Kolkata on Tuesday morning.Chatterjee and his aide Arpita Mukherjee were sent to the custody of the Enforcement Directorate till August 3 on Tuesday. He reached the Kolkata airport this morning, after being discharged from AIIMS Bhuwneshwar."Partha Chatterjee`s health is stable. Medical reports have come, and it`s fine.

A thorough examination of him was done. Though he had some problems, he didn`t need to be admitted to the hospital, he`s being monitored closely," said Dr Tushar Kanti Patra, SSKM Hospital in Kolkata. The Calcutta court also gave orders to conduct medical check-ups of both the arrested accused after every 48 hours.The Court also gave orders to the ED to not interrogate Arpita between 9 pm to 6 am.

WB SSC scam: Partha Chatterjee was arrested by ED on Saturday

Partha was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the alleged School Service Commission (SSC) scam in West Bengal on Saturday.The ED unearthed many disproportionate assets of Partha Chatterjee since his arrest, of which were three flats in West Bengal`s Diamond City.The arrest of Partha Chatterjee followed Rs 21 crore in cash and jewellery worth above Rs 1 crore being recovered from the Kolkata residence of Arpita Mukherjee, a close aide of the former education minister.

On Monday, the Director of AIIMS Bhubaneswar said though Chatterjee is suffering from several chronic illnesses, hospitalisation is not required at this moment. After the check-up, the reports were handed over to the Investigating Officer (IO) of the Enforcement Directorate, Chatterjee`s lawyer and the concerned doctor from SSKM Hospital as directed by the Calcutta High Court.On Monday morning, the former Education minister was taken to the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International (NSCBI) Airport in an ambulance.

A green corridor was arranged for obstruction-free movement of the convoy.The ED officials along with Chatterjee`s lawyer, Anindya Kishor Raut, and a doctor from SSKM had also accompanied the former Education minister as directed by Justice Bibek Chaudhuri. Chatterjee reached the airport at around 8 am. There Airports Authority of India (AAI), Kolkata, had arranged another ambulance to take Chatterjee to the air ambulance as no outside vehicle is allowed on the runway and its adjacent areas.

The Enforcement Directorate on Friday (July 23) recovered Rs 20 crore in cash from the house of an associate of West Bengal Minister Partha Chatterjee. The ED raided Arpita Mukerjee`s house in connection with an alleged teacher recruitment scam in West Bengal.

"The said amount is suspected to be proceeds of crime of the said SSC scam," the probe agency had said in a statement.

The search teams are taking the assistance of bank officials for the counting of cash through counting machines. Photos of the house taken during the raid show Rs 2000 and Rs 500 notes that were recovered.Partha Chatterjee, who is presently the minister for industries and commerce, was the education minister when the alleged illegal appointments were made in government-run and schools aided by West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC). The ruling Trinamool Congress described the raids as a "ploy" by the BJP government at the Centre to "harass" its political opponents.

Live TV
Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar tests positive for COVID-19, he has been suffering from fever for the past four days, according to Chief Minister's Office (CMO). The Chief Minister is stated to be in home isolation as doctors advised him to rest. Nitish Kumar was keeping unwell for the past 2-3 days. Nitish Kumar also missed the swearing-in ceremony of President Droupadi Murmu on Monday.

"Bihar CM Nitish Kumar has tested positive for #COVID19. He was keeping unwell for the past 2-3 days. He is in home isolation and doctors have advised him to rest," said Chief Minister's Office (CMO).

Bihar CM Nitish Kumar has tested positive for #COVID19. He was keeping unwell for the past 2-3 days. He is in home isolation and doctors have advised him to rest: Chief Minister's Office (CMO) pic.twitter.com/bhWAsvC8Tg  ANI (@ANI) July 26, 2022

He had also contracted the virus in January this year and experienced mild symptoms, said official sources. A statement issued by the Chief Minister's Office said, "The CM has requested all those who came in contact with him in the last two three days to get themselves tested and take necessary precautions."

A senior official said Kumar could not attend the swearing-in ceremony of President Droupadi Murmu in New Delhi on Monday as he was not keeping well.

Also read: BJP-JD(U) rift? Bihar CM Nitish Kumar skips Droupadi Murmu's swearing-in ceremony

Meanwhile, the state on Monday reported 355 in the last 24 hours taking the total count of active cases in Bihar to 1,850. Of the 355 fresh cases, Patna accounted for 94, followed by Saharsa (57), Bhagalpur (27), Araria (21), Supaul (20), Rohtas (13) and Nalanda (11). Other districts reported less than 11 cases and five districts did not report any new cases on Monday.A total of 8,27,711 recovered from the diseases and the recovery percentage is 98.321.

Additionally, India reported 14,830 fresh COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, informed the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Tuesday. A total of 36 deaths were reported with 18,159 recoveries in the last 24 hours. India`s active caseload currently stands at 147,512. Its daily positivity rate is at 3.5 per cent.

As part of the nationwide vaccination drive, the government of India has been supporting the states and UTs by providing them with COVID vaccines free of cost. In the new phase of the universalization of the COVID-19 vaccination drive, the Union Government will procure and supply (free of cost) 75 per cent of the vaccines being produced by the vaccine manufacturers in the country to States and UTs.

(With ANI/PTI Inputs)
Aizawl: Mizoram's lone BJP MLA Buddha Dhan Chakma along with 12 other leaders was sentenced to one year in prison in a corruption case by a special court on Monday. Special judge Vanlalenmawia sentenced 13 people, including the Tuichawng legislator, to imprisonment for one year for embezzling Rs 1.37 crore of Chakma Autonomous District Council (CADC) between 2013 and 2018.

The court convicted them on July 22 under section 13(1)(d) read with 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 for abusing their official powers and withdrawing the money from the special assistance fund meant for development works.

The other convicts are incumbent Chief Executive Member (CEM) of CADC Buddha Lila Chakma, two executive members, two sitting members (MDC) and three former CEMs. The other four are former executive members of the CADC, which governs parts of the Lawngtlai district in southern Mizoram.

All of them were members of the CADC when the corruption happened.

A fine of Rs 10,000 each was also imposed on them by the court, which said they would undergo simple imprisonment for another 30 days if they fail to pay.

Soon after the hearing, the court released the convicts on bail following a plea by their counsel that they would challenge the verdict at a higher court.

In 2017, state BJP president Vanlalhmuaka urged the governor to dissolve the Chakma council, alleging irregularities.

Following this, the governor asked the then deputy commissioner (DC) of Lawngtlai A Muthamma to probe the matter. After the DC submitted his report to the governor, an FIR was filed with the state Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in 2018.

Congress was in power in CADC in 2013, and Budhha Dhan Chakma headed it as the CEM.

Chakma was later elected an MLA on a Congress ticket and became a minister in the state's then Lal Thanhawla government. He resigned in 2017 in protest against the denial of medical seats to four Chakma students by the state government.

Soon after his resignation, he joined the BJP and was elected as an MLA in the 2018 assembly elections. He is the first BJP MLA of the state.
New Delhi: Media must confine itself to honest journalism and not use it as a tool to expand its influence and business interests, said Chief Justice of India (CJI) NV Ramana on Tuesday. Ramana said a media house with "other business interests" becomes vulnerable to external pressures and often business interests prevail over the spirit of independent journalism which compromises democracy.

Asserting that independent journalism is the "backbone of democracy, the CJI, a former journalist himself - also urged the stakeholders to introspect why the standards here are not considered good enough for international recognition and laurel in the field of journalism.

He was speaking at the launch of Gulab Chand Kothari's book titled 'The Gita Vijnana Upanishad'. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla presided over the event. Last week, the CJI had raised similar concerns and said agenda-driven debates and kangaroo courts being run by media are detrimental to the health of democracy.

These recent remarks by Ramana assume significance following the backlash to a verdict earlier this month on former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma's comments on Prophet Mohammad, which the Supreme Court said had stoked communal tension across the country.

When a media house has other business interests, it becomes vulnerable to external pressures. Often, business interests prevail over the spirit of independent journalism. As a result, democracy gets compromised, Ramana said on Tuesday.

Journalists are the eyes and the ears of the people. It is the responsibility of media houses to present facts. Especially in the Indian social scenario, people still believe that whatever is printed is true. All I want to say is that the media must confine itself to honest journalism without using it as a tool to expand its influence and business interests, he said.

While the country's senior-most judge acknowledged the presence of journalists who are equally enthused in today's media, he remarked that when a brilliant story filed by a journalist is killed at the desk, it is thoroughly demoralising.

He said the true nature of a media house would be assessed and appropriate conclusions drawn from their conduct during testing times as he recollected that only media houses without business baggage, were able to fight for democracy during the dark days of Emergency.

CJI Ramana also said there was no systemic support for journalists in the country and neither was there an award which was comparable to the Pulitzer or many Pulitzer winning journalists.
Kolkata: Actor Rudranil Ghosh has once again taken on the Mamata Banerjee government. Rudranil who has in the past slammed Mamata Banerjee and taken on her government, one poem at a time, has now attacked Mamata and TMC on the Partha Chatterjee-Arpita Mukherjee controversy, with respect to the Teachers' Recruitment scam.

Taking a dig at Mamata Banerjee's Duare Sarkar (government at your doorstep), Ghosh in a self-composed Bengali poem launched a scathing attack on the Bengal CM. His poem broadly translates to: On July 21, Didi sold puffed rice from the stage (a reference to Mamata's Martyrs' Day speech where she attacked BJP for implementing GST on puffed rice). On July 22, (around) Rs 20 crore was unearthed from Arpita Mukherjees flat." He went on to say that Mamata Banerjee should answer people's questions because she herself is the 'malik'. She also indicated that if you are close to the powers-that-be, then you are happy. He accused TMC of financial corruption and said that whenever there's any scam, Mamata Banerjee resorts to lies.

Meanwhile, a Kolkata court on Monday granted 10 days' Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody of West Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee and his alleged associate Arpita Mukherjee, who was arrested in connection with its probe into the school jobs scam. The ED had prayed for 14 days' custody of Mamata Banerjee's minister, stating that AIIMS, Bhubaneswar has said in a report after medical examination of the minister that no active intervention is required over his health.

Rejecting a bail prayer of the minister, special ED Court judge Jibon Kumar Sadhu at Bankshall court here extended ED custody of the minister and also of Mukherjee till August 3. The court directed in its order that the two accused persons, who were arrested on July 23, be produced before it again on August 3.
A total of 120 crore rupees corruption in school recruitment. Another 100 crores have to be recovered. ED's lawyer made a sensational claim in the court. He also claimed that Partha Chatterjee was actively involved in recruitment corruption from Primary to SSC. ED claims that the minister and Arpita Mukherjee bought a land together. ED has already recovered Rs 21.90 crore from the flat of Arpita Mukherjee, a close associate of Partha Chatterjee. But is this the tip of the iceberg?

In this context, the lawyer of the Enforcement Directorate made a sensational claim in the court on Monday. The corruption in school recruitment is very serious. Not 20 crores, but 120 crores of corruption has happened. Another 100 crore rupees have to be recovered. He made this demand in the court on Monday.

Also Read: Partha-Arpita had a close intimate relationship: ED Lawyer's SENSATIONAL claim; Partha Chatterjee REACTS

On Sunday, the ED lawyer told the court that an onion was found. The more the shell is removed, the more information will emerge. And on this day, ED demanded explosives in the court. Additional Solicitor General Suryaprakash V Raju, appearing virtually on behalf of the ED, claimed that a large number of identity cards of Group D workers and documents of primary teachers were recovered from Partha Chatterjee's house. From that it is clear that Partha Chatterjee is actively involved not only in Group-D and SSC recruitment corruption but also in primary teacher recruitment corruption.
What is the indication? Partha Chatterjee's car has been returned to the assembly after his arrest in the SSC recruitment corruption case. Speculation is rife in political circles that an action can be taken against Partha Chatterjee from TMC.

Return of car has kicked off fresh speculations. The reason for this is simple - Partha Chatterjee is not only the Minister of Industry and Commerce, but also the Minister of the Parishad Department. Not only that, he also used to get a car from the assembly as a council minister. He even used the car regularly.

The ED officials today interrogated Partha Chatterjee and his close aide Arpita Mukherjee at Kolkata CGO complex this morning. According to ED sources, Partha Chatterjee is not cooperating with the investigation. In that case, Partha-Arpita may be interrogated face to face. Amid all this, Partha Chatterjee's family has returned the minister's car to the assembly. The question is - Why? Sources close to Partha said that the car was parked at the minister's Naktala house. And it's not clear when Partha Chatterjee will return as he is not well. That's why the car was returned. However, it is hard to believe on such a loose reason to return the vehicle.

Not only this, CM Mamata Banerjee has also been talking tough on Partha Chatterjee's arrest. Without mincing her words, Mamata Banerjee recently said that she ready to sack "any person" who is found indulged in malpractices.

Breaking her silence on the issue during a state government event to felicitate acclaimed persons from different fields, Banerjee said, "Supporting corruption is neither my passion nor my habit. I cannot say that everyone is innocent. I want to clearly say that the money recovered from the residence of a woman (Arpita Mukherjee in this case) has no connection either with the Trinamool or the state government.

"If anyone is found guilty, let him be imprisoned for life. But I am saddened by the way my name is being dragged into the issue of recovery of cash. I will not tolerate such false propaganda any more."

Meanwhile, Pradesh Congress president Adhir Chowdhury has demanded the removal of Partha Chatterjee from the cabinet after his arrest in the SSC corruption case. He wrote to the Chief Minister. In this situation, the speculation about the return of the car is high in the political circles.
GUJARAT: Delhi CM and AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal visited and offered prayers at Somnath temple in Gujarat. During this two days visit, he is going to meet senior leaders and party workers of AAP (Gujarat).

In his Gujarat visit, he is going to discuss the strategy of AAP for the upcoming elections in Gujarat. A local leader from AAP said Kejriwal is also going to have a meeting on free electricity and also administer the oath to the newly appointed party office bearers

The recent visit can be seen in view of the upcoming assembly elections in late 2022. Legislative Assembly elections will be held in Gujarat in December 2022 to elect 182 members of the Gujarat Legislative Assembly.

Also Read:BJP leader Tejasvi Surya visits Srinagar, says Article 370 was a cultural, psychological 'barrier' in India's integration

Cashing in on its Delhi model of development, the Aam Aadmi Party grabbed a 13.28% vote share in its debut performance in local body polls of Gujarat in 2021, emerging as a viable option to both the Congress and the BJP, in Gujarat.

In January 2021, Arvind Kejriwal announced that AAP would be contesting in the 2022 Gujarat Legislative Assembly election. Gulab Singh Yadav, Delhi MLA is the in-charge of the party for the 2022 Gujarat election.
Ahmedabad: The death toll due to the consumption of spurious liquor in Gujarat's Botad district has gone up to 28, a senior police official said on Tuesday. The liquor was made from the highly poisonous methyl alcohol, Gujarat Director General of Police Ashish Bhatia told reporters in Gandhinagar. Three First Information Reports (FIRs) have been registered against 14 people on charges of murder and other offences, and most of them have been detained, he said.

The matter had come to light early Monday morning when some people living in Rojid village in Botad and other surrounding villages were referred to government hospitals in the Barvala area and Botad towns after their condition started deteriorating.

The chemical was directly mixed with water and consumed by people, 600 liters of this was sold at Rs 40,000: Gujarat DGP Ashish Bhatia pic.twitter.com/vl5hMBt6Qu  ANI (@ANI) July 26, 2022

Twenty-eight people have so far died after consuming spurious liquor. Of them, 22 belonged to various villages in Botad district while six were from neighbouring Ahmedabad district, Bhatia said. Besides, more than 45 people are currently admitted to hospitals in Bhavnagar, Botad and Ahmedabad, he said.

Also read: Lumpy skin disease kills nearly 1,000 cows, buffaloes in Gujarat

"A forensic analysis has established that the deceased consumed methyl alcohol. We have booked 14 people on charge of murder and other offences and already detained most of the accused," Bhatia said.

The Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) and the Ahmedabad crime branch have also joined the investigation. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is on a visit to Gujarat where the Assembly polls are due later this year, on Monday alleged that illegal liquor is being sold in large quantities in Gujarat where prohibition is in place.

He alleged that people selling illicit liquor are enjoying political protection and demanded a probe into the "trail" of money generated by selling booze. Kejriwal on Tuesday said he will visit a hospital in Bhavnagar where some of those who consumed the spurious liquor was admitted.
IB Recruitment 2022: The Intelligence Bureau (IB) is looking for candidates to fill positions such as Halwai-cum-Cook, Caretaker, Junior Intelligence Officer (JIO), Security Assistant (SA), and others. This recruitment drive will fill 766 open positions within the organization. Interested candidates can obtain the detailed notification by visiting the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) website at mha.gov.in. According to the previous notification, the deadline for nominations would be 60 days from the date of publication of the advertisement in Employment News.

IB Recruitment 2022: Important Dates

Last Date of Application: The last date of receipt of nominations would be 60 days from the date of publication of the advertisement in Employment News(September 21 tentative). ALSO READ: Indian Navy Agniveer Recruitment 2022: Apply for over 195 Navy Agniveer MR vacancies

IB Recruitment 2022: Vacancy Details

ACIO-I/ Exe: 70 posts

ACIO-II/ Exe: 350 posts

JIO-I/ Exe: 50 posts

JIO-II/ Exe: 100 posts

SA/ Exe: 100 posts

JIO-I/MT: 20 posts

JIO-II/MT: 35 posts

SA/MT: 20 posts

Halwai-cum-Cook: 9 posts

Caretaker: 5 posts

JIO-II/Tech: 7 posts4

IB Recruitment 2022: Salary Details

Assistant Central Intelligence Officer-I/Executive: (level 8 of the pay matrix Rs. 47,600-1,51,100 as per 7th CPC)

Assistant Central Intelligence Officer-II/Executive: level 7 of the pay matrix (Rs. 44,900-1,42,400).

Junior Intelligence Officer-II/Executive: level 4 (Rs. 25,500- 81,100) in the pay matrix as per 7th CPC

Security Assistant/Executive: Level 3 (Rs.21,700  69,100) in the Pay Matrix as per 7th CPC.

Junior Intelligence Officer-I (Motor Transport): level 5 of the pay matrix Rs. 25500-81100 as per 7th CPC (Rs. 5200-20200 with grade pay of Rs. 2800 as per pre-revised scales of 6th CPC)

IB Recruitment 2022: Eligibility Criteria

Assistant Central Intelligence Officer-I/Executive: A bachelor's degree from a recognized university or the equivalent, as well as two years of experience in security or intelligence work, are required.

Assistant Central Intelligence Officer-II/Executive: A bachelor's degree from a recognized university or the equivalent, as well as two years of experience in security or intelligence work, are required.

IB Jobs 2022: Heres how to apply

The Intelligence Bureau (IB) is looking for candidates to fill positions such as Halwai-cum-Cook, Caretaker, Junior Intelligence Officer (JIO), Security Assistant (SA), and others. This recruitment drive will fill 766 open positions within the organization. Interested candidates can obtain the detailed notification by visiting the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) website at mha.gov.in. According to the previous notification, the deadline for nominations would be 60 days from the date of publication of the advertisement in Employment News.
New Delhi: Leaders of several opposition parties on Tuesday wrote to President Droupadi Murmu, alleging the "intensifying misuse" of probe agencies by the Modi government against its political opponents and sought her immediate intervention in the matter. The letter to Murmu comes on a day Congress chief Sonia Gandhi is being questioned for the second time by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case related to the National Herald newspaper, leading to massive protest by the Congress.

In a letter to the President, the leaders also raised the issue of the "stubborn attitude" of the government, which is not allowing an urgent discussion on the issue of price rise and GST hike that has impacted the proceedings in the Monsoon session so far.

"We are writing to bring to your attention the continued and intensifying misuse of investigative agencies by the Modi Government as part of a systematic vendetta campaign against its political opponents," said the letter, signed by the leaders of the Congress, DMK, SP, AAP, RJD and CPI-M among others.

"We request for your immediate intervention in the matter," the leaders added.

Noting that the "law is the law and must be enforced without fear or favour", they said,"It cannot be used, as it is presently being done, arbitrarily, selectively and without any justification whatsoever against prominent leaders of numerous opposition parties."

"The sole aim of this campaign is to destroy reputations and weaken the forces fighting the BJP ideologically and politically," the opposition leaders said.

It is also being carried out to divert the attention of the people of our country from their most urgent day-to-day concerns of price rise of essential commodities, increasing unemployment and loss of livelihoods and mounting insecurity of life, liberty and property, they alleged.

The leaders, who signed the letter, included Congress' Mallikarjun Kharge, AAP's Sanjay Singh, RJD's Manoj Jha, RJD,CPI-M's Elamaram Kareem (CPI-M) and Ram Gopal Yadav from the SP.

On the government not allowing a discussion on price in Parliament, they cited instances in the past when such a discussion was allowed.

"Most, unfortunately, the monsoon session of Parliament has been stalled so far entirely because of the stubborn refusal of the Government to have an urgent debate on the pressing issue of price rise and increase in GST rates on essential food items. There are many precedents for such an urgent debate but this time Government is adamant and is not allowing it," the opposition leaders said.

The Opposition has been protesting in both houses of Parliament while demanding an urgent discussion on price rise and GST hike, leading to frequent disruptions ever since the Monsoon session started on July 18.

Rahul Gandhi, Congress MPs detained by police

Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi and several party MPs were detained by police at Vijay Chowk on Tuesday after they staged a protest against the ED questioning Sonia Gandhi.

Rahul Gandhi and other Congress MPs gathered at Vijay Chowk to march towards the Rashtrapati Bhawan to draw the President's attention to the alleged misuse of agencies by the government.

The ED questioned Sonia Gandhi for the second time on Tuesday in the case linked to the National Herald newspaper, prompting her party to stage protests against the alleged misuse of central agencies. She was questioned for over two hours on July 21.

Live TV
Srinagar: On the 23rd anniversary of Kargil Divas, J-K Workers Party President Mir Junaid addressed a gathering in Kashmir on Tuesday.

Kargil Vijay Diwas is celebrated on July 26 to honor the valor and sacrifice of the soldiers who laid down their lives in the line of duty during the Kargil War.

Speaking during an event in a rural region of Kashmir, Mir narrated the stories of brave Army Jawans who sacrificed their lives to protect the sovereignty and integrity of the country. He narrated the stories of the Kabali Raid and explained the sacrifices made by the Indian armed forces in Kargil.

This address comes in the backdrop of the Har Ghar Tiranga initiative.`Har Ghar Tiranga` is a campaign under the Aegis of `Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav` to encourage people to bring the Tiranga home and to hoist it to mark the 75th year of Indian independence.

This is a sharp contrast to the time when citizens had a formal relationship with the tricolor.

Also Read: Separatist Yasin Maliks Drama continues in Delhis Tihar jail, now on fluids

Citizens are now taking the lead to have a personal bond with India`s flag as well as to develop a personal commitment to Nation building. Har Ghar Tirangas campaign is realizing the dream of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah to see a powerful united India.

Notably, the citizens of J-K too are putting their efforts on the ground to make the event a grand success in the region. The event is imbibing and cultivating nationalistic and patriotic fervor among the youngsters.

Besides this, Mir Junaid also reviewed the basic preparations and blueprint for the event in this meeting. While talking to the media, Mir said that he is for the first time witnessing such a high level of nationalist enthusiastic fervor in Kashmir in decades.

And that he was pleased by it. "As a person who works on the ground, Pakistan`s agenda has been defeated.

I can attest to it," he said. Mir also requested the religious heads of Kashmir to encourage people to participate in this grand event. Earlier today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid homage to all those who lost their lives in Kargil protecting our nation on Kargil Vijay Diwas.

In a tweet, the Prime Minister said, "We remember their sacrifices. We remember their valor. Today, on Kargil Vijay Diwas we pay homage to all those who lost their lives in Kargil protecting our nation. Their bravery motivates us every single day." (ANI)
KEAM 2022 Result: The Kerala Engineering, Architecture, Pharmacy and Medical Exam (KEAM) 2022 Result is expected to be declared today 26th July 2022. According to the latest media reports the KEAM 2022 Result might be declared on Tuesday, 26 July 2022, on the official website cee.kerala.gov.in. Candidates who had appeared for KEAM 2022 are requested to keep a close eye on the official website of the CEE Kerala. However, there is no official announcement on the KEAM Result date and time yet.

ALSO READ: AP TET 2022 Admit Card RELEASED

KEAM Result 2022: Here is how to download the result

- Visit the official site of CEE cee.kerala.gov.in.

- Find the link for the KEAM Result 2022.

- Click on the link.

- Fill in the credentials that are asked in the form.

- Check for any mistakes.

- Click on the Submit icon.

- Accept the download prompt and download your result or just view it at your convenience.

ALSO READ: AP EAMCET 2022 Results declared

KEAM 2022 exam result is for the state-level entrance test that was held on 4th July 2022. The exam was held to shortlist and screen candidates for admission to Architecture/Medical & Medical Allied Courses offered by institutions within Kerala. With KEAM 2022 Result expected soon, the next step in the admission cycle would be the counselling process.

CEE Kerala is expected to release the detailed counselling schedule for KEAM 2022 on its official website soon. The counselling will see KEAM Qualified Candidates being allotted seats to different institutions as per their course and institution preferences.
New Delhi: The lumpy skin disease (LSD) in Gujarat has killed nearly 1,000 cows and buffaloes and infected about 33,000 cattle, news agency PTI reported on Monday (July 25, 2022). The presence of the disease has also been found in Rajasthan, PTI reported citing Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Parshottam Rupala. Special teams have been sent by the Centre to Gujarat and Rajasthan to review the situation and measures taken to control LSD.

The Gujarat government on Sunday said that a total of 999 cattle, especially cows and buffaloes, have died in the state due to the disease.

"About 33,000 cattle are infected, and over 900 cattle have died of this disease in Gujarat alone. Its presence has also been found in Rajasthan," PTI quoted Rupala as saying.

A central team has been deputed to Gujarat to control and prevent the spread of the disease, he added.

On steps to prevent the spread of the skin disease in cattle, the minister said currently cattle are being isolated and even vaccination is underway at full speed.

Advisories have also been issued to all states alerting about the disease in cattle, he added.

Lumpy skin disease was first reported in Odisha

The lumpy skin disease was initially reported in Odisha in September 2019. The disease, since then, has been further reported from 22 states and UTs.

The affected states include Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Telangana, West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Manipur, Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Haryana, NCT-Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Rajasthan and recently in Punjab.

Lumpy skin disease affects skin of cattle

The lumpy skin disease is an infection that affects the skin of cattle. It is a viral disease spread by mosquitoes, flies, lice, and wasps by direct contact among the cattle, and through contaminated food and water.

Symptoms of lumpy skin disease

The main symptoms of the lumpy skin disease are fever in animals, discharge from the eyes and nose, salivation from the mouth, soft blisters like nodules all over the body, reduced milk production, and difficulty in eating, which sometimes lead to the animal's death.

(With agency inputs)
BJP MP Ramdas Tadas has cleared the way to become the president of the Maharashtra State Wrestling Council. Election for the post of President of Maharashtra State Wrestling Council will be held in Nagpur on 31st July. But as Kakasaheb Pawar and Dhavalsingh Mohite Patil withdrew their candidature, this election has gone uncontested. Ramdas Tadas is an MP from Wardha Lok Sabha Constituency. Tadas himself has been 'Vidarbha Kesari' four times.

The Maharashtra State Wrestling Council headed by NCP chief Sharad Pawar was disbanded a few days ago. At that time it was also discussed that this decision was made for political reasons after the Shinde-BJP government came to power. BJP's attempt to take control of Maharashtra State Wrestling Council dominated by Sharad Pawar is a picture of success. Kakasaheb Pawar will be the secretary, while Vaibhav Landge will be the vice president.

Also Read: Maharashtra Politics: Aaditya Thackeray in BIG Trouble! Modi government takes BOLD step amid Shiv Sena crisis

Ramdas Tadas holds the post of Vice President of Maharashtra State Wrestling Council. Tadas himself has been 'Vidarbha Kesari' four times. Taddas is still often seen entering the wrestling arena. Ramdas Tadas is MP from Wardha Lok Sabha Constituency on BJP ticket for the second time in a row. In 2014, he defeated the Congress candidate Sagar Meghe by securing more than two lakh votes. He managed to retain his seat in 2019. He has held the post of chairman of Deoli Municipal Council.
MHT CET Admit Card 2022: Maharashtra Common Entrance Test, MHT CET 2022 Admit Card will be releasing today, on July 26, 2022 for PCM courses. Candidates can access their admit cards at mhtcet2022.mahacet.org, the official website. The MHT CET for the PCM group will take place between August 5 and August 11, 2022, while the MHT CET exams for the PCB group will take place between August 12 and August 20,2022.

Previously, the MHT-CET was scheduled to take place from June 11 to June 28. The Maharashtra government delayed the MHT-CET because the exam dates clashed with those of other exams. The decision to postpone the exams was made because the original dates clashed with the new IIT JEE dates (Joint Entrance Exam). ALSO READ: JEE Main 2022 Admit Card released for Paper 2 on jeemain.nta.nic.in, direct link to download here

MHT CET 2022 admit card: Heres how to download

Step 1: Visit mhtcet2022.mahacet.org 2022 to access the official MHT CET website.

Step 2: Select the link for the MHT CET admission card.

Step 3: Candidates must enter application number and password in the candidate portal.

Step 4: The MHT CET 2022 admit card will show up on the screen.

Step 5:Take a printout of the MHT CET 2022 admission card after reviewing all the information.

MHT CET 2022: Important dates

Title Details MHT CET 2022 admit card (PCM) July 26, 2022 (TODAY) MHT CET admit card 2022 release time Likely by 2 pm Official website mahacet.org MHT CET PCM exam dates August 5 to 11, 2022

Candidates should carefully review all of the information on their MHT CET 2022 admission card. If there is a discrepancy or error in the information on their MHT CET admission card, candidates should contact the authorities immediately. If candidates have issues with their MHT CET hall ticket 2022 details, the authorities will provide them with an undertaking form to fill out.

According to Uday Samant, the state Higher and Technical Education Minister, the performance of students in Class 12 and the Common Entrance Test (CET) in Maharashtra will be considered equally when determining the merit list for undergraduate professional and technical courses beginning in the next academic year.
1. Brasparts, France

Trees and vegetation burn amid a fire in the Monts dArree in Brasparts, Brittany. Forecasters put 15 departments in France on the highest state of alert for extreme temperatures, including Gironde in the south-west, where wildfires have already wrought havoc. It comes as firefighters battled to contain blazes across south-west Europe as a heatwave showed no sign of abating

Photograph: Rachel Le Guillou/SDIS 29/Reuters

2. Pallini, Greece

Firefighter Panagiotis Haratsis tackles a wildfire in the north-east suburb of Pallini near Athens. Raging wildfires continued to burn this week in Athens, with firefighters engaged in a desperate battle to control flames that were fanned by gale-force winds. Firefighters in Portugal, Spain, France, Greece and Morocco were battling forest fires raging across tens of thousands of hectares as this weeks heatwave continued to bring extreme temperatures and cause hundreds of deaths across south-western Europe Photograph: Kostas Tsironis/EPA

3. Sheffield

Firefighters contain a wildfire that encroached on nearby homes in the Shiregreen area of Sheffield. Major incidents were declared by fire services across the country after the hottest day in the UK since records began Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

4. Arcachon, France

People swim on the Moulleaus beach as smoke rises from a forest fire in La Teste-de Buch. Meteorologists have warned of a heat apocalypse in western France as more than 8,500 people fled their homes to escape a large wildfire sparked by a searing southern European heatwave that has already caused hundreds of deaths Photograph: Thibaud Moritz/AFP/Getty Images

5. Weipa, Australia

A small wildfire burns at Bouchat near Weipa in far North Queensland. Severe storms and widespread flooding across eastern Australia and elevated fire risks in the Northern Territory are predicted for the coming months, with a third successive La Nina weather pattern also likely

Photograph: Jono Searle/AAP

6. Yosemite

Yosemites Oak fire is burning with ferocity. The raging Oak fire burning near Yosemite national park forced more than 3,000 people to evacuate and exploded to 17,000 acres seemingly overnight.
New Delhi: A suspected case of the monkeypox virus has been found in Aurraiya district in Uttar Pradesh, news agency IANS reported on Tuesday (July 26, 2022). The samples of the suspected patient, a woman from the Bidhuna tehsil, have been sent to Lucknow's King George's Medical University for further testing. According to IANS, the woman was suffering from fever and other monkeypox-like symptoms for the past one week. She, however, has no immediate travel history.

"In view of the symptoms of a possible monkeypox case, these samples have been sent to KGMU, Lucknow, for investigation. The woman has been sent home with instructions for precautions," IANS quoted Superintendent Dr Siddharth Verma as saying.

He added that the woman was getting treatment from a private doctor and when she did not get relief, she went to get medicine from a former medical officer on bypass road on Sunday.

If confirmed, this will be Uttar Pradesh's first and India's fourth case of the monkeypox virus. Earlier, Kerala recorded three monkeypox infections, while one case was found in the national capital.

Monkeypox virus now a global emergency

On July 23, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared monkeypox a global public health emergency of international concern after more than 16,000 cases and five deaths were reported from 75 countries. The global health body also called on nations to work closely with communities of men who have sex with men and adopt measures that protect the health, human rights, and dignity of affected communities.

"We have an outbreak that has spread around the world rapidly, through new modes of transmission, about which we understand too little, and which meets the criteria in the International Health Regulations. For all of these reasons, I have decided that the global monkeypox outbreak represents a public health emergency of international concern," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

The WHO label - a "public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC)" - is designed to trigger a coordinated international response and could unlock funding to collaborate on sharing vaccines and treatments.

"WHOs assessment is that the risk of monkeypox is moderate globally and in all regions, except in the European region where we assess the risk as high. There is also a clear risk of further international spread, although the risk of interference with international traffic remains low for the moment," Tedros added.

With the tools we have right now, we can stop #monkeypox transmission and bring this outbreak under control. Its essential that all countries work closely with affected communities to adopt measures that protect their health, human rights and dignity.pic.twitter.com/DqyvRtB8w2  Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) July 23, 2022

The WHO chief also said that, for the moment, this is an outbreak that is concentrated among men who have sex with men, especially those with multiple sexual partners.

"That means that this is an outbreak that can be stopped with the right strategies in the right groups," he said.

What is monkeypox disease?

Monkeypox is an illness caused by the monkeypox virus. It is a viral zoonotic infection that can spread from animals to humans. It can also spread from person to person.

The disease is called monkeypox because it was first identified in colonies of monkeys kept for research in 1958. It was later detected in humans in 1970.

What are the symptoms of monkeypox?

According to the World Health Organisation, monkeypox can cause a range of signs and symptoms. While some people have mild symptoms, others may develop more serious symptoms and need care in a health facility. The most common symptoms of monkeypox include fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, low energy, and swollen lymph nodes. This is followed or accompanied by the development of a rash which can last for two to three weeks.

The rash can be found on the face, palms of the hands, soles of the feet, eyes, mouth, throat, groin, and genital and/or anal regions of the body. The number of lesions can range from one to several thousand. Lesions begin flat, then fill with liquid before they crust over, dry up and fall off, with a fresh layer of skin forming underneath.

#Monkeypox is a viral disease that spreads through contact with an infected person. Learn how to prevent, identify and stay safe from it. pic.twitter.com/FmUqmaQPg7  Ministry of Health (@MoHFW_INDIA) July 23, 2022

Symptoms typically last two to three weeks and usually go away on their own or with supportive care, such as medication for pain or fever. People remain infectious until all of the lesions have crusted over, the scabs fallen off and a new layer of skin has formed underneath.

Those at higher risk for severe disease or complications include people who are pregnant, children, and persons that are immunocompromised.

How does monkeypox virus spread?

The monkeypox virus spreads from person to person through close contact with someone who has a monkeypox rash, including through face-to-face, skin-to-skin, mouth-to-mouth or mouth-to-skin contact, including sexual contact. When an infectious person touches clothing, bedding, towels, objects, electronics, and surfaces, someone else who touches these items can then become infected. It is also possible to become infected from breathing in skin flakes or viruses from clothing, bedding, or towels.

The virus can also spread through direct contact with the mouth, respiratory droplets, and possibly through short-range aerosols.

#Monkeypox is a viral disease that spreads through contact with an infected person. Learn how to prevent, identify and stay safe from it. pic.twitter.com/XA95LLI2XA  Ministry of Health (@MoHFW_INDIA) July 23, 2022

Monkeypox can also spread from someone who is pregnant to the fetus, after birth through skin-to-skin contact, or from a parent with monkeypox to an infant or child during close contact.

How can you protect yourself against monkeypox disease?

Reduce your risk of catching monkeypox by limiting close contact with people who have suspected or confirmed monkeypox, or with animals who could be infected.

Clean and disinfect environments that could have been contaminated with the monkeypox virus by someone who is infected regularly.

How are monkeypox cases treated?

People with monkeypox should follow the advice of their health care provider. Symptoms normally resolve on their own without the need for treatment, but if needed, medication for pain (analgesics) and fever (antipyretics) can be used to relieve some symptoms, according to WHO.

It is important for anyone with monkeypox to stay hydrated, eat well, and get enough sleep.



ALSO READ | Karnataka on alert as neighbouring Kerala reports three monkeypox cases



People infected with monkeypox should also avoid scratching their skin and take care of their rash by cleaning their hands before and after touching lesions and keeping skin dry and uncovered (unless they are unavoidably in a room with someone else, in which case they should cover it with clothing or a bandage until they are able to isolate again).

The rash can be kept clean with sterilized water or antiseptic. Saltwater rinses can be used for lesions in the mouth, and warm baths with baking soda and Epsom salts can help with lesions on the body. Lidocaine can be applied to oral and perianal lesions to relieve pain.

An antiviral that was developed to treat smallpox (tecovirimat) was approved in January 2022 by the European Medicines Agency for the treatment of monkeypox.

Can children get monkeypox?

Children can also catch monkeypox if they have close contact with someone who has symptoms. There, however, have been a small number of kids with monkeypox in the current outbreak.
New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday questioned interim Congress president Sonia Gandhi for over six hours on the second day of her appearance in a money laundering case linked to the National Herald newspaper. According to reports, she has been asked to appear again on Wednesday. Sonia Gandhi left the agency's office in central Delhi just before 7 pm on Tuesday after recording her statement.

The ED sources said that Sonia Gandhi was asked around 55 questions so far in two days. She was asked similar questions that were asked of Rahul Gandhi, they added.

Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi has been asked to reappear tomorrow before ED in the National Herald case: Sources



(File pic) pic.twitter.com/Mtxj722GGQ  ANI (@ANI) July 26, 2022

The Congress leader had reached the ED office around 11 am with her Z+ armed security cover and accompanied by her children Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. While Priyanka Gandhi stayed back at the ED office, Rahul Gandhi left soon after.

#UPDATE | Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi leaves from the ED office in Delhi after around 6 hours of questioning in the National Herald case. pic.twitter.com/3oYSVqn0pn July 26, 2022

Priyanka Gandhi was in another room at the ED office so she could meet her mother to provide her medicines or medical assistance if necessary, officials said. The Congress president once left the ED office around 2 pm and returned around 3:30 pm in what is understood to be a lunch break.

The questioning and recording of statements of the 75-year-old Congress president began at 11:15 am after initial formalities, including the verification of summons and signing the attendance sheet.

She was questioned for over two hours on July 21 when she replied to 28 questions put forth by the agency.

The Lok Sabha MP from Rae Bareli is understood to have been asked questions pertaining to her involvement with the National Herald newspaper and the company under scanner in the case -- Young Indian Pvt Ltd.
New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday opposed the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and said the system of uniform tax is not right for a country like India and he is personally not in favour of it. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor claimed the GST is "highly complicated" and called for a need to simplify it so that traders and industrialists could pay taxes easily.

He said a few days back, the Centre imposed GST on (pre-packed and labelled items like) curd, buttermilk, wheat flour and rice and wondered if they will now impose the GST on air as well. Addressing a gathering of traders and industrialists in Rajkot city of Gujarat, where the Assembly polls are due later this year, Kejriwal made five promises if the AAP is voted to power, including removal of the environment of fear and simplification of the GST administration at the state level.

People from various Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sectors joined the town hall meet organised by the AAP, with representatives raising the issues of complicated GST and unnecessary and unexpected hike in the GST by the Centre.

Kejriwal said, "GST is so complicated that a large number of small traders whom I know had to shut down their businesses as they were not able to fulfil the GST requirements."

"The uniform tax -- same tax on same kind of things-- is also not right. In our country, the economy of Gujarat and other states is different. Taxes can be different on the same thing in different states and a same thing may require tax there and not here. I am personally not in favour of the system," the AAP leader said.

This entire complicated system needs to be simplified so that traders and industrialists can pay tax easily, he said. Even before a tax system, there is a need to improve the economy so that businesses can run and employment is generated, he opined.

"If industry and shops do not run and the government asks for tax, then from where will people pay that tax?" he asked. Kejriwal said 99 per cent of the traders want to pay their taxes with honesty, but they do not get the opportunity because of the complicated system.

"A few days back they imposed GST on curd, chhas (buttermilk), lassi, wheat flour, rice... God knows what else remains. Maybe now they will impose GST on air," he said. Kejriwal said he will implement a suggestion, given by a trader from the audience, about government hiring an expert for free advice to people on GST compliance so as to reduce the cost of compliance which the public has to bear.

As the AAP's five guarantees to the trader community in Gujarat, Kejriwal promised removal of the environment of fear so that businessmen could work with courage and peace and contribute to the prosperity of the state and the country. Kejriwal said his party, if voted to power in Gujarat, will also ensure that traders get proper respect and a corruption-free administration.

He also promised to clear all pending VAT and GST refunds within six months. As far as the GST is concerned, the AAP leader said his government will try to get it simplified by talking to the Centre. At the state-level, he said, the AAP government would simplify it by making the GST administration pro-people.

The AAP would also make traders a partner in the government by forming a body comprising representatives from various Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sectors. The government will implement all the issues raised by them as partners in governance, he said.

Kejriwal said that in Delhi, his government removed corruption and unnecessary expenses from the government which helped save a lot of money. "The Delhi government now runs on surplus, as per the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report," he said.

Kejriwal said that MSMEs are the backbone of the country's economy, but unfortunately they are "most exploited". The sector can also get cheaper electricity, he said. Last week, the Delhi CM had promised up to 300 units of free electricity per month to the people of Gujarat if the AAP is voted to power.

He also targeted the ruling BJP and said its leaders only deliver speeches but never listen to the business community. He said Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and state BJP head CR Paatil might be listening to grievances raised by traders during the town hall in Rajkot on Tuesday and could possibly address those concerns.

Live TV
Kolkata: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had called him an 'Evergreen Colourful Leader' (ECL). His number of fans on Facebook and Instagram is increasing by leaps and bounds every day. Yes, we are talking about senior Trinamool Congress leader Madan Mitra! He opened his Instagram account only four months ago. In this short period of time, Madan's follower count has crossed 1 lakh 11 thousand, following which Instagram declared his account as 'Verified' last Wednesday. So now you can see the sought-after blue tick beside his name. After getting such success on Instagram in just a few months, the MLA of Kamarhati has started thinking about whether something new can be done on the internet. His live programme on Facebook received thousands of likes within a few moments. So he has started discussing how this popularity can be taken to the next level!

Madan said that recently, YouTube has discussed several issues with him. One of their proposals was also liked by the former transport minister of Bengal. According to sources, the proposal said that Madan should create blogs on YouTube about his long political life. Madan said that he agreed to such a proposal from YouTube. He said, "I have been doing politics for many years; as there are many ups and downs in my political life, there are also many stories. I think I will make blogs using all those stories. But I haven't taken any steps towards that effect yet. If I make a move, my fans will definitely know about it through my social media accounts."

Also read: Reaching Kolkata, Partha Chatterjee says, 'I agree with Mamata Banerjee'

Madan Mitra is a well-known face in Facebook Live world. He came and spoke live on various issues at several times. Of course, he is involved in many controversies. However, he always likes to follow his heart. Thousands of people joined the conversation with Madan Mitra in seconds when he recently conducted a Facebook Live. Besides, one live video of his garnered millions of likes. Besides, wherever he goes, he doesn't forget to click colourful pictures! And Madan Mitra's attitude has attracted fan following among the youths. Perhaps this is why he became so popular on Instagram in a short span of time. Madan said, "I have planned something new for my followers. This time around Durga puja, I will select 10 best followers of mine. I will provide them with clothes and puja pandal passes."

Madan also revealed that during Durga puja, he is going to release his new song album that will be the second version of the very popular track, 'Ohh Lovely'. Madan said, "Ohh Lovely part 2 will be released before Durga Puja. Shooting and rehearsals are over. This time, I will release this album on an OTT platform."
A 36-year-old woman was allegedly duped of nearly Rs 1 lakh by a cyber fraud who contacted her after she tried to book a hotel room online in Kedarnath and conned her by sending multiple QR codes over WhatsApp for an advance payment, officials said Tuesday. An FIR has been lodged at the local Sector 113 police station on the basis of the complaint of the woman and an investigation has started into the case, the officials said.

According to the complaint, the incident took place on May 18 but the FIR was lodged on Monday and the woman (36), who lives in Noida's Sector 75, claimed a loss of Rs 95,604 in total. "The complainant stated that in May she was searching for a hotel in Kedarnath on Google for a trip she had planned for June. A couple of days after the search, she got a call from an unknown number in which the caller identified himself as a representative of a hotel in Kedarnath, a police official said, citing the FIR.

"Later, that representative, who identified himself as Nitin Kumar, contacted the woman over Whatsapp and shared pictures of a hotel and other details, including the tariff, of the facility," the official said.

Subsequently, the thug asked her to make a confirmation and pay half of the booking amount which was Rs 2,000, according to the police. He then sent a QR code to the woman over Whatsapp for Rs 2,000 but when she proceeded with the payment, she lost Rs 4,000 from her account.

The man then said it happened by mistake and re-sent her a QR code for refund, but once again she ended up losing money from her account, the official said.

"The caller then said that he had mistakenly entered a wrong code because of which the trouble started. He once again sent a QR code to return the money, but this time the woman lost Rs 9,901 from her account. Ultimately the woman ended up losing Rs 95,604 from her account, the official said.

When the woman called up the phone number, it went unreachable and was eventually switched off. She later got her bank account blocked fearing further loss of funds, according to the FIR. A Sector 113 police official said probe has been taken up as the FIR has been lodged under Indian Penal Code section 420 (cheating) and under provisions of the Information Technology Act.

The matter will be probed by the cyber cell of the Noida police, the official added. Meanwhile, officials urged the general public to report cases of cyber crime immediately on the dedicated helpline number 1930 or 112. They have also asked the public to be cautious during financial transactions online in order to avoid hassles.
New Delhi: Opposition Vice Presidential candidate Margaret Alva on Tuesday (July 26, 2022) said that the phone calls between politicians are being monitored by the "Big Brother", a day after she said that she has been unable to make or receive calls after she spoke to some "friends in the BJP".

"The fear that 'Big Brother' is always watching & listening permeates all conversations between politicians across party lines in 'new' India. MPs & leaders of parties carry multiple phones, frequently change numbers & talk in hushed whispers when they meet. Fear kills democracy," she said in a tweet.

The fear that Big Brother is always watching & listening permeates all conversations between politicians across party lines in new India. MPs & leaders of parties carry multiple phones, frequently change numbers & talk in hushed whispers when they meet. Fear kills democracy.  Margaret Alva (@alva_margaret) July 26, 2022

Pralhad Joshi terms Margaret Alva's snooping allegation as 'childish'

Union Minister Pralhad Joshi on Tuesday termed Margaret Alva's allegations of phone tapping as "childish". Joshi said that she is a senior person and she should not make such allegations.

"Why should anybody tap her phone? Let her call anybody, we are confident about what the result of the VP election will be. Why should we do this? These are childish allegations. She`s a senior person and she should not make such allegations," he was quoted as saying by ANI.

Earlier on Monday, she posted a tweet addressed to the two government-owned telecom companies.

"Dear BSNL/ MTNL, After speaking to some friends in the BJP today, all calls to my mobile are being diverted & I'm unable to make or receive calls. If you restore the phone. I promise not to call any MP from the BJP, TMC or BJD tonight," the former Rajasthan Governor said.

Dear BSNL/ MTNL,



After speaking to some friends in the BJP today, all calls to my mobile are being diverted & I'm unable to make or receive calls. If you restore the phone. I promise not to call any MP from the BJP, TMC or BJD tonight.



Margaret



Ps. You need my KYC now? pic.twitter.com/Ps9VxlGNnh  Margaret Alva (@alva_margaret) July 25, 2022

Alva has been fielded by the Opposition against the ruling NDA's Jagdeep Dhankhar, the governor of West Bengal who resigned from the post on July 18.
Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has made it clear that the onus of the teacher recruitment scam lies with Partha Chatterjee - who has been arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the scam - and his close associate Arpita Mukherjee. The top leaders of Trinamool Congress have already distanced themselves from Chatterjee. Here are some top quotes of the Bengal Chief Minister against Partha.

- If anyone is found guilty, he or she must be punished, but I condemn the malicious campaign against me.

- Truth must come out but within a time frame.

- BJP is wrong if it thinks it can break my party using agencies.

- The party has no relation with that lady (Arpita Mukherjee), neither do I know her. I attend several programmes, if someone gets clicked with me, is it my fault? I go for inauguration of many pujas. How am I supposed to know whom the organisers have invited? How could I know that she was Partha's friend? I do not spare even my party members if they are at fault. I do not and will not spare my own minister if found guilty.

- It has to be seen whether it (the investigation) is a trap to malign my party and me. I neither support corruption nor allow it to breed.

Meanwhile, party insiders said the Chief Minister is miffed about the entire incident, especially after it was revealed that ED's arrest memo for Chatterjee had her name and phone number in it as the contact person. Reacting to Banerjee's comments, the leader of opposition in the state Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, said the Chief Minister is trying to save her own skin by putting the entire onus on Chatterjee. "She (Banerjee) is claiming that she was not aware that Arpita Mukherjee was Partha Chatterjee`s friend. But in that same programme, she could be heard praising Mukherjee and even referring to her fluency in Odia language. What is the Chief Minister trying to prove?" Adhikari asked.

(With Agency inputs)


West Bengal Industries Minister and former Education Minister Partha Chatterjee arrested by ED in SSC 'corruption' case. He was taken to Bhubaneswar AIIMS on Monday morning on the orders of the court for medical examination. There all necessary tests of his body are done. Check the complete report Here.

Height and Weight

Partha's weight is measured during the health check-up. 69-year-old Partha weighs 111 kg. His weight is much higher than his age, doctors at AIIMS said Partha's height is also measured during the health check-up. It can be seen that his height is 169 cm i.e. 5 feet 5 inches. First some basic physical tests were done. As per Bhubaneswar AIIMS report on Monday July 25, Partha's pulse rate is 81 beats per minute. The oxygen level in the body is 100 percent.

Liver Function

Partha's medical report did not find any unwanted fluid inside the abdomen. Having unwanted fluid inside the lower abdomen means that the person has liver problems. Partha's liver function is also normal. The globulin levels in the liver are slightly lower than normal, but the protein levels are just right. Partha's liver volume is slightly larger than normal. However, the doctors of Bhubaneswar EMS said that there is nothing to worry about as a result. Partha's thyroid test also showed no abnormality. The level of thyroxine hormone in his body is normal.

Kidney Function

Partha has kidney problems? It was claimed by his lawyer that the levels of urea and creatinine in Partha's body were higher than normal. That report was also submitted to the court. After a medical examination at Bhubaneswar AIIMS, it was found that Partha's urea and creatinine levels were slightly higher than normal.The report also revealed that Partha is urinating in sufficient quantity. But he also has the problem of leg swelling.

Blood Sugar Level

Partha claims that he has been suffering from diabetes disease for 15 years. For this he has to take medicine regularly. He also submitted that report. However, after Monday's test, it was found that although he has sugar, his blood sugar level is currently under control. His plasma glucose levels are normal. A normal plasma glucose level is between 70 mg and 140 mg per deciliter. Partha's plasma glucose is within this normal range.

Blood Pressure and Hemoglobin

Partha also has a long history of high blood pressure. The same was mentioned in the old medical reports of Partha. Even after AIIMS examination, his blood pressure was found to be 125/61. His blood hemoglobin levels are lower than normal. Normal level of hemoglobin is 13 to 17 mg per deciliter. However, Partha's blood level is 8.5 mg.

Doctors have also said that there is no problem in Partha's nervous system. It is also known that he was alert during the medical examination. After all the tests, it was informed by the hospital that although Partha has some old problems in his body, it is not serious. The authorities of Bhubaneswar AIIMS also clarified that Partha does not need to be hospitalized for this. However, he has also been told to continue taking the necessary medicines.
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has heaped praise on Ram Nath Kovind, saying he set the highest standards of principles, probity, performance, sensitivity and service during his tenure as India's President. In a letter to Kovind on Sunday, a day before he demitted office, Modi also paid tribute to his personal journey from a small village in Uttar Pradesh to the Rashtrapati Bhavan, lauding it as "a parable for our country's evolution and development, and an inspiration for our society". "Through your life and career, you have persevered with determination and dignity, with a deep commitment to the morality and integrity that is at the core of the Indian ethos, and with the highest regard and responsibility towards the principles of our Constitution," he said.

During his presidency in his numerous actions, interventions and speeches, he has represented and carried the best of India to all corners of the country and the world, Modi said. The prime minister told Kovind that he had always been generous with his time and counsel to him over the past five years. "I will continue to turn to you for advice. It has been a real privilege to work with you, Rashtrapati Ji, as your Prime Minister," he said.

Sharing the letter, Kovind tweeted that it has deeply touched him. "I take his kind and heartfelt words as a reflection of love and respect fellow citizens have showered on me. I am sincerely grateful to you all," he said.

This letter from Prime Minister @narendramodi has deeply touched me. I take his kind and heartfelt words as a reflection of love and respect fellow citizens have showered on me. I am sincerely grateful to you all. pic.twitter.com/8GBBMnwvYf  Ram Nath Kovind (@ramnathkovind) July 26, 2022

Modi wrote that as President, Kovind upheld and reinforced the ideals of India's Constitution and the vitality of its democracy with sound judgement, great dignity and extraordinary statesmanship and always with the best interests of the Republic as his compass. As the country's first citizen, he was always unwavering in his compassion and concern for the welfare of the weakest citizen, and remained firmly and proudly rooted in its soil and connected with the people, he added.

Kovind was always in people's company, sensitive to their problems, perceptive about their expectations, and acutely aware of the needed change, he said in the letter. "You were a steadfast and passionate champion of social transformation and inclusion, speaking for the poor, the historically excluded and oppressed, and the marginalised, with special attention to the status and role of women," the prime minister said.

Also read: Ram Nath Kovind moves out of Rashtrapati Bhavan, check where former president will live now

"The themes and issues that you have prioritised -- the civic duty in giving back to society, the commitment to an India that is a confluence of our ancient heritage as well as of modern science, and of sustainable social change driven by increasing and expanded access to education, especially for girl children -have been well thought-out and meaningful," he added.

Modi noted that his interaction with Kovind, a long time BJP member before being appointed first as Bihar governor and then President, goes beyond his presidency. He has seen him toil among people during his political career, and as an MP he made a mark as an effective parliamentarian. His gubernatorial tenure in Bihar was outstanding as he made unparalleled efforts to make the Raj Bhavan into a "Lok Bhavan", accessible to the common people.

Also read: How much pension and what all perks Ram Nath Kovind will get post-retirement? Know more

Prime Minister Modi said he was always deeply touched by Kovind's humility, grace and generosity, and mentioned their visit to his native village Paraunkh in Uttar Pradesh a few weeks back. "I was particularly touched to see how you had donated your family residence to help others, especially those belonging to the poor and marginalised sections of society. It was equally heartening to see you retain the deep connect with your roots and the affection the people showered upon you," Modi said.

His special gesture of coming to receive him at the helipad will remain etched in his memory forever, the prime minister said. Equally special was Kovind's gesture of visiting his mother and talking to her on several issues which showed his deep-rooted commitment to the value-systems integral to Indian society, the prime minister said. "Your life and service reflect the dearly held belief that you recently shared with students - never fail to give back to the society which has given you the opportunity to become a successful individual," Modi said.
Kolkata: Commenting on former West Bengal education minister Partha Chatterjee's arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the Teachers' Recruitment Scam, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that if "someone is found guilty, the person should be punished accordingly, be it life imprisonment. I won't mind." Meanwhile, as per media reports, Partha Chatterjee, when he arrived in Kolkata on Tuesday morning, said that he agrees with Mamata. When reporters asked him about Mamata's comments, Chatterjee reportedly said he agrees with the CM.

Chatterjee was bought to the Central Government Office (CGO) complex in Kolkata on Tuesday morning, a day after he and his aide Arpita Mukherjee were sent to the custody of the Enforcement Directorate till August 3. He reached the Kolkata airport this morning, after being discharged from AIIMS Bhuwneshwar."Partha Chatterjee's health is stable. Medical reports have come, and it`s fine. A thorough examination of him was done. Though he had some problems, he didn't need to be admitted to the hospital, he`s being monitored closely," said Dr Tushar Kanti Patra, SSKM Hospital in Kolkata. Notably, Partha Chatterjee and his aide, Arpita Mukherjee, have been sent to Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody till August 3.

The Calcutta court also gave orders to conduct medical check-ups of both the arrested accused after every 48 hours. The Court also gave orders to the ED to not interrogate Arpita between 9 pm to 6 am. Partha was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the alleged School Service Commission (SSC) scam in West Bengal on Saturday. The ED unearthed many disproportionate assets of Partha Chatterjee since his arrest, of which were three flats in West Bengal's Diamond City. The arrest of Partha Chatterjee followed Rs 21 crore in cash and jewellery worth above Rs 1 crore being recovered from the Kolkata residence of Arpita Mukherjee, a close aide of the former education minister. On Monday, the Director of AIIMS Bhubaneswar said though Chatterjee is suffering from several chronic illnesses, hospitalisation is not required at this moment.

Also read: Partha Chatterjee arrested: Mamata Banerjee says, 'BJP is wrong if it thinks...' - 5 points

After the check-up, the reports were handed over to the Investigating Officer (IO) of the Enforcement Directorate, Chatterjee's lawyer and the concerned doctor from SSKM Hospital as directed by the Calcutta High Court. On Monday morning, the former Education minister was taken to the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International (NSCBI) Airport in an ambulance. A green corridor was arranged for obstruction-free movement of the convoy. The ED officials along with Chatterjee's lawyer, Anindya Kishor Raut, and a doctor from SSKM had also accompanied the former Education minister as directed by Justice Bibek Chaudhuri. Chatterjee reached the airport at around 8 am. There Airports Authority of India (AAI), Kolkata, had arranged another ambulance to take Chatterjee to the air ambulance as no outside vehicle is allowed on the runway and its adjacent areas. The Enforcement Directorate on Friday (July 23) recovered Rs 20 crore in cash from the house of an associate of West Bengal Minister Partha Chatterjee. The ED raided Arpita Mukerjee`s house in connection with an alleged teacher recruitment scam in West Bengal. "The said amount is suspected to be proceeds of crime of the said SSC scam," the probe agency had said in a statement.

The search teams are taking the assistance of bank officials for the counting of cash through counting machines. Photos of the house taken during the raid show Rs 2000 and Rs 500 notes that were recovered. Partha Chatterjee, who is presently the minister for industries and commerce, was the education minister when the alleged illegal appointments were made in government-run and aided schools by West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC). The ruling Trinamool Congress described the raids as a "ploy" by the BJP government at the Centre to "harass" its political opponents.

(With ANI inputs)
The first frost came in the night, a clear, scant-started night, when the moon was near its fullness.

Silent, followed the heels of Vibrato (), one of pals in MYSJ and a well known Chinese American poet, I went to AllPoetry, the biggest online publisher of English poetry. I published one of my English poems there then.

How exciting! The short piece got an auto-ranked score for 8.9 and professional similarity 6 of 10. Moreover, several poets left their comments on it. The feedbacks on my poems from readers always mean a lot to me. I knew they were always nice to new comers.

You might think Im showing off, but I dont intend to do that. Just for fun, LOL



AllPoentry



Portrait

by TweetinGreen

on a strange sky dome

using meticulous skill

with a calligraphic brush

draw an oil painting

waves in the vast ocean

the dawning and twilight

thorny blood paths

gullies crisscross



so beautiful

a new genre



a shaved face

covered with mottled paints and inks

heh heh heh grinning

in a corner, a cup of tea

still jasmine









AllPoetry :



Posted a month ago. immigrants, hope, hardness.

Like (12)

Front page pick 17 days ago.

Autorank Total 8.9, professional similarity 6 (of 10), concrete vs abstract 2 (of 2), noun/verb/etc order 0.9 (of 1)



Likes: A white rob, noseringpoems, Alice Z, HBey K, kaye, Ken doll, Stuart Munro, Mumtaz Noori, Dub Evergreen, Kh Ventura, Cozyglow, Kelley Citrin



Alice Z - A beautiful piece with a sense of history.

Ken doll - Beautiful well written work. Congratulations on well deserved front page pick, enjoyed a day ago



Mumtaz Noori - Congratulations on FPP, a well deserved piece



Good poem. 17 days ago



HBey K - A wonderful canvas is here described in full eloquence.



Amazing 17 days



Kh Ventura - wonderfully written, such a delightful piece to read, Thank you



Nicely done a month ago



Cozyglow - I love this poem. Its such a meaningful and vivid portrait of the first generation immigrants. We crossed oceans and treaded thorny paths to come to a new place to seek a dream. We worked hard and overcame a lot of obstacles to get to todays good life.  in a corner, a cup of tea still jasmine, inside, we still have a place for our old lands. Really enjoyed reading it. Thanks for sharing! a month ago



Stuart Munro - Nice subject poetry



Lovely a month ago



Kelley Citrin - I am absolutely obsessed with this poem. The last line felt resilient and hopeful, concise imagery, pretty words. I adore it. Stunning. a month ago













































>>>
Kolkata: A Kolkata court on Monday granted 10 days' Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody of West Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee and his alleged associate Arpita Mukherjee, who were arrested in connection with its probe into the school jobs scam. The ED had prayed for 14 days' custody of Mamata Banerjee's minister, stating that AIIMS, Bhubaneswar has said in a report after medical examination of the minister that no active intervention is required over his health.

Rejecting a bail prayer of the minister, special ED Court judge Jibon Kumar Sadhu at Bankshall court here extended ED custody of the minister and also of Mukherjee till August 3.

The court directed in its order that the two accused persons, who were arrested on July 23, be produced before it again on August 3.



ALSO READ | Sack Partha Chatterjee from your cabinet, BJP's Suvendu Adhikari dares CM Mamata Banerjee



Chatterjee was produced before the court on Saturday and remanded to two-day ED custody, while Mukherjee was produced before the court on Sunday and remanded to one-day custody.

The ED prayed for 14 days' custody of Chatterjee claiming that he has been in state-run SSKM Hospital allegedly faking illness and thus the agency could not question him during the two-day remand granted by the CMM in-charge court on Saturday.

The agency also prayed for Mukherjee's custody for 13 days.

The high court had on Sunday directed that the minister, who was the education minister when the scam took place, be virtually produced before a special ED court in Kolkata at 4 PM on Monday. The ED had moved the high court challenging an order by Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (in-charge), Calcutta, sending Chatterjee to SSKM Hospital while rejecting his bail prayer and granting two-day custody to the agency.

Additional solicitor general S V Raju submitted before Judge Sadhu the report of AIIMS, Bhubaneswar, which he said stated that no active intervention is required for chronic illnesses suffered by Chatterjee. It was also stated that his vital parameters like blood pressure and oxygen saturation level were normal and blood sugar was under control.

Opposing the prayer of ED, Chatterjee's lawyer prayed for his bail.

Mukherjee's counsel prayed that a short custody be given for her and that her security be ensured owing to Sunday's incident in which a vehicle hit a car of the convoy carrying her from court after production.



ALSO READ | Mamata Banerjee breaks silence on Partha Chatterjee's row: 'If anyone is guilty, he should be...'



Seeking remand of Chatterjee and Mukherjee, the ASG claimed before the court that this is a very serious scam where deserving candidates were deprived of appointment as teachers in schools and undeserving candidates with money were given jobs.

The high court had directed the CBI to inquire into recommendations by the state's School Service Commission (SSC) vide which alleged illegal appointments were made by the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education in government and aided schools.

In pursuance of the order, the ED filed an FIR to probe the money trail allegedly involved in the case and arrested Chatterjee, who is also the secretary general of the ruling Trinamool Congress, and his alleged associate Mukherjee.

Raju submitted before the special court on Monday that Rs 21.9 crore in cash, gold ornaments, several mobile phones and other documents including a joint property deed were recovered during the search at Mukherjee's residence.
New Delhi: Kashmiri separatist leader Yasin Malik is being given intravenous fluids as he is on a hunger strike for the last five days in Tihar Jail here after the Centre did not respond to his plea that he be allowed to physically appear in a Jammu court hearing the Rubaiya Sayeed abduction case, in which he is an accused, officials said on Tuesday. Malik (56), the head of the banned Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), began his indefinite hunger strike on Friday morning.

"On Friday morning, Malik, who has been kept in a separate cell in jail number seven under heavy security, refused to eat anything. He is still on a hunger strike and his health is being regularly monitored by the doctors. He is being given IV (intravenous) fluids since Sunday," an official said.

Appearing before a special CBI judge through a video conference, Malik had said he wanted to physically appear in the case related to the abduction of Rubaiya Sayeed, the daughter of the Union home minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, in 1989.

Malik informed the court that he had written a letter to the government seeking his transfer to a Jammu jail so that he could physically appear in the case and contest the allegations against him.

He had said he would like to personally cross-examine the prosecution witnesses and would wait for a government nod till July 22. He had also said he would sit on an indefinite hunger strike inside the jail if his plea was not allowed.

Also Read:BJP leader Tejasvi Surya visits Srinagar, says Article 370 was a cultural, psychological 'barrier' in India's integration

Rubaiya Sayeed was allegedly abducted by the JKLF on December 8, 1989. She was freed from captivity five days later after the then V P Singh government at the Centre, supported by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), released five JKLF terrorists in exchange.

Malik began his protest when he received no information from the government on his plea to shift him to any prison in Jammu.

The JKLF chief was arrested in early 2019 in connection with a 2017 terror-funding case registered by the National Investigation Agency. Malik had pleaded guilty in the case and was sentenced by a special NIA court in Delhi in May.
New Delhi: Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for her second round of questioning in the money laundering case linked to the National Herald newspaper. She reached the federal agency's office in Vidyut Lane flanking the APJ Abdul Kalam Road in central Delhi around 11 am accompanied by her children Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. While Priyanka Gandhi stayed back at the ED office, Rahul Gandhi left soon after.

The 75-year old Gandhi was questioned for over two hours during her first day of questioning in the case on July 21 where she replied to 28 questions put forth by the agency. The questioning pertains to the charge of alleged financial irregularities in the Congress-promoted Young Indian Private Limited, which owns the National Herald newspaper.

#WATCH | Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi arrives at the ED office in Delhi for the second round of questioning in connection with the National Herald case.



Her daughter and party leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has also accompanied her. pic.twitter.com/8q1ScJgktr  ANI (@ANI) July 26, 2022

Officials have said all Covid-appropriate protocols have been put in place for the high-profile session like stationing of doctors and an ambulance, 'Covid negative' certificates of investigators and proper physical distancing between Gandhi and the team of investigators. Congress has slammed the agency's action against its top leadership and termed it a "political vendetta".

Also read: ED grills Sonia Gandhi in National Herald case; Congress protests, alleges 'political vendetta'

The Delhi Police deployed a huge force, including CRPF and RAF personnel, and barricade the entire over one kilometre stretch between her residence and the ED office. Traffic restrictions were also imposed in the area.

Rahul Gandhi has also been questioned by the ED in this case last month in sessions that clocked over 50 hours over five days. The move to question the Gandhis was initiated after the ED late last year registered a fresh case under the criminal provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

This was after a trial court here took cognisance of an Income Tax department probe against Young Indian based on a private criminal complaint by BJP MP Subramanian Swamy in 2013.

Sonia and Rahul Gandhi are among the promoters and majority shareholders in Young Indian. Like her son, the Congress president too has 38 per cent shareholding. Swamy had accused the Gandhis and others of conspiring to cheat and misappropriate funds, with Young Indian paying only Rs 50 lakh to obtain the right to recover Rs 90.25 crore that Associate Journals Limited owed to the Congress.

In February last year, the Delhi High Court issued a notice to the Gandhis seeking their response on Swamy's plea. Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Pawan Bansal were questioned by the ED in the case in April.

Congress has maintained there has been no wrongdoing and Young Indian is a "not-for-profit" company established under section 25 of the Companies Act and hence there can be no question of money laundering.

It is understood that Rahul Gandhi, during his deposition before the ED, stuck to the position that there was no personal acquisition of assets by himself or his family. According to the ED, assets worth about Rs 800 crore are "owned" by the AJL and the agency wants to know from the Gandhis how a not-for-profit company like Young Indian was undertaking commercial activities of renting out its land and building assets.
New Delhi: Former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray has hit out at Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena rebels and compared them to "rotten leaves" of a tree. In a pre-recorded interview with Sena's mouthpiece 'Saamana', which was aired on Tuesday (July 26, 2022), he also said that it was a "mistake" that he trusted some of the party leaders "too much".

"These rebels are like rotten leaves of a tree and should be shed. It is good for the tree as there will be new leaves," the Shiv Sena chief said.

During a 36-minute-long interview with Saamana's Executive Editor and Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut, Thackeray also reacted to the claim of rebel leaders that they represent the "real Shiv Sena" and said that let there be elections and see whom people choose.

"The people we will either vote for us or support them. It will be clear once and for all," the former Maharashtra CM said.

"Looks like I put too much trust in some Sena workers and leaders. It is my mistake to have trusted them for such a long time," he answered when asked who could be blamed for the rebellion.

Thackeray alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is not only trying to break the Shiv Sena but also trying to appropriate great leaders of other parties.

"The way they tried to appropriate Sardar Patel from the Congress, they are doing the same thing with my late father, Balasaheb Thackeray, who founded the Shiv Sena," he claimed.

"Looks like these people are not trustworthy. They are basically causing infighting among Sena workers," he added.

Rebels 'betrayed' Shiv Sena when I was fighting for life in hospital

Uddhav Thackeray said that when he was critical and battling for life in a hospital for his spinal issues, the rebels actively hatched a conspiracy to topple the Maharashtra government. During his hospitalisation in November 2021 for his neck and spine problems, the Sena chief had undergone two surgeries in a space of a week.

"This was the time when I had entrusted them (Eknath Shinde) as the No. 2, to look after the party... When I needed them most, they were busy hatching a plot to bring me down. This painful truth will remain with me for my entire life...," Thackeray said.

"You killed that trust and betrayed the faith to handle the party during my absence," Uddhav said in an apparent attack on Shinde.

MVA alliance was worth a try in politics

Talking about the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, an alliance of Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party, and Congress in Maharashtra, Uddhav Thackeray said that it was "worth a try" in politics.

"Had it been a wrong step according to people, they would have risen against our alliance. We had respect for each other in the Maha Vikas Aghadi," the Shiv Sena president said.

Last month, the Thackeray-led MVA government collapsed after Shiv Sena MLA Eknath Shinde and 39 other legislators rebelled against the party leadership.

Shinde was later sworn in as the chief minister and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis as his deputy.
New Delhi: Did Partha Chatterjee and Arpita Mukherjee travel to Singapore together for a business summit in 2012? The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is piecing together evidence after several people reported that the two were seen together in Singapore to where Chatterjee had flown in his official capacity as minister to attend the `Beautiful Bengal` summit that was meant to attract investment for the state of West Bengal.

This was barely a year after the Trinamool Congress stormed to power in the state.

Partha Chatterjee and Arpita Mukherjee travelled to Singapore for business summit?

"Yes, we have received certain inputs and are looking into the matter. This business summit was held during an alumni get-together of a renowned educational institution in Kolkata at Singapore. This has nothing to do with the institution. However, there were several people from the city present during the event and some have reported that they spotted Mukherjee with the minister during the trip. We are corroborating evidence," an ED official said.

Also Read: Little-known actor to Partha Chatterje's aide : The journey of Arpita Mukherjee

This information in the hands of the ED is significant as certain incriminating documents seized from Chatterjee`s residence and the upscale apartment of Mukherjee date back to recruitments through the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) of 2012. While some have claimed that Chatterjee, with full knowledge of the party`s top leadership, began recruiting non-qualified or under-qualified teachers in lieu of money since 2012, those close to the Trinamool maintain that all the unaccounted-for cash recovered from Mukherjee`s condo is post demonetisation, hence the racket doesn`t go so far back.

"There have been several clandestine land deals for nearly 10 years now. Several properties worth crores of rupees are now under our scanner. Money earned before demonetisation may have been invested in property. What was seized from the residence of Arpita Mukherjee may have been some of the earnings after new currency notes got circulated. We are sure that this is not something that happened over the last 3-4 years alone. Yes, a hue and cry by eligible candidates over the last two years did lead to this investigation. Those who suffered earlier may not have been aware that they had been cheated," the official added.

West Bengal SSC scam: TMC leaders worried

Even a section of Trinamool leaders is now worried about the kind of brazenness being displayed by Chief Minister and party supremo Mamata Banerjee. Ideally, people would have liked to see Chatterjee removed from his post as a cabinet minister after his arrest and remand to ED custody for 10 days. Instead of doing that, Mamata seems to be protecting her image.

"We are worried. This is the time of social and digital media and nearly every person sitting in a remote village has access to a smartphone. Many TET and SSB aspirants who were cheated are from the rural areas. We will be going in for the panchayat polls in 2023. Will Didi`s bravado suffice in convincing voters that she knew nothing for so many years? Then, why is she not sacking Chatterjee immediately instead of creating a martyr out of him? Today, there is no doubt in people`s minds that Chatterjee is corrupt. The party need not stand by him any longer," a senior Trinamool leader said.

Opposition leaders like Sujan Chakraborty and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury maintain that Mamata can`t ditch Chatterjee just like that as he may spill the beans on other corrupt practices adopted by the West Bengal Government over the last decade. While Suvendu Adhikari, BJP MLA and Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, continues to Tweet video clips of Mamata addressing Mukherjee as if she knows her for long at public gatherings, Chowdhury has demanded Chatterjee`s removal from the Cabinet.

Live TV
Mumbai: Amid the ongoing infighting for control over the party, late Shiv Sena founder late Bal Thackeray's daughter-in-law and film producer Smita Thackeray on Tuesday met with Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, triggering intense speculation that the internal party feud has now reached the doors of Maharashtras most powerful family.

Rejecting speculations, however, Smita Thackeray said that it was a courtesy visit since Shinde is an "old-timer" and a Shivsanik.

Smita Thackeray became the first member of the Thackeray clan to meet Shinde, whose rebellion against Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray with 39 MLAs led to the collapse of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government last month.

Eknath Shinde is an old Shivsainik who has become the chief minister. I came here to congratulate him. I know him and his work for the last many years. It was a courtesy meeting. We have been knowing each other for a long time so I met him today, she told reporters after meeting Shinde at the 'Sahyadri' government guest house in south Mumbai.

When asked about the rebellion in Shiv Sena, Smita said she knew nothing about it as she is a social worker and not into politics.

I am not into politics. I know nothing about it, said Smita, a powerful figure in Shiv Sena during 1995-99. Smita, who was married to Jaidev Thackeray, elder son of Bal Thackeray, was once very close to Bala Saheb and wielded a lot of political influence on the party and Maharashtra politics.

The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government collapsed last month apparently due to Shindes rebellion against Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray with 39 party MLAs. While the Uddhav camp has accused the Shinde-led group of betrayal, the latter said that the rebels were being insulted by those close to Uddhav and they came together to save the legacy of late Bal Thackeray and continue their fight for ''Hindutva.''

The Uddhav Thackeray-led faction recently moved to the Supreme Court against the proceedings of the Election Commission on the plea of the Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led group seeking recognition of it as the real Shiv Sena.

The Shiv Sena split last month when more than two-thirds of the party's MLAs withdrew their support from the Maharashtra government led by Uddhav Thackeray, throwing their lot with Shinde. Shinde was sworn in as the Maharashtra chief minister on June 30 with the support of the BJP.
NEW DELHI: Aamir Khan and Reena Dutta's daughter Ira Khan is known to openly express her love and admiration for her boyfriend and fitness enthusiast Nupur Shikhare. The star kid often drops adorable love-filled photos with him on social media, leaving viewers thrilled.

On Tuesday, Ira took to Instagram and dropped mushy photos of her and Nupur. The picture seems to have been clicked from one of their getaways. She captioned the photo writing, "Top of the world." Her beau Nupur reacted to her post and wrote, "Ira Khan I Love you."

IRA KHAN TROLLED FOR CELEBRATING BIRTHDAY IN BIKINI

Ira Khan often gets trolled for her relationship with Nupur and sharing bold pictures on social media. In May this year, she shared severeal photos from her birthday celebrations where she was seen having fun with her beau and family members. However, she was heavily criticised by the trolls for wearing a bikini and cutting her birthday cake in front of her father.

In one of the photos, Ira was seen in the pool along with Nupur. She faced a huge backlash netizens who insulted and chastised her for her 'besharmi' and donning a bikini in front of her parents - Aamir Khan, Reena Dutta, step mom Kiran Rao and step brother Azad Rao Khan.

For the unversed, Ira Khan and Nupur Shikhare made their relationship official in February 2021. The two shared a series of lovey-dovery posts for each other, screaming couple goals. Sharing a picture with Nupur on Promise Day, Ira had written, "It's an honour to make promises with and to you... #hi #whaleyoubemine #myvalentine #buddy #yourebetteratcheesylines #dreamboy."

Unlike her father Aamir Khan, Ira is not inclined to make her career in the acting world. Rather, she tried her hand at directing with the play 'Medea' in 2019. Last year, she set up the Agatsu Foundation to "raise awareness about mental wellbeing".

Aamir married Reena Dutta in 1986. The two, who share daughter Ira and son Junaid Khan, divorced after 16 years of marriage. He later married filmmaker Kiran Rao and they have a son, Azad Rao Khan. They announced their separation last year, after 15 years of marriage.

Live TV
New Delhi: Lakhs of central government employees who are waiting with a baited breath for announcement on hike in Dearness Allowance (DA) may hear the good news by next month, media reports have said.

The AICP Index, crucial factor in determining the DA, for the month of May points at the probability of increase in the DA of the central government. Government may bring in some more good news for the employees in the month of July. Now, if latest media reports are to be believed, Dearness Allowance of the employees could by hiked by 4 percent. This means the total DA could reach upo 38 percent.

The Dearness Allowance of central government employees is revised twice a year. The first is given from January to June, while the second comes from July to December.

The All-India CPI-IW for April, 2022 increased by 1.7 points and stood at 127.7 (one hundred twenty seven point seven). On 1-month percentage change, it increased by 1.35 per cent with respect to previous month compared to an increase of 0.42 per cent recorded between corresponding months a year ago, showed a Ministry of Labour & Employment data. As per latest ministry reports, the AICPI figures for May is at 129, increases probability of a 4 percent hike in DA.

The first increase in dearness allowance for the year 2022 was announced in March. In December 2021, the AICPI figure stood at 125.4. But, in January 2022, it declined by 0.3 points and fell to 125.1. The All-India CPI-IW for February, 2022 decreased by 0.1 points and stood at 125.0 (one hundred twenty five). On 1-month percentage change, it decreased by 0.08 per cent with respect to previous month compared to increase of 0.68 per cent recorded between corresponding months a year ago. For the month of March, there was a jump of 1 point. The AICPI index figures for March stands at 126.

It may be recalled that the Union Cabinet had on March 30 hiked Dearness Allowance (DA) and Dearness Relief (DR) by 3 per cent to 34 per cent to compensate for the price rise, benefitting over 1.16 crore central government employees and pensioners.

The additional instalment is effective from January 1, 2022. The increase is in accordance with the accepted formula, which is based on the recommendations of the 7th Central Pay Commission.

18 months arrears coming soon

Online media is yet again abuzz with updates regarding the payment of 18 months-pending Dearness allowance (DA) arrears. As per fresh reports, the Central government employees might soon hear on pending DA arrears. Media reports say that the issue regarding payment of DA arrears of 18 months from January 2020 to June 2021 might be taken up soon.

The Dearness Allowance and Dearness Relief of Central government employees and pensioners were restored to 31% from 17% from October 2021, however the arrears have not been deposited as yet.

Shiv Gopal Mishra of the National Council of JCM, was previously quoted as saying that the DA arrears of Level-1 employees range from Rs 11,880 to Rs 37,554. Whereas, for Level-13 (7th CPC basic pay scale Rs 1,23,100 to Rs 2,15,900) or Level-14 (pay scale), the DA arrears in the hands of an employee will be Rs 1,44,200-2,18,200 that will be paid, quoted the reports.
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 26, 2022

Z2FBHASU3VXS

4UBYXPTWERES

FXDSTSWYQTJ9

BKSKECCMJZEB

L8LNF5WK2YPN

TPNAMS84ZE8E

26JT3G6RQVAV

A46NU6UFQ2JP

6LU69JJZJ7S8

FAG4LHKD92GZ

RHUVSWWVN9G4

FBJ9MTXB9XAP

5R8SAGS5MCK5

2K5AWHD3FKWB

XKVJM65ANPUQ

AMCT7DU2K2U2

LQ6Q2A95G29F

HDQKXDFJ7D4H

QA97CXS2JOFO

W73D61AWNGL2

UK2PZ3NFGV5U

NLCB6S92K2DE

(Also read: Shocking! Ex-Amazon Web Services engineer hacked data of 10 crore customers)

How to Redeem Garena Free Fire codes for today, July 25 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: Russia's competition watchdog fined Alphabet`s Google 2 billion roubles ($34.2 million) on Tuesday for abusing its dominant position in the video hosting market, the regulator said in a statement. The decision is the latest multi-million dollar fine as part of Moscow`s increasingly assertive campaign against foreign tech companies. The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) said the company had "abused its dominant position in the YouTube video hosting services market", without providing additional details.

"We will study the text of the official decision to define our next steps," Google said in a statement to Reuters. (ALSO READ: HCL CEO C Vijayakumar becomes highest-paid Indian IT CEO: Heres how much he made last year)

Google must pay the fine within two months of it entering into force, the FAS said. (ALSO READ: Sensex, Nifty slide nearly 1% on losses in IT, banking shares)

Russia has slapped Google`s Russian subsidiary with numerous fines in recent months. Last week a court ordered it to pay 21.1 billion roubles ($358.7 million) over what prosecutors said were repeated refusals to remove content Russia deems illegal, such as "fake news" about Russia`s invasion of Ukraine.

Since Moscow launched what it calls its "special military operation" in Ukraine, it has also accelerated attacks on Western tech companies at home in a push to exert more control over the online space, including through supporting domestic players to oust their Western rivals.

Gazprom Media - a media conglomerate linked to state-controlled gas giant Gazprom - has been heavily promoting RuTube, its Russian alternative to YouTube, which has seen a sharp uptick in traffic since February.

YouTube, which has blocked Russian state-funded media globally, is under heavy pressure from Russia`s communications regulator and politicians.

Google stopped selling online advertising in Russia in early March but has kept some free services available. Its Russian subsidiary officially filed for bankruptcy after authorities seized its bank account, making it impossible to pay staff and vendors.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/entertainment/books/1990/04/08/asians-question-admissions/a3a0311d-cf0a-4d3f-bc24-a1a3ecf1f0bd/

April 8, 1990

HE WAS ONE of only two Asian-Americans at his Butler, Pa., high school. But Herald Chen, 20, had grown up in the small blue-collar town with no sense of being "different." Then, in 1988, Chen -- a 4.0 grade point student with an impressive extracurricular high school record -- was rejected by Harvard. He believes he was turned down because of his race.

Herald Chen's question has troubled the Asian-American community for nearly a decade: Deluged by a tidal wave of Asian-American applicants, have the nation's most elite colleges and universities tried to keep their numbers down through secret ceiling quotas and/or racially discriminatory selection policies?

Asian enrollment at Ivy League schools, 19802011 - Asian quota - Wikipedia
LUCKNOW: Pragatisheel Samajwadi party chief Shivpal Singh Yadav has reacted sharply to the Samajwadi Partys letter to him and SBSP chief OP Rajbhar saying that they were free to go anywhere they think they would get more respect.

Speaking about the issue, Shivpal said that it shows the immaturity of the Akhilesh Yadav-led party. I came to know that I've been given official freedom. I think it's immaturity. When I contested polls, I resigned from my party and took membership of the Samajwadi Party. It would have been better if they would have removed me from the legislature party, Shivpal Singh Yadav, who is the younger brother of SP founder Mulayam Singh Yadav and uncle of Akhilesh Yadav, said.

UP | I came to know that I've been given official freedom. I think it's immaturity. When I contested polls, I resigned from my party & took membership of Samajwadi Party. It would have been better if they would have removed me from the legislature party: Shivpal Singh Yadav, PSP https://t.co/o3g16v3Glg pic.twitter.com/rjUqEmaWJj  ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) July 26, 2022

His remarks came days after the Samajwadi Party wrote to PSP chief Shivpal Singh Yadav and SBSP chief OP Rajbhar saying that they were free to go anywhere they think they would get more respect.

Samajwadi Party issues letters to Pragatisheel Samajwadi party chief Shivpal Singh Yadav and SBSP chief OP Rajbhar stating "...You are free to go anywhere you feel you are getting more respect." pic.twitter.com/BR5Igvfp6N  ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) July 23, 2022

The letter was issued days after Akhilesh Yadavs uncle Shivpal Singh Yadav and Rajbhar were seen at a dinner party hosted by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for Droupadi Murmu ahead of the presidential elections.

In the letter shared by the Samajwadi Party on its official Twitter handle, the party said, Shivpal Yadav ji, if you think youll get more respect somewhere else, you are free to leave.

In another tweet, SP said, Om Prakash Rajbhar ji, Samajwadi Party has been constantly fighting against the BJP. You are allied with the BJP and working to strengthen the party. If you think youll get more respect elsewhere, you are free to leave.

Welcoming the snapping of ties, Rajbhar told news agency ANI, They (SP) have given divorce and we've accepted that. The next step is BSP. When I meet CM Yogi Adityanath it's bad for them but it's good if Akhilesh Yadav meets CM. Everything will be clear by 2024. We fight for Dalits and backwards and will continue to do so.

Shivpal Yadav also took to his Twitter handle and wrote in Hindi, Although I was always free, I sincerely thank you for giving me formal independence by issuing a letter by the Samajwadi Party. Compromising on principles and respect is unacceptable in a political journey.

Rajbhar has been attacking SP over several issues in recent months pointing towards growing discontent between the allies.
Kolkata: After BJP and the CPI-M, senior Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has now demanded West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee "to immediately sack" Minister Partha Chatterjee, who has been arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the teachers recruitment scam in the state.

Chowdhury has also written a letter to the Bengal Chief Minister in which he alleged that irregularities in the recruitment process by the School Service Commission (SSC) is "an open secret.

"I am writing this letter regarding the misdeed of Partha Chatterjee. He was the Education Minister from 2014-2021 during which the alleged irregularities in teacher recruitment occurred. It was only after the court's intervention that investigation agencies started acting upon it. It is a huge blot on the government of West Bengal. I urge you to sack Partha Chatterjee from ministership immediately," the Bengal Congress president said.

It may be recalled that Chatterjee was arrested by the ED on Saturday. A city court on Monday granted 10 days' ED custody of the senior Trinamool Congress leader and his alleged associate Arpita Mukherjee, who was also arrested in connection with the scam.

The ED found many disproportionate assets of Partha Chatterjee since his arrest, of which were three flats in West Bengal's Diamond City. The arrest of Partha Chatterjee followed Rs 21 crore in cash and jewellery worth above Rs 1 crore being recovered from the Kolkata residence of Arpita Mukherjee, a close aide of the former education minister.

The ED raided Arpita Mukerjee's house in connection with an alleged teacher recruitment scam in West Bengal. "The said amount is suspected to be proceeds of crime of the said SSC scam," the probe agency had said in a statement.
Colombo: Sri Lanka's former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa is not in hiding and is expected to return to the country from Singapore, Cabinet spokesman Bandula Gunawardena said on Tuesday. Rajapaksa, 73, fled Sri Lanka after the July 9 uprising when people broke into the President's House after months of public protests against him for mishandling the country's worst economic crisis since 1948.

Former Sri Lanka President fled to Maldives on July 13

Rajapaksa first fled to the Maldives on July 13 and from there he proceeded to Singapore the next day. When asked about Rajapaksa at a weekly Cabinet media briefing, Cabinet Spokesman Gunawardena told reporters that the former president was not in hiding and he is expected to return from Singapore.

Gunawardena, who is also the Minister for Transport and Highways and Mass Media, said he does not believe the former president fled the country, and is in hiding. He, however, did not offer any other details of Rajapaksa's possible return.

Singapore granted a 14-day short-term visit pass to Rajapaksa

Singapore has granted a 14-day short-term visit pass to the former president as he entered the country on a "private visit" on July 14. A spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Singapore earlier said that Rajapaksa has not asked for asylum and neither has he been granted any asylum.

Singapore's Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) has said that visitors from Sri Lanka who enter Singapore for social visits will generally be issued with a short-term visit pass (STVP) with a duration of up to 30 days.

Those who need to extend their stay in Singapore have to apply online for an extension of their STVP. Applications will be assessed on a case-by-case basis, said the ICA.

Meanwhile, commenting on the request made to the Singapore Attorney General to detain the Former Sri Lankan President, the Cabinet Spokesperson said that if there is a situation, the responsible officials in the country will take steps to ensure no harm is done to the former president, the Daily Mirror newspaper quoted Gunawardena as saying.

Lawyers from South Africa-based International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP) have submitted a criminal complaint to the Attorney General of Singapore requesting the immediate arrest of Rajapaksa for war crimes.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa served as the defence secretary during his elder brother Mahinda Rajapaksa's tenure as president from 2005 to 2014. Though dubbed as the 'war hero', his role in ending the conflict with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) with the death of its supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran in 2009 is quite divisive as he stands accused of violating human rights, a charge he vehemently denies.

The case was withdrawn when he was elected President in 2019 and acquired immunity from prosecution as the head of state. That immunity no longer applies now he has resigned from office. This is believed to be the first criminal complaint against him.

Live TV
New Delhi: China on Monday (July 25, 2022) hit back at UK Prime Minister candidate Rishi Sunak for calling Beijing "the biggest-long-term threat to Britain" and said that the remarks are "irresponsible". Reacting to Sunak's statement, China's Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian said that remarks about China, including hyping up so-called "China threat", cannot solve one's own problems.

"I want to make it clear to certain British politicians that making irresponsible remarks about China, including hyping up so-called China threat, cannot solve ones own problems," Zhao Lijian said.

We urge UK politicians not to keep making unwarranted remarks about China. pic.twitter.com/3AS52kKTEe  Spokesperson (@MFA_China) July 25, 2022

Earlier on Monday, former UK finance minister Rishi Sunak said that for too long, politicians in Britain and across the West have "turned a blind eye to China's nefarious activity".

"For too long, politicians in Britain and across the West have rolled out the red carpet and turned a blind eye to Chinas nefarious activity and ambitions. I will change this on Day 1 as PM," he said.

The Indian-origin leader added that he would ban Confucius Institutes, which are funded by the Chinese government, in Britain, and use spy agencies to help British businesses counter Chinese spying.

Sunak also said that he would examine the case for banning Chinese acquisitions of key British assets, including strategically sensitive tech firms.

Sunak and UK foreign secretary Liz Truss are fighting in an increasingly divisive Conservative Party leadership contest to replace Boris Johnson after a revolt against his scandal-ridden administration forced him to say he would stand down.

Truss is ahead in polls among members of the Conservative Party who will choose their new leader and Britain`s next prime minister, but Sunak is hoping that weeks of hustings and debates will help his campaign ahead of a vote result due on September 5.

(With agency inputs)
St. Vincent Healthcare is expanding services to a new campus on Billings West End.

Hospital leaders, a county commissioner, architects, design teams and others took turns tossing dirt into the air with golden shovels on Monday to celebrate the groundbreaking of a new primary care and walk-in clinic that will include a retail pharmacy.

Located near the King Avenue and Shiloh Road intersection, the site has become a health care hub with the recent additions of dentistry services and most notably, Rocky Vista University, the for-profit medical school coming to Billings.

The 115-acre lot was partially donated to SCL Health in 2002 when leadership with the hospitals foundation worried about missing out on expansion opportunities on the West End, according to a Gazette article from 2002.

Now SCL Health is opting to develop the space as the fastest growing area of the city expands.

Tim Pellandini, executive director of primary care, described the West End as a desert for health care services despite having a St. Vs primary care facility only three miles away on the same road. Even closer is Billings Clinic West on Central Ave.

But due to a shortage of providers and available space, it can take patients multiple weeks or months to get an appointment with a primary care provider, Pellandini said.

There will be at least 17 providers employed at the new clinic where there will be an estimated 1,600 patient interactions a week.

When asked about expanding services into Eastern Montana where the physician shortage and gaps in access are the most severe, Stephanie Bond, practice administrator, pointed to the Holy Rosary Hospital in Miles City.

The rural hospital in Eastern Montana serves a population significantly greater than the Billings population that stretches over many more miles. Bond said St. Vs aims to close the access gap in rural Montana through telehealth, but disregarded the state of broadband here.

Montana comes in dead last in the country for broadband access. Widespread reliance on telemedicine may also increase disparities in health care access for vulnerable populations including Native Americans, the elderly and other minorities, according to one New England Journal of Medicine article.

For Jen Alderfer, president of St. Vs, the location of the clinic means delivering health care to all communities in the state.

We take very seriously our commitment to providing care to some of the areas of our state that have a need and maybe a little less fortunate, Alderfer said. And we take that as seriously as we take being able to provide health care services to patients that may live in this area.

Physician led design

What makes the new structure unique is the level of provider input taken into consideration, said Jake Dinnen, senior vice president of Pacific Medical Buildings (PMB), the company contracted to develop the site.

The designs of the two-story, 63,000 square foot facility were circulated to physicians at St. Vs, encouraging suggestions.

The biggest change that came about from provider input was a complete redesign of the lobby that ultimately will improve patient flow and minimize physician burnout, Dinnen said.
The Montana Community Foundation (MCF) awarded $833,192 in scholarships to more than 200 Montana students attending college or technical school in the fall.

Each year, MCF awards scholarships ranging from $500 to $40,000 to deserving students across Montana. While qualifications for each scholarship vary, each student goes through a competitive application process to be considered. Some scholarships are renewable, and students may receive funding for multiple years.

This is nearly double the amount MCF normally awards annually. The increase is largely due to significant increases in contributions. One example is the Dearborn Ranch Scholarship Fund. Donors to this fund doubled the number of Montana students who are eligible to receive a scholarship from the fund, and increased the annual scholarship amount each student will receive from $5,000 to $10,000 per year. The maximum cumulative amount awarded to any one student will be $40,000.

Established in 2002 by The Thomas and Stacey Siebel Foundation, the Dearborn Ranch Scholarship Fund provides annual scholarships to students who plan to attend a Montana school of higher education and are children of active Montana Highway Patrol uniformed officers and Montana State Game Wardens.

MCF receives hundreds of requests for scholarships each year, but is unable to fulfill every request, leaving some students without the support they need to attend college or technical school. The Montana Scholars Fund was created to help bridge the gap to provide more scholarship funding to deserving Montana students in pursuit of educational opportunities.

To contribute to this fund or to learn more about MCF scholarships, visit mtcf.org or call (406) 443-8313.
Rocky Vista University has received approval from the American Osteopathic Associations Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation to recruit and accept students for the Montana College of Osteopathic Medicine in Billings for the summer of 2023.

MCOM plans on matriculating 80 students into its inaugural class, with a gradual ramp up to 160 students by 2025.

MCOM will be the first Montana-based four-year osteopathic school with a dedicated campus in the state and will have an economic impact on the Billings community, the state, and the surrounding area.

MCOMs anticipated direct and indirect economic impact through 2023 is expected to total approximately $78.6 million, provide 350 jobs, and add more than $1.2 million in taxes to communities in the region, according to a press release from the university.

Upon full operation, MCOM is expected to support directly and indirectly 304 jobs in the region, generate $67 million in annual total economic impact and add $3.3 million in tax revenue to the state and local government.

The 12.8-acre campus and 138,000 square foot technologically advanced building, located on Monad Road and Shiloh, has been under construction since 2021 and is on track to be completed by the end of this year. Langlas & Associates of Billings is the general contractor for the project.

David Forstein, president and provost of Rocky Vista University, said the Billings campus is Rocky Vista's third campus in the Mountain West Region.

Residency placement rates are high, with 99% of its graduating students from the Colorado and Utah campuses establishing residencies in the U.S.

St. Vincent Healthcare and its parent company SCL Health will provide rotations in Billings and in Colorado. Billings Clinic already partners with University of Washington School of Medicine through its WWAMI program.

Billings Clinic had been approached about forming some kind of formal relationship with RVU in Billings but declined so that it can continue to partner with WWAMI.

"Billings Clinics mission is health care, education and research. With a health care workforce shortage in our region, we are keenly focused on advancing educational opportunities at multiple levels across our health system," said Zach Benoit, the Clinic's Community Relations Coordinator.

"We have longstanding relationships in place that will continue to receive our focus, but we will also continue to welcome students from new programs that meet our requirements and as we have capacity," he said.
State prison officials are investigating the apparent suicide of a 53-year-old inmate at Montana State Prison.

John Aaron Shurtliff, originally from San Francisco, died on June 5 at Montana State Prison outside of Deer Lodge.

Shurtliff's death certificate lists the cause of death as asphyxia from hanging, with a bed sheet used as a ligature.

Montana Department of Corrections spokesperson Carolynn Bright said Monday that Shurtliff had been incarcerated at the state prison since May on a felony DUI conviction.

Powell County Attorney Kathryn McEnery said her office is waiting for the corrections department's investigative report before scheduling a coroner's inquest.

State law requires the county attorney's office to conduct an inquest when prisoner deaths are accidental, suicidal, homicidal or unknown in nature.

McEnery said coroner's inquests are still outstanding for two other state prison inmates who died within the last year, Christopher Furlong and Michael George.

Furlong died March 16 of "acute combined methamphetamine and venlafaxine intoxication," according to his death certificate. He was 60.

George died Nov. 26, 2021 of an "anoxic brain injury" and "cardiopulmonary arrest of unknown etiology." He was found unresponsive in his prison cell after passing out, according to the death certificate. McEnergy said the county coroner ruled George's death was undeterminable; that he did not have an obvious disease or evidence of a suicide. He was 55.

Eight state prison inmates have died so far this year, according to the department's Deaths in Custody report.
A crypto mining company plans to redevelop a northeastern North Dakota anti-ballistic missile site abandoned in the 1970s into a data center that may be used for the mining of bitcoin and other digital currencies, Gov. Doug Burgum announced Monday.

Bitzero Blockchain Inc., which is backed by strategic investor and Shark Tank star Kevin OLeary, announced last month that it planned to make North Dakota its headquarters for North American operations. The company said within three years it intends to build 200 megawatts of data centers in the state and is involved in a joint venture to become an assembly and distribution hub for graphene battery technology.

Long considered a white elephant and waste of taxpayers money, the site at Nekoma grew out of a 1972 treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union.

The $6 billion Stanley R. Mickelsen Safeguard Complex once housed a radar system within a concrete pyramid, with 7-foot-thick, steel-reinforced walls. It was deactivated in 1976 after only a few months of operation. Nekomas population reached several hundred, compared with about 30 today, and surrounding towns benefited from an influx of highly paid missile experts and support personnel.

The Cavalier County Job Development Authority has owned the site since 2017. Spokeswoman Carol Goodman said the facility would be sold to the company for $250,000.

Burgum said waste heat captured from the data centers servers will be used to heat an on-site greenhouse, and the company also is planning an interpretive center, representing a total investment estimated by Bitzero at $500 million.

This important piece of history will be restored and become a beacon for North Dakota innovation to the rest of the world, Burgum said.

Bitzero has signed leases in both Bismarck and Fargo for administrative operations. The Nekoma site will be their primary data center site in North Dakota, Burgum spokesman Mike Nowatzki said.

The second-term Republican governor hailed the Atlas Power Data Center to be built by Missoula, Montana-based FX Solutions Inc. as one of the biggest such centers in the world, and one that will help diversify the economy in Williston-area that has suffered oil boom-bust cycles for decades.

Burgum, a wealthy former Microsoft executive, called data centers an incredible forward- looking industry not dependent on the price of oil.

Uses for data centers include the mining of bitcoin and other digital currencies. Cryptocurrency mining involves supercomputers to solve complex calculations needed to provide security for transactions in the digital currency.

The process requires vast amounts of power and generates much heat. Burgum has said North Dakota is an ideal place for data centers because it has a reliable and affordable power supply, and a climate that lowers cooling costs.

Burgum spokesman Nowatzki said no public money has been earmarked for any of the projects, though they are expected to qualify for tax credits already given to agriculture, energy and other industries.
Press Release

July 26, 2022 Poe: Every Filipino should have access to safe, clean water Sen. Grace Poe has refiled her bill seeking to guarantee clean and safe water for all Filipinos through effective and streamlined management that will protect the public's highest interest. "Water shortage should not be a way of life. We expect reforms in water governance and infrastructure the way the Filipinos deserve this basic utility as an essential human right," Poe said. Poe's Senate Bill 102 titled, "National Water Resource Management Act," seeks to establish a national framework for better water resources management. It mandates the creation of the Department of Water Resources to lead and consolidate whole-of-society efforts for the comprehensive and integrated development and management of water resources in the country. The senator explained that as the population in the country continues to grow, more water resources should be developed and harnessed to ensure a steady supply of clean and affordable water for all citizens. Poe's proposed measure will also help rationalize economic and administrative regulation of water utilities through an independent, quasi-judicial agency called the Water Regulatory Commission. "This is clearly about the law of supply and demand. All consumers must have access to safe and reliable water," Poe stressed. The commission shall set the policy for water supply, sewerage and septage management; issue licenses; review and approve rates; assess and suspend contracts; initiate investigations on erring officials; and ensure that the welfare of consumers are prioritized. All water supply and sanitation service providers, including bulk water suppliers and other public or private service providers, shall register with the commission, which shall ensure that the grant or revocation of licenses is carried out fairly and transparently. It can be recalled that the National Economic and Development Authority reported last year that about 12.4 million people were limited to getting water from unsafe sources, and some areas did not have water service providers. Under Poe's bill, regulatory units must set fair, reasonable tariffs and rates based on a scientific and evidence-based methodology. A 12-percent cap on return of investment must be adhered to by providers. At the same time, the bill mandates incentives to encourage efficiency, expand services and reduce costs. "Water is essential to our daily lives. It is fundamental to our survival and growth. We must manage this resource efficiently to ensure that our people's needs are sufficiently met," Poe added.
Meet Coco, a guinea pig from North Carolina, who is also a new Guinness World Record Champion. Coco has achieved this title by performing 16 tricks in one minute.

Sanj Atwal of Guinness World Records provides some background and information about Coco:

Coco is a male Abyssinian guinea pig, estimated to be four to five years old. But he's no ordinary guinea pig  he's a Trick Guinea Pig Champion! Coco's owner, Gwen Ford, fostered and later adopted Coco from an animal shelter in December 2018.

Coco is an adorable creature, and also spunky and smart. Here's his video application to become a Trick Guinea Pig Champion. In the video, you can see him fetch; open a kennel, walk inside, and close the kennel; choose a particular scent out of a lineup; spin in circles on command; ring a bell; walk through a tunnel; jump through hoops; do figure eights; shake hands; climb into a suitcase; and put toys away. He's so impressive! Way to go, Coco!
Investigative reporters Joseph Darius Jaafari, Jimmy Jenkins, Justin Price, and Geoff Hing just completed a research project and a series of articles for The Arizona Republic that take a very deep and disturbing dive into the world of prison labor in Arizona. The title of the first of the series sums up their main findings: "Arizona changed how it sells prisoners to companies. The state raked in millions, but workers were neglected."

AZ Central describes the project:

After 15 months of gathering and analyzing more than 11,000 documents and building a computer program that downloaded tens of thousands of public profiles about prisoners that the Arizona Department of Corrections refused to provide, reporters at The Arizona Republic and KJZZ News found that prison laborduring the past 10 yearshas become ubiquitous across the state. Prison work, for example, is in places that many people would never have realized: Prisoners make the custom woodwork at hip bowling alleys; they construct trusses, cabinets, wall frames at well-known private home developments and luxury apartment buildings; they work inside kennels for pet adoption shelters; they build confessionals in churches; they act as janitors and groundskeepers at schoolsbut are told to keep out of sight of staff and students so no one knows they're there.

The first report in the series explains that while private companies and the state benefit, workers are often exploited and, if they are injured, don't have much power to do anything about it.

ACI [Arizona Correctional Industries] has made millionsexcept during COVID when profits plungedand private companies have benefited. They can access a captive labor force, which is required by law to work and doesn't have the same rights as civilian workers. Prisoners can't make official reports to the state about poor working conditions. They don't get financial assistance if injured on the job, and if they try to opt out, they are punished . . . Many jobs offered by private companies are dangerous. The Republic and KJZZ documented at least 45 incidents in which prisoners were injured working during Radecki's tenure. That's by no means a complete list, and it's not clear whether it represents an increase compared to Radecki's predecessor because the Department of Corrections would not provide medical grievances filed by prisoners, claiming privacy rights. Prisoners don't have the same rights as other workers. In most instances, they are unable to even submit complaints with the state safety department if they are in danger. Meanwhile, the Department of Corrections says that all work is voluntary, but it punishes prisoners for failing to show up or for quitting ACI jobs.

And this is not just happening in Arizona. Across the United States, corporations are benefiting mightily from cheap, exploitative prison labor. The title of this Guardian article, which provides information about another new report about prison labor recently released by the American Civil Liberties Union in collaboration with the Global Human Rights Clinic of the University of Chicago Law School, says it all:

"US prison workers produce $11bn worth of goods and services a year for pittance: New report by American Civil Liberties Union says incarcerated laborers are either poorly compensated or not at all."

The Guardian further explains:

Nearly two-thirds of all prisoners in the US, which imprisons more of its population than any other country in the world, have jobs in state and federal prisons. That figure amounts to roughly 800,000 people, researchers estimated in the report, which is based on extensive public records requests, questionnaires and interviews with incarcerated workers. ACLU researchers say the findings outlined in Wednesday's report raise concerns about the systemic exploitation of prisoners, who are compelled to work sometimes difficult and dangerous jobs without basic labor protections and little or no training while making close to nothing. More than 80% of incarcerated laborers do general prison maintenance, including cleaning, cooking, repair work, laundry and other essential services. For paid non-industry jobs, workers make an average of 13 cents to 52 cents an hour, according to the report. Seven statesAlabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina and Texaspay nothing for the vast majority of prison work.

Page 41 of the ACLU report lists just a few of the many corporations that benefit from cheap prison labor:

Private companies benefit from prison labor by purchasing goods and services through correctional industries for a lower cost than they would pay in the private market. Colorado Correctional Industries, for example, sold goods and services to around 100 private companies, which generated more than $6.2 million in revenue for the state correctional industries program in 2020. Utah Correctional Industries sold goods and services to almost a thousand private companies, including such major corporations as 3M Company, Allstate Insurance Company, American Apparel, American Express, Apple Inc., AT&T Mobility, Costco, Enterprise Rent-a-Car, FedEx, Frito Lay Inc., Fujifilm North America, Hertz Corporation, Hewlett-Packard, Hickory Farms, Infiniti Motor Company, Little Caesars Enterprises, Lowe's, KFC, OfficeMax, Pepsi-Co, Procter & Gamble, Sara Lee Corporation, T-Mobile, Verizon, and Xerox Corporation.

You can read the entire ACLU report, entitled Captive Labor: Exploitation of Incarcerated Workers, here. It was produced in collaboration with the Global Human Rights Clinic of the University of Chicago Law School.

The full series on Arizona prison labor is behind a paywall, but clever people can get around that. Ahem. But, the series is so good, it's worth your money, too. You can find links to the series in this article.
Who knows how long this 46-year-old Polish gentleman had been throwing chairs, potted plants, and tables over a fence before another cafe customer began filming him? The burly chap appeared proud to demonstrate his strength and hurling skills as he strutted around the patio, selecting unoccupied furniture to launch over the fence. When the police came, he wasn't finished playing and threw a temper tantrum. Eventually, the police dogpiled him, ending his fun.

Click to expand

From chojnice24:
Monarch butterflies are an important part of our ecosystem. Sadly, they are also at increased risk of becoming an endangered species. As Friends of the Earth explains:

Monarch butterflies are pollinators. Like bees, monarch butterflies help flowering plants through the pollination process. When they stop on a flower to sip on the nectar, the flower dusts pollen onto the butterfly. As it moves from flower to flower to consume nectar, the pollen that was dusted on the monarch is transferred to the next plant  leading to pollination! But aside from pollinating calendula, yarrow, and other flowers, monarchs play another important role in the environment. They are a critical part of the food web. That's right  monarchs are a food source for birds, other insects, and small animals. The loss of milkweed plants, winter habitat, and climate change are all pushing monarchs to the brink. The monarch butterfly is now a candidate to be listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act, but they are not extinct yet. The three key factors previously listed are the main reason these butterflies are barely hanging on.

To help reverse this situation, some kind folks in Georgia are offering free milkweed seeds if you send them a self-addressed stamped envelope. In return, they'll send you the types of seed most suited to your region. You can also go on their website and request the seeds, and donate money if you can to help the cause. Their website explains:
It's despicable enough when politicians value party over country, but Rep. Glenn Thompson (RPA) is so spineless, he put party over his own son. The hypocritical lawmaker voted against the Respect for Marriage Act  but attended his own son's same-sex marriage a few days later.

From NBC News:

A Republican lawmaker attended his gay son's wedding just three days after joining the majority of his GOP colleagues in voting against a House bill that would codify federal protections for same-sex marriage.

The gay son of Rep. Glenn Thompson, R-Pa., confirmed to NBC News on Monday that he "married the love of [his] life" on Friday and that his "father was there."

Thompson's press secretary, Maddison Stone, also confirmed the congressman was in attendance.

"Congressman and Mrs. Thompson were thrilled to attend and celebrate their son's marriage on Friday night as he began this new chapter in his life," Stone said in an email, adding that the Thompsons are "very happy" to welcome their new son-in-law "into their family."

Thompson, who represents the state's 15th congressional district, was one of 157 House Republicans who voted against the bill on Tuesday. However, 47 of his GOP colleagues joined Democrats to pass the bipartisan measure following fears that existing same-sex marriage protections could be in the crosshairs of the conservative-leaning Supreme Court.
When the Supreme Court's preliminary ruling overturning Roe v. Wade leaked, conservatives made a big fuss of claiming it must have been a liberal staffer trying to stop it. But even then it made more sense as a device to lock justices into decisions they hadn't yet fully committed to. And now Rolling Stone reports that Chief Justice Roberts was indeed trying to convince Justice Brett Kavanaugh to save Roe, an effort supposedly derailed by the leak. In the end, the court ruled 6-3 in the case, with Roberts signing on to the majority verdict in Dobbsa 15-week banwhile making clear he would not agree to overturn Roe entirely.

Roberts, who would ultimately vote to uphold the Mississippi law disputed under Dobbs but filed a seperate concurrence disagreeing with the majority decision to strike down Roe, has had success persuading Kavanaugh to dissent from the conservative bloc in the past, most notably his decision to side with the liberal justices in upholding the Affordable Care Act. Those with knowledge of the situation tell CNN that Roberts already faced an uphill battle in convincing Kavanaugh to vote in favor of abortion rights even before the leak: Kavanaugh had previously indicated his desire to overturn Roe and had voted against it in a private justices' conference.

Yes, I don't really buy it. Kavanaugh was put on the court to kill Roe, after all.
Buffalo FilmWorks, a full-service film and major motion picture complex on the East Side, has a new investor.

The Western New York Impact Investment Fund is investing $750,000 in Buffalo FilmWorks. The film studio is completing its fourth sound stage  the 828,000-square-foot Stage 4, which will be one of the largest sound stages in North America and the world.

Buffalo FilmWorks seeks to support economic and infrastructure development for the motion picture industry through hands-on instruction and training, inclusive economic growth and the revitalization of an underserved community, said Jennifer ONeill, one of the studio's three co-founders with Kevin Callahan and George Pittas. We are very excited to partner with the Western New York Impact Investment Fund in this effort, and look forward to growing the developing film industry in Buffalo.

Paramount Pictures A Quiet Place Part II and Nightmare Alley from Fox Searchlight Pictures have been the biggest productions to date to use the Seneca-Babcock film complex. With the completion of Stage 4, Buffalo FilmWorks will have a total of 119,800 square feet, allowing film or television productions to use sound stages simultaneously at what is now one of the largest motion picture complexes in the U.S.

The Western New York Impact Investment Funds investment in Buffalo FilmWorks marks the Funds first investment since closing its Series 2 round of funding. In April, the Fund announced it had secured $11.55 million from a group of new and returning corporate, non-profit, and private national and regional investors.

Since its launch in 2017, the investment fund has provided more than $7.5 million to regional organizations.
More workers are looking for jobs across the Buffalo Niagara region  and most of them are finding them.

The region's unemployment rate, which stood at 3.6% during June, remained at its lowest level in more than three decades as a shortage of workers kept employers scrambling to fill vacant positions.

Unemployment remains low, even though local workers have been steadily returning to the job hunt after tens of thousands of them were pushed to the sidelines during the pandemic, according to data released Tuesday by the State Labor Department.

The figures show that the region's labor shortage persists, although it has eased during the past year. The number of local workers who either hold jobs or are looking for one has grown by 2% over the past year and now is down only about 3,000 people from its pre-pandemic level.

But hiring has cooled locally over the past three months after growing moderately during the fall and winter. So while that was robust enough to absorb the new workers and allow them to find jobs, the difficulty in finding employers continues to make it a struggle to fill all of the open positions at local companies. That has put a damper on job growth, said Timothy Glass, the Labor Department's regional economist in Buffalo.

"You're not getting that acceleration of people moving into the labor force and people getting jobs and being employed," Glass said.

"We're improving every month. We're improving year to year. However, we're just not getting that extra little bump that'll get us back to pre-pandemic levels, yet," Glass said.

But the region is getting closer. The number of people who are looking for a job but can't find one has remained below 20,000 for three straight months. During the previous 32 years, that had only happened twice before.

And the number of people holding jobs has recovered to within 1,500 of its pre-pandemic level, indicating that the people who want to work are succeeding in finding positions.

But decades of population decline  reversed only slightly by the modest growth during the 2010 decade  has left the region's pool of workers greatly diminished. An aging population and retirements, coupled with population loss and decades of job growth that was far below the national average has resulted in a labor pool that is 32,000 people smaller than it was in 2000.

There are other, more recent reasons, too. Transportation issues that make it hard for people without cars to get to jobs in the suburbs, a shortage of affordable childcare and a wave of pandemic-related early retirements all have pushed workers to the sidelines at an accelerated rate over the past two years, Glass said.

In addition, rising wages, especially at the low end of the pay scale, have increased the competition for entry-level workers, and the higher pay means that workers who once needed two or three jobs to make do now can get by on one or two, further exacerbating the labor crunch, said Julie Anna Golebiewski, a Canisius College economist.
The arrival of Strong Hearts Buffalo, in prime downtown real estate at 295 Niagara St., is another sign the restaurant community is warming to the idea of making stuff taste good without animal involvement.

The new shiny thing always gets the most attention in this Instagram age. The first offshoot of the Syracuse vegan veteran deserves the attention, and the customers, that will crowd its space.

While that happens, Ill dedicate this weeks guide to vegan dishes that have redefined animal-free excellence in my tenure as The Buffalo News designated eater.

Marble + Rye

112 Genesee St.; 716-853-1390; marbleandrye.net.

Killer vegan dishes alongside first-rate cocktails and vegan Detroit-style pizza put this spot in a class by itself. Your choice of $3 pakora fritters (cabbage, onion, ginger, chickpea batter) with jalapeno sauce, or Sichuan-inspired cucumber-cabbage-peanut-cilantro salad makes this the vegan happy hour to beat. (They're both gluten-free, too.)

. . .

Sunshine Vegan Eats

893 Jefferson Ave.; 716-455-2735; sunshineveganeats.com.

Carrot tuna salad, plus faux shrimp and chicken tender offerings, lead the charge. I go for the Niyah not-cheesesteak, of Impossible burger, cheese, onions, banana peppers and not-mayonnaise. It is as satisfying as Shys cheesesteak, if you dont dig animals, and this one comes with house-cut fries.

. . .

Falafel Bar

3545 Sheridan Drive, Amherst; 716-436-7000; thefalafelbar.com.

First-class falafel, with tahini sauce, is just the beginning of vegan blockbusters here. Check out the burning eggplant, a whole aubergine charred, split and dressed with tahini, pine nuts, parsley and shaved garlic, or the fresh-ground hummus topped with sauteed mushrooms and onions golden with turmeric.

. . .

Abyssinia Ethiopian Cuisine

West Side Bazaar, 25 Grant St.; 716-563-6602; abyssinia-ethiopian.square.site.

The citys most steady source of Ethiopian cuisine delivers a vegan tour de force with six or more dishes like red lentils, beets, cabbage and collard greens, delivered on injera, sourdough pancake-like bread.

. . .

Nile River

West Side Bazaar, 25 Grant St.; 716-636-1421; westsidebazaar.com/nile_river_restaurant.

Ful is fava beans simmered with garlic and cumin, and Akec Aguers version is the best in Buffalo. By default it comes with chopped egg and cheese, but tell them to hold it and you will still get onion and chopped tomato, plus a legendary legume experience.

. . .

Cafe Godot

388 Porter Ave., cafegodotbflo.com, 716-783-7028

Vegans are always in on the daily board at this tiny cafe between D'Youvile College and Symphony Circle. From breakfast sandwiches to salads like the vegan Caesar, Cafe Godot has a housemade treat that won't make you miss meat.

. . .

Nellai Banana Leaf

4303 Transit Road, Clarence; 716-276-3786; nellaibananaleaf.com.

Every Indian and Pakistani restaurant has a dozen vegan dishes. What you wont find anywhere else in Western New York are gems of Chettinad cuisine like Marina Beach sundal, wok-smoky beans jumbled with diced fresh mango, mustard seeds and grated fresh coconut. Chilli parotta is bread strips fried, sauced and wokked with onions, peppers and curry leaves until saucy and fiery.

. . .

Rakhapura Restaurant

302 Main St.; 716-856-0508; rakhapurarestaurant.com.

Burmese vegetarian delights include salads like one that uses fresh ginger as a vegetable, instead of a spice. The zingy dish also includes cabbage, fried mixed beans, fried garlic, sesame seeds, chopped fresh tomato and lime juice.

. . .

Family Thai

863 Tonawanda St.; 716-783-9285; familythai-restaurant.com.

This sleepy Riverside restaurant is turning out some of the best Burmese dishes in town, including a variety of compelling vegan salads. Tea leaf salad, the Burmese national dish of fermented tea leaves, chopped tomato, shredded cabbage, fried beans, peanuts, sesame seeds, garlic oil and lime juice, is celebrated here. Other worthies sub the tea leaf for fried tofu cubes or the arugula-like green pennywort.

. . .

Cafe 59

62 Allen St.; 716-883-1880; cafe59.com.

This Allentown lifesaver always has a worthwhile vegan soup on the menu. Then theres the genius of polenta wings, which give substantial fried food craving relief while not triggering factory farming dreams.

. . .

Home Taste

3106 Delaware Ave., Kenmore; 716-322-0088; hometaste88.com.

This Northern Chinese powerhouse happens to have delightful vegan options hidden on the cold dishes menu. Marinated celery and tofu skin salad, served cold, is delightfully refreshing. Mixed gluten is a salad of fungus, peanuts, bamboo shoots, chile and scallions that is completely delicious, and also weird looking enough to have been completely in place on a table at the Mos Eisley cantina.

. . .

Grange Community Kitchen

22 Main St., Hamburg; 716-648-0022; grangecommunitykitchen.com.

If youve never tasted fresh-ground hummus topped with pickles, spices and seasonal vegetables atop puffy, warm, subtly charred pita bread that was not cooked before your request for it, consider steering yourself to Hamburg. Theres nothing I know of this quality short of Toronto.

. . .

Honorable mention: Fried cauliflower wrap at the Pita Place; hand-shredded cabbage at Golden Hill; Skinny Thai fried tofu and peanut sauce at Lloyd Taco Factory.
Monday was the day U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara was scheduled to sentence former City Honors teacher Peter Hingston on his guilty plea to charges of possession of child pornography.

But Arcara instead postponed the sentencing as a result of "new information," including voicemails that were played in court, two from people who identified themselves as former students of Hingston, including one who said she was a victim of Hingston.

Former City Honors teacher pleads guilty to two child pornography charges A former City Honors School teacher pleaded guilty to two counts of child pornography Wednesday before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara.

Arcara said after receiving the new information that he wasn't sure how to proceed and that it will affect his decision in sentencing. He did not set a new sentencing date.

Last year Hingston pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing child pornography. Each count carried a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, as well as a $250,000 fine.

In a 14-page sentencing memorandum, the U.S. Attorney's office recommended a sentence of 17 to 20 years.

Hingston was a teacher with the Buffalo Public Schools system for 28 years. He started working for the school district in 1992 and retired in 2020 after working as a technology education teacher at City Honors. He held that position for 15 years.

According to the complaint filed with the U.S. District Court in 2019, the Buffalo Police Department first began an investigation into Hingston after a student said Hingston was taking inappropriate photographs of female students in his classroom with a GoPro camera.

The camera was then turned over to the FBI based on that incident.

As part of the investigation, multiple students were interviewed and each said they observed Hingston taking photographs or videotaping minor female students.

A review of the camera's contents found that Hingston recorded and took photos of several students' body parts without their knowledge and also filmed himself masturbating near students without their knowledge.

One of the voicemails played in court Monday came from a person who identified herself as the mother of a victim. She said that not only is her daughter traumatized but she is aware of other students who were victims and that their lives are "forever changed." She urged Arcara to impose the maximum sentence.

A petition began circulating on change.org earlier this month asking the judge to impose a heavier sentence than the seven-year sentence Hingston's attorney, Rodney Personius requested.

The judge acknowledged the petition as part of the new information he received.

Patrick Swain, 19, who created the petition and is a former student of Hingston, said he was pleased to see that the judge was paying attention to the new information.

"Clearly the events of the past week have been making an impact and making the voices of the victims heard," Swain said after the proceedings.

That petition had 2,456 signatures at 5 p.m. Monday.

Former City Honors students, including Valerie Juang, 19, a former member of Hingston's after school rocket club, were present in the courtroom in a show of solidarity for the victims.

Juang, who said she was not one of Hingston's victims, said the judge's delay of sentencing was a good sign.

"I have a friend who was a victim of his and she's totally different now," she said. "She said she is so afraid she's going to leave her house and see this man again."
A quest to bring the Golden Snowball trophy to Buffalo is running up against the odds of an actual snowball surviving the Sahara.

With 97.4 inches of snow for the 2021-22 season, Buffalo won the designation as the snowiest big city in New York State this past May, the second time in four years that it had outpaced the likes of Albany, Binghamton, Rochester and Syracuse in the annual accounting of accumulations. Buffalo also was tops in the nation as snowiest big city.

Yet, the coveted Golden Snowball trophy remains in Binghamton, stranded like a commuter in a blizzard.

Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown is on record saying he has no interest in the award. A group of local meteorologists has tried to step in to claim the prize and display it at SUNY Buffalo State, where the geography and planning department has offered a home.

Buffalo State geography professor and meteorologist Stephen Vermette said he will drive to Binghamton, pick up the trophy and bring it to campus. He hopes to work with the Buffalo State Library and possibly the Buffalo Museum of Science to display it.

I would be happy to be steward of the trophy if no one else wants it, he said. I would kind of shepherd it around to interested parties and try to promote it in Western New York and not just let it languish in Binghamton because no one knows what to do with it.

Vermette is part of the Western New York chapter of the American Meteorological Society. The group wants the award to be a small point of fun and pride for the region. Vermette and other members said the Buffalo area should do everything it can to embrace its reputation for snow, instead of trying to run from it.

Binghamton Mayor Jared M. Krahans office appears to be in no hurry to relinquish the award, however.

When Vermette first called the office in early June, Krahans executive assistant told him the New York Conference of Mayors was responsible for the trophys transfer.

Vermette followed up by calling and emailing NYCOM. The organizations executive director Peter Baynes responded in a July 11 email that NYCOM had hosted an informal ceremony transferring the trophy from Syracuses mayor to Binghamtons mayor at one of its meeting last year but otherwise had nothing to do with the Golden Snowball tradition.

Syracuse won the trophy in 2018-19 and held onto it for an additional year when Brown said he was not interested in retrieving it for display at Buffalo City Hall.

Buffalo was the states snowiest city in 2019-20, as well, and never hosted the trophy, which Syracuse handed off to Binghamton, the winner in 2020-21 with 103.2 inches of snow.

Vermette doesn't want another hosting opportunity to melt away.

He and others had tried unsuccessfully in 2020 to get Brown's office get involved, and the mayor wanted no part of it.

Vermette has called Krahans office directly again, but hasnt received an answer. Hes started wondering what the hang-up is now.

Krahans office did not respond this week to inquiries from The Buffalo News.

The only problem where I could see the no come from Binghamton is that Im not the mayors office. And if someone wants to be strict about it and say, No, its got to go from mayors office to mayors office to mayors office, then were out of luck, said Vermette. But Im hoping that theyll recognize theres better good in giving it to another institution like Buffalo State, and I would look after it rather than just have it sit in Binghamton.
A federal judge Monday ordered the detention of a 37-year-old Washington State man accused of making violent threats over the phone against a Tops market on Elmwood Avenue two months after 10 Black people were massacred in a racist attack at a different Tops in Buffalo.

Washington man accused of making racist violent threats to a Tops Markets in Buffalo Joey David George, 37, of Lynnwood, Wash., allegedly called the Tops on Elmwood and identified himself as "Peter," according to the criminal complaint filed by the U.S. Attorney's Office.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Brian A. Tsuchida called the allegations against Joey David George "spectacularly concerning" during a detention hearing in U.S. District Court in Seattle. According to a federal criminal complaint, on July 19 and 20, the Lynnwood, Wash., man allegedly telephoned the store and threatened to shoot its Black patrons. In a second call to the store, George, who identified himself as "Peter," allegedly went on a rant about a race war. The call was traced by law enforcement, and George was identified as the caller.

"These are always challenging situations, but I am sadly not going to release you," Tsuchida said during the hearing.

He allowed reporters from around the country to access to the hearing via teleconferencing Monday, but Tsuchida warned them against recording or airing the proceedings.

The prosecution and George's defense lawyers each raised legal arguments over whether or not George's alleged actions constituted a crime of violence because of the threat to injure or cause harm to people in locations across the country.

"I'm going to side with the view that this is a crime of violence," Tsuchida said.

The prosecutor said that George's threats of violence stretched back to September 2021 and escalated in frequency and concern as he targeted stores and restaurants in Houston, Georgia, two locations in California, Washington, Buffalo, Connecticut and Maryland.

"This was a campaign to instill fear, terror and to tell people of different races they do not belong," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Woods.

"This was not some sort of harmless joke," Thomas added. "This was an effort to make people feel unsafe."

George's defense argued that he had no criminal history and was an essential caretaker for his mother, who it was acknowledged was present during the hearing. George's defense said he received income to take care of his mother, that they depended on each other and that "the family lives on the margins of society."

Prior to Tsuchida deciding that George should be held in custody, the prosecution expressed concern about the prospect of two family members with alleged criminal records residing in his household while George was there. A lawyer for George said the two were not living in the residence long term and that they agreed to find other lodging if the judge were to release George while he awaited trial.

George was charged with two counts of making interstate threats to injure another person. If convicted of the interstate threat charges, he could be sentenced to a maximum of five years in prison.
On Jan. 28, 2020, a fire ripped through 79 Kilhoffer St., a house being renovated by Habitat for Humanity that was going to become a community drop-in center. The building burned to the ground and a Buffalo firefighter suffered a back injury while crawling through the attic.

Investigators suspected arson. It turned out the house was firebombed, and on Monday, a Buffalo woman pleaded guilty in federal court to setting the blaze.

Fire destroys community center planned for anti-violence groups A two-alarm fire Tuesday evening totally destroyed the future home of the Stop the Violence Coalition and the Buffalo Peacemakers. Its burned to the ground, said Murray Holman, the executive director of Stop the Violence Coalition, an anti-street violence organization. Theres nothing left of the house. Buffalo police spokesman Michael DeGeorge said the structure at 79 Kilhoffer St. was

Jade Smart, 34, faces a minimum of seven years in prison and also may be fined between $15,000 to $250,000 and sentenced to two to five years of supervised release after she serves her prison sentence, according to her plea agreement.

Investigators used surveillance video footage and DNA left on a gas can to confirm the identity of the arsonist.

At the time of the fire, Habitat for Humanity was renovating multiple houses on Kilhoffer in the Genesee-Moselle neighborhood and nearby. The Stop the Violence Coalition and the Buffalo Peacemakers planned to use 79 Kilhoffer as a community drop-in center for youth and the elderly. It was part of the Bailey Green initiative, a public-private partnership spearheaded by Harmac Medical Products on Bailey Avenue.

Just after 5 p.m., members of Stop the Violence and Peacemakers were at a meeting a block away at Harmac when they received word about the fire. When they arrived, they saw flames shooting through the roof.

Investigators with the Buffalo Fire Marshals Office at the scene found a partially burned iced tea bottle and a red gas can. To aid in the investigation, the investigators contacted the Buffalo office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for additional help.

In the criminal complaint, prosecutors said Smart was identified as a possible suspect and ATF agents and city fire marshals and interviewed her a few days after the fire.

According to a criminal complaint against Smart, she told investigators that on the morning of Jan. 28, 2020, she went to the back of 97 Kilhoffer and found a gas can that she placed on a garbage tote before leaving the area. She then met up with a friend and the two of them returned to get the gas can. A third person came to pick them up in a blue Ford Taurus and they drove to a gas station on Bailey Avenue where she bought a bottle of iced tea and $4 of gas to put in the can. The driver dropped off the women on Kilhoffer. Smart admitted she poured gasoline into her empty tea bottle but then left it on the garbage tote at 97 Kilhoffer and walked away. She said a few minutes later, the fire started.

Forensic tests on the gas can found DNA that matched Smart.

In the plea agreement, she admitted to starting the fire.

Murray Holman, executive director of the Stop the Violence Coalition, said he doesn't know Smart and doesn't know why she started the fire. But he believes the building was targeted.

"It set back our organization," Holman told The Buffalo News on Tuesday. "It took away resources from that neighborhood."

Holman said he's glad that Smart admitted to the crime and hopes to one day meet with her to ask her about why she set the fire.

"Her conviction is a step in the right direction. ... Hopefully, she'll get the help that she needs," he said.

In the meantime, he said his group plans to build a new community center at the same location.
Buffalo Public Schools is hoping to increase the number of bus aides for the next school year.

The district will conduct open interviews for bus aide positions from 2 to 6 p.m. Wednesday at Adult Education: Workplace Literacy Center, 160 Edward St.

Applicants must be at least 19 and City of Buffalo residents. No educational requirements are necessary to apply. The hourly wage starts at $15.75 per hour. There are morning and afternoon shifts available.

Successful candidates will be invited back the following day to complete human relations and civil service paperwork. Appointment time and location details will be provided on the day of the interview.

The district announced in June several hiring events would take place over the summer in its efforts to fill more than 100 positions.
Last year, those leading Our City Action Buffalo organized volunteers and turned out voters to propel India Walton to a surprising mayoral primary win over the incumbent Byron Brown.

Though Walton eventually fell short in the general election, the group was just getting started.

And as this summer's Common Council redistricting fight has shown, it doesn't plan to fade away anytime soon.

Buffalo Common Council approves redrawn district boundaries; legal challenge looms The citys redistricting process and product drew criticism from hundreds of residents organized by Our City Action Buffalo, but Common Council President Darius G. Pridgen stood by the new, redrawn map.

Members demonstrated, chanted and packed Common Council chambers in recent weeks opposing recently approved Common Council district boundaries they deemed gerrymandered while promoting their proposed boundaries as more racially equitable. Now the group has turned its attention to Brown, urging residents to call and urge him to veto the new boundaries. The group already is preparing a legal strategy if that doesnt happen.

What's motivating Our City Action Buffalo, a group founded in 2020 as a nonprofit devoted exclusively to promoting social welfare?

Recently, residents have voiced their opinions that they do not believe that Mayor Byron Brown or the Buffalo Common Council are responsive to their ideas or opinions, they feel dismissed and disrespected. And lied to. Brown with taxes, the Council with redistricting, said Our City Action Buffalo spokesman Harper Bishop.

The group bills itself as a multiracial organization that builds power through grassroots political organizing and it intends to be a force in city politics.

Not everyone views the group positively, especially after the back-and-forth over redistricting.

This process has been hijacked by this fake group who pretends to represent the people, but they dont because theyve not incorporated or included the people in their map," said Masten Council Member Ulysees O. Wingo Sr. "So what theyre accusing us of  as far as gerrymandering  they can be accused of.

This group of socialists are trying to disenfranchise voters," Wingo added. "Theyre trying to create a map that benefits their interests. They dont care about the people really.

Our City Action Buffalo was born out of Our City Buffalo, a nonprofit founded in 2017 in response to the state's Buffalo Billion economic development program, which the group felt threatened to gentrify and displace communities of color, poor and working-class people. Our City Buffalo also focused on housing, policing, education and transportation. Those behind the Our City Buffalo effort became increasingly dissatisfied with the response to those issues, including the murder of George Floyd, policing in Buffalo, the lack of affordable housing crisis and cuts in public transportation, said Bishop.

People decided that it was time to prepare to govern," Bishop said. "Thats when Our City Action Buffalo was founded.

Built to run candidates

Our City Action Buffalo touted its strength in its recent endorsement of Jennifer Mecozzi for re-election to the Board of Education's West District in the November election.

Our City Action Buffalo has built the infrastructure to be able to run School Board members, to be able to run Common Council candidates, and to support a movement of progressive, forward-thinking candidates who will co-govern with the people of Buffalo, according to the endorsement.

Mecozzi was picked to be a member of Waltons team of advisers to guide her through decision-making in a possible transition into City Hall.

The endorsement was a restatement of a pledge Walton made in June 2021 as she basked in her surprising primary win over Brown. Walton put elected officeholders in City Hall on notice with her promise to "support the next generation of progressive candidates that are going to come into leadership."

Walton has been a leading voice in Our City Action Buffalo. Maria Ta is board president. Other directors are Niagara District resident Ariel Aberg-Riger; Courtney Freidline, who worked on Waltons campaign last year; and Amanda Crotty, who identified herself to The Buffalo News in September 2020 as an organizer of a Black Lives Matter march in North Buffalo. Communications Coordinator Leighton Jones and Bishop receive small stipends, Bishop said.

The group has several hundred members and supporters active at any given moment, Bishop said.

OCAB's structure is such that a leadership team functions as the organization's steering committee and includes members from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds and represents five of the nine councilmanic districts, Bishop said

For the redistricting campaign, several community-based organizations in Buffalo signed on to help the organization, including PUSH Buffalo, Cooperation Buffalo, SURJ Buffalo and Our City Buffalo coalition members like Justice for Migrant Families. The Working Families Party WNY Chapter and Roots Action also endorsed Our City Action Buffalo's alternative redistricting plan, Bishop said.

Showing its mettle

It remains to be seen for how long the group will keep fighting the redistricting plan approved by the Common Council.

After the unanimous Council vote approving it, the group began putting pressure on Brown.

Next up: Let the mayor know you want him to veto the Common Councils current map when it comes to him, the organization said on its website. Call up Mayor Byron W. Brown and tell him to veto the Council's gerrymandered maps.

The organization is also soliciting donations for a legal fund.

Brown still must hold a public meeting and approve the Council's map before the process is complete.

So in theory, theres a chance that we can flip Byron Brown and have him veto this," said local attorney Adam Bojak, who volunteers with Our City Action Buffalo.

But given the Council's unanimous vote, "now the Common Council has enough votes to override his veto, he said.

If Brown signs the Councils map or the Council overrides his veto, putting it into law, that is when at that moment a lawsuit could be filed, Bojak said.

Whatever happens, the organization appeared to rattle the Councils approval process.

Through social media, the group urged supporters to deluge their Council members with phone calls to pressure city lawmakers to reject the Councils amended map.

Dozens showed up to City Hall for the vote, and once inside, they shouted No! as Common Council members unanimously approved a redrawn council district map and began to file out of the chambers. Then they recited written statements and chants disparaging to Council members.

The group rejects the criticism from Wingo, who labeled it "a fake group" that pushed for a new Council "map that benefits their interests."

Our City Action Buffalo maintains there was no political motivation behind the boundaries it proposed, which called for eliminating the Fillmore District and creating a unified Allentown/Elmwood District.

"We didnt gerrymander anything, Russell Weaver, a geographer and volunteer who helped develop Our City Action Buffalos alternative map, has said. We just combined neighborhoods. The (Our City Action Buffalo) districts are drawn around planning neighborhoods. We just combined neighborhoods in a different way.

Why would we create a district custom made for India Walton in a place where she doesn't live and a place that turned on her in last years General Election, Weaver tweeted recently.

Moreover, residents cant gerrymander. We dont have decision-making power, Bishop said.

Theres no political motivation behind it, Bishop said. As currently drawn, Fillmore is a case study in gerrymandering.
Everybody reading about the recent incident in which a state parole officer admitted in State Supreme Court last month that he planted evidence and then lied about it must be thinking the same thing: Thank goodness for body cameras.

Without a doubt, the incident should put to rest the question of body cameras as essential to law enforcement.

Eliezer Rosario II, a parole officer, admitted on the witness stand that he planted evidence in a gun and drug case. And a judge dismissed charges against Anthony S. Davis on June 16.

A Buffalo police officer  among five called to assist at a boarding house on Northumberland Avenue where Davis was living  was with Rosario when both took a look around Davis room. The police officer discovered something on a TV stand. The events unfold on video footage recorded by that officers body-worn camera.

The officer points out a bullet in Davis room. Rosario volunteers that he will take the picture, removing a cellphone and holding it above the TV stand. A few seconds later, Rosario says, Wait, wait, wait, wait.

The corner of the video frame reveals a gloved hand appearing to reach across the top of the stand near the round of ammunition, The News' Aaron Besecker reported. Rosarios hand shows Davis state-issued Department of Corrections and Community Supervision identification card. With that, Rosario takes a photo that might have otherwise sealed Davis fate.

How bout that, ID with the gun. ID with the bullet, Rosario says, correcting himself on the description.

Buffalo police charged Davis, a parolee since 2019, on felony drug conviction, with misdemeanor criminal possession of a weapon, and two low-level drug charges. Being convicted of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon and seventh-degree drug possession would have Davis facing seven to 15 years in prison, according to his attorneys.

Body camera footage changed the narrative. On June 16, Rosario was the second prosecution witness in Davis jury trial. The Erie County District Attorneys Office entered into evidence a photo showing the ammunition on the top of the TV stand in Davis room. Then it was Davis defense attorneys turn. In what could be described as a Perry Mason moment from that iconic TV series, Davis attorneys presented another photograph of the round, this one with Davis ID next to it. Then they rolled the body camera footage. Rosario, when pressed by the judge to answer defenses question about whether he would have placed Davis ID card next to the bullet, answered No.

Rosario admitted he wrote  in a legal document  that he found the round of ammunition next to Davis ID card. As the article noted, providing false information in a sworn statement, including a deposition, is illegal.

The District Attorneys office asked the judge to dismiss the case, which he did. Rosario has been placed on paid administrative leave.

It is easy to agree with Davis lawyers. This is a classic demonstration of the critical role police body cameras continue to play.

  

Whats your opinion? Send it to us at lettertoeditor@buffnews.com. Letters should be a maximum of 300 words and must convey an opinion. The column does not print poetry, announcements of community events or thank you letters. A writer or household may appear only once every 30 days. All letters are subject to fact-checking and editing.
Credit Suisse expected to announce Koerner as CEO, latest change at helm - sources FILE PHOTO: Logo of Swiss bank Credit Suisse is seen Zurich

By Oliver Hirt

(Reuters) -Credit Suisse Group AG is expected to announce Ulrich Koerner as its new chief executive, the latest management churn at the Swiss bank as it struggles to recover from a series of scandals, two sources familiar with the situation said on Tuesday.

Pressure had been mounting on current CEO Thomas Gottstein for months over major scandals and losses racked up during his two-year tenure that have hammered shares and angered investors. In recent months some investors had called for replacing Gottstein, but the bank resisted.

Another senior executive, Christian Meissner, head of the lender's investment bank, is also planning to leave the group, the Financial Times reported.

One of the sources said the bank was expected to announce the change in CEO on Wednesday along with its quarterly results.

Credit Suisse declined to comment. Meissner did not respond to requests for comment from Reuters.

When Gottstein took the helm in 2020, he promised a "clean slate" for the bank, which was recovering from an internal spying scandal that cost his predecessor Tidjane Thiam his job.

Since Thiam left in February 2020, the stock is down nearly 60% and troubles at the bank have only escalated. In 2021, the bank disclosed a $5.5 billion loss from the unraveling of U.S. investment firm Archegos and the collapse of $10 billion worth of supply chain finance funds. The events prompted management ousters, investigations, and a capital increase - followed by further losses and fresh legal cases.

Credit Suisse brought in Koerner in April 2021 to lead its newly separated asset management division following the collapse of the $10 billion worth of supply chain finance funds linked to insolvent financier Greensill Capital.

Koerner returned to Credit Suisse from arch-rival UBS, where he most recently served as adviser to the CEO from 2019 to 2020. He ran UBS Asset Management from 2014 to 2019. Koerner was previously a senior executive at Credit Suisse Financial Services and ran the Swiss business.

Story continues

Koerner, who used to work for McKinsey, is considered a restructuring expert in Switzerland.

Nevertheless, the appointment would follow other major European banks where diversity at the top has been lacking. The 25 biggest banks by assets have seen 22 changes in chief executive and chair over the past two years according to a Reuters review of senior industry roles. Twenty-one of those 22 jobs went to men.

This spring, Credit Suisse's chairman Axel Lehmann reiterated his support for Gottstein after Artisan Partners, the bank's ninth-largest shareholder, had publicly called for Gottstein to be replaced.

"I fully back him because he is good," Lehmann said in a CNBC interview at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos. He dismissed as "rumors and speculations" talk that Gottstein could be on his way out.

The WSJ earlier reported that Gottstein may soon be replaced, days after Swiss newspaper SonntagsZeitung reported the bank is considering further cost cuts.

(Reporting by Oliver Hirt in Zurich, Shivam Patel in Bengaluru and Elisa Martinuzzi in London; Additional writing by Megan Davies; Editing by Devika Syamnath and Richard Pullin)
Allied Market Research

Increase in global population and rise in trend of living in nuclear families have significantly heightened the demand for residential infrastructure, which in turn has driven the growth of the global decorative laminates market. Based on end-use, the residential segment contributed the major share in 2021. By region, the market across LAMEA would manifest the fastest CAGR throughout the forecast period.

Portland,OR, July 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to the report published by Allied Market Research, the global decorative laminates market was estimated at $7.0 billion in 2021 and is expected to hit $10.0 billion by 2031, registering a CAGR of 3.4% 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 varying market trends.

Increase in the global population and rise in trend of living in nuclear families have significantly heightened the demand for residential infrastructure, which in turn has driven the growth of the global decorative laminates market. At the same time, expansion of the furniture & cabinets industry has supplemented the growth even more. Moreover, several growth prospects in the emerging economies have been beneficial for the market.



Download Sample PDF: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/2509

Covid-19 scenario-

Restrictions on manufacturing activities impacted the global decorative laminates market negatively, especially during the initial period.

Also, reduced furnishing and remodeling activities aggravated the market condition even more. However, the market is expected to revive soon.

The global decorative laminates market is analyzed across product type, application, end use, and region. Based on product type, the high pressure laminates segment accounted for more than three-fourths of the total market share in 2021, and is expected to rule the roost by 2031. The low pressure laminates segment, however, would garner the fastest CAGR of 3.7% throughout the forecast period.

Story continues

Get detailed COVID-19 impact analysis on the Decorative Laminates Market Request Here

Based on end-use, the residential segment contributed to nearly four-fifths of the total market revenue in 2021, and is projected to lead the trail by 2031. The commercial segment, on the other hand, would exhibit the fastest CAGR of 3.8% during the forecast period.

Based on region, the market across Asia-Pacific held the major share in 2021, garnering more than two-fifths of the global market. The LAMEA region, simultaneously, would manifest the fastest CAGR of 4.2% throughout the forecast period. The report also analyzes other regions including Europe and North America.



Schedule a FREE Consultation Call with Our Analysts/Industry Experts to Find Solution for Your Business @ https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/connect-to-analyst/2509

Top Players:

The key market players analyzed in the global decorative laminates market report include Abet Laminati S.p.A., Archidply, Wilsonart LLC, Fletcher Building, Greenlam Industries Limited, Broadview Holding, Panolam Industries International, Inc., Stylam Industries Ltd., Synthomer Plc., and Merino Industries Limited.

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:



Louvre Windows Market - Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20212030



Flooring Wood Panels Market - Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20212027



Resilient Flooring Market - Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast: 2021-2030

Construction Flooring Market - Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2022-2029



UPVC Doors and Windows Market - Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20212030



Plastic Door and Window Market - Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20212030



About Allied Market Research:

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 (USA/Canada): +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




SINGAPORE, July 25, 2022 /CNW/ -- Smart Ship Hub (SSH) is a ready to deploy digital platform for global maritime logistics. SSH is disrupting the maritime industry the way avionics did in airline industry. Cloud based and on demand, SSH provides "unified platform and a single source of truth" for Ship owners, Ship Operators, Charter Parties, maritime insurers, Port authorities. The platform caters for merchant ships, naval ships, oil rigs, river going barges and fishing vessels.

Prashant ( Head Delivery), Joy Basu ( CEO), Vikram ( CTO)

Global maritime, despite being the largest mode of transport suffers from operational inefficiencies, lack of visibility, transparency leading to commercial leakages. Ship owners, operators, chartering agencies, insurance companies are now focussed on technology backed smarter processes to ensure "High vessel uptime, Sea worthiness and Predictability" with digital systems.

SSH's "ship-to-shore and shore-to-ship" based management of fleet using smart sensors, IOT, big data is saving substantial operational costs while enhancing voyage efficiencies. The digital platform is helping predict possible machinery down time, malfunctioning, identify performance deviations, vessel routes to improve voyage and vessel performance. SSH's " Marine Insights " is a unique maritime big data platform providing actionable intelligence, smart alerts and performance advisory for entire fleet using millions of records.

SSH's global customers are able to achieve their target of " minimal breakdown maintenance", "optimum fuel utilization", "staying in total compliance including for emissions", " optimize costs with condition based maintenance" and a much higher level of " voyage control". "Performance Advisory" feature is reducing number of incidents for these ships while saving maintenance and fuel costs. Future ready maritime companies are helping in creation of a connected ecosystem: connected ships, shared services (routes, capacity, procurement) and "pay per use" model with SSH digital.

Story continues

Joy Basu, Founder of Smart Ship Hub adds: "Digital platforms will play a fundamental role in disrupting maritime legacy processes. Inefficient & legacy workflows in ships and shore is gradually giving way to automated remote management. This fund raise will allow us to pass on more value to our customers globally. Customers will now have captive performance centre for a fraction of the cost they incur today. Ship owners, Operators, Charter parties can get digital upgrade for "Zero" capex, allowing them to unblock their capital and upgrade more vessels".

About Ideaspring Capital

"Ideaspring Capital is very happy to be part of Smart Ship Hub's growth and its journey towards being the digital platform of choice for global maritime companies. As a venture capital firm, we are focused on organizations that are into IOT, Machine Learning, Deep Learning, Big Data Analytics, AR, VR, Cyber Security, Computer Vision and we have seen SmartShip are leveraging these technologies through their world-class platform. We are very impressed with the team and the product" says Naganand Doraswamy, Managing Partner, Ideaspring Capital.

About StartupXseed

"StartupXseed is a sector agnostic fund with investments from SaaS to Space (Tech), including the areas of Cyber Security, Semicon, AI/ML, Drones and New Frontier Startups in India with a Global Focus. Smart Ship Hub is a early growth stage company, we are particularly impressed with their product and marquee customers base developed globally in a very short span of time, says Ravi Thakur, designated partner, StartupXseed ventures.

SmartShip has a unique advantage of a powerful promoter team of successful maritime professionals, Singapore headquarters and a strong technology team. We are glad to have partnered as they disrupt global maritime domain : BV Naidu, Managing partner StartupXseed ventures.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1864898/Smart_Ship_Hub_1.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1864899/Smart_Ship_Hub_Logo.jpg

Smart Ship Hub Logo

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/smart-ship-hub-singapore-headquartered-b2b-saas-maritime-digital-platform-raises-pre-series-round-of--2-5m-led-by-ideaspring-capital-and-startupxseed-ventures-301592046.html

SOURCE Smart Ship Hub

Cision

View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/July2022/25/c2997.html
NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OF DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES

TORONTO, July 26, 2022 /CNW/ -- (TSXV:SEV) (OTCQB:SPVNF) Spectra7 Microsystems Inc. ("Spectra7" or the "Company"), a leading provider of high-performance analog semiconductor products for broadband connectivity markets, announced today a proposed non-brokered private placement basis (the "Offering") up to $8.0 million of 14% unsecured convertible debentures (the "Debentures") and the closing of the first tranche of the Offering consisting of the issuance of $3,809,000 principal amount of Debentures for gross proceeds of $3,732,820. All dollar amounts referenced in this release are in Canadian dollars.

(PRNewsfoto/Spectra7 Microsystems Inc.)

Each $1,000 principal amount of Debentures will be sold at a subscription price of $980 for expected gross proceeds of up to $7,840,000. The Debentures shall mature on December 31, 2024 (the "Maturity Date") and the principal amount of each Debenture will be convertible into common shares of the Company (each, a "Common Share") at the option of the holder at any time prior to the close of business on the last business day immediately preceding the Maturity Date, at a conversion price of $1.02 per Common Share, subject to adjustment upon certain customary events. Holders converting their Debentures will receive accrued and unpaid interest thereon for the period from and including the date of the latest interest payment date to, and including, the date of conversion.

The net proceeds from the Offering will be used for the repayment of the existing convertible debentures of the Company.

All securities issuable in the Offering are subject to a statutory hold period until the date that is four months and one day from the date of issuance. Approval of the TSX Venture Exchange is required prior any conversion of Debentures that would result in a holder holding more than 9.9% of the issued and outstanding common shares of the Corporation and prior to the settlement of any interest payment in common shares. The second tranche of the Offering is expected to close on or before August 25, 2022.

Story continues

Insiders of the Company participated in the first tranche of the Offering purchasing an aggregate of $506,000 principal amount of Debentures. Pursuant to Multilateral Instrument 61-101 Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"), the Offering constitutes a "related party transaction" as insiders of the Company are expected to subscribe for up to 25% of the Debentures. The Company is relying on exemptions from the formal valuation and minority approval requirements of MI 61-101. The Company did not file a material change report more than 21 days before the closing of the Offering as the details of the related parties' participation in the Offering had not been settled. The Offering was approved by all of the independent directors of the Company.

The Company paid finder's fees totaling $47,373 and issued 118,055 finder's warrants (each, a "Finder's Warrant") to arm's length parties, including Cormark Securities Inc., in connection with the first tranche of the Offering. Each Finder's Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one Common Share at a price of $1.02 for a period of two years from issuance.

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy the securities in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to U.S. Persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and any applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available.

ABOUT SPECTRA7 MICROSYSTEMS INC.

Spectra7 Microsystems Inc. is a high-performance analog semiconductor company delivering unprecedented bandwidth, speed, and resolution to enable disruptive industrial design for leading electronics manufacturers in data centers, 5G infrastructure, virtual and augmented reality, and other connectivity markets. Spectra7 is based in San Jose, California with a design center in Cork, Ireland and technical support location in Dongguan, China. For more information, please visit www.spectra7.com .

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its regulation services provided (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

CAUTIONARY NOTES

Certain statements contained in this press release constitute "forward-looking statements". All statements other than statements of historical fact contained in this press release, including, without limitation, the Company's anticipated closing date of a second tranche of the Offering and the Company's ability to sell the remaining Debentures in the Offering, the Company's strategy, plans, objectives, goals and targets, and any statements preceded by, followed by or that include the words "believe", "expect", "aim", "intend", "plan", "continue", "will", "may", "would", "anticipate", "estimate", "forecast", "predict", "project", "seek", "should" or similar expressions or the negative thereof, are forward-looking statements. These statements are not historical facts but instead represent only the Company's expectations, estimates and projections regarding future events. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve assumptions, risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual results may differ materially from what is expressed, implied or forecasted in such forward-looking statements. Additional factors that could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially include, but are not limited to the risk factors discussed in the Company's annual information form for the year ended December 31, 2021. Management provides forward-looking statements because it believes they provide useful information to investors when considering their investment objectives and cautions investors not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Consequently, all of the forward-looking statements made in this press release are qualified by these cautionary statements and other cautionary statements or factors contained herein, and there can be no assurance that the actual results or developments will be realized or, even if substantially realized, that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on, the Company. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release and the Company assumes no obligation to update or revise them to reflect subsequent information, events or circumstances or otherwise, except as required by law.

For more information, please contact:

Matt Kreps/Jim Fanucchi

Darrow Associates

214-597-8200

ir@spectra7.com

Spectra7 Microsystems Inc.

Bonnie Tomei

Chief Financial Officer

669-212-1089

ir@spectra7.com

Spectra7 Microsystems Inc.

John Mitchell

Public Relations

650-269-3043

pr@spectra7.com

SOURCE Spectra7 Microsystems Inc.

Cision

View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/July2022/26/c7176.html
Death Valley

David McNew/Getty

As the United States is bracing for some intense heat, former Vice President Al Gore has renewed his plea for climate relief.

More than 90 million Americans were under dangerous weather warnings on Sunday, as temperatures were expected to reach as high as 109 degrees in some parts of the country. The National Weather Service (NWS) warned that the heat will "feel extremely oppressive" in the northeast.

It was after at least one person  who had other medical issues  died from heat exposure in New York City on Saturday. In Dallas, a 66-year-old woman suffered a heat-related death and a 22-year-old hiker died from dehydration in a South Dakota national park.

The NWS warned that the "dangerous and intense summer" heat would continue on Sunday, especially in the major metro areas of Washington D.C., New York City and Boston. Cooling centers were made available in the capital while 10,000 were still without power in Pennsylvania on Sunday following storms on Saturday.

Climate experts around the world believe extreme summer weather could become commonplace.

"Well, the scientists have predicted these extraordinary and catastrophic events for going on decades now," Al Gore, 74, told Jonathan Karl Sunday on ABC News' This Week with George Stephanopoulos.

RELATED: U.K. Movie Theaters Offer Free Tickets to 'Vulnerable' Redheads During Unprecedented Heatwave

The dangerous and intense summer #heat continues on Sunday and here's a look at the apparent heat/heat index forecast. From the southern Plains into the East, it will feel extremely oppressive, especially in the major metro areas of Washington D.C. to New York City and Boston. pic.twitter.com/BQxjxRkVgo  National Weather Service (@NWS) July 23, 2022

"And the fact that they were dead right, maybe a little conservative even in their projections, should cause us to pay more careful attention to what they're warning us about now, Jonathan.

Story continues

"They're saying that if we don't stop using our atmosphere as an open sewer, and if we don't stop these heat trapping emissions, things are gonna get a lot worse. More people will be killed and the survival of our civilization is at stake."

RELATED: Texas Residents Asked to Use Less Electricity amid Heat Wave as Fears of Blackouts Mount

President Joe Biden recently announced some executive actions to combat the climate change crisis on Wednesday during a press conference in Massachusetts.

"I come here today with a message: As President, I have a responsibility to act with urgency and resolve when our nation faces clear and present danger," he said. "And that's what climate change is about. It is literally, not figuratively, a clear and present danger.

RELATED VIDEO: Prince Charles Speaks Out on Climate Change amid U.K.'s Record-Breaking Heatwave

"The health of our citizens and our communities is literally at stake," Biden, 79, added.

His executive actions will include $2.3 billion in funding for FEMA's Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program, $385 million for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, enforcing workplace safety through the newly-launched National Emphasis Program and expanding offshore wind opportunities and jobs.
Florida International University Makes Waves with Cloud Transformation

Across the country, college and university IT leaders are taking advantage of what might be perceived as an ocean of cloud technology decisions in their drive to cut costs while fostering an innovative environment. Many recognize that moving workloads to the cloud is the first step in creating an infrastructure designed to prepare an institution for a future with unknown opportunities and challenges. But what lies beyond workload migration?

Hear from Florida International University Vice President and CIO Robert Grillo as he discusses how this top Florida research university, located in the vibrant city of Miami, is accelerating academic success using cloud computing, while maintaining a long-term vision for future growth and success. Learn how analytics can be used to predict trends and understand how blockchain can create an immutable and permanent academic record that resides with the student from kindergarten to grad school.
Looking Glass Church, located just southwest of Lindsay, is celebrating a momentous occasion with its small but dedicated patronage for its 150th anniversary. The church, founded in 1872, found its beginnings as a church with no building.

Members of the church would host services in their homes, with circuit preachers stopping by each week to preach. In 1881, a permanent structure was finally built on a parcel of land given by patron Bengt Olson. In 1901, that building was demolished and the current structure took its place.

In 1940, the church joined the American Methodist Conference, and in 1941, joined with Newman Grove and Lindsey Methodist Churches. The Lindsay branch dissolved soon after, but Looking Glass UMC stayed strong.

The church, according to lifelong patron Verne Buhl, was one of many churches in the area at the time, many of which were based around the patrons nationalities and native tongues.

It was basically a Swedish church, for the Swedish people in the community. There was another for the Danish and what have you. It was kind of set up that way, Buhl said.

Buhl, who has attended the church since he was born in 1943 and became a confirmed member in 1957, said the church is largely the same now as it always has been.

Our services, I dont think have changed since I can remember, really. Its basically the same, Buhl said. In my mind its about the same as it always was.

Buhl said that when the church was young, there were more congregants and more churches in the area.

Being out in the country, when it first started there were tons of people, probably four or five small churches in a few miles, they all had a few members. Farms were smaller and everyone had a lot of kids, Buhl said.

Buhl added that while there are younger members of the church, many of the younger people in the area have moved away.

Now most of the kids in the last generation have gone off to college and probably work somewhere else. The farms are bigger, and theres less people in the area, Buhl said.

Buhl said that what has kept the church going for 150 years is the dedicated congregation of 15-30 attendees who keep coming every week, despite the churchs relative solitude in its area. Some, Buhl noted, are members who live far away.

I guess it just happens that there were several of us that came back to the farm and theres enough people to keep it going. You have to have people and we dont have a lot but theres enough to keep it going, Buhl said.

Church Secretary Ruth Stone has been a member for 69 years, after marrying her husband and becoming a member by marriage.

"I was a member of a Lutheran church before. He was a member and we decided this was where we were going to live and raise our children," Stone said.

Stone, who has been secretary since the previous one passed away, said there's a closeness to the church.

"Well, its just a small membership now, so it seems like we bond together," Stone said. "We dont exclude anybody, of course, but we're all involved with church activities and we just feel like this is part of our lives."

That closeness, she said, is what has kept it alive for 150 years.

"It's the fellowship with each other. It's just home, it's a part of our lives and we love it and we love the people who come," Stone said.

The church will celebrate the 150th anniversary following its 10:30 a.m. service on July 31 at 430th Street between 490th Avenue and 505th Avenue. The church asks that anyone planning to attend the catered lunch afterward contact Ruth Stone at 402-447-6024 or Sandra Borg at 402-428-4975.
MONONGAHELA  An armed man was shot and killed by police in a confrontation in western Pennsylvania over the weekend, authorities said.

State police in Washington County said officers were sent to a street in Monongahela after reports of a man firing shots and an attempted homicide shortly after 9 p.m. Sunday.

State police said Monongahela police encountered an armed man and tried to take him into custody but were unsuccessful, and city police then fired, striking the man.

The county coroners office said Cody Bennett, 29, was pronounced dead about an hour later at Penn Highlands Monongahela Valley Hospital. A ruling on the cause and manner of death is pending. State police are investigating.
Two men in Alabama are in custody after authorities found the remains of a missing woman in a storage unit.

James Michael Barrett, 52, and Edward Norman, 60, have been charged with abuse of a corpse after the remains of Britta Ann Lashley, 36, were discovered in a storage unit belonging to Barrett in Prattville, Alabama  just northwest of Montgomery.

Lashley was last seen on Feb. 21, 2021, near the 1000 Block of Autauga County Road 21 in Prattville, according to the Autauga County Sheriffs Office. Her mother, Tammy Lashley  who lives in nearly 300 miles north in Mount Juliet, Tennessee  reported her missing on June 15, 2022, telling authorities that she hadnt heard from her daughter since February 2021 and believed something bad had happened, according to a deposition obtained by AL.com

Tammy Lashley allegedly told authorities that she'd spoken to Barrett several weeks before filing the missing persons report, according to the legal documents.



He [Barrett] advised her that he would have Britta Lashley contact her; however, Britta Lashley did not contact her mother, the deposition stated.

When authorities appealed for information pertaining to Lashleys disappearance, they noted she was known to hang around with Barrett.

A police handout of Edward Norman and Michael Barrett

Edward Norman and Michael Barrett Photo: Autauga County Sheriff's Office

Officials obtained a search warrant for Barrett's Prattville storage united on July 12, and found a woman's remains in it, according to a July 18 release from the sheriff's office. Although the womans body has yet to be formally identified, authorities believe it is their missing person.

Based on Britts physical description, her known tattoos, and other investigative findings, the Autauga County Sheriffs Office is confident the remains are those of Britta Ann Lashley, officials stated.

According to the deposition obtained by AL.com, Lashleys remains were in a mummified state.

Authorities reportedly told Lashleys sister, Tish Forgey, that Lashleys body was first stored at the Comfort Stay motel in Montgomery, Alabama for nine months, according to AL.com. Barrett allegedly worked at the motel, which had been under renovation.

Story continues

Edward Norman allegedly rented a U-Haul and helped Barrett move Lashleys body from the motel to the Prattville storage unit on July 10, according to the deposition.

She was tossed out like a piece of garbage, Forgey told the Alabama outlet. Nobody deserves to end this way.

A cause of death has yet to be determined pending the results of a postmortem examination, which was performed on July 13, but Forgey wrote on a GoFundMe page that authorities told their family that Lashley was brutally murdered.

District Attorney C.J. Robinson, however, said on Monday that there was as yet no indication that Lashley was the victim of homicide, according to AL.com.

Oxygen.com reached out to the Autauga County Sheriffs Office and the District Attorney for an update on the case but did not receive an immediate response.

Forgey told AL.com of her sister that she was always the one to laugh until she cried.

You think this happens to other people, Forgey said. It doesnt happen to you.

The investigation into Lashley's death is reportedly ongoing.
Indiana lawmakers reconvened on Monday to consider more restrictions on abortion, the first state to hold a special session with the goal of potentially curtailing abortion rights since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last month.

A special Indiana General Assembly committee met for more than four hours on Monday to discuss Senate Bill 1, which would prohibit abortion unless the procedure was necessary to prevent a substantial permanent impairment to the life of the mother. Republicans control the state legislature.

The GOP-authored bill would also bar abortion clinics from performing surgical abortions and require in-person dispensation of an abortion-inducing drug used in a medication abortion. It would include exceptions in cases of rape or incest so long as the pregnant person provides the physician with an affidavit attesting to the rape or incest.

The state Senate Rules and Legislative Procedure Committee meeting featured extensive public debate, with dozens of individuals, from doctors to faith leaders to private citizens, voicing their opinions on the bill. While some opposed the legislation for the limitations it places on abortion, other opposed what they described as vague language and the proposed exceptions in the measure.

Although many states nationwide are examining their laws in the wake of last months Supreme Court ruling, particular attention has been paid to Indiana after a 10-year-old rape victim from Ohio crossed state lines to get an abortion. Indiana presently allows abortions up to 20 weeks after fertilization (or 22 weeks after the mothers last menstrual period).

And last week, the Supreme Court cleared the way for Indiana to try to implement a law that restricts access to abortion for minors that had been blocked by lower courts.

State Senate Republican leaders have said that they hope to have a final vote on SB1 by Friday to send it to the state House for consideration. If passed, the bill would go into effect September 1.

Story continues

Speaking before the committee Monday, several speakers invoked their faith and one woman expressed her opposition to the bill, citing her fertility battle.

Ariel Ream called the proposed legislation abhorrent, saying it would likely impact her ability to have a baby since she is at very high-risk for a stillbirth or miscarriage.

Who gets to decide when my life is truly at risk? Who gets to decide when the abnormalities of the fetus are fatal enough? Ream asked. When is the line enough and how many women get to die before it gets drawn?

Dr. Mary Ott, a pediatrician, told lawmakers that she opposed the bill because access to safe and legal abortion is an essential component of  reproductive health care.

Bans on abortion pose a threat to the health and well being of Indiana youth, impacting physical, mental health, educational and economic outcomes, including higher adolescent maternal mortality, Ott said, adding that the proposed legislation politicizes what should be a private decision and will deepen health disparities among people of color.

Meanwhile, Dr. Tyler Johnson, who is running for state Senate, said he supported the intent of the bill, but argued that it could be manipulated as written due to what he called vague wording.

I ask that we remove or refine the exemption language, protect all unborn children, and place appropriate criminal penalties for willfully and unnecessarily taking the life of an unborn child, he said.

While Indiana is the only state as of now to hold a special session to consider restrictive abortion legislation in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling, a few other states either plan to or have opened the door to possibly returning for a special legislative session. New York and Wisconsin have already held special sessions that had abortion-related legislation on the agenda.

Democratic focus

Abortion rights have become a focal point among Democrats ahead of the 2022 midterm elections in November.

Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday held a roundtable discussion with state lawmakers in Indianapolis, telling them that the courts decision took a constitutional right that had been recognized from the people of America  the women of America and highlighting how the courts decision may put other established rights at risk.

The vice president did not answer questions from the press about whether she would support President Joe Biden declaring a national or public health emergency on the matter, which members of Congress and reproductive rights organizations have continued to call for but Biden has not yet moved to do.

The trip marked Harris latest in a series of stops around the country focused on reproductive rights following the Supreme Courts decision striking down the federal right to abortion.

In a meeting with lawmakers in Richmond, Virginia, on Saturday, Harris pledged the Biden administrations support for protecting abortion rights while also hitting Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin for pledging to sign an anti-abortion legislation into law.

The governor of Virginia, Ive read, says he will, quote gleefully sign a law to take away reproductive rights. So I would also like to be clear that Im fully aware of the context in which we meet, in terms of what this will mean to the people of Virginia, Harris told a group of state delegates on Saturday. And what is at stake directly in this state, in terms of their rights, and their rights in particular as it relates to a governor who is apparently prepared to restrict and even ban abortion based on an interpretation of the words he spoke.

Elsewhere, Kansas will allow voters to consider the issue on August 2 during its primary election, making it the first state to vote on a state constitutional amendment related to abortion, which is currently legal up to 20 weeks after fertilization (or 22 weeks after the mothers last menstrual period). It is also one of several states to which people from Texas, Oklahoma and Missouri travel for abortion services.

This headline and story have been updated with additional details Monday.

CNNs Paul LeBlanc, Rebekah Riess and Devan Cole contributed to this report.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
HUBBARDSTON  Moody Field, located in Valdosta, Georgia, began as an Army Air Corps pilot training base during World War II. With the potential of a war looming in the future, local leaders of Lowndes County looked for a way to join the national defense efforts.

The field was named for U.S. Army Maj. George Putnam Moody, a 1929 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, who was killed in Wichita, Kansas, in May of 1941. Ironically, the announcement of the dedication of the field was made on Dec. 6, 1941  they day before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

While Moody Field would be a training locale for many Aviation Air Corps cadets, it was also the location of many stateside casualties occurring with young pilots taking off or landing.

There were many tragic stories which grew out of the training facility, with one of the most devastating occurring on July 14, 1942 when four AT-17 aircraft took off from Moody Field on a night flying exercise. Sometime later, reports in Florida noted four aircraft out of the field being located as crashed, killing seven RAF trainees and an American instructor.

Moody Field Valdosta, Georgia, on Dec. 6, 1941, where Lt. Robert Hodgen of Hubbardston lost his life during a training flight with another pilot.

Due to severity of the loss which occurred that day, there seemed to be few details which would emerge out of Moody Field with future training mishaps.

One such accident which was shrouded in mystery, occurred a little over two months later, resulting in the death of a Hubbardston pilot.

This is the continuation of the series Remembering Local World War II Heroes.

Lt. Robert Hodgen (1917-1942)

Robert Johnston Hodgen Jr. was born Sept. 1, 1917 in Greenfield to the Rev. Robert J. and Anna (Walsh) Hodgen. The family moved to Hubbardston when the Rev. Hodgen became the pastor of the Congregational Church from 1931 to 1936.

From what I was told, he was a real fire and brimstone preacher, noted his grandson John Hodgen, whose father, Joseph, was Roberts brother. He preached in Hubbardston, as well as in the Gloucester area.

Story continues

Robert attended Gardner High School and graduated in 1935. From there, he got a degree at the Stockbridge School of Agriculture at the University of Massachusetts and later got a job in the landscaping field. Shortly after the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, he entered the military.

By that time, he and several other family members relocated to the area of Nassau County in New York where he enlisted in the Aviation Cadet Air Corps. While attending Army Air Force Advanced Flying School at Moody Field in July of 1942, he received his wings.

A little over two months later, Lt. Hodgen was reported killed in the early morning of Sept. 25, 1942 at Moody Field.

According to an Army report, the Beechcraft AT-10BH Wichita #41-9330 crashed upon takeoff. There were no further details of the accident.

He had qualified to fly on these training planes and there was a young pilot who needed to gain more experience, so he and Robert went up in the plane for another practice flight, John Hodgen noted. My uncle went up and agreed to sit in the co-pilot seat to help this kid qualify and just tried to help this kid out. It was just a stunning loss for our family.

The Congregational Church of Hubbardston where Robert Hodgen's father was pastor from 1931-1936. (Photo courtesy of Hubbardston Mass. Pictorial)

Donald I. Ekstrom of Newman Grove, Nebraska, was the aviation cadet who was in the plane with Hodgen when it went down.

Whether or not the young and inexperienced Ekstrom was the pilot is unknown and was never officially recorded, probably due to the militarys unwillingness to draw more negative attention to the many mishaps occurring at Moody Field.

According to site AAIR (Aviation Archaeological Investigation and Research), in the page for September 1942 USAAF Stateside Accident Reports, there were a total of 19 crashes out of Moody Field alone that month. Three of those crashes resulted in deaths.

On Sept. 11, Capt. Dallas L. Morris and another passenger were killed in a routine training flight out of Moody, with the crash occurring near Nashville, Tennessee.

Eight days later on Sept. 19, Victor Holman of the Royal Air Force became one of nine British pilots killed during the war while in a pilot training program at Moody Field.

With those two fatal crashes, coupled with the other devastating losses which occurred in the aforementioned crashes in July, its likely the Air Corps didnt want any more bad news coming out of the Georgia training field.

The notice of Hodgens death in the Sept. 26, 1942 edition of The Gardner News, stated that he was killed early this morning at Moody Field No details of the accident are known.

It seems almost natural that they would want to keep another fatal plane crash like this quiet, said John Hodgen.

It was especially distressing to Roberts mother, Anna, who had six other sons serving in the military at the time.

Everybody was so afraid to bring that up because my grandmother was so devastated by this, said John Hodgen, who wasnt born until four years after his uncles death. Nobody ever wanted to bring it up in front of her.

The oldest, Isaac, served in the U.S. Navy, followed by George, a master sergeant in the U.S. Army, Alden, who was in the U.S. Army, Woodrow, a sergeant in the U.S. Army, Edmund, in the U.S. Army Air Force, and John, a tech sergeant in the U.S. Army.

I remember when we visited our grandmother it seemed like going to a chapel. Her window had the stars indicating how many sons she had serving in the war, said John. The gold one was for the one who didnt come back.

Joseph, who was the father of John Hodgen, was the only one exempt from the service due to a childhood bout with polio.

My father tried to join the Canadian Army with the hunched back that he ended up having, but he just couldnt pass the physical, he said, adding that his father did contribute to the war effort by working at Pratt & Whitney in Hartford, Connecticut, making the Vaught Corsair airplanes with the fold-up wings to be placed on aircraft carriers.

He never forgave himself for not going into the war, he added. It was hard for him to bear the fact that every one of his brothers was in the war, and he never felt it was fair. I know he really struggled with the fact that he was the only brother that didnt go.

At the time of Roberts death, his parents were living in the town of Lanesville on the North Shore near Gloucester.

Lt. Hodgen was buried in the West Leyden Cemetery in Leyden. He was posthumously awarded the United States Aviator Badge, the World War II Victory Medal, the American Campaign Medal and the Army Presidential Unit Citation.

From what Ive heard from the family, out of all eight of them, Bobby was the best, said John Hodgen. The others were just as stubborn as mules, but they always said Bobby was the best of the litter, the handsomest by far, the nicest one and the one with the most potential.

Comments and suggestions for Remembering Local World War II Heroes can be sent to Mike Richard at mikerichard0725@gmail.com or in writing Mike Richard, 92 Boardley Rd. Sandwich, MA 02563.

This article originally appeared on Gardner News: Hubbardston's Robert Hodgen died in WWII Air Corps pilot training
The Parkland's unemployment rate is looking much better  on paper  than last year's numbers around this time, with an average of 3.3% for the counties of St. Francois County, Ste. Genevieve, Washington, Iron and Madison, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louiss May 2022 numbers, the latest statistics available on the site.

The 3.3% unemployment rate is also significantly better than the disastrous April 2020 numbers following the opening of the pandemic, when the Parklands average unemployment rate climbed to 10.2%. None of the numbers at that time came near the greatest recession since The Depression, the housing and banking busts that in February 2010 resulted in an average of 15% unemployment for the Parkland.

Still, many area employers are feeling the pressure to find quality employees who stay, according to one woman who regularly organizes hiring events in the region. She said its like nothing shes seen before.

Debra Thompson is a regional business services manager for the Workforce Development Board of Southeast Missouri. She said while labor statistics seem significantly more optimistic than theyve been in the last two years, what shes seeing in real life doesnt necessarily line up with the numbers.

I have heard through the news that so many jobs have been created and you know, everything's going back to normal, she said. Unfortunately, out in the field, I don't see that professionally or personally. Most employers are still having a problem finding employees. It is a huge, huge issue.

The reasons are varied for the employee shortage, Thompson said: employees, in the shadow of a global pandemic, are reassessing how their jobs fit in with their lives. Accurate unemployment numbers can also be compromised if workers run out of unemployment benefits and fall off the rolls. And there are more employment trends to consider.

Baby Boomers are retiring at a faster rate because of COVID. Then we have a lot of people, after COVID, who are reevaluating their situations  do they really want to go back to work at a fast food restaurant or a grocery store? Thompson said. We have seen more individuals wanting to go back for continuing education to get into the truck driving field, and IT interest is increasing.

Oddly or not, she said, some fields have fallen out of favor among the unemployed looking for different and more lucrative lines of work.

The nursing field hasn't been as popular for us. I used to send a lot of individuals to nursing school, but post-COVID, it doesn't seem like that is requested as much, Thompson said.

Adding to the employment shake-up is the issue of daycare.

A lot of daycares went out of business during the pandemic because everyone was working remotely and either were looking after their own kids, or they were unemployed and couldnt afford it, she said. If you can't find a childcare service, you know, you kind of weigh your options. A lot of the women in my neighborhood also have weighed the benefit of working remotely for less pay so they can raise their own kids. These are the kinds of things I hear when I'm out there in the field  people have just started changing their way of thinking.

Thompson said gas prices have done the thinking for employees, too.

A lot of people who are out in the rural areas, they don't want to drive to St. Louis and spend $45 a day in gas. So there's a lot of remote positions that you might take that are less per hour, but you don't have to commute and you don't worry about childcare. I'm kind of seeing more of that, Thompson said.

On the employers side, she said, they call me all the time, email me all the time, and they're still desperate for people to hire. Lots of open positions, you have people working longer shifts now. One restaurant, they just don't even serve food Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday because they have no staff to work the kitchen.

Candy Hente, executive director with the Farmington Regional Chamber of Commerce, said it used to be, chamber members were chiefly interested in networking and opportunities to market their businesses, but that has quickly shifted to finding good employees.

In January, we actually did a workforce presentation at our luncheon, where you had a panel of HR professionals, including one of the staffing companies that's here, Hente said. We extended the length of the luncheon because there was a lot of talk, a lot of interest, a lot of feedback from those who attended, many saying theyve had to change a lot of their recruiting techniques  being faster to interview and faster to offer people jobs. You know, making that application process quicker.

Hente said the chamber is looking at delving into customer service training for employers, having already created locally-made videos featuring area employers talking about what they need in an employee.

Having a skilled workforce is something that, of course, we're concerned with, and MAC and UniTec offering a lot of the classes that they have, where people can gain skills beyond entry level work, is a huge step in the right direction, she said.

Thompson said for the most part, its a workers job market. She said she spoke to a colleague that had been talking to college students who told him they were working smarter, not harder.

I'm older, 51, but I went to work at 16 and worked fast food because that's what it was, Thompson said. This guy said, while he was in a meeting with some of his students, one was like, Oh, I'll be back in an hour. He ran and did a delivery real quick and made $65 in less than an hour. He had another student, goes I'll be back in just a few. He ran and picked up someone, you know, Uber driver. And he came back and hed made you know, it was like $45-50. We just have to accept the world is changing.

And some employers are more adaptive to change, while some just arent, Thompson said. She referenced a company in Warrensburg that used to have 12-hour shifts, you know, those lovely 12-hour rotating shifts no one really wants to do, she said. You just did 12-hour shifts for two weeks and then you have to change again and readjust to a different 12 hours  those days may be over.

Thompson said the Warrensburg company couldnt fill the 12-hour shifts, so during the worst part of COVID, they switched to four-hour shifts.

They upped the starting wage to $22 an hour, for four-hour shifts for stay-at-home mom who just wants to make some extra money for Christmas or to have her own spending money, Thompson said. She can go after the kids are on the bus, work four hours and still be home before they get off the bus, get the house work done and still make $88 and have some money in her own pocket. That's huge. That is huge.

I mentioned that to one employer. He laughed. He said that will never work. Well, it has worked and it has been very successful for a year now for them. Because you also have Bob, who retired because he could retire, because of COVID, but he's 68 years old. And now he's bored because he got all of his house projects done in a year. Now he can go in, get out of the house, keep that usefulness and work a four-hour shift.

Thompson said business owners and corporations have demanded flexibility and sacrifice from employees for decades, and to me, those corporations are going to have to look at changing the way they treat their employees. Evaluate the salaries, and maybe there's an employer that can't pay a lot, but there's other things you can do.

"I had one employer, they bring in food trucks several days a week and they let the employees go out there and they cover the entire cost of lunch. Wow. Thats a benefit that it makes the employee feel like they're part of the team. Right? And so these are things that thinking outside the box is what employers are going to have to do.
An area man is charged with burglary and tampering with a vehicle after allegedly breaking through the gate of a charcoal plant with a truck and stealing items before getting the truck stuck in a creek on the way out.

Lonnie Leon Briley, 27, of Park Hills, has been charged in Washington County with second-degree burglary, first-degree tampering with a motor vehicle, first-degree property damage, and first-degree trespassing.

According to a probable cause statement from the Washington County Sheriff's Office, on July 19, Briley unlawfully trespassed on the property of the Potosi Charcoal Plant located on Fountain Farm Drive in Mineral Point.

The report states Briley forced entry to the property by driving his truck through the gate. The gate was valued at around $500. The man reportedly burglarized the property by loading his pickup truck with scrap metal and other miscellaneous items, worth about $1,500, from inside the abandoned buildings.

After loading the truck, the report states Briley was driving back toward the entrance when he ran off the roadway on the property and got the vehicle stuck in a creek. The man reportedly proceeded to tamper with the ignition of a John Deere 624H wheel loader to use it to get his truck out of the creek.

Authorities say Briley then used the front wheel loader in an attempt to get the truck out from the creek; however, he failed to do so, causing damage to the loader's front right tire.

At about the same time, a neighbor arrived on the scene and reportedly saw a bald man wearing a yellow shirt, matching Briley's description, flee on foot toward the rear of the charcoal plant. About 30 minutes later, Washington County Dispatch advised the Potosi Police Department that a man wanted to report his truck stolen at a Potosi apartment complex. The description of the stolen truck matched that of the one on the scene of the crime, according to police.

When officers arrived at the apartment complex to speak with Briley, there were clothes matching the descriptions in plain view. Police talked to the man's girlfriend, and she reportedly said Briley came into the apartment to change clothes and stated to her, "I was on a 'lick,' it all went bad."

Briley was booked at the Washington County Jail, and a $40,000 bond was set in the case. The man's bond was reduced to $30,000 at a court hearing on Tuesday.

The charging documents filed in the case indicate Briley is currently on parole for burglary and tampering. The man also has two other convictions and Department of Corrections commitments for burglary.

A search of Briley's criminal history shows that he has been arrested and charged with multiple prior offenses.

Briley was arrested in March 2012 by the Park Hills Police Department for stealing. The Leadwood Police Department arrested the man in April 2012 for theft of $500 or less and first-degree tampering with a motor vehicle.

In May 2012, Briley was charged with first-degree burglary and second-degree property damage in Farmington. He was arrested in June 2012 by the Leadwood Police Department for first-degree burglary. Farmington Police arrested the man for second-degree burglary in August 2012.

Briley was charged in October 2012 for second-degree burglary, theft, and first-degree property damage in Washington County.

The Bonne Terre Police Department arrested Briley on Jan. 13, 2013, for two counts of second-degree burglary, resisting arrest, first-degree property damage, receiving stolen property, and driving while revoked.

In more recent cases, Briley was arrested in August 2020 by the Pike County Sheriff's Office for possession of a controlled substance. He was charged again in December 2020 in Pike County for damage to the Department of Corrections building or property.

The criminal complaint in the newly filed case states Briley faces parole revocation and a potential sentence of 27 years in prison if convicted of the charges.
Last week, Congressman Bob Good embarrassed his constituents again. This time, the nay-saying Republican was one of only 18 members of the 435-member U.S. House to vote against endorsing Finland and Sweden for membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization or NATO.

Virginia Republican Reps. Morgan Griffith and Ben Cline joined Good to give the state a solid presence in the crackpot caucus that broke ranks with 176 Republicans who voted for Finland and Sweden to join the alliance. The crackpot caucus includes such notorious wackos as Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Matt Gaetz of Florida, and Madison Cawthon of North Carolina. No other state contributed as many no votes against Finland and Sweden as the Old Dominion.

Most experts see expanding NATO as greater protection against the nation-building forays of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who now slaughters Ukrainian civilians without provocation.

Not Good, who is supposed to represent Virginias 5th District, which includes Charlottesville and Albemarle County. In a statement, the man elected to serve the interests of 750,000 Virginians offered a breathtaking, if slightly confusing, screed against Democratic President Joe Biden to defend his thumbs down for the Scandinavian countries.

Vladimir Putin is a tyrant who has unjustifiably invaded Ukraine and is ruthlessly destroying the country, Good wrote. This was a no-confidence vote in the Biden Administrations failed foreign policy, including the lack of a coherent strategy for the $56 billion of our tax dollars being spent in Ukraine. It is a no-confidence vote in a Biden Administration which bowed to the radical left to undermine our energy independence and to instead empower Putin. We should also have no confidence in President Biden to convince our NATO allies to do what is necessary to keep Putin in check, including ensuring they contribute their promised 2% share of funding. We should be focused on keeping AMERICANS safer, and with President Biden in the White House, adding two countries to NATO is only likely to escalate tensions with Russia and increase the chances President Biden will eventually be deploying American troops.

Good seems to be arguing that the U.S. needs to placate Putin. He seems to be arguing that we must make ourselves more dependent  not lesson the kinds of petrochemicals that Russia produces and sells to fund its economy and increase its political clout. How this translates into energy independence for America is anybodys guess.

It is also not clear what Good would do to keep Putin in check. Thats the beauty of a just-say-no strategy, which Good has applied to everything, including bills providing tens of millions of dollars in economic aid to businesses in his district, as well as money to build roads and schools. He stands on his ideological soapbox braying at Biden, while accepting the money the president provided with the COVID relief bill he voted against and the infrastructure bill he voted against.

Goods hero Donald Trump wanted to pull out of NATO. Trump stood for a kind of isolationism that ceded the U.S. position as leader of the free world. Isolationism eventually threatens everyone, including those hiding behind national boundaries and even oceans. Hitlers rise proved that.

In the current situation, Finland and Sweden in NATO will make Goods constituents more secure, not less. No NATO member countries want to deploy troops. NATO members, including the United States, now supply weapons and humanitarian aid to Ukraine.

The rule is to do everything possible to contain a military crisis without committing forces to the conflict. But the reality of geopolitics makes it inevitable that some crises eventually exhaust diplomacy and demand sacrifice.

When that happens, it is the collective action of free countries committed to each other that defeats despotism. Hitlers demise proved that.

If Bob Good does not grasp this after two years in Congress, if he still proclaims his patriotism while relying on others to assume all the risks, he is not just a freeloader.

He is a hypocrite.
Thank you for reading!

To read this article and more, subscribe now for as little as $1.99.
Health reporter

Seth Klamann is the health reporter for the Gazette, focused on COVID-19, public health and substance use. He's a Kansas City native and a University of Missouri alum, with stops in Wyoming, Omaha and Milwaukee before moving to Denver.
UCHealth's main campus in Aurora was again rated the best hospital in Colorado by U.S. News & World Report in its annual rankings released
Your morning rundown of the latest news from overnight and the stories to follow throughout the day.

Sign Up View all of our newsletters.
The South African Communications Workers Union (CWU) moved to urge authorities to block MTNs acquisition of Telkom, claiming the buyout will lead to lower competition and mass redundancies.

The CWU stated MTN acquiring Telkom is akin to daylight robbery, where assets of South African citizens are shared amongst old comrades and their business cronies, reported ITWeb.

CWU general secretary Aubrey Tshabalala said: We call for the state to be on the side of the South African citizens and workers [and] not to allow for few individuals to rob the poor and the country of what is theirs. The union is also considering to approach the Competition Commission.

Tshabalala warned if the deal goes through it will finish off the remaining carcass and lead to job cuts.

He claimed MTN approached the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) to scale back operations and make massive cuts. Meanwhile, Telkom has apparently been meeting to transfer its fibre Openserve business into a separate company.

In our view, this is to avoid and/or navigate legal challenges that might arise in the process. The bottom line on both processes/companies will result in massive job losses with fat pockets for few individuals. However, the union is aware this is just the beginning; if nothing is done, the floodgates will be opened for workers to be displaced, said Tshabalala.

Developing Telecoms requested a statement from MTN.

MTN Group confirmed negotiations to acquire Telkom in July and is a move to mount a bigger challenge against market leader Vodacom.
Google parent company Alphabet finally complied with a licensing law in Indonesia which allows the government to censor content and demand citizen data, to enable it to continue operating in the country.

Upon registering for the license the Indonesian government is then able to compel companies to disclose data of individuals and demand the removal of content it deemed unlawful or disruptive to public order within hours or a day depending on urgency, reported Reuters.

The deadline was originally set for July 20 which Alphabet missed. Ecommerce platforms Amazon and Alibaba have yet to comply.

Other companies that have complied include Twitter, Zoom and Meta platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.

The rules were designed to provide a safe online environment, however, activist groups have hit out at the government, stating the rules were repressive of freedom of speech and expression.

Indonesia has 191 million internet users and its population is young, making it a fertile market for growth for technology companies.
After she and her family decided to sell three acres of their old gladiola farm off State Road 71 in Marianna to make way for a new Chick-fil-A, 78-year-old JoAnn Clark Malloy rode out and just sat a while near the farms headquarters.

The white and blue building had sat empty since she and her husband, the late Wayne Malloy, reluctantly closed the farm in the 1970s. Theyd never been able to bring themselves to tear it down. It had, many years later, been heavily damaged in 2018s Hurricane Michael, but that didnt obstruct the precious memories that flooded Malloys senses. Accepting the pending demolition of the building and the final closure of an era was perhaps made easier in realizing that the new realities could not erase the joy of the old days.

Sights and sounds came back as if theyd been things of yesterday, not yesteryear.

Shed come into the business as the young bride of Wayne Malloy, the son of the gladiola farms founder Dallas Malloy. She and her husband made their first home in a small house right there on the farm property. And she went to work in the business office while her husband toiled in the fields  a working ground that encompassed roughly 140 acres in production that yielded some eight million glad bulbs a year.

Her son Wayne Malloy II grew up there until the age of 7 and she remembers his early years toddling about on the property and, later, his adult role in the familys business affairs. He became the farms manager, eventually, and remembers his mom easily putting in 80-to-100 hours a week during harvest time to making sure their customers  flower markets all across the U.S. and Canada  got the things theyd ordered wholesale.

Both remember a special atmosphere at Malloy Glad Farm when they think of the men and women who worked there, and of children in those households that would one day join the ranks, just as Wayne II had done. They had about 90 workers at their busiest times of year. I will forever be grateful to them, JoAnn Malloy said. They were proud, hard-working and dedicated people that were like family to us.

The two talked a bit about that feeling Monday at a ground-breaking ceremony held to mark the start of work on the infrastructure that will serve Chick-fil-A as it opens one of its restaurants on the three acres.

For the son, the chains decision to build here was more than a little satisfying. Hed reached out to the company back in 2009, pitching the Malloy property as a potential site. He didnt hear back but continued to feel it would be a perfect fit along the SR 71 corridor. More than a decade later, Zach Gilmore, Vice President of Business Development for the Jackson County Economic Development Committee, started running the ball for Malloy and was a key figure in sealing the deal he had envisioned and continued to believe in for all these years.

At Mondays groundbreaking, Jackson County Commissioners, members of the JCEDC, project engineers and other key members of the project team turned the earth with shovels that had gold-colored spades.

JoAnn and Wayne Malloy II were also on that groundbreaking team for the roughly $1 million infrastructure project. Mrs. Malloys hard-working hands had no trouble grasping and lifting her shovel several times to send scoops of dirt into the air.

On April 8, Governor Ron DeSantis awarded Jackson County $994,712 through the Rural Infrastructure Fund, which was obtained through a successful grant application written by DHM Melvin Engineering.

The location is expected to open in late 2022 or early 2023 depending on factors that affect construction such as supply procurement and weather delays.

And the sale of this three acres wont mean the Malloys are walking away: The family retains 250 acres in the area and Wayne II remains committed to making sure the fits are right if the family sells more property. Theyve only let go three acres before this  that went to the Sun Stop/Inland station that opened not so long ago next door to where Chick-fil-A will set up shop.

Mondays groundbreaking was the first of several upcoming events to celebrate recent economic developments in Jackson County.

Ribbon Cutting at Hope Springs Counseling Group

The Jackson County Chamber of Commerce and Hope Springs Counseling Group this week announced an Open House on Tuesday, Aug. 2, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., with a ribbon cutting ceremony at noon to celebrate the grand opening of Hope Springs Counseling Group. Its located at 2912 Green Street in Marianna.

Hope Springs Counseling Group provides mental health counseling and mental health training for clients in Jackson County and surrounding communities. In the press release, officials described Hope Springs as a local team that works to help individuals, couples, and families move toward mental, emotional, and behavioral wellness. Hope Springs mission is to provide quality mental health care that will allow positive, forward movement in lifes journey with decisions that are in line with personal values and beliefs, the release continued. The counselors at Hope Springs can help map out a path for wellness that includes healthier thinking, more peaceful emotions, and self-controlled choices. To make an appointment with a therapist at Hope Springs Counseling Group or for more information call 850-372-4663 or visit hopespringscg.com.

For more information, contact the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce at 850-482-8060 or info@jacksoncounty.com.

Groundbreaking for First Building in Endeavor Industrial Park (Project Blue Sky)

The Jackson County Economic Development Committee, the Jackson County Board of County Commissioners, the city of Marianna and DHM Melvin Engineering recently announced a groundbreaking set for Tuesday, Aug. 9, at 8 a.m., to mark the beginning of construction on the first building to be completed in the Endeavor Industrial Park.

DHM Melvin Engineering, on behalf of the Jackson County Board of County Commissioners, obtained a Community Development Block Grant of $2 million and a US Economic Development Administration Grant of $2.6 million to build an approximately 30,000 sq. ft . facility at the Endeavor Industrial Park to support manufacturing growth and boost county economic diversification and resiliency efforts. The city of Marianna obtained a Rural Infrastructure Fund Grant to extend water, sewer and natural gas to the proposed facility and construct a road. Although the potential tenant of the structure has not been named, Melvin has said it is an outfit that manufactures aluminum parts.

For more information, contact the Jackson County Economic Development Committee at 850-633-2203 or executive@jacksoncounty.com.
Representatives from five non-profit entities in northwest Florida went to Freeport Thursday to see Floridas first lady Casey DeSantis and to accept the $5,000 checks she was presenting them from the Hope Florida Pathway to Prosperity program.

The first lady also gave them medals on a loop of ribbon to wear around their necks.

All but one put those on. Jackson County Administrator Wilanne Daniels did not. She explained to DeSantis that she never would because it really belonged to the woman shed had to stand in for at the last minute that day: Tammy Dasher. She is the program director at NextStep at Endeavor Academy, the entity receiving the money.

Dasher, Daniels told DeSantis, has infectious enthusiasm for that job and the Academy, a transition center focused on helping people on the autism spectrum move forward with enhanced life and job skills as they age out of high school.

At the podium during Thursdays meeting, held at Westonwood Ranch in Freeport, Daniels said she expects the Academys first full year to begin in August. A 12-week program had kicked things off earlier this year.

The other entities receiving a check that day included the meeting-host, Westonwood Ranch. It was founded in 2017 by the parents of a youngster diagnosed with autism when he was two years old. It focuses on children with autism and other developmental differences and focuses on helping them fully use and grow their special abilities. It rejects the notion of disabilities.

The other grant recipients were C.A.L.M. Organization, Inc. (Crisis Aid for Littles and Moms); Emerald Coast Exceptional Families; and Hiland Park Baptist Church Ministries.

The Hope Florida fund combines donated funds from the private sector with state support contributions.

Joining DeSantis at the event was the states Commissioner of Education.

For more information on the Hope Florida model the support available through a care navigator, call 850-300-HOPE.
An additional suspect in a Dothan killing has been extradited from Florida to face a capital murder charge.

Davaciera Ashanti Booth, 18, of Panama City, was admitted to the Houston County Jail on Monday night with no bond, according to jail records. She and three other suspects face capital murder charges in the killing of 34-year-old Gabriel Johnson, whose body was found July 14 at a Dothan intersection.

Within a day of the discovery of Johnsons body, Dothan Police had charged four suspects in the crime. Police believe robbery was the motive, which makes Johnsons murder a capital case.

Along with Booth, police arrested Dialan Zhontavis Beard, 18, of Dothan; Rodgrick Jermaine Holmes, 18, of Dothan; and a 17-year-old juvenile of Panama City. Booth and the juvenile were arrested in Panama City.

Gabriel Raynaldo Johnson of Ashford was found dead in a grassy area at Morgan and Westmead streets in Dothan on July 14 around 6:30 a.m. by a passerby. He had been shot once in the upper torso, according to the Dothan Police Department. Its still unclear exactly when Johnson died and how much time passed before he was found. It is believed, however, that Johnson was killed where he was found.

The investigation was still ongoing at the time of the arrests, and Dothan Police Chief Will Benny said information from the community was instrumental in helping police identify the suspects.

This was a tragedy, Benny said during a July 15 news conference announcing the arrests. Four people decided to plan to kill somebody to rob them for money. I guess its a sign of the times we live in.
MOBILESen. Richard Shelby received a warm welcome here Monday morning as he looked back on a 50-year career in politics  and shared a few thoughts on the future, as well as one of two glimpses of might-have-beens.

Shelby, born in Birmingham, was elected to the state senate in 1970 and to the U.S. House in 1978. In 1986 he won the Senate seat then occupied by Jeremiah Denton. Previously a conservative Democrat, he shifted to the Republican party in 1994 and held the Senate seat until the present; in early 2021 he announced his intention to retire when his current term ends.

Shelbys appearance in Mobile was an installment in the Forum Alabama speaker series presented by the Mobile Chamber. It also was described by some as part of a farewell tour for the states longtime senior senator.

The biggest feature of Shelbys legacy has been his ability to bring federal funding to Alabama for major projects such as a planned FBI campus at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville. Shelby and other speakers at his Mobile appearance singled out his work generally on behalf of the port and particularly his effort to find a large portion of the funding for a near-$400 million project to deepen and widen the channel connecting the port to the Gulf of Mexico.

Shelby has been not only the longest-serving but the most influential United States senator ever to serve the state of Alabama, said Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson, who presented Shelby with a proclamation declaring Richard Shelby Day in the city.

Long ago Sen. Shelby saw the Alabama state docks and the port of Mobile as an asset for the entire state, more so than any other leader in Montgomery or Washington, D.C., said Stimpson. In the world of politics, Richard Shelby will go down in history as being tremendously successful as he unashamedly invested in Alabamas future. His keen understanding of the rules of engagement, his mastery of procedures, and his building of bipartisan relationships for collaboration put him in a category of being the best of the best  Top Gun.

John Driscoll, director and CEO of the Alabama State Port Authority, likewise said Shelbys vision was as important as the funding hed won for the state.

Senator Shelbys goal has never been just to send a check, Driscoll said. Its always been to create the conditions for long-term growth and success in all of Alabama, not just in Lower Alabama, in all of Alabama.  All of these investments position Mobile and Alabama for the future, a very very bright future indeed.

Shelby himself took advantage of his time to praise other leaders hed worked with over the years, including congressmen Jack Edwards, Sonny Callahan, Jo Bonner, Bradley Byrne and Denton.

Though his remarks to the crowd were general and didnt get into politics, Shelby did lift the curtain on some behind-the-scenes discussions. He said he once sounded out Byrne  who now heads the Mobile Chamber  about becoming U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama.

Shelby said he made the call when Byrne was serving in the Alabama Senate, which would put it between 2003 and 2007  likely around the time David York resigned from the position in 2005.

I called him, he was in the state senate, he was doing well, he had a family  I said, Bradley, would you like to be the U.S. attorney, here in the Southern District? He said, Well, I would like to have been, a number of years back, but now I have obligations to my family, said Shelby.

Shelby also described a fateful meeting with Elliot Maisel, the chair of the Mobile Airport Authority and a driving force in the plan to swap commercial passenger service from west Mobile to the Brookley aeroplex.

I remember when Elliot Maisel came to me in Washington, and he said, Ive got this idea to move the Mobile airport downtown, said Shelby. I said, Boy, that would make a lot of convenience, wouldnt it? among other things  I thought, Wow, man, that [could] never happen. About four hours later after thinking about it I called him, I said, It could happen. And it is happening.

Though Shelby did not address the current political situation in Washington during his remarks, he did while taking questions from media beforehand.

Asked whether he would vote for former president Donald Trump, if Trump should run again, Shelby said he would vote for the Republican partys nominee, whoever that was.

Ive worked with the president, Shelby said, referring to Trump. Ive got a lot of respect for him in a lot of ways. Hes different. Hes a unique person. Well have to see what unfolds, but Ill be a private citizen. Well go from there.

Asked about congressional hearings on the Jan. 6 insurrection, Shelby said, I was there. That was a dark day for the country and I thought it would never happen, when they stormed into the Senate, the House, the Capitol. People should be punished for that.

As for upcoming midterm elections, Shelby said he expects his party to make gains.

You never know what will happen, he said. I think the House will flip for Republicans. Weve got a good chance to flip the Senate, but it has to be on the battleground. I say well win both the House and the Senate.

Asked what he thought would keep him busy after retirement, Shelby has a quick answer: My wife. (At another point in the program, Stimpson commented that Those closest to our senior senator know that he would never have flown this high or been this successful were it not for the wise counsel and faithful support from the best and the smartest of all the Shelbys, his lovely wife of 62 years, Annette Shelby.)

Ive been married 62 years and shell keep me busy doing something, he said. If youre married youll understand that. Ill stay busy doing something. As we move on in our lives, we do slow down.

Asked if he had could go back and give himself some advice at the beginning of his career, Shelby said it would be Work harder. You cant work too hard. People think they can. Work harder, seize the moment when you can.

I think overall I look back and say I worked for the state, I worked for the country, he said. You cant change everything  you dont want to change everything. Its been a good run.
Ford Vietnam is recalling 1,444 Ranger pickup trucks for improperly attached windshields.

Their poor bonding could reduce the effectiveness of airbags in case of an accident and affect the vehicles' roof.

All the recalled vehicles were made between Jan 9 and July 9 last year.

Ford did not disclose if they were made locally or imported.

Ford Ranger trucks started to be assembled in Vietnam last July, though the XLS version continues to be imported.

They have been the top selling trucks in Vietnam for years despite being one of the most expensive in the segment.

They cost VND628-937 million (US$26,850-40,000).

Ford sold 9,697 units in the first six months, down 15 percent year-on-year, according to the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association.
A1 says it cant wait to get in front of Vietnamese audiences and perform its once popular hits such as Like a Rose and Learn to Fly.

The British-Norwegian boy band is set to perform at the HAY Glamping Music Festival in Hanoi on August 6.

The band consisting of Paul Marazzi, Christian Ingebrigtsen, Mark Read, and Ben Adams was formed in 1998 and has many hits under its belt like 'Every time,' 'Take On Me' and 'Like A Rose.'

It has won three BRIT Awards, the British equivalent of the U.S.s Grammy Awards.

Speaking to VnExpress online, the members of the band said they have always wanted to visit Vietnam.

They hope to visit some of its famous destinations and enjoy its best foods. Adams wedding photographer was a Vietnamese woman currently working in Norway, and he said he had asked her to recommend some must-try experiences in Vietnam.

Read is keen to try Vietnamese foods, especially spicy ones, and said a friend had suggested he should try deep-fried insects.

Ingebrigtsen is eager to try the local beers.

Asked about how they plan to prepare for the event, they promised to dress up and make sure they look great."We all probably have to cut our hair before coming."

Their favorite songs include The Things We Never Did and Like a Rose but they agreed Caught in the Middle topped the list.

Fortunately, they are not bored with their old songs.

Some of their songs are not popular in Europe but well-known in Southeast Asia, they said.

"We enjoy performing those songs. Many songs have not been even sung for many years because the audience in Europe has never heard of them."

They talk about an unforgettable experience in Thailand a few years ago. An hour before the show the organizers asked them to sing If You Were My Girl saying it was their most popular song there.

However, they had only sung it once before: in the studio for the flip side of a pop single record.

Ingebrigtsen had composed it but could not remember the lyrics before the Thai concert and had to sit and memorize them again. But on the stage, he could only remember two lines and could not continue further. He then gave his microphone to the audience, and they sang the rest of the song.

"We got goosebumps at that moment."

A1 split in 2002 but reunited in 2018.

"We have less pressure than before. During our tours, audiences just want to listen to old hits instead of new songs. No one expects us to keep releasing hits."

They also enjoy the feeling of being on stage more than before. They now have their own record company and are therefore no longer under pressure from a management company.

"We are lucky that we still have many fans around the world, especially in places where A1 did not have the opportunity to perform 20 years ago like Vietnam."

Asked about the music industry now, they said things are happening at a faster pace.

A1 debuted in the days of CDs and cassettes. On social networks, they describe themselves as "ancient people." However, they are trying to learn.

"We're trying to understand how social networks work. We use TikTok but not often. One of our plans in the next year is to learn how young people use these platforms to release music."

A1 thinks the days of boy bands have not passed yet. There are still several famous boy bands. In the past, some got a bad rap because they were founded on looks and not musical talent. However, that is no longer the case.

"We can see many Korean boy bands today achieving success. Their members all have a chance to shine. Some are talented rappers and vocalists. Another example is One Direction."

Talking about plans for the near future, they said they would regularly release new songs. Recently they released a single, Armor, which has been warmly welcomed by their fans.

Besides, they have written a lot of songs and they are choosing their best ones to make an album, but have yet come up with a name or a specific release plan.

"We'll probably call it 'The A Game'."
South Africa: Man arrested for murder of ex-girlfriend's child

Eastern Cape South African Police Service (SAPS) Commissioner, Lieutenant General Nomthetheleli Mene has expressed shock and deep sadness at the tragic death of a six-year-old boy in Gqeberha.

It is alleged that on Monday, 25 July 2022 at 1pm, a 33-year-old male handed himself over at SAPS Swartkops for the alleged murder of his ex-girlfriends son, Thabang Klaas.

According to police information, on Friday, 22 July 2022, the suspect took the child from his grandmothers house in New Brighton and went into the bushes between Mathys Grounds and Wells Estate in Swartkops where he allegedly strangled him, said provincial SAPS spokesperson Colonel Priscilla Naidu.

The body of the child was found on 25 July 2022 in a footpath in the bushes.

The suspect has been detained on a charge of murder and the motive for the murder is suspected to be revenge against the ex-girlfriend. The investigation is continuing and he is expected to appear in the Gqeberha Magistrates Court on Wednesday.

Mene expressed her condolences to the family of the deceased child and added that children need to be protected from abuse and violence at the hands of those to whom they look up to and emulate as role models.

The protection of our children is everyones business and responsibility and the police urge the community to report any suspected child abuse or neglect. Children are trusting those who they know thereby making them vulnerable to child abusers and murderers. I urge the communities to be the voice to the voiceless and let us stop the abuse and brutal attacks of our children, said the Lieutenant General.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2022-07-26. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Students speak to company representatives at a job fair in Hanoi on June 4, 2022. Photo by VnExpress/Duong Tam

Both foreign and local companies in various industries continue to grapple with labor shortages as they aim to expand activities in a recovering economy.

"Air-conditioned workspace, free bus transport, and many other attractive benefits" are part of the recent recruitment notices of electronics manufacturer Pegatron Vietnam in the northern city of Hai Phong.

The supplier of Apple offers a monthly salary of VND9-13 million ($385-556) to workers. It has also been looking for managers and engineers.

Another Apple supplier, Goertek Vina, has been looking for workers who can start right away, with no limit in the number of applications.

Last week it sought procurement specialists, trade specialists, and customer service staff.

A recent report by recruitment platform Adecco said the trend of manufacturers shifting out of China and trade pacts between Vietnam and the EU, Japan and South Korea have caused a considerable increase in recruitment demand.

Manufacturing disruptions in China have made Vietnamese and other Southeast Asian markets attractive destinations for manufacturing, CEO of Adecco Hanoi Nguyen Ha said.

Industrial park data affirmed this trend, as they recorded a 90 percent occupancy in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang in the second quarter, according to property consultancy Colliers Vietnam.

Long Hau Industrial Park in the southern province of Long An said companies there had increased their recruitment demand by 30-40 percent in the first six months.

"We therefore have to recruit more staff to help these companies find workers."

Recruitment platform Navigos said in a note that leasing, industrial property and investment managers are popular jobs but with low supply.

Companies often look for experienced Vietnamese for these jobs, but struggle to attract talents, it said.

The IT industry is also seeing a surge in demand as more contracts are sent to Vietnamese companies amid the Russia-Ukraine tension, the report said.

VietnamWorks, a popular recruitment website under Navigos, saw the number of job posts increase by 20 percent year-on-year to over 65,000 in the first six months.

Technology was the most sought-after sector, followed by finance/investment and sales.

Some popular jobs were software developers and data technicians.

The Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs said there was a shortage of 120,000 workers in the first quarter, or nearly 10 percent of recruitment demand, 2-3 percentage points higher than in previous years.

Since March, factory workers, shippers, salespeople, hotel and restaurant staff have been popular jobs to record a supply shortage, according to recruitment platform Viec Lam Tot.

There is also a shortage in high-skilled labor.

Most of Vietnams 1.3 million electronics workers perform simple tasks classified as low-value manufacturing, the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry said in a report released last week.

Sixty percent of businesses surveyed said the lack of skilled workers was "a moderate to serious" challenge, while 50 percent viewed the lack of professional supervisor and managerial skills as a "big challenge", said the report, conducted in partnership with International Labour Organization last year.
Initial investigations by the police show that 3.5 liters of rice wine were consumed by a 54-year-old female landlord with five friends  two women and three men, from 7-9 p.m. Wednesday (July 20) night.

This group continued to drink the next day from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., consuming another 1.5 liters of alcohol. The five liters of alcohol of unknown origin were purchased by a man in the group for VND37,000 ($1.58) per liter.

On the evening of July 22, all three women complained of tiredness. They began vomiting and had trouble breathing. Relatives rushed them to a local hospitals emergency ward.

The landlady died on the way to the hospital. The other two women were taken to the Ca Mau Province General Hospital in critical condition, comatose with no pulse or blood pressure and requiring mechanical ventilation.

The doctors diagnosed them with alcohol poisoning, suspected methanol poisoning (industrial alcohol), and administered emergency rehydration and dialysis, but both died the following day.

Three men who are drinking with them are in good health, including one who is the husband of one of the deceased.

People in the neighborhood said this group of people organized drinking parties occasionally.

Local officials said Monday that families suspect the three women died of alcohol poisoning and did not request a post mortem.

However, police said that deaths will be investigated to determine the cause.

It is not uncommon practice for sellers or makers to mix industrial alcohol to other liquors to reduce prices. Many deaths and serious complications have happened due to methanol poisoning caused by alcohol consumption.
From war to peace: Vietnam's rubber sandals march on

Workers making rubber sandals at a shop in Hanoi, Vietnam, on July 5, 2022. Photo by AFP

Made from recycled military truck or aircraft tyres, Vietnam's hand-made rubber sandals, the famously rugged footwear of the Viet Cong, have travelled vast distances over the decades.

In the bustling capital Hanoi, all kinds of shoes are on sale: from $1,000 Gucci heels to $2 plastic slippers.

But for those seeking a nod to yesteryear, the hard-soled rubber sandals -- evocative of the communist state's resourcefulness under fire -- are available at markets and small stores alike.

Uncle Ho's sandals

Dao Van Quang paid $8 for a standard pair at a shop outside a Hanoi museum devoted to the country's revolutionary leader -- and dedicated rubber sandal wearer -- Ho Chi Minh.

"I wore rubber sandals when I was at school, in the 1980s," the 47-year-old from central Quang Nam province told AFP.

"They are of historical value, easy to wear and look nice."

Workers cutting apart a rubber truck tyre outside a workshop in Hanoi. Photo by AFP

At the museum, the well-worn pair belonging to the former North Vietnam president known affectionately as "Uncle Ho" are displayed in a glass box with his Chinese-style uniform.

Ho's sandals have even been lauded in national songs praising his simple lifestyle.

"These sandals helped Uncle travel a long way, and with them, he overcame difficulties to build the country," the lyrics of one song say.

The Vietnamese first began making rubber sandals in the late 1940s, during the First Indochina War against the French, using tyres from an ambushed army truck.

They found the sandals were cheap to make and survived well in wet, muddy and hilly conditions, as soldiers marched through thick jungle.

Later, during the Vietnam War, the simple but sturdy footwear became a symbol of the communist Viet Cong forces' ingenuity in their fight against the United States' military might.

Even in peacetime, the design remains popular for sustainability reasons, said Nguyen Duc Truong, who has spent his life crafting the shoes.

"I think there is still much potential for rubber sandals," the 58-year-old said.

Nguyen Duc Truong hand making rubber sandals at a shop in Hanoi. Photo by AFP

Rising popularity

Vietnam is one of the world's top four countries for shoe manufacturing and its factories produce pairs for major brands such as Nike and Adidas.

The footwear export industry generated nearly $12 billion in the first half of this year, according to government figures.

While the humble rubber sandal does not quite generate the same revenue, it is high on heritage value and its popularity as a casual shoe is rising.

Vua Dep Lop, which started as a small business and became Vietnam's rubber sandal leader, sells the footwear for around $10 a pair.

At its workshop in Hanoi, shoemakers use sharp knives and chisels to craft the sandals from huge tyres that are almost the same height as the workers.

While the traditional black models are bestsellers, a colourful modern twist is helping the sandal appeal to a younger demographic.

Nguyen Tien Cuong posing with his company's rubber sandals at a showroom in Hanoi. Photo by AFP

Nguyen Tien Cuong took over the business from his father-in-law in 2011, and has sold more than half a million pairs of rubber sandals since then.

"We tried to make them softer and more fashionable. After changing the style and format, we started having more customers," he said.
The United States will provide $14 million toward a front-end engineering and design study that will provide the basis for deploying a small modular reactor, known as an SMR, to Romania. President Joe Biden made the announcement at the recent G7 Leaders Summit as part of the Administrations commitment to execute the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment, the G7s plan aimed at narrowing infrastructure gaps around the world.



SMRs are advanced nuclear reactors with factory- made portable components that can be assembled on site, vastly cutting costs of building traditional nuclear power plants, and they can generate a large amount of low-carbon electricity.



The U.S. State Department called the $14 million commitment another milestone in in the United States support for clean energy innovation as part of global efforts to combat climate change. The U.S. will be partnering with the Oregon-based firm NuScale Power, which will be constructing the SMR for Romania.



Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry said, Nuclear energy, including small modular reactors, represent a critical tool in the fight against climate change and can also enhance energy security and boost economic prosperity.



The site for the proposed SMR plant in Romania has both symbolic and practical dimensions. It is a shuttered coal-fired power plant in the city of Doicesti. Repurposing the plant means no new land has to be acquired; existing water sources, as well as rail and road connectivity, are available; and the local community will benefit from the jobs that will be created.



U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Robin Dunnigan praised Romania as an exemplary partner in the U.S. and Romanias mutual pursuit of transatlantic peace and security, as well as global efforts to combat climate change.



Through its pledge to deploy U.S. small modular reactor technology, she declared, Romania is not only reinforcing its strong relationship with the United States through civil-nuclear cooperation, but also setting an example for others to follow on the capabilities of clean energy technologies and advanced nuclear reactors to facilitate our transition away from fossil fuels.
ELKO  The presence of COVID-19 as measured at Elkos sewage treatment plant doubled over the past two weeks, and now has the potential of infecting 30 people a day.

Data from Biobot Analytics listed an effective virus concentration of 1.58 million genome copies as of July 19, the most recent test date. That compares with roughly 790,000 copies on July 5. Testing is being done every two weeks.

The virus concentration is now equal to initial coronavirus outbreaks in the fall of 2021 and 2022. It is still well below the omicron peak registered in February 2022.

Elkos virus concentration is now higher than 89% of samples collected across the country by Biobot over the past six weeks.

Last week, Northeastern Nevada Regional Hospital reported an uptick in cases although they arent as severe as they were in earlier phases of the pandemic.

Steve Simpson, the hospitals chief executive officer, told the Elko County Board of Health that after a zero-COVID month for the hospital in April, cases started up again in May with five admissions, eight admissions in June and 17 so far in July because of the new variants of the virus, especially omicron BA.5.

Thats definitely a concerning trend, and were watching it closely, Simpson said on July 20. But he reported that people are not getting nearly as sick with the virus now, and most of patients who come to the emergency room dont need to be hospitalized.

Confirmed case numbers are believed to be lower than actual numbers due to home testing and the reduced severity of cases. Elko Countys official case numbers ticked up only slightly last week, from eight to nine new cases per day, according to Nevada Health Response.

Hospitalizations statewide have increased from around 70 in mid-April to 500 in the second week of July.

Nevada has seen an average of three deaths per day from the virus over the past two weeks, for an overall total of 11,189 since the pandemic began in early 2020.
ELKO  An Arizona man was arrested Monday on firearm charges related to a December incident in Carlin.

Jeremy D. Mathias, 41, of Marana is accused of owning or possessing a gun by a prohibited person and aiming a gun at a person.

Carlin police were called on Dec. 18 to a Camp Street apartment on a report of two men having an altercation involving firearms.

According to an officers statement, a man was awakened by someone pounding on his front door, and when he opened it Mathias was pointing two firearms at him.

The victim was able to grab one of the guns and remove the magazine, but Mathias allegedly pointed the other gun at him and pulled the trigger. The revolver did not discharge.

Police said Mathias admitted having the weapons and allowed them to search his truck, where they found a revolver and a Glock pistol.

Mathias was not arrested but a criminal complaint was filed against him on July 12, less than two weeks after the Elko County District Attorneys office received the officers unsworn declaration about the alleged offenses.

Due to a prior felony conviction in Arizona, Mathias was charged with possessing a gun by a prohibited person, a felony with bail listed at $20,000.

He was also charged with aiming a gun at a person, which is a gross misdemeanor with $2,500 bail.

Mathias was also booked for making a false statement to obstruct a public officer and resisting a public officer, but those charges were not in the criminal complaint.

According to Elko County Jail records, Mathias was also arrested by Carlin Police in November for domestic battery.

His bail on the current charges totals $24,780.
ELKO  An Elko man who was charged with lewdness with a minor has been ordered to serve six months under house arrest.

Dean Conn, 77, was accused of fondling a 13-year-old female while touching himself, according to a criminal complaint filed in November by the Elko District Attorneys Office. The acts were alleged to have occurred on or about 2018 and March 2021.

According to an Elko Police Department report, Conn denied the charges and said he was never alone with the girl. However, he pleaded no contest to a gross misdemeanor charge of open or gross lewdness.

Conn was sentenced by District Judge Al Kacin to 364 days in jail, suspended if he follows certain conditions while on probation for 12 months.

Conditions include being under house arrest for six months, with the exception of leaving for medical treatment or attending outpatient psychotherapy sessions for depression and anxiety.

He was also ordered to pay the victim $620 in restitution and have no contact with her or anyone else under 18 in a secluded environment unless another adult who has never been convicted of a sexual offense is present and permission has been obtained from his parole and probation officer.
Ambassador Thai Xuan Dung and honoured individuals and organizations (Photo: VOV)

At the event, the Vietnamese Embassy handed over the certificates, granted by the Prime Minister, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Chairperson of the State Commission for Overseas Vietnamese, to outstanding Vietnamese collectives and individuals.

The certificates reflect the Party and States recognition of contributions made by overseas Vietnamese in the Czech Republic and Europe as well.

Speaking at the event, Ambassador Thai Xuan Dung highly valued the communitys solidarity and dedication to the homeland, during the pandemic and natural disasters.

The ambassador expressed his hope that Vietnamese people in the Czech Republic as well as Europe will continue upholding solidarity to help with their development and integration into their host countries, while contributing more to their homeland.

According to Mr. Hoang Dinh Thang, Chairman of the Union of Vietnamese People Associations in Europe, amid the COVID-19 pandemic and natural disasters ravaging the world over the last two years, overseas Vietnamese people have worked to support the country through many activities, including donating to the COVID-19 vaccine fund and sending relief to flood victims./.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh visits the Institute of Biotechnology at the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology. (Photo: VNA)

The units included the Military Institute of Forensic Medicine under the Ministry of National Defence, the National Institute of Forensic Medicine at the Ministry of Health, and the Institute of Biotechnology at the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology.

The PM affirmed that the Party, State and people always pay attention to affairs relating to war invalids and sick soldiers, as reflected through pragmatic activities, including the search, gathering and identification of remains of martyrs.

In 2013, a project on the search and gathering of soldiers remains was approved, under which genetic testing has been utilised, the leader said, noting that 1,389 martyrs have been identified by DNA testing over the past 10 years.

There are many martyrs who need to be identified, while the capacity remains limited, he pointed out.

The leader requested that viewpoints, guidelines and policies of the Party and State towards revolution contributions be thoroughly grasped, especially those covering the search and gathering of martyrs remains, and the identification work.

He assigned the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs to coordinate with the Ministry of National Defence, the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Information and Communications to establish a national database on martyrs, thus better serving the DNA testing.

The leader also gave instructions on financing and personnel in the effort, and urged the units to enhance international cooperation and learn from the experience of other countries in this regard.

On the occasion, the PM and representatives from ministries and agencies handed over DNA testing results to 12 families of martyrs, as well as savings books./.
Standard Newswire is a cost-effective and efficient newswire service for public policy groups, government agencies, PR firms, think-tanks, watchdog groups, advocacy groups, coalitions, foundations, colleges, universities, activists, politicians, and candidates to distribute their press releases to journalists who truly want to hear from them.Do not settle for an email blasting service or a newswire overloaded with financial statements. Standard Newswire gets your news into the hands of working journalists, broadcast hosts, and news producers.Find out how you can start using Standard Newswire to

CONNECT WITH THE WORLD
The Novus supermarket chain estimates its losses from the Russian aggression at UAH 500 million, Novus COO Oleksiy Panasenko said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.

"Today, our recorded losses are about UAH 500 million. But this is not the final figure. Firstly, hostilities continue in the country. Secondly, with exchange rate fluctuations and rising prices for construction materials, it is difficult to predict how much it will cost to restore damaged stores ", said Panasenko.

As reported, on July 22, the work of the Novus flagship store in the Retroville shopping center was resumed. The Retroville shopping center in Podilsky district of Kyiv came under fire from Russian invaders on March 20.

"We invested UAH 20 million in the restoration of the premises (Novus in the Retroville shopping center). This amount does not take into account the cost of the destroyed goods and the cost of the delivered goods. At the time of the missile attack, there were goods worth several tens of millions. It cannot be said that it was completely destroyed - some of it was saved, the goods were taken to other stores," Panasenko said.

According to him, now the company is focused on restoring damaged stores in Bucha.

Novus Ukraine LLC was established in 2008, in the same year the first Novus supermarket was opened in the country. The Novus supermarket chain is being developed by BT Invest (Lithuania), established in 2008. As of June 2022, the network in Ukraine has more than 70 stores.
Energy Minister of Ukraine Herman Haluschenko is confident that the coming winter will be the last time Russia will be able to use gas blackmail in relation to the countries of the European Union.

He expressed this opinion in Brussels on Tuesday before participating in an informal lunch with EU energy ministers, which will be held on the sidelines of an extraordinary meeting of the EU Energy Council.

"The main goal is to stop receiving gas from Russia. I think this is the last winter when Russia will be able to put pressure on the EU using gas. I am sure about that. Surely, it takes time to diversify supplies, and, of course, there are a number of issues. But what we see and what we have already faced is an achievable goal, and we can achieve this together," he said.

The Ukrainian minister noted the importance of getting rid of dependence on Russian gas supplies "as soon as possible." Any decision must be made quickly  we do not have time to think. Another important issue is solidarity in the EU. The main goal for the Russians is to divide us, to try to influence individual countries. We know that our main task is to be in solidarity, to be united in the EU. And Ukraine is an important part of that. Thanks to this solidarity, we will win this war, we will win this energy war with Russia," Galuschenko said.

According to the energy department's head, the EU and Ukraine are facing "the most difficult energy crisis in recent decades." At the same time, he referred to "the repeated experience of Ukraine, when Russia stopped gas supplies in the middle of winter, but we were able to survive it." "I want to share this experience," he said.

Haluschenko also said Russia started an energy war even before Russia's direct invasion of Ukraine started. "Last autumn, they already began to reduce the volume of gas supplied through the Ukrainian gas transportation system. We saw a gradual decline from 70 to 60 to 40. But on the first day of the war, they increased the volume to a maximum level of 109. I think that what they are trying to show is that, like, "this is a war, but do not worry, you will have gas. But when they saw that it did not work, since all countries were united in supporting Ukraine, they again reduced the volumes," the minister said.

He called "important" the agreements reached in Brussels on Tuesday to reduce EU gas consumption by 15%. "The decision to reduce gas consumption is very important. This is exactly what we faced before the war started. The sanctions are working. What we are seeing now is Russia's attempts to manipulate this issue by claiming that sanctions are not effective. But this is not true. We need sanctions, and the level of sanctions should be increased," Haluschenko said.

The minister also said Ukraine can already export electricity to the EU up to 1.5 gigawatts, which "will allow the EU not to buy up to 5 billion cubic meters of Russian gas."
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has asked the U.S. government to provide "gas lend-lease" to ensure a stable heating season in the country.

"Preparation for the most difficult winter in our history continues, and in this preparation we are looking for all possible tools to be ready for any scenario," Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said in a message on his Telegram channel.
Govt allocates UAH 126.3 mln to pay for utility services consumed in buildings where IDPs lived under martial law

The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has allocated UAH 126.3 million to cover the expenditures of the central and local authorities on utility services consumed in the buildings where internally displaced persons (IDPs) were temporarily placed under martial law.

The government approved this decision during a Tuesday meeting, a representative of the Cabinet of Ministers in the Verkhovna Rada, Taras Melnychuk, said on the Telegram channel.

In particular, UAH 126.251,856 was allocated from the reserve fund of the national budget to cover the expenditures of state and municipal establishments, enterprises, institutions and organizations, private educational facilities on utility services consumed in their premises (buildings) where IDPs were temporarily placed under martial law in April 2022.
Russians launch missiles at Odesa region  spokesperson of Regional Military Administration

On Tuesday, July 26, the Russian occupiers carried out a rocket attack on Odesa region using strategic aviation, said spokesperson of the Regional Military Administration Serhiy Bratchuk.

"Odesa region. A missile attack using strategic aircraft," he wrote on the Telegram channel on Tuesday morning.

The spokesperson of the Regional Military Administration promised to provide more detailed information later.
Since the seizure of Zaporizhia NPP on March 4, the Russian occupiers have abducted up to 100 employees of the NPP, Energoatom President Petro Kotin on the air of Suspilne on Monday.

"They kidnapped up to 100 people from the station's employees and only some of these people then return to work with a broken psyche, making a statement that they love the Russian world because of the tortures that are applied to them by the invaders," Kotin informed.

According to him, currently there are about 10,000 employees of the NPP in the town of Energodar out of the total number of personnel of more than 11,000.

"However, not all of them work at the station on a permanent basis, the station has also reduced the maximum number of personnel who are constantly at the site  without additional services that work there in peacetime. That is, there are about 10,000 employees of the power plant in Energodar, but there are significantly fewer at the site itself," the head of the company noted.
The Russian occupiers on Tuesday morning, July 26, fired on Kharkiv, information about the victims is being clarified, mayor of the city Ihor Terekhov said.

"Again the night shelling of the city. It hit one of the parts of Kharkiv, which is closer to the center. Traditionally, a hit near a building that has nothing to do with military infrastructure," he wrote on the Telegram channel on Tuesday morning.

Terekhov stressed that there is no information about the victims yet.

"I hope that there will be no injured or dead people," the mayor added.
More than 1,048 children were injured in Ukraine as a result of the full-scale armed aggression of the Russian Federation: as of the morning of July 26, 2022, the official number of child victims per day has not changed  358, but the number of wounded has increased  more than 690, the Prosecutor Generals Office (PGO) reports.

These figures are not final, as work is underway to establish them in the places of active hostilities, in the temporarily occupied and liberated territories, the report says.

Children were most affected in Donetsk region  363, Kharkiv  194, Kyiv  116, Chernihiv  68, Luhansk  61, Mykolaiv  55, Kherson  54, Zaporizhia  40.

Due to the bombing and shelling by the armed forces of the Russian Federation, 2,188 educational institutions were damaged. Of these, 221 were completely destroyed.
By Trend

The implementation of Azerbaijani President's decree "On number of measures to increase level of self-provision with food wheat" has begun, Trend reports via the explanation to Resolution No. 433 of the Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan.

"As it's known, in order to ensure the food security of Azerbaijan, including increasing the level of self-provision with basic foodstuffs, on July 19, 2022, the President of Azerbaijan signed a decree "On number of measures to increase level of self-provision with food wheat," the explanation said. "In accordance with the resolution adopted by the Cabinet of Ministers to implement this decree, the Ministry of Agriculture, within two months, in coordination with the State Reserves Agency, the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Finance and other authorized state bodies, will develop an action plan to improve the legislation on grain."

"In coordination with the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Justice and other relevant state bodies will prepare and submit proposals to the Cabinet of Ministers on improving the mechanism for providing soft loans and implementing state guarantees for food wheat producers in order to create modern farms and acquire modern irrigation systems," the explanation noted. "It's envisaged that the Ministry of Agriculture will annually submit a report on the analysis of the results of the implementation of measures to the Cabinet of Ministers by January 20."

"The State Reserves Agency of Azerbaijan, in coordination with the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Finance, will submit proposals on the state purchase price for food wheat, taking into account the costs of production and the possible profit of the producer to the Cabinet of Ministers annually until July 28 and in subsequent years - until June 10," added the explanation.
The French Ministry for the Economy, Finance, Industrial and Digital Sovereignty is ready to donate 10,000 laptops to Ukrainian doctors to support the digitalization of the medical sector, Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine Mykhailo Fedorov said.

"To make it easier for doctors to work and communicate with patients online, it is important to provide everyone with high-quality Internet and a computer. This is an important part of the plan to digitalize the medical field," Fedorov wrote on Telegram.

He also thanked the French ministry for supporting the digitalization of the Ukrainian medical sector.

As reported earlier, the government decided to switch to electronic prescriptions. In addition, the country has implemented the issuance of electronic sick leave.
The Council of the EU announced on Tuesday it is renewing its sanctions on Russia over the situation in Ukraine by another six months.

"The Council today decided to prolong by six months, until 31 January 2023, the restrictive measures targeting specific sectors of the economy of the Russian Federation," the Council said in a statement on Tuesday.
Former Minister of Justice of Ukraine Oleksandr Lavrynovych and former Foreign Minister Kostiantyn Hryschenko, suspected in the framework of the investigation of Kharkiv Pact, have left Ukraine, they have been put on the wanted list, the State Bureau of Investigations (SBI) has said.

"Indeed, the investigation became aware that the former Minister of Foreign Affairs left Ukraine in January of this year and flew to Paris. The former Minister of Justice left Ukraine in May," communications adviser for the SBI Tetiana Sapian said on the air of the Ukrainian telethon on Tuesday.

According to her, the location of the former ministers is currently being established and is a secret of the pretrial investigation.

"But both defendants in the criminal proceedings on high treason have been put on the state and international wanted list. The next step will be to obtain court permission to detain them," Sapian said.

Then, as the communications adviser noted, a petition will be filed to select a measure of restraint in the form of detention.

"In parallel, the SBI investigators will petition for extradition and putting these persons on the wanted list through the 'red line' of Interpol," she said.
The Russian occupation forces mounted its Tuesday morning attacks on Zatoka from 13 aircraft, Spokesperson for the Ukrainian Air Force Yuriy Ihnat has said.

"According to our information about what has happened todays early in the morning, at first they mounted attacks from Su-35 and Su-30 aircraft from the Black Sea waters. The aircraft are based at Akhtubinsk Air Base. At around 04:30 a.m., three such aircraft made strikes with Kh-59 missiles. Five missiles were fired mostly at Odesa region, Zatoka district and other places," he told a press briefing hosted by the Ukraine Media Center in Kyiv on Tuesday.

According to the official, in half an hour ten Tu-22M3 long-range bombers mounted another eight attacks with Kh-22 missiles from the Black Sea waters.

"At around 05:00 a.m., ten Tu-22M3 long-ranger bombers, which are based to the north from Ukraine, Shaykovka Air Base, Russia, flew to the Black Sea waters and also fired eight Kh-22 missiles from there. They [the strikes] were also targeted mostly at Odesa region, Zatoka district, where the well-known bridge is located," Ihnat said.
The European Union has published an annual report on the implementation of the Association Agreement by Ukraine: despite the challenges, the reforms that have been introduced enable Ukraine to enter the new phase of its European integration with confidence.

"We will continue to support Ukraine on this path," the European Commission commented on its Twitter page on the document published on the eve of the meeting of the EU-Ukraine Association Council, scheduled for September 5, which deals with the implementation of reforms by Ukraine under the Agreement on the association between the EU and Ukraine for the period from the publication of the last report on December 1, 2020, until the start of full-scale Russian military aggression on February 24, 2022.

EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, Vice-President Josep Borrell said in this regard: "Despite the challenges, including those coming from Russia, Ukraine has taken important steps in implementing the Association Agreement. The reforms undertaken to date in this framework allow Ukraine to embark with confidence on the new phase of its relations with the EU following the decision of the European Council on Ukraine's candidate country status. Russia's illegitimate and unprovoked military aggression against Ukraine will not deflect the EU in supporting Ukraine's reform agenda."

In turn, European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi said: "In 2021, Ukraine continued on its reform and European integration course. Following the decision by the European Council to grant Ukraine EU membership perspective and candidate country status, Ukraine needs to pursue further reforms, especially in the area of justice, rule of law, the fight against corruption and fundamental rights. This includes enacting and implementing legislation on a selection procedure for judges of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, adopting an overarching strategic plan for the reform of the law enforcement sector as well as finalising the reform of the legal framework for national minorities and adopting effective implementation mechanisms. The EU will continue to support Ukraine in its European path and link it with the post-war reconstruction efforts."

The report finds that in the period covered by the report, "Ukraine was challenged by Russia's destabilising actions, the conflict in the east and the coronavirus pandemic." The report highlights that Ukraine nevertheless has continued to prioritise association and further integration with the EU, and that despite these challenges, key reforms have gained new momentum.

In particular, in the area of justice, rule of law and the fight against corruption, several positive developments took place, notably the adoption of key laws aiming at reforming the High Council of Justice (HCJ) and re-launching of the High Qualifications Commission of Judges (HQCJ) were adopted. " Significant outstanding challenges include urgent reform of the Constitutional Court (CCU). A new law on the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) was adopted establishing a much needed clear legal framework for the office. The selection process for a new head of the Specialised Anti-corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) was not concluded. The High Anti-corruption Court (HACC) continued building a solid track record, and a law on whistle-blowers protection was adopted. Another significant step was taken in the reform of Ukraine's system for combating serious economic and financial crimes with the creation of the Bureau for Economic Security (BES)," according to the main findings.

In addition, a new public administration reform strategy was adopted by the Government in line with OECD and European public administration principles, and merit-based recruitment to the civil-service was restored.

"Government intervention in the management of state-owned energy company Naftogaz raised concerns over the pursuit of State-Owned Enterprise (SOE) corporate governance reform. A new draft law on corporate governance of SOEs passed the first parliamentary reading in July 2021. It aims to align Ukrainian legislation with OECD guidelines. Ukraine's financial sector remained profitable despite the impact of the Covid-19 crisis. However, developments at the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) sustained concerns over central bank independence and banking supervision," according to the report.

In the energy sphere, Ukraine's wholesale electricity market continued to operate "with some signs of distortion and market manipulation. The strategic goal to connect Ukrainian power grid to the Continental European Network CEN (grid synchronisation) was a top priority for Ukraine in the electricity sector and enabled the eventual connection to the grid on 16 March 2022," the text says.

In addition, little progress was made in environmental reforms in 2021, and in the area of action to combat climate change, Ukraine adopted and submitted its contribution to the Paris Agreement and the National Climate Change Adaptation Strategy. "A focused EU-Ukraine dialogue on the EU Green Deal and Ukraine's Green Transformation has begun, with two extended working sessions held in Brussels and Kyiv," the officials said in the report.

It is also noted that Ukraine has continued to make significant progress in the area of digital transformation. "Ukraine adopted the law on telecommunications regulator, an important step in aligning its legislation with the EU acquis. Digital transformation has already contributed to more efficient and transparent government and the fight against corruption," according to the document.

In addition, the report recalled the fourth Report under the Visa Suspension Mechanism (COM(2021) 602 final) from 4 August 2021 concluded that overall, Ukraine continued to fulfil the visa liberalisation benchmarks and had taken action to address previous recommendations. "However further efforts were needed inter alia in the areas of the fight against corruption, money laundering and the prevention and fight against organised crime," the officials said in the document.

"The European Union will continue to support Ukraine in its comprehensive reform agenda," the European Commission said.
The head of the territorial defense of Dnipropetrovsk region, Hennadiy Korban, has returned to the territory of Poland after leaving the transit area where he was transferred after the seizure of his passport of Ukrainian citizen.

"I have left the transit area. At the moment I am in Poland. As you already know, they did not let me home. They seized my passport and indicated my position as 'person without citizenship' in the citizenship line," he said on Facebook on Tuesday.

Korban also said that he was seeking an opportunity to cross the border of Ukraine.

"I have my birth certificate, which no one can suspend or cancel. This document indicates the place where I was born  in Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine," he said.

Korban also said that he would not cross the border like former President of Georgia, former Head of Odesa Regional State Administration Mikheil Saakashvili did. The latter was also stripped off Ukrainian citizenship when he was abroad. However, Saakashvili entered the country accompanied by his supporters after a brawl with the border guards and law enforcers. A court recognized Saakashvili guilty of illegal crossing the border of Ukraine. Later he was detained and deported to Poland.

"There will be no Saakashvili-style breakthrough of the border. The country is at war!" he stressed.

"And the main this is that from the first days of the war I have been defending and I want to continue to defend my country  with the passport or without it," Korban said.

He also posted a picture of his birth certificate in the commentaries.

As reported, on July 22, Korban confirmed the information about his inadmissibility to the territory of Ukraine and said that his passport of a citizen of Ukraine was seized from him.

He appealed to President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and asked him to help resolve this problem.

As Interfax-Ukraine was told by sources close to Korban, the border service officer seized his foreign passport and did not accept his internal passport from the Diia application, citing the termination of his citizenship.

Earlier on the same day, MP Serhiy Vlasenko (the Batkivschyna faction) published a copy of the decree of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky on the termination of Ukrainian citizenship to a number of people, including businessmen Ihor Kolomoisky, Hennadiy Korban, and MP Vadym Rabinovych. There is still no official confirmation of the existence of this decree.

On July 25, Dnipro Mayor Borys Filatov said that Korban has left the transit area and was helping the work of Dnipro defense headquarters remotely.
Ukrainian businessman Pavel Fuks won in the USA a lawsuit against lobbyist Yuri Vanetik - press service of the businessman

In 2019, Ukrainian businessman Pavel Fuks in California, USA, filed a lawsuit against an American lobbyist Yuri Vanetik, a native of the USSR.

Fuks accused Vanetik of fraud after paying him $200,000 for tickets to Donald Trump Presidential inauguration in 2017.

In his lawsuit, Fuks claimed that Vanetik did not provide the promised tickets, and Fuks had to watch the inauguration ceremony on TV in a hotel bar in Washington, D.C. Vanetik did not satisfy Fuks's request to return the money.

California federal court judge Fernando Aenlle-Rocha found compelling evidence provided by Fuks to the court, which included WhatsApp messages and emails.

The court found Vanetik's arguments unconvincing and not credible. It also held Vanetik liable for fraud with debt obligations.

On July 19, 2022, the judge issued a decision in which he ordered Vanetik to return $200,000 to Fuks and also interest.

Fuks commented on the court decision in his Telegram channel and announced some details:

After examining and evaluating the evidence, including the testimony of witnesses, the court held that:

the defendant provided false information;

the defendant violated the terms of the contract by not fulfilling the obligations under the contract;

the defendant's violation caused damage to the claimant.

The defendant deliberately refused to return the money after the claimant asked him to do so.

He also provided some information from the court decision.

While the trial lasted, an information campaign was carried out against me to discredit me  they spread fakes against me, misinformed journalists. But this did not prevent the court from figuring out where the truth is, Fuks wrote.

He called the decision of the American court an example of how democracy and an honest law enforcement system work.
ViOil Industrial Group donated one million hryvnias to help deal with the consequences of missile attack on Vinnytsia

ViOil Industrial Group  one of the largest vegetable oil producers in Ukraine  joined to the elimination of the consequences of missile terrorism act in Vinnytsia. Total amount of help reaches 1 million hryvnias.

Government and business unite their efforts to support the region  ViOil Industrial Group decided to donate one million hryvnias to eliminate the damages and help victims of enemy`s missile attack on Vinnytsia. Financial help from manufacturers is aimed on supporting the victims of terrorism act and rebuilding damaged houses.

ViOil Industrial Group clarified that 500 000 hryvnias were donated to Vinnytsia Region Military Administration via Charity Fund Regional Humanitarian Hub to support the wounded and the families of the dead.

The other tranche of 500 000 hryvnias, according to the letter of the Executive Committee of Vinnytsia city council, was allocated for the reconstruction of six-flat house, which suffered the most during the explosion caused by a missile attack.

In order to observe the damaged buildings, Executive Committee of Vinnytsia city council formed special commissions which consist of representatives of managing companies and homeowners associations. Direct elimination of consequences of missile attack and rebuilding of houses is performed by municipal services.

Overall, 78 buildings suffered during the missile attack on Vinnytsia. Nearly thirty buildings require replacement of windows and doors. Five of them need roof repair.

It should be reminded that on July 14th, about 11:00, russian occupants fired several missiles on Vinnytsia. Three of them hit civil objects. As a result of missile attack, office and residential buildings were damaged. Also there was a fire on parking lot. Russian Kalibr missiles killed 26 people. The oldest victim was 61 years old, the youngest  only four. Besides that, more than two hundred civilians suffered from this missile attack.

As one of the biggest tax payers and employers of Vinnytsia region, ViOil Industrial Group is holding a responsible civil position and this isn't the first time company supports the city. Elderly residents of Vinnytsia, who experience the war for the second time in their lives, received three thousand grocery sets with the financial support of ViOil Industrial Group.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 26. It is time for the friendship between Bulgaria and Azerbaijan to become a bridge for more significant energy diversification, Kiril Petkov, Prime Minister of the Republic of Bulgaria, said in an exclusive interview with Trend.

Talking about the Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB), which is aimed at transporting Azerbaijani gas to Bulgarias gas the prime minister said that it is 99 percent complete.

For 12 years during the previous government, the IGB project hasnt been finished, it was delayed. I am very proud to have led the government that managed to complete this project in six months. In the next weeks, the IGB will be fully operating. It is finished on 99 percent and in

the next half of the year, the IGB will be fully operating. Were looking at few remaining activities that absolutely need to be completed prior to commercial launch to make sure everything is working safely and properly and that weve kept the highest industry standards, Petkov explained.

He pointed out that the EPC contractor AVAX needs to proceed in a prompt manner with the remaining activities for the integration and testing of the SCADA system.

The rest is mostly under the jurisdiction of the Bulgarian and Greek institutions  a number of administrative procedures that have to be completed so that we can get the projects equivalent of Act 16. The usual deadlines here can take about 3 months but we boosted in Bulgaria a prealignment process with all institutions proactively asking for their green light for ensuring IGBs commercial start. There is an active and dedicated political and institutional support to limit the estimated timeline, said the prime minister.

Petkov went on to add that in Bulgaria theres already an established working group with representatives of all relevant institutions thats set to work on ways to optimize the procedural deadlines.

The IGB project is of immense national and regional importance. I even had weekly calls on the IGB progress with prime minister Kiriakos Mitsotakis on the progress  this is to show you the level of commitment of both governments to support the efforts and measures for the IGB to reach operational readiness. In an increasingly interconnected world, energy security challenges are complex and often require a coordinated regional approach. Bulgaria has been actively working to increase the potential of the regional cooperation by promoting completion of the missing energy infrastructure and ensuring security of energy supplies in South East Europe. This is the road for energy independence, for Bulgaria and for Southern and South-East Europe. It will radically change the level of dependency of our country, he added.

Petkov noted that early on, Bulgarian government understood the importance of gas independency and energy security on a local, regional and European level.

Bulgaria has gone from 95 percent dependency to 0, and we embarked on a fast course of securing gas deliveries for Bulgarian citizens and business. In order to decrease our energy dependency, I travelled to Baku and my meeting with President Ilham Aliev, who was inclined to help us get additional quantity via Turkey, is very much appreciated. During my visit, with President Ilham Aliyev we discussed the possibility of additional Azerbaijani gas supplies to Bulgaria and Azerbaijan's political readiness to support Bulgaria. However, further development of the gas infrastructure and consolidating cooperation among countries in the region is important for guarantying future security of supply and diversification, said the prime minister.

Petkov pointed out that there is a mutual wish to expand the bilateral economic cooperation.

Azerbaijan is an important energy partner of Bulgaria. But we have also found many common economic opportunities in the fields of agriculture, chemical fertilisers, construction, defence industry and IT. With a view to the common challenges, it is more important than ever to continue building on the active high-level political dialogue between our countries. And I am very glad that Bulgaria will soon open an honorary consulate in Azerbaijan. It is time for the friendship between our two countries to become a bridge for future strategic economic projects and more significant energy diversification, Kiril Petkov concluded.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn
Subscription to paid content

Gain access to all that Trend has to offer, as well as to premium, licensed content via subscription or direct purchase through a credit card.
By Trend

A total of three major social reform packages have been implemented over the past four years in Azerbaijan, Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Protection of the Population Anar Aliyev told reporters, Trend reports.

According to Aliyev, these reforms covered four million citizens.

"About 6 billion manat ($3.5 billion) have been allocated from the state budget for these purposes. Reforms carried out in the sphere of labor and employment are priority areas of socio-economic policy. The minimum wage in Azerbaijan has increased by 2.3 times, and the average wage - has by more than 50 percent. We can proudly say that the wage fund in the country has more than doubled," he said.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 26. A Group of representatives of Azerbaijani Diaspora made a trip to Shusha (liberated from Armenian occupation in 2020 second Karabakh war) with the organizational support of the State Committee on Work with Diaspora of Azerbaijan, on July 26, the committee told Trend.

According to committee, trip is includes 130 representatives of the diaspora from 27 countries.

A group of representatives will visit the main city square of Bazarbashi at Ganja gates, Jidir Duzu, the square where the monuments of famous Azerbaijanis are installed.

Representatives will also visit the place where the Shusha Declaration (between Azerbaijan and Turkiye) was signed, house of Khurshidbanu Natavan, the "Khan gizi" spring, the Ashaghi Govhar Agha, Yukhari Govhar Agha and Saatli mosques and other sights.

The visitors will also get acquainted with the reconstruction and improvement work in Shusha.

State Committee on Work with Diaspora of Azerbaijan organized four trips of diaspora representatives to Shusha city in 2021 (July 27, August 17, October 9 and December 2).
BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 26. Representatives of parliamentary political parties appealed to Speaker of the Parliament of Azerbaijan Sahiba Gafarova to prepare a new bill on political parties, Trend reports citing the parliament.

The appeal emphasized the need to draw up a new law that meets the current realities of the country's development.

According to the parliament, Sahiba Gafarova has already given the necessary orders and the document is being developed.

Given the social significance of the new law, Azerbaijan's political parties have been invited to submit their proposals to the parliament.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 26. President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has signed a Decree approving the "Protocol between the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Government of Russia on the mutual application of the electronic system for certifying the origin of goods", signed on March 4, 2022 in Moscow and on March 16 in Baku, Trend reports.

Following the protocol's entering into force indicated in Part 1, the Ministry of Economy and the State Customs Committee will ensure the implementation of its provisions. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan has been tasked with submitting a notification to the Russian government on implementing domestic procedures required for the document's coming into force.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 26. The former judge of Azerbaijans Sumgayit City Court (2008-2019) Ilyas Mahmudov has been arrested on corruption charges, the Prosecutor General's Office told Trend.

The Main Anti-Corruption Department under the Prosecutor General of Azerbaijan opened a criminal case against Mahmudov based on the data received by the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population and the Ministry of Justice, the facts of unlawful assignment of pensions by illegal decisions adopted on behalf of the Sumgayit City Court, and other violations, under the relevant articles of the Criminal Code.

The investigators revealed grounds for suspicion that in exchange for making an unlawful decision to satisfy the claims of plaintiffs in various civil cases pending in its proceedings, Mahmudov extorted bribes from individuals, due to which, in two cases, he adopted unlawful resolutions.

Moreover, there were suspicions that Mahmudov deliberately included false information in 25 resolutions adopted during his work on other cases which were in his proceedings, and sent illegal judicial acts related to determining the length of service and disability to the relevant authorities.

These actions of the former judge caused serious damage to the legally protected interests of the state, which entailed the payment of illegal assigned pensions in the total amount of 243,441 manat ($143,200).

On the basis of the collected evidences, Mahmudov was charged under Articles 295.1 (delivering a knowingly unjust verdict, decision, ruling or decision by a judge), 308.2 (abuse of official powers that entailed grave consequences), 311.3.2 (repeated receipt of a large-amount bribe) and 313 (official forgery) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan, by a court decision, a preventive measure in the form of arrest was chosen against him.

Comprehensive operational and investigative measures are ongoing to establish other circumstances in the case.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 26. Trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Tajikistan amounted to $2.5 million in first half of 2022, or 0.12 percent of total Azerbaijani foreign trade turnover with the Commonwealth Independent States (CIS) countries, Trend reports via Azerbaijani State Customs Committee.

According to the committee, trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Tajikistan decreased by 52.67 percent from January through June 2022 compared to the same period in 2021 ($5.4 million).

The share of Tajikistan in the total trade turnover of Azerbaijan amounted to 0.01 percent.

Tajik imports from Azerbaijan amounted to $2.5 million in first half 2022, which is 52.8 percent less than the same period in 2021 ($5.4 million).

Tajik exports to Azerbaijan amounted to $28,600 from January through June 2022, which is 37.6 percent less than the same period in 2021 ($45,890).

According to committee, Azerbaijan's foreign trade turnover increased by 74.8 percent, or $10.6 billion compared to the same period last year (from $14.2 billion to $24.8 billion).

Exports in the structure of foreign trade turnover accounted for $18.4 billion, which is $9.6 billion (109.7 percent) more than from January through June 2021.

The share of exports in the foreign trade turnover amounted to 74.4 percent against 62.04 percent a year earlier.

Azerbaijan's import increased by $965.8 million, or 17.9 percent in the reporting period (from $5.3 billion to $6.3 billion).

Share of imports in foreign trade turnover amounted to 25.5 percent against 37.9 percent a year earlier.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 26. Azerbaijan's export strategy envisages several directions, Economy Minister Mikayil Jabbarov said in an interview with Azerbaijan Television (AZTV) channel, Trend reports.

"The first direction is geographic diversification, and the second is product diversification. We pay special attention to non-oil exports. Our economic policy is to deepen the process of industrialization in Azerbaijan," Jabbarov said.

According to him, industrial products play the main role in Azerbaijan's non-oil exports.

"In the first half of 2022, Azerbaijan more than doubled its oil and gas exports, trade turnover grew by 75 percent, and non-oil exports by 25 percent, while last year this figure was 45 percent. Non-oil exports could grow even faster, but in mid-March, it became known about problems with food security in the world, as well as with regional processes," the minister noted.

"Given the important role of Russia and Ukraine in the food market of Azerbaijan and assessing the impact of the known events on prices, a special regime has been applied to the export of food products from our country by decision of the government. All this has a negative impact on the growth of non-oil exports," Jabbarov explained.

Therefore, according to the minister, in the coming years, along with building up the industrial potential of Azerbaijan, steps are envisaged to create added value.

"Azerbaijan exports a number of products as intermediate products, but the potential for their localization is being studied and individual projects are being implemented. Various incentive projects will continue to be implemented to maintain the competitiveness of Azerbaijani exports," he concluded.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 26. A meeting on the implementation of Azerbaijani President's decree "On number of measures to increase level of self-provision with food wheat" dated July 19, 2022 was held at the Baku Business Center, Trend reports via the Ministry of Agriculture.

The meeting was attended by Minister of Agriculture Inam Karimov, Deputy Minister of Economy Sahib Mammadov, Head of the Department of Agriculture and Ecology at the Cabinet of Ministers Latif Gasimov, Board Chairman of the State Resources Agency Sabuhi Sadigov, Chairman of the Azerbaijan Amelioration and Water Farm OJSC Zaur Mikayilov, grain producers and farmers.

Speaking at the meeting, the participants noted that the state is implementing support measures for the further development of the agricultural sector, as well as other sectors of the economy.

"The development of various sectors of agriculture, including the grain production sector is subsidized, and the state applies benefits related to the provision of equipment. To prevent risks in this area, the President of Azerbaijan signed a relevant decree to encourage the sowing of food wheat. The document envisages provision of harvest subsidies along with subsidies for sowing per hectare to farmers," the participants said.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 26. The recent social reforms implemented under the instructions of Azerbaijan's president have significantly scaled up social payments, including those who are provided with the monthly Presidential pensions, Trend reports citing the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population.

According to the ministry, a total of 362,000 citizens were secured with monthly Presidential pensions as of July 1, 2022, which was 26.3 percent more than the same period of 2021 (286,700 people) and 6.2 times more than the same figure four years ago (58,000 people).

As part of the post-second Karabakh war social support measures, 104,000 social payments have been assigned to 94,000 martyr families, and war veterans, including disabled ones. A significant part of these payments constituted monthly Presidential pensions.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 26. Wood Mackenzie forecasts two possible scenarios for Europe this winter, Trend reports.

The first scenario suggests that Nord Stream flows will remain at 40 percent capacity.

If Nord Stream flows continue at 40 percent capacity through the rest of the year and flows through other routes remain at levels prior to Nord Stream maintenance, Europe will be able to refill storage to over 80 percent by the start of the winter. Gas demand is expected to be 12 percent lower than previous years because of high prices and demand mitigation measures. That means we anticipate Europe will be able to get through this winter with a comfortable level of storage. But colder temperatures could create additional demand and reduce storage levels to approximately 10 bcm by the end of February. Thats the minimum that we think is required to ensure appropriate functioning of storage facilities. Limited demand curtailment may be required to manage peak demand episodes, unless additional supply is secured, reads the latest analysis by Wood Mackenzie.

According to the second scenario, Nord Stream flows will reduce to zero, but Russian flows through other routes will continue.

If Nord Stream flows reduce to zero by August, Europe will be able to refill its storage to only 70-75 percent by the start of winter. The continent could finish the heating season with around 10 bcm of gas in storage  which would pose a higher risk of demand curtailment. Cold weather, though, presents the biggest threat. If winter is unusually warm in Europe and Asia, gas storage risks running out by the end of February, and Europe may have to curtail as much as 20 bcm of demand  the equivalent of 7 percent of total gas demand or 30-35 percent of all industrial demand in winter. The only material upside that could limit demand curtailments would be to bring back production at Groningen in the Netherlands. However, that remains politically challenging, says Wood Mackenzie.

The company believes that Nord Stream flows are unlikely to remain at 40 percent consistently, and are likely to be below that level. Countries that depend heavily on Russian gas, including Germany, Austria and Central and Eastern Europe, will be left most exposed to the volatility. Europe may end up in a world without Russian gas sooner than expected.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn
BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 26. Europe has to be ready for supply cuts from Russia at any moment, European Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson told reporters on July 26 on the sidelines of the extraordinary Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council, Trend reports.

"We will discuss today the EUs preparedness for the upcoming winter. Yesterdays announcements by Gazprom underline once again that we have to be ready for the possible supply cuts from Russia at any moment. To be ready for that we have to act right now, take care of preparedness, we have to tackle this crisis right now. By doing so, we will reduce our demand preemptively. This allows us to fill the future gap between supply and demand," she said.

Russian Gazprom has announced a drastic cut to gas deliveries through its main pipeline to Europe from Wednesday. The company said it was halting the operation of one of the last two operating turbines due to the technical condition of the engine, cutting daily gas deliveries via the Nord Stream pipeline to 33m cubic metres a day  about 20 percent of the pipelines capacity.

Simson recalled that the Commission proposed a regulation on reducing gas demand in Europe by 15 percent only a week ago.

"Every volume of gas that we managed not to use can help other member states who are facing very difficult challenges of that disruption. Indeed, member states are using different volumes of gas, interconnections are not sufficient for some member states. Filling of our gas storages continues, which means that our member states managed to attract more gas in recent weeks than they are consuming this summer," he explained.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn
By Azernews

By Ayya Lmahamad

Azerbaijan and the United Arab Emirates have discussed opportunities for expanding relations between the entrepreneurs of the two countries, Azernews reports.

The discussion took place during the meeting between Azerbaijans Small and Medium Business Development Agency Board Chairman Orkhan Mammadov with the UAEs ambassador Mohammed Murad Al Blooshi.

During the meeting, the parties also discussed the joint initiatives in the mentioned area and the exchange of experience in the SMBs sector.

Earlier, the ambassador held a meeting with Economy Minister Mikayil Jabbarov, where they discussed the expansion of cooperation in trade, mutual investment, SMBs, logistics, and tourism sectors.

The diplomatic relations between Azerbaijan and the United Arab Emirates were established on September 1, 1992. The trade turnover between the two countries amounted to $50.4 million in 2021.

Last year, Azerbaijan and the UAE signed agreements on pilot projects in renewable energy. Under the agreement, the building of a 230-MW solar power plant is envisaged. On March 15, a groundbreaking ceremony for the 230 MW Garadagh solar power plant, to be constructed by the United Arab Emirates' Masdar company, was held in Bakus Gulustan Palace. The plant is designed to produce 500 million kWh of electricity per year and supply it to approximately 110,000 households. It will reduce gas consumption by 110 million cubic meters and environmental emissions by 200,000 tons.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 12. President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov instructed to modernize the existing taxation system, turn it into an electronic one, Trend reports citing the State News Agency of Turkmenistan (TDH).

Berdimuhamedov said this during an expanded meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers.

The president ordered to modernize the budget and tax system, consistently improve financial reporting, as well as fully introduce an electronic taxation system in Turkmenistan.

Furthermore, Berdimuhamedov instructed the government to activate the work of the small and medium-sized business support fund, review the monetary system and improve financial management.

The measures taken in these areas should contribute to the development of sectors of the national economy and the creation of new jobs.
Iranian Energy Minister Ali Akbar Mehrabian has declared that Turkiye and Iran have agreed to upgrade the infrastructure of power transmission between the two neighboring states, Trend reports citing IRNA.

Mehrabian said on Tuesday that Iran gives importance to electricity diplomacy within the framework of economic cooperation with other nations, noting that energy diplomacy is a strategy to help resolve shortages, generate economic profit, and maintain national interests, so the Islamic Republic is keen on developing collaborations with neighboring countries in this respect.

According to international statistics, Iran stands atop among regional states in terms of generating and developing electricity infrastructure, the minister said, adding that the Islamic countrys geopolitical situation provides it with the opportunity to turn into a hub for connecting power grids to several states.

The administration of President Ebrahim Raisi has prioritized power diplomacy, Mehrabian said, noting that the recent visit by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Tehran paved the ground for expansion of coordination in this regard and that development of power diplomacy was one of the main topics of negotiations among presidents of Russia, Turkiye, and Iran during the Astana peace summit on July 19, 2022.

Upgrading the infrastructure of power transmission between Turkey and Iran was one of the most important agreements, which were achieved during President Erdogans visit, Mehrabian said.

On the basis of mutual agreement, the power networks will be implemented through three infrastructures, he noted.

The two countries agreed to utilize the modern HVDC Back-to-Back method to connect the Iranian power grid to Turkeys in Khoi-Bash Gala infrastructure with a capacity of 600 megawatts, he said.

The minister underlined that given the fact that a shift in diplomacy has happened in Irans establishment and the country pursues the increase of cooperation with neighboring states, the Energy Ministry is interested in bolstering cooperation with regional and friendly countries.
Three Katyusha rockets hit a gas complex in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region on Saturday, a local official said, in the latest attack to target the Emirati-owned facility, Trend reports citing Al Arabiya.

It is still not yet clear if there was any damage in the attack on the Khor Mor complex, said Ramak Ramadan, district chief of Chamchamal where the facility is located.

In June, the site owned by UAE energy company Dana Gas was targeted three separate times by rockets that did not cause casualties or damage.

No none has claimed responsibility for the attacks.
India on Monday strongly condemned last weeks attack on a mountain resort in Dohuk region of northern Iraq in which eight tourists were reportedly killed and 20 others wounded. Following the killings last Wednesday, some Iraqi officials claimed that Turkey was behind the attack, but the Turkish foreign ministry rejected the allegations.

India strongly condemns the recent killings in the Zakho district of Dohuk governorate, Kurdistan region of Iraq, which is a clear violation of the countrys sovereignty and a blatant disregard for international humanitarian law," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement.

India expresses its deepest condolences to the families who lost their loved ones in the dastardly attack, and wishes the injured a speedy recovery," it said.

The MEA said India also conveyed its stand and condolences in messages inscribed on Monday in condolence books opened by the government of Iraq in Baghdad and the Embassy of Iraq in New Delhi.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 26. Embassy of India in Baku organised a State Tourism promotion event as a part of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav at JW Marriott Absheron Baku on July 26, 2022 in hybrid mode. Around 25 Azerbaijani prominent personalities from the field of tourism and hospitality industry and known people from electronic and print media attended the event in physical mode, while their Indian counterparts joined the event in virtual mode.

Charge daffaires of India in Baku Mr. Vinay Kumar welcomed and thanked all the participants for joining the interactive meeting on State Tourism promotion. He also took this opportunity to extend special thanks to the resource persons who joined the meeting online, including Dr. Subhash Goyal, Chairman and Managing Director of STIC Travel Group, Mr. Sanjeev Joshi, Director of Tourism India Management Enterprise Private Limited and Mr. Ravi Gosain, Vice President of Indian Association of Tour Operators. The Indian participants made presentations on Indian states, including Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Kerala, Goa and Rajasthan.

Mr. Elvin Raziyev from Azerbaijan Airlines made a presentation on AZAL and Azerbaijani tourism.

Charge daffaires highlighted Atithi Devo Bhava, which is the core ethos of Indian hospitality, treating the guests like God, guides the Indian tourism and hospitality sector and welcomes tourists from all over the world and give them an experience to remember. The vast diversity of tourist attractions covering land and water bodies, rich national heritage and history, geographic and cultural diversities make India one of the most attractive tourist destinations in the world. The Indian Travel and Tourism Industry is a very important sector for India. It is one of the largest components of the service sector of India and contributed to close to 7% of Indias GDP annually. The sector is expected to experience robust growth post-pandemic and to facilitate the growth of the industry, the Government of India has introduced various measures including improvement in tourism infrastructure and ease of travel to India by extending e-visa facility to over 150 countries including to Azerbaijani citizens.

While the tourism traffic from India to Azerbaijan has seen substantial growth in the last few years, there is still far and few visitors from Azerbaijan to India. This could perhaps be because of the absence of direct flight connection between India and Azerbaijan and also due to the lack of awareness and information regarding the huge variety of attractive places in India that visitors from Azerbaijan could choose. While the recent announcement by the Azerbaijan Airlines regarding start of direct flight between Baku and Delhi twice a week from 09 August 2022 will reduce the travel time to Delhi to just little more than 4 hours, the event provided more information to the major stakeholders in India and Azerbaijan to help them in welcoming more Azerbaijani tourists to India.

Concluding the event, Second Secretary of the Embassy of India gave vote of thanks to all the participants, including speakers, eminent Indian friends from Azerbaijan and colleagues for their auspicious presence and making the event a huge success.

India and Azerbaijan enjoy warm and friendly relations based on historical and cultural ties. The bilateral trade in the first 6 months of 2022 at US$ 895 million has already exceeded the bilateral trade figure for the entire year of 2021 (US$ 739 million). India is now the fourth largest export destination for Azerbaijan. As more people travel to each others countries, they will acquire better knowledge and understanding of each others culture and economies.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 26. The White House thanked Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for his efforts to establish a Joint Coordinating Center for Grain Exports from Ukraine, said White House National Security Council strategic communications coordinator John Kirby, Trend reports citing Turkish media.

Noting that the US and Turkiye are in touch on many issues, Kirby said, "We are grateful to President Erdogan, as well as to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, for their efforts to establish the Joint Coordinating Center."

Commenting on Erdogan's upcoming visit to Russia, Kirby said: "We leave the assessment of the scope of this visit to President Erdogan. Turkey and Russia maintain bilateral relations. Turkiye participates in the implementation of the Joint Security Council".
By Azernews

By Ayya Lmahamad

Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) will publish on its corporate website by August 1, 2022, an Invitation to Tender (ITT) outline for the purchase of gas required for its operational activities, including the fueling of the compressor stations, Azernews reports.

The ITT outline will set out the terms of the tender process to which each bidder shall be deemed to have agreed to by their participation. A proforma Expression of Interest (EoI) form will also be available on TAPs website so that qualifying parties can register their interest in receiving the full ITT package, TAP AG reports.

The supply period is from October 1, 2022, until September 30, 2023, and the delivery points include the interconnection point of Melendugno (Italy), Snam Rete Gas redelivery point at Melendugno, the interconnection point of Nea Mesimvria (Greece) AND tap Virtual Trading Point, accessible for TAP shippers owning forward firm transportation capacity for the relevant period.

This is the third time that TAP is running such a tender process. The first annual ITT for gas to be used for TAPs own operations was launched in June 2020 and the second one in May 2021.

TAP is part of the Southern Gas Corridor and is a pipeline project to transport natural gas, starting from Greece via Albania and the Adriatic Sea to Italy and further to Western Europe.

The pipeline is supplied by natural gas from the second stage of Azerbaijans Shah Deniz gas field development in the Azerbaijani section of the Caspian Sea through the South Caucasus Pipeline and TANAP.

The total length of the pipeline is 878 km, of which 550 km goes via Greece, 215 km via Albania, 105 km offshore, and 8 km through Italy. The offshore leg is laid at a maximum depth of 810 meters.

The initial capacity of the pipeline is about 10 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year, with the option to expand the capacity up to 20 billion cubic meters.

TAPs shareholders are BP (20 percent), SOCAR (20 percent), Snam (20 percent), Fluxys (19 percent), Enagas (16 percent), and Axpo (5 percent)
Turkiyes Abdulhamid Han drill ship will start its mission in the Mediterranean and will leave Mersins port on Aug. 9, Energy Minister Fatih Donmez said Tuesday, Trend reports citing Daily Sabah.

"Turkish drilling ship Adbulhamid Han will start a mission in the Mediterranean on Aug. 9 departing from the Mersin port" in the south of the country, Donmez said during an interview at Haberglobal.

The announcement of the drilling operation near the island of Cyprus comes amid tense relations between Ankara and Athens.
The Joint Coordination Centre (JCC), established as part of a landmark deal to resume grain exports from Ukraine, has started work in Istanbul, Russias defense ministry said, Trend reports citing Daily Sabah.

The center will be officially opened in a ceremony on Wednesday, Turkiyes Defense Ministry said separately on Tuesday.

Ukraine, Russia, Turkiye and the United Nations signed the accord last week to resume Ukraines grain exports, which had stalled after Russias Feb. 24 invasion of its neighbor, in a move hailed as a major step toward averting a global food crisis.

All parties will appoint representatives at the JCC to monitor the implementation of the plan.

Defense Minister Hulusi Akar will attend the centers opening ceremony that will be held at the National Defense University in Istanbul, the statement said.

The Russian delegation to the JCC will arrive in Istanbul on Tuesday and begin work in a four-way format, alongside Turkey, Ukraine and the U.N., the Russian ministry said in a statement posted on social media.
Egypts Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAMPAS) announced on Monday that the unemployment rate in Egypt in Q2/2022 remains unchanged at 7.2 percent, a slight increase from the previous quarter.
Egypts digital services exports hit $4.9 billion in FY2021/22, Minister of Communications and Information Technology Amr Talaat announced during an event in Cairo on Tuesday.

The minister added that the Egyptian information and communications technology sector achieved a growth rate of around 16.7 percent in FY2021/22.

Furthermore, Egyptian start-ups attracted $490 million in foreign investments, up from $190 million in 2020, the minister said while addressing the Egyptian Lebanese Businessmen Friendship Association (ELBA).

He noted that the country seeks to up foreign investments in start-ups to $850 million during the current FY2022/23.

Egypt is paying special attention to its digital transformation, as it targets the digitisation of all government services countrywide as part of its 2030 Vision.

Moreover, Talaat said Egypt seeks to achieve sustainable development through digitisation, providing highly efficient and stable communications services, and providing digital job opportunities for youths.

Consequently, the government has linked all government databases in order allow government bodies to exchange data and provide different services to citizens through one outlet.

As part of the strategy, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi inaugurated the Digital Egypt Platform, which comprises over 130 e-services.

The country has also carried out a handful of digital transformation-related ventures with an overall investment value of EGP 15 billion, the minister added.

These projects included the automation of the Agricultural Tenure System  which includes all agricultural land owners  as well as automating the countrys health insurance system, developing a remote system for litigation procedures, and automating the real estate licensing system.

Currently, the communication ministry  alongside the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities  are cooperating to provide virtual tours of archaeological sites for residents outside of Egypt.

Talaat also said that Egypt has o moved into a new phase of digital services requiring electronic signatures, clarifying that the system will be implemented over several phases.

Initially, public employees moving to the countrys New Administrative Capital (NAC) will be the first to test out the electronic signature system, followed by enterprises and companies that will be able apply it on electronic invoices in cooperation with the Ministry of Finance.

The last phase of the electronic signature system will be applied to services provided to citizens, with consular services for Egyptians residing abroad being a priority in this stage of implementation.

Internet, mobile networks

As for mobile networks services, Talaat said that Egypt offered new frequencies for mobile companies in 2021 at a value of $2 billion and increased the rate of cellular tower installations, noting that 2,300 towers were built in 2021.

He added that Egypt plans to reach 2,800 towers by the end of 2022.

Furthermore, Egypt has invested about EGP 40 billion to raise the efficiency of internet services.

The minister added that the step has contributed to increasing the average fixed internet speed in Egypt and making it the best in Africa with an average speed of 41 Mbps, compared to an average speed of 5.6 Mbps before 2019, when it was in 40th place.

The country is currently pursuing the projects second phase with EGP 40 billion in investments over three FYs, he added.

The second phase aims to replace all copper cables with fibre optics.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on Tuesday defended his country's relationship with Russia, as Moscow's top diplomat toured Africa to drum up support over the war in Ukraine.

"How can we be against somebody who has never harmed us," the veteran Ugandan leader said alongside Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at a press conference in the town of Entebbe.

"If Russia makes mistakes, we tell them. When they have not made mistakes, we can't be against them," he added, hailing Russia for backing anti-colonial movements in Africa.

Uganda was one of 17 African nations to abstain during a vote in March on a UN resolution that overwhelmingly condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Vulnerable countries on the continent and elsewhere in the world, however, have been hard hit by the fallout from the war that has sent prices of fuel and food soaring.

Lavrov insisted Russia was not to blame.

"There is a very loud campaign around this, but our African friends understand their root cause," Lavrov said.

"They are not related to what is happening within the special military operation," he said, using the Kremlin's term for the conflict.

Lavrov's trip comes hot on the heels of a landmark deal Russia and Ukraine signed on Friday with the United Nations and Turkey, which is aimed at relieving the global food crisis caused by blocked Black Sea grain deliveries.

Less than 24 hours later Moscow struck the Ukrainian port in Odessa, one of three exit hubs designated in the agreement, sparking fury in Kyiv and heightening fears the Kremlin would not go through with the deal.

As relations with the West have collapsed over the conflict, Lavrov said Africa would play a greater role in Russia's foreign policy.

Museveni also said Kampala would cooperate with Moscow in a range of fields including space, energy, agriculture and vaccines.

"Our interest with Russia is when there is progress with Russia, we (Africa) benefit," he added.

Lavrov arrived in Ethiopia later Tuesday on the latest leg of a trip that took him to Egypt and Congo-Brazzaville before Uganda.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


Tension and instability are mounting in Sudan. The political scene in Sudan is really going through a rough phase. There are splits within the military and the opposition and the rift between the two is growing. There are troubles in and around the capital, and disturbing developments in the eastern and western provinces, which could prove quite harmful to Egypts strategic interests, said an informed source who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The officials do not exclude the possibility of a backchannel agreement between Sudan and Ethiopia over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) and monitored Addis Ababas many attempts to undermine Egyptian-Sudanese coordination over the dam.

This month, Ethiopia started the third filling of the mega dam on the Blue Nile without any coordination with the two lower stream countries, Sudan and Egypt.

The report, the source said, reveals that in an attempt to lobby Sudan, Addis Ababa has offered Khartoum information about its filling plans. During the first and second filling, Ethiopia declined to provide either of the downstream countries with any details, arguing it was a strictly sovereign matter, leading both Egypt and Sudan to appeal for UN Security Council intervention.

According to a concerned government source, Egypt is keeping a very close eye on everything Ethiopia is doing.

We are well aware of their attempts to pursue a bilateral deal with Sudan away from Egypt and we are constantly talking to the Sudanese about it.

He added that Egypts relations with countries in the Horn of Africa are being accorded a great deal of attention. On Monday, President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi received his Somalian counterpart Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud. In joint press statements after the meeting, the president said he had discussed GERD with his Somali guest, and both presidents underlined the need for a consensual agreement on the matter.

In talks held last week and earlier this week in Berlin and Paris, Al-Sisi also underlined the need for an agreement on GERD.

Sources close to the talks in both European capitals say President Al-Sisi gave a very detailed picture of the consequences, for Egypt and for European neighbours, of the loss of any drop in Egypts water resources due to unilateral actions over GERD.

No European country wants to see heavy waves of migrants coming from Sudan and Egypt, said one source.

Government officials say Cairo is increasingly concerned about the failure of the international community to put any meaningful pressure on Ethiopia to work with Egypt and Sudan to secure an agreement and is now trying to secure the support of the US administration to bring Ethiopia to the negotiating table.

We know that the filling this year is unlikely to exceed that of the past two years  around three to four billion cubic metres  given ongoing construction work, but our eyes are on next year and we are really hopeful for serious US engagement, said one official.

On Sunday, the US Envoy for the Horn of Africa Mike Hammer arrived in Cairo for talks with Egyptian officials on GERD. Hammer took over as US envoy in April, and the visit is part of a regional tour including Abu Dhabi and Addis Ababa. A Cairo-based European diplomat said Hammers priority will be to give a push to UAE-sponsored negotiations between the government of Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and rebel forces in Tigray. The Americans and the Emiratis are working closely on matters that relate to Ethiopia, particularly the peace talks but also Emirati ideas on a GERD deal, he explained.

The US State Department had announced that GERD would be on the agenda of Hammers week-long regional tour.

Cairo, say sources, has been looking at UAE ideas based on joint water, energy, and agrarian projects between the three riparian countries rather than the legal agreement that has so far proved elusive, adding that while Egypt is open to consider all possible options, it will continue to insist on a legal agreement that secures its water rights.

Egypt has solid assurances from key international players, including the US, that its water security will be maintained and whatever the differences between Cairo and Washington on matters of governance, sources say that when it comes to Egypts water security the Biden administration is not taking any chances.

Cairo-based Western diplomats agree that the US and its European allies see the stability of Egypt as crucial to their interests, especially at a moment of heightened international tension with the ongoing war on Ukraine, and add that commitment to the stability of Egypt extends to both water and food security.

Egyptian government sources say Al-Sisis talks with French President Emmanuel Macron were satisfactory and that Paris promised to be there for Egypt to make sure that there is no major drop in wheat supplies.

Egypt is the worlds top wheat importer, with the majority of its supplies traditionally sourced from Russia and Ukraine. While official statements indicate that Egypts needs are covered for the remainder of the year the search is on for alternative suppliers, even at higher prices.

Last week in Belgrade, President Al-Sisi sealed an agreement with Serbia to supply wheat. The agreement was announced by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic following talks with the visiting Egyptian president.

Cairo has also secured a deal with India to supply wheat despite an Indian embargo on wheat exports due to increasing local demand and a reduced harvest.

Meanwhile, Egypt is hoping the deal concluded between Russia and Ukraine to allow for grain exports may yet reduce pressure on the already strained budget for wheat and other grain imports.

On Sunday, in Cairo, President Al-Sisi pressed the issue of Egypts wheat security during talks with visiting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. According to a statement from the presidents press office, wheat and other grain supplies were high on the agenda of the talks Lavrov had with the president.

Sources close to the discussions say GERD was also high on the agenda of the Lavrov talks. Lavrovs visit to Cairo is the first leg of a five-day African tour that will also take in Ethiopia, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 28 July, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


Tehran has not given Ankara the green light it wanted for another military incursion into northern Syria. The meeting between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi failed to resolve the differences over this matter. Further charging the bilateral climate, on 22 July, the Turkish security forces then arrested three Iranians on suspicion of planning to attack Israelis on Turkish territory. A month earlier, Ankara had arrested eight individuals alleged to have plotted to kidnap or kill Israeli tourists and diplomats in Turkey. Last week, a criminal court in Istanbul extended the detention of seven of those eight suspects.

Ankara and Tehran have long been at loggerheads over Syria. Iran strongly opposes Turkish military interventions in northern Syria, a position that the Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei reiterated on 19 July before his own meeting with Erdogan. A military strike against Syria would destabilise the region, he warned.

The arrest of Iranian citizens in Turkey cannot be viewed separately from the rivalry between Ankara and Tehran over Syria and places such as Yemen, Lebanon or Iraq. In the latter, for example, they support opposition political parties and their priorities are at odds with regard to Iraqi Kurdistan. On top of such political concerns, they have simmering disputes over transboundary waters, the flow of Afghan refugees from Iran into Turkey, and Turkish military operations in northern Iraq.

Tehran, for its part, is increasingly concerned by the growing levels of coordination between Turkey and Israel over various political and security matters in the Eastern Mediterranean. It sees the arrest of Iranian citizens in Turkey in this context, especially after Israeli President Isaac Herzogs visit to Turkey in March.

Relations between Turkey and Israel have warmed considerably against the backdrop of the escalating Ukraine crisis and the reduction in Russian gas supplies to international markets. It is not surprising, therefore, that the rapprochement should usher in bilateral talks over energy cooperation between Turkey and Israel. During and after Herzogs visit, President Erdogan took advantage of numerous occasions to mention that joint energy projects could be the key to resolving differences between the two countries on other issues. On 23 March, Turkeys Minister of Energy Fatih Donmez met with his Israeli counterpart Karin Elharrar over a range of mutual interests including cooperation in the energy sector: Turkey has presented itself as an alternative to Russia for delivering gas supplies to Europe.

The arrest of eight Iranians in June and three more on 19 July is indicative of a downswing in Turkish-Iranian relations that appears to coincide with the upswing in Ankaras relations with Tel Aviv, manifestations of which are MoUs in energy cooperation and Israels intercession with the US go help Turkey overcome longstanding bones of contention with Washington.

But given Ankara and Tehrans attempts to promote their commercial relations and increase the volume of bilateral trade between them, how severe is the current contretemps? Is this a blip or a longer lasting trend?

So far, there are no signs that the two sides are on a collision course or headed for rupture. In fact, they appear determined to cap the tensions and keep them from escalating beyond a point where it would be difficult to preserve cooperation especially in economic relations. Iran certainly does not appear likely to jeopardise its relations with Turkey which is in position to help transport Iranian gas to Europe. After all, Iran has also been trying to leverage the Ukrainian crisis and the European drive to wean itself off Russian gas to its advantage. In addition, Tehran sees its relationship with Turkey as a means to offset tensions with the US and to preserve a degree of manoeuvrability regionally and internationally should its relations with Washington swerve into a collision course. The economic lung that Turkey provides is also crucial to Iran in the light of ongoing Western sanctions.

Iran has traditionally been an important market for Turkish exports and the two countries aim to increase their bilateral trade to $30 billion. Given Turkeys current economic straits, above all, it is not in Ankaras interests to put this at risk. In addition, just as Ankara is useful to Tehran as a means to regulate its relations with Washington, so too can Tehran help Ankara absorb Western pressures on controversial issues. The two have more in common now that they are both the object of sanctions. Because of Ankaras decision to proceed with the purchase of the Russian S-400 missile systems, the Pentagon has suspended Turkey from its F-35 programme and Washington has penalised segments of the Turkish defence sector. This is not to mention longstanding differences between Ankara and Washington over Turkeys military incursions into northern Syria, on the one hand, and Washingtons support for the predominantly Syrian Democratic Forces, on the other.

In the final analysis, Turkeys arrest of Iranians alleged to have plotted to kill or kidnap Israelis is symptomatic of a structural weakness in a bilateral relationship between two countries that are both regional powers and regional rivals, and often have divergent views on critical regional issues. Nevertheless, their common interests tend to prevail and keep tensions in check. This is most likely to apply in the case of the detained Iranians. The two sides will probably explore solutions even as Turkey tests the bounds of its new relationship with Israel and Iran awaits the outcome of the negotiations over its nuclear programme and related issues.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 28 July, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


According to Baghdad and Tehran, the next round of talks between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and Iran will be public and at the level of foreign ministers. Though there is no official confirmation of this yet from Riyadh, strong indications suggest it is true.

Last week, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told the state-owned news agency that there had been progress in the last five rounds of talks with Saudi Arabia, adding that Tehran told Iraqi mediators that it is ready for a new political and security phase with KSA, hoping that this will eventually lead to the return of Saudi-Iranian relations to normal.

A few days later, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein told local Iraqi media that Saudi Arabia and Iran had agreed to hold the first public meeting at the level of foreign ministers in years, in Baghdad after five rounds of closed reconciliation meetings facilitated by the Iraqi government. He added, the previous meetings were between intelligence and security officials but this one will be public.

Since March last year, Baghdad has hosted discreet talks between Saudi Arabia and Iran, mainly focusing on security issues. Representation was on a low-key level. KSA severed diplomatic ties with Tehran in early 2016 in protest against of attacks on the Saudi diplomatic mission in Iran after Saudi Arabia executed a Shiite cleric.

Recently, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries started warming to the idea of reconciliation with their neighbour on the western side of the Gulf. As the Biden administration started indirect talks with Tehran to rejoin the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the GCC began shifting their position. When the JCPOA nuclear deal between Iran and world powers was reached in 2015, the GCC welcomed it, indicating that it opens the door to cooperation and economic benefits across the Gulf. But in 2018 former US president Donald Trump withdrew from the deal, which created more tension in the region.

Last week at the opening of the Jeddah Security and Development Summit  attended by Biden and the GCC countries along with Egypt, Jordan and Iraq  Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman said: We call on Iran, as a neighbouring country, with which we share religious and cultural ties, to cooperate with the countries of the region to be part of this vision, by adhering to the principles of international legitimacy, noninterference in the internal affairs of other countries, cooperating with the International Atomic Energy Agency, and fulfilling its obligations in this regard.

The statement was a general one, and despite its cool tune it reiterated the Saudi provision for embracing Iran. With some rumours that the Jeddah summit was aimed against Iran, Saudi Arabia sent a message of reassurance to the Iranian regime that openness to relations with Israel is not against anybody. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said that the Jeddah summit did not raise the idea of establishing an Arab NATO that includes Israel. He added in statements after the summit, the kingdoms hand is extended to Iran to reach normal relations But we have not reached understandings yet and the kingdom is committed to reaching a positive understanding with Iran.

Will such an understanding start to manifest soon in Baghdad? It is not clear. No date was announced for the high-level public meeting, but rapid diplomacy in the region towards Iran indicates that KSA will not stay out of these developments.

In a piece for Responsible Statecraft this week, Henrietta Toivanen and Mehran Haghirian wrote that the accelerating pace of reciprocal visits between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Iran and the potential return of their respective ambassadors signal Abu Dhabis recognition of the necessity of diplomatic engagement with Tehran. They added, while there is a push for normalising relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel, Riyadh has itself been diplomatically engaging Tehran as well. They concluded their article with a message to the White House: With or without the JCPOA, the United States needs to allow the region to exhaust all diplomatic avenues to expand cooperation and integration. This will serve long-term US and global interests in the stability and security of the Gulf region and beyond.

There seems to be agreement in Western circles that the Biden administrations push for the region towards Israel and against Iran is not working. Whether that is an American tactic in using the Doha talks to revive talks of JCPOA or just appeasing the Israelis, GCC leaders are taking things into their hands regardless of American wishes, according to what one Emirati commentator told Al-Ahram Weekly.

Oxford University historian Andrew Hammond more or less agrees with this notion. He told the Weekly that the expected Baghdad meeting is part of the process of winding down tensions after they [the GCC countries] were ramped up with the nuclear deal under Obama and then Trumps policy of encouraging confrontation. He added, during his visit, Biden also tried to encourage regional unity against Iran as if he was continuing Trumps policy but the trend within the region is moving in the other direction.

The conciliatory GCC approach contradicts fiery statements by Jordanian King Abdullah II, who last week accused Iran of instigating insurgency in his country across the Syrian border. But a Jordanian ex-diplomat played down the Monarchs verbal attacks. He told the Weekly that it could be coordinated with Gulf allies to pressure Iran into meeting certain provisions for reconciliation. I suspect Amman is leading a different path, allying with the American or Israeli stance against Iran contrary to Gulf approach, he added.

The main reason for Iraqi mediation is internal and also regional, according to an Iraqi commentator. Its face-saving for both sides Iranians would say a Shiite alliance government is helping Iran to negotiate with the Saudis, while the Saudis would say that an Arab country is mediating with the Iranians, he told the Weekly. His understanding is that the ones who are giving real space to the others are the Iranians. They need to trade their influence in the region in return for a new nuclear deal or a reduction of sanctions.

Expectations from the suggested Baghdad meeting might not be high, but a new process in the region is underway. Pretexts have been piling up in the last couple of years, from rehabilitating Syria to the push for political settlement in Yemen. Both Iranian and Gulf interests are entrenched there and elsewhere in the region. Even if it is too early to say the Gulf is embracing Iran, the currents are certainly flowing in that direction.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 28 July, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


Regardless of what US President Joe Bidens tour to this region accomplished, or failed to accomplish, it threw into relief some glaring ironies regarding the Palestinian cause. The first irony is that the US is the only remaining world power to regard the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) as a terrorist entity. That was the pretext Bidens predecessor, Donald Trump, used to close down the PLO office in Washington. So when Biden had an official meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who is chairman of the PLO, was this not a meeting with the head of a terrorist organisation?

Secondly, Biden spoke of his commitment to the two-state solution. But he did not reopen the American Consulate in East Jerusalem, which had not been closed since 1944, which is to say before the creation of Israel, when Trump closed it. If there are to be two states, should there not be two embassies? Talk of a two-state solution should be backed up by steps towards that end, that is if it is not to remain just talk while the current single state status quo remains unchanged.

While Biden was in Israel, the matter of moving the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem was raised again. Ironically, the land designated for the construction of the new embassy was originally owned by Palestinians. Just ahead of Bidens visit, Haaretz featured an article on the subject, complete with images of the documents several Palestinian families have submitted to the authorities proving that the land belonged to them. The documents include dozens of deeds and rental contracts between the families and the tenants, which included the British mandate authorities. Israel confiscated these properties using one of those mechanisms with which has wrongfully seized countless other Palestinian properties.

Yet another irony relates to protocol, though it is no less significant for that. During Bidens movements here and there in Israel, the Israeli and American flags fluttered side by side on the presidential car known as The Beast. When he went to East Jerusalem and Bethlehem, the Israeli flag was removed in acknowledgement of the fact that those territories were not part of Israel. Yet, in his speech in Jerusalem, Biden said, I am honoured to be back here in the capital of Isreal. Under the two-state solution, East Jerusalem is to be the capital of the independent Palestinian state.

What are we to make of these ironies? Are they just slips of an elderly mans tongue? Or are they the types of paradox that underscore the frequent contradiction between Washingtons stated positions and its actual policies?

*A version of this article appears in print in the 28 July, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


Mutual visits by top Egyptian and Russian officials are nothing unusual, considering the long historic ties between the two countries dating back to the era of the former Soviet Union. However, the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, resulting in a worldwide food and energy crisis, added to the attention surrounding the visit by Russias foreign minister, the veteran diplomat Sergey Lavrov.

Lavrovs visit to Egypt was the first leg in an African tour that took him to Congo, Uganda and Ethiopia, and took place only a week after the summit held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia between US President Joe Biden and leaders of the six Arab Gulf countries, Egypt, Jordan and Iraq. Also this week, the special US envoy to Africa will be visiting Egypt, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates, and French President Immanuel Macron has also launched an African tour.

This sudden, intensive attention by the worlds major powers to the African continent, as well as the Arab region, might look like a revival of the Cold War, when developing countries were being rallied by the United States and the former Soviet Union to take their sides. To counter such pressure, following decades of colonisation by former world superpowers such as Britain and France, the worlds developing countries, led by Egypt, India and Indonesia declared that the interests of their peoples should come first, and launched the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM).

After the fall of the former Soviet Union, many observers thought that NAM would vanish, as there was no longer a competition between world superpowers over gaining the support of developing nations. Yet that assumption was short lived, and barely 30 years later, developing countries found themselves again in a position where they are being pressured to take sides, this time between President Vladimir Putins Russia on one side, and the United States and Europe on the other side.

Yet, the key problem is that most developing nations, whether in Africa, Asia or Latin America, are in no position to take sides, and simply cannot afford to. A country like Egypt is a very good example, considering that it maintains close ties with both sides, whether Russia and Ukraine, or Russia and the wider Western alliance led by the United States.

The current Russia is no former Soviet Union, but this will not change the historic reality that many developing countries, like Egypt, cannot ignore the support they received from Moscow in their struggle to gain independence in the 1950s and 1960s. Mega projects that helped provide Egyptians with their needs, such as the High Dam in Aswan or steel and iron factories in Helwan, will remain signs of the long-standing friendship between the peoples of Egypt and Russia. The weapons which Egypt used to win its legitimate liberation war in 1973 against Israel nearly all came from the former Soviet Union.

Even after Egypts leadership under late president Anwar Al-Sadat changed alliances, and sought closer, strategic ties with the United States  this was followed by the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991  Egypt remained keen to maintain close relations with Moscow. After President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi took office in 2014, Russia was one of the first foreign countries he visited. This resulted in a series of cooperation agreements worth billions of dollars, the formation of a joint senior committee that holds regular meetings, an ambitious project to build a nuclear reactor to produce energy in Dabaa worth more than $20 billion, and a surge in the number of Russian tourists visiting the famous Egyptian Red Sea resorts.

Egypt, like other Arab countries, also appreciated Russias firm support for the rights of the Palestinian people and their aspiration to establish their own independent state alongside Israel, with East Jerusalem as its capital. Moreover, Egypt and Russia jointly shared the view that terrorist organisations that falsely claim to be fighting in the name of Islam pose a serious threat to the security and stability of the Middle East.

Whether in Egypt, Libya or Syria, Cairo and Moscow maintained that demands for democracy and human rights should not be a gateway for terrorist groups, such as the Muslim Brotherhood or IS, to take over power and threaten the integrity or even the very existence of those nation states.

Indeed Arab countries are at the forefront of the call for adherence to international law, the inadmissibility of the use of violence to solve border disputes and the need to respect the sovereignty and independence of all nations. The Western demands to isolate and suffocate Russia cannot be the way out of this disastrous war taking place thousands of miles away.

African and Arab counties are among the most affected by the ripples of the Ukraine war. The prices of vital commodities, namely wheat, cooking oil and fuel, have skyrocketed, leaving millions of people suffering from worsening shortages in food and other basic commodities.

Lavrovs visit came hot on the heels of a landmark deal Russia and Ukraine signed on Friday with the United Nations and Turkey aimed at relieving a global food crisis caused by blocked Black Sea grain deliveries. Egypt and other developing nations have a great interest in seeing this agreement take effect, considering that Russia and Ukraine provide 80 per cent of Egypts wheat imports.

During his meeting with Lavrov, Al-Sisi stressed the importance of prioritising dialogue and diplomatic solutions to the Russia-Ukraine crisis, declaring Egypts support for all endeavours to speed up the settlement of the conflict politically, in a way that maintains international security and stability. He expressed Egypts readiness to support this path through its international contacts and movements, whether in a bilateral or multilateral framework. This balanced position is the only way out to end the war, and restore order in a chaotic world where the competition is no longer is bi-polar.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 28 July, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


By Trend

A meeting on the implementation of Azerbaijani President's decree "On number of measures to increase level of self-provision with food wheat" dated July 19, 2022 was held at the Baku Business Center, Trend reports via the Ministry of Agriculture.

The meeting was attended by Minister of Agriculture Inam Karimov, Deputy Minister of Economy Sahib Mammadov, Head of the Department of Agriculture and Ecology at the Cabinet of Ministers Latif Gasimov, Board Chairman of the State Resources Agency Sabuhi Sadigov, Chairman of the Azerbaijan Amelioration and Water Farm OJSC Zaur Mikayilov, grain producers and farmers.

Speaking at the meeting, the participants noted that the state is implementing support measures for the further development of the agricultural sector, as well as other sectors of the economy.

"The development of various sectors of agriculture, including the grain production sector is subsidized, and the state applies benefits related to the provision of equipment. To prevent risks in this area, the President of Azerbaijan signed a relevant decree to encourage the sowing of food wheat. The document envisages provision of harvest subsidies along with subsidies for sowing per hectare to farmers," the participants said.
Foreign Minister and President Designate of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP27) Sameh Shoukry discussed on Tuesday in a telephone call with the President of the World Economic Forum (WEF) Borge Brende means to boost cooperation between Egypt and the forum, the Egyptian foreign ministry announced.

During the call with Brende, the foreign minister expressed his appreciation for the support provided by the World Economic Forum for Egypt's presidency of COP27, scheduled to be held in Sharm El-Sheikh in November, especially in his annual meetings in Davos last May.

Shoukry further stressed his keenness for the success of the conference to strengthen international climate action at various levels.

During his participation in the World Economic Forums (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland in May, Sameh Shoukry outlined Egypts vision for the COP27 .

Search Keywords:

Short link:


President of COP21 Segolene Royal on Tuesday thanked Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, saying he promised to spare no effort to ensure the success of the 2022 UN Climate Change Conference (COP27), which will take place in Sharm El-Sheikh in November.

Speaking at the second Africa Solar Energy Forum in Cairo, which is organised by the Africa Renewable Energy Initiative (AREI) in cooperation with Egypts Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy, Royal praised the countrys efforts to make the COP27 conference a success.

The official noted that climate change badly affects African countries, noting that African women are the most affected by the negative impacts of climate change.

She called for investing in the renewable energy sector in Africa by offering incentive plans, attracting private investments and creating an appropriate environment for integration with the African private sector to increase the use of renewable energy throughout the continent.

Earlier Tuesday, the former French minister for ecology, sustainable development and energy met with Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, the president-designate of COP27 where they discussed the latest developments concerning the preparation for the conference.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


A protester was killed Tuesday as hundreds rallied against last year's military take over in Sudan and a recent spike in tribal violence which killed more than 100 people, medics said.

The unidentified protester was hit "by live bullets to the face by military forces" during protests in Omdurman, the capital's twin city, the Central Committee of Sudan Doctors said.

Tuesday's death brings to 116 the number of protesters killed in the crackdown since last October's take over led by army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the committee said in a statement.

Sudan's main civilian group, the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC), had called for mass demonstrations with hashtags urging co-existence and a "unified nation".

In the capital Khartoum, demonstrators marched with the national flag and chanted "Sudan is a nation for all people!"

Protesters also chanted "No to tribalism and no regionalism!" while others called on the military "to go back to barracks", according to an AFP correspondent.

Senior civilian politicians including Mohamed al-Fekki and ex-minister Khaled Omar Youssef were seen at the demonstrations.

The two men, key leaders of the FFC, were among civilian officials who have been removed from power since the military take over in last October.

Some pro-democracy activists and protesters opposed the FFC's participation, saying the rallies should not be overshadowed by partisan motives, AFP correspondents said.

Near-weekly protests and deepening turmoil have rocked Sudan since last year's military take over which upended a transition to civilian rule following the 2019 ouster of president Omar al-Bashir.

Sudan has since reeled from a spiralling economic crisis and a broad security breakdown which has seen a spike in ethnic clashes in its far-flung regions.

On July 11, tribal clashes over a land dispute erupted in southern Blue Nile state, leaving at least 105 people dead and 291 wounded.

The clashes between members of the Berti and Hausa ethnic groups have since triggered furious protests in several cities, with Hausa members taking to the streets including in Khartoum to demand justice for comrades who were killed.

On July 4, Burhan pledged to step aside to make way for Sudanese factions to agree on a civilian government, but the FFC dismissed his move as a "ruse".

Search Keywords:

Short link:


Orascom Financial Holding, which is owned by well-known Egyptian millionaire Naguib Sawiris, has accepted an offer extended by UAE-based Chimera Investments to acquire a controlling stake in Egypt-based Beltone Financial Holding  an Orascom subsidiary.

In a disclosure the company sent to the Egyptian Exchange (EGX) on Tuesday, Orascom said that it accepts selling all its shares of Beltone, which are 259,121,683 shares.

Orasom owned 56.9 percent of Beltones entire traded shares on the EGX.

On 13 June, Chimera submitted a non-binding offer to Egypts Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) to purchase between 51 percent and 90 percent of Beltones shares on the EGX according to the articles of Law No.95 for 1992 that governs the capital market in Egypt; the FRA agreed to the offer on 19 July.

A day after, the EGX announced the measures of the deal, including setting the share price at EGP 1.4, stipulating the bid should be concluded by 3 August.

For the sake of supporting the countrys economy, the UAE is adopting an investment expansion plan in the Egyptian market with a special focus on real-state, food processing, financial services, and transportation.

In April, Abu Dhabi Development Holding (ADQ) invested about EGP 28.5 billion ($1.8 billion) to acquire shares of five major publicly traded Egyptian companies.

Furthermore, in July, Abu Dhabi-based food and beverage company Agthia acquired a 60 percent stake in Egypt-based Auf Group  a snacks and coffee manufacturer. Agthia is owned by ADQ.

The company also acquired a 75 percent stake in Egypt-based meat processor Ismailia Investments  also known as Atyab  in September 2021.

Moreover, Abu Dhabi Ports Group announced in July that it reached an agreement to acquire 70 percent of the shares of the International Cargo Subsidiary, which is wholly owned by Egypt-based Transmar and Transcargo International (TCI).

Under the industrial partnership initiative between Egypt, the UAE, Jordan, and Bahrain, the UAEs government announced an investment fund of $10 billion for joint projects with Egypt and Jordan to achieve sustainable economic development among the three countries.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


The drive of this monthly series is to show Egypt a 100 years ago through a collection of postcards collected by Egyptologist George Darresy while working in Egypt at the beginning of the 20th century. This collection is now in the Louvre Museum in Paris and contains images addressing a range of subjects in everyday life, including Pharaonic, Islamic, Coptic as well as modern life aspects.

George Darresy, creator of the collection, was assigned the job of curator of Boulaq Museum in 1887. The collection of the museum moved to Ismail Pasha Palace at Giza in 1891 and finally to Tahrir Square's Egyptian Museum in 1903. Meanwhile, Darresy was involved in the discovery of the Luxor Cachette in 1891. In 1892 he found, in the grounds of the temple of Ramses III at Madinet Habou, parts of the colossal statues of Amenhotep III and his wife Tiyi, which are now in the attrium of the Egyptian Museum. In 1914, he was appointed secretary general of the Egyptian service of antiquities and retired in 1923. After that Darresy returned to France. He died in 1938.

During his stay in Egypt, Darresy and his wife Marie used to exchange postcards each time they visited a new place in the country. Postcards at the time were mainly black and white photographs. Most of the cards carry postal stamps, showing the city from which they were posted along with the date. The collection runs to 1,372 postcards and confirms that Marie was a passionate cartophile, to the extent of sending herself 36 postcards from Alexandria, in order to have the postal stamps.

In 1997, Federico Mayor, director general of UNESCO, approved the production of a CD-ROM titled La description de L'Egypte au debut du XXeme Siecle (The Description of Egypt at the Beginning of the 20th Century) based on this collection of postcards as a part of UNESCO's Memory of the World programme. This programme is created to preserve the documentary heritage of the world, whether in the form of manuscrips, books or old photos and paintings that have special value.

The Darresy collection is of great value through its pictorial representation of Egypt at the beginning of the 20th century. The collection complements the books published by France after the French Expedition at the beginning of the 19th century.

Inspired by the collection, as cultural counselor of Egypt to France I presented to the director general of UNESCO the request that the collection be included in UNESCO's "Memory of the World" programme.

Fathi Saleh is consultant to the prime minister for heritage affairs, founder and emeritus director of CULTNAT, and former ambassador of Egypt to UNESCO.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


Al-Ahram Weekly assesses the likely outcomes of the regional visit by the US special envoy for the Horn of Africa.

Regional and international calls for Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia to reach an agreement on the operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) have intensified.

During a meeting this week between President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi and his Somali counterpart Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud, both leaders agreed on the dangers of pursuing unilateral action when dealing with transboundary rivers. To preserve security and stability in the region, the two presidents stressed the urgent need to reach a legally binding agreement on the filling and operation of GERD.

Mahmouds visit coincided with the second day of a regional tour by Mike Hammer, the US special envoy for the Horn of Africa. One aim of Hammers visit, according to a statement issued by the US State Department, is to promote a diplomatic resolution to the disagreements over GERD that achieves the interests of all parties.

Former deputy foreign minister Mohamed Hegazi described the visit as a positive step.

Recent talks in Jeddah opened the door for renewed US diplomacy and for Washington to take responsibility for bringing the parties to negotiations. President Al-Sisis discussions of the issue during his European tour last week gave a further push to the GERD file, he told Al-Ahram Weekly.

Samir Ghattas, a former MP and head of the Middle East Forum for Strategic Studies, is not pinning much hope on the visit which he says is little more than a political pleasantry following the Jeddah summit.

Hammers tour, which concludes on 1 August, will take in the UAE and Ethiopia as well as Egypt.

In the UAE, Hammer will discuss ways to get the negotiations back on track. Abu Dhabi has recently hosted two rounds of technical talks between Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia in an attempt to revive negotiations over the dam but no progress was reported.

In the last leg of his tour Hammer will consult with the African Union (AU), under whose auspices tripartite negotiations have been held. The AU-sponsored talks between the three countries have so far failed to reach a solution.

Hammer will also review developments in the conflict between Ethiopian government forces and rebels in Tigray, including progress on the delivery of humanitarian assistance and efforts to advance peace talks.

Although the declared aim of the visit is to find a breakthrough in the GERD file, said a diplomat speaking on condition of anonymity, there are fears that Ethiopias domestic problems will capture most of the attention of the envoy.

Ethiopia is proceeding with a third filling of the GERD reservoir despite no agreement being reached.

Abbas Sharaki, a professor of geology and water resources at Cairo University, explained recently that satellite pictures show that the dams middle passage has reached 590 metres which means that the third filling will be around five billion cubic metres (bcm), taking the amount of water stored in the dam so far to 13 bcm.

Ethiopias original plan was to store 18.5 bcm in the first filling in July 2020, but only 5 bcm were stored. Even less  3 bcm  was stored in 2021, though Addis Ababa hopes to store10 bcm of water annually until the reservoirs target of 74 bcm is reached.

Hegazi says downstream countries are not against the filling per se but want it to be regulated by a legally binding agreement. By taking unilateral action for the third time Addis Ababa is pushing its relations with neighbouring states to a very low ebb which is why we are hearing calls from international parties, including the US and Germany, to take steps to reach an agreement.

During their meeting in Germany last week, President Al-Sisi and the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz underlined the importance of breaking the stalemate over GERD.

Earlier this month, following a meeting with President Al-Sisi while attending the Jeddah Summit for Security and Development, US President Joe Biden reiterated Washingtons support for Egypts water security and its commitment to a diplomatic solution that will achieve the interests of all the parties. The Jeddah summit, which included leaders of Gulf Cooperation Council states, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan and the US, issued a declaration underlining their support for Egypts water security.

The communique stressed the need to reach an agreement on filling and operating the dam within a reasonable time, as stipulated in the presidential statement of the Security Council issued on 15 September 2021 and in accordance with international law.

Although regional and international calls are helping to keep the issue alive, Ghattas argues that Egypt still needs to lobby for support within the AU in order to press for resolutions that are in our interest.

In 2021, Egypt and Sudan petitioned the UN Security Council over the dam file for the second year in a row. During a meeting last July Tunisia  the only Arab (non-permanent) member of the council  submitted a draft resolution calling on Ethiopia to negotiate in good faith and setting a timetable of six months to reach an agreement under the umbrella of the AU, though the session concluded without a vote on the draft resolution.

The Security Council did, however, issue a presidential statement two months later urging Ethiopia, Sudan, and Egypt to resume negotiations under the auspices of the AU and finalise the text of a mutually acceptable agreement on filling and operating the dam within a reasonable time frame.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 28 July, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


Egypt is on alert for monkeypox, though no cases have yet been detected.

Monkeypox has made headlines globally since 23 July when World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General Tedros Gebreyesus declared the escalating global outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), with more than 16,000 reported cases in 75 countries and territories and five deaths at the time.

No confirmed [monkeypox] cases have been detected in Egypt to date, Egyptian Health Ministry Spokesperson Hossam Abdel-Ghaffar said, stressing that the Ministry of Health had raised the level of surveillance in all land and sea ports and quarantine sites, with the issuance of a guide for doctors nationwide to show how to diagnose and treat any confirmed cases.

The WHO has divided the countries into groups. The first group, which includes Egypt, has no confirmed infections, Abdel-Ghaffar said.

As Egypt is one of the countries in the first group, we are dealing with the procedures of the first group, the spokesperson said, adding that the procedures necessitate raising awareness and training medical personnel on diagnosis and referral, and raising the level of surveillance and the availability of diagnostic tools.

Monkeypox was discovered in 1958 when it was first identified as a distinct illness. Scientists and doctors know its symptoms and means of its spread, and there are treatments and vaccines. There is no comparison between the coronavirus and the new virus. The coronavirus is a rapidly spreading disease and spreads much faster than monkeypox, which is only transferred by close contact, said Abdel-Ghaffar.

Moreover, those infected by monkeypox do not spread it until after symptoms appear which according to the WHO, takes from two to four weeks, unlike the coronavirus, when a patient may be infected and contagious without any symptoms.

The WHO says monkeypox spreads from person to person through close contact with someone who has a monkeypox rash, including face-to-face, skin-to-skin, mouth-to-mouth or mouth-to-skin contact, including sexual contact. Though the health organisation says it is still trying to understand how long people with monkeypox are contagious, generally they are considered infectious until all of their lesions are crusted over, scabs fall off and a new layer of skin has formed underneath.

Monkeypox is an illness caused by the monkeypox virus. It is a viral zoonotic infection, meaning that it can spread from animals to humans and can also spread from person to person, according to the WHO.

Gebreyesus said that the current risk of monkeypox is moderate globally and in all regions, except in Europe where the risk is high, indicating that for the moment the monkeypox outbreak is concentrated among men who have sex with men, especially those with multiple sexual partners.

Abdel-Ghaffar said the PHEIC was declared only because there is unprecedented spreading, unlike what the world has been used to since 1958.

Islam Anan, a pharmacoepidemiology and pharmacoeconomics lecturer at Misr International University, said the PHEIC was issued despite nine votes against the declaration compared to only six in favour of the decision.

In my opinion, the PHEIC is a proactive decision so that the coronavirus scenario is not repeated in terms of the delay in declaring it a global pandemic. The scientific community criticised them at that time for the delay, Anan said.

I also think that it is targeting health authorities in order to urge them to start taking the issue seriously as Europe had been reluctant to trace and take public health measures for monkeypox following the organisations previous warning.

Meanwhile, Egypt has been witnessing a surge in coronavirus infections since early July, according to Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouli and Acting Health Minister Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar.

Earlier this month, Madbouli urged all Egyptians to maintain precautionary measures against the coronavirus as infections have risen recently.

On 15 July, the minister stated there is a daily average of 38 cases of coronavirus in the country, with the coronavirus-related fatality rates remaining steady with a daily average of four to five deaths.

On 16 July, Spokesperson Abdel-Ghaffar indicated it is too early to say that the current pandemic situation in Egypt is a new wave of Covid-19.

Though the detected daily infections have not been issued by the ministry for months, on 20 July the minister said infections had increased during the 28th week in 2022, specifically from 10 to 16 July, without disclosing the percentage of increase compared to the week before.

A week earlier, however, the ministry made it clear that during the 27th week, 4-10 July, Egypt witnessed an increase of 15 per cent infections and seven per cent deaths, compared to the previous week.

Statistically speaking, we are now in the sixth wave of the coronavirus, Anan told Al-Ahram Weekly on 26 July in light of the still rising number of infections.

The peak of this sixth wave locally should be during the current week [Julys fourth week]. Infections will still be high until the second week of August. The rate of infections should be lower starting the third week of August, in which death rates may rise. By the end of August infections should reach their lowest point, Anan said.

Anan, however, noted that during this wave, the number of people with symptoms so severe that they require medical care in hospital are few because most of the infections are in the upper respiratory system.

This is due to the fact that the most widely spread omicron variant is the sub-type BA.5 which is more infectious than the main variant but less severe in terms of symptoms, Anan said.

In remarks made last week, the acting health minister stated that the occupancy rates in isolation hospitals of the Health Ministry do not exceed 12 per cent for ICU beds and four per cent for ventilators, noting that these are satisfying rates.

Most infections in Egypt do not require isolation in hospitals but at home, for five to seven days after symptoms appear, the minister explained.

A runny or stuffy nose, sore throat, headache, and fatigue are common symptoms, the spokesperson said, adding that fever and loss of taste and smell were no longer common.

Any respiratory symptoms must now be treated as a coronavirus, until proven otherwise, and not as a flu until it is proven that it is a coronavirus, the spokesperson said.

The virus is not over yet. It is still mutating and reaching a large number of infections, the spokesperson said, stressing the necessary adherence to precautionary measures and getting vaccinations.

A total of 38 million Egyptians were fully vaccinated against the coronavirus by 20 July, according to the spokesperson.

The ministry stated that anyone over the age of 65 and those who suffer from chronic illnesses may now get their booster shots three months after receiving their third vaccine without prior registration.

The ministry also recently called on foreigners living in Egypt to visit any of its 1,393 vaccination centres nationwide to get vaccinated free of charge.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 28 July, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


The board of trustees overseeing the national dialogue proposed by President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi will hold a third meeting within days to finalise the agenda and timetable of debates.

MP and board member Talaat Abdel-Qawi revealed this week that the third meeting will see the formation of a committee to oversee the dialogues political agenda.

The boards second meeting, held on 19 July, divided the dialogues political agenda into four broad areas: the exercise of political rights and parliamentary representation and political parties; local councils; human rights and public liberties, a division which Abdel-Qawi says was agreed by all the forces participating in the dialogue.

Mohamed Fayez Farahat, director of Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies (ACPSS) and a member of the board of trustees, said in a TV interview that the long-awaited dialogue will have three stages. The first will see the board of trustees prepare the agendas of the political, economic, and social committees. The second stage will consist of debates while the third will focus on how to turn the dialogues recommendations into action.

We have already finalised the agenda of the political committee, and in our third meeting we will name the committees chair and members of this committee, said Farahat.

Farahat expects the political agenda to dominate the dialogue.

Of the almost 100,000 proposals presented to the dialogues administration, 37.2 per cent said concerned political issues, a reflection of the widespread conviction that political reforms are central to solving Egypts economic and social problems, said Farahat.

Farahat revealed that the dialogues second meeting focused on amending laws regulating the exercise of political rights, the performance of political parties, and the holding of parliamentary elections.

Once the political committee is formed, members will have to meet to reach agreement on amendments to these laws, changes that will hopefully lead to a more open society and vibrant political life.

Farahat said the consensus is that Egypt has been suffering from political sclerosis since 2014 and the long-awaited dialogue presents an opportunity to break this cycle. Many politicians and public figures invited to the dialogue, he added, blame the laws currently regulating parliamentary elections and political parties for the political paralysis.

On local councils, Farahat said: A law regulating the performance of local councils and municipalities was drafted by the Local Administration Committee affiliated with the House of Representatives but it has never come up for debate. The national dialogues political committee will therefore draft new legislation regulating the election and performance of local councils.

Human rights and liberties will be also a major issue on the dialogues agenda.

Diaa Rashwan, general coordinator of the national dialogue, revealed that the dialogues 19-member board of trustees had called on President Al-Sisi to use his constitutional powers to release political activists detained pending trial.

We appreciated President Al-Sisis decisions to pardon some activists convicted of political crimes but who were not involved in violent acts and we hope that the president will pardon more activists, said Rashwan.

According to Rashwan, two documents on human rights  Egypts 2030 Vision and the National Strategy for Human Rights, released in September 2021 will form the basis of the dialogues debates on the subject. The two documents are a progressive step but may need some amendments and additions to better serve the human rights agenda, said Rashwan. He added that there is a consensus among political forces that laws regulating pre-trial detention need to be urgently amended.

Tarek Al-Khouli, a member of the Presidential Pardon Committee, said during a TV interview that the national dialogue will pave the way for legislative reforms regulating human rights for the next five years. Laws regulating pre-trial detention are a major concern of local and international human rights organisations, said Al-Khouli. He noted that since the beginning of July 60 political prisoners have been released from detention, in addition to 700 prisoners released on the occasion of Eid Al-Adha two weeks ago.

Al-Khouli revealed that the presidential pardon committee is probing the possibility of releasing a number of high-profile prisoners, including British-Egyptian activist Alaa Abdel-Fattah, leftist lawyer Ziad Al-Oleimi, activist Ahmed Douma, young members of the 6 April movement, two hosts affiliated with the Qatari Al-Jazeera channel and members of the Amal (Hope) cell.

On liberties, Abdel-Qawi said the committee will review press freedoms and laws regulating the media.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 28 July, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


The partnership focuses on major economic sectors, the most important of which are food security, fertilisers, and pharmaceutical products. It is coordinating with the private sector to implement 87 projects for livestock, fertiliser production, and pharmaceuticals.

According to a joint statement, 12 projects worth $3.4 billion have been identified by the four countries in the first phase of the $10 billion initiative signed in May. The next stage will focus on the metals, chemicals, plastics, and textiles industries.

The four countries are keen to use the partnership to hedge against supply chain problems due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine. Sultan Al-Jaber, UAE minister of industry and technology, said it aimed to increase wheat production by between 16.5 and 30 million tons and to see growth in the field of fertilisers to benefit the meat and poultry sectors.

Al-Jaber said that projects in the petrochemicals sector were expected to be worth more than $21 million, adding that potential investments in projects such as glass, car components, and solar panels were worth more than $22 million. All sides agreed to remove the restrictions that limit the flow of trade between them through the formation of a joint working group to facilitate procedures and deal with future challenges.

The Partnership Initiative between the original three members of Egypt, Jordan, and the UAE was announced in May and was followed by a decision by the UAE-based wealth fund ADQ to invest $10 billion in projects in the three countries with the aim of supporting sustainable economic growth, increasing industrial production, and strengthening regional supply chains.

ADQ pumped $1.8 billion worth of investments into five Egyptian listed companies in April.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 28 July, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

Short link:


Leaked audio recordings attributed to former Iraqi prime minister Nouri Al-Maliki have deepened rifts within the countrys Shia factions and highlighted its incompetent leadership.

After nearly 20 years in power, Iraqs ruling elites look detached, impotent, and despairing of their oil-rich nation. While their counterparts in the region struggle to transform their counties into thriving global centres, Iraq has tumbled under their rule into a place of endemic corruption, instability, societal fractures, and economic stagnation.

As the leaders of many neighbouring countries unveil ambitious multi-billion-dollar mega-projects, Iraq has remained battered by the grisly consequences of its mismanagement, cronyism, and kleptocratic rule.

It is also haunted by a deepening political crisis that has recently taken a turn for the worse. The latest twist in the political wrangling over the formation of a new government in Iraq has been trigged by leaked audio recordings attributed to former prime minister Nouri Al-Maliki.

In the Malikileaks recordings, Al-Malaki is heard claiming that his arch rival Muqtada Al-Sadr, whose political faction the Sadrist Trend emerged as the biggest winner in Iraqs October legislative elections, is backed by Britain. He vows that he will fight the prominent Shia cleric in his stronghold of the holy city of Najaf.

In a subsequent recording, Al-Maliki, currently head of the pro-Iranian Coordination Framework Bloc, accuses Al-Sadr of a kidnapping and murder campaign against Sunnis across Iraq during the years of sectarian violence following the 2003 US-led invasion.

In another recording he blames Sunni leaders such as Parliamentary Speaker Mohamed Al-Halbousi and Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani for being in partnership with Al-Sadr and warns that this tripartite alliance will drive Iraq into a dangerous zone.

Iraq is on the verge of a devastating war from which no one will emerge unscathed, unless the project of Muqtada Al-Sadr, Masoud Barzani and Mohamed Al-Halbousi is defeated, Al-Maliki said.

Al-Maliki is also heard saying in one audio recording that he told caretaker Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi that he does not recognise the authority of the army and the police and is willing to use force against Al-Sadr.

I know Al-Sadr will target me first because I destroyed him. But I will not keep the Shias and Iraq in the hands of Muqtada Al-Sadr. The Ministry of the Interior may not be able to do so, but I can, Al-Maliki boasted.

The Iraqi judiciary has announced it will launch a probe into the voice recordings after Al-Maliki dismissed them as fakes. Many people closely associated with Al-Maliki have confirmed the authenticity of the recordings, with some saying they have heard him making such claims before.

While in office between 2006 and 2014, Al-Maliki battled Al-Sadrs armed wing the Al-Mahdi Army for control of Shia politics, killing hundreds of his followers and imprisoning many more. The relationship between the two groups has taken on a vengeful dimension since then, and their rivalries have deepened.

After Al-Sadr withdrew his supporters from the Iraqi parliament earlier this year and many of Al-Malikis followers filled their seats, the latter stepped up his efforts to push the Shia Coordination Framework Bloc into nominating him for the post of prime minister.

As expected, the leaks have sparked outrage among the Sadrists, but Al-Sadr himself has been quick to urge his followers not to fall for sedition. Do not heed the leaks. We do not care about him, Al-Sadr said in a statement.

However, Al-Sadr has demanded that Al-Maliki quit politics and urged the former prime ministers political allies within the Coordination Framework Bloc and his tribe to denounce his remarks.

Many other politicians have expressed their dismay, and some fear that the leaks will deepen the 10-month-old government crisis in Iraq. Ali Al-Allak, a key member of Al-Malikis Dawa Party, urged him to resign from the partys leadership if the recordings are found to be authentic.

The controversy over the recordings has further ratcheted up the political tensions in Iraq, as the country remains in deadlock ten months after elections that failed to deliver a new president or prime minister.

The audio leaks have also coincided with a significant deterioration in security after Turkish artillery pounded a village in northern Iraq and killed nine tourists and wounded at least 23 people, including children.

Mobile-phone videos taken at the time of the attack at a water park where tourists from southern Iraq had sought respite from the baking summer heat showed horrifying images of dead bodies and wounded people being carried in pickups to hospitals while the sound of gunfire could be heard at the site.

The assault has sparked anti-Turkish demonstrations in Iraq, and protesters have rallied outside Turkish-owned buildings and Turkish consular offices in Baghdad and other cities, angrily demanding accountability from Ankara and burning Turkish flags.

The Iraqi government summoned the Turkish ambassador to Baghdad to launch an official protest. It recalled its chief diplomat in Ankara and said it would submit an official complaint to the UN Security Council on the Turkish attack.

Turkey has denied its involvement and has said that forces belonging to the Kurdistan Workers Party, the Partiya Karkeren Kurdistan (PKK) which is fighting for Kurdish autonomy in Turkey, carried out the strike.

Amid heightened tensions days after the attack, violent reactions followed as several rockets and bomb-laden drones were used to hit Turkish outposts in northern Iraq. Threats were also made that more attacks would come if Turkey maintained its military presence in the area.

Over recent months, Turkey has escalated operations along its 300 km border with Iraq, claiming it is battling PKK fighters that it accuses of relying on rear bases and training camps hidden in the mountains of Iraqi Kurdistan to carry out subversive activities in Turkey.

The Malikileaks and now the Turkish attack are inseparable with respect to how the performance and effectiveness of the political leadership is viewed in Iraq. In both cases, Iraqs ruling elites have showed alarming inefficiency and incompetence in every dimension, bordering on vulgarity and meanness.

The Al-Maliki recordings are an exemplary episode of the obscene behaviour among Iraqs politicians, showing how Al-Maliki described rivals and allies alike in a display of self-promotion and bombast that has tipped those who have listened to the audio recordings into a place of near insanity.

Al-Maliki is no stranger to controversy, but his vulgarity in these recordings points to a painful truth that reveals the detestable reality of Iraqs political elites. These display an insatiable lust for power along with routine insensibility and disregard for the interests of their battered nation.

During his tenure, Al-Maliki was well known for doing all he could to cow anyone defying his increasingly autocratic rule in order to maintain his hold on power. This led even some of his closest allies to compare him with former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

In the recordings, Al-Maliki, who tried while in office to consolidate his power and debar his opponents from ruling the country, can be heard betting on an intra-Shia war to bring him back to power, only this time as an absolute leader.

On Turkeys repeated attacks, the killing of innocent civilians, the destruction of villages, and the systematic encroachment on Iraqs sovereignty, the Iraqi leadership has showed dismal ineptitude in defending their country and protecting its citizens.

When the Iraqi parliament met on Saturday to question the government about its response to Turkeys aggression, Defence Minister Jimaa Enad and army commanders told MPs that Iraq lacked the military capabilities to stand up to Turkey.

Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein also told the parliament that his ministry has counted more than 22,700 Turkish violations against Iraq since 2018, with these having been met by 296 diplomatic protests.

Iraqi National Security Adviser Qassim Al-Aaraji earlier urged Iraqis waging anti-Turkey protests to show self-restraint, saying they should not be pushed by calls to sabotage our foreign relations.

Iraqs post-Saddam diplomatic and defence strategies have been calamitous for the country and have had devastating domestic political consequences, and such statements from policymakers and strategists show the worst policy blunders that any country can suffer.

The Iraqi leadership has gone missing on different domestic and external directions, and the ways in which it is handling the present challenges indicate it has passed all levels of mediocrity in terms of its weakness, selfishness, incompetence, and defeatism.

The Malikileaks and the mishandling of Turkeys violations of the countrys sovereignty have showed that Iraq is utterly lacking in the kind of efficient, visionary, and courageous leaders it needs to meet the increasingly complex challenges the country faces while serving as an example to their people.

As the countrys political stalemate deepens, the key question now is whether Iraq can find a new leadership that can meet the expectations of its people. For the time being, poor political leadership and bad governance are the greatest barriers to peace, stability, and development in Iraq.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 28 July, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


By Trend

Azerbaijani Entrepreneurship Development Fund and Small and Medium Business Development Agency under the Ministry of Economy will implement new programs, and introduce new tools and products, Minister Mikayil Jabbarov said in an interview with Azerbaijan Television (AZTV) channel, Trend reports.

"Currently, a number of programs to support entrepreneurship in Azerbaijan are being completed. Targeted programs to develop women's entrepreneurship, and open small businesses for citizens returning to the liberated territories are underway," Jabbarov noted.

Entrepreneurship Development Fund has allocated preferential loans for 1,384 projects in the amount of 53.9 million manat ($31.7 million) since the beginning of 2022.
Kyiv expects the Turkish-brokered deal on the release of grain shipments from the port of Odessa to go into effect this week, the Ukrainian Minister of Infrastructure Oleksandr Kubrakov announced in a press conference on Monday.

Arrangements are in progress to organise convoys to accompany the shipments and they should be ready in the next few days, he said. Russia and Ukraine separately signed the agreement with Turkey and the UN, raising hopes among many countries in the Middle East and Africa that are dependant on Ukrainian grain shipments and that have suffered severe shortages as a result of the halt in vital supplies from Odessa. The price of wheat and food oils have skyrocketed globally since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February.

No sooner had the UN hailed the grain deal as a de facto ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine than Russia fired four Kalibr missiles, however, two of which hit the area near a pumping station at the port while the other two were intercepted by Ukrainian air defences, according to Ukrainian military sources. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko decried the strike saying that Putin spat in the face of Turkey and the UN.

Russia countered that the missiles had targeted a weapons storehouse in Odessa housing high-precision missiles. Observers have interpreted this as a message from Moscow that the grain agreement aside, its so called special military operation in Ukraine is ongoing.

Under the terms of the agreement, which releases Ukrainian grain and other agricultural shipments from Odessa, Russia will have the same right, according to Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu. In other words, the economic restrictions imposed by international sanctions regimes will be lifted on Russian grain and agricultural exports. The UN has confirmed this. It believes that the rest of the world should not have to shoulder the economic fallout from this war, which puts a large portion of the global population at risk of starvation.

According to available information on the agreement, Russia has not committed to a ceasefire in the areas where the export activity is taking place. However, it is obliged to withhold fire when and where export activities are in progress. Under the agreement, Ukraine will be responsible for steering the ships through the Black Sea waters in the vicinity of Odessa. Ukrainian forces have heavily mined these waters, which Russia had cited as the main obstacle to the grain shipments. The Ukrainian insistence on navigating the ships through these dangerous waters may be in order to prevent the Russians from discovering the corridors between the mines.

Ukraine, of course, needs the revenues from those exports, to help allay the heavy economic toll from the war. But the agreement does reduce the risk of Russian attacks on Odessa and, thus, while this may not be a ceasefire it is a form of de-escalation. Also, the joint Turkish-UN search mechanism will also deprive Russia of a pretext to strike on the grounds of arms being smuggled into the Black Sea port aboard the grain ships. In the context of the larger battle, the agreement works to keep Odessa free from the Russian bid to control Ukraines southern littoral and isolate the country from the sea.

According to recent media reports, Ukrainian forces are pushing back against this strategy. Recently, they have launched an offensive to regain Kherson, a strategic town near the mouth of the Dnieper which Russian forces have partially occupied. Last week, the Ukrainians destroyed the bridges leading to the city, creating a logistical obstacle to a Russian assault.

In a related development, Russia has announced that it targeted a High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), one of several the US has offered Ukraine in accordance with an agreement signed earlier this year. The missile launcher was originally designed as a long-range weapon that could reach up to 300 km. But under the terms of the contract, Ukraine can only use them up to ranges of no more than 80 km and should not fire missiles into Russia. But this does not prevent Ukrainian forces from using them against targets in the Donbas region or areas that have fallen to Russia, such as Mariupol.

Despite the stipulated restrictions, Russian officials have stated that the HIMARS are the most dangerous weapons yet available to Ukrainian forces. On 25 July, the Russian Defence Ministry announced that it had destroyed a HIMARS rocket system when targeting an arms depot the Khmelnytskyi region.

The ministry said the depot had also housed ammunition for the US M777 Large-Calibre Howitzer, an S-300 defence system and various Grad missile launchers belonging to Ukrainian forces in the Donbas. Russian air defence systems also downed six Ukrainian drones in the Kamianka, Brazhkova and Komisarovka regions in the vicinity of Kharkiv and Khartsyzk in the Donetsk. Such statistics point to the Russian ability to target forward Ukrainian positions and offensive capacities.

On the other hand, according to the interactive maps on the Institute of Studies of War (ISW) website, Russian forces have not gained much ground recently, although they have launched a three pronged offensive towards Kharkiv. They have also targeted locations in Mykolaiv, striking an oil depot in the area. On the other hand, Ukrainian forces have struck vital logistic targets that Russian forces have tried to seize, such as some railroads in the Nova Kakhova area of the Zaborizhzhya Oblast and some airports such as the one at Melitopol.

It appears from the foregoing that Russia is trying to keep the balance of forces on the ground in its favour by preventing Ukrainian forces from attaining greater firing power with, for example, the HIMARS missile systems.

At the same time, as the recently concluded grain deal suggests, Moscow is working to open avenues to alleviate economic strains, but without sacrificing too much strategically. Ukraine, for its part, appears set on frustrating Russian advances outside the Donbas while making it more costly for Russia to remain in that region and its vicinity. More generally, it wants to prevent Russia from having any stable footing in Ukraine.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 28 July, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


Recent weeks have seen increasing numbers of armed Palestinian operations against the Israeli army in the West Bank.

At dawn on Sunday, the Israeli army killed two Palestinians during a raid on a house in Nablus in the Occupied West Bank. Israel claims that the men were wanted in relation to a series of operations against the Israeli army. The incident was a key development as it is part of a growing number of similar Israeli operations in the West Bank.

Israel admitted to using missiles during the operation, which it rarely uses in the West Bank. It also admitted to facing fierce resistance when its forces surrounded the house, with Israeli soldiers coming under heavy gunfire from Palestinian militants. Israel failed to capture the man it wanted most in the operation, named Ibrahim Al-Nabulsi.

Al-Nabulsi appeared in a video participating in the funeral procession of his fallen comrades hours after the Israeli operation. He has already survived several assassination attempts and has become an icon for the armed resistance in the West Bank.

The obstacles encountered during the operation sounded alarm bells in Israel, due to a growing trend of armed activity in the West Bank against the Israeli army. This is another security concern for Israel as it has expanded from the Jenin Refugee Camp to Nablus and even Ramallah, where an Israeli task force came under fire during a raid last week.

Previously, Israeli forces had operated in these cities with relative freedom after the 2002 invasion of the West Bank, called Operation Defensive Shield by Israel. Israel then dismantled armed cells in the West Bank and destroyed the infrastructure of paramilitary groups belonging to Fatah and Islamic Jihad.

Hamas and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) also have military cells in the West Bank, but these are not as active.

A report on Israels Channel 12 TV channel stated that the Israeli authorities expect there to be an uptick in armed activity in West Bank cities, especially since the Palestinians were disappointed by US President Joe Bidens recent visit to Israel and the West Bank.

The report said that the Israeli army was facing immense operational difficulties when confronting armed formations in the West Bank.

It said that recent military operations by the Israeli army in the area had revealed complex activities in refugee camps and Palestinian cities. It was difficult for Israeli special forces to operate in some areas that are very familiar to Palestinian fighters, it added.

The Israeli Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported that the goal of the Israeli operations was to make the Palestinian resistance holed up in these areas feel that they are no longer a refuge. Even though it is dangerous to enter the old city of Nablus, the Israeli army believes that the operation is necessary in order to prevent attacks in Tel Aviv, it added.

It continued that security circles in Israel believe that Nablus has joined ranks with Jenin as a stronghold for the Palestinian resistance, with 75 per cent of shootings targeting Israelis coming from there. For this reason, the Israeli army had sent in its Yamam Special Forces, the newspaper said.

Israeli analysts say that the number of armed fighters in the West Bank cities is growing due to the weakness of the Palestinian Authority (PA) and its absence on the ground. There have been many incidents using weapons, whether when battling with Israel or domestically.

Recently, an attempted assassination of Nasser Al-Shaer, an academic and former Palestinian deputy prime minister and minister of education, saw him shot in Nablus. The attack was strongly condemned by the Palestinians.

There are several reasons for the PAs weakness in the West Bank, most notably the failure of the political track in the negotiations with Israel and Bidens inability to break the stalemate between the PA and Israel during his mid-July visit to Israel and the Palestinian Territories.

After the Israeli forces raided Nablus, the PA once again indicated it would implement the decisions of the Palestinian Central Council (PCC) regarding withdrawing recognition of Israel and ending security coordination with it, the last form of cooperation between the two sides.

This could escalate attacks against Israel and spread further armed activity on the West Bank.

PCC decisions cannot be endlessly delayed, said PA Spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeineh. They are on the table. The region will remain in a cycle of violence until the end of the occupation and the reaching of a just peace.

The PA decision to withdraw recognition of Israel and halt security coordination with it on the ground would mean detonating conditions in the West Bank. The PA has been cautious about considering this suicide option despite repeated threats to do so in the face of Israeli intransigence blocking political progress between the two sides.

Israel accuses the PA of turning a blind eye to the growing number of armed men who largely belong to Fatah, the backbone of the PA. There are concerns that Fatah could adopt the same approach as former leader Yasser Arafat, who supported armed operations against Israel and provided safe havens for the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades as the main agents of the armed resistance in the West Bank.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 28 July, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


Millions of Egyptians awoke on Wednesday 23 July 1952 to hear the news over the radio  there was no TV in Egypt back then  that the army in a blessed movement had seized power in the country.

The intervention of the military in politics had come after a very turbulent period in modern Egyptian history immediately after the end of World War II that had included widespread demonstrations by students and workers against deteriorating living conditions, the Palestine War of 1948, the political instability of a regime that had started to lose control over events, and the inability of the palace and the governing elites to negotiate the end of the British occupation of Egypt dating back to 1882.

There was a fierce confrontation between Egypts leftists and the Muslim Brotherhood, which was scheming to seize power at the earliest possible opportunity through an ad-hoc alliance with the powers that be in order to change the status quo.

The majority parliamentary party, the Wafd, came to power in 1950 amidst rising national fervour against the British occupying forces. Under enormous political, economic, and social pressure, the Wafd government repealed the 1936 Treaty with the British, an act that triggered an armed resistance movement against British forces in the Suez Canal Zone where the largest British military base in the Middle East was located.

On 25 January 1952, the Egyptian police in Ismailia rejected a British ultimatum to lay down their arms. A bloody battle ensued in which dozens of Egyptian policemen lost their lives. On the following day, 26 January, Cairo burned for more than ten hours until the army belatedly intervened to regain control. Some 700 people died, and many Western institutions were ransacked and destroyed.

Many years later, I had the opportunity to discuss these events with Fouad Serageldin, the minister of the interior in the Wafd government at the time, who was a very influential politician and had occupied the post of the partys secretary-general. I asked him who was responsible for setting Cairo ablaze. I still remember his reply that the responsible parties were the palace, the British, and the Muslim Brothers. The former two had done so in order to get rid of the Wafd government, he said, while the Muslim Brothers wanted to create chaos as a prelude to seizing power.

On the morning after the blaze, then King Farouk dissolved the 1950 parliament and appointed a new government. By July that year, Egypt had had three governments. The time for radical political, economic and social changes was long overdue.

In the two-year period from July 1952 to October 1954 the Revolutionary Command Council (RCC) that took power on 23 July changed the course of Egyptian history. First, it enacted the agrarian reform law of 9 September 1952 limiting the amount of land that could be owned by individuals to 200 feddans and redistributing the rest to the peasantry. Second, it adopted a republican system of government in Egypt on 18 June 1953. Third, it signed a withdrawal agreement with the British in October 1954.

The leaders of the revolution wanted at first to concentrate their energies and the limited resources of the country on internal reform, with special attention being paid to developing and improving industrial production, public health, and education. They also wanted to modernise the Egyptian military through cooperation with the US.

The Americans were not very enthusiastic and promised rifles and machine guns. But that was not what the members of the RCC were thinking of. They wanted a modern army that could defend the country when some Western powers, France, for example, were providing Israel with modern tanks and fighter planes.

The parting of the ways between Egypt and the West came on 28 February 1955. At dawn on that day, an Israeli commando unit led by a then obscure major by the name of Ariel Sharon raided an Egyptian military outpost in Al-Arish killing almost 60 soldiers.

This was a turning point for the young revolutionary leaders led by Gamal Abdel-Nasser. The former Soviet Union entered the Middle East through Chinese mediation and agreed to provide Egypt with the weapons it needed. At the same time, Egypt launched the Non-Aligned Movement with the former Yugoslavia, India, Indonesia, China, and other developing countries at Bandung in Indonesia in April 1955. Cairo also recognised the Peoples Republic of China, a decision that angered then US president Dwight Eisenhower.

Two major regional and international issues proved challenging for the revolution, namely Israel and the Cold War. The former sought to destabilise any Arab or regional power that threatened it, and the latter saw an ongoing confrontation between the US-led West and the former Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact.

The July Revolution was a watershed moment in shaping the destiny of modern Egypt. It capped a 72-year-old national struggle for freedom in Egypt and in the conduct of its foreign relations. It was also a classic case of the relations between the military and society and of the complete identification of the two. This identification manifested itself again in the 2011 and 2013 Revolutions.

French journalist Jean Lacouture wrote a biography of Nasser that covered his thinking in the 1960s. He asked the Egyptian leader what his most enduring legacy would be. According to Lacouture, Nasser stayed silent for a moment and then repeated the famous slogan of the early days of the revolution: Lift up your head, my brother, the age of colonialism has ended.

Perhaps this was the most enduring legacy of the revolution for generations of Egyptians.

* The writer is former assistant foreign minister.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 28 July, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


What if Cuba decided to form a present-day strategic coalition with Russia? What if Canada bestowed preferential treatment on Russia akin to what it provides to the US? What if Mexico enhanced its security ties with Russia via military exercises and the purchase of armaments? What if Greenland or Iceland had alliance agreements with Russia?

These countries are all considered to be self-governing sovereign states. They determine their own future and foreign policy course. Canada ranked seventh in the world on the Freest Countries Index in 2022. All of them should in theory be free to make such hypothetical choices.

However, even if Russia acted discreetly in such highly unlikely and improbable scenarios, the whole world would soon become aware of their infringement of the security of the US and other countries in the West. Tensions would intensify through a media upheaval and the declarations of official spokespersons.

Actions of this kind would not be accepted lightly, and reactions would commence. In fact, they would likely be swift and devastating. Any notion of freedom of choice on the part of the countries concerned would vanish into thin air.

Lets pause and absorb these scenarios. First, they are fictitious and farfetched. For one thing, allegiances amongst the Western countries are tight and long-lasting. Canada and Mexico cannot be considered to be at arms length as far as the US is concerned, and they in turn would never repeal their alliance with it. Greenland is happily devoted to Denmark, and Iceland remains peacefully uninvolved.

More importantly, Russia would think twice before taking such a route. What is considered to be the Western Hemisphere would remain within the West.

As for Cuba, it has learned its lessons the hard way in the shape of over 60 years of arbitrary US sanctions. However, lets indulge ourselves in the fictitious schema of a Russian alliance with Cuba, so please play along. The uproar would be deafening. Every media outlet and official in the West would question Russia and Cubas right to solidify their cooperation. It would not be considered a democratic action. Rather, it would be seen as an act of pure and simple aggression.

Everyone would immediately cry foul. Russias action would be considered as demeaning of Western liberal ways and a violation of the free world.

Across the world, leaders and countries alike would be horrified at the Russian move. They would spout anger, venom, and rancour and call on Russia to resolve the crisis by withdrawing its presence in the region from Cuba or anywhere else.

With no pause for thoughtful negotiation or rational dialogue, the US would immediately quash the alliance. It would not wait a decade in order to convince Russia that it was taking the wrong route. Instead, it would likely attack Cuba.

In reality, a storyline of exactly this sort occurred in Cuba in 1962. The US and the former Soviet Union were at a standoff when the latter installed nuclear missiles on Cuban soil just 90 miles from US shores. Then US president John Kennedy, perceiving the Soviet action as a threat to US national security, was ready to use nuclear weapons.

The world was thus brought to the brink of nuclear war because the Soviet missiles in Cuba were a threat to the US. However, the crisis was resolved when the Soviet Union agreed to remove the missiles in exchange for the US not invading the island and, more importantly, for the US removing its missiles from Turkey. The US had deployed nuclear weapons on Turkish soil in 1959 in what was seen as an act of aggression directed at the Soviet Union itself.

Infringing on buffer zones, or regions that serve as shields to safeguard countries from foes, is something that must be avoided so that we do not all fall into the dilemma that Ukraine and the world are facing today.

The war on Ukraine is akin to the scenario just described, and yet the world seems blind to the motives behind Russias actions. Russias borders and security have seemingly been allowed to fall by the wayside.

For example, the US writer Rand Paul wrote in the US publication the American Conservative recently that when Western intelligence agencies worked with Ukrainian Maidan protesters to topple the Russian-backed leader of Ukraine in 2014, [Russian President Vladimir] Putin reacted by taking Crimea. When the Biden administration signed an accord with Ukraine reiterating an invitation for Ukraine to join NATO last fall, Putin responded with a massive invasion of Ukraine. Of course, nothing justifies the invasion, but it is an error to argue that it was not predictable.

In 2018, Ukraine joined the US and seven other NATO countries in a series of large-scale air exercises in Western Ukraine. Complicating matters further, in 2019 the former US Trump administration sold anti-tank weapons to Ukraine in the first sale of its kind of US weaponry.

Then, in their Brussels summit in June 2021 NATO leaders confirmed the decision taken at the 2008 Bucharest summit that Ukraine would become a member of NATO and supported its right to determine its own future and foreign policy course without outside interference.

Tensions between Russia and neighbouring NATO countries rose, and in February 2022 US President Joe Biden deployed 3,000 US troops to Poland and Romania. Sweden and Finland, another two countries bordering Russia, are planning to join NATO.

The war in Ukraine has taken a worse turn since then, and it is dragging on with no end in sight. But even as Ukraine is destroyed and the ramifications of the war affect the whole world, attention has been shifting to other matters and other crises. The world is starting to forget about the war in Ukraine. There can be no winners in this war, though there is one definite loser  Ukraine itself.

Double standards, or unfairly applying different responses to different crises, will continue to haunt us. What is not acceptable in one situation should not be accepted in another.

*The writer is a former professor of communication based in Vancouver, Canada.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 28 July, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


It was US secretary of state John Foster Dulles (1888-1959) who first described the Middle East as a vacuum that needed to be filled. There was before Cold War adversaries like the Soviet Union, China and other communist powers moved in to fill said vacuum. Dulles proposed strategy was the policy of containment, which was based on a series of defence pacts to block and isolate those adversaries. The Cold War was escalating and the superpowers were in a race over spheres of influence in this strategically located region with its vast resources of oil, which had become an essential commodity in times of war and peace. Dulles believed that even as mutual nuclear deterrence maintained the international power balance, strategic pacts at the regional level were the key to having the edge. Washington was pushing for the creation of the Baghdad Pact which eventually became the Central Pact. But revolutionary winds were blowing in the region. The Egyptian leader, president Gamal Abdel-Nasser, countered that there was no vacuum in the Middle East; the region was filled by its peoples, with their aspirations to progress and modernisation. If there was an enemy in the vicinity, he said, it was not the Soviet Union, but Israel, which had just made its untimely appearance as an aggressive and occupying power.

When US President Joe Biden said, during his recent visit to the region, that the US could not leave a vacuum in the region, one could not help thinking, the more things change, the more they remain the same. Instead of the USSR, he pointed to Russia which invaded Ukraine, China whose economic and political influence is growing by the day, and Iran which, if left unchecked, may acquire a nuclear weapon with which to threaten the region and the US. To complete the picture, various reports encouraged speculation regarding a drive to create an Arab Nato that would no longer be Arab but Middle Eastern. As was the case some 70 years ago, from the American perspective, the leaders and peoples of this region did know where their interests lay and how to formulate their policies accordingly.

The reality, which was made abundantly clear during the Jeddah Security and Development Summit last week, is that there is no vacuum in the Middle East. The gap between Bidens discourse and that of the nine Arab heads of state he met with was glaring. It may be normal for an American president to open his speech with a salute to the US soldiers who had died in battle in Iraq and Afghanistan, but it was not normal not to mention the hundreds of thousands of civilians from the region who had been killed in those wars. After all, combat and the toll it took was but a prelude to the American definition of the stance they wanted to emerge from the unprecedented meeting between the US head of state and his counterparts from nine Arab countries. That definition was premised on the new line of confrontation that the US has drawn in the sand, which now pits Russia, China and Iran on the other side.

While the Saudi Arabian welcome was warm, in keeping with its traditional spirit of generosity, the Arab response was clear, maybe clearer than ever before in modern Arab history. That clarity was the product of intensive communications, consultations and coordination between the nine Arab heads of state in the weeks leading up to the summit. Perhaps the fact that Biden made Israel the first leg of his journey gave them additional time to think more deeply. The Arab discourse at the summit was based on three principles. First, there is no vacuum in the Arab region or the Middle East. There are leaders who have initiated sweeping reforms and who are perfectly able to identify their national interests, and there are peoples who aspire to a future of progress towards which could be seen from the windows of the conference halls overlooking various vistas of Jeddah. Secondly, there is no problem, in principle, with Washingtons proposition of a rules-based international order. However, that order should not discard one of the most important rules that have governed the international order since the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, namely non-intervention in the domestic affairs of other nations. This means Washington should come to terms with the fact that the people of Mecca know its ways better than outsiders, as the saying goes, and that it should stop using democracy and human rights as stones to throw especially when its own house is made of glass. Thirdly, the Arabs are keen to have close relations with the US, just as they are keen to have mutually beneficial relations with all countries on the basis of their respective national interests.

The summit unfolded as planned. A Saudi-US summit was followed by shorter ones between four Arab heads of state and Biden, after which the main summit convened and Biden and Arab leaders took turns at the podium. The first speech focused almost exclusively on the Iranian threat, which was odd given the stated need to reach an agreement with Tehran. The other speeches reflected no less of an awareness of that threat. But they simultaneously reflected a greater awareness of other threats to the region and the world, from the ongoing Israeli occupation of Arab territory to global warming and the urgency of water security. If the discourse was marked by a conscientious flexibility with regard to the difficult Palestinian situation, it also demonstrated an acute appreciation of many global and regional concerns that should not fall by the wayside.

As explicit as such messages were, the US media and especially the liberal press, like the Washington Post, covered the summit as though it was a one-character play with a monologue and a single-track soundtrack. They still only saw a bleak vacuum. They did not even have the courage to recount what transpired in the first meeting between President Biden and Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman regarding the journalist Jamal Khashoggi. As painful as that horrific incident was, great care was taken to ensure that the law prevailed and the criminals were brought to justice. A great wrong had been committed, but no country is innocent of such wrongs, including the US whose wars in Vietnam and Iraq will be remembered for the Mai Lai and Abu Ghraib massacres. And let us not forget the Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was murdered by Israel in the course of performing her journalistic duties.

The mainstream American press and media displayed a complete lack of professionalism in their coverage of the summit, as well as a blindness to the greatest economic and social reform revolution Saudi Arabia has ever known. These were not inadvertent lapses; they were deliberate, a departure from a profession whose mission is to seek the truth. That press was out for blood, including Bidens. He was blamed for becoming realistic, for not having come away with more, for failing to heed the advice and reminders from a media still set on disseminating a completely misleading and hackneyed image of the Arab world.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 28 July, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


Activities for children at the Alexandria Sporting Club are back in full swing after two years of their being kept at home during the Covid-19 pandemic, writes Ameera Fouad

It is a huge amount of fun, and I have learned many things like how to deal with money, how to deal with people of different ages, and how to play with my toys better, seven-year-old Malak Ahmed told Al-Ahram Weekly.

Malak was the youngest participant in the Garage Sale for Kids, a childrens activity recently held at the Alexandria Sporting Club (ASC). This encouraged children and teenagers to set up their own stalls where they could sell items that were either handmade or were things they no longer use.

Malak had made her own accessories with her younger sister Farida, both of whom were keen to share their creative and colourful products. We have made LE250 selling my old teddy bears, dolls, and accessories I no longer use, Malak said. But next time I will include more accessories and handmade products, as people just love them, she added.

Malak wants to open her own fashion and accessories shop when she grows older. She had been through a first-time interview and had to fill in an application form to participate in the Garage Sale. They asked me in the interview if I could add and subtract money, if I felt shy about dealing with people, and if I knew how to address others, she said. Thankfully, they took me, and now I have a table of my own at the sale, she added.

The Garage Sale for Kids had been an activity held erratically at the club in the past. However, as new members of the board last April, some young mothers took over. They started holding different activities for children and teenagers. The rejuvenated Garage Sale is only one of them.

We are new members of the committee, and we have decided to restore the childrens activities and also to add new ones. We organised the sale as a festival with activities to entertain children like face painting. It is not only a fair to buy and sell products, said Farida Zalat, deputy chair of the Children and Teens Committee at the ASC.

The event was intended for children and teenagers from seven to 17 years old. Parental consent was a must. Though intended to be like any other garage sale, the committee put restrictions on products like electronics, crystals, expensive objects, and any breakable products that might harm children.

Our childrens safety comes first, said Zalat.

Very excited, but also very shy. With these words Rodina Ahmed Mohamed, 11, expressed her happiness at participating for her second time in the sale. I was afraid the first time that no one would buy my products. But when I returned, I sold loads of new things. I was really happy, she said.

Rodina and other children and teenagers are happy to be part of this competitive experience where they can learn about pricing, advertising, and displaying their stuff. I dont care about making money as much as about being happy and learning life experiences, she added.

All kinds of accessories were the theme of the day. Many children are fond of making accessories, and each young member of the sale competed with their own handmade accessories to attract the customers eye. Ranging from beaded necklaces and bracelets to rings and earrings, the collections demonstrated enormous talent. Each table had its own unique products celebrating the achievement of young people in creating their own handicrafts.

Rodina, who wants to be an interior designer when she grows up, said she wanted to get involved in accessories workshops that teach young people how to make different kinds of accessories. My mother taught me how to make accessories, but I want to learn more about how to finish the products well, how to make garments, and how to make silver products, she said.

I have sold almost all my products. I will buy new ones with half the money, and I will use the rest to buy things I need, she added.

Mothers, grandmothers, and other children present at the club for the Garage Sale encouraged the young sellers. Of course, mothers are their childrens number one supporters, and they whole-heartedly share with them everything they know.

Asmaa Hegazi, the mother of Habiba Islam, eight, was thrilled that her daughter was participating in the event for the first time. She had been keen to encourage Habiba to go to an art centre where her daughter fell in love with making handmade products such as pottery, accessories, paintings, and other objects.

We prepared for the event two weeks ago and started dividing our stuff into categories. The first are things we really need and still enjoy. The second are things that we can dispense with and want to sell in the sale. The third are things we want to donate to charity, Hegazi said.

These kinds of events make children responsible and aware of their societal responsibility. They learn financial stuff like how to calculate the money they have, how to value the products they have, and how to price them. They learn how to interact with people of all ages, both adults and the young.

Habiba gained interpersonal skills such as self-confidence, self-independence, and problem-solving skills from the event, her proud mother said.

The Garage Sale also made many people realise how stuffed Egyptian homes are with unwanted and surplus stuff. It made parents realise the need to raise children who can be independent and reliable.

Our houses are full of all kinds of stuff we do not need. We like preserving stuff, but the Garage Sale is one of the doors you can use to help you dispense with things you do not need, said Nevine Saad, a member of the committee.

I saw a large number of people waiting to take part. We also have a long waiting list, but hopefully they can take part in our upcoming sale, Saad said.

The committee is keen to organise new activities for children like reading classes for children speaking different languages. We started reading classes in Arabic, and this has been very popular. It is not only about reading a story but also about understanding it, being able to renarrate it, and being able to perform it, she added.

We collaborate with Techno Kids and with the Bibliotheca Alexandrina to organise different activities for children and teenagers.

Boys were not heavily present at the event, and Ali Al-Batikhi, 17, represented his entire gender through his marvelous presentation skills. This third-year secondary grade student had a stand full of colourful handmade accessories. Al-Batikhi has taken his talent to a professional level on his Instagram page Funky Jewellery started three years ago.

I am a huge fan of accessories, which I learned all by myself. I saw tutorials on Pinterest and other platforms and started working on my own small business that I hope will grow with me when I go to university next year, he concluded.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 28 July, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


Russia targeted Ukraine's Black Sea regions of Odesa and Mykolaiv with air strikes Tuesday, hitting private buildings and port infrastructure along the country's southern coast, the Ukrainian military said.

The Kremlin's forces used air-launched missiles in the attack, Ukraine's Operational Command South said in a Facebook post.

In the Odesa region, a number of private buildings in villages on the coast were hit and caught fire, the report said. In the Mykolaiv region, port infrastructure was targeted.

Hours after the renewed strikes on the south, a Moscow-installed official in the southern Kherson region said the Odesa and Mykolaiv regions will soon be ``liberated'' by the Russian forces, just like the Kherson region further east.

``The Kherson region and the city of Kherson have been liberated forever,'' Kirill Stremousov was quoted as saying by Russian state news agency RIA Novosti.

The developments came as Ukraine appeared to be preparing a counteroffensive in the south.

Russia previously attacked Odesa's port at the weekend. The British military said Tuesday there was no indication that a Ukrainian warship and a stockpile of anti-ship missiles were at the site, as Moscow claimed.

The British Defense Ministry said Russia sees Ukraine's use of anti-ship missiles as ``a key threat'' that is limiting its Black Sea Fleet.

``This has significantly undermined the overall invasion plan, as Russia cannot realistically attempt an amphibious assault to seize Odesa,'' the military said. ``Russia will continue to prioritize efforts to degrade and destroy Ukraine's anti-ship capability.''

It added that ``Russia's targeting processes are highly likely routinely undermined by dated intelligence, poor planning, and a top-down approach to operations.''

Russian shelling over the previous 24 hours killed at least three civilians and wounded eight more in Ukraine, the president's office said Tuesday.

In the eastern Donetsk region, where the fighting has been focused in recent weeks, the shelling continued along the entire front line, with the largest cities of the region, including Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Toretsk, being targeted by the Russian forces, a statement said.

Donetsk regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko accused Russian troops of using cluster munitions and repeated his call for civilians to evacuate.

``There is not a single safe place left, everything is being shelled,`` Kyrylenko said in televised remarks. ``But there are still evacuation routes for the civilian population.''

The Institute for the Study of War, based in Washington, D.C., reported that the Russians are using mercenaries from the shadowy Wagner Group to capture the Vuhledar Power Plant on the northern outskirts of the Novoluhanske village.

But the Russian forces have made ``limited gains'' there, according to Ukraine's General Staff.

The main Russian focus has been on capturing Bakhmut, which Moscow's forces need in order to press their offensive on the main Ukrainian strongholds in Donetsk, Sloviansk and Kramatorsk.

``Russian forces made marginal gains south of Bakhmut but are unlikely to be able to effectively leverage these advances to take full control of Bakhmut itself,'' the Institute for the Study of War said.

Russian forces continued to launch strikes on civilian infrastructure in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest city in the northeast, and the surrounding region.

Kharkiv governor Oleh Syniehubov said the strikes on the city resumed around dawn Tuesday, damaging a car dealership.

``The Russians deliberately target civilian infrastructure objects, hospitals, schools, movie theaters,'' Syniehubov told Ukrainian television. ``Everything is being fired at, even queues for humanitarian aid, so we're urging people to avoid mass gatherings.''

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said that Moscow wants ``the complete subjugation of Ukraine and its people.''

``We must be prepared for this war, which Russia is conducting with absolute brutality, and is conducting in a way that no one else would, to last months,'' Baerbock said during a visit to Prague.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


Pelosi, who is second in line to the presidency, is due to visit the self-governing island China claims as its own territory in August, according to a report in the Financial Times.

She was originally scheduled to visit in April but had to postpone after she tested positive for COVID-19.

Pelosi would be the highest ranking American lawmaker to visit the close U.S. ally since her predecessor as speaker, Newt Gingrich, traveled there 25 years ago.

China has vowed to annex Taiwan by force if necessary, and has advertised that threat by flying warplanes near Taiwanese airspace and holding military exercises based on invasion scenarios. It says those actions are aimed at deterring advocates of the island's formal independence and foreign allies - principally the U.S. - from coming to its aid, more than 70 years after the sides split amid civil war.

A visit by Pelosi would ``severely undermine China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, gravely impact the foundation of China-U.S. relations and send a seriously wrong signal to Taiwan independence forces,`` Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijiang said at a daily briefing.

``If the U.S. were to insist on going down the wrong path, China will take resolute and strong measures to safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity,`` Zhao said.

China in recent days has also ratcheted up its rhetoric over U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, demanding the cancellation of a deal worth approximately $108 million that would boost its armed forces' chances of survival against its much bigger foe. China has the world's largest standing military, with an increasingly sophisticated navy and a huge inventory of missiles pointed across the 180 kilometer (100 mile) -wide Taiwan Strait.

``The Chinese People's Liberation Army ... will resolutely thwart any form of interference by external forces and separatist plots of `Taiwan independence,'`` the Defense Ministry said in a statement posted on its website Tuesday.

While Washington maintains a policy of ``strategic ambiguity`` over whether it would defend Taiwan in a conflict with China, U.S. law requires it must ensure the island has the means to defend itself and consider threats to its security as matters of ``grave concern.``

Washington maintains only unofficial relations with Taiwan in deference to Beijing, but is the island's strongest political ally and source of defensive arms.

Zhao gave no details about what potential actions China might take in response to Pelosi's visit, but Beijing has generally used military flights and war games to indicate its discontent. Chinese pilots have also been accused of aggressive action toward surveillance aircraft from the U.S. and its allies operating in international airspace off the Chinese coast, while using lasers and other methods to harass foreign warships in the South China Sea.

China's most serious threat against Taiwan came in 1995-96, when it held military exercises and lobbed missiles into waters north and south of the island in response to a visit to the U.S. by then-President Lee Teng-hui.
Cairo is the first stop for Hammer before heading to the United Arab Emirates and Ethiopia in a regional tour focusing on the GERD issue.

I came to Cairo on my first official trip to the region to hear from our Egyptian partners on the critical issue of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam and to better understand Egypts water needs, Special Envoy Hammer said, adding the US is actively engaged in "supporting a diplomatic way forward under the African Unions auspices that arrive at an agreement that provides for the long-term needs of every citizen along the Nile.

During their recent meeting in Jeddah, President Joe Biden reiterated to President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi the United States support for Egypts water security and to forging a diplomatic resolution that would achieve the interests of all parties and contribute to a more peaceful and prosperous region.

Special Envoy Hammers visit to Cairo, which took place just days after the two presidents met, focused on this priority, the US Department of State said.

The special envoys meetings in Cairo included the inter-agency team responsible for GERD negotiations with Ethiopia and Sudan at the Egyptian foreign ministry.

U.S. Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa @MikeHammerUSA met w/ Egyptian gov't officials yesterday to discuss Egypts water security, the GERD, & regional issues of shared interest. Our continued dialogue advances our ongoing partnership w/ Egypt.@StateDept_NEA @AsstSecStateAF pic.twitter.com/xbkJ3sTZlr  U.S. Embassy Cairo (@USEmbassyCairo) July 26, 2022

Mike Hammer met with MP Karim Darwish, Chair of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee in parliament.

Special Envoy Hammers engagement on the GERD builds on a strong record and history of US partnership with Egypt, the statement said, adding that over the past four decades, the US has provided over $3.5 billion to strengthen Egypts water security by bringing clean water to a quarter of Egypts population, upgrading Cairo and Alexandrias water treatment services, modernising the Aswan Dams power station, and building water infrastructure for residents in North Sinai.

During the meetings, Charge dAffaires Nicole Shampaine also delivered an invitation from the White House to President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi to attend the US-Africa Leaders Summit on 13-15 December.

Egypts participation in the summit would help the region and bolster US-Egypt and US-Africa relations, as we work together to address global challenges, the statement said.

Egypt and Sudan, the two downstream countries, have been involved in decade-long talks with Addis Ababa over the dam.

Egypt is concerned that the filling and operation of the GERD will harm its historic share of the Nile water, while Sudan is worried about the impact of the GERD on regulating flows to its own dams.

Egypt and Sudan, who do not oppose the GERD outright, have sought to reach a binding deal with Ethiopia on the filling and operation of the dam while Ethiopia has rejected all such attempts.

In the absence of a legally binding deal, Ethiopia unilaterally completed the first and second filling of the dam and started earlier this year operating the first turbine of the GERD to generate power.

It also seeks to start the third filling in August and September, according to a recent announcement by the GERD project manager.
The Egyptian government has allocated EGP 11 billion as exceptional aid over the next six months to support around nine million families during the current global economic crises.

According to a statement by the Egyptian presidency on Tuesday, President Abdel-Fatah El-Sisi has directed the government to disburse a total of EGP 1 billion per month for the next six months as exceptional aid to nine million families.

El-Sisi issued the directions during a meeting with Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, Minister of Supply Ali Moselhi, Minister of Interior Mahmoud Tawfik, Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait and Minister of Social Solidarity Nevine El-Qabbaj.

Recipients will include the neediest families and pensioners who receive less than EGP 2,500 per month as well as the state employees whose monthly salaries are less than EGP 2,700.

In addition, two million subsidised food boxes will be made available each month at half price from Egyptian Armed Forces food markets. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Endowment in cooperation with the Ministry of Social Solidarity will distribute Eid Al-Adha meat throughout the year.

El-Sisi also directed the ministers to add one million new families to the Takaful and Karama (Solidarity and Dignity) Programme, thus increasing the number of beneficiaries to more than 20 million citizens nationwide.

The Takaful and Karama Programme was launched in 2015 to support impoverished families with school-age children, the elderly and people with special needs in Upper Egypt.

El-Qabbaj said during the meeting that EGP 500 billion has been allocated in the current budget to support social protection programs.

During the meeting, Moselhi reviewed the availability of strategic commodities, especially oil and grains like wheat, stating that stockpiles are sufficient to last for seven months.

Egypt, the worlds largest wheat importer, relies on the strategic commodity to produce bread, a key staple for Egyptians.

Prior to the Russia-Ukraine war, Egypt got 80 percent of its imported wheat from these two countries.

The country requested in late May $500 million from the World Bank to buy wheat through the Emergency Food Security and Resilience Support Project, according to a document released by the World Bank.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


By Azernews

By Ayya Lmahamad

The joint radio monitoring between Azerbaijan and Georgia has kicked off activities to regulate TV and radio broadcasting along border areas, Azernews reports.

In accordance with the agreement reached between the Azerbaijani Digital Development and Transport Ministry and the Georgian National Communications Commission, a joint radio monitoring was carried out along the border with the participation of specialists from both sides in order to regulate TV and radio broadcasting, for efficient use of radio frequency resources and prevention of mutual interferences along the border.

Thus, radio monitoring was carried out on July 18-19 in Georgia and July 20-21 in Azerbaijan. In addition, according to the results of the radio monitoring, discussions were held in Ganja on July 22-23 between specialists on the compliance of TV and radio broadcasting with international requirements, bilateral protocols, and coordination of radio frequency channels in the border areas.

As a result of the discussions, the parties decided to take appropriate measures to regulate radio frequencies for TV and radio broadcasting in the border areas, including the introduction of new digital technologies in this area.

Azerbaijan and Georgia are collaborating in a variety of economic sectors. The two countries signed a number of cooperation agreements in 2021 as part of a meeting of the joint intergovernmental commission on economic cooperation.

Simultaneously, as part of the trilateral business forum held in Baku in December 2021, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey signed five memorandums and agreements on cooperation.

In 2021, the two countries' trade turnover totaled $763.6 million, with exports accounting for $661 million and imports accounting for $102.6 million.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's reported plans to travel to Taiwan have upended Washington's political divide, with a rift emerging with President Joe Biden over the visit to the self-governing island while prominent Republicans offer encouragement to a political opponent they normally scorn.

Pelosi's supporters include a conservative Republican senator, at least two former Trump administration officials and the last speaker of the House to make the trip to Taiwan, also a Republican. They are urging Biden to back the trip even as China threatens a forceful response if she goes.

Pelosi, D-Calif., has not confirmed the trip publicly. The White House and the speaker's office have yet to challenge each other directly, and Biden has not said publicly that Pelosi should not go.

Biden has made blunting China's rising influence a core part of his foreign policy ethos, but the Biden-China relationship is complicated and he has sought to avoid unnecessarily aggravating tensions. China considers democratic, self-ruling Taiwan its own territory and has raised the prospect of annexing it by force.

The White House is preparing for another call between Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping, a conversation the U.S. president said he expects this week despite his COVID-19 diagnosis.

The growing chorus pushing Biden to support Pelosi publicly is also raising the risk that the president could be perceived as insufficiently tough on China.

``Speaker Pelosi should go to Taiwan and President Biden should make it abundantly clear to Chairman Xi that there's not a damn thing the Chinese Communist Party can do about it,'' Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., said Monday. ``No more feebleness and self-deterrence. This is very simple: Taiwan is an ally and the speaker of the House of Representatives should meet with the Taiwanese men and women who stare down the threat of Communist China.''

The White House on Monday declined to weigh in directly on Pelosi's trip, including whether the speaker has Biden's blessing, considering she has not confirmed it.

``The administration routinely provides members of Congress with information and context for potential travel, including geopolitical and security considerations,`` White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, without responding directly to Pelosi's possible plans. ``Members of Congress will make their own decisions.''

State Department spokesman Ned Price also declined to discuss any concerns.

``I will just restate our policy, and that is that we remain committed to maintaining cross-strait peace and stability and our `One China' policy,'' said Price, referring to the U.S. position that recognizes Beijing as the government of China but allows for informal relations and defense ties with Taipei.

In private, the administration is particularly concerned that a convergence of upcoming events could make a Chinese response to a Pelosi visit even stronger and more animated than it might otherwise be, according to officials. The Chinese Communist Party congress, expected in November, at which Xi intends to further cement his hold on power, is one of those events.

International events in the coming months also could prompt China to react more forcefully than it has in the past if it believes its concerns are being ignored or its president is being disrespected, the officials said. Those include the annual U.N. General Assembly in September and several summits in Asia, the G-20 in Indonesia, the East Asia Summit in Cambodia and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Thailand, set for October and November. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the administration's perspective.

The U.S. officials said the administration doubts that China would take action against Pelosi herself or try to sabotage or otherwise interfere with a visit, but they said the administration does not rule out the possibility that China could escalate provocative overflights of military aircraft in or near Taiwanese airspace and naval patrols in the Taiwan Strait should the trip take place. The officials also said the administration does not preclude that China might also step up its actions outside the immediate area of Taiwan as a show of strength, thus possibly expanding military operations in contested areas of the South China Sea.

Earlier Monday, Taipei staged air raid drills and the island's military performed routine defense exercises amid rising tensions over the potential visit, although there was no direct link between those exercises and threats posed by Beijing should Pelosi make the trip.

The Chinese in general don't fully appreciate or understand the concept of the separation of powers between the executive, legislative and judicial branches. Those distinctions to them are muddied further because the last time a speaker of the House visited Taiwan, Newt Gingrich, he was the speaker of a Republican-controlled House under a Democratic president.

Pelosi would be visiting at a time when the Democrats control the House, Senate and the White House, so there are concerns that the Chinese may see this as an administration move.

Gingrich himself tweeted support for Pelosi on Monday: ``What is the Pentagon thinking when it publicly warns against Speaker Pelosi going to Taiwan? If we are so intimidated by the Chinese Communists we can't even protect an American Speaker of the House why should Beijing believe we can help Taiwan survive. Timidity is dangerous.''

Mark Esper, a defense secretary during the Trump administration, said Monday that he had recently returned from Taipei and that more high-ranking U.S. officials should visit to help shape U.S. policy in the region. He also stressed that China should not have veto power over where U.S. officials travel.

``I think if the speaker wants to go, she should go,'' Esper said on CNN's ``New Day.''

Meanwhile, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, a Republican who served in the Trump administration, tweeted on Sunday: ``Nancy, I'll go with you. I'm banned in China, but not freedom-loving Taiwan. See you there!''

Biden last week raised the U.S. government concerns about Pelosi's possible visit, telling reporters after returning from Massachusetts that the military thinks her trip is ``not a good idea right now.``

A spokesman for Pelosi again declined to comment on Monday, citing security protocol. Last week Pelosi said it was ``important for us to show support for Taiwan'' and that she believed Biden meant ``maybe the military was afraid our plane would get shot down or something like that by the Chinese.''

Pelosi has positioned herself as a lawmaker unafraid to confront Beijing almost since the moment she was sworn into Congress in 1987. When she visited Tiananmen Square two years after the 1989 massacre, she defiantly unfurled a banner that read ``To those who died for democracy in China.`` Three years ago, Pelosi voiced support for pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong, again triggering the ire of the Chinese government.

She had planned to visit Taiwan in April, but postponed the trip after testing positive for COVID-19.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


Britain will host next year's Eurovision Song Contest on behalf of winners Ukraine due to the ongoing conflict there, the competition's organizers said on Monday.

While decades-long tradition dictates that the winner of the contest gets to host it the following year, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) had said safety and security reasons meant runners-up Britain were instead invited to host.

The BBC will now stage the event, which normally draws a television audience of close to 200 million and was last held in Britain in 1998. Ukraine will automatically qualify to the grand final of the competition, the EBU said.

"It is a matter of great regret that our colleagues and friends in Ukraine are not able to host the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest," BBC Director-General Tim Davie said in a statement. "The BBC is committed to making the event a true reflection of Ukrainian culture alongside showcasing the diversity of British music and creativity."
KYODO NEWS - Jul 26, 2022 - 19:26 | All, Japan

Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi said Tuesday he had received help in past elections from members of the Unification Church, becoming the latest ruling party lawmaker to disclose connections with the group at the center of controversy over the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

"I have associated with a few members (of the church) and received their help as volunteers," Kishi, Abe's younger brother, said at a press conference, adding that he believed they had provided support in a phone campaign aimed at voters.

Abe, Japan's longest-serving prime minister, was fatally shot by a lone gunman while giving a campaign speech outside a train station in the western city of Nara on July 8, two days before the House of Councillors election in which the Liberal Democratic Party scored a sweeping victory.

Abe's assailant, Tetsuya Yamagami, has told investigators that he held a grudge against the church -- now formally known as the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification -- because large donations his mother had made to it ruined his family, and he thought the former prime minister was linked to the religious group.

Yamagami, who was arrested immediately after the shooting, has told investigators that he had watched a video message Abe sent to an event held in September of an organization associated with the church on the internet.

The 41-year-old has also said he believed Abe's grandfather, former Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi, had invited the group to Japan from South Korea, according to investigative sources.

Regarding the help he had received from people affiliated with the group, the defense minister stressed that it was important to have a large number of supporters for an election and that "it would be discussed for each election" whether he would agree to their help in the future.

"Since they are only volunteers, I cannot indiscreetly answer what will happen in the next election," Kishi said.

Meanwhile, Toshimitsu Motegi, LDP secretary general, said that the ruling party has already thoroughly confirmed that no organizational relationship exists between it and the Unification Church.

But Motegi did not give a clear answer on whether the LDP would conduct investigations into individual party members, saying he would warn them about being "strict and cautious" in their relationships with organizations, given their position as lawmakers.

Many LDP lawmakers are said to have connections with the church, founded in 1954 in South Korea, with reports that some received donations or addressed meetings of affiliated groups.

Related coverage:

FOCUS: Unification Church ties to lawmakers emerges as major political issue

Abe shooter to undergo mental competence exam before indictment

Opposition launches probe into lawmakers' links to Unification Church
KYODO NEWS - Jul 26, 2022 - 22:13 | All, Japan, Coronavirus

Japan's western prefecture of Osaka is set to raise its coronavirus alert to the highest of three levels, officials familiar with the plan said Tuesday, as the area's daily infection count hit a record 25,762 amid a fresh wave of COVID-19.

The alert level will be raised to red from yellow, possibly on Wednesday, as Osaka's hospital bed occupancy rate has climbed to 49.6 percent. The prefectural government had said it would raise the level if the rate reached 50 percent.

On Tuesday, the nationwide daily count totaled 196,500, the second-highest, after hitting a record 200,975 late last week.

Record daily numbers of COVID-19 were reported in 14 of Japan's 47 prefectures, with the confirmation of 115 more deaths, exceeding 100 for the first time since late March.

Tokyo logged 31,593 new cases, up by about 20,000 from a week ago. The metropolitan government already raised the capital's COVID-19 alert to the highest of four levels on July 14.

Japan has not imposed restrictions on people's movement, although it has grappled with the record-setting seventh wave of infections driven by the highly transmissible BA.5 Omicron subvariant.

But Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura has said the prefecture will likely restrict the movements of elderly people when the alert is raised to the highest level, given that they are at increased risk of developing severe symptoms when infected with the virus.

Still, he has said the prefectural government will not ask restaurants and bars to shorten their business hours as it did before.

On Tuesday, the local government said 12 more people in their 30s to 90s died of COVID-19.
By Rokusuke Nara, KYODO NEWS - Jul 26, 2022 - 10:51 | Feature, All, Japan

Harassment and other abuses of foreign trainees in Japan are mounting, arousing criticism that the supervisory agency in charge of the government-sponsored technical internship program has failed in its role to oversee the program.

According to support groups, investigations into companies that accept foreign trainees have been insufficient at best, while, years after the program's inception, there is still no viable framework available to lend trainees a helping hand.

At a press conference held in the Miyagi prefectural government building in Sendai in April, three Vietnamese women complained that they had been scolded loudly by their superiors and were not paid for labor they had done before they officially began working at a fishery processing company in the prefectural city of Ishinomaki. In February, they said, they were urged to quit by their employer.

The three came to Japan in October 2019 and began working at the company under the internship program, which is aimed at transferring skills to developing countries. The program, however, is often criticized as a cover for companies to import cheap labor from other Asian nations.

"I am struggling to survive as I have no income," one of the women said. "I want to work in a happy environment," added another.

The three women have joined the Sendai Keyaki Union, a labor union representing workers who join individually.

According to the union, when the three asked for advice from the Sendai office of the Organization for Technical Intern Training, which oversees the internship program, they were effectively told by an OTIT official to quit the union to get their jobs back.

The union protested, calling the request a violation of the right of workers to join a labor union, and the OTIT later admitted the advice was inappropriate. In early June, the OTIT finally told the Vietnamese women that they would be allowed to change jobs.

The OTIT, which is supposed to conduct on-site inspections of companies and supervising organizations and protect trainees' human rights, was established jointly by the Justice Ministry and Labor Ministry in 2017 to ensure the smooth running of the internship program. Instead, many argue it has all but shirked its responsibilities to the trainees.

According to the Justice Ministry, some 276,000 foreigners were employed in Japan under the training program at the end of 2021. Vietnamese accounted for 58.1 percent of the total, followed by Chinese at 13.6 percent and Indonesians at 9.1 percent.

In fiscal 2020, the OTIT received some 13,300 consultations by foreign trainees in their native languages, 3,210 of which were about "management-related" problems such as bullying and harassment -- roughly double the amount from the previous year.

As foreign trainees often become heavily indebted in their home countries after paying agents to arrange their participation in the internship program, they cannot easily return even if their working conditions in Japan prove unfavorable.

According to Posse, a Tokyo-based nonprofit organization dealing with labor problems, a Cambodian man "disappeared" from a construction site in the Kanto region in December 2020 after working without pay and visited the OTIT's Tokyo office to seek temporary shelter. But the office put off providing him with support to determine whether he was "in need" of shelter. Posse felt compelled to step in to find the man a place to live.

"The OTIT should protect trainees but is slow to act. Municipal and other local governments close to them should upgrade their consultation services," said Makoto Iwahashi, 32, a Posse consultant.

However, an OTIT public relations official countered that local nonprofit supervising organizations, which act as intermediaries in the employment of the foreign trainees, have a duty to support them "until the last moment." The official said only when such support is found wanting does the OTIT provide assistance.

The OTIT is sluggish from the viewpoint of protecting workers' rights, said Wako Asato, an associate professor at Kyoto University, who is familiar with labor problems involving foreign workers. This is despite the fact that its "primary duties are certifying company training programs and screening supervising organizations."

"The OTIT needs to improve its expertise and be prepared to tackle labor issues related to trainees from a more equitable standpoint," he said.
KYODO NEWS - Jul 26, 2022 - 16:06 | World, All

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations has condemned the execution by Myanmar's military junta of four people, including an ally of ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

The issue, related to the 2021 coup that plunged the nation into turmoil, is likely to draw attention when foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and its dialogue partners such as Japan, China and the United States meet in Cambodia next week.

"ASEAN denounces and is strongly disappointed by the execution of four opposition activists" on Saturday, despite calls by Cambodia, this year's ASEAN chair, and other ASEAN members on the junta not to carry out the executions, the Cambodian government said in a statement dated Monday.

The four included Phyo Zeyar Thaw, 41, a lawmaker of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party, and Kyaw Min Yu, 53, a prominent pro-democracy activist widely known as Jimmy.

Cambodia, in a statement, said the executions are "highly reprehensible" as they set back efforts, particularly by the ASEAN chair, to expedite progress on implementation of the so-called Five-Point Consensus to seek peace in Myanmar through dialogue rather than violence.

"While the complexity of the crisis is well recognized and the extreme bellicose mood can be felt from all corners of Myanmar, ASEAN as a whole has called for utmost restraint, patience and efforts to avoid escalating the situation," the statement said.

"We strongly and urgently call on all parties concerned to desist from taking actions that would only further aggravate the crisis, hinder peaceful dialogue among all parties concerned, and endanger peace, security and stability, not only in Myanmar, but the whole region," it said.

There had been no executions of political prisoners in Myanmar since the 1970s, with the most recent instance of capital punishment occurring in 1990, according to local media.

Myanmar courts are now under military control and court hearings have been closed to the public, leading critics to question the impartiality of the judicial process.

The Cambodian statement said that ASEAN "remains resolved to assist Myanmar's return to normalcy and democratic transition and to find a peaceful political solution to the current crisis through inclusive dialogue that is Myanmar-led and Myanmar-owned," in line with the Five-Point Consensus and the ASEAN Charter.

ASEAN comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Related coverage:

2 Myanmar pro-democracy activists, 2 others executed: junta
KYODO NEWS - Jul 26, 2022 - 12:05 | All, World

Japan, the United States and other nations condemned Myanmar in a joint statement released Tuesday in Tokyo after the military government announced the executions of four people, including two pro-democracy activists.

The junta, which took power in Myanmar in a February 2021 coup, said Monday it executed Phyo Zeyar Thaw, a former National League for Democracy lawmaker, Kyaw Min Yu, a prominent pro-democracy activist widely known as Jimmy, and two other accused murderers.

"The Myanmar military regime's executions of pro-democracy and opposition leaders are reprehensible acts of violence that further exemplify the regime's disregard for human rights and the rule of law," said the statement by foreign ministers of the countries and the high representative of the European Union.

"We urge the regime to release all those unjustly detained, grant full and independent access to prisons," it said, while also calling on the regime to "end the use of violence, respect the will of the people, and restore the country's path toward democracy."

The statement was released with Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, South Korea and Britain.

The nation's military tribunals sentenced the two pro-democracy activists to death in January for involvement in "terror acts" that included murder. The other two were reportedly implicated in the killing of a woman who was an alleged military informant.

There had been no executions of political prisoners in Myanmar since 1976 and the most recent instance of capital punishment occurred in 1990, according to local media.

Related coverage:

2 Myanmar pro-democracy activists, 2 others executed: junta
PHNOM PENH, July 25 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni and his mother, former Queen Norodom Monineath Sihanouk have donated a total of 1.5 million U.S. dollars to support the government's mine clearance activity.

In two separate letters to Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen dated on Saturday and released to the media on Monday, King Sihamoni and Queen Mother Monineath decided to donate 500,000 dollars and 1 million dollars, respectively to the "Samdech Techo Project for Mine Action."

"I would like to add to the government's efforts by donating 500,000 U.S. dollars to help deal with the landmine issue in Cambodia," the king wrote in a letter.

In another letter, Queen Mother Monineath wrote she contributed 1 million dollars to support the government's efforts to address the landmine issue in the kingdom.

Prime Minister Hun Sen established the "Samdech Techo Project for Mine Action" fundraising drive on July 4. So far, the campaign has raised more than 20 million dollars from local donors, according to the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authorities (CMAA).

Cambodia is one of the countries worst affected by mines and explosive remnants of war (ERW). An estimated 4 million to 6 million landmines and other munitions have been left over from three decades of war and internal conflicts that ended in 1998.

According to Yale University, between 1965 and 1973, the United States had dropped some 230,516 bombs on 113,716 sites in Cambodia.

CMAA's first vice president Ly Thuch said from 1992 to date, the country had cleared 2,410 square km of landmine/ERW contaminated land, destroying over 1.1 million anti-personal mines, more than 26,000 anti-tank mines and almost 3 million ERWs.

However, the Southeast Asian country still needs to clear the remaining 716 square km of land contaminated by mines and ERWs, he added.

Thuch said throughout Cambodia, around 1 million people still live in fear and work in areas contaminated by mines and ERWs and that the kingdom is committed to getting rid of landmines and ERWs by 2025.

"To achieve this mine-free goal, we need a budget of at least 90 million U.S. dollars," he said in a press conference early this month.

According to the CMAA, from 1979 to June 2022, landmine and ERW explosions claimed 19,818 lives and either injured or amputated 45,186 others. 
Asnake Nigussie, a bicycle rider working for beU delivery, takes food from a restaurant in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on July 19, 2022. (Xinhua/Michael Tewelde)

ADDIS ABABA, July 25 (Xinhua) -- On a typical sunny day in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, Asnake Nigussie, wearing an orange uniform and a backpack, was racing on a bicycle to pick a package of food from a nearby restaurant that was ordered online minutes before.

Nigussie and his fellows, some 400 youngsters, have lately created a swarm of orange backpack-bikers roaming Addis Ababa, eventually transforming food delivery in the city.

They work for beU delivery, a Chinese-invested on-demand food delivery service provider within a short span of time, serving Addis Ababa residents with their favorite food from almost all major restaurants all over the city.

"I used to ride a bicycle just for fun and I never expected I would be able to get a job with it. To be honest, I was even surprised when I first heard about food delivery job opportunities for people with good bicycle riding skills," said Nigussie. "I immediately applied and started working here." Nigussie has been working as a backpack-biker for about eight months.

BeU delivery, founded in June 2021, works with pre-orders from its customers both via its flagship service app while also through communications from a call center. Customers can also track the status of the food they ordered before it is delivered by one of the 400 backpack-bikers within an average time of 30 to 45 minutes.

It applies a combination of technology and innovative ideas to streamline its food delivery services.

Zheng Hao, beU delivery founder and chief executive officer, attributed the motive behind its formation to a significant demand for a viable food delivery platform in Ethiopia and across the African continent.

She asserted that beU delivery is a brand meant for all people living in different economic statuses.

"We did not want an exclusive market for exclusive people," Zheng told Xinhua. "So we set out to penetrate the entire market."

"Our delivery time would not be affected by traffic jams and our delivery fee is not affected by gas prices because we mostly use bicycles instead of motorcycles or cars," she said.

Delivery service is relatively a new venture in Ethiopia, Africa's second most populous nation, with a growing number of recently established companies vying to penetrate the untapped market, mainly in the capital of Addis Ababa and its surroundings.

Zheng believed that beU delivery's eco-friendly approach has made the food delivery fee affordable along with swift delivery with the provision of exclusive food items. "All this sets us apart from our competitors," she said.

"The growth rate was quite impressive. It was obvious that beU would be a profitable and sustainable service," said Zheng.

"We want to be the customer's first choice food delivery app. Our target is to become Africa's number one food delivery service in two years," Zheng said, as she emphasized beU is aiming to become a super app covering online to offline (O2O) services.

Birhan Gebremedhin, a restaurant owner partnering with beU delivery, singled out the maximum assurance, delivery speed and constantly growing customer base as a distinguished quality in working with the delivery platform.

"We have been working with beU for almost a year now. I am happy that, with the help of beU, I am now reaching a far greater people irrespective of the geographical limitations we had," Gebremedhin said. "I could say on average I receive between 100 to 150 food order calls from beU per day. I often receive positive feedback from my customers about their service as they get their preferred food wherever they are via beU."

BeU delivery is successfully addressing the common assumption in Ethiopia and elsewhere in Africa that often associate delivery service as a luxury undertaking left for the elite, which could be aligned with the continent's clear social gap between the rich and the poor.

Beteab Fisha, another restaurant owner, stressed that beU's smooth delivery service gave his restaurant a great advantage to easily reach out to target customers.

Fikreab Habte, a beU delivery department manager, said as beU grows big, it is also creating more opportunities for its employees across various sections.

"What makes (beU delivery) unique is that it is full of young talent. It gives freedom and a creative environment for these young people to work freely and exceed their limits," Habte said. "In the next five years, I would see beU to be one of the Amazon-size big companies that have dominated the whole Africa."

Melaku Desalegn, another bicycle rider who has been working with the company for close to one year, said the rare opportunity enabled him to be productive and help his family financially.

"I get a very good salary and I also often get bonus payments for my outstanding work. In addition to meeting my family's financial needs, I am also saving a portion of my earnings for a better future," he said.

BeU delivery had recently secured a multi-million dollar seed round of financing led by Y Combinator, Goodwater Capital and Ethiopian angel investor Addis Alemayehou, which will be used for market expansion and technology development.

BeU delivery plans to expand its business to Tanzania and Uganda this year, while also further improving its existing ordering and distribution system and optimize the management system.

Africa's food delivery business, just like the entire e-commerce industry, is yet to fully develop as compared with the rest of the world, essentially due to challenges mainly attributed to internet connectivity, payment gateways as well as logistics barriers.

According to figures from the UN Economic Commission for Africa, Kenya, Mauritius, Namibia and South Africa were the only African countries where the share of online shoppers exceeds 8 percent of their respective population. In most other countries, it is below 5 percent. 

Fikreab Habte, a beU delivery department manager, speaks during an interview with Xinhua in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on July 19, 2022. (Xinhua/Michael Tewelde)

Photo taken on July 19, 2022 shows a restaurant partnering with beU delivery in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. (Xinhua/Michael Tewelde)

Asnake Nigussie, a bicycle rider working for beU delivery, delivers food in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on July 19, 2022. (Xinhua/Michael Tewelde)

Asnake Nigussie and Melaku Desalegn, bicycle riders working for beU delivery, deliver food in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on July 19, 2022. (Xinhua/Michael Tewelde)

Asnake Nigussie and Melaku Desalegn, bicycle riders working for beU delivery, deliver food in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on July 19, 2022. (Xinhua/Michael Tewelde)

Beteab Fisha, a restaurant owner partnering with beU delivery, speaks during an interview with Xinhua in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on July 19, 2022. (Xinhua/Michael Tewelde)

Asnake Nigussie, a bicycle rider working for beU delivery, checks online orders on his phone in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on July 19, 2022. (Xinhua/Michael Tewelde)
MANILA, July 25 (Xinhua) -- Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos vowed to strengthen the healthcare system capacity, and impose no more coronavirus lockdowns in the country, during his first state of the nation address on Monday.

"Beyond the pandemic's issues, the need for a stronger health care system is self-evident. We must bring medical services to the people and not wait for them to come to our hospitals and healthcare centers," he said.

Marcos said that one of the cornerstones of a strong healthcare system is the provision of competent and efficient medical professionals. "We will exert all efforts to improve the welfare of our doctors, nurses, and other medical frontliners," he said.

The Philippines reported 2,778 new COVID-19 infections on Monday, bringing the number of confirmed cases in the Southeast Asian country to 3,755,403.

The Department of Health (DOH) said the number of active cases rose to 27,625, and 11 more people died from COVID-19 complications, pushing the country's death toll to 60,694.

The DOH said the country's hospitalization rate remains low despite the sustained case spike. "The DOH observed a slow and smaller upward trend of COVID-19 admissions over the past week. Most of these admissions were asymptomatic and mild," DOH Officer-in-Charge Secretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said.

"We will not declare lockdowns anymore. We need to balance the health of Filipinos and the economy," Marcos said in his state of the nation speech.

The Philippines reported the highest single-day tally on Jan. 15, with 39,004 new cases. The country has seen four COVID-19 waves since the pandemic began in 2020. The Philippines, with around 110 million population, has fully vaccinated over 71.4 million people. 
By Trend

Azerbaijan's salary fund increased by 15 percent from January through June 2022, the country's Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population told Trend.

The growth accounts for social and economic impacts of actions taken to prevent illegal employment, subsequent wage reforms, and a permanent increase in the number of labor contracts.

The mentioned positive developments resulted in increasing annual wage fund by 2.2 times, or by 8 billion manat ($4.7 billion) over the past four years.
NANCHANG, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Over 100 exhibitors at the China International Import Expo (CIIE) attended a business cooperation activity in east China's Jiangxi Province from Saturday to Tuesday.

Co-organized by the Jiangxi provincial government and the Ministry of Commerce, the event launched activities to promote exchanges and cooperation in investment, trade and personnel between the guests and the province. A forum on the development of the digital economy was also held.

Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao said he hopes the CIIE event in Jiangxi will help the province open up further and serve as a channel for communication and cooperation.

The fifth CIIE will be held in Shanghai from Nov. 5 to 10, with a total of 260 Fortune 500 companies and industry-leading enterprises confirming their participation. 
China and Indonesia are working together for more achievements in major Belt and Road projects, such as the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway (HSR), the Regional Comprehensive Economic Corridor and the "Two Countries, Twin Parks" project.

Produced by Xinhua Global Service
An exhibitor works at her booth at the second China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE) in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, July 26, 2022. The six-day expo, which kicked off on Monday in Haikou, has attracted 1,107 overseas companies and 1,643 brands from 61 countries and regions, as well as over 1,200 domestic brands.

The exhibition area has expanded to 100,000 square meters from 80,000 square meters last year, with the international area covering 80 percent of the total exhibition space. (Xinhua/Hu Zhixuan)

People visit the second China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE) in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, July 26, 2022. The six-day expo, which kicked off on Monday in Haikou, has attracted 1,107 overseas companies and 1,643 brands from 61 countries and regions, as well as over 1,200 domestic brands.

The exhibition area has expanded to 100,000 square meters from 80,000 square meters last year, with the international area covering 80 percent of the total exhibition space. (Xinhua/Zhang Liyun)

People visit the second China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE) in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, July 26, 2022. The six-day expo, which kicked off on Monday in Haikou, has attracted 1,107 overseas companies and 1,643 brands from 61 countries and regions, as well as over 1,200 domestic brands.

The exhibition area has expanded to 100,000 square meters from 80,000 square meters last year, with the international area covering 80 percent of the total exhibition space. (Xinhua/Zhang Liyun)

Visitors experience virtual reality (VR) games at the second China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE) in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, July 26, 2022. The six-day expo, which kicked off on Monday in Haikou, has attracted 1,107 overseas companies and 1,643 brands from 61 countries and regions, as well as over 1,200 domestic brands.

The exhibition area has expanded to 100,000 square meters from 80,000 square meters last year, with the international area covering 80 percent of the total exhibition space. (Xinhua/Chen Jianli)

A staff member walks past the booth of China Duty Free Group at the second China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE) in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, July 26, 2022. The six-day expo, which kicked off on Monday in Haikou, has attracted 1,107 overseas companies and 1,643 brands from 61 countries and regions, as well as over 1,200 domestic brands.

The exhibition area has expanded to 100,000 square meters from 80,000 square meters last year, with the international area covering 80 percent of the total exhibition space. (Xinhua/Chen Jianli)

Visitors experience surfskate at the second China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE) in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, July 26, 2022. The six-day expo, which kicked off on Monday in Haikou, has attracted 1,107 overseas companies and 1,643 brands from 61 countries and regions, as well as over 1,200 domestic brands.

The exhibition area has expanded to 100,000 square meters from 80,000 square meters last year, with the international area covering 80 percent of the total exhibition space. (Xinhua/Hu Zhixuan)

People visit the second China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE) in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, July 26, 2022. The six-day expo, which kicked off on Monday in Haikou, has attracted 1,107 overseas companies and 1,643 brands from 61 countries and regions, as well as over 1,200 domestic brands.

The exhibition area has expanded to 100,000 square meters from 80,000 square meters last year, with the international area covering 80 percent of the total exhibition space. (Xinhua/Yang Guanyu)

Photo taken on July 26, 2022 shows a piece of jewelry displayed at the second China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE) in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province. The six-day expo, which kicked off on Monday in Haikou, has attracted 1,107 overseas companies and 1,643 brands from 61 countries and regions, as well as over 1,200 domestic brands.

The exhibition area has expanded to 100,000 square meters from 80,000 square meters last year, with the international area covering 80 percent of the total exhibition space. (Xinhua/Hu Zhixuan)

Visitors experience E-sports equipment at the second China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE) in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, July 26, 2022. The six-day expo, which kicked off on Monday in Haikou, has attracted 1,107 overseas companies and 1,643 brands from 61 countries and regions, as well as over 1,200 domestic brands.

The exhibition area has expanded to 100,000 square meters from 80,000 square meters last year, with the international area covering 80 percent of the total exhibition space. (Xinhua/Zhang Liyun)

Photo taken on July 26, 2022 shows a fashion design booth at the second China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE) in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province. The six-day expo, which kicked off on Monday in Haikou, has attracted 1,107 overseas companies and 1,643 brands from 61 countries and regions, as well as over 1,200 domestic brands.

The exhibition area has expanded to 100,000 square meters from 80,000 square meters last year, with the international area covering 80 percent of the total exhibition space. (Xinhua/Hu Zhixuan)

People visit the second China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE) in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, July 26, 2022. The six-day expo, which kicked off on Monday in Haikou, has attracted 1,107 overseas companies and 1,643 brands from 61 countries and regions, as well as over 1,200 domestic brands.

The exhibition area has expanded to 100,000 square meters from 80,000 square meters last year, with the international area covering 80 percent of the total exhibition space. (Xinhua/Yang Guanyu)

Photo taken on July 26, 2022 shows a Ferrari Roma displayed at the second China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE) in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province. The six-day expo, which kicked off on Monday in Haikou, has attracted 1,107 overseas companies and 1,643 brands from 61 countries and regions, as well as over 1,200 domestic brands.

The exhibition area has expanded to 100,000 square meters from 80,000 square meters last year, with the international area covering 80 percent of the total exhibition space. (Xinhua/Yang Guanyu)

People visit the second China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE) in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, July 26, 2022. The six-day expo, which kicked off on Monday in Haikou, has attracted 1,107 overseas companies and 1,643 brands from 61 countries and regions, as well as over 1,200 domestic brands.

The exhibition area has expanded to 100,000 square meters from 80,000 square meters last year, with the international area covering 80 percent of the total exhibition space. (Xinhua/Yang Guanyu)

People visit the second China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE) in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, July 26, 2022. The six-day expo, which kicked off on Monday in Haikou, has attracted 1,107 overseas companies and 1,643 brands from 61 countries and regions, as well as over 1,200 domestic brands.

The exhibition area has expanded to 100,000 square meters from 80,000 square meters last year, with the international area covering 80 percent of the total exhibition space. (Xinhua/Zhang Liyun)
ISTANBUL, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Turkish law enforcement units have detained 26 military personnel on the grounds of aiding a network accused of orchestrating a coup attempt in 2016, local media reported on Tuesday.

In a joint effort by the army and the police forces detaining 35 individuals whose arrests were warranted by the prosecutor's office following surveillance, simultaneous raids were carried out in 18 provinces, with a focus on the western province of Izmir, said the Hurriyet daily.

Units from the Turkish Intelligence spotted out-of-protocol communication attempts by some army members with the network led by the U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, it added.

Among those whose arrest is warranted, 14 of them are former military school students, 14 are active military personnel, and 7 are former military personnel, it said.

Authorities are on the look for the remaining 9 individuals who eluded the raids.

Ankara sees Gulen and his network as responsible for the failed 2016 coup attempt, in which more than 250 people were killed. A purge to eliminate infiltrators in the army and bureaucracy has been going on since. 
Wang Yang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, addresses a meeting marking the 30th anniversary of the 1992 Consensus, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, July 26, 2022. (Xinhua/Rao Aimin)

BEIJING, July 26 (Xinhua) -- China's top political advisor Wang Yang on Tuesday stressed the importance of upholding the one-China principle and the 1992 Consensus, and called for jointly striving to achieve the reunification of the motherland.

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 in Beijing while addressing a meeting marking the 30th anniversary of the 1992 Consensus.

Chinese people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait in 1992 reached a consensus that "both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to one China and will work together toward national reunification."

Promoting the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations and advancing the process toward peaceful national reunification is a shared aspiration of all the sons and daughters of the Chinese nation, and the CPC's basic proposition on resolving the Taiwan question, Wang said.

The 1992 Consensus defines the fundamental nature of cross-Strait relationship, and lays the political foundation for its development, he said.

By adhering to the 1992 Consensus and endorsing the one-China principle, cross-Strait relations will improve and develop, and compatriots in Taiwan will benefit, he said. Denying the 1992 Consensus and deviating from the one-China principle will lead to tension and turbulence in cross-Strait ties, and that will undermine the vital interests of Taiwan compatriots, he added.

"We will strive toward the prospect of peaceful reunification with utmost sincerity and greatest efforts," Wang said.

"On the basis of adhering to the one-China principle, we are willing to engage in dialogue, communication, and democratic consultations with all parties, groups, or individuals in Taiwan regarding political issues between the two sides and the promotion of peaceful reunification of the motherland," he stressed.

Secessionist activities aimed at "Taiwan independence" are the greatest obstacle to national reunification and a grave danger to national rejuvenation, he said.

The Taiwan authority's denial of the 1992 Consensus, along with certain countries' connivence and instigation of the secessionists' provocation, will only plunge Taiwan into catastrophe, and cause misery for the Taiwan people, Wang said.

He warned that no individual and no force should underestimate the resolve, the will, and the ability of the Chinese people to defend their national sovereignty and territorial integrity.

He called on Taiwan compatriots to gain a deep understanding of the benefits of reunification, as well as the fact that "Taiwan independence" leads to a dead end and that outsiders are not reliable. 
Aerial photo taken on March 2, 2022 shows a view of the container terminal of Qinzhou Port in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (Xinhua)

NANNING, July 26 (Xinhua) -- X9575, a freight train, having departed from Chongqing Municipality in southwest China, arrived at the Qinzhou Port East Station in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on Monday.

Loaded with goods such as auto parts, chemicals and Chinese pickles from regions along the land-sea freight route, part of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, X9575 transfers at the Qinzhou Port where the cargo will be shipped to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries.

"It used to take about a month for commodities from our western regions to reach ASEAN countries via the Yangtze River and sea route," said Liang Yu, deputy head of the station.

Now cargo consigned in Chongqing could be delivered to Vietnam through the corridor in just four days, Liang added.

Launched in 2017, the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor is a trade and logistics passage jointly built by western Chinese provinces and ASEAN countries.

With Chongqing as the transportation hub, the corridor uses ports in Guangxi's Beibu Gulf to reach ports in Singapore and other ASEAN countries and links China-Europe freight trains setting off from many western Chinese cities before heading to Central Asia, South Asia and Europe.

The corridor saw 379,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) containers transported by the railway intermodal freight trains in the first six months of this year, up 33.4 percent year on year, according to the China Railway Nanning Group Co., Ltd.

The corridor, covering 14 provincial-level regions in China, has expanded its reach to 319 ports in 107 countries and regions.

Speaking of the corridor at the 12th Pan-Beibu Gulf Economic Cooperation Forum held in Nanning, capital of Guangxi, earlier this month, Basilio Dias Araujo, deputy for Maritime Sovereignty and Energy, Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment of Indonesia, said it has brought more opportunities to the connectivity between China and ASEAN.

Basilio added that as a maritime country, Indonesia is also happy to join the construction of the corridor, and strengthen cooperation with ports along the route, including the Beibu Gulf Port.

The Beibu Gulf Port, which comprises the ports of Qinzhou, Fangcheng and Beihai, serves as an important transit point in the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor. In H1, the port saw its cargo throughput rise 6.95 percent year on year to 139 million tonnes. During the same period, the port handled 3.2 million TEU containers, up 21.4 percent year on year, according to Beibu Gulf Port Group.

SITC Container Lines Co., Ltd. experienced a business boom in the Beibu Gulf Port thanks to the rapid development of the corridor and deepening China-ASEAN trade cooperation.

"We've opened two new routes to the city of Haiphong in Vietnam this year," said Li Chaofei, general manager of SITC's subsidiary in Nanning.

In April, China's Gansu province signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Thailand to boost trade and strengthen bilateral relations.

Jurin Laksanawisit, Thai deputy prime minister and commerce minister, said that Gansu is an integral part of the corridor, and the signing of MoU fully reflects Thailand's expectation to further develop the economy within the region and achieve common prosperity through the corridor.

Official data show that over the past five years, the trade volume between the regions and cities along the corridor in China with ASEAN has continued to rise, up from 58.9 billion U.S. dollars in 2017 to 107.7 billion U.S. dollars in 2021. 
People hold a relief package from China in Qila Saifullah district of Pakistan's southwest Balochistan province on July 20, 2022. (Friends of China Forum/Handout via Xinhua)

"About 800-1,000 food packs were distributed among the families living in the camps ... not only this, the Chinese people also provided around 300 pieces of solar panels as the current rains destroyed electricity lines in many areas, leaving people without electricity for days," said Bayazeed Kasi, head of Balochistan-based Friends of China Forum.

ISLAMABAD, July 26 (Xinhua) -- A smile came to Allaudin Ahmad's face when he was called outside his makeshift camp in the Qila Saifullah district of Pakistan's southwest Balochistan province to receive a relief package from China.

Ahmad's family was among 800 others who lost their houses and fortune in heavy monsoon rains that have been lashing various parts of the province since last month.

"We got temporarily accommodated in the camp, but there was a serious shortage of food items which was a matter of great concern for us as we needed ration for survival," Ahmad told Xinhua.

He said China's help, with food and other items, came right on time to support his family to three to four weeks.

According to the latest available data by the country's National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) released on July 20, a total of 282 people had been killed and 211 others injured due to different rain-related accidents in Pakistan since mid-June.

Balochistan remained the worst hit by rains, where 88 people were killed and 62 others injured in separate rain-triggered accidents, said the NDMA.

Bayazeed Kasi, a politician from Balochistan who distributed the food packs to the rain-hit people on behalf of the Chinese embassy, said that China has once again shown that it is standing with the people of Pakistan through thick and thin.

People wade through flooded water after heavy rain in southern Pakistani port city of Karachi on July 25, 2022. (Str/Xinhua)

Kasi, who is also the president of Balochistan-based "Friends of China Forum", told Xinhua that a large amount of people had been affected by the rains in the province this year, many of whom received relief packs from China.

"About 800-1,000 food packs were distributed among the families living in the camps ... not only this, the Chinese people also provided around 300 pieces of solar panels as the current rains destroyed electricity lines in many areas, leaving people without electricity for days," Kasi told Xinhua.

Hakim Chandio, living in one of the camps with his family after his house was destroyed by the rain, said that the gesture of the Chinese people has won their hearts and strengthened the people-to-people relations.

"I heard in the news that China has lifted its people out of poverty in a very short period. I hope that our government will also learn from China and China will help us through the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor to change our fate," Chandio told Xinhua. 
NANNING, July 26 (Xinhua) -- X9575, a freight train, having departed from Chongqing Municipality in southwest China, arrived at the Qinzhou Port East Station in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on Monday.

Loaded with goods such as auto parts, chemicals and Chinese pickles from regions along the land-sea freight route, part of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, X9575 transfers at the Qinzhou Port where the cargo will be shipped to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries.

"It used to take about a month for commodities from our western regions to reach ASEAN countries via the Yangtze River and sea route," said Liang Yu, deputy head of the station.

Now cargo consigned in Chongqing could be delivered to Vietnam through the corridor in just four days, Liang added.

Launched in 2017, the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor is a trade and logistics passage jointly built by western Chinese provinces and ASEAN countries.

With Chongqing as the transportation hub, the corridor uses ports in Guangxi's Beibu Gulf to reach ports in Singapore and other ASEAN countries and links China-Europe freight trains setting off from many western Chinese cities before heading to Central Asia, South Asia and Europe.

The corridor saw 379,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) containers transported by the railway intermodal freight trains in the first six months of this year, up 33.4 percent year on year, according to the China Railway Nanning Group Co., Ltd.

The corridor, covering 14 provincial-level regions in China, has expanded its reach to 319 ports in 107 countries and regions.

Speaking of the corridor at the 12th Pan-Beibu Gulf Economic Cooperation Forum held in Nanning, capital of Guangxi, earlier this month, Basilio Dias Araujo, deputy for Maritime Sovereignty and Energy, Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment of Indonesia, said it has brought more opportunities to the connectivity between China and ASEAN.

Basilio added that as a maritime country, Indonesia is also happy to join the construction of the corridor, and strengthen cooperation with ports along the route, including the Beibu Gulf Port.

The Beibu Gulf Port, which comprises the ports of Qinzhou, Fangcheng and Beihai, serves as an important transit point in the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor. In H1, the port saw its cargo throughput rise 6.95 percent year on year to 139 million tonnes. During the same period, the port handled 3.2 million TEU containers, up 21.4 percent year on year, according to Beibu Gulf Port Group.

SITC Container Lines Co., Ltd. experienced a business boom in the Beibu Gulf Port thanks to the rapid development of the corridor and deepening China-ASEAN trade cooperation.

"We've opened two new routes to the city of Haiphong in Vietnam this year," said Li Chaofei, general manager of SITC's subsidiary in Nanning.

In April, China's Gansu province signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Thailand to boost trade and strengthen bilateral relations.

Jurin Laksanawisit, Thai deputy prime minister and commerce minister, said that Gansu is an integral part of the corridor, and the signing of MoU fully reflects Thailand's expectation to further develop the economy within the region and achieve common prosperity through the corridor.

Official data show that over the past five years, the trade volume between the regions and cities along the corridor in China with ASEAN has continued to rise, up from 58.9 billion U.S. dollars in 2017 to 107.7 billion U.S. dollars in 2021. 
WASHINGTON, July 26 (Xinhua) -- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday slashed global growth forecast for 2022 to 3.2 percent, down by 0.4 percentage point from April projection, according to its newly released update to the World Economic Outlook. 
LUSAKA, July 25 (Xinhua) -- China will participate as a "country of honor" at Zambia's premier agricultural and commercial show which starts this week, organizers said Monday.

The 94th Agricultural and Commercial Show which returns after two years of absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic will be held from July 27 to Aug. 1, under the theme of "Innovation through Technology, Technology Transforms Business."

Duncan Mfula, the president of the Agricultural and Commercial Cooperative Society of Zambia Limited, said the decision to invite China as a "country of honor" was arrived at following the Chinese government's decision to organize 110 firms to participate in the event.

He told reporters during a press briefing that out of the over 20 foreign countries participating in this year's event, China was the only country that has organized a large number of companies to exhibit at the event.

"As we were going to invite them for the show, we were visited by the Chinese embassy who indicated that they will bring 90 companies but this has been increased to 110. And as a gesture of appreciation, we decided to invite them as country of honor," he said.

He also said organizers will, during the course of the event, sign a memorandum of understanding with the Chinese Chamber while another memorandum of understanding will be signed between the Zambia Association of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ZACCI) and the Chinese Chamber.

According to him, about 2,400 delegates will participate in business luncheons during the event which will be held under strictly observed COVID-19 regulations. 
Hong Kong: CS meets grassroots families

Chief Secretary Chan Kwok-ki visited Caritas Community Centre in Tsuen Wan today to meet parents and students from grassroots families living in subdivided units.

Mr Chan first received a briefing on the operation of the Caritas Community Centre located in Tsuen Wan which, supported by government subsidies, provides services such as supporting the development of grassroots groups, improving their living conditions and running after-school care services.

He said he was pleased to learn that the centre is pursuing adding different facilities such as a library, a self-study room, a kitchen, an activity room and a community hall for use by parents and students from grassroots families in poor living conditions to expand their living space.

Mr Chan chatted with parents and students from such families living in subdivided units to understand their living conditions as well as their views on how the current-term Government can support the development of students from grassroots families, such as providing more places for learning, language classes and extra-curricular activities.

He also introduced the thinking of the scheme being formulated by the inter-bureau or department task force under his charge to help disadvantaged junior secondary school students to actively strive for upward social mobility when they grow up. He noted that he was delighted to hear about the participants' positive feedback on the scheme.

Mr Chan said: In regard to disadvantaged junior secondary school students, especially those living in subdivided units, the task force being led by me is formulating at full steam a scheme to encompass three elements, namely mentorship, a personal development plan and financial support, to help the students broaden their horizons, reinforce their self-confidence, develop a positive outlook on life and set goals for their future.

The first stage of the scheme will cater for 2,000 students and last a year, he added.

This story has been published on: 2022-07-26. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
By Azernews

By Laman Ismayilova

Azerbaijanfilm Studio has announced a script competition dedicated to the Karabakh region, Azernews reports.

The competition, timed to the film studio's centenary, is to support creative people working in the field of cinematography as well as to attract new creative forces to the film industry.

Azerbaijanfilm Studio received 60 applications of which seven were rejected due to non-compliance with the regulations.

The remaining 53 scrips have been submitted for consideration to the Expert Council established at the film studio.

The winners will receive a cash reward. The names of the winners will be announced on National Cinema Day (August 2).

Azerbaijani cinema has come to be an internationally recognized modern art enjoying huge popularity and recognition at international film festivals, which frequently award national films.

Over the past years, more than 300 films and 1,200 documentaries, as well as hundreds of cartoons have been shot in the country.

Shortly after the Lumiere brothers from France invented cinematography, an apparatus for making motion pictures in 1895, Alexandre Michon, a Russian photographer and cameraman, began shooting motion pictures that depicted everyday life in Baku.

The first short, silent film of Azerbaijani cinematography "You are caught" was shown in Baku on August 2, 1898.

The audience witnessed a historical event - the birth of Azerbaijani cinematography.

To honor this historical day, the national leader Heydar Aliyev signed an order on December 18, 2000, to declare August 2 as a professional holiday for cinema workers  Day of Azerbaijani Cinema.

At present, it is planned to carry out systemic reforms to develop and modernize cinema art in Azerbaijan.
A visitor learns about a digital simulation and decision-making system for highway networks at a special exhibition of the 5th Digital China Summit in Fuzhou, east China's Fujian Province, July 22, 2022. (Xinhua/Zhou Yi)

BEIJING, July 26 (Xinhua) -- A man visits a digital experience center in a warehouse in Beijing, and a digital figure appears on the screen. The figure mimics his every movement, and it can even dance with him.

The warehouse of the metal company Shougang Group used to store iron powders, while now its approximately 8,000-square-meter exhibition area is equipped with holographic projection, artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality (VR) technologies.

As the 2022 Beijing Digital Economy Experience Week started this month, people are invited to a series of experiential activities, such as being immersed in the starry sky via VR or communicating with ancient figures in digital form using body language with the help of a motion capture system.

In the first quarter, Beijing's added value of the digital economy reached 387.36 billion yuan (about 57.35 billion U.S. dollars), up 7.2 percent year on year and occupying 41.2 percent of the Chinese capital's gross domestic product (GDP) during the period, according to the economy and information technology bureau of Beijing.

People visit a hall showcasing holographic reading technologies for children during the first National Conference on Reading in Beijing, capital of China, April 23, 2022. (Xinhua/Luo Xin)

Digital services are applied in more fields. Based on the imaging technology and AI skin detection algorithm, Meitu, an AI-driven technology company, has provided businesses and institutions related to the skin beauty industry with digital services.

Through the company's mobile app, AI can detect the users' skin problems and recommend specific skin care solutions.

With the combination of online and offline services, beauty industry stores will receive more guests, and customers can have a better skin condition not only in the virtual world but also in the real world.

Visitors check out makeup effects on digital devices at a special exhibition of the 5th Digital China Summit in Fuzhou, east China's Fujian Province, July 22, 2022. (Xinhua/Lin Shanchuan)

For the first half of 2022, China's combined output of the electronic information manufacturing, software, communication and internet industries surpassed 10 trillion yuan, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).

"China's digital economy plays an increasingly important role in stimulating economic growth," said Wang Peng, an official with MIIT.

In Yongtai County, east China's Fujian Province, the duckery of Guangyang Egg Industry Co., Ltd. has applied an intelligent management system to automatically feed ducks, clean feces and collect eggs.

The system has enabled a single farmer to breed some 50,000 ducks, improving the efficiency of livestock stock production, said Yu Jie, chairman of the company.

In Fujian's Ningde City, Chinese automotive lithium-ion battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Ltd has applied a "smart brain" in its plant. With the support of Huawei's 5G technology, the brain collects real-time energy consumption data, to provide energy-efficient solutions in production.

Aerial photo taken on June 24, 2022 shows an intelligent BESS charging station in the headquarters of Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Ltd. (CATL) in Ningde, east China's Fujian Province. (Xinhua/Lin Shanchuan)

From 2017 to 2021, the output of China's digital economy increased from approximately 27 trillion yuan to over 45 trillion yuan, with its proportion to GDP growing from 33 percent to 39.8 percent, according to Cao Shumin, deputy head of the Cyberspace Administration of China.

"The development of the digital economy is in fact digitization in various industries," said Liu Shangxi, president of the Chinese Academy of Fiscal Sciences. 
NAIROBI/ADDIS ABABA, July 25 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations humanitarian agency on Monday appealed for urgent funding to help avert a humanitarian disaster that is looming in the Horn of Africa amid a severe drought.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) warned in its latest report issued in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, that lives will be lost if there is no more funding.

UNOCHA said the people in the Horn of Africa, who are suffering the worst drought in over 40 years, face the threat of starvation following four consecutive failed rainy seasons in parts of Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia.

"Forecasts indicate that the October-December 2022 rainy season could also fail, leading to an unprecedented catastrophe. Immediate action is required to prevent the worst in the months ahead," UNOCHA warned in its latest report on drought.

The UN agency said at least 19.4 million people are affected by the drought that began in October 2020 across the region. It said some 18.6 million people across Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia are living with acute food insecurity and rising malnutrition, warning that the number could rise to 20 million by September.

At least 7 million livestock, which the drought-affected families rely upon for sustenance and livelihoods, have died across the region since October 2020, the report said.

The UNOCHA said the impact on livestock is consequently affecting children to have less access to the milk they need, in which malnutrition rates are rising across the three affected Horn of Africa countries.

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has recently disclosed that more than 7.1 million children are acutely malnourished in the drought-affected parts of the region, including about 2 million children who are severely acutely malnourished.

Meanwhile, the UNOCHA said more than 11.6 million people cannot access enough safe water for drinking, cooking and cleaning as existing water deficits worsened by the heat, which is forecasted to continue until September 2022.

It warned that many water points have dried up or become unsafe, heightening the risk of water-borne diseases and increasing the risk of infections.

In some of the worst affected areas in Somalia, water prices have increased up to 72 percent since November 2021, according to the UNOCHA.

According to UNOCHA, food prices are increasing in many drought-affected areas due to the below-average harvests and rising prices on international markets.

Moreover, floods, COVID-19, and the desert locust infestation have affected communities throughout the region, and millions of people in Ethiopia and Somalia are living through conflict.

The report came barely a week after the UN and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), a regional bloc, said that more than 50 million people are expected to face high levels of acute food insecurity this year across seven east African countries -- Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda.

According to the 2022 edition of the IGAD Regional Focus on Food Crises, released on July 22 by the World Food Program (WFP), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations and IGAD, conflict, climate extremes, economic shocks, rising costs and now the impact of the conflict in Ukraine on food and energy prices are pushing millions toward starvation in eastern Africa. 
BEIJING, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Foreign enterprises have ridden the wave of China's green transition over the past decade, as the country's long-term pursuit of low-carbon and sustainable growth nurtures new business opportunities.

From announcing "dual carbon" goals to advancing its national carbon market, China's concrete efforts toward green development help energize related sectors, including the low-carbon transformation of traditional industries, new energy vehicles (NEVs), a circular economy and green finance.

"China's carbon emission peak and carbon neutrality goals point the way for future development, providing us with a broader platform and new opportunities," Yin Zheng, executive vice president of Schneider Electric and president of Schneider Electric China, told Xinhua in an interview.

China has seen remarkable progress in energy saving and carbon reduction over the past decade. By 2021, China's energy consumption per unit of GDP had plunged 26.2 percent from 2012.

"Green and decarbonization transitions have huge market potential in China," Yin said, adding that the Chinese market gets more important than ever for Schneider Electric.

China has become Schneider Electric's second-largest market globally and is currently one of its four largest R&D bases around the world.

The company will continue to increase its investments in China. In particular, it is looking to further localize its supply chain, innovation and ecosystem to better facilitate the green transition of Chinese industries, Yin said.

Like Schneider Electric, many global investors have shown a growing appetite for China's green development. A bright spot in this area is the rapidly evolving NEV industry, where overseas carmakers are expanding their footprints.

Official data shows that China's cumulative sales of NEVs had topped 11.08 million units by the end of May this year, skyrocketing from only 20,000 units by the end of 2012. Its NEV output and sales have ranked first globally for seven consecutive years since 2015.

"As the world's largest NEV market and one of the most dynamic and promising mobility markets globally, China plays a vital role in our future development," Stephan Woellenstein, CEO of Volkswagen Group China, told Xinhua.

Since establishing its first NEV-focused joint venture in China in 2017, the German carmaker has extended its business to various parts of the NEV industrial chain, including battery production, charging facilities and auto software.

Volkswagen Group China is expected to deliver approximately 1.5 million NEVs annually by 2025 and plans, in conjunction with its joint venture partners, to invest about 15 billion euros (15.34 billion U.S. dollars) in China's electric mobility sector from 2020 to 2024.

China's green transition is not only an opportunity for foreign firms in the real economy but also a shot in the arm for overseas financial institutions, as global investors can play an active role in the green finance sector.

Li Jing, partner of climate change and sustainability services of Ernst & Young (EY) Greater China, said that under China's carbon peaking and neutrality goals, she is optimistic about sectors related to ESG (environmental, social, and governance), climate change and green finance in the Chinese market.

Deepening the opening-up of China's financial sector will greatly facilitate overseas investments in green finance products in the country, such as green bonds and carbon-neutrality exchange-traded funds, Li said.

Over the past decade, China has seen improving policy frameworks for green finance, with green finance products and market mechanisms continuously emerging.

By the end of March, China's green loan balance exceeded 18 trillion yuan (about 2.67 trillion U.S. dollars), and its outstanding green bonds reached approximately 1.3 trillion yuan, according to the People's Bank of China.

Looking to the future, many foreign investors continue to be upbeat about the long-term prospect of China's economic growth despite uncertainties such as COVID-19.

"As a slew of factors, including macro economic trends, the international situation and COVID-19, affect the global capital market this year, China's continued high-quality opening-up of its financial sector will boost the confidence of overseas investors," Li said. 
A medical worker gives a dose of monkeypox vaccine to a recipient in Chicago, the United States, on July 25, 2022. Nearly 3,000 confirmed monkeypox cases have been reported in the United States, according to the latest data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (Photo by Vincent Johnson/Xinhua)

LOS ANGELES, July 25 (Xinhua) -- Nearly 3,000 confirmed monkeypox cases have been reported in the United States, according to the latest data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

New York had the most cases, with 900, followed by California with 356 and Florida with 247, CDC data showed.

Health experts said given the testing bottlenecks in the United States, monkeypox cases are likely being undercounted.

The World Health Organization declared the monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern on Saturday. 

Doses of monkeypox vaccine are pictured in Chicago, the United States, on July 25, 2022. Nearly 3,000 confirmed monkeypox cases have been reported in the United States, according to the latest data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (Photo by Vincent Johnson/Xinhua)
HEFEI, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Xu Zhihui, a food vlogger, went viral on China's social media recently not for his gourmet shows, but for a journey that has touched millions of Chinese -- bringing a martyr's photo back to his family.

While browsing a secondhand book store online in October, Xu, 27, came across a photo and a certificate of Chinese People's Volunteers (CPV) martyrs killed in the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea (1950-1953).

According to the certificate, the martyr named Tian Chunshan came from a village in central China's Hunan Province. Born in 1924, Tian joined the army in November 1949 and died in 1951.

There are two people in the photo, and one of them could be Tian, said Xu, who spent 1,500 yuan (about 222 U.S. dollars) buying the certificate and the photo.

"The moment I saw the record and the attached photo, I decided to return it to his family," said Xu, from Funan County of east China's Anhui Province.

Early in the morning on June 14, Xu embarked on a journey to Huaihua City of Hunan to look for the martyr's family, taking him more than 1,000 km away from his home.

It took Xu more than 10 hours to reach Huaihua by train. He rented a car to continue his trip in the mountainous area until he arrived at the place suggested in the certificate.

"Do you happen to know Tian Chunshan?" Xu asked an old man he bumped into near a local reservoir, showing him the photo at the same time.

Surprisingly, the elderly man in his 80s, responded with a positive answer, referring to the man on the left in the photo.

"I only saw him once when I was young. Four people from my village went to the war," said the old man surnamed Zhou.

Tian never got married, and his mother and his brother died a long time ago. Only his nephew still lives in the village, Xu found out.

Xu then managed to return the martyr certificate and the photo to the nephew after confirming the information with the local bureau of veteran affairs.

To thank Xu for what he did, the nephew offered him some money, but Xu rejected it. Instead, Xu asked to take a photo with the family before he left.

"It was such a relief when I handed the things to the martyr's family," Xu recalled. "My grandfather's elder brother died in the war at the age of 27. I heard about his stories many times when I was little, but never saw a photo of him."

His recording of the journey has earned over 220 million reads so far on Weibo, China's microblogging service. On China's short-video platform Douyin, Xu has received more than 549,000 likes so far.

"Helping a martyr return home is a journey that should be remembered forever," commented a netizen under the video.

The journey has struck a chord with many readers. "Many people have praised what I did, but my act is nothing compared with what the martyrs did. They are true heroes," said Xu. 
Students walk to their school in Colombo, Sri Lanka, July 25, 2022.(Xinhua/Wang Shen)

Sri Lanka has reopened government-owned public and state-approved private schools, and the Ministry of Education has extended the first school term until Sept. 7.

COLOMBO, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka on Monday reopened government-owned public and state-approved private schools, which were closed for nearly a month due to fuel shortages.

However, schools will be open only three days a week on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, and students will be taught online on the other two days of the school week.

The Ministry of Education also extended the first school term until September 7.

Schools will also not conduct examinations at the end of the first term, and principals have been instructed to conduct alternative forms of evaluation.

Students are on their way back to school in Colombo, Sri Lanka, July 25, 2022. (Xinhua/Wang Shen)

Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe has instructed officials to provide fuel to school buses from all state-run fuel depots.

There are close to 40,000 vehicles that are engaged in transporting students to schools in Sri Lanka. 
BEIJING, July 26 (Xinhua) -- China's manufacturing sector has demonstrated strong resilience and growth potential, with the government rolling out a raft of policies to stabilize the industrial chain, ease burdens on enterprises, and promote industrial transformation.

In the first half of the year, the value-added output of China's manufacturing sector accounted for 28.8 percent of the country's GDP, up 1.4 percentage points from 2021, data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) shows.

Manufacturing investment maintained a relatively high growth rate, climbing 10.4 percent year on year during the same period.

In the second quarter alone, manufacturing investment grew 7.4 percent, 3.2 percentage points higher than the growth rate of fixed-asset investment, according to the data.

High-tech manufacturing, which saw its value-added output increase 9.6 percent year on year in the January-June period, was a major force pushing the manufacturing sector's high-quality development, the data shows.

Authorities have ratcheted up efforts to smooth industrial and supply chains in recent months, establishing a "white list" mechanism and carrying out cross-departmental and cross-regional coordination to support enterprises in key areas and industries as they resume production amid COVID-19 outbreaks.

The accumulative tax refunds, tax and fee cuts, and tax and fee deferrals for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) reached nearly 1.8 trillion yuan (about 266.73 billion U.S. dollars) in the first half of the year, thanks to multiple preferential policies to ease enterprise burdens.

Tian Yulong, chief engineer of MIIT, said the ministry will continue to foster new industries and new drivers to boost industrial resilience.

The ministry plans to cultivate about 3,000 new "little giants," the novel elites of SMEs that are engaged in manufacturing, specialize in niche markets and boast cutting-edge technologies.

China has also been pushing forward the development of the industrial internet, which has already been applied to 45 major categories of the national economy.

The scale of the industrial internet industry has exceeded 1 trillion yuan.

The country currently has more than 3,100 "5G + Industrial Internet" projects. Of that number, 700 projects were established during the second quarter of the year.

Efforts will be made to comprehensively upgrade and optimize the technical, industrial, network, application and ecological system of "5G + Industrial Internet," and form more scenarios to be applied to production, according to the MIIT. 
TASHKENT, July 25 (Xinhua) -- No cholera cases have been registered in Uzbekistan and reports that the disease may have entered from neighboring Afghanistan are unfounded, a Uzbek health official said on Monday.

"The information suggesting cholera entering Uzbekistan from Afghanistan is completely false, no cholera disease detected in our country," Nurmat Atabekod, deputy head of the Uzbek Sanitary-Epidemiological Welfare and Public Health Service, said in a statement.

Uzbekistan announced last week that it tightened sanitary-medical controls at its border crossings amid a reported cholera outbreak in neighboring Afghanistan.

All customs posts at land and air border crossings have been provided with thermal imagers and non-contact thermometers for examining those arriving in Uzbekistan, it said.

Uzbekistan shares a 144-km border with Afghanistan, with road and railway connections on a bridge over the Amudarya river. 
DAR ES SALAAM, July 25 (Xinhua) -- Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan on Monday urged fellow citizens to continue remembering and honoring fallen heroes who fought for the country's independence.

"Their patriotism has made us what we are today," said President Hassan, who is also commander-in-chief of the armed forces, in her speech to mark Tanzania's 2022 Heroes Remembrance Day celebrations in Dodoma, the capital of Tanzania.

"In order to honor the fallen heroes, Tanzanians should continue consolidating peace, love, tranquility and solidarity," said Hassan.

President Hassan directed Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa and the Dodoma regional authorities to look for land in the capital city for the construction of a monument to honor the fallen heroes. 
Photo taken on April 28, 2022 shows the office of Russia's energy giant Gazprom in Moscow, Russia. (Photo by Alexander Zemlianichenko Jr/Xinhua)

The German government wants the country to become less dependent on gas imports, and to this end, a new law has been passed to speed up the construction of pipelines, and land-based and floating LNG terminals. A total of 2.94 billion euros (3 billion U.S. dollars) of government funding has been made available for four floating LNG terminals, and two ships which should be operational by the start of next year.



BERLIN, July 25 (Xinhua) -- The planned construction of 12 liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals would "far exceed demand", and could even jeopardize Germany's climate targets, a study published by Greenpeace on Monday has warned.

Import capacities would "significantly exceed the current Russian gas supplies and would lead to a long-term dependence on climate-damaging gas," according to the study by the German consulting firm EnergyComment.

The German government wants the country to become less dependent on gas imports, and to this end, a new law has been passed to speed up the construction of pipelines, and land-based and floating LNG terminals. A total of 2.94 billion euros (3 billion U.S. dollars) of government funding has been made available for four floating LNG terminals, and two ships which should be operational by the start of next year.

A customer fuels a vehicle at a gas station in Berlin, capital of Germany, on Oct. 1, 2021.(Xinhua/Shan Yuqi)

"Instead of creating more climate-damaging structures, we must now consistently save gas, promote the installation of heat pumps and insulate buildings, and focus on a new industrial location policy," said Greenpeace spokesman Manfred Santen.

Last Thursday, gas deliveries from Russia were resumed after ten days of maintenance work on the crucial Nord Stream 1 pipeline. Gas flows are now at the reduced pre-maintenance level of 40 percent, and the country's gas storage facilities are around two-thirds full.

The temporary halt in Russian gas supplies through Nord Stream 1 put further pressure on prices. Meanwhile, the German government is seeking to fill storage to 95 percent by November.

Photo taken on Jan. 7, 2022 shows the finance and banking district in Frankfurt, Germany. (Xinhua/Lu Yang)

"We have to think not only about this winter, but also the following one," Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action Robert Habeck said last week. "Gas remains a scarce commodity, and we should use it with appropriate care." (1 euro = 1.02 U.S. dollars) 
By Azernews

By Laman Ismayilova

The Azerbaijani Design Summit-2022 has been held in Baku, Azernews reports.

The design summit took at the Nizami Cinema Center bringing together designers from different countries.

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 covered many areas of design.

Many designers from Azerbaijan and 30 countries took part in the poster contest on the theme "Typography and Peace" held within Azerbaijani Design Summit-2022.

The winners of the competition were selected by local and foreign juries. Around 50 selected posters were exhibited as part of the event.

The design experts like Adam Yunisov, Elchin Mammadov, Emil Ismayilov, Faig Ahmad took part in the summit.

Famous graphic designer Dogan Arslan (Turkiye) shared his experience with design lovers.

It is enough to subscribe to the official social and web page of Azerbaijani 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.
MOGADISHU, July 25 (Xinhua) -- Somali Parliament resolved on Monday to give Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre 10 more days to form his government.

Barre, who was expected to name his cabinet by Monday, 30 days after his appointment, said he was yet to finalize consultations on the formation of the cabinet.

Barre, who was appointed on June 25, requested parliament to give him an extension to form an all-inclusive government, noting that the delay was due to a protracted electoral process.

"In order to form a balanced government, it is necessary that I spend sufficient time in consultations with various politicians of the country and civil society," Barre said in a statement.

"Somalia is at a crossroads and must move forward. We need to form an administration that can deliver the change and development our people urgently need," he added.

Lower House First Deputy Speaker Sadia Yasin Samatar said 144 out of 145 lawmakers who attended the session Monday approved Barre's request while only one legislator opposed it.

The prime minister held a series of meetings Monday with religious leaders and some civil society groups on the formation of the government.

During the meeting with civil society, Barre highlighted the role of Somali youth in participating in the development, noting that they are the future of the country and their advice is useful in supporting the government.

The prime minister said he exchanged views with them on the cabinet he is establishing, and how it would create job opportunities for the Somali youth. 
Australian Professor David Goodman talks about photos he took in China at the China Studies Centre, University of Sydney, in Sydney, Australia, July 20, 2022. (Xinhua/Bai Xuefei)

A shocking encounter sparked Professor David Goodman's 40-year quest for understanding the domestic dynamics of China, a country that has been a constant source of inspiration both for his research and life.



SYDNEY, July 26 (Xinhua) -- For renowned sinologist and sociologist Professor David Goodman, China has been a constant source of inspiration both for his research and life, a country that has a deep history and is undergoing rapid modernization.



Goodman, the "China explorer," is director of the China Studies Centre at the University of Sydney, where he is also a professor of Chinese politics. Over the past 40 years, he has lived and worked in various Chinese cities, all in the pursuit of understanding China's social and political reality.

In an interview with Xinhua from his office in the Centre, Goodman detailed China's transformations over the last several decades, and shared his views on China's development as witnessed through his personal experience.

Australian Professor David Goodman (L) speaks during an interview with Xinhua at the China Studies Centre, University of Sydney, in Sydney, Australia, July 20, 2022. (Xinhua/Bai Xuefei)

Goodman's studies on China began as an undergraduate at Manchester University in the 1960s. Before his first China trip in 1976, he had already studied Chinese for six years and read several books about China. However, even for a scholar describing himself as "open to understanding," China on the page did little to prepare him for China in the flesh.

"To me, all the literatures of China seem overgeneralized. They talked about China without variety. I hadn't realized the variety, even theoretically, that there were differences between different parts of China," he said.

"That trip was very exciting and changed my life. Because up until that point, I had wanted to be a social scientist who worked on China in social sciences. And after that trip, I decided, I have to go live in China for longer."

The shocking encounter sparked what was a 40-year quest for understanding the domestic dynamics of China. He has toured north, southwest, northwest and east China including some remote villages to study central-local relations, the way local areas interact with the central government. He interviewed entrepreneurs since the early 1990s to study the social dynamics behind their development. He has written a few books about China's social classes, particularly the rising middle class.

He was especially impressed by the intense variety across the country with regard to culture, customs, and local dialects -- "I can't think of anywhere else in the world where the notion of being Chinese, notion of the single country, trumps the notion of the part".

This unique solidarity has generated dynamic for China's economic growth and partly contributes to its unique path of development.

Photo taken in 1982 shows Australian Professor David Goodman in Beijing, China. (Photo provided by David Goodman/Handout via Xinhua)

Goodman said China has developed fast over the last 40 years in ways of infrastructure, transport, highways and even the sewage system, concurrently bringing constant rises to people's standard of living. However, he thinks the gap between different areas is still a big factor that has prompted the vision of "common prosperity."

"In China, there are three different levels of economic development, the east coast, the center, and the west. The west is really a long way back, and it will take a long time to catch up to the rest, if nothing else happens."

Common prosperity is clearly designed to create a new welfare system at the local level by bringing together the local governments, welfare institutions such as schools and hospitals, businesses, and civil organizations, said the expert.

"Of course, there are still some areas which are poorer than others, and where children have fewer life chances than others. And those are the things that need to be worked on now and common prosperity certainly can help that," he said.

Common prosperity is currently one of Goodman's new research areas.

"We're starting a project on common prosperity to see how it's being played out in three different parts of China and try to discover both what is meant by common prosperity, and how it might operate in three different areas."

The project, which involves three cities of different social and economic development levels, namely Suzhou in east China's Jiangsu Province, Taiyuan in north China's Shanxi Province and Lanzhou in west China's Gansu Province, just started up and is expected to begin local fieldwork next year when he returns to China.

Goodman said he misses his friends in Suzhou, a city he has spent 9 years in, though he just came back to Australia last year.

"I'm going to go and see my friends ... and talk to people and see how things have changed, what roads have come, what buildings have changed, and so on...It's the change, which is ubiquitous."
BEIJING, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Defense Minister Wei Fenghe has called for enhancing China-Africa peace and security cooperation at the ministerial meeting of the second China-Africa Peace and Security Forum held via video link Monday.

Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory letter to the forum. The letter was read out by Wei at the meeting.

Attaching great importance to China-Africa peace and security cooperation, President Xi has put forward the initiative of building a China-Africa community with a shared future in the new era, pointing the way forward for China and Africa to strengthen solidarity and coordination and achieve common security, said Wei.

China and Africa should maintain close strategic communication, step up equipment and technological cooperation, deepen joint maritime exercises and training, and expand exchanges in professional fields, Wei said.

Representatives from African countries attending the meeting expressed appreciation of China's support and assistance to Africa in the areas of peace and security. They said African countries look forward to strengthening solidarity and cooperation with China.

About 50 ministerial-level officials and senior representatives from the African Union and African countries attended the forum. 
BEIJING, July 26 (Xinhua) -- The northwestern Chinese city of Dunhuang is more than 2,000 km away from Beijing, but thanks to digital technology, its renowned traditional heritage can be freely enjoyed by the residents of the capital.

Dunghuang is home to the Mogao Grottoes, a UNESCO World Heritage site, elements of which are on display in an ongoing exhibition at the National Base for International Cultural Trade in Beijing. Murals, grottoes, painted sculptures and other splendid items of cultural heritage have been reproduced, while those caves that are now closed have now been reproduced in digital form.

The exhibition area, covering some 1,600 square meters, features the results of research on nearly 50 sets of cultural relics from the Dunhuang Academy.

The No.3 grotto in Dunhuang is a typical example of the ancient frescoes, but it is steadily deteriorating.

"There are small blisters on the wall, and these blisters will make the pigment layer fall off. Some experts have concluded that it will not be long before this fresco disappears," said Tang Li, who is in charge of the exhibition.

Although the real grotto in Dunhuang is no longer open to the public, the digitally restored grotto can be preserved forever in the digital space.

Opening in July, the exhibition will last for three years. It is the first time that the Dunhuang Academy has held such a long exhibition in Beijing.

Through digital scanning technology, the buildings, painted sculptures and murals of Mogao Grottoes are scanned, stored and transformed into a digital format.

"The 3D scanning and printing technology restores the charm of painted sculptures, while 3D reconstruction and artistic restoration replicate the shape of painted sculptures in the same proportions," said one exhibition lecturer.

The idea of digitalizing Dunhuang culture was first put forward in the late 1980s. The subsequent decades have seen much development and numerous achievements in digital preservation.

By the end of 2021, the "digital Dunhuang project" had completed the digital collection of 268 grottoes, the image processing of 164 grottoes, and the 3D reconstruction of 45 painted sculptures, 146 grottoes and seven large relics sites. A professional and technical team of more than 100 people have been established.

The Dunhuang Academy has created a set of digital techniques suitable for murals that cannot be moved. In the process, it has not only applied various mature technologies to the digital protection of the grottoes in Dunhuang, but has also established standards for the digitalization of immovable cultural relics.

The protection and revival of Dunhuang's ancient culture is not an isolated case in China. The Yungang Grottoes in Shanxi also have 3D "digital archives," which allow precious cultural relics and historical archives to be permanently preserved. Meanwhile, tourists can now enjoy a dynamic experience of the terracotta warriors and horses in Xi'an through AR technology.

Such projects have provided a means of preserving China's splendid cultural heritage for future generations, while making it more widely available both at home and abroad.

Zhao Shengliang, Party secretary of the Dunhuang Institute, said, "It is hoped that the 'digital Dunhuang' will not only allow more audiences to experience the artistic charm of Dunhuang, appreciate the outstanding achievements of traditional Chinese culture, enhance artistic appreciation, and enhance cultural self-confidence, but also promote exchanges between cultures along the Belt and Road under new historical conditions." 
WINDHOEK, July 25 (Xinhua) -- For as long as Josefina Samukolofu, an elderly farmer from Sangwali in Wuparo conservancy in the Zambezi region, north-eastern Namibia, can remember, lions have always been unwanted visitors to many in the area.

Invasion by wildlife always means three things for the villagers: loss of livestock, damage to property, or a mere visit, with the latter a rare occurrence.

"The lions kill our livestock as some of our traditional kraal structures are not strong enough. It is painful losing cattle, and to date, I have lost count," said Samukolofu, adding that farmers band together average-sized tree branches to construct the kraals (enclosures), which lions easily evade.

Thanks to a lion-proof kraal built in May this year, ambient sunbeams brighten her days.

Samukolofu is one of the beneficiaries of lion-proof kraals, constructed under a joint project by the Kwando Carnivore Project and the Community Conservation Fund of Namibia in the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism.

Romeo Muyunda, a spokesperson for the ministry, on Monday told Xinhua that the 1.3 million Namibian dollars (about 77,367 U.S. dollars) project targets the construction of 30 lion-proof kraals in critical human-wildlife conflict hotspots.

"Lion predation on cattle has become a widespread and reoccurring problem in the conservancies, which attributed to a steady increase in lion numbers since 2012, and largely to recovering wildlife populations," he said.

Human lion conflict resulted in the loss of 412 cattle from 2015 to 2020 and the retaliatory killing of 20 lions from 2012 to 2020.

Focal areas include Mashi, Sobbe, Dzoti, Wuparo, and Balyerwa conservancies, covering 1,359 square kilometers where 7,879 people live.

The farmers provide all poles for construction, while the conservancy and the Kwando Carnivore Project provide fencing, equipment, skilled labor, and training, which reduces kraal construction costs, allowing for the construction of more kraals.

"By requiring involvement, the farmer is also invested in the upkeep and long-term maintenance of the newly constructed kraal," Muyunda said.

So far, more than 10 lion-proof kraals have been constructed, with more set for completion by August 2022.

"The new kraals are securer because the poles are strong and are netted together differently with wires. We are now better off knowing the livestock is safe from lion attacks because we have the protection of the fenced-off kraals," Samukolofu said. "Though we have lost cattle to lions, the lion-proof kraals means a second chance to rebuilding and our cattle to multiply in numbers."

The project is also envisaged to significantly impact the country's conservation efforts. According to Muyunda, the Kwando wildlife dispersal area is a vital area for the transboundary movement of many wildlife species.

"It is pivotal to the success of Kavango-Zambezi transfrontier conservation area as a conservation landscape and a crucial area of connectivity for lions connecting Angola, Botswana, Namibia, and Zambia," he said.

The construction of the kraals would further complement the initiative of deploying eight GPS collars on lions to act as a landscape-based early warning system in the Mudumu landscape. 
BEIJING, July 26 (Xinhua) -- China's national observatory on Tuesday continued to issue an orange alert for high temperatures as an intense heatwave lingers in many regions of the country.

During daylight hours on Wednesday, most parts of southern China and parts of Xinjiang are expected to experience temperatures of over 35 degrees Celsius, the National Meteorological Center said.

Temperatures in parts of Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hunan and Xinjiang may surpass 40 degrees Celsius, the center said.

It advised the public to avoid outdoor activities during high-temperature periods, and suggested that workers exposed to high temperatures shorten their working hours between breaks.

China has a four-tier color-coded weather warning system, with red representing the most severe warning, followed by orange, yellow and blue. 
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang meets with visiting Indonesian President Joko Widodo at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, capital of China, July 26, 2022. (Xinhua/Li Tao)

BEIJING, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Tuesday met with visiting Indonesian President Joko Widodo to discuss bilateral ties and issues of common concern.

As friendly neighbors and major developing countries in the region, China and Indonesia share broad common interests, which makes the two natural cooperation partners, Li said.

He noted that amid the current complex international situation, China is ready to work with Indonesia to consolidate political mutual trust, insist on mutual respect and equal treatment, strengthen the synergy of development strategies, and break new ground for all-dimensional, multi-tiered and high-level bilateral cooperation, so as to bring more benefits to both countries and the region.

Li said China is willing to accelerate the resumption of people-to-people exchanges on the basis of COVID-19 prevention and control, and pledges supports for Indonesia's hosting of this year's G20 Summit.

Hailing China-Indonesia relations as mutually beneficial and saying they have the potential to serve as a model for China-ASEAN cooperation, Li expressed the hope that Indonesia will continue to play a positive role in the implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.

He noted that peace and stability in the South China Sea conform to the interests of all parties. He called on all relevant parties to strive for an early conclusion to the Code of Conduct (COC), and to turn the South China Sea into a sea of peace, friendship and cooperation.

For his part, Widodo said that Indonesia and China are comprehensive strategic partners, and that bilateral cooperation has achieved mutual benefits and win-win results. He said the Indonesian side is ready to work with China to push for the completion of the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway as scheduled, and to push for more positive results in practical cooperation on trade and investment, finance, manufacturing, agriculture and maritime areas. 
A man washes his face with water flowing from a pipe near the Baqa'a Palestinian refugee camp during hot weather in Amman, Jordan, July 26, 2021. (Xinhua file photo)

Jordan's water share per capita has declined to less than 90 cubic meters per year over the past decades, well below global water poverty line.



AMMAN, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Husni Smadi, a resident of Ajloun Governorate in northwestern Jordan, often has to buy water from private sellers as the authorities supply public water only once about every three weeks, far from enough to meet his family's basic needs.

"Insufficient water supply is an issue facing many people across Jordan, and a solution to that is badly needed," Samadi, a retired teacher, told Xinhua.

The father of six said his family now has to spend 20-40 Jordanian dinars (28-56 U.S. dollars) per month on private water.

A man fills a bucket with water flowing from a pipe near the Baqa'a Palestinian refugee camp during hot weather in Amman, Jordan, July 26, 2021. (Xinhua file photo)

In a recent interview with Xinhua, Omar Salameh, spokesman of Jordan's Ministry of Water and Irrigation, said 2022 is one of the most difficult years for the country's water sector.

"Complaints are on the rise in many places ... The rainfall we received over the past rainy season was lower than expected, so the situation is critical," Salameh explained.

Jordan is one of the most water-scarce countries. Its water share per capita has declined to no more than 90 cubic meters per year over the past decades, well below the global water poverty line.

As a downstream country, Jordan secures 40 percent of its water supply from transboundary basins, leaving it heavily dependent on cooperation with its upstream neighbors, according to a recent study published by state-run Petra news agency.

Tourists ride a jet ski in the Red Sea in the southern port city of Aqaba, Jordan, on June 28, 2019. (Xinhua file photo)

"We see many expatriates and tourists this summer, which also increases the pressure of water consumption ... We face the problem of water shortage in the summertime quite often," said Ali Al-Sheikh, a resident of the capital Amman.

The water shortage, in turn, raised the operational costs in the tourism sector, which is one of the pillar industries in Jordan, said Petra's study.

Refugee crises, changing climate and rainfall fluctuations have significantly affected Jordan's water sector, Jihad Mahamid, secretary-general of Jordan's Ministry of Water and Irrigation, said on Sunday.

A man washes his face with water flowing from a pipe near the Baqa'a Palestinian refugee camp during hot weather in Amman, Jordan, July 26, 2021. (Xinhua file photo)

Jordan plans to implement a major water project that entails desalinating the Red Sea water to deliver the processed water across the kingdom.

The 2.5-billion-U.S. dollar project, which is expected to be completed by 2027, will provide some 300 million cubic meters of desalinated water a year, the spokesman Salameh said. 
* Noting Widodo is the first head of state China hosts after the Beijing Olympic Winter Games, Xi said this speaks volumes about the strong commitment of the two sides to growing bilateral ties.

* "Building a China-Indonesia community with a shared future is the common aspiration and expectation of the two peoples," Xi said.

* China fully supports Indonesia in hosting the G20 Bali Summit, and will increase coordination and cooperation with Indonesia for a full success of the Summit, Xi said.

BEIJING, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday held talks with visiting Indonesian President Joko Widodo in Beijing. The two presidents had a comprehensive and in-depth exchange of views and reached a series of important common understandings on China-Indonesia relations and on international and regional issues of mutual interest.

Expressing his delight that the two sides have decided on the overall direction of building a China-Indonesia community with a shared future, Xi said China will work with Indonesia to cement strategic mutual trust and firmly support each other in defending sovereignty, security and development interests, in exploring development paths in line with national conditions, and in growing the economy and bettering people's lives.

Chinese President Xi Jinping holds talks with visiting Indonesian President Joko Widodo at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, capital of China, July 26, 2022. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei)

RESILIENCE, VITALITY OF BILATERAL TIES

Noting Widodo is the first head of state China hosts after the Beijing Olympic Winter Games, Xi said this speaks volumes about the strong commitment of the two sides to growing bilateral ties.

Xi said the China-Indonesia relationship has enjoyed robust growth under the joint guidance of the two presidents in recent years, demonstrating great resilience and vitality. Strategic mutual trust has been further consolidated, and the four-pillar cooperation, namely political, economic, people-to-people and maritime cooperation, has kept deepening, said Xi.

The two sides have acted proactively and with a strong sense of responsibility to maintain regional peace and stability and promote international unity and cooperation, Xi said, adding the two countries have thus set an example of major developing countries seeking strength through unity and win-win cooperation.

"Facts have proven that a sound China-Indonesia relationship not only serves the shared long-term interests of the two countries, but also has positive, far-reaching impacts regionally and globally," said Xi.

Currently, the Chinese people are working toward the second centenary goal of building a great modern socialist country in all respects, while the Indonesian people are actively pursuing Vision 2045, Xi said, expressing his readiness to work with President Widodo and continue steering the steady and sustained growth of bilateral relations from a strategic height and a long-term perspective, in order to bring greater benefits to the two peoples and make greater contribution to peace and stability in the region and beyond.

For his part, Widodo said Indonesia and China are comprehensive strategic partners with an important goal of jointly building a community with a shared future, adding their cooperation is mutually beneficial, not only serving the two peoples well but also contributing significantly to peace and development in the region and beyond.

Noting the sound cooperation between Indonesia and China has demonstrated the strategic nature of the bilateral relations, Widodo said Indonesia will work with China to keep deepening comprehensive strategic partnership and make still greater contribution to regional peace and global development.

CHINA-INDONESIA COMMUNITY WITH A SHARED FUTURE

Xi noted that China and Indonesia are at similar development stages, have entwined interests, follow similar philosophies and development paths, and share a closely connected future. "Building a China-Indonesia community with a shared future is the common aspiration and expectation of the two peoples," Xi said.

The two sides need to further deepen high-quality Belt and Road cooperation for more fruitful outcomes, strive for completing the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway on schedule and to high standards, and ensure good implementation of such major cooperation projects as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Corridor and the "Two Countries, Twin Parks," Xi said.

Xi said China will continue to fully support Indonesia in building a regional vaccine production hub, and will step up public health cooperation with Indonesia.

Xi added China is willing to import more commodities and quality agro- and by-products from Indonesia, take an active part in the development of Indonesia's new capital and the North Kalimantan Industrial Park, expand cooperation in development financing, and cultivate new growth drivers in digital economy and green development, among other areas.

Widodo said China is welcome to take an active part in the development of Indonesia's new capital and the North Kalimantan Green Industrial Park, and seek greater strategic synergy between the Global Maritime Fulcrum and the Belt and Road Initiative, adding Indonesia is ready to work with China to ensure that the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway is completed and put into operation on schedule and becomes another milestone in bilateral friendship.

Chinese President Xi Jinping holds talks with visiting Indonesian President Joko Widodo at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, capital of China, July 26, 2022. (Xinhua/Liu Weibing)

STAND TOGETHER IN SOLIDARITY

Facing changes in the world that are unfolding in ways like never before, Xi said China and Indonesia need to stand together in solidarity, fulfill the responsibilities of major developing countries, follow true multilateralism, uphold open regionalism, and contribute Oriental wisdom and Asia's input to the development of global governance.

China fully supports Indonesia in hosting the G20 Bali Summit, and will increase coordination and cooperation with Indonesia for a full success of the Summit, Xi said. China will give full support to Indonesia's ASEAN chairmanship next year, and will enhance solidarity and coordination with ASEAN, with a focus on the five proposals on building our home together, to further unleash new dynamism of the China-ASEAN comprehensive strategic partnership, Xi said.

Noting that China welcomes Indonesia's continued active participation in "BRICS Plus" cooperation, Xi said China appreciates Indonesia's support for and commitment to the Global Development Initiative and the Global Security Initiative, and is ready for closer communication and cooperation with Indonesia in this regard.

Widodo thanked China for supporting Indonesia's G20 presidency, adding that Indonesia will maintain close coordination with China for the success of the G20 Bali Summit. As the ASEAN rotating chair next year, Indonesia is ready to make active efforts for the growth of ASEAN-China relations, Widodo added.

The two presidents also exchanged views on issues including the Ukraine crisis. They shared the view that the international community should create conditions for peace talks, play a constructive role in deescalating the situation in Ukraine and stabilizing the global economic order, and work together to maintain the hard-won peace and stability in the region.

The two sides issued a Joint Press Statement on the Bilateral Meeting between President of the People's Republic of China and President of the Republic of Indonesia. They also signed an MOU on jointly promoting cooperation between the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road Initiative and the Global Maritime Fulcrum, and other cooperation documents covering such areas as vaccine, green development, cyber security and ocean. 
Photo taken on Sept. 12, 2021 shows a scene of the joint strategic exercise "Zapad-2021" by Russian and Belarusian armed forces at a training ground in Belarus. (Photo by Henadz Zhinkov/Xinhua)



The drills will take place at 13 training grounds of the Russian Eastern Military District.



MOSCOW, July 26 (Xinhua) -- The Russian armed forces will conduct the Vostok (East)-2022 strategic exercise from Aug. 30 to Sept. 5, the Russian Defense Ministry announced on Tuesday.

Russia's Eastern Military District, together with the Airborne Troops, the Long Range Aviation and Military Transport Aviation and military contingents from other countries, will participate, the ministry said in a statement.

The drills will take place at 13 training grounds of the Eastern Military District with a focus on "ensuring military security," it added. 
By Azernews

By Laman Ismayilova

Khurshidbanu Natavan's handmade jacket is being restored at the National History Museum, Azernews reports, citing the National History Museum.

The restoration is being carried out without dismantling parts of the exhibit. This process is quite difficult for restoration, but only this way can help to preserve the authenticity of the historical object.

The exhibit's restoration is being carried out by the museum's textile restorer Nurida Huseynova.

After the restoration, Khurshidbanu Natavan's jacket will be presented to the public.

Khurshidbanu Natavan was born on August 6, 1832, in the town of Shusha. Being the only child in the family and descending from Panah Ali Khan, she was the only heir of the Karabakh khan, known to the general public as the "daughter of the khan".

She became popular through her relationship-themed ghazals and rubaiyat. Kindness, friendship, humanism, and love were the main themes of Natavan's ghazals.

Her romantic poems express the feelings and sufferings of a woman who was not happy in her family life and who lost her son. She adopted the pen name Natavan, a Persian term meaning "powerless", after her sons tragic death in 1885.

Some of her known poems are "To My Son, Abbas", "Lilac", and "Beloved One" are still used in folk songs.

In addition to poetry, Natavan was also engaged in painting. She was exceptionally good at pencil sketching and attractive embroidery as well. Her landscape sketches were the first-of-a-kind in European style in Azerbaijani art, which perfectly combined the concepts of the Western and Oriental art forms. Her embroidery works were regarded as masterpieces.

After her father's death, she was closely engaged in philanthropy, promoting the social and cultural development of Karabakh.

Even though she took over the Karabakh Empire at the young age of 13, Natavan successfully established her literary career and managed the responsibilities of developing her native city, Shusha.

She did a lot for the welfare of people, including building waterworks, opening schools, and building hospitals.

Prominent for her charity and social activity, Natavan was the first to provide her home city Shusha with drinking water.

Among her famous deeds was a water pipeline that was first laid down in Shusha in 1883, thus solving the water problem of the townsfolk.

Moreover, she also did a lot for the development and popularization of the famous breed of the Karabakh horses. Karabakh horses from Natavan's stud were known as the best in Azerbaijan. In an international show in Paris in 1867, a Karabakh horse Khan from Natavan's stud received a silver medal.

The daughter of the khan was also active in sponsoring one of the first literary societies. She established the first literary society in Shusha and went on to sponsor several more across the country. Majlis-I Uns (Society of Friends) became a renowned poetic group in Karabakh.

In 1858, the poetess met in Baku with the French writer Alexander Dumas and presented her manual works.

The French novelist is said to have been charmed by her oriental beauty, and literary and artistic talent. As an honored guest at Natavan's family home, he was given a chess set after playing chess with his host.

The Alexandre Dumas Museum in Paris houses a hand-crafted pouch given by Natavan to the French writer when she defeated him in a chess game upon his stay in Shusha during his trip through the Caucasus.

Natavan died in 1897 in Shusha. As a sign of respect, people carried her coffin on their shoulders all the way from Shusha to Agdam, some 30 km northeast, where she was buried in a family vault.
AMMAN, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Jordan on Tuesday called for continued support as its burden of hosting Syrian refugees is growing, state-run Petra news agency reported.

Jordanian Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Nasser Shraideh made the remarks during a meeting with visiting Assistant High Commissioner for Operations of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Raouf Mazou.

Shraideh said Jordan has hosted more than 1.3 million Syrian refugees since 2011, which increased the burden on the country's budget, particularly on subsidized commodities and the water, education, health and energy sectors.

He called for direct support by the international community to help control the impact of the Syrian refugee crisis on the Jordanian economy.

For his part, Mazou expressed his appreciation for the coordination and cooperation of the Jordanian government, and reaffirmed the United nation's keenness to help, urging the international community to support Jordan in fulfilling its humanitarian role. 
YINCHUAN, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Yin Huaying is the leader of a team of female fashion models consisting of teachers, doctors, librarians and office secretaries, all in their 50's or early 60's and from five ethnic groups.

"The team is one of the vivid activities organized in our community, through which we not only have fun, but also maintain close friendship," said Yin, a 52-year-old office secretary in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.

The model team belongs to the Tuanjie Community -- which means solidarity -- in the city of Shizuishan. Members of the team practice together once or twice a week and present performances at festivals or in competitions.

Established in 1982, the Tuanjie Community, a modern residential compound, has 3,843 households with 9,506 registered residents, including 785 people from 13 ethnic minorities.

"For over 40 years, residents with different ethnic backgrounds live harmoniously in our community. In festivals of various ethnic groups, the whole community would celebrate together like a big family, exchanging gifts, food and good wishes," said Liu Juju, head of the service center of the Tuanjie Community.

Liu said that the community has been engaging in artistic and literary activities such as dancing, singing, painting and calligraphy, to promote ethnic unity.

The Tuanjie Community is a fine example of the efforts made by Shizuishan to consolidate ethnic unity. The city in north Ningxia used to be one of China's major coal-mining bases.

A former powerhouse for the whole region and the source of nearly 40 percent of its GDP previously, the city's some half-a-million population is made up mostly of former industrial workers and their families.

Since the late 1950s, with the development of coal mining in Shizuishan, workers from all over the country moved to the city, contributing to a new immigrant culture there, while making the city more inclusive and diverse, with over 20 ethnic minorities so far.

"Industrial development has laid a solid economic foundation for the work of ethnic unity in the city of Shizuishan," said Wu Xiaobing, an official for ethnic solidarity work at Dawukou District in Shizuishan.

The city has recently built an ethnic unity exhibition hall at an industrial park which was the site of a coal mine, drawing many visitors.

"People used to care more about things within their own companies or communities, now they have perspectives that stretch wider and farther," said Zhang Mingzhong, the United Front Work Department of the Shizuishan municipal Party committee. 
BEIRUT, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Ambassador to Lebanon Qian Minjian said on Tuesday that China is willing to further enhance relations with Lebanon and between the two armies and contribute more to maintaining peace in Lebanon and the region.

"China will continue to hold high the banner of multilateralism to build a community with a shared future for mankind," Qian said during a reception held virtually to celebrate the 95th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA).

Zheng Yuchong, defense attache at the Chinese embassy in Lebanon, noted at the reception that China has made important contributions to maintaining peace in Lebanon and the region over the past 16 years.

"China is the first country to provide vaccine assistance for the Lebanese army. The Chinese army is willing to continue to develop exchanges and cooperation with the Lebanese army in various fields to promote the healthy development of bilateral relations," he said.

Nemr Abi Nassif, representative of the Lebanese Armed Forces Commander General Joseph Aoun, expressed gratitude for the efforts the PLA has made to maintain security and stability in Lebanon, hoping for deeper pragmatic cooperation between the two armies. 
BEIJING, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday held talks with visiting Indonesian President Joko Widodo in Beijing.

Following is the full text of Joint Press Statement on the Bilateral Meeting between President of the People's Republic of China and President of the Republic of Indonesia.

Joint Press Statement on the Bilateral Meeting between President of the People's Republic of China and President of the Republic of Indonesia

26 July 2022, Beijing

1.At the invitation of H.E. Xi Jinping, President of the People's Republic of China, H.E. Joko Widodo, President of the Republic of Indonesia, paid a visit to China on 25 to 26 July 2022.

2.During the visit, President Xi Jinping and President Joko Widodo held cordial and friendly talks, had an in-depth exchange of views on bilateral relations and a wide range of international and regional issues of shared interest, and reached important consensus. Premier Li Keqiang of the State Council also met with President Joko Widodo.

3.The two Presidents spoke highly of the achievements by the two countries in fighting against COVID-19 pandemic and securing economic rejuvenation and development. Indonesia congratulated China in advance on a complete success of the upcoming 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, which would guide China's march toward achieving its second centenary goal of building a great modern socialist country in all aspects. China also congratulated Indonesia in advance on realizing its goal of becoming a developed country upon the founding centenary of Indonesia in 2045.

4.The two Presidents agreed that the China-Indonesia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership had maintained a strong momentum of development since 2013. Especially in recent years, facing the unprecedented global changes and the COVID-19 pandemic, the two countries have forged a new synergy through the four-pillar cooperation covering politics, economy, people-to-people exchanges and maritime projects, so as to promote the spirit of solidarity in fighting against pandemic and seeking common development, and showcase the partnership between two major developing countries.

5.The two Presidents believed that China-Indonesia relations had great strategic significance and far-reaching global influence and agreed to strive for a general direction of building the China-Indonesia community with a shared future, and commit to forging an exemplary model of major developing countries seeking mutual benefit, win-win results, common development and South-South cooperation. Both Presidents have assigned their Foreign Ministers to further discuss the elements and principles of this objective.

6.Both sides will speed up the formulation of a new Five-Year Action Plan for the Implementation of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between China and Indonesia (2022-2026). Under the strategic guidance of the two Heads of State, both sides will bring into full play the China-Indonesia High-level Dialogue and Cooperation Mechanism (HDCM) and other existing bilateral mechanisms and dialogues, and make an overall plan for the concrete cooperation in various fields and strengthen strategic coordination in regional and multilateral affairs, so as to better enhance the well-being of the two peoples, and assume greater responsibility for maintaining regional peace, stability and prosperity, and safeguarding global fairness and justice.

7.The two Presidents acknowledged the significant milestones in bilateral trade cooperation in recent years. China and Indonesia committed to further increase the bilateral trade volume.

8.China and Indonesia will conduct in-depth and high-quality cooperation through the synergy of Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and Global Maritime Fulcrum (GMF). Both sides also committed to the completion of the Jakarta-Bandung High-speed Railway on schedule as a flagship project, and to work on more strategic projects such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Corridor and the "Two Countries, Twin Parks".

9.Both sides will expand cooperation in development-oriented financing; strengthen cooperation in agriculture, health, poverty alleviation and food security; cultivate fresh growth points such as green development and digital economy; and materialize benchmark projects to implement the Global Development Initiative (GDI) at the bilateral and regional levels, to further accelerate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

10.China and Indonesia will accelerate the resumption of people-to-people exchanges, including the return of Indonesian students to China; open more direct flights; and beef up cooperation in such fields as education, tourism, youth and local exchanges. Both sides will strengthen cooperation in vaccine and genomic research, development, and production and China will support Indonesia in its effort to set up a regional vaccine hub.

11.Both sides will strengthen communication between the agencies in charge of maritime affairs, enhance institutionalized arrangements, implement the projects supported by China-Indonesia Maritime Cooperation Fund (MCF), carry forward fishery cooperation such as the National Fish Barn project and utilize great potential of marine economy.

12.Both sides will implement consensus reached on China-ASEAN Special Summit to Commemorate the 30th Anniversary of China-ASEAN Dialogue Relations, uphold open regionalism, and advance China-ASEAN Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for Peace, Security, Prosperity, Sustainable Development and Amity. China reaffirms its support on ASEAN centrality in the evolving regional architecture and supports Indonesian ASEAN chairmanship in 2023. Both sides will promote mutually beneficial cooperation between the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) and BRI, as well as promote collaboration of the GDI key areas and the AOIP's priority areas, contributing to the implementation of the AOIP.

13.Both sides will continue to strengthen multilateralism. Indonesia takes note of the Global Security Initiative (GSI) and stands ready to work with the Chinese side in ensuring peace and stability through dialogue and diplomacy. China strongly supports Indonesia's G20 Presidency and looks forward to a successful G20 Leaders Summit. Both sides will support APEC in achieving Putrajaya Vision 2040 of an open, dynamic, resilient, and peaceful Asia-Pacific community. China appreciates Indonesia's participation at the "BRICS Plus" meetings under its BRICS Chairmanship and welcomes Indonesia's willingness to cooperate with BRICS in the future.

14.During the visit, both sides renewed the MOU between China and Indonesia on Jointly Promoting Cooperation within the Framework on the Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st Century Maritime Silk Road Initiative and Global Maritime Fulcrum, and signed a series of cooperation documents in such areas as research and development of vaccine and genomics, green development, custom information exchange and enforcement, cyber security capacity building, marine, and importation of Indonesian pineapples.

15.President Joko Widodo expressed his gratitude for the warm and friendly hospitality by President Xi Jinping, the Chinese Government and people, and extended invitation to President Xi Jinping to attend the G20 Summit to be held in Bali, Indonesia. President Xi Jinping expressed his thanks and wished the Summit a complete success. 
BEIRUT, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Lebanon's parliament on Tuesday passed long-awaited amendments to the banking secrecy law to unlock a potential 3-billion-U.S. dollars financial assistance package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Al-Jadeed local TV channel reported.

Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati said during the parliament session that the measure was needed to implement the banking restructuring resolution.

Member of parliament Ibrahim Kanaan said he expected the step to be "evaluated positively by the international community."

The Lebanese government in April reached a staff-level preliminary agreement with the IMF to finance the country with 3 billion U.S. dollars for a period of four years.

The funding deal, which is subject to approval by the IMF, requires the Lebanese government to implement a host of reforms, including passing a capital control law and a banking secrecy law, restructuring the banking sector, and unifying the exchange rates. 
Photo taken on May 31, 2022 shows fungi cultivated by a Non-Governmental Organization called "International NGO Centrolive" in Bangui, Central African Republic. (Xinhua/Luo Yu)



by Arison Tamfu

BANGUI, July 26 (Xinhua) -- In the Central African Republic (CAR), Irene Dombeti counts herself among the lucky few with knowledge of how to grow mushrooms sustainably and technologically.

She spent one and half months in China studying edible and medicinal mushroom technology. When she returned to CAR, she realized that people were less interested in using technology to grow mushrooms.

"They said that mushroom grows naturally, so they are not interested in mushroom technology," Dombeti said.

Then Chinese specialists arrived and introduced the Juncao technology which refers to planting a grass named Juncao with strong adaptability to the environment and rich nutrition while using processed Juncao grass to cultivate edible and medicinal fungi and raise poultry and livestock, said Chen Kehua who introduced the project in CAR.

Chen held 16 training courses on Juncao with 613 trainees and succeeded to involve five cooperatives in mushroom cultivation and four cooperatives in raising livestock with Juncao grass.

The team has planted 3 hectares of Juncao grass while helping local farmers to plant 10 hectares.

Farmers in the country realized that grass, which is trivial and even negligible for most people, could change their lives and country.

"Gradually in seeing what we are doing, they are now starting to adapt to mushroom cultivation because the mushrooms that we are growing here with technology are good mushrooms, which taste good and then it attracts people, they are now much interested," added Dombeti who now works as laboratory technician of the Institute for Agricultural Research in CAR.

Fatime Abba Rekya, 40, an agronomist and mushroom producer, was among the first to develop interest in the Chinese-invented technology.

With the support of Chinese specialists, Abba Rekya grew mushroom using the Juncao technology and began commercializing the product online.

She said the mushroom was so tasteful that demand became very high.

"We are doing our best to gradually settle the orders we have," said Abba Rekya, adding that they have succeeded to train 20 women in mushroom cultivation.

The Juncao technology has contributed to job creation, food security and generated income for rural communities in CAR and has played an important role in tackling malnutrition in the country, said Rekya.

"It's a business of hope, because there are restaurants and hotels here, and we can dry off and export mushrooms and do a lot of things around it. For young people who have not gone to school, we can create jobs for them, for the women who are at home, we can also create jobs for them," she added.

When the Chinese introduced the Juncao technology in CAR, Jean-Christian Ngakoutou-Patasse, who runs a Non-Governmental Organization called "International NGO Centrolive", was quick to forge partnerships with them.

"We built the mushroom house and Juncao technicians brought us the mycelium that allowed us to develop this technology," he said.

Thanks to the partnership, about a hundred people were trained in mushroom cultivation.

"We are a country coming out of a war, and today many young people are neglected. Through this training, we will help them to channel themselves towards a technology which allows them to do a lot more development so that they can support themselves," Ngakoutou-Patasse said.

The promotion of the Juncao technology in impoverished communities will help people get rid of poverty, he said, expressing gratitude to China.

"China is already giving us a lot of support, that's very good, we are counting on this cooperation to evolve together and help the people of Central African Republic," he said.

"In our country we like mushrooms. We don't know how to plant mushrooms but thanks to the Juncao project we know how to grow mushrooms to eat. We hope that this Juncao project will spread throughout the CAR," added Iwano, a student in agriculture.

Finding solutions to human survival and development through technologies, the Juncao technology is a vivid practice of China to build a community with a shared future for mankind.

"In order to better popularize the Juncao technology, our team is building an 854-square-meter production workshop. We will continue to popularize this technology, train more locals and domesticate the local wild edible and medicinal fungi to help ease the food shortage problem in CAR," said Chen. 

Fatime Abba Rekya, 40, an agronomist and mushroom producer, checks the mycelium bags on the outskirts of Bangui, Central African Republic, on May 31, 2022. (Xinhua/Luo Yu)

Photo taken on June 1, 2022 shows fungi cultivated by Chinese experts in Bangui, Central African Republic. (Xinhua/Luo Yu)

Photo taken on June 1, 2022 shows fungi cultivated by Chinese experts in Bangui, Central African Republic. (Xinhua/Luo Yu)

A Chinese expert cultivates fungi with local people in Bangui, Central African Republic, on June 1, 2022. (Xinhua/Luo Yu)

A laboratory technician checks the mycelium bottle in Bangui, Central African Republic, on June 1, 2022. (Xinhua/Luo Yu)
SUVA, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Nikenike Vurobaravu has become the 12th President of Vanuatu.

According to the Vanuatu Daily Post newspaper on Tuesday, Vurobaravu was elected by 48 votes of the 58-member Electoral College on Saturday after eight rounds of voting since Thursday last week.

Vurobaravu has promised to encourage national unity and strengthen efforts on the issue of climate change.

Born in 1964, Vurobaravu is a member of the Vanua'aku Pati (VP) party. He had served as the coordinator of the Vanuatu Comprehensive Reform Program for the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and a political adviser in the Prime Minister's Office.

He was also Vanuatu's High Commissioner to Fiji. 
Cameroonian President Paul Biya (R, Front) welcomes French President Emmanuel Macron (C, Front) in Yaounde, Cameroon, on July 26, 2022. Cameroonian President Paul Biya on Tuesday met with visiting French President Emmanuel Macron in Yaounde to discuss regional security and bilateral economic ties. (Xinhua/Kepseu)

YAOUNDE, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Cameroonian President Paul Biya on Tuesday met with visiting French President Emmanuel Macron in Yaounde, the capital of Cameroon, to discuss regional security and bilateral economic ties.

In a joint press conference after their meeting, Macron said Cameroon was a "strategic partner" in the Central African sub-region where he will "devote more time to during the second term."

The French president said his country would continue to support Africa's need for security and stability. "We will not relinquish the security of the African continent. We now have a military cooperation system with many African countries, and this means that we deliver equipment, we train, we have partnerships and we want to advance on that road," he said.

"I feel satisfied because we feel supported. France supports us in the sense of security, especially as regards the fight against terrorism," Biya said.

Both presidents also discussed food shortages in Africa. Macron said France will strengthen agricultural investment and cooperation as part of measures to solve the food crisis.

Cameroon has been facing an armed separatist conflict in its English-speaking regions of Northwest and Southwest since 2017.

"I remain convinced that regionalization remains the answer to the crisis affecting Cameroon in the Northwest and Southwest regions and that it is through this political process of dialogue and reform that a lasting resolution can be found," Macron said.

Macron arrived in Cameroon Monday night for his first official visit to Africa after he was re-elected for a second and last mandate in April. He will also visit Benin and Guinea-Bissau. 

Cameroonian President Paul Biya (R, Front) welcomes French President Emmanuel Macron (L, Front) in Yaounde, Cameroon, on July 26, 2022. Cameroonian President Paul Biya on Tuesday met with visiting French President Emmanuel Macron in Yaounde to discuss regional security and bilateral economic ties. (Xinhua/Kepseu)
PHNOM PENH, July 26 (Xinhua) -- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and De Heus TMH Company Limited (DH-TMH) signed here on Tuesday a 15-million-U.S.-dollars loan to boost Cambodia's agricultural feed sector, the ADB said in a press statement.

With the loan, the DH-TMH, a leading animal feed producer in Cambodia, will expand its storage and processing capacity of animal feed production in the southwestern Kampong Speu province, the statement said.

The additional procurement of processing machinery will promote feed production, allowing the company to buy more local raw materials like maize, rice, and cassava from smallholder farmers within its supply chain, and enabling a supply of affordable, high quality feed for livestock and fish farmers, it added.

Investments in storage are also making the supply chain more resilient, as crops like maize can be stored for a longer time.

"By supporting DH-TMH, we are helping to strengthen the feed value chain, improve livelihoods of feed crop, livestock, and fish farmers, and support sustainable and resilient agricultural practices," said ADB country director for Cambodia Jyotsana Varma.

"Developing locally sourced, high quality, and affordable animal feed supply is integral in safeguarding Cambodia's food security and reducing reliance on imported feed inputs," she added.

The company's Asia Chief Executive Officer Gabor Fluit said the company is committed to empowering independent farmers in Cambodia.

"The strategic cooperation agreement with ADB, in combination with our focus on training and knowledge sharing, with the motto 'global knowledge-local impact', will support and accelerate the sustainable development of the Cambodian animal protein supply chain," he said.

A technical assistance grant will support training for 2,000 maize and 2,000 poultry farmers, many of them women, in climate-resilient farm practices and financial literacy, the statement said, adding that supporting women farmers will help strengthen their positions within farms and boost their access to finance to expand their businesses.

DH-TMH is a joint venture between De Heus Animal Nutrition from the Netherlands, a family-owned global animal feed supplier, and TMH Company Limited from Cambodia, with a capacity to produce 180,000 tons of high quality livestock feed, the statement said. 
NEW DELHI, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Nineteen lawmakers from opposition parties were suspended on Tuesday from the upper house of the Indian parliament (Rajya Sabha) for staging protests and disrupting the proceedings.

The lawmakers will remain suspended for the rest of the week.

Federal junior minister for Parliamentary affairs V Muraleedharan moved a motion to suspend the lawmakers.

According to officials, seven of the suspended lawmakers belonged to the Trinamool Congress, six from the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), three from the Telangana Rashtra Samithi, two from the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and one from the Communist Party of India (CPI).

The suspended members kept protesting inside the house.

The lawmakers have been demanding an urgent discussion on issues like price rise, levying of goods and services tax on daily essentials, etc., for the past many days, leading to disruptions in the house.

"The government is ready for a debate on price rise once finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman recovers and returns to parliament," said Piyush Goyal, minister of commerce and industry as well as a lawmaker from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Sitharaman, according to officials, has recently tested positive for COVID-19 after she return from Bali, Indonesia, where she had gone to attend G20 Finance Ministers' meeting.

Last week she came wearing a full PPE kit to cast her vote in the Presidential election.

On Monday four lawmakers belonging to the opposition Congress party were suspended from the lower house of the Indian parliament (Lok Sabha) for the entire ongoing monsoon session for staging protests and displaying placards inside the house over price rise.

The monsoon session of the parliament began on July 18 and will continue until Aug. 12. 
On 25 July, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made a phone call to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, president.az website reports.

Emphasizing that the United States supports the normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Secretary of State Antony Blinken hailed the meeting and direct dialogue between the foreign ministers of the two countries in Tbilisi.

President Ilham Aliyev described the meeting between the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia in Tbilisi as the first step toward starting negotiations on a peace treaty between the two countries. The president said that Azerbaijan has already formed the composition of its commission for the preparation of a peace treaty and expects a similar step from Armenia, the presidential press service reports.

Antony Blinken reiterated the United States offer of assistance in helping facilitate the opening of regional transportation and communication linkages between Armenia and Azerbaijan and providing technical support in this area.

During the conversation, the significance of the Memorandum of Understanding in the energy sector, recently signed between Azerbaijan and the Commission of the European Union, was noted with satisfaction.

Touching upon humanitarian issues, the president stressed that after the first Armenian-Azerbaijani war, over 3,890 Azerbaijanis were considered missing, and drew attention to the fact that, despite repeated appeals to the Armenian side, no information on mass grave sites was provided, the report adds.

President Ilham Aliyev stressed that Armenia carried out mass mining of the territories of Azerbaijan liberated from occupation, and after the end of the war, over 240 Azerbaijani citizens died or lost their health as a result of mine explosions.

During the telephone conversation, an exchange of views took place on the prospects for cooperation.

For its part, the State Department in a tweet said that @SecBlinken spoke with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev today about continued progress on Azerbaijans and Armenias path to peace. The U.S. stands ready to engage bilaterally to help Armenia and Azerbaijan find a long-term comprehensive peace.

Similarly, a report attributable to Spokesperson Ned Price added that Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke today with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. The Secretary and President Aliyev discussed Azerbaijan and Armenias historic opportunity to achieve peace in the region.

"The Secretary reiterated the United States offer of assistance in helping facilitate the opening of regional transportation and communication linkages. Secretary Blinken encouraged continued bilateral dialogue, such as the recent meeting between the Azerbaijani and Armenian Foreign Ministers in Tbilisi.

"The Secretary also reaffirmed support for productive EU-brokered discussions. He conveyed that the United States has been an OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair since 1994 and stands ready to engage bilaterally and with like-minded partners to help Armenia and Azerbaijan find a long-term comprehensive peace. Secretary Blinken also urged President Aliyev to release all remaining Armenian detainees.

In response to the mentioning of the OSCE Minsk Group in the press release of the US State Department, Haqqin.az news website, citing its own diplomatic sources denied that the issue was discussed in the phone conversation.

The statement of the State Department noted that during the conversation, among other issues, the topic of resuming the participation of the OSCE Minsk Group in the Armenian-Azerbaijani peace was discussed.

According to information received by Haqqin.az from diplomatic sources, there was no mention of the Minsk Group in Aliyevs conversation with Blinken, in connection with which the source expressed sincere bewilderment at the fact of such obvious disinformation, calling it extremely inappropriate and even irresponsible. It is incompetent and wrong to discuss the idea of resuscitation of the OSCE Minsk Group that has sunk into oblivion, the report added.
CANBERRA, July 26 (Xinhua) -- The Australian Parliament has officially returned two months after the federal election in May.

New and returning Members of Parliament (MPs) and Senators gathered in Canberra on Tuesday to be officially sworn in to the 47th Parliament of Australia.

Delivering his opening remarks, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, whose Labor Party won power in the election on May 21, urged his colleagues to make their time in Parliament count.

The Labor government is expected to introduce about 18 pieces of legislation to Parliament in the first two sitting weeks.

They will include legislation that will give more than 11 million workers access to paid domestic violence leave and for Labor's emissions reduction target.

Albanese has committed to reducing Australia's carbon emissions by 43 percent from the 2005 levels by 2030.

On Tuesday Albanese said he hopes to lead a more unified Parliament than that of previous governments.

"I want to see a Parliament that functions much better than the last one," he said.

"I want more unity, less division. I want to bring the country together with a sense of our common purpose which is there." 
TOKYO, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Japan on Tuesday executed a man over a frenzied attack in the Akihabara district of Tokyo in 2008, which left seven people dead and 10 injured, the country's justice minister said.

Tomohiro Kato, 39, plowed through pedestrians with a truck in a no-vehicle zone in the popular shopping and tourist district on June 8, 2008, killing three people and injuring two in the vehicle onslaught.

After stopping the truck, he exited and proceeded to indiscriminately stab four other people with a long-bladed dagger, injuring eight more in the rampage, the 2015 court ruling said.

"The incident had had a significant impact on society as it deprived seven people of their precious lives," Justice Minister Yoshihisa Furukawa told a press briefing Tuesday.

"After careful and then more careful consideration," Furukawa said he signed the execution order for Kato last Friday.

Two executions have been conducted under the administration of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, with three death-row inmates involved in multiple murders hanged in December 2021.

The number of death-row inmates in Japan now stands at 106, according to official figures. 
An international conference on Afghanistan is held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, July 26, 2022. Uzbekistan hosted an international conference here on Tuesday to garner support for the economic and social revival of Afghanistan. In a message to the conference themed "Afghanistan: security and economic development," Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev called on the Afghan government "to demonstrate strong will" to take decisive measures to counter terrorism, and break ties with all international terrorist organizations. (Xinhua/Cai Guodong)

TASHKENT, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Uzbekistan hosted an international conference here on Tuesday to garner support for the economic and social revival of Afghanistan.

In a message to the conference themed "Afghanistan: security and economic development," Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev called on the Afghan government "to demonstrate strong will" to take decisive measures to counter terrorism, and break ties with all international terrorist organizations.

"This will help strengthen confidence in the interim government, open up real prospects for the sustainable development of Afghanistan in an atmosphere of friendship, good neighborliness and mutually beneficial cooperation with its immediate environment and the international community," Mirziyoyev said.

Dozens of delegations of governments and international organizations from Europe, Middle East, Asia and other regions took part in the conference.

The head of the Afghan delegation, Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said in a press briefing that the majority of the delegations were in a supportive mood, which showed a positive development in relations with his country.

"Another positive point was that the participants understood the message related to the real situation in Afghanistan, which will hopefully lay the ground for political and economic engagement," he said.

Uzbekistan also presented projects in energy, railway development and education sectors to help neighboring Afghanistan to build its social-economic infrastructure. 

An international conference on Afghanistan is held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, July 26, 2022. Uzbekistan hosted an international conference here on Tuesday to garner support for the economic and social revival of Afghanistan. In a message to the conference themed "Afghanistan: security and economic development," Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev called on the Afghan government "to demonstrate strong will" to take decisive measures to counter terrorism, and break ties with all international terrorist organizations. (Uzbek Foreign Ministry/Handout via Xinhua)

An international conference on Afghanistan is held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, July 26, 2022. Uzbekistan hosted an international conference here on Tuesday to garner support for the economic and social revival of Afghanistan. In a message to the conference themed "Afghanistan: security and economic development," Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev called on the Afghan government "to demonstrate strong will" to take decisive measures to counter terrorism, and break ties with all international terrorist organizations. (Xinhua/Cai Guodong)

An international conference on Afghanistan is held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, July 26, 2022. Uzbekistan hosted an international conference here on Tuesday to garner support for the economic and social revival of Afghanistan. In a message to the conference themed "Afghanistan: security and economic development," Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev called on the Afghan government "to demonstrate strong will" to take decisive measures to counter terrorism, and break ties with all international terrorist organizations. (Xinhua/Cai Guodong)

An international conference on Afghanistan is held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, July 26, 2022. Uzbekistan hosted an international conference here on Tuesday to garner support for the economic and social revival of Afghanistan. In a message to the conference themed "Afghanistan: security and economic development," Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev called on the Afghan government "to demonstrate strong will" to take decisive measures to counter terrorism, and break ties with all international terrorist organizations. (Xinhua/Cai Guodong)
ISTANBUL, July 26 (Xinhua) -- At least 226 illegal migrants and three organizers were detained in Turkiye's western city of Canakkale while attempting to illegally cross the sea border in the Aegean Sea, the Haberturk daily reported on Tuesday.

A fishing ship sailing on a suspicious route towards Italy was intercepted by two Coast Guard boats, revealing a human smuggling scheme, it said.

Organizers were arrested with charges of human trafficking, and 226 migrants were transferred to a "processing center" pending legal procession or deportation, it added.

Amid the soaring costs of living and a deteriorating global economy, many cross illegally into Turkiye either with hopes of establishing a new life or reaching Europe.

Turkish law enforcement is on a campaign to combat human trafficking operations within its borders, as well as to prevent illegal attempts of entry and exit.

The Turkish Interior Ministry revealed that more than 125,000 people were detained since the beginning of the year as a part of this effort.

More than 45,000 people were deported in the first half of 2022 alone, and some 24,000 illegal refugees are still being hosted in processing centers pending deportation, according to the ministry.

The country currently hosts more than 4 million legal refugees, while the number of illegal migrants living within its borders is unknown. 
WARSAW, July 26 (Xinhua) -- European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said that Poland must fulfil its obligations on reforming its judicial system if it wants to obtain some 35 billion euros (35.35 billion U.S. dollars) in EU funding for post-pandemic recovery. However, Poland insists it has met all the conditions set out by the EU.

"Poland must fulfill its obligations aimed at reforming the system of disciplinary proceedings," Von der Leyen said in an interview with Poland's Dziennik Gazeta Prawna newspaper published on Tuesday.

Although Poland introduced new legislation on July 15 which eliminates the controversial Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court, Von der Leyen emphasized that the law does not protect judges from disciplinary proceedings should they question the status of other judges.

This problem must be solved in order for the EU funds to be released, the Commissioner added.

She also pointed out that Poland "still has not reinstated judges that were suspended (by the Disciplinary Chamber) and the daily financial penalty still applies."

However, Malgorzata Paprocka, a minister at the Polish Presidential Office, told private television channel Polsat News on Tuesday that Poland has fulfilled all the EU requirements and therefore Brussels should suspend financial penalties levelled against Warsaw.

On October 27, 2021, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) imposed a 1 million euro daily fine on Poland for its failure to comply with a CJEU ruling from July 2021 demanding the suspension of the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court. (1 euro = 1.01 U.S. dollars) 
BEIJING, July 26 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. State Department recently released its annual report on human trafficking, in which it, as usual, criticized and pointed fingers at other countries while boasting the United States as one of the best-performing countries in eliminating human trafficking.

But a sequence of forced labor scandals within the United States tarnished its self-portrayed image and exposed its true colours as the epicenter of forced labor and slavery, with its more than 200 years of history dripping blood and tears.

AMERICA'S ORIGINAL SIN

"Slavery is America's original sin," U.S. Congresswoman Nikema Williams once said on Twitter.

In November last year, U.S. Justice Department released a case of modern slavery. Before being freed, more than 100 foreign nationals smuggled from Central American countries into the United States were forced to dig onions with their bare hands in the U.S. state of Georgia, paid 20 cents for each bucket harvested, and threatened with guns and violence to keep them in line.

The workers were held in cramped, unsanitary quarters and fenced work camps with little or no food, limited plumbing and without safe water. The conspirators are accused of raping, kidnapping and threatening or attempting to kill some of the workers or their families, and in many cases sold or traded the workers to other conspirators. At least two of the workers died as a result of workplace conditions.

Shocking as it is, such kind of slavery-like activities can be traced back to the very early days of U.S. history.

Slavery was legal when the United States declared independence in 1776. Many of the U.S. founding fathers, including George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, were slave owners.

The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database showed that between 1525 and 1866, 12.5 million Africans were shipped to the "New World," and the majority of the captives came to what became the United States. Most of the slaves were forced to work under harsh conditions, and were cruelly tortured. Whips and guns were the magic tools to increase productivity.

Charles Ball, a famous freedman, once recalled the slaves' lives in U.S. plantations. Their haul would be weighed after the sunlight stalked away from the fields and the slaves couldn't "distinguish the weeds from the cotton plants." If the haul came up light, enslaved workers were often whipped. "A short day's work was always punished."

The prosperity of the United States is largely built on slavery, while those defenders of slavery have turned a blind eye to the miserable lives of the slaves.

CONSTITUTIONAL LOOPHOLE

As a result of the U.S. Civil War that ended in 1865, the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution nominally abolished slavery throughout the United States, but left a constitutional loophole: according to the amendment, it was not illegal to subject criminals to slavery or "involuntary servitude" as punishment.

After the Civil War, turning prisoners into forced labor became a common practice throughout the American South. In a bid to continue slavery, some states in the United States put a large number of freed black slaves in prison and forced them to harvest crops, mine and build railways on charges of underpayment of rent and petty theft without sufficient evidence.

By taking advantage of the constitutional loophole, some U.S. states have made a business by turning prisoners into cash cows.

In his book American Prison: A Reporter's Undercover Journey into the Business of Punishment, U.S. journalist Shane Bauer revealed that after the Civil War, state governments would lease convicts to powerful politicians, mining companies or plantations to boost their incomes, with few restrictions on what the prisoners could do and for how long.

From the 1980s, the U.S. government incorporated private prisons into the national correctional system and shifted the due responsibilities of the government to interests groups under the pretext of easing the burden of incarceration and reducing the cost of imprisonment. Driven by huge profits, the number of private prisons ballooned by 16 times over the course of 20 years from 1990 to 2010.

According to statistics, by the end of 2019, more than 100,000 people were detained in private prisons in the United States, and forced to take up intense and low-pay labor for long periods of time.

Forced labor is also rampant in private U.S. detention centers where illegal immigrants are held. As the Guardian reported, at the Stewart immigration detention center in U.S. state of Georgia, Corrections Corporation of America, U.S. largest prison corporation, relies on the labor of detained immigrants to keep cooking, cleaning and other basic operations going "as part of its profit-making schemes."

MODERN SLAVERY

Today, the United States is still fraught with serious forced labor.

The website of the University of Denver disclosed that there are currently at least 500,000 people living under modern slavery and forced labor in the United States. Forced labor is a particularly prominent and prevalent issue in 23 industries, including domestic service, agriculture, planting, tourism sales, catering, medical care and beauty.

The U.S. government has turned a blind eye to the prevalence of forced labor. When wildfires raged in California, many inmates were sent to the front lines, risking their lives as firefighters for a pittance. Inmates in some women's jails in the United States have been forced to work up to 12 hours a day to make masks amid the coronavirus pandemic, without a mask on their own face. A female prisoner infected with COVID-19 said it was like a "slave factory."

Child labor is also not uncommon in the United States. There are approximately 500,000 child farmworkers in the United States. The International Labour Organization has expressed concern for many years in a row about the serious occupational injuries to children working on American farms.

The United States has so far still refused to assume its due responsibility to eliminate forced labor within its borders.

It still has not ratified the Forced Labour Convention (1930), the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. Nearly 100,000 people are smuggled into the United States for forced labor every year.

"American slavery is necessarily imprinted on the DNA of American capitalism," wrote U.S. historians Sven Beckert and Seth Rockman. It seems that slavery will continue to claim innocent lives and cause human tragedies in the United States. 
Kenya: according to a local official in a notorious accident hotspot in central Kenya, a bus has crashed into a river, killing at least 34 people.



The incident took place late Sunday night when the bus was on its way from the coastal town of Mombasa to Meru town.

The bus fell 130 feet (40 m) below a bridge and into the Nithi river valley.

Images of the bus being published in local media showed it torn apart after rolling down a steep slope, and reports said bodies and debris were scattered along the riverbank and in the water.

33 people were killed, according to a tweet by the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA), which also announced that Modern Coast Express Limited, the bus company, had accidentally suspended its operations.

"A comprehensive multi-agency investigation into the accident and evaluation of the operator's safety operating standards is underway," the statement continued.

Later, the county commissioner, Norbert Comora, reported that there were now 34 deaths.

"We have counted only 42 of the 45 passengers of the bus so far. These are people who have passed away or are in hospital. Three of them are still missing," he said.

Comora had earlier told reporters that the search was still on and we were trying to retrieve the debris. According to the Daily Nation newspaper Comora, preliminary investigations indicate that the bus's brakes may have failed, preventing its driver from taking a sharp turn on the bridge.

There have been more road accidents in Kenya in recent years.

According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, 4,579 people died in road accidents in Kenya in 2021, a 15% increase from the previous year.

Speeding truck lost its temper suddenly overturned, rammed into a car
Cairo: An Egyptian court on Sunday (July 24, 2022) issued a decree to show live the death sentence of the murderer of student Naira Ashraf to prevent brutal killings. The Mansoura Criminal Court has asked parliament to make legal amendments to allow a live telecast of the murderer's hanging. Mohammed Adel was found guilty of the planned murder of Naira Ashraf, a student of Mansoura University, last month (June 20, 2022).

Adil had also confessed to his crime on June 26. He had said that he was hurt when Naira Ashraf refused to get married. On June 20, when Naira was about to enter Mansoura University to give the final exam. At the same time, Adil stabbed Naira 19 times in broad daylight and then cut off her head and killed her. The murderer claimed in the court that he had brought a knife on the day of the incident in his defence, but when the student humiliated him, he attacked her without thinking about anything. The court sentenced Mohammed Adel to death on June 28. The court in its order said that live punishment will increase panic among those who commit such crimes.

The court said they have ascertained the mental, and psychological condition, likes and dislikes of the convict before and after the murder. At the same time, the court, through the plan of the murderer's crime, the weapon used to commit the murder and the date and place decided by him, found out what nature he was off. The murder captured on CCTV cameras has shaken the whole of Egypt and the Middle East. A while ago, a video went viral on social media, showing Adel stabbing a student outside a university.

Zelensky denounces Russia's open gas war against Europe

WHO announces Monkeypox a global emergency

Pound hovers around USD 1.20 on economy worries
Turkey: According to Turkish online news outlet Gazette Duvar, a cabin crew member on a SunExpress flight reportedly found a bitten snake head inside his meal.

According to Gazette Duver, the crew member discovered the body part of the snake while flying from Ankara to Dusseldorf. A video was posted on Gazette Duvar's YouTube channel in which a snake's head is visible in the food.

According to Gazette Duvar, Sancak Inflight, a provider of catering services for airlines, supplied this food and others to SunExpress, a joint venture between Turkish Airlines and Lufthansa.

According to Sanq Inflight's website, some of its customers are Malaysia Airlines, Qatar Airways and EasyJet.

When Insider contacted SunExpress and Sancak Inflight for comment outside of regular business hours, neither company immediately responded.

SunExpress issued the following statement to Turkish news outlet Bolge Gundem: "A thorough investigation has been launched into this matter. The allegations and shares in the press regarding in-flight food service are absolutely unacceptable."

The airline told British tabloid The Sun that "all preventive measures and actions, including stopping the supply of the product concerned, have been taken immediately" until the research process is over.

According to a statement issued by Sunak Inflight, none of the foreign objects discovered in the food were used in the cooking process, The Sun reported.

The incident is another example of a bad experience that can happen this summer flying with airlines with fewer staff. Travelers share horrifying tales of losing their luggage; A passenger claimed that the missing bag contained the ashes of his parents.

The holidays of others have been ruined by missed flights and canceled flights.

One couple told Insider that due to difficulties getting back home, their child was supposed to travel with them on a different flight, and that their leave had to be extended by 12 days.

Himanshi Khurana and Asim Riaz shares their vacation pictures from Turkey

Iran at risk of dependence after hosting Putin

Iran supports Putin as the US claims that Russia plans to invade more of Ukraine

Putin visits Tehran for meeting as war in Ukraine continued
New Delhi: India has taken strong exception to the attempt to include other countries in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). A warning tone from India said that the project passes through illegally occupied Indian territory and such a move would be illegal and unacceptable. India's statement comes at a time when the participation of third countries in the disputed CPEC is being proposed.

In fact, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi has said that we have seen reports encouraging the proposed participation of third countries in the so-called CPEC project. Any such action by either party shall be deemed to be a direct violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India. India will treat it as illegal. Such activities are inherently illegal, illegitimate and unacceptable.

The external affairs ministry's statement came at a time when it was reported that Pakistan and China have invited third countries to join the multi-billion dollar CPEC project. The move was taken last week at the third meeting of the CPEC's Joint Working Group on International Cooperation and Coordination. The joint meeting between Pakistan and China on CPEC was held virtually last week.

National Herald case: When Sonia-Rahul are 76 per cent shareholders, who will be questioned?

You set up industries in Bihar, it is our responsibility to make it successful: Shahnawaz Hussain

'If work is not good, I will smash head', says this minister
By Trend

Tajikistan significantly increased the volume of coal exports in the first half of 2022, said Minister of Industry and New Technologies of Tajikistan Sherali Kabir, Trend reports via asiaplustj.info.

"Tajikistan's coal exports from January through June 2022 amounted to 279,000 tons, which is a fifteenfold increase compared to the corresponding period of 2022 (19 000 tons)," Kabir said.

The main coal importing countries from Tajikistan in the reporting period were Afghanistan (183 711 tons) and Pakistan (93 099 tons).

Meanwhile, the total Tajik exports of industrial products in the reporting period amounted to $887 million: 677 000 tons of cement, 49 900 tons of cotton, and 279 00 tons of coal.
MOGADISHU: Somali Parliament has resolved to give Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre ten more days to form his cabinet.

Barre, who was expected to name his cabinet by Monday, one month after his appointment, said he was yet to finalise consultations on the formation of the cabinet, as per reports.

Barre, who was appointed on June 25, asked Parliament for an extension to create an all-inclusive administration, citing a lengthy electoral process as the reason for the delay. "It is necessary that I spend sufficient time in conversations with diverse politicians of the country and civic to set up a balanced government," he said in a statement.

"Somalia is at a fork in the road and must forge ahead. We must government capable of bringing about the necessary reform and development for our people." The First Deputy Speaker of the Lower House, 144 of the 145 parliamentarians who attended the session on Monday approved Barre's request, with only one legislator opposing it, said Sadia Yasin Samatar.

The Prime Minister met with religious leaders and civil society groups on Monday to discuss the formation of the government. During the discussion with civil society, he emphasised the importance of Somali youth participation in development, noting that they are the country's future and their input is useful in assisting the government.

The Prime Minister said that he discussed the cabinet he is forming with them and how it will provide work possibilities for Somali youth.

Rishi Sunak, Liz Truss spar in first TV debate in poll of electoral college

US asks China to condemn Myanmar after execution of activists

Tunisia's constitutional referendum sees low turnout
Kyiv: Ukrain President Volodymyr Zelensky denounced Russia's overt gas war against Europe and urged them to strengthen sanctions against Moscow. "Russia will not resume supplying gas to European nations as required by contract, despite the compromise over the Nord Stream turbine. Russia has purposefully done all of this to make it as difficult as possible for Europeans to be ready for the winter "During his nightly address, Zelensky said.

Russia is launching an open chemical war against an unified Europe, and this is exactly how it should be seen, he said.

In the meantime, Russia's state-owned energy giant Gazprom announced to slash daily gas deliveries to Europe through the Nord Stream pipeline to 33 million cubic metres a day from Wednesday.

It is important to note that Europe depends substantially on Russian energy supplies. Following ten days of maintenance, Russia this week resumed essential gas shipments to Europe via Germany via Nord Stream, but only at 40% of the pipeline's capacity.

"New gas-related concerns to Europe surfaced today... Russia is launching an open gas war against an unified Europe "In response to Gazprom's announcement of a further reduction in gas deliveries to Europe, Zelenskyy said. Furthermore, in retaliation for the sanctions put in place after Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, the West had accused Moscow of using energy as a weapon. he said.

Zelensky continued by saying that Moscow's most recent action was a part of a larger series of what he called "forms of terror." They don't care how the people suffer, whether it is from starvation brought on by the closure of the ports, from the cold and poverty of the winter, or from occupation, Zelensky said, adding that these are simply many manifestations of terror.

The U.K. will host the Eurovision in 2023 on behalf of Ukraine

Russia seeking for a regime change in Ukraine as its war objectives expand

Russia accused Ukrainian forces for "crimes against humanity's peace."
Keep an eye out for algae overgrowth in ponds this summer

Media Contact: Alisa Boswell-Gore | Agricultural Communications Services | 405-744-7115 | alisa.gore@okstate.edu

Most Oklahoma ponds are green thanks to algae that forms on the water, but just like anything else, too much algae can be a bad thing.

Algae is a normal occurrence in ponds unless it becomes too thick. Thats when pond owners are in danger of the most common fish kill scenario  algal die off. As millions of dead algal cells decompose, dissolved oxygen is rapidly used up, causing fish to suffocate.

To prevent this situation, Marley Beem  Oklahoma State University Extension aquaculture specialist  advises pond owners to watch for algal abundance.

The simplest way to do this is to use a submerged object, something that you can put down into the water that is light colored, he said.

On a sunny day, Beem said a submerged object will disappear from view when it has sunk less than 18 inches down in water.

If the object disappears from view in less than 12 inches, that is a big warning that fish kill is possible because the algal bloom is getting too thick, he said.

The first reaction of most pond owners with an algae problem is to use an herbicide to kill the algae, Beem said, but this seldom provides good long-term results. The most effective method for reducing the growth of algae is to starve it of nutrients and light. Algae rapidly repopulates when nutrient and light levels are high.

To reduce nutrient runoff to a pond, homeowners and commercial lawn care professionals should stop using fertilizers that contain phosphorous or apply only the amount of phosphorous and nitrogen needed. Soil tests available at county Extension offices tell homeowners the amount of fertilizer required to meet the needs of a lawn.

Beem said pond owners shouldnt worry too much about algae because a healthy population of it is essential in a pond to produce oxygen for fish. People should keep an eye out for their pond algae growing thicker.

If you see this happening, dont delay, he said. Work with your county Extension office immediately to come up with steps to take to correct the problem.

For more information on pond management, visit OSU Fact Sheets.
Michigan head football coach Jim Harbaugh further reiterated his stance on abortion rights, saying it needs further discussion and he would raise a child if one of his players or a family member had an unplanned pregnancy.

Harbaugh and his wife spoke at a Plymouth Right to Life event in Plymouth, Michigan last week and spoke again to ESPN when they caught up with him in Muskegon, Michigan.

"Let's discuss it," Harbaugh told ESPN.com. "I've told (them) the same thing I tell my kids, boys, the girls, same thing I tell our players, our staff members. I encourage them if they have a pregnancy that wasn't planned, to go through with it, go through with it. Let that unborn child be born, and if at that time, you don't feel like you can care for it, you don't have the means or the wherewithal, then Sarah and I will take that baby.

STAY UP-TO-DATE: Subscribe to our Sports newsletter now!

"Any player on our team, any female staff member or any staff member or anybody in our family or our extended family ... that doesn't feel like after they have a baby they can take care of it, we got a big house," Harbaugh added. "We'll raise that baby."

Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh at the Orange Bowl in December.

The right to abortion was struck down by the United States Supreme Court on June 24 after Roe v. Wade established it in a 1973 ruling.

Harbaugh was asked Tuesday at Big Ten media days about his decision to go public with his views.

"We need to talk about it. Its too big an issue to not give real serious consideration to," Harbaugh said. "What kind of person would you be if you didnt stand up for what you believe in and didnt fight tooth and nail for it?

"I believe in letting the unborn be born."

Michigan coach Jim Harbaughs view on abortion, Let the unborn be born. pic.twitter.com/RTabkn9oce  Geno Green (@GenoGreenSports) July 26, 2022

Despite the federal ruling, abortion is still legal in Michigan, but the state's governor, Gretchen Whitmer, has filed a lawsuit aiming to repeal a 1931 law that bans the practice, unless it is done to save the pregnant woman's life. Whitmer says the ban violates the state's Equal Protection Clause.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jim Harbaugh on abortion: Michigan coach would 'raise' a player's baby
An oil tanker arrives in Zhoushan, China. (Photo by Yao Feng/VCG via Getty Images)

China's biggest oil refiner has cut its purchases of Russian crude, according to Reuters.

India among other buyers outbid China as countries compete for cheap Russian energy.

"Sinopec may only lift a very small amount as their bids were too low for the Russians," sources told Reuters.

Asia's biggest oil refiner has slashed its purchases of Russian crude this month as it was unwilling to pay higher prices other buyers elsewhere, were offering, Reuters reported.

China-based Sinopec has been the largest buyer of ESPO, a type of Russian crude, in the past two months, acquiring about 20 million barrels. But in July, the company is expected to snap up fewer cargoes after offering lower bids to Russian exporters.

"Sinopec may only lift a very small amount as their bids were too low for the Russians," a trade source told Reuters.

Sinopec bid for Russian crude at $20 a barrel below the price of the Middle East benchmark price for July cargoes, according to the outlet. Dubai-based trader Coral Energy, state-owned companies CNOOC, PetroChina and Shandong Port International Trade, however, outbid Sinopec for this month's shipments.

Russian ESPO crude is also expected to head to India, which was rarely the case in the past due to long journey times, as buyers there snap up cheaper crude. Earlier this month, four tankers carrying almost 3 million barrels of oil were heading to India, up from three in June, as refiners there buy up alternatives to grades from the Persian Gulf and West Africa.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine, China and India have ramped up their purchases of Russian energy at discounted prices. Meanwhile, Russia has been reeling in handsome profits from its sales in which it made $24 billion in just three months to the end of May from selling energy to the two countries.

But with demand from China dropping, those profits could take a hit. According to new data, China's purchases of Russia oil dropped 14% from May as COVID lockdowns hit the economy again.

The drop-off in Chinese oil purchases raises the issue of whether Russia's economy can successfully find Asian buyers to replace barrels that no longer ship to Europe.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Product Enhancements Designed to Deliver Effortless Painting Experiences

MONTVALE, NJ, July 26, 2022 /CNW/ - Benjamin Moore, North America's favourite paint, colour, and coatings brand, has reintroduced its ben Interior paint with an enhanced formula that delivers effortless painting experiences for residential painting contractors and DIYers alike.

BENJAMIN MOORE INTRODUCES ENHANCED BEN INTERIOR PAINT (CNW Group/Benjamin Moore)

The new ben Interior enables maximum ease of application and is easy to touch up and maintain, for a user-friendly painting experience with flawless premium results. The low-odour, zero-VOC formula provides improved scuff-resistance in every sheen and hides existing paint colour in fewer coats.

"The enhancements to ben Interior were developed with paint professionals and homeowners that aspire to a higher level of quality in premium paint in mind," said Alyssa Scagnelli, Senior Product Marketing Manager for Benjamin Moore. "The proprietary technologies in the new formula ensure superior coverage with lasting results, encouraging both confidence and efficiency for painters at any skill-level."

To aid in the colour selection process, Benjamin Moore recently introduced an updated digital colour experience, making searching and selecting from its 3,500+ colours seamless. New enhancements allow users to search all colours, visualize how each appears in different lighting and more. After selecting their top choices, users can take advantage of paint colour samples to test their selections before committing, alleviating the stress of choosing a colour and giving way to a focus on the power a fresh coat of paint will bring.

Now available in Matte and Satin/Pearl, in addition to Eggshell and Semi-Gloss finishes, ben Interior can be tinted in 3,500+ Benjamin Moore colours and is available exclusively at Benjamin Moore retailers throughout the US, Canada and international distributors. To learn more or to locate a retailer near you, visit benjaminmoore.com.

About Benjamin Moore

Founded in 1883, Benjamin Moore is North America's favourite paint, colour and coatings brand. A leading manufacturer of premium quality residential and commercial coatings, Benjamin Moore maintains a relentless commitment to innovation and sustainable manufacturing practices. The portfolio spans the brand's flagship paint lines including AURA, Regal Select, Ultra Spec, ben, ADVANCE, ARBORCOAT and more. Benjamin Moore is renowned for its expansive color collection of more than 3,500 colors, and its design tools for consumers and professionals alike, including the Benjamin Moore Color Portfolio app. Benjamin Moore paints are available exclusively from 7,500 locally owned and operated paint, decorating and hardware retailers throughout the United States and Canada as well as 75 countries globally.

Story continues

Benjamin Moore Logo (CNW Group/Benjamin Moore)

SOURCE Benjamin Moore

Cision

View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/July2022/26/c1820.html
FILE PHOTO: The logo of SK Innovation is seen in front of its headquarters in Seoul

WASHINGTON/SEOUL (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden will meet virtually on Tuesday with the chairman of South Korean conglomerate SK Group to discuss the company's investments in American manufacturing and jobs, the White House said.

The meeting is scheduled for 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT) and U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo will attend, the White House said.

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won last year said the conglomerate, South Korea's second-largest after Samsung, planned to invest about $52 billion in the United States through 2030.

A Seoul-based spokesperson for SK Group did not have an immediate comment.

(Reporting by Eric Beech and Joyce Lee in Seoul; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
This article is adapted from CoinDesk Brasil, a partnership between CoinDesk and InfoMoney, one of Brazil's leading financial news publications. Follow CoinDesk Brasil on Twitter.

Nubank, the largest Brazilian digital bank by market value, reached 1 million users on its crypto trading platform just one month after launching in June, the company said on Tuesday.

The company had hoped to reach the milestone within a year, after launching Nucripto in May and making it available to its 46.5 million users in June.

The platform allows users to buy and sell bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) through a crypto-trading and custody service provided by Paxos blockchain infrastructure.

In May, the company announced it was allocating roughly 1% of the cash on its balance sheet to bitcoin to demonstrate its belief in the cryptocurrency.

Read more: Why Brazil Is the Big Latin American Bet for Global Crypto Exchanges

Nubank has, in eliminating complexity, a value proposition that permeates all our products. With crypto activities, this becomes even more relevant due to the fact that it is a market with complex systems that make it difficult for people interested in taking their first steps to join, Thomaz Fortes, leader of Nubank's crypto area, said in a statement.

On Monday, the Mexico-based crypto exchange Bitso also announced it had reached 1 million users in Brazil, a market where it competes with leading local exchange Mercado Bitcoin, which has more than 5 million users in the South American country.

Nubank is also targeting the tokenization market, Nubank CEO David Velez told Brazilian media outlet NeoFeed on Tuesday, without disclosing further details.

Last week, Itau Unibanco, Brazil's largest private bank, said that it plans to launch an asset tokenization platform that transforms traditional finance products into tokens.

Read more: Why Brazilians Are Turning to Stablecoins Like Tether

Other major fintech players have also entered the crypto sector recently. In July, the Brazilian fintech PicPay, which has more than 30 million active users, announced it plans to launch a crypto exchange and a Brazilian real-tied stablecoin in 2022.

And in December, Mercado Libre, Latin Americas largest e-commerce company by market value, started allowing users in Brazil to buy, sell and hold cryptocurrencies.

This article was translated by Andres Engler and edited by CoinDesk. The original Portuguese can be found here.
Benchmark reveals transparency as a proxy for better outcomes

TORONTO, July 26, 2022--(BUSINESS WIRE)--CPP Investments has topped the list of the most transparent funds according to the Global Pension Transparency Benchmark, which has revealed the scores of the 75 underlying funds from 15 countries for the first time.

The Global Pension Transparency Benchmark (GPTB), a collaboration between Top1000funds.com and CEM Benchmarking, is a world first global benchmark measuring transparency of pension disclosure, bringing a focus to transparency in a bid to improve pension outcomes for members.

The GPTB, launched in February 2021, measures the transparency of disclosures of 15 pension systems across the value generating measures of cost, governance, performance and responsible investing.

It ranks countries on public disclosures of key value generation elements for the five largest pension fund organisations within each country. While the country rankings are now in their second year, the scores of the underlying funds have been revealed for the first time.

CPP Investments emerged with the best score overall and also the best score for governance disclosures. Three Canadian funds featured in the top five of the best overall funds. Canada also topped the country list in 2022 for the second year in a row.

The Dutch fund, Stichting Pensioenfonds Zorg en Welzijn (PFZW), topped the list for cost; CalPERS for performance; and Swedens AP4 was the best fund for transparency of disclosures related to responsible investing.

Head, Business Development at CEM Benchmarking, Mike Heale, says "Transparency is the right thing to do and the smart thing to do. Congratulations to the top-ranking funds on the GPTB for leading the way on transparency and communication quality."

Amanda White, editor of Top1000funds.com, said revealing the scores of the underlying funds emphasised the importance of clarity and openness in pension fund disclosures.

Story continues

"Through the benchmark we offer a standard for global pension systems and funds to aspire to. We think transparency of these factors  cost, governance, performance and responsible investing - is important to drive improvement of outcomes for pension funds around the world."

The Global Pension Transparency Benchmark is a world first global standard for pension disclosure, bringing a focus to transparency in a bid to improve pension outcomes for members.

Revealing the underlying fund scores aims to focus on best practice and encourage improvement on transparency of disclosures.

This new benchmark reframes the narrative away from a narrow and negative focus on costs to a more holistic and positive concept of transparency and include value generation, governance and strategy, and sustainability.

For the results  for both country and funds  click here.

The Global Pension Transparency Benchmark advisory board:

Keith Ambachtsheer, president, KPA Advisory Services; co-founder and board member, CEM

David Atkin, chief executive, PRI

Lorelei Graye, founder, Adopting Data Standards

Angelique Laskewitz, director, Association of Investors for Sustainable Development

Neil Murphy, vice-president, communications, Investment Management Corporation of Ontario

About CEM Benchmarking (CEM)

CEM Benchmarking is the leading, independent provider of cost and performance benchmarking information for fiduciaries and managers of asset pools: defined benefit, defined contribution, sovereign wealth, and other managed assets worldwide. CEM is deeply committed to helping clients, whether directly or through advisors/consultants, run cost-effective operations that generate value for their stakeholders. With vast industry knowledge and a robust database spanning 30 years and $11+ trillion in AUM, CEM helps more than half of the worlds top 300 pension schemes understand and manage their costs and performance. CEM also facilitates better pension outcomes by both sharing cutting edge research derived from its proprietary databases and hosting annual conferences.

About www.top1000funds.com

Top1000funds.com is the market leading news and analysis site for the worlds largest institutional investors. It focuses on leading the global investment industry to continuous improvement through case studies of best practice in governance and decision making, portfolio construction and efficient portfolio management, fees and costs, and sustainable investing.

The publication pushes the industry to question whether status quo processes and behaviours to tackle risks and opportunities will be sufficient in the future, and actively campaigns for diversity, sustainability, transparency, innovation and better alignment of fees in the investment industry.

Top1000funds.com is read by investment professionals in more than 40 countries.

Related Links:

Home: https://global-pension-transparency-benchmark.top1000funds.com/

Funds Scores: https://global-pension-transparency-benchmark.top1000funds.com/global-pension-transparency-benchmark-funds-2022/

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220726005108/en/

Contacts



Mike Heale, CEM Benchmarking, mike@cembenchmarking.com +1 416 369 0468

Amanda White, editor, www.top1000funds.com +61 417 462 837
(Bloomberg) -- Chinese battery maker Gotion High-Tech Co. raised $685 million after pricing its global depositary receipts in Switzerland at the bottom of a marketed range, as Chinese firms rush to take advantage of the expanded stock connect program.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The company sold 22.8 million GDRs at $30 each, according to a press release, confirming an earlier Bloomberg News report. They were marketed between $30 and $30.28 each. Each GDR represents five of the companys A-shares.

The GDRs were priced at about a 3.6% discount to the closing price of Gotions A-shares on Monday, according to Bloomberg calculations. The companys shares in Shenzhen rose as much as 3% on Tuesday, their largest increase in nearly two weeks, giving the company a market value of about $10.5 billion.

The offering is the largest so far among the four China-listed companies that have been rushing to sell shares in Zurich this week. The listings follow the recent widening of the companies and venues eligible for the Shanghai-London Stock Connect, which makes it easier for firms registered on one exchange to offer depository receipts on the other.

Building materials manufacturer Keda Industrial Group Co. and Ningbo Shanshan Co., a maker of lithium battery products, raised $173 million and $319 million, respectively, while battery maker Gem Co. may raise as much as $245 million. The four companies are slated to start trading in Zurich on July 28.

Founded in 2006, Gotion makes batteries for electric vehicles and has research centers in China, Singapore, the US, Germany and Japan, according to its website. Volkswagen AG became its largest shareholder in 2020 with a 1.1 billion euro ($1.1 billion) deal.

Story continues

Gotion planned to raise as much as $1.6 billion from the GDR sale, Bloomberg News reported in April.

China International Capital Corp. and Haitong International Securities Group Ltd. are joint global coordinators in Gotions GDR sale.

(Updates with confirmation of GDR sale details throughout.)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2022 Bloomberg L.P.
By Trend

Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) plans to launch more satellites in 2022, Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the IRGC Aerospace Force, announced Sunday, Trend reports citing Xinhua.

"We will put new satellites in orbit with the Qaem satellite carrier this year," Hajizadeh was quoted by official IRNA news agency as saying.

He made the remarks on the sidelines of a gathering of the IRGC commanders in the capital Tehran.

In March, the IRGC's Aerospace Force successfully launched the Noor-2 reconnaissance satellite at an altitude of 500 km, using the Qased carrier.
Canadian National Railway

MONTREAL, July 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CN (TSX: CNR) (NYSE: CNI) announced today that its Board of Directors has approved a third-quarter 2022 dividend on the Companys common shares outstanding. A quarterly dividend of seventy-three and a quarter cents (C$0.7325) per common share will be paid on September 29, 2022, to shareholders of record at the close of business on September 8, 2022.



About CN

CN is a world-class transportation leader and trade-enabler. Essential to the economy, to the customers, and to the communities it serves, CN safely transports more than 300 million tons of natural resources, manufactured products, and finished goods throughout North America every year. As the only railroad connecting Canadas Eastern and Western coasts with the U.S. South through a 18,600-mile rail network, CN and its affiliates have been contributing to community prosperity and sustainable trade since 1919. CN is committed to programs supporting social responsibility and environmental stewardship.

Contacts:



Media Investment Community Jonathan Abecassis Paul Butcher Senior Manager Vice-President Media Relations Investor Relations (438) 455-3692

media@cn.ca (514) 399-0052

investor.relations@cn.ca




Additionally, nearly 100 small businesses owned by women and people of color in Philadelphia to receive technology makeover and marketing services from Comcast RISE

$2 Million in Grants and more than 700 Service Packages Awarded in Philadelphia Through Comcast RISE to Date

TREVOSE, Pa., July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Comcast today announced it will award an additional $1 million in total grants to more than 100 Philadelphia small businesses owned by women and people of color, including Black, Indigenous, Hispanic, and Asian American owners, as well as technology and marketing resources to nearly 100 businesses in the city through Comcast RISE. This is in addition to $1 million in grants that were awarded to 100 small businesses located in Philadelphia or Chester, PA, in 2021, and part of more than 700 total entrepreneurs in Philadelphia - 9,500 nationwide - who have been awarded service packages to date.

Comcast RISE

Comcast RISE and the Comcast RISE Investment Fund initially launched in 2020 as a response to help small business owners of color who were hardest hit by the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. In November 2021, Comcast announced a major expansion to eligibility, enabling all women-owned small businesses nationwide to apply. This expansion built on the program's success and aims to help address the persistent inequities women continue to face in accessing the resources and funding that are critical to success.

The following Philadelphia businesses have been selected to receive RISE Investment Fund grants:

Lobo Mau Designs LLC

A Mazin Print and Designs

Pretzel Workz

FOUNTAIN MEDICAL ASSOCIATES PC

Wild Hand LLC

Double Tree Market

Royal Zarasa LLC

Healthy Meals By Anna LLC

RC BARGAIN INC

Monica Fauble

Karisma D llc

CURE Spa LLC

Giggles Gifts Inc

Royal K Boutique llc

Streetside LLC

El Taco LLC

Ancient Healing Teas

Mariel Freeman Yoga Inc

Ramona Susans Bake Shop LLC

Network Home Care Agency

Shine Bright Cleaning Service LLC

Caphe Roasters LLC

Creations By Sabor Boricua

SunRose Productions LLC

Jackson Cor

The Ivy Eternal Enterprise

CK2 Financials LLC

Transfiguration Hair Studio LLC

4 Feet Inc

Lauren Thomsen Design Architecture and Planning LLC

Scout Urban LLC

ZoomDance LLC

Omega Optical Inc

Mount Airy Violins and Bows LLC

QBS Tax Services LLC

WEBCO Construction LLC

Minced Moose LLC

Showcase Venue

Really Reel Ginger

Alexander Perry Inc

LoyalTee Hair Inc

Gibson Music and Arts LLC

Lily Of The Valley Cupcakery

DHEx Enterprises LLC

Phylicia L Henry LLC

Pentridge Station Popup LLC

Walkfinity LLC

The Tiny Jeweler LLC

Pet Parent Allies LLC

AuRevoir Travel INC

Learned Potential

The Nest Recording Studio LLC

Stand Up Enterprises Inc

Anderson Law Group LLC

Helm Creative Studio LLC

Exalted Beauty LLC

Flawwlezz Standards LLC

Seiko88northernliberties LLC

Z and Z Distributors

Grant Blvd

JRS ELECTRIC

STEELEWORKS

Tattoo Threadz

Lamar Solo Inc

Justin Pizza Inc

Agyei Business Services Inc

Bodyrock Bootcamp LLC

Nathalie The Business Doctor

Soie by C Dior Hair LLC

Katie K May LLC

Pixel Parlor LLC

The O Insurance Group LLC

Side Technology Inc

Fairmount Bicycles Co

Enspire Consulting Group LLC

XIAN SIZZLING WOKS LLC

Style By Blain LLC

FUXION INC

Los Potrillos Restaurant Inc

Good form aesthetics

The GrandRoom Cafe

Triple Bottom Brewing Company LLC

TAP Gaming LLC

Laundrymaidz

Attic Brewing Company

Esteem Girls STEM Academy LLC

AMK Enterprises

Daddy Universe City Inc

Colston Williams Financial Group Llc

A Place Like Home II Adult Day Center

Dooleys Landscaping and Tree Care Services LLC

Ocean Ring Technologies LLC

Beyfilmz Media LLC

4706 08 Baltimore Avenue Inc

Parada Maimon Restaurant Inc

Healing Circle Body Mind LLC

Pain Away of Philly Inc

Solomon and Associates LLC

Brilliant Minds LLC

MR Deer S X INC

Story continues

"I am excited and grateful to be a Comcast RISE Investment Fund grantee. Stem education is my passion, more specifically bridging the gap of enrollment in STEM fields by using an integrative hands-on learning approach for early learners," said Renee Harris, Stem Prep Academy. The last couple of years have been unsettling with the pandemic. The Comcast RISE Investment Fund grant will go directly to Stem Prep Academy's payroll to pay the staff who have been working so hard in support of our mission to expose early learners to STEM education."

David Bey, Beyfilmz Media said, "I was excited to get the phone call that I was selected for the Comcast RISE Investment Fund. It's been tough to grow my business in these times and this additional investment will help. As a small business owner, I'm a one-man band  handling all of the administrative duties, answering phone calls and emails, as well as shooting, editing and production work. Thanks to this grant, I plan to hire virtual assistants to help me with day-to-day administrative tasks so I can focus on my work, as well as dedicate resources toward marketing to help reach more clients."

"As we continue to rebuild from the effects of the pandemic, small businesses still need our support. They are the backbone of our local communities, and we must take every opportunity to help them not only survive, but to thrive," said Dennis Mathew, Comcast Regional Senior Vice President. "When we launched Comcast RISE in 2020, we knew a profound need existed in the communities we serve. Two and a half years later, we have seen firsthand how the resources from Comcast RISE benefit small businesses."

To date, Comcast RISE has awarded more than $16 million in grants and $75 million in in-kind support for marketing and technology services, impacting more than 9,500 entrepreneurs in 704 cities across 37 states. By the end of 2022, 13,000 businesses across the country are expected to benefit from the Comcast RISE initiative, either through the grant program or from the resources provided through Effectv, the advertising division of Comcast Cable, and Comcast Business. In addition to the financial and business support services provided, a key part of the program is ensuring the long-term sustainability of businesses. To help address this, Comcast invests in and partners with organizations such as Ureeka to provide ongoing mentorship and resources to help small businesses succeed over the long term.

Comcast RISE stands for Representation, Investment, Strength, and Empowerment and is part of Project UP, the company's comprehensive initiative to advance digital equity and help build a future of unlimited possibilities.

More information and the applications to apply for either the grant program or marketing and technology services are available at www.ComcastRISE.com.

About Comcast Corporation

Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA) is a global media and technology company that connects people to moments that matter. We are principally focused on connectivity, aggregation, and streaming with 57 million customer relationships across the United States and Europe. We deliver broadband, wireless, and video through our Xfinity, Comcast Business, and Sky brands; create, distribute, and stream leading entertainment, sports, and news through Universal Filmed Entertainment Group, Universal Studio Group, Sky Studios, the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks, multiple cable networks, Peacock, NBCUniversal News Group, NBC Sports, Sky News, and Sky Sports; and provide memorable experiences at Universal Parks and Resorts in the United States and Asia. Visit www.comcastcorporation.com for more information.

About Comcast Business

Comcast Business offers a suite of Connectivity, Communications, Networking, Cybersecurity, Wireless, and Managed Solutions to help organizations of different sizes prepare for what's next. Powered by the nation's largest Gig-speed broadband network, and backed by 24/7 customer support, Comcast Business is the nation's largest cable provider to small and mid-size businesses and one of the leading service providers to the Enterprise market. Comcast Business has been consistently recognized by industry analysts and associations as a leader and innovator, and one of the fastest growing providers of Ethernet services. For more information, call 866-429-3085. Follow on Twitter @ComcastBusiness and on other social media networks at http://business.comcast.com/social.

About Effectv

Effectv, the advertising sales division of Comcast Cable, helps local, regional and national advertisers use the best of digital with the power of TV to grow their business. It provides multi-screen marketing solutions to make advertising campaigns more effective and easier to execute. Headquartered in New York with offices throughout the country, Effectv has a presence in 66 markets with nearly 35 million owned and represented subscribers. For more information, visit www.effectv.com.

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/comcast-rise-national-initiative-to-support-small-businesses-awards-another-100-philadelphians-with-10-000-grants-301593198.html

SOURCE Comcast NBCUniversal
SINGAPORE, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Tonik announced today that Tomasz Borowski is joining the leadership team as Group Chief Operations Officer (COO). Most recently the Co-Founder and CEO of Asian fintech credit management leader FLOW, Tomasz was instrumental in overseeing FLOW's rollout across three markets in Southeast Asia, as well as its achievement of profitability prior to Series B, the first such feat by any fintech in the region. With operations in Vietnam, Indonesia, and India, FLOW has redefined debt collection in Southeast Asia by using AI technologies, ethical practices, and data-driven insights.

Tomasz brings to Tonik ca. 20 years of experience in consumer finance, primarily focused on building efficient operations. Prior to coming to Asia to build FLOW, Borowski gained extensive experience in Consumer Finance across Emerging Europe, at market-leading institutions such as GE Capital, Raifessen Bank, and Platinum Bank. His knowledge of world-class standards and technologies in achieving high levels of efficiency in consumer finance will help Tonik bring its operational excellence to a new level.

"Tomasz is a seasoned global leader in consumer banking and fintech industry, especially in scaling up new businesses in emerging markets. Having worked with him previously in different ventures, over the years, I am convinced that his arrival comes at the perfect time as we gear up for increasing our operational efficiency in the latter half of 2022," says Tonik Founder and CEO Greg Krasnov.

"Tonik's game-changing entry marked a shift towards digital banking as the easier, faster, and preferred way forward in driving financial inclusion in the Philippines. As a seed-stage angel investor in Tonik, I have followed its journey very closely, and believe that my expertise comes at the right moment to help Tonik scale. It is also a perfect time for me to make a transition to a non-executive role at FLOW, which has recently achieved profitability, and is now ready to move forward under new daily leadership. I am excited to be a part of Tonik's trailblazing journey, applying the best operational practices from all over the world as we continue to revolutionize the way money works across the region," shares Borowski.

Story continues

As a Group COO, Tomasz will be based in Singapore and employed by Tonik's holding company Tonik Financial Pte Ltd, while working closely with the Operations team of Tonik Digital Bank Inc, Tonik's regulated bank subsidiary in the Philippines.

Learn more about this story at https://tonikbank.com/.

About Tonik

Tonik is the first digital-only neobank in the Philippines, providing loan, deposit and payment products to consumers on a highly secure digital banking platform. The neobank operates on the basis of the first digital bank license issued by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). Tonik is led by a team of retail finance veterans who have previously built and scaled multiple retail banks and fintechs across global emerging markets. It is backed by top international investors, including Sequoia India, Point72 Ventures, and Mizuho Bank. Tonik's tech stack is integrated in partnership with world-class banktech vendors including Mastercard, Finastra, Amazon Web Services, Google and Daon. Tonik operates out of hubs in Singapore (HQ), Manila, and Chennai.

SOURCE tonik
NEW YORK, July 26, 2022--(BUSINESS WIRE)--IFF (NYSE: IFF) today announced that Deborah Borg will join the Company as Executive Vice President, Chief Human Resources and Diversity & Inclusion Officer, effective August 29, 2022. Peter Sommerscurrently Interim Chief Human Resources Officerwill resume the position of VP, Global People Services and support Borg for a seamless transition.

Borg joins IFF from Bunge Limited, where she served as Chief Human Resources and Communications Officer since 2016. In that role, she was responsible for its people, culture, communications strategy and operations for the companys 25,000-employee global Agribusiness and Food organizations. Prior to joining Bunge, she served in a variety of leadership and HR roles in Australia, Switzerland and the U.S. for Dow Chemical, where she helmed multiple successful employee engagement, M&A integration and talent capability initiatives. As president of Dow USA, she was responsible for overall business performance, regional business strategy, new business development, and external relationships with customers, government organizations and joint-venture partners.

"I am thrilled to have Deb join our leadership team," said Frank Clyburn, CEO, IFF. "With her deep experience connecting HR, culture, employee engagement and business strategy and outcomesas well as her change-management expertiseshe has the right skillset for IFF and our people, as we strengthen our execution-driven culture. She brings an extensive track record of building world-class talent and a long-standing commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Her clear passion, fresh perspective and people-first philosophy will make her a welcome new strategic partner in our executive committee."

Borg holds a Bachelor of Business Management in Human Resources and a masters in training and change management, both from Victoria University, Melbourne Australia. She has served as a non-executive director on the board of SWM International (NYSE: SWM) since 2019. She will be based in IFFs New York headquarters.

"I offer my sincerest thanks to Pete for stepping in during this search," Clyburn said. His strong and steady leadershipcombined with outstanding institutional knowledgeprovided the ballast for a smooth transition and helped us roll out leading-edge initiatives that benefit all IFFers. I look forward to his continued leadership and his invaluable contributions to come at IFF."

Welcome to IFF

At IFF (NYSE: IFF), an industry leader in food, beverage, scent, health and biosciences, science and creativity meet to create essential solutions for a better world  from global icons to unexpected innovations and experiences. With the beauty of art and the precision of science, we are an international collective of thinkers who partners with customers to bring scents, tastes, experiences, ingredients and solutions for products the world craves. Together, we will do more good for people and planet. Learn more at iff.com, Twitter , Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

 2022 by International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. IFF is a Registered Trademark. All Rights Reserved.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220726005992/en/

Contacts

Michael DeVeau

Chief Investor Relations & Communications Officer

212.708.7164

Michael.DeVeau@iff.com
GRANBURY, Texas, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- In what will be his first full year as a real estate agent, Eric Wilkins has achieved exceptional results in the industry already: more than $13 million in sales in the first two quarters of 2022. Notably, this has been accomplished in a market that has been extraordinarily competitive, requiring skills and instincts to negotiate multiple offers, bidding wars and contract anomalies beyond the norm.

Eric Wilkins

Part of the top luxury brokerage in the Dallas-Fort Worth region, Briggs Freeman Sotheby's International Realty, Wilkins brings his professional experience as a marketer to every real estate client, whether they are selling or buying. As the former creative director at a large, multisite church and the current owner of a successful digital marketing agency, Wilkins knows consumer behavior, technology and trends  and blends it all in his real estate career, whether marketing a seller's property to its fullest using the industry's most advanced tools or seeking the perfect place for his buyers.

In 2022, Wilkins has sold a range of properties, from a 1900s Victorian house near historic Granbury Square to sprawling luxury homes in sought-after neighborhoods. Wilkins' immediate real estate success is a testament to his innate ability to connect people to the ideal solutions and experiences for them.

The first person in his family to graduate from a four-year university  he earned a bachelor's degree from Tarleton State University  Wilkins was born in Dallas and lives in Granbury with his wife and five children. He is on the board of directors of the Granbury Chamber of Commerce, is a board member of the Lake Granbury Medical Center and is on the Career and Technical Education (CTE) advisory committee of Granbury High School. He is also a musician at The Bridge church in Granbury.

For Wilkins, the opportunity to help people with a significant part of their lives is one of the most rewarding jobs anyone can have. "The purchase or sale of a property often signifies a new shift in life," he says. "Whether it's moving to a new location or moving from one, it's an opportunity for a fresh start." That is why Wilkins does what he does. He has learned, he says, "that new beginnings are often the catalyst to hopes and dreams becoming realities."

Story continues

Wilkins is based in the Fort Worth office of Briggs Freeman Sotheby's International Realty. Contact him at 214-991-8180 or ewilkins@briggsfreeman.com. His current listings, sold listings and biography are at briggsfreeman.com.

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/eric-wilkins-north-texas-real-estate-agent-with-unique-marketing-background-achieves-outstanding-sales-in-first-year-in-career-301592577.html

SOURCE Briggs Freeman Sotheby's International Realty
NEW YORK, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Daily exposure to a class of chemicals used in the production of many household items may lead to cancer, thyroid disease, and childhood obesity, a new study shows. The resulting economic burden is estimated to cost Americans a minimum of $5.5 billion and as much as $63 billion over the lifetime of the current population.

(PRNewsfoto/NYU School of Medicine)

The new work revolves around per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a group of over 4,700 manmade chemicals that experts have detected for decades in the blood of millions of people. The chemicals are used, for example, in the production of water- and oil-resistant clothing, electronics, and nonstick cookware, and people are thought to ingest them as food comes into contact with packaging. The substances are believed to disrupt the function of hormones, signaling compounds that influence many bodily processes.

Led by researchers at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, the new study in roughly 5,000 Americans identified 13 medical conditions that may result from PFAS exposure, such as infertility, diabetes, and endometriosis, a painful disorder of the uterus. Together, the diseases generate medical bills and reduce worker productivity across a lifetime to create the costs measured by the study, say the study authors.

"Our findings add to the substantial and still-mounting body of evidence suggesting that exposure to PFAS is harming our health and undermining the economy," says study co-author Linda Kahn, PhD, MPH, an assistant professor in the Departments of Pediatrics and Population Health at NYU Langone Health.

Previous investigations have quantified the medical burden and financial costs of low birth weight due to PFAS exposure. However, the new study, publishing online July 26 in the journal Exposure and Health, incorporates a much broader range of health consequences across the lifespan, says Kahn.

For the investigation, the researchers determined how many Americans were likely exposed to PFAS chemicals in 2018 using blood samples obtained from adults and children who participated in the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Next, the study team analyzed data from dozens of studies in the past decade that explored diseases connected to the substances.

Story continues

The research team used models from earlier investigations to estimate the national economic cost of the medical bills and lost worker productivity that resulted from the top five medical conditions that had the strongest links to PFAS exposure. These included low birth weight, childhood obesity, kidney and testicular cancers, and hypothyroidism.

Among the findings, the investigation revealed that childhood obesity was the largest contributor to the overall economic toll of PFAS exposure, costing about $2.7 billion. Hypothyroidism in women, a condition in which the thyroid cannot release enough hormones into the bloodstream, was the next highest contributor at $1.26 billion.

The study investigators also expanded the scope of their economic estimates to include eight other conditions with preliminary links to PFAS exposure, including endometriosis, obesity in adults, and pneumonia in children. When such diseases were considered, the total costs reached as high as $63 billion.

"Our results strongly support the recent decision by the Environmental Protection Agency to lower the safe allowable level of these substances in water," says study senior author Leonardo Trasande, MD, MPP. "Based on our estimates, the cost of eradicating contamination and replacing this class of chemical with safer alternatives is ultimately justified when considering the tremendous economic and medical risks of allowing them to persist in the environment."

Trasande, the Jim G. Hendrick MD Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at NYU Langone, cautions that despite the vast research on the health risks of PFAS, few studies have explored the effects of this exposure over time.

The research team next plans to examine the long-term risks of PFAS, adds Trasande, who also serves as director of NYU Langone's Center for the Investigation of Environmental Hazards. In addition, the study authors plan to estimate the economic burden of other endocrine-disrupting contaminants, such as bisphenols, substances used in many plastics and can linings, fire retardants, and pesticides. Trasande is also a professor in NYU Langone's Department of Population Health.

Funding for the study was provided by National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences grants P30ES000260, P2CES033423, and K99/R00ES030403.

Trasande has received financial support from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Audible, Paidos, and Kobunsha, as well as travel support from the Endocrine Society, the World Health Organization, United Nations Environment Programme, Japan Environment and Health Ministries, and the American Academy of Pediatrics. He also serves on scientific advisory boards for Beautycounter, IS-Global, and Footprint. The terms and conditions of these arrangements are being managed in accordance with the policies of NYU Langone Health.

In addition to Kahn and Trasande, Vladislav Obsekov, MD, at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, served as the study's first author.

Media Inquiries:

Shira Polan

Phone: 212-404-4279

shira.polan@nyulangone.org

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/exposure-to-forever-chemicals-costs-us-billions-in-health-costs-301592084.html

SOURCE NYU Langone Health
Galantas Gold Corporation

TORONTO, July 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Galantas Gold Corporation (TSX-V & AIM: GAL; OTCQX: GALKF) (Galantas or the Company) announces that it has entered into a further loan agreement (Loan Agreement) for US$530,000 (the Loan) with Ocean Partners UK Ltd. (Ocean or the Lender). The Loan is to be used to fund the development of the underground mining operations at the Omagh Gold Project in Northern Ireland and working capital.



The Loan is repayable six months from the date of closing of the issue of the Loan (the Closing) and will bear interest at an annual rate of 12% compounded monthly and repayable in full on maturity of the Loan.

As consideration for providing the Loan, Ocean will receive, upon the Closing, 125,000 warrants of Galantas (the Bonus Warrants), subject to acceptance by the TSX Venture Exchange.

On Closing, each Bonus Warrant will be exercisable into one common share of Galantas for a period of 12 months. The exercise price will be determined by reference to the closing price of the Companys common shares on the TSX Venture Exchange on July 26, 2022.

In connection with the Loan Agreement, Galantas will also pay Ocean a commitment fee of US$10,000 which will be deducted from the initial proceeds of the Loan. Galantas may, at its option extend the Loan for a further six months by paying Ocean an additional structuring fee of US$20,000.

The above terms are subject to TSX Venture Exchange approval under the TSXV Policy 5.1  Loans, Loan Bonuses, Finders Fees and Commissions.

The Company also confirms that it exercised its option to extend the US$1.06 million loan entered into with Ocean on January 31, 2022 (see announcement on January 25, 2022) for a further six months, to January 31, 2023, by paying Ocean an additional structuring fee of US$40,000 in accordance with the terms of that loan.

Mario Stifano, CEO of Galantas, commented: I want to thank Ocean Partners for their continued support of Galantas as we enter the next phase of growth as a gold producer while also continuing to explore to expand our high-grade resources.

Story continues

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.

The information contained within this announcement is deemed to constitute inside information as stipulated under the retained EU law version of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014 (the "UK MAR") which is part of UK law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. The information is disclosed in accordance with the Company's obligations under Article 17 of the UK MAR. Upon the publication of this announcement, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

About Galantas Gold Corporation

Galantas Gold Corporation is a Canadian public company that trades on the TSX-Venture Exchange and the London Stock Exchange AIM market, both under the symbol GAL. It also trades on the OTCQX Exchange under the symbol GALKF. The Company's strategy is to create shareholder value by operating and expanding gold production and resources at the Omagh Project in Northern Ireland.

Enquiries

Galantas Gold Corporation

Mario Stifano: Chief Executive Officer

Email: info@galantas.com

Website: www.galantas.com

Telephone: +44(0)28 8224 1100

Grant Thornton UK LLP (AIM Nomad)

Philip Secrett, Harrison Clarke, George Grainger

Telephone: +44(0)20 7383 5100

Panmure Gordon & Co (AIM Joint Broker & Corporate Adviser)

Hugh Rich, John Prior

Telephone: +44(0)20 7886 2500

SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP (AIM Joint Broker)

David Hignell, Charlie Bouverat (Corporate Finance)

Grant Barker (Sales & Broking)

Telephone: +44(0)20 3470 0470

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and applicable Canadian securities laws, including the closing of the loan agreement, results of exploration programs, and mine development at the Omagh Gold Project. Forward-looking statements are based on estimates and assumptions made by Galantas in light of its experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors that Galantas believes are appropriate in the circumstances. Many factors could cause Galantas actual results, the performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward looking statements or strategy, including: gold price volatility; discrepancies between actual and estimated production, actual and estimated metallurgical recoveries and throughputs; mining operational risk, geological uncertainties; regulatory restrictions, including environmental regulatory restrictions and liability; risks of sovereign involvement; speculative nature of gold exploration; dilution; competition; loss of or availability of key employees; additional funding requirements; uncertainties regarding planning and other permitting issues; and defective title to mineral claims or property. These factors and others that could affect Galantas forward-looking statements are discussed in greater detail in the section entitled Risk Factors in Galantas Management Discussion & Analysis of the financial statements of Galantas and elsewhere in documents filed from time to time with the Canadian provincial securities regulators and other regulatory authorities. These factors should be considered carefully, and persons reviewing this press release should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Galantas has no intention and undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements in this press release, except as required by law.




Germany and the E.U. have been doing everything they can to reduce their reliance on Russian energy since the war in Ukraine began. And with Russia, once again, moving the goal posts this week, we could see the timeline of those plans accelerate substantially.

On Monday, Russias state-run gas giant, Gazprom, said it will cut deliveries of natural gas to Germany via the Nord Stream pipeline to about 20% of maximum capacity starting Wednesday morning.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that President Vladimir Putin is not interested in completely cutting gas deliveries to Europe, but added that if Europe continues its course of absolutely recklessly imposing sanctions and restrictionsthe situation may change, Bloomberg reported.

Russia has been transporting natural gas through the Nord Stream pipeline at about 40% capacity since the start of the summer, citing technical issues, and has curbed gas flows through other routes, including via Ukraine. Mondays natural gas cuts from Russia follow a 10-day maintenance period on the all-important Nord Stream pipeline that flows to Germany, which had Europeans worried a restart wouldnt come.

On July 11, Gazprom said that it was beginning maintenance due to technical issues, and declared force majeure, or the inability to complete its contractual obligations to buyers because of problems outside of its control.

The state-run gas giant said that Western sanctions prevented a critical turbine from being returned to operation on the Nord Stream 1 pipeline after its maintenance in Canada. The turbine is now stuck in Germany due to paperwork delays, the Russian newspaper Kommersant reported on Sunday, but Gazprom received documents from [hotlink]Siemens Energy[/hotlink] about the pipeline on Monday.

Gazprom said in a statement on Twitter that the documents werent sufficient to resolve ongoing issues with E.U. and U.K. sanctions that are preventing the turbine from reaching Russia.

Story continues

After studying the documents, Gazprom had to conclude that they do not eliminate the previously identified risks and give rise to additional questions, the company said.

Germanys economy minister, Robert Habeck, foresaw Russias gas cuts and pipeline complaints earlier this month, telling Deutschlandfunk radio that "based on the pattern we've seen, it would not be very surprising now if some small, technical detail is found and then they could say 'now we can't turn it on anymore."

Eric Heymann, a senior economist at Deutsche Bank, said much the same in a research note last week.

Announcements should probably be taken with some degree of skepticism since Russia could cite an official reason to interrupt or reduce gas supplies and/or blame the West for any disturbance, he wrote.

Deutsche Bank sees Russian gas making it to Germany at around 30% of Nord Streams maximum capacity moving forward, but noted further cuts could come.

At that level, gas prices should remain high, Heymann added.

Gazproms shipments to China, meanwhile, have hit record levels as it searches for new buyers amid Europes move towards energy self-sufficiency.

Germany and the E.U.s move away from Russian gas

In 2021, Russian natural gas accounted for more than a third of the E.U.s supplies and 55% of Germanys, according to Independent Commodity Intelligence Services (ICIS).

The blocs reliance on Russian energy has sparked an incredible rise in European natural gas prices since the war in Ukraine began and Russian supplies were curtailed. Dutch TTF gas futures are now up more than 600% in the past year alone.

In March, Germany said that it plans to cut its reliance on Russian energy to roughly 10% of its total capacity by mid-2024.

In recent weeks, we have made intensive efforts together with all relevant players to import fewer fossil fuels from Russia and to put supply on a broader footing, economy minister Habeck said. The first important milestones have been reached in order to free ourselves from the grip of Russian imports.

The E.U., in May, also laid out a five-year, $200 billion plan to end its dependency on Russian energy over the next five years. But last week the European Commission said that its time to rewrite the plan, and asked its 27 member states to voluntarily cut their gas use by 15% from August to March 2023.

Now, this most recent news has some arguing that Russian cut off energy supplies to Europe much sooner than that.

It puts stress on Europe for gas curtailments, Mauro Chavez Rodriguez, research director for European gas & LNG at Wood Mackenzie, told Bloomberg. If there are no effective gas and electricity demand savings implemented now there will be inevitable curtailments for industries in the case of a cold winter.

Russia has already cut natural gas supplies to a number of European nations, including Bulgaria, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, and Poland, due to their refusal to pay for gas in rubles. And E.U. officials noted on Monday that a full cutoff of Russian gas this winter could shrink the EUs gross domestic product by 0.6%.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
ReportLinker

during the forecast period. The market for feeding systems has a positive outlook at a global level due to the rising demand for feeding systems among farmers. The market is estimated to grow significantly over the next five years.

New York, July 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Feeding Systems Market by Type, Livestock, Offering, Technology, Function and Region - Global Forecast to 2027" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p04944748/?utm_source=GNW

North America and Europe contributed to a significant share of the overall feeding systems market. Asia Pacific is the fastest-growing market, among all the regions. Both developing and developed economies have favorable market potential for automated feeding due to an increase in herd size, continuous advancements in feeding systems, and real-time analysis of livestock.



The feeding systems market, based on function, has been segmented into into controlling, mixing, filling and screening, and other functions.



Controlling segment withing the function category to grow at the highest CAGR during thr forecast period.Controlling systems ensure that the farm owner sticks to on-time feeding of livestock for better growth and development.



These systems are the most critical part of the feeding system line as they control the entire process of automated feeding on the farm.Technological advancements have enabled the development of an all-in-one monitoring solution that monitors the behavior and whereabouts of each cow as well as the entire herd.



The software gives the most accurate and complete information about individual cows and groups fertility, health, well-being, location, and nutritional status.



The feeding systems market, based on offering, is estimated to be dominated by hardware during the forecast period.

The feeding systems market is segmented, based on offering, into three segmentshardware, software, and services.Hardware accounted for the largest share in 2021.



This is attributed to the increasing demand for feeding systems, increasing preference of consumers toward hardware systems, technological advancements by key players to introduce innovative products, the rise in the demand for dairy products, and an increasing number of dairy cattle globally. Moreover, the increasing mechanization in dairy farming due to a shortage of labor, and growing preference for feeding systems are also driving the growth of these hardware systems.

This market, however, possesses a high entry barrier for small players due to the high cost involved in product manufacturing and the presence of well-established players. In addition to this, the lack of awareness about the benefits and the high cost of feeding systems and hardware limit the adoption among dairy farmers in emerging nations.



Asia Pacific to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period.

With rapid industrialization, livestock producers are adopting feeding systems to increase production to cater to the growing demand for meat.India has huge opportunities in the feeding industry, as it has remained an untapped market in terms of the utilization of advanced feeding technologies by farmers.



The Indian feeding systems market is in its growth stage; farmers are becoming aware of the direct link between animal health and productivity. These factors imply tremendous opportunities for global feeding systems players as well as local ones to invest in the Indian feeding industry.



Break-up of Primaries:

 By Company: Tier 1  40%, Tier 2  35%, Tier 3  25%

 By Designation: Managers  25%, D-Level- 30%, and C-Level- 45%

 By Region: Europe - 30%, Asia Pacific  35%, North America - 25%, RoW  10%



Leading players profiled in this report:

 DeLaval (Sweden)

 GEA Group Aktiengesellschaft (Germany)

 Lely (Netherlands)

 Trioliet B.V. (Netherlands)

 VDL Agrotech (Netherlands)

 ScaleAQ (Norway)

 BouMatic (US)

 Pellon Group Oy (Finland)

 Rovibec Agrisolutions (Canada)

 CTB, Inc. (US)

 Afimilk Ltd. (Israel)

 Dairymaster (US)

 Maskinfabrikken Cormall A/S (Denmark)

 HETWIN Automation System GmbH (Austria)

 JH AGRO A/S (Denmark)



Research Coverage:

The report segments the feeding systems market on the basis of type, livestock, offering, technology, function and region. In terms of insights, this report has focused on various levels of analysesthe competitive landscape, end-use analysis, and company profiles, which together comprise and discuss views on the emerging & high-growth segments of the global feeding systems market, high-growth regions, countries, government initiatives, drivers, restraints, opportunities, and challenges.



Reasons to buy this report:

 To get a comprehensive overview of the feeding systems market

 To gain wide-ranging information about the top players in this industry, their product portfolios, and key strategies adopted by them

 To gain insights about the major countries/regions in which the feeding systems market is flourishing

Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p04944748/?utm_source=GNW



About Reportlinker

ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.



__________________________

Story continues

CONTACT: Clare: clare@reportlinker.com US: (339)-368-6001 Intl: +1 339-368-6001




Government of Canada outlines progress towards recommendations made by the Expert Panel on MAID and Mental Illness in their final report

Government of Canada outlines progress towards recommendations made by the Expert Panel on MAID and Mental Illness in their final report

Canada NewsWire

OTTAWA, ON, July 26, 2022

OTTAWA, ON, July 26, 2022 /CNW/ - On May 13, 2022, the final report of the Expert Panel on Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) and Mental Illness was tabled in Parliament and released publicly. In the report, the Expert Panel made 19 recommendations laying out a broad set of principles that could structure the practice of MAID for persons with a mental disorder or where concerns may arise related to incurability, irreversibility, capacity, suicidality, and/or the impact of structural vulnerability, regardless of diagnoses.

Today, the Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Health, and the Honourable Carolyn Bennett, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health, are highlighting progress made to address the recommendations of the Expert Panel and to support the safe and consistent approach to MAID delivery across the country.

First, Health Canada is pleased to announce $3.3 million in funding to the Canadian Association of MAID Assessors and Practitioners (CAMAP) to develop and implement a national, fully accredited MAID curriculum that will provide high quality MAID training to health care practitioners across Canada. Through this multiyear project (2021-22 to 2024-25), training modules are being developed to advise and support clinicians in assessing persons who request MAID, including those with mental illness, complex chronic conditions, or who are impacted by structural vulnerability, and the practical application of the MAID legislative framework. These modules will begin to be launched in early 2023.

As well, Health Canada is currently amending the 2018 Regulations for the Monitoring of MAID to align with the recent changes to the Criminal Code (former Bill C-7) and to improve reporting to Canadians. Through this process, we will expand data collection on MAID to provide a better understanding of who is accessing MAID and why, including the collection of data on race, Indigenous identity and disability. This will support transparency, provide insight into how the legislation is working, and maintain public trust in how MAID is accessed and delivered in Canada. The new regulations are expected to come into force on January 1, 2023, resulting in expanded data collection for the year 2023, with findings to be published in mid-2024.

Story continues

Finally, Budget 2021 provided $2.6 million per year ongoing to ensure MAID is implemented in a consistent and safe manner. In addition to supporting the CAMAP curriculum initiative, this funding will advance research on the delivery of MAID services and facilitate gathering of critical qualitative information, including the greater insight into the circumstances and experiences of people who seek MAID. This information will supplement the federal monitoring system and help to identify any systemic inequalities.

As the Expert Panel members mentioned in their report, their recommendations are the beginning of a process, not the end. More work will be required to ensure that MAID practicefor those suffering from a mental illness, but also more broadlyis implemented in a way that responds to people's needs and also protects those who may be vulnerable.

To this end, the Government is committed to working with provinces, territories, and key health system partners to support the continued implementation and delivery of Canada's framework for MAID, including consideration of practice standards, strengthened oversight, and quality assurance, as recommended by the Expert Panel.

The Government of Canada also recognizes the importance of meaningful engagement and ongoing dialogue with Indigenous peoples on MAID. We are committed to working with Indigenous partners to identify and support distinctions-based priorities with respect to an engagement process at the federal level.

Quotes

"Our government is working on implementing the Expert Panel on MAID and Mental Illness' recommendations to ensure that MAID practice reflects the evolving needs of persons who pursue MAID while supporting the autonomy, equity and safety of anyone who considers or ultimately chooses MAID. I would like to acknowledge the hard work of the Canadian Association of MAID Assessors and Practitioners and its dedicated clinicians who are committed to developing a MAID training program of exceptional caliber."

The Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos

Minister of Health

"As Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, I understand the importance of ensuring that our government moves forward with MAID for persons with a mental disorder in a way that is respectful of their autonomy, but also grounded in compassion. The Expert Panel's recommendations support our objective of have a safe and consistent approach to accessing MAID, regardless of one's medical condition. We are committed to implementing them in a way that reflects our commitment to freedom of choice for people in Canada."

The Honourable Carolyn Bennett

Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health

Quick Facts

The revised legislation on MAID (former Bill C-7) received Royal Assent and became law on March 17, 2021. The new law expanded eligibility to MAID to individuals whose death is not reasonably foreseeable, while also amending other aspects of the safeguards included in the law.

People in Canada whose only medical condition is a mental illness, and who otherwise meet all eligibility criteria, will not be eligible for MAID until March 17, 2023. This temporary exclusion provides the Government of Canada time to consider the Expert Panel's conclusions and recommendations and to work with provinces and territories to respond to them.

Related products

SOURCE Health Canada
By Trend

EU is on track to achieve the target of non-Russian gas supplies of 60 billion cubic meters, Executive vice-president for European Green Deal Frans Timmermans said addressing the public session held as part of the Extraordinary Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council, Trend reports.

He pointed out that it is necessary to create the right levels of solidarity in European energy system.

Many Europeans are making the choices to go for renewable energy because of the high prices, unreliability, across our member states citizens are trying to buy as much as solar panels as they can, looking for heat pumps, looking for alternatives to fossil fuels. But we also know that this is not going to deliver us from a challenge in the coming winter. What we need to do is to create security of supply. EU energy platform and the task force will rapidly take forward and coordinate the work of the five regional groups that we make the most effective and efficient use of existing gas infrastructure across the EU and fix problems in the infrastructure, said Timmermans.

He went on to add that EU is also moving ahead to facilitate joint purchasing of gas and hydrogen.

We are doing everything we can as a union to diversify gas supplies ahead of next winter and were on track to achieve the target of 60 bcm. I think were on 35 bcm already. We can be masters of our own energy security this winter, but to do that we must save gas everywhere in the EU, Timmermans added.
IMS now offering new brand integration opportunities within Roblox, one of the most popular virtual universes for Generation Z

MIAMI, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- IMS, part of Aleph Group, Inc and global partner of the world's leading digital platforms, announced an exclusive alliance with Super League Gaming (Nasdaq: SLGG) in Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Peru, Uruguay, Ecuador, Paraguay, Central America and Italy, which will allow brands throughout the region to take advantage of unique relationships Super League has formed with dozens of talented game developers inside the Roblox metaverse, where millions of players create, share and play in immersive worlds every day.

With more than seven years of experience working on gaming platforms, IMS by Aleph renews its commitment to disruptive technologies and, through Super League, enables brands to become an organic part of the player experience within the metaverse. Through branded playable characters, custom designed sections, special in-game wearable items, soft branded earnable currencies, and more, brands are able to provide gamers with tangible benefits that make a game more fun to play.

Super League is a leading publisher of games, monetization tools, and content channels, and specializes in creating unique opportunities for brands to integrate into or create popular games and experiences on the two largest metaverse gaming platforms in the world, Roblox and Minecraft. According to the latest Roblox report , in the first quarter of 2022 the platform reached an average of 54.1 million active daily users and a total of 11.8 billion hours accumulated in this universe.

As a KidSAFE certified platform that fully complies with COPPA and GDPR regulations, Roblox is an ideal space for brands to connect with new generations and grow their business exponentially. The impact with the Gen Z universe is clear, which is why big brands worldwide such as Nickelodeon, Universal, Mattel, Nike, and Hasbro have deployed within the platform.

Story continues

"IMS by Aleph's long established presence and track record for introducing new technology brands and social media platforms to the Latam marketplace made IMS a natural choice as our strategic partner. We look forward to an exciting partnership ahead", said Lane Soelberg, SVP of Network Development & Partnerships for Super League Gaming, Inc.

"This new alliance with Super League allows us to penetrate new technological universes, connecting Latin American companies with huge audiences that are difficult to reach in any other way. Companies in the region will have the opportunity to enter these new universes authentically and with creatively inspiring programs", explained Ignacio Vidaguren, IMS by Aleph CEO.

"The metaverse is not the future, it is happening now and brands have the opportunity to integrate into one of the largest platforms in the space due to this partnership, which literally offers a new universe where to connect with young gamers," announces Bruno Maslo, Partner Director of IMS.

With this new alliance, Super League Gaming joins IMS by Aleph's portfolio of strategic partners in Latin America which include: Twitter, LinkedIn, Snapchat, Warner Music, Twitch, TikTok, Electronic Arts and Activision Blizzard Media, among others.

"As part of Aleph Group, Inc, we have a presence in more than 90 markets on four continents and the representation of more than 30 leading platforms. This global perspective sets us apart: it gives us the experience and ability to interpret the latest trends in the brand marketing industry", says Vidaguren.

About IMS by Aleph

Internet Media Services (IMS) is one of Aleph Group, Inc companies. Aleph is a leading global enabler of digital advertising connecting thousands of advertisers in emerging countries with the world's leading digital platforms.

Aleph represents the world's leading platforms in 90+ markets across the globe where they don't have a physical presence, enabling platforms like Twitter, Meta, Snapchat, and nearly 30+ others to expand into new markets and enabling advertisers to take full advantage of the platforms' advertising capabilities. Through these long-lasting partnerships, Aleph creates the opportunity for all people and businesses to advertise at a local and global level without limits.

Find out more: alephholding.com or press@alephholding.com

About Super League Gaming

Super League Gaming (NASDAQ: SLGG) is a leading publisher of games, monetization tools and content channels across metaverse gaming platforms that empower developers, energize players, and entertain fans.

The company's solutions provide incomparable access to an audience consisting of players in the largest global metaverse environments, fans of hundreds of thousands of gaming influencers, and viewers of gameplay content across major social media and digital video platforms.

Fueled by proprietary and patented technology systems, the company's platform includes access to vibrant in-game communities, a leading metaverse advertising platform, a network of highly viewed channels and original shows on Instagram, TikTok, Snap, YouTube, and Twitch, cloud-based livestream production tools, and an award-winning esports invitational tournament series. Super League's properties deliver powerful opportunities for brands and advertisers to achieve impactful insights and marketing outcomes with gamers of all ages.

For more information go to: superleague.com

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ims-an-aleph-group-company-partners-with-super-league-gaming-to-bring-brands-to-the-metaverse-within-roblox-301593018.html

SOURCE IMS Internet Media Services, Inc. dba Aleph Group, Inc
By one measure, Californians are about 25% less likely to die in mass shootings compared with residents of other states. The states low rate of gun deaths is at least in part because of strict firearm laws, experts say.

But after a number of devastating shootings across the U.S. this year, California is now tightening those gun rules even more.

Sign up for The Morning newsletter from the New York Times

This month alone, Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed into law more than 10 new firearm restrictions. These include fresh limits on gun advertising to minors; increased inspections of dealers; and a 10-year ban on firearm possession for those convicted of child abuse or elder abuse.

The most high-profile of these laws allows Californians to sue anyone who distributes banned semi-automatic rifles or ghost guns. The legislation, which Newsom signed Friday, is modeled after a Texas law that allows private citizens to sue anyone who aids and abets in an abortion.

If they are going to use this framework to put womens lives at risk, we are going to use it to save peoples lives here in the state of California. Thats the spirit, the principle, behind this law, Newsom said during a news conference Friday.

The governors decision to co-opt Texas legal strategy and take out ads attacking Republican governors in Florida and Texas has been turning heads in national political circles.

Im going to walk you through what you need to know about Californias latest (and most controversial) gun bill, the capstone of the sweeping firearm legislation that Newsom has approved in recent weeks.

What exactly does the new law do?

Senate Bill 1327 allows Californians to sue anyone who distributes illegal semi-automatic rifles, parts that can be used to build weapons, guns without serial numbers or .50-caliber rifles. The law also allows people to pursue legal challenges against licensed firearms dealers who sell weapons to anyone under 21.

Under the law, awards of at least $10,000 per weapon and legal fees will be awarded to plaintiffs who successfully sue.

Story continues

The law is set to take effect in January. But it includes a legal trigger that would automatically invalidate it if the courts strike down the Texas law.

Where did the idea come from?

In December, Newsom called for legislation that would allow private citizens to enforce the states gun laws.

He was responding to the U.S. Supreme Courts declining to block a Texas law that gives people the power to sue anyone involved in someone receiving an abortion, from the doctor who performs the procedure to the Uber driver who dropped the patient off at the clinic. Under that law, plaintiffs are entitled to $10,000 and their legal fees recovered if they win.

Newsom tapped state Sen. Bob Hertzberg, a San Fernando Valley Democrat, to shepherd the California bill through the Legislature. It was introduced in February.

Who opposes it?

An unusual mix of gun rights groups and the American Civil Liberties Union have spoken out against SB 1327.

In a letter opposing Californias legislation, the ACLU warned that Newsom was empowering a legal framework that he is trying to condemn.

We admire and share the governors commitment to reproductive freedom, and we do not take issue with his legitimate concerns about the deadly proliferation of illegal guns. But there is no way to take advantage of the flawed logic of the Texas law, the letter reads.

The law is expected to face legal challenges that could ultimately land at the Supreme Court.

 2022 The New York Times Company
(Bloomberg) -- The Kremlin is likely to keep vital gas flows to Europe at minimal levels as long as the standoff over Ukraine continues, ratcheting up the pressure on the European Union over its tough stance on Russias invasion, according to people familiar with the leaderships thinking.

Most Read from Bloomberg

If the squeeze drags into the winter, it could leave the continent, traditionally Russias largest export market, desperately short of the fuel.

Publicly, Russia claims that technical issues like missing paperwork and turbine maintenance have forced it to slash supplies in recent weeks. But in reality, the Kremlin is using the disruptions in Nord Stream, its main remaining pipeline supplying Europe to raise the political heat on leaders there to reconsider the painful sanctions theyve imposed and their support for Kyiv, the people said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.

They expect the Kremlin and Gazprom, the state-run gas giant, to continue to find reasons to keep flows limited, preventing European customers from building up the supplies they need to meet demand in the winter. EU officials are already warning of major economic disruption if flows dont resume and calling on consumers to slash use of the vital fuel.

Raising Stakes

The gas dispute is the latest raising of the stakes in the crisis over Russias invasion of Ukraine and shows the Kremlins willingness to forgo tens of billions of dollars in export revenues to further its geopolitical aims. Gazprom has analyzed the possible impact of a cutoff lasting into next year, according to a person familiar with the situation, and found ways to limit the financial damage thanks to surging prices and revenue so far this year.

Story continues

Privately, some in the Kremlin expressed surprise that President Vladimir Putin hadnt moved sooner to cut off gas flows given Europes imposition of sweeping sanctions on Russia and supplying of weapons to Ukraine, one of the people said. Russia, the people said, is using its energy leverage as a political tool to retaliate in kind.

In recent days, Russias public line has hardened.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov Monday suggested that the problems at Nord Stream are linked to Europes imposition of sanctions over the war, warning Monday that while Russia is at the moment not interested in cutting off the gas this winter, the situation may change.

Idle Factories

Dmitry Medvedev, a former president and Gazprom chairman and now a senior Kremlin official known mainly for his dyspeptic social media posts, went further Tuesday. The blue-and-yellow hysteria, he wrote, referring to the colors of Ukraines flag, has caused severe diarrhea from the fear of freezing in their chilly homes, looking out frost-covered windows at idle factories.

Europe is by far Russias largest export market for gas and the bloc depends on its eastern neighbor for about a third of its imports. EU countries Tuesday agreed on a plan to cut gas use by 15% this winter in preparation for further disruptions in supplies. A halt in flows to the EU could shave as much as 1.5% off EU GDP if the winter is cold and demand isnt curtailed, according to the European Commission.

EU Sees Political Deal on Forced Cuts in Russian Gas Fight

Amid what amounts to a full-blown economic war between Russia and the West its hard to expect either side to stick strictly to previous agreements, said Andrey Kortunov, head of the Kremlin-founded Russian International Affairs Council.

Political Pressure

Its not likely that Russia seriously hopes that energy problems will force a change in the EUs stance on Ukraine, he said. But theoretically its possible that accelerating internal difficulties will lead to changes in government in a number of European countries and the new leaders will be far more focused on domestic affairs and less so on Ukraine.

The EU pact came a day after Gazprom announced it would limit flows via Nord Stream to only 20% of capacity, citing the need for routine maintenance on a turbine that feeds gas into the link. That followed Russian claims that it hadnt received paperwork needed to reinstall another turbine, which was sent back from maintenance in Canada thanks to a special sanctions waiver.

How Europe Became So Dependent on Putin for Its Gas: QuickTake

The technical issues are real, according to one person familiar with the situation, but Gazprom could still ship higher volumes via Nord Stream by delaying planned maintenance of some turbines. That would pose additional risks to the pipelines operations, and Russia sees no reason to do that given Europes tough line on Ukraine, the person said.

This could be counter-productive, said Oksana Antonenko, director at Control Risks in London. Russias actions will accelerate EU moves to diversify away from Russian gas and deprive the Kremlin of a key market it wont soon be able to replace, she said.

As prices have spiked, EU leaders have accused Russia of using gas as a political weapon. But after decades of reliance on the cheap fuel for heat, power generation and industry, the continent has few easily available alternatives.

Russia denies politicizing its fuel exports. It also has few quick options for diverting supplies, since the vast majority go through pipelines that take years to build. Flows to China have jumped this year but are still dwarfed by what Russia once shipped to Europe.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2022 Bloomberg L.P.
C$ unless otherwise stated TSX/NYSE/PSE: MFC SEHK: 945

TORONTO, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Manulife has been notified of an unsolicited mini-tender offer made by Obatan LLC (Obatan) to purchase up to 500,000 Manulife common shares, or approximately 0.026% of the common shares outstanding, at a price of USD$12.00 per share.

Manulife (CNW Group/Manulife Financial Corporation)

Manulife is in no way associated with Obatan and does not recommend or endorse acceptance of this unsolicited offer.

Manulife cautions shareholders that the mini-tender offer has been made at a price below the current market price for Manulife shares. The offer represents a discount of 34.04% and 34.21%, respectively, below the closing prices of Manulife common shares on the TSX and NYSE on July 14, 2022, the last trading day before the mini-tender offer was commenced, and a discount of 37.67% and 37.71%, respectively, below the closing prices on the TSX and NYSE on July 25, 2022.

Mini-tender offers are designed to seek less than 5% of a company's outstanding shares, avoiding disclosure and procedural requirements applicable to most bids under Canadian and U.S. securities regulations. The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have expressed serious concerns about mini-tender offers, including the possibility that investors might tender to such offers without understanding the offer price relative to the actual market price of their securities.

The SEC states that "bidders make mini-tender offers at below-market prices, hoping that they will catch investors off guard if the investors do not compare the offer price to the current market price."

According to Obatan's offer documents, Manulife shareholders who have already tendered their shares can withdraw their shares at any time before 5:00 P.M. New York City Time on December 31, 2022, by following the procedures described in the offer documents.

Story continues

Shareholders should carefully review the Obatan offer documents and current market price for Manulife shares, and consult their investment advisors regarding any offer they may receive and review with their advisors all options for their investment in Manulife shares.

Manulife has stock transfer agents providing shareholder services in Canada, the United States, Hong Kong and the Philippines. These local agents provide services directly to our registered shareholders and can provide information on share account management, direct deposit of dividends, dividend reinvestment and share purchase plans. Please email manulifeinquiries@tmx.com for more information.

Manulife requests that a copy of this news release be included in any distribution of materials relating to Obatan's mini-tender offer for Manulife common shares.

About Manulife

Manulife Financial Corporation is a leading international financial services provider that helps people make their decisions easier and lives better. With our global headquarters in Toronto, Canada, we provide financial advice and insurance, operating as Manulife across Canada, Asia, and Europe, and primarily as John Hancock in the United States. Through Manulife Investment Management, the global brand for our global wealth and asset management segment, we serve individuals, institutions, and retirement plan members worldwide. At the end of 2021, we had more than 38,000 employees, over 119,000 agents, and thousands of distribution partners, serving over 33 million customers. Our principal operations are in Asia and Canada, and the United States, where we have served customers for more than 160 years. We trade as 'MFC' on the Toronto, New York, and the Philippine stock exchanges and under '945' in Hong Kong. In the previous 12 months we made CAD$32.7 billion in payments to our customers.



Not all offerings are available in all jurisdictions. For additional information, please visit manulife.com.

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/manulife-cautions-investors-regarding-obatan-llc-offer-for-shares-301593378.html

SOURCE Manulife Financial Corporation
Federal Home Loan Bank Of San Francisco

2022 Affordable Housing Program Funding for 39 Developments Will Help Lower-Income Families in Arizona, California, and Nevada Have an Affordable Place to Call Home



SAN FRANCISCO, July 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco (FHLBank San Francisco) today announced $31.9 million in Affordable Housing Program (AHP) grants for 39 projects that will help preserve and facilitate the development of 2,712 affordable housing units for lower-income families and individuals throughout the Banks three-state district of Arizona, California, and Nevada.



The lack of affordable housing has been a growing concern in our region and recent economic challenges have only exacerbated the issue for individuals and families who struggle to make ends meet and have an affordable place to call home, said Teresa Bryce Bazemore, president and chief executive officer at FHLBank San Francisco. We are honored to support our communities with these awards. We are grateful to our member institutions for making our AHP grants possible.

AHP grants contribute to the development, preservation, and rehabilitation of single-family and multifamily housing that serves people in need, including the chronically unhoused, families, seniors, veterans, at-risk youth, people living with disabilities, mental health challenges, and those overcoming substance abuse. Grants are facilitated through FHLBank San Francisco member institutions partnering with nonprofits and affordable housing developers to submit applications for grants for specific projects in an annual funding competition. In the 2022 program cycle, the Banks AHP awarded funding for 32 affordable housing projects in California, five in Arizona, and two in Nevada.

Rural residents are oftentimes left behind when it comes to affordable housing opportunities. I am pleased that Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco is providing this funding to rebuild after fires and improve housing options, said U.S. Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-1ST), whose district in the northeastern part of California received $1.6 million in funding for two projects that will create 108 units of affordable housing. Funds are channeled to projects with local support and with enormous potential to improve the lives of those who have been harmed by catastrophic fires.

Story continues

FHLBank San Francisco sets aside 10% of its earnings each year to fund its AHP, with a portion of that funding allocated to two first-time homebuyer downpayment assistance programs. Since 1990, the Bank has awarded more than $1.1 billion in AHP General Fund grants to support the construction, rehabilitation, or purchase of more than 140,000 units of quality affordable housing for lower-income households. The Banks member financial institutions, working in partnership with community-based housing sponsors or developers, compete for AHP General Fund grants by submitting applications for specific projects. Any rental housing must reserve at least 20% of units for households at or below 50% of the HUD area median income (AMI), while owner-occupied housing must serve households at or below 80% AMI. Details on the application guidelines are available on the Banks website.

The Federal Home Loan Banks have a responsibility to meet the housing and community development needs of the regions they serve. These Affordable Housing Program grants provide critical financing to increase the supply of affordable housing in the San Francisco Banks three-state region. Ive advocated for increased investment in Nevada, and I am glad to see nearly two million dollars in grants to support 255 new affordable units in my state, said U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada. Ill continue to work with the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco to ensure we can meet the urgent needs for both affordable housing and community development in Nevada.

AHP-funded projects represent a wide range of strategies and solutions, from historic preservation and adaptive reuse to new construction and rehabilitation. Where AHP projects are developed, local economies also get a boost, as these projects create jobs, increase construction and consumer spending, and generate new tax revenues. Learn more about the communities, families, and individuals that have benefited from access to AHP-funded housing on the Banks website.

About the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco

The Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco is a member-driven cooperative helping local lenders in Arizona, California, and Nevada build strong communities, create opportunity, and change lives for the better. The tools and resources we provide to our member financial institutionscommercial banks, credit unions, industrial loan companies, savings institutions, insurance companies, and community development financial institutionsfoster homeownership, expand access to quality housing, seed or sustain small businesses, and revitalize whole neighborhoods. Together with our members and other partners, we are making the communities we serve more vibrant, equitable, and resilient.

Media Contact:

Mary Long

Senior Director, Marketing Communications

longm@fhlbsf.com

415.616.2556




Mothers against Greg Abbott campaign goes viral

Mothers Against Greg Abbott PAC/Twitter

A new political ad targeting Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and his strict anti-abortion views has gone viral as pro-abortion rights activists hope for a change in office in the upcoming November elections.

On Monday, Mothers Against Greg Abbott PAC released a campaign video depicting a pregnant woman and her partner in a doctor's office learning that their unborn daughter has a "catastrophic brain abnormality"and will not survive after birth.

"Your daughter, if she is to survive, will live only a matter of hours after birth," the doctor tells the tearful couple. "During that time, she will experience a multitude of seizures and ultimately aspirate on her own bodily fluids. She will suffer."

"A decision will need to be made on termination. I wish I could tell you what to do, but there is only one person who can make this choice ... and that person is Greg," the doctor adds before the father asks, "Who the f is Greg?"

Never miss a story  sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

The doctor then claps his hands and reveals a lit-up cabinet with the Republican governor's face on it. He opens the door and picks up a red telephone behind it to call Abbott directly.

After a short conversation with Abbott about terminating the pregnancy, the doctor hangs up the phone and tells the couple, "Yeah, that's gonna be a no. Best of luck to you," before walking out the room and leaving the couple looking confused.

"Whose choice? Texas women no longer have a choice to make their most personal decision. This is wrong! Texans need to fight back and vote for Democrats this November and vote against TxGOP," the organization captioned the video on Twitter. "Vote them out!"

Mothers against Greg Abbott campaign goes viral

Mothers Against Greg Abbott PAC/Twitter

RELATED: AOC, Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar Among House Dems Arrested in Abortion Rights Protest Outside Supreme Court

Story continues

Mothers Against Greg Abbott PAC is an organization consisting of a diverse group of Texans who are campaigning for a new governor in 2022. The group advocates for a variety of missions including reproductive healthcare rights, safety from school shootings, LGBTQIA+ rights, voting rights, affordable housing, vaccine mandates, and more.

On their website, the group doubles down on its pro-abortion rights stance, claiming that Abbott and other Texas Republicans "have neighbors turning against neighbors by putting bounty on those who seek healthcare choices that they don't agree with. They are taking our personal freedom over our own bodies!"

Abbott signed a restrictive abortion ban last year, outlawing the procedure after six weeks, which is before most people know they're pregnant. The ban, which went into effect September 2021, does not allow exceptions for women who were impregnated as a result of rape or incest.

Under the legislation, private citizens can also sue doctors or abortion clinic workers who perform or help to set up the procedure.
When you go into the App Store to download the Peech app, you'll notice right away that the app's icon displays the Ukrainian flag along with the company's simple logo. But this is more than just a show of solidarity. With three Eastern European founders -- Andrey Poznyak, Alex Gorbel and Bahram Ismailov -- the team behind this text-to-speech app has been harshly impacted by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

TechCrunch spoke to co-founder and CEO Andrey Poznyak via Zoom while he was in Poland, but hes originally from Belarus. Poznyak was one of thousands of people who protested the results of Belarus 2020 presidential election. The twenty-year incumbent, often called Europes last dictator, once again consolidated power in a vote that the U.S. State Department deemed neither free nor fair.

Afterward, there were quite a lot of protests, and after that, repression started, Poznyak told TechCrunch. I spent half a year in prison as a political prisoner.

After getting out of prison in Belarus, Poznyak fled to Ukraine. But in the months leading up to Russias invasion, he had to relocate once again to Poland. Almost six million refugees like Poznyak have left Ukraine to find safety in other European countries.

Somehow, amid personal and political upheaval far beyond what most founders will ever experience, he built Peech, which just raised $550,000 in funding led by Flyer One Ventures. That's no small feat.

Available in 50 languages, Peech is a text-to-speech app that actually sounds quite natural. Though its no replacement for quality human narration in an audiobook, Peech makes it easy to grab long web articles or documents and listen to them.

Looking at my browser now, I have 30 tabs open  some of them, I didnt read for a full year already, but I dont want to lose them because the information is very useful, said co-founder and CEO Andrey Poznyak, a 12-year veteran in tech management. Like many busy readers, he finds it easier to learn by listening to audiobooks or podcasts, since its more conducive to multitasking. Normally, I do it when Im on an evening run.

Story continues

Poznyak is right that consumers want a product to help them consume more written content via audio. Before I discovered how easy it is to borrow audiobooks from the library, I even tried to develop my own workaround to turn e-books from text to speech: I had my Amazon Echo Dot read books to me (the Echo was a gift, okay). This was a pretty bad solution, and it got even worse when I asked Alexa to read Jonathan Van Ness memoir. Once youve heard Alexa say yas queen, unfortunately you can never unhear it. But if I had the Peech app back then, I would have been spared from that psychic damage.

Poznyak said that Peech was able to make its text-to-speech output sound so natural through machine learning. Peech uses the open-source raw audio model WaveNet, which was created by DeepMind, a company acquired by Google in 2014.

"We have six or seven different machine learning models under the hood," Poznyak told TechCrunch. He mentioned models from AWS, Google and Microsoft and noted that some of their models are engineered in-house.

As expected, the AI isn't perfect, though -- I read an article about a band playing "live music," with "live" pronounced like "liver." But if we keep reading more about music, the AI should begin to pick up on the nuances between these different words that are spelled the same way.

For about $3 a week, subscribers have unlimited access to the Peech app and can upload as many word documents, PDFs or links to articles as they want. You can also upload photos of book pages, which Peech can scan into text and read to you (a potential life-saver for students slogging through textbooks). This kind of app is also an asset to people with low-vision, dyslexia, or other conditions that make reading a challenge.

By offering TikTok users free premium subscriptions in exchange for promotion, Peech has done well with influencer marketing. The #peechapp tag has almost 30 million views, mostly coming from BookTok and StudyTok creators.

It could be a concern for Peech to see how publications will react to their articles being cross-populated if the app reaches a larger audience. It's one thing to paste a URL of an article you already have access to, then use Peech's technology to help you read it (in our usage, Peech hasn't been successful at bypassing paywalls, which is a good thing for digital media companies). But Peech has an in-app discovery tool, which lets you listen to pre-uploaded articles from publications like The Guardian and Medium.

If it catches on, it's not likely that these companies will take kindly to this, since listening to these articles in the Peech app means that the websites of origin don't get the page views, which means less ad revenue, which means... it wouldn't be shocking if Peech were to receive some cease and desist letters. Peech has also used TechCrunch's logo (along with logos from Reuters, NBC and other outlets) in their promotional App Store photos without our consent.

Many large media companies like the New York Times have invested heavily in audio content, including narrated articles that are repurposed as podcasts. For Peech to be successful in the longterm (or, perhaps, acquired by a media company), they'll need to be a bit more conscientious about how they engage with these publishers.

Still, if you love audiobooks or podcasts, Peech is worth a download.

Update, 7/26/22, 8:30 ET: A previous version of this article said that Peech was about $3 a month, but it is about $3 a week.
Petrolympic Ltd.

TORONTO, July 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Petrolympic Ltd. (TSX.V:PCQ) (OTC:PCQRF) (the Company) is pleased to announce that it has entered into an option purchase agreement with Mr. Glenn Griesbach to acquire a 100% interest in the Basserode Lithium and Fourniere Lithium properties (the Properties) located in the emerging Cadillac-Pontiac lithium camp in the Abitibi-Temiscamingue region, southwest of Val dOr, Quebec.

The Basserode Property consists of 123 claims covering 7,092.8 hectares (70.1 km2). It is located 70 km southwest of the city of Val-dOr and 30 km south of the city of Rouyn-Noranda, and spans over parts of the Basserode, Bellecombe, and Caire townships. The Fourniere Property is composed of 25 claims covering 1,440.9 hectares (14.4 km2). It is located 25 km southwest of the city of Val-dOr and belongs to the Desroberts and Fourniere townships. Both Properties are covered by a network of trails and logging roads allowing for good access and effective exploration with reduced exploration costs.

The Basserode and Fourniere Properties lie within the rapidly emerging Cadillac-Pontiac lithium belt, where large properties have recently been assembled by companies such as Sayona Quebec Inc., Medaro Mining Corp., Brunswick Exploration Inc., High Tide Resources Corp., Narrow River Resources Pty Ltd., NeoTerrex Corp., Renforth Resources Inc., Vision Lithium Inc., and Winsome Resources Inc.

The Properties are nested in a highly favourable geological context for lithium exploration in the geological Pontiac Sub-province, which is located south of the Abitibi Greenstone Belt and is bounded by the Larder Lake-Cadillac Deformation Zone to the north and by the Grenville Front to the south. Traditionally there has been very little exploration work done in the rocks of the Pontiac, as attention has historically been drawn to the gold and volcanogenic-type base metal deposits found in the adjoining Abitibi Greenstone Belt. The Pontiac consists of roughly equal amounts of metasediments and various batholiths and plutons. Lithium mineralization have been identified at several sites in the Pontiac, within spodumene-bearing pegmatites dykes that cut both the metasediments and intrusive rocks. Contrary to other sources of lithium such as brines and clays, spodumene-bearing pegmatites contain higher-grades lithium deposits with lower levels of impurities and more simple metallurgical processes.

Story continues

Preliminary discussions are underway for a Phase 1 exploration program to identify prospective pegmatite dykes, including a proposed high-definition magnetic and radiometric survey in conjunction with an interpretive survey utilizing high-definition LIDAR data, to be followed by prospecting, mapping and rock sampling surveys.

Pursuant to the Agreement, the Company may acquire a 100% interest in the claims that comprise the Basserode and Fourniere properties by (i) making aggregate cash payments of $35,000 over one year; (ii) issuing an aggregate of 1,000,000 common shares of the Company over one year; and (iii) issuing 500,000 common share purchase warrants (the Warrants) of the Purchaser to the Optionor at the next flow-through financing (if such financing occurs) at the same strike price and conditions as for the investors in such flow-through financing. Upon exercise of the Option by the Company, the Optionor will retain a 2.0% net smelter returns royalty on the two properties, 1.0% of which may be purchased by the Company for $1,000,000.

Mendel Ekstein, CEO of Petrolympic, stated Petrolympic is pleased to add the Basserode and Fourniere lithium Properties to our expanding portfolio of potentially highly rewarding exploration projects in Quebec.

Qualified Person

Alain-Jean Beauregard, B. Sc., P. Geo. (OGQ # 227), is the Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the geological information reported in this news release. Mr. Beauregard is independent from the company.

We seek Safe Harbor.

For further information please contact:

Mendel Ekstein

President

Tel. 845-656-0184

Fax 845-231-6665

82 Richmond St East

Toronto, ON M5C 1P1

This news release contains information about adjacent properties on which the Company has no right to explore or mine. Readers are cautioned that mineral deposits on adjacent properties are not indicative of mineral deposits on the Company's properties.

NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATIONS SERVICES PROVIDER HAVE REVIEWED OR ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

Certain information contained or incorporated by reference in this press release, including any information regarding the proposed acquisition, constitutes "forward-looking statements." All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are to be considered forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based on a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by the Company, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, geological and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. 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. 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: economic and global market impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, fluctuations in market prices, exploration and exploitation successes, continued availability of capital and financing, changes in national and local government legislation, taxation, controls, regulations, expropriation or nationalization of property and general political, economic, market or business conditions. Many of these uncertainties and contingencies can affect our 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, us. Readers are cautioned that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and, therefore, readers are advised to rely on their own evaluation of such uncertainties. All of the forward-looking statements made in this press release, or incorporated by reference, are qualified by these cautionary statements. We do not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements.




NEW YORK, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Recruitment Process Outsourcing Market size is segmented into two categories based on the end-user (IT and telecom, manufacturing, BFSI, healthcare, and others) and geography (North America, Europe, APAC, MEA, and South America). The market share is expected to increase by USD 4.55 billion, and the market's growth momentum will accelerate at a CAGR of 13.51%. Request Sample Report.

Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Recruitment Process Outsourcing Market by End-user and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2021-2025

Geographical Market Analysis

North America will account for 41% of market growth. The main markets in North America for outsourcing the recruitment process are the US and Canada. However, the market in North America will expand at a slower rate than markets in other continents. Over the projection period, the growth of the recruitment process outsourcing market in North America would be facilitated by the rise in the usage of cutting-edge technologies like cloud computing, AI, and RPA.

Furthermore, countries such as the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and India are expected to emerge as prominent markets for the Recruitment Process Outsourcing Market during the forecast period.

Know more about this market's geographical distribution along with a detailed analysis of the top regions. Buy Sample Report.

Vendor Insights

The Recruitment Process Outsourcing Market is fragmented, and the vendors are deploying various organic and inorganic growth strategies to compete in the market. To make the best of the opportunity, the market vendors should focus more on the fast-growing segment's growth prospects while maintaining their positions in the slow-growing segments.

We provide a detailed analysis of vendors operating in the Recruitment Process Outsourcing Market, including some the vendors such as Accenture Plc, Alexander Mann Solutions, Allegis Group, AMN Healthcare Services Inc., Automatic Data Processing Inc., Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Ltd., Hudson Global Inc., Infosys Ltd., International Business Machines Corp., and Randstad Sourceright EMEA B.V. among others.

Story continues

Product Insights and News

Accenture Plc- The company offers recruitment process outsourcing solutions that helps HR leaders achieve business outcomes through tailored solutions that embed data and analytics, artificial intelligence, and consumer-centric digital channels into the employee experience, under the brand name of Accenture.

Alexander Mann Solutions- The company offers recruitment process outsourcing solutions that design, builds, and runs a fully optimized talent acquisition capability, under the brand name of Alexander Mann Solutions.

Allegis Group- The company offers recruitment process outsourcing solutions that include talent acquisition strategy development, sourcing talent mapping, screening assessments selection, program performance tracking and reporting, internal candidate management, digital recruiting and social media strategy, and many more activities, under the brand name of Allegis.

The Recruitment Process Outsourcing Market forecast report offers in-depth insights into key vendor profiles and offerings  Click here for Sample Report

Key Market Dynamics

Companies are aggressively contacting RPO firms to lower the cost per employee. RPO is necessary to continuously increase business value and minimize operating costs. Demand-supply imbalances can be avoided with RPO under challenging market circumstances. To address such market asymmetries, RPO partners expedite the hiring process. Therefore, it is anticipated that the demand for various companies to lower their operational expenses by streamlining the recruiting process will fuel the expansion of the worldwide outsourcing market for the recruitment process.

Related Reports:

Domain Name System Tools Market by Product and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2022-2026

Accounts Receivable Automation Market by Component and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2022-2026

Recruitment Process Outsourcing Market Scope Report Coverage Details Page number 120 Base year 2020 Forecast period 2021-2025 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 13.51% Market growth 2021-2025 $ 4.55 billion Market structure Fragmented YoY growth (%) 7.34 Regional analysis North America, Europe, APAC, MEA, and South America Performing market contribution North America at 41% Key consumer countries US, UK, Canada, Australia, and India Competitive landscape Leading companies, Competitive strategies, Consumer engagement scope Key companies profile Accenture Plc, Alexander Mann Solutions, Allegis Group, AMN Healthcare Services Inc., Automatic Data Processing Inc., Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Ltd., Hudson Global Inc., Infosys Ltd., International Business Machines Corp., and Randstad Sourceright EMEA B.V. 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 you are looking for, you can reach out to our analysts and get customized segments.

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

The threat of new entrants

Threat of substitutes

Threat of rivalry

Market condition

Market Segmentation by End-user

Market segments

Comparison by End-user

IT and telecom - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Manufacturing - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

BFSI - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Healthcare - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Others - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Market opportunity by End-user

Customer landscape

Geographic Landscape

Geographic segmentation

Geographic comparison

North America - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Europe - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

APAC - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

MEA - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

South America - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Key leading countries

Market opportunity by geography

Market drivers

Market challenges

Market trends

Vendor Landscape

Overview

Vendor landscape

Landscape disruption

Vendor Analysis

Vendors covered

Market positioning of vendors

Accenture Plc

Alexander Mann Solutions

Allegis Group

AMN Healthcare Services Inc.

Automatic Data Processing Inc.

Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Ltd.

Hudson Global Inc.

Infosys Ltd.

International Business Machines Corp.

Randstad Sourceright EMEA B.V.

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 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 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: media@technavio.com

Website: www.technavio.com/

Technavio (PRNewsfoto/Technavio)

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/recruitment-process-outsourcing-market-segmentation-of-end-user-it-and-telecom-manufacturing-bfsi-healthcare-and-others-and-geography-north-america-europe-apac-mea-and-south-america-forecast-till-2026---technavio-301592363.html

SOURCE Technavio
Company Logo

Dublin, July 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "RNA Therapies in Oncology: Analytical Tool" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

RNA Therapies in Oncology: Analytical Tool is the must have handbook for any business developer, BI/CI operative or clinical developer who needs to be on top of this hot and fast moving area of oncology. This unique product is truly the only tool of its kind and is designed to give you a competitive edge in your RNA therapy drug surveillance and intelligence, allowing you to power your decision making and advance your own interests.

RNA therapies, such as miRNA, RNAi & siRNA, is an emerging class of biopharmaceutical that has immense potential in cancer medicine. Critical to the field, recent developments in delivery technologies such nanoparticle carriers and conjugation strategies have allowed RNA therapeutics to enter clinical trials in the treatment of cancer.

Your RNA Therapies in Oncology: Analytical Tool covers more than 127 companies plus partners who are today developing 274 RNA therapy drugs where of 182 are in active development in cancer across 122 different targets. Any data and/or analysis from the Analytical Tool is yours to keep and data/graphs/tables can be easily exported into Excel/PDF and various graphic formats for mixing with your own proprietary information.

For 20 years we have supported better decision making across the oncology drug development industry. Your RNA Therapies in Oncology: Analytical Tool is based on two decades of proven methodology and transforms your computer's desktop into a high capacity workbench within your area of choice. Even before launching this tool you have already eliminated the hundreds of hours of work needed to discover, process and piece together the thousands of sources that our team of oncology dedicated and highly experienced contents specialists have done on your behalf.



Let our expertise work for you

With a simple point and click interface you can navigate the environment of current development, drill down into specific areas such as ongoing combination trials, biomarker analysis, selected scientific abstracts etc. and generate drug profiles, drug target profiles and company profiles (including Business Development & Licensing contacts). Any analysis generated by you is packed with presentation-ready graphs and tables to use in your reports and presentations.



Your key to access development at the world-leading cancer meetings

Story continues

The RNA Therapies in Oncology: Analytical Tool is continuously updated according to twelve of the world's most influential meetings in oncology (AACR, ASCO, ASGCT, ASH, CMIT, EHA, EORTC-NCI-AACR, ESMO, SITC and BIO (International, Europe and Asia). If you are not able to attend any of the conference(s) in person, this Analytical Tool ensures that you are not missing out on the important take home messages you need to know about.



Run combination therapy analysis like no other

The RNA Therapies in Oncology: Analytical Tool delivers comprehensive combination therapy analysis, allowing you to analyze combination therapies from multiple perspectives; from a single drug to virtually any cross section of oncology drugs of interest.



Unparalleled biomarker surveillance

We also provide an outstanding oncology clinical biomarker surveillance & analysis, highlighting clinical phenotyping and patient stratification in trials. This analysis is based on our monitoring of the presence and usage of more than 1,000 biomarkers across tens of thousands of cancer clinical trials.



Support and inspiration at your finger-tips

You also have access to a great selection of How-to Training Videos showing best practice approaches to aspects such as competitive pipeline analysis right through to many real world case examples put forward by other users of our Analytical Tools.



A tool to grow with and keep you informed

Unlike a static report which just represents a particular snapshot in time, all of the Analytical Tools come with one year of online access to twice-weekly updates in both contents and features, pipeline alerts and online support etc. You can choose to renew your access to these updates and support on a yearly basis or go over to our industry leading full service platform covering all oncology drug development, 1stOncology.



Keeping you "In the know"

Simply put, our mission is to fuel your knowledge of oncology, to make you the first to know about very early technologies and startups, emerging clinical trial results, drug approvals and the ever-changing competitive landscape.



RNA Therapies in Oncology: Analytical Tool achieves this by continuously scanning development in RNA therapy and reporting:

Deals & Collaborations

New technologies/drugs (emerging from patents, grants, abstracts (see Conference Coverage) etc.)

Funding/Grants/IPOs

Filings & Approvals

Latest Clinical Trial Development & Results

Newly launched clinical trials

Conference Coverage of the world's twelve leading meetings in oncology*

Quarterly & Annual Reporting

This puts you in control of most, if not all, day-to-day developments in your field while also benefiting from one of the most comprehensive commercial pipeline review & competitive assessment tools available on the market today!



Identify, prioritize, and lead scientific assessment of oncology opportunities and competition by multiple factors such as:

Emerging Technologies

Target Novelty

Recent Funding

Early & Late Stage Pipeline

Biomarker/Companion Diagnostic Development (featured below)

Entered Deals & Alliances

Conference surveillance of world leading cancer meetings (featured below)

Combination Therapy Choices (featured below)

Outcome of Clinical Trials

Indication Selection & Expansion Choices

Drug Repositioning Opportunities

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/bpwfsp

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




By Trend

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkiye still has concrete expectations from Sweden and Finland regarding its concerns about terrorist groups, as the two countries pledged to meet Ankara's demands to become NATO members, Trend reports citing Daily Sabah.

"Were waiting for responses to our extradition requests and the two countries should not expect Turkey to make compromises," Erdogan told a live broadcast on TRT Monday.

He continued by saying that the two countries should not expect Turkiye to support their NATO accession unless they prevent terrorists from carrying out anti-Turkey activities.

Erdogan also said Ankara is also disturbed by the stance displayed by Germany, France, Italy and others regarding Ankaras counterterrorism concerns. He noted that the Swedish and Finnish delegations had mentioned that other European countries have a similar stance.

Regarding Turkiye's planned cross-border operation, the president said Syria has become a nest for terrorist groups and that Russia and Iran need to decide where they stand.
FILE PHOTO: The Google name is displayed outside the company's office in London

LONDON (Reuters) -Russia's competition watchdog fined Alphabet's Google 2 billion roubles ($34.2 million) on Tuesday for abusing its dominant position in the video hosting market, the regulator said in a statement.

The decision is the latest multi-million dollar fine as part of Moscow's increasingly assertive campaign against foreign tech companies.

The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) said the company had "abused its dominant position in the YouTube video hosting services market", without providing additional details.

"We will study the text of the official decision to define our next steps," Google said in a statement to Reuters.

Google must pay the fine within two months of it entering into force, the FAS said.

Russia has slapped Google's Russian subsidiary with numerous fines in recent months. Last week a court ordered it to pay 21.1 billion roubles ($358.7 million) over what prosecutors said were repeated refusals to remove content Russia deems illegal, such as "fake news" about Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Since Moscow launched what it calls its "special military operation" in Ukraine, it has also accelerated attacks on Western tech companies at home in a push to exert more control over the online space, including through supporting domestic players to oust their Western rivals.

Gazprom Media - a media conglomerate linked to state-controlled gas giant Gazprom - has been heavily promoting RuTube, its Russian alternative to YouTube, which has seen a sharp uptick in traffic since February.

YouTube, which has blocked Russian state-funded media globally, is under heavy pressure from Russia's communications regulator and politicians.

Google stopped selling online advertising in Russia in early March but has kept some free services available. Its Russian subsidiary officially filed for bankruptcy after authorities seized its bank account, making it impossible to pay staff and vendors.

(Reporting by Reuters, Editing by Louise Heavens)
From IBM iSeries modernization to cutting-edge API integration for eCommerce applications, this partnership can handle it all

NEW YORK & ROCKFORD, Ill., July 26, 2022--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cleo, the pioneer and global leader of the Ecosystem Integration software category and provider of the Cleo Integration Cloud platform, and SrinSoft, Inc., an IT, Engineering services, and Digital consulting company, today announced formation of a new partnership dedicated to maximizing their joint customers business potential via B2B integration in the cloud.

The timing for the partnership is particularly astute. According to a recent market research report, 81% of companies surveyed said they are actively investing in migrating their integration solutions to the cloud in hopes of remedying supply chain woes caused by overreliance on legacy applications, too many manual processes, or other barriers to smooth integration that are negatively impacting todays far-flung business ecosystems.

SrinSofts global team of more than 500 consultants has strong expertise in IT, Digital & Data Transformation & Engineering Services. The team supports multiple transformation initiatives, and provides a host of Consulting, Development, Integration, Managed and Implementation services to clients such as NASA, Google, Disney, GE, and several other Enterprises, SMEs & Federal agencies across the United States and rest of the world. Likewise, Cleo is a well-known leader in cloud-based B2B integration, providing API, EDI, and non-EDI integration solutions to more than 4,100 supply chain-driven organizations who leverage Cleos cloud platform to drive revenue via improved visibility and control made possible through enhanced organizational agility.

Both companies have proven capabilities in Logistics & Transportation with a strong customer base in Manufacturing, Distribution, Retail, and other industries. Additionally, both are intimately familiar with a wide range of applications and data management technologies. SrinSoft for example, has in-depth knowledge and project experience in Microsoft.NET technology, and their IBM iSeries Division has profound knowledge in RPG/400, COBOL/400, CL/400, ASNA VRPG .Net, WebSphere and LANSA development environment. The company is also specialized in SOA/Middleware Integration using Jboss/Fuse stack, delivering software solutions and services to enterprises worldwide. Additionally, SrinSoft consultants are experts in Apache Service Mix, ESB, ActiveMQ, Camel and JBoss. For its part Cleo focuses on end-to-end business processes such as Order-to-Cash, Procure-to-Pay, or Load Tender-to-Invoice, to ensure all connecting points across these end-to-end processes are working smoothly and seamlessly. Cleos objective is helping its customers improve ecosystem relationships, increase revenue, reduce costs, and maintain a competitive edge through modern integration technology solutions.

Story continues

"Cleos unique ability to deliver any-to-any integration across key end-to-end business processes bodes extremely well for our global client base, because on any given day we see virtually every new or legacy application out there, from the IBM iSeries (AS/400) to the most modern eCommerce solutions, and everything in-between," said Madan Kumar, global head of business development for SrinSoft. "We look forward to a long and prosperous relationship with Cleo."

"We were immediately impressed by SrinSofts extensive institutional knowledge across such a broad range of applications, technologies, and industries, and thats how we knew they would be a promising partner for Cleo," said Bob Hoch, strategic account manager, partnership programs, with Cleo. "Given the urgency many companies feel to move forward aggressively with modernization, and the critical role integration plays in that, we look forward to teaming with SrinSoft to help customers move quickly and profitably."

About SrinSoft

SrinSoft is a rapidly growing IT Consulting company specialized in helping customers manage the convergence of Digital IT and Digital Engineering Services with seamless automation and distinctive products. We support transforming clients' business, operating and technology models that adapts to the digital era. To learn more about the company visit our website.

About Cleo Integration Cloud

Cleo Integration Cloud (CIC) is a cloud-based integration platform, purpose-built to design, build, operate and optimize critical ecosystem integration processes. The CIC platform brings end-to-end integration visibility across API, EDI and non-EDI integrations that gives technical and business users the confidence to rapidly onboard trading partners, enable integration between applications, and accelerate revenue-generating business processes. On the platform, businesses have the choice of self-service, managed services, or a blended approach  ensuring complete flexibility and control over their B2B integration strategy.

About Cleo

Cleo is an ecosystem integration software company focused on business outcomes, ensuring each customers potential is realized by delivering solutions that make it easy to discover and create value through the movement and integration of B2B enterprise data. Cleo gives customers strategic, "outside-in" visibility into the critical end-to-end business flows happening across their ecosystems of partners and customers, marketplaces, and internal cloud and on-premise applications. Our solutions empower teams to drive business agility, accelerate onboarding, facilitate modernization of key business processes, and capture new revenue streams by reimagining and remastering their digital ecosystem through robust application, B2B, and data integration technologies. For more information, visit www.cleo.com or call +1.815.282.7695.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220726005193/en/

Contacts

Kathleen See

10Fold Communications on behalf of Cleo

cleo@10fold.com
In its first full quarter of results, TelevisaUnivision reported a modest uptick in revenue and reiterated its belief in having a unique market opportunity, though its adjusted income faltered due to investments in streaming.

The earnings report reflected operations during the quarter ending June 30. On January 31, Univision and the media division of Mexico-based Televisa completed a $4.8 billion merger, creating the worlds top Spanish-language media company and keeping it privately held. That transaction followed the December 2020 close of the acquisition of a controlling stake in Univision by a consortium of investors. Quarterly comparisons with the year-ago period were made on a pro-forma basis.

More from Deadline

Revenue in the quarter ticked up 7% to $747.5 million. Adjusted operating income before depreciation and amortization slipped 8% from a year ago to $373.3 million. The company noted the hit to the bottom line created by an investment in streaming, though CEO Wade Davis has also emphasized that the company views streaming as incremental to its still-viable linear business. Operating expenses increased 24% to $723 million, mainly due to investments in Vix and Vix+, which have launched in recent months.

Repeatedly in a one-hour conference call with Wall Street analysts, Davis pointed to the launch of streaming service Vix and Vix+. The free, ad supported former went live in March and the subscription tier debuted last week. The company did not offer any early subscriber numbers or other metrics, but CEO Wade Davis asserted that the offering is unique in the marketplace and that TelevisaUnivision would benefit as a result.

Story continues

Davis also pointed to the companys fabulous result in the recently concluded 2022-23 upfront sales process, with volume increases in the mid-to-high-teens (probably 3x what the rest of the market got) and record pricing. We have now reset pricing for Univision, he said, with pricing at or above the general market over the past two upfronts. The Hispanic networks ratings came in flat in the quarter as U.S. broadcast nets saw their viewership plummet by double digits, he said.

With triple-digit growth in streaming in this years upfront compared with a year ago, he added, this is not a share-shift for us in the same way it is for other people. Streaming is incremental. We grew the network alone by double digits in linear.

Political advertising for this years mid-terms as well as the presidential cycle in 2024 will provide a significant boost, Davis said. Hispanic viewers served by the company are also the swing vote for both Republicans and Democrats. With healthy demand thus far on the part of advertisers seeking those voters, Davis said TelevisaUnivision is just as bullish, if not more bullish as in past election years.

As far as macroeconomic challenges, which have shown up in some companies reports at the early stages of earnings season, Davis said the company isnt seeing any reason not to be incredibly optimistic about the second half of the year. Although there were slightly above-average rates of advertisers canceling their ad buys in the second quarter, he added, the trend was category-specific. About 70% of those cancellations were in the auto, consumer packaged goods, food and retail categories, the exec estimated, and while third-quarter cancellations have continued, they are showing about a percentage point of sequential improvement from the prior quarter.

The second quarter was the best quarter weve had in five years, period, in terms of overall volume, the exec said, returning to the main thrust of the companys pitch to the marketplace. The mega-opportunity that exists here is the fact that only about a third of U.S. TV advertisers are advertising today to the U.S. Hispanic population. And of those who are advertising, about half of them are under-indexing their spend relative to the audience and the size of the economy that they represent. So, the billion-dollar U.S. advertising opportunity is simply for us to get a fair share of marketing spend relative to the size and purchasing power of our audience.

Best of Deadline
Fintech Veteran Is Building Out Technology-Focused Product Team to Fully Leverage Data, Deliver Greater Efficiency via Automation and Drive Rapid Growth

TAMPA, Fla., July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Transflo, a leading mobile and cloud-based platform that automates and unifies supply chain processes, today announced that fintech veteran Justin King has joined the company as Chief Product Officer (CPO). King is focused on building out a world-class, technology-focused product team to accelerate the company's rapid growth through digital innovation.

Justin King, Chief Product Officer

King brings significant experience to the role with over 20 years in the financial technology industry. His experience includes nearly 10 years at Visa, where he held pivotal product management and fintech partnership positions and later served as VP, Head of Global Small Business Product. In the latter role, he led a product team responsible for core product strategy and growth of Visa's Small Business Debit and Credit Card portfolios.

"We're excited to welcome a product innovator of Justin's caliber to the Transflo team," said Renee Krug, CEO at Transflo. "Justin's deep experience leading global product teams and driving new business through digital innovation in the transportation space is a perfect fit for Transflo's next phase of growth. Transflo is already the industry's leading data ecosystem, and Justin is uniquely qualified to take our products to the next level."

Prior to joining Transflo, King gained transportation technology experience as SVP of Product for Comdata's North America Trucking division, and then as Head of Product Innovation at Fleetcor. He led growth initiatives and product innovation for Fleetcor's North America Fuel division, one of the company's largest businesses, where he focused on transformative fleet technologies and digital innovation to drive growth.

"The depth of Transflo's customer relationships and our critical role in supply chain efficiency impressed me on day one," King said. "I'm amazed by the team's passion for the company and excited about the product growth opportunities here. We're already a technology leader with over $115 billion in annual freight invoices processed, over 3.2 million driver app downloads, and deep relationships with top carriers, factors, and freight brokers. It's a great foundation to build on for our next phase of growth."

Story continues

King is originally from Boise, Idaho where he began his career with Albertsons and U.S. Bank. Earlier, he earned a BA from the College of Idaho, where he currently serves as President of the National Alumni Board. King also holds an MBA from Northwest Nazarene University, and currently resides in Franklin, Tennessee.

About Transflo

Transflo, a Pegasus TransTech company, is a leading mobile, telematics, and business process automation provider to the transportation industry in the United States and Canada. Transflo's mobile and cloud-based technologies deliver real-time communications to fleets, brokers, factors, shippers, and commercial vehicle drivers, and digitize 800 million shipping documents a year, representing approximately $115 billion in freight bills. Organizations throughout Transflo's neutral ecosystem use the digital platform to increase efficiency, improve cash flow, and reduce costs. Headquartered in Tampa, Florida, USA, Transflo has set the pace for innovation in transportation software for over 30 years. For more information, visit www.transflo.com.

Media Contact:

Kayla Cash

transflo@nextpr.com

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/transflo-hires-justin-king-as-chief-product-officer-301591911.html

SOURCE Transflo
The Nebraska Department of Transportation has announced that, weather permitting, the railroad crossing project near Mead will begin at 6 a.m. Friday, July 29, on Nebraska Highway 92.

The crossing repair work is being done by the Union Pacific Railway. The road will be closed and work is anticipated to take three days, until about 6 p.m. Sunday, July 31. Detours will be posted.

Motorists are reminded to drive cautiously in and near work zones, to buckle up, and put phones down.

The Mead Fire Department also urges motorists to use extreme caution if traveling the gravel roads as the dust will be bad.
The first of three groups of Afghan refugees that will comprise a total of some 300 people have arrived in Rome using a fresh humanitarian corridor established by the Italian government, charities, and international organizations.

The humanitarian corridor aims to give additional refugees and persecuted Afghans the possibility of a future in dignity and security following the withdrawal of the U.S.-led international troops in August last year and the Talibans returning to power, the ministry said.

A first group of nine people arrived in Rome from Tehran on July 25 to be followed by a larger second group of more than 200 Afghans due to arrive from Pakistan on July 27. The third group will reportedly fly from Tehran to Italy on July 28.

The 300 refugees arriving this week are part of an expected total of 1,200 Afghan refugees from Iran, Pakistan, and other neighboring countries, the ministry said, adding that women and children will have priority.

The UN refugee agency and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) were also involved in organizing the corridor along with charities including the Community of SantEgidio and Caritas.

Thousands of Afghans were evacuated after the fall of Kabul, but many who risked Taliban retribution were left behind.



Italy has been trying for several years to arrange humanitarian corridors as an alternative for illegal migration for those fleeing conflict, persecution, or other threatening situations.

However, the numbers of those being able to use such corridors are small compared to the tens of thousands of people who resort to smugglers to reach Europe.

The UN refugee agency said that 3,280 Afghan refugees arrived in Italy this year alone by the perilous Mediterranean Sea smuggling route that has caused tens of thousands of deaths.

With reporting by AP
In case you missed it  summer's most popular meteor shower is set to peak tonight above Colorado, with the celestial event remaining active through September 1.
By Laman Ismayilova

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has awarded renowned photographer Reza Deghati Dostluq Order, Azernews reports.

For many years, the photographer has drawn the attention of the world community to the Azerbaijani realities.

Famous photographer Reza Deghati has been traveling across the world for over 40 years.

Reza Deghati for the first time visited Azerbaijan in 1987. In 1997, he lived in Azerbaijan for several months and traveled across the country capturing the ordinary people in their everyday life, customs, and traditions of various people.

The world-famous photographer has always drawn attention to the Black January and Khojaly genocide that befell the Azerbaijani people in the 1990s.

He provided insight into the results of Armenian vandalism, destruction, and other atrocities, which he witnessed in Azerbaijan as a result of the Armenian aggression.

As a researcher at the National Geographic Society, Reza Deghati received a number of international awards.

The photographer was awarded Glory Medal of the University of Missouri and the title of honorary doctor of the American University of Paris (AUP). For his services, the French government awarded him the National Order of Merit.

In 2013, his exhibition "Azerbaijan - Land of Tolerance" organized by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation opened at UNESCO headquarters in Paris. The same exhibition was shown at UN headquarters in New York and the European Parliament in Brussels.
DENVER  A magistrate set a $10,000 bond Tuesday for Jordan Waddy, the 21-year-old man accused of assault and weapon possession by a previous offender who was shot by police officers in an incident July 17.

Prosecutors had requested a $75,000 cash-only bond, while Waddy's defense attorney argued for supervised release on personal recognizance.

Public defender Becca Butler-Dines said Waddy has a full-time job that he can return to on release, a stable living situation at his father's home and reliable transportation to appear at future court dates.

Waddy appeared virtually Tuesday. Butler-Dines said Waddy returned to the hospital over the weekend when he began bleeding internally from his wounds while waiting to be processed into jail. He was shot several times, she said, and initially spent several days in the hospital and underwent emergency surgery.

The facts of how the incident unfolded early in the morning of July 17 near 20th and Larimer streets are still in dispute. Police have said Waddy pointed a gun at officers, prompting them to fire. But Butler-Dines said evidence the defense has reviewed doesn't support the claims that Waddy threatened anyone with a gun.

Six bystanders were also injured in the incident.

"The footage that we have seen raises serious concerns about how DPD handled the situation," she said.

In a previous statement, Denver District Attorney Beth McCann said police suspected Waddy of having a gun in his pocket and that officers recovered a loaded gun at the scene.

Waddy faces one charge of third-degree assault, a misdemeanor. He originally was investigated for menacing, a more serious charge. He also faces three counts of possession of a weapon by a previous offender, a felony.

Waddy's civil rights attorney, Tyrone Glover, told The Denver Gazette that he believes the lower-level counts filed against his client don't support police's version of the incident.

"We're talking about charges that have nothing to do with officers or officer safety," Glover said.

"If he was threatening them with a gun, they would have charged him with threatening them with a gun."

Police have said they plan to release body camera footage of the incident. Under Colorado law, audio and video footage of an incident has to be released within 21 days of a request in which there is a complaint of misconduct leveled at a peace officer made by a civilian, nonprofit or another peace officer. The release can be delayed until 45 days if it would substantially interfere with or jeopardize an active or ongoing investigation.

Prosecutors don't object to the footage's release, they said Tuesday. However, Waddy can still raise a constitutional objection. Butler-Dines said they likely won't challenge the release, but they are still going through more than 120 pieces of footage and haven't made a final decision.

Two investigations are ongoing into the shootings by police to determine whether the officers violated department policy and if any criminal charges against the officers are warranted.
"He clearly does not have a moral compass."

Those are the words written by a detective with the Colorado Springs police in an affidavit acquired by The Gazette for the arrest of Joenny Manuel Astacio Ottenwalder, 36.

Ottenwalder and his girlfriend Kira Villalba, 29, are accused of having allowed their 15-month-old child to overdose on fentanyl, but a second case filed against them in July alleges that they sold drugs on multiple occasions to a 13-year-old girl, whose name was redacted from the affidavit. She overdosed twice.

According to the affidavit, Ottenwalder began selling drugs  the specific type of which was redacted from the document  to the 13-year-old girl in late 2021.

According to the affidavit, on Dec. 19, 2021, the teenage girl had her first overdose, and Ottenwalder and Villalba  whose name was redacted from the affidavit but was later revealed by Colorado Springs police  called 911 for help.

When officers arrived, the couple told police that they found the girl "on the side of the road" and called police. The victim would later go on to tell detectives that she was actually smoking the redacted drug in the car with both Ottenwalder and Villalba when she overdosed, according to the affidavit.

The affidavit states that police arrived and the victim was "brought back to life from the brink of death."

Less than two months later on Feb. 10, 2022, the same girl overdosed again and was revived at the Children's Hospital Colorado in Colorado Springs, according to the affidavit.

Initially, when interviewed by detectives, the victim said that she did not receive the drugs from Ottenwalder on either occurrence, but in her second interview she admitted to having bought the drugs from Ottenwalder.

Court records show that Ottenwalder was in consistent communication with the victim via text, and that the next day after her first overdose, Dec. 20, she requested drugs from Ottenwalder. That night, 24 hours after the overdose, Ottenwalder sold the victim five of a redacted type of pills for $50.

Texts in the affidavit show that Ottenwalder warned the victim of the dangers of the drug, and that she had to be careful.

"(Redacted) is a seriously dangerous drug," Ottenwalder wrote to the victim a few hours after her overdose on Dec. 19, 2021. "Had you not been with us and just your friends, since they don't know what to do who knows what would have happened."

Despite his concerns, Ottenwalder sold the 13-year-old girl pills the next day.

The affidavit outlines that text messages between the two continued in January and February, with the victim purchasing drugs from Ottenwalder on a number of occasions before on Feb. 11, 2022, when the victim informs Ottenwalder that "I just od" and "I'm headed to hospital."

Detectives would later interview with Ottenwalder from the El Paso County jail about the allegations. In the interview, Ottenwalder admitted to selling drugs to minors often.

"You'd be surprised... 13-year-olds, 17-year-olds are a big market, I don't know why, that's such a big market, 17, particularly 17-year-olds," Ottenwalder told the detective during the interview.

Ottenwalder claimed in the interview outlined in the affidavit that he was unaware the victim was 13 years old, and that he thought she was 17 or 16 years old. This claim was disputed by the detective who interviewed Ottenwalder.

"I do not believe that any adult can look at (the victim) and believe she is over the age of 15 years old," the affidavit states.

The detective requested a bond increase up to $1 million for Ottenwalder on these charges.

"He clearly does not have a moral compass and will sell (redacted) to anyone, no matter what age to make money to support his drug addiction," the detective states within the affidavit. "I am requesting the court grant a $1,000,000 cash only bond. I do not request the bond increased because I think Joenny (Ottenwalder) and (Villalba) will flea the area, but because (Villalba) and Joenny will continue to sell (redacted) pills to anyone and everyone, not caring who dies in the process."

Ottenwalder disputed this in his interview with detectives, stating that the only way he is able to make money is through selling drugs, and he has no other options.

"I don't even want to sell this, I kinda want, but if I'm in the streets I don't have any other way of living," Ottenwalder told detectives. "It's a vicious cycle unfortunately. I'm not proud of it."

Ottenwalder and Villalba are currently being held in El Paso County jail and face six allegations in the case filed against them in 4th Judicial District Court, including reckless child abuse causing serious bodily injury, contributing to delinquency and controlled substance distribution to a minor, according to court records.

The couple also have a second case in the 4th Judicial District Court and each faces one count of reckless child abuse causing death and three counts of controlled substance possession for allegedly allowing their 15-month-old son to die of a fentanyl overdose in November 2021.

For those charges, Ottenwalder is in jail on a $200,000 bond and Villalba on a $100,000 bond. Court records show that an additional bond of $250,000 has been set for them in the new case, which was filed against them July 8.

The couple will make their first appearance in court on the new charges on Wednesday.

Editor's note: The last name Ottenwalder was added to Joenny Manuel Astacio, the name published in earlier stories about the case. Ottenwalder was added based on the affidavit and an inmate information search.
The Denver Police Department on Tuesday arrested two of its officers for felony theft, alleging they billed a business thousands of dollars but failed to show up for the off-duty work.

Police took DPD officers Michael Pineda, 50, and Santana Pineda, 26, into custody over allegations they billed a private contractor for hours "not worked," according to a news release.

Michael Pineda has been with the department since 2004, while his son, Santana Pineda, has worked for the force since 2019, both in the patrol division. Both officers were placed on paid administrative leave on July 11. Police said they are now both on non-paid administrative leave following their arrest.

An internal affairs investigation began when the father and son failed to show up for a scheduled, non-department paid off-duty job on April 15.

Investigators reviewed their timesheets with hours of surveillance video form the private employer and found 23 shift discrepancies for Michael Pineda valued at $5,070 and 18 shift discrepancies for Santana Pineda valued at $3,751.50.

The two worked off-duty for the business starting in October 2021, but surveillance tapes, which investigators used to confirm their work hours, only went as far back as the end of February this year, the police said.

"The Denver Police Department takes seriously any allegation of misconduct by officers, whether the complaint is initiated internally or externally, and has a robust disciplinary process which includes the Denver Department of Safety and the Office of the Independent monitor, a civilian oversight agency," the police said in the news release.
Faculty and students at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs are mourning the loss of a student who was found dead in a dorm room over the weekend, according to a Monday announcement.

Dawson Wilcox, 19, was found unresponsive Saturday night when police performed a welfare check at the dorms, according to university spokesman Chris Valentine. No cause of death has been released.

It is devastating to lose a member of the Mountain Lion Family, university Chancellor Venkat Reddy said in a statement.

Wilcox, who began at UCCS last fall, was a philosophy and political science double major and a member of the Phi Alpha Delta Pre-Law Fraternity, officials said.

The university announced it is offering mental health support services for students and employees.

I know this news is hard for so many, especially those who knew and loved Dawson, Reddy said.
By Trend

The income of the State Social Protection Fund (SSPF) under the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population of Azerbaijan Republic increased by 7.3 percent in the first half of 2022 compared to the same period last year, SSPF told Trend.

SSPF said that the dynamics of reducing illegal employment as a result of the implementation of systemic socio-economic reforms, consistent growth of employment opportunities and wages made it possible to ensure a continuous increase in social insurance revenues.

SSPF revenues increased by 21 percent as a result of social insurance receipts over the past six months, the fund said.

The steady growth of these revenues, optimization of the funds activities and ensuring transparency made it possible to reduce the number of transfers by 8.55 percent from the state budget to SSPF from January through June 2022.

Fund also noted that despite the steady growth of social payments over the past four years, the share of transfers from the state budget to the SSPF budget for the first time in the history of the fund decreased by 17.6 percent from 38 percent four years ago to 20.42 percent.

It also indicates that significant progress has been made in strengthening the financial independence and sustainability of the SSPF, fund added.
This picture was taken Sunday morning in Lower Downtown Denver minutes after a shooting in which one suspect and six bystanders were rushed to Denver Health Medical Center. The investigation into whether the shots were the result of a direct shot or were ricochets is ongoing.
Hong Kong: Hospital Road site sold

The tender for a private residential site on Hospital Road has been awarded on a 50-year land grant at a premium of $551 million, the Lands Department announced today.

Inland Lot No. 8872 at Hospital Road was awarded to Bestford Group, a subsidiary of K. Wah International.

It has a site area of about 499.1 sq m and is designated for private residential purposes.

The site's minimum and maximum gross floor areas are 2,396 sq m and 3,992.8 sq m.

This story has been published on: 2022-07-26. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
By Trend

Russia's IrAero airline will resume Yekaterinburg-Baku flights, starting from July 31, Trend reports via the press service of the Ekaterinburg International Airport.

The flights to the Azerbaijani capital will be operated on Superjet 100 aircraft at 17:20 (GMT+5) on Sundays and 20:20 on Wednesdays, and will last for two hours, the press service said.
El Paso County Republican Party Chairwoman Vickie Tonkins has called on GOP nominee Joe Roybal to contemplate withdrawing from his race for sheriff in the upcoming November election following accusations he bribed petition signers to get on the primary ballot.

In an unsigned letter written on the party's official letterhead and dated July 23, Tonkins, whose contact information is listed, wrote that Roybal "should strongly consider stepping back from running for El Paso County sheriff" so residents "can vote for a solid conservative and claim an unvarnished, untainted win in November."

Roybal admitted this month to unknowingly violating Colorado election law when he allowed a local shooting range owner in February to offer a $5 discount at his shooting range to entice voters to sign Roybal's petition to get onto the GOP primary ballot.

Roybal won the Republican nomination for the sheriff's seat in the June 28 primary.

Last week, 10th Judicial District Attorney Jeff Chostner said he would not pursue charges of election bribery against Roybal. In a letter of warning, though, Chostner admonished the candidate's actions as "reprehensible and contrary to the functioning of a representative democracy."

Chostner's office launched an investigation early this month into the alleged election violation involving Roybal and shooting range owner Mel "Dragon Man" Bernstein. Former sheriff's contender Karl Dent filed a formal complaint with the 4th Judicial District Attorney's Office on June 30 alleging Bernstein bribed voters to sign Roybal's petition. Since 4th Judicial District Attorney Michael Allen had publicly endorsed Roybal, Dent requested his complaint be referred to the Colorado Attorney General's Office for further investigation. Instead, Allen asked Chostner to take on the case as a special prosecutor, a move permitted under state law.

Tonkins, in her July 23 letter, said "the perpetual stench of this misstep is poised to haunt Roybal throughout his term and the (Colorado GOP) for the foreseeable future "

Through a short statement issued from his campaign Tuesday morning, Roybal said he had no intention of withdrawing.

"I will never withdraw from the race. The voters chose their candidate on June 28," he said.

Karl Schneider, vice chairman of the El Paso County GOP party, said Tonkins' opposition to Roybal as a Republican nominee for office is an "unheard of" move that violates Colorado Republican Committee bylaws.

"It's absolutely inappropriate," Schneider said. "In general, the party position and the party chair should support all candidates.  It is certainly against all things, party-wise, to actively go against a candidate publicly."

Tonkins told The Gazette on Tuesday she asked Roybal to consider withdrawing because "this bribery will be an issue with his run.  I have to think about the whole of El Paso County Republicans and not just one race."

Tonkins also said this has happened before. She pointed to the Colorado Republican Party's statewide officers, including Chairwoman Kristi Burton Brown, requesting unsuccessful secretary of state candidate Tina Peters suspend her campaign in March, while under indictment on several felony charges related to allegations she tampered with voting equipment in her former capacity as Mesa County clerk.

Schneider said Tonkins' move is symptomatic of a widening split between the local Republican party leadership  "Vickie Tonkins," he said  and a slate of largely incumbent El Paso County Republicans who swept the primary races with landslide victories.

Rejected candidates in each of the Republican races had promoted election conspiracy theories and supported major reforms, such as a return to hand-counting ballots. They campaigned as a slate, with several of them appearing on stage at events with Tonkins, a choice some saw as favoritism within the party.

Schneider said he believed Tonkins' call for Roybal to consider withdrawing from the race was a maneuver to get "radical, extreme, hyper-antagonistic candidates of her choice to be on the ballot to be elected."

Tonkins did not respond directly to that criticism, but said the rift "is one that has been in this party for decades, it just comes out more against me because I will fight for truth where others have not in the past."

She has previously denied accusations of favoritism.

Roybal will face Democratic sheriff's candidate John Foley in the November election.
Saudi Arabia has plans to make its stock exchange one of the top three markets in the world, said His Royal Highness Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, while announcing that the futuristic city NEOM will sell shares to the public in 2024, adding nearly SR1 trillion ($266 billion) to the market.

Speaking to reporters after unveiling the designs of The Line, the city in NEOM, the Crown Prince noted that the NEOM will add more than SR5 trillion to the stock exchange (Tadawul) in later stages as more parts of the project will be completed, said an Arab News report.

He added that all companies owned by the Public Investment Fund will be listed on the stock market in the future.

The Crown Prince said investments for NEOM's first phase could reach SR1.2 trillion by 2030.

Saudi Arabia will set aside SR300 billion ($80 billion) for an investment fund tied to the megaproject and the Neom Investment Fund could potentially expand to SR400 billion, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said, according to a Bloomberg report

The first phase of the project, which runs until 2030, will cost SR1.2 trillion, with about half of that covered by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), he said. Officials will seek to raise another SR600 billion from other sovereign wealth funds in the region, private investors in Saudi Arabia and abroad, and an initial public offering of Neom itself on the Saudi stock market.

His latest announcement detailed a plan within Neom for twin skyscrapers that stretch horizontally for more than 100 kilometres, containing within them an entire city of 9 million people.

The Crown Prince told reporters that his plan to remake Saudi Arabia involves increasing its population from around 34 million people currently to between 50 million and 60 million by 2030. Half will be foreigners, he added, compared to the kingdoms current demographic balance of around a third foreigners and two thirds Saudi citizens, Bloomberg said.

By 2030, 1.5 million people will be living in The Line -- the twin buildings -- reaching 9 million by 2045, he said.

Neom will start engaging major potential investors by the end of this year, he said. Officials are talking to companies around the planet, and many Chinese firms are already working in Neom, he said.
After a long day's ride, participants in the Register's Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa need space to pop a tent. Mason City gives them several options.

"We want to show off Mason City off in the best light. ... We want people to think that this was the highlight of RAGBRAI," said Campgrounds Co-Chair Steven Van Steenhuyse.

Van Steenhuyse was a part of the RAGBRAI preparations in 2014 and had all of his maps and notes to work off of. He added contacts with charter companies, and teams made things easier by detailing who will be using the campgrounds.

Riders will stay at designated campsites along the main bicycle route. There are several camping areas throughout the city. RAGBRAI campground locations include the following:

North Iowa Events Center.

Parker's Woods.

East Park.

Mason City High School.

Jefferson Elementary School.

Riverside in the North Carolina Avenue area between Fourth Street Northeast and 12th Street Northeast.

North Iowa Events Center, which has water and electrical hookups, will accommodate most of the riders with RVs. A shuttle bus to the downtown activities will be provided for riders.

East Park will be the main campground, with the main information center and medical tent. The Des Moines Register campground and baggage trucks will be found there as well.

Other sites at East Park, Parker's Woods Park, and MCHS all will have shuttle buses to downtown. The designated quiet and family campground is at MCHS.

All camping sites will have temporary shower facilities set up for riders to use. Some of the sites will have food vendors as well.

Van Steenhuyse said some of the riders are a part of charters, companies that carry the rider's camping gear and set it up for them. The Register also has baggage trucks to carry gear but riders will have to set up the tent themselves.

"There will be 8,000 to 10,000 people that are just with the Register, and they will all be in East Park," said Van Steenhuyse.

Planning out numbers that will be at certain campsites is a bit of a guessing game this year according to Van Steenhuyse. The reason for this is because of people using social media.

"One thing that's really changed from then to now is how teams and groups have used social media to find their spot," Van Steenhuyse said. "We've noticed that a lot of teams that were in the campgrounds last time are using Facebook housing match pages to instead camp in somebody's yard."

If there are campgrounds that receive too much rain, like Parker's Woods or MCHS, riders will be placed at North Iowa Area Community College.

"I've talked to several people that are higher up than me. They've all said that they've ordered good weather," said Van Steenhuyse with a smile.

Residents are reminded to be prepared for heavy traffic in these areas. Neighborhoods near camping sites, like Jefferson Elementary School, have been sent letters about the riders coming through.

Residents living near the 2008 flood buyout area near the Riverside campground area may have campers on sites adjacent to their properties, according to a press release. City crews will place police tape barriers to keep campers off private property.

If Mason City residents have a noise problem or observe criminal activity during the overnight stay, they are encouraged to call the Mason City Police Department.

Teams and charters in the past have been good about cleaning up after themselves according to Van Steenhuyse.

"By 10 a.m. the next morning, you won't even know they were there," said Van Steenhuyse.

Those with campgrounds-related questions can contact email Van Steenhuyse at svansteenhuyse@masoncity.net.
With RAGBRAI just a day away from Mason City, first responders throughout the area are finishing preparations for thousands of riders to make their way into town.

"It's fun. It's cool to meet people from all over" said Chief Deputy David Hepperly of Cerro Gordo County Sheriff's Department. Hepperly said the department's main objective will be traffic control. It will have stations throughout the route and into Mason City on Wednesday.

Officers also will assist the Mason City Police Department in downtown for the overnight stay. The next day, the sheriff's department will assist riders on their way to Charles City as they cross Cerro Gordo County into Floyd County.

Other area agencies also will dispatch officers to Mason City to assist in downtown security, campground security and detours throughout town, including the Cedar Falls and Clear Lake police departments.

There will be 22 officers stationed downtown, awaiting the first RAGBRAI Century Day finishers, expected to arrive by early afternoon. Mason City Police Chief Brinkley reported daily registration for Century Day is up this year, and riders anticipate a fun-filled day throughout Mason City.

"Post-COVID people are looking for something fun to do," Brinkley noted. "If you enjoy being around people, you'll have fun." This event will bring more than 17,000 cyclists into town for the night, shutting down parts of Mason City and bringing together people from all over the country and across the world.

19th Street Southwest  westbound traffic only from Pierce Avenue west to city limits.

Pierce Avenue  southbound traffic only from First Street Northwest to 19th Street Southwest.

First Street Northwest  closed to vehicle traffic from Pierce Avenue to downtown.

East State Street  closed to vehicle traffic from downtown to Kentucky Avenue.

No parking will be allowed along Pierce Street, First Street Northwest, or East State Street during this time, according to a press release.

RAGBRAI More than 17,000 cyclists will make their way to Mason City from Emmetsburg as part of the 2

Parking lot closures have already begun for the event. Downtown street parking will be closed beginning at 11 p.m. Tuesday. Lots and downtown street parking will remain closed through Wednesday and are expected to re-open Thursday.

Riders are expected to leave Mason City beginning at 5 a.m. Thursday and support vehicles around 7 a.m. Road closures on Thursday, when riders head to Charles City, will run from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. The following are the streets that will be closed:

East State Streetclosed from East Park to Kentucky Avenue.

Kentucky Avenueclosed from State Street to south city limits.

There will be no parking along East State Street from East Park to Kentucky Avenue or along Kentucky Avenue from State Street to south city limits. Support vehicles will leave Mason City on 12th Street east to California Avenue out their way to Charles City.

Residents on Marble Court, Slate Court, and Sandstone Court Southeast will have difficulty leaving, and it is suggested you leave a vehicle in the church parking lot, according to the RAGBRAI Mason City website.

An interactive map is available for residents, businesses, and RAGBRAI guests to help provide guidance on traffic, campground locations, and downtown street closures. Residents are encouraged to click here, read the information and then enter their address to see how RAGBRAIs visit to Mason City may impact them.

The fire department and ambulance service also are prepared for this event, receiving training from the new Simulation in Action-Iowa truck. Mason City EMS will have extra staff on hand, with minimal response time the goal for Wednesday's festivities.

SIM-IA debuts on a pre-RAGBRAI tour, stops in Mason City The debut tour of a simulated clinical learning vehicle made its way through Mason City on W

There will be first aid stations throughout RAGBRAI areas, staffed by Mason City EMS and MercyOne volunteers, according to Carl Ginapp, Deputy Chief of Mason City EMS.

"We have extra staff proportionate to the amount of people; everything should go just fine" said Ginapp.
The Charles City School District has a familiar face taking on a new role.

Jennifer Schilling is the new director of academic services for the district, according to a press release. This new position replaces the executive director of student engagement and leadership.

Schilling's most recent experience is at the Central Rivers Area Education Agency as a math consultant. She also supported a standards-based evaluation team and served as a social studies consultant. Before working at the AEA, she was an associate professor of mathematics at Wartburg College in Waverly. Community members may recognize her as a former teacher in Charles City, teaching middle school math for a decade from 1998 to 2008.

"I'm excited to be back in Charles City. It's exciting and scary, considering this position is new, and it has a lot of expectations. I'm excited for the challenge and working with various district teams to improve student achievement," said Schilling in a statement.

Schilling notes the gains in academic achievement by Charles City during the past few years, according to a press release.

"You're seeing some of the progress from the first steps; now, how can we make it better? How can we take a curriculum and make it more engaging for the students, so they are more involved in problem-solving and discussion in class?" said Schilling.

Her top goals are building a cohesive math curriculum and supporting teachers in implementing best instructional practices across all school campuses built on a common philosophy about what is best for student learning. She strives to provide teachers with professional learning and the best math and literacy instructional practices.

"Kids need to talk about their thinking as they learn new information," Schilling said in a statement. "It's not only the teacher giving students information but providing classroom opportunities to make sense of the information and apply their learning to real-life applications. Students need to talk about their math and be flexible in their thinking."

High priorities include having teachers review student data regularly and communicating classroom standards to parents.

"Literacy is very focused and direct. Mathematics instruction is shifting as the demands of the workplace are shifting. Students need opportunities to think about meaningful problem-solving situations. Math content hasn't changed, but how we want kids to learn math and how we teach it has changed," said Schilling.

The new director position will focus on curriculum districtwide, the local oversight of Iowa's Teacher Leadership and Compensation System, the Title I program, and English language learners.
CEDAR FALLS  Patrons of the Cedar Falls Public Library found the doors shut Saturday following the slaying of employee Sarah Schmidt, along with her husband, Tyler, and their 6-year-old daughter, Lula.

The family was camping at the Maquoketa Caves State Park Friday when they were killed. The suspect, who had no known interactions with the family prior to the incident, then took his own life. The Schmidts 9-year-old son, Arlo, survived.

We have no knowledge of the individual who conducted this act, Adam Morehouse, Sarah Schmidts younger brother, said in a phone interview. We dont know who it was. Weve never met that person. And this was 100% random.

The Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation identified the suspected gunman as 23-year-old Anthony Sherwin of La Vista, Nebraska. His body was found at the park with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Outside of the library Saturday, a sign explaining the closure was flanked by drawings and messages showing support for the family.

The Schmidt family moved from Lawrence, Kansas, to Cedar Falls around 2018 to be closer to Tylers family. Morehouse said his sister and her family took to the community immediately. When storms hit, Sarah would call her brother for help with reading the radar so she could share the information with friends and neighbors.

Sarah and Tyler and Arlo and Lula were the Midwestern family that we all would want to be, Morehouse said. They were extremely loving and compassionate to each other and everybody they met. They were always doing the right thing at the right time, and they were always that sound mind that you couldve called when something like this wouldve happened.

Tyler was a software engineer, working remotely for a company based in the Kansas City area. Sarah started working at the library late in 2021 as an assistant in the circulation department. Library Director Kelly Stern said she made the most of her short time there, and her impact will be felt for a long time.

Sarah and her family were some of the kindest and most loving people you could ever meet, which makes this tragedy even more incomprehensible and senseless and difficult to process, Stern said in a phone interview. Patrons loved her. Even in the smallest interactions with our patrons, Sarah let people know that she cared about them and they were important to her.

Sarahs supervisor, Amy Stuenkel, added that Sarah ran the summer reading program, took care of mending books and had a knack for finding things in the library that no one else could.

Stuenkel said her interaction with the rest of the family was limited, but Sarah always took the time to praise her children and say how smart they were. Arlo is ahead of his grade in math, and Lula also excelled in school.

She came home one time and said, I know what 60 + 60 + 60 is  three hours, Stuenkel said. Its really smart for a 6 year old.

Morehouse confirmed that Arlo Schmidt is safe with family and was with authorities immediately after the incident.

My nephew is strong and our focus in the next few days is on him, Jana Morehouse, Sarahs younger sister, said on Facebook.

By Monday afternoon, more than $205,000 had flowed into a GoFundMe page created for Arlo. The page, which says it was organized by a cousin, Beth Shapiro, states: Arlo is a strong boy, surrounded by family and friends who are supporting him as best we can. The page says the fund will help Arlo now, and help fund his future education.

To find the page, click the hyperlink above, or go online to gofundme.com and then search Arlo Schmidt.
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
Bahrain Health Matters, a dedicated online platform to inform the residents and citizens of Bahrain about issues surrounding health, is now live.

Health Matters is part of our general commitment to the promotion of health and wellness in Bahrain and across the GCC. We are all aware of the impact of health to the quality of life; but we should also pay equal attention to wellness and sickness prevention through lifestyle choices. Health Matters is committed to bring this awareness to the community, says Jubran Abdulrahman, Managing Director of HCE, the company behind the not-for-profit initiative.

BahrainHealthMatters.com will be a hub for information on a variety of health issues. The online presence through the website and social media handles will feature daily news updates and educational content. The Library features professional peer reviewed articles sourced from international authorities providing ease of access for medical practitioners.

This ambitious site will also look to cater to Bahrains medical community through the Academy which will organise health workshops and talks by medical professionals. The Academy will be delivered in collaboration with its training partners Health Capita.

The health and wellness campaign focuses on nurturing public awareness on topics related to leading a healthy lifestyle and includes a variety of issues that range from medical, cosmetic, nutrition, exercise and alternative therapies.

Ahmed Suleiman, Project Director, adds: Health Matters will be a year-round engagement of virtual and physical elements promoting health and wellness. Our campaign is supplemented by a diverse social media presence that delivers the headlines and breaking news with links to full articles on the website. BahrainHealthMatters.com is for informative purposes only and not a substitute for professional in-person expertise and we would urge anyone having concerns about their health to consult their doctor.

The Health Matters campaign also carries the support of the National Health Regulatory Authority (NHRA).  TradeArabia News Service
A Hampton Circuit judge on Monday sentenced Julia Leanna Tomlin to 55 years in prison, the maximum allowed, for the 2019 murder of her young son.

Tomlin, 37, pleaded guilty in December to second-degree murder, concealing a dead body and felony child abuse. When Michael Gaten, the chief judge for the Hampton Circuit Court, asked Tomlin if she wanted to say anything at the sentencing hearing, she declined to speak.

Tomlin reported her 2-year-old son, Noah, missing June 24, 2019, from her trailer in the Bayside Village Mobile Home Park in the Buckroe Beach area. Police said she told them the boy must have been abducted sometime between when she put him to bed and then checked on him about 10 hours later.

Law enforcement and community members searched for 10 days before Noahs remains were found in a cardboard box at a city-owned trash incinerator. A team of local, state and federal law enforcement officers and fire fighters searched by hand through more than 2 million tons of trash before the discovery was made.

After the boys body was found, investigators said Tomlin changed her story. They said she claimed shed been using heroin the day Noah died and that he drowned after she left him unattended in the bathtub. Unable to revive him with CPR, she told investigators she later placed his body in a Huggies diaper box, wrapped it in garbage bags, and asked a friend to dispose of it. She said the friend didnt know what was inside.

A medical examiner, however, found several long-term injuries on the toddler and ruled he died from blunt-force head trauma and battered child syndrome. Police found what was later confirmed to be Noahs blood on a bedroom wall, a bed sheet, and a toddler-sized shirt in Tomlins trailer.

Court records show Tomlin  mother to nine other children  was convicted in a prior felony child neglect incident in Newport News in 2010. In that case, she was charged with placing her 1-year-old daughter on a hot stove, causing burns to the girls back and shoulders. Tomlin reportedly contended it was an accident.
More people are now eligible for the monkeypox vaccine, the state health department said Monday.

People who have been in close physical contact with someone diagnosed with monkeypox in the past 14 days remain eligible, as before.

But now the vaccine is available to men who have sex with men, or with transgender individuals, who report any of the following in the last 90 days:

Having multiple or anonymous sex partners.

Being diagnosed with a sexually transmitted infection.

Receiving HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis, the medicine used to prevent HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

What well be moving to is men who have sex with men and have had more than one partner in the last 90 days instead of 14 (days), said Kody Kinsley, secretary of the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, in an interview.

Were trying to broaden the language a little bit so we can continue to make sure we are getting ahead in preventing this virus from spreading, Kinsley said. As we continue ... to get more availability of vaccines, we will continue to expand eligibility.

Monkeypox cases in NC

As of Monday afternoon, North Carolina has 34 confirmed monkeypox cases.

NCDHHS released demographic data Thursday, when there were 24 cases in the state. All were among men between 18 and 50. Fifteen of them, or 63%, were Black, and the other nine, or 37%, were white. None of the reported cases were among Hispanic men.

Sexual orientation and gender identity were not disclosed. However, the departments monkeypox website indicates that cases have predominantly been in men who have sex with men, consistent with findings from other jurisdictions.

The department will not disclose sexual orientation and gender identity data until more cases are confirmed in order to protect the privacy of those who have had their cases confirmed, Kinsley said.

Were still describing their status as a man who has sex with men qualitatively because we believe there has to be some ambiguity here to protect peoples privacy, he said. What well probably change our website to say is nearly all cases in North Carolina are in men who have sex with men.

Still, Kinsley, who is gay, asserted that the disease can affect anyone. The departments communications also aim to discourage North Carolinians from stigmatizing affected groups, like the LGBTQ community.

Where to get vaccinated?

Vaccine availability is very limited in North Carolina.

Only seven local health departments and some HIV clinics have received vaccines as part of the phase 1 allocation of the Jynneos vaccine against monkeypox.

People who are eligible can call their local health department to make an appointment to receive the vaccine at no cost.

The only heath department in the Triad with the vaccine is the Forsyth County health department: 336-703-3100.

Public health emergency

NCDHHS has said monkeypox is a rare but potentially serious, viral illness that typically involves flu-like symptoms, swelling of the lymph nodes and a rash that includes bumps that are initially filled with fluid before scabbing over, The News & Observer previously reported.

Monkeypox can be transmitted through skin-to-skin contact, having contact with an infectious rash, through respiratory secretions or through bodily fluids.

The World Health Organization has officially declared the monkeypox outbreak a global public health emergency. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently confirmed the first two cases of monkeypox in children.
A trio of historic timber structure experts surveyed the Helena Fire Tower Monday as part of a push to rehabilitate the downtown icon.

The more than $200,000 project aims to repair the structure's decayed timber beams and at least a half dozen joints around its base.

Dick Schmidt, a structural engineer specializing in timber structures, runs the fittingly named Fire Tower Engineered Timber, based in Wyoming. Schmidt is one of the three experts brought in Monday to look over the Guardian of the Gulch.

The structure's current problems, he said, are "principally decay."

He said that since its construction in the 1870s, moisture has collected in the mortise-and-tenon joints, the checks and splits, breeding fungi that eats away the wood fiber.

As a result, at least six of the joints will likely need to be replaced along with the end segments of the timber beams and their tenons.

The project also aims to address some of the previous repair efforts, that were made in good faith but were not exactly best practice when it comes to both historic preservation and timber framing.

Doug Porter runs Porter & Associates in Burlington, Vermont, and specializes in historic timber framing. Porter was also part of the team inspecting the tower.

"It's so typical of these types of structures. We never arrive to find something pristine," he said with a chuckle. "But we also have to acknowledge that without the earlier repairs, it might not be here today."

In addition to Mike Cotroneo, a timber framing and historic preservation specialist based in Morrisville, Vermont, the men spent most of Monday going over the tower.

Porter said he utilized a pin-penetration wood density meter that charts the relative resistance of the each layer of wood as it is inserted into a beam.

The careful examination of the tower now ensures the city does not pay for unneeded repairs and as much of the tower as possible is retained.

The city will need to take bids on any contract for the actual rehabilitation work, but Porter said they were there to determine how much replacement timber and what sizes are needed.

"At this point, we'll come up with a plan that meets strict preservation requirements that a company can make a proposal based on," Porter said. "We're inching toward a repair plan."

The city has budgeted $150,000 of its funds for the project since 2020. Helena and Lewis and Clark County Heritage Preservation Officer Pam Attardo was also able to secure a $10,000 grant from the Montana History Foundation and is working with a local family foundation to raise the additional funds needed.

In 2020, staff planned to use dollars from Helena's Department of Parks, Recreation and Open Lands budget in conjunction with community donations and a Montana Department of Commerce Historic Preservation grant of $25,000 to begin rehabilitation work.

The anticipated department of commerce grant fell through. Helena's Fire Tower rehabilitation ranked 12th out of 94 projects that applied for the grant money, but the Montana Legislature killed the funding for it because it is located in Helena.

According to Attardo, years of neglect and the lack of a maintenance plan from the city has left the icon in "pretty dire straights." The last significant repair work done to the tower was in 1998.

But the project may have taken on a greater, national significance.

While conducting research for the project, Attardo's team uncovered a newspaper article from 1970 that claimed the Helena Fire Tower was one of only five such structures, a timber fire lookout tower in an urban setting, left in the United States, prompting the team to track down any others.

Downtown Port Townsend, Washington, boasts a fire bell tower, however, it is only a bell tower and is made of planed lumber, not heavy timber like Helena's tower.

They also learned of a fire tower in the New York City neighborhood of Harlem, but it is made of metal.

After hearing from contacts in 47 states, Attardo's team believes it is quite possible Helena's is the last remaining timber fire tower in an urban setting in the country.

"Then it becomes nationally significant," Attardo said in a previous interview. "That would open up the door to more grant opportunities and federal funding."

To back up the city's commitment, Attardo said the Helena and Lewis and Clark County Heritage Tourism Council is working with nonprofit organizations Preserve Montana and Friends of the Fire Tower to drum up an additional $100,000 to seed a permanent endowment for the fire tower administered by Montana History Foundation.

"The hope is it won't get back to the point it's at now," she said previously.

The city's parks department is accepting donations for the tower by check. Those can be mailed to or dropped off at the parks department on the fourth floor of the City-County Building, 316 N. Park Ave. The check must specify that the donation is for the Helena Fire Tower repair in the lower left-hand corner.
Guten tag from Helena High School student Bethany Young.

Young, whos from Boulder, has been awarded the prestigious Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange Scholarship (CBYX).

Each year, as a U.S. Department of State partner, ASSE International awards the fully funded CBYX scholarships to 50 high-achieving high school students from 10 states, allowing youth from a diverse array of communities to participate in a full cultural immersion experience, stated ASSE International in a press release.

Young is one of the 250 American high school students across the nation to receive the CBYX scholarship for the 2022-2023 academic year. These students will be traveling from August 2022 to June 2023 in a bilateral exchange program co-sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and the German Bundestag (parliament).

As a CBYX recipient, Young will experience German life firsthand and attend a German high school. Students in this program will also have the opportunity to meet with both U.S. congressional representatives and German Bundestag members.

Since 1983, the U.S. Congress and German Bundestag have funded the CBYX scholarship program with the vision of a global future for young people. This program has enabled 27,000 students to expand their horizons and perspectives all the while making new friends.

CBYX students are youth ambassadors of the United States and share their life and culture with German hosts to build a greater understanding of America and its diversity.

When Young leaves for Germany, there will also be a group of Germany CBYX scholarship students arriving to live with American host families and attend high school in the U.S.
Work on a $9.6 million project to make improvements along Lincoln Road north is at the halfway point, a state official said.

Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) and contracting partner Helena Sand and Gravel are improving the Lincoln Road and Montana Avenue intersection as well as the Interstate 15 and Lincoln Road interchange, exit 200, northbound off-ramp and southbound on-ramp.

Roundabouts are being installed on the northbound I-15 off-ramp to Lincoln Road and at the intersection of Lincoln Road and Montana Avenue.

Most of the work is to be completed by fall, with crews returning in 2023 to chip seal and add final pavement markings to the roadway, an MDT official said.

Camaree Uljua, the MDT engineering project manager, said progress on the project is going along as scheduled.

"I think it is going better than expected," she said.

Ulja said half of the roundabout at Lincoln Road and Montana Avenue will be open in August. People will be able to travel east and west on Lincoln Road and north on Montana Avenue.

There will be a detour for southbound traffic.

This project is in an area of growth with homes and businesses. The present roadway, which had a four-way stop, presented safety and traffic flow concerns.

Its clearly an area of the valley that is growing rapidly, Uljua said. Its definitely busy out there. We are noticing that.

She said the traffic improvements will allow the neighborhood to grow and will aid in the increased volume of traffic. She said the roundabouts are significantly safer than a signal light intersection and there are benefits for pedestrian safety as well.

Uljua said she believes businesses are looking forward to the changes, and the contractors are working with the business owners to lessen the impact.

She said people are looking forward to completion.

Three businesses near the project were contacted for this story but did not respond to requests for comment.
Montanas first lady is forming a nonprofit foundation to fund her initiatives that include helping children with literacy and math and sciences, as well as completing the planned renovation of the governors residence.

Susan Gianforte recently established the Treasure State Foundation, which is in the process of getting 501(c)3 status from the IRS.

Gianforte said in speaking with first spouses around the country, they described their initiatives and said that they had foundations to support them.

(I thought) that would be just a great way to get some resources through a charitable organization to initiatives I was interested in, Gianforte said last month.

Its the first such organization in Montana to help first spouses work on issues they want to address. The foundation will accept personal and corporate donations, and most of the money raised to date has come from two governors balls held around the holidays.

The foundation is set up so its not tied to Gianforte specifically but whoever is the governors spouse, so the next spouse can make it their own. Funds will also transition with the foundation.

The board includes Gianforte; Betti Hill and Lorna Kuney, who has served as treasurer for several GOP candidates and will have a treasurer role for the foundation.

Gianforte said she picked a focus on reading and science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, because shes seen how literacy and a good education has changed her life, her own children's and others too.

I think its just critical for children to be able to read and be prepared when they get to school to be ready to learn, Gianforte said, adding that her professional background is in the STEM realm.

Gianforte has undergraduate and graduate degrees in mechanical engineering, as well as an MBA. She's held numerous positions in the engineering and tech arena with companies around the country, including as controller during the beginning of RightNow Technologies in Bozeman. She also handles the finances of the Gianforte Family Foundation, of which she is a trustee.

When it comes to reading, Gianforte said literacy creates access to all kinds of opportunity and further learning.

When a child learns to read, its a light bulb going off and the world just opens up, Gianforte said.

One of the resources Gianforte aims to tap is the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, a program that mails children from birth to age 5 a book every month.

Shes been in touch with a number of the affiliates already in Montana and wants to expand to a statewide program.

On the STEM initiative, Gianfortes main push will be to get in front of kids and encourage them to to consider math and science courses to see if it appeals to them. Shes already spoken to girls coding groups and participated in a science olympiad and said kids have been excited to learn the first spouse of Montana is an engineer.

I want students to know that its out there and that its a really great option if they have interest in math and science, to really consider pursuing that, Gianforte said.

Reading and STEM are foundational to kids having the opportunity to thrive as they grow and mature, Gianforte said. It just made a huge difference in my childhood and having a good, strong foundation as I went into high school and then into college so that I was prepared to be successful.

Another focus of the nonprofit will be the renovation of the governors residence, which hasnt had a major overhaul since it was built in 1959, Gianforte said.

The Legislature appropriated funding in 2019 but said it couldnt be used until 2021, and by the time the process started the cost of the work had increased.

Prices have gone up  so there is a shortfall for the construction and I think the Treasure State Foundation for a limited short-term project could help fill in the gap so that more money doesnt need to be appropriated, Gianforte said.
Aluminium Bahrains (Alba) Chief Executive Officer Ali Al Baqali has announced the companys financial backing to the National Initiative for Agricultural Development (NIAD) and the Supreme Council for Environments efforts in Ras Sanad Mangrove Nursery Project.

The announcement came during a meeting with NIADs Secretary-General Shaikha Maram bint Isa Al Khalifa on July 21.

The meeting was held at Alba premises where Al Baqali presented a cheque of BD134,000 to NIADs Secretary-General, which will aid NIADs joint efforts with the Supreme Council for Environment in biodiversity protection through the Ras Sanad Mangrove Nursery Project as part of the Forever Green National Campaign. Several top officials from Alba and NIAD were present during this meeting, following which the delegation was given a tour in Alba campus which included a special visit to Albas HRH Princess Sabeeka Oasis.

Commenting on this occasion, Al Baqali said: Collectively we can make a difference. Every step, no matter how small it is, counts. As one of the leading industrial companies in the Region, we fully endorse the objectives announced by HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Bahrain at COP26 which includes quadrupling the mangrove coverage in Bahrain. We are also pleased to support the NIAD and the Supreme Council for Environments efforts in developing Ras Sanad Mangrove Nursery Project. Our backing to ESG initiatives was made possible thanks to our Chairman of the Board Shaikh Daij bin Salman bin Daij Al Khalifa.

Shaikha Maram stated: We are pleased to receive Albas support for such an important project which is considered as a nature reserve in Bahrain. We also thank Alba for leading by example to achieve the objectives of the Kingdom of Bahrain in relation to decarbonisation and climate change.

Albas support for the Ras Sanad Mangrove Nursery Project is in line with its initiatives to achieve its Decarbonisation objectives - a priority area under its ESG Roadmap.  TradeArabia News Service
DECATUR  The Decatur Park District has decided against selling Lincoln Park to Decatur Public Schools for a new Dennis School campus.

In a statement released on Tuesday, the Decatur Park Board said it supports the Decatur Public School Districts efforts to improve the learning environments of the children they serve. However, after much consideration and hearing the valuable feedback of the community, the Decatur Park District has chosen not to proceed with the potential sale of Lincoln Park.

Decatur schools' spokeswoman Denise Swarthout said the district has been in conversations with the park district, but At this time, those conversations have come to an end, and we will not be moving forward with the project in Lincoln Park. DPS Administration will continue to look for viable facilities and/or locations and will make recommendations to the Board of Education in the very near future.

During an interview with the Herald & Review last week, school board President Dan Oakes said he was confident the deal between the two governmental bodies would be forthcoming and cited no other viable options.

There are no viable properties within the Dennis (School) area so we'll just have to see, Oakes said. This all just happened today and we need to meet, the board and the superintendent, before we make a decision.

The next school board meeting is scheduled for Aug. 9 and as yet, there are no plans to call a special meeting for discussion of other options, Swarthout saidsaid.

The news on June 27 that the school board and the park district board were discussing the possibility of building a new Dennis School in Lincoln Park was met with opposition from community members living in the west end neighborhood that borders the park.

Residents spoke at school board, park board and city council meetings, citing reasons from changing the character of the historic neighborhood, the narrow streets unsuitable for buses and school traffic, and the wildlife living in the park as reasons the proposed project should be abandoned. Various other locations were suggested by residents and other community members, such as the former Woodrow Wilson Junior High, which was owned by an out of state investor and is for sale by sealed bid auction due to delinquent taxes, but Oakes said other sites had been considered and rejected as unsuitable, including that one.

Decatur schools has $76 million in remaining federal COVID relief funds, and received a waiver from the General Assembly and Illinois State Board of Education to use a portion of the money to build a new school. Estimates were that it would cost around $38 million to build a new Dennis School in Lincoln Park.

Decatur Park District board President Bob Brilley II said he had not seen the news release.

We had a lot of discussion, a whole bunch of discussions, and we had various reasons (for the decision) and that was the decision of the board, he said.

Bret Robertson, chairman of History of the Heartland, an organization that works to preserve Decatur history, said his organization appreciated the community's efforts to save the park.

"This episode shows the importance of the public giving voice to Decatur's invaluable historic venues, neighborhoods, and natural places, he said.

"I thank the park district board for hearing the concerns of the Lincoln Park area in deciding not to sell Lincoln Park," said Mark Peters, who spearheaded the Lincoln Park Advocates Facebook page. "This issue has united the immediate neighborhood and the greater West End area in ways that I have not seen in 20 years of living in the Near West and being involved with NWRAPS/Millikin Heights.

"At this point I am asking those passionate and talented people to turn their attention towards helping the Decatur Public School District find solutions to the issues we have been discussing in the Dennis School area and across the district."
DECATUR  An autopsy shows that Decatur homicide victim Tiebryis R. May was killed by a single bullet wound to the chest, Macon County Coroner Michael E. Day said in a news release Tuesday.

May, 22, died at 4:31 a.m. Sunday in the operating room of Decatur Memorial Hospital. He had been brought to the hospital at 3:14 a.m. by private car after the shooting happened in the 3700 block of North Woodford Street.

Decatur man Jackie G. Deberry, 46, was arrested by Decatur police later on Sunday and booked on preliminary charges of first degree murder and violation of parole. He is currently held in the Macon County Jail with bail set at $1 million. Deberry has yet to enter a formal plea in court.

A check of Illinois Department of Corrections records shows Deberry was sentenced in 2019 in Piatt County to seven years in prison after being convicted of dealing in cocaine. And he was also sentenced to six years for the same offense in the same year after being convicted in Macon County Circuit Court.

All preliminary charges are subject to review by the state's attorneys office.
An Elizabethton, Tennessee man was arrested today by the Washington County Tennessee Sheriffs Office and charged with five counts of child rape.

According to a press release from the Washington County Tennessee Sheriffs Office, Christopher Chambers, 21, is alleged to have participated in sexual contact with a child under age 13 on multiple occasions in an investigation that began in February.

Investigators presented evidence against Chambers to the Washington County Tennessee Grand Jury earlier this month. The Grand Jury found sufficient evidence that Chambers likely violated the law.

In addition to the five counts of child rape, Chambers was charged with aggravated sexual battery of a victim under 13 years old. He is currently being held in the Washington County Detention Center on a $200,000 bond.
A Charlotte man was arrested in Newton after a high-speed chase on Interstate 40 on Sunday.

Derek Antony McClure, 32, was arrested on charges of felonious speeding to elude arrest, reckless driving, simple possession of marijuana and an insurance violation.

Deputies with the Catawba County Sheriffs Office attempted to stop a 1994 Mercury Grand Marquis on N.C. 16 near Mt. Olive Church Road, Capt. Aaron Turk said.

The vehicle did not stop for deputies. The vehicle traveled between 80 to 100 mph as deputies pursued. The chase lasted around 30 minutes until the N.C. Highway Patrol used tire deflation devices to stop the vehicle near mile marker 124 on westbound Interstate 40, Turk said.

Deputies searched the vehicle and found a small amount of marijuana. There was also a passenger in the vehicle.
N.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Paul Newby visited the Catawba County Courthouse on Monday. He thanked staff members for their hard work throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2020, we started hearing about this thing called COVID. Nobody knew what it was, Newby said. We have a constitutional requirement that courthouses shall be open. That means you have to unlock the door, let people in. You have to have people there. Youve got to administer justice without favor, denial or delay.

Newby said courthouse jobs were not something that could be done from home. Newby brought along his wife, Macon Newby, and Liz Henderson, his general counsel and chief of staff.

Staff members from the clerk of court's office, the district attorneys office and Catawba County judges gathered in Courtroom 10 to meet with Newby. Henderson handed out lapel pins to all staff members and cards to longtime state employees.

Newby presented Catawba County Clerk of Court Kim Sigmon with a banner to display in the courthouse that read, Are you treating others the way you would want to be treated? He said wants everybody to be treated with dignity and respect.
The man charged with firing a gun inside the Belk store at Winston-Salem's Hanes Mall on Sunday crashed the car he was driving into two other vehicles in Iredell County before he was taken into custody, the Iredell County Sheriffs Office reported.

In the Hanes Mall shooting, in which no one was injured, Carlton Verell McCrimmon Jr. was charged with assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, discharging a firearm in the city limits and discharging a firearm in an enclosed space with the intent to incite fear, Winston-Salem police said.

But McCrimmon, who is being held in the Iredell County Jail with bond set at $1.05 million, faces a slew of charges in Iredell County relating to what authorities described as a chase on Sunday in which the suspect drove on the wrong side of the road and struck two other vehicles before trying to run away on foot.

Deputies said they began looking over McCrimmons wrecked white Toyota Corolla and found a handgun and items with stickers and markings that led them to believe they had been stolen from the Winston-Salem area.

McCrimmon is 33 and lives in Port Washington, N.Y., a community on Long Island. Winston-Salem police allege McCrimmon first stole something from the University Parkway Home Depot store on Sunday before going to Hanes Mall and trying to steal from Belk.

Police said McCrimmon dropped the items inside Belk when he was approached by store personnel and ran from the store. According to police, McCrimmon then returned to Belk moments later and fired a gun multiple times in the direction of Belk staffers. Police said he then fled the mall in a white vehicle.

Iredell County Sheriffs Deputy Shawn Rowe saw a speeding white Toyota Corolla being driven recklessly around 6:45 p.m. on Turnersburg Highway southbound near East Edison Drive. Turnersburg Highway is U.S. 21 on the north side of Statesville.

When Rowe tried to stop the car by turning on his blue lights and siren, authorities said, McCrimmon sped up, crossed the double yellow line and began driving the wrong way into oncoming traffic. It wasnt long before McCrimmons car struck another vehicle, but deputies said he continued driving south and approached the Glenway Drive intersection just north of the Interstate 40 interchange.

At that point, reports show, McCrimmon crashed his car into the rear of another vehicle, causing it to spin around, go over the median and come to a stop on the opposite side of the road. McCrimmon got out of his car and tried to run away, authorities said, but deputies arrested him.

The Iredell Sheriffs Office said no one was injured in any of the wrecks.

In Iredell County, McCrimmon was charged with felony fleeing to elude arrest, careless and reckless driving, carrying a concealed weapon, resisting and obstructing an officer, maintaining a vehicle for a controlled substance, misdemeanor possession of less than 1/2 ounce of marijuana and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia.

Winston-Salem police said anyone with any information is asked to call them at 336-773-7700 or Crime Stoppers at 336-727-2800.

This story has been edited to correct the spelling of the suspect's name.
If you took French in the 1960s, chances are this dialog is burned into your memory:

Bonjour, Jean. Comment vas-tu? (Hello, John, How are you?)

Tres bien, merci. Et toi? (Very well, thanks. And you?)

Pas mal, merci. (Not bad, thanks).

This well-worn dialog is from the A-LM French course used in the 1960s. I know like a radio jingle. Back then, French seemed like a good idea. The French were such close allies, and Jacqueline Kennedys grasp of the language seemed so chic.

As an adult Ive learned that the A-LM dialogs are an American phenomenon. A friend from New Jersey knew the same dialogs I learned in Illinois. I remember ecouter et repeter, the recorded male voice toned in the language lab, listening to another silly dialog about sausages and rice or the weather or going to the library. Or a phone number, Passy vingt deux quinze. A Paris phone number: Passy 22-15. Cafe

A friend from new Jersey used to recite the dialogs and phrases, En face de leglise (across from the church) and Le pickup ne marche pas. (The record player doesnt work) Or Dis donc, ou es la bibliotheque? (Say there, where is the library?)

On a recent trip to France, I was able to resurrect my college French  not fluently, but enough to meet French people halfway.

Anyone who assumes that most all people in foreign countries speak English are sadly mistaken. My driver from Charles DeGaulle Airport knew less English than I do French, which is saying something. Somehow, my rusty college French came back to me and we were able to converse a little bit as we sped across Paris.

In the days that followed, I came to realize that I could conduct an entire transaction in French. Amazing, but true.

Around the dinner table back home, friends whod grown up in South Florida and South Carolina knew the Bonjour, Jean dialog. As do my brother in Illinois and a friend from Maryland, and millions more who were required to mimic the A-LM dialogs back in the day.

My high school offered one foreign language: French. And so, I recited French drills for three years.

By the time I made it to college, I learned that I needed a foreign language to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree. By default, I opted for French one semester my sophomore year assuming that would fulfill my language requirement.

And then came my moment of truth. I was a second semester senior at the University of Missouri. No one had pointed out that my French course taken two years before wasnt advanced enough to fulfill the degree requirement.

It was a moment that nightmares are made of.

I signed up for Conversational French and found myself totally lost in a classroom of what amounted to a native speaker and students who had either grown up in Quebec or were raised by French parents. I was sinking faster than a lead balloon dropped from the Eiffel Tower.

The next day I hurried over to the Drop/Add office where French Reading, came to my rescue. So much for any notions of coasting through my final semester. Instead, I was relearning my French, brushing up on vocabulary and verb conjugations that had gone fallow. In the end, I made a B for the course, which proves the existence of miracles.

Did I really learn anything?

Well, I made myself understood last month in Paris and Rouen and Normandy.

Of course I wasnt fluent, but at least being able to converse a bit with shopkeepers and bus drivers and hotel staff. I was at least making an effort, which is important when youre traveling.

I wasnt relying on Google translator or whatever crutches American tourists use these days. I actually knew enough French to engage people without fumbling around with my phone or thumbing through a dictionary. I could read menus, street signs, historical markers, translated the meaning of street names such as Rue de la Chat Perdu, street of the lost cat, and ponder a possible story behind that name.

Back in 1976, I wasnt sure any of what I was being forced to read and translate was doing me any good. Now I know that it was. It came back like riding a bicycle, or more like a tricycle. Or a Vespa with a side car.

Tres bien, merci.
ADNOC Logistics and Services (ADNOC L&S), the shipping and maritime logistics arm of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, has announced the successful acquisition of Zakher Marine International (ZMI), the Abu Dhabi-based owner and operator of offshore support vessels, with the worlds largest fleet of self-propelled jack-up barges.

Upon completion of the transaction, which is subject to customary regulatory approvals, the company will add 24 jack-up barges and 38 offshore support vessels from ZMI, growing its total fleet size to over 300 units, said the statement from ADNOC L&S.

With the acquisition of ZMI, ADNOC L&S will broaden its services to include critical support assets for offshore operations, including ZMIs maiden offshore renewables project in China, and extend its regional footprint, creating new opportunities for expansion with an industry-recognized partner.

The Abu Dhabi group said ZMI will continue operating as a standalone entity under ADNOC L&S, led by Ali Hassan El Ali as CEO.

Meanwhile, ZMI will benefit from access to new opportunities provided as a result of ADNOCs ambitious growth strategy, allowing it to grow and expand its existing business footprint.

The company, however, refused to disclose the financial details of the transaction.
Women are particularly encouraged to apply for the new traineeship program. Photo: Shutterstock

Microsoft and AustCyber have partnered up to launch a credible alternative pathway program for Australians looking to enter the cyber security industry.

Titled the Cyber Security Microsoft Traineeship Program (Cyber Security MTP), the initiative aims to create opportunities for "aspiring cyber security professionals", regardless of their age, background or experience.

The program has been developed in further partnership with TAFE NSFW and the Canberra Institute of Technology, and will support approximately 200 participants over the next two years.

Students who participate in the program will spend one day a week undertaking a Certificate IV in Cyber Security through either of the participating educational institutions, and will commit a further portion of their study towards gaining relevant Microsoft credentials.

The remaining four days of their week will be dedicated to paid work experience in the industry, complete with ongoing supervision and formal training.

Global push for new workers

The Cyber Security MTP is funded by the Australian Government's Cyber Security Skills Partnership Innovation Fund, a grant initiative worth up to $3 million dollars in funding to eligible projects.

The fund was launched with the intention to foster innovative projects that help to "quickly improve the quality or availability of cyber security professionals in Australia" and falls in line with recent federal government initiatives to bolster our domestic cyber security industry.

In order to effectively combat cyber criminal threats, AustCyber estimates around 7,000 more Australian cyber security professionals are needed by 2024.

Australia currently faces a chronic cyber security skills gap compared to other countries, with a recorded 134,690 workers employed as of 2021.

While this was a significant 23 per cent increase in employment compared to the previous year, countries such as Germany, Singapore and the United States all made considerably larger increases in employment.

AustCyber has acknowledged this "severe shortage" of job-ready cyber security workers, and the Cyber Security MTP is but one of many measures taken to help close the gap.

Microsoft has also been busy improving cyber security job opportunities.

In a blog post from earlier this year, Microsoft acknowledged the cyber security skills shortage as a "global problem", and identified Australia as one of 23 countries with an "elevated cyberthreat risk".

In addition to launching targeted investments for new job opportunities in countries such as Australia, New Zealand and Japan, Microsoft's campaign is also focused on tackling gaps in gender diversity among cyber security professions.

How to join

The Cyber Security MTP commenced in both Sydney and Canberra this week, with further plans to roll out the program nationally by 2023.

The two-year traineeship will reward participants with skills relevant to roles in software development, system engineering, cyber security and cybercrime.

Microsoft said that, after graduating, program participants will have the opportunity for permanent job placement with their host employer.

The Cyber Security MTP is seeking candidates who are either just starting out in cyber security, or who have already begun their career.

This applies to individuals such as young jobseekers and junior level IT workers, all the way through to those who are simply looking for a career change.

Women and those from a culturally diverse or Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander background are strongly encouraged to apply.
Dignitaries at ACS Canberra's Digital Pulse event: Peter O'Halloran, ACS Canberra Chair; Ian Oppermann, ACS Immediate Past Chair; The Hon. Ed Husic, Minister for Industry and Science; Dr Vicki Gardiner, ACS Canberra Manager; and Chris Vein, ACS Chief Executive Officer.

The tech sector should be presenting a united front to highlight the importance of digital technologies to society and the economy, Federal Minister for Science and Technology, Ed Husic, said in Canberra last night.

Speaking at the national launch of the 2022 ACS' Digital Pulse report at the National Press Club, Minister Husic called on technology sector groups  including ACS, the Tech Council, and the AIIA  to work together in highlighting the benefits of technology and digital transformation to governments and the wider community.

The big thing, Minister Husic said, is reaching out, particularly on policy within government and emphasising the value of the sector not just to government, but to the broader economy and community.

I think it's been undervalued for quite some time and is why I don't think there's been necessarily the investment or attention given.

So, I think the more you're engaging across all levels of government to talk about this is really important, not just in terms of improving the efficiency of government through digital transformation, but obviously, the economic benefit of the sector, in terms of growing jobs and economic opportunity. It's really important.

ACS Chief Executive, Chris Vein, underscored what the technology sector can offer Australia, describing it as a "perfect storm of opportunity" although not without its challenges, particularly in meeting the sectors need for skilled workers.

The challenge is that Australia is not alone. I come from the US, from California  working in Silicon Valley, we have the same problem, Vein said.

But what that means then is that Silicon Valley is going after the same talent that you are. And what we have now is this race to the top for talent, a war for talent, if you want to use that analogy, and it is an amazing thing to behold.

"But it also provides tremendous opportunities for us. And you'll see some of those opportunities in the report."

Digital Pulse, released in Brisbane earlier this month, found the tech headcount was growing eight percent year-on-year, more than twice the rate of the wider Australia workforce which grew 3.4% last year.

By 2027, Digital Pulse predicts Australia will need more than 1.2 million IT professionals to meet demand, up from the current 870,000 working in the sector.

During the event, Minister Husic also flagged how important it was that governments and political parties also work together to maximise the tech sectors benefits, observing that the ACT Chief Minister, Andrew Barr; Territory Greens leader, Shane Rattenbury; and Opposition Leader, Elizabeth Lee, were at Mondays ACS report launch.

It is tremendous and speaks volumes of politics in the ACT to have representatives all of the major parties here, said Husic.

I do think, longer term, we need to find a way to be able to work together on common problems. So I want to recognise that and as I was remarking to Andrew Barr, the ACT is underappreciated.

Over the past two years, the ACT Government has launched its Digital Strategy which applied a whole-of-government policy on how the Territory applies technology, followed by the launch of a Canberra Cyber Security Cluster.

The Territory has also been working with ACS on easing the transition of skilled female workers into the ICT sector.

In concluding, Husic highlighted the importance of the sector to Australia, saying the reason I talk about tech so much, and why I feel so strongly about it, is it's a reflection of who we are as a people, that we are smart, that we can problem solve. And that we should be doing as much as we can to celebrate that talent.

If you look at some of the things that we've put out as policy, you know, for example, in the national reconstruction fund, we dedicated $1 billion towards critical technology. We want to make sure that when bright people have got ideas that they want to breathe life into, but they do it on Australian soil, and that they've got the capital here to back them.

We are smart people and we need to back ourselves more, we need to convince others in the community to do so, and make sure they know that the tech matters, works and can make a difference.
After serving in Iraq, Army Capt. Ryan Griffis had another challenge ahead of him: coming home.

Griffis, a husband and father, told KKTV in an interview that he struggled to adapt to being home after being deployed, and was afraid of showing it because theres a stigma about weakness in the military.

Then, he found a way to ground himself and help others  by posting videos on TikTok.

I wont stop until Im heard around the world, Griffis writes on his videos.

Millions of people are listening. Griffis TikTok account @mrgriffis, where he shares his stories of trauma and difficulties with the hope that it will help other military members who experience similar problems, now has 1.4 million followers.

I just want people to know its alright to not be alright, Griffis told The Gazette. I want people to know that no matter what theyre going through, they can make it through.

Suicide, sobriety, PTSD and mental health are all key topics in Griffis videos  and they resonate with his viewers because of his transparency.

Griffis and his brother recorded a video celebrating one year of sobriety on the account, which got over 1 million views.

An amazing feat. Keep it going strong, one viewer commented. This is coming from one who has been sober since 2009. It is a struggle at times but stay strong and together.

Another common theme for Griffis is family. The father will share videos of how he struggles to leave his wife and children for long periods of time, and how he hopes they will never have to learn the reason why.

Griffis held a meet and greet with his followers during July, an experience that he shared online.

Another soldier at the event who is known as @infantryguru on TikTok, told Griffis viewers that he was excited to meet with other members of the military who watch the captains videos.

TikTok is an app that soldiers are using and we as leaders need to be where our soldiers are at, @infantryguru said. They need to know that were approachablethat we understand their problems.

Griffis grew up in Kentucky and recently moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado, with his wife and two daughters after he was transferred to Fort Carson, The Gazette reported.

One of the biggest rewards for Griffis is receiving comments from viewers who find solace in his stories and struggles.

Im not having to fake a smile anymore, he told The Gazette. I struggle every day, but Im still moving forward.

If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health or suicidal thoughts, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800 273-8255 or text the Crisis Text Line at 741741.
A worker died during construction at Charlotte Douglas International Airport Sunday.

Rosendin Electric, a company based in San Jose, California, filed a report Monday morning confirming the death with the North Carolina Department of Labor. John Mallow, spokesman for the Department of Labor, said the death was caused by electrocution.

The workers identity has not been released and the Labor Department is investigating the incident, Mallow said.

It was not immediately known what construction project the worker was at when the electrocution occurred, or what time the electrocution happened.

Airport officials referred The Charlotte Observer to Rosendin when contacted Tuesday. Rosendin could not immediately be reached for comment.

CLT construction projects

In 2015, the Charlotte airport launched several construction projects as part of its Destination CLT vision.

The west side of a $608 million terminal lobby expansion recently opened to passengers. But some parts of the lobby  like ticketing booths and additional lighting  are still being installed.

There also are other ongoing projects around the airport complex.

A fourth runway currently in the planning phase will be completed by 2027. A new terminal along the fourth runway would open by 2028.

The second phase of expansions to Concourse A is expected to finish by fall 2024. Expansions to Concourses B and C are also planned, but no timeline is available for their completion yet.

A full list of planned and completed projects under Destination CLT is available on the airports website: https://cltairport.mediaroom.com/destination-clt

Charlotte Douglas is one of the busiest airports in the world. CLT was ranked the fifth busiest airport worldwide for arrivals and departures, according to Airports Council International 2021 preliminary rankings.
The N.C. Attorney Generals Office is opposing Mission Hospitals attempt to open a 67-bed community hospital in western North Carolina, which could improve the odds for Novant Health Inc.s bid.

Josh Steins objection was stated in a three-page letter sent Monday to state health regulators.

The 2022 state Medical Facilities Plan listed a need for 67 acute-care hospital beds to cover Buncombe, Graham, Madison and Yancey counties, likely by 2024.

Mission, Novant and AdventHealth responded by filing certificate-of-need (CON) applications.

Mission is the regions dominant for-profit health care system with a combined 733 beds in the market, including a childrens hospital.

AdventHealth is a Seventh-day Adventist non-profit healthcare system headquartered in Altamonte Springs, Fla.

The certificate-of-need application process for 67 acute-care beds ... provides a much-needed opportunity to introduce competition into western North Carolinas health care market, Stein wrote.

The Department of Health and Human Services should seize that opportunity ... by denying Missions application, Stein said.

State law requires that state health regulators approve a certificate of need before providers can build new health care centers or add certain equipment.

The goal of the CON process is limiting unnecessary duplication of services in a community, although some Republican legislative leaders claims the process limits the ability of independent and for-profit providers to enter markets and lower costs.

Stein said he is taken a neutral position on the Novant and AdventHealth applications.

A public hearing on the three CON applications is set for 9:30 a.m. Aug. 12 on the Asheville campus of Asheville-Buncombe Technical College. The public comment period ends Sunday.

Novant applied June 15 for permission to build a $328.73 million community hospital campus. The health system already has an imaging center in the market.

Novant, with facilities already in the Triad, Charlotte and Wilmington, is pursuing a fourth urban healthcare presence in North Carolina.

Mission has proposed a $125.04 million expansion of its existing campus.

AdventHealth has proposed a $252.12 million capital investment. Advents lone North Carolina hospital is in neighboring Hendersonville.

The lack of competition is the result of Missions unique history, Stein wrote.

Mission effectively operated as a legislatively authorized monopoly for over 20 years, and no new hospitals have opened even after Missions arrangement with the state ended in 2016.

Stein said residents of western North Carolina have been adversely affected by higher healthcare costs and a reduction in quality of care in the region.

Accordingly, the department should deny Missions application and instead approve an application from a qualified competitor, Stein said.

Another concern, Stein said, is that Mission is owned by a HCA Healthcare Inc., an out-of-state, for-profit health care company

He said that the HCA ownership also has contributed to increased healthcare costs for patients in the Asheville market.

Missions application cannot demonstrate that it will enhance competition, lower costs or improve quality, Stein said.

Novant, Advent bids

Having three different hospital business models attracted to the Asheville market is evidence that the states controversial certificate-of-need law works, said David Meyer, senior partner for Keystone Planning Group LLC of Durham.

Novant has said it has been interested in expanding our services in western North Carolina for years.

We have a history of serving patients in the area through our managed partnership with Ashe Memorial Hospital in Jefferson and our Asheville-based imaging center, Open MRI.

We believe we can build on these established relationships and provide support for a growing part of the state in need of additional choice.

Novant and Advent plan to provide a dedicated C-section operating room and between three and five procedure rooms.

Missions parent company HCA Healthcare has been criticized for understaffing as health care workers quit because of working conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to Asheville-based newspaper Mountain Xpress, Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer, Buncombe commissioners chair Brownie Newman and other elected officials co-signed an opinion column in the Asheville Citizen Times in February 2020 that expressed deep concern regarding the state of Mission Hospital Systems since the purchase by Hospital Corp. of America (HCA) last year.

Earlier in June, Buncombe commissioners sent a letter to state regulators expressing their preference for an alternative hospital to Mission.

Mission said in a statement to Asheville TV station WLOS that we are confident we are the best hospital situated to provide this care because of the outstanding, advanced services we are already providing including trauma care, complex medical/surgical services, and specialty pediatric care.

Mission Hospital has experienced capacity constraints for this type of specialized care because it is the regions only tertiary care center, trauma center and pediatric specialty hospital.

Meanwhile, WLOS reported that weve been hearing ... so many people, the consumers, coming to us, saying they want a choice. They want competition, according to Victoria Dunkle, communications and public relations director for AdventHealth Hendersonville.

Theyve pointed out they want choice and options in not-for-profit, they want faith-based, they want whole-person care, which is what AdventHealth is all about.

Other Stein concerns

Stein said in January 2021 he would not object to Novants $5.3 billion acquisition of New Hanover Regional Medical Center.

State law provides that when a county sells a hospital, six essential protections must be maintained for the benefit of customers in the future.

Stein said that in order to gain his approval, Novant and New Hanover agreed to increase the new endowments transparency, its accountability to the public, and the representativeness and independence of its board of directors.

Stein said with the Novant-New Hanover application that he was aware of the community impact involved when one health care system acquires another.

I have real concerns about what this means for the future of health care in North Carolina, Stein said.

Right now, my office has limited authority when conducting reviews of this nature. State law does not grant my office a discretionary approval right.

As such, Stein said he would be interested in talking with state legislative leaders to determine whether or not North Carolinians would be better served by a more comprehensive system of review that could scrutinize further conglomeration of health care systems.
None of the Triads three main hospitals received a top-50 specialty listing in the high-profile U.S. News & World Report ranking for the fourth consecutive report.

The magazine released its Best Hospitals ranking for 2022-23 early Tuesday at health.usnews.com/best-hospitals/rankings.

U.S. News said its procedures and conditions methodology are based entirely on objective measures of quality, such as survival rates, patient experience and how successfully each hospital helps patients get back home.

For the 18 North Carolina hospitals reviewed, Moses Cone of Greensboro was tied for third, Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist was eighth, and Forsyth Medical Center was 14th.

By comparison, in the 2021-22 report, Cone was seventh, Baptist eighth and Forsyth tied for 16th.

The 2021-22 report reviewed about 4,500 hospitals nationwide in 15 specialties. Only 164 hospitals nationwide were ranked in at least one national top-50 specialty.

US News defines a high-performance specialty ranking as being outside the top-50 nationally, but was significantly better than average and typically in the top-10% in the category.

Cone was ranked as high performance in gastroenterology and GI surgery. Baptist achieved high performance in cancer, and in neurology and neurosurgery. Forsyth did not receive a high-performance specialty ranking.

The number of individual procedures and conditions has been expanded from 17 to 20 in the latest report. In those categories, Cone was ranked as high-performing in 17, Baptist in 11 and Forsyth in seven.

For patients considering their options for where to get care, the Best Hospitals rankings are designed to help them and their medical professionals identify hospitals that excel in the kind of care they may need, Ben Harder, chief of health analysis and managing editor at U.S. News, said in a statement.

The new cancer ratings provide patients facing surgery for prostate cancer or gynecological cancer with previously unavailable information to assist them in making a critical health care decision.

Cone chief executive Mary Jo Cagle said in a statement that the bottom line is that you dont need to travel any further than your nearest Cone Health facility for the very best care.

Our focus on quality and service means some of the very best care in the country starts in your neighborhood.

Dr. Julie Freischlag, Wake Forest Baptists chief executive, said in a statement that as the regions only academic learning health system, we are on the leading edge of many new treatments and techniques and are always committed to improving, innovating and elevating the level of care we provide to all who count on us. Novant said in a statement that U.S. News ranking is just one of many hospital rating systems, each with their own criteria and methodology.

We believe different hospital rating systems are a good resource for patients to make healthcare decisions that are right for them.

We remain dedicated to finding ways to make the healthcare experience better for all patients.

Ranking changes

U.S. News calculates the Best Hospitals rankings for overall performance, specialties, states and metro areas using a variety of measures from data provided by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, American Hospital Association, professional organizations and medical specialists.

For the 2022 rankings, U.S. News expanded the number of metrics it measures within health equity that highlights which hospitals provide more care to low-income patients and which have racial disparities in certain surgical outcomes.

In 2019, U.S. News made a significant change in how it measures the hospitals performance in the 15 specialty categories.

The methodology change enhanced the way we account for differences in patient populations, and how those differences affect hospitals performance, and incorporated additional patient-centered measures reflecting patient satisfaction and how often patients go directly home from the hospital, U.S. News said.

The 2019 change left Baptist without a top-50 specialty listing in the last four reports after achieving a specialty category ranking annually for more than a quarter-century. Wake Forest Baptist has touted in its marketing for years that the top-50 specialty rankings were a key verification of the quality of its services and patient care.

Harder said the top-50 specialty ratings are important for a small number of niche patients who need national expertise.

These are centers where patients and family members would consider going out-of-state or out-of-region for care, and be willing to go out-of-network for the level of care.

N.C. rankings

As has been the pattern for U.S. News for several years, the rankings tilted again toward academic medical centers in North Carolina and nationally.

Duke University Hospital remained first in the state, being nationally ranked again in 11 adult specialties, the same as the previous two reports.

However, Duke was not ranked among the nations top-20 hospitals for the fourth consecutive year.

UNC Hospitals remained No. 2 in the state, being nationally ranked in four specialty categories.

Carolinas Medical Center, the flagship hospital for Atrium Health, was ranked tied for No. 3. Atrium is the parent company of Wake Forest Baptist.

New Hanover Regional Medical Center, which was acquired by Novant Health Inc. on Feb. 2021, was ranked tied for No. 10.

Of the non-academic medical centers in N.C. reviewed by U.S. News, just the Raleigh campus of WakeMed received a national specialty category ranking for rehabilitation.

Mixed response

The release of the annual U.S. News report stirs discussion about the value of hospital rankings as more groups produce listings.

Some advocacy groups, such as the American Hospital Association, complain that academic medical centers get lower quality scores on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Hospital Compares, in part because they treat the sickest of the sick, along with a significant number of low-income patients without insurance.

Medicare officials say the rankings are risk-adjusted to take into account the kinds of patients a hospital serves, and that hospitals with more stars have tended to have lower death and readmission rates.

Other hospital ratings include www.leapfroggroup.org, www.ahrq.gov, www.healthgrades.com and www.drscore.com.

Healthcare systems tend to cite the rankings that put them in the best light.

For example, Novant has said Leapfrog is the rating system that we particularly measure ourselves against ... for safety, quality and patient experience.

Leapfrog released in May its spring 2022 report that focuses on patient safety and care. Leapfrog is founded by larger employers and private health care purchasers. Leapfrog has been providing semiannual grades since 2012.

The patient-safety grade for Forsyth was an A for the seventh consecutive report. Baptist was rated as B for the second consecutive report and Cone was A for the second consecutive report.

In July, nonpartisan think tank Lown Institute released its third-annual Hospitals Index for Social Responsibility that evaluated 16 health care systems and 94 hospitals in N.C.

The index evaluates hospitals on 53 metrics contained within the three primary categories. Hospitals with A grades in all three health equity, value and patient outcomes categories are rated as most socially responsible.

Cone received an overall A grade and was ranked fourth among the 16 N.C. systems measured, while Atrium was ranked seventh with a B and Novant was ranked 11th with a B. Among other Triad hospitals, High Point Regional Medical Center was ninth with an A, Cone was 12th with an A, Baptist as 39th with a B and Forsyth was 45th with a B.
You can read the full text of this article if you:

Select an option Log In Buy Article Content & Permissions Access through Ovid
Each year, about 85% of adults in the United States visit an ambulatory care center, engaging in nearly 900 million encounters annually.1 Evidence suggests that NPs and PAs to provide safe, cost-effective, high-quality care to complex and vulnerable populations, improving wait times, affordability, and quality outcomes.2-4 More than 325,000 NPs and nearly 140,000 PAs are well positioned to meet patient needs across the lifespan.5,6 This is despite projected shortfalls in numbers of primary care physicians due to shifting population demographics and subsequent demand.5,6

By 2030, Baby Boomers (those born between 1946 and 1965) will account for one out of every five US citizens.7 To meet the growing primary care demand, the number of NPs alone is expanding at a rate about three times greater than physician counterparts, with PAs expecting to grow by 31% by 2030.8 To meet this need, many healthcare organizations are actively including NPs and PAs in workforce planning. The noteworthy organizational benefits of hiring NPs and PAs include salaries lower than physicians, exceptional patient satisfaction, and improved quality of care at a lower cost.9,10

Despite these recognized benefits, organizations must actively monitor NP and PA retention, attrition, salary, and costs. In one systematic review by Han and colleagues, a synthesis of available evidence suggests that salaries coupled with leadership issues lead to erosion at rates more than double that of physicians.11,12 Similarly, PAs report spending too many hours at work contributing to stress, burnout, and turnover.13,14 The direct organizational cost of the loss of a single NP or PA ranges between $85,832 and $114,919, with indirect costs likely much higher.15 Alternatively, autonomy and authentic connections between work and purpose and career satisfaction contribute to higher retention rates and reduced burnout.11,16 What is not well described in the literature is specific organizational decision-making processes or workforce planning strategies surrounding the addition or removal of NP or PA positions in outpatient, primary care settings.

Kapu and Steaban propose an organizational framework and describe the necessary components for determining feasibility and effect of new programs for NPs, including a clear financial business case based on productivity.17 This is similar to the work described by Kleinpell and colleagues, who defined the system and structures needed, including position descriptions and justification, and a sound business plan for hiring NP-PA teams.18 Reliable organizational infrastructure should include six key strategic areas: leadership, human resources, credentialing/privileging, competency assessment, billing and reimbursement, and measurement/effect.19

Organizational leaders must systematically assess NP and PA productivity, turnover, and vacancies. Optimizing the feasibility, effect, strategic placement and monitoring of NP and PA performance and productivity ultimately increases patient access, improves wait times and affordability, increases revenue, and also may reduce burnout and attrition.13,14,17,20-24

NATURE AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE LOCAL PROBLEM

Success is internally defined as functioning above the 60th percentile based on national benchmarks for productivity (work relative value units [wRVUs]). Our large nonprofit healthcare organization employs more than 600 NPs and PAs across 200 sites, with 58 practicing in primary care settings. Of these, 12 were meeting productivity expectations and 46 were below the 60th percentile. As such, rapid improvement was needed to produce strategies aimed at increasing NP and PA productivity while simultaneously optimizing placement in outpatient primary care sites.

METHODS

Results from this project are reported using the Revised Standards for Quality Improvement Reporting Excellence (SQUIRE) framework.25 The purpose of SQUIRE framework is to provide uniform structure when reporting results of quality improvement (QI) projects. This is in an effort to present the most complete, transparent, and accurate information so other organizations can replicate the work.25 This endeavor was QI in nature and not subject to oversight by the institutional review board.

INTERVENTIONS

Enlisting a core quality improvement team

To optimize placement and productivity of NPs and PAs in outpatient primary care sites, we performed an in-depth multidepartmental gap analysis aimed at exploring these issues. This led to the formation of an interdisciplinary QI team comprising organizational stakeholders including key personnel representing system operations, finance, human resources, nursing executive team, physicians, and the PA professional development program manager. The QI team was led by the director of advanced practice clinicians, who oversees NPs and PAs across the organization.

Gap analysis as a framework for quality improvement

The team completed a gap analysis. A gap analysis is a QI method allowing organizational teams to assess, compare, and contrast processes currently in place (actual performance) to best practices (desired performance). Gap analyses should flow from organizational performance indicators including benchmarking or other pertinent data points as determined by the QI team. The ultimate objectives of a gap analysis are to understand differences between current and ideal states while assessing and subsequently removing barriers before implementing best practices or solutions.26

Phase I gap analysis of current stateobjective and subjective data collection

After team formation, and to define the current state, the QI team collected objective and subjective data identifying root causes of low productivity for NPs and PAs in outpatient primary care settings. Objective information was gathered via organizational data sets including work RVU analysis (trends over the 3 previous years and productivity benchmarking). Correspondingly, we examined internal billing and insurance data including reimbursement rates. We gathered and assessed NP and PA use (percentage of appointments booked, number of patients booked per hour, and schedule cadence/appointment length), work hours (evaluation of full-time equivalent to matching scheduled work hours), and subsequent evaluation of productivity and benchmark data.

Context for performance indicators and benchmarking productivity

In our system, NP and PA productivity benchmarking and ongoing monitoring is overseen by an internal department director dedicated to optimizing the use of these clinicians. Productivity is specifically measured by a weighted/blended average of SullivanCotter and American Medical Group Association data. Recall that productivity benchmarking for individual institutions varies but often is determined via consultation and partnerships with national consulting firms that assist in optimizing workforce strategies, NP and PA output, and performance. In the case of Medicare, the single largest fee-for-service payer for healthcare, productivity, and subsequent revenue generation depend on the following formula:

completed patient encounters or procedures are assigned a current procedural terminology code (CPT)

Medicare assigns an RVU to the CPT

the RVU is entered into a conversion equation to calculate reimbursement. The RVU equation is weighted across three areas: work (time and intensity = 50.866%), practice (cost of maintaining space, supplies, staff, etc. = 44.839%), and malpractice expenses (insurance = 4.295%) and is updated every 5 years with geographical variations.27,28

In outpatient primary care settings, Medicare reimburses NPs and PAs at 85% of total RVU, with physicians receiving 100%.28 Counting work RVUs (wRVUs) as productivity and linking this directly to compensation is not entirely straightforward, however. Compensation models vary across healthcare systems but typically include straight salary (base compensation), or productivity-based remuneration (RVU, pay for performance, etc.), or some combination of both. Alternatively, reimbursement for patient care typically occurs via four frameworks (fee-for-service, capitation, bundled payment, or value-based) depending on payer.

Subjective information for this QI project was collected via NP and PA interviews, site visits, and the self-reporting of daily activities. To better understand barriers to optimization at individual primary care sites, the interviews were completed by NP and PAs, operation managers, and physicians. NPs and PAs described varying levels of understanding about the exact role expectations. In addition, NPs and PAs were asked to individually track and document their clinical and nonclinical activities during the day. This information was analyzed to identify obstacles impeding productivity, including activities that did not allow for full NP and PA scope of practice, or performance of duties not considered top of license (that is, not practicing to the full extent of education, training, and licensure) as well as other opportunities for improvement.29

Phase IIdevelopment of action plans

After examining performance indicators including internal benchmarking and subjective and objective data collected during Phase I, the team analyzed findings and began summarizing these and developing action plans to move from current to ideal state.

RESULTS

Findings from the Phase I gap analysis including objective and subjective data are summarized in Table 1. These findings were synthesized and served as a foundation for action planning. The five priority areas requiring action plans were:

NP and PA placement at sites (NPs and/or PAs were unable to meet wRVU benchmarks due to low patient volumes supporting productivity for all clinicians)

inconsistent patient contact hours

unclear work expectations and lack of knowledge regarding wRVU (unclear productivity as measured by time and intensity and reimbursed by Medicare)

limits on scope of practice

variable primary care compensation models. See Table 2 for summary of gap analysis findings and subsequent action plans.

TABLE 1. - Gap analysis of current state Gap analysis of current state Objective data wRVUs: trends over 3 previous years, compared with external benchmarks (wRVU at 60th percentile)

Internal billing and insurance: collection and reimbursement rates and contracted insurances

Use: numbers of patients booked per hour, percent of appointments booked, and schedule cadence

Work hours: comparison of full-time equivalency to scheduled work hours

Productivity by site: all physician and NP and PA productivity (wRVUs) Subjective data Scope of practice: percentage of top-of-license NP and PA activities, identified activities that were not at the top of license

Identified NP and PA training needs to expand scope of knowledge and understanding

Need to determine appropriate patient mix (acute visits versus continuity of care, follow-up, and chronic disease management visits)

Other factors affecting productivity and NP and PA top-of-license practice

TABLE 2. - Gap analysis findings and action plan Gap analysis findings and action plan Current state Action plan Ideal state Placement at site: NPs and PAs placed in low-volume sites, therefore unable to meet wRVU benchmarks. Implement a consistent and rigorous process to evaluate the need for a new or replacement NPs or PAs at a site (see Phase II).

Consider the transfer of NPs or PAs to higher-volume, higher-need sites, considering their specific needs and those of the clinical setting. Strategic placement Inconsistent patient contact hours: NPs or PAs not working the standard patient-facing work hours (36), therefore limiting the potential number of patients who can be seen. Communicate the current policy for the number of patient-facing hours and visit lengths.

Collaborate with operations managers to communicate and implement changes. Consistent patient contact hours Unclear wRVU expectations. Lack of wRVU knowledge.

Wide variability in NPs and PA awareness of their monthly wRVUs (organization has not set expectations for standard). Share established primary care productivity benchmarks with NPs or PAs and operations.

Collaborate with operations managers to provide monthly wRVU reports to NPs and PAs with benchmarks.

Provide educational opportunities for NPs or PAs to learn about wRVUs.

Move toward organization wRVU expectations for NPs or PAs. Clear productivity expectations Limited scope of practice: NPs and PAs seeing only acute, same-day visits with limited or no continuity of care and/or follow-up. Encourage a cultural shift away from NPs and PAs as access-only to visualizing clinicians as full-scope primary care clinicians requiring an adequate stream of patients for success. Full scope of practice and at top of license Inconsistent primary care compensation model: Different compensation models for physicians (volume and value) with NPs and PAs (salary and merit) contributing to priority filling of physician schedules before NP and PA schedules in sites with inadequate volume for all clinicians. Evaluate potential for a team-based physician and NP or PA compensation model. Consistent compensation model

STRATEGIC PLACEMENT OF NPS AND PAS

To address the placement or replacement of NPs and PAs, the QI team formed an ad hoc group creating and implementing a consistent and rigorous process to evaluate the need for new or replacement clinicians at the individual site level. This process includes the development and application of a position justification algorithm (Figure 1), position justification tracking form (Table 3), and position justification committee. The position justification algorithm guides users through all phases, including approval, denial, or request for additional evaluation.

TABLE 3. - Position justification tracking form Position justification tracking form Demographics Date of request Facility cost center/name Hospital service area Request form completed by Practice manager Practice director Requested FTE Reason for submission If replacement, provide name and last expected date of employment of NP or PA being replaced Specialty and/or subspecialty Requestor Name of person making the request (hospital physician leader, operations leader) If hospital is directing request, did hospital agree to fund any loss? SBAR Situation Background (Please complete Production Profile) Production Profile is a global view of all clinicians at a specific site Assessment (please include any incremental staff space or equipment needs if applicable) Recommendation Estimated annual profit or loss (see appropriate Income Statement) Income Statement documents revenue, expenses, and net income/loss over time. Overall financial health of clinical site. Director recommendation (if director was not consulted, please comment) Evaluator (name) Approved by one up leader or operations vice president (name) Financial model (Pro forma details) Pro forma estimate of the contribution margin based on actual or projected data of similar clinical site Finance comments on pro forma details

The position justification form frames the business case for hiring a new or replacement NP or PA to a site and is organized in a Situation, Background, Assessment, and Recommendation (SBAR) format. The SBAR is a means for effectively communicating a need and has been modified since inception to meet other organizational communication needs.30,31 The form has several subcomponents supporting a financial case, including the production profile, the income statement, and pro forma financial statement (or an estimate of the contribution margin based on actual or projected data of a similar site).

The production profile provides a global overview of all NPs or PAs in the team at the primary care location with the vacancy. This includes collective clinical, academic/professional time commitments, tenure at the site, extenuating circumstances that may affect productivity, and the percentage of productivity for each NP and PA based on national benchmarks. During this phase of justification, if any NP or PA is not performing above the 50th percentile, further review is needed to determine reasons why (and subsequently the prudency of adding additional NPs or PAs).

Second, the income statement (profit/loss statement) is completed documenting site-specific revenue, expenses, and net income or loss for a period of time. This information demonstrates the effect on the current state of adding a new NP or PA to the specific site.

Third, the pro forma financial statement details an estimate of the contribution margin based on actual or projected data of similar NPs or PAs. A pro forma is a method of calculating financial results using certain projections or presumptions.17,32 Beyond the whole site income statement assessing the current state, this tool is useful in identifying organizational cost and profit margin(s) as a new clinician is added. When possible, pro formas are based on an existing clinical profile of a similar specialty. If the NP or PA position occurs in an area without historical data, best estimates are used. Since inception, this algorithm has been used multiple times and the team continues to refine processes.

To address inconsistent patient contact hours, an existing practice guideline was communicated to operations managers. This guideline includes criteria for patient-facing work hours. Correspondingly, unclear or variable wRVU expectations as well as the need to fully understand the nuances of the roles resulted in the QI team creating and deploying a productivity SBAR. This SBAR form captures overall productivity and allows the NP or PA to understand all variables affecting productivity (Table 4). The SBAR allows for effective, consistent communication of action plans and follow-up if wRVU benchmarks are not met. The confidential SBAR includes site productivity data as well as an assessment and recommendations. The SBAR is useful in communicating wRVU expectations, targets, and importantly the need for further evaluation, assistance, and support. Since inception, more than 20 SBARs have been created and communicated, and the process remains unchanged. When issues arise, the SBAR continues to be used for communication about productivity.

TABLE 4. - Productivity SBAR Productivity SBAR Initial assessment date

PA or NP

Practice site

Specialty

Operations

Start date

Extenuating circumstances

Collaborating physician

Registered with the call center? (Y/N)

Types of patients (walk-ins, new, established)

Scheduled for 36 patient hours per week? (Y/N/how many)

Bills under NP or PA name (Y/N, mixed)

Accepts all types of insurance? (Y/N, if not, which are not accepted?) Productivity data

2016 wRVUs

2017 wRVUs

2018 wRVUs annualized

60th percentile benchmark wRVUs

Patients/hour (2017)

Hours booked percentage (2017)

Collection percentage (2017)

Situation

Background

Does this NP or PA need further evaluation or assistance?

Assessment

Recommendation Completed by:

Next follow-up:

Similarly, the same SBAR is used to convey issues surrounding limited scope and top-of-license of practice concerns. Specifically, if an NP or PA describes an on-site issue (for example, insufficient support), these issues are outlined in the SBAR document. To further address the gap, education about top of license and full scope of practice was completed with each NP, PA, and manager.

Finally, we continue to hold systemwide discussions about the need to evaluate and modify clinician compensation models ensuring that NPs and PAs are fully used and fairly compensated. We are piloting team-based compensation models addressing volumes and value instead of compensation via the typical salaried structure. Results of these endeavors are communicated to the QI committee.

DISCUSSION

Findings from the Phase I and II data collection indicated that several factors led to low productivity. However, the most salient finding was that NPs and PAs were placed at sites with insufficient patient volume to support wRVU productivity expectations. As a result, NPs and PAs were experiencing unfilled schedules, low patient demand, and thus were underused. Some NPs and PAs were leveraged for improved patient access, seeing only acute same-day patients rather than building a patient base of their own. This gap in use and subsequent low productivity is similar to the findings of Lowe and colleagues, who found that organizations struggle to integrate NPs due to barriers surrounding professional culture.33 In a scoping review examining facilitators and barriers to implementation in primary care settings, Torrens and colleagues found that team factors were the most frequently cited.34 A lack of awareness of the role, acceptance from physicians and other team members, ambiguity, and issues with lines of responsibility were all obstacles impeding full integration.34 Little literature addresses integration issues for PAs in primary care settings. This may be due to a longstanding history of mutual collaboration between PAs and physicians, where practice models are collegially developed on an individual basis.35

Full integration must be weighed against patient preference when examining factors that lead to low NP or PA demand. In a study by Leach and colleagues examining patient preference in primary care settings, 55% of those surveyed would choose care delivery by physicians over NPs and PAs.36 Respondents primarily cited qualifications, previous experiences, and bedside manner as rationales.36

In contrast, when NPs and PAs are chosen as the preferred primary care provider, bedside manner, convenience, and cost savings are cited.36 These findings are similar to Torrens and colleagues, who noted multiple examples of issues surrounding negative beliefs and patient preference as reasons patients did not seek an NP or PA for primary care.34 Collaborative relationships among physicians, NPs, PAs, and patients must be established. Role expectations should be clearly outlined for full team optimization. Long-term, this is key to full integration and use for NPs and PAs in outpatient settings. In our organization, once the productivity SBAR was in place, we began discussions with solutions ranging from scope change to voluntary transfers of NPs or PAs to other higher-volume sites. NPs and PAs were highly engaged when discussing confusion about wRVUs and productivity. They were interested in understanding how to bring increased value to their department. However, recommendations to redeploy clinicians from low- to higher-volume sites proved difficult to implement.

Organizational leaders must create systems and structures ensuring cost-effective decisions before hiring and placing NPs and PAs. The QI initiative reported here drove the development and implementation of an integrated position justification. Our processes are similar to the work described by Kapu and Steaban, who sought to delineate various components of developing NP programs.17 Like our initiative, Kapu and Steaban described variability in productivity among NP teams.17 They compared initial projections with current productivity and after discussing their findings with senior financial, medical, and nursing leadership, developed a standardized eight-step process to evaluate the need for new NP teams.17

Our improvement method differs in that the framework was applied to NPs and PAs and requires that all clinicians in a particular site be optimized before an NP or PA is added or replaced. This is key, because NPs and PAs must view productivity in a team framework focused on patient outcome and not individual performance. The evaluations described here occur from a weighted perspective, including team and NP or PA performance and productivity. Productivity drives revenue and should be key when justifying any addition, removal, or transfer of an NP or PA. As previously described, revenue streams are supported by consistent patient contact hours and an understanding of wRVUs. The complexity of these processes is documented in the literature; however, cost-evaluation and cost-effectiveness should be systematically addressed optimizing placement, use, and revenue generated by NPs and PAs.37,38

Full use and subsequent cost-benefit analysis cannot occur if NPs and PAs do not consistently exercise full scope and work at the top of their licenses. Top of license in primary care is well understood conceptually but not always implemented because NPs and PAs often are used for access and are prohibited from developing their own panels of patients. However, ample information supports optimizing the scope of practice for NPs and PAs by policy or regulation.39-41

Surprisingly, few peer-reviewed studies specifically examined compensation modeling for NP and PA salaries; this is an area of great national discourse. Establishing solid, honest, and fair compensation guidelines is imperative.42 Leaders should recognize that discordant compensation models affect clinicians and need to evolve. Newer compensation models should ideally be directed at creating whole-team ownership of productivity while acknowledging each member's contributions toward excellent patient outcomes.

LIMITATIONS

In our organization, practice is monitored and directed by an internal department dedicated to optimizing NPs and PAs in the organization. This is supported via a full-time director, support staff, and practicing NPs and PAs with advanced business acumen and leadership abilities. These benchmarking, monitoring, and communication activities have strong internal support. Multidepartment involvement and oversite of initial and ongoing NP and PA performance is critical for engagement and organizational financial stability. QI processes described here may not be generalizable to smaller organizations with less infrastructure (including human resources, financial/business support services for indepth analysis, and access to national data bases for productivity data). The roles of NPs and PAs are evolving and top-of-licensure activities warrant further examination. Communicating concepts and new workflows in larger healthcare systems is challenging. Similarly, shifts in traditional thought paradigms about the role of NPs and PAs takes time, especially when onboarding new clinicians.

Finally, little literature explores and describes the development and integration of NP and PA care models in large healthcare systems' outpatient sites. Nuances addressing interdisciplinary relationships, scope of practice, and top of licensure and education may not transfer between disciplines. Results from this project should be interpreted with caution.

CONCLUSIONS

The focus of this QI team was to develop and implement a standardized way of placing NPs and PAs in primary care settings and optimize their talents through adequate volume and top-of-license activities in a team environment. This was achieved through the development and integration of a position justification algorithm and tracking form, implementation of consistent patient contact hours, and clear communication of productivity expectations via the use of an NP- and PA-specific SBAR. Our team continues to focus on scope/top-of-license activities and discussions about compensation modeling. Much of the work completed by our QI team could easily be implemented in other outpatient and inpatient settings. Organizational leaders should focus on benchmarking performance and analyzing barriers to NP and PA optimization. These efforts are most beneficial when they are multidisciplinary in nature, involving business, human resources, operations, physicians, NPs, and PAs. Finally, it is fiscally imperative for healthcare system leaders to leverage the talents of NPs and PAs, meeting the needs of patients while achieving professional and organizational benchmarks and goals. NPs and PAs must be fully vested in all aspects of their own productivity, including the fiscal well-being of the healthcare systems in which they practice.
Omnix International has announced that Simran Bagga has been promoted to Vice President of Omnix Engineering and Foundation Technologies.

Omnix provides CAE solutions to the majority of architecture, engineering and construction firms in the region enabling them to efficiently design and approve projects prior to build. Omnix CAE has been associated with the CAD industry and Autodesk for over two decades.

In her new role, Bagga will be responsible for accelerating the companys growth and leading its innovative solutions ecosystem. With Bagga on board, Omnix International is doubling down on its growth strategies, regional investments and driving closer partner and customer engagements.

As a highly reputed and well-known regional business leader, Bagga is responsible for strengthening relationships with technology partners and customers, building Omnix Internationals solutions and services portfolio across multiple markets in the region. She also oversees the launch of new products and services through a streamlined process designed to help regional partners and customers thrive in todays dynamic digital landscape.

Seasoned IT industry professional

A seasoned IT industry professional, with over 27 years of work experience in leading global technology companies such as HP, Compaq, IBM, Cambium Networks and Microsoft, Simran brings a wealth of channel business acumen and expertise to her role. Simran is enthusiastic about pushing boundaries and embracing change to challenge the status quo and bring in innovation.

We are thrilled to have Simran lead the Omnix Engineering and Foundation Technologies team. She brings a deep understanding of the regional business and will be instrumental for our next stage of growth. Her experience and strategic skill set in the technology sector plays an integral role in cultivating new and long-lasting business relationships for Omnix as a company. This will further reinforce our commitment to offering the best digital transformation solutions to customers across the GCC region, said Yaqoub Khwaja, Vice Chairman Omnix International.

Commenting on her new role, Bagga added: In a distributed digital work environment, partners and customers are seeking pioneering solutions and services that can empower them to focus on core business activities. I am excited to assist regional organisations accelerate their digital transformation journeys with Omnix Internationals innovative offerings. My top priority is to drive closer customer engagements and technology partner collaborations to enhance Omnix Internationals solutions and services offerings. I look forward to being an enabler and a key contributor to the companys growth journey.

Bagga has an impeccable track record of leading global brands across dynamic markets in Asia Pacific, India, Middle East, Africa, and Turkey. She has received multiple coveted awards in recognition for her passion and commitment to the world of technology.-- TradeArabia News Service
CASE

A 35-year-old man was referred to the infectious diseases clinic because of persistent fevers for 3 weeks and an elevated d-dimer.

History

About 3 weeks ago, the patient was diagnosed with COVID-19 by his primary care provider (PCP) following a positive nasopharyngeal SARS-CoV-2 RNA polymerase chain reaction test. He continued to have intermittent fevers at home up to 102 F (38.9 C). Associated symptoms included shortness of breath, persistent fatigue, and diffuse myalgia.

One week ago, the patient returned to his PCP for further evaluation. Because of concern for a pulmonary embolism (PE), a d-dimer was obtained and was 844 ng/mL (normal range, less than 500 ng/mL). His PCP subsequently referred the patient to the ED.

In the ED, a complete blood cell count with differential was significant for a leukocytosis of 13,500 cells/mm3 with a neutrophilic predominance. A comprehensive metabolic panel was unremarkable with all values within normal limits. A CT angiogram of the chest was performed and excluded PE.

Chest imaging revealed diffuse centrilobular nodularity throughout lungs bilaterally with multiple nodules demonstrating adjacent ground-glass opacity. Additionally, prominent hilar and mediastinal adenopathy were noted. The patient was deemed medically stable for discharge and told to follow up in the outpatient infectious diseases clinic.

DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS

persistent COVID-19

community-acquired pneumonia

fungal pneumonia

OUTCOME

In the infectious diseases clinic, the patient was in no acute distress and was alert and oriented to person, place, and time. Vital signs were BP, 142/85 mm Hg; pulse, 102; respirations, 18; oral temperature, 36.5 C (97.7 F); and SpO 2 , 96% on room air. His lungs were clear to auscultation bilaterally. He had a regular cardiac rate and rhythm without murmurs, rubs, or gallops. His skin was warm and dry with no rashes. An abdominal examination was benign with normoactive bowel sounds and no tenderness to palpation. The musculoskeletal examination also was unremarkable, with normal range of motion and no deformities or edema.

He did not endorse coughing at any point throughout his illness. He also denied any abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea. Review of systems was negative for headaches, rashes, or night sweats. The patient was born and raised in Phoenix, Ariz., and still lives there. He denied any recent travel or sick contacts. The patient works in finance. He worked from home for the past 6 months since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. He is a lifelong nonsmoker and denied illicit drug or tobacco use. He denied any significant past medical history. He did not take any medications or supplements.

The patient's image findings from the ED were incompatible with a typical community-acquired pneumonia because he did not have a focal consolidation. The findings also were not consistent with COVID-19, which generally demonstrates diffuse ground-glass opacities rather than nodular disease.

Endemic fungal pneumonia was suspected, and Coccidioides serologies were ordered. Coccidioides IgM and IgG were positive by enzyme immunoassay (EIA). Additionally, Coccidioides IgG was positive by immunodiffusion with a complement fixation titer of 1:32. The patient was diagnosed with pulmonary coccidioidomycosis and was started on antifungal therapy. He completed a 3-month course of oral fluconazole 400 mg daily. Following treatment, his symptoms gradually resolved, and his pulmonary nodules decreased in size.

DISCUSSION

Coccidioidomycosis, known colloquially as valley fever, is a fungal infection endemic to the southwestern United States. The disease is caused by inhalation of the arthroconidium of Coccidioides immitis and Coccidioides posadasii.1Coccidioides spores are not easily aerosolized and thus not transmissible from person to person.1 Incubation time from exposure to symptom onset can range from 7 to 28 days.2

Clinical presentation and severity of pulmonary coccidioidomycosis are variable. Most patients present with one or more of the following symptoms: fevers, night sweats, cough, shortness of breath, myalgia, arthralgia, rashes, weight loss, and poor appetite.1 Common radiographic findings include a lobar or segmental pneumonia with hilar adenopathy, though a multifocal pneumonia is seen in some patients.2 As the infection resolves, a residual pulmonary nodule or small cavity often remains.2

The diagnosis is primarily established by serum antibody detection via enzyme immunoassay as well as immunodiffusion and complement fixation.3 Alternatively, the diagnosis can be confirmed by isolating Coccidioides sp. on cultures obtained from a biopsy or bronchoscopy with alveolar lavage.4 This approach is particularly advantageous in immunocompromised patients who may have negative coccidioidal serologies despite an active infection.5

Treatment varies according to the host and severity of disease. Guidelines from the Infectious Diseases Society of America recommend close observation and supportive care for immunocompetent patients with mild or resolving symptoms.4 Antifungal therapy is recommended for patients with significant debilitating disease, extensive pulmonary involvement, or those with significant comorbidities.4 First-line antifungal treatment is oral fluconazole 400 mg daily which has high bioavailability and good tolerability.1 Duration of treatment is not established, but experts recommend between 3 to 6 months depending on clinical response.4 In most cases, symptoms fully resolve and do not require prolonged antifungal therapy.

In about 1% of immunocompetent patients with coccidioidomycosis, Coccidioides disseminates to extrapulmonary sites such as the skin, central nervous system, or musculoskeletal system, although dissemination to any organ is possible.2 Men, patients with diabetes, and patients of African or Filipino descent are at a higher risk of dissemination and severe disease.2

Many experts would view any of these characteristics as an indication for antifungal treatment.4 Additionally, patients with impaired cellular immunity, such as those with HIV, solid organ transplant, hematopoietic stem cell transplant, or those taking a biologic agent, are at an increased risk of severe infection, disseminated infection, and death.5,6 These patients often require prolonged or even lifelong antifungal treatment.5

Coccidioidomycosis acquired during pregnancy poses challenges. Pregnancy is a known risk factor for disseminated coccidioidomycosis.7 Expert opinion on the management of coccidioidomycosis during pregnancy varies. Azole antifungals can be teratogenic and should be avoided during the first trimester. Data are limited about the safety of azoles in the second and third trimesters, though some studies suggest they may be safe later in pregnancy.7 Therefore, some experts recommend empiric treatment with IV liposomal amphotericin B, particularly during the first trimester.4 Other experts recommend no empiric treatment if the patient has frequent clinic follow-up and Coccidioides serologies monitored every 6 to 12 weeks.7

CONCLUSION

Coccidioidomycosis is a common cause of pneumonia in the southwestern United States. The diagnosis should be considered in patients presenting with pneumonia who have recent travel or residence in this area. Clinical presentation varies, but most patients present with nonspecific symptoms including cough, fevers, night sweats, shortness of breath, and arthralgia. Antifungal therapy is recommended for patients with moderate to severe disease, immunocompromising conditions, or risk factors for dissemination.
The South Carolina Supreme Court delivered another loss Wednesday to restaurant owners seeking insurance payouts over COVID-19 losses. The justices say that just because the Carolina Ale House franchise lost the use of their locations due to indoor dining restrictions, they did not suffer physical loss or damage. In its ruling, the high court joins several other state courts in siding with insurance companies. Both the Iowa and Massachusetts Supreme Courts ruled in April that restaurants could not collect damages following pandemic dining restrictions. The window of opportunity for filing these insurance challenges is also closing as most policies have a two-year limitation period.
The 22-year-old Lincoln man who allegedly shot and killed a 42-year-old man at the Branched Oak Lake marina last week was a parolee less than four months removed from a three-year stint at the Tecumseh State Correctional Institution, according to prisons system records.

Taban Rik departed the facility, where he had been incarcerated since April 2019 on two felony convictions, on March 29.

One hundred and twelve days later, police say, he walked aboard a boat docked at the marina and fired two rounds into Benjamin J. Case, who was pronounced dead at the scene at about 11:30 p.m. July 19.

The Lancaster County Sheriff Office announced Rik's arrest in a news release Sunday. Deputies took Rik into custody without incident Saturday evening near 26th and O streets in Lincoln, the sheriff's office said.

He was booked at the Lancaster County Jail on suspicion of first-degree murder, use of a firearm to commit a felony, possession of a deadly weapon by a prohibited person and terroristic threats.

Sheriff Terry Wagner on Monday said investigators had obtained a search warrant for Rik's vehicle, which he expected to be served Monday or Tuesday.

Even with a suspect in custody, the sheriff's office has maintained the investigation into Case's death remains active, sharing few details.

Wagner declined to disclose a suspected motive, nor details of the events that led to Rik's arrest. Asked how his office determined Rik is allegedly responsible for Case's death, Wagner said "it's our job."

"The investigators told me less is better," the sheriff said Monday. "So I don't want to spill any of the beans or divulge any of the information that might hinder additional (work on the investigation)."

At a news conference announcing Case's death last week, Wagner said deputies were dispatched to the lake, about 20 miles northwest of Lincoln, after a man walked onto Case's boat and fired two rounds.

Case and four friends were inside the boat's cabin when they felt the man walk onto the boat's deck, Wagner said. Case opened the cabin door and was immediately shot twice with a handgun, the sheriff said. No one else was injured or shot at.

Last week, Wagner repeatedly said that the shooting appeared to be targeted, emphasizing that lake-goers and area residents did not have cause for panic. But questions about Rik's alleged motive still hang over the investigation.

He has not been formally charged with a crime. He is being held without bond until Tuesday afternoon, when he's scheduled to make his initial court appearance.

Rik has twice been convicted of felonies in Nebraska, both coming in 2019 and culminating in his three-year stint at the Tecumseh prison.

Prosecutors charged Rik in August 2018 with robbery and burglary for his role in a string of armed robberies in Lincoln. He was charged again in December 2018 for a separate burglary in the city, according to court records.

He pleaded no contest to lesser charges in both cases. He was sentenced in April 2019 to two years in prison for the robbery case and another three years for the burglary, with the sentences to be served consecutively, according to court filings. He was given credit for 191 days served.

Rik appealed his convictions  despite his no-contest plea  less than two weeks into his prison term. An appellate court upheld the lower court's ruling in December 2019.

He remained under post-release supervision until his arrest Saturday.
The Lincoln City Council on Monday approved a three-year labor agreement with its "M" Class employees.

The employees, who are represented by the Lincoln M Class Employees Association, include department heads such as the city clerk and city treasurer, as well as a number of other managers and professional employees.

The contract provides a 3.5% pay increase this fiscal year and 3% increases in each of the next two fiscal years.

Barb McIntyre, the city's human resources director, said the contract also includes gender-neutral language that the city has been trying to incorporate into all of its labor agreements.

The council also Monday approved pay increases for hundreds of other employees ranging from attorneys to firefighters to traffic workers.

The pay raises cover employees in the A, B, C, E, F, N, W and X classes, including employees covered by union agreements and some who are not.

The pay increases, which cover the 2022-2023 fiscal year, range from 3%-4% and take effect Aug. 18.
Natalia Wiita has been named president and publisher of the Lincoln Journal Star.

Wiita, formerly the company's regional vice president of sales, succeeds Ava Thomas, who has been promoted to a group president position within Lee Enterprises, parent company of the Journal Star and Omaha World-Herald.

Thomas, in her new role, will oversee operations at Lees media companies in the Western Media Group, which includes markets from Nebraska to California. She will continue to serve as president of the World-Herald.

In addition to her new Journal Star role, Wiita, who has been with the company almost 18 years, will also be responsible for Lees media markets throughout Nebraska  the Beatrice Daily Sun, Columbus Telegram, Fremont Tribune, York News-Times, Grand Island Independent, Kearney Hub and North Platte Telegraph, along with a number of other weekly and niche publications and websites.

Natalia has the talent, energy and experience to lead this incredible organization to new heights. Shes incredibly smart, a strong developer of talent and has led our transformation to become the vibrant, digital-centric company we are today, Thomas said. Im confident our markets in Lincoln and across Nebraska are in great hands.

We have an accomplished and innovative team  driving change on both the advertising and news sides of the business  and Im honored to lead this incredible group, Wiita said. With a new home, a full suite of solutions designed to help local businesses thrive and new ways to connect our audience with our quality local journalism, the future is bright. I look forward to working side-by-side with this team as we continue to serve and support our community.

Wiita began her career with the Journal Star as a classified sales specialist while attending the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She was named advertising director in 2012, then vice president in 2017. In January of 2021, her role was expanded to include markets in western and central Nebraska, including North Platte, Kearney, Grand Island and York.

Wiita has earned numerous honors, including being named one of Editor and Publishers 25 under 35 industry leaders in 2016. She also sits on several boards, including the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce, United Way of Lincoln and Lancaster County, Foundation for Lincoln Public Schools and Inspire.

Wiita and her husband Tyler have two children.
An Illinois man is facing a felony charge after he allegedly stole a car at Alpine Valley and then crashed it.

On July 10, the night of the at-capacity Rage Against the Machine reunion concert, a deputy was dispatched to a crash that occurred in the parking lot at Alpine Valley Music Theatre, W2699 County Hwy. D in the Town of LaFayette, according to the criminal complaint filed in Walworth County Circuit Court.

The deputy observed that a grey Honda Civic had struck another vehicle, with Edgar Martinez, 42, of South Elgin, Ill. occupying the driver's seat.

As the deputy was talking with Martinez, a couple walked up and indicated that the Civic was their vehicle. The owner told the deputy that he had lost his keys near the music venue and had been searching for them for the past hour.

Questioned by the deputy, the owner of the Civic said he did not know Martinez. The man reported that no permission had been given to Martinez to operate the vehicle.

Martinez was charged with operating a vehicle without the owner's consent. If convicted, Martinez could face a fine of not more than $10,000 or imprisonment of not more than three years and six months, or both.
Laura Ann Walker, the attorney for the teen against whom charges were dropped, told the Journal Times it appeared a witness had been untruthful in identifying her client as being involved in the crime. The prosecutor then "did what she is supposed to do as a prosecutor and that is to speak the truth, Walker said. So kudos to her. However, Walker did express concern about the rush to charge her client. I wish they would spend more time investigating prior to issuing the criminal complaint."
State Senate Minority Leader Janet Bewley was involved in a fatal car crash Friday that led to the deaths of a mother and her 5-year-old daughter, police said.

Bewley, a Democrat from Mason in northwestern Wisconsin who isnt running for reelection, was pulling out of a Lake Superior beach entrance when she crashed into a car driven by 27-year-old Pennsylvania resident Alyssa Ortman, the Ashland Police Department said in a statement. Ortmans car then spun across the highway and hit a vehicle driven by Jodi Munson, 45, of Mason, police said.

Ortmans 5-year-old daughter died at the scene, and Ortman died later at Memorial Medical Center in Ashland, according to police.

Bewley was not injured in the crash and no charges have been filed or recommended, though the State Patrol is reconstructing the incident, Ashland Police Chief Bill Hagstrom told the Ashland Daily Press.

Well be sitting down with them and going over everything as far as determining how it all actually happened, the paper reported Hagstrom saying. Then well forward everything to the district attorney for their review because it was a fatal accident.

Bewleys office said in a statement that the crash is a heartbreaking event for the community.

Our thoughts and prayers are focused on the individuals involved, their families and their loved ones, the statement reads. Senator Bewley, who was not seriously injured in the accident, wants to thank all the dedicated law enforcement and emergency medical personnel who helped in the aftermath of the accident. A police investigation is ongoing. Out of respect for that investigation and the privacy of all the families involved, our office will be withholding further comment at this time. Thank you for your patience and concern.

A Milwaukee Journal Sentinel intern had been talking to Bewley  who reportedly told the paper she had undergone cataract surgery the day before  on Friday afternoon when she stopped talking mid-sentence, the Journal Sentinel reported. When the intern asked Bewley if she was OK, she reportedly said, Yeah, Im OK. This is not a good accident.
1. Yes. The new high school has made it a must. Thousands of people are impacted..

2. Yes. Even if it means revising some budgets, these entities must move on the project.

3. No. Its been known for years that the road was a problem.. Why the urgency now?

4. No. If prioritizing the road means more taxes, forget it. The project will just have to wait.

5. Unsure. Its hard to say until school has been in session for a few months.

Vote

View Results
Gulf Business Machines (Oman), a 100% Omani-owned company, has announced the appointment of Mahmoud El Kordy as General Manager succeeding Eddy Abboud.



In his new role, El Kordy will continue leading GBM Omans efforts in support of the Sultanates Digital Strategy, which strives to transform Oman into a modern digital society.



El Kordy brings over 30 years of experience in the IT industry across multiple geographies, and joins GBM from IBM Middle East and Africa where he held several sales and leadership positions across Systems and Big Data & Analytics. Prior to that, El Kordy was in IBM Europe for several years leading Services Sales. As GBMs General Manager, he will work hand-in-hand with GBMs clients in the Sultanate, as they embark on their digital transformation journeys.



Commenting on his appointment, El Kordy said: I am very excited to lead GBMs Oman operations to drive the companys strategy aimed at accelerating the Oman digital transformation and aligning with Oman vision 2040. Our focus will be around Hybrid Cloud, AI and Security to meet The National Program for Digital Economy.



Mahmoud holds a bachelors degree in Engineering and a masters degree from Maastricht School of Management in the Netherlands.  TradeArabia News Service
When heads of state visit the U.S., the top item on their itinerary is usually a White House visit. For Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban next month, it will be addressing a conference of conservative activists in Dallas.

Orban's appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference, where he'll be joined by former President Donald Trump and right-wing icons such as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., is the most dramatic indication yet of how a leader criticized for pushing anti-democratic principles has become a hero to segments of the Republican Party.

Orban has curbed immigration and stymied those who envision a more middle-of-the-road European democracy for their country. He's done so by seizing control of Hungary's judiciary and media, leading many international analysts to label him as the face of a new wave of authoritarianism. He also is accused of enabling widespread corruption and nepotism, using state resources to enrich a tight circle of political allies.

The U.S. conservative movement's embrace of Orban comes as it echoes Trump's lies that he did not lose the 2020 presidential election, punishes Republicans who tried to hold him accountable for the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, and embrace new voting restrictions. Many experts on Hungarian politics fear the GOP might aspire to Orban's tactics.

"The Trumpist side of the Republican Party is coming for the rhetoric, but staying for the autocracy," said Kim L. Schepple, a sociologist at Princeton University who has studied Orban. "I'm worried the attraction to Orban is only superficially the culture war stuff and more deeply about how to prevent power from ever rotating out of their hands."

Conservatives dismiss that notion  or even the charge that Orban is an authoritarian.

"What we like about him is that he's actually standing up for the freedom of his people against the tyranny of the EU," said Matt Schlapp, head of CPAC, which meets in Dallas starting Aug. 4. "He's captured the attention of a lot of people, including a lot of people in America who are worried about the decline of the family."

CPAC's gatherings are something of a cross between Davos and Woodstock for the conservative movement, a meeting place for activists and luminaries to strategize, inspire and network. This year, CPAC held its first meeting in Europe, choosing Hungary. While there, Schlapp invited Orban to speak at the Texas gathering. Last year, Fox News star Tucker Carlson broadcast his show from Budapest.

Orban served as prime minister of Hungary between 1998 and 2002, but it's his record since taking office again in 2010 that has drawn controversy. A self-styled champion of what he describes as "illiberal democracy," Orban has depicted himself as a defender of European Christendom against Muslim migrants, progressives and the "LGBTQ lobby."

While Orban's party has backed technocratic initiatives that have captured the imagination of the U.S. right  Schlapp specifically cited a tax cut Hungarian women receive for every child as a way to counter a declining population  he's best known for his aggressive stance on hot-button cultural issues.

Orban's government erected a razor-wire fence along Hungary's southern border in 2015 in response to an influx of refugees fleeing violence and poverty in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan and elsewhere. Carlson visited the border barrier, praising it as a model for the U.S.

Last year, Orban's right-wing Fidesz party banned the depiction of homosexuality or sex reassignment in media targeting people under 18, a move critics said was an attack on LGBTQ people. Information on homosexuality also was forbidden in school sex education programs, or in films and advertisements accessible to minors.

Those policies have put him on a collision course with the European Union, which has sought to reign in some of his more antidemocratic tendencies.

Those conflicts started early in Orban's tenure. In 2011, the Fidesz party used the two-thirds constitutional majority it gained after a landslide election the previous year to unilaterally rewrite Hungary's constitution. Soon after, it began undermining the country's institutions and took steps to consolidate power.

Orban's party implemented judicial reforms through constitutional amendment, enabling it to change the composition of the judiciary. It also passed a new law that created a nine-member council to oversee the media and appointed members to all those slots.

The Associated Press and other international news organizations were barred from covering the CPAC conference in May, during which Orban called Hungary "the bastion of conservative Christian values in Europe." He also urged conservatives in the U.S. to defeat "the dominance of progressive liberals in public life."

The AP requested an interview with Orban when he visits Dallas next month, but was rebuffed. His communications office cited what it said was the prime minister's "extremely busy" schedule.
KEARNEY  Greg Markus frequently answers calls from pilots from around the country wanting to stop at the Kearney Regional Airport to refuel.

One call last week caused Markus jaw to nearly hit the floor. Pilot Todd Erickson called to see if the airport was open Saturday and to make arrangements to stop to refuel a Russian built, MiG-29 Fulcrum.

When I took the call, I was like What?" Markus recalled, thinking of when the pilot cited what his plane was. I couldnt believe it. I was shocked."

The privately owned fighter jet was on its way from Utah to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, for the 69th Experimental Aircraft Association fly-in convention, scheduled through Sunday. According to its website, the event features nine air shows over seven days, including night airshows.

Markus, a Kearney native who flew a P-3C Orion during the 1991 Gulf War, said the MiG-29 is the only non-military fighter jet in the U.S. According to Markus, the plane was once co-owned by the late Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft.

The Orion was a turboprop anti-submarine and maritime surveillance aircraft.

Erickson, a retired U.S. Air Force pilot, and his 18-year-old son landed in Kearney around 1:15 p.m. Saturday and were on the ground for about an hour and a half. "He's the luckiest kid in the world, Markus said.

Through word of mouth, about 50 people were at the airport to see the MiG-29.

When the plane landed, Markus and Kearney photographer Michael Erbsen were there to capture the moment near the runway. As the MiG-29 landed, the pilot deployed a parachute, which saves on wear and tear of the brakes.

Markus and Erbsen were standing about 20 feet from the runway taking photos as the plane took off. In a scene straight out of the hit movie "Top Gun: Maverick," both men felt the effects as the afterburners kicked in.

"We were right there," said a still-excited Markus Monday afternoon. "It felt like my insides were going to explode with the pressure. Ive always been aviation everything. That was quite a rush.

Markus told the Erickson he hoped he would stop back through Kearney again sometime. "I told him I would buy him lunch."
Wisconsin-based traveling theatre company Summit Players Theatre is returning to live, outdoor performance and will be performing Shakespeares Much Ado About Nothing in 23 different Wisconsin State Parks. All performances will be free and preceded by a 45-minute educational workshop. The company will offer its workshop and performance at Wildcat Mountain State Park Aug. 5. The workshop will be at 5:30 p.m., and the show will be at 7 p.m.

Were thrilled to be entering our seventh year of performing in the parks, stated Executive Director A.J. Magoon, a founding member of the organization. Theres a reason Much Ado About Nothing is one of Shakespeares most popular comedies. Its hilarious and heartfelt, and this version is perfect for audiences of all kinds.

Each Much Ado About Nothing show will be 75 minutes long and completely free, in accordance with the companys mission of creating Shakespeare anyone can afford, attend, and understand. Through a collaboration with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, the Summit Players are also able to introduce audiences around the state to their local parks.

The groups educational workshop, Inside Shakespeares Story: Much Ado About Nothing is new this year and offered before every show. It serves as a way for kids and fun adults to get comfortable with the play, Shakespeares language and the way nature played into his works. Participants take part in Shakespeare games and exercises culminating in performing a short scene.

This year, the Summit Players team boasts five new members  Maya Danks, Emma Knott, King Hang, Ogunde Snelling Jr. and George Lorimer. All five will act in Much Ado About Nothing as well as serving as teaching artists for the company.

I think the best part is that every year the program comes back, but theres always something new, said Caroline Norton, Education Director and three-year alumna of the companys tours. The workshop content changes, the play changes and that means people who have seen our shows for years will enjoy everything just as much as people who have never seen us before.

Summit Players Theatres 2022 season is supported in part by grants from the Wisconsin Arts Board and Wisconsin Humanities Council, with funds from the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities.
Ericsson, French aerospace company Thales, and wireless technology innovator Qualcomm Technologies are planning to take 5G out of this world and across a network of Earth-orbiting satellites.

After having each conducted detailed research, which included multiple studies and simulations, the parties plan to enter smartphone-use-case-focused testing and validation of 5G non-terrestrial networks (5G NTN).

The result could effectively mean that a future 5G smartphone could use 5G connectivity anywhere on Earth and provide complete global coverage for wideband data services, including places normally only covered by legacy satellite phone systems with limited data connectivity capabilities.

Coverage in extreme geographies

The benefits of 5G connectivity via low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites are expected to include coverage in extreme geographies or remote areas across seas, oceans and other locations where terrestrial coverage is absent.

Such widespread connectivity would boost 5G smartphone subscriber roaming service capabilities, as well as enabling global connectivity for transportation, energy and health sector 5G use cases.

The space-based network could also be used as back-up support to terrestrial networks in the event of major network outages or disasters.

The expected security capabilities of 5G NTNs mean that national government communications may be a main use case, to enhance safe and secure national security and public safety government networks.

Major milestone

Erik Ekudden, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Ericsson, says: This testing and validation cooperation between Ericsson, Thales and Qualcomm Technologies will be a major milestone in the history of communications as the ultimate result could effectively mean that no matter where you are on Earth  in the middle of an ocean or the remotest forest  high-end, secure and cost-effective connectivity will be available through collaborative 5G satellite and terrestrial connectivity.

John Smee, senior vice president of engineering, Qualcomm Technologies, says: For 5G to fulfil on the promise of ubiquitous connectivity, it is imperative that it can also deliver network coverage in areas where terrestrial cellular networks do not exist, whether that be over oceans or in remote areas. Our planned research with Ericsson and Thales will kick off an important step in making this vital technology a reality. We are looking forward to what this collaboration can accomplish.

Step change

Philippe Keryer, Executive Vice-President, Strategy, Research and Technology, Thales, says: The deployment of 5G networks marks a step change for the telecoms industry. It is a game changer, not only in terms of business opportunities but also in the skills required to connect and protect billions of people and things.

Thales is deeply involved in it through the different activities of the group. The research collaboration with Ericsson and Qualcomm Technologies will demonstrate the belief of our companies that 5G non-terrestrial Networks will contribute to this revolution and will take network resiliency and security to the next level. 

The cooperation

The testing and validation by Ericsson, Thales and Qualcomm Technologies following the March 2022 go-ahead by 3GPP  the global telecommunications standards body  is intended to support non-terrestrial networks for the first time.

The goal of the testing will be to validate various technology components needed to enable 5G non-terrestrial networks, including a 5G smartphone, satellite payload and 5G network pieces on the ground.

This work also aims to validate that 5G NTN can be supported in a smartphone form factor allowing tomorrows 5G smartphone to effectively become a satellite-phone. Initial tests will take place in an emulated space environment in France, where the majority of European space-focused industry is based.

5G virtual RAN

Ericsson plans to verify a 5G virtual RAN (vRAN) stack, modified to handle radio signals propagating (what happens to 5G radio waves travelling through the vacuum of space and the Earths atmosphere) via the fast-moving LEO satellites.

Thales plans to verify a 5G radio satellite payload suitable for deployment on LEO satellites, while Qualcomm Technologies plans to provide test phones verifying that 5G NTN can be accessed by future 5G smartphones.

Experts will use ground-based equipment to emulate the 5G radio propagation and time delays between an equipped satellite in orbit and connecting a 5G smartphone with the 5G radio access network at different places on the Earths surface.

Validation work

Ekudden adds: While it is too early to say when any resulting 5G equipped prototype satellite could be launched into orbit for real operational use, the highly technical ground-based testing and validation work planned between Ericsson, Thales and Qualcomm Technologies is key to making it happen.

As a 3GPP-backed technology, 5G NTNs will be able to capitalise on a large ecosystem of standardised products and components. The new specification also enables the inclusion of NTN technologies in 5G devices, providing opportunities for technology vendors to easily and quickly scale 5G NTN compatibility across devices.-- TradeArabia News Service
WASHINGTON  A coalition of farmers from throughout the country took time away from the farm and field recently to gather for a Dairy Together Fly-In to Washington, D.C.

Representing key dairy states and a coalition of farm groups under the umbrella of Dairy Together, the participants advocated for meaningful dairy policy in the next Farm Bill and shared the Dairy Revitalization Plan with their state delegations and members of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees. The group included representation from the Farmers Union, Farm Bureau, National Dairy Producers Organization, National Family Farm Coalition and the Organization for Competitive Markets.

The Dairy Revitalization Plan calls for coordinated milk production growth among all dairy producers to stabilize and improve prices. Unlike quota, which is often viewed as overly restrictive, growth management offers a series of incentives to intentionally align milk production growth with demand.

The farmer-led plan was developed through a committee process involving members of the Farmers Union and Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation, convened by the University of Wisconsin Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems. Its impacts were analyzed in a 2021 study, Analyses of Proposed Alternative Growth Management Programs for the US Dairy Industry, by University of Wisconsin agricultural economists Charles Nicholson and Mark Stephenson.

Support for the plan has been building and the farmers stressed the need for change in their visits to Capitol Hill. Over the last decade, the USDA recorded the loss of 17,000 dairy farms.

Something has to change, because we cant continue down the road we are on, with ongoing farm loss and consolidation of our food supply, said dairy farmer Darin Von Ruden of Westby.

As farmers, we need to realize that there are so few of us, we cant take the risk of being divided, said Jack Herricks, who runs a 600-cow dairy with his family and is president of the Monroe County Farm Bureau. He advocated shoulder-to-shoulder with Farmers Union members, in a show of unity. My grandson asked me recently Grandpa, do you think the farm is still gonna be in business when I want to farm? Were survivors, but, honestly, I dont know how much more farmers can take.

The group noted that the research shows that, had growth management been implemented in the 2014 Farm Bill, it would have increased the market milk price by an average of $1.41/cwt between 2014 and 2021 plus paid dividends of $0.72/cwt for farmers choosing not to expand over program allowable amounts. The plan also reduced the degree of variation in prices by 50 percent. It also could have reduced government expenditures on the Dairy Margin Coverage program by $2.6 billion in that time span, while improving net income on farms of all farm sizes that stayed within allowable growth.

For Herricks, a price swing of even $1/cwt of milk can mean a shift of $120,000 in annual farm income. In 2020, we saw fluctuations of $9.20/cwt, he said. How do you plan your business around those kinds of shifts? We need a plan where we can have some stability in pricing.

You cant deny that small family farms are dying and something needs to be done about it, said Annie Watson, who milks about 70 cows on her first-generation organic dairy farm near Whitefield, Maine. Only 170 dairy herds remain in her state.

Cambridge, Wisconsin, dairy farmers Tina and Duane Hinchley highlighted the need to stabilize dairy prices so there is a future for the next generation. They recently invested in robotic milkers on the farm and are transitioning the operation to include their daughter, Anna, but it has been a struggle amidst volatile markets and unpredictable prices. Everybody else is asking for a minimum living wage. Its time farmers ask for one, Tina said.

Were very excited about the Dairy Revitalization Plan, said Deborah Mills, who runs a 280-cow dairy near Lake City, Minnesota. Its an important step forward in managing industry growth.

The group stressed it is also a matter of food security.

Weve already seen what happens when consolidation hits our agricultural system; we saw it in poultry and in hogs, pointed out John Larsen, who joined the fly-in as a representative of the National Dairy Producers Organization and Minnesota Farmers Union. It works until the day it doesnt, as we witnessed with supply chain struggles during the pandemic.

The Dairy Revitalization Plan creates resiliency not just in the food system but for farmers, said Antonio Tovar, Senior Policy Associate for the National Family Farm Coalition.

This plan has the research to back it up, and it allows for growth, but intentionally, and in a way that allows for adjustment along with market needs, said Karyn Schauf.

WFU Communications Director Danielle Endvick highlighted the urgency behind the movement, noting that over 7,500 dairy farms have gone out of business since the 2018 Farm Bill was adopted.

Few of us out in farm country have been untouched by this crisis, Endvick said. Many of us have watched friends and family sell out, and weve seen the ripple effects in our communities. We need smart dairy policy in this Farm Bill; we cant wait another four years.

Mike Eby, president of the Organization for Competitive Markets, sold his dairy herd six years ago, despite having a son who wanted to go into farming.

Its a shame to see multigenerational farms have to make that decision, but I see everyday how many farms are exiting, Eby said. If we want a viable industry for the next generation, we need to make some changes, and its powerful to see like-minded organizations throwing their weight behind this.

Delegates to Holstein USAs recent convention also voted for the organizations support of the effort.

The fly-in delegation included Paul Adams, Eleva, WI; Mike Eby, Gordonville, PA; Patty Edelburg, Scandinavia, WI; Danielle Endvick, Holcombe, WI; Jack Herricks, Cashton, WI; Tina and Duane Hinchley, Cambridge, WI; John Larsen, Mantorville, MN; Sarah Lloyd, Wisconsin Dells, WI; Deborah Mills, Lake City, MN; Michelle Ramirez-White, Madison, WI; Karyn Schauf, Barron, WI; Antonio Tovar, Washington, D.C.; Darin Von Ruden, Westby, WI; Annie Watson, Whitefield, Maine. A delegation from California also participated in virtual meetings with their representatives.

What is exciting about Dairy Together is the variety of groups in the room, National Farmers Union President Rob Larew said. Ive been in the milking parlor, in back rooms drafting farm bills, and now in this role with Farmers Union working on the advocacy side, and I can tell you, that unity is key.

Larew also stressed the importance of farmers stepping up. Your stories matter, he said. It is irreplaceable when farmers take the time and commit to telling their stories up on Capitol Hill.

Dairy Together farmers had some fruitful conversations and built relationships with a number of lawmakers who will be writing the next Farm Bill, said Dairy Together Organizer Bobbi Wilson. This plan has the potential to improve profitability across the board, for farms of all sizes, and these conversations are helping to move the dairy industry in a positive direction.

Farmers can run growth management scenarios for their farm at https://dairymarkets.org/GMP/. Find more resources and learn how to get involved at www.dairytogether.com.
HONOLULU (AP)  A swimmer at a beach in Waikiki was injured this weekend after encountering an endangered Hawaiian monk seal with a young pup.

Hawaii Marine Animal Response, a nonprofit conservation organization that helps monitor protected species, said their workers witnessed a swimmer come into contact with the mother monk seal known as Rocky on Sunday morning.

The Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources said in a statement that the victim is a 60-year-old elementary school teacher from California. The woman received lacerations to her face, arm and back, the agency said.

State officials said they would not recommend charges or fines for the woman and are not naming her because she requested anonymity.

The Hawaii Marine Animal Response said in a statement that the seal gave birth to a pup about two weeks ago on Kaimana Beach in Waikiki, the same area where the swimmer was injured.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Hawaii Marine Animal Response have been watching the pair and warning people to stay away.

It is against the law to touch, harass, injure or kill monk seals. People are told to stay at least 150 feet (46 meters) away from a mother seal and pup, though that recommendation is not a law.

The shoreline where the seals live is roped off, and beachgoers are warned of the dangers of getting too close to the nursing mother.

We ask people to please follow the guidance and instructions provided by HMAR, NOAA, Ocean Safety, or other authorized parties on the beach, the organization said in the statement. They said the swimmer was transported by EMS.

A message left with the Honolulu Emergency Services Department was not immediately returned.

NOAA Fisheries is still reviewing the incident. But in a statement emailed to The Associated Press, the agency said, Mother seals can move incredibly fast in the water, and we urge people to consider using alternate areas for water activities when mothers with pups are in the area.

They anticipate these seals will remain in the area for about a month and said people must observe signs and guidance from officials.

It is a felony to disturb monk seals, of which there are less than 1,600 remaining in the wild. The animals are listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act and depleted under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

People are again reminded that Hawaiian monk seal moms with pups are protective, can be dangerous, and have inflicted serious wounds on nearby swimmers," Hawaii Marine Animal Response said. "We continue to warn people not to engage in in-water activities when a monk seal mother with a pup are in the area and to stay at least 150 feet from mother seals with pups.

A witness shared video of the encounter with The Honolulu Star-Advertiser. The footage shows the mother seal in the water with its pup as the swimmer approaches. The seal then comes into contact with the swimmer and pulls the person under water.

The person was able to make it back to shore with help from bystanders.

Its a mama seal thats protecting its pup, and there happens to be a human who is at the wrong place at the wrong time, Markus Faigle, who captured the incident on video, told the Star-Advertiser. So its not a seal attacking a human; thats for me the totally wrong way of looking at this.
Donald Trump will return to Waukesha days before the Aug. 9 Republican gubernatorial primary to support his chosen candidate Tim Michels and the entire Wisconsin Trump Ticket, the former president announced Tuesday.

The Aug. 5 rally was announced hours after U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, a fierce rival turned close ally of Trumps, endorsed former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch.

Michels, the millionaire co-owner of Brownsville-based Michels Corp., and Kleefisch, who served eight years under former Gov. Scott Walker, were leading the race in recent statewide polling, separated by 1 percentage point.

Trump has continued to pressure Wisconsin Republicans to decertify the 2020 presidential election while citing unfounded claims of widespread fraud in the 20-month-old vote, but earlier this week Michels said decertification would not be a priority if hes elected governor this fall.

Trump made more than a half-dozen trips to the battleground state in 2020, including a stop in Waukesha two weeks before his loss in the presidential election to President Joe Biden by about 21,000 votes.

Since then, Trump has made repeated allegations of widespread fraud in the election, most recently claiming that the Wisconsin Supreme Courts 4-3 decision that state law does not allow absentee ballot drop boxes was reason to decertify the elections results. The state Supreme Courts decision applies to future elections, not past ones.

On Friday, Trump issued a statement again touting his endorsement of Michels, who the former president said would End the well-documented Fraud in our Elections.

However, speaking at a debate two days later, Michels was asked if decertifying the results of the 2020 election would be a priority if he is elected governor in November.

Its not a priority, he said. My priorities are election integrity, crime reduction and education reform and then the continuous, always, from day one until my last day in office four years or eight years later, to make sure that we have a robust economy here in Wisconsin.

These are the biggest priorities that we have, this is what the governor should focus on, Michels continued. By the time I get sworn in in January, we will have already started the 2024 election cycle. I have to focus on beating Tony Evers this fall and thats what were going to do.

Kleefisch has described the presidential election as rigged, but also said she would not seek decertification.

State Rep. Timothy Ramthun, R-Campbellsport, is also running in the primary and has echoed Trumps calls for decertification, which has become a key talking point for his campaign.

Proposals to decertify the states 2020 election have received bipartisan criticism as a legal and constitutional impossibility. A recount, court decisions and multiple reviews have affirmed that Biden defeated Trump in Wisconsin. Only 24 people out of nearly 3.3 million who cast ballots have been charged with election fraud in Wisconsin.

While Michels has secured endorsements from Trump and former Gov. Tommy Thompson, Kleefisch received a key Republican endorsement on Tuesday from Cruz, R-Texas, who beat Trump in the states 2016 presidential primary. Trump went on to win the state in what proved to be a crucial part of his 2016 victory over Hillary Clinton, before losing to Biden in 2020.

Rebecca will fight for a stronger economy, school choice so parents are back in charge of their kids education, and she will work to protect Life and our Second Amendment, Cruz said in a statement. I ask my fellow conservatives to join me in supporting Rebeccas campaign for governor today!

Kleefisch has also been endorsed by Walker and more than 50 Republican state lawmakers, including Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, and Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg.

The June Marquette Law School Poll found that 27% of Republican primary voters supported Michels, while 26% supported Kleefisch. Ramthun polled more than 20 points below Michels and Kleefisch in June. Business owner Adam Fischer, who was not included in the poll, is also running in the Aug. 9 primary.

The winner will go on to face Evers, who is seeking a second term, on Nov. 8.
SLS Dubai, one of the tallest hotels and residences in the region, has announced the appointment of accomplished operations manager, Rony Jabbour as General Manager of Privilege Dubai.



Jabbour has taken on the new role just as the venue has been officiated as the highest outdoor overflow pool by Guinness World Records, a milestone moment for the brand. Located on the 75th Floor of SLS Dubai, and standing at 325 metres in the sky, Privilege is a poolside nightclub that takes the party up into the clouds every night.



Jabbour brings with him extensive experience in venue management, team management, and event organisation, just a few top skills that make him an invaluable asset to the Privilege team. In his role as General Manager of Privilege, Jabbour has taken charge of managing the venue team, handling the operation of the club, working on forecasting market trends, and implementing new concepts for the club.



Prior to his tenure at SLS, he amassed an impressive 15 years of experience in Lebanon and Egypt working as Operations Manager at venues such as BO18 Beirut, Sky Bar Beirut, and Myu Beirut.



Spencer Wadama, General Manager SLS Dubai, said: As we looked ahead to the 1st anniversary of Privilege Dubai, were confident in our ability to maintain our reputation as the sky-high nightlife hotspot in the city. We have complete faith in Ronys abilities to lead the team to bigger, bolder and brighter highs during the next half of the year and into the future.



Privilege Dubai is the third Privilege outpost globally, with sister properties Privilege Pool situated at SLS Baha Mar and Privilege Rooftop Bar at Mondrian Seoul respectively.



SLS Dubai Hotel & Residences comprises of 254 expertly designed hotel rooms, 321 hotel apartments and is one of the tallest hotels in the region.  TradeArabia News Service
In Ukraine, young people are holding dance parties to help rebuild damage caused by the war with Russia.

In the northern Ukrainian village of Yahidne, a dance party, called a rave, took place among the destruction from the Russian occupation just months before. A rave is a large party with techno dance music.

The dance party had more than one purpose. It provided a way for almost 200 young people, mostly in their 20s and 30s, to help rebuild their country. The party was called a clean-up rave and it took place during the daytime instead of at night.

Young Ukrainians are organizing the parties to help with recovery efforts in Ukraines northern area, which suffered major damage during the Russian attack.

The volunteers used shovels to move debris from the bombed cultural center near the edge of the village of Yahidne. The center was destroyed by a Russian rocket in March.

Oleksandr Buchinskiy is a DJ, a person who plays recorded music as a job. He placed his record turntables on boxes of ammunition. As he played the music, some of the volunteers take a break from working to dance.

Tania Burianova is 26 years old and is the organizer of Repair Together Initiative, a group that brings together volunteers to help on the recovery projects. She enjoys electronic music and used to go to parties. But now it's wartime and we want to help, and we're doing it with music. Volunteering is my lifestyle now, she said.

With the Russian invasion of Ukraine starting in February, came the sudden end to Ukraines lively club and music activities. In the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, there is a nighttime curfew because of the threat of rocket attacks. People who loved Ukraines party culture wanted a way to enjoy the fun and freedom of music and dance, but also to help rebuild the country they love.

Burianova said that clean-up raves create a sense of normal life for those who lost their nightlife communities during the war. It also gives them a chance to help.

She told the Associated Press, We miss (parties) and we want to come back to normal life, but our normal life now is volunteering."

During the Russian occupation, nearly all the population of Yahidne, just over 300 people, lived in a basement, or underground room, for weeks.

Nina is a 68-year-old who lives in the village, which is in the northern area of Chernihiv. She said that she spent weeks in the basement. She added that 11 people died there because of the poor conditions. She said that she was thankful to see the young people coming to help with the recovery efforts.

Nina spoke about the volunteers. They already repaired our windows, doors and entrances. We could not do it ourselves with our salaries or pensions. I'm thankful that they helped us."

Most of the volunteers come from Kyiv, which is about two hours away by car. Others have come from nearby Chernihiv or further away from the western city of Lviv. In addition, some of the volunteers have even come from other countries, including Portugal, Germany, and the United States.

The clean-up at Yahidnes cultural center was Repair Togethers eighth project, and the group helped to repair 15 homes in the village. Burianova said that the group wants to grow and have a building camp event in the town of Lu-ka-shiv-ka nearby. They will build 12 houses for people who had their homes destroyed.

Buchinskiy said that a feeling of hopefulness and responsibility connected the volunteers although they feel pain, sadness, and anger from the war.

He said, "These are all young people that still have a passion for life

And he added, They feel a need to take part in this historical moment, and help people, and make Ukraine a better place with a smile on their faces.

Im Faith Pirlo.

Justin Spike wrote this article for The Associated Press. Faith Pirlo adapted it for Learning English.

__________________________________________________

Words in This Story

techno  n. a type of electronic dance music that has a fast beat

shovel  n. a tool with a long handle that is used for lifting and throwing dirt, sand, snow, etc.

debris  n. pieces that are left after something has been destroyed

turntable  n. the part of a record player that turns the record

curfew  n. an order or law that requires people to be indoors after a certain time at night

pension  n. an amount of money that a company or the government pays to a person who is old or sick and no longer works

passion n. a strong feeling of enthusiasm or excitement for something or about doing something

What do you think of the clean-up parties to help rebuild Ukrainian towns?

We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works:

Write your comment in the box. Under the box, you can see four images for social media accounts. They are for Disqus, Facebook, Twitter and Google. Click on one image and a box appears. Enter the login for your social media account. Or you may create one on the Disqus system. It is the blue circle with D on it. It is free.

Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.
Early results show a new Tunisian constitution that expands presidential powers has passed, but with very low voter turnout.

It is estimated that less than one third of voters completed ballots in the referendum.

President Kais Saied dismissed parliament last year. Since then, he has governed with expanded powers gained through his own orders. Saied offered the new constitution last month.

Opposition parties boycotted the referendum. They said the new laws destroy democracy in Tunisia which was put in place after the 2011 uprising known as the Arab Spring. Tunisia is the only country to have established a democracy as a result of the uprising.

However, Tunisia now faces an economic crisis with the public mainly concerned about financial issues. The country is seeking a $4 billion load from the International Monetary Fund, or IMF, to rescue the economy. But workers groups opposed reforms required by the IMF including the removal of price supports for food and fuel.

An opinion study by French financial company Sigma Conseil found that 92 percent of people who voted in the referendum supported the new constitution. An early report from the electoral commission said that, of those who could legally vote, only 28 percent did so.

Voter turnout is believed to have been the lowest since 2011. Official numbers for the referendum will be closely watched.

Early results are expected Wednesday with the final result being announced on August 28.

Tunisias new constitution gives the president additional power over the government and courts. It has been described as giving the president full executive powers.

The opposition says the presidents moves last year represent a seizure of power and rejected the referendum as illegal.

Western democracies have looked to Tunisia as the only success story of the Arab Spring, a pro-democracy movement that swept the Middle East in 2011. Over the past year, they have urged the country to return to the democratic path.

President Saied completed his ballot Monday and said the referendum provided the start of a new republic.

But critics warn that the new constitution could lead to the one-party rule that existed under former president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

Samia is a married woman in Tunis with a teenage son. She did not want to vote. Im frustrated by all of them, she said.

But voter Yahia Arafet said: "This was an important day. I hope all Tunisians vote to raise the country's level and improve it."

Im Dan Friedell.

Mario Ritter Jr. adapted this story from Reuters for VOA Learning English with additional material from the Associated Press.

____________________________________________________

Words in This Story

turnout n. the number of people who go to or take part in something such as a vote or an event

executive adj. responsible for making sure laws are carried out and for managing the affairs of a nation or state

referendum n. an event in which the people of an area vote for or against a law that deals with a specific issue

frustrated adj. angry, discouraged or upset because of being unable to do or complete something

We want to hear from you.

We have a new comment system. Here is how it works:

Write your comment in the box.

Under the box, you can see four images for social media accounts. They are for Disqus, Facebook, Twitter and Google.

Click on one image and a box appears. Enter the login for your social media account. Or you may create one on the Disqus system. It is the blue circle with D on it. It is free.

Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.
New research shows American students made academic progress this past school year compared to a year earlier.

During the 2020 to 2021 school year, COVID-19 restrictions were still in effect in many places in the United States.

Student gains in reading and math were larger than the previous school year and similar to student development before the COVID-19 pandemic.

The research comes from NWEA, or the Northwest Evaluation Association, a nonprofit educational research group that issues standardized tests.

The NWEA said the gains were observed across income levels. The progress partly made up for lost learning and lack of teaching that resulted from the pandemic, researchers found. However, students in poor schools fell further behind. It is likely they will need more time than higher-income students to make a full recovery.

The study suggested that a full academic recovery will likely continue longer than federal COVID-19 aid money remains available. If recovery happens at the same speed it did in the 2021 to 2022 school year, a full recovery would go beyond the 2024 limit for schools to spend their federal aid, the study said.

The test results are a sign of hope for academic recovery from COVID-19. But continued effort and spending on education remains very important. It could be difficult to see continued improvements with such a long recovery, said Karyn Lewis. She is the director of the Center for School and Student Progress at NWEA. She helped write the study.

The study used data from more than 8 million students. The students had taken the MAP Growth test in reading and math during the three school years of COVID-19 restrictions. Their results were then compared with data from three years before the pandemic.

Lewis said in a statement that the improvements are especially heartening during another challenging school year of more variants, staff shortages, and other problems.

For the average elementary school student, researchers predicted that it would take three years to return to pre-pandemic performance levels. For older students, recovery could take much longer. The amount of time could be different depending on the grade level and social details of students. But researchers found most students will need more than the two years where increased federal aid money is available.

Lewis told the publication Education Week: Once the federal recovery funds are gone [in 2024], Im seeing just continuing gaps widening

She said differences, or gaps, would be especially large for what she called historically marginalized student groups who struggled during the pandemic.

Lindsay Dworkin is the vice president of policy and communications at NWEA. She said the most successful way to improve student success was increased instructional time. That included more class time, more one-on-one instruction, or high-quality summer classes. But those measures can be costly and complex. School systems may be unwilling to spend the money on them when aid money must be used very soon.

The funding expires in such a short amount of time that districts are really struggling with, What can I do that will be big and impactful and I only need to do for two years? Dworkin told The Associated Press. I think if they knew that there would be more federal money coming and that it would be sustained, that would make all the difference..."

The NWEA studied national data for its report. But Dworkin said understanding each local school system was necessary to understanding how to best support schoolchildren. In addition to differences across student groups, districts that share similar qualities, like race and poverty levels, still showed large differences in student results.

If you are a district leader, theres just no national story that is going to tell you enough about your district context, without the hard work of digging into the data and understanding what it says," Dworkin said.

Im Dan Novak.

Dan Novak adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on reporting by The Associated Press and additional information from Education Week.

Quiz- Study: Students Returning to Levels Before the COVID-19 Pandemic Start the Quiz to find out Start Quiz

_____________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

academic  adj. relating to schools and education

standardized test n. a test given equally to all students aimed at measuring their learning

gap n. a difference between people or groups

heartening  adj. to cause someone to feel better

challenging adj. difficult

variant  n. a version of something that is a little different from similar versions

marginalized adj. kept in a powerless or unimportant position within a society or group

expire  v. to end, to no longer be in effect

sustain v. to provide what is needed for something to continue

context n.

______________________________________________________________

We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works:

Write your comment in the box. Under the box, you can see four images for social media accounts. They are for Disqus, Facebook, Twitter and Google. Click on one image and a box appears. Enter the login for your social media account. Or you may create one on the Disqus system. It is a blue circle with D on it. It is free.

Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.
With a heat advisory in effect in parts of the mid-Willamette Valley until 9 p.m. Thursday, July 28, community members may be looking for a place to cool off.

Temperatures are expected to potentially exceed 100 degrees Fahrenheit and affect Corvallis, Albany and Lebanon.

The National Weather Service advises residents to drink plenty of fluids and stay in air-conditioned rooms. For those without an air-conditioned home, there are some cooling centers in Linn and Benton counties open to the public.

Linn County

Albany

Albany Public Library  2450 14th Ave., SE

Sunday and Monday: closed

Tuesday: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Wednesday: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Thursday: noon to 6 p.m.

Friday: noon to 6 p.m.

Saturday: 1 to 5 p.m.

Carnegie Library  302 Ferry St. SW

Sunday through Tuesday: closed

Wednesday and Thursday: 1 to 6 p.m.

Friday and Saturday: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Albany Fire Station 11, Ralston Room  611 Lyon St. SE

Monday, July 25: 5 to 7:30 p.m.

Tuesday, July 26: 5 to 7:30 p.m.

C.H.A.N.C.E.  231 Lyon St. SE

Open 24/7

Helping Hands  619 Ninth Ave. SE

Open daily: 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Lebanon

Lebanon Public Library  55 Academy St.

Monday through Thursday: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Friday through Saturday: noon to 5 p.m.

Lebanon Senior Center  80 Tangent St.

Open Monday July 25 through Friday, July 29: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

First Christian Church  170 E Grant St.

Saturday and Sunday: 3 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Sweet Home

Sweet Home City Hall  3225 Main St.

Monday through Friday: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Sweet Home Public Library  1101 13th Ave.

Monday through Friday: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Sweet Home Senior Center  880 18th Ave.

Monday through Friday: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Sweet Home Police Station  1950 Main St.

Monday through Friday: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

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.

Benton County

Alsea

Alsea Community Library  19192 Alsea Highway

Monday and Wednesday: 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., closed from 12:30 p.m. to 1 p.m.

Tuesday and Thursday: noon to 7 p.m.

Saturday: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., closed from 12:30 to 1 p.m.

Closed Friday and Sunday

Corvallis

Corvallis-Benton Community Library  645 NW Monroe Ave.

Monday through Thursday: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Friday through Saturday: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Sunday: 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Corvallis Community Center (C3)  2601 NW Tyler Ave.

Monday through Thursday: 8 a.m. - 7 p.m.

Friday: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Saturday: 8 to 11 a.m.

Corvallis Daytime Drop-in Center  530 SW Fourth St.

Monday through Friday: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Corvallis Mens Shelter (Unity Shelter)  211 SE Chapman Place

Every night: 6 to 8 p.m.

Osborn Aquatic Center  1940 NW Highland Ave.

Monday through Thursday: 5:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Friday: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Saturday: 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Sunday: 1 to 4 p.m.

Monroe

Monroe Community Library  380 N. Fifth St.

Monday and Thursday: 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (closed from 1 to 1:30 p.m.)

Tuesday and Wednesday: 1 to 7 p.m. (closed from 1 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.) Saturday: noon to 3 p.m.

Philomath

Philomath Fire Department  1035 Main St.

Monday through Friday: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Philomath Community Library  1050 Applegate St.

Monday and Tuesday: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Wednesday through Friday: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Saturday: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
COZAD  The Cozad Development Corporation plans to be aggressive in recruitment after they acquired the former Tenneco site last month.

Cozad Development Corporation Executive Director Jennifer McKeone said that they closed on the site in the latter half of June.

McKeone said that prior to purchasing the property, they had done their due diligence and consulted with Tennecos environmental consultants, the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency and their own environmental attorney.

The process took around a year to complete, but all parties were able to determine what the best use for the property would be. The CDCs plan is to redevelop the site and bring an industry into the community that could use the property.

McKeone said for a long time, all that was known was what industries could not be brought into the former Tenneco site, but now they know several different target industries.

These include warehousing, cold storage and agriculture processing, McKeone said.

Warehousing is simply the act of storing foods that will be sold or distributed later, McKeone used the example of Amazon or VVS Canteen shipping products to a location for storage until they are sold and shipped to the buyer.

Cold storage warehouse means a storage warehouse used to store fresh and/or frozen perishable fruits or vegetables, meat, seafood, dairy products, etc. at a desired temperature to maintain the quality.

Ag processing is taking a raw product and producing a product primarily for wholesale or retail sale for human or animal consumption.

McKeone said at the moment the CDC is still in the recruitment phase, but now that they know which industries to target, they plan to recruit aggressively for a business that would be a good fit for the property.

The process is not a fast one, McKeone noted and it could take three or more years before there is any substantial development. However, she noted they are closer than they have ever been at redeveloping the location.

The property was the location of the former Tenneco site, a shock absorber plant that employed around 500 people in 2008.

The plant opened as Monroe in 1961, the Illinois-based Tenneco acquired it in 1977. In 2007, the plant employed around 700 people.

As the Great Recession impacted the country after 2008, Tenneco estimated it could save $8 million per year by closing the plant.

After an initial layoff of 30 employees in December 2008, the company announced the plant would be closing in September 2009.

Sept. 22, 2009, a former employee said, That date is burned permanently into my mind.

The closure of the production line was delayed several times until June 2011.

Obviously its going to impact us, we just dont know the extent, then Cozad Mayor Greg Tetley said at the time, he immediately issued a freeze on spending within the Cozad city government after the announcement.

The closure sent shockwaves through the Cozad community, the impact caused by the loss of so many jobs in one community couldnt be understated. Numbers from the 2010 Census showed a population loss of about four percent since the 2000 Census. The town's population went from 4,163 in 2000 to 3,977 in 2010.

The site was vacant when it was purchased by Mercy Real Estate in 2014, who announced plans to bring new tenants to the facility. The site changed hands again when it was purchased in 2015 by Mercy Foundation Group, Inc., it was then sold to the Cozad Eagle.

By 2016, the former plant was not in adequate shape to operate as a manufacturing plant, the cost of rehabilitation was prohibitive. There had been prospective clients, but they were only interested in using small portions of the facility.

Reports showed it would cost more to renovate the plant than to simply tear it down and redevelop the property. To that end, demolition of the former manufacturing facility began in the summer of 2016.

The property has now sat vacant for the past six years.

What was once a thriving spot, and now a torn down one, will have changes heading its way, the CDC started.
Disclosure: Some links on this page are monetized by the Skimlinks, Amazon, Rakuten Advertising, and eBay, affiliate programs. All prices are subject to change, and this article only reflects the prices available at time of publication.

The Lenovo ThinkPad X13s is a compact notebook with a 13.3 inch, 1920 x 1200 pixel display, a fanless design, and a body that measures just 0.53 inches thick and which weighs just 2.35 pounds.

Its also the first member of the ThinkPad family to be powered by an ARM-based processor. First announced in February, the Lenovo ThinkPad X13s is now available for purchase from Lenovo or Verizon.

Verizon offers a 16GB/512GB model for $1450 when you pay full price, or $1350 when you sign up for a 2-year contract. But if you dont want to make that commitment, you might be better off ordering directly from Lenovo.

Lenovos prices start at around $1300 for a WiFi-only model with 16GB of LPDDR4x-4266 memory and a 512GB PCIe Gen 4 SSD or $1385 for a similar configuration with a Qualcomm Snapdragon X55 5G cellular modem. There are also a few other options including a 32GB/512GB/WiFi-only model for $1440 and a 16GB/1TB/WiFi + 5G model for $1570.

At the heart of the ThinkPad X13s is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx gen 3 processor. Thats Qualcomms latest laptop processor, and it features:

4 x ARM Cortex-X1 CPU cores @ 3 GHz

4 x ARM Cortex-A78 CPU cores @ 2.4 GHz

Adreno 69x graphics

Spectra 395 ISP

Qualcomm says the processor brings up to an 85% improvement in CPU performance and up to 60% better graphics than the previous-gen Snapdragon 8cx Gen 2, which could make this the chip that comes the closest to allowing Qualcomm-powered Windows laptops to compete head-to-head with models powered by Intel and AMD processors in performance rather than just efficiency.

As NotebookCheck points out, synthetic benchmark scores seem to confirm Qualcomms assertion: the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 scores 85% higher in the GeekBench multi-core performance test and nearly 40% higher in single-core performance. But while this is Qualcomms fastest laptop processor to date, its not the fastest ARM chip around  Apples M1 processor scores considerably higher in GeekBench performance, and the new Apple M2 chip comes out even further ahead.

Apple has also optimized macOS for ARM chips since most new Macs ship with Apple Silicon. Windows on ARM, meanwhile, still often feels like a second-class citizen, with many applications and games lacking native support for ARM architecture. You can still run many of those applications thanks to Microsofts emulation technology, but that means non-native applications may run slower than those which are compiled specifically for ARM.

The Lenovo ThinkPad X13s has a 5MP front-facing camera with AI-based automatic framing (to keep you centered in a video chat even as you move), an IR camera for facial recognition so you can login to the laptop by looking at it, and a 3-microphone array that can be used for noise suppression during calls. Theres also a fingerprint sensor.

Less impressive is the port selection: the notebook has just two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C ports and a headphone jack.

The ThinkPad X13s also has optional support for 5G (sub-6 GHz and mmWave) connectivity as well as WiFi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2.

But the key thing setting this laptop apart from other members of the Lenovo ThinkPad family is its processor. ARMs secret sauce has long been low power consumption though, and Lenovo says the Thinkpad X13s can get up to 28 hours of battery life during local video playback from its 49.5 Wh battery. Thats a best-case scenario and real-world battery life will likely be much lower if youre actively using the notebook for just about anything but watching videos. But the fact that you can literally watch movies while flying from New York to Auckland without stopping to charge the battery is pretty impressive.

Using a low-power ARM-based chip also helps when youre developing a fanless thin and light notebook. Lenovo also used 90% recycled magnesium for the top and bottom covers of the laptop and 97% recycled plastic for the printed circuit board cover and battery frame.

The Lenovo ThinkPad X13S is available now for around $1300 and up, with entry-level configurations featuring 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. Theres also optional support for cellular connectivity, with the laptop supporting AT&T and Verizons 5G networks.

press release

This article was first published February 28, 2022 and most recently updated July 26, 2022.
Cyprus Airways, the flagship airline which serves routes across Europe and the Middle-East, has appointed TripAdmit to provide tours and activities content as the airline announces its latest service for online customers.



Cyprus Airways will be using TripAdmits white label solution, a powerful booking software and AI technology for personalised segmentation. At the flight booking stage customers will be able browse rich content and images selecting from a range of experiences available in their chosen destination and beyond. Customers will be sent a link to the Cyprus Airways tours and experiences page showing the products available, then search for further information and make a booking.



Cyprus Airways is the latest carrier to join TripAdmits extensive partnership programme, created to maximise ancillary revenue and designed to improve the customer booking experience for airlines across the globe.



Madonna Hoyek, Chief Commercial Officer of Cyprus Airways, said: TripAdmit has an extensive range of exciting tours and activities to choose from in practically every destination, with rich content and images created to inspire passengers. We are excited to offer this service to our valued guests and I am confident we will see an increase in customer satisfaction and ancillary sales following this partnership.



Carl Cromie - Director of Travel Partnerships TripAdmit, said: The demand for tours and experiences around the world continues to grow and we are helping airlines connect with this market through our partnership programme. Our white label solution ensures that Cyprus Airways passengers are served with the right products and enjoy a seamless booking experience when they make their selection.  TradeArabia News Service
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP)  General Assembly leaders acknowledged on Tuesday that a compromise for North Carolina to finally embrace Medicaid expansion likely won't come quickly and pinned success for a near-future agreement in part on buy-in from a key health care interest group.

Speaking separately to reporters while the legislature convened this week for no-vote sessions, Senate leader Phil Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore said top-level discussions have waned since its chief work period for the year ended 3 1/2 weeks ago.

By that time, the Republican-controlled House and Senate had passed different legislation that set the state on the path to accept federal funds to cover 90% of the medical expenses for as many as 600,000 low-income adults who earn too much for traditional Medicaid. North Carolina is one of 12 states that have yet to accept expansion since Congress first offered it over a decade ago.

The Senate proposal championed by Berger accepted expansion, but it also contained additional reforms he said would increase the number of providers and services. They included scaling back certificate of need laws that tightly regulate expansion plans by medical providers and allowing highly trained nurses to practice without a doctor's supervision.

The House plan left out those extra reforms, and instead envisioned the legislature returning in mid-December to vote on an expansion plan developed by Democratic Gov. Roy Coopers administration that contains several key fiscal and medical benchmarks.

The bill that the Senate sent over is just a nonstarter, Moore said. But Berger said his chamber won't settle for a measure that only contains expansion, but rather one that includes some supply-side increases" for health care providers and medical facilities. Berger placed blame upon the states hospitals for failing to accept a significant pull-back of certificate of need laws.

There remains a window to get something done, he told reporters. But quite frankly, as long as the hospitals remain as intransigent as they are, I dont see that were going to make any progress.

The North Carolina Healthcare Association, which represents for-profit and nonprofit hospitals, said Tuesday it looks forward to continue working with House and Senate leaders on advancing expansion and entry into a program that would let hospitals received higher Medicaid reimbursement rates.

But the group told Berger elements" of the Senate bill would be harmful to hospitals and erode the states safety net, NCHA spokesperson Cynthia Charles said in an emailed statement

As a sign of the association's influence, Moore said he would want to be sure that hospitals agreed to certificate of need changes before his chamber voted on them.

I think we need to be very careful (with) folks trying to blame hospitals, he said. These are the facilities that are there on the front lines, taking care of the sickest folks in our state.

While supporters of certificate of need laws say they prevent the use of expensive medical services from going out of balance with demand, critics say they limit competition, to the financial benefit of current health care providers.

Cooper, a strong supporter of Medicaid expansion and who would be asked to sign any final bill, told reporters earlier this month that he was hopeful for quick agreement on expansion.

Moore said Tuesday there was no need to rush on a solution. The legislature is already scheduled to return monthly for the rest of the year  the next meeting is Aug. 23  to address other potential topics. So there are opportunities to vote for any expansion agreement that surfaces. Berger expressed pessimism for now on a compromise by the end of the year, after which a new batch of 170 legislators will get sworn in.

An agreement can't come soon enough for participants at a Tuesday morning vigil outside the Legislative Building. They identified by name North Carolina residents whom they say died from severe illness while lacking Medicaid or insurance coverage.

I am angered, saddened and frustrated that we have to be out here again today doing another vigil and begging the lawmakers to do the right thing and expand Medicaid, said Rebecca Cerese with the North Carolina Justice Center. Health care cant wait. When it does wait  as you heard  people die.
(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.)

(THE CONVERSATION) In the 1950s, scholars worried that, thanks to technological innovations, Americans wouldnt know what to do with all of their leisure time.

Yet today, as sociologist Juliet Schor notes, Americans are overworked, putting in more hours than at any time since the Depression and more than in any other in Western society.

Its probably not unrelated to the fact that instant and constant access has become de rigueur, and our devices constantly expose us to a barrage of colliding and clamoring messages: Urgent, Breaking News, For immediate release, Answer needed ASAP.

It disturbs our leisure time, our family time  even our consciousness.

Over the past decade, Ive tried to understand the social and psychological effects of our growing interactions with new information and communication technologies, a topic I examine in my book The Terminal Self: Everyday Life in Hypermodern Times.

In this 24/7, always on age, the prospect of doing nothing might sound unrealistic and unreasonable.

But its never been more important.

Acceleration for the sake of acceleration

In an age of incredible advancements that can enhance our human potential and planetary health, why does daily life seem so overwhelming and anxiety-inducing?

Why arent things easier?

Its a complex question, but one way to explain this irrational state of affairs is something called the force of acceleration.

According to German critical theorist Hartmut Rosa, accelerated technological developments have driven the acceleration in the pace of change in social institutions.

We see this on factory floors, where just-in-time manufacturing demands maximum efficiency and the ability to nimbly respond to market forces, and in university classrooms, where computer software instructs teachers how to move students quickly through the material. Whether its in the grocery store or in the airport, procedures are implemented, for better or for worse, with one goal in mind: speed.

Noticeable acceleration began more than two centuries ago, during the Industrial Revolution. But this acceleration has itself  accelerated. Guided by neither logical objectives nor agreed-upon rationale, propelled by its own momentum, and encountering little resistance, acceleration seems to have begotten more acceleration, for the sake of acceleration.

To Rosa, this acceleration eerily mimics the criteria of a totalitarian power: 1) it exerts pressure on the wills and actions of subjects; 2) it is inescapable; 3) it is all-pervasive; and 4) it is hard or almost impossible to criticize and fight.

The oppression of speed

Unchecked acceleration has consequences.

At the environmental level, it extracts resources from nature faster than they can replenish themselves and produces waste faster than it can be processed.

At the personal level, it distorts how we experience time and space. It deteriorates how we approach our everyday activities, deforms how we relate to each other and erodes a stable sense of self. It leads to burnout at one end of the continuum and to depression at the other. Cognitively, it inhibits sustained focus and critical evaluation. Physiologically, it can stress our bodies and disrupt vital functions.

For example, research finds two to three times more self-reported health problems, from anxiety to sleeping issues, among workers who frequently work in high-speed environments compared with those who do not.

When our environment accelerates, we must pedal faster in order to keep up with the pace. Workers receive more emails than ever before  a number thats only expected to grow. The more emails you receive, the more time you need to process them. It requires that you either accomplish this or another task in less time, that you perform several tasks at once, or that you take less time in between reading and responding to emails.

American workers productivity has increased dramatically since 1973. What has also increased sharply during that same period is the pay gap between productivity and pay. While productivity between 1973 and 2016 has increased by 73.7 percent, hourly pay has increased by only 12.5 percent. In other words, productivity has increased at about six times the rate of hourly pay.

Clearly, acceleration demands more work  and to what end? There are only so many hours in a day, and this additional expenditure of energy reduces individuals ability to engage in lifes essential activities: family, leisure, community, citizenship, spiritual yearnings and self-development.

Its a vicious loop: Acceleration imposes more stress on individuals and curtails their ability to manage its effects, thereby worsening it.

Doing nothing and being

In a hypermodern society propelled by the twin engines of acceleration and excess, doing nothing is equated with waste, laziness, lack of ambition, boredom or down time.

But this betrays a rather instrumental grasp of human existence.

Much research  and many spiritual and philosophical systems  suggest that detaching from daily concerns and spending time in simple reflection and contemplation are essential to health, sanity and personal growth.

Similarly, to equate doing nothing with nonproductivity betrays a shortsighted understanding of productivity. In fact, psychological research suggests that doing nothing is essential for creativity and innovation, and a persons seeming inactivity might actually cultivate new insights, inventions or melodies.

As legends go, Isaac Newton grasped the law of gravity sitting under an apple tree. Archimedes discovered the law of buoyancy relaxing in his bathtub, while Albert Einstein was well-known for staring for hours into space in his office.

The academic sabbatical is centered on the understanding that the mind needs to rest and be allowed to explore in order to germinate new ideas.

Doing nothing  or just being  is as important to human well-being as doing something.

The key is to balance the two.

Taking your foot off the pedal

Since it will probably be difficult to go cold turkey from an accelerated pace of existence to doing nothing, one first step consists in decelerating. One relatively easy way to do so is to simply turn off all the technological devices that connect us to the internet  at least for a while  and assess what happens to us when we do.

Danish researchers found that students who disconnected from Facebook for just one week reported notable increases in life satisfaction and positive emotions. In another experiment, neuroscientists who went on a nature trip reported enhanced cognitive performance.

Different social movements are addressing the problem of acceleration. The Slow Food movement, for example, is a grassroots campaign that advocates a form of deceleration by rejecting fast food and factory farming.

As we race along, it seems as though were not taking the time to seriously examine the rationale behind our frenetic lives  and mistakenly assume that those who are very busy must be involved in important projects.

Touted by the mass media and corporate culture, this credo of busyness contradicts both how most people in our society define the good life and the tenets of many Eastern philosophies that extol the virtue and power of stillness.

French philosopher Albert Camus perhaps put it best when he wrote, Idleness is fatal only to the mediocre.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article here: https://theconversation.com/in-praise-of-doing-nothing-95998.
Tom Poberezny, former president and chairman of the Oshkosh-based Experimental Aircraft Association, died Monday at age 75 after a brief illness, EAA said.

It is not lost on us that Toms passing occurred on the opening day of EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, the event he led into world prominence as its chairman beginning in the 1970s, EAA CEO Jack Pelton said in a statement.

Poberezny, who was also an acrobatic flyer, was EAA president from 1989 to 2010 and served as its chairman for two years until his retirement in 2011. He was the son of EAA founder Paul Poberezny, who died in 2013. EAA AirVenture is an annual weeklong airshow that each year draws hundreds of thousands of people from around the world to the Fox Valley.

During his EAA tenure, Poberezny oversaw a number of the organizations milestone events, EAA said. In the 1970s, he spearheaded EAAs first major capital campaign, which supported the construction of its current headquarters and museum complex at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh.

In 1992, Poberezny also led the creation of EAAs Young Eagles aviation youth program, which has flown nearly 2.3 million people ages 8 to 17, EAA said. He also oversaw EAAs Countdown to Kitty Hawk program in the early 2000s, which commissioned the construction of the first authentic reproduction of the 1903 Wright Flyer, which flew at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

Memorial services are still being determined. EAA is also planning a memorial and tribute to Poberezny during AirVenture 2022.
Hong Kong: Social distancing extended to Aug 10

The Government announced today that the existing social distancing measures will be extended until August 10.

It noted that the number of daily COVID-19 cases in Hong Kong remains high at four-digit figures with an ongoing rising trend.

Meanwhile, there have been signs of a rebound in the viral load under sewage surveillance in various districts and transmission of different new Omicron sub-lineages has been observed in the community.

The overall number of hospitalised patients is on a continuous rise along with a caseload increase, with a marked surge in the number of serious or critical cases.

Although the number of such cases in terms of proportion is relatively stable for the time being, the increase has already created pressure on public healthcare services.

Balancing the needs for containing the epidemic and allowing social and economic activities, the Government decided to maintain the existing social distancing measures for the next 14-day cycle without making any relaxation.

All catering premises and scheduled premises are allowed to continue operating subject to strict compliance with the requirements including the use of the Vaccine Pass and LeaveHomeSafe app.

Other requirements, such as mask-wearing for citizens in transport carriers and specified public places, as well as the prohibition of group gatherings in public places, also remain in force.

The Government emphasised that it will monitor the epidemic trend and prudently consider the social distancing measures for the subsequent stage, with a view to effectively containing virus transmission without affecting the societys daily operation as far as practicable.

This story has been published on: 2022-07-26. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
German trade union ver.di has called on about 20,000 ground employees of Deutsche Lufthansa to stage a warning strike from July 27 at 3.45 am until July 28 at 6.00 am.



Michael Niggemann, Member of the Executive Board Chief Officer Human Resources Deutsche Lufthansa AG, said: "After only two days of negotiations, ver.di has announced a strike that can hardly be called a warning strike due to its breadth across all locations and its duration.



This is all the more incomprehensible given that the employer side has offered high and socially balanced pay increases  despite the continuing tense economic situation for Lufthansa following the Covid crisis, high debt burdens and uncertain prospects for the global economy.



After the enormous efforts to stabilize our flight operations, this represents a renewed, substantial and unnecessary burden for our passengers and also for our employees beyond the strike day, he added.



Among other things, the Group has presented a package with the following components. Beginning July 1, 2022, with a term of 18 months, each employee would receive:



 an increase in basic pay of 150 euros per month as of July 1, 2022,

 a further basic pay increase of 100 euros per month as of January 1, 2023,

 an additional two-percent increase in compensation as of July 1, 2023, depending on how the business develops.



It is particularly important for Lufthansa to put a stronger focus on the lower remuneration groups. For example, for employees with a basic monthly salary of 3,000 euros before taxes, the present offer means an increase in basic salary between nine and just under eleven percent within the next 12 months.



The next round of negotiations has long been agreed upon and will take place on August 3 and 4.  TradeArabia News Service
A packed field of Republicans are running in the Aug. 9 primary for the chance to face Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, who is seeking a second term, in the Nov. 8 election.

The three major candidates running are Tim Michels, the millionaire co-owner of Brownsville-based construction company Michels Corp., former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, who served eight years under former Gov. Scott Walker, and state Rep. Timothy Ramthun, R-Campbellsport. Business owner Adam Fischer is also running and Kevin Nicholson dropped out of the race in early July.

Here's where they stand on the issues:

Abortion

All three candidates said they support the the state's 173-year-old abortion ban, which prohibits abortions from the time of conception unless it's necessary to save the mother's life.

Michels said he supports contraception, including emergency forms like the pill known as Plan B. He said he would also boost counseling and other resources for women with unplanned pregnancies.

Kleefisch said she wants to "enforce the laws we have on the books and defend the sanctity of life while providing resources to moms." She also said Plan B and other contraception options "will not be illegal when I am governor of the state of Wisconsin" and said at a recent debate that "miscarriage care and ectopic pregnancy treatment are not abortion."

Ramthun said he would work to provide additional resources to pregnancy crisis centers across the state and speed up the adoption process for women with unplanned pregnancies.

The 2020 election

Kleefisch has said the 2020 election was "rigged," but said she will not make decertification a priority.

While he has said the 2020 election was "maybe" stolen, Michels said decertifying the results of the 2020 election will not be a priority if elected governor. Michels has been endorsed by former President Donald Trump, who continues to make unfounded claims of widespread election fraud.

Ramthun continues to push for the legally and constitutionally impossible task of decertifying the results of the 2020 presidential election.

A recount, court decisions and multiple reviews have affirmed that President Joe Biden defeated Trump in Wisconsin by almost 21,000 votes.

Wisconsin Elections Commission

Ramthun has called for dismantling the state's bipartisan elections commission and putting electoral duties under the Secretary of State, which does not currently oversee elections.

Kleefisch has also proposed abolishing the state agency and creating a new office within the state Department of Justice to oversee elections and investigate instances of voter fraud.

Michels' plan would drastically alter the Wisconsin Elections Commission, but stops short of abolishing the agency. Instead, Michels has said he would call the Legislature into a special session on his first day as governor to vote to remove the agency's six commissioners. He would also terminate all senior staff at the agency and require them to reapply under the newly appointed commission.

Taxes

Ramthun has suggested eliminating the property tax levy that funds the state's public school system, as well as the state income tax, while Michels said he would review every state department for "fraud and abuse" and seek cuts or the elimination of agencies. Kleefisch has proposed moving the state to a 3.54% flat tax as the first step toward eventually eliminating the state income tax.

Jobs and the economy

Michels has called for reducing corporate and individual income taxes and recruiting out-of-state veterans to attract and retain workers, increasing energy production, eliminating the personal property tax and increased spending on vocational-technical training programs.

Kleefisch's plan calls for eliminating the personal property tax on businesses, increasing apprenticeship and dual enrollment opportunities, restrictions on unemployment benefits and boosted talent attraction and energy production.

Speaking during a recent debate hosted by TMJ4, Ramthun said he would prohibit mask and vaccine mandates, enhance education and reduce taxes to address state labor shortage challenges.

Education

Michels, Kleefisch and Ramthun have all supported measures prohibiting instruction about systemic racism, known broadly as "critical race theory," and systemic sexism instruction.

All three candidates also support universal school choice, breaking up the Milwaukee Public Schools district and the creation of a "Parental Bill of Rights," to allow parents to sue a school district or school official if they don't allow parents to determine the names and pronouns used for the child while at school, review instructional materials and outlines used by the child's school and access any education-related information regarding the child, among other measures.

Crime

Michels proposes creating increased mandatory minimum penalties for felons found in possession of a firearm, replacing Green Bay's prison with a larger, modern facility, bail reform and incentivizing the hiring of more police officers. He also supports measures to reduce state funding to communities that seek to reduce police funding.

Kleefisch has campaigned on her pledge to hire at least 1,000 cops using part of the state's projected budget surplus. She has also proposed mandatory minimum bail for violent offenders and increased penalties for those who resist arrest, reckless driving and assault of a police officer.

Michels and Kleefisch have also said they would fire Milwaukee District Attorney John Chisholm, whose office recommended bail at just $1,000 for Darrell Brooks Jr. Prosecutors say Brooks drove his SUV through a Christmas parade in Waukesha, a Republican stronghold, just days after he was released in November. Six people died and dozens more were injured.

Ramthun has also expressed support for police and has proposed increased penalties and bail for offenders.

Paid family leave

All three Republicans spoke in favor of paid family leave, though did not provide details on what specific measures they would pursue. Democratic state lawmakers have proposed providing tax-funded payments to workers, while Republicans have made other proposals, including shifting Social Security payments.

Previous efforts to pass paid family leave by Democrats have failed to gain traction in the Republican-led Legislature.
Return your absentee ballots here

In order to be received by Election Day, absentee ballots should be mailed no later than a week before the election. Those voting absentee can also return their ballots in person to the following locations at the listed times:

Madison Municipal Building

215 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.

8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays, July 26-Aug. 5

Olbrich Botanical Gardens

3330 Atwood Ave.

10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesday, July 26

Warner Park Community Recreation Center

1625 Northport Drive

8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. weekdays, July 26-Aug. 5

8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, July 30

8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 6

East Madison Community Center

8 Straubel Court

11 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays, Aug. 1-5

Edgewood College - Wingra Commons

1000 Edgewood College Drive

11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 5

UW-Madison Union South

1308 W. Dayton St.

11 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays, July 26-Aug. 5

UW-Madison Memorial Union

800 Langdon St.

11 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays, July 26-Aug. 5

Madison College Truax Campus

1701 Wright St.

11 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays, Aug. 1-5

Madison College South Madison Campus

2429 Perry St.

11 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays, Aug. 1-5

Alicia Ashman Library

733 N. High Point Road

11 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays, July 26-Aug. 5

10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays, July 30 and Aug. 6

Central Library

201 W. Mifflin St.

10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays, July 30 and Aug. 6

Goodman South Madison Library

2222 S. Park St.

11 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays, July 25-Aug. 5

10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays, July 30 and Aug. 6

Hawthorne Library

2707 E. Washington Ave.

11 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays, July 26-Aug. 5

10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays, July 30 and Aug. 6

Lakeview Library

2845 N. Sherman Ave.

10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays, July 30 and Aug. 6

Meadowridge Library

5726 Raymond Road

11 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays, July 26-Aug. 5

10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays, July 30 and Aug. 6

Pinney Library

516 Cottage Grove Road

11 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays, July 26-Aug. 5

10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays, July 30 and Aug. 6

Sequoya Library

4340 Tokay Blvd.

10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays, July 30 and Aug. 6

Hmong Institute

4402 Femrite Drive

11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Tuesdays, July 26 and Aug. 2

11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Thursdays, July 28 and Aug. 4

10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Fridays, July 29 and Aug. 5

Global Market and Food Hall

2161 Zeier Road

11 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays, July 26-Aug. 5

10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays, July 30 and Aug. 6

9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sundays, July 31 and Aug. 7

Lussier Community Education Center

55 S. Gammon Road

6-8 p.m. on Wednesdays, July 27 and Aug. 3

10 a.m. to noon on Saturdays, July 30 and Aug. 6

Urban League Southwest Employment Center

1233 McKenna Blvd.

11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesdays, July 27 and Aug. 3

11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Fridays, July 29 and Aug. 5

11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 1

Boys & Girls Club - Allied

4619 Jenewein Road

10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. weekdays, July 26-Aug. 5

Catholic Multicultural Center

1862 Beld St.

1 to 5 p.m. on Tuesdays, July 26 and Aug. 2

Tenney Park Shelter

402 N. Thornton Ave.

10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Wednesday, July 27

Eagle Heights Community Center

611 Eagle Heights Drive

10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Fridays, July 29 and Aug. 5

Badger Rock Neighborhood Center

501 E. Badger Road

5 to 8 p.m. on Wednesdays, July 27 and Aug. 3

Bridge - Lake Point - Waunona Neighborhood Center

1917 Lake Point Drive

9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Thursdays, July 28 and Aug. 4

9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Fridays, July 29 and Aug. 5

Ho-Chunk Nation Community Center

4724 Tradewinds Parkway

1 to 4 p.m. weekdays, July 26-Aug. 5

JP's Hair Design & Rebalanced - Life Wellness Association Men's Health and Education Center

584 Grand Canyon Drive

9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Tuesdays, July 26 and Aug. 2

9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Wednesdays, July 27 and Aug. 3

9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Fridays, July 29 and Aug. 5

9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Saturdays, July 30 and Aug. 6

Wisconsin Youth Company

1201 McKenna Blvd.

11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Tuesdays, July 26 and Aug. 2

4 to 6 p.m. on Thursdays, July 28 and Aug. 4

Christ the Solid Rock Baptist Church/Lake Edge United Church of Christ

4200 Buckeye Road

9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sundays, July 31 and Aug. 7

Fountain of Life Church

633 W. Badger Road

9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sundays, July 31 and Aug. 7

*No voter registration on Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 6-7, per state law.
Police say a man drove his car into a barricade near the U.S. Capitol and then began firing gunshots in the air before fatally shooting himself. Police say the man didn't seem to be targeting any member of Congress. The incident happened just before 4 a.m. at a vehicle barricade set on Capitol Hill. Authorities say that as the man was getting out of the car, the vehicle became engulfed in flames. Police say he then opened fire, shooting several bullets into the air as police approached. The man's identity hasn't been released, but investigators have located addresses for him in Delaware and Pennsylvania and have learned he had a criminal history in the past decade.
With the upheaval caused by the Supreme Courts overturning of Roe v. Wade came aftershocks of worry about what could come next. Could, as Justice Clarence Thomas suggested in his concurring opinion, same-sex marriage get lined up in the courts crosshairs as a future target? Contraception? Interracial marriage?

The courts conservative 6-3 majority has much of America hand-wringing about long-accepted rights now vulnerable to being diminished or even entirely struck down. This legitimate concern could be alleviated if those rights were shielded from judicial constitutional interpretation. Congress should step in.

The U.S. House on July 19 passed legislation that would shield same-sex marriage at the federal level. Essentially, the bill codifies protections created by the 2015 Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges that established same-sex marriage as a right under the due process and equal protection clauses of the 14th Amendment.

The measure got more than just a modicum of GOP support, with 47 Republicans signing onto the bill. Still, more than three-fourths of GOP lawmakers opposed the bill, suggesting that the party has yet to get in step with the rest of America. A 2021 Gallup poll put support across the country for same-sex marriage at 70%. A majority of Republicans in the poll  55%  gave their approval.

The bill now goes to the evenly divided Senate, where 10 Republicans are needed for its passage. If those senators take the time to understand whats at stake, theyll sign on to the bill.

Same-sex marriage is indeed at risk with this immoderate and reckless court, and not only because of what Thomas had to say in Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization.

Justice Samuel Alito has been just as outspoken in his opposition to same-sex marriage. In the 2015 Obergefell ruling, Alito wrote in his dissent that the decision changed the traditional understanding of marriage. In a November 2020 speech, he lamented that, after Obergefell, You cant say that marriage is a union between one man and one woman.

And in October 2020, when the Supreme Court opted to not hear a case from a Kentucky county clerk who refused to issue a marriage license to a same-sex couple, Alito joined Thomas in issuing a harsh denouncement of Obergefell, saying it enables courts and governments to brand religious adherents who believe that marriage is between one man and one woman as bigots, making their religious liberty concerns that much easier to dismiss.

We disagreed with Alito, Thomas and the other conservative justices in 2015 when they voted against establishing same-sex marriage as a constitutionally protected right. Our position hasnt changed, and we believe Congress is right to regard gay marriage as vulnerable to the courts current conservative majority.

Theres no reason why privileges protected under the law for heterosexual married couples  from property rights, child custody considerations, tax breaks and even the ability to visit a partner in the hospital or participate in medical decisions  should not apply to gay couples. Denying those privileges, and denying gay couples the right to marry solely on the basis of sexual orientation is blatant discrimination.

Following its move to protect same-sex marriage, Congress acted similarly to shield the right to contraception. On Thursday, the U.S. House passed the Right to Contraception Act, establishing a federal right to birth control. That right has been preserved by the 1965 Supreme Court decision, Griswold v. Connecticut, but Thomas squarely took aim at that ruling in his concurring opinion in Dobbs, urging the court to take a second look at Griswold.

Unlike with the House same-sex marriage bill, congressional Republicans were not nearly as willing to back the Right to Contraception Act  only eight Republicans supported it. Its not expected to pass in the Senate, a fate that surely the GOP will have trouble explaining to voters. Republicans cant get behind birth control? Thats indefensible.

The broadside delivered by the overturning of Roe affected America in myriad ways. One was to signal the imperilment of other rights and freedoms long taken for granted.

Congress is absolutely right to shield them through legislative action, and lawmakers who dont join those efforts are showing just how out of touch they are with the rest of the country.
Opinion: Imagine you are new to Idaho. Youve left your trusted longtime physician behind, and now you need a new primary care doctor. How are you supposed to judge whether a new doctor is qualified, gives good advice and will take good care of you? So you pick one off of your insurers website and hope shes a good one.
With Idaho bursting at the seams with money  a whopping $1.3 billion surplus  you know there will be a long list of people lining up for the windfall cash.

Terry Gilbert of Boise, the Democratic candidate for state superintendent of public instruction, plans to elbow his way to the front of the line if elected. Hes already making his pitch.

The state of Idaho is cheating its children and their families by amassing a $1.3 billion surplus while underfunding education and pushing the cost onto homeowners through constant school bonds and levies, he said in a recent news release. Idaho needs a school-funding trigger law that will devote at least 50 percent of any state surplus to education, including paying off school bonds to lower property taxes.

Good luck with getting anything like that through the Legislature. And dont expect the House State Affairs Committee to take up Gilberts thoughts about raising the age limit to 21 for buying assault weapons. Being a Democrat in a sea of Republicans, Gilbert wont make much headway on proposals that stray from the beaten path. But those factors wont stop him from speaking out.

Gilbert is a 76-year-old retired teacher and former president of the Idaho Education Association, so he is accustomed to the political fray. Shyness is not part of his DNA.

He asks, Why does Idaho have $1.3 billion in the bank while forcing patrons to pay for education by forcing school districts to constantly raise their property taxes?

Good question  and theres more. Why does Idaho have a teacher shortage? Why does the Gem State rank last in per-pupil funding? Why does classroom-aid funding rank dead last in the nation? Why does Idaho have the sixth highest ratio of students to teachers?

None of those things should occur with a $1.3 billion surplus.

Finally, why does the Idaho Legislature continue to ignore the Idaho Supreme Court, which ruled in 2005 that Idahos funding of education facilities was wholly inadequate to meet its constitutional requirement? A recent study revealed it would take $874 million to bring our public-school facilities up to good condition, he says.

Thats small change, with a $1.3 billion surplus.

One question I have is why does a guy who is 76 years old  with a teaching career long behind him  want to take on the worst job in state government. Bashing the state superintendent is a way of life for politicians and educators; its been that way for decades.

And what does Gilbert know about managing a department that looks more like a two-headed monster? Not much, actually.

But lets not get hung up with age. I am 76  as old as a former president, and much different mentally than that man, he said with a smile.

I have great passion for a couple of things in life, and one is public education, he said. Secondly, our democracy depends on public education. If we do away with public education, in whatever form the Idaho Freedom Foundation advocates, we will lose our democracy  and were on the cusp of losing that anyway in my estimation.

Gilbert began his teaching career in 1967, two years before I graduated from high school (thats old, folks) and retired from full-time teaching in 2007. Hes a former president of the Idaho Education Association  that was back in 1977, when the IEA had some lobbying clout. But he says that he is well versed on the changes and trends in education and has opinions galore about the shortfalls in Idahos education system. He has endorsed the education initiative spearheaded by Reclaim Idaho.

And hes running for an office where Democrats have a fighting chance. Democrats received 49 percent of the vote in the last three elections. Gilbert is going against a stronger opponent this year in Republican Debbie Critchfield of Oakley, and Gilbert concedes that he is facing an uphill battle. But he says that some diverse thinking might be helpful for Idaho schools.

He describes the Republican platform for education as something that could have been enthusiastically adopted by the southern segregationists of the 1950s. It would be equally popular with the anti-public-school libertarians and fat-cat privateers of today.

Say one thing about Gilbert  hes not lacking for spirit.
July 26, 2022 16:30

British researchers have reported a breakthrough in the study of mysterious cases of hepatitis affecting young children, finding that the serious liver disease is associated with co-infection with two common viruses but not with a coronavirus, Medical Xpress writes.



The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported at least 1,010 probable cases of the disease, including 46 cases that required transplants, and 22 deaths from the disease since last October.



Previous theories had suggested that a spike in common adenovirus infections was behind the cases.



But in two new studies conducted independently and simultaneously in Scotland and London, scientists found that another virus, AAV2 (adeno-associated virus 2), which was present in 96 percent of all patients examined, played an important role.



Normally, AAV2 does not cause disease and cannot replicate without the presence of another "helper virus."



Both groups concluded that co-infection: either AAV2 and adenovirus or sometimes herpes virus HHV6 best explained severe liver disease.



Both groups of scientists ruled out recent or prior SARS-CoV-2 infection as a proximate cause.



No coronavirus was found in the patients' livers, and although the Scottish study found that two-thirds of patients had antibodies against coronavirus, the rate was similar to the overall prevalence among children at the time.



It is not yet clear why hepatitis cases have increased recently, but both groups emphasized the possibility that enclosed spaces may have contributed, either by reducing children's immunity or by changing the way the virus circulates.

Follow NEWS.am Medicine on Facebook and Twitter
July 26, 2022 14:08

Armenia has launched a screening program for early detection of colorectal cancer. According to the press service of the country's Ministry of Health, the goal of the program is to detect the disease at an early stage among citizens of the age group from 50 to 75 years old.



In Armenia, the 2021 colorectal cancer incidence rate was 25.5 per 100,000 residents (756 cases), prevalence was 167.9 (4,972 cases) and mortality was 16 (475 cases). Of these, 83.6% of cases were among people over 60 years old.



This type of cancer in Armenia is usually detected at a late stage, which negatively affects the possibility of treatment and the outcome of the disease.



According to the Ministry of Health, the screening program will last until December 15, and during this time it is planned to examine about 15% of citizens from 50 to 75 years old.



Colorectal cancer is the third most common type of cancer in adults in the world, and analysis of the figures for the past 10 years shows an upward trend in the incidence of the disease.



Early detection increases the chances of successful treatment. The average 5-year survival rate is about 64%, and in case of early detection it reaches 90%.

Follow NEWS.am Medicine on Facebook and Twitter


The report titled Status of Adivasi Livelihoods 2021 highlights the difficulties and scarcities faced by the tribal communities.

Muhammed Nihad PV | TwoCircles.net

Support TwoCircles



NEW DELHI  A survey on the status of Adivasi livelihoods in Jharkhand and Odhisha has revealed appalling facts. A report titled Status of Adivasi Livelihoods 2021 was recently released by Professional Assistance for Development Action (PRADAN), an NGO that works with professionals to improve the lives of the poor and marginalized at the grassroots level.

The report highlights the difficulties and scarcity that the Adivasi population is currently facing in the country, which negatively affects their quality of life.

The report covers a variety of issues, such as how the cultural ethos of tribal communities shapes their livelihood practices, the resource deficiencies that they face, external interventions that affect their living conditions and other characteristics of the households such as literacy, land ownership, income and food security.

As per PRADAN, the information was gathered through a household questionnaire survey in around 5000 sampled families, a village survey in 254 villages, focus group discussions in 28 villages, and interviews with 40 Adivasi academics, and social workers.

Here are some highlights of the report:

Despite the rich crop diversity and the fact that Adivasi families reported growing a variety of 20 different crops, 25% of Adivasi and 19% of Non-Adivasi residents of Jharkhand experienced severe food insecurity. 12% of Adivasi households and 16% of non-Adivasi households in Odisha experienced extreme food insecurity.



Adivasi villages have less access to development amenities and facilities than non-Adivasi communities in the same geographic area, including all-weather roads, telephones, educational facilities, health infrastructure, etc. For instance, in both states, mobile coverage was present in about 70% of Adivasi villages as opposed to 90% of non-Adivasi villages.

The statistics on public transport also testifies to the divide. While only 46% and 57% of the Adivasi population in Jharkhand and Odisha have access to public transport facilities connecting to block headquarters, the percentage of the Non-Adivasi population are 60 and 80 respectively.

53.1% of the male and 43.7% of the female Adivasi population in Jharkhand was found with no school education at all, whereas the Non-Adivasi male and female population deprived of school education was 40.2% and 39.4% respectively. In Odisha, 58.9% of the male Adivasi population and 50.3% of the females constitute the total number of individuals who havent been to any sort of schooling. 41.2% male and 37.6% female population among Nom-Adivasis fall into the same category. The condition of Adivasi communities in different levels of education including primary, upper primary, matriculation and above matriculation is miserable and much worse than the Non-Adivasi population.

The report has also raised serious questions regarding the idea of development under the states imagination and its consequences.

Simon Oraon Minj, a prominent Adivasi environmentalist and social worker based in Jharkhand is quoted in the report as saying, None of the government schemes is successful in benefiting the Adivasi people. Adivasi people can be their own engineers for the development of their villages.

Archana Soreng, a well-known Adivasi activist from Odisha said, Imposition of development worldviews from outside might have changed our relationship with nature. But the change in economic occupation (due to external pressure) will not decide whether we are Adivasi or Non-Adivasi. Our identity is way more rooted.

Analysing the statistics and the reactions from the Adivasi communities, PRADAN concludes that the policymakers could be assisted in developing new policies and programmes by the insights into how Adivasis view their development and how their values and cultural ethos influence their choice of livelihood.

When creating projects and programmes, it is important to take into account the Adivasi peoples current knowledge systems and their top development priorities, the report notes.



Muhammad Nihad PV is a sociology student at the University of Hyderabad. He tweets at @nihadbinnisar
The Cerco Group has just launched the Superphone Open, an intelligent telephone capable of performing tasks from a few simple words, without the need to know how to read or write. Another advantage is that the phone responds to requests in some 15 local Ivorian languages.

Benedicte Koffi came especially from Bouake to buy a Superphone, which she has just configured in the Baoule language. The Superphone is a creation of the Ivorian group Cerco, a telephone without a keyboard, presented as revolutionary because it is capable of carrying out any task just by speaking to it.

The phone is accessible to almost all Ivorians because it responds to the simplest French words in local languages and directs the person to other applications. Already, I can do voice commands, that is, I can access WhatsApp, Facebook, YouTube without typing syntax or searching in the search bar. With my voice, I can do whatever I want, explains Benedicte Koffi.

The Superphone took the Ivorian company seven years to develop, but the idea was born 17 years ago in the mind of Alain Capo-Chichi, a doctor in computer science and president of the Cerco Group: Both my parents did not go to school, they cannot read or write, and very early on I experienced the frustration that a parent can have when you hand them a letter and they cannot read or write. When I had the chance to do my doctoral thesis, all my hope was to figure out how to create a product to try to relieve these people.

In a fortnight, the Ivorian brand says it has already sold thousands of models ranging from 30,000 to 60,000 CFA francs (about 45 to 90 euros).
Now that the dust has settled, a little more is known about the heavy fighting that has been going on in the remote Somali region of northeast Ethiopia for several days. The states spokesman said in a statement on Saturday that a group of jihadist fighters had entered its territory from Somalia on Tuesday and after three days of tracking, they had been surrounded in a sub-location called Hulhul and completely destroyed.

He cited more than 100 enemy casualties and the seizure of 13 vehicles. The incursion was aimed at crossing the locality of El-Kere, more than 100 kilometres from the border with Somalia, according to the same source. This operation was preceded by an attack last Thursday on several Ethiopian special forces bases securing the border. The local authorities had estimated the jihadist forces at several hundred fighters and about twenty vehicles.

On Sunday, the governor of Ethiopias Somali state triumphantly welcomed his special forces. The few reports from the battle zone indicate casualties on the side of the Ethiopian soldiers, but no casualties have been reported.

This is the first time the Shebabs have entered Ethiopia. Their attacks outside Somali territory until now have tended to target Kenya, such as the Westgate shopping centre in 2013 or Garissa University in 2015.
In Burkina Faso, comments made by the French ambassador, Luc Hallade, have angered and created controversy to such an extent that some civil society organizations and political actors are demanding his departure.

Even though they date back to 5 July, Ambassador Luc Hallades remarks are still generating passion and anger in Faso, almost three weeks after the events. At the time, the diplomat was briefing senators in France.

According to correspondence from the Burkina Faso Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he stated that the absence of results is causing growing frustration in the country and that this endogenous conflict is, in reality, a civil war: part of the population is rebelling against the state and seeking to overthrow it.

A few days later, during the commemoration of the French bank holidays in Ouagadougou, the diplomat again attacked certain Internet users whom he described as idiots who accused his country, which is engaged in the fight against terrorism in the Sahel, without proof.

This was the last straw.

He believes he is on conquered and acquired ground, that is what we denounce today. We want a review of the partnership agreements with France, said Monique Yeli Kam, candidate in the 2020 presidential election.

The exit of the French ambassador is clumsy and is a flagrant violation of elementary principles in diplomatic relations, according to Paul Oumarou Koalaga, specialist in international relations.

The French diplomat was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where he was clearly told that his remarks were unacceptable.

Ambassador Luc Hallade defended himself on Thursday in Ouagadougou. He said he defied anyone to find in his speech, this time of 14 July, the slightest trace of insult to the Burkinabe.
The US has pledged $50 million (947 million Egyptian pounds) to strengthen Egypts food security and help the country offset the consequences of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Arab News reports.

US President Joe Biden made the pledge during a meeting with Abdelfattah al-Sisi leader of the North African country. Building on more than 40 years of partnership and over $1.4 billion in US assistance to Egypts agricultural sector, the US government stands in solidarity with the people of Egypt at this crucial moment, Nicole Shampaine, US charge daffaires in Cairo, said in a statement.

The commitment is subject to approval by the US Congress and will support Egypts smallholder farmers. Egypt; worlds largest wheat exporter, is one of the worst affected countries by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Russia through its top diplomat Sergei Lavrov, also pledged that Russian grain exporters are committed to their obligations regarding international wheat orders.
A 12 lead ECG showing atrial fibrillation at approximately 150 beats per minute. Credit: James Heilman, MD/Wikipedia/CC BY-SA 3.0

A cohort study of persons with incident atrial fibrillation (AF) has found that AF after noncardiac surgery is common and comprises 13 percent of all new AF diagnoses. Postoperative AF is also associated with similar risk for stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA) and death as AF unrelated to surgery. The findings are published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

AF occurring after noncardiac surgery may be triggered by perioperative stress and systemic inflammation in patients with predisposing comorbidities. For those who develop AF within 30 days of surgery, AF often recurs during subsequent follow-up and carries increased risks for thromboembolism and death compared with patients who had surgery but did not develop AF. It is less clear how postoperative AF compares with AF occurring outside of the operative setting for risk of both nonfatal and fatal outcomes.

Researchers from the Mayo Clinic's Departments of Cardiovascular Medicine and Quantitative Health Sciences studied data from the Rochester Epidemiology Project (REP) for 4,231 patients with incident AF to compare the risks for ischemic stroke or TIA and other outcomes in patients with postoperative AF versus those with incident AF not associated with surgery. They found that 550 patients, or 13%, had postoperative AF as their first-ever documented AF presentation. Most of these incidents occurred within one week after surgery and the cumulative incidence of subsequent documented AF was approximately 21% at 1 year after the index periprocedural AF episode.

The authors also found that compared to AF unrelated to a surgical procedure, postoperative AF was associated with similar risks for stroke or TIA and death. According to the authors, their results suggest that patients with postoperative AF may require ongoing surveillance for the arrhythmia and its complications. They also suggest that the underuse of anticoagulation in these patients may reflect the perception that postoperative AF is an isolated, provoked arrhythmia after noncardiac surgery that carries less severe implications than other forms of AF, but their data show that this perception may be erroneous and underscores a therapeutic gap with direct clinical relevance.

Explore further Elevated biomarker following surgery linked to increased risk of death

More information: Konstantinos C. Siontis et al, Associations of Atrial Fibrillation After Noncardiac Surgery With Stroke, Subsequent Arrhythmia, and Death, Annals of Internal Medicine (2022). Journal information: Annals of Internal Medicine Konstantinos C. Siontis et al, Associations of Atrial Fibrillation After Noncardiac Surgery With Stroke, Subsequent Arrhythmia, and Death,(2022). DOI: 10.7326/M22-0434
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Bat cells have specific molecular barriers to deal with SARS-CoV-2 replication, according to a study published in Journal of Virology which includes the participation of Jordi Serra-Cobo, lecturer of the Faculty of Biology and the Biodiversity Research Institute (IRBio) of the UB and expert on ecoepidemiological studies.

The study was carried out on primary cells of bat species which had been little studied and which circulate around Europe and Asia (specifically, Rhinolopuhs ferrumequinum, Myotis myotis, Eptesicus serotinus, Tadarida brasiliensis and Nyctalus noctula). These cellular lines were obtained through small biopsies carried out on the wings of the bats for instance, in bat colonies of Myotis myotis in Majorca and other cell lines brought by some research teams that took part in the study. As stated in the conclusions, these cellular models defined in chiropterans are shaped as tools of scientific interest to study the evolutionary relationship between bats and coronaviruses.

The study, led by the experts Nolwenn Jouvenet and Laurent Dacheux, from the Institute Pasteur in Paris, includes the collaboration of experts from research institutions in France, the Czech Republic and Switzerland.

How do bats protect themselves from viral infections?

Coronaviruses are present in many animal species worldwide, such as bats (chiropteans). In this context, the scientific literature has described for years the great resistance of some chiropteran species towards the viral infection. In these flying mammals, the immune system is on a pre-alert stage, a condition that allows a faster response to viral infections. For most mammals, having an immune system on a constant pre-alert state would involve inflammation problems but this is not the case for bats, which is why they are the focus of many international epidemiological and immunological studies.

As part of the study, the team analyzed the ability of primary cells from different bat species to support SARS-CoV-2 replication. "The results reveal that none of these cells was permissive to the infection, not even those expressing detectable levels of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), a metallopeptidase that serves as a viral receptor in many mammal species," says Jordi Serra-Cobo, member of the Department of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Sciences of the UB and the only expert in Spain to take part in this study.

"The cells did not allow the infection in the species Rhinolophus ferrumequinum, a chiropteran from the same genus as the Asian bat in which the BANAL-52 virus was found, a potential ancestor of SARS-CoV-2. Specifically, the genetic sequences of the BANAL-52 virus is 96.8% similar to that of SARS-CoV-2," says Serra-Cobo, distinguished expert in studies with bats as natural reservoirs of infectious agents like coronaviruses.

Humans and chiropterans vs. SARS-CoV-2 infection

Regarding the human species, it is known that the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein binds to the cell membrane receptor ACE2 and then the virus infects the cell. "In the case of the chiropteran cells, either the amount of ACE2 enzyme is small and it no longer enters the cell or, if the virus binds to ACE2, it cannot infect the cell," highlights Serra-Cobo.

From a global perspective, this study contributes to a better understanding of the fighting mechanisms against viral infections. This is a line of research that has been carried out for years by the team led by Serra-Cobo at the UB and IRBio and which is now gaining strength within the framework of the EvoDevo-Cat research group at the Faculty of Biology of the UB.

"Specifically, our team is working to understand the adaptations of the chiropterans regarding viral infections. An important number of zoonotic viruses circulate in chiropter populations without causing symptoms of the disease in the carriers," notes the researcher.

"Over the course of the evolutionary history of chiropteransabout 64 million yearsthere have been processes of coevolution between bats and viruses. One example of these processes is in the adaptation to coronaviruses. The study of the evolutionary adaptations of living beings to deal with viral infections is of great interest, since they provide information that can have medical applications," concludes Jordi Serra-Cobo.

More information: Sophie-Marie Aicher et al, Species-Specific Molecular Barriers to SARS-CoV-2 Replication in Bat Cells, Journal of Virology (2022). Journal information: Journal of Virology Sophie-Marie Aicher et al, Species-Specific Molecular Barriers to SARS-CoV-2 Replication in Bat Cells,(2022). DOI: 10.1128/jvi.00608-22
Employees of electric carmaker BYD line up for Covid-19 tests in Shenzhen, where authorities are rushing to stamp out an outbreak.

China's biggest tech hub is rushing to stamp out a fresh COVID outbreak, ordering some of the country's biggest manufacturers to operate in a 'closed loop' to reduce infections, state media reported.

The city of Shenzhen, which borders Hong Kong, reported just 19 COVID cases Tuesday as the city's health authority said the risk of "large-scale spread is low".

But Beijing's reluctance to budge from its strict zero-COVID policy had led to daily mass testing for the 13 million residents of Shenzhen for over a week and the closure of at least three subway stations by Tuesday.

Top manufacturers including iPhone maker Foxconn, electric carmaker BYD, drone maker DJI and telecom equipment maker ZTE are among the companies told to operate under a "closed-loop" production system.

It would restrict movement of employees for seven days, state-run business news site Yicai reported Monday.

The closed-loop operation mode involves control measures such as locking workers within a compound and conducting daily nucleic acid testing.

Bloomberg News reported Tuesday that a government notice told companies to reduce unnecessary interaction between non-manufacturing staff and factory floors to curb infection.

Health officials had earlier said all cases found in Shenzhen from July 15 were infected with the highly contagious Omicron subvariant BA.2.

While it is expensive and reduces the scale of production, manufacturersincluding Tesla's site south of Shanghai in the pasthave opted to operate in a closed-loop instead of resorting to full shutdown during local COVID flareups.

Strict virus controls have threatened global supply chains and cooled China's economy with Q2 growth coming in at a dismal 0.4 percentthe weakest growth since the pandemic started.

China reported 976 COVID cases Tuesday, with the biggest outbreaks reported in the southern Guanxi region and Gansu province in the northwest.

Explore further China locks down city of 300,000 over single COVID case

 2022 AFP
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Daily exposure to a class of chemicals used in the production of many household items may lead to cancer, thyroid disease, and childhood obesity, a new study shows. The resulting economic burden is estimated to cost Americans a minimum of $5.5 billion and as much as $63 billion over the lifetime of the current population.

The new work revolves around per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a group of over 4,700 manmade chemicals that experts have detected for decades in the blood of millions of people. The chemicals are used, for example, in the production of water- and oil-resistant clothing, electronics, and nonstick cookware, and people are thought to ingest them as food comes into contact with packaging. The substances are believed to disrupt the function of hormones, signaling compounds that influence many bodily processes.

Led by researchers at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, the new study in roughly 5,000 Americans identified 13 medical conditions that may result from PFAS exposure, such as infertility, diabetes, and endometriosis, a painful disorder of the uterus. Together, the diseases generate medical bills and reduce worker productivity across a lifetime to create the costs measured by the study, say the study authors.

"Our findings add to the substantial and still-mounting body of evidence suggesting that exposure to PFAS is harming our health and undermining the economy," says study co-author Linda Kahn, Ph.D., MPH, an assistant professor in the Departments of Pediatrics and Population Health at NYU Langone Health.

Previous investigations have quantified the medical burden and financial costs of low birth weight due to PFAS exposure. However, the new study, publishing online July 26 in the journal Exposure and Health, incorporates a much broader range of health consequences across the lifespan, says Kahn.

For the investigation, the researchers determined how many Americans were likely exposed to PFAS chemicals in 2018 using blood samples obtained from adults and children who participated in the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Next, the study team analyzed data from dozens of studies in the past decade that explored diseases connected to the substances.

The research team used models from earlier investigations to estimate the national economic cost of the medical bills and lost worker productivity that resulted from the top five medical conditions that had the strongest links to PFAS exposure. These included low birth weight, childhood obesity, kidney and testicular cancers, and hypothyroidism.

Among the findings, the investigation revealed that childhood obesity was the largest contributor to the overall economic toll of PFAS exposure, costing about $2.7 billion. Hypothyroidism in women, a condition in which the thyroid cannot release enough hormones into the bloodstream, was the next highest contributor at $1.26 billion.

The study investigators also expanded the scope of their economic estimates to include eight other conditions with preliminary links to PFAS exposure, including endometriosis, obesity in adults, and pneumonia in children. When such diseases were considered, the total costs reached as high as $63 billion.

"Our results strongly support the recent decision by the Environmental Protection Agency to lower the safe allowable level of these substances in water," says study senior author Leonardo Trasande, MD, MPP. "Based on our estimates, the cost of eradicating contamination and replacing this class of chemical with safer alternatives is ultimately justified when considering the tremendous economic and medical risks of allowing them to persist in the environment."

Trasande, the Jim G. Hendrick MD Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at NYU Langone, cautions that despite the vast research on the health risks of PFAS, few studies have explored the effects of this exposure over time.

The research team next plans to examine the long-term risks of PFAS, adds Trasande, who also serves as director of NYU Langone's Center for the Investigation of Environmental Hazards. In addition, the study authors plan to estimate the economic burden of other endocrine-disrupting contaminants, such as bisphenols, substances used in many plastics and can linings, fire retardants, and pesticides. Trasande is also a professor in NYU Langone's Department of Population Health.

In addition to Kahn and Trasande, Vladislav Obsekov, MD, at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, served as the study's first author.

More information: Exposure to 'Forever Chemicals' Costs U.S. Billions in Health Costs, Exposure and Health (2022).
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Average life expectancy in Germany dropped noticeably between 2019 and 2021, the national statistics office said Tuesday, a change that it attributed to unusually high numbers of deaths during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Federal Statistical Office said that life expectancy for newborn girls last year was 83.2 years and for boys 78.2 years. That was a decrease of 0.4 and 0.6 years respectively compared with 2019, the last year before the pandemic.

"The main reason for this development is unusually high death figures during the COVID-19 waves," the office said in a statement.

An increase in the proportion of older people in the German population has led to expectations over the past 20 years of increasing numbers of deaths, the office said, but life expectancy had been rising before the pandemic.

Until COVID-19 hit, death figures were rising by an average 1-2% per year, but deaths were 5% higher in 2020 and a further 4% higher last year, statistics showedmeaning that there were 70,000 to 100,000 more deaths over the two years than would statistically have been expected.

The statistics office said that nearly 115,000 deaths of people with the coronavirus were reported in the two years, while pandemic-related precautions may have reduced deaths from other diseases. Germany has a population of 83 million.

Explore further 2021 on track to surpass last year as nation's deadliest

 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
How might providers better engage in conversation with patients hesitant to be vaccinated against COVID-19? Findings from data collected as part of the development of an interactive patient-provider conversation guide. Credit: Annals of Family Medicine

Public health researchers in Canada developed an interactive, web-based guide to help family physicians better address a wide range of patient concerns related to the COVID-19 vaccine. To ensure relevancy, the researchers conducted qualitative interviews with primary care physicians in multiple Canadian provinces. The data was then used to identify commonly held beliefs, attitudes and perceptions that impact a patient's willingness to receive the vaccine.

The research team found that physicians frequently encountered many of the same reasons for COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, including concerns around safety; interactions with co-morbidities; conspiracy theories; religious or moral restrictions; and past traumas experienced in the medical setting. Using this information, researchers created several physician resources to help better counsel vaccine-hesitant patients, in direct response to each potential concern.

Additionally, the free guide outlines four steps to help physicians have better conversations with vaccine-hesitant patients, emphasizing the physician's role as an ally on the patient's health journey. Steps include engaging with patients; affirming patient concerns; asking permission before sharing information; and evoking future risks to motivate patients to reconsider vaccine hesitancy.

The research was published in The Annals of Family Medicine.

Why are patients hesitant to be vaccinated against COVID-19? Findings from qualitative interviews with primary care providers collected as part of the development of an interactive patient-provider conversation guide. Credit: Annals of Family Medicine

How might researchers build an evidence-based tool to enable patient-provider conversations around vaccine hesitancy in the primary care setting? Credit: Annals of Family Medicine

Explore further International study reveals factors contributing to COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among health care providers

More information: Myles Leslie et al, Improving Conversations With COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitant Patients: Action Research to Support Family Physicians, The Annals of Family Medicine (2022). Myles Leslie et al, Improving Conversations With COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitant Patients: Action Research to Support Family Physicians,(2022). DOI: 10.1370/afm.2816 Guide: www.vhguide.ca/ Journal information: Annals of Family Medicine
Transmission electron micrograph of SARS-CoV-2 virus particles isolated from a patient. Credit: NIAID

The COVID-19-causing coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, likely first spread to humans from animals in two separate transmission events in a Wuhan market in late November 2019, according to a pair of analyses by international teams co-led by Scripps Research scientists.

The analyses, published July 26, 2022 in Science and released in earlier, pre-print versions in February, were based mainly on the locations of cases and environmental samples, as well as genomic sequences of SARS-CoV-2 isolates, from the first weeks of the pandemic in China.

"Upstream events are still obscure, but our analyses of available evidence clearly suggest that the pandemic arose from initial human infections from animals for sale at the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in late November 2019," says Kristian Andersen, Ph.D., who was a co-senior author of both studies and is a professor in the Department of Immunology and Microbiology at Scripps Research.

In the first analysis, co-senior authored by Michael Worobey, DPhil, of the University of Arizona, the researchers examined the geographic pattern of COVID-19 cases in the first month of the outbreak, December 2019.

"In a city covering more than 3,000 square miles, the area with the highest probability of containing the home of someone who had one of the earliest COVID-19 cases in the world was an area of a few city blocks, with the Huanan market smack dab inside it," says Worobey.

They were able to determine the locations of 155 of the 174 COVID-19 cases identified by the World Health Organization for that month. Their statistical analysis showed that these cases clustered tightly around the Huanan Market, whereas later cases were dispersed widely throughout Wuhana sprawling megacity of 11 million people. One striking finding was that early COVID-19 patients with no history of having recently visited the market resided significantly closer to it, on average, than patients who had visited the market, showing the close association between early cases and the market.

The researchers also determined that mammals now known to be infectible by SARS-CoV-2, including red foxes, hog badgers and raccoon dogs, were sold live at the Huanan market in the weeks preceding the first recorded COVID-19 cases. The scientists developed a detailed map of the market, and showed that SARS-CoV-2-positive samples reported by Chinese researchers in early 2020 showed a clear association with the western portion of the market, where live or freshly butchered animals were sold in late 2019.

"There has been broad agreement that the Huanan market was a place where early spread of the virus was amplified, but what our data show is that the market was also the early epicenter and very likely the place of emergence," says co-author Joshua Levy, Ph.D., a postdoctoral researcher in the Andersen lab.

The second study, an analysis of SARS-CoV-2 genomic data from early cases, was co-led by Andersen and Worobey, along with Jonathan Pekar and Joel Wertheim, Ph.D., of UC San Diego, and Marc Suchard, MD, Ph.D., of UCLA.

Here the researchers combined epidemic modeling with analyses of the virus's early evolution based on the earliest sampled genomes. They determined that the pandemic, which initially involved two subtly distinct lineages of SARS-CoV-2, likely arose from at least two separate infections of humans from animals at the Huanan market in late November 2019. The analyses also suggested that, in this period, there were many other animal-to-human transmissions at the market that nevertheless failed to manifest in recorded COVID-19 cases.

According to the authors, the two studies collectively show that SARS-CoV-2, like SARS-CoV-1 before it, originated via jumps from animals to humansin this case from animals being sold at a specific market in Wuhan, likely following transmission to those animals from coronavirus-carrying bats in the wild or on farms in China.

"To more fully understand the origin of SARS-CoV-2, we need to more fully understand events upstream of the Huanan market, which will require close international collaboration and cooperation," Andersen says.

Explore further First Wuhan COVID case days later than initially reported: scientist

More information: Jonathan E. Pekar et al, The molecular epidemiology of multiple zoonotic origins of SARS-CoV-2, Science (2022). Jonathan E. Pekar et al, The molecular epidemiology of multiple zoonotic origins of SARS-CoV-2,(2022). DOI: 10.1126/science.abp8337 Michael Worobey et al, The Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan was the early epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic, Science (2022). DOI: 10.1126/science.abp8715 Journal information: Science
Two affordable-housing projects moved forward at Monday's Missoula City Council meeting.

Council members unanimously voted to vacate the South Sussex Bypass right-of-way, a move that makes it possible to develop the Casa Loma housing project with 22 affordable units.

Council also supported Homewords Low-Income Housing Tax Credit application to rehabilitate the Creekside residences between East Missoula and Missoula.

Although the council unanimously supported the South Sussex right-of-way vacation, members disagreed on the period of affordability that should apply to the affordable housing portion of the Casa Loma development.

Ward 3 Council Member Daniel Carlino pushed for a longer period of affordability than the 35 years stipulated in the conditions of approval.

Carlino first advocated for a 75-year period of affordability, calling such a time frame the industry standard for permanent affordability.

There isnt really, I would say, an industry standard when it comes, I suppose, to periods of affordability because so many of them are dependent on their funding sources, replied Ward 1 Council Member Heidi West.

She cited examples of different types of grants and different state requirements for periods of affordability.

Carlino offered a compromise at 65 years of affordability, but his motion to amend the conditions of approval encountered pushback from his fellow council members and city staff.

The risk there is that the loan is typically for 40 years and that it may make the refinancing challenging and so it will be harder most likely to get a loan in the beginning and that could impact the viability of this project as well as the overall impact to the cost to the developer of the income restricted units, warned Emily Harris Shears, housing policy specialist with Community Planning, Development and Innovation. Youre essentially doubling it and that will potentially impact the viability of the project as well.

35 years is a common and reasonable number of years, said Ward 2 Council Member Mirtha Becerra. And I also worry that making changes like these last minute really can cause issues in terms of the trust that we have with developers, especially this developer who specializes in developing affordable housing. For all those reasons, I am not in a position to jeopardize this project.

BlueLine Development Inc. proposed the Casa Loma project.

Council President Gwen Jones echoed Becerras concerns.

I think its really bad practice and bad policy to try and set unrealistic affordable housing thresholds that developers must meet, Jones said. Its a good way to kill a project and then not only do we not get the affordable housing, we arent going to get the extra housing stock, either.

The project includes 107 total units.

Carlinos motion to amend failed with only Carlino in support of the amendment.

Council was more harmonious in support of Homewords Low-Income Housing Tax Credit application.

Homeword is seeking a competitive 9% Low-Income Housing Tax Credit from the Montana Board of Housing in order to rehabilitate 161 Creekside residences.

Right now were looking to do a pretty extensive rehab of Creekside, said Heather McMilin, project development director with Homeword.

She said the tax credit would be used to install new siding and metal roofs at Creekside, as well as to replace the efficient materials used in the original 1996 construction, which are coming to the end of their useful life. The rehab work would also include upgrades to the energy efficiency of the windows, improvements to the building envelope, mechanical units, plumbing, electrical fixtures and interiors.

Homeword would conduct a unit-by-unit inspection of all 161 units as well.

The nonprofit will find out the decision on the application in October.

This particular project I think is just an amazing opportunity because it dramatically extends the affordability of these units in particular and obviously they are in need of upgrades and repair and itll increase really the affordability of the units themselves to the folks that live there, said West.

It is not easy to provide affordable housing and have it be well maintained. It is also not easy to provide housing that the tenants feel proud to live in that gives them a sense of belonging and Homeword has always done that as a priority and I do think thats a really important part of affordability, to give people and residents a sense of pride in where they live, added Becerra.

Council unanimously voted to authorize a letter of support for Homewords application with Ward 1 Council Member Jennifer Savage and Ward 6 Council Member Kristen Jordan absent.
The Missoula Public Library was chosen as the Public Library of 2022 at a world library event in Dublin.

The International Federation of Library Associations World Congress presented the award on Tuesday. Its given to a newly designed library thats excelled at combining sustainable and open architecture and incorporating learning technology, IT solutions, local culture and landscape.

The award is open to libraries all over the world. This year, Missoula bested libraries in Denmark, Latvia and Saudi Arabia.

Missoula Public Librarys downtown flagship  is the first library in North America to win this prestigious award, the press release states.

Missoulas downtown location was created by the Minneapolis-based MSR Design and Montanas A&E Design. It opened last July.

Missoula Public Library has it all, IFLA jury chair Jakob Guillois Lrkes said in the press release. The building stands out for its beautiful architecture that pays homage to the surrounding landscape while offering a wealth of possibilities and serving as a meeting place for the community. Its a library that you would relish having in your own local area. Its a library built for the future.

A cash prize of $5,000 accompanies the award, which the press release states the facility will use for its expansion of community engagement efforts.

Missoula Public Library Executive Director Slaven Lee said the award belongs to Missoulas entire community.

(It) is a reflection of the incredible investment Missoulians have made in library excellence and lifelong learning  a legacy that will be admired and enjoyed for generations to come, she said.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP)  The detective who led the investigation into the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School attack testified Tuesday that there are three types of people who deny that it happened and harass the victims' families: the mentally ill, those who believed bad or incomplete information, and those who knew the truth but twisted it for their own power or money.

Investigators put conspiracy theorist Alex Jones in that final group.

They were the most dangerous. Thats where we put Alex Jones, Connecticut State Police Detective Daniel Jewiss told the jury on the first day of testimony in a Texas trial to determine how much Jones, who hosts Infowars, owes for defaming the parents of one of the children who died in the deadliest school shooting in American history.

Its absolutely horrific the amount of trauma theyve had to endure in the wake of having lost a loved one, said Jewiss, who called supporting the Sandy Hook families the most honorable thing hes ever been part of.

Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, whose 6-year-old son Jesse was killed in the attack on the Newtown, Connecticut, school, are seeking $150 million for emotional distress and reputational damage that Jones caused them, and more money in punitive damages, their lawyer, Mark Bankston, told the court during his opening statement as Jones looked on, shaking his head at times.

Jones repeatedly lied and attacked the parents of murdered children when he told his Infowars audience that the shooting was a hoax, Bankston said. He created a massive campaign of lies and recruited wild extremists from the fringes of the internet ... who were as cruel as Mr. Jones wanted them to be to the families of the 20 first-graders and six educators who were killed, the lawyer said.

Jones tapped into the explosive popularity of Sandy Hook conspiracy stories that became an obsession for the website, even years after the shooting, said Bankston, who played video clips of Jones claiming on his program that the shooting was a hoax and the whole thing was completely fake. ... It just didnt happen.

Anticipating that Jones' lawyers would argue that what Jones said about Sandy Hook was speech protected by the First Amendment  Jones arrived at the courthouse wearing tape over his mouth with the message Save the 1st printed on it  Bankston told the jury, This has nothing to do with the Constitution. Defamation is not protected by freedom of speech. ... Speech is free, but lies you have to pay for.

During the defense's opening remarks, Jones' lawyer Andino Reynal called Jones one of the most polarizing figures in this nation," who made statements about Sandy Hook that we dont dispute were wrong. But he said Jones has already been punished for those statements when he was kicked off of Facebook, YouTube, Spotify and Twitter for violating their hate speech policies.

Jones has already been cancelled and lost millions of dollars, said Reynal, who called on the jury to limit the damages to $1.

Reynal painted a picture of a talk show host who tries to give an alternative view but who was duped by some of his guests.

Alex Jones was wrong to believe these people, but he didnt do it out of spite. He did it because he believed it. ... He believed a citizen has a right to get on Infowars and talk about what their questions are," Reynal said.

He also called the case an important one for free speech.

I believe in his right to say it, and I believe in every Americans right to choose what they watch, and listen to, and believe," Reynal said.

Between the two sides' opening statements, Jones stepped outside of the courtroom to rant to reporters, calling it a kangaroo court and show trial that was an assault on the First Amendment. He didn't return to the courtroom for the afternoon start of testimony, which included Infowars producer Daria Karpova taking the stand.

Jones' media company designated Karpova to testify about Infowars' audience reach, and some of the video produced by the website after the Sandy Hook shooting. The trial took a break for the rest of the day before she finished planned testimony.

The jury could deal Jones a major financial blow that would put his constellation of conspiracy peddling businesses into deeper jeopardy. In addition to being banned from major social media platforms, he claims he's millions of dollars in debt  a claim the plaintiffs reject.

The Texas court and another in Connecticut found Jones liable for defamation for his portrayal of the Sandy Hook massacre as a hoax involving actors aimed at increasing gun control. In both states, the judges issued default judgments against Jones without trials because he failed to respond to court orders and turn over documents.

In total, the families of eight Sandy Hook victims and an FBI agent who responded to the school are suing Jones and his company, Free Speech Systems.

Jones has since acknowledged that the shooting took place. During a deposition in April, Jones insisted he wasnt responsible for the suffering that Sandy Hook parents say they have endured because of the hoax conspiracy, including death threats and harassment by Jones followers.

Jones claimed in court records last year that he had a negative net worth of $20 million, but attorneys for Sandy Hook families have painted a different financial picture.

Court records show that Jones Infowars store, which sells nutritional supplements and survival gear, made more than $165 million between 2015 and 2018. Jones has also urged listeners on his Infowars program to donate money.
The Carbon County Sheriff's sergeant who struck and killed two people on Highway 212 July 15 was responding to the initial motorcycle wreck, the Sheriff said in a press release Monday.

Carbon County Sheriff Josh McQuillan said Sergeant Kelly Carrington, who struck and killed two men on the highway near Roberts was dispatched to respond to the initial motorcycle wreck.

The press release said Carrington first responded to a traffic complaint and later received further information that a serious accident had occurred.

Darren Shull, 52, of Billings, and Jesse Beck, 35, of Rockvale, were both in Carringtons lane on Highway 212 near Roberts when he struck them in a Carbon County Sheriffs patrol vehicle. Schull had stopped on the side of the road to help Beck who had crashed his motorcycle according to a GoFundMe raising money for Shulls family.

While driving, Darren witnessed a motorcycle go down. In true Darren fashion, he pulled his car off to the side of the road and rushed to the motorcyclists side to start first aid. While trying to help the motorcyclist, Darren was hit by a car and did not survive his injuries, the post read.

While in the road the two men were hit by Carrington, McQuillan said in the release. Both men died from the crash. What the specific cause of the crash was is still unknown.

The incident was captured on two video recording devices. Investigation of the incident is ongoing, led by investigators from the Montana Highway Patrol and the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation, the press release said.

Sgt. Carrington has 16 years law enforcement experience, including 11 years with the Carbon County Sheriffs Office. He is currently on administrative leave while the investigation is ongoing.
HELENA  A handful of people recently gathered in the shade of a large pine tree for a going-away party of sorts. Their friend, Dani Marietti, was going to have her fallopian tubes removed, a decision she made after a leaked draft of the U.S. Supreme Courts decision to overturn the constitutional right to abortion was published in May.

The small group kicked off the sterilization shower for the 25-year-old by laying out chalk-written signs that said See Ya Later Ovulater and I got 99 problems but tubes aint one. And they munched on cookies that had abortion-rights slogans, such as My Body, My Choice, written on them in frosting.

Cheers to Dani and her choice to get sterilized, Kristina McGee-Kompel said.

Marietti is a full-time graduate student in Helena working toward becoming a therapist. She doesnt want kids to get in the way of her career, she said. She had considered permanent sterilization before, but the possibility that the Supreme Court would overturn Roe v. Wade pushed her to seek out an OB-GYN who would help her with a permanent method of contraception.

I want to do this as soon as possible, she recalled telling the doctor.

I always knew I didnt want children, and of course when you say that as a younger person, everyone is like, Oh, youll change your mind, or, Just wait until you find the one, she said. I always kind of ignored that.

Abortion is still legal in Montana, but whether it will remain so is unclear. State Attorney General Austin Knudsen, a Republican, has asked the Montana Supreme Court to overturn its 1999 decision that said the state constitutions right to privacy includes the right to end a pregnancy.

The uncertainty around abortion access in Montana and other states where abortion is now or could become illegal, plus the fear of future legal fights over long-term contraception, has seemingly spurred a rise in the number of people seeking surgical sterilization, according to reports from doctors. That includes Marietti, who is having a salpingectomy, a procedure in which the fallopian tubes are removed instead of tied, as in tubal ligation, which can be reversible.

How many people sought permanent sterilization after the fall of Roe wont become clear until next year, said Megan Kavanaugh, a researcher for the Guttmacher Institute, which gathers data related to reproductive health care across the U.S. and supports abortion rights.

But anecdotal reports indicate that more people have been undergoing permanent birth control procedures since the Supreme Courts June 24 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization, which struck down Roe. Dr. Kavita Arora, who chairs the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists ethics committee, said providers across the country are beginning to see an influx of patients into their operating rooms.

The North Carolina OB-GYN recounted what one of her patients said just before a recent surgery. She wanted to have autonomous control over her body, and this was her way of ensuring she was the person who got to make the decisions, Arora said.

In Montana, Dr. Marilee Simons, an OB-GYN at Bozeman Health Deaconess Hospital, said more adults in their 20s and 30s without children have come to the hospital for sterilization consultations. Many are women who already practice birth control, she said. They are still worried about an unintended pregnancy and what that might mean in the future, she said.

Most are asking to have their tubes removed to permanently prevent pregnancy. A smaller number of people are asking for hysterectomies, which surgically remove part or all of the uterus. To meet demand, Bozeman Deaconess has dedicated at least one provider to work with these patients multiple days a week.

Planned Parenthood of Montana President and CEO Martha Fuller said clinics statewide have seen an unprecedented increase in patients asking to be sterilized, including requests for vasectomies.

But some people seeking sterilization procedures across the U.S. are being turned away. Arora said some patients who dont have children and are in their childbearing years are reporting difficulties finding providers willing to sterilize them.

Those providers reluctance may stem from studies and data that suggest the risk of regret for patients who are sterilized at age 30 or younger is high. Other studies had mixed results and found that some women feel less regret over time, Arora said.

Arora said she makes sure her patients understand the implications of any sterilization procedure, especially irreversible options. She also asks whether patients are being pressured into asking for the procedure. I honestly believe my job is not to be a gatekeeper, but to empower and uplift those goals and wishes, especially after good, shared decision-making and informed consent, she said.

Some patients who have been denied sterilizations have turned to therapists like Barbara DeBree, who has a private practice in Helena and writes letters to providers attesting that the patients have thought through their decisions. Other mental health care providers say theyre also fielding requests for letters of support, DeBree said.

This is not a quick decision for them, she said, referring to the patients asking for letters.

Providers ethical worries about future regrets arent the only barriers that patients seeking sterilization procedures may face. Cost and insurance coverage can also be issues.

Helena resident Alex Wright, 23, doesnt plan to have children and wants to be sterilized. She plans to schedule a consultation to see whether her provider will perform the procedure. She said that if her regular provider wont do it, she will seek out someone from online lists of providers willing to perform the procedure on younger people.

Thats only helpful if I can get the financial assistance to get it taken care of through those people, she said, referring to her insurance coverage.

Wright said her insurance company estimates shell pay about $4,000 out-of-pocket if she goes with an in-network provider. Using an out-of-network doctor could cost substantially more.

Although some people are seeking permanent procedures in reaction to the Dobbs decision, others are doing so because they believe the Supreme Court will continue upending reproductive health norms. Kavanaugh, the researcher at Guttmacher, said Justice Clarence Thomas opened that door by suggesting in his concurring opinion in Dobbs that other precedents should be revisited, including the 1965 Griswold v. Connecticut decision that says banning contraceptives violates a married couples right to privacy.

I think we are anticipating that theres going to be some attacks on contraception, Kavanaugh said.

Thats what worries Shandel Buckalew, of Billings, Montana, who wants a full hysterectomy. The 31-year-old said her doctor thinks she has endometriosis, a painful condition in which tissue that normally grows inside the uterus grows on other parts of the reproductive organs. Buckalew hasnt undergone the full range of testing that can be required for a diagnosis because she doesnt have health insurance and cant afford it.

Even though I have an IUD, the amount of cramps and the pain I go through  oh, I get so sick, she said.

She hopes a hysterectomy would alleviate that pain, in addition to providing permanent birth control because she doesnt want kids. But her lack of health insurance makes the procedure unaffordable.

A hysterectomy is a major medical surgery that can also be done to treat uterine fibroids, uterine prolapse, cancer and other conditions. While it can alleviate symptoms, it can also cause other problems, especially if the ovaries are removed. That, according to the federal Office on Women's Health, can include menopause, problems having sex, and increased risk for health conditions such as bone loss, heart disease and urinary incontinence.

Buckalew is trying to get health insurance before her intrauterine device expires in two years because she fears the reproductive health care landscape could shift dramatically. She described feeling terrified and angry.

It feels like my life doesnt matter, she said

This story is part of a partnership that includes Montana Public Radio, Yellowstone Public Radio, NPR, and KHN.
The Moors Mountain fire in the Gates of the Mountains Wilderness north of Helena was fully contained Sunday, forest officials said.

The Central Montana Type 3 Incident Management Team will transfer command of the fire, which was started by lightning July 16 in heavy timber, back to the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest Monday.

Firefighters had to be pulled off the mountain Sunday afternoon due to safety concerns, as thunderstorms moved into the area. The fire did receive some beneficial rain, officials with the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest said about 7:45 p.m. on Facebook. They added the fire was 100% contained, meaning a fuel break around the fire has been completed.

The Pike Hotshots and two Grayback Forestry crews were scheduled to hike off the mountain as they have completed their assignments. Their gear and other equipment from their spike camp was flown off the mountain by helicopter earlier in the day. This included bear boxes used for food storage, chainsaw fuel, personal gear and trash.

The fire remained at 98 acres Sunday from the day before and 157 personnel were assigned to the blaze, according to https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/8238/.

Multiple callers July 16 reported seeing a plume of smoke around the Hunters Gulch trailhead near Nelson, southeast of the blaze.

Forest officials said a closure order is in effect for the eastern half of Gates of the Mountains Wilderness. Fire traffic will be concentrated on Beaver Creek Road east of Nelson. People are asked to avoid this road if possible.
Butte police reports

Parking lot concert

Last Thursday at around 3:30 p.m., a reportedly inebriated Nathan Jordon Harris, 30, of Butte was allegedly singing his heart out in the parking lot at The Derby, 2016 Harrison Ave. Several patrons were apparently not too thrilled with his solo performance and called police.

Harris had a misdemeanor out-of-jurisdiction warrant for his arrest out of Gallatin County so off to jail he went.

Lying in the street

At around 7:30 p.m. Friday, officers found a man in black shorts and a black top lying in the middle of the street near the intersection of Cobban and Thornton.

The man turned out to be Roger Kenneth Grow, 30, of Butte, who had an active warrant out for his arrest in the amount of $3,000, so he was taken to jail.

Assault on officer

Late Sunday night, Zachariah Thomas Bartsch, 34, of Butte was arrested for felony assault on a police officer causing an injury and misdemeanor resisting arrest. He also had a felony criminal contempt warrant out for his arrest.

Police were investigating a disturbance near the intersection of Aluminum and Travonia streets. It was reported that two men were fighting in the street and one man, Bartsch, allegedly struck the other man in the leg with a large piece of wood. Neither man was at the intersection when officers arrived, but Bartsch, who had a felony warrant out for his arrest, was located in a nearby alley. When an officer approached Bartsch and tried to put him in handcuffs, it was reported Bartsch got physically aggressive and punched the officer in the face. He was then taken to the ground by other officers and handcuffed.

Dangerous drugs

At around 12:30 p.m. Friday, a stolen car was found in the parking lot of Safeway, 2500 Massachusetts Ave. Nearby was Ashley Ann Leary, 30, of Butte, who was questioned by an officer.

Leary was arrested for the felony offense of possession of dangerous drugs. She also had a felony Wyoming warrant out for her arrest.

Recent DUIs

Just after 9 p.m. Saturday, Jessica Star Jaeger, 27, of Butte was arrested by a trooper with the Montana Highway Patrol. Jaeger was jailed on two felony counts of driving under the influence (child endangerment), and the misdemeanor offenses of driving under the influence, failure to wear seatbelt, transporting a child under 2 without a seatbelt, no license plates, and no liability insurance in effect.

Another Montana Highway Patrol arrest took place at around 3 a.m. Sunday, when Kara Kathleen McGeever, 28, of Butte was pulled over. She was jailed for aggravated driving under the influence (first offense), open container in the vehicle, and failure to wear a seat belt.

Early Saturday morning, Ryan Michael Cardwell, 19, of Butte was involved in a single-vehicle crash in the 1700 block of Grand Avenue. It is alleged Cardwell swerved and crashed into a parked vehicle. He was jailed for aggravated driving under the influence (first offense) and careless driving twice. A Breathalyzer showed Cardwell was driving while twice over the legal limit.

Just before 2:30 a.m. Monday, Vaughn Dennis Taylor, 45, of Butte was found behind an abandoned house in the 500 block of South Dakota Street, with his car still running. Taylor appeared to be asleep in the drivers seat with drug paraphernalia on his lap. He was jailed for felony probation violation and misdemeanor driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol (third offense).

At around 1 a.m. Monday, Jacob Andrew Ogden, 26, of Butte was arrested by the Montana Highway Patrol for the misdemeanor offenses of driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol, possession of marijuana in the pass area, no liability insurance in effect, and operating a vehicle without current registration.

Nicholas Alexander Sholey, 28, of Butte was arrested by the Montana Highway Patrol just after 11 p.m. Sunday for the misdemeanor offenses of driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol and criminal contempt.

Just after 5 p.m. Saturday, Matthew Brian Lee, 35, of Helena was taken to jail by a Montana Highway Patrol trooper for the felony offense of driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol (fourth or subsequent offense), and the misdemeanor counts of violation of restricted license and open container in the vehicle.

Without incident

Early Sunday afternoon, a call came in about a suspicious man sleeping in the backseat of a vehicle in the 900 block of Evans Street.

David William Parnell, 41, of Butte had three warrants out for his arrest for the misdemeanor offenses of partner or family member assault with minor injuries, criminal contempt and revocation of sentence. He was arrested without incident.

Third offense

George Timothy Gordon, 36, of Butte was booked into the jail just before 6 a.m. Sunday for felony partner or family member assault (third offense).

According to a police report, Gordon attempted to get into the home of a woman he knows through a window in the 1900 block of Whitman. His attempt to enter the home frightened the woman, who called police.

Felony assault

Shawn Alexander Rohrer, 31, of Butte was arrested just after 8 a.m. Saturday for felony partner or family member assault (strangulation) and misdemeanor criminal mischief.

Officers were called to the Leggat Apartments to investigate an alleged assault. Rohrer reportedly punched a hole in the shower and punched five other holes throughout the apartment. It is also alleged that he choked the woman living in the apartment.

Several counts

Bailey Michael Parker, 21 and homeless was arrested early Saturday morning for the misdemeanor warrants of criminal contempt (two counts), failure to wear a sea tbelt, failure to show proof of insurance, and driving with a suspended or revoked drivers license.

Criminal contempt

William Phillip Rubino, 38, of Butte was arrested around 11 p.m. Thursday on four misdemeanor criminal contempt counts out of Butte City Court.

Taken to jail

Just before 2 p.m. Thursday during a routine traffic stop at the Town Pump, 531 S. Montana St., Amanda Layne Housel, 39, of Billings and Tyler Richard McLaughlin, 33, of Butte were both taken into custody.

Housel had a misdemeanor out-of-jurisdiction warrant for her arrest out of Gallatin County.

McLaughlin was jailed for outstanding warrants of felony possession of dangerous drugs, misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia, and violation of release condition.

Other crimes

William Phillip Rubino, 38, of Butte was arrested around 11 p.m. Thursday on four misdemeanor criminal contempt counts out of Butte City Court.

Reilly Patrick Schrapps, 24, of Butte was arrested Thursday morning for felony violation of release condition.

Christian John Povrzenich, 27, of Butte arrested just after midnight Saturday for felony probation violation.

Shawn Daniel Briggs, 34, of Butte was taken to jail just after 7 a.m. Thursday for felony violation of release condition.

Weekend reports

A woman and a man got into an argument at the Skyline Dog Park over a dog that was off its leash. The dog in question was a Chihuahua.

There was a small porch fire at a residence in the 400 block of Holmes Ave. It was quickly distinguished.

A man claimed that some men punched him while he was on the Big M. The case is being investigated.

It was reported that someone hit the fence with their vehicle at the base of the Big M parking lot.

A license plate was stolen from a car parked at J&C Body Shop, 3600 Harrison Ave.

Some of the playground equipment at Stodden Park was vandalized with spray paint.

A man decided to be rude to staff at St. James Healthcare. He overstepped his bounds and the police were called. He left before they arrived.

Fireworks were reportedly being shot off at Copper King Extended Stay, 85 Feldspar Way, but when officers arrived, no one was around.

A transient who may have been living in a dumpster near the Community Health Pharmacy, 1145 S. Montana St., started a fire inside the dumpster. It was quickly doused.

A grass fire was extinguished behind a building at 939 S. Montana St.

A taxi driver claimed a woman assaulted him when he stopped to pick her up outside Maloneys Bar at 112 N. Main St. The case is under investigation.

A man and woman finished their meal at Metals Bank but left without paying the bill of $64.85.
The atrocities we are witnessing Putin and the Russian army commit in Ukraine every day on TV  murdering civilians by attacking schools and churches, shopping malls and apartment buildings  saddens me to the core.

I remember watching former President Trump honor and kowtow to Putin in Helsinki and dis U.S. intelligence agencies at the same time. I was so embarrassed for our great nation. I could hear President Reagans evil empire and his tear down this wall speech echo in my ears.

Id read accounts of Trump sharing top-secret intelligence with Russian agents right in the Oval Office soon after he took office in 2017. Back then, I was appalled by that act, as I still am today. But Russian influence may be closer to Montana than we think.

Ive saved a photo that captures Senator Daines on his trip to Moscow to meet with Russians on July 4, 2018, prior his successful re-election campaign. I shake my head in disbelief every time I see it. Why attempt to disguise a trip to Moscow on Americas Independence Day?

Then this past March 2022, a small group of right-wing-extremist GOP legislators in Montana lobbied for a special legislative session to focus on their unsubstantiated election-fraud conspiracy. Certainly, this plays into Putins plan. Most of their colleagues in the GOP-majority legislature, however, did not support the conspiracy-theory effort at taxpayers expense. Only 44 of 150 state legislators surveyed agreed to the session. It failed and state tax dollars were not squandered.

Earlier though, in January, the conspiracy ad hoc group  Theresa Manzella, Brad Tschida, Bob Phalen, and several others  held a public confab in Helena to publicize their election conspiracy-theory efforts. Manzella stated to the media that the confab was not a state-sponsored event and the costs were covered by a nonprofit political organization out of Florida. That nonprofit, it turns out, is the same organization that funded the greatest portion of Senator Daines Arizona recount fiasco in 2021.

It was disappointing to me  but surprisingly consistent with the actions of Trump-GOP factions  to find that the nonprofit money for that ad hoc conspiracy confab in Helena came from Patrick Byrne who was in a three-year relationship with Maria Butina before the Russian NRA gun activist was arrested in 2018 as a Russian spy and was incarcerated for her activities related to the 2016 presidential election.

Butina is out of prison now and back in Moscow where she is a member of Putins political party and was elected to a seat in the lower house of the Russian parliament. In a recent BBC interview, Butina claimed that the Russians are harming no civilians in Ukraine  the Ukrainians are bombing themselves. Hmm, okay.

Patrick Byrne continues to send financial gifts to Butina in Russia, according to Business Insider. He also continues to promote election fraud conspiracies across the nation. And, on July 15, Byrne was interviewed by the Jan. 6 House Select Committee for his role in a late-night Dec. 18, 2020, meeting in the Oval Office with Trump and two other non-White House individuals with ties to Russia.

The Russian atrocities we are witnessing in Ukraine  Putins attempt to destroy a young democratic constitutional republic and his willingness to kill innocent women and children in the process  appear to be inching closer to Montana than most of us are likely aware. The ad hoc election-conspiracy committee of the Montana GOP might be a good bellwether to watch.
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.

No one is happier to celebrate Humanities Montanas 50th birthday than I am. Its hard to believe that Ive been on the staff of Humanities Montana for nearly half those years; theyve passed so quickly and been filled with so many life-changing moments.

I was hired, initially, to create the Montana Festival of the Book. I didnt really know what a book festival was, but I had worked in publishing, I knew authors (I was about to marry one), and I loved to read. It sounded like a wonderful adventure, and I will always be grateful to Mark Sherouse, the director of the Montana Committee for the Humanities, for taking a risk on me. For 15 years, I witnessed the graciousness and generosity and talent of writers and readers. I treasure the night that Rick Bass and the alt-folk band Stella Rondo set up a living room on the stage of the Wilma Theatre and enthralled a packed house, and how at the end of the evening a few hard-core fans and Rick and the band gathered in front of the Wilma  at midnight with a full moon  and Rick read the childrens classic, "Goodnight Moon." I shake my head in amazement that, several years later, we thought we could put together an orchestra with vocal soloists to perform the oratorio of "The Heartsong of Charging Elk," based on the novel by James Welch and composed by Wayne Horowitz, who spoke with Lois Welch before the performance. In fact, we could  and it was amazing. The list of authors who leapt at the chance to celebrate literature with us, and the enthusiasm and loyalty of the audiences, moved me every year.

Once I began working as program officer, and then director of programs and grants, every day was an education; every day brought new, exciting possibilities and people. Helping Montanans book humanities programs and write grants put me in touch with hundreds and hundreds of community leaders, teachers, organizers, and volunteers across the state. These people, and the conversation leaders, the scholars and facilitators who love nothing more than to travel hundreds of miles to meet with small groups of people or classrooms to discuss issues that really matter, whether its media literacy, contemporary issues, or the many cultural threads that enrich Montana these are the people who give me hope for the future.

Time and time again, communities have shown up to have the conversations that were important to them  in Dillon, we talked about water rights; in Livingston and Eureka, we talked about the inequities, opportunities, and challenges involved in being a tourist destination; in Miles City, we shared fears about losing an agricultural identity; in Sidney, we discussed the boom-and-bust cycle. Everywhere Ive traveled for Humanities Montana, Ive been so moved by the thoughtfulness and commitment of people who want to make their special place better. Thats always been a huge part of what sustains me in this work.

And of course the people Ive spent the most time with, the staff and board members of this organization: Ive never known a harder working group of people. Ive learned so much from my colleagues and from the incredible group of volunteers who have led this organization by serving on our board  scholars, ranchers, librarians, business owners, nonprofit leaders, and university presidents  busy people who believe enough in the power of the humanities to donate their time and energy and ideas.

Im pretty sure I have the best job in Montana. Im so grateful for the opportunity to serve my state. Every day for 23 years, Ive been humbled by the great hearts and minds that keep our communities vital and caring and thriving. Every day, Ive been challenged. Every day has been a blast.
We never had race trouble here. I hear this often. I call it the Nice Iowans fairytale.

Take this comment posted on the Journal website a few days ago: Throughout all of lowa, Black children regularly attended school with their White neighbors at this time, and at all times in history. lowa has never had any such thing as segregated schoolsever.

The commenter asserted that a small pocket of [racists] tried to get the racism and segregation going, but this Court Case [the 1868 Iowa Supreme Court landmark Clark decision] reaffirmed that we lowans (as a whole) dont do that.

It is true that our state constitution got revised in 1857 to assure public education for all lowa youth; however, it made separate but equal perfectly legal until the Clark ruling, and not only in a few racist enclaves.

Muscatine Journal, Feb. 6, 1857: We are indebted to A. Clark of this city for the proceedings  of a convention of the colored people of Iowa held here.

It was resolved to petition the Constitutional Convention to extend the right of elective franchise to native born negroes and to bestow upon them all the rights and privileges of citizenship.  The committee on education recommended the utility of pressing forward to obtain education over every opposition, as upon this depends the moral and political elevation of the colored race.

The delegates convened at the capitol in Iowa City on January 26 and worked until March 5.

Historian Robert Dykstra: Prompted by the recent colored conventions resolutions, Muscatines delegate, John A. Parvin, moved that the committee on schools consider making provision for the education of the children of blacks and mulattoes.

Parvin submitted a petition signed by Henry OConnor and 128 other Muscatine citizensDemocrats and Republicans alikeprotesting incorporation in the Constitution of any provision again imposing upon the black population of this State the disabilities in regard to giving evidence in Courts, and the holding of property.

Muscatine Journal, March 2: We learn from a private source that there is no probability of this body changing the Constitution in regard to Negro suffrage. Some members are in favor of submitting the question separately and distinctly to the people at the same time a vote is taken on the Constitution, but it is doubtful whether even this will be done.

On March 6 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that people of African descent are not citizens of the United States, whether enslaved or free.

Despite intraparty Republican anxiety, a side question would appear on the ballot: Shall the word white be stricken out of the article on the Right of Suffrage?

Muscatine Journal, April 17: Not more than two thirds of the voters in the State will vote on it at all, and a minority of these will be in its favor. There is not the most distant probability that the measure will be adopted. Our main object, therefore, in this article is to repel the insinuation of the Democratic press that the Republicans claim negro suffrage as a tenet of their party faith.

The executive committee appointed at the January colored convention announced another convention for June 2 to be held in Muscatine.

Muscatine Journal, May 4: From a circular handed to us by Alex Clark, we learn that it is for the purpose of taking into consideration the proposition now before the people, shall the word white be struck from the new Constitution?

Although we are not prepared to vote for negro suffrage, we approve of the course to be adopted by this convention. No harm can result from a discussion of this great question of human rights. We hope these advocates for the colored race will not be insulted or derided in any part of the State, but will be listened to with candor. If they can succeed by fair means in convincing a majority to vote for the proposition, we shall cordially acquiesce.

In August 1857, Iowa voters approved the new constitution 51-49 and put themselves on record for white supremacy by the crushing margin of nine to one, in the words of historian Robert Cook. A colossal rejection of black suffrage, in the words of historian Dykstra.

Call those voters racist, or just observe that they shared the prevailing attitudes of their day. Either way, the compromises that got the constitution passed at all actually reinforced the existing regime of exclusions against people of color.

Happily, a big shift in public attitudes occurred during the following decade. Sadly, it took a civil war to do it. The next constitution referendum was held in 1868, after the Clark decision. Those post-war Iowans removed most of the provisions privileging white citizens.

Spin it however you want, dear reader. Our history blows away the No Racism in Iowa fairytale. Living up to equality aspirations has been a struggle.

Next time: The political price of Parvins petitions
MUSCATINE  The Muscatine County Supervisors codified the countys relationship with Louisa County during its meeting Monday when it approved a 28E agreement for mutual assistance to share a veteran services officer.

During the meeting, community services director Felicia Toppert explained Louisa County had taken over most of Muscatine Countys veteran work. The agreement allows the counties to work back and forth. She explained if there was a time the existing veterans affairs director in Louisa County was unable to handle the work, the county could bill Louisa County for any extra work the Muscatine County veterans affairs director would use to manage Louisa County.

This has to be approved by the Louisa County Board of Supervisors as well, Toppert said.

The supervisors quickly approved the agreement. After the vote supervisor Nathan Mather commented that new director Eric Sanders was doing a good job and that he hopes to get Sanders in for a meeting in the near future.

The supervisors also approved a resolution supporting participation in a statewide application for Safe Street and Roads for All (SS4A) grant. The grant is given to provide updates for safety action plans to all 99 Iowa counties.

County Engineer Keith White said about $1 million in state funding is available and for the county to receive any of that funding the county has to have a safety action plan. White said Muscatine Countys plan was done several years ago.

Of the 99 counties, 57 have action plans, but it has been deemed by the feds that this isnt adequate, White said.

A safety action plan costs between $30,000 and $50,000. An upgrade could receive 80% federal funding, with the county having to pay 20%.
The first lesson in journalism class is that stories should include the five ws  who, what, where, when and why. In my experience, the last one, why, is the most important. Why did this happen? Why is it important? The problem comes when you cover a story for which there is no "why."

Late last week, the area experienced a tragedy. I was in the office when I learned of something happening at Maquoketa Caves State Park. During our morning meeting with the Quad City Times, the public safety reporter was rushing out of the office to go to it. Already the papers photographer was racing out to the park to get shots of the scene. I only heard one thing out of it  three people were dead and the police believed there was an active shooter in the park.

I kept watching the reports on the situation at the park to later learn a fourth body had been discovered and the police felt there was no further threat to public safety. That was all there was to report that day.

A quick word  as a reporter, it is your job to get the information to the public as quickly as possible, especially where it is something you know they care about. If you can get the information out before your competition, that is all the better. As much as we want to know what happened, the police also have to piece together what happened and, in many cases, releasing information too early may hinder the investigation. Most law enforcement agencies I know try to get information out as quickly as they can. When working in Washington, I had an agreement with the city police chief. While he may not be able to give me details of something the police are working on, he would always answer the one question I felt was most important  is there a threat to the public?

For those who may not have heard, on Friday, July 22, Tyler Schmidt, his wife Sarah Schmidt, and their 6-year-old daughter, Lula Schmidt, were found shot to death inside the park. Apparently they were shot as they slept in a tent in the campground. The familys 9-year-old son, Arlo, survived without injury. Later, the police found the body of Anthony Sherwin, who they believe was responsible, apparently dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Since then, the question keeps coming up  why? Why did a 23-year-old man from La Vista, Neb., who was camping with his mother, shoot three people from Cedar Falls? Close family members of the Schmidts have said on social media they dont believe there was a reason. Investigators have been unable to establish any connection between Sherwin and the family. I have no reason to believe this is incorrect. We may have to accept the idea that there simply was no reason for it.

Sherwins mother, Cecilia Sherwin, described her son as kind, sensitive, an exceptional student, and an aspiring businessman. Sherwin had no criminal history and appeared to target the family at random, investigators say.

As people on the outside looking in, we always want to know what precipitated an event. Maybe it goes back to that catch phrase I quoted in the past that 98 percent of self-defense is not doing stupid things in stupid places with stupid people, where we want to think we are totally safe as long as we dont do  whatever. Maybe its a way of keeping us from feeling too sad because the victim had done something to make whatever befell them happen. Maybe we hope the families will find some kind of comfort in knowing why something happened.

Another quick word  in doing some research on the incident, I ran across at least one web site that indicated that the whole thing was fake and that actors were used to scare people into giving up their rights. Ive spoken about this before, but I assure the readers that this did, in fact, happen. The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation is not releasing false statements. The coroner is not filing false reports (this would be a felony). Whoever posted this need to get a real job and move out of his mothers basement.

In Cedar Falls, a community is in mourning, as Sarah Schmidt was a popular librarian. In La Vista, a mothers heart is broken at the loss of her son. People everywhere are left feeling a little less safe. This event is nothing but tragic. We may never know why this happened. There is only one person who really knows why, and he is dead.

People wishing to help the Schmidt family can go online to https://www.gofundme.com/f/arlo-schmidt?fbclid=IwAR17w_Xvivdw_QxUetYnGfYfaClFTWMbTrrM_ep_XUVLtmXnNmmsXEa9YEA.
BANGKOK (AP)  Myanmar's government confirmed Monday it had carried out its first executions in nearly 50 years, hanging a former lawmaker, a democracy activist and two other political prisoners who had been accused of a targeted killing after the country's military takeover last year.

The executions, first announced in the state-run Mirror Daily newspaper, were carried out despite worldwide pleas for clemency for the four men, including from United Nations experts and Cambodia, which holds the rotating chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

There were swift condemnations.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly condemned the executions, which mark a further deterioration of the already dire human rights environment in Myanmar," U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said, stressing the U.N. chief's opposition to the death penalty.

The secretary-general reiterates his call for the immediate release of all arbitrarily detained prisoners, including President Win Myint and State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi," Haq said.

U.N. human rights chief Michelle Bachelet said she was dismayed by this cruel and regressive step." She added: "For the military to widen its killing will only deepen its entanglement in the crisis it has itself created.

According to the newspaper, the four were executed in accordance with legal procedures for directing and organizing "violent and inhuman accomplice acts of terrorist killings. It did not say when they were hanged.

The military government later issued a brief statement about the executions, while the prison where the men had been held and the prison department refused comment.

Aung Myo Min, human rights minister for the National Unity Government, a shadow civilian administration established outside Myanmar after the military seized power in February 2021, rejected the allegations the men were involved in violence.

Punishing them with death is a way to rule the public through fear, he told The Associated Press.

Among those executed was Phyo Zeya Thaw, a former lawmaker from ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyis National League for Democracy party. Also known as Maung Kyaw, he was convicted in January by a closed military court of offenses involving possession of explosives, bombings and financing terrorism.

His wife, Thazin Nyunt Aung, told AP the world needs to hold the military accountable for the executions. They have to pay, she said.

The European Union, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, United Kingdom and United States issued a joint statement condemning the executions. The Myanmar military regimes executions of pro-democracy and opposition leaders are reprehensible acts of violence that further exemplify the regimes disregard for human rights and the rule of law, they said.

In China, a longtime ally of Myanmar's military, Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian refused to comment on the executions, saying Beijing always upholds the principle of non-interference in other countries' internal affairs.

Phyo Zeya Thaw, 41, was arrested last November based on information from people detained for shooting security personnel, state media said at the time. He was accused of being a key figure in a network that carried out what the military described as terrorist attacks in Yangon, the countrys biggest city.

Phyo Zeya Thaw had been a hip-hop musician before becoming a member of the Generation Wave political movement formed in 2007. He was jailed in 2008 under a previous military government after being accused of illegal association and possession of foreign currency.

Also executed was Kyaw Min Yu, a 53-year-old democracy activist better known as Ko Jimmy, for violating the counterterrorism law. He was one of the leaders of the 88 Generation Students Group, veterans of a failed 1988 popular uprising against military rule.

He already had spent more than a dozen years behind bars for political activism before his arrest in Yangon last October. He had been put on a wanted list for social media postings that allegedly incited unrest, and state media said he was accused of terrorist acts including mine attacks and of heading a group called Moon Light Operation to carry out urban guerrilla attacks.

The other two, Hla Myo Aung and Aung Thura Zaw, were convicted of torturing and killing a woman in March 2021 who they allegedly believed was a military informer.

Elaine Pearson, acting Asia director of Human Rights Watch, called the military trials of the four politically motivated. The junta's barbarity and callous disregard for human life aims to chill the anti-coup protest movement," she said.

Thomas Andrews, an independent U.N.-appointed expert on human rights, called for a strong international response.

"I am outraged and devastated at the news of the junta's execution of Myanmar patriots and champions of human rights and decency," he said in a statement. These individuals were tried, convicted and sentenced by a military tribunal without the right of appeal and reportedly without legal counsel, in violation of international human rights law.

Myanmars Foreign Ministry had rejected the wave of criticism that followed its announcement in June, declaring that its judicial system is fair and that Phyo Zeya Thaw and Kyaw Min Yu were proven to be masterminds of orchestrating full-scale terrorist attacks against innocent civilians to instill fear and disrupt peace and stability.

They killed at least 50 people, military spokesperson Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun said at a televised news conference last month. He said the decision to hang the prisoners conformed with the rule of law and the purpose was to prevent similar incidents in the future.

The military's seizure of power from Suu Kyis elected government triggered peaceful protests that soon escalated to armed resistance and then to widespread fighting that some U.N. experts characterize as a civil war.

Some resistance groups have engaged in assassinations, drive-by shootings and bombings in urban areas. Mainstream opposition organizations generally disavow such activities, while supporting armed resistance in rural areas that are more often subject to brutal military attacks.

The last judicial execution to be carried out in Myanmar is generally believed to have been of another political offender, student leader Salai Tin Maung Oo, in 1976 under a previous military government led by dictator Ne Win.

In 2014, the sentences of prisoners on death row were commuted to life imprisonment, but several dozen convicts received death sentences between then and last years takeover.
WASHINGTON (AP)  The intensifying rivalry between former President Donald Trump and his once fiercely loyal vice president, Mike Pence, was put on stark display Tuesday as the two gave dueling speeches in Washington on the future of the Republican Party.

Trump, in his first return to Washington since Democrat Joe Biden ousted him from the White House, repeated the false election fraud claims that sparked the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, while Pence, in a separate address, implored the party to move on from Trumps defeat.

Federal and state election officials and Trumps own attorney general have said there is no credible evidence the 2020 election was tainted. The former presidents allegations of fraud were also roundly rejected by courts, including by judges he appointed.

It was a catastrophe, that election, Trump nonetheless declared to an audience of cheering supporters at the America First Agenda Summit, about a mile from the White House he once called home.

Hours earlier, addressing a student conservative group, Pence said, Some people may choose to focus on the past, but elections are about the future.

The speeches highlighted the divisions within the party between Trump loyalists who still refuse to accept the results of the 2020 election and other Republicans who believe the party should instead focus on the future heading into this falls midterm elections and beyond.

And they come as both men have been laying the groundwork for expected presidential runs. Trump, in particular, has been teasing his intentions and said Tuesday that he may just have to do it again" as he addressed a group of former White House officials and Cabinet members who have been crafting an agenda for a possible second Trump administration.

Pence, once Trump's loyal vice president, spoke about his own Freedom Agenda as he presented a different vision for the party at a conference nearby.

I believe conservatives must focus on the future to win back America. We cant afford to take our eyes off the road in front of us because whats at stake is the very survival of our way of life," he said in an address to Young Americas Foundation, a student conservative group.

Trump, too, said America's survival was at stake. In a speech billed as focused on public safety, he painted a dark picture of a nation in decline and one in imminent danger from rising crime. Among his proposals, he called for executing drug dealers, sending the homeless to tent cities on the outskirts of cities, and expanding his Southern border wall.

Biden joined in  on Twitter  dismissing Trump's claim to have been a law-and-order president.

Referring to the Capitol riot, he tweeted: I dont think inciting a mob that attacks a police officer is respect for the law. You cant be pro-insurrection and pro-cop  or pro-democracy, or pro-American.

Trump, in his remarks, also spent plenty of time airing his usual grievances even as some advisers have urged him to move on.

If I renounced my beliefs, if I agreed to stay silent, if I stayed home and just took it easy, the persecution of Donald Trump would stop immediately, he said. But thats not what I will do.

Despite Trump's reputation for harshly criticizing rivals, Pence and other potential GOP contenders have been increasingly brazen in their willingness to take on the man who remains a dominating force in the Republican Party, despite his actions on Jan. 6, when he stood by as a mob of his supporters ransacked the Capitol and tried to halt certification of Biden's win.

The former White House partners also campaigned for rival candidates in Arizona Friday, while Pence's former chief of staff, Marc Short, recently testified before a federal grand jury investigating the assault on the U.S. Capitol.

Short was at the building that day as Pence fled an angry mob of rioters who called for his hanging after Trump wrongly insisted Pence had the power to overturn the election results.

Pence has repeatedly defended his actions that day, even as his decision to stand up to his boss turned large swaths of Trump's loyal base against him. Polls show that Trump remains, by far, the top choice of GOP primary voters, with Pence far behind.

That contrast was on display Tuesday as Trump spoke before an audience of hundreds of cheering supporters gathered for the America First Policy Institute's two-day America First Agenda Summit. The group is widely seen as an administration in waiting that could quickly move to the West Wing if Trump should run again and win.

The event had the feel of a Trump White House reunion  but one without Pence.

Pence, meanwhile, received a friendly  but less exuberant  welcome from the students, who struggled to break into a USA!" chant.

In his remarks, Pence repeatedly touted the Trump-Pence administration." But the first question he received during a brief question-and-answer session that followed his speech was about his growing split with Trump, which is particularly stark given the years he spent as the former president's most loyal sidekick.

Pence denied the two differ on issues, but acknowledged, we may differ on focus."

I truly do believe that elections are about the future and that its absolutely essential, at a time when so many Americans are hurting and so many families are struggling, that we dont give way to the temptation to look back, he said.

Pence has spent recent months delivering policy speeches, traveling to early voting states and penning a book that Simon & Schuster announced Tuesday would be titled So Help Me God" and published in November. The publisher said the book would, in part, chronicle President Trumps severing of their relationship on January 6, 2021, when Pence kept his oath to the Constitution.

Trump, meanwhile, has spent much of his time since leaving office spreading lies about his loss to sow doubt about Biden's victory. Indeed, even as the House Jan. 6 committee has been laying bare his attempts to remain in power and his refusal to call off a violent mob of his supporters as they tried to halt the peaceful transition of power, Trump has continued to try to pressure officials to overturn Biden's win, despite there being no legal means to decertify it.

The America First Policy Institute is one of several Trump-allied organizations that have continued to advocate for his priorities in his absence. In addition to the summit, the group has been making preparations for another possible Trump administration, hoping to avoid the early chaos of Trump's first term by making sure we have the policies, personnel and process nailed down for every key agency when we do take the White House back," said AFPI president Brooke Rollins, who previously served as head of Trumps Domestic Policy Council.
Standard Bank will provide Metrofibre Networx with R5 billion in financing to facilitate its fibre roll-out and expand its connectivity into homes and businesses in underserviced communities across the country.

The bank said the financing is set to help increase Metrofibres network reach by an additional 500,000 households in South Africa.

Standard Banks executive for structured capital in its corporate and investment banking division, Nishel Ramgoolam, said the deal would help to empower South Africans through digital inclusion.

Access to the internet is fundamental in closing the digital divide and giving individuals the opportunity to participate in the globally connected economy, Ramgoolam said.

This timely deal with a proudly South African digital infrastructure business supports our mission of driving positive, sustainable and truly embedded technological growth across the continent, and developing digital innovations that matter.

Metrofibre Networx was established in 2010 and today ranks among the countrys top three fibre-to-the-home operators.

Its open-access network currently passes 350,000 homes in six provinces and hopes to reach an additional 500,000 residential homes by 2025.

It is a diversified network operator, a carrier-class Ethernet (CE 3.0) infrastructure company that today provides access to managed fibre optic broadband connectivity in South Africa.

Metrofibre Networxs chief financial officer Wayne Edwards explained that the FNO plans to improve access to reliable telecommunications for most South African citizens.

He added that fibre would play an increasingly vital role in driving economic growth, increasing access to education, and providing myriad social benefits.

Now read: Big crime problems fibre networks face in South Africa
The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) is continually adjusting its list of approved bank branches through which South Africans can get their smart ID card or passport, with 26 branches currently available.

While its latest list shows that the DHA appears to have dropped Discovery Bank from its supported branches, the service is still available through its Sandton branch.

Discovery Banks Sandton branch was listed as recently as 10 May 2022 and provided its customers with an alternative to visiting DHA offices, or other banks branches, when applying for their documents.

MyBroadband asked Discovery Bank and the Department of Home Affairs for comment.

Discovery said it still offers the service. However, the process of booking at its branch differs from other DHA-supported branches.

The Discovery Bank Client Centre in 1 Discovery Place, Sandton, Johannesburg is now open for services offered by the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) following closure during the lockdown period of Covid-19, Discovery said.

Discovery Bank clients can apply for smart ID card or passport.

The process of booking at Discovery Bank still requires customers to register on the E-Home Affairs system. However, once the application is captured online, customers must email a preferred timeslot to [email protected].

Slots are available from 09:00 to 15:00 from Monday to Friday, and customers will be required to pay by card at the branch, rather than through the online portal.

The Department of Home Affairs had not responded by the time of publication.

A MyBroadband staff member renewed their passport and applied for a smart ID card at the Standard Bank branch in the Centurion Lifestyle Centre.

Their payment was processed on 16 March 2022 via the E-Home Affairs system  which South Africans are required to book through if they wish to use a bank branch  but the nearest booking they could get was more than two weeks later, on 31 March.

They received their renewed passport within a week of finalising their application at the Standard Bank branch. However, the smart ID card took a fair deal longer  36 days to be precise  before it was ready for collection.

The process of applying for a smart ID card was slow but eventually worked.

However, decreasing the number of available branches could lead to further constraints regarding bookings and processing applications.

Of the 26 DHA-supported bank branches, Standard Bank and FNB make up more than half, with eight branches each.

The DHAs approved-bank branch list also includes one Investec, four ABSA, and five Nedbank branches.

The table below shows the 26 confirmed bank branches that offer smart ID and passport services, including their listed addresses and contact numbers.
Afrihosts and Vox Telecoms employees may still work from home if they prefer, even after South Africas Covid-19 restrictions were lifted.

The Internet service providers (ISPs) said they had noticed improved productivity and staff morale since implementing hybrid working policies.

Afrihost told MyBroadband that its work-from-home policy is team dependent.

Most teams are hybrid at the moment with a few fully remote and a few at the office full time, it said.

We have seen that a hybrid model (office days on a regular schedule) is working well for team morale/general mental health around work.

Vox Telecoms CEO Jacques du Toit said the companys employees responded favourably to remote working after implementing a work-from-home policy during level 5 lockdown in 2020.

It has now adopted a permanent hybrid work policy.

They are generally more productive and appreciate the flexibility that working from home affords them, Du Toit said.

We have therefore implemented a permanent work-from-home policy but do allow staff to come into the office when required.

However, Du Toit specified that some aspects of Voxs business, particularly its salesforce, may require more in-person engagement. These staff members can work from the office if they wish.

Our staff has the flexibility to choose where they want to work from, he said.

There are instances whereby there is a need for one-on-one sessions or team meetings, and sometimes its a case of working from home not being conducive because of disruptions, etc. and as such, the option to work from the office is available to staff.

This is especially pertinent to the sales force who have a greater need for engagement, Du Toit added.

Du Toit also provided some insights into the factors contributing to a successful work-from-home policy.

What we have learnt is that this new culture of remote working needs to be embraced from the top down, and management needs to be sensitive to staff and their needs and try to find a healthy balance that will work for all parties, he said.

We have been very fortunate to successfully have maintained the Vox culture of ownership, responsibility and accountability throughout ongoing communication and engagement with our staff.

Webafrica closing its offices

Webafrica has also adopted a permanent hybrid work policy and closed its Cape Town office in April 2022. The company said its Johannesburg office would remain open until February 2023.

The main concern in the decision is how it would affect the staffs wellbeing and productivity, as well as how it will affect their customer experience, Webafrica CEO Sean Nourse said.

The ISP allowed its staff to work from the office during lockdown, but noticed that very few members chose the option.

Nourse explained that Webafrica didnt force its staff to return to the office after lockdown but instead evaluated the situation and surveyed its staff to find out what they preferred.

The consensus was that Webafricas staff believed working from home offered far more benefits than returning to the office.

Remote working has exceeded our expectations in terms of employee productivity and the savings our staff gain by not travelling to work, Nourse said.

On average, by working from home, we save our employees approximately 2.5 hours a day in traffic and with rising petrol costs, remote working drastically reduces the burden of these increases on our staffs pockets.

It also made it easier for staff to tend to family matters.

Now read: How much money Sipho Maseko made in his last year as Telkom CEO
Police minister Bheki Celes efforts to get an exemption certificate authorising the use of R102 million worth of unlawfully purchased spy equipment could be successful, according to a City Press report.

Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola said that progress is being made concerning Police Minister Bheki Celes application for the certificate of exemption.

The minister of police did apply for an exemption on at least two occasions in the past. The exemption application process requires the minister of defence and military veterans, the minister of state security and the minister of communications and digital technologies to concur, City Press quoted Lamolas spokesperson as saying.

Progress has been made recently in this regard, and the minister of justice and correctional services will shortly be processing the request.

Cele had his application for a certificate of exemption declined on two occasions, having only submitted his first nine months after Crime Intelligence acquired the spy equipment.

The Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-Related Information Act (Rica) mandates the certificate.

Without an exemption, Rica prohibits the production, possession, sale, and advertising of such equipment.

Cele went to Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola to authorise the use of the equipment in October 2019.

However, the authorisation required approval from several ministers in the security cluster, including the state security, defence, and communications ministers.

Cele then returned to Lamola in January 2020, marking the matter as urgent.

It would be appreciated if the certificate of exemption can be finalised as soon as possible to ensure that investigation methodology of the SAPS is not compromised, that evidence obtained as a result of the use of the listed equipment is not challenged in a court of law, City Press quoted Cele as saying.

However, he was still unable to get approval from the relevant ministers.

The equipment, comprising 12 vehicle-mounted grabbers, a backpack grabber, and an aerial grabber, has been gathering dust in a Crime Intelligence Division storage facility.

Police can use the grabbers to track the location of a phone within meters, and intercept cellular traffic to and from a mobile device.

Crime Intelligence bought the equipment in 2019, but the division failed to inform Treasury that the devices fall under listed equipment requiring a certificate of exemption to possess.

Then-inspector general Setlhomamaru Dintwe warned the then head-lieutenant, Peter Jacobs, that Crime Intelligence first had to obtain the necessary authorisation from the relevant minister.

However, despite the warning, Jacobs couldnt prevent the division from going ahead with the illegal acquisition.

Along with the grabbers, Crime Intelligence also purchased 15 drones of the wrong specification, meaning only two South African Police Services (SAPS) members were licenced to operate them. The drones are also sitting in a storage facility.

The illegal purchase totalled R111,997,703, and despite Celes application being initially declined, the spy equipment was used to monitor journalists and politicians illegally.

One of South Africas biggest spy scandals occurred in 2015 when a Welkom businessman was persuaded to buy a R15 million grabber by a government official.

The businessman was convinced by a farmer and a former Department of Public Service and Administration official and promised monthly repayments to reimburse him for the purchase.

The two men said they wanted to import the grabber to monitor crime syndicates trafficking gold, cigarettes, and rhino horn.

However, the businessman never received payment for the grabber and was arrested by the Hawks while trying to sell the equipment. His arrest resulted in charges against the other men.

Now read: Home Affairs blows R432 million on undelivered population register system
A batch of Iranian drones was sent by the Caspian Sea to Russia. In the future, military cargo through Astrakhan and Volgograd is planned to be delivered to the border of Ukraine.

This is reported by Censor.NET.

It is known that heavy attack drones "Shahed 129" form the basis of the cargo. During its development, the Israeli drone Hermes 450 and the American MQ-1 Predator were taken as a basis.

The length of the fuselage "Shahed 129" is 8 meters. The wingspan is 16 meters. The declared combat load is up to 400 kg. Flight speed - up to 150 km / h with a radius - up to 200 km. Claimed flight range up to 1700 km. The developers claim that the drone can stay in the air for up to 24 hours.

It can be armed with Sadid-1 anti-tank missiles (a copy of the Israeli Spike-ER) or a high-precision glide bomb with a fragmentation warhead - Sadid-345.

It should be noted that practically nothing is known about the real combat characteristics of Iranian drones, since so far they have not been used in a full-scale war. Therefore, the capabilities of "Shahed 129" may differ from those stated.

Read also:

Aviation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine hit the places of deployment of Russian equipment in the south

Railroad was blown up in Kursk Oblast in Russia

Footage of a damaged railway bridge near Melitopol appeared

Blasts Hit Russian Ammunition Depot in Crimea

SSO fighters foiled an attempt to break through the Russians in the direction of Bakhmut

In Kharkiv Oblast, fighters of the "Azov" SSO destroyed 2 BMPs and the occupiers' ammunition warehouse (VIDEO)

Ukrainian air defense shot down an enemy Ka-52 in Donetsk region
I keep waiting for someone to rouse me out of this nightmare and assure me that no, the Giants didnt suffer a humiliating four-game sweep at the hands of the loathsome Dodgers. Someone? Please?

***

On to happier news, especially for fans of St. Helena pianist Mike Greensill. Kellie Fuller and the Mike Greensill Quartet will present A Night at the Dream Bowl: 1940s at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 25, at Blue Note Napa. Old-timers might remember that the Dream Bowl opened on the Napa-Vallejo Highway in 1941 and, in its early days, hosted the likes of Duke Ellington, Glenn Miller and Count Basie. Experience the music that inspired the swing dancing craze and thrilled the Greatest Generation with its jazzy rhythms. The doors open at 6 p.m., but definitely be there by 7 p.m. for a talk with Michael Amen, author of The Dream Bowl: Where Goodman, Ellington and The Grateful Dead Convene. Tickets are a quite reasonable $15-$30 at bluenotenapa.com.

***

Last call for the Cameo Cinemas special screening of Breakfast at Tiffanys benefiting the Friends & Foundation, St. Helena Public Library, at 6 p.m. Monday, Aug. 1. Like Audrey Hepburn herself, the film needs no introduction, so I wont bother with one. Just watch it. A $50 ticket includes the movie, popcorn and wine for the adults. Guests under 21 get in for half price. Tickets at friendsandfoundationtiffanys.eventbrite.com.

***

Whenever I hear Grace Episcopal Church and rummage sale in the same sentence, my ears perk up. The church invites the community to a rummage sale from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 20. The sale will feature locally made artisan crafts, as well as gently used household items. Proceeds benefit future fire victims and the Upvalleys most vulnerable populations. For information call 707-963-4157 or go to grace-episcopal.org. If you'd like to be a seller, contact Diane LeBlanc at angwindiane@aol.com.

***

Join the St. Helena Police Department and St. Helena Parks & Rec for a family-friendly National Night Out starting at 3 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 2, at Lyman Park. Organizers are promising a downtown scavenger hunt, music, food, games and other fun. No need to register; just show up.

***

The bluegrass/country/Americana collective Nobody from Nashville will grace the White Barns outdoor stage with whats sure to be a foot-tappingly good show at 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 27. Fans of Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, and Flatt and Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys should feel right at home. Tickets are $35 at thewhitebarn.org.

***

A quick reminder that police are now enforcing the new red zones near the crosswalk at Main and Spring. You'll also notice more visible markings surrounding the crosswalk. My thanks to the public officials (including Rep. Mike Thompson) who helped initiate these long-overdue safety improvements.
Here's a look at some trending topics for today, July 25.

Paul Sorvino

Paul Sorvino, an imposing actor who specialized in playing crooks and cops like Paulie Cicero in "Goodfellas" and the NYPD sergeant Phil Cerreta on "Law & Order," has died. He was 83.

His publicist Roger Neal said he died Monday morning of natural causes at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida. Sorvino had dealt with health issues over the past few years.

"Our hearts are broken, there will never be another Paul Sorvino, he was the love of my life, and one of the greatest performers to ever grace the screen and stage," his wife, Dee Dee Sorvino, said in a statement.

Read more about him here:

David Warner

David Warner, a versatile British actor whose roles ranged from Shakespearean tragedies to sci-fi cult classics, has died. He was 80.

Warners family said he died from a cancer-related illness on Sunday at Denville Hall, a retirement home for entertainers in London.

Often cast as a villain, Warner had roles in the 1971 psychological thriller Straw Dogs, the 1976 horror classic The Omen, the 1979 time-travel adventure Time After Time  he was Jack the Ripper  and the 1997 blockbuster Titanic, where he played the malicious valet Spicer Lovejoy.

Get more info here:

Dallas Love Field

A 37-year-old woman fired several gunshots, apparently at the ceiling, inside of Dallas' Love Field Airport on Monday before an officer shot and wounded her, authorities said.

The woman was dropped off at the airport at about 11 a.m., walked inside near the ticketing counters and entered a bathroom, Dallas police Chief Eddie Garcia said at a news conference. She emerged wearing a hooded sweatshirt or some other clothing that she hadnt arrived in, pulled a gun and fired several shots, apparently at the ceiling, he said.

At this point, we dont know where exactly the individual was aiming, Garcia said.

An officer nearby shot the woman in her lower extremities," wounding her and enabling her to be taken into custody, Garcia said.

Read more about it here:

***

Get more on today's trending topics here:

Joni Mitchell

Musk-Brin drama

Keke Palmer
American Canyon is making urgent calls for water conservation and suing Vallejo over a water disagreement as it tries to eke out every drop amid a historic drought.

The city's water supplies are on the edge. Demand in recent years is about 2,800-acre feet of water annually. City officials estimate a potential 470 acre-foot deficit this year if demand remains the same.

Quality journalism doesn't happen without your help. Subscribe today! Support local news coverage and the people who report it by subscribing to the Napa Valley Register.

While a city report contemplates filling the hole with additional supplies, it says there is little margin for error. The city is calling on residents to cut water use by 20% compared to 2020.

The city in July 2021 also asked for a 20% reduction. The result was a 12% reduction by residents and a 13% reduction by businesses.

Simply put, the trend is not decreasing enough and further action is needed, a recent city report said.

Still, American Canyon has yet to impose mandatory conservation or drought surcharges. The city's staff believes its more effective to work cooperatively with customers, the report said.

Conservation now could forestall punitive measures and perhaps demands for 30% or greater reductions, it said.

The city is hoping upcoming improvements to its "My Water Usage Portal" will help. The website at https://bit.ly/3orLgM7 allows citizens to find out how much water they are using and if they are conserving enough.

City Councilmember Pierre Washington said he recently received a city email showing a spike in his water usage. He did some research and found a leaking nozzle.

I corrected it, Washington said at last weeks City Council meeting. I think its a very good portal. It keeps you mindful of your water usage.

Most of the citys supply is State Water Project water taken from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and delivered through the North Bay Aqueduct. The drought-stricken state is delivering only 15% of the citys allocation, leaving the city patching together additional supplies.

American Canyon also receives potable water from Vallejo under a 1996 agreement. Possible reductions are the subject of a recent American Canyon lawsuit filed in Napa County Superior Court.

The citys Canyon Estates housing area is to have 35 custom homes. The lawsuit says Vallejo is obligated to provide water for the development and for three other areas.

Vallejo for decades has held the right to take Delta water from Cache Slough and Lindsey Slough in Solano County. Vallejo contends the only water its obligated to provide American Canyon is water from this source, which the state recently curtailed, according to the lawsuit.

But American Canyon claims the 1996 agreement doesnt limit the water source to fulfill the obligation. Vallejo can reduce the amount only in the same proportion as it reduces water to its own customers.

American Canyon has paid Vallejo $7.75 million for capacity purchases and connection fees. It also pays a monthly meter service charge, the lawsuit said.

Water rights are property rights, it said.

Vallejo officials couldnt be reached for comment and the city has yet to file responses in court to American Canyons claims.

American Canyon is the only Napa County city that doesnt receive water from a local reservoir. It is counting on construction of Sites Reservoir in Colusa County to ease its water vulnerabilities in the long run.

Sites Reservoir is a massive project being planned by agencies all over the state. It wouldn't dam a river, but would be a place where Sacramento River water could be stored during wet years. Even if all goes as planned, it wouldnt deliver water until the end of the decade.
Two Confederate flags were removed from campsites at Sonoma Raceway on Sunday, race officials said, in an incident that brought swift backlash from the Sonoma County branch of the NAACP.

Confederate flags, including signs and banners that contain the flag, are not allowed at Sonoma Raceway, which banned their display in 2018.

Quality journalism doesn't happen without your help. Subscribe today! Support local news coverage and the people who report it by subscribing to the Napa Valley Register.

One of the flags was removed during a "sweep" of the property in which employees make sure visitors and campers comply with the raceway's policies, race officials said. A second flag was removed later.

"While an earlier sweep resulted in one flag being removed, we regret that another campsite was unoccupied when staff went to address display of a flag in question," race officials said in a statement sent to the Napa Valley Register on Tuesday. "When the campers returned, they were immediately asked by a staff member to remove the flag, and they cooperated at once."

Kirstyne Lange, president of the NAACP's Sonoma branch, said in a letter to raceway officials that her group had called the raceway on Sunday after receiving reports from concerned community members. One flag was removed after the first call, and the second after a second call, Lange said.

Indivisible Petaluma, a community activist organization, posted a photo on social media on Sunday of what appeared to be a Confederate flag at a raceway campsite.

Zahyra Garcia, co-chair of Indivisible Petaluma, told the San Francisco Chronicle Monday that the photo was taken by a community member who drove by the raceway. Garcia said it was not uncommon to see Confederate flags displayed in Sonoma County.

The track hosted the National Hot Rod Association Sonoma Nationals this weekend.

NASCAR banned the Confederate flag from its races and venues in June 2020, two days after Darrell "Bubba" Wallace Jr., NASCAR's only full-time Black driver, called for a ban. Protests were then sweeping the world following the police killing of George Floyd.

The Confederate flag, adopted by the Confederacy and its military during the Civil War, has long been a symbol of white supremacy.

Lange said she found it "problematic that people of color and allies" must not only "bear witness" but also bring the flag issue to the attention of the raceway. She called on Sonoma Raceway officials to be "more proactive" in making sure visitors are complying with its policy, so that "people of color can attend your events without fear."

"Sonoma Raceway must maintain awareness and continue to be proactive in addressing the harmful ideologies of racism that plague this country and that are shared by some of its patrons," Lange wrote.

Race officials, in their Tuesday statement, vowed to do better.

"While having a policy and believing in that policy are the important first steps, the crucial work is to monitor and act on the adherence to it by all of our guests, FOR all of our guests," the statement said. "Our procedures to manage incidents like this are a top priority and will be further refined to prevent future incidents."

Register sports editor Andy Wilcox contributed to this report.
Is Western unity over Ukraine about to crack?

Which countries could survive nuclear war?

Surmalu re-inspection scheduled for November

In Lebanon, man who held hostages in bank released without charges

TerraPower of Bill Gates raises $750 million for projects in nuclear energy and medicine

China's 'Galaxy Fold clone' sold out in five minutes and became a bestseller

Germany plans to postpone closure of its last three nuclear power plants

Expert estimates environmental consequences of Yerevan explosion and gives advices

Switzerland signs agreement with Uzbekistan to return $131 million seized from Gulnara Karimova

Artsakh also declares mourning

Norway can no longer supply Germany with more gas

UN Secretary General to meet with Presidents of Ukraine and Turkey in Lviv

Ministry of Emergency Situations: There were about 4 tons of flammable substances in Surmalu

Russian Security Council says Kyiv threatens global nuclear security

Content of toxic substances in air after explosion in Yerevan has increased sharply

Scholz says Sweden and Finland's NATO accession process goes according to plan

Macron and Zelenskiy discuss situation over Zaporozhye nuclear power plant

Expert: Biden is not preparing Americans for what is to come

Armenian Prosecutor General's Office: Representatives of management and employees of Surmalu will be interrogated

Mourning declared in Armenia

Latvia will not extend residence permits previously issued to Russian citizens

NEWS.am BREAKING on Yerevan market explosion: 16 people killed

First Lady of US contracts COVID-19

Aghvan Hovsepyan undergoes surgery

Investigative Committee: More than 20 people questioned in case of Surmalu explosion in Yerevan

Head of Armenian HM visits victims of explosion on territory of Surmalu in Yerevan

Deputy PM of Singapore: US and China may slide into conflict

Director of Surmalu shopping center is in heavy psychological state and does not comment

Identity of another victim of Surmalu shopping center in Yerevan established

Two Armenian startups advance to EWC Global Finals (PHOTOS)

Patriarch Kirill expresses condolences in connection with Surmalu shopping mall explosion

Russia announces supply of second S-400 regiment to Turkey

Dollar, euro lose value in Armenia

Republican Party of Armenia calls for naming leader of united opposition

Yerevan market explosion death toll is 16 as of 3:30pm, Armenia emergency ministry says

Putin calls Pelosi's trip to Taiwan gamble

Russia embassy: Russian citizen considered missing in Yerevan market blast is alive and well

Gazprom: European gas price will exceed $4,000 per thousand cubic meters in winter

Yerevan subway operations resume

Yerevan market explosion: 6 people still considered missing

Former head of NSC: Bomb alerts have never been so systematic and periodic before

Armenia truckers temporarily block Goris-Sisian motorway

Georgia PM: Our thoughts and prayers are with families of those killed in Yerevan

Yerevan market blast: 14 of 16 casualties identified, official says

Georgia President: I stand with the people of Armenia

Bloomberg: Jump in gas prices sent European electricity prices to a new record

Armenia official: Pointless to say that Surmalu market was deliberately blown up

Japan embassy expresses condolences over Yerevan market explosion

No bombs found at 4 Yerevan subway stations, international airport

Armenia, Russia defense ministers hold talks

Shoigu says there is no need to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine

Bomb threat at Yerevan international airport

Putin: Russia will ensure its national interests, protection of allies

US lifts F-35 flight ban

Armenian Red Cross Society: 140 people asked for psychological service, 110 othersfor first aid, in 3 days

14 of Yerevan market blast casualties are identified

Trump says after leaving Afghanistan, US left Taliban weapons worth $ 85 billion

India blocks Azerbaijan's participation in upcoming BRICS summit as a guest

Baku is concerned about safety of its diplomatic mission in London

Yerevan explosion: 13 of 16 dead are identified, emergency ministry spokesperson says

Iran responds to EU nuclear deal proposals

Yerevan market explosion: 17 people considered missing, Armenia official says

Yerevan explosion: 7 injured continue to receive hospital treatment

Day of mourning to be declared in Armenia

Newspaper: Unpunished crime gives birth to new, more catastrophic crime in Yerevan

Bomb threat made at Yerevan subway

Newspaper: Who is No. 1 accountable for Yerevan market tragedy?

Yerevan market explosion: Fire extinguishing no longer being carried out, emergency minister says

Yerevan market explosion death toll reaches 16

Armenia emergency minister: Rescuers removed young child, pregnant womans bodies from under rubble

Yerevan explosion death toll climbs to 15

Yerevan market explosion death toll reaches 10

Yerevan explosion: 5 of 6 assumed missing Iranians are in Georgia, Armenia emergency ministry spokesman says

Musk plans to build at least 1,000 starships to send groups of pioneers to Mars

Russian DM: Ukraine is preparing large-scale provocations near Zaporizhzhia NPP

Rescuers find another body from rubble of Surmalu shopping center

Deputy Minister: Tomorrow it will be known when we can finish rescue work near Surmalu shopping center

FBI and DHS say threat grows after search of Donald Trump's residence

Armenian Emergency Ministry updates list of citizens missing in Surmalu explosion: Six Iranian and one Russian citizen

Modi says they must transform India into developed country in next 25 years

Ministry of Emergency Situations denies information about pregnant woman and her son found

Myanmar Military Court hands down second sentence to Aung San Suu Kyi

Head of Emergency Ministry unable to confirm another survivor has been pulled out of rubble

German Chancellor: Visa ban for Russians must be discussed

Rescuers hear sounds under rubble of Surmalu shopping center

Emergencies Ministry: 22 people missing in Surmalu shopping center

Bloomberg: Recession risk in eurozone has reached highest level since November 2020

Investigation into explosion in Surmalu shopping center continues

Georgia's tourism revenues have exceeded pre-pandemic levels

French Embassy expresses condolences to families of Surmalu explosion victims

CSTO Secretary General sends condolences to Armenian Prime Minister over Surmalu trade center explosion

Hungary and Turkey plan to launch joint drone production

Russian-Armenian Humanitarian Response Center joins work to eliminate consequences of explosion in Surmalu

Tesla has produced more than 3 million cars since company was founded

Rescuers find another body under rubble of Surmalu shopping center

Ministry of Emergencies presents new list: 21 people are missing from Surmalu shopping center

Electricity bills in Germany will rise by another 480 euros year because of gas surcharge

12 injured in Surmalu shopping mall explosion remain in hospitals

Media: Russia signs contract with Iran to buy 1,000 drones

Armenian DM attends opening of Army 2022 exhibition at Patriot center near Moscow (PHOTOS)
Russia and Iran must determine their positions on Syria, said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

He recalled that on the sidelines of the summit of the leaders of Iran, Turkey and Russia in the Astana format on Syria, he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Erdogan noted that it was a positive meeting.

"Of course, there are negative conditions created by the war and some disagreements between us. However, we did not share the global point of view regarding the S-400. On the contrary, we did what we believed in. We must maintain our bilateral relations with Russia on the basis of mutual interests and develop them in potential directions. Therefore, within the framework of the Astana format summit, we discussed in detail various aspects of the Syrian conflict with Mr. Putin and Mr. Raisi (President of Iran - ed.)," he said.

According to him, he considers it important to continue the process and coordinate between the countries for a political settlement of the Syrian problem.

Syria has become a nest of terrorist organizations. Therefore, both Russia and Iran must determine their positions on Syria, he said.
The countries of the European Union have agreed on an emergency plan to reduce gas consumption, which is to be approved on Tuesday, July 26, at a special meeting of EU energy ministers in Brussels, dpa reported.

The purpose of the new plan is to reduce the risks that may arise from the complete cessation of gas supplies from Russia. According to diplomatic sources, the plan proposed by the European Commission calls for a 15 percent reduction in national gas consumption between August 1, 2022 and March 31, 2023, DW reports.

The possibility of declaring an alarm within the EU in the event of a large-scale shortage of gas supplies is expected as well. Mandatory targets for saving gas consumption should also be set, and compared to the first draft of the European Commission, the barriers to these targets have been increased, and the number of possible exceptions to the plan has been increased.

Earlier, on July 25, Gazprom announced the shutdown of another Siemens turbine at the Portovaya compression station, which is responsible for pumping through the Nord Stream gas pipeline, explaining this by the need for repair work. In connection with the decommissioning of the turbine, gas supplies via Nord Stream will be reduced from July 27 to 33 million cubic meters. m per day, which will be about 20% of the capacity.
Firefighters are handling the largest wildfire in California, near the famous Yosemite National Park, which led to the evacuation of thousands of residents, AFP reported.

A fire in central California broke out on Friday and continues to rage, while parts of the United States remain at the mercy of the sweltering heat.

The fire in Mariposa County has covered 6,977 hectares and is 16 percent contained, the Cal Fire State Fire Department said.

According to Cal Fire, this is the most destructive fire this season. But it pales in comparison to last year's Dixie Fire, which burned almost a million acres.

Jonathan Pierce, a spokesman for the fire department, said the fire was caused by low humidity and high temperatures.

About 3,000 people have been evacuated due to the fire so far, officials said.

More than 2,000 firefighters, supported by 17 helicopters, were deployed to put out the blaze near the southwestern edge of Yosemite National Park.
US and Taliban officials have exchanged proposals to move billions of dollars from Afghan central bank reserves held abroad to a trust fund, Reuters reported, citing three sources.

Significant differences remain between the parties, however, two sources said, including the Taliban's refusal to replace the bank's top political appointees, one of whom is under US sanctions, as are several of the movement's leaders.

While the Taliban do not reject the concept of a trust fund, they oppose a US proposal for third-party control of the fund that would hold and distribute returned reserves, said a Taliban government source who asked not to be named.

The United States is in talks with Switzerland and others to set up a mechanism that will include a trust fund, payments from which will be decided with the help of an international board.

The US source added that a possible model could be the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust, a World Bank-managed fund set up to receive foreign aid donations for the development of Kabul.

About $9 billion in reserves have been sitting outside of Afghanistan, including $7 billion in the United States, since the Taliban captured Kabul last August when US-led forces left the country.

At talks in Doha last month, the Taliban presented US officials with their response to a US proposal for a mechanism to release Afghan assets, said Mehrabi, a Taliban spokesman and senior diplomat.

Experts warned that the release of funds would only bring temporary relief, and new revenue streams were needed to replace direct foreign aid, which financed 70 percent of the state budget before it was halted after the Taliban seized power.
Mayor Ardashess Kassakhian of Glendale, California, USA has introduced a resolution in City Council to establish a Sister City relationship with Martuni city of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), Asbarez reported.

As the mayor of Glendale, I decided to establish a symbolic connection between Glendale and the city of Martuni in the Republic of Artsakh. When I assumed the position of mayor in April, I received a letter in which the mayor of Martuni proposed to establish the sister city relation, Kassakhian told Asbarez. I presented the proposal at a City Council session, and I hope that it will be approved by October.

He said that the city of Martuni of Artsakh has a special significance, taking into account what the population of Artsakh has gone through and is still going through. A week doesnt pass without news that Azerbaijani forces are attacking the peaceful population of Artsakh, said Kassakhian.

Just as during the [2020] war, when we follow developments from far away, we feel helplessunable to provide tangible assistance, said Kassakhian explaining that Glendale Armenians allocated financial assistance during the war and gathered and provided much-needed items. There were also people who traveled to Armenia and Artsakh at the time.

Several doctors from Glendale were on the frontlines during the war and provided medical assistance to our soldiers, Kassakhian said.

He added that, as mayor, he has decided to help Artsakh by establishing a sister city relationship between Glendale and Martuni.

This effort demonstrates that not only do we have such [sister city] relations with municipalities located with Armenia proper, but also with Artsakh, which I consider to be part of Armeniaour ancestral lands and their heritage, said Kassakhian.

The fact that Artsakh is Armenian is beyond doubt. Martuni is an Armenian city that had, has, and should have an Armenian population. By conferring a sister cities status, Glendale, the most Armenian-populated city in America, lights a candle of hope in Artsakh, Glendale, and I also hope in Armenia so that Martuni continues to be an Armenian-populated city, added Kassakhian.

He assured that after the approval of sister city measure, practical steps will follow, specifically by advancing relations within the education sector by having exchange programs between the two cities.
Gazprom will make a statement on the "Nord Stream", there are indeed problems with turbines, the situation is complicated by sanctions and restrictions imposed on Russia, said the press secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov, RIA Novosti reported.

"We will definitely ask our colleagues at Gazprom from a technological point of view to give an explanation. We will certainly do so. In general, I repeat once again, yes, indeed, there are problems with the turbines, the turbine after the overhaul has not yet arrived, is not installed, it is on its way. Let's hope it happens soon, but there are certain problems with the other turbine. Gazprom is working on this situation," Peskov said, answering questions from journalists.

He also highlighted that the situation is complicated by the restrictions and sanctions imposed on Russia.

"Without these restrictions, everything would be carried out in the usual, operational order, not leading to the kind of situations that we see now. I repeat, we will ask our colleagues at Gazprom to make a statement," Peskov added.
German companies are trying to cut gas consumption in response to the government's call for reserve stocks, but savings could be limited without cutting production, companies and industry associations in the auto, chemical and engineering industries told Reuters.

Switching from gas to other fuels such as coal or oil as a short-term solution is possible for companies with on-site burners, but Berlin should help by speeding up permits for higher carbon emissions, the associations said.

Mercedes-Benz said it is currently replacing its natural gas thermal power plants with "green" electricity, declining to specify what type.

The German automobile association VDA said that other companies are also looking into similar measures - but if the entire automotive industry switches to new technologies, then the need for electricity in the network will increase by 15%, she warned.

"Both options imply cost increases for industry and require a stable electricity grid as well as quick bureaucratic approval for fuel switching," VDA president Hildegard Mueller said, referring to a switch to electricity from the grid or oil.

In an effort to reduce dependence on Russian gas, Germany has already cut gas's share of electricity generation to around 6% this year from 15.2% last year and allowed coal-fired power plants to reconnect to the grid.

Germany's chemical industry, which consumes a lot of gas, can reduce gas consumption by 2-3% by switching to another fuel, the national chemical industry association VCI told Reuters.

Germany's energy regulator, the Bundesnetzagentur, is currently evaluating data from the country's 2,500 largest industrial gas consumers on their needs and emergency reduction plans to create a so-called gas safety platform due to go live in October.

The government will also allow major gas consumers to auction contracted volumes of gas that they will not use in order to stabilize the market.

However, whether any companies will have a supply of gas remains an open question, industry officials told the agency. And given the restrictions on switching to other fuels, more significant gas savings will most likely require reducing production or moving it abroad.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Tuesday officially invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to the G20 summit in Bali this fall, AP reported.

The invitation came during a meeting between the two leaders in Beijing, where they discussed a range of issues from trade to maritime cooperation.

The summit will be held on the Indonesian resort island on November 15-16.

Xi Jinping has not left China since 2019 due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus, preferring to attend major events via video link. It is also unclear if he will attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Bangkok shortly after the G-20 summit.

Indonesia and China maintain generally positive relations, although Jakarta has expressed concern about the situation around the South China Sea.

Widodo arrived in Beijing on Monday evening as the first stop on a trip that will also see Japan and South Korea later this week. Widodo's office said in a statement that he called China Indonesia's comprehensive strategic partner.

According to CCTV, the two leaders raised issues of cooperation in the fight against the pandemic and pledged to increase trade and investment.

The delayed project to build a high-speed rail line from the Indonesian capital Jakarta to the city of Bandung will be completed as scheduled, and other flagship projects will be launched, the report said.

They also agreed to accelerate the development of a new five-year action plan for the relationship, which will improve the well-being of the two peoples and demonstrate greater responsibility for maintaining peace and stability in the region and ensuring global fairness and justice, CCTV reported.

On maritime issues, CCTV reported, the parties agreed to strengthen communication and engage in cooperation in the field of fisheries in order to use the potential of the maritime economy.

The Indonesian president is one of the few foreign leaders to have visited China, which has severely restricted foreigners from visiting the country due to the pandemic.
We highly value our relations with the Czech Republic, which are based on common values and historical friendship, and we are ready to bring the Armenian-Czech political dialogue and interstate relations to a new level, including through high-level reciprocal visits, regular consultations between the Foreign Ministries and active inter-parliamentary contacts. Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said this after his meeting with Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky and answered journalists' questions.

"We agreed to do our best to realize our potential in the spheres of economy, trade and investments, as well as to foster intercultural exchanges and contacts between people.

Armenia and the Czech Republic have mutually beneficial cooperation also in multilateral formats, including the UN, OSCE and the Council of Europe. This is largely complemented by Armenia-European Union cooperation, together with its landmark Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement.

We highly appreciate the Czech Republic's active role in promoting the Eastern Partnership format and we are ready to join efforts to maintain this cooperation platform based on the principles of mutual understanding, inclusiveness and merit.

We also discussed in detail regional and international security issues, touched upon the Nagorno Karabakh conflict and the situation resulted from the 44-day war unleashed against the people of Nagorno Karabakh.

I presented to Lipavsky Armenia's position and efforts aimed at the establishment of peace and stability in our region, where the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship has a key role in achieving a comprehensive and durable settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

In this respect, I express my gratitude to the Czech side for its long-standing support to the efforts and role of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship.

Some two years after the cessation of hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh, humanitarian problems remain unresolved.

Azerbaijan continues to hold Armenian prisoners of war and civilians hostage, using them as a political tool.

The policy of destroying, desecrating and distorting the identity of Armenian cultural and religious heritage in the territories that have come under Azerbaijan's control is also extremely worrying. In this regard, we expect a purposeful response and practical steps by the international community.

The realities created by the use of force and mass violations of human rights cannot create a solid foundation for peace and security in the region.

Armenia has repeatedly voiced its readiness for a constructive dialogue without preconditions and bellicose rhetoric, for the sake of stable peace and development in our region," the Armenian Minister stressed.

Responding to a question, Mirzoyan said that sanctions applied against Russia have their negative direct or indirect impact on Armenia's economic development and, in general, on the economic situation in the region.

"Therefore, we are trying to find short-term and interim solutions and mechanisms to address and, if possible, neutralize these threats. I hope we will definitely succeed in this process," he stressed.
Story Highlights Confidence in Lebanon's judicial system among lowest in world, at 16%

More view the Beirut Criminal Court's investigation as fair than biased

Majority in Shia community oppose continuing investigation

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Nearly two years have passed since one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in history tore through central Beirut on Aug. 4, 2020, killing 218 and leaving 300,000 homeless. The improper storage of 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate and the resulting catastrophe is symptomatic of decades of state failure and neglect, but the Beirut Criminal Court's inability to hold anyone accountable for the disaster is threatening to aggravate this tragedy.

As the investigation into the Beirut port explosion continues to be stonewalled by lawsuits and protests from influential senior politicians, only 16% of Lebanese expressed confidence in their judicial system in 2021. This percentage is an all-time low in Lebanon and was among the lowest in the world in 112 countries where Gallup asked this question last year.

###Embeddable###

Judge Tarek Bitar, head of the Beirut Criminal Court, took over as lead investigator into the explosion after another judge was removed in February 2021 following legal challenges by officials whom that judge had accused of negligence. Widely regarded as nonpartisan, Bitar has thus far withstood similar calls for his removal, as well as threats to his safety.

When asked if Bitar's investigation into the 2020 port explosion was being conducted fairly or with bias against certain groups, more Lebanese say the investigation is a fair one (35% versus 23%). Given the political sensitivity of the topic, however, more than four in 10 Lebanese (42%) did not express an opinion. When one looks only at Lebanese who expressed an opinion, 61% say the investigation is fair.

###Embeddable###

In scenes reminiscent of Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war, Hezbollah's struggle to neuter Bitar's investigation took a violent turn last October after supporters of the Iran-backed party and its allies were targeted by snipers while marching to demonstrate against attempts to question former government ministers.

The specter of renewed civil conflict over efforts to pursue accountability in the port explosion lingers over the investigation and may temper the enthusiasm of those who might otherwise have demanded justice. Still, by a margin of more than 2 to 1, Lebanese adults say that Bitar should be allowed to continue his investigation. When one looks only at Lebanese who give an opinion, two in three (67%) say that the investigation should continue.

###Embeddable###

Investigation Popular Among Most Lebanese Communities, With One Exception

There is widespread support for the continuation of the port investigation among most major Lebanese confessional groups, including 84% of Christians who express an opinion and a similar rate among Sunnis (88%). Only within Lebanon's Shia community -- which largely gives its support to Hezbollah and allied political groups -- does significant opposition to the Beirut port investigation exist. Slightly fewer than one in four Lebanese Shia who express an opinion believe that the investigation should continue.

###Embeddable###

Bottom Line

The fate of the port investigation represents a test of the Lebanese state's legitimacy. The Lebanese judiciary's ability to make Hezbollah and other powerful political factions answerable to the state is tenuous at best. The continuation of the Bitar investigation represents a rare democratic challenge from within the Lebanese government to the country's powerful political establishment, most of which have strong reasons not to have their own culpability examined in the port explosion case.

Lebanese are used to getting little from their government, to the point where most Lebanese say they would migrate from the country if they could. But while Beirut port authorities and other officials failed to keep citizens safe, the failure of the judiciary to hold anyone accountable would prove the state's inability to help prevent the next disaster.

The port explosion investigation is widely viewed by Lebanese as fair and has a popular mandate to continue. Recent shortcomings by Hezbollah's political allies in parliamentary elections highlight the disconnect between Hezbollah's stonewalling of the investigation and Lebanese public opinion.

As a fragile state, Lebanon and its national institutions continue to require international support, if only to ensure that the country's ills do not spread beyond its borders. An independent judiciary in Lebanon capable of addressing rampant corruption and pushing back against nondemocratic tendencies represents one of the surest ways to strengthen the government's sovereignty and the nation's wellbeing.

To stay up to date with the latest Gallup News insights and updates, follow us on Twitter.

For complete methodology and specific survey dates, please review Gallup's Country Data Set details.

Learn more about how the Gallup World Poll works.
Kennesaw State student earns leadership role with international organization

KENNESAW, Ga. | Jul 26, 2022

Kennesaw State University student Dana London believes that curiosity and wisdom are among the greatest assets anyone can possess. By following that notion, the sophomore accounting major has earned a leadership position with an international organization.

Dana London

London is the first Kennesaw State student to serve on the ACUI  Advancing Campus Community Board of Trustees. The organization is one of the oldest associations in higher education, focused on representing student activity centers and student unions. Each year, ACUI selects one student member from across its member institutions to serve on its board, and London was selected for 2022, representing thousands of other student center workers in the U.S., Australia, Ireland, Qatar, Bermuda, Guam and Puerto Rico.

As a member of the board, London will gain professional development through leadership training, strategic planning, networking with mentors and learning about trends and issues facing student unions.

Her poise, presence, sense of self and advocacy for the student experience positioned her as a phenomenal representative of KSU and the student members of ACUI, said Eric Arneson, Kennesaw States vice president for student affairs.

ACUI is focused on representing student activity centers and student unions by creating, advancing and promoting campus community. As a member of the board, London will gain professional development through leadership training, strategic planning, networking with mentors and learning about trends and issues facing student unions.

ACUI is fortunate to have Dana serving on the board, sharing her talents and insight as a student, said ACUI CEO John Taylor. Ive been very impressed with how quickly she has been engaged as a new board member.

London said she is grateful for the opportunity to be an ACUI trustee.

It is an honor to be representing the University and exemplifying the professionalism and excellence that KSU instills in its students, London said. I count it as a privilege to represent the international student body by using my position to voice students challenges and concerns.

An international student originally from Guyana, London enrolled at Kennesaw State in Spring 2021 and has been a student employee in the Carmichael Student Center on the Universitys Kennesaw campus. Now serving as the lead student facility manager, she manages the lost and found, student information desk and student assistant hub, and supports events hosted in the student center.

I enjoy my coworkers and they are like a family to me, she said. We have a cohesive team at Kennesaw State, and we bolster each others strengths.

London was encouraged to grow her skills beyond her on-campus job by her KSU supervisor, Jennifer Tesch, who helped her connect to ACUI and led to Londons involvement at the regional, national and international levels.

Now, London facilitates discussion among student colleagues from across the U.S. and Ireland, discussing the importance that student unions play in college experiences. One of her most memorable experiences was moderating a student panel session at the ACUI conference in Chicago earlier this year. In the session, students shared their direct and unfiltered triumphs, challenges and opportunities for campuses emerging from COVID-19.

In addition to her ACUI role, London serves on the Coles College of Business Student Advisory Board, where she provides critical feedback, new insights and advice to solve problems and explore new opportunities for Kennesaw State business students and discusses issues with deans and department heads.

I am gaining valuable hands-on experience on what it takes to manage a successful organization behind-the-scenes while building meaningful relationships with industry professionals, London said about her ACUI experience. This will be important in my accounting career as well since I will be involved in the behind-the-scenes of an organization from the financial perspective.

She already has put much of the knowledge and experience gained through ACUI into use as she interns with Ernst & Young this summer.

 Ana Johnson

Photos by Judith Pishnery

Related Stories

A leader in innovative teaching and learning, Kennesaw State University offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees to its nearly 43,000 students. With 11 colleges on two metro Atlanta campuses, Kennesaw State is a member of the University System of Georgia. The universitys vibrant campus culture, diverse population, strong global ties and entrepreneurial spirit draw students from throughout the country and the world. Kennesaw State is a Carnegie-designated doctoral research institution (R2), placing it among an elite group of only 6 percent of U.S. colleges and universities with an R1 or R2 status. For more information, visit kennesaw.edu.
Beijing warns against Taiwan drills

Foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian speaks to reporters at a regular briefing in Beijing. File photo: AFP

Foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian on Tuesday warned about military moves by Taiwan, after the island simulated intercepting attacks from the sea during a drill.



Twenty warships including frigates and destroyers fired shells to intercept and attack a would-be military force off the island's northeast coast, while fleets of F-16 fighter jets and Ching-kuo fighters launched air strikes.



When asked about the drills at a regular briefing in Beijing, Zhao said: "Taiwan's attempt to confront China militarily is akin to a mantis trying to obstruct a chariot.



"In the end, it is doomed to fail," he added.



The five-day drills come as China said it heightened warnings to the Biden administration about US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's possible visit to the island.



Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden said on Tuesday he expects to speak with President Xi Jinping this week, but is waiting for confirmation.



Asked whether the long-awaited call would take place this week, Biden said: "That's my expectation, but I'll let you know when that gets set up." (Agencies)
Alaska Air Group ALK Investment Report

Source: Stock Traders Daily

Longer Term Trading Plans for ALK

Buy ALK over 40.22 target 45.70 stop loss @ 40.1 Details

The technical summary data tells us to buy ALK near 40.22 with an upside target of 45.70. This data also tells us to set a stop loss @ 40.1 to protect against excessive loss in case the stock begins to move against the trade. 40.22 is the first level of support below 42.425 , and by rule, any test of support is a buy signal. In this case, support 40.22 would be being tested, so a buy signal would exist. Short ALK under 45.70, target 40.22, stop loss @ 45.83 Details The technical summary data is suggesting a short of ALK as it gets near 45.70 with a downside target of 40.22. We should have a stop loss in place at 45.83though. 45.70 is the first level of resistance above 42.425, and by rule, any test of resistance is a short signal. In this case, if resistance 45.70 is being tested, so a short signal would exist.

Swing Trading Plans for ALK

Buy ALK over 43.52, target 45.70, Stop Loss @ 43.39 Details

If 43.52 begins to break higher, the technical summary data tells us to buy ALK just over 43.52, with an upside target of 45.70. The data also tells us to set a stop loss @ 43.39 in case the stock turns against the trade. 43.52 is the first level of resistance above 42.425, and by rule, any break above resistance is a buy signal. In this case, 43.52, initial resistance, would be breaking higher, so a buy signal would exist. Because this plan is based on a break of resistance, it is referred to as a Long Resistance Plan. Short ALK near 43.52, target 42.08, Stop Loss @ 43.65. Details The technical summary data is suggesting a short of ALK if it tests 43.52 with a downside target of 42.08. We should have a stop loss in place at 43.65 though in case the stock begins to move against the trade. By rule, any test of resistance is a short signal. In this case, if resistance, 43.52, is being tested a short signal would exist. Because this plan is a short plan based on a test of resistance it is referred to as a Short Resistance Plan.

Day Trading Plans for ALK

Buy ALK over 42.96, target 43.52, Stop Loss @ 42.86 Details

If 42.96 begins to break higher, the technical summary data tells us to buy ALK just over 42.96, with an upside target of 43.52. The data also tells us to set a stop loss @ 42.86 in case the stock turns against the trade. 42.96 is the first level of resistance above 42.425, and by rule, any break above resistance is a buy signal. In this case, 42.96, initial resistance, would be breaking higher, so a buy signal would exist. Because this plan is based on a break of resistance, it is referred to as a Long Resistance Plan. Short ALK near 42.96, target 42.08, Stop Loss @ 43.06. Details The technical summary data is suggesting a short of ALK if it tests 42.96 with a downside target of 42.08. We should have a stop loss in place at 43.06 though in case the stock begins to move against the trade. By rule, any test of resistance is a short signal. In this case, if resistance, 42.96, is being tested a short signal would exist. Because this plan is a short plan based on a test of resistance it is referred to as a Short Resistance Plan.

ALK Ratings for July 26:

Term  Near Mid Long Rating Strong Strong Weak P1 0 0 40.22 P2 42.96 42.08 45.70 P3 43.84 43.52 51.57

Get Notified When our Ratings Change: Take a Trial

























This report was produced using AI developed by Stock Traders Daily. Over the past 20 years this proprietary AI has been refined to help identify the most opportune trading strategies for both individual stocks and the stock markets themselves. This methodology is also applied to Index options, ETFs, and futures. The objective of this specific report is to optimize trading in Alaska Air Group (NYSE: ALK) while incorporating prudent risk controls.

Warning:

This is a static report, the data below was valid at the time of the publication, but support and resistance levels for ALK change over time, so the report should be updated regularly. Real Time updates are provided to subscribers. Unlimited Real Time Reports.

Subscribers also receive market analysis, stock correlation tools, macroeconomic observations, timing tools, and protection from market crashes using Evitar Corte.

Instructions:

The rules that govern the data in this report are the rules of Technical Analysis. For example, if ALK is testing support buy signals surface, and resistance is the target. Conversely, if resistance is being tested, that is a sign to control risk or short, and support would be the downside target accordingly. In each case, the trigger point is designed to be both an ideal place to enter a position (avoid trading in the middle of a trading channel), and it acts as a level of risk control too.
The latest bull run in Indian stock markets seemed to have ended as they declined for the second consecutive session on Tuesday. At 9.37 a.m., Sensex traded at 55,433.86 points, down 332.36 points or 0.60 per cent, whereas Nifty traded at 16,537.80 points, down 93.20 points or 0.56 per cent. Prior to this two-day decline, the Indian stocks had witnessed six consecutive sessions of the rally. Indian equity markets recorded their best weekly performance during the past week, supported by renewed buying, especially in banking and IT stocks as well as the return of foreign investments into the Indian markets after months. The latest consistent rally in Indian stocks has made investors richer by over Rs 9 trillion in the week that ended on Friday. The domestic equity market closed at its highest level in seven weeks, marking its best week since February 2021. Sensex and Nifty during the week rose around 3-4 per cent on a cumulative basis. "The looming Federal Reserve rate decision on Wednesday provided another reason for caution. The central bank is expected to raise borrowing costs by 75 basis points to a range of 2.25 per cent to 2.50 per cent, but investors will be keen to hear about how the Fed sees the pace of future hikes," said Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC securities. For fresh cues, the US Fed's monetary policy meeting outcome to be released on Wednesday will be in focus among investors. The silver lining in the markets is that foreign investors have again turned net buyers in July after multiple months of fund outflows. "The dark cloud on the global economic horizon is the threat of an imminent US recession impacting global economic growth. The jury is still out on whether the US slips into a recession or not. But a global growth slowdown appears inevitable," said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services. (ANI)
Mohali (Punjab) [India], July 26 (ANI/BusinessWire India): The launch of Makerspace at the Atal Incubation Centre at the Mohali campus of the Indian School of Business is a significant impetus to the startups and budding entrepreneurs in the region. Dr Chintan Vaishnav, Mission Director, Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog, inaugurated the facility today. ISB, in partnership with Atal Innovation Mission, Govt. of India, designed the innovative and futuristic makerspace to hand-hold and mentor startups throughout their prototyping and product development journey. Expressing delight over the launch, Dr Chintan Vaishnav said, "Today, Chandigarh topped the 2021 India Innovation Index in the UT/City State Category. As the Atal Incubation Centre, ISB plays the important role of an ecosystem builder who convenes all stakeholders, this modern maker space will be a cherry on the icing that is the innovation ecosystem of Punjab." Makerspace@AIC-ISB offers AI and ML lab facilities such as human behaviour study software that enhance product efficiency and AR/VR testing headsets with dedicated performance zone to test in highly responsive environments. Makerspace@AIC-ISB is based on a DIY philosophy and offers hands-on access to the most essential, exciting, and versatile maker space equipment: hand tools, laser cutters, 3D printers, a CNC router, and 3D scanners. The inauguration of MakerSpace@AIC-ISB was a part of I-Connect@ISB, a day-long event that brought together a community of entrepreneurs, enablers, and ecosystem leaders at ISB. I-Connect@ISB also hosted a roundtable attended by senior leaders from the government, industry and academia on how to promote a robust and vibrant startup ecosystem in the country. "Inculcating entrepreneurship is central to the Indian School of Business's approach towards business education. The School not only nurtures entrepreneurs but also handholds them to become established businesses in their field through various initiatives," said Prof Bhagwan Chowdhry, Faculty Director of I-Venture @ ISB, which fosters entrepreneurship and nurtures start-ups at ISB through various initiatives and programmes. Located within the Indian School of Business, Mohali campus, AIC is a business accelerator empowering early-stage founders to build high-impact investable startups. AIC at ISB has incubated 60+ startups to date and sectors include- agri-tech, green energy, healthcare, and people mobility solutions. Further sector specific accelerator programs have been launched in the past for Social Impact, SaaS, women entrepreneurs etc. ISB is taking various initiatives to help the startup ecosystem grow in the region. ISB has been a founding member of Startup Punjab hub at STPI in Mohali and, more recently, was involved in the ideation of the Innovation Mission Punjab, a government-led ecosystem enabler in the state. Of the 100 odd unicorns in India, 12 of them have ISB alumni as founders/co-founders. This story is provided by BusinessWire India. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/BusinessWire India)
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], July 26 (ANI/PRNewswire): STL (NSE: STLTECH), one of the industry's leading integrators of digital networks, today announced its financial results for the quarter ending June 30, 2022. The company reported a promising start to the year with revenues of INR 1,575 cr in Q1 FY23 owing to its widespread strength across all of its business operations. Nearly 62 per cent of the total revenue came from its focus markets of US and Europe. Large orders from these markets enabled STL to build a healthy order book of INR 11,200 + cr, further establishing its leadership in these markets. Network creators, enterprises and Governments across the globe are investing significantly to power 5G, FTTx and data centre deployments. This is leading to an increase in global demand for optical fibre which is predicted to surpass 541 mn fkm in FY22. By enhancing its optical fibre production capacity and building global service capabilities, STL is preparing for this technological revolution. Growth focused on Optical and Services Businesses: As STL plans for growth in the coming years, it is sharpening its focus on key areas: Increased focus on Optical Business - STL has fibre capacity of 50 mn fkm and will increase the cable capacity to 42 mn fkm in FY23. It made great strides in the Optical Interconnect business providing fibre cable plus interconnect accessories as a solution to key customers in the US and Europe. It is also starting its world class manufacturing facility for optical fibre cables in the US, which is expected to go live in Q3 FY23. Expanded Global Services - STL is working with leading telcos across India and the UK for their 5G and FTTH deployments. In the UK, STL has partnered with leading telcos and alternate network providers and plans to ramp up execution and scale to enable service providers' plans to connect over 60 mn homes by 2030. To meet this massive demand, STL is also building a talent pool by training engineers at STL Academy. Beyond optical and network services, STL has made advances in programmable Access and Software solutions. It recently introduced new radio, cloud-based billing and next-gen programmable FTTx solutions. Other significant highlights Industry-leading technology innovation - Continuing its focus on technology innovation, STL increased its tally of patents to 742. It continues to invest heavily in new product development with R&D investments amounting to INR 53 cr in Q1 FY23. STL recently established a new 5G innovation research centre in Gurgaon, India, equipped with test and measurement tools for development of open-source radios in line with ITU, 3GPP and O-RAN standards. Net zero emissions by 2030 - With its continued focus on ESG, STL impacted 700,000+ lives through its social impact initiatives in Q1. The company has reduced emissions of 15,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent through various initiatives in the plants from FY21 to Q1FY23 and recycled 500,000 cubic meters of water from FY19 to Q1 FY23. With these ESG initiatives, STL is committed to achieve net zero emissions by 2030. Best People Practices - Given STL's best-in-class people practices, it was recognized by Economic Times as a 'Future Ready Organisation' for adapting its organisational structure in a more flexible, integrated, and resilient manner. Gender diversity being at the heart of STL's culture, the company was recognized by Economic Times as 'One of the Best Companies to Work for Women in Tech'. Financial highlights (INR Crore) Commenting on the results, Ankit Agarwal, Managing Director, STL, said, "Our global footprint, technology-led solutions, and effective supply chain management continue to be major contributors to our growth. With increased focus on efficiency and prudent capital management, we expect to sustain this positive momentum. As ubiquitous networks are built in this decade, we are fortunate to play a significant role in transforming billions of lives through digital networks." STL is one of the industry's leading integrators of digital networks. Our capabilities across optical networking, services, software, and wireless connectivity place us amongst the top optical players in the world. These capabilities are built on converged architectures helping telcos, cloud companies, citizen networks, and large enterprises deliver next-gen experiences to their customers. STL partners with service providers globally in achieving a green and sustainable digital future in alignment with UN SDG goals. STL has a strong global presence in India, Italy, the UK, the US, China, and Brazil. This story is provided by PRNewswire. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/PRNewswire)
New Delhi [India], July 26 (ANI/PNN): YES WORLD Token (YES) is pleased to inform the community about the listing on CoinMarketCap and CoinGecko. YES WORLD had a successful listing on the Coinsbit exchange on July 18th and rose 4900 per cent from the opening price on a listing day. On its first day of trading, YES WORLD Token became the biggest gainer among the cryptos on an exchange, registering volumes of more than USD 11.7 million. The total market capitalisation of the token hit the USD 250 million mark in the first 24 hours. YES WORLD is a BEP20 token launched on the Binance Smart Chain (BSC), a trustworthy blockchain with significantly cheaper fees than the Ethereum blockchain but equivalent functionality. YES WORLD is a climate tech startup focused on making carbon emission information more traceable and transparent, representing a unique opportunity to neutralize carbon emissions. The most important feature of YES Token is its ability to warehousing, tokenization and standardization of the voluntary carbon offsets. YES WORLD Token also creates various utility services to generate awareness around the global warming challenges to bring to critical mass to join the mission and take steps in the direction of reducing carbon footprint from the atmosphere. YES WORLD is currently in soft launch and planning one of the biggest airdrop campaigns starting on 23/3/2023, followed by a major global launch on April 24, 2024, more than 30 leading Crypto Exchanges will be enrolled by March 2023. The token was launched by Save Earth activist Dr Sandeep Choudhary, the promoter and co-founder of Yes World. He has constantly been working to generate awareness of global warming and climate change. Under Dr Choudhary's vision and leadership, Yes World token has championed a noble cause of reducing carbon footprint and bringing forth the issue of global warming and climate change. YES WORLD uses blockchain technology to add value to the consumers' lives without disrupting the environment, inspiring people to choose a healthier, greener, more compassionate lifestyle. The token is aimed to be used by corporates and public organisations who will exchange tokens to offset their carbon footprint through several utility-based services to build a strong community. Links to YES WORLD Token listing are below - CoinMarketCap - https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/yes-world-token/ Coingecko - https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/yes-world 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 26 (ANI/NewsVoir): Now more than ever, there is a need for moms to reunite and uplift each other. It's time to change the tide and celebrate the women who have not only created a strong family foundation but also made a name for themselves in their respective careers. To turn this idea into reality, Mompower360 has introduced a conference series for moms, The Mom Power Conference and is launching its first conference in Bengaluru in association with Motherhood Hospitals. The panelists are pioneers of their fields who along with inspiring mom-achievers and mom-entrepreneurs will come together to empower moms to believe they can undoubtedly have it all. The brains behind Mompower360, Lakshmi Seshadri, is a mother of three, a wife, a social entrepreneur, an engineer, Founder of The Joy box, an ex-model and Mrs India who was crowned Mrs Perfection among the top 10 of Mrs Universe in 2016. Post-pandemic, she observed the burn-out faced by moms everywhere as they tried to maintain all facets of their busy lives. Mompower360 aims to bring the unsung heroes of today's world into light and empower moms on a 360 level. The organization is creating a supportive mom circle around the globe, empowering them with various opportunities and providing support through a whole ecosystem of resources. In the words of Lakshmi Seshadri, "With this initiative, my goal is to build mom communities and create a platform for moms to connect with each other to build a sisterhood of motherhood circle, whether one is a homemaker mom, working mom, an enterprising mom or a single mom. Mompower360 will be hosting online and offline events, workshops, talks to inspire mom achievers and mom entrepreneurs to propel and pave the way for moms to think beyond the horizon. It will also provide a networking platform to entrepreneurs, influencers, content creators to learn and grow from each other's experiences by sharing their journeys with one another. For generations, women were the primary caretakers for children making them choose between either career or family. The current generation of moms are juggling more hats than ever, most without the support system causing increased burnout. I believe, a mother gets so caught up in her multiple roles that they tend to ignore their own self or their aspirations. Our goal is get them to take care of themselves from early on in motherhood and to equip them with confidence to build a life that she truly desires and create precedence for generations to come." This event is for moms willing to reinvent and bloom into the best version of themselves, to take that much-needed 'me' time to assess their desires from life and get inspired to go and get them. The team of expert panelists of some of the most powerful moms and women in business such as Kiran Bedi, Madhu Chopra, Roopa D, Nirupa Shankar, Simrun Chopra, Gouri Kapur, Dr. Chytra Anand, Dr Kamini Rao, Anu Prabhakar, Bindu Subramaniam and many more have paved a path for themselves. The panel is carefully curated to address the lingering questions about work-life balance, comeback from career breaks, the effect of the pandemic on mental health and many more interesting topics all pertaining to a mother's life. Top doctors from Motherhood Hospitals to child psychologists and educationists from Klay schools will also be present to guide moms, along with experts in fitness, nutrition, parenting, relationship. Makeup, styling, career and entrepreneurship. "We are pleased to partner with Mompower360 on this one-of-a-kind event, curated for mothers. As a mother and child healthcare service provider, we understand the journey of motherhood isn't an easy one. The roles and responsibilities only keep growing as the child continues to grow. And last two years have been tough on mothers, altering between multiple roles. We hope this event will give a platform to all the mothers to come forth, dedicate a day to themselves and unleash a fresh new dimension, interacting with other inspiring women," says Vijarathna V, CEO Motherhood Hospitals. This is your opportunity to join moms from across the city for a one-day luncheon conference and to meet and network with like-minded moms. Mompower360 aims at inspiring moms and bringing back real connections, friendships and to bond with each other. So let's embark on this journey of empowering motherhood to rediscover our true selves. A strong family truly begins with a mom and by empowering a mom we empower a family and build a strong community. To book your tickets: in.bookmyshow.com/events/mompower-conference-2022/ET00334336 www.townscript.com/e/MompowerConference2022 mompower360.com/mompower-conference-2022 Venue: Hilton Manyata Tech Park, Bengaluru, India Date: July 30, Saturday Time: 9 am - 5 pm. 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 26 (ANI/India PR Distribution): HATIL, a three-decade-old furniture brand which completed its five successful years in India, is now a fast-growing global furniture brand with customers and connoisseurs in Bangladesh and India. The company plans to enhance its global presence by focusing on the theme 'Modern furniture crafted with elegance'. With an impeccable quality of manufactured wooden furniture and a deft touch of proven artisanship, the brand presents a premium range of wooden furniture. On the completion of its five years, HATIL hosted its first meet for its PAN India dealers and partners at the Lalit Delhi on July 23, 2022. The occasion was graced by H. E. Muhammad Imran, High Commissioner of Bangladesh to India as a Chief Guest and Dr Mandeep Kumar Batish, Joint Commissioner, DG Vigilance, CBIC, Govt. India was present as a Special Guest in the event. Md. Nural Islam, Deputy High Commissioner and Dr A.K.M. Atiqul Haque, Minister (Commerce) from the Mission were also present. India's former election commissioner (UTs), Narendra Kumar IAS was invited there as well. Selim H Rahman, Chairman and Managing Director of HATIL Bangladesh attended as the Event Chair. Mizanur Rahman, Director of Finance and Accounts, HATIL Bangladesh was also present. To meet the varied tastes of its customers and cater to the needs of a diverse clientele, HATIL designs and manufactures furniture in a wide range of styles from traditional to contemporary. After successfully completing five years of vibrant presence in the Indian market with its quite essential service and product, the brand has created a worldwide demand for Bangladesh-made furniture. HATIL, considering the advent of the 4th Industrial Revolution, has already begun using automated robotic systems for improving production speed, precision as well as time-appropriate designs, implementing a circular economy in the factory and creating high environmental and ethical standards. Raw materials, primarily wood and logs, are obtained from certified reserve forests abroad. It complies with all laws and regulations, both domestically and internationally. In India, the furniture brand HATIL launched 26 showrooms, and its dealer network continues to grow, demonstrating its credibility and acceptability as an established furniture brand. Besides two showrooms in Thimphu, Bhutan, HATIL exports products to Canada, the USA, Australia, the Middle East, the Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia. Md. Mizanur Rahman Mamun, Director Finance and Accounts, HATIL describes the company's success in the Indian market and its expansion plans. He says, "As a global furniture brand, HATIL is renowned for its distinctive designs, exceptional craftsmanship, and high quality. In the last five years, we've had a positive response from the Indian market, and now we plan to expand the dealership network and open more showrooms worldwide. In addition to being the best brand in Bangladesh, HATIL is one of the top furniture brands internationally". "We strive for excellence in everything we do, so we can ensure the superiority of our products. With our production capacity, we are capable of meeting both local and international demands," added MdMizanur RahmanMamun. A HATIL's happy customer, Kapil Sethi, shares his experience with the brand and terms it as the best place to buy furniture. Kapil reviews, "I bought a sectional sofa set, divan and dining table. They have a lot of variety, and you fall in love with each piece of furniture. Both the quality of wood and workmanship is fantastic. Their salespeople are courteous and cooperative. The lady who attended to us was knowledgeable and a friendly guide too. I recommend everyone to go to this place if you want to buy good quality and modern furniture". Mohak Kumar Goyal, another HATIL customer, appreciates HATIL's furniture collection and says, "The collection here is pretty damn good. The quality of the wood, the fit and the finish says it all. It is top-notch. There is very little room left for questioning when you see the furniture. The attention to detail can't be left unappreciated. The service by the staff makes you feel connected with the company, and they are really helpful and give you the exact information no matter how many times you ask them". HATIL is a fast-growing Global Furniture Brand that caters to customers across geographies. Originating in Bangladesh and in the hands of a family, HATIL is considered to be a game changer in the country's furniture industry. HATIL is best known for its inimitable design, extraordinary craftsmanship and unparalleled quality. This story is provided by India PR Distribution. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/India PR Distribution)
Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], July 26 (ANI/PNN): Are you a medical professional with a speciality in oral care? Are you looking to start a business in dentistry? Or are you looking to scale up your business to a different level and provide oral care to people rapidly and with exquisite precision? Are you looking for a competitive advantage for your planned business or existing business? Then you need not wait anymore! An established and successful business model ready for you to duplicate and apply awaits your attention right here! A business in dentistry that is not only India's first Dental tech startup Awarded winner but is also a MedTech startup recognised by the Government of India for its splendid achievements and popularity globally. Smile In Hour -- India's first Dentech startup, a Feedback Innovation-driven Oral care company, was created by dentists and health care professionals. It is driven to enable the true potential of every being we touch through best-in-class functional dental care. That has created massive waves in the world of Indian dentistry. Its oral care, especially in OSMF and oral cancer, is second to none, with patients spanning multiple countries on virtually every continent. And now, its founder Dr Bharat Agravat https://www.drbharat.agravat.com, wants to assist other dentists across the country to participate in its success with the Smile In Hour Cosmetic Implants Dental Clinic Franchise. According to business expert Dr Vivek Bindra, "This dentist franchise will help them scale up their business built on an existing successful model, something that will see them get a lot of patients with its unbeatable competitive advantage. Its two types of services-turned-franchises -- Smile In Hour Smile Makeover Clinic and Dentist At Your Doorstep have become a major hit in Ahmedabad. The clinic is looking forward to associating with you to replicate the same results for you". Smile in Hour Flagship Products - - Endodeck System - DentoImplaDeck System - One Touch Smile - UNIQUE Mouth Opening Exercise Device - OSMF Mouth Opening DIY Kit - OSMF Pops - OSMF Oral Gel - OSMF Vita - OSMF Smile Smile in Hour Spalon Smart Dental Clinic Services - Latest Dental Technology For Painless Dentistry Dental Treatments Offers since 1999 - Cosmetic Dentistry- Smile Design: The Hollywood Smile. Wedding Smile Makeover. Ramp Ready Smile Makeover. Selfie Smile Makeover. Smile Rejuvenation. Whiten Your Smile. Dental Veneer Laminate. Invisible Clear Braces - Single visit Root Canal Treatment., Laser Dental Treatment - Same Day Dental Implants. Fixed Teeth in 3 Days, All on 4 Supported Fix Denture, Teeth in an Hour - Zirconia Dental Crown, Fix Teeth by Dental Bridge - Wisdom Tooth Removal Surgery, Face-lift Fix Denture, Anti-Ageing Treatment, Limited Mouth Opening, Sensitive Teeth Treatment, Foul Smell/ Bad Breath, Habit Breaking, Appliance, Child/Kid Dental Care Smile in Hour Spalon Dental Clinic https://www.smileinhour.com has the reputation of being the world's first smile makeover in hour spalon-like ambience Smart Clinic concept. Based on this, the clinic does dental care jobs like a root canal in less than 1 hour. "It is this competitive advantage of providing speedy and tidy treatment that Dr Bharat Agravat provides, which is lacking everywhere else. Quite literally, it is this competitive advantage that is making this business grow at a rapid speed. By obtaining Smile In Hour's franchise, you too can serve at least double the patients in your locality. I can tell you with utmost confidence that ethically profitable franchises don't get better than this", added Dr Vivek Bindra, Founder and CEO of BadaBusiness.com. How To Build, Market, Increase Patients In Dental Clinic? Smile in Hour Franchise | Dr Vivek Bindra see video.. https://youtu.be/hDpItqtaruc Smile In Hour is India's first Dentech and MedTech startup Recognised by Startup India. India's first Innovation Based Dental Healthcare startup to get listed in DPIIT Recognised startup and developed the Oral-care and Dental Product and Services. That treats every conceivable mouth problem with rapid and stupendous success. Run by a highly successful team of experienced doctors, Smile In Hour has patients coming in from multiple countries to take advantage of its highly affordable and excellent treatment. Contact - Australia: https://www.smileinhour.com.au - London UK: https://www.smileinhour.co.uk - Spalon Dental Clinic - https://www.smileinhour.com - India's first Dentech startup: https://www.smileinhour.in - Founder Dr Bharat Agravat: https://www.drbharat.agravat.com Address - Smile in Hour Spalon Dental Clinic Thaltej & Bodakdev, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. Mohini Complex, UF-2, Beside Atithi Dining Hall Near The Pride Hotel. Off S.G. Road, Judges Bungalow Rd, Bodakdev, Ahmedabad, Gujarat - 380054 This story is provided by PNN. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/PNN)
Bollywood actor Kriti Sanon is currently busy shooting for the upcoming film 'Shehzada' and the actor has been keeping her fans updated about the shoot. The 'Mimi' actor is set to have a working birthday on the sets in Haryana. The 'Bachchan Pandey' actor who is set to turn a year older on July 27 will mark her birthday on yet another set as a source close to the film revealed. "The entire cast is stationed in Haryana for the shoot of their next, Shehzada and even on the 27th of July they will be in the Northern state so it is going to be a working birthday for the actress this year." "The 'Adipurush' actor, will turn 32 year old this year, is keeping busy with her multiple film shoots always happening back to back with hardly any breaks to catch and so her birthday seems no exception and when she is not working, she is in the gym or on the red carpet, busy blowing our minds off," stated source. After 'Luka Chuppi', actors Kartik and Kriti have teamed up for 'Shehzada'. Helmed by Rohit Dhawan, the film is touted as an action-packed family musical film. Paresh Rawal, Manisha Koirala, Ronit Roy, and Sachin Khedekar are also a part of 'Shehzada'. Meanwhile, on the work front, the 'Arjun Patiala' actor will be next seen in 'Ganpath-Part 1' with Tiger Shroff. The film is slated to release on the occasion of Christmas this year.Along with this she also has 'Adipurush' with south superstar Prabhas. And also will be sharing the screen with Varun Dhawan in Amar Kaushik's directorial 'Bhediya'. The film featuring Hollywood's premier effects studio Mr X, the film is touted to boast of exquisite visual effects. The film will bring together the dynamic duo of producer Dinesh Vijan and director Amar Kaushik, who also helmed the 2018 blockbuster movie 'Stree'. Also starring Abhishek Banerjee and Deepak Dobriyal, the story of the film has been written by National Award Winner, Niren Bhatt, who also wrote intriguing scripts for 'Bala', 'Made In China', 'Wrong Side Raju'. Kriti has also Anurag Kashyap's unannounced next in her kitty. (ANI)
A picture surfaced over social media in which the 'Saawariya' actor could be seen in an all-black clean shaved look with veteran actor Anil Kapoor standing behind him and other star casts of the film.

According to various media reports, the makers of 'Animal' are currently shooting their film at the Pataudi Palace in New Delhi after wrapping their Manali schedule.

Soon after the picture was shared online, fans flooded the comment section with fire and heart emoticons.

"the godfather? no animal ranbir looks hot asff" a fan commented.

Another fan wrote, "Rich gangster family crime drama".

Apart from Ranbir and Anil, the film also casts actors Bobby Deol and Rashmika Mandanna in the lead roles.

Directed by the 'Kabir Singh' director, Sandeep Reddy Vanga, previously actor Parineeti Chopra had to play the lead opposite the 'Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani' actor, but due to some unknown reasons, she took a step back and then south beauty Rashmika replaced her in the film.

The film is currently slated to release on August 11, 2023.

Meanwhile, Ranbir was recently seen in Yash Raj Film's period action film 'Shamshera' alongside Vaani Kapoor and Sanjay Dutt. The film gathered mixed responses from the netizens.

Apart from that, he will be next seen in Dharma Productions 'Brahmastra Part one: Shiva' with Alia Bhatt and Amitabh Bachchan. The film is all set to hit the theatres on September 9, 2022. (ANI)
Screenwriter, journalist, and author Aaron Latham passed away on July 23 at the age of 78 in Pennsylvania from complications related to Parkinson's disease. His piece from Texas Monthly served as the inspiration for the 1980 hit film "Urban Cowboy." According to Variety, Lesley Stahl, a reporter for "60 Minutes," was Latham's wife. In Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, at Bryn Mawr Hospital, he passed away. accompanied by Taylor Stahl, the couple's daughter Latham was by his side as he passed away. Latham is a producer for the Apple TV+ drama "Servant." "He loved being two things: He loved being a writer and he loved being a father," Stahl told Variety, noting that he got a good start as a writer at The Washington Post and moved on from there to even bigger accomplishments. The King Arthur mythology is brought to hardscrabble Texas in Latham's novels "Code of the West" from 2001 and "The Cowboy With the Tiffany Gun" from 2004. Stahl says Latham at first was an intellectual, getting his PhD at Princeton with a dissertation he wrote about F. Scott Fitzgerald in Hollywood. "Hollywood was in his head, even way back," Stahl said, even if he took a circuitous path to making his mark on the screen. "I think he had a very rich life as a journalist, as a playwright, as a screenwriter." Latham grew up in West Texas, where his interest in writing started at a young age. He remarked in a Texas Monthly article that as a child he would create "stories in the form of cartoons." Then, as for his decision to pursue writing as a career, he stated that he was raised "with the idea that writers were the great heroes of the world, and I wanted to be my mother's hero." Latham was laid to rest in Spur, Texas, a small community located about 75 miles outside of Lubbock, the hometown of Travolta's character in "Urban Cowboy." Latham regarded "Urban Cowboy" as his greatest work since it foresaw the cultural moment occurring at the renowned Gilley's nightclub outside of Houston. In his last hours, Stahl and Stahl Latham played the movie's score for him. (ANI)